Alright, thanks for the support! At least, from the ones who supported it.

Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own them.

(Chapter Begin)

Naruto and Shikamaru were knocked aside by someone from behind. The enemy took the casket and landed on another branch. He turned to Naruto and said emotionlessly, "You are Uzumaki Naruto, correct?"

"Who wants to know?" Naruto snapped. He felt a dangerous power coming from him. It was abnormal and didn't belong there. Something not human.

"Orochimaru-sama and Naraku-sama want you dead," the boy replied calmly.

"Naraku?" Shikamaru asked. "One of Orochimaru's men?"

Ignoring him, Naruto said through gritted teeth, "And what has he given this time for my death?"

The other boy pulled back his sleeve and held a small amulet in his hand. Naruto's eyes widened in amazement. 'Im…impossible! That guy shouldn't even be able to touch it without losing his mind!' Naruto thought, his brain going a mile a minute.

He glanced at Shikamaru and said to the enemy, "They…they only directly ordered my death, right? Don't go after the others with that thing! It's only me!"

Shikamaru gave him an odd look and asked carefully, "Naruto, what's going on? What's that thing he's holding?"

"That amulet was given to him by a demon. A real, live demon," Naruto said with anger and hatred. "Don't touch it, unless you want to go crazy. It's called, translated in the human tongue, 'Mind Eater.' Depending on how strong your mind is, one touch, even for a second, can turn you into a vegetable. Very few are left in this world, after the Great War, the ones people could find were immediately destroyed. Each one is unique and has different ways of going after your mind."

"How…how do you know this?" the chuunin asked. "Why would such a thing exist?"

"I'll tell you after this mission, if we live," Naruto said much more calmly. "It's about time I tell the Hokage what's going on. My enemies have joined up with hers. I didn't tell her before since I didn't think they would."

"Orochimaru-sama is the top priority right now," Kimihiro said. "I'll deliver him the vessel." He ran.

"This isn't about you, right now. The mission is to get Sasuke back to the Leaf," Shikamaru said after a glance at Naruto. "You are a ahinobi, remember that!"

Naruto thought about it, then nodded. "Alright, mission first and then I deal with that guy…"

Naruto Charged at the red haired girl, shoving her to the side. "Take care of the bitch, ok?" he yelled over his shoulder. The last thing he saw of Shikamaru before going after Sasuke was the shadow user forming hand seals.

Naruto ran onwards to where the other Sound shinobi fled. 'I'll kill this guy and then take back Sasuke…' The blonde sighed. 'How did things get so messed up? I had a pretty normal life. Become a genin, then a chuunin. Make it to Anbu and jounin, then Hokage. It was all set for me, for me to take it!'

Then Naraku entered the picture.

'Yeah, he did, didn't he? Things got so screwed up! I wonder what would have been easier, the life without Naraku or with Naraku?'

Kyubi asked, Which one would you prefer?

'The one with you and Inu-Yasha,' the former chakra user answered.

Kyubi smirked.

Naruto was out of the forest and into a meadow or field. He was right behind Kimihiro and landed on all fours. He growled out, "Hey! We got a fight to start!"

"I must deliver the vessel to Orochimaru-sama," the Sound shinobi said calmly.

"What are you talking? Why do you keep calling Sasuke a vessel?"

"Sasuke will become Orochimaru-sama's body."

Naruto stood up straight. He cracked his neck and said, "That's what's he for? I'm not going to let that happen. Here is where your grave will be."

Kimihiro narrowed his eyes slightly, then he held out the black colored amulet. Naruto prepared himself by pulling up his sleeves and flexed his claws. The amulet floated above his hand and then moved a little towards the blond. It dropped on the ground. The amulet bubbled, moved, sifted its shaped until it became bigger and resembled a humanoid thing. It continued to shape shift until it was a child like boy.

The boy looked like a twisted version of a human. Dark purple colored his skin, with black eyes, white hair, and claws instead of hands.

