What up ladies, gents an' other! Don't hate me, please. I've given it some thought (Dangerous. I know, now shut up!), an' I came to the realization on how dry Naruto's character really is. An' on that note of characters, I wanna address somethin' I realized 'bout how I'm writin' this story: it's misleadin'. Naruto, in my own opinion an' eyes, isn't really the main character, antagonist, protagonist or really...anythin' 'sides the focus of attention. He's aggressive, psychotic an' altogether a threat to humanity upon contact. But while thinkin' 'bout how dry he is, I thought 'bout how cliche his entire existence's kinda is an' how I really didn't want him to be the actual main character an' more of a focus point for the actual main character.
The population of the world they know's really the main character. Naruto's the focus, as are all of the other Jinchuuriki. If ya've paid attention really well, ya'd notice that Naruto's rarely alone for long or ever. He's normally interactin' with other characters in some way, normally aggressively or distantly. He's become less of a person an' more of an entity of interest. The population that meets him recognizes he's not really on anyone's side but his own, as he does bad things for good reasons an' good things for bad reasons. He protects those he views as his belongings, but he's ready to kill them at a moment's notice. He eats the corpses of his enemies an' acts remorseful to his belongings but highly destructive. Altogether, he sounds like a walkin' contradiction as he wants to protect people from the darker side of life like molestation which he suffered, yet he technically rapes innocents whenever he transforms into his female form.
In the beginnin' I made this story really Ino-centric, an' that wasn't entirely intentional. It was to kinda let ya'll see that Naruto wasn't the main character, but the focus of the actual main characters. Although he is in one sense of the word, he doesn't really have that bit that makes him feel like he is. I focus on him 'cause that's what happened in the manga an' anime, but I do it 'cause he's the focus of interest for everyone. The Konoha 11's been puzzlin' over who he actually is from the beginnin' since they saw what he's actually like: hurt, healed, kind, cruel, evil, good, an' so much more yet he kinda lacks backstory as I basically put canon in the meatgrinder an' set it to the 'end-of-canon' settin'.
This chapter's gonna try to shed some light on who he actually is since I've written a few inconsistencies that some of ya'll've noticed an' that's 'cause they're supposed to be there. He doesn't want people to know who, or technically what, he really is an' in that mindset he weaves himself in a web an' den of lies an' half-truths. Sorry for rantin', but to me this needed to be addressed as I kinda overfocused on present-day Naruto in this story instead of making it seem well-rounded.
'Paraphrasin'
Thoughts or emphasis
"Normal speech"
"Demonic speech or Inner Sakura"
Jutsu
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A pair of kunai launchers spun in slow motion into the waiting hands of a certain redhead. "Thanks, Amaru." He said simply, unrolling a scroll that released a holster in a puff of smoke.
"Sure thing, Naruto-san. Hey, I wantedto ask but felt it was rude: what's with your accent?" Naruto looked to the Reibi jinchuuriki quizzically before laughing kindly.
"I forgot, the Uzumaki are practically extinct so our culture'shanging by a thread...huuuhhh. The accent's due to genetics. Don't ask me why or how, but anyone descended from Uzu no Kuni has this accent." (Think of a Germanic accent only very diluted by Japanese).
"Beautiful..." Was all Naruto could say asomething his eyes followed along the length of the launcher's barrel, but his line of vision pointed directly to the Soranin which made her blush. "Not a miss on the barrel," And reality set in as she realized he was talking about the launchers. He swiped his clawed hand down the side closest to him on both, releasing a cylinder with miniature kunai and senbon in both. "Fully loaded," He then pressed a button on the grip, making a slanted rectangular chunk of the handheld contraption. "And a hidden load of ammunition in the grip, just as I'd expect of a child descended from the Hephaestus Familia. The Himinn Land, I think is how it'd be pronounced in Uzu. It means 'Sky Country', as I've found some words weren't needed to be said but were implied and the language apparently functioned better than its neighboring countries' respective languages." (The launcher looks like a harmonious fusion of an M9 an' a Colt Anaconda with a slightly bigger openin' an' thinner barrel. It's crafted for lightweight, but sturdy an' powerful enough to shoot someone an' leave a mark they'll never forget, mental or physical.)
