Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Thoughts are underlined

Chapter 2:

Kaji was a man possessed and everyone around him, though only unconsciously, understood that. As the man walked down the street dressed in rags with a large case in his hands, the people he passed shied away from him, understanding instinctually there was danger there.

The man strode eventually into an old abandoned building in one of the poorer sections of Konohagakure, walked to the very top, and from the roof looked across a thin and narrow street towards another building. Through a window across the way Kaji saw a young blond boy, with curious whisker-like marks on his cheeks going about making himself a late dinner.

Kyuubi

Putting the case down, he opened it to reveal a crossbow, several score of arrows, as well as his own personal explosive surprise.

As previously said, Kaji was a chemical genius. He knew chemicals like most people knew their own hands. He would have made a fortune selling chemical weapons and explosives if he had the desire, though he didn't as ironically enough he was (or more precisely used to be) a pacifist. Though just because he didn't want to create chemical weapons and explosives did not mean he did not know how to.

Sneaking into his former work place of Karada Pharmeseuticals with the security card that they never took back, he stole a large amount of chemicals which he smuggled back to his house. On his way back he also stopped by a civilian weapons shop. It was closed, so Kaji using some of the chemicals whipped up an acid and burned his way in. In there he saw an old man sweeping up, after a long day of watching the shop. As the old man rushed to the emergency radio that all citizens of Konohagakure were required to have, Kaji eviscerated him with a pocket knife, for Kaji would let nothing get in the way of Justice. He then stole a crossbow and some arrows. And made his way home where he proceeded to create explosives. Fire had screwed him, now it will make amends.

Then putting everything in a large case, Kaji left home, and that brings us back to the present.

Gazing at what he fervently and completely believed in his heart to be his daughter's murderer, Kaji treated the arrows with his chemical creations and loaded an arrow into the crossbow.

The chemical compound Kaji made was a strong explosive which detonated 2 seconds after it experienced an impact. With crossbow in hand, Kaji proceeded to aim. He aimed for the boy's heart and waited.

Soon… soon. I will cleanse this city of this murderous scum and thus protect this village from its taint. I regret the deaths of the other people in the building, but sometimes sacrifices are necessary for the greater good.

Naruto, a boy that blissfully was making himself some ramen, suddenly paused and sensing something amiss, looked up. Kaji smiled, Naruto's eyes widened, and the crossbow fired, easily punching through the glass of the window.

The arrow missed Naruto's heart, which was good. However, it pierced his gut, which was bad. Then it exploded, which was worse. Then Kaji cocked another arrow and fired again, and again, and again, until he had only one arrow left.

By this point the whole building had erupted into flames, a cacophonous din of fear, pain and heat.

Something catching his eye, Kaji looked down and saw a ninja with a loose topknot around his early twenties or late teens who stood frozen in sight of the burning building. Then suddenly the man blurred forward with characteristic ninja speed towards the building.

Worry not citizen, the demon is dead. And now my Angel can be at peace.

And with that final thought, Kaji loaded one more arrow, pointed it at his head, and then fired.

Iruka Umino was one of the teachers within the Ninja Academy and in particular one of Naruto's teachers. Iruka felt for the boy, he really did, but some of Naruto's actions never ceased to confuse him. Naruto wanted to be the very best ninja ever, to be the Hokage, to have the respect of everyone, but he skipped class several times every week. Iruka got a lot of what Naruto did. After his parent died, Iruka had acted out a lot like Naruto did, being the class clown to get attention. For when you had nobody, any attention was better than none, even negative attention was preferable to the crippling despair of being absolutely and completely alone. However, that did not explain why Naruto skipped class.

However, regardless of the reason, Iruka always brought Naruto the assignments from the classes he missed, which was what he was doing now. Then he saw the building and the assignment were the furthest thing from his mind.

Dropping the papers, Iruka froze in shock for about half a second before he blurred into action.

Quickly dashing to the building, Iruka vaunted up the vertical wall towards the window of Naruto's apartment. While he never actually had entered Naruto's apartment for he always gave Naruto the assignments at his door, he was very familiar at this point where the apartment was. Distantly hearing an explosion behind him, he burst through the glass and entered Naruto's apartment.

Naruto was easy to find, just follow the blood. Quickly finding him trapped under a section of one of Naruto's walls, Iruka leapt into action.

Grabbing the burning plaster, ignoring the pain in his hands, he threw the chunk of wall aside.

His movement woke Naruto up, and with skinless and burned lips croaked,

"Why did you save me sensei?"

"Because you're one of my precious students, and I will always protect the people precious to me."

Naruto smiled or at least tried to when suddenly the roof gave out and quickly Iruka threw Naruto to safety, while he was unfortunately crushed beneath the masonry. Hitting his refrigerator as he landed, Naruto blacked out.

"I want to know how the hell this happened!"

"I don't know Hokage-sama."

The Hokage strode angrily down a hospital corridor followed nervously by one of his assistants.

