First I want to give a shout out to KaixDecayx for being the first to review this story! Thanks so Much, and I hope you continue to enjoy! And thanks to all that have favorited/followed this story, you all rock!

So I really had no intentions of putting this up yet, I had originally intended for this chapter and the next to be all in one. But as I was writing I got another idea that I couldn't let go of, so I added it in. And unfortunately this little part and the next don't seem to fit in the chapter together. There are quite a few different perspectives in this one and I didn't want to add more and have it be ultra confusing. So here's a new chapter! but definitely don't expect another post until Saturday Night, there are a few points in the next Chapter that may take me a bit to get down correctly.

Also almost all of this chapter has to do with the kidnapping of a child, and a hint of abuse. I do not go into details, but it is there. So here is is, and thanks again.

-UM

Where Loyalties Lie: Chapter 3

It was a typical day for Naruto, she walked slowly in the classroom and took her seat in the back of the class. There still wasn't anyone that talked to her, and just like her previous instructors Iruka-Sensei and Mizuki-Sensei ignored her. Naruto really wanted to be mad at Jiji, he told her that this year would be different but she really couldn't, it wasn't his fault that people hated her, if anything he tried to stop it. So instead of trying to get attention Naruto remained quiet. She even stopped the little pranks she did before, she didn't think that Iruka-Sensei would let them slide like the others did. Plus if she was being honest with herself, it wasn't fun to prank people if you didn't have friends to laugh with you.

While the lesson went on she took out her favorite book, the one entitled The Language of Fuuinjustu. Naruto loved Fuuinjutsu. She could successfully make smoke bombs, paper bombs, containment seals, and was currently working on a design for a silencing seal. She trained in secret, not even letting Jiji know what she was up to, hoping to surprise him one day. It was while she was reading that the bell rang for lunch, she left her book and journal there, knowing that the door to the classroom would be locked and ran to the cafeteria, she was starving after all. Naruto sighed in defeat, noticing the women behind the counter, she was one of the cafeteria workers that would hand her an empty tray. Accepting the fact that she would go hungry today Naruto turned from the cafeteria and went outside instead.

After lunch the students were permitted to spend some time in the field before going back to their lessons, some would train, or talk, or nap, but the blond haired girl always perched herself on the swing close to the woods, trying hard not to be noticed by anyone. Unbeknownst to her two eyes watched her closely, one deciding to make their move.

Naruto looked up as a dark shadow invaded her vision, she sighed in relief after she saw the kindness in his eyes.

"Hello Mizuki-Sensei, did you need me for something? The bright eyed girl questioned him.

"I couldn't help but notice that you didn't eat Naruto-Chan, why is that?"

"I wasn't really hungry Mizuki-Sensei." She answered, only to be betrayed by the loud grumbling of her stomach.

"Well, it seems to me you're hungry now, let's get you something, yeah?" the little girl smiled brightly and fallowed Mizuki.

Neither of them noticed a pair of brown eyes watching from a distance.

As Naruto walked back into the Academy building following closely behind her Sensei, she couldn't help but think that maybe Jiji was right after all. Her new Sensei actually noticed her, he saw that the women in the cafeteria wouldn't give her lunch, and he was going to fix it. She smiled at the back of Mizuki's head, finally believing that this year in the Academy wouldn't be like the last two. They were just inside the building, the door behind her clicking shut, when Mizuki turned to her, the kindness in his eyes replaced with something sinister. The petite blond tried to back away, but before she could even reach the door he had picked her up and Shunshined them out of the Academy.

Mizuki dropped the young girl he was holding roughly to the floor, causing her to yelp in pain. His smile grew wider at the sound, the girls pain bringing him unparalleled satisfaction. She frantically crawled backwards trying to get away from the man in front of her. Backing herself into a corner she looked up at the man in fear.

"W-why?" Naruto asked, eyes brimming with tears.

