Ten Thousand Fists

by Evilsheeplordthatsaysmoo

In order to save his loved ones, Naruto calls upon the power of Heroes past, present, and future. Watch as he blazes a new path through the world, and finds the real meaning behind the word "Hero". Naruto/Ben10, Naruto/Harem

2. Second Fist

Moo

Hello my Fellow Reads, Writers, and overall people that are slightly Pitiful!!!

This is the second installment for "Ten Thousand Fists" (Disclaimer: I do not own this title, it belongs to 'Disturbed') and in order to pacify all that might be angry because of my absence, I have made this chapter over 15000+ words long! It does an authors heart some good to know that people enjoy his work T.T XD.

Important Notice:

A close friend of mine, Warper, has created a 'church' on his forum. It is the 'The Manga Anime Church of Nerds and Geeks United', so please go to his forum and enlist in the 'church' under Pope Namikaze Naruto II.

Important Notice

Also, a large CONGRATULATIONS to Gorgas for he is the ONLY one that got all five of the girls from last chapter Correct! Some of you thought that it was Rebecca from Resident Evil as the first girl…NO SOUP FOR YOU!!! As you were wrong… The Girls were:

Heroine 1: Revy from Black Lagoon
Heroine 2: Tokiko Tsumura from Buso Renkin
Heroine 3: Mizore Shirayuki from Rosario + Vampire
Heroine 4: Maggie Mui from Read or Die TV/Read or Dream
Heroine 5: Ku Fei from Negima

ESLTSM: So give him a hand (hears no clapping)

ESLTSM: … CLAP FOR ALASKA!!! (sudden clapping commences)

ESLTSM: that's better…

Anyway please enjoy my child, and if any of you speak badly of my little girl…just hope that the sheep are not hungry…

Disclaimer: I own nothing but snow and ice covered sheep…poor things…

XxXxX Second Fist XxXxX

Laughter and merriment could be heard from the one time prison of young aspiring Shinobi to be. Outside of the widows, within the tall trees that offered their shade to day dreamers of the class, birds sang and played, bouncing from one branch to another and fluttering away whenever someone caused too much ruckus in the classroom. Within the class, children, no, young adults joked and jested, swapping stories of the prior night's events, proclaiming their future goals, and talking with great intensity overall. Many of the families held large celebrations due to their child's new employment and wished them good luck by way of congratulations and presents, or, in some families, by way of weapons and new techniques. All within the room cheered of their newfound freedom and place in society. Now they would be taken seriously since they, quite literally, had a license to kill. New doors opened for them, they would make sure that they entered every one of them, tasting their fruits and sampling their wines.

Yes, the children now spit upon their last stronghold of innocence, laughing at in its face by saying words such as, "We're adults now, no, we're Ninja, superhuman, nothing can hurt us." and, "Nothing will hinder our goals and shatter our dreams, for now the skies the limit and we will push beyond it."

Some children did not celebrate, or rather, one young woman did not celebrate becoming a Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village. Hyuga Hinata sat in her soon to be old desk at the head of the class like always. Her posture was slightly slumped and her shoulders hung low, her face drooped towards her desk and her eyes heavy. The reason for her downtrodden and cloudy demeanor was currently not in the classroom, nor would he ever be in the same classroom with her again. Sure it was strange for a girl such as Hyuga Hinata, Heiress of the prestigious Hyuga clan and wielder of the feared Byakugan, to be worried about someone such as him. In all honesty he was a nobody, no matter how much he proclaimed that he was going to be something of great importance later on. With a record of failing a simple exam three years in a row, no one could take him seriously, and with him claiming that he would become the strongest of them all and reach the title of Hokage, the strongest Ninja in Konoha, it was hard not to laugh at him. So why should she be concerned about him at all? Because…because… Because no matter what happened in his life, no matter what horrors befell his person, he always stood on his own to feet and asked for more, to show all that he was never beaten.

Uzumaki Naruto was truly one of a kind.

Her musing was cut short when the sliding door to enter the classroom slid open and a very solemn looking Hokage entered, his face haggard and eyes reddened with unrest. This was truly a surprise to all of the newly graduated Genin, many of them had at one point in time met with the Hokage but those times were far and few between. So to have him stand before them all, hands clasped firmly behind his back, was truly an honor. Many of the more excited children began to whisper back and forth at the legends presence, their respect forgotten for the moment, while others stayed in silent awe at the aura of power that lingered off his aged figure.

But one thing had been bothering Hinata since the start of 'class'. Actually it was two things, but the other one pertained to late last night. The first was that Iruka was not currently in the classroom congratulating the new graduates, he was usually a stickler for punctuation and for him to be late was every uncommon. The man seemed to have a natural defense against all bacteria and viruses seeing as he never became ill, and he always made sure that his teacher meetings never ran over, as he was the head of the teaching faculty due to his seniority. So what could possibly cause Iruka to be late on such an occasion? The only thing that came to Hinata's mind was something that was life threatening, but she did not worry for like her Naruto, Iruka was also very resilient.

She blushed hotly at the mental realization of claiming Naruto as her own. Sure her crush ran pretty deep, but to claim him, surely that was going to far; they still had to talk to one another with out her fainting, then the courting of her to him, followed closely by being discovered by her father and Naruto whisking her away to his grand estate, after that it was the engagement, marriage, and finally…the wedding night. Oh, shivers of anticipation ran up down her spine, the world of reality long forgotten, as she thought of his smiling face as he gazed up at her from his chained position on the soft mattress… she nearly passed out if it wasn't for the thought of her second bother.

She quickly recomposed herself and crossed her legs tightly with the utmost ladylike manner. The second thing that had caused her to worry was the beast like roar that had pierced the nightscape of many hours ago. She had stayed awake due to her mind being assaulted by a brief case of depression. Nowadays the fits grew worse and worse and many nights were spent staring up into the either moon filled or star filled night's sky; last night was focused around Naruto, many of the nights were. Thoughts of how her chances to confront him had spiraled away from her and from there on, her thoughts went from mere shame, to self loathing, to mental mutilation. But when the cry of sorrow from some kind of creature cut through the calm night air, it caused her mind to restart and the knife to fall from her grasp. The moon was full that night and as she stared up at its fullness and soft glow, she wondered what could cause such a noise to be birthed into the world. What incident of sadness and grief could cause such a being to wail and scream in such a sense?

The Elder Hokage soon interrupted her from her mental debate; "I would like to congratulate you on your graduation. The life of a Ninja is not an easy one, nor does it wait for you so if you all would quiet down I will read off the three manned teams that you will be assigned to…"

Many of the children were slightly confused as to why the speech was so short, most had been expecting the speech to be longer so that way they would be able to gloat in the thought of out doing some of the failing students that were not present, mostly a certain Uzumaki child. Surprisingly only a few of the students caught the line about the Shinobi life style not waiting for you while the others thought nothing of it, cheering every now and then when as their names were called and their partners came to light.

Finally the weary man came upon the one team he had been dreading to mention: Team Seven. Deep down he knew it was the right decision seeing as how the young man had defeated an 'A'-ranked criminal turned 'S'-rank half way through the battle, but his human side tended to differ greatly from his Shinobi side.

"Team Seven shall consist of: Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke," he paused for a brief moment to let the young girl get her squeals out and to proclaim something about true love before continuing onto the last name of the squad, his heart heavy and his shoulders slumped, "and… Uzumaki Naruto your Sensei sha-"

"What do you mean that loser graduated!? He failed, we all saw it!" cried out one of the Shinobi in training.

Once that was said, once that one sentence left the child's mouth, the flood gates of Hell itself seemed to break open wide and the Devils that were man's true selves spewed forth.

"Yeah," screamed out another, "how come he gets to graduate, huh? That dead last doesn't deserve to graduate! My mother says that that…thing, shouldn't even be allowed to live!" More children cheered on this piece of evidence, sending back and forth curses and damnations about the boy that their parents had planted into the minds in their early years.

One person thought differently though, and within her mind, she cheered with a voice that would some day see the light of day. Hinata's eyes held unshed tears with hands clasped firmly under her breasts. He was a Ninja. He finally became a Ninja! Oh how proud she was of him; now he could complete his dream, now he could show everyone how great he was and how kind he was. She couldn't wait to congratulate him on his achievement, oh how she couldn't wait to celebrate his new occupation over a bowl of ramen. Oh how she couldn't wait, she just couldn't wait. But then the cries of distain and the screams of death touched her delicate ears.

How could these children talk about this man like they do? How could they laugh with him when his jests amuse them and then condemn his soul with their scornful words the moment he was gone? What had this boy done to these children to anger them so? No…it was the children's parents that were at fault, not the children. But then…what could cause such hatred? What could cause such an accusation such as the title 'Demon' to be pinned to his very person like a golden star on ones clothing? What could… what could…

The screams and the accusations were suddenly forced down the throats of those who spoke them as a weight of a thousand men fell upon them. All turned their shaking eyes and quivering lips towards the cause of such a force, the Hokage. The once docile old man had vanished only to replaced with a Titan, a being above that of the God's of old. His eyes pierced their minds, searing their memories like coals from a blacksmiths forge. His lips were not but a thin knife cut, and his eyebrows were knit dangerously low on his brow. Several of the children began to shake violently and could have sworn the temperature plummeted once his blazing gaze fell upon them. His hands dropped from their position behind his back and everyone flinched, thinking that the ax was to drop upon their unprotected necks. His aged lips parted slowly, and some would swear to this very day that a fine wisp of smoke trailed forth and into the ventilator system, wisps of smoke like from the maw of a terrible dragon or great beast of calamity.

