New Gods: Escape

Write a letter to a precious person in your life.

Naruto, seated crisscross at his low table, simply glowers at the paper that Iruka-sensei had Sakura pass out during class. He'll probably just write some kiss-ass and inoffensive piece about the Third Hokage, that should make everyone happy. Probably not Iruka-sensei, though. He'll probably just disinterestedly criticize Naruto's simple Lunar Tongue.

Naruto tries to run through people he could write and only comes up with two others, excluding the Third Hokage: Ayame and Teuchi. He can't really call them their precious people. Naruto's more like a regular customer that the owners could have a friendly chat with.

That left him with...no one.

A bitter laugh comes out of Naruto's mouth, one that sounds wholly too resigned for an 8-year-old. He blinks back tears as his laughter turns to sobs.

Naruto is 8 when he realizes that no one loves him as much he loves them.

Naruto opens his eyes to a sewer bathed in dull yellow light. He's lying on his back in water one or two inches deep. Despite its appearance, the sewer has no distinguishable scent.

It takes a second for Naruto to get his bearings straight but when he does he shoots up, frantically looking around because why is he in a sewer how did he get here what is going on--

His panicky train of thought is interrupted when he feels it: a miasma of anger and hate so potent that it almost weighs the air around him down. Naruto turns toward where it's coming from: an abyssal darkness behind what appears to be a gate, with the kanji for "seal" on it.

A pair of eyes, red with slit pupils, open up and Naruto feels the hairs on his neck rise. He shudders. Whatever is behind the gate is older and more powerful than Naruto could ever imagine.

"Do you know who I am, child?" A deep, gravelly voice speaks. Naruto barely comprehends that he's shaking in fear.

Naruto frantically shakes his head.

The entity behind the gate chuckles in a way that makes Naruto want to vomit. "Oh, child, I think you do."

One moment Naruto is looking into red eyes and the next images are flashing through his mind: nine tails, the destruction of a mountain range with a flick of one, the death of so many people as the creature roams free upon the Earth.

Naruto feels, too. He feels the bottomless hatred and desire to destroy mankind, the glee in being an elephant that can crush ants.

The sensation passes but Naruto is still left with a dull ache inside his head and a churning stomach. He bends over and retches but nothing comes out of his mouth.

But the creature was right, Naruto does know who it is.

The Kyuubi no Kitsune smiles.

After a moment of deafening silence, Naruto finally musters up the courage to ask the Kyuubi a question. "Where are we?"

"This is your mindscape, a visual representation of your conscious, subconscious and unconscious. We are inside your mind."

Naruto acts braver than he feels, and ignores his own confusion. He tries to show that he will not be some intimidated child, but his voice shakes when he asks, "Why are you here, then? If this is my mindscape?"

"I was sealed inside of you, by the Fourth Hokage." Naruto hears a mix of anger and cruelty in this fact. Naruto guesses that there's more to the story than the Kyuubi lets on.

For the first time a while, things fall into place, and Naruto understands what is going on. "So that's the reason they...they..."

"Why they loathe you and call you monster?" Naruto flinches, he's certain that the Kyuubi's bluntness comes from cruelty rather than principal. "Such is the fate of all Jinchuuriki, for humans are a treacherous race: the Jinchuuriki protect the entire village from not only my brethren, but also deter wars between other countries."

So much is packed into that sentence that Naruto can only numbly ask, "Jinchuuriki?"

"Jinchuuriki are people that become the jailers of me and my brethren. They exist as weapons for mankind."

"Weapon?" Naruto asks, breathless. Though the thought doesn't quite fully sink in, he understands enough to be shocked.

"Why else would I have been sealed inside of you? Your Fourth Hokage could have gotten rid of me all together, but he preserved me inside of you for the sake of this village."

"The Fourth Hokage?" Naruto asks, breathless. His hero? His hero is the reason he's treated the way he is? Naruto feels tears run down his face.

"Why...why are you telling me this? Are you just trying to make feel terrible?" Naruto raises his tear streaked face to look the Kyuubi in his eyes.

The Kyuubi drums his fingers against the flooded floor of the sewer, considering. "There are people who would make me their slave. I am safe from them when I'm in this prison, but if you die, then I am rereleased into the world to be controlled. I have called you here to make you an offer: I will reveal to you the secrets of your past, of the world's past. And I will teach you in the arts of shinobi. And, one day, I will need you to kill certain people."

Naruto's breath hitches. Kill two people? "I don't think...I don't think I can do that."

"Oh? And what is it you can't do?"

"K-kill."

Naruto practically whimpers when the Kyuubi responds with a derisive laugh. "What do you think regular shinobi do? Prance about in flower fields and throw shuriken at trees? Even as a regular shinobi, you'd have to kill others."

"Then I don't want to be a shinobi," Naruto says quietly, defeatedly.

The Kyuubi sneers. "An impossibility. You are this village's greatest asset, it's most powerful weapon, you'd become a shinobi whether you desired it or not."

Naruto stepped back like he had been struck. So he's just...some tool? He's not allowed any agency? Is that why the Third Hokage checks up on him? Is that why he isn't in the orphanage? "So, I don't have a choice?" Naruto asks.

The Kyuubi smiles again, vicious and unmerciful. "Who said you don't have a choice? There is always a choice, perhaps it is not right or illegal or complex, but the choice is still there, the world is simply trying to erase that choice from you. I shall let you consider the offer."

Then, suddenly, Naruto is back in his bedroom, laying down on the futon.

He doesn't sleep for the rest of the night.

The next night, Naruto finds himself back in the sewer.

The red eyes stare at him through the bars. "Did you come up with an answer?"

A pause, "You lied."

The Kyuubi snorts. "Oh? About what?"

"About me being a weapon. It doesn't make sense. If I'm a weapon, why am I alone? Shouldn't I have someone who trains me to be a good ninja?"

The fox chuckles, "So you can use that tiny brain. You haven't been trained simply because the leaders of this village are incompetent, not for any logical reason."

Naruto scoffs. "Like I'm going to believe that."

"Believe what you wish. Their own incompetence was simply the most logical answer. There are other possibilities, of course: No one wished to train you. Or, perhaps, they feared that you would be too strong and intelligent."

Naruto snorts without meaning to, ignoring the way the Kyuubi attempts to get under his skin. "Like I'm intelligent enough for someone to fear me."

"Oh no, child. Trust me when I say you have high potential. At least, compared to the rest of your loathsome species."

Naruto chuckles mirthlessly, but doesn't respond.

"Of course, at the rate that foolish Academy teaches you, you might as well be a civilian. I have been sealed in two kunoichi in possession of impressive prowess, I know more of the way of the Ninja than your senile Third Hokage could ever understand."

"You can use chakra?" Naruto asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Use chakra? I am chakra," he says with a bloodcurdling smile. "I am older than ninjustu itself."

Naruto feels a chill go down his back. To his own horror, he finds himself considering the Kyuubi's deal.

"Aside from training in the way of the Ninja, what else could I gain?" Naruto asks, attempting to keep his face neutral.

"You've forgotten what I told you already?" Naruto's face colors in embarrassment. "With how you're mind functions, I'm unsurprised."

A flash of irritation runs through Naruto. "Oh, I thought I had potential, but now my mind functions weirdly?"

"Who said it was an insult?" The Kyuubi states. "Your mother had similar problems as you, though they were expressed somewhat differently. She was forgetful, irritable, and easily distracted. She found routine tasks incredibly stressful and found it difficult to begin her daily duties."

"My...mother?" Naruto says. He's thought of those two words multiple times, to say it, however, feels alien.

"Before I was sealed inside of you, I was sealed inside of her."

"What was her name?" Naruto blurts the question out.

"Tut tut. You haven't agreed to my deal yet, child."

Naruto's eye twitches. He throws his hands up. "Fine! I don't need your stupid deal! I'll find out myself."

"And how will you do that?"

Naruto looks down at the ground, feeling embarrassed. He doesn't know how he would, he doesn't even know how he would start.

"There is a memorial dedicated to those who fell in service of this village. She had your last name," The fox states.

Naruto is taken aback by the information. He almost forgets to thank the fox.

"Don't thank people who wish to use you, child. Consider that information--what do you humans have? ah yes, consider it a free sample. Now... go."

It's raining when he finds her name carved into black marble. He only recognizes the lunar characters of her last name.

The Kyuubi had told the truth.

"My mother was an Uzumaki..." Naruto says to himself. He traces the name with his index finger. "Uzumaki...Mo-Mom." Naruto bites his lip, and blinks fiercely. He doesn't want to cry, not here, not now, but he ends up crying anyway. He holds himself as he falls to his knees, repeating "Mom" to himself, over and over through sobs, like saying it again will bring her back from the dead, like the word is sacred.

Naruto rises and brings blurred, puffy eyes back to her name. The Kyuubi was inside her before it had been sealed in him. Was she treated like him? Was she shunned? If she was, then who had loved her? Who had she met that would have looked over such a thing? The thought passes through Naruto's head that she might have been raped and Naruto laughs bitterly. He had her last name, after all, so maybe he never would had a father. It would make cruel sense for him, too, wouldn't it? To be a child that not even his mother had intended to keep around.

He supposes he should be feeling something, feeling sad that his mother had died instead. He doesn't feel anything at all. Naruto had assumed from the onset that his parents were dead, he never dared to hope otherwise; he had quit at the starting line.

As he walks back to his apartment, oilcloth robe draped around his body and hood pulled over his head, Naruto wonders about what kind of woman she was. Was she pretty? Was her hair color his shade of blond? Was she sweet tempered or viciously shrewish? What ninja art was she good at? If she had survived the night of the Kyuubi attack, and found out her newborn son was now the jailor of the being that almost destroyed the village, would she had loved him anyway?

Would she love a monster?

Because that is what Naruto is, demon fox be damned. Naruto has taken the names people called him and took them as truth. He was a monster, in milder words: a hellion. Naruto is petty, a vindictive pranker, a vandal. He's a monster, a beast, a demon. He might smile or pout on the outside, but inside? Naruto is angry. Angry and miserable and bitter and empty and sometimes cruel. Only a monster would think like he does, wouldn't it? Only a monster would give itself a bruise just to be able to see the Hokage twice in a month. Only a monster would push a kid because the cashier who refused to give it candy gave the other kid a free one, right?

Naruto supposes that if both he and the Kyuubi are monsters, why shouldn't they help each other?

Naruto begins his day as he usually does: by staring at the ceiling for 30 minutes from his futon. It takes that long after waking up from the shrill ringing of his alarm clock--a used, scuffed up thing he got at a secondhand store--to convince himself to get ready for the day. He brushes his teeth, eats instant ramen for breakfast, changes into a t-shirt and shorts, checks his bag, and heads off. Showering is something he's too unmotivated to do in the mornings, so he usually takes them when he gets back from school and before he can go to sleep. Instead, he just sprays himself with deodorant and prays no one notices.

He makes it to the school, where the younger kids--the kids that are around Naruto's age--stand outside with their mothers who are dropping them off at school. The kids giggle at him as he walks straight through the crowd, their parents' easy chatter turns to disapproving murmurs.

There he goes, the monster.

Can you believe Lord Third allows him to attend this place?

Thank the stars and moon that he's last place in his class.

If he thinks of even getting near my child I'll--

Naruto hangs his head, he always does. He goes through this every morning, he should have gotten used to this by now. He supposes he has; he doesn't have to lock himself in a bathroom and cry like he had to. Still, he shrinks when confronted by looks and whispers, as if he could make himself invisible.

Sasuke is usually the only one in the room before him. He used to come the same time as roughly everyone else, guided by his kind-faced and elegant mother--the only one of the parents that would give Naruto a soft smile and gentle nod of the head whenever they made eye contact--who Naruto only remembers as Lady Uchiha. Not once had Naruto heard anyone say her first name. She stopped dropping Sasuke off last year.

Naruto takes his seat close to the center of the class, directly in Iruka's line of fire. Naruto was put there after his teacher caught him distracted by a little rabbit prancing around outside. Iruka seems to be under the impression that moving him closer would help him pay attention. His impression was, of course, wrong. Naruto can, and will, get distracted by anything, from a fly buzzing around the lights to the potato chip crumb Chouji has on his face.

He attends class at the Academy, in a stale smelling room with harsh fluorescent lights and kids who talk to everyone except him. The teachers don't pick him to answer questions unless he's obviously distracted and they want to make an example of him.

Naruto usually checks out of the lessons rather quickly, then remembers where he is and pushes himself back into paying attention. He goes through that cycle throughout the whole day: pay attention, get distracted, pay attention, get distracted, pay attention, get distracted. By the time the school day is over, he's usually mentally usually exhausted himself and only picked up on half the things anyone taught.

There's a lunch break and recess for his class halfway or so through the day. Naruto never brings lunch, he can never bring himself to prepare anything in the morning, and he's not allowed to use the electric kettle in the teacher's lounge, so he can't make instant ramen. No one wants to play with Naruto, so he usually hogs the lone swing under the tree.

Naruto loves the sensations of the swing, the dragging of going up and down, the rush of wind past his face and hair. Sometimes, it's so close to flying that he can close his eyes and imagine himself as a hawk or pigeon or kingfisher or anything except Uzumaki Naruto and it makes him happy. It's freeing in a way that does nothing but make him miserable when the break is over.

The first thing that the Kyuubi has Naruto do, aside from listen to his lectures and answer questions, is write and read. Naruto's literacy is limited: he can barely read and barely write, the little he can having been painstakingly self-taught over the past years since he started the Academy.

Naruto gets some notebooks from the stationery store, ignoring the dirty looks, and a dictionary. The Kyuubi has him write down characters over and over and over. Then, the Kyuubi has him write sentences. Simple ones, of course, but Naruto can tell they'll slowly build in complexity until he's at least as proficient in the Lunar Tongue as his classmates.

His work is messy and big, so unlike the neat, pretty characters that adorn store signs and the name-plates in front of houses and next to apartment doors. It demotivates him so much he nearly quits. The fox has to persuade him by convincing him that he needs to be able to read scrolls in order to learn jutsu.

To improve his reading skills, Naruto has to start at the bottom: embarrassing little children's books. The Kyuubi thought it appropriate to get a book about why the Lunar Tongue was called the Lunar Tongue. Something about a goddess descending from the moon who gave the first man the ability to speak. Or at least, that's what the Kyuubi says it's about; Naruto couldn't really comprehend what was written, a fact that made him indescribably embarrassed.

The second thing the Kyuubi had Naruto do was learn to move chakra: the first step to casting any ninjutsu or genjutsu and even some taijutsu. Naruto was at a true loss for how to even start with that. The Kyuubi said that he should imagine his chakra as a network of energy flowing through channels called coils.

It took Naruto a good thirty minutes until he successfully got it. It felt like wind ran through him, like there were tempests in his arteries and tornadoes in his veins. It was something uncontrollable, at least for now, like pushing a ball down a hill: you might start the movement, but nature does the rest.

Much to Naruto's shock, the Kyuubi congratulates him. Naruto feels ashamed of his own elation.

"Why do you hate people?"

"Why shouldn't I hate your kind?"

"Okay, fair," Naruto admits. The Kyuubi snorts. "But like, is there a reason?"

The Kyuubi's eyes darken, and Naruto almost takes his question back. "Before Uchiha Madara, I was free. Overconfident humans bothered me only occasionally, but they were squashed like gnats and I could move on. Uchiha Madara enslaved me, and when he was defeated, I was not freed. Rather, I was imprisoned in Uzumaki Mito, then your mother Uzumaki Kushina, and then in you."

Naruto nods. The fox had revealed his mother's first name a while ago, the night he returned home from the memorial. Naruto had cried himself to sleep. He didn't know who his father was quite yet.

"To Uchiha Madara, I was a beast to be tamed. To Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Kushina, I was a burden. When I was let out of Kushina on the night of your birth, I was used by a fourth man and placed in a genjutsu that made me attack this village. I have only been a weapon to your kind, why should I like them? They fight amongst each other like dogs and I'm the one who suffers."

Naruto lets the words sink in, and asks a question that had been floating in his head for a while now, "Did you kill my parents?"

The Kyuubi's answer is blunt, "Yes."

Naruto, laying down in his mindscape, doesn't make eye contact with the Kyuubi. He simply stares up at the ceiling of the sewer. "Why?"

Naruto expects the Kyuubi to talk about how he was under a genjutsu, how he wasn't in control of himself and killed them that day because he had been ordered to. Instead, the Kyuubi says, "I was trying to kill you, they simply got in the way."

Naruto turns to look into the Kyuubi's red eyes. "Huh?"

"When I had killed your parents, I had been released from the genjutsu I was put in. Your Fourth Hokage was going to seal me again, imprison me again inside of you. I was going to free myself by killing you."

Naruto should be angry at that, should lash out at the Kyuubi for trying to kill him, for having killed his mother. He should probably go back on his word and break their agreement.

"I wish you'd succeeded."

The Kyuubi is silent for a long while after that.

Naruto takes his fist and drives it into his bare stomach as tears run in little rivers down his face.

His father? His father was the Fourth Hokage? And he's the reason Naruto has the Kyuubi inside of him?

His fist connects with his stomach again, harder, harsher.

And the villagers...he's the son of the most mourned man in Konoha and not one of them....

He punches himself again, briefly recalling the first time he had injured himself. He was seven and wanted the Third Hokage's attention. He had accidentally fallen down a flight of stairs and the Hokage had come to visit him. Naruto realized the Hokage would probably come visit him if he was injured, so he made up some story about being punched in the stomach by a masked man and presented to the hospital and it felt so wonderful even as it tore him up inside to lie.

Naruto would hurt himself over and over again if it meant someone would show up and worry about him.

By the time Naruto puts himself to sleep that night, his torso is littered in fast-healing bruises.

It takes Naruto ten months to cut the leaf in half, but when he does, he bursts into tears.

What Naruto really wants to learn is fuuinjutsu, but the Kyuubi told him that he should learn things he can properly use in a fight first. Most of the time, he won't be able to kneel down, unfurl a scroll, take out ink and a brush, and paint a seal array in the middle of battle. There was Water Style: Ink Maker Jutsu that allowed someone to create a seal on the ground or even in the middle of the air, but in order to learn that, he'd have to learn water style and that was a whole other sealed chakra demon in a person to deal with. Naruto would have to stick with learning wind style.

Naruto feels his pulse rise as he remembers what the Kyuubi said he'd tell him when he could properly split the leaf in half.

His clan. The Uzumaki. He had a clan! Even if the thought of them being gone makes him sad, it still gives him something he's always wanted: a legacy. So many of the kids in his class are the heirs of Konoha's clans, they have their own history, their own practices, and their own jutsus. They had something that made them special. Naruto didn't know he was the Fourth Hokage's son until last year, a fact more bitter than sweet, and, aside from that, only really had being the village's abused weapon as something to set him apart from others.

Until now, until he found out there was an Uzumaki clan.

Naruto listens as Kurama tells Naruto of the things he learned while in the bodies of Mito and Kushina: of a red haired clan and huge chakra reserves and a rare art that they were most suited to doing. He learns of a village hidden in the eddies where they could be at peace. He learns of an alliance with the Senju, a clan of intellectuals and Konoha's founders. He continues to listen as he learns of war, the business of shinobi, and a surprise attack that destroyed a culture.

By the time Naruto finishes listening, sitting cross-legged within his mindscape, he's crying. He yearns to know these people, learn their histories. Naruto wants to remember them, because he feels that no one else will.

The Kyuubi lets Naruto mourn something he didn't know he had lost.

Wind Style: Breakthrough!

Naruto gathers chakra in his lungs and blows it out, turning it into a gale as he does. He watches as the gust of wind, not so strong as to attract attention to his training area, but strong enough to destroy the thorn bush within it.

Naruto almost screams as he watches the bush get blown away. His first successful elemental jutsu!

Careful, child . The Kyuubi interrupts Naruto’s train of self-congratulatory thought. Execute the jutsu successfully two more times, then you can celebrate.

Naruto scowls petulantly but gets to it. Once more, he gathers the chakra in his lungs, feels the buzz as it concentrates within his chest. Naruto makes sure not to lean back: the power in a jutsu does not come from the power of the physical movements but rather the amount of chakra poured into it. Leaning back as he breathes in and pushing his head forward as he leans out will do nothing but advertise where the enemy should watch out for. Using his diaphragm, Naruto pushes the chakra out of his lungs and through his mouth, where he shapes it into a spout and turns it into a spinning gale.

The boy smiles, and fills his lungs with buzzing chakra once more.

Seals are networks.

That’s the first thing Naruto learns about seals. They have arrays that can be web-like in their interconnectedness and nuance. Messing one up can have any array of consequences from exploding in his face to glowing for three seconds before fizzing out.

So the first thing Naruto does is practice improving his brushstrokes. He spends an inordinate amount of time in a day doing nothing but painting lines and zigzags and curves and circles. He’s okay with it, however; it improves his handwriting after all.

Seals are networks, so Naruto makes sure to look over every nook and cranny of his first genuine seal before he places an Initiator array at the beginning. He doesn't want to cause a chain reaction that ends up injuring him, after all.

The seal itself is pretty benign: it gently pushes air away from the paper. Naruto intends to use it to help cool him down during the hot and humid Konoha summers. The array itself is very simple: the Lunar Character for wind followed by the character for push, linked by a line. What activated it was the Initiator array: a straight, horizontal line at the top of the seal that chakra is pushed into. The Initiator is what activates the seal, causing the air to be pushed away in a dome from the seal.

Naruto lets himself bask in the cooling air of his first success.

He graduates. Naruto is dead last in his class, but he graduates.

He sits on his swing as parents congratulate each other. The Ladies Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi talk amongst each other as Shikamaru and Ino bicker good-naturedly and Chouji laughs beside them. Shino's mother (Naruto's not sure if she's the wife of the clan head, in which case she'd be the Lady Aburame, or simply the wife of a cadet member of the family, in which case she'd be Mrs. Aburame Shibi), talks off to the side to the Lady Inuzuka. The Lady Hyuuga, Hinata's mother, talks to the Lady Dowager Hyuuga Hizashi, who Naruto assumes are in-laws. Hinata stands there rather awkwardly as a boy who can't more than two years older than her with the same milk-white eyes glares off at the distance. Sakura's mother, a civilian, so simply Mrs. Haruno, talks with a group of civilian parents.

Naruto had a taken a full week to memorize the system of address and courtesy titles belonging to Konoha's clans, using the Senju as an example. Senju Hashirama was the clan head, and therefore the Lord Senju. Uzumaki Mito was his wife, and therefore the Lady Senju. Senju Tobirama was a cadet of the main line, and therefore Lord Senju Tobirama. Had Senju Tobirama married, his wife would be Lady Senju Tobirama. Any cousin of the two would be entitled Mr., followed by his full name, and his wife would be Mrs., followed by her husband's full name.

Women in Konoha, apparently, weren't given the dignity to use their own names after marriage.

Of course, no one comes to congratulate him. He's fine with that, however. After all, he might have finished his education at the Academy, but his real education? The one with the Kyuubi? That was only getting started.

There is something I must tell you about your new sensei.

The cyclops? as Naruto has taken to calling Kakashi. Something the Kyuubi is especially fond of is how Naruto has grown into a derisive person. Naruto has little respect for anything or anyone anymore.

Yes, him. He was a student of your father's.

Naruto pauses. Really?

