Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its characters, or its OSTs in any way. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I do own the techniques I add and any OC I may choose to create for the betterment of the story.

A/N; First I would like to apologise for not updating sooner, I'm doing the best I can. I'm also honoured that so many of you look forward to my story, and I promise not to disappoint! Thank you for the reviews, and I look forward to more of them! Also, someone asked what the first part of the second chapter was for, it was Kakashi killing the captain that was watching Naruto, right after Kakashi had killed the other five members of the squad. So now Naruto finally wakes up, but will it go as Kakashi wanted it to even when he went through the trouble of bringing Tenten along? Find out now on the third chapter of The Deserters!

Chapter 3: Survival Of The Fittest

Drip.

His eyes started to open slowly.

Drop.

The darkness still commanded his presence in the realm of sleep but he was able to push it to the side momentarily to open his eyes fully.

Drip, drop.

His blue eyes widened marginally when they drank in the scenery of his new surroundings. His heart also skipped a beat out of the fear that gripped him in the darkness of the unfamiliar environment.

'Where am I?' He looked around, turning a full circle on the same spot.

It was a dimly lit place with pipes at the walls and ceiling, a place that was strangely reminiscent of a sewage. Although he was pretty sure he did not know where he was, he felt as if he should've known what the place was. The feeling convinced his heart to beat at a much sturdier pace, which also had the added benefit of eroding away most of the fear that had gripped him.

He was still fearful but he was still brave enough to start walking around the place. The deeper he walked into the creepy halls of the place, the more he felt familiar with it, like he'd been there before. Only he did not remember ever being in such a place. Was it a dream?

'No, it's not. If it was a nightmare, I would be a bloody mess by now.' He clicked his tongue at the thought. 'Dumb villagers.'

He rounded a corner and came into a corridor that had a light at its end.

Thinking that it was most likely the way out, he followed the light that seemed to beckon him forth, or was it just his longing to find a way out?

He finally reached the end of the corridor but he did not come to an exit, no, instead, he came towards a large hall that had a humongous cage at its end.

As inquisitive as he was, he walked towards the ominous looking cage, ignoring the fear that told him not to get close. The closer he walked towards the cage the more the ominous feeling was transferred to his stomach.

Growl.

It came from his own stomach. 'Really Naruto?' He held off reprimanding the untimely declaration of hunger by his stomach to focus on the matter at hand, the gigantic cage.

Now that he was closer to the cage he was able to make up the tiny details of the cage. One most noticable detail was the piece of paper at the centre that had a strange kanji, for seal, he did not know how to read.

"Grrr..." The growl came from the cage.

Naruto flinched. "W-Who's there 'tebayo?!" He could feel the hairs on his body stand as his fearful eyes stared inside the cage. He may have been afraid but he still wanted to see.

As if some force was listening to him, a ray of light washed over the cage illuminating the most terrifying thing that Naruto had ever seen.

"Waaah!" He tripped on his own feet when he tried to take a step back and he fell on his behind.

"Bahahahahaha!" The red-orange Kitsune monstrosity laughed behind the cage.

Naruto stood up slowly, rubbing his behind by instinct even though it was not hurting, not that he was in the right frame of mind to notice that anyway. "H-Hey what a-are you laughing at 'tebayo?!" He tried putting on a brave front but the shaking in his voice gave him away

"Bold of you to talk to me that way, ningen!" The fox hit the cage with its claw causing the place to shake.

Naruto took shaky steps back. The presence of the fox was overwhelming to bear for his young mind. "W-What a-are y-you?" He promptly fell on his behind, again. 'Am I dreaming?' He was starting to reconsider his earlier thought.

"I am the great nine tailed fox, the strongest in all of existence. Be grateful for the honor of being in my presence, ningen." The way the fox said that last word sounded like it was poisonous to its being. Maybe it was, who knew?

'Nine tailed fox? Never heard of that one before. I must be dreaming.' Which was why he went back to his default setting, his rudeness. "Hhheeeeeh?" Naruto folded his arms, seemingly unafraid all of a sudden. "If you're so powerful... then why are you caged up 'tebayo?" The seven year old had his eyes squinted in disbelief.

