A/N: Well guys here is the new chapter. I am done with the introductory arc. For now am gonna focus on Naruto's skills and his life as a normal student. This is in answer to one of the questions which was posed in one of the reviews. Another thing which I had failed to address was, yes my Naruto is sort of inspired by the Bourne series. Enjoy!

Chimera Arc- Chapter 1

Naruto jumped off the bed before slipping on some clothes. He couldn't believe what he just heard. Something had happened to get Kiba hospitalized. Ino sounded so panicky. 30 seconds later he was out of his apartment and already making his way to the hospital. He considered using public transportation but decided to run. He would get faster that way anyway. It took him 10 minutes to reach the hospital. Pushing the door to the reception he walked in.

"How may I help you?" The receptionist inquired looking up towards Naruto disregarding his dismal appearance. He put on the first things he could get his hands on, blue slacks with an orange t-shirt under a full-sleeved gray jacket. His hair was a mess too.

"I am here to visit a friend of mine. Kiba Inuzuka." Naruto said.

The receptionist tapped a few keys on her computer. "He is in emergency, 3 halls down. You might have to wait in the waiting room. Please sign the visitor's log."

On hearing the words emergency Naruto froze. What had Kiba gotten himself into? Did he get into a fight? Naruto shook away his thoughts as he signed the visitor's book.

"Can you tell me what happened to him?" He asked handing the book back to the receptionist.

"Am not sure they rushed him into the emergency immediately. You might find out soon. Please wait in the visitor's room." Naruto nodded before following her instructions.

Ino dressed in a black skirt was pacing up and down the waiting room. Sakura was dressed in similar clothing except hers was red instead of black, sitting there her face resting in the palm of her hands. Takeshi, Ino's boyfriend and the point guard of the basketball team was leaning on the wall his eyes following Ino, his stance was too tense to be casual as he was trying to be. This was the scene Naruto walked into. He cleared his throat to get their attention causing all of their heads to snap to him.

"Naruto! Oh my god, How did you get here so fast." Ino rushed to Naruto.

"What happened?" Naruto posed the question to the room in general ignoring Ino's question.

"We aren't sure. He arrived at the party with the rest of the team, but we lost sight of him afterwards. Eventually Ino found him on the floor of my living room, frothing at the mouth." Takeshi answered Naruto's queries.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at this explanation. Something didn't sit right with it. The fact that Kiba was alone when Ino found him raised his red flags.

"What do you think it could have been?" Naruto decided to do this gently. Ranting at them won't get him any answers. But if he played his cards right he might get something. Sometimes lies reveal far more than the truth. Right now he was counting on some lies and he wasn't disappointed.

"May have been the alcohol. Who knows?" Takeshi shrugged. His expression was a careful mix of worry and confusion.

"You do know that under-age drinking is against the law right?" Naruto muttered under his breath with a hint of anger lacing his voice.

"I didn't force it on him Uzumaki. Don't stand there judging me. These parties are harmless fun." Takeshi was furious. It was the reaction Naruto was looking for. Unwittingly Takeshi had revealed that he knew what was wrong with Kiba.

"Calm down guys." It was Sakura this time. "You will get us kicked out otherwise." Takeshi held his glare for a while on Naruto, while Naruto looked away. He had gotten what he wanted, no need to antagonize him anymore.

Another distraction was provided as they heard shouting in the lobby.

"I want to know what's wrong with my son?" Definitely a woman's voice.

"Ma'am I need you to calm down. Your son is in good hands." A man's voice trying to reassure the woman. "Please I implore you to wait in the waiting room, we will have news for you soon."

"Come on mom. Let's go." Another voice joined the first two.

A few seconds later the doors to the waiting room burst open to admit a ferocious looking woman followed closely by her younger looking clone. Judging by their resemblance to Kiba he safely assumed them to be Kiba's mother and sister.

"What happened to my son?" Kiba's mother addressed Naruto.

"I don't know ma'am." Naruto managed backing away slightly from the woman. She was slightly delirious after all.

Realizing she wouldn't be getting any answers from him she turned to the rest of the room and started firing questions. Her daughter meanwhile held on to her stopping her from tearing them apart. After a while she calmed down enough to sit down and was fighting back tears.

"I am going to get some water for everyone. Mind helping me Takeshi?" Naruto said. Takeshi not seeing a way out of this decided to just go along with Naruto.

Making their way to the nearest cooler, Naruto started filling the cups.

"What are you doing here Takeshi?" Naruto decided to get a few more questions out of the way.

"What do you mean?" Takeshi said, his voice nonchalant.

"We both know you aren't fond of Kiba. So what brings you here?"

"Well, I am sure it has nothing to do with the fact that my girlfriend is here or that as a member of the team he is my responsibility as well, now could it?" Takeshi managed his best sarcastic tone.