"You. Will. Be. Silent." His voice made everyone quake in their seats and beg for their lives. His slow strides towards the first row of desks made every being fear the worst. "From this point forward you will not speak unless spoken too, eat unless told too, and jump when I say 'jump'. My orders are law," his palm made contact with the desk before him and turned the poor construct of wood into dust, showering the screaming child that sat at it. His scream was soon silenced by the hand of their leader and his body was hoisted into the air to the point were his feet dangled many inches from the floor. "And one thing that I do NOT tolerate are those that leave their comrades to die or speak badly of them." He tossed the boy into the seat to his left, causing the young girl in it to topple over in her chair. He stood before them all and his voice never wavered, "The decision to pass Uzumaki Naruto was my decision; not Iruka's, mine." His voice thundered across the room and cracked across their backs like a leather whip, "If you have a problem with me taking a quite capable Ninja under my authority, please speak now."

No one spoke, no one moved, no one breathed. Death stood before them and it dared them to oppose his being. Seconds turned into minutes and the minutes stretched into an eternity, yet no one spoke a single word. His hawk like gaze glided over every face, caressed every sense, and slithered over every eye, looking, hunting for one that would try his patients and step on his twitching tail. "Team Seven's Sensei shall be Hatake Kakashi. Team Eight…" The rest of the teams were announced and the Sensei's proclaimed, then all grew silent. Every child looked at one another, wondering what type of lions den they had crept into during their quest for candy.

Yet Sarutobi's voice cut the air one more time, startling the children and making them jump, "There is one more piece of business I would like to address." Once again the wise elder of a Hokage stood before them, old and weary, "You have most likely noticed by now that Iruka has not come to class yet," everyone nodded their heads vigorously, "This is do to an incident that occurred last night. Iruka took part in a hunt for a traitor of the Leaf Village." Many gasps resounded through the room. "Iruka confronted the traitor and fought him, unfortunately… he was killed in a last ditch technique from the dying traitor," more gasps were heard and several choked sobs soon followed.

Iruka had become like an older sibling to most of his students and the news of his death caused several to mourn for his passing. "You will not meet your teams this day, as planned, but meet them tomorrow. For this afternoon at two o'clock, the funeral of Umino Iruka will be held at the top of the Hokage Tower. Until then, go home and prepare. This funeral is mandatory for those of you thinking of not attending."

His eyes once again swept over the room, peering through every soul, judging every character. With one final glance he turned on his heel and exited the classroom, with the Genin following several minutes later, wondering where their times of learning and security had gone.

XxXxX Atop the Hokage Tower XxXxX

The steps that led up to the roof of the Hokage Tower were steep and tedious. The funeral had become mandatory for every enlisted Shinobi, and they all came to attend, dressed in black, emotionless and weary. Step-by-step, they walked up the stairs to the roof. Step-by-step they thought of his smiling face and his kind demeanor, and step-by-step they mourned silently.

Hinata was dressed in a black blouse and skirt, like every other female that attended, and even though her thoughts were on the boisterous teacher, her thoughts soon drifted to another boisterous individual. Surely he would attend the funeral? Surely he would mourn the loose of his mentor and brother?

Her eyes gave her a wonderful ability, she mused as she scaled the last of the stairs with several of the other mourner. They gave her the ability to see the emotions that flowed through others like water over stones. They gave her the insight into what others were 'thinking' at that time and she knew how close Naruto was to Iruka. She knew how much they cared for one another, brothers in arms, and she knew that he would come…wouldn't he?

Light blinded her eyes she broke over the stairs and now stood on the roof of the Hokage Tower. What caught her attention first was that the funeral was an open casket, something that was very rare. Funerals were usually conducted with a memorial style to it, a table with a picture of the deceased and a few objects that defined their person. But to have an open casket funeral, it was indeed rare. Suddenly a flash of blond in the sunlight stole her attention away from the funeral décor and caused her to gasp. Directly in front of the coffin, directly before the serine face of the scarred mentor, brother, and friend stood Naruto.

His clothes were also black, mourning the loss of the man sleeping in front of him, but his emotions were a tidal wave of chaos and Hinata had to stop herself from crying out on his behalf. He had all but broken his soul into pitiful shambles, ripped and torn beyond repair. No longer were his shoulders aloft with pride and joy, but were held rigidly and articulately. He resembled a broken toy, a shattered puppet that no longer wished to dance or sing. Her feet carried her over to his side without even thinking, they moved quickly on the borderline of sprinting. No, this should not be happening to a person like him, he should never break like this. No, tears all but pooled within her eyes, this shouldn't happen.

"Na-Naruto-kun?" her voice was shaky, cracked and brittle.

He did not turn his head from the coffin before him; in fact, he did not even seem to notice her very existence or presence. He just stood there like a man of stone, quiet and unmoving. Her hand reached out to touch his arm and found it to be cold to the touch, to the point of feeling like the flesh of a dead man. Still he did not turn from his position. Finally, Hinata moved, she walked before him since he would not look upon her and was startled by the sight that she did see. He was all but dead. His eyes held no shimmer of hope or joy, his lips no longer curled back in a boisterous smile. His soul had all but been crushed and she had no clue as to why.

Eyes finally met and she saw how truly he was hurt, how battered and weary he really was. She saw how small bags hung from his eyes, how his lips were dried and cracked, and how periodically shivers and shakes ran across his body like hideous spiders. She want to hold him and tell him all was well, she wanted to kiss him and whisper that nothing would hurt him, she wanted to do so much to ease his pain…but all she could do was stare into his cold glacier eyes and curse her own shyness and insecurity. She also felt pity and was ashamed of herself for feeling it for she knew that Naruto would not want it.

Hinata then noticed that the rest of the mourners had filed in, taking their places in ten rows of ten long near the center, the left, and the right of the coffin. But it did not matter to Naruto, nothing mattered anymore, all was irrelevant. Silence reined over everyone as Naruto continued to stare at the coffin that held his surrogate brother and Hinata soon took her place at his side, waiting for the proceedings to begin. The 'clacking' of the elder Hokage's scandals told the attendees that the funeral was about to begin, and once he stood before the mourners and the coffin he began.

As the funeral went on Hinata noticed that Naruto's quakes and shakes grew, and the look in his eyes grew more and more animalistic. His breath became shorter and more labored, as if he was reliving some kind of horrible and terrible nightmare turned living Hell. His lip curled back, and at that moment Hinata knew what was causing this slight transformation to befall his form; the Hokage began to recollect on the events that led up to Iruka's death.

The shaking continued, worse and worse, and Naruto began to growl softly. Hinata had to do something to quell his nerves, to pacify his mind, and time was running short. Slowly her hand reached towards his shaking fist; gently her shivering fingers caressed the outside of his hand. Taking a deep breath and praying for the best she grasped his quaking fist within her small and quiet palm.

Instantly his hand opened and latched onto her hand, grasping it in a grip of desperation by intertwining their fingers, keeping her from escaping. She as startled at first when his hand encompassed hers, gasping slightly and blushing greatly, but she soon felt the need for human contact that screamed from their slight embrace. She sighed gently and caressed her thumb in slow circles on the back of his hand, this was the first time she had come this close to Naruto and truthfully, she wished it could have been under different circumstances, not when he was on the verge of a mental and emotional collapse. His shaking had died down for the moment, but tremors still coursed through his body every now and again.

Taking a look at the distraught blond with her peripheral vision she saw something she thought she would never see, tears accumulating in the corners of his eyes. Her heart reached out to the battered man beside her and she wished dearly that she could do more to help ease his pain.

The 'clacking' of the Hokage's battle worn scandals met her ears and she refocused her eyes on the coffin before her as the Hokage made his way the left of the 'stage', signaling the mourners to line single-filed to give their last respects to the dead. Each person would be given approximately thirty seconds to say their part, then the next in line would say theirs, and so on and so forth. With Hinata and Naruto situated in the direct center of the first row of the middle gathered mourners, their time to pay their respects would come shortly.

The far right began, and soon the first row of the right block was complete with their respects, yet their steps still remained heavy and sorrowful. Slowly the first row in the center block began to trickle towards the coffin, each member bowing their heads and whispering a silent pray in honor of Iruka. Finally it came for Naruto to stand before the coffin.

All eyes migrated towards him and many waited with baited breaths, waiting to see what the child would do. Most knew of the strange relationship between the two and most were shocked in seeing the blondes face so neutral and grim. Longer they waited for him to move, yet he still stood to the far right of the coffin, Hinata's held tightly within his own. Many began to think that the boy would not say anything, that he would remain silent and ignore the dead man just meters away from him. Had his affection for the middle-aged Academy teacher been a farce, a lie? Many that waited began to think this.

Hinata was getting nervous, Naruto still held her hand like a lifeline, much to her joy, but the moment his turn came to pay respect to Iruka he froze. The shaking had once again returned in force and sweat began to poor from his body. He didn't what to admit that he was dead, she concluded with a sad smile. She herself had done the same thing when her mother past on after several months of intensive care due to Hanabi's stressful birth. Her father had harshly forced her to attend the funeral as well as stand before her open coffin. This one incident had contributed greatly to her subdued and meek demeanor, and still affected her periodically to this day.

