This is all edited. It took a while for me to open this all up again because it was my baby. This was the first story I wrote that got some attention and since I kept losing the regular rewrites for it, I just decided to edit it. I fixed some names and some grammar. Hopefully, it's better then before. Thanks :)

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If Only They Knew

Introduction

"—W-what? No, N-no. NO!" Naruto was hysterical. Not that you could blame him, he just find out that he was banished. Naruto really should have expected it though. He was the demon child after all. Ever since he was little that was all he ever was, he was just the demon. But then he met Sarutobi, bless his soul, then Jiraiya than Tsunade. He always did have Kurama though, even if he never told the old man. But nothing could last forever, it was just his luck.

First it was Sarutobi, then Sasuke, Jiraiya and now Tsunade even though it's for a different reason. Sasuke came back about six months ago, when Naruto was still on his training trip. Saying that he needed more power, and that he realized that since Itachi as well as Orochimaru got strong in Konoha than so could he. Jiraiya died, which hit him extremely hard since they were family. They knew practically everything about each other, including her real gender, being in her real form during the trip. Now Tsunade was in a coma after Pein attacked and he was getting…banished? It just didn't seem right.

"Do not cross us demon boy! We should have done this years ago. Nobody wants you, you are nothing but a demon. A thorn in someone's hand. You have 24 hours to leave or the ANBU will make sure you can't…bother anybody else." A council member said. Most of them nodded in agreement. They were all the civilian council though; the clan heads were too busy with clan business after the attack dealing with the aftermath. But they already voted, Naruto had no choice. He just stood there shell-shocked. "B-but I protected you from Pein..." He drawled out, confused.

Kohoru smirked, "But if it wasn't for you than he never would have attacked. It wasn't for you than we would still have our beloved Fourth Hokage, as well as the third. Don't even get me started on Jiraiya or Tsunade. After all, it is all your fault the Gama Sannin died, and Senju-Hime is as good as that. You always say that you protect your precious people, but you only hurt them."

Naruto had no words. He knew that everything they said was true, he really did. But he couldn't help but feel pissed. He never wanted to hurt them. If they knew anything about him, anything at all, they would bow on their knees. He thought it was for the best, but he should have listened. Kurama, lord third, Jiraiya, he should have known. But even though he was sad, he knew it wouldn't do any good. Nobody really knew him, they all thought he was an idiot after all. But deep down, he found it funny. What was the point of ever trying to get through with these people?

He looked down, his bangs covering his eyes but he could feel the councils' smirks. They finally got him, the wretched demon out of their village. He laughed, confusing the council. They shifted in discomfort the longer and harder he laughed. Naruto looked back up and wiped a stray tear, weather from sadness, humor, or him being pissed off they couldn't tell. But they were now scared.

He clapped his hands together. The only person who knew him in this village was Tsunade. He didn't blame her though. This wasn't her fault. He sighs, almost looking happy, "Well congrats you get your wish after a long fifteen years. I'm gone ok? I'll be gone by midnight." He bows full on smirking now, "Just know I am glad I'm leaving. Hope you know who it is that you just lost though. I will not come back, even if you bow on your knees. I am free, and so are you." He didn't even look to see the looks of shock, confusion, or horror when they fully realized what they have done.

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'What now Kurama?' Naruto asked walking through the village. Ignoring both the looks of disgust and awe. 'Well you finally get to be the real you now. I am sorry that they did this to you though.'Kurama said guiltily. Naruto just sighed, 'It was gonna happen sooner or later, I only stayed because of my heritage and the few who knew the truth. God, can you imagine any of their reactions if they knew any of the truth?'

The fox just laughs, 'I guess that it is true. But, I really am sorry.' Naruto cuts the connection, not knowing how to deal with this.

She was really being banished. After everything, she- It was over. Just like that?

Naruto knew that she was hated, not like she exactly liked the village either. Not after everything that it had done to her. She talked with Jiraiya about not returning but he asked her to give it another chance, for his and Tsunades sake. She agreed, but honestly didn't care. She would leave quietly. She wouldn't cry over it, what did crying ever do for her? Naruto rested her forehead on her apartment door, thinking about what she would do now.

