Quote of the Day: The best thing about the future is that it comes one day a a time.- Abraham Lincoln

Chapter 12 The Beginning Starts Here

"Sorry I think I heard you wrong. Did you say this is a village of jinchurikis?" asked a flabbergasted Naruto.

"He sure did." answered Yuuga, and amused smile on her face.

Naruto was trying to process what he just heard. An entire village of jinchurikis, how was that even possible.

"Don't tell me that you thought the Bijuu 9 were the only demons in the world." Ken said looking at Naruto in an amused way.

Ryu stood silent. A lot of people don't know about the existence of other demons. The Bijuu 9 were thought to be the only ones. They where the most known, and the most seen. But lesser demons did exist and it was the wasteland's job to keep them in check.

"Shut up Ken leave him alone." Yuuga scolded her older brother.

"So do you have demons to?" ask Naruto shyly, he didn't want to be disrespectful just in case it was wrong to ask.

Yuuga returned her attention to Naruto.

"Well I do, those two... kinda do."

Naruto was confused.

"What do you mean kinda?"

"Well because we don't have demons sealed inside us." Ken explained to the confused blond.

"Well then what do you two have?"

"We are the containers of divine beings." Ryu answered.

"Divine beings?"

"Try not to think on it so much. You'll learn about it eventually, but for now you just need to relax." Yuuga said as she started to walk again.

Naruto followed along with Ken and Ryu. That little piece of information was a lot to take it. He looked around at all the people that walked around him. They were just like him. They held demons inside of them. They would not shun or belittle him because he was a jinchuriki, because they were also jinchuriki. Naruto smiled and returned his attention to Yuuga, who continued to point out places him and explained what they did. Naruto listened to everything she said, it was rare that he was ever shown this much kindness from anyone. And he was enjoying it.

Kakashi stood before the council. But this was not the village council. The was the Ninja Review Board. He new it was only a mater of time before they would call him here. No members of the village council where on this Board, except for Danzo. Danzo the head of the Ninja Review Board, and nearly everyone on this council was under his thumb. And to prove his "superiority" he sat in the middle of the board members in an elevated platform. To Danzo's sides the board members were conversing among each, looking through various files.

Kakashi was on his way to the mission office when they sent ROOT ninja to get him. He was hoping to get a mission to get his mind of his failed mission. He had at first wanted to visit Anko and possibly continue where they had left off, but he found out that she had gone on a mission much to his disappointment.

Danzo cleared his throat, causing the members and Kakashi to turn their attention to him.

"Kakashi Hatake. Do you know the reason you where summoned here?" Danzo asked.

"No Danzo-sama." Kakashi answered.

Kakashi never really liked Danzo from the minute that he first saw him. But he knew when he had to be respectful, no matter how much he didn't like it.

"You have been summoned here because your leadership has been called into question." Danzo told Kakashi.

Kakashi's eye narrowed never so slightly, but he was not surprised. He figured this was about his leadership. Danzo took Kakashi's silence as a sign to continue. He turned to his left. The members on his left looked to their leader. Danzo gave a slight nod and one of his underlings started to speak.

"Kakashi Hatake you are being reviewed because your qualities as a leader are being called into question." The man told Kakashi as he opened a file scanning its contents.

Kakashi ran several possible responses. An answer to any possible question. He didn't live this long without planning ahead after all.

"Recently you were given a mission to retrieve the Kyuubi container, and do to your orders he got away." the board member said was he intertwined his fingers and rested them on the table.

"I'm afraid you are mistaken sir, Naruto had already left the country when I gave the order to return home." Kakashi answered, already coming up with a new set of possible answers.

"Tell me Hatake-san, how far do you think the Kyuubi was when you gave that order?" asked a woman board member.

Kakashi didn't like the questions that they were asking. He knew that Danzo specifically told them to ask these questions. Danzo was looking for a reason to punish him, and the worst part was that Danzo would twist his answers to his favor. Kakashi knew that he had to tread carefully.

"An hour, maybe two." Kakashi answered.

"And yet, despite the fact that he was close you chose not to pursue him."

"If you read my report then you would know my reasons."

"I would prefer if you told us the reasons you had for not going after him." the female board member told Kakashi.

Kakashi slowly drew in a breath.

"The reason that I did not continue the mission was because Naruto had already crossed the border into Kusa no Kuni."

"Tell me Hatake-san, is the demon's skill as a ninja greater than yours?" Danzo finally spoke.

