Man, I'm so so so so so so so so so so so -two hours later- so so so sorry about this being so late.

"Talking"

Thinking

Chapter 17: The Enemy Within

"He just got up and left?" Kakashi asked lazily. Shizune nodded her head several times. "Alright, I think I know where he might be," he answered reluctantly while placing his favored Icha Icha book back into his pouch. Shizune smiled gratefully and ran off in another direction. Kakashi sighed loudly and shrugged. "Might as well check his house," he muttered before jumping away.

"But I was in there just about fifteen minutes ago!" Sakura exclaimed after being told the news. She was working her shift at the hospital when Shizune came running into the clinic looking for her. "When did he leave?" Shizune explained what she knew, which was virtually nothing, and Sakura sighed. "I suppose I have to help look for him then," she said while placing down the latest patient's chart. Shizune smiled gratefully again and walked out. Sakura went to check the first place on her mind.

"So he woke up from a coma and just walked out of the room. I may not be a medical ninja, but even I think that there's something wrong with that," Ino said bluntly.

"It's certainly not normal," Shizune answered. Ino just shrugged, took off her work apron, and set it down on the counter. She yelled to her mother that she was going to leave for a while and then walked out from behind the counter.

"I know it's not really any of my business, but maybe you should get Kiba and Akamaru to track him down by scent," she offered. Shizune nodded, smiled gratefully yet again, and walked out the door. Ino, after a few moments, followed. She could at least check all of the training grounds. Naruto was known for being stubborn so it was a possibility.

Hinata, who was going to be the last to receive the news, had just arrived in Konoha with Kiba. Soon they were headed to the Hokage Tower to fill in the mission report, but first Kiba had made Hinata promise that she would go to Ichiraku with him. "Promise," he had said several times and each time Hinata promised she would go. Each time she did, Kiba's face got one shade darker and his smile grew.

"Hinata-san!" Kiba and Hinata both turned their heads to see Shizune walking toward them both. She glanced over at Kiba and tried to think of a way to have him leave.

"Shizune-sama? What is it?" Hinata asked. Shizune wouldn't have a reason to come and see her unless it was about a mission or Naruto.

"The Hokage wants to see you right away," Shizune said. It was a half-truth; Tsunade wanted to see Hinata, Sakura, and Ino in her office eventually. She had actually specified that they should only come after Naruto had been found, but Shizune would tell Hinata that after Kiba had left.

"Oh. Alright. Kiba, will you take care of the mission report? I'll meet you at Ichiraku's later." Kiba nodded and headed off to take care of what he needed to take care of. After Kiba was out of sight, Shizune looked around and decided that no one was going to listen to them.

"Naruto's somehow left the hospital," Shizune started to explain. Hinata gasped out of shock and Shizune helped to calm her down. After a few moments, both women were sitting down and thinking of places that Naruto would go. So far they had listed off his house, the training grounds, Ichiraku, the Hokage Tower, the Hokage Monument, and maybe even out of Konoha. "This'll be harder than I thought," Shizune sighed out.

"Maybe if we had more people searching," Hinata offered. She opened her mouth to speak again but Shizune started before she did.

"Then the council will know and they'll probably try to get us to kill him somehow." Shizune shook her head several times to try and clear it.

"Neji-san or I could u-use the Byakugan and s-see if we could f-find him," she said nervously. Two fingers were tapping in front of her while she talked. Shizune mentally slapped herself.

"Of course! Please, Hinata, go find Neji and try to find him!" Shizune begged. Hinata nodded quickly and headed off to go find Neji.

"Dammit, where the hell does the brat live?!" he asked himself impatiently. "It's enough to just try and use this body but I'm expected to know where he lives?!" A feral growl escaped from the back of his throat. Currently the fox was wishing he had a few tails to swish about angrily. He bared his teeth and glared around. After deciding that he would have no way of knowing what the brat's—now his—house would look like he breathed out forcefully.

Eventually he gave up on finding his home and instead decided to train. Sure, the brat's body was a little stiff, but he was sure that he could get past that. He wasn't even sure how he had managed to gain control of the body and still not be able to leave as himself. He hated the sound of the brat's voice, even when it was slightly gruff from his chakra, so he concluded to stop talking. Maybe the seal is still partly intact, but not enough to keep me out of Naruto's mind. Forcing his chakra back was hard but it had to be done; any of the ninja in this town would immediately recognize the malice that presented itself. "First though," he spoke again, "I need some new clothes."

As a fox, the Kyuubi had experienced many thrilling experiences, but he had to say that being able to walk down the street nearly unnoticed was a new one. Without the bright orange jumpsuit, he realized that he no longer looked childish but much more mature. He still had to keep his head down and mouth shut, though. Glowing red eyes and razor sharp canines were something that would be noticed. The blonde hair was also a problem. Kyuubi decided that before he could even think of trying to dye his hair he needed to train and find a way to suppress his own chakra.

In the Hyuuga household, Hinata had explained everything to Neji who just nodded as if it was expected. "He's so rash that something like this was bound to happen," he explained himself. "But, Hinata-sama, how are we supposed to find him? Konoha is a large place and we don't have many people to help with the search."

Hinata, most unlike herself, said a straightforward answer. "We find him." Neji found the statement to be a bit puzzling and unlike Hinata, but he nodded all the same. Obviously her friends were really starting to help her get past her nervousness. A slight smile managed to show itself on his face for a moment before being replaced by a serious nod.

"Then let's go." Both Hyuuga's nodded and disappeared.

