Naruto: Stray

By ghettomusick23

Chapter 09 – Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its many money making properties.

" " – Speech

Italics – Thoughts

Wind Country, Unknown

The Wind Country was never known for its hospitality. The people were standoffish and abrasive, the food was barely edible in some places, and the weather was as unpredictable as the countries shinobi. The only constant was that wherever you were, nine times out of ten you were sweating your ass off, greatly reducing your body weight without having to lift a finger, the ultimate workout plan. There was no jutsu known to man, or that she knew of, that could protect you from the Wind Countries wrath, it literally felt like hell on Earth and nobody could tell her anything different.

Despite the grueling pressure of sand filled winds and sweltering humidity there was a song being hummed, it didn't matter that the voice was on key, or that it sounded remarkably good considering the source, what bothered Noriko the most was that Anko seemed so damn chipper. One hundred and ten degree weather and she was singing about having fun in the sun. To make matters worse, Anko continued belting out the song, sometimes out loud, not at all thinking about the issue of stealth or subtlety.

"I know you have got to be tired. You've been singing for over an hour straight."

Anko tipped her jingasa up, winking at the irritated tone and look on Noriko's face. "I was just trying to pass the time. We have been walking for a long time."

Noriko rolled her eyes. 'Did she ever take anything serious?'

"Anko, the quicker we get there, the sooner we can rest."

"You just want to run and see your boyfriend." Noriko shot a glare at her, but Anko ignored the younger woman completely. "I don't think he's there anyway."

"Why you think that," Noriko asked. She thought he had just as good of a chance of being there than anywhere else, especially since the fight did take place near Sunagakure territory.

"Because of Orochimaru's attack on Konoha, the Sand and Leaf were forced to enter into an alliance as you already know. The treaty was more out of necessity than good will, but its purpose was to keep the other countries at bay and stave off attacks. With both of their forces so depleted after the assault it was the smartest thing to do." Turning her head to look at Norikos inquisitive gaze, Anko added, "With the way Orochimaru has continued gaining strength, any reason for Konoha to withhold help for any reason is unacceptable. If they found out Naruto was from Konoha he would be on his way back home before the sun set."

Noriko thought about it and what Anko was saying made sense. Personally, she didn't care for Orochimaru. She didn't hate him or like him, could care less if he wanted to cure world hunger or wipe the human race of the face of the Earth, but she admired his mind and his way of doing things.

Any strategist or closet thinker had to accept that his plan to attack and annihilate Konoha had been perfection in all phases. Choosing the Chuunin exam as his entry point was a brilliant choice for entry into the village. That foolish 'all inclusion' rule the participating villages happily adopted to invite new, developing villages into the exam backfired on them in a way she was sure they never would have expected.

Orochimaru's single handed manipulation of Suna should also be applauded. Reducing the strain on his own, then still growing military force, and using the Sand as if they were toy soldiers. In her opinion it was another slap in the face to a village that never seemed to get it right. The idea that one man could bring down, not one, but two entire ninja villages showed that they all were utter morons. If not for the old man Orochimaru would have toppled two of the supposedly strongest villages in one day. Even Noriko had to respect that.

"How did Orochimaru find them in the first place?" Noriko wondered aloud.

Face scrunching up into a frown, Anko remembered pondering the very same question shortly after learning about his disappearance. Orochimaru had contacts, hell who didn't in this world, but nobody was supposed to know about Haku's little diversion. The news had been given to her two weeks earlier and that had been by mere coincidence.

"It's safe to assume that there's a spy, unlikely as tit seems, either on our side our side or it could be that girl of his, who knows. Do you even know her name?"

Noriko shook her head no, prompting Anko to say, "Naruto's probably never said anything because he's secretly screwing somebody."

It was thanks to years of training and fighting life or death battles, teaching her body to continue on in times of extreme stress that her step never faltered. Keeping her attention straight ahead, Noriko focused on filtering out anything Anko decided to say from now on, and that listening to the harsh blowing wind was far better than some of the stuff that came of her partner's mouth.

Predictable, that's what Anko thought. Anything concerning the blonde was a closed book affair, a fact Anko hated with a vengeance. She knew enough about her partner to understand her hesitance when it came to certain subjects, but geez. You would think with her spending so much time with Naruto she would now how to loosen up sometimes.

"Noriko you got to look at the facts. You've been with him for how long and no hanky-panky."