Amaru's eyes widened in surprise, "How did you know?" Her answer came as Naruto shaking his head in an animalistic fashion, morphing his head into that of a fox before the rest of him followed and he looked like a Great Dane-sized fox with two tails. He changed again, this time shrinking into a single-tailed fox with red and golden fur. The look of understanding that crossed her face was all the incentive Naruto needed to return to normal. Channeling a bit of youki into his index finger, sharpening his claw and making it glow a little bit, he started to carve something into the side of their barrels above the kanji stating who made it and the ammunition type.
His claw was pulled away to blow some of the shavings into his palm, crushing them and letting his youki-coursing-hand melt it into a small, misshapen ingot that he placed on the table before returning to his work. Amaru watched quietly, trying to make out what was being carved but being unable to.
A kind smirk came onto Naruto's face, his elongated teeth making him look like an animal in human clothes. "You can't read Uzu, Amaru, it's pretty much a dead language. It reads, 'Let this weapon inflict upon its prey demonic agony so they may learn the plight of its wielder.' It's basically a spell to make sure whoever gets hit by thsee babies' ammunition, they'll know how I feel everyday."
A look of understanding came to Amaru's face. Suddenly, a small group of people wearing shorts sporting the red cloud of Akatsuki, "This'll be easier than stealing candy from a baby!" The head goon'so voice was feminine and cocky, making Naruto smirk ferally with hunger.
Looking to Amaru, "You brought me a present?!" Pulling out his launchers, the carvings glowin b with youki, Amaru resting her head on her propped-up arm. "I didn't, but you're welcome nonetheless!" Naruto's smirk grew as his eyes glowed dangerously.
"Prepare to DIE!" And he started firing like a madman. Amaru, like any of the other Jinchuuriki, wanted to join the Kitsunin. But unlike the others, she wasn't about to spoil his fun or weapon testing.
Each miniature kunai and senbon embedded itself into the wannabe Akatsuki's bodies, leaving theme in pain and vulnerability. "Mind if I jump in?" Was the slightly nervous question of the Reibi Jinchuuriki, receiving a courteous nod for her to proceed.
"Be my guest! Where's the fun if you don't share, eh?" Naruto's cheeky grin made the Soranin smile back, before their eyes darkened and befell their prey. Screaming was all the nearby civilians could hear for a while, scaring them away from the nearby area. In that time, Naruto gorged himself on their attackers' flesh, all except one who was left armless and bleeding profusely. Said wannabe Akatsuki member began to cry and attempt escape before a maniacal-eyed Amaru stepped on the femur of his left leg, making the fucker's eyes widen in fear as she began to slowly add pressure until-SNAP!
That resounding crack made Naruto grin evilly and Amaru's eyes gleam predatorily as the man screamed in pain, curling up into the fetal position before Amaru let youki escape her body as her 'nontail' and wrap around his torso, squeezing it with a psychotic smile on her face and in her eyes as his ribs were broken ever so slowly; segment by agonizing segment.
The man looked ready to die of shock and pain, but before he could, Amaru healed him back to working condition only to return him to this state. As this was going on, Naruto finished eating and started sucking the blood right off his clawed fingers. "Their blood tastes foul and their flesh rotten, but...I suppose they'll do for lunch!" His face becomes a frown as Amaru's torture continues, making him place a hand on her shoulder which breaks her from her psychotic trance. "Let him go...He shouldn't have to suffer for his stupidity...he should die for it!"
Amaru's nontail wrapped tighter, crushing his lungs and heart, pressure growing to levels so high his head blew right off and all that was left was a fountain of blood which the Reibi Jinchuuriki began drinking from. (Her demon's a leech, whatcha think she's gonna do?) Naruto's eyes were tired, ever so tired as he started eating some of their clothes just to keep the populace unaware.
Finishing the clothes he could eat, he took the weapons and started coursing a hint of youki into them to melt them down enough to look old and worn, just enough to pawn them off as ancient tools. But before he could put them in a net and disguise himself, Amaru wrapped her youki non-tail around the weapons with an innocent gleam in her eyes, making him relent his rightful prize in exhaustion. Sitting down on the ground with his head propped on his arm, he started to drift off from exhaustion of everything that had happened recently, and Amaru caught notice just as he blacked out.
