Introverted

Chapter Nine

The white ceiling of the hospital was starting to grow on Naruto. If his entire body wasn't flaring with pain, he would have even begun to enjoy the room's flowery smell. He scrunched his face in an effort to sniff the air once more. Yes, it seemed there was a different smell from the usual antiseptic one. Grumbling and wincing for the sore flesh that was reknitting beneath the bandages, he turned to look at his bed-desk.

Some pretty looking flowers, with white delicate petals, were held inside a vase of plastic. It was actually a touching thing. Somebody had brought him flowers. He wondered if it might have been the Hokage, or maybe his sensei. He supposed Shimura-san had been warned by now, considering that from the window he could see the sun settling. The window was slightly ajar, as if somebody had walked in and out.

He tried to sit, but his back seemed to be held in a viscous and jelly-like substance. Moving apparently was a big no-no, as he cried out in pain as if the thing was actively trying to tear apart the skin from his back. He groaned as he looked back at the ceiling of the hospital.

He had nearly died.

"Then again, it was only a matter of time, wasn't it?" he mumbled.

"It always is with you mortals," the voice of the Kyuubi filtered in his ears, as if he was just whispering to him close by. "You always die. That is a constant in the world."

Naruto just breathed, refusing to answer anything back to the demon in his stomach. If he ignored it, it might go away or at least stop talking to him. The door slowly slid open five minutes later, as a woman walked in with natural grace. She was wearing a nurse outfit, but her purple hair and the way she moved told a different story.

"You have woken up? Good," she said, taking a few steps to check at his medical chart. "Do you remember what happened?"

He frowned. There had been a masked man, fire, some words on dodging? Not much, he couldn't remember much. "Hurts." His brain decided to croak out.

"Second and third degree burns do that," the nurse's tone seemed sympathetic. "We are keeping your back in a gelatin solution, to avoid further damage as your skin heals. You were lucky you survived." The woman moved slowly to the window, before closing it shut tight.

She muttered something beneath her breath that sounded awfully like a 'Kakashi', before turning back to him. "You told one of your teammates about enemy shinobi on the scene, right?"

Naruto closed his eyes, trying to recall. He did seem to remember Sai, had the boy saved him? Why was he there in the first place? The hour was a bit late for a visit, maybe he was just passing by?

"Nothing happens by coincidence," Kurama grumbled, his voice filled with some twinge of amusement.

"Yes," he murmured. "There was…someone with a mask; he had baggy clothes…he asked if…he asked if I learned how to dodge."

"I see," the woman nodded, before turning to leave after leaving the medical chart back at the base of the bed. "Depending on how fast you heal, you might leave in a couple of weeks."

He winced. "A couple of weeks?"

"Skin needs time to regrow."

The woman then left, closing the door behind her. He sighed before moving his hands over his chest, raggedly breathing as he tried to sleep again. There wasn't anything else he could do, was there?

He found himself walking through the sewers once more, his gaze landing on the Kyuubi's form behind the bars. The eyes of the nine-tails were slightly narrow, but not in anger at him —more like in a softer tone, as if he was simply deluded with him.

"Well, in the hospital again."

"It's not like I like being in here," Naruto muttered back, looking around as he took in the dingy state of things. The pipes were rusty and leaky, as they ran across the walls all around them. The water was knee deep, and while there wasn't actually a smell, he couldn't help but think that it clearly had to stink, being in a sewer and all.

"Me neither, but we can't choose our jails now, can we?" the fox retorted, before flicking one of its tails. Between the giant bars, a shogi platform appeared. "Thankfully I can stave off boredom. I don't know about you, though."

Naruto blinked. "You play Shogi?"

Kurama huffed. "I don't like it, but I can't go outside and stretch my legs now, can I? So I have to make do with what I have."

"But who taught you how to play?"

"What? You think that as a construct of chakra, I should be an ignorant mass of hatred and evil, pooled together only to be used as a chakra battery by the first imbecile that comes around?"

"I didn't say that!" he replied quickly, bringing both of his arms up in an attempt to assuage the fox's irritation. "It's just…you're the Kyuubi!"

"And you are a human," Kurama said. "That clearly marks you as an inferior and stupid individual then?"

"No! But you're a giant fox! Who'd teach you how to play shogi!?"

"My father, perhaps?" the fox whispered. "My grandfather? My mother? My grandmother? I was born out of chakra, but that does not make me an orphan. Your so called sage of the sixth paths, the mythological first shinobi, is none other than my grandfather. Will you read of this in your books? No, of course not." The Kyuubi chuckled at the last words, shaking his head slowly.