So she gently leaned forwards towards the quaking blonde's ear. Her voice was quiet and calm as she spoke to him, "Are you ok?" His sudden intake of breath told her that he heard her and had reminded him that she was still in close proximity to him. Slowly his head began to shake and he showed for the first time that not all was well within his happy and joy filled world. She saw the tears as they threatened to spill like the drips off of a melting ice cube. "Do you wan-want me to g-go with yo-you?" she nearly cursed openly when she heard her stutter return to her voice but she held firmly to both her resolve as well as his hand. Seconds past and what felt like an eternity his head bobbed up and then down only once. With a shaky nod of her own she led a shivering Naruto towards the open door of the coffin.

With each step, his grip on Hinata's increased to the point that it was becoming painful, but Hinata paid no mind to the slight discomfort. He needed to confront this tragedy head on, no matter how painful it may be. They now stood before the coffin, Iruka's calm, peaceful expression facing towards the clear sky; his eyes were shut giving them the impression that he truly was sleeping. Hinata smiled down at their one time instructor and prayed for his soul to find rest. Once done, she turned to Naruto, only to find him defiantly looking to his left, away from the opened box. Tears began to pool in the corners of his eyes and Hinata moved to the side to allow him his privacy with his deceased brother.

Finally Naruto turned his eyes to the sleeping form of his brother and mentor. His pride still held strong and the tears did not spill forth, no matter how badly he wanted the dam to burst. But once Hinata placed her hand on his back in a soothing gesture, the dam burst and the tears flowed freely. Choked sobs tore at his throat and quakes of pure agonizing sorrow racked his body until he had to use the coffin as a crutch to support his unresponsive form. He really was gone wasn't he? He really sacrificed his life of happiness for the diseased existence of this leper?

Silken arms enveloped him like in the forest, Kyubi was mourning with him, but soon another pair accompanied them, this pair circled his waist and held him lightly, "It's ok to mourn for one that you loved with all your heart," Hinata, surprisingly whispered. Kyubi stayed silent but Naruto knew that her words would have mimicked those uttered by the young woman holding onto him.

Hinata was currently fighting the most aggressive blush that had attacked her face to date. Everything from the point of seeing Naruto in such a chaotic state had been on a maternal instinct, she couldn't stop doing the things that already occurred even if she wanted to, which she didn't.

The shaking of his body gradually died down and soon humming could be heard coming from the still crying blond. The notes were something that Hinata was not familiar with but soon words, few in numbers, joined the notes hummed:

Nah, Nah, Nahhhh, Na.

Nah, Nah, Nahhhh, Na.

Hey, Hey, Hey…Good-Bye…

XxXxX At Ichiraku's Ramen Bar XxXxX

"Th-th-thank you for ta-taking me to Ichiraku's, Nar-Naruto-kun," Hinata stuttered out as both Naruto and Hinata sat before a steaming bow of the days special.

Once the impromptu song was done Naruto all but dragged Hinata away from the funeral and to Ichiraku's for some well needed ramen. It was common knowledge, to at least Hinata, that ramen was Naruto's comfort food and that he could be found at the small stand whenever he needed time to think. So Hinata was all but on the verge of a mental overload due to the fact that she was now eating a late lunch with her secret crush. Unfortunately her maternal instinct high had fizzled down, so staying upright in the stool as well as conscious was becoming tedious.

"You're welcome Hinata," he replied quietly. Seconds passed in silence until the sound of chopsticks snapping in half foretold the death of another pair of the eating utensils. Naruto soon threw them in the growing pile of dead wood that sat at his left, now ranging in ten dead and shattered pairs.

This was happening quite often since they arrived at the small stand, every few minutes another pair would meet its end and find itself in the pile of the discarded. Hinata was slowly become more and more worried once the pile reached double digits, if only she knew what horrors passed before his eyes.

Once entering Ichiraku's, Naruto started to experience events from the night before in brief glimpse. One moment he would be eating a mouthful of noodles, and the next he would be hearing the insane laughter of the gun wielding brunette as well as hearing the cracks as the gun fired, causing he to stiffen or even jump anytime a pan was dropped or a loud noise pierced the air. Or he would hear the roar of the scythe wielder scream "I will splatter your guts" soon followed by images of just that, the splattered guts of Mizuki turned Cat-man.

"Hinata," he asked suddenly, causing her to stop her noodle filled chopsticks half way from her mouth. "How did…how did the Hokage say Iruka died?" his voice was small and quiet, acting as if he did not yet know.

Hinata gently placed her chopsticks down and looked towards him as he stared into his first bowl of half eaten ramen. He was so…docile and older, not the exuberant firework that usually sat in that stool, dubbed the "Foxes Throne" after Naruto's clever nature, and Hinata was finding herself more…enthralled with this new Naruto. He held himself differently and the best way she could described it was that he understood the world better, and would no longer bow to it or smile and laugh at its cruel jokes. But part of her still wished to see that enormous smile of his and to hear his cloud chasing laugh. She sighed gently and whispered her response, "Hokage-sama told us that Iruka death was the result of a last ditch technique by an already dying traitor…"

'Snap'

Another chopstick found its way into the graveyard of wood as images of shattered bones protruding from torn flesh paraded in his mind as the Chinese dressed girl broke Mizuki's arms with her fists. "So that's how he died…" His eyes narrowed slightly as a presence entered the stand and took its place next to Naruto and his morgue of chopsticks.

Teuchi, the stands owner and head chef, could sense his lead customers discomfort and turned his head from the deep fryer to take the new occupants order and send him on his way as soon as possible. Naruto was dear to his heart, a son he never had but always wanted, so his comfort came first, even if it meant kicking a paying customer out of the stand in order to insure it. But the sight before him startled him more than he thought it would. "May I take your order, Hokage-sama?"

Hinata gasped and almost inhaled her noodles too quickly. The Hokage was here? Why?

"Hinata-chan," his kind, yet slightly raspy voice interrupted her, "would you mind if Naruto and I had a private chat?"

All inside of her screamed at her to not leave, but the speech at the Academy reminded her what would happen to her if she disobeyed. Strangely enough, some peculiar image appeared in her mind: a smaller version of herself with the words "Inner-personality" written on her forehead that was viscously kicking a stuffed doll with the name 'Sarutobi' crudely stitched onto its crest. But she paid the mental image no mind; instead she bolted from her stool, bowed honorably to the Hokage and made her way out of the stand while sending backwards glances to the stiffed Naruto.

"Hinata-chan," Hinata froze in mid-stride as Naruto's voice called out to her, "if you are ever in the mood for some ramen…and if you want some company…don't hesitate to ask…" Hinata's heart nearly burst. He had asked her to ask him on a lunch date! "Also…thanks for earlier…" Suddenly all of the day's events caught up with her: holding Naruto's hand, stroking Naruto's back as he wept, holding Naruto, and finally having a late lunch with Naruto.

"Don't pass out, don't pass out, DON'T PASS OUT!" she repeated in her mind over and over again, as the strange "Inner-personality" fell to her minds floor with an overly large grin on its face.

Slowly, he turned his head to glance at her one last time and smile, "I'd really appreciate it."

With a squeaked "Ok" she ran to her home still marveling at the kind smile he gave her. It was the first one of its kind she had ever seen, and she made a goal right then and there to see more of its kind in the future. She continued to her home, only to pass out once she passed the front gate, a proud smile of victory on her face similar to the chibi version in her mind.

Naruto continued to eat his ramen slowly, savoring the taste of ash in his mouth. Without Hinata in the stand, the stand felt a little bit colder and the world seemed much too close for comfort. Beside him, Sarutobi slurped up his noodles, sending side glances his way ever so often, but he paid the old man no mind and continued on his one bowl. He just wanted the day to end and tomorrow to begin.

"Everything that once belonged to Iruka has passed to you," the Hokage began. "His apartment and everything in it."

Naruto made no indication that he heard the old man and continued to swirl his Ramen with his chopsticks, taking a small bite occasionally.

"So," Sarutobi tried again to start up a conversation with the depressed boy, "I'd like to apologize for what happened, Iruka was a good man and a fine soldier, he deserved much better…"

"Better than a last ditch technique from a dying traitor?" Naruto's rebuttal was quick and harsh.

Sarutobi grimaced at the jab. He had not meant for Naruto to find out about his white lie until he told him about it himself. How could he tell the newly elected Genin the truth when the truth would all but justify what their parents had been feeding them from such an early age? The carnage, the mayhem, the atrocity that was the battlefield that Naruto had created as well as the remnants of the corpse of Mizuki, if the children knew what had truly taken place, they would have called for the boys head, and if not them then their parents would have. Early that morning he himself had learned the truth of what happened during the Mizuki incident, as it had become known as, and what he had heard made him, the Professor and God of Shinobi, pale and wither in fear.

The four ANBU told of how the one woman with the smirk that chilled their soul attacked first, firing her weapons and circling his body like a hungry shark; it seemed that her weapons were like those used in the puppets of Suna, only on a much stronger scale. Once the shots were fired the other girls joined in allowing Mizuki no time to comprehend. The paper manipulator twitching her fingers and sent her mighty golems to batter his wounded figure; the dark complexioned girl attacked his shaken defense, breaking his bones and tearing his tendons with her stone crushing blows; the snow woman slicing and dicing his limbs with her claws and cutting off his escape routes with erecting pillars of frozen water; and the girl with the scythes headed straight for his exposed torso due to the darker girls assault. After that the four ANBU lost track of the fight besides the screams of pain and the laughter of the strange barrel weapon user.

