After the man told him to follow, he turned around and walked away. The man seemingly didn't look back to see if he would obey. There had never been anyone to disobey him when he told them to follow, so he assumed a child would not be the first. The man wasn't wrong. It just took more time than it usually did. Naruto slowly rose from his seated position, taking his time to unwind his stiff muscles from the long sit in the cold room. He hadn't moved since he sat himself against the wall. His mind had been too busy to acknowledge the needs of his body, resulting in a stiff and sore body.
He walked out of the cell, not surprised to see a detachment of guards blocking the opposite way the man had walked. He stood there, staring at the two guards with his head cocked. They weren't ANBU. He almost felt disappointed that it wasn't deemed necessary for his guards to be ANBU. Again, he wondered why they underestimated him like this. Had they forgotten he harboured the power of the Kyuubi combined with the almost endless chakra supply of an Uzumaki? Did they not realise what that meant for his level of power?
The guards shifted underneath his gaze. It unsettled them, even though they were looking at a child. They hadn't seen the evil red glint of his eyes protruding through the darkness of the cell, but they felt it now. It was intense enough to make them want to back away. One of them swallowed and shifted his gaze down. That was enough for the boy, for lack of a better description, to crack his lips into a grin showing off his canine-like teeth.
He took a step towards the guards, watching the eyes of the one still watching him widen and take a step back. The step seemed to echo through the otherwise silent hallway and startled the second guard into looking at him again. Both raised a clutched kunai in defence, dropping into a fighting stance, but the boy didn't seem impressed at all.
"Uzumaki Naruto." A stern voice spoke from behind. He dropped his head back and turned it sideways, glaring at the man from the corner of his eyes. He grinned again as he finally got a good look at the man in the torchlight of the hallway. The man wore a black coat and had a bandana and Hitai-ate covering his head. Two diagonal scars ran across his face and he had cold black eyes.
"The man with too many i's to dot and no t's to cross, Morino Ibiki, let me answer that again. No." Morino looked up in surprise. He hadn't expected for his name to be known to the boy. He noticed a difference in the voice as the boy spoke. It had lost a lot of the demonic energy compared to when he had spoken that single word before, but the maliciousness hadn't lessened. There was more control it seemed, enough to make most people falter in their own resolve. Luckily, he prided himself in being trained in similar techniques and he was able to withstand it where the guards had failed. He also noticed the lack of ropes binding the boy. In the report they had told him he was tied, hands behind his back. Now he stood there free of restrains. He took a mental note of it, making sure that if retraining became necessary again, it would be done properly.
"Uzumaki Naruto or not, you need to follow me. Please do not disturb the guards in their duties. They are only doing their jobs." Ibiki watched the boy turn towards him, gaining all focus on him as the grin disappeared slowly. "Lead the way, torture expert-sama." The boy inclined his head, the perfect example of respect and compliance if it hadn't been for the sneering tone in his words. Morino straightened himself, towering over the boy in a proud stance before turning around and walking through the hallway.
It was the opposite way as he was brought inside, he noticed, meaning he would probably be taken to an interrogation cell to meet with the dear old Hokage. His soft-hearted part hoped his Jiji wouldn't be to be overwhelmed with his changes, but there was little that could be done to change him back.
It took a while and the hallways were as cold as the cell had been. His bare feet hitting the floor caused an eerie echo that seemed to linger a little too long in the still air. The stone floor was uncomfortable for his feet and for the first time in years, he wished he had something on his feet. Awareness of his state settled into his mind. His dirty clothing and the dried blood on his face and in hair. It made him falter in his step, brow furrowed in worry. It wasn't fair to meet with the Hokage like this. He would have no chance on an honest conversation, there would only be judgement over his current appearance.
"Morino-san, a request, if I may." His tone was slow and deliberate. "Nothing much, just a moment in the restroom to freshen up a little." Morino turned around and eyed the boy. The ANBU that had brought him in had briefed him that he was covered in blood and the alleged reason why. But for now, even this boy was innocent until proven guilty and he could understand the discomfort the boy must be in for being covered in two-day-old blood
He nodded and changed the route at the next intersection of seemingly identical hallways. The structure they were in was set up in a maze-like construction designed to throw off any prisoner hoping to escape. He led the boy into a public shower area. The only thing to indicate it was a shower room were the nuzzles visible in the ceiling. Even they were dug into the stone ceiling, making it impossible to use them as a material to craft a weapon. Morino stood by the entrance and hit a button on the outside of the room. The nuzzle sprung to life, raining icy water onto the floor. "Five minutes." He said before closing the door.
