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Hello again! Sorry this took so long. Had a good portion of the material written, but had to bring it all together and make it as awesome as possible! Hopefully, you all will agree that this is a good installment in this story. Other stories should be updated fairly soon. I will admit to facing a bit of writer's block though, so no promises. I do want to clarify, however, that my writer's block isn't hitting me because I don't know what I want to do, but rather because I'm trying to get it to flow the way I want it to. In any case, I think I got this one to where I wanted it to be. Enjoy the chapter! :)

P.S. Over the Years and Naruto Z! are in my sights, even if I'm struggling a bit lol. :)

"You see?! He admits it! Murderer…"

- Scar

Betrayal

Jiraiya noticed that the office's interior was similar to Konoha's Hokage office and sported only a few minor differences. A wide glass panel boasted a panoramic view of the village and though it looked a lot more rustic than Konoha's majestic, the view was indeed something. That dust-filled area he had chased Naruto through was visible even from here, the small section of the village still painted a dusty orange-brown. Other places seemed more on the run-down side of things, a tattered piece of white cloth hanging from that building pipe and waving in the air as wads of smoke puffed up from that red funnel-shaped chimney just a ways away. In a very small section of the town stood a few scattered buildings with more modern construction, the hospital he had just battled Naruto at easily noticeable in the fray. The town was well put together, he thought. Less modern, sure, but most definitely beautiful in its own right. It was nice. As his eyes wandered through the scattered sections of forgotten Kimyona, he nodded lightly at a lurking thought - amidst the general air of craziness and strange the builders of this village were indeed sane.

The man who had been standing at one end of the panoramic paneling, watching the resting village with his hands behind his back finally sighed. Gesturing to the chair in front of the desk, he turned around. "Sit."

His face was familiar and one Jiraiya often ran into whenever he paid the strange town a visit. The distinctive marker was his fairly large tuft of brown hair that rested on top of his otherwise bald head. It danced mildly up and down as he sat behind the desk, raising his hand to the side of his face and acting as if he was adjusting a pair of glasses though there was actually nothing there.

"They prescription?" Jiraiya joked.

"Haha, Jiraiya," he answered, voice vaguely nasally and light. "Always the funny guy."

"I try."

"Well, not hard enough," he said, a piece of cloth already pulled out to wipe his imaginary glasses.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that every time you pop up in my office, I'm doing this." Looking up, he let his bottom lip jut out a bit and his lips turn downwards at the corners.

"I...think that's a bit of an exaggeration."

"Is it?" he said, lips in a straight line as he set his imaginary glasses on the desk and intertwined his fingers. "You see, Jiraiya, I'm a simple man."

Rising to his feet and facing the village again, he continued, "I run a simple town with less than simple people, and I quite like it that way."

"I understand that-"

"Let's both imagine," he interjected. "That this glass is my workload for the day."

On the table sat a small Sake glass with a mildly ornate design, the man's open palm pointing to it as it sat empty on the desk. Jiraiya was familiar enough with them to know that was what it was; Tsunade had a collection.

"On the normal, I get a village incident here," the man said, pouring a little Sake into the glass from a bottle that had somehow materialized in his other hand. "A bar skirmish there," he continued, pouring a little more in a mild trickle. "And then maybe a bit of paperwork for the title's sake," he said, dangling his fingers as the silent trickle died down.

"Now imagine my surprise when a genin blows a hole in a bar and assaults a number of ninja before disappearing into thin air?" The liquid sloshed around as he filled it a quarter of the way. "Then imagine my shock when one of the Legendary Sannin pops up and starts chasing him through my village." He filled the cup over halfway. "And please don't get me started on the time a random hole EXPLODES IN MY HOSPITAL right before A GIANT FROG nearly flattens the place!" He now held the bottle upside down, violently shaking it as the overfilled glass of Sake poured all over his desk, large gurgling sounds filling the room as it ran down the wood to the floor.

"Watch the glasses," Jiraiya said.

Slamming down the empty Sake bottle, he finished, "You know how that makes me feel, Jiraiya?!"

