A/N: Hey, so quick explanation. I recently moved back to Tejas, and I have no reliable source of Wifi, so I wrote a few chapters for all my ongoing fics out of overriding boredom. Check 'em out. I have not, and will not, abandon these stories or put them up for adoption at any point. They might go on unexpected Hiatus at any given point, but that's either writer's block or lack of interwebs. Abandoning them before they're done would be wrong, depriving all of you of something you clearly want for whatever reason (my self-esteem still sucks and I don't think anything I do is worth anyone's time) and I just feel if I put them up for adoption that whomever took them would just butcher what I wanted and would not stay true to what I want for the story. So they are mine forever. Now.

Many of you have asked for clarification on Naruto's relationship with Kurama, his night terrors, etc. and the next few chapters will be mostly flashbacks/ explanations for those. Don't forget to cast your vote on my page! Ja Ne!

Chapter 7: Reminiscing

Naruto was pacing his room, wringing in his hands an old piece of cloth. His younger cousin, Konohamaru, was sitting on the bed coloring and swinging his legs while happily humming. The reason for Naruto's nervous actions was simple.

Kurama had told him his secret was known to those outside his friends. Neither knew who or how, but someone knew he was an ANBU level Shinobi, or at least strongly suspected. Hiruzen had noticed that his non-biological grandson was agitated, which usually spelled utter chaos for the household, and sometimes the whole village, and so wisely, with great decorum and grace expected of the Hokage, fled in terror to the Hokage Tower, not even bothering to make sorry excuses.

When Asuma came back from a small mission, seeing his father cowering slightly behind his desk, and asked why, his answer was a very nervous, "Naruto has been restless these past few days, since the school incident." his reaction was quite dignified, as was his fathers'; he screamed shrilly and bolted to the opposite end of the village, presumably to either his Jounin apartment he never used, or to that of either Mito Guy or Hatake Kakashi, his two friends from the academy and fellow Jounins. For several days after, the three of them, in addition to several other Shinobi and Kunoichi they frequently dealt with in a friendly light, were tense, jumpy, and at times downright terrified for no discernible reason.

But to any who knew the group, no larger than fifteen people in total, excluding the four academy students Naruto called friends, the reason was actually quite obvious.

When Naruto got agitated, bad things happened.

Sometimes he would do massive amounts of pranks to help focus his mind and work through his issues. Other times, he would request missions that would normally kill him were he not a coiled ball of deadly energy. But when he paced, it meant something worse was happening. Much worse.

Pacing meant his issues were so big he couldn't vent the energy necessary, and usually led to him being volatile, snappish, and very, very cruel. Also, he tended to leak the Kyuubi's chakra, but who cares about that? The only person who was totally safe from his violent nature at these times was Konohamaru, his beloved cousin, as close as a brother as he could find. He even scared Asuma, who usually was very relaxed but stern.

Kit, stop pacing. You're making me nervous. Kurama yawned lazily.

YOU SHOULD BE NERVOUS FLEABAG! IF SOMEONE KNOWS, THEY MIGHT SLIP OR TRY TO BLACKMAIL ME! IF IT GETS OUT I'LL BE CRUCIFIED! Naruto snarled in his mind. He felt Kurama wilt, both cowed and a little scared. He didn't want to die after all.

Just relax a moment kit. Breathe, calm down, and think of something else for a little bit. The instructions were familiar to Naruto. Whenever he began to lose his temper, or be bothered by something, Kurama would tell him this and help him meditate. His mind fell immediately to the day he met the demon fox. The day he became an ANBU.

Flashback

Naruto was bouncing excitedly on his heels as he stood before the Kami no Shinobi. Sarutobi Hiruzen was smiling slightly as he looked at the four young people before him. Two Shinobi and two Kunoichi were standing before their leader. All showed remarkable skills in their respective fields, with the blond being what was called a 'utility ninja', meaning he could fill almost any role he was needed in. From the far right, by Hiruzen's view, stood a ponytailed raven-haired Genjutsu master, his stoic face showing near to no emotion. A red-head with her hair down in a short bob around her ears was next , her body decked in different weapons and storage scrolls. Her eyes gleamed with minor mischief. Next was a young woman with long brown hair, in a low, short ponytail and with red triangles on her face. Utter despair was etched into her being, evidence to any who knew her clan that she had lost her partner. Her fingers idly twitched through various half-seals. Finally stood the blond, a full head shorter than the rest.