The fox was a bit surprised by the question, and it was even more surprised that it did not have a witty comeback. The great nine tailed fox was had by a seven year old. Definitely one for the history books.

"How are you feeling?" The bijuu skilfully evaded the question.

(OST Plays: Reflection)

"Huh?" Naruto's eyes widened, his mouth hanging open just slightly.

It was his first time. It wasn't said by a human being but it still counted right? He was not afraid to admit to himself that he had always been desperate to hear those words come from someone. Someone who cared about him. Someone whom Naruto meant the world to. Someone who... who loved him. That being the parents he never got to meet.

He draped his right arm over his tear-stricken face to wipe away the tears before they fell. "Thank you." He spoke a moment later, removing the arm over his face. The edges of his mouth were curved just slightly upwards. It wasn't like any of his usual ear-splitting grins, it was a sincere smile that reached up his icy blue eyes making them gain a rather bright glint as warmth gradually seeped into them.

"Hmm?" The fox settled down.

"No one has ever asked how I am feeling, so thank you." It felt weird how he was thanking an entity in his dream. "But you probably said that because in my mind I've always wanted someone to say that to me." He took in a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. "As much I smile everyday, I'm more sad than I am happy. Every single day is a struggle between life and death for me so I don't get good times that easily, if any at all. It may be small to you but it's a big win to me. A win I needed. Thank you, Mr. Nine tails."

The fox almost sighed when it heard the words. 'Now I have to act like I pity this insolent human child, preposterous.' "You're not dreaming kid."

(OST comes to an awkward screeching end)

"Huh?"

"This is not a dream." The fox said, again.

"What?!"

"We are in your mind." Relayed the gigantic fox.

"No." That is... "It can't be!" He pointed at the fox. "Then what are you doing here?!"

"I'm not here because I want to be brat! Your dreaded fourth Hokage put me in here!" The fox blurted out in a mixture of blind rage and perpetual annoyance.

"What?" Naruto stared with shaken eyes, his eyes dimming back to their icy blue as the cold overtook the warmth.

Memories flashed back in his mind.

"Get out of here you monster!"

"Hey look it's the kyuubi brat."

"Don't play with him okay?"

"Why daddy?"

"You don't know what that demon will do."

Naruto pointed a shaky finger at the fox. "S-so y-you're..." He could not muster the strength to finish the sentence. The dejected look in his blue eyes said it all, the scrunching of his brows making the portrayal look even more agonizing. 'So even the Fourth Hokage hates me.' It hurt even more that it was his idol that doomed him. He did not even bother to hide the tears that seeped out of his eyes. He just laid his pain out bare for the fox to see, in an act of complete vulnerability.

Although the nine tails could not care less about what the child went through, it would be bad if he was so broken that he committed suicide and killed them both.

The demon fox could not allow that to happen. It scanned Naruto's memory to find one thing for the chilld to hold on to. It did not have to dig deep. "Yes, I am the reason everyone in the village hates you kid, well almost everyone."

"Almost everyone?"

"That girl who's on your mind right now, she doesn't hate you. I think even you know that kid." 'She's not on his mind but whatever it takes.'

Tenten flashed in Naruto's mind when the fox spoke. The look in his eyes eased but the fear was still there. The boy looked up at the fox, clenched fists shaking at his side. "D-do you hate m-me?" The question came out a tad-bit wimpier than Naruto had intended it to. The fox was quiet so Naruto continued. "You said that you don't want to be here. So do you hate me for being your jailor?"

"I hate all human beings kid."

"I see." 'We are both stuck in situations we didn't choose.' A small laugh escaped his parted lips, somehow that made him feel a bit better about himself. "I think I should go now." Wait. "How do I even leave?!" The blonde panicked as he started running around hysterically. It was amazing how he switched between moods the way he did.

'It seems he trusts me, somewhat, and when he finally realizes that I healed him, I will have earned his trust fully, which will make it easier for me to make him let me out in the future. For now, I have to make sure he grows to become strong enough to handle the transformation process or we might end up dying together.' "This is your mind kid so just think about waking up. And remember, don't tell anyone about me."

Naruto stopped. "Oh, yeah, we're in my mind." Duh. "And don't worry, I won't tell anyone." He closed his eyes and started to concentrate. 'They might just kill me for it anyway. Not even getting to that, it's not like I have anyone to tell about this.' His body started to fade "And I'm not kid, the name's Uzumaki Naruto, the future Hokage, dattebayo!"

