She couldn't.
"Naruto-kun..."
Hyuuga Hinata watched Naruto; he sat on the swing, staring out at the academy. A rare frown fixed on his face, and his deep oceanic eyes threatened to drown him in misery. No forehead protector. No ninja status. Relegated to being a civilian for the rest of his life. For one such as him, there was no worse fate than death. It was cruel.
The young Hyuuga clutched the post she hid behind tightly. She had to say something… she had to say anything. She had to do something. Even if she could just get into his view and wave hello… it would be enough to at least…
She made a choice. Hinata pulled away from the tree and took one step… and then another… and before she knew it, she was walking towards the boy on the swing. They were small mincing steps that were timid, and almost lost in their intent… but they were steps. And each step was killing her; she knew, she just knew that if she got close to him she would pass out or she would cry or… or…!
Hinata froze, and took a single step. She couldn't do this. She couldn't approach him… not like this. Why would he ever want to hear from her?
"D-Dammit..." She heard the boy mumble, and then… sniffling? Her eyes widened when she watched him wipe at his eyes with the backs of his hands.
Her heart broke. Just a little bit.
"Na-Naruto-kun..." All at once, she was rushing. Naruto… crying? No no no… not him. Someone like Naruto didn't deserve to be alone, not during… this. Another step and she felt some semblance of confidence driving her now pushing her forward and keeping her from outright dropping at the sheer thought of being near him. And just like that, she was standing just off to his side, where she could just barely see his face. His hair fell just so that she couldn't see his him, only the tears that streamed down his cheeks.
"...Na-Naruto-kun?"
His grasp on the swings tightened, but a familiar smile pulled across his face with a pained effort. "Hey Hinata-chan. What's up?"
She smiled back as best she could. "A-ah… nothing," she said meekly, "I just wanted… I just wanted to…" Hinata's voice died. She watched another tear stream down Naruto's face, and she felt a miserable dread squeeze her heart. What was she supposed do? What could she say? What do you say to someone who'd just had their dreamed crushed?
"Hey, Hinata-chan?" Naruto turned to her, "Are you okay?"
She met his eyes, and found herself lost in his glistening, tearful gaze. There was a beautiful sadness to them, and before she knew what was happening, her body was moving.
She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him; one hand buried itself into his hair, and the other was around his back and she squeezed him tightly, as tightly as she could. "Don't give up, okay?" She murmured into his ears, a heavy, incredible blush on her face, "It'll be okay, Naruto-kun."
And just as Naruto realized he should've been hugging back, Hinata pushed away from him, eyes wide and her fingers clutched against herself tighter than ever.
"H-Hinata-chan?" The blonde started.
"U-uhm… I should go!" With an awkward bow, she turned and ran.
She missed the hard blush and look of determination that crossed Naruto's face… along with the sight of Mizuki approaching Naruto.
Danzou gave Sarutobi the most flat, disenfranchised gaze he could manage at the time. "...So you just left the scroll for him on the desk?"
He took a deep breath from his pipe, "I told you I would let the boy accomplish his goals. Let him be a hero. Let him stop a traitorous chunnin who's been deceived into believing that no one knows his plans. I've dispatched Iruka-kun to intercept, and several personal ANBU to observe the situation from afar."
A soft smile crossed his face.
"I think Konoha could use another hero… just for one night. Don't you?"
The warhawk frowned, but relaxed in his posture before leaning over the desk and peering into the all seeing orb alongside his rival.
"I can't believe how easy that was!" Naruto cheered, "It was practically gift wrapped for me!" He sprinted through the forest of Konoha as quickly as he could, the Scroll of Forbidden Seals tied haphazardly to his back. "Just gotta get to the meeting spot and then learn one o' these jutsu before he gets here! I'll definitely become a ninja!"
He drove his heels into the ground to stop himself, and practically threw the scroll onto the ground. Naruto dragged the scroll as open as he could, and frantically began reading through the scroll.
"...Oh man, what is all of this!? Wind Slice? All Creation? What does any of this mean? Shit, look at how many handseals that one has!" He tugged at his hair nervously, "Ahh man, this is bad. How am I supposed to learn anything from this?"
...Don't…w...
"Not you again, shut up, dammit! I'll learn one if it kills me!"
