Hey there, authors and readers alike! *grinning and waving*

So, over the past few weeks, I've found myself looking into Monster Girls. It all started after I read a FanFiction that had Naruto and Monster Musume (aka Daily Life) as the sources. I found the story enjoyable and looked up some more of the Monster Girls from the series.

However, one in particular stuck out to me. And so, I've decided to make this story featuring this particular Monster Girl paired up with our favorite Knucklehead Ninja.

So, without further ado, here's my attempt at a story with Monster Girls!

Disclaimer: pain17ification owns nothing

A Human Monster

Chapter One: The Fortunate Runaway

His heart was hurting…

His cheeks were warm with rolling tears…

His spirit had been crushed…

Sitting on the carved head of the Fourth Hokage was a young boy of ten years. His blue eyes were flowing with tears as he hugged his knees to his chest and released all of his pain. Here, in his solitude, he let his walls drop and the mask that blocked out his pain was left useless to him.

The boy didn't know what made him so despised in his own home village. It just felt like some unspoken rule to him; a rule saying that everyone was to treat him as if he was trash.

Monster…

That's what he was called, day in and day out. He didn't understand what they meant by that. As far as he could tell, he looked human, talked human, and acted human. So, why was he labeled a Monster?

Was it his whisker marks? He tried many times to wipe them away or even hide them, but it only made things worse.

Was it his wild hair? He made attempts to cut it short, but it was a wasted effort. Besides, there were others who had crazier hair than he did.

So, what was it? What made him the Monster of the Hidden Leaf? What gave them the right to give him such a hurtful label?

He didn't know. For the life of him, Naruto Uzumaki did not know.

And it was his lack of knowing that made the pain he felt all the more unbearable.

Although, there was a small glimpse of light in his darkness. Two people treated him like any other person; showing him kindness and helping him smile. Truly, the father and daughter duo of ramen chefs held a special place in his heart.

No one else treated him like they did. The best they did was ignore him, and the worst they did was call him that word.

By the kami, he did not like that word. It made him feel like he had no identity; like his name didn't exist.

Wiping his eyes, he stared down at the village lit up only by the lights of homes and streets. His brows furrowed as he heard the faint echoes of joy that came from the villagers. It bothered him to hear that, and made him clench his fists angrily.

Who were they to have fun while bringing him down? What made them so special, so self-righteous that they felt they could dictate his life?

Standing up, he glared at the village below; his mind made up after weeks of indecision. He turned away and made his way down the steps from the mountaintop. It was time to stop hesitating and take action.

It was time to disappear.

After making sure not to be seen – thanks to years of memorizing the streets and hiding from the higherups after a prank – Naruto entered his apartment and moved to his bedroom. With some effort, he slid his entire bed to the side and revealed a loose floorboard; his makeshift "safe".

Lifting the board, he reached in and pulled out a rucksack that had a strap sewn onto it. He reached in again and pulled out a folded piece of paper that held the names "Teuchi and Ayame" on it.

With sad determination, he put the paper into the pocket of his black pants before shedding the white T-shirt he wore in exchange for the long-sleeved orange one that had his red spiral on the back; a gift from Ayame for his tenth birthday. He placed his gift from Teuchi – a pair of goggles with a large elastic band to hold them in place – on his forehead before he left his apartment once again…for the last time.

He snuck through the alleyways and backstreets, avoiding any kind of detection as he made his way to the closed ramen stand. Once there, he took a moment to stare at the place with misty eyes. This was his sanctuary; one that had nothing to do with his favorite food in the world. No, this place was a sanctuary because it was where the two people he cherished most made their living.

Part of him knew that their business would be much better if he had stopped frequenting; but the two chefs never turned him away. Instead, they always welcomed him and treated him as one of their own.

He took a breath and nodded to himself. No backing down now.

Moving to the back, he slid the paper beneath the crack in the door and smiled sadly. "Goodbye…" he bid softly before heading to his next location.