"Congratulations, you four. You show unique promise, and so have been recruited into the ANBU Black-Ops." four small bows interrupted him, but he didn't mind. He reached back onto the desk and lifted the first mask. It was shaped and styled into the face of a weasel, with dusky red accents. He held it out to the raven-haired young man, who took it gently, almost reverently.

"Uchiha Itachi, from this day, you no longer exist as you. From now, you are Weasel, the slippery one, able to distract his foe and leave without hindrance." Itachi bowed low and donned the mask, falling into the ANBU crouch. Hiruzen moved forward, grabbing the next mask.

"Akimichi Saraku, from this day, you no longer exist as you. From now, you are Bear, the fierce one, always head-first into the fight and covering her comrades." the girl squeaked happily and donned the mask, also falling into the ANBU ready crouch.

Hiruzen moved. "Inuzuka Nasomi, from this day, you no longer exist as you. From now, you are Wolf, the protector. Always watching the night for danger, and always alert." Nasomi grunted and donned the mask, falling listlessly to the crouch as the other two had done. She had never fully recovered from the pain of losing her ninken three years ago, and it showed.

Hiruzen hesitated a moment before he stepped in front of a grinning Naruto.

"Uzumaki Naruto. You are a special case," the boys' face fell. "From today you no longer exist, as any living form." Itachi made a confused sound and Naruto looked puzzled. "From now, you are Shadow, the death. Always unseen, never heard, and untraceable. You are the first and only ANBU to not be alive, and we hope to see you prosper in your name." he held out the final mask, which was almost totally black. The background was white, but was overlaid with black swirls and shapes, shadows, and was completely flat. When he placed the mask on his face, feeling the seal adhere it to his flesh until he desired it removed, he heard Weasel and Bear gasp. When he shot them questioning glances, Weasel pointed at his hair. Hiruzen held up a small hand mirror. Shadow's hair was no longer sun blond. It was now a muted brown, similar to Wolf's. But it caught his attention because it surprised Weasel, who was a Genjutsu expert.

"Hokage-sama, if I may?" a nod. "This is not a Genjutsu, is it?"

"No," came a distorted voice and out of the darkness stepped Ryu, Dragon, the ANBU Commander and second most powerful Shinobi in Konohagakure. All four of the newly minted ANBU snapped to salute as he continued. "We took the idea of your Solid Henge, Shadow, and applied it to your mask. Your hair really changes while you have it on."

"But why?" came the question, which earned the boy a sharp elbow in the ribs from Wolf.

"Wolf, it's okay," Ryu said with a smirk in his voice. "If you just took everything at face value and questioned nothing, you wouldn't be ANBU. I prefer if you get all the knowledge you can to just rolling with it. Shadow, Hokage-sama felt that with your unique hair, your identity would be found out the instant you were seen."

"But what about Neko-senpai? And Inu-senpai? They have unusual hair as well."

"Indeed," Ryu chuckled. "And they had the same thing done when they first joined the Black-Ops. Over time, enemies dispelled the Genjutsu we had at that time, and we have been unable to restore it." Shadow nodded in acceptance, but resolved to ask Inu, who he knew was Kakashi, his tou-san's friend, about it.

"Now!" said the Hokage cheerily, dropping the privacy seals with a clap, "You four are a squad and will be working with each other extensively. Your first mission is an S-Rank Hunt and Kill. We have A-rank Shinobi somewhere in Hi no Kuni. Find and kill them, then bring in their heads. I trust you are all packed already?"

All four ANBU held out storage scrolls and said, simultaneously, "Hai, Hokage-sama!"

"Then go!" at that, the four Shunshin'd away and met at the front gate.

"So who's squad leader?" asked Wolf.

