i'll write everything later... bummed out.

yea, i hav work to dooooo... so like, there's gonna be late updates.

Chapter 9: A Better Understanding

There was nothing but silence. Nobody dared to move. Naruto was aware that everyone had stopped breathing; all except for the silently sobbing lady holding her. That was something familiar about her scent that brought back flashing images and haunting names.

Iruka-sensei… Kakashi-sensei… Tsunade-baachan… Ero Sennin… Sakura-chan… Kiba… Shikamaru… Ino… Chouji… Hinata…

And last but not least, Sasuke-teme.

Naruto blacked out.

XXX

Kyuubi was ready to rip Sakura's throat out when he felt something grab at him, and he instantly become immobilized.

"Ah, shit," the voice muttered, "What the hell just happened here?" A lazy looking teenager with a spiky ponytail stood in the entrance of the shop. Shikamaru. Kyuubi saw that the Shikamaru's shadow was connected to his - the Shadow Imitation Technique. Shikamaru's eyes darted back and forth from the unconscious brown-haired child to the enraged demon. Realization dawned on him, and he quickly took over. Shikamaru nodded to a fat young man – Chouji – who was holding down a struggling Sasuke. Chouji whispered something and disappeared.

"Oh, Koji-san," Shikamaru said pleasantly, feigning, "It's good to see you. Don't worry, that woman is not hurting your sister. We found something wrong with her health, so Sakura-san here came to take a look. We'll be departing for the hospital now. Chouji-san has already taken Sasuke-kun there." The command was not ignored. Kiba grabbed Hinata and Shino, muttered a few incantations, and poofed off as well. The commanding boy stared at Sakura, who nodded desolately, and she vanished with Naruto. Kyuubi was trying his very best to break away from the hold of Shikamaru, but to no avail.

"Now, shall we be going too, Koji-san?"

XXX

"What the fuck were you doing, bitch?" Kyuubi clawed and tore at his captivators, trying to get to the cringing, pink-haired woman. Sasuke, who had at least got Chouji's trust that he wouldn't do anything funny, was helping the chubby teenager hold down the fox demon.

Shikamaru sighed. "Oh no. Kyuubi-san, calm down." Kiba, Hinata, and Shino, who were watching everything in astonishment, flinched.

"Kyuubi-san?" Kiba asked softly, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Kyuubi-san? Then - then…" He turned to look at the child lying on the hospital bed. "That's - "

"Yes, Kiba," Shikamaru said. "That's Naruto."

Hinata's eyes grew wide. "It's can't be… That's Naruto-kun?" She faltered and fell towards the ground. Kiba caught her, and he glared at Shikamaru.

"And you know that because…"

"ANBU meetings. Almost everyone in ANBU knows. Except for Sakura and a few others." Here, the medical ninja flinched. Shikamaru continued. "Tsunade-sama was afraid that Sakura would be too emotional, and she was right. Sakura-san, I'm disappointed at you."

Sakura looked at the ground. "I'm so sorry… But I—"

"Shut your trap, you whore!" Kyuubi roared, "I'll kill you! I'll kill you all!" His eyes were red and bleeding, a first sign of madness among the Tailed Beasts. Shikamaru stepped in between the demon and Sakura.

"Kyuubi-san. Please, calm yourself. We do not want to attack you. Now, I have a simple question. The machine here says Naruto is not breathing and—" He was cut off by another infuriated shout from Kyuubi. Shikamaru glared at the fox demon. "Calm down. Answer my question. How long has it been since you were out of Naruto?"

Kyuubi blinked. "Ten days." Then it hit him. The demon deflated immediately and stopped struggling against Chouji and Sasuke. Shikamaru smiled grimly, and he lit a cigarette.

"Ah… and you can only be out of her for about seven days, you said. I do believe this would be the consequence to your actions." Kyuubi still glared murderously at Shikamaru.

"What are you implying, you damn human? If you think I'm willing to let you bastards take care of her when I'm gone, then—"

"Then what? You want her to die?" Shikamaru's voice had gone cold. He breathed out a puff of smoke.

"Listen to me, you—"

"You want her to die?"

Kyuubi glowered at him, murderous intent leaking from him in waves. The seconds ticked by painfully, and the fox demon finally relented. He growled, "If one hair on her is damaged, I will slit your throats. Especially yours, cherry blossom." He closed his eyes, and red chakra surrounded him. "Kai!" The scarlet energy vanished into Naruto's blue seal. At the same time, the little girl's hair became sunshine-colored, and three whisker marks appeared on her cheeks. Kiba, Hinata, and Shino all gasped. A few moments later, the machine started beeping.

