AN: A quick note before the chapter begins, I messed with the ages of the Sound Five a little bit to have it make a little more sense. Wouldn't be fair to say they could get into Konoha as children; which is what they would be, if I was sticking to canon ages. ;) Tayuya's the only one who remains at her canon age - eight currently. The rest are a little older.

So uh, don't shoot me. Please?

Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad you guys are likin' it so far. :)

lolol1991 - Your question regarding Orochimaru is related to plot-building, so I'll have to leave that one unanswered for the moment. As for Naruto's relationship with the village, I can only say that there wasn't enough room or time to really expand upon the why's of the whole thing. If I had drawn out his time in Konoha, the distrust would have been more pronounced (or at least noticeable) for sure. Sorry about that.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Dx

Chapter 2

Fox Hunt

DONG. DONG. DONG. DONG.

It knocked almost as loudly as the thunder that boomed from the clouds. An alarm drum, beat repeatedly with a large and stubby club by a large-armed man, along with many of its twins, sounded off throughout the village. Rain pattered against the buildings, the streets, and the wall harshly and noisily, and the sky was black above with a murderous storm. The lightning flashed, briefly bringing light to the shadowed-over city before thrusting it back into darkness. And through it all, still they struck the gongs, willing the heavy bass to resonate across the land for miles beyond their protective barrier.

What was the purpose? Why did it roar? An alert, a warning, an alarm - a call for all to report to the one man who looked over the whole village and all who dwelt within. The Hokage had summoned his soldiers to him, so it was in his presence they gathered. Shinobi, men and women, all wearing a silver, metal band with Konoha's leaf on some part of their bodies. Warriors, grim faced or curious, all looking to their leader who had remained silent, only urging them to wait for all the available Jonin to gather before he would speak.

It wasn't long before they had.

"Naruto Uzumaki has been abducted." He began slowly, calmly; hiding the foreboding anxiety for the panic he knew would soon follow - and the rising anger towards whoever had taken the blond, despair for Naruto's safety, and a self-loathing that he had let it all happen. "It has come to my attention that a group of individuals infiltrated our village and lured Naruto to the edges of our wall, where he was taken."

There was a unified outcry, shock and rage apparent in each of them. Hiruzen was always glad to be reminded that most of his Shinobi, at least in his presence, held Naruto to the same regard as they treated the rest of the village's inhabitants. "Hokage-sama, what about ANBU? Weren't they watching him?" A female Chunin with long, charcoal hair and uniquely red eyes asked.

The Hokage paused and grimaced, contemplating whether the news should spread so quickly to the lower-ranked Shinobi. The squad assigned to guard Naruto had been found very shortly after a sentry had informed Hiruzen of Naruto's kidnapping. They were spread out across a series of rooftops and alleyways, all of them murdered with various scratches and gashes. It was obvious they had been in a battle, however short; a medical ninja had already discovered one of the corpses had a single, broken bone lodged into his lung. And it didn't belong to the dead man.

"The squad I had assigned had been murdered, likely during Naruto's disappearance." He stopped again, letting it settle in. The reaction was immediate.

"What?!" A Chunin exclaimed, the very same thing all of them likely thought. "They... They were killed?!" Hiruzen scowled, he could see it happening right before his eyes. The fear, the rapidly dropping morale. A single member of ANBU was respected like a hero among the military ranks of Konoha, anyone who was capable of killing one earned themselves a reputation just as great. One who slaughtered a whole squad, including their Jonin captain? The resulting turmoil wrought on an army would be a nightmare.

'This is what I was afraid of...' Hiruzen reflected as his subordinates nearly dropped into a state of panic. 'The Jonin are unaffected, as expected, but the rest will not be so willing to engage the enemy now. Not while they fear them.' He knew what he needed to do. The situation had to be contained before it devolved further. "We have reason to believe they were ambushed without a chance to properly defend themselves. Judging by our sentry's report, one of the enemy has a highly trained Genjutsu ability at their disposal. While a portion of the enemy took Naruto, the other eliminated the ANBU before they realized the enemy was there."

