Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters created by Kishimoto-sensei.
Naruto just couldn't die. It wouldn't be fair to her. After everything he had done for her. All the wonderful things he'd taught and helped her to learn she had made the biggest mistake. The truth was that when she found out about the Kyubi she was terrified that it was the Kyubi and that maybe the Kyubi was setting her up for something terrible.
She needed time to sort through her feelings and figure out everything. She never thought for an instant that it would hurt Naruto so much. She never believed that anything could have ever broken Naruto's spirit. But the more she thought about it the more she realized how foolish she was. Naruto was already afraid that she'd reject him. Naruto was already prepared that she might do exactly as she'd done. But that still didn't make her actions right. She should have known how much her acceptance or rejection would have hurt Naruto. She should have known that this would have affected Naruto as much as it affected her.
Naruto had always been hated by the village for something he couldn't control and had no say in. Naruto never hurt anyone in the village. He always gave everything he had to this village. He went out of his way to make sure everyone around him was comfortable. She had always watched him even when they were younger. He always struggled despite the cold looks and cruel words of the village. That's why she thought he'd never break even if she needed time to figure things out.
And now he had given up hope. She was supposed to be his friend. She was supposed to love him. And yet she had failed him worse than anyone had ever failed him in his entire life.
She ran through the streets frantic to arrive before it was too late. It just couldn't be too late or she too would have given up on living. After all the times he'd protected her and saved her from her own self doubt, it was her turn to save him.
She fumbled with the key to his apartment trying to unlock the door. When she entered the first thing that hit her was the awful stench of decay and feces. She hurried to the bedroom and saw his form curled up under the bed sheets shivering slightly. He was still alive. It only brought a glimmer of hope to her. Looking at the state of things she could tell he'd not left the bed for anything since he'd told her.
She sank to her knees next to the bed, "Naruto-kun, I'm so sorry." Then she cried uncontrollably.
BREAK
Naruto was barely waking once again. It didn't bother him, he would sleep again soon and maybe this time he wouldn't wake up. However this time was slightly different. He could hear someone crying from beside his bed. Now he knew he was hallucinating, no one but the Hokage would ever cry for him and this was a girl's sobbing.
In his delirium he had hoped that it was Hinata but he knew that was unlikely. She was terrified of him and would be happy when she hears of his death.
Not wanting to fight his delirium but enjoy this short moment of happiness he rolled to face the crying girl, "Oh if only this could be real," he said hoarsely.
Hinata looked up at him, "Naruto-kun, forgive me. I didn't know how to react."
"I could never be mad at you Hinata," replied Naruto to the illusion, "You reacted the way you should have. I'm just some human sacrifice not worthy of love or affection."
"But you are," Hinata protested, "You deserve love more than anyone in this village. You have suffered so much and always been so strong but when for the first time you truly needed someone I abandoned you. It is I that doesn't deserve affection or love."
"Yes you do," said Naruto with as much strength as he could muster, "You deserve everything good in the world and then some. You deserve better than me. But don't worry, soon I'll have passed from this world and you will be truly happy."
"No, I can't be happy, not without you," protested Hinata, "You've got to stay with me Naruto-kun or I will give up just as you have."
"Ah, but then you are only a dream," said Naruto closing his eyes once more.
He woke up again some time later after being doused with freezing cold water which woke him again. He was in his bathroom in the tub. He could see the old man Hokage in the room.
"Time to get you cleaned up Naruto-kun," said the Hokage.
"Just let me die," said Naruto, "I'm not worth any of your time or trouble."
"You are of the Leaf," said the Hokage strongly, "You are a shinobi of the Leaf and as Hokage I am responsible for all of us."
"I not worth it," Naruto repeated.
"Please fight Naruto-kun," came a strained voice from outside the bathroom.
"My dreams haunt me still, please just let me die," said Naruto once more.
"She is not a dream Naruto," said the Hokage, "She needs you to stay in this world. Fight for her now boy."
