A/N: Hey everybody. Sorry this chapter is a bit more delayed than the last. Anyway, many thanks to those of you who have been following me on this. I really appreciate it. I'd like to know, would everybody prefer shorter chapters with quick updates, or wait a while for a longer chapter?

Crowclaw- If everyone decides they prefer short, fast chapters then I'll try to update every few days until I start the other story. If you guys decide you want longer chapters...somewhere between a week or 2. It depends on how I like it and when I find a good place to end the chapter. The shorter chapters are easier, but I don't mind writing longer ones if that's what everyone prefers.

This chapter will be focusing mostly on character development so my apologies to those of you who were hoping for some action. Enough of my rambling for now. Please enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 3

"Dammit Tsunade, that hurt!" Naruto yelled as he rubbed the bump forming on his head where the woman struck him. "It was supposed to! How many times do I have to tell you, don't call me old?!" The blonde woman responded with a huff as she turned back to face the road they were traveling on.

"So it's been 2 years already, huh," Naruto looked towards the sky as he became lost in thought over how he had met the violent woman in front of him.

It had been a month since our travelers had entered Lightning country. Jiraiya taught Naruto a jutsu, as promised, but the majority of the time was spent on having Naruto learn more about the twin blades known as Kiba. He was far from mastering them, but he was certainly making good progress. They were entering a casino in a rather prosperous town when Naruto spoke up.

"What are we doing here, Jiraiya? We're supposed to be looking for that teammate of yours, not gambling," Naruto cast a slight glare at his companion as he looked around the rather nice establishment.

"Ah, but the 2 are one in the same my boy. Tsunade is notorious for gambling addiction. If she's in this town, this is where we'll find her. Just keep your eyes peeled for a woman with long blond hair and huge…assets." Jiraiya ordered a drink as he searched the tables for his target. "If you say so perv." Jiraiya turned around to yell at the boy, but he was already walking toward the back of the room. "I told you not to call me that…" Jiraiya mumbled to himself as he collected his drink and set off on his own search.

"That's bullshit! The kid has to be cheating somehow, nobody is that damn lucky!" A man stood up from the table and glared at the small boy across from him who was just looking at him with an expressionless face and cold, empty eyes. "Sir, I assure you, it is quite impossible for him to be cheating."

"Don't give me that! The brat hasn't lost a single hand since he sat down!" The man continued to shout and draw the attention of everyone in the area.

"Ever heard the expression, 'know when to hold em, know when to fold em'? You lost, so just shut up and get lost." Naruto stated flatly as he narrowed his eyes at the man and sent a chill up his spine. The man walked away grumbling as security came to escort him from the premises. "Well this looks interesting." Naruto's eyes widened ever so slightly as a woman took the man's place at the table and he looked her over. Most of her blonde hair cascaded down her back in a long ponytail while some of it framed her face and flowed just past her shoulders. Her amber eyes seemed to be watching him intently, as if sizing him up just as much as he was her. Her kimono was a light gray, almost white color, and she wore a deep green robe over it. However, what drew his attention was the necklace that hung down to her, excessively large chest. She misunderstood his glance and chuckled softly.

"You're a bit too young for that, brat." Naruto raised an eyebrow then realized what she meant. "Don't flatter yourself old lady. I was checking out the necklace, not those watermelons you call breasts," Naruto replied monotonously as he looked at his cards. The woman's eye twitched as she clenched her fist.

"What did you just call me?" Naruto calmly handed his cards back to the dealer as he stared at the woman. "I called you an old lady. What's wrong with calling something what it is? Or would you prefer something more personalized like grandma? Eh, Tsunade?" The boy said with a hint of a smirk at the end before it disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. Tsunade looked like she was ready to punch him until she heard her name. She narrowed her eyes as she tried to read the boy in front of her, but it was like trying to read a rock. The boy was a total blank. No expression on his face and absolutely nothing in his eyes. It completely unnerved her to see such a thing in someone so young.

