The previous chapter was a joke! It was originally written to make a friend mad! This is the actual second chapter!
Okay then! Another chapter! Amazing how this was originally going to be a one-shot. Oh well, I just couldn't seem to resist. I seem to have made this more about Kyuubi than Sasuke and Naruto, I'm going to have to change that eventually. Enjoy the next exciting chapter of Pain in Birthdays! Thanks to everyone that reviewed the last, joke, chapter. Special thanks to twilight83777 for giving me the first review, and to milkchocolatehot64 for the review that I found the most fun to read.
"Naruto?! Naruto, are you all right?!" Sasuke blinked, clearing his vision. He knew the bomb had gone off with everyone around it, so why didn't he feel any pain? He looked around and noticed a red surrounding everything and everyone.
"The Kyuubi?" he looked at Naruto's bed, only to see him hunched over.
"Naruto?"
"Nnng, Sasu-ke? Owww.." Sasuke went over to him, the red chakra leaving. He could see that Naruto was bleeding again, worse even. Looking closer, he saw a large gash on his side.
"Naruto! What happened?!"
"Heh, I'll be, fine. Kyuubi's chakra, couldn't activate, fast enough, to prevent all the damage." he panted out.
"I'll get Tsunade, wait here."
"As if I had plans to go somewhere else. You don't need to get her, this'll heal."
"Kit, I can not heal this right now. I'm still making sure the bomb is completely gone, and besides, your Hokage could heal it faster. I can lessen the blood flow though."
"Oh, right. Okay."
"Eh, Sasuke? I think I might actually need Baa-chan's help with this." Sasuke nodded and left. He came back a second later with Tsunade.
"What's wrong? Sasuke said your side-" she saw his wound.
"Lay down!" she pushed him down and began to work. About five minutes later, she straightened, his wound healed.
"What happened to Kyuubi making sure you're all right?"
"She did! It would've been a lot worse if she hadn't helped! She saved you guys as well! She even stopped the bleeding!"
"You seem to really like her Naruto. Who knew you would end up liking the source of the villagers hatred?" The room went silent after Kakashi's remark.
"Okay Naruto, Kyuubi. I'll let you."
"Huh?"
"You can go search for her child. But I get to choose who goes with you, got it?" Naruto grinned.
"Gotcha, dattebayo!" he closed his eyes, and when they opened, they were red.
"Thank you. But I am curious as to whom you will choose to come along."
"You can leave tomorrow morning. I'll assign someone to go with you; they'll be waiting for you at the gates. And Naruto had better come back in good health, got it?"
"Of course, I had all ready promised that."
"I don't want Naruto to be the one in control when you're going to the gates in the morning, I have a feeling this harassment won't end today."
"You are correct, it last longer and longer every year. Now, I think you should all leave. The kit needs rest." the Kyuubi closed her eyes and laid down. The crimson chakra left, leaving Kakashi, Iruka, Tsunade, and Sasuke staring at the sleeping form.
"Interesting, how we never knew that Kyuubi could take him over at any time." Kakashi shrugged, grabbed Iruka, and left. Tsunade shook her head.
"I can't believe this. Sasuke, you should go home now." she left as well.
Sasuke looked at the sleeping form, "I'm sorry about all of this Naruto. If I knew this was happened…" he turned away and left.
"I wonder what he would have done if he had known."
"It doesn't matter either way. Heh, he may not act like it, but he's still my best friend."
"Perhaps more someday."
"Huh? What?"
"Nothing kit. Get some rest. Tomorrow we head out."
"I hope she's okay."
"As do I. Sleep now kit, we can worry about everything tomorrow. I will keep us safe."
"Yeah, okay. G'night Kyuubi." he didn't hear her respond, all ready fast asleep.
"Goodnight, my foolish kit. Let us hope nothing bad happens, to either you, or my own kit."
Naruto awoke early, before the sun had risen completely, "Well, this is it!"
"Careful kit, make sure nothing is out of the ordinary."
"Out of the ordinary? You mean like we got Baa-chan's permission to look for your kit? That Sakura found out my birthday and gave me a gift? Oh! How about-"
"That is enough kit!"
"Heh, sorry. But what do you mean out of the ordinary?"
"Perhaps a trap laid by your every-so-thoughtful villagers?"
"Oh goody, more sarcastic advice."
"Are you going to get ready, or do I need to do that for you as well?"
"I can do it! Besides, you can't take over unless I let you. Or I'm terribly injured. Since I'm neither, nyah!"
"Something I forgot to mention, 'Baa-chan' said that I was to control you as soon as you leave the apartment."
"WHAT?! Why?!"
"Calm down kit, you will wake the entire village at this rate. Now hurry up and get ready. She was most likely thinking of your own safety." Naruto grumbled and got dressed quickly. He grabbed his bag and filled it with anything he might need, food, sleeping bag, medicine pack, and even a map. He sighed.
