AUTHOR'S NOTE: This will be the longest chapter I have written yet, and I can honestly say I'm pleased with the results. After all this writing I find myself at a loss of words for this note. I hope you enjoy this chapter immensely and as always your reviews are very much appreciated.

On another note I drew a picture of what I see Naruto looking like with and without his mask a few nights ago when I could not sleep. Now I do not claim to be any where near a great writer but I SURE AS HELL don't claim to be an artist. Look in my profile if you wish to see it.

On with the story!

Chapter 6

As the door creaked open as she peeked her head inside. The window's curtains were dropped down keeping all outside light at bay with the only luminescence being a small lamp facing the patient at her bedside. She looked around the room expecting to see the person who was accompanying the patient but found no one. Closing the door behind her, she walked next to the patient's bed and grabbed her medical chart. Looking it over quickly she set it back down and positioned her hands over the girl's chest. With a succession of quick hand seals she activated her medical diagnostic jutsu and began her own evaluation. As she scanned through her body she couldn't help but feel as if something was amiss, like she had missed something.

'Her vitals are fine, looks as though her diagnosis was right on. All she needs now is rest and she should be fine in no time.' She deactivated her jutsu and looked down at her patient's face, noticing how utterly relaxed it was. Being a medic nin who worked at the hospital almost daily she had seen a lot of patients sleep, but this one seemed different. She slowly let her hand glide over her face, wiping the stray strands away.

"She's cute isn't she?" the voice startled her as she suddenly backed away, looking towards the opposite corner. She spotted a silhouette rising from the floor into a standing position. The figure approached her slowly as he seemed to grab something from his belt putting it on his face. A moment later he was on the other side of the bed, looking down at the child as well.

'That voice...who is this person?' She pondered.

"I'm sorry about that; I didn't mean to frighten you." He looked up at her as she studied the mask he was wearing. 'So he is hunter nin…..although I've never seen a mask painted like that before. The blood red coloring was a little unsettling, but it was the black streaks from the eye slits that intrigued her. 'Then again he IS a hunter nin' she concluded. She smiled lightly at him.

"Its ok no harm done. But what were you doing in the corner?"

"It's a habit. I heard you coming and wasn't sure who you were." She was in no way afraid of the man before her, but the emptiness in his voice was beginning to weird her out. She quickly looked him over seeing he was considerably taller then her clad in almost all black except for the dark red sash he wore. She noticed he had a katana at his waist as well.

"So where exactly did you find her?" she asked politely.

"I came through the west gates last night pretty late. Before I got far I noticed something shivering in an alley near the marketplace. I brought her here right after" The blonde sighed deeply as he reached down, running the back of his hand down her soft cheek.

The young girl slowly opened her eyes, looking at the two people around her.

"Hey you" the hunter nin said softly, poking the tip of her nose lightly with his index finger. At first her eyes seemed fearful but upon seeing the masked Shinobi her eyes softened. She quickly darted her eyes at her other guest.

"It's ok, you can relax here" Sakura responded to his words smiling brightly at the child, bowing her head. The raven hair child looked back over at the blonde Shinobi with her same expressionless face. He stood back up straight and looked up to the medic nin.

"I really need to be going now. I appreciate you coming in and checking up on her" the blonde bowed before her. He looked back down at the quiet little girl briefly smiling under his mask.

"I'll come back later this afternoon to check up on you little one. If your up to it maybe we can go for a walk when I return" he lightly ruffled her hair with his hand before turning to leave.

"Bye" he said quietly as he bowed his head lightly once again. He took a step towards the door but was quickly prevented from taking another. His eyes traced down to the little hand wrapped around his fingers squeezing him tightly. His gaze followed along her arm seeing the raven haired girl sitting up rigidly in her bed with concern written all over her face. The pink haired nurse had to stifle her own gasp seeing how fast the seemingly emotionless girl grabbed the hunter nin at his notion of leaving. The blonde smiled lightly to himself before turning back to the girl.

"Are you afraid I'm going to leave and not come back hime?" the blonde emphasized princess in the best playful tone he could. He watched as she nodded very slightly in response. He took his hand back from her delicate grasp and reached into his belt pouch pulling out a worn folded paper. He held it for a moment before taking her hand and placing it her palm closing her fingers around it.