"Why do you lie to me so?" asked Naruto letting himself sink under water only for Sarutobi to pull him back up again and start scrubbing him clean.
Naruto woke again some time later back in his room. Everything smelled better suggesting that the old man changed his sheets and washed him clean not that it would matter once he was dead. It was then he noticed a needle and tube stuck in his arm.
"If you won't feed yourself then you'll be fed intravenously," said the Hokage who Naruto now noticed was sitting in a chair next to his bed, "I imagine that now that you're receiving food the Kyubi is able to repair your body and muscles. Don't worry Naruto, you'll be up and around in time for the final exam."
"What's the point?" said Naruto, "They will all still hate me."
"The ignorant villagers may still hate you Naruto but there is at least one person who still cares very deeply for you," said the Hokage glancing over to the other side of the bed.
"Hinata-chan," he said in a whisper not daring to believe, "Why are you here?"
"Naruto-kun, I'm so sorry. I just didn't know how to react to what you told me," she said not daring to meet his eyes, "I ran away and hurt you so much. I never meant to hurt you Naruto-kun. I thought you'd be strong enough to give me the time to understand this. I didn't think it would break you so. I didn't know that I meant that much to you. Forgive me Naruto-kun, I'm so sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry Hinata-chan, I don't deserve a friend like you. I'm sorry for scaring you. I'm sorry for hiding what I really am for so long from you. I just . . . I just . . . you were my friend and I liked having such a good friend. I thought you'd understand, but I was wrong. You are too good for me. You deserve so much better. I'm sorry," said Naruto trying to stop the unstoppable tears that were running down his face.
Hinata couldn't believe that Naruto thought so poorly of himself and so highly of her. She did the only thing she could think of at that moment and hugged him tightly crying with him.
"Please don't give up Naruto-kun," Hinata pleaded, "It's you who deserves better than me. I'm not strong like you. I could never survive everything you've suffered through."
"I don't want to lose you Hinata-chan," said Naruto, his voice muffled by Hinata's hug.
"You'll never lose me Naruto-kun, I will always be here for you from now on no matter what," said Hinata with a small smile and more tears.
"I hate to break this up," said the Hokage smiling fondly at the pair, "But both of you have matches coming up in two weeks times. Naruto, I suggest you eat and concentrate on using Kyubi to repair your body and then get to training. Oh, and you just might find someone interesting near the hotsprings."
Hinata was confused by the last statement but ignored it, "Naruto-kun, do you want some ramen? I'll make it for you."
Naruto smiled brightly at Hinata and nodded vigorously, "I'm going to need my strength to beat Gaara in the finals."
Hinata smiled, now that was the old Naruto.
Some days later Naruto had been fed and managed to fully recover. He was admittedly a bit stiff from not doing anything for a week and half. It was truly amazing what acceptance from one important person could do.
"Now to find that pervert," said Naruto with a wide grin stepping out of his apartment and enjoying the fresh air and bright sun.
Naruto started looking through the hot spring district trying to spot the super pervert. Finally he heard the familiar giggle of his old sensei.
Naruto walked up behind him silently before asking, "Collecting good information Ero-Sennin?"
"Truly the beauties in Konoha are some of the finest anywhere," said the pervert, "And my name is Jiraiya you brat." The pervert didn't even turn to look at him. "Are you Naruto?"
"Yeah, the old man said that I could find you here," said Naruto.
"You're almost two weeks late," said the pervert, "I was expecting you sooner."
"I was working through a personal issue," said Naruto trying to keep the shame out of his voice.
"Whatever, I don't care. You're the one missing out on being trained by me," said Jiraiya still not looking at him but taking notes and peeping at the same time.
"I realize," said Naruto starting to get annoyed.
"And you're not even my apprentice so why should I care?" asked Jiraiya.
"Because some day I'm going to become Hokage," said Naruto, "And when I do, I will outlaw peeping in the village and make it punishable by death unless your attitude changes drastically and you start paying attention to me."
At that Jiraiya actually looked at the boy, "You're too short to become Hokage."
