I don't own Naruto.
Training, training and more training.
That was all he'd been doing these past 2 months. And while he did like growing stronger and learning new things, he was quickly becoming tired of the unending routine of getting up, running through the village in a half-awake daze, practicing this stupid tree walking or whatever it was called, doing those strange hand movements from the scroll over and over again incessantly.
He needed a change in scenery.
Which was why you could now see the small frame of a blond boy sneaking his way through the Uchiha compound. Those police force people or whatever they were called were always being mean to him, always sneering at him and carelessly bumping into him with all the care of an inebriated bovine farm animal. It was time for a little revenge.
He'd hatched a brilliant prank. Uchihas were all about their stuck-up attitudes and their high-and-mighty shirts with those fans on them, so…
Why not dye them pink?
It was perfect! Not only would it stick it to those Uchihas that a 7-year-old had managed to sneak past them, but it would also make a joke out of their beloved crests! Hopefully that dreadful eye of theirs would burn the image of their defaced symbol into their mind for a long while. Yes, this was just what he needed. He missed that rush, that daring feeling of going into the unknown and becoming the mastermind behind an unsuspecting victim's bad day. Everything was going well. Almost too well…
'Okay what the hell. Is security always this lax?' Perhaps it was because of the fact that the clan estates were now on the outskirts of Konoha? Or maybe they believed that no one would ever dare to break into the esteemed manors. Regardless, this worked well for him, so he wasn't about to complain.
He managed to tip toe his way through the mini market-district of the compound, making his way on a random porch and ever-so-slowly sliding one of the paper doors open. Weren't Uchihas proficient with fire? Those flimsy walls were definitely a health hazard.
"Get back here you pervert!"
He briefly considered following those orders and going back to mess with her. After all, there was nothing funnier than seeing people's gobsmacked expressions when he did that. But even he knew not to test the righteous fury of an angered woman.
He'd managed to sneak inside the bedroom of an unsuspecting Uchiha and, after making sure that it was indeed empty, had started looking for one of those blue shirts that all the clan members seemed to wear. What he hadn't expected was to reach inside the first drawer and pulling out a pair of black undergarments which had 'Izumi' etched in girly writing on the label.
He'd been so surprised that he quickly shut the drawer closed once more…A bit too loudly. The door slammed opened and lights were turned on, revealing the 7-year-old with a hand on the underwear drawer. One thing led to another, and he now had a 13-year-old brunette chasing after him, spouting out obscenities so rude they would make a sailor blush.
"I wasn't looking at your underwear, promise!" Yelled the terrified blond over his shoulder as he sprinted out of the compound, the girl still hot on his tail. Said girl merely growled angrily.
"You think I'm gonna believe that you little shit!? I said come back here!"
"Never!"
The chase went on for a few good minutes, though luckily for Naruto, he managed to lose her in the crisscrossing alleys a long way away from the Uchiha clan. Panting to catch his breath, he rested a hand right above his furiously beating heart. "Man, women are scary…"
The sudden sound of footsteps made him spin around, thinking that that girl had found him once more, though he relaxed slightly when he saw it wasn't the Uchiha he was expecting.
"…Itachi?" He said hesitantly, struggling to remember the name of the man that had taught him the body flicker. The prodigy was dressed in those clothes he would see Kakashi -or Dog-dressed in sometimes, though unlike him,he wasn't wearing a mask. Itachi seemed to have barely noticed him, being too lost in his thoughts to see the smaller boy.
Itachi looked up slowly, startled out of his musings. "Oh, Naruto-kun." He greeted in that same soft tone that he remembered. Naruto smiled and ran up to him in excitement.
"Hey hey, thanks again for teaching me that body flicker!" crowed Naruto. "Kakashi was really impressed thanks to you!"
Itachi offered him a weak smile. "I'm glad." The Uzumaki frowned in worry. The Uchiha seemed like he was carrying a lot of guilt, if the tense shoulders and slightly bowed head was of any indication. Maybe one of those ANBU missions he'd heard Kakashi talk about had gone wrong?
