"Congratulations kingy! You've gotten us into a huge amount of trouble and you can't even speak yet, you're a toddler" Ichigo's hollow laughed at him.

"Oh shut up" Ichigo said to his hollow obviously annoyed at his antics "at least it isn't the masked guy called Tobi isn't 'taking care' of us anymore"

"Oh yeah I must admit, this Konan chick is way better to look at than that other guy" the hollow said with an approving tone to his voice.

"You never change, do you?" Ichigo said to his hollow sighing in exasperation.

"You bet pal, buuut she is a bit older than us…at least physically that is, does that matter to you? 'Cause if not I wouldn't mind taking a piece if you know what I mean" the hollow said making Ichigo start to get really uncomfortable with the direction in which the conversation was headed.

"Alright, nighty night hollow" Ichigo said as he shoved the hollow to the back of his mind where he couldn't be heard by Ichigo.

"No…wait, I'm not done yet nooooo!" the hollow Ichigo shouted as his voice faded into the back of Ichigo's mind surely complaining that he wasn't getting to look at Konan's curves anymore.

"Ahh, well now that he's been handled I guess I'm just gonna have to wait until I get a bit older and more developed to acquire the speed and strength I'll need to escape these people, and that jutsu stuff sounds cool too. I should probably learn some of that, it seems to be a mix or reiryoku and something else from what I can tell, and unfortunately that's not much (sigh) I wish I could be better at sensing energy signatures. Well practice makes perfect, time to begin"

(Leaf village hospital room)

"Where…are…Minato…and…Ichigo…and…Naruto!" Kushina breathed out fear radiating in her voice as she lay in her hospital bed, which was understandable considering the circumstances of the last twenty-four hours. "Where are they!" Kushina screamed at the several ninja that stood before her including the third Hokage.

"Kushina…" Sarutobi sighed "Minato's dead" at hearing this Kushina burst into tears shouting at him that he was lying, never the less he continued "Naruto is unharmed as far as we are aware but…he is…the new Kyuubi Jinchuriki" Sarutobi said the last part in a hushed whisper.

"He's what! The new Jinchuriki!" Kushina shouted at Sarutobi.

"Shit she heard me! What do I do now? Run?" Sarutobi was quickly trying to think of escape options but stopped as soon as he saw Kushina slump down in her seated position on the bed.

"Bring him here" Kushina said voice dangerously low.

"Quick bring Naruto before she kills us all" somebody shouted before everyone began shuffling about in the tiny hospital room that they were all in and a tiny form of a baby was brought forth to Kushina. She instantly wrapped her arms around Naruto's small form beginning to cry as soon as she saw the seal mark on him.

"Where's my other son" Kushina said suddenly said causing all of the ninja and nurses present to freeze up at the request and some at the back of the room run out screaming at the top of their lungs that 'red headed hot habanero was going to kill them all'…it didn't happen. Rather Kushina broke down in a heaping mess that didn't move for the next week.

(A week later)

When Kushina finally recovered and began interacting with her environment and the people around her again she was slow but picked up pace as the days went by and by the end of a month she was taking care of herself and Naruto and was back to her usual life except that Ichigo and Minato weren't a part of it.

(6 years later village hidden in the rain)

"Ichigo you have done well," the Tobi said "at least I believe that's your name" the Tobi whispered to himself. "Aaaaand I lost myself, well good work with your training, see ya!" the Tobi said before leaving…again, he'd come in and out of the place at least five times today, it was unbelievable.

"That was quick" Ichigo's hollow said in amusement as he watched the man leave.

"Yeeep" Ichigo said in return not amused at all "maybe it's time we got out of here"

"No shit kingy" the hollow said "I've been here waaay too long, that guy's gonna kill me someday…not literally but you get what I mean"

"Yeah yeah I get it" Ichigo said out loud to his hollow. Trying to sense whether anyone else was around and concluded there wasn't when he didn't feel anyone's chakra signature from the Akatsuki. Carefully navigating the halls without making a sound Ichigo made his way to the exit, and that's when he heard the rain. "I hate the rain" Ichigo said inwardly.

