Not Alone, Not Anymore

by Cyb0rg67

Shintaro has made his fair share of choices all having consequences and his most recent one will be one that will impact everyone's life both in past, present, and future. That choice is to prevent the death of Naruto Uzumaki. Follow Shintaro in his quest as he puts everything on the line for one boy that'll change the world. Mainly focuses on OC then alternates to Naruto later

27. Searching, Surviving, Fighting, Plotting

Author's Note: Sorry about the late update, but as you all know I got bombarded with holiday after holiday since my last update. Between all the planning, shopping, cleaning, cooking, and other bull that involves holidays I had to do on my own. It cut into my writing time so that's why this is so late. In fact with the way this month is going I have a feeling it's going to be the same for the next chapter as well. Well, I'll do my best to prevent that from happening.

Any who, I'd feel like you should know that this particular story is nearing it's end. Not the story as a whole, but think of it like the first book in a series. If you're wondering why not just write the whole thing in one go I have an answer for that.

I have plans for Shintaro, Naruto, the villains Seikatsu and Shinimukaimasu as well as their boss Kagaku (who'll be essentially Shintaro's Madara importance wise), and many more in the future, including "the boy" who we've been following since the beginning (P.S I'm going to include his part of the story in a later chapter due to time, and how ridiculous how big this chapter has gotten).

After all, I have to explain who the Senpu are, why they know so much, what The Fallen really are, and most of all, who are the masked children? So many questions have come up, and their answers will be delivered in time. Like I said this part of the story is nearing it's end, but it will continue on in the next part. I'm not done writing yet so you can count on this story coming up in the weeks to come. Now, let's get back to the story with Fu, and the others falling to their death.

---

With Fu, and the others

Seconds later after falling through the floor the children screamed in terror as they descended downward into a seemingly endless pit of darkness.

"What the heck is going on?!" Suigetsu shouted

"How should I know?!" Fu yelled back

"Blegh, what's that smell? It's worse than anything I ever smelled before!" Naruto gagged as he held his nose

"Don't know, but it's nasty!" Suigetsu said holding his nose as well

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" Hiromi shrieked in a fetal position

"How far are we falling?" Suigetsu asked

"Don't know...oh SHIT!" Fu cursed in terror as her vision turned towards the hole

For what she saw was something that would surely be the cause of their deaths if she didn't do something quick. Otherwise, they would all be impaled by staggering rocks pointing upward in a crooked way, with nothing but cold water as their floor.

"What?" Suigetsu asked

"Grab on to me!" Fu shouted putting her kunai away in her back pockets

"Wh-"

"Now, all of you!" she commanded as she stretched out her arms as Suigetsu was the first to take her hand after shoving his sword behind his shirt

"Got it!" Suigetsu said taking Fu's hand

"Ok!" Naruto said taking her other hand

Just as Fu was about to protect her friends she noticed one pair of hands were missing.

"Come on Hiromi!" Fu shouted at the trembling blonde

"I-I can't!" Hiromi cried

"Hiromi, you have to try!" Suigetsu encouraged extending his hand

"I-I'm scared! N-Niichaaaaaaaan!" Hiromi shrieked at the top of her lungs

"Shintaro's not here! You want to see him right?" Naruto asked the crying child

"Mm!" was the only thing she could say

"Then take my hand!" Naruto said taking initiative

"O...Ok!" Hiromi complied as she slowly took Naruto's hand as Suigetsu took the other surprising her

"S-Suigetsu." Hiromi said blushing

"Were in this together." Suigetsu said with a confident smile while Hiromi blushed even more

"Alright! Now what?" Suigetsu asked Fu

"Hold on, tightly And don't let go!" Fu ordered seriously

"Ok!" Suigetsu confirmed

"I'm not letting go!" Naruto shouted

"F-Fu?" Hiromi said nervously

"Just hold on! Choumei!" Fu shouted out loud

"You owe me one for this. Just don't over do it." the locust beast warned lending her power

"Ok, just hold on, and don't let go for anything." Fu clarified once again

"Ok!" Naruto said

"Just do it moss head!" Suigetsu

"Here we go!" Fu shouted

Channeling all of her focus like she has been taught before by her mentor, Fu let out her tailed beasts chakra all at once. The sudden burst of energy caught everyone off guard, but their grips did not loosen one bit rather it tightened as they felt themselves start to slow down. It was soon after that the chakra leaking out of her was starting to from wings, and she used those wings to the maximum of her abilities.

"Come on, come on!" Fu yelled as she flapped her wings as fast as she could

"Where are we even...oh craaaaap!" Suigetsu said as the rocks came into view

"Damn it, we're too heavy. Fu's not going to...ah, damn it!" Suigetsu thought to himself wondering what the hell was wrong with him

"Hold on, let me try...this-woah!" Suigetsu said as he let go of both Fu's and Hiromi's hand connecting their's together

Letting go he took the sword off his back heading towards the edge stabbing the earth stopping his fall immensely.

"Suigetsu!" Naruto/Fu/Hiromi shouted

"I'm fine! Just pull up! Pull up! Pull UUUUUP!" Suigetsu shouted from above

"I'm trying! They're all too heavy!" Fu grunted flapping her wings harder

"We're gonna die!" Hiromi shouted

"No were not! I...won't...LET YOU!" Fu growled as more chakra poured out of her

"Fu!" Suigetsu shouted in worry

"Come on, Choumei! Give it to me!" growled in a deeper, more feral voice

"You asked for it." Choumei sighed as she doubled her outtake of chakra

"Gaaaaaaah! Damn it, just...work...through it! I'm not gonna let anyone die! HYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Fu shouted with all her might

Flapping at speeds she never produced before their falling speed was nearly halted, and managed to avoid what she saw from way up high. Just merely inches away from impalement, Hiromi lifted her legs to avoid the sharp rocks from below, and what was below that was ice cold water occasionally stirring below them.

"Crap, crap, crap, craaaap! Where the heck are we?" Naruto said looking around

"Don't know...find somewhere...to land already!" Fu said losing her grip on the beasts chakra

"We can't see! It's to dark in here!" Naruto said in annoyance

"W-W-What do we do?" Hiromi asked fearfully

"Crap, I don't see anywhere else to land either! But...no wait!" Fu said in

"But what?" Naruto asked

"There's enough space in between the rocks for us to fit. Just grab on to the nearest one." Fu pointed out

"But the water...I can't swim." Naruto admitted shamefully

"I'm losing control here! It's now or never!" Fu grunted in annoyance

"But...forget it, just do it already!" Naruto said

"No need...to be...sni...py..." Fu said quietly as she fell asleep, crashing into the icy water

"Fu!" Naruto, and Hiromi shouted in worry

"Damn it. Hiromi, just hold onto the rocks! I'm gonna get Fu!" Naruto said diving into the water

"Naruto!" Hiromi said holding onto her rock attempting to let go

"Hiromi don't! Naruto said to stay by the rocks. We can't do anything, but wait." Suigetsu shouted stopping her from doing anything

"B-But..." Hiromi said looking at the water

"Look, we've all barely know each other from a few days ago, but you've known us longer right?" Suigetsu asked

"R...Right." Hiromi replied

"Have we ever lied to you before, about anything important at all?" Suigetsu asked

"N...No..." Hiromi replied again

"Naruto might be an idiot, but so far he's been a reliable idiot. And that's coming from someone who barely knows him. I'm sure he isn't lying about this either. Just trust him ok?" Suigetsu asked

"Ok." Hiromi simply replied staying where she is

But even with that assurance Hiromi had doubts within her that things would play out nicely. Waiting for what seemed like an eternity Hiromi received her answers in the form of few bubbles rising to the surface.

"N...Naruto?" Hiromi said in worry only to get more silence

"No...Naruto!" Hiromi shouted fearing the worst only to be surprised by a heavily breathing blonde emerging from the water quickly stabbing the nearest rock next to Hiromi with a kunai to keep him up along with an unconscious Fu

"I'm...here!" Naruto said with a tired smile

"Naruto!" Hiromi said thankfully

"Grab h-her!" Naruto said freezing as Hiromi grabbed her friend

"Ok! I got her." Hiromi said clearly

"Good." Naruto said breathing a sigh of relief

"Suigetsu!" Naruto shouted

"I'm fine..." Suigetsu said distantly

"Oh no...what do we do?" Hiromi said realizing their situation

"D-D-Don't k-know...at least the water isn't really deep. I think my mom could stand in this." Naruto said honestly

"Suigetsu!" Hiromi shouted

"Still stuck." Suigetsu droned

"C-Crap, w-what a-are we g-gonna d-do?" Naruto asked shivering

"Um...I d-don't k-know..." Hiromi said at a loss for words

"H-How b-bout w-we try t-to find s-somep-place t-to rest?" Naruto suggested

"O-Ok." Hiromi agreed

"Un...cough cough." moaned a slightly conscious Fu coughing out water

"F-Fu!" Hiromi said gratefully

"Moss head! Are you okay?" Suigetsu shouted

"L-Land...t-that...way." Fu said weakly pointing north

"G-Got it. H-Hiromi, f-follow me...j-just hold on." Naruto said moving forward

"S-Sure..." Hiromi said following him

"You guys go ahead! I'm gonna try, and climb out of here!" Suigetsu shouted

"O-Ok!" Hiromi shouted back

"G-Good luck!" Naruto wished

"Thanks! I'm gonna need it. Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down." Suigetsu said to himself as he climbed his way up

"Ok, l-let's go, H-Hiromi." Naruto said taking the lead

"R-Right." Hiromi agreed

j"Let's s-switch out on holding F-Fu, so we don't get tired." Naruto suggested

"O-Ok." Hiromi said

As the two blonde children slowly tread through the cold water of this strange cave, off in the distance multiple figures surrounded by darkness were observing them.

"They've come..."

"Not just the fox, but the locust as well..."

"They triggered the seal..."

"What should we do..."

"It's obvious, we capture them..."

"It is our duty..."

"It was why we were created..."

"Our purpose must be fullfilled..."

"For the sake of our master..."

"For the sake of the world..."

"For our creator..."

"For the Senpu..."

---

With Ling

"So, that's the situation." Ayano finished

"How horrible. To think Shintaro-san has to deal with such a burden. It's completely despicable to think such villains exist in this world." Ling said in disgust

"Bad man?" Ranmaru said looking at his carrier

"Huh, oh yes. The bad man hurt Niisan." Ling explained to the small child

"Niisan?" Ayano said confused

"Oh, didn't you know? Ran-chan thinks of Shintaro-san as his big brother." Ling said

"Well, I can't certainly see why." Ayano said with a small smile

"Yes, but I am thankful that he put me in charge of Ran-chan now. Now he rarely wants anyone else taking care of him. Well, aside from Shintaro-san of course. I do hope Hiromi-chan takes it well." Ling said concerned for the child

"Speaking of that, can you please not mention this to Shintaro-kun?" Ayano asked

"Don't mention it, I know how much he cares for them, knowing him he'll throw a fit, and that's putting it lightly. I also know how much they care for him as well." Ling stated honestly

"Yes, he does have a way with children. That goes for you too Ling-san." Ayano complimented

"Arigato. Though it seems only Ran-chan has taking a liking to me. Fu-chan, Suigetsu-kun, and Hiromi-chan still tense up when I see them. I wonder if it's due to my offers of training, maybe they think they're too easy." Ling wondered to herself

"I...don't think that's quite it." Ayano said carefully

"Outh!" Ranmaru squeaked lazily

"That's right Ran-chan, even if they don't need my training. All they need is the power of Youth!" Ling said with enthusiasm

"Right. In any case, I would appreciate it if you, and Ranmaru-kun would keep Shintaro-kun company. I...I'll keep watch on the other patients." Ayano said sadly

"Are you sure? I'm positive if you'd both apologize to each other everything'll be fine." Ling said

"I...I don't know how or whether I should apologize." Ayano said honestly

"What? Why?" Ling said confused

"It's just...ugh, I know the reasons of why he did it, and I suppose I can justify the results of what he accomplished but...was it really worth everything he went through? Was it worth going through all that suffering? What about Hiromi-chan or the others? How do you think they'll take seeing him like that? That is if we even find-"

"Ayano-san." Ling said seriously putting a hand on Ayano's shoulder

"Sorry." Ayano apologized

"Well, what about you?" Ling asked

"Huh?" Ayano said confused

"It seems this is affecting you more than it's getting to him." Ling pointed out

"What are you saying?" Ayano asked

"It's true that Shintaro-san's condition is horrible, and his rewards for doing so seem slim or minimal at best. However, he went of his own choosing correct?" Ling asked

"Yes." Ayano answered

"Would you say that this choice of his was out of character?" Ling asked

"No, of course not. This is just like him. Risking his life for people he hardly knows, and they were children no less. It'd be shocking if he didn't go." Ayano pointed out

"Then are you saying you wished for him to against his true self?" Ling said

"No! I just..." Ayano said lowering her eyes in shame

"Just what?" Ling said putting a hand on her hip

"His body..." Ayano said quietly

"Ayano-san, were his limbs ripped off his body?" Ling asked knowing the answer

"No." Ayano replied

"Are his chances of recovering zero?" Ling asked again

"No, but he won't be the same." Ayano said quietly

"Was his spirit completely broken? Shattered beyond repair? Did he lose hope in his bleak situation?" Ling asked

"At first it seemed like so, but...after a while he regained himself. He even attempted to lighten the mood with jokes, but I...couldn't bear to see him like that. It infuriated me that he could take such a situation so lightheartedly, and fool around like that. Almost as if he didn't care about the situation he was in nor the affects it would have on those around him." Ayano explained with frustration in her tone

"So you lashed out at him?" Ling accused

"I didn't mean to I just, he just seemed to laugh off his troubles without realizing how this would affect Hiromi, or Fu's upbringing or any of the other children's issues...or me." Ayano said quietly

"So are you saying he should've been sulking? Should he let his depression consume him to no end? Be swallowed by darkness whole?" Ling asked glaring at the blonde

"No! I-"

"Ayano-san." Ling said seriously intensifying her glare

"Y-Yes?" Ayano replied to the frightening girl

"Do you know why I was always following Shintaro-san's orders from the beginning? Why I chose to take care of Ran-chan even though I had no experience with children before? How I obeyed him even after he lost each of his friends because of us?" Ling asked easing up on Ayano

"No, I don't." Ayano simply replied

"It's because he was stronger than me, in every sense of the word." Ling sighed

"What?" Ayano said confused

"Ayano-san, before we left on this journey my father told me something that I will never forget." Ling said seriously

"True strength, lies not within one's body nor mind, but within one's spirit. So long as your spirit never wavers, you can conquer the mountains themselves." she quoted

"Ayano-san, when we left our village my spirit was anything, but strong. I was hardly the girl I am today, and would no doubt slow down the rest of the group because of my weakness. However, when I saw Shintaro-san with his friends, how he interacted with them, the way he stood up to threats we trembled against."

"Even after he lost those precious to him, time, and time again he stood back up to lead us when we needed it most. Even after Aiko-chan...when he was at his lowest, who helped him up?" Ling asked as Ayano's voice seemed to fail her

"I uh..."

"Yes, it was you. He lost his way, but eventually with your help Shintaro-san stood up proudly once more." Ling praised

"It was after that we ran into Haku, Jugo, Guren, Kimimaro, Suigetsu, Fu, even Ranmaru who was abandoned at birth, they among many more were all saved by him one way or another. He's never abandoned a single person in need even if it was the cost of his own life. Now is no different. The girl he brought back with him is no different than those before her."