Really.

Then why haven't I ever seen him around before?

Don't ask me. Naruto can imagine the Kyuubi shrugging. He can tell from his tone of voice that the conversation is already over. The information leaves a curling irritation in Naruto's stomach, a coiling darkness.

Being a genin, it turns out, is the equivalent of being a traveler, but without the traveling. Naruto and Sasuke and Sakura meet by the bridge, wait for an inevitably late Kakashi-sensei, and perform odd jobs that they get underpaid for. Paint fences, herd livestock, weed a garden, collect crops, carry supplies, catch cats. The list goes on and on and doesn't end.

Naruto is sick of it. He can tell Sakura and Sasuke are, too, even if they don't look his way most of the time. So Naruto does what he does best: he kicks up a fuss. He complains continuously about the boring missions and wasted time and when are we gonna get to the cool stuff like beating bandits?

Kakashi-sensei (Naruto tries not to think about how he was the Fourth Hokage's student, how he was someone who was once supposed to be in life and isn't.) eventually listens. He goes to the mission desk and gets them a C-rank: escorting a drunk bridge builder to his homeland and oversee the building of his bridge. The Kyuubi tells Naruto that something is up with the man and Naruto makes note just in case something happens during the mission.

Naruto looks at everything with wide, astonished eyes. The large trees that stretch on for miles, the beaten dirt path, the birds and bugs.

"Oh, look, that's an oriole!" Naruto says with a genuine smile as he points. He feels a little like those children he'd see, tugging at their parents' sleeves to show them something cool.

The bridge-builder, Tazuna, smiles, narrowing his eyes as he looks through the brush for the oriole. "This kid of yours has got an eye for nature, I'll tell you," he slurs.

"Yeah, Naruto, where did you get all this bird spotting knowledge anyway?"

"Guidebooks," Naruto says simply.

"Guidebooks?" Sakura scoffs.

Naruto nods but doesn't explain further.

See that puddle over there? The Kyuubi says.

Yeah, what about it?

That's two enemy shinobi in disguise.

Naruto nearly trips over his own two feet.

"Eh? Kid, what's wrong?" Tazuna asks.

Naruto just points to the puddle, and before he can say anything, the two jump out and attack. Before Naruto can even get to protecting Tazuna, Sasuke has already taken care of the two, knocked them out and tied them together. Naruto sighs and lets his shoulders slump as the tension is released from his body. For all Naruto knows about fuuinjutsu and ninjutsu, his combat skills are still severely lacking; he would definitely have lost that fight.

"What's wrong, scaredy cat?" Sasuke says with a smirk as he turns around. Naruto's fist ache to make contact with his own stomach.

He doesn't know why it upsets him as much as it does. Maybe it's because he expected having a team to be different. He expected a teacher who payed him attention and peers who didn't call him names. He expected growth, to get to know people, to show people he wasn't just some monster.

He expected to have someone, anyone, he could call a person of his own.

Naruto should have known not to be so naïve. Who would love a monster?

It's with the Kyuubi's advanced warning that Naruto swirls around with a kunai and almost successfully kills their assailant right there. The enemy--a tall, broad-shouldered man--body flickers out of the way. Seconds later, Naruto successfully avoids a large blade that comes flying at him and lodges itself in a tree. Naruto throws a minor smoke bomb and makes a shadow clone that sinks into the earth.

A man--Momochi Zabuza, Naruto later finds out--reveals himself, standing (perhaps too) dramatically on his own sword. Naruto interrupts whatever dialogue the man is having with Kakashi-sensei by using Wind Style: Wind Blade, which cuts straight through the tree Zabuza's sword is stuck in. Sasuke, fortunately, continues the offensive Naruto started by launching a fireball at Zabuza as soon as he touches ground. Naruto offers support by sending a gust of wind to bloat Sasuke's fireball, but when the fireball hits Zabuza substitutes away.

Naruto feels the rush of air as Zabuza body flickers behind him and substitutes himself with the charred log Zabuza used moments prior. He strings his hands together in a series of hand seals and exhales a gust of wind far more powerful than the last one.

Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!

Kakashi's eyes widen as a great whirlwind fills the air, but Zabuza moves right where Naruto needs him to. He leaps back in an attempt to avoid the gale, and Naruto's shadow clone jumps out of the earth, unfurled scroll in hand. The scroll makes contact with Zabuza's bare back and Naruto watches his eyes widen as the scroll starts draining him of his chakra. Kakashi takes the opportunity of the split second distraction and stabs his kunai into Zabuza's abdomen. It reveals itself to be a water clone, however, and melts into the ground in a splash.

The fox warns Naruto that Zabuza, the real one, has body flickered behind him. Naruto simply smiles as he substitutes with his clone, which poofs away as Naruto throws an kunai with a decoy explosive tag wrapped around the grip towards him.

Zabuza body flickers onto the lake and raises two fingers to the sky as a thick mist starts filling the air.

"Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

Naruto thinks it's an incredibly foolish idea to announce what jutsu someone is performing as they perform it, but he supposes Zabuza is very confident in his own abilities.

Naruto, however, is also confident in his abilities.

He narrows his eyes and tries to peer through the dense fog to no avail. It's good that the Kyuubi can still warn him if Zabuza is near, but Naruto has another jutsu up his sleeve. He runs through the hand seals for the jutsu.

Wind Style: Echolocator Jutsu!

Naruto clicks his tongue, much like a bat or dolphin, and senses where everyone is. Sakura and Sasuke, guarding Tazuna, are frantically on guard, while Kakashi-sensei is attempting to use his Sharingan to spy through the mist.

Naruto brings out his ace: a regular kunai with a Flying Raijin seal wrapped around the grip. He throws it behind Zabuza and boosts the speed with wind chakra. There's a boom as the kunai breaks the sound barrier and Naruto appears behind the swordsman, plunging a kunai into his back.

There's a yelp of pain, but before Zabuza can turn around and hit Naruto, he throws the Flying Raijin kunai back to where he was originally standing and disappears. The noise Zabuza made alerts Kakashi-sensei, who comes in with his own kunai.

Zabuza breaks the jutsu and Naruto narrows eyes. He has an advantage with the mist, even if they have work arounds, why would he dispel it?

One moment, Zabuza is fine. The next, a senbon is sticking out of the back of his neck and he's dead. Legally, at least. A Kirigakure Hunter-nin takes him with his sword and Naruto has a feeling in his gut that something is off with the situation. He should voice it, tell Kakashi-sensei about his suspicions, or at least his teammates.

Naruto remembers the way Sakura scoffed when she heard that he'd be on her team, the way Sasuke has practically ignored his presence entirely. Naruto remembers the way Kakashi-sensei is late to every training session, and the way he brushes it off with a flippant attitude.

Naruto remembers what the Kyuubi told him, that Kakashi-sensei was the Yondaime's student, and realizes that Kakashi-sensei hasn't visited him once, let alone acted like there was some connection between Naruto and him. In fact, Kakashi-sensei has done nothing but tease him for his absentmindedness and halfheartedly train him. Naruto feels something vicious snarl inside of him, something petty. Naruto is a spiteful person, so he keeps his mouth shut.

Naruto doesn't end up saying anything, neither does the Kyuubi.

Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, fusses over them the moment they make it to Tazuna's house and Naruto is ashamed by how good it feels to have someone care for him. It actually makes him feel guilty, so Naruto helps around the house when he can without Tsunami-san even asking. He tidies up clothes, sweeps corners, and washes dishes, even when Tsunami-san scolds him for it and makes him rest.

Tsunami's son, however, is a little shit.

Naruto, quick to irritation and even quicker to mockery, has to clench his hands and hold himself back whenever the brat attempts to get a rise out of him. Inari did, however, earn some points with Naruto when he called Sakura ugly, even if he did get a clobbering from her when he involuntarily snorted.

"Hey, Tsunami-san, where's the..." Naruto trails off when he sees Tsunami-san mending clothes.

"The bathroom?" Naruto's face flushes as he nods. It's the third time he's forgotten where the bathroom is that week. "Down the hall to the left."

"Thank you, can I help you with that?" Naruto asks.

Tsunami huffs, but she's smiling. "You are my honored guests, not boarders. You don't have to take care of things here in return for a roof and a meal."

"I know that! I actually like stitching and sewing!"

Tsunami-san narrows her eyes as she levels her gaze at him, discerning whether or not Naruto is telling the truth. He is, of course. Even if it was a rather painful process to teach himself how to sew, full of finger pricks and stepping on lost needles, Naruto genuinely likes putting clothes together and embroidering. Especially now, since the Kyuubi is helping him learn how to embroider seals. Tsunami-san decides that he's telling the truth and nods with a gentle smile.

Naruto returns and picks up a needle from the sewing kit that he threads with a black string. Naruto gets to work mending a small dark green shirt he assumes belongs to Inari.

"How did you pick up sewing?" Tsunami-san asks, attempting to fill the silence.

"Oh, I taught myself!" Naruto smiles proudly.

"Really?" Tsunami-san's brows shoot up in surprise.

Naruto nods. "I've basically been on my own since I was born, so I've had to teach myself a lot of things. Sewing is one of the things I like to do, though, so I do it often. I made this shirt, y'know!" Naruto motions to the white tee with he's wearing with a red spiral in the middle.

"Wow! You can make your own clothes at your age?"

"Yup! Tell Inari-kun that next time he calls me a good-for-nothing!" Naruto snickers.

Tsunami-san scoffs. "Don't take my son's words to heart. He's been through a lot, you know."

"I can imagine," Naruto says as he sets aside the first shirt and picks up a stained wife beater that likely belongs to Tazuna. "It seems rough out here."

"You have no idea, Naruto-kun." And Naruto doesn't. He listens, horrified, as Tsunami explains the story of Inari's only father figure. A kind man named Kaiza, who sacrificed himself for the sake of his community.

Naruto thinks back to himself, to his miserable childhood. To the childhood that stretches onto now, because Naruto doesn't feel like he's grown, not really. When he reflects inward and thinks of himself, he feels the same emptiness he's felt for as long as he can remember. Naruto is a tall child. What would Naruto be like, if he had even one person by his side? What would Naruto be like if that person died?

Naruto expresses his sadness at the situation and the two move onto something lighter before a comfortable silence settles in the air between them, broken only by Naruto's occasional humming or the rustling of the pile of clothes as they set aside a garment for another. It's so...unlike the quiet of Naruto's apartment. The silence there is emptiness, an echo of Naruto's isolation. Here, it's familiar, occupied.

Naruto wonders if this is what having a mother is like.

Sasuke, on the ground, and Sakura, sitting on the branch of a tree, both look at Naruto, eyes wide in surprise. Naruto swings his legs back and forth from where he's perched on a tree branch, smirking.

"What's so surprising?" He asks, despite knowing full well why Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei are all staring. To see the dead-last of their class having already mastered tree-walking must be like a slap to the face, especially when the class prodigy hasn't even learned it yet.

Sasuke's face immediately shifts into a scowl and he attempts to walk up the side of the tree again, only to fall on his ass. Naruto stifles laughter.

Kakashi-sensei speaks, "Don't worry, Sasuke! I'll stay here and help you. Naruto, Sakura, since you already have it down, do whatever you want."

Naruto nods and jumps down to the ground. He considers his options before deciding to walk through the forest to go bird spotting. He's wanted to do it since he got here, but hasn't quite found the time. Fortunately, he stumbles on a dirt path and makes his way through the trees, eyes turned upward. The trees here are shorter than the big, thick ones that surround Konoha, and thinner too. Light shines through a much thinner canopy, so the ground his absent of the speckled light that hits the earth of Konoha. He sees an oriole, again. A Sunswallower Oriole, for the flash of yellowy orange on its throat. A Red-backed Robin, a Black-speckled Thrush, a White-striped Sparrow. Naruto pauses in fascination when his eyes land on a feeding shrike.

Shrikes always elicit a morbid curiosity within Naruto, their violent feeding habits always making him shudder when he reads about them. This is the first time he's seen one in person, however, and he can't tear his eyes away. It has a white belly and a soft brown back, with red spots around its eyes and a black beak.

Shrikes impale their prey on thorns, and this ones seems to have caught some type of small squirrel. Its partner, for most shrike species live in pairs, settles on the branch next to it and starts to feed.

"What are you looking at?" Naruto nearly jumps out of his skin as he turns to face the black-haired...girl? Naruto would assume femininity at the pink sleeveless kimono and choker, but he knows better than to assume. "Oh! I'm sorry if I scared you!" Naruto takes in the basket full of herbs and assumes their some sort of local healer.

He chuckles awkwardly and scratches the back of his head. "It's fine. I'm just looking at those birds over there." He points to the two shrikes.

"Oh my stars...are they eating that squirrel!?"

"Yup! Morbid, right?" They nod. "It's some species of shrike, they impale their prey on thorns or branches. This is my first time seeing them in person, though. Kinda makes my skin crawl." He finishes the statement with another awkward laugh.

"Do you know a lot about birds?" They ask. Naruto wants to ask them if they're a boy or a girl, or neither, actually, but decides it would be rude.

Naruto nods. "They've always interested me, since I was young, actually. I always wanted to fly like they can. Really, all nature interests me, since I don't usually get to see a lot of the world outside my village."

They smile pleasantly, and something about them feels...familiar. Naruto's probably just seen them around town. "You're a shinobi, aren't you?" They motion to the hitai-ate Naruto has wrapped around his upper left arm.

Naruto smiles. "You bet! What do you do?"

"Ah, not much. I'm visiting the area, you see."

Naruto barely prevents his eyes from narrowing, and he realizes that this is the Kiri Hunter-nin who took Zabuza's corpse away. But why are they gathering herbs? Why are they still here? Unless...

Naruto's face turns into a smirk, and the Hunter-nin must realize that Naruto knows who they are. "I guess my disguise wasn't that good, huh?"

"Try shaving your hair or something, next time. I'm guessing you're not really with Kirigakure?"

"And what if I'm not?" They ask with a raised eyebrow. They're smiling, and so is Naruto. He finds this oddly...exciting?

Naruto shrugs. "I'm not here to rat your secret out."

They seem genuinely taken aback by that answer. "You do realize what my master's mission is, right?"

"If push comes to shove, we'll just stop you," Naruto says.

"Oddly confident, don't you think?" They start walking around Naruto, appraising. Naruto feels his heartbeat thrum excitedly in his chest. This dance of words, the way they avoid saying their names. It's like a game, almost.

"Excuse me? We almost beat your master on the way here!"

Naruto watches their smirk freeze as they become annoyed. "A fluke."

Naruto burst out into laughter, which startles the fake Hunter-nin. "I'm--I'm sorry. It's just...so funny...Neither of us...are taking this seriously...at all!" Naruto speaks between guffaws.

Their eyes widen, before they start laughing, too. When they both calm down, they stretch their hand out. "I'm Haku."

Naruto smiles and shakes their hand. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Oh, I'm a boy, by the way."

Naruto's mouth drops open, "No way, you're too pretty to be a--" Naruto slams his hand over his mouth before he can finish the thought. Haku's eyes widen before he chuckles.

"Thank you. You're not too shabby yourself," he says as Naruto's face reddens.

He mutters a sheepish "Thank you."

"Want to help me collect some herbs?"

Naruto's confidence returns to him. The lightness comes back into his tone. "As long as you let me run my mouth about bird."

Haku snorts. "Sure, why not?"

Naruto makes his way by his enemy's side.

"Why do you fight?" Haku asks as Naruto picks some purple berries Haku had identified as Nightstar berries. The breeze is cool, almost chilly, and Naruto basks in patches of sunlight flooding through the sparse canopy.

"What do you mean?"

"I guess I mean...why are you ninja?"

Naruto considers. "I had no other choice."

"Really? Why?"

Naruto debates whether or not he should tell Haku about himself. He doesn't know much about the other boy, but in these three days where he's come to meet him, Haku has been nothing but faultlessly polite. He takes a leap of faith. "Have you ever heard of jinchuuriki?"

Haku turns to Naruto, mouth agape and eyes wide. "You...you're--" Haku's eyes darken. "You must've been treated awfully."

Naruto simply nods.

"I, too, have been called a monster," Haku says. "But I know I'm not. Do you wish to know how I know?"

Naruto tilts his head, curious.

"I fight for someone else. I love them to the point where sacrificing myself is better than living without them. How can I love someone that much and be a monster? Naruto-kun, do you think you're a monster?"

Naruto stops. He does. There are days where he thinks he shouldn't be around, that he is just as evil as the villagers think he is. Naruto's face falls, and he nods, hands playing with the hem of his white shirt.

Haku puts a cold hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Find someone to treasure, Naruto-kun, and love them, fight for them. Then you'll know, then you'll understand that you aren't." He says the words with such sureness, such confidence. Naruto feels warmth in his chest.

Haku smiles and Naruto returns it.

There’s a little meadow full of purple and blue morning glories, where Naruto and Haku sit under a tree, Naruto’s “fan seal” in between them as they soak in the shade of the bower. Naruto has come here almost everyday and sat with Haku. Sometimes they talk, sometimes they say nothing, and Naruto finds himself embarrassed by how much he likes the silent moments Haku and he share. There are moments, when Naruto sighs and Haku chuckles, where their eyes meet as they study the meadow and they share gentle smiles. There are times where the two hum a song they heard on the town radio and dance, or close their eyes as they feel the warm wind slide past their faces and Naruto is so effervescent that he finds himself smiling for the rest of the day.

Haku will leave, though. He has to. Naruto will be left in the bower of the tree by himself, where the grass that Haku sat on will sway in the breeze. And Naruto will look and ache inside. They'll have to fight each other, too, one day. But for now, Haku is here, Haku is tangible and present and real . Naruto finds himself reaching out to the other, grasping the sleeve of Haku’s sky blue yukata. He turns to look Naruto in the eyes, gaze questioning. Naruto’s mouth opens, but nothing comes out. He can’t find words that seem suitable to justify himself. This feeling is so big, so overwhelming, Naruto is swept away by its winds.

Before Naruto realizes it, his eyes mist up and a choked sob makes its way out of his throat. “Naruto!” Haku exclaims and scoots closer to him. A cold yet welcome hand finds its way on his back, and Naruto feels so much, the single touch breaks some sort of dam. Naruto starts bawling, truly crying.

Haku doesn’t ask any questions. He simply remains by Naruto’s side.

And Naruto weeps. He weeps for the vacant boy he is, the empty facsimile of a person he feels like, and mourns the person he could have been. He has been empty for as long as he can remember. For the first time, Naruto is full.

Haku might not be his, might not be a person he can call his own, or a person he can fight for. But he is something close to that, and that is more than Naruto ever thought he would have.

Naruto returns to a house empty of Tazuna and his teammates. Inari is in the dining area, however, and he seems like he’s about to grumble something about Naruto. Inari is still a little shit, of course, but Naruto seems to have grown on the kid like a fungus. Naruto's quickness to reply and engage with the kid has opened up something in Inari. Inari's petulance and insults are far more teasing to Naruto.

Naruto thinks that Inari is a little like him, actually. The kid must be isolated from the other children of their shantytown in order to enjoy the banter he has with Naruto, because Naruto isn't particularly nice to Inari. Naruto's wit, sharpened in the silence of his empty apartment and honed by himself in the shadow of the village's turned back, is something vicious. The barbs Naruto throws at Inari are aimed to kill. Naruto constantly alludes to Inari's painful past, to his loss of a father figure, and Inari still comes back time and time again to listen to what Naruto has to aim back at him.

But this time, when Naruto slides the door to the dining area closed, Inari simply stares, wide-eyed. "Naruto-nii-can, are you okay?"

"Oh, Naruto-kun is back?" Tsunami-san says as she walks into the room. She takes in Naruto's puffy eyes and tear-streaked face with a worried expression. Her face morphs into pity and Naruto is ashamed that even seeing someone pity him is enough to fill him with gratefulness. "Oh, child, come here." Her voice is familiar and gentle, like summer wind rustling the leaves.

Naruto walks up to her, knowing he must look like a vulnerable mess. He barely contains his surprise when Tsunami-san takes a handkerchief from an apron pocket and dabs gently at the corner of his eyes. Naruto starts crying again.

Tsunami-san wraps her arms around Naruto. Naruto grasps the back of Tsunami-san's shirt in a death grip and wails. Naruto doesn't know how long he stays like that, but he loses track of himself and finds himself staring dazedly at the wall as he sits at the low dining table, warm fish broth laid out in front of him. Tsunami-san gives Naruto a look and Naruto understands that he's not leaving unless he eats. Naruto inhales the broth: it's rare that he eats something other than ramen, after all. And it's even rarer that he gets to eat a home cooked meal.

When Naruto is finished, Tsunami-san asks, "How are you feeling?"

Naruto croaks out, "Thirsty."

Tsunami-san gives Naruto a gently amused smile. "Inari, could you get Naruto-kun some water?" Inari nods and goes to the kitchen. "Did something happen?"

"...I met someone."

Tsunami-san tilts her head. "Did they hurt you?"

Naruto looks at Tsunami-san and fervently shakes his head. "No! I think...they're the first person my age that I've ever become close to."

"Oh, sweetie...I'm really happy for you! And it's upsetting to hear that someone like you doesn't have any friends where you're from."

"I just...I don't know. I don't really know what I'm feeling, or what I'm doing. I'm just...feeling something. It's more than I've felt anything my whole life."

Tsunami-san nods. Inari comes back and hands Naruto a glass of water and sits beside Naruto, not making eye contact but trying to signal that he's there for him regardless. Naruto smiles and pats Inari's head gently. Naruto sees the sliver of a smile on Inari's face, even if he still doesn't make eye contact.

"How...how alone are you, in Konoha?" Inari asks shyly.

"I don't have anyone, not really. No family, no friends, no caretaker. I've been on my own since birth. I was in the orphanage until I was about six. I've lived alone since then."

"Truly? Do the villagers have some sort of vendetta against you?" The question is meant to be rhetorical, a joke.

Naruto's laugh is bitter. "You have no idea." Tsunami-san seems like she's about to say something, but the Kyuubi interrupts.

There's a group of men with evil intent coming towards this house, he warns. Abruptly, Naruto stands up.

"What's wrong?" Tsunami-san asks.

"Someone's coming. Take Inari-kun and stay in the house. Take this," he hands her a Flying Raijin kunai, "and don't come out until I appear in front of you and say it's okay." Tsunami-san is surprisingly collected. She nods, serious look in her eyes, and grabs Inari by his hand, dragging him to a room despite his protests.

Naruto slides open the door and takes out a kunai. He breathes in a deep, full breath, closing his eyes. When they open, his eyes are red and have split pupils.

This is the first time Naruto has summoned the Kyuubi's chakra; using it in Konoha would have been a death sentence, and so he abstained from practicing with it. But here, where Kakashi-sensei and his team are miles away? Naruto has free reign to do whatever.

The men come through from the town and Naruto senses their bloodlust. These aren't simple thugs, in it for the money: these men, that Naruto can only assume Gato hired, genuinely enjoy shedding blood. Naruto supposes that makes it easier for him: he's hurting people who deserve it.

Naruto decides to start off strong, before one of the men can even get one of their taunts or questions in. Water Style: Water Bullet! The bullets are strengthened by the Kyuubi's chakra.