"Fine, let's go." he opened the door and peeked out before quickly yanking his head back in, "This isn't going to be easy."
"Let me." Naruto closed his eyes and let Kyuubi take over. She opened her eyes and grinned before opening the door and walking out to the mob assembled there.
"There he is!"
"Well well, the monster deciding to come out of its hole. Finally decide to face the consequences of what you've done?"
"I do not seem to recall him doing anything to you. Neither have I. Not to you personally."
The villagers went silent, some paling, "What are you talking about? He's lost his mind! Well, we can save you from insanity." Many of the villagers launched at him, attacking with knives and whatever else they had gotten their hands on.
"This would be a reason your Hokage wanted me in charge."
"Yeah, I get. Don't hurt them, okay?"
"What?! Why ever not? They seem to have to qualms in harming you."
"Just, don't. Please?"
"I will never understand you. Fine then." Kyuubi easily dodged the villagers, ending up behind them, even the ones that didn't attack them.
"Amazing, how you all attack him, knowing full well that if he wished, he may kill you all." she turned and walked down the stairs. She walked down the streets, dodging anything thrown far easier and quicker than Naruto could. She didn't even have to look around corners or above her to know when someone that hated them was coming, or when something was being hurled at them. She walked calmly through the streets, ending up at the gates. There was no one there.
"We are early, they're just not here yet."
"I realized that kit. I can wait. If you wish, you may take back over."
"Yes." Kyuubi sat down and went back into her cell, which Naruto had somehow managed to make nicer. Naruto opened his eyes.
"Well, nothing to do but wait I guess."
"It is amazing how happy you are most of the year, yet as soon as yesterday dawns, all your optimism vanishes. You are almost depressing."
"Yeah, I know. But this is the one day of the year where everyone is completely open about how they feel about me. How they really feel. Damn! I forgot to eat breakfast! I'm hungry!" Naruto's stomach growled as he spoke.
"Heh, forgetful as always dobe." His eyes snapped open.
"Sasuke?! What are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious? Here." Sasuke tossed a breakfast bar at him. Naruto caught it and looked at it warily.
"It's not poisoned. I didn't go into the store and say 'I want to buy Naruto Uzumaki a breakfast bar. Extra poison please.'" Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"I didn't think it was poisoned!"
"Whatever, just eat it so we can go." Naruto glared at him before eating the bar. They set out, walking along the path.
"Do either you or the Kyuubi have any idea as to where we're going?"
"I don't know."
"Great."
"Hold on, I'll ask."
"Kyuubi?"
"I am not sure as yet, let me have control so I may find a trace of the snake."
"Just a sec, let me tell Sasu-chan."
"Hey, Sasuke?"
"Hn?"
"Kyuubi's going to take control for a bit, so she can figure out where to go okay? Just wait here so she can go ahead for a bit."
"Yeah, sure."
"He seems to take this all very well. I wonder what he's really thinking and feeling. What an interesting subject, especially since you seem to be smitten with him. Much better choice than that pink female."
"Shut up! I am not smitten with him! Just find the way all ready!"
Sasuke watched as Naruto closed his eyes and as he sensed the chakra changed. Naruto opened his eyes.
"Wait here pup. I shall be back." She took off, faster than ever. Sasuke stood there waiting for a few minutes before he started to wonder if she actually was coming back. He wasn't even sure if Naruto would if he was in control. He was about to go look for them when she came back.
"Found it." She closed her eyes.
"Okay, she said we should follow this road until we get to a small town. We can rest there, and then in the morning she'll tell me where to go next, okay?"
"Hn." He hated that they didn't get to know the entire plan. They kept walking, passing a few people on the path, but otherwise nothing happened to them. About a mile's walk away from the village, they decided to take a small break and eat something. They ate in silence, Sasuke not much to talk, Naruto chatting with Kyuubi because he knew Sasuke wouldn't talk that much.
"Watch it!" Naruto looked up in time to see a kunai heading for him. It hit his sandwich, pinning it to the ground. Sasuke jumped up and looked around, finding their attackers. There were at least twelve of them.
"Move!" Naruto and Sasuke jumped apart as more kunai and shuriken was thrown at them.
"Right!" Naruto dodged to the right as one of the Shinobi came through, chakra blade hitting where Naruto had been seconds ago. He pummeled the guy. Smoke bombs, flash bombs, and paper bombs were constantly going off, preventing any visual.
"Can you tell if Sasuke's okay?"
"I could, but then I would not be able to help you for a moment."
"That's fine. I don't think I'm going to die within a minute."
"You will not, that would require quite a bit of effort, quite fast. Fine, I will check on him." Relieved, Naruto went back to fighting anyone that came into his view. He got hit quite a few times.
