Chapter three

Five years ago…

It has been two years since the incident, and already I'm forgetting what it's like to feel.

They say that a man is defined by his past experiences. Memories give our personalities shape and form.

How then, do memories accomplish such an amazingly complex feat?

At the tender age of seven I found the answer to be emotions. The feelings attached to past experience can determine just how one presents himself to the world. Remembering how a loved one gave you a special gift, whether intangible or tangible, means you can approach that person with the same happiness you experienced during the receiving of the gift.

What then, if those strong feelings are stripped from the memory?

If I am unable to recall the emotion known as happiness or sadness from a certain event, is that memory not then just simple information?

Am I an altogether different person just because my reaction from such a memory is entirely different than from the time their cruel gazes instilled despair in my heart?

I pondered this question as my feet pushed off of another branch in the dense forests of the Land of Fire. I'm in the middle of a mission, surrounded by comrades, yet my mind is miles away.

I felt it then, the warm sensation that only comes from the feel of skin on skin.

She was right beside me, having jumped close enough that her fingers would brush lightly against mine.

Her face was covered by a mask, yet to me, perhaps only to me and because she allowed it, I could still read her like an open book. I felt all of it; her concern and determination could not be held back by a simple white mask. Her unseen smile was blinding.

Those red eyes seemed to strip my soul bare.

No one around us seemed to notice this magical moment between us, and that was just fine. It was fine being different. This girl had no problem with it. She struggled to be different, yet at the same time it was only natural for her to be different.

All to achieve a goal with determination that was fueled by the raging maelstrom of emotions within her.

Her feet hit the next branch, and suddenly she was ahead of me. Before I knew it, I was pushing more chakra into my legs just to get closer to that beautiful silver hair that flared out behind her.

"Begin!" the Raikage barked out, and combat was engaged.

Darui's lone visible eye widened slightly as he watched Sen cross the distance between her and Naruto in seconds in a mad dash. Needless to say, but this surprised face bore some purpose in displaying his shock at the fact that the girl had been the one to attack.

As he watched her limbs move back and forth attempting to land heavy strikes, he reflected on the knowledge that for as long as he had known her, she had always fought by reaction.

He knew that Sen was much more comfortable letting her opponent bring the fight to her. It complimented her style and personality. Yes, even the part of it that meant she was lazy.

It could not be helped though. The nature of her jutsu, her kekkei genkai, allowed her such liberties where all she needed for a quick kill was to draw blood.

"The girl needs to calm down."

His 'boss' beside him was of a similar mind, however he came at it from another direction. The Raikage did not know Sen as intimately as Darui did. 'A' saw a young girl throwing wild and aggressive strikes that the young boy easily danced around.

Darui sighed, "It can't be helped, boss," he said, "Sen-chan's been obsessed about finding her sister. On that mission, we only found Sen-chan and there were no clues as to where Sena was. We obviously don't have any leads. Now that she thinks she's found one, she won't give up so easily."

"This level of strength will not get her anywhere. Watch."

As if on cue, Naruto validated the Raikage's words by unleashing his counter. He had both of her arms in his grip, holding them at the elbows. Sen tugged, but Naruto was not about to let go so easily.

With her arms in his hands he traced a circle in the air as if turning a steering wheel. By spinning round on his feet in the same motion, he added enough force to lift Sen off her feet and spin her in the air, with her body parallel to the ground.

In the middle of his own motion of turning around, Naruto's foot rose and smashed into her airborne body, landing a kick that would most definitely leave a nasty bruise on her collar.

Sen was flung back, and in that moment the match was sure to be decided. Disorientation from the spinning and the pain from the kick would surely rob anyone but the most talented of individuals the ability to stand on their own two feet.

Darui appeared disappointed at this undramatic end to the day's events while the Raikage's scowl never lifted from his face, just looking plain unimpressed.

Give Sen a prize though, for showing she belonged to these most talented of individuals. Two gleaming red swords dug into the ground, creating thin parallel trenches as they fought inertia.

The match would go on, simply because it was these swords, and not Sen's back, that had hit the ground.

These swords were held in Sen's hands, with her body held off the ground and perpendicularly to the swords, in a show of upper body strength that only a ninja of the elemental nations could pull off.

With her arms trembling slightly due to the exertion, she lowered her feet to the floor gracefully. After taking a breath or two to steady herself, she began to stalk towards Naruto, her twin wickedly curved red scimitars twirling in her grasp. Darui wondered if Naruto had figured out just where these new weapons had come from.