The men are shocked, none of them trained to deal with someone at his level. They were likely told the children were easy pickings, something that surprises Naruto considering how one of them took care of the Demon Brothers alone. It's to his advantage, however, and so he's thankful for it more than his pride is injured by it: Naruto doesn't really have pride anymore.

As the men scatter, Naruto throws his kunai, Flying Raijin tag wrapped around the guard, and boosts it with wind chakra. The kunai tears through the air and nails a man in the chest. Teleporting to his kunai, he throws it at another man, where it hits between the eyes. That's two out of fifteen.

One of the men has an oblong metal object strapped around his arm. He aims it at Naruto and presses some sort of trigger. The object fires a barrage of senbon in his direction, but Naruto simply smiles. He manifests one of the Kyuubi's tails, long and thin, covered in orange fur, and wraps it around himself in a protective shield. He lets the tail fade and throws the kunai again at a man carrying a large club. It hits him in the diaphragm before he even has time to react and Naruto teleports again. The man was in the middle of a group of five or so people, so Naruto flashes into the middle and strings his left hand together into a series of hand seals.

Wind Style: Sudden Combustion! Naruto collects chakra into his palm and slams the hand into the ground. There's a flash as the chakra in his hand explodes, killing the men around him. Naruto's hand burns, but heals quickly with the help of the Kyuubi's chakra.

Naruto is careful, here. He used the jutsu with severely reduced power that required precise control. If he's too reckless, he'll end up destroying Tazuna's house, with Tsunami-san and Inari-kun inside. That's the last thing he wants. So he fights at a lower level than he would otherwise: with weakened jutsu and only his Flying Raijin kunai. By the time he's done, Naruto is covered in browning blood and taking shaking breaths. He teleports to the Flying Raijin kunai he gave to Tsunami-san, who yelps in surprise and Inari-kun, who screams. When they realize it's Naruto, they visibly calm down.

"They're taken care of," Naruto says numbly.

"They're...dead?" Tsunami-san asks hesitantly.

Naruto pauses. They're all dead, but what would she think if she knew, knew that Naruto had killed all of them? Would she think Naruto was evil? Cruel?

Would she call Naruto a monster?

"...Yes," Naruto rasps out, eyes on the floor.

A long pause stretches through the air. "Thank you."

Naruto snaps up to look at Tsunami-san, whose face is shadowed by the darkness of the windowless room. Her face is fierce, intense, but Naruto can see some spark of light in her eyes. "It was necessary for your own survival, Naruto-kun, and ours. Truly, Naruto-kun, we thank you." Tsunami-san gets on her knees and puts her hands on the floor, forehead touching the ground. "We are sorry to have troubled you so. Our lives are indebted to you."

Naruto's brain blanks, all thoughts swept to the side. Is she...kowtowing to him!? Naruto rushes to kneel down. "You don't have to do anything like this, Tsunami-san! If anything, I'm sorry to have left a mess around your house!" Naruto helps Tsunami-san stand up, and her smile is kind as she looks at Naruto.

"If they're here, then they're also on the bridge. I should probably check..." Naruto trails off. He doesn't want to, not really. He wants to stay away from Kakashi-sensei and his team, even if it means letting them get hurt. It's petty, he knows. They haven't really done anything that would warrant such a reaction.

And yet...Naruto just doesn't feel good around them. He avoids so much as looking at Kakashi-sensei, or else his mind spirals into dark places, the anger and hurt sitting uncomfortably in his stomach. And Sasuke and Sakura? They don't even talk to Naruto, even when Naruto tries to talk to them, all he gets is a pissed off Sakura, who's definitely trying to show off the fact that no man except Sasuke is in her line of sight, and glares from Sasuke. If Kakashi-sensei is trying to teach them teamwork, it isn't working.

But still, they could die. So Naruto gathers himself and looks Tsunami-san in the eyes. "I have to see how they're faring."

Tsunami-san nods. As Naruto turns to leave, she speaks, "I hope, one day, you can find people you wish to fight for, Naruto-kun." It must be a mother's insight, or else Naruto will seriously start considering that the woman can read minds.

Naruto pauses and utters a wet "Thank you."

When he makes it to the bridge, a kunai is sticking out of Haku's heart, a determined look on Sasuke's face as he pushes the blade in. Haku's mask has fallen off, and Sasuke's eyes are blood red. Naruto feels the Kyuubi react to the Sharingan. But Naruto is too focused on Haku, on the blood dripping from his chest as he pulls the kunai out. Sasuke seems to expect him to continue fighting, and enters back into a stance, but Haku simply turns to Naruto and smiles softly. He takes a stumbling step toward Naruto as he pales, blood pulsing out of the wound on his chest. Haku walks in staggered steps towards him, but stumbles and falls before he can make it to Naruto, hand reaching out, lips uttering a gentle "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun."

Naruto is frozen. He can't move, can't do anything except flinch at Momochi Zabuza's anguished scream. "Haku!" Naruto feels himself start to tremble, feels his eyes mist up as he gazes at Haku's limp body.

"Haku..." His voice breaks. Naruto feels the tears stream down his face. Haku's left temple is to the ground, and he would look like he was sleeping if he weren't so pale and lifeless.

The Kyuubi's voice is almost gentle as he warns Naruto of the men behind him. Momochi Zabuza flickers behind next to Naruto, eyes turned wrathfully at his former employer.

There's wringing in Naruto's ears, so he doesn't hear whatever Gato's spiels out, something about how he was hoping one of them would eliminate the other.

Zabuza aims his gigantic sword at the crowd of men, and utters a quiet, "Die."

Naruto shoots past Zabuza, the Kyuubi's chakra bubbling around him, and stabs a man in the gut. He almost cackles at the fact that he's killed more men today than he has in his life, and nearly misses Zabuza joining him, sword tearing through mercenary after mercenary.

When Gato is the only left, cowering and shaking, piss staining his pants and snot running down his face, Zabuza motions for Naruto to deal the killing blow. Naruto imagines it must take a special type of restraint to let another man take your revenge for you.

Naruto ignores Gato's protests as he steps forward, ignores his pleas and promises of money and status. He pushes his kunai into his skull, and pulls it out. As Gato falls limp on the floor, Naruto gets on top of him and straddles the body. The image of Haku's soft smile flashes in his mind's eye. He stabs Gato's corpse. He stabs it again.

And again.

And again.

Naruto hears his pulse and feels satisfaction run through him each time the kunai tears through the tycoon's flesh. He wonders if this is living.

The journey back to Konoha is hazy and silent. Naruto doesn't search the forests for birds, his eyes remain glued to the ground, hands on his backpack straps. Naruto's eyes drift to a loose black thread on his yellow shorts. He'll have to fix that later.

If Sakura and Sasuke didn't talk to him before, they practically avoid him now. Neither so much as look in Naruto's direction. Sakura seems scared of him, of the display at the bridge, named the Great Kakashi Bridge for the team's protection of the workers. Tazuna's family, as well all the bridgebuilders' families, get shares of the tolls made off the traffic, and it makes Naruto happy to know that Tsunami-san and Inari-kun will have a wealth of funds now.

Tsunami-san had hugged him, when they bid farewell. She had cried and said she'd miss him. Inari-kun had cried and said the same. Naruto, weak to displays of affection, cried too, wrapping his arms around both as he sobbed into Tsunami-san's faded sundress.

The rest of the team could only stand awkwardly at the side. Naruto doesn't really care for what they think as it is, and he especially doesn't care for what they think of how close he is to Tsunami-san. Although he might not care about their opinions, Naruto isn't exactly apathetic to either of them. Just as Naruto maliciously refers to Kakashi-sensei as the Cyclops in his head, Sasuke and Sakura have earned their own nicknames: Pinkeye and the Mosquito. Sasuke is Pinkeye because of the way his eye gets bloodshot when he uses his Sharingan, and Sakura is the Mosquito because she's always buzzing around Sasuke, sucking the life out of him.

Naruto feels himself becoming a worse person. He feels the emptiness inside of him filling. But whereas it filled with warmth when he was with Haku, now it fills with something tar black and sticky, thick and suffocating. Naruto has been depressed before, he's been miserable. He wonders if this is rock bottom, if what separated this from the sadness he felt before is that, now, he knows what happiness feels like, and that makes the misery feel so much worse.

Naruto's return to Konoha is the opposite of triumphant. The village is disappointed in his return. If Naruto's being honest, he himself is disappointed in his return. He wishes he could've stayed in the Land of Waves, could've watched Tsunami-san get the financial security she deserves, could've watched Inari-kun grow up. But Naruto is stuck here, stuck in the village like some sort of thorn: everyone wants to get rid of him, but it'd hurt too much to pull him out.

Naruto would love to leave, but Konoha would certainly hunt him down and drag him back. They'd probably lock him in some sort of prison, or have him watched constantly, and that'd be worse than he's already being treated. Neglect is preferable to paternalism.

Naruto is not strong enough to leave. Not yet, at least. Growing strong enough to defeat the village's strongest will take time, after all. Naruto doesn't even really think he'll live long enough to become that powerful. Naruto's plan has always been to kill the people the Kyuubi wants him to and then release it, killing him in the process. He's content with that sort of death: a death to spite the village, a death that kills the last person able to harbor it's greatest weapon. After Naruto, the Kyuubi will have no more jinchuuriki; no one will have the compatible chakra. Even in death, he supposes, he will be mean.

His routine in Konoha sinks back into his bones. His struggle to bring himself out of bed, his struggle to clean himself up, his struggle to study fuuinjutsu, his struggle to read and write, his struggle to prepare himself food, his struggle to get himself out of his apartment to do D-ranks, his struggle to train, and his struggle to clean himself and sleep. For Naruto, life is nothing but a checklist of struggles.

Naruto was weightless in the Land of Waves. Weightless and free. Here, Naruto is weighed down by the dirty looks, by the vicious whispers. It's familiar, however, and in a sick way, it's comforting. Naruto has felt this for as long as he can remember. The glares, the whispers, the ostracization; it's known, it's explored. Happiness? Companionship? Acceptance? That's the unfamiliar, the unknown, the unstable. As much as he wishes he could stay in the Land of Waves, he knows he wouldn't like it: everyday would carry the fear of shunning, the possibility that, one day, Tsunami-san will suddenly decide that she doesn't like Naruto anymore, that Naruto is not worth keeping around. It'd eat him up inside, gnaw at his brain until he goes insane. Better the misery you know than the contentment you don't.

Naruto laughs mirthlessly. The village really has ruined everything about him, hasn't it? He turns to look out the window and takes in the stars, the land of the gods, according to the Faith of the Moon. The gods that decide their fates, that they kowtow to at altars and beg for forgiveness from.

If gods are real, they should beg for his forgiveness. If gods are real, Naruto would give up fuuinjutsu and ninjutsu and his very being if it meant he'd get to see a god embarrass themselves just once. He'd consider it retribution for giving him a shitty hand in life.

One thing Naruto does, now that he's back in the village, is observe. Naruto's always been at the sidelines of society, marginalized and forced to look inwards at the hierarchal nature of Konoha. But, now, Naruto has a means of comparison.

The Land of Waves was impoverished, but not for everyone. Naruto could walk through the village Tazuna lived in and could see the local elite that lived in bigger houses. Their clothes were clean and new and unlike the civilians of Konoha's. Kimonos were replaced by knee length dresses and soft-looking sweaters, obis worn around the waists replaced by belts and ribbon sashes. Naruto remembers that, actually, most of the people of the Land of Waves, the poorer ones, dressed in kimonos. Not the elaborate red uchikake of brides or layered juunihitoe of the daimyo's court ladies, but simple, faded ones, with two layers and a simple obi tied around the waist.

Naruto realizes that the clans in Konoha dress like the local gentry of the Land of Waves, the ones that collaborated with Gato to ensure their own power. Except for the Hyuuga, anachronists that they are, Naruto cannot remember a single one of the clan mothers picking up or dropping off their kids at the Academy wearing a proper kimono ensemble befitting their rank. The fashions they wore, sleek and untraditional, were absent of the antediluvian implications of the kimono. Sakura is the only civilian-born girl that he can think of, and she's a bourgeoise. Her family are wealthy bankers. They occupy the lowest of the four castes. Merchants: on the lowest rung of society because they do not make goods of their own. Rather, they sell the wares of others. Naruto cannot remember Mrs. Haruno dressing in anything nearly as nice as the Lady Nara or the Lady Yamanaka.

Naruto asks the Kyuubi, because it can't read his thoughts unless Naruto sends messages to him, Are there are any sumptuary laws in Konoha?

Yes, many. Everything from what groceries you can buy to what size your house can be is decided by your status. Your father even passed some, restricting what the fourth caste was allowed to wear. They can't buy fabric dyed purple with natural dyes, for example, only artificial ones.

Naruto thinks over the information. What caste am I in? Naruto has always assumed he was a commoner. But with the revelation that his father was Lord Fourth and his mother a clanswoman, Naruto realizes he's never considered his status.

The first caste were shinobi, subdivided into clansmen and non-clan shinobi. The second caste were landowners and farmers. The third caste were artisans and craftsmen, of which Teuchi, as someone who made ramen, was part of. The fourth caste, surrounded by social stigma, were merchants and traders, of which the Haruno banking family was part of. One's caste, as Naruto had noticed, had no relation to the amount of money one owned, as the Haruno family was probably richer than the entirely of the Sarutobi clan combined.

What caste are you? Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina were married. However, as a clanswoman of the Uzumaki, Kushina was a member of the upper first caste, whereas Minato was a member of the lower first. And, as the only known Uzumaki, she was also its heiress. By the Law of Clan Adoption, if a woman is an heiress to the main branch of a clan and marries a man below her in rank, he adopts her last name, rather than vice-versa. The two obtained a letter patent from the Third Hokage, when they married, allowing Kushina and Minato to keep their surnames, under the caveat that their children be Uzumakis. Technically you should be of the upper first caste, but, in an attempt to hide your importance to the village, you were demoted to third caste.

Oh, great. Naruto rolls his eyes and lays down on his bed. Does the universe hate me?

Not the universe, child. Your species is a hateful race.

Shocker. Although sometimes I feel more hateful than the villagers

Perhaps you are more hateful, but your hatred, like mine, is simply the reflection of the rest of your kind's. You should've been pampered, as the child of a clan heiress and the Hokage, and also as the village's greatest weapon. Instead you have been cast aside, thrown down, left to gather dust like an unused sword. That you aren't outright murderous is something that still shocks me.

Well, human psychology works different from Bijuu psychology, I guess. My experiences made me resentful. I do nothing but glower as others laugh. You, however, are...proactive, I guess.

The Kyuubi laughs. Naruto laughs, too.

Kurama feels a familiar sensation from the Uchiha boy in Naruto's team. It could be the presence Sharingan, but Kurama can tell the familiarity lies in the boy's chakra signature, not the doujutsu. It's the same type of familiar that Naruto's chakra has, chakra that reveals that he's a reincarnation of the Sage's child. One of his many children, for the Sage had many concubines. But he cannot be sure until he can get his hands on some of the Uchiha's chakra.

Kurama has come up with a scheme, however. The best manipulation is under the guise of aid, and so Kurama has Naruto go up to the Uchiha and tell him that he can help him expand his chakra reserves. The Uchiha can perform a taxing fireball jutsu, and by draining his chakra reserves, he can expand them. Thus, Naruto has him do fireballs and collects the fire transformed chakra into a chakra storage seal. By the end of the training session, the Uchiha is exhausted, but Kurama can see the flicker of respect for Naruto in the boy's eye. Kurama sneers. Just like an Uchiha to respect someone only once they've helped them.

Chakra can be manipulated while in a storage seal, and so, in the safety of Naruto's apartment, Kurama has Naruto change the chakra from fire natured back to its neutral ground state. Naruto absorbs the chakra into his system, and yelps under the pain. Kurama's chakra acts a salve, however, and once the Uchiha's chakra makes its way into Naruto's chakra core, Kurama dissects it, and realizes something that nearly shakes him to his core.

Naruto and Sasuke's chakra signatures fit inside each other. The same way Indra and Asura's did. And if they fit like that, than Naruto has the potential to awaken the Rinnegan. Kurama is helping himself through helping Naruto, so he supposes he should help him gain the mauve rippled eyes out of self-interest.

But Kurama recalls the boy on the swing, the fascination with birds, the euphoria of flying. He recalls that the Sage's Rinnegan let him fly. Perhaps Kurama has grown soft, for he wants to give Naruto flight.

Naruto brings the needle back through the black fabric. It's soft and smooth: Naruto chose the fabric for that very reason. He doesn't want his new robe to scratch at his skin, even if the chakra of the Kyuubi keeps it smooth and soft. The robe itself isn't black: Naruto, a sharp-eyed if inexperienced seamster, isn't too keen on creating clothing made of shades instead of colors. The black fabric is simply the lining of the robe. Naruto intends for the coat itself to be made of an ocher cashmere. He had saved up on D-ranks to splurge on the fabric necessary for his passion project, even if he was rarely motivated enough to make it: the fabric had been sitting, gathering dust for weeks before Naruto had a sudden burst of motivation earlier today and worked on it since 9 A.M.

It is now 7 P.M.

Naruto is still not tired.

He's aware that the fabric choices aren't the most practical for shinobi. While cashmere can endure for a while, it's not the durable, tough fabric of Chuunin flak jackets and will cut easily under the pressure of kunai and senbon. That's where the embroidery comes in: the Uzumaki had diverse ways of creating seals. While the most common seals are ones drawn with the ink of the Bosatsu squid, which can act as a chakric conduit, the ink itself is prone to smudging and the way fabric curves or stretches can affect the way the seal array executes its intended role. The same does not apply to embroidering seals. It's an art that died with the fall of Uzushiogakure, where kunoichi were required to master the art to become Jounin. Mastery of seal embroidery was difficult, as well, but Lady Senju Hashirama, nee Uzumaki Mito, had mastered it thanks to childhood tutoring by masters in the art.

The seals Naruto has chosen for his robe are manifold in purpose, but all exist to increase defensive capability. There's a seal that makes the fabric difficult, nigh-impossible, to tear; a seal that makes it waterproof; a seal that Naruto can activate which insulates him from cold and electricity; a seal which makes it difficult to burn.

And, because Naruto is frivolous, some seals serve no other purpose than to preserve the aesthetic quality. There's one that prevents scuffing, one that prevents staining that works hand in hand with the waterproofing seal, and one that prevents wrinkles. In fact, the very fact that Naruto is embroidering the black lining rather than the ocher cashmere is a rather superficial decision: Naruto doesn't want the effect of the yellow-orange to be ruined by the asymmetric and harsh stitching of the seals. It's a decision the Kyuubi has relentlessly berated him for, because now Naruto has to stitch extra arrays that make the seals work on the cashmere, despite them being separate fabrics.

The people of Uzushiogakure seemed to have been as frivolous as Naruto because they invented a technique to solve that very problem. By working the ink-dyed thread that acts as the chakric conduit into the stitching that connects the lining to the shell, Naruto can, in effect, transfer the seals on the black lining to the cashmere.

By the time Naruto is done, it's 11 P.M. and he suddenly becomes aware of his own exhaustion. However, the effect of his accomplishment, the product of years of brainstorming and months of saving money, is enough to induce such a wave of euphoria in Naruto that it brings tears to his eyes and laughter to his lungs.

Naruto spends so many of his days in an unaccomplished daze. He does nothing but get distracted and hurt himself. So it feels likes a grand triumph whenever he brings himself to do his laundry. For him to finish a task that he's wanted to do for years warrants some congratulations.

The thought immediately dampens his good mood. Who's here to congratulate him? The cobwebs in the corner of his room?

Naruto shakes his head to refocus himself. He needs to try the coat on, see if it fits as it should, and test its effectiveness. He only does the middle two buttons, leaving the bottom of the robe and top open. The robe has a standing collar--inspired by Sasuke's collar, though Naruto would never admit it--that looks cool, at least to him, and hides part of his facial expression. The sleeves extend past his hands, meaning Naruto will have to pull them up to perform certain tasks, but that too is a practical choice; Naruto can hide any single-handed seals he performs.

He scowls as he takes in his reflection: the collar and the sleeves might be practical, but they make the robe consume him. He looks like a child wearing an adult's clothes! Some adjustments will definitely be necessary, even if they're impractical. All memorable shinobi take pains to be intimidating: Uchiha Madara wasn't invading Konoha in neon pink!

Naruto shares the image of Uchiha Madara, the Kyuubi's enslaver, in neon pink, and the fox laughs.

Naruto is riding on the high of the finished robe when he decides to take a walk after practice. Sasuke must've noticed Naruto was in a better mood since he gave Naruto weird looks throughout practice. The Mosquito, as always, simply buzzed around her prey.

He only does things like this when feels good about himself, he never has the motivation to do so otherwise. This is the first time he's done something like this in the past month. He realizes his mistake rather quickly, however. His mood falls as soon as he makes it to a more populated part of Konoha, the typical drop in bonheur hanging so thick in the air that Naruto wonders if it'll create a fog. He dips into an ally and transforms himself into a non-descript civilian girl, and continues his walk. He tries to lift his spirits as he takes in the sights of the sunlit village. It doesn't work. In fact, transforming himself only worsens his mood: Life would be so much easier if he weren't himself.

There's shouting in front of Naruto, and he takes in the sight of a tall man in a hideous black ensemble holding up a child. As Naruto makes his way closer, he realizes that it's not just any child, it's the Hokage's grandson.

The verbal berating is full of threats, so juvenile and contemptuous that Naruto can pretty much smell the man's overconfidence. Naruto is about to continue on and mind his own business when he notices Sasuke in the nearby tree, and then the red-haired boy hanging upside from it. Why is he hanging upside down? Naruto can only assume that Shinobi have a flair for the theatrical.

How curious, the Kyuubi muses, I haven't seen a heart as black as that boy's in ages.

The statement piques Naruto's curiosity enough for him to stay and watch from the sidelines. Sasuke throws a rock at the man, who Naruto realizes is a foreign Shinobi if his accent is anything to go by, and says something in a suitably cool voice. The man drops the boy, and it's then the red-haired boy speaks. He must have gone unnoticed by Sasuke because Sasuke is shocked when he speaks. Naruto suppresses a chuckle as he takes in Sasuke's face.

The man is obviously more intimidated by the red-haired boy than by Sasuke, which, when combined with what the Kyuubi had told Naruto earlier, paints an interesting picture of the red-haired boy. He's likely some kind of authority, or terrifying enough to be an authority, and must be some kind of fucked up if the Kyuubi's descriptor is accurate.

Naruto ultimately decides to mind his own business and walk away.

Naruto slams his head into his low table after he looks over the forms for the Chuunin Exams. He's going to beat Kakashi-sensei's ass. Nominating them for the Chuunin exams? When they're still basically fresh out of the Academy? He knows Sasuke is a genius and Sakura was top Kunoichi and they technically took an A-rank mission, but Moon and Stars is Naruto still livid. The mission was more of a fluke than anything else: it gave little to no genuine learning experience to any of their team. All it did was act as a wake-up call for Sakura and an ego-booster for Sasuke. Naruto, who had been told many a horror story by the Kyuubi, was already well aware of the blight of living as a Shinobi. All he got out of the experience was a free sample of happiness, introduction to loss.

