Chapter 6: Runaway
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Naruto has been in a comma liked state since the kyuubi started its merging with him. Many will find that their week as gone has gone from bad to worse.
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Saturday came and it was the ninth day of Naruto's ordeal. It was six in the evening and Tsunade already had a headache. She got some of her first reports of fights, drunks, and property damage. She gave up trying to work on the reports and handed them over to Ibiki and Anko to hand out the punishments. It looked like the two were glad to be giving these assignments. She filed that information away when she might need them to do the same for her again. She left her office and walked to the hospital. As she did, she was bombarded by people wanting to talk to her, files needed to be sign, and many more items. She was feed up with it.
"SHUT UP!"
That quiet all that was around her. Some of them started to move away from her range of attack.
"I have somewhere I am needed. I can take care of this later."
She left everyone in a puff of smoke, thinking why she did not do it earlier. She appeared in front of Naruto's room and walked in. She found Kakashi sitting in a chair reading one of his books. Jiraiya was by the bed, leaning over Naruto. Kakashi looked up at her with a smile on his face.
"He was awake about an hour ago, but it was only for about a few minutes. Shizune went to get something for him to eat."
"Jiraiya what are you doing?"
"He was talking in his sleep before you came in. I was trying to see if I can't get him to talk some more."
"Just leave him alone."
"I am. It just has not worked anyway."
He moved away from Naruto and found a seat next to Kakashi. Shizune came in with a soup for Naruto. Tsunade walked over to Naruto and brushed his bangs from his face. She smiled.
"Naruto, wake up. Shizune brought you something to eat."
Naruto curled tighter in a ball, not wanting to wake up. She shook him by the shoulder and he opened his eyes. She pulled on one of his arms and helped him sit up. He sat there blinking at them.
"Why am I here?" he asked hoarsely
"You have been in the hospital for the past few days. You were not feeling well. I will explain everything to you when you get better. Now eat." Tsunade said
Naruto nodded and ate some of the soup. He made faces while eating. Kakashi chuckled. He finished the soup and let out a yawn. Tsunade saw his canines were elongated. He looked down and his eyes went wide.
"Where is my necklace?" he asked worried
"Easy Naruto, your headband and necklace are in the table beside you, but I sealed the drawer." Kakashi said
"Okay." he said and let out another yawn
"Go back to sleep. We will talk later." Tsunade said
He nodded his head and lay back down. It did not take long for him to fall asleep.
"I hope he does not freak out about his changes." Shizune said
"Knowing him he will." Jiraiya said
"That is why I will be telling him and not you, but what are we going to say to his friends. He could learn an illusion for his eyes." Tsunade said
"Well, you can say that he was in the hospital for an infection from the kunai and shuriken wounds he got. They would believe that." Kakashi said
"Yah, I guess that would work. They did see you bring him in. I will teach him the illusion after he learns what happened to him. I am going home."
"Don't overindulge in the sake." Jiraiya said
Each said their goodbyes. Shizune was the last to leave; glad Naruto's ordeal was over.
-FOXED-
Sunday morning came and it turned into Sunday afternoon. Naruto was still sleeping and Jiraiya was watching him. He got up and walked over to Naruto and woke him up. Naruto sent a backhand slap towards the sennin which he caught it.
"Brat watch it, I am going now. The old hag is going to be here this evening. Knowing her she has a huge hangover. Now sleep as much you can."
Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. Jiraiya left, sighing to himself. He teleported himself to the bath house, knowing it was too early to do his research.
-FOXED-
At Sakura's home, she was in her room. She was going over the list of supplies she was to get. She put it down and thought of Naruto. She sighed and lay down on her bed.
"I never did thank him for saving me. I just thought of him as a jerk, as nothing. I really don't know anything about him. We all don't. We all see him different now. We grew up mimicking our parents dislike for him. We grew up with love and care while he grew up with hate. How can he be so caring for the people around him, when all they gave him was a slap on the face? He just turns the other cheek and keeps on going. How can he take it?'