Darui saw the hellish inferno in her eyes.

She would definitely give it her all in this fight, for the sake of the sister, the last of her family, who was stolen from her.

He had never seen her like this before.

He had always thought this girl needed a little more motivation in her life (not that he was one to talk), but this was not what he had in mind. He also thought that if Yoruichi found out her student had killed the village's jinchuriki while he stood lightly by, there would be hell to pay. Her blades were already lashing out at Naruto, who with a cold expression rushed to move out of her range.

Darui's shoulders tensed as he prepared to move to stop the match, but a heavy hand on his shoulder made him pause. "Leave them Darui. Observe closely. Those 'swords' are nothing but blunt clubs."

Darui observed and he saw that the words of his leader rang true.

Sen's blades were one of the sharpest things he had ever borne witness to, right up there with lightning coated weapons. What she held in her hands struck the ground and left small dents.

If Naruto was not careful, he could look forward to a few broken bones.

But Naruto was being careful. Any veteran ninja could see that Naruto movements were the result of many experiences on the battlefield. He never leaned that much farther than he needed to. The red scimitars would practically caress the equally red mess of hair on his head. Her strikes would fly past him at the last possible moment.

"You're slow!" she declared.

Sen obviously did not think so. To her, her blows were always that much closer to knocking him off his feet. Obviously a ploy on Naruto's part, but Sen was too incensed to see that.

The Raikage had obviously seen it. B perhaps noticed, but Darui was not too sure, seeing as the 'Hachibi-sama' was scribbling furiously in a notebook, with a fountain pen he would occasionally poke his tongue with.

"Raikage-sama," Darui began his awkward question, "I believe, because it's fairly obvious, that Naruto does have some knowledge on her sister's whereabouts. For her sake, couldn't you just…"

"Couldn't you just what?" The way the Raikage urged him to finish reminded Darui of just how much his boss hated people beating around the bush. The man honestly had no appreciation for subtlety. All the more motivation for Darui to force the words to flow forth.

"You are the Raikage. Enough pressure from you would perhaps force him to give out information."

A was silent, for a second, before giving his immediate answer.

"I could, however I consider this treaty much more important than a girl who may or may not be dead."

Darui could not help but wince a little. Blunt as always, the old man was.

"Apparently any answer would have to be forced out of him and ultimately responsibility for that order falls onto me. More than just training him, we're supposed to implant the mindset that he can fight for Kumo as a Kumo-ninja. Picking a side now would only make that job harder." A said.

"So we are poaching him from his village?" Darui asked.

A shook his head. "Chances he'd fight against Konoha are practically zero. However, it's better to keep a few options open if we are in a pinch against an enemy who is not his home village."

The conversation was cut short when their eyes witnessed Sen's first decisive strike.

Another kick from Naruto had knocked her back a few feet. Her retaliation was swift, as she immediately leaped into the air to fall upon him, spinning head over heels with her blades outstretched. Naruto jumped back to simply dodge the human cannonball that was Sen.

He made a slight miscalculation though.

He thought he was out of range of her swords.

When they suddenly lengthened and combined into one though, Naruto was in danger of a cracked skull.

Reflexes and strength borne of multiple instances in combat saved him when his hands flew up and slammed into the sides of the club, holding it in place an inch above his face.

"Ooohhh, little lady got some skills to pay tha' bills!" B cheered.

That was not the end though. Naruto felt his shock growing, when the club morphed once more, deforming into a shapeless substance that wrapped itself around his wrists.

All of a sudden, it was a whip.

With chakra enhanced strength and an enraged scream (a tone of her voice Darui doubted anyone had ever heard before), she lifted Naruto off of his feet and over her head, seeking to slam him into the ground in a clear demonstration of her victory.

For a second, the 'dull' ninja believed she would actually win.

Naruto disproved this belief though. Perfect body control had him land on his feet, an impact that no doubt violently shook the bones in his body. A pained grunt showed just what he thought of that maneuver.

She snarled and swung her whip sideways, looking to pull him off his feet, yet Naruto did not budge. Chakra tethered the soles of his boots to the ground, making them stick together like glue.

This was a very common ninja technique. Focusing chakra like this could greatly enhance adhesive qualities, allowing ninja to exercise three dimensional movement by walking on walls and ceilings.

