A/N: Well am sorta disappointed. Still not getting the responses I want. 6 reviews? Seriously? Come on guys. Give me something to work with. So, I have decided that the frequency of my updates will depend on the response to my story. Anyway thanks to Rhonkar for some insights into my writing style, though just to make one thing clear, Naruto is the main character. Don't know what I can do about it yet. But I promise to do my best. Also thanks to iamnarutofan2200 for reviewing. I would like to say to everyone who has raised questions about project Konoha and Naruto's past, that keep following the story. I have dropped hints and will keep dropping them, so by the time everything is revealed you would have figured it out or at least begun to. Its a puzzle and everything will fall into place in due time. Trust me when I say everything will make sense, and I know exactly where I am going with this. As it is I have barely scratched the surface. So buckle up my friends, this is gonna be one wild ride.

Chapter 7: Different approach

"It's time 9, for you to enter the next stage of your training." He was told. He nodded. He followed the man as he was expected to. That's all he knew. Orders and following those orders. He was led to the office of 'The Leader'. That's what he was called. The office was a plain and simple structure with a desk, and two chairs on either side of the table. One of those chairs was occupied by 'The Leader'. The man was heavily bandaged. They covered his entire torso and three-quarters of his face. Only a part of his right cheek and his right eye were visible under a mop of jet black hair. His left arm remained immobile. His visage as expressionless as the soldiers he commanded. This was the first time he had seen the Leader and felt something which he would later know to be terror. Leader studied him with a passive stare. Soon The Leader entered a conversation with his escort completely disregarding him.

"So he is the one." Leader commented.

"Yes, sir." Came the reply from the man who had escorted him there.

"Are you sure he is up to it? We have already lost too many to this process. Any more failures and I would have to shelf the project entirely." Leader said his voice laced with a warning tone.

"You know as well as I why we can't shelf the project."

"I know. But I can't use dead or insane soldiers."

"I know, that's why we are going to use a different approach now." The man said in a placating tone.

"Fine. Do what you have to." Leader finally conceded.

At a gesture from The leader the door to the office opened and in came a young man with scar running horizontally across his face over his face.

"9 is your responsibility from now on." The man was told. He merely nodded once in assent.

The scarred man led him out of the office soon after this.

"Well I sure am glad to get out of that stuffy office aren't you?" The scarred man addressed the boy in a jaunty tone as he walked beside him his arms behind his head.

He merely stared at the man, not sure how to react.

"Oh boy! we sure have our work cut out with you." The man whistled. "But gotta start somewhere. So what's your name?" The man asked him, curiosity lacing his tone.

"Name?" He questioned the man not understanding.

At this the man's face went blank, then it seemed he was trying to stop himself from throwing up.

"Never mind what does everyone call you?" The man said after gaining some semblance of control over his emotions.

"9." Came his reply.

The man seemed to struggle with himself for some time, before putting on a smile.

"Well 9, its nice to meet you. I am Iruka."

"...ake way, we have an injured boy here."

"...get him to the medic."

"...unconscious...cial injuries maybe a ...cussion." Came a vaguely familiar voice.

Then it hit him, hostage situation, Zabuza, him dressed in combat garb... Crap!

He tried to sit up, but was held back by a pair of strong arms.

"Take it easy kid. You hit your head pretty hard." Came the concerned voice of Anko.

As he came to his senses he realized he was strapped to a gurney at what looked like a paramedic van. Looking down he found that he was dressed in his normal school uniform. He breathed a sigh of relief and found himself staring into Anko's eyes.

"Thank you." He managed to whisper.

Her gaze turned slightly stern as he got the message in them. We will talk later. Naruto resigned himself for the upcoming interrogation. Well at least it wasn't the cops. Suddenly another face came in front of him, holding a flashlight to his face. Naruto cringed but let the medic do his job as he checked his pupillary reflex.

"Are the others safe?" Naruto queried.

"Yes, we got them all out. How are you feeling?" Anko replied.

"Like a train wreck."

Anko managed a laugh at his wry tone.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Naruto asked with some curiosity.

"Promised Ayame and Teuchi would look after you. Which reminds me call them the first chance you get. Ayame was pretty broken down about the whole affair. Kept saying it was her fault."