"Naruto…" Began Itachi hesitantly. The blond looked up at the taller man, head tilted to the side in acknowledgement. The dark-haired teen's eyes left the ground and locked onto the ones of the blond. "Please…Look after Sasuke for me."
"Huh?" was his confused reply. The teen's eyes began to bleed to red and before he knew it, his whole world had gone dark.
When he came to the next morning, an entire clan had been slaughtered by the hands of the pacifist prodigy. None had been spared.
None save for Sasuke and Izumi Uchiha.
10 months later.
He could feel him.
Last time, he had taken him by surprise. But this time, he was ready. He had been training relentlessly for this moment.
He quickly strapped his short blade to his back, one of his most recent purchases. The scroll had made him practice Kenjutsu katas with a stick and after a year of that, he thought he was finally ready to wield the real thing. He threw his window open and jumped out into the streets of Konoha.
Left, right, left, right, he was moving far faster than he was last year, easily travelling through the streets in record time thanks to the help of chakra and quick bursts of the Shunshin. One thing that made it difficult to use that move too much was the tunnel vision that usually came with it. But after spending a whole year and half practicing, he was now so accustomed to it he could now barely feel a thing.
He burst through the foliage, heedless of anything but the feel of his chakra. His gaze locked onto the lazy hunched figure of the Jōnin reading his book. There he was! Placing his hand on the hilt of his Tanto, he closed the distance in the blink of an eye with another use of the Shunshin and freed his blade from its hilt.
Kakashi didn't even look up as the short blade was effortlessly stopped by a kunai. Geez, he hadn't even seen him pull it out!
"Now now," the Hatake chided lightly, eyes never leaving his book. "No need to be so eager."
Naruto's face who had been contorted into one of great effort shifted into strained amusement as he put all of his weight behind the sword in an attempt to make the taller man budge. "Tch, should've known it wouldn't be that easy."
The masked man hummed in agreement. "Perhaps, but still a good effort." He disappeared from his line of sight, making the jinchūriki nearly fall at the sudden lack of resistance.
"Behind you." The blond whipped around and quickly launched himself back with the use of the body flicker. Skidding backwards into a stop, he brought his arm back and threw his tanto at Kakashi. The blade soared through the air and speared the head of the Jōnin, who stumbled backwards in surprise and dropped to the floor, unmoving.
Naruto froze as his eyes widened. What the heck? Had he killed him? How!? He was supposed to be one of the strongest Shinobi in this village!
The unmoving figure suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke and Naruto released the breath he'd been holding in. His relief was short-lived though as metal wires suddenly tightened around him, locking his arms to his sides and nearly slicing his skin.
"Don't get distracted." Reprimanded the copy-cat, appearing out of thin air in front of him. Naruto glared at the wires in frustration before a mischievous grin pulled its way onto his lips. The Uzumaki disappeared as a wooden log took his place from within the stringy confines.
'Substitution, huh?' Thought Kakashi to himself. He was impressed, the boy was making great progress with his training. His strikes felt stronger and his movements faster and more fluid. The sound of footsteps on grass drew his attention as he blocked a tanto strike aimed at the back of his neck with a kunai, the longer blade coming dangerously close to his skin. 'And his stealth, at least all those pranks were good for something.'
He jumped away as a second tanto rushed at him, two blond blurs now swinging the deadly blades around. He easily weaved in between their surprisingly coordinated strikes, ducking under an overhead slash and using his low center of gravity to sweep at the clone's feet. The doppelganger tripped, and was struck in the head with the butt of the kunai.
Although he wouldn't admit it to the blond in fear of stroking his ego, the sharingan wielder admired the way Naruto learned new techniques. He would practice them relentlessly, every single day until he could do them instinctually with minimal effort. The three moves that he knew; the shadow clone, body-flicker, the substitution, they were all trained to perfection, each manifested with no smoke and no hand seals. It really was impressive, Kakashi had met Jōnins that hadn't had that level of mastery.
