Nothing has changed from the last chapter, Kishimoto-sama still owns Naruto and my life will forever be a pale shadow of imitation so long as he does. I'd like to thank my very first reviewer 'Windycityslayer1' for the enthusiasm. This one is for you bud.

Chapter 2: I want a friend

Naruto awoke from unpleasant dreams to find that he had wet the bed. Despite all his training in the dark room in his waking hours, his subconscious mind refused to be anything more than that of a six-year-old boy. He stared down at the wet spot where he'd been lying and was glad to be out of the dark room. Had they discovered what he had done in his sleep he'd go the rest of the day without water. He'd be force to train until he collapsed without so much as a drop and those were the better days. If he had other accidents, they would deny him food for days on end. Naruto would much rather wet the bed than anything else. One day without water was easier to handle.

"It's alright Naruto-kun, it's quite alright. There's no need to be upset about this" Naruto looked at his window to see Dragon perched on the sill.

"I'm not" he replied, turning on his spot. He stopped at the door and turned just his head to look back at Dragon. "Why are Cat mask and Frog mask always together but you're not always with them?" he asked, the curiosity in his voice making him sound like a child for the first time.

"Well…because they're friends Naruto-kun"

"What is a friend?"

"Uh, a friend is someone you enjoy being around. Someone you can do stuff together with. You know, things you enjoy doing" Dragon explained. He didn't say anything else, instead he nodded and exited the room, leaving Dragon bewildered.

"That kid…I swear" she sighed. She thought from the look on his face that he was embarrassed or upset but it turned out he didn't care one bit about being embarrassed by it. She could hear him in the shower and decided to leave it at that. If he didn't address it, neither would she.

When Naruto finished his shower, he stopped at his bedroom door and noticed that Dragon was no longer there. He instead turned towards his kitchen table and saw a folded paper resting against a basket.

Make sure to eat something other than ramen – Cat

"Hmm" Naruto tossed the note onto the table before lifting the lid of the basket to find oddly colored things inside. One was long and orange, another round and red. He bit into each one once, spitting out the ones he didn't like and finishing the ones he did. He tried ten different ones and liked only three of them. Which were all sweet in some way, while all the ones he disliked tasted like plants. He made a mental note to ask Cat what these things were called. They weren't as good as the ramen old man Teuchi made, but they would make a suitable snack.

"That damn brat" Cat laughed pointing towards Naruto's window.

"What are you so happy about?" Frog yawned, following Cat's line of sight.

"The kid doesn't like vegetables. He spit them all out but ate the fruits" she laughed again, but Frog shrugged, mumbling about her easily amused humor.

"When Naruto-kun leaves for school, you two can go rest until he gets out. I'll watch him while he's there" Dragon instructed. Cat and Frog exchanged a masked look of curiosity.

"Naruto…kun?" Frog asked but Dragon remained silent. She couldn't help being drawn to the kid. Whenever he looked at her with those piercing blue eyes, despite being empty and cold, she wanted nothing more than to cradle him in her arms and protect him. He deserved that much; she just knew it.

"He's leaving" Cat announced, standing and stretching. "See ya later" she added, before her and Frog disappeared to take a much-needed break from, ironically, watching the kid sleep all night.

Dragon followed Naruto from a distance, not wanting to let on that he was who she was following should anyone else notice her, which they wouldn't but still she was cautious. Lord Hokage had instructed her that someone would try to get to Naruto, someone far more dangerous than any of the villagers. She wouldn't let them get close enough, no matter what.

Naruto finally made his way towards the entrance of the academy but before he entered, he turned and held a hand up in her direction. 'Is…he waving at me?' Dragon was bewildered by this. Had he known she was following him the whole time? Impossible. How could a six-year-old know she, a leader in the Anbu black ops, was tailing him? Pushing it to the back of her mind she returned the gesture when she realized that Naruto refused to move from his spot until she did.