"I see…" Naruto said. "A demon's soul was trapped inside."

The demon charged. It reeled its hand back for a slash when suddenly, a clawed hand grabbed its wrist, immobilizing the limb. Kyubi stood there proudly, grinning like a madman. He looked at Naruto and said, "This guy's mine."

The blonde nodded and turned to Kimihiro. The other said, "So you know how to get your demon out of its host."

"Duh," Naruto said as he rolled his eyes mockingly.

Kyubi let the other demon's hand go and kicked it away. The kitsune smirked evilly and slashed, yelling out, "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" The demon couldn't dodge and was hit. It sat up and stared at the wound on its chest.

He sneered, "Bastard….you dare injure me…."

"You're not much for fighting, huh? Some Mind Eater you are," Kyubi mocked. "I guess that bastard Naraku got lazy. I was worried for nothing." The fox shrugged carelessly. That was until he clutched his head in pain. "…W-what?"

"I'm not for physical fighting, but how well do you fight in the mind?"

Kyubi and the other demon blacked out to fight in the landscape made by people's thoughts.

The blonde blinked but other wise did nothing. 'That was odd…' He was thrown but by a punch from the other shinobi. 'Damn! I got distracted!'

Kimimaro held out a sword that was made of his bones. "My blood line limit," he explained.

Naruto growled in annoyance. That was when the casket that held Sasuke's body exploded. Naruto stared at it in shock and worry. That was until he saw something that resembled Sasuke…or at least he had the right clothes on. The odd white hair retreated and turned back to black.

"Sasuke?" Naruto hesitantly asked. 'His aura's all messed up…'

The boy ignored him and ran off.

Naruto was about to make chase until the Sound shinobi was about to slice his head off from behind. He was saved when Rock Lee made his entrance and kicked the enemy away.

"Who are you?" the Sound-nin asked.

"The Leaf's proud azure beast has reincarnated. I am Rock Lee!" the green spandex wearing boy proclaimed.

"Hey, Lee-san. What about your…you know, your body?" the blonde asked.

"It's fine. You have to go get Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun," was the answer. "Leave this guy to me."

Naruto nodded grimly. "Be careful, this guy uses his bones to fight. Behind, a few feet away, there are two bodies. One of them is a friend of mines but the other, the dark skinned guy, is an enemy. If he wakes up, kill him. Don't let him touch you in a certain way."

"Alright."

Naruto ran after the Uchiha.

(Scene Change)

"Ugh…"

"Awake, now are we?" Inu-Yasha asked calmly. Gai stopped in mid rant and watched the thing wake up.

"Huh?" The demon looked up and shrieked in fear. He was silenced by a punch in the face.

"Got anything to say for yourself?" The cracking of a fist could be heard.

The demon quickly shook his head in a no. "M-master Naraku! H-he told m-me t-to give this t-to you!" he said as if it would save him. He pointed with his green tongue towards his pocket. The other demon calmly reached in and took out a scroll.

"This is…?"

"A message! At least that's all he told me!" the demon yelled out in fear. "I swear, that's all I know! I'm just a messenger!"

"A messenger?" Gai suddenly asked. The demon looked at him when Inu-Yasha ignored him. "Oh…I did not ask for your name. What is it?" Gai asked Inu-Yasha.

Continuing to ignore him, the dog demon unrolled the scroll and silently read it. It was in the demon language.

"Inu-Yasha, you must be rather frustrated with your failure. Still cannot find me? The there will be a hint where I am with my next attack. Consider the genin who came after that human boy, Uchiha Sasuke, dead."

Inu-Yasha's eyes widened. 'Why would he tell me this? Does he -want- me to go after them? Is it to lure me out of the village? Hmm…but he might just be telling me to confuse me.' The dog demon thought about it. He glanced at the demon and said, "What else do you know?"

"N-nothing! I swear!" the demon-ogre yelled.

"Then you are useless." It died as it was about to scream, throat sliced by a claw.

