Ishikengo no Kami

Author Notes:

Hello again! Thank you for continuing on to this chapter. I hope you enjoy it as well. Few things first again:

Disclaimer: I have no rights to the character, setting, story and otherwise that have been taken from the original manga and anime Naruto. I will make no money from this, nor do I intend to cost the holders of the original work's rights any money. I do this not to cause trouble, but to express a great appreciation for a wonderful series. I request that the original creator and those who have the rights to it to not look upon this not as a mean spirited infringement, but as a great compliment and free advertising.

Thanks: I would also like to give a big thanks to my friend Joe, whose characters and ideas I am, in part, using. Finally, thanks to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei for creating Naruto in the first place.

Denotation:

"Speech"

'Thought'

-Sound-

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Far below in a wide valley a city under construction bustled with activity. The four travelers looked down on it from a high ridge on the road, their forms outlined by the morning sun.

"We're almost there." The speaker was Alucard. He seemed to be doing a bit better now. Soon they would arrive.

"S-So….Inu-kun"

"Ah! Hinata-chan! What is it?"

Naruto watched them from the corner of his eye. For the last couple days Inu had been traveling with them, uninvited, and had spent most of his time arguing with Naruto or hitting on Hinata. That second part was irritating Naruto too…he wasn't quite sure why.

"A-ano…you haven't told us very much about yourself. All we know is that you came from far away, which is why your name…"

"Which is why your name is backwards!"

"It's not backwards, yours is!"

"Yeah right! Who puts their own name first, and then their family name?"

"I do, that's who! Who puts their family name first?"

"I do!"

-Pfft-

"and Hinata does, too!"

That shut him up. Naruto reveled smugly in his victory while Inu steamed.

"A-ano…"

"Ah, gomen, Hinata-chan. Let's see… Well, I was born in a very small village. My mother died when I was born, and my father left shortly after that."

"Th-that's horrible."

"It's not so bad. I never found out why he left though. That's why I'm looking for him. I'm going to find him some day, and show him how strong I've become!" Inu gazed confidently into the sky.

In addition to his very similar appearance, Hinata had found Inu to be startlingly similar to Naruto in personality as well. "Hah! Some goal that is!" A fact that seemed to irritate Naruto. If opposites attract, it seemed alikes repel.

"Oh! Oh! And suppose your goal to become Hokage and make everyone acknowledge you is any better!"

"Of course it is! I…"

"Shut up. We're here." Alucard's interruption caught them by surprise.

The large gates to the city towered open before them. Inside, people bustled about from one place to another. It wasn't as large as Konoha, but it seemed very busy. They strode inside, looking all around at the unfamiliar sights, as Alucard led them straight to a large important looking building with numerous steps leading up to the door.

"Well, this is were we part ways." They turned to look at Inu. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan, but I have to return to my master to continue my training. Don't worry though, we'll meet again. That's a promise! And I always keep my promises." With that he turned to Naruto.

"Naruto"

"Inu"

"Well then, I'll be on my way. Good luck, Hinata-chan!" With that, the black haired boy turned and left quickly, headed back to the entrance.

"Bout time he left. He was really getting on my nerves."

'Naruto-kun…'

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"You called for me, sir?" The speaker was female, her voice accented.

"Ah, you've finally arrived." The figure turned to the new arrival. Hidden branch could easily be seen in the distance through the trees.

"I am sorry, sir." She bowed low. "He was more trouble than we thought. He has been convinced, however."

"Very good. Now, on to the matter at hand. Take a look."

The female paused a moment. "The Coldash kid? What's he doing here?"

"He ran into the other targets a couple days ago. It seems he's leaving now, though."

"Do you want me to…"

"No. Look."

In the distance, Inu bowed to an old man in a martial artist's gi similar to his own. "Is that…"

"Indeed. In any event, we can wait. The boy will not be with his master forever. Besides, there are more important matters to discuss. I may have devised a solution…"

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"Finally! He's gone." Naruto turned his gaze back from the main gate. "That guy was so annoying! How'd want to be around anyone so cocky and loud?"

"N-Naruto-kun…"

"Huh? What is it, Hinata?"

"N-Nothing!"

With a confused look at the blushing girl, Naruto started glancing around the square again. There were a lot of people bustling around from place to place. It was all rather busy.

"Hey! Get back to work!" A large man yelled. In front of him, a rather elderly worker covered in sweat struggled to lift a large stone block. "I'm paying you to work! Get that moved, now!"

'That bastard!' thought Naruto. 'I'll give him a piece of my mind!' He stepped forward, ready to intervene, when suddenly the robber froze.

"That's not a very nice way to treat your employees." Slowly Alucard faded into view behind the man, his sword pressed against his throat. "A-Alucard!"

"I'm gone for a few weeks, and this is what happens? Scum like you…"

"That's enough Alucard." Naruto turned to see a well-dressed man coming down the steps with a group of tough looking men. 'Who's this guy?'

"N-Naruto-kun. Look." Naruto turned to see Alucard…that Alucard…kneeling in the street as this man approached. The large man seemed ready to run, until he caught sight of Alucard's glare being directed towards him.

"Takemi, you know that's not the way we do business here. I suggest you treat your workers better. Be on your way." The man bowed quickly and hurried off, obviously relieved to get away. Meanwhile the old man stopped to thank Alucard, before going to find a place to sit and rest.

"Are these the two from Konoha?"

"Hai."

The man looked them over as if appraising them. "A bit younger than expected, but they seem capable enough. How do you do? My name is Akimoto Kazuma. Welcome to my city."

