Lethal Shinobi

Chapter 9

"Naruto!" Kushina called up to her son's room. Her voice was always able to be heard very clearly no matter where anyone was in the house. "You have a visitor!" She turned to the person standing in the doorway. "I am very sorry, but it might be a moment before my son comes down." She smiled sweetly. "Would you care to come in for some tea?"

It was only after both she and their guest had finally sat down and were drinking did the familiar stomping of Naruto's heavy feet could be heard from the floor above. Kushina looked over to the stairway to see her son walking down with a look of confusion etched on his young face.

Said mother waited for her son to notice her and the guest and smiled a little when he finally did. Though, the expression he made was not the kind she had expected.

Instead of a smile, or some sort of positive expression. Naruto's face visibly paled to the point that Kushina was worried that the boy might actually pass out right on the floor.

All the while, young Hinata of the Hyuuga family just sat there in her chair sipping her tea with just the widest smile scrawled across her pretty lips. The only sign that the girl had even acknowledged Naruto's arrival on the floor was her eyes giving him a once over. She had not even bothered to turn her head.

Kushina looked from her son to their guest as a plethora of possibilities rushed through her red head. Finally, her motherly mind was able to start connecting the dots and a mischievous smirk made it's way across her lips.

"Well," She stood up and took patted down her skirt. "I'm afraid that I must leave you two for now." Naruto's bone-white face snapped to his mother's, his eyes pleading for her not to go. "My husband and I agreed to meet each other for lunch today." She quickly excused herself; leaving the two young adults by themselves.

"Wha-Wha," Naruo gulped to try and sooth his quickly dried out throat. "What are you doing here?"

For the past month, Hinata and her merry little band of hoodlums had spent every possible moment harassing poor Naruto. Doing things ranging from flinging insults in his direction, to trying to rough him up every day after school.

Not a single day went by without Hinata and one of her friends doing everything they could just to make Naruto's life just that much harder. It had gotten to the point where even Venom was starting to suggest just eating them all, despite knowing just how bad of an idea that really was.

Hinata did not respond to Naruto at first, content with finishing her drink and letting the poor boy stew in his terror. Once she had downed the last drop, Hinata put the tea cup down just as Kushina left the house entirely.

Once the sound of the front door closing reached the young Hyuuga's ears, she put her cup down gently on the small table in front of her and stood up. A wicked smirk formed on her pretty face as she turned to Naruto.

The second her eyes landed on the boy, however, whatever she had planned to ruin his life even more completely vanished from her mind. Her entire body froze on the spot and she could feel that familiar heat rising in her face.

This was the exact reason she always had brought at least one of her other friends with her whenever she wanted to torment the Hokage's son. Whatever power he had used on her had yet to dissipate and she still found herself being able to do much of anything without at least some support.

But, when she tried to recruit one of her friends to join her on this particular outing, all either declined or had something else planned for the day. Out of sheer frustration, Hinata come on her own, regardless of the knowledge she had about what would inevitably happen.

She hated this boy so damn much for this. Words could not describe how much she hated how her heart would speed up and her face would redden. Or how it became almost impossibly hard for her to talk whenever her eyes stared into his light blue orbs. Fuck! Even the sound of his raspy voice caused her knees to quiver.

And now, she was all alone with him and had no one to snap her out of this terrible trick Naruto clearly had placed on her. She had to respond quickly, or else he would come closer to her. And there was no telling what would happen if he touched her.

She hated all of this so much, and she had to focus all of her anger just to snap herself out of it enough to finally regain control over her suddenly, very dry mouth. But, she could not think of anything to say

Seeing that Hinata had frozen on the spot, had not said a word, and was now so red that he was afraid she might pass out; Naruto took a step forward. The color having returned to his young face and his expression of terror shifting to one of concern.

Several times during Hinata's harassment of Naruto would the boy notice her face get red or her simply not talk directly to him. He always assumed it was just her being too angry to talk to him for some reason or another. But a part of him also wondered if the girl was also just very sick and was just bullying him to put up a tough front in front of everyone.

A little odd for a student about to graduate into a full-fledged shinobi in a month, but that was also coming from the kid with a literal monster living inside him.

