A/N - Okey dokey, figured I'd update this one next. I wanted to continue this story after what I did at the end of the previous chapter. So hopefully this chapter lives up to expectations. I also sincerely hope you enjoy it.

I had a bit of a hard time focusing on this chapter, mostly because of my damned ADHD. My attention is always bouncing all over the place and I constantly have to check all kinds of things in a particular order thanks to my OCD kicking in, combined with my ADHD. It gets really annoying. lol.

Anyways, I had fun writing this chapter, and I hope you'll enjoy reading it. Now read on!

Chapter 6 – Crimes & a Birthday Celebration

Naruto scowled as he looked at Kakashi and Sakura, not letting his guard down for even a moment. After taking a moment to think on it, he sighed and said, "I'm not surprised you two were the first from that wretched village to find me. After all, it doesn't take a genius to follow the trail I left after moving here. I published my godfather's books, after all, and you're more familiar with them than anyone else in the world. So of course it wouldn't take long for you to learn where I was hiding out. Am I right?"

Kakashi simply smiled and said, "Got it in one. If you wanted to remain hidden, you wouldn't have published those books. Unless, of course, you were so confident that you didn't think we would come after you? In which case, that was awfully foolish of you, Naruto."

Naruto sighed again and said, "I just wanted to be left alone. Especially after everything that happened. I don't understand why it's so hard to just let me live in peace. Don't I deserve to be happy too? I never hurt any of you. And yet I was accused of so many crimes. I had no choice but to flee to the outside world. I'm so tired of having to fight all the time."

Sakura scowled at him and said, "Accused of crimes? You're a wanted criminal in each of the major countries! Well, except Suna, but who cares about them?"

The blonde scowled at her and said, "Don't say another word Sakura. I won't have you ruining the life I've built here."

The pinkette continued to scowl at him. "You don't scare me, Naruto." Looking around at the various students in his class, she soon stopped on Lala, staring into her eyes. "So, you're his 'fiance', huh? Tell me, has he told you about all of the crimes he's committed? Or has he kept you in the dark?"

Lala frowned and asked, "What 'crimes' do you mean? From what he's told us, you're the monsters. NOT him!"

Kakashi chuckled darkly and said, "How wrong you are. You see, Naruto did so many bad things before leaving the Elemental Nations. After being sentenced to death for his crime of killing Sasuke-kun, Naruto did, indeed, flee the village. However, rather than leave the Elemental Nations, he tried to find someplace to belong. However, he wound up doing such terrible things before escaping our clutches. The first crime he committed was murdering the Raikage. A simply wanted to look out for Naruto, considering he had done so much for everyone during the war. While it's true that Naruto saved a lot of lives, he also took the lives of Sasuke and the other members of his group. This included murdering his own clanmate, Karin Uzumaki. Afterwards, as I said, he wound up in Kumogakure where he lived for a time. A was protecting him, keeping him safe from we in Konohagakure. However, something eventually went wrong and Naruto murdered the Raikage in cold blood, thus making him enemy number one in Kumo's books."

Sakura took over the explanation at this point. "He went to Iwagakure after that. They still held a grudge against Naruto's father, Minato Namikaze. However, seeing as Naruto had done so much for them, they took him in and protected him, just as Kumo had done. Sadly, something went wrong again and he was accused of raping Kurotsuchi, the Third Tsuchikage. Whether this is true or not doesn't matter. What does matter is the fact that he hurt her in some way before fleeing Iwa."

"Then he wound up in Kirigakure. Mei was more than happy to accept Naruto into her village. She completely ignored the accusations against him, believing him to be truly innocent of his crimes. However, Naruto entered an abusive relationship with Mei. Apparently, he beat her numerous times for one reason or another. And so, after some time, he was banished from Kirigakure as well. This left only Sunagakure for him to flee to. As we said though, Suna never had a problem with him, though we're not entirely sure why that is." Kakashi explained.

"Then he infiltrated Konohagakure again and murdered the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade Senju. He murdered his own godmother for Kami's sake! She loved him and cherished him dearly and he murdered her in cold blood!" Sakura exclaimed angrily. "He was also accused of raping Shizune, but there's no proof of such a thing."

"After that, Naruto stole the Scroll of Seals and his supposed inheritance before fleeing to the Land of Waves and eventually to the barrier. Afterwards, we found the hole he punched in the barrier and reopened it before coming here to the outside world in search of this bastard. So you see, Naruto isn't the person you think he is." Kakashi said.

Naruto sighed and shook his head in disbelief. "Are you seriously accusing me of all those crimes? I never did any of that and you know it! Let's see here, in the order on which you listed each of my supposed 'crimes', I'll explain the real truth behind each of those claims."