Naruto shot up into a sitting position which caused him to come face to face with a blurred individual.

It took a moment for the blonde's eyes to habituated themselves to the light in the room. The moment Naruto's eyes were clear of the fog of sleep, a breath was caught in his throat at what he saw.

"Hmmm..." Wide almond eyes were glaring maniacally, the shadow over the person's face adding more to the unknown person's crazed expression.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Naruto shuffled back until he bumped against the headboard and then pulled the blanket over his entire form as a last resort to hide himself. 'W-who was that?'

The door to the room was slammed open which caused the individual to turn towards it. "Huh?"

"AAAAHHH!" Tenten screamed when she also saw the face.

Kakashi sweatdropped but Reiko walked into the room when she saw the twitching form on the bed.

The almond-eyed young man's scary look dissolved the closer Reiko got to him.

When Reiko stood in front of the young man she had a demonic red glint in her eyes that made the young man's eyes widen in horror as Reiko's hand inched closer to him. "Oi, Tenzo! I warned you, didn't I?!" Steam came out of her mouth when she spoke.

Kakashi's eyes widened. 'Mangekyo Sharingan?'

"AHH! Ow ow ow ow ow!" The young man, revealed to be Tenzo, screamed as he was dragged, by the ear, out of the room by Reiko.

"We're going to talk about how I told you not to use that look on kids!" She turned to Kakashi when she got to the hallway. "And you!"

"H-Hai?!" Kakashi pulled off a rather impressive salute. Thanks to the mask over his face no one could see how his sweat glands were working overtime.

"Shower. Now." The red in her eyes glowed.

"Y-Yes m-ma'am!"

"Good." Reiko turned down the corridor, dragging Tenzo behind.

'Help me!' The look in Tenzo's eyes said.

Tenten and Kakashi turned to the side and they whistled at nothing. 'You're on your own man.' A similar thought ran through their minds.

"Traitors!" Were Tenzo's last words before he was dragged into one of the rooms.

While someone might have expected to hear Tenzo's screams of terror and Reiko shouting for murder, nothing but an eerie silence came from the room. Which was what made it even more terrifying.

Kakashi glanced into Naruto's room and he could see the shaking lump on the bed.

"Maa, Tenten, you take it from here. You don't have to do anything extravagant, just talk to him."

Tenten nodded and walked into the room while Kakashi started for the bathroom.

'God knows I do not want to go through that again.' He gave the door Tenzo was pulled into a fleeting glance, shuddering at the thoughts of what was happening behind it. 'Hang in there, Tenzo!'

Naruto still had the blanket over his body. He heard all the voices, the screaming, and the shouting. Though he could have sworn he heard a familiar voice mixed into the chaos of unfamiliar voices.

"Naruto." The voice called out softly.

That was it. Yes. It was the familiar voice. Naruto pulled the blanket down, just enough to allow only his left eye to peer outside.

"Tenten!" He pulled the rest of the blanket down to his midsection when he saw who it was, and sat up so fast Tenten could have sworn she saw an after image.

Looking at him brought memories of the pevious day to her mind, with a side of tears to the edges of her eyes. They stung but she just could not let them fall. She couldn't be weak. Naruto was being strong, after all. If the wide smile on his face was anything to go by.

"Ten-" Naruto could not finish because Tenten crashed into him.

She tightened the hug. "You're okay." Her voice was barely audible towards the end, losing volume under the lump of worry that had found a home in her throat.

"Itetete." Naruto winced in pain.

Tenten pulled back. "Sorry. Hehe" She laughed nervously afterwards.

"It's okay." Now that he wasn't hiding, he was able to take in his surroundings. Another unfamiliar place, only he did not feel like he knew this one. 'Where am I?'

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

There it was, again. It made an odd, but warm, feeling bubble at the pit of his stomach. Naruto couldn't help the goofy grin that was plastered on his face. "A bit sore here and there but I'll be fine in a few days."

Tears erupted from her eyes. "I'm glad!"

