Run

It was quiet, the sun was rising, the sky gradually turning a honey color, casting everything in amber-gold. Morning was once again gracing the city in a snow globe, as many in the city called it. Birds tittered in green trees, flicking their tails and calling to each other in chipper tones, utterly filled with love for everything and anything. People began to mill about in the city, opening stores, riding sky-rails to school, buying danishes and a coffee at the local café, chatting at each other from windows and balconies.

"Did you feel that tremor last night?"

"Oh, my, yes. It was quite shocking, wasn't it?"

"People say it was the very cities foundations shaking. Tectonic plates or something."

"What do I think? Well, I dunno, geology ain't my area of study."

"People say there was a ghost sealed below the city long ago. Maybe it awakened? I'd be kinda mad if I was sealed beneath the city. Can you imagine my hair? Haha!"

"Yeah, I-whoa, watch that bike-I don't think it was anything to worry about. Barely made it on the Richter scale."

"Shaking? I didn't feel any shaking. I sleep like a drugged log, you know that."

Gossip flitted about the city, as people continued their lives, happy to have something to chat about in their mundane lives.

Unaware of how important it was to be concerned over this particular incidence.

---

Naruto stared at himself in the mirror. He'd managed to sneak back upstairs, utterly naked. Not even Delphi noticed. He was surprised. At first, he wasn't quite sure what happened, but he slowly realized that it was significant. The blonde decided right there and then that he had to, absolutely must, find out about the Bijuu. He didn't care what it took.

This was important.

Scrubbing at his cheeks, he tried to get the black lines on his face off. They stubbornly stayed there. It looked as if he'd been instantly and cleanly tattooed. "Marked," he muttered to himself again. What would his parents say? And surely, surely, they had been made aware of the state of the vault. Then again, Delphi hadn't said anything.

He briefly thought about the makeup in his mother's room, then promptly decided against it. Whatever the consequences, he wouldn't wear makeup to cover up the lines. That was one thing his pride did not allow. Then, he brushed a hand on his bare stomach, and hissed. It still hurt. Like crazy. He silently cursed the fox, of whom he could find no trace of at all. Dressing in a black shirt and jeans, he slipped on some sneakers he often used to run around the mansion's wall ramparts, but now, he'd just need them to run out of the house faster. He'd never even attempted to leave the mansion, but if it was one thing he knew, he would need to get to the city outside these walls. The libraries in the mansion had nothing useful, and the computers had no trace of anything even related to giant foxes. Raking a hand through his wheat-colored hair, he frowned at himself. "This oughta be fun," he muttered to himself, finding his face in the mirror again, and poking a finger at his reflection. "In one night, you've ruined your face, ruined your stomach, sealed a friggin' monster into your body, and quite possibly just signed your own death warrant. And now, you're about to sneak out of the house into a city that Delphi has completely monitored."

Glancing at his hand display, he checked the time, then tapped into the computer network wirelessly, watching as colored bars scrolled past as he pulled up information. The bars substituted words, as they would have been laborious to fit into the small two by two screen on the back of his hand, so he had to accustom himself, as did everyone, to read the bars instinctively. Wiping his data screen clear with his finger, he stared out the window into the wide world beyond the mansion. Gripping his backpack for reassurance, he inhaled once, then let it out slowly. "Suicide mission is a go."

---

For some reason, Delphi continued to ignore his presence, and servants never regarded him anyway, unless addressed. But he sprinted through the house nonetheless, sliding down railings and nearly jumping off walls. It was odd. He felt more powerful, stronger. He'd always been in good condition, his parents had seen to it, but this was above and beyond. Energy seemed to bubble from within him, and his breath never fell short. He made a break for the door across the large lobby, jumped through behind an exiting servant, and was outside.

