A/N: Continuing this :D

Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine. Not mine. Well darn.

And now for a time skip of sorts. I've set the stage, with Naruto being alone again and the Hokage changing all the pass codes again. And the meeting places. Then again, if the Kyuubi turns into his true form that really won't matter now would it?

But he tries. Besides it keeps Danzo on his toes.

Anyways, this will probably be a bit hard and a bit...cookie cutter to the manga. I mean, Mizuki was a turning point in Naruto's life. He's important, the way cancer is. It teaches you a lesson that you won't forget. And festers like a boil or chemo. Anyways...some more Iruka, perhaps those nameless ANBU might survive?

To KYLE:

Happy Birthday? I guess?

Anyways, well you're right in the battle bit. The old man is old but a kid shouldn't be able to beat him right? What's to say Sarutobi didn't use that moment as a way to gauge how much a threat the Kyuubi was. As for his quick development, let's just say those powers don't come without a price. And he is still tied to Naruto, still bound to the seal. He just doesn't know how much. And I..will slow that down, as to give out even more hints!

Anyways, as for those poor ANBU...well people don't like killing kids off? So they do nameless...folks.

Some would say Iruka wouldn't be Iruka without him having no parents. I say it could be done. I'll leave that in the air at the moment.

As for Naruto..in my opinion the way he was in the manga was because of his childhood. His stubbornness and ill manners. He's better off in the manga really, because right now he has a crutch one that might eat him given a chance. With Mito gone, he'll be able to..stand on his own two feet...somewhat.

Ah, and that seal. It'll be too easy for Kyuubi to know how to break himself out now wouldn't it? :D Don't worry, that is being taken cared of.

A few years ago:

When Naruto first met his cousin, he was surprised and then very happy. He wasn't alone anymore, he had a relative who wanted to be with him. Who wanted him around. He didn't care how weird Mito acted. He didn't care that sometimes Mito came home with blood under his fingernails. Mito was just training that's all, even if there was not a mark on his body.

Children tend to cling to familiar things, to safe things. And for Naruto, for the first time there was someone to cling to. When he was a very young child, he remembered a few things that he would confide to, a toy or sometimes to a sympathetic adult. But now, as he got older his world shrunk as the number of people who would listen to him vanished. But now, his world included one extra person. Someone who would listen to him talk and play with him. Well, mostly listen and watch him play.

Mito was like himself, his parents were killed during the attack. And he'd been through a few homes before finding out that Naruto was alive. Lady luck has smiled down on Naruto and gave him what he needed most-a stable familiar person to return to. Even if that guy was weird.

It was hard to describe how he felt about Mito in the beginning. Affection first, of course and curiosity. But fear too.

What if Mito left him? And this fear grew as they went through the academy. Mito was so great and skilled. But what he also noticed was the awkwardness. He noticed that Mito always held him at arm's length, at a distance. You can't hug people at a distance. You could tackle them however.

He tried at first hugging Mito, and then hoping to feel that hug back. But every time he did so, he felt nothing.

Every time he was rebuffed.

The fear of rejection simply deepened the fear of abandonment.

So Naruto pestered and pestered. He was very good at making people notice him, whether they wanted to or not. He ambushed his cousin, tackling him to the floor. And when that stopped working, he just never stopped. He just got sneakier about it.

One such incident left Mito with a gash on his face, as he had been successfully ambushed.

"BOY!" The killing intent flooded the small training area, silencing all the animals. "You little-"

But Naruto was already gone, he having fled the area running around the trees back to his apartment. The eyes that looked at him were far worse than the villager's eyes. There was hate in those eyes, it stabbed into him-made him breathless with fear. He huddled under his blanket, as if it would protect him.

"Naruto...come out." The cover was pulled back, a pair of blue eyes peering at his. "..Get out."

A hand grabbed his arm and pulled him out, despite his protests.

Naruto shouted, more like screamed. "Do you hate me? Is that why you're never there?" He was close to sobbing as well, his body trembling."You never smile!"