"I want you to hold onto this for me. You think you can do that for me hime?" she nodded her head again as she brought the paper to her chest holding it tightly.

"I knew I could trust you. Keep it safe until I come back ok?" she nodded again slightly before lying back down. He looked at the pink haired nurse briefly before turning back to the door and walking to it. After he reached the door he opened in half way taking a step out of the dark room.

"It was nice seeing you again…Sakura" his voice seemed almost pained saying the last word. With that he was out the door, shutting it quietly behind him.

'Just who…are you?' she deeply considered for a moment.

She walked to the windows and began pulling up the curtains letting in the morning light illuminate the room.

"After we get some of this nice sunshine in here I'm going to go get your breakfast" she said in a bright cheerful tone. When she cleared away the last window cover she walked back to the bed noticing the girl was sitting up staring intently at a small paper clutched in her hands. Her face had a look of genuine surprise which spiked the medic nin's curiosity. She walked back over to the side of the bed looking down at the girl's startled expression and smiled. She then leaned over to take a peak herself.

"You look like you've seen a gh-"her breath instantly hitched upon seeing the tattered photograph. Her heart raced as she ran to the door and flew outside into the hallway. She looked down both ways but it was too late; he was gone.

'He's…..back'. The latent guilt in her heart threatened to resurface but she quickly pushed the feelings aside. She grasped the locket she wore under her shirt thinking about what all had just happened. She quickly gathered herself and opened the door back to the room.

She walked back in slowly calming down as she approached her patient who was still sitting up. The girl looked at her like she was some sort of crazy woman as she held the battered team 7 photo in her little hands. She walked next to the bed and sat down in the very chair he had pulled out earlier, slumping over staring blankly at the floor.

'Is he really back?'

Later elsewhere in the village a very non-morning person was sorting through a rather huge stack of mission reports and other documents strewn about her desk. She cursed inwardly at the amount of work she had put off yesterday that was now added to her already huge daily workload. She was brought out of her brooding thoughts by a soft knock on her door.

"Enter"

A young chunnin came in shortly after her response walking to her desk and bowing before it.

"Hokage-sama there is a hunter nin who wishes to speak with you" he said politely. She looked up from her desk warily before nodding in return.

"Send them in" she said as she rested her forehead on her desk.

The chunnin bowed and left the room quickly shutting the door behind him. A few minutes later the door opened again and the hunter nin walked in, closing the door behind him quietly. As he slowly walked to the desk as he heard her let out a deep frustrated sigh.

"This better be important to be bothering me this early"

"I see you still hate your job with a passion….baa-chan" the familiar name struck a cord in the blonde Hokage. Her face shot up from the desk in complete surprise as she peered into the mask of the tall hunter nin in front of her desk. Keeping her eyes on him she walked around the desk to stand before him. She slowly reached her hand to his mask, grabbing the side of it and began lifting it from his face. With his face revealed he looked down at her gaping eyes as she stared at him like he was going to disappear before her very eyes.

"Well I'm happy to see yo-Ummphph" Before he could finish she pulled him into a life threatening embrace as she buried her face into his chest. He instinctively reached around and held her to comfort her as she sobbed into his chest.

"Shhhh shhhh shh" he cooed calmingly as he ran his hand through her soft blonde hair. He could feel her tears begin wetting his shirt as she wept into his chest.

"I….I thought you were dead.." she cried muffled into his shirt. He felt the guilt burrowing deep into his heart seeing his motherly figure in such a wreck because of him.

"I'm sorry for making your worry, if I could have written you I would have" He said as he squeezed her into his chest as her breathing began to calm. After a few more minutes and tears she craned her head looking into his eyes with her own puffy red ones. She ran both hands to his face and gently pulled his head down to hers smiling at her surrogate son. She stood on her tip toes and laid a soft kiss on his forehead, letting her lips rest there for a long while. After a few more moments she pulled her hands and stood back down on the balls of her feet. Not long after she blushed intensely after feeling quite embarrassed about her emotional outburst.

