The Truth Be Told

Jutsu

Kyuubi

Kyuubi's Thoughts

Thoughts

Normal Monologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Numerous thoughts whirred through the Hokage's head, all of them leading to the same horrifying conclusion. True, someone had gotten to the blond shinobi before them, but the real question now was who, and why. Her amber eyes flicked over to meet her assistants black ones, and the look they shared told millions. They were both thinking the same thing.

"Naruto, tell me exactly what went on while you were away.", Tsunade demanded, leaning in to catch every word. Naruto eyed her skeptically. The look he had seen the two medics exchanged made a feeling of terror bubble in the pit of his stomach.

"I never actually left the Fire Country.", Naruto began slowly, not sure of himself. Tsunade gave him an abrupt nod, signaling him to go on. "I had already covered most of the old hideout areas in the southern-most part of the nation, and I was heading back to the village, unsure whether to move on to another country or to just give up and head back.", Naruto said, his tone becoming more confident as he went on.

"I quickly decided against the later, and directed my course towards Oto, 'cause I remembered their old fortress from three years back. I wasn't positive if they still used it, but I was determined to try. Then as I was nearing the Valley of the End, I just sorta…blacked out. After that, I just…woke up here.", Naruto explained, his expression turning to one of confusion towards the end.

"And you were absolutely sure you knew where you were? Could it have been another large valley?", Shizune asked.

"Shizune, I fought one of the greatest battles I've ever had in my life, and it was with my best friend, no, my brother. I'm sure that's where I was. Besides, all the holes were still there.", Naruto answered, looking a little crestfallen as he spoke. Tsunade nodded, taking in all the information she had just received.

"Then the question is what happened in-between the time from then and now?", Sakura wondered out loud, a thoughtful expression donning her face.

"Well, actually, there was this short period of time where I woke up, but yet I wasn't awake at all.", Naruto added, attempting to help the dilemma at hand. Sakura stared at the blond as if he was crazy, but Tsunade was instantly intrigued with this new batch of evidence.

"Explain.", she stated simply, folding her arms firmly across her chest. Naruto sighed, his brow furrowing in concentration.

"I was surrounded by dark, heavy waters. I wasn't drowning, but it wasn't helping anything either. I could see the top of the water only a few feet from my head, but my body wouldn't respond if I tried to move. My body ached like never before, and even when I blinked, it stung like hell. It felt like I was burning alive, as if I was on fire.", Naruto described, his eyes hardening, memories of the mysterious occurrence flooding back. Tsunade plugged all the details together, attempting to solve this baffling puzzle. Nothing was adding up, nothing was making sense…

"Shizune and I are going to need to run a few tests, so you cannot be discharged as of yet.", Tsunade declared, already springing into action. She pulled a syringe out of a nearby drawer and proceeded to draw a pint of blood from the shinobi's waiting arm. Handing it off to Shizune, she began to make marks on many hospital graphs. After a few minutes of watching her write down sequences of numbers and letters, she strode quickly out of the hospital room.

As soon as the door closed carefully behind her, Naruto remarked, "What the hell was that about?" Sakura could only shrug in return, unsure of her sensei's behavior. In all her years of training under the Sannin, she had only acted this way if there was an emergency, a problem of major importance…

Sakura strode over to the open window, staring thoughtfully at the bustling market below. It was that time of year again, the time of the festival that marked the celebration of the Kyubbi's sealing, and the mourning of the great hero that risked his life to save the people he cared about.

"Naruto, isn't you're birthday around now?", Sakura questioned, the memory of the occasion popping into her train of thoughts. Naruto's breath caught in his throat. He hated it when the pink-haired kunochi questioned him on his birthday, it brought her too close for comfort to a subject he'd rather avoid with her.

"Umm, I think so. Wow, I hadn't realized the date.", he answered carefully, trying desperately to give an answer that would end the topic. Sakura nodded.