"Who's he waving to?" one girl asked, looking in the direction Naruto was looking, but seeing nothing simply shrugged it off as the new kid being even more weird. Her and her friend walked past him. Naruto turned to enter the building as well and stopped short when he saw the raven-haired boy from yesterday also staring in the direction Naruto had waved. He saw Naruto looking at him and, whether the raven-haired boy knew Dragon was there, Naruto couldn't tell. Instead, they walked in together but quickly separated once they entered the class. Daikoku waited patiently for everyone to be seated before he smiled at the students.

"Hello everyone. Today is a sad day for me. You see, I wanted to let you know that I will be leaving this classroom. I will no longer be your instructor" he began to say. A lot of the students started to complain but quickly fell into silence when the door opened. "This is Iruka Umino, and he will be your instructor starting today. While it is sad that we are parting, just know that I will still be around. Lord Hokage has asked me to train some of the other kids, so we'll be meeting again" Daikoku continued. He whispered something to Iruka who nodded back eagerly. "Make sure to treat Iruka-san with the same respect you did for me" Daikoku walked towards the door of the classroom and when the door shut behind him, there was nothing but silence.

"Hello everyone, I'm Iruka Umino. I hope that we will get along well. I'll do my best to be a proper instructor for you" Iruka smiled, but even still there was nothing but silence. 'Yikes, these kids are cold.'

"No need to worry about me knowing your names, I have already taken it upon myself to read through this class's roster and I know all of your names" his smile was finally beginning to fade as he realized these kids weren't nearly as friendly as he hoped.

"Okay…um, well Daikoku-san told me what he had planned for you today so I will continue with that." Iruka pulled out a singular booklet Today, we are going to write down what it is we want most in life, what your dream is and most importantly, I want you to write down how you want to achieve this. When you are—yes, uh…Naruto?" Iruka asked, surprised by the sudden raised hand. This was the boy that the third had passed the decree on. The one that leaked to the rest of the shinobi ranks. Iruka's eyes examined the blond, taking in his whisker markings. He could tell that the third wasn't joking. This boy really did have the demon in him.

"What do you mean, what our dream is?" everyone snickered at the question, unable to contain the laughter at the idea that he was clueless.

"Uh…a dream is something you wish to accomplish in life. For some people they want to be a great medical ninja, others wish to master taijutsu or ninjutsu. Some of them simply want to be a great shinobi" Iruka started to explain. He stopped when Naruto raised his hand again. He sighed; "Yes, Naruto?"

"I'm going to be Hokage" more snickering ensued.

"That's a good dream to have Naruto but it's not something that's easily accomplished. It'll take a lot of work to become Hokage" Iruka told the whole class, but Naruto shook his head.

"It's not a dream. I'm going to be Hokage. Like the fourth. Like the old man. Being Hokage isn't a dream, it's something that I will do" the matter-of-fact tone of Naruto's voice made the laughter stop.

"I'll be rooting for you then, Naruto" Iruka smiled. Daikoku had told Iruka all about Naruto Uzumaki and he was warned to be on his guard with the kid. Even just looking at the boy, Iruka could see what had Daikoku so worked up about the boy. Even now, Iruka could sort of tell what he had meant about Naruto giving off a passive murderous intent, something that the other kids didn't seem to notice. Deciding that he wouldn't let his predecessor form an opinion for him, he pushed all preconceived notions out of his mind.

He started to hand everyone a booklet and was surprised to see everyone eagerly scribbling away. Everyone except Naruto, who looked to be trying to figure out the answer to some complex problem.

"Are you okay?" Iruka asked, kneeling next to the blond.

"You said to write what we want most, but isn't that the same thing as what our dreams would be?" he responded with his own question, turning to look around at everyone else now looking at him. Some of them seemed to think he had a point and stopped writing.

Iruka nervously laughed as he made his way back to the front of the class. "Um, Naruto asked what's the difference between what you want most and what your dream is. I guess the easiest way to separate the two would be long term and short term. What you want most in the world can be your dream, but it can also be something you want right now. Whereas your dream is normally always going to be something that you can strive towards. Something in the future. Does that help?" the students nodded and a lot of them seemed to start over while others simply continued writing. Naruto slowly began to write but quickly finished writing whatever it was he wrote. He was one of the first to finish and Iruka couldn't help but be curious to what it was that the boy wanted most. Iruka collected the booklets once everyone else had finished and placed them on his desk before turning towards the board behind him.