Taking a moment to calm himself, the blonde began his explanation. "I never meant A any harm. However, A tried to control me as he would any other jinchuriki. I tried to deal with it to the best of my ability, but he wanted to use me for a Fifth Shinobi War. When I argued against it, he called me a weapon and proceeded to attack me. So I killed him in self-defense. That is NOT a crime."

"As for Sasuke and his cohorts, Sasuke attempted to kill me during the sealing of Kaguya. He was a deranged psychopath that only ever thought about himself. I don't know what the hell I did to make him obsess over me, but he really gave me no choice but to end his life. But you two don't care about that. After all, Sasuke was your god and could never do anything wrong. Let's see here, he betrayed the village for Orochimaru, tried to kill me numerous times, tried to kill Sakura, tried to kill Kakashi, tried to kill Yamato, Sai, yada yada. He murdered Danzo, which really wasn't much of a crime considering how horrible Danzo was. Joined the Akatsuki and attempted to capture B. Sought revenge against the village because of what he learned. He committed so many crimes and yet you idiots wanted to pardon him for ALL OF THEM!"

Grumbling angrily to himself, Naruto shook his head and said, "As for his group, Taka or whatever they were called, Jugo was a deranged psychopath half the damn time. When he found out I killed Sasuke, he tried to kill me. Again, self-defense. Suigetsu didn't really give a damn about Sasuke, so I let him live. He probably went underground somewhere. I dunno. As for Karin, my clanmate? She was yet another Sasuke fangirl. She tried to kill me, so I killed her first. I wish I didn't have to, but she didn't give me much of a choice."

"As for Kurotsuchi, those accusations are false. Kurotsuchi and I got along just fine. I never hurt her and she never hurt me. Somebody was jealous of me for being so close to her, and because of the fact she had feelings for me, that he chose to spread such information in an attempt to slander my name. Kurotsuchi was the one to tell me to flee while I could, because the people were just looking for an excuse to have me executed. I'd love to see her again, but I can't see that going over all that well." Naruto explained with yet another heavy sigh. He seemed to be doing that a lot today.

"Mei's next, right? Again, that one's a false claim. Chojuro was absolutely CRAZY about Mei. Mei and I were happy to spend time with one another, but we never got to enter a relationship with one another. Sadly, because we grew so close so quickly, Chojuro became enraged and tried to attack me, only for Mei to get hurt. Seeing the bruises and the wounds on Mei, the people immediately blamed me. After all, Chojuro was such a sweet, innocent boy that had a mad crush on Mei. He could do no wrong, just like Sasuke. It was frustrating as hell, but there was nothing I could do. So Mei instructed me to flee and go to Suna where I'd be safe."

"Now comes Tsunade. You're actually right about that one. I did kill her. She betrayed me in a horrible way. So yes, I killed her. As for Shizune? I never touched her. Unlike most people in that cesspool, she actually cared about me. She gave me my inheritance and, just as I had before, I stole the Scroll of Seals. Konoha didn't deserve to have such a thing, so I purloined it and fled." Naruto explained with a dismissive shrug of his shoulders.

"I won't have you two slandering my good name here. I've had to do some horrible things to keep myself and my loved ones safe. I'll admit that some of the things I've done haunt me, but I will not apologize for my actions. As for you two," he said, looking calmly into Sakura's and Kakashi's eyes. "I'll give you this one chance to leave and return to the Elemental Nations with whoever came with you. Leave and NEVER come back. I have people I love and cherish here. I have friends here! I refuse to let you take my happiness away from me!"

"You have an excuse for anything, don't you Naruto?" Kakashi questioned disappointedly. "I had hoped you would fess up to your crimes, but it would seem I was hoping for too much. Oh well. You can either come with us peacefully, or we can start killing everyone here until you do cooperate."

Naruto took a deep, calming breath before saying, "You fucked with the wrong guy this time." And with that, he was gone. When he reappeared, his hand was sticking through Kakashi's chest, the man's still beating heart in his hand. Removing his arm from Kakashi's chest, he looked at the heart and shrugged. "So, he had a heart after all. Interesting." Shrugging, he set the heart ablaze before letting the ashes fall to the ground.

Turning to Sakura, he was about to kill her too, but Lala moved before he could. When Sakura dodged Lala's initial attack, she attempted to strike the pink-haired alien, only for Lala to catch her punch like it was nothing. Slowly, she began to crush Sakura's hand, listening as Sakura screamed in pain. "Stop! Please, stop!"

Lala glared into Sakura's eyes and asked, "How many times did you beat my Naruto-kun up with these very fists? How. Many. Times?"

Sakura looked horrified and said, "I…I don't know. A lot."