An idea suddenly came into Naruto's mind. What if she was here not to bully him this time, but ask for help? Maybe she had been trying to ask for his help all the while, but one of her friends would always tag along. Thus making her have to act super tough in front of them and bully Naruto instead of asking for the help she really needs.

Today must be the only day where she could finally be alone to ask for Naruto's help.

The thought of why the daughter of a very powerful shinobi clan would seek out just Naruto for help with a possible sickness he did not even really know about, never even came close to entering young Naruto's mind.

Never the less, Naruto could not sit by and let someone hurt without at least trying to do something about it.

His face softening to that look of concern was almost too much for Hinata to handle. They way his eyes held nothing but care for the well being of the girl they reflected. How his brow furrowed as his mind worked to find a solution to a problem he must know he caused.

By every possible deity, Hinata hated this!

"Hey," Naruto swallowed to hopefully sooth his dry throat. "Are you alright?" His voice was soft and dripping with such concern that Hinata could swear her heart speed up double time.

Naruto took a steady step forward. Making sure he moved as slow as possible to allow for Hinata to prepare for his approach. He had no real idea how the girl would react, and the last thing he wanted was a beating in his own home.

"Stay away from me!" Hinata shouted, suddenly finding her voice just as Naruto's foot touched the ground. She had to regain her composure quickly. She came her with a plan in mind and she needed to act on it. Now, if only she could remember what that plan was!

Naruto did just that, retracting his foot and even taking a single step back to put more distance between him and her. He held up both of his hands to show that he had no ill intent.

"Ok." He said calmly. "I'll stand right here and not move a step closer." He paused. "But please tell me why you are at my home."

Hinata, was once again quiet. She had to respond now! She had to say something. Anything! Fuck! What was her original plan?!

"I-I wanted to see what kind of dump a useless idiot like you lived in." Hinata was finally able to find her voice but was still unable to look Naruto in the eyes. She found it much easier to talk if she did not look at the boy directly.

"I was going to bring my friends along and make you our pack mule for the day. But they all flaked out on me." She huffed. That was a terrible excuse! She knew she originally came to Naruto's home to bully him in some fashion, but for the life of her she simply could not remember what it was. Now she was stuck with an excuse she had no idea how to back up.

Naruto did not believe her words for a minute. It was clear that she was suffering from some kind of illness. The lushness of her face, the way she pressed into herself and even the small amount of sweat he could see beading up upon her pale skin.

She needed help and Naruto would be damned if he was just going to let her get away now that he and her were finally all alone. He was going to help this girl whether she liked it or not.

"You need help." He finally stated, his eyes focused hard on her taller form. He did have to take a moment to remember that the girl was a portion taller than him, but he still retained his determination to help this clearly sick girl.

Hinata shot the boy a confused look. Just what did he mean by that? Was he making fun of her again? Had he already figured out that she was still under the control of whatever evil technique he had used over a month ago? He was going to use that as leverage against her. She knew it.

He may act like a kind and relatively normal person, but this just proved that he really was just a horrible manipulative bastard! It was only when he had control over someone as strong and feared as Hinata that he would finally get a chance to show his true colors. The fact that he pretended not to know who she was just to rile her up must have been all a part of his plan.

There was no way that the son of the Hokage would not know the feared daughter of the head of the Hyuuga clan!

"I can tell." Naruto continued to speak in that cursed concerned tone of voice that made Hinata's legs grow weak.

Here was the part she was preparing for, the inevitable claim that he now had control over her. If that were to be the case, Hinata would fight him tooth and nail every step of the way. She was going to make his life a living nightmare for this!

"You are obviously very sick. Please," Naruto practically begged. "Let me help you."

Hinata's frantic brain came to such a sudden and grinding halt that you could almost hear the sound of every cell in her body reacting in confusion to the words she just heard.

"Wh-what?" Hinata practically whispered.

Seeing that the girl had heard him, Naruto could not help but give a big smile. "Yeah." He continued. "I figured it out. You're really sick, but have to put up this big tough girl front in front of everyone so that nobody will worry about you. I was told you started being like this after being bullied for so long, so I can get not wanting to look weak again."

Naruto was very proud of himself for understanding everything without anyone having to point anything out to him.