It was a sloppy excuse at best, but, and it pained him to admit it, the Chunin in the group were far less intelligent than the Jonin. He doubted they would pick out the lie in his story. But he knew they couldn't learn the full truth - that in fact he believed his squad had been engaged in open combat by a single individual, and maimed so quickly that there wasn't any time for support to be called for. That on its own would seem an unbelievable story to the younger members of his army, though Hiruzen had seen far more amazing things in his time; as had the older Chunin and the Jonin. It was necessary, however, to prevent everything known about the situation from coming to light. Naruto's life may very well have depended on it.

"We last saw them heading northwest, into the forest. It is imperative we retrieve Naruto, at any cost. I will not allow the Yondaime's sacrifice go to waste, nor will I tolerate any of you who treat this matter as anything less than a threat to the entire village! Our scouting teams have already been informed by bird-messengers and should be moving to intercept as we speak. Our enemy managed to avoid the detection of our sensor-nin, so we cannot rely on their insight - scour every last bit of forest until you track them down! Do whatever is necessary! Find Naruto - bring him home!" His speech was not inspirational, he didn't intend it to be. There was little time for such theatrics. His order was not meant to bolster their courage for an upcoming battle.

This was not a war, it was a search and rescue. His words were absolute - the Konoha Shinobi were to tear down the entire forest if they had to. And their response, once realizing that any action beyond complete and total obedience to Hiruzen's demand would be a release from duty or worse, was as unified as a pack of wolves upon finding their Alpha. "Hai!" They cried all at once, each of them vanishing in a flicker and a wave of wind and leaves, leaving the Hokage standing alone on the rain-drenched rooftop of his office.

"Hold on Naruto... We're coming for you." The old man murmured, halfway in prayer, before he too flickered away.

"That's the fourth group so far! Is this brat really worth the trouble?!" Shouted the six-armed man from a branch below, as he leaped towards the next in line. Kidomaru's tanned skin was patched with sporadic bruises from hits better off not taken, and his breathing was haggard; much like most of the rest of his team. He looked towards Tayuya who paced herself on the right flank - she was the girl with the red hair and the flute. She fared the best out of the four of them, a scorch mark burned the left side of her tunic from a near-miss with a Katon jutsu, but other than that she remained relatively unharmed.

"Stop your whining, freakshow!" She glared at him briefly before casting a quick glance towards the largest one in the group, the behemoth, Jirobo. He seemed more overweight than strong, but he was certainly the most physically imposing; incidentally, he also seemed the most physically battered. Over his shoulder he carried a still peacefully unconscious Naruto. "Y'know how the great and mighty Orochimaru-sama will react if we don't get blondie over there back to him, right?! This is a trip to the circus, so quit cryin' already!"

With Kidomaru watching the rear and Tayuya on the right, Jirobo tucked in the middle with their cargo, the fourth member of their little group watched the left. He was Sakon, with greyish hair, green lipstick, and black eyeshadow; in addition to a second head that hung limply on the back of his collar. Ignoring Kidomaru's six arms, he easily took the prize for 'weirdest looking member' of them all. Sakon, like the others, was somewhat worse for wear, his brown tunic had a few slashes from a sword, although he himself was without serious injury.

He disregarded the antics of the rest of them, silently pushing the lead forward, approaching another individual who led them on. They were the four - but he was a man all on his own. There wasn't a single scratch to be found on his mostly pale skin, even his robe had yet to be so much as tainted. Where the others panted and groaned, or staggered every so often, he remained steadfast, unwinded; like he hadn't fought at all. "Kimimaro, sorry to intrude." Sakon approached cautiously, eyeing the leader with a mix of respect and outright dread. "We're running low on Chakra. Another group - two at the most - should be fine, but after that we'll be in trouble."

Piercing green eyes turned to glance back at Sakon, in that one instant forcing a shiver down the silver-haired man's spine. He could see it. Far more than a mere acknowledgement, those glaringly harsh iris' promised nothing less than a painful death. It was more than enough to halt Sakon's tongue; but Kimimaro granted a reply anyways. "We keep moving." He said dryly, "You're welcome to stop if you wish, but you will not be spared the wrath of our master. Remember that."

