I do not own Naruto. Enjoy the new chapter...

In Tazuna's house Kakashi and Uzume looked at the tired forms of their students.

Kyoshiro's wounds had been taken care of and he was now resting. Shin was still passed out.

Sasuke and Sakura sat silently, both lost in thought.

Naruto sat next to a tired Yumiko and his eyes looked strangely haunted. Yumiko sat there casting worried glances at Naruto and Kyoshiro.

They had already done a search for any of Gato's surviving men and had disposed of the ones they found.

Zabuza and Haku had searched Gato's bases. All of Gato's prisoners had been released and the money taken from there was given to Tazuna after taking the amount of the S-rank mission and payment for Zabuza and Haku.

Zabuza and Haku had vanished soon after that and they didn't pursue them.

Now they were having to report to their respective Senseis of what happened individually. Sasuke and Sakura had done their part and was now sitting silently as Yumiko spoke.

Uzume had listened as Yumiko reported Naruto's fight with Michiko Masaru and Gato. Naruto was suspiciously silent during it and when they finally asked him on his version of the report,

"I was losing too much chakra and all of my techniques couldn't cause any lasting damage. I..." Naruto swallowed thickly feeling his head hurting and heart hammering but he couldn't remember what happened after that.

"And then what Naruto?" Uzume asked softly.

Naruto blinked, "Well after that everything happened like Yumiko explained Sensei."

Uzume's eyes narrowed, "And those techniques you used?"

"Clan techniques," Naruto said automatically.

Uzume didn't look like she had believed him but she gave in without a fuss. Naruto sat quietly during the rest of the reports, trying to remember what exactly happened after he had tried using his Ice techniques.

But for the life of him, he couldn't remember anything. There is a big blank page in his memory.

It was like he wasn't even there during the fight.

He had heard what Yumiko said, the Spirit Techniques. He knew they belonged to Uzumaki Yuichi and there was also the fact that those techniques were Yuichi's specialty and no one except her had ever been able to use it. To hear that he had been using those techniques...

It was like Uzumaki Yuichi was the one fighting... How could her memories take over like that?

Naruto was afraid. He took a deep breath trying to calm down. Things were getting progressively worse. He had to do something.

After all the reports were done all of them retired for the night.

Golden eyes blinked open and stared unfocused at the ceiling. He lay awake for some time before his senses focused enough to register the two bodies nearby him.

Kyoshiro looked to his side to see Yumiko curled up next to him sleeping soundly. He didn't want to disturb her rest since she looked like she needed it. On his other side, Naruto sat on the floor, knees tucked under his chin and both arms wound around his legs and looking very much like a vulnerable lost kid. Naruto wasn't asleep, but Kyoshiro could tell that he was not all there.

Lost in thought Naruto took a long time to notice that Kyoshiro was awake. And when he finally noticed that he was awake, Naruto did not turn to look at him.

"Naru..."

Naruto hummed, "How are you feeling, Kyo?"

"Fine" Kyoshiro frowned, "Naru, are you alright?"

Naruto nodded but still refused to meet Kyoshiro's eyes, "My wounds are all healed and my chakra level is back to normal."

Kyoshiro's eyes narrowed, "How are you feeling Naru? And I do not mean physically..."

Naruto chuckled, "Don't you even want to know what happened after you fainted, Kyo? The first thing you want to know is about me..." There was amusement in his voice but it felt oddly muted and Kyoshiro huffed.

"Fine" He acquiesced, "Tell me what happened after I fai-"He coughed, "Lost consciousness... How long have been unconscious anyway?"

Naruto smiled and it perplexed Kyoshiro why Naruto refused to look at him. He felt Yumiko stir beside and knew that she was awake. He turned to look at her and she smiled at him sleepily, Kyoshiro smiled back.

"You have been asleep for-"She yawned, "For about seven hours... It's now midnight."

She turned to look at Naruto and he didn't acknowledge or look at her either. Her frown told Kyoshiro that this behavior was worrying her as well.

"Naru, did you get any sleep?" Her tone was soft and sad as if she already knew the answer.

