I am so so soo sorry I didn't have this story posted for a long, long time. I had terrible writers block. But I know thats no excuse, gomen. I hope this will put your fears of this story being discontinued at rest, and I hope to update soon again (although I know you probably don't trust me). Also, I want to apologize to Naruto, who I seem to love to beat up. I just want you to know that its not true. This is all based on a plot.

Since I didn't update in awhile most of you probably forgot about this story, so I will write a conclusion of the story so far.

In a tragic assault, Uzumaki Naruto lost his hearing at the age of five. Though he told no one else about the loss of his hearing, he still worried that someone might find out. Now, he is age six, and has a new teacher, Iruka-sensei. Under his teaching, Naruto has managed to gain access of his chakra, and even created a fearsome Jutsu, that he himself has no idea that he created. In a life and death experience, he unlocked a compartment in his mind, though he had no knowledge of it, while the Hokage and the doctors that discovered the heavenly chakra thats in him are trying to unravel its mysteries. The last chapter ended with Naruto finally agreeing to visit Teuchi once in awhile, and that is where we begin.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Flashback

Vibrations Chapter 5:

Of Carts and Dragons

"You are now dismissed for lunch!" Iruka's voice carried over the bleachers towards the kids in the back. Suffering from another earthquake, Naruto climbed down the bleachers with the class, only to get smacked in the face as the class door was quickly closed from the children on the other side.

Naruto sighed, "Thanks, guys." He said sarcastically. He opened the door and went out the corridor to the courtyard in the front. He saw other children take out their lunch, and Naruto wondered if he should scout and try to find some half eaten garbage, when last night came into mind.

Naruto smiled at the memory, and cheered inside his head. Maybe, for once, he could get a decent meal!

'Alright, first stop, Ichiraku's!'thought Naruto.

It would be his first time visiting there since that night on the street, and Naruto couldn't wait to see if the ramen they cooked there was as good as people said.

Teuchi and Ayame glanced up from their work when they heard the flap to their shop open. The shop itself was carved into the building, but it was an outdoor shop, so the fresh Konohana air could circulate their kitchen. There were stools instead of booths, and a counter instead of tables. The shop had its own sense of privacy, because red rubber flaps covered the entrance halfway.

"Naruto-kun!" Ayame squealed when she say the child. She ran to the counter and leaned over it to give Naruto a hug.

"Hi Ayame nee-chan, Teuchi oji-san." Naruto said, leaning over Ayame's shoulder to wave to Teuchi. Ayame let go of the boy, and went to stand next to Teuchi, looking the small boy over.

Teuchi came up beside the counter ruffling up Naruto's hair, " So you decided to come, huh?"

Naruto frowned, trying to explain himself, "I, well… I just…" He sighed, "I'm sorry." He hung his head down.

Ayame slapped Teuchi's arm, making sure Naruto didn't noticed.

'What?' Teuchi mouthed to her. In response she gestured towards Naruto. The pieces clicked together in Teuchi's brain 'Oh!' He looked back at the blond boy, and put his hand on his head so that the boy would look up and be able to read his lips, "Its fine, I'm just glad you finally decided to come over and learn how great my ramen was!"

The blond boy looked up, that smile once again plastered on his face, "Yah! Whole bunches of people said this stuff was fit for the gods!"

The ramen owner chuckled at Naruto, "You bet it is!" he looked around the place, before muttering, "Makes you wonder how I can't get enough money from this shop." He shook his head away from the thought- there was only one more matter to deal with before he went back to cooking. "And Naruto?"

"Yes?" The boy replied.

"If there is ever, ever, a time you need either my, or my daughters' help, we will always be here for you. You got that?"

Naruto knew then, that he would not have to rely on himself any more, and could now lean on the shoulders of others for help and comfort. Most importantly, he wouldn't have to be alone anymore. Naruto brought his hands up to his forehead in a mock salute, and said, "Yes, sir!"

"Now, what ramen would you like to have to start?"

"One miso ramen please!"

Rubbing his stomach which bulged slightly, Naruto sat back, "That was the best meal ever, oji-san!"

"What did I tell you about my name, gaki?"

"Sorry, Teuchi."