"You aren't lying, are you?" Naruto croaked out, as he took a careful step forward. He was just curious to look at the Shogi board after all.

"No, I'm not. I don't need to lie to hurt people. I don't need to crush you beneath my fangs to destroy you. I am the most feared of Bijuus not because of my power, but because of what I truly am."

Silence fell in the sewer-like environment, as the Kyuubi's tails lazily moved around.

"Demons should be drowned," a female voice hissed from one of the pipes.

"A shinobi, him? Let's hope he dies." A man's voice came from a dark corner of the room, filled with hatred and anger.

"Maybe I could slice his neck tonight, if only the Hokage hadn't ordered not to," a cooler voice, more controlled, came from beneath the water.

"Without parents as he is, no doubt he grew up wicked! Probably his parents left him on purpose: who'd love a monster like him?" he could imagine who the owner of that voice was —Ami's tone was easily recognizable.

"Die," a voice filled in from the ceiling. "Die. Die. Die. Die. DIE." Multiple voices roared through the chamber, and then it was silence once more. Only the shaking and tear stricken Naruto remained in the middle of the room, under the watchful gaze of the Kyuubi, the Nine-Tails.

"I cannot die, Naruto Uzumaki, but do you know why?" there was amusement now in his voice. "I am the product of malice and hatred, that which comes in abundance from you mortals. I do not control the sand like the Ichibi. I do not give orders to insects like the Nanabi. I am not a creature of strength like the Hachibi…but I am the Kyuubi, and malice and hatred? Those are everywhere and in every heart…and as long as they'll exist, I will too."

The fox seemed to stand, stretching his body behind his cage.

"Every man hates. Some hate pickles, other hate children. Some hate their wives, who betrayed them, while others wish to kill an innocent boy saddled with a weight he did not ask for. You see, Naruto…" the Kyuubi's voice seemed confidential, by then. "Your thoughts are filled with hatred too: you just refuse to acknowledge them."

He shook his head, bringing his hands to his ears as the thoughts struck him like a tidal wave.

"Stop staring at me!" one of his tiny voices squeaked.

"Leave me alone!" another whined, but soon those voices were drowned by others, more angry and far more deep in their tone.

"They should all just die," The water bubbled as the voice spoke with determination.

"Plucking their eyes out might stop the stares," a voice suggested with malice.

"Maybe if we killed their parents, they would stop calling us unloved orphans," a third voice, hateful but gleeful, filled the air with her wicked mirth.

"Why can't they just all burn!"

"NO!" he screamed. "That's not…I didn't mean it!"

The Kyuubi just chuckled with mirth. "I know," he said, as the voices disappeared slowly into a low murmur. "I know you did not mean it…but for how long, I wonder, will you not mean it? How long will you go on believing them the truth? How long will you sacrifice yourself for the sake of others to whom you own nothing? How long will you live as a slave to the whims of this village?"

"I'll…I'll get to Chuunin, then I can leave. I'll ask for a long-term mission, then go out, hide somewhere…"

"A shackle born of fear is no different than one born of hatred," the Kyuubi commented wistfully. "And what if you can't? What if they don't let you leave? What…what if they don't let you live?"

"Then I'll become strong, and then I'll escape."

"We should have him sealed after Chuunin, Hiruzen," a female voice grumbled from a pipe.

"We cannot let him leave and risk the Kyuubi to the outside," a male voice countered. "We could use the Hyuga's seal."

"Hiruzen, you have to realize it! We can't let him go around unchecked!" the female voice remarked haughtily.

"He had his childhood, now act like the Hokage you are!" the male voice spoke then. "Think of the village! Think of what would happen if the Jinchuuriki were to leave!"

"And whose fault would it be!?" Hiruzen's, the Hokage's voice, came in filled with such a thin tone of venom that even Naruto shuddered at it. "You think it's fair? No! I will not have him branded like cattle!"

"One day, Hiruzen, there will be another Hokage in that chair," the female voice spoke slowly. "When that day will come, I hope the Jinchuuriki will still be in Konoha, otherwise you will have given your successor the task of fighting the Fourth Shinobi War."

"Leave me Koharu, Homura and don't show yourself in front of me again for a while…you both disgust me."

The Kyuubi just chuckled again, showing his pearly white fangs to him. "Well, shackles are shackles, but does it even matter in the end? A prisoner is a prisoner, whereas it is made of chakra or of flesh. Sealed or branded changes nothing."

