A/N- Whoa, the last chapter got the most reviews! C'mon guys, let's see if we can't hit double-digit reviews with this one, ne?

Also, I've gone back and corrected some of the mistakes in earlier chapters.

Chapter 9, Promises

Little Naruto, six years old, was sitting on his favorite swing, rocking back and forth slowly on the thing as he gripped the ropes that held it up, all the while watching a group of children playing with a ball while their parents chatted on some benches not too far off. Little Naruto wanted to play ball with the other kids, but he was never allowed, so he just sat on hs swing, all alone, while he watched the others have fun.

One of the boys who was playing ball kicked it a bit too hard, causing it to roll towards Naruto, stopping when it nudged against his feet. Standing up, little Naruto reached down and picked the ball up, feeling it's rubbery texture under his hands. It was a bright red ball with a green stripe around the middle and a yellow star on either side. Smiling hesetantly Naruto held the ball up and took a few cautious steps forward, maybe they would let him play with them this time! "He-here, yuh... your ball..." The shy boy said quietly, reaching the ball to one of the closer children, a boy who was a fair bit larger than he was.

The boy was about to grab the ball from little Naruto when his mother stood up. "Yujiro, get over here right now!" She demanded while the other parents got up and went to get their kids. The boy identified as Yujiro shrugged, grabbing the ball as he ran over to his mother, who grabbed his hand and scolded him, telling him to stay away from troublemakers as the other parents looked at little Naruto with cold eyes and led their own chidren away, save for one mother, a young-looking woman of maybe twenty three or so and her child, a girl who looked to be even younger than little Naruto.

Saying something to her daughter in a quiet voice, the woman turned and walked over to little Naruto, crouching in front of the young boy as she smiled serenely at him. "Are you ok?" She asked, her voice as sweet as an angels.

Little Naruto sniffed, wiping away the tears that had begun forming in his eyes. "No..." He replied, his voice just above a whisper.

The woman's smile grew as she cupped Naruto's cheek gently. "Well, you should grow used to that. We will never accept you, and we will never let you close to our precious babies. You are unwanted and unloved, so you might as well give up trying to make friends, because no one will ever want to be close to you." She said, her voice still carrying that sweet tone as she flicked little Naruto in the forehead and stood up, walking away, grabbing her daughters hand as she did so, taking the girl with her.

Before they were out of earshot, the little girl looked up at her mother. "Mommy? Why was oo mean to dat boy? Why can't he pway wif us?" She asked, talking with a child's lisp.

The mother smiled down at her daughter. "Because sweetie, he's bad, and bad people don't deserve to be loved or have friends." She replied, then she and her daughter disappeared around the corner of a building.

Little Naruto sunk down slowly, rubbing the red spot on his forehead as he lay on his side on the ground, curling up into a fetal position, he began to cry.

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Naruto sat bolt upright, catching a cry in his throat. He'd had that dream again, one of the more common nightmares he'd had over the years since that incident so long ago on that playground. Looking around, confused, Naruto saw that he was in a hospital room, the brightly shining sun bathing his bed in light. Drawing his knees up to his chest, Naruto sadly gazed out of the large bay window, thinking back on that time, and all of the other times that marked his childhood. The pain that he felt in his heart hurt far more than any of the bandaged wounds that covered his body.

Hearing the door to his room open behind him, Naruto turned his head when he heard a soft gasp. Sakura stood there, clutching a bouque of flowers in one hand and a medical chart in the other, her mouth hanging open in surprise that Naruto was awake. "Neh, if you leave your mouth open, flies will go down your throat Sakura-chan." Naruto joked half-heartedly, wrenching a smile onto his face

Sakura closed her mouth and shook her head. What was that she'd seen in Naruto's eyes? They had looked so pained, so full of sadness that it tore at her heart to see it, and then is was simply gone, hidden by his smile. "Naruto, it's good to see that your awake.' She said warmly, setting the flowers in a vase, throwing the wilted ones into a trashcan. Sitting on the edge of Naruto's bed, Sakura flipped through the chart, scanning the updaated information. Setting the chart down, Sakura took one of Naruto's hands into her own. "You've been out for almost a week you silly baka! You really shouldn't push yourself so hard, you almost wound up dying from exhaustion!" She scolded, smacking his forehead with the back of her hand, smiling at him. "Well, at least your awake now, and your eyes are back to normal." She commented, her green eyes meeting Naruto's bright blue ones.