No matter how she looked at it, it was her fault. If she was strong enough to walk herself home, Nauto wouldn't have been hurt because they thought he was kidnapping her. That guilt of knowing she almost had him killed, it was tearing through her as she continued to cry.

"H-Hey, w-what's w-wrong?" Naruto did not know what to do. "I-It's o-okay.' He placated, even though he did not know what he was saying was okay.

Tenten took a few moments to gain control over her sobs. When she gained sufficient control over her emotions, she wiped away her tears, and when she opened her eyes again, a gentle smile having overtaken her facial features. "Nothing is wrong, I'm just glad you're okay."

(OST Plays: Anger)

"Glad I'm okay?' He finally registered the pain between his legs. "Yes, I remember. now' The memories flooded back into his mind. 'They wanted to kill me.' Every explicit detail was there, like a vail of torture over his mind. 'But I didn't do anything wrong.' He put the blanket down subconsciously. 'Those stares of hatred and smiles of pleasure, they were enjoying it.' His fists clenched over the blanket. 'I didn't deserve any of it. I never deserved any of it.'

Rip.

He subcounciously drew on the nine tails chakra which made his nails elongate into claws that dug into the fabric of the bed sheets.

'I hate them!' He heard their laughs in his mind. His pupils turned to slits. 'I hate the Fourth Hokage who put me into all of this!' His eyes flickered between an icy blue and a bloodthirsty crimson. 'I hate you all!'

Tenten flinched at the killing intent that came from Naruto. The saturation of negative emotions was even deeper than when he roared the previous day. It was suffocating. It was scary. It was vile, a storm of evil. The storm weaved into a monstrorous face that glared at Tenten. making the eight year old shake on her seat. Was this really...

"Naruto?" She called out.

(OST Ends)

"Huh?" The storm disappeared. It was like it was never even there in the first place. Naruto turned towards the call. He could see the fear in her eyes. He smiled even though it was obvious that it was forced. "I'm sorry about that."

Tenten just nodded, doing her best to calm her raging heart. She was glad to see his eyes back to their normal shape and normal color, at least.

Looking around, again, Naruto reaffirmed that he did not know where he was. If it was a hospital, he wouldn't have missed it. "Where am I?" He asked.

It took a few moments, of trying to regain control her breaths, before she replied. "Y-You are in I-Inu's home. You are safe here."

The word safe sent danger signs in his mind. A few people were able to convince his he was safe only for them to beat him up saying that he was caught stealing in their houses.

'I'm not going to go through that again.' "Who's Inu?" Naruto's tone was laced with obvious distrust as the lingering effects of the evil chakra fed his paranoia.

"He's an anbu f-" She tried to explain.

"Those masked bastards?! I'm not falling for it again!" He jumped off the bed and landed on the side of the bed, wincing at the pain that came from between his legs. Even though it hurt, he still tried to walk away but Tenten grasped his hand. "Let me go." He protested, yanking his hand away.

"No, you're hurt." Tenten kept a strong grip on it..

"I said..." Naruto's pupils became slitted again. "...Let me go!" He pushed her away.

Tenten did not expect that kind power from Naruto, hence the reason why she was thrown against the wall quite easily before she fell on the ground with an audible thud.

"Tenten!" Naruto rushed to her side as fast as he could. He crouched, even though it hurt to do so, and brought her up into a sitting position, supporting her limp body with his arms. Her eyes were close, she was unconscious. 'What have I done?'

The door to the room shot open and Reiko skidding inside with a kunai in her hand. Naruto turned towards the new face, his eyes darkening when he saw the blade in the woman's hands. In his desperate attempt to escape, he scooped Tenten in his arms and he jumped out the window by instinct, not bothering to ask who the woman was, or to notice that the woman looked like the girl in his arms. Not even considering that Tenten said that it was a safe place or that he was injured.

The moment he got outside he just started running. He did not care where he was going, he just wanted to get away from the scary woman wielding a kunai.

Reiko watched Naruto bolt into the forest with her daughter in his hands.

"Maa, that did not turn out the way we wanted it to." Kakashi appeared next to her a moment later, without his anbu mask but with a navy mask that covered the bottom part of his face and up to his nose, and a leaf headband slid over his left eye, leaving only his right eye exposed. His attire was also more casual, well as casual as a ninja's attire could get.