"What would it be like if he grew up with a family? Would he be the same or would he be different. Why do so many of the villagers call him a monster, a demon, while others call him a hero? I do not see how I could have grown without family now. All that he has done was for recognition. I hope he gets his wish. He changed Neji's hate towards his cousin, Hinata. He changed him so much he is more open. Sasuke, he has done so much for him. He saved him from a situation that would have been worse then death. Now he is so much like himself before his family will killed. I hope he goes back to the Sasuke I remember. The others are still a bit cautious around him. I don't blame them."
She got up and walked to her window and looked out. She smiled to herself.
"When I see Naruto, I will tell him thank you."
She was brought out of her thoughts by her mother telling her she had visitors. She came out of her room and walked to the front door.
"Sakura, I have some errands I need for you to run tomorrow."
"Sorry mom, I can't. I have to meet up with some of my friends. We have a meeting tomorrow."
"Do you know what it is about?"
"No, but we are meeting with the Hokage. Who is at the door?"
"It is some of your friends."
"Thank you."
She walked to the door and found Ino there along with TenTen and Hinata.
"What is it?"
"We want to know if you want to go out with us. It is a girl days out." Ino said
"Sure let me tell my mom and grab something."
She left and came back a minute later. She closed the door behind her and walked with them.
"I can't believe I just lied to my mom. She told me she had errands for me to do, but I told her I had a meeting to go to. She believed me. She got wind of the party we plan on doing and I just wanted to scream at her."
"What did she say?" TenTen asked
"I heard from Mrs. Yamanaka that you and your friends plan on giving a party to your friend, what was his name? She said that and it disgusted me how she said friend."
"I know. I over heard my mom talking with my father last night, saying that it was a bad ideal in the beginning to allow him to live and now he is friends with me and the others. My father said it was fine that he was friends with me and that she should see him as the hero he was suppose to be. I did not get that part." Ino said
"What about you TenTen, Hinata?" Sakura asked
"Nothing." TenTen said
"My f-father has not heard." Hinata said
"I was thinking earlier, we grew up mimicking our parents for the hate towards Naruto. If we did not, what would it be like to have been friends with him? Also what would it be like if he had a family or even someone who was there for him while growing up. Would he have been different or would he have been the same? I think he will like it when we offer our friendship to him." Sakura said
"I think he would have been different. He did not start to wear his orange suit till a few years ago and started to play those pranks. He wanted attention; any type of attention was okay with him." Ino said
"Yah, that is right. Do you think Naruto will tell us if she is not willing to?" Sakura asked
"He may not. He would have told at least you Sakura or Sasuke." TenTen said
They walked in silence for a while pondering about Naruto. They shopped until before sunset and left for their homes. They all decided it was good to go to bed early, for they might need the rest to confront the Hokage.
-FOXED-
In the hospital, Naruto was asleep still, but his peace was not to last. Pain shot through him and he curled into a ball. He found he could not cry out his pain. He got up and off his bed to head for the door to ask for help. He took one step and fell to the floor. He could not move as he lay on his stomach breathing hard. His vision started to blur. He tried to stay awake, but the pain was too much for him and he lost conscious. His breathing slowed. A few minuets passed and his shape started to change.
His nails became claw like on his hands and feet as they shorten. Fur started to appear on his body. His face started to stretch as his ears grew pointed and changed into fox ears. His nose and mouth elongated to change into a muzzle. His knees bent backwards, becoming the hind legs of a fox. A tail appeared at the base of his back as he changed, ripping through the shorts he was wearing. In a matter of moments he turned into a fox, that stood two and a half feet at the shoulders and it had yellow fur. It was an hour later that Shizune came walking in. She walked in and closed the door behind her. She turned around with a smile on her face and her eyes closed.
"Naruto, wake up, Tsunade is going to be here in a few minutes."
She heard a grunt and opened her eyes, and saw that Naruto was not in bed and not in the room, but she saw a fox on the floor, which see jumped at the sight of. She did not know what to do or think till see saw it open its eyes. She immediately went down to it, seeing its blue eyes and saw the nine-line swirl on his right shoulder.
"Naruto."