The booming voice murmured something else over and over. A menacing growl filling Naruto's head.
"Whatever! I don't have to listen to you!" Naruto frantically read down the list, "Ah ha! Shadow Clone! Watch this, you stupid voice! Watch this, Konoha! I got this! I'll become the best hokage this village ever saw!"
He tried desperately to ignore the claws reaching at the back of his mind.
"And still, he learns nothing." Danzou muttered, "He has been mismanaged, Sarutobi. Horribly so. Under me, he may have ended up less… emotional, but he would have been effective."
Sarutobi sighed.
"He could have been a lot of things, yes. Have the ANBU ready their senbon."
"Oh come on… nothing!?" Naruto panted and fussed and stared at the results of his efforts. A single dead eyed, drooling collapsed mass of limbs that occasionally twitched. It was corporeal, but not at all functional. It vanished in a useless fart of smoke, and left the boy standing there alone."
"Geez, you really do suck, don't you? You had like… three hours and you only managed that?" Mizuki dropped down from a tree that was just behind the boy, "How useless are you, really?"
"E-eh?!" Naruto couldn't really help the yelp that escaped his throat, "Oh! Uh… hey Mizuki-sensei. I'm learning how to use kage bunshin right now! Just wait, I'll be the best! Just wait- er… what did you say?"
The silver haired teacher took a long inhale, and then sighed dramatically. "You never were really bright. Or capable. Or likable…-"
"H-Hey!" Naruto interrupted, "I'm all that stuff, you see I got the scroll, right!?"
"-But really, what was I supposed to expect from something like you?" He rolled his eyes, and took a calm step forward, "Anyway, hand over the scroll, kid."
"E-eh? But I thought..."
"Tell you what, hand over the scroll, and I'll have you declared a genin as soon as we get back to the village." His left hand tickled the handle of a kunai. At this point, it might be a mercy to put the boy down. Like a stupid dog. Mizuki grinned at the thought.
It was not a nice smile, but the words were too tempting, and Naruto was too desperate to let his instincts warn him. The boy's eyes widened, and he started nodding feverishly.
"Just like that?! Really!? Okay, here you go!" He rolled up the scroll and hefted it into his arms, a wide smile on face. The boy took a step forward to offer the scroll up to Mizuki.
Neither boy or man expected to hear sharp cry echo through the forest.
"Naruto-kun, no!"
Mizuki sighed, and blurred towards Naruto, kunai raised high.
"Hrm… Iruka-kun is late." Sarutobi mused, and found his hand nervously tapping the table as he watched Mizuki lunge at the boy. "I don't believe this was a wise plan." He said with something of a relieved sigh. Iruka batted the kunai away from Naruto, but consequently left himself open. "Give the signal to the ANBU. Let us end this before the child is harmed..."
Dazou narrowed his eyes, and cupped his gnarled chin in thought. "No. Wait."
"Danzou..." It came out in a warning rumble, but the one eyed man didn't react, not even under the pressure of crushing murderous intent. He simply continued to watch the battle.
"Sarutobi. If you're to present the case that the boy can be more than just a nuisance to the council, then you need to let him fight. If he gets hurt, you can say that he did so in the service of Konoha… if not, then you can say he was instrumental in the capture of a dangerous criminal. Either way, it buys you time to figure out what to do with your latest failure."
"...And you gain what from this?"
"First hand observation of your ninja and the vessel," He admitted, "It will help me build a case against you for when we face the council in regards to Naruto-kun's transference of the Kyuubi to the boy you selected."
The third hokage sighed, then nodded slowly. "Ah."
He could feel the weight of his decisions coming to bear.
"Wh-whats going on!?" Naruto yelled.
Mizuki laughed. Iruka turned to Naruto so sharply that he managed to get a crick in his neck.
"Why are you still here!? Naruto-kun, run! Hh!" He inhaled pointedly Mizuki's kunai flashed down at the spot between his shoulder and his neck. He leapt backwards a few steps, and ignored the slice that bloomed crimson vertically down his clavicle and into his chest. "Naruto..."
Iruka looked around frantically, and instead found himself trying to avoid a flurry of shuriken. In the rush, he never had the chance to see if Naruto got away.