The second clone quickly put his Tanto away and rushed at Kakashi, jumping high to make up for the height difference and throwing a punch at the Jōnin's face. Predictably, the punch was easily caught and Kakashi yanked the blond towards him, delivering a powerful punch to its face.
Being rid of the two clones, the masked man decided to switch to offence and flipped his reverse hold of the kunai to a normal hold. He was upon the blond in seconds, the knife already in motion to be plunged into the boy's larynx. It took every ounce of Naruto's newfound reflexes and speed to raise his tanto for protection, both blades clashing in-between them.
The two stared into each other's eyes, one aloof with a slight edge behind it and the other blazing with fierce determination. Kakashi put more force behind his weapon, forcing the tanto away and landing a painful front kick into the boy's sternum. Naruto grunted and was pushed back, though he managed to remain on his feet this time. He ducked under a kunai swing from Kakashi and did his best to deflect the following ones. Sparks flew as steel met steel repeatedly, the only thing standing between Naruto and painful cuts being his liberal use of Shunshin.
'Time to end this.' Thought the copy-cat. He'd seen enough. Disappearing in a burst of speed, Kakashi reappeared behind Naruto far faster than the blond could see, his hand coming down into a downwards chop.
His hand never made contact with the soft squishy feel of skin however, instead being stopped by something hard and cold. His eyes opened wide in surprise as an ethereal golden chain stopped him from striking his neck.
A feral grin appeared on the face of the Jinchūriki. "This isn't over yet!" The chain lashed out, pushing the Jōnin back as Naruto sprang into action, his chain following behind him like a golden tail. He threw a right hook at the taller man which was avoided, then spun around quickly, the chain whipping around and striking Kakashi in the side. Kakashi turned into a wooden log as the vicious links gouged into the bark.
Naruto quickly looked left and right in search of the silver haired man, but froze when he felt cold steel against the back of his neck and a foot on his chakra chain pinning it into place.
"Yield." Commanded Kakashi. Naruto didn't move for a few seconds out of pure stubbornness. After a while though, he sighed and raised his hands in surrender. Kakashi nodded and pulled the knife away, taking a step back as the blond jinchūriki collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion.
All was quiet in the training ground, the sound of the blond boy huffing loudly as he caught his breath being the only noise. Kakashi silently watched as the golden chain vanished into dust, frowning in thought at the phenomenon. 'There's no mistaking it. That's Kushina's ability.'
"What happened to your mask?" the Hatake blinked and looked up at the blond.
"What was that?"
Naruto pointed at his hip. "Your mask, you're usually always with it. Where did it go?"
True enough, Kakashi felt the clear uncomfortable absence of weight of the familiar carved face on his hip. "Oh…That." He winced and glanced down, debating how to explain it. "Dog is gone…For now."
The blond raised an eyebrow, but in the end decided to flop back down onto his back. He was too tired to care about some stupid mask. Dog sucked anyway.
The Jōnin slowly approached him and sat down next to him. "So…Those chains."
"I know, they're pretty cool right? They surprised me too at first."
"Quite." Agreed Kakashi. "How did you first…You know." A pause. "Make them?"
The blond gave him a small sheepish smile as he ran his fingers through the soft grass. "Heheh, funny story…" A memory flashed through his brain, walking down the stairs, tripping, heading face first into the concrete floor…Only to be saved by a chain wrapping around the railing next to the stairs.
"I was interrogating some enemy shinobi and I ran out of wires, so when I thought about what else I could use as bindings, these came out."
"…"
"…I see." Kakashi said in a deadpan. He totally did not believe him, but he didn't press it.
Naruto opened his mouth, but quickly shut it closed with a small click. After a few more silent moments, he leaned up onto his elbows to look at the older man.
"Hey, Kakashi…?" He asked hesitantly.
"Hmm" Came the lazy reply.
"My mom…" He began as he saw the man's eye shift to look at him. "She had that ability as well, didn't she?"
"…" The jōnin watched Naruto carefully. He wouldn't lie to him. If the boy found out the truth on his own accord, then that was something that could not be helped. He owed him that much at least. "Yes, she did."