"Naruto you must understand-"

"Oh, I understand all right," Naruto interrupted before the elder Hokage could go about one of his sprees of 'The good of the people' and other related subjects. He stood suddenly and paid for this meal.

"Naruto won't you forgive me," the Hokage pleaded as Naruto turned to leave. That was what Sarutobi came to the stand for: forgiveness. No matter what happened to the young man, he always seemed to forgive, and knowing that he forgave helped Sarutobi sleep almost every night.

But the young blond stayed silent, continuing towards the street outside of Ichiraku's Ramen Bar. He had not forgiven him…

"Naruto where are you going," the Hokage asked fervently as he began to panic slightly. This boy before him would always forgive him, so why did he not forgive him now?

"I'm going to get answers from someone I can trust, someone whose always been with me, someone who appears to have my best intensions at heart," he answered as he patted his stomach, or to be more precise, the Seal that was burned into his stomach.

Sarutobi's eyes widened and he stumbled out of his stool and into the street as he followed the retreating blond. Surely this ball of energy and King of Pranking would not fall into the clutches of the vilest of all beings? "Naruto! You can't possibly mean…you wouldn't… Naruto!"

"Hokage-sama, please you're making a spectacle of yourself," it as true, people now stopped to watch the pleading Sarutobi, as he sat upon his knees, yelling at a mono-toned Naruto. But what was worse was that the blond referred to him as 'Hokage-sama' not as 'Jiji' as he always did.

"Naruto, please," his tone was desperate and needy, "haven't I been there for you? Haven't I always sat by your hospital bed and waited for you to wake up? Didn't I give you your first apartment? Surely I've been here for you when it matters? Please Naruto, please." Naruto stood stock-still. All was quiet save the whispering of the observers that watched the confrontation as it unfolded. Sarutobi hated to play the pity card, but in a situation such as this, he had no other choice.

With is back still facing the Hokage, Naruto spoke his voice low, "Been…there…

"Were you there on those lonely nights, as I cried myself to sleep?"

Stab.

Naruto was now facing the Hokage, his voice gradually growing in intensity, "Were you there as I was buried alive, or attacked by dogs?"

Stab.

He took slow steps towards the shocked Hokage with his head downcast, "Were you there when a drunken mob entered my 'apartment', dragged me out into the woods and burned me alive?"

Stab.

"Or the night when the drunken men came into my home and…and…" the sentence was not finished but the point got across.

Stab.

He now stood before the Hokage as he shook, all this news being heard for the first time; his shadow draped over his aged figure like a suffocating blanket. "Were you there when Iruka was killed before my eyes?!" his hands shot out and gripped the aged and crippled man by his collar, lifting him until he was mere inches from his face and blazing sapphire eyes, "You could have given the order! You could have ordered the ANBU in hiding to attack! You could have ADOPTED ME you BASTARD!" He was now screaming into the shaking mans face. For all his power, the once great 'Professor' was cowering before this boy, this child.

"Please Naruto," his voice was small as he pleaded into this face of the martyr before him, "please forgive, for they know not what they do… including I."

"'Know not'," Naruto's voice dropped considerably, become all but a whisper, "One day," he threw his crippled and shaking form onto the ground roughly, "One day…I will forgive…" he turned and left the broken man, just like how he was left. He strolled to the edge of the ring that had formed around their two bodies, his head held high, leaving the Hokage with a slight bit of his damned Hope. "But not today, not tomorrow, and not the next day…"

He strolled down the street, people stepped out of his way, and women hid their children from his fiery glaze. Once again, he felt the hands caress his face and the arms warm his shoulders hugging him with pride and joy. "Kyubi I wish to speak with you," his voice was quiet, but those that strained their hearing could have heard the request, and some did judging by the paled faces and the uncontrollable shaking.

The arms tightened around his body, holding him closely as if he were to float away, "Ok. Go to the deepest part of the forest and meditate." Her words were soft in his ear, and her breath sent shivers down his spine; shivers of what, he did not know.

"Very well, Kyubi."

"Please Naru-kun," her voice sang softly with his ear once again, and he couldn't help but relax into its quiet symphony, "call me Yoko."

"Yoko… sunshine, sunlight…crimson…" he grinned softly and he could feel Yoko smiling as well, "Very well…Yoko…"

XxXxX Deep within Naruto's mind, Atop the Hokage Monument XxXxX

The realm of his mind was cold, dark, and considerably damp. Water reached to his knees as he trudged through the tears to his destination, the Seal of Yoko. As he walked he past door after countless door, each with a different shape, size, and condition of disrepair. Some resembled doors of houses, while others resembled doors of an insane asylum. Some resembled a door to a child's room, clean, neat, and with small child like drawings on its surface; while another had thick black chains circling its frame and the sound of screaming echoing from inside.

But he paid these memories no mind, as he continued to trek to his goal. Finally it came into view, tall, sturdy and gargantuan. It reached up as far as the eye could see and it reached across for nearly one hundred meters. As he grew closer, the cage began to shrink until it was no more than three meters high and two meters across, its depth unknown. But, like the doors to memories, Naruto paid this no mind. Instead he walked casually through the bars and into the depths of the dark cage, searching for the one person who would, hopefully, give him a straight and truthful answer to all the questions that paraded and stampeded through his mind.

And there she sat; the sea of tears up to her chest, knees drawn up, and her back was facing him. Her orange hair fell on either side of head like two setting suns. She wore a red tank top and a red pair of sweatpants like when he entered his mind during the 'Mizuki Incident'. She made no notice of him as he sat down behind her and rested his back on hers.

They sat there in silence for many minutes; just enjoying the warmth the others back gave off. Longer they sat until Yoko spoke, "So, Naru-kun…what is it you would like to know?" her voice was calm and quiet, waiting for his response.

He head was downcast, thinking of what he wanted to know, thinking of what questions he wanted answered. There so many, so very many questions that he wanted answers to. "Every thing," he spoke with no stutter and with no hesitation, "I want to know everything: everything about you, this watch," he lifted the thick bracelet so he could see it in fine detail, "my life, my family…everything."

Yoko stayed silent for several seconds, mulling over what he had just requested. He wanted to know everything…was it right to tell him everything, to reveal that which should remained hidden. A smile formed on her lips like it always did nowadays, this boy, this boy turned man, always made her smile…just like he used to. But she had to be sure. "Once I tell you everything, there will be no going back…are you sure you want to know?"

His reply was quick and cracked like a whip, "Yes."

She smiled again before tilting her head back, resting it on his back, and began her tale, "Long before the concept of time, there was God. He ruled over all of creation and all of…well everything, and with him were his countless Angels who sang praises to him and glorified his name. Now there are many different classifications of Angels: Choir Angels, Archangels, Messenger Angels, Courier Angels, etc. I was the Captain of one of the most ruthless squadron of Archangels. Our squadron held neither name nor title, but we were revered as the strongest and most deadly Angels in existence…beside Gabriel, " Naruto could feel her shiver, "now that is someone you do NOT want to piss off."

Naruto could help but smile slightly, and Yoko felt joy in her heart for the old Naruto had not yet died, just slept. She soon continued on her tale this time her voice was dark and cold, "But there was one Angel that did not see things in the same light as our Lord God. Instead he led a rebellion with many of his subordinates to over throw our Lord and gain the power of God for himself." Her aura now screamed vengeance and cried out in rage, "I killed many of my close friends that day. But when the day ended God threw all that followed satan as well as satan himself into Hell…for all eternity.

"But satan was not pleased and swore his revenge. As Revelation fallen on the earth and as the Son of God came to take his chosen children back to Heaven to bask in ever lasting life, he made his move. The fallen Angel, our once proud brethren reversed time and started the world over again but he added strange things to the people that inhabited this world. And every time Revelation came upon the world, satan would reverse time and start the world anew, claiming more and more of Gods children.

"But God knew how to combat the devil. In the land where corrupt souls devoured the souls of both the live as well as the dead, God sent kindhearted Soul Reapers to combat this evil. In the time of demons, he sent a half-breed that understood loneliness to defeat a vile spider. In the world where Alchemy ruled and human lives were sacrificed in order to gain immortality, God sent two brothers that understood the strange art to fight the demons and vile creations of that world. Each time satan tried to gain the upper hand, God would send a greater Hero to defeat the Villain of that land.

"But each world was becoming more and more difficult to defend, so God created that," she, her back still turned, pointed at the strange watch that had grafted itself onto the young blonds wrist. "Inside of that small watch, that Omnitrix, are the souls of countless Heroes and Heroines. Its soul purpose is to defeat the evils of this land." Yoko chuckled softly, cutely, "ironically, my Lord got the idea from a world were the Omnitrix first existed, but within it were held Aliens instead of Heroic Souls."

Naruto spun around eyes wide, his child like nature once again shining brightly, "No way, Aliens?!"

Yoko also spun around and nodded vigorously, grinning with joy in her head that Naruto was still Naruto, childlike and boisterous, "Yes way. One had diamonds for a head," she made a strange gesture with her hands as she explained each of the peculiar beings traits and features.

