Disclaimer/Legend: See first chapter

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Three figures walked slowly towards the edge of the monument that kept watch over Konoha. All were clad in black cloaks and wore wide brimmed hats. Following behind was a small fox. As they came to the edge, they took a moment to take in the view. The fox made his way between the figures stopping just behind the largest one, looking up it did something that it shouldn't have, it spoke.

"What's it like to be home after six years, brat?"

The figure turned, revealing blue eyes, "It's good."

"That's it?" the fox said, "That's all you can say?"

"You got a problem you glorified house cat?" the figure said with a snicker.

Now the fox wasn't happy. He was put through one bad situation after another due to the brat, but he took it in stride. That remark however was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. With a low growl, it mustered all the power it could and leapt. It knew it couldn't win in a direct confrontation, so it used the element of surprise.

The figure turned around when he heard the fox's silence. He knew the fox never let a remark go, he was obviously up to something. What he met was a ball of fur, angry fur. Growling, the fox bit and scratched whatever it could get a hold of. Surprised by the attack, the figure was oblivious that he was falling back. Driven by the force of the foxes attack, he took one step back then another. To his surprise the ground had ended and he felt himself falling. His attacker didn't let up though, content in an attempt to remove his earlobe.

His companions watched the show. This was a usual thing. Carefully they edged forward and peered over the cliff. The larger of the two snickered at the sight, but the smaller one gave a shrug. Giving one last look, they turned and headed down the path that led to the village. They would meet their friend at the bottom.

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Six years prior

Naruto stood there in fear, 'What is he doing here!'

"It would appear he is paying his last respects to his friend," a voice said from behind him.

Naruto turned his head slowly, his neck creaking in protest, to find himself staring at the face of one Itachi Uchiha. Who at the moment was happily munching a stick of pocky. Dumbfounded in horror, he just stood there gaping. Then the unthinkable happened. The man held out a box.

"Pocky?"

Naruto couldn't believe it. A man feared across the land, one who wiped almost all of his clan in a night, was offering him candy. He heard stories about taking candy from strangers, but this wasn't really a stranger and there wasn't a van in sight. 'Speaking of which, what the hell is a van?' Naruto thought to himself. Shakily he accepted and took a stick and slowly began to eat it. He turned his attention back to the large man. After a moment he stood up and turned to the bush Naruto and Itachi was in.

"You two can come out now."

Slowly the two stood up and walked out. Naruto made sure to keep a fair amount of distance between the shark man, while Itachi walked up to him. After a moment, Naruto pointed at the large man.

"What are you doing here?!"

"Paying my respects," Kisame said solemnly.

Naruto glanced at him for a moment then looked at Itachi, "You?"

"Pocky Festival"

Naruto just stared at the smaller of the two.

"How can I be sure you two aren't deceiving me? For all I know, you could be planning to capture me for the Akatsuki."

Kisame looked at the boy, "You don't have to worry about that. Akatsuki is no more."

"What?"

"Kid, sit down," said Itachi, "This going to take awhile to explain. "

Naruto looked at the man for a moment before taking a seat. Itachi began the lengthy explanation of the fall of Akatsuki. Naruto, being the poster child for sufferers of A.D.D. began to think about other things. Glancing at Kisame he had a thought 'are those things on his face gills? Can he breathe underwater? Maybe he can talk to fish. Man that would be awesome; I would love to be able to talk to fish.'

"You understand now, Naruto?" Itachi asked.

"Huh," Naruto said as he was pulled from his thoughts, "What?"

Itachi just stared at him, his left eye ticking. Kisame let out a guffaw.

"Kid, let me give you the short version," Kisame said, "The leader betrayed us, all of us. He told us that we would help reform the world. What he didn't tell us was for that to happen; we would have to be sacrificed. I don't know about you, but I sure as hell don't want to reform a world I can't be part of. The nine of us banded together and went against the leader, killing him. After that we parted ways, the only reason me and Itachi travel together is because we're friends."

"So you're not here to capture me?"

"Nope"

"You sure?" Naruto asked, not quite trusting these two yet.

