A/N and Review Responses:

Takei, MBS, and Tigerzz: You're on the right track! In FFtF, Yang is inseparable from Yin, even for Shinigami. Kurama's body has been regrowing and regenerating as he's rested in Naruto's gut. The seal draws on it to heal Naruto, completely independent of Kurama's will, and - as a physical manifestation of Chakra - it's represented on the 9-tails as mirrored damage. That's just how Chakra rolls, I'm sure modifications to the seal could be made by a master in order to alter this function, but this shit's magic - don't gotta explain itself to nobody.

Other than that, the guy's a civvie that's backstabbed !"Cat" in favour of destroying the Demon. He seems to know a bit about demons, somehow. Oh well, he'll probably end up as a pile of ashes for his betrayal, right?

"Normal Speech"
'Normal Thought'
'"Talking within mindscape"'

"Tenant Speech"
'Tenant Thought (rare?)'
*"Tenant Outside Speech (probably never, just setting precedent)"*

"Like a Phoenix, I will rise from the ashes of this world and-."
- Madara Uchiha, Battle of the Valley

"-Like your mom, I'll fill you with my wooden spear before that happens!"
- Hashirama Senju, taking a stab at comedy

Morning

Naruto awoke once more, this time to the bleak white of a hospital ceiling. He knew it was a hospital ceiling, because he felt like shit and they were the only ceilings that used that particular shade of white. 'And also because that nurse just stuck something in my arm that feels gooood-'.

Suddenly, he was wide awake - the upper in his IV was fast-acting. 'At least I got the good stuff this time!' He took stock of the room, parts of his memory and cognitive function still booting up and coming online. That's when the Hokage cleared his throat.

"Naruto, I hope you're alright?" Hiruzen's questions were always deeper than they seemed. 'He obviously knows I'm fine, so what's underneath the underneath?'

"Just... confused, jiji." He had to search for words carefully, and his tongue felt like someone had grown moss on it. "There's a demon in me. A guy with no arm tried to burn it out."

Sarutobi nodded, slowly. "Yes... Naruto. I had hoped to tell you when you were older, to let you live - as much as possible - the life of a child, while you could. It seems that old age has blinded me, but I make no excuses." The old ninja's age fell upon him abruptly, in a sigh that caused his shoulders to droop. "Tell me, my young friend, what you know of it - and then I will be as honest with you as I can."

The blonde had begun crying as Hiruzen spoke. When Naruto responded, it was against a flood of words and sobs, pushing against each other to get out. "I'm a demon, jiji. All those people were right, I can remember the killing and the blood, I've got a demon in me that's gonna eat me and then hurt everyone I love and that's why the ninken hate me and no one goes near me."

The heart of a lesser man might have steeled itself against such an onslaught of pain, from a child who deserved none of it - from a child who was his responsibility. False, reassuring words might have been spoken, white lies to protect the self and assuage the pain.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had never been described as a lesser man. His heart broke, as he broke the heart of his adopted grandson. "You do have a demon in you, Naruto -it could break out at any moment, and destroy the village. It is exactly why the civilians, and most of the older ninjas hate you - because you remind them every day of their pain, and loss."

Naruto's face blanked, his eyes dulled. Only his breathing came faster, his heart-rate spiked. The Hokage had confirmed his worst fears in a single moment. "But," he was interrupted from total shutdown, "You are not the Demon, Naruto. You are a hero, for what you've sacrificed. Always remember that."

The blonde cried some more, as Hokage and jinchuriki spoke of things no child should have to endure. A nod to the nurse later, and Naruto was once again asleep. His slumber was restless and agitated, but no dreams disturbed him, no nightmares woke him. When he was discharged the following day, he felt as if he hadn't slept at all.

"Naruto, the Hokage wants to see you." A tall blonde man poked his head inside the jinchuriki's dorm room, having knocked and been received. "I'm Inoichi Yamanaka - you might know my little girl, Ino, from your classes?" Naruto nodded as he pulled his head through a shirt - he'd been lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to put the pieces of his life back together, when the man showed up.

Depression was a terrible thing in children, and not something Naruto was used to or prepared for. The jinchuriki cringed when he saw the Fourth's face through his window - his hero had done this to him. The person whose accomplishments he'd spent hours learning, begging and cajoling with Hiruzen for more stories, more facts, more tales. 'He didn't save Konoha by killing the Fox... he just put it in me. And then he died. My dad died ruining my life.'