Jiraiya stared and said nothing.

"NOT. HAPPY."

Jiraiya sighed. "I truly am sorry. But you have to understand that I wouldn't be here unless absolutely necessary."

"No, no, no, Jiraiya," he said, waving his hands with vigor. "What you don't understand is that everytime one of you Kage level threats show up in my village it means a mountain of paperwork for me, a very annoying council meeting for me, and a load of damages to be fixed by – you guessed it – ME! So besides giving new meaning to my cup runneth over, you're gonna tell me why you're here wreaking havoc in my village OVER AN IDIOT GENIN or I'm gonna keep putting out warrants for your arrest just to tie you up in so much red tape that finding a way to spy on every single woman that tickles your fancy WILL BE THE LEAST OF YOUR PROBLEMS!"

Jiraiya sat silent, eyes taking in the sight of the man before him. The formerly white complexion now an angry red and his arching brows near an angry v. Looking away only briefly, he shook his head and sighed. This was exactly what he was trying to avoid. Now there was no way he'd be able to operate in the town effectively without telling the truth about who Naruto was.

"Is that all you're gonna do, Jiraiya? Sit there?!"

Pondering it for only a moment longer, he sighed then turned his gaze back to the man in question. "On the basis of your relationship to Konoha, I remind you that this information is classified to the highest degree, and revealing it to anyone outside this room would be considered an act of treason."

The anger in his eyes faded and a single eyebrow arched comically high. "Go on…"

"The kid I've been chasing... He's the nine tails jinchuriki."

The man's head dropped forward. "Konoha misplaced the nine-tails jinchuriki?"

"We didn't misplace him, Rida. He's not a book, he's a person."

"Semantics!" he screeched. "He's a freaking S-tier problem!"

"I've got it under control."

"DUHAH! Yeah, my village can tell!"

"Just give me a bit of time. I'll finish this."

Before Jiraiya knew it, a finger was shoved in his face. "Let me tell you something, Jiraiya, you better! You don't catch that kid, you're gonna be meeting with the head of everywhere he causes trouble!"

"It won't come to that."

"For you all's sake, I hope you're right." Plopping back down into the chair, he finished, "Now get outta my office, and make sure that kid doesn't cause me trouble again."

"Yeah," Jiraiya said softly. "I'll take care of it."

Sighing as he spun in his chair, he shook his head and grumbled, "Now look... You made me ruin my desk..."

...

The smell of something like minty tree bark lulled Naruto to his senses, a whiff of woodsy musk invading his inner being. Letting his eyes flutter open, the dim surroundings slowly blurred into view.

The color all around was faded brown, the flaky textured wall forming an imperfect circle as it wrapped the room and gave him the feeling that the space he sat in was a step away from cramped. Hanging a few feet above was a small black metal cage that housed a burning flame, the dim orange reflecting on the flaky brown that made up the walls. Carved out on a small platform shelf was a stack of haphazardly stacked white bowls, and on the floor in a corner was a small pile of what looked like women's clothing and rusting kunai.

Scattered all around were a variety of other personal effects that he felt no compulsion to remember. What he needed to know, he had already figured out. He was in a hollowed out tree trunk. His time as a ninja had given him enough experience to know what it looked like, though he had to admit this one was a fair deal bigger than the ones he usually stayed in, like a mini haven more than a much too cramped enclosure.

Inhaling deeply, he briefly considered what he was about to do, then, with a furrowed brow, let his eyes fall closed.

A single drip signaled his arrival, and like all the times before, the fox sat before him, this time sleeping with his head on his paws.

For the longest time, he stood still, brows furrowed as he watched the orange body move up and down with every huffing breath. Within his very soul, he could feel the whirlwind starting to grow. It was then that he spoke.

"Hey. Wake up."

First, there was a slight pause, then an inhale of breath longer than the others. The blackened lips soon stretched into a yawn, the size of the massive jaws a reminder that he could swallow a house whole. Finally, the red eye popped open, and he turned his head to face the boy below.

