Youkai gone astray

by IncandescentOne

Now half demon, Naruto has to deal with his life being turned upside down while he lives in the place that made him that way. Naruto also struggles between getting strong to prove himself to the one who saved him, Sesshoumaru and attempting to have a life

4. More Tests

Warning: Contains mild peril!

Ah I forgot the E-mail of my Beta! If you read this could you send me a mail? TT sorry!

PETE HAS RECEIVED A FAN-ART!!! WOOT. Cough uhh, yeah. Pete likes his Fan-Art. Fan-Art is encouraged. walks away calmly

Confession: The Sesshoumaru/Tree scene is blatantly plagiarised from the manga, as I'm reading it through at the moment though information about other events is from my own knowledge of the series.

---)(---

Sesshoumaru was wandering through a rather remote forrest, followed closely by his retainer Jaken, a rather small green Youkai, carrying a wooden staff thrice his height, atop which were two elderly heads, one male and one female.

Following closely behind Jaken was a mount, a two-headed dragon the size of the largest horse, with strong green scales, a muzzle over each mouth and a fine leather saddle on its back. Atop its saddle sat a young girl, black hair quite long for her age, a small tuft of it cropped at the side and a rather fine Yukata for clothing.

Jaken, who was following Sesshoumaru loyally as he had done for many years, asked about their location. "Lord Sesshoumaru, your Father's acquaintance lives in such a small forrest?"

Sesshoumaru didn't deign to respond because when they got there that would be answer enough. It wasn't long until a rumbling crackly voice sounded from the canopy. "Ah I thought you'd visit some time soon."

The girl atop the dragon's back looked up startled. "A voice came from the sky…" One of the dragon's heads also looked up to investigate the sound.

Sesshoumaru stepped up to the trunk of a rather large and impressive tree and spoke. "Bokusenou?" A pause. "You know why I've come."

An aged face seemed to grow out from the tree at Sesshoumaru's head-height, seemingly made from the bark of the tree. "That you've come to see me means that you've come about the swords, haven't you. It's about your Father's memento Tessaiga huh? Or is it…"

Behind him Sesshoumaru heard Jaken and the girl he had resurrected, Rin, discussing how he was talking to a tree, he paid them no mind. Though Jaken asked him who he was talking to, he felt it appropriate he answer. "A two thousand year old Magnolia Hypoleuca Tree." He turned back just as the tree spoke.

"Indeed, and also the scabbards of Sesshoumaru's Father's swords; Tessaiga and Tenseiga… were carved from my branches."

Sesshoumaru pressed on with the reason he was here. He had recently fought Inuyasha after having Acquired the Tokijin, a sword he had had forged from the fangs of one of Naraku's spawn. The same fangs which had been able to bite through Tessaiga. During their fight, as a result of the repair process, Tessaiga was too heavy for Inuyasha to wield until he became stronger and so Inuyasha attempted to attack Sesshoumaru without. Immediately Sesshoumaru had the upper hand however once Inuyasha had been pushed back, he crouched down and seemed to change. Sesshoumaru himself felt a slight fear from the aura Inuyasha began to emit, his eyes turned blood red all over, with dark blue pupils and a jagged purple slash appeared on each of his cheeks. He looked as if he were a full-Youkai and that he was channelling his Youki, preparing for battle. Sesshoumaru disabled Inuyasha with Tokijin's abilities but did not pursue the battle, because it seemed as if Inuyasha had fallen into a berserker state and it would not do to defeat him when he was not himself. It was also because there were still questions to ask. Such as, if Tessaiga was too heavy for him to wield, and would remain so until he grew in power, how was he to ever wield it? Perhaps he should check on Naruto and his progress. But also it seemed as if Inuyasha had been taken over by the Youkai blood within him, which while it granted him seemingly great strength and an aura which rivalled their father, it seemed to be detrimental to his conscious mind. Sesshoumaru was here to see his father's friend to find out what was going on. "Bokusenou you'd know wouldn't you. The connection between Inuyasha and Tessaiga."

Bokusenou, or rather the face protruding from the tree Bokusenou, paused for a moment before speaking. "Inuyasha… you're younger brother huh?"

Sesshoumaru decided to detail the information he held. "The first time was when Tessaiga was bitten apart by an Oni… the second was when he discarded Tessaiga in battle with me. Inuyasha's blood changed. It went from a Hanyou's blood smell to the same Youkai's blood smell as that of Father's and my own."

Bokusenou's face once again paused and its features crinkled to resemble thought. A branch shaped much like a hand grew from just below the face and began scratching the chin area of the face. "The same Youkai's blood huh? I wonder about that…"

Sesshoumaru prompted impatiently. "What do you mean by that?" Though he desperately wanted to threaten the tree into hurrying up, he knew that tree spirits were often slow in nature, as they lived for so long in the same place. But also because it was a close acquaintance of his Father, the donor of the sheath's to his Father's Memento swords. As such the tree deserved more respect than to be threatened.

Bokusenou finally continued. "Inuyasha is half-Youkai born between a human and a Youkai. He can never become a true Youkai. At any rate Sesshoumaru there is something you as a Perfect Youkai can do that Inuyasha can not do. That is… preservation of the self…"

Sesshoumaru was confused now; he had seen Inuyasha defend himself fine, against himself no less, what did this have to do with self-preservation? "Preservation of the self…?"

Bokusenou continued after a pause, which was starting to annoy Sesshoumaru. "Indeed for an example Sesshoumaru… when in the middle of battle, no matter how pressed you were, though your mind was cool… have you ever lost yourself?"

Sesshoumaru's pride kicked into full gear. "Hrmph. Being pressed is not something that's happened to me." Sesshoumaru grudgingly thought of the loss of his arm to Inuyasha, and later being hit full-on by a blast from Tessaiga, and only surviving due to the graces of Tenseiga. But he knew those were lucky shots and partially due to Sesshoumaru's continued underestimation of Inuyasha.

Bokusenou's face seemed to contort into a smirk. "Kukuku… maybe that's so." Bokusenou paused, again. "But Inuyasha is different. When pressed and his life is in danger, to protect himself, his Youkai blood controls his body and transforms it…"

Sesshoumaru thought back to his encounter with Inuyasha directly after his acquisition of Tokijin. 'So that's what happened then…'

Bokusenou continued. "However the blood of a greater-Youkai Inuyasha inherited from your father is too strong for a Hanyou's body…

Sesshoumaru became intrigued; finally they were getting to the crux of the matter. Damn trees. "…What happens then?"

Bokusenou didn't pause this time but seemed contemplative. "Indeed… you could say his mind would be eaten away by his Youkai blood. He wouldn't recognise anybody. He'd kill enemies and friends alike. And after transforming repeatedly… Inuyasha's mind will be lost. He'll be reduced to a monster that just fights, and continues to fight until his body is destroyed. Your Father didn't want that to happen to Inuyasha of course. Which is precisely why… as a sword of protection, Inuyasha was given Tessaiga." Sesshoumaru paused for a moment and watched as the face and arm of the Bokusenou faded back into the trunk before he calmly walked off, followed closely by his 'entourage' of sorts.

---)(---

Naruto repressed a growl as Mizuki entered the room. Iruka the spoke up. "Right class, let's go outside to the Taijutsu training area."

Iruka led the way outside with Mizuki following closely behind, the class all got up and obediently followed, normally there would be a ruckus of some sort as Iruka wasn't there to make sure they behaved, having left the room first, but this was about their future as Ninja.

Naruto calmed down slightly as Mizuki's form left the room, he stood up as Chouji and Shikamaru needed him out of the way for them to get past. He walked along, following the crowd at a subdued pace, still conflicted and trying to keep himself calm.

Once everyone was outside they were lined up against the wall to wait until it was their turn. Iruka had a clip board with lots of sheets on, presumably one for each of the present students, and was currently telling everyone the rules.

Absently Naruto managed to catch the rules, no Chakra, no weapons, no claws – damn – they would be graded on speed, technique and power.

Iruka was about to call out Aburame Shino, because he was first in the alphabet, when Mizuki came up behind him, cupped his hand to Iruka's ear and whispered something. Iruka looked at Mizuki funny but sighed. "Fine. Since Uzumaki Naruto is new in class, Mizuki wants to test him before he gets tired, so we can have a more fair assessment of his abilities, as we already have a good idea of the abilities of the rest of the class." Iruka took the papers off his clipboard and quickly shuffled through the end until he found Naruto's. "Ah here we go. Okay Naruto when you're ready." Iruka gestured towards the field where Mizuki was standing but Naruto didn't hear him.