"Funny I don't see the rest of the supportive team." Naruto quipped in a sardonic tone. Without waiting for a reply Naruto handed a couple of cups to Takeshi and grabbed a couple himself before making his way back into the waiting room.

Seeing Naruto walk away like that was the last straw for Takeshi. He needed to show the kid his place. He held a half foot height advantage and outweighed him by 30 pounds at the very least, following on his thoughts he rushed Naruto from behind. But before he even reached him, Naruto had turned around and before he knew Takeshi was lying face down on the floor,his arm pinned behind his back. The water cups lay forgotten.

"You saw the woman in there Takeshi? Her son is in the emergency room fighting for his life. I don't know what happened to Kiba. Maybe you do. Maybe it wasn't your fault, but somewhere you are responsible. So help me out here." Naruto whispered in his ear, his tone surprisingly gentle.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Takeshi hissed back.

Naruto kept him in place for a few more seconds before letting him up. When Takeshi turned around to see him, he was surprised to see the look in Naruto's eyes. He was ready to see his usual cool nonchalance, he was even ready to see some anger, what he didn't expect was understanding.

"Is there a problem here?" A security guard doing his rounds came to see what the commotion was all about.

"No, its good." Takeshi replied.

Dusting his shirt Takeshi got up and walked away without so much as a backward glance.

Naruto handed out the cups of water to everyone. If anyone found the fact that Takeshi came in before Naruto no one questioned it. Kiba's mother accepted the glass wordlessly and sat listlessly nursing it.

"Thanks." Kiba's sister acknowledged, once being handed her glass. Naruto nodded.

"You must be Naruto. Kiba mentioned you. I am Hana." She offered her hand, Naruto shook it once before letting go, taking a seat next to her. Takeshi was now pointedly avoiding looking at him now.

"Good to finally meet you Hana-san."

"Do you know what happened?" She inquired.

"No, I don't. Was in bed when I got the call." Naruto shrugged. Hana bit her lip, trying to hold strong for her mother. But Naruto could see she was barely putting it together.

The doors to the waiting room opened admitting a doctor in blue overalls.

"Mrs. Inuzuka." He addressed. The woman looked up.

"We have given your son a sedative. He is holding stable for now. If you can join me, I have few questions for you." She nodded once before following the doctor. Hana joined her mother walking out of the waiting room. The doctor was immediately followed by Ino's and Sakura's fathers who quickly escorted them out.

Naruto himself got up and made his way out. Kiba had his family. For a moment Naruto wondered what it would be like to have people in his life who would care and worry for him. But he quashed those thoughts before they could house themselves in his head. Having people care about him won't end well.

"What kept you out at this time of the night?" Naruto cursed under his breath. He had to run into her, after having successfully avoided her all week.

"Just came back from a party Anko-san." He replied still in the process of unlocking his door.

"Really? In those clothes. Sometimes I wonder if you think I am an idiot." She seemed to be in the process of going out.

"It was a pajama party. What about you? Where you off to?" Naruto decided to change the subject.

"Duty calls kid. I really don't have the time to go interrogator on your ass. So consider this your lucky day." Anko said before walking away.

"Thankful for the small mercies." Naruto couldn't help himself.

Walking inside his apartment, he checked the time. The watch read 3:00 AM. Deciding to forego going to bed he dressed for his regular run and training session. Has to keep sharp. Something which had become a compulsion since his early days.

"Did you hear about Kiba?"

"You mean the kid who snatched us the victory against Suna?"

"Yeah, it seems that he is in the hospital."

It was the first day of school since the game on the weekend. Naruto tried to tune out the conversation. There was nothing to gain from them. Everyone was speculating as to what may have happened to the unlikely hero of the last game. The rumors circulating ran from, a case of alcohol poisoning during the party to Suna sabotaging the rising star of Akiruno.

But he knew exactly where he would get his answers. Takeshi. The direct approach hadn't worked maybe he would need to go covert on this one. He wanted to leave the things to the authorities, especially after the museum fiasco, he just wanted to lay low. He decided to keep his eyes and ears open just in case.

It was the usual routine during the lunch break. Except there was no Kiba to join him today. He ran his eyes through the cafeteria. His eyes rested on one Takeshi, who was sitting with his friends from the basketball team, though he wasn't contributing anything to the conversation. Ino was sitting next to him, with Sakura who seemed to have tagged along. There were a few cheerleaders who had joined them as well. Ino met his gaze, realizing he had been staring he made his way to an empty table.

Ino caught Naruto staring at her boyfriend, who averted his gaze as soon as it met hers. Ino sighed. She decided to go talk to him and excusing herself she made her way to Naruto's table.

"Hey Ino." Naruto greeted her without looking up from his plate.

"Hey Naruto, how are you doing?" Ino sat opposite him.

"Am good. What about you?"