Itachi's tick became a nervous twitch, affecting the left side of his face. Blinking out of existence, he appeared next to Naruto. Grabbing him by the neck, he began to shake him like a ragdoll.

"You goddamn idiot!" he screamed as he continued to shake/choke Naruto, "How many ways do we have to tell you? We're not here for you anymore!"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Naruto grunted out as he tried to escape Itachi's grasp, "I believe you! You can let me go!"

Itachi dropped him and began to pace, mumbling and throwing his arms up every few seconds. Naruto sat there, checking his neck for any lasting damage. He didn't notice Kisame walking up to Zabuza's grave.

"Hey kid, catch," Kisame said.

Naruto, who was pulling himself off the ground, wasn't paying attention, "What...oof!"

Kisame chuckled at the sight of Naruto being crushed by Zabuza's sword.

"What the hell man?" Naruto said as he pushed the sword off himself.

"Kid, I was friends with Zabuza. He wanted that sword to go his son someday or someone who was like a son to him."

"That doesn't explain why you gave it to me. What about Haku?"

"One," Kisame gestured to grave next to Zabuza's, "Haku is dead. Two, Haku was a girl."

Naruto just gaped, "Haku was a girl? She told me that she was a boy!"

"Kid, I knew Haku since Zabuza found her. Itachi himself found out the hard way."

Itachi who was still ranting about 'stupid blonde brats' paused for a moment and shuddered.

"Huh?"

Kisame walked over to Naruto and whispered into his ear, "Itachi walked in on her while she was in the bath. Let's just say she kept those needles on her at all times and Itachi is lucky to still be able to have kids."

Naruto nodded, unconsciously holding his boys. It was true that hell hath no fury like a woman.

"Okay I understand that, but how am I going to be able to use his sword? I don't know anyone who uses something like this," Naruto said as he lifted the blade, which weighed as much as him.

"That kid is where I come in," Kisame said as he placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, "You helped Zabuza regain his humanity in the end. It's the least I could do."

Naruto looked up at the man. Being witness to a side of Kisame few have seen.

"Now kid, it's time to explain yourself. What are you doing out here alone? You're not a missing ninja are you?"

Naruto stood there for a moment then began to nervously scratch his head. "Not exactly…"

Kisame stood there listening to Naruto explain. He was joined by Itachi midway. After about twenty minutes, he finished his recap on the last three years of his life. Itachi nodded while Kisame was dumbfounded.

"Jiraiya really peeps? One would think that he would be more serious, being a Sannin."

"The old man is a super pervert," Naruto told them, "he's a thief as well. He robbed me many times."

Naruto was about to continue, but his stomach interrupted. Growling due to the lack of food for two days.

"I think it's time to head back, you're hungry, I'm hungry, I'm sure Mr. Stoic is hungry as well," Kisame said with a smile.

Naruto nodded, Kisame reached into his bag and pulled out a belt. With a few adjustments, he fashioned a makeshift sword holder for Naruto. With that completed, the three made their way towards the village .Once it was in sight, Naruto could see a banner proclaiming that there was indeed a Pocky festival happening. The silence was broken when a giggle erupted from the normally solemn Uchiha. Seeing this, Naruto and Kisame both took a step back, giving each other a look that clearly said "Hide your wallet."

Once they entered the town. Itachi separated and ran/skipped to the concession stands, while Kisame and Naruto just stared at the scene.

"So kid what do you feel like eating? Your treat of course," the man said with a grin, revealing his pointed teeth.

Naruto thought for a moment, he couldn't say no. This man was going to train him in the use of large swords, but he wasn't sure if he would have enough for anything more than ramen. 'That's it, ramen is cheap and wholesome! He can't bitch because he isn't the one footing the bill.'

"Ramen"

"Sounds good, I know a place."

Naruto grinned and followed the man. About ten minutes later both could be found at a booth happily slurping away at noodles. When they had arrived, the owner along with his daughter greeted them warmly. Oddly enough, both the owner and his daughter resembled Teuchi and Ayame from home. 'Must be distant relatives' Naruto thought with amusement as he worked his way through his tenth bowl, Kisame was keeping pace with Naruto the whole way. After a moment he stopped and turned to Naruto.