Naruto had been managing to contain his temper, he had had until almost all the fights were over to calm down and act rationally. A Ninja needed to be a master of their emotions, lest they be used against them in battle. However as Mizuki had been whispering to Iruka, so low that Naruto had missed it, Mizuki had looked over at Naruto. With his hand in the way it was impossible for Naruto to see his facial expression and they were too far away for him to be able to scent Mizuki's emotions but just being looked in the eye by one of those who had murdered him completely shattered Naruto's cool.

Naruto felt his Youki begin to boil within him, this time it had purpose and desire, it sounded like beautiful sirens singing the death of Mizuki, and like all men who hear the song of the sirens Naruto crashed upon the rocks. Immediately after Mizuki had stepped back from Naruto he had smirked at him. That was the last straw, at that time Naruto lost all perception of the world around him except for Mizuki, his prey.

Naruto's claws elongated sharply and the joints of his fingers began to crack as he flexed his joints, preparing them for the pressure they would be put under as they rent Mizuki asunder. His hair begun to ruffle, as it had grown quite a bit over the past nine months and was more easily caught by the wind. His robes began to billow out as well as all at once a rush of Youki began to rise from his body, like the steam coming from the Youki boiling within him. Naruto began to take measured steps. Forward toward Mizuki, who now looked decidedly unnerved, he had been expecting the same brat he had murdered before, he wasn't going to kill him but in this setting he had free reign to pummel the kid. Now he wasn't so sure.

As Naruto moved slowly toward Mizuki, the entire class and even Iruka were completely frozen by the feelings his aura invoked in them, feelings of being hunted, a kind of primal fear that wasn't crushing or overbearing but so deep-set that they couldn't repress it no matter how hard they tried.

A few steps further and Naruto's aura burned higher, increasing still. Naruto's eyes had long become deep red and were sharply slitted, he had lost almost all of his peripheral vision and all of his senses were honed upon Mizuki, once again he could hear the thunderous beat of his heart as it pumped his blood around his body. He could smell the sweat and the fear. The fear, Naruto savoured it, it smelt sweet and spurned him further, intending to produce so much more fear from Mizuki before it ended.

Mizuki stepped back, definitely unnerved as the fear induced by Naruto's aura got to him. "Wh… What are you?" He stepped back further still.

Naruto's pace faltered. This man, this murderer dared accuse him as if he were in the wrong. His aura flared further, burning over nine foot high and leaving burning scorch marks where his feet left the floor, however curiously leaving all his clothes in tact. Naruto would not let this man turn the tables; it was he who was the monster, the murderer. "Murderer" It was quiet but with the deathly still over the training grounds, everyone heard it and they were all confused as to what it meant.

Mizuki, in one final bout of courage and defiance shouted back at Naruto, even whilst he back-peddled further. "IT'S NOT MURDER TO A DEMON!"

Immediately Naruto snarled and crouched down, his claws being brought back to his sides and his shoulders set to put all of his power into their swipes. But before he could launch himself forward, two masked figures appeared with a hand each on Mizuki's shoulders and promptly disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Naruto was furious; they were taking away his prey. On instinct alone he dashed to the spot they had previously occupied, the smoke of their departure still thick in the air. He not only smelt their scents but he scented, or maybe felt their energies within the smoke. Either way he searched out with his senses, attempting to locate their location, he would have his prey. After only ten seconds of whirling about on the spot Naruto focused in the direction of the Hokage tower and snarled. All at once his body became enveloped in a light – almost white – luminescent orange glow before he looked to be only a ball of energy and then the light – Naruto – disappeared from view, travelling towards the Hokage tower at blinding speeds.

Once Naruto had left, Iruka turned to the class, having recovered from the shock and the fear much faster than they had. "Right well class, the ANBU will sort that out. I guess you'll have to put up with me for the Taijutsu evaluations. Now then, Shino, if you would please step forward?" Iruka put his clipboard down and waited in the field for Shino to collect himself and move forward. Iruka knew what was going on, he had suspected since he had seen Naruto staring so intently at Mizuki the entire time Naruto had been aware of his presence not only during the lead-up to their Taijutsu trials but also at the gathering nine months ago. Iruka liked Mizuki, they were close, but if Mizuki truly had participated in Naruto's murder then he would not mourn his death, for after having felt such an aura, Iruka knew, instinctively, that Mizuki's time was up.

---)(---

The two ANBU who had abducted – or rescued – Mizuki appeared in a large room at the Hokage tower, still each holding one arm on Mizuki's shoulders. Once they let go Mizuki shook slightly on his legs before turning to them. "What… Why am I here?"

The ANBU wearing a cat mask – the other wore a gorilla mask – answered. "Lord Hokage ordered that you be removed to this location should Naruto be agitated by your presence." He made no move to… well move, and neither did the ANBU in a gorilla mask. Mizuki decided he would be safe here, and quietly lamented his previous actions. Such a foolish thing to do.

Sarutobi had felt two of Naruto's ANBU guards enter the tower and immediately rushed down to ascertain what had transpired, he quickly entered the room to find the two ANBU still standing to attention and Mizuki looking rather shaken but unharmed. He was about to inquire as to what happened when a pale orange ball of light materialised through the wall at an alarming pace but immediately stopped before coalescing into the form of Naruto, as soon as the energy had dispersed, a fiery red aura erupted almost nine feet high from Naruto, causing his clothes and hair to billow as if in an upward wind, he slowly brought his right arm up so that his right claw was next to his left cheek, and brought his left arm back, so that it was ready for a swiping motion and he began to advance towards Mizuki. Immediately the two ANBU became alert and drew their weapons, though it seemed as if Naruto were unaware of their aggressive actions, Mizuki meanwhile turned and froze at the sight of Naruto, the whiskers on his cheeks were slowly but surely thickening into thick jagged black marks on each cheek. Sarutobi quickly decided that he could not interfere, not could his ANBU; his best option would be to diffuse the situation. "ANBU stand down!" Immediately the ANBU looked at Sarutobi before quickly sheathing their weapons and withdrawing to the sidelines, still ready for if they were needed.

Sarutobi quickly walked in front of Mizuki to stand between him and Naruto, it wasn't hard as Naruto was walking rather slowly, though in a definitely menacing manner. Quickly Sarutobi began to try and reason with him. "Naruto, please calm down. I'm sure we can work something out, it's no good to get worked up like this." By now Naruto was almost at Sarutobi. The aged man entertained the idea that he would listen but it seemed as if that were not to be as Naruto began to calmly walk around him.

As he passed Sarutobi only just made out the faint words, which came out almost as a growl rather than in Naruto's voice. "Murderer" Sarutobi sighed and stepped back, it was out of his hands now for he had promised that all of Naruto's murderers would die by either Sesshoumaru or Naruto's hand. Sarutobi noticed smoke to his side and quickly looked around, bringing his right arm up to move it away from any fire, however that only brought the fire closer to his face as the sleeve of his robes had at some point caught fire. Quickly patting the fire down until it was out Sarutobi reflected that it was that arm which Naruto had brushed past. Certainly that meant that just as Naruto had stipulated as a possibility, his Youki was indeed a lot like fire, though his own clothes, hair, shoes and were curiously un-fazed.

As Naruto passed the Hokage Mizuki began to back-peddle again, seeking to get away from Naruto, though as soon as he had gotten two metres Naruto tensed and lunged forward at remarkable speed and caught Mizuki by the throat with his right claw. Mizuki fell backwards under the forwards momentum Naruto still had and tried to scream, but with his airway blocked in such a manner nothing came out. Immediately both his hands came up and began to pull at Naruto's arm. As time stretched his hands started to claw furiously at Naruto's wrist, hoping, preying they he could somehow get the arm away, the red aura around Naruto's skin was only a thin film around his wrist but it was causing Mizuki severe burns. All off the damage Mizuki had managed to cause Naruto, the breaks in his skin and all healed up with remarkable speed, so much that the beginning of a wound was healed even as the end of it were still being gauged out of his flesh.

All at once the aura around Naruto flared and Naruto spoke. "Die Murderer." He dug his nails into Mizuki's neck from where they had been merely wrapped around, making cuts as they arced into his flesh until one of his fingers pierced Mizuki's Jugular vein and blood began to flow freely down his fingers, onto Mizuki and down to the floor. Naruto smiled with satisfaction as he could literally feel the pulse of Mizuki's heart in the way the flow of blood slowed and quickened out of the wound. Mizuki's face was plastered in terror and a silent scream as he still continued trying to remove Naruto's hand from his throat. It lasted only a few seconds though until Mizuki's energy drained and he lost consciousness, though Naruto didn't let go until he could no longer hear the thump of Mizuki's heart.

