AN: Okay, just a quick note before you click out of here! One, Chapters I-IV are all nitpicky little grammar edits. If you don't want to both rereading, wait until Chapter V is posted for the first major story/plot/anything other than grammar edit.

Sakura frowned as she stopped in front of Naruto's apartment, accompanied by Sasuke and Kakashi. They had all met on their usual bridge and waited for over an hour before starting to look for Naruto, who was strangely missing. He hadn't been at that ramen stand he adored so much and after speaking with Konohamaru and his cohort learned that Naruto hadn't been seen all day. They had finally come to his apartment, a little surprised that Naruto lived in such a worn down building, situated in a more dangerous part of town.

"Naruto!" Kakashi called out, knocking lightly on the door. Glancing back the genin behind he shrugged and turned away, ready to continue reading Icha Icha Paradise. He was stopped by both of Naruto's teammates latching onto his arm. He slumped, his arm still held fast by Sasuke as Sakura tried the door. She appeared surprised to find it unlocked and hesitantly stepped inside, followed by her teammate and teacher.

"Naruto?" She called out, sounding a little irritated as she looked about her. The small apartment was surprisingly clean for the most part. Everything was very worn and faded, but pretty clean. There were a few ramen cups scattered around the small couch and single armchair and the worn rug was stained pretty badly under an old coffee table, but that was it. Peeking into the kitchen, she spotted a cracked table and a lonely chair, pushed in haphazardly before an empty sink. Cautiously opening a cupboard she was unsurprised and slightly disgusted to find packages of ramen stacked.

"He's not here!" Sakura heard Sasuke call out. Curious she walked down the hall to find her crush standing in Naruto's small bedroom, looking at a small bookcase filled with scrolls in slight disbelief. Sakura glanced at the bed in the corner, finding it like the rest of the house- worn but clean, the sheets slightly rumpled. There were a few posters and a calendar on the wall, a closet door left carelessly open showed a few duplicates of the horrible orange jumpsuit Naruto habitually wore. There was also a small shelf, piled with kunai and shuriken.

While Sakura was inspecting Naruto's closet, Sasuke pulled a scroll at random from the small bookcase and looked at it. What was the dobe doing with Intermediate Taijutsu Exercises? Glancing at Sakura who was trying to decide whether or not to burn Naruto's clothes, he unrolled the scroll and activated his Sharingan- only to be shocked by a low-level Raiton jutsu. He let out a small hiss of pain, dropping the scroll, watching it unroll, showing nothing but white space. The raven-haired genin froze as he saw the scroll roll to a stop- at Kakashi's feet. He quickly deactivated his Sharingan as the lazy jounin bent over to pick up the scroll.

"What's Naruto doing with this many scrolls Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, walking over to peruse the shelves herself. Sasuke stuck his burnt hand in his pocket and shrugged, watching his teacher roll up the scroll and replacing it on the shelf. Kakashi himself shrugged. "Maybe someone gave them to him as birthday gifts. I think Sandaime-sama used to when he was small."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, realizing he didn't even know Naruto's birthday- you'd think the blonde would announce it to the village, so they would remember the birthday of the greatest Hokage ever. Sakura looked puzzled, asking the question before Sasuke could.

"When is Naruto's birthday, Kakashi-sensei?" Kakashi shrugged before walking out of the room. The two genin followed out of curiosity and out of the apartment. "Oh you already know it, just as a different celebration." Kakashi finally answered. Sasuke let out a small snort of disgust at the answer. Sakura simply sighed, knowing by now that enigmatic answer was likely all she was get out of her silver-haired teacher.

"So where are we going to look for Naruto next?" She decided to switch the topic back to their original discussion- where to find the missing Naruto.

"Hokage Tower. No one's seen him all day which is strange…" Kakashi frowned under his mask as they approached the large red tower, centered in the heart of Konoha.

Quickly climbing the stairs, they soon entered the Hokage's office. Tsunade glanced up from the piles of paperwork that surrounded and spilled over onto her desk. "What do you want?" She asked shortly, stamping a final document and moving it to the pitifully small pile that resided in the outbox.