Naruto fell back on the hospital bed with a groan. "So my dojutsu deactivated? Man, that really sucks, I don't know how to activate it!" He exlaimed, pouting.

Sakura giggled, squeezing Naruto's hand reassuringly. "A dojutsu huh? Naruto-kun, you've never shown any signs of having a bloodline, so what makes you so sure that you've got one? I know that your eyes had changed, but how do you know it's not something from the Kyuubi?" She asked.

Naruto sighed. "Sakura-chan, the Akatsuki took the Kyuubi from me, all of it. There's nothing left at all of the giant fuzzball within me. The cage is empty, and there's simply nothing there, just a big, empty space now. I don't know what happened, but the only thing that I can guess at is the Kyuubi's presence was blocking something deep within me, something that I never knew was there before. I dunno for sure Sakura, but it seems like I've got more natural chakra than before, almost as if a portion of my own chakra was either being blocked off, or used as part of the seal that kept the Kyuubi in check. I can't really explain it, but I know for a fact that I've got a dojutsu, and now that the Kyuubi is gone, I've finally got access to it, do you understand?" He asked, his eyes pleading.

Sakura nodded slowly, seeing the look he was giving her. "Yeah, I understand Naruto. But what about your dojutsu though? The only two that I've ever heard of in Konoha are the Byakugan and the Sharingan. There haven't been any mentions of a third in any of the medical archives." She replied.

Naruto shook his head. "I dunno Sakura, I don't even know who my parents were. Maybe They migrated to Konoha from some foreign village like Mist, where bloodlines are hated, and simply wanted to keep their bloodline hidden so that there wouldn't be a big fuss about it. There are an unknown number of possibilities to why I've got a dojutsu, and I probably won't be able to find out why until discover who my parents are. In the meantime, I'm content to simply know that I have one." He replied. "So, I've been out for a whole week, huh? How's the village? And what about Sasuke? Is the teme alright?" He asked.

Sakura let go of Naruto's hand, looking down at the floor. "Konoha's alright. We only lost a few ninja because you fought so hard to save everyone, and the villagers have already come back and have started working on repairing the buildings that were wrecked. Sasuke though... We found Sasuke where you left him, and it was only because of what you did that he's still alive... But Sasuke's in a coma, and even Tsunade doesn't know if he'll wake up." She said, her voice laced with grief as her shoulders shook a little, tears forming in her eyes.

Naruto sat up again, pulling Sakura into a hug as he stroked her back, letting his childhood crush cry on his shoulder. "Fuh-first I l-lost Sasuke-kun... an-and then when he fin-finally came back, Th-those bastards got you, and ah-I thought I'd l-lost you forever... and nuh-now we've lost Sasuke-kun again!" She cried, clutching a Naruto desperatly. "Please Naruto, don't leave me again, I can't stand that pain!" She sobbed.

Naruto continued to rub small circles on Sakura's back, making soft cooing noises as he let Sakura cry for a few moments. "Shhh... It's ok Sakura, I'm here and I won't be leaving, I promise. And Sasuke will be ok too, you'll see..." He vowed quietly.

Sakura hiccuped a few times as she pulled back, looking at Naruto gratefully. "Thank you Naruto, I needed that." She sniffed, wiping her eyes. "How did you survive having the Kyuubi pulled from you anyway? I thought that jinkuuri died when they had their demons pulled from them, so how in the heck are you alive?" She asked.

