The Hunted

Chapter 1 - Where You Belong.

Naruto was terrified.

His rapid footsteps clapped against the soaked dirt roads of a sleepy Konoha. Currently, his cluelessness was just as haunting as his fear of death.
"What did I do this time!? I wasn't messin' with anyone!" He questioned in dismay but forced himself to focus. Stormy streets became a hazy blur and the familiar surroundings of local stores warped into unrecognisable colours.

He twisted his body, stealing an adrenaline fuelled glance backwards, letting out a sudden involuntary gasp as he did. His pursuers grew closer. Rain danced along his washed out features as he ran, its cold embrace trickled down his body and strangled away his resistance like a sadistic lover.

Naruto heard the crowd's insults as rough, unintelligible chanting from behind him. The commotion was being formed by a small militia. Their charging footsteps drummed like machine gun fire, terrorizing the silent streets with sound. The mob of civilians wore simple clothing, inspired by the luscious forests of the fire country. The colours of their pale imitations of nature consisted mainly of green, white and brown.

"When will you learn that no one wants you here!?" A frustrated crowd member barked out and aggression filled the air. Naruto's ghostly white face turned back, his expression twisting into a pained knot as he felt a tightness in his chest. A shimmer dressed his eyes, promising tears.

His soaked clothing weighed on his small frame, impairing his movements but not enough to stop Naruto from glaring back at the crowd. His scowl lacked the intimidation he had hoped for, especially as, Naruto was forced to swat away his tears using the back of his icy knuckles.

"While you're here Konoha is in danger!" Another crowd member justified, their voice laced with misplaced patriotism.

They tore out of the shopping district, their witch hunt edging them closer to Naruto's home in the tired, rundown, lower class half of Konoha. The mob was modestly armed, equipped mostly with pots and pans, wooden bats and shoddy looking sweeping brooms. They brandished their weapons proudly, waving them in the air like flags of war.

Naruto's hand clawed harshly at his stomach as if attempting to crush the sinking feeling of hurt that had invaded him.

"I ain't dangerous! I haven't even been through the academy yet!" He pleaded his innocence, though Naruto wasn't naive enough to believe they'd listen.

"How am I the dangerous one? They're the ones chasing me!" He raged at their hypocrisy, a deeply knitted frown stitched across his features.

Suddenly, Naruto abandoned the main street, steering off to the right. He recklessly sped into an alleyway between two rain drenched buildings. A thick black darkness greeted him with shadows that danced in his fears, swallowing him as he raced deeper.

"Don't let him get away!" The order came from a civilian at the back of the pack, their yell echoing between the isolated walls of the alleyway. The restless members of the crowd were yelling against the sound of rain fall as they swarmed after Naruto, cornering him like prey.

"Why can't I have that, too? I don't wanna be all on my own!" Naruto yearned for their unification. Instead he was blind, stumbling through the dark, narrow alley streets and the crowd's single file footsteps boomed in his ears, endlessly advancing towards him.

Naruto was met with a decision. He'd come to a fork in the road. He glanced left, turning his head side to side only to question himself in the eerie darkness. Left, right, left, right. The sounds of the crowd drew closer. His heart quickened.

"Crap! It's gotta be right. Definitely right!" Naruto burst in that direction, sliding in the merciless mud and losing his footing. Naruto scrambled from his knees, dispersing the grim black pool of water he'd fallen into, throwing his body into a clumsy, desperate sprint.

Naruto's chest struck a wet, immovable object. His blue eyes crawled upward, its height seemed insurmountable from his position on the ground. He felt a heavy gulp roll down his throat. Naruto squeezed his shoulders upwards, his head slowly turning, reluctantly bringing them into view.

The mob peered down at him, he could feel their eyes burning into his skin as they loomed over him.

"This can't be happening." Denial racked his mind and he scrambled desperately to his feet. He took a step backwards, the sound of mud squelching beneath his footstep pierced his ear drums. Another step, followed by a third. His back contacted the wall of his make shift prison. Naruto was trapped.

His hands caressed the rough, splintered surface of the fence, patting weakly against it and silently pleading for an exit. He couldn't breathe. His chest heaved and grasped for air. A deep burn ignited in his lungs and a dizziness engulfed Naruto's distressed mind. His hand stopped its motion, instead using the fence to keep himself upright.

