Red Eye

Begin Author's note:

Wow. I was taking my break from writing, with my new chapter all planned out, When I looked over my story stats. I was surprised out of my mind. I managed to spill my coffee on my arm and not even feel it. My first story, Origin, had 18 hits, blah blah. Red Eye has 365 (at the time of this writing). I was tremendously touched. I have more reviews on 1 chapter than I've had on 3 in origin. I honestly thought this little venture would be a failure. My happiness at the largest response I've ever gotten has prompted me to do my best to lengthen my chapters, get to the bloody plot, and put in that action I've been promising. Thank you everyone who has read, and more thanks to those who reviewed as well. Oh, and wisely unsaid, they are a neutral type. They aren't just random killers, but they do take assassinations and the like. Welcome to chapter 3.

But wait... There's more! I have to clarify a few things before I write them. Naruto will be older than he is in canon. Why? I have a simple logical explanation. The manga and anime state that Naruto failed at least three Genin tests. Due to his atrocious... everything, there is no way he could try to graduate early. Therefore, he would have to be 12. He fails three Genin tests. 3. With the year that passes in between, he would be 15 come Sakura and Sauske, since there's no way in hell that they fail. PLOT HOLE! Anyway, Naruto is 15 when the rookies are 12. I say that to say this. I might...might pair him up with Kurenai and/or Anko. I have a dislike for Naru/Saku and Naru/Hina, which can and will be explained in later chapters. Now, everyone who wanted a different pairing, hang on. I said might. I am willing to go with popular opinion. Here's the deal: If enough people voice their want for a pairing, and if it isn't something just insane(I have seen a Naru/Orochimaru...ugh) I'll write it. If the masses are silent, then I'm going with Naru/Kurenai or Anko. Okay, now that you have gotten through the rough stuff, here's chapter 3!

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Earth Country was surrounded by a mountain ring. It was harsh, massive, and incredibly easy to get lost in. It was constantly snowing throughout most of the range, and few travelers would leave the lone pass that was used to enter and leave the country. Small villages of hardy and stubborn men and women clung to life in the mountains. They were seldom visited, and no one left them.

In short, it was the perfect place to hide.

The Akagan had their main base in these mountains, near a quaint little village. The inhabitants knew enough not to talk about the clan of nin who had been living there for generations. They were a strange group, with slit red eyes that could make a man flinch at ten paces. They were the self-appointed town guardians.

Operating from a fortress hidden in the peaks, the Akagan had only one true mission. Power. They wanted to be the best. They would seek out students with the potential to be the best. Everything was about power. They used any excuse to obtain power that they could. All members went through a series of rituals. These rituals were designed for the siphoning of power from a Bjuu. The Kyuubi no Kitsune had been their patron saint for three decades. Knowledge that she had been nearly destroyed would cause a panic through the lower ranks.

It was fortunate then, Cyrus decided, that he had expressly forbidden discussion of the topic with the lower ranks around. He wondered how the container and new heir to the Akagan, Akagan no Naruto, was doing...

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At that very moment, 3 year old Naruto was meeting his new teammates with his Miya-kaasan. Nanashi-tousan was at a meeting with Janus-sama. Tsurugi-sensei and Kaizen-sensei were off somewhere. He wasn't worrying about them. He was looking at his new comrades.

Haku looked up as the door to her cell opened.(A/N: Yeah, Haku's a chick. Voiced by a chick, looks like a chick, is a chick.) Her four year old mind was reeling from the shock of being removed from her home when two people walked in. One was a tall, raven-haired woman. She was as pale as Haku herself. She was wearing a kind smile. She had the same red eyes as the boy she was walking behind.

The boy wore an impassive expression. He looked like an emotional black hole. His black hair (will be explained) was of medium length and pulled back into a ponytail. His clothing consisted of black pants and a shirt, with shinobi sandals. He was tall for his age, and much more mature than she could believe. He looked at her, calmly considering.

Naruto's hair was a bit itchy. Since the jutsu Janus-sama had said would make him unrecognizable to his old village had been used, His old genes had warred for dominance with the newly introduced ones. He could not let things like that affect him, though. He had been trained by Nanashi-tousan to keep his emotions separate from him at all times. Even knowing that, he felt a stirring of pity in him when he looked at the pale girl who had lost her parents. Hopefully she didn't know that. It would make her much harder to deal with. He decided on what to say.