Lala nodded and said, "He cared about you. For some reason, he actually liked you for a time. But you betrayed his trust. You hurt him deeply. I'm going to give you this one chance to turn around and leave. Tell the others that came with you that you couldn't find Naruto-kun anywhere and then LEAVE. If you refuse, wellll…let's just say you don't want to refuse. Okay?"

Sakura whimpered and said, "I-I'm sorry! Naruto, I'm sorry! Please, just let me go."

Naruto shook his head and said, "I never hurt you Sakura. Well, except for that one time, but that wasn't exactly intentional." Sighing softly, he shook his head and said, "Please…just leave Sakura. Return home and be happy. I just want to be left alone so I can live my life in peace. Is that really so hard to accept?"

Sakura frowned and asked, "What about my happiness? You took away my one true love! How can I just forgive that?!"

Naruto shook his head and said, "You were obsessed with him. You weren't truly in love with him. But it doesn't matter now, I suppose. Just go home and leave me alone. I don't want to kill you if I can help it. I'm tired of all the violence. All the hatred, all the anger, all the sadness, all the hurt…I'm just so sick of all of it. Please, just let me have some peace."

Sakura glared at him and said, "You'll NEVER have peace, Naruto! You've made enemies throughout the Elemental Nations. They're going to come after you, all of them. Even if Konoha leaves you alone, you'll still have to contend with everyone else." Laughing, she shook her head and said, "It would be a mercy if you let me kill you here and now. Or you can wait for the others to get here. Trust me, they'll find you here. After all, we did." Rearing her head back, Sakura slammed her forehead hard into Lala's, causing the pink-haired alien to reel backwards in surprise, but more importantly, she let go of Sakura's fist in the process.

As Sakura came at him, attempting to punch him at least once, Naruto weaved around her attacks before he caught one of her fists and held it tight. "You were warned, Sakura. For what it's worth…I'm sorry." He said before he rammed a kunai right between her eyes, puncturing her brain and killing her damn near instantly.

With a sigh, he laid Sakura down on the floor beside Kakashi and closed her eyes. "Dammit." He said before stepping back and shaking his head. "Just…dammit."

Lala stepped up to her fiancé and gently placed a hand on his cheek, making him look into her eyes. "It's okay, Naruto-kun. Everything will be okay."

Naruto shook his head. "Everyone probably thinks I'm a monster now. I just killed two people in front of everyone. I…I don't know what to do. I want to keep my new friends, but…"

Haruna stepped up to him at this point and looked him squarely in the eyes. "Nobody thinks you're a monster, Uzumaki-kun! We all heard them. They would have attempted to kill us to get to you! We all know that you were just protecting us and yourself. It's…hard to watch something like that, but when it comes down to it, it was self-defense and the defense of those you hold dear. I know I don't hate you, at the very least."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock before he glanced around the room and even out in the hallway. What he saw shocked him beyond belief. Most people were giving him supportive looks and they actually made him feel at peace. However…

"What the hell?!" Honekawa exclaimed as he stumbled across the scene. "What happened here?! What's going on?!" Looking at Naruto, he saw that one of his arms was covered in blood. "Did you do this Uzumaki?"

Naruto sighed and nodded his head. "Yes sir. They were after me. They threatened to start killing everyone unless I let them kill me, essentially. I did what I did to protect myself and everyone here. I'm sorry."

Honekawa frowned and looked at the dead bodies. "The police will need to be called. If what you said is true, I doubt they'll do anything to you. And I'm sure everyone here can be called on as a witness. However, I don't want to see this becoming a repeat thing. Come, we'll talk to the principal first and then talk to the police."

Riko frowned at him and said, "They really were threatening to kill us to get to him! They're from the Elemental Nations, just like Naruto-kun. They came here to kill him!"

The teacher looked at her and then at the dead bodies. "Be that as it may, we have two dead bodies in our school. And I'm sure a number of you are bound to be a bit traumatized by what you've just had to see. Uzumaki, please follow me so we can explain this to the principal. We'll see what he wants to do."

"No need. I'm already here." The principal said as he stepped up to them and looked at the deceased bodies of Kakashi and Sakura. "I saw these two enter the school and followed them. Uzumaki-kun, I'm sorry you had to deal with this. If you have need of it, Nurse Mikado also doubles as a therapist, of sorts. For now, the police need to be informed of what happened and I'm sure they'll send someone to take the bodies to the morgue. Unless there's something else you specifically do when one of you shinobi die?"

Naruto shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, to protect the secrets of the Elemental Nations, I should destroy the bodies by use of fire or something else. Can you imagine the people of this world gaining access to the secrets and study of chakra? There's been enough war and violence in the world without needing to add more ways to kill people on top of it. Just…let me take them and I'll dispose of the bodies properly. Please?"