"Too bad we're in the land of rain, although one of your chakra natures is water" Ichigo's hollow said trying to feel a little light hearted, even if it wasn't his style, the rain made him too feel sad.

"Yeah…hey wait a minute we might be able to get out unnoticed" Ichigo said to his hollow. If one of his chakra natures is water all he had to do was become water until he made it out of the village, pain wouldn't notice him.

"Tch, fat chance," the hollow said back realising what Ichigo was thinking, "he has the eyes of 'destiny', you know the freaky purple ring eyes, and he'll notice you 'cause he's the one making it rain, the eyes of his just make it ten times more impossible to travel through the rain without using something to travel in like a person, and I know that's out of the question for you, especially since you saw Orochimaru"

"Ahh" Ichigo yelled in frustration "the sewage lines it is then"

"Eww, that's gross man" the hollow said in disgust but was silenced by the mental look he was given from Ichigo realising that what he had said was what made Ichigo make that decision. "Heheh" the hollow laughed sheepishly "maybe your original idea was best after all" he said but not before Ichigo jumped down into one of the oversized openings into the underground system that made up the pipe network of the village hidden in the rain. "Huh…not as bad as I imagined it would be" the hollow stated seeing everything through Ichigo's eyes.

"Let's go" Ichigo said initiating his bringer light and began flashing through the tunnels to the further reaches of the village.

In the world of ninja as Ichigo had come to know, chakra was just simply spiritual and physical energy combined, it was much easier to manipulate than reiryoku alone. Something about the physical energy tamed it and made it less explosive so to say, less powerful, although much more versatile. All Ichigo had to do to use bringer light was the same thing as in his previous life, push against the 'soul' or latent energy that is held within each object. It was quite useful really; it had also lead to him being able to absorb small amounts of chakra through the air. (Not quiet like sage mode, this ability doesn't go to that extent; it just means he recuperates faster than he already did, pretty fast)

(Village hidden in the leaves/Konoha, a week later)

Naruto was currently playing by himself in the park. No one would play with him after all, not even his only and best friend Sasuke, he was after all just sitting by himself as usual thinking about the Uchiha massacre that happened last year. He wouldn't do anything with Naruto anymore which just left Naruto feeling left out among the other children who would play at the park all day and then get picked up by their parents who would then ask if they played with the demon blonde boy. When they said no they would ask time and again 'why?' and their parents would just say 'it's better this way'. The reason why they wouldn't answer their children properly was because the citizens that knew the truth about Naruto were forbidden to tell the younger generation in hopes that he would grow up happy, alas it didn't work as the children were given treats and other incentives to keep them away from Naruto by their parents and eventually it would be hardwired into their minds.

"Hey there he is" someone shouted, "it's the demon brat, get him"

"Uh-oh" Naruto thought. This wasn't good, when this happened his mother was often around to fend off the attackers, but she wasn't here, Naruto was alone at the park. "Time to run" Naruto's thoughts concluded as he jumped off the swing and sprinted for the fence opposite the side the people were herding in from and jumped up it grabbing on and rapidly began climbing over it to escape the pursuers. Naruto jumped down the other side of the fence escaping the civilians and began running as fast as he could towards home. It was safe there, it always was.

A few minutes later Naruto was still running from the pursuers, they sure were persistent today, they hadn't even realized where he was headed which could mean one of two things. One, his mother was out on a mission, two, they simply didn't care whether or not Kushina was going to beat sense into them anymore. It was probably the former.

Pervy sage probably wasn't in either, whenever he was here Naruto always had something to laugh at, mostly because of the beating he got from his mother when he first tried to get Naruto to trial his Icha Icha books.