It was quiet for a few minutes. The only noises to pass through both pairs of ears (Ayame had left awhile ago to do the dishes) were the sounds of the street. People passing by, with the slight sound of rocks and dirt crunching together under their feet, a girl crying because of a skinned knee, bells chimed as street merchants tried to gain the attention of the people passing, women gossiping on the other side, and despite the bustling city, birds also gossiped between themselves on the telephone lines.

A cloud of dust rose where the street was at its busiest, and where a cart rolled itself onto an empty spot on the street side, but instead of the cart being made from wood, it was made from stone, yet it was colored a deep burgundy, with markings to make it look like wood. The merchant opened his cart as it came to a stop, the cart itself was the stand, apparently. The cart folded in on itself, three segments attached by hinges. As the merchant opened it, small finger puppets bounced up and down, held by strings. Each one was decorated exquisitely, made from the finest wool. Yarn made up each puppets hair, on a few some even had beads too. Besides the finger puppets, there were stuffed animals, and even child sized ones. Only the two side sections held the puppets, however. The middle section had an open space cut into the stone, the edges so finely detailed that it looked like wood. Red velvet covered the opening in the stone, a sign that said 'closed' hanging there. A message carved above the curving stone crevices labeled it 'Theater' with finely written cursive handwriting.

The owner shuffled around his puppets, picking some up and put them through the curtain onto the other side. He opened up some drawers on the bottom of the two cart segments, and pulled up some folded wooden chairs, and set them in front of his shop, facing the theater.

Naruto, feeling an oddity in the noise that the citizens normally make, turned around and peered at the portly man. He had a few wisps of light brown hair on his head, though it didn't cover his head any more then a moth-eaten hat. On top of his head, he wore a red baret, with a golden tassel hanging slightly from the top, the hat barely able to cover the top of his head. He was wrapped in baggy brown shorts, and his top matched his hat, red, and golden trimmed.

Interested in what the man was doing, Naruto gave a wave half-heartedly to Teuchi, and walked to the cart, standing slightly to the side of the chairs. Teuchi watched him go. He looked at the seats, as of right now, there were no customers. 'What the hell.' He thought, and walked over to Naruto.

The 'Portly man' Naruto had dubbed him, stood up from his work and shut the drawers. The last glimpse Naruto had of the drawers' contents was the daily supplies of a sewer. There were at least twelve different spools of yarn, the one that stood out the most was crimson red. There were also several sewing needles each different lengths, and last he saw a large pair of titanium scissors with a plastic handle.

With the drawer tightly shut, the owner gave a quick look at everything, before disappearing behind the small shop.

By now, the owner's activity had started to gain more attention from the villagers, and a few had even left the main intersection of the road to see what he was doing. Hardly anyone noticed Naruto.

From behind the theater curtains, the old owner began shuffling through his stuff. Curious, Naruto went around the small puppeteer shop, following the owner. He found him with his back to him, mumbling, while putting on a puppet on his hand.

"Oji-san!" Naruto yelled, "What are you doing behind here?"

The owner gave a jump, startled. He turned around and looked at the boy. "Do you always call people that?" He asked, his voice had no hint of malice, it was a normal, lighthearted sound.

"Yep!"

The man chuckled, "What's your name, son?"

"Uzumaki Naruto!" Yelled the boy, "You better remember it!"

"I will." The man gave his word lightheartedly, thinking that there was only the slightest chance for them both to meet again. "I'm Pierre." He held out his hand.

Naruto took it, "Nice to meet you!"

The crowd in front of the shop grew louder, looking at the dolls and animals, puzzled as to where the owner of these handcrafted puppets went.

Both Pierre and Naruto looked at the curtains, which held behind it a growing crowd.

Pierre glanced back at the blond and put his hand on his shoulder, "Hey, Naruto." The boy turned when he saw Pierre's lips move and felt his hand on his shoulder, " How would you like to help me?"

"Hey, look!" A young child, perhaps 5 or 6, pointed to the theater. The crowd turned, and saw an arm of felt poke out from behind the curtains. Soon, half the figure could be viewed. It was a small boy, wearing blue pants and a tunic. The felt arm touched the 'closed' sign, and turned it around so it said 'open'. The boy finger puppet was quickly withdrawn after that.

Another puppet came out, an announcer with black hair this time, and a hand over a big black microphone. A voice emitted from behind the curtain, carrying throughout the wind. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer had as much enthusiasm as a circus ringmaster. "Welcome, to the FINEST, the GREATEST, the MOST MAGNIFICENT Theater Show EVER!"