"Now then, the booklets were part of my plan to get to know you a little better and I will read those later, but right now you lot are going to learn about Chakra as was Daikoku-san's plan" he announced, clapping his hands together. "Anyone want to venture a guess at what chakra is?" Iruka sighed after a minute of silence— 'Of course, no one raised their hand.'

Having waited for two minutes for someone to volunteer, he decided to force them to participate. "Sasuke, how about you tell us what chakra is?" Iruka pointed towards the raven-haired boy. He shut his eyes in annoyance before standing; "Chakra is the elemental life energy a ninja uses in jutsu, it's the source of all a ninja's power" Sasuke said, but was cut short when Iruka held a hand up to stop him.

"Good, very good. Let's have someone else try. Hm, how about Sakura?" Sasuke took his seat before a pink haired girl sitting behind him stood up. "The energy has two forms. Physical energy that exists within every cell of the ninja's body all working together and Spiritual energy" Sakura also was cut short but looked pleased with herself for her perfect explanation.

"How about you Hinata?" Iruka asked. Naruto looked towards Hinata who seemed to be growing redder in the face as she slowly stood up.

"S-spiritual energy is the p-primal source of power that is a-amplified t-through training and e-experience" she answered. Iruka nodded his approval and she hurriedly slunk back into her seat. She turned to look at Naruto and hurriedly looked away when she noticed him looking in her direction.

"Okay, Shikamaru how about you finish it up for us?" Iruka asked, but Shikamaru yawned and shook his head. "No thanks. It's far too troublesome" he replied before placing his head back down on his desk. The kids laughed at this but quickly stopped when Naruto stood up.

"N-Naruto?" Iruka recoiled a bit from the look in the boy's eyes. There it was, that cold and dead glare that Daikoku said Naruto always had.

"The two types of energy need to be brought out and used together in conjunction with hand seals in order to perform ninja techniques such as ninjutsu and genjutsu" Naruto retook his seat before anyone could say anything but no one seemed to mind his answer in the slightest.

"R-right on all accounts. I'm impressed you guys really know your stuff. You're making today's lesson really easy" Iruka praised. "How about we practice our shuriken-jutsu?" he suggested, much to the excitement of the class. He gestured for them to follow him out into the training yard where they would each take turns.

"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto approached his instructor as everyone got into single file and awaited their turns.

"Yes, Naruto?" he asked, seeing the solemn look on boy's face, he knelt down; "What's troubling you?"

"I don't want to practice shuriken-jutsu" Naruto admitted. He wasn't looking at Iruka, and instead was interested in a bird picking at its feathers.

"Well, why not?"

"It's boring. I never miss" Naruto replied, finally facing Iruka. "Isn't there something else I can do?"

"Sorry Naruto, but everyone has to practice. It's important so that I can gauge where your skill level is" Iruka explained, but was surprised to see Naruto shake his head.

"You mean to see how efficient we are at killing" Naruto pushed past everyone else and took the marked position for them to throw from. Naruto turned to look at Iruka and tossed his shuriken without even looking at his target. It hit the target directly between the eyes.

The other kids began to whisper about what happened but Iruka walked over and laughed.

"You missed the tar—" he started to say pointing towards the bullseye but quickly shut up when he saw that Naruto hadn't thrown one shuriken but three. Two were dead center, while the third had half the star embedded into the targets head.

"I never miss" Naruto repeated, before walking past his class and standing at the back of the line. He looked disappointed and disgusted with himself. His eyes never left the floor, not even when others had managed to get a bullseye. It didn't matter that they could hit the bullseye. All Naruto could think about was the day he learned Shuriken-jutsu in the dark room. Every time he missed; he would be struck. If he missed the target completely, they wouldn't let him sleep. If he only managed to land one out of the three thrown, he was only given one third of his dinner. The bird flew off and Naruto watched as it soared over head, free from anything anyone could force it to do.