"I know you're probably confused, Kid, but you gotta realise that this is for Konoha." The middle aged man glorified. The civilian pointed his wooden bat down at Naruto as if it were the tip of an executioner's sword.

His heartbeat pulsed in his eardrums, overpowering all other noise. Naruto's blue eyes dilated in stress response, drinking in every little detail of the world around him. He could feel his natural survival mechanisms overthrowing him.

"I'm gunna die." His instincts screamed. Naruto's rationalism left him. The villagers had never hurt him before but this was different. They had never seemed so organized. His body seemed to sway side to side like leaves in a gentle breeze. The world became dulled as Naruto's oxygen starved body began to shut down.

"Oi! You deaf or somethin' kid? We don't want you here!" A crowd member's vicious, slurred voice challenged.

Naruto felt a new sensation. A blunt force had struck him in the centre of his chest and left a dull ache in its wake. He was snapped out of his panic. Naruto followed the sound of rolling metal, tracking the object with his eyes.

His hand pawed at his chest with uncertainty. This moisture was new, warm, unlike the rain's. A thick scent of alcohol smothered his nostrils, he felt an urge to lash out, his fingers curling into trembling fists.

"Don't get so violent, Taro! You know the law." The bat wielding man harshly scolded.
"We're here to scare him, there's no need to rough up the kid." He continued in a strong whisper, the sound carrying a form of authority to it. Naruto watched on as murmurs and bickering spread amongst the crowd like a virus.

To his surprise, the bat wielding man who defended him was struck on the arm, a light jab slung by a man who had quickly entered his personal space.

"You know he lost his wife and daughter that day, Shouta." He hissed, gripping Shouta's shirt with both hands, his face set in a delinquent's scowl.

Shouta's irritated reply was merely a dissatisfied grunt, shoving the man off to the back of him. Naruto shrank against the fence as he became the centre of attention again. The man was intimidating, his green eyes were piercing like a panther's when skulking towards its prey.

"Leave me alone." Naruto gave a hushed warning. The sound was thick, gritted with barely contained anger. His arms were shaking, he balled his fists and his whole body seemed to bounce with adrenaline.

"I just wanna go home!" Naruto stomped angrily. His voice audibly tore and the drenched earth quivered beneath him as it made way for his dominant foot.

Naruto could feel his thin, hot breath passing over his cold, tingling lips as he attempted to recover from his outburst. His teeth grit as the crowd seemed unmoving.

"What did I do?" He pleaded. His volume dropped along with the pitch of his voice.
"I've never hurt anyone..." Naruto trailed off as tears abandoned his eyes. He stepped forward in a moment of naive hope.

" I wanna be a ninja! I wanna protect you guys, I'm on your side, I promise!" He attempted to convince them while sniffling, brushing away his tears with his faithful jacket's sleeves.
"Can I go home? I won't get in any trouble no more, for at least a whole week!" Naruto bargained, holding his hands on his hips with a forced foxy grin.

"There ain't no home for you, Kid. Not while you're still in Konoha." The cold response came from Shouta's lips. He stood at the front of the crowd as their leader, a pained expression painted on his face.

"If we don't do this though...there's a very real chance that the Kyuubi could break free. He's just a kid after all! How is he supposed to contain that thing? How could anyone contain it?" He justified his actions, steeling his weakening resolve.
"If I have to make a kid miserable in order to save countless lives, then, the choice is obvious!" Shouta reasoned. His hands choked the handle of the bat, squeezing his uncertainty into it.

"Right now you might be innocent, kid. But there'll be a time where you'll put us all in danger."Shouta's dry tone froze Naruto's optimism. His head was forced involuntary upwards by Shouta's bat, it now rested under his chin, stealing away his ability to speak.

Naruto reeled through emotions, silenced by the wooden weapon pressed at his throat.

"Konoha is my home!...I really love it here. Even when its super busy at Ichiraku's an' I gotta wait my turn, or when I'm up on the mountain with Old Man Hokage watching the sun go down! Why don't I belong here? This isn't fair!" As his thoughts quickened he felt defiance rising within him.