The principal frowned in thought for a time before he said, "Very well. Do what you need to do, Uzumaki-kun. Then I want you to speak to Mikado about what you had to do here. She might try to prescribe you some anti-depressants or something similar, so I suggest you heed her advice. You've been through far, far too much in your 17 years of life."

"Thank you, sir." Naruto said before he placed his hands on Kakashi's and Sakura's bodies and vanished with them.

Once he was gone, the principal looked at the students and said, "I would advise you all to seek therapy of some kind in the near future to discuss what you saw here today. Mikado is who I would recommend, but you all need to talk to someone. Witnessing such an act here today is bound to disturb some of you a great deal. What Uzumaki-kun did will not constitute as a crime, and I'll ensure word does not spread of what happened here today. He will be protected, as I'm sure a great many of you were hoping. For now, resume your duties and try to have fun. I'll try to refrain from my usual antics for the rest of the day, if only to respect what happened here today. When Uzumaki-kun returns, please try not to treat him any differently than you have up until now. All right?"

Riko and the other girls blinked in shock at this. Their perverted principal was actually going to behave himself for a change?! They'd believe it when they see it. Still… "Thanks Principal. We'll make sure Naruto-kun's okay."

Risa nodded and said, "And we'll all pay a visit to Mikado-sensei on our own time to talk about what we saw. You're right, seeing something like that's bound to screw with us on some level. I know I can't stop shaking. I don't know if it's because I was afraid of them or if it's an unconscious reaction to seeing what Naruto had to do. All I know is that, if I don't talk to somebody soon, I'll probably end up having nightmares. Poor Naruto-kun…"

The principal nodded and turned to Honekawa. "Follow me. We're going to inform the police that people are threatening our students. We don't know how many more will come looking for Uzumaki-kun and I'd like to be prepared on some level. Nobody should have to kill anyone at such a young age, if ever." Honekawa nodded and followed the principal to his office so they could get in contact with the police.

Once they were gone, Lala looked around at everyone to gauge their reactions. Some of them looked absolutely terrified, while others looked sad. They all seemed to be thinking about what they had just seen, and she knew that they'd definitely need to talk to somebody soon.

Shaking those thoughts off, she turned to look at Saki and stepped up to her, placing a gentle hand upon her shoulder. "Are you okay Saki-san? You look disturbed and you're not eating. Naruto-kun made that food especially for you and your friends."

Saki blinked a couple of times before it registered that somebody was speaking to her. Looking slowly into Lala's eyes, she said, "They…they were going to kill us. Uzumaki-kun…he…he killed them. What the heck is going on?!"

Lala hugged Saki close, resting the girl's head against her bosom. "Shhh. It's okay Saki-chan. You're safe now. And Naruto-kun would never hurt you or anyone else here. The bad people are gone."

Saki began to sob as she clung to Lala, unable to deal with what had just happened. She tried numerous times to say something, but all that came out was a series of choked sobs. Seeing this, Rin and Aya quickly hugged her as well to try and help her through this ordeal.

The pinkette just gently stroked Saki's back and whispered soothing words to her. "Saki…I'm so sorry you had to see that. Please…don't hold this against Naruto-kun. He only did this because he cares about you and everyone else here."

The blonde shook her head and said, "I…I'm not scared of Uzumaki-kun. I'm scared of those that might come after him. I didn't think they'd…I didn't…they…" Unable to finish what she was trying to say, Saki simply let the tears continue falling.

It was at this point that Naruto reappeared in the room. He no longer had any blood on him, obviously having cleaned himself and gotten a change of clothes. Walking over to Saki, Naruto smiled sadly at her and said, "Sorry Saki-chan. Sorry to all of you." He said, looking around at everyone. "If…if you don't want me here anymore because of what I did…I'll leave. I don't want to cause anyone any unneeded stress."

Saruyama walked up and slapped Naruto in the back of the head. "Idiot! Don't talk like that man. Those people were going to kill us to get to you. Far as I'm concerned, you did the right thing. Yeah, it's gonna be hell trying to cope with what we saw, but we don't want you to go away. Right?" he said, looking around at the others.

Haruna walked up to Naruto and hugged him tight. "Please don't leave us, Uzumaki-kun. We care about you. You're one of us now. And…thank you for protecting us. So don't leave us. Okay?"

Gently hugging Haruna back, Naruto smiled at everyone and said, "Thank you. All of you. I'm really sorry you all had to see that. I never wanted to have to put you all through that." Sighing sadly, he shook his head and said, "Sadly, if Konoha sent them after me, they've sent the other teams as well. And if I'm right, Shikamaru will be the next one to find me here. Which means he'll have Ino Yamanaka and Choji Akimichi with him. I expect Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame to show up at some point too. I don't know what to expect from any of them."