"Why would any of this be her fault?" Naruto said genuinely perplexed.

"Something about you not wanting to go and she forcing you to." Anko said in an offhand tone. "I for one am glad she did." She added in a low voice so that only he could hear.

Naruto was dying to know what happened. He did remember getting shot. Must have lost consciousness after that. They couldn't discuss what had happened with so many people around.

"So can I go home?" He addressed the medic.

"Not yet. We would like to keep you under observation for the night." The medic, a young man in his mid-twenties replied.

Naruto groaned at hearing this. It couldn't be helped. He did the only thing he could and closed his eyes.

"So how do you feel about your ordeal?"

"I am not sure... Angry I suppose. Scared too. I mean sometimes I ask why me? But then I remember that I am alive and so are my friends. That's something to be thankful for."

Following this response the school counselor took some notes. It was Monday morning. A regular school day. Tsunade had gotten the brilliant idea to get everyone involve in the hostage situation a psych evaluation. His stay at the hospital during the weekend was mostly uneventful, except when Ayame and Teuchi came to pick him up, and Ayame having a minor breakdown. It took some effort to calm her down and 15 minutes of Naruto convincing her that he didn't blame her for what he had to go through. Teuchi had given even offered to give him the rest of the week off.

"If it's all the same to you I would rather show up for work Teuchi-san." He remembered telling him. Teuchi hadn't argued with him after that, though Ayame looked like she wanted to protest. Over the last few weeks she had gained a fondness for Naruto. Naruto not used to such affections was unsure how to react to her. Eventually he had agreed to take 3 days off to "Recover".

So far he hadn't had the opportunity to talk to Anko. A fact he was thankful for. A part of him was curious as to who shot him. But the questions that were sure to follow made him thankful for the reprieve short though it definitely was. He hadn't seen Kiba, Ino or Sakura either for that matter. It couldn't have been easy for them, and he just hoped. He hadn't seen them in school yet. But then he was ambushed as soon as he entered the campus by Tsunade and escorted to 'A professional who could help him.' And so right now he was answering questions of a stranger trying to sound like a traumatized teenager. The counselor a bespectacled lady in her mid-thirties, dressed in a black dress suit looking every bit professional.

"You have a very pragmatic and mature attitude to the situation Uzumaki-san." She said crossing her legs.

"Well the situation could have been worse." Naruto responded to her observation. "And moreover I was never one of the hostages. I had managed to hide myself from the terrorists."

"But you were the only one who was injured." There it came. It had come up with the police too. They were rather interested in how he had managed to evade the terrorists. To which he had replied that he had managed to hide himself inside one of the pedestals which he had discovered to be hollow. He was interrogated by Anko, who had refrained from asking any awkward questions. He still wasn't sure why she was helping him, maybe because he had decided to trust her, maybe because she thought he had answers to her questions. As for the injury he told the counselor what he told the cops.

"That was because of my clumsiness. Fell down the stairs while making my way out." He said faking an embarrassed grin while scratching the back of his head. She kept taking notes for a few minutes.

"So can I leave? I am late for class as it is."

"Yes, of course Uzumaki-san. Just one more question." Naruto nodded. "How are you sleeping?"

This caused Naruto to pause for a moment.

"No worse than usual." Naruto answered honestly.

The counselor stared at him for a while before saying "You may leave Uzumaki-san."

Naruto picked up his bag and walked out of the counselor's office. He found Kiba waiting outside, exchanging a nod of greeting as he left.

"Did you check out the counselor. Man she was hot!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Sure Kiba. But don't you think there is something wrong thinking that way about a lady who is your mom's age?" Naruto said in an exasperated tone.

"Bah! Beauty is beauty man! They come in all ages." Kiba countered.

It was lunch time. Naruto had taken his normal seat in the cafeteria and before long was joined by the usual gang except Sakura who had decided to skip school today. Somehow the conversation had drifted to their counselor and her assets. Naruto didn't blame him. It was Kiba's coping mechanism after all. Focusing on her beauty helped take his mind off the ordeal and Naruto played along for his friend's sake. The other's too refrained from questioning them giving them their space.