Naruto's eye twitched at that. If he wasn't worried about the consequences he would have Ransengan'd his ass from here to the moon. "I'm just a late bloomer."
"Whatever brat," said Jiraiya turning back to his peeping.
Naruto twitched an eyebrow again. He then put his hands into the tiger seal and compressed a bit of Chakra to his fingers, "Konoha's Ultimate Taijutsu: Itami no Sennen." He then stuck his fingers in the pervert but crack and released the gathered chakra causing a small explosion and sending the pervert through the wall of the hot spring. "Call me short again, I dare you!"
Not only did the pervert just get poked in the ass and humiliated but he then got the crap beat out of him by all the women in the hot spring. Once he was unconscious Naruto dragged him out of the hot spring and to the training field where he tied him to a post.
Jiraiya woke up a bit later to see Naruto slowly burning pages from a notebook.
"Ah, what you doing?" demanded the pervert, "Those are my precious, invaluable notes you little brat."
"You called me short now take it back and I'll stop burning pages," said Naruto vindictively.
"Fine, fine, I take it back you're not short," shouted Jiraiya struggling against his bonds.
"That's more like it," said Naruto stopping his action.
"You just vertically challenged," said Jiraiya.
Naruto turned back to the fire and kept adding pages.
"NO!" shouted the pervert almost in tears, "I'm sorry, I take it back, you height is perfect the way it is."
"Much better," said Naruto as the notebook in his hand went poof, "Don't you just love the versatility of the Kage Bunshin."
"Huh?" asked the pervert confused.
"I'm not stupid enough to burn your notebook. I know that you've encoded all of your spying information into your perverted notes," said Naruto coolly, "Now, are you ready to get serious and train me for the exam finals?"
Jiraiya smirked, "You're not so stupid after all."
Naruto threw a kunai at him, which missed him but cut the ropes that were holding him.
"So, what can I teach you?" asked Jiraiya.
"Summoning," said Naruto calmly.
Jiraiya smirked, "Well, well, well, how do you know I can summon?"
"You're also known as the Gama-Sennin," said Naruto calmly.
Jiraiya laughed, "I guess I'm still famous among youth."
"Not really, Tsunade-hime and Orochimaru are more well-known. On the other hand there is not a male in the village that has hit puberty that has not heard of your works," said Naruto scratching his chin, "I suppose you're more well known but Tsunade is more respect and Orochimaru is more feared."
Jiraiya laughed again, "Alright kid, I like your style." Jiraiya made a few hands seals, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu," and slammed his hand on the ground summoning a mid-size toad with a scroll in its mouth.
Naruto signed the scroll in blood and gave it back to the toad in question.
"Good, now I want you to drain all of your chakra," said Jiraiya.
"Why?" asked Naruto.
"Most shinobi only have one source of Chakra but you are special. You have two sources and must be able to call upon that second chakra in an instant," said Jiraiya trying to be deceptive and not mention Kyubi.
"You mean Kyubi's chakra," said Naruto, "I can already call on that whenever I need it."
"Oh really?" asked Jiraiya, "Well then let's see it."
It didn't even take a moment for the clearing to be filled with the evil red chakra. Naruto bit his thumb and perform a few quick hand seals, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
Naruto suddenly found himself several feet in the air on the back of a giant toad known as Gamabunta.
"Holy shit he did it," said Jiraiya in awe.
"Jiraiya," yelled the toad, "What's the meaning of calling me out?"
"Um, well, I didn't call you out. He did," said Jiraiya pointing to the top of the toads head.
"Hello boss," said Naruto with a grin at the boss toad now that he was looking the old toad in the eyes.
"Eh, this little kid," said Gamabunta, "How the hell could you summon me?"
"I used Kyubi's chakra to summon you," said Naruto, "He's pissed too let me tell you. Apparently he's got some kind of grudge against you from back when you helped Yondaime Hokage seal him inside of me."
Gamabunta laughed heartily at that, "Oi kid, tell that fox too bad and to kiss my poisonous butt."