Gai stared at the only other living being in the room in shock. "Why did you do that?"

"I already said. He was useless. Besides, he stained Naruto's carpet with his dirty feet."

Gai looked at him in a hard stare. "I will have to report this to Hokage-sama."

"I can kill you where you stand. It'll just be better if I don't. That's the only reason why you're still alive." The demon ignored the shinobi as he gawked. Inu-Yasha fingered the sheath of his sword and came to a conclusion. "I want to talk to your Hokage."

(Scene Change)

"Sasuke, what do you think you're doing?" Naruto asked.

He stood right behind the Uchiha. There was a water fall seperating them, they were right on the country border line. Sasuke calmly turned around and said, "Hey, dobe."

Naruto quirked his eyebrow at Sasuke's face. "New image?"

"Don't joke. I told Sakura this…so…don't bother me." He smirked at the look of Naruto's face. "Kukuku. What's with the face?"

'He laughs like -him-,' Naruto thought grimly. He asked, "Why?"

"What does any of this have to do with you?" Sasuke replied. "I have my own path. I won't let anyone lead me another way. No matter who it is…Let me make this clear to you. My childish games with you leafs are over. Go home."

Naruto burst out laughing at what he said, irritating Sasuke a little. After the laugh subsided, the blonde said with a smirk, "Childish games? So it means nothing to you, all your life you lived there and it means nothing?" The smirk was gone and was replaced by a frown. "You complete and utter fool."

The boy jumped up and landed on Sasuke. They slid a few feet back, causing dust to rise up. There was an audible SMACK! when the one on top punched the other.

"So do I get any stronger staying with those 'comrades'?" Sasuke asked a little hoarsely from the pressure of the other boy on top.. "I'm going to Orochimaru!"

"All he wants is your body," Naruto said. Then he stifled a few giggles. "Hehehehe…not like that, I meant he wants to use your body as his container."

"I don't care. All I care about is accomplishing my objective."

Naruto shook his head as if in exasperation. "Revenge this, revenge that. I have to kill someone too but at least I try and have fun once in a while," Naruto said carelessly. He shrugged. "Why are you so…well…self obsessed. You act like the world revolves around you."

"You don't understand anything," Sasuke said coldly. He shoved the blonde off. Naruto stood up as soon as Sasuke did. "I dreamt of a future with comrade drunken of the assurance of peace. That's why I left the village, that's why I desire power. The future is not where my dream is."

"'The future's not where your dream is'?" Naruto repeated, comfused.

(Scene Change)

"Okay…" Kyubi muttered as he looked at his surroundings.

Everything was foggy. There was only darkness and fog. Kyubi could barely see in front of his face.

"Welcome to my mind," a voice echoed. "This is my domain, and this is where I will feast on your thoughts."

"That sounds really corny," Kyubi commented lazily. "How long have you been at it, a couple of decades?"

"Shut up!" the other demon snapped.

Kyubi sighed. He stretched lazily just to annoy the other. That was when he was attacked from behind. The kitsune grunted when he fell on the "ground." The fox stood up slowly, annoyed. He looked around but could not feel or sense anything.

"You are helpless."

"No I'm not," Kyubi said, again, lazily. "You really are a novice. If I'm in your mind, I'm -part- of it. That means I can do this." The area suddenly got brighter and flowers surround him. Soon, they were both in a field of flowers with the sun shining brightly on the "earth."

"W-what did you do?"

"Idiot. This is your mind, right?" Kyubi asked, as if to a child. "That means you can do anything you want in here. Since I'm in your mind, I'm also part of it. You don't seem to understand, however, that I'm centuries your senior, thus I have more experience. Now, your mind will be crushed and I get to go out."

There were sudden screams as Kyubi left the area. When he opened his eyes again, he was in the real world. He yawned in a relaxed way. 'I really used up too much energy to get out of there,' Kyubi thought. 'Plus, I left at least half of my youki to Naruto.'

