Author's Note: Yeah! Black Fox finished editing the chapter. Here's Chapter Fur guys, I hope you would like it. The next chapters might be delayed for a while, but I promise that I'll continue this fic. I got a lot of encouragement. I also got a …. Flame. I never ever got one before. It's a …. New experience. But a lot of people encourage me so it's okay.

Note for Flamers: I don't mind being flame much, since it is also a form of comment. But please, next time, leave out the gutter words, please. I don't take kindly to bad words.

Disclaimer. I only own Ayume, Zaku, Natsu, Akuya.

Title: Precious

Chapter Four

Edited by: Black Fox

Flashback:

" You know your Father well, boy." The man sneered, walking towards Naruto.

"Wh-wh-who are you?" Naruto asked, walking backwards, eyes full of fear, wincing a few times as the cuts from the glass jolted through his body.

"Onii-chan, tasukete!"

" Your worst nightmare. Just call me Natsu-sama."

"Onii-chan!"

"Where do you think you're going, brat?" the mysterious person asked Naruto, sneering darkly at him. Shock flooded Naruto's system upon noticing how close the man suddenly was. He didn't even see the man move!

"What do you want?" Naruto asked him, trying to act brave, but a whimper escape from his lips. The man smiled sinisterly, scaring Naruto even more.

" You." He answered simply, grabbing hold of Naruto's shirt and ready to pick him up, before Naruto bit him, hard.

Natsu yelped, letting go of Naruto. He inspected his hand and blood oozed out of the wound. It wasn't fatal, but if a Shinobi's who's ego is large would think it as a humiliation to be wounded that way. And Natsu had the biggest ego of them all.

" Why you brat! You'll pay for that!" Natsu took out a dagger from his holster, sneering angrily at Naruto. What ever thoughts of escaping Naruto had in his mind, fled from the minute he saw light glint off of the dagger. Before he can even think about evading the weapon, Naruto felt the dagger cut him across the chest, his blood spilling on the mad man and some splashing on the lamp.

Naruto held his wound, eyes closed painfully, a trail of blood descending from his mouth. Naruto fell to the floor, the impact sending waves of pain through out his body. He didn't know what to do anymore, just one thought ran through his mind.

'Escape. Escape from this mad man.'

He started to crawl away heading towards the couch. Natsu seemed to have no problem with that and just stared at the boy, slight amusement radiating from his eyes. Naruto already had trouble breathing and his arms felt weak. He didn't even know why he was heading towards the couch, but he continued anyway. His eye sight started to blur, more pain wreck through his body with each move he made. Finally not able to withstand the pain anymore, Naruto world faded to black, his hand falling limply on the floor.

End of flashback.

" Are you alright?" Akuya called out to the boy, his voice void of emotion. Naruto snapped out of his trance and stared into the man's blue eyes. So much like his yet, the exact opposite Akuya's eyes were emotionless, lifeless; while Naruto's eyes were so full of emotion: fear, pain, anxiety.

" Such innocent eyes… He is not tainted even with the Kyubi inside him. Too innocent for the Kyubi. I'm sorry child."

" Are you alright?" Akuya asked again, this time touching Naruto's face. Naruto flinched away, afraid that the man would hurt him like the other one had done.

"I'm fine," Naruto answered softly.

"You should come with us, away from this village," the man suddenly told Naruto out of the blue. Naruto was thrown off guard, his eyes growing wide. He didn't notice that Akuya's hand was still touching his cheek, that it was starting to grow blue.

"Naze?"

" What do you mean?" Akuya countered, his voice growing to a whisper. "Why would I go away from this village?" Naruto asked again, this time, curiosity shinning in his eyes.

"He wasn't told of the demon yet. He is only a child after all. A mere four year old. Too young to be destroyed."

" The villagers hate you. They hate you so much that they wish to kill you every time they see you." Naruto felt something trigger inside his mind. A memory, a very distant memory.

" I… I don't understand? They hate… they hate me? But I never did anything wrong to be hated by them. I have never left the house without someone with me…" Naruto mumbled to himself, his mind going hazy.

"They don't hate you because you did anything wrong, they hate you for who you are." Naruto gazed at him, his eyes getting unfocused as Akuya continued to speak to him but he could feel pain in his heart, pain as Akuya spoke.

