Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto; I don't even have a stake in Boruto. Kishimoto-sama, that mad genius created a wonderful world for all of us to enjoy and I am simply a humble student (unaware to him) of his work. Quick note: before we get to the chapter, Panjangya, I wanted to thank you for the suggestions, I did in fact end up checking out "Come back to me" by urboipedro12 and I have to say I'm only a chapter in but it's got my attention. Thank you so much for the suggestion. If you guys haven't read it, I suggest you do so. It's not your typical NaruHina story and I think that's what makes it good.

Chapter 3: I want to know you

The shining rays of the sun poking through the clouds were starting to irritate an already tired and hungry Dragon as she stood to stretch. No matter how she looked at it, if she didn't find some way to pass the time while she watched a certain whiskered blond throughout the night, then she would inevitably fall asleep. Which Frog and Cat had done long before the sun began to rise and despite them being excellent as ninja, they made horrible babysitters. Dragon hated not being able to trust them to do this task, but at the same time she couldn't blame them. They spent most of the early night delightfully conversing about their wedding plans, even going as far as to ask her for her opinion as well. Which they readily shot down as not romantic or simply too ordinary—which Dragon took to mean boring.

"Come on kid. You'll be late if you sleep any longer than this and I really don't want to have to wake you up too" Dragon started to complain mid yawn. Almost as if on que, Naruto sat up from his bed and stretched. He turned towards his window and waved directly at her, which she returned sleepily. "Bout time" she gratefully stretched.

She replaced her mask; "Wake up you two. Naruto-kun will be ready to go in just a bit. Today you two…" she paused for a moment. "Frog you'll watch him for the morning. Cat you will watch him in the afternoon, and make sure he gets home okay. We'll meet up here later on" she decided. Immediately they began to protest.

"You can trust us to watch him together"

"You don't need to have us separately watch him. We can handle this"

Dragon sighed; "The last few days would beg to differ"

"Hey, that's not fair at all, and you know it" Frog argued. "The kid is unpredictable. How were we supposed to know he was going to lure those guys to their deaths?"

"Or be a damn good seal master?" Cat added, just as annoyed as her counterpart.

They were sort of valid arguments and, while Dragon still felt it best not to have them watch the blond together, she couldn't deny her confidence in their abilities should someone more powerful than an average villager was to attack.

"I'll tell you what, if you both can manage to keep him out of trouble for the whole day until he gets home, then you'll prove me wrong. Deal?" she asked, eyeing both of them with an outstretched hand. They shared a silent look with one another, clearly upset by the lack of faith from their team leader, but they nevertheless shook on it.

"Deal" they repeated after one another.

"I believe in you two" Dragon said as she vanished in a swirl of leaves.

"Wouldn't hurt to show it a little more" Frog mumbled, which earned him an elbow to the ribs from his love.

They kneeled at the edge of their lookout waiting for Naruto to exit and when he finally did, Cat who'd been expecting a good morning wave was disheartened when he continued walking without a glance back.

"I thought for sure he would wave for us too" she complained, Frog shook his head in bewilderment as he leaped before stopping entirely.

"What the hell?" Cat demanded in a huff; having run right into him.

"We're supposed to take the kid to see Lord Hokage. Did you forget?" Frog reminded her, before she too seemed to have remembered.

"Oh, that would have been bad for us wouldn't it?" she chuckled nervously. "Uh…I'll go tell him?" she added uncertainly. How were they supposed to tell him that the third wanted to see him before he went to school?

"I'll do it" Frog grumbled before leaping down to land behind the boy.

"I thought no one was supposed to know you're following me?" Naruto asked, not missing a step as he continued walking.

"Lord Hokage requests your presence this morning."

"Hm…did the old man say what it was about?"

"Lord Hokage did not specify the details on which he wishes to discuss. Word of advice kid, when the Hokage calls, you go" Frog told Naruto, but the emphasis and tone in the way Frog spoke made Naruto stop and turn to stare at the Anbu member. Those icy blue eyes fixed on the eyeholes of the mask.