"You probably need to focus on the guy with the kunai, Iruka-kun. Lookin' out for the demon is what got you into this mess to begin with." Mizuki practically cackled, twirling the kunai by his finger as he slowly approached the injured Iruka.
The young chunnin smirked back at Mizuki. "He's not a demon."
Mizuki vanished, and appeared midswing behind Iruka, "And I ain't loyal." He brought the kunai down with all the strength he could.
"IRUKA SENSEI!"
THUNK.
The kunai hit something not flesh and bone, and Mizuki bit out a curse. His kunai was planted into the scroll of forbidden seals, and Uzumaki Naruto was standing there, holding it up, cowering under its weight.
"A-ah… hey Iruka sensei."
Iruka snapped around, only to see Mizuki standing over the boy. "Naruto!?"
"Sorry, I never was good at followin' directions, I guess."
"Knew I should have just put you down, nine tails." He grabbed Naruto by his hair, and drove his knee into the boy's stomach. Naruto was instantly wheezing for air as he dropped the scroll to his side.
"Fuh-fuc-" The boy never got the curse out.
Mizuki's fist crashed into Naruto's face twice before the boy went limp in his arms, and his labored breathing suddenly went shallow.
"Naruto-kun!" Iruka snapped around, only to see Mizuki standing over the unconscious form of the boy.
Mizuki calmly picked up the scroll, and strapped it around his back, then unholstered a shuriken the size of his forearm.
"Shame I didn't get to tell him about the whole demon thing. But I think I settle for putting both of you outta your misery." His grin grew wider, finally exposing the depth of his amusement. "I'm actually ahead of schedule… let's go."
He pointed the blade at Naruto's neck.
"Quick, stop me before I do something horrible."
Iruka grit his teeth, and determination shone through his fear for his fallen student. In a burst of speed, he rushed at Mizuki, kunai in hand.
When Naruto's eyes opened again, he found himself staring at nothing. Wherever he was, place was covered in an inky sort of darkness, the kind that children hide under their covers from. The kind of darkness that always hid something horrible beneath its depths. His nostril's burned with every inhalation of breath; the air was so acidic… caustic and humid, it stuck to his skin and weighed him down.
But perhaps most frightening was the sound of heaving, labored breathing. Every breath a strangled struggle, followed by the rattling of chains.
And then a whine. A soft, high pitched mournful sound that filled Naruto's ears.
"Where… where the hell am I?" He mumbled, and took a single step forward, nearly stumbling in the knee high waters, as black as the area around him. "What the hell is goi-"
As if in response to his question, a razor thin stream of chakra lazily ebbed out from his chest and shot forward into the darkness, stopping only when it illuminated a clear path.
Naruto huffed, and took a single step forward.
A large, haunting visage stared down at him. It's presence fearsome, daunting, intimidating, demanding respect and dominion of all around it. He should have been scared… he should have been threatened. All he felt was pleased… Naruto, just months old, happily cheered and giggled at the sight of it. At the sight of him. "We are no longer alone, little one. I will not let you be alone."
A deep, alarmingly gentle and familiar voice filled him with warmth. Naruto swallowed the knot that'd welled up in his throat, and wiped his eyes frantically with the back of his hands. "Wh-what was that?"
The darkness didn't offer an answer.
Naruto took another single, labored step.
"Are you hungry? You are hungry. I am sorry you are hungry. I will feed you, little one." The great shadow, or as Naruto knew him, Kura-kun, did not understand hunger as he did. It understood the word well enough, but to actually understand that gnawing, empty sensation in his young charge's belly. The Kyuubi would manifest only when needed, but he relished the wind at his back every time.
His eyes jolted wide in realization. He remembered this. He remembered hearing that before. Kura-kun. Kura-kun. Why was the kura-kun taking care of him? Why was he so happy when he thought about it!? Naruto stopped trudging and started pumping his legs as quickly as the black waters would let him, moving faster than he should have been able to, every step delivered to him fragments of his own memories, and closer to the source of that painfully familiar voice.
Every once in a while, a bigger memory would surface, filling his head so badly that it was all he could think about. He stuttered in his footing, and nearly fell as a memory blindsided him.