Of course, this is without considering Kakashi-sensei's sloppy and haphazard training of Team 7. It's almost as if he wants them to die on a mission. Naruto likes to think of it in terms of numbers: Kakashi-sensei is so late that his training sessions are one-fourth of the average genin team's training sessions. This means that Team 7 should have at least four times the number of training sessions before they are allowed to take the Chuunin Exams. In Naruto's opinion, they have only received half the number sufficient to make them chuunin level.

If Naruto didn't have the Kyuubi, he'd probably need pure luck to win. Thankfully, Naruto has enough tricks up his sleeve that the Chuunin Exams will be, at most, draining. He might not pass, given what the Kyuubi has told him about the Exams, but he'll probably make it to the finals or something before Sasuke either beats his ass or Naruto decides it's not worth it and quits. Honestly, Naruto is considering just not handing the form, but that'd mean the whole team is disqualified and that'd create so much tension in the team that Naruto is willing to risk death rather than deal with the fallout.

So, the Chuunin Exams. That explains those foreigners here earlier.

Indeed, the Exams are a combination of diplomatic maneuvering, hypocrisy, and theater.

Hypocrisy?

You'll see. Your kind constantly searches for simple truths, glazing over nuance in the process. You will find many maxims among Shinobi passed as universal truths are far more conditional than they'd have you believe.

Okay, and what does that have to do with the Chuunin Exams?

In terms of the Exams, you'll likely be expected to act one way in one test, and be told afterward that acting that way is absolutely correct. Say, for example, a Shinobi should always prioritize the mission. Then, during another test, you will have to act in a way directly in contrast to the first test. Like, for example, that Shinobi who abandon their comrades are worse than scum.

Naruto sends the Kyuubi a wave of annoyance in response.

However, I won't help you, unless I deem it necessary to your survival.

What!? Why?

Consider it an exercise. The Chuunin Exams are more than tests of might, they are tests of indoctrination. Rather than asking "Who is the fittest to be a Shinobi?" The Exams ask "Who believes in the things they should?" I want you to see into Konoha's heart. What does it expect of its soldiers? What does it teach its children? And then I want you to lie: to understand an ideology is to be able to convince a believer that you are one of them. If you become a chuunin, it will either mean that you have gained the analytical skill necessary for survival in the world, or that Konoha is led by a senile patriarch and his decrepit cabal.

There's the Kyuubi's usual flowery language mixed in his harangue, but Naruto understands what the fox is trying to tell him. Why does the fox want him to do as such? Naruto doesn't ask. He doesn't want to bite the hand that feeds him. He simply tells himself that the fox has a plan and prays to the Moon and Stars that it doesn't involve Naruto living past the age of thirty.

The first test is multilayered, Naruto realizes. The questions are far from impossible, most of them are trick questions with deceptive answers, quite like riddles. Someone like Shikamaru or Sakura would be able to spot the red herrings pretty easily. Of course, that's simply the first layer. The layer under the first is one's ability to cheat. Naruto would stop trying to decipher the test there, except for one crucial fact: Ibiki is lying.

Naruto can't sense anyone's negative emotions as the Kyuubi can, so that's not how he knows. Rather, three are some students who are cheating that Ibiki should easily be able to call out and fail but isn't. The fact itself is incredibly worrying: these people might be young, but they will still be deployed in life-or-death situations one day. Why would Konoha, or at least, Konoha's representatives, be willing to look past underachievement in a test meant to measure its soldiers? Wouldn't allowing underperformers into the corps weaken the village as a whole?

Armed with that knowledge, Naruto decides that the cheating is a red herring in and of itself. They are definitely testing something else, here, but Naruto can't decipher what. There's nothing other than Ibiki's behavior to suggest that there's more to this first test, so Naruto decides that the true test hasn't started yet: it must be related to that tenth question, the one they'll reveal later.

Naruto hopes, however, that the first nine questions still factor into the score. Why? Because he doesn't know how the fuck to answer those. Nor does he have the attention span required to put in the effort. If he fails then hopefully they'll stop him there and he won't have to deal with the rest of the Exams. Quitting early and facing Sakura and Sasuke's combined wrath is one thing, but people expect him to fail, he was dead last, after all, so if he flunks this test then Sakura can only clobber him and Sasuke can only turn the other cheek.

In the meantime, Naruto decides to observe the way others are cheating. There's the horrifyingly obvious mirror used by Tenten, the strange sand eye used by the probably-psychotic red-haired boy from before named Gaara, the signature Byakugan of the Hyuuga clan being used by Hyuuga Neji and Hinata next to him. Sasuke is using the Sharingan to copy the movements of a planted exam taker. Sakura has probably divined the true nature of the test but is relying on her academic excellence to propel her forward. Inuzuka Kiba is talking to his dog, Aburame Shino is talking to his bugs, Nara Shikamaru is faking taking a nap, Yamanaka Ino is looking at Sakura with a waiting gaze, Akimichi Chouji is reaching for a potato chip bag that isn't there in a futile attempt to stress eat, and Naruto is finding himself genuinely fascinated by figuring the test out.

Hinata slides her test papers over and sneaks Naruto a signaling look. Naruto simply gives Hinata a confident smile and motions for her to move her papers back in front of her. Naruto isn't going to actively self-sabotage, but he will let himself fail purely to spite the Cyclops.

Then the rules of the tenth question are revealed, and Naruto wants to bash Ibiki's face in. He gets the true purpose immediately, of course: victory or death. All that's required is that they don't give up here, and given Sakura's confidence in her academic skills and Sasuke's determined attitude, Naruto has the inkling that no one is throwing in the towel quite yet. Oh, how he wants to, however. Naruto is so close to raising his hand that he has to exert physical effort to keep it down, telling himself that dealing with Sakura and Sasuke's actual anger instead of their usual anger is not worth it. He sees Sakura waver, however, and begin to raise her hand and Naruto prays to every deity of every faith in the Elemental Nations that Sakura pulls them out of the test but lets his forehead slam into the table when a determination settles into her body language and she puts her hand down.

They pass. Naruto considers letting the Kyuubi out right then and there.

Mitarashi Anko, who Naruto decides would be either incredibly fun or incredibly annoying to be around, bursts in through a window. Naruto would definitely be amused by this display of unhinged cheer if he weren't already in a bad mood.

Naruto knows what Training Ground 44 is, too. His teacher was inside of the First Lady of Konoha after all. The Forest of Death, a name so dramatic that it could only have come from the mouth of a Shinobi, is the conception of the would-be Hokage Konoha no Orochimaru (like all war orphans of his day, Orochimaru's surname was erased upon his acceptance into the orphanage. It was replaced with "of Konoha," meant to be a tribute to the sacrifice his parents had made. The practice has since fallen out of use, likely because there were too many "Konoha no"s). The result of animal and plant experimentation, before the member of the Sannin moved onto humans in a vain search for his elixir of life, the forest also serves as an experiment in ecology. It is an attempt to create a contained ecosystem, and, given enough research and experimentation, it will serve to create summonable animals for all Konoha Shinobi. Nature, Naruto has learned, often supplies weapons far better than those found in forges.

Having worked tirelessly the past few days to make a substitute for his robe, Naruto has come up with a honey-yellow Shibori cloak. He hasn't given up faith in the sleeved robe entirely: he's been planning the thing for years, after all. But he needs something more protective than his standard outfit. A short-sleeved white tee and yellow or orange second-hand shorts can only do so much. The cloak lacks the standing collar of the robe, as well as the sleeves. It reaches mid-calf-length, like the robe, and contains thicker interlining, making the garment appear thicker than it would otherwise. It has a hood, as well, that Naruto tells himself is for protection against the elements and totally not because he thinks it looks cool.

Naruto has a small, narrow frame. His shoulders aren't broad, and he's shorter than average. Unfortunately, the cloak, much like the robe, has the effect of consuming him as well, making him look smaller than he is. It can be to his advantage: people will underestimate him. That does, however, have the added side-effect of making him more targetable.

The process of rushing to make the cloak was not particularly pleasant. Naruto doesn't need to sleep as much as most people, and so he stayed up two straight days cutting out fabric and sewing bastings and embroidering seals. By the time he was done, his vision was blurry and his hands were shaking. He's glad he finished it, though. The cloak covers him, hides him. Naruto has effectively put a wall up between him and the world, and it puts him at ease.

Naruto has named the cloak Yellow Peony. There are multiple reasons he settled on the name Yellow Peony: one of them being that the fabric was dyed using actual yellow peonies. The second reason is that peonies are symbols of good fortune, and Naruto hopes it will act as a charm. The third is that the peony is considering the "king of the flowers," and Naruto thinks that sounds cool.

Peonies are also symbols of a noble spirit. Naruto doesn't have that, and he thinks the irony is funny.

Sakura, hair long and dress clean, and Sasuke, arms crossed and face neutral, wait with the other contestants in the crisp morning air, in front of the training ground entrance. Some of the other contestants give Naruto raised eyebrows and others snicker. Naruto doesn't really get why: he's not dressed any less eccentrically than they are.

"What are you wearing?" Sakura asks.

"Right back at you." Naruto is not in a good mood.

"Excuse me? I'll have you know this dress is from--"

"Woah, Naruto, where'd you get that!" Yamanaka Ino calls out as her team arrives.

"I made it!" Naruto says with a friendly smile. He'll take any opportunity to talk about his hobbies.

"Really?" Sakura and Ino say in unison. The question is immediately followed by an exchange of glares.

"The fabric is quality," Ino says as she takes some of the fabric in her hands. "This must have been expensive."

"Well," Naruto says with a triumphant air, "I got it during a sale. It's usually 80 Ryou per meter, but I got for 20 Ryou per meter!"

"No way!" Ino exclaims. "That's practically thievery! What vendor did you get it from?"

"You know Shounagon's?" Ino nods. "The one in Konoha is closing soon, so they're trying to get rid of as much stuff as they can. You should get some of their ready-to-wear stuff while the opportunity is still there."

Ino puts a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You are a god. No one on my team is anywhere near interested enough in this stuff to tell me what deals I need to take advantage of."

"That's because we have things of actual substance to care about," Shikamaru deadpans as he picks something out of his ear and flicks it off to the side.

"Style is actually pretty important!" Naruto protests. "Not only is it a signifier of personality, but the choices put into clothing can also reveal everything from political alliances to ideology! Shinobi who are confident in their ability might wear long hair, for example, which is often a liability in battle. It signals to the enemy: I am strong enough that this is not a problem for me."

Shikamaru just raises an unimpressed eyebrow as Ino nods in vehement agreement, looking as if she just found a kindred spirit. "Image crafting is important to us, Shikamaru! We're going to be clan heads one day, after all!"

"Chouji and I are going be clan heads, you mean. You're going to be the Lady Yamanaka."

Irritation flashes into Ino's expression, but Naruto doesn't miss the disillusionment in her eyes, and Naruto feels a pang of sympathy. Ino's parents must have been disappointed when she was revealed to be a girl. Her education was probably neglected in relation to Shikamaru's and Chouji's, her curriculum full of lessons in embroidery, deportment, and silk-making alongside condescending instructors who probably told her she was better suited to feminine ninja arts like genjutsu than ninjutsu or bukijutsu. Lessons on housekeeping were likely given by her mother and household servants. Motherhood in Konoha, Naruto has learned, is a duty, not a state of being. It is an expectation of even the highest wives of clan heads to play a part in menial tasks that the wives of daimyo give to chambermaids: cooking, cleaning, laundry, the rearing of infants and toddlers. In the eyes of Konoha's public, it shows a worldly dedication to the duties of femininity and awareness of the role of women in the machine of Konoha. Ino was likely taught how to hold a baby before she was taught how to hold a kunai. Clan heiresses, despite the misnomer, do not inherit clan leadership: their husbands do. It's part of the Law of Clan Adoption, whereby the husband of the heiress is adopted as the heir of the clan. Namikaze Minato would have been the Right Honorable Lord Uzumaki.

The reason Konoha allows women to be Shinobi at all is simply a hold-over from the Warring States Period, where alliances shifted wherever the winds of auspiciousness seemed to be blowing. Back then, women were properly trained warriors, even if they were forced into specializations that placed them in supporting or sabotaging roles. The latter was more justifiable than the first: clan daughters married off to the lords of other clans often acted as spies for their maiden clan. Some skill in the acts of information gathering, deception, and spying were necessary.

The Kyuubi had told him that the practice had not died out by the time Konoha was first founded. Uzumaki Mito--Naruto refuses to refer to her as the Lady Senju. There aren't enough Uzumaki's in history textbooks as it is, and he'd like to remember her as her own woman instead of as the first First Lady of Konoha--was still sending encrypted messages to Uzushio even after she was caught doing such by Senju Tobirama and was placed under house arrest. The seal she had used to do so was one that could teleport small objects over large distances, and served as the basis for Tobirama's own technique: the Flying Raijin seal.

Determination filters into Ino's expression. "Not if I have anything to say about it!"

Naruto smiles. "You tell 'em!"

Ino seems genuinely surprised by his support, another thing that only increases Naruto's disappointment in the Hidden Leaf. Ino's determination was likely the only thing propelling her forward for years, determined proclamations of agency likely met with dismissive smiles and apathetic Sure, honeys. Naruto hopes he isn't the first person to express genuine support for Ino. If Senju Tsunade could single-handedly cause so much chaos that the entirety of the Senju clan erased itself from existence, then Ino can become the true leader of the Yamanaka clan.

Part of it is not just sympathy: Naruto empathizes with Ino's plight. Although their struggles might not be the same, Naruto can understand the feeling of responsibilities thrust upon a person who never asked for them, baggage that came unrequested upon birth, a shoehorned role. Konoha might not be a home for him, but he hopes Ino's future victory can begin to make Konoha home for more women.

Movements start with a symbol. Tsunade was the symbol of her generation, though there were many more barriers for women to cross back then, and the Princess of Konoha could only do so much. She might have been able to become an active, important Kunoichi, but had to use traditional means to do so: She couldn't have been anywhere near as successful as she was if she specialized in anything other than Iryou-ninjutsu. But still, she opened floodgates. the floodgates were expanded on by women such as Uzumaki Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto, who became active squadron leaders during wartime, even if they eventually retired into domesticity. Ino might become a symbol of her own.

Ino smiles and crosses her arms as her eyes fill with a newfound respect for Naruto. Naruto feels the familiar warmth, the warmth he felt with Haku and Tsunami-san, rebirth within him. Did Naruto just...change someone's opinion of him? For the better?

His happiness is only slightly dampened by the announcement of what the exercise is. Make it to the center with two scrolls, don't open the scrolls until you get to the center. The objective of this one is pretty clear: A Shinobi must be able to follow directions to an absolute degree. Naruto tries to ponder on what greater implications this might have. Blind loyalty? Absolute faith in authority figures?

Naruto suspects the possibility that Konoha actually wants students to question mission parameters, and considers opening the scrolls. Or at least, having water clones or shadow clones open the scrolls, but decides it's too risky. Would Konoha want their soldiers to call out superiors? It would certainly be in line with Kakashi-sensei's philosophy of team loyalty over success in the mission. Kakashi-sensei is the ideological heir to the Third Hokage, through a line of mentor-student relationships. Thus, it's possible that Sarutobi Hiruzen is actually seeking people who do are appropriately skeptical of tasks given to them.

Naruto remembers a story that was told by one of Senju Hashirama's concubines, a gift from the Lord of the Land of Fire, who had told the story to Uzumaki Mito. A consort of one of the Emperors of the Land of Ancestors needed a maidservant who would follow directions without question, or else she might betray her and join forces with her rival consort, who was pregnant at the time. To measure the loyalty of prospective maidservants, she came up with a test. The girls would be given a rolled-up secret message that was supposed to be delivered to the female harem guards near the gate of the inner palace. If a maid opened the message, she would read that it asked the female guards to kill the message-bearer. Thus, the loyalty of the girls was judged by who didn't open the message and thus delivered it to the guards, who were aware of the ploy. The consort had the newly recruited maidservants deliver poison to spies she had set up in a rival concubine's staff, causing the rival consort to miscarry her child.

Blind loyalty is only good for a servant whose master is benevolent. Naruto shakes his head, earning curious looks from Sakura and Shikamaru. That's an oversimplification, a maxim that attempts to create universal truth where there is none. The Kyuubi warned him about how such thinking could be self-sabotaging. He needs to consider every possibility, every angle of what Konoha is trying to examine him for.

A common maxim among the Shinobi world, although blatantly false in Naruto's opinion, is that Shinobi are tools. While it is true Shinobi are paid to accomplish tasks requested of private individuals, Naruto finds that the saying glosses over the multifaceted undertones of Nindou. Shinobi is a role, especially among the clans, whose members are expected to perform and present well, or the clan loses face. Shinobi were also, despite their long-forgotten origins purely in the realm of espionage and subterfuge, field warriors. Men like Uchiha Madara and Senju were in possession of wide, sweeping jutsu like Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame or Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence that could take out whole platoons or even armies. Shinobi have etiquette and rules and a code of honor inherited from the Sage of the Six Paths. The idea of loyalty to a community viewed as a family wasn't born when the first Hidden Village was created, it is the ideological child of the Warring States philosophy that the clan came before all else.

Is the Old Man asking Naruto to make himself a tool? Or is he asking Naruto to defy such a notion, to give himself a will?

Naruto sorts through as many historical incidents as he can. History is useful for times like these. Just like one can spot a pattern in the behavior of a person, one can spot a pattern in the behavior of institutions, and what is history but the record of the patterns of institutions?

His musing is cut short by the announcement that the test has started and the opening of the fence that surrounds the ominous forest. Naruto fetches a Flying Raijin kunai as his team makes it to a spot isolated from others where they can talk strategy. "Listen, guys, It's a good idea for me to go on ahead--"

"What!?" Sakura exclaims while Sasuke gives Naruto a curious glance.

"Using the seal on this kunai, I can teleport." Sakura and Sasuke both look bewildered at the revelation. "I can go on ahead and leave a kunai right by the building, then teleport back to you guys. When we get the other scroll, I can teleport all three of us to the building in the middle."

The two turn the idea over in their heads. Sasuke seems to agree with the idea, but Sakura asks, "What if we need your help while you're going on ahead?"

"If you put in chakra into the seal, I'll feel a weird tugging sensation, and I'll know to teleport back to you guys. I'll give one of these kunai to both of you."

"Why didn't you tell us you can do this?" Sakura asks as the same Sasuke asks, "Can you teach me this?"

"Well, Sakura, I'm not exactly supposed to know how to do this jutsu, so keep it a secret, okay? And no, Sasuke, I can't."

"Huh? Why not?" Sasuke acts and Naruto detects...petulance? Naruto supposes it makes sense: the Uchiha is socially constipated, but far more aloof about it than Naruto is. He's probably not used to asking anything of anyone, let alone being denied a request that he deigned to ask in person. Plus, with Sasuke's self-confidence, he likely thought he was lowering himself in asking Naruto to teach him anything.

Naruto suppresses his annoyance and tries to remind himself that they're all tweens, he's probably annoyed them on multiple occasions, they should be allowed to be graceless every once in a while. "I can't teach it to you because not only am I not supposed to know this technique at all, but teaching you would require in-depth lessons on sealing, an art that your Sharingan can only minimally help you in, and that you don't have the chakra reserves for. Besides, I don't have the time nor the patience to come up with a lesson plan for you." If Naruto sounds a little combative towards the end, it's definitely not because he's being petty over the fact that he has something over the Class Genius Uchiha Sasuke.

Sasuke simply grumbles and turns his cheek. "Hm. Fine. But what are Sakura and I supposed to do?"

"You two can't decide that for yourselves?" Naruto asks and Sasuke's eye twitches. Naruto isn't going to lie: pushing Sasuke's buttons is incredibly fun. "Let's talk it out then. Personally, I think you two should hide and camp out until I teleport back to you, that way we're at full manpower when we go searching for another team's scroll. Do you guys think you're able to secure another team's scroll by yourselves?"

Sakura's shoulders drop as she looks away and Naruto grimaces. He picks up on the way Sasuke passes his eyes condescendingly over Sakura. Sasuke has enough faith in himself, it's Sakura who he doubts. Sakura, a constant player in the female infighting common around Sasuke's fan club, is probably socially capable enough to pick up on Sasuke's opinion of her. That must sting.

Naruto doesn't much care for what Sakura is going through, but low self-confidence can be self-defeating, and with Sakura's tendency to deflect and project onto Naruto, she'll probably find a way to blame Naruto for their failure. It's a little manipulative, but Naruto needs Sakura to believe in herself. "Well, we have the top guy and girl together, so I'm certain you guys can fend for yourselves. Sakura, you can be the decision-maker, since you're smart and all that, and Sasuke, you can be the sword."

"Who put you in charge?" Sasuke asks standoffishly. Moon and Stars, their teamwork sucks.

"Myself," Naruto deadpans. "This isn't a dictatorship, Sasuke. If you disagree, just voice it." Naruto sees an opportunity and takes it. "I, for one, think Sakura is better suited to tactical thinking. You're way better at that heat-of-battle spontaneous stuff."

Naruto cheers internally as Sakura's eyebrows shoot up and confidence expresses itself in her straightened back and crossed arms. The little bit of flattery Naruto threw Sasuke's way also helped, because he seems to be mollified into accepting Naruto's advice.

"I'm gonna go now while you two set up camp." Naruto looks at both for confirmation that he can start moving, and jumps for the trees.

Tree-jumping is even closer to flying, and Naruto basks in the way the wind, even if the air is odorous and heavy, whistles past his ears. But Naruto doesn't let himself become too distracted: he ruminates more on the possible hidden purpose of this test, asking himself that he might simply be overthinking it. It could simply be what it obviously is: a test meant to weed out the weak and overly curious. But Kakashi-sensei's whole Nindou seems to be implicitly set against such blind loyalty: there are times where comrades come before success seems to be an idea that encourages both individual decision making and active disobedience in certain situations. Would Kakashi-sensei teach them something directly in contrast to what Konoha expects of its chuunin?

Naruto decides to filter through as many individual cases that he remembers, momentarily forgetting to be aware of his surroundings. Kakashi-sensei brings to mind the tragic fate of his father, Hatake Sakumo. And Naruto's eyes widen as he stops on a tree branch. The entire case, known as the Hatake Scandal, runs through Naruto's head. A leader who prioritized his team, the loss of clan face, the virulent and public criticism and disgrace, and the implicit signal from the Third Hokage that honorable suicide was the only option left.

Naruto is mildly horrified that the Old Man would do such a thing, secretly send Hatake Sakumo a ceremonial knife as a message that he needed to commit seppuku in order to restore clan honor. It seems so at odds with the gentle, if neglectful, man who used to talk to Naruto every month or so. Then, Naruto reminds himself that Sarutobi Hiruzen is from a different generation. Part of the first generation to grow up in Konoha, Hiruzen was likely raised by parents who grew up during the perpetual struggle of the Warring States, where betrayal and sacrifice were as common as evening cicadas in summer, and honor was as vital as one's liver. It's entirely possible that the Third Hokage thought he was doing Sakumo a favor, giving the man a way out. It's also possible he was thinking of the young Kakashi, who would grow up ostracized and disgraced, perhaps even actively sabotaged and targeted, in the shadow of his father's sin. Naruto scoffs. If the Third Hokage could make a father kill himself to save the son, why couldn't he have helped Naruto more than an occasional visit and a stipend?

The story, however, does gives Naruto exactly the answer that he needs: the Third expects loyalty to authority, if only because the rest of the village expects it. He might not want to enforce such an ideology, but the opinion of a village must be pretty difficult for one man to change.