"I'm not sure what you're opinion is of that girl, or even know if you've met her in person, but I have, or at least seen her from a distance. That girl desperately needs help, even if she won't admit it. She's been isolated from basic human rights, and craves companionship despite her protests. The others may try to convince her otherwise, but it's Shintaro who saved her. And it'll be Shintaro to convince her to stay with people who'll care about her." Ling said with confidence

"But before any of that can happen, Shintaro-san needs his own spirit lifted, and before that can happen he needs you." Ling said prodding the girl

"Me? But it was I who-"

"And it's you who can fix it. I know from the tone in your voice that you regret your words. Just apologize, and I'm sure he'll forgive you. Your friendship means more than a few hurtful words. Isn't that right, Ran-chan?" Ling asked in a sweet tone

"Outh!" the toddler shouted with joy

"That's right Ran-chan, anything is possible with the power of Youth!" Ling said with an equal amount of joy

"Thank you, Ling-san." Ayano thanked

"Meh!" the tiny child grunted

"And you two, Ranmaru-kun." Ayano said

"Hehe." he giggled

"Now, let us go!" Ling shouted with enthusiasm

"Can you go first? I wish to, you know, work on my apology." Ayano said quietly

"Of course! Come Ran-chan, we shall empower Shintaro-san's spirit with Youth!" Ling shouted again

"Outh!" Ranmaru shouted once again

"Yosh, let's go!" Ling said taking off at breaking speed, leaving a small trail of dust behind

"Thank you, Ling." Ayano said to herself

Leaving the guilt-filled blonde behind, Ayano began to linger on in her own thoughts.

"Did I really get worked up over nothing? Or was my anger justified? I know he was trying to be strong, and I should support him but...he'll never be the same again. No, don't think about that right now, you'll deal with it when the time comes."

"I also hope Hiromi-chan, and the others will be able to take it well. I should get going, regardless of how I feel I need to apologize for what I said to him. I just hope nothing else distracts me from doing-"

Just as she was about to finish her thoughts, Ayano was interrupted by someone crashing into her from behind at fast speeds.

"Oof!"

"Ayano-san! Oh, thank goodness I need your help." Honoka said out of breath

"Honoka-san? Karin-chan? Aren't you two supposed to wait at the entrance in case Naruto-kun-"

"That's what I'm here for. I know exactly where he, and the other children are!" Honoka said anxiously

"What, how?" Ayano asked surprised

"Karin-chan, where did the scary chakra, and the fuzzy chakra come from?" Honoka asked as she put the child down from her back

"T-That way." Karin pointed down the hall to the left

"Scary? Fuzzy?" Ayano said confused

"There's no time to explain. Ayano-san, we need to find the others, and especially Obaa-sama. Ayano-san please." Honoka begged

"But Shintaro-"

"I know I sound rude and distasteful at the moment, but he isn't going anywhere right?" Honoka said quickly

"Right." Ayano simply replied

"Then we need to leave, I fear Naruto-sama, and the others may be injured. I also need your help to find the others so that they're not running around like headless chickens." Honoka said

"Are they really in danger?" Ayano asked

"Honoka-nee! Honoka-nee!" Karin said tugging at her sisters arm

"Karin-chan? What is it?" Honoka asked

"The scary chakra is gone, and the fuzzy chakra is going away too." Karin said

"Damn it, we need to hurry. Ayano-san, will you help us?" Honoka asked once more putting the blonde between a rock and a heavy place

What was she going to do? Both things were clearly something that needed her attention, but what should she do first? She could go with Honoka, and help in the search and rescue of the children. However, what would Shintaro think of her after this? Ling would surely be bursting into his room right now making some excuse for her to come at any moment. Could she make a clone to handle one of the other tasks? No, she can only make regular clones, and it would be both useless and insulting in either situation.

If she did make a clone sending it with Honoka wouldn't be able to do anything but observe, and if they did need her help she couldn't. Although, if she sent the clone to Shintaro he'd be able to somehow deduce that it wasn't really her apologizing in the flesh. What would he say to a halfhearted apology from a non-existent person? Would he hate her? Would apologizing after that be even possible?

What should she do? What was the right thing to do now? Who should she help? Why was this happening to her? What should she do? What should she do? What should she do? No, she knew what she had to do, and despite how she felt about she had to do it either way.

"I...Please lead the way. Karin-chan, just do your best ok?" Ayano asked after some thinking

"Ok." Karin nodded

"Forgive me Shintaro-kun, but my apology will have to come later. Right now, the people you have worked so hard to protect need my help. It is my turn now to do my best to lay my life for those I wish to protect." Ayano thought to herself

"Let us leave, Honoka-san, please lead the way." Ayano said urgently

"Right away. Karin-chan, hold on." Honoka said as she hauled Karin onto her back

"Mm!" Karin said grunted nervously as she clenched her arms tightly preventing her from falling off from her sprinting sister

---

With Shintaro

Lying motionless

"Damn it...why am I such an idiot? Why did she have to say those things?"

Maybe it was because you hesitated.

Or perhaps you lacked the proper amount of hatred.

"You two shut up! I've had more than enough headache's to deal with."

Aw, he cares about us.

It brings me to tears.

"I said shut up!"

Now, is that any way to talk to your saviors?

The one's who provided you strength when you needed it?

"That power wasn't my own. You know that, but you interfered anyway."

Yet it was your own power that failed to destroy your enemies.

I thought it was the fact he lost his head, and completely forgot about the tools he created for just that occasion.

"That..." Shintaro retorted until he only responded with silence knowing his idiotic rage blinded him to that fact

Uh huh.

"I don't need your reminders of how weak I am or how my anger clouds my way of thinking."

And how weak that makes us in turn.

I know, it makes me sick.

"Do you honestly think I want to be in this situation?" Shintaro growled in annoyance

If you did, we wouldn't even exist in your mind.

Not to mention your dear sister would be-

"SHUT...UP." Shintaro gritted raising his chakra unintentionally making the bed rumble

Ooooh, scary. That's just what you needed when we fought those two.

Lest we forget how strong they really are. Something tells me we're going to need an edge the next time we meet.

Agreed.

"You're...not wrong, but how do you propose we do that? I'm not exactly capable of movement at the moment."

My power only reaches so far given the level you've obtained, and your control of it is heinous at best. However, even I don't think that mongrel's power is capable of helping you.

Yes, that particular fellow is also someone you need to have a chat with.

"Don't you think I've tried? I'm lucky we even managed to succumb to a deal at all. He's really not one for socializing if you couldn't tell." Shintaro droned

He is a stubborn one I'll admit that, but he is the Spirit who you received at that time. In a way, he is the reason she is alive in the first place.

"..."

You forget boy, the only reason we exist is because of that promise you swore on that day. That promise of absolute hatred is what bonds us together, and until our hatred is washed away by the blood of our enemies, it will only grow stronger.

And as our hatred grows, our power will grow, as well our strength.

Speaking of strength, I think I may have our ticket to getting it back.

Really? Do tell.

"You're not just making shit up just so you can talk are you?"

Perish the thought. But seriously, there is a way, or a chance at least for this body of ours to return it somewhat to its previous condition.

Then tell us.

"Don't try to be all mysterious when you suck at it." Shintaro mocked

Hmph, fine. What I'm saying is we still have those seals right?

"You're talking about my seal collection aren't you? Why are you...oh, you're talking about that seal, aren't you?" Shintaro asked dangerously

I am.

Hmm? What are you two on about?

"He's talking about the forbidden section. There's a seal capable of restoring one's body to the last stable condition it was in before.

My, that sounds perfe-

"The problem is, or what usually drives people away from using this seal is the process, and requirements for it. People also confuse it for some cure all when in reality it isn't."

"For starters it doesn't heal you at all, in fact it's not even a healing seal to begin with. It's actually a time reversal seal."

Time reversal?

Just wait, here come's the fun bit.

"As I said before this seal can reverse time, but only on the object it's placed upon. For example if you placed on a boulder, then smashed it to pieces the seal will activate forming the destroyed matter back into place molding it like clay to it's original shape."

Such an amazing seal...for rocks that is. How does it fare against human flesh?

"That's the tricky or...sigh, fun part as he kindly put it. You see, as the seal is placed on a broken body it'll just makes the body back to the way it was by stitching, twisting, forcing everything back that is out of place, into place. It also can't replace things that have been loss or removed."

But your body is already broken. Will it still work the way it's supposed to?

"Yes...and no. Let me explain, if we used it on me now my limbs they would be set back into place, but my eyes wouldn't grow back out of nothing. My spine would also be fixed, but the risk of me not moving would, at least I think anyways, increase as well."

"There's also the payment necessary for it to work, but honestly that's the last thing I should be worried about. What I need most of all is someone who can apply the seal onto me, but they also need to be unaware of their actually doing. I just hope it doesn't come to that if possible."

You're not getting soft on us are you?

Maybe he's finally given up on us. Or perhaps we've been ditched because of his morals.

"Do you two honestly think I had forgotten our promise? We're all doing this for power. Because..." Shintaro said seriously letting the next part be said by his...companions

The more power we have.

The stronger we become.

"The stronger we become, the more people we can protect." he continued

The more people we protect.

The more allies we we gather.

"The more allies we gather, the greater our foundation."

The greater our foundation,

The faster our promise will come to pass.

"The faster our promise come's true, and as soon as that happens."

We can be at peace.

And when we're at peace.

"We..."

Can...

Finally...

Die/Die/Die

"I know what I promised to you guys, and believe me I will fulfill it. But that's the thing, it's our promise, and I'd like to keep both the consequences and the results to ourselves if possible. I'm not above using other people...well, except Ayano, Misaka, Hiromi, and the others we've picked up. I would gladly use those I've been forced to guard, but I'm also not keen on letting others, especially those we have to live with, in on our plans."

Hmm...you do raise a good point.

Secrecy is key to our plans.

"Exactly, the seal isn't a bad idea, but we need to it soon or rather now if possible."

Click!

Someone's coming.

We'll talk later.

Remember that seal.

"I know. Now, who can I find that's smart enough to trace lines perfectly, but dumb enough not to ask too many questions?" Shintaro asked himself

"Yosh! Good morning Shintaro-san, Ran-chan, and I have come to support every second of your recovery. Do not fret, for you will walk again in due time, so long as you have the power of YOUTH!" Ling shouted with joy with a prepared face for seeing Shintaro's condition

"My word...it's worse than Ayano-san described. If only I could him somehow I would." Ling thought to herself

"Outh!" Ranmaru grunted nodding his head

"Perfect." Shintaro said to himself as he resisted the urge to grin like the devil he is

---

With Naruto, 5 minutes ago

Even though they promised their friend they would find land soon, traversing through the cold cave water was proving more taxing than he thought. Right now it was his turn to hold Fu, who had not waken up yet, on his back as they moved through the deadly cavern.

What made it harder was the fact that he couldn't swim one bit, and was only able to get anywhere was with something they stole from somewhere from someone they didn't know. This kunai was the only thing keeping him up afloat the water, and he held onto it as if it was his own soul, never letting go, keeping a very tight grip on it to the point small droplets of blood occasionally ran down his wrist. Yet, it was the fact that the girl behind could swim better than him that was bothering him.

He kept wondering whether Suigetsu managed to get help or if he fell from that far of a height. He wondered if he would even hear the splash given how long it's been, and how much he had moved, or moved at all. He had no sense of time or if any had past at all, it all felt so numb all over he couldn't tell anymore.

Why was this happening to him? Where were his friends? Shintaro? Ayano? Honoka? Where was his mother? Why weren't they here with him? Was he abandoned? Did he anger them somehow to get this? What had he done to deserve this? Was he all alone again? Was he going to die after getting everything he had wished for?

He kept thinking these thoughts, and more driving his mind downward into a deep depression causing him to wonder if he should continue at all. That is, until a small voice in the back of his head told him to keep going, and that's what he did. He had no idea why, but he decided to believe in this voice and kept going despite the ice cold pain he was feeling right now.

One of the other concerns he had other than drowning, was freezing to death before that. When he first landed it was ice cold, like water you'd find sitting in the fridge forever. It was cold to the point where he didn't even notice it at first, but now he felt the full brunt of it. Yet, for whatever reason, be it simply getting used to it or losing feeling in general, the water started to get...warmer? To be honest it was the only reason he was heading this way because the further he went this way the slight indicating change in warmth was what drew him in this direction.

Pressing forward...or backward he had no idea at this point he couldn't tell given how dark it was in here, he noticed that Hiromi was being more quiet than normal.

"It's so cold. So wet. So dark. I wonder how Hiromi's doing."

"H-Hey H-Hirom-mi." Naruto said halting his progress

"Y-Yes?" Hiromi asked

"H-How you h-holding up?" Naruto asked concerned for her

"F-F-Fine. L-Little t-tired." Hiromi said quietly as her teeth kept hitting each other

"O...K-K-K-K." Naruto said doing the same

While he had no doubts about her reply, he felt that he should, even though he can't see well, check on her. So, he carefully turned his body around trying to get a decent look at her. Well, he got a close look alright, so close they were inches away from each other, and even in this darkness the two blonde children could tell what was going on. So much so they even received a small amount of warmth from their faces via blush.

"N-Naruto?" Hiromi said confused why

"Uh...hi." Naruto replied awkwardly leaving the two in a dreadful silence

"Um...h-how m-much f-further?" Hiromi asked breaking the silence

"D-Don't k-know. H-Hey." Naruto said trying to keep the conversation going

"Y-Yes?" Hiromi replied

"W-Wanna, t-talk to p-pass the t-time?" Naruto suggested as he turned around

"S-Sure." Hiromi said

"O-Ok..." Naruto said with a weak smile thinking of something to say

"S-S-So, you have a l-lot of f-friends, don't you?" Naruto asked shifting forward

"I-I guess. W-Why?" Hiromi asked back

"You're l-lucky. N-Not, in a m-mean way, just-just...jealous." Naruto said quietly

"W-Why? D-Don't you h-have your m-mom now? I d-don't have any p-parents, i-if anything, y-your the l-lucky one." Hiromi said confused

"N-Now, I do, a-and I l-love her." Naruto said honestly halting his progress

"Naruto?" Hiromi said confused

"Another...one. B-Be...c-careful." Naruto said weakly breathing hard

"O-Ok..." Hiromi said wondering if she could make another one given how weak her legs are now

"R-Ready...Jump!" Naruto shouted using every bit of strength in his legs

Using his legs to the fullest of his ability he kicked them vigorously, extending his arm with the kunai in it stabbing the rock at the right time. Which he accomplished barely by an inch

"Got it!" the blonde cheered until a nightmarish sound pierced his ear

"Ah!"

"Hiromi!" Naruto screamed watching his fellow blonde struggle to stay

"N-Naruto! My leg, it's bleeding, and caught in something!" Hiromi screamed worriedly trying to escape

Quickly thinking on his feet he used the strength in the arm holding Fu to shift her on top of his shoulder. She really weighed him down, but he at least had a free arm to help.

"Grab my hand!" Naruto said reaching out to her

"I-I can't! I have to hold my leg!" Hiromi explained trying to keep her head afloat

"Crap...uh, uh, what the heck!" Naruto shouted as the whole cave began to shake followed by strange blue flames illuminating the entire space, showing him his desired location

"I see it! I can see it! Hiromi, I can see the land!" Naruto cried out in happiness trying to give Hiromi hope

Little did he know that shockwave had caused small rocks from the ceiling

"T-That's...g-great. Let me-AH!" Hiromi screamed as a sharp rock landed on both of her shoulders leaving more cut's to weaken her

"H-Hiromi, go back! I-I'll put Fu on the l-land, and...Hiromi!" Naruto said looking back and forth only too see Hiromi slowly stop moving altogether

"S-Sorry...Naruto...too...weak...nii..." Hiromi mumbled as she sank downward into the water

"Hiromi! Crap! What do I do? What do I do?" Naruto said to himself panicking until something else went wrong

Snap!

"Crap!" Naruto said watching the only thing keeping him up snap in half

Panicking even harder now with the body of Fu holding him down he shouted something instinctively, the only person he thought that could help him.

"Moooooooom!" he shouted

"Mom! Mom! Honoka-nee! Ayano! Shintaro! Someone, please help!" Naruto shouted again flailing around like a maniac only to fall unconscious by another rock landing on his head.