"Tsunade-sama, we haven't seen Naruto all day and we were starting to get worried…" Kakashi spoke up only to be silenced with a wave of Tsunade's hand. She stood up and turned to look out over the village. "I wouldn't worry about Naruto if I were you. Gate guard early this morning reported him leaving early this morning, just before dawn on his travel pass."

She turned back to look at Team Seven, who looked stunned and dumbfounded. She frowned. "He didn't tell you? No, otherwise you wouldn't be here…and that Academy teacher would've been in here first, demanding for a search party…" The last half of her sentence was half murmured to herself. She folded her arms across her ample bosom, chin tucked near her chest as she thought for a moment before shrugging. She returned her attention back to the waiting genins and their teacher.

"Naruto requested a travel pass yesterday evening- considering the time of the year, I don't really blame him. He left early this morning- destination unknown. For all I know he could be heading off to a coastal town for a month long vacation," she quickly explained.

Kakashi's expression turned from worried to something a little darker when Tsunade the circumstances under which Naruto left. Sasuke and Sakura, however, still looked confused as ever. "Hokage-sama, what does the time of year have to do with Naruto's leaving?" Sakura asked.

Tsunade threw an exasperated look in Kakashi's direction. "Didn't he tell you anything about himself?" Kakashi simply shook his head, just realizing that he knew very little about the missing blonde- only what was in his file and what the Third had told him. Tsunade let out a growl before finally answering Sakura's question. "I won't tell you if Naruto hasn't. His secrets are that for a reason."

The look of confusion on Sakura's face merely grew- Naruto had secrets? The blonde could barely keep from telling secrets, how could he have any of his own? She was distracted by her uncomplimentary thoughts of her missing teammate by Tsunade clearing her throat.

"If you want to go after Naruto, I'll give you clearance to leave- though you'll have to find out where he was going by yourselves." Kakashi nodded in acceptance of that statement and lead his team out of the office as Tsunade pulled out a small bottle of sake.

After a few minutes of silent walking Kakashi finally turned to his genin, pausing by the side of the road. "Well?" he asked simply, hands tucked comfortably in his pockets. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Well, what?" The Uchiha asked in his usually monotone.

"Do you two want to go chase Naruto?"

"Hn. The dobe can't even be trusted with himself; Kami only knows what trouble he'll get into on the road." Translation: Yes. Kakashi smiled before turning to Sakura who appeared thoughtful.

"I think we should," she finally spoke at last. "He seems to have a lot of secrets- secrets that we don't know anything about. I think he should trust us, I mean we are his teammates after all."

Kakashi twitched mentally, Sakura was pretty smart and that could be dangerous with Naruto and his secrets…But she did seem concerned about Naruto. Sighing out loud, Kakashi banished wistful thoughts of reading Icha Icha Paradise while his team slaved away at D-rank missions.

"Alright then, consider this training in tracking a missing-nin. We know that Naruto left early this morning, he might've left clues to where he was heading. One of you go check the logs at the gate house and the other go tell Hokage-sama we'll be leaving to find Naruto as soon as we know where he was going." Sasuke nodded once before turning back towards Hokage Tower.

"I'll meet you two at the gate," he called back before picking up speed. Sakura looked a little disappointed that she had been ditched by Sasuke but reluctantly returned her gaze to Kakashi.

"What're you going to do Kakashi-sensei?" She asked as they started for the gate. He shrugged amiably.

"I'll probably talk to the gate guards and send out some of my nin-dogs to see if they can pick up a scent trail."

Sakura formed a silent "oh" and they soon reached the gate house to find the two chuunins assigned there- asleep. Sakura quietly started flipping through the logs for the day, looking for Naruto's semi-familiar sprawling scribble. While she was busy looking Kakashi had nudged the guards awake and taken them a short distance away to talk. They both looked rather nervous at the thought of talking to the infamous Sharingan no Kakashi.

"What do you need sir?" One of them asked, scratching his head nervously. Kakashi shrugged, trying to look his laziest and most relaxed. "Oh nothing much, just some information. You guys have been here since….what before dawn?"