"N-Naruto-kun" Hinata had taken the spot next to him but he continued to watch the bird above him. "Y-your shuriken-j-jutsu is really g-good" she complimented but immediately felt bad about it when she noticed Naruto stiffen. He relaxed quicker than he stiffened and turned to look at her.

"Thanks, Hinata" he said before leaving her standing there. He walked back into the classroom and sat down. Setting his head down on his desk. Iruka watched him leave but couldn't bring himself to stop the young boy from doing so. Something about the boy was off. He was so calculated in the way he carried himself that it was almost frightening.

The rest of the class finished their shuriken-jutsu practice and returned to the classroom to find Naruto pensively staring out the window yet again. His attention fixed on an oddly shaped cloud this time. Iruka, waiting for the class to take their seats took the time to read some of the booklets he collected. He thumbed through them before stopping on Naruto's. The boy only wrote two words for what he wanted most and it almost made Iruka want to cry. He looked towards Naruto who was currently counting the number of crows flying outside before looking back at the booklet.

'A friend'

Iruka felt his heart rate quicken as he suddenly remembered the feeling of loneliness he endured after his parents died. He turned towards Naruto, the moment he heard about the demon fox and Naruto he wanted to hate the child. He wanted to despise him for what he carried. He wanted to curse him to a life of misery. How foolish he was to think like that. To think that Naruto was anything more than a victim of the fox just as much as everyone else. Looking at him now, all he could see was a lonely boy who truly wanted nothing more than a friend.

"Oy" Iruka watched as Sasuke Uchiha approached Naruto. The latter turned to look at him. His icy stare meeting Sasuke's uncaring one. "Your shuriken-jutsu is really good" Sasuke said. He didn't wait for an answer and instead went back to his seat. Naruto watched him do so but no emotion passed over his face. He simply just watched him before returning to his cloud gazing.

Iruka wanted to shake Naruto. To yell at him. To force him to feel something. Anything. Despite feeling like that, he was scared. What if Naruto would never be able to feel anything. What if Daikoku was right? What if the whispering of the villager's was right…what if he was a monster pretending to be a boy? No. He wouldn't let what was inside the boy stop him from seeing the boy himself. He had a duty to protect these children, and would do so no matter what. That included Naruto.

"Wow, you really did watch the kid all day" Frog observed as he approached Dragon. She was busy finishing her meal and simply nodded to acknowledge she heard him.

"Wow, you really did keep an eye on him all day" Cat said, arriving not mere seconds after Frog who chuckled at the familiar words.

"You two will do the same while I rest. Be sure not to let what happened before repeat itself" Dragon instructed. They sighed knowing they were never going to hear the end of it. With that their leader stood from her spot and with one last look towards the blond, she bid the other two farewell.

"You'd think the kid was the son of the fire lord or something" Frog complained, taking Dragon's previous seat.

"He's the nine tailed fox's jailer. I think he would be a little more important than the fire lord's kids" Cat joked, but neither of them really had much else to say so they took to sitting in silence with one another, watching as Naruto just gazed out of the window. He looked to be staring at them, but after a few moments he turned away.

"This is miserable, we're gonna be stuck watching over this kid until he becomes a ninja, aren't we?" Frog started to complain again. Cat merely shrugged with a giggle; "Maybe, but who knows." Frog sighed and again the pair fell into silence. After an hour or so the academy doors opened and the kids started to run to their parents. Some of those parents were eyeing Naruto with disgust and anger. They pulled their kids away from him, practically dragging them away from the blond. Naruto didn't seem to care in the slightest and once he was alone, he looked up towards the pair of anbu and waved.

"What the hell? Did he know we were up here the whole time?" Frog looked at Cat in disbelief. Even she couldn't believe that he knew they were there. She waved back, and let out a soft laugh when Naruto started to walk away.

"I love this damn kid" she cackled. "He's so much fun already" she stood from her seat and quickly made to follow Naruto.

"Why is everyone so obsessed with this kid?" Frog sighed, before he too followed after the blond.