"Hokage-sama said he wouldn't do it!" he exclaimed back at the Bijuu.

"Yes, he wouldn't…but what of his successor?"

"He'd choose a good one! One who… wouldn't do it?" he hesitated. What did he know of who was going to be chosen as a successor?

"Fuinjutsu is a difficult art," the Kyuubi remarked. "It takes considerable skill to master, something you do not possess. The Uzumaki were famed for their seal knowledge, and yet the Hokage used the Shinigami itself to seal me…do you know why?"

Naruto shook his head, as he began to look for an exit. He didn't want to remain there a second more!

"Because as I spoke to him of his sins, as I narrated the hatred of others to him, he was so shaken he nearly dropped the child he was carrying in his arms."

"Mom, when is dad coming back home?" a child's voice asked with fear.

"Uncle? Where is dad?"

"Daddy isn't coming?"

"Mom? Mom where are you?"

"My parents didn't die! They were strong!"

"MOM! DAD! DON'T LEAVE ME!"

The Kyuubi then laughed, he laughed as the water that surrounded them grew to reach his stomach. "You humans always think yourself so powerful, so tall and mighty, so masterfully prepared for everything," the crimson eyes of Kurama shone.

"But you forget yourself! You forget that everything has a consequence. That everything has a price. You forget that no matter what you do…you are evil within. That is my purpose in the world —that is what the sage entrusted me with! Sinless people do not exist, and I am the harbinger of their destruction! I am the Kyuubi, born of hatred and malice to bring forth the rightful retribution! So answer me this, Naruto Uzumaki…do you really believe, truly from the bottom of your heart, that you will ever be free?"

And Naruto closed his eyes and clenched his fists. He would never be free, would he? Hunted, sought out, chained, branded, a weapon, a Jinchuuriki…but when would he be a free man? When?

"Can you…can you free me?"

"Everything has a price," the Kyuubi whispered to him. "Remove the seal, and you will have what you desire."

He looked at the seal and bit his lip, as the water rose once more, to the point where he could easily float towards it to break it away. He paddled towards it, his right hand gently moving to grasp it at the corner. He was about to yank it out, to remove the scrap of paper…

When a strong hand stopped him on the spot.

The Yondaime Hokage narrowed his cerulean eyes on him, before turning to gaze at the Kyuubi.

"Kyuubi," he hissed.

"Minato," Kurama replied calmly. "We were just done talking about you…take your child somewhere else, and tell him of the joys of being a slave to Konoha, would you? I grow tired of this." The water level dropped in an instant, but just as they were about to leave, the Kyuubi gave out one more call.

"And ask him of his mother! He will enjoy the revelation, trust me!"

Then with a bark of laughter, the Kyuubi resumed his shogi moves.

Naruto found himself in a featureless room, with white walls and a white ceiling. Only the Yondaime stood there in front of him, clad in his attire and his cloak with the flame symbols on the lower end of his mantle. His eyes were narrowed, but more in a sort of examination of him then in anger.

"Naruto?" he murmured, "Why?"

Naruto's throat bubbled up. He was staring at the Fourth Hokage, the man who had sealed the Kyuubi in his gut and…and if the Kyuubi was to be believed, this was his father. His father was the Yondaime.

And there was no way the Sandaime hadn't known.

There was no way people hadn't known. Why did nobody tell him? He felt tears prickle his eyes as he unleashed what were years of bottled up emotions because of that single question.

"WHY!? YOU HAVE NO IDEA DO YOU!?" he screamed back at him, "HAVE YOU ANY IDEA WHAT I HAD TO GO THROUGH!? I WAS LEFT ALONE, PEOPLE HATED ME, PEOPLE STILL HATE ME AND ALL I'VE GOT IS THE KYUUBI TELLING ME THE TRUTH! THE KYUUBI IS THE ONLY ONE WHO DOES! WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE ME, HUH!? I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW YOU WERE MY DAD! I DON'T EVEN KNOW MY MOTHER'S NAME!"

He choked on his spit as he kept on talking.

"I'm stared at, glared at, one of the few who didn't died because of me! I've got no-one who cares, I've been living alone all this time and…and all I get is a 'why?' well dad, WHY NOT!? Why did you have to do this!? Why couldn't you just leave me alone!?"

"Naru—"

"NO!" he screamed back, "I don't want to know! My life was hell, and all you have to say is 'why?' just…just no," he began to sob, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't want the Kyuubi. If he wants to go let him go, I don't care. I don't care about Konoha! I don't care about the villagers! I just want to be free from their stares!"