Ino bit her lip nervously. Not sure how to breach the topic. In the few weeks she had known Naruto, he hardly ever started a conversation. He was friendly enough, but still seemed to hold everyone at a distance. He wasn't exactly shy either, was witty and a good sportsman to boot, but it always seemed that he was always holding himself back.

"Well, just worried about Kiba."

"Yeah, me too." Ino let go a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She had been worried about his reaction. But he only looked worried. Screwing up her courage she managed.

"Um...Naruto." This time Naruto stopped eating and looked up. "You don't have a problem with Takeshi do you?"

A look of genuine surprise ran across Naruto's face.

"What gave you that idea?" His voice held genuine surprise. Ino was almost fooled by it. Almost. Whatever problem Naruto had with Takeshi he didn't want to discuss it. So she persisted.

"Well he was always vocally against you joining the team and Kiba did get hurt at his party..."

"Listen Ino" Naruto interrupted her. "I have said it more than a few times that I am not interested in the team, as for Kiba, I really don't blame your boyfriend." His tone contained an air of finality. But now Ino was getting angry. At what she wasn't sure, but she was getting angry nevertheless.

"Well good, cause he isn't." She was now leaning towards him invading his personal space. Naruto calmly gazed at her face.

"You do know you are making a scene right?" Looking around Ino realized she was standing and people were beginning to stare at her now. "I meant what I said Ino. I don't blame Takeshi. Do you?" Ino's jaw dropped open, as Naruto walked away carrying his empty tray and dumped it in the trash bin.

"Was he bothering you?" Came the concerned voice of her boyfriend who had now joined her after witnessing the scene. Ino stared at him for a moment and repeated Naruto's question to herself. Did she blame him for Kiba? She decided not to answer that yet. After all they were yet to know what had happened to him.

"No, he wasn't."

School was over and Takeshi was in a hurry. It had all turned into a big mess. Now an innocent boy was fighting for his life, over carelessness which could have been easily avoided.

He maneuvered his car into a part of the town which was avoided by the respectable folks of the city. He knew he was walking into the lion's den, but he had no choice.

The streets were littered with garbage. Young men who looked like they were armed were staring at him impassively as he passed them. Bleary-eyed prostitutes were getting ready for their shift.

He stopped his car in front of a run-down bar. Two men who appeared to be bouncers gave him a nod, before letting him in. They gave the man entering after him a pat down, before allowing him in too.

Takeshi walked towards the bar, which had quite a few patrons. Finding who he was looking for, a man dressed in white slacks and black trousers he took the seat next to him.

"Well Takeshi, in a bit of a bother it seems." The man greeted him.

"What the hell Sato? What the hell was that?" Takeshi snarled at the man.

"Don't know what you are talking about." Sato shrugged. "Hey Zaki! get my friend a drink here." He addressed the bartender.

"I am not in the mood for games Sato." At this Sato's cheerful mood vanished. He turned his yellowish, brown eyes towards Takeshi.

"Not in the mood for games eh? You better watch your tone boy. You came to us for help, and which we were generous with, in return for your cooperation." Sato said in a tone bordering on threatening.

Takeshi visibly cowered.

"Its just that a boy is in the hospital because of the new batch. You told me the drugs were safe." Takeshi presented his case.

"Well, safe for us." Sato drawled.

"What do you mean?"

"It means my nervous friend, that the drugs can't be detected with any drug test in the market. So, you are safe. Now stop worrying." The bartender placed their drinks in front of them.

"Still a boy is dying because of those drugs." Takeshi was unable to keep the hint of panic out of his voice.

"Comes with the job my friend. Now drink up, calm your nerves." Sato urged. "Go home, get some sleep and let us deal with this." Takeshi nodded and after finishing his drink exited the bar, not even giving a second glance to the blue-eyed figure dressed as a street thug.

He was right. Takeshi knew what had happened to Kiba. Naruto had planned on following him after school. He had been a little worried when he got into his car. But he was able to keep him in sights by jumping across rooftops and the traffic which had hindered Takeshi's progress. When Takeshi made his way into the most rundown part of the town, which looked like a haven for gangsters and prostitutes, Naruto knew he had to come up with another plan. So he walked into a clothes store, and grabbed a few clothes which would help him blend in, not forgetting to grab a gray-cap to hide his hair.

Takeshi had then walked into a bar and engaged one of the customers in conversation. Naruto had followed closely behind. He was given a pat down and allowed to enter. Naruto would have tried to get close to listen to the conversation, but he scouted 3 men guarding Takeshi's contact. It wouldn't do to raise suspicion, so he took a table 15 feet from them and kept an eye on them. While the music in the bar hindered his efforts, his lip-reading skills served his purpose just as well. Once he found out what he needed to know, he had calmly walked out of the establishment. He needed to talk to Anko.

Another one in the bag. Naruto's active again and he is ready to do what needs to be done, no matter the consequences. Drop a line. And before I forget thanks to all the reviewers