They nodded, still wondering what the jounin wanted. Kakashi eye-smiled. "Ah good, you're the shift I'm looking for. Do you remember seeing my student, Uzumaki Naruto leaving?"

"What, the Kyuubi cont-" The one that spoke up was swiftly jabbed in the side by his companion as Sakura trotted up, looking pleased with herself. She held the log book and had her finger pointing at a familiar signature. "Found it Kakashi-sensei! He left here around 5:30 this morning."

The chuunin who had jabbed his comrade nodded in affirmation. "Yeah. He signed out without a fuss- though I remember that Iruka showed up to say goodbye. Uzumaki might've told him where he was heading."

Kakashi nodded thoughtfully, directing Sakura to go put the log back. Feeling a familiar chakra signature approaching at a lazy saunter he turned to spot Sasuke. Sakura let out a happy squeal and promptly bounded up to her crush to inform him of what she and Kakashi had found. While the raven-haired Uchiha was being brought up to date, Kakashi quickly and quietly summoned Pakkun and his other nin-dogs. The brown little pug looked confused but nodded quickly as Kakashi gave his canine companions orders to hunt for Naruto's scent.

"We'll find him Kakashi, don't worry." While the other dogs had leapt away in pursuit of Naruto's scent, Pakkun paused. Kakashi smiled briefly through his mask.

"Ne, Pakkun, I was actually hoping you'd stick with me- Me and Sasuke and Sakura are about to see Naruto's old Academy teacher and he might know where Naruto is heading. Once we have a narrower search area, you could go and inform the others?"

Pakkun looked faintly surprised at the hint of pleading he heard in Kakashi's voice but nodded. He nodded at Sasuke and Sakura as Kakashi finally walked over to them. "According to the gate guards, Iruka-sensei might know where Naruto is heading- that can provide a narrower search area for my nin-dogs. You two remember Pakkun, from the Chuunin Exam I trust?"

He received nods and the group headed for the nearby Academy, all of them hoping that Iruka would have the information they wanted.

Naruto stopped at the edge of the trees, panting slightly. He narrowed his eyes against the harsh glare of the sun as he gazed across the rolling sand dunes that marked the edge of Kaze no Kuni. The road he'd been following steadily ever since he left swiftly devolved into a small worn trail that was barely visible among all of the sand.

Digging into his back, he checked the level of his waterskin and briefly consulted the map he'd brought- if he kept going east he'd reach Suna in a couple of days. Shouldering his pack, the blonde strode out into the desert sun.

Kakashi mentally steeled himself as his students led him through the twisting hallways of the academy- He had only interacted with Iruka once, when he had nominated Naruto and the others for the Chuunin Exams and well…it hadn't gone well. He wouldn't be surprised if the Chuunin harbored a deep disliking of him- from what he'd heard the man had a strong bond with his missing student. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the dinging of a bell somewhere nearby.

"Uh-oh…" Sakura murmured, paling as the ground started rumbling. Sasuke's eyes widened as rumbling deepened and they leaped backwards into a nearby alcove; Sakura dragging their confused teacher back just in time as a mass of small bodies flooded the empty hallway, barreling for the exit doors that represented freedom to their small minds. Kakashi watched in a stupefied amazement as the crushing mass of wriggling bodies slowly dispersed after a few minutes.

Papers slowly drifted, abandoned to the now-longer shaking floor. Sakura cautiously walked out of the alcove before smiling a little.

"It's safe- I'd forgotten about the Releasing of the first years." The way she spoke the word "releasing" made it clear that it was capitalized. Sasuke nodded before following his teammate down the once-more barren hallway. Kakashi followed hastily, still shaken by what had just seen.

"The, uh, Releasing?" Kakashi asked, wondering if he wanted to know. Sakura nodded briefly before explaining.

"The first year Academy students are released at noon because they're only five or six. They're actually famous for the amounts of energy they have, it makes them almost impossible to control- as you saw. Once that bell rings, no teacher is able to hold a class- they rush out of here like nothing I've ever seen." She finished her explanation just as they reached a door that was hanging by only a hinge, still gently waving from the force of small bodies that had smashed into it at high speeds.