Very good critical thinking, child, but I have something I must warn you about. Do you know the Kusa ninjas?

Yeah, with the creepy girl?

I could sense the girl's negative emotions, and her bloodlust and power-hunger were too strong for her to be a normal Shinobi. Something about her feels...familiar, but I'm not sure how, yet. I don't want you to die because I failed to warn you about a dangerous foe. I advise you to stay away from her or her team.

Yes, sir!

Naruto shakes his head and brings himself back into the moment: he decides that the test is what it implies itself to be, that his team is expected to follow directions, and keeps moving through the trees. It's then he feels the tug that the Kyuubi told him about, that his team is summoning him. He plants a Flying Raijin kunai into the tree, because he doesn't know how to place them on objects or people yet, and teleports back to his team.

Sasuke and Sakura stand in battle positions as they face the three Suna ninja. Temari looks confident if reluctant to fight, while Kankuro smirks with hauteur. But it's Gaara that gives him pause. His face is a studied neutral, vacant of emotion, but he can feel a hackle-raising bloodlust radiate off of him, an inhuman impulse so strong that Naruto makes a split-second decision and, instead of staying to help the team fight, puts his hand on both Sasuke and Sakura and summons enough chakra to teleport all three on them to the tree he had come from.

The atmosphere, absent of Gaara's miasma, settles into the tense Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke deactivates his Sharingan and wipes his watery eyes--he's not accustomed enough to the doujutsu, so it still irritates his eyes--and Sakura exhales, dropping to her knees on the tree.

"What the fuck?" Naruto exclaims.

"Holy shit, I thought I was done for," Sakura says numbly. She turns to look at Naruto as she wipes sweat off her brow. "They were, like, searching for us, for Sasuke-kun. The redhead, Gaara, said that he needed to kill him to confirm his existence or something like that. You just fucking saved our lives."

Naruto grimaces. "It makes sense, Sasuke is the last non-criminal Uchiha, the heir to one of the most famed clans in Shinobi history. He's pretty famous, so it makes sense ambitious genin would seek him out as a challenge. But...confirm his existence?" Naruto mulls over the statement. Why would killing Sasuke confirm Gaara's existence? Unless...Gaara saw himself as a weapon? If he did, it would make sense: weapons exist to kill others. Killing would reassure Gaara of his own purpose. The thought passes through Naruto that Gaara might be like him, be a jinchuuriki if he views himself as a weapon. Naruto squashes the train of thought: sending a jinchuuriki into another Hidden Village, especially one with a delicate relationship, without a word of warning, basically gives Konoha a casus belli. Surely Suna, economically disadvantaged, wouldn't risk war, would they?

It is possible that this Gaara is like you, also a jinchuuriki. There is something familiar in that boy's madness. Suna's Bijuu is the demon tanuki, Shukaku. Shukaku is the Ichibi, likely the weakest of my brethren, as the number of tails correlates to strength. Shukaku is unpredictably wild and grating on the most patient souls. If a Bijuu is sealed properly, I'm unable to sense them. It's likely that something is wrong with Gaara's seal, causing the line between jailor and prisoner to blur. Shukaku has probably somehow eroded the boy's sanity, placing him in perpetual psychosis. I would be wary of him as well.

Naruto's jaw clenches at the Kyuubi's words. So he's found someone like him, another human weapon, and he's supposed to just stay away? To ignore him out of fear? To behave like Konoha?

No, Naruto decides, he can't do that. He needs to talk to this Gaara, his possible brother in life experiences, even if it means risking death. He needs to know, to see if it's possible for a monster to find another monster, for two monster to empathize with each other, even if it means risking death.

Despite the obvious risk to his own life, breaking the Kyuubi's promise, the fox does not protest Naruto's intent. All he gets is a short, gentle, I understand.

"So, how do you think we should proceed from here, Sakura?" Naruto, even if he doesn't really care for how Sakura or Sasuke are feeling, at least trusts Sakura's tactical thinking skills.

"I think we should camp out near the center," she says. "Then, when someone arrives at the center with two scrolls, we ambush them and enter the building."

Naruto nods, "I think it's pretty sound, but how can we be sure that no one will be waiting to ambush us?"

Sakura turns to Sasuke with a sharp smile. Sasuke, likely used to seeing Sakura's smile in an entirely obsessive context, nearly flinches. "That's where the Sharingan comes in. You can see chakra with it, right?" Sasuke's eyes sharpen and he nods. "You'll be our lookout and our sentry. Not only will you be able to spot when someone is coming or if they're hiding, but you're also skilled enough to preemptively attack anyone hiding among the leaves. We need signals, however. What should we go for?"

Naruto and Sasuke consider. "I think, rather than discussing code-words, we should ask a question only someone in our team would know the answer to. Like, for example, where do I always eat ramen from? You guys know that, right?"

Silence.

At least Sakura has the decency to look abashed, Sasuke just stares at Naruto blankly. Sometimes Naruto wonders if there's a brain in that pretty little skull of his. He knows there is, of course, you don't brainlessly make it to the top of the class, after all. But, Moon and Stars, sometimes the kid is more socially arrested than Naruto can imagine.

Naruto puts his head in his hands and groans. "Fine, how about this: What's Kakashi-sensei's verbal tick?" Naruto is referring to Kakashi's tendency to start off sentences with "Well, well."

Sakura and Sasuke both nod, knowing better than to answer, or else anyone eavesdropping will learn the answer. Sasuke scans the forest, but warns, "As a warning, I can see chakra, its color, and the chakra around people, but I can't see chakra behind objects."

"The enhanced eyesight will help with that," Sakura simply says. "Notice the way trees move, the way chakra might be funneled into an explosive tag, any tripwire. Other teams might have the same idea as us, so we might run into them on the way there. We need to prepare for a fight." Naruto almost tells them that he has a warning system inside him: the Kyuubi. He sighs internally when he remembers that the Kyuubi isn't really going to be helping him right now.

"You mean Sasuke and I need to prepare for a fight," Naruto grumbles.

"What was that?" Naruto feels her anger.

"Nothing," he coos as he gives her a saccharine smile.

"Damn right."

They make their way through the trees.

"How fucking big is this forest," Naruto complains.

"Too big," Sakura responds. "Ugh, it's so humid, my hair's getting all frizzy."

"Oh no! Won't someone think about Sakura's hair!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Naruto, I've been putting years of effort into this hair, excuse me if I don't exactly like being ugly."

"Yeah, years of effort for your Sasuke-kun." The words flow from Naruto's mouth before he has the chance to stop them, but he cringes as soon the sentence comes out of his mouth. The realization comes, horribly, that this all makes sense for Sakura to act like this. How else would a girl act when she was raised in a land that told her that being a wife and mother came before all else? That, when combined with the idolization of Shinobi and the way trading is frowned upon, what does that turn a girl into? What does she do? How does she act?

It makes sick sense that Sakura, or any of the girls in their class, would be obsessed with Uchiha Sasuke. He's the ideal man in the pyramid of Konoha: he's handsome, he's smart, he's skilled, he's a clan heir, he's a Shinobi, he has a common and powerful bloodline limit. He gets far more money from the village in a month than Naruto gets in three, he has a sense of style, an air of intrigue.

There's a story that Uzumaki Mito told her daughter, from Uzushio: the Ballad of the Mountain Witch's Curse. The heir of a nobleman is the child of a great lord's concubine. The concubine made a pilgrimage to a shrine during her pregnancy for the benefit of her child, but, from her palanquin, she spotted a cat with beautiful silver fur. Liking its fur so much, she had her men kill and skin it, preserving it so that it might be used to trim a kimono when she returned to her estate. The cat, however, was the companion of a witch of the mountain--the mountain where the shrine was located--who, upon discovering what the concubine had done, cursed her child to be hideous and of bad temperament. The worst part of her curse was, however, that her son would have bad taste and lack erudition. Growing into a reserved, boorish young man, who would often beat servants and ruin his father's extensive collection of painted scrolls and calligraphy. He took the daughter of his father's servant as a concubine, and, through her love, patience, and submission, she earned the mercy of the Moon Goddess, and the curse was removed. He turned into a handsome, intelligent, and cultured dilettante, and they lived in happy matrimony for the rest of his days. When he died gloriously in battle, she killed herself out of grief. The Moon Goddess was so moved that she decided the two would always find each other in their future lives, be they lovers or friends.

Back when the fox told him the tale, he had been absorbed in the curiosity of Uzushiogakure, wanting to learn everything he could about it, thirsty for every detail. He thought the fairy tale girlish and a bit vapid, what did a boy like him care about marriage and handsome nobles? But now, in the light of Ino's upbringing and Sakura's behavior, its girlishness is exactly what makes it so nefarious. Every tale has a moral, and this one might has multiple: don't go about doing whatever you want, you might hurt others; artistic merit is something to be valued, those who don't have it are exiled by society; give those who act standoffish and rudely a chance, you might help them grow. But there's also the ideals of marriage, the ones that place all the fault of men's behavior on women. It's the heir's mother's fault that he became coarse and uncultured, he was ruined by the woman's excess in fashion. It's the girl who ultimately fixes him, bearing through his gauche behavior and disregard with unearned patience. It is, in far more nefarious way than anything Konoha could do, indoctrination.

He wonders if Sakura ever heard the tale. Either way, its themes, its morals, seem to reflect the ones of Konoha just as much as it might reflect the ones of Uzushio: love a man enough, fit yourself to him, and he will turn from a coarse, uncaring thing, into a beautiful, caring husband. No wonder Sakura grew out her hair when she heard the rumor that Sasuke likes long hair. Naruto probably would have, too, if he was in her position.

"I'm sorry," he says softly, right before Sakura can yell at him. She stops her retort and remains quiet. Naruto doesn't turn to see her face, but it must be shocked. "That was uncalled for. I just...I'm frustrated, you know? You're gonna be in mortal danger, one day, fighting people who won't show you mercy. If you're gonna have long hair, you should put it in a bun or something so that an enemy won't grab it in a fight. But, more important than that, do you want long hair?" Naruto tries to sound as empathetic as possible. At this moment, Naruto regrets calling her the Mosquito.

"What are you talking about?" There's no bite to her voice, no venom. It's quiet, quiet in a way Sakura never is. "Of course I do."

"Don't change yourself for anyone, Sakura. Sometimes, I wonder if more people would like me if I was different, more sociable, more personable. I look back on the way our class ignored me and think: Maybe if I was smarter, nicer, well-behaved, maybe then they would have liked me. But, you know what, Sakura?"

Sakura doesn't respond, Naruto isn't sure if she's angry or ashamed or contemplative.

"If someone doesn't like you for the person you are, do they deserve you? If you change yourself for someone, do they love you? Or do they love the reflection of the ideals they see in you? You saw how I changed, how I became quiet, stopped pranking, tried to sit still and class, and didn't answer questions. Did anyone talk to me then?" The question is rhetorical. No one had come up to Naruto, both when he was loud and when he was silent.

Sakura is quiet for a while, but Naruto stops the moment he hears her sniffle. "Sakura?" He asks, voice gentle.

"I'm sorry." She stops on the branch next to him and wipes her eyes. She sniffles again. "I guess I've always just...thought what everyone else told me to do was what I should do, what everyone else did I had to do. I've thought about what you said so many times when I'd decide what to wear or when I'd washed my hair." Sakura pauses, eyes cast downward as she thinks. "I wondered if maybe I was insane to, to question it, to question how Ino and so many girls acted. I thought Hinata was weird for the way she acted, the way she didn't call attention to Sasuke-kun. Now I wonder if, in a way, she's smarter than me, if, at least, she was willing to be different."

Sasuke looks like he's seeing Sakura, truly seeing her, for the first time. There's something in his gaze, something pained and yet Naruto sees something else, too, he sees the spark of sympathy, the spark of pity. Naruto is a little offended on Sakura's behalf for that: Sakura is bearing her heart out and all he can muster up is pitty? He'd clobber Sasuke's ass if he was Sakura!

Naruto realizes he's started thinking off-topic again and brings himself back into the current topic, but Sakura says something else again. "A couple of months ago, my mother wore a pink sweater. My father returned from the bank and saw her. He grimaced, and told her, 'Aren't you a little too old to be wearing pink? You should dress colors more suitable for your maturity.' I thought nothing of it, I thought that was just how it was. Naruto..." Naruto nods, and Sakura continues, "do you think I can teach myself individuality?"

Naruto nods vehemently. "It's never too late to discover yourself! Try whatever you want! Dress crazy! Fuck what everyone else thinks!" Naruto feels a little weird saying that last one. He cares about what other people think constantly, that's why he is what he is. Still, just because he isn't doing as he's saying doesn't mean what he's saying isn't good advice.

Sakura smiles, and Naruto returns her smile. This is the second person he's changed made a connection that day! Man, he always tried to make friends with guys in his class. He was already shunned, he thought if he was seen hanging out with girls, his reputation would take a social dip it would never return from. He should've tried talking with more girls, at least girls who didn't glare at him.

Child, the Kyuubi warns, I sense the Kusa ninja coming your way, from the southwest. I would advise running now. She seems to be seeking you, or at least your team, out.

"Crap!" Naruto says out loud. Sakura and Sasuke give him curious glares. "The team from Kusa is coming our way."

"How do you know that?"

Naruto grimaces. "I'll tell you, one day, if you promise not to tell anyone else. It might ruin your perception of me, and I can't risk breaking our team before it was ever together, especially now. All I can say--all I know about her, really--is that their leader is fucking dangerous."

Sakura gulps, but Sasuke's eyes take on a determined sheen, "Are you sure we can't take them? We're pretty dangerous too--" Sasuke's eyes widen as Naruto feels it. Bloodlust, killing intent, so thick and vicious that it sweeps over Sasuke and Sakura, who fall to their knees as if someone drove a kunai into them and pulled it out. Naruto feels it, sure, but he's met a millennia-old chakra beast, a beast that loathes humanity to the extent where he would wipe it off the face of the Earth if he could. Human urges can't possibly compare to the hatefulness of a monster.

Naruto reaches towards Sasuke and Sakura, pushes a minute amount of his chakra into them, just enough that it feels like a static shock, to bring them out of their trance. He doesn't check to see their recovery, but whips around to see the Kusa Kunoichi grinning atop the head of a giant serpent. "Oh?" the androgynous voice muses, "You withstood my mental onslaught, did you? That takes good resistance."

Killing intent, bloodlust--whatever one wishes to call it--is a technique that externalizes the subconscious human desire for conflict. It isn't the simple projection of a desire for violence, it's the innate thrill of violence lying under the surface in all people. Killing intent is thus, as result, strongest not when someone strongly desires to end someone's life, but when that person views human life as something to disregard entirely. This person must entirely lack empathy to project bloodlust so strong. Naruto steels himself.

"So you aren't even trying to hide, huh?" Naruto retorts as he spins a kunai by the ring. Naruto throws the kunai--Flying Raijin-sealed, of course--into the tree, playing it off as cool as possible. Naruto borrows some of the Kyuubi's wealth of bloodlust, enough to show he's not as weak as he might look, hoping to intimidate the Kusa ninja.

The ninja raises her eyebrow. "Oh, so you're not as weak as you seem, are you?"

"What are we going to do?" Sakura whispers, voice full of panic.

"You two run, I can distract her then teleport back to you," he whispers back.

"What makes you think you can taker her? Do you have a death wish? Didn't you feel that?"

Naruto turns to Sakura and grins. "I've got a couple of tricks up my sleeve, you know! Now, go!"

Sakura turns around and starts leaping through the branches. Sasuke's jaw clenches. Naruto never really knows what's going through the guy's head half the time. He could be frustrated because Naruto might die, or frustrated because he thinks he can take this person on and Naruto's getting in his way. "I'm staying. We'll be stronger together." Naruto sighs, not wanting to waste more time talking, and turns right as the Kunoichi's snake mount strikes the branch. Naruto and Sasuke leap away in the same direction, making sure not to separate, and crouch. Sasuke's Sharingan whirls to life. As the snake pulls itself from the branch, Naruto finds that the kunai he left is still in the branch.

He summons a single shadow clone, making sure his cloak doesn't open and reveal his hand signs, and the two string their hands together. A high-pressure stream of water gushes from Naruto's mouth as a ray of lightning--however the hell that works--comes out of his clones. The mount might be big, but it's slow, too, and the electrified water hits it exactly as Naruto intended.

The Kunoichi jumps away as the mount goes limp, landing on a tree branch. "Oh, this is a surprise."

Great, she fucking runs her mouth. Naruto is going to have to deal with her little attempts at taunting and appearing collected this whole fight, isn't he? Naruto thinks that might kill him more than any tactic this Kunoichi can muster: she'll make a comment, he'll probably sigh, roll his eyes, fail to notice an attack, and perish right then and there.

Sasuke throws three kunai at the woman, who dodges each with ease, and they lodge themselves in the tree. Naruto notices the sliver of a glimmer that signified ninja wire, and Sasuke moves his fingers, bringing the kunai back around the Kunoichi and wrapping the wires around her. He makes the signs for a jutsu and breaths fire onto the wire, which can conduit chakra. The flames race towards the woman and she's incinerated. Naruto doesn't even have the time to react as the Kyuubi warns, She's not finished yet.

Naruto groans as the fire and smoke clear away to reveal the woman, unharmed and unburnt, with her...face melted off? No, Naruto realizes, it's a sort of mask, a disguise more material than a simple transformation.

This is--the Kyuubi exclaims as Naruto takes in the serpentine face in front of him--Orochimaru!

"Orochimaru!?" Naruto yells out loud. The Orochimaru!? The member of the Sannin who fucking experimented on people? The S-rank missing-nin? That Orochimaru?

You're going to need far more firepower than you have now, child. Summon my strength.

Orochimaru cackles. "Ah, Uchiha Sasuke...I've come all this way for you, and you didn't disappoint."

Of course he--she? They?--is here for Sasuke. The boy has to be cursed. Naruto strings his hands together again. Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!

Sasuke coordinates himself to Naruto, breathing out a fireball that merges with his wind and swells into a great blaze. The S-rank missing-nin should have been incinerated, but Naruto knows better than to assume his enemy is dead: He'll believe it when he sees the lifeless corpse. The smoke clears away to reveal nothing but a charred log.

Naruto needs to signal the proctors, needs to attract someone's attention. The Kyuubi's chakra, the release of his hatred, will almost certainly alert the examiners. Naruto summons the chakra, dense and powerful, of the Nine-tailed Fox, and lets its miasma spread through the Forest of Death. Orochimaru seems genuinely surprised, but schools his expression back into one of superiority. The ninja speaks from atop a higher branch, "This is a surprise. Oh well, I'm not one to be discouraged by a little challenge." Naruto wants to stick a kunai into his skull if he's going to have to hear this shit for even one more minute. Legendary ninja or not, it's fucking annoying.

Naruto jumps, speed boosted by the Kyuubi, and swipes his sharp fingernails at Orochimaru's face. Orochimaru, fittingly flexible as a snake, bends backward to avoid Naruto, who, airborne and leaping above Orochimaru, kicks out under him. The member of the Sannin gracefully moves away. Naruto manifests one of the Kyuubi's tails. A real one, covered in fur and corporeal. It flicks out full force in Orochimaru's direction. A Bijuu's tail can be devastating, and Naruto isn't exactly worried about collateral damage right now. Orochimaru is knocked back, and the shockwave of the tail devastates the forest before him. However, as the body collides into a tree bent by the wind, it reveals itself to be a splatter of clones.

"Naruto?" Sasuke, genuinely shaken, asks.

"Get out of here!" Naruto shouts. "He's targeting you!"

Orochimaru rises out from the branch Sasuke is standing on. Sasuke leaps back and breathes another ball of fire that Orochimaru dodges by jumping onto another branch.

The branch with Naruto's kunai.

"Not so fast, I've barely even got to have some fun--"

"Would you please just shut the fuck up?" Naruto yells as he manifests right next to Orochimaru, whose sadistic grin is wiped right off of his face. Hands of bubbling red chakra punch out, striking Orochimaru in the diaphragm and the neck. He makes a noise that's a combination of choking, wheezing, and wrenching, and Naruto smiles as he smiles with hauteur. "Your hissing is getting really annoying."

Orochimaru glares at Naruto through his black hair, yellow eyes practically glowing with rage. "Why, you brat." He makes some hand seals and brings his thumb up to his finger, bites, and smears the blood on the tree branch. "Summoning Jutsu."

Naruto leaps back as smoke rapidly fills the air. A serpent rushes out, mouth gaping, and Naruto yelps as its mouth closes around him and it swallows. Moon Goddess, this is disgusting. He shudders as the slimy saliva of the snake coats him. Well, I can't be a ninja if I can't handle some spit. Naruto tries to jump to the kunai he had lodged in the tree, knowing he hadn't anywhere reached his limit yet and could still buy Sakura more time, but finds himself in the snake's stomach anyway.

He's holding the kunai. He's holding the kunai he had left as a way of avoiding attacks and fucking forgot about it. He screams. Not for help, but out of sheer rage. The Kyuubi's chakra burns at the snake's innards, but the beast is far from normal, and it recovers at a miraculous rate. He tries to push the chakra hands out and grimaces as the pressure isn't enough to burst through the snake's digestive tract.

It's then Naruto honest to the Moon and Stars and starts panicking. Sweat starts running in beads down his face, both due to stress and heat, and he starts hyperventilating, the air coming out and in harshly. If Naruto's brain worked properly, he might remember the Flying Raijin kunai he gave to Sakura and Sasuke and would teleport to them. Unfortunately, not only is Naruto under incredibly duress, but his brain does not, in fact, work normally. Thus, the kunai stay forgotten.

But it's then that Naruto feels it, feels something...awaken. It's partial, incomplete. Deep within the recesses of his mind, Naruto understands what this power can do, the devastation it can cause. At first, Naruto thinks it might be the chains certain Uzumaki were able to produce on instinct, the chains that could pierce objects and bind chakra. But no, it's not that at all.

In the dark of the serpent's stomach, Naruto smiles.

Almighty Push.

The snake explodes. Naruto basks in the glory, but his mood is quickly soured by the gore. He's covered in blood! Thank the Moon Goddess that his cloak is stain-proof. Naruto falls onto a tree branch as the snake summon's destroyed corpse poofs away into smoke. He's far away from wherever Orochimaru is, the snake had slithered to some other part of the forest, but he remembers the kunai that he gave to Sasuke. He groans. The Kunai he gave to Sasuke! He could have just used that! Damn his stupid little pea brain!

But when he manifests next to Sasuke, Orochimaru's biting his neck, which has extended, flexible like a snake. Naruto hates the motif, he's not going to lie. Liking snakes and making them your symbol is one thing, but revolving your whole skillset around them? That's just tacky. At least he has both foxes and birds.

Naruto summons the Kyuubi's chakra again and throws a kunai with increased speed. The kunai tears through the air and embeds itself into Orochimaru's neck, earning little more than a grunt in acknowledgment. Sasuke goes limp next to him and falls over, his body dropping from the tree branch. Naruto summons another kunai and embeds it into the tree. He teleports next to Sasuke, the kunai strung around his waist and grabs onto him, then teleports back to the branch, body slumped over his shoulder.