"Naruto," the Yondaime's voice was stern now. "You are no longer a child. Act like—"

"I NEVER WAS A CHILD!" he screamed once more. "So no! No, and no! Go…Go drown in a ramen bowl for what I care! You weren't there! You can't know! You wanted them to call me a hero? Guess what! I was called demon or monster, never hero! The most I got out of a happy day? When I could remain at home with no one staring at me, glaring at me, or talking to me! I tried to be happy, I tried to make them see me, and they just glared back! And you know what?" he muttered, breathing hard. "The Kyuubi's right. Every man is evil, dad," he snorted the last word out as if it was an insult. "And Konoha's filled with it! I'm glad the Kyuubi got down to burning it, and I'm just sad he didn't succeed!"

The slap echoed through the room as his father gazed at him with anger.

"Shut up," he hissed, as Naruto's hand went to hold on to his burning cheek.

"You're angry, and I understand that. I'm sorry things turned out this way, I'm sorry you had to deal with all of that, but you can't just go and spout that nonsense!" the Yondaime seemed positively heated up, as he spoke next. "I had wished for you to be seen as a hero, but…but if this happened, then I understand your anger," he muttered, shaking his head slowly. "But your anger does not excuse your words. Should you wish the death of innocent children in their cradles? Are the ones who actually cherish you worthy of being killed? Are the kids who are growing up and know no better really the culprit of their parents' words? You can't fault everyone, Naruto. You can't."

"But they can, right? They can just give me the fault for everything and be done with it," he snorted back. "They can come up and call me demon and monster, tell me I killed their families and then move on like nothing ever happened. I should just forgive them, right? Maybe I should become Hokage, protect them all, so they might in their hypocrisy come to say 'I always believed in you, Naruto!' or 'well done, son! I'm proud of you!' well…no. The answer is no. I'm not a scapegoat for their anger. They won't see me ever again, if I get my say on things. I don't care about Konoha, dad. I did, once, and I tried, hard…but they took away from me one of the few people who loved me for what I was. They destroyed what little I had…so no, father, I will not forgive them. Never."

Minato breathed in slowly, before putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I know this is hard. Heck, I didn't expect this. I thought that I'd meet you in a pinch, maybe when somebody else tried to remove the Kyuubi and help you out. I didn't think I'd meet you so soon, driven by desperation and anger…I'm sorry, Naruto…" his eyes grew soft and half-closed, as he muttered. "And I know that saying sorry never works. I know it all too well…"

Naruto bit his lips. His first instinct had been to skive away from the touch of his father, but…he was his father. It was the first time he was talking to him. The first time he was seeing him, and…and he didn't want to miss it. He would eventually wake up, and maybe he would never see him again…so really, he didn't want to leave. His head cooled down as he turned his eyes once more to those of his father.

"It's not all right," he muttered, before hugging his father. "It's not right."

"I know," the Yondaime whispered hugging him back. "I know."

He could feel his father's finger caressing his locks of hair, before chuckling grimly. "You have my hair, your mother must be furious about it…it was indomitable."

Naruto froze.

"Mom's dead," he whispered.

"Uh?" Minato murmured back, "When? When did that happen?" he asked, slightly alarmed.

"She died during the Kyuubi assault," Naruto said, perplexed. "I've been living in the orphanage since I was born, dad."

"No, she didn't." Minato choked out. "She couldn't. She wanted to, but I stopped her. I knocked her out before she could try anything as stupid as resealing the Kyuubi in her. I know she was alive when I died, I know it."

"But…"

"Even if she did die afterwards," he murmured, "What about Jiraiya? Tsunade? Kakashi? Heck, what of Orochimaru?"

"Who?" he blinked.

"Jiraiya was my sensei, Tsunade was part of your mother's family —they were cousins or something. Kakashi was my student: the only one who survived the war. Even Orochimaru would have been enough in a pinch! They should have given you a shinobi to protect you! After telling everyone you were the hero who held the Kyuubi, at least they should have given you some shinobi to guard you from the enemy villages! Not drop you at the orphanage!"