Naruto laughed heartily along with Gamabunta, "He's really pissed now boss."
"Good, anyway, I like you kid," said Gamabunta, "You seem respectful unlike some people." The boss toad then glared at Jiraiya.
"So, will you accept me as a subordinate then boss?" asked Naruto excitedly.
"Eh? Sure kid why not, but first we gotta have a drink together," said Gamabunta.
"But boss, I'm not old enough to drink and besides, Kyubi would love nothing more than to watch me make an ass of myself if I got drunk," said Naruto.
Gamabunta laughed at that, "Well, then I guess I'll take a rein check on the drink. But you had better summon me on the day you are old enough to drink and we'll toss back a few."
"You got it boss," said Naruto with a smile.
"Well, if you're ever in a tight spot and need some help just call on me," said Gamabunta, "I'm gonna go now so hop off."
Naruto jumped off the boss toad, "See you boss."
Gamabunta then vanished in a large puff of smoke.
"He . . . liked you," said Jiraiya in disbelieve, "but he's never liked anyone but Arashi-san."
"Maybe he just doesn't like perverts," said Naruto smartly, "Who is Arashi-san anyway?"
"Arashi was the Yondaime's name, he was my student," said Jiraiya, "He's a lot like you actually."
"Really?" asked Naruto, "He's my hero you know. I want to be just like him when I get older."
"If you train hard enough and long enough you just might make it," said Jiraiya with a smile.
"So what's next? What will you teach me now?" asked Naruto.
"You want me to teach you more?" asked Jiraiya.
"Of course Ero-Sennin," said Naruto, "It's not everyday I get the chance to learn from a Sannin."
Jiraiya laughed, "Alright brat, let's see if you can handle this." Jiraiya made a long group of seals and then puffed out his chest after taking a deep breath, "Gama Yuendan no Jutsu." He then shot out a stream of fire almost fifty meters long.
"Wow!" shouted Naruto, "That was awesome, you've got to teach me that."
"That is a special technique for you to use with Gamabunta. If you're ever in a fight against a large number of enemies or another summon it is excellent. You've just got to remember to ask the boss for some oil before you use it. The fire damage is supreme," said Jiraiya. He had a face like a little kid as he envisioned the destruction such a technique would cause.
"Sweet," said Naruto, "I think I've heard about that technique. Show me the seals again would you?"
Naruto and Jiraiya spent the rest of that day and the next three daysworking on that technique.
Naruto and Hinata also spent a lot of time training with their usual workout from Gai and in Hinata's case from Ikugachi.
On the fifth day of training with Jiraiya, Naruto decided to bring Hinata along to get a few helpful hints.
"Oh, who is this Naruto?" asked Jiraiya, "Is she available?"
Naruto had to stop himself from using Rasengan on the man once again, "No, she's not available."
"Oh, so she's yours then?" asked Jiraiya with a waggle of his eyebrows.
"As far as you're concerned, yes," said Naruto hotly, "And so help me if you take one perverted note on her I'll kill you."
Hinata blushed when Naruto claimed her as his, but then the wording wasn't exactly saying that.
"So why did you bring her? I only promised Sarutobi-sensei that I would help you out," said Jiraiya.
"You'll help because I have the ultimate technique toshow you," said Naruto.
"What could you possiblyshow me that I haven't already seen?" asked Jiraiya.
"Sexy no Jutsu," said Naruto slyly causing Hinata to blush. It was by far one of his most effective Jutsu against men and if Jiraiya was as big a pervert as Naruto had been telling her, he would absolutely love that technique.
"Okay, I'm intrigued," said Jiraiya, "So Hyuga, who are fighting in the finals?"
"I'm fighting my cousin Neji. He is from the branch family but he is also the most talented Hyuga to be born in over one hundred years," said Hinata unable to hide the fear in her voice.
"You're a Hyuga, why not fight him using Gentle Fist?" asked Jiraiya.
"He's better than me. Besides, I'm better at other things," said Hinata.