The fox stood up and looked around. That Gaara kid, along with Lee, were fighting the kid with bones for weapons. He sighed. 'Better help them out.' That was when the ground was covered in sand. He quirked an eyebrow but then heard someone yell out, "Are you Naruto-kun's friend?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah." Kyubi said as he walked over. "Where'd Mr. Bones go?"

"Mae…Sawarabi no Mae!" someone called out from under the ground.

Bones popped out of the sand. Gaara quickly acted and sent all of them floating above the ground, safely away from the bones.

"You…you saved me," Lee said in awe. "You're amazing, to be able to do something like this."

Gaara said simply, "I've always been able to do this. It's a simple task."

"Nice, going, kid," Kyubi said and patted him on the back. Gaara looked at him like he was crazy. "Alright, I get it. No touching." The demon held up his hands for show.

"Die!"

They looked behind them and saw Kimihro about to attack them. Kyubi slit his throat easily because of their position. The demon turned to the other two, "So, where's Naruto?"

(Scene Change)

"Who are you?" Tsunade asked as Inu-Yasha made himself comfortable in the chair in front of her. Gai stood behind him, a few feet behind.

"Friend of Naruto's," the demon said easily.

"Friend? What are you doing here, wanting to talk to me?"

Inu-Yasha turned his head to stare at Gai. No one could see his face but the way the hood was facing was enough of a clue. Gai, unfortunately, didn't get why both of them where now staring at him.

"Gai, will you please leave?" Tsunade finally asked. Gai nodded and left. After he did, she turned expectantly to the person before her.

"Alright, let's make this quick," Inu-Yasha rudely said. "Not giving you my name, so don't bother asking. You know that demon friend of Naruto's? The one helping him out?" He pointed at himself.

Tsunade's jaw dropped a little. 'This is…sudden…' She quickly shook her head and then asked, "What are you doing here?"

"My enemy has, apparently, joined up with yours. He sent me a message saying that the genin after that kid are going to die. That's all he said." The demon shrugged.

"But, why would he target them? Why would he even say so? Why are you telling me?" Tsunade asked them quickly, but not too quickly unless she annoyed him.

"He likes to mock people, especially me. Why he would target them, how should I know? He's almost insane so it's hard to know how he thinks. Hard enough to know how another demon think, actually. The reason I'm telling you is because, one, they're your soldiers. Two, he either wants me to go after them and get into a trap or to attack this place. Either that or just wants to plain confuse me. And three, Naruto seems close to you so I suppose you're trust worthy." He said the last part in a way to show -he- didn't trust her.

"I see. What do you suppose we do?" Tsunade asked, both to view his opinion and to see how he thinks.

"Your men, your responsibility. I only told you to warn you. They might already be dead for all I know. By the way, there's no 'we.' Just because my enemy joined up with that Orochimaru doesn't mean we have to team up." He got up to leave, leaving the Hokage in stunned silence. "If Naruto wants to talk, he can. I'm not bothering to say anything unless he wants me to."

Slam!

The Fifth stared hard at the door he just left by. 'At least he uses the door. The others always use the window or something,' Tsunade mused. 'This is getting more and more complicated.'

She walked to the window and stared at the village that was thrust into your hands. 'A demon just popped up and spilled a lot of information, then he expects me to do something about it, and leaves as if it's not his problem?' She put a hand gently against the glass and sighed. 'Sasuke isn't our primary concern…I have other things to think about. The village is more important. This new threat of a demon just magnifies that…"

(Scene Change)

Kyubi threw stones as he sat with his back to a tree. He stared lazily at his two companions.

"You're not human," Gaara suddenly said.

"Bingo."

"You're that demon that was sealed in Naruto." Lee looked shocked at this.

"Double bingo."

"Do you not want to kill us?"

"Not my thing, ningen."

"What do you mean?" Lee asked, joining the conversation. "Don't all demons kill and stuff like that?"

"Are you dead?"