"Watch out!" Naruto didn't have the time to do as told, instead he got hit straight on, his right leg and arm snapping. Another came at his other side, but he managed to dodge it. He landed on his back, having trouble dodging with his broken leg and all the pain that came with the broken bones. He felt Kyuubi's chakra focusing there.
"Kyuubi? What's happening with Sasuke?"
"Be quiet and concentrate on dodging!" Naruto moved over. As soon as his leg was healed, he jumped away and threw shurikan at his attackers. Once he was clear of danger for a moment, he stopped moving, letting Kyuubi heal his arm better. When that was healed and he could feel her begin on his other injuries, he decided to risk talking to her again.
"Those don't matter, they're pretty small.
"I suppose you are including the gash on your arm." Naruto shrugged.
"Fine, whatever. How is Sasuke doing?"
"Hmph. You say your not smitten with him, yet your thought are constantly directed toward him."
"They are not! He's my friend, that's all!"
"Sure kit. He is fighting, of course."
"I meant is he okay? I know he's fighting!"
"Heh. He is injured, but is still fighting off many of them. Move to the left and then jump into a tree." Naruto did so, barely avoiding more enemies. He sat in the tree and concentrated on Kyuubi.
"How badly injured, and how do I get to him?"
"These Shinobi seem to be focusing more on you than him, so he has not been as badly injured as you were. He is bleeding fairy badly though. You cannot get to him. He is a way off, and you have your own problems to deal with. There are many that you had not seen at first. The pup has taken out six. You have taken out seven. That is thirteen all ready. And there are still quite a few left. It seems they were waiting for you. Get down." Naruto jumped back down and threw a kunai where he just was, hitting the guy and making him fall.
"Some help would be nice."
"Then move over kit." Naruto closed his eyes briefly, letting the crimson chakra consume him.
"I hate this. This place is boring."
"Then just watch the battle kit." She ran through the smoke, attacking people quickly before they could know she was even there.
"This smoke is a jutsu, it is made up of chakra. It is actually a difficult jutsu to perform. Now we simply have to find him."
"Can you tell which one he is?"
"…Yes." She jumped up, avoiding many of the shinobi. She kept going until they were at the edge of a cliff, "Of course, the coward is at the bottom of this cliff. It seems his only usefulness is the jutsu." She jumped down, not caring how far it was.
"Are you crazy?! We're gonna become ninja pancakes!"
"Calm down kit. You forget whom you are speaking with."
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were related to Sasuke, the way you act sometimes."
"I do not have to help you. I could live up to your village's expectations of me."
"You're so mean!!!!! Meanie, MEANIE!" Kyuubi landed easily and found the person holding up the jutsu. When he saw them, he made a few more hand signs. This hid him as well.
"An illusion jutsu? How pathetic. Perhaps if it was a demonic illusion, it would work." The man acted as if he didn't hear him. Kyuubi chuckled and appeared behind him, "You have been a nuisance." She stabbed him, the jutsus releasing as he died. They looked up in time to see Sasuke hit hard, snapping something, and pushed off the cliff.
"Sasuke!" Without even thinking about it, Kyuubi jumped, grabbing onto Sasuke and throwing a kunai at the man that pushed him off. They landed safely, but were quickly surrounded by at least eight more shinobi.
"How many are there?! Is Sasuke okay?!"
"Will you shut up!" Looking inside their mind, Kyuubi saw Naruto close to tears, "Let me get rid of them, and then we can take care of him."
"Okay." Kyuubi sighed slightly and attacked. Within moments, all but one was dead. The other was injured and could hardly move. Kyuubi left him there and headed back to Sasuke.
"Would you like out? You can check him over." She didn't wait for an answer, instead she entered the mind space. And pushed him out.
"You could stop crying. Check him over and place your hands on the most serious injuries. If any are bleeding, do those first and I can stop the bleeding. Hurry now, this is work kit; ignore your feeling about him. Save it for later. Do you understand?" Naruto nodded and began checking Sasuke over. He quickly placed his hands wherever he could see blood.
"Kit! Just because you see blood, does not mean he is bleeding there!"
"Sorry." He checked more carefully. As soon as all the bleeding was stopped, Naruto moved on to assessing which wounds were the most serious.
"I-I don't know! I can't tell what's worse! He's going to die because I don't know anything!" His eyes filled up with tears again.
"Kit, I told you to save your emotions for later. Since you obviously cannot do this, move over." Naruto let her push him away so she could do the work. She worked quickly and efficiently, healing the worst of the injuries and leaving more minor ones such as cuts and bruises. After she was done, Naruto dared to take another look.
"He still looks like shit." He sniffed, "But he's okay now?"