"I—I didn't…I didn't have anyone. I'm living alone in my apartment…never heard of—"

"All right," Minato muttered, shaking his head once more. "This is worse than I thought. I understand why the Kyuubi was laughing back there. It's no wonder you're angry…but…" he closed his eyes. "I'm just the left-over chakra of the Yondaime, Naruto. I won't remain here for long, so there is something you need to know. I thought sensei would have already told you of your heritage, but if he isn't around…"

"Do I have some inheritance?" Naruto asked with curiosity, trying to change the argument. "I mean, cup ramen is nice, but…"

"No, I'm afraid not," Minato made a bitter smile at that. "The Hokage's nothing more than an administration job at best, and a figure-head at worse. The pay was nice and stable, but nothing to splurge on. The house we had was destroyed when the Kyuubi attacked, and the little we had in our accounts was probably taken to repair Konoha, as is the case with dead shinobi who have no family left…we did our best to keep you a secret, since as my son you would have been subjected to attacks from enemy shinobi."

"All right," Naruto shrugged. "So what is it?"

"When you have the time, son, reach for my head on the Hokage's mountain. There should be a small rock near one of my 'locks'. Smear your blood over it, and it should morph into a wooden box. Take the box and open it someplace safe. It contains a cache of soldiers' pills and one of my Hiraishin Kunais."

"You'll teach me the Hiraishin?"

"No," the Yondaime's reply was quick, and filled with vehemence. "I don't have the time, and it is extremely complicated to even get started on it. The important thing is that you take the Kunai and bring it to the Konoha cemetery. There should be a tomb to a certain 'Rin' there. We never recovered the body, so I had it dug out as another cache of equipment. The kunai opens the seals that surround it, and the coffin should hold enough of a selection of supplies to help you out as a shinobi. There…There is where the Hiraishin's scroll is held." Minato's voice grew stern in that instant.

"Listen to me well, Naruto. The Hiraishin is not easy. It is not as simple as merely sending forth a kunai and hopping to it. It requires perfect Chakra Control, enormous amounts of Chakra and an overall extremely well developed knowledge of the human body. Writing down the Fuinjutsu part is actually the easy thing, and with the kunai you have it wouldn't require much. Now, I want you to swear to me you will not abuse this knowledge, I did not create the Hiraishin as a technique for war, but as one to always be close to the people I cherished."

He chuckled, as his gaze seemed to glaze over some old memory.

"Strange isn't it? I was a momma's boy and found a way to talk with her even when out during missions. Next thing I know it's an S-rank technique only I can teach. Not many can get it down too, and the three bodyguards I had always followed my lead with it." Minato chuckled at that, before his eyes softened even more.

"Well, there's no need to swear to me now that I think about it. You'll do what you believe is right —only please, don't blame the innocents for it. Not everyone is a culprit." He sighed. "And many times, people believe themselves right even when they're wrong…it happens to the best of us, trust me."

Naruto swallowed heavily, before looking at his father with tears in his eyes. "Will I see you again, dad?"

Minato just smiled, and then gently ruffled Naruto's head.

"Not until a long, long time…do your best, Naruto. I'm sorry I left you with this burden, I'm sorry you had to deal with all of this…and even if sorry does not cut it, even if I could go back and change things…I wouldn't, because there is a reason I gave you the Kyuubi, Naruto…and not just to protect Konoha," he whispered the last part in the boy's ear, as he moved in for one last hug. "Be wary of the Uchiha. Kill them if the choice is to be made. Leave none alive. Whatever happens, do not trust any of them, ever…and don't trust the Kyuubi. He might be a prisoner against his will, but that does not make him any less dangerous or sinless."

Then the Yondaime Hokage departed from that hug, and as he slowly faded away, he whispered a few last words.

"And tell Kakashi that if Kushina could see him, he'd kill him for having dropped off the radar with you."

"Wait!" Naruto exclaimed bringing his right arm forward. "I have more questions! What about my mom!? Who was—"

But the Yondaime had already disappeared, leaving Naruto to slowly open his bleak eyes because of the morning sun.

That, and because the Sandaime Hokage was standing right there, pipe in his mouth, looking at him with a worried look.

"Naruto…"

"Hokage-sama," he whispered back. The question was on the tip of his tongue, the dreaded question of 'where is my mother?' already there, already prepared…and yet he stilled. Did he really want to ask the man who was bound to know? The man who knew whom he was the son of, and yet had said nothing?

He couldn't bring himself to.

"The nurse told me you were assaulted by an enemy shinobi," the Hokage began hesitantly. "Do you remember anything important about him?"

Naruto shook his head, as the obvious questions were moved out of the way quickly.

"Hokage-sama…can I ask you a question?" he whispered, locking his cerulean eyes with those of the Sandaime. "If…If I had not wanted to be a shinobi, would you have forced me to become one?"