Slowly sinking down in his liquid grave he strangely felt warmer than he did before. All his panic began to slowly disappear feeling nothing in general, and watched his vision fade to back.

It was strange, at this point he didn't feel anything much less fear of dying, almost as if he was expecting to die at this point, and his whole body just gave up.

What he didn't expect was to wake up in a sewer like environment, dimly lit, but enough so that he could see some of his surroundings. Confused, and dazed looking around for answers, more were added by a large voice surrounding him completely.

"I can help." the voice said neutrally

"W-Who was that? Am I...dead?" Naruto said afraid of the voice

"Does it matter? I have the power to help you." the voice said plainly

"Then help me!" Naruto said angrily/desperately

"Only if you promise me something." the voice teased

"I'll do it, I'll do anything!" Naruto begged

"Very well. Now, sleep, and don't forget your words." the voice said calmly

"Wha..."

As Naruto fell unconscious into the cold cavern water he began to feel a sensation he felt before. Oddly enough, it wasn't the sensation of numbness one feels after being submerged in freezing water. Rather, it was a glorious warmth that calmed him immensely, forgetting about his troubles almost instantly. Finally, the last thing he ever saw as well as felt was the soft sensation of fur surrounding him, and the color of sunset orange.

---

With Kushina now

Running at full speed Kushina never stopped for anything. Not for the tiredness in her lungs, the pain in her legs, nor for the doubts that arose in her heart. What made it worse was the sensation of bijuu chakra erupting out of nowhere driving her to the epitome of panic.

She searched endlessly, turning at every corner, yelling out her son's name receiving only echoes of her own voice, the distant calls of the other children calling for their friends, or worse, total silence. It was the silence that drove her to the edge of madness.

Images of past loved ones were circulating through her mind. Flashbacks of her homeland burning to the ground littered with the bodies of her clansmen kept popping into her vision. The last night, of when she was united with her husband and newborn child, and the horrors that came afterward.

The masked men taking her child, the monster inside of her ripped from her belly to be unleashed upon the village she loves, the sacrifice she along with her husband made to protect their child. The tiny cries of her baby calling out for comfort, the comfort that only a mother could give, and the love she could offer to her newborn child.

But she couldn't. She wasn't able to give him that love, that security feeling of safety, the joy of being held by someone who loves you. All of these things, and more her son was denied while she slept in an endless nightmare, unknowing of what fate fell upon her son.

The feeling of just hovering over complete darkness. Not seeing anything, not feeling anything, both physically and emotionally never knowing when it'll stop. She was getting the same feeling right now traversing through this maze of darkness. This maze that seemed to taunt her everywhere she went, every corner she turned failed to give her what her heart desired most, and instead only gave her a sense of dread and frustration.

Now, as she ran for what seemed like an agonizing eternity, Kushina raced through the endless dark maze of cold stone, leaving her already weak legs to waver. Waver to the point of tripping, and falling flat on her face on the dirt.

"Come on, come on! Fu! Suigetsu! Hiromi! Naruto!" Kushina screamed at the top of her lungs

"Nothing, damn it!" Kushina said pounding the earth with her fist

"3 days. 3...damned...days! And I can't even find those kids much less my own son!" Kushina yelled in frustration

"Why did things end up like this?" Kushina said in anger

"Why can't I do anything to protect those I love?" Kushina said in grievance

"Mom, Shiro, Kenshi, Akane, Minato, Jiyu...everyone. Why am I so useless?" Kushina growled

"I've always depended on others, and now my son is somewhere helpless wondering where I am." Kushina said holding back her tears

"No matter how hard I try everyone always ended up saving me." Kushina said losing strength in herself

Then, at that very moment. As if it was fated, the image of her son flashing his ignorant smile came to her mind.

"Damn it, what am I doing? Those kids need me. NO! My son needs me!" Kushina said to herself as she forced her limbs to stand her tired body up on it's legs

"Naruto!" Kushina screamed once more, waiting for some sort of response only to receive silence once again

"Damn it...I'm sorry, Minato, I-"

"Moooooom!" a faint echo cried out

"Naruto?" Kushina said springing her head up looking around

"Mom! Mom! Honoka-nee! Ayano! Shintaro! Somebody help!" the faint echo shouted turning into Naruto's voice

"Naruto, where are you? Naruto!" Kushina shouted only getting silence again

"I know I heard him, I know I heard my baby call for me. Damn it, where is he-gyah!" Kushina said as her leg fell into something

"Ouch! Damn it, what the hell is...this?" Kushina said getting up observing the faulty stone

"A secret passage way? He must've fallen down here by accident, Naruto!" Kushina shouted trying to call out to her son

"Nothing." Kushina said clicking her tongue

"HEY! SOMEONE UP THERE?" a small voice screamed at the top of his lungs

"That voice...uh, crap what was his name? Su...gu?" Kushina said loudly unsure of what to say

"IT'S SUIGETSU!" Suigetsu shouted annoyed

"Oh, that's right! Sorry! Wait, what are you doing down there?" Kushina asked

"Hell if I know! Man, this morning sucks. First we wake up in some weird room, break out, dodge security, get caught, run our butts off, only to fall down some goddamn hole! The hell is this place?" Suigetsu ranted

"Don't worry about that for now. Is Naruto there with you?" Kushina asked

"No, he's out looking for dry land." Suigetsu pointed out

"Looking for dry land?" Kushina repeated confused

"This...oh Kami this place stinks! Anyways, this pit goes down for like, forever only to lead down in some cave or something. From what I heard they landed in that water trying some place to dry off. Moss hea-Fu's unconscious hanging onto Naruto's back barely. Hiromi's barely holding it together so that only leave's that knucklehead as the brains of the operation, and for some reason that doesn't make me feel good." Suigetsu said uneasy

"Yeah...so wait, how are yourself holding up?" Kushina asked

"I'm jumping, hold on...eeragh! Made it! Woo!" Suigetsu self praised

"Suigetsu?" Kushina pressed

"I've been jumping side to side stabbing the walls with a sword I stoo...found, totally found." Suigetsu explained with a weak chuckle

"You have a sword!?" Kushina shouted in worry

"Hey, we thought we were in some secret bandit camp or something! This happens from time to time believe it or not!" Suigetsu shouted back in annoyance

"It does...that still doesn't mean you should have something dangerous like that. And besides, you're not in any bandit camp or something like that." Kushina reassured

"Then where are we?" Suigetsu asked

"I'll tell you about it later, but I will tell you...this is all my fault." Kushina said regretfully

"Your fault? How?" Suigetsu asked confused

"Again, I'll tell you later. I'm sorry, but I need to find my son. Not to mention I need to get you out of there first, and away from that sharp sword." Kushina pointed out

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't worry about it. Besides, I totally know how to handle a sw-OW! OW! OW! OW! Stupid blade, why are you so sharp? I'd rather-woah!" Suigetsu said loudly

"Suigetsu?" Kushina said worried

"Blood, hands, slipping!" Suigetsu said quickly

"Crap, let's hope this reach him. Chakra Chains!" Kushina said sending her glowing chains downward into the hole searching for a body to grab

"Can't...hold...on-AAAAAAAHHHH CRAAAAAP!" Suigetsu shouted

"Suigetsu! Just a little...gotchya! Now to reel him in." Kushina said retracting her chains pulling Suigetsu through the trap door

"Woah. Head, rush." Suigetsu said brushing the dirt off his hair

"Eeesh, that looks deep." Kushina cringed looking at the cut on his hand taking it with hers

"Eh, I'll be fine. Not like it-OWOWOWOWOW! What was that for?" Suigetsu grunted as Kushina lightly pressed on it

"See, it does hurt." Kushina pointed out

"Hmph." Suigetsu mumbled

"Hold on, let me...there we go." Kushina said ripping off a good chunk of her shirt around her midsection

"Your shirt." Suigetsu said in shock

"Forget it, it's going to get filthy later. Now, give me that sword. A kid like you will only hurt yourself if you don't know how to properly handle it." Kushina dismissed wrapping it around Suigetsu's hand

"Aww, fine. So wait, how is your shirt going to get dirty?" he asked giving the sword the Kushina who stabbed it in the earth

"By going down this hole." Kushina pointed getting in a jumping position

"Eh wait, it's only..." Suigetsu said trying to warn watching Kushina get stuck

"Damn it, I can't fit!" Kushina said frustration

"That's what I was trying to tell you. You're too big, only a kid can fit through something like this." Suigetsu pointed out bluntly as a tick formed on Kushina's forehead only for a wave of depression to hit her full force a second later

"Am I that fat?" Kushina thought to herself putting a hand on her sides squishing them

"Ms. Uzumaki?" Suigetsu said confused

"...only a kid, can fit through something like this, that's perfect!" Kushina said in realization

"Transformation Jutsu!" Kushina shouted as a poof of smoke covered her body revealing a smaller still energetic Kushina standing proudly in victory

She was about Suigetsu's size if not a bit taller, and was wearing the only thing she could think of that the moment from her youthful years, a simple kimono-style blouse held by a black obi, with a dark shirt. Her face was more rounded out than it was before, with her hair framing her face running all the way down to her back.

"Ok, this is just what I need. I think I might need this after all, just in case." Kushina said taking the sword out of the earth

Now, Suigetsu wasn't expecting much in regards to her appearance, but it was seeing this sudden change in her appearance, along with the fact she can swing a sword nicely that suddenly changed his opinion about her.

"Alright! Ok, Suigetsu I need you to find your friends. They're looking all over the place for you, and tell them where I am. Again, I'm sorry this happened to you guys. If I had just payed attention we could've avoided all this...but now's not the time to for me to feel sorry about myself." Kushina sighed

"Just be safe out there ok? Try not to fall in another hole." Kushina teased with a sweet smile

"H-Hey..." Suigetsu said until he was interrupted by Kushina giving Suigetsu a small kiss on the cheek totally throwing him off

"But honestly, you did good. I'm sure your big brother would be proud of you." Kushina said honestly

"Uh-Uh-Uh..." Suigetsu stammered with a red face quickly looking at his feet

"You ok?" Kushina asked

"F-Fine, y-yeah I'm totally f-fine!" Suigetsu waved off nervously

"Ok?" Kushina said confused

"Crap! She thinks I'm a dork! Gotta fix this." Suigetsu thought to himself

"You can count on me! I'll try not to screw up. Ok, I'm off! See ya!" Suigetsu said quickly taking off into a sprint leaving nothing but dust

"Thanks, be safe! Kushina said back to him

"Ok Naruto, just hold on. Oh wait, gotta let the others know somehow. Uh...aha!" Kushina said taking the sword cut off a majority of her hair tying it to the sword handle stabbing it into the nearest wall

"This oughta do it! I was looking for a trim anyways." Kushina said running her hand through her shortened hair

"Now, hold on baby! Mommy's coming!" Kushina shouted determinedly jumping down the hole

---

With Tayuya

Why? This was the question wrangling through her mind in so many ways. Why were they feeding her? Why were they helping her? Why didn't they leave her? Why did they care so much about that one boy? Why was this fucking maze so goddamn dark. And why was her stuff in a fucking maze at all?! don't they realize this could fall on them at any second!?

Right now, Tayuya, against her better wishes mind you, was navigating her away through the soul crushing underground maze to find her mother's flute, and her father's cap. She thought it would most likely be with that old bastard with the long-ass, spiky, white hair, and decided to look for him first. She couldn't believe she was doing this, just looking up, left, or right was only a constant reminder of the rocky cage she forced herself to go through.

"Ok, ok, just calm down. Just find the room that old bastard is in, get mom's flute, and dad's cap so I can get the hell out of here." Tayuya thought to herself trying to control her breathing

Walking for a couple of more feet she came across a row of doors wondering which one to go through. Deciding not to waste any time, she just decided to see if the old man was in the room or not, and that would be the deciding factor of whether or not to check the room.

"This one's open." she thought to herself with optimism

"Ok, let's see what's in...here."

She did find an injured person in the room she opened, but it was certainly not the person she was looking for. Instead, all she found was a sobbing woman with black hair mourning the person lying underneath her.

"Oh, my poor child. What on earth happened to you? I swear I will find the one's who did this to you, and make them pay...severely." said the mature woman coldly

"Nope, not this one." Tayuya said to herself quietly as she backed up away from the door moving onto the next

"Let's try...ah, fuck. Why is there a fucking puddle in front of a goddamn door?" Tayuya cursed as she shook her feet of the cold water

"Ugh, might as well che...and there's no one in here. Great." Tayuya moaned at the empty room

"And it's not even this one either, damn it." Tayuya said closing the door moving onto the next one

"Is it-"

"Hey, did you hear something?" a man asked down the hall

"Shit!" Tayuya cursed quickly entering the room

Closing the door behind her she quickly observed her options in terms of hiding in case they went after her. It was a medium sized room, nothing too big, but small enough to garner worry about her new fear of enclosed spaces. She didn't have enough time to observe the entire room, but she was able to focus her eyes toward a medical bed with curtain sheets covering it completely.

"Ok, ok. Gotta hide, gotta hide...there!" Tayuya said diving underneath the bed

Click!

"Shit!" Tayuya cursed within herself

"What is it with you, and hearing something all the damn time?" another man said annoyed

"Don't ask me, ask the noises that keep popping up." the first one retorted

"Aye, honestly can we just forget about the goddamn noise Izumo?" the second man asked frustratingly

"Fine, but don't blame me if we get in trouble Kotetsu." Izumo grumbled

"Whatever, we still have to report what we heard to Hokage-sama anyways." Kotetsu pointed out

"Yeah, where is he? I though he'd be upstaris, but he wasn't. Think he's visiting one of the patients?" Izumo suggested

"I guess, but obviously not this one." Kotetsu commented

"You'd think he come here first. You know, considering who he is, and all." Izumo said

"Well maybe it's because who he is that he isn't worried, you know?" Kotetsu pointed out

"Yeah, I getchya. After all, he is one of the Sannin." Izumo agreed

"And all it took was another Sannin to take him down. Man they're scary." Kotetsu said honestly with a hint of fear and awe in his tone

"I know. So, should we leave?" Izumo suggested

"Yeah, let's get going." Kotetsu said as the pair left the room

Click!

After waiting more than a few moments for those two to leave, Tayuya let out a loud gasp after holding her breath in for so long. Crawling out from underneath the bed Tayuya let out a sigh of relief at the feeling of safety.

"Thought those fuckers would never leave." Tayuya grumbled to herself

"Now, I don't know what a Sannin is, but this is definitely the old bastard that took mom's flute. Now, where the hell is it?" Tayuya asked looking around

Looking around the white medicinal room Tayuya thought about her options. For starters there was a large cabinet to her right with the handle just above her reach. To her left was a small bloody bag, closed with a button hanging by a kunai stabbed into the wall. While in front of her was a broken old man with bandages over his chest, and some sort of weird medical equipment, she assumed, giving him air hooked up to a machine.

She looked at him with contempt, and with curiosity at the same time. She hated this geezer for what he did to her, and yet she wondered why she didn't take from him in the first place. Or why he went so far to save his hide or the others for that matter? Why her? Why was she involved in all of this? Why couldn't she be left alone?

"Ugh, why am I thinking about crap like this? Might as well check the bag." Tayuya grumbled

Deciding to rummage through the sack first Tayuya searched through it thoroughly to no end. Almost giving up on hope she found the objects she was looking for.

"I found it! Mom's flute, oh thank god it isn't cracked, and Dad's cap...Mom...Dad." she said quietly to herself holding her mementos close to her heart

"Why? Why'd you have to die? Why did you have to leave me alone in such a shitty place? Why did you leave me all alone? Why?" she whispered to herself on the verge of tears

"They probably didn't want to in the first place." said a raspy voice from behind

"Huh, who was that?" Tayuya asked surprised

"Up here." the voice replied

Quickly turning around she was surprised to see the old man from the night before talking to her through the machine. He still looked quite weak, but he still managed to lift his body slightly up just to see her poking around.