Having memorized the best routes of the village, Naruto knew of plenty of the secret passages and shortcuts that hadn't been used since the Great Ninja War era. They had been made in the event that enemy forces had broken through the gates and ninja needed to travel with stealth and speed.

One such secret passage had an exit that was just outside the village walls; which was exactly what he needed to leave the place. Arriving at the abandoned Uchiha Compound, he moved through the empty walkways and headed for the northernmost part of the compound. Spotting the thick bushes that grew some rather delicious berries, he grinned at how close he was to getting out. Pulling out a plastic bag from his rucksack, he filled it with as much berries as he could before pushing his way through the bushes.

There, hidden by the thick foliage, was a trapdoor with a metal ring handle. He pulled it open as quietly as he could, knowing that he shouldn't let his guard down no matter what. He lowered his pack first before easing himself inside and gently easing the door shut. He winced when the old hinge gave a faint squeak and waited with a racing heart for hell to break loose.

…

…

…

He sighed quietly when nothing happened after minutes of waiting. With that settled, he grabbed his pack and crawled through the secret passage. Due to his smaller stature, it was easier to move through the tunnel; but he figured that most ninja used the Transformation Jutsu to become something small enough to race through it with ease.

He fought back a pout at not knowing any jutsu at all. The last thing chakra related that the Academy went over was how to focus your chakra and gather it. they were supposed to go over the first jutsu next month; but he couldn't wait for that day to come.

Not when he felt himself getting closer to breaking apart with each passing day in this place.

After what felt like hours thanks to not being able to see outside, he reached the end of the tunnel and kicked out the old planks that blocked off the exit. On the other side of the planks were more thick bushes that were tall and wide enough to fully obscure the tunnel's entrance/exit from outside view.

Taking a breath, he looked behind him and had to look straight up to see the full height of the outer wall of the Hidden Leaf. A smile broke onto his face, and he relished on his successful exit. He would've gave a small cheer, but he knew he wasn't out of the woods yet. He needed to make some solid distance between himself and the village before anyone noticed that he was gone.

Shouldering his pack, he started to make his way north. If he could make it past the borders of the Land of Fire, then he would be in the clear.

He had to move, and fast.

"The boy is heading north, sir," a voice spoke up in an earpiece, making the elderly man wearing it hum in acknowledgement. "Shall we apprehend him?"

"No," the man answered. "Keep tabs on him and help him along discreetly. However, don't let him get past the border."

"Yes, sir," the operative replied before cutting the connection.

Turning to the lone operative in the room with him, the man ordered, "Keep me posted on any reports concerning the boy. And make sure that those following him keep him alive. No sense in losing our Jinchūriki."

"Yes, Lord Danzo," the subordinate stated before leaving to deliver his master's orders.

Left alone, Danzo Shimura mused the benefits and setbacks that his decision could have. He knew that the treatment received by the Jinchūriki would've resulted in one of three possible scenarios; though he honestly thought that the boy would've chosen to respond much like his spitfire mother would've.

The scenarios were either hatred for the village, striving to prove them wrong, or attempting to leave. Tonight proved that the third one was what the boy had chosen in response to such blatant hatred.

While he would've wanted to snatch the boy for his ROOT Program right away, he knew that it was too much of a risk. He needed to wait for Sarutobi and the Ninja Council to be aware of the boy's absence and his innocence of the matter before making his move.

The benefits of this were getting his old rival to be seen in a negative light by being so irresponsible with the boy's well-being. Villagers, ninja, and even the Daimyo would lose trust in his judgment and would soon call for a replacement Hokage to be chosen. This is when Danzo would step in and either nominate himself or someone he could manipulate so that he still held "de facto" powers.

The downsides of this, however, was that the boy's chances outside the village were low. He had no training except for how to call on his chakra and his self-taught stealth; which Danzo was admittedly impressed with. Unless the boy had the luck of the kami in his corner, he wouldn't last long before something out of his control happened to him.

