Beforehand: Wow, thanks for the reviews mortals! It made it easier to persuade the author to give you more. And based on your reviews, he's ready to go on. And now, Chapter 13!

Chapter 13

I can barely remember who I am. My mind has been torn in two. When I look downwards, I can see someone else. Someone forgotten. Why can't I remember who that is? It's right on the tip of my tongue. But if I can't remember my own name, how could I expect to know his?

I look up. Someone's holding my hand. He looks like some sort of crazed demon. In my other hand is a redheaded girl. They both seem familiar. Who are they? And why am I grasping them both as if my life depended on it.

Pain.

I look down. The person is trying to pull me down with him. I give him a funny look. He looks as crazy as the blond ninja up there. This guy…is he me? Yes, that's my demon! I'm Genkai, demonic mercenary. And I'm trying to save my sister from the evil Snake Lord. I can't breathe anymore. This hell, it's ripping my mind apart! I can't think! Who's that grabbing me? Who am I? Where am I?

What's that coming for me?

Naruto pulled as hard as he could. Genkai was giving him a confused look. He would look like he was holding on for his life one minute, then lost the next.

"NARUTO!" Tayuya yelled at him. He looked at her. The redhead was doing her best to free herself from Genkai's grasp, but the demon boy was too strong.

'Boy, release the enemy. I'll kill you if we get stuck in hell!'

'Weren't you going to kill me anyways?'

'Well I'll kill you twice over, smart ass!'

Naruto suddenly let go of Genkai. Genkai let go of Tayuya. Kyuubi stopped talking. Naruto stopped breathing. Genkai's eyes shot open and he screamed.

A massive demon head ripped from the hole. It released a huge roar, and began dragging Genkai in deeper.

"I guess, this is my punishment," Genkai said. "I completely became someone else. I was consumed by my father's desire. This became bigger than Yumi. This became my mad attempt at power. That's why I really attacked Konoha. I wanted to test myself. I was become what Satan and my father wanted. A monster. Yumi…mother…I'm sorry." The beast roared again. Genkai didn't resist.

"You lived inside of my subconscious didn't you?" Genkai asked it. "You are part of me. You are free to kill me now. I deserve it." Those were the last words Genkai spoke. He was sucked into the black universe.

Naruto's eyes were still wide open. The zombies began dying. Ramiel rose to the sky.

"It's my duty to follow Genkai-sama until I can't anymore, then I die," he said. He followed the devilish monstrosity into the black universe. All traces of their evil power faded. The zombies lay lifeless. The Death Gate closed, and the sun came out. Tayuya fell into Naruto's arms. She was looking from the sky to Naruto.

"Unreal," she said slowly. Naruto gulped and nodded.

3 months later…

Naruto unwrapped the last of his bandages. Tayuya smiled as he flexed his arm in the ramen shop.

"Better already cockface?" she teased. "For a Kyuubi kid, you sure healed from that slowly." Naruto smiled.

"I don't think Kyuubi felt like healing me this time. I have been calling on his chakra almost constantly. So he felt overused."

'I don't feel shitbrains.'

Tayuya slurped her food rather noisily. Naruto smiled. Tayuya looked up at him. The boy was done with his food. It still surprised her sometimes how fast her boyfriend could gulp down a bowl of ramen. The ramen shop owners smiled too.

"On the house for my two best customers!" the man said. Naruto smiled at him and thanked him.

Tayuya and Naruto walked out of the Ramen shop. Tayuya stretched in the afternoon sun. Konoha had just finished the last of its construction. With help from the Sand, they had managed to rebuild rather quickly. Everything was running smoothly today. But the memory of that awful day was fresh in the minds of every villager. Many had died in the relentless zombie attack. Speaking of which, the bodies had been buried in the forest outside of Konoha. Naruto had disagreed about the location, but Tsunade had assured him that the area would be on full 24/7 watch.