The Sandaime blinked, raising one of his eyebrows in surprise before schooling his features. "I wouldn't have."

"Your successor would, right?" he queried then.

"Successor? Are you already thinking I'm too old to rule, Naruto?" there was a light smile on the man's lips, "And what brought this on?"

"I heard people talk," he replied. "A man and a woman…they talked about a successor for you, someone who would 'brand' me or something like that…do I need a tattoo of sorts?"

Somehow, the fact that the Sandaime did not display anything told him he had hit the nerve. The 'paralysis' of the man's face couldn't be associated with much else.

"No, Naruto," he whispered. "You will not —never in fact, be branded. Don't worry: I'll see that those who talked are told not to meddle…"

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," he replied. "When can I leave?"

"The nurse told you a few weeks," the Hokage commented.

Naruto just breathed in calmly, before he heard a slight chuckle to his ears. He frowned as he felt the skin behind his back close up as if it had never been hurt to begin with.

"What you had to learn, you did, didn't you?" the Kyuubi taunted him through the question, making him wince as he slowly stood up. It no longer felt as if his skin was being pulled off, albeit it felt kind of disgusting now what with the cold sensation of a jelly-like substance on his back.

"I'm fine, Hokage-sama," he said to the wizened Sandaime. "I've got something good out of the bad deal the Yondaime gave me," he patted on his stomach as an afterthought.

Hiruzen's pipe was in the man's mouth before long, puffing out smoke as the old shinobi nodded. "I see…I'll have you discharged then. If you hurry you can even reach the Hokage tower before the mission hours begin, and by tonight I should have found you a new apartment."

"There will be no need for that, Hokage-sama," another voice, familiar to Naruto, rang in the room. Danzo Shimura walked in, heavily bandaged as he was, with a small smile on his face. "I was just coming to visit, but now that I'm hearing this…I do have more than one free room in my house. As his Kenjutsu sensei, I say he has but to benefit from it."

Hiruzen's hold on his pipe clenched slightly, as the man narrowed his eyes on the other one.

"Shimura-san, you shouldn't exert yourself too much. You are grievously wounded after all."

"Nothing lethal, Hokage-sama, and nothing that can prevent me from offering a room to a homeless shinobi for the time being," the Yami of Shinobi retorted with a small smile.

"Even then," Hiruzen retorted. "There is a problem."

"What, pray tell, would it be?" Danzo mocked ignorance, as he looked towards Naruto who was simply listening in while biting his lower lip.

"Naruto has not said yes."

The two elders stared at one another for a moment, before they both turned to look at the boy who shrunk at being the target of attention.

"It's fine…If I'm not a bother," the boy hurriedly whispered back, in a squeaky voice as he grasped tightly onto the sheets of his bed.

"Then the problem is solved," Danzo grinned gently. "I'll have the room prepared."

And with those words, the Yami of shinobi left the room.

At the same time, Sakura Haruno was faced with a dilemma, as she stood in front of the fridge of her house. Her parents were there, so she couldn't skip on breakfast, but still...she didn't know whether or not try and not eat all the same. It was a force of habit after all, wasn't it?

Her mother was actually smiling at her kindly, as she placed the breakfast in front of her. What was she going to do with it? Eat it all? Eat it a bit? She flinched as the words of her sensei barreled back into her head. Hesitantly, she picked up the chopsticks…well, if she ate more, then she could try and train more, and afterwards she would lose more weight because of it, right?

Worse to worse, she might even try as Ino did: the two fingers down the throat method.

She didn't know why her parents were looking at her with a condescending attitude, but it puzzled and annoyed her all the same. They were going to be late in opening their shop: why were they still hanging around?

It was as she finished breakfast and left, that a stray thought occurred to her. What if they had been told? What if they had been told and were now looking out for her?

She swallowed thickly. She felt bloated, her stomach feeling full and all too heavy for her. She was going to put up weight if this continued, and she couldn't.

Just how did Ino manage to pass by her parent's eyes?

She even had a shinobi father: it should have been more difficult!

As she reached for the Hokage tower in the morning, her thoughts went to Naruto. Their sensei had told them he was still in the hospital. How the boy managed to get hurt on a daily basis eluded her, but maybe he was just clumsy by nature? Why did he even try and become a shinobi then, if all that he did was fall on his own kunai?

She frowned —that was a bad thought to have about a teammate. Sai had barely managed to save him from a fire, and he had been badly burned. She hadn't visited him yet, but since he probably had weeks of prog—

And there he was.