"Hey kid, I have something I've been wondering about."

"Hmm?" Naruto mumbled through a mouthful of foods.

"Do you only eat ramen?"

Naruto looked at him for a second and stopped eating. Sadness graced his face.

"I take it you know about me?" Naruto asked the man, realizing that it was a stupid question. 'Of course he knows about what I am, I mean he tried to capture me'. "Well in my hometown, people treated me like shit. I lived in an orphanage till they threw me out. Then I had to live on my own. The old man took care of me best as he could, but that wasn't much due to the assholes on the council. I had an allowance and was given an apartment, but other than that I had to fend for myself. Most stores wouldn't let me buy things, and those that did either overcharged me, or let me get crap. Hence," he gestured to his jacket, "I wasn't an idiot, I know orange is a horrible color for a ninja, but it was all I could get. Eventually it grew on me, turned out to be my favorite color."

He paused to get another bite and to let the information sink in.

"Now for ramen, when I was living on my own. I had to shop for myself. None of the grocers would let me buy anything that I needed. So I did most of my shopping at a small convenience store run by a nice old woman. She was always nice to me, but I think it was because she was very near sighted and couldn't tell who I really was. Then there was old man Teuchi. He ran a ramen stand near my home. He was genuinely nice. He saw me for who I really was. Just some kid, not a demon as the others did. It too, grew on me."

Kisame just stared at the boy. A kid young as he was should not have to be put through that. He could relate with a little bit. He was the outcast when he was a child. In actuality, his whole clan was. The males always took on a shark like appearance. The other kids and villagers were scared of him, but he never went through as much heartache as the boy next to him did. He at least had a family to go back to, Naruto didn't.

"Well kid, you're not in your village anymore. You don't have to subsist on ramen anymore. You need real food. You're scrawny so get some protein in your system. Your short, get more calcium. Buy some new clothes. Just be yourself."

Naruto looked up the man, gaining a new found respect for him. Finishing his bowl he asked for the check. Paying for his and Kisame's meal, he noticed a piece of paper tucked into his change. As he walked, he opened it up. Written on it was a number followed by a name 'Akame'. 'My god, her name is even similar' Naruto thought to himself stopping to throw the young girl a glance. She blew a kiss gave Naruto a suggestive wink. 'Why do I sense this is going to turn out to be a bad thing?' Naruto thought as he turned back.

Kisame, who watched this take place, started to smirk.

"Turning into quite the lady killer aren't we?"

Naruto tried to hide his blush but couldn't, so he did the next best thing. He took a page from Sasuke's book and grunted.

"Ah, think of it, soon girls will be throwing themselves at you," Kisame said, staring off into the distance to add some dramatic effect. "I think it's about time to find that nut I call a partner and head in. You got a place to stay for the night?"

Naruto looked at the man, and felt the weight of his wallet. The meal had almost emptied his wallet. He knew he didn't have enough for an inn. He shook his head.

"Well, Itachi and I are staying with an acquaintance. I'm sure he wouldn't mind letting you stay for a few days."

"Cool"

"Speaking of acquaintances, here comes Itachi now."

Naruto looked down the street and saw Itachi running towards them, still in a sugar high.

"You guys aren't going to believe it. They had so many kinds of Pocky and free samples!"

"That's great, but it's time we head back," Itachi pouted at this, "Listen, I'm sure the festival will still be going on tomorrow."

Itachi nodded sadly and followed Kisame along with Naruto. Soon they were standing outside a large house. Naruto was in awe of the place.

"Who lives here? I mean this place is friggin huge!"

Kisame grinned a little when he looked at the boy, "Just wait and see. Hey you old bastard! Open the damn door!"

After a minute, footsteps could be heard walking to door with more than a bit of muttering. A moment later the door opened.

"You!" two voices shouted simultaneously.

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A/N: Well another chapter out. I apologize for the length and not getting deeper into the story with this one but I'm leaving for Maine later today. No computer for a week is going to suck, so I'm going to writing old school. As always, reviews are welcome. Until next time folks.