Sooooooo sorry this took such a long time to come out and I hope you can live with that but life hit an all time high in hectecness and I had to prioritize yet again.
P.S.; I HATE my job.
Ok now that that's out of the way, look for the disclaimer in the first few chapters.
Now, on with the story.
It had been weeks. Literally. It had been three weeks since the bell test, and the most exiting mission yet was to catch a cat, for the third time. They had; babysat, grocery shopped, weeded gardens, and pruned trees. For three weeks. All of these missions had been good training, gave a decent wage, and were completed easily enough. In short it was a good set up for Shikamaru, and it was great for Hinata because it was safe. Naruto on the other hand was bored out of his mind.
As they walked back toward the Hokage tower with freshly caught cat in tow, Naruto vowed to get the old man to give them a better mission. An exiting mission where he could show how great a ninja he was.
The three students and their teacher Kurenai all walked up in a straight line and bowed to the Hokage then their client the lord of fires wife, as they returned the cat yet again.
"Well done team 10. I have another mission lined up for you tomorrow. Either grocery shopping for the local magistrate, or babysitting…" was all the 'honored' Hokage could get out before Naruto's face filled his vision.
"NO!" screamed the irate short ninja. "No more boring stupid missions, I want something challenging."
Kurenai grabbed Naruto by the scruff of his jacket and slung him into the ground with a look of rage. "Show some respect to the Hokage!"
"Now now, that's alright Kurenai-chan," said the Hokage in his best diplomatic tone. "If Naruto is so deadest on a more challenging mission, then I have just the one for your cell. One of our more… acceptable scrolls has been stolen while on transit. It isn't all that important a scroll and was taken by a group of bandits to a local lords mansion. We believe that he doesn't know what it is and will use it to attempt to blackmail us. As such it is nearly harmless, but in enemy hands, it might lead to the deciphering of our code. I want you to take it back with minimal casualties and as little knowledge of leafs involvement as possible."
"YEAH!" exclaimed a joyous Naruto as he leapt into the air. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"
Silencing the boy with a stiff backhand that sent him into a wall, Kurenai stepped forward. "Hokage-sama, are you sure this is a good mission for three genin to undertake?" asked a hesitant Kurenai.
"Yes, I think your team is the best for this mission." Stated the Hokage simply. "Hinata's Byakugan and Naruto's newly acquired jutsus will make avoiding the guards simple, and the lords security system is only operable by he himself, making Shikamaru a necessary part as well. Finally, should they be discovered, you can erase the memories of those who shouldn't remember with your genjutsu talents."
"Well alright, but I think it's a bit of a big mission for a genin team." Said a slightly placated Kurenai. "We accept our mission Hokage-sama!"
"Good, you shall meet tomorrow at nine in the morning to leave for your mission. I expect you back no later then midnight on Monday (Currently Friday). Dismissed!"
With that, the three genin and teacher left the room to head back to their own beds to rest for tomorrow. All but one, who left the others and walked back to the back of the building and leapt back up to the window of the room he had just left.
"Ok old man," said Naruto, "Time for the rest of my black training."
The next day, Naruto woke three hours early at the utmost insistence of Kyubi. She wanted him up and ready for the mission as well as having time to review his new black and white jutsus, and wanted to make sure that he was there first at the meeting place. The need to be first was something Naruto had asked her about but he hadn't gotten an answer yet.
In truth, Kyubi was worried that if he wasn't there first, he might not get there at all. So she had forced him to shower and dress at six am and he was at the meeting place by the west gate by seven thirty after packing and a large breakfast.
'Ok ok ok, I'm here early, what should I practice first?' asked a slightly groggy Naruto.
'Just get used to the "Murk Speaker" for now, we're not supposed to tell them about your new jutsus until we're out of the village' replied Kyubi.
"Sounds good," said a now more awake Naruto, eager to test his new "Speaker" technique. Prepping himself and focusing on his black chakra, Naruto spread it to the shadows around him and said "Murk Speaker"
Instantly, the world was different. He could see into all the shadows but not only that, he could subtly influence them. Causing them not to move, but darken and or lighten. The stealth abilities would be enormous!
'Wow! That's awesome' thought an incredibly enthused Naruto. 'Hey… that gives me an idea. Kyubi-chan, how would you feel about me pulling a bit of a scare on them?'
'What kind of prank?' asked Kyubi with suspicion. 'It better not be about your new jutsus, because you know we cant until we leave the village.'
'Yeah I know that' sighed an exasperated Naruto, 'I was thinking of a more future timeline. I mean plan it now and then pull it later.'
'Ohhh! Well in that case, what did you have in mind?'
Kurenai left in near perfect timing to meet with her team and was quite pleased with the promise from the Hokage that Naruto would explain everything to them before the mission but only after they left the village.
It was, as luck would have it that as she walked by the Hyuga mansion just as Hinata raced out her front door.
"Hinata-chan!" called Kurenai. "No need to rush, your not late or anything so why don't we walk together?"
"Oh, well I-I-I guess t-that would be ok" stuttered out Hinata, falling into step behind her sensei. The two walked to the assigned meeting place and met up with Shikamaru with only a few blocks to go.
It was not really a surprise to see that Naruto had gotten there ahead of them. He always seemed to be there well ahead of time. It wasn't that he was early and super enthusiastic about any of the missions and it always puzzled Kurenai, that while he hated the missions that he was sent on, Naruto always seemed to be waiting for them when they got there. No it wasn't that he was there that surprised them, but that he didn't seem to notice them. Indeed, he seemed to be off in his own world and was quietly snickering to him self. Kurenai began to worry. The only time she had ever heard a laugh like that was when Anko was planning one of her more violent pranks.
"Hey Naruto. Early as usual I see." Called Kurenai.