"I don't care what you think." Naruto spat as he lost all restraint.

One of Naruto's small hand gripped the coarse wooden bat. The second soon followed. He held the bat in place with a vice like grip as if it was a katana to his throat. Naruto's hair began to dance wildly in a shockwave of power that whispered around his form.

"Huh?" Shouta recoiled, his eyes widening as he felt air pressure rush over him. A quake ruptured through his nerves as dread slithered down his spine.

"Why should I care what you think!?" Naruto stunned the crowd with his rebellion. His heart was racing. Something was different. His hands became still on the bat. Then they squeezed, tighter and
tighter. The creaking of the wood sent Shouta into alarm as he studied the bat, watching in disbelief as cracks began to form across its surface.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto!" He roared valiantly, the bat exploded with kinetic force, bursting apart and showering the area in misshapen, wooden thorns. The force caused Shouta to fumble backwards and he barely managed to keep hold of the now useless handle of his weapon.

"An'...and one day you're gunna see how great I really am!" Naruto declared, soothing red chakra radiated around him, setting the darkness around him ablaze in crimson.

He felt the warm embrace of strength, a surge of intoxicating delight stripping away all of his reservations. The crimson grew, howling to the void like, black sky above.
All fell silent. Awe, dread, terror and fear. Naruto could feel it all.

The chakra exploded. It instantly evaporated the water sources around him, violently upturned the earth and scorned the nearby buildings that attempted to contain its size, lashing out at them with red, whip like tendrils that burned scars into their surfaces.

"Kyuubi..." The tainted word left one of the civilians, his hand raised, pointing at Naruto.
"It's the Kyuubi!" He wailed, completely overcome with fear. Distress rippled through the crowd igniting the militia with hysteria. They turned on one another, enacting survival of the fittest as they scrambled over one another to flee the alleyway, fearing that it may become their tomb.

"I don't think he even registered what they said..." Shouta realised, his eyes danced from left to right, studying Naruto like the lone victim of a complex nightmare.
" It's like he's not even paying attention anymore!" His fear tugged at the corners of his mind, the shadows beneath him attempting to pull him into their depths, freezing him in place.

Naruto snarled viciously. His back arched and he fell to all fours like a wild animal. Naruto's hands were coated in the black, muddy earth as his haunting red eyes bore into Shouta's existence.

The crowd was nowhere to be seen.

Naruto's jaw pried open, he let loose a double voice roar that racked the alleyway with the force of a thousand screams. The sheer pressure caused Shouta to raise his arm, struggling to protect his face from the chakra laced air.

Shouta lost ground, taking strained steps backwards just to remain standing. As soon as the sound wave subsided his bat met the floor. Naruto watched as Shouta barrelled out of the alleyway like all of the others.

Using inhumane, animalistic leaps, Naruto dashed out of the horror-like alleyway, chasing after the distant sound of retreating footsteps. He saw the exit, jumping to two legs as he returned to Konoha's desolate main streets, his overwhelming power fleeing him as he did. Naruto managed to catch glimpses of the red chakra fading into the nights chilling wind.

Konoha was a melancholy daydream, glossed a deep navy blue by the night's sullen storm. Naruto's eyes wandered, searching for any other soul but all he found was a bitter, hollow sob that had been trapped inside his throat. He was alone. Naruto let out a howl of anguish, his dull blue eyes as frosty as the bitter night air.

Naruto's tiny shoulders plunged up and down in a shallow attempt to regain his breath in short, painful gasps. He coughed violently, standing alone in a silence more deafening than any he'd ever experienced.

"Why am I crying? It's not like it'll help anything! All it does is make my eyes hurt." Naruto turned his frustration on himself along with his loathing for feeling powerless.

"I'm not gunna let anyone think I'm a cry-baby!... Even if there is nobody around anymore." He felt the wind's caress against his exposed skin and the rain clung to his skin like glass.
"Why were they so scared of me? There's no way I could've beat those guys." Naruto grimaced before he held his head up high, a forced grin on his face.

"I guess this means I win! You losers!" Naruto hollered in an upbeat tone, his arms were confidently held on his hips Even his best impersonation felt lacking.

