Allllllrrriiggghhhtttyyyy then. It's time for yet another fun filled chapter of fanficly goodness. Yes I know it's not a word, bite me :P.

Anyway, let me take care of some concerns right off the bat here. Some people have sent me emails (Use reviews! It's what they're there for, and lord knows I need/love them) about something they managed to catch in the second chapter.

First off, neither Arashi nor Naruto will be "Mary-Sue" characters (aka God characters). They will most certainly be more powerful than in the manga/anime, very powerful. However, they won't be punching holes in mountains or blowing up entire forests or vaporizing towns. That was Kyuubis job. And considering what I have planned for near the Genin/Chuunin exams, all will be explained as to how and why thing became as they were. This comes after some people figured out who exactly the four people were that are going to train Arashi. Everything will be explained when and if I see something I consider "overpowered".

Also I managed to pick up on a mistake I made in Chapter 2. While I usually do not tolerate mistakes (at least in my own fanfic) it is minor, and since no one has picked up on it quite yet I'll let it go unless people start bombarding me.

Comments or suggestions? Use the review button please. While I'm not going to abandon this story if I don't get reviews (as I know some authors are fond of doing) it still lets me know what you all think and what you consider good or bad.

Also, I have the final look of Arashi finally down as well as what FemKyuubi will look like when she finally makes an appearance. Please look on my profile for pictures regarding Arashi/his sword/Kyuubi. I'll give you a special treat if you manage to find the one thing tying together the sword picture and FemKyuubi :D

As always, I don't own Naruto since Kishimoto-san doesn't know how to share --;

Kishimoto: I HEARD THAT!

Cerv/FLEE!

"Speech"

'Thought'

"Kyuubi speech"

"Kyuubi Thought"


Previously, on X-Me….erh wait a second. DAMNIT THIS IS THE WRONG SCRIPT!

walks off muttering

"HINATA-CHAN!" She eeped, turning around to peer at the young blonde boy as he came running over to her. A slight pink tinge covered her cheeks, her soft whisper just barely heard. "N-Naruto-kun….EEP!" Kakashi laughed, watching the two as Naruto glomped on Hinata…hugging her tightly.

"Neh neh Hinata-chan! How are you today?"

Both were oblivious to the danger in the bushes as Hinata blushed, stuttering out a soft answer as Naruto sat down beside her, grinning his golden smile. Both were ignorant of the soft rustling as something passed through the leaves, making its slow steady way towards the couple. Kakashi had disappeared, most likely to read his book, leaving the two in the Hyuugas care, unknowing to the evil that lurked in its very bushes!

"N-Naruto-kun, did you hear that?" Hinata glanced around fearfully at the sound of a twig snapping. Frowning, Naruto peered over towards the bushes in front of them, before shrugging and grinning at Hinata. "Neh Hinata-chan, I don't think it was-," He was cut off as the bushes rustled again, this time all around them. Hinata clutched to Naruto's arm, gazing around fearfully, unknowing to the creeping figure behind them…..

"AAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Hyuuga Estate

"NOOO! NARUTO-KUN!" A normally soft voice rang out, before it was drowned out by the most horrible, evil sound imaginable….

…..laughter.

"O-Okaa-saaaaannnn! giggle Nooo…stop it! laugh I'll get you for this! giggle," Naruto couldn't help it, he could barely breathe as is, and trying to form words while being mercilessly attacked wasn't exactly easy for a four year old. He thrashed and wiggled around, the sound of his loud laughter echoing in the halls of the Hyuuga mansion as soft giggling to his left intermingled with it. Hyuuga members walking through the halls couldn't help but smile as they paused in their daily duties to listen, before walking on. To them it seemed their home had not had the laughter of children for far too long.

The once thought evil, horrible figure poised above him…delivering the evil tickles of DOOOOOOOM… stopped before peering down at the panting blonde figure below it.

"Oh come now Naru-chan, it's been soooooo long since you came to visit! Me and Hina-chan thought you left us." The sound of soft sniffling echoed after the words, the unknown assailant cutting a pitiful figure as big tears rolled down its cheeks.

