Beneath the Surface: Looming Shadows

Written by: Tsuki no Ki

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the Manga or Anime. That honour falls to Masashi Kishimoto. I do own the created jutsu and OC's throughout this fic though.

Chapter Two: Beginning

Sarutobi read and reread the scroll to make sure he didn't miss anything. He could not believe what he had just read… to think that Minato knew that the Kyuubi might attack, but still didn't tell anyone? It frightened the venerable Hokage, but what was worse was that there could be an even worse threat that needed the Kyuubi's power to combat it.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he closed the scroll and tied it shut, placing it carefully to the side before dragging the second scroll across. He took one look at it before deciding to leave it, as it was obviously not meant for his eyes.

The scroll was marked 'Naruto.'

Picking up both scrolls, he slipped them into a pocket hidden inside the folds of his robes, and started on his way to leave. Grimacing at the mess as he went passed, he determined to contact someone to come and clean up the mess so he didn't have to. Paperwork was bad enough.

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A tantalizing scent wafted through Naruto's makeshift room, and the blonde's nose naturally followed it even though the boy himself was still unconscious. His eyelids fluttered for a moment before parting to reveal his brilliant cerulean blue orbs. The first thing that registered was that he could see… a lot more than he should be able to. The flecks of dust floating in the air above him seemed to dance, and Naruto was pleasantly surprised to find he could follow them. His eyes locked onto one of the specks of dust, following its movements exactly.

Before Naruto even realized what he had done, his arm was extended straight up, and his hand was clenched around the dust. Pulling his slightly shaking fist towards his face, he slowly opened it and stared at the speck of dust that was now cut in two.

"Whoa…" Naruto whispered. His eyes shifted to his fingernails, which were a lot longer and sharper than they were when he passed out. A grin split across his face as he raised his clawed hand into the light splaying across the room for the bulb hanging overhead. The light seemed to radiate across his nails, giving them a soft glow.

"Wicked…"

Naruto made to get up when he caught whiff of the aroma coming from somewhere in the house. Naruto sniffed the air, raising his nose slightly to better catch the scent. Saliva gathered in his mouth as he dragged himself out of bed and followed the smell, his nostrils flaring every now and then to make sure he kept the scent. "Smells so good… Wonder what it is…"

The blonde reached out and twisted the handle on the third door on the left on the first story of the house he was in. Opening the door, the smell increased ten fold, and Naruto couldn't help but drool. Taking a cursory glance around the room, which his eyes seemed to make out in great detail, he spotted the source of the wonderful smell. A large pot sat on top of the stove simmering over a low flame. Naruto's eyes cut across to the flame for a second before going back to the pot. Taking the lid from the top, he looked inside and almost dug in right then and there.

Inside was a mixture of meat, of which kind he wasn't sure, vegetables, some kind of liquid stock, and it was all very thick.

"Beef Hot Pot," spoke a voice from behind the blonde.

Naruto spun on the spot, his instincts taking over. His back bowed forward and he crouched low, his teeth bared and claws held out.

"Well Naruto," started Sarutobi, "I wasn't expecting this kind of welcome."

Naruto stood stock still for a moment before jumping forward and latching his arms around the old Hokage's neck. "Jiji! You came!"

The Hokage laughed and lowered Naruto to the ground. "Of course I did… Now Naruto, I think we need to talk…"

Naruto nodded and opened his eyes wide, causing the Hokage to gasp. "Naruto… Have you looked in a mirror since you woke up?" Naruto shook his head in the negative. "I see… Well, after we've gotten something in our stomach, we'll get you cleaned up and then have a chat."

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Naruto stared at himself in the mirror of Sarutobi's bathroom. His hair was longer and scraggier, and seemed darker than the bright blonde it was. His claws and teeth he already knew about, but his whisker marks had deepened, giving him a more feral look. His body was taller than it was, and more refined, all the baby fat he had gone. What scared him the most though, was his eyes, the one part of himself that he always liked, his blue cerulean orbs, were now slitted and catlike.

A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of what the villagers were going to think. If they thought he was a demon before, what would they think now they had proof? Deciding not to think on it, he hoped down from the small stool and made his way towards Sarutobi's study, which had been pointed out to him on the way to the bathroom.

Naruto's feet padded softly across the woolly carpet covering the floor of the study. He giggled when he wriggled his toes in the tresses of the carpet, tickling his feet. He shuffled over to the pair of large bookcases, overflowing with books and scrolls. His eyes immediately latched onto his favourite colour, orange, and he tried to grab the book but found it was too high. Whining, he glared at a few of the other books before pulling out a dark red, almost maroon, coloured leather bound book.

