Demon Inside

Scene Change

'Thoughts'

"Talking"

Notes/Kyuubi/Other things…

AN: Happy Halloween everyone! A quick thanks to those who followed, favorited, and reviewed it means a lot to me and gives me motivation to write even more. If you have any suggestions, comments, or even complaints to this story please review. Now then…shall we?

Years ago…

When I decided to take up bounty hunting I thought life would get easier. I had a knack for taking out low-life scum for a nice wad of cash. Through the years I got better and better at my job so I decided to try more challenging bounties. Just last week I took out an A-rank jonin from Iwa, it was a hell of a fight but in the end I pulled through. I have been in this business for a long time. So when I see that the newest entry on the bingo book is some brat from Konoha well…I'm going to cash in.

Apparently this kid killed his academy sensei and ran from the village. Later they found that he was connected to over twenty murders in the village which had happened in the course of seven years. This kid is good for not getting caught I'll give him that. But it's not the fact that he's an adorable psychotic killer no…it's the fact that he holds an all-powerful goddamn demon in his belly.

So I had to be real careful with this job. Took me a few favors to track this kid down to a small farming community. I had to hand it to the kid, this place was quiet and off the grid of anyone hunting…except me. I found him standing near the edge of town at a river his eyes wide open. Damn this kid was creepy…but if I kill him I'll finally be able to retire. As I neared him with my blade in hand I thought about what I would do with my retirement. Maybe I could settle down and finally start a family of my own? Just as I was just a foot away from him he spun around and grabbed my wrist.

He looked up at me with those cold, dead eyes. I stared into the crimson pools until I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I…I think I'll be alright like this. After all these years…I can finally rest. As my vision fades I can feel him gently resting me on the ground. With the twist of his blade he says last words I'll ever hear

"GO TO SLEEP"

Konoha

The road back to Konoha was a somber one. Kakashi was silent when Asuma finally arrived in Wave only to be the first to hear of his failure. This shouldn't have happened, if only…no. There's no changing the past now. The only thing Team Seven could do now was try to move past these events and harden their resolve. Even after all this Sakura stuck to her decision to become a kunoichi, Kakashi had gone to talk her out of continuing this path.

But a new motivation grew within her, to protect her teammates, and…to find out what happened to Uzumaki Naruto. All the Hokage told the village was that Naruto had the Kyuubi sealed within him and he had gone insane. Sakura knew there were holes in the story and one way or another she would find out the truth.

Kakashi sighed, he had seriously considered just giving up right then and there…but he still had his team. And he would be damned sure that no harm would come to them ever again.

Kirigakure: Rebel Prison

Naruto sighed as he sat in his cell. Somehow Kiri shinobi were able to surprise him and bring him to this disgusting hovel. They had taken his knife, clothes, and cash Gatō had given him. So now he sat in the far corner of the cell wearing a heavily reinforced straitjacket adorned with leather straps, chains, and chakra seals effectively keeping the crazed murderer at bay…for now. After a couple hours of solitary confinement two guards dragged him out into another room unceremoniously dropping him to the ground.

Naruto looked up to see a beautiful woman with auburn hair sitting at a metal table before him. She gestured to the seat in front of her, knowing he really didn't have a choice in the matter he dragged himself off the floor and onto the chair. The woman smirked,

"So…" she said leaning forward, "What's the Demon of Fire Country doing out here?" Naruto chuckled,

"Just wandering around, wasn't really looking to get wrapped up like this. I guess it's just an occupational hazard." He replied with his ever-present grin. The woman sighed,

"Well now I'm in a bit of a predicament here Uzumaki. I'm near the end of this war and my people have suffered too many losses to finish what we've started. The way I see it I have two options" the blonde chuckled,

"Let me guess, you want me to help you or you'll just send me to Konoha for my bounty. Only a fool would choose not to help you." He said. The woman smiled,

"Thank you for your cooperation Uzumaki-san, let me help you with your restraints" just as she got up the chains and seals fell to the ground in a heap. Naruto stood and stretched his arms,

"So, who exactly are you?" he asked. The woman shook off her surprise and smiled,

"My name is Mei Terumi, future Mizukage of Kiri"

AN: And that's that folks. Sorry for the long wait and the short chapters but I don't have a lot of free time on my hands at the moment. Anyways, please remember to review and have a wonderful Halloween!