But as the explanation progressed, Naruto's demeanor went back to that of depression and sorrow. Currently Yoko had her arm draped around Naruto's shoulders, her thumb caressing back and forth against his shirt. His eyes stayed straight forwards and his posture was once again stiffened. Even though the time of happiness had only lasted a short time she still knew that Naruto was Naruto. With an unseen signal she once again continued on her story of her life.

"This world is the most recent restart, as well as the maiden voyage of this Omnitrix, so in order for God to insure the proper use of the Omnitrix, he placed a challenge within it so only the purest of hearts and the noblest of man, or women, could wield its power.

"Also when the world was new, God called my squadron before his throne and gave us a new assignment. "You are to go to earth and guard it from the demons and monsters that may threaten my children" his voice commanded so we did as we were told. We changed our shape and appearance and headed down into the world as guardians. We were later named the 'Biju', the tailed beasts, by the humans that saw us roam the land." Her façade darkened slightly as she continued to explain her life, "Naturally, humans fear what they do not understand, and so my brethren were labeled Demons and monster because of our size and shape.

"Since no real demons could be found and since the humans were as near to an infantile state of both technology as well as understanding, my brethren and I slept. We would awake every few decades and roam around to see how the world was changing, but we soon found out that we were not just sent to protect the humans that inhabited this planet," she sighed wistfully and Naruto couldn't help but look at her beautiful face as she smiled off into the distance as she recalled past events.

"Another reason why God sent us to earth was, out of all the Angels that were under his command, my brethren and I were the most…immature of all. We had no concept of any other emotion besides honoring our Lord and rage. We were fighters," she shrugged her shoulders, "we didn't see any need for emotions other than wrath. So in other words, our Lord sent us nine Archangels to learn to understand: happiness, love, joy, sorrow, anger, loneliness, loss, and many other things that come naturally to both humans as well as Angels.

"One day strange men entered my keep, though, while I was sleeping. I awoke to find them kneeling before me and I asked why they kneeled. They answered me by calling me a God and asking if the could plant a village in my territory…the Hidden Leaf Village," Naruto gasped slightly and Yoko nodded. "As you may have guessed these men were the Shodai, Nidaime, and Uchiha Madara, founder of the Uchiha clan. Naturally, I corrected them and told them I was not a God, just an emissary from him, but I gave my blessing to create this Village with the promise that they would bring any of their future leaders to see me so I could judge their character and see if they were worthy to lead.

"And soon another entered my keep, it was Senju Tobirama, your Nidaime. He foretold of his brothers death and told me that he was to be Hokage. I gave him my blessing and he went off on his way to rule his Shinobi. Again years past and soon the Nidaime came to me again, but this time he brought another with him. This man smelled of monkeys and proclaimed that his name was Sarutobi Sasuke, and said that he was going to take over from Senju the title of Hokage. I judged him and found him worthy, so I gave him my blessing and sent him on his way. By now though my visage had changed from the emissary to that of a Demon because of the passage of time."

She stopped in her story telling as she came to the point were the story could become harmful to her young love. She turned to him, his face still unemotional and their eyes met, brilliant blue meeting warm ruby. "This next part holds some things that may be hurtful to you…do you still-"

"Continue," his was so crisp and clear, it was almost hurtful, "please…Yoko continue."

She smile her sweet smile at him and continued, "Years past again and it came for my periodical patrol, by this time I come to the understanding of the emotions that humans felt, even though I had yet to feel most of them. I had decided to change into my human form to scout the area and as I did I found a crying child."

Her hand moved to stroke his hair, raking her nails soothingly against his scalp. One thing that Naruto had never told anyone was that if there was anywhere he loved to he scratched and stroked was either on the top of his head, preferably his scalp, and his back. If either were scratched and massaged his body went from relaxation to shut down, and he would become a puddle of quivering flesh in the palm of anyone who did such. She pressed her body against him, letting him feel her warmth and bask in her glow, her head resting on his shoulder. If Naruto had been capable of coherent thought he would have pushed her away or asked why she was acting so unusually.

Gently her voice trickled into his ear, and she whispered, "No matter what you may hear next, remember that I love you, Uzumaki Naruto. I. Love. You." Her voice quivered softly and her hold on his hair tightened slightly. Naruto, still star struck by the concept of someone actual loving him began to believe her, and he snuggled closer to her subconsciously; but before Naruto could question her extraordinary announcement she continued with her story.

"The boy had golden hair and bright blue eyes. He had found himself lost in the forest an hour earlier and could not find his way out, hence his weeping. So I approached him and asked for his name. He told me his name was Namikaze Minato." Seeing how Naruto did not react to the name, Yoko knew she was in the clear for a while. "I helped him back to his home and left back to my patrol. Days later while I slept, the boy found me and roused me to talk to me and to play. I found out that he was an orphan and soon my heart began to move to him without his knowing."

Tears began to caress her cheeks yet she persevered, "Years past and he continued to come and visit me. I soon found myself falling in love with Minato, yet he still did not know. Finally one day Sarutobi came to see me about his successor, and low and behold," she chuckled bitterly, "it was the one man that I fell in love with, Namikaze Minato the Yondaime Hokage." Her tears were flowing freely.

"Your father…"

Naruto's world shook and quaked. His father was the Yondaime and no one had told him? His mind began to whirl as Yoko continued her tale, "He continued to visit me, but soon he brought stories of your mother, Kushina, and how much he had fallen for her. Then," she choked back a sob, "he told me how he was to be married soon and soon after that how Kushina was pregnant. I was so angry!" she was shaking now and she let go of Naruto stand taking several paces away from a thunderstruck Naruto, "I was so angry that he could abandon me like that! I was so angry! So I…I…"

"You attacked Konoha out of jealousy…didn't you?'

"Yes…" Yoko whispered as she wept her back to the now equally shaking Naruto.

"So…is that what I am…" his voice was cold and the water by his feet as he began to stand froze and soon shattered, "Have I become a stand in for the man you couldn't love!?" he screamed and soon shards of ice rocketed towards her person as Naruto exercised his control over his mindscape.

Yoko feared that this would happen and happened it did. He believed that she was using him to get back at his now dead father. At first, when the Seal was new and her bitterness was fresh, the thought crossed her mind. But as years went by and she saw more and more of the persecution that was directed to him and the more she saw him persevere, the more she fell in love with him. It started small but as the beatings grew worse and his resolve held strong, she fell more in love with him than she every thought she could, seventy times seventy times more than she was with Minato. For her love for Minato was more of a crush she realized early on in her sealing.

She quickly dodged the incoming ice shards, and, as quickly as she could, made her towards the distraught Naruto. "NO! You're not some stand in! You're the real deal I prom-"

"Lies! All LIES!!" waves of whipping water and sharpened ice careened towards the orange haired woman. The day's events were finally catching up to him as his mind went into overload, everything was happening to quickly and Naruto was at his ropes end. His ability to think clearly was almost non-existent.

Yoko ducked under the water whips with surprising ease and evaded the spears of ice effortlessly. Because of his delusions, his attacks had barely ten percent the effectiveness it would have if he could think clearly. In a flash she was upon him pinning his arms to his sides with a powerful hug that contained all of her feelings for him. His eyes had begun to glow with an unholy ruby light and his whisker marks had begun to bleed, his fangs were elongated and his hair was standing on end; he was truly falling apart.

They now stood in the center of the hurricane that the sea of tears had become. She had to think quickly, otherwise Naruto could loose himself to his sorrow, hatred, and misery and only one option presented itself. She moved her lips to his ear even as the winds of misery sliced her limbs and the fires of hate burned her flesh and whispered, "I'll show you that I love you by giving you something I never gave Minato."

Pulling back slightly, she looked into his burning eyes as tears poured down his face, mixing with the blood from his whisker like scars. She gently moved her lips closer to his and soon his screams of sorrow were muffled by her kiss, and once her lips caressed his, translucent wings of crimson energy burst forth from her back, marking her his and only his. (1) The waves surged even more and the winds howled louder then ever before, whipping the air as well as Yoko's body, trying to pry her off of their young Commander. But soon the raging elements calmed and finally died down as Naruto's screams ceased. His arms twitched and finally his hands pressed their palms against her shoulder blades, bringing her closer to him and deepening the kiss. Yoko let her tears fall as well once Naruto began to embrace her.

The kiss was nothing extravagant, the pressing of ones lips against another at best. But to one such as Naruto who had never known the feeling of love or of being cared for, this sensation was the closest thing to Heaven he had ever come across. The lips softness dulled the pain that had been raking his body since the news of his failed exam reached his ears. The gentle caress of her nose against his cheek as she titled her head caused him to weep.

She really loved him…didn't she?

"Yes," she murmured, as she pulled away only to embrace him fiercer then ever before.

Just then the world came tumbling down.

As she held him, he wept like he had never wept before. He wept for Iruka, for the hateful, yet true, words that he screamed at the Hokage. He wept for the stupidity of man and he wept for Mizuki. He wept for every soul that was lost during Yoko's rampage, he wept for the Angels that had died fighting their corrupt brothers and sisters, and he wept for Yoko. He wept for the pain she felt when she realized the man she loved did not love her and for the death of her friends. Minutes turned into hours, and soon hours turned into days, but he never stopped weeping.