"Inu-senpai," Shadow answered immediately. The three others jerked back and looked at him.

"Why? Because he's a man?!" Bear almost shouted.

"No," Shadow said curtly. "Because he's the most level-headed and the least likely to have us rush off half-cocked with some pitiful plan like 'hit them really hard, really fast.' In addition he knows our capabilities best, as he was on a Genin squad with you two and Chuunin with me. You two only know me by reputation. He actually knows me. With all of that together, Weasel is best suited to being squad leader."

The others were silent a moment, before Weasel chuckled.

"With that logic, Shadow, I have no choice but to accept. But my one condition is that you are second in command, seeing as despite your exuberance you house a keen mind and logical thinking, even if your temper flares often." Shadow nodded. "Now," Weasel continued, growing somber once more, "Shadow, create about ten Kage Bunshins and set them out to scout the country side. We four will scout to the north and wait for one to dispel, or for us to find them ourselves." Instantly, with no seals, ten more Shadows poofed into existence and disappeared in a blink. Bear and Wolf were taken aback at how quickly Shadow's Shadow Clones could disappear without a trace, and the implications of Kage Bunshins being several degrees slower and weaker then the original. They felt shivers flow down their spines at how easily Shadow followed his directive to thrive in himself.

Without another word, the group departed through the gates and set off North, allowing Wolf, with her heightened sense of smell to lead. They traveled for several hours, before Weasel called a break. He set Shadow, the major Stamina Freak to be on guard, seeing as he wasn't even winded. Five Shadows popped into being and disappeared, setting up a perimeter. The group semi-relaxed, being ready in an instant if need be, and began talking amongst themselves, getting to know each other.

"So, Shadow," Bear began. "You seem pretty silent for your public reputation."

"True Shinobi mislead even their comrades, for if you can fool friends, what chance have enemies?" before anyone said anything more, Shadow stiffened considerably, then vanished from view instantaneously. A moment later, he reappeared with a bloody lump dressed vaguely like a Kiri nin. But the slash through the headband belied the affiliation. A Nukenin had almost gotten the drop on them. But almost wasn't good enough.

"You'll have to do much better than that to get the drop on us," Wolf growled threateningly with an aggressive step forward. The female Nukenin snickered mirthlessly and rose unsteadily.

"A squad of Konoha ANBU scum..." Shadow grumbled and stepped forward.

"You can drop the henge, moron. It's obvious you're Iwa. Kiri don't call Konoha scum, just lesser." the nukenin dropped the Henge with a pop, and there stood an Iwa Kunoichi with no scratch. "And when will you drop the grudge over the war? Lord Fourth did what he had to, just as you did by following orders and attacking us in the first place." the Kunoichi snarled.

"That blonde monster slaughtered retreating people! He was absolute trash!" Shadow stiffened considerably, and Weasel backed away nervously.

"And what would you have done in his place?" came the barely audible whisper, before Shadow darted forward and began literally tearing the Iwa Kunoichi apart. His teammates watched in horror as the woman screamed in agony while her limbs were ripped from their sockets by bare hands, and her entrails were tugged from her gut while she was still awake and able to feel it. As she lay there, bleeding out and crying, Shadow leaned over her and whispered menacingly.

"Say what you will about me, but insult my comrades, you die, insult my Hero, you die painfully. Now, before you die, tell me how many of your comrades are left, and how many are worth my attention."

"F-fuck...you..." she gasped as her eyes lolled and her head fell, a wet gurgle escaping her mouth. Shadow stood and turned to face his team, who were all staring at him in abject horror. Even Weasel was terrified, being a pacifist at heart, but he couldn't deny that Shadow was efficient, even if he could stand to be less cruel and ruthless. It almost reminded him of the Fourth when he got angry. Coupled with Shadow's mother's temper, and Weasel was now genuinely frightened of his second-in-command.

"We should move out," Shadow said calmly, all trace of rage gone. Before anyone said anything, several Kunai shot out and made Wolf into a pincushion. Shadow immediately screamed out to her, then his vision went red.