"She is my teammate?" He turned towards kaasan.

The boy's voice surprised Haku. Instead of being full of energy and loud, like she had been at that age, his was soft and quiet. The woman's was caring and louder than she would have expected. She smiled at Haku when she spoke.

"Yeah. Come on, Haku. Let's get you out of this cell." She came over toward Haku, wrapping her arms around the bewildered girl. Haku was carried out of the dark cell, the boy following on their heels.

"Hey Naruto, your other teammate is down the hall. His name's Kimmimaro. He's about five, white hair. Which reminds me, we need to get Saraki for those rituals." The boy walked into the hall opposite them, calling over her shoulder.

"I'll go get him. Meet you near Saraki's place." The woman waved to him, and smiled at Haku.

"Are you alright? Those cells are kind of dark. And cold." Haku was feeling cold. She spoke hesitantly to the woman.

"K-kind of...cold." The woman laughed and whirled around.

"So you can talk! I'm Miya. And you're Haku, right?"

"H-hai." Why was Miya being so nice to her? Everyone else called her a monster.

"Miya-san? Why are you being nice to me? Everyone calls me a monster because I can make the water move." The woman smiled at her and kissed her forehead.

"Haku-chan, you aren't a monster. You're just special, and powerful. You have a great gift. No one here cares about what other people think. Anyway, you get to be on a team with Naruto-kun! He's a nice boy, but he takes after his father. Naruto-kun and Nanashi-kun have the personality of a block of wood stuck in the freezer." Haku giggled a bit. Kami, the boy did!

"Miya-chan, are you his kaasan?" Miya smiled at her.

"Nanashi-kun and I adopted him, yes. We've been his parents since he was born. We might adopt you and Kimmimaro-kun if you want." Haku rested her head on the woman's shoulder.

"I'd like that."

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Kimmimaro meditated in his cell. He was the strongest Kaguya. He was the strongest. Nothing could prevent him from escaping this place and his clan-

The door opened. He readied himself to preform the Hessendan, (finger bullets) his best skill. His only skill, he hated to admit. He readied himself as a black-haired youth entered the room, raising both hands, fingers pointed at the boy. The gaki raised an eyebrow, but nothing else. Kimmimaro smirked.

"Hessendan!" POOF! A cloud of nin-smoke appeared. When it disappeared, The boy was gone, and Kimmimaro's finger bones were embedded in the wall behind where he had stood. Kimmimaro looked left, right, behind, and even below him. Suddenly, one of his father's lessons came back to him.

"A human will rarely look above himself. Shinobi should know this and exploit it."

Heart sinking, Kimmimaro looked up. The youth was standing on the ceiling. Kaguya prodigy Kimmimaro could not even attempt that for at least a a few more months! The youth flipped down from the ceiling to land in front of Kimmimaro. He said one word, and strode off.

"Come." Kimmimaro followed.

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Haku looked up from the chair she was sitting in to see the pale boy enter the room, followed by a white-haired five year old. He must have been the Kimmimaro Miya-kaasan had been talking about. He looked a bit older than her, with his shoulder-length hair pulled back from his face. He had a pair of crimson dots tattooed on his forehead above his eyes. The same crimson was under his eyes, making it look as if he was wearing eye shadow. (It's a tattoo, since eye shadow would stay on even when he transformed to CS2 form.)

He was wearing the same black pants and shirt as everyone else in the building she had seen. Even herself, after Miya had replaced her old ragged clothes. Taking a close look at his eyes, she saw the were a light green, unlike Miya and Naruto's slit-pupil red. Studying his face completely, she saw his was wearing an entirely serene expression. Mentally, she sighed. 'Another block of wood.'

Naruto pointed to another seat next to Haku. Annoyance flashed across the boy's face before he sat. Naruto nodded, and walked over to Miya and began a quiet conversation. Haku decided to risk talking to the boy next to her.

"Ano... I'm Haku." She began timidly. The white-haired boy looked at her.