"Funny how it's so close to the date of Kyuubi's sealing, isn't it?", she added. Naruto winced slightly, unnoticed by the girl on the right side of his bed.

"Yeah, what I coincidence.", the blond responded, working hard to keep his heart rate in check. He couldn't have its beat to spike, else the teenage girl notice.

"Maybe that's why the villagers look down on you. Born so close to one of the most horrible happenings to this village. But that's not you're fault, so it doesn't make it right.", Sakura said, her expression falling visibly as she recalled the actions the villagers did to the blond boy, all for some unknown reason. She had grown more and more curious over the years as to why the people in Konaha hated him so. Even her own mother resented her teammate and had attempted to pull her off his squad. What had the poor teen done to deserve that kind of treatment? The mere thought made her blood boil in anger.

"Hmm, possibly." Naruto said. Sakura sighed as she turned away from the window. She sat on the edge of the hospital bed and smiled meekly at the blond shinobi. But she quickly turned to stare at the gleaming white walls, averting the blonde's uneasy gaze.

"My father was killed in the Kyuubi attack.", Sakura admitted out of the blue, breaking the silence that surrounded them. Naruto's eyes widened in horror, but he quickly erased it in case the girl happened to glance in his direction.

"He was burned by a major fire-stream, the medics said. His entire body was covered in 3rd degree burns, and his arms completely disintegrated. He couldn't drag himself to help because of that. He died before any of his comrades could find him.", Sakura explained, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

"Sakura, please don't cry. I'm so sorry.", Naruto cried, scrambling to her side, wincing in pain as the burning sensation shot through his body again because of the sudden movement.

"D-don't apologize. I-i-it's not like it's your fault. You aren't the Kyubbi.", Sakura sobbed, her voice shaking while she tried to conceal the tears threatening to fall. Naruto flinched at the last comment. Oh god, I killed her father. Dammit!

"N-Naruto? A-are you ok?", Sakura stuttered, the tears gone now, replaced by concern. Naruto hadn't noticed that he had started to shake, with rage or despair he wasn't sure; and tears had crawled down his cheeks.

"I'm fine. Are you ok?", he responded, now directing the question back at the pink-haired girl. She nodded weakly before shooting him a small smile.

"Thanks. I just…I can't talk about it around my mom, she just bursts out crying, and that doesn't help anything. And since Ino's mom was also slaughtered I the Kyuubi attack, I can't talk to her, she'll just have a hard time about it too. I…I had no one else to turn to.", Sakura whispered in apologue. Naruto nodded.

"It's fine. If you ever need anything, always know I'll be there. I promised to never leave you alone.", Naruto replied in reassurance, throwing in one of his infamous foxy grins. The tense and pained look on Sakura's face lifted, and she nodded abruptly, the sparkle in her eyes returning. Naruto inwardly let out a sigh of relief, glad the danger of a melt down was past. The sound of a door sliding open turned their attention, and both teens glanced around to see Tsunade watching them, a smile growing on her face.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything.", she snickered, her teasing grin spreading wider. Naruto and Sakura moved away from each other quickly, a blush budding on both of their faces.

"So, umm, what's up?", Naruto asked, flustered. Tsunade chuckled.

"Well, I'm not sure yet. Shizune is picking the results up from the lab right now and meeting me back here.", the Hokage announced. Naruto smashed his head against the wall behind him in frustration, a new wave of pain filling every crevice.

"You really shouldn't do that.", Sakura said nervously, flinching slightly with each new bang. Naruto just rolled his eyes and continued the rash action. The door slid open again, this time revealing the raven-haired assistant. In her hands she held a bulky file, the name 'Naruto Uzumaki' in crudely-written black letters. The Fifth Hokage shot a quick glance at her long-time friend and silently questioned her with one gaze. Shizune offered a small shrug in return, meaning she had not yet opened the file. Tsunade smirked softly. The young medic had always been one to never peek or pry, unlike herself.