The fox didn't try to hide it, either. It nuzzled Naruto gently about the chest, and allowed the small boy to hug its snout as tightly as he could. The fox dropped down onto all fours, watching Naruto intently as the boy bawled harder and harder. "I'm sorry you were hurt."
Naruto came back for air swallowing deep gulps of breath. Panic swelled in his chest, and dismay knotted itself inside his belly. Why did he forget? How could he have forgotten?!
He ran, fighting and clawing against the black waters full stop. Naruto didn't know where he was going, but he knew he needed to be there.
The world went white, and suddenly he was four again. He and Kurama had just closed their eyes, and Kurama rested its head on his belly, heavy and warm. Naruto mumbled something affectionate under his breath, and the fox merely breathed a hint heavier and blindly licked. It'd been a serene, sleepy moment until the door burst open, and Yamanaka Inoichi's hand was on his head. Sarutobi's hand was on his belly and he was saying things the boy didn't understand and then a shock of chakra ripped out and then he felt his connection to the Kyuubi severed; Ripped and torn, twisted and yanked out like losing an eye or a hand or a friend. Was this what being broken felt like? If someone cracks your head open and scratches something out of your mind, can it be put back again? Naruto screamed and writhed and pushed away from a gnarled hand that held the best intentions. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. This is for your own good."
Naruto's eyes went wide, and he choked back a sob as his memories came rushing back. That name. That name. He knew that name. His voice cracked as he screamed.
"KURAMA!"
Deep within the depths… a single, bright blue canine eye flared open. A beacon of hope in a desolate place. Damn the waters, Naruto flew.
Danzou steepled his hands and watched the academy teacher battle Mizuki somewhat dispassionately.
"How much longer do you expect me to stay my hand, Danzou?" Sarutobi asked, taking a drag of his pipe. Iruka lead Mizuki into a particularly nasty shrapnel trap, but all that did was scar the man superficially. "Surely you've gotten the information you needed."
"I did, yes." Danzou answered in that gravelly voice, "My men are in position, Sarutobi. Did you truly think I would wait for their battle to finish to take the Kyuubi?"
"Danzou..." Sarutobi's blood ran cold.
"Do not worry. You should simply call it… insurance. In the event that you do not have the heart to take Naruto-kun into custody, I will. One way or another, he will be declared a hero, and the Kyuubi will be moved into one of my bases where he can be extracted safely."
For the first time in a long time, Sarutobi snarled, "You would resort to trickery-"
And for the first time in a long time, Danzou met his eyes with more than mild disinterest, "I would resort to more than that in order to protect this village."
Naruto didn't stop running until he reached the ruins of the old seal. Shattered shards of impossibly strong metals lay strewn about. There were pieces as large as he was, and some even larger; a graveyard of something that should have been impossible to destroy, all sticking up out of the ground like gravestones, facing away from the point of impact. The legacy of the Yondaime, broken at the feet of two lonely beings.
And at the center of this graveyard was the Kyuubi, completely and utterly chained down, every muscle restrained as tightly as possible. Locks and rivets and bolts dug into its body; the sealing mechanics were hideous, inelegant and ruthless in their intent. Clearly, this wasn't designed simply to restrain the chakra beast, it was designed to cause as much harm as it could while locking the Kyuubi away. Its muzzle was forced into the water, where it struggled to lift its head long enough to take a breath, much less speak for more than a moment at time. On top of all of that were enormous chains that pulled from every direction, bolted to the ground. Ensuring that the Kyuubi could never have the freedom to move.
Every moment of its life was agony.
"...What the hell did they do to you?" Naruto murmured as he walked around the chained Kyuubi, from the side all the way to its front, where its muzzle was wrapped in chains so tightly that they cut into its flesh, and several masterfully written seals adorned its snout. Still, its eyes matched Naruto's; Big beautiful oceanic blues that could crack the sky if it blinked hard enough.
It took a massive, wheezing breath, and struggled to heft its snout high enough to speak two words.
...Little one...
Naruto's smile split his face, hearing that again… it was like he'd been underwater for years, and now he was finally getting to breathe again. For the first time in years, he was himself again. "Hey… don't talk okay?" A single hand came to rest on the clutch of seals that rested on the Kyuubi's snout. "I'm sorry they hurt you, Kura-kun."
