Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, I probably wouldn't be doing this.

AN: Again, not too many changes this time around, but a little bit of cleaning up never hurts.

This definitely seemed familiar. "Human." No response.

"Boy." Nothing.

"Child." Not a twitch.

"Kit." What had he called him before?

"Spawn!" Nope.

"Midday Snack!" Fun, but not insulting enough.

"Brat!" Too cliché.

"Awaken this instant, you damnable scum-ridden worthless piece of piss-furred filth!" Yep. That was the ticket.

"Say wha…" Naruto sat up, quickly realizing that he was back in front of the Kyuubi's cage. He rubbed at his eyes for a second, and took a slow look around before they came to rest on the creature in front of him once again. He was spending a surprisingly large amount of time here lately.

"Hey Fuzzy-chan, you're looking better." And he was. He'd gotten bigger, though still not nearly as massive as he'd once been, and he had two tails rather than the one he'd had before. His fur was less patchy, and his flesh didn't stretch so tightly against the bone. Naruto couldn't even act surprised. Its biggest impact on him over the years was its regenerative abilities, after all. It made sense that the fox would replenish its energy pretty quickly. Not that this had stopped him from taunting the demon by referring to him as a "Fuzzy-chan" more and more often.

"How many times have you've awakened me from my slumber at this point? And now when you find the time in your busy schedule to waste my own, you decide to take a little nap. What is it that you want? Speak and be gone."

"I, uh…Don't know. I just kinda passed out, and here we are."

"Passed out? You weren't gone for that long. What could you possibly do that would be nearly exhaustive enough to make you pass out?"

"Hey, it's been a coupla days. That's plenty 'a time for me to get into some kind of mess."

"…You really weren't kidding when you said we had a tendency to get in trouble."

"Told ya."

"You don't seem surprised to be here. Has this happened before?"

"Eh? Let's see…Yeah, it's happened once or twice. When I get hurt or something, I'll usually pop in and you'll load me up with catchra-"

"Chakra."

"…All great shinobi say catchra. Anyway, you'll give me catchra 'til I can smash whatever's causin' the problem."

"I see. So in summary, you truly are an idiot." Naruto went on, ignoring the question entirely.

"Anyway, I actually do have somethin' ta ask you about."

"Hm?"

"Well normally, when I use the chakra-"

"I thought all great shinobi said catchra."

"…"

"…"

"Shut up Fuzzy-chan. Anyway, normally I'm fine. But this time when I used it, I only did it for a few minutes before the lights went out. I don't get it. Any ideas?" The Kyuubi let out a sigh (How did even its sighs manage to sound like roars?), obviously expecting the question, and responding with a slow, exasperated voice that was normally reserved for small children.

"Your body is younger, even if your mind is not. If you truly do have such access to my chakra, it's bound to cause a serious strain on your body. Pump my chakra into a flea and see what happens."

"A flea, huh?"

"An accurate enough analogy, given your remarkable stature."

"That's a crack at my height, isn't it?"

"Ah, it can learn. Will wonders never cease?"

"Hey, it's not my fault I didn't get too much food as a kid. And you're making me get off track. So basically, without the training an' stuff that I had before, that little bit was still too much right?"

"Did I not just get finished explaining that? Perhaps I should consider smaller words next time..."

"Weeeellll crap. I figured that this might happen, I just didn't expect it such a small amount to push the limit."

"You've realized that you're a bumbling fool who overestimates his own abilities. How wonderful. Now get out."

They sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes, neither really knowing what to talk about, or in the Kyuub's case, simply not wanting to do anything remotely close to socializing with a human, especially this human. On the other hand, Naruto had never liked these silences, so naturally he decided to break it.

"So, how's the weather been in here?" Now if only he'd been any good at small talk.

"Dark, rainy, and full of fog. What does that tell you?"

"…I've been sleeping a lot?"

"You're a talentless fool whose greatest achievement in life is his inability to stop wasting the breathing space of everything else around him. Now leave me be. I still have much rest ahead before I can regain my strength, especially with a certain individual drawing on my power every time it needs to move a leaf."