"She's beginning to wake up, I suppose," Shikamaru said, sighing. "I'm surprised we managed to live through the cursed fox demon's anger." He stared at all of them, and his eyes rested on Sakura the longest. "Follow my directions."

A pair of big, baby blue eyes opened.

XXX

Something was amiss. Kyuubi was back inside of her, but he had shut himself from her presence. That only meant two things; he was unconscious, or he was furious – beyond furious. So it was no surprise that when Naruto woke up and found strangers staring at her, she started trembling with fear.

A tall, young man with a ponytail stepped towards her and tentatively took off the weird mask covering her mouth and nose. "Hello, do not fear us. We mean you no harm, little one." Naruto flinched and wormed away from his outstretched hands.

"Wh-where's Kyuu-chan?" she whispered frightfully, "Why's he so mad? He's not talking to me." Her small hands clutched at the bedcovers. The same pink-haired woman that hugged Naruto a few minutes back started moaning and rocking back and forth in a corner, crying again.

Kiba stared at the terrified child. His shocked brown eyes took in the yellow hair and whiskered markings. "Naruto. Oh my god, I was right. It's Naruto…" The girl whirled her head around and looked fearfully at him, lip quivering.

"Where's Kyuubi? I don't like this… He's not responding. I can't reach him… I want… I want Kyuubi! Where is he? Kurama!" The blond child started screaming, her mind at last snapping from the terror. She desperately probed every part her mind, trying to find the demon. But he dodged her evasively, and she found nothing but darkness. Naruto's screams became hysterical, high-pitched sobs, and her arms grabbed her chest.

"Dobe." Her cerulean eyes widened as she felt another pair of arms wrap protectively around her. She was roughly pulled into a secure embrace, her head resting against his shoulder. "It's okay, Naruto."

"S-Sasuke-niichan?" Her whisper hung in the air, and there was no reply. But she knew without a doubt who it was that protectively held her. Closing her eyes, Naruto took in his alluring scent and felt her sobs calm into subdued hiccups. He smelled nice, like vanilla and pine trees mixed in one. The blondie twisted slightly around and buried her nose into his chest, holding him tightly. He grunted.

"Hn. Do you always have to be so loud, usuratonkachi? And you're hurting me, idiot."

She affectionately snuggled closer, ignoring him. "I didn't notice you, Sasuke…"

"Dobe."

Meanwhile, the other occupants of the room were having heart attacks. Sasuke, the great, almighty, icy, bastard prince who was so cold to everyone in Konoha ever upon coming back, was comforting this child. He was hugging her. They found nothing to say. However, Shikamaru, being the genius that he was, recovered and was soon all business.

"Naruto." She glanced at Shikamaru timidly while Sasuke glared daggers at him. "Naruto, I assume you're feeling better now?"

The child looked up at Sasuke, who after a moment of thought, pursed his lips and nodded reluctantly. Naruto then turned back to Shikamaru. "Yes."

"Are you tired? Do you want Sakura-san here to heal you?"

The small child gripped Sasuke's shirt instinctively, and the raven teen looked down at her. To the shock of everyone else – oh boy, like they haven't had enough of that – the ends of the raven teen's lip curled ever so slightly, and he bent down to whisper something in her ear. The little girl brightened up instantly, and her eyes gained back some of their usual sparkle. "No, onii-chan."

Shikamaru drew another breath of his cigarette. "Then is it okay if you answer some of our questions? We won't force you, but it will do good for the safety of this village if you help us understand this situation better."

Sasuke cut Naruto to it. "Didn't that damned Kyuubi already go to your meetings?"

The other boy sighed. "Yes and no." Sasuke glowered, activating the Sharingan, and the bloodlust radiating off of him was not unlike Kyuubi's. Shikamaru sat down on a chair, threw away the cigarette he was smoking on, and took out another one. He lit it slowly, and then looked at Sasuke square in the eyes. "Calm down, Sasuke. Give me time to explain. What the fox demon mainly answered for us was that the seal cracked, he got you-know-who's stuff, and how he's able to transform into a human or kit. That's all. He wouldn't answer more. Most of the time spent during the meetings consisted of Hokage-sama screaming at him, and he calling her obaa-chan. Now, will we get Naruto's support?"