That brought her to a halt. Tilting her jingasa so that the strings were no longer blocking her vision, Noriko resisted the urge to her hand on her hips like some admonishing mother. "What is it about us that you interest you so much? With your choice of male companionship I'd think you had enough problems yourself."

Anko cocked an eyebrow in answer, it seemed like the girl was finally getting testy, but Anko paid that no mind, she was used to bulldozing her way to get what she wanted. "I would think the fact that I go to bed quite satisfied is enough of a reason for a lot of things. Tell me Noriko, you do know about the crater that mysteriously appeared next to the mansion, right?"

There were meditation techniques she was taught, different ones for different occasions, all for a singular purpose. There was one she used regularly to check the condition of her chakra pathways, to make sure that there was no unneeded strain. Another was used to ease her body of tension, mentally relaxing overtaxed muscles and strained ligaments. There were many that served her well in her life, some even saving her life, but unfortunately there was no such thing to help deal with Mitarashi Anko. She could bludgeon through her mental concentration like some ungodly battering ram. Ignoring her never paid any dividends either.

"Why are you spying on me," she demanded to know.

Anko didn't say anything but gave her one of the most condescending smirks she'd ever seen. "I know sexual frustration when I see it, and you got it bad."

With a grunt of annoyance, Noriko turned her back toward her front, walking away from the irritating woman and her irritating ways. It was hard to see who the elder between the two of them was. With Anko's love affair of smut, she was the only woman she knew that collected Icha Icha Paradise, and her unwillingness to take charge until something extreme dropped on them, she seemed like the younger adult. Noriko was afraid she'd look into the mirror one afternoon and see gray hairs.

"Anko could you please concentrate on the mission," Noriko asked, now wearing down a little. She could never contend with the older kunoichi for long, her almost limitless patience was constantly being worn raw.

Raising her let hand, Anko smiled, trying and failing miserably to look sincere. "I will if you tell me what's going on, scouts honor."

The blistering fast power walk she unconsciously moved into was slowed to a normal pace, helping the taller woman, Anko easily catch up. Common sense was telling her to keep her mouth shut, that Anko was the last person she needed to open up with. For all the missions they completed they barely knew each other, really knew each other. In a lot of ways that was recommended. Avoiding close relationships kept you grounded, avoided distractions and internal conflict in battle. It enabled you to look at the corpse of your squadmate and feel nothing, but the need to carry on and accomplish the mission.

She liked Anko. Her no bullshit personality and cheeky outlook on life was refreshing when surrounded by so much testosterone. It helped make journeys like this one somewhat enjoyable, but Noriko didn't consider her irreplaceable like Naruto, someone she needed to live for. If she had to carry out a task and Anko was somehow taken down there would be no tears or even a moment of hesitation. It was an ingrained truth in all shinobi, more so with their kind that you completed the mission at all costs, no matter the outcome and Noriko truly believed Anko felt the same way. That was why she opened her mouth and spoke.

"Naruto is a different case. He doesn't acknowledge or appreciate things like sex and other related topics. His mind is constantly looking for a physical challenge. Something or someone he can measure himself against and laying up with a woman isn't one of them."

Anko looked skeptical, not buying the explanation. In her opinion she'd never heard of something so outlandish in her life. "The kid is sixteen years old; he doesn't know how to say no. I think he's just having performance anxiety."

Shaking her head, Noriko stayed silent, thinking of how to explain the complexities behind their strange relationship when an idea formed. "You want to know why I never train with him. I might show him an obscure jutsu I picked up, but I never fight him because it would make me a target."

Noriko could see Anko didn't understand where she was coming from and elaborated, breaking down the conversation into a simpler form. "Naruto sees people in only two ways, strong and weak, there is no in between with him. You're either strong enough to warrant his attention or you're not. I think it's mostly Itachi's doing and somewhat his own. He looks at everybody in the Akatsuki as a barometer on which to test himself. Haven't you noticed how he's been pushing everyone's buttons lately?"

Any offhand joke or remark instantly died on her lips. Uzumaki Naruto, the thought of him actually maliciously coming after every single one of them sounded farfetched, but Noriko's words held a bit of truth to them. Naruto was constantly growing stronger, even at an alarming rate and he made no attempt at hiding that fact. So much that she'd held off inciting his anger when his darker personality traits came out sometimes.

"All of this is good to know, but none of this is a feasible reason why you're always acting as if your hands are tied." Anko pointed out.

