A Shattered Demon Child

Part 14

"Why the hell did you assign us a new captain and some weird to our team?"

Tsunade sighed heavily before she stated firmly, "Your team has to have four shinobi and Kakashi will be out for a while. Like I said, Naruto, my hands are tied here. If the Akatsuki come after you, you'll need backup. Yamato and Sai are more than qualified to be on your team."

Naruto growled darkly, "It feels more like you're trying to replace Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei."

The blond woman narrowed her gaze before she replied, "We're not replacing anyone on your team, they're apart of your team now. Kakashi will still be around and Sai isn't a replacement for Sasuke. The deal is you have to be on a four man squad in order to go on missions outside the village, and they take up the other two open slots."

The teen crossed his arms and stared down at the Fifth Hokage across the desk from him. Tsunade looked ready to snap, and Naruto felt the same. Normally, he'd just let it go, but not this time. He didn't want new teammates; he had Kakashi and Sakura. Things with Sakura seemed better and she didn't get aggressive with him anymore. He hadn't been back maybe a day or two before Tsunade assigned Yamato and Sai to their team. The blond didn't want new shinobi on the team; he wanted his team as it was with him, Sakura, and Kakashi. Things were fine with the three of them; they didn't need two more people to get involved. Naruto knew his ambition to save Sasuke was extremely unpopular and most people wrote Sasuke off when he left. It was likely to stare conflict, and it started when Sai started acting like a lunatic the first time they met.

Naruto's eyes averted her gaze as he asked, "Is this about what happened during the last mission?"

Tsunade sighed and said, "That's part of it, but the other part is the elders. I'm trying to find a middle ground here; they want me to keep you off of missions outside the village, and I know that's not what you need right now. This was the only way to keep their mouths shut and not confine you to the village."

Naruto growled lowly, "Fuck this."

Tsunade's eyes filled with rage. "Excuse me?"

The blond let out a heavy sigh before he said sharply, "I said fuck this! They don't care what happens to me! They only care about the fact I'm a jinchūriki!"

"Watch your language, Naruto," the sage scolded loudly. "Unless you want to be benched from missions, you will do as you're told! You will respect the agreement I made for you and that's final!"

Naruto stared at her with tears of anger forming in his blue eyes. The sanin didn't budge as she stared at him with anger in her eyes. He was used to this; being told how he had to act and how to behave. Naruto never really had a choice in his behavior; it was controlled and calculated out for him. After everything he'd been through, Naruto just wanted to be left alone. He never asked to be a host to the demon sealed inside him, and more over, he never asked to be born in the first place.

Naruto stated coldly, "Understood, Lady Hokage."

Tsunade flinched at his words, but when she tried to open her mouth to speak, it was too late. Naruto had already darted out of the door and slammed the door behind himself. Tsunade slammed her fist into her desk the moment Naruto was gone. She cursed as her desk shattered into millions of pieces. It wasn't even a few seconds before Shizune was running into the room with a look of concern on her face. The soft spoken assistant could only stare at Tsunade as the blond stared down at the remains of her desk.

"Shizune," the blond woman growled. "We're done for today. I'm going for a drink."

"B-But my lady-"

Tsunade snapped, "Let me put it this way, I'm done for the day."

"What about Naruto?"

The blond sage huffed and said sharply, "That brat is lucky I haven't knocked some sense into that thick head of his! If he wants to act like a brat, so be it!"

While the two women assumed Naruto was already out of the building, but Naruto was listening to the entire conversation from down the hall. Shizune left the door wide open for Naruto to hear everything. The blond teen felt his heart stop and the air leave his lungs as reality started to set in. He wanted to believe he misunderstood Tsunade, but it felt like he was right. She was giving up on him after all and she admitted it loud and clear. The blond had held out hope it wouldn't happen so soon, but he knew deep down this was inevitable. Naruto was ready to fall over until he heard Tsunade storming through her office. Naruto quickly jumped into an empty storage room as he listened to her storm down the hallway.