Saki looked up at Naruto before wiping her tears. "Will the others try to attack you too? And us?"

Naruto shook his head and said, "Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji will probably try some mind games or find a way to directly control me into complying with them. Shikamaru's lazy, but he's a super genius and is capable of some fiendishly elaborate plans if he's given the time to think. Choji's a pacifist, so I'm not too worried about him unless Shikamaru gives him a direct order of some kind. Ino, on the other hand, is dangerous. She has the power to take control of other people and command them to do her bidding. And considering I killed her precious 'Sasuke-kun', she no doubt despises me."

Sighing softly, Naruto looked around at everyone before setting his eyes on Lala. Staring straight at her, he continued. "Kiba Inuzuka is brash and arrogant. He's full of himself, he thinks he's an alpha male and he tends to think with his penis most of the time when around women he finds attractive. He was never fond of me, and I think he'll gladly attack me in an attempt to murder me, especially if he learns I have a fiancé as beautiful as you are, Lala-chan."

Taking a breath, Naruto continued his explanation. "Shino is quiet. He's calm, he's calculative, he's smart, and he's dangerous. However, he was one of the few that actually cared about me. I'm not sure what to expect from him. I don't know if he'll follow orders and try to capture me, or if he'll do something else. Hinata though? She's the one I'm really worried about in that team."

Lala frowned and asked, "She's the one that confessed to you before, isn't she? Didn't you have a bad feeling about her?"

Naruto nodded and said, "Yes, that is the girl I talked about. She confessed to me a couple of times, but I never replied to her supposed feelings. I didn't trust her. I still don't. Something's just really off with that girl. I have no idea what to expect from her should she find me here. That makes her more dangerous than any of the others. If she does have genuine feelings for me…chances are, she won't try to kill me, but she will try to kill you and any other girls I enter a relationship with."

Lala scowled and said, "She shouldn't come here either. But she will…won't she?"

Naruto nodded again. "She will. Konoha won't quit until I'm dead. That's an unfortunate truth." Frowning slightly, he said, "There are other teams that could be sent after me from Konoha and the other villages. Such as Guy's team. Though, considering Guy's out of commission and can't do much anymore and Neji is dead…" Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair and said, "Rock Lee and Tenten. Lee is loyal to Konoha to a fault. He'd do everything in his power to defeat me and drag me back, even though we used to be friends. As for Tenten? I don't know what to expect from her."

"Then there's a team from Kumogakure that might be after me for killing the Raikage. Samui, Omoi, and Karui. Again, I don't know what they'd do if they found me. There's too many variables and I have no idea what the heck to expect. I don't even know who could find us next. Shikamaru's team is my best guess, but I don't know for sure."

Mio looked him in the eyes and said, "We might not be able to do anything to help you, but we'll always be here for you Uzumaki-kun. For now, just try to relax and have fun with us. Like right now! We've still got our animal café going on, after all. We need to get back to work. Chop chop!"

Naruto chuckled softly before looking at Saki. "Saki-chan, why don't you stay here for a while? We'll get you something fresh to eat and drink, okay? Forget about your class' insect café and rest here with us. If you want, I'll even sit here with you and we can talk about anything you want to talk to me about. It's really up to you."

Saki blushed a bit and looked at her current attire. "Umm, would it be okay for the three of us to go and get changed into something a little more appropriate first?"

Naruto chuckled a little more and said, "Sure Saki-chan. For now, I need to get back to my duty. Gotta keep everybody fed, after all."

Saki giggled quietly to herself and said, "Thank you Uzumaki-kun. I'm looking forward to enjoying more of your cooking." Stepping up to him, she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "You're sweet. And thank you."

As Saki left, Naruto frowned sadly and said quietly, "You're all hurting right now…aren't you?"

Lala gently took her fiance's hand in hers and said, "We'll all be okay sweetheart. I promise. Some of us might need to talk to Mikado-sensei or a licensed professional about what happened, but we'll never hate you. We'll never hurt you."

"Thank you, Lala-chan." Naruto said before he kissed her lovingly on the lips. Afterwards, he returned to his post and began to cook food once again for everyone to enjoy.

Naruto-kun… Lala thought sadly to herself. I swear to you, no matter what happens, we'll be okay. I love you too much to let you be hurt by anyone or anything.

Days Later

Sure enough, Naruto and the others talked with Mikado about everything that was troubling them. Mikado had actually recommended that some of the students seek help from a more skilled therapist and psychiatrist in the city, fearing that her help alone wouldn't cut it for them.