"You're awake," Kurama said silently. "After you passed out I thought-"

"I don't need the rundown," Naruto said. "Where are we?"

"Oh... Well, we got some help from that red-haired girl from earlier. She said she owed us one. Went to get us some fresh clothes. This is her hideout. I know it's small, but I figured it's as good a place as any to lay low until we figure out what to do."

"Ok," he said silently, something lingering behind the tightened lips as the silence took hold. After a pause came a voice like a whisper in a torrid desert. "But I need you to promise me something."

Kurama stalled momentarily, the blood red eyes wide as he looked down. "What is it?"

Naruto's lips pursed, head nodding up and down as his eyes roamed the waters. "What Jiraiya said back there," he finally started, eyes lifting to meet the fox's gaze. "Tell me it's not true. Not a word of it."

Kurama sat still, eyes only blinking a few times as he seemed to process the question. "I already did," he silently replied. "He's lying..."

"Ok," Naruto said, nodding through a sniffle and rubbing under his nose. "Now swear it."

"What?" he said silently.

"Just like you swore to me that you'd never lose it again, swear to me that you didn't kill my parents."

Kurama's eyes narrowed, silence and darkness covering the chamber as blood red-shifted in the dark.

"SWEAR TO ME THAT YOU DIDN'T DO IT!"

Kurama flinched, the normally turned-up ears now flopped back against his head as the muscles over his eyes relaxed downwards in the dark. The silence after the yell was all engulfing.

"Swear it," Naruto whispered, tears stinging the corners of his eyes.

In the silence, Kurama's jaw clenched, his large form rising and falling.

"Swear it..." he pleaded.

Looking off to the side, the fox clenched his jaw. "...I can't do that."

"ARGH!" he screamed, body shaking as the tears that had lingered so long started to run. "You liar!"

"I was a different person back then."

"You've been acting like my friend, but this whole time, you're the reason I didn't have a normal childhood! The reason I never heard a bedtime story! O-o-or had a mom to cook me breakfast!"

"I didn't mean to take those things from you."

"But you did! I can't believe you! You've been telling me all these stories this whole time, making me feel like I didn't fit in with society, like I was just born an outcast, but it's all because of you! Even after I left Konoha and everyone else behind, I had you! I thought you were my friend, and I-... UGH!"

"Naruto. Relax."

"If you think I'm gonna listen to anything else you tell me in this lifetime, you've got another thing coming."

"Look, I'm sorry, Naruto. I know that-"

"You're sorry?! The heck good does that do me?! Doesn't bring my parents back!"

"Maybe not," Kurama said silently. "But it's all I have to give."

"Well, it's not enough! And you know what the worst part is?! I knew you were lying the moment you said it!"

At Kurama's stilling, Naruto scoffed and nodded. "Yeah. Thought you were so clever, didn't you? Well, guess what, that sensing thing you always talk about doing with me where you can tell exactly what I'm thinking – it goes both ways genius!"

The muscles in Kurama's jaw clenched as he let his gaze trail off. Sighing against the water, he said, "Look, Naruto, I'm sorry, I really am. More than you know."

"Oh, yeah, sorry now that you've been caught."

"No, sorry that I hurt you."

"That's not gonna cut it."

Kurama nodded. "I know... But you need to know that I would never do anything to hurt you now."

"Get the heck outta my sight. You're a poison, and I'd rather spend the rest of my life completely alone than spend another minute with you." He had only half-turned when he glanced over his shoulder. "Tch, and you know what's funny? I actually thought you were my friend. Kurama and Naruto against the world..." The subtle glazing over his eyes returned as he looked away. "I know better now. You've turned out just like everyone else. And I'm glad I know the truth, and that you couldn't hide it anymore." His fist balled up at his side. "When I sensed you lying I could feel it so hard that it nearly killed me." Ice blue fixed him through the black. "But I wanted to hear you say it. I wanted you to have to face me after what you did... I'm done with you."

In the dark, Kurama sat with his head low, eyes looking off into the distance in the darkness.