Flashback no Jutsu
A swing of a kunai awoke the young blond, his cerulean blue eyes wide as he barely dodged the attack, rolling backwards to a stand to glare at his rival. Before him was a younger Itachi, his headband being the only thing that made Naruto's eyes narrow. The Genin before him was barely trying, but the bewhiskered brat didn't give a damn, he'd sworn when they met that he would beat him. Gritting his teeth, he charged at the eight year old in the blue shirt with the Uchiha emblem.
"Bastard!" Was all Naruto said before he used Henge and transformed into a fox, as he'd found was his preferred form. Itachi narrowed his eyes at the fox, realizing Naruto's plan. When they were in the Academy, anyone who paid attention or cared enough to look learned Naruto was skilled at using jutsu while in Henge, a feat no one else could seem to figure out unless it was the form of a human. Seeing through Naruto's tactic and beating it were two very different situations entirely, but they'd always fought like this although normally it was a different form each time.
All of a sudden, Naruto leaped above the Uchiha and dived into the ground like a fox in foot deep snow, chakra obviously flowing to his paws as he dug below the ground. "Huuuhhh..." Came the sigh of Bakuke Ageha, the Jounin sensei of Uchiha Itachi, Uzuki Yugao and Uchiha Shisui. He'd always heard the brat was stubborn, but this was ridiculous. Naruto had passed with mediocre grades all thanks to Itachi and Yugao, but that had been worthless thanks to his lack of chakra control. Because of his large reserves, he was unable to create a clone worth even a single glance.
Everywhere else, Naruto was a great ninja: dedicated when he found interest, powerful yet understanding of what the entailed, able to keep a secret when he needed/wanted to and was reliable as long as he understood what was being asked of him. He wasn't that intelligent, but thanks to his friends' tutoring him he wasn't a complete dumbass and he was pretty clever if being able to graffiti the Hokage Monument in broad daylight without being caught was anything to go by.
Itachi had graduated ahead of the class, Yugao was a mystery regarding how she graduated without there being any record of it and Shisui was similar to Itachi but a year or two older. Naruto was a totally different story though. He was technically the same age as the other three, but his heritage left him aging at a different pace from everyone else as well as the Kyuubi being stuck in him.
Out of the blue, Naruto rose out of the ground like a dolphin out of the water and went to bite off Itachi's head when Yugao kicked him in midair and landed perfectly on her feet. The fox, however, was a different story as Shisui appeared behind him from out of nowhere and punched the young fox directly in the eight vertebrae of the thoracic spine.
With a soft thud and a yelp of pain, Naruto hit the ground unable to move before his wound began to heal like all of the others. His eyes narrowed, he shook his body and the sound of his vertebrae realigning was audible to everyone nearby, including the Anbu hidden in the foliage of Training Ground 11. The determination was in the fox's eyes, his chakra becoming visible as a flame or gale running through his fur indefinitely. Looking to Shisui, Ageha nodded. That one gesture let loose a living Hell for the vulpine-loving Gaiden.
Taking a running start towards the fox, the Uchiha boy vanished from sight for a moment before appearing at almost every turn Naruto made. Punching, kicking, chopping, elbowing, kneeing and other such things was what the fox suffered for his stubbornness. Bones cracking, cartilage breaking, organs moving painfully and muscles tearing was the end result before Shisui caught the fox in his arms, a frown on his face.
"Why won't you just accept that you're not going to graduate this year?" Transforming back painfully, the wounds all healed back to working order with Naruto beginning to return to normal as he punched Shisui right in the nose. A glare was all the Uchiha got as answer, getting the other two Genin to go in after their teammate as backup when Naruto turned his attention to them with his eyes turning to slits which they noticed.
They reached their former classmate with the intent to strike the bastard down when Naruto released what sounded like a feral child's roar, sending them flying backwards. "I'm not giving up until I become Hokage so I'll be taken seriously, Datteboyo! I don't know why I have this ever-burning hatred, this desire to murder, but I'll prove the village wrong that just because I have the powers like those of a monster doesn't mean I am!"