"Ah! It's you! Damn geezer, I should kill you for what you did to me!" Tayuya said in anger

"I did what I had to." Jiraiya responded

"Doesn't mean you had to hold my mother's flute hostage! And you passed out on me too the second I leave!" Tayuya said annoyed

"Heh, just proves I'm getting old." Jiraiya grunted with a weak smile

"Damn it, you think this is some joke? I can kill you right now if I wanted to!" Tayuya shouted jumping on top of the bed grabbing a small surgery knife from a nearby table putting it to his throat

"Are you sure that's what you really want to do?" Jiraiya asked ticking her off

"Don't test me! It's your fault I'm in this mess to begin with. Do you know how long I had to look for that old hag? How long I had to avoid those damn ninja who wanted to question me? How many hours I had to go without sleep just to keep myself safe? How scared I was in your fucking village? Why couldn't you people just leave me alone?" Tayuya shouted

"Like you were back in that place?" Jiraiya commented leaving the girl in silence

"Would you prefer it if we let you be back where you were?" Jiraiya continued

"I would've escaped! I had a plan, and everything." Tayuya snapped

"What about the others?" Jiraiya asked narrowing his eyes

"Others?" Tayuya repeated confused

"The other's like you who got caught?" he clarified only to receive an annoyed response

"What about them? Everyone was only in it for themselves. They were all nobodies like me that wouldn't be missed. The bad kids, the problem children, the no good parasites that leeched off of others or unwanted accidents that "parents" didn't want to pay for. Yeah, a whole lot of good kiddies we were. None of us helped each other, but in fact we tried to kill each other." Tayuya said bitterly leaving Jiraiya shocked

"You wanna know why? It's because we knew what was going to happen to us. We were going to sold off to a whole bunch of assholes as henchmen, test subjects, slaves, whores in training the whole shibang! Those fuckers even had a lottery on who'd survive the longest. Guess what, I was number one on that list!" Tayuya explained

"You?" Jiraiya said in surprise

"Yeah me! You wanna know why you old bastard? It's just like you said. I did what I had to." Tayuya chuckled darkly throwing Jiraiya's words back in his face

"You didn't..."

"Yeah, I killed every last one of those little shits! Boy, girl, it didn't even matter if they were bigger than me or younger. I clawed my way to survival, and I don't regret a single bit of it. Those kids would've done the exact same thing to me, some were even worse than me, but I killed them all just the same, I just did it faster than them...not like it mattered." Tayuya said gritting her teeth

"After every match, every time we moved, every time I had to take a leak they stuffed me back in that damn box. A whole year of fighting, surviving, killing, all to end up in that same fucking box!" Tayuya shouted frustrated

"And you know what kept me sane in all that madness? What I did on a daily basis not knowing when the day ended or began? I played my mother's flute, the same flute you took away from me! This thing is worth more to me than your life you hear me? And you had the balls to yank it from me when I wasn't even awake!" Tayuya shouted again in anger

"I-"

"Listen asshole, I don't want to hear any of your bullshit! Not from the likes of you. Not from some old ninja who doesn't give two shits about normal people like us, not unless we pay for it. I bet you didn't even want to save me, you were probably after some other asshole, and just found me by accident." Tayuya said loudly/bitterly taking a deep breath

"I'm done with you. I don't even care about this anymore, I just want out of this fucking village." Tayuya said taking the knife away from the Sannin's throat

"Where will you go?" the old man asked

"None of your goddamn business. Shouldn't matter to you what one girl does with her own life. Besides, this whole place is giving me the creeps. Makes me wonder what kind of old hack runs this dump." Tayuya said shaking at the memories of this place

"That would be me." said a much older man's voice

"What the hell?" Tayuya said turning to the source of the voice

Turning her head she saw that the voice's is an old man, much older than the one she sat upon, smoking a pipe calmly. Wearing what clearly marked him the leader of this village. White, and red robes with a hat that had his villages symobl upon it, there was no doubt this man was the Hokage

"Although, I suppose Shintaro technically owns this property." the Hokage said

"Oh, so you decided to come out of hiding Sensei?" Jiraiya asked cynically

"Well, I decided that I should check up on my old student. As it so happens, I ran into Izumo-kun, and Kotetsu-kun who reported more than a few strange sounds during their time here. It's mesmerizing how large this place is, I wouldn't be surprised if it ran throughout the entire village, but that's enough of that. We have a problem." Hiruzen said seriously

"What is it?" Jiraiya asked

"Last night when you arrived Kushina's child, along with others were with her at the time. She felt they didn't need to see the condition your group was in so she incapacitated them before finding them a place to rest. One thing led to another so she decided to bring the children in one of these room until they somehow escaped not too long ago." the old Hokage explained

"Are they ok?" Jiraiya asked concerned

"We have a search party searching consisting of our own forces, as well as their own friends for them as we speak, but no results as of yet." he explained

"What time is it?" Jiraiya asked now

"Around 10:00 a.m I believe." Hiruzen said thinking about it

"The next morning?" Jiraiya said surprised

"In reality your injuries weren't that severe. It looked worse than it really was, but I'm glad for it." the old master said to his student

"Yeah, well...I'm kind of in the middle of dealing with a life or death situation just now." Jiraiya said rolling his eyes

"Yes, I see that." Hiruzen commented turning his neutral eyes to the girl just slightly raising his chakra presence to intimidate the girl away from

"L-Look, I just want out of here. I don't give a damn about your ninja bullshit ok? I just want to go, and leave so I can be on my own. Just leave me alone, and I won't bother anyone." Tayuya said shakily getting away from Jiraiya

"Where will you go?" Hiruzen asked calmly

"What's with you old geezers, and wondering where I'll go? I'll go where I want to go." Tayuya stated

"How will you get there?" Hiruzen continued

"On my own two legs, that's how." Tayuya retorted

"What will you do when you get there or after that?" the old Hokage asked

"I don't know! I'll just...I'll just do what I want!" Tayuya answered in frustration

"And what is that?" Hiruzen inquired

"Quit asking so many goddamn questions!" Tayuya shouted in annoyance getting an annoyed look from Jiraiya, as well as Hiruzen who merely sighed in response

"Very well, just one last question, and I'll let you go do as you wish." Hiruzen said

"You won't get in my way? Tayuya asked

"If that is your desire, but I would advise against it." Hiruzen said seriously

"I know what I'm doing." Tayuya replied

"I'm sure you do." Hiruzen simply responded

"What is it?" Tayuya said wanting to get over it

"Do you truly wish to live alone the rest of your life?" Hiruzen asked

"What?" Tayuya said in confusion

"I'll repeat myself. Do you truly wish to live alone the rest of your life?" Hiruzen repeated

"I don't...what kind of dumbass question is that? I don't need anyone. You can only rely on yourself to not get killed, everyone else is just there to slow you down or to use you as they want. You can't trust anyone, but yourself. They're all going to lie, cheat, steal, anything they can to get what they want. Friends, family, they're all the same, they all make promises only to break them when they feel like it. So yeah, being alone sounds just fine." Tayuya answered bitterly

"I see, you've been though a lot haven't you?" Hiruzen said sympathetically

"No shit. Can I leave now?" Tayuya asked

"If that is what you want, then you may go. You are technically not a citizen of Konoha so I have no rule over you. However, if you change your mind I can make arrangements for you to live here at a citizen of-"

"Like hell I will. I've had more than enough experience to know that's not a good idea. Most ninja die early, being a "citizen" is bullshit, and I plan on living as long as I can on my own. So long as I can play my mom's flute I don't give a damn how my life plays out. That's the way my mother lived, and that's how I'm going to." Tayuya said with determination

"Is that what your mother would want?" Jiraiya asked speaking up

"What did you say?" Tayuya asked darkly

"I asked if your mother would want that kind of life for you." Jiraiya clarified

"Shut up! What do you know about my mother?! Nothing, that's what! So keep your damn mouth shut old man, or i'll give you a new hole eat through!" Tayuya said putting the surgical knife back to his throat

"She seems serious Jiraiya, you'd better listen." Hiruzen chided

"You know me, a winning charmer with the ladies." Jiraiya said calmly

"Shut up! You think this is a joke? I mean it!" Tayuya said pressing it tightly against Jiraiya's throat

"I'm sure you do, but the question is, do you think this a joke?" Jiraiya asked throwing the question back in her face

"What?" Tayuya asked

"From what I heard from you up till now, you think you have everything figured out. When in reality, you're just acting like a spoiled brat." Jiraiya said firmly

"What?" she asked

"Tell me, do you honestly think you can survive out there on your own? Because if you do, then you're not as smart as you think." Jiraiya pointed out

"Who the hell said I was smart? I just want out of here, I just want to play my damn flute in peace, I don't give a shit if I die! I'm tired of people telling me what I can or can't do, especially from raggedy old bastards like you. I don't need anyone's help, you got that?"

"Call me a brat all you want, but I don't want to hear a single fucking word about my mom from you old man. You never knew her to begin with so why don't you shut the fuck up!" Tayuya shouted with all her might instinctively raising her KI like she did before in her matches, putting the aged men on edge until...

"I'm done with this, and I'm done with you. I'm getting the fuck out of here." Tayuya snorted jumping off the bed putting her father's cap on her head

"Well, I hope you could at least stay until dinner." said an echoed voice disappointingly

"Who said that?" Tayuya asked turning around in the room

"Shintaro?" Jiraiya said confused

"I see you're awake Jiraiya-sensei, and you as well Hokage-sama." Shintaro pointed out

"How are you talking when you're not even in the room?" Hiruzen asked loudly

"It's a secret. Just because I'm crippled doesn't mean I can't find ways to past the time, and since I'm now blind I decided to work on enhancing my already advanced hearing. It also helped that she was yelling up a storm." Shintaro pointed

"How much did you hear?" Hiruzen inquired calmly

"Enough." Shintaro simply replied

"Who the hell are you? Get out of my head!" Tayuya shouted rubbing her head together

"Apologies, but as I pointed out before I'm unable to move right now. I wanted to talk to you before you left, but it would seem you're not in the best of moods right now." Shintaro stated

"No shit, now get out of my head." Tayuya said annoyed

"I wish I could, but this is the only way I can talk to you." Shintaro said patiently

"What do you want from me?" she asked irritated hoping to get this over with

"Just to talk, after that hopefully some lunch, and after that if you still want to leave I won't stop you. How bout it?" Shintaro offered

"..."

"Hello?" Shintaro repeated

"What do you want to talk about?" Tayuya replied evenly

"Oh, you're still there. Well, that would be between you, and me if you want. Don't worry it's not going to be me giving a sappy speech on friendship or something like that." Shintaro assured

"Are you...that kid who got me out of that hellhole?" Tayuya asked uneasily

"I am, but don't let that little fact make you feel obligated to come visit little old me." Shintaro chuckled

"I wasn't...tch! Fine, I'm coming over. It'll be better than you talking in my damn head." Tayuya grumbled

"How nice. Just follow my soothing voice, and I'll lead you to me alright?" Shintaro said jokingly

"Whatever, move it geezer." Tayuya snorted

"Have a good day young lady." Hiruzen said with a smile tipping his hat

"Fuck you, I'll have whatever kind of day I want. Tell me how live my life, I'll live it how I want." Tayuya said to herself as she walked down the hallway

"Well, she's certainly a spitfire. Can't believe you let her talk to you like that." Jiraiya said kind of surprised

"If you remember Tsunade wasn't so different...well, she wasn't as vulgar as she was, but the same nonetheless." Hiruzen sighed

"Yeah, she was moody as hell after the Shodaime died, especially with me." Jiraiya groaned

"I don't think you're comments about her appearance helped either. Flat-chested was probably the one that backfired at you the most." Hiruzen sighed again

"Hey, I was only speaking the truth, and besides who doesn't regret me being wrong about her. I'm sure as hell not, she's great research material." Jiraiya chuckled perversely as Hiruzen merely groaned at his students perverseness until he calmed down to asked a serious question

"So, you going to let them be?" Jiraiya asked seriously

"Somehow, even if I did wish to listen in or had someone observe them Shintaro would see straight through it." Hiruzen said tiredly

"He is a Senpu after all, and Jiyu's son to boot." Jiraiya pointed out

"Yes, like father like son." the old Hokage said carefully taking a

---

With Kushina

"What hell is this? Who put's a trapdoor like this!? And BLEGH! What is up with this awful smell?!" Kushina shouted holding her nose together trying to avoid smelling the repugnant odor, but also saw some strange blue markings glowing on the wall

"Hold up, was that a sealing formula?" Kushina said to herself looking up deciding to put that thought away for now

"This is pretty far down, wait. Does that mean Naruto...no, don't think that! I heard him so that means he's still alive. I can see the bottom, but barely. Ok here we go. Adamantine Sealing Chains!" Kushina shouted as four golden chains sprouted from her back stabbing the earth slowing her descent to a complete halt

Releasing her chains Kushina dropped down at a safe distance, Kushina fell into the dimly lit cavern water that was surprisingly shallow.

"COLD! COLD! COLD! COLD!" Kushina shouted as she shivered in the water

"Ok, t-that's it! F-Fire Style: Blazing Palm!" Kushina said sticking her right hand into the water as it rises in temperature

Shaking off the cold water, Kushina took a few deep breaths exuding Fire nature chakra to keep her body warm so that she could function normally in case the water got colder later on.

"Alright, got that out of the way. Now, Naruto! Fu! Hiromi!" Kushina shouted

"Nothing, ok that doesn't change anything. They can still be around here somewhere, just gotta keep looking." Kushina said to herself

Looking around the dark underground cave Kushina quickly realized her own vision wasn't going to work at all. She could barely see in front of her much even with the help of the strange blue lights, and try to find her own son in this darkness.

"Ok, think, think...uh, got it!" Kushina self praised

Using all of her might on the stalagmite next to her Kushina easily took off the top, and ripped off the sleeves off her shirt wrapping it around the stone.

"Alright, Fire Style: Ember Light." Kushina said calmly as a miniature fireball erupted from her palm lighting her clothing with a bright orange flame.

"Ok, I got some light on me, now, Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Kushina shouted as 5 clones poofed into the water around her

"Everyone, spread out!" Kushina ordered her clones

"Yeah!" they called back as they jumped out of the water facing the other corners of the cave

As each clone took their leave Kushina decided it was best to just head straight forward at a fast pace walk. A sinking feeling began to infiltrate her stomach for whatever reason, and she didn't like it. Maybe it also had to deal with the fact that her clones were disappearing one by one due to an unknown source.

"Damn it, what the hell is going on here?" Kushina said frustrated until she heard something that caught her ears attention

"Mnnn..."

"What was that? Damn it, why are they keep disappearing like this?" Kushina shouted as the last clone was "killed" off

"Mom..." moaned a weak voice

"That sounded like...Naruto!" Kushina shouted in worry/relief seeing her son

Rushing over to her son's side she noticed that his whole body was barely hanging on to a rock. His grip was barely holding as it is, and half of his body was submerged in water, while in front of him were 2 small children were lying unconscious on a small plateau.

"The others." Kushina said with worry

Quickly running through the water as fast as she could Kushina grabbed Naruto off the plateau, and into her arms, instantly channeled fire chakra into her arms to warm her shivering son. His face was pale beyond belief, and his skin was cold as ice indicating he was on the verge of hypothermia.

"Naruto! Oh my poor baby, are you alright?" Kushina asked holding him close to her chest

"Ma...you...came..." Naruto uttered weakly with a faint smile

"Of course I did sweetie. I heard you calling, and I came rushing as soon as I heard it." Kushina said quickly rubbing her son's head

"Mom...is...so c-cold." Naruto said weakly

"I know sweetie, I'm trying to warm you up right now just bear with it a little while longer. Help's on it's way, just keep talking, and don't fall asleep ok?" Kushina asked squeezing her son

After on checking on Naruto, and making sure he was still alive she turned her attention to the other children lying on top of the small piece of land. She first checked on Hiromi, who had steady breathing, but was soaking wet beyond belief cold to the touch with small cuts around her arms and legs.