The courtyard was always the same, of course. No one regarded him. They simply kept on working, doing whatever they had to do. The cobblestone beneath his feet seemed to him far better than the plush carpet inside. He suddenly loved the outdoors. And he suddenly felt cheated as he stared up at the glass dome far above his head. They limited him. He'd never felt limited before. Didn't like the feeling. He also didn't like the walls. The constricted him as well. Glancing at the massive gates before him, he walked towards them slowly now. Naruto wasn't taking any chances that the silent Delphi would suddenly take notice of him. She always took notice of him. It was her job.

But she didn't, and he could feel sudden, massive swells of happiness. Perhaps he was really going to get out of here. Maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to break free from this prison. Yes, that's what it was. A prison. With its creeds, its rules, its studying, its cold and dingy atmosphere. There was nothing more that he wanted then to run out into the city. He--

A hand fell on his shoulder, and he cringed, hand on the small door built into the gate leading out into the world. Just a few measly feet of metal, and he would have been out. Of course, doors were made to keep people in. Or out. He forgot which at the moment. And at the moment, there was a rather serious looking guard holding the young man back with a stiff hand.

"Where ya goin', Master Naruto?" His voice was anything but pleasant. In fact, it even smelled faintly of garlic. "You know the rules. You are not allowed outside. You are to be kept a--"

"Yeah, yeah, I know what I'm supposed to be kept as. Listen, how about you let me through, and I'll try and get you promoted, eh?"

The guard was not amused. "Soooo, by letting you go, in direct violation of m' duties, I'd get a promotion? What, is it opposite day, or somethin'?" He stared down, unkindly, at Naruto from beneath the brim of his helmet. The gun on his hip was also rather unappealing. "I ain't stupid, Master."

Naruto frowned. This was going nowhere fast. He'd been spotted. He'd been stopped, and he had no idea what to do. The guy looked several times stronger than he was, and he wasn't about to notify the whole mansion that he'd broken out.

Suddenly, a single thought broke through is feverishly racing mind. "You can so do this." Then, it was gone. Resolutely, Naruto shoved the door open. It swung wide. The guard simply raised his brow and tightened his grip on the boy.

"Whatcha thinkin', boy?"

The outside world, beyond the walls, it was beautiful. A small green slope rolled down from where the mansion sat, and plummeted into a set of fields. The path to the city was lined in big, heavy trees swaying in the wind, the dirt road meandering through the fields, and into a small, lush wood, then out into the fringes of downtown. He grinned. This was for him. He could practically feel the dirt path beneath his feet as he virtually pounded his way to freedom.

Slowly, the blonde glanced up at the guard, winked, then slammed his elbow into the older man's stomach. He doubled over, wincing and fighting for breath. Naruto glanced around the courtyard. Delphi had to have noticed that. Violence? In her city? Never. But she didn't. He smirked, tripped the guard, then promptly bolted into the world.

---

Heavy with exuberance, and a little light-headed, Naruto nearly tripped over a small stone in his path as his mad dash carried him farther and farther from the mansion. He couldn't resist a whoop into the stillness, several servants looking up from their work in the fields, then promptly ignored him. If he was outside, it must be for a reason. He didn't stop until he'd broken into the tree line, wove around the tall wooden behemoths, and out into the outskirts of town.

The high-rises of the small city were almost starkly out of place among the smaller buildings surrounding them, their tips nearly reaching the glass sky above. Small houses sprang up around him, people in their yards laughing with those in other yards, or tending their gardens. There weren't many people though. He assumed they'd gone to work. These were probably just the housewives. Some looked at him, raised a brow at his apparent wildness, and then turned back. What did they care for a single blonde boy shouting his freedom to the clouds beyond his reach.