That was followed up by Naruto dashing at them with a cloak of orange-ish chakra covering his body in the form of a fox. Lowering himself to all fours, the blonde dashed forward with his four limbs blazing as Itachi went through the handseals, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Inhaling deeply, Itachi let loose a flamethrower while Yugao brought out her shinai that she lit on fire with Itachi's flamethrower as she channeled chakra into it, causing it to burn without turning to ash.
Regaining his composure, Shisui started channeling chakra to his entire body, going through handseals before calling out, "Jinton: Datsuroketto!" The swift-footed Uchiha's body was then covered in static electricity and a fine breeze before vanishing from sight and appearing in front of the fox-loving Gaiden. A look of surprise was what he was met with as Naruto fell on his ass, or so was thought before the tail caught the speedster in its grasp and held him there as the flamethrower came their way. Seeing Yugao's shinai take in all of the flames with a large deal of chakra control, Shisui vanished to appear behind the last known Uzumaki and caught him in a full-Nelson, holding him still as the purplette went for the last strike.
Naruto could only struggle pointlessly as the kendo sword of burning sakura wood, staring in terror of fire only animals know by instinct while the weapon's shape started to morph with the amount of chakra coursing through it for the time being. "Get ready, Naruto-kun," Yugao said somberly. "Because you're not going to win any time soon when fighting us. For this...I'm sorry!" With that said, she went to impale her weapon through their former classmate before Naruto roared again and rolled to the ground with his shoulder hitting Shisui's chest hard enough to knock the wind out of him. That's when Naruto took his chance and elbowed Yugao in the stomach area, leaving her without breath when suddenly shuriken started flying through the training ground, getting the blue-eyed blonde to use his former classmate as a shield.
But before Naruto could go for the final opponent he saw, Ageha punched the hyper-active knucklehead from the side of the head, sending him flying until he hit a tree with a crater in its side as a result. There he stayed without breath, pain remaining as he began to heal. The three Genin under him were still shocked at how well Naruto had fared against them. He'd had no plan, no strategic forethought, and there was a lack of method to his madness but he'd nearly beaten them had their sensei not intervened.
The cloak around the blonde started to fade away, leaving a teary eyed Uzumaki Naruto and a relieved Team Ageha. "Damn it! Why do I always lose?! WHY?! SO DAMN CLOSE AND I LOST!" His nails and teeth hadn't returned to normal, nor had his eyes, but he wasn't releasing demonic chakra anymore which was a blessing in and of itself. (Remember, Naruto's unaware of the Kyuubi at this point an' that means he hasn't made contact nor discovered the difference 'tween chakra and youki. Therefore, everyone else doesn't understand that either)
He was punching the ground now, tears running down his cheeks and sobs leaving his throat. The Genin looked to each other, lost as to what they were supposed to do. It was then Ageha saw what most people missed as he stared at the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. This is similar to how Ageha had grown up: nearly always insulted, at the bottom of the foodchain, ignored unless doing something drastic, hurt. He and his family had moved to Konoha from the Land of Lightning, sparking ridicule and hatred from the villagers for the part Kumo played in the previous Shinobi World War even though the Hokage had said that any immigrants were safe from prejudice and would be seen as allies.
Well, they were almost always prejudiced for their heritage and they were more often than not viewed as enemies of the entire village. So the sight of a crying Naruto at the scraping at the bottom of the barrel to become a shinobi really moved his heart with sympathy and anger towards the village for what it did to its own. "You can train with us and come with us on D-rank missions, but that's it so don't overstep your place, Uzumaki." The dark-skinned man's words made them look to him in shock and confusion.
"R-R-Really?!" Was all Naruto could stutter out weakly, hope burning in his eyes.
"No, I just offered you the chance to grow as a potential shinobi for no reason other than to make you feel even worse when I tell you no!" Naruto, not catching the sarcasm started sniffling again as the other four in the clearing facefaulted, that is before Yugao beat the blonde over the head with her no-longer-flaming shinai which made Naruto yipe and transform to scamper up a tree.
"That was sarcasm," Yugao grit out with a dangerous gleam in her eyes as she waved her shinai around threateningly. "Naruto-kun! Ever heard of it?!" All she got was a look of serious confusion and a tilted head from the fox, she groaned loudly in frustration, "You're impossible!" That got them all chuckling at their antics as they waited for their first assignment from their sensei.