"She's going to be an amazing Medic-Nin someday," shouted Naruto excitedly, "Better than Tsunade even."
Hinata blushed at Naruto's compliments and over-enthusiasm.
"Hmm," said Jiraiya as an idea began to form, "Do you know how to use Chakra scalpels?"
Hinata shook her head no, "I haven't studied surgical Jutsu yet."
"Well, go get a scroll from the hospital library on it after we finish today," said Jiraiya, "If you can't hit his tenketsu he won't be expecting you to cut ligaments and muscles."
Hinata gasped, "But that's so dangerous."
Jiraiya nodded, "It is, but with your Byakugan you should be able to cut the ligaments cleanly so that a medic-nin can heal them easily."
"Could that really work?" asked Hinata.
Jiraiya nodded, "He can't use the Gentle Fist if he can't use his hands. You just need to block him a few times with the Chakra Scalpels and he will be unable to hurt you."
"What about the Kaiten?" asked Naruto.
"He can use Kaiten?" asked Jiraiya, "How old is he?"
"He's a year older than us," said Naruto.
"I'm impressed," said Jiraiya appreciatively, "Well then, you'll just have to expose the Byakugan's greatest weakness."
"What's that?" asked Naruto curiously.
"It can't see underground," said Jiraiya.
"So how would she attack from underground?" asked Naruto.
"Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu," said Jiraiya, "It allows you to move under the ground freely."
"Really?" asked Naruto, "I want to learn that too then."
"Fine, then that will be today's technique," said Jiraiya with a nod.
And so the last week before the tournament went. Naruto and Hinata were constantly training on various things. Once they both got the hang of Shinjuu Zanshu they practiced their techniques in general. Hinata practiced her Chakra Enjintou (Chakra Scalpels) religiously. Lucky for her, Naruto was the perfect test subject because of his healing factor, so it didn't matter if she made a sloppy cut because she was able to practice repeatedly until every last cut was clean and perfect. Meanwhile Naruto learned to summon up various size toads. He even spent an afternoon practicing Gama Yuendan over Konoha Lake with Gamabunta.
The morning of the exam Naruto and Hinata went to meet Jiraiya one last time to give their thanks.
"Morning Ero-Sennin," said Naruto with a wave and a smile at the pervert.
"Morning Ero-Sennin-sama," said Hinata with a tiny bit of respect. After she caught him peeping once when he was late to arrive she adopted to calling him by Naruto's nickname.
"My name is Jiraiya," yelled Jiraiya at the pair.
"Whatever Ero-Sennin," said Naruto waving it off.
"Naruto-kun and I just came to say thank you for training us," said Hinata, "And we wanted to give you this." Hinata then reached into her bag and pulled out a small bundle in red-silk.
"Hinata forged it but I put the seals on it," said Naruto. He was very proud of Hinata's work.
"What's this?" asked Jiraiya as he untied the red silk string that held it closed. Inside was just a plain kunai but once he'd gotten a closer look he noticed it wasn't quite normal. The blade was much sharper than any Naruto had made before. Hinata had much better control than he did.
"It's a very special kunai," said Naruto with a smile and motioned for Hinata to explain her creation.
"The end is a regular kunai blade but if you notice the ring on the end is smaller making it slightly unbalanced. The handle has a chakra activated mini-senbon shooter. The ultra-thin chain attached to the end works like a chakra string but this is completely unbreakable thanks to the Kyubi Chakra imbued in it. Once you've thrown the dagger a good distance from yourself you can move it like you would a normal kunai on a chakra string but you can also sent a small chakra burst through the chain into the kunai to make the needles fly in all directions. They are quite poisonous too, my own concoction," explained Hinata trying not to blush.
"This is amazing," said Jiraiya as he studied it, "I've never seen such a weapon before. And you said you imbued this with Kyubi's Chakra?"
"I put all the seals on it," said Naruto, "This was Hinata-chan's final project for Ikugachi-sensei. She named it."
"Oh, what's the name?" asked Jiraiya of Hinata.