The man disappeared, and the curtains were pulled up as music seemed to start out of nowhere. A puppet wearing an unknown ninja headband showed up. The puppet introduced himself, and the story started. The ninja had been sent to rescue the Hokage's daughter, a fine young looking maiden who had been captured and was now being held for ransom. Halfway through the story, the man had rescued the maiden, only to get attacked again and again from the enemy as they tried to make their way home. Throughout the story, the man started to fall for the maiden, and her him. The climax of the story came when the boss enemy ninja started attacking, and even summoned a dragon to attack. The man defeated the ninja after many painful injuries, and brought the maiden back to the village, where the two happily wed.

The children and the parents remaining to the stories' end clapped as a sign was held up that said 'the end'. The curtains closed for a second, and opened again as the owner's head and shoulders appeared.

"Thank you, dear audience, for your attention tonight!" The mans head said, "My names Pierre, " The head slightly bowed, "And I can't forget my little helper, ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, Naruto, who helped out with the special effects."

Naruto, embarrassed, came out and bowed. He closed his eyes and smiled, not wanting to see the reactions of the villagers, but if they were open, he would've been surprised.

The villagers glared at the boy, but clapped nonetheless, forcing a plastered smile on their face. After all, this man didn't know that the boy that was helping him was a demon. A few of the guests decided they would warn the owner, Pierre, from hanging around the demon boy.

Pierre and Naruto came around the shop, and Pierre glance down at Naruto. "You did a great job, kid."

"Thanks, oji!" an enthusiastic squeal came Naruto. He had enjoyed playing with the water for rain, the red tissue paper for fire, and throwing stones for earth based jutsu's. His most favorite part was when the main enemy ninja showed up, because that was when most of the jutsus were used. "Oh, and sorry about the rock."

"Its quite all right." Naruto had to throw rocks towards the enemy ninja one time, but one stone rolled off his fingers and hit Pierre in the eye, ruining his concentration for a moment. Luckily, Pierre seemed to have been used to this, because he just shrugged it off and continued to voice the puppets as if nothing happened.

The curtains closed quickly, once again closing off the back of the cart of the view of the audience.

"I don't normally do this," the owner said, scratching his cheek in thought, "But, since you've been such a great little helper, why don't you choose a puppet for yourself? On the house, of course."

"Really?" Naruto had never received a gift before, unless you counted the time when Teuchi gave him ramen on their first meeting.

"Yup, really." Pierre smiled, "Are you going to stand around all day with you mouth open, or are you going to get a puppet?"

"Thanks oji-ji!" Naruto ran around the cart, and looked at the shelves full of puppets.

The shelves seemed to be overflowing with puppets of all different kinds. There were people; black people, white people, tan people, little girls with black hair, fat old men with brown hair, ninjas clothed in black. There were also many kinds of animals; elephants, giraffes, foxes, wolfs, and bears, just to name a few. There were even mythical creatures like dragons and unicorns. There were puppets with beads, hand puppets, puppets with sparkles, each puppet finely sewn to the highest quality, all hand made by the owner of the shop.

Naruto's eyes took this all in, looking at each animal, each human, with no direct looking puppet in mind. Then without thinking, he closed his eyes, spun around, and reached to the highest point he could, and grabbed a puppet. The cloth felt warm and cottony, and smelled a bit of musk. It had a long, slim body, and felt to be an animal, not a human. Naruto slowly opened his eyes, and was surprised to find out that it was an animal after all. It was a dragon, made from shiny scales. The dragon had red eyes, and was covered in black, except for the stomach, and the veins of the membrane of the wings, both glowing silver.

Naruto smiled, looking at the stuffed animal, and knew that this was the right one.

The birds above Naruto, the ones from yesterday, bristled.

"Is that the…?" The Raven could only hope to make out a small whisper as he gazed on the toy in the boys hands.

"I don't know." The robin whispered back, for even though most humans couldn't understand birds, they had to watch out for other birds. "I really don't know."

"Oji, oji!" Naruto went to the theater, where Pierre had turned it into his counter, where he had his cash machine placed. "Oji! I choose this one!"