Naruto scrathed the back of his head as he squinted, looking as much like a fox as ever. "Well... It's a long, complicated story, so when I go give my report to Tsunade baa-chan, why don't you come along and listen, that way I'll only have to explain it once." He suggested.

Sakura snapped her fingers. "Thats right! Tsunade-sama wants you to come to the Hokage's office just as soon as you can! Get dressed Naruto, and we'll head on over there." She said, standing up. "You've got a fresh set of clothes sitting in the cabnet beside your bed, so hurry!" She stood up, grabing the privacy curtain and pulling it closed.

Naruto grumbled as he got up, his legs tingly from having laid down for so long. Bending over, he opened the small cabnet, finding an orange short-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts in there, as well as a pair of boxers. Pulling the shirt on, Naruto winced a little at how tight it was, hugging his frame snugly, molding to his body. Bending over, Naruto started to pull the boxers on, but began to loose his balance. Naruto tried to widen his stance to remain standing, but the underwear, which was still around his feet only made things worse. "OH CRAP!" The whiskered blond exlaimed, falling over, grabbing at the privacy curtain as he did do, only suceeding in pulling it down a he landed flat on his back.

"Naruto-kun? Wha-ACK!" Sakura, who'd been looking at the medical chart again got an eyeful of Naruto's wanger. "NARUTO!" She squealed, quickly turning around, hiding her horribly blushing face with her hands. "Put your pants on baka! I don't wanna see your thingie!" She exlaimed.

Blushing as well, Naruto quickly pulled his boxers, then his shorts on, getting up. "Sorry Sakura-chan." He said meekly. "I'm modest now, so everything is cool." He put his sandels on.

Sakura nodded, not turning around. "Well, c'mon Naruto-kun, let's go to Lady Tsunade." She quickly said, walking to the door. Turning her head, Sakura grinned at the still-blushing Naruto. "I can certainly see why those girls might like you!" She said cheekily, sticking her tounge out at him before disappearing.

Naruto stood there, shocked. "Wait Sakura, what girls?!" He asked, rushing after her. He knew that Hinata-chan liked him, but she'd never seen his thingie, had she? Thinking hard, Naurto thought about the girl, remembering her Byakugan, remembering that it could... "Crap!" The blond exlaimed. Surely Hinata-chan hadn't used her ability do peep on him, had she? Shaking his head, Naruto ran out after his pink-haired teammate.

Walking down a street, Hinata Hyuuga, heiress of the Hyuuga clan, suddenly sneezed.

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Yumi walked through town, watching with a bored eye as the citizens bustled about, repairing everything that had been damaged in the attack. After Naruto-kun had killed the large demon that had demolished a portion of Konoha, the ninja banded together and swept through the town, clearing it of the remaining demonic forces. Thinking of the man she'd set her eyes on, Yumi couldn't supress the sigh that escaped her lips. She'd spent the last couple of days, talking to people, trying to find out what she could about the whiskered blond. What little she'd managed to find made her fairly unhappy, finding out that most of the town's citizenry had held contempt for him for years, though that they wouldn't explain why. However, once they'd heard how hard Naruto fought, risking his life for many people who were precious to them, they were forced too take a long, hard look at themselves.

Yumi had finally gotten some fairly decent information that Naruto was friends with a few of the people who had graduated when he had, so Yumi ha looked up the class roster for that year, and had been looking for the people listed, but she'd yet to find any of them. Lost in thought, Yumi almost missed Hinata Hyuuga, who'd been in the same class as her Naruto-kun. "Hinata-san!" Yumi called out, running after the girl who had been marked down as being shy.

Hinata turned upon hearing her name called, spotting that tramp who'd been asking Sakura for advice. "Yes, how may I help you?" She asked in a falsly sweet voice, her tone laced with venom and her stutter gone.