He wore a long-sleeved t-shirt with navy cargo pants and blue ninja sandals. His kunai pouch was tied firmly to his right thigh, over a white bandage.

"I presume you already have Pakkun following them?"

"Yes." Kakashi nodded.

"Good, let's also follow behind."

"I think we might have to wait a moment." Kakashi turned towards a corner down the corridor.

Tenzo was as white as a sheet of paper, the word pale not even sufficient to describe his discolour as he rocked back and forth, dark circles marring his permanently fear-stricken eyes.

"Forgive me, Reiko-sama. Forgive me, Reiko-sama. Forgive me, Reiko-sama." He muttered over and over.

Somewhere in the forest, Naruto placed Tenten gently on the ground. He was lucky to find the cave while running away. It would be a good hiding spot so that they would not be found.

Unknown to Naruto though, Pakkun was just outside the cave observing everything from an oddly comfortable branch.

'Shit.' The dog cursed when it caught another scent. Pakkun did not have to look around, easiliy spotting the figure that was heading for the cave. 'I have to alert Kakashi immediately.' Pakkun bolted towards the Hatake house, cursing himself all the way for not being strong enough for combat. "Tenten, Naruto, Hang in there!"

"Oi, kid." The booming voice startled Naruto.

"Who's there?!" He was frantic as he looked around, his blue eyes scanning every inch of the cave

"It's me, the nine taills, I'm communicating with you using a mental link."

"Ooooookay?" Naruto did not even try to understand what the fox was saying. "What do you want 'tebayo?"

"Don't talk out loud, just think what you want to say to me. I noticed a strange smell the moment that you got in here."

Naruto sniffed the air. "Huh? There's nothing dattebayo."

"I told you not to talk!"

Naruto flinched. "Sorry. Hehe" A nervous laugh coming afterwards. It was going to take some getting used to.

The demon fox sighed before it spoke. "You can't catch the scent because you don't have a nose as sensitive as mine. This cave belongs to a b-" Naruto cut the mental link by instinct when he saw Tenten's eyes twitch before they started to flutter open slowly.

Blurry blue eyes sparkling with worry, were the first thing she saw. There was only one person she knew with those electric eyes.

"N-Naruto?" She murmurred softly.

Naruto pulled her up gently. "I'm sorry." He just couldn't stare at her, finding the ground more interesting for some reason.

"It's okay, it was a mistake." It took a moment for Tenten to be able to see properly. When she could finally see, her brow rose. She glanced around her surroundings with eyes the size of dinner plates. "Um... where in the world are we?"

"We are in the hidden leaf." Was his smart reply. "Oh! Oh! I rescued us from a scary woman who had a kunai, aaaaand I found us a sweet hiding spot. Cool right?" Naruto was more than happy to regale her with the tale of his heroics. Funny how he couldn't bring himself to stare at her a moment ago, where did that go anyway?

Tenten did not reply.

"Tenten?" Naruto looked up to see her shaken eyes, as if she wasn't believing what she was seeing.

"Tenten what's-" Naruto couldn't finish as Tenten shovered him away and the paw of the bear hit her on the side of the face instead. Although she was fast enough to bring up her left arm to soften the blown she still rolled painfully on the ground before she came to an abrupt, although rough, stop.

"Tenten!" Naruto grit his teeth. The bear turned to face him and Naruto snarled, charging in blind rage. "You bastard!" A paw to the side of the face cut him off shortly, sending him towards Tenten who was slowly trying to get up only for Naruto to crash into her before they both hit the wall. Dust was uprooted upon impact, providing momentary haven for the children.

Tenten and Naruto climbed into crouching positions slowly.

"Ite." Naruto winced.

"Are you okay?" Whispered Tenten.

Naruto just nodded.

Although it hurt, they were grateful for the dust that obscured them from the bear.

Tenten rummaged through her pouch and she only found three kunai inside. She almost cursed at their luck. It was nowhere near enough. The supplies they had meant that one of them had to get upclose and personal with the bear if they wanted to survive since running was not an option as the bear was in the path that led to the exit. And running would mean one of them being a diversion, which was out of the question. They had no choice but to kill the bear. It was do or die.

"I have a plan." She whispered.