Sarutobi watched on with a heavy heart, it painted him that Naruto had been turned into this, even if it weren't all of the time. But he also knew that it was Mizuki's own actions which had brought this about, he only hoped that with Mizuki gone Naruto wouldn't become like this again.

Once Naruto was satisfied that Mizuki was dead, he let go of his neck and he crumpled down to the floor in a heap. His flaring aura died down until it was nonexistent and his claws shrank, his eyes took longer but they too faded but the jagged marks on his face stayed in place. He looked down at Mizuki's body and the full implications of his actions – though he hadn't been unaware – came to him, this time however instead of backing away in horror, Naruto slowly brought his right arm up in front of his face and stared at it, almost in a trance. After a few long moments where nobody moved Naruto moved his claw to his nose and sniffed it tentatively, just to make sure, but it was true. The scent of Mizuki's blood was a pleasing one to him. Unlike blood he had smelt before which was worrying or slightly annoying to his nose, this scent was very pleasing to him. It was because it smelt like a stronger, coppery version of Mizuki's normal scent, which he had scented in the clearing where he had been murdered. His Youki was dancing about within him, trying to push upon him feelings of satisfaction and pride in his revenge, but rather than resisting, it seemed to not matter. He just felt rather detached from the whole situation. He could remember clearly every detail of what had happened from when he had willingly given himself over to his instincts and his Youki, even a lot of the actions had been his own rather than any instinctual actions. Originally he would have shredded Mizuki with his claws but he decided, on his own, that it would be more satisfying to see Mizuki's face slowly drain of life. He was right, it was satisfying and that fact didn't scare him, nor did it please him. He still felt detached about the whole thing.

Sarutobi walked towards Naruto slowly and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Initially Naruto made no movement but after a moment he turned to Sarutobi with what Sarutobi identified as mild shock upon his features, as if he knew what had happened and understood it but it hadn't sunk in yet. He looked from Sarutobi to his claws and back before asking something he really needed to know. "Old man… It felt good, killing Mizuki. His blood smells satisfying, not like other blood…" Naruto paused and looked again down to his claw as if the answers were held within the blood that still coated it. "Am I a monster, Old man?"

Sarutobi had been expecting something like this, and had the appropriate response. "Well Naruto, that all depends upon your own actions. Today you took revenge for your own Murder, something nobody can begrudge you. If you leave it at that, or perhaps those who are truly evil then you are not a monster but someone to be looked upon with pride." Naruto continued to stare at his claw, he could smell the old man was telling the truth – or rather he couldn't smell a lie – and so he attempted to process the words he had said, but even though it made sense, it wasn't making any connections as of yet.

Naruto looked back to Sarutobi. "Thanks Old Man."

Sarutobi realised that Naruto wasn't quite ready to handle the Academy yet, especially as he had likely made some flashy exit if his entrance into the tower were any indication. He decided Naruto didn't really need whatever lessons or tests they were running and their time would be spent better relaxing and perhaps talking about what had happened. "Would you like to go back home, Naruto? Perhaps have some lunch; it is about that time after all."

Naruto looked up at the Hokage and smiled. "Yeah, sure. That would be nice." He tried to smile, but it didn't work and so he gave up.

Sarutobi led Naruto out of the large room, behind his back signalling for the remaining ANBU to arrange for the room to be cleaned up. On their way out ten ANBU of various sizes, shapes and animal representations appeared in a circle around Sarutobi and Naruto. Deciding it would be good to release the tension in the air Sarutobi commented. "Ah, you missed it. Ten points for effort though." With that he continued to lead Naruto along. Pausing for a moment Sarutobi made a Shadow clone and sent it up to his office to continue with the paperwork. Of course it wouldn't likely last long enough to get it all done, but it would do for now. The problem was once the clone dispelled he would receive many hours of memories of tedious paperwork all at once, a headache if ever he had one, for sure. The ANBU still standing at the entrance of the room stood around in a slight daze, unsure what to do now, though they eventually left to continue their previous tasks.

---)(---

After the class had rather awkwardly gotten through the Taijutsu assessment for the morning Iruka led them back to the classroom. He gave them a quick quiz to do whilst he finished marking down the results of their assessments; this was why they had two people to do them.

Of course Iruka was no fool and he knew that the chances of anyone paying attention to the quiz he had given them were slim. He could hear the mutterings and whisperings throughout the classroom about what had transpired earlier. Deciding that he would need to do something Iruka stood up and caught the attention of the class. "Okay class, I know you're all curious about what happened earlier." The class went deathly silent, evidently they were and they expected some information. "I can't tell you everything but I'll tell you that nine months ago, when Naruto's bloodline activated he… he experienced something very traumatic and from the events earlier, it would seem Mizuki was at the heart of it. Now the ANBU will have taken Mizuki to the Hokage tower and Lord Hokage himself will likely have sorted this mess out." Iruka paused and looked around the room. "So, please continue with your work."

---)(---

Once they returned back to Sarutobi's house he and Naruto sat down at the kitchen table as one of his servants prepared them some lunch. Deciding it would probably be better to ease towards the emotional areas of the events from earlier Sarutobi asked about the least emotional events. "Well then, how about we start with that technique you used to follow the ANBU and Mizuki? That was rather impressive if I do say so myself."

Naruto who was sat down, still looking at his claw even though it was now spotless and didn't even smell of blood anymore looked up towards Sarutobi. "Uh well, I'm not sure. When the ANBU disappeared, and I was still really angry and my Youki was boiling I… well… It was like I needed to be wherever he was and running just wasn't good enough… so instead of running I sort of instinctively channelled my Youki around myself, like a layer… and once I had it engulfed me and I followed Mizuki's scent." Naruto then looked back at his claw.

Sarutobi stroked his beard in thought. "Hmm I see. So then you were still able to use your senses, even when you had turned into energy?"

Naruto looked up again. "Well I don't know about being turned into energy… but I could use my senses fine."

Sarutobi countered immediately. "Ah but you were able to pass through two walls to reach the room Mizuki was in, I doubt you would be able to do so unless you had in fact somehow become incorporeal."

Naruto looked confused. "Incor… what?"

Sarutobi smiled, obviously Naruto wouldn't know such a word, why would he? "Ah sorry, something not physical, that can't be touched or moved. Even air can be moved but chakra for instance can only be moved by the mind."

Naruto made an 'o' shape with his mouth, understanding mostly what was said. "Wow, that's pretty neat. Though I doubt I'll be able to do that again for a while."

Sarutobi nodded. "Yes, well it'd good to have a clear goal to work towards, plus you had wanted to be able to use such an ability, at least you now know you're capable, and what you need to do with your Youki to achieve it."

Naruto nodded and grinned, his right hand, previously slack, tightened into a fist. "Right Old Man!"

Sarutobi smiled before becoming serious, there was still much to discuss. "Now Naruto, would you mind telling me what happened at the Academy?"

Naruto again looked at his claw as he spoke. "Well I… When I heard Mizuki's name I… It made me mad that he was still teaching people, living life as if nothing had happened, then I saw him smiling at the class and it made me even madder." Naruto took a calming breath before he continued. "I tried to calm myself down, we were going to go in order, so I'd almost be last. That would've probably been enough time for me to calm down and go through my assessment but instead Mizuki went up to Iruka and whispered to him something." Naruto's right claw clenched in front of him. "He looked at me, I didn't see his facial expression or smell anything from him because he was too far away but I just knew he was targeting me. It made me even more mad… how dare he think to hurt me again. I mean, that monster's gone right? So he has no reason." Naruto took more than one calming breath and slowly relaxed his fist, noting with morbid fascination that he had stabbed his palm with his claws but that the wounds were already healed and only a tiny amount of blood remained which hadn't been re-absorbed by the healing. He continued. "Iruka agreed to whatever he said to him and called me up first. Mizuki just stood in the training field smiling like an idiot, as if he had just won some prize. At that point I lost it… well sort of. My Youki was boiling and it wasn't calling but it was more like it was singing some strange wordless song about Mizuki's death. I just gave in, I wanted him dead too, why bother fighting it?" Naruto looked at Sarutobi, to see if he looked disappointed or scared or something, but the old man merely looked deep in thought.

Noticing that Naruto had apparently stopped before the part where he had arrived to the tower, he decided to gently probe for more details. "Ah then Naruto, were you in some way out of control of your actions, or were your emotions being fuelled somehow?"