Not until he was in the thick of downtown did he slow down, clasping his backpack tightly. His stomach gurgled at him, and he briefly thought of lunch. Here, he was in the thick of things. People bumped and surged about on the concrete, the voices hundreds of people raising in the midday air to blend in a cacophony of a noise. He stood in the middle of the sidewalk, watching cars peter down the main street of the city, this way and that, letting people jostle him as he just stared. Then, he craned his neck up, and stared up. Skyrails crisscrossed like a lattice web far above his head, the public transportation system of the city. He'd always wondered what it would be like to ride one, so far up. Scary, he decided as he watched, but decided it would be worth the scare. Later though. Right now, he had to concentrate on his stomach.

A soft smell emanated from a small bistro down the way, of miso soup, cooking fish, and coffee. Stumbling when someone brushed roughly against him, he ignored the person and moved towards café. Inside, it was decorated much like he imagined. Warm wooden accents, hued in heavy brown stain, textured yellow walls, small pictures and paintings of the Konoha countryside tacked tastefully along the walls. It wasn't quite full, but it was still a busy looking place, people sipping frothy teas and coffees, enjoying pastries, or simply reading a newspaper or watching people walk by outside the window. As he stepped towards the counter, he peaked at the menu, and grinned.

"Can I help you?" came the forcefully subdued voice, as if trying to suppress laughter. It was distinctively feminine. Naruto turned towards the voice, still grinning. The girl before him was probably his age, give or take a year. Long pink hair tied back in a high ponytail, smiling emerald eyes, and a somewhat more restrained grin than his own. The laughter was obvious in her face.

Naruto wasn't really used to girls his own age. He'd befriended a girl and her brother once back at the mansion, when he'd first been brought there, children of a servant. But from day one, they were strictly forbidden to associate with each other. Their short lived play of pretend had disintegrated into frowns and grumpy parents, who then moved out to look for work elsewhere. Now, staring in the smiling face of the pretty girl before him, he had no real idea what to do. So, he laughed, trying to dispel the awkwardness he was feeling. "Ummm, yeah. What do you recommend?" He chuckled again, scratching the hair behind his head, fluffing his shaggy, long spikes.

Leaning on the counter, she raised a brow at him, then at the menu. "Try the strawberry tart. Maybe a good strong black tea with honey too? We're pretty famous for our teas." She turned on that smile again, bright white teeth flashing. This girl seemed a little too happy.

He just stared at her for a moment, an unusual warmth creeping into his face. Maybe he was getting heat stroke from all the running? Naw, he felt fine. No, no, he was...blushing! Oh crap! "Uh, y-yeah, sounds great! You must know, you work here and all. My name is Naruto." After stringing the sentences together almost blazingly fast, he grinned. This was not good. He'd been taught all manners of social and political situations, not to mention how to speak to ladies. But this was not a lady. This was a girl. And girls, he'd never had training with. Now, he was making a total and utter fool of himself in a shop in front of the first pretty girl to engage him.

But she seemed to ignore his lacking social skills, nodded, and turned towards her work. Filling a cup with tea, her back was turned to him, and he couldn't help noticing her shoulders almost bouncing up and down with suppressed laughter. That bad, eh? He sighed. At least it was a learning experience. Finding a chair at a table at the corner of the restaurant, he tried to calm himself, telling himself over and over that he'd been trained for this sort of thing. But when she arrived with the order, he felt that heat spread to his face again, and he briefly wondered how his hair looked.

Naruto nearly had a heart attack when she sat down across the table from him, yelling towards a shadowy figure in the back that she was taking a break. "Y'know, most people don't introduce themselves to the cashier girl. But since you've graced me with your name, I'm sure you'd appreciate the sentiment." The laughter sprang back into her eyes as she extended a hand across the table. "Haruno Sakura, cashier girl and order taker extraordinaire."

"Haruno Sakura?" Naruto looked down at his tea, watching the steamy liquid swirl around in the mug instead of looking at her. "Cherry Blossoms of the Spring?" He finally glanced at her, then looked back down. "Fits," he said simply, before taking a big gulp of the steaming liquid. It was almost as if he felt no heat. In fact, he didn't. Raising a brow, suddenly distracted from the pretty girl, he squinched an eye. "Huh." He took another steamy gulp, before looking up at Sakura.