Noriko continued walking, but she decided that if Anko was going to continue to hassle her then there were some truths she needed to know. "Have they told you how the two of them got tied together? Do you know about the promise?"

Anko silence was taken as her answer. "After wiping out his entire clan, during his escape from Konoha apparently Itachi found Naruto alone in the woods. What he was doing out there alone Naruto never told me, but Itachi knew he was the vessel that carried the Kyuubi." With a sardonic snort Noriko continued on. "You know how Itachi is always trying to find the ultimate challenge; well he found himself the perfect one. He agreed to take Naruto away and train him but only on one condition. That when Naruto figured he was strong enough Itachi wanted to fight him. Any location, one fight to see which one of them would walk away. The greatest test of his capacity he likes to say."

"That's it, that's the entire basis of their partnership," Noriko quipped lightly.

When several minutes passed and Anko didn't utter a single word Noriko decided to make one more point to drive home the situation. "Earlier I told Michio that attacking Naruto would be more than foolish, I didn't say that for some inane reason as trying to defend Naruto. I said it because it's the absolute truth. If they find him first and either one of them attacks him for whatever reason, he won't hesitate to try and put them down, and the same could be said for the rest of us, even me. He runs by his own rules, always has and always will. Don't be fooled by the smile, he can be just as heartless as Itachi."

Anko made to open her mouth when Noriko cut her off. "The only reason he still remains with us is because he doesn't have anywhere else to go. Think about it. He doesn't have any concrete reason for hanging around. Everyone one of us is after something. Revenge, riches, plotting a takeover, whatever, there is a reason we are in the Akatsuki. Naruto doesn't have that, he came as sort of an add on accessory with Itachi. As bad as they treated him, he doesn't hate Konoha enough to go through any extraordinary means to pay them back. He could care less if they thrived in his absence or fell off the face of the Earth."

Wiping her brow with her right sleeve, Noriko narrowed her eyes to try and see through the incoming gust of wind. "If he ever found a reason worth leaving… there won't be anything the elders or anybody could say that would sway his mind and that is why we're out here chasing him. To stop him before he does."

All talk ceased, throwing their journey into a vague, chilly atmosphere. Neither woman spoke, thrown into their own inner monologues, leaving nothing but the harsh humid wind to break the silence between them.

Konohagakure, Hokage's Office

When the two sentries stationed outside of the Hokage's personal office let her in, Shizune expected her long time mentor and friend to ask her for help with the many forms of paperwork she was sometimes bombarded with. It sounded unthinkable to hardline shinobi that the Hokage rely on an outside source for help with confidential forms, but Tsunade was never one to follow the norm. She always did what she wanted and dealt with the consequences later, though that side of her personality rarely reared its head nowadays.

Stepping inside the cozy office, Shizune could easily say that the sight that met her eyes was one she never would have expected.

Tsunade was laughing, laughing so hard she was bent over trying to catch her breath, slapping her palm against the desk, leaving a hand shaped indention in the polished wood. The sight of her usually dour friend so upbeat was so unfamiliar Shizune was struck speechless.

Finally taking notice of the intrusion, Tsunade leaned back into her chair, wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled. "I haven't laughed that hard in years. To think you could use smoke bombs in such a way."

Taking a deep breath, she couldn't stop the small fit of chuckles that overcame her. "Shizune, how are you doing?"

A small, welcome smile graced her features, truly happy to see Tsunade. With their schedules so hectic, and her other interests taking up her time, it was rare that they were able to spend any decent amount of time together. The spare room inside Tsunade's home was barely being used now.

Dragging her gaze away from Tsunade, Shizune found her eyes landing on the teenage blonde sitting a couple feet across from her. Tsunade took that moment introduce one to the other.

"Naruto this is Shizune. She's my former student and acting assistant head of the Konoha Hospital."

Tsunade watched the cool, detached expression slide across his face, a complete one-eighty from the loose, almost open features he had only seconds ago. Irrationally there was a surge of anger directed at Shizune, and though the young woman couldn't have known what was going on, she hated the clean, almost physical cut through the almost familial feeling that had settled over them.

Realizing that the change in atmosphere mistakenly came from her entrance, Shizune lightly treaded across the room and stood in front of the desk, off to the left side almost, a good distance away from Naruto.

"You wanted to see me Tsunade-sama."

"Yeah I did. We got to talk and I needed your opinion on a certain subject," Tsunade said, throwing a furtive glance in Naruto's direction.