Sen changed tactics immediately. She moved her left hand away, pulling a part of the whip with it, which shifted and warped into a pole. Her intention was clearly to slam the pole into Naruto, and to do it very painfully.

Naruto would have none of this though.

The red whip, that was strangely warm now that he was touching it, was wrapped around his wrists holding them together.

In her rage, she seemed to have forgotten that a ninja's hands allowed them to form hand seals. Hand seals let them perform jutsu and jutsu were a ninja's most powerful weapon.

Naruto clasped his hands in the tiger seal and felt his chakra mold itself to meet his demands. He then inhaled and air rushed into his lungs, bonding with his chakra. He blew, and the chakra ignited, sending a misshapen stream of flame streaking towards Sen.

Taken by surprise, her hands moved before the fire enveloped her.

When Naruto let up, a gleaming red shield stood between her and Naruto. Incidentally Naruto's hands were no longer bound. The rod had disappeared too.

Enough of this, Naruto thought. Truthfully this match had gone on for too long.

His hands touched the ground as he settled into an animalistic crouch, that of a predator right about to catch its prey.

When her shield lost its form, he pounced, smashing into her less than a second later. The impact, with his shoulder digging into her gut knocked the wind out of her.

Naruto was not done yet. His tackle carried them some distance in the air, which he took full advantage of, maneuvering himself such that his boot now rested before her stomach. Before a replacement jutsu could save her, Naruto kicked off with that foot, essentially jumping off of her like she was a platform.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Therefore, pushing himself up also entailed pushing her down.

Sen's back hit the ground so hard she bounced off it, but the damage had been done.

The terms had been met.

Naruto was the victor of this battle.

"The match is decided. Naruto wins," the Raikage announced as he walked down the steps with Killer Bee and Darui behind him.

Sen was off the ground and on her own two feet in an instant, but this action did nothing to hide her labored breathing. The winning strike had robbed her lungs of air. The red substance, which had been left hovering in the air, even after Naruto tackled her, suddenly disappeared into her arm-warmers.

"No! I can beat him! Just give me another chance!"

"I believe the terms were to keep your distance if you lost."

"Yes, but-"

"Leave girl. You're wasting my time."

Sen opened her mouth to retort, but the Raikage's cold eyes, which seemingly dared her to oppose his command, made her body freeze unnaturally. Somehow the words got stuck in her throat, and her will faltered before this mountain of a man.

To make matters worse, there was no one present who was on her side.

"Sen-chan, I think it's best if you leave," Darui said. She made her plea with her eyes, but Darui silently shook his head. 'Don't make things any worse,' his expression seemed to say.

Behind her judges, Naruto stood with his back to her, while being assaulted with all sorts of silly rhymes by Killer Bee. His head turned slightly, as if he were about to look at her, but that was all.

A crushing defeat followed by zero acknowledgment?

This was too much for Sen to handle. Her nails dug into her palms and her teeth ground against each other. Painful heavy steps carried her to the edge of the training ground, before she leaped off in the direction of the village.

Naruto pretended not to hear her agonizing sob.

"Boss, I'll go after her." Darui declared.

However A's harsh treatment of her was not over. "Leave her be Darui. That's an order."

Obviously Darui was unsettled by his boss's words. "Wh-…Why?"

"You're words would not help her at all," A said bluntly, "To a ninja, power is everything. Therefore she must find her answer under her own power. If she was truly strong enough, then she would have won or she would not have cared and still gone after him even after losing."

How a small thirteen year old girl was supposed to find the will to disobey a direct command from the Fourth Raikage, Darui had no idea. He trusted his boss though, that went without saying, and if the man said she'd be alright…then she would be alright.

"Now we can continue. B!" he called out to his brother. "You're up."

The man in question immediately leaped back to create some space between him and Naruto. Danger instincts flaring, Naruto widened his stance as well, and focused all his attention on this new and far superior opponent. His heart was like lead, about to plunge through his stomach. He honestly felt like the departed Sen had run off with a piece of his soul.

However, fighting was something had been trained to do for a long time. Like many other ninja, it was what he did best. This would never change. Whatever he felt held no place on the battlefield, so if he could focus on his opponent, perhaps this pain would abate, if only a little.

Killer Bee raised his hands.

Naruto exhaled slowly in anticipation.

"Spinning and kicking,

That's how we face the world baby!

Spinning and kicking,

Only coz we're both a little crazy!

YEEEAAAAHHHHH!"

The sound of A's palm smacking his forehead echoed across the mountain range.

"How'd ya like that? You gave me the idea for that rhyme in your fight with the blood girl. Coz you're the inspiration I figured I'd give it a whirl. Cool huh?"

Naruto's mind started working again shortly after this. The only reply he could give after being so thoroughly dumbfounded was a slow nod. Interrogations conducted by men in horrific demon masks had been carried out with much more flare.

The Raikage was much more pro-active. "B! You idiot! I meant fight him! Not rap! You want a taste of my iron claw!?"

"Mellow, bro. Just a lil' appreciation for the inspiration!" was B's hearty reply. "Naruto," he said turning to the red-head. Having his name called out so seriously by this man put an even bigger burden on Naruto's mind, which was trying to understand what had just happened with varying degrees of success.

"I'm not gonna go easy on you."

The former Root operative realized the serious tone of voice meant nothing good.

Killer Bee reached behind him to the swords on his back and suddenly seven sharp-pointed double edged swords were in the air above him. B snatched them out of the air with perfect precision and held them in the most bizarre stance Naruto had ever seen.

A blade was held between the right side of his neck and his collar pointing behind him. Both his arms were bent to each accommodate a sword at the elbow. A sword was held under his armpit. His right leg was held up to hold a sword at his waist. Another sword was kept in place behind his right knee. The last sword was between his teeth.

"My mood is good, so I'll give you a taste of my hook."

It had been a while since Naruto had stood before someone whose sheer presence could make a bead of sweat roll down his temple. Rather than instilling confidence, this silly sword stance did the exact opposite.

"Isn't that a little overkill?"

"I said push him to his limits from the beginning, but my idiot brother might just kill him by mistake."

Darui's and A's conversation allowed Naruto to confirm that yes, this was not some weird joke like that strange rap earlier. His was indeed in danger of losing his life…or a few limbs. His eyes were wide with an unidentified emotion floating in them and the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stood on end.

Killer Bee's foot pushed off the ground.

The man was a demon.

That was Naruto's true and honest opinion.

Currently the red-head was hiding behind one of the many rock masses in the so-called Valley of Clouds and Lightning. Hiding of course meant 'pressing his back into the rock so hard he wished to become one with it.'

If he recalled correctly, there was a jutsu for that, but he needed a strong earth affinity to learn it, which he did not. He found himself cursing his luck.

This was bad. Naruto realized he had never been one for wishful thinking, having been raised as the ultimate pragmatist. A day in this crazy village was already doing wonders.

Truly today was just not his day.

From dark tragedies in the past in the form of a pretty silver haired girl to a rampaging bull that could not be stopped, Naruto really found himself cursing his luck.

The issue on hand here was how to deal with his new - and quite possibly deranged – sensei. Wielding seven swords at once was crazy no matter how you looked at it. The eight tailed jinchuriki had used that idea to turn himself into a raging pincushion of death.

By a series of spins, flips and cartwheels, a whirlwind of sharp metal was created, coming from the most unexpected of angles at the fastest of speeds.

When B had attacked him head-on, Naruto already knew enough that charging into an unknown situation was suicide.

Two shadow clones served as a test. It was more apt to call them sacrifices.

They popped so fast, the yellow flash would have been proud.

Naruto had not seen enough so he immediately jumped away when Killer Bee reached him. With all those muscles the man could move deceptively quickly by hopping on just one leg.

Naruto's retreat at that point bought him less than a second's time. Why? Because B could use the body flicker even when handling so many weapons.

Having the man appear before him so suddenly, with the most sadistic of grins even with a hilt between his teeth had Naruto almost tripping over his feet to get away. A slash from the sword on the man's waist tore open the skin on the red-head's chest. The cut was shallow thankfully and Naruto was accustomed to such degrees of pain. However just because he could ignore it did not mean he could keep up.

B's swords came from everywhere. This was perhaps the most complicated sword dance on the continent, let alone the planet. Naruto did not even know where to begin. The first stance was apparently a starting point only. B could apparently use any joint in his body to hold a blade. The man was practically juggling while spinning and flipping, making him look like some very strange celestial body with sharp spinning satellites.

When he tried to run B would catch up. If he tried to dodge, B would still somehow cut him up.

Overwhelming did not even begin cut it, no pun intended.

It became so bad that when B suddenly plunged three of the blades into Naruto, he was not even surprised. What kind of spar was this? Could this even be remotely called training anymore? Naruto would have paid in organs for someone to explain all this to him.

One sword scraped against his scapula, the other pierced his right lung while the last had gone through his stomach.

He fell back, doing his best impression of a sack of potatoes. Blood trickled forth from the three newly opened orifices, and his mouth also made a generous contribution.

Hate was not a word truly in Naruto's vocabulary, but judging by the gaze he had levelled at the Kumo ninja while on his side, learning would not be an issue.

The three men watched Naruto's descent into the dark side, and possibly death, like scientists taking notes of a hamster spinning a wheel. " C'mon, Mr Nine, you gotta shine to survive," B's rapping was as annoying as ever.

His mind swimming with dark thoughts, Naruto had then realized what was expected of him, as well as his only way out, seeing as no medical help was forthcoming.

Bastards, the lot of them.

A simple 'we also want you to use the demon's power' would have sufficed.

Naruto acquiesced to their and his body's demands. The volcano in his belly erupted and fired its blazing red magma into his head. As always, the chakra was wild, untamed and unyielding, seeking to drive him to the limits of his sanity and break through like a bulldozer. Moving into a crouching position, while a red haze whipped about his body, he pulled out each blade. The wounds closed up after that one after the other, disappearing without a trace like the morning mist.

Fortunately for him, this was only his first use of the foul chakra, so it was relatively easy to rein it in, compared to when he traded killing strikes with Kakuzu and Hidan.

The Raikage's next words however, found a way to introduce a chill to his spine even with all the fiery hot chakra flooding his veins.

"B, draw a tail's worth of chakra out of him. This is not enough."

'Excuse me?' Naruto wanted to ask. That had to have been a mistake. Yet, Naruto's pragmatic mind assured him that those words were absolutely and definitely what the Raikage had asked. Still…a boy could hope right?

B widening his stance with the remaining swords on his person crushed that hope like a child that ruthlessly stomps on tiny ants.

"Mr. Nine using to little chakra. Don't worry, after all this we're gonna turn you into a master."

There was simply no way Naruto was sticking around for this. Healing was not the only trick he could do with this red chakra.

B, A and Darui then each lifted a hand to shield their faces as a wave of red chakra passed over them. Demonic chakra from the tailed beasts was demonic for a reason. Like radiation induces radiation poisoning, so was the same with chakra inducing chakra poisoning. Such a light concentration would do nothing to them who were ninja skilled in the art of chakra manipulation and especially B who housed a similar chakra, yet to come into contact with it was still unpleasant.

When each had lowered their hands, the little red-head had vanished like vapour, leaving nothing but three swords and a ground, both stained with blood.

That was the conclusion of the earlier events that were deep enough to leave psychological scarring on any normal ninja. For Naruto, he could probably hold out for five or ten more minutes…give or take.

Thus the reason why he was hiding out here using a mountain as cover.

As promising as the situation looked, he had only bought himself five minutes tops. It was impossible to fathom a way to hide from two S-rank and one A-rank ninja like this. As it was, he was barely lucky that in this hiding spot he had suppressed the red chakra quickly enough before those blades, better defined as the devil's teeth, located and descended on him.

Naruto sighed. What sort of messed up scenario was this? He had not signed up for torture. He had not even signed up for anything. In fact, he was only here because he had been knocked out by having his chakra sealed and then moved here without his consent.

No matter, how you looked at it, this was kidnapping.

If he explained it to some simple woman in a village, no doubt she would swear a solemn vow to protect him to the best of her ability.

Naruto was grateful, for all this was done for his benefit, but honestly speaking, who would not vent out some frustrations in such a fatal situation. Was this training they usually underwent? Those muscular bodies of theirs, were they the reason they could handle it? If so, Naruto was envious. If those muscles were the result of this training, then pity was now the defining feeling.

Also, there was a reason he did not like drawing out the demon's chakra.

Interestingly enough, as he thought all this, his face could at best be defined as impassive, an impressive poker face given the situation, and no, there was no particular effort put into maintaining it.

The red-head placed the tip of his right index finger onto the ground, performing a simple, yet complex in execution, technique to determine the location of his torturers. Feedback assaulted his mind with startling accuracy and Naruto gasped the gasp of a man who was just witnessed his death. He moved, but it was too late, for the sword was already sticking out of his right lung, which collapsed right away…again.

If Naruto had a shred of Hidan's personality, the curses would be littered all over the place.

Instead, he could only widen his eyes as he wondered just how B tunneled through two hundred metres of rock without him noticing. The earth behind him collapsed, and the man himself stepped out. The blade was pulled out, and Naruto fell to the floor struggling to find his breath. He reached out with his hand to pull (crawl) himself away, but B's large foot on his back put an immediate halt to that.

"Use that chakra, Mr. Nine. I told ya, it's your time to shine!"

Naruto's mood would shine if he never heard another rhyme, let alone rap, for the rest of his godforsaken life.

Nevertheless, the red chakra surged forth, and the wound closed up in seconds.

Retaliation was in order, but B simply applied pressure with his foot and Naruto was almost certain his spine would snap in two.

A kick to the ribs flipped him onto his back, before B's large hand reached down and picked him by his face, with a rather tight grip.

Before his face was crushed, Naruto tried to think of a way to break free, but each attempt to use some of his own pure chakra made Killer Bee press harder, using pain to break his concentration. Punching and kicking was the same as admitting that against B's rock-hard body, his limbs could have as well have been made out of paper.

"Hmmm…let's speed things up."

When the similar potent and toxic yet foreign chakra invaded his system, all hell broke loose.

Darkness fell over the village hidden in the clouds which fought back against the impending gloom with an array of bright dots that spread a warm glow across the village.

Bruised, battered and all sorts of exhausted, Naruto's feet hit the roof of the apartment block which was now his new home. Using up the last vestiges of his strength, he had used the rooftops as his designated path here, which logically was the better option. His apartment was on the top floor. If he went in through the ground level floor, facing those steps would dump unnecessary amounts of steps on his already fragile mind.

Actually going into his apartment would have to wait though, for his legs buckled under him, and he sprawled onto the cold rough floor, even though he was completely topless, courtesy of his efficient (see 'murderous') sensei. The chill from the floor was pushed back however by his irregularly high body heat.

This was a side-effect of his training. After having such large amounts of demonic chakra flow through his body, Naruto felt like a walking furnace. Killer Bee's method of speeding it up was to forcefully draw the Kyuubi's chakra to the surface, in an effort to see the effects of the chakra on the mind and body. Having the chakra flow continuously through him for a minute was so beyond him, Naruto felt he would have better luck going against the nine tailed beasts in a nine-on-one handicap match.

He'd lost his mind, rampaged through the valley a bit, completely ignored their efforts to appeal to his more rational state of mind, injured Darui mildly (though that was due to the man's own carelessness) before the they finally and forcefully put him down.

That would have been alright in Naruto's book, had it not been for the fact that they fell into the pattern of 'rinse and repeat'.

Today Naruto had manifested the demon's chakra cloak five times, with one tail three of those occurrences and two tails the other two.

Therefore today's demon chakra output was only second to the first event when he was five years old. Still, it was more than his output in the eight years that had passed combined.

Paper would probably burn if he so much as flicked it. The steam was still rising off his body, that was covered in half-healed scars.

It did nothing to help his mood which could not be dragged out of the deepest abyss.

Today was really not his day.

Traumatic memories and hellish training was just not anyone's cup of tea. He could move now, but once he collapsed on that soft warm bed, he would not move an inch until noon the next day.

Sheer will forced him to his feet, and while cool winds brushed against his body and caused his blood red hair to flutter aimlessly, his body still felt like he was on fire.

Just as he was about to take the first step towards his only safe haven in this village, the door that opened into the roof of the apartment complex burst open. Long curly blonde hair was the first thing Naruto noticed, and it took him only seconds to recognize her as the girl who had accompanied that other 'wretched' girl.

"SEN!" her voice pierced the night, adding to Naruto's growing headache.

Her eyes locked onto his figure and almost immediately a flood of killing intent burst forth. It was as if Naruto had just stomped on her puppy. With a grimace decorating her face, she marched forward until she was right in Naruto's face.

The idle thought that she was pretty even with such an angry face passed through his mind, though it did not really matter much to him. Really, it did not. Naruto had the emotional range of a teaspoon, but he could still appreciate the aesthetic appeal of things.

"You! What did you do to Sen?!" she demanded angrily.

"Nothing," was Naruto's immediate reply.

Her fuse was short, or rather, tiny, because Naruto's simple word caused her hand to move.

Naruto had had enough of getting hurt however. Her palm never reached his face, her wrist held in a titanium grip.

She struggled for a bit and their limbs shook where they were connected, until Naruto let go and she took a step back, massaging her sore wrist. That stare did not lose an ounce of its venom though.

"Because of you, Sen has disappeared. She's gone to look for her sister."

Naruto did not know what to think when he heard those words.

"I hate you. I do not like you one bit. I hope the fox in your gut eats you alive one day, but…"

Really, if all she could do was insult him, Naruto was off to bed. Without a word, his steps carried him past her. He left her there, struggling to find words she would rather die than say.

"…I need your help! If she said anything to you, gave you even a clue of which direction she was going…please tell me!"

He stopped for a bit, ran the words through his mind for a second and came to the understanding that this was not his problem and he should not care at all. Therefore, with a voice lacking the barest inflections of emotion, he said, "I can't help you."

The soft click of the door shutting effectively gave form to his finality, while the sound of Ayame's wordless scream gave form to her rage.

Thankfully, the path to his apartment was free of strange events. Once in his apartment, he did not even bother to switch on the lights. His only objective was to collapse on that bed, leaving reality behind for some rest and relaxation in the land of slumber.

"Excuse me, Uzumaki-san. I have something to inform you about."

Naruto did not bother to turn round. If he saw the source of that voice, he would have a target. If he had a target he would proceed to eliminate that target.

It had to be the Kyuubi's chakra. It was making him more aggressive, hence the murderous inclinations. This was the excuse he gave himself to explain the bloodlust that made his fingers shake like a cocaine addict.

"What?"

"Your neighbor, Yarizui Sen, infiltrated your apartment earlier."

The Black ops corps of the village had failed to stop a thirteen year old from getting into an apartment. Despite himself, Naruto was impressed.

"Her Kekkei genkai is a highly convenient ability, one we had not prepared adequate countermeasures against," was the explanation the shadow behind him gave. "Anyway, we observed her to determine a motive, however all she did was peek at your…literature collection."

She had to be female, if the obvious scorn in her voice was anything to go by. Jiraiya's Make Out tactics were a man's greatest treasure and a woman's filthiest trash, here in the elemental nations.

"After looking into the book she left immediately however. The Raikage has already been informed. If you wish to press charges, the Raikage will punish her accordingly."

"Leave her alone," Naruto said in a tired voice as he picked up the first book from the neatly stacked pillar of Jiraiya's literary efforts.

The shadow's reply was immediate.

"Have a goodnight then, Uzumaki-sama." An instant later, he was once again 'alone'.

Naruto did not bother to answer back. He only sifted through the pages of the book absentmindedly.

His leniency was not due to the softness of his heart, which remained encased in a block of hard ice. Rather it was due to the fact that he would do anything just to stay away from that girl. He could already tell that tonight, his dreams would take a turn for the worst, immersing him in memories best left forgotten.

This was all just too much for him to bear. Her very face was the spitting image of his failures and what he had lost.

Ignoring that pain was how he had lived all these years. Time had not healed his wounds. If banishing that girl from his life was what it took not to break, then so be it.

His fingers finally flicked through to the last page, where a map of the elemental nations had been artistically depicted. This two-dimensional image was meant to reveal the interesting settings where Jiraiya's stories took place, the really obscure regions where he visited during his travels.

Naruto had sometimes looked at these maps and wondered what it felt like to be a wanderer like the toad sage. Were these places that interesting, that his heart was never back at his home? Did they inspire such awe in him?

Were they fun?

The map he opened was different though.

A new addition, in fact.

Yes, in the form of a tiny tear, starting from Kumo, through the borders of the land of tea, right round the capital of the Land of Fire and right up to…

Konoha.

Fifteen seconds later, Naruto almost swore.

"That…that idiot…"

She had no idea of the danger she was in if she even set foot within the Land of Fire. If she did, one man would obviously hear about it and this man would no doubt be highly intrigued.

This man's name was Shimura Danzou.

He found himself outside the closet the Kumo ninja had so generously stacked for him, yet instead of a shirt he found among the ninja supplies chakra pills. He popped one into his mouth before biting down on it and that strange feeling of cold fire ran through his veins, breathing life into taxed limbs.

He stormed out, and once he was in the living room again he stared directly into a corner with startling intensity. "Kumo ninja, inform your Kage that Yarizui Sen is trying to or has escaped from the village. She should be heading for Konohagakure."

He probably looked mad talking to empty space, but a moment later, he drew back satisfied. Kumo's troops would be mobilized soon. He himself opened the balcony door, once again exposing himself to the cool atmosphere, yet Naruto's body was warmer than ever. Powerful legs had him jumping from rooftop to rooftop with ease. It was the first time he said her name, but he did not notice.

In this bright moonlight, a glimpse of blonde hair had him moving in a set direction.

"You!" he called out to her, not out of rudeness, but the simple fact that he had not bothered to catch her name.

She turned to him, her emotions frantic, yet when she recognized him, her negative feelings did not take long to show themselves.

"Wh-What?!"

"I know where she's going!"

"You do?! Where?! How do you know?!" This barrage of questions showed her obvious confusion but Naruto did not have the time!

"No time to explain. Just take me to the southern Village gates!"

"Wait!" Apparently, she was not going to move an inch until she knew more. Moving quickly, she pointed her index and middle fingers at Naruto's bare chest in the common hand gesture that imitated a gun.

Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief. She was going to attack him now of all times!? He did not know which technique this was, yet a dozen strategies to disarm her were being formed in his mind.

"Tell me where Sen is going!" she demanded in a voice that would accept nothing less than the truth.

"You are wasting your time! Every second we let her move farther puts her in danger!" Naruto countered with grit teeth.

"Answer me!"

Their second confrontation in thirty minutes, yet Naruto thought the same thing now as he did back then.

The moonlight that was not reflected off her glasses and pierced her eye turned the blue into a lighter shade of ice. The same phenomenon was reflected in his eyes.

"Konoha," he relented.

"How do you know that?!"

"Because I'm from Konoha." Naruto decided to play along with her little interrogation.

"She's gone to look for her sister there," Sen deduced rapidly. Naruto could only nod. "Did you really know her sister?"

This question made Naruto pause. Sen who sensed his discomfort could not stand for it. The concentration of chakra on the tip of her two fingers increased, causing the tiny hairs on Naruto's chest to stand.

A part of Naruto that he did not know he had forced him to nod after hesitating. It was not out of fear, but he had the sudden thought she would be on the other end of a jutsu wielded by a Root ninja if he let this go on.

"If something happens to Sen, I will never forgive you." The devil could not have said those words better.

Naruto ignored her though. "We need to move now," he urged.

Minutes later, their feet hit the ground in front of the enormous gate that served as Kumo's door. Surprisingly, Kumo's Anbu agents, clad in thick dark clothes, torso armour and masks were there just about to be sent out by their own Kage. They were on their knees as only a ninja before his Kage should be.

When they arrived, all eyes turned to them including the Raikage's.

"Uzumaki, what are you doing here?" he asked bluntly.

Naruto had not previously thought of an answer but the words just flowed. "Let me help find her."

"While I appreciate that you sent one of my Anbu to inform me of this, we can handle it from here."

"Please let us help, Raikage-sama." His support came from the unlikeliest of places. Sen was already one knee, her head bowed low. "He knows about her sister. Sen has likely gone to Konoha because that is where Uzumaki is from."

Everyone present noted the lack of an honorific.

"With his knowledge about her sister, he is perhaps the only one who can bring her back through peaceful means."

A seemed to digest their words for a moment like it was something causing a horrible chemical reaction in his stomach. "Tch…kids. Village security is not so lax as to let her vanish easily. It is likely she is still in the village."

However an Anbu appeared next to him in that moment. After whispering in his leader's ear for a few seconds he disappeared. A's face contorted in a frustrated grimace and he had to run a hand over it to smooth out the wrinkles.

"All Anbu on guard duty tonight, remind me to give each one of you the 'iron claw'."

Was the collective shiver that ran through the Anbu present part of Naruto's imagination or not? He felt their pain though. Killer Bee was an animal. His older and bigger brother had to be a beast.

A's eyes bore deep into Naruto's, dissecting his courage and determination and weighing it all on his set of scales. Naruto stood fast and did not waver under his examination.

"Very well," he acquiesced, "you may help out. Simply flare out your chakra if you come into contact with her. C, keep an eye out." He said the last part to an Anbu whose pale blonde hair reminded Naruto of the Yamanaka. The Raikage leaped upwards, reaching the top of the gates in one bound.

Naruto, Ayame and the Anbu followed, but few of them (Naruto excluded) could match the Raikage's agility, having to run up the gate and leap again to reach the top.

Up here at the top of the gate that also served as a walkway with railings, the Raikage saw them off with two words.

"Begin operation."