A/N: Hi guys. Don't worry I haven't been killed yet. School recently started and I have been super busy. That being said these will be spaced out a bit more now and I might not be able to promise any sort of scheduling at all. Fortunately for me I only have one more year after this and I can say good bye to THAT God forsaken place. Also from now on I'll be naming a song from my playlist to the beginning of the chapters. Anyways enough blabbering lets get down and dirty.

To Be With You - Mr. Big

Guess who still has yet to buy Naruto?

How did this happen? What could anyone possibly have done in another life to deserve this? An unconscious blonde child lay alone in a hospital. The room was bare of any sort of cards or he was awake that would have definitely stung at his pride, but he was used to hate by now.

One room over was a different story all together. Flowers, cards, and even balloons decorated most of the room while a gloomy Sasuke sat and sifted through his thoughts. On one hand his curse seal no longer hurt. Due in no small part to Jirayia working on it after the surgeries. On the other hand Naruto was now just as strong as he himself was. That angered Sasuke deeply and it was his only consolation that said ninja had been not only beaten but knocked unconscious by the Uchiha. It also didn't hurt that the blonde had nothing in the way of visitors.

At least people cared about the last "loyal" Uchiha.

That being said it still made no sense. Why wasn't the blonde receiving praise for stopping him? People seemed to ignore that part and only see how hurt Sasuke was. Sure it stung a bit, mostly his pride, but still it could be worse. It definitely could have been worse. He could have been Naruto. The blonde was now headed out of the hospital. He recovered unnaturally fast and was now moving at a brisk pace towards his home.

'Oh boy. Can't wait to see what happened this time.' He thought as he rolled his eyes. He didn't even have to open the door because some very very kind soul had made things easy by just kicking the door in. This time there was more of the never ending 'demon child' graffiti and the classic move all the shit I've ever owned and break everything. His couch was flipped and his table broken. All of his drawers were pulled out completely and one was even missing all together.

Most of his furniture was broken, torn, defaced, or some combination of the three. Surprisingly it was confined to the main room. His bedroom and connecting bathroom was untouched. A small blessing in his mind. There was a difference between making a mess of someone's eating space and their bed. Never touch someone else's room. That would be where they kept their most important things. For Naruto that consisted of his bed, a picture of the third and himself, and a small shelf of books.

He had never actually read them, but Hiruzen had given them to him as a gift once. Who knows, it could be the answers to the universe, too bad he didn't care. He decided to turn in for the day. Tommorow he had to see the Hokage. That normally takes a good while to end so he may as well be rested. Sleep came slowly thoughts about the future flying through his mind. Oddly enough he remembered his time in that Sand hospital. He didn't recall any hostility towards him from the people of Suna. Why did everyone here hate him? Somewhere deep inside a primal rage spread through him. He had no idea why, but it started to really get him worked up. Suddenly he heard a voice. He could only make out a few words before the voice rose so high it gave him a splitting head ache. "You're a prison."

He thought about those words for a little until he passed out and gave himself to the dream realm. What did that mean? What was he keeping locked up? Who said that? No dreams came that night, unfortunately for him.

The morning came quickly for Naruto and he almost didn't get up. However his respect for the position of the Hokage, while not always clear, was extremely motivational. For once he was up and ready within fifteen minutes.

Once his shoes were on he was out the door. In no time flat he was hanging around the Hokage tower for his summons. After two hours of his mind numbing boredom someone finally retrieved him. Once the Anbu that escorted him was gone the blonde in the chair glared a hole through him. It was clear that both sides of the conversation were anxious as to how this would go.

"Listen kid, I don't know what you did to make all these people not like you this much, because from what I've seen that Uchiha's injuries are nowhere near fatal, yet somehow everyone hates you. I got the report on your living space being ransacked and vandalized. For your own safety and to get rid of all these damned headaches from the council, I hereby banish you from the leaf village effective immediately. Place your head band on my desk before you leave, you have one hour to get what you have together and get out."

Naruto stared at her as if she had twenty heads and one breast."W-wait what?! Are you serious?"

Tsunade nodded once as she spoke," As a heart attack. Sorry kid but my hands are tied and everyone hates you. I did manage to get it reduced from public execution though. Just stay away from the shinobi life and you'll be fine. It would be a real shame for some one as young as you to just fade out. Go live your life to the fullest, just be sure to stay out of the Land of Fire and her allies"

That was it. All of his life he had respected the Hokage. The position was one of high renown but apparently all it takes is one scratch to ruin the paint. There was nothing left to keep him here in Konoha. He would miss the kindness of the Ichiraku's, the strain of his muscles after a rough training session with Kakahi and Team Seven, even the moldy smell of his apartment building would be missed.