Sakon swallowed, hard; it felt like an invisible hand had wrapped around his neck and threatened to strangle him. "...Hai." He answered after several hesitant seconds, feeling it was the only reply that would allow him to live even a second longer. If it didn't save his life. They watched the shadow of every tree they passed by in their fast-paced retreat through Hi no Kuni's seemingly endless forest. Each and every outcrop or branch could have held an enemy waiting to ambush them. A few of them did; the second group of Konoha Shinobi they slaughtered had attempted to catch them unawares.

"Hey! We've got incoming!" Kidomaru shouted from behind as he spun into a backwards leap. A strike of lightning and a chance glance behind revealed at least six individuals bounding through the treetops after them. They clung to the shadows for the most part, and had kept their distance for the time, but nothing they did could hide them from nature's light. The six-armed teen retrieved his bow from across his back, all the while his cheeks puffed like a chipmunk and he chewed a gummy substance that previously hadn't been there; until they emerged as brownish arrows. He took all four of them, but only drew one against the line.

Jirobo growled and unceremoniously tossed Naruto off his shoulder and into the arms of a barely expecting Sakon, also turning and falling down to the forest floor. "How many of these pint-sipping hippies are there?!" Tayuya bellowed angrily, glowering back at the approaching shinobi. "Get the message bozos! We ain't takin' on anymore dead weight!" The giant of the five slammed his palms into the ground right as he landed, ripping apart the earth as if it were soft and pliable, stealing away a bulky projectile and tossing it back up and towards Konoha's ninja. It collided with branch after branch, unhindered by bark or leaf, before finally it smashed into the large trunk of a tree and broke apart into pieces.

Three of the opposing force scattered to the sides (the others weren't anywhere close enough to be effected by the earthen bomb), eager to escape from the reach of rocky missiles sent tumbling their way. Even after the main body had been splintered, enough force remained to propel the remaining pieces a far ways beyond the tree. "That's one." Kidomaru smirked as he released his arrow, never ceasing his backwards motion; but his aim was true, and seconds later a young man choked up a bundle of blood and fell to the ground, having lost a lung. "Now for number two..."

Tayuya hadn't been idle either. While Jirobo distracted and Kidomaru sniped, she had grabbed two kunai from her pouch and wrapped them with a very thin, nigh invisible cord, and tossed them towards her left and right. They wedged into trees, the line stretched between them. The sniper drew another arrow, squinting and inhaling, picking between the five enemies still alive; until he saw his mark. "There you are." He grinned, letting the projectile fly speedily towards another enemy. All the while the redhead had begun a careful, soft tune with her flute.

"You won't hit me..." Grumbled the Shinobi as soon as he realized the arrow's intended target, thrusting himself down away from the flying blade - narrowly evading a near death as it breezed right over his scalp. But then he collided with the wire, and collapsed with a broken neck.

"These weaklings ain't got brains bigger than a peanut!" Tayuya remarked with a scowl, breaking off her song and glancing back towards the pursuing squad. "Somethin's not right here, Kimimaro! This is way too easy!"

"Keep moving." The leader of the five affirmed without looking back, focused solely on the landscape in front of him. There was nothing but more and more trees as far as any of them could tell - whatever it was Kimimaro could see, it wasn't something obvious. Tayuya half wondered if all the killing had finally gotten to him.

"What the- There's more!" Kidomaru warned, grabbing the four's attention away from the front and back towards the gradually closing armada. It wasn't fair to call them a squad anymore. Not when another twelve had joined them. Not when, by some trick of the lightning's flash, there seemed to be even more chasing after them in the distance. "Forget stopping for a rest - we can't even afford to hold our ground!"

"Just keep moving." Jirobo echoed their leader's instruction as he rejoined them from the floor. Kidomaru hissed and discarded his arrows, returning the bow to the string on his back. It wasn't a matter of fighting them off anymore. Now they'd be lucky if only to escape from Konoha's sphere of influence.