Yoko soon joined in once Naruto began to weep. She wept for the hatred that he did not deserve and of the stupidity of man as well. She wept for Iruka's death for he should not have died in such a cruel way. But most of all, she wept tears of joy for Naruto: finally he would feel love from not only her, but from anyone that was willing to give him love.

They still held one another as the sat on the floor. Because of the days spent weeping within the mindscape, the sea of tears had disappeared entirely leaving only cold cement in its stead. Naruto sat in Yoko's lap, seeing as she was slightly taller than he was, as she stroked his hair and hummed quietly. Naruto instantly recognized the tune from his days of crying himself to sleep, and looked up into Yoko's ruby eyes.

Yoko smiled and answered the unanswered question, "It's called 'Silent Night'; I used to sing it to you as you slept. Along with playing the piano, singing is one of the only things I found I truly enjoyed when I began to learn on earth."

He continued to look but at her and asked, "How long have you been… 'affecting' me…?"

"Besides singing to you I've done nothing…" Yoko looked at him and smiled slyly. Cleverness and slyness were two of her favorite emotions, probably since her form was modeled after that of the fox. "But…when you first…" she made a crude motion with her hand, the vigorous moving up and down of her closed fist, "I was surprised you used me in my human form as a basis…"

All Naruto cold do was spit and sputter as Yoko laughed uproariously. Naruto did not join in but he did smile at her antics. Soon his smile turned into a sad grimace, "Yoko," his asked, causing her to stop laughing, "will the ache every go away?'

Yoko looked down at him sadly and marveled at how young and small he looked sometimes. "No, the ache will never cease, it will dull… but never cease…"

He nodded sadly and continued to sit on her lap as she now stroked and rubbed his back. "How can I trust you, what you've told me?" he asked suddenly. Yoko could see that this question had been eating away at him for some time now. "Demon's are known to lie… so how I can I know what you told me, you being an Archangel and your…love," his eye began to roll wildly in his sockets like those of a frightened horses and his breathing became sporadic.

She kissed him again to calm his nerves, and calm them they did. His breathing slowed and his eyelids drifted shut. Pulling away, much to Naruto's dismay, Yoko pulled the strap to her tank top until the upper part of her breast was visible, the flesh right over her beating heart. This action caused Naruto, the great creator of the 'Ninja Centerfold', to blush fiercely but as she drew her right index nail across her flesh, creating a thin but deep cut in the form of an 'X', he gasped.

"I promise that everything I told you tonight was truthful. Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye." She held a smile on her face as she finished the childish chant, but Naruto some how knew how important this action was as a thin sliver of blood continued to trickle out of the cross shaped wound.

Something took over just then, an instinct thought long past. With agonizing slowness, Naruto tilted his head until his lips were directly over the cut. His lips quivered as they parted and his tongue drifted closer to her flesh, to where the blood oozed forth. A gasped came from Yoko as his ruff tongue drug itself across her ivory flesh and lapped up the coppery liquid. His tongue flicked over the soon to be scar and he sucked the 'X', making sure no infections would enter the wound.

"As much as I love doing this, we have more pressing matters." Naruto looked up at her and she motioned for him to vacate her lap. He looked where he was as his eyes lost their glazed tint and all but shot out of her lap. She soon to join him, looking equally flustered but dealing with the embarrassment much better then he was.

Snapping her fingers in front of his face to gain his attention, she spoke again, "Remember when I told you a challenge was programmed into the Omnitrix?" He nodded, not liking where this was going. "Well like it or not, you have to take it…now."

With that she snapped her fingers again and nine shadows appeared in the darkness of the cage. "These men are your starter ten, your first ten Fists that I will grant you access to." But before Naruto could point out that there was only nine, Yoko began to introduce them.

"The First Fist, you have already met, Inuyasha!" The half-breed dog demon stepped forward into the light and Naruto nodded in his direction.

"The second Fist is named Edward Elric." A long, blond haired teen stepped forward; he was no more than Naruto's height but is eyes burned with a fire that he had never seen before in some one his age. He wore a red trench coat that reached to his ankles; a black pair of form fitting pants pants, matching black leather boots, and white leather gloves.

"The third Fist is Kurosaki Ichigo." Another teen stepped forward except that his hair was similar to Naruto's only a light shade of orange and cold eyes; eyes that had seen much lose and felt much loneliness. He wore a black shihakusho and had what appeared to be a large zanbato sheathed on his back that was as long as he was tall.

"Fourth Fist, Kenshin Himura," A red-haired man stepped forward wear traditional Japanese clothes. His cross-shaped scar on his left cheek was a bright pink color, as if the scar was recent even though it was almost a decade old. He held a sword at his side that demanded recognition.

"Fifth Fist, Vash the Stampede." This man also had blond hair. It shot straight up like the end of a broom and on his face he held a pleasant smile. He wore a large red trench coat that reached down to his boots and that clasped in the front. At his side he held a barrel weapon, like the crazy brunette wielded the night Mizuki was killed.

"Sixth Fist, Itsuki "Ikki" Minami." Yet another teen, this man was dressed casually in jeans, t-shirt, and coat but also wore strange shoes on his feet, similar to roller blades. His hair reminded Naruto of the feathers of a bird and his face was one of merriment and arrogance.

"Seventh Fist, Monkey D. Luffy." This man was dressed in cut off jeans and a sleeveless button up plaid shirt. On his feet were scandals and on his head was a straw hat. A crescent shaped scar was worn directly underneath his left eye and his eyes also held a light of arrogance but also a light of power that was unmatched.

"Eighth Fist, Negi Springfield." This boy was by far the youngest, topping out at the age of ten. He wore a cloak that also had a hood and casual clothes. He also had a staff in one hand and small circular glasses on the bridge of his nose. Even though his posture was one of inexperience, something about him told Naruto he could hold his own in any fight.

"And Ninth Fist, Alucard." The final man screamed power. His aura was as dark as his hair and his smile sent shivers down his spine like nothing he had felt before. He wore mostly red, with a wide brimmed hat, trench coat, and sunglasses. His clothes, as well as his posture, and the way that held himself, reminded Naruto of a noble man.

"No offence Yoko," Naruto said as he interrupted her, his curiosity getting the better of him, "but you said that I had a starter ten. This is only nine."

Yoko smiled, "Very good. Yes this is only nine but the tenth cannot partake in this challenge because…well…" she snapped her fingers once again and a large, large, LARGE Angel shaped behemoth stood behind her.

Its wings were folded behind it and upon its head was a helm like that of a samurai's. Its armor ranged in color and it stood almost six stories. "Tenth Fist, Wing Zero." She turned to a gaping Naruto and giggled softly, "You know what…you're cute when you're flabbergasted…" Naruto had the decency to blush, still not used to this kind of attention.

Suddenly Yoko grew serious and all of the nine Heroes tensed, "Uzumaki Naruto your challenge is to battle all of these Heroes at once and defeat them all. You have no time limit. All you have to do is…stay alive…" her voice was quiet as she leapt up and onto the shoulder of the towering Wing Zero.

Once she landed on its shoulder she smiled at the serious expression on the young blonds face as three of the Heroes, Ikki, Luffy, and Negi, began the assault. She had no doubt in her mind that her Mate would fail as she watched him blocked Negi's fist only to receive another from Ikki in the ribs. She gently began to stroke her chin as a thought came to her, 'Maybe she should have mentioned that Naruto and her were now Mates…' She shrugged her shoulders, 'Oh well he was going to find out sooner or later…maybe tomorrow.'

XxXxX Back on the Battle Field XxXxX

Once Yoko had left the battle field the man named Alucard swept his hand in Naruto's direction and spoke in a voice that was more suited for the grave, "First wave, attack."

With that command the Heroes named Ikki, Negi, and Luffy bolted towards Naruto as he entered a flawed fighting stance. Right away Naruto realized that these men were experts in the art of hand-to-hand combat and that Ikki specialized in speed. Those skates granting him speeds that Naruto had though impossible. He zipped about, sending punches and kicks at his weak defense at mind numbing speeds, but Naruto had to remember that he was not his only problem as the moment.

The boy, Negi, was also well versed in the art of hand-to-hand combat, but he was as sloppy as Naruto was; his punches holding not much 'umph' to them, and his speed was mediocre at best.

From his left came the before mentioned boy and Naruto caught his fist with ease but Ikki's fist struck him hard in the ribs, cracking one of them. Before Naruto could recover, Luffy, the straw-hat wearer, appeared above him and sent a crushing fist into his face, causing his body to crash into the floor with cement cracking force.

"Luffy, second King of the Pirates. Ikki, King of the Strom Road. And Negi, son of the 'Thousands Master'. Each has been given a title, and each has the power to hold it." Alucard spoke as he sat on a chair that was erected from the shadows.

Naruto twisted his torso and spun his legs, temporarily making himself a living whirlwind. He swiftly kicked all three of the fighters off of himself and flipped to his feet. He once again fell into his stance but he could not stop himself from shaking, he could hardly hold his own against three of these Heroes and he still had six more to fight.

He watched as Ikki and Negi bolted to the left and right respectively, leaving Luffy directly in front of him. Luffy smiled childishly, causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow, and gripped his upper arm in a peculiar way. The stance that Luffy had placed himself in made it appear that he was flexing his right arm, but what happen next sent Naruto for a loop, literally.

