A.N. Once more, slaving away into nothingness above the letters on my key board... nah not really.

Anyways different news, for those of you desperate for the new chapter of 'The Hunter' to come out. I plan to get this story situated before starting to work on the pair in tandem... aka expect a decent Christmas present from me to you (hint hint).

So far Mei is leading the poll (tbh shes my preference as well for this story) overall though the numbers are quite close. Meaning that your votes count! Choosing not to vote is like, well... it's not good ok so go do it.

Quick fix right here after writing this chapter I said fuck it Mei is the leading lady it works best for the story. She was leading the poll anyways.

Don't worry though... I have a few ideas stored away in the back of my head for the other women that were in the poll.

Also I realize that a lot of the content in the previous and coming chapter aren't really Naruto focused. I'm attempting to build a good base for the story before moving more to his perspective.

A warning to all, this is going to get very dark and very fucking twisted. I am actually expecting a lot of heat for whats being written in this chapter... and for what I have planned in the next one.

Now then, onto the tale.

Chapter 2

Eyes of the Beast

Streets of Konoha

He had lost count of how many hours it had taken, not that he cared. Evading the patrols of those odd ANBU had been his top concern. Turning down another passage he was greeted by a welcomed sight, the sky. The night had retreated and on the horizon Ao could see the first glimpse of the sun.

Walking a fair distance not to fast to cause suspicion he found a secluded grove of trees and after quickly looking around he walked in sitting down with his back leaning against a tree. He let out a deep breath, taking solace for the first time in hours though he knew he couldn't let his guard down.

Ao grimaced as he dislocated his right wrist before struggling to slide down the chakra restraining cuff that bound it. It took a while and his wrist was chaffed pretty badly by the attempt but he was free, making a fist and putting it against the ground he pushed until he heard the grating noise of the joint being restored. Biting his lower lip he then did the same to the other. Discarding the shackles in a bush he planned his next move.

'Those two may be at the gate again... It would be best to start the search there.' he thought to himself reaching into his supply pouch on his waist he pulled out a soldier pill, popping the bitter tasting supplement into his mouth he chewed for a moment before swallowing.

Energy coursed through his veins and his tired muscles felt restored. His thoughts were clearer and the hunger in the pit of his stomach had faded.

They would no doubt be searching for him, but he had an inkling that it had been a covert operation he had foiled. With that in mind Ao reasoned that the best thing to do would be stay out in the open where if they tried to capture him again. It would cause quite a mess, giving him more time to escape.

After all it was easier to lose prey in a crowd then in the shadows.

Konoha Gate

Anko yawned stretching her hands above her head until she heard the subtle popping noise of her spine.

She had a pretty nasty hangover this morning having sacrificed sleep to have fun with Kurenai the other night. She was scheduled until noon and now that she thought about it in retrospect going home and sleeping instead of getting drunk and eating dango would have been the smarter choice.

'Oh well no point in crying over spilled milk.' she reasoned with herself sitting down she check over the nightly reports and found something that bugged her.

Neither Mei-chan or Ao had checked out the other night.

"That's weird..." Anko mumbled to herself scouring over the other paperwork for any sign of them leaving the village. In fact to her shock there was no mention of them ever entering it, which wasn't possible Kurenai and herself had dropped of the report directly to the Hokage himself.

"What's weird Anko?" a familiar voice broke her of her thoughts and she looked up to see the smiling face of Kurenai standing in front of the desk.

"Nai-chan!" bouncing over the short barrier Anko hugged Kurenai happily rubbing her cheek against her now distraught friends. "You came to visit me I'm touched!"

Kurenai shook her head and though she didn't show it she was smiling on the inside by how energetic Anko seemed to be. "Yes, I wanted to make sure you actually made it on time for gate duty." she heard the other woman growl slightly at the verbal blow.

Leaning back Anko released Kurenai from the hug with a pout. "Not funny Nai-chan..."

"I thought it was." Kurenai added with a small smile, "Anyways what was it that's weird? I heard you mumbling about something earlier."