She called forth an Anbu to escort him home and out of the village. Really his job was to make sure he left and no harm came to him. At first Naruto just stared at the ground as he walked, hell he hardly even skipped a beat packing up, but once he actually crossed through the gates he broke into tears. Softly at first, but after a few seconds the noise could be heard for miles.

Everyone in the village knew what it was, yet not one had any remorse. What they had done was make an enemy. Now there was only the hope he wouldn't be a strong one. Naruto stumbled his way out of the land of fire, stopping every now and again for sleep and food. After a few days he heard it again. That voice from the other night.

"What now?"

It was probably the best question he had ever heard. One with no definite answer. Who knew what would happen? Certainly not him.

"Brat, did you hear me? What will you do now?."

Naruto lifted his head to look around and was terrified by what he saw. Twenty or so feet ahead was a giant cage holding a monstrous fox. It looked nearly feral, but to Naruto that wasn't the problem. The beast had nine tails. Knowing the basics about tailed beast and seals, he deduced that since the fox was here in this... sewer? Yes, it had to be. The Nine Tailed Fox was sealed inside of Naruto by the Fourth Hokage!

After a few minutes of absolute silence passed Naruto's eyes met those of the fox. A steely determined gaze met the wild untamed ones belonging to the fox.

"Now I get stronger. I don't know much about seals, but if you're here then you would die if I were to. So you are going to train me and I'll become the most powerful shinobi in history."

For a brief second the fox appeared to smile. Then Naruto opened his eyes to gaze up at the sky. He had awaken from his slumber and his meeting.

"I'll take your deal, boy."

Naruto was not happy. He was simply determined. First he would get strong. So strong that not even the five kage could beat him. Then he would rub it into the idiots who had sent him away. His plan was rather simple. He would hang around each of the other four major villages for a bit and then after learning as much as he could, move to the next. If he heard of a powerful ninja in a smaller village he would seek them out for training.

'Shit!' He thought. 'I'll have to disguise myself to enter lands allied with Konoha. Just in case something happens.'

With that revelation he turned towards Kumo. He figured it would be best to start there and finish on Suna. He knew a certain family there that would probably recognize him even in disguise and they were trying desperately to maintain a stable relationship with Konoha. As he went he made conversation with the Kyuubi.

"So boy, how long do you plan on staying in each village?"

'Well... I don't know really. In Kumo I want to start some weapons training. Maybe a sword of some kind as well as chakra control before I learn any jutsu.'

"A wise choice, brat. Kumo is probably the second best with the sword. I would like to help you learn some taijutsu and maybe a few of my jutsu as well."

'Well I suppose I should also try and study a bit more sealing and maybe even take a few missions on my travels. That way I can earn some money and keep my skills sharp.'

"Another bright idea. Honestly I don't understand why you always acted like you were dumb back in the academy."

'I felt like then people would just give me some attention. I guess it worked too. I know that at least a few people are keeping me in their thoughts. For those people I hold no ill will. For the rest of Konoha though...'

"Yes you plan on showing them their mistake, right? Well, its no biju attack but that would definitely injure their reputation."

'Good, I want them to regret their decision. I want them to suffer a loss. I want them to know how I felt as a child when everyone hated me, but that will have to wait. First I get power. Then I get even.'

"You should remember this moment. This will be the first step of your new life. Welcome to Kumo, brat."

As Naruto looked around he noticed that he was receiving a completely different type of stare than usual. Instead of pure unfiltered hatred, these were stares of innocent curiosity he walked about carelessly he remembered his idea about disguising himself just in case. He searched around for a bit before finding a clothing store. He stepped in and began his search. First of all, no more orange. Sure it was the best color, but everyone he knew also knew him by it. This was a new life. Secondly, he would need some sort of mask to hide his face. So without further restrictions he perused the shop for a few outfits. He ended up with three outfits befitting a ninja.