She stared at him as if he'd gone crazy, but that amused spark still hung in her eyes. "Wow. Never seen anyone drink boiling tea that way," she hummed, pursing his lips as she shifted in her chair. "You're pretty strange, Blondie. Can't say why you caught my attention, 'cause don't get me wrong, we get our fair share of crazies around him." Sakura watched his face droop at the word 'crazies', but then shook her head. "Not that your crazy or anything. But I saw you out the window. Most people in the city don't take the time to stare around at the buildings, much less have the utter stupidity to not watch for cars or pedestrians as they walk." His face drooped further. "Oh, light up...Er, I mean 'lighten' up. You just look like a kid who'd just been brought to the city for the first time with his parents."

Naruto just stared at her, dejectedly. This encounter wasn't going well. "Oh," was all he could manage, edging the tart towards himself, looking for some sort of distraction.

"Oh, c'mon. Naruto, right? Listen, I'm doing you a favor. Just keep your head up, all right?" She couldn't help but chuckle to herself. It seemed like the boy had the emotional extremes generally associated with a kid. When he was happy, his whole face showed it. When he was sad, the pleasant atmosphere in the place probably dropped a few degrees. "I'm just lookin' out for you. Did you live out in the outskirts all your life?"

Tearing his gaze up from the wooden grain of the table, he lightened some, but he seemed guarded now. "Uh, yeah, I guess you might say that. Never been in the city, so I guess, y'know, I'm just a bit overwhelmed and stuff, ne?"

Her mouth made a silent 'Ah' motion as she watched him eat the tart. "Where?"

The blonde muttered something around the tart, but said no more. Whatever he'd said, he'd purposefully made it sound unintelligible. That much she was sure of. Leaning her head on her hand, she just watched him for a second. Suddenly, she noticed the long black lines on his pale face. "Cool! You have tattoos! I didn't even know you could get them at your age. Or are you older than you look?"

Naruto was horrified. He tried not to show it, but apparently, the lines were not just figments of his imagination, as he'd silently convinced himself that morning. Trying to cover his face inconspicuously by sinking his head into his crossed arms on the table, he winced and again avoided the question. "Um, well, I'm seventeen. You?"

"Sixteen," hummed Sakura, frowning oh-so-slightly at the guy. He really didn't want to share anything. However, glancing at the clock, she winced. Her break was up. Standing, she grunted, then remembered something. "Oh, that'll be five-fifty, even," she said, picking up his plate and cup.

He nodded, taking off his backpack, and fishing around for his wallet. Frowning, he patted his pockets. Nothing. He looked through his backpack again. He knew he had money. He'd borrowed from the family coffers before he'd run into the city, and had plenty of cash.

Stumbling when someone brushed roughly against him, he ignored the person and moved towards café. He grunted as realization filled his eyes. "I've been pick-pocketed? All ready?" Throwing up his hands and burying them in his hair, he let out a muffled gurgle of frustration. "You gotta be kidding me! I've only been out here for an hour!"

Sakura was not amused. Maybe he had been pick-pocketed, or maybe he was lying. Either way, it was her butt on the line. "Listen Blondie, I'd love to chat about how unfortunate your life is and all, but I need to get the money." She briefly wondered why she hadn't taken the money from him before serving him. Oh, yeah, his stupid grinning. That, and that stupid laughter that she could barely cover at the time. Distractions, distractions. In the end, she'd still have to deal with the boss. Then again, watching him, she seriously doubted he was lying. "Whoa, whoa, calm down before you stomp holes into the floorboards. Listen, since you've been so chatty and interesting, I'll pay for you, if," she held up a finger, "if you remember not to be so stupid to lose your wits in the middle of the city. You're a victim waiting to happen, unfortunately."