Naruto did not even ask. He just leaned in and let her whisoer what she had in mind, Naruto just nodding dumbly whille she spoke.

"It won't work." The deep voice came again.

Naruto almost jumped, almost, but by some miracle he didn't. 'Mr. Nine Tails, what is it?'

"Tell her that it will work only if she's the one who throws the kunai since she has better aim."

Naruto relayed the words to Tenten which made the girl frown. "What about the stab? I can manoeuvre myself to soften the blow, you can't. Not to mention that you are hurt."

"I will give you enough chakra for your body to handle the blow, it should be more than enough for you to survive a blow from that puny meatbag. I will also heal any damage you suffer."

"I can survive the blow, don't worry."

Tenten just nodded, albeit reluctantly, since she did not have a lot of options at the moment. Her plan was robust at best and plain insane at worst. She was a first year academy student and Naruto was a civilian, even if he did win against her the previous day. Still, the plan was completely insane. The most probable scenario was that they would most likely die in this battle of survival of the fittest.

'Might as well die trying.' She held up her kunai. "Ikuzo, Naruto (Let's go, Naruto)."

'I'm counting on you, Mr. Nine Tails!' The pupils in Naruto's blue eyes thinned out before they elongated vertically as they became slitted. "Hai."

The bear walked slowly towards the dust cloud that hid the children, a menacing look in its eyes as it stalked its prey. The cloud of dust started to dissipate gradually. A yellow mirrage was the first thing the bear saw. The dust had not cleared entirely when a kunai flew out of it and into the right eye of the unsuspecting bear.

(OST Plays: The Raising Fighting spirit)

"ROOOOOAAAR!" The beast let out it's pain in the form of a rage-filled roar.

Naruto and Tenten ran out of the cloud of dust on that cue, running side by side before Naruto shot forward first. The frenzied bear sent a claw to Naruto's head but Naruto was fast enough to dodge under it, thanks to the nine tail's chakra, and he knelt down which allowed Tenten to step on his back and jump, sailing over the bear. She had angled her body towards the bear's right eye, which made sure that the creature did not see her thanks to its new blind spot.

"There!" She was at the amplitude of her arial flip when she launched the kunai. She watched with baited breath, as the blade got closer. Then it hit, sunking into the back of the bear's furred neck.

The gigantic creature stumbled forward by mistake as it tried to knock out the kunai that was now the bain of its agitation, to no avail. Naruto seized the opportunity without hesitation as he jumped and lodged his kunai into the bear's neck with as much strength as he could muster, which was quite a lot thanks to the nine tail's chakra, an eruption of blood spraying over his form.

Naruto received a paw to the side of his tiny body for his effort and impacted with the wall before he fell down. Despite how severe the impact was, he was still able manouvre his body in the air just enough to land in a crouch.

Naruto and Tenten watched the bear stumble a few more times before it fell down, never to rise ever again.

When Kakashi, Reiko and a distraught, although now better, Tenzo came to the scene, they found something they did not expect. They expected the kids to be cowering somewhere in the corner, but instead, they found a dead bear at the centre of the cave and both of the children grinning.

Tenten's steel-grey eyes and Naruto's sky blue eyes had a new glint in them that Reiko, Kakashi and Tenzo were all too familiar with. It was the overwhelming pride one got after claiming victory from a battle they thought was out of their reach. It was the pride of being the victor. The kids were relishing in the thrill of their first kill.

(OST Ends)

A/N: So that was the third chapter! Since no one mentioned it, I decided to have Naruto meet Kurama anyway. Also, What did you think of Naruto and Tenten's team up?! I believe the foundations for bonds of friendship are different, and I wanted to give them an even stronger foundation. How did I do on that part? Personally, I think Kurama should've been given more credit as an evil and wise entity. I don't see how antagonising Naruto at every chance the demon got was productive, so I'm going for a more sweeter form of betrayal, so how do you think that will turn out? Will Kurama succeed or will Naruto figure it out? Oh, and next chapter we get to find out if Naruto will be willing to trust the anbu he so obviously declared never to fall victim to again. What did the black ops division do to the child anyway? A new threat will also reveal itself from the shadows. What do you think the threat will be? Review and please continue to follow my story! I appreciate you beautiful people for reading! Until Next time!