Naruto snorted, eyeing the person before crouching down and attacking! Fingers and hands flew everywhere! A soft laughter now echoed in the halls, easily figured to be a woman's, as Naruto delivered his deadly final strike. Hinata just sat over to the side, giggling quietly behind one small hand as she watched the two go at their tickle war, before her semi-blushing face grew pale. Both stopped, before slowly turning to turn evil grins towards the poor Hyuuga girl. Hinata gulped, frantically looking back and forth before hurriedly backing away from the twin sets of cheshire grins that were focused on them.

"O-Okaa-san? Naruto-kun?" She whispered, wishing she could run and hide behind the bushes. Both figures stopped for a moment, twin voices innocently answering in a sing-song voice. "Yes Hina-chan, what is it?" Hinata gulped, before giving them a wane smile…her loud shriek echoing in the halls as both Naruto and her mother Hikari glomped her, twin sets of hands frantically tickling her sides. Her bubbling laughter teased the air almost like a song as she wriggled underneath the merciless assaults, though it soon turned to one as Naruto blinked and just sat there almost entranced as he listened. Finally Hikari stopped, peering down at her little daughter before whispering in her ear. Pale lavender eyes grew wide, a furious blush caressing pale cheeks before she nodded to her mother.

Naruto watched in confusion, scratching the side of his head before he blinked…suddenly waving his hands defensively in front of himself.

"Oh no, no no no no! Anything but that! Nooooooo!" He turned and attempted to half sprint/half-crawl away before two women (well, one woman and one girl) used the ultimate taijutsu move, the TACKLE-GLOMP! This evil move, favorite of fan-girls everywhere, rendered their targets helpless as they tackled and pinned them…enabling the fan girl to do evil things to her prey at leisure. Naruto paled, wiggling under two sets of hands as both faces leaned down. "NNNNOOOOOOOOOO!"


Elsewhere…

The four figures watched the panting little boy in front of them as he went through endless movements and katas. Their soft whispers did little to interrupt the boy, going through the various aspects they had planned for him as well as what regimen he should go through.

Panting, the boy stopped, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"Alright Arashi, that's enough for now. Come over here and get lunch, then we can continue with your training."

Arashi jumped, both little fists punching the air in a cheer as he raced over towards the four, causing both women to chuckle. The blonde one shook her head, while the red-headed one smiled softly…setting out the afternoons repast. The two men stood off to the side, eyeing the boy before getting an evil glint in their eyes.

"Oy gaki, we think it's time to up your weights again. You seemed to be moving FAR too easily out there today." The White-haired man spoke up, glancing towards his partner. The blonde man nodded, coughing behind his hand to hide his own grin. "Hai, he speaks the truth Ara-chan. It's time to pick up the pace."

Arashi pouted at the two, his bottom lip wiggling a bit, twin piercing blue eyes widening as they slowly started to tear up. Both women 'awwwwwed', before laughing as both men bopped the pouting boy in the head.

"That doesn't work! "

"Itai!"

Arashi rubbed the top of his little blonde head, still sniffling a little bit before turning back to his lunch.


Hyuuga Estate

Both women giggled down at little Naruto as he laid there, spirals for eyes, comical lipstick marks all over his whisker-marked cheeks from the evil attack they had laid upon him. Hinata blushed a bit, Hikari laughing as she gazed down at the almost comatose boy as he blabbered nonsensically, just barely making out the words "kiss" and "evil".

Hikari turned and grinned at her daughter, giggling behind one hand as she noticed the faint blush on her daughter's cheeks. "Ooohhh? Does my little Hina-chan love Naru-chan?" she whispered teasingly, reaching over to lightly poke her daughters' belly. Hinatas' blush intensified, almost resembling a tomato before she paled, lavender eyes rolling back as she fainted with a loud "plop" into the soft grass.