"No…"

"What does that tell you?"

"You don't like to kill?"

"I don't kill without a reason," Kyubi corrected. He laid on the grass and stared up at the sky. "Trust me, I'm one of the few, -very- few, who do that."

"Then…what did the Leaf do to make you attack us?" Lee asked.

"Nothing. I wasn't myself at the time. Haven't been myself in a while. Maybe I'll explain later. Not now," Kyubi said lazily. 'That cloud looks like a banana…' He yawned, tired.

"How did you get out?" Gaara asked, fascinated.

"Hey, where's Naruto? You guys still didn't answer that," Kyubi said, changing the subject.

"He went after Sasuke…he's that boy we were sent to rescue. Sasuke is also his teammate-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. Aren't you two going to go after him?"

"We need to rest. Shouldn't you go after him? He's your host."

The demon waved it off. "He can take care of himself, I'm not his parent. Besides, I'm low on energy and if I get into a fight, I'll die." He rolled over until he was on his stomach. He stared at the two humans in boredom.

"What?" Lee asked. Those eyes were unnerving.

"Nothing. I just have nothing to do. Clouds are boring, I don't understand how that Shikamaru kid can like them. Hey, you know what? We should go back and look for the others. I bet some of them need medical help." Kyubi grinned a very Naruto like grin and walked off, waiting for the others to follow. They did.

(Scene Change)

"Who the hell are you?" Shikamaru asked. Temari stared at the demon with not a little interest. Gaara and Lee stood behind him.

"Name's Kyubi." The demon shrugged at the bewildered boy. "Don't ask. Don't have time to really explain. Let's go look for those other teammates of yours. And if you're wondering, yes, I am the demon that attacked your village." He grinned brightly as he patted the boy's head for no reason at all and ran off.

Lee just gave him a shrug while Gaara did nothing. Temari didn't know how to react. They all followed the demon.

"Hey! I caught that dog boy's scent!" Kyubi yelled over his shoulder. He landed with no sound on the ground. "Follow me." He calmly walked ahead of the rest.

"He kind of acts like Naruto," Shikamaru observed.

"I can hear you!"

"Definitely like Naruto," Lee concluded.

Temari added, "But he doesn't flirt."

"Not with girls who are centuries my junior," Kyubi said as he continued walking. The others, except Gaara, gave a weak smile at that. They came upon Kiba leaning on a tree with Akamaru in his arms. Kankuro was next to him but not in bad shape. The dog barked as soon as they came near.

"Akamaru, what's wrong?" Kiba asked. Then he looked at Kyubi and his eyes widened. "W-what are you?"

"A demon," Kyubi said, grinning. He was up in the other boy's face and poked the dog between the eyes, making it become quite. "You shouldn't bark, you're already low on energy, stupid."

The dog growled in annoyance.

"Akamaru is not stupid!" Kiba growled. One look from the kitsune shut him up.

"Don't worry about him, he's on our side…I think," Shikamaru trailed off.

"Don't you have the freaky eyed guy with your fat friend?" Kyubi asked when he looked around.

"Don't call them that," Shikamaru said with irritation.

"Whatever." That was when he felt someone approaching. He sighed but said, "That sensei of Naruto's coming."

"He is?" Kiba asked. "Where?"

"Here." They all looked at the person who spoke and Kyubi grinned, going over to bother/annoy him. "Who are you?" Kakashi eyed his ears and fangs.

"I'm getting really tired of that question," Kyubi grumbled. He put one thumb on his chest and proclaimed, "I'm the fearsome demon fox, other wise known as kitsune, that terrorized your village! The demon who could destroy a whole mountain with a sweep of his tails, Kyubi! Now in cool, compact, humanoid form." He held out a hand, forming his fingers into a v.

"Didn't have to introduce himself like that," Shikamaru muttered under his breath.