After the halls were quiet again, Naruto slipped out of the dusty storage closet and made his was to the nearest open window. He quickly jumped out of the building and raced across the rooftops towards his apartment. With Jiraiya no where to be seen and Kakashi out of commission, the blond decided to take advantage of the limited time he had. Naruto decided he one more shot at saving Sasuke, this next mission was all he had left to hang onto. If Tsunade was done, Naruto would assume Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Iruka were not too far behind. The blond couldn't cry as much as it hurt him to think Tsunade was done with him. He couldn't grieve anymore; he just accepted it at face value. Tsunade was done with him; that's all it was.

This next mission was his last attempt at redemption; his last chance to make things right. Naruto couldn't allow the fox to take over again if it meant risking the lives other than his own. He was a ninja to the end, and that's how he wanted to keep it. He didn't want to die before he did everything he could to try and save Sasuke from himself. The blond knew the darkness that lived in Sasuke could also be found in his own heart, the darkness that was his hate. Naruto wanted to hate the world and rip it to pieces, but he couldn't bring himself to make others suffer like he had for so long. Naruto wanted that hate to numb his pain and to silence the guilt that haunted him everyday.

When the blond found himself in his run-down apartment, he locked the doors quickly. He didn't make a sound as he quickly searched his apartment for intruders. Naruto made sure to lock all his windows and pull the curtains shut. He walked through his dimly lit apartment and made sure to lock the door to his room before he moved to his bed and pulled his backpack off the floor. He rustled through his bag for a moment before he found the scroll he'd been using to hide the evidence of his broken promises. He unrolled the small scroll before his blood ran cold. This wasn't his scroll; he only stored two items on his scroll, not three.

The blond's eyes widened as he opened one of the seals on the scroll to see a vial with a purple liquid in it. Naruto thought for a moment before he realized Sakura had to have his scroll. The vial in his hand was some of the poison that was used on Kankuro by one of the Akatsuki members. Naruto then realized that the other items sealed must've also been vials of the poison. He did release the last two to find another vial of the poison, and what Naruto assumed was the antidote. Naruto quickly put away one of the vials of poison and the antidote before rolling the scroll back up again.

He sighed heavily as he silently hoped Sakura wouldn't notice the difference. Naruto wondered how it was possible Sakura got his scroll, but he remembered Sakura saying she lost one of her storing scrolls and that Temari helped her find it that morning. Naruto's eyes widened a bit as he remembered the strange look on Temari's face that morning. She looked at him with concern, like she knew something she didn't want to believe was true. Naruto also remembered right before Temari went to help Sakura that someone had bumped into his backpack, and that someone was Kankuro. The other strange thing was that Gaara seemed so calm about the group leaving so soon to the village, but his two siblings insisted they stay for at least another day or two to rest up.

Naruto then searched his bag again to find a note where he had been keeping his scroll in one of the pockets inside his bag. He pulled it out and unfolded the note.

Forgive me, Naruto. I can't lose you, my friend.

-Gaara

The blond shinobi felt his heart drop to the floor. Gaara didn't plan on letting Naruto just leave knowing what he knew; he was setting Naruto up to be found out. Gaara wasn't trying to out him, he was trying to get his attention. Naruto had to respect the fact his friend was trying to do something, but he also found himself pissed off at the idea he had to explain to Sakura their scrolls seemed to get switched. When Naruto put the scroll in his pocket and hid the small vial along with the note from Gaara in his backpack again, he heard a loud knock on the door to his apartment.

He quickly unlocked his bedroom door and hurried to the door. When he opened the door, to his dismay, Sakura was standing on the other side with a small scroll identical to the one he had in his pocket. Naruto was grateful she came to him, but also terrified if she figured out he was up to.

"Hey Sakura," Naruto said happily. "What's up?"