Anko hopped over the counter again and handed Kurenai a sheaf of papers who accepted them with a confused expression. "See anything missing?" Anko asked looking over a different bundle.

Skimming over all the entries Kurenai frowned a bit, "These are last nights aren't they?"

"Yes."

"Why aren't Terumi-san or Ao-san on them?" Kurenai asked it was puzzling, they had turned the paperwork in directly to the Hokage. While it was possible that the papers were still being processed... Kurenai knew that with how slow things had been going around in the village they should have been here by now.

Or at least the form she had left in the booth.

"I dunno Nai-chan, but I wonder whe-"

"Thank Kami your here."

The two women whirled around and spotted Ao walk out from behind a tree, he looked disheveled and tired. As well as in pain.

"What the hell Ao?" Anko said bounding over to the man looking him over carefully "What happened to you? You look like shit!"

Kurenai noticed something, rather someone missing however and commented on it immediately, "Ao-san where is Terumi-san?"

She watched as a pained look formed in the older mans eyes and he dropped his voice to a low whisper, "I need your help you two."

Anko and Kurenai both glanced at each other communicating silently, finally coming to the agreement that they should at least hear him out. They both turned to Ao who seemed to pick up on the fact that they were willing to listen and he quickly filled the pair in on what had happened the previous night after Terumi-sama and himself had left the Hokage's office.

By the end Anko's jaw was hanging open and Kurenai's features were filled with disbelief.

"So Danzo, a member of Konoha's leading council and once teammate of the Hokage, brought you down to some secret underground prison and locked Mei-chan in there?" Anko asked rubbing the back of her head trying to process it all "And they were taking you to the I&T division but you escaped and came looking for us because of how we supported you in the Hokage's office?"

"In a nutshell yes."

"Impossible." Kurenai muttered.

Anko whistled blinking rapidly, wrapping an arm around Ao's shoulders she laughed heartily. "Your gonna seriously impress your grand kids with tales like that bud." she said punching him playfully in the arm.

"I'll show you, but I need you two to believe me!" Ao pleaded.

The pair of women caught onto the sincerity in his voice, he sounded desperate.

Kurenai for the life of her wanted to call the man a liar but with how he had looked at Mei the other night she knew there was no way he would have let the woman out of his sight.

Anko on the other hand recognized a look in his eyes that her own had held many times before. The desperate need for understanding, for someone to listen and not brush her off as a loon.

Sighing the two woman looked at each other both already knowing that they were going to do as this man who they had only met once before asked.

"Well I can't leave the gate unattended..." Anko said rubbing the back of her head sheepishly before smacking her right fist into her left palm. "Give me a minute I'll be right back with a volunteer!"

With a telltale flicker of leaves Anko vanished with a shunshin, and as promised she returned moments later with a silver haired man desperately trying to pull a mask over his face by the arm.

"Kakashi-kun be a good boy and I'll reward you later." Anko cooed into the mans ear.

Looking over the group in front of him Kakashi sighed pulled a small orange book from a pouch on his waist and waved them off.

"Lets go" Anko said grabbing Ao and Kurenai by the arms, intent on getting away before Kakashi changed his mind.

Underground ROOT Facility

It began as a trickle, so faint she could barely feel it. Like the tide it ebbed and flowed, gaining power and strength with every second. Mei could feel her breath quicken, the overbearing pressure that was being exerted onto her body. A cold clammy sweat forming across her body and the hairs on her neck standing on end. The feeling of thousands of needles all stabbing her at once.

All from Naruto's, a boy no older then seven, killing intent being focused upon her.

Like happy memories were nothing more then a fleeting dream; reality convoluted itself warping, agony, despair, and terror into a mosaic filling the spectrum of her mind.

"I told you to run!" His demonic voice cut through the haze of fear clouding her mind "Get away! Far away I don't want to hurt anymore!"

Something about his words struck a chord in Mei's heart, and rage filled her. HE was hurting? HE was in PAIN?

