Ok, first off, sorry about the delay, a combination of waiting for my beta reader, he suddenly left on vacation without telling me and the over all difficulty of finding a new name for Naruto that fit in the Naruto universe.
Secondly, Reviewer Response: -Yup, Ino has pretty much been put out of the running for Naruto, although she gets him like a Brother, which works for me, also the only OC's in this fic will only be characters the Kishimoto leaves out, like Ino's mother and any siblings she may have, don't worry, no mary sues/stews here
-Sorry about taking out his eye, but I kind of needed a reason for him to hide his face, it also completes his transformation into a totally separate entity from the Naruto we all know and love, not that I hope you wont grow to love this Naruto, but he is very different, oh and I answered the mask question in this chapter
-Well, I think Sasuke is a cold hearted bastard that should be tortured for all time in the fiery pits of hell, but that's just me, if you haven't read up to the recent chapters in the manga that's probably why you may think he isn't so bad, but again, it is still all just my opinion, I urge you to form your own
-Sorry, no pet fox, I may change my mind on this later, and no blindfold as it has been done in a sort of Warcraft 3/Naruto fic called Downfall of the Light, I rather liked it
I think that's everything, enjoy this chapter
Chapter 6
He didn't really want to go back, and not that most could blame him, but it had been agreed upon that it was the safest place for him, Konoha, his own personal hell. Sure there were some reasons to return, he wanted to see Tsunade again to thank her, he wanted to thank Ino and her father for the kindness they had shown him and most of all, he wanted to see her. She was haunting his dreams every night since that day in the hospital. Dreams that would make people believe Naruto was as big a pervert as Jiraiya, but he couldn't help it, as Shizune put it, it was part of growing up. He wasn't even quite sure what he would say to her, he would thank her for taking care of him a year ago, but other than that he was stumped. At least he had plenty of time to think, as sneaking into Konoha undetected required quite a bit of time consuming stealth. He had already made it over the wall and was not trying to get to a market place or any other crowded locale to blend in. While he was excellent at hiding his chakra, he knew that the ANBU patrolling the village would be able to detect it if he took alternative routes, such as the roof tops and back alleyways, no the best way was to blend into a crowd. Once he made his way to a crowded street, he changed his appearance to that of a typical merchant's son, no fancy clothing, no great beauty or otherwise, just another face in the crowd. He continued to walk through Konoha for another twenty minutes, taking a very roundabout way to the Hokage's tower where he was to meet with Tsunade, and discuss what he has been doing as well a where he is going from here. Although he was already sure she was going to put him back into active duty based on just what Shizune had told her, he was worried it was going to be with team 7, or possibly someone even worse. After jumping to a roof to give himself a speedy shortcut to the tower, Naruto paused for a moment and looked down at all the academy students being let out of class. He watched them play and jest, he watched them do the things that only children do, and then he caught sight of a group of kids picking on a smaller boy, threatening him. It took all that Naruto had not to jump down there and wring there little necks, but instead he thought of a better plan of action. Jumping down to the street and using speed that none but the watchful eye of highly trained ninja could track, he speed by them and stabbed all three in the neck with a needle, pulled it out and went on his way. He turned back to see all three boys paralyzed from the neck down, and then went on his way to the tower, the paralysis would where off in an hour or two.
"So where is he?", Tsunade asked from behind her desk
"He wanted more realistic stealth training", Jiraiya said as he filled his pipe by the window, "He should be here any minute now"
"What do you mean more realistic"
"His stealth isn't good enough to get past me, so he isn't sure of how good it is, even though I tell him every time that he is quite stealthy"
"So what is he doing then", Tsunade asked, getting irritated, and then looked upon her old student to see her looking nervous, "Shizune...?"