"The report please.", Tsunade stated simply, outstretching her arm. Shizune responded with a brisk nod before dropping the folder in her waiting hand. With a swift movement, she flipped the result file open and quickly read the bold lines waiting inside. As she read on, her eyes widened and her face became a deathly pale. Shizune, now genuinely curious of what had made her lady so afraid, peered over her shoulder. What does he have? Extreme chakra exhaustion? Dehydration? Chronic hunger pains?

But as she took in the information that was displayed on the sheet before her, the truth dawned, bright and bold. This was bad, very bad indeed. It was much worse then any disease or wound she had ever seen. And it was only the beginning of a much bigger issue.

"Dear Kami, spear us all.", Tsunade whispered, her voice cracking with the bubbles of fear she now felt. Naruto was up from his slumped position in a second, all the boredom now replaced by curiosity. Something major must be wrong with him to make the great medic react this way. Had he started a new disease? Or had he brought on a new round of the Red Clouds again, the same disease that killed off the Bamboo Country all those years ago.

"What? What is it Lady Hokage?", Sakura asked, her interest peaking. Tsunade's breathing began to quicken and her body started to shake.

"Yo, Tsunade-baa-chan?! What's wrong?", Naruto hollered, bring the Sannin back to her senses enough to choke out one word.

"Kyuubi.", she muttered, her voice fading into nothing. The room grew deathly still and the two teens inhaled suddenly, but for different reasons.

"W-W-What? The K-Kyuubi?" Sakura questioned, her stammering returning. Naruto turned the same ghostly white that Tsunade and Shizune had and his eyes grew wide, the blue orbs looking as if they were about to pop out of his head.

"What about the fox?", Naruto asked warily, afraid of the answer.

"Your chakra signatures…have completely changed. Well, actually, you chakra signature.", Tsunade replied, emphasizing the change from plural to single word. Naruto released the breath he had been holding only for him to gasp. His heart rate quickened along with his breathing, the sound turning from a steady beat to an erratic race. Sakura rushed to calm him down, fearing that he might burst a vessel. She laid her hand on his shoulder and opened her mouth to speak. But suddenly, the beeping returned to normal, and the blonde's frantic state receded.

"What's going on? What on earth are you talking about? The Kyuubi died 15 years ago, what does he have to do with the situation at hand? And chakra signatures? A shinobi only has one.", Sakura asked, the questions spilling out of her mind. Tsunade shot a glance at the blond shinobi, as if she were asking permission to explain. Naruto sighed.

"She's already suspicious, and I doubt I'll be able to get out of this one.", he replied out loud, his face falling. He turned away from the pink-haired girl, avoiding her and her penetrating gaze. Tsunade nodded, sympathy for the boy squeezing itself into her circle of current emotions.

"The Kyuubi did not actually die all those years ago. The Yondaime could not kill the beast, nor did he try, for the attempt would be futile, he was sure of that. So, he used a forbidden technique, one that would seal the bijuu's spirit away, but the cost was his life. The Fourth Hokage couldn't seal the spirit within himself, or else the soul would be released the moment he died, so he used a human sacrifice, a human container. So he sealed the Kyuubi away within a newborn child, and then passed soon after.", Tsunade explained, her expression serious. Sakura tilted her head in confusion and her brow furrowed in thought.

"So, what does this all have to do with Naruto?", Sakura questioned, completely oblivious. Naruto gritted his teeth against the urge to cry, wishing that they would just tell her. Dragging it out was only making it harder on the blond, and he didn't think he could take much more of it.

"Naruto, you're chakra signatures haven't merged, but yet you have only one signature now. You've lost you're healing ability and even your facial markings are starting to disappear." At this point, Naruto's hand shot up to his face, and his stroked his cheek, not realizing the whisker-marks on his face had begun to fade. Tsunade sighed, tensing up, about to deliver the most shocking news since she announced Kushina Uzumaki was pregnant.

"So, with all the information we have here, and from what you've told us…Naruto, the Kyuubi has been successfully extracted."

Next Chapter: A Change In Heart