He stared at her, then shook his head, crossing his arms across his chest. "I appreciate it," he said stubbornly, "But it was my mistake. You shouldn't have to pay for it. I'll just...wash dishes or something, huh? Do a little work for free to pay for it." He grinned again.

Stubborn and proud. Sakura sighed, then set her hands on her hips. "Listen, you either walk out of the café with your dignity intact, or I hoist you up by your underwear and throw you out. Do I make myself clear?"

Almost as soon as the words passed her lips, she could feel him running past her with a 'Thanksalot,bye!', and into the crowds outside. Then, she laughed softly, not really caring as the customers glanced up at her and gave her quizzical looks. That guy was just too hilarious.

---

Tsunade had had a hectic day as it was. Stupid, boring meetings, people bothering her with issues that really weren't her concern, medical files that needed signing, patients that needed looking after. And all the while, Delphi was practically yelling into her ear about something. She'd put off the city-mind as long as she could, until she couldn't take the constant nagging anymore. Stepping down into the basement levels of city, she stepped into Delphi. Literally. Here, everything was white. The brilliant lights were white, the technicians were dressed in white, the ground was white. The only thing that wasn't white was Delphi. She was grey.

Delphi had been grown, not assembled. Well, most of her had been grown. She was an organic machine, with the added bonus of sentience. She was a fluke, a mistake in the creation of a new super computer gone brilliantly wrong. Here, her essence was kept in a perfectly sterile environment. She had been grown with in the glass walls of the cavernous room, her tissue spread out around the underground dome. The technicians scurried about, monitoring the elaborate machine-mind, checking on the wiring, feeding her nutrients with syringes, or simply imputing new code in for her databases.

Walking to a monitor, Tsunade frowned at the screen. "What is it, Delphi? I realize you have an issue, but really, all day? I've been up to my elbows in work lately, you know that."

A figure materialized in the monitor, before projecting itself through a hologram projector. It was a woman, perhaps in her thirties, with long black hair, plump figure, and light grey eyes. This was how Delphi chose to manifest herself today. "I realize this, Tsunade. But I've been worried over something rather...well, critical."

Tsunade simply raised her brow. It was not in Delphi's nature to worry. Yes, she'd developed an almost motherly personality and fiercely devoted herself to her city, but she rarely worried about anything. "Well?"

"The Uzumaki House has lost their heir! And I cannot find him. He slipped from my awareness yesterday morning, and wouldn't even have thought to try and find him if their family hadn't asked me directly. I can't feel his signature anywhere! How is that even possible?"

Yes, how was that possible? The signature she referred to was the soft quantum signature inherent and unique to every living thing. Even when the creature died and decomposed, their signature, their unique mark, would filter into the air, the ground, the water, and Delphi would be aware of it. But now, if the Uzumaki heir could not be found, he had been abducted by aliens with signature altering tech, or...he was outside the city-state. Both sounded totally impossible. Nobody had been outside the city in nearly a millennia. Despite the technical difficulties, there were guards stationed at every thoroughly sealed exit. Chakra users, no less. And there was very good reason for it.

"Well..." Tsunade carefully considered her words. "Why would you lose track of him, and just him? Was there something unusual about that night?" Her mind raced. There had been an earthquake, but that wasn't unheard of around here. Rare, yes, but still not totally out there.

"Other than the earthquake, no. I did notice he was going to explore the house that day, but he often did that anyway. Do you know him?"

"No, not personally," said Tsunade, pulling up readouts of the night before last. Nothing very unusual. There was an insignificant dip in the volume of serotonin right after, but that could be remedied. She attributed Delphi's frazzled behavior to that, and made a note to replace it. "However, I have heard of him. A good, subservient child, if his parents can be believed. Of course, he is kept a strict secret from the other Houses, but I'm not affiliated with any of the Houses directly." She tapped at the keyboard again, brushing a stray hair from her face. "Nothing, Delphi. You're healthy as you've ever been. Maybe it's just a glitch in the code. I'll have someone check it over, and then we'll try and get somewhere. In the meanwhile, I'll have a few people look for him. He shouldn't be in any danger. I mean, this is Konoha. Also, try and see if anyone says his name."