"I don't like you" Naruto flatly said, before he took the next turn towards the Hokage's office.

"That damn kid. I don't like you either" Frog grumbled, jumping back up to return to Cat.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked, sensing his foul mood.

"Nothing, the kids on his way to Lord Hokage's office now" he curtly replied; continuing their trek in pursuit of Naruto.

"If you say so" Cat all but sang as she could gather the blond had said something to her fiancé to make him react that way. She leaped after him, amused that a six-year-old was getting to him so easily.

"Come in" the third called out. He smiled as the door opened to reveal Naruto looking as serious as ever. "Ah, Good morning, Naruto" he greeted, standing to walk around his desk.

"Hey, old man…I'm supposed to be in school" Naruto pointed out, making the third laugh.

"Yes, I'm aware, don't worry too much about that. I'll be sure to let Iruka know why you were late. Come, sit down Naruto" Hiruzen gestured to seat next to him. When Naruto finally did decide to sit, Hiruzen leaned against his desk.

"How long have you been studying fuinjutsu?" he asked, the warmth previously in his voice fading away. He needed to know just how much the boy knew about seal work and weather he would be capable of undoing his own seal if he felt the need or want to.

"I don't know. I don't remember how long they made me do it. I did it because it was better than when they made me study other stuff" the boy answered. He couldn't explain it, but speaking with the old man felt more comfortable than speaking with anyone else. He felt he could truly trust this man if he needed too.

"I see. And is the seal you used yesterday the only sealing technique you know?"

"No. I know others. The five element's seal was just the first one they taught me."

"You said that you preferred to study sealing over the other things. Like what? What were the other things?" Hiruzen questioned, trying to figure out just how much more could they have put this child through.

Naruto Shrugged; "They tried to force me to learn genjutsu but I couldn't break free from it or use it. And…" his words trailed off as he hung his head.

"And?" the third pressed, curious as to why the boy was suddenly clamming up.

"They would punish me whenever I couldn't perform the ninjutsu they wanted me to. I…I can't make a clone" Naruto admitted. His whole demeanor changed. He shifted in his seat so that he was further from the third than there was room on the chair to allow. Almost as if he expected the third to be upset with him for not being able to perform the clone technique. When no punishment was exacted, no harsh words were spoken, not even a disappointed sigh came from the hokage, Naruto chanced a look at him to find him smiling.

"It's quite alright Naruto. Many children your age also can't produce a clone. By the time you graduate I'm sure you'll be able to make them without a problem" Hiruzen reassured, and for the faintest of moments he could have sworn he saw a smile. If only just for a second.

"Alright Naruto, I think I have kept you from school long enough. Uh…please don't go into anymore alleyways, okay? You'll make an old man worry to death" the third's weak joke had about as much of the impact as he would have expected as Naruto stood from his seat and headed towards the door.

"Ah, Cat, ensure that Iruka knows Naruto was with me" Hiruzen quickly spoke. Cat, who'd been eagerly waiting for something to do appeared in the room before bowing low.

"It will be done, Lord Hokage" she said, before turning to Naruto.

"Eventually you'll find someone else to worry about" Naruto's words made Hiruzen want to stop him from leaving, but he left before he could which meant Cat went hurrying after him.

"He must still believe that everyone only sees him as a tool to hurt others." The third sighed, he would have to try harder to break Naruto from that mentality. He would need more than just jokes and kind words. He would need something that every little boy needs. Love and encouragement far exceeding the length of time he was mistreated. But even if he himself could give Naruto that, it didn't change that since word had spread throughout the village of what Naruto contained within himself, that more and more people were starting to act out. If they were to anger the boy beyond what he was capable of handling, they may very well discover just how malevolent the nine tailed fox could be.