The first consisted of a pair a black shinobi pants, black sandals, and a grey and black tight fitting shirt. The second was a deep blue shirt, pants and sandals. While the third was made up of a light brown set. He completed his shopping spree with a snowy white mask with a golden dragon design printed on it. It was perfect for what he needed. Now it was impossible for anyone to recognize him now. Now it was time to secure some temporary lodging and an audience with the Raikage. Naruto had passed an inn on the way to the store and had quickly made reservations via shadow clone while he shopped. All he needed to do was clean up and change before requesting to speak with the Raikage.

Choosing the blue outfit he had picked out earlier and donning his mask he set of towards the tower where his clone had spotted the man earlier that morning. That had to be the Raikage's tower. Now Naruto had to think of what to say. It couldn't be too difficult. Just ask for training. What could go wrong? Well besides getting a...

"No."

"O-oh, uhh, are you sure? I'd even be willing to take missions while I'm here."

"Sorry son, but we don't need any rejects here. If Konoha didn't want you neither do we."

"Hai. I suppose that makes sense. I apologize for the intrusion, Raikage-sama."

"Don't take it the wrong way, but you don't seem like someone worth the risk of enlisting."

With a silent nod and soft farewell he was off. Not before a maniacal grin spread over his face. Now it was time for plan B.

Two hours later

Well, on the bright side Naruto had gotten out of Kumo without a scratch and got something out of it too. On the other hand he would be executed on sight if he ever came back.

Naruto had stolen several scrolls from the Raikage's library on his way out of the tower. Now he sat in a clearing reading one of them.

Taijutsu of Kumo #12: Hageshiku Hayaku. Much like the name suggests the point of the style was to go for strong quick combos. It was perfect for Naruto who was more inclined to swing wildly than conform to the academy style.

While Naruto practiced and studied the new moves he decided to use his clones as sparring partners. Some paired off to spar while some went through the katas. The style lacked completely in defense but hosted an overwhelming offensive nature.

Eventually Naruto would have to blend this with another style to balance them out, but having more than one hand to hand option would definitely help.

Naruto hadn't checked the other scrolls yet but knew that one was a kenjutsu scroll and the other three were on ninjutsu. Naruto left his clones to practise while he trained his fuinjutsu. Once a clone was popped its partner would wait for a spot to open and fill it.

This would go on for several hours before the sun began to set. Naruto retreated to a cave to take shelter and hide from any patrolling Kumo ninja. He lay silent inside with no fire. Soon he would be out of this country and would try the same strategy with the other villages. Maybe he should keep his past career hidden to avoid resorting to plan b and being put in their Bingo book.

As he stretched himself awake Naruto realized he'd been found. Though barely visible, a thin wire was stretched in front of the entrance. A clear sign someone was waiting for him to exit and fall into the trap. Naruto stepped out careful to not only miss the wire but make it look accidental.

Regardless of the wire not being tripped a barrage of kunai whistled towards him. Naruto poofed out of existence as a second wave of kunai was returned to the original source.

A slight cry of pain was the only guarantee that Naruto hit his target. Then he leaped towards the sound to tackle the enemy to find himself lying on... Temari?!

"What are you doing here? And why are you trying to kill me?"

"Most would normally attack a ninja with no head band and try to collect on their bounties. As for why I'm here that doesn't concern you."

"I'm not an enemy! Besides we know each other." Naruto yelled as he reached to remove his mask.

Temari's expression changed to one of embarrassment when she realized she had nearly killed her brothers friend and her one time care taker.

To be fair it wasn't her fault. She was just heading to Kumo for some political duties when she found what she thought was a missing nin. Then as Naruto started treating the small cuts from his counter attck she got curious.

"Hey wait... you were a Leaf shinobi last time we met. Where's your headband?"

A few moments passed as Naruto prepared his response. An audible gulp came from the blonde as he answered.

"Well... uh... it's a long story but basically I... uh... wasbanishedfromKonohaandallitsalliedterritories."

Temari was dumbfounded. The little she had caught at the end almost sounded like...

"WHAT?!"

"Shhh! I was banished from Konoha. Then I sorta just stole a bunch of stuff from Kumo and now I'm on the run."

If she wasn't already Temari would be absolutely confused. When they last met Naruto was so happy and proud to be a ninja and now he had nothing. Somehow he still held that smile.

"That's it. Don't tell me anything else I don't want to know. I will be telling Gaara about this whenever I get back though."

"He's not still caught up with that whole 'violence is the answer to everything' thing, right?"

"As a matter of fact he isn't and I think that was your doing."

Now it was Naruto's turn to be confused. What had he done now?