Kakashi's eyes widened in shock but was interrupted from saying anything by Kyubi saying, "But, no time for you to stare at me in rightfully placed awe. You have to go get kit for me. I can't, since currently I'm low in energy and all from fighting another demon that the Sound controlled." The demon began to push the jounin in the direction Naruto was at.

"I-but-you-demon-"

"Uh-huh, uh-huh, yeah. You do that," Kyubi said, not really paying attention to him. "Off you go!" He shoved and Kakashi didn't know what else to do but go after his students. It was all too strange. When the kitsune turned around, he saw shocked and/or amused faces staring back at him. He rolled his eyes. "We still have to get Neji and Chouji."

They ran off, Gaara having to carry Kiba and his dog with sand. After miles of running, that saw Neji laying on the ground, bleeding with a hole on his chest.

"Ouch, that must have hurt," Kyubi comment as he checked the boy over. He turned to the rest of the group. "Any of you know any healing jutsu?" When all of them shook their heads no, Kyubi sighed. "He's going to die if he doesn't get help. Let's go."

Neji was laying beside Kiba as they ran onward, the fox letting the chuunin take the lead. When they came upon Chouji, they just carefully picked him up and laid him next to the other two. Kyubi checked him over as he ran.

After a few hours of running, they made it back to the Leaf. They were greeted by the gate guards. Kyubi had transformed himself to an ordinary looking boy when he approached the area. The guards let them pass and they ran to the hospital.

"'Baa-chan!" Kyubi called as he ran towards her.

"Kyubi? What happened?" Tsunade asked as she approached the group.

"Ask, Shikamaru, he's team leader." Kyubi shrugged. "Not that I'm in the team." Tsunade motioned for some of the other medic-nins to take care of the shinobi as she and Kyubi walked into an empty room.

"Kyubi, your demon friend came by to talk to me," Tsunade said.

"He…he did? When? Why would-"

A voice interrupted him. "Why do you smell like you fought another demon?"

"'Tou-san!" Kyubi cried out in shock.

The Fifth thought, 'This is odd…'

"Why do you smell like you fought a demon?" Inu-Yasha pressed, leaning on the wall, arms crossed. He suddenly got a sick feeling in his gut. "What happened? Where in the seven hells is Naruto?"

The fox said in the demon language, "Naraku gave the Sound another demon. It was originally a 'Mind Eater.' Naruto's still out there to get Sasuke. Why are you so agitated? Did something happen?"

Inu-Yasha shoved a scroll into his hands. Kyubi's eyes widened and he made for the door but something held him back. "You really think you're going to be able to do something? I can tell you're low in youki," the dog demon growled out.

"Let me go! Naruto could be dead out there!" Kyubi said, eyes turning completely red.

Tsunade looked between the two and asked hesitantly, "Where is he?"

"On the border," the kitsune muttered. "At least somewhere there."

The kitsune glared at the dog demon but the two didn't move in their position. "Enough!" Tsunade cried out. "I sent Kakashi to get them, he's considered a genius here."

The demons drew apart and Kyubi spat out the blood, angry at himself and his adopted father but he understood. He could do nothing. "Not enough. If the scroll is telling the truth, they're all finished." He glanced around and found the dog demon missing. He smiled at that.

Tsunade asked, "Why are you smiling?"

"Now, it's enough." He leaned sat on a bench and sighed. "Hey, don't you have those guys to heal?"

(Scene Change)

"You moron!"

Bam!

"I can't believe you-"

Slash!

"Would betray us-"

Wham!

"Knowing that you'll end up a puppet!"

Thump!

Naruto slouched, hands on his knees, breathing irregularly. His forehead protector was thrown off his head in the middle of the fight. A gash was on the left side of his forehead, coating that side of his face with blood. His clothes were ruined beyond repair: water soaked, blood stained, and ripped as it were.

But he didn't care.

The pain wasn't in the physical wounds. In fact, he felt cold and numb all over. All that mattered was the boy in front of him. The one who everyone admired, the one whom he had considered a teammate, a comrade…maybe even a friend.