'Handing blondie over to 'em ain't an option either.' Tayuya thought with a scowl. 'They'll chase us one way or another. And the snake won't accept failure. It's a lose-lose situation at this point.' She growled and glared back at the approaching shinobi, tightening her grip on the flute in her palm. 'We're so screwed!'

"We'll have to split up. Have one of us act as a diversion while the rest get away. It's our only option now." Sakon muttered, frowning. It wasn't an option he was comfortable with. Ignoring that it would be throwing one of their lives away, the sheer overwhelming size of the enemy force meant that even a distraction wouldn't last long - if at all. They were more likely to bypass whoever attempted to hold them off than they were to stop and take whoever it was down. Sakon passed a brief glance over Naruto, who he held under his arm. "If it weren't for this brat we wouldn't be having this problem."

"No one is staying behind." Kimimaro interrupted suddenly, coming to a full stop on a branch. "Keep going ahead. I'll rejoin you shortly." All of them questioned it, but none of them openly. The sense of leaving behind the strongest member of their group, and leader, was next to nil; but all the same, he was their commander. His word was law. So they went on, leaving Kimimaro behind. The pale man turned on his heel, facing the incoming battalion of shinobi without a lick of fear in his manner.

"So he wants to hold us off, huh?!" A man wearing an all-green uniform and with large, bushy eyebrows and a bulb-cut hairdo noted as he came to a halt. "Follow the rest of them! I'll show him the power of you-"

"Wait, Guy." A muffled yet sharply authoritative voice demanded, as a man with gravity-defying silver hair and a white mask in the shape of a dog blocking his face, dressed in dark grey body suit and flak jacket. He was a member of ANBU; a Captain, as it were, and the group of seven individuals dressed very nearly the same as him were his squad.

"Kakashi?!" Guy started, glaring at the far less conspicuous shinobi. "Why?! They're getting away! We've almost got them!" The rest of the shinobi with him shared the opinion. Why, when they were so close to finally catching the ones responsible for kidnapping Naruto, were they being ordered to stop? Kakashi hesitated for a moment, staring down the single individual standing in the way of them and Naruto. And then he lowered his gaze, letting his eyes drop to the ground far below.

"...We're on the border." He explained, meeting Guy's confused eyes. The rain came down as hard as ever, soaking them and everything around them. Thunder and lighting struck continuously, if anything growing ever more frequent as the storm intensified. The entire group of shinobi stared at Kakashi expectantly, even Kimimaro watched the masked man with a hint of interest. He understood, but the rest of them did not. Or at least, the majority of them didn't.

"They've been shifting their direction westward." Continued another man, this one with black, spiky hair, a beard, and a cigarette sticking out of his mouth. His name was Asuma. "Basically? We can't take another step without stumbling into the Land of Waterfalls. That's not really an issue, but if Iwagakure hears we're on the move, they'll practically think it's a declaration of war and march against us." He turned to the others with a deep frown, briefly removing the smoke-making bud from his mouth. "Konoha doesn't need another pointless war."

"But what about Naruto?!" Iruka blurted into the scene, leaping forward onto the front line. "We can't just let them get away! Hokage-sama's on his way, if we just hold them off for a little while-"

"We have nothing stopping us from retreating all the way into Tsuchi no Kuni." Kimimaro informed them all. "If you continue to pursue us, we will go into Iwagakure's territory. By that point, the Jinchuriki will be the least of your concerns. I understand the Sandaime Tsuchikage is a paranoid old fool. He's likely to send the whole Iwa army against you." While any normal man in his position may have taken the opportunity to gloat, or at least show outward pleasure at having bested Konoha, Kimimaro remained entirely passive. If there was an emotion prevalent, he wasn't about to show. "You'd do well to consider that, before deciding whether or not your Jinchuriki is worth it."

He left them with those final words, turning and dashing off into the distance. There was a collection of grumbles and murmurs among the stilled battalion, all of them wanting to continue but none of them sure if they could. Even still they could see all five of the fleeing squad in the distance - every flash of light from the storm above illuminated them brightly and clearly. The urge to chase was insurmountable, but the knowledge that doing so could very well bring a full-scale war onto Konoha held them in place. Iruka was the single man who dared to anything more than whisper to a comrade or curse to themselves or say a prayer to Kami. He inhaled, puffed out his chest, and screamed at the top of his lungs - hoping the boy would hear him.