Kakashi's hidden eye twitched. He never really liked when people referred to Naruto as a demon. Kakashi figured that Danzo had found his opening.

"No Danzo-sama, Naruto's skills are not greater than mine." Kakashi answered calmly.

"Do you know how many agents we have in Kusa Hatake-san?" asked Danzo.

"No."

"Twenty-five, and I'm sure that none of them are as skilled as you are. So if they are capable of remaining undetected surely you would have also been able to enter Kusa without difficultly."

Kakashi knew he was done. Danzo work him into a corner. It didn't matter what he could say, his fate was sealed. Kakashi chose to remain silent. Danzo looked to his right and motiioned to another one of his underlings to continue.

"Kakashi Hatake, before you became Team 7's sensei you had never before had a Genin team. You would fail every possible team presented to you. And when you finally chose to teach a team it collapses."

Kakashi still remained quiet.

"First after the invasion by Sound, you where not able to better control Sasuke Uchiha. He went on to betray the village, and nearly kill what could have been our greatest weapon. And now the Kyuubi is the one who has left the village, after nearly making Itachi Uchiha the last living Uchiha in all the Great Nations."

Kakashi forced himself to keep his anger in check as the board member continued to list his failures, which were very few. Then he reached his greatest failures.

"Then there was the matter with your own former Genin team."

Kakashi's hands clenched as he was now struggling to remain calm.

"Obito Uchiha and Rin Hosa were killed on separate occasions do to your failure a a leader."

Kakashi was now openly glaring at the board. Kakashi prided himself on being able to keep a calm and level head, but this board was really trying his patience. Danzo had decided that he had heard enough and stood from his seat.

"Kakashi Hatake if I were the Hokage the punishment you are about to receive would be much more severe." Danzo told Kakashi.

Kakashi stared at him. Anger slowly making its self to his eye.

"Kakashi as punishment for your failures..."

Anko Mitarashi was clad only in a towel, she was busy drying her hair. She had just gotten back from her mission and the first thing that she had done was take a nice long bath. She only started drying her hair when her thoughts started to drift.

"I wonder when Kakashi come back. Damn guy still owes me." Anko mused.

Just as she removed the towel from her head there was a knock on her door. She looked down at her self a contemplated whether or not change into more decent. She decided not to. If she didn't feel like it she didn't have to open the door. She stood up and made her way to the door. The person behind the door knocked again.

"Yeah yeah I'm coming." Anko said mostly to herself.

She reached her door and opened it.

"Speak of the devil." she thought.

There was the very person that she was thinking about. Kakashi Hatake stood there water dripping off him. A puddle was forming where he stood. But what caught her attention was the look in his eye. He looked upset and tired. It surprised her. She knew that Kakashi was near impossible to read. But here he was and she could read him clear as day.

"Kakashi, you alright?" Anko asked.

"Can I come in?" was his reply.

Anko move so that he could enter her home.

"Wait here I'll get you a towel." she told him as she went to get a towel.

Kakashi closed the door behind him as he removed his shinobi sandals. He removed his vest as well, dropping it next to the door with splat. Next he removed his shirt leaving him in his pants, headband an his second mask. Anko returned, now clad in a t shirt and shorts, towel in hand. Like Anko had done with his last mask, Kakashi pulled a kunai from his leg pouch and cut a hole in his mask, allowing him to breath unhindered. He put the weapon back in its holder and took the towel when Anko offered it and began to dry himself as best he could.

Anko watched as he dried himself, admiring his physique. People in the "business" were all in top form. Years of physical training and activity created men and women at the peak of their physical conditioning, the Akimichi of course being the exception, but their family jutsus require their bodies to have large fat reserves. She watched as Kakashi dried his hair. She decided to find out why he came to her place.

"So Kakashi what brings you here?" she asked as she watched him.

He didn't answer, instead he moved to dry his the rest of his upper body. He eyed her as she waited for his answer. Kakashi had to admit she was a knock out. An hour glass figure, toned legs, she was undoubtedly one of the hottest ninja in the village. And she had no problem letting everyone know that with her choice in her attire. Her hair was done in a sloppy tail. He frowned she must have put it up when she changed.

"Well?" she asked again, crossing her arms in annoyance.