"Yes kit, he will be fine. Stiff, and still be in some pain, but he can handle it. It will not kill him, in the least. Here." She traded with Naruto again, leaving him kneeling by Sasuke. Naruto looked around and ran into the woods. He set up a tent, large enough for the two boys, before running back to Sasuke. Relieved that nothing had happened while he was gone, he picked Sasuke up gingerly and carried him to the tent. Once there, he set him down on his sleeping bag since he couldn't find Sasuke's. Making sure he was comfortable and there was no danger nearby, Naruto set out to look for food and water, and to create a perimeter. When he returned, Sasuke was lying there still, but his eyes were now open.
"Sasuke?! How are you feeling?"
"Fine"
"Can you sit up?"
"Yes." He sat up, wincing and almost falling back down. Naruto caught him.
"I'll get you something to drink." Naruto went to the other side of the tent. Sasuke tried to stretch, but found that the multiple bruises and cuts made it very painful.
"You shouldn't move much. Here." Naruto handed him a cup of water and left, checking the perimeter again. When he walked back in, Sasuke asked him a question.
"What happened?"
"You broke two ribs, an arm and was pushed off a cliff. You had multiple cuts and bruises, along with gashes that kept bleeding even after we caught you and finished the fight. One of them is still alive. I put him in my tent and made sure he wouldn't be able to get away and wouldn't die."
"How many were still left after I fell?"
"About nine or ten."
"Why were there so many?" his fists clenched.
"Sasuke, calm down. You need rest. We don't know why we were attacked. We're going to question the other guy while you rest. Okay?"
"We, as in you and the Kyuubi."
"Yes." Sasuke looked away and lay back down. Naruto was about to say something else when Kyuubi pulled him into the mindscape.
"Kit, leave him alone. He is obviously not dealing well with having been saved. He hurt his pride, he should be fine by morning."
"But-"
"No. Let us question the remainder so we may be rid of him. We need to keep watch tonight as well, fawning over him will only be a hindrance."
"I am not fawning over him!"
"Stop yelling kit, I am right next to you, there is no need." Naruto didn't answer her, "Would you like to question the enemy?"
"Sure." He left the mindscape and walked to the other tent, glaring at the tears and crappy patch jobs he had to put on. He entered it and glared at the man tied at the end.
"You're going to tell me why you and those others attacked us. And you're going to do it without complaint, and right now." Naruto took the gag out.
"Heh, and why should I tell a brat like you anything? You're not that tough. You can't scare me."
"Fine then, I won't, but you'll regret not answering me." Naruto had Kyuubi take over to get the answers out of the man.
"You will tell me everything you know. I have little patience with scum like you, if any."
"Hah! Changing your voice won't help you kid!"
"He did not change his voice. He let me take control. I have free reign to do with you whatever I wish. I give you a choice, a painless death, or one that never ends. Choose wisely."
"Please kid, you think I'd believe that?" Kyuubi let her chakra slam him onto the floor.
"Apparently you have never dealt with demons before. We have very little patience for things of this sort. I meant what I said earlier." She glared at him and he got his first good look at her eyes. She grinned when his eyes widened and she could smell the fear radiating off him.
"No! Leave me alone!"
"Tell me what I want to know, and I shall let the kit take back over."
"Okay! I'll tell you! We were hired to kill you!"
"By whom?"
"I'm not sure. We took the job, got paid a lot for it too. Didn't need to know their names."
"So, there was more than one?"
"Yes. There was an entire group! They said they wanted you dead to be rid of the demon scum!"
"And how was the other boy part of that?"
"Leave no witnesses. I'm sorry!"
"As agreed, I shall let the kit have control again." They switched places again. Naruto's eyes were hard.
"You don't know who hired you?"
"No." He was regaining his composure now that Kyuubi wasn't speaking with him.
"You were hired to kill me because of Kyuubi."
"As I said before."
"Okay, where were you hired? And what did your, employers, look like?"
"Sadly, I didn't get a good look. And they're probably long gone by now." He sneered.
"If you're not going to cooperate, I don't have to either. I'm sure Kyuubi would love another session with you." The man paled.
"No! I'm telling the truth! We were hired about fifteen miles down the road in the next town! Our employers weren't from there, they probably are gone by now!"
"And why did they hire so many?"
"They wanted to be sure to be rid of you."
"Fine" He walked out of the tent.
"And here I thought we were going to kill him. That was interesting though. 'Rid of you' that means they know you and deal with you often. Unfortunately, that leaves people from Konoha as the main suspects."
"I know that, we'll kill him later. I want to check on Sasuke."
"Of course. Let us make sure the pup is well, so as to ease your mind."
"I'm assuming this is another crack about how I'm in love with him. Like I've said, I'm-"
"Not in love with him? Well, time shall tell. I will try not to gloat too much when you realize that I am correct. Wake me if there is need. And not something stupid like advice kit." Naruto quit talking and entered Sasuke's tent.
Okay! That's all for now people! I hope you enjoyed the true second chapter! Review and don't kill me! Loves!