"Now sit down you have a lot of explaining to do" she said in an almost pout as she turned from the hunter nin returning back to her seat behind the desk. He quickly found a seat for himself before looking up at her.

"First off I would like to give you Konoho's cut from the missing nins I took care of" as he said this he reached into his jacket pulling out a fat envelope over filled with cash brimming out the top. He reached out an set it down on the desk and pushed it over to her. She looked at the money wide eyed before reaching down and looking through it.

"I see…so I take it you were pretty busy on your journey" she said in a flat tone. She looked up at the blonde and saw his face contort into a somber tone before quickly shifting back to his plain expression. She hadn't noticed until now how extremely tired the blonde's eyes truly looked. The dark shadows around his eyes almost seemed written onto him with how haggard they appeared. She watched him eye the ground before raising his sight back to hers. Upon seeing the Hokage's expression he quickly put on the fake smile he had worn since his infancy.

"You could say that." He whispered wearing his fake smile. He instinctively felt the hilt of his blade as he sat in the brief silence. He reached into his pant's pocket and pulled out a dirty worn black book and tossed it onto her desk. Upon inspecting it the Hokage realized it was a bingo book. She opened the book and began turning the pages looking at various pictures of missing nin from all over the Shinobi lands with X's crossed over their faces. She quickly realized what they meant and was astonished at how many people he had taken out. She kept turning page after page until she came upon a picture of an old man who had no markings on his page. All she could see were the faint marks where droplets of water and stained the page in various places.

"Couldn't find this one?" she said as she turned the book for him to see. He looked up at the picture instantly recognizing him and looked back down at the ground. She saw his mood shift instantly and was thrown off momentarily.

"No…he was different." He almost whispered with shadows covering his features.

"He.." he slowly raised his head as the light began revealing his features.

"He was…." He stuttered his last word as his voice trembled.

"He was my master"

FLASHBACK

It had been almost a year since the old man had taken the blonde under his wing. At first it was slow; being the boy had never wielded a katana in his life. But what the blonde made up in skill was his constant effort to become stronger. Not long after he had the basics down the intensity of the training sky rocketed. Every day you could notice the teen becoming more in tune with the blade, as if it was an extension of himself. The old man realized early on that he was also lacking in many other areas and helped change that as well. He even assisted in helping suppress the Kyuubi's blood lust until it was needed on the battlefield. On the side he taught him many other things along with other worldly knowledge that he neglected to attain while at the academy. They started out as complete strangers but now one would now think the boy was the old man's grandson if they were seen in public.

Today was the day the master swordsman told the boy he would give his final test to see if he was worthy of his clan's teachings. There they walked in the wilderness, the old man ahead of him a few meters with the blonde following right behind.

"So are you excited kid? After today you won't have to deal with this old man pushing you around any longer" he chuckled lightly.

The blonde raised his head smiling at his back.

"You got that right baldy, after today I will be number one!" he yelled out in his usual hyperactive way. The bald man smiled inwardly before stopping in his tracks. The blonde followed suit and halted as well.

"Naruto…I want you to promise me something before we begin your final test" the man remained facing away as he spoke. The blonde could tell immediately when the old man was serious and decided to do the same.

"What is it master?"

"Promise me you won't hold back no matter what". The blonde was a little confused to say the least.

"Why would I hold back old man, I neve-"

"PROMISE ME!" the boy jumped suddenly at the tone his master rarely heard.

"Of-of course master, I won't hold back". He watched as the bald geezer molded the stones around him into a katana with his chakra like he had done so many times before.

"Good…." the old man turned to him getting into his fighting stance.

"As you said the night I met you….One of us is not leaving here alive"

He flipped forward and did a powerful downward thrust as the blonde barely un-sheaved his blade in time to block it. There they stood in a struggle against one another fighting for dominance.

"Gauhhh what are doing old man? You almost killed me!" the blonde yelled as he gritted his teeth trying to overpower his master.

