Into the Abyss
Disclaimer: I own no animes including Naruto.
FYI: I live in the United States and am so used to its monetary system rather than Japan's. I have no idea how to convert cost from American to Japanese costs, so I'm sticking with American monetary system. So don't be freaked out if you see dollars in the story!
"This is normal conversation."
These are thoughts.
Bijuu (demon) voices/speaking/thoughts
Enjoy!
P.S. A familiar character guest stars and might become a regular OOC guest star. Can you catch it? They aren't too well hidden.
=================Chapter 4====================
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Naruto woke up and all she saw was white. Wait, white? Naruto sat up and sure enough, it was all white around her. A familiar looking medical device next to her made her groan and realize where she was. It was the hospital. Ugh. I hate the hospital. Of all the damn places…wait I'm not injured. Why am I even here? Naruto complained to herself. The door to the room opened and the Sandaime Hokage entered.
"Ah, finally awake I see," he said. A relieved smile showed on his wrinkled face. Waking up in the hospital..again!...didn't make Naruto all that cheerful.
She frowned. "What am I doing here, Jiji?"
The Hokage's smile turned down a bit at the abrupt question. He could sense her moodiness and knew that the hospital was definitely not on her top twenty places to be at. "Yesterday, if you recall, there was a sudden thunderstorm. Unfortunately, the main Konoha Electrical Plant was struck by lightning and caught on fire. The fire was too big for the patrolling shinobi assigned to that section to handle and all available Anbu were called to help subdue it. I am sad to say that the ones assigned to watch over you had also been deployed as well and left you vulnerable. Luckily, one of the older Anbus who was heading towards the plant en route by your home heard your scream and was able to come to your rescue."
Naruto's face scrunched up as she remembered the events of yesterday. She remembered the red, bloated face of her attacker. The body more fat than muscle. The movements more likely for a civilian than a shinobi. And she clearly remembered the words he said to her before he raised the knife and had her screaming.
"Yeah, I remember. He was a civilian, wasn't he?" Naruto asked. "How come he attacked me?"
The Hokage sighed. It had been about four months since the last obvious attack and Hiruzen felt that it was too soon to let the child know the truth. So he settled for a half-truth instead.
"The civilian was drunk and depressed over dark and sad memories. He was probably out of his mind when he decided to attack you."
Naruto looked over at the man she considered to be her grandfather. She stared straight in his eyes as he told her this. And she bore it all in silence. The sun-kissed child turned to face the window and decided to change to subject. "So did I faint out of shock or something?"
Feeling that the potential disaster was averted, the Hokage gladly took to changes in topic with relief. "Yes, between the adrenaline crash and shock overall, you fainted. Luckily, Tora-san was able to subdue the attacker and call for reinforcements before taking you here. There's nothing wrong with you, but I decided to keep you here overnight just in case."
Naruto grimaced before turning to look back at the Hokage. She pouted, "Hate the hospital. You owe me for this old man!"
Hiruzen chuckled outwardly while inwardly bemoaning the fate of his wallet. The girl was a mere wisp of a figure (exaggerating much!) and ate ramen like an Akimichi coming off a diet. "I guess we could go for ramen when you get out."
"No."
The Hokage stopped chuckling. He looked more intently at the child he considered to be like another grandchild. Naruto? Not want ramen? I better get a mind healer here quick. Obviously that attack was more damaging than I had realized.
"-me there. Are you listening Jiji?" Naruto huffed when she realized that he wasn't paying attention to her. She threw a pillow at him, which he caught in surprise. He looked back at her with more attention.
"I said I wanted to open a savings account at the bank. So take me there instead." The girl said to him. After all, with Jiji there, they wouldn't dare try to cheat me.
Hiruzen blinked in surprised twice. He smiled once he realized that Naruto was actually alright and that his wallet was safe for another weekend. "We'll go after you get out today then."
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After making a quick stop to collect her money, the duo made their way to the bank. The Bank Manager came out personally to welcome their reverent leader and controlled himself in front of the two.
"Ah, Hokage-sama, How can First Leaf Bank help you today? A loan for a new house? A loan to buy a new hot springs…."
Before the manager could offer more of his sales pitches and continue on, Hiruzen hastily interrupted him. He remembered the last time the charismatic salesman convinced him to buy something. Yes, it did pay off after a while but the scolding he had received from his daughter managed to make his ears ring for days. "Ah, not today Kyouya-san. I'm here because Naruto-chan was interested in opening an account. So I offered to take her here and show her the ropes."
Naruto looked up shyly at the man and gathering all her courage, she stuck out her hand. "Uzumaki Naruto. I hope that we get along well, Kyoya-san."
The manager looked at her. Unknown to many, Ootori Kyoya was the child of a Nara and had the speedy brain processes of one. When his reverent leader had walked in with the child known to hold the Kyuubi, he had thought of all the possibilities were to why they were here. One of which was that the young Uzumaki wanted to open an account.