Sakura blinked as she calmly brought up her right hand in a fist and closed the distance to him in a second.

"NARUTO!" she screeched, making him wince as he nearly jumped away. "What are you doing out of the hospital!?"

Was the boy mad to begin with!?

"Sakura," he replied, his voice low as always. That made her self-conscious, terribly so, of how high she had been screaming at him. Now she was embarrassed. "I was discharged."

"But Sai said you had weeks of prognosis!" Sakura retorted, looking at him with a slight worry in her eyes. "You didn't skive off, did you? Was it a small burn? I didn't think Sai would blow things out of proportion, but you do seem fine."

"I'm fine," he whispered back. "Really, it was nothing big."

"Naruto?" their sensei arrived a few seconds later, Sai in tow. The man frowned, but as Naruto seemed fine, he did not pry. Aoba knew when to ask and when not to, and he doubted they would have released him from the hospital unless he was fine.

"I've been discharged early, sensei." Naruto commented —his gaze down on the ground. "I can train." The implicit meaning was 'I can work', and Aoba heard it clearly. He said nothing as he walked in the tower, merely nodding in understanding to the black haired boy.

He supposed he would have to get used to it.

The D-rank of the day turned out to be nothing more than weed pulling, from the garden of an elderly lady who seemed more than content in just sitting down on a wooden and creaky chair and snapping out at them for being slow.

"Careful with the flowers, brat!" she screeched at Naruto for the seventeenth time. Sakura's forehead was already sporting a tick-mark, which seemed to only be exacerbated by the fact that there wasn't a flower at all near the weeds Naruto was pulling.

She didn't know how Naruto could stand it —or their sensei for what it mattered. Aoba-sensei just seemed to be watching over them, with his arms crossed in front of him, and enjoying the shade of a tree. They were the ones sweating, and Naruto was actually given the worst part of the garden —the one with the bushy thorns.

She bit her lip at another reprimand from the elderly woman, tightening her fists as she was just about to tear out a pink and crimson flower from the ground, rather than the nearby weed. She didn't, because she half-suspected the woman would give the fault to Naruto to begin with.

"Pat harder the soil! You're doing a really shoddy work!"

"Shut up," Sakura mouthed with her lips, her eyes twitching. She had barely whispered it, so the old woman hadn't heard.

"Grab those thorns and remove their roots boy, don't cut them or they'll just grow up again!"

"Shut up," she whispered again as she gave a quick gaze to where Naruto was currently busy with…ninja wire? Well, considering he was the only one the woman hadn't given gloves to…his hands were a mess of dirt and dried blood, but he hadn't even screamed once.

"Tetsua," Naruto suddenly said as he removed a root. "Crushed." His eyes turned to look at the old woman, who seemed to have been paling under his simple words. "Makoto, impaled." He snarled. "Kozuki, internal bleeding."

"Naruto," their sensei suddenly pulled himself out of the shadow of the tree, moving closer to the boy who wasn't done.

"Takeo, found dead beneath the rubble five days later," he said, his tone frosty and his eyes cold. Sakura realized her body was shivering as the woman gave out a choked croak. "You call me monster and curse my name," he stated, "But you are the one filled with malice, not me."

He turned his gaze to their sensei, and then smiled slightly.

"Sorry, sensei. She was annoying."

Aoba said nothing as the black haired boy returned to his duty. The silence that descended in the small back garden was now deafening, as even Sai had stopped to listen. A few seconds later, and the dark haired emotionless Genin resumed his duties. Sakura just blinked once more, and then decided to finish it quickly.

What was that all about?

Naruto, meanwhile, was becoming the subject of a one-sided conversation.

"You see? She quieted down," the Kyuubi remarked, his voice smooth and at ease. "A bit of fear can go a long way, Naruto…"

He uprooted another thorn bush, using the ninja wire as a sort of executioner's knot.

"You could use fire chakra, to burn it all." Kurama suggested, once more whispering in his ears. "Or you could just give up and leave the old hag."

He winced. "I'm trying to work here," he mouthed back.

"You know, when you think it comes through the pipes all distorted and really difficult to hear." Was the Kyuubi actually chuckling as he spoke? He was starting to grow more and more estranged with the idea that the nine-tails could be…well, as evil as portrayed, but maybe that was the beast's purpose, considering it was seeking a way out.

Still…the Kyuubi had told him of the Yondaime, hadn't he? And the beast had yet to lie.