"He tries to stay calm in every situation and whenever we talk about the fight you two had he gets this far away look in his eyes and smiles. SMILES. I haven't seen him do that once before you two met. On behalf of the people of Suna, thank you."

Naruto could only smile. After all he had just helped out one of his people. A person is a person no matter what kind of monster is sealed inside. And for the two of them that was quite literal.

"Well I have to get to Kumo, I hope you won't let something like a possible execution stop you from visiting us sometimes. I hope you can get strong enough to really show those Leaf assholes the consequences of their actions."

"Yeah let's hope so. I'll try to get to Suna one of these days, do me favor will ya? Keep it nice and pretty for me. I want to see the best you guys have to offer."

Temari nodded as she made her way to the mouth of the cave and turned to wave before setting out. Now Naruto could finally be on his way. And few minutes after Temari, Naruto was gone. Each traveled with a full mind and new determination.

Meanwhile at the Hokage Tower, Konoha.

"Lady Hokage! Have a look at this. We just got an urgent message from Kumo. It seems that someone has stolen some of their secret technique scrolls. They say it was some ex-Konoha shinobi a blonde according to the Raikage. They want his information for their Bingo book."

Of course. Why would the little blonde bastard just roll on peacefully. With a deep sigh Tsunade read over the document just to be sure.

"Order a copy of all records relating to Naruto Uzumaki. It seems we may need to put him in our own bingo book soon. If he keeps it up he will definitely gain power, though not many friends... Get me Jirayia. Tell him it's about the kid. We may have a problem."

"Of course Hokage-sama, I will fetch him at once."

With that Shizune, Tsunade's assistant left the room in search of the white haired Sannin. He had some connection to the boy after all. He would be the quickest to track him down and deal with him however the Hokage saw fit. Now where could he be?

Oh, right. As Shizune went through the village she looked about at the shops and the happy faces, if you asked certain people in the village they'd say shit eating grins, among the crowds. Since the village's jinchuriki had been banished everyone seemed calmer. Some, like the Ichiraku's were deeply upset, while others, namely Jirayia and Kakashi, had recently been regulars at the noodle stand to reminisce about the little blonde menace's best pranks and raise their bowls in a toast to the boy wishing him a good life, though both desperately wished that he would become strong like his father and stick it to this whole damned village.

On this day though the old man was not present at the noodle stand. Which could only mean one of two things, Kakashi had left early today or was on a mission and Jirayia was at a bar drowning his sorrows. If Shizune was forced to guess, which technically she currently was, he would be at the strip club nestled deep in the heart of Konoha's red light district. Technically speaking the place had no name yet every male shinobi that lived past twenty one had been inside and on occasion their wives or girlfriends have come in to pull them out by their ears and give them a good tongue lashing... and not the good kind. So it was only natural that when no one could talk about his favorite topic with him he would drown his sorrows with cheap liquor and nude women. After all he was the number one super pervert of Konoha.

For the various onlookers the sight of the Hokage's young assistant pulling out the old pervert of Konoha was quite amusing, especially considering he was whining like a child about it. At least, until Naruto was mentioned then he sobered up and followed behind the girl to the Hokage's office. Within twenty minutes they were before Tsunade and he was briefed on the situation.

"I'll do it. I wanted to search for him anyways."

Tsunade was slightly surprised but hid very well as she spoke.

"Good then you will be leaving tomorrow morning. I wish you luck on your adventures. Oh, and Jirayia, I don't expect you to kill him. This is a warning, next time the Leaf village will not be so kind."

Jirayia nodded as he closed the gap between himself and the window.

"Let us pray there is no next time" he said.

And he leaped outside and ran towards his inn. Of course he personally was praying that whoever was foolish enough to attack him received due compensation for their troubles. Once he got to his room he packed then laid down for bed, thoughts about where his young pupil was and what he could be doing. Slowly but surely he passed into the embrace of slumber and all was still.

For Naruto, however, things were just getting interesting. First the run in with an old friend and now an escape from Kumo shinobi. Yeah maybe he should have expected this reaction. Oh well, they have to catch me first. As he ran Naruto was creating shadow clones and having them follow behind him a bit to distract the idiots chasing him while he ran faster and even placed a few traps. After half an hour of running several explosions could be heard in the area and no more chakra signatures could be felt by Naruto's weak albeit reliable sensor skills. He had apparently always had them, but with no formal training he didn't even realize that he was blessed with one of the most useful shinobi skills. With Kuruma's guidance he has made great strides.