Shizune easily agreed, not having to think over the request at all, but there was an unease that settled in her gut. Glancing out the corner of her eye, Shizune could see Naruto not hiding the fact that he was staring at her. It didn't seem intimidating, after traveling with Tsunade-sama for so many years there was little that frightened her, but she felt him gauging her, almost like it was an unconscious habit instead of intentional.

Turning her head to face the younger shinobi, Shizune gave him her most easy going and sincere smile, extending her hand in greeting.

Frowning at the outstretched appendage, Naruto glanced up, looking into the smiling face of the dark haired woman. She was smiling so hard he could almost count all of her perfectly white thirty-two teeth.

'Probably spends thrity-minutes brushing, One minute for each tooth.'

He reached out, firmly gripping and shaking her hand. "Uzumaki Naruto."

It took his name being uttered for a small part of Tsunade's intentions to come clear.

Displaying a sense of perception that eluded almost every teenager his age, Naruto picked up on the miniscule, almost imperceptible pause she committed. He stood up from his chair, excusing himself from the office and walked off without a backwards glance. Exiting through the door with a small wave goodbye.

"Did I do something wrong?"

Tsunade didn't look away from the doorway, answering in a distracted whisper, "No you didn't. I don't know what just happened."

"Maybe he doesn't like me?"

Tsunade used an unlady like snort to show what she thought about that. "Don't feel too bad. I'm thinking he doesn't too much like anybody right now."

Cocking her head to the side, Shizune said "You seem to be getting along well with him."

Leaning back into her chair, Tsunade agreed with her to a point. "I must admit that it's been better than I expected. He hasn't tried to bite my head of once."

"Do you think he's planning something?"

Did she? She would be a fool not to think that he wasn't making plans, constantly reshaping strategies in order for him to escape and go free, but that was part of the reason he had a twenty-four hour ANBU shadow guard and preferably two Chuunins mirroring him during the day.

There were reports constantly streaming onto her desk at the end of each day about where he was or what he was doing, who he talked to and why he went where he did. It was tiring and boring, reading over several pages of how many bowls of ramen he ate, but the situation called for such intense scrutiny. She vehemently backed here initial thoughts that Naruto was the key to helping her heal this village.

"I think he already has an idea of what he's going to do. My part is to counteract anything he thinks up."

"Aren't you gambling a little too much in this situation Tsunade-sama. There are murmurs going around and sooner than later even the villagers are going to figure out what's going on."

Tsunade exhaled a sigh of frustration. She'd always been hot tempered, but it must be a testament to her age that now her anger was being accompanied by random headaches.

With her right eye closed, she squinted through her left and asked, ""I've been locked in here for a day and a half. Tell me what's going on."

Taking a seat in the recently abandoned chair, Shizune contemplated just what to say. Nothing that was going to be said would be considered encouraging, if anything it was bound to make her former sensei's life a little more stressful, but if Shizune knew anything about the woman sitting across from her, it was that Tsunade-sama was a survivor. This was nothing compared to what she'd been through.

"A lot of the Jounins think you aren't handling this situation properly, especially the older ones. Your decision to let Naruto roam hasn't drawn rave reviews."

Tsunade rolled her eyes not at all surprised. "I knew that was going to happen before I uttered a single word in the meeting. What I want to know is what you and the younger generation think?"

"I don't know," Shizune answered, slightly hesitant. "I think you're putting too much on the idea that Naruto might come around and change sides. I don't understand why he is so important."

"I wasn't talking out of context when I said Naruto is the key to us defeating Orochimaru. Putting all personal attachments aside it's impossible to forget that he is the Kyuubis vessel. If we are able to use even a fraction of that power for us then all is not lost."

Shizune remembered the Kyuubis attack in vivid detail. The power it wielded dwarfed anything she'd ever seen. With nothing but a flick of a tail, the demon rained down tornado's and hail onto the village, instantly destroying homes and slaughtering villagers and shinobi alike. She still had nightmares sometimes, replaying the grisly footage in step by step recreations of that night. That someone was able to wield such power did not assure her as it did Tsunade.

"Why are Ino and the others being given guard duty?"

Tsunade turned around in her chair to look out of the window. "Because I believe he can pull them together. Not just the younger group but this village as a whole. I sense a power in him that has nothing to do with strength or technique, something that I can't put into words."

"But why him?" Shizune asked. "You can't forget where he came from or what he's been doing the past eight, nine years. Why are you so confident he will come around?"

