Chapter 4: Dirty Little Secret

Anko, Kiba, and Shino were waiting in chairs by Naruto's bedside. Anko's burn treatment was short, all she needed was gauze, bandages, an ointment prescription, and time. In contrast Naruto's skin looked miraculously healthy compared to the patchy, bloody mess in the forest. The medics had never seen anyone heal so fast, so the IV plugged into Naruto's arm had plenty of calories and extra fluid to compensate for the rate of healing. Little Akamaru was curled up on the foot of Naruto's, sleeping. Now that Anko was noticeably less stressed Kiba looked nervously at his teacher for some reassurance. "Snake lady, what the hell happened back there?" Anko replied sternly. "Naruto's gonna tell us when he wakes up or else he's off the team." Both Kiba and Shino understood that nobody wanted to talk right now. They kept waiting for Naruto to wake up.

Naruto woke up on his back, floating in water and surrounded by the stench of a wet dog. They were familiar feelings, signs that he was in his own head with his favorite not-a-person. "Brat, you finally used my chakra." Naruto shot up into a seated position, sinking a little bit until his butt touched the cold stone floor. He looked up at the giant red fox with 9 tails in great anticipation. "Really!" The giant fox's snort was massive enough to ruffle Naruto's hair. "Yeah, it turns out all we had to do was get you full of adrenaline and then piss you off. But whatever the hell that method did nearly killed you, I had to cut you off of my chakra and your heart turned off for almost a full second. And my chakra was too much, your whole body was melting and regenerating like crazy." Naruto tilted his forward toward the ground, ashamed…

"Pops, was it badass though?" The Kyuubi crossed his arms and grinned with fangs glistening like the fox was bragging on death row. "You saw it for yourself, hell yeah it was! Everything you touched either broke apart from the force or started melting, you went crazy like a proper minion of the embodiment of spite." Naruto lifted a hand to scratch behind his head in embarrassment. "Oh wow, I guess I was really cool. I just have to not die next time." The Kyuubi nodded its head. "Yup, we'll experiment later. But I think you have some explaining to do to your teammates. Remember, stay quiet on who your folks are and I don't talk to you. The villagers and a sealing textbook told you everything." The flesh prison let off a salute: "You got it pops, I'm headed out now."

Naruto opened his eyes to the beeping of a heart monitor and a not-uncomfortable bed. He turned his head to see his new teacher and teammates waiting anxiously in poorly made metal chairs. Kiba nervously smiled and moved to speak until Anko cut him off. "Blonde Brat, tell your team what the fuck that was. All the staff at the academy know that you know." Naruto tried to talk but coughed up some mucus that caught in his throat while he was passed out. Then he spoke. "So Kiba, Shino, you know how I was born on October 10th, Sealing Day?" The pair nodded slightly. "They lied in class for some reason, tailed beasts don't fit in boxes stored in the hokage monument, you need to store them in people because their chakra needs proper circulation or else it concentrates and melts the seal. Sorta like what happened to the trees." Naruto tilted his head towards the bandaged woman. "And Anko too, sorry about that." Shino interjected.

"So that was Kyuubi's power?" Naruto tried to raise his hand for a thumbs up and then winced in pain before giving up. "Man, I haven't been hurt this bad since my 7th birthday. But yeah, it was, and I've never used it before. I got real mad and then FWOOSH, everything went red, never been mad like that before." A flash of memory overcame the team leader. "Kid, why did a dinosaur like Tsunade piss you off so much? You never woulda had a chance to meet her." The interrogation victim clenched his jaw before he spoke. "Not gonna say, but don't tell the stupidkage. The last thing I need is him crawling up my ass for something other than going red." The interrogator pondered for a moment. "When will you tell us?" Naruto snorted with derision, "When the old hag gets her grandaddy's tree out of her ass and comes back to the village. I got mad 'cuz… you made a joke about my dead parents, got it?" Anko let out a giggle like the hiss of a fresh can of beer: "I'd do it if I could but he's my boss, and we're going to his office in the morning before breakfast." Naruto had a sour expression on his face but didn't complain. The leader motioned to her other two students. "You kiddos got any other questions?"

Kiba furrowed his brow in thought, and a little anger. "Snake lady, why'd they lie in class?" Anko sighed tiredly. "Old man 3rd wanted at least your graduating class to not hate Naruto for stuff that isn't Naruto's fault. The little oddball here turned out weird 'cuz all of the adults wanted him to die in a ditch, thinking he was the Kyuubi or some crap like that." Shino's facial expression did not change but he spoke anyway. "The 3rd's choice was somewhat logical, most adults in the village told us horrible things about Naruto and the teachers seemed to dislike him." Kiba snickered a bit. "The teachers hated him because he kept throwing kunai at the other kids, breaking their bones in spars, and leaving explosive notes everywhere." Naruto let out a weak laugh. "They hated me before that too, I just gave them a better reason." Anko chuckled, and Kiba joined in soon after. Shino looked at the laughing duo with a hint of distaste. "It is most illogical to give your superiors a real reason to hate you." The snake lady and dog boy started roaring with mirth, and the bedridden fox cage joined in as much as he could without creaking his ribs too much.

Eventually Anko calmed down. "I like you kids, you pass. Bug Brat, Wolf Whelp, you guys had good teamwork and supported Blonde Brat solidly. Blonde Brat, you have a lot of natural talent but you gotta learn to pay attention to your team, you just rushed in blind. Blonde Brat, you heal quickly. How long 'till you're better?" Kyuubi answered the question in Naruto's head. "Two hours and a long sleep." Naruto answered the question outside of Naruto's head. "I'll be good in the morning." The Snake Lady gave a warm smile. "All right, the rest of us will head out while you rest. I'll be back in the morning at 600 hours sharp to pick you up for our date with the old man Naruto, then all three of us will meet up at Ronin Cafe at 800 hours and do a survival exercise in the forest after breakfast. And the Kyuubi stuff stays quiet until I give the order. Dismissed!" "Yes ma'am!" Said the three kids in unison.