She couldn't handle it anymore, it was just so CUTE! Hikari laughed, harder then had in some time. Oh these two were just too much! She had barely calmed down to a snicker before she heard someone walk up to her. Schooling herself into a neutral expression, she turned to look up at her husband as he looked down towards her, then over towards the two children. Hiashi rolled his eyes at the antics of his wife, deciding not to comment on the little snickers threatening to erupt from between her lips.

"If you are done teasing the poor kids, it's time for Hinata's training. I'm sure Naruto would like to stay as well, maybe even join her."

"Are you sure dear? snicker I don't think they will be able to look at each other for awhile without being a distraction."

Hiashi paled a bit, turning to look with a fake horrified look on his face towards his wife. "You…you didn't! You wouldn't!" Hikari snickered before getting a mischievous yet 'innocent' look on her face as she blinked up at her husband. "Didn't what husband dear?" Hiashi just hung his head, slowly shaking his head, before a brief snicker teased past his lips…soon joining his wife in laughter as Naruto slowly came to at about the same time as Hinata, both youngsters blushing slightly as they looked towards each other…through for decidedly different reasons.

All was well in their lives, unknowing to what would soon happen…


In some random area in Konoha…

"This has gone on long enough. The demon is growing in strength every year! We can't let it get any older! Who knows when it will strike next."

"Yes, but even so it's hard to kill the boy. The Hokage watches him like a hawk, not to mention the ANBU that is his guardian."

"What about the Hyuugas? They have taken a liking to the boy it seems, so we can't expect any help from them. What if they interfere?"

One voice broke through the rest, silencing them.

"So we can't kill the boy, at least not yet. However, we can make his life what ours was after his attack. A living hell. The next time the boy is alone, his guardian will be out on a mission. The Hyuugas will be unable to help either, not with the Clan Heads wife almost to term. We have to be quiet about it, and avoid detection, but soon everything will come together."

In the dim light of the room five heads nodded agreement. They would get the demon yet. Oh yes. It would not be allowed to regain strength to attack the village again, they would make sure of it.


6 months later…

Naruto waved towards the three figures standing near the front gate of the Hyuuga estate. Hikari and Hiashi smiled, while little Hinata waved. Today was the first day they had started partner-training the boy and girl, and even at the very beginning there was promise. Of course, Hinata and Naruto didn't know about this. They just thought it was fun to train together. Hiashi and his wife however had different plans, grinning towards each other as they entered their bedroom after putting little Hinata to sleep.

"So what do you think dear? You think it will work? You know those old fools on the council probably won't let it happen though."

Hiashi shook his head as he sat down on the bed, watching his wife comb out her hair. Their youngest, little Hanabi, had just been born a few months earlier. Hinata was happy to finally be a big sister, and Naruto…well he was ecstatic. Hanabi seemed to have taken a liking to him right off the bat, cooing as she tried to reach up towards his blonde hair. Shaking himself out of his reverie, seeing his wife looking at him, he sighed.

"Not all of the council hates Naruto. In fact quite a few of the elders like the boy. Some just can't let go of it, but I don't think there will be any trouble. It's the reason why we started partner training them after all."

Hikari snickered, pale eyes gaining a faraway look as she finished brushing out her hair and joined her husband on the bed.

"What do you think they'll both say? When we announce when they're older that they've been arranged to get married?"

Both adults looked at each other, before laughing. It would funny that's for sure. It was the sole reason they brought back the ancient concept of partner training. In ancient times, it was used by the Hyuuga to get members of the Hyuuga family to get used to each other, before pouncing an arranged marriage on top of them. By the end of the training, the two were usually so used to each other that they agree to it without hesitation.

"I don't think we'll have a problem. Hinata already likes him, while Naruto…well, he's Naruto. I think he likes her as well, he just doesn't know it yet."

"So much like his father." Hiashi chuckled, before clicking off the light, plunging the room into a soft darkness.