"What?" Hinata had to repeat herself. She just could not comprehend what this brain-dead moron was saying.

"It was right when I grabbed you about a month ago." Naruto explained, still with a pleased tone in his voice. "I noticed how hot your face was. And you looked like you were about to pass out." He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded his head. "I just figured that you've been picking on me so much as a way of asking for my help. Since I am the Hokage's son after all, I should be able to help with whatever sickness is hurting you."

Hinata's head had slowly been tilting to the side as every word of nonsense Naruto spoke entered her young mind. This boy was a complete and total moron and this was the final nail in the coffin of any doubt of there being a single shred of intelligence in his handsome head.

Nearly everything she had thought about the boy had been completely thrown out the window. He wasn't some crazy maniac trying to control her with a special power or anything like that. He couldn't if he was really as stupid as he now appeared to be.

Hinata allowed a pulse of chakra to enter her eyes and activate her families all-seeing eyes. It was always jarring to see Naruto through those eyes. His lack of a functioning chakra system always made him appear almost ghost-like to her vision. Even without focusing on that, Hinata could not see any of the usual signs of Naruto lying. Either eternally, or externally.

Not a single sign of muscle tension, heart rate increase, or even the smallest bit of adrenal activity could be seen by the Hyuuga's all-powerful eye. Naruto honestly believed the words that spouted out from his idiotic mouth.

Hinata did not know if she should laugh or cry. All this time she had been afraid that this boy was going to force her into a life of disgusting servitude. When really he had no better of an idea behind her strange behavior as she did.

"So please." Naruto continued. "Please let me help you."

Hinata risked a look into his eyes once again. This turned out to be a big mistake, as Hinata instantly returned to her previously flustered state. At the same time, she started to get very angry again.

Her eyes focused hard on the boy as her blood began to boil. She opened her mouth to finally let loose a hard stream of swears when she noticed a short blond girl in the doorway staring at the two and froze instantly.

The girl had a cookie in one hand and a book in the other and had clearly come down for a snack.

Hinata's already red face grew even darker to the point that one would not be mistaken in thinking every last drop of her blood had traveled to her head.

The girl looked at Hinata, then to Naruto before taking a bite out of her treat and looking back at the older girl.

Naruto noticed that Hinata was looking at something behind him and noticed his little sister. Just like Hinata, he stared for a moment as his brain slowly came to the realization of what his little sister might assume who the other girl in his house may be.

"Are you my big brother's girlfriend or something?" The girl asked in a bored tone, causing both of the older people in the room to suddenly become very flush with embarrassment

Before either of the older two could answer, there was a knock at the door.

"I-I'll get it!" Naruto practically shouted before he ran past his sister to see who had, thankfully, interrupted such an awkward situation.

While Naruto was getting the door, however, both of the girls stared at each other.

The younger blond-haired girl looked Hinata up and down before taking a bite of her treat again. Her eyes focused hard on every detail of Hinata's figure as she mentally compared her to every other woman she knew.

"You're pretty." She looked at the Hyuuga in the eyes. "I'm Kyouku." She gave a short bow. "I hope you can take good care of my brother."

Hinata honestly had no idea how to respond.

Well, she did; but cursing out a little girl might be pushing it a little further than she really wanted things to go.

No sooner had Hinata finally thought up of a reply did Naruto come rounding the corner.

"There is someone here for you?" His voice held a lot of confusion and hesitation. His face did as well. He looked just about as confused as the female Hyuuga herself.

Is if sensing the confusion, a tall Hyuuga male with the most cold stare humanly possible appeared behind Naruto. The young man's expression did not change upon seeing Hinata, and in fact, might have even gotten that much colder.

The man wore the usual shinobi attire of his family. As in, basic black shorts and light tan shirt. Not a part of him was flashy, and the way he held himself told everyone that he did not need to be. The only thing really unique about him that one would have to notice to set him apart from the rest of his family, was his surprisingly long hair.

"Hinata." His voice was just as cold as his eyes. "Your father has requested that you return home. He wishes to discuss your upcoming graduation." He turned away. "I am to escort you home."

Hinata's brow furrowed as annoyance stretched itself across her princess-like face. She hated talking to her father any more than was necessary and even more so recently since the old man has been obsessing over Hinata's graduation into a full-fledged shinobi.