The blond lied back down as he stared up the sky. "And…She used those against the nine tails." He tilted his head towards the man once more. "When he got sealed into me."
Kakashi nodded once more. "She did."
Naruto sighed softly as he closed his eyes. That was something that he appreciated from the scarecrow. He told him the truth, and he didn't ask uncomfortable questions. He cared about the old man, he really did, but he was hiding too many things from him. He didn't think he could ever trust him like he trusted Kakashi.
That thought made him pause. He trusted Kakashi because he was the only one that has been truthful to him. The only one that had given him the time of day with no ulterior motives. The only one who felt genuine.
But why?
"Why are you doing all of this for me…?" He muttered suddenly. But Kakashi understood perfectly.
"…" Was this the right time? Naruto definitely was a lot more mature and responsible than other kids his age, but he was still just that; a kid. One prone to his emotions like any other kids his age.
'No more lies.'
"I owe it to your parents."
Naruto shot up into a sitting position, furious and slightly misty eyes glaring into his. "Who the hell are my parents!? You and the old man, you're always saying my parents this and my parents that, but you've never given me a straight answer!"
Kakashi heaved a sigh. "Have you ever had a good look at the portraits inside the Hokage's office?"
Naruto frowned and wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeves. "Portraits creep me out. What does this have to do with anything?"
"That's all you'll get out of me. That is plenty for you to figure it out on your own." Replied Kakashi with finality, making the blond frown and nod reluctantly.
The scarecrow reached inside his pouch and pulled out a slip of paper. "Take this." Naruto raised an eyebrow and looked at the piece of paper curiously.
"What is it?" He asked as he took it in his hands. He flipped the paper over, checking each side. Yep, just a regular piece of paper.
"Channel your chakra into it." Instructed the Jōnin.
Naruto frowned and did just that, molding the mystical energy from his core and guiding it through his pathways, down his arm and into the piece of paper. To his surprise, the paper got cleanly cut into two from the middle.
"Whoa" Said the blond-wonder in slight awe. "That's cool. What does it mean?" Kakashi hummed and rubbed his chin in thought. Huh. That complicated things. Not many people were attuned to the wind element in Konoha, or in Hi no Kuni in general.
"Good job today, go rest up." With that, the masked scarecrow disappeared in a hurry.
"Huh? Hey!" Naruto scrambled to his feet and shouted out at the empty field. "What do I do now!? Do I just keep doing the same training?!"
Silence met his question as he looked around in slight confusion. After seeing that the masked man really was gone, determination creeped onto his face as he set his gaze towards the direction of the Hokage's tower.
10 minutes later.
"Hokage-sama? He's in a meeting with the council right now, Naruto-kun. You can wait for him in his office if you want." The secretary said as she scribbled down on some paperwork. There was nothing to fear after all, everyone knew that Naruto and the Hokage had a really 'close' relationship.
Naruto nodded gratefully. "Thanks Eri."
Once he was inside, he looked around the quiet room with slight apprehension. There were four portraits hung on the right side of the room, all with expensive looking golden frames adorning them. Slowly making his way to the portraits, he looked at each of them carefully.
The first one was a tall man with tan skin and long black hair with two strands framing a red bandana. He had a big smile on his face, suggesting a goofy and carefree attitude. He was wearing the same robes that Hiruzen-jiji wore all the time. A previous Hokage, perhaps?
He looked towards the second one. The man was wearing the Hokage hat, but he could see shaggy silver hair poking out from beneath it. Three red lines were drawn onto his face, one on each cheekbone and one going vertically on his chin. He was wearing a custom looking headband, almost looking like a half helmet that protected his forehead and the sides of his face. His eyes were a surprising shade of red and unlike the previous Hokage, he had a stern look and seemed to be staring right into his soul.
The third one was easy to recognize; it was the old man, though he looked a little younger. That was super weird, there was a time where he didn't look like an old fossil? So, the two previous portraits were probably the first and second Hokage respectively.
His eyes landed on the fourth and final portrait, and he felt his breath catch in his throat.