Naruto on the other hand, was not exactly having a good night. So far he had caught the villagers giving him evil glares. While this wasn't unusual, he never paid attention since he was always with his Otou-san most of the time. He just couldn't shake it though. They seemed to be giving him more this evening than any other day. He walked faster through the street towards his house, hoping beyond hope Otou-san got home from his mission early.

"Oy! Demon brat! Who said you could walk on my street?"

Naruto flinched slightly before glancing at the three figures walking towards him. All three were shopkeepers that had refused him service outright, until Kakashi stepped in and frightened them half to death. But his otou-san wasn't here, he was out on a mission, and he had an eerie feeling that these three knew it all too well. Trying to ignore the ominous glint of light striking off something on their belts, he gave a nervous laugh as he started to back away from the three.

"G-Gomen nasai, I-I didn't think. Please excuse me." He turned, about to run like the demons of hell were on his heels, before he stopped, looking at the two men who had stepped out behind him.

"We didn't give you permission to leave demon boy. You haven't got your punishment yet."

"Yeah, this will teach you for walking in front of OUR stores on OUR street."

Naruto, panicking now, glanced back and forth, looking for a way of escape before he was forced roughly back towards a wall…the back of his head smacking against the stone harshly. Rubbing the back of his head, he looked up at the five encroaching figures with fear filled eyes…shivering at the instruments they held in their hands.

"This will teach you boy. And don't think anyone will come help you either."

"Yeah, we don't know how you did it, but we're tired of you worming your way into people's hearts. From now on your life is going to be the hell it should be."

Hands waving in front of him in his defense, his words were cut off as a thick object brutally smashed into his left temple, his loud cry of pain unnoticed in the streets.

Nor would anyone hear the pleading, the loud screams of pain that echoed in the street long after…


Kakashi was worried. No, he was BEYOND worried. He had come back after his mission tired as hell, but he was happy. Naruto was usually always up, ready to greet him with a loud "OTOU-SAN!" followed by tackling his leg in a hug. In his mind, it was the best greeting he could ever get after a mission, and he had been looking forward to it all day.

But that feeling was gone now, as soon as he entered his house to find it dark…with no sign of Naruto. This one thing was what caused him to literally tear through the house, calling Naruto's name. Bursting through the door, he sprinted outside and into the street before crouching down and going through the symbols. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Five poofs of smoke surrounded him, five dogs all sitting on their haunches as they looked at him, with one little dog directly in front of him. "Yo!"

"Pakkun, I need you and the others to look for Naruto. I can't seem to find him in the house."

The dogs nodded, before disappearing in a poof of smoke. He himself took to hopping from house to house towards the Hyuuga estate. Sometimes Naruto would stay at the Hyuugas, he thought. There's nothing to be worried about. That thought was dashed however as he ran towards the gate leading into the estate only to meet the confused look on the guards face.

"Is Naruto here?"

It was hard to keep the worry out of his voice, and not for the first time he blessed the fact he wore a mask. Otherwise…

"No Kakashi-sama. Naruto left awhile ago to go home."

His one eye widened, before he cursed, frantically looking around. The guard paled, the spike of chakra exuding from the man in front of him almost causing him to just run off into the house and lock the gate. Apparently others in the house had felt the same thing, with Hiashi and Hikari followed by five other Hyuugas in battle gear following close behind him.

"Kakashi! What is going on?" Hikaris voice was soft, yet it betrayed the hidden fear in her mind. If Kakashi was here, and Naruto wasn't, that could only mean….

"It's Naruto. I can't find him anywhere, so I came here thinking he was spending the night with you."

Hiashi's ashen face, and Hikari's own pale one answered his question. His worst fears seemed to come to life now as he turned, one hand lifting up to push his hitai-ate from his hidden eye. Hikari turned towards her husband, a fear-stricken look on her face as he nodded. Turning towards the five guards between, he started to bark out orders.

"You two, investigate the northern area near the complex. You three, I want you to follow the main street and see if you can fin-…"

His words were broken off by a mournful howl, answered by two more that seemed to waver in the air before fading slowly away. Kakashi, pale as a ghost now, shuddered before sprinting away towards the howls as they once more filled the air…the seven Hyuuga close on his heels.