"I have, but the locations are mostly in the mansion, where they can't find him anyway. There was a disturbance at the front door of mansion, where a guard had tried to stop the heir. But he's in the city somewhere, and I can't split my attention so much." The image of Delphi sniffed in resignation. "I'm not omniscient, you know."

"Yeah, yeah. Just try and concentrate on the sewage management below streets for now. They have a backup in the lower seventh sector. See if you can scope out the mess, mayhap?"

Delphi crossed her arms and frowned. Then, she fizzled out existence, muttering about handyman duties.

Tsunade chuckled, slipped a needle of serotonin into the grey tissue, and set the glass panel back in place. "What a woman."

---

Sky waned from light, to less light, to even less light, as the city began to fall asleep. Naruto had spent the entire day wandering around aimlessly in the streets, not really caring where he was going, and not really bothering to remember the street names. And for a long while, he realized he was going in big circles, but didn't bother to alter his course. He'd stop in shops to gaze at trinkets, antiques, packaged foods, jewelry, pets, anything that caught his fancy. The blonde couldn't buy anything, but that was a moot point. The teen could barely contain his joy at being able to wander around in a world far vaster than the ever changing mansion. This place had far more variety, flavor, smell, texture, and color. He'd grip onto the straps of his ragged green backpack, and almost skip in his joy. At one point, he even run down the streets, whooping and hollering, just because he could.

But now, as twilight filtered into the dome, he found himself in the middle of the city's park, utterly and totally spent. He'd had energy for a long time, but his body was running on empty. The trees of the park were lush and full, caught in the vibrancy of summer. Long, meandering paths of pebbles wandered through the park's low hills, meadows, along lakes, over bridges, and around an amphitheater. Big, fancy streetlights had been made to look like old-fashioned flame lanterns were set in the ground along the throughways of the park, illuminating their patch of stone silently into the night. No one was out and about but the lone blonde, who'd flopped himself on the grass beneath a tree.

Tugging on a branch, he frowned up at the foliage as the moon was covered, revealed, covered, revealed by the leaves swaying in the soft wind. "Should I go back?" he muttered to himself. The gnawing anger that had been dulled by his excitement now came back in the still of the night, and he fantasized briefly about a big bowl of ramen, a food he'd rarely been allowed to eat in the mansion. "Nngh, I'm so hungry," he complained out loud, growling in frustration, rubbing his stomach, "And I can't just sleep out here in the grass." The air was all ready beginning to cool. Standing, he walked towards the amphitheater. Maybe he could sneak into the building he'd seen behind the stage and spend the night there.

Rounding the corner of the building, he brushed a hand on the wall, a dim yellow light casting only the immediate area in light. And that too disappeared in a flicker.

Two pairs of hands swiftly grabbed him from behind. One pair around his mouth and eyes, the other around his waist as it grabbed him and pushed him against the wall. He grunted, surprised by the sudden and inexplicable turn of events. Was he being kidnapped or something? In Konoha? Impossible. Delphi would be notified.

But Delphi didn't come. He blinked, ready to fight viciously with his abductor, growling around the hand on his mouth. It felt surprisingly soft and gentle against his lips. But before he could attempt to, the arms around his waist let him go as they opened the door to the stage storage house and pushed him in, following him and locking the door. Turning in the pitch black of the storage room, he frowned. "Hey! What's going on! What's the big idea!"

"Oy, Blondie, keep your voice down." A light flicked on, revealing a smirking Sakura, standing by another girl. The new girl had blonde hair as well, which she kept in a loose ponytail on her back. What was with pretty girls and ponytails anyway?

"S-Sakura?" Naruto blinked in the sudden light, trying to struggle out of the prop bed he'd fallen into when pushed. "What...are you doing? And who's she?" His face went from surprised to angry.