"Kyubi's Teardrop," said Hinata with a slight blush.
"Fitting name," said Jiraiya, "It is said that Kyubi's Tears were very poisonous, not that the demon ever cried."
"So you like it?" asked Naruto with a grin.
"Very much so, thank you both very much," said Jiraiya with a smile.
"So, are you coming to watch the exam today?" asked Naruto.
"I wish I could," said Jiraiya, "I would like very much to see how my students fair. Unfortunately I've been assigned to the south wall. We've learned that is where the Oto and Suna will be summoning a giant three-headed snake."
"Good luck with that," said Naruto, "Hinata and I have been assigned to help in the stadium assuming we're not too exhausted from our fights."
"You'll be fine," said Jiraiya, "Anyway, I'll be sure to find you after tomorrow."
"Just be careful," said Naruto with a fond smile of the father figure.
"Same goes for the both of you," said Jiraiya before he left waving over his shoulder.
"We'd better hurry Naruto-kun," said Hinata, "We'll be late if we don't."
"Yeah, and you've got the first match," said Naruto with a confident smirk, "Neji will never know what hit him."
Hinata giggled on the outside but inside she was slightly panicking.
"However, before we get there," said Naruto forming a few hand seals, "Gravity Release," he then touched Hinata's forehead. "Neji will probably be trying to kill you and you need to be at your absolute best."
Hinata nodded, "Thank you Naruto-kun." She then kissed him passionately and the slapped him hard to snap him out of his daze, "That was for luck and incentive to stay alive."
Naruto grinned stupidly, "With that kind of incentive no one will be able to lay a finger on me."
Hinata giggled before grabbing his hand and running toward the stadium.
BREAK
Days before.
"Shikamaru-kun," said a motherly woman as she attempted to get her son to come and eat with them, "Come and eat with your father and I."
"No," said Shikamaru. Ever since he'd learned about Naruto and the way the entire village treated him, including his parents, he'd been rather upset with everyone.
"I don't understand what's wrong with him Shikato," said the woman to her husband.
"He's a moody teenager, it's to be expected," said Shikato.
"I think I preferred him when he was carefree and lazy," said the woman.
"Fine Kari," said Shikato as he stood from the table and opened Shikamaru's room by picking the lock. "Shikamaru, you're going to have dinner with your mother and I this evening and that's final."
"Whatever," said Shikamaru angrily as she stormed out of his room and sat at the table.
Together they all sat and ate in silence. After an hour of eating silence Kari couldn't take it anymore. "Damn it Shikamaru, why are you so angry with everyone lately? What happened?"
"I learned something that has made disgusted with my own parents and this entire village," said Shikamaru not bothering to expand any further.
"What could you have possibly learned?" asked Kari more than a little angry and saddened that her son was disgusted with them.
"Uzumaki Naruto," said Shikamaru. He knew he wouldn't need to say anymore than that.
His mother gasped while his father didn't react one way or another. "Who told you?" asked Shikato.
"Naruto," said Shikamaru simply.
"So the demon told you himself," said Kari.
"That is exactly why I'm disgusted with you and this entire village," said Shikamaru, "If you had bothered to ever talk to him and I mean talk to him not insult him you'd discover very quickly that he and the demon are two separate beings. And from what Naruto has told me and I have witnessed Naruto has some control over the demon."
"Lies," screamed Kari, "How can you believe that demon?"
Shikato remained silent the whole time.
"Mother, how long did Kyubi attack for?" asked Shikamaru.
"The attack lasted nearly a weak," answered Shikato for his wife.
"And how many children were born that week?" asked Shikamaru already knowing the answer.
"Kyubi's attack caused a rash of premature births throughout the village," said Shikato, "Somewhere around thirty children were born that week."
"So why didn't Yondaime use one of them to seal the Kyubi?" asked Shikamaru.
Shikato remained silent but his mother seemed confused before saying "I don't know."
"Why wasn't I used? I was only born three days before Naruto," said Shikamaru.
"Yondaime would never have sacrificed someone's child," said Kari without thinking.