"Don't you see!? You'll never defeat Uzumaki Naruto!" He yelled again, only to hear his voice echo, reverberating through the soundless streets. His face descended into a haunted sadness, he couldn't help but gulp as he heard the last whispers of his shouting played back to him.

"I won't cry!" He choked out.
"I definitely, absolutely, won't cry!" Naruto refused vehemently, glaring up at the sky as if it challenged his resolve. He allowed a waterfall of raindrops to trickle down his face, simulating tears.

"...Was I really gunna hurt those guys?" He mumbled weakly, his voice slurred as exhaustion riddled his body. Naruto felt his breathing slow to a crawl, his knees bending under his weight, his spine folding to an invisible force.

"I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't want Old Man Hokage to be mad at me or anything." He innocently muttered, the sentence barely above a whisper. Naruto's eyes flickered slowly, tempted by the seduction of unconsciousness. He collapsed into an exhausted heap, littering the street.

Hiruzen had remained in his office despite it being late and was unsurprised to see an ANBU show up in his office to report.

"Hokage-sama. Traces of the Kyuubi's chakra have been monitored by the barrier division. Could the child have lost control?" The ANBU questioned with their head bowed low, kneeling before Hiruzen's desk in the centre of the room.

Their long oak brown hair couldn't be hidden by their pale white cat face mask, but the dark black attire they wore seemed to sink in to the shadows of the office.

"I'm glad to see that you are as vigilant as ever, Tenzo. It comforts me to know we can make use of your abilities, should we ever need them." He complimented while entwining his aged fingers to lay upon his desk.

Despite the years catching up to him, Hiruzen still remained imposing when seated in his office. In some ways his age made him intimidating, having the pleasure of growing old was a testament to power in its own right.

"It would appear the villagers have been antagonizing the boy again." Hiruzen sighed heavily in thought. A crystal ball was currently present on his desk gleaming in the nights navy blue glow. He'd used it to track the Kyuubi's chakra as soon as it had appeared.
"For now, have the boy taken to hospital." He ordered, leaning back against his chair.

"Thanks to the tailed beast, I'm sure that even weather such as this won't trouble him too much. Still, we can at least provide the child with a warm bed." Hiruzen gave a tired smile, watching as Tenzo nodded in receipt of his orders. With a soundless cloud of smoke Tenzo disappeared and Hiruzen rose to his feet, his old chair creaking as he did.

He walked across his office with experienced, silent steps until he reached the window at the back of the room. Hiruzen cast his eyes across his rain painted village, a squint settling on his features while he wandered through his thoughts.

The wooden office door slammed open, clattering against the wall and filling the room with noise. Hiruzen's wiry eyebrows raised in surprise, he slowly turned his head to greet the intruder.

"Hokage-sama! The boy...I think he's turned into the Kyuubi! Please, you have to stop him!" A civilian explained between his hungry gasps for air. The tired man had arched over, needing to lean against the oak door frame for support. His face was flushed a deep red and his body soaked from the rain.

"Oh? Tell me... how is it that you would know of something like that?" Hiruzen gave a fake smile, coating his features in a deception which suited a man of his profession.

"Eh?" Shouta bolted upright as the question caught him off guard. He stood to attention, doing his best to make his appearance presentable out of respect.

"Sir? It's an emergency!" He replied with uncertainty, shifting uncomfortably under Hiruzen's gaze.

"Well, you see, young Naruto doesn't get much attention." Hiruzen turned fully, facing Shouta while speaking to him. He maintained eye contact, locking Shouta in place with his gaze as he slumped back into the seat behind his desk.

"To my disappointment, he's often shunned." He noted with dissatisfaction thick in his tone. Hiruzen shook his head wearily, silently disagreeing with the way Naruto had been treated. His right hand searched across his desk, absentmindedly seeking his faithful smoking pipe out of habit.

"So, what made you think that young Naruto was in danger of becoming the tailed beast?" Hiruzen asked for a second time. His tone was sickly sweet while the room flooded with thick, aromatic smoke from his well aged pipe.