Yumi stopped, wondering why the girl sounded hostile. "I was wondering if I could ask you about one of your former classmates is all. His name is Naruto Uzumaki." She said conversationally.

Hinata smiled thinly. "Why sure! Naruto-kun is the kind of person who is loud and boisterous, but there's no one I'd trust more. He'd give his life to protect the innocent if it came to that. There's no one I've ever met who is more honest and trustwothy than he, and it will take someone very special to stand by his side." She said.

Yumi smiled. "You're rght about that. Who knows, maybe I'll be that someone special." She said wistfully, giggling.

Hinata snorted.

Yumi's eyes narrowed, had Hinata just snorted at her?! "Wanna say something?" She asked darkly.

Hinata grinned rather ferally, which would have stunned anyone who actually knew the girl. "Why yes, yes I do. When I said Naruto needs someone special, I don't mean some skank who thinks to get him on only looks." She said archly.

Yumi covered her mouth with the back of her hand and tittered. "Oh, that's rich! I suppose that you think he'd prefer someone who dresses under so much clothing all the time? As opposed to this?! At least I'm proud enough of how I look to flaunt it!" She exlaimed, striking a provocative pose, thrusting her chest out and running her fingers through her hair. Where Hinata wore heavy clothes, Yumi had on turqoise-colored shorts and a sleeveless top , the material hugging her slender body. This caused Hinata to flush with embarassment and maybe a little envy with how open the other girl was, and it caused a man who was passing nearby to walk straight into a pole, knocking the stupified man backwards.

Hinata sniffed, looking away from the other girl. "Only a low-class tramp would wear something like that. At least I'm sure enough of my looks to not have to show them off to the world." She replied hautily. 'And I better not ever catch you anywhere near MY Naruto, do you understand? Now if you'll exuse me, I'm going to visit him in the hospital." She said, sauntering off.

Yumi was furious. "He's not your Naruto, he's mine bitch! And I'M the one gonna go visit him in the hospital!" She replied heatedly, rushing past Hinata at a brisk pace.

Not to be outdone, Hinata sped up as well, and soon enough, both girls were speeding down the street, shoulder-to-shoulder as they tried to outdo the other. "Hussy!" Hinata exlaimed, glaring daggers at Yumi.

"mute!" Yumi shot back, returning the stare in kind.

And so that's how it went, both girls rushing towards the hospital, each intent on being the first to get to Naruto. Coming into a stop right in front of the door to Naruto's room. Grabbing the zipper of her jacket, Hinata ripped the peice of overclothing off, exposing the tight mesh shirt and undershirt undreneath, showing a healthy amount of cleavege, and noting with pride that her breasts were larger than Yumi's. "NARU-KUN, WHO IS SEXIER?!" They asked loudly at the same time, opening the door and rushing through, both striking alluring poses...

To an empty room. "WHERE IS NARU-KUN?! They both cried out unhappily.

Reaching for the Hokage's door, Naruto suddenly sneezed. Rubbing his nose and wondering what brought that on, Naruto grabbed the knob and twisted it, opening the door.

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Stepping into the Hokage's office, Naruto held the door open for Sakura as he looked to Tsunade's desk, seeing her standing there with a small bit of surprize written on her face at seeing the whiskered boy, while Shizune stood beside her holding Tonton, who oinked happily, Naruto had a tendancy to give her candy after all! Kakashi stood just in front of Tsunade's desk, a small report file held in one hand, He'd turned slightly to gaze at Naruto as well, His one visible eye closed as he smiled at his student. "Naruto-kun, your awake!" Shizune exlaimed as Naruto waved at them sheepishly, closing the door behind Sakura.

Naruto scratched the back of his head as he grinned foxily, his eyes squinted. "It's good seein' you guys too!" He said happily.

Tsunade slammed her hands on her desk loudly, her head hung low. "All of you, except Naruto, go outside until I've called you back. Naruto and I need to have a heart-to-heart." She said quietly.