"Gum Gum Pistol," like that his arm shot forward and struck Naruto, sending him more then ten meters back wards, when Naruto was a good twenty meters away. His fist felt like steel and now Naruto's jaw felt like dust.

Naruto had to twist his body sideways to avoid a punch sent to him by Ikki, and using his momentum, kicked Negi in the head with a downwards ax-kick. Both fighters vacated Naruto's space in seconds, giving the blond a few moments to breath.

"Second wave, attack."

The first wave fell back and the second wave, consisting of Ichigo, Kenshin, and Inuyasha, rushed towards the panting winded Naruto. Each, including Inuyasha, drew a sword in mid stride and swung them as one.

If Naruto had not had good flexibility due to his botched training as a Ninja, he would have surely been cut into thirds. He quickly backtracked, putting some much needed distance between himself and the swordsmen, and his eyes scanned them with the utmost thoroughness.

Before in the hand-to-hand fight, his eyes ranged the men as mid-Chunnin ranked, something he was familiar with, and now these men were dropped into the same category. But what he found odd amongst the three swordsmen was that Kenshin held a sword with no sharpened edge and Inuyasha wielded a large zanbato.

Before he could make any more observations, Kenshin rushed forward, his small sword a blur of motion. Naruto instant backpedaled, wishing that he had changed out of his clothes of mourning and into his usual attire that had with it his Ninja tools. Kenshin brought his sword high as he jumped towards Naruto, his eyes hard, and brought his sword arching down. Again, Naruto dearly wished he had his Ninja tools as he thrust his hands towards the oncoming blade in hopes of catching it, but his wish was surprisingly granted as a Kunai knife materialized in the palm of his hand.

Steel granted against steel, sparks bounced about like fireflies, and their faces were no more than inches from one another. One held a grimace while the other grinned at his slight victory. It appeared that Naruto wasn't defenseless. Quickly, Naruto's two other zanbato wielding opponents appeared on either side of him, swords raised high over their heads. Naruto had to think fast otherwise he was going to be cut in two.

Pushing Kenshin back, he summoned another Kunai and blocked both falling blows to the best of his ability. His knees buckled under the weight and the force of the two blades, caused his muscles creaked and groan. The force that was applied threatened Naruto's bones to break and shatter because of the pressure. His eyes were shut do to the strain, but he opened them quickly when he sensed a fluctuation in the air. Kenshin was currently planning on skewering him on the tip of his reverse-blade sword.

With renewed strength, Naruto pushed the two zanbato's away from his person and kicked the incoming sword out of Kenshin's hands. With a barking war cry, Naruto tightened his grip on the hilt of his Kunai and struck Kenshin in the face, directly in the center, breaking Kenshin's nose and showering the ground with blood. Kenshin reeled backwards with a cry of pain, but retrieved his sword and regrouped his fellow swordsmen while cradling his bloodied nose.

"Ichigo, substitute Soul Reaper. Kenshin, the once great Hitokiri Battosai. And Inuyasha, the…well," Alucard, the self proclaimed spokesmen of the ten Heroes chuckled from his throne, his chin resting on the top of his closed fist, "you've already met…haven't you?"

Naruto looked at the last three people left for him to battle against as Alucard called back the second wave. It consisted of Alucard, Edward, and Vash, two of which that were a complete mystery to Naruto. Alucard was one of the mysteries as his aura screamed death and his power level was something that Naruto had never thought plausible.

The other mystery was Edward. Nothing about his dress or posture hinted on any of his abilities. At first Naruto thought that the teen may have been one that specialized in hand-to-hand combat, but when he did not with the other Taijutsu users, his entire person became a mystery.

And seeing as Vash had that strange barrel weapon strapped to his waist, his specialty was easy to spot: long ranged fighting.

Movement caused Naruto to end his inner musing and drop back into his stance, Kunai in both hands. Alucard began stroll in his direction and the bloodlust that he was exuding was causing Naruto to both take steady steps backwards as well as making his breathing difficult to achieve. From what Naruto could judge, this beast before him held the most power, at the moment, of all the Heroes.

His smile grew as he took off his sunglasses and large rimmed hat and threw them aside, "Alucard, once the famed Vlad the Impaler." His voice held a morbid sense of glee to it was he both continued forward with his reaper like steps and his introductions, "Vash, the Humanoid Typhoon. And Edward, the Fullmetal Alchemist.

"Third wave, attack!"

Naruto jumped back only to have a bullet tear through his shoulder, thanks to Alucard. So that was his weapon of choice, the strange barrel weapon? Vash unsheathed his weapon and began firing at the dodging and scurrying Naruto, blasting holes in the floor, walls, and occasionally Naruto.

Naruto was running for his life, quite literally. These men were monsters, and yet he knew nothing of the one that was standing still; this did not bode well with the blond Ninja. Suddenly, Edward clapped his hands together and then placed them on the ground. Lightening thrashed about were his hands made contact with the cement floor, and the floor began to twist and churn, morphing into some kind of monstrosity.

The earth bulged and from it was born an enormous cannon, spanning nearly five meters in the air, with Edward standing atop it. His hands twitched from their perch on the top of the cannon and the barrel glowed with an intense light before spewing forth a ball of stone a meter and a half in circumference at a break neck speed. Naruto narrowly dodged and as the cannon-ball struck where he once stood, and once the cannonball struck the ground a large cater was formed, causing the earth to quake.

The gunfire from the two still gunmen resumed, and Naruto was once again the target, not having anytime to marvel at the destructive power of the alchemy powered cannon. Weaving left, right and center, Naruto became a ferret, dodging each of the bullets with slippery ease and taking as little damage as possible.

But he knew he could not hold out for much longer.

A snapping of fingers and all firing was ceased, the cannon melting back into the ground and the pistols held pointing towards the sky in a stand by motion. Alucard's chuckling drifted through the air, and as the Heroes congregated around his shaking form, his chucking erupted into laughter that signaled the death of humanity.

"Oh, yes! Now this will be a truly spectacular battle indeed!" and with that Alucard led the assault upon Naruto with every Hero following not far behind.

Naruto began to shake as the Heroes began their charge; each one was out for blood and only his blood would satisfy their palates. Each sword was raised and each pistol was cocked, each fist was clenched and each resolve was set. Each and every one of the Heroes was going to have a part in his death. He was truly afraid, and the only thing he could think of was to run, run and hide under the first rock he found, never to see the light of day again. He turned to run, and he ran for all his worth, Alucard laughing at his futile attempt at freedom ringing in his ears like funeral chimes.

The world began to slow as he ran, taking hits from the bullets and other attacks. He once again felt the arms of his love circle his shoulders and she questioned her breath hot on his ear, "Why do you run?"

"I can't beat them," he answered, as much as it pained him to do so, "I can't beat them!"

"And so you run?" her voice sounded like a scolding mother as another punch from the rubber man landed, cracking his left shoulder blade. "Is that how it will be? When you come upon an enemy that seems unbeatable, you will run and hide, only to die when your enemy finds you?" her voice was slowly growing in intensity and Naruto couldn't help but be ashamed.

"But they have powers that I can never contend with," he tried to reason as another bullet tore at his leg.

"Of course you can, my dear," her song was soothing once again.

The swordsmen had caught up to him and were now sending slice, after carve, after slash towards him, "NO I can't!"

Yoko looked down sadly from her perch, as Naruto tried his best to dodge and parry each of his enemy's assaults. In all honesty, all the Heroes that attacked him at this time had the same amount of power that Naruto had, they were all on par with one another. One thing that his father and mother had left him was a Chakra store that dwarfed that of any Jounin and some Kage, so Naruto was even more powerful than his enemy's if he knew how to channel it correctly.

"Just remember, my Love," she whispered, "if you die…I die…" with that said her presence left him to his own horror stricken thoughts.

Just like that, the gravity of the situation was relevant. He had once again escaped from his foes, but now he stood stock-still. If he died…the women he had currently fallen in love with…would die as well… This could not be? But then again, his father was revered as one of the most powerful Shinobi of all time as well as one of the smartest, so having their souls bond in such a way did not come as a surprise. A nasty and terrifying concept, it was nonetheless.

Luffy suddenly appeared at his right and Ichigo appeared at his left, both intending on ending this battle once and for all. In a flash, Naruto had caught both of his enemy's arms and pulled harshly, forcing the two men to collide, their skulls cracking together and sending their owners to a brief realm of unconsciousness. After their heads made contact, he spun and threw the two dazed teens at the oncoming battalion, knocking them over like bowling pins.

XxXxX Up With Yoko XxXxX

Yoko smiled at the display of her love, giggled almost. That was one piece of information she had forgot to mention to her love, and every Hero needed a driving force, so she found now as good a time as any to relay this crucial piece of knowledge.

"You know you were not to interfere in any way," spoke a voice behind her.

Still smiling she tilted her head to look upon the teen that strode up beside her. He had a slight build and shaggy brown hair, his emotions were a complete unreadable, and many of the people that knew him thought that they never existed. The green undershirt that he wore hung off his frame and his shorts clung to him. "I have yet to interfere, Heero Yuy…" she stated a smile still on her face as the air within the mindscape began to churn and swirl, "I have yet to enter the battle field in order to interfere…"

It was true, she did not enter the battlefield…but still…"Smart ass…"

XxXxX Back on the Battle Field XxXxX

A light aura surrounded the once frightened Naruto, lighting his frame and giving him an air that would force animals to run from his presence and birds to fall from the sky. Most of the Heroes grew weary of this new condition and looked from one to another to see what their take was on it. He slowly turned and began walking towards them, his gait like that of an approaching predator.