Several seconds of silence followed before Tsunade spoke again.

"I was going to read his memories and wipe his mind clean." Tsunade answered in a soft whisper. "The first day he was admitted into the hospital, his first few hours of admittance were spent trying to help stabilize his condition. With the Kyuubis chakra fluctuating so violently we had to work at healing some of his more grievous wounds. But after he was deemed safe and sound I called Yamanaka Inoshi in."

"I was tempted. All I had to do was give the order and there would be no further need for him. A barely perceived nod and he would be locked in the sturdiest cell we have, seal upon seal preventing him having the simple luxury of breathing without us knowing about it. There was nothing stopping me from doing what had to be done."

"But suddenly I recalled the exact time and day I received word of how my daughter died during childbirth from to much blood loss, and how Arashi sacrificed himself sealing the Kyuubi in an infant, his own son no less. I remembered how Sarutobi-sensei was almost pleading for my return in the letter he wrote, how he wanted me to come back if not for the villages' sake then for my orphaned grandchild."

"Of course you remember what happened Shizune, you were there." Tsunade snorted, tears clouding her vision and running down her cream colored cheeks from remembering past sins. "I simply took the letter and set it in the hearth. Marveling at how quickly something that must have taken so much time and care to write could burn in seconds. We left the hotel that very night and never looked back."

"Its nobodies fault but mine that he's fallen down the path he's on."

"Tsunade-sama."

"Not once has he attacked this village or any if its shinobi. It may be wishful thinking, but I take it as a sign of hope. It's the only one I can hold onto at the moment."

She sounded so anguished and torn, like every word being said felt like glass shards cutting into her throat. She stood tall, her back straight and proud, and from another vantage point it would seem like nothing was wrong, but she was silently crying. The sight of tears was so foreign it was unnerving in a way. For as long as she'd known her Tsunade, she had never once shed a tear over anything and it made Shizune feel completely out of her element. She could handle sick Tsunade, drunk Tsunade, angry Tsunade, gambling Tsunade, but the woman standing in front of her was someone entirely new.

What was she to do? What could she do? This wasn't something that suddenly appeared to cause to trouble. This was guilt piled upon more guilt and during the years she allowed it to fester and turn into an uncontrollable monster. And for someone like Tsunade-sama who almost never regretted anything she did in life…

"Tsunade-sama, when are we going to tell him everything?"

Blinking out of her internal thoughts, Tsunade asked offhandedly surprised, "You plan on being there?"

"Why not," Shizune shrugged. "He's my family too, if a little on the distant side."

More pleased then she was willing to let on, Tsunade discretely wiped the drying tears from her face. "If I say anything too early, at the first sign of leeway he'll be on his way out of here, but if I deliver the news too late, it won't matter so you see the predicament I'm in."

"So it's kind of damned if we do, damned if we don't." Shizune muttered.

"In a way yes. That's why I plan on clearing the air and telling him tomorrow at dinner."

"Tomorrow."

"We don't have long. I've known Orochimaru for a long time, and no matter how twisted he's become I still know him. He'd always been a bit impatient, and now that he has enough power he won't wait like last time." Taking a deep breath, Tsunade released a resigned sigh. "The sooner I resolve the situation with Naruto, depending on the outcome, good or bad, then Orochimaru will be dealt with for good."

Konoha

Strolling through Konoha with nothing to do the very topic of the previous conversation was trying to find anything to draw his always waning attention for a little while.

The talk with Tsunade had been enjoyable and though it may have sounded out of character he really couldn't say it any other way. The whole time he'd been in her office chatting he hadn't once gotten the urge to sneer, snort, or do any of the hundreds of other random emotional outbursts he was so famous for. It was just him and her talking naturally about any and everything.

It surprised him a little bit. It wasn't so far-fetched to say he felt a little calm in her presence. The situation, as dire as it seemed didn't bother him. He was more at peace than he ever remembered being in a long time. But before someone started singing the praises of his rehabilitation it had nothing to do with them, he still didn't like this place and unless something drastically changed the viewpoint he'd kept for years he never would.

If he had to pinpoint one particular reason he'd have to consider the absence of the Kyuubi for the new found source of quiet.

Where before there was always this…not a voice parse, but an undercurrent of emotions that always colored his own thoughts and perceptions, like a pool of darkness that surrounded everything he did, now he could listen to his own thoughts without any added influence.