"Narutooooo!"

It was like an echo. A voice calling for him from the distant waste, but he was never able to find the source. A blackened void, every horizon erased from the perception. Everything but himself, for he could see his own hands and feet - it was as if none of it existed anymore. But still, there was that one, lone voice. It was familiar, but foreign all at once. Like he knew who it belonged to, but couldn't put it to a name. But it called for him. Again and again and again. 'Who's there?' He asked, squinting against the black as if somehow it would retreat and reveal something of note. It called again.

"Naruto!"

And then he woke up. A sudden rise of dread and anxiety overtook him, clutching him by the throat and speeding every heart-beat along faster. His vision was blurry and distorted, ruptured by a scorching pain radiating from his brain, and it was a while before he could make any detail out of the messy and dark, and cold, place he found himself in. But when his eyes no longer pulsed and ached, Naruto wished very much that he still couldn't see anything at all. There was a single light beaming down from the very center of the room, a circular orb of white radiance. It was from this sole source that he could see the rest of the room, dim and dull and horrible.

A thick, wooden door with metal clasped hinges and bracers stood for the entrance, the walls were lined with damp brick. Chains littered the ground like bundles of dead snakes, some on their own while others were connected to long-dead skeletons - the others, the more freshly deceased. There were no windows, barred or otherwise, along the four square walls, but just above the doorway there was a very small vent through which a cold wind blew. And lastly, in the center of the place, an even more minuscule, round drain; a place where blood and other more naturally occurring human waste could escape.

It was a prison, and Naruto was its only current occupant.

"Hey!" He shouted loudly, trying to stand; but finding his progress was halted by two chains that restrained his wrists and kept him close to the far back wall. No amount of effort would budge them, not even so much as a tiny crack in the stone. "Anyone there?! You guys better let me out real quick before I go Naruto Uzumaki on your pie-holes!" It was very quickly after his outburst that Naruto faltered, eyes widening and teeth clenched together. Despite his bravery and fearlessness, soon memories of the previous evening returned (or he assumed it was, time was a very touchy subject when sleep got a hold). Those two figures in the alley, he remembered them very clearly. He recollected that subtle tune the girl had played, like one that would creep into a dream and change it into something horrid.

In hindsight, shouting out in an attempt to gather some attention, even hostile in manner, was a very stupid idea - one of many, as it were, since Naruto had spent many days and nights regretting a decision he'd made, often only minutes prior. Those monsters were still out there, unless they left him to die and moved on. Naruto well and truly hoped that wasn't the case; although he'd rather they not be the ones to answer his call if anyone had to.

He winced, nearly biting his cheek and throwing himself back against the wall out of pure reflex, when the wooden door in front of him creaked open slowly and noisily. There was no blinding light from beyond, but the outline of a dimly lit room could be seen on the other side. "Quiet down, brat." Commanded a deep voice; one Naruto remembered clearly and with no small amount of tingling in his spine. Even in the hardly visible light he could see the man's silhouette. He was large and tall and altogether a monster of an individual. The opening of the door was nearly entirely filled up from side to side and top to bottom, with only a small space on the outside of his sides and over his head.

The giant! It had to be him! Naruto recognized it as the same shadow-figure he'd seen at the end of the alley. Between that and his booming voice, there was no mistaking it. At least he knew now who his captors were for sure, but there wasn't any comfort in it. Not even a whimper would be heard from the blond after that. Even in the dark he could feel the glare the giant aimed at him, like it was a blade against his throat. It silenced him. 'This guy's gonna' kill me!' Naruto panicked, holding back his breath as if the simple act of exhaling would cause him to find a harsh and painful end.

In likewise manner, his captor said nothing more and let the door close with a creak and a shudder. Naruto sighed immediately, stale air filling his nostrils as he breathed normally again. But even with that his panting was quiet and controlled. Any noise, even a sneeze, could result in a sudden close to his story - whatever sort existed - and Naruto wanted to avoid such a fate. His life literally depended on it.