The pink-haired chunin let out a small sigh before she stated, "I was wondering if maybe you have a scroll like this one. This one isn't mine and I really need to give mine to Lady Tsunade. She'll want the poison and the antidote to be analyzed at the hospital."

Naruto pulled her scroll out from his pocket before he said, "I guess our scrolls did get mixed up. I was actually about to try and find you so I could return it."

Sakura let out a sigh of relief before she held the scroll in her hand out towards Naruto. "Thank goodness you have it. Sorry for the mix up."

They traded scrolls as Naruto stated with a grin, "It happens, don't worry about it."

Sakura nodded and said, "Thanks again, Naruto. I'll see you later."

He nodded and waved to her before she left for the hospital. The blond shut the door once again and locked it. Naruto walked towards his room once again and locked the doors as he did previously. He quickly opened the scroll to find two seals still on the surface. He released both seals to see his things were still in the same condition as he left them. Naruto quickly pulled out the vial of poison and the note from Gaara and sealed them away quickly. Naruto picked up the kunai and medical box from off his bed and walked to his bathroom. He turned the light on and put the kunai and box on the edge of the sink beside him. Quickly locking the door, the blond teen paused as he leaned his head against the door.

I'm sorry Gaara, Naruto thought somberly as he picked up the kunai on the edge of the sink. I'm a lost cause.

Kakashi didn't have to be a genius to know Naruto wouldn't react well to the new additions to their team. The gray-haired jonin knew all too well how it felt to think your teammates were being replaced, hence why he joined the Anbu after Rin died; he couldn't get attached like he had before. Yamato knew that, and he'd seen Kakashi at his lowest after his sensei died. It was part of the reason Tsunade chose Yamato; he knew what to look for and he knew how to handle just about anything Naruto could throw at him.

That was also why when Yamato came to see Kakashi the gray-haired jonin knew things didn't go well. Yamato would come to Kakashi for answers, and so he did.

"So, I take it things didn't go over well with Naruto?"

Yamato raised an eyebrow at his former captain. "Not exactly."

The silver-haired jonin sighed as he put his book down on his lap. Kakashi sat up a bit straighter before he looked to Yamato. The brown-haired Anbu looked irritated, but that couldn't be helped. Naruto was stubborn and still a little childish, but Kakashi understood why. Naruto cared deeply for his team; they were his family. Kakashi felt the same way about his team that had grown so much over the years. Yamato was one of the few who knew about Kakashi's past, and he knew how much it effected Kakashi to see his students suffer like he did.

"He's a hand full, but he's our Naruto," Kakashi stated smugly. "He grows on you."

Yamato sighed. "I just don't know how you do it. He's got a lot of personality, that's for sure."

The gray-haired jonin glared at Yamato before he stated darkly, "I'm starting to wonder who's side you're on here, Yamato. You can't be siding with the elders on this, right?"

Yamato shrugged and said, "I'm not siding with anyone, captain. I'm just stating the facts."

Kakashi tilted his head before he replied bluntly, "You're doubting him before he's even had a chance just like everyone else. Give him a chance, Tenzo. That's an order."

Yamato sighed. "You know not to call me that."

"Then you'll give Naruto a chance to warm up to you and try to get along."

The brown-haired Anbu sighed. "You're not making this easy, Kakashi."

"Its not supposed to be easy," Kakashi stated firmly. "That's why we picked you."

The room was silent for several minutes, allowing Kakashi to start reading his book again and it allowed Yamato to think about what his former captain had said to him. The sun had already set before Shizune knocked on the door to the room. Kakashi and Yamato both turned to see Shizune enter the hospital room. Her dark eyes locked onto Kakashi before she walked over to the two men. Judging from the look on her face, Kakashi knew something happened with Naruto. He straightened up and closed his book again as the black-haired woman stopped right at his bedside.

"Kakashi, there's something I need to ask you," Shizune stated bluntly.

The jonin tilted his head slightly. "Did something happen?"