"Thinking again?" Tayuya asked him as she walked ahead. Naruto couldn't help but laugh.

"You sound disgusted at the thought of thinking."

Tayuya scowled at him. "What's that supposed to mean huh?" Naruto put his hands up and gave a disarming smiled. Tayuya couldn't help but make a smile. Naruto was too cute when he was trying to fight himself out of a situation.

"Didn't mean to offend," Naruto said. "Just thinking about the past again." Naruto couldn't help but think of Genkai. On a clear day, his thoughts were jumbled in the past.

Tayuya looked at the ground. Although she had spent the past three months with Naruto and his people, she hadn't adopted their ability to make something better with words. She was still a bit rattled about the way Genkai had gone with the demon. It made her think about dark clouds. She had never said it to Naruto, but darkness scared her a bit now.

"Hey kid," she said. Naruto looked up at her. "I just remembered, we have to report to Tsunade-sama's headquarters for a double-mission."

Naruto groaned when he heard the words 'double-mission.' For the past few months, missions had included fetching wood, watching bratty kids, and helping with the rebuild of homes. A double mission could mean doing two of those things at once!

"Let's ditch the old hag," Naruto said. Tayuya looked at him.

"This from the future Hokage? Tsk tsk," Tayuya said. Naruto shot her a look and sighed.

"Fine, fine," Naruto said. "We'll go see the old hag. But this time, I get to fetch the wood and you watch the kids." Tayuya stuck her tongue out at him.

"Last one there watches the kids!" she said. Naruto grinned.

"You're on!" he said. Tayuya smiled as she stuck her leg out and tripped Naruto.

"HEY NO FAIR!" Naruto screamed as Tayuya sped on towards the Hokage's dwelling.

Tsunade scanned over some papers. She watched the door with one eye though. Paperwork was her least favorite part of this job. Tayuya and Naruto were late today. And she hoped to draw out the conversation long enough so that she could procrastinate for at least a half hour. This wasn't going to be any ordinary conversation. Especially with the special guest standing in the corner over there.

Tayuya and Naruto suddenly busted through the door. They pushed each other to be the first through.

"I'm the winner!" Tayuya growled.

"My foots farther in!" Naruto said. Tsunade smiled slightly. Most of the villagers hadn't gotten used to Naruto holding the Kyuubi, and now they had to deal with someone who had actually kidnapped someone from the village. But Tsunade was one that believed in second chances. She agreed to let Tayuya take up residence in a new home she had personally so that it was next to Naruto's. Looking at their antics now, they were an odd couple, one loud as hell, and the other rude as hell, but they were kind of cute together.

"Calm down, calm down," Tsunade said. The two ninja took the seats that had been prepared for them. She knew that they could sense that this was no ordinary mission.

"What I'm going to tell you and show you isn't really a mission, but I just thought that you two should know so that you wouldn't be alarmed. Come on out."

His hair was jet black and spiky and wild. His eyes were light blue and his skin was pale. He chewed on the end of a cigarette that had burnt out maybe a minute or two ago, because smoke was still rising from it. He wore a black top and jeans. His eyes darted from Naruto's shocked face to Tayuya's. He frowned.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet Enzan, Blaze," Tsunade said. Naruto jumped from his seat, followed closely by Tayuya. They put their bodies in front of Tsunade and reached for their kunai. The man looked up as Naruto threw two kunai at him.

Naruto blinked. One second the dude was there, the next he wasn't. Tayuya tapped his shoulder. He turned to see the girl with a kunai to her throat and the man behind her. Naruto growled, but the man just smiled.

"You were way too obvious," he said. "Next time, take out your kunai in the middle of an attack and maybe I'll be so into dodging the attack I won't see it coming." Naruto frowned.

"Genkai, how the fuck did you get back from hell?" Tayuya asked. The man gave her a confused look and smiled. He put his kunai back in his pocket.