"Who are you?" Naruto rubbed his chin as if he had to think about it before replying. "Let's just say, I'm a friend of a certain pervert." As soon as the word left his mouth, a fist came out of nowhere and connected with the top of his head. "What did I tell you about calling me that?" Tsunade's eyes widened when she saw her former teammate strike the blond boy.

"Jiraiya…what are you doing here?" Tsunade asked as she stared at the man like it was impossible for him to actually be there. Jiraiya just smiled and collected his appentice's winnings motioning for them to follow. He led them towards the hotel when they were stopped by a young girl.

"There you are, Tsunade-sama. Please tell me you weren't gambling again," the young girl said with a sigh at the end. Naruto took the chance to look the girl over. She looked like she was in her mid to late teens with short black hair and black eyes. She had a slender frame covered by a black kimono. There was a hint of a mesh shirt showing near the top and Naruto could just barely make out the shape of something on her right wrist through her sleeve. He couldn't determine what it was, but he assumed it was some sort of weapon. There wasn't anything that particularly stood out about her visually that Naruto noticed, but she seemed to suit his tastes quite well. He had no active interest in anything such as romance, but that didn't mean he didn't have certain traits he found attractive. It was nothing more than a passing interest though and as his eyes left the girl, so too did his interest.

"Calm down, Shizune, I wasn't gambling," Tsunade replied. Naruto scoffed as he interjected. "Only because you ran into us and didn't get a chance to." Tsunade chuckled nervously and scratched the back of her head. Shizune shook her head as they continued on their way to the hotel. They went to Naruto and Jiraiya's room and sat down to talk while Shizune made tea.

"So, what are you doing here Jiraiya? And who's the brat?" Naruto glared at her as Jiraiya ignored it. "He's my apprentice. As for why I'm here, I've been looking for you." Tsunade raised an eyebrow as she looked at Naruto again. She couldn't quite place why the blond looked so familiar to her. Nor could she understand why Jiraiya had taken him on as an apprentice. Jiraiya swore he would never take another one after-

Tsunade's eyes opened wide as she looked at the boy again. The resemblance was so unmistakable she couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it sooner. He looked like a clone of his father with whisker-like markings on his cheeks, which only reaffirmed her assumptions of who he was. Jiraiya watched her face carefully observing the different facial expressions as she looked at Naruto. He gave a single nod when she looked to him which, in turn, caused her to have the same expression as he had when he learned the boy was alive; a strange mixture of happiness, sorrow, and regret. Happiness from knowing he was alive, sorrow for what his life must've been like, and regret that she wasn't there for him.

So you're Naruto, huh?" Naruto kept the surprise from showing on his face that the woman knew his name without having been told and merely nodded his head. He had been paying close attention and noticed her different facial expressions just as well as Jiraiya had, but he couldn't understand the reason for them. Jiraiya cleared his throat.

"While we're on the subject of our young traveling companions, who's the kid?" Tsunade was about to respond when Shizune appeared with the tea. "I'm not a kid, I'm 15 years old, and I'm Tsunade-sama's apprentice." She stated as she placed the 4 cups of tea on the table for everybody. Tsunade nodded to verify her claim. Naruto stood up and headed for the door.

Where ya goin, kid?" Jiraiya asked. Naruto didn't stop and just gave his response in a firm tone as he opened the door. "It's still early. I'm gonna go train for a while." And with that, he left without another word. "What's up his ass?" Jiraiya flinched at Tsunade's question remembering the circumstances of his first actual time meeting the boy. He let out a sigh as he turned to the women in the room.

"It's a long story."