"Oh! Now you're making my heart, hardened by centuries of evil in humanity, melt," the Kyuubi cooed with a surprisingly well-placed female voice. "You know, being a mass of construct I am genderless…and malice comes from males and females equally so…I suppose I could try and appear as a beautiful female next time around? Maybe naked, with enormous breasts and nine bushy tails…you'd dig that, wouldn't you?"

He stammered and nearly yelped out loud as he drove his fist through one of the thorn bushes. He ground his teeth as he pulled the hand out, the slight wounds closing in a matter of seconds.

"Ah the beauty of hormones," the Kyuubi chuckled with his voice back to the male tone. "I should have tried that, if only you would have found out about me a few years from now. I suppose you'd have believed it as nothing more than a sexy wet dream…a pity that couldn't work out."

"We're done," Aoba-sensei exclaimed after a few more minutes of work. The elderly woman merely nodded with her mouth still ajar, albeit she now kept her distance from Naruto, as the trio of Genins left.

"Naruto, what did you do?" they were midway through the street back to the Hokage office to report, when Sakura could hold her curiosity back no longer.

"I memorized the casualties from the Kyuubi attack," Naruto's face was blank as he spoke. "Since they insist on reminding me of what I am, I remind them of who they lost. One of the two sides will have to yield eventually, and I am the shinobi... I can withstand the pain."

He murmured the last part as if it was an afterthought, but that still didn't stop Sakura from hearing it. Her gaze softened at those words, before she decided to shake her head slightly.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Uh?"

"I wanted her to shut up, but I didn't say anything."

"It doesn't matter," Naruto replied with a tired tone. "I'm used to it."

"It does matter, and it doesn't mean anything that you're used to it!" she chided back at him, huffing. "We're friends, right?"

"R-right," he stammered out, perplexity etched on his face as she merely smiled back and nodded.

"Even Sai can be our friend, right Sai?"

Sai actually blinked —his mouth slightly open in surprise. He nodded with actual vigor too, before blurting out.

"Yes, Ugly."

"Sha—" Sakura's fist was halfway in the air, when she stilled it and took a deep breath. She dropped it limply back to her side, before narrowing her eyes on the boy.

"Maybe you need a trial period," she muttered.

"I slipped my tongue, Cherry," he amended.

"Good, keep it that way." She scoffed before returning her gaze forward, and blushing at the surprised face of their sensei, who seemed to be smiling slightly.

"Well…that's an improvement."

And with those words, Aoba began to walk again towards the Hokage tower.

He just wondered if the other sensei's team had finally developed those bonds that Konoha was famous for earlier than him, since after all he was just the sensei of team Thirteen, and he wasn't on par with the ex-Anbu Hatake or the son of the Sandaime.

Three Jounins, namely Kakashi Hatake —who was keeping at bay Kiba from murdering Sasuke— Asuma Sarutobi —who was actually smoking a cigarette while the blond haired kunoichi of his team hit on the head his two shinobi— and Kurenai Yuhi —who was trying to talk out of her shell Hinata, and thus missed completely Shino's attempts at having his bugs devour his other teammate for 'having crushed a Kikkaichu'— sneezed at the same time.

Maybe he could get his team a C-rank.

Maybe next time.

Author's notes

The 'Incipio-momentum' of the story is done. Now we can get in the C-ranks.

The Genin exams will be different. I warn you in advance. Just like I warn you in advance of 'Wave' not going the same way (if at all).

Answering the questions likely to happen.

Naruto+Hiraishin! Yeahohmygoshyeahultra-powernarutoftw = No. Got the 'no' ? No. He will have it. But as with everything…wait a dozen chapters. Even more. I'm slow at advancing plot, and that's what I like.

Naruto should know who his killer is, because the Kyuubi senses malice= it's the Kyuubi who tells him…if the Kyuubi wants. Of course the Kyuubi doesn't.

Minato should have spoken of Kushina! = He had to make sure Naruto didn't go the 'burn the village' route.

Shouldn't anyone have sensed the seal being torn? = No, Naruto moved to tear it, but didn't actually manage it. Since this was a smart Kyuubi, even Minato was a smart Yondaime.

Hiruzen should call on Danzo= And say what? Hey Naruto, you know that Danzo is a Root leader who is a really evil person? 'Yeah right Hokage-sama'.

So it's NaruSaku? = Nein. No. Nada. Wait chapters. Many, many chapters.

Will Naruto leave the Village? That is his thought at the moment. It might change, it might not.

Naruto's display of spine at the end: he nearly died. Cut the boy a break, would you?

Ayame's fate? Nearing it, not yet, but close.