"Naruto!" Sakura kicked down the door. After ten minutes of knocking the hinges were broken regardless. "I'm gonna kick your ass!" she yelled into the house. A figure stepped out of his room, but it obviously wasn't Naruto. This man was taller and had a different hairstyle. After a moment the recognition hit Sakura. "Kakashi-sensei? I thought you were still recovering!"

Kakashi laughed lightly and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I did start to feel better and now Tsunade wants me to help look for Naruto. Doesn't look like he's here though. Actually, it doesn't look like anybody's been here for a while," he muttered.

Sakura hung her head and sighed. Kakashi noticed but didn't say anything. Seems like I've had the most depressing genin in my team since day one, he thought quietly. "Why don't we try Ichiraku? I bet that he's stopped by there today." He was hoping to cheer Sakura up, but it just seemed to depress her even more. "… or not! Either way is fine." The two resumed searching Naruto's house for any clues of his whereabouts.

The two azure eyes glared at each other relentlessly. "That way is right!" Naruto decided, pointing to the right.

"No, the other one is!" Minato argued and pointed to the left. The two had found a path through the giant mountain, but so far it had just proven to be a maze. Now they were at a fork in the path. They had no idea what was waiting for them but at the moment they were fighting over which route to take. Naruto, trying to prove a point, lifted up both hands and made L's. Minato was unaware that Naruto was not arguing which path to follow, but rather which one was left and which was right. "Hey! You can use your left arm again," Minato pointed out.

"Really?" he asked before moving it around again. "Hey! I can!" he smiled happily and waved his arm around. "That way is still right."

"No, this one is!" Minato pointed down the left path again.

"No, that's left! This is right! See?" he started to explain to Minato the difference but Minato was too busy laughing. "What's so funny?" Naruto demanded.

"We've been fighting about two absolutely different things the whole time!" A bright smile covered his face and Naruto muttered something before Minato stopped. "Alright, so shall we head down the left tunnel?"

Naruto shrugged and said, "I don't see why not." The two walked down the path, Minato in the lead. After about ten minutes of walking, they both noticed that the ground and walls had changed in texture, not to mention that it was steadily getting colder. They glanced at each other and Minato shrugged, although Naruto would barely make it out. The sunlight from outside was fading and neither of the blondes had any sort of light with them. Instead, to find their way through, they were relying on the walls to guide them. Minato's hand was on the right wall while Naruto's was on the left.

"This isn't much of a challenge," Naruto mumbled. Minato shushed at him and continued forward.

"Don't let your guard down. The Shinigami isn't going to be so willing to give me up." The Yondaime stated it with no waver in his voice; he knew this to be a fact.

Naruto nodded and sighed. He wondered how everyone else was managing back in Konoha. He saw a small shaft of light coming from further down the tunnel, but he couldn't see Minato in front of him. Panicked, Naruto thrust his right hand out in front of him. "Yondaime-sama?" he asked in a whisper. When nobody answered, Naruto whirled to try and turn around but he found himself facing a wall. "Wha—how?" he asked himself. He tried to break through the wall but it was seemingly made of solid rock. "There wasn't a wall there three seconds ago!" he yelled at the wall. Naruto quickly swiveled around to find himself staring at the person he least expected.

"That's impossible," he muttered under his breath. He could barely move his eyes away from the mirrored crimson glow in the other person's eyes. "It's me." He blinked. The other figure smiled deviously and its eyes slit menacingly. Even in the dim light Naruto could pick out the sharp canines and nails. "First challenge?" he asked, hoping to get a response. The figure blinked and nodded. Naruto gulped and a bead of sweat rolled down his face. "Do I have to beat you?" The figure shrugged. "Great. So what the hell are you doing here? You are me anyway… I think." The figure growled deeply and Naruto felt his own muscles tense with either fear or anticipation; he wasn't exactly sure which.

"Naruto? You're being awfully quiet back there," Minato said jokingly. However, when Naruto didn't answer he cursed. "Naruto!" he yelled. He could hear his voice bouncing off of the walls, but he still didn't hear any response. He cursed again and started to head back. To his surprise, he found that he couldn't. A new wall had appeared, but another pathway had opened. Minato cursed again and, keeping a hand on the right wall, sprinted down the new pathway. He could hear his feet pounding the ground, his breathing rasp his lungs, and the wind rush past his ears. His ears pricked up as another noise joined in. Minato skidded to a halt and jogged back to the source of the noise. "Who's there?" Minato asked. He was hoping that Naruto would be there; he would feel terrible if Naruto got stuck here just because of his idiocy. The small whisper that his ear had picked up turned into a song. His mouth opened partly to say something, but he could clearly recognize the voice and the song. His mouth hung open and he walked forward slowly. "Kushina…" he whispered.

AN: I'm really really sorry that this is a week late. I have been working on it a lot. I don't know why, but it was hard to write. Anyway, I'm afraid that I'm leaving to go visit family on Friday and I won't be back until the 6th. This means that, since I will have no computer access whilst I am visiting them, the next chapter will more than likely come out on the 11th of July. I will have a notebook with me everywhere I go just in case. I will write notes to myself on ideas or lines and I will, quite possibly, write down the entire chapter. Maybe even the 19th. I do know what I want to write, it's just whether or not I will.

As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter despite it's delay. And for all of you thinking, "what the heck is going on?!", I shall explain probably next chapter. I'll probably sum up the first challenge and introduce the second. Please review, I love getting feedback!

Nevula1701--Well, I believe I answered that question within this chapter. And if I didn't, Kyuubi's taking it for a test drive. The Shinigami's a bit... busy at the moment with those two trying to escape. Thanks for reviewing! That one did give me a little laugh... and no problem. I love using good ideas xD.

Elizabet639