Yes, kit. That's right. Use my power, fuel your anger. UNLEASH FURY! Naruto heard a very deep, rumbling voice in his head, but he couldn't see anything past the red in his vision, couldn't think past the overwhelming fury of the loss. He vaguely heard agonized screams, and felt warmth on his arms, but couldn't comprehend past that.

Naruto snapped forward, pulling himself from the memories. He shuddered, unnoticed by Konohamaru, and scowled.

Why would that come to mind? I hate that day, I lost a teammate for the first time, and nearly lost my own life as a result of the rage.

But you also met me, kit. You finally discovered why people hated you.

True...

Flashback- soon after, inside Naruto's mind.

Naruto opened his eyes and saw blackness, water was everywhere on the ground, but instead of the sewer he for some reason expected, he saw ancient redbrick walls, with red and blue channels carved into them, almost like an ancient temple of some sort. He strode forward and entered what appeared to be a ritual chamber. In the center there was a hole, but it reached in concentric circles from the very edge of the room, almost like an amphitheater. At the very center, the lowest point, a small reddish-brown animal was chained heavily, and was tugging at the bonds. Naruto walked calmly down to it, and saw it was a fox.

"Are you just going to stare at me, or loosen these chains?"

"Why would I do that? I don't understand everything, but you're obviously constrained for a reason. And judging by how you knew I was here without looking up at me, I would say we're inside my mind."

"Very astute, kit. Now shut up and loosen the chains. I want to stretch."

"Too bad. My mind, my rules. You get nothing until I get answers" the small fox grumbled in it's abnormally deep voice, way out of proportion to it's size, and gnashed teeth for several moments.

"Fine!," it growled finally. "I am the great Kyuubi no Kitsune, greatest of the Biju, and entitiy of Pure Chakra, fed by the malice and anger of the human race. I am also the embodiment of righteous fury, as defined by my Father, the Rikkoudo Sennin. And, by a comical twist of fate, I am stuck inside you, and insolent, disrespectful whelp who can't even channel my chakra properly, although that is mostly because of this damnable seal placed by that acc- uh I mean, by your Fourth Hokage."

"So, you were sealed inside me the night you attacked Konohagakure, which happens to also be the day I was born. Why DID you attack?"

The small fox grumbled something quietly and pawed at the ground.

"What was that?"

"I said, I was being controlled by a Sharigan user. And my name is Kurama, kit."

With a nod, Naruto stepped forward and removed some of the chains from the small, somewhat adorable fox, leaving only manacles around the neck, legs, and newly revealed waving tails. All nine of them. Kurama immediately began frolicking as far as the chains would let him, which was about halfway up the rows. Naruto chuckled.

"Ah! That feels much better! Now then, in return for so much freedom, I will give you gifts of sense. As soon as you agree, your hearing will be better than any Ninkin's, even when augmented with chakra, your nose as well. Your eyes will be able to see in the dark at will, and will be able to see small details from up to five hundred yards. Your senses of touch and taste will remain the same though. No strings attached. Also, I would like a mental link with you so we can talk at any time."

"I agree. Your wisdom will be useful, and your gifts will surely help me." the two nodded to each other, and Naruto turned on his heel to leave.

"Kit," Kurama called, causing Naruto to pause. "You will not be all-powerful. You will not be able to protect everyone. You should steel yourself for inevitable lose and pain. Even your grandfather knows this." Naruto stiffened, then kept walking without a word. He woke to find limbs and blood everywhere, and himself leaning over Wolf's mangled form, tears rolling out from beneath his mask.

"Kona, can you go tell Oba-chan I'll be down for dinner?" Naruto asked his younger cousin, who would be starting the academy in just a few years. Konohamaru nodded enthusiastically, his hair fluffing everywhere, then bolted from the room, his scarf flying behind him. Naruto smiled sadly, then moved to the window, and jumped out.

"Sorry, Kona, but I've got some searching to do." within moments, the final remaining member of 'Black Squad' was gone without a trace from the Sarutobi household.

Two young girls felt chills run up their spines nearby, but couldn't explain them.