So, he needed to be patient, but also be very aware of the boy's whereabouts and condition at all times. If something happened to him and his men were unable to handle it, then the Kyuubi was lost to the village. He couldn't have their weapon lost to them; he wouldn't.

Sleeping outside wasn't exactly a first for Naruto; but sleeping alone in the forest was. He only had an old blanket and his clothes to keep him warm, but it was still very cold and he had trouble sleeping.

He wished he knew how to make a fire and that he had some hunting knowledge to utilize. The ration bars that he had were unappetizing at best. Already, he missed the warm broth that came with his favorite food, joined by the warmth that he felt in his heart when being around the Ichiraku family.

He sighed as he kept walking, still covering himself with his blanket since the morning fog left him chilly. He was starting to have doubts about his chances now. Running away sounded like such a solid plan in his head; but actually following through with it was a whole other story.

Spotting a sign in the road, he walked up to it and read what it said. "Otafuku Gai; one mile…" He sighed again, but this time it was full of relief. "Thank the kami… I could get some real food and hopefully some better supplies." Pulling out his stuffed walled from his rucksack, he mentally counted the money he had on hand; though he was concerned that the town could be just as screwed up with their pricings just like the Hidden Leaf was whenever he tried to conduct business.

Deciding to not dwell on the possible negatives, he resumed his trek with a more upbeat attitude. Just the thought of better food made him smile brightly as he decided to try and save time by cutting through the woods. With any luck, he'd cut the time taken to get to the town in half.

*crack*

"…Eh?" was all he got to say before the ground beneath him caved and he sank into a hole with a surprised shout.

Unseen by him, two masked men jumped out of their hidden positions to check on the boy's condition. Unfortunately for them, the hole caused by the boy stepping on weak earth had been covered by debris and dirt.

Turning to his partner, one of them asked, "Are you familiar with any Earth Style jutsu?"

"Negative. I'm a Fire Style user," was the response.

"This was unexpected. We need to get to the boy quickly, or else we may lose his trail."

"What could've caused the ground to be so weak?"

"Most likely answer is tunneling beneath the earth, but it's unclear as to why there was tunneling in this location." He gave a sharp whistle, calling forth a messenger hawk as he wrote a quick message to his master. "Deliver this to Lord Danzo quickly." Once the hawk took off, he ordered his partner, "Let's get digging. We need to be quick about it."

"Agreed," the other ROOT operative replied before both of them started digging as fast as they could.

Groaning in slight pain at the sudden landing, Naruto rolled onto his back and slowly sat up. He hissed in pain, grabbing his legs since they hit the ground first before the rest of his body.

"Damn, that hurt," he groused, glaring at the pile of dirt and rock that had been made. It blocked off the hole and he could barely see anything. "At least there were these things in here," mused the boy, looking at the glowing insects that floated around him. Holding out a finger, he gave a small smile when one of the bugs landed on it. "Hey there," he greeted. "Think you and your friends could show me the way out of this place?"

It was a silly notion – asking a bug for help – but his options were limited. Besides, he knew that the Aburame Clan used bugs and communicated with them regularly. Maybe he would get lucky with these glowing ones.

To his surprise the bugs began to circle him for a moment before they started moving down the hallway he was in. Thanks to their light, he saw that it was the only way he could go; unless he decided to dig around in the pile and try to climb back out. So, he chose to follow them and see what the strange underground place had in store for him.

Part of him felt some excitement creeping up his spine. He had always wondered what kind of adventures he could have outside of the Leaf, and now he was making his own adventure. It was an uplifting thought that made the fear he felt subside momentarily.

Such was the optimistic nature of a child.

At some point, he reached a four-way crossroad. It was hard to decide on a path to take, so he just went with the one on his immediate left. Compared to the others, it didn't smell so bad, and he remembered the Inuzuka boy in his class mentioning to always follow your nose. Hopefully, such a philosophy would prove beneficial to the blonde Uzumaki.