It had mostly been lectures about how to act properly since she will be representing the Hyuuga family outside of the village. Of course, she ignored his annoying words and was going to keep acting however she damn well pleased.

"And Naruto." The male Hyuuga said as Hinata finally began to follow him. "Your father also requested your presence in his office."

"How...?" Naruto was about to ask the obvious question when the shinobi interrupted.

"Both were at the office when I was given my orders." He actually sounded annoyed at having to explain something seemingly so simple.

Without another word, both Hyuuga left Naruto and his little sister alone in their home. Naruto stared at the door for a moment before looking at his little sister, who had gone back to reading her book.

"Did you lie about your name again?"

"You needed to see me, dad?" Naruto asked as he entered the Hokage's office. He noted that not only was his mother present, but also several of the village's council members and the shinobi that had been his guard on his most recent outing.

Naruto closed the door behind him slowly. The instant the door clicked, two more shinobi appeared to quickly block the way out of the office.

'I don't like this.' Venom grumbled. 'We may need to do some unsavory things to get out of this.'

"Um, what's going?" Naruto asked as he walked to the center of the room. Being surrounded by some of the strongest ninja the village had put the boy on edge.

Minato looked tired. Even more tired than he regularly did. Everything about him, from his facial expression to the state of his clothes said that he really id not want to be here right now or deal with what was about to happen.

"Please," The Hokage motioned to the basic wooden chair located in the dead center of the room. "Sit down, Naruto."

The boy did as he was told, very hesitantly.

Minato looked down at his desk for a moment before sighing heavily and looking his son dead in the eyes. He had been putting this off for as long as he could, but the combination of the mission reports and some more recent evidence, he had to do this now.

"Now, I want you to tell my why you think you are here." Minato's voice had changed from that of the worried father, to that of the village leader. He was not talking to his son any longer, but a citizen of his home. He hated doing this more than anything else he had ever experienced in the past.

Naruto raised an eyebrow and tried to put on as much of an innocent and confused face as possible. Sadly, it was a very poor attempt when against a room of the some of the most experienced shinobi the village had to offer. He was obviously uncomfortable and almost every single movement he made showed it.

"I honestly haven't a clue." Naruto responded in as truthful of a tone of voice as possible. The fact that one of his past guards was standing right beside his father did not ease the boy's worry.

"Naruto." Minato sighed heavily. "Please, if you just tell me what happened; what's going on, this will all be over that much sooner."

'I doubt that severely.' Venom grumbled as he too began to wonder what was going to happen. This was not going to end well no matter how it and it's host handled the situation.

"I really have no idea what you're talking about." Naruto tried to keep his voice calm. The longer he felt all of those eyes on him, the more nervous he got. It was obvious what his father was talking about, but Naruto hoped beyond all hope that this was about something else entirely.

Minato looked over at his wife. Her eyes drifted back to his and closed with a solemn expression. He slowly pushed his chair away from his desk before just as slowly getting to his feet. His tired eyes looked at every face present before he walked around to the front of his desk.

He had draped his Hokage's robes around him like a cloak. A kind of barrier that the village leaders would make to distance themselves emotionally from whomever they chose. Useful when having to make a hard decision.

He slowly walked towards the seated Naruto; his movements were so steady to make it appear as if he was gliding across the floor. He stopped right in front of his son and looked down at him.

"Please." His voice was practically a whisper. "Just tell me what you did." His composure finally broke as the village leader began to shake slightly. This was his son, damn it! This was the kind boy that went to school every day and hung out with friends. This was the boy that did not use his disability to gain pity or favor. He never used his father's status to gain whatever he wanted or abuse those that may have wronged.

Naruto was a good kid.

There was no way he could have done what was written in the mission report. At least, no voluntarily. If he would at least admit to being forced to comment such an act; at least then things could go well.

Naruto put on a confused smile. "I am telling you dad; I have no clue what you are talking about." He refused to admit anything. He could not risk loosing Venom. Despite his concerns about the creature, the power it gave him as necessary in keeping his family, friends, and village safe. He just had no idea how to convince his father now that he had committed to lying so defiantly.