Naruto rounded the corner and slammed into someone causing him and the other person to fall backwards on their bum. Naruto had closed his eyes a little at impact from shock of running into someone and when he opened them he saw a boy about the same age as him with bright orange hair and purple eyes dressed in basic civilian attire with a tattoo of some sort on his left shoulder visible because of the fact that his shirt was sleeveless.

"Uhh, sorry," Naruto said as he scrambled to his feet getting ready to leave when he noticed that the other boy had gripped his wrist rather tightly "hey!" Naruto struggled to get free of the boys grip but to no avail as he continued to face the other way "I said I'm sorry, now let go!"

"Have they been bothering you?" the boy said looking at the civilians that had now surrounded them due to their standing in the one spot for too long.

"Yeah, and now they've caught me because your holding onto me" Naruto said frustratedly, fear welling up inside him "my mother hasn't taught me enough about ninja stuff yet to get away fast enough from them, all I've learnt so far is chakra manipulation and how to throw kunai and shuriken with extreme accuracy and speed, other than that just a little taijutsu, now let go"

"Did you do something to them?" the boy asked Naruto once again as though Naruto hadn't just tried to explain that he wasn't completely helpless.

"Ehhh! No! I didn't do anything, and I just don't want to hurt them, that's why I haven't fought back…plus they're kinda big and scary in crowds like this" Naruto whispered the last part.

"Where do you live then?" the boy asked once again voice never wavering.

"What's with this guy? Is he going to help me or something" Naruto thought. "Uhh, that way, a couple of blocks over" Naruto said pointing in the direction he was heading before he crashed into the orange-haired boy.

"Then let's go" the boy said moving to grip Naruto's shoulder who was too late to realise what was happening until he felt an awful churning feeling in his stomach from the sudden acceleration of the boy launching them into the air at high speeds and onto a nearby roof top.

Naruto felt like emptying the contents of his stomach right there and now. "What was that" Naruto thought as he went to grasp his belly and keel over but was unable to as the boy once again launched them through the air in a sudden movement.

Moments later they were standing outside Naruto's house and Naruto was emptying his stomach into a drain just off on the street while the boy stood waiting patiently at the doorstep for something.

When Naruto had finally finished his up chuck he went to the front door of his house to see the boy standing their with an impassive look on his face. "Are you ok?" the boy said surprising Naruto a bit at seeing a small frown on the boys face that made him look a little intimidating.

"Uh…I'm fine, hehe," Naruto said waving his arms all over "really, I'm fine" he said again trying to convince the boy in front of him who had an unmoving expression on his face either not believing or simply not caring. (Sigh) "Can I help you?" Naruto said when the boy still hadn't moved from his spot. When he said this however the boy broke into a face splitting grin. "Uh oh, what's he going to say" Naruto thought, with dread welling up inside him.

"Why yes you can," the boy said almost too cheerfully "could you either give me a large sum of money for my services at helping you escape or, allow me to eat you out of a home" the boy said causing Naruto's eye to twitch at the request.

"Just how hungry are you?" Naruto screamed at the boy who winced at the loud voice coming from Naruto who was standing directly in front of him.

"Well considering I haven't had anything closely resembling a meal in the past three days let's see…pretty damn hungry" the boy said smiling causing Naruto to wonder how he was still standing and break, he was going to feed him.

(Hokage's office)

"Lord Hokage" an anbu officer said as soon as he shunshinned into the Hokage's office.

"Yes, what is it?" Sarutobi said as he looked up from his paperwork towards the anbu officer in front of his desk.

"Someone entered the village that we are not sure about," the anbu officer paused "we…well I would like to observe this child for a while"

"Child?" Sarutobi said taking his pipe out of his mouth with a questioning tone.

"Yes sir, from what records we have of a certain child he bears a remarkable resemblance to the child sir" the anbu said.