"Watashi wa Kaguya Kimmimaro." His voice was strong and clear. Wait, Kaguya? Wasn't that another clan of monsters? No, Miya had called them bloodline limits...

"Do you have a bloodline limit?" As an answer he pulled his femur from his arm. Haku was horrified, until the torn flesh sealed up on it's own. The shape of the bone changed, until finally it was a beautiful bone-flower. He gave her the flower.

"Do you also possess a bloodine limit?"As an answer, she formed an acupuncture senbon needle from the moisture in the air. She handed it to him. He turned it over in his hands, and then threw it into a wall.

"It will sustain pressure..." Haku smiled at the implied compliment. They both heard a small snicker, and then clapping from the other side of the room. Looking over, she saw it was Miya clapping, and the snicker was most likely Naruto. Miya began to praise them both.

"Wonderful! You two both seem to have wonderful control and strength in your bloodline limits. I had thought your growth would be stunted due to a caged lifestyle, Kimmimaro-kun." Kimmimaro bristled. Haku wondered what she meant by caged.

"Who are you?" The boy seemed ready to attack, Miya, until Naruto stepped froward slightly. He then contented himself with glaring. Miya didn't seem to affected.

"I'm Akagan no Miya. This rather short fellow next to me is Akagan no Naruto. He's going to be your new teammate." This statement reminded Haku of a question she had been meaning to ask.

"Um, Miya-kaasan, are you called Akagan because your eyes are red? Why are they red?" Miya poked Naruto. He smacked his forehead, but opened his mouth anyway.

"We are called Akagan because our eyes are red. Everyone in our clan has red eyes. The red is a result of a complicated ritual that infuses each of us with a unit of demon chakra. As new members of the clan, you each will undergo the ritual as well. We are currently waiting for our seal master to arrive, and the we can begin." This raised more questions. Demon? New members? Ritual? Clan? Kimmimaro began to clarify some of his own questions.

"What does your clan do?"

"The Akagan was created by the Kyuubi no Kitsune to function as elite soldiers and assassins. We work to serve him, and further our power by collecting powerful students with the most potential. You two were selected as prime candidates, and are thus my teammates. It is a great honor." Haku decided to ask her question.

"What about this ritual?" Naruto displayed the most emotion she had seen on him yet, a slight smile.

"It will not hurt, if that is what worries you. The demon chakra infused allows you to use our clan's specially developed techniques, and providing a chakra boost and our signature red eyes." He smirked at her, the crimson eyes creating a malevolent effect. She felt an icy ball of fear in her gut, which was dispelled when Miya thwacked him on the back of his head.

"Itai!" He rubbed his head. "Did you have to do that?"

"Don't scare the poor girl with your little trick Nanashi-kun's been teaching you!" The door to the room opened, and a large man walked in. He chuckled.

"Still the holy terror of poor Naruto-kun Miya?" Haku was vaguely frightened of the man. He was a giant! He had duck to enter the room, bald head brushing the top of the frame. He wore, Haku noted with irritation, the exact same black shirt, pants, and sandals as everyone else in the place. This must be the seal master Naruto had mentioned. Her suspicions were confirmed when he took out several bottles of some sort of ink and began to draw a massive design on the floor.

Miya sniffed. "I hardly consider myself a terror."

"Oh, I thought you were going to say you weren't holy."

"Hey teme! I am one of the greatest virtuous maidens in the land!" The seal master gave her a skeptical look. She put her hand on her hip.

"What? You doubt my virtue?" The look she was wearing was dangerous, so no one was surprised when he simply shrugged. He introduced a quick topic change.

"I'm finished." Kimmimaro took note of the seal on the floor. His finely attuned senses indicated blood was used as the ink. His musing was interrupted when the large man pointed to him.

"You first."

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Seemed like a good place to end it. This chapter took a bit to post because I was at my Dad's for Friday and Saturday night. I'm aware it was all talk, but now that the Akagan has been explained, I think I put some people's questions to rest. The aforementioned voting for the pairing with Naruto are open. Every girl is possible, from Haku to the Kyuubi. They will last for two chapters, after which the real story will begin. This is all preparation. In two chapters, team 7 will meet some new people... Heh.

Sabaoth