With Naruto, Mikado had him speak about his past and everything he had been through up until now. She told him about her being an alien in the hopes he would feel more comfortable confiding in her. So far, she had prescribed him some antidepressants to hopefully help him, though she warned him about taking too many at once.

Now, however, it was Naruto's birthday, though he doubted anyone really knew and/or cared. He knew he shouldn't think like that, but his birthday had never been a good day for him, so he wanted to try and avoid it as much as humanly possible.

Oddly enough, Lala had been missing since he woke up. He had no idea where she had gone or what she was up to. Honestly, he was feeling a little lonely without her. Naruto had tried asking Ren where she was, but even he didn't know. Nobody else seemed to know where she had gone either.

Without her presence, Naruto just couldn't bring himself to care about school. Sure, he still took notes and he answered questions when asked to do so, but it felt like he was just going through a routine. I didn't think I'd miss her this much. She's really grown on me.

During lunch, Riko and Haruna had approached him and asked if he was okay. Naruto simply smiled sadly at them and said, "Part of my problem today is that I don't know where Lala-chan's gone. I'm worried that something might have happened to her."

"And the other part? Something's clearly troubling you." Haruna questioned.

Naruto sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Today's my birthday. I turned 18 today. My birthday has never been a good day for me. I've got so many bad memories of things happening on my birthday that I can hardly remember anything good about it. Hell, just last year, I had to fight in a war and stop Obito and Madara Uchiha, Kaguya Otsutsuki, the Juubi…it was a REALLY rough birthday. Tch, that's when everything changed in such a drastic way. It all led up to me having to flee to the outside world. What a fun birthday that was."

Haruna and Riko frowned sadly at him. "You should have talked to us about this before. We would have helped you through it. You can't keep bottling everything up." Haruna said before she hugged him gently.

"Thanks, Haruna-chan." Naruto said. "Don't worry. I'll be okay. For now, we should eat our lunches and then get back to class. I'd rather not make people worry about us."

Riko frowned deeper, but didn't say anything. Instead, she ate her lunch together with her boyfriend and her best friend. If only I didn't have to keep it a surprise. Oh Naruto-kun…

Later that day

As Naruto walked home, he couldn't help but stare up at the sky, his thoughts still of Lala and what could have happened to her. Shaking it off as he neared his house, he could sense something was off. Frowning, he quietly slipped up to the door and inserted his key, turning it and opening the door slowly. Slowly forming a staff in his hand, he prepared to attack whoever might be lying in wait for him. However, as he entered his home and turned on the lights, he was caught off guard when all of his friends and loved ones popped out of various hiding places and shouted, "Surprise! Happy Birthday Naruto-kun/Uzumaki-kun!"

Naruto blinked a couple of times as he looked around the room at all the decorations and all the people. He could smell something divine coming from the kitchen, and he saw a whole mountain of presents sitting on the nearby table. Staring from the presents to his family, as he realized that's exactly what they were to him, Naruto struggled to keep from shedding tears. "Thank you. Thank you so much. All of you."

Seeing the tears streaming down his cheeks, Lala and Riko quickly ran up to him and hugged him tight. "Don't cry! This is your birthday! It should be a really happy occasion." Lala said with a bright smile on her face.

Naruto wiped away his tears and chuckled to himself. "Thank you. All of you. I really mean that."

Lala smiled sweetly at him and took his hand in hers. "Come on Naruto-kun, let's go enjoy some of the cake that Koyuki-chan made for everybody. She made sure to bake a lot of them so we can all have some!"

Mikan stepped up to him at this point and said, "After we eat, you're going to open the presents we got for you. We're saving Lala's for last."

"You mean, all of those are for me?" Naruto questioned in wonderment as he stared at the pile of presents.

"Of course! Who else would they be for?" Mikan questioned with a smirk on her face. "Trust me, you're going to love them."

"Thanks. I'm sure I'll love each and every one of them. For now, let's eat. I know I could use a nice snack." Naruto said.

Later

Naruto sat in his living room with all of his loved ones. He wasn't sure which present to open first, partly because he had never done this before. "Umm, should I open them at random? Or is there some kind or order to this? I've never been given presents like this before…"

Saki frowned sadly at him and asked, "Really? You've never had a birthday party like this? That's just not fair. Here, why don't you open mine first?"

When Saki handed him a small, rectangular box, he thanked her before opening it slowly, almost as if he was afraid to damage the box in any way. Looking inside, he saw a rather handsome suit and tie set. Pulling it out of the box, he looked it over and then at Saki, waiting for an explanation.