"Gotcha. Later, Fuzzy-chan!"

"And stop calling me that!"

Moments later, Naruto's eyes began to open, and he quickly shut them again in a futile attempt to block out the bright lights overhead. He put an arm over his eyes, and began to slide them again more slowly, allowing them to adjust to the light change. Everything was white. Way, way too white.

Definitely in the hospital. Feeling a strange weight on the opposite end of the bed he sat up and looked forward, only to come face to face with the boy that Itachi had been meeting with so often. The older boy was sitting cross-legged on the end of his bed, staring intently at the young Jinchuuriki across from him.

Creepy. I'm telling you, their whole family is freakin' creepy. "…What's up?"

"You saved my life."

"Umm…Yeah, guess so." What, was that something strange? Yeah, they thought he was a monster, but they really wouldn't expect him to save somebody from being drowned?

"You."

He's not getting over that one, is he? "Yep. Me. And who the heck are you?"

"Shisui. Why?" Naruto shrugged at the question. It wasn't as though he could be very honest in this situation.

"I dunno. 'Cause you looked like you needed it?"

Shisui fixed him with an odd stare. "So what was that strange chakra you were using?"

"Huh? That was—it was my…natural…chakra?" Crap. It wasn't technically a lie considering he'd had it since not long after he was born, but it sure wasn't a satisfying explanation. Shisui's stare became more thoughtful, and a tad more suspicious.

"Chakra isn't visible. Not normally, anyway. I could see yours clearly even without my Sharingan, and it looked a lot like something from the-"

"Shisui-san." The voice of the Third Hokage spoke from the doorway, a clear hint of warning in his voice that anyone who knew him would recognize. Still, even though the tone held a touch of warning, the grandfatherly smile remained etched on his features. "I need to speak with our young guest. If you could kindly give us a moment, it would be highly appreciated."

The old man stepped forward into the room, followed by the man Shisui recognized as Captain Hatake. Shisui nodded, pushing himself off the foot of the bed and giving the Hokage a small bow before walking from the room, shutting the door behind him. Kakashi watched the door for a moment, lifting the headband to use the Sharingan eye that Naruto now knew he concealed behind the Leaf symbol, before turning to the Hokage and giving him a nod.

"Clear." The Hokage returned the nod, and turned to Naruto with a smile.

"Hello, Naruto-kun. How are you feeling?"

Naruto grunted half-heartedly. "Like crap. I hate hospitals, old man! Thought you'd know that by now."

"You hate hospitals? Whatever for? Free food, friendly neighbors, young, pretty nurses with such short skirts…" The Hokage seemed to drift into his own world, and Kakashi gave a slight cough. Naruto scoffed.

"Oh please. The food sucks even if it is free, the friendly neighbors are smelly old people, boring grownups, and not friendly…everyone else…s. You've got me on the nurses though, gramps." Wait…Am I supposed to be too little to notice that kinda thing right now?

"Hm? Oh, yes." He focused on Naruto again. "My apologies. I'm afraid I drifted off for a moment there. I must be getting older than I thought."

Naruto gave him a skeptical stare. Pfft. Driftin' off 'cause of your age my ass, you dirty old man. Just wait til' ya see my improved Sexy Jutsu sets, then we'll see if it's just your old age distracting you so much.

"Anyway, I needed to speak to you about the events of last evening."

Last evening? F— "Whattya mean by 'last night' exactly? What time is it?"

"Oh, about three in the afternoon."

Three! "Three! Oh man, Iruka-sensei is gonna kill me!"

"Don't worr-"

"I mean I'm late a lot, but man!"

"Naruto, I'm trying to tell you that it-"

"I'm so dead!"

Giving up on grabbing his attention, the Hokage waited until Naruto finally had to take a breath before clearing his throat. Once he had the boy's attention, he continued.

