"Who's the kid?"

I glanced back at Naruto quickly to see his reaction to the question but he didn't seem to be paying attention, he was looking around as if something were bugging him. It may have just been the curiosity of being in a new city; I didn't really care to think about it too much. I turned back to Murphy and gave a short chuckle.

"Another job, I've got to protect him," I said, shrugging.

"So you're babysitting?" Murphy asked, amusement shining in her blue eyes. I fought the urge to frown at her – she was about to give me another job. My lucky day right?

"Basically, so what'd you have that's so important?" I asked, one of my brows rising.

Murphy grew serious once more and began to make her way towards the building we were outside of. It seemed like an apartment building but it could have been something else for all I knew. I motioned for Naruto to follow, which he did. He didn't seem to be too upset with the arrangements at the moment. I was betting that he'd be annoyed after a few days though, even if he was a ninja he was also a teenager. I was expecting the whining to start very soon.

We walked in silence up a flight of stairs; Murphy knew how much I hated elevators and how much they hated me. I don't think she ever wanted to get in an elevator with me ever since that incident with the giant scorpion, but that's a story for another day. It didn't take too long to reach the floor where Murphy was leading us. It took even less time to get to the apartment.

Murphy's body language was telling me that she was uneasy about what ever was in the room even before the smell of burnt flesh reached my nose. I placed my gloved hand over my nose and made a disgusted noise. Behind me I could hear Naruto make a similar sound. When we were fully in the room I could see what the cause of the smell was. In the middle of the room in a puddle of burnt flesh and blood lay a badly burned corpse, its skin melted to the point it looked like wax.

"There was no sign of forced entry, no one saw anyone come or go nor did they hear anything. There's also no sign of what cause the fire," Murphy said, looking extremely agitated. Before I could say anything she burst out angrily. "He was a cop! Who could have done this?"

I didn't say anything but stared down at the body. I felt bad for the guy, a death like that must have hurt like hell. I frowned for a moment and took a deep breath, wincing at the smell. I didn't smell any sulfur under the scent of the flesh. So it hadn't been done with Hell fire but what else could it have been? There was no human fire hot enough to do this! A sound alerted me to Naruto's presence once more; I glanced over at him to see a look of horror on his face. Maybe I shouldn't have brought him along? Murphy seemed to be thinking the same thing and shooed us out of the room. As we left the room the forensic team passed us, a few of them nodding at me respectfully.

"I've got to do some research before I can tell you what or who did this Murph," I said with a sigh.

I glanced over at Naruto and frowned. He looked troubled. I wondered if this was the first dead body he'd ever seen, probably not. I mean, he was an assassin after all, or as close to one as most people got. He must have seen a lot of people die, right?

I said my goodbyes to Murphy and we began to make our way toward the car. Maybe it was time I paid my apprentice a home visit.

"Hello Harry, it's been a while since you visited," Michael said, stepping up to the car as I got out. His eyes flickered to Naruto as he came out of the car on the other side. I could see the he felt something off about the boy but couldn't figure out what. Before he could say anything else my apprentice's blue and pink head popped out from the front door.

"Come on Harry! I've done my homework, you don't need to come check on me!" she whined. See what did I tell you about teenagers, they're always whining.

"For your information Grasshopper I'm not here because of your homework. I need to talk to your father about something. But if you want something more to do keep my friend over there company." A smirk tugged at my lips. I saw the dirty look that Naruto gave me and ignored it. I didn't need him listening to my conversation with Michael, especially since it was about him. "Now why don't you go run along and play with kids your own age Naruto," I sad semi-sweetly, glancing over at him.

He gave me a glare that would have made Queen Mab piss her skirt and followed Molly into the house. I was almost positive I heard him mutter something about 'Damned Wizards' before he disappeared. Michael raised a brow at me and I lifted a shoulder indifferently.

"I've got a job to baby sit the kid for a while," I said calmly.

"What did you need to speak to me about Harry?" asked Michael, looking slightly amused. I sighed and thought for a moment on how to ask the question. Well might as well get it over with.

"Do you know of the demons called the Biju?" I asked, trying to keep my voice light.

Whatever Michael was expecting me to say, that was obviously wasn't it. He sputtered for a moment and then rubbed his hand over his chest nervously.

"I only know what Shiro told me a couple years before he died. He said that they were the most powerful and the cruelest of their kind." He was obviously troubled by my question and stared at me for a long moment. "Harry if you're thinking about messing with them I highly advise you not to. You may be strong but no one is that strong," he added gravely. I shook my head and gave a small smile.

"I've been getting that a lot lately but don't worry, I'm not thinking of fighting them. In fact I've been hired to protect one of them." I sighed heavily, giving him a knowing look. It took him a moment then his eyes widened then flew to the door which Naruto had just passed. He pushed slightly away from the car with an alarmed look on his face.

"You mean to tell me that he's..."

I held up my hand and shook my head at the man. I had thought that he'd be a bit more understanding about this. Wasn't he supposed to be all about giving second chances and such? Besides, from what I'd seen of the boy he didn't have a killer bone in his body. Not that I didn't doubt that if it came to it and there was no other way he'd do it, but other than that he seemed a lot like Michael to me. He probably gave many chances before he gave up on someone.

"He's not the Biju, he's the container." I said sternly.

Michael looked even more troubled by this but I could see the pity working its way into his eyes. He knew what it meant apparently. I couldn't imagine how bad the kid had had it when he was younger. From what I'd read, the Biju had been placed within him after it had tried to attack the village. I knew enough about humans to know that they wouldn't be able to see past that fact and see the person that he was; they'd see a demon and nothing more and that was no way for a child to live.

"My God bless his soul," Michael murmured, shaking his head softly. "What do you need of me Harry?"

"I need you, when the time comes, to help me protect him. From the information I've got, the people coming after him are just as dangerous as the Biju themselves. I can't do it myself," I said, quietly.

I hadn't realized entirely until now how sure I was that these people were going to come after him. If that woman, the great leader of the village, had to send him away then these people were not to be taken lightly. I wasn't taking them lightly and I knew neither would Michael. I would be prepared for them and anyone who knows anything about Wizards knows that a prepared Wizard is something you don't fuck with.

"You'll have my help."


Sorry it took so long to get it up and posted. My beta was a bit busy with exams and didn't have time to work on it. Well now it's posted and ready for you to tell me what you think. [ :

Updates on this story may take a while because one of my friends is writing a Beauty and the Beast fic, Gentle Catastrophe go look her up, and it got me thinking about a Labyrinth styled Naruto fic. So now my brain is beating it's self against my skull to come up with ideas for it. I'm on Christmas break so it's all good, I'll have plenty of time to work on all of my stories and possibly work my way out of the hole I've dug myself into.

Until next time

Sailor Emerald