If there was ever a time for the blond to behave to the best of his ability, it would be then. But even so he could not prevent himself from at least attempting to find a way to escape his predicament. The vent was a tiny one, but it was possible Naruto could squeeze through it. He'd fit himself through a tight space more than once in his past - although on occasion the Hokage had to get some Shinobi to help remove him after he'd gotten stuck. With the walls being made of a kind of brick-stone, Naruto was sure he would be able to get a decent footing to climb up; from where he could try to remove the little screws holding the vent's plating in place. But then came getting over to the wall, where he was thwarted by the chains on his wrists! If it weren't for those he could escape!

Naruto was no fool when it came to escaping from tricky situations, but even he was unable to escape from the steel braces. Brute force would get him no where, he had already tried that much prior. And they were tight around his arms, so that he could never fit his hands through the middle. Each were locked with a key, but without active use of a hand (and even then, without a single thing to use as a lock pick), Naruto could think of no way to remove his bonds. "Are you kidding me?!" Naruto shouted and slammed his head back against the wall! He hissed and felt a trickle of blood rolling down the back of his neck - but what he hated more than that was when a realization dawned on him.

He'd made a sound.

The door slammed open with a loud, rumbling smash as it met the adjoined wall at full force. There was a shaking rattle - but Naruto couldn't tell if that was the room or his own bones. Or both. "W-wait wait wait! Hold on! Can't we talk about this?!" Naruto stuttered in vain as the giant approached at a quick walk. He never got a reply. With his giant hand, Jirobo grabbed Naruto by the collar and pulled - hard. A loud crack and snap echoed through the prison, Naruto realized he'd been removed from the chain keeping him to the wall, but likewise his shoulders and arms screamed in pain - much like he did. He was lucky his neck hadn't snapped, but all the same he was sure his shoulders had been dislocated, at the least.

He was never offered a word of explanation, or another warning, or anything of verbal acknowledgement. Instead he was carried, whimpering in agony, out the door and down a square, plain, seemingly unending hallway. Despite the only decorations being flickering torches nestled on the brown, metallic walls, it was a nice change of scenery from the cell he'd been in previously - but Naruto was in no position to really appreciate it. In truth, he barely noticed at all, and at some point even the light of the flames were snuffed out when the blond lost consciousness.

For some while, Naruto wondered where he was. There was a stench like that of a hundred years of putrid waste, and a slow, eerie drip that echoed against the dark. Of what he could see, the ground and walls were metal, and there were pipes that lined the upper corners and followed every little turn. Was it... a sewer? But it looked nothing like the place he'd been prior. Where was he? 'Where...' He could never finish his thought. It was low and he had to strain to hear it, but even so Naruto could very faintly make out a long, deep, menacing growl.

And then he woke up again.

The scene was not much better. A chamber of sorts, not altogether regal yet still reminiscent of an old, forgotten throne room. Four torches - they were all that lit the room with a flickering, orange light. It wasn't much to go on, to be sure. Naruto had to settle for what little details he could gather, although even then he wished he could see more. The ceiling was nearly unseen, so thoroughly hidden by the shroud as it was that it seemed to go on for miles. The four walls, however, that engulfed the cave into the box of an area that it was were far closer to the poor lanterns, and thus were far more reasonably estimated. With his back to the entrance, on his left and right were four half-pillars (two for each wall) that each flanked a small doorway leading out of the chamber.

If it were left at that the little room would bear some sense of normalcy at best, but unfortunately any form of regularity was lost once eyes set upon a single artifact of furniture that rested on the far end. Or, to put it more accurately, what sat in it was what threw any hope of an end to the nightmare out the nonexistent window. It was but a mere chair, one that was neither grand nor remarkable in any sense; it was made purely out of pinewood, and could hardly be considered any larger or smaller than any other seat found in any other place. But the man who sat in it, if indeed a man he was, would not hold true to the same report.