The worst part was that he didn't feel betrayed, or angry. He didn't feel anything. 'I'm empty, cold. I guess I'll start wearing black and become an emo like the Uchihas-'

His moping was interrupted, fortunately. "Nice plants - did you grow them on your own?" Inoichi gave Naruto a knowing smile, and a wink. "I've got something of a green thumb myself - the Yamanaka supply most of Konoha's ninja forces with poisons and medication - but you probably don't care about all that."

Seeing a glint in the boy's previously dull eyes, the Yamanaka pressed. "Oh? So you are a plant man, ne?" Naruto couldn't suppress a small, shy smile at the man's goading. 'I'm supposed to be sad and downtrodden, not happy! Mouth what are you doing!' Instead, the younger blonde blushed, and he responded sheepishly with his exploits. His depression diminished as the two talked about his plants.

Pulling him further out of his apathy as they began to walk - first through the hallways, and then through the crisp Autumn air towards the Hokage's tower - Inoichi regaled his Genin days to the boy. "Choza would inflate like a balloon if you startled him - his instincts were spot on, but his reflexes took a while to develop. Between Shikaku and I, we managed to mess him up pretty bad - at least until he began flattening us against things as retribution. One time we got him while he was picking his nose, they had to rebuild half his face - and we had to stop bullying him, or the medics would've castrated us."

His stories were full of gestures and smiles, and Naruto's spirits couldn't help but soar, at least for the moment. When they reached the base of the tower, Inoichi turned to Naruto and kneeled, face to face. "Now, Naruto, not everything is going to be okay with you when we get up there. The Hokage and the ninja clan heads are going to want to talk with you a lot, and some of the things they'll say will hurt you, or make you sad."

"It's okay goldy-locks," Naruto didn't want the man to worry about him - not after how nice he'd been. "I don't like being sad, anyways - I'll just prank the mean ones extra bad." His eyes flashed for a second, and Inoichi could've sworn he'd seen green. "You're all getting pranked, of course - this is a bunch of bullshit - but I guess I can sorta see why I got the short end of the stick." It wasn't like there were any other Uzumakis around.

Inoichi smiled awkwardly, unsure of how to take the knowledge of his impending doom. 'I'd hate to be a Hyuuga right now.' He rose and opened the doors, pushing through the crowds of Genin and Chunin looking for work, with Naruto in tow. Making their way to the Hokage's office, the two were ushered in without needing to knock.

"Ah, Naruto, Yamanaka-san, welcome." The Hokage greeted them and cleared his throat to begin the meeting. Present were the clan heads, standing around the Hokage's desk in a circular fashion. Also present were Iruka and Mizuki, and...

"Dog-san!" Solemnity was temporarily suspended in the large room, as all heads turned towards the orange and blue child. He'd cleaved himself to the Anbu's leg, looking up with delight at the older ninja.

His giggles when the Anbu ruffled his hair filled the room for a moment, before Dog told him to be quiet and listen carefully. "You never know what might come in handy, Naruto." The young blonde nodded seriously, and disengaged from the man's leg. 'Bull says that when he wants me to listen to what's not being said, cuz that's the important stuff.' The other Anbu had tried his best to teach Naruto about 'subtlety' and 'tact'.

With such matters settled, Hiruzen began. "We're here to address and assess the state of Konoha's jinchuriki. We do not have room for position-jockeying or foul play, and as such, the right of participation is reserved for those under mental scrutiny." The assembled ninjas turned towards Inoichi, who had been busy putting on a metal helmet of some sort.

"Acknowledge." with a single words from the Yamanaka, the clan heads went stiff. Shortly after, Naruto felt a tug at the edge of his perception. "It feels like bees are pulling my hair." Naruto managed to scratch his head before his vision tunneled, and he shot at great speeds towards a bright light.

The light resolved itself into... "What was that? All that just to end up back in the Hokage's office? Where did Iruka and Mizuki go!?" The ninjas ignored him, turning to Inoichi.

"Connection secure. We have ten minutes to hash this out before I have an aneurism and we all spend the rest of our lives as vegetables, so if you would, Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen nodded, and addressed the group. "Naruto has discovered his tenant. I have told him everything relevant to the situation as I see it, and it is now our duty to decide how the rest of his life will play out." Except for the Hyuuga, the group remained silent - the choice would be Naruto's, in the end. They owed the Fourth that much.

"The child should be caged, Hokage-sama. The time for war and Biju is passed. There is too much on the line, and our resources tied up in this atrocity are vast. We could use them well, elsewhere." Hiruzen nodded sagely at the man's words, while Naruto was barely restraining himself. The rest of the clan heads simply waited for him to finish.