"I've already spoken with Iruka. Don't worry, you've been excused." For a moment Naruto looked relieved, but then he was upset all over again.

"Aw man! I wasted an entire day of vacation in bed! What a rip off!"

"Naruto," The Hokage's tone turned serious. "All of this aside, we have some very important matters to discuss with you."

"Okay." He turned to Kakashi, as if just noticing him, and began pointing his finger at the man. "Hey, it's the masked pervert!"

"Naruto-kun," The boy looked to him. "It would be appropriate to address him as Captain Hatake, or if you must, Hatake-san." Though "masked pervert" is also quite fitting, the Hokage thought with a hidden smile.

"Oh…Okay." Naruto turned back to the ANBU captain. "How you doing, Captain Masked Pervert-san?" As the Third Hokage laughed, he somehow felt he should've seen that coming. Respect had never been Naruto's strongest point. Still, he was quick to pull himself together. We need to put a stop to this. I can't allow us to continue getting distracted.

"Naruto-kun, we need to stop playing games. There is a very serious matter to discuss about recent events."

Naruto frowned and sat up, crossing his arms. The Third was honestly surprised. He rarely saw Naruto being so serious about something. Anything, really.

"So what do you want, gramps?"

"What do you recall about last night? I need to know everything that you can remember about what occurred with Shisui and Itachi Uchiha."

"Oh…You mean the guy who was in here before? Nothing much. The other guy attacked him, then I just kind of blanked out…" He paused as if he were trying to think of something. "Nope, that's about it. Then I woke up here."

"You don't recall anything unusual? For example, a strange light, or some strange feelings? Anger, or perhaps a hunger of some kind?" Naruto glanced back and forth between Kakashi, who was leaning against the wall and looking towards the door, and the Hokage. After a few seconds, he decided that he might as well tell them that he knew about the fox. It'd certainly make trying to keep them from getting suspicious about the things he did a bit easier.

"Oh, ya mean Fuzzy-chan?" The Hokage's expression didn't change much, but Kakashi's head tilted towards him, clearly more interested than before.

"Pardon me, but who or what is this, ahem, Fuzzy-chan that you speaking of?"

"Well, there's dogs, raccoons, I guess bears are probably kind of fuzzy, and there's als-"

"Naruto." The Third frowned slightly, obviously not pleased with Naruto's little joke.

"Okay, okay. Fuzzy-chan, y'know? The big fox thing that lives in my head. Or my gut really, if you think about it. That's where he said the seal is. Freaking hates it when I call him that, but he always calls me a rodent or a hairless monkey or things like that…"

"The big fox that…" The Hokage cut off, closing his eyes and rubbing the bridge of his nose, trying to gather his thoughts. The Kyuubi has contacted Naruto somehow. That can't be a good sign. Yet it doesn't seem to have influenced him. But he clearly used its chakra.

"Naruto-kun," He started again, unsure of precisely how to phrase his question. "What kind of contact do you have with this…Fuzzy-chan?"

"Not a lot. I mean, we talk now and then, but he mostly just says how he wants to eat me and stuff. He's a pretty funny old furball when he gets mad. Oh, and he said somethin' about letting me have his catchra when I was in trouble, but-"

"Chakra, actually." The Hokage corrected him absent-mindedly, reevaluating Naruto's situation. So the Kyuubi had actually allowed him to access its chakra because he was in danger? He wasn't as amazing with sealing as Minato had once been, but surely the seal must have had something to do with it. Based on their knowledge of the Kyuubi, it wouldn't simply do something to help another of its own free will. It must have viewed a threat to Naruto as a threat to its own life, or whatever it had that resembled a life after being sealed away.

"But you don't feel anything odd?" Kakashi spoke up for the first time, surprising Naruto. "No bloodlust? No anger? You don't want to attack anything?"

"Hm? Nah, nothing like that. . I mean one time I did go running after a big Tanuki all covered in sand and I've got this thing with snakes, but I think that's all more me than him. Why? Should I?"