Not having to worry about her now, it was Fu she was more concerned about. After all, she had sensed bijuu chakra similar to Fu's last night a while ago. Her breathing was more shallow than Hiromi's was, and she also had minor cuts all around her body for whatever reason.

"Oh thank Kami, I thought they were dead for a moment. They just need to get warm, and soon. Hopefully they'll find us soon." Kushina hoped

"Mom...d-did I...d-do g-good?" Naruto asked his mother in a barely audible tone

"What's that sweetie?" Kushina asked trying to hear her son as he tried to explain himself

"T-The f-flat rock...b-big enough f-for t-them...c-couldn't l-lift myself...s-stayed in w-water. D-Did I d-d-do..."

"Oh Naruto, of course you did good. I'm so proud of you baby, so, so proud of you." Kushina said proudly to her son

"T-Thanks, m-mom." Naruto said with a faint chuckle

"Naruto, why'd you leave the room?" Kushina asked not angry

"D-Don't know...i-it was scary...F-Fu, and S-Suigetsu thought...we w-were taken...I g-got scared...I wanted to f-find y-you...I thought...I thought you...left...me." Naruto admitted with tears in his eyes

"Naruto, I'm so sorry. I'd would never ever leave you, I meant to leave you a note, but I forgot. I promise sweetie when we get out of here we'll go out for ramen again ok?" Kushina said as held her son close to her face rubbing against each other

"Ichi...raku?" Naruto asked as Kushina chuckled at her son's choice of venue

"Yes, baby whatever you want." Kushina said with wiping her tears

"Large bowl?" Naruto asked

"The biggest bowl in the whole wide world." Kushina said raising her son's expectation's

"C-Cool...hey, mom?" Naruto called out

"Yes, baby?" Kushina responded

"I'm getting...kind of...sleep...y" Naruto said

"No! You can't do that Naruto, you have to stay up for me ok? Uh, uh, how bout we talk about school?" Kushina asked

"Heh, i-it's pretty b-boring. I-Iruka-s-sensei is p-pretty lame." Naruto chuckled

"That's because he's a teacher sweetie. It's his job to be boring, but he's also supposed to be teaching you things." Kushina half-joked

"D-Doesn't matter, I-I'm too d-dumb anyways." Naruto said ashamed

"What? Why would you think that?" Kushina asked confused at her son's words

"Can't tell you..." He insisted burying his head into his mother's shoulder

"Why?" Kushina asked again

"I-I...can't." the boy said now afraid to talk

"Naruto, you can tell me anything. I promise I won't get mad or laugh at you, ok?" Kushina said in a gentle tone

"P-Promise?" Naruto asked looking into his mother's eyes

"I promise." Kushina swore

"P-Pinky swear?" Naruto said barely lifting his hand extending his fingers

"Pinky swear." Kushina said with a smile wrapping her pinky around his

"Now, tell me what's bugging you sweetie." Kushina said patiently

"C-Can't read, w-write, c-count, a-any of that stuff. I can barely talk smart too, it's only because old because of Old man Teuchi, and Ayame-nee I know this stuff. Even now, I'm trying not to screw up." Naruto admitted

"Why not tell...oh, what's his name? Oh, why not tell Iruka-sensei about it?" Kushina asked gently as Naruto started to cry

"T-The other k-kids made f-fun of m-me. B-Begged them t-to not t-tell. D-Didn't want y-you to t-think I was d-dumb, a-and hate me...leave me." Naruto cried bursting into tears as Kushina's motherly instincts kicked in

"Naruto, I will never, ever hate you no matter what you do, and I won't leave you at all. I don't care if you're not the smartest the kid in the class, or the strongest, the best with chakra or anything like that. All I want is for you to try your best, and that's it. Just do the best you can do, and I'll be proud of you no matter what." Kushina said in a gentle/serious tone looking straight into her son's tear ridden eyes

"R-Really?" Naruto asked in disbelief

"Really." Kushina answered

"But my best..." Naruto said unable to finish his thought

"Naruto honey, let me tell you something...I was literally the dumbest kid in the entire academy the whole time I was there, even up to graduation I was at the bottom of the barrel." Kushina told her son much to his surprise

"What?" he said in shock

"Yeah, I was pretty stupid, still am in a way. Got the lowest test scores on every test I took. No matter what I did everyone was always better than me at something. Oh, and how they made fun of me for it. Course I beat them up because they ticked me off, but that didn't make me smarter or anything like that. I just sucked so hard at learning sometimes I even ditched school altogether." Kushina admitted to her son

"You?" he continued still in shock

"Yeah, like I said I was pretty stupid, but you know what, I always did my best. And you know what else? I managed to get a really high score on the last test to become a genin." Kushina said to her son with pride

"What, how?" Naruto said interested

"I did my best...and I had a little help from my friends." Kushina said mildly embarrassed

"What about dad?" Naruto asked curiously as Kushina cringed at that question

"Eh...I was kind of, you know, dead set on not getting help from him." Kushina stated reluctantly

"Why?" he asked

"Oh boy, just a simple case of dumb prideful girl declaring to beat the perfect boy who's good at everything he attempts." Kushina explained

"Oh, that thing you talked about last night?" Naruto asked as he began to feel warmer, and...sleepy

"Yeah, pretty much." Kushina sighed

"Huh, you're so cool mom." Naruto said quietly as Kushina blushed closing his eyes

"What me? Nah, are you kidding?" Kushina said playfully brushing his compliment aside

"I can barely cook a decent meal now, I forget important dates, I can't keep track of four kids one which is my son, and right now he's in my arms cold as a fish! Oh Naruto, I'm so sorry! I should've been a better mother to you in the first place. This never would've happened if I just took my nap in your room. Damn it, I'm so sorry baby. I'll promise to be a better mom to you from now on." Kushina said breaking into a full sob expecting some sort of response from him

"Naruto?" she asked looking down at her son noticing his eyes were closed

"Oh no, Naruto. Naruto sweetie wake up please, ok? I need you to wake up. Wake up please...Naruto please wake up!" Kushina shouted trying to wake her son up

"Mnnn..." he groaned as his breathing began to slow down

"Naruto!" she shouted in worry for her son, shaking her son gently until a cold shiver shot past them both awaking her son sending him into a new shivering state

"What was that?" Kushina said looking around

"Mo...they...back." Naruto said weakly full of fear

"Can you repeat that baby?" Kushina asked

"They...r...back..." Naruto said clinging to his mother's shirt, desperately lifting himself putting him in a position of holding his mother's neck

"Naruto, what's wrong? Whose back sweetie? What are you...by Kami, Naruto what happened to you?" Kushina asked appalled at her son's condition

What she was referring to were huge claw marks on her son's back, and there were also large rips and tears on the front of his shirt. In reality, he was in much worse condition than she had already thought.

Although, right now that would turn out be the least of her problems. As voices that seemed like the embodiment of death pierced her eardrums at deafening volume's. (Imagine the Ringwraith's, or Nazgul, from Lord of the Rings right in your ear's at max volume)

"Get out..." said the mysterious voice

"Who said that?" Kushina

"Get out..." it repeated

"Did you did this to my son?" Kushina growled angrily

"Get out..." it simply repeated as other voice joined into the threats

"You don't belong here..."

"Not anymore..."

"Outsiders shall die..."

"Leave now..."

"Show your faces you damn cowards!" Kushina yelled as she held her son tighter

"Leave the demons..."

"Take the weakling..."

"We don't need her..."

"The hell are you talking about?" Kushina asked angrily

"The Fox, and the Locust demons, leave them..."

"They're not demons, they're simply children!" Kushina shouted enraged at what they were implying

"Demons..."

"Stay the hell away from them you hear me? Or I'll knock you flat on your asses!" Kushina shouted raising her Killer Intent

"Leave, or die..."

"The only one's that are going to die are you monsters!" Kushina shouted in a rage

"If that is your choice..."

"We will..."

"Oblige you..."

As the voices became louder, and louder large blue flames began spurting from the far edges of the cave surrounding Kushina. Her head began to feel woozy as her vision also started to blur, and was losing consciousness by the second.

"What the heck? What's going...ERAGH!" Kushina shouted banging her head against the nearest rock to keep herself awake

"Get it together Kushina. I have to get these kids out of here somehow. I just have to-AH! What the...I'm bleeding? But how?" Kushina said noticing the huge claw gash on her arm

"Leave..."

"Like hell I will!" Kushina shouted again

"Who are they, where are they, and how are they doing this?"

"Mommy." Naruto whimpered

"I'ts going to ok baby, mommy's here." Kushina assured her child

"What do you want?" Kushina asked the voices once again

"The demons..."

"How many times do I have to tell you? They are not demons! One is a helpless little girl, and the other is my son! I'd rather die than have you lay a finger those girls, much less my own son. You can-Ah!" Kushina screamed in pain as her other arm was slashed

"Not good, have to fight back somehow." Kushina said gritting her teeth

"It's pointless..."

"Just give up..."

"You don't have to die, just give us the demons..."

"I told you, I will die before I give you my son!" Kushina said in defiance reversing her position putting Naruto against the rock exposing her back to whatever future dangers may come

"Then die..." the voice said as Kushina screamed horribly at the intense amount of slashes that were delivered to her back, arms, and even legs somehow even though they were under water

"I wont...let you...touch him!" Kushina shouted again in defiance

"MOM!" Naruto shouted in terror watching his mother get torn to shreds

"It's...fine...I'm your...mother, and I...will not...back...DOWN! Chakra Chains!" Kushina shouted with all her might as 6 golden spike chains erupted from her back flailing around wildly trying to get a hit on something

Only, after what seemed like hours of swinging around, the only thing she destroyed were the former

"Just give it up..."

"Never! I'll protect everyone! I won't let you touch these kids." the defiant redhead said tiredly as her chains began to fade away

As Kushina said these words 12 shadow-like figures, wearing large black cloaks surrounding themselves, armed with only a single 7 ft. sword in one hand, and razor sharp claws for the other hand. They stood above the water weapons in hand, surrounding her in a circle raising their arms in unison awaiting their collective conscious to order them their next command.

"Last chance..." the voice offered

"Never!" Kushina gasped out in pain

As if giving her own death sentence, each shadow prepared their own weapons to deliver the final blow.

"Then you'll die..."

"Mom DON'T!" Naruto cried out

"I'm sorry...Naruto."

"As if asshole!" shouted a prepubescent teen shouted drop kicking one of the figures

"We'll be the judge of that!" said another voice coldy throwing his bones at them

"Leave her alone!" shouted a teen girl

"Let's get this party started!" yelled an enthusiastic teen

"HAHAHAHA! LET"S SPILL SOME BLOOD!" shouted a crazed child

"Get the hell away from Obaa-sama you bastards!" an enraged Uzumaki cried out

Turning around slowly Kushina managed to make who her saviors were. They were the mere children she had never thought could truly hold their own in a fight.

In the center stood a pale, snow haired child armed with bone swords in his hands, standing above the water proudly in a battle stance, ready to kill anything in his way.

On his left stood a more feminine child, but was clothed in a dark blue kimono staring daggers at the shadows standing proudly on his own.

Following him was a purple haired girl crossing her arms as she sat leisurely on a destroyed stalagmite with more than a handful of crystallized kunai twirling in her hands.

On the pale boy's right was a tall, scaly kid with enlarged arms looking more like battering rams with claws at the end, and had a crazed blood lust aura surrounding him just waiting to dig into something, or someone.

Following him was a more muscular child of the bunch, wearing nothing more than rags covering his legs tied with an old rope around his waist.

Behind them were three girls, one alert brunette, one cautious blonde, the last a pissed off red head all taking positions behind the first line of children already helping those that needed it.

"Alright everyone, we're in a Recovery situation. Everyone take their positions!" Kimimaro shouted seriously as everyone took a battle stance

"Right!" they all shouted

"Misaka-san, please help me with Obaa-chan." Ayano asked quickly

"Got it." Misaka said taking one of Kushina's arm

"Obaa-sama, let me take Nar-"

"No!" Kushina shouted protectively as Honoka stepped back obviously hurt

"I mean...I got him." Kushina said calmly taking a few deep breaths

"Obaa-sama...very well, at least open your arms a bit. Can you walk?" Honoka said shaking it off

"Yeah, let me just-AH!" Kushina said

"Obaa-sama/Obaa-chan!"

"I'm fine...I just need to focus a bit."

"You sure you ok?"

"Yeah, this is nothing compared to giving birth."

"Eeesh, I know I'm not having kids now."

"Shame, you'll be missing out."

"We need to get moving."

"Everyone, be on your guard. This isn't a drill!" Kimimaro shouted

"We hear ya!" Genyumaru confirmed cracking his knuckles

"How despicable, Guren-chan, please make sure they leave safely." Haku said taking a look behind them

"You got it, but first everyone jump!" Guren said already in the air preforming hand signs

"Damn, forgive me Obaa-sama. Chakra Chains Release!" Honoka said as two chains erupted from her back grabbing hold of Kushina

"What're you-woah!" she shouted as the chains shot her threw the air at high speeds

"Do it Guren!" Kimimaro shouted from above

"Crystal Style: Hardened Lake!" Guren yelled as the entire water surface hardened into a crystal state

"There, now we don't have to jump on rocks, and . Now, deal with these jerkwads." Guren said to her friends

"Gotchya/ I have you." Misaka and Honoka said as they lowered Kushina and Naruto into their grip

"Wait-how-when-where-why...what the heck happened!?" Kushina shouted as Misaka, and Honoka lowered her on the ground

"I'll explain later Obaa-sama." Honoka replied

"OI! Were counting on you guys, get some good hits in for me, and don't get yourselves killed! Shintaro has enough to worry about as it is apparently." Misaka shouted

"I won't fail you." Haku said firmly

"Always wanted to fight a ghost. Wondered if they existed in the first place." Kimimaro simply said

"I'm going to eat their lungs through their back!" Jugo shouted at the top of his lungs

"You do that buddy. I'ma go fight over here." Guren said uneasy taking the opposite direction

"Obaa-sama, please don't rush yourself. Please, allow me to help you."

"Thank you, kind of...getting tired here."

"Obaa-sama what happened? Why is Naruto-kun injured like this?"

"Those bastards, whoever or whatever they are, wanted Fu and Naruto for some reason."

"Can't mention they wanted them as jinchuuriki. I'll ask Hiruzen about it later. Right now, Naruto takes priority."

"Ayano, how are the other kids?" Misaka asked worriedly

"They're alive, thankfully, but Fu-chan has small cuts all around their body. Their temperature is dangerously low, and I'm sure Naruto-kun is as well. We need to get them to some warmth or we risk having them go through hypothermia, but Obaa-chan, you're injured as well, please let me h-"

"No, I'll survive. I'm an Uzumaki, I'm not going to die from just a few cuts." Kushina stubbornly said

"Are you sure?" Honoka asked as Kushina took a couple of breaths

"Trust me, I've been through worse. Now let's go, I'd actually feel bad about leaving them alone with those things but..."

"HAHAHAHAHA! Scream for me you little weaklings!" Jugo shouted maniacally

"Come on, let me work for this! Is this the best you can do?" Genyumaru shouted

"They seem to have it under control." Kushina droned

"Yes, as I said before at the Forest of Death we know how to take care of ourselves despite our age." Honoka pointed out

"I can see that." Kushina said as she just witnessed Kimimaro cut off the hand of one of the spirits

"Pathetic." Kimimaro insulted

"Obaa-sama, we should get going." Honoka said quickly

"You're right. Let's get going. Ayano, are you ok with those kids?" Kushina asked

"I have Hiromi-chan, Misaka-san has our backs, and Honoka-san, can you get..."