Peering inside they found Iruka sitting behind his desk, head buried in his arms. As they watched the Chuunin changed his position so that he was sprawled in his chair. "Damn, I'd forgotten- after Naruto was gone I'd get first years again…" He muttered before noticing he had an audience. He scrambled to his feet, straightening his vest and headband.

"Sakura! Sasuke! What're you guys doing here, shouldn't you be doing missions?" The teacher quickly hugged both of them, ignoring Sasuke's discomfort. Kakashi hung back, watching the man. He was so…open, it was surprising. Naruto was definitely influenced by Iruka's presence; they both wore their hearts on their sleeves proudly.

"We can't exactly do missions without Naruto. We heard you might know where he's at." Kakashi finally spoke up, taking a single step inside the empty classroom. Iruka's eyes hardened slightly as he nodded cordially to the silver-haired jounin.

"I might've, why?" Iruka's voice was tense and guarded as he turned to straighten up his desk. Kakashi almost let out a growl but a quiet sigh escaped his masked lips instead.

"Sasuke, Sakura, why don't you wait for me outside the Academy?" Sakura opened her mouth but closed it when she saw how tense the two men were. She nodded and left with Sasuke. Kakashi waited a few minutes before answering Iruka's question.

"So we can find him dammit!" His retort caused Iruka to stop organizing piles of homework and turn around. He leaned against the desk, arms folded across his chest.

"What, worried about one of your precious soldiers getting hurt?" Iruka's eyes were as sharp as flint, he stared at Kakashi.

Kakashi froze for a moment, recalling what he'd said to the Chuunin in the Hokage's office before the Chuunin Exam. Iruka took his brief pause as a chance to continue. "After all, that's all those three seem to be to you- soldiers, pawns to be used for the good of the village." Kakashi flinched minutely but let Iruka continue. "Even if I did tell you were Naruto was going, what were you going to do, bring him back here?"

"Of course! He's too young be off wandering by himself, he-" He halted, hearing Iruka let out a bark of laughter. "What, so he's an actual human to you now, with feelings? I won't even go into the fact that bringing him back would the worst thing you could do to the poor boy!"

Kakashi's fists tightened. "What do you mean by that?" He asked in a low voice.

"I mean exactly what I say. Use that genius brain you supposedly possess Kakashi-sensei. Naruto got that pass for a reason. He left today for a reason, and I happen to know for a fact that he won't be anywhere near the village on the tenth. Now why's that I suppose?"

Iruka placed his hand on his chin in parody of a thinking gesture. He dropped it after a moment and glared at Kakashi.

"I…" The jounin was at a loss. He tried to think of a retort, but couldn't find one before Iruka spoke again. "If you actually had taken a look at Naruto's medical records you would've notice something. Can you guess what it is?"

Kakashi felt nervous and shook his head. Iruka actually growled at him before replying. "If you had actually looked at Naruto's records you would find that every year he has been admitted into the hospital, almost on a daily basis- but only in the beginning of October. Because every year, the villagers go after him, or rather, after the Kyuubi. And you know what he does?" Again Kakashi shook his head, feeling lower than one of the Aburame's kikai insects.

"Absolutely…" Iruka paused. "Nothing."

"Wha'?"

That inarticulate syllable was all Kakashi make out. The blonde didn't seem like one to sit down and take a beating- literally. His mind flashed back to his time in ANBU- something he had tried his best to not to do ever since he left his mask on Sandaime's desk along with his resignation from the elite organization.

A blonde haired boy curled up in a small bloody ball in alley. Kakashi growled from behind his wolf mask before jumping down to help the boy. His squad had already dispersed the mob and taken the culprits into custody. He gently grabbed the shaking form, ignoring the blood that dripped from wounds onto his bone-white ANBU breastplate. The form in his arms shifted as the boy hunched against Kakashi's breastplate, as if the armor would protect him as well.

"Why…" He glanced down as a small hand curled around the shoulder strap of his armor. "Why, ANBU-san? Why do they hate me…"The shaking increased as the boy started crying. Kakashi stayed silent, as his left eye, Obito's eye, starting weeping. He cleared his throat and growled mentally as the boy flinched away in response.