"Long time ago, a demon fox rampaged in Konoha. It killed many people, brought suffering and pain. Only the fourth Hokage could stop it, but then, he wasn't able to kill it, only seal it inside a cave for it was too strong. Sealing the Kyubi inside the cave did nothing but weaken it and it stayed there, buying its time until the right moment came for it to escape. Years passed and Konoha gradually rose up once again, but none could forget the intense suffering the Kyubi caused. They lost love ones…comrades…friends…families….

Slowly, the Kyubi began to gain its powers back and with that, the seal started to break. The fourth Hokage didn't have much choice. He had to seal the Kyubi again, but this time, he needed a vessel. The body of a human being. He chose a baby boy, with yellow-golden hair and innocent blue eyes. That baby was you, Naruto, you are the demon fox. The Kyubi."

"I… I can't be the Kyubi. Otou-san… Otou-san never told me…" Naruto breathe out, the pain intensifying in his heart. He could feel his heart beating widely, each beat causing him pain. He didn't understand what was happening.

Stares… angry stares and glares…

In the back of Naruto's mind, he could see images, the villagers looking at him and whispering. Naruto only noticed them for a while, thinking that they weren't staring at him but somebody behind them. He would shifted his attention back to Sasuke and continue on telling him about his day, whether it be with Kakashi, Iruka, Tsunade or Jiraiya. But then he could still feel their stares. He would eventually grow uncomfortable but he still tried his best to give Sasuke every single happy detail.

Glares… full of anger and hatred. Naruto never understood.

"The villagers hate you so much, chibi Kyubi. They don't want you to hurt them again. After all, a monster is living inside you, making you a monster as well." Akuya watched Naruto, boy looked more afraid than when Natsu was hurting him. Akuya could feel the pain Naruto was feeling. After all… he was the one causing that pain.

Red chakra started to emit from Naruto's body as the boy kept on mumbling, trying to reassure himself. But he couldn't save himself now. Akuya started phrase three. Nobody can save him now.

~~~~

Kakashi, Itachi, Jiraiya and three other unimportant Jounins, for now, were jumping from tree to tree at a fast pace, trying to clear as much ground as possible in a short time. Jiraiya was in front when he suddenly stopped, halting the others. Jiraiya's eyes narrowed and he scanned the area.

"Can you guys feel it?"

"Feel what, Jiraiya-sama?" one of the Jounin asked, not understanding the Sennin.

"The Kyubi's chakra. I can feel it. It's weak, but it is still there," Jiraiya explained turning to look at them. Itachi and Kakashi concentrated; slowly but surely, they felt the familiar chakra of the deadly Kyubi. It was weak as Jiraiya said.

Itachi's eyes snapped open.

"Jiraiya-sama, you don't think…"

Jiraiya shook his head, understanding what Itachi was saying.

"No. I don't think so. The seal the Yondaime made is strong and cannot be easily broken. The worst thing that can happen though is that… the Kyubi could take control of Naruto's body."

" There. It's over that direction," Kakashi suddenly pointed out directing west from them.

"How'd you know it's over their Kakashi?" Itachi asked the copycat ninja.

"The chakra is unstable, I can barely pinpoint it."

" I felt it grow a little bit in that direction. There is also a cottage not far from here. It's abandon, a perfect place to hide if you're on the run," Kakashi explained, jumping down from the tree.

"Okay, let's split up then. The three of you continue on this direction. If you didn't find anything, go to this direction. If Kakashi's right, then we'll be meeting our three mysterious Jounins anytime now," Jiraiya gave them the new order and six of them split up and disappearing from view; one going north, the other west.

~~~~

" Everyone hates me?" Naruto asked to nobody in particular. Then in his mind, an image of his family flashed giving Naruto confidence. "It doesn't matter if the villagers hate me, I have people who don't, their my-"

" Family?" Akuya finished for Naruto. Naruto gaze at the man, not answer the question. "How naïve of you. Didn't you know that your Family are the ones who suffered the most?"

" Kakas-"

" Hatake Kakashi, the copycat ninja? All his comrades died in the fight between Konoha and the Kyubi; every last one of them, except for him. He blames himself for that. Why's it that he was the only one who survive? Why? It's because he has to take revenge, revenge on the Kyubi for causing him pain, sufferings and sadness. Didn't you know? He only came close to you to buy him some time. To kill you… to have revenge…"

" Iruka-oji-san doesn-"

" Ahh… Umino Iruka…he hates you just like the rest, maybe even more than the rest. He wishes to kill you as well. He doesn't care about you; he hates you with all his being. After all, you killed his parents. Yes, chibi Kyubi. That demon inside of you killed his parents in front of him. And since it is inside you, you killed them as well. Iruka grew up without his parents. Nobody to take care of him… nobody to praise him when he did great things… nobody to love him…he hates you because you are a demon…you lived while his parents died…."