He plopped backwards onto the floor and cracked open the book, leafing through it in an attempt to find some pictures. The only pictures were rough sketches of things that made no sense to Naruto, but when he put it back, he found he could remember every page of the book with startling clarity.

"I see you've found my books."

Naruto nodded, having heard Sarutobi walk into the room with his enhanced hearing. "Hai, Jiji. I don't know what most of it says though…"

Sarutobi chuckled and ruffled Naruto's hair before sitting in his high back leather chair. Spinning it around to face the young boy on the floor, Sarutobi patted his knee and Naruto immediately hopped up onto the old man's lap.

"Now then Naruto, I need to talk to you about these changes. First thing is first, how did they happen?"

Naruto immediately went into an accurate retelling of his first, and hopefully last, meeting with the Kyuubi. Sarutobi nodded and 'hmm'ed at certain spots, and became particularly interested in the changes that the Kyuubi had made. By the time Naruto was finished, Sarutobi was already formulating schemes to gather the resources necessary for Naruto's growth.

"Naruto, do you remember how I told you about Ninja earlier this year? Well, how would you like to be one?"

The bright grin that threatened to split the boy's face in two was all the answer Sarutobi needed.

"Well first thing is first, we need to find you a new place to live. Normally, I would take you in, but I am rarely ever out of the office these days. Maybe a few times a week if I'm lucky, so I'll arrange for an apartment and a new guardian." Sarutobi winced at Naruto's reaction. "I'll make sure that this time your guardian is completely trust worthy. It will likely be a shinobi that will also be your instructor.

"Speaking of which, I'm going to have you start studying the art of the Ninja, along with things like reading and writing. Once you know how to read properly, I'll let you take a look at some of the books in here. How's that sound? For the next few days you will stay here and I will have my son look after you. His wife just gave birth to a little boy, Konohamaru, so you will have an Otouto."

Naruto was bouncing up and down in childish glee. He was going to be a ninja. He was going to have an otouto. This was looking to be one of the best days in Naruto's childhood. "Thank you, Jii-chan!" With that said, Naruto latched his arms around the old man's neck and hugged him as hard as he could, which was surprisingly strong compared to most other five year olds.

Sarutobi chuckled and pried Naruto off of his neck. "Come, I'll introduce you to my son and his wife. And then, we can get started on those reading lessons."

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It had been three days since Sarutobi had spoken to Naruto about his future training. The boy had taken to reading like a fish to water. The moment he knew the basics, he was reading children's book, and they only lasted about a day. According to Asuma, Sarutobi's eldest son, Naruto had tried to read one of the more advanced books which were tucked away on the lower shelves in his study.

Sarutobi let a small smile cross his face before looking down to four profiles on his desk. Each of the four contained a Jounin level shinobi, each of which had the skills necessary to teach Naruto.

The first of which was Tsume, the Matriarch of the Inuzuka clan, who could teach Naruto to fight with his claws and newfound flexibility. The fox's chakra had made the boy double jointed like all Inuzuka's were.

The second, one Maito Gai, resident Taijutsu expert, master of seven different styles, all of which came from different parts of the world.

The third was Uchiha Itachi, the prodigious son of the Uchiha clan. Master of the Silent Killing technique and Konoha's greatest assassin, also gifted in Konoha's weakest art, Genjutsu, he was perfect for teaching Naruto the way of a true shinobi.

The last was Hatake Kakashi, master of 1000 ninjutsu, and Konoha's leading ANBU captain. However, given that Kakashi's sensei was the Yondaime, Sarutobi was afraid that Kakashi may harbour ill will towards Naruto as well.

Sarutobi glanced over the dossiers on his ninja again and sighed. So far, his best picks were Itachi and Tsume. But he needed to find Naruto a guardian. Tsume couldn't just up and leave her clan, and the Uchiha clan would sooner slaughter everyone in Konoha than help Naruto.

'Perhaps I put Itachi on the long term mission roster? Hmm… That's not a bad idea… Make it a long term B-rank… The Uchiha cannot deny that… Yes, not a bad idea at all…'

With that settled, Sarutobi pressed flipped the switch on his intercom. "Get me Uchiha Itachi and Inuzuka Tsume please."

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Naruto stared at the two people in front of him. The first was an onyx eyed, raven haired teenager. He was dressed in the standard ANBU attire, minus the animal mask, and was as silent as the dead. Naruto, even with his enhanced hearing, could barely hear the boy's breath.

The second was a rough looking woman with shaggy brown hair and elongated canine teeth similar to Naruto's. Her eyes were also had slit pupils, the irises barely even visible. Two red fang-like tattoos ran down her cheeks, and Naruto immediately knew that this woman was from the Inuzuka clan that Naruto read about merely ten minutes ago.