"They hate you for something you couldn't control. But remember this Naruto-san: Not matter what you hear; it is never your fault."

He felt the boy nod as he touched down in front of the hospital. "Somebody get me a medic and fast!" He yelled. Medics rushed out and quickly took the boy. A member of his squad appeared next to him.

"The culprits?" He asked as the boy was loaded on a stretcher.

"Dead." His comrade stated shortly.

"Right. Follow them, make sure he's being cared for properly." Kakashi ordered.

"Hai, taichou." His subordinate nodded once before following the stretcher as it entered the ER.

Kakashi shook his head to clear it from the memory. "I…Iruka please. Where is Naruto heading?" His voice was much softer and he looked up from the floor.

Iruka looked at him suspiciously- this man was very different from the one who had coldly informed him that his former students were now his soldiers. Kakashi looked steadily back at him. Iruka looked down at his feet and pinched the bridge of his nose, right above his scar.

"Suna. He was planning to go and visit Gaara in Suna." He relented and gave the jounin the information he'd been looking for. Kakashi let out a sigh of relief and stood a little straighter. "You get that Pakkun?" He asked. Iruka's eyes bulged as a small brown pug jumped to one of the desks and nodded. "Got it Kakashi. I'll go tell the others. We'll be waiting for you and the brats."

The brown pug disappeared in a poof of smoke and Kakashi headed for the door. "Thank you Iruka-sensei." Iruka nodded before turning back to straightening the rest of his papers.

"Let's go you two!" Kakashi called out as he appeared, exiting the Academy. Sasuke dropped down to the ground from his perch in a tree and Sakura stood up from her seat among the roots of the same tree.

"So where's the dobe running to?" Kakashi frowned at Sasuke's phrasing but responded anyway.

"He was going pay a visit to Gaara."

"The guy with the sand monster inside him?" Sakura frowned. "Why would he go there? He's going to miss the Kyuubi Festival…" She fell silent when Kakashi looked flatly at her as they approached the gates.

"Gaara and Naruto have more in common than you'd think Sakura. And I don't think Naruto's ever gone to the Festival an-" Kakashi stopped as he heard a howl sound out, quickly joined by at least two others. "They've picked up Naruto's trail!"

"Ugh…damn desert." Naruto mumbled as he swayed with exhaustion and dizziness. The sun seemed to beat down and suck away the last dregs of his energy. He stumbled off the trail he'd been following and collapsed on the burning sand as sweat impeded his vision. His limbs felt so heavy…the sand wasn't that uncomfortable really, once you got used to the temperature….maybe he could take a short nap, try to regain some of his lost energy…His eyes drifted close as everything faded to black….

His eyes shot open as a musty, damp smell pervaded his nose. Naruto sat up in shock as he recognized the wide spacious room that housed the Kyuubi and the seal that kept the great Kitsune contained. He scrambled to his feet, disturbing the ankle deep water that covered the floor of his mind. Water dripped off him as he looked about the room before looking at the gate to the prison that held the demon fox at bay. He frowned, the bars were looking much worn and scratched…when he had been here before they'd glowed softly, in perfect condition….

"Feh, nice to see you're not totally oblivious gaki." A single pair of gleaming eyes opened lazily. Naruto glared at the Kyuubi, a retort on his lips when the Kitsune spoke again.

"If you think the bars are bad, glance up a little at that damn seal." Naruto involuntarily followed the Kitsune's command and his eyes widened in surprise as he saw the seal. The edges looked worn, and a little shredded; any other detail was obscured by the seal's high position.

"What the hell is going on you bastard fox?!" Naruto yelled in shock. The Kyuubi merely snorted.

"If you keep talking to me like that I'm not exactly inclined to answer, now am I? But since the clock is ticking at a faster pace, I supposed I'll have to answer."

Naruto's brow furrowed. "What do you mean the clock is ticking at a faster pace?" The Kyuubi growled, snapping his jaws in irritation.

"If you'd let me finish I'll explain. Now, you do know the purpose of this seal, right? And if you answer 'keep you imprisoned' I swear I'll swat you, seal or no seal."

