Chapter 30
Naruto faced down the beast that has been with him since birth. He was very scared right now. The feeling of dread froze him in his tracks. The demon fox found his fear amusing.
"THAT LOOK OF FEAR, IT GREATLY AMUSES ME." the Kyūbi said.
"What the hell is going on? Why am I here?" Naruto asked with a stutter. The Kyūbi chuckled.
"TAKING AFTER YOUR PERCIOUS LITTLE RABBIT?" He said with amusement. That stopped Naruto and he looked at the Kyūbi with a glare. He knew who he was talking about because it was the same nickname that Anko would call her.
"You keep Hinata out of your mouth fox!" Naruto exclaimed.
"BRAVE NOW, AREN'T YOU? WE HAVE NO TIME BOY. WE ARE ABOUT TO DIE AND I WILL ALLOW YOU TO USE MY CHAKRA TO SAVE OUR LIVES."
"To hell with that! I would rather die than to use your chakra again!"
"I WILL NOT DIE HERE BOY! YOU HATE ME AND I YOU BUT I WILL PUT IT ASIDE TO PROLONG MY EXISTANCE! DO NOT BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL BE PRAISED OR REMEMBERED FOR YOUR SCARIFICE!" the Kyūbi spat. Naruto growled at him but he knew that the fox was right.
"Fine, you win! I'll use your chakra but let's be clear about something. We aren't friends and we aren't partners. You do anything to hurt those I care about and I will find a way to finish this. Got it?" Naruto snarled.
"AGREED BUT I KNOW THAT YOU WILL CALL ON ME AGAIN. YOU CAN'T HELP IT FOR IT IS HUMAN NATURE. NOW, REMEMBER THIS FEELING!" the fox shouted. Red chakra seeped out of the gate. It circled and ensnared Naruto. He groaned as the chakra was crushing him. He let out a scream as the chakra consumed him. His eyes opening, Naruto could feel the power of the fox. He wasted no time and did the hand seals for the jutsu after smearing some blood.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Technique)" Naruto shouted. A large plume of smoke appeared. Naruto flew through the cloud and landing on something squishy. He was quick to his feet and looked around as the smoke cleared. He wasn't dead and a bloody smear on the floor. That's when he heard the voice of something.
"What the hell is this?! Where the hell am I?!"
XXX
Anko rushed through the hospital, ignoring everyone around her. She knocked a few people out of her way on the way to the room that Naruto was laid up in. She got word from a friend who interrupted her Iruka time to let her know that Naruto was in the hospital. She told her that he was in the place for chakra exhaustion. That totally sent up red flags because Naruto was a chakra factory. She arrived to the room and barged in. Her entrance surprised Naruto and another person. From what she could tell, it was Yoshino's brat.
"Hey oneesan, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked.
"I have a friend here and she told me that you were in the hospital for chakra exhaustion. I didn't think that was possible considering your reserves." Anko said.
"Let's just say that the technique took a lot out of me and that Ero-Sennin is a prick. The next time I see him I'm going to kick him in the junk." Naruto said with a hard edge. Anko and Shikamaru were curious about what had him so pissed until Anko felt some killing intent. She got serious fast and looked outside the door. Naruto sensed it too and got out of bed to back-up her up. Shikamaru followed the two. They followed the feeling to a room. Looking in, they saw Gaara standing over Rock Lee with his hand out. Anko acted quickly and tossed two kunai. The sand automatically defended him but Naruto was able to slip through and punch Gaara in the face. He backed away but found that he could not move due to Shikamaru catching his shadow.
Slipping out another kunai, she stood in front of Gaara while Naruto checked to see is Lee was alright.
"You better have a good reason for being here. Why did you attempt to murder this genin?" Anko demanded.
"He hurt me. I wanted to kill him before and I still want to." Gaara stated simply. This made Anko tighten her grip on her kunai. The two genin were looked at Gaara like he was mad.
"You're trying to kill Lee because he hurt you?" Naruto asked with surprise.
"He challenged my existence. Like all the others, he must pay with his life." Gaara said.
"Others?" Shikamaru asked.
"On the day of my birth, Shukaku the Sand Spirit was placed within me. I was born a demon and was treated as such. I was hated, scorned and alone for most of my life. One day my uncle attempted to kill me. He tricked me into thinking that he cared and made his move to kill me. It was on that day, I learned the truth." Gaara explained.
"What truth?" Naruto asked curious.
"I must live for myself and only myself. Anyone who attempts to stop me must be destroyed. Through killing, I will prove my existence." Gaara answered him. The two genin looked at Gaara in shock. Naruto was the most affected because he could see in Gaara's eyes that he had lived a life similar to his. He wondered if that was all they shared. Gaara's sand began to move and looked like it was preparing to attack. That's when Gaara was ensnared by several snakes. He looked very shocked while Anko grinned at him.
"Red Stone Asps are very poisonous. One bite and you're dead and not even that layer of armor that you're wearing will stop the poison. Now, I will allow this to go but if you return her and attempt to kill this genin again, you will be killed. Do you understand me?" Anko asked. Gaara looked like he wanted to fight but he knew that things were not in his favor. He then looked at Shikamaru and Naruto.
"I will kill you both." Gaara stated and vanished in a whirl of sand. Everyone relaxed was he was gone. Anko looked at Naruto and could see that he was in deep thought. She put her hand on his head. She felt him jump but he soon relaxed. Anko just sighed and ruffled the blonde's hair. She had to speak with the Hokage.
XXX
Hiruzen sat while Anko finished her report. Jiraiya was there as well, which did not help Anko's mood.
"So, he's Suna's jinchūriki? And you believe that he is not stable?" Hiruzen asked.