"What do YOU know about pain!" Mei shouted back standing to her full height she towered over Naruto. Gripping her broken shoulder she glared at him realizing that it wasn't the fact that she was facing her death, or the fact that she would never see her home again that was spurning on this sudden bout of courage.

Or insanity.

She truly wished to know how this child could possibly say something like he was hurting. Mei had no doubts in her mind that he wouldn't feel sorrow after she was dead. Nor had he felt any for any of his previous victims, what made her so different that he was trying to keep her away.

Sure he had cried earlier, but tears could be faked easily enough.

Feeling a slight tug at her consciousness Mei recognized the feeling of herself falling into a genjustu. Suddenly she felt herself floating in an empty void where shattered looking panes of glass weaved about her figure, and though she wasn't sure she felt that it was important to watch. To not dispel the illusion that he was weaving, as if he was pleading with her for help.

One of those panes of glass suddenly trembled then exploded in a conflagration of images and as they blurred in front of her eyes and Mei felt, no she knew.

These were memories. Not her own but she was living them all the same.

Very young, nearly to young to remember the things going on around her. She felt pain in her arms and legs looking around she saw that she was strapped to a table, clear tubes littered the area around her and many lead to needles in her arms chest and neck. Machinery whirred and beeped around her. She looked up and saw white clad men in masks hovering over her, many holding scalpels and other forms of medical equipment.

Though most were used for autopsies.

"Subject number zero zero five two, test number three-hundred twenty five. Previous test of introducing additional catecholamines, epinephrine, and norepinephrine to the adrenal medulla to increase autonomic anger response. Successful." she heard what sounded like a saw being turned on, "Beginning controlled removal of the heart and lungs to examine the effects of hyper-accelerated regeneration. "

Still conscious she felt cold steel pierce her chest; she screamed and struggled against the bonds that held her down as they cut through her sternum, down her chest to her belly button only stopping when they reached her pelvis. She felt their hands delving into her organs and suddenly her screams stopped.

She couldn't breath, the muscles of her diaphragm worked in overdrive trying to force the organs that were no longer there to function. A burning sensation filled her chest as the strange red light she saw whenever she got hurt form over her chest and slowly she felt herself drawing breaths of air in once more and her screams of pain began anew.

White hot lightning lanced through her entire being and in the background she heard the men speaking once more.

"Subjects vitals dropping, removal of the heart seems to be to much trauma for the body to handle." she could barely make out the feeling and sounds of the machinery in the room buzzing. "Replacement of the organ enacted, vitals stabilizing."

Taking a deep breath she thought it was over until the robotic voice of the doctor spoke once more.

"Beginning test number three-hundred twenty six. Surgical removal of the arms and legs..."

Thunder roared in Mei's ears as the image faded more scenes similar to the one before flashed through her mind, then halted.

She was five years old again. In her right hand she held a bloody kunai and on the stone floor in front of her lay the prone body of young woman.

The red heads mouth was open in a silent pained scream, on her wrists and ankles were manacles holding her down. Her chest rose and fell slowly, wet gurgles could be heard as the woman's life faded from her eyes.

Asphyxiating on her own blood.

Across the woman's throat were rows of jagged slashes, Mei recognized the reason. The first cut hadn't been deep enough to kill. It was a very painful way to die. She felt the hot sting of tears in her eyes.

"Kaa-san," her younger self cried, sniffling she wiped at her eyes "I's sowwy kaa-san." kneeling she cradled the now dead woman's head in her lap. "I's sowwy."

"Good job Naruto."

Her head whipped around spotting Danzo with a smile on his face.

"Kaa-san was saying mean things," she sputtered still holding her dead mothers head in her lap "I-I got angwy."

"And what did you do when she made you angry Naruto?" the man asked hobbling over to stand beside her.

"I-I can't wemembew, I saw wed and aftew kaa-san was like this."

"That's good Naruto, very good." Danzo smiled down at her and she smiled back proud to be praised.