"He's sneaking into the village Tsunade-sama", Shizune said in a rush then flinched for the on coming yelling
"HE'S WHAT!!", Tsunade yelled
"I didn't want to let him do it, but Jiraiya-sama said it would be good practice"
"Jiraiya, you idiot!! What if he is caught, they may not bother bringing him here, they may just kill him", Tsunade screamed as she was now standing
"Don't worry about it, I've been tracking him", Jiraiya said, still looking out the window, "Besides he's good enough to get into the village, blend in and hide his chakra along with avoiding ANBU, he's been trained well in this area"
"But if you can track him, doesn't that mean others can too"
"Only if you know what to look for", Jiraiya said, then seeing the confusion on Tsunade's face continued, "His chakra has begun to merge with the demon's, which means it has a very unique signature. Now while your average ninja would recognize it as slightly odd, most would just brush it off to an advanced blood line since they tend to have weird chakra patterns anyways. Only a high level Hyuuga could easily track him."
"You do know that many of our ANBU are Hyuuga don't you"
"Uhhhh...", Jiraiya said as he dropped his pipe, "I better go check on him, he may be... never mind, he's here"
"Where?, I don't see or sense anyone...", And then she felt it, it was slight, almost unnoticeable, right by Shizune, "Hmm good jitsu, not only can I not see you, it barely puts off any chakra"
"Hokage-sama", Naruto said as he dropped the jitsu and appeared by a slightly surprised Shizune, "I have come to report in, also you may want to increase the number of guard on duty as I too easily found a gap in security"
"Good to see you Naruto, good to see Shizune taught you some manners as well, alright down to business. You will no longer be Uzumaki Naruto, he is considered MIA, and you are Jiraiya's illegitimate grandson."
"Oh dear god, I have to be related to him", Naruto said and Jiraiya was choking on smoke from his pipe from the statement
"This is non negotiable, also, your new name is this", Tsunade said handing him a small piece of paper, "You are only respond to this and never reveal to anyone who you really are"
"Namaru? (A/N the Kanji for this word spells the version on Namaru that means to disappear, to hide or to disappear)"
"From all the training you received it seemed fitting. Alright, next item on my list, you will be joining Team 8 with Sarutobi Asuma as your sensei, he has been informed of your unique gifts as well as who you are"
"They have had a vacancy for over a year and you are just now filling it."
"When a Genin becomes a Chuunin, they usually continue to work for a year after their promotion with their old team to help improve the other Genins as well as wait for a replacement to graduate from the academy. So other questions aside, this is also non-negotiable"
"I have no problem with this, please continue Hokage-sama", Naruto said in an emotionless voice but secretly very glad that he wasn't back with team 7
"Alright, moving along, Yamanaka-san has volunteered to provide you with living quarters with his family, you are to move in this afternoon, they have already received your possessions from your apartment"
"Really", Naruto asked with a bit of surprised even though he tried to hide, "I assume Yamanaka-san knows who I really am, but what about Ino-san"
"She knows as well as she will be a major part of you readjusting to living in the village. Don't worry Namaru, only Myself, Jiraiya, Shizune, Inoshi and his immediate family, save for his youngest, know who you are, no one else.", Tsunade then trying to read his face for a reaction realized he still had his hood up, "Uh, Namaru, would you be kind enough to remove your hood, and let me get a good look at you"
"Alright", Namaru said, taking off his cloak to reveal what was underneath. He wore fairly simple black clothing with a piece a black armor covering his abdomen. His pants resembled Jiraiya's except black with black wrapping covering his legs and feet with some sort of stealth shoe. His shirt was tight, black and went up his neck to his forearms were with was tucked under a weird set of arm guards on both arms followed by black fingerless gloves. On his face, which is what caught Tsunade's attention first was a black mask made of metal that pushed his longer wild blond hair back; in the forehead of the mask was the symbol of Konoha. What really surprised her was what the mask depicted, it was a animalistic demon of sorts, in a very gothic and industrial metal fashion, lots of sharp corners, very fierce looking and extremely intimidating, even she the Hokage felt a little uneasy with. The most unsettling aspect of the mask was the red glowing eyes, just ever so slightly; it kept her from seeing his eyes. Shivering ever so slightly, Tsunade got up as did Namaru (A/N who is what I am going to call Naruto for the next few chapters just for my own sanities sake) and she noticed something quite immediately, he was much taller, almost as tall as she was, well over 5 feet tall, probably making him slightly taller then your average 14 year old. Another thing she had noticed was how thin and muscular he was.