"Report"

"Yes, Lord Danzo. It's as you suspected, the third has placed a round the clock anbu watch on the boy. A captain, a medic, and an assassin. They are a relatively strong team in terms of anbu capabilities but I don't think even they know how dangerous the boy is. They seem to be simply tailing him as of right now. They were instructed to ensure no harm befalls the boy" Falcon paused for a moment. Danzon cleared his throat, his way of demanding Falcon to continue. "There was an incident where the boy purposefully led a bunch of villagers who were harassing him into an alleyway…there were no survivors" he finished reporting. Danzo looked pleased with this information.

"Very well. Keep watch on the watch as well as the boy" he ordered.

"Yes, Lord Danzo" with that, Falcon vanished into the shadows to carry out his mission.

"You can try to tame the beast old friend, but you'll fail in the end" Danzo spoke into the darkness. He knew very well just how hard his old teammate Hiruzen would try to break the boy out of his training. He would fail of course. Danzo was sure of it. Even so, he would be prepared for anything.

"Frog"

"Yes, Lord Danzo" spoke a new voice, also hidden behind a frog mask but a shade darker than the one Danzo now knew to be tailing his weapon.

"Find me everything you can on the anbu team tailing the boy. And I mean everything"

"It shall be done, Lord Danzo"

"You three won't be able to protect the boy no matter how hard you try. I'll have my weapon back, even if it means I take it by force" Danzo remained seated as he spoke to the shadows. It would come down to just how badly Hiruzen wanted to save the boy. What would he be willing to sacrifice for him, Danzo knew well enough that the third was no fool, but he was far too sentimental to be trusted with the protection of the village. One way or another, Danzo would win in the end.

"What is it Wolf?" Danzo demanded, sensing another presence.

"Lord Danzo, you requested I inform you when I discovered the location of the Uchiha."

"You found him then?" Danzo sounded pleased with the news.

"Yes, Lord Danzo. He's joined a band of rogue ninja. The snake Sannin was also said to be part of the group but apparently betrayed them as well after a scuffle between him and the Uchiha. They are…formidable"

"Keep an eye on them. It'll be good to know what they are up to should we ever need to ally with or eliminate them"

"Yes, Lord Danzo" Wolf replied before vanishing into the darkness.

"So, the snake sannin lost to the Uchiha Prodigy. I wonder just how strong the younger one will become" he thought for a moment. "Wolf" he called out, and Wolf returned after a short delay.

"Before you keep watch on these rogue ninjas, bring me everything you can on Sasuke Uchiha. Everything" Danzo ordered and with that Wolf was off again.

"I can see just embers of something beginning to burn" he laughed, the sound echoing off the stone walls. "Yes indeed, perhaps you will make a fine weapon too, Sasuke Uchiha."

Naruto was walking home, admiring the different colored lanterns that hung outside shops and stands. He was half absentminded and half all too aware that he was receiving nasty looks. Still, he stuck to watching stray cats running in and out of alleys, birds whistling as people passed by, and those lanterns. Absolutely fixated on the lanterns, he hadn't heard someone calling his name until the third time.

"Naruto" he turned to see Iruka sitting in Ichiraku ramen calling him over. Naruto slowly approached his instructor before he joined him. Despite not being all that hungry, his stomach yearned for the delicious smells and so Naruto sat looking hungrily at the ramen that Iruka was in the middle of.

"Are you hungry? It's on me" Iruka said, watching as Naruto eyed the bowl. The boy nodded after a moment and sat patiently waiting for his own bowl to be set in front of him.

"Naruto, I wanted to ask you where you learned shuriken-jutsu? It was really amazing to see how talented you are at it" Iruka praised, but noticed that Naruto didn't seem to agree.

"I don't remember" Naruto answered. Whether it was the truth or not, Iruka couldn't tell as the monotone voice the boy spoke with never changed in pitch or infliction.

"Oh, okay. Well, is there anything you've studied aside from shuriken-jutsu that you're really good at?" Iruka pressed, hoping that maybe he could get Naruto to open up.

"I like Fuinjutsu" Naruto admitted. Iruka was taken aback, a six-year-old who liked sealing techniques? Unheard of.