Hikari and Hiashi both tried to keep up with the copy-ninja as he ran full speed through the street. Their words never seemed to reach his frantic ears before they suddenly saw him stop. Breathing a sigh of relief, thinking they finally got through to him, they stopped as the smell finally reached them…getting through even to their noses….

Blood.

Hikari ran forward in front of Kakashi, before stopping as if struck, her hand coming up to her mouth before broken sobs came unbidden from her chest. Turning, she fell to her hands and knees, retching onto the street as Kakashi fell to his knees…hands covering his face as he silently joined her. Hiashi slowly walked forward, pale eyes closed, before slowly opening…stepping back at the horror that greeted him.

Naruto. There didn't seem to be a single inch of him that wasn't covered in blood. He was spread eagle against the wall, kunai rammed through his hands and feet to keep him in place. His blonde hair, which seemed so lively earlier in the day, was matted to his head…soaked in red as his head hung limply. Trickling streams of red ran down his cheeks as well as from his mouth, dripping down to join the large puddle beneath his hanging body.

But what was worse of all, beyond even that was his body. Even without his Byakagun activated, he could see the sharp edges of bones poking through the skin through his clothes, orange clothes soaked a darker ominous color. Two blades stuck through his stomach where Hiashi knew his seal to be, a third thrust through his right shoulder.

"….kami help us…"

Hiashi squeezed his eyes shut, turning his head away as the sounds of multiple feet echoed in the silent street, the Hokage himself worriedly dashing down the street with ANBU hot on his heels. The next word, spoken by Kakashi, would forever be burned into the minds of all those present…the grief and raw anger in them seeming to claw at the man.

"NAAARRRUUUTTTOOOOOOOO!!!"


Elsewhere…

Arashi whimpered, having long ago woken up. He crouched on the floor of his room, before falling to his hands and knees, a loud cry escaped his lips.

He ignored the door to his room as it slammed open, the hurried dash of feet as multiple people ran over to kneel down by his shivering form. The words they spoke, worried, he never heard. The only thing he could sense, the only thing that was prevalent on his small mind was one word…

"….Brother?"

Konoha Hospital…

Kakashi sat limp in the chair outside the seal room, both eyes closed in the soft light of the corridor. Hiashi and Hikari stood next to him, the small huddled form of Hinata as she clutched her Okaa-san's leg the only seeming alive one out of the four. Three of the four had their eyes closed, remembering the scene they witnessed.

"What is the meaning of this?" Sandaime landed next to a sobbing Kakashi, before looking towards the two Hyuugas. Hiashi shook his head, before glancing over in one direction. Sarutobi followed his gaze, before stumbling as he looked on the hideous scene before him. He took a tentative step towards the boy, before stopping. Eyes narrowed, teeth clenched as he turned towards the ANBU standing in shocked silence behind him, his killing intent and chakra flaring like a bonfire.

"You two, pull the boy down. You three try and heal him enough to keep him stable while I get some medic-nins."

Sarutobi turned and blurred away, his Hokage robes flapping around him viciously as he moved at top speed towards the hospital. If he ever found out who did this to the boy….

Shinobi and villagers alike shuddered in his wake as he passed over them. They gazed, in awe and fear, their Hokage dashing towards the hospital with a flame of chakra wavering almost visible about his body. Their fear didn't pass as he moved on, such was his killing intent…

They had been careful, that much was absolute. None of them had wanted to cause the boy any more injury than what he had. They had seen the anger in the Sandaimes eyes, and they knew what would happen. One mistake, one mishap…and heads would roll. Literally.

And that all led to here. The Konoha Hospital. One doctor had taken one look at the boy and made a disgusted noise, telling them to take the demon and toss it in a dumpster somewhere so they would all be rid of it. The sound of chirping birds and the spraying of blood rippling across the wall behind the man had silenced THAT argument rather quickly, Kakashi pulling the his hand from the chest of the 'doctor' just as the last remnants of his Raikiri faded away. The rest of the staff had then made damn sure they weren't going to get in the way, not after the display they had seen.