She laughed when she thought about what Tsunades reaction would be to all this. So pissed. She snorted, the council would be in for a treat. She knew that it would be about another week or so for her to wake up. She opened the door and looked around. A photo of team seven, her dads kunai, (That she knew how to use surprisingly), more photos, she paused at one of her and Itachi. She walked over, Picking it up and ell back onto her bed.

She was always a genius, she just never showed it. She could have graduated when she was six, the council just always shut it down not believing that she could do it. Hence, the idiocy mask.

Itachi was her best friend. Her first friend. He knew that she was actually a girl, plus they trained together. She put the photo back onto the desk and walked into the bathroom. It was about 11 in the afternoon so she had time to take a shower.

Taking off a sealed bracelet, she studied herself in the mirror. She was about 5'6 with a slender figure. She had about c-cups with her muscles visible. But not like a body-builder, it suited her. She still had blue eyes but they were a deep indigo with hints of dark purple. She had her golden hair that rivaled the sun, especially when the sun reflected a reddish tint. It reached her midback. Stepping into the shower she just let the water sprinkle her, deep in thought.

She soon decided that she would head over to Suna after she left for good. Afterall, Gaara was one of the very few who knew that she was actually a female. When she finished her shower she put her blow dried hair into a messy bun. Putting on a white loose T-shirt, and black denim shorts that ended mid-thigh she started to pack.

She frowned when she turned to the rest of the photos. She had been forced into looking and acting male after an incident when she was younger. Nobody had questioned it. They hadn't even cared. Her friends, if she could call them that, didn't even know she had boobs. Reguardless, she laughed as she thought about their reactions if they ever found out.

Naruto folded her bed back into the wall after she packed up all the blankets. She put the rest of her photos and keepsakes into a box, only keeping a few ones that meant a lot. Her bedroom was finished. Walking into her training room she sealed everything from swords to motivational posters. (Not really but you get the point) About two and a half hours she was all packed.

It was kind of funny, everybody expected her to be the idiot. They all thought her crap was all over along with dozens of ramen cups. That was why they always turned down the offer to hang out at her place. She scoffed, nobody ever actually asked her what her favorite food was. If they ever went through the effort to ask, they would be surprised when it definitely wasn't ramen.

Soon enough her apartment was packed, taking the garbage out as well. Walking into the kitchen she placed the second to last box along the wall. There were only a few a room, so for an apartment that only had four rooms, there weren't many boxes. Going over to the table she sat down. Over the next couple hours, she wrote everybody letters. She couldn't help but cry or laugh as she wrote a few of them, how little they actually knew about her. Like with Hinata, 'Sorry but, I'm a girl. And I'm straight.' Or Sakura was her favorite, she hated her with deep, burning passion.

Just the academy alone, Kurama had to calm her down so often. 'Sorry Sakura, only trying to be nice. Not everybody is obsessed with another person like you and your Uchiha.' That got Kurama to laugh.

She couldn't tell who's was harder to write to though, between Tsunade and Sasuke. She figured that it had been long enough for Sasuke to be in the dark. She really wished that she could be there for him he read it, the truth about the Uchiha clan. She just hoped that he wouldn't be too hard on Itachi. They have both been through so much. She would have told him in person but knew that he wouldn't let her go once she started to talk.

She put everybody's letter and/or other items in a box. But she kept Sasukes and Tsunades out. She reached over to the other end of the table grabbing a photo that had three people in it. It was in the Uchihas gardens, they were all red and white with an occasional yellow rose. They were all on a picnic blanket. Itachi was leaning against a tree smiling, as he looked at Naruto who was giving Sasuke his birthday present. They were all so happy that day. It was about six months before Itachi's mission. Before the massacre that had changed everything.

She put the letter on top of the taped box. She sat down for a minute, not wanting to continue. She let out a shaky breath and slowly untied the first hokages necklace. 'So much for being Hokage now.' She thought. She never really expected to become hokage, not really.

Just... banished?