Naruto shook his head slowly, again focusing on his claw. "No… not really I… it was like my instincts were telling me what to do or how to do it, and telling me how satisfying it would be but it was still me who was following the directions. Though I think my eyes changed again, and my ears got better, I could hear his heart beat and see the ripples in the skin on his neck from his pulse." Naruto took in a shuddering breath and carried on. "I walked towards him, I actually felt like running at him but I had this instinctual urge to walk slowly, as if I were hunting him, which I suppose I was, so I went with it. And suddenly those masked guys came and took him off." Naruto looked at Sarutobi before continuing. "At that point I ran to where they were and figured out where they went and, well, I already told you about the energy thing."

Sarutobi nodded, still stroking his beard. "Ah yes, that you did. Most intriguing I must say. Tell me Naruto, did you notice any boost to your physical abilities, strength or speed? Or perhaps were your abilities to heal enhanced?"

Naruto was expecting some form of questioning about his emotional state, whether he would be liable to attack anyone again, he guessed it would come in time. "Ah… Okay um… well I think when I lunged at Mizuki and held his throat, I don't think I can normally move that fast, plus his attempts to move my arm seemed really weak." Naruto paused and thought, images of Mizuki's neck leaking spurts of blood which ran down his hands, the feeling of the satisfying warmth as it washed over his hand in waves, the feeling of someone's life force flushing away through his fingers. But he concentrated and remembered Mizuki's attempts to claw at his wrist. "Ah um… when Mizuki was trying to get my arm off, he ripped out some of my skin with his nails, some fairly long bits but they all healed really really fast. The long tears were healed half-way before he had finished making them. Why Old Man? Is it important?"

Sarutobi sat in thought for a few moments before looking at Naruto. "Well Naruto, from my knowledge of demonic energies and their interaction with humans, they have a tendency to overwhelm the person's mind and body if the levels get too high. I'm not sure but I had expected something similar to happen if you were to become overwhelmed with your Youki but it appears that is not the case. Perhaps because your body is now able to use Youki and because you have such strong healing abilities then perhaps your Youki would overwhelm you but as the levels rise, it's strengthening and healing effect on your body strengthens your body against the overwhelming effects, meaning you don't lose yourself or incur damage." Sarutobi paused for a minute, letting Naruto digest all that information, whilst also thinking upon it. "Of course, this is pure conjecture. Perhaps your demonic heritage has nullified such effects of demonic energy upon you, or at least your own demonic energy… in any case this is indeed good news."

Naruto looked at Sarutobi confused. "It is? You mean because I won't get killed by my Youki?"

Sarutobi smiled. "Ah yes, that too but what I meant was that this affirms my earlier statement. You are not a monster, not will you involuntarily become one. Even if your instincts wish to guide you to kill people or do wrong, you will always have that choice and it is the choice, not your body or your heritage, which determines whether you are a man or a monster." Sarutobi paused and decided he would go get his pipe, he had been cutting back, only smoking at the Hokage tower so as to protect Naruto's nose, but he wouldn't be at the Hokage tower until tomorrow now and he'd had rather a scare earlier. Perhaps they could enjoy the garden, that way the breeze would spare Naruto's nose somewhat. "Naruto remember this. The demons of this world are known to kill whatever they encounter, but they never torture or hurt outside of their natural actions. Humans however torture, murder, rape, steal… Humans truly can be the cruelest of all creatures. But of course we can be the kindest, the bravest, we can heal, befriend those who are lonely, save those in peril. It is the choice of how you act Naruto, which will truly determine what you are."

Sarutobi sat back and smiled, definitely proud of his little speech, he had made that up on the fly too! Perhaps he should write it down, or at least a summary, that was some good shit. Naruto seemed to be convinced, his eyes had more of a sparkle to them now and he had stopped staring at his claw. "Right Old Man… thanks."

Sarutobi smiled. "Of course, Naruto. Now then, do you fancy sitting out in the garden with me? It is a rather nice day don't you think?"

Naruto seemed to pick up that he had an ulterior motive but left it. He soon found out that the Hokage had been planning to have a smoke; he decided to practice trying to turn into energy, up-wind from Sarutobi. Of course there was little success but it was early days… er… day, yet!

---)(---

After the Academy had let out, Sakura and Ino had – for once – not followed Sasuke and they had gone back to Ino's house, because her father was away on a mission and her mother would be minding the shop for a while, so they could chatter in peace. They had decided they better not talk about what had happened in public lest the Hokage find out they had been spreading rumours or something. It was unlikely but they were wary enough as it was that it seemed like a logical thing to do. After entering the flower shop and exchanging pleasantries with Ino's mom they had scurried off up to Ino's room to discuss past events.

Once they were settled down Sakura began, eager to get her worries off her chest. "Ino, you know that time when that white haired man was at the Academy with the Hokage?" Ino nodded. "You know what you said about how he looked at me, was it anything like what Naruto looked like earlier?"

Ino thought about it for a while, but the memory was fairly clear, as memories often were for times of high emotion. This emotion was fear. "I'm not sure, it was really the front of his face and Naruto was turned from us. His eyes went red and his fangs elongated… oh and those purple slashes on his cheeks became jagged."

Sakura looked a bit more at ease. "So you don't think it was the same?"

Ino shrugged. "I dunno, I mean I was pretty much fixated on that aura Naruto was giving off. The white haired man didn't give off any aura. What do you think that was anyway?"

Sakura almost shivered at the memory, it had scared her deeply, not thoroughly, but the fear was definitely deep. "I dunno, but whatever it was made me feel like I was standing behind some predator like a lion, hoping it didn't turn around."

Ino nodded solemnly. "Yeah, it wasn't all that scary but it was like you said, like being hunted."

Sakura gaped at Ino. "What do you mean 'not all that scary'?! Are you mad? How was that not scary?"

Ino shook her head. "No, it was scary, but if that felt like being behind a predator hoping it doesn't turn around then how scary would it feel if it were like the predator turned around and stared at you as if you were lunch." Ino did shiver at that thought.

Sakura paled when she imagined the feeling. "Yeah…"

Ino got over the tingles she had induced in herself from her imagination and tried to get back on topic. "So… what? Are you scared of Naruto now?"

Sakura just looked down at Ino's bed sheets rather than replying. "Oh my god, you are! Come on this is Naruto. Apart from the fact he's loved you since we started the academy he's like completely harmless!" Ino paused for a moment, she had been about to say the chances of him passing graduation were slim to nil, but then she remembered he was the reason for her own guaranteed graduation. Somehow she hadn't associated Naruto with the memory of herself being graduated and had only remembered herself and Shikamaru. She decided it was because he up and disappeared for nine months or so, that kind of thing makes you harder to remember.

Whilst she was thinking Sakura composed herself and responded. "Well I don't think he does anymore, I mean remember what happened at lunch yesterday? He didn't seem to care."

Ino thought about it, her lips pursed. "Yeah well, maybe he's realised that Sasuke is so much hotter than he is and he's gotten over it?" Ino frightfully believed that her assertion could really be the reason behind Naruto seeming to have given up on Sakura. "You know he has some awesome sense of smell now, maybe Sasuke even smells hotter?"

Sakura pushed down her urge to remind Ino that it was her Sasuke, since that would be detrimental to their conversation. "I doubt it, that's not a very Naruto thing to do, he's a bit too dense for anything like that."

Ino raised her eyebrow at that. "I dunno Sakura, I mean that stuff he said to Kiba was pretty deep."

Sakura thought but couldn't remember anything but talking about smells. "What? I thought they were only talking about smelling stuff, being able to smell lies is pretty creepy but I don't think it counts a deep."

Ino rapidly shook her head. "No no no not that, the stuff about whether it's better to know when someone's lying to you or not."

Sakura thought about it. "Nah I don't see it, I mean what possible down side could there be to something like that?"

Ino persisted. "No, think about it. Imagine if Naruto really did still love you or whatever it was nine months ago and then at lunch he finds out, without a shadow of a doubt that he doesn't have a chance. Wouldn't that suck? Like seriously."

Sakura looked slightly incredulously at Ino. "Come on, he never had a chance, I told him enough times."

Ino thought for a while. "Yeah but you know how optimistic he is… plus think of the way everyone seems to hate him, might have thought you were just saying that so that they didn't hate you too or something."

Sakura raised her eyebrow. "What? Who'd hate someone for something like that? He probably played pranks on them or something."

Ino shook her head. "Come on Sakura, most of the village? You think he managed to pull pranks on nearly everyone in the village?"

Sakura faltered at that. "Okay so maybe not. But what then?"

Ino shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with this 'traumatic' event that Mizuki was part of."

