Chapter 6

"Heh. Heh. Heh. What a wonderful feeling. Everything's numb. I can't feel anything…" spoke Naruto as he opened his dull blue eyes. He moved his right hand to cover his face, shaking as he spasmed with laughs.

"… There, there are people outside our house. Their telling us to come out or they'll burn the house. Get up. You're supposed to protect us!" said a hesitant Inari. He looked at Naruto and soon started to back up as Naruto lifted his hand from his face. His eyes were dull and red swirled inside the black pupil.

'Little boy… such a little boy. He reminds me of myself. Always alone with no one there for me. Is that how you feel right now? What was it like to have parents? Was it like having onee-chan?' thought Naruto as he looked at Inari. Wide black eyes stared back at him pleading him to protect the only parent he had left since the death of his father. Pleading him to protect his mother. To not leave him alone.

Sitting up Naruto got off the bed. Walking towards the door Naruto opened the door and left the room. Inari followed behind careful to keep his distance from the unstable ninja. 'Scary. His eyes…what's wrong with his eyes? There so empty, so dull. Is he always like that? His teammates seemed worried about him. Is he sick?' thought Inari as he walked behind the blonde.

"Hey are you guys listening? Come out or we'll smoke you out!" spoke Zouri. Standing at 5' 8", his head was covered with a black bandera keeping his shoulder length hair from covering his eyes. Triangles were drawn under each eye by eyeliner. He wore a white large thick jacket tied together at the waist by a white belt. A katana about the length of his body was kept at his left side ready to be drawn. Shorts adorned his lower half of the body stopping at the middle of his shin bone.

His companion, taller by a head and 5' 11", looked much gruffer. His hair was tied back with three small bushy ponytails, two atop his head and one at the back. An eye patch covered his right eye, while the top of his left eye was decorated with two small slashes. His torso was left exposed. Tattoo's decorated both arms. The left shoulder held waves, and below that a swirl of water. The left forearm was covered from the middle of his bicep to the knuckles with vines. On his right arm a tattoo of three claw marks decorated his bicep. His waist was wrapped in bandages and below that a piece of long fabric of zigzags was wrapped around his waist to the middle of his shine bone. A portion of a tattoo could bee seen there also. A katana about the size of his body was held in his right hand. "Let's just burn the house. This is no fun, waiting for them." said Waraji looking off to the side.

"Will you burn down this house then?" asked a voice from in front of the two swordsmen.

Turning towards the voice both set of eyes landed on a blonde boy. His hair sprouted everywhere some ends highlighted by crimson red. The bright orange outfit was wrinkled and dirty, patches of dirt here and there. Dull blue eyes gazed at them, red shifting from within the pupil. The dark whiskers on both sides of his cheeks contrasted greatly with the pale skin of the blonde. Dirt covered most of the pale skin turning the skin tan. He stood at 4' 9" with a leaf headband covering his forehead.

"Will you?" asked the blonde again.

"What's it to you shrimp?" asked Zouri.

'His eyes look vacant. Is that red in his pupils? No that can't be…pupils are all black. There is empty space inside of the eye that's why they're black. There can't be something red in it.' thought Zouri as he looked the boy over.

'He looks weak. Sick even. Is he going to stand up to us?' thought Waraji incredulously.

Something black moved from behind the blonde as the wind blew by. Looking more closely the two swordsmen found that it belonged to an even smaller boy. He hid behind the blonde again as he saw the two men stare at him.

"Are you the grandson? Where's your mother, kid?" asked Waraji.

"I…I…" stuttered the child as he clutched at the back of Naruto's orange jacket.

"Fire is a very beautiful thing. It spreads and consumes. If it were to get out of control would you be able to handle it?" asked the blonde.

"Who are you anyway? Ah. Forget it. Were not here for you, we're here for the kids mother. If you don't get out of the way we'll kill you both." said Zouri.

"Will you now…" said Naruto as he looked to the ground. 'Fire. They will burn. Like little matches. They'll light up like little matches then spread.' thought Naruto. Red entered his vision, orange as well. They mixed together growing until it consumed Naruto's vision. 'Think hot…hot…' came a voice from within.