After that, Jiraiya filled them in on everything from Naruto's childhood, to the incident on his 8th birthday, which they both visibly paled at, to everything that had happened since they left Konoha. Now, 2 years later, things seemed very different. The blond had lost most of his childish features, but he was still relatively short. His lean frame showed the toned muscles of someone who trained rigorously. They weren't the bulky muscles of some macho strongman, but the lean muscles of someone who could use an adequate amount of power, without sacrificing any of his mobility. Overall, it was impressive for an 11 year old. He had long since abandoned his flashy orange jumpsuit in favor of more practical clothing. He now wore a traditional black kimono with a strange swirl-like symbol on the back in a deep blue color and an obi of the same color. It seemed like a perfect match to the icy blue of his eyes and the magnificent outfit was made deadly by the twin blades of Kiba resting on his hips.

The boy's kenjutsu skills were on a level that, quite frankly, nobody that young should possess. He had also mastered Kiba to a certain degree. He wasn't quite on the level of some of Kiri's swordsmen, but he could certainly handle himself against any normal kenjutsu user. He had also managed to learn a few lightning jutsu during their stay in lightning country. They avoided getting too close to Kumo, but you don't have to be in a ninja village to find ninja. Jiraiya thought his taijutsu needed some serious work, but Naruto had been keeping more than a few secrets from the others.

One of which, being that he was working with Kurama on developing his own original taijutsu style. He had also learned that he had developed a second affinity for water. He wasn't entirely certain that was possible until he spoke to Jiraiya about affinities in more detail. He had originally asked how people use jutsu they don't have an affinity for, which led to Jiraiya explaining there are some people who develop another affinity and sometimes, in the case of jounin level and above ninjas, they even develop a 3rd affinity. Naruto kept the fact that he had developed a new affinity to himself. It wasn't that he didn't trust the others, but it was always good to have a few tricks up your sleeves.

He still wasn't that overly-happy boy he once pretended to be, but with these people, he felt like he could be himself. He had warmed up to the blonde woman and her apprentice just as he had with Jiraiya, and he saw them all as a sort of pseudo-family. Which is why he let his guard down more than he realized and one of his secrets was revealed. He had no idea what had happened, until he saw Jiraiya frozen with a strange look on his face after looking at the boy. Naruto raised an eyebrow until he realized something didn't feel right. 'Shit! My transformation must've dropped when Tsunade hit me,' he thought as he turned away and reapplied the changes to his appearance, but it was too late. They were all looking at him with a myriad of emotions on their face. The silence was interrupted by Jiraiya's loud voice. "What the hell was that brat?!" Naruto sighed as he turned to the man. "That depends, how much did you see?" They all just stared at him like he had grown a second head. They had been half expecting, and half hoping, that they had been seeing things. His response completely destroyed those options.

"Your eyes…and…the whiskers," Tsunade answered and the others nodded. Naruto sighed again as he scratched the back of his head and closed his eyes tightly. "Let's go somewhere a little more private," Naruto said as he leapt off into the trees with the others following him soon after. After about 20 minutes, they came to a stop in a large clearing. It would be nearly impossible for anybody to eavesdrop on them without being noticed here. Once they were all there, Naruto began his explanation. He told them about the deal with Kurama, the summoning contract he had yet to sign, and of course, the potential side effects like what they had seen.

"So basically, when Tsunade hit me, I must've lost concentration enough to drop my transformation. Oh, there are a couple things you guys didn't notice before I put it back up…" Naruto trailed off as he let his transformation fall. He figured they'd already seen him, so why try to hide any of it. They once again took notice of his face first. His eyes were still that icy blue they always were, but the slit pupils are what shocked them in the first place. They also took notice again of the fact that the whiskers on his cheeks were no longer marks, but actual whiskers. The first change they hadn't noticed was his hair. Their eyes widened when they looked at it. It was still blond, but with highlights of a deep orange. It actually somewhat suited the boy. However, the biggest change they had failed to notice was the mass of soft fur protruding from his backside.

"Is that a fucking tail?!" Tsunade voiced her amazement and sure enough, the fur was a flowing tail of orange with blond streaks flowing through it to its blond tip. They all stared at it as it moved around as if it had a mind of its own. Shizune couldn't help herself, and reached out for it. She ran her fingers through the soft fur sending a shiver up Naruto's spine. Tsunade and Jiraiya stared on with wide eyes as a soft rumbling sound came from Naruto's throat. He noticed this and his eyes immediately flew open. 'Was he just…murring?!' Tsunade and Jiraiya both thought to themselves before Naruto spoke up.

