Hey! Yeah, I'm not exactly the most reliable updater around… *nervous laugh*

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Kakashi put the book on his bedside table. At the first sight of Kurenai at the door, Asuma had run off an hour ago. Apparently they had some sort of date arranged. Anyway, he could read the rest of that book tomorrow. They had learned enough for the day. Kakashi had to force himself to sleep and forget about the disturbing things they had read. He drew the blanket up to his chin and shut his eyes. Tomorrow was a new day after all.

***

Kyuubi leaped from rooftop to rooftop as the rain fell. Reveling in his freedom, he had not worn the disguise his kit's mate had come up with. He surveyed the city below eagerly. He couldn't do anything major until he had full control over the kit, so he was just getting used to the surroundings.

Despite his strong willpower, Kyuubi had to admit, the kit was slow on the uptake. Anybody else might have realized by now that he was more vulnerable to Kyuubi when he was asleep. Shukaku's container had realized it. Anyway, such things were not really important. He was only here to exact his revenge and if the kit was too stupid to stop him well, all the better.

Suddenly, Kyuubi came to a complete stop. A grin spread over his face. Wasn't that the kit's sensei? The one called Kakashi? He was looking in through said man's window where Kakashi was peacefully asleep. As far as Kyuubi was concerned, Kakashi was a strong ninja and another possible hindrance to his escape plan.

'Actually, he must be the only ninja in Konoha who can perform another sealing.' thought Kyuubi. He decided to pay Kakashi a visit. Keeping perfect balance on the blue roof tiles, he reached Kakashi's window and gently pried it open with his claws. Silently, he slipped inside.

"Now what do we have here?" he muttered. He was staring hard at the book on Kakashi's table.

"A History of Broken Seals?" Kyuubi shot the sleeping ninja a look. Was he on to him? Kyuubi grabbed the book, just to check if his suspicion was correct. He flipped through the chapters, chuckling every now and then. Humans were so naïve. They honestly believed they could keep a demon, any demon, under their control. Then when reality hits them, what do they do? They write books. What a waste of time. But suddenly, Kyuubi's grin faded. He had reached the page that stated the phases of escape. He gave Kakashi another look. So it was true then? This human figured it out? He growled.

'I can't allow this to continue… I'm so close to being free again!' he thought. Without a second thought, he grasped the pages of the entire chapter and ripped them out in one fluid move. There was a sharp glint of steel. Kyuubi took a rapid step back as a kunai narrowly missed his nose. Astonished, he turned to the bed. Kakashi was wide awake and already reaching for a second weapon. Kyuubi mentally slapped himself. He was such a fool! Ninjas, especially skilled ones, were very light sleepers. Still cursing himself, Kyuubi managed to evade Kakashi's second throw and somersault over him to escape out the window.

"You're not getting away!" muttered Kakashi. He briefly noticed the open book and the frayed stubs of the pages the intruder had ripped out.

'So then that was…" Kakashi's eyes widened. He looked again at the shadow escaping into the rain. There was only one way to find out.

***

Sasuke looked out at the city from his balcony. He didn't really mind the rain but ever since his meeting with Sakura, he seemed too restless to sleep. He looked into his room at the wall clock. 2:00 a.m. He took a look at the necklace Sakura gifted to him. He still hadn't taken it off. It really was an amazing piece of work. Sasuke wondered what she must have done to get it. He turned his gaze back to the dark city. Suddenly he saw a black silhouette leaping across the roofs. Then another black figure appeared, apparently in pursuit.

'Strange…' Sasuke squinted to get a better look. 'Is that Kakashi sensei?' He frowned. It did look like his sensei.

'Then he must be chasing a criminal!' Sasuke reasoned. He performed some quick calculations in his head and formulated the best way to corner him. Nodding to himself, he joined the chase.

***

Kyuubi clutched the stolen pages in his hand. He looked back. Kakashi was gaining on him.

'Underestimating these ninjas will be the death of me!' he thought desperately. He had quickly realized that it was impossible to outmaneuver Kakashi on his own turf. His only option was to run and hope that he could reach the forest before his pursuer caught up. Then a kunai pierced the tile in front of him

'Another one?!' Kyuubi looked around wildly for his second attacker. Then he noticed the piece of paper attached to the kunai.