Entering a large room, he saw that it had two sets of large tables that looked to be the size of the desks that Academy Teachers had. There were also shelves stacked with scrolls and books covering every available inch of the walls in the room; save for the openings that led to hallways. Along with the opening he came from, there was only one other entrance/exit in the room.

One of the glowing bugs floated in front of his face, touching him on the nose before moving to an open spot on the wall. He couldn't really see all that well, but it touched something before a torch was set aflame, lighting up the room even more for him.

Although, he paled when he realized that these bugs were able to set things on fire and could've burnt him alive if they felt so inclined to.

Grabbing the torch, he moved to the other ones that were set into posts in the walls and lit them as well. With the room fully lit, he saw that the desk tables were stacked with dusty papers and empty glasses. There were also odd looking devices that looked like they were meant for seeing into on the tables. On a set of wheels was a roving chalkboard that had some very complex writing and equations on it.

It hurt his head to just try reading what was on there.

Ignoring the tables and chalkboard, Naruto looked over the book covers and scrolls that filled the shelves. He had hopes that something in the room would be of use to him. This proved to be true when he saw a book on chakra and another on something called fuinjutsu; which he remembered was what the sealing arts were called during one of his old lessons.

He set the books on one of the tables before returning to the shelves. Moving through them all, he only picked out a scroll that was partially labeled with "Jutsu" on it. The word before it had been made unreadable with the passage of time, so he decided to take a look at it himself. He then made his way to the last shelf of the room, his eyes roaming over the titles of the books from the top shelf to the bottom.

He frowned when he saw nothing, but the frown vanished when he saw a certain word on one of the last books on the bottom shelf.

Monsters

He frowned again at this, being reminded of what the villagers so hatefully called him back in the Leaf. He almost turned away from the book, but a part of him made him stay rooted. Indecisiveness took over for quite some time before he decided to just grab the book and take it with him.

Now with three books and a jutsu scroll, he looked for something to carry them all in since his rucksack wasn't exactly spacious. Seeing nothing resembling a bag or carry-on, he decided to make his own. He grabbed one of the white coats that was hung on the chalkboard and placed the books on it before wrapping them with the coat; making the sleeves act as a makeshift strap to hang on his shoulder.

Nodding to himself proudly, he decided to move on. He grabbed one of the torches and made his way down the other hallway. He was relieved to see that the glowing bugs hadn't left his side throughout his time in the room. It made him feel safer and not so alone.

The path made him take a couple of turns before he found himself at a T-shaped crossroad with him entering on the "right" side of the "T". He took a moment to smell both paths, but they gave off the same odorless feature. He sighed before going down the "bottom" path of the "T", hoping to find something useful; or at least an exit.

He found out that the path led to a wide room that was filled was various weapons and tools that ninja used. It also had clothes, armor, and some cots to sleep in.

"Must be an armory," mused the Uzumaki, moving over to the clothes and armor.

He took some time to find some articles in his size; which was difficult since he was rather small due to his age. Luck was still with him since he found some chain mesh that was just a bit bigger than he was; meaning that he could grow into it over time. He took off his orange shirt before putting the mesh on and then replacing his shirt.

The other clothes he grabbed were an extra pair of pants (these being an ashy gray color), and a tan tunic that had a Yin-Yang symbol on the front and back. The tunic was sleeveless and draped over his crotch and backside areas. For color, it was red with a black outline. (1)

He made some practice movements with his new clothing additions before smiling at how they didn't impede anything. Nodding in satisfaction, he grabbed an extra shirt (a red one) before putting it and the extra pants he grabbed into his rucksack. He then moved onto the weapons.

Spotting an empty ninja pouch, he took it and started to fill it up with some shuriken and kunai. He also grabbed some ninja wire – knowing that it was very useful – and a jar of reddish pills. Thanks to the Akamichi boy in his class, he knew that they were food pills and could help him in a pinch.