"Is Naruto-kun in trouble?" Sakura asked, seeing the look of fear that flickered across Naruto's face.

"NOW!" Tsunade growled.

Seeing that absence was the better part of valor, the three people and one pig quickly exited, Kakashi briefly squeezing Naruto's shoulder as he passed by, closing the door behind him. "Ummm... Baa-chan?" Naruto asked nervously, watching as Tsunade slowly got up, her head still hung low as she began to walk towards him.

"You little fool... Don't ever scare me like that again!" Tsunade snapped, her head coming up as her own feirce gaze locked with Naruto's own, the tears that had formed in her eyes rolling down her cheeks. "Oh Naruto, don't do something so foolish again! I've already lost Dan, Nawaki, and Jiraiya! I can't lose you too!" She exlaimed, wrapping Naruto in a bone-crushing hug, his face mushing against her busom.

Naruto chuckled, returning Tsunade's hug. ""I'm sorry, but I really didn't have any choice. At least tings worked out in the end, ne?" He asked.

Tsunade pulled away from the embrace, regaining her composure as she wiped her eyes. "That may be, but you could have died Naruto!" She exlaimed. "HEY! Get back in here!" She called as Sakura, Kakashi, and Shizune filed back in, Tonton following right behind

Naruto looked sheepish. "Well... I kinda did die, if you wanna know the truth." He replied.

Kakashi was the one to break the shocked silence. "So you did die when the Kyuubi was pulled from you? What happened anyway? And how are you still alive?" He fired off the questions one after another as everyone took seats.

Naruto cleared his throat. "Well, first, there are some things that I discovered that should probably never leave this room, but if you do have to tell anything, it should be treated as an S-class secret." He said, looking at Tsunade, who nodded. Sighing, Naruto got up and walked over to a water-cooler, getting a cup of water, he was going to need it. "It all started when I was fighting that bastard Pain. I tried accessing Fuzzball's chakra, only to have that freak in the orange mask, Madara Uchiha his name was-"

Tsunade shot up from her seat, her eyes wide. "Madara Uchiha? That's impossible! He was alive when my grandfather was. He should be dead!" She exlaimed.

Naruto shook his head. "I dunno how he's alive, but he is. Kyuubi and he talked after he entered my mindscape, and he sealed the foxes chakra, denying me access. Things only went downhill from there, and after I fough Pain, I asked Kyuubi if there was any way we could win. He told me there was, but I'd have to remove the seal and we'd both die in the process, having to use every ounce of chakra in the attack, which was a fusion of the fox-baka's own fire nature chakra and my wind chakra inside of the Rasenshuriken. The attack would have been enough to actually kill them all and destroy that damned statue, but those bastards revealed that Kyuubi being sealed inside of someone had been a part of their plan the whole time, so that Kyuubi would be able to gain the ability to use chakra, which it turns out he wasn't able to do. Did you know that demons don't have the natural ability to use chakra? That their power is different from ours?" He asked, taking a sip of his water as the others shook their heads.

Naruto nodded. "Well, they apparently don't, so that's why Kyuubi and a few other of the Bijuu needed to be sealed, so that they could learn how to for whatever that weapon was. Anyway, when I came too after the Kyuubi was pulled from me, I didn't know who I was or where I was, which was on some weird plain that was only dimly lit and covered in shadows, mist, and some really weird rocks, and everything was grey.. Anyway, the only thing I knew was that I was so lonely that it was literally painful, so I began to walk, looking for anyone. I eventually came to a large gate. Stepping into it, I found myself facing an entirely different world that was both frightening and amazing. They had buildings that were almost twice the size of the Hokage monument, and there were people everywhere! It was a little disturbing, everything was transparent, but that could have been because I was still standing in the gateway. tried to get the attention of many people, but no one would answer or even look at me. I tried and tried, but no one aknowlaged me, until an old man, even older than the Third, along with three others. A white-haired kid who looked younger than me, a really tall scarred man wearing an eye-patch, and a guy who looked like some jackass noble They were all wearing the same uniform, and they all carried swords, except for the old man, who had a staff. Anyway, they aknowlaged me, and I was happy! Not long after though, another group showed up, along with some weird monsters called 'Hollows'. The two groups seemed at odds with each other, and were preparing to fight, their energies washing over me, causing a deep pain in my chest. I was forcefully pulled into my own mind, where I saw an old man that looked like Sarutobi-jiji and a freaky person who looked like me, except for the fact that he was paper white, as were his clothes, fighting with huge swords..." Naruto stopped, allowing them to take in what he'd said so far as he took another sip of water.