"Are you good at sealing?" he asked, and Naruto nodded. "It's my favorite" he added.

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Because then I don't have to kill people" Iruka froze in his seat. He prayed that Naruto was joking but there was no possible way that he was. The bitter taste that he felt welling up in the back of his throat refused to go away. He watched as Naruto bowed to Teuchi and shoved a mouthful of ramen down his throat. Iruka gulped; 'Was this six-year-old kid really making him feel this uneasy?'

"Hey, Naruto, eat as much as you want, okay? I'll head out first unfortunately. I have something I need to take care of but please don't rush on my account" Iruka told the boy who only nodded as he continued to eat. Iruka made a beeline for the Hokage's office. He needed to get some answers about this boy that made his stomach uneasy.

A short walk later and he was knocking on the door to the Hokage's office. "Enter" he heard from the other side and pushed the door open. "Ah, Iruka, what can I do for you?" the third asked as he took another pull from his pipe.

"Lord Hokage, I've…I've come to ask you about Naruto Uzumaki"

"I see" Hiruzen took his seat. "Shut the door Iruka" he instructed. Iruka did as he was told before taking the seat opposite the third.

"What is it you wish to know?" he asked, cutting straight to the chase.

"Well, I know we aren't supposed to speak about it—" "You shouldn't even know about what it is you're not supposed to speak about" Hiruzen interrupted. Iruka tried to stutter out some excuse but Hiruzen waved a hand at him. "I swore the clan heads and council to silence because some of them are far too smart for their own good. If I thought it would never get out, I'd be a fool. Please, continue."

"Uh…I guess I want to know just what is Naruto's story?" Iruka asked, the sincerity in his voice all that the third could hear.

"Iruka, Naruto doesn't know what it means to be a child. Someone has raised that boy to be nothing more than a weapon and has treated him as such. He has never known the love of a mother or father. The joy of having friends. He's never even seen the sky until a few days ago" Hiruzen informed Iruka. Suddenly, it made sense to him why Naruto was always staring out the window like it was the first time he'd ever seen the world—because it was.

"Naruto has been molded into thinking his purpose in life is to be nothing more than a killing tool. I don't believe he knows that the nine tailed fox is sealed within him, but I believe that he'll figure it out eventually. The boy is special. Very special. He can bring ruin to the village should he release the seal containing the fox, or he can be it's greatest protector if we simply guide him towards the light."

"But Lord Hokage, is that really safe? Letting him roam the village when you know just how dangerous he can be?" Iruka urgently asked, unsure how the protector of the village could sit there and let a destructive force just walk around freely.

"Because what Naruto needs now is people who care for him. People he can call friend and wants to protect. If we treat him like a weapon, we will be no different than those who kept him from the sun. We—" "Lord Hokage" Cat interrupted, kneeling at the window to the hokage's office.

"If you have come to tell me bad news…I will be very disappointed" Hiruzen warned. Cat gulped but insisted that it was important. "Very well, what is it?" Cat looked towards Iruka, but when the third nodded that Iruka could be trusted, she began her report.

"Lord Hokage…Naruto, was cornered again…he didn't kill anyone" she hurriedly added seeing the look on the hokage's face. "He um…I don't know what he did, Lord Hokage" she admitted, hanging her head in embarrassment.

"Show me"

"Naruto" Iruka ran forward to check on the boy but was stopped by Dragon and Frog.

Hiruzen didn't waste any time asking what happened, instead he pushed passed everyone and stood next to Naruto who was quietly sitting on a crate swinging his legs back and forth. The third looked at the group of villagers lying on the ground around the boy.

"Naruto, what did you do?" the third asked, facing the boy at last.

"I promised that I wouldn't kill anymore" he answered.

"But what did you do?" Hiruzen demanded. Naruto's legs stopped swinging before turning to face the hokage.

"I kept my promise" he said icily. The look in his eyes was angry and challenging.

'Because then I don't have to kill people' Iruka remembered Naruto's words from earlier.