"I understand. Leave Fu to me." Honoka nodded

"Let's go." Misaka said taking out a kunai

"Guren!" Honoka shouted

"I hear ya. Crystal Style: Jaded Pillars!" Guren said as multiple pillars shot out from beneath the floor one after barely reaching the hole the dropped out of

"Um, can you make them a little bit higher?" Misaka asked politely

"Ugh, you're really working me to bone here." Guren sighed

"Sorry, we'll pay you back later ok." Misaka asked in a begging tone

"I want an advance on my allowance then!" Guren shouted perking up immediately, making the pillars larger, and reaching the hole with ease

"Deal!" Misaka shouted back

"Ok, let's go!" Honoka shouted

"Right!" Misaka said as she helped Kushina up the pillars

"Come on Obaa-chan, we need to get you, and the others help immediately." Ayano said

"Naruto, and the kids first, you understand?" Kushina said sternly much to Ayano's reluctance

"But-"

"No buts, ifs or and's about it. They're going to help first, and that's that. Got it?" Kushina repeated

"Ok, but please don't overexert yourself." Ayano said cautiously

"I'll try. Sorry, about that." Kushina apologized

"It's fine, but you need to understand even you have limits." Ayano said

"Oh, I'm aware. I just need to push those limits to the max, and things'll work out like they always do." Kushina said tiredly

"That's not the healthiest mentality." Ayano pointed out

"Yet, I'm still alive." Kushina retorted

"Obaa-sama/Obaa-chan." Honoka/Ayano chided

"Less talking, start climbing." Kushina said as they laid below

---

With Shintaro

Following through with her end of the deal, Tayuya continued to walk down through the closed in hall of death walking toward the voice that seemed hell-bent on talking to her. When she had finally arrived at the right door, she had wondered why the voice told him to brace herself, but when she opened the door, she could see why.

Looking across the room, she saw what was left, or rather the bandages, casts for all his limbs held by slings, and other medical equipment covering what was supposed to be his body. She remembered the condition his body, broken as it was, but she must've underestimated how bad it really was.

Figuring she shouldn't keep him waiting any longer, and not wanting to stay in this deathtrap any longer she figured she should get in. That is, until she was pushed in by a random stranger.

"OW! Who the-"

"Get them to the other rooms quick!" ordered a random woman

"Yes ma'am!" said two similar sounding men unintentionally shoving the door close

"The hell was that about?" Tayuya asked annoyingly rubbing her back

"Don't know. Ling?" Shintaro asked straightforward in a knowing tone

If Shintaro could see, he would've stared Ling down as she sweat bullets like it was out of style.

"Uh...d-don't worry about it Shintaro-san. There's nothing for you to worry about, it's all under control." Ling said nervously

"What's under control?" Shintaro asked raising his eyebrow behind his bandages

"Uh..." she moaned nervously

"Ling." Shintaro droned as Ling's lie began to unravel

"I'm not...supposed to..." Ling said slowly

"Supposed to what?" Shintaro asked accusingly

"N-Nothing!" Ling said trying to cover up her lie

"Huh, you're a terrible liar you know that." Shintaro droned

"I...yeah, I know." Ling admitted with a sigh

"Forget about it, I'm sure I'll figure it out on my own. Probably another headache to come. Anyways, Tayuya, my name is Shintaro in case you forgot. The girl in I'm presuming green is Ling, and the little guy in her arms is Ranmaru." Shintaro said waving his fingers in the direction where he assumed Ling was

And he presumed right, Ling right now was dressed in a simple green shirt with beige shorts with bandages wrapped around her ankle/heels of her feet, and her hair was tied into a pony tail

"Outh!" the tiny child squeaked

"Yes, Ran-chan! We are the true believers of the power of Youth!" Ling said with enthusiasm standing up proudly

"Youth?" Tayuya said confused

"Don't ask." Shintaro said quickly as Tayuya tried to deduce what the girl was talking about

"But, aren't we all..." Tayuya said slowly until her vision was obscured by green in her face, and enthusiastic eyes filled with glittery hope

"Yosh! Another believer in the fact we are all full of Youth!" Ling squealed with joy lurking over the child as she leaned back with every word

"I didn't..."

"Too late." Shintaro sighed

"Tell me, what do you think about jumpsuits? Or the color green? Have you ever thought of combining them both? I can tell you right now we are not low in demand. Sign up now, and I'll toss in your leg weights for training immediately." Ling said quickly like a salesmen pitch

"Outh." Ranmaru said nodding his head

"Ling." Shintaro groaned as Ling backed off reluctantly

"We'll talk." Ling whispered in Tayuya's ear

"Sorry, sorry. Just a little excited is all." Ling said brushing back the bangs her hair

"I get it, but you could wait at least 10 minutes before converting someone you just met?" Shintaro asked the green clad enthusiast

"Very well. We'll just have to wait a bit, won't we Ran-chan?" Ling asked playfully

"Mhm!" Ranmaru grunted cheerfully

"Sometimes I wonder if you two are really siblings or not." Shintaro commented

"That just proves the bond between us is strong. If I did have a younger brother, Ran-chan would most certainly be him." Ling said rubbing her face against the toddlers

"Lin-chan!" Ranmaru squeaked

"Lin-chan?" Shintaro repeated amusingly

"He has trouble with his G's, this is the best he could do at the moment. Besides, I like to think of it as his little nickname for me." Ling said defending Ranmaru's nickname choice

"It's progress, can't complain about that." Shintaro admitted

As the two talked back, and forth about miscellaneous things regarding Ranmaru, Tayuya for some reason began to feel uncomfortable as if she didn't belong here. Not wanting this uncomfortable feeling to last she decided to speak up.

"So uh, what'd you want to talk about?" Tayuya asked uncomfortably

"Oh, that's right. Is there something you want for dinner?" Shintaro asked nonchalantly throwing the girl off

"Huh?" she responded

"Oh, well I guess it's a bit too early for that I guess. Must be around lunch time by now if I'm not mistaken." Shintaro said to himself

"It is, around 10:00 by now, last I checked." Ling pointed out

"Oh perfect, we can have brunch. Hey Tayuya, how do you feel about Ham and Cheese sandwiches?" Shintaro asked curiously

"They're ok, I guess. Kind of prefer grilled cheese though." Tayuya admitted honestly

"Oh, you're a griller eh? That can be arranged. Want some later?" he continued to ask calmly

"Yeah, if it's not too much troub...hey what the hell is going on? Is this what you wanted to talk about?" Tayuya asked aggrivated/annoyed

"Well, yes. What else is there to talk about? Is there something on your mind?" Shintaro asked again in his calm tone ticking off Tayuya even more

"Hell yes there is! I wanna know why you risked your life for someone like me. Actually how'd you find me in the first place?" the red head asked

"A note, from some smugglers I...disposed of. As for your first request, it's simple. I hate assholes like them, figured they hurt someone somehow, I wanted to see if I could at least get revenge for those they did hurt." Shintaro said plainly in a cruel tone as Ling covered Ranmaru's ears because of the language

"The hell? It wasn't because he was a goody two shoes?" Tayuya thought to herself

"Was that it?" Tayuya asked not sure what to make of his answer

"No, that was for my own self-satisfaction." Shintaro said without a beat, causing Tayuya to really question her saviors character

"The real reason was to move as quickly as I could to save kids like you...but it would seem I was too late. I'm sorry for that. If I could move I'd beg for your forgiveness." Shintaro said as his voice began to crack

"So, he is a goody two shoes? But..."

"Shintaro-san." Ling said trying to comfort him

"But why?" Tayuya asked

"Why what?" Shintaro asked clearing his voice

"You're all fucked up beyond belief. You can't move, can't eat on your own, can't see shit, and you're like this because of me!" Tayuya said frustratingly as something in her chest began to hurt

"So?" Shintaro sighed

"So? Aren't you pissed at me? Why aren't you yelling at me? Why aren't you wishing I was dead or never came across that stupid note? Tell me dammit! Why won't you hate me!?" Tayuya shouted walking closer, and closer to Shintaro's bedside warning Ling to act

"Hey, you watch you-"

"Ling, calm down." Shintaro said firmly

"But-"

"It's fine." Shintaro assured

"Well?"

"The reason I don't blame you for the condition I'm in, and the pain I'm suffering right now. It's because I can only hate myself." Shintaro said bitterly throwing Tayuya for a loop

"Wha..."

"If I'm being honest, I can honestly get why you're so mad at me, but I have no reason to be mad at you. Rather, I only have myself to blame...and those people." Shintaro gritted as he attempted to make a fist, only for the cast to crack in response

"Those people?" Tayuya said confused

"You don't need to worry about it. Ling, that reminds me, we're going need to have a chat involving everyone here. A serious meeting." Shintaro conveyed seriously

"One of those already?" Ling moaned

"Yeah, after breakfast do you think you could..."

"Yosh! Leave it to me!" Ling interrupted standing up in enthusiasm

"Outh!" Ranmaru shouted with her

"And Ran-chan! Can't forget you, can't I?" Ling cooed at the toddler

"Mm!" Ranmaru cheered on until Ling realized something

"But the others might not want to..."

"Tell them we've been found out...by them." Shintaro said bitterly in a tone that Ling unfortunately knew about causing her to shake to her core

"Y-You don't m-mean..." Ling asked losing her cool

"Yeah...wonder I got this way? There's your answer." Shintaro growled

"Does that mean we have to move again?" Ling asked fearfully

"If things play out right, we may not have to." Shintaro said trying to calm her down as Tayuya began to put two and two together

"What are you guys...wait, your not talking about those...freaks are you?" Tayuya asked also shivering at the memory of those...inhuman freaks

"I've take it you met them?" Shintaro asked regrettably

"The fuck were they!? One had body parts stitched all over her body looking batshit crazy, and the other was just some giant zombie or something. Just what the hell were they?" Tayuya asked demanding answers while losing her voice

"Monsters, plain, and simple." Shintaro said refusing to go in greater detail

"They freaked me out, I hoped to god I never see them again." Tayuya said hugging herself shaking her head clear of those memories

"Then it really is in your best interest to leave this place." Shintaro said gravely

"What?" Tayuya said shocked by his words

"Shintaro-san." Ling said sadly

"Ling, can you get me some water? I think my throats dried up." Shintaro requested smacking his lips

"Of course, but the pitchers empty." Ling replied looking at the empty glass

"I think one of the other rooms should have one. Can you go check?" Shintaro asked

"Leave it to me. Come on Ran-chan." Ling said lifting the toddler on her shoulders

As Ling left the room closing the door behind her, Tayuya felt she should be blunt from here on out with the way she talks.

"So, are trying to get rid of me or something? Do you not want your friend there or that brat to hear me fucking talk?" Tayuya grumbled

"I'm not telling you to get out of here out of spite, I'm telling you this for your own safety. It's partly why I'm not against you setting out on your own. Those two have been hunting us down for the last 5 years relentlessly without mercy. But don't worry, strong as they are even they're not stupid enough to risk coming here. Then again, sanity isn't their strong suit." Shintaro said

"That's why I'm not against you leaving us, you would be safer out in some random village, but I'd at least hope you would stay for dinner. Can't have you go out on your own on an empty stomach now can we?" Shintaro said with a warm smile on his face that put her on edge

"I...but you...why?" Tayuya asked again as the pain in her chest grew tighter

"Because you're just like me." Shintaro said honestly

"Huh?" she asked

"You, and I aren't so different. From our way of thinking right down to our familial positions." Shintaro said sadly causing Tayuya's eyes to widen

"You mean..."

"Yeah, no parents, no siblings, just plain old me. But...years went by, and now I have a sister, two actually. Both are adopted, but I think of them as real siblings, and they feel the same. I'm not saying life is perfect, far from it, but they along with a little help from a few friends make the days go by a little easier. There are bad days, many bad days, but the few good days I go through make it worth it." Shintaro sighed

"So what are you saying?" Tayuya asked holding her breath as she calmed herself

"I'm saying, wouldn't it be nice to make the days go by with one more friend?" Shintaro asked smiling at Tayuya again

"Huh?" she asked

"I want to make a deal with you. Stay." Shintaro said keeping a straight face

"Stay?" Tayuya repeated

"Stay with us for 6 months, one year at the very most, and if you still wish to leave then I won't stop you at all. You're free to do whatever you want, you'll be fed 3 meals a day, given shelter, and be taught the necessary skills to survive. Nothing is required from you at all, you can stay holed up in your room playing your mothers flute all day if you want. Just so long as your comfortable, and enjoying yourself that's all that I want from you." Shintaro proposed as Tayuya couldn't believe what she was hearing

"You're bullshitting me." Tayuya growled

"No, no bullshit here." Shintaro said calmly

"You have to be, no one just gives people free food, and shit for nothing in return. You want something, I know you do!" Tayuya said loudly on the verge of shouting

"Nope, nothing. Actually, does company count?" Shintaro asked with a smirk

"This isn't a joke!" Tayuya shouted

"Not saying it was." Shintaro replied calmly

"You're lying." Tayuya said stubbornly

"No, I'm not." Shintaro insisted

"You have to be! This is all just a lie!" Tayuya yelled in defiance

"And if I'm not lying?" Shintaro asked

"You are, I fucking know it. Everyone lies to me!" the girl nearly bawled out

"Not me." Shintaro replied

"How can I trust you?" Tayuya asked holding back the tears that for some reason began to swell

"..."

"Exactly, just as I fucking-"

"Kill me." Shintaro answered throwing Tayuya for a loop once again

"What?" Tayuya asked unsure of what he said

"Kill me." Shintaro repeated

"Why? What would be the point?" she asked wondering if he wanted to live at all

"It's your insurance. If you think that I'm lying to you, or think that I'm using you in any way, then kill me." Shintaro clarified as what he said finally pushed her to the edge

"Don't fuck with me! I don't care if you are crippled, I'll kill you if you keep yanking my-gyah!" she gagged as Shintaro forced his left arm out of the sling, and moved it behind her pulling Tayuya close to his body

"Hey, let me go you fu-"

Interrupting her tantrum with his words Shintaro's tone changed from the calm stoic jokester of a answering machine to a nurturing soul talking to her in a way that reminded Tayuya of her mother.

"I take my promises seriously Tayuya. I made a promise to my sisters to take care of them, I promised my friends a new home safe from their old ones, I even promised those jerkasses I'll protect them even if they can't do it themselves, and I've kept all of them to this day. And I will keep this promise made to you, Tayuya. So please, just believe in me." Shintaro pleaded as tears began to roll down his face

"Those words...they're..."

---

Flashback

Fire. Burning embers flying across the starry night, dancing across the endless darkness that was the sky. Crackling wood, shattering glass, and trees falling were the background noise that fell upon her ears as she watched her home burn down to the ground. A wave of fatigue consumed her tiny body, she wanted to close her eyes, sleep so that this nightmare would end, but the screams of dying men and women wouldn't let her.

A warm liquid ran down her arm, and face not caring that same liquid was supposed to be inside her body rather than outside. Her legs felt heavy, but she shuffled them nonetheless toward her burning house to try to find someone in there. She continued to do so until she was turned around by the very people she was looking for.

On her left was the man that taught her to stand up for herself, and never back down no matter what. He had dark chocolate skin, and wavy snow white hair covered by a black cap held by a slashed Kumogakure hiate tied forward covering his eyes. He was wearing typical Kumo armor with brass knuckles on each fist.

To her right was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen in her life, or will see in her opinion. She had pale white skin, almost like she had never seen the sun in her life, but in contrast she had long fiery red hair draping over her reaching down her lower back that rivaled the flames themselves in terms of color. She stood proudly wearing a battle kimono with blue waves crashing against each other, armed with a two mirror-pronged spear in her right hand, and a prized flute in the other.

She hardly ever heard them call each other by names. Whether it was out of love, familiarity or some other reason it didn't matter to her. She knew them by two names, and two names alone.