"...Anyway, the old man and the white me were fighting in a place that looked like Konoha for control of my body, mine! The white me, which revealed himself to be my own inner-hollow, born of my own hatred that was in my heart and the powers of the hollows that were close by. Not knowing what was going on, I ran when the old man told me too, finally finding my way into the sewer that was actually my chakra system and found my way to the Kyuubi's cage, where there was nother large set of doors. Opening them, I regained all of my memories and confronted my inner-hollow, accepting that part of me. I then took in the old man, which was just another part of me, and gained both of their powers. Coming back into the world that I'd found my way to, I defeated one of the larger hollows and ran back through the gate, trying to make my way back here along the path that was presented to me. I don't know for how long I ran, some times it felt like only minutes while others weeks at a time, and I covered countless miles. I eventually ran into the being that we know as the shinigami, only for him to revela to me that he's not a real shingami, only one path of the dead that had gained a conciousness in order to lead spirits to the path that lead to the real shinigami. Then he told me that the people I had run into were the actual shinigami, and that I'd aquired death god powers of my own, can you believe it?! Me, with the powers of a god of death! Which comes in the form of my super-cool new sword that I have. Anyway, he told me many things, such as the fact that there were originally five plains, of which one was the plain of Hell, that the Bijuu and those demons came from was one. He then told me some stuff that I'm afraid that I can't even tell you guys, and revealed that he'd only sealed half of the Kyuubi's power in me, and that the other half is sealed some where else. He then let me come back to my body, where I eventually saved everyone. The crazy old thing kept calling me by the Fourth's last name for some crazy reason. Anyway, I came back, discovered that I've got awsome new powers and a sweet dojutsu. And that's where we now stand. We've gotta find that other half of the Kyuubi." He stated, draining the last of his water as he waited for Tsunade and the others to pick their jaws up off of the floor, chuckling a little, seeing the looks on their faces.

Tsunade was the first to regain her wits. "So there are more than just our world?" She asked. "What's Akatsuki's plan?" She wondered out loud.

Naruto nodded. "Yep, and from what I saw and from what Sakura told me what happened on the way over, I think that Akatsuki may be planning on somehow releasing all the demons from Hell, but I can't figure out why." He said quietly, Kakashi nodding in agreement.

Tsunade nodded. "I see... We'll get to preparing on finding Akatsuki and the other half of the Kyuubi soon. But first, we're still recovering from the attack, and you need to find out what you are capable of now, Naruto, so go and take it easy for now. And for Kami's sake, turn down your suaveness, lady killer!" She exlaimed, laughing at the look on his face as she pushed him and Sakura out the door, locking it behind them. Going back to her desk, she sat down and laced her fingers in front of her face. "That... was very disturbing." She admitted.

Kakashi nodded. "What are we going to do?" He asked.

Tsunade sighed. "Well, after Naruto passed out, that large demon told me some things right before it died, such as it recognized a power similar to a demons inside of Naruto, and that if he isn't careful, that power will eat away at him, and Naruto will turn into a demon that could possibly be stronger than the Kyuubi was...

-End-

A/N- Well? How was that? If things continue the way they are, I may have to change this to an M rating! But would any of you mind is the real question I think.