Spiky blond hair, bright blue eyes, a kind smile. This was no doubt the fourth Hokage, the man that had sealed the nine tails inside of him. He'd never seen a close-up picture of him before, only having seen the carved face on the mountain. But it was a bit difficult to make out any defining features from there.
Your father looks a lot like you, so much so that it's scary. Kakashi's voice rung out inside his head.
'No…'
He stumbled back, his entire body feeling numb from the shock. He leaned against the Hokage's desk as he tried to process the millions of thoughts raging through his mind, much too fast for him to keep up with. A smaller framed picture sitting on the desk caught his attention, one amongst many others that were there. A picture of that same blond man hugging a woman with scarlet red hair.
Red hair was a common trait amongst Uzumaki clan members. He remembered reading during his research of his heritage.
'No no no no no…'
But that damned Uzumaki…She held me down with her pesky chains before I could finish the deed. The voice of the nine tailed growled.
I've been passed down, from one container to another like some type of family heirloom.
He felt something click in his head. It all suddenly made sense. His mother was the previous container. His mother had held down the nine tails as his father sealed it into him. Both died afterwards, leaving him all alone. Kakashi had been trained by his father, that was why he was taking such an interest in him. The reason why the third never told him was because he knew how he would react to the news. Lies, lies lies lies lies lies lies lies, all lies!
He felt his breathing pick up as his head began to swim. No, that couldn't be possible, could it? There was no way he could possibly be his son. Not with how he was being treated. What kind of father even sealed a giant beast of mass destruction inside of their own son!?
Lord fourth was a pretty smart and analytic person. I believe he would pick the person best suited for the job.
He did the only thing he could think of.
He ran.
He threw the door open with a bang and ran as fast as he could out of the office, leaving a worried hidden ANBU behind. He ran down the corridor, down the stairs, out the main entrance, down the streets of Konoha. His heart hammered in his chest as tears trailed down his face. He kept running, past Kinta's shop, past the academy, past his apartment, past the great gates of Konoha. He had to get away from here. He didn't know where he would go, but he couldn't be here right now. He couldn't face anyone.
He ignored the calls of the two men in green vests guarding the entrance and kept running past the tree lines.
"Where the hell is he going?" A man with long spiky hair and a bandage covering the bridge of his nose said in confusion.
The man next to him, with the longer hair and bandana frowned at the tree lines. "I don't know, Kotetsu. We should probably go inform the Hokage."
"No. Let him go."
Both men turned around in surprise. "Ah, Kakashi-san! I didn't see you there!"
Izumo frowned in worry. "Are you sure he'll be alright?"
Kakashi looked off into the direction that his pseudo student had ran to with a slight frown. "He'll be fine."
Both gate guards looked at each other in confusion.
"Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun! Do you want me to walk you home?"
"Sasuke-kun I can carry your bag for you!"
"Sasuke-kun, you looked so cool during the spars today!"
Sasuke turned away and stuffed his hands inside of his pockets in disinterest as a group of annoying academy girls fought for his attention. He was used to it though. Ever since he started the academy exactly a year ago, it has been like that. He was the class idol, the boy who everybody wanted to befriend. The prodigy. One of the last remaining Uchiha.
This last year had been…Something else. So much had happened and it felt like it had been dragging on for so long, yet 12 months ago seemed like it was just yesterday.
He'd started the academy, hoping to do well there and impress his big brother. Yet, that same big brother went crazy and ended up murdering his entire clan, with the exception of him and Izumi.
Speaking of Izumi, she had insisted that he move in with her. Her reasoning being that she didn't think he'd be able to take care of himself and that she wanted him away from the place he found his parent's corpse to avoid phantom memories. He didn't quite understand her reasoning though, the entire clan compound was tainted in his opinion.
Despite that, he was really grateful for her. He was sure that he would've lost it, all by himself. Even though he'd never interacted with her before the genocide, the two became closer, almost becoming like brother and sister. He didn't know what drove Itachi to spare her as well, but he was glad.