"If you just come to class to sleep—" Iruka's words cut short as the door slid open to reveal Naruto standing there with Cat behind him. The class beginning whispering as to what the purpose behind it could mean but were quickly silenced when they heard Cat mention that Naruto was with the Hokage. Iruka thanked her as she shut the door behind Naruto, who'd already started walking towards his seat. He glanced at Hinata who shyly looked away from him, and then at Sasuke who hadn't even acknowledged that he was even there.

"Shikamaru, answer the question. I won't tolerate you sleeping in my class" Iruka snapped towards the Nara, who was apparently already being yelled at for not wishing to participate as it was.

"What a drag" Shikamaru groaned lifting his head from his desk. "Kages who are no longer kages may resume their position as one should something happen to the current leader. As was the case with Lord Third and Lord Fourth" Shikamaru lazily replied.

"Yes, that is the case with the third and fourth hokage. The incident—Naruto?" Iruka asked, looking at the boy.

"Are there other Kages?" Naruto's hand was still raised but he slowly lowered it when he saw other's looking at him. He could feel the disappointment in their stares, the feeling all too similar to being in the dark room. Turning away from them to make it seem like he didn't care, he looked out the window.

"Well, that's a good question Naruto. Many people are actually unaware that there is a Kage in every hidden village" Iruka answered, much to the surprise of almost half the class who'd all assumed that Naruto simply asked a stupid question.

"Wait, there are other Hokages?" someone asked from the back, making Iruka chuckle.

"No, there is only one Hokage, BUT there are other Kage. There's the Kazekage of the sand, the Mizukage of the mist, the Raikage of the cloud, and the Tsuchikage of the earth. Now, each village is different, but the Kage of each village is the strongest shinobi and their people look to them to lead and guide them. Many smaller villagers and towns also look to the Kage of their land for those such things as well. Thank you for asking that, Naruto" Iruka finished turning to the boy, who seemed absolutely invested in what he'd been saying.

"Could I become Kazekage of the sand then?" Sakura had asked, causing Iruka to shake his head. "No. You must be from that village to become a Kage. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if one that changes completely. The best way to foster better relations between the nations would be to understand one another better" he explained, Sakura, along with a few others began to write something down before Iruka finished speaking and they eagerly waited for what he would say next. An echoing bell signaled the end of morning classes, which Iruka was grateful for. He knew enough about the other Kage to give an explanation, but if they started asking more pressing questions, he was afraid that his bare minimum knowledge would be unsatisfactory.

"Okay everyone, today we're going to be practicing Taijutsu. Come on, follow me" Iruka instructed as he led the class out into the courtyard. "Now I want you to remember that this is simply training. I don't want you hurting each other. I don't want you trying to hurt each other. I don't even want you thinking about hurting each other. Do you understand?" he demanded. Naruto couldn't help but think that perhaps, if only for the tiniest moment, Iruka was talking to him, and him alone. The class nodded, muttered their agreement and stood on the sidelines of their makeshift arena.

After Iruka decided that they would go alphabetically, and after numerous spars that were relatively boring to the Uzumaki it was finally his turn—something that he was not excited about.

"Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto Uzumaki" Iruka called out. The two boys exchanged a look with one another before stepping forward. The other kids couldn't control their excitement that the Uchiha was up next, many of them were girls that squealed at the young Uchiha passing by them, namely Sakura and a blonde girl, who were both the loudest of the group. Little did Naruto know was that a particularly shy blue haired Hyuga was wishing him good luck.

"It's him" someone said to their friend as Naruto walked by them.

"My parents told me not to even speak to him"

"I wouldn't want to be paired with him, that's for sure"

"You think you're pretty cool, don't you?" Naruto asked, eyeing Sasuke across from him. He couldn't put his finger on it but the Uchiha seemed to be looking down on him. It annoyed Naruto to no end.

"Oy, Naruto, make the sign. It's proper etiquette in sparring" Iruka told him, but Naruto was only half listening.