"And you want to find out whether or not this child is related to the one you think he is," Sarutobi said receiving an affirmative from the anbu (sigh) "very well, where is he now may I ask"

"He is currently, and I quote 'eating Naruto Uzumaki out of a home'," the anbu said making Sarutobi raise an eyebrow in question "he's uhh, how can I put this, stuffing himself with food, the very food that Kushina-san bought to fill the house a few days ago"

"This isn't good," Sarutobi said, voice beginning to fill with dread "she's coming back from her mission early tomorrow morning…and how did you know about the shopping"

"I happened to be doing a perimeter check sir" the anbu said.

"Sure you were Kakashi…you were checking Naruto again weren't you?" Sarutobi said not appearing surprised.

"Awww you got me," the Kakashi replied scratching the back of his head sheepishly smiling slightly underneath his mask, which was shaped like a dogface. "But please refrain from using my name while like this, we wouldn't want anyone finding out who I am"

"I'm sure everyone already knows who you are, you keep carting all those perverse novels Jiraiya writes around with you, it's sure to be a dead give-away, get going now" Sarutobi said dismissing Kakashi who nodded in response and left the old man to his paper work. "Why would a simple child make Kakashi assume that it's any trouble worth looking up about them? No it couldn't…don't tell me he thinks this is Kushina's other child" Sarutobi thought putting his hand up over his face thinking how ridiculous it was.

"Thanks for the food" Ichigo said overjoyed at filling his stomach leaving nothing but a crumb in Naruto's home making Naruto slump his arms forward and gain tears in his eyes.

Both boys were currently sitting opposite each other on the two couches in the living space one comfortably seated with contempt displayed in his behavior and the other sadness at his current position in helping the other.

"Kaa-san's going to kill me when she gets back tomorrow" Naruto thought crying on the inside at seeing what the other boy had done to his home food supply, now he'd need to go out and buy more before his mother got home. "Hey what are you doing?" Naruto yelled when he saw the boy lie down on the couch and close his eyes.

"Going to sleep, what's it look like?" the boy said rolling over onto his side facing away from Naruto.

"You can't! Not here!" Naruto shouted throwing his arms in the air, but he was too late as snoring sounds could already be heard from the boy on the lounge. Naruto once again slumped his shoulders forward dreading the return of his mother. "Why is this happening to me" Naruto mumbled.

(Village hidden in the rain, four days ago)

"Where is he?" Tobi yelled looking around the building in which Ichigo had been kept, extremely angered that he couldn't find Ichigo anywhere, even in the entirety of the village, not even pain could sight him.

"He's gone" white Zetsu said appearing out of a wall behind Tobi.

"Tell me something I don't know" Tobi roared "or do you know where he is?"

"I don't know where he is," white Zetsu said "he's too fast"

Too fast indeed, Ichigo's speed was nothing to laugh at especially for one as young as him, although it was hardly surprising considering whom his father was, 'the yellow flash'. His speed may have been one of the greatest out there but his strength and chakra levels were only at that of a high level Genin bordering on low-chunin, it shouldn't be that hard to defeat him and drag him back. However that all depended on where he was, if it was deep within enemy territory he was lost for good and would be counted as an enemy.

"Yo, Naruto, how are you?" Kakashi said popping up behind a sleepy Naruto making him jump up off the couch he was still sitting on, getting scared shitless.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto screamed.

"Just checking in" Kakashi said casually before looking over to where another boy slept on a couch "and who's this?" Kakashi asked motioning towards the boy on the couch for Naruto to understand.

"I don't know" Naruto said in exasperation "he didn't tell me, he just ate all the food then fell asleep"

"Then why don't we find out" Kakashi said as he walked over to the boy on the couch. When Kakashi stood in front of the boy he went to give hi m a light kick but found himself mildly surprised and unprepared when the boy jumped up and kicked him in the face causing him to barrel into the kitchen and slam into the wall. "Uhh, that hurt" Kakashi said as he picked himself up and turned to face the boy whom was looking at him apologetically with a small smile on his face while standing on the couch.