'Explosive tag!' but it was too late. The tag exploded and Kyuubi was sent flying off the roof. The stolen pages flew out of his grasp but he could hardly care less now. He just wanted to survive.

Kyuubi landed hard on the street. Thankfully the damp weather had suppressed most of the explosion. He tried to pick himself up. He knew that the ninjas were close and they were probably going to catch up any second. He stood unsteadily and tried to run but was met with a cold looking teenaged ninja.

'Sasuke Uchiha.' Kyuubi recognized him. Kakashi was only a few meters away so he decided to dispose of this one and get to the forest. Kyuubi rushed forward and grabbed the front of Sasuke's shirt, his other hand balled into a fist.

Sasuke was about to retaliate but suddenly Kyuubi let go, staggering back as if in pain. He was taken aback but nevertheless he tried to make the best of the situation. However, a convenient flash of lightning lit up the sky and illuminated Kyuubi's face. Sasuke's arms fell to his side.

"Naruto?" the person in front of him was Naruto. He had fox ears and a set of tails no doubt but this was definitely Naruto. Sasuke was stunned. He hardly noticed when Kyuubi took advantage of the situation and slunk away.

"Sasuke!" Sasuke looked up as Kakashi landed in a puddle in front of him.

"Where did he go?!" he asked impatiently. Sasuke realized that he had let Naruto escape. He shrugged sheepishly. Kakashi turned to him with a strange expression on his face.

"Did you at least get a look at him?" he asked. Sasuke didn't really know what to say.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." he said with a tone that strongly resembled a rodent's. He stared at his feet.

"Try me." said Kakashi, ignoring his strange accent. Sasuke hesitated for a while.

"I think I saw Naruto." Kakashi inhaled sharply. Sasuke sighed.

"But I must have been mistaken…" he muttered. Kakashi stared at him.

"Why do you say that?" he asked cautiously. He got the feeling that he knew what was coming. Sasuke shook his head.

"He's mutated to put it simply. Fox ears, whiskers, claws and… tails." he said in disbelief. Kakashi took this in quietly.

"How many tails?" he questioned abruptly. Sasuke frowned in consternation.

"How many? I didn't count…" he shrugged. "Wait, you're not taking this seriously, are you?"

"Try to remember. This is extremely important." Kakashi stared at him.

"Ummm… Four I think." said Sasuke after some thought. "Does that reflect my level of insanity?" Kakashi had a pained expression on his face.

'Hopefully it's not too late.' he thought grimly. He ordered Sasuke to help him gather the soggy pages as carefully as possible. Once they had a sopping but complete pile, Kakashi grabbed Sasuke's arm with his free hand.

"You're coming with me." he said shortly and began to run.

"Hey what's going on?!" demanded Sasuke. He received no answer as Kakashi led him through the driving rain. Kakashi didn't answer but instead prayed under his breath.

"Please don't let it be too late!"

***

The sun rose over Konoha, drying out the last remains of last night's downpour. Life starts early in the city and people were already waking up to go about their lives. It was a beautiful day even with winter on its heels and what better way to start the morning than with 6 milliamps of electricity?

"Ow…" Hinata clutched her hand in pain. So disabling the trap on her window wasn't really an option. It was designed to let loose a jolt of electricity the minute the window was opened from the inside or outside. Neji was also guarding the door. She considered trying to slip past him. She took a few careful steps down the stairs only to find Neji calmly reading a magazine. The front door was fitted with an alarm that would go off when it was opened. Hinata decided she would rather take her chances with the window.

It took about four painful minutes later for Hinata to finally realize that she wasn't going anywhere. Giving up, she threw herself on her bed and racked her brain for some brilliant idea, some breakthrough to get her out of this house.

'I wonder what Naruto is doing now…' worried thoughts ran through her mind. 'I hope he's okay. I have to get to him before anything happens!' she bit her lip. Never before had Hinata felt so trapped in her own house! Hinata reviewed her situation.

'Neji's laid an electric trap on the window so that's out of the picture. He's also guarding the front door downstairs. Even if I somehow managed to get past him, how could I avoid tripping the alarm?' She sighed. It was hopeless. But then she was struck with an idea.