Flashback no Jutsu
A few years earlier
Mikoto laid in bed, sweat glistening her brow and her skin as pale as the snow of the winter they were experiencing. Fugaku looked to his wife, holding her hand fearful that she might not make it as he prayed to any goddesses or gods who would listen. "Have...Itachi..." The matriarch of the Uchiha clan choked out, her throat dry as the desert of the Land of Wind. "Take Sasuke...away from the compound until...until I'm better...Find...find Naruto-kun...Tell him to find Naruto-kun, he'll...he'll find them somewhere to stay...until...until...until then. Yugao-chan...find her...too...she...she'll keep them in line..."
With that said, Mikoto closed her eyes to rest for a little bit. Her husband kissed her brow softly, feeling that if he weren't careful he would hurt her, before walking into the hallway with purpose to speak to his eldest son. Finding Itachi was no challenge as the boy normally spent time with his baby brother after their mother came down sick. The prodigy child was right now lulling his brother to sleep as he made his way to Shisui's side of the compound even though he knew that his best friend was sick too "Itachi!" The urgency in which his father said this made the boy turn around to look at his father worriedly.
"Will Kaa-san be okay, Tou-san?" Were the concerned words of a young Itachi, holding his baby brother close to keep him warm as he rocked him back and forth softly to lull him to sleep. Fugaku looked to the floor at that, worry for his beloved wife evident in his baggy eyes.
"I...I don't know. She told me to have you take Sasuke away from the compound until she and everyone else is better. Find Naruto, he'll find you a place to stay until this illness passes over! Do you understand?!" Itachi nodded with a serious expression on his face. "Also, find that Uzuki-girl. Your mother said she'll keep that troublesome Uzumaki in his place!"
Not even bothering to correct his father's choice of words-knowing full well that his father saw any trouble caused by the both of them as only Naruto's fault-he placed Sasuke down into the carrying cloth so he could get his winter wear on. Once dressed for the outside weather, he wrapped the cloth around his baby brother into a warm bundle before saying his farewells to his father and everyone he passed. Passing Shisui's part of the compound, he looked in to say his best friend good bye to which the slightly-older Uchiha nodded with a weak grin.
"Take care of yourself and don't clam up when you see Yugao-chan, okay?" His wit made the eldest son of Fugaku glare slightly before heading out.
Uzuki household
The sound of bamboo meeting wood was audible from outside the small kendo dojo the Uzuki's had in conjunction with their house. Coming up to the door leading to the outside, Itachi knocked without hesitance to do as his mother-through-his-father had instructed. As the door opened, it could be seen that Uzuki Yoki had decided to answer the door while his wife and daughter trained before-"IT'S SNOWING!"
And the door was closed immediately, leaving Itachi with a now awake and crying Sasuke in his arms in the cold before the door opened again to reveal Uzuki Kokanta answered the door, still wearing her kendo gear. "Ah, Itachi-kun, what brings you here? And with the little Sasuke, too? Is there something you need?"
Behind the armor-wearing woman stood Yugao in her own armor while her father peeked to see the boy at the door instead of just the snow. Yoki was a cowardly man when met with certain stimuli such as cold since he'd been attacked by Yuki-nin when he was young, so his reaction wasn't unexpected. He had a pointed-bushy mustache and a weak stature for a man in his late twenties. He wore cargo pants that looked baggy on him, the many pockets holding what could only be assumed were weights to help him stay in shape. His shirt was a hoodie made as a tight fit, revealing his less than stellar figure. Skin pasty as his mother's and his eyes the color hazel, he wasn't very outstanding but he was a kind man who'd put himself through Hell for those he cared about.
Removing her armor, Kokanta ruffled her short, purple hair to get the flakes from the old kendo suit out. Her figure was athletic, as was understandable for an on-again-off-again Anbu captain, and her attire was just yellow yoga pants and a sleeveless shirt that hugged her figure a little too much for the liking of the now lightly-blushing Uchiha. Yugao came up from behind her mother and lightly struck Itachi on the head, the suddenly jolt waking the prodigy from his trance and the dizzy look on his face made Sasuke laugh adorably.