"I will admit, boy, seeing you use the Fourth Hokage's jutsu is rather shocking but that won't be enough to..." he trails off as he takes Naruto in. "How?" he asks, voice a low growl.

"How what, snakey?" Naruto asks.

"Those eyes...I've only seen them on--"

"I should be asking about your eyes, Hebi-chan!" Naruto interrupts. "Are they real or contacts?" he mocks.

Hebi-chan, as Naruto has decided to call him, snarls, and charges for him. "I'll be taking your eyes, jinchuuriki."

"I don't think you will." Naruto puts a hand on his hip as Orochimaru's neck darts forward. Almighty Push! A shockwave, the force of which is relative to Naruto's chakra, ripples out in front of Naruto. Hebi-chan's neck and head are forced back first, and then the rest of his body is sent flying through the air. Naruto feels the power he summoned fade, decides that this is an ideal opportunity to haul ass to Sakura, and teleports by her side.

She squeaks when she realizes Naruto's beside her. The emotions that proceed to flicker across her face almost make Naruto laugh: Fear, surprise, relief, confusion, worry. She asks, "What happened?"

"Orochimaru." Naruto's voice is flat.

"Orochimaru?" she hisses. "One of the Legendary Sannin, that Orochimaru? That was the Kusa Kunoichi?"

"Yup."

"And how is Sasuke-ku--How's Sasuke?" Sakura asks. Naruto pretends not to notice the correction.

"I don't know." Naruto gently places Sasuke's body on the ground and inspects him. There's a gash in his side, where the shirt is ripped open--Naruto cringes because it's a sturdy, quality shirt--and two puncture marks on his neck, where a black mark--shaped like three tomoe, a mitsudomoe--has appeared. Naruto reaches into the fanny pack he carries with him, where a series of organized storage scrolls await. Medical and hygiene supplies are in the second one from the left, and he pulls it out, unrolling it until he fetches a sewing needle and thread, surgical gloves, a water bottle, soap, and bandages. The first thing Naruto does is take the water bottle and soap and rinse the area around the wound. Sasuke groans, brows furrowing as some soap water makes it into the wound, likely causing a stinging sensation. Sakura grabs onto his hand and Sasuke unconsciously clenches it. Naruto tears off some of the gauze and applies pressure. He hopes he doesn't need to sew the wound closed, because he's inexperienced, though he'll do it if he has to. Naruto stays like that for a couple of minutes, changing bandages when they get too bloody.

Slowly, the blood stops pulsing from the gash on his torso. "Can you help hold Sasuke's upper body up? We need to take off his shirt, then I need to wrap these bandages around his waist." Sakura nods, though her face flushes at the mention of taking off Sasuke's shirt. He had hope when Sakura referred to him as just Sasuke. Old habits must die hard.

When the wound is taken care of, Naruto moves onto the puncture marks on his neck, washing them and summoning smaller, adhesive bandages from his scroll, placing one for each one on his neck.

"Now...what the fuck is this?" Naruto looks over the black marks on Sasuke's body, ignoring the stench of sweat that must be coming from all three of them. "Wait it's not...a seal, is it?"

"A seal?" Sakura asks. "Whatever for?"

Naruto grimaces. "Some seals can affect your biology or psychology, this must be one of them. But...what does it do? Why? And why doesn't it look like a traditional seal array? Unless..."

There's a pause as Naruto thinks. Sakura clears her throat, calling Naruto's attention. "Unless what, Naruto?"

Naruto's face flushes. "Did I just trail off? Sorry. It's possible the seal array was somehow transcribed inside of his circulatory system, and this mark is just an outward signal. That would explain why Orochimaru was biting into Sasuke's neck. It was to pierce the arteries."

"I'm just going to move past the creepy neck biting part. How could Orochimaru transcribe a sealing array without ink?"

"You don't need ink to create a seal. The ink just acts as a tunnel for the chakra, telling it how to move so it can execute a specific function. It's like a jutsu: the chakra needs to move and be shaped a certain way for the jutsu to work properly. You can create a seal purely through chakra, by inscribing with it. A jutsu really is just a type of array: that's why they're called hand seals. You're essentially creating pathways and molding chakra via the human form. But in order for a seal made of pure chakra to work on something other than the human body, it requires inserting chakra into the object of choice. Orochimaru couldn't have inserted his chakra into Sasuke's body because that would have killed him instantly. Unless...unless the seal has a mechanism that either contains it within a certain part, like an organ or gland or has another mechanism that allows Orochimaru's chakra to adapt itself to Sasuke's chakra."

"If you were talking to literally anyone else they would not understand a single thing you were saying. You're lucky I was top Kunoichi." Sakura sighs. "Okay, so we have a theory as to how the seal works, now why? Why would someone like Orochimaru create a seal that probably affects Sasuke's biology or psychology?" Sakura's brow furrows in concentration as she thinks it over.

"Could it have something to do with his search for immortality?" Naruto asks.

"It could, but that brings up another bevy of questions."

Naruto considers, then it dawns on him. "What if it's like, for a type of organ transplanting?"

"What do you mean?"

"Okay, so organs need to be compatible with the host body, right? Or else the body sees the transplanted organ as an enemy and attacks it? What if Orochimaru's seal changes Sasuke's biology so that his organs are compatible with Orochimaru's? It would make sense, especially if he were after the Sharingan. Theoretically, he could create a whole new body with that sort of..." Naruto stops dead in his tracks.

Sakura gulps. "What--what is it, Naruto?"

"Sakura, I don't think he's planning to take Sasuke's eyes. I think he's planning to take Sasuke's body."

Sakura's eyes widen, and then she processes the words, horror sinking into her expression. "If he inserted his chakra into Sasuke's system, then that means it could be adapting Sasuke's body to his chakra, not adapting to Sasuke's. Like--like immunity to poison. Then, when he needs to take over Sasuke's body, however the hell he does that, it's already receptive to his chakra."

There's a pause. "Shit!" Naruto exclaims. Sakura just stares at the markings on his neck, eyes hollow. Naruto shakes his head. "We can't let this stop us. A lot of people probably think the Chuunin Exams are still going on as normal. We need to get to a safe place and wait this out. Survival is more important right now than failure." Naruto starts putting the supplies back in the storage seal. He puts the shirt back on Sasuke and puts his arms through the sleeves. The two pick Sasuke up, stringing an arm around their shoulders, and make their way through the forest.

The two make it to a bush and hideaway when they hear a feminine voice shout "Gaara!" Naruto looks through the leaves to see the redhead, arms crossed, walk past. Temari follows behind him, protesting Gaara's behavior. "Gaara, why are we going towards that feeling? You felt it! None of us have a chance against that thing, whatever it was!"

"Don't presume to know my strength, Temari." She winces at the mention of her name. Gaara seems callous, neglectful. Yet, Naruto still yearns to interact with him, to talk.

Naruto turns to Sakura. He has to have gone insane to do what he's about to do. "I'm going to distract them, you go take Sasuke and run."

"Naruto!" Sakura hisses, "are you insane?"

"If things get dangerous, I'll just teleport to you, okay? Go!" Naruto turns and jumps out of the bushes. "Hey!"

Temari and Gaara whip around. Gaara's eyes narrow as Temari scoffs. "Great, another twerp to deal with."

"Are you a jinchuuriki?" Naruto asks. Gaara's eyes widen as Temari sucks in a breath.

"How do you--"

"I'm also a jinchuuriki," Naruto says.

Gaara casts his gaze over Naruto as Temari gulps. "You--you're..." She's scared of him, he realizes. Not the hidden, resentful fear of the villagers, but true, heart-pounding fear. Naruto almost finds it thrilling: people in the village have gotten used to him, their fear cooling into hatred and avoidance as time marched on and Naruto developed into a quiet, moody person. But this? Inspiring pure, unadulterated terror? It almost feels like acknowledgment.

"Ichibi," Gaara states simply.

The Kyuubi scoffs inside of him. "Kyuubi." The two exchange tense stares, before Naruto speaks, "How do people treat you, in your village?"

Gaara's expression doesn't morph once, but Naruto feels him project his bloodlust. Naruto remains stoic. "They fear me. I'm a weapon."

"Do they call you a monster? A demon?" Gaara's stoicism breaks, his eyes widening just a fraction. Naruto realizes he's struck a truth and continues his interrogation. "Do they resent you, stay away from you? Did the children stay away from you when you were young?"

Gaara's eyes narrow again. "What is it to you?"

"They did the same to me. I want to know if it's like that for everyone who's like me."

"Like you?" Gaara repeats. "Does your village also see you as a weapon?" Temari looks at Naruto, then looks at Gaara with surprise. He must not usually engage in conversation like this.

"Yes."

"Then I'll fight you," Gaara states. Naruto doesn't even pretend to be shocked. "I'll fight you and kill you."

"Kill me? Why?" Naruto already knows the answer to that question, but he needs to take this conversation in a very specific direction. He's not going to get much out of Gaara by asking straightforward questions.

"To confirm my existence." Gaara's tone is flat.

"Why would that confirm your existence?"

"Because I am the weapon of my village, and you are the weapon of yours. What else confirms a weapon's existence than being pitted against another weapon?"

"If you're a weapon," Naruto taunts, "then you must be a badly made one."

Naruto can see the tension enter into Gaara's, his face is still neutral, but Naruto can see the effort to keep it such. "What?"

"You're seal's faulty, isn't it?"

"How do you know that?"

Time for the final blow: "What if I could fix it?"

Gaara's brow furrows. There's a pregnant silence. "How?" Temari looks at Gaara like he's grown a second head.

"Well, I'd have to inspect your seal to see what's wrong with it, but depending on how it's sealed, I could do anything from making minor adjustments to a slow--but complete--overhaul."

Thoughtfulness seems to pass through Gaara's mind. "My seal is what allows me to use my power, it is what my existence is based on."

"Who said I was going to take away your power? I would simply make the seal...stronger, keep you more separated from the Ichibi. You'd still be able to draw upon its power, it would simply stop affecting your psyche."

"Separate...me?" Gaara says. Then, he cries out in his pain, bending over as he closes his eyes and holds his skull. "Mother? Mother! Mother doesn't want me to separate from her..."

"Mother? Why would you..." Psychosis, Naruto recalls. That's the word the Kyuubi, a perpetual psychosis. The disconnection from reality. But Naruto said he would separate Gaara from the Ichibi, so why is he talking about his mother? Does he think the Ichibi's whisperings are those of his mother?

"She says...she says I have to kill you...or else you'll ruin me..." Gaara forces out, sand starting to float from his gourd.

"Are you sure it's your mother?" Naruto asks. "Why would your mother want you to kill me? Why does she think I'd ruin you? Maybe your mother is simply scared, scared that I'd take you out of her clutches."

Gaara doesn't answer, he simply screams as the sand starts surging forward. Naruto throws a kunai to the side and teleports towards, evading the attack. The sand turns, darting to where Naruto went. If the sand is imbued with chakra...

Naruto reaches into his fanny pack and pulls out a chakra-draining seal. Unraveling it, he deactivates the seal that keeps it small, multiplying its size until it's half as tall as Naruto. Seals might need to be inscribed into objects to affect the specific object, but affecting an area is a totally different thing entirely. As the sand comes near Naruto, the chakra is pulled out of it, causing it to fall lifeless to the ground. Gaara screams again, more sand aimed at Naruto rushing towards him. The seal takes care of it, though, and it falls harmlessly. Naruto continues his verbal assault. "Why should a mother who wants her son to kill be allowed to speak to him? Why should you listen to her? Does she own you?"

Gaara starts panting, mind struggling against the mental domination of the Ichibi, likely trying to free itself. "No...but..."

Naruto interrupts whatever Gaara was going to say, "If she doesn't own you, then I don't see why you have to kill whoever she tells you to. In fact, I don't see why you have to kill at all, really. Are you really a weapon?"

"Wh-what?" Naruto almost feels bad. He's trying to destabilize Gaara, the same way the Kyuubi did all those years ago. It's underhanded, yes, but it serves a greater end. If he can help someone like him, he will.

"Are you really a weapon? Or did someone tell you that?"

"My-my father..." Gaara groans under the pain of the Ichibi's mental assault.

"How do you know they didn't lie?" Naruto asks. "And even if they didn't, even if we were created to be weapons, who says we can't change that? Who says a decision forced upon us can't be rejected?"

"I...am a weapon...that's my purpose..." Gaara pants. He's repeating the words to himself, as if to convince himself. Naruto can tell he's succeeding in his attempt to reach the redhead.

"Gaara," Naruto says, making his voice gentle. Gaara looks up at Naruto, tears running down his face--likely out of mental pain--and Naruto sees a certain openness in them, a vulnerability to suggestion. All of Gaara's sand lies defeated on the floor. Naruto rolls the scroll back up and shrinks it, storing it back away in his fanny pack."Let me help you, let yourself choose. We are all weapons, that is the nature of being a Shinobi. Do all Shinobi kill to confirm their existence? Do all Shinobi follow the orders of their superiors? Or do some break away, forge their own path, live by their own ideals?"

Gaara's breathing slows. He seems to have held back the mental assault of the Ichibi, he straightens his back and returns his face to a neutral expression. "You...what is your name?"

Naruto smiles. "Uzumaki Naruto."

Gaara begins to turn away but keeps his eyes trained on Naruto. "Uzumaki Naruto...we will meet again." His sand returns to him, reimbued with chakra, and he walks away.

Naruto teleports to Sakura, who yelps in surprise. "You're alive?" she asks, flabbergasted. "You're alive!" She leaps and envelops Naruto into a hug. "I thought you were a goner!"

"Gee...have a little more faith in me, would you?"

Sakura pulls away. "You fought Orochimaru, and then you fought that scary Suna guy. Don't blame me for thinking you were in over your head!"

Naruto scoffs and takes in Sasuke, who's gone from unconscious to tossing in turning. Naruto hears little whimpers escape his lips and feels a pang of pity. "I think I have some painkillers." Naruto reaches for the medical supplies' scroll and looks for the "painkillers" label.

"How much stuff do you have in those?" Sakura asks.

"...A lot. Ah! Here they are." Naruto summons the bottle of white tablets. Then he reaches for the scroll containing food, mostly made up of Shinobi rations and cup ramen, and drinking water. Objects stored in storage scrolls remain in the state they were stored in, so the water is just as cool as it was when he put it however long ago. In fact, Naruto has a specific section of the scroll that contains finished cup ramen. "Sasuke?" Naruto says, wondering if he can wake the boy up. He'd rather Sasuke feed himself the medicine than force-feed it to him. "Sasuke?" Naruto says again, prodding Sasuke's cheek.

Sasuke groans and slowly stops moving, his breath evening as he mutters a quiet, groggy, "Naruto?"

"Hi," Naruto says cheekily. Sasuke's eyes blink open and glazed onyx take in Naruto.

"Naruto..." he says. "Sakura...what...where's..."

"Orochimaru? He's not a problem for now," Naruto dismisses. "Do you feel any pain right now?" Naruto asks. Sasuke nods groggily. "Can you tell me where?"

"Ev-Everywhere." Sasuke's neck...twitches? Naruto isn't really sure what just happened, but it worries him still.

"I have some painkillers, Sasuke. Do you think you can take them by yourself?"

Sasuke nods and his neck twitches again, forcing his head to tilt. Sasuke's eyes widen in alarm. "What--" his words are muffled as his jaw deviates to the side, and his neck spasms again. "What is--what is happening?"

Worry floods into Naruto. "This is involuntary, right? You aren't controlling these...spasms?"

Sasuke shakes his head as his jaw deviates again. "Ow, fuck!"

Naruto unscrews the water bottle. He lifts Sasuke's head up, trying to keep it in place, despite the way his neck muscles seem to be throwing it to the side, and drops a white tablet into his mouth. He holds the water bottle up to Sasuke's lips and Sasuke drinks like he's dying of thirst. The good thing about drinking the water is that seems to force the deviations of his jaw to stop. It doesn't stop the neck muscle spasms, however, and forcible tilts again. Naruto moves the water bottle away, preventing him from getting soaked. "Thank--thank you," he gets out.

"Don't speak," Naruto orders, but there's no force in his voice, no bite. Sasuke nods.

"This is obviously a side effect of Orochimaru's chakra," Sakura says, stress evident in her voice. "It must be stimulating some nerves or something, forcing his muscles to spasm."

"Okay, I'm not out of my mind to say fuck the test, right? We have to get Sasuke to somewhere he can be treated. I say we rush to the building in the center if it's close enough. Or..."

"Or what, Naruto? Stop trailing off!"

"I can teleport the three of us into my apartment, that will get us out of danger fast. Does that sound good with you two?"

Sakura nods as Sasuke shakes his head. He speaks up, speech muddled by the way his jaw is forced to one side or the other, "I'm not...giving up..."

"Sasuke!" Naruto is surprised by the emotion in his own voice. Sasuke just looks at Naruto, eyes wide. "Are you listening to yourself? An S-rank missing-nin just inserted his chakra into your body! You could die if we don't get you medical treatment fast enough!"

Sasuke swallows, and nods. Naruto grabs Sasuke's arm and Sakura's and one moment they're in Training Ground 44 and the next they're in Naruto's small, dusty apartment.

Sakura scans her premise once the surprise fades away. "This is...not what I expected." Sasuke hums beside her in agreement, awe-struck eyes scanning his floors and walls. Naruto's apartment would be pretty sparse, empty of most furniture except his bed, drawers, and tables. The thing is, however, Naruto has a hobby. A creative one.

His wooden floors are strewn about with fabrics of varying qualities and colors. Tulles and crepes, velours and felts: the results of years of saved stipends and unspent D-rank rewards. Naruto has been occasionally self-destroying in his attempt to collect textiles and books full of sewing patterns. He can remember days where his ribs poked out and hunger knawed, sharp and nauseating, in his stomach. He bore through it, though: The apricot jersey was worth all the skipped lunches. It filled up empty hours in dull, repetitive days. Food was momentary, lasted little more than a couple of minutes, but fabrics and threads and patterns? Those filled mental cravings for hours, days on end.

Then there are his walls: frames upon frames of embroidered grey muslin. Flowers, birds, butterflies. bees. Dragons, qilins, phoenixes, foxes. There are people, too: A mother holding the hand of her child, a young woman picking flowers. A dizzying array of tableaus so dense that some overlap with each other, the extra muslin that sticks out of the frames creating ruffles on Naruto's walls. Naruto thinks he's put more hours into embroidering than he has into training, something that reveals itself in the quality of his stitch. The one thing he will always, unequivocably pride himself on is his needlework, no matter what Konoha will claim of its muliebrity. Someone could spit on him and call him effete and Naruto would not care: he can out-stitch the gods themselves, after all.

"I had no idea you were this good. You might be better than our seamstress!" Sakura exclaims.

Sasuke, in lieu of talking, nods emphatically and hums. When his head is involuntarily thrown back, Naruto is reminded of the situation. "Sasuke, you can still jump around, right?" Sasuke grunts in affirmation and Naruto opens his window. "Follow me, then. It's quicker if we go atop the ceilings."

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura wait in the seats of the ER lobby. Sasuke, whose spasms have also moved to his back, grunts as he clenches his jaw.

"Does it still hurt?" Sakura asks.

Sasuke nods, "I'm just super annoying," Sasuke says, but he's...lisping?

"Wait, why did you lisp just now?" Naruto asks.

"I've been biting...my tongue. It helps stop the jaw spasms."

"Don't do that, what if you bite it off or it bleeds?" Naruto gently chides. "Try biting something else, like your arm guards or your shirt." Sasuke, surprisingly uncombative, nods and brings his arm to his mouth.

"It's been an hour and a fucking half," Sakura hisses. "What in the Moon and Stars is taking the nurses so long?"

"I think they're understaffed," Naruto supplies. He hopes they're not avoiding getting to Sasuke because he's there. The possibility has turned over in Naruto's mind, causing guilt and rage to bubble up in his mind and settle in his stomach. "You know what? I'm just gonna go ahead with my idea." Naruto takes the scroll--this one containing Bosatsu squid ink, a brush, and empty scrolls--and summons the supplies needed to make a seal. "If this is caused by chakra being in you, we just gotta take the chakra out of you, right?" Naruto posits and he settles his supplies over the floor. Sasuke, despite the spasms throwing his head around like a hollow gourd in the wind, bends over in curiosity to watch the sealmaking process. It's an adjustment to the chakra-draining seal he used on Gaara's sand: it drains less chakra, for one. Naruto, eyelids heavy with exhaustion, doesn't have the mental faculties to figure out how to create a whole new array for the purpose of draining foreign chakra, so he settles on a lesser version of a chakra-draining seal. He turns to Sasuke. "Shirt. Off."

Sasuke's face flushes and he looks to Sakura for help, whose own face reddens. Still, she nods and Naruto presses the seal to the mark on Sasuke's shoulder. "Do you feel the seal?" Naruto asks and Sasuke hums in affirmation. "Tell me when you feel it start to drain your chakra."

They wait for ten more minutes until Sasuke speaks up, "It's hitting my chakra now." Naruto removes the seal from Sasuke's body and grimaces as the spasms haven't let down.

"I'm gonna reapply the seal for five more minutes, okay?" Naruto keeps his voice as gentle as possible, trying to imitate what a nurse probably sounds like. A couple of minutes into the reapplication, the spasms start to slow.

"The spasms or whatever they're called," Sasuke says, "they're less severe now."

"Do you want me to take the seal off?" Sasuke nods. Naruto keeps the array nearby, though, just in case Sasuke needs it again.

At last, the spasms stop entirely, and Sasuke sighs, tears coming into his eyes. "Thank the gods," he mutters. Naruto takes in Sasuke. There's sweat running down chest and torso, and the bandages wrapped around his side are bloodied. Parts of him are marked with dirt and grime, and heavy bags bloom under his eyes. Sasuke leans back in the padded chair. Without looking at Naruto, he mutters a soft, "Thank you, Naruto."

"No need to thank me, Sasuke. It's the least I could do." Naruto gives Sasuke a warm smile. Sasuke reaches to pull up a standing collar that isn't there, and Naruto chuckles gently when Sasuke's face flushes in embarrassment. Naruto reaches for another scroll as he tidies up his supplies, this one containing spare clothes--basically his whole closet. He fetches a folded pile of t-shirts, hoping Sasuke's and his measurements are close. He fetches something black, knowing Sasuke would be the most okay with that, and hands it to him.

Sasuke's eyes just pass over the shirt, uncomprehending, and looks back at Naruto curiously. "I'm giving it to you, dumbass, you seem pretty chilly over there."

Sasuke stammers out, "O-oh, thanks, but I can just wear my shirt."

"No, I'm gonna fix that one up, you wear this." Sasuke awkwardly takes the shirt from Naruto's hand and puts it over his head. It's a little short, and will probably ride up if he bends over, but that's not a concern for a man waiting in the ER. Naruto grabs Sasuke's shirt and fetches a needle and black thread.

"When did you learn to sew, anyway?" Sakura asks, keeping her voice neutral as her foot taps furiously and impatiently on the tiled floor.

"It's a useful skill to have," Naruto says. "Especially because I live alone. I can make my own clothes for cheap! And they fit better too."

"Is it hard, making clothes?"

"I've had my fair share of breakdowns, I won't lie," Naruto answers truthfully as he brings the needle through the blue fabric. "I'm distractable and unfocused as it is, so sometimes it takes me even longer than usual, so I either make a garment all in one go, or take weeks, but it's super rewarding to wear a shirt you yourself made. If you enjoy it, the difficulty is worth it."