He tore one seal away.
The chains restraining the Kyuubi's tail instantly broke away. They shattered into scrap, and the Kyuubi's nine tails instantly began wagging madly, they flagged left and right rapidly in a blur. It's eyes never stopped chasing Naruto in a mad, desperate sort of affection.
It was a desperation that Naruto knew far too well.
"I missed you a lot, you know?" The two stared at each other for a long moment, and Naruto shook off the myriad emotions that pushed into his eyes, "Okay…" He said with glistening eyes, "Let's get you outta here, huh?"
Naruto clutched a handful of the seals into his fist, and ripped those away as well. The chains wrapped around the Kyuubi's torso fell away. Another group of seals were torn off, and the bolts holding the fox into the water released, allowing it to stand to its full height. Kurama took a single step, and bumped Naruto with its nose.
"Yeah, I hear ya." Naruto bumped the Kyuubi back, briefly resting his forehead on the Fox's nose before reaching up to the last seal. "You ready to get outta here?"
Kurama gave the slightest snort, causing Naruto's hair to blow back, and then settle over his eyes.
"Heh, yeah." He pulled the final seal, and the area around them erupted into light. The water at their feet evaporated into nothing, leaving fresh grass in its wake. Trees pushed up from the ground and stretched into the sky, wasting no time in towering over both of them. The Kyuubi instantly erupted into action, pushing Naruto down onto his back onto a bed of fresh daffodils (When did that happen?) with a single paw, and then draaaaaaged its tongue over his face.
"Hey! Hey!" The Uzumaki couldn't stop himself from laughing, though. For the first time in four years, he finally felt like himself again.
You forgot me.
Naruto looked away from the fox, his smile dying on his lips, "Yeah… I'm real sorry…" His head fell, full of too many memories and too heavy with grief, "I didn't know I forgot I…"
...Little One…
"...you were my friend and I treated you like trash." He felt tears pricking at his eyes again, "And… and… I'm gonna cry again… sorry."
Little one, I forgive you… The fox swept forward and wrapped Naruto in its tails before pulling the boy close, and nuzzling the boy's chest. You were not at fault.
That brought the sunshiney, albeit watery smile back to Naruto's lips. He sniffled, and buried his face into Kurama's coat to hide his face. "Kura-kun..."
I promise. It was not your fault.
Raw affection rippled through Naruto's chest, a warm and sunny feeling deep inside that left him laughing while wiping his tears and made him feel like he was four again. Naruto hugged the Kyuubi's snout again, as tightly as he could, for his long as the giant fox would let him.
I missed you. Greatly.
The boy nodded, "Yeah…" Slowly, he pushed himself back up to his feet, and rested a hand on the Kyuubi's nose. "Lets go kick some ass."
Language.
It came out in a terse, demanding way that one would expect from a stern parent. He wasn't going to hear the last of this… he could feel it; but behind that admonishment was a certain fondness, and it took the edge off the scolding. He laughed lightly, and closed his eyes. He adored it.
"Okay… let's go help Iruka-sensei."
Let us go break the enemy.
They agreed.
"Where the hell is the back up?" Iruka hissed in pain as another kunai pierced the place between his shoulder and collarbone, locking into the bone and forcing his arm to dangle uselessly. This fight had gone so wrong so quickly. On a good day, he was evenly matched with Mizuki… on a good day, he wasn't defending his student's unconscious body from a traitor that wanted to see how many kunai Iruka could catch before Naruto got killed.
But this was not a good day.
"Okay, looks like my time is up, Iruka-kun." Mizuki vanished. Shunshin no jutsu. He was no expert at it, but he was good enough to catch a tired enemy. Mizuki appeared behind Iruka and Naruto mid swing, his aim was for the back of Iruka's head. "Die fast, huh?"
Iruka wasn't fast enough. In the world of ninjas, all it took was one mistake to end up dead… and tonight, he'd made more than a few of them. And this night, all of those mistakes came to bear. "Just like that?" Iruka smirked, "Sorry, Naruto-kun."