"Danzo, why does it feel weiwd hewe?"" she asked pointing at her chest.

The old man set his hand on her head ruffling her hair the way she liked and spoke softly with a large smile on his face.

"It means your happy Naruto," taking his hand off her head he walked away leaving her alone once more. "It means your happy."

The vision exploded in Mei's mind, rapid fire images of beatings, experiments, and death flew through her mind scape before suddenly coming to a halt.

Now she found herself at six months later on a battlefield. Alone, facing an entire battalion of nin. The heady scent of pine needles invaded her nostrils the soft breeze caressed her skin.

An electronic crackle and static filled her ears.

"Naruto remember what we told you," Danzo's voice cut through the static before cutting out again. "This is a game just like before."

"Ok Danzo."

"Remember to have fun with your toys..." she could almost see the smile on Danzo's face through the headset. "You like to be happy don't you?"

Yes she liked to be happy, who wouldn't right?

"Don't you want your toys to be happy?" His voice asked through the headset.

Of course she did.

Hunching over Mei accessed that power she could always feel in her body. The comforting red energy that was there when she was hurt or in pain. Mei felt her nails lengthening, her teeth becoming fangs, and the tails she loved forming from her back. The warm carress of the energy as it swathed her body in crimson light.

Mei heard the men and women in front of her shouting in surprise as she charged them. Having been many hundreds of feet away not even a second ago she appeared in their middle of their formation. She struck with a clawed hand driving it through the chest of the man closest to her, turning it in his gullet so her palm faced upwards she lifted and threw him bodily into the woods nearly a hundred feet away.

The rest of the men and woman attacked her as one, Mei jumped into the sky avoiding a katana meant to cleave her skull in two. Returning the attack with one of her own, a mighty axe kick that impacted against the forehead of a woman. Mei felt the bones give way, the liquidized goo that had once been brains wash over her bare foot.

Using the crushed head of the woman as a spring board she flipped in mid air, Mei twirled around with arms outstretched her claws lacerating any person standing with in their reach. She landed gently on all fours the dirt beneath her hands and feet slick with blood.

The screams of happiness reached her ears, and Mei smiled. She was doing a good thing, making sure her toys were happy like this. Many of her toys were running, like they always did.

It was like that game tag Danzo told her about. She would have to catch them before they made it to far.

Blurring out of sight she caught a man in her tails; one gripping him by his left leg, the other his right arm. She held him above her head wondering if he was having as much fun as she was. The weird feeling in her chest was there, so that meant she was happy.

Mei wondered if he felt the same feeling.

"Let me go monster!" He shouted at her, swiping at her with his free arm. Mei smiled feeling her fangs poking at her bottom lip, name calling was always a part of this game.

She willed her tails to pull apart, inch by inch they did as told. She heard snapping and cracking, screams filled the air as skin began to stretch... tear... and then with a final wet crack. Two halves of the once whole body were being held in her tails and blood rained down over her.

Throwing the pieces away she glanced around for the others-

"K-kai..."

-after all the game wasn't over until she caught them all-

"Kai..."

-Mei saw a woman not to far off in the distance and in a streak of red she appeared beside the-

"KAI!"

The image vanished as reality returned and Mei fell to the stone floor of the cell on all fours, pain lanced up her right shoulder as the broken bones strained to hold her weight. Though the tears in her eyes had nothing to do with the pain.

Her haggard breaths created small clouds of vapor in the chill air and as she looked up she saw Naruto looking at her. The demonic transformation still in place his small body trembling, his eyes were back to their original blood red coloring.

To her horror Mei saw the barely contained insanity within them. Threatening to break free at the slightest push.

Some of those memories she couldn't comprehend, couldn't believe to be true. Experimented on, to be tricked into killing your own mother and to be happy about it. To be taught to kill and main without mercy and be told its a game. It boggled her to an extreme.