"Don't bother Naruto. He is hopeless." Ino said rolling her eyes.

It didn't help that riling Kiba up was Ino's coping mechanism.

"No one asked for your opinion you blonde bimbo." Kiba snarled.

"What was that dog-breath?" Ino jumped up, fists clenched, eyes flashing.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru observed.

Seeing the situation getting out of hand Naruto decided to provide a diversion.

"Well basketball season's coming up. The team looks good."

It was the right thing to do as Ino slumped back into her seat. Her boyfriend was in the team after all.

"Yeah Gai-sensei really put them through the paces. The trophy is ours this time." Kiba punched his fist in the air.

"Yeah Takeshi kun is throwing a victory-party after the first game." Ino quipped.

"Great, another one we wouldn't be invited to." Kiba grumbled. It was true. The party was exclusively for the seniors the members of the different sport's club, the cheerleaders and the girlfriends of the said members.

"A little premature don't you think?" Shino said joining the conversation.

"We will wipe the floor with them, just you see." Kiba assured Shino. "The team has never looked this good. Though it would have looked better if someone was in it." He said shooting a sideways glare at Naruto, which he ignored. But before anyone could say anything else Naruto had grabbed his chocolate milk and started walking away.

"Well lunch is almost over. Don't wanna be late for Gai's class." He shot at his classmates.

"Bastard sure isn't subtle dodging conversation. Since when has he been eager to get to Gai's class." Kiba muttered." Anyway guys let's go. Its dodge ball today." He ignored the groans from his friends.

Long day. Naruto thought unlocking his apartment. Kiba was particularly vicious during dodge ball. Dropping his bag he prepared to go to work, when he remembered he had 3 days off. He was considering going out for a run, when someone knocked his door.

He had barely unlocked his door when a purple flash made its way inside.

"So what's up brat?" Anko smirked. Grin in place, dressed in her usual khaki attire.

"Come on in." Naruto retorted sarcastically seeing Anko already making her way to the fridge.

"Water and milk? That's it? Come on kid where is the good stuff?" Anko addressed Naruto, hands on hips.

Naruto rolled his eyes at his neighbor's behavior.

"Why are you here Anko?" Naruto asked his tone turning serious, indicating he wasn't in a joking mood.

Reading the mood Anko replied. "We need to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you." Naruto said making his way out of the apartment.

Anko knew she was walking on thin ice. If she didn't play this right he would never open up to her.

"Come on kid. Just need to talk to you. You may shut me out later if that's what you want. Just listen to what I have to say first." Anko tried to convince him. She had to try the painless way. She could go Rambo on him, but she had a feeling that wouldn't work with him and she would only drive him away. She would take this slow, if that's what it took.

Naruto paused hearing the hint of desperation in his voice.

"I will make ramen. Brought some with me." She sweetened the deal.

10 minutes later they were sitting diametrically opposite each other in his kitchen/hall, slurping on noodles and broth.

"So what do you want to talk about Anko?" Naruto said the silence finally getting to him.

"Aren't you curious about who shot you? If it wasn't for the body armor we would have been picking your intestines from the floor." Anko said raising her eyebrow at the kid in front of her.

"It was the Chief of Security Akisame I believe?" Naruto said nonchalantly.

Anko froze. The chopsticks didn't seem to be able to make way to her mouth.

Seeing her Naruto shrugged. "Wasn't that hard to figure out. I had accounted for every terrorist. I just let my guard down. Later when I had time to think about it, I knew it had to be him. How else would they have gotten the weapons in, which I am guessing they got in along with the caches of artifacts? You have him in custody I suppose."

Anko replaced the chopsticks in her bowl.

"If by custody you mean in the mortuary with his brain shot out, then yes we have him in our custody. Seriously kid, who are you?"Anko said in an awed voice.

Naruto put his own chopsticks down looked Anko directly in the eye.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Naruto answered his tone careless as ever.

"Try me." Anko countered.

"Well then I hope you are ready for disappointment, Because I...dont know."

Well another one done. Its sort of a cliffhanger. But let's face it, its not as bad as the last one. Also I have been updating frequently, so that makes up for it. So keep your eyes open for more, and like I have said before. The frequency of the updates will depend on the response my story gets.