"Then what was Naruto? Why did he use Naruto?"
"I don't know," she answered honestly.
"I checked the records, there were only two children born the night Kyubi was defeated," said Shikamaru, "One was a girl that now helps out her mother in there tailoring shop, the other was Naruto and yet there is no record of him ever being born. However there are records of two women being admitted in labor. One is that shopkeeper, the other was a woman name Kazama that died in childbirth, the records state that the child died with her."
At that even Shikato looked up in shock, "What was that name?"
"Kazama, I've never heard it before," said Shikamaru, "Do you know the clan?"
Shikato shook his head, "It just can't be."
Shikamaru was sure what his father was mumbling about, "Anyway, it's likely that Naruto was the child of the woman that died in child birth and it was just reported that the child died because it was now the vessel of Kyubi. Do you know that Naruto has never even been told his parents name?"
"Shikamaru, you must have made a mistake about that name," said Shikato, "It's just not possible."
Now Shikamaru was starting to wonder exactly what they were trying to cover up, "No mistake, it's in the official records. Did you now her?"
"Shikamaru, you should forget this search of yours. Nothing good can come of it," said Shikato before standing up and leaving the table and the house.
Shikamaru's mother stood as well and went to her room and locked the door.
"What the hell are they hiding?" asked Shikamaru.
The next morning Shikamaru went out in search of his friends.
"Hey Ino," said Shikamaru, "Feel like helping me with a project for Naruto."
"I thought you said to stay away from Naruto," said Ino.
"This is different," said Shikamaru, "I'm trying to find out who his parents were."
"Huh?" asked Ino, "But why?"
"Because he doesn't know," said Shikamaru, "and the Hokage refuses to tell him anything, including there names."
Ino seemed surprised, "Okay, just give me a minute."
An hour later Shikamaru, Ino, Sakura, Choji, Kiba, and Shino were in the village archives trying to find the information they sought after.
"I can't find any records of a Kazama Clan," said Sakura finally defeated, "Are you sure that is the name of Naruto's mother?"
"Pretty sure," said Shikamaru as he checked the text he in front of him, "This is really starting to irk me. Look at this." Shikamaru then show the group a shinobi register from the time of Kyubi and when they were looking at the letter 'K' there was a single blank spot.
"It's been erased?" question Ino, "I thought these records were supposed to be permanent even if a shinobi became a missing-nin."
"They are and that's the problem," said Shikamaru, "It looks like this clan didn't exist in the village until maybe forty years ago and all of the records of the clan have been erased. I can't even find the name Kazama in any of our history texts and whenever I mention the name to the academy teachers they quickly change the subject or act as if they've never heard of it. Either the Kazama clan was really powerful and Naruto's identity needed to be protected or the Kazama clan did something really, really bad."
"Bad enough to be erased from all of our records?" asked Ino, "Not even Orochimaru has been erased and he is the most famous criminal in the history of our village with the exception of Uchiha Itachi and neither of them have been erased."
"But both of them are still alive," said Shikamaru, "It can be assumed that both of his parents are dead otherwise they would probably still be listed as an active shinobi."
"So we're at a dead end then," said Sakura.
"No, if I had to guess, I would say it is more likely that Naruto's identity needed to be protected even from himself. Which means we should start checking our history books for heroes from around the time of Kyubi's attack," said Shikamaru.
"Wait, Shikamaru," said Ino as a stray thought struck her, "Do you think that maybe the clan was erased from history because they were the ones to summon Kyubi?"
"No," said Shikamaru, "Kyubi has shown up throughout history, long before Konoha was ever founded."
"But still, the Kazama clan could have done something to anger the demon and bring it here," said Sakura.
"It is possible," said Shikamaru, "That would explain some things."
"Yeah, like why all the adults seem to hate Naruto," said Kiba.