Naruto shook his head, "Can't"

"Naruto..." They all turned to look at Uzume who stood in the doorway.

"You need the sleep... Give your mind a rest."

Naruto unexpectedly cringed at her words and Kyoshiro was not the only one who noticed Naruto's shaking hands.

Uzume spoke softly but sternly, "I know that all you had your actual first kills today. This time it was not a simulation or a genjutsu, you took actual lives and I know it left some impact on all of you no matter how much you say otherwise."

Kyoshiro was silent; this was not his first kill. Both Naruto and Yumiko knew that, but it was Naruto's and Yumiko's. So he let the two seek comfort in Uzume's words.

Next to him, Yumiko shivered and moved closer to him. He let her melt herself into his side and wrapped his arms around her in comfort.

"They deserved to die..." Yumiko said softly. Kyoshiro knew that she was trying to comfort herself.

Uzume didn't refute her words. She had waited until all of her students were awake for having this talk wasting time was not a good thing when it came to talking about their first kills or the like. Letting their mind and thoughts fester would only do more bad than good. She knew that all of her students had a session with an expert in the academy, but she had to make sure her students were alright.

"Death is a part of the profession Sensei. Sooner or later we all have to face it. We knew the risks when we took our career choice and I assume those goons knew the risks as well."

Naruto's voice was cold, uncaring and detached. The other three occupants frowned and all of them were worried.

Uzume dismissed the behavior as Naruto's way of coping and simply nodded, he was right after all. Yumiko was worried that this had nothing to do with their first kills at all. Kyoshiro knew that this was a result of something else and he had a very good guess.

"If you need someone to talk to-"

"I am fine Sensei," He cut her off, it was so unlike Naruto to interrupt her when speaking "But it would be better if you talked with Yumiko..."

Yumiko knew that Naruto meant for it help her and she knew that she needed to talk to someone, but she also hoped that it would've been Naruto and Kyoshiro who would be there to listen to her. She felt oddly left out and hurt. The both of them didn't need help, but she did. That didn't really do her self-esteem any good. And the cold, clinical tone he used was cutting.

Kyoshiro sensed what Yumiko was feeling and he knew that Naruto could as well, but when he refused to speak further Kyoshiro felt irritated.

"Naruto..." There was a reprimand in his tone.

"Sorry," He said but didn't sound sorry at all.

"I think you need more help than Yumiko at the moment Naruto," Uzume said.

Naruto nodded, "I do."

They were surprised when he admitted that.

"But not from any of you..."

He didn't mean it to be so scathing but it did come out wrong. Naruto wanted to correct it when he felt their hurt but he had other things occupying his mind. So he mindlessly mumbled another sorry.

He knew that Yumiko and Uzume left the room soon after. Yumiko decided that she wanted to talk to Uzume right then. Naruto wanted to be there for her but how can he do that, when he can't even help himself?

He thought he had more time. This wasn't supposed to get this bad so soon.

"Naruto..." Kyoshiro began

"I am sorry, Kyo. I really am..."

Kyoshiro nodded reluctantly, "I know... But Naru something is wrong and you're not telling us."

"Can you help me, Kyo?" This time Naruto finally turned to look at him. Kyoshiro sat up on his futon when he saw Naruto's face.

Wariness, fear and so many other emotions so freely on display in that tired look. Kyoshiro could safely say that ever since Naruto was seven, he never saw him look so open and his emotions never felt so raw.

Naruto could only meet his eyes for a moment or two before he averted his eyes to look at the floor instead.

"Naru..." Kyoshiro took hold of his chin and drew him closer. Naruto let Kyoshiro guide him like a doll. It was slightly disturbing to Kyoshiro when Naruto acted like a puppet. Finally, when he was wrapped up in Kyoshiro's arms, Naruto closed his eyes tiredly and leaned into the embrace.

They stayed like that for a few moments before Kyoshiro spoke, "What do you want my help with, Naru?"

Naruto went rigid and Kyoshiro was startled when he suddenly pulled back to look at his face with a confused frown that quickly turned into surprise and fear.

"Naru?"