Hiruzen inspected Shouta, peering down his nose at him. He wore simple brown pants tied with bandages at the leg and a soaked white t-shirt which was covered by an equally drenched forest green kimono jacket. The man had long, unkempt shaggy brunette hair. It had become wet and sullen in the rain and stuck to his body, covering the shoulders of his jacket.

"Well, Hokage-sama, myself and a few of the other civilians lost alot during the nine tails attack. Every day I fear that it may happen again." Shouta looked down at his hands, toying with his fingers as he tried to explain with a context to his actions. He just couldn't bring himself to raise his eyes to meet Hiruzen's.

"We tried to make him leave the village." He was blunt, but honest. Shouta waited on Hiruzen's reply, the silence of the office made seconds seem to stretch for hours and the feeling of being pinned down by Hiruzen's firm gaze was racking him with a sense of stage fright.

"Hmm, this is a troubling matter." Hiruzen thoughtfully considered his words for a moment, another black cloud of smoke decorated the room, leaving behind a distinct ashy scent behind as it faded away.

"Young Naruto never relents in telling me tales of how he'd like to become a ninja in order to protect the village. That child is full of spirit." Hiruzen let out an amused chuckle, easing the heavy tension of the room somewhat before continuing.

"Whenever I see him he seems to always have a book or scroll in hand. It would appear to me that you and young Naruto aren't so different. The two of you have both strongly inherited the will of fire, the desire to protect Konoha." He reasoned, his words showing his wisdom as he placed his pipe down on the desk. Hiruzen raised his left hand, stroking his beard as if it somehow helped him to think.

"Your name was...Shouta, is that correct?" He questioned rhetorically, the tone of his voice suggesting that he already knew the answer. Shouta still seemed anxious but managed to nod his head, looking guilty because of his actions. Hiruzen laid his large hands on the wooden desk, his face becoming serious.

"While I appreciate you may have Konoha's best interests at heart...I will have to ask that you do not attempt something like this again. Do you understand me?" Hiruzen ordered sternly, it had been disguised as a question for no other reason than to remain polite.

Shouta felt a gulp crawl down his throat, he hadn't heard Hiruzen ever speak with such unquestionable authority. It reminded him of a parent chastising a child.

"I understand, Hokage-sama." He replied sincerely, folding into a deep bow. Despite the cold sweat of fear and slight nausea he felt, Shouta still considered himself getting off lightly.

"Naruto is a member of our precious village like any other. See to it that you treat him as such. If we cannot trust our own, then how will our village continue to flourish? We must believe in the next generation." Hiruzen spoke sternly and a shiver of inspiration travelled up Shouta's spine.

"Now I remember why I wanted to be a ninja so badly as a kid. Shame I never had the talent for it." Shouta considered after hearing Hiruzen's powerful words.

"It will not happen again, Hokage-sama." He replied respectfully, though louder and clearer due to his raised morale, his head was still bowed low to hide the shame across his face.

"Now, If that's all, I'd ask that you leave me. I have much to think on." Hiruzen offered quietly, his voice strongly persuaded that the meeting was over. Shouta quickly turned on heel, leaving the office without any further question.

"So? Did you do it this time? Did your plan work?" A disapproving yet soft, feminine voice greeted him as Shouta closed his front door behind him.

The voice belonged to his doting wife. Even at this time of night she was a beautiful woman. Her snowy pale skin was a rarity in a hot climate like Konoha's but her hazel eyes and deep black hair were telling signs that she was a local to the fire country. Shouta sighed at her words.

"I bet I've kept her awake worrying about again." Shouta realised, stomaching the urge to sigh as he noticed she was dressed in her simple white pyjamas with a pale lilac gown pulled over them to stay warm.

"No." Shouta stated firmly, his words filled with a bite that he hadn't intended as he walked into the kitchen with her trailing behind him in support. Shouta took a moment to think upon his words carefully, pulling out a chair and taking a seat at the dining room table.

There wasn't much space in the kitchen and everything was crafted from sturdy oak. The room was spotless thanks to his wife's dutiful housekeeping, she had always fussed over him in even the smallest of ways.

"All my plan did is have us corner an innocent child." Shouta grimaced, glancing over to his wife. He drummed his fingers idly on the wooden table as he lost the desire to talk about it further.
"That's all that happened." He finished seriously, his tone suggesting the end of the conversation.