When the Kyuubi jinchuriki stuck out her hand and introduced herself, he couldn't help but let out a soft laugh. He gently grabbed it and shook it. "Ootori Kyoya, but call me Kyoya-san."
Naruto let out a sigh of relief when he let go of her hand. The Hokage smiled as he watched the two interact. He knew that out of all the people at the bank, Kyoya would treat Naruto well and handle her money honestly. No one would try to give him grief for trying to help the "demon" child as well. After all, there was a reason why no one messed with the "Shadow Demon" of Konoha.
"Hokage-sama, I'm sure that you have plenty of paperwork to do. So I'll just take Uzumaki-san to my office and we'll work out the papers ourselves." Kyoya said in a soft tone. Naruto looked between the two and vocalized her agreement as well. Hiruzen sighed. He had been hoping to avoid doing the paperwork for a few more hours, but alas, it seemed that fate was working against him once more.
The atmosphere in the bank seemed to grow a bit darker as many of the other workers and clients worked up the courage to glare at the blonde now that their leader had left. Naruto shuffled a bit closer to the older man and grabbed his hand for comfort. Kyoya looked down at her in surprise. Tugging her along to his office, he ushered her inside. Before he closed the door, he looked around the whole establishment and pushed up his glasses. The light glinting off his glasses, his glare, and his frown made the other workers shudder in fear and return to working. The other clients hurriedly averted their gaze. A smirk appeared on Kyoya's face when he turned to enter his room and closed the door. An audible sigh of relief echoed outside his office. The people outside had collective thoughts. Forget the Kyuubi, Kyoya is way scarier!
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Later that night, Naruto settled into her bed. She thought about her new financial advisor. Instead of putting all her money into a savings account, Kyoya-nii had convinced to also let him invest some of her money into some potential outlets as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~-Flashback-~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I know that you had planned on putting everything into a savings account, but investing in some stocks and businesses will help increase your financial portfolio as well." Kyoya advised to Naruto. Both were sipping on some tea and Naruto placed down her cracker to think.
The child frowned and thought carefully. "It sounds nice and all, but why?"
Kyoya's glasses glinted before he proceeded to lecture her. "Konoha's economy has always been one of the stronger ones amongst the elemental countries. There are many thriving businesses both in and out of Fire Country. And with a more diverse financial portfolio, it also makes for a more attractive dowry or retirement safety net if you ever have to retire from the ninja corps earlier than planned…"
Naruto's eyes had started to glaze over as the manager continued to give his reasons and quickly interrupted when he paused to take a breath. "I appreciate all your help, but the villagers hate me. If they find out that I'm trying to buy into their business, they'll kick me out for sure."
Kyoya looked at the forlorn girl before him and smirked. His deep laughter shocked Naruto, and if asked only under intense torture, would she say that she was seriously freaked out by the ominous aura shadowing from behind the man.
"Don't worry. Leave everything to me." Kyoya looked at her sharply and Naruto quickly shook her head in agreement. Were those horns peeking out above his head?
As Naruto prepared to leave to office, Kyoya asked her one finally question. "What do you think about the name, Kazuma Arashi?"
Naruto frowned thoughtfully and shrugged. "Sounds fine to me. Can't really say much when my own name means fishcake or maelstrom."
The older man chuckled. "Good, because soon Kazuma Arashi will be investing into some markets in the future." He gave his newest, and youngest, client a pointed look.
Naruto quickly caught on and grinned under her mask. She gave him a sudden bow. "I look forward to working with you in the future, Kyoya-nii."
And that's how Naruto ended up with a financial advisor with a reputation scarier than her own. Not that Naruto knew of course…Only several years into the future would she realize how fearsome her advisor was. And it would only many years into the future would she learn that she had made a powerful ally in Ootori Kyoya when she had shyly grabbed in hand all those years ago.
~~~~~~~========End Flashback========~~~~~~~~
As Naruto started to drift into deeper sleep, one last memory floated into her mind. The man that had attacked her before had said something to her. Something that made her realize that the Hokage wasn't being all that truthful with her. His words struck some chord in her: "You're not human. Just the Kyuubi! You killed my fiancé all those years ago!"
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As Naruto settled into a troubled sleep…inside the seal, a nine-tailed kitsune waited in anticipation. "Looks like things are getting very interesting." Although, he too had shuddered when he felt the ominous aura from the banker. "If there's one thing I'm would worry about ticking off, it's bankers. All those loans and debts and financial lingo!" The bijuu's mood turned sour as he remembered long ago memories of dealing with those blood-thirsty sharks, and shudders.
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Finished with Chapter 4. I'm on holiday right now so I'm hoping to update at least twice for all my stories. If not, once then! Hope you enjoyed!
And yes, that is the Shadow King, Ootori Kyoya from Ouran High Host Club by Bisco Hatori! He's little Naruto's financial advisor. Fun yeah?
12/17/11