"No, not Genkai, kunai," the man said. He turned to Tsunade. "You didn't tell me that they don't even know basic ninja weapons." Tsunade smiled.

"HEY OLD LADY TSUNADE MIND CLUING ME IN?" Naruto yelled. Tsunade stood up and walked around her desk. She stood next to the man she called Enzan, Blaze.

"From now on you'll refer to him as Blaze. He's the newest member of the ANBU team. He's second in command, and his taijutsu is unparalleled by most. His ninjutsu is also exceptional. Thought I'd let you meet him." Blaze smiled and waved to the two. Naruto was still not convinced.

"Hey Blaze, did you hear about the incident here three months ago?" he asked. Blaze frowned and looked up into the air.

"Yeah, Tsunade-sama told me about it. Two demons attacked and destroyed most of the village. You guys just finished the rebuild." He smiled at Naruto.

"Well Blaze is a busy guy, so I just wanted you to meet him," Tsunade said. "Oh and one more thing. He'll be hanging around Naruto's house until his home is built." Naruto nearly screamed, but Tayuya covered his mouth. Blaze nodded towards Tsunade and left.

"Hokage-sama," Tayuya said. "Explain what the fuck is going on here now." Naruto nodded. Tsunade frowned and made sure Blaze was gone. She closed her doors and began to explain.

"The Dark Universe is a place of ultimate despair. Not even the toughest ninja would like to stay more than a few minutes. Every hour, you're killed by a demon that will shred your mind and body. Your worst nightmares will be brought up before your very eyes, and the physical pain will drive you mad. Not even Genkai could stop from going insane. Because once you die, you revive, and relive it over and over again forever. But his angel, Ramiel, traded his mind, body, and soul to hell's demons in exchange for Genkai's release. But when he was freed, he lost most of his memories. They're still in hell. Waiting for him to return. As far as he knows, he used to be a bounty hunter until he took on a job to hunt the Kyuubi kid and bring him to Akatsuki, but I beat him before he entered the village, and in exchange for his life, he agreed to join a secret part of ANBU I can't speak about. Ramiel is supposed to be coming back. The reason is complicated, so I won't go into it, but there is a high probability that he will have forgotten what ensued here. And even if he does, he won't speak about it unless questioned, and won't attack unless Blaze orders him to. So for now, he'll live among us to ensure that nothing goes wrong and he remembers who he was."

"Wow," Naruto said. Tayuya shook her head.

"The demon that was inside of him…is it still there?" Tsunade nodded, and her face went pale.

"And now it can unleash enough fury to eradicate the planet, so much power, that perhaps only Kyuubi's ressurection can stop him. And then Kyuubi will destroy us. And Ramiel's mind holds the key to our destruction. The demon is dormant. For unexplained reasons, demons become stronger everytime they die and make it back to Earth. So don't speak about the true Genkai in Blaze's presence. I'm not sure how he'll take it."

"Understood," Naruto said. Tayuya nodded too. Tsunade nodded at them.

"Good. His sister's rescue was a success, but she is living in the Sand Village for the reason that Genkai could remember what happened and the demon will reawaken with his memories." Tsunade sat back it her chair. "Well, now that that's taken care of, let's lift the spirits in here!"

"How abrupt," Naruto said. Tsunade grinned and looked at the two of them. Tayuya turned pink and scowled at the old woman.

"So?" Tsunade asked. "Are you official?" Naruto looked puzzled. Tayuya turned beet red.

"Officially what?" Naruto asked. Tayuya shook her head.

"Nothing, shit brains," she said. "C'mon, it's starting to smell really old in here."

"What happened?" Naruto asked as Tayuya dragged him away. Tsunade still didn't know that they had confessed to each other in Cerberus' stomach. They didn't plan on telling her til later. Much later.

Afterword: YEEHAW! 2 Chapters left! By majority rules, there shall be lemonade, but don't worry those who voted against it, I have something for you too! Wait til the next installment. Chapter 14: Talk Is Cheap!