Shikamaru didn't like where this discussion was going for the simple fact that they could be exactly right. Then, not only would the village hate Naruto for being the vessel of Kyubi but also for the crimes of his clan in summoning the demon. If that were true then the treatment by the village would almost seem warranted, but wasn't Naruto having the Kyubi sealed inside of him enough of a penitence for that. In the end, it wasn't looking good at all.
"I don't believe that," said Shikamaru, "I don't believe that the Kazama clan summoned the Kyubi. It just doesn't make any sense at all."
"Shikamaru," said Sakura softly, "but it does."
Shikamaru stood and stormed out of the archives. There was only one person who could answer his questions.
The group left behind though was really confused. They had almost never seen Shikamaru angry like that.
Shikamaru headed straight for the Hokage tower to ask the man himself. "May I see the Hokage please?" requested Shikamaru to the secretary.
"It will be a few minutes if you would like to wait," said the secretary, "He should be returning from the counsel meeting any minute now."
Shikamaru was about to sit down when the Hokage entered the office.
"Ah, Shikamaru-san," said Sarutobi, "what can I do for you?"
"I was hoping to have a word with you in private," said Shikamaru.
"Of course, please come into my office," said the Hokage before looking to the secretary, "Please don't disturb mefor the next hour."
"Yes Hokage-sama," said the secretary.
Once inside the office the Hokage instructed Shikamaru to have a seat, "So, what can I do for you Shikamaru?"
Shikamaru sat down, "Sir, it's about Naruto. The other day, I overheard him telling Hinata about the Kyubi."
"I see, and what do you want to know?"
"Well, when he told her, hementioned that he didn't even know who his parents were. So I thought it would be nice of me to find out for him," said Shikamaru.
"You are aware that is classified and sealed information," said Sarutobi.
"I figured as much. I checked the public records and found a hospital record from the night Kyubi was sealed of a woman and child that died in child birth. I assumed that the child was in reality Naruto and the records were falsified. The woman only had a last name listed, Kazama," said Shikamaru, "Today, my friends and I were trying to find records of a Kazama clan but there were none. In fact, it looked as if the entire clan was erased from history. There were blanks in the shinobi registries for the letter 'K' right were 'Kazama' should have been but those only start the night of the Kyubi's attack and go back about thirty years."
"Hmm, I suppose I should have been a bit more thorough in deleting those records," said the Hokage.
"I have to know though. Were the records erased to protect Naruto's real identity because he came from a powerful family or were they erased because the Kazama clan was responsible for bringing the Kyubi down on the village in the first place?" asked Shikamaru.
"Shikamaru-san, I can assure you that the Kazama clan had nothing to do with causing Kyubi to attack us. Naruto's father died fighting the Kyubi and his mother died in childbirth. Naruto was given the new family name to protect him from his father's enemies," said Sarutobi, "You can rest easy knowing that all of the hate that Naruto suffers is completely unjustified and unfair to him."
"But why Naruto then?" asked Shikamaru, "He wasn't the only newborn child that week that was left without parents."
"That is a very complicated question," said Sarutobi, "One that you don't need the answer to and it would be for the best if it was never revealed. At least, not until Naruto is more than old enough to take his family name and deal with his fathers enemies."
"What did his father do that he gained so many enemies?" asked Shikamaru.
"His father was one of the heroes of the Third Great Shinobi War," said Sarutobi giving Shikamaru a bit of clue intentionally otherwise Shikamaru would never leave him alone.
"Thank you for your time Hokage-sama," said Shikamaru deciding to leave while he still could. And now that he had a new angle to research he was going to fully exploit it.
Once he was out of the office he hurried to the history section of the library. He was quickly going through text after text identifying the heroes of the Third War from Konoha. The most prominent though was Konoha's Yellow Flash. He was never mentioned by name, just the nickname. Only once it mentioned that he became the Yondaime and as soon as Shikamaru read that he eliminated him from his search. Shikamaru spent six days digging through the historical records looking for Naruto's father but found nothing. At that Shikamaru gave up figuring that the Hokage had eliminated him from the records entirely.
"I'm sorry Naruto," said Shikamaru as he left the library, "I tried, I really did."