"Lord Hokage" he called out, and after acknowledgment, was allowed to draw closer. Dragon right behind him. "Naruto told me earlier that he likes Fuinjutsu" Iruka whispered to the third. Hiruzen turned to Iruka in disbelief before kneeling down and lifting the shirt of the man closest to them. There on his torso, spreading out in every direction were black markings.

"Bring these men back with me. I know this seal" Hiruzen turned to face Naruto; "The fact that you know this seal…I'm impressed Naruto" he praised.

"Lord Hokage you—" "Naruto made me a promise that he would not kill and he didn't. The fact that this is now the second time he's had to defend himself is however a different matter. Cat, Frog, we will have words about this" Hiruzen warned.

"Y-yes Lord Hokage" they answered. They each grabbed two men and waited at the end of the alley for the third to lead them back.

The third sighed; "Dragon, I'm sorry to ask more of you but please escort Naruto home"

"Of course, Lord Hokage" Dragon readily took Naruto's extended hand. The boy stopped and waved to Iruka who uncertainly returned the gesture.

"Iruka. I trust that you will keep this between those present" though the third spoke softly, the command was there.

"Uh…y-yes" Iruka answered, still in shock that a child was capable of performing…whatever it was that he performed.

"Lord Hokage…what exactly did he do?" Iruka asked the moment they were back at the Hokage's office. "I've never seen a seal like that" he added, turning to look at both Cat and Frog, both of them had said nothing the entire way back.

"What were you two doing that this happened again?" Hiruzen demanded, turning to face them; "Speak plainly"

Frog was the first to step forward. He bowed before removing his mask. His reddish-brown hair sat unruly upon his head. His hard features accentuated by the cross scar on his cheek; "It was my fault Lord Hokage. Cat and I have been carrying on a romantic relationship and today I…I have asked her to be my wife" Frog explained. Cat stepped forward, she too bowed before removing her mask, he delicate features a surprise to anyone who knew that she was a ruthless assassin. Her jet-black hair fell in waves down her back as she nervously smiled before the Hokage.

"It's true, Lord Hokage, the two of us have been involved for some time. These men attacked Naruto when…uh…Frog asked me to marry him and we were discussing whether or not it was appropriate" she added, looking towards her fiancé before turning back to the hokage. "It happened so fast. It couldn't have been more than a couple of seconds but by the time we landed in front of Naruto, these men were already down. I've never seen seal work down so quickly and efficiently" she finished. Hiruzen sighed before taking his seat.

"First I would like to apologize. I understand that I have left you little time to your personal lives. Even so, could this moment not have waited?" the third asked, looking towards Frog.

"Ah, yes it could have Lord Hokage, I was just excited and nervous and impetuous. Please forgive me" Frog bowed low, hoping that his sincerity was conveyed correctly.

"I see. Very well. I will make a note to alternate the three of your schedules so that you won't have to make careless mistakes. Until then— Do. Not. Let. This. Happen. Again" Hiruzen threatened. The pair of anbu thanked him profusely before replacing their masks.

"Iruka, Naruto doesn't just like Fuinjutsu. It would appear that he's been trained in the highest level of the art. These seals here are Five elements' seals" the third revealed. The three others looked over the unconscious men in absolute disbelief.

"Lord Hokage, that would mean that—" "Naruto is almost as capable as I am in Fuinjutsu? Yes, probably, but to what extent I cannot say for sure. Bring Naruto to me in the morning, for now you two may go" he instructed. "By the way, congratulations. I look forward to the Himura family becoming a big part of the Leaf" the third added before the two of them could leave. Even with their masks on, it was clear that the two of them were red in the face at the idea of having kids. They bowed once more before exiting the office.

"Iruka, I know you are worried, but watch over the boy when ever he is with you. Do this for an old man" Hiruzen wasn't ordering or demanding this. He was genuinely asking. Iruka, who was still absorbing everything that he learned today, nodded.

"I will do my best, Lord Hokage" Iruka answered, remembering the look of disgust the boy had earlier when speaking of himself, Iruka resolved himself to ensuring Naruto would never have to look so disgusted with himself again. "I only hope that I am enough" he admitted, but Hiruzen just smiled.