He stopped and tossed the towel onto Anko's couch. He walked up to her. She looked at him more closely. She could make out the various scars that marked his skin. Kakashi reached up a removed the hair tie from her hair, letting her hair fall on to her back. He ran his fingers through her damp locks. Anko let him as she moved her hands to Kakashi's chest and traced her fingers over some of the his scars. She moved one of her hands up to his face. She made a move to remove his mask, but one of Kakashi's hands quickly grabbed her hand stopping her. Anko looked at him confused.

"I need a distraction." he whispered to her as he lowered her hand.

Anko then knew that something was wrong. In the time that she knew Kakashi she never really see anything gt too him. Anko couldn't help but also feel a little hurt. Kakashi came to her to distract himself from his problem, not just to continue their activities from the night before he had to leave. But she pushed that feeling aside. She let a grin form on her face.

"Alright, but you still owe me." she said as she turned and led Kakashi to her room.

Four days later

Its funny how life continues to go on. No matter what happens the world just keeps turning. No event would ever cause the world to pause. Life around the village continued as normally as it could since Naruto's departure. The rain had not left. It would only lessen to a light sprinkle at the most, but it would never stop. Rumors moved through the village. Many saying that Naruto cursed the village on his departure. Others say that It was divine retribution for all the bad things the village did to him, those rumors were not as "believable" as the curse. The glass from Sand would arrive soon. Shizune was thankful, the village looked like an abandoned ghost town with all the boarded windows.

Right now she was on she couch with Iruka in her lap again. He was drunk, again. This was the scene for the past week. When he had awoken when she had first helped he managed to get out without waking her. He wrote her a note simply saying thanks for her help. Later that night when she was exiting the Hokage tower after another useless attempt of consoling her mentor. She walked about 30 yards before she saw him he was sitting on the wet ground, leaning against a building, a half finished bottle of whiskey in one of his hands. She had sighed and helped him back to her place. She again help with his head. She had asked if had planned to do this to himself everyday. His answer upset her.

"I"ll stop when I forget about Naruto." said Iruka as he let Shizune heal his head.

Shizune stopped for a second, her hands glowing green as she paused her healing.

"But you won't be able to forget Naruto."

"Then it looks like I won't be stopping anytime soon." Iruka said without opening his eyes.

Shizune stopped her healing. Iruka cracked open an eye. His head was still slightly hurting, Shizune would usually heal his head until all the pain was gone. He looked at her face, she looked like she was in deep thought. She wanted to day something but couldn't bring herself to say it. So she decide to slowly make her way to what she wanted to say.

"I stopped by the Academy today." Shizune started.

Iruka looked at her, but said nothing. Shizune had hoped that he would say something, but she should have guessed, He really wasn't in a very talkative nowadays.

"The other instructors there said that you haven't been to work ever since Naruto left." Shizune told him.

Iruka slowly turned away. He did want to return to teaching. The need to teach had left him. He failed to help Naruto, so what if he failed another student. A student that need him like Naruto had needed him. He didn't think that he could handle it.

"I haven't been feeling well." Iruka answered.

Shizune knew that he was lying. Well partly lying anyways. Of course he was not feeling well, he was drinking himself under the table each night. If he kept this up he was surely going to end up dieing of alcohol poisoning. But of course he wouldn't come right out and say what is wrong. Men had a habit of burying what they don't want known.

"You and I both know that that isn't the case." Shizune told him.

"What does it matter to you anyway Shizune-san."

Iruka said somewhat harshly.

"It matters to me because I've been helping you for a few days now. I don't want to keep healing you just so you can go mess yourself up again." Shizune told him her anger evident in her voice.

Iruka narrowed his eyes as he rose off her lap to sit a stare at her from an equal level.

"First off I never asked for your help. All you had to do was leave me alone and everything would be fine."

Shizune scoffed and stared back at Iruka.

"So what I should have just left you there in the middle of the street in the poring rain."

"Yes." answered Iruka He could feel his headache starting to worsen.

Shizune was starting to feel her grip on her temper starting to slip.

"You really are selfish aren't you Iruka?"

"What?"

Shizune stood and placed her hands on her hips.

"You think your the only one who is upset that Naruto left. You think that your the only one who's hurt?"

Iruka stood and closed the distance between Shizune and himself. He looked slightly down at her while she looked up at him.

"Naruto was the person that helped Tsunade-sama believe in other people again. He pulled her out of her self pity and helped her stand on her own again. He was a symbol of strength and resilience." Shizune said as she turned away.