"What do you need, Itachi?" Was the concise question of the young Uzuki.
"The compound and most of the clan's sick, so my mother told me to take Sasuke away and to find you and Naruto. And before you ask: I was told to find you so you'd keep us in line while my clan's sick. Naruto's a genius when it comes to making practically anything a dwelling and you're a master at disciplining us when-Ow!" He was once more struck on the head, making the baby Sasuke laugh amusedly while Itachi rubbed his head in pain.
"I wasn't going to ask, but thanks for telling me anyway. Now, about coming along..." The young purplette looked to her parents with a wordless question of 'can I go?'. Looking between each other, Yoki shrugged as he knew his daughter well enough to know she would go with or without his permission while Kokanta nodded after giving it some thought.
"Alright, but don't hesitate to thwack either or both of them if they do something stupid!" All that could be done in response to that on Itachi's part was sweatdrop as most mothers would say 'be careful' or 'don't forget to write' whenever their children left on a mission, but that wasn't anywhere close to the truth in the case of the Uzuki household.
"I will, Modir! Take care, Fadir!" With that said, the Kendo Princess went and got on her winter wear which consisted of a deer-hide cloak and leather armor underneath just in case. If it hadn't been obvious to the Uchiha prodigy before it would never have been even now, but thankfully he knew better. Although he didn't know where the Uzuki family was originally descended from, he was well aware that they weren't originally from Konoha and that their inherent homeland was obviously dangerous and filled with battle if they taught young ones to wear armor.
Hitting him on the head again, "Let's go, Hrafn."
A finger to his chin, Itachi asked carefully, "'Crow'? Or is it 'Falcon'?"
She didn't hit him, but he could tell she was thinking about it. "No on both accounts. I called you raven, as my family's ancestral home has no crows or falcons but it does have ravens as there was much combat there so they decided to live there to pick up the carrion."
Their conversation was put on hold by the sound of a crash in the road ahead and the shouts of several disgruntled citizens as they saw a fox running down the road and then to them at the sight of them. "Naruto/Naruto?" The fox yowled in the closest thing to a call to them as it ran up Yugao's body to curl up on her head like a hat as civilians came running down the street.
The mob bypassed them easily, chasing after the now 'gone' fox. "What did you do now, Naruto?!" Was Yugao's irate question, receiving her gekkers of indignancy as the fox trotted ahead of them happily like it had done something good or at the very least, entertaining.
"Naruto," Itachi's voice reminded the fox of something quickly as he transformed back to normal.
"Where's Shusui?"
"Sick, just as most of my clan is. That's why we're here: my mother told me to find you and Yugao-chan to help me take care of Sasuke." He gestured with his head to the bundle in his arms.
"Why'd she tell you to find us, huh?"
"She wanted me to find you because you can make anything home and she wanted me to find Yugao-chan so she can keep us in line."
Naruto nodded with a grin, "Well then...I know of a place where we can stay..." Starting to walk off, his bare feet leaving prints in the snow. The sounds of a girl crying attracted their attention to the woods, where Naruto and Yugao charged in stealthily to figure out the source, leaving Itachi to take care of his sibling. A few minutes later, they came back with a teary-eyed blue-haired girl of about a year older than Sasuke. She was of the Hyuuga clan if her pupilless, white eyes were anything to go by and of the main family since there was no seal on her brow. Her clothes weren't made for winter, they were summer clothes and the poor thing was shivering until Yugao gave her a rabbit hide-blanket, keeping her warmer than earlier.
At the sight of Itachi, she hid behind Yugao while blushing with a giggle at the sight of Naruto's confused face. "This adorable child says her name's Hyuuga Hinata, heiress to the Hyuuga clan and daughter of Hyuuga Hiashi. Honestly, I'd just say we bring her along so we can use her as a hostage to get some of that money out of the legendary Hyuuga Bank Account I've heard rumors about!" He was struck by Yugao at that.
"We're not using children for personal gain, Idiot!" Yugao's heated shout received her an argument with Naruto which she won with a few more beatings onto Naruto's head.
They reached the Haruno household soon after their arguing ended, where the voice of one perturbed and distraught Haruno Mebuki whose ranting made Naruto grimace. "Oh joy, she's still pissed."