"This is real boy. There is no holding back when your life is on the line" the elder flipped backwards a few yards before charging forth again, swiping at the boy at lighting speeds. The blonde was able to defend himself well enough but he knew he couldn't keep this up forever. Suddenly his blade slipped and he was sliced into by his attacker's katana, lopping his arm right off. The blonde fell down still on the ground as the blood gushed out of his severed shoulder

"I know you're out there, you can stop with the act" as he spoke the bleeding teen poofed into a smoke cloud revealing a cut open log. He twirled around just in time to block a sideways slash as the blonde jumped behind him. The hunter nin took the offensive swinging and darting his blade at rapid speeds at his elder. The geezer was forced back into a tree and ducked suddenly under another power slash as the tree behind him was cut in half by the sheer force of the blonde's swing. He quickly stabbed at the boy's stomach which the blonde turned to his side narrowly being run through by his blade. Needless to say both were beginning to match each other in the god like performance of swordsmanship they unleashed upon one another.

Around 45 minutes later…

The two swordsmen stood with a large gap between each other, both panting for breath as they looked at each other fiercely. The blonde had many cuts along his arms and legs bleeding lightly but nothing serious. The same could be said for old man who even had a small gash near his forehead that kept bleeding into his eyes. The old man stood up straight readying his blade for his final attack.

"This is it… the final exchange….. my young apprentice" the old man calmly stated. The blonde stood rigid hearing the words he was afraid of.

"Please stop this!" he yelled at his master. He watched as the elder positioned the blade to his side, the point sticking behind him like as if ready to swing. The blonde mirrored his senior's stance to perfection, waiting for him to make his move.

"Don't be afraid…this is how it ends" he then charged full speed with the sword stiffly at his side as he approached the blonde. Naruto watched him sprint and began running as well, both preparing for their own possible deaths. Time seemed to stand still as he got closer to his master; the air seemed to thicken around him. His heart beat echoed throughout his mind as he watched the last seconds before they would strike.

'I can't die here…...not yet'

tha-thump

'Who will protect the village?'

tha-thump

'Who will protect my friends?

tha-thump………..tha-thump

"They need me……I need them…."

tha-thump……… tha-thump………tha-thump

"No…I can't die here….I swore a sacred oath!"

Tha-thump…. tha-thump…. tha-thump….. tha-thump

'I will not end here!!!'

tha-thump….. tha-thump….. tha-thump….. tha-thump….. tha-thump..

'Until I become Hokage….for them…..all of them….I WILL NOT FALL!!!'

tha-thump..tha-thump.. tha-thump.. tha-thump.. tha-thump.. tha-thump.. tha-thump..tha-thump..tha-thump

'YOU WILL DIE!!!'

The demon vessel closed his eyes releasing an inhuman scream as he swung his blade with every particle of his being and more.

'CLANG!!!'

The sound of the blades making contact echoed throughout the forest like a bomb had exploded. The impact made a mini shock wave as the grass and tree's blew from the attack.

Then forest then became deathly quiet as the blonde Shinobi awaited for death to take him.

But death was fated to take another in his cold dark grasp.

He began opening one eye painstakingly slow wondering what really did happen.

"…I knew you could do it..." his eyes opened wide upon hearing his master's struggled words. The hunter nin's blade had cut through his masters sword going through and lodging into his side. He felt the blood begin to drip off his guard after it had made a dark crimson river down the entire length of his blade.

"What have I done!" he quickly dislodged his blade as it clattered to the ground catching his master in the process. There he cradled him in his arms as he sat down on the ground with him. His tears began to prickle their way from his eyes as he looked down at his master's calm expression.

"WHY DID YOU MAKE ME DO IT!?" he screamed sobbing uncontrollably into his own chest. His master merely smiled as a tiny trickle of blood left his lips.

"It hurts doesn't it?" he said as he ran his feeble hand over the boy's scarred cheek. The boy grimaced slightly but made no effort to bat his hand away. His master lightly smiled as he let his hand fall back to his side.

"Use the pain of loss to strike down your enemies. Now that you have felt its dark clutch on your heart remember it well." He reached into his kimono and pulled out three large scrolls. With his other hand he grabbed the boy's and put the scrolls into his hand.

"These are my clan's jutsu's that have been passed down for generations……. now I give them to you."

He coughed as another trickle of blood ran down his chin.

"Tonight when I die my clan will be no more, which is why I have decided you will carry on our legacy though your own clan." He paused looking up at the night lit sky.