"No, no." Kakashi reached into the pocket of his vest, pulling out a small book that Naruto would recognize anywhere by now. "You seem to be fine."

The Hokage had to agree. While he doubted the Danzo or any of the others would feel the same, Naruto did seem to be unaffected by the Kyuubi. Or, at the least, he showed no signs of being influenced any time in the near future. He would "suggest" that Danzo leave the boy alone for now.

"Very well, Naruto-kun. Perhaps you should get some more rest. Kakashi, if you would escort our young friend home?" Kakashi nodded, and gave a small bow of his head as the Third Hokage left the room, intent on having a word with his childhood rival about the Jinchuuriki...and the actions of Itachi Uchiha.

"This complicates things considerably." Fugaku Uchiha was speaking with the other leaders of the clan, pondering the impact of the recent events on their revolution. "We'll have to put our plans on hold."

"But Fugaku-sama, we've come so far!"

"And in a matter of hours, we've lost too much." Fugaku was getting tired of this discussion. Itachi clearly wasn't going to be helping them. It would seem their suspicions regarding his eldest son's true loyalties might have been truer than they had hoped. He closed his eyes, waiting for yet another objection.

"Fugaku-sama is right," Another of them spoke up. "We can't even let Shisui-san in on our plans now. You know how he adored the traitor, and he's always been one of the most loyal to Konoha. If we were to go to him now he probably won't believe anything we have to say."

"Indeed." Fugaku opened his eyes again, pleased that someone else understood. "Itachi has betrayed us. And without Shisui, we've lost two of our greatest warriors. To make matters worse, it is now quite clear that Danzo and the Hokage know of, or at least suspect, our intentions. Does anyone here truly believe that we can defeat them, as well as all of their supporters, with one of our greatest shinobi missing and when another might turn against us if we move too quickly?"

There were no objections this time.

"So it's agreed, then?" The man who'd supported Fugaku moments ago spoke up. "For the time being, we agree to listen to what the Hokage has to say, and begin building our strength again?"

"That is my decision."

As the remainder of the clan's leaders reluctantly agreed, Fugaku dismissed them, and prepared to return to Mikoto and Sasuke. They'd agreed to tell Sasuke together. Hopefully, he wouldn't take his brother's departure to severely. His hopes weren't high though, given their youngest son's adoration of their eldest.

But their plans weren't the only ones that required rethinking after that night.

"Well, this is a bit of a setback." Itachi nodded in agreement, watching over Konohagakure from a distance, glancing at the odd orange mask with the black markings. Madara seemed strangely calm considering the fact that his "traitorous" family wasn't being destroyed as he'd expected. Not to mention that his "partner" had been interrupted before he could perform the task that would've earned him the Mangekyo Sharingan, no doubt throwing a massive wrench into both of their plans.

"Oh well. You did a pretty good job, even if things didn't go quite according to plan. I think we can make this work."

Itachi's head tilted slightly, and Madara assumed this was curiosity. He was certain his descendant would be trying to figure out his intentions. Despite what the younger Uchiha seemed to think, his acting would never fool someone with Madara's experience. He knew the child was working in Konohagakure's best interests, and that despite making Madara promise to leave the village alone, the former Uchiha Clan Leader would make a strike against their former home eventually.

"Well, we know that the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki can access its chakra, whether it was intentional or not. And with the rest of the clan around to stir up trouble, Konoha's leadership will have more on its table to keep them busy. Besides, there are still certain…people…who would be very interested in having the Sharingan for themselves. I'm sure he could make things a little less stable. It is one of his favorite hobbies, after all."

He must've been talking about Orochimaru. Itachi had only been in very limited contact with the serpentine member of the Sannin, but his obsession with the Uchiha's special genetic trait was obvious to anyone with eyes or ears.

"Yes," Madara smiled behind the mask. "I think we can make this work very well."

AN: Hope you liked the rewrite, hope you'll like the rest of the rewrites, and when it comes out, I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter (Which should fit better after the rewrites).