Naruto moved back abruptly and once again, turned away from him and refused to look at him or even touch him. Kyoshiro was getting more worried and frustrated. It felt like Naruto was slipping through his fingers and he might lose him.

"Naru please just look at me!" Kyoshiro had no idea that he almost shouted those words. But Naruto heard him and still refused to acknowledge him.

"Help me Kyo?"

"With what? How can I help you when I don't know what is wrong? Why don't you tell me?"

"I keep... slipping Kyo. My mind keeps... slipping and I can't... remember... I thought I had more time... But all it took was one time and now I can't... It's all going down too fast and I can't... I can't Kyo"

"Naru?" This time Kyoshiro was very concerned, "Naru is it because of the Memory Fusion?"

Naruto nodded, "Help me Kyo before I lose myself."

There was such fear and desperation in his words that Kyoshiro couldn't take it.

Hands encircled him from behind and Naruto stiffened.

"Don't Kyo..." He said softly.

"Naru, I will help you in any way I can. But I need you to tell me exactly what is wrong. What can't you remember?"

Naruto turned to look at him and after a moment, Kyoshiro noticed how his eyes kept losing focus. Naruto was visibly struggling to stay on the here and now.

"Everything..."

Kyoshiro kept silent and let him speak.

"I keep forgetting that I am not them. I can't remember what happened during that fight with that guy. I can't even look at anyone without-"Naruto stopped abruptly.

Naruto was staring at him this time.

"Naruto..."

He looked confused for a moment and Kyoshiro called him out more strongly. Naruto pulled back confused, then surprised and resigned.

"I need to go." He stood up.

"Wait-"

"I need to go, Kyo." He said more firmly.

Kyoshiro tried to stop him but he was already gone.

Shin stared at the creature before him. Black energy forming a massive body with nine tails lashing out at the cage bars.

"Kyuubi..." He called out but the creature only thrashed, growled and roared.

Shin frowned; from the notes he found, Kyuubi was supposed to be at least a somewhat intelligent being. But what he is seeing now was a mindless beast with only a penchant for destruction and violence. There was no intelligence in it.

Did the seal do this to it? Or is it something else? Maybe the notes were wrong and the Kyuubi was always like this?

He bit his bottom lip in frustration.

"Kyuubi" He called out louder hoping for but not expecting any reply.

That went well, he thought sarcastically.

"So much for making a deal with the Kyuubi." He grumbled.

The second seal that overlapped with the paper tag on the cage bars looked new. By now he had memorized the Death Reaper Seal and he knew that something had been added to it, though he didn't know what. He was no Seal Master or even a mediocre level at seals. Memorizing the pattern didn't mean anything when it came to understanding seals.

"Maybe I should start studying seals..." He frowned at the thought. Uchiha's generally stuck to their dojutsu prowess and elemental ninjutsu. Too prideful to even admit that they need anything other than the traditional Uchiha techniques. And look at what happened to them, an entire clan slaughtered by the hands of one single enemy. Shin was prideful too, but he was not stupid. He would not end up as those before him.

Getting the council to arrange for someone to teach him seals would be easy enough. He had enough puppets in the council for that, including that pink-haired harpy's father in the council. He would need to put up some act around Sakura as well. It also helped that that old coots would do anything to keep the Uchiha clan under his control. What better way than to butter up the next clan head. But shin also had an ace up his sleeve.

Shin grimly turned back from the bars. It was clear that the new addition to the seal prevented him from accessing the Biju's chakra. He needed to get that off. And for that, he needed a Seal Master. He shook his head, it wouldn't be easy, not at all.

The inaccessibility to Kyuubi's chakra also meant that he would not be able to use his improved Sharingan.

That won't do.

He also had to deal with his Hatake and Seiren. They would be reporting what happened here to the council and he couldn't lose favor with the council if they think that he could easily lose control.

He could lie that the enemy had messed with his seal. Getting the others to support him would be difficult but he can do it. It wouldn't be the first time he had done that.

He needed access to the Kyuubi's chakra, but no one would want to get rid of the limiting seal so soon after he lost control.

What to do, what to do...

Shin looked back at the violent beast and scoffed.