'The alarm goes off if opened from the inside and outside…' she grinned.

Meanwhile, Neji sat stonily in the living room. He regretted having to put a trap on the window. Normally he would never even dream of doing such a thing. He had to keep reminding himself that it was for Hinata's own good. Suddenly the door alarm went off. Neji's reaction was stunning. He leapt out of his seat, weapon at the ready with grim determination.

"Good morning, young man." Neji blinked. A professional looking blonde woman in a grey suit stood at the door. She gave off a strong smell of oriental perfume, suggesting that she was from a higher society. She was probably in her twenties and, as Neji blushed to notice, had a great figure. He turned quickly to the stairs only to find Hinata staring at him curiously. He faced the woman again, letting his weapon drop to his side.

"M-May I h-help you?" Neji felt a little like Hinata. The woman immediately broke into a congenial smile.

"The Hokage has ordered a census of Konoha. I would like to know how many ninjas are in this house at present and of what gender and age group." she produced a pen from her breast pocket.

"One male and one female. I'm seventeen and the girl is sixteen." he could feel himself sweating a bit. Her scent was intoxicating him. She nodded, scribbling down some notes on the pad of paper in her hand. When she was done she returned the pad and pen to her pocket.

"Thank you so much, darling!" she gave him an exaggerated wink, causing him to blush even more, turned and strolled away. Feeling the perfume dispersing, Neji began to recover.

'That was interesting… and a little suspicious.' Neji shrugged. 'I must be imagining it.' Neji shut the door.

The blonde woman looked back. Hyuga Mansion was out of sight. Quickly making a hand seal, a cloud of smoke engulfed her entirely. It parted to reveal a very triumphant Hinata.

Her plan was laughably simple. She opened the door from the inside and stepped out in the guise of a blonde business woman. She then pretended that she had opened the door from the outside. The strong perfume she was wearing was actually a ninja's tool used to fog up the opponent's thoughts. She then hastened her escape while Neji was still under the effect of the scent. Suddenly she laughed.

'So Neji has an eye for pretty women! Who would've guessed?' she thought. Then she returned to the task at hand.

'I have to find Naruto and set things straight. The shadow clone in the house won't keep him fooled for long.' Hinata ran for Naruto's house.

***

"Kyuubi?"

"Yes kit?"

"Why am I in a trash can?" Kyuubi didn't bother answering. Naruto was in fact, in a trash can. Thankfully the inside was just cleaned out so it was as hygienic as trash cans can get. Naruto looked around for attackers or enemies of some sort.

'Like I would be assaulted in a trash can…' he thought. 'So if I wasn't kidnapped and thrown in a garbage can then how did I get here?' Carefully, he eased himself out and noticed that he was in an alley. Dead ahead was Konoha Marketplace. Furthermore, he was not in disguise.

"Oh crap!" with a sharp swear he leapt back into his refuge.

'Was I sleepwalking?' he panicked slightly. Then he noticed that the legs of his pants were charred and he was soaking wet. Slowly, realization dawned on him.

"Kyuubi, were you fighting with my body?" he asked carefully. Silence prevailed. Obviously the demon fox wasn't in the mood for conversation. Naruto groaned miserably. Someone would come along eventually and he would be caught. Any minute now, someone would lift the lid and- All of a sudden Naruto found his trash can being infiltrated. He screeched loudly and held his hands against his face. Light poured in. But it was utterly silent. No screaming, no accusations, nothing. Cautiously, he looked to see who had discovered him.

"Hinata?" Hinata held the lid in her hand. Her Byakugan was turned on, apparently to find him. For a moment Naruto let himself feel secure but…

'Wait. She abandoned me, didn't she? Oh I get it. Now she's just trying to capture me.' He started to think on his escape routes but where could you go in that sort of situation?

"N-Naruto." Naruto gave her a cold stare, expecting a fight. He already had his fingers curled around a kunai in his pocket.

"Wh-Why a-are you i-in a t-trash can?"

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Whew! Finally done. Oh and, I will be on a hiatus for a month or two. Busy, busy, busy! I will coronate my return by updating both my ongoing stories! Also, let me take this opportunity to thank all my dear readers and reviewers! It's your continued support that keeps me going!

Cya! (In two months!)

Kira