"Oh don't worry…" Mizuki said as he advanced towards the trembling blond, "You'll know why soon enough little fox, but I have to get back now, we wouldn't want anyone to come looking for you, yeah?"

Naruto could only cry as her Sensei wrapped her up in Ninja wire.

Shikamaru had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, he knew something terrible was going to happen, but he also knew that he couldn't shadow them into the building without being noticed, we wasn't even a ninja yeh. So he waited. 20 minutes later the bell rang again, signaling the Academy students to make their way to their classrooms. It didn't take Iruka-Sensei long to realize that Naruto was missing, but what didn't sit well with him was that Iruka sent Mizuki to search for her while he continued their lesson. An hour and a half later they still hadn't returned and Shikamaru's patience was at an end, his hands were in fists at his sides, gripped so tight that his nails were leaving little bloody crescent marks in his palms, he was breathing heavy, anger oozing out of his young form, Choji kept sending questioning glances his way but Shikamaru didn't care, no matter what the young Nara did he still couldn't calm down. Eventually his hand shot up, the Chunin instructor nodding at him to speak.

"Sensei? Shouldn't Mizuki-Sensei be back with Naruto by now?"

Iruka glanced at the clock, narrowing his eyes.

"You're right, okay everyone. Pack up your things." 41 students stared at him in shock. "I will arrange for someone to wait here with you until your parents arrive, but we will not be continuing this lesson today." With that he left the room.

Shikamaru couldn't help but look to the desk that Naruto sat at, her books still covering her table with a bright orange bag sitting on her chair, the isolated corner looked so dark without the blue-eyed girl. The Nara heir stood up suddenly, for once he didn't question his motives, he didn't analyze every angle, he simply acted, letting his feet (they obviously knew where they wanted to go) take him up the aisle to her desk. He ignored the whispers he got as he walked up to the corner of the room, taking in the many books and notes on display he started to, very neatly, pack them away. His hand hovered over one book in particular, it wasn't one needed for school, it was a book on Fuuinjutsu. Paying closer attention to her notes littering the desk, he realized most weren't over what Iruka-Sensei was teaching, many of the pages had odd looking symbols drawn on them, some with notes next to them, detailing what the character meant. He wouldn't have guessed that the pigtailed girl was studying sealing in her hidden corner. But Shikamaru, aware of the many eyes that watched as he packed up Naruto's bag, didn't contemplate the girl's reading habits further, instead he brought his attention back to the fact that Naruto wasn't here. With a sigh he descended the aisle and deposited her full bag on the desk next to his own.

"Why'd you do that Shikamaru?" his longtime friend asked him, question muffled from the chips he munched on. Shikamaru only shrugged. Choji didn't need to know that by keeping her things with him until she returned he would have the perfect excuse to finally talk to her.

A few minutes later a stern looking old women walked in, not bothering to introduce herself, she addressed the confused students in front of her. "I'll be here for the next two and a half hours, your parents should be here to pick you up at four like usual, you may talk quietly amongst yourselves until then. No questions." She sat down behind Iruka's desk and pulled out a book, not bothering to look up again. Shikamaru rested his head on Naruto's book bag, he swore it smelled like ramen.

Not 10 minutes later the Academy instructor was back eyeing Naruto with glee. The girl hadn't noticed him yet she was struggling hard against the wire, causing small, paper thin cuts to appear on her exposed skin, they would close up almost instantly due to the Nine Tailed Foxes chakra, only to be reopened seconds later. As much as Mizuki wanted to watch her struggle he knew that he had to get to work, there was no telling how much time he had.

"Now, now little fox, no more of that," Naruto stilled, at her captor's voice, "You want to know why I have you here, yeah?" The blond girl nodded up at him, his crazed smile grew impossibly larger.

"Well…the thing is, Naruto, I hate what you are, I want you to suffer for everything you did, and I need to be the one to inflict such excruciating pain." Mizuki watched as his words sunk in.

"B-but Mizuki-Sensei…" the shaky voice of the six year old pleading with the man that loomed over her, "I haven't done anything bad!"