"Whoa, lookit him. Totally into this, ain't he?" The blonde girl spoke suddenly, smirking and glancing him up and down. "Pretty cute. I feel kinda bad now about grabbing him like that." She paused, then winked at Naruto, thoroughly flustering him. "Eh, I take that back. You're pretty muscled for looking so scrawny, Blondie."

The blush spread from his ears and cheeks to his entire face as Naruto tried to maintain his anger. That girl wasn't helping. "My name's not Blondie. It's Naruto." He crossed his arms, growling slightly, trying to keep the pretense of anger as it evaporated. After all, he'd never been so popular. "I'd absolutely love to know what's going on here."

Sakura pushed her friend softly, then rolled her eyes at her most recently pilfered prize. "Calm down, Whiskers. This is pretty simple. We noticed you. Well, I noticed you," she corrected softly as she sat down on an arm of a stage chair. "Ino here didn't do much."

"Hu-huh?"

Ignoring Ino's looks of annoyance, Sakura continued. "Well, yeah. Noticed you. You can use chakra."

How did she know?

"You see, that's sort of what I do," continued pink-haired girl, ignoring his look of shock. "I can use chakra too, like Ino here, and a few others. Chakra has manifested itself differently in others. The amount of chakra and the specific affinity it offers are totally unique as well." Wiping her hands of some dust she'd unfortunately sat herself in, she stood, brushing her bottom as well. "My affinity, or rather, ability, is to be able to sense chakra alignment and volume. I get a sort of tickle all over my body."

What was she talking about? Naruto didn't understand any of this. Yeah, he could use chakra, but in no way he knew how. He'd never had it manifest in him. The Kyuubi had noticed it though, so, it was possible that this girl, who claimed she was able to use chakra as well, wasn't making this up. "You...you did?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah." She walked over to him, grabbed his arm, and leaned in close to his face. She smirked as the blush blossomed again. Naruto could smell her breath. Blueberries and coffee. "You practically tickled me to death, you know." Stepping back, she cracked the door open and peeked outside. "Which is why I couldn't keep a straight face around you until I figured out how to block your chakra out of my body." Closing the door, she sauntered back and smirked at him. "That means you generate an inhuman amount of chakra. Most of the others barely registered, and they aren't weaklings."

Ino leaned against the wall, flapping a hand like a mouth at the back of Sakura's head. "Blah, blah, blah, Forehead, you talk like you moonlight at as an old lady teacher. Dry and boring." She turned her attention on Naruto, wearing the smirk that was so popular today. "Don't stress yourself. Sakura likes to preach to the wind in her free time, ne?" She was promptly smacked in the head with a dusty pillow. Sputtering, Ino simply dropped the pillow, unwilling to pursue the fight.

"My rude friend here can manipulate shadows to some extent, that's her ability. Which is why the light was kind enough to go out all of a sudden."

Ino saluted from her place at the wall. Her shadow waved at him from behind her.

Naruto stared at them dumbly. It made sense, but this was all going way to fast. It'd only been a day since he'd first stepped out of the house, and all ready, he's being kidnapped by crazy teens who can use chakra. "What...what do you want?"

Sakura smiled full of reassurance and triumph. "We want you to join us, Naruto." She clapped her hands together, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Join the Hidden Shinobi of Konoha."

----ooo----

Today's chapter?

Run by Snow Patrol.

See if you can find the slight references I made in the text. But only if you think you're smarter than me and my poorly disguises attempt at wittiness.

And the title of the actual story is a song by a band I recently found. I'm not telling you who it is, but if you think you know, review me your guess.

I realize the characters are slightly OOC. Especially Sakura. I hope it's not too pronounced, and if it is, please say so. I'd hate to annoy fans. XD Or I might not care at all what you think. Either way, REVIEW! I love those things. It lets me know I'm not just writing into the void!

-Raz