Initially he chalked it up to having such a close bond with the Kyuubi, something that came along as a byproduct from Itachi's life and death struggles called training. Early in their time together every waking moment was spent with Itachi constantly pushing him towards the edge of oblivion, relentlessly pounding him into unconsciousness with no remorse or concern for his physical or mental welfare. For months it was a monumental struggle just to get up and make it to the end of each day.

Naruto remembered thinking he'd just made the biggest mistake of his life, leaving the village with the mysterious shinobi in hopes of becoming stronger. Itachi wasn't the most talkative person in the world. Naruto would spend most of his nights trying not to cry from the feeling of torn muscles mending and broken bones realigning themselves. Without the aid of any kind of anesthetic he could feel every second of his body healing itself.

The pain was damn near torture in itself, but he got used to it quickly. Before the both of them joined with the Akatsuki they were constantly moving and Itachi had no qualms about leaving him to rot if he didn't pick himself up. For several years that was how he existed, constantly trailing after the fugitive Uchiha, something he didn't find out about until they were ambushed by a group of hunter-nins for the first time, trying to keep up with his superior fighting skills.

Had it been just a contrast in fighting ability, Naruto thought things would have fared a little better, but Itachi wasn't considered a generational genius for nothing. His grasp on everything from strategic planning, jutsu usage, chakra manipulation, and a number of other subjects was so immense that his then young mind had considerable trouble wrapping around most of them. He had no prior training, his only close contact with any ninja being the Hokage himself, but Itachi refused to accept that as a crutch.

The turning point in his training came sometime after his tenth birthday when he died. Till this day he couldn't remember what happened during his time away, or however he wanted to label it, but he clearly remembered what precipitated the attack.

After that incident there were a lot of changes, some good; a lot of them bad.

A week later during training he was able to mentally grasp techniques he previously couldn't understand. Strategies and concepts that were meticulously drilled into him were easily incorporated into the initial fighting style Itachi had taught him. Though he was still struggling to keep up with the genius Uchiha, by maintaining an almost inconceivable level of awareness he was able to systematically think ahead several moves, almost plotting out attacks whole seconds ahead of time before his body would enact his mental commands.

Through the many weeks that followed he was always reassessing his abilities, adapting the style of Itachi's teaching to something more suiting his preferences. His main advantage in combat would always be his strength and deep well of chakra. So he utilized those two points as best he could, inventing sometimes insane ways to use jutsus.

And while he was reinventing his fighting style, his personality or demeanor was warping into something completely unrecognizable. But he remembered small differences that were making themselves more apparent the more he looked for them. Before dying he'd never gotten into a confrontation with Itachi, because the Uchiha wouldn't have answered or cared.

He was suddenly quick to become angered, if he didn't learn something on the first try he would become frustrated and lash out at anything in the vicinity, when previously they always avoided roaming nin groups he would foolishly challenge them, taking on teams of four of five skilled ninjas, and through it all, Itach never corrected him. Just stoically watched him morph into an angry, hate filled vessel.

Days turned to weeks, weeks to months, and his behavior never bettered. Where others would have left him to his own devices, Itachi's infinite patience never withered. He continued to teach him, and whatever messes he got himself in he would have to get himself out. That was what their relationship degenerated into, not that they had much of one in the beginning.

Itachi's form of reprimand finally landed upon him when he foolishly challenged his supposed guardian, a play out of the old student kills the teacher routine. That was nothing out of the ordinary because he was always told to fight with the intent to kill, otherwise he would be killed, but this time was different.

He drew upon the hatred of the Kyuubi, listened to its whispers, embracing the tainted energy it represented. It was a rush, feeling so much unbridled power. He suddenly had the ability to level villages single handedly; the red haze of chakra that surrounded him could kill a lesser shinobi itself. There was unknown information being poured into his head, knowledge of languages he'd never learned himself, pictures of civilizations that had been extinct for hundreds of years, breath taking battles with creatures only thought of in childish imaginations.

None of that prevented the almost burning hatred he felt, the black swell of destruction that lunged itself into his throat and screamed to be let loose. The need to kill his sensei shadowed everything he thought and he was powerless to think otherwise.

So they fought and during the confrontation his own self blacked out, too much information pouring through his head at once, too much screaming from the Kyuubi and his own voice to separate the two. It was a cacophony of noise inside his head and the only place he could go for any peace was deeper into himself.