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, hey what do you think happened to him? I mean you don't think Naruto would've tried to kill him do you? Plus isn't Mizuki like the top fighter from the Academy staff? He wouldn't lose to an academy student would he?"

Ino thought about it. "I don't know Sakura… I mean if he really has the same types of abilities as that white haired man and that man is supposed to be as strong as the Hokage… then maybe?" Ino thought for a moment. "I guess we'll find out at the academy tomorrow."

After a moment Sakura thought of something. "Hey Ino, if Naruto really has gotten that good that he might be able to take on Mizuki then how do you think he'll do in the graduation exams?" Sakura became slightly flustered. "You don't think he'd beat Sasuke do you?"

Ino thought about that, but remembering back not only to what she had learned from the Hokage but also what the Hokage had said to their class when Naruto had returned. "No, I don't think so. Didn't the Hokage say he had already tested Naruto? So he won't be taking the exams will he?"

Sakura calmed down. "Yeah, point. Besides it's not as if he's going to be stronger than Sasuke is it? I mean he is an Uchiha." Sakura looked slightly dreamy.

Ino smirked. "Yeah, definitely no way. And don't forget Sakura that he's my Uchiha!"

From there the two girls began to argue over the stoic prodigy of their class, eventually ending in Sakura once again storming away from Ino. Afterwards, once Ino's anger had faded she felt slightly empty, was it worth it to lose her best friend like that over some guy? But then she remembered how it had been Sakura who had ended their friendship, who had thrown Ino's kindness back at her. Sure they still talked and gossiped but they had never been the same close best friends they had been before Sasuke.

Ino absently wondered if Sakura would end up on Sasuke's team, it would probably be much harder to win Sasuke for herself if she was on a team with someone Sasuke didn't like, someone who didn't like Sasuke and Sakura was actually on his team.

Momentarily she resented Naruto for taking away her opportunity at being on Sasuke's team, though when she thought about it she decided she would most likely have been put on Shikamaru and Chouji's team, replicating their father's combination. She sighed, she would still win Sasuke, billboard brow was definitely not going to win.

---)(---

The next day at the Academy Naruto was more reserved than usual. Though it might have been because that day they were doing preliminary tests in Ninjutsu, something Naruto was incapable of now. They – well Iruka since Mizuki hadn't turned up for classes that day – were testing the students on their ability with the Transformation technique, a surprisingly simple technique which was able to transform the body into something else. The standard uses were to look like someone else, though you could transform into most things as long as they weren't too big or too small. The further you deviated from your original size or density the more chakra was required, the requirements increased exponentially, so that no-one below Chuunin-grade Chakra levels could transform into something such as a Shuriken or a Kunai.

On a side note, the Rank-grade system for describing a Ninja's abilities came about at the same time as the Chuunin exams were invented, the theory was that applicants for the Chuunin exams should display a minimum level of ability in each area of being a Ninja; these minimums were known as Chuunin level of ability. As such the theory was that anyone who entered the exam and especially anyone who passed would have Chuunin-level or above abilities in every aspect of being a Ninja. Of course such standards had quickly slipped, Villages often favoured Chakra capacity, Taijutsu and Ninjutsu abilities for applicants to the Chuunin exams. Things such as stealth, strategic ability, Genjutsu and so forth were given less importance. The reason for this was because the final tournament for the Chuunin exams was a display of combat prowess, now whilst every single aspect of being a Ninja could be applied to combat, Genjutsu for instance was highly effective in combat if the user was able to make it un-breakable to the victim or if the victim didn't notice. However because this tournament was observed by many rich and potential clients to the participating villages, the villages wished to impress them and things such as Ninjutsu and Taijutsu were the most impressive and obvious displays of skill and fighting prowess, even if something such as stealth and Genjutsu would make most actual Ninja missions far easier, as combat could be entirely avoided, for instance the theft of an artefact.

Due to his inability to perform the Transformation technique Naruto had merely sat on the sidelines whilst everyone lined up and performed it in turn. Then had to sit through lectures by Iruka about uses for the Transformation technique for the rest of the day. Naruto had spent most of the day staring at his right hand, or claw, depending on who you asked what it was. Sasuke had made the comment that Naruto had no chance to be a Ninja and should just quit if he wasn't even capable of such a basic skill as the Transformation technique, most likely trying to regain superiority after not only Naruto's impressive show of skill during the first lunch period of the week but his display of power and ability to strike fear into even Sasuke's heart the day before.

Naruto had initially ignored him but once Ino had agreed with him Naruto had deigned to rebuke. "Can't Transform, can't be fooled by the Transformation." Simple and to the point reply. Sasuke had inquired as to how Naruto could make such a bold statement, Naruto had replied that Chakra was far easier to smell than lies, not to mention that you couldn't just remove your scent by changing your shape and colour. Sasuke had backed down after that and left him alone, his fans doing the same.

On the other side of the class Kiba had stared at Naruto after his comment. He himself couldn't smell Chakra, but Akamaru could, so could most of the dog partners of his clan. Akamaru had a surprising talent in smelling Chakra that surpassed most of the other dogs of their clan, but Naruto was claiming such a thing came easily to him. Kiba believed him too, because he had asked his mom about being able to smell lies, she had looked at him incredulously, as if he were insane and had said as much. When he responded that Naruto said he could and seemed to be able to prove his ability she had become very serious. He didn't know that she was remembering how the white haired demon had shown such ability nine months ago; he chalked her seriousness up to what she said next, that it was a unique ability, one they would never likely acquire. He had asked how Naruto had come by his abilities and his response had been that she couldn't tell him and also that if he found out, he would probably have been happier not knowing. That comment had unnerved Kiba greatly and had caused him to lose focus the entire day as he was lost in thought about it and Naruto in general.

At lunch time Naruto had disappeared, which was lucky for him – or intentional – because once again his class had congregated to look for him, this time to find out what had happened to Mizuki the previous day. They decided as a group to catch Naruto before he escaped after school later that day and find out.

At the end of class, before Naruto could walk out Iruka went up to him and put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently and smiled. He then patted Naruto's shoulder a couple of times in what seemed to be a reassuring gesture before heading out to finish grading and to prepare the next days tests, nobody in the class realised he hadn't spoken so as to avoid putting Naruto in an awkward position with the class. After they were let out of the academy Naruto had attempted to make a hasty retreat however this time the now organised members of Naruto's class caught him before he could exit the academy grounds. In the wake of Kiba's usual brash attitude, which seemed to be lacking today; Ino was the one who ended up confronting Naruto. "Okay Naruto, what happened yesterday? Where's Mizuki?"

Naruto stared at Ino, long and hard and it greatly unnerved her but since she had all of her classmates behind her she felt emboldened and didn't back down. Naruto looked at each of his classmates before resigning himself. He might as well tell them, if they couldn't lie to him it was a bit unfair of him to lie to them. Plus he didn't feel like standing around and dealing with them right now, if he shocked them he figured he would have a window of opportunity for escape, he'd probably feel up to dealing with them tomorrow. "I killed him."

Ino did step back this time. "Wh… What?!" The rest of their class also seemed shocked and let Ino step back into their ranks and avoid being so easily singled out.

Kiba, though only moments ago he had been stuck in his thoughts still, immediately forgot them and his brash attitude came back to the forefront. As such he reacted verbally first. "What do you mean you killed him?! Why would you kill him?"

Naruto sighed, he felt like looking down to the floor but adamantly refused, instead he looked off to the side, deciding a rather fine looking tree would be an adequate focus for his attention to keep it away from them. "He was a murderer."

Kiba immediately shot back another question. "Well then who the hell did he murder?" Naruto snapped his head back to Kiba and glared at him, this was none of their damn business. Quickly regaining his composure Naruto decided he was getting agitated too easily at the moment and it would be best to just leave the area and so he took a moment to coil the muscles in his legs and ready his Youki before he jumped clear over the group, with the aid of two mid-air jumps he easily sailed out of the remnants of the Academy grounds and across the street to be on the roof of the nearest building, wherefrom he immediately jumped in the direction of the Hokage's house, intent on avoiding the villagers as well at the moment, lest his temper flare again.

Everyone in the group stared in shock at where Naruto had jumped off to. His rather shocking emotional reaction had caught them all off guard, though thinking back it was to be expected. If he had gotten so angry at Mizuki then obviously whoever was murdered was close to him. Even though he was the one subject to the glare Kiba was the first to recover and comment. "Damn I wish I could do that." Akamaru barked in agreement, affirming that it was a cool ability.