"Hot…" said Naruto.

The two swordsmen looked at the blonde weirdly. "Hot" came from his chapped lips, saying it as though it was a long lost lover. The blonde looked up to the two men and they shrunk back as he snarled.

"So…hot…" murmured Naruto as he clutched at his head. He fell to the ground and scratched the wooden planks they were all standing on. Inari crouched down next to Naruto still clutching the orange jacket. Fire erupted from underneath Naruto's palms spreading and covering the whole hand. A scream came from behind both Inari and Naruto. At the doorway stood Inari's mother Tsunami.

"Inari! Are you alright? Inari!" cried the hysterical woman as she saw the smoke.

"Mom!" yelled Inari as he turned to face his mother.

"So that's her?" asked Waraji.

"Guess so. The blonde kid's gunna be a problem though. The fire…he made it without any seals…a blood limit?" asked Zouri.

"No…not a blood limit. Fire is my friend. It loves me as I love it. The orange. The red. The burning…the pain…the numbing. I can't feel it. Not a thing. Heh. Heh…" spoke Naruto as he raised his left hand to his face. He blew at it and it went out. Not a singe was on his hand. Raising his other hand Naruto blew the fire out. Looking towards the two men Naruto walked towards them.

"Will you burn down this house?" asked Naruto as he walked step by step closer to the two men.

"The kid's insane. This will be easy." spoke Waraji as he flicked his katana open with his thumb. Using his left hand he pulled the katana out and rushed Naruto. Raising the katana high he slashed at Naruto.

'The katana's coming kid. Are you just going to just stand there?' asked a deep voice from within Naruto's head.

"No. No I won't." said Naruto.

'Crouch down and touch the ground. Palms flat on the ground. Think hot and think it straight at the one rushing at you.' spoke the deep voice.

Crouching down Naruto put his palms flat on the ground.

'Hot.' thought Naruto.

The katana was about to slice open Naruto's head when a spark ignited. The katana was a hair away from actually cutting but was close enough for Naruto to strike back. Fire shot up the katana to the hilt burning Waraji's hand forcing him to let go.

"Kuso!" yelled Waraji as he shook his hand to cool it off.

A kunai flashed by Waraji and hit Zouri in the leg.

"Argh!" grunted Zouri as he dropped to his knees clutching his right thigh. He wheezed as he tried to pull the kunai out.

"That won't come out. The two ends of the kunai have been altered. My special design. There are hooks that lock into the muscle and unless you want to rip out your leg muscles you can't pull them out without damaging your fighting ability. I on the other hand have no problem with pulling out your muscles. Would you like me to help?" asked the innocent voice of Naruto as he eyed Waraji.

"That was a cheep shot leaf-nin." said Waraji as he eyed the headband on the blondes forehead.

"Is it? Well it's survival of the fittest. I plan on ripping out your guts swordsman. You shouldn't worry about the one behind you. I don't like you. I don't know you…but I want to rip you apart. You'll help me won't you? I want to feel your organs still moving in my hands." said Naruto as he tightened his hands into a fist imagining the organs gushing out blood.

'What bloodlust…'thought Waraji. He started to back up. "Zouri, lets leave. This isn't worth it. This child is unnatural…" said Waraji as he reached his partner. Lifting his partners arm over his shoulder he jumped away into the forest.

'Child go rest.' spoke the deep voice inside Naruto's voice.

"What about my team?" asked Naruto as he stared into the sky.

'Do you care? They're the ones that took away your Naruto-nii' spoke the voice.

Naruto's face became flat. Turning around Naruto was greeted with the site of two frightened faces. Walking towards them, Inari and Tsunami stiffened and moved out of the way of the doorway.

'Their afraid of me…'thought Naruto as he ducked his head so that his headband's shadow covered his eyes.

'The way he talked…so dangerous… so inhuman.' thought Tsunami as she clutched her son to her body.

Entering the house Naruto went straight towards his room. Closing the door and falling onto the bed he closed his eyes and fell into a dark world.