It was as dark in this room as it was in the cell, so he released a little of his chakra once again to illuminate his surroundings. He stripped his clothing, laying them flat directly under the stream and he stepped on top of them. The cold water was biting his skin making his shiver and cold to the bone, but for washing off blood, cold water was one of the better ways to do so.
After washing everything as best he could, he picked up his soaked clothing and began rubbing the fabric over each other. The friction was enough to get the larger stains out, but he knew he wouldn't get all of it out.
"One minute left." Morino called through the door. He stepped away from the streaming water onto a dryer part of the shower and started wringing his clothing as best he could. He donned them. They were cold, clammy and uncomfortable, but it did feel better than the crusty bloodied clothing. It hadn't helped in making his feet any warmer though. He pulled back the chakra as he looked at his feet, wondering if the blue colour would ever disappear again.
Morino pushed the door open without further indication that time was up. He expected the boy to still be under the relentlessly cold water or not washed at all, but instead he found him fully dressed and staring at his own feet in fascination. Morino followed the boy's gaze and felt a pang of sympathy, something he wasn't accustomed to at all, at seeing the feet blue from coldness along with the boy's fingers and lips. Then again, he never had a twelve-year-old in the TI prison before. Maybe sympathy for a child was something normal, even in his line of work.
Morino snapped his finger at one of the guards, who quickly scurried over to him. "Fetch some dry garments and socks or something. We can't have the boy drop over from hypothermia before we have our answers." The guard gave him a confused look, but when Morino raised an eyebrow at the slow response to his order, the guard saluted and disappeared quickly.
It didn't take long for the guard to return. Morino took the clothing from the guard and offered the bundle to the boy. For a second the boy gave a curious stare and then accepted the offering with a small nod. Without shame, he shed the clammy clothing he was wearing, revealing scarred skin to the three onlookers. Morino had not expected to find traces of abuse and maybe even torture on the boy, but the scars told a different story. Some scars were faded enough to be years old, meaning pain was something he was regularly subjected to and had been for most of his life.
He felt the eyes on him, looking him up and down. Professional curiosity, they would argue. He ignored them over the feeling of warm, clean cloth covering him. He didn't care the long-sleeved, turtle-neck shirt fit him more like a dress, or that the pants needed a belt and a half, the pipes folded several times. He also didn't care that the socks, for some inexplicable reason, were yellow with pink hearts and too large. Every piece of clothing felt soft and warm and comfortable after two days of wet and dirty clothing.
He pulled up the collar of the shirt, inhaling the scent deeply with his eyes closed. He opened his eyes again, zoning in on the guard who got the clothing and gave him a smile. The clothing were definitely his personal items, worn even, probably exchanged for his uniform after arriving at work. Every human had a unique smell and he took in this musky smell with gratefulness, remembering it. The guard was caught off guard with a truly genuine smile and awkwardly smiled back, shifting in his position.
Morino cleared his throat, pulling his attention back to him. "Now that this is done, I believe the Hokage has been waiting quite long enough. Let's hurry this along, now." Morino set out followed closely by the boy. Now that he had socks on, his steps were completely silent and if it wasn't for the persistent stare Morino felt digging into his back, he would almost wonder if the boy was indeed behind him and following him.
They took several more hallways and turns, enough to make most people loose complete track of where they were. Here and there the shimmer of a Genjutsu told him that the seemingly endless corridors were less endless than they first appeared.
Morino stopped in front of a door that looked like every other door they had passed so far. Without knocking, he swung the door open to reveal the first room with actual furniture in the form of a table and a single chair. The chair was already occupied by the Hokage, who sat patiently with his hands resting on the table. The old man looked up as the door opened and looked older and more tired than ever before. The boy froze as the Hokage laid eyes on him, waiting to see any kind of reaction from the old man, but as a trained Shinobi the Hokage showed nothing that the boy could grasp onto.
Morino ushered him inside and stepped inside himself as well. The door was closed and Morino stood himself in a corner behind the Hokage. With careful eyes he watched the boy walk to the opposite side of the table as the Hokage was sat. He placed his hands on the table and reached across to touch the Hokage's hands, sadness and concern on his face. Before his hands reached the Hokage's, the Hokage sat up straight, pulling his hands of the table.