The kunai, fisted tightly in Mizuki's hand, swung down onto the school teacher's head. The attack however, never made contact. Instead, there was an animalistic roar that tore through the sky and echoed through the minds of everyone there. It was a sound that Iruka would… could never have forgotten. It was anthem for the death of his parents, and he knew this song well.
The Kyuubi.
A pillar of black chakra erected itself into the sky, the shape of an animalistic claw, searing Mizuki's hand and melting the kunai… Iruka had only a short time to see his student standing in front of him, a single hand raised along with that monstrous claw.
"Shit!" Mizuki immediately began swiping at his hand, trying to get the molten slag off of his hand. "Damn demon."
"...Hey, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto turned to look back at Iruka, his hair hanging over his eyes.
"Na-Naruto-kun?" Iruka slumped backwards onto his butt, half in relief, half in fear. Everyone in that clearing remembered what the Kyuubi sounded like… the only thing that was missing was the horrible killing intent that had driven men insane. Instead, there was a certain… warmth to this chakra. It was still horribly violent and unstable… but warm. Dangerous the way the sun was. Iruka swallowed, and tried to calm his increasingly rattled nerves. "What are you…-"
"Don't freak out, okay?"
"But Naruto-kun…-"
Naruto lowered his hand, and the inky chakra sank back into the ground. He paid Mizuki a sidelong glance that almost seemed apologetic, and murmured a single word, "Kura-kun."
Mizuki froze. A sharp, deep growl that echoed through the air, coming from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. "What?"
And then a nine-tailed fox the size of a grown man leapt from Naruto's shadow, pitch black chakra sloughing from its body like heavy rain off of a slick coat, claws outstretched, gaping maw filled with teeth the size of kunai wide open, all careening towards the traitor at breakneck speed. All Mizuki could do was scream before his body was trapped inside of the Kyuubi's gaping jaws. They squeezed just enough for a few echoing cracks to sound, and raw fear and blood to pour out of the man's body. There was no time to think or fight back for him, just a quick, brutal affair that left him unconscious and broken.
The fox gave the man in its mouth a quick and terrible shake, causing the limbs to flail wildly before it let Mizuki drop to the ground bonelessly.
Iruka simply stared in silent awe and abject terror at the nine tailed fox that'd just saved his life and the boy that stood in front of him, fearless. "Naruto-kun..."
A whisper, no response from Naruto. It was like the boy was in some of kind trance... The fox, seemingly satisfied with the state of Mizuki turned and began walking towards Naruto and Iruka.
"Naruto-kun!" All of Iruka's fear and anguish tore out of his throat, and he grabbed Naruto by the collar and pulled him as roughly as he could, dragging him around and making it so that they were looking at each other eye to eye.
...That seemed to get his attention.
"Eh, Iruka-sensei? What's-"
"Naruto-kun, you gotta run okay? I'll try and distract it for as long as I can but..." His eyes went wide, and Iruka found himself thinking of what his parents told him before they'd fled to their death. He gave Naruto his best smile, and rested a hand on his head, "Hey, I'll hold this guy off for as long as I can. Just run and hide okay? You were the best little brother I could ask for… sorry I was such a dick at first."
Naruto's eyes went wide. "B-brother?"
Iruka turned to face the Kyuubi, one kunai in each hand and a scowl on his face. "Alright… lets do this."
The Kyuubi, enormous and threatening, dark and haunting, looked like something he saw in a nightmare. No longer did it have the fur made of fire or those demented eyes… now it was pitch black with gaping jaws of pearly white. It stopped just before Iruka, and looked down at the man, its head tilting this way and that, like it was seeing a human for the first time.
Audacious. It said simply, and tried to step past Iruka. Instead, it was greeted with a kunai swipe that was as fearful as it was desperate.
"Your opponent is me!"
Our opponent is broken. It responded without missing a beat. This time, the Kyuubi sat back on its haunches, its tails wagging lazily through the air while it stared down at Iruka with its bright blue eyes.
"...Our?"
"Oi! Kura-kun!" Naruto dashed out from behind Iruka and leapt at the fox, arms wide open.
"Naruto, no!"
And then Iruka had his worldview promptly shattered.
The fox lowered its head so that it could greet Naruto eye to eye, opened its mouth slightly… and this licked the boy hard enough that he fell on his butt.