"You will be surprised the difference one person can make in someone's life. Besides, I'm sure there will be others who will feel the same as you if given enough time. I can feel it" the third reassured Iruka.

"What of these men?" Iruka asked, studying the men again.

The third chuckled; "I am capable enough to remove this seal myself. I merely was letting them sit with their shame for a bit before waking them."

"Lord Hokage" Iruka said in disbelief, their boisterous laughter echoing throughout the office.

Naruto was currently changing into pajamas while Dragon sat perched at his window. Naruto didn't seem to care one bit that she was there and she averted her eyes from the stripping toddler. Not before noticing the scars up and down his back that made her stomach turn over. There were numerous cuts and burns that looked to have been targeted over and over. The overlapping scars leaving permanent color changes to the boy's body despite him being pale.

When he finished changing, he crawled into bed and held a hand out to her. she took it uncertainly as he turned to lie on his side.

"Naruto-kun…are you fond of me?" she asked, the curiosity getting the better of her.

"I like your mask" he answered, closing his eyes without another word. She smiled beneath said mask, and thought it was rather adorable that he only liked her because of her mask.

"Dragon?" he spoke near silently.

"Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"I think…I made…friends…today" he said, drifting off to sleep before he could even properly finish speaking.

"I'm happy for you…Naruto-kun" she cooed back. Not wanting to wake the boy, she gently placed his hand beside him and silently jumped from her perch.

"Now you're tucking him in?" Frog asked, the moment Dragon landed on the roof opposite her previous spot.

"The next time you two decide you want to copulate; you best wait until I am back before doing so" she hissed at the pair of them. Cat held her hands up in front of her and quickly shook her head.

"It's nothing like that. We uh, well we're getting married" she admitted, and Dragon's stunned silence was about what the pair of them expected.

"Lord Hokage already reamed me for not waiting" Frog laughed, the nervous infliction made Dragon take a step towards him.

"You're lucky all he did was ream you. We cannot fail again"

"We won't"

"Yeah, we won't slip up again"

"We better not. Otherwise, I don't think some seals is what we'll have to worry about. Naruto-kun…looked pleased with his work even if he hated the idea of having to have done so. I don't want to imagine what he would do if he was truly angry. Do you understand? We have to protect this boy from whoever is going to come for him, but more importantly we must protect him from himself" Dragon pleaded. What was this feeling she was having in her gut? Was she protective of this boy because it was her mission? If it was, why did she feel that she desperately needed to succeed? Whatever it was, she couldn't help but feel that as the boy grew older, this feeling would also grow as well. She wanted to watch him grow and become whoever it was he wanted to be—whoever he was destined to be. Is this what it felt like to have siblings? A son? She listened to her team cheerfully, albeit quietly, speaking about their wedding plans, and a bitter lump of jealously formed in her throat.

Deciding she would dedicate her life to her village, to her Hokage was never something she thought she would question, but meeting the blue-eyed blond made her think that maybe having a family wouldn't be so bad.

Regardless of whatever regrets were beginning to form, she turned towards Naruto's window, she took her usual seat. With a half glance to the other two, she smiled; "I'll take the first watch" she announced before turning her full attention back to the sleeping child.

AN: There you have it, chapter 2 in what I'm starting to think is going to be a…story. I don't want to say short or long because I can very easily do either. So, a few things, much of the story will resemble the original story, with the exception that Naruto may still be clueless but he's obviously different. I have already been thinking about our favorite idiot and why we love him and where I'll take this from here and I hope you'll enjoy the build up to Naruto's showdown with familiar faces. Yes, he's different, but he'll still be the same. If that makes sense? And before someone asks, no I will not write sixty chapters until Naruto graduates. I will instead do baby time jumps, like a year or two here and there until we get to the main story of the original Naruto. Then I'll really start to murder people…I mean, tell the story. These first few chapters are important to help you understand my version of the knucklehead.

What do you think? Is Naruto giving you that repressed serial killer vibe yet? Do you think he's salvageable? Should he be? Until next time, don't go getting into trouble.