Naruto lifted one hand, then, somehow able to do something he never had, slammed five fingers into the spiral on his stomach. The black markings darkened then swirled as his hand started to twist, and in the silence and dark, the iron bars slid closed. On the other side sat a silent Kurama, the blood-red eyes now watching the boy before him who was so close and so far. Naruto turned around fully, ice cold meeting blood red with what felt like pulsing electricity. "Don't ever talk to me again."

As Naruto's eyes opened, he looked down to find that, like in his mindscape, his hand had plunged into the spiral on his stomach, the bulge of his knuckles obvious under his worn red shirt. With a silent huff, he shook his head, "Good riddance."

The sound of a mild rustling gave him pause, and his head turned towards a black hole that was off to the side. It was the entrance to this little hollow tree trunk, and the clattering rocks and rustling dirt meant that either the girl was back, or someone had infiltrated the hideout.

He had barely put up his guard when a faint color of red appeared in the black. Her head popping out a bit too energetically, and the red strands dancing a little more wildly than he would expect. She paused abruptly while only halfway in, the blue eyes shimmering from the dancing of the flame as they fixed him for a reply. "You're gonna fight me?"

"Thought you might be someone else," he said silently, arms falling to his sides.

"Yeah, I figured," she said, stepping inside and setting down a bag of what looked like a mountain of random things. "Don't worry," she continued, plopping down a little ways away from him. "I'm not like all the crazies you see around here. Believe it or not, there are a good number of us that haven't completely lost our marbles."

"Yeah," he said softly. "Good to know."

"Well, here are your clothes," she said, pulling a handful of wrinkly cloth out of the bag and handing it over with a lop-sided smile.

He eyed the outstretched gift for a moment, then took it in hand, a silent, "Thanks," the only thing to leave his lips.

The shirt was a dingy orange, and the pants a faded black. It looked nothing like Konoha wear, the simplistic design being the most obvious difference. It only had a couple of pockets on the side, and a thin tracing of black where the edges of the shirt were. It'd have to do for now though. Sighing a bit, he lifted it over his head to slide it on. Her prying eyes halted him though, her sky blue irises fixing him in the face.

Finally having had enough, he said, "What?" voice sharp and a few octaves past rough.

She pursed her lips lightly. "You ok?"

Scoffing a bit, he said, "I'm fine," then continued lifting the shirt on over his head.

Pausing only briefly, she continued, "You know, I cried a lot when I first went rogue, but I've learned there's always a silver lining."

"Tch," he said, flattening out the shirt over his torso, "Leave me alone."

"Hey, kid, come on," she said, punching his shoulder lightly as she finished. "Chin up."

"Don't touch me!" he yelled, jerking his arm away from her hand.

Her hand jerked back at his action, and the jolt seemed to have passed through them both, an awkward silence covering them as they sat frozen where they were. Finally raising her hands defensively, she said, "Ok…"

Tossing the pants aside with a scoff, he crossed his arms. "Everyone's so friendly," he muttered.

Her eyes lingered on him for a bit longer before she relaxed against the inside of the tree, arms sitting comfortably in her lap. "Well...that just happened... But on the bright side of things, you're eyes are blue. I mean, I thought you had a condition or something. Do you?...you know, have a condition?"

He sighed through his nostrils. "I don't have a condition."

"Oh...ok. Well, your voice is normal too, a little scratchy, but normal."

"It's always like that," he said softly.

"Oh... Well, what makes it drop like you ate too many soldier pills?"

Despite everything, he chuckled. "The bane of my existence."

"Bane of your existence?" she questioned, a chuckle in her throat. "Sounds pretty crazy."

His chuckle was dry and his gaze remained low. "You want to know who I am?" he said softly.

"Eh, maybe, maybe not. I like a bit of mystery to keep things fresh."

He smirked in response, eyes still down and away. "I'm the Nine-tails jinchuriki."

There was a slight stall, and then her eyes crinkling at the corners. "Aha!" was the first indication of her tickled state of mind, then the rest of the chuckles took hold. Naruto found himself smiling as he watched her, the red strands dancing lightly as her shoulders shrugged her joy, then came a guttural chuckle from his own tortured esophagus. The hollowed out tree trunk resonated with the sound of rowdy ehees and tickled hahas. Slowly, they started to die down, and she looked over at him with the joy still in her eyes. "Oh, man," she said, "That was a good one, kid."