"Oh c'mon Kura-kun!" Naruto positively cackled, and the great Kyuubi laughed with him. It was a not an unkind sound, and that made Iruka even more uncomfortable with what he was seeing.
The school teacher's arms fell to his side, limply.
Oh! Iruka-sensei!" Naruto was back onto his feet like a shot, grinning like he wasn't playing nice with the thing that'd nearly destroyed Konoha. "I guess… uh… as your b-brother you should know. This is Kura-kun. He took care of me when I was really little. Say hi, Kura-kun."
Hello, Iruka-sensei.
There was a fondness in Naruto's voice that Iruka found completely foreign… and was that fondness in the fox's voice as well? So much about this night was alien. Had Naruto tamed the Kyuubi? What did he mean the fox took care of him when he was little? Was the fox manipulating him? Did he know what a monster the kyuubi was? Was he safe? Even if he wasn't could Iruka protect him?
Iruka felt his legs finally give, and he slumped back onto his butt.
As the fox and the boy approached him, both with bright blue eyes, Iruka wondered if this is what going insane felt like.
Two old men sat in a dark office.
Sarutobi's eyes were wide, frozen in wild bewilderment and he held his hands held up like he was being held at knife point. Konoha's greatest and most destructive disaster had just assisted in the capture of a criminal alongside his vessel. Alongside him. Naruto had sicced the Kyuubi on that man like he' was a trained dog… and now? Now the two were speaking to Iruka like civil friends.
"Abort." Danzou muttered, his finger pressed to his ear, "Just inform him to come to the office when he is done talking, oh, and grab the traitor and the scroll." His hand dropped onto the desk, and his frown deepened. "...Complete control. One day ago, he couldn't do a proper henge, and now he seems to have complete control over the nine tailed fox."
Sarutobi said nothing, outside of forming a single handseal, recalling his ANBU into the office. "We need to understand what just happened."
Danzou frowned yet deeper, "I hope that boy is as endeared to you as you think he is."
"Hey, hey Sensei. You okay?" Naruto jogged over to the man, and immediately dropped down to the ground to meet him, crouched down, resting on his heels. "Man, that almost got ugly, huh?"
Iruka took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. When he opened them, Naruto was still sitting in front of him, and the Kyuubi, with its haunting black visage and bright blue eyes were still seated behind him, its head tilted as it simply… observed him.
"Na-Naruto-kun. I'm fine… the Kyuubi..." It came out in stutters and starts, making his best impression of Hinata as he slowly pushed to his feet.
"Yeah… don't call em' that. His name is Kurama. I call em' Kura-kun, but you better stick to Kurama for now." Naruto said easily, moving to help his sensei to his feet. He moved with the sort of confidence one had when they felt comfortable with themselves.
Iruka gracefully accepted, and leaned hard on the boy. His mind was racing. Naruto had a nickname for it. He had nicknamed the Kyuubi and the Kyuubi was okay with it.
"This is a lot to take in." He finally said, a single hand pressed to his head to fight off the incoming headache. Migraine. Earthquake-in-head.
Naruto laughed at that, open and carefree. Not at all that boisterous, unnecessary loudness that seemed to come with loneliness. In fact, in all of the excitement, he noticed that the boy wasn't running around screaming that he'd beaten a chunnin… no, he was just smiling cheerily at Iruka and Kurama. It was the happiest he'd ever seen him.
That had to count for something. It had to.
"You're telling me! I thought I was alone and stupid and wrong and then… and then..." Again, he was distracted when the Kyuubi wandered over and licked him once on the top of the head, then walked into his shadow. Naruto laughed, and playfully swiped at the Kyuubi. "...And then you and Kura-kun happened tonight. This was a pretty good night, huh?"
Iruka stood there, completely and utterly dumbfounded. He was happy. He'd made friends with a demon… and he was happy.
"Uzumaki Naruto? The Third requests your presence."
An ANBU appeared in front of the two of them in a pillar of smoke, Mizuki's unconscious, broken body draped over his shoulder like a tattered rug.
A grim line crossed Naruto's lips, "Yeah… okay. I'll see you tomorrow, okay Iruka sensei...I mean… bro? This is gonna take some getting used to. Get better, okay?"