As Naruto stumbled through his introductions, thrown by Alucards subservient attitude, a lone figure on the stairs watched with a look of disgust on his face. 'That curséd Alucard…what have you become now?'

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The days went by quickly. They helped with all sorts of things: putting up buildings, hunting for food and even dealing with the occasional bandit trouble. Some of the work was hard, but all in all it was a relaxing sort of mission now that they weren't traveling with Alucard every day.

He'd been helping out too, more than anyone else. He seemed to throw himself into the work, even if it was an unimportant task. Naruto still couldn't get over how supplicant Alucard had been around the village leader though. When he had asked someone about it, he was told that it was because of a debt of honor or something like that. Alucard might be cold and unpleasant, but supposedly he was firm about honor and doing what's right. Naruto found that a bit hard to swallow.

Soon, a week had passed. Naruto continued to complain in private about the wasted time, but Hinata noticed he seemed to enjoy helping anyways. As they walked through the street on another task she looked over at him.

"Here you go, old man. It's the rice you wanted." They'd carried it from the storehouse out to the main square. It was just one of a number of errands on their list for today.

"Why, thank you Naruto. I really appreciate it."

"Ah, don't mention it. It's all part of the mission after all. Besides, the sooner we get everything done, the sooner I can get back to training!" The old man chuckled a bit, but then stopped as he noticed a commotion.

"Naruto-kun. Look over there."

"Huh?" Naruto turned to see a small crowd gathered around three figures. Naruto made them out to be Alucard, the village leader and his advisor. It looked like there was an argument going on.

"He must leave at once! It is dangerous I tell you." The advisor had an ugly sneer as he spoke. Naruto had never talked to the guy, but he had seen him around. He hadn't liked him from the start. "I knew something was wrong when he first returned. That's why I told you as soon as I figured out what. He is infested with demons!"

Shock rippled through the crowd. Demons? Naruto was as surprised as the rest, but a more important thought filled his mind. He looked around at the faces of the other villagers. Those eyes…He didn't like where this was going.

He saw the leader turned to look at Alucard, his face unreadable. "Alucard, is what he says true?"

Alucard paused a long moment before replying, but he never looked away. "It is."

"You see? We cannot allow this! He is endangering the entire village! He must be cast out immediately" Hinata turned when she heard a strange noise. Had Naruto…growled?

"There is no danger. I am in control."

"But for how long? You can't control them forever."

"My will is strong. Something a sniveling coward like you cannot understand." Alucard's voice was steady and firm, but his hand moved slowly to his sword. The adviser sweated a bit when he noticed, but did not back down.

"Alucard…" Both men turned towards their leader. "I'm sorry. I will have to ask you to leave the village."

Alucard stood a moment, his hand tightening on his sword. Tension wrung the air and for a long time no one moved. A small trickle of blood flowed down his cheek before he reached up and wiped it away.

"…As you command." He bowed. Without another word Alucard turned and walked down the street towards the gate. The villagers quickly parted like a receding tide; afraid to be near him. The silence continued even after he disappeared through the gate, until it was broken by a cry.

"WHY!" The yell startled the two officials.

"W-what? Oh, the ninja from Konoha. What do you want?" The advisor's sneer continued despite his victory. Of course, it was always there. It may as well have been painted on.

"Why did you kick him out? Why?"

"My boy, he is infested with demons! Four of them! Surely someone as dangerous as that cannot be allowed to…"

"He never hurt any of you! He's done nothing but help you, and now you just kick him out?" The boy was going red in the face from anger. They'd turned on him. The fact that Alucard had been carrying demons all this time didn't matter to him at the moment. The fact that he hated the bastard didn't matter either. Only one thing mattered. He had just seen something that had rung deep within him. The fear and hatred toward one who carries a demon.

He'd grown up with it. He'd seen it in almost every face back home. They had turned against Alucard. They were forcing him to leave for good, even though he'd been helping them. What if…

"There is nothing I can do." The leader's back was turned as he spoke. "My advisor is right. We cannot let him stay. It is a danger too great to risk."

Hinata stepped forward. Learning that Alucard was infested had been a shock, though it explained a lot of things. It must have happened in that abandoned temple, right before his eye had started bleeding. He had been acting strange since then. She wasn't sure what to think, but at the moment something was more important. 'Naruto-kun…'

Suddenly, Naruto turned and ran. She couldn't see his face, but she could tell he was in pain. She'd never seen him like that before. Overhead, that clouds darkened further.

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The path led him into the woods, but then he had taken off between the trees. He hadn't seen Alucard, but that was fine. Naruto wasn't in the mood for company. The recent events boiled around in his mind. He felt like he had just seen his own future. All he wanted to do was run. Run and be alone.

He tripped and fell, landing on his face. Lacking the will to stand, he simply lay there and slowly rolled over to stare at the sky. It started to rain. It seemed fitting.

Then was it, then? Too dangerous. That's all there was to it. He was too dangerous, so he had to leave. Simple as that. The drops began running down the sides of his face.

Was Naruto too dangerous, too? Would he ever be allowed to be Hokage? His clothes began to darken as they absorbed the water.

Even if he was… He sighed. Could life get any worse?

"Well well, what do we have here?" Naruto's instincts brought him to his feet. Several yards away stood a strange woman. She was tall and foreign looking. Her lips displayed a small humorless smile.

Naruto was set on edge. That feeling…he felt it from her, too.

"Time to die, little fox."