Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Ranma ½. I do have a few of my own characters in here though, so I would appreciate it if you asked before using them.

Notes

This was originally done for NanoWrimo in 2007. With this story I made the word count!

Characters form Ranma ½ and Naruto may be out of character

While in the Neko-ken, characters roll their rs (I am not going to spell it that way, since it is to hard to write/read that way)

"Hi" Speaking

'Hi' Thinking

Painful Pasts and New Beginnings

By: Shlandria

Chapter 8

What they saw was rather gruesome, a bunch of villagers seemed to be defending themselves from someone who was acting like a wild animal. The boy they were fighting looked to be around seventeen or eighteen, and had black hair with red and white highlights. He was growling and snarling at the villagers. They saw him using his fists and feet as well as clawing at them and biting them. He was nearly covered in the blood of the villagers.

Only one of the ANBU teams knew who the boy was, however not even they knew why he was acting like that. They used a special code only they and the few that knew the boy knew, to confer with each other to see how they should handle the situation. They agreed that only they should approach the boy, as they knew him, and the other's didn't. Everyone else would have to handle the villagers; those that didn't need immediate medical attention would need to be taken to see the Hokage to get things straightened out.

Once they had decided, they took charge of the situation They stood in front of the others and gave out orders. Since they were all senior members, they had more authority and none of the others questioned them. "Get the villagers out of there, the ones that need immediate medical attention, take to the hospital, all others are to be taken straight to the Hokage. Do not get within ten feet of the boy, we will deal with him, go." With that, the ANBU got to work. The ones that knew Ryu, knew he would recognize them by their scent, which was why they were going to approach him, not anyone else.

They approached the scene quickly but carefully. The ANBU team dealing with Ryu, began sending the villagers back to the others telling them they would be safe there. They were glad to most of the villagers could move without much help.

Ryu had known the ANBU were there the moment they had stopped on a nearby rooftop, however he quickly dismissed them, the villagers were the dangerous ones and he was bound and determined to protect his otouto. He did nothing as they began taking the villagers away from him, however when a group of them approached, he let out a feral growl, warning them to stay back. These particular ANBU knew not to push him, and so they took a step back. They made no hostile movements and were sure to show the boy that they had no weapons out as they watched his body language.

Ryu watched the ANBU members that were closest to him, giving out softer growls, clawing at the air and arching his back a bit. They were very close to crowding his space and becoming a threat. He eyed them carefully, showing his fangs, his silted eyes showing unease. The only reason he was letting them so close was because he recognized their scents, however, he was still on edge and not ready to let anyone near him yet.

The ANBU closest to him saw he was on edge, so they started talking to him in low quiet voices, trying to sooth his frayed nerves, telling him it was ok, and that everything would be ok. They were talking too quietly for anyone else to hear, but they knew he could hear them. It took a couple of minutes, but Ryu finally let them begin approaching him again.

They continued to approach him, despite the occasional growl or snarl, only pausing when he would arch his back and claw at the air. A few minutes after that, they were within five feet of him. They stopped there and only one of them approached Ryu, covering the remaining distance quickly enough. He then crouched down to Ryu's level and began talking to him in a soothing voice, holding his hand out for the boy to sniff. "Easy now, I'm your friend, remember? It's ok, everything will be ok now." He said as Ryu began sniffing his hand. "That's it, see, I'm your friend."

Ryu made a noise somewhere between a growl and a whine, he was on edge, but this was a friend, someone he trusted. The ANBU member heard this and saw the conflicting emotions in the boy's eyes. "Calm down now, everything will be ok, shhh, that's it calm down now." He said to the poor boy. Though Ryu was in complete control of the neko ken, in his mind he was more cat at the moment and the ANBU knew this.

He finally calmed down and gave a half whimper, half whine at the older man, bumping his head against the man's hand. When he did this, the ANBU member could feel him trembling. He ran his fingers through the boy's bloody hair, petting him, and trying to calm him down a bit more.

When he was sure the boy was calm enough, he picked Ryu up, holding him safely in his arms, letting the boy burry his bloody face into his shoulder. "Come on now; let's go see your jiji." The ANBU said in a calm soothing voice." The younger ANBU were amazed at how well the older ones had gotten the crazy boy under control. The older ANBU took Ryu straight to the Hokage's office while the younger ones finished up with the villagers.

Meanwhile, Naruto had had time to calm down a bit, though he stayed curled up in a ball. He was still terrified that the villagers might find him, but he was also worried about his aniki. He had no idea where he was though, so all he could do was hope his aniki was ok.