"No thanks. I rather just get this over quickly" Naruto replied, to which Sasuke tilted his nose up.

"I'll make it quick, just like you want" he shot back.

"Hold on, you two" Iruka said in exasperation; For crying out loud!" he looked at both of them. "Shinobi hand-to-hand combat is a traditional training method passed down through the generations. It might be stuffy etiquette, but here at the academy, we start with the basics. It matters!" Iruka explained, Naruto and Sasuke both rolled their eyes, growing more impatient as time went on.

That did nothing to deter Iruka as he continued on; "You always start by showing your opponent a one-handed sign, which represents half of the two hands used when unleashing a jutsu, and displays your intention to fight! This is called the spar sign. After the sparring is done and the victor is decided, both partners present the spar sign, then bring their hands together to form the unison sign as a show of friendship. This is the etiquette of hand-to-hand combat" Iruka finished. He looked between the two boys; "Are you listening, Naruto?!" he demanded once he realized the blond looked as if he'd much rather be cloud watching than listening to a lecture. Which he was currently half doing. He may have been looking at the sky, but he was closely watching Sasuke the entire time. Iruka could think he wasn't listening but Naruto had heard every word. If making this sign with the Uchiha meant they would be friends, then Naruto wouldn't mind. So long as Sasuke stopped looking down his nose at him.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it" Naruto said, raising his hand to form one half of the sign. Sasuke took a moment, but he eventually mimicked the gesture.

"Beat him up, Sasuke-kun" one of the girls yelled, much to Naruto's increasing annoyance.

Iruka sighed, as much as he wanted to believe that Naruto wouldn't do anything dangerous or threaten to endanger anyone, he couldn't help but think that Naruto didn't how to hold back.

"Begin!" he yelled, and watched as the two boys dashed towards one another.

"Hey, check it out, the kid's fighting the Uchiha survivor" Frog pointed out, getting Cat's attention. She rushed over to his side, dropping most of her lunch as she sat excitedly next to him. "Would you calm it?" he asked, but she ignored him. Her eyes were lit up and glued to the two boys.

"He's not half bad" she awed watching as Naruto and Sasuke traded blows. Blocking and dodging as they saw fit. Sasuke went for roundhouse that Naruto ducked under, at the same time that he ducked he went for a sweep that knocked Sasuke off balance but the Uchiha was no push over. He did a backhand spring to recover and the two boys stared one another down.

"You're pretty good for a nobody" Sasuke jeered, much to the agreement of his fan club.

"I was thinking you're pretty mediocre for a somebody" Naruto fired back, silencing the squealing girls and causing Sasuke to grimace.

"Oh, looks like they're getting pretty rowdy, doesn't it?" Cat delighted at the idea, but Frog stood from his position. "What are you doing?"

"We need to be ready to act if the brat tries to hurt the Uchiha. We can't leave it up to the instructor" he answered, but Cat just laughed.

"Relax, Naruto-kun isn't going to hurt the kid. If anything, he'll teach him a lesson and they'll go back inside" she waved a hand in front of her, brushing off Frog's concerns.

"You don't know that, and I won't risk it."

"Yeah, yeah. We'll move if we need to"

Iruka was growing increasingly worried as he could sense the shift in the area. Naruto, who was always giving off that passive, murderous vibe, was slowly beginning to grow excited, going from passive to active and Iruka wasn't sure that the boy cared whether it was a spar or not any longer. On the other hand, Sasuke was growing more annoyed, angry that a nobody who just got here was able to land a few good hits. Naruto rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand, something that made Sasuke want to kick him for. He was mocking the Uchiha and was openly doing it at that.

They charged at one another again; Sasuke threw a right that Naruto tilted his head to the side to dodge, while Naruto threw his own right punch that Sasuke caught in his palm. He went for a knee that Naruto spun passed and had Sasuke not been paying attention, the kick that Naruto threw to his ribs would have been a direct hit. He let go of Naruto's arm and jumped over the Uzumaki throwing his own kick in the process. The kick connected to the side of Naruto's head.