"You're useless to me right now Kyuubi. But don't worry I would find a way to put that power to good use."

Shin opened his eyes in the real world.

Kakashi was sitting there with his book and as soon as Shin 'woke up' his eyes snapped to Shin.

"Sensei..." Shin whispered and looked around confused. He was back in his room at Tazuna's house.

"How are you feeling, Shin?" Kakashi asked cheerfully.

"Fine Sensei..." He mumbled and tried to sit up but his body protested the moment. He felt sore all over, "What happened?"

This time Kakashi turned serious, "How much do you remember?"

"I... We were at the market... with Tsunami. And then... It all gets kind of blurry after that Sensei. I remember getting attacked but the fights not exactly clear." He bit his bottom lip and concentrated trying to remember.

"I..." He grunted in frustration, "Sensei what happened? Did we win? Are Tsunami-san and the villagers alright? Where's the rest of our team? Where is ... Where are Otouto and Sakura-chan? Are they alright?"

Kakashi looked at him dubiously for a moment and then eye smiled, "Calm down Shin-chan, everything's alright. We won and everyone's safe."

Shin sighed in relief, "That's a relief... But why I can't I remember anything Sensei? Did I... Did I pass out or something?"

"Let's go with or something for now," Kakashi said.

Shin looked confused and then frowned, "Sensei... I think I remember..." His eyes were wide and panicked.

Kakashi became concerned and moved closer to Shin, "Shin, what is it?"

"Someone... Someone messed with the seal Sensei." Shin sucked in a breath, "I can't remember who it was neither can I remember what happened after..."

Kakashi looked contemplative. He looked over at Shin and the boy looked positively miserable. It was obvious that the boy had come to his own conclusions on what happened afterward. Kakashi sighed, he still had his doubts but he had a student to comfort.

"Shin we are not sure about who messed with the seal, but you lost control after that."

Shin gulped and looked down. He was not surprised and Kakashi guessed that the boy had come to the same conclusions.

"At first you only attacked the enemies and you were brutal but effective. Not long after that when we had finished off the rest of the enemies, you attacked Kyoshiro."

Shin's head snapped back up but he didn't speak. Kakashi took in Shin's wide-eyed look and knew the boy was close to panicking.

"He's fine. While you were distracted by Kyoshiro, Uzume and I subdued you."

Shin took a deep breath, "So..."

"You didn't hurt any of your comrades. I mean, Kyoshiro-kun is a little worse for wear but he'll be fine in no time."

Shin nodded relieved.

"And Sasuke and Sakura are fine. They're in the next room and sleeping. After you passed out, Naruto came to us and informed that Gato and Michiko Masaru were dead. We conducted a search party for any surviving members of Gato's gang. We found a few, but that was it. We'll be fine." Kakashi eye smiled at Shin.

Shin tried to smile back but it came out as a grimace. Kakashi stood up to leave, thinking that the boy needed some alone time to deal with things.

At the door, Kakashi turned back to look at Shin and found the boy looking out the window sorrowfully.

The sound of the door closing behind Kakashi had Shin smirking.

He hadn't completely fooled Kakashi, but the man didn't suspect enough to think that he was faking about the gaps in his memory.

He remembered everything of course; he was in full control during that time. The Kyuubi's chakra could only fuel the desires he already had. He would've preferred if Kyoshiro had died but then again that would've made things more difficult for him. Not to mention that techniques Kyoshiro used... He had never heard of such techniques and his Sharingan couldn't copy them. Also, the way the Kyuubi's chakra had retreated when he used those techniques... Kyoshiro was a threat that would have to be eliminated but Shin would have to do that without getting any suspicion on him.

For now, he would have to wait and plan.

Naruto shivered crumbled onto the forest floor.

This was bad...

He hugged his knees and rocked back and forth. His mind was almost in shambles. That one time that the memories took over and all his carefully wrought control were crumbling down on him. He thought he had more time before everything went overboard.

His mind was no longer under his control. He couldn't sleep without being afraid that he might wake up as someone else.