It has been a long time since he cried, and gods above it felt so good to let it all out.

Tears streamed down his face, as he lost all control. "Why won't you play with me?" Please notice me.

"I..." His vision blurred. "Why won't..."

Through his blurry vision, he thought he saw someone bigger than him with red hair whose eyes were only filled with love. "Shhh." He felt arms wrap around him, and numbly he felt arms larger than any seven year old boy should have. He buried his head into a chest that was larger than his and squishier. And he cried for what seemed to be a long time. Long red hair tickled his neck and face.

And slowly, he was rocked to sleep by a scent too feminine for a boy of seven.

The next day, he didn't play alone.

Naruto faced the empty apartment with a solitude and maturity that made him older than he seemed.

Slowly he washed the dishes, stored the plates in the cupboard and began

And now he was gone, for a long time.

This place had once been filled with laughter, and soft breathing. Now there was only him and nothing to shield him from the darkness.

It wasn't that he lost something, as much as the darkness has come back and this time he's got a soft spot. And the whisperings got worse and more difficult to ignore.

"Guess he decided to leave."

"Maybe he killed him."

"No one could stay with the brat that long."

It was a nice day to go to the bars. The brats at the academy were still acting like brats, but they were learning so at the very least he was doing his job. Even if it killed him. It was during his walk to a bar, that he noticed a familiar orange clad figure.

Briefly the words of the Sandiame came back .

"Hey, Naruto!"

"Iruka-sensei?"

"Want to come eat with me?"

A brilliant smile filled Naruto's face only for it to dim. "I can't, I have food in the fridge." His smile then returned. "I'll make dinner...if you want."

"Sure."

Iruka followed Naruto back to his apartment, watching his student with appraising eyes. He was right, without his twin here Naruto has shrunk inward. His presence has diminished. When they got to the apartment, Iruka was happy that it didn't look as dingy as he feared. Inside, the apartment was relatively clean with scrolls and kunai tossed everywhere. Even without knowing his student's personal habits he could tell whose part of the room was whose.

On one side, a tornado has come past. On another, a bit cleaner but still very messy. Was that a potted plant?

He took his sandals off, placing them next to the door. "What are you making?"

"Beef ramen." Naruto skipped over to the well lit kitchen, opening the fridge.

Iruka stared, eyebrows raised. "Why is there so much meat and no veggies?"

"Rabbit food." Naruto could barely be seen over the counter.

And once more, Iruka was struck how young Naruto was and how desolate this apartment was. Despite it being inhabited by two people, it still retained a one person occupant charm.

"Rabbit food?"

"Yeah." A stepping stool was pulled out. "Meat and ramen are the bestt."

"You should eat veggies, it's good for you!"

A look was given, one that held only disbelief. "Right."

Iruka fidgeted, unsure if he should help. Obviously from what he could tell, this took two pairs of hands. Still very uncertain, he said nothing and nervously stood there. For nearly ten minutes he occupied himself with the next day's plans.

"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto peered at him with curious eyes. "What are you doing?"

Iruka's face flushed with embarrassment. Naruto's small hands grabbed his, dragging him into the small kitchen. "Grab as much as you like!"

When the preparation were all done and they were seated at the table, steaming bowls of ramen on hand and ready to be eaten. It was still very quiet.

"So..uhh.." Smiles slightly, apprehension on his face. "I guess you might want to talk about your cousin."

"What ya mean?"

"About him graduating."

"Oh. That."

Naruto moodily poked at his ramens with his chopsticks.

Iruka took that as a signal to continue. "Since he's a genin now, I guess you won't be seeing him much. And I want to help you."

"Help?"

"Well, how else are you going to be a genin?"

"Really sensei?"

He sat straighter, now giving Iruka his full attention.

"However this doesn't mean I'm going to treat you differently from the other kids. Okay?"