Minato closed his eyes for a moment before opening his robe and pulling out a manila folder labeled with the dates of Naruto's time away from the village. He opened the folder and could see Naruto's face visibly pale. No matter how much both father and son wished this entire ordeal could be avoided; it would only be a matter of time before someone else would find out and things get even worse.

"You know what this is." Minato stated. "And you know what is in it."

"Y-Yes father." Naruto finally let the defeat wash over him. No matter what he did, this was going to happen. It was not like he knew he could keep his demon a secret forever, but it was nice at least pretending to be normal for as long as he could.

"He admits it." A familiar voice announced from one of the walls. Naruto's eyes widened in instant rage as his head snapped in the direction of the speaker. Non-other than Uchiha Fugaku had decided to take a step forward and speak out.

Minato looked up at the man. His own distrust showing through his eyes. Him deciding to speak up could potentially make this go as badly as possible.

"I told you what your son did to me, Minato." Fugaku continued. "I told you what he said. And now you have evidence that something is not normal about your son." The Uchiha leader looked around at his fellow council members. "I propose that the boy be restrained until we know exactly what is going on and he is no longer deemed a threat to this village."

"Be silent Fugaku!" Minato ordered. The Uchiha had a terrible habit of forgetting just who the real leader of this village was, as well as exactly why Minato was given the position.

"Yes." An elder of the civilian portion of the council butted in. "We should hear from the boy exactly why he did what he did." The elder turned to look at the leader of the Yamanaka family, Inoichi. "Even so, he must be at least mentally disturbed to want to eat another human."

"They think I'm some kind of monster." Naruto whispered as more and more of the people in the room began to mumble and talk among one another.

'No.' Venom whispered in Naruto's ear. 'Listen to their words. They are speaking out of concern, not fear. They know not what we are, but they know what we have done.' The monster's words were soft and gentle to it's host. 'They will treat us like a sick patient, not a dangerous creature. You will not need to fear us separating.'

Paying more attention to what the adults were talking saying revealed Venom's words to be true. They were speaking as if Naruto was just a very sick person instead of a crazy criminal. While this was still not the best outcome Naruto could have hoped for, it was better than them out right thinking him a demon.

Though, the fact that he was going to loose his friends was still heartbreaking since the boy seriously doubted that no one would say anything outside of this room.

'They did not see our fangs and blades.' Venom continued. 'They will treat you as a human, not a demon.'

This continued on for a few minutes. Naruto's father put a gentle hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Please do not fight me." He practically begged. "We just want to to help you. You are clearly sick and need help. Killing and eating someone is not a normal thing."

Naruto looked up at his father's desperate face and could not help but feel guilty for lying to the man. But, knowing that it was all for the good of the village made it worth it all in the end.

"Is no one understanding what is really going on!?" Fugaku finally shouted in rage. No body was connecting the dots between the boy's violent actions and the threat that he had made towards the powerful family. This boy was clearly a threat and should be treated as such. Treating a known monster as just some sick person was nothing more than pure foolishness.

"This boy has threatened me and my family." Fugaku's voice lowered upon noticing he had the room's attention once again. "Even if you ignore the fact that he killed and ate a human alive. You can not pretend that a citizen of this village directly threatening the life of a council member and clan leader is nothing to be concerned about."

Now the chatting had shifted somewhat. Now some were starting to see reason with Fugaku. If this boy was not only capable of eating a human alive and bold enough to actually threaten one of the most powerful clans in the village, let alone the actual clan leader, then who could say what else he was capable of.

Naruto was starting to get angry. He had warned Fugaku about messing with him and his family. And now he was blatantly trying to separate them and put the boy in a cage.

Maybe he needed to teach the Uchiha another lesson?

"Again." That man's voice really was starting to grate on Naruto's nerves. "I propose that we lock the boy up until when know exactly what is wrong with him and he can be properly dealt with."

"And what?" Minato took a step towards the Uchiha leader. "Do you mean by that?"

Fugaku did not back down, and in fact took a step forward as a clear challenge to the Hokage. "What I am saying, Minato. Is that if your boy is too dangerous to be left alive, then we would have no other choice than to kill him."