"Please remove you mask, Namaru, I want to take a look at you face", Tsunade asked as she got closer to his face
"I will do anything you ask Hokage-sama, but I won't take off my mask, not for you, not for anyone else, my face is far horrible for anyone to see", he said backing up slightly
"Give it up Tsunade-hime, he won't take it off", Jiraiya said as Tsunade was about to protest, "He won't even take it off for myself or Shizune anymore, he's got this crazy idea in his head that he is a monstrous in appearance"
"You know well enough that I no longer human in appearance, no need to frighten those around me Jiraiya-sensei", Naruto said in a combination of irritation and sadness, "It would only cause problems, plus it could very well identify who I really am, no It stay on at all times"
"How do you plan on eating then", Tsunade asked as she sat back down
"Simple enough Hokage-sama", and with that Namaru touched several places on his mask with chakra with several mechanical clicks heard after. When he finished, he grabbed the lower jaw of his mask and pulled part of it off, revealing his mouth and chin, but not the rest of his face of any of his unique markings. Tsunade looked at his teeth noticing an increase in canine length and sharpness, when Namaru noticed he immediately put the rest of his mask back in place. "I believe someone is here Hokage-sama", Naruto said as someone knocked on the door.
"Come in", Tsunade yelled to the person on the other side of the door
"Greetings Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama, Shizune-san and Namaru-san, It is the time you request for me to pick up Namaru-san", said Inoshi as he enter the room and bow to the respective parties
"Good timing Inoshi-san, Namaru, go with him, he will take you to your new residence. Oh, and I expect a written report of what you have learned in the last year on my desk tomorrow." Tsunade said as motioned for the two to leave, "Dismissed"
"Hai Hokage-sama", Namaru said as he left the room following Yamanaka Inoshi to his residence. A few moments later as the two walked down the street to the Yamanaka flower shop and Namaru's new home, he asked, "Why did you volunteer to take me in"
"Two reasons", Inoshi said after thinking about it for a minute, "1, I owe you a great debt for what you do for this village and 2, for what I have done to you in the past, I more then owe you this as well. What I said in you mind, I meant it, If it takes me the rest of my days, I will try to obtain your forgiveness" and with that the two on there way in total silence. The eventually arrived at the Yamanaka flower shop, entering through the front door, Namaru received a few odd looks from the customers but had expected this; he wasn't exactly dressed like your average person. After being lead past a very confused group of people and an equally confused Mrs. Yamanaka, Namaru found himself in the backyard of his new home, although garden was a much better description. The whole yard was filled with various types of plants, everything from fruits and vegetables to trees and bushes. Towards the back was a board with a target on it, he guessed for target practice. After being told to stay put for a couple of minutes while Inoshi went to talk to his wife and make sure his room was ready, Namaru sat down in this plant based maze to meditate when he heard the sound of a kunai being thrown. When it hit the board at the far side of the yard, he peaked through the bushes to see a younger blond boy throwing kunai poorly at the target. Walking over as stealthy as possible he sat down behind him and studied his throwing technique.
"You are gripping the handle too tightly and not close enough to the blade", Namaru said scaring the other boy, causing him to turn around and stare at him
"What did you say", the other boy said, somewhat irritated and surprised
"I said you are gripping the handle too tightly and not close enough to the blade"
"Who the hell are you to tell me how to throw", the boy said only to have a kunai wiz by his head and hit the target perfectly, "WOW, teach me how to do that onii-san", he said changing his tone immediately
"Are you sure you want me to show you, I mean who the hell am I to assume so much", Namaru said with just the tiniest hint of sarcasm
"Well if I know who you are then I can learn from you, ne", the boy said curiously
"Namaru, and you"
"Inoka... so now will you please show me"
"Sure, why not", Namaru responded and then proceeded to demonstrate, "Watch how I throw the kunai, where I hold it and how tightly I am holding it"
"Un-huh, ok let me try"
From the bushes, Inoshi and his wife watched as the two boys interacted. As Inoka finally started listening to what Namaru had to say, he was hitting the target more accurately each time. Backing away from the bushes, Inoshi motioned for his wife to follow him back into the house.