He woke up lying on his back near a river bed bloodied and drop dead tired. There was no recognition of his location or how he got there. He didn't even recall how he ended up in such a bad shape. Looking around for some sort of explanation he found Itachi standing above him to his left.

His clothing was as immaculate as ever, not a hair out of place, but for the first time since meeting the recluse he looked angry. Catching his waking Itachi walked over to his spot in the grass and in a tone brooking no argument said:

"If you allow yourself to be led like a dog I will not hesitate to put you down. I have no need for a weak minded fool unable to control that which he is."

That had been it. He only needed to be told once and he made a concerted effort not to let it happen again. But the problem with that line of thought was the Kyuubi wasn't going to simply lie down and keep quiet after remaining dormant for so many years.

He could restrict some of the flow of chakra he siphoned from the Kyuubi. Similar to a water faucet turned halfway on, there was always a tangible essence of the Kyyubi's chakra mixed into his. The voice and thoughts of the Kyuubi itself was an entirely different matter. His tenant was always talking, making inane comments about everything from how much he despised human beings in general to how much he hated ramen, even if he never tasted the stuff in the first place.

Over the years he'd gotten use to it, sometimes even deferring to the furball for information concerning a number of topics when Itachi wasn't able to help, but that was as far as they ever got along. Their relationship was based on give and take, the two of them battling for dominance and often times these sessions crossed over into dangerous territories. Times when the influence of the Kyuubi reached its apex would prompt him find means of releasing the destructive force before it ate him alive.

The fight with Orochimaru was a perfect example of the Kyuubi displaying his need for control. You would think with the Yondaime's seal in place none of this would be a concern, but that was a lie. The very nature of the seal was to stop the power of the Kyuubi from destroying him internally, nothing more.

Just being born into the world and having a mythical god beast with unlimited chakra sealed inside of him, there was no way he would have survived a single second without some form of block to stop the evil chakra from killing him and probably everyone inside the village at that time.

Then the question now was who was he really? Without any malicious undertones or snide posturing from the Kyuubi was this present him the one that he'd lost all those years ago when he accepted the demons plea for help in annihilating his sensei. He felt no different.

He was still the highly trained weapon forged from Itachi's hard teachings. The blood stained on his hands didn't suddenly disappear. At the basest of levels he was still the same man he was before Orochimaru fucked up his seal beyond his grasp to fix. But why did he feel so… free? Was the burden of bearing such power so great that he didn't even notice his apparent change?

Raising his hand for inspection, Naruto found the light purple nail polish scratched and flaked. It didn't bother him, because he never did like painting his nails. No man, royalty or not, should be painting his nails in his less than humble opinion.

It was nice. Having the ability to freely chatter away about anything he so desired without the need for snappy retorts, and like a starving man given free reign over a buffet he feasted on the silence.

'Makes you wonder why the hell I'd want him back so much?'

"Hey."

Naruto stopped, turning his head a little to see two teenage boys making a beeline straight towards him. Both were wearing the regulation Chuunin uniform and that's about where the similarities ended. The first thing that caught his attention was the dog that followed after one of them, a marker meaning the Chuunin belonged to the Inuzaka clan. The dog wasn't particularly big, standing just about knee height but Naruto doubted it was through growing if the mutt was anything like the others in his clan. Its owner was sharp eyed, twin tattoos trailing down the side of his cheeks, and he had the wildest mane of hair Naruto had seen in a long time. The Chuunin was giving him a look of thinly veiled hostility and Naruto wondered what the hell happened to put him so on edge. True, he must have gotten word of who and what he was, but Naruto knew the difference between someone hating him for his allegiances and hating him for being him.

First impressions of the Inuzaka's companion weren't pretty. Hair severely tugged back into a pony tail, the teen was walking in what looked like a permanent slouch. Hands stuffed in his pockets, uniform looking he'd gotten it fresh out the drier. Indeed at first glance he looked nothing more than a lazy bum, but his eyes told another story entirely.

The old lady Tsunade, she knew pain. Life must have been a very unpleasant ideal for the woman because it echoed in every action she did. This kid wasn't there yet but he was getting there. He still held the veil of youth to hide under but Naruto could see him walking down that same line, and soon. Almost ironically, he thought of the blonde haired girl he met on his first day. She resembled him, only in the fact that both of them seemed burned by guilt, or anger. He didn't know enough to make conclusions and he would be lying if he said he wasn't a little curious.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

Almost growling out an answer, Kiba snapped out, "We're here to play baby sitter. Seems you can't be alone too long or somebody's going to try and skin your ass."