"Really?" 'Interesting choice, Naruto.'Pierre took the stuffed dragon, and looked at it, one last time. "Goodbye, my friend." He muttered, before ringing it up in the cash register, to make sure the machine knew it was out of stock. He handed it to the boy, "Keep it safe, Naruto, and make sure nothing happens to it."

"I will!" Naruto looked around, not knowing what the man meant by that, and saw that Teuchi was waving him over. "I gotta go, Pierre-san, I'll see you the next time you're in Konoha!" He smiled and waved, before turning and running towards Teuchi.

"Bye, Naruto!" Pierre yelled, but Naruto never looked back.

"Teuchi-oji-san! Look at what Pierre gave me!" Naruto held up the dragon proudly.

Teuchi looked it over, "Did you get that for helping him?"

Teuchi had viewed the stage, and saw when Naruto disappeared behind it, at first he had been worried, but then he smiled when he saw the show start. He knew from the beginning that Naruto was helping out. He watched the scenes play out on stage, and had smiled.

Naruto nodded, and Teuchi smiled, "You did a good job." He praised him.

"Thanks oji!" Naruto smiled a big, goofy smile. He looked around, finally realizing that he had been gone for a long time. He was almost afraid to ask, but he asked, nevertheless, "Um… What time is it?"

Teuchi looked at his wristwatch, "About 1:30, why do you ask?"

Naruto blanched, "Cause I'm late!" The boy took off, heading towards the academy.

Half way to the academy, Naruto slowed down, and when he arrived at the academy, he stopped altogether and stared at the mahogany doors. The roof was covered in wooden shingles, all died red, while the academy itself was carved from a white stone.

Naruto wondered if going in was worth it. He was at least an hour and a half late. It's not as if he could go in and continue as if he knew everything that has already been said. Naruto sighed and turned around, heading towards his sanctuary, the forest.

The ANBU, Bird, was walking through the town, on a self appointed mission to buy groceries for herself. As she shopped, she thought of what she had done. With each thought leaning more and more toward the demon brat, Bird found herself growing angrier and angrier. When had the Kyuubi found a way into the heart of the Hokage? 'It's not fair,'the ANBU thought, 'the demon gets everything, while he tears everything away from us.'

As she thought about that, she viewed the one in her thoughts running towards the woods. She put her basket of food down. "I'll get that later." She told the manager, and followed after the boy. It was time someone dealt with the problem. And Bird knew that no one was watching him now. He was the mouse, she was the eagle. He was her prey.

Naruto stumbled into the forest that was now becoming his home. He smiled as he looked around the trees. Light shined through the canopy, and the leaves filtered the light of the sun. A beam of light hit Naruto's face, and he knew he was welcome.

He walked towards the roots of the biggest tree around the clearing, and set his stuffed animal on the widest and flattest root connected to the tree. "I'll give you a name latter." He said to his first toy. He walked out into the middle of the clearing, and sat cross-legged. He emptied his mind, and began to probe deep within himself for his Chakra.

Before he was able to surface his chakra, though, a disturbance in the steady ring of the earth separated his thoughts from his body. He looked up, and saw a woman standing in front of him.

The woman had dark, purple hair pulled back into a ponytail, and black feather markings all along her cheeks. Her features were all proportionate, and her eyes glowed with a fierce yellow hawk-like gaze. All that hatred directed at him.

Her clothing consisted of a blue, long-sleeved belly shirt, and long black ANBU pants. She wore no accessories, besides a par of eagle earrings, made of gold and silver, and a kunai pouch resting on her right hip.

"Uzumaki Naruto." She addressed him.

Naruto stood, reading her lips as if it was a book. He tensed, prepared to run.

"I'm about to do the world a favor." She almost whispered, but Naruto could still read it. "I'll go down in history." She spoke louder, "I shall do what the oh so magnificent Fourth couldn't do."

She reached into her kunai pack, and brought out a kunai. "Prepare to die, demon!"

She lunged.

Again, I am very sorry for having this chapter being so delayed. I think I'm beyond the point of no return. And if anyone has any other of my stories of story alert, I'd like to inform them that I'm almost done with the next Across Dimensions chapter. Also, I just had another idea for a one shot between Naruto and Kushina, and I'll post it as the next chapter of 'A Lullaby for a Stormy Night'.

Again, I am very sorry for the delay.

Silvera Awai