"Tsunade didn't know Naruto like I did." Iruka said.

"That doesn't mean a think. He meant to her about the same as he meant to you if not more so. Yes she is dealing with her grief the same way you are, but she is sobering up. She is going to continue lead the village because Naruto believed in it. He believed in the good in people. If she was to abandon the village it would be like she was abandoning Naruto. Naruto may be gone but Tsunade hasn't abandoned him. She believes in the village Naruto believed in. To give up on that is to give up on Naruto. And look at what you are doing. Do you really think that you are honoring Naruto's memory drinking yourself into a drunken stupor?"

Iruka was silent. Everything that Shizune was saying was true. He was selfish, think that he was the only one that was hurt. He gave up on the village, and in turn gave up on Naruto and everything he stood for. He turned his gaze to the table. The bottle that he brought with him stood there in the candle's dim light. He tried to find answers at the bottom of a great many bottles. When one drink didn't provide the answer he went to the next.

He walked to the table an took the bottle into his hand. Shizune frowned even with her little speech he is still going for his drink. She turned away from him disgusted. Then a sound filled the quiet apartment. The sound of liquid going down a sink. She turn and saw that Iruka had made his way toward her sink, and was pouring the remainder of his drink down the sink. When he finished watching the last of his liquor drain away he tuned to face Shizune and spoke.

"I'm going to need help. I don't think I'll be able get through this alone."

Shizune smiled, a step in the right direction.

"I'll help you. We can figure things out together," she said to him, "come here so I can finish."

Iruka made his way back to the couch and laid his head back down on her lap. Shizune went back to work healing his headache.

"You know Shizune-san if I didn't know any better I'd say you where coming on to me." Iruka said

Shizune felt her face heat up, but said nothing. She did say that they would figure things out together, and she was going to see it through. Things were going to get interesting to say the least.

Naruto awoke from a nice sleep. The Shikyokage had let him stay with him and his children in one of the . He was grateful he didn't really know what he was going to do here. A pleasant smell invaded his nostrils. He stood from the bed and put on the extra clothes that they had lent him. once he was fully dressed he made his way down stairs. When he reached the dinning room everyone else was already seated to the meal that Yuuga had made. In the short time that Naruto had stayed with them he had concluded that she was an amazing cook.

"Well about time you woke up." Ken said as he was putting food on to his plate.

"Leave him alone Ken you yourself only woke up three minutes ago." said Yuuga. Coming to Naruto's defense.

Naruto smiled as he sat down next to Ken. He filled his plate and began to eat.

"So Naruto have you decided what you are going to do now?" Ryu asked.

Naruto stopped mid bite, he didn't really think much about it. First he was just focused on leaving Konoha, then it was surviving the wasteland. After that he was just enjoying the hospitality given to him.

"To be honest I haven't really thought about it that much."

"Well I know one thing you can do." the Shikyokage finally spoke.

The four kids at the table turned there attention to him.

"Why not stay here?"

Naruto stared at him. Stay in the wasteland? Naruto thought for a bit, it sound like great idea. He didn't really know where he would go next anyways. But Naruto didn't want to really bother these nice people with his problems.

"That's a great idea Tou-san." Yuuga said cheerfully.

"I agree as well, that would be the best choice." Ryu stated as well.

Ken was about to voice his opinion as well. But glare from his younger sister shut him up. Yuuga really hated when he talked with his mouth full. It was one of the reasons that he sis it. But he really didn't feel like getting hit today.

"Well Naruto?" asked the Shikyokage.

"Well I would like to but I don't want to trouble anyone.."

"It's no trouble at all. In fact I think you would fit in just fine here. Better that any other place out there." the Shikyokage interrupted.

Naruto smiled, they weren't going t take no for an answer.

"Well I guess I can stay.."

"Great! You'll love it here Naruto." Yuuga exclaimed

The rest of breakfast was filled with Yuuga, Ken, and occasionally Ryu telling him all the things that he would do. Naruto took in everything that they were saying, and for a moment it felt like he was part of a family.

4,050 words. I want to make this chapter at least 4k before posting. I would also like of apologize. After I posted that Trailer chapter I was hit with a massive writer's block, and shortly after that I had a death in the family so I just lost all interest in writing after that But I felt like I need to get back to this. So here it is. The next chapters are going to be the timeskips so yeah. Only thing left to say is please review I can really use some feedback and idea's.

Well See Ya Squall Leonhart Out,