For a moment Morino thought the boy would cry. Hurt was so clearly on his face, but only for a second. It was quickly hidden by a flash of red through both eyes. "Naruto..." The Hokage said. His voice was heavy with hidden emotions fighting to get out, but he kept control over them. He watched the boy slowly shake his head. The boy's eyes trailed down to avoid the Hokage's gaze. Morino looked on in surprise to see the demeanour of the boy so different than before but kept quiet. He was silently curious about the child that warranted the Hokage himself to visit him.
"Kyuubi..?" The Hokage asked carefully, aware that the question might spark the wrong reaction, not only from the boy, but also for Morino. Morino tensed, as expected, letting a hand dwell on his pouch with hidden weapons.
His eyes made their way back to face the Hokage. It was hard to look at the old man, but he did anyway. He felt cornered, not knowing whether he could trust the man he trusted above all else. Because Cat and Dog had so easily stepped away from him, he feared Jiji would do the same. "More than I have been in a long time, but not completely." He said truthfully, keeping eye contact to convey that he had nothing to hide.
"So, Naruto is still part of you? He still has control?" The Hokage's voice was almost excited, hoping against hope Naruto was still there underneath it all.
"Naruto has never been but always will be in control. I am Naruto as much as I am Kurama. We are one. Ever since that moment, there has been no difference between us." The answer was controlled, aware and calculated. It was a side the Hokage hadn't seen often, but he understood the need to have a serious personality present for something like this. The name 'Kurama' also rang unfamiliar in his ears, but he assumed that it might be the true name of the Kyuubi.
"Alright. I am assuming you still don't know what to call yourself, since after all these years you never came to tell me, so let's continue to the issue at hand. I need you to tell me the truth. I can only help you if you are completely truthful to me." The Hokage gave him a stern look, but it wasn't needed. He had never lied to Jiji and he wasn't going to start now. "Why did you kill that woman two nights ago?"
Two things stuck out from that question. Number one: Two nights age. Two nights. They had left him covered in blood in a cold cell for two whole days and casually informed him about it. And number two, perhaps the more important thing to note: The question wasn't 'did you', but 'why did you'. It seemed judgement had already been made. He wasn't accused, he was convicted. "I-I didn't." He said feebly. He felt like the last bit of hope he had for the village was shattered by the question. How do you defend yourself when everyone is against you?
The Hokage sighed. He couldn't make out if the Hokage believed him or not. "This isn't the first time someone has been murdered like this in the past few years. There has never been a trace of a suspect and now you were caught red handed. Naruto, I cannot overlook this." The Hokage sounded tired and disappointed.
"But I really didn't! I did not kill that woman, or anyone, ever since you told me not to!" He said angrily. This was frustrating. He wanted to be believed, he needed to be believed by Jiji. It was his last line of sanity at this point and he didn't want to lose it in front of Jiji.
Morino stood at attention in the corner, ready to intervene after seeing the anger rising in the boy, but the Hokage waved him off. "Naruto. You were outside past curfew. You did that unseen by two ANBU whose job it is to guard you. There is no telling for us how often you escaped the attention of your guard, nor is there a way for us to know what you have done while you are unsupervised. I don't need to remind you that you are still a convicted criminal even if I gave you the freedom I did. I promise you we will investigate this and reach a fair judgement, but until then, I am taking away your privileges. Ibiki, take him away." It happened too fast. He hadn't even really processed the harsh and coldly spoken words when he felt metal clasp itself around his neck, before his hands were pulled back and clasped as well. As soon as the metal was closed, it glowed blue and he felt his strength disappearing. It drained him, making him light headed and it made it difficult to focus. He felt himself being pulled away, back out of the dimly lit room and away from his last ally.
"Please, Jiji, I really didn't do anything wrong! Please, you need to believe me!" It was a desperate plead while he struggled against the bindings and the strong grip on his shoulder, but he needed something, anything to hold on to. He fought to keep his eyes focussed on the old man, who had stood up and turned his full attention to the boy.
A small nod, small enough for him to question whether it was actually seen by Naruto, was all he could give the boy he was still so fond of. "You still escaped the supervision of you guards and at the very least I need to act on that." The Hokage emphasized the word 'need', and for a fraction of a second, he saw something dawn in the eyes of the boy. After that, Naruto let himself be taken away easily and the Hokage could only hope Naruto picked up on his veiled message.