Iruka gave the best he could in the moment. A single nod and a few pats on the boy's shoulder. "Yeah. Yeah okay."
The ANBU placed a single hand on Naruto's shoulder, and the two of them vanished, leaving the teacher standing there alone, staring up at a star filled sky.
"...what the hell, Naruto?"
In an instant, Naruto found himself standing in front of the hokage and some old man that was all bandaged up like a mummy.
The ANBU next to him gave a salute, an vanished in a plume of smoke.
To his credit, Naruto didn't scream or yell; he simply set his jaw and stared at the hokage. He opened his mouth, and then closed it. Again and again, the boy tried to say something… anything… nothing came out besides the pained expression that crossed the boy's face. He stared at the hokage, and he still saw that cool old man that'd promised to defend the village with his life. That man that always took him out for ramen and looked out for him.
"...You said it was for my own good." Naruto sounded hurt. Tired. And in this moment, he looked scared, like he was going to bolt from the room any second.
Sarutobi sagged in his chair, suddenly feeling far older and far smaller than he was. His shame, a regret that even overshadowed Orochimaru had come to the fore, and its name was Uzumaki Naruto. He took a moment to take a deep breath and get his thoughts together… any thoughts that didn't involve lobotomizing a child.
"You remember everything, then." Sarutobi said, "Naruto… I understand how you might feel, and there will be ample time to discuss this later, but for now, I need to understand the extent of control you hold over the Kyuubi. I need to know that you are no threat to Konoha."
Naruto turned his gaze to Danzou briefly, and then back to Sarutobi. The boy wiped his eyes, "So thats it? You hurt us for a buncha years and we don't even get an apology?" If possible, those big blue eyes looked even more hurt.
Sarutobi and Danzou looked at each other very briefly. Alarm was plainly written on Sarutobi's face, while Danzou's face betrayed nothing.
"Naruto…" Sarutobi frowned, and turned to look at Naruto again. Again, thoughts of the vessel of the one tailed demon shot through his mind. The child had taken to calling it his mother, and was more unstable than ever. Naruto however… "When you say we..."
The boy bit his bottom lip.
"We. Me and Kura-kun. There ain't… I don't control him, and he doesn't control me. We're the same." He nervously rubbed his arm, and looked away from Sarutobi, "You don't get it."
"Forgive me, Naruto-kun, this is all very… unclear, and when it comes to the Kyuubi-"
"Stop callin' him that." The kyuubi's anger pulsed through Naruto, and the boy snapped, "That ain't his name."
Sarutobi held both his hands up, as if to show that he didn't mean any harm, then steepled his hands together in silent thought, "Go home and get some rest. We will reconvene tomorrow, after your team assignments in the academy."
No cheering. No excitement. Naruto simply stared at him. All of that hurt and disappointment swam back up to the surface, but he didn't dare let a tear fall. Instead, Naruto simply turned around and walked away, shoulders squared and fists balled up.
Danzou frowned deeply, and Sarutobi took a deep, cleansing breath.
Neither man noticed that when Naruto walked away, his shadow simply… remained.
"Danzou, have your men see to Mizuki. And I mean see to him in the most thorough method possible." Idly, Sarutobi reached for his pipe. "What will you do, now that you know what you know about the boy?"
The bandaged man sighed, "I don't know. If he truly is a perfect vessel, and has complete control, then we would be fools to try to move the Kyuubi now."
The nine tailed fox slowly rose out of the shadow, sitting sitting on its haunches, staring down at the two men with bright burning eyes, and a tilted head that spoke more curiosity than menace. It was at least as tall as the room, and its midnight body devoured any light that came near it.
By the time Sarutobi and Danzou were on their feet, kunais and hands flying through handseals, it was already speaking.
You seek clarification. I seek safe passage for my little one.
It'd been years… a decade since Sarutobi's hands shook this much.
It'd been decades since Danzou felt that his mortality was truly threatened.
Neither was fool enough to believe that if the kyuubi, the nine tailed fox had wanted them dead, it wouldn't have had just that.
Both men sat down, and Sarutobi spoke. He ignored the dread that pulled at the back of his mind, because beyond the fear was an overwhelmingly warm chakra that emanated from the beast… and it felt remarkably like Naruto. "Very well."