He arrived near the gated entrances and pushed one of the doors opened, the metal gates creaking and groaning in protest. He made his way further down the estate, walking past several residences and only pausing when his old home came into view.
"Is that you Sasuke?" He heard Izumi call out to him. The eight-year-old Uchiha sighed and made his way inside the house of the brunette, who was sorting through her ninja equipment in her Shinobi attire.
"Going on a mission?" He questioned as he tossed his bag on the table of the living room. Izumi looked towards him and smiled as she stood up.
"Yup, got assigned today. How was the academy?" She asked while attaching her pouch to her pants. Sasuke just shrugged and sat on one of the chairs in the living room.
"It was fine" He answered simply.
The girl nodded, used to his short replies by now. As she stood to make her way out, the youngest of the two sat up straighter in his chair and called out to her.
"Izumi?"
"Hmm?" She turned around and looked at the boy.
"I was thinking," He began uneasily. "How come…Itachi didn't…You know." The girl winced as Sasuke fumbled uncomfortably with his words. "Kill you?"
That question had puzzled Izumi as well. Itachi knew her, they spoke regularly. He would have noticed that she wasn't in the clan towards the time of the murder. Perhaps he hadn't had the time to look for her? Or maybe he didn't have the heart. The implications towards the second option scared her.
"I got lucky." She answered after a few seconds of silence. "I wasn't in the clan at the time. Some blond kid with whiskers broke into my house and was trying to dye my clothes as a prank, go figure." She smiled grimly and shrugged. "If it wasn't for him, I'd probably be dead as well. He saved my life in a weird way."
Sasuke remained quiet as Izumi waved at him and exited her house. He'd only seen one blond kid with whiskers around the village. That same blond kid that he'd met training. That same blond kid that Itachi had asked him to befriend. That same blond kid that seemed to be unanimously hated around the village.
He was beginning to see a pattern.
He'd been running for at least an hour north west of Konoha by now, and the trees were becoming fewer and fewer. His fuzzy mind absently recalled the maps he remembered seeing and estimated being a few kilometres away from the borders of Yugakure, also known as the land of Hot Water.
His mad sprint soon slowed into a rapid run, then to a jog and soon into a slow walk. His eyes never looked ahead of him though, staying locked onto the ground below him as half lidded dejected eyes stared blankly at the dirt.
'It's not like anyone will miss me there…'
That's not true. What about Old man Teuchi and Ayame? What about the Hokage? And Kakashi?
He screwed his eyes shut as he shook his head stubbornly and wiped at his eyes furiously. No! They didn't care! No one did! If they did, they would have told him the truth from the start!
He was so lost in his thoughts and his self-wallowing that he barely even noticed the tall muscular man facing away from him with his arms crossed until he bumped into him.
"Ow" Naruto bounced back and landed on his behind, the man in front of him didn't even move an inch.
"Yo, that ain't cool bro."
Looking up, Naruto was greeted with the sight of the darkest and most muscular man he'd ever seen in his short life. He had white hair that was combed back and tucked into a white headband depicting the symbol of Kumogakure, the village hidden in the clouds. He had a goatee and wore shades that somehow stayed on even though they had no branches to hold them in place and carried eight fricking swords on his back. He had the Kanji for 'Iron' tattooed in blue on his left shoulder, as well as two parallel horns under his right eye. Other than that, he seemed to be wearing some stylized version of a cloud ninja uniform.
"S-sorry, sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going." Naruto quickly got back up to his feet and wiped his eyes with a sniffle. The man looked down at him with an unreadable expression before a grin broke out onto his face.
"Don't sweat it little man, I was just finishing my plan. What are ya doing on your own when evening has just begun?"
Naruto blinked slowly as his tired brain tried to process what the strange man had just said. "I'm just…Taking a walk I guess." He looked up at the headband tied around his head. "What's a Kumo shinobi doing all the way in fire country?"
The man crossed his arms and bobbed his head to an invisible beat. "Had some business to take care of in the land of Iron, but I thought I'd take a detour down southern."
"Bee, that kid is a Jinchūriki." A booming voice said inside the Kumo nin's head.