Sasuke still wasn't convinced. "What right do you have? Just to—"

"Wait, Sasuke-niichan." Her voice came out forlorn and fragile. "I know Kyuubi is keeping secrets from me. I told you last time, didn't I, Sasuke? Kyuubi wants to protect me, but I'm sick of leading a life full of puzzlement. I want to know who I am. Not who Kyuubi wants me to be." Naruto's azure eyes sadly gazed at the people in the room. "I want to be the Naruto you guys knew." They stiffened, and the child smiled sadly. "I remember the day like it was yesterday…"

XXX

Pain. It throbbed. It stung. It tore. Fire burned at her very flesh, and she was screaming. She choked on the blood that filled her mouth and clogged her nose. Dully, she noticed a kunai near her. Perfect. It was just what she needed to end this pain.

"Brat." A red blob appeared in her line of sight. It hurt to speak, but she tried.

"W-who a-are y-you…" she managed to rasp out. The pain shot through her, and she groaned, spewing out more blood.

"You don't remember?" He sat down next to her. "Well, I'm Kyuubi. Nice to meet you. I'm gonna be your new caretaker for a very long time."

"Kyuubi…" She thought it over. "Nice to meet you. What's my name?"

"… I see. Your name is Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."

"Naruto, huh? What a weird name." The darkness enveloped her.

XXX

"Kyuu-chan, who am I?" The little blond girl dangled on the older boy's arms, pouting. "Why can I not remember anything? And how come you know so much about me?"

"Silence," he grumbled, "You ask too many questions. Let's go. We're visiting the village. Don't attract attention."

The frown deepened on her face. "What? Village? Why? I've never been to a village before. Why are we going?"

"I need to get information. We've been living in the forests for too long. It's time to get back to civilization."

"I'm not a brat. But Kyuu-chan, I've never talked to another human being before! What am I supposed to say?"

"If you're lucky, nothing."

"… you emo, anti-social demon."

"Zip it."

XXX

"K-Kyuu-ch-chan? Why d-did th-they call me a ba-bakemono? And why did th-they chase us out o-of the village? Am I not su-supposed to ca-call you by your real na-name in pu-public? I'm sorry, K-Kyuu-chan."

The fox demon smiled sadly. He picked up the little crying child and placed her on his back. Kyuubi started walking toward the forest, and the many bruises on Naruto began healing. "Dumbass. Why are you crying and apologizing?" He looked at Naruto and said firmly, "Now you stop it. You're making my head spin."

"But why? Why did they hate us so?" she sobbed out tearfully, "What did I ever do wrong?"

Kyuubi's eyes started bleeding, and they glowed red. "Nothing, brat. Nothing. Just remember, humans are vile things. They fear things they can't understand. They fear things different from them. Once you turn your back, they'll attack you. Never ever trust man."

Naruto hiccupped, and she dried up her tears with her bloody hands, leaving streaks of red on her cheek. "I'm human, Kyuu-chan."

"Not when I'm taking care of you. Now drop this conversation before I lose myself and go kill the humans back in the village."

"Don't, Kyuu-chan. Please don't. But - may I ask one more question?"

"What?"

"Do you speak from experience when you said humans are vile things?"

"That's none of your business."

"Kyuu-chan..."

He stopped walking, and his grip on Naruto tightened. "I lost something important to a village before."

"What did you lose?"

"My kits. My precious kits were killed for their fur. I had already lost my mate, so they were the dearest things to me. I was out hunting, and when I came back..."

Tears started dripping out of Naruto's blue eyes again. Kyuubi resumed walking, but his pace was slow and agonizing. "I'm sorry, Kyuu-chan. I'm sorry for asking."

"It's nothing."

"Kyuu-chan?"

"Yea?"

"I'll be your kit."

She fell asleep on his shoulder with a tear trickling down her blood-spattered cheek.

XXX

"That's how I got to know Kyuu-chan and realize that humans hate us. That's how I lived all these two years of my life with him," Naruto mumbled, "I know that's not much, but it's all of what I remember right now. Kyuubi won't let me say more."

"What do you mean?" breathed out Shikamaru, stunned by the story he heard. "How can Kyuubi-san affect it?"

"Kyuu-chan can sort of control my speech, in a way, when he's inside of me. When I want to say something he doesn't like, I get dizzy and I can't think straight." Naruto rested her blond head against Sasuke's neck once more. "Sorry, Sasuke-niichan, I'm going to sleep some more…"

She was out cold before Shikamaru could ask more questions. "Well," he sighed, "I guess that's it. I'd better report to Hokage-sama. Sakura, Kiba, Hinata, and Shino, if you guys have any questions, I'll answer them later." He turned and was about to leave out the door when Naruto spoke again.

"I hope you're happy, you damned humans…"

Sasuke clenched his teeth. "Get the hell outta her, you demon." There was no reply apart from the calm breathing of the child in his arms.

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