Naruto let out a growl of his own but thought about the question…Yes, the main purpose of the seal was to Kyuubi from harming anyone but it also allowed the bijuu's chakra to mix with his own safely…Ero-sennin had theorized that Naruto would eventually absorb all of Kyuubi's chakra, effectively killing the bijuu. His eye's widened as he thought of what Kyuubi had said…clocks ticking…faster rate… "Aw, hell no!" He clutched at his hair as he came to the realization. Kyuubi would've cocked an eyebrow, if he had one- the brat had actually figured it out…

"Judging from your response you figured it out. If you haven't, I'll spell it out for your tiny mind- That damn Yondaime designed the seal so that our chakras could mix freely, with yours slowly absorbing my own. That perverted hermit was actually correct in his theory that given enough time you would absorb me completely. I think the seal was actually designed with that in mind. But at the original rate, it would've taken you another fifty years to completely absorb my chakra. However, your Yondaime failed to take into account that you might actively draw on my chakra- and the effects that would bring."

The Kitsune paused for breath, and to see how the blonde would react from the news this far. Well, the brat had fallen down in shock, but he was still breathing…fairly normally and he was still listening. Good enough. He took another deep breath before continuing.

"It was a combination of two things that have actually weakened the seal- One, your actively drawing on my chakra- that weakened the seal a little but not much. But when that snake-freak cut my chakra off from yours completely, it started building up. And when that pervert reopened the connection, all that built up chakra rushed out into your system and that further weakened the seal. And by the seal weakening, I mean more of my chakra is leaking into your system- enough that your chakra can't convert it. And tha-Hey, are you still listening to me?"

The Kitsune broke off, seeing Naruto fall backwards into the pool of water and lay there spread-eagle looking up at the hidden ceiling. The Kitsune growled and a small slither of chakra slipped between the battered bars of his prison and nudged the boy. He heard a slight groan, and withdrew his chakra back into his cage as Naruto heaved himself up onto his feet.

"I got it from here. My chakra can't absorb yours because there's too much, and so since yours is the stronger chakra it absorbs mine. And with the seal weakened, my own chakra won't get a chance to get stronger. So eventually I'll have absorbed all of your chakra- and have nothing left of my own..."

"Which is what essentially makes you human."

"WHAAAAAA'?" Naruto's eyes bulged out as he took in that notion.

"You heard me gaki." Kyuubi's glowing eyes narrowed only to widen as Naruto's eyes rolled back in his head, and the boy's body fell limply to the floor and faded from the Kyuubi's view as the boy's mind returned to consciousness.

Kakashi's eye narrowed as he and his team stopped in the final straggling trees that stood before the landscape dissolved into a sand filled flatland, with rolling dunes. Sakura wiped the sweat from her brow, frowning slightly.

"Naruto, headed out into this? Why?" Kakashi glanced at her before shrugging.

"Who knows? You can ask him yourself when we find him. Pakkun, how close are we?"

The little pug sniffed the ground a few times before answering the jounin. "His scent's faint, mostly because of the wind, but we're close. Otherwise we might have lost the trail…" He trailed off as he realized the three humans had already taken off down the faint track visible. The dog sighed before scrambling to catch up with Kakashi and the genin.

He'd only been trotting for a few minutes when he heard the raised voice of Sakura. Pricking up his ears, he could faintly hear Kakashi's soothing voice issuing crisp orders, though Pakkun though he could detect a faint hint of panic as he drew closer, kicking up small spurts of sand as he sped up. He rounded a brief bend in the track, and skidded to a halt, spotting a limp orange form in Kakashi's arms. Sasuke held a pack in one hand and had his free hand over Sakura's mouth who was looking surprised.

The Uchiha uttered a grunt of satisfaction before removing his hand and looking at his teacher. "What's wrong with the dobe?"

Kakashi shifted Naruto until the unconscious genin was on his back and started walking. "Probably heat exhaustion- his body wasn't used to the hot climate and didn't adapt fast enough. He'll be fine once we get him back in Konoha."

With that, the jounin started back towards the forest, his genin following. Pakkun grumbled but followed silently once more.