'Got you' Sasuke thought, until a fist came barreling towards him and landed dead center underneath his chin. Both boys went tumbling to the ground, but it was Naruto who stood up first. Sasuke was a little slower to his feet but he too was able to stand back up.

"You have…the nerve…to stand back up" Sasuke mumbled, taking a step towards his opponent.

"That's enough you two" Iruka called out, but Sasuke kept walking.

"You shouldn't look at me with such hateful eyes!" he yelled before bursting into a sprint. Naruto averted his gaze. Had he really been looking at Sasuke with such disdain? 'Kill anyone who would stand before you' the voice echoed in his head, making him shut his eyes in protest. 'I promised I wouldn't kill anymore' the words he spoke to the old man made him hang his head. Sasuke tackled him to the ground, his fist inches from Naruto's face.

"Sasuke-kun is so cool" Sakura yelled; the blonde girl next to her agreeing—loudly.

"Whoa, those guys…" Shikamaru said in amazement, a husky boy next to him in just as much awe.

None of that mattered to the two combatants. They stared at one another and it was then that realization hit them both. The hatred, the loneliness, the pain in their eyes wasn't directed at each other. No, this was anger they held for someone else entirely. They could each recognize the burden they were carrying, but neither of them said a word. Instead, Sasuke lifted himself off the ground, and extended his hand to Naruto, who hesitantly took it.

"Honestly you two, you'll give me grey hairs before I'm even old" Iruka complained, but still they remained silent. Naruto refused to meet Sasuke's gaze, but when he saw that the Uchiha held out his hand to form the unison sign, he finally looked up. Naruto made the other half of the sign and with that, Sasuke walked off without a second thought.

"Wait, who won?" a boy with a dog on his head asked, but Iruka shook his head.

"There are no winners when two shinobi come to respect one another" he looked Naruto up and down, he was certain that Naruto was going to attack all-out before something made his demeanor change. He turned to watch Sasuke walking back towards the group. Something unspoken had passed between the two boys, something that only they would understand, and Iruka silently hoped that it was something that would impact them positively.

"Man, that was so anticlimactic" Cat whined, with a loud groan; "I thought for sure they would have to be broken up."

"Let's be glad that it didn't come to that." Frog heaved a sigh of relief as he retook his seat. "That damn kid was ready to kill the Uchiha" he said, but Cat wouldn't hear anything about it.

"Yeah, but he stopped himself" she pointed out. This time it was Frog who wouldn't hear anything about it. They bickered for a bit before they both agreed that it was a good thing that whatever Naruto was thinking about that caused him to stop was a good thing. Frog spent the rest of the afternoon on edge, unable to shake the feeling that when Naruto locked his sights on Sasuke, all Frog felt was unrelenting malice.

When everyone returned to the classroom, girls we asking Sasuke to sit with them, to talk to them, to just look at them. But he ignored them as he always did. Instead, he was deep in thought about his opponent and what he saw in those bottomless blue eyes. It was like the pain he felt was almost the same to what Sasuke himself felt. Where did Naruto come from? And more importantly to the Uchiha, why did it feel like he'd been holding back?

"N-Naruto-kun…" some of the students were curiously watching as Naruto stood in front of the Hyuga Heiress desk. "W-what's the w-wrong…" Hinata groaned internally at her mishap and hoped that Naruto wouldn't make fun of her for it. Some of the kids behind her were snickering, but she shyly looked at Naruto.

"Your Taijutsu was really good" he complimented and abruptly walked away, leaving Hinata red in the face.

"Hey you" Sasuke spoke, getting everyone's attention. Naruto stopped in front of Sasuke's desk, but didn't look at him.

"Let's be…friends" Sasuke mumbled. Finally, Naruto turned to face him, and for the faintest of moments, it looked like he smiled.