"Umm…Shizu-nee? Could you stop that?" Shizune opened her eyes and stood up quickly when she realized she was rubbing her cheek against his tail. "Sorry Naru-chan. It was so soft, I guess I got kinda carried away," Shizune laughed nervously with a slight blush. Naruto cleared his throat and turned to address the others. Jiraiya closed his eyes and took a deep breath before giving his response.

"Are you out of your damn mind?! You can't summon the kyuubi Naruto, he'll kill us all!" Naruto waited for the screaming to stop and narrowed his eyes. "Oh really? And why should summoning him be any different than when you summon Gamabunta? Because he's a demon? Take a good look Jiraiya!" Naruto turned and gave a swish of his tail before turning back around and hardening his gaze on his master.

"I'm a demon too, so why is it so different for me than it is for him? You people all assume is completely incapable and uninterested in anything apart from destruction. I know Kurama a hell of a lot better than you people think you know him and let me tell you what, I trust him just as much, if not more than anybody else. Yeah, he made me a demon. But I asked him to! I was so sick of being beaten nearly to death by the humans who call him a monster, then turn around and do worse to a defenseless child who doesn't even know anything!" Naruto took a deep breath to calm himself before continuing. "Hahaha, I'll be damned, the kid trusts me."

"All he did was help me defend myself. Sure it was beneficial to him as well, but so what? When do humans ever do anything without getting in return? You can count the selfless people from Konoha on one hand, or better yet, on one monument! Besides, it's a summon, not removing the seal. If anything were to happen, I could just dispel him." Everyone stared on in shock at Naruto's speech. Not only was that the most they've ever heard him say at any one time, but it was rather upsetting how true it was. Jiraiya sighed and apologized to his student. Naruto didn't say anything and just proceeded to walk back towards the road as he reapplied his transformation.

"Damn kid, that was a hell of a speech. And I gotta say, I'm impressed." Kurama commented with a grin, not that Naruto could see it, as they made their way back to the road. They walked in silence until it was late enough to set up camp for the night.

The next morning, Naruto woke up to find Jiraiya sitting next to him with a serious face. He sat up and waited for the man to speak. "Naruto, I'm sorry. I said some things I shouldn't have. I know you have enough sense to know what you're doing; it was just too much for me to take in at once. And just so you know, I don't care about the changes. If anything, I think it just makes me seem more amazing. The great Jiraiya, master of the next kyuubi!" He said with a smile as he made a pose at the end. Naruto couldn't stop the laugh that escaped him. The old man might be a weird old pervert, but he was the closest thing to a father he would ever have.

"Thanks Jiraiya," Naruto said with a genuine smile that widened the man's own smile. Jiraiya ruffled the blond's hair as they stood up and headed towards the smell of food cooking. They looked up to see Shizune stirring a pot over the fire.

"Morning Shizu-nee," Naruto greeted as they approached. Shizune smiled and gave a "good morning" of her own. Naruto felt something odd when he looked at her smile. He wasn't sure what it was, but it made him think about when she had run her fingers through his tail. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't enjoyed the sensation, he only hoped nobody had heard the noise he started to make. The matter at hand was more disconcerting though. He couldn't tell if he liked the feeling or not, but knew that it was something that he didn't think he wanted to deal with constantly. Jiraiya probably wouldn't be the best person to ask, but Tsunade was a renowned medic. If anybody knew the answer, it was her.

Okay, that's it for this one. Everybody please review and let me know about whether you want short or long chapters. Also, I've narrowed my decision for the next story's heroine down. If you guys could leave a review and tell me which one of the following girls you wanna see that'd be great. Til next time~

Kurenai

Anko

FemHaku

Tayuya

Konan