The one who shattered his little world with one choice.

The one who was currently struggling to stand up.

"I trusted you!" Naruto whispered, horrified by what he was feeling. "Why does it hurt so much…? I tried so hard-I really did! I tried so hard not to get attached!" His hands shook, but he didn't notice. "Damn it! Damn it all!"

Laughter.

Sasuke was laughing, as if he didn't have a care in the world.

Naruto thought it sounded fake.

"Hurts? You have no idea what pain is!" Sasuke said after his laughing fit sudsided. "The pain of a brother murdering your whole family, just to test his power. Since that day, all I could think about was killing him, getting strong enough to avenge my parents! What would you know of pain?" He finally managed to stand up at the end of his speech.

The blond was silent. Then, he whispered something.

"What? What was that? What did you say?" Sasuke growled out.

"Not good enough, loser."

The silence was horrible. It was as if time stood still.

"What did you say?" Sasuke whispered, equally quiet.

Naruto looked at him straight in the eyes. "You heard me. You…are…a…los-"

"Don't call me that!" Sasuke yelled, breaking the quite atmosphere. "You dare call me that, dobe? You dare?"

The other smiled, a curious little smile. "You're right. You're not a loser…you're even worse. You gave up!" Naruto lost his smile and glared at the other boy. "You fucking gave up! In the middle of a race, you didn't continue running, no, in the middle of it, you gave up. You stopped. Then you cheated. That's what you're doing now. You're taking something which you mistook for power."

"It is power," Sasuke said with a smirk. "You're that one who's mistaken."

"…Even if it is power," Naruto said, trying to not feel the hurt inside him by pretending it didn't matter…pretending nothing can or would hurt him. "You're messed up. You have power, but you don't have the brains to back it up."

(Scene Change)

Kakashi didn't know what to expect when he got there, but he knew he felt immense relief when he saw Naruto sitting on top of an unconscious Sasuke, giving him a tired grin and a half hearted thumbs up. He rushed over and picked up his dark haired student, draping him over one shoulder.

He glanced over at Naruto to make sure the kid could stand up, but was a little worried when he saw his student stumble. He picked him up too and put him over his other shoulder, ignoring the blonde's protests.

He made his way back home, knowing things would never be the same again.

(Scene Change)

InuYasha ran a lazy tongue over his claws, looking very bored.

He sat on top of a tree branch, back against the trunk.

He sat above a sea of demon bodies and blood.

The dog demon smirked. "That should take care of any demons who should be thinking of paying a visit to the ningens."

(Scene Change)

"A straight flush. I win," Kyubi said happily, taking the winnings (candy) from the annoyed (not surprisingly) Tsunade.

"Rematch!" Tsunade declared.

"That was the sixth time! Not my fault you suck in the game," the kitsune said teasingly.

That was the scene Kakashi walked into. He didn't know what to think. Should he be surprised his boss was gambling with the demon that nearly destroyed their village? Or should he just put it under the growing stack of "things that are too confusing to comtemplate"?

When the demon caught sight of Naruto, however, he felt somewhat relieved.

"Kit!" Kyuubi knocked over his chair in his hast to get to his host. He took the blond from the jounin, and cradled the boy in his arms. He whispered things Kakashi couldn't understand, but was comforted by the site.

"Kyuubi," Tsunade said, placing a hand on the demon's shoulder. "Let me heal him, I'll take care of his body. You should go to him, make sure he's ok on the inside."

The demon didn't hesitate handing over his host's body, making Kakashi raise on eyebrow. He seemed to trust the Hokage a lot, implying that they met before. His superior's familiar actions towards Kyuubi added to his suspicions.

With one last worried look at Naruto, Kyuubi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

(End Chapter)

Gee…I'm not sure how this will all turn out. I didn't originally want them to meet Inu-Yasha but then I thought it would be interesting.

Just go with the flow.

Next chapter shines some light on the shinobi's minds.