"That's exactly where you are wrong. It was you that attacked the village six years ago, you see, the Nine Tailed Demon wasn't killed by the Yondaime, it was sealed, placed inside of you. The blood spilled that night is on your hands little fox, and I've spent years waiting, years wanting the chance to spill yours."

It was then that Mizuki reached into the small bag at his hip, he pulled out two items: a small jar, its contents a purple liquid and a kunai. The girl's blue eyes grew wider upon seeing the objects he was holding. He laughed then as he set the bottle down next to her, absolutely delighted to see the pain she couldn't hide, her feelings plainly written on her face. The white haired man saw the deep hurt in her eyes, the type of hurt you felt when you learned the truth. The Uzumaki girl was surprising however, because as he loomed above her the tears suddenly stopped. The once crying girl met his gaze and he watched as the fear was replaced with anger then soon after determination. Neither broke eye contact as he placed a knee on the petite girl's chest, keeping her in place. The Chunin grabbed her chin and squeezed tightly, steady hands dipped the kunai in the jar then pressed the weapon against the blond girl's right cheek. Mizuki only wished he could have done this sooner.

Today started off relatively uneventful for Saindaime Hokage. He wandered into his office mid-morning, earning a frown from his assistant. Every once in a while Hiruzen would give himself a break, never scheduling anything important those days, the only real work he had to do was sign last week's pay tickets for his Shinobi. The old man took a late lunch, he had already finished the stack of tickets that needed his signature, only to be completely and utterly bored after. The Hokage thought about calling for his assistant, asking him for something else to do but decided against it, he wasn't that desperate. What Hiruzen wanted was a visit from his favorite little blonde menace, that would surely spice his day up. The Hokage was seriously considering sending an ANBU to pick her up from the Academy early when a nervous looking Umino Iruka was ushered into his office. It was 13:40 when his heart dropped into his stomach, his Sunshine, the girl he considered his granddaughter was missing. He would have killed Iruka if he had the time, but according to the useless Chunin in front of him she had already been missing for hours. The Hokage didn't give in to his temptations however, because he knew that the full minute that it would take him to eliminate the Academy Sensei would be better spent looking for her. So at 13:43 an irate Hokage, and a cowering Chunin watched as every ANBU at the Hokage's disposal poofed into the small office.

"Uzumaki Naruto is missing." Hiruzen stated, getting down to business quickly.

A few ANBU twitched, Uzumaki retrieval was one of the most difficult things to do in the village, the girl being too fast for most to keep up.

"Where was she last seen Hokage-Sama?" An owl-masked women asked.

"Her last known location is The Academy, she went to the cafeteria at the lunch bell, but never returned. Iruka sent Mizuki to look for her, but neither came back. Mizuki may still be searching for her, bring him here if found but Naruto is the top priority. Am. I. Clear." The killing intent that the Hokage was generating caused many of the Anbu to flinch, grateful that it wasn't them that lost the child.

"Aye Hokage-Sama." The ANBU said in unison.

"Hare, Squirrel search zone one. Bear and Hawke, zone two. Fox and Eagle, three. Mouse, Owl you both have four. Sparrow and wolf, five which leaves dragon and boar with zone six. Bring her back here, or the hospital if injured." Hiruzen's eyes narrowed at his words, "Find her quickly, Dismissed."

At 13:45 in a swirl of leaves each member of ANBU were gone, leaving behind a pacing Hokage, a petrified Chunin Sensei and a cat-masked ANBU.

"Cat." the Hokage turned to one of the remaining men in his office, "Hound should be returning to the Village within the hour, he'll be re-entering near the South-East gate, wait there then bring him to me."

The ANBU nodded, sparing an apologetic glance to the Chunin and left to wait for his Sempai.

Well there is that one, there has been a lot of angst in this story so far but things will start to look up soon. Then of course come crashing down, then back up, and you know the drill.

Hope you like, don't forget to review, I accept both flowers and flame! Thanks all!