Shikamaru shook his head. "Troublesome." Then walked off back home. Sasuke and Shino meandered off silently, seemingly unaffected by the entire affair.

Hinata took up her usual spot under one of the trees to wait for the escort from her family to come and pick her up. Ino and Sakura wandered off their separate ways, Kiba following Ino's lead, as he lived in her general direction and Chouji following after Shikamaru whilst eating some crisps.

---)(---

Naruto had basically cooled off once he had reached the Hokage's house, the feeling of freedom as he jumped through the air coupled with the feeling of the air as he pushed through it, the resistance ruffling his hair and his clothes, made him feel alive and free and easily sapped away at his tension.

When he landed just outside the front door, having jumped from a roof across the street, the momentum of his flight caused his now almost shoulder-length hair to whip forwards and fall over his face. Taking a moment and extra care of his claws as he wiped it out of his face Naruto pondered on what he should do about it.

Normally he didn't like long hair; it took more effort to look after and got dirty more easily, not to mention it held the dirt more firmly than short hair. However dirt was no longer a problem, not only that but even after he had become rather dirty during his training his hair had seemed impervious to the dirt, always staying glossy and smooth and dirt-free. Naruto had figured it was some Youkai thing and since it hadn't gotten dirty he didn't bother getting it cut, because he was busy training, no need for a hair cut. But now he was trying to look good, look regal and composed like Sesshoumaru did. Sesshoumaru's hair was very… very long, it was like down to his thighs, and he was over six feet tall. Naruto didn't think such long hair would go on him, especially since it was already being annoying. Naruto decided he would get it cut at some point so a length just short enough so that it didn't get into his eyes and have the back cut so that it didn't wave around so much. The hair on the top of his head was almost managing to still be spiky so it would likely stick out in all directions once the weight upon it had lessened, this would be good because then it would put itself back how it's supposed to be under the same force which kept it spiky, plus he figured his hair might look a bit like the Fourth Hokage like that, which was always a bonus. He had overheard Ino and Sakura gushing over the picture in their text book when they had learned about the Fourth Hokage and how he had saved their village from the Kyuubi. Though that had been almost two years ago now, he still remembered thinking that it would be nice if he could get attention in that way, especially from Sakura. Naruto snorted, as if that would happen. But still it would be nice to get attention in that way from anyone; he still couldn't fathom why Sasuke ignored all his admirers.

Once he opened the door he noticed that the Hokage's scent was fresher than it normally would be if it had been decaying since that morning, which meant he was there. "Hey Old Man, what you doing back so early?" Naruto called out to the house even as he wandered to the kitchen to get a snack.

Sarutobi was actually in the kitchen having a brunch type meal, only between lunch and dinner… a dinunch… Lunner… but those were crap names so he called it brunch two. He looked up as he heard Naruto enter the house and call out to him, obviously having scented him or heard the sound of his munching. "Ah Naruto, how was the Academy today?"

Naruto shrugged as he went towards the fruit bowl for an apple. He had become surprisingly fond of fruit since he had… died. But he gave it no real thought; they were healthy after-all. "It was okay." Naruto bit into the apple before asking something. "Say, how come you're back so early?"

Sarutobi looked up from his brunch-two, which was made of soup and some bread, nothing too heavy because he was going to be dealing with a lot of stress later in the day. "Ah yes, I have a meeting with the Council later today, so I finished early to get some food in before it begins.

Naruto nodded, since his mouth was full and as such – as he had learned from Sarutobi during his stay there – it would be rude to talk. Once he was done he asked another question. "Say, can I get a hair cut?"

Sarutobi waited a moment to answer as he drank the last bits of soup from his bowl and put it down with a contented sigh. "Ahh." A pause. "Hmm I do have some free time until the meeting starts, how about I come with you?" He smiled at Naruto as he got up from the table. "So how do you want it cut?" He asked as he began to lead Naruto out of the house.

Naruto grabbed the front bits of his hair. "Well this bit got in my face earlier so…" Naruto described how he wanted his hair in minute detail on their way to a close-by barber. Sarutobi smiling and nodding as they went, he did so enjoy such carefree activities.

---)(---

After Naruto had his hair cut, just as he had thought about earlier, with the back trimmed so that it didn't touch his collar and all the hair around the top of his head shortened so that it wouldn't obscure his face, nor would it for a while, and so that it did spike up as predicted. The hair at the sides of his head had also been trimmed, though less so than the back, so that it seemed to want to spike up, well down in this case, but couldn't quite manage as it was too short so instead generally stuck down, making a nice compliment to the spikes on the top of the side of his head which protruded sideways. Naruto also got his wish that his hair did look reasonably like the Fourth Hokage's, though definitely shorter; the general effect was the same. Sarutobi was caught in a bit of melancholy as the appearance reminded him of the Fourth. But he was unable to linger for long. "Ah Naruto, it is about time I went to the meeting." Sarutobi sighed.

Naruto looked at Sarutobi as he sighed. "Old Man, don't you like those meetings? Aren't they important?"

Sarutobi sighed again. "Yes Naruto, they are indeed important however they are also often the arena for the political machinations of the members of the council. It is… frustrating dealing with them."

Naruto paused for a moment. "Hey I know, want me to come with you?" Sarutobi raised an eyebrow in question. "I could tell you if anyone's lying." Naruto tapped the side of his nose. "Whadaya say Old Man?"

Sarutobi briefly mused that only a year ago in such a situation Naruto would've been shouting, pleading and begging. He also would've most likely sighted that he should go to meetings since one day he would be the Hokage and so it would be good practice, Sarutobi mourned the loss of such a Naruto, even though he much preferred interacting with Naruto in a way which didn't lead to shouting and running around, that he could live without, though he would still miss everything else. "Ah, if you're sure Naruto, I don't see why not. Though it will be terribly boring."

Naruto shrugged it off. "Ah how boring can it be?" Sarutobi smirked, if only he knew.

---)(---

Naruto was bored bored. He was so bored that he had taken the time to analyse his boredom and categorise it was more bored than bored, so he had taken the time to re-categorize his own situation of boredom into bored bored. The way it sounded when you said bored twice in a bored voice, really did add to the effect he had thought. Now however he had since long passed bored bored and was into bored bored where even the act of emphasising one of the words, even in his own mind, became significantly entertaining. Of course it wasn't bored bored, nor was it bored bored for Naruto knew instinctively that both of these names were lame and as such he shunned them mentally 'Shuuuun'. He really lamented his offer.

The meeting had been going on for around four hours now and all that had happened were reports of important missions, reports of treaties, various trade agreements with various trading people for… stuff. Basically they were organising running the entire village, there was no political intrigue, no lies, just bored boredom.

Naruto was currently standing to Sarutobi's right and behind him, in the position a guard might stand. He had long ago decided he was thankful for being able to heal, or for having a better body… whichever it was which caused him to not cramp up or ache or anything from standing still in one position for so damn long. When they had first entered he had felt angry stares from the occupants of the room, though they were somewhat muted in the presence of Sarutobi, for they had come to know how forceful and unrelenting he could be on the subject of Naruto, especially now he had ample reason to be so where he had none before. Of course Naruto didn't know that and had just chalked it up to fear of being reprimanded by him or something. Now however, four hours later Naruto decided he kind of missed the angry stares or stares at all. At least they gave him something to think about, even if they were angry thoughts, he might be reduced to bored bored, or even if he was stared at for a while, just bored! Oh what joy that might be, though he couldn't quite decide, since he would be angry-bored which may have distinct detrimental connotations of its own. Just as Naruto had decided to downgrade himself to bored bored as thinking about the stares had been something and as such he wasn't as bored as before… the meeting shifted onto Ninja topics. Most Ninja administration was handled at the Hokage tower, however anything of particular sensitivity or which would not be passing through the standard channels of administration. Naruto didn't notice this transition however and continued with his internal debate about the merits of angry-boredom versus boredom boredom.

That was until however he smelt the scent of deception permeating the air. Quickly he snapped to attention and looked around the room, quickly pinpointing the source of the scent as the same as the source of all sound in the room at the moment. "… additional time to collect data on their activities, Lord Hokage." It was faint, but Naruto smelt it. He nudged Sarutobi's robes, Sarutobi made no outward reaction to the slight touch, and it appeared as if nobody in the room had noticed.

However Sarutobi had noticed and acted upon the signal, probing into the subject, to uncover the lie. "Ah would you mind specifying exactly upon whom you are spying please?"