Saki giggled a bit and said, "I figured you probably didn't have any really fancy suits. I know you're an author, and considering we're friends now, I wanted to ensure you have a suitable outfit for business meetings and formal gatherings at my home. I'd like to spend more time together, Uzumaki-kun."

Naruto smiled gratefully and neatly folded the suit and tie once again before placing them neatly in the box once more. "Thank you Saki-chan. Blue's a good color, and the orange tie is a nice touch. Orange is my favorite color, so thank you very much."

Saki smiled at him and said, "Of course. I'm just glad you like it. Now Rin, Aya, it's your turn."

Rin nodded and proceeded to hand Naruto her gift. This one was a long, rectangular box, larger than the one Saki had given him. Opening it, he wasn't surprised to see a wooden sword inside. Taking it into his hand, he felt its weight for a time. "This is quite the sturdy sword. I'll definitely be making some good use of this. Thank you Rin-chan."

Rin smiled at him and then stepped aside so Aya could give Naruto her gift. This one was small, the size of a box that a ring would come in. Slowly opening it, he saw a beautiful ring tucked inside. Pulling it out, he slipped it onto one of his fingers and examined it for a time. "The craftsmanship is amazing. I'm usually not one for jewelry, but I like this. Thank you Aya-chan."

Aya smiled and said, "I wasn't entirely sure what to get you. So I decided to get you a gold ring with a tourmaline gemstone inserted. It's October's birthstone, so I figured you might like it."

Naruto nodded in understanding as he examined the ring once more. "I really appreciate it. Thank you Aya-chan."

Zastin stepped up at this point, lugging a rather large package with him. Setting it before Naruto, he said, "Naruto-dono, I hope you like my gift to you. I got you an outfit and armor befitting those of the future emperor of the universe. I also included an exact copy of the blade I choose to wield. The weapons you create may be stronger, but I hope you will make good use of my gift."

Naruto nodded in thanks and opened up the large package. Taking a look at everything that was inside, he grinned to himself and said, "I like it. The armor looks just heavy enough to make training with it worth it. And I like the clothes. Very nice. The material seems quite flexible and sturdy as well."

"It is. This material is some of the strongest in the universe. Almost no blade can pierce it and it's powerful enough to block most projectile attacks as well. You'll be quite safe wearing this clothing and armor." Zastin said proudly.

"Well thank you." Naruto said before he put that off to the side.

Next up was Riko. She stepped up to Naruto and kissed him sweetly on the lips. "Here, Naruto-kun. Open it." She said, handing him her gift.

Naruto opened Riko's gift and smiled at what he saw. Inside was a handheld gaming device with a number of games packed away inside. Smirking at her, he said, "I'm going to have a lot of fun with this. I love video games! I just need to get some more. I've kiiiind of been putting it off so I can focus on school and writing and whatever."

Riko giggled and said, "You know, if you really wanted, I could introduce you to Dad. He could turn your books into a manga series if you really wanted him to."

Naruto chuckled and said, "I'll have to think about it. I didn't think my stories were all that great. I'm amazed they've been selling as well as they have been."

Mikan walked up with her gift at this point. "Here you go Naruto-kun. I hope you enjoy them. I baked them earlier." She said, handing him a bag full of cookies. "I wasn't sure what to get you, so I figured you might enjoy these."

Giving Mikan a hug, he said, "Thank you." and proceeded to take out one of the cookies and held it out for her to take a bite. "It's only right that you enjoy them with me, Mikan-chan."

Mikan blushed a bit and took a small bite. Smiling at him afterwards, she said, "They really did turn out well. I'm sure you'll like them, Naruto-kun."

Chuckling softly, Naruto turned to Koyuki when she walked up to him. "I'm still getting used to the outside world, so I wasn't entirely sure where to go to get you anything. However, I did find something you might like." She said before she took him by the hand and led him into another room. Sitting there were two cats, both female, and they were sleeping together.

Seeing such a cute sight, Naruto went, "Awww." and walked slowly over to them. Gently petting them one at a time, he smiled when they began to purr. "They're so cute."

Giggling a bit, Koyuki nodded and said, "Their names are Felicia and Luna. They were born together and were only recently available for adoption I've got litterboxes and food and water dishes ready for them."

Naruto smiled at Koyuki and hugged her tight. "Thank you so much. They're so cute. We'll take real good care of them." He said. Afterwards, he led Koyuki back out into the living room where they sat down together. Naruto still had a few gifts to go after all.

Kenichi stepped up at this point and handed over his gift. When Naruto opened it, he deadpanned at his friend and said, "Really? Sex toys and condoms?"

Kenichi chuckled nervously at the looks he was getting. "Hey, don't question it. Think of it this way, when it's finally time for you to take that next step with your girlfriends, these should help you pleasure them. It's all about making you lot happy, after all."