He was then struck by Yugao's wooden sword, "No swearing around children!"
"Oh, come on! It's not like he understands a damn thing I'm saying!" He was struck again, the same spot too. "Quit it!"
"Not until you stop swearing while the children are within earshot!" Was Yugao's aggressive comeback when the door opened to reveal a pissed Mebuki with a pink-haired child in her arms.
"So, the Demon comes back to honor his word, does he?!" Naruto growled at the women, his eyes turning to slits for a moment before returning to normal. The mother wasn't intimidated, more just pissed off more by his obvious 'threat' to her person. "Enough glaring, let's get to work, Demon. I won't even ask why your servants are here or how you managed to gain control of an Uchiha, but just keep them away from my daughter and we'll have no problem..."
Glowering at the woman, Naruto followed in with a stewing Yugao and an equally unhappy Itachi. The house wasn't anything fancy, just a two-story house with furniture that was both comfortable and functional. There was a tv, a fridge, a few potted plants to freshen up the place and a soft rug that Naruto took to rubbing himself into as a fox at the very sight of, much to the embarrassment and confusion of his friends.
"Don't ask," Mebuki said. "Long story. I know you're his servants, and it's obvious you two kept your personalities, but it's very clear you're self-aware and that's all the incentive I need to make sure to find a way to save your lives. Now, about the Hyuuga girl, why'd you kidnap her and what are you planning to do with her?!"
Itachi spoke for a still calming down Yugao, "We were coming here when we heard her crying, which got Naruto and Yugao-chan to investigate, giving us little, Hinata-chan here. Naruto wants to use her as a hostage so the Hyuuga's will pay us to for her safe return, but Yugao-chan and I don't really want to, so it remains to be seen what we do with her."
It was then that something clicked, "Crap! I've got to go get something, be back soon!" And like that, Yugao was out of the building. "I can't believe I forgot my traveling kendo armor for practice!" (Yes) On her way back to her house she passed the Yamanaka Flowershop, where she heard the angry voice of Yamanaka Inoichi as he slammed the telephone down on his desk with a frustrated groan.
Knocking on the door, she came in anyway, "Something the matter, Mr. Yamanaka?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, it's just that there aren't any safe babysitters to take care of my daughter while I'm gone. Now, what can I do for you, Yugao-chan? I hope you know that with the winter snow our flowers aren't blooming." From the back of the store crawled a platinum blonde bundle of joy who started trying to climb Yugao's leg without any success.
"Hello there, little Ino. Have you behaved?" The little girl nodded and tried to grab Yugao's shinai only for her father to intercept her.
"No weapons for you, my dear! Now, what is it you need?"
"I think I can help you with finding a babysitter for little Ino. I'll bring you to her after I get my stuff." With that, Yugao ran out of the flowershop to get her travelling kendo armor, which she carried around in a suitcase back with her before leading Inoichi with his daughter wrapped up in a bundle with him. Finding themselves at the Haruno household, they were about to enter before Naruto burst through the upstairs window after a robber who held a crying child with pink hair. "Excuse me for a moment, Mr. Yamanaka!"
Yugao gave chase after her blonde friend when Itachi came up beside her, "I've got your back!" They exchanged a nod as they gave chase after the kidnapper and fox-loving blonde.
"LET GO OF IMOUTO, TEME!" Naruto roared out as he leapt off a stall roof to sock a punch into the kidnappers masked face, allowing Itachi the chance to kick him into Yugao's shinai before the fucker leaped onto a rooftop, making Naruto go rabid as he started getting away. "Teme..."
Looking to Itachi with her shinai over her shoulder, smirking thoughtfully, she asked, "Do you think he even remembers we're here?"
"GET BACK HERE, TEMEEEEEEEE!" Naruto took off after the bastard faster than the other two could follow with their eyes. They took off after their friend when they saw him bounce into a building, causing a crater to form.
"Suck on this!" Itachi threw shuriken at the kidnapper.
"Nope!" The bastard deflected all of them with a kunai, and if they were to guess they'd say he were probably smirking underneath his mask.