'Ya ain't gotta tell me that mighty-Hachibi-sama. It's like I'm standing next to Yugito, only cranked up to a hundred, yo.'
"That's probably because this boy holds the 9 tails. I've told you in the past that the power difference between each tail is increasingly more powerful, be careful with this one."
"Oh, alright. I'll see you I guess." Naruto was about to walk off when the man put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hold on now friend-o, I know you're not leaving without telling me your name, don't be giving me no woes."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Naruto scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki."
A big grin appeared on the shade wearing man's face once more as his head and arms made those weird motions once more. "Ya seem to be cool little fishcake so I'll tell you my name, make no mistake! You can call me master Kirabi, 'cuz I float like a butterfly and I sting like a killer bee, wheee!"
Naruto took a cautious step back as he slowly nodded his head. Better stay on that guy's good side. "I-I see. Well it was nice to meet you Kirabi, but I better get-"
He was interrupted as the man was suddenly next to him, an arm thrown over his shoulder in an amicable way "Now now little fox, ya don't need to gawk. But I can't let you leave when I see you so down, ya gotta tell me what made you frown, fool, ya fool!"
The blond's eyes narrowed slightly. "Why do you wanna know that?" His brain finally caught up with the rest on the man's sentence. "Wait, fox?" He threw Kirabi's arm away from his shoulder and jumped back a few meters away. "How do you know about that?"
Kirabi ignored the smaller boy's suspicion as he began to make some rapping movements that matched his lyrics. "Ya gotta keep it cool, otherwise that would just be cruel! I gotta make sure my fellow Jinchūriki is happy, or my name ain't the mighty Killer Bee, wheeee!" He finished his dance with a hand thrown in the air, all fingers curled in except for the index and pinky making a crude imitation of horns.
The blond's eyes widened as he took a step towards the man that could probably understand him better than anyone. "You mean you're…"
"That's right sucker, anything else would be a motherfu-"
"Bee, he is a child! Watch your language!" Hachibi yelled inside his head.
Bee winced and massaged his now throbbing temple making Naruto look at him in concern. "Are you alright mister Kirabi?"
Bee nodded carelessly and went on. "Just the old partner in crime giving me a hard time."
Naruto took another step forward in amazement. "You can talk to him!?"
Kirabi grinned widely, idly taking note on how Naruto addressed Hachibi as "he" and not "it" and nodded his head. "You better believe it bro, if ya don't then I can prove it for sho'! Just bump yo fist against mine, and we'll be done in no time! Fool, ya fool!"
Naruto looked at the extended fist in confusion and stared at his own for a few seconds. After a moment's thought, he walked forward and extended his arm, touching his fist against Kirabi's.
The strange sensation of vertigo assaulted his senses as he closed his eyes in an effort to contain his lunch. Once the feeling was gone, he slowly opened them to find himself standing in a white void with Kirabi in front of him, and…A giant bull with the body of an octopus, what the hell was that!?
"No need to fret lil' bro, Hachibi ain't gonna bite you yo!"
The eight tails lowered his head to be at better level with the little boy. "Bee is right, I asked him to bring you in here to meet you. You said your name was Naruto, right?"
Naruto nodded quickly as sweat trickled down in face. "Y-Yes! It's nice to meet you mister-aah I mean Hachibi!"
One of the eight tails' tentacles flicked idly behind him. "You don't have to worry about that title. My name is Gyūki. Though that fool down here still calls me Hachibi for some reason."
Said fool crossed his arms. "Naw Hachibi, I mean no disrespect, there's no way I would-" Bee paused abruptly and took out a note pad from his pocket, flipping it open and putting one finger under his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, expect, direct, reflect…"
"…Anyway." The Ox hybrid began after a few seconds of silence. "I wanted to speak to you about something. You were planning on leaving your village, right? Don't. You will be hunted down once they see that you're trying to leave, they will kill you and put Kurama inside another vessel. He doesn't need to be subjected to another sealing. The guy's been in enough of those already."