Riko whacked Kenichi in the back of the head, blushing in embarrassment. "You don't give gifts like that! But, erm…thank you for thinking about us? I think?"

Naruto sighed and said, "Thank you, Kenichi. Ah well. Who's next?"

Haruna giggled and stepped up to him. Giving him a warm hug, she found herself blushing at what she was about to do. After steeling herself, Haruna leaned in and kissed Naruto sweetly on the lips, catching everyone, especially Naruto, completely off guard. However, Naruto returned her kiss without question and hugged her closer. When they parted a moment later, she gave him his present and blushed deeply. "I…I really, really like you, Uzumaki-kun. I hope you like what I got for you."

Naruto smirked at his friend and said, "Haruna-chan, trust me when I say that getting a kiss from you is probably the best birthday gift you could have given me. I really care about you, and I like you a lot. I think you're beautiful. I think you're wonderful. You're absolutely amazing to me."

Haruna blushed so deeply that steam was practically pouring from her ears. When her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she dropped in a dead faint, he chuckled a bit. "I swear, she is just too cute sometimes."

Opening Haruna's gift, Naruto smiled at seeing a number of books inside. "These are her favorite books, aren't they? I'm definitely going to give these a read." He said before Risa and Mio suddenly glomped him. Chuckling a bit, he looked into their eyes and asked, "What was that for?"

Risa and Mio stuck their tongues out at him. "We just wanted to hug you." Risa said. "Now, open our gifts next!"

Naruto nodded and opened Risa's gift first. What he saw had him blushing deeply. "S-See-through n-nightie? Lingerie?"

Risa grinned at him and said, "Just imagine getting Lala-chan to wear that for you. I guarantee you're going to love that sight so much it'll be burned into your brain so deep you'll never forget it."

"I…I see. Just imagining it's making me blush. Holy hell." Naruto said as he quickly closed the box and fought to get his blush under control. Afterwards, he opened Mio's gift and facepalmed. "I swear, you two are such perverts. But thank you. I do appreciate these gifts." He said, blushing afterwards.

Mio grinned at him and said, "This set's for Riko-chan to wear. And even better, it's your favorite color. I'm sure you'll make very good use of these gifts, Uzumaki-kun."

Ren stepped up at this point and handed his present over to his rival. "It's nothing special. My sister insisted that we get you a gift. We decided to give you a pendant from our home world. You might like it."

Thanking Ren, Naruto looked at the pendant and smiled. "It's beautiful. Thank you. Both of you."

Lala bounced up and down at this point, giggling excitedly. "It's finally my turn! Let's go out back Naruto-kun! I had to go reaaaaaaaally far away to get you the present I had in mind for you!" she exclaimed before taking Naruto by the hand and leading him into his backyard. Once there, he looked up and saw a rather large plant with a rather large mouth.

Blinking a couple of times in shock, Naruto soon stepped forward and held out his hand, watching as the plant wrapped a vine around his hand. Shaking hands, in a sense, Naruto soon stepped forward and gently patted the stem. "I'm going to name you Celine. How's that sound Celine-chan?"

Celine wrapped Naruto up in her vines and brought him up to eye level before licking him. Chuckling at this, Naruto said, "I love you too Celine-chan. We'll be the best of friends from now on, okay?" Celine nodded before setting her owner back on solid ground.

Returning to Lala's side, Naruto hugged her tight and said, "I love her. Thank you so much Lala-chan. I'll take real good care of her, I promise."

"I know you will sweetheart. I've seen how you care for your garden. I just knew I had to get you the perfect gift. I'm just sorry I left without saying anything to you. I should've let you know I was okay, but I wanted to surprise you." Lala said with a cute pout on her face.

Kissing Lala's lips lovingly, he said, "I love you, Lala-chan. Next time you want to go somewhere, please let me know beforehand, okay? I really, really missed you."

Lala blushed prettily and nuzzled her face into his neck. "I love you so much, my wonderful Naruto-kun."

Yes, it was a good day to be Naruto Uzumaki and he couldn't be any happier in this moment. I'll never leave any of you. No matter what comes our way, I swear here and now that nothing will ever tear us apart.

A/N - And that's the chapter! Yay bunnies! lol.

Anyways, a lot of different things happened in this chapter...sort of, at least. Naruto's 'crimes' were revealed, though each of them were explained for the most part. And yay for a birthday celebration! Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter. If not, then oh well. Can't please 'em all. :P

I should reaaaally try to get some sleep now. Or do something else. I dunno. lol. Not sure what I'll work on next. Then again, I very rarely know what I'll be working on. *shrugs* Oh well.