Sasuke's voice is soft when he speaks up, "My grandmother liked sewing." Naruto smiles at the awkwardness as Sasuke fiddles with his fingers. He seems almost childlike at the moment.

Naruto decides to play off of Sasuke's non-sequitur. "Did she make clothes, too?"

Sasuke nods, "She did, but only as a hobby. The clan...we had a seamstress and a tailor, they made my clothes when I was younger. That shirt is from an atelier in the Market District."

"A private atelier? This probably cost more than my whole closet, then." Naruto chuckles.

Sasuke flushes, "It was only thirty Ryo."

Naruto gapes, "Only thirty Ryo? How much money do you have? Thirty Ryo is three yards of good brocade!"

Sasuke's face reddens even more, "I didn't know it was a lot...Guess I should shop somewhere else, then."

"Nah," Naruto says, "for thirty Ryo? This is such good quality it puts my sewing to shame."

"Did you make this shirt?" Sasuke asks. Naruto hums in affirmation. "This is pretty well made, I should pay you to make my clothes instead." He chuckles at the end.

"No way," Sakura chimes in, "Naruto's future side-hustle as a seamster?"

"Yeah, like anyone would let me make clothes for them." It comes out without meaning to and instantly kills the mood. He almost slaps himself. They were talking! Conversing like actual teammates! Why did he have to go ruin it with the whole outcast act?

The gods have chosen that time, fortunately, to send a nurse over. Sasuke's spasms start over again, starting soft and increasing over time. Sasuke, groaning as his head gets thrown around and jaw moves from side to side, gets placed on one on a pale blue ER stretcher after some basic tests. They put some medicine into an IV and hook him up. They tell him that what he's going through is called dystonia, and that the medicine, diphenhydramine, should make it stop, at least temporarily.

Sasuke's eyes droop closed but he forces them to stay awake. Naruto, who's sitting on the stretcher aside Sasuke, asks, "How are you feeling?"

"...Tired," he mumbles, "and cold."

"Yeah, an IV will do that to you," the nurse comments. She unfolds a blanket and drapes it over Sasuke. "And the drowsiness is from the medicine we gave you. Try to go to sleep, okay, sweetie?" Sasuke nods.

A couple of minutes later, Sasuke, eyes closed, mumbles out a "Still...cold..." Naruto sighs as he unhooks his cloak, grimacing at the caked blood, and drapes it over Sasuke. As Naruto gets off, Sasuke grabs a hold of Naruto's hand. "Naruto...I'd let you...make my clothes...then everyone would see...how good you are..."

Naruto pauses, looking at Sasuke's exhausted eyes as his own prick with tears, "Thank you, Sasuke."

Naruto and Sakura fall asleep in Sasuke's hospital room, Naruto having given Sakura the futon he carries in a storage scroll. Naruto sleeps on the lone padded chair in the air-conditioned room, neck bent uncomfortably. He makes a note to pack a neck pillow with him. Naruto summons himself into his mindscape, because he has some questions for the Kyuubi.

"What the fuck was that?" Naruto exclaims as he paces.

"The Rinnegan," The Kyuubi answers.

"What the fuck is the Rinnegan!?" Naruto's voice cracks rather embarrassingly on the last word.

"A doujutsu," The Kyuubi answers.

"Since when did I have a doujutsu?"

"You didn't. I helped you awaken it." Naruto sputters, but the Kyuubi continues, "You had the potential to gain it, you simply needed...the other pieces."

"And why didn't you tell me that I had a secret doujutsu?"

"I've been busy aiding in the development of the Rinnegan. Keeping my chakra shaped in a difficult construct requires my entire focus. Therefore, you can say I was too occupied."

Naruto grumbles. "Okay, I'll accept that. What does this Rinnegan do?"

"Many things. You have, however, only a limited one as of now. All it can do is manipulate attractive and repulsive forces, but eventually, you'll be able to manipulate everything from your own body to life itself."

"...Shit." The Kyuubi snorts. "So you've been busy...is that why you haven't been on my ass about helping Sasuke?"

There's a pause, then, "Perhaps it was because I was busy. But it would be actively to your own detriment to let the Uchiha die now. It would cast too much suspicion on you. His death can wait."

Naruto doesn't protest. He might want Sasuke to live, to wear the clothes he makes, and make good on his promise. But he has his promise to the Kyuubi, too. And that promise supersedes all others.

It's the next morning when Sakura and Naruto, with Kakashi-sensei, stand in front of the Hokage to give a report on the incident. Apparently, it had taken every Shinobi in charge of the exams four hours to realize that Team 7 had truly and genuinely left the forest, and another two hours for them to think of searching the hospital. Naruto is thoroughly unimpressed.

He retells the events of the exams with clinical detachment, as he's been told a Shinobi should, casting his eyes down respectfully as he goes through the events of the first day of the Forest of Death. He leaves out his knowledge that Gaara is a jinchuuriki, but decides to reveal that he knows the Flying Raijin seal, mixing truth with a lie as he claims that the Fourth Hokage had left chakra implanted in his seal in such a way that it would give him information about fuuinjutsu over time. When asked just what he knew about the Fourth Hokage, Naruto shrugged and told the Old Man that all he knew was that there was a connection between Lord Fourth and him and that Lord Fourth was good at sealing.

The revelation that the Chuunin Exams will continue leaves Naruto unsurprised. It would be too complicated of an affair to cancel one of the most important diplomatic events in recent history. Still, Naruto's opinion in the village is once again validated by the knowledge that it's willing to risk the lives of important future ninja to avoid embarrassing itself.

The Hokage makes Naruto agree to a future appointment with Morino Ibiki, head of T&I, to expand upon the whole Dead-Hokage-feeding-him-information thing, and the three are let go.

Naruto should've known better than to hope. Where else has hope got him other than misery?

Whatever progress he thought he was making with Sasuke is basically flushed down the drain: Sasuke rarely deigns to look in Naruto's direction, let alone strike up a conversation. The words spoken in the ER are forgotten. Sakura fawns over Sasuke, flooding him with questions and pampering he clearly doesn't want. There's something different in them, however. Something in Sasuke has softened, and he takes Sakura's overbearingness with far more patience and kindness than Naruto would expect as he sits in his hospital bed. Sakura, for her part, has lost some of her obsequiousness. There's a certain...equality between them, now.

An equality Naruto isn't a part of. It leaves a grapefruit-bitter taste in his mouth.

Still, he's a dutiful teammate, so he visits Sasuke the next few days and pokes and prods at Sasuke's seal, examines what he can, and analyzes the chakra he drained from it in a search for a way to reverse whatever the seal does.

In the meanwhile, he hears of a preliminary tournament between the successful examinees of the second round, and that gets his gears turning. Being a ninja is rather...influential. It gets someone a level of privilege that cannot be bought within Konoha. If Konoha was genuinely dedicated to the production and maintenance of its own military, then there would be no such thing as "too many people passing the second test." There are two reasons that Konoha would have to limit the number of people passing the test. The first is that they are trying to limit the amount of Chuunin that the other villages acquire. The second is that they are trying to limit the amount of Chuunin their own village acquires. The first makes sense as it strategically weakens potential rivals. But why would Konoha weaken itself?

It makes sense if Naruto considers the weight being a Shinobi carries. The heights to which the title can carry someone is truly mindboggling. They're top of the hierarchy and are the only group allowed to work in administrative governmental positions. They act as representatives of the village wherever they go and are privy to violent and destructive art capable of destroying acres of land. Such a role has to be safeguarded, kept away from the grubby hands of the hoi polloi, or else too many people would become too powerful, and if they became too powerful then who's to say they wouldn't change what they don't like?

Or maybe not, he's too tired for this shit.

Naruto is rotting in his bed, as usual, when someone wraps at his door. He sits up, brows furrowing, and waits a couple of seconds for another round of knocks to make sure he isn't hearing things. When he hears them again he cautiously gets out of bed and sneaks his way over to his door. No one visits Naruto, so who the hell is knocking?

Naruto takes a peek through the peephole and visibly startles when he sees Gaara, arms crossed and face vacant, standing in front of his door. Then he almost laughs because the sight of a completely stoic Gaara fishbowled by the peephole lens is incredibly amusing. Naruto sucks in a breath, gathers himself, and opens the door.

"Hello," Naruto says.

Gaara nods, "Hello."

A pause. "Not to be rude, but, why are you here?"

Gaara's face does not shift. "I said we would meet again, did I not?"

"So you...sought out my address?" Naruto inches back a little. Gaara remains silent and stares at Naruto with teal eyes. "Um...would you like to come in?"

He nods and takes a step in, as he bends down to remove his sandals, Naruto says, "I'd keep them on, you might step on a sewing needle."

"The sand will protect my feet," Gaara says.

"Oh..." Naruto scratches the back of his head. "You can sit on the couch. I guess you're here about the seal?" Gaara nods. "Okay, so does that mean you've accepted my offer?" Gaara nods again. "So, just to be extra, extra sure: You want me to adjust your seal so that the Ichibi is quartered off from your brain?"

"Yes," Gaara says, and there's a seed of satisfaction in Naruto's chest when he thinks he hears annoyance in the redhead's voice.

"Okay, let me see your seal."

Gaara nods and lifts up his shirt, and a layer of sand parts away (some sort of shell, Naruto realizes). A seal--far more complex than the one Naruto has on his stomach--slowly appears on his stomach. It's full of connective lines and symbolic lunar characters, all scrawled on so tinily that you'd almost have to use a magnifying glass to determine what does what. The chakric pathways and gates spiderwebbing in a blob on his stomach. Naruto whistles as he looks it over. "Okay...this is gonna end up taking a while."

"Why?" Gaara asks. Or at least, Naruto thinks he's asking: his tone is flat.

"This seal is...complex, to say the least. It's so intricate that I'd need to study every part of it before I can theorize how to change it. I'm gonna need a magnifying glass, so come back around tomorrow."

Gaara seems...miffed at the suggestion of having to wait, but nods nonetheless and leaves. When the next day comes around, and Naruto has bought a magnifying glass, Gaara lays down on Naruto's floor, his shirt lifted up, and Naruto diligently copies the sealing array. In complete silence.

It is, to Naruto's surprise, Gaara who breaks the silence. "Will this new seal let me sleep?"

Naruto raises a brow. "What do you mean? Does the seal keep you from sleeping?"

Gaara hums. "If I go to sleep, Shukaku possess me."

"So you just...don't sleep?"

Gaara shakes his head. "No, I spend all my hours awake."

Naruto stares at Gaara, slackjawed. "How?"

"Medication."

"Shit! Are you ever tired?"

There's a pause, then Gaara nods. "I am."

"Well, I am able to sleep, so improving your seal should definitely help you with that whole issue," Naruto says with a smile.

Gaara hums.

"Does your seal give you any other issues?"

A considering look passes over Gaara's face as he debates telling Naruto what other side affects the Ichibi's presence within him gives him. "Pain."

"Pain? What sort of pain?" Naruto asks, lifting his face from his scroll to give Gaara an inquisitive look.

Gaara seems genuinely surprised that Naruto is asking such a question if the way his eyebrows--or area that his eyebrows would be if he had them--rise is any indication. He searches for the words. "Just...pain, strong aches, especially...in my joints."

Naruto's tone takes on a concerned edge. "Does it come in episodes?"

Gaara shakes his head. "It's constant. It doesn't stop, or relent."

That was...worrying, to say the least. Gaara is experiencing the mad whisperings of a chakra beast, chronic exhaustion, chronic pain, and social isolation, which paints the opposite of a pretty picture for his mental health. "What makes you think it's a result of the Ichibi?"

"What else could it be?" Gaara asks.

"Well, there are a whole host of reasons you might be experiencing chronic pain," Naruto says. "But, the more I think about it, the more likely it seems: the chakra of the Bijuu corrodes natural tissue, so if the seal is very weak in its separation of you and the Ichibi, then more of its chakra would cause pain. The problem is...it would also cause a host of other health issues by damaging literally everything in your body. But I'm not a medical expert, so you'd have to see a medic-nin about that. Do you get regularly examined?" Gaara shakes his head. "That's...highly irresponsible of the government of Suna. You could die if the complications get bad enough!"

"I could?" Gaara asks.

Naruto nods emphatically. "Yes! Having foreign chakra in your system is never good."

"So then...how do medic-nin heal people?"

"Medic-nin are trained for years in how specifically to mold their chakra so that it doesn't damage the human body, the Ichibi is not." Gaara snorts and Naruto nearly jumps for joy in finally getting a positive reaction out of the redhead.

The silence for the rest of the session as Naruto copies Gaara's seal is much more companionable, less hostile, and Naruto finds himself aching when his hand cramps and Gaara has to leave.

Gaara comes back multiple times that first week after the second phase of the Chuunin Exams, and slowly, but surely, Gaara starts opening up. It's funny, honestly, because Gaara has the social awareness of a bag of rocks (or sand, in this case).

"Why is your face...like that?"

"Excuse me?"

Gaara's face flushes from where he's laying across the floor. "Ah, I mean...why do you have those whiskers."

"Oh, these? They're imprints the Kyuubi left on me when I was gestating."

"The Kyuubi was sealed into you before you were born?"

"No, he was sealed inside my mother when she was pregnant with me."

"Oh. Shukaku was sealed in a teapot before it was sealed inside of me."

Naruto bursts into laughter. "You're kidding!" Gaara shakes his head. "Well, at least the fox wasn't sealed in a teapot."

If I was I would've attempted to end your miserable race far earlier. Naruto chuckles.

Gaara looks at Naruto curiously. "Oh, that was the Kyuubi. He made a joke." Gaara looks at Naruto like he's grown a second head. "Yeah, I guess your partner doesn't do that...it's fine, though. Soon, you won't be hearing his voice at all!" Naruto smiles.

It's then that Naruto thinks he sees a spark of hope in Gaara's eyes, and Naruto realizes just how badly Gaara has grown to want this. Naruto would, too, if he had to listen to the mad ravings of a chakra demon all day and couldn't sleep.

Naruto is a tad bit obsessed with fixing Gaara's seal. After copying it completely onto the scroll, Naruto spends hours pouring over how it works, mapping out how each channel connects to the Lunar Characters, and creates a network designed to keep the entire Ichibi in his stomach.

Gaara keeps coming around, and Naruto starts offering him ramen. Gaara accepts, and eyes the steaming styrofoam cup suspiciously. "What is this?"

"Ramen," Naruto says matter-of-factly.

"Oh...I've never had ramen before."

Naruto's eyes widen. "You've never had ramen ever?"

Gaara shakes his head. "My father would have Shinobi drop food off at the doorstep of my apartment. It was all military rations. Does ramen taste good?"

"Well, it does to me. It's my favorite food. Sometimes I wish I could make more stuff, though."

"You can't cook?" Gaara asks.

Naruto shakes his head as he looks over the copied seal to see if he can make adjustments. "Nope. Cooking is expensive. I'd have to buy all the kitchen equipment and crockery and groceries. Then I'd have to keep track of expiration dates and spoiling food. I can't even bring myself to keep track of the date, let alone dates on which foodstuffs expire."

Gaara nods and slurps up some noodles with the wooden chopsticks. "It's very flavorful."

"Wait until you've had Ichiraku's stuff, that's where the real flavor is!"

"Ichiraku's?"

"Yeah, they make the best ramen! Not like this cheap stuff."

"Can you take me there?"

Naruto nods. "Of course! Now, back to the subject at hand: This seal is complex, Gaara. So complex that figuring out exactly how it works will take a while. Despite the complexity, however, I can already observe some mistakes from whoever created this seal. It's imprecise, loose, and chock full of logical holes and conflicting elements. I'm probably going to do a complete overhaul, which will also take a while. I can, for now, create a seal that entirely blocks off the presence of the Ichibi, but that'll also block out your ability to draw on its chakra."

Gaara, slurping up noodles, pauses to consider. He seems to debate it in his mind before settling on yes. Naruto takes out another scroll and a pencil and scribbles down notes and plans for the temporary seal. Gaara, seated at Naruto's couch, peers over Naruto's shoulder from where he sits on the floor. In half an hour, Naruto has finished. "Okay, Gaara, I'm gonna need you to lift up your shirt and show me the seal again." Gaara nods and lifts up his shirt as Naruto channels chakra into his fingertips. Naruto breathes in deeply and then touches his fingers to Gaara's stomach. Gaara hisses at the pain caused by foreign chakra in his system, but it's over in a few seconds and Naruto watches as new black marks encircle the asymmetrical seal on Gaara's abdomen.

When Naruto looks into Gaara's eyes, he looks at a loss for words.

"Okay, how are you feeling?" Naruto asks.

Gaara bursts into tears.

"G-Gaara? What's wrong? Did it not work?" Naruto asks worriedly.

Gaara shakes his head as he wipes his tears away with his arm. "It worked, it definitely worked, and...and I'm...I can't explain what I'm feeling. Everything is so quiet, so much more peaceful."

Naruto puts his hand on Gaara's shoulder. "And do you still want to kill?"

"I-I don't think I do."

"Well, that's progress!" Naruto encourages. Gaara gives him a nod, and Naruto sees a spark of joy in Gaara's eyes.

In the quiet of his room, when it's dark outside and Naruto's room is bathed the orange-yellow light cast by the street lights outside, Naruto wonders when he stopped dreaming. Naruto's memories of things to be hazy and incomplete, and so he can't truly recall when his descent into pessimism started. Maybe it started when the Kyuubi revealed the secrets around his past.

Did his optimism die all at once? Slaughtered like cattle? Or was it a slow, drawn-out death? A decay that Naruto fought against? Did Naruto fight it all?

Naruto can't imagine his current self fighting against anything, really. Naruto is like a dandelion seed floating in the air; at the mercy of whichever direction the wind of fate blows. He used to be a veritable hellion, fond of pranking and attracting attention to himself, not at all the morose and bitter person he is now.

Becoming Hokage was Naruto's entire raison d'etre for so long, but now Naruto can see that what he really wanted was recognition, attention, acknowledgment. He still does, desperately so. He aches for the way Tsunami-san smiled and hugged him, the way Haku would sit in the fields with him and enjoy the quiet. It's quiet in Naruto's apartment, too. But it's a different quiet, lifeless and eerie, reminding him of how alone he is.

He laughs bitterly at the idea of having companionship with anyone, let alone his team. Sakura and Sasuke have seemingly disregarded him, Sakura too focused on Sasuke, Sasuke too focused on ruminating.

Naruto doesn't have any friends, not anymore. There's nothing that truly tethers him here, aside from law. There is no loyalty to the village in his heart, no duty he truly cares for. It would be nice, if Naruto could just leave, go to a place where no one knows who he is and settle down, perhaps work under a tailor or seamstress.

The fantasy of a life he could have, if he was brave enough, plays through his head.

"Can I...can I sleep here?" Gaara asks tentatively.

Naruto shrugs. "I don't see why not. Have you slept at all since I sealed the Ichibi entirely?"

Gaara shakes his head. "I don't want to reveal that there's a change in the seal. If I stop taking my medication it'll look suspicious. I can't sleep at the inn."

"That makes sense. I'll grab a futon."

Gaara is out like a light on the futon Naruto has laid out on the bed, face more peaceful than Naruto has ever seen it. And he stays asleep for hours. When the sun starts to set, he considers waking the redhead up but decides against it. Who's Naruto to interrupt the first rest this kid has gotten in years?

Turns out Gaara sleeps like a rock. Naruto goes to bed at 12 AM, and when Naruto wakes up at 8 AM to the sound of his alarm, Gaara is still asleep, not even changing positions since he went to bed. Naruto lets the alarm continue ringing to see if Gaara will wake up.

He does not wake up.

"Gaara," Naruto calls out. "Gaara!" He prods Gaara's body with his foot.

The redhead's eyes shoot open, and he looks confusedly at his surroundings, before spotting Naruto, sitting at the bed. "What's happening?"

"It's 8 AM...you slept for 20 hours."

Gaara's eyes widen in surprise. "20 hours?"

Naruto nods. "Makes sense, though. If I hadn't slept for years I'd probably sleep for a whole month. How was your first night of rest?"

"I want to go back to sleep," Gaara says.

Naruto chuckles. "That's fine. Sleeping for too long can be a bad thing, though, so watch out for that."

"So I can keep sleeping?" Gaara asks.

Naruto hums in affirmation and Gaara closes his eyes. Naruto watches as his breath evens, falling under the spell of rest, before he unravels the scroll containing his copy of Gaara's seal, and starts working through possible solutions. He brainstorms and plans out for twenty minutes before his attention span runs out and he makes his way into his living room-kitchen-dining room and decides to work on the ocher cloak like he's been meaning to.

Since he lacks a sewing machine, every time he makes his clothes, he has to hand-stitch everything himself. It's a laborious, finger-aching process, and one that takes a large amount of time in his day. More often than not, his focus fizzles out after fifteen to twenty minutes, and his mind drifts off as he pushes the needle through the fabric and, in a moment of carelessness, he ends up pricking his own finger. Naruto sucks in a breath through his teeth and moves his finger so no blood drips onto the cashmere. The wound is already closed by the time Naruto makes it to the sink, and he washes the blood away.

Gaara walks out of the room an hour later, stretching his back and yawning. "What are you doing?" He asks, peering over Naruto's shoulder to look at his project.

"Making myself a cloak," Naruto answers. "But not just any cloak! A super cool Shinobi cloak!"

"A Shinobi cloak? But this doesn't look like the fabric that makes up flak jackets."

"I use a bunch of seals to make it stronger than that flak jacket crap," Naruto says. "Plus, it's gonna look super intimidating! I hope it will, at least. I don't wanna look edgy or anything, that's Sasuke's brand."

"Uchiha Sasuke...he's your teammate?"

Naruto nods. "We're barely a team, if I'm being honest. But yeah, he was top in my class at the Academy."

"Oh. What position were you?"

Naruto's face flushes. He utters a quiet, "Last place."

Gaara pauses. "I've never been to a school before. What's it like?"

"Loud, distracting. For some people it's fun. I guess I would've enjoyed it more if I had any friends." He's thought about it many times, and everytime he thinks back to it, Naruto aches. It's a gut reaction, at this point, to blame himself for his own alienation. Maybe if he had been quieter, maybe if he had been nicer, had been less abrasive and combative, then people might've liked him. Naruto had curled up inside of himself upon learning everything the village hid from him. He avoided Shikamaru and Chouji, and dismissed Kiba's suggestion to skip classes with a polite smile and nod. Had he reached out more, would he be friends with them? "Kids usually hang out in groups. Sometimes they were really mean to each other. I was mostly ignored."

"Oh. I was tutored by my uncle, the brother of my mother. People stayed away from me, too."

Naruto shrugs. "I guess that's just the reality of being a Jinchuuriki."

"Did you embroider all these?"

"The frames on the wall? Yup!" Naruto smiles proudly. "You can even see my progression on some of them."

"Who taught you?"

"The Kyuubi."

Gaara mutters, "I wish the Ichibi taught me useful things."

"Like what? How to make Bijuu tea?"

The redhead snorts, and takes a seat on Naruto's busted couch, which creaks as it takes on his weight. "What do you do all day?"