'He really didn't know...' Mei thought, breathing deeply trying to calm her thundering heartbeat. 'All this time he thought it was wrong but no one told him that he was right.' the thoughts racing in her mind suddenly focused and became crystal clear as she realized something vastly important.

She had been the one to turn his reality upside down. If she had been like the others, cursing him attacking him. She wouldn't be breathing right now.

A simple answer was all she had given him, but it was the largest form of true affection he had ever received. Surrounded by pain and lies his entire life, he had questioned why but never received the proper answer.

The one Naruto knew deep in his heart, beyond the madness, the rampancy, was the real answer to his question.

"I'm s-sorry..." Mei whispered inching closer to the boy, she saw his eyes widen as if expecting an attack and she gritted her teeth holding back a scream as she felt one of his claws pierce and pass through her already broken shoulder.

"I said go away!"

"I-I'm s-sorry Naruto." Mei whispered again reaching out with her good arm, slowly she gripped his white shirt and pulled his trembling body to her own. Wrapping it around his small frame in a hug. She felt the fabric of her shirt burn away and the skin on her arms that touched the malevolent red aura encompassing the boy began to burn. It was painful but she continued to hold on.

The trembling increased and she heard his sobs, felt the hot tears as he nuzzled into her neck. Cautiously, slowly she felt his arms wrap around her and the burning sensation lessened. Mei watched fascinated as the tails began to retract, the aura faded, leaving a sobbing child in her arms.

"W-why m-me?" Naruto managed to ask between sobs. His voice had changed back to how it was when they had first met; still having that odd deeper echo, though no longer entirely demonic.

Unable to come up with an answer Mei opted to rub his back in what she hoped was a soothing, comforting way.

"Why did they lie to me!"

Mei gasped as he struggled to escape her grip, the sinister chakra filled the air once more the burning sensation on her skin returned and she let go with wide eyes. She leaned away and tried to avoid the swirling energies that the distraught boy was releasing

His earlier feral features returned, and the cloak itself was no longer a brilliant crimson. It was darker; streaks of black laced through out it, and she saw that underneath that aura of evil his skin was not burning but melting off beneath the chakra.

His own blood was causing the discoloration.

Atop his head a skeletal frame in the shape of a foxes skull began to form, from his back a spine and rib cage.

But what caused Mei to nearly stop breathing was not the four from earlier but six tails of chakra appearing from Naruto's backside.

"THEY WILL PAY!" Insane laughter filled the air. "ALL OF THEM WILL PAY!"

The screeching sound of metal on stone filled the air and Mei's head snapped in the noise's direction. She felt herself flooded with relief seeing the door to the cell open, in its frame stood Ao.

Along side Kurenai and Anko.

All three of them with looks of disbelief and horror at was standing, laughing manically in the center of the room.

"What the fuck is that?" Anko shouted pointing at Naruto. Though not as vocal as her friend Kurenai's eyes held the same question.

No longer distinguishable as ever being human Naruto was on all fours, the skeletal frame of a fox hung loosely on his body. The six tails behind him whipping around in the air in a violent fray.

The seals on the walls sparked and dimmed and his full fury and wrath was felt unhindered.

Both Kurenai and Anko blanched instantly recognizing the feeling, one they had thought to have been vanquished never to return.

"...Kyuubi..." the pair whispered.

Dashing past Naruto, Mei grabbed Ao by the collar then ran dragging him down the hall. Shouting over her shoulder at the two shell shocked women still standing in front of the door. "RUN YOU IDIOTS!"

The two younger women jumped as if struck by lightning, looked for a brief second back into the room then took Mei's wise advice and bolted.

Barely avoiding the clawed hand made of pure crimson chakra that destroyed the wall that had been behind them not even a second earlier.

Screams and maddened declarations followed the groups escape, causing an eerie echo to surround them.

"ALL OF THEM SHALL PAY! I SWEAR IT!"

Chapter 2 End

A.N. So you all know and I'm clearing this up now this is the first arc of the story. Expect it to go into four chapters... easier way to say it is that this whole arc is a prologue just cut up into pieces.