"Do not fail your people like we did. Make sure you do what is right instead of running away." The boy nodded vigorously as he listened to his master's final words.

"Master I don't want you to go….please stay with me…." The blonde fought with himself to catch his breath as he sobbed looking down at his dying master. The old man looked back at his apprentice with a sad smile. He reached back and grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly.

"You have made this old man very proud."

"But grandpa!-"the blonde suddenly flinched realizing his choice of words. The old man only smiled wider hearing the word he had never been called in such a way. He held the boy tighter as he felt his life force beginning to slip away.

"If I ever…had a son……he would have been…..you" he whispered to his blonde apprentice. The blonde's breathe hitched hearing his master's words. New found tears spilled forth like a raging storm as he deeply hugged the dying old man.

"Grandpa stay with me! I don't want to be alone again please don't go! PLEASE!" his desperate shrill voice rang out into the night. He looked up at his grandfather figure's eyes seeing a lone tear roll down his cheek. The blonde gazed into his eyes as if begging him to live.

"I will always…be with you.." he slowly smiled as another tear rolled down his face. His eyes dimmed slowly as they quietly drifted shut. The blonde became motionless as he stared at his master's face. All the memories of the old man seemed to invade his mind as he stared at the blood all over his chest in complete and utter shock. Suddenly the emotional back lash caught up with him releasing a tidal wave of multiple emotions all at once. He screamed in complete agony as he backed away from his dead sensei.

'Look what you have done…' The evil voice of none other then Kyuubi invaded his mind.

'You're a murderer!'the voice laughed manically as the blonde hunched over in a mass of sobs and tears.

The scar suddenly ripped open with a splatter of blood as the Kyuubi's chakra poured out of it like a disgusting river of hatred. The chakra began to envelope the boy as he fought for control with his evil tenant. He pushed himself to his feet as he staggered backwards holding the sides of his head yelling at the top of his lungs. He focused as hard as he could on the training he used to suppress the Kyuubi's demonic rage he had learned the first month's he had arrived there. The laughing in his head began to cease as he could hear Kyuubi begin struggling against him. Slowly the chakra began receding back into his scar like a twister of evil forcing itself back into his body. The blonde was beginning to feel relieved until he heard the laughing in his mind engulf his hearing yet again.

'If you think this over….you are sadly mistaken' The voice laughed louder as the boy was getting closer to sealing all the evil chakra.

'One day you will lose this struggle….and I will be there…. destroying everything you love and hold dear to your heart…. you weak pathetic child'the voice was then cut off as he completely suppressed the demon's will. The blonde ran his hand over the scar feeling the blood all over his face, feeling the new found pain that would not stop throbbing from his scar. He looked down and picked up his bloody katana wiping it clean on his sleeve and the sheaved it back to his waist. He walked to his fallen sensei, bending down and picking him up bridal style. He looked down at his peaceful expression before making the lonely trek back to his house.

ENDFLASHBACK

The Hokage listened intently as he finished telling the sad tale of events. He ran his hand over the scar feeling it throbbing as his mind recalled that very dark day. They remained silent for some time as the blonde woman glued her eyes to her desk in thought. The Blonde container looked up putting on the best smile he could.

"He was a great man that I will always remember. I will use what I have learned to protect this village and everyone in it." She looked up hearing the blonde's declaration. A genuine smile claimed her features and she looked teary eyed at the young man she loved like her own son.

"and when I become Hokage…." He slowly rose from his seat, keeping his face covered in shadows.

"I WILL BAN ALL GAMBLING WITHIN THE FIRE COUNTRY'S BORDERS!" He yelled as he punched his fist in the air. The Hokage sweat dropped as she darted over her desk knocking the blonde over the head.

"You will do no such thing brat! Acting all cool and adult like and then saying something stupid like that!" she yelled as she sat back down in her seat. The blonde rubbed his head from the intense bash he had received and sat back down.

"Sorry about that, this seemed like one of the rare moments my old stupid antics seemed right" he said as he smiled lightly. She frowned at him.

"I miss that Naruto…" she said quietly. He looked up at her with tiny smile.

"Me too"