It almost seemed too much, for the little bad she did to the village. She put the necklace in Tsunades envelope on top of Sasukes and wiped her tears. She would miss those two especially. She stood up suddenly and laughed shakily. 'If only they knew.' She thought dryly. She grabbed her backpack and threw open the door, slamming it shut, not bothering to lock it on the way out.

|3 days later|

Naruto huffed as she walked into Suna. She was surprised at the amount of respect they gave her. She did take longer to get there, but it wasn't like she had anything better to do. She smiled softly as she shook her hair free of sand. She followed the guard to the Kage's tower. She was happy that people recognized her from her previous visits, from her travels with Jiraiya. She thanked the guard and knocked on the door.

She heard a muffled 'Come In.' and entered. When she entered she seemed to break even more when she saw Gaara's confused look. Standing there she had to wonder what she had been thinking. She didn't want Suna to declare war on the Leaf. They didn't even know about her banishment.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" Gaara asked, confusion swimming in his eyes. Taking his golden-haired friend into account, he noticed to things that made him frown. 1) She was crying. Or trying not to. 2) She was missing her headband.

He dropped his pen onto the floor when he realized what has happened to his best friend. Questions raging in his head but didn't speak. He stood, bracing his palms on his desk as he watched her sadly. He wasn't a social person, he didn't know what to say or do in this situation.

They just stood, staring at each other for many minutes. Naruto sniffled, "Uh, hey Gaara." She said as she patted her leg. He nodded and signaled for her to sit down. She slumped in her chair while the red head went to talk to his guards outside. "Do not bother us for the day. I'm going out." The guards nodded and he went back inside.

Gaara's heart clenched when he saw her with her arms on her legs, gripping her head. He slowly walked over to her and knelt down, "I'm going to go change. I'll be back than we'll talk." She nodded. A few minutes later Gaara came back in a black T-shirt and brown ANBU pants, with a blood red cloak. He picked up her backpack and shunshind them to an Ice cream shop. It was expensive, but he knew that she loved it.

Gaara got a strawberry and caramel sundae, while Naruto got vanilla and hot fudge. He stayed quiet even though she stopped crying a few minutes ago. He debated what to say, then just put it bluntly. "What happened and who kicked you out?'' Naruto finished licking the chocolate off her spoon and sighed. "Jiraiya died-"

"WHAT!?" Gaara (very) uncharacteristically yelled.

|45 Minutes Later|

"- - So I packed up and came to say hello." Naruto finished with a flick of her spoon, smiling sardonically. Gaara just sat wide-eyed thinking about what he was just told. They were silently eating their ice cream for a few minutes.

"So, the Akatsuki is gone?" He asked in a whisper. Naruto nodded, "Yup, I believe so. I think that the remaining members split up. Looks like the rest of us are safe." Gaara nodded. "That's good. I know that you won't appreciate it or care for that matter, but I am sorry about what happened. Tsunade is not going to be happy, or any of the clan heads for that matter. What do you think you're going to do now?"

She was thoughtful for a moment. "I think I'm going to spend the night here. Maybe head out and travel, I'll come back and visit though." She said thoughtfully. Gaara was quiet for a few seconds.

"Are you sure that you won't stay here? At least for a while?'' He pleaded. She frowned and grabbed his hand. "Thanks for the offer but, I need some time to myself. Adjust. I'll probably meet up with some old clients of Jiraiyas. See if I can get them to work for me or something."

He nodded in understanding, even if he didn't particularly like it. "I'm gonna head out early tomorrow. If I can I'll stop by. But if not, thanks for listening." She continued. She gave him a kiss on the cheek. She grabbed her bag and headed out for the hotel leaving her older brother figure to his thoughts.

Gaara narrowed his eyes before drooping with a silent groan. Naruto didn't deserve any of this. Konoha wasn't good for her, maybe at some point it was. When she had people to talk to and wasn't constantly lying. But not anymore, not for a while now. Naruto was strong though, a Jinchurriki would have to be.

Despite being older then the other, he looked up to her a lot. She would make it through this. It may even be good for her, he mused.

Gaara made eye contact with the owner of the parlor and gestured to his empty dish. A couple minutes later, a new sundae was in front of him. He ate it, continuing to think. He hated counsels. They were stupid and ignorant, arrogant, as well. But in Suna, they at least knew their limits.

Not for the first time, he was glad he lived in Suna.