Sarutobi smiled at Naruto before clearing his throat. "Now then, Naruto, I would like you to first meet Inuzuka Tsume. She is the current leader of the Inuzuka clan, and has agreed to teach you her family's style of taijutsu."

Naruto bowed to the Inuzuka matriarch, getting a barking laugh and a clap on the shoulder in return. "Listen up brat, I've agreed to teach you, but if you bring shame to my family's technique, I'll make sure you regret it, understand?"

Naruto nodded timidly, which Sarutobi had to chuckle at. Naruto wasn't the first to be frightened by Tsume; after all, the woman had scared away her husband just a year ago. The former Inuzuka Alpha had requested to be posted in one of Konoha's outpost towns near the border, and was working on a new wind-based technique last Sarutobi heard.

Tsume nodded once to the Hokage before walking out the door, one of the few ninja in Konoha to do so. Sarutobi was so used to people entering from the window that he forgot he even had a door sometimes.

"Anywho, now that you've met Tsume-san, I'd like to introduce to you your guardian for the next seven years and dominant sensei, Uchiha Itachi. He is only twelve, but he is more than capable of taking care you. Itachi, this is Uzumaki Naruto, your new charge."

Itachi looked down at Naruto, "Greetings, Uzumaki, I trust you will give your all during training and allow me to care for you with the upmost efficiency."

Sarutobi sighed and shook his head. This arrangement would be as good for Itachi as it would be for Naruto. Hopefully, some of Itachi's calmness would rub off on Naruto, and vice versa with Naruto's exuberance making Itachi more than just an emotionless shell.

"Well then, I've arranged for an apartment for the both of you. It's part of a shinobi-only complex near the east forest. Here's the address and keys," Sarutobi handed an envelope to Itachi. "Itachi, three months worth of stipend is in there, along with your first three months of pay. I wish you both luck, and Naruto. I'll see you in a few weeks time, okay?"

With a nod, both teenager and child were whisked away in a whirlwind of leaves. Sarutobi glared at the offending plant life. "Why do people always have to make a mess of my office?"

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Itachi's gaze flickered to his blonde charge for a split second as he opened the front door to their new apartment. His sight moved back to the apartment, and Itachi's eyes immediately started memorizing the layout, locating possible hiding spots and exits.

The entrance opened out into a simple living room, with two double seated couches arranged in an L-shape in the back left hand corner. In the corner between the couches was a small square table, and in front of them was a larger coffee table in an oval shape. On the left wall, between the couches and the entrance was an opening, with a curtain like flap that ran across the top, which led into the kitchen. In the back right corner of the room was the door to the balcony, which contained a pair of couches with a table between them. There was enough space to get up and walk around on it as well. On the right side wall, between two doors, was an empty bookcase.

Itachi led Naruto to the first door on the right, opened it with a click, and glanced inside. From the doorway, a bed jutted out from the opposite wall, a few feet to the left. Opposite the bed, on the same wall as the doorway to the immediate left, was a small, wooden dresser. There was an armchair in the back left corner, as well as a bed side table a foot away from the chair. A large closet was on the opposite side of the bed to the table. There was another door to a small bathroom located a few steps to the right of the bedroom doorway. Going through, they found out the bathroom connected to the second bedroom, which was a mirror image of the first.

Looking down to his side, he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and led him through to the living room. "Okay Uzumaki, pick a room and go put your clothes away while I take a look at the kitchen."

Naruto nodded and bounced off to the door on the left whilst Itachi disappeared through the opening into the kitchen. It had a simple setup, oven, stove, sink and counter all ran along the far left wall, creating another L-shape between the north and left walls. A refrigerator/freezer combination was against the north wall, next to the counter top. Itachi stepped passed the small dining table with two pull out chairs that was against the right wall a few steps left of the door, and opened the refrigerator. It was fully stocked; meaning Itachi didn't need to bother with the groceries until at least next week. Going through the pantry and cupboards, he found they were stocked too.

"Well… May as well get started on dinner… Perhaps something simple… Rice and fish should do…" Poking his head out from the entrance, he watched the blonde come tumbling out of his room, a bright grin on his face. Itachi merely arched an eyebrow at the boy. "Dinner will be prepared soon, go and wash up please."

Naruto nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. Itachi turned to go back to his cooking, but had a sudden sense of impending doom. Realizing he had sent a rambunctious five year old to bathe himself, Itachi started back towards the bathroom. Hearing a loud splash come from two rooms over, Itachi winced and looked out the window.

"Why me?"

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Translation List

Otouto – Little Brother

A/N: And Chapter Two is up and running. This chapter is shorter than the first, about 1000 words or so in difference, but this is a transition chapter and dragging it out any longer will kill my brain.

Same deal as before. Reviews, comments, criticism and advice are all welcome.