Both Minato and Kushina were livid at the man even suggesting that their son be murdered. And both were more than ready to beat some sense into the man. The only thing stopping the pair was the possible reciprocation of their actions. It would not do any good if Minato lost his seat due to a sudden outburst, no matter how justified it might be.

"Watch yourself Uchiha." Naruto suddenly decided to speak clearly. He refused to look in the same direction as the man. He was afraid what his rage may do.

'Why must these people always ruin good things?'

Being surrounded by so many of his peers boosted Fugaku's confidence. Or was that arrogance?

"What did you say to me, boy?" He looked right past Minato. "You may have threatened me when we were alone, but such insolence will not stand in the presence of this village council!"

"I told you that it was not a threat." Naruto slowly rose to his feet. With his back still facing the Uchiha, Naruto continued. "It was a promise."

The man could only scowl as he flinched just the slightest amount from the tone of the boy's voice.

Naruto finally turned to gaze at the older man. "I will give you one last chance to stop interfering with me and my family, old man."

"Naruto," Kushina finally could no longer stand aside. The mother rushed over to her child and pulled him towards her with a hand on the boy's shoulder. He ignored her completely.

'Stay calm. We do not want to reveal ourselves just yet.'

"You insolent little brat!" Fugaku would not stand for such humiliation in front of his peers. "I do not care who you're father is. If you keep talking to me like that I will assure you that you will meet a more than fitting punishment."

"And just what kind of punishment would that be?" Naruto challenged. "You already threatened my life." He wanted the man to say it now. He just wanted the smallest excuse to cut the man down here and now.

Unfortunately, Fugaku had enough since to not respond to the kid's egging on and instead just sneered at the boy as Kushina pulled her son away and out of the room.

It goes without saying that there was a very long talk between Naruto and his parents. He played his role of the broken child quiet well and his parents believed that there son was just disturbed and nothing else.

What followed were weeks of family talks, therapy, and strange looks. Naruto rarely went to school for the next month and spent most of his time in varies forms of therapy.

Early, it was unanimously agreed that the trauma Naruto had suffered at such a young age; practically having his skull caved in from a massive drop, was playing a major part in the boy's mental state.

Venom was sure to mess around with the boy's brain whenever one of the village's mind readers wanted to take a dive inside. It clearly did not allow them to see too much, but just enough to justify Naruto's actions as a part of serious brain trauma instead of demon possession.

Oh there was going to be a lot to correct once Venom made itself known. But that was further down the road than it was willing to bother with at the moment.

One of the few, if only positives Naruto could see from being an official outcast was; due to him being labeled as a dangerous cannibal, he was no longer getting picked on by Hinata and her little gang.

Actually, there was one other benefit. To help 'curb his inhuman hunger' most the the therapists Naruto saw requested that Naruto's parents provide the boy with whatever food possible to distract from his want to eat human flesh.

This meant Naruto was given as much chocolate as he could possibly ever want. His entire perspective on this situation changed completely when he saw the mountain of sweets just being to be eaten.

He even went so far as to act as ravenous as possible when eating, just to home in the mental instability his family and everyone else thought he had. It at least meant that he would not have to try and sneak away to hunt again, for at least a little while. Venom was not particularly happy about it and had developed a habit of complaining of boredom.

Something that might actually drive Naruto insane.

Naruto was allowed to attend his friend's graduation into becoming full fledged shinobi; albeit with a few guards positioned around him for everyone's protection, and him standing in as far back and away from everyone else as possible.

He did not even get the chance to personally congratulate his friends. Naruto was sure to raise a big fuss over that in particular, but in the end, there really was not anything he could do.

And this is what became of Naruto's life. Constant therapy, high chocolate diet and a combination of home schooling and actually attending classes when allowed.

After several months of this, Naruto was starting to really get tired of all of the protection and special treatment. It was very tempting to just let his parents know about Venom, but the chance that they would both be very furious, as well as try to separate the two was still not a risk Naruto was willing to make.

He had not had a chance to even speak to his friends and was in some desperate need of some peace and relaxation.

He would finally get a break from his strange life-style when he overheard his parents talking about the upcoming Chunin Exams and the many challenges that awaited the new ninja.

Or, at least that was what he was hoping for.