This was unusual, generally it was a sign of trust from the Hokage – Sarutobi – to allow the head of the ANBU, who he was presently talking to, to conduct the most top-secret or information-sensitive operations with their own discretion and report upon their findings at the end of the mission. The reasons for this were twofold, one could never be too careful, but also there were one or two civilian council members within the room and as such the chances of an information leak were much greater, for the civilians could not guard against being used for spying, not were they likely to hold up to torture in the same was the Ninja of the council could. "Lord Hokage, this matter is quite sensitive, I assure you that I…"

Sarutobi cut the man off. "Danzou." It was only his name, but it said all, he would be expecting this man, Danzou, the head of the ANBU, to answer his question.

"Ah yes, as you wish. There have been recent movements by some S-ranked missing-ninja, one of whom we believe to be Orochimaru." Danzou left it at that, obviously Sarutobi could understand what he was saying.

Once again Naruto smelt the faint scent of deception and once again he nudged Sarutobi as covertly as possible. Sarutobi heeded his message and continued to probe. "Ah so then am I to assume your spies you have mentioned are focused on this group?"

Danzou didn't make any outward reaction but inwardly he was seething, how dare Sarutobi treat him with such disrespect, and in front of the entire council! Not only that but how dare he catch him out! Well Danzou was not caught yet. "Of course Lord Hokage."

At this point the scent of deception grew so that it was unmistakable and the man was definitely lying. Naruto prodded Sarutobi a few times until he turned to regard Naruto. All Naruto did was one shake of the head in what seemed to be a rather solemn 'no' gesture. Sarutobi turned back to Danzou and continued. "No Danzou, you shall not proceed any further with whatever operation it is you have planned."

Danzou immediately stood up outraged. "WHAT! Sarutobi What is the meaning of this!?"

Sarutobi was instantly stood, both his hand slamming forcefully upon the table in front of him, shocking everyone in the room except Naruto, who could smell the anger coming from him and as such had expected some sort of reaction, for you had to do something when you were that angry. "Silence. Your deception has been caught Danzou, be grateful I do not have you executed where you stand." The members of the council all looked shocked and immediately turned to look at Danzou, who seemed to be paling under his extensive bandages. Sarutobi made an odd hand-movement with his left hand and an ANBU in cat or tiger mask, if the stripes were any indication, appeared to Sarutobi's left side, mirroring Naruto's position. Without acknowledging his presence, still focusing on Danzou, Sarutobi addressed the man. Tenzou, I have a mission for you. You will be monitoring all of Danzou's activity and reporting directly to me. I trust you can handle this assignment."

The ANBU to Sarutobi's left bowed slightly. "Of course Lord Hokage."

Sarutobi took his eyes from Danzou and swept them across the meeting room. "Now then, if that is all?" Nobody moved. "Very well, this meeting is adjourned." Without waiting for a response Sarutobi walked briskly from the room, only just keeping a lid on his temper. Naruto followed after him, completely relieved of any state of boredom he had been in before wiped away by the preceding events.

---)(---

As they walked back to Sarutobi's house basking in the glow of the sunset as it shone above the buildings, Sarutobi allowed himself to relax, Naruto's presence and humorous antics easing his tension greatly.

Naruto seemed oblivious to Sarutobi's musings as he continued. "And then BAM!" Naruto slammed both his hands down on an imaginary table as he walked. "And then that guy was like…" Naruto lowered his arms and widened his eyes as far as he could to show comical surprise. "And then you were like MASKED MAN SPY ON HIM!" Here Naruto pointed dramatically as if he were ordering someone about. "And he was like YESSIR!" Here Naruto saluted and straightened his spine, right hand up to his brow in a salute, his other hand at his side rigid. "And then everyone in the room was like…" Naruto slackened and drooped his posture and let his mouth hand open.

Sarutobi chuckled. "Yes, I suppose it was quite 'cool'." He paused as Naruto turned to him and nodded enthusiastically. "I must thank you Naruto, not only have you helped stop whatever that man was plotting." Sarutobi's facial expression hardened momentarily, before he shook it off. "But also you've helped me show the council what will happen if they are disloyal."

Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! You totally scared all those idiots!"

Sarutobi smiled. "Yes, yes I suppose I did, didn't I?" Sarutobi grinned, proud of the effect he could still have on people, highly competent Ninja many of them, a room full of them no less. Yes he hadn't lost his touch.

---)(---

The next day at the academy Naruto was much brighter than the previous day. In the morning he had gathered everyone in his class and regaled them with a dramatic portrait of how the Hokage had totally scared the entire council and how he had caught the evil bandaged man – his name completely forgotten – and how the ANBU guard had been assigned and everything.

For many of the people there it answered a few questions as to why their fathers had come home from their meeting rather shaken, top-level Ninja they may be, but they were still not nearly as powerful as the Hokage. He was a man of great patience and wisdom, but he was also a man of raw power and skill. One only had to look toward the name he had made for himself during the second great Ninja war, the God of Ninja, a man who embodied everything a Ninja should aspire to be. He had no fancy techniques such as all three of the other Hokage yet he had fought the enemy on a level none of the other Hokage could compete with. Where the other Hokage had prevailed through intense battle prowess and feats of skill, Sarutobi had not only defeated all of his opponents through many different means. Shows of skill or brute strength, great tests of cunning and ability with Chakra, but he had most of all never fought them at all, instead sewing the seeds of doubt. His greatest triumph, though only Konoha knew of it, was turning the two strongest other hidden villages against each other. The hidden villages of Cloud and Stone had been and still were Konoha's main rivals for military superiority however during the second Great War they had set aside their own disputes to focus on their qualms with Konoha. Sarutobi single-handedly turned them against each other before their armies left the village gates. Such a feat was not only what had likely led to Konoha coming out on top from that war but was the embodiment of what a Ninja was meant to be, fighting prowess should come second to stealth and deception. If a Ninja had an objective, the best way to get that objective done would be to have someone else do it, leaving the blame to fall far from them selves.

Naruto's hearty recollection of that night's events was cut short however when the bell rang for classes to start that morning, and as one the class ran for the doors. Luckily for Naruto, his hearing was still better than everyone else's, including Kiba's, though less so Kiba's than anyone else's. As such he heard the click of the bell mechanism as it readied to ring, and not only covered his ears to protect them from the sound but was a full half-second ahead of everyone else in beginning his dash to the classroom.

As a result of this he was able to procure his most preferred seat, Sasuke's seat. It was not because Sasuke sat there that he wanted that seat, but because during the first few hours of morning classes as the sun beamed through the windows – and it was beaming rather brightly today – Sasuke's seat was completely covered in sun whereas other seats only got some sun. As such the rest of the class arrived in the classroom to see Naruto reclining in Sasuke's chair looking very content, basking in the sunlight. Iruka was writing something about the Clone Technique on the board and was happy to ignore everyone until he was finished.

Sasuke immediately walked up to Naruto. "Dead Last, you're in my seat."

Naruto turned to face him and thought carefully on what to say. Whilst he could try and persuade Sasuke to let him keep it, the likelihood of that happening was slim, so he decided to just taunt, as it would make him feel better about eventually having to give up his seat. "You know, the term 'Dead Last' is a description, not a Noun. Whilst it can be used as a term of address, it makes you sound silly, I'd recommend coming up with something new." Sasuke scowled at the clear mockery but quietly conceded his point was indeed valid. That was completely irrelevant though as Naruto still occupied his seat. Before Sasuke could comment though Naruto continued. "But anyway, you can have your seat back in a bit. Just let me enjoy the sun while it's here." Naruto relaxed and sat back.

Sasuke was in turmoil; in one hand it was a slight to his pride to let Naruto have his seat. He had always sat there ever since Iruka had placed them in seats. Of course when members of the class dropped out they had been allowed to shuffle around as they liked as Iruka had memorized their names by then, however it was Sasuke's seat and he always sat there, more as a routine than out of having ever thought about it. He also didn't want to move so that if there were ever a girl next to where he sat, they couldn't assume he had sat next to them, it would be that they sat next to him. Because it was his seat. Of course Naruto's point brought up the fact that the desk in front of the seat was bathed brightly in sunlight, which had often irritated Sasuke, especially when he was attempting work. They would likely be tested later on something or other, so even though it was only the last few days of the academy, Sasuke could get away from the sun hurting his eyes in the morning. Deciding he liked this option, since there was definitely a paper test at some point coming up, and the tests all seemed to be done during the morning, he acquiesced and sat down next to Naruto.