"A crazed civilian shot Naruto with a quiver of exploding crossbow arrows. Ignoring the question of why this person with both suicidal and murderous tendencies was not receiving psychiatric help, how did this person get passed the wards?"

"According to the forensics team, the seals were sabotaged about, according to their estimates, 2 months ago."

"Ignoring for the moment whoever wanted the boy dead, explain to me how that fact escaped the attention of the inspection team who was at that site 1 week ago during their sweep of that quadrant of the village."

"I don't know sir."

"They are either traitors or incompetent, either way I want them under investigation now. Their treason/ineptitude has cost this village 5 ninja and 400 civilians. I also want to know who sabotaged the seals."

"Yes sir."

With the assistant scurrying off to convey the orders to ANBU, Hiruzen sped up his pace.

You might be wondering why the Hokage said all these things in public, but do understand that even pissed beyond all belief, Hiruzen Sarutobi was no fool. He had placed a special seal in his clothing, a seal he created himself, which would make all words he spoke completely unintelligible to everyone he was not directly addressing.

Coming up to a room, he bit his thumb, and held his bloody thumb to a tiny seal placed on the door frame. The seal activated, analyzing both his chakra signature and the DNA in his blood, and confirming two matches to the information in its records, the door unlocked. If there was not a double match, the seal would promptly inject the person at the site of their thumb with a very potent paralyzing concoction as well as alerting ANBU, and there was no way to unlock the door without using the seal. Opening the door, Hiruzen stepped inside.

Hiruzen then stated,

"Password: Alpha Delta Omega. Code 24. ANBU report."

Suddenly from the shadows a ninja materialized, holding a sword which would have cut off Hiruzen head exactly half a second after the Hokage entered the room unless the Hokage said the password.

"ANBU Dog reporting, Naruto Uzumaki was admitted to this hospital exactly 8.47 hours ago with severe burns, broken bones, and internal injuries. After admission, three doctors refused to treat him citing that the boy was a monster who deserved what he got. They were summarily executed on the spot by your orders. The deaths motivated the other doctors to work harder. Uzumaki just got out of surgery, and is expected to pull through, but nothing is certain. Kyuubi made an attempt to heal the boy 2.62 hours ago, but immediately stopped when it realized that Uzumaki was so young and weak at the moment that the shock to Naruto's body because of its power was doing more damage than it was fixing. Ignoring the three doctors, no attempts either directly or indirectly were made on the boy's life. Besides your visits, one other person has tried to visit Naruto. As per your orders of no visitors, she was refused admittance, so had left her gift at the front desk. I had a Kage Bushin pick them up. Those flowers and their accompanying note on the table next to Uzumaki's bed are from Hinata Hyuuga, the heiress of the Hyuuga clan and a classmate of Uzumaki. They have already been scanned and present no threat."

"Thank you Dog. Return to your post."

"Yes Sir."

And the ANBU immediately blended back into the shadows until there was no trace of his presence at all.

Walking to Naruto's bedside, Hiruzen proceeded to run his own scans on the flowers and note. Paranoia was a good thing in a ninja. The note and flowers tested clean, and the old Hokage smiled.

After a traumatic incident such as this, it is good for Naruto to know that someone his own age cares about him.

Looking at Naruto, hooked up to tubes, wires and machinery, Hiruzen inwardly wept.

"Naruto, I don't know if you can hear me but you will pull through this, for you are strong. You from the moment of your birth have exhibited the will of…"

Hiruzen promptly stopped himself from making a fire metaphor, as considering the circumstances it might not be appropriate.

"…true determination, enthusiasm, and courage. Things that tell me you will be a great man one day. Sleep well Naruto-kun, and heal soon."

Sighing heavily, Hiruzen then left the hospital room.

The inferno was consuming everything, and Naruto was trapped within it. The flames were closing in, and for Naruto there was no way out. He was again in his apartment, and because of the illogical nature of dreams, there were 100 people, all of them with the attacker's face that he saw, beating on him. Sadly the beating part was not the illogical part, as while that has never happened, some people would certainly like to.

"Monster!"

"Demon!"

"Murderer!"

Naruto's ribs snapped and his body was thrown to the floor near the edge of the approaching flames. His arms were pulled out of their sockets, knives ripped open his flesh, and blood spurted from his lips. And Naruto was ready to die, either from the mob or from the flames surrounding him.

But then his hand brushed the flames, and instead of burning him it healed him. Feeling his body knit itself back together; the fire enveloped him and soothed him. Seeing the mob approaching, Naruto feared for the worst until the fires rose up and burned the attackers to ash. As more attackers kept attacking, so the fire kept burning them, and Naruto fled deeper and deeper into the flames.

Everyone thinks I am a monster. But I am not a monster, everyone else is. Everyone wants to hurt me. Only within the embrace of the flames am I safe from the monsters.

And Naruto snuggled into a blanket of orange flames, and serenaded by the fire's song he fell asleep.

Never noticing that for an instant the flames turned to fur.

At that very instant within the waking world, Naruto's hospital room burst into flames. And even while his clothes were consumed by the roaring blaze, he remained unburned.