Satisfied with his find, he made to leave but stopped when he saw something hidden behind a rack of swords and windmill shuriken. Moving to get a better look, he saw that it was a weapon that was taller than he was; the handle tip being over three heads taller than him. It had a gourd shape to it that he recognized as a traditional "spirit tree" formation; thanks to a weapon book he looked at in a local weapons shop in the village.

The weapon was a creamy white color with red comma-styled markings near the bottommost curve and dark purple bordering its edges. The handle was wrapped in white bandages and had a chain attacked to the tip, which led to a small curved blade that had its own handle on it. It looked like an amazing weapon to him and he decided that, since no one was around to claim it, he would take it with him. (2)

However, he knew that it would be hard to travel with a weapon that was bigger than he was. This made him frown in frustration as he tried to figure out what to do. He took a moment to think, sitting down cross-legged and cross-armed as he pondered what to do.

Suddenly, a memory came to him from a time when he was called to see the Hokage. He remembered the man pulled something out of a scroll with a handseal and a puff of smoke before returning it to the scroll in a similar manner.

"That had to have been a seal!" he realized before grabbing the lab coat bag he had made and pulling out the fuinjutsu book. Flipping through pages, he tried to find something to help him out before finding it on her third skim-through. "Here we go; a Storage Seal. It's pretty basic, but it'll work."

Setting down his belongings next to the weapon behind the racks, so as to keep them out of sight, he hurried back to the room with the shelves before looking for something to write with and write on. It took a moment, but he found a blank piece of paper and a pen that still had some ink in it before running back to the armory.

Having the fuinjutsu book open on the page with the Storage Seal diagram on it, he carefully copied the design onto the paper before he decided to do a quick test. He grabbed a random shuriken and set it on the seal before making a half ran seal and focusing his chakra like he was taught at the Academy.

"Seal!" he declared, making the paper light up before it made a puff of smoke and the shuriken was gone. He sighed in relief at the success before testing if it would let him take it back out. It took a few tries, since the seal was a bit shaky thanks to writing on the rough ground; but he was able to successfully unseal the shuriken from the paper. "Good, it works. Now, I can seal that thing and maybe the books too."

He grinned at his successfully made seal before placing both the weapon and the lab-coat-wrapped books on the paper tag. With another burst of chakra, he was able to seal them all into the paper, which he carefully folded and placed in his pants pocket.

"Alright, now let's see if I can find a way out of this weird place," he mused aloud before returning to the "T" crossroad and taking the "left" path.

It felt like he was trapped in a maze with all of the turns and crossroads he found himself moving through, but after around an hour he saw a set of stairs leading upwards and rushed up them. Once at the top, he struggled to push open the "door" made off moss-covered wood and found himself exiting a hollowed-out tree that was covered with thick green moss and vines. He pushed the "door" back closed and took note of his surroundings. He was deep in the forest from what he could tell, but he saw a dirt road a fair distance away from his location.

Sighing in relief, he rushed over to the path and saw that he was on a hill that was high enough to see a town below. A sign was nailed to a tree beside him, and it showed that he was staring at Otafuku Gai. He laughed at his fortune, offering thanks to the kami for being so helpful to him, before he made his way to the town.

Things were really looking up for the blonde "Monster" of the Hidden Leaf.

1~ If someone could draw Naruto in this outfit I've given him, I would GREATLY appreciate it!

2~ That's right; it's Madara Uchiha's gunbai war fan! But how did it end up in one of the White Snake's abandoned bases? *winks*

Tada! Here's the first chapter for you guys! I hope you all like it and are eager to see how this all plays out!

Now, I've already decided on the pairing for this (which you could easily see in the list of major characters). However, I'm on the fence about leaving it strictly one girl. I want to leave it that way, but I might add just one more to the pairing.

Give me your thoughts on this please! And please give me some honest feedback! I would greatly appreciate it; but PLEASE no flames!

REMINDER: Keep a lookout for my Naruto/Bleach crossover coming this Christmas! It features Naruto paired up with Orihime-chan!

Hope you all have Happy Holidays, everyone!

Until next time!

~ pain17ification ~