Was all she could say as she placed a hand on his back. Naruto looked up at her, seeing her cry. He wondered why. He blinked a couple times. He felt light headed. He felt himself lying on his stomach and pulled his hands towards him to push himself up. His arms felt weak as he pushed up. He looked down wondering why he was not able to sit up all the way and if he moved one hand he would fall. His eyes went wide when he saw paws and not his hands.
He started to panic as he looked around himself and saw that his shape was a fox. His front legs gave out and he fell to the floor. He lay on the floor with his eyes unblinking. Shizune was afraid for Naruto now. She got up and walked to the door. Naruto looked at her thinking she was running away from a monster. She saw his look and went by him again.
"I not leaving you, I am going to get Tsunade-sama."
She got back up and left the room. He heard the door being locked. He started to cry, thinking the villagers will now be seeing him as a monster. He brought his front legs to himself again and pushed up. He struggled with his back legs trying to get them under him. He fell down many times and lay panting on the ground. He kicked his back legs to try to get the shorts off him, but that failed. He reached around and grabbed a hold of the shorts. With a tug, he ripped the shorts apart. He gathered his legs under him again and pushed up to stand on his feet. Rest of the shorts fell down to the floor as he walked. He wobbled as he tried to walk on all fours. He fell down as he walked back to his bed. He did not get back up, but crawled under the bed to hide.
Shizune came back a few minutes later with Tsunade and Jiraiya. The door closed and was locked behind the three.
"Where is he?" Tsunade asked
"He was here when I left him." Shizune said
"He is under the bed hiding. I saw a foot move when we entered." Jiraiya said
Tsunade got down on the floor and looked under the bed. She saw Naruto looking back at her.
"Come here Naruto, please."
She saw Naruto curled himself tighter to get away from her. She moved closer to the bed and placed a hand under the bed towards him. He moved farther back from her and swatted her with one of his paws. She pulled back her hand and found four claw marks on her hand. She sat up and held her hand and Shizune came by her side and pulled out some gauze from her pouch at her hip.
"He is frightened."
She got up and looked to Jiraiya. He nodded and knelt down on the floor. He went through a series of hand seals and pointed his hands under the bed, feathers appeared. Naruto panicked at what he did to Tsunade and Jiraiya using a jutsu on him. He tried to fight the effects of the jutsu, but lost. The adults heard a thump under the bed that indicated Naruto was out. Jiraiya reached under and pulled him out. He picked him up and laid him on the bed. He was about to cancel the jutsu when Tsunade placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We need to think of how to tell him what the kyuubi did to him. He is in shock now from this. He should be out till the morning. Jiraiya you stay with him tonight. With this happing, I think when he is told and stays calmed down you take him to your mountain home. Get the fox summons to help him and see if he is able to change back. I am going to get papers done that looks like you took him training. Take him to the Hokage home. It will be a better ideal if he is not seen."
"Yes."
He placed a hand on Naruto and teleported out of the room.
"Shizune can you do the sign out papers for him, I will be in my office."
"Yes I will do that."
Tsunade moved to the table and undid the seal. She took out Naruto's necklace and headband. The two left for their tasks. Jiraiya appeared in the room Tsunade was going to give Naruto. Jiraiya laid him down on the bed and looked around the room. It was larger then his own bedroom. He found packages all piled neatly on the floor. He found a chair and sat down. He rubbed his temples as a headache was coming on. Shizune came in a few minutes later with tea and a bottle of sake. Jiraiya reached for the sake, but his hand was slapped away. She sat the items down on a table and poured her some tea and handed a cup to Jiraiya. Tsunade came in a few minutes later, looking tired. They sat in silence for a good hour till noise brought them out of their stupor. They turned their attention to Naruto who was whimpering in his sleep. Tsunade reached over and rubbed his back to calm him. He calmed down and she rested her hand on his back.
"I did not expect a side-effect like this and I believe the kyuubi did not either. I hope he is able to change back. I do not know what to do with his friends. He just made them and now he is going to lose them."
"Easy, tell them you thought it was wise that he spent some time outside of the village. Kakashi is going to be told of this?" Jiraiya asked
"Yes, I will tell him. Jiraiya after you tell Naruto what happen to him, come by my office. I will give you the travel papers there. I guess the best time to leave the village is at night. I will send you some spending money with you."