He closed his eyes tightly. He didn't want to see, he didn't want to see anything. Because every time he looks at someone he is haunted by images of similar looking people. Then he would forget who he was or even who he was speaking with. He can't bear to look at Yumiko without being reminded of Liana and he can't be with Kyoshiro without overlapping his image every time with that of Sharon. But they weren't Liana or Sharon, Liana and Sharon were dead. Uzumaki Naruto never met Liana and Sharon.

Liana was Namikaze Shuichi's lover and he was not Namikaze Shuichi.

Sharon was Namikaze Hikaru's best friend and he was not Namikaze Hikaru either.

But his mind; his memories refused to listen. How can this bloodline turn into such a curse? He didn't want this. He didn't want the memories, the emotions, the pain... He didn't want to question his identity every fucking moment.

He didn't want this... But he couldn't stop it either. He tried meditating to concentrate, but meditation was dangerous. He could at anytime slip into another one of the memories, like what happened during the fight. He couldn't enter his mindscape without having the memories assault him.

Naruto didn't know when he began shaking; he didn't even realize that he was crying. But he did realize when warm arms wrapped around him.

He leaned back into the familiar chest and finally opened his eyes. Everything was white and he sighed in relief because for once since he got his bloodline, he felt like himself. No memories pushed at the back of his mind for control and his focus didn't slip even when he finally relaxed. He knew who he was, he remembered and he knew where he was and who he was with.

"Thank you tou-san..."

Inari hummed a wordless tune and held his kit tightly.

Naruto couldn't stop it when his eyes slid shut as exhaustion overtook him.

"All will be fine Sochi, you have my word..."

Naruto smiled in his sleep.

"Inari-sama" Kyoshiro greeted as he saw his God next to him.

Inari was holding Naruto in his arms and Kyoshiro didn't even try to hide his concern.

"He will be fine Kyoshiro-kun. He just needs his rest. When he wakes up in the morning, tell him that I have sealed away the memories from the Memory Fusion bloodline and it will remain that way until he figures out what to do with them."

Inari gently laid Naruto down on the futon beside Kyoshiro.

"He was so scared..." Kyoshiro whispered to himself as he looked at Naruto's sleeping form.

"Anyone would be afraid at the thought of losing one's sense of self, Kyoshiro."

Kyoshiro nodded ruefully.

"If it was just to seal away the memories, I could've helped him..." Kyoshiro tried not to sound bitter, but he was disappointed that Naruto couldn't accept help from him.

Inari stood in front of the window, silver hair dancing in the moonlight that appeared out of nowhere. There was a gentle smile on his lips,

"Now now Kyoshiro-kun, you should not follow up with that train of thought. You're a thousand-year-old Spirit Guardian. If I didn't know better I would've thought that your attitude was a result of putting you in a child body. But I do know better... After all, Kitsune are such stubborn idiots when in love."

Kyoshiro spluttered out some denials before finally giving up and hanging his head. Inari chuckled.

"Take care of him Kyoshiro. He needs you, all of you."

Inari gave a smile to Yumiko who was standing at the door and he vanished along with the moonlight.

Kyoshiro kept staring at the spot where Inari once stood. Yumiko dragged her futon to Naruto's other side and lay down.

"Go to sleep, Kyo."

Kyoshiro nodded and lay down. He saw Yumiko press a kiss to Naruto's cheek and wrap her arms around him.

"You should tell him."

Kyoshiro wrapped his arms around Naruto from the other side.

"Tell who what?"

Yumiko snorted, "Don't act dumb."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Kyoshiro yawned and closed his eyes.

He did hear Yumiko scoff and mumble about idiots in love before she too closed her eyes.

So what do you think? Was it good or bad or worse?

Whatever your opinions are, I would like to hear them.

I am still on the look for a Beta, haven't found one yet so my grammar still may suck. Please forgive any mistakes. And if you find any plot holes or such point them out so I can correct them. I really appreciate all your support.

This chapter was supposed to be the end of the wave arc... at least the fight is over.

I think I am dragging this on too long but so many things happened in Wave that I just couldn't finish it sooner.

Well anyway, tell me your opinions on this chapter plz...

Bye for now.