"Why would Sasuke-kun want to be friends with him?" the blonde girl next to Sakura called out. Others following suit and yelling similar things. Sasuke looked expectantly at Naruto for an answer.

"Why?" Naruto asked, turning full body to face Sasuke.

"Because…I want…to get to know you…better" the Uchiha admitted. As embarrassing as it sounded to everyone present, it was even more embarrassing for him to have said it. Naruto nodded, and made the sparring sign again, confusing the Uchiha.

"Iruka-Sensei said that we should do this if we wanted to build strong friendship" he explained, making everyone laugh.

"He meant that when you're done sparring you idiot" Sakura chastised, laughing along with the others. Just as quickly as they started though, they stopped. Sasuke made the other half of the sign and nodded.

"Yeah, you're right" he said, watching as Naruto walked back towards his own seat.

Iruka, who had just entered the classroom, only caught the tail-end of the conversation but couldn't help but smile. 'Maybe you were right Lord Hokage' he thought, watching as both Naruto and Sasuke both seemed to be pleased with themselves. 'Maybe we are just enough.'

The day ended with Naruto feeling a lot more content than he ever felt, even on his walk home he didn't mind that stupid Frog mask following him, despite Cat mask being with him as well. No, the disgruntled stares of the villagers, the whispers, the feelings of resentment being cast at him did nothing to make Naruto feel smaller about himself. He'd make it a point to talk to the quiet girl more since she seemed to be one of the only ones that didn't seem to look down on him. The sleepy kid was another one but he might just be too lazy to look down on anyone. Then there was the kid that was always eating who seemed more interested in whatever snacks he had than despising the Uzumaki. Naruto felt, for what seemed like the first time in his life, happy. Someone wanted to be his friend, and he would do anything to protect that friendship.

Naruto made the last turn towards his home and froze in his spot; "Good" a voice spoke from the shadows. Shadows that seemed to have grown darker in that particular area if for no other reason than just to add mystery to this person's already hidden face. The voice sounded like a growl, as if this voice belonged to an animal more than a person, and with each breath it was a soft purr-like sound. "I see you still remember your masters training" the voice spoke again, pressing down on a device that made a clicking noise. Naruto kept his eyes glued to the ground—wondering if frog mask and cat mask were even aware of his situation.

"Don't worry nine, we didn't forget about you" the voice growled. The clicking stopped and the shadows seemed to lift as Cat landed in front of Naruto.

"Are you okay?" she asked, but Naruto refused to even lift his eyes to meet hers. "Naruto-kun?" Cat insisted, but it was only when she took a step forward that he started to move again. He walked right by her and continued on his way. Cat turned towards the shadowy area near where the boy had been standing but not sensing anything, hopped back up to the rooftops with frog.

"What's his deal?" he asked, the moment the two of them took their seats and watched as Naruto shut his home door behind him.

"I don't know. He stopped for a reason, that much I can tell. I mean…he looked absolutely terrified" Cat recalled the slight shiver that Naruto showed just before she landed in front of him.

"You're telling me the kid actually feels something? Here I thought he was dead on the inside"

"That kid feels a many great things, he is just incapable of properly expressing them" Frog and Cat both turned to see Dragon standing behind them. "What did I miss?" she asked the moment the two turned to greet her. They told her about Naruto and Sasuke's spar, how something seemed to have shaken Naruto and that allowed Sasuke to get the upper hand before simply walking away. How they observed Naruto being friendlier to the Hyuga girl and to the Uchiha, and most importantly what had just happened on his way home. Dragon seemed to be lost in thought about both the spar with the Uchiha boy, and with Naruto's walk home. She couldn't piece it together, but she felt that they were somehow connected.

"Did Naruto say anything after you confronted him?" she asked Cat who shook her head.

"No, he didn't even look at me. He just kept walking. It was almost like he was in a trance and finally woke up" Cat explained, before turning to look towards Naruto's window.