Naruto started to panic, his heart beating wildly in his chest, pain intensifying in his heart and mind.

"Tsunade-hime, Jiraiya-oji-san! They take care of me, they-"

"Have no choice. They don't want to take care of you, but they have no choice. You killed the fourth Hokage after all. Didn't you know? The Fourth Hokage died sealing that thing inside you. He had to use his life force to make sure that the Kyubi is forever bounded within you. And the Fourth Hokage, The Yondaime was a very good friend to Tsunade and Jiraiya, a very important person. But you managed to destroy it once again. Did you know that Tsunade never really wanted to be Hokage? She wanted to travel and gamble, but she was force to stay and become Hokage. You made her lose her freedom. And Jiraiya, he had to stay to make sure you didn't hurt anybody, that you wouldn't become the demon that you are and kill everybody. You made them lose their freedom. The freedom that they craved…"

Naruto's eyes started to form tears, some already cascading down. His cheeks were already flushed; his knuckles white from clutching them so hard. The red chakra that was coming out of his body started to grow in size, the energy level rising. Zaku, who'd been listening all through out the conversation quietly, abruptly stood up. He walked towards the door, his back facing Akuya.

" They're coming. You can take your time, but try to wrap it up quickly. Natsu already wasted enough time," Zaku inform him opening the door to join Natsu. He knew that Akuya wouldn't be able to answer back, but could hear him.