The woman sighed before she said, "Naruto came into Lady Tsunade's office this afternoon."

Kakashi and Yamato both sighed, but Yamato was the one who asked, "Is it about the new formation in the team?"

Shizune nodded and replied quickly, "It was, but this time was different from the others times he's come in upset about something. He went off on Lady Tsunade."

Kakashi's eye widened a bit. "What did he say?"

Shizune hung her head. "She wouldn't tell me, but it whatever it was, Lady Tsunade broke her desk and went to get a drink because of it. She said before she left that if he was going to act like a brat, so be it..."

Both jonin stared at Shizune with panic.

"Tell me he didn't hear her say that," Kakashi said calmly, holding out hope Naruto didn't overhear her.

The black-haired woman stated calmly, "I saw him leaving a closet down the hall. Tsunade was yelling with the door open, so it's possible he overheard what she said. That's why I'm here."

"Has anyone seen Naruto since then?"

Shizune replied, "Sakura saw him not long after he left the office at his apartment. She said he was fine, seemed happy like usual."

Kakashi felt a pit forming in his stomach. "How long ago did she last see him?"

"About two hours ago, give to take," Shizune breathed. "I can send someone to-"

The gray-haired jonin shook his head and started to push himself off the bed. "I'm going."

"Kakashi, you can't leave in this condition!"

He growled harshly, "I'll be fine. I need to go check on Naruto."

Yamato offered quickly, "Do you want me to go?"

Shizune and Kakashi both looked at Yamato. Kakashi knew he couldn't walk, but he knew Yamato wouldn't offer if he wasn't concerned. It seemed Kakashi's word sunk into his wooden brain. The jonin was thankful.

"Thank you, Yamato," Kakashi breathed out.

The Anbu nodded before he slid the window in the room open and hopped out. Shizune insisted that she wait with Kakashi to be sure Naruto was really okay. No matter what Naruto did, they couldn't help but worry. Naruto could make anyone like him just from meeting him once. They wanted him to become Hokage and hoped he could be happy, but they knew it would be a long time coming. They had work to do still with trying to help Naruto through his problems, even if he didn't want them to.

It was about half an hour later when Yamato returned through the window again. As he caught his breath, the other two shinobi in the room stared at him anxiously. Kakashi had to know what Yamato found when he went to look in on Naruto. The first good sign was that Yamato wasn't covered in blood, and the second was that Yamato looked relieved. Shizune seemed less tense once she studied Yamato for a moment, but said nothing. Kakashi couldn't take the never ending silence.

"Well? What did you find?" Kakashi asked, breaking the tense silence.

Yamato said calmly, "He's fine, Kakashi. I talked to him and everything."

"What did you two talk about?"

The Anbu shrugged and said, "We talked things out between us and he apologized for lashing out. He didn't mention overhearing anything with Tsunade, but he did say he was going to apologize later to her for what he said. He even welcomed me to the team before I left. Like I said, he seemed fine to me."

The gray-haired jonin let out a sigh of relief, but he felt like something wasn't right. It wasn't normal for Naruto to back down, even when he might've been in the wrong. Kakashi knew deep down Naruto wasn't being honest with Yamato, and he already knew Naruto was hiding the fact he relapsed because he hadn't mentioned it to Kakashi and he only knew about it because Jiraiya told him. They asked if he was fine, he said he was. Kakashi wasn't supposed to doubt him until he had evidence to do so; and he was started to get the sense something was going on that he couldn't see.

"Is something wrong, Kakashi?"

Kakashi blinked at Yamato and Shizune. "Oh, no. Sorry. It's nothing."

The black-haired woman crossed her arms before she asked, "Are you worried about something, Kakashi?"

He let out a sigh before he said, "I don't want Naruto to be lost in the darkness like I was. I already failed Sasuke, I don't want to fail Naruto, too."

Yamato stated firmly, "I'll keep an eye on him."

"Thank you, Yamato."