"Mom! Papa!" the tiny girl cheered in joy

"Yu-chan, you need to leave this place." Papa said firmly as he wrapped her daughter's wounds in bandages

"But our home, it's-"

"Yu-chan, our home is gone now. Papa, and I have to scare the bad guys away." Mom said

"Do you have to?" young Tayuya moaned

"Yes, sweetie. Here, take this, it's getting cold out here." Her father said taking his cap off and putting it on his daughters head

"Thank you papa, but why don't you take it? It's your favorite isn't it?" the girl said in confusion

"Doesn't matter, keeping you warm is more important than a silly hat. Keep it safe for me will ya?" Papa said rubbing his daughters head

"Mhmm." she giggled

"They're over here!" shouted an angry man off in the distance

"Damn it, they found us." Papa cursed

"Yu-chan, we have to go now." Mom said rubbing her daughters cheeks

"But mommy-" but Tayuya was interrupted by her mother hugging her with all her strength

"Tayuya...I promise to always to love and protect you, that's my...our jobs as your parents. Remember that my child. So please, just believe in me. Here, keep this with you, and play it whenever you feel lonely. You remember how play that one song?" Mom asked rubbing her back

"Yes, but this is your flute mom. Isn't it your favorite thing in the whole world?" she asked getting worried

"Yu-chan, you are my favorite thing in the whole world, before your father even." Mom joked

"Hey...but it's true. We love you more than anything in our entire lives." Papa said as he joined the group hug before they both broke apart from their daughter

"Now go, run. Run!" Mom yelled pointing towards the forest as she and Papa ran toward the screaming men

"Mommy? Mommy!" she yelled before her memory faded to black

End Flashback

---

As tears rolled down her face from her last memory of her parents, one thought kept repeating in her mind.

"Damn it, Damn it, Damn it, Damn it, Damn it, Damn it, Damn it, Damn it! What's wrong with me!? Why can I blow off those old geezers, but not him?" Tayuya thought to herself as she forced herself to stop crying

"Your arm." Tayuya groaned

"Huh?" Shintaro asked

"Doesn't it hurt?" Tayuya asked through the pain

"Like a bitch, trying not to think about it. So?" Shintaro grunted

"..."

"Fuck it." Tayuya thought to herself internally sighing

"Tayuya?" Shintaro asked concerned

"Dumplings." Tayuya said bluntly

"Excuse me?" Shintaro asked

"I haven't had dumplings in forever." she grumbled

"Oh, Daifuku I presume?" Shintaro said amusingly as Tayuya blushed at the accuracy of his guess

"Ge..."

"Never pegged you for a sweet tooth." Shintaro chuckled

"Fuck off." Tayuya cursed

"I'm presuming you were raised to talk that way." Shintaro sighed

"Yeah, it's how my mom talked when she was pissed, what about it?" Tayuya growled

"Well, I was hoping you'd...restrain yourself around my sisters." Shintaro said carefully

"What I'm a bad influence now?" Tayuya said rolling her eyes

"No, I'd just prefer if they would use those words in more...appropriate situations, though I preferred if they never use those words in the first place. You're free to talk how you like, I just think you can express myself more creatively." Shintaro worded

"Creatively?" Tayuya said confusingly

"For instance, say you find a rather large man hogging up a bench you wish to sit on because your tired. How would you respond?" Shintaro asked in a teacher like tone

"Fuck off, you fat bastard. I'm tired as shit so move your flabby ass." Tayuya said bluntly without skipping a beat

"Gee, you don't hold back do you?" Shintaro asked cynically

"Never give up, never back down, and always make your point across. That's what my...I just heard that's how grown ups do it." Tayuya said uneasy

"Ok. Now here's the creative translation. Hey, your squeezing the life out of that bench, care to let it breathe? Or perhaps...Wow, I didn't know pigs could grow this big, but I think there's a pile of mud over there to suit your needs." Shintaro said calmly and cockily with a smirk on his face

"Damn, that's messed up." Tayuya chuckled

"But, I didn't curse did I?" Shintaro asked

"Tch! Like I can think of shit like that smartass." Tayuya retorted

"I could teach you." Shintaro offered

"You would teach a seven year old kid how to brutally insult a person?" Tayuya asked sarcastically

"In accurate detail as well." Shintaro continued with a cheesy smirk

"Your crazy you know that?" Tayuya said with a smirk of her own

"Have to be when your in my position. Tell you what, you come here everyday, and I'll teach you how to put people in their place without using those adult words you like so much. For you see, the more you use something, the faster it'll wear out, and becomes annoying." Shintaro said in a sagely tone

"So you're saying there's a problem with how I talk?" Tayuya asked accusingly

"I'm saying your way of speech will put people off, I don't mind really, but everyone else might find you annoying." Shintaro said cautiously

"Hmph! Like I give a shit what people think about me." Tayuya snorted

"Not right now, but at one point or another you're going to drive yourself insane with that train of thought. I'm not saying to be everyone's BFF, but you should have at least one person who can talk freely to. Doesn't have to be a friend per say, anyone will do so long as they're genuinely interested in what you have to say." Shintaro said

"Like you?" Tayuya asked

"Like me, minus the whole cripple business." Shintaro joked

"Speaking of that. Can you move your arm already? You're crushing me." Tayuya grunted as she tried to breathe from the heavy arm on her back

"Love too, but can't. I used up all my inspirational strength a while ago, and boy am I paying for it. Painkillers must be wearing off." Shintaro said holding in the pain

"Want me move it?" Tayuya suggested

"That'd be appreciated." Shintaro approved in a high pitched voice as Tayuya slipped slowly underneath his arm

"Here, just let me..."

"Ow, ow, ow, ow." Shintaro moaned as Tayuya tried to fit it back into the sling

"Sorry, sorry. I'll just lift this up like th-"

"OOOW!" Shintaro groaned loudly as she nearly dropped his arm

"Quit whining would ya? Freaking me out." Tayuya grunted

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm just in a situation filled with a highly, obstinate, dosage of pain, and decided to express myself." Shintaro groaned sarcastically

"Not creatively you didn't." Tayuya retorted

"Ha, Ha, very fun-EEEEEEE!" Shintaro squealed as Tayuya shoved his loose arm back into the seal

"There, back where it belongs." Tayuya puffed with pride

"Thanks." Shintaro groaned/sighed

"Was that sass?" Tayuya asked sarcastically

"Honesty." Shintaro replied

"Uh huh." Tayuya said rolling her eyes as she sat on an empty stool

"So, staying for dinner?" Shintaro asked again

"Don't think that means I trust you or anything. I'm just hungry as hell, and until I figure out where to go I'm leaving." Tayuya said crossing her arms

"Well, until then I'll be sure to enjoy your company. Not that I have a choice in the matter." Shintaro chuckled

"Hey, what does that-"

"Yosh! I have returned with refreshments!" Ling cheered as she burst into the room

"Are those pancakes?" Shintaro asked sniffing loudly

"Nuh uh uh, Ayano-san told me no solid food for you for at least 2 weeks." Ling teased

"2 weeks?! Oh, come on. They smell delicious too." Shintaro begged as he drooled at the smell of the delicious breakfast

"They are, specially the blueber..." Tayuya said stopping herself

"You already had some? Lucky." Shintaro pouted

"Your friends didn't like me too much, especially when I told them about you." Tayuya droned as Shintaro sighed

"There just overprotective, and look up to me a lot. I saved them from really bad situations, in a way, I'm their only friend, their family. Most of them have been abandoned by their parents or have been made outcast's because something out of their control. I'm teaching them what I can to the best of my ability, and they all have the choice to leave if they want. None of them have though, they even protested against me finding families for them." Shintaro continued

"Really?" Tayuya said surprised

"Yeah, thought I was trying to get rid of them, but really I wanted to give them a chance at a normal life with a family. Wanna know what they said to me?" Shintaro asked

"What they say?" Tayuya replied curiously

"They had their own way of saying it, but they all said the same thing. This is my family." Shintaro said seriously

"Really?" Tayuya said surprised

"Really." Shintaro answered

"It was truly a most youthful moment." Ling said wiping the anime tears rolling off her face

"Outh!" Ranmaru squeaked

"You know, I'm getting worried that's the only thing he can say." Shintaro said in mock concern

"Lin-chan!" Ranmaru yelled trying to lift his arms in the air

"Smarty pants." Shintaro admitted

"Hehehe." the child giggled

"Brats smart." Tayuya snickered

"Ran-chan! Ran-chan!" Ranmaru repeated in an irritated tone

"That's right Ran-chan. That's your name, it seems the mean girly doesn't know that." Ling said poking Ranmaru's cheeks

"Ok, ok. Ran-chan is smart." Tayuya sighed

"Yay." Ranmaru giggled

"Now, let's eat." Ling said setting down the plates full of food near the counter

"Yes." Tayuya said to herself

"Come on, this is torture here. Just a nibble is all I'm asking." Shintaro begged

"Sorry, orders are orders." Ling said impassively

"Oh, kill me." Shintaro whined

"Can't do that I'm afraid, you'll just rise from your grave somehow." Ling said as Shintaro suddenly went quiet as he thought of something

"Yeah..." Shintaro replied quietly

"Shintaro-san?" Ling asked

"Nothing, you just...reminded me of something I have to do at one point. Kind of wondering if I'm able to do it in the first place, but don't worry about it. Focus on properly feeding Ranmaru, and try not to get syrup in his hair. It's a..."

"Real hard pain to get out. I know, I know, but thank you. I will keep that in mind." Ling replied as she fed Ranmaru

"Something up?" Tayuya asked the boy who seemed quieter than usual

"No, nothing at all." Shintaro answered as Tayuya shrugged

"Alright, whatever." Tayuya shrugged

As the two girls fed themselves full of delicious treats much to Shintaro's dismay he suddenly had a troubling thought.

"Hey, I wonder where the others are?" Shintaro said to himself

"Who?" Tayuya asked

"The one's who unintentionally bullied you. Guren, Haku, Kimimaro are especially protective of me, Genyumaru's a bit in the middle about it kind of respecting me or than liking me, Jugo was probably more passive than the rest."

I'm sure Honoka would throw a fit, Karin would most likely stay quiet about it, and Misaka-chan...I'm not sure what she'd think about this. Anyways, that's all of them that decided to stay. I'm sure you'll meet them at one point or another." Shintaro said

"Not sure I want to. I'm not even sure they'll be like those two. Wait a minute."

"What about those two?" Tayuya asked

"Those two?" Shintaro asked

"That tattoo girl, and weird tiger guy." she clarified prompting Shintaro to do something stupid

"Oh shit, Rei, and Ak-EEEEEE! Man that hurt." Shintaro squealed as he attempted to lunge forward, only to be stopped by the restraints supposed to hold him back

"That's your own fault." Ling said unmercifully

"No, seriously what happened to them?" Shintaro groaned

"You are referring to the new members you brought with you a few days ago correct?" Ling asked

"Yeah." Shintaro confirmed

"I do not know. A lot of us weren't here when you arrived here Shintaro-san. Kimimaro, Jugo, Genyumaru, and Haku were all training in an abandoned building all the way until midnight. Guren went out on "recon" for almost longer than the boys, and Misaka-san was on patrol again last night. Although I just think she slept on the tallest floor, and occasionally woke up to make it count." Ling said annoyed

"She does worry about her beauty sleep, but I have faith in her." Shintaro said defending her

"You always do." Ling droned

"Hey, come on. I have her do stuff too, but that's not the point. Both of them were injured last night, if they're not here. Where are they?" Shintaro asked

---

Unknown location

As the peaceful grains of sand laid still next to each other like an endless sea there wasn't much going on in this heated tundra. The sun beat down like continuing it's supply of endless heat. Yup, nothing out of the ordinary here in this desert, just a normal, quiet, peaceful isolated...

"BUUUUUUUUULLLLLSSSHIIIIIIITT!" shouted an aggravated

...desert.

"You've made that clear already. Now quit your bitching, and keep walking." Akihiko groaned tiredly as he moved forward

"Why did this happen to me?" Rei moaned face palming herself

"Because you, wouldn't shut up, and wait for Shintaro to wake up to explain how this seal fucking works. Who by the way, is now crippled, blind, and probably paralyzed down to his legs. Not to mention he's the one that got us back home." Akihiko said

"I just wanted to see my mother. Was that to much to ask?" Rei asked

"Apparently. I was just fine taking a nap up on the roof, but NOOOooo, I just happened to see you make a break to that damn forest." Akihiko grumbled to himself

"You didn't have to follow me." Rei said

"If I didn't I'm sure Shintaro would ask me to find you anyways. Although I'm sure he would've at least explained why were in a damn desert instead of a grassland like last time." Aki said wiping some sweat off his brow

"I don't understand. Shintaro said all we have to do is think about where we want to be with this seal, and it should take us there." Rei said holding her shoulder

"Who knows, maybe your lack of chakra screwed it all to hell, or maybe your lack of focus is what went wrong." Akihiko suggested

"Well, maybe somebody else will find us." Rei said hopefully

"In an entirely different dimension?" Aki said sarcastically

"...It could happen." Rei said quietly

"Uh huh." Aki said rolling his eyes

"Whatever, I don't see you coming up with any ideas." Rei snapped

"I said walk didn't I?" Aki responded not looking back

"Shut up." Rei said tiredly

"I will, as soon as you keep walking, and stop yapping." Aki retorted

"Fine." Rei sighed

As the two inhuman children walked together in silence they noticed something strange with this environment. The air was lighter than normal making it weird to breathe in the first place, the gravity was also lighter than normal considering when Akihiko thought how far he could jump he ended up miles away from a raging Rei.

They also discovered that this sand was soft, really soft, and wasn't burning their feet at all. In fact it felt strangely cool, and was extremely relaxing, almost therapeutic even. It was the only thing keeping Rei sane after all this silence.

Although, that could only last so long as Rei's patience reached it's end.

"We've been walking for hours! How big is this damn place!?" Rei shouted

"Don't you remember? He said this is basically a replica of the real world. World. Get it now?" Aki asked as he expanded his arms to express his point

"But...how do we get out of here then?" Rei asked as the situation began to sink in

"We need to live off the land, or figure out how to use this damn seal. That is, when we have more chakra, but that's going to be a while considering I'm still poisoned. And you for whatever reason can't regain your chakra at all." Aki said annoyed

"I told you already didn't I?" Rei said

"If you did I probably forgot about it or you forgot yourself." Aki said nonchalantly

"I'm in the same boat as you...she did something to me that's been affecting my bugs. They've all been either sleepy as hell since last night, while others are dying left, and right. I have no idea how to stop it, and it's only getting worse." Rei said worriedly as she looked at her hands filled with dying bugs falling from her palms

"Well, we better get moving then. If that mother of yours is really living here chances are she'll have some way to help you. Not to mention I'm sure it'll be more livable than here." Akihiko said glaring at the sun

"You really think we can find her?" Rei asked doubtful

"Might as well. Though I doubt she'll be happy to see me. If anything I hope she doesn't recognize me in this form." Aki grumbled

"That's right. Aren't you the same age as her?" Rei asked curiously

"Older. If you count my human years along with my tiger years, it adds around 60 or so." Aki mentioned passively much to Rei's surprise

"S-Sixty!?" Rei shouted in surprise

"Give or take yeah, what about it?" Aki asked not seeing the big deal staring into the confused face Rei was giving him

"But, how are you so..."