Kakashi shifted in his seat, his Sharingan eye still exposed as he stared down at the ground. Neither of the Hyuugas worriedly glancing down at him knew what was going through his mind, but they had an idea of what it could be. It was going through theirs as well.

Find out who did this, and then kill them in the slowest and most excruciating way possible.

As for little Hinata, she has thankfully not been there when they found him, nor when they took him to the emergency seal room. But she DID see the blood on her Okaa-sans hands, as well as on the uniform of Kakashi. And, being the smart girl she was, it didn't take long for her to notice Naruto anywhere and put two and two together.

Truth be told, she was as angry as a 4 year old could be.

All of these musings were broken as the doors to the room opened, a weary looking doctor slowly stepping out before moving over towards the four gathered there. He hesitated, glancing down at Hinata, before up at her parents. They nodded, and he sighed…going on.

"He has suffered extensive damage to at least half of his body. I'm afraid if you hadn't found him 30 minutes or so after you did…."

He let the words hang, before he continued on.

"It's remarkable really. The healing was nowhere near as hard as we first thought. The combination of internal and cranial damage, along with at least fifteen broken bones should have been fatal for ANY child. But even as we worked on him half of his breaks had been healed already."

Both Hyuuga and Kakashi shared a glance, though no words were spoken. They knew why he had survived, as well as why he had already started healing.

Kyuubi….

"As it stands, he is in stable condition, with no threat to his life. We have healed all his injuries, barely in time, but he is out of the woods. He just needs plenty of rest now."

The doctor smiled, bowing to the four before walking down the hall to fill out his report, a strained look on his face. He hadn't told them, nor would he. The boy had not been merely on deaths doorstep. The boy had DIED, even as they were healing him. Nor would he say anything about the weird red chakra that seemed to envelope the boy and almost miraculously bring the boy back to life. He would speak to the Hokage about it, and not breathe a word to anyone else.

I mean, who else would believe him?


Kakashi stood as the stretcher came out of the seal room, nodding towards the Hyuugas. They returned the gesture, before picking up Hinata and making their way towards the door to go home.

"No! NO! I WANT TO SEE NARU-KUN!" Hinata struggled in her father's grip, having lapsed for a brief moment into using her chosen nickname for the blonde boy. Hikari gave a wane smile, before shushing her, gently and soothingly running her fingers through her daughters' dark blue hair.

"Shhhh, he's ok little love. He just needs his rest. We'll come see him tomorrow ok?"

Hinata sniffled, tears coursing down her cheeks before she gave a weak nod, turning pale lavender eyes back down the hall towards where the energetic blonde had been wheeled to his room.

"….Naruto-kun."


Kakashi watched them walk down the hall and out of sight, before he turned to follow the stretcher, sitting down beside the bed to gaze down at its small occupant. His sharingan had been covered up again, his head bowed as he watched the slow breathing of the kid he thought of as his own flesh and blood son.

"Never again Naruto. I will never let it happen again."

His gloved hand gently rubbed the blonde locks, a single tear sliding down from his exposed eye….


Well there you go folks. It had to happen sometime or other, the attacking of Naruto that is. I had the end of this chapter just pop in my mind, and I thought he would make a good heartfelt ending to this specific part. I hope I did well!

For the record, Naruto calls Hikari "Okaa-san" because she is sort of an adopted mother for him. He knows the difference between her not being his actual mother and an adoptive one, it's just a nickname he found for her.

And what of poor Arashi eh? winkwink That MIGHT be explained, but later on in the story. Should be fun to keep you guessing hehehe.

So please read and review! This chapter more than any other so far is the one I want to know how you feel on. Remember, I can't make any helpful changes or answer questions if you don't talk to mmeeeeee.

Itai – "Ow"

Okaa-san – "Mother/Mother figure"

Otou-san – "Father/Father figure"

Gomen nasai – "I'm sorry/I apologize"