'It's not long now. He's slowly falling for my trap. It won't be long now; Naruto would wholly fall and be trap inside. There's no escape for him, nobody can break him from the pain.'

~~~~~

"I can feel it now. It's definitely coming from this direction," Jiraiya called out to the two other ninjas.

"What's going on? Why is growing stronger? Could it be because the Kyubi is really taking over my son's body?" Itachi asked back.

"I don't know Itachi. It could be because of that. I can't think up of another reason. We best hurry," Jiraiya ordered. The three quickened their pace and within minutes, the cottage came into view,  two Jounin- one leaning on the cottage door, the other standing up face contorted into a sickening blood thirsty smile- met them. The three skid to a stop in front of the two.

" We've been waiting," Zaku calmly said.

"Didn't know we're that popular. If I knew that we would have fans, I would have freshened up a little," Jiraiya sarcastically told them.

"Enough talk! I want to fight, now! I haven't had a decent fight for a long time now, don't disappoint me," Natsu yelled, taking hold of his double-edge sword and going into a fighting position.

"Baka," Zaku called out to him.

Natsu glared at Zaku, getting irritated with his "Mightier than Thou" attitude.

"What do you want you smart ass? Why don't you give me some fun?!"

" Bakeru! You already caused a lot of damage to our mission so shut up and wait like a good puppy," Zaku ordered, starting to feel a headache coming. "I set up traps all over the place. That's why those three didn't instantly charge at us or they would activate it. I told you before that we need to buy some time," Zaku angrily explain to Natsu, he whispered the last part.

"You sure know how to pick a partner. You should put him on a leash, or else he might run away," Kakashi told Zaku, purposely irritating the muscle-bound man. It worked like a charm as Natsu instantly growled loud and charge. Well, almost, if it wasn't for Zaku who instantly used his whip, wrapped it around Natsu's legs pulling, hard, causing the big man to fall flat on his face.

If the situation at hand wasn't so serious, Kakashi, Jiraiya and Itachi would have laughed, but since it is, they just settled for a smirk.

"You idiotic monkey! I told you to stay put or you'll set the traps on you. You're testing my patience Natsu," Zaku warned him. He let go of Natsu's legs and hid the whip, seething with anger.

"Damn! They saw my weapon. They have the upper hand now. They know Natsu's weakness and it won't be long now, and they'll figure mines. Argh! We're in deep shit. If I don't think of anything fast, we'll fail the mission. Boss won't like that," Zaku thought to himself, but still keeping an eye on Natsu in case he did something stupid again.

Zaku knew that letting his guard down in front of the enemy was like going on a suicide mission, but currently, it is more advisable to keep his eyes on Natsu than on the three Konoha ninjas. They can't do anything for awhile anyways. The perimeter around the cottage was filled with traps and each was connected to each other. If one trap was to set off, the rest would follow, giving the intruder no time to react or save himself.    

"It's your fault anyway. Who told you to set up those traps anyway? I can handle them easy without your help," Natsu threw back at him. Zaku snorted, rolling his eyes at the other man. Zaku really couldn't believe that he got stuck with such a stupid person whose ego could practically fit ten full grown men and maybe one child. He would have preferred anything over the idiotic monkey, even a real monkey would do.

" Natsu… I heard about you,' Kakashi started to say. Of course for Zaku, he instantly knows that Kakashi is lying.

Natsu was never allowed out of the institute for awhile because he hadn't completed his training yet. And there was no way that Natsu could be famous since ever single one of the mission he went on were either aborted because of his stupidity or messed up, because of his stupidity…again. But before he could say anything, his hand moved on its own and clamp up to his mouth.

Zaku's eyes grew wide as realization hits him hard on the gut.

 They weren't only trying to make Natsu mad enough to set the traps off on him; they were also distracting him while the black haired guy performed his Shadow Binder. And they succeeded. Zaku turned his eyes on Itachi, who has also his hand on his mouth. Zaku was so busy trying to stop Natsu from doing something stupid that he didn't saw Itachi performed the jutsu.

"Kuso! Kuso, kuso, kuso!!!" Zaku kept repeating in his mind. At this rate, their only option was to abort the mission. Zaku could practically feel his boss' anger. They are so close to getting the Kyubi. "Wait! Akuya. I totally forgot about him. They don't know that there is one other. I'm sure that Akuya is almost done. Akuya, hurry up! Perform the seal!" Zaku screamed at his mind, hoping that Akuya really was about to be done.

" I know that I'm pretty popular," Natsu proudly agreed, standing on his feet with a smug look on his face. Kakashi smirk behind his mask.

"Hooked…"

" Yeah, they say that this Natsu guy is soo dumb that comparing it to a monkey is offending for the said animal."

One angry pumping vein.

" They also said that this Natsu guy was so dumb that he can't even walk on his two feet without the help of his partner. They say that this Natsu guy has nothing other than his muscle to show off with."

" Teme…." Two angry pumping veins.

"Lined…"

"They say that this Natsu guy couldn't have a normal conversation with people without getting confuse, let alone have an intelligent conversation, which the animals would probably have better understanding than you would."

"That's it buddy, I'm going to KILL YOU!!!"

"Sunk."

"What a sucker!" Zaku thought to himself as Natsu charged forward and set off all the traps. Zaku doesn't even know if Natsu would survive that. On the positive side, Itachi's Shadow Binder is disrupted, allowing Zaku to move. Only one think is in his mind now, "KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"          

*POOF*POOF*POOF*POOF*POOF*

Five other Zaku's appeared and the minute that Zaku was done, Natsu came jumping out of the smoke and started to charge at Kakashi. He had injuries all over, but nonetheless okay and still burning with anger. "That idiotic monkey is a monkey after all," Zaku told himself and smiling despite the predicament they were in.

Three Zaku's went to Jiraiya, while the other three went to Itachi.

"This should even the odds," Zaku told the two.

"Hump! Don't underestimate me," Jiraiya snorted, getting into a fighting stance.

"He already did," Itachi commented.

~~~~

"It's not true! IT'S NOT TRUE!"

"He's trapped. He can't get out of this any more. I must make the seal now, or it'll be too late," Akuya cried out in alarm to himself.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And then everything turn pitch black.

~~~~~

Sasuke bolted up, breathing heavily, his whole body covered in sweat. His face was pale and his hand instantly held onto his rapidly beating heart. Pain, so much pain coursed through his body, making Sasuke cried out in agony. Tsunade rushed to his side, holding the boy.

" Sasuke, what's the matter? Where does it hurt?"

" Naru-chan… he's so much in pain. I can feel it. So much pain and sadness… he's dying… he's slowly dying inside…"

"Sasuke… Naruto… What's going on?" Tsunade whispered.

End of Chapter Four.      

Author's Note: Thanks for all the encouragements again. I especially would like to thank Ookima and Black Fox. Please Review Everyone.