"I don't think it would do any good to tell her about the Kyuubi's chakra. I don't wanna scare her for no good reason like that." Shouta considered calmly as he cut his story short. He heard his wife sigh in an overly feminine way. It was long and drawn out, dramatic even, but still somehow soft sounding.

"Good grief..." She replied gently, shaking her head and roping her arms over his broad shoulders.
"It is what it is. Many people grieved that day." The doting woman smiled to him, her face close to his own.

Shouta couldn't manage to stay completely solemn when met with an expression like that from the woman he loved dearly. A weak smile crept across his lips thanks to her.

The sound of ceramic hitting wood met his ears and a glass of warm sake entered his vision, it was obvious that his wife had prepared it for him. He felt her lay her hand upon his right shoulder while moving behind him.

"Well, if you're all done with chasing after the past, it would be nice to have my husband back after all these years, y'know. Besides, these late nights aren't good for my beauty sleep." She smirked, it was a cheeky, playful expression that always seemed to ease him.

"Please, you're still as beautiful as when I first met you, Hana." Shouta smiled, a small huff of laughter escaped him and he wrapped his cold hand around the warm glass of sake.
"This is what I must always protect." He concluded with a new sense of determination.

"Are you sure you haven't been drinking already?" Hana teased with a soft laugh, her hand sliding slowly away from his body as she turned away from him. She stood in the kitchen doorway, ready to head upstairs to bed.

"Now, finish your drink, you've got an early morning tomorrow. Opening the stall for me is the least you can do for keeping me awake this late." Hana looked back at him with another small smirk, only to hear him exhale through his nose in mild amusement.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be up shortly. I have some things I'd like to think about first." Shouta agreed, batting his hand at her playfully, shooing her in the direction of the stairs.

"You're a good man Shouta, even if you're a bit stubborn." Hana added affectionately, leaving him in the kitchen to his thoughts. The creaking of their wooden staircase filled the house for a moment until her footsteps disappeared, leaving him in silence.

Shouta's eyes drifted back to the warm drink that had been prepared for him, its stillness causing a strange tranquillity to his thoughts.

"I definitely don't feel like a good man." He grumbled to himself before knocking it back, wincing momentarily at the strong burn of alcohol that caressed his throat.

Shouta slid out from the chair he sat on with a reflecting sigh. The wooden seat lightly scraped against the hard oak floor and the sound reverberated in the small kitchen, then, the stairs could be heard creaking for a second time.

Unfortunately, Hiruzen could not so easily escape his memories with a simple glass of warm sake and a good night's rest.

"Minato..." He uttered grimly, his words seeming to fade into the melancholy dark of the Hokage's office. A heavy, burdened sigh left him, the room's ambience was just as clouded as the night's gloomy sky.

"Even now, I cannot think of the words humble enough for my deepest apologies." Hiruzen's head shook slowly while hung low, as if avoiding the gaze of Minato's portrait that was hanging proudly within the room.

A crushing disappointment radiated from Hiruzen as he remembered the man who was named the Fourth Hokage. He still recalled the image of Minato waving to him, the beautiful Kushina by his side and the two of them wore cheeky grins.

"I can't help but feel like your faith in the village has been misplaced when faced with occasions such as this." Hiruzen admitted in a darkened tone while palming at his wrinkled, knitted brow attempting to ease his stress.

He was much too tired for this job. He loved Konoha, he loved its people, he loved watching over them all and seeing them flourish. Yet, sadly for Hiruzen, there was only so much weight his aged shoulders could bear.

"I still regret not being the one to seal the Kyuubi myself." Hiruzen confessed to his predecessors, attempting to lessen his guilt.

He thought back to the night that had claimed his wife and the lives of many others. It was so severe that it was considered a natural disaster. The night Konoha almost faced its destruction. The night of the nine tails attack six years ago.

"Minato, Kushina!" Hiruzen called out to them, his voice stern and battle hardened as he arrived late to the scene.

His jaw fell. Minato was already dressed in the reaper death seal with one of the Kyuubi's monstrous claws piercing through his chest. