Guardian Angel

"Speech"

'Thought'

"Summon/Bijuu/Inner Speech"

'Summon/Bijuu/inner thought'

A/N: Me no own Naruto!... or any other franchise… It sucks being a nobody…

The council exited their shushin mere seconds after the hokage performed it and were now heading towards the council room, discussing various things as they went. Soon the group had made there way into the council chambers, each taking whatever seat they wished as there was much more empty chairs now and no real seating order.

"Right then," the hokage started, rapping a knuckle against his desk to gather everyone's attention. "Now that we have seen the students first hand, are there any comments, questions or concerns you wish to voice before we go about making changes to the academy?"

Goza raised one hand and rose to speak. "What exactly do you teach at the academy?" asked Goza in a curious voice. "From what I saw, it feels… lacking I suppose," spoke the demon.

Sarutobi nodded at that. "Originally, the academy taught basic academic skills that are essential on the field such as mathematics, anatomy and history along with how to mould chakra, survival skills such as hunting and navigation. It was also to teach basic stealth techniques, basic taijutsu, the three jutsu of Henge, Kawarimi and Bunshin no jutsu. Originally, this was supposed to last for six years in addition to physical conditioning, weapon skills and chakra theory, but then the wars started and the time had to be shortened and some lessons cut or shortened to the briefest of explanations, sadly they were never changed back," Sarutobi finished solemnly.

"Why were these methods not reinstated?" asked the head of the ANBU division.

"At first, it was because after the Second Shinobi War, too many things had to be done," Sarutobi answered, "My indictment as hokage, coupled with securing the village and the repairs needed in the area caused me and the council to forget about the academy for a time, when I finally remembered the council had already taken off a year and cut out chakra theory," Sarutobi sighed "It just went downhill from there as the second war dragged on," here Hiruzen grew quiet. "Uzugakure was destroyed and we had to move the Kyuubi container here, as for the rest of the people of Uzu, they were scattered all over the nations, but I digress," Sarutobi paused for a moment. "Once again, cuts were made to the academy and it wasn't a good time until after things had settled down that I realized the academy had been altered for the worst," Sarutobi sighed. "I had hoped Minato, the Fourth Hokage, would make the changes, but once again a war arose and the academy became worse due to negligence. Afterwards, the council at the time had somehow taken control of it and started coddling the students, which was just plain stupid," Sarutobi said with exasperation.

"True enough," Fredrick spoke up, "Around that time, genin death rates started to go up, despite the large number of them that graduated, it went down but it still remained at a rather alarming number," spoke the harvester, "Why is that?" he finished with a curious gleam in his one eye.

Sarutobi smiled sadly at that. " Like I said the students became coddled, the academy became more academic and taught bare minimum of practical skills and because of that the exit exam became fairly simple," here he sighed before continuing, "At that time, all that was needed was to pass the exit exam, thus every genin who passed became a ninja with a jounin sensei. It was only later on that the second genin exam was instituted to weed out those not yet ready," Sarutobi finished.

Goza nodded at that before he asked his next question, "All well and good, but why did you not change the academy back to its original curriculum? Surely the deaths must have been a good indicator that something needed change"

"That is because of the following time of peace," answered the hokage, "with Konoha standing as the winner of not one, but two wars, none wanted to go against us and the village was flooded with mission requests," Sarutobi sighed, "The Fourth was a great man but he became blindsided by all these requests and meetings of lords to actually have time to run the village, as such, the council took over and because of the peace, they did not feel it necessary to change much and instead grew more interested in lining their pockets," Sarutobi stated.

"But what about when the Kyuubi came? Surely that must have opened some of the council's eyes," Fredrick pointed out. Here the council all looked away from the demon or withdrew more into themselves.

Goza took note and narrowed his eyes. "You still didn't see the danger?" he asked, disbelief lacing his voice.

Surprisingly, it was not the hokage who answered. "We had become arrogant, too secure in the idea nothing could harm us," Fugaku spoke softly, but his voice carried into the ears of everyone as though he were standing right in front of them all. "Rather than opening our eyes, the attack angered many of us, we saw it as blasphemy if you will, we believed no one could harm us, yet what should have been a horrible lesson in reality, only seemed to fuel the idea that could attack us without consequence," Fugaku looked down in shame as he continued, "It is the reason that boy is so hated and tortured so often, the reason he is forced to live in hell is because he reminds us that we are mortal, that we can be killed like anyone else," he paused for a moment. "We hate him, because he reminds us that we are humans,"

Goza and Fredrick couldn't believe their ears and thought it some kind of joke, yet as they looked around, they could see it was true. From Tsume's angry growling and refusal to look anyone in the eye, to the slight light of sadness and anger that appeared in his pale eyes. "That's…" Goza just couldn't put his thoughts to words. Fredrick on the other hand had no such problems.

"Then it is a good thing we came, and an even better reason for contacting Echo," spoke the reaper, "It is time this place received a reality check and we will deliver it," he stated.

Sarutobi nodded in agreement a slow smile coming to his lips. "Too true, we have already prepared for the journey, now it is time to take the first step," he spoke, "We have stayed too long in this paradise and have overstepped the boundaries and corrupted it, now is the time to take the first step on our road to redemption," Sarutobi looked up, a confident smirk on his lips and a fire burning in his wizened eyes, "I propose we reinstate the old curriculum, all in favor?"

Not a single hand was down.

Naruto's home

BEEP! BEEP! BEE-

SMASH!

"Why the hell do I set that thing on the weekends anyway?" Naruto mumbled as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Yawning the blonde scratched his chest before swinging himself out of bed and getting dressed into a black T-shirt and some loose blue jeans. He smiled slightly as he pulled the clothes on and put on a black leather belt and snapping on his kunai and shuriken holster to the back. A lot had happened in the week following that night he was saved by Fredrick, and to Naruto, most of them were very welcome changes indeed.

One of the first and foremost was the fact that he actually had clothes to wear and food that wasn't rotten and was actually healthy. Oh he was still blacklisted at most of the stores but he didn't care because if he needed anything, Goza would be more than willing to sell it to him at a reasonable price.

Naruto grinned as he walked out of his room and entered his bathroom and began the morning ritual of washing face and brushing teeth. As he did, the boy reflected over some of the other good things that had happened to him since that night.

For one, he was actually being taught stuff, both in and outside of the academy. He actually understood the academic stuff like math and history and was getting better grades because of it. He was also starting to get a lot better at his more practical skills, like throwing weapons and taijutsu. He was nowhere near as good as Kiki and no way in hell was anywhere close to Goza but considering how his skills were BEFORE they came, it was a big improvement.

Leaving the bathroom, the boy caught the scent of eggs and he couldn't help but grin as he walked into the kitchen where he beheld a rather interesting sight. "Ohayo, Fredrick-sosofu!" Naruto greeted the black cloaked figure that was standing at his stove.

Hearing his voice Fredrick turned around, revealing that he was wearing a chef hat and apron. "And a good morning to you as well Naruto," the third Huxley greeted warmly, causing a gigantic smile to spread across the jinchuriiki's face. "Hurry up and eat Naruto, Goza expects us at the shop for tea," Fredrick said in his posh tone as he set a plate of sausage and eggs down in front of Naruto.

With a grin, Naruto dug into the plate of food heartily. Another wonderful thing, was the fact Naruto had more people in his life that he could count as… well he still hadn't found a word to describe them but they were important to him, that much was sure!

Finishing his meal the blonde grabbed his orange jacket and followed his guarian out of the apartment, with Fredrick shifting into his human form and locking the door with a special key. The door flashed white before a small skull with an open mouth replaced the keyhole. Naruto had yet to learn whit it was but Fredrick had assured him that none, sans another reaper or someone with similar skills.

As they walked down the roads towards Goza's shop, Naruto's smile faltered at the glares sent their direction. Naruto had long become accustomed to the glares, but what made him frown was the fact that Fredrick was also being glared at. That was the only bad thing that happened after Fredrick saved him, at least it was as far as Naruto could see.

It was known to all that the newcomers were fond of Naruto and freely associated with him. As such, the newcomers were held in disdain, as in Goza didn't receive a whole ton of service, Kikioko was treated as an outcast just like Naruto by the majority of the academy and Fredrick was denied service by the majority of shops. It was a lucky thing that Goza's shop sold just about everything, and that included food and clothes.

"Here we are Naruto," Fredrick stated kindly as the two stopped in front of a simple building. It was one story tall with a sign across the top that said "Little Shop of Horrors" in black kanji. There was a small display window that showed the inside of the shop with a sign in the bottom left corner that said "OPEN"

"Come on boy, we can admire the shop later. Besides, its what's on the inside that counts!" Fredrick called cheerily. The blonde boy nodded before grinning and following his surrogate great grandfather into the shop.

As the pair entered, a bell sounded over the doorway signaling their arrival. As they stepped in the place seemed rather ordinary, for the most part there were some clothing racks, some ninja supplies near the back and some weapons but what made the place different was the "unique" weapons and items that took up the rest of the area. These objects included but were not limited to: voodoo dolls, books on demons and monsters, macabre masks of varying designs and color and of course, accessories and jewelry many would find… disturbing. In the corner of the store was a simple checkout desk with a door that led into the back of the store.

"Welcome to the- Oh, hey Fred, midget," said a voice over at the counter. Naruto whirled around in anger and jumped on the counter to glare angrily at the object of his ire. The object in question was a rather plain looking individual in a grey custodian jumpsuit with a matching hat and brown working boots. The man had brown hair and an ordinary skin complexion but that's where it ended.

While Fredrick in his human form was like skin stretched tightly across a skeleton, this individual had long gangly limbs and very gaunt and sharp features, but that wasn't the weirdest part. The weirdest part was his white glowing eyes. No pupil, no sclera, just glowing white pits for eyes. Completing the look was a big black cigar clutched in his mouth.

"Who are you calling a midget you creep of a custodian?" ranted Naruto.

The custodian merely blew cigar smoke into the blonde's face and smirked. "I'm calling the brat who needs to stand on my desk to just get in my face a midget," her replied nonchalantly.

Coughing, Naruto glared at the janitor. "Would you stop blowing smoke in my face? It smells nasty and makes it hard to breathe, not unlike your regular stench garbage man!" the blonde asked angrily, only to yell in pain when the blunt end of a scythe met his skull.

"Naruto stop antagonizing Jack, and Jack please stop riling up Naruto," Fredrick told the two calmly. Naruto grumbled a response but got off the counter while Jack just smirked at him in triumph. "Now, I'm assuming Goza is waiting in the back?"

Jack's smirk seemed to grow at that. "Yup, he's also got a guest that you'll just love to see," replied the custodian. The reaper looked puzzled for a moment, before a look of surprise and excitement appeared in his eye. Jack chuckled at this and merely opened the back door for them and stepping aside. "Head on in, can't keep them waiting, right?"

Naruto, who had a look of confusion, yelped in surprise as Fredrick grabbed the boy and dashed into the back area. It was a blur for Naruto as they raced through the various hallways of the back area to a door labeled "Dining Room" upon which Fredrick came to an abrupt stop and dropped the young Uzumaki.

Knocking several times franticly, Fredrick waited until he heard the words 'come in' but as soon as he heard the first syllable he opened the door and flew into the room, with Naruto stumbling in behind, swirls in his eyes.

Shaking himself, Naruto glared at his guardian, "Oi! What the hell is wrong with you baka gaikotsu!" he yelled at his grandfather. However before he could continue he was interrupted by a sudden figure crashing into him.

"Whiskers-kun! I missed you!" yelled the figure that was now cuddling into Naruto, who was still not used to such treatment. Mostly because he couldn't figure out if she was squeezing so hard because she missed him or because she wanted to kill him.

"Ah! Kiki-chan! Can't breathe!" Naruto gasped to his red headed friend. He immediately sighed in relief and took a couple breathes when he felt the crushing force of Kikioko's death hug release. He smirked at the sheepishly smiling girl and chuckled. "Do you have to do that every time? You're gonna break my back one of these days!"

Kiki pouted at this, "But its fun! Besides it's not that bad is it?" she whined.

"Tell that to my fractured spine," deadpanned the blonde which in turn caused Kikioko to giggle and Naruto to smile.

"Ah, nothing like young love, right Fredrick?" said the voice of Goza causing both children to whirl around and glare at the greedy demon with blushes on their faces.

"WE'RE NOT LIKE THAT!" they both yelled in unison. Goza just laughed in reply to their outburst. It was then that Naruto noticed an unfamiliar face in the room. The unfamiliar was male and had lightly tanned skin and shoulder length shaggy dirty blonde hair that looked like he just got out of bed. This image was further inforced by the bags under the man's hazel green eyes, or at least Naruto thought they were hazel green. It was hard to see with the hair that covered his eyes. From what he could see, the man was wearing a red zip up sweatshirt and strapped to his back on a leather strap that went from his right shoulder to left hip was a… shovel?

"Uh, who the heck is that guy?" Naruto asked pointing at the man.

WHACK

"ARRG! Would you stop hitting me with that damn stick already!" yeled the blonde at Fredrick.

"You little brat! I remember a time when children were respectful and didn't use such foul language with their elders present! Why back in my day-" Fredrick was about to start one of his rants again when the voice of the man stopped him.

"Relax Hux, he's just a kid," the man said in a voice that held an odd mixture of warmth and weariness. Looking over at the blonde jinchuuriki the man smiled. "Yo, name's Echo, just Echo," he greeted.

Naruto blinked and tilted his head with a frown on his face as he started to think. After a time his eyes brightened with realization, "Ah! You must be the slug jockey Pointy Ears talks about!" he exclaimed with a proud smile on his face.

Echo chuckled at the boy. "That's me, but come on we can talk some more over some food," he replied while gesturing for Naruto to take a seat at the round oaken table and was soon followed by Kikioko who sat right next to him while Fredrick sat across from Goza. Across from Naruto was the newly introduced Echo.

"Sooo…" Naruto started trying to break the silence before it could truly settle, "where's the food?" he asked.

Goza just grinned before snapping his fingers. Immediately several pairs of floating white gloves appeared and began setting platters of food in front of the group. It was a fairly modest spread with some sandwiches dango and soup set up for the people.

"What about drinks?" asked Naruto. Goza just shrugged, "Jut tell them what you want and they'll get it to you," the demon supplied before asking for some sake. Immediately a white hand came with a bottle and dish for the demonic merchant.

Fredrick asked for some tea with two lumps (Naruto nor Kikioko knew what that meant) while the children simply asked for some lemonade. Echo on the other hand merely reached into his sweatshirt pocket and pulled out a bottle with letters on it that Naruto didn't recognize. They obviously weren't kanji that's for sure.

Echo smiled as he popped the cap off the bottle and sighed in contentment, as he smelled the drink. However he didn't take a drink as Naruto was staring at him, or rather he thought it might be him. The dirty blonde moved the bottle to the right and Naruto's eyes followed it intensely. Blinking, Echo picked it up and moved it to the left. Again, Naruto's eyes followed. Sighing Echo set the bottle down and smirked alightly as the blonde boy had still yet to take his eyes off the bottle.

"Ok kid, mind telling me why you're eyeing my root beer like that?" Echo asked. Naruto blinked and shifted his curious blue eyes to stare at Echo's hazel ones. "If you're going to ask for a drink then the answer is no,"

"Eh?" NAruto exclaimed, "NO! No i… I was just wondering…" here Naruto paused before pointing at the bottle, "what are those letters on that bottle? They aren't knaji and they don't look demonic so…" Naruto trailed off.

Fredrick laughed at this and spoke, "Don't worry about it Naruto, you'll get your answers and more when the both of you start training later today,"

There was a pause then, "THIS GUY IS GONNA BE MY SENSEI?" Naruto shouted while pointing an indignant finger at the guy.

Echo sighed as he sipped his drink. "I'm already tired of him," he muttered.

Training field 73

An hour later found Naruto and company in training field number seventy three. It was a fairly out of the way area and it was mostly desolate of life. The ground was mostly fry earth with some petrified grey trees that jutted into the sky like the jagged teeth of monsters. It was a good forty-five minutes away from the village and hardly anyone trained here. Many of the local shinobi referred to it as the Bone yard.

Currently, Naruto and Echo were facing one another in the middle of the field while Kiki, Goza and Fredrick were seated off to the right a ways so they would not be in the way.

"So what are we gonna do first?" Naruto asked, excitement dotting his words and tone.

Echo merely closed his eyes and drew his shovel, revealing the handle to be made of a common wood and the head a simple iron. Naruto tensed up in preparation while Kikioko leaned in, her one eye widened in anticipation.

Echo then promptly sat on the ground, shovel resting in the junction of his neck and shoulder, eyes still closed. Naruto and Kiki face faulted while Goza chuckled and Fredrick sighed.

"OI! What the hell are you sitting down for? How the hell am I supposed to become hokage if my sensei doesn't get up an-!" Naruto ranted only to be cut off by Echo's words.

"Come at me with everything you have to try and kill me,"

That stopped Naruto cold. "You… want me to try and…" here Naruto gulped nervously, "kill you?" he finished quietly.

Echo only opened one eye and looked at the blonde through his half lidded one eyed gaze. "You'll have to kill one day, and you won't defeat your opponent unless you are willing to pull out all the stops to win," he said casually before closing his eye again.

"Yeah, but… You're my sensei! Besides isn't this just training?" Naruto excused. Echo merely shook his head in apparent disappointment.

"I need to gauge your abilities, so treat me as if I was a true enemy, not a sparring partner," Echo replied seriously. "I can't teach you if I don't know how you fight, how you think or how you handle a situation. So come at me with the intent to kill, I'll tell you when to stop," Echo finished with a soft but weary smile.

Naruto stood there, debating on whether or not to follow his sensei's orders. On the one hand, he didn't want to hurt the guy, but on the other, he couldn't disobey his new sensei right off the bat! Steeling himself, Naruto slid into a stance and got ready to charge. "Fine but don't blame me if I kill you!" Naruto said with bravado. With that, the blonde gave a cry of challenge and rushed at the seated man. Reaching his target, Naruto aimed a powerful kick at his sensei's jaw.

"Good hustle," Echo commented as he casually caught the kick, much to the shock of Naruto and amazement of Kikioko. "And there is some decent strength in this kick, but," here Echo vanished, simply vanished with no blur or smoke to show he was there, "Your attack was too direct," called his voice.

Surprised, Naruto snapped his head up and saw Echo sitting atop one of the petrified trees, one that was easily the height of a regular house. "Now lets see how you react to this challenge," Echo called to his student.

Naruto gaped for a moment before growling in annoyance at this new problem. The boy dashed towards the tree and started leaping onto the branches in order to get to the casually seated dirty blonde. "Again, good hustle and you have quite the agility and balance but," here Echo grabbed his shovel and smacked against the tree. Immediately, the dead wooden giant began to rumble, causing the blonde Uzumaki to fall back to earth with a cry of surprise. "again your attack is too direct and it is never a good idea to rush your opponent when he has the high ground," Echo lectured, much to Naruto's growing ire. "Remember, the high ground is a great strategic point but every fortress has a weakness,"

With another enraged cry, Naruto dashed towards the tree once more and once again attempted to get to his sensei. Alas, Echo simply smacked the tree once more and once agin, the shaking tree caused Naruto to lose his footing and fall to the earth. Naruto gave a cry of frustration and glared at Echo.

'How the hell is he doing this?' Naruto though angrily noting that his sensei's eyes were still closed. 'He hasn't even opened his eyes once this entire time!' He glared at the man 'Maybe if I wait, he'll come and get me, then I'll attack!' the blonde thought with confidence

"That silence," Echo spoke again, "Either you are finally starting to think or you are waiting for me to attack," Naruto's eyes widened in shock. Could this guy read minds? "Unfortunately for you I don't intend to move from this spot," he said, amusement lacing his tone and a smirk tugging at his lips.

Naruto growled in anger at the man. At first he didn't want to fight this guy, but now, he was gonna kick his but from here all the way back to the village! "Shut up! I'm gonna kick your ass! Dattebayo!" roared the blonde.

Echo merely shook his head, much to Naruto's chagrin. Growling, Naruto reached behind him and grabbed several shuriken from his pouch. "Eat this!" roared the blonde, tossing seven shuriken at the man. He watched with a smirk as his shuriken flew straight and true towards their target.

BANGBANGBABABABABANG!

Naruto stared in stupid fascination as a weapon he had never seen before destroyed his shuriken. "A good idea, and I know for a fact that all but one of those shuriken would have hit me, however you'll have to be faster than that to hit me," Echo commented dryly.

For a minute Naruto just sat there with his jaw open, then, "What the hell is that thing?" he shouted pointing at the black object in the tired man's hand.

Echo finally opened his eyes and stared at the weapon in his hand with an almost guilty gaze.

"Officially, it's a Desert Eagle pistol, a weapon that fires bullets at high speeds and is effective from up to 200 meters, which is roughly 656 feet," he spoke sadly. "I've trained with this weapon for so long, that I've become a master marksman with it, but…" here he clenched the handle to the point where his knuckles turned white, "to me it's a burden. A reminder of my deeds, my past, and of all the horrors I've experienced,"

"This gun has saved my life so many times but I can't help but feel disgusted every time I hold it. All it ever does is kill, but I cannot blame the gun, nor can I blame the bullet for snuffing out those lives," he spoke and even though it was quietly, everyone heard him. "I'm the one who pulled the trigger, I'm the one who ended those lives and even when my death was imminent, when all those who died at my hand would finally get their vengeance, their family's their compensation," he paused as he stared at the black weapon, oblivious to the mesmerized stares of the children and of the concerned and upset looks of his friends, "I cheated death, became something that will never die," Echo finished.

The tired man finally stood up and once again vanished. Naruto blinked wondering where he had gone and started searching for his mysterious sensei but stopped when he heard Echo's voice. "We are done for today," it came from all across the clearing, echoing in the desolate air. "Come back tomorrow and we shall begin, until then, be safe," with that the Bone yard became silent, completely uncaring of what had transpired within its vicinity.

Narutto stood there for a while, trying to comprehend what Echo had just said. 'He… cheated death? What does that mean? What does he mean by 'can't die'?' these thoughts and many similar to them whirled throughout the young man's mind. He was snapped from his musings when he felt a familiar weight on his shoulder. Looking up he saw the face of his guardian angel, but Fredrick refused to meet his gaze.

"Come on Naruto, it's been a long day," whispered the third Huxley. Naruto looked over to where Goza and Kikioko were and saw that the demon didn't have his usual grin, but a rather stony and blank expression, regret shining just below the surface of his round green eyes. Kiki's gaze was filled with confusion and she kept switching her gaze from Goza to the reaper.

Neither refused to answer the question shining in both blue eyed child's eyes.

'What happened to him?'

A/N: Ah ha! And that is the conclusion of another chapter! There may be one more chapter of development before we finally get kick started on some real action, but bear with me it's all got a point! Anyway be sure to read and review! Ja ne!