"Not at all but I think it's because of the life he's lived. If what he told us is true, he doesn't trust anyone. Also, if that sand has always protected him like it does, what the mini Gai did must have made him snap. I told Gai that we would have some ANBU watching the kid." Anko said.
"Good, I will also speak with his sensei. Hopefully, he can keep him under control." Hiruzen said. He then looked at Anko with some seriousness. "How is Naruto doing? I heard that he was kind of frozen after meeting this Gaara boy."
"He's a bit rattled. It isn't everyday that you meet someone who has live a similar life than you. I think it was like looking at himself and seeing what could have been." Anko explained.
"The kid will be fine. He's pretty strong." Jiraiya said. This earned him an angry scoff from Anko. He raised an eyebrow at that and wondered what her issue was. "Is something wrong?"
"I'm just annoyed at people like you. You speak as if you know him but you're just like everyone else who just expects him to do what they say and accept it." Anko stated hotly.
"Did he complain about that? The kid was being stubborn. I needed him to tap into that chakra so that it would help him later. You remember what I told you about that group. He will need that power in the future." Jiraiya explained.
"Oh, so you just forced him to use a chakra that he does not understand and is deathly afraid of. Yeah, you really care about his well-being." Anko said mockingly. Jiraiya did not take that lightly and stood straight.
"Look, I was thinking about what's best for Naruto." Jiraiya said.
"That's bullshit!" Anko exclaimed. "When are you and everyone else going to stop using that excuse?! Naruto has had to grow up early because of the hatred that was dumped upon him! He's not some childish thirteen year old boy! He has had burden upon burden put all on him and no one cares about his feelings!"
"Anko!" Hiruzen said loudly. Anko stopped her rant and quickly got her emotions under control. She bow quickly to Hiruzen and stormed off. She opened the door and was about to slam it but she stopped for a few seconds to say some final words.
"For once, I would like for someone to consider Naruto's feelings before their own." Anko closed the door hard as she left. Hiruzen sighed sadly and rubbed his forehead. While he was happy that Anko cared greatly for Naruto, he wished that she would stop lashing out at people when something happened to the boy. Jiraiya looked at the door with some concern. He did not believe that he did anything wrong but he was starting to reconsider it. Was Naruto angry with him? Did he cross a line? Jiraiya squashed his concerns and decided to focus on the positive. While Naruto might have been angry with him, he would thank him for it later.
XXX
Naruto was on his roof, looking at the night sky. He couldn't sleep and had a lot on his mind. He would usually go and speak with Hinata because she had some really sound advice. However, that wasn't an option. Apparently, he was accused of molesting Hinata. Breaking in was a bad decision as every Hyūga was on alert and jumped him when he did. Luckily he was able to get free and escape. He was hard pressed to escape because Hiashi was on his ass.
He let out a sigh as he thought about that Gaara guy. He read between the lines. He was just like him. He had lived a very hard life; he could see it in his eyes. It was like looking at the flip side of his life. He held no illusion that he could have ended up like that. He had such feelings before. His outlet was his pranks because no matter if they shouted and yelled at him, they acknowledged him. Then he found a sister in Anko and then friends at the academy, like Shikamaru and Hinata. If he was to be honest, even Sakura was becoming a good friend. He let out another sigh and continued to watch the sky.
"Couldn't sleep?" Naruto looked to his left to see Anko lying right next to him. "Want to talk about it?"
"There isn't anything to talk about. That could have been me." Naruto said.
"But it wasn't. You want to know why you and Gaara are so different? The reason is because you did not give up. You've been kick down and thrown on the deck but you get up off the deck and persevere. Your will is stronger than his, stronger than mine." Anko said.
"What are you talking about? I know that you have friends. The only people who hate you are civilian wives and girlfriends. For some reason, Iruka allows you to hang around him knowing that one day you will take him and rape him. How is my will stronger than yours?" Naruto asked.
"You forget brat, I'm the former apprentice of Orochimaru. You think that it was easy for me? Everyone always believed that I would soon follow in his footsteps. They thought that I was unworthy to wear their symbol. I was called a lot worse back in the days. Truth be told, I didn't get my first friend until I was an adult. I was alone and I was angry. I lashed out and I didn't care about anyone."
"What changed?"
"One of my old teammates happened. He saw what was happening and stepped in to help me. I wasn't happy for his help and tore into him. That's when he slapped me and tore into me. It was surprising that he was so angry at how I was acting. The next day I apologized and we were talking again. He introduced me to some more people and I made some more friends. The council started to trust me more and I gain my recognition. Yeah, I still cause trouble but it a little tamed." Anko said.
"I think I get what you are saying. Still, I can't help but wonder about that Gaara guy. We are so alike and I feel that I got to help him somehow." Naruto said.
"If that's how you feel, I got your back. Just be careful, he won't be easy to convince or fight." Anko said.
"Yeah but with your training, I think that I have him." Naruto said boastfully. The two stayed on the roof and looked at the night sky. That's when he remembered something. "Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask you. Why was Iruka asking me about you?"
"He did?" Anko asked with surprise.
"Yeah, something about training. I thought that it was a joke but he was being serious. Why are you training with Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked. Anko looked at Naruto and gave him a serious expression.
"I'm preparing for a group that will soon make its move." Anko said.
"What group?"
"They are called the Akatsuki."
XXXXX
Authors' Notes: Hey all, sorry about the late update but it had been a crazy month for me. I had project to do and they were due. It barely had time to write. I know that I'm take a risk at making Jiraiya kind of a jerk but this is a fan fiction story, so I have a plan. Naruto will learn about the Akatsuki early and it will come to a head when he leaves to get Tsunade. Enjoy the new chapter.