"Huh? Oh you guys are here!" Naruto said with a cheery wave and a loud but not earthshakingly loud yell.
"Of course we are," sighed a tired looking Shikamaru. "Where else would we be? How troublesome."
"H-h-hello, Naruto-k-k-kun" stuttered out a quiet Hinata.
"Well, now that we're all together, we can leave. Does everyone have all their tools?" asked an exited sounding Kurenai. At the nods of her three students, she continued. "Well then lets be off. We need to get back by Monday, and with travel time, we'll only get one day to scope the place, and one night to complete the mission, leaving one day for the return trip so we really must be going. All right! Team10, lets MOVE OUT!"
After about an hour of walking, Kurenai stopped, and stepped in front of Naruto. Leaning down, she looked closely at him as if a doctor over a microscope. After a few seconds, she pushed her finger into her students chest and in an accusatory manner, said; "spill it!"
"W-what are you talking about, Kurenai-sensei?" asked a confused and slightly trembling Hinata.
Shikamaru looked at the whole scene with overly intent eyes and for Shikamaru, that ment that no one was going anywhere without an explanation.
Naruto looked at his teacher and teammates and took a deep breath. 'How much do you think I should tell them Kyubi-chan?'
'…I think that you should tell them everything, but it's against the law to tell them about me being a demon, so you'll have to tell them what you told the third.' Said a slightly nervous sounding Kyubi.
"Okay, I think this might take a while, so should we walk and talk?" asked Naruto as he prepped to give them 'the big speech'.
"Actually," said Kurenai with a slightly devious smile, "anticipating that this would be big, I kind of lied to you. The lord's manor is only about five hours away, so we have plenty of time."
"Oh… hey you tricked me!" yelled Naruto with an annoyed, I'll-get-you-for-that look.
"It was a pretty obvious trick." Drawled a bored sounding Shikamaru. "I mean the Hokage himself said that it was a local lord. If it took a whole day to get to his manor, then he wouldn't be a local lord and we would have to go through a magistrate. You need to think before you talk Naruto, you're so troublesome."
"Heh heh…"Naruto laughed nervously while scratching the back of his head. His teammates sweatdropped. But Kurenai was far from done with Naruto yet. She clenched her teeth and with a rather large vein throbbing in her forehead, grabbed Naruto and swung him off his feet and into a tree, where she pinned him.
"Enough distractions!" she angrily roared. "You tow shut up!" she screamed at Hinata and Shikamaru even though Hinata hadn't even done anything. "And YOU!" she whirled back to Naruto, "start talking!"
Naruto slumped down his head and recited the events that had happened when he was three, and when Kyubi-chan had tried to help him.
After his tale his team looked shocked and in varying degrees of emotion.
'The fox took him inside the seal?' thought Kurenai in horror, 'What if they switch places and Naruto's trapped and the fox gets lose. But wait; didn't he say that she was just a little girl with no memory, and that he named her? Is she really playing with him, or is it the truth? Or worse, is she someone else that somehow got trapped in him with the fox?'
'So he has a voice in his head, or a person in there? This is troublesome' though Shikamaru wondering if his teammate was insane or not.
Hinata, on the other hand was more worried about the nature of the tenant rather then the tenant itself. 'It's a girl, that lives in Naruto's head. She gets to know what he's like. How he thinks, everything about him. I'm so jealous,' Hinata though with a pout. 'WAIT! Didn't he say that she could see everything he can see? Dose that mean that, she can…even when he…' Hinata's blush grew into a tomato red and she felt a slight drip on her upper lip. She wiped it on the back of her hand and found that she had a small nosebleed. "Eep" she quickly turned away and forced herself to calm down.
"So, what's this about special techniques then?" asked Kurenai. "I mean, are they techniques that anyone can learn, or does your…Guest, help you with them?"
"Huh? No. Well… I suppose that she does help a bit but mostly no. See the Hokage said that because of her, my red chakra was run through her and then to me so it never really completely connected to me. So that helped me unravel it and then the others." Said a smiling Naruto. They knew and so far they seemed to take it well enough, but he was still worried about what they would think if they knew she was a demon.
Naruto's teammates looked at him as if he'd grown a second head, and Kurenai looked even more confused. 'Red' chakra, what did he mean by that? And unraveling? What in the world was he talking about?
"Naruto, what in the name of shinobi everywhere are you talking about?" asked a bewildered Kurenai. "'Red chakra'? 'Unraveling'? You're not making any sense!" Kurenai was practically screaming at him by the end, at the top of her lungs.
Hours of explanations (as well as almost all his 'colored' techniques being demonstrated) later, the group traveled in nervous and stunned silence. Were they walking with a powerful friend, or a dangerous psychopath? Asked Shikamaru. Was it really Naruto with training or the demon fox in a clever ruse using Naruto as a disguise? Wondered Kurenai.
Hinata on the other hand saw it with nothing but praise. He had done something no one else in the village had ever done. And maybe now he would get fewer glares from everyone, and people would see him the way she did. She had made it as clear as she could through her stutter and another blush brought on by the fraise, 'lets just sleep on it' said by Naruto, to tell him that he had her support. He had livened up immediately and said both a sincere thank you from him and a respectful one from Kyubi. It seemed a large amount of her animosity toward the girl had gone down when she realized that the Hyuga girl really did like him for who he was and nothing else.
With his mind less on worry now that they were assured that he and Kyubi had at least one ally, their internal discussion got back to the topic of mischief, though, with this much tension, he'd have to tune it down it a bit, unless… maybe he could play the same trick he had planned, but with a different target.
That's a new update. Whew.
I told you I'd have this story going and it's not done for yet. With work now, I have even less time then ever before but I thank you all very much for all your reviews and support and I'll try to fit thins into a larger portion of my schedule :P
Ja Ne.