Naruto looked up into the giant eyes of the Ox-topus. "Kurama…?"
Gyūki frowned. "That's the name of mister doom and gloom inside of you." At the look of panic appearing on the whiskered boy's face, he continued. "I'm not surprised he didn't tell you."
Naruto looked down glumly. "I wanted him to tell me…When I finally gained his trust."
"That's no doubt an admirable trait, though it sure ain't no piece of cake."
"Bee is right. We bijuus are naturally wary of humans, the old fox even more so." Said gyūki. "He probably wouldn't tell you even if you were friends just to prove a point."
That did nothing to lift Naruto's spirits.
"Yo mister nine, why were you leaving the ol' tree anyhow?" Bee asked suddenly, no doubt referring to Konoha.
"Because! I-" Naruto stopped suddenly. "Because," He repeated, calmer this time. "No one will miss me there. Plus, they've done nothing but lie to me ever since I was born! About my parents, about what happened to them, about Kura…Kyuubi inside my stomach." The blond paced angrily as both Ox and man watched him. "I'm better off somewhere else."
Kirabi pointed at the blue scarf wrapped around the blond's neck. "That scarf around your neck is looking mighty fine, correct me if I'm wrong, but that looks like a gift mister nine!"
"What Bee is trying to say, Naruto, is that this scarf looks handmade, someone took the time to make it. But above all that, my point about the fox still stands. He doesn't need that grief."
Naruto looked down at the 'floor' that seemed bottomless. They were right, it was a gift, and someone did care. He'd finally remembered why Kakashi seemed so familiar a while ago, he felt just like the ANBU that would guard his house the most and who probably left him this scarf. Even though he had his own strange way of showing it, Kakashi really did care and was the closest thing he had to family now.
"You're right, I've been acting selfish…I'm sorry."
"It ain't us you gotta apologize to ya witch, you one mighty sonofab-"
Bee was once again interrupted when a massive tentacle crashed against the back of his head, sending him to the ground.
"It's time to go home, Naruto."
Naruto nodded slowly and soon; the area began to fade away.
Once they were back in the real world, the two kept talking for a few minutes and Kirabi decided to accompany the blond back to the borders of Konoha. Night was beginning to settle in, the time when Ninjas truly lived up to their names.
The trip was made mainly in silence, with Bee saying a few raps every now and then and Naruto looking down at the floor, deep in thought once more.
An hour later, when they were barely a kilometre away from Konoha, the two came across a familiar looking masked man leaning against a tree, arms folded and looking at the two.
"Kakashi!" Naruto rushed towards the Jōnin, who offered him an eye smile and a ruffle of his hair much to his consternation. The scarecrow looked up and met the shaded eyes of Kirabi. After a few seconds, he inclined his head slightly in a show of gratefulness, Bee returned the gesture after a few seconds.
Naruto turned around as Bee approached them. "Will I see you again, Kirabi?"
Kirabi grinned and extended his fist once more. "Ya better believe it little bro, take care of yourself, yo."
Naruto bumped his fist against Bee's with a wide grin and, after waving at him one final time, quickly ran to catch up with Kakashi.
The two began their trek back in silence, Naruto not knowing what to say and Kakashi not wanting to say anything. Hesitantly, Naruto's hand came up and held onto the older man's hand.
"I…" He said softly, his voice catching in his throat. "I'm sorry…"
Kakashi kept on walking, being too surprised by the small show of trust. After a while though, he tightened his hold around his little brother's hand.
"Don't worry about it."
AN: Every time an author is forced to write Killer Bee's rapping, an angel dies.
Few things I wanted to clear up. Yes, Kakashi will be stronger than canon in this. Current Kakashi will be about as strong as war-arc Kakashi, minus the obvious Mangekyou powers.
Previous chapter, the dude Itachi was talking to was just a regular ANBU I believe. It's canon, you can look it up.
Yes, Naruto has the adamantine chains. Please don't burn me at the stake.
Bye-bye for now. Oh, and check out "A bet of a lifetime" by TheOrangeSpark. It's a very good story.