Naruto considers. "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"I barely have the motivation to get out of bed and take a shower. Even if I want to do something, or know I should do something, there's, like, a mental wall that stops me from doing it. So I usually end up starting something and then getting interrupted by something else, and finishing neither of the tasks I start. Sometimes, though, I spend hours on something that keeps my attention. I made an earlier version of this cloak like three weeks ago in a day, but I hated how it looked so much that I scrapped it. I've been meaning to make it for a while now, but just...haven't."

Gaara hums, and they sit in quiet for a moment, until Gaara's stomach rumbles.

"Okay, so the only thing I stock up on when it comes to food is ramen. Are you okay with that?" Gaara nods and Naruto gets up, filling the electric kettle with water and setting it aside to boil.

"You don't cook?" Gaara asks.

Naruto shakes his head. "It's not that I don't cook. I don't know how."

"The Kyuubi didn't teach you how?"

"Nope. Cooking supplies and groceries are super expensive. I've wanted to learn, though. I don't think I'd do a good job, in all honesty." Naruto chuckles as he scratches the back of his head. "I'd probably set the apartment on fire." He pours the hot water into the styrofoam cup and waits. "Can you cook?"

"No. I wasn't taught how, either."

"We should learn together, then!" Naruto smiles. Gaara doesn't respond, just looks at the floor. The reaction makes Naruto's smile falter. Did he say something wrong? Or does Gaara not want to cook with him? Does Gaara...dislike him? Naruto swallows and looks off to the side, voice quieter when he ask, "When do you have to go back to the inn?"

"I don't have to."

"What?"

"None of the Jounin sent here are strong enough to control me," Gaara explains, "so they let me go wherever I want. I mostly wander through the night." Gaara yawns, and Naruto hands him the finished ramen.

Naruto is at a loss for words. "So your village, or at least the Suna delegation, just lets you, the Jinchuuriki, do whatever the hell you want in a foreign Shinobi village?"

Gaara shrugs. "It's the reality of the situation. I'm stronger than them, and I've killed Suna Jounin before, so they fear me too much to tell me what to do."

"So you can just stay here?" Naruto asks.

Gaara nods. "If you don't mind, can I, uh, can I stay with you?" His face flushes as he asks the question.

Every thought of Gaara not liking Naruto is thrown out of the window. Gaara wants to stay here with him? The smile that makes its way onto Naruto's face is so big it hurts. "Of course!"

To absolutely no one's surprise, Gaara sleeps a lot. He drifts off early and wakes late, staying unconscious even when Naruto's alarm starts crying. Throughout the day, Gaara is somnolent, with bags under his half-lidded eyes. He's constantly yawning and rubbing at his eyes. Three days ago, he had gone and brought his luggage from Suna, including a toothbrush and changes of clothes. On day four, Gaara surprised Naruto by bringing back a bunch of books, including tankobon volumes of various manga.

"How much cash do you have?" Naruto asks as he lays the books out on the floor.

"A lot," Gaara responds. Naruto looks over the covers, and finds everything from anatomy textbooks for medic-nin to popular histories to Shoujo manga.

"Why did you get these?"

"You have sewing to occupy your waking hours, I need something to do as well."

"And what made you choose these specific books?"

Gaara just shrugs. "I picked whatever caught my eye."

"A Kunoichi in Love caught your eye?" Naruto asks incredulously.

Gaara nods, dead serious, and Naruto bites his lip to keep himself from laughing. "I also bought a beginner's cookbook." Gaara points to the big hardcover book with Home Cooking Made Easy in blocky blue letters and a picture of tamagoyaki on a plate with a white background.

"I appreciate the sentiment, Gaara, but we don't have anything to cook with."

Gaara's eyes widen. "Oh...we should get some."

Naruto nods, warmth building at Gaara saying we. "We should, but it'd probably go to waste. I don't have the motivation to cook everyday."

"Well, you don't have to cook everyday, just when you want to." Naruto has no counter to that.

"Ah, but then I have to keep track of ingredients, when things expire or spoil. I can't do that."

I might have a way to help with that, the Kyuubi tells him.

Huh? How?

A burst of modified chakra sent to your brain that should stimulate it in such a way that allows you to sustain focus for hours.

You can do that!? Why didn't you tell me earlier?

I've been developing it for the last several months, and it all came together recently. And why is your first instinct to question me instead of thank me?

I'll thank you by killing every Sharingan user. Naruto rolls his eyes.

Good. This will, however, increase your heart rate and breathing rate, and reduce your appetite. When under the effects of the burst of chakra, you will be unable to sleep. There may be some other side effects as well that we will simply have to see.

"Are you conversing with the Kyuubi?" Gaara asks.

Naruto nods. "He says he has something that might help me focus enough to keep track of things."

"Really? Should we get cooking supplies, then?" Gaara asks.

"I'll have to check how much money I have in my wallet, but I will certainly consider it."

Gaara gives Naruto a soft smile, "Then we can learn to cook together."

Naruto freezes, but then returns Gaara's smile. His voice is soft and gentle when he says, "Yeah, we can."

Naruto, if he could focus properly, would be fucking unstoppable. He's accomplished more work in the past three hours then he has all of last week: he's making good progress on Gaara's seal, good progress on his robe, good progress on cooking, good progress on proper hygiene. He shudders to think of just how much he can improve as a Shinobi if he can apply this level of focus on his training.

"Naruto?"

"Yes, Gaara?"

"How long it will take for you to fix my seal?"

Naruto scratches his chin, considering. "Well it's such a mess that it might take weeks. But, with the Kyuubi's help, it might take me less time than I'm assuming."

"Do you think you'll be able to fix it before the final stage of the Chuunin Exams?"

"I can't promise that I can, but I can remove the temporary seal if you're that focused on winning."

Gaara nods, but it's an awkward, mechanical movement that is definitely hiding something. Naruto narrows his eyes at Gaara, who's looking away. He decides it's not his business and returns his focus back on the seal in question. If Gaara has something to tell him, Naruto will let him reveal it at his own pace.

Peace never lasts. Not for Naruto, at least. And this time? It's wholly his fault.

Naruto hurts himself a lot and hurts himself often. He does it when he's feeling miserable, he does it when he's feeling happy, he does it when he's feeling bored. Sometimes he does it on impulse, and sometimes he spends days fantasizing about it, daydreaming about punching his stomach, scratching at his arms until they bleed, slamming a door on his fingers. Sometimes he fantasizes about the aftermath, about the near-euphoric sensation that he gets as his mind numbs over, anaesthetized by pain, about someone caring about him enough to stop him.

Now that Gaara is staying with him, he has to sneak away into the bathroom or wait for Gaara to go to another room or take a shower, but not once does he try to stop, or put a pause on it. It's too vital, too necessary. Naruto has been doing this since he was seven, it keeps him functioning. Imagining a life without hurting himself is like imagining a life without air. The good thing is that the bruises and scratches and even broken bones heal quickly. If they left a permanent mark, Naruto doesn't think he'd be able to look at himself in a mirror.

It's meant to be a secret, but if the Kyuubi has taught him anything, it's that secrets never stay secrets.

What makes it so much worse is that if Naruto had simply been a little more aware, paid a little more attention, it wouldn't have happened at all. It was simple and routine: he gets up in the morning, brushes his teeth, takes a shower, and--if he's feeling particularly miserable on that day--he might hurt himself in whichever way he chooses.

Naruto had forgotten to lock the bathroom door while he was taking a shower, Gaara had accidentally opened the door after Naruto had finished, towel wrapped around his waist, and spotted the rapidly healing bruises.

"Naruto?" Gaara asks, concerned, glancing at his abdomen and looking back up at his eyes.

"Gaara, I-I..." Naruto trails off, unable to find any words.

"Is someone hurting you?" Gaara asks. "Who are they? I'll kill them," he snarls.

Naruto swallows, fists clenched, and looks to the side. "No one's hurting me, Gaara."

Gaara's eyes widen, vengeful expression, before his brow furrows. "Then where are these bruises from?" It's not accusatory, not a trap: Gaara is asking him out of genuine concern. The thought almost brings Naruto to tears.

"I don't want to talk about this," Naruto responds.

Gaara's eyes widen again, but this time it's...different. Gaara looks like someone just slapped him in the face, and when his expression morphs into something hurt, something rejected, Naruto feels his heart hurt. "Oh, okay, I'll-I'll leave you alone." Gaara's eyes get watery and he turns around, closing the door around him.

The rest of the day is spent in a thick, heavy silence. Naruto is used to silence, he's used to no sound echoing through his apartment, but this silence hurts, pains him in a way that he can't describe. Naruto feels like he's lost something, like he's dropped something fragile.

Gaara doesn't make eye contact with Naruto, and it's made even worse by the fact that Gaara obviously isn't avoiding him out of spite. There's nothing angry or petty in the way his head bows whenever Naruto walks into the same room as him, or the way he swallows nervously whenever whenever they accidentally make eye contact. There's nothing angry in the way he apologizes for little, unimportant things. Gaara is acting like a dog who got beaten by his master, like a child who got scolded harshly by a parent.

And the cherry on top is that Naruto can perfectly understand why Gaara is acting like this, why something as simple as "I don't want to talk this," from someone he's grown to trust is enough to send him spiraling. Naruto can imagine the way it would make his chest hurt, his eyes water, his lip tremble. He can imagine the way he'd spend hours ruminating on why someone wouldn't want to talk to him about something. The way he'd think it was because the other person doesn't like him anymore, doesn't trust him. Or, simply, that he likes the other person far more than they like him. Naruto is Gaara's first friend, if the way Gaara behaves is anything to go by, so of course he's reacting that way to perceived rejection.

Naruto understands, and he wants so desperately to put his hand on Gaara's shoulder and apologize, to explain himself.

So why doesn't he? Why does Gaara's behavior make him feel rejected? Why does he want Gaara to make the first move? Why is he so desperate that he searches for validation even from the people he's hurt?

The breaking point comes when Naruto and Gaara are in the kitchen, the weighty silence following them even as they make the pork katsu they had decided on yesterday. When Gaara accidentally gets some panko crumbs on the counter, he utters a stream of apologizes. "I'm sorry, Naruto, I'll clean it immediately." As he pushes the breadcrumbs over the edge and into his cupped hands, some falls on the floor. "I'm really sorry, I'll--"

Naruto makes the worst decision he can in that moment, because he's an idiot, and yells at Gaara. "Moon Goddess! I get it, okay? You're sorry!"

Naruto regrets the words the moment he sees Gaara flinch. His voice softens as his fists clench. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. It's just...I don't know, I'm an idiot. But I'm really sorry, Gaara." Gaara turns to look at Naruto from where he's crouched over the floor, eyes shiny with tears. "I didn't mean to be mean or dismissive of you earlier in the shower, it's just...I just panicked, okay? It's not that I dislike you or distrust you or anything."

Gaara asks a meek, "Really?"

Naruto nods, eyes misty, "Yeah, really. Give me some time, okay? I'll explain the bruises later."

Gaara shakes his head. "You don't have to explain it to me if you don't want to. I suppose I was just injured by the way you said it." Naruto nods again as he starts well and truly crying. Gaara stands up again and slowly, gently winds his arms around Naruto and pulls him into a hug. "Is this okay? I've never...never really hugged anyone before."

"It's okay, Gaara. It's more than okay," Naruto says hoarsely.

"Wow, this is delicious," Naruto says after he takes a bite out of the crunchy pork cutlet. "Is it bad that I didn't expect it to be good."

Gaara shrugs from where he's seated on Naruto's couch, which faces the chair at his dining room table. "It's very good, we should make this again." Naruto hums in agreement. Pairing the cutlet with cup ramen might not be the best culinary combination but it's a good combination nonetheless. "Naruto?" Gaara asks, and he senses the shift in mood enough to look Gaara in the eyes, even though eye contact is usually something he avoids. "I have to tell you something."

"What is it? Is it serious?"

Gaara nods. "It might save your life." Naruto remains silent yet shocked as Gaara reveals an alliance with Orochimaru and a plan to invade Konoha and by the time he's done, Gaara is looking at the floor, ashamed. "I'm sorry, I just want you to be ready and keep yourself safe."

And all that Naruto can think is that he doesn't give a fuck about what happens to the village. Then it settles in that, Mood Goddess, Naruto is a horrible person. But as he thinks through it, silent the entire time, his opportunism kicks in.

It's perfect, really. It's a distraction that will keep the village occupied, even if it doesn't eradicate the village entirely, and if the village remains standing, it'll be missing a huge chunk of it's manpower. The village won't notice he's gone for hours to days, more than enough time for Naruto use chakra-strengthened Flying Raijin kunai to travel faster than jumping through the trees. All he has to do is shoot one as far as he can--and that's saying something, because he can shoot a kunai pretty far--teleport to it, dislodge it from where ever it's stuck, and throw it again.

But...what if he gets caught? The village would keep him under guard, even imprison him, if he tried to flee and failed. And what of his promise to the Kyuubi?

"Naruto?" Gaara asks nervously, pulling him back to the moment.

Naruto nods, "Thank you for telling me. I'll stay safe, don't worry."

"You're not going to stop it, or tell anyone?" Gaara says, shocked.

Naruto shrugs. "I don't really care what happens to the village. If they wanted me to worry about them, then maybe they should have treated me better." It's petty, he knows, but when has Naruto ever been the better person?

Instead of seeing horror or repulsion in Gaara's eyes, he sees empathy.

The idea surfaces again and again in his mind, coming up like a bubble. Leaving, running away, escaping this village. It's all he's ever wanted, all he's ever been to scared to do.

But...but maybe Naruto isn't scared. Maybe the reason he's never left is because he suffers. Naruto is his suffering, that's all he's been shaped by. He's spent years filled with hatred and resentment and bitterness, telling himself that he'll get his revenge, that the village will mourn what they've lost when he frees the Kyuubi and dies. Naruto has made himself into a martyr, has incorporated it into his very being to the point where the idea of leaving, of healing, seems like cutting out an organ. For Naruto, there's a certain validation that comes with pain, a sureity borne of salty tears and loud sobs. When he comes home to an empty apartment, when he gets glares from shopkeepers, he can tell himself that, one day, the truth will come out, that, one day, they'll need a Jinchuuriki and won't have one. And the whole reason Naruto exists, has let himself live this long, is so that, when that day comes, he can look at their faces from the afterlife and laugh at their misfortune.

But...Naruto is sick of it. No matter how much he tells his suffering elavates him, justifies the terrible person he's become, he wants to heal, to be happy, to find companionship.

Naruto is laying in his room in the dark of night, lights off and attempting to sleep. The moonlight, shining through the window, creates rectangles of pale light on his floor and walls. Naruto shifts in his bed to look at Gaara, alseep on the futon on his floor. He's grown irrationally attached to Gaara, or perhaps he's been irrationally attached to Gaara from the moment he was told he could be a Jinchuuriki.

There's a life to his home there wasn't before. Books lie stacked in haphazard piles all around the apartment, lying next to colorful fabric and half-completed embroidery frames, a pair of aprons hanging off a hook near the kitchen, two toothbrushes in the cup on his sink, and two pairs of sandals in his doorway. Shears tearing through fabric harmonize with the rustle of a turned page, footfalls on the wooden floor play a duet with the hissing of boiling water. A tired yawn in a sunlit room, a brush staining a page with black ink, the sussuration of misplaced fabrics, soft humming as a dish finishes cooking. There are so many things Naruto has gotten used to as Gaara stays with him, so many things that Naruto can't imagine being without. If Naruto stays in Konoha, if he chooses to hide away during the Chuunin Exams, then Gaara will eventually leave anyway.

If Naruto leaves, he'll be without Gaara, too. But at least leaving will allow him to find new people, make new companions. There is nothing for Naruto in Konoha.

Naruto makes his decision.

The Land of Iron is where the Emperor and the Shogun reside. In law, the two are sovereigns of the Elemental Nations. In practice, the Land of Iron's hold on the Elemental Nations is so weak that the daimyo can essentially do whatever they want. Naruto choses the Land of Iron for a very specific reason.

Samurai stay out of the business of Shinobi. There is no policy of extradition in the Land of Iron, making a safehaven for Missing-nin. If he makes it across the border, there is nothing Konoha can do--legally--to bring him back. If Naruto decides to leverage his Jinchuuriki status, he might even be able to secure government protection and benefits for himself.

He plans out a route for himself, and makes himself a fleshed out disguise. Ukifune, a travelling, orphaned seamstress and embroideress. Ukifune is a widow, displaced from her homeland in the Land of Waves due to poverty, and is making a living by selling her embroidery to bourgeois clients. The disguise will only be for villages and finding places to rest. Once he crosses the border of the Land of Fire, he'll be able to relax his disguise a little. He'll place Flying Raijin seals on various points in the journey, so that he can quickly escape if he gets caught or arrested, or to throw off a trail.

He tells all of this to Gaara, who nods understandingly. "If you don't mind, I'd like to see you off. Can I follow you for a while, out of the village?"

"Sure!" Naruto smiles, and he feels his heart fill with hope. "Keep this kunai, it'll let me teleport to you when I'm done with the plans to fix your seal."

Naruto has everything packed. Storage scrolls contain basically everything in his apartment: hygienic supplies, the ramen in his cabinates, pots and pans, kitchen utensils, his clothes, unused fabrics, sewing needles, thread, pincushions, his furniture, and--most importantly--his embroidery. He'll sell it as he travels to get more cash, along side odd jobs.

It's as he's systemically clearing his apartment that he finds it. A blue, high-collared shirt, with a tear that's haphazardly been mended. On the back is the Uchiha mon. Something in Naruto aches as he looks it over. He's spent a lot of time in and out of Sasuke's hospital room, desperately searching for a solution to his dilemma, even when Sasuke could barely sustain eye-contact with him and responded in monosylables. He supposes he should return it.

When he walks into the hospital room on the morning of the Chuunin Exams, he finds a Medic-nin talking to a man with long, white hair, rather than Sasuke, sitting upright in his bed. He supposes he went with Sakura and Kakashi-sensei to the stadium for the final round of the Exams. When the man and the nurse turn to take Naruto in, he barely represses his scowl. The Kyuubi has shown him what Jiraiya looks like, and told Naruto of the part he should have played in his life.

"Are you Uchiha Sasuke?" The Toad Sage asks.

Naruto, keeping his face neutral, shakes his head. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, his teammate."

The only reaction that gets Naruto is a split second widening of the eyes before Jiraiya schools his features back into affability. "Well, Naruto, do you know who I am?"

Naruto wants to punch him in the face. Or throw up. Or both. Naruto shakes his head. He almost loses it and commits homicide as one of the Legendary Sannin performs a pseudo-Kabuki pose and announces himself as the Toad Sage Jiraiya and Naruto cannot hide his repulsion from that. "I'm here to check on your teammate, Uchiha Sasuke, but I seem to have arrived at a time where he's absent. Can you tell me about his affliction?"

Naruto tells him only the bare bones. Because he's petty, he doesn't tell him about the theory that Sakura and he came up with, that Orochimaru might be out to steal bodies or that the sealing array is likely imprinted onto Sasuke's blood vessels. All he tells him is that there was a scary ninja who bit Sasuke in the throat and made that mark appear, and then Sasuke started spasming, and that he grew more morose as the month progressed. Naruto's skin crawls, and something dark settles into the pit of his stomach. Jiraiya doesn't make any acknowledgement of Naruto, any indication that he's his godson, that he taught Naruto's fa-the Fourth Hokage. Naruto folds the shirt and places it onto Sasuke's hospital bed and excuses himself when he's given him all the information he has.

Jiraiya does not follow him. Instead of meeting up with Gaara in the lobby, Naruto asks a nurse where the bathroom is, locks himself in a stall, and scratches at his lower arms until they bleed.

Jumping over the wall is the easy part, the barrier around Konoha is also pretty easy to pass. All he has to do is throw a kunai into a tree on the other side and he can teleport across with Gaara, unnoticed. The two leap at breakneck speed through the trees, until the two make it to a grassy meadow. "I'll stop here," Gaara says with a sad smile.

Naruto turns to face him, face the boy who has lived with him for the past month, his brother in suffering. "I'm going to miss you," Naruto states softly. "You were the best part of my life for a whole month, you know that?"

Gaara nods, "Likewise, Naruto. I don't exactly know how I'll go on without you."

"Well, you have that kunai, don't you? If you ever get lonely, just funnel some chakra into it and I'll feel you calling."

Gaara chuckles. "Then I guess this isn't really goodbye, is it? It's more like a 'see you later.'"

Naruto nods, and he tries so hard to smile but all he can think of is how lonely it'll be without Gaara, how living by himself will be so much worse now that he knows what it's like to live with someone, and starts sobbing. Gaara pulls Naruto into a hug. "Don't cry, Naruto. This is a new chapter in your life. You're escaping all your past miseries." The words are encouraging, but Gaara's shaky voice, interrupted by sobs and hiccups, only make Naruto cry harder as he returns Gaara's hug with suffocating intesity.

Naruto pulls back a little, to see Gaara's face, and touches their foreheads together. "Even as we separate, you'll always be a part of me, all right? The days we shared, the happiness I felt, I'll always store it in my heart," Naruto says.

Gaara nods as tears run in little rivulets down his face. "And you will always be a part of me, as my first friend. Farewell, Naruto. I hope to see your smile again, someday." The two stay like that for a while, in the warm breeze, eyes closed as their foreheads are pressed together and their arms are wrapped around each other, until finally, they pull away.

Leaving Gaara's embrace feels like he's ripping out half of himself. "Goodbye, Gaara. See you soon."

Naruto begins to walk away, to make his way across the meadow, but he just...can't. He can't leave things like this. "Gaara!" Naruto yells as he turns around. Gaara, facing the direction they came, turns his head to look at Naruto. "Come with me."

Gaara's eyes widen and tears rush down his face anew. He shakes his head, and even though it's whispered, Naruto can still hear the soft, "I can't."

"Why?" Naruto demands, sorrow clear in his voice.

Gaara closes his eyes, a pained, miserable expression on his face as he swallows. "I can't. I have a duty. I'm a weapon, Naruto. That's all I've ever been, that's my fate--"

"Fuck fate!" Naruto yells. "If there really is a fate or destiny or whatever you want to call it, then I'll destroy it, okay? I'll destroy and we can go and do whatever we want, be whoever we want to be. Gaara, I left because I'm sick of everything they told me I was in Konoha. Aren't you sick of everything they tell you in Suna?" Gaara sobs, but resolutely turns his back to Naruto, a clear rejection. Naruto accepts defeat, then, accepts that he'll be leaving alone, even if it makes him feel so profoundly empty. But he understands Gaara's decision, and he's in no position to push Gaara to come with him if he truly doesn't want to. "Okay, Gaara. I understand. I love you, remember that, and-and take care of yourself, and be kind to yourself."

Naruto turns back around and makes his way across the meadow, unending stream of tears streaking down his face as he looks to the ground, when he hears footfalls coming in step with his own. Naruto turns to take in Gaara's face, who flashes Naruto a mock-innocent smile, as if to say Was there ever any question? Of course I was going to leave with you. Gaara turns to look at the azure sky as he breathes in the fresh air and Naruto brings his gaze straight ahead, smiling as the tears of sadness become tears of joy.

He understands, then, that he isn't a monster at all. He's found someone to care about, someone to get lost in. He hopes, wherever Haku is now, that he's looking down at Naruto and is proud of him.

For the first time in his life, Naruto feels human.