"He's asleep already" she noted. Dragon turned her attention towards the window too and sighed.

"Whatever it was that happened to him today seems to have clearly gotten to him. Maybe there was someone there that you didn't see" Dragon offered, but Cat again shook her head.

"No way. Nothing can hide from my sense" she boasted, pointing towards her head. Only those who knew her would know that Cat was a ruthless assassin and a top-notch tracker. She may not have the nose of an Inuzuka, or the eyes of a Hyuga, but her senses were at peak condition. She could hear a fly land on a flower in a crowded field of stampeding horses. There was no way someone could hide from her. Still, Dragon couldn't shake the idea that whoever was supposedly coming for the boy would know these things about them. Their strengths and weaknesses. They would know how to combat each one of them while her team were in the dark about who or what they were facing. She would ask Naruto, but he himself didn't know anymore about who was after him than they did.

"Frog, report what has happened today to Lord Hokage. All of it. Let's see what he thinks about all of this" Dragon ordered. Frog sighed, not seeing what the cautiousness was about, but decided that it wasn't worth the hassle to argue over it. He left leaving Cat and Dragon alone to watch over the sleeping blond, only when they turned back, he wasn't in his bed. Dragon jumped to the window to find that the balcony door was open. She hurried inside to find no one anywhere in the apartment. Naruto, was simply gone.

"Where'd the kid go?"

Dragon looked at her comrade in annoyance when she rejoined her atop the roof. Obviously, both of them were at fault for not paying attention. They scanned their immediate surroundings to find nothing, and that bad feeling that Dragon had before, was back with renewed intensity.

"Wait, I hear something" Cat stopped as she tried to focus on the sound. "It's like a clicking. I heard it earlier too but I didn't think anything of it."

"Which way?" Dragon demanded and the moment Cat pointed, they were off in the blink of an eye.

They'd been running for awhile and were now deep in woods following only the sounds of what Cat could hear and nothing else. As far as Dragon knew, they were chasing the wind but she learned to trust in her teammates tracking abilities. A few more minutes and they came into a clearing where, just ahead of them, was Naruto.

"Naruto-kun" Dragon called out. Immediately she had to jump to her side to avoid the kunai flying towards them. Cat swung off the branch ahead of her to avoid them and was in the middle of flipping over it when she noticed the tag. She couldn't get the words out fast enough as the tag exploded and sent her, along with the branch she was swinging off flying in the opposite direction where it splintered and speared her through the shoulder. Luckily, the concussive blast knocker her unconscious as she dangled limply from another tree—skewered like a fish on a hook.

"Where are you?" Dragon shouted into the darkness, but for all that did she might as well have stayed shut. More kunai flew at her but this time, being on her guard, she was able to deflect and dodge them better. She jumped down and landed near Naruto, who remained still as stone.

"Naruto-kun, are you okay? Did they hurt you?" she asked hurriedly, with no reply she was forced to pick him up and carry him over to a tree with a rather thick trunk.

"Stay here, Naruto-kun" she whispered to him—his eyes never left the ground.

"The boy won't answer to you" someone shouted out. "He knows who his owner is" they added, a hiss like laugh escaping them.

"He's a boy. A human, living, breathing kid. He doesn't belong to anyone" Dragon shouted back. More laughter.

"You're a fool if you think that this boy is human. He's a weapon. And should be treated as such"

"You're wrong. He's only like this because of what you did to him"

"We made him strong. We made him great" the voice hissed, clearly angry at the lack of understanding. "I grow tired of your yapping" they added before Dragon was forced to jump away from Naruto's hiding place—less they both be hurt in the attack.