Without warning, Naruto rushed his one time tormentors, his head low and his arms spread far behind him like wings of a great hawk. With none of the Heroes expecting such a move to come from the frightened boy, they were caught off guard as he bowled into their ranks. Once he had infiltrated their midst's, he became what he was named after, a mighty maelstrom of crushing fists and bone rattling kicks.

He quickly dove within Negi's defenses and delivered a punch that cracked one of his left ribs, tossing him into the assaulting Ikki as he rushed in to deliver a strike of his own. Naruto quickly ducked under a horizontal slash from the dog-demons butcher knife and spun quickly, becoming the powerful maelstrom again, to take Inuyasha's feet out from under his muscular form. His body then became a cartwheel of agonizing pain as he spun his body as he jumped up and onto Inuyasha's prone chest, feeling one of Inuyasha's ribs crack horribly, while dodging both gun shots from Vash as well as Edward's transformed right arm, seeing as it was a metal replica of his original arm, turned sharp blade.

As all this mayhem was taking place Naruto noticed the pipe that lined the ceiling and walls, his nature reverting back into that of the Ninja he had trained himself into. He could sense an aura of…something from them and, as Naruto dodged Kenshin's sword and soon blocked the incoming sheathe with one of the Kunais he summoned, Naruto could only guess what was being pumped through those steel cylinders. He smirked for his guesses were usually correct.

Alucard was watching the entire display of carnage with a horrendous and enormous grin of insanity. The screams and roars of defiance of rage from both the boy in question and the men he fought against, he truly missed. This new vigor of attacking restarted his thirst for battle and blood, and as he watched Naruto narrowly dodge a bolt of lightening sent at him by the boy magician Negi, his hunger grew.

But what caused this newly found fighting spirit, Alucard mused. 'What has caused you to fight anew young boy?" he asked as he began to trek towards the battling mass

"If I die, she die's!" he screamed as he battered the men with all his might, "I cannot allow this!" And with that he either threw or blasted his opponents away from himself, gaining more than ten meters of distance between the two forces.

"So?" Alucard questioned, "What has this woman done that would cause yourself to act as this?"

Images of Yoko drawing her nail across her own flesh and her promise flittered before his eyes and whispered in his ears. The songs that she sang to him as nightmares harassed his body and mind, chirped within his ears. Without thinking twice, Naruto ran his Kunai across the back of his left hand and than again forming an 'X' of his own. He quickly did the same with the back of his other hand bringing the total of 'X's to two.

He than raised his hand and arms until they made a protective 'X' block in front of his upper torso and his scarred hands blocked his face, the backs of his hands on display to his foes, oozing forth blood. "She made me a promise…" his voice was quiet and almost non existent, blood dripping from his open wounds, down his arms and raining down upon the ground, "So I shall make my own…I shall, from this day forth, protect all of my friends,"

Images of a smiling pink-haired girl came into his mind; her emerald eyes shine with a blinding intensity like her sparkling teeth appeared in his mind, a large boy eating chips assaulted his ears, an onyx eyed teen shrugged his shoulders in his direction, and many, many more remembrances swam past his eyes and ears.

"My loved ones," A young raven-haired girl lay crying before an ice-shattered cottage, mourning for her parents. A feral looking lady sat staring at the full moon, trying to forget the harsh words from her mother, tears caressing her red tattoos. A crimson eyed Queen hugged a pillow close to her heart, wondering why she could not find a trust worthy man to love. Lavender eyed young woman smiled kindly, though her eyes did not hide her crushed soul and her weary heart. A purple haired woman sat at the edge of her bed, staring vacantly at the wall trying to feel emotions that lay dormant in her battle driven mind. A Carmel eyed woman rocked back in her bedroom corner weeping silently while men cursed her name from outside her home. A ruby eyed, orange haired Goddess held him tightly and chased away the ghouls of the night. A young brunette that always seemed able to understand him and listened to whatever he had to say. Image after image appeared in Naruto's mind, and his heart beat faster with each passing one.

"And my family," Iruka's now forever-sleeping visage caressed his senses. Sarutobi's smiling face and mirthful laughter tickled his memories.

"My life shall be the force to back up this declaration! No longer will a Black Parade play its mournful tune if I have anything to say about it! No matter who conducts the Parade or what they are capable of, I shall fight anyone that threatens my loved ones and family…Yoko has become both…"

The winds of the world that Naruto thrived in began to churn and swirl around his form, batting his clothes back and forth and forcing the Heroes to stand their distance. When he spoke his voice thundered throughout the land, "Luffy, second King of the Pirates. Ikki, King of the Storm Road. And Negi, son of the 'Thousands Master." Suddenly a pipe quivered and soon burst, angling its liquid content to pour onto the preaching blonde, dousing him in pure Charka.

"Ichigo, substitute Soul Reaper. Kenshin, the once great Hitokiri Battosai. And Inuyasha, son of the great Inu-Taisho." Two more pipes burst, dousing Naruto in even more of his Charka, and flooding his nose and his lungs with the azure life sustaining force.

"Alucard, once the famed Vlad the Impaler. Vash, the Humanoid Typhoon. And Edward, the Fullmetal Alchemist." A total of six more pipes burst, bring the grand total up to nine. Nine pathways of pure Charka now poured on Naruto's glowing frame. His quivering muscles and shaking legs foretold of the power that now coursed through his veins and soul, and soon his hands snapped into position, forming a cross before his breast.

"All of you have titles and the power to hold them, now hear my title and see my power."

Alucard barked his protest against the battering winds, "One does not gain a title just from declaring it, child!" his lips were pulled back in a sneer of anger, revealing long fangs and serrated teeth, "You gain it from the corpses that form you thrown and from the souls that speak of your conquests in Hell!"

More Charka began to light his form, bathing him in a fiery cerulean flame. His muscles twitched and his bones groaned do to the pressure of his Charka, "Then my throne shall be started with your corpses." A shock wave sent several of the Heroes careening to the ground as he shouted his title and sealed his victory. "Now shake in fear of my title:

"NARUTO, THE ONE!"

Clones sprouted in the tens, surrounding the Heroes and blocking all routes of escape.

"MANNED!"

Clones materialized in the hundreds, blanketing the cage of the once free Archangel, cracking their knuckles and grinning mischievously at their trapped prey.

"ARMY!!"

Clones erupted in the thousands, coating every nock and cranny, every floor, wall, and ceiling, and every dark corner of his mindscape.

"ATTACK!" Naruto screamed and as one the Clones attack, swamping the nine Heroes.

XxXxX

Yoko slowly strolled through the moaning and defeated Heroes, humming a soft tune to herself all the while. Some lay unconscious, while others lay batter and beaten, but all lay defeated. The Heroes had been overwhelmed in a matter of seconds and fell one by one, Alucard being the last to fall. She smiled at the look of satisfaction on his face as the Clones dog piled him, burying him under nearly a hundred Naruto's and claimed the blond teen the victor.

She was currently looking for said victor who lay somewhere within the carnage of the cage. She continued to hum as she stepped over the body of Vash, his left arm twisted at an odd angle only to reveal that it was a cybernetic appendage. Her humming abruptly ended as she came upon the beaten body of her Love.

There he lay; face down on the ground, his clothes in tatters and his limbs smoking. His body, even in its spectral form, could not handle that much pure Chakra so his body was feeling the backlash of such an action. His muscles would twitch every few seconds as she approached and his bones cracked as if the gravity on his person was intensified.

She gently knelt down and lifted his weary body onto her lap, stroking his hair and kissing his scared cheeks. He had made her so proud today, she felt like she was going to burst. She soon resumed her humming that was postponed and rocked his form back and forth, like a mother would to her sleeping child. Subconsciously he snuggled into her stomach by tilting his head. Her smile grew and her humming drifted into song, sweet and quiet.

Silent Night, Holy Night,

All is calm, all is bright,

'round yon virgin, mother and child,

She titled her head once again and kissed him on him on both his cheek as well as a portion of his forehead.

Holy infant so tender and mild,

Sleep in Heavenly peace,

Sleep in Heavenly peace.

"Yoko…I…love…" his voice was quiet and happy, silent and peaceful. "…you…"

XxXxX End XxXxX

(1): the idea of this is similar to the concept of 'Sekirei', were a man, or woman, would kiss a Sekirei and make them bond to their person. I find the neck biting to be used too often so I though I would try this idea.

Now I showed you a glimpse into the first ten Fists that I am giving Naruto, the way I chose these ten is that I looked at the main categories of Anime/manga:

Spiritual: Ichigo

Demonic: Inuyasha

Edward: Alchemic/Scientific

Kenshin: Swordsmanship

Vash: Gunmen/Western

Ikki: street fighter

Alucard: Vampire

Luffy: Pirate

Negi: Magician

Wing Zero: Mecha

I think these are the ten basic genres, but others may think differently.

Anyway please review and tell me what you think, but the threat from above still lingers because I had some guy named Aranami Gouka that called my other story 'Rumors of the Shadow Fox III' a trash story…this coming from a man that has written nothing…

Oh well, please review and tell me what you think

Don't forget to join Warper's new Church like I have!!

TTFN

Evilsheeplordthatsaysmoo