Slowly, his chuckles died down, and in the darkness and quiet, he sat still. First, he felt something constricting in his chest, then his vision started to blur.

As it did, he could hear her chuckles grow still and, in the quiet, sense her body go still. "Oh my God..." she said silently. "You're not kidding... You're being super totally serious right now..."

"Yeah," he said lowly. "Thought you might've missed that."

She sat where she was still, eyes fixing him in the dark.

"He was the one you were talking to earlier. It's why my eyes were red and my voice different."

The room had fallen so still that the two of them sitting in the dark with the flame dancing above appeared a freshly painted scene.

"And you know the real punchline," he said softly. "This fox I thought was gonna be my friend, get me through this whole running away thing…" He nodded slowly. "Just found out he killed my parents when I was a kid."

Mayumi's lips parted slightly.

Finally, looking up to her, he finished, "Now you tell me the silver lining." After the trunk had sat silent for what felt like far too long, he chuckled, wiping a sniffle away with his forearm.

Silence reigned, like some all too welcome guest in the humble underground abode. "Uh," she finally said softly. "Just...well…just try to get some sleep."

The tears glistened mildly in his eyes as he turned his gaze away, eyes on darkened dirt and broken roots.

...

"So, what was your mistake last time?"

Sakura's lips pursed as she stood across from her sensei in the swirling wind, the grass and trees and random leaves dancing all around as the sun started to set. "I didn't track my chakra well enough. As a result, you were able to manipulate it in the slightest and put me under genjutsu without me noticing."

"Correct. Chakra is like a river, and when someone tries to use genjutsu, they are creating a dam in the system and sending it away from the rest. If you aren't skilled enough to avoid this or realize when this is happening, you will always be prey to genjutsu."

"But I wasn't even looking at your eyes."

"Exactly," Kakashi responded. "I used your knowledge of my skillset against you. You assumed that because I have a Sharingan, I would use it to cast my genjutsu, as you can see, that is not wise. I can cast genjutsus that don't use my Sharingan. They are weaker and easier to break, yes, but you must realize that that is what is happening."

"But how do I counter that?" she asked. "I can't focus on two things from you at once."

"True. So what is the solution."

The pink brows fell into a squint and the pinkish lips pursed slightly down. Like a brilliant sun looming on the horizon, she could sense the answer dawning in her mind. "...I focus on myself."

"Exactly," he said, eyes closed as a small smile became evident under his mask. "Great job, Sakura. I'm surprised you picked that up so quickly."

At the praise, she gave a humble nod through her glimmering eyes, a tiny smile adorning the face so glad.

"Don't focus on spotting when I change something on my side," Kakashi continued. "Focus on spotting when something is off within your own chakra system. This may not seem like too difficult a task, but what you must realize is that dojutsu like the Sharingan don't necessarily have to create a dam that grabs hold of a portion of your chakra. All they need to get away with is a trickle smaller than your finger and they're in."

"How do you counter something like that?"

"Most people can't; they just have to break it once they've been caught by realizing it's happened. Hence, the general rule not to look a Sharingan user in the eyes. But I'm going to try to do something different with you, Sakura."

"Something different?..."

"Yes, because your chakra control is so exceptionally good that I think you're one of the few people who could learn to keep track of it all, down to the very last drop. And if you can do that and also learn how to quickly and effectively break genjutsu, it won't even matter if I or Sasuke get you to look into our eyes. You'll be able to break the genjutsu anyway. But be warned, what I'm trying to teach you is very tricky business and is perhaps advanced beyond what even I may be able to teach you. Your own genius will eventually have to come into play. This is because you must not only learn to recognize the displacement of even a drop of chakra, you must learn that genjutsu varies. To be guarding against someone taking a drop by diverting it from your system is one thing, to guard against the subtle manipulations of someone messing with a drop in the stream is something much greater. And that's not to mention the fact that speed is also an issue, because if you break a genjutsu in half a second and the user's attack takes less than that time to reach you, you're dead."