As he went through the trees he heard the familiar voice of Kuruma come to his ears.

"So kit, how far do you really think you'll get with this little plan of yours. I mean I can read your mind ya' know. I know how you plan on settling down in Suna after all this. Makes sense to me, you're on good terms with the container of Shukaku and his family after all. Come to mention it, that little londe girl seems different right? I mean besides the whole embarrassed part she acts a bit more... friendly than before."

'Don't even think it you nine tailed bastard. She does NOT like me, at least not like that. What are you laughing at? You're so bad with women they had to seal you inside of one just for you to get close to one.'

"Fair enough, but don't forget that the woman you speak of is your own dear mother."

'Hey fuck you fox, don't insinuate things like that or I'll tighten your seal again.'

A deep laugh resonated through his mind as pictures of that damned fox quite violently laughing while rolling over in his cage. A scowl came to Naruto's face as he cursed any and all reincarnations of the man that saw fit to rip the ten tails into nine beings instead of a nice even eight. It was honestly starting to seem appealing to alter the seal to give Kuruma a small physical manifestation just to strangle every now and again. Maybe not enough to kill him but just like get the point across that he should stop talking.

"How many times do I have to tell you this, kit, I can see and hear your thoughts better than you can... I know you're about to ask what you were thinking about right now and the answer is asking me what you were thinking right now. You really don't understand this whole telekinesis thing do you? Oh for the love of Kami... It means we speak through thoughts and whatever you think I hear because I am inside of you."

'You know if you're so smart how come you got stuck inside me, huh? Yeah check mate fox. You suck.'

Kuruma just sighed and released a picture to Naruto's mind. Suddenly Naruto turned a bright red and nearly collided with a tree mid jump.

'Why the FUCK did you just show me that? You really will be the death of me one day, you know.'

Kuruma was reduced back to just maniacal laughter as Naruto continued his barrage of insults and blushing.

The both of them would come to miss these moments. The simplicity of a manly bond. Sooner than they think they'll be in the permanent company of the opposite gender. The road ahead is long and winding, you never know where you'll end up. In some cases you think you do and then everything gets flipped on its head. How will Naruto's life turn out? How will it affect Kuruma? Who did he show to Naruto naked? How did he get that image in his mind? The answers may never be uncovered. Oh wait yeah they will, so what, we just wait for it? Well shit, this is gonna take a while isn't it? Probably, now strap in and get ready.

Omake:

" Ah, you must be the delegate from Suna. I am the Raikage, may I ask your name?"

"Why of course Raikage-sama I am normally called Temari no Subaku, but you can call me Temari"

"I see, well Temari please excuse the mess, we've had an unfortunate accident recently and I have been nearly driven mad dealing with it."

"It is none of my business Raikage-sama, I am used to the sporadic nature of politics."

"Yes, well what business did Suna have to discuss with me? I have to get back to this matter with haste."

"Well, sir, we are on very unstable terms with Konoha at the moment. I have been tasked with bringing you a treaty to ally with your nation instead. We understand if you are concerned with the strength of our loyalty, but we are prepared to meet almost any conditions you can possibly set."

The Raikage nodded as he took the scroll from Temari's hands. He read over every detail very very carefully. Alliance treaties were not something to be taken lightly after all.

"No need for conditions, we accept your treaty's current composition and will be waiting for Suna to send the final draft. Now if you would please be so kind as to take your time in our city. As a show of good fortunate send me the bill for your stay. It would be best for you to stay until morning at least. We know it isn't safe for a female to travel alone at night."

Temari spent the night in Kumo despite knowing very well that the threat was oly Naruto and that he was as far from being a threat to women as possible, at east in the way the Raikage was implying.

A/N: Well there you go. Sorry to keep ya'll waiting but like I said school exists so I have to go to it. No promises to when the next chapter comes out. It could take a good while, I've been writing this one off and on since the last chapter went out. Still about 5k words ( including the ANs) I got the song idea from another fic I read. The name escapes me at the moment but if I can remember the story and writer I'll get back to you. If you ever look at a fic with thousands of words per chapter and think it looks easy enough to write good luck. This takes some determination fellas. Anyway please review it feel free to pm me if you have any other suggestions. Peace Out my dudes.

Hageshiku Hayaku- means hard and fast, I know it isn't very creative but you just hush your little head and enjoy.