Another flurry of kunai and Dragon was finally able to pinpoint where they were coming from. She performed her hand signs as quick as she could to avoid being interrupted; "Wind style: Gale palm" she called out, before launching herself forward at incredible speed. As she rocketed towards her destination, she started performing another set of hand signs. "Wind style: Pressure Damage" the moment Dragon channeled her chakra into her technique she began to rotate in mid-air before turning into a massive horizontal tornedo speeding towards her opponent. She crashed through trees, rocks, and the earth itself before coming to a stop. When she turned back to see the damage she'd caused, her breath hitched. Lined all around her were paper bombs already ignited and set to explode.

"Oh no" she whispered before the explosion commenced. She tried to fight it off with another pressure damage, and while it did help, it didn't stop the explosion from devouring her whole.

Naruto, finally being jostled from his trance crawled out from his hiding place. He slipped and slid on ever root causing him to get dirty but he didn't stop. He looked around at the carnage that was around him before noticing someone lying face down in the dirt up ahead. He recognized the outfit and quickly ran towards her. He struggled to roll her to her back and when he did, the Dragon mask wasn't what greeted him. Instead, he was face to face with a fair skinned woman with blue eyes and crimson red hair. Half her face was scorched and that said nothing about the rest of her body. She'd been lying in a pool of mud made from her own blood and Naruto kneeled next to her trying to get her attention. When she did take a breath, it was ragged and harsh. Painful would have been better than what she was feeling. Dragon looked up into Naruto's face and smiled.

"Don't…don't l-let it…d-die…N-Naruto…kun" she struggled to say. Seeing the confusion in his eyes she smiled through her pain; "Your…light. It's…in…there. L-let it…out" she gasped as she tried to take another breath. She looked at the blond again and there was something in his eyes that she couldn't make out, but his expression was stone solid. Was he sad?

"Grow…to be…strong…Naruto-kun" she choked out, but whether he heard her or not she wouldn't be able to tell as the boy cast his gaze downward again, stood from his spot, and started walking away. "N-Naruto" she tried to call out, but her voice failed her. Just like that he was gone. She failed her mission to protect him and she wouldn't even be able to get a second chance.

"Rias" Frog shouted as he dropped down next to them. "Rias, where's Haruhi?!" he demanded; looking around the battlefield. "Rias…what the hell happened?"

Rias managed to lift a hand to point towards Haruhi, still hanging from her tree. Without a second thought, Frog jumped towards her to free her from her spear. He returned after a moment and placed Haruhi down near Rias. Neither of them looked to be in any shape of walking out of this. Frog started to heal Rias first since her injuries were far graver, but she weakly pushed his hand away.

"S-she's…got…a b-better…chance" she groaned, turning to look at the girl next to her.

"Don't be stupid, I can save you both" he argued but Rias again pushed his hand away.

"Save her…and t-then…save…Naruto"

"Naruto? What the hell do you mean save Naruto? Where is the brat?" he demanded, but no answer came. Frog ripped his mask off and shook Rias, yelling at her to open her eyes, but she limply refused. He cursed her and cried telling her she was an idiot for giving her life for that kid, he wanted to hate her and damn her to the underworld. His friend, his mentor…but he couldn't. He'd never seen her show much interest in anything, and she showed it for a demon.

"Kendo?" Haruhi weakly asked. She opened one eye to see the glowing green of the mystic palm healing her, but that wasn't what drew her attention. It was the look of absolute despair on his face as tears streamed down his cheeks that told her something terrible happened.

AN: Oh, I'm an evil, evil man. This was my plan all along. Dragon, or Rias as you learned in her final moments, was never going to make it to Naruto's graduation. I knew this the moment I started writing the story. Now you have to ask yourself…is anyone safe? Who's next, if anyone?" It sucks that I had to kill her off but it's for a reason. As are all things I do. Except these little comments at the beginning and end. I do these simply to gloat (Muwahahaha)

In all seriousness, I'm glad you all are enjoying the story, I hope you catch all the little details I put into this chapter. It was a pain, but I did it for you guys, and if you don't get it…well then, I won't do it again .

Until next time.