"Sorry" the boy said.

"It's alright, now sit down, I want to talk to you" Kakashi said as he came back into the room. At the same time the boy sat and looked at Kakashi before he asked a question.

"Is it necessary to wear a mask all the time?" the boy asked.

"How do you know I wear it all the time?" Kakashi asked while sitting down on the couch opposite the boy, "I could have simply forgotten to take it off"

"There's a tan line" the boy pointed to Kakashi's face spotting a faint difference in skin colour where the mask had fallen down his face a bit after Ichigo kicked him.

"Oh…good point" Kakashi said before he went back to the subject he was going to talk about before he was kicked in the face, "who are you?"

"Good question, names Ichigo" Ichigo said causing Kakashi's eyes to widen slightly but went unnoticed by the other two occupants of the room.

"Any…last name perhaps?" Kakashi enquired.

"Weeeell, I'm not too sure but I'm pretty sure it was along the lines of Uzumaki-Namikaze" Ichigo continued causing Kakashi to faint and topple over slamming his head into the coffee table on the way to the floor.

"Ehhh, so are you a cousin of mine or something?" Naruto asked Ichigo.

"Maybe" Ichigo said shrugging his shoulders "now since he's down for the count" Ichigo said motioning towards Kakashi's prone form "I…am going back to sleep"

"Hey wait…great" Naruto said the last part with a huff.

(Early morning next day)

Kushina was dead tired from her mission and needed some rest so all she wanted to do when she got home was fall asleep, but imagine when to her surprise when she saw a sleeping Kakashi on the floor and another odd boy with…orange hair. "My son was the only child that I knew of having orange hair and his physical appearance certainly fits the age category…no it can't be, stop doing this to yourself Kushina" Kushina thought to herself "and what's Kakashi doing here." "Naruto" Kushina called out "where are you"

Naruto instantly bounded out of his room with a look of fear on his face, because he thought his mother might harm him for allowing Kakashi to sleep on the floor and a strange boy to sleep on the couch. "Yes, what is it?" Naruto said but was only answered by hs mother pointing at the other two people in the room. "Uhh, Kakashi-san kind of fainted when the other boy told him his name and wouldn't wake up even when I tried to make him, and the other boy came in here about midday yesterday and ate all the food before falling asleep on the couch"

"Really?" Kushina said putting her hands on her hips, receiving an afraid and shaking yes for an answer. Kushina could be really scary at times. "Even all the Ramen?" Kushina questioned again receiving a questioning face from Naruto causing Kushina to smile triumphantly. "Yess" Kushina cheered "he didn't find the ramen. "Now" Kushina said looking back at the boy on the couch more or less pleased that not everything had been eaten "who is this?"

"He only said his name," Naruto said but nonetheless Kushina motioned for him to continue "he said it was Ichigo Uzumaki-Namikaze"

"Now don't you dare lie to me" Kushina said in a dangerous tone receiving an 'eep' from Naruto whom scampered from the room as soon as Kushina said it afraid that hiss mother might come after him.

"I'm not lying" Naruto called out from another location in the home "I'd be careful if I were you he kicked Kakashi in the face when Kakashi tried to wake him up"

"Impossible" Kushina thought "but there he is right there, imagine that he was delivered practically to my doorstep and he's right there" Kushina continued to say to herself completely oblivious to what Naruto had just said as she edged closer towards Ichigo and finally sat down beside him. Kushina then continued to look at Ichigo's sleeping form for a while longer before she fell on top of him giving him a bone-crushing hug receiving a strangled gasp in return.

"Get off, get off, can't breath" Ichigo said as he was oh so rudely awoken from his slumber as Kushina began to cry heavily into his back making him stop moving and wonder who it was.

"Hey king," Ichigo's hollow spoke up "I'd recognize this chakra signature anywhere, we're home"