"Yah!" That was all it took for Naruto to open and babble non stop about himself and his cousin.

Now:

Returning to Konoha didn't feel like he thought it would, like returning to a cage. Rather he found himself wondering about Naruto and how he's been. He vanished from his 'team', or rather what remained of them and ran back to their apartment.

Besides it too freaking long. After finishing one mission, they were given another. It's as if that old man wanted to keep him out. Piff, as if that'd stop him from sneaking in.

Mito slipped through an open window, crouching in the living room. He'd chucked his armor at the other humans, keeping only the mask. The majority of the blood was on his gear anyways, and he didn't want to drag blood into the apartment. Naruto might freak.

"Naruto?" The room smelled of Naruto and of...of a few other people. "Oi," He called out again.

"MITO!"

An orange blur slammed into him, knocking him back. Okay, maybe he wasn't as healed as he thought he was.

"Brat?" The bright blond mop of hair tickled his face. "Get off!"

"Hehehe."

Naruto pulled out a blue headband from his back pocket. "Look! I graduated!"

"Huh."

"Heeey..." And now Mito raised both eyebrows as a scheming looking appeared on Naruto's face. "Didn't you say that you'd take me to all you can eat ramen if I passed?"

"..." Mito did not recall this at all. "No."

And the Look appeared. "Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"...If you don't, I'll dye your hair pink." (Red would be better).

Mito's eye twitched.

"And I'll only buy orange clothes for a year." (Red. Red. Red).

Another eye twitch.

"And we'll be eating rabbit food too."

"When did you start threatening so well?" Grumbled Mito, as he caved in to Naruto's request.

Naruto just grinned, like the little imp that he was. "I'm a ninja now."

"Hrm."

It was only after a late dinner, did Mito realize that something was wrong. When they returned to the apartment, washed up and got ready for sleeping-that was when Naruto decided to open his heart.

Naruto had found ti fit to ambush Mito in the bathroom. It was an enclosed space, the window was far too small to sneak out of and now that he was a ninja, he can block the door.

Naruto started off by yelling, brashly, "Did you know? About what's inside me?"

"...Your stomach?"

Mito had such a bland look on his face, it was a relief.

"I killed our parents."

"...Really, right when you were a few hours old you managed to kill our parents?"

"Yes."

"Huh, wow." Still a bland flat look. "Well, time to go to sleep."

"I...I'm the holder of the Kyuubi." There he admitted. Now react dammit!

A stare.

"..It's okay if you want to hate me." Everyone else doesn't like him. His cousin had a right to be scared. To be angry and hateful.

The silence was deafening.

"Naruto, what happened. Explain. First."

So he did, just not about the crying. Boys don't cry, especially ninja. Even if he did see Iruka cry. That didn't count.

After it was all said and done, with Naruto look like he was waiting for the world to crush him Mito honestly didn't know how to handle it. The little voice in the back of his head demanded he hug Naruto and reassure him. He told that little voice to go and die, like all others have done.

"Do you hate them?"

"What?" Startled, Naruto blinked. "Hate them?"

"About what has happened to you. Do you hate them?"

Just say yes, and I will show you a way to make the ground run red with blood.

"I don't know." An honest answer, annoying but honest.

All the tension deflated, leaving only only a demon with ideas of grandeur. That and a boy who only wanted to have friends.

"Well, once you figure that out, then we can talk about this." Mito made a vague notion with his hands. Personally the last thing Mito wanted was to talk about this. Why talk about a defeat? it would his hurt his ego.

"You don't hate me?"

"How could I?" The demon stared at the ceiling, and then at the tile floor. "To me, you're just my cousin. That's all."

Another hug.

"My idiotic little cousin."

I'm the real demon after all.

"Heeey! I'm not an idiot! You're a monkey's uncle!"

I'll destroy this precious village of yours.

"That didn't make sense."

And maybe, I'll let you come with me.

"Yes it did! Nyeah."

A/N: And another chapter! Whaaaooo...