She could feel a silent gulp passing through her throat. "This all sounds very hard," she said quietly.

"It's more than hard," he said simply. "It's near impossible, but fighting someone like Sasuke always is. That's just life." His smile flattened out before he continued. "But Sasukes still come knocking, and if you don't learn to fight 'em, I can guarantee you won't live to meet two of 'em."

The jade eyes settled on the dancing grass as the cogs went round and round. She knew this stuff would be hard, but the way Kakkashi was talking, it was like...like...like this was it. Like Sasuke was the big bad every genin learned you'd one day have to fight in ninja school. It was unreal... To think that he had been classified as a comrade and friend only days ago, and now, here they were, preparing to take him down should he ever return.

"I will also teach you a jutsu that supplements what Kakashi is trying to have you do."

Sakura turned to the blond haired Hokage who had now become a staple of their practices.

"It's an S-rank jutsu that lets your body regenerate instantly."

"Instantly?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, instantly. Trust me when I say you'll need it. The way Kakashi is teaching you to fight is powerful, but you won't always perceive an attack or genjutsu or hit. You're gonna take some damage, and when you do, you're gonna need to be able to regen quickly and not be knocked out of the fight. It's also not a bad idea in situations like that to create some distance so your body has a chance to heal itself." With a slight grin, she added, "Don't go lettin' them kill you in one blow."

Stock still for a brief moment, Sakura quickly nodded, "Yes, shisou," all the while ignoring that pit she could feel building inside.

"Now," Kakashi said, clapping his hands. "With all that being said, I think we're ready to give this another go."

Sakura stood still with her eyes on the ground, something unknown lingering in the emerald orbs as they watched the wind-blown grass. Seeming to pick up on the lingering unknown, Kakashi spoke once more. "Don't worry, Sakura. We're gonna be with you every step of the way."

Finally, the head of pink hair lifted and she gave a firm nod. "Yes, sensei."

...

A small crinkle resounded in the air as Jiraiya eyed the wrinkled paper resting in his hands, the usual writing scribbled in the center and a large red seal on the bottom right. Funny to think that this small thing was the only thing standing between him being free to go after Naruto and having to face a world of trouble as he tried to catch him.

"You better hurry up."

Jiraiya turned to the man standing beside him, the familiar tuft of brown hair dancing in the wind.

"Village scouts say Ryoshi is close and already making preparations to start working here. Now, I may be the leader of this strange town, but even I can't stop him."

"What about burying him in red tape like you were gonna do me?"

'You have something to lose, Jiraiya. You're part of Konoha and this big play at peace that we all have going on. Ryoshi's a one man unit. It's a lot harder to bully him. On top of that, it seems that you all at Konoha have hired him, which means to stop him is to overrule-" He held out a hand for Jiraiya to finish.

"Us," Jiraiya said silently.

"Exactly. Now why you all are sending someone like him after this kid while you're already going after him yourself is a mystery to me, but I've suspected for a while that we're not the only strange town on the map, so I'll leave it at that."

Inhaling a bit, Jiraiya nodded and held up the paper. "Thanks for this."

"Hurry up and catch that kid."

"Will do. You stall for me however you can. I owe you one."

"By now, you probably owe me ten."

With a soft chuckle, he held out a fist. The man responded with a held-out fist of his own, and when they had collided, Jiraiya set out, the tendrils of dusk already painting the town a deepening orange.

Author's Note:

Another chapter down! Yeahhhhh! Hope you all enjoyed it! :D I really enjoyed writing this one and feel like it propels the story into the writing sections that I'm most at home in. Hopefully, that is reflected in the writing itself as the story goes on. As I said, other stories are in the works and should be updated relatively soon. That being said, please review... Please. :) And especially review if you enjoyed this chapter for a certain reason or liked a specific encounter or scene. Ok, that's all from me for now. Y'all stay safe, and I'll see y'all in the next one.