'I wonder why Dog isn't here?' He'd meant to think it, but he must've said it aloud, for the assembly turned to him. "Naruto, your surface thoughts are sometimes real here - please contain yourself, at least when others are speaking." The reprimand, from the Hokage no less, was a gentle reminder of his station in regards to the noble clansmen around him.

Inoichi winked at him, and Naruto knew that at least the negativity he'd been projecting towards the Hyuuga had been intercepted by the kind-hearded blonde. 'Thanks.'

'Don't worry about it.' The Yamanaka then took on a look of extreme concentration, as the conversation began. The room took on a hurried tone - information transferring at extreme speeds between the gathered. To everyone else there, it seemed as if they were simply talking - but for the Yamanaka, every thought and concept was being filtered through his jutsu - and his mind - at an extreme speed.

"Danzo could've leaked his identity," was countered with "He would die before he betrayed Konoha. No, really - there's a seal on his chest..." Naruto's opinion and preference were taken into account, but in the end, there was little overall they could do for him as a child. Someone named Orochimaru was mentioned, and discarded - he had no hold here, after someone else named Jiraiya had 'swept the village'.

Once they cut out many of the unsavoury or unlikely options, they began to reach a consensus. Loose ends came rapidly together, and the hours of bickering and concessions that would've gone on in real life were resolved in five minutes. Everyone's goals here were bared, the stakes were on the table. Naruto couldn't help but become overwhelmed at the meshing of plans and ideas - he never could have imagined that he was so important. 'Or at least the demon inside me is.'

When the Hokage finally concluded their meeting, it was with kindness and sorrow."Well, Naruto, What do you think about all this? Your childhood is over after today. We don't have many options that can keep you safe, and none are sure to make you happy." The jinchuriki sobered. 'So this is what a life-changing decision feels like?'

His legs shook slightly under the collective weight of those watching him. The air stilled and he began to sweat, as his mind raced to think of something to say. He wasn't happy with their decision, their rules and choices for him. He never wanted anything to do with this aspect of life - 'As if I'll take it lying down, 'ttebayo!'

"I'll have that hat off your head, dattebayo! Even if I have to work ten times harder to be a ninja, even if I have to beat up the demon in my belly alone! I don't understand what all the fuss is about, and I don't care what someone with a stick up their ass has to say about it." He stuck his tongue out at Hiashi, who glared back before disappearing with a 'blip'.

With slight nods from the rest of the clan heads, who disappeared short after, Naruto was left alone with the Hokage and the Yamanaka. "Bold, Naruto. You are young, and they underestimate you - but your resolve is commendable." Naruto grinned, and scratched his neck sheepishly.

"You know that this means you won't be able to finish the Academy?" Naruto nodded, saddened by the fact.

"I get it, jiji - really, I do." They'd gone over likely scenarios of the Nine-Tails escaping because of something Naruto had no control over. Hiruzen had argued for Minato's mastery of Fuinjutsu, but the art was too esoteric, there were too many unexplained variables - no one wanted Naruto's demon around their children. Even Tsume had voted against him returning to the Academy, apology etched onto her face.

"Jiraiya will be here in one month, Naruto. Prepare yourself as much as possible - his training is harsh and he is not a patient man. Talk with the Demon little - even if you feel drawn there again, try to ignore it." Naruto nodded. 'I don't know if I can, jiji.'

Something told him it would be harder than it sounded. 'Just don't talk to the giant fox in your belly. Especially not when it's angry and hurt.' Naruto would try breathing water, if someone told him he couldn't - luckily, none of the villagers knew that.

That night, Hiruzen meets with Itachi.

The Uchiha twitched as the news sunk in. It was barely visible, through the medication and the Anbu's training. To Hiruzen's eyes, Itachi may as well have been screaming. "And my role in all this, Hokage-sama?"

"Executioner."

Red eyes glint. A mask covers Itachi's face.

Bull nodded his acknowledgement. "For Konoha."

And he was gone.

Hiruzen sighed. 'One month... and it may see us all dead. Damn you, Danzo - your meddling has gone too far this time.' Plans within plans, and his defenses on all fronts were crumbling. 'And an offense will cost the loyalty of a clan - what are you playing at, old hawk?'

A/N: Review and comment :D Feel free to send a PM my way if you have any suggestions, or see anything that feels wrong/out of place. I enjoy talking with my readers and fans of Naruto alike!