"Young?" Aki asked amusingly

"I guess, for an old geezer you sure are spry." Rei snorted

"My time in my original form, and my human form both have separate lifespans. They'll only age when I'm using them, and will stay at the same age of when I left them." Aki explained

"But...so, how old are you? Humanly speaking." Rei clarified

"Eh, around...13." Aki said after thinking about it

"13?" Rei repeated as she looked him over

"Yeah, as you can see I'm not a fan of this fragile body." Aki grumbled as he laid his hands over his visible scars

"Fragile? Dude, you're ripped!" Rei said quickly complimenting his body shape

"Ripped?" Aki asked confused at the compliment causing the bug girl to blush

"I-I mean your body is incredible shape considering it's age." she clarified

"Is it?" Aki asked genuinely confused

"Compared to other boys your age, yeah." Rei pointed out

"Who else do you know that's my age?" Aki grumbled

"Uh...Shintaro?" Rei answered

"First off, he's younger than me even in my human form. Second, you've seen him without his shirt on right?" Akihiko asked crossing his arms as Rei felt hotter in the face than she already was

"B-Baka! O-Of course I have..." Rei said quietly shuffling her feet looking down at them

"Remember, when we first met, and we had to drag your slimy ass out of that pod of yours? And how-"

"P-Pervert! I wasn't born with clothes you know." Rei said smacking Aki in the face covering her chest

"Obviously. Also, why are you making such a big deal out of it? Your still a brat you know." Aki asked annoyed

"I-I'm 11 you jackass!" Rei shouted annoyed

"Uh huh, that just proves my point. Why hide something nonexistent?" Aki chuckled until Rei kicked his laughing face into the sand

"Asshole. I'm leaving." Rei said as she stormed off

"Ugh, women." Aki groaned as he spit out sand from his mouth

"It's your fault for saying stupid crap like that." Rei dismissed as she continued to walk

"And you could've ignored me." Aki retorted

"Whatever." Rei said rolling her eyes

"Let's just move on. I'm getting tired of this place. I just wish we were out of this damn desert, and somewhere...colder." Rei said as she slumped her shoulders

Right as she finished her words she felt as if some cruel god out there decided to make her eat those words at the very moment she said them. Because right in front her was the complete opposite of what she had to endure for the past few hours.

In front of her was a lake, or ocean it looked infinite either way, that more or less spread across a wide area. In it were small pieces of frozen ice that floated around being pushed by the icy winds from the frozen tundra on the other side. There was also for some reason a wide, thick sheet of ice

Akihiko saw this as he got up from Rei's blow to the face, and with an amused smirk on his face.

"Well..." Akihiko sighed happily as he crossed his arms

"Shut...up." Rei growled as she raised her fist cracking her knuckles

"Ask, and you shall receive." Aki finished as his shit-eating grin grew larger by the word

"Ugh, men." Rei groaned rolling her eyes as she hugged herself

"Come on, let's just get this over with." Aki said as he transformed back into his large carnivorous form

"I hear ya." Rei said as she quickly used her wings to give her the boost to hop on Aki's back

"Let's just hope this tundra is shorter than this desert." Aki said as he took his first step on the bridge

"Agreed." Rei simply said as she dug herself into his fur

---

With the children and the ghosts

During their fight each of the children had taken on about 2 or 3 each switching opponents from time to time. The shadows did outnumber the children, and had formidable skills to back up their intimidation factor, it wasn't long for the tables to turn on way or another.

"Crap!" Guren shouted as she dodged a swinging strike from one of the spirits only to be facing the claws of it's other hands

"Guren-chan!" Haku yelled as he dove toward Guren tackling her out of the way of the spirits hand

"Guren-chan, are you ok?" Haku asked as he lifted her up

"I-I'm fine. Perfectly, fine." Guren said as she tried to hide her blushing face

"Alright, lovebirds. Focus on the figh-haha-eh!. Watch where you're throwing those things!" Genyumaru shouted as he narrowly dodged both senbon and crystal shuriken aimed at his private parts

"Oops, sorry." Haku apologized halfheartedly

"Must've slipped." Guren said passively

"Slipped my ass!" Genyumaru yelled at them who acted innocent

"HAHAHAHA! COME, COME TO ME! I'll SHALL SPILL YOUR SOUL! LET ME DRINK YOUR BLOOD!" Jugo yelled as he pounded one the spirits into the wall repeatedly

"They're shadows numbnuts, I don't think they bleed...or have souls...actually, aren't they souls?" Genyumaru said to himself

"Just ignore his outbursts." Kimimaro replied stoically

"Trying to, not my fault these jerkoffs are tough to take down." Genyumaru said as he kicked back one of the ghosts

"No matter how many times we cut through them they just keep coming back." Haku said as he threw threw senbon into the face of a spirit as it screamed like a banshee

"Ugh, so annoying!" Guren said as she covered her ears

"Hey, you guys ever wonder what that ugly ass smell was?" Genyumaru asked

"Yeah, what was-woah! Hey jerk, I'm talking here! Crystal Style: Saber Blades!" Guren shouted as crystal saw blade's came out from her wrists

Fully formed, throwing them at her targets hand cutting it off completely, causing the spirit to shriek once again.

"Great shot Guren-chan!" Haku praised

"Thanks!" Guren replied

"Hey guys, quit with the lovers banter, and get back to the fight." Genyumaru said cynically

"Agreed, this isn't the time to act like immature children. Save your improper behavior for behind closed doors." Kimimaro droned as he effortlessly dodged one a life threatening swing

"W-Were not doing anything like that!" Guren said blushing at his comment

"I-Indeed. We do not involve ourselves with such...inappropriate behavior." Haku said slowly trying to keep his cool

"Really? I would've thought you two went off the deep end, but it turns out you haven't even left home plate! Hahahah-OW! That hurts damn it!" Genyumaru shouted again as he took a crystal kunai out of his lower backside

"Jerk." Guren grumbled

"Enough bickering, we need a way to defeat these shadows." Kimimaro ordered

"We will never die..."

"It is futile..."

"Just give..."

"Eh, shut up. You're annoying as hell you know that?" Genyumaru said interrupting the spirit with a roundhouse kick to the face when a thought occurred to him

"Hey guys!" he shouted to his friends

"Yeah?" Guren replied reluctantly

"Remember what Honoka said when she thought she saw a seal on our way down here?" Genyumaru called out

"Yes, what about it?" Haku replied

"Think that has to do anything with these joke-woah!" Genyumaru shouted as all 12 shadows surrounded him

"Genyumaru!" Kimimaro shouted

"He knows too much..."

"They all know too much..."

"Well, now I do." Genyumaru droned as he jumped out of the surrounding ring of attackers

"We need to regroup. Manji formation." Kimimaro said as he jumped back to his comrades

"Got it." they replied as formed up

"So, it would appear that seal is their weakness." Kimimaro noted

"But no one here knows crap about fuuinjutsu." Guren whispered

"Then we'll have to delay ourselves until someone who does arrive." Kimimaro said

"Ok, how long is that going to take? Or actually, how long do we need to keep fighting?" Genyumaru asked

"Whatever's necessary." Kimimaro replied

"Jeez, thanks for answering." he droned

"What we need is to get out of here. Why are we still fighting these jerks anyways?" Guren asked

"It was only to give , and the others time but really, I just want to lay into these assholes." Genyumaru replied

"As much as I want to continue fighting as well, we need to retreat." Haku said tiredly

"Agreed." Kimimaro said keeping watch

"Yeah, I'm getting real tired. What about you guys?" Guren asked

"I can go on for longer than this, but I'm getting pretty bored." Genyumaru said

"Ok, how about-"

"MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THIS IS SO MUCH FUN! THEY NEVER DIE! NEVER RUN OUT OF FUN!" Shouted a maniacal Jugo crashing through the pile of guardian spirits

"Never mind." Haku finished

"Someone's enthusiastic." Guren pointed out as Kimimaro sighed

"As always, leave Jugo to me. However, I'm going to need some back up." Kimimaro said putting his bone swords away

"You got it." Genyumaru said with confidence

"Guren, follow me." Kimimaro said

"Don't worry. You can count on me." Guren nodded as Genyumaru pushed his way to the front

"Let me worry about these jackasses. Secret Technique: Flowing Mountain!" Genyumaru shouted as his legs and arms bulked slightly larger than before

"Hey freaks! If you don't want to be dust in the next 5 minutes, I suggest you catch me. Because once I find that seal of yours, I'm gonna erase it off the face of the earth! So long!" Genyumaru shouted as he ran in the opposite direction

"Stop him!"

"He can't leave!"

"After him!"

"What about the crazed child?"

"Leave him."

"Just try to catch up with me!"

Running off in the distance Genyumaru began his distraction of a chase, and began running across the edges as the spirits came after him.

"Haku, stay here, and cover our exit. Guren, let's go." Kimimaro said nodding towards Jugo's location

"Right." they both responded at the same time

"Be careful." Haku/Guren said to each other

"You too." they continued now blushing at their sync

"I'm going now." they said again in unison blushing harder

"Uh, bye." the two said quietly looking down at their feet

"Come Guren. You two can flirt later." Kimimaro droned as he rolled his eyes dragging Guren away by the shoulder

"F-F-Flirting? I-I'm not flirting."

"Yes, I'm sure you weren't. Just focus so that you don't die." Kimimaro said emotionlessly with an annoyed look

"Fine." Guren sighed

"Then let's begin. Jugo!" Kimimaro shouted at the rampaging child still pounding the spirit with his bare hands

"OH? IT'S THE BONE CHILD! HAVE YOU COME TO PLAY?" Jugo shouted crazily

"In a matter of speaking yes, I have." Kimimaro said

"THEN LET'S PLAY!"

---

With Naruto

Darkness. That is all he could see, and the cold feeling of damp water was the only thing keeping him from thinking he was dead.

"Whe...Where am I? Last thing I remember was...Mom. MOM!" Naruto shouted into the darkness

There was no response.

"Mom, where are you!?" the child shouted again

Again, no response. He began to run in a random direction hoping to find someone or anyone to help him.

Running, that's all he did, and he felt like it was getting him nowhere...because it was. Had he'd been truly killed? Would his friends make it? Did he die in his mother's arms? Did she die as she too sounded like she was death's door herself? Was it his fault if she did die? What happened to him? What happened to his mother? Why was this happening to him? How could he stop his this? How can he help his mother? What should he do? What should he do?

"What do I do?! Someone, please. HELP ME!"

"So, you've returned."

"Wha...who said that?"

"Turn around."

Doing as the voice commanded he slowly turned around as his surroundings began to lit themselves. It was then he noticed what kind of place he was in, and how it started to look familiar to him...too familiar.

As he finished turning around he quickly regretted doing so as he fell on his back crawling away in fear of what he saw. The thing that caused him to cower away in fear was a giant orange fox with nine swinging tails in unison never hitting each other at all. It had glowing red eyes that were bigger than him, and fangs large enough to consume him whole. He had heard the many stories from the villagers that tormented him over the course of his short life.

Shivering in fear at the sight of the ferocious monster there was a small part of his brain that observed it intensely. For one thing the beast looked at the cage with a bored expression on his face, almost like he was disinterested in his situation. Another thing, and what really caught him on edge was when he focused his sight onto him, his expression changed wildly from a bored grumble to a crooked smile that only widened itself by the second. One thing was for sure, this fox this...monster, wanted him for something, he just didn't know what.

Though he may not have been the smartest person, even he knew what this beast was, but his mouth failed him the moment he needed them.

"T-T-The, the-the-the-the-"

"Nine Tailed Fox. Or Kyuubi for short as you humans call me." the giant fox growled in annoyance

"H-How? W-Why?" Naruto stuttered in fear unable to move

"All, in good time. For now, calm yourself. We have a lot to discuss, and for your information I'm not some wild beast as you humans have dubbed me." he growled again in annoyance

"B-But y-you attacked t-the village f-five years ago." Naruto said in confusion

"Ugh, you humans are never going to let that go are you? As I said before we have much to discuss, and you cowering in fear isn't helping." the fox snorted

"Y-You're not going to e-eat me...are you?" Naruto asked in fear as the giant fox merely sighed

"Look at these bars child. Even if I attempted to break the most I would gain would be massive headache. Here, do you see that piece of paper up there?" he said using one of his tails to point where

"Yes...it says seal, I think." Naruto said

"Exactly. Do you know what a seal does?" the fox asked

"N-No..." Naruto said ashamed as the fox snorted

"To put it in simple terms, this specific seal is meant to keep something from getting out. Care to guess what that something is?" the fox groaned

"You?" Naruto replied immediately

"Hmph, your not as naive as you look." the giant beast said amusingly

"Hey! I'm not...that." Naruto rebutted not knowing if he was insulted or not

"I take it back." the chakra beast droned

"But wait...if that seal thingy is keeping you from getting out...then what's holding you in? And why am I here?" Naruto asked getting a sick feeling in his stomach

"Oh, perceptive aren't you? Well, I give you a hint. Why is it that when you fell asleep, came to me soon after?" the fox asked grinning widely

"I don't...wait, when Fu got hit by that rock I got really got mad, and felt..."

"Good?" he answered

"Really good...it was scary." Naruto answered

"That was my power." the beast pointed out getting the boy's attention

"Your power!?" Naruto shouted in shock at this revelation

"But of course." Kyuubi smirked smugly

"How-I mean why-when did you...oh no." Naruto said slowly in terror of realizing what the beast was getting at

"Do you understand now?" Kyuubi asked in a boring tone watching the blonde child experience some sort of mental breakdown

"What am I? Is that why everyone hates me? Am I a monster? A freak? Am I...the Kyuubi?" Naruto asked himself in terror hugging himself trying to think how this could happen to him

"I'm not even going to dignify that nonsense with a response. You truly are an naive fool aren't you?" Kyuubi droned rolling his eyes

"Hey! You can't tell me...or I can't tell me-"

"That's enough. My patience is at it's end." Kyuubi snarled in irritation

"What-"

"Silence." Kyuubi said sending a blast of KI at the little boy turning him into a stiff pole of a human being

"You're not the Kyuubi. I. AM. Now hear me ROOOOOOAAAAAAAR!" Kyuubi roared at deafening volumes and force to the point of carrying him away like a hurricane, blowing him into the darkness in the back of his mind until...

"AAAAAAHHHH! Mooooom!" Naruto screamed in terror rolling off his bed crawling away to a corner purely by instinct putting himself into a fetal position

As he rocked himself attempting to calm himself down Naruto began to wonder if what he had experienced was just a dream, and was also wondering what would his friends think of him once they learned the truth about him...that he's essentially holding a monster inside him that could break loose at any moment. Were the villagers right? Was he really a monster? What would his mother...his mother.

He called out to her again, but there was no response. Why? Why did she have to leave him again? Wasn't she his mother? Where was she? Why wasn't she there when he woke up? Why...why, why, why was this happening to him? Couldn't one thing go right for-

CRASH!

Smashing through the door as if it was paper Kushina raced through the room looking for her son intensely, finding him immediately before essentially diving toward her son, and tightly wrapped her arms around her child again.

"What? What is it? What's wrong Naruto?" Kushina asked her son gently as she rubbed her child's back

"M-Mommy, I w-was so s-scared. I-I was s-so scared mom." Naruto sobbed into his mother's bosom returning her embrace with his own

"Shhhh Sh Sh Sh...it's ok, it's ok. Mommy's here, no one's going to hurt you. It was just a bad dream baby, that's all. Just a dream." Kushina assured her son in her natural motherly tone leaving the two their own thoughts

"He's scared...no, he's terrified by whatever he saw in his nightmare. I shouldn't have left him even for a moment. Well, that's not going to happen anymore, things are going to change. Right here, right now I'm doing the one thing I should've been doing 5 years ago, being his mother. I may be 5 years late, but I'll be damned if I miss another second."

"From now on I'm always going to be here for you Naruto, this I swear, because he'll be a wonderful man like his father, and a greater shinobi than we can even imagine. It'll be hard without you Minato, but I know you'll be watching us from above. We are going to be a wonderful family Minato, I just hope Naruto feels the same way." Kushina thought to herself turning her eyes to her shivering son

"Was it...was it really a dream? It all felt so...real. No, it wasn't a dream, it was real I know it was. I can't tell anyone about this. Not Shintaro, Fu, Suigetsu, Hiromi, Honoka-nee, Mom...mom. What am I supposed to say to her? What would think of me? Would she even look at me the same way?"

"No, I can't tell her about this? How am I going to explain that I have the monster who destroyed our village? How can I tell her that I used it's power to keep me alive. I can't, so I won't. I just have to figure out how to get rid of him without anyone figuring out about me. Oh god, what...what am I?" Naruto thought to himself as he promised to never speak of the horrors he carried deep within himself