"Fine."
"Let's get to bed. It is going to be a long day tomorrow." she said
Tsunade and Shizune left the room to their own room. Jiraiya made himself comfortable on the floor and fell asleep.
-FOXED-
Midnight came. In the Akatsuki's base, the nine followers were standing at attention in front of their leader. All that could be seen of their leader was his right arm up to the elbow. On his right thumb, was the ring of their organization. His voice moved across the room effortlessly.
"I am disappointed you were not able to retrieve the nine-tails Itachi, Kisame. We have lost our opportunity to move our plans forward. We will have to wait three more years before the time is right. You two will try your hand at capturing the nine-tails still. The rest will work on capturing the rest."
"Sir, if I may asked, is there not more then the one nine-tail?" Kisame asked
"Yes there is more then the one nine-tail, but the one that resides in the child is the oldest and strongest. I had summoned it many years ago, but it got out of my grasp. I almost lost my life. I still want that one. It will be easier since it is already contained in a living vessel. If captured, in the near future, the vessel will not need much care to keep till the time comes again. I expect better results. Now leave."
Each member bowed and left in a puff of smoke. Laughter filled the room that would bring any hard core ninja to cringe.
"Soon I will have what I want. All I need is the nine-tails for my plan, but why stop there, when I can gain more power."
Another fit of laughter came from the man, before he disappeared himself.
-FOXED-
In Konoha it was now three in the morning. Naruto was still in a fox shape. He woke up, bolting up, when he remembered what had happen to him. He looked around and found he was not in the room he was in when he first woke up. He looked around and found he could see very well in the dark. He heard soft snoring below him and looked down to find Jiraiya sleeping on the floor. He wondered where he was. He got down to the floor and slowly took small steps to get use to walking on all fours.
He got close to Jiraiya and sat down by him. He looked at the man sleeping on his back, spread eagle, talking in his sleep, trying his best to woo women and getting rejected. He could smell the sake from his breath. He did not know if he should wake him, but decided against it. He got up and walked to the door. He saw he would not be able to open it. He saw a large window and walked to it. He found that they were doors that lead to a balcony. The handles he saw he could open. He jumped up and placed his paws on the door. He looked back to see that Jiraiya was still asleep. He pawed at the leaver handle and the door open out.
He stepped out and looked around. He walked up to the balcony's edge and saw that he was up high. He studied his surroundings and remembered where he was. The Hokage home, towards the center of the village. He turned around and walked back towards the room. He checked to see that Jiraiya was still asleep and shut the door. He looked for a good spot to jump to and found it. He got on top of the balcony railing and jumped to the next roof.
He almost made it. He clung to the roof trying to get a hold. He got his back legs to get a grip and lifted himself to the roof. He laid down letting his heart to calm down. He found his nose was assaulted with many scents. It was hard for him to separate each one. He was startled when he heard rustling on the roof behind him. He turned around and could hear someone talking. He found that their voice came from the Hokage home. He left not wanting anyone to see him.
Naruto picked up the running part very quickly in his panic state. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop, heading for the forest. He was a third of the way there. He jumped to a new rooftop and was about to jump to a new one, when the tile on the roof gave way under his foot. A shard of tile impaled through his right front foot. He lost his footing and fell two stories down to the ground. As he fell, he swung his body around to land on his feet. He landed on his feet, but sent the shard deeper in his foot. He gave out a cry and crumpled to the ground.
A women who had been on her porch rocking in her rocking chair heard as something landed on her roof and one of the tiles breaking. She let out a curse as she got up to see if she could see who it was this time. She was not expecting to have a large fox land in her backyard. She saw it as it crumpled in pain from landing on its feet. She watched as it got up and looked around. Light from street lights reflected in its eyes, showing them a blue color. She saw the fur was a bright yellow. The fox limped away, to the small fence and jumped over it, taking off. She narrowed her eyes as she thought of what she saw. She walked back in her home and went back to bed.
"I think I will have a talk with our Hokage tomorrow. Answers are needed."