Naruto was quietly surprised, though he tried his best to hide it. He looked over to Sasuke and saw that Sasuke was staring rather intently at his desk. Looking to his own desk he noted the difference, Sasuke's was covered in shade, and would be for the rest of the day as the height of the windows wasn't great enough for the sun to reach as far as Sasuke's desk, whereas Naruto's desk was lit up brightly, and it sort of hurt his eyes. Ah, that might be it. Naruto poked Sasuke in the side. Sasuke turned slightly toward him and Naruto looked at his desk. "The light off the desk hurts my eyes." Sasuke turned back, a slight smirk on his face.

Of course both Sasuke and Naruto knew that Naruto had not said that as a complaint, or because he thought Sasuke might care that the light hurt his eyes, but as an acknowledgement of why Sasuke had given up his previous seat. Sasuke was quietly impressed at how perceptive it was of Naruto to pick that up. But he only responded with a rather dismissive grunt. "Hnn."

Just behind Sasuke and Naruto, throughout this entire affair Sakura and Ino had been rather animatedly berating Naruto about 'How dare he be in Sasuke's seat!' and other such stuff. They had been pointedly ignored by both parties however and when Sasuke sat down, they promptly fell silent, not quite comprehending what was going on. Sasuke always sat there, why wasn't he sitting there now? After Naruto and Sasuke's little exchange they both figured Naruto might be right and that the light had annoyed Sasuke too. Naruto turned to regard Sakura and Ino from his seat and made a quick jab at them, in response to their earlier admonishments of his actions. "See, it's good to not be so presumptuous isn't it? Sakura, Ino?" Naruto turned back to the front as Ino and Sakura processed what he had said. Basically he was insulting their intelligence and actions.

Sakura responded first. "Hey! Shut up idiot!" How dare he insult her!

Ino responded next, hot on Sakura's heels. "Yeah! Shut up, what would you know?!" Naruto didn't deign to respond though, even if he had responded he figured they would just shout at him and ignore any logic or general correctness that he might have had in whatever he said.

Not long after all of this Iruka finished writing down what were now identifiable as instructions for the test of the day and turned around to face the class. "Right now that we're all settled down." He looked over to Ino and Sakura, as they had been rather loud just moments ago, they shrunk slightly under his accusatory look but he looked back to the rest of the class and continued. "As you can see the rules for the next examination are simple, you will be coming up to the front and performing the Clone Technique." Naruto raised his hand and Iruka looked over to him. "Ah yes, I know Naruto, don't worry you won't be expected to perform the Clone Technique." He turned back to the rest of the class. "Now this is only a preliminary examination, if you fail you still have a few days until the graduation exam to train so that you may pass at that time." Here he paused and his featured hardened somewhat. "Now I will not tolerate and disrespect should someone fail at this technique, is that understood?" The class, much like trained monkeys, all replied 'Yes Master Iruka' at the same time, with a rather nice chorus sound. "Right then, before we Begin I will demonstrate the Clone technique for everyone."

Iruka put his hands into the hand-seal of the Ram and concentrated slightly before declaring "Clone Technique." And a poof of smoke appeared to his left, revealing a perfect copy of himself. Releasing the seal, the clone remained until he dismissed it. "Now you will all be expected to produce at least two working clones. Any questions?"

Naruto was definitely confused. When Iruka had declared his technique he had seen the smoke appear to his side but when it cleared there was nothing there, looking around the class nobody else seemed confused so he decided to ask what was up. Raising his hand to ask a question. Iruka looked over to him. "Ah, yes Naruto?"

The entire class looked to Naruto, which made him slightly self-conscious. "Ah… um… I didn't see anything, when you did that… There was some smoke but then nothing."

To his side Sasuke looked at him in a calculating manner, his eyes were still blue and there was no Chakra coming from him. There was no way he had a bloodline like the Byakuugan or the Sharingan which would allow him to see through illusions. Sasuke looked back to Iruka, happy with his decision. Iruka however looked puzzled. "Hmm, you didn't see it you say?" Naruto nodded. Iruka scratched his chin for a moment before he came up with an idea. "Okay, I'm going to try something." Performing a few hand seals rather than just one, in sequence this time he then declared. "Chameleon Technique." And to the eyes of the class Iruka faded into the background. However to Naruto he just looked like he was standing there being a bit silly. After a moment he released the technique and looked around the class, everyone seemed definitely impressed by the show of skill. "Now class that was a C-ranked difficulty Genjutsu which allows someone to blend into the background." Here he turned to Naruto. "Naruto, did you see me disappear?" Naruto shook his head, still thoroughly confused. "Interesting, perhaps you're somehow immune to illusions?"

Naruto paused for thought there, in mythology weren't foxes supposed to be masters of illusion? However he had also looked up the Kyuubi and it had never been recorded using illusions, it just seemed to like breaking stuff. Maybe the Kyuubi's mastery of illusion came in the form of seeing through it? Maybe it was just Naruto, or maybe it was a coincidence. However Iruka continued his analysis. "There are several types of illusions, those which cover an area and change what we see, the Chameleon or Clone techniques for example, there are also those which affect the senses or implant ideas or images into the mind of the victim, or even those which can induce certain states such as sleep. You may be immune to one or more of these, but of course we'll have to investigate that later. For now let's begin the test, Shino if you wouldn't mind?" Iruka gestured with his left hand to the front of the class and Shino sat up and descended the stairs wordlessly.

Next to Naruto Sasuke was once again observing him, though much more surreptitiously this time, it wouldn't do to be caught after all. He wasn't worried so much as curious, how did the Dead Last come by abilities which changed his Chakra so that he couldn't use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, but gained some strange abilities instead… and to top it off he might have immunity to Genjutsu, one of the more powerful abilities granted to users of the Sharingan or Byakuugan. If that were the case he would have to pay more attention to Naruto. When he activated his Sharingan Naruto might be a good person to test it's Genjutsu casting abilities against as rather than someone with a strong will to resist them it might be even harder to cast one on someone such as Naruto. Sasuke doubted that his ability was perfect, especially against the Sharingan.

---)(---

The rest of the day was rather boring for Naruto, he didn't get to find out any more about whether or not he was 'immune' to illusions or not, he simply watched other people make hand-seals and make puffs of smoke appear, he had to guess from what Iruka said to find out that everyone managed it. After that lunch had been pretty average, he had eaten food, been ignored by Sakura and Ino and thought about the attention he had received from Sasuke, for he was not so oblivious to have not noticed Sasuke observing him rather intently. After lunch he had to sit through a lecture on the uses of the Clone Technique, which he couldn't use nor would it seemingly be used against him either, since he couldn't see them. Though he tried to pay attention so he could absorb the general tactical knowledge, tactics were useful after-all. After wards he had headed home to try and get the Hokage to test out some illusions on him but he was at work, and didn't get back until Naruto had fallen asleep.

The next day was equally boring; Naruto had to sit through the classes test on the Substitution Technique, which allowed someone to quickly produce a clone of themselves whilst they replaced themselves with something substantial, which could take a hit for them, whilst they hid somewhere to prepare retaliation. He was incapable of this especially as it was a combination of a simple movement technique of some sort, which he really never understood, and the clone technique, which he couldn't do. On the plus side, it seemed he could instantly recognise that someone had used a Substitution to take a hit for them, where as it seemed others didn't realise until the Clone was dispelled. In practice they had merely Substituted, no attacks or anything were aimed at them. Afterwards he had to sit through a long lecture on the uses of the substitution technique, which he thought were pointless, it was more Iruka telling the class what to do and what not to do, such as don't substitute with something too small as it's much harder, and don't try and land somewhere you're unsure about lest you injure yourself and don't… blah blah blah. Again when he returned to the Hokage's house there were only the servants to greet him, which they still did reluctantly, even after he had been being nice to them for nine months solid. He didn't like that house too much.

And so it was without much gusto that Naruto awoke for his final day at the academy, to sit through more tests he couldn't do. 'Oh Joy' Naruto thought to himself as he got dressed for the day.

---)(---

AN: Anyone get the reference to Charlie the unicorn? Kekeke "Shun the non-believer!" "Shuuuuuu-uuu-nuh"

I also want to credit most of the Sasuke stuff in here to my friend, I'm not sure what his pen-name is, possibly BlueIdol. Anyway, he likes Sasuke and is the main reason Sasuke won't be portrayed as an utter asshat. He makes good arguments for Sasuke's actions which don't portray him as such. Also, everyone should thank him, as he will likely be my continuing motivation to keep writing the story as I'm very lazy, and he can be kind of obsessive, which means he'll keep reminding me to write some if I stop , not a bad thing since it's fun to do.

Uh about the chapters, I've had free time recently, a big reason why I started this. I don't plan to stop but if I run low on free time, it'll take longer to write. Thank you for your understanding.