"See Shina they are getting along just fine, I think this will be good for the both of them", Inoshi said to his wife
"I don't know, should we trust him with our family, what if he goes crazy and kills us all in our sleep", Shina said nervously
"I've already told you, him and the fox are separate entities, and from what I've seen that boys is what keeps it from us at all times, besides have you ever heard of him going crazy and attacking anyone, plus he is only going to get stronger day by day, meaning he will be getting better at hold back the demon. "
"I know, but still I feel uneasy"
"I understand that, but he has earned this, a home, something he has never known, I am not going to deny him one any longer. If we don't make him feel welcome, what's going to stop him from becoming a missing nin, from really being a problem for this village, I would much rather say I was part of the reason he stayed then watch as someone like our children have to go out a hunt him down."
"Alright, alright, but if he hurts even one hair on either of my children's heads, I will kill him myself"
"Fine, but at least be kind to him while he is here, he is a very lonely boy, he needs our support, he needs a place to come too where everyone isn't staring at him like kind of monster, so I am asking, please give him a chance", Inoshi said pleading with his wife
"Alright, go grab him and take him to his room. Also tell him to wash up, we will be eating as soon as Ino gets home, which should be any minute", Shina said as she went to close down the shop
Inoshi went and got Namaru and Inoka, much to Inoka's protest. Namaru found his room to be much larger then he expected, probably the same size as his old apartment, minus the kitchen. It had its own bathroom, a large closet and some furniture along with a bed all waiting for him. He was truly shocked, not that anyone could tell cause of the mask, but still it was more than he could have ever hoped. In the drawers were his clothing, both his old, which he would probably give away and oddly enough several copies of what he had on. He guessed that was Hokage-sama's doing, along with a chest full of his weapons along with some newer ones. After he finished looking around quickly, he pulled out a black piece of cloth and touched several places on his mask with chakra, causing those clicking noises, and the outer part of his mask came off. Once the much fiercer part of his mask was gone, all that was left was something similar to a smooth ANBU mask except all black and instead of eye slits were those same circular glass lenses that glowed ever so slightly, giving the impression of were his eyes were looking at (A/N think kind of like the mask the clockwork Nazi Ninja wears in the Hellboy movie, it's not where I got the inspiration from, but it is fairly close in design). He then removed the mouth component again since he would be eating, and wrapped all the parts of the mask he wasn't using in the black cloth and put them in a drawer, which he promptly locked. After washing up and making sure all of his important possessions were either on him or well hidden in his room he went downstairs to join the Yamanaka's for their evening meal. Arriving in the kitchen, all were shocked to see him without, what they would describe as that horrible mask, or his cloak, almost dressed like a normal ninja, save for the new mask, but at least it wasn't as threatening to them.
"Is there anything I can do to help", Namaru asked, somewhat unsure of himself, he didn't like overly social events
"Sure, grab the bowls and dishes, they are in the third cabinet on my left, Inoka, don't stand around gawking, grab the chopsticks", Shina said not looking at him or Inoka, but seeming to know what was going on around her none the less.
After a few minutes the food was ready and Inoshi had arrived in the kitchen as all took a seat. The smells were overwhelming Namaru, having an extremely acute nose was both a blessing and a curse. It wasn't that the food smelled bad, but apparently Mrs. Yamanaka used way too many overpowering spices in her cooking in Namaru's opinion. It was then as they were awaiting the arrival of the last Yamanaka that Namaru finally had adjusted to the smells around him and he caught something on the wind, very slight but extremely familiar in his mind. 'Oh god, I'm not ready' he though as Ino suddenly came into the store downstairs dragging some one along with her.
"Mom!!, Dad!!, I'm home, and I brought Hinata-chan with me", Ino yelled as she came up the stairs and Namaru started to sweat
"Oh good, will she join us for dinner then", Shina asked her daughter before she entered the kitchen
"Of course she will....Hey who's this?", Ino asked as she entered the room catching sight of Namaru for the first time with Hinata looking over her shoulder at Namaru
"Na a Namaru", he stuttered at the sight of the girl who had haunted his mind for the last year, one of the few people who made him lose his cool, Hyuuga Hinata.
Ok, I am leaving off here, I hope to update soon, but the order of how I want to do the next few chapters has me stumped, so I can't make any promises, but hopefully in a few days.