Yugao came out of the woodwork with a skateboard from who-knows-where and rolled around the bastard a few times before spinning her shinai around her hand and striking him right in the face, giving Naruto the chance to swipe Sakura away from the bastard. With their objective met, they ran back to the Haruno household. Just as they reached the doorway, Naruto's ears twitched and he looked back towards where the would be kidnapper had been, "Something wrong, Demon?"
Mebuki's insult didn't even faze him as he handed her the pink-haired child. "Yeah, I haven't lived up to my title..." With that said, he transformed into a malnourished fox and loped back to the scene of the fight, where he located the would be kidnapper and ate devoured him messily while the parents covered the eyes of their children. Transforming back to normal, Naruto looked to the scared faces of stupid people and said to himself, "To Hell with trying to prove them wrong..."
To them he called out, "You wanted a demon?! You sure as fucking Hell got one!" With that said, he transformed and loped back to the Haruno household. He trotted in, blood dripping from his chin as he returned to normal, "They asked...I delivered!" Mebuki just shook her head and told Naruto to clean up before helping out around the house, to which he nodded with a blank expression. For the other two it was surprising that their friend would go that far.
"Nii...san?" Was Sakura's first word, making Mebuki look to her daughter in surprise and slight irritation that it wasn't 'kaasan' like she'd wanted, glaring at the blonde fox-loving prankster. All Naruto did was shrug nonchalantly, not really letting on how many tears of joy wanted to leave his eyes.
Flashback no Jutsu KAI!
(Cue: We the Kings-Sad Song) Waking up slowly, Naruto found himself in the presence of bright light shining down into his eyes with two silhouettes looking down to him as voices started to reach him. "Is he alright?...Don't give me that bullshit 'I cannot let you into a patient's room without superior consent', let me in to see my brat!"
Anko's voice was easily recognizable to the kitsune-hearted Jounin. "Sensei...Wake up, please! Why isn't he waking up?!...Give my an answer!" The voice of his surrogate daughter made him smile. If she had been his blood, he'd hope that Isaribi had turned out like that fantasized mother he could never have to help him take care of his student.
"C'mon, Niisan...You can do it..." His baby sister's voice, he'd never be able to forget that voice that had called big brother for the first time all those years ago.
"He's stable, but it's like he's resisting us..." That was his niece's assistant, Shizune. He liked her, she was nice to him and well-mannered towards everyone as much as possible.
"What happened to him?!...What do you mean 'he just lost consciousness'?! He's stronger than most of us and he wouldn't lose consciousness out of the blue like that!" That was the voice of his technically-betrothed, her aggression directed at someone he couldn't see.
"It's just as I said! He lost consciousness after eating our attackers, like he wasn't getting enough sleep or something...I don't know what did this, all I know's that he's unable to be healed with chakra so any medicnin trying are wasting time and energy!" Amaru's snap was causing him confusion more than Temari's aggression.
Why are they all so nasty at each other? What happened? Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry...
"Why is it a waste of time, though, Amaru?!" Tsunade's tone was a threat to punch the Zero-Tail Jinchuuriki across the village. It was the scent of his old buddies from his third year in the Academy that surprised him, Why are they here? They hate me now, thankfully, but that leaves me even more puzzled...Why?
From the hallway he could hear the voice of Kakashi on a telephone, calling...Sensei?! "I'm telling you, I don't know what to teach the only other student I have, Bakuke! I need help, and I can't really look to the other sensei because they don't have the experience you do, nor do they have the connection to Naruto that you or my only remaining student do. Please, can you help me?" Why does he need Sensei to teach Beri-chan? She's grown just fine under his tutelage as well as my niece's.
All Naruto really knew was that the light was too bright and he was too tired to deal with any of this shit...
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An' that ladies, gents an' other...is how ya make a cliffhanger! I wanted to give Naruto a bit more depth an' expand on his relationship with Yugao, Ageha, Shusui and Itachi a little bit too. Naruto's old considerin' how long shinobi live an' from the lifestyle he had in his apartment he should be dead, mentally or physically regardless of the Kyuubi 'cause that kinda oppression an' neglect shoulda broke him. He's tired of all the stupidity, the pain, the hate, the murder! He's tired of it all.
Not many other questions I can think of so as always: thanks for bein' 'ere, R&R, no flamin' my ass, constructive criticism, an' SEE YA-G'NIGHT!