No more than two seconds in his company and Naruto already didn't like him.

Mockingly raising an eyebrow, Naruto said, "Look here. Maybe you didn't get the memo but I can kick your ass and enjoy doing it. So maybe you need to turn around and come at me a different way."

His taunt seemed to piss the boy off even more, prompting the poodle he had with him to start growling along with its master.

"Look here, I don't care who you are, nobody hurts Hinata and gets away with it."

"… Who?"

For a second that brought Kiba to a pause, but only for a second. He mentally charged forward forgetting that he wasn't supposed to be antagonizing the prisoner.

"Whatever, I know you remember her because she damn sure remembered you. I don't know what you did, but she hasn't been the same since meeting you."

Hinata. Hinata. Who the he… Ohhhhh. The Hyuuga girl. That solved the first question, but that also made him wonder what was the problem on both accounts. He didn't recall getting into an altercation, verbal or otherwise of any significance with the girl. Her perusing into his past had irritated him and he let her know such, but they parted on amicable terms.

So what did that make this clown standing in front of him- her angry boyfriend?

He seriously doubted that.

"Did you actually ask her what happened?"

Rant stopped full halt; Kiba eyed the blonde in incredulous disbelief. Did he ask her what happened? No, but he'd known her long enough to tell when something was bothering her. He was being truthful when he said that after her turn of guard duty she took a step back into her old personality. Not maintaining eye contact, going off on her own without the team, speaking too quietly to hear, if he hadn't found out Ino's odd behavior coincided with Hinata's then he wouldn't have put two and two together.

"You didn't did you?"

"You are starting to annoy me." Kiba barked out, not at all happy of being put out.

Shikimaru never batted an eyelash through the whole argument. Expecting it to get out of hand he'd stood off by the side and just waited to play damage control. The reports he read over before his current duty this morning had detailed everything he needed to know about their prisoner, and he thought he had a decent enough grasp on the subject to do his job properly. The notes they'd left for him yesterday to read over were as extensive as anything he'd ever seen. For Naruto's four days in Konoha there were two volumes of information detailed on everything he did.

But even after all that reading, what he didn't understand was why someone as dangerous as Naruto was supposed to be allowed to roam around freely.

There were rumors going around that he used to live here in Konoha. Shikimaru didn't remember seeing him once in his whole lifetime, but if he left earlier in his childhood then that was to be expected. He could barely remember his last birthday, let alone recognize someone eight years removed from his home.

"Kiba, maybe you need to lay off for a while. We got all afternoon and working yourself into exhaustion is not a smart thing to do."

Not wanting to admit his logic behind the statement, Kiba frowned.

"Since you two are supposed to follow me around, why not begin the day at Ichiraku," Naruto asked.

Shikimaru looked incredulous, "Do you eat anything but that stuff?"

Pretending to think over it for a moment, Naruto shook his head no. "Not really and why would I. It's the best food group in the world."

From the reports he gathered Uzumaki Naruto was a dangerous person, someone he needed to watch carefully, and right along with that was the thought that Naruto was a complete moron. But Shikimaru had never been a fool, lazy as he could be; he was always paying attention to the world around him, and that character trait pointed out that Naruto's eyes were too sharp to take lightly, his attitude to jovial for someone that was for all purposes contained besides their will.

Taciturn ninja littered Konoha. There had been Sasuke, there was Neji, Kakashi, Kurenai, the count was endless. To see such a drastic flip of the coin made him edgy.

"What the hell are you waiting for? Come on, there a sale going on."

It didn't take a lot of common sense to see this day would be more trouble than he needed.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

So what do you think? Got a little more into Naruto's past, his relationship with Itachi and a little more. If some of the information is somewhat contradictory I'm sorry, but I don't like straight laced characters. My belief is that no matter how Naruto was raised he's always going to be somewhat easy going, if he didn't destroy Konoha in the manga then I don't see how he could in any other story, but that doesn't mean he can't be cutthroat at the same time. I think people are a product of their environment to a certain extent so Naruto is still a killer, but nowhere near the extent as the rest of the Akatsuki.

Next chapter we visit Haku, and learn some interesting things concerning him and Temari. Ino will be explored, and what really happened in the past concerning Sasuke will be revealed.

It's a secret revealing extravaganza.

Any editing errors, let me know in the review.