What was he? Naruto couldn't tell. He'd seen many an individual who maintained some kind of bizarre or peculiar quality to their appearance, sometimes out of personality or otherwise a desire to be somehow different, but Naruto had to admit that in a community of deviants, the individual who reclined on his little throne took the prize. He was pale, far more than one would think physically possible or even sanitary. His eyes were vertical slits, just like those of a reptile, and purple markings trailing the top of his lids and following the lines of his narrow nose. It was entirely possible that he could pass for a ghoul on a Halloween stroll, but something told Naruto that he wasn't the type to pursue such an adventure.

But, appearances could be deceptive - it was just as possible that he was offering candy.

"Ah, so this is the Uzumaki child..." He murmured to himself in a slow, nasally way. Naruto could almost feel his inquisitive, golden eyes glaring at him from the shade. It was an eerie and shiver-inducing experience, just in being under the being's eye was enough to rattle Naruto to the bone; and he prided himself on being unshakable. "You appear to be in one piece. But I wonder just how much trauma you've endured on your way here?" The blond nearly blurted some unwise retort, wishing to draw attention to his arms which hung loosely at his sides - but just then he realized that they were functioning as normal.

"Wha...?" He started while clenching his fist, playing with the grip. His shoulders were still a bit sore, yet compared to the damage that should have been done, he was very well off. As if instead of having his shoulders outright dislocated, Naruto had instead simply been busy doing extensive manual labor. Of course, he wasn't about to complain about it! He'd take working arms over not, any day of the week. But it didn't make sense. He'd just had his arms broken; how was it that they were now healed?

"So they haven't told you." The pale man mused with a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his thin lips. "Well, I suppose is doesn't really matter. You'll figure it out soon. All Jinchuriki do."

"Jinchurooki? What's that?" Naruto asked with a quirk of his brow and a tilt of his head. "And who are you anyway? Why'd these circus-freaks kidnap me, huh?" Obviously he was feeling a bit braver now, though why was anyone's guess. Suffice to say that Naruto was feeling a bit lucky as it was, having both his leg and now his arms healed in a matter of seeming minutes. If they healed that well, how much more would any other injury recover? Some small part of Naruto, by that point, felt invincible.

"Not yet." The older man hissed with a frown, sending a shiver down Naruto's spine. "If you survive, you will discover all that in the future. For now you're only concern is that you serve me. Anything more than that is hardly of any worth to you." The blond nearly let slip a sigh of relief. He wasn't the sharpest kunai in the pouch, but even Naruto caught on to the certain choice of words the pale man had used. Serving was not being killed, at least not yet. So there was a very good chance Naruto could survive yet; though under what terms remained to be seen.

"Do well, and you'll be rewarded. Fail, and you shall die. It's that simple, Naruto - " For whatever reason, Naruto absolutely hated to hear his name - "You will be fed, receive your own room, and even be trained; but only if you do as I instruct without question. Try me, and your fate is sealed, there is no alternative. Obey me, and I will give you a power beyond your wildest dreams. It's your decision." Of course, Naruto knew what he meant. The choice was whether the blond would listen or not. But when it came to the offer as a whole, Naruto doubted he really had any say in the matter. His future was predetermined right from the get-go. So his answer was silence, an unspoken consent.

Of course, it wouldn't be enough for the freak show to smile and go on his way; he had to add in one final line. "Behave, learn, submit - and I will give you the keys to immortality." He finished with a broad smile, revealing the fangs sticking where his eyeteeth should have been. It was then that Naruto decided that his new master was, quite frankly, out of his screwed up and lopsided mind. And Naruto was stuck serving him. That there was a true recipe for disaster, the blond just knew it. So of course Naruto could only really believe one thing, which wasn't at all what he'd like to.

He was screwed.

Yaaaaay chapter 2. Hope ya'll enjoyed it! 'Cause if you didn't, I'ma shank the lot o' ya'! Well, okay, maybe not, but I'll do something nasty and unwanted! ...Or not...

Please feel free to leave a review lettin' me know how ya' think! I enjoy hearing your guy's thoughts on the story as I'm writing it (and hopefully the overall view is pretty positive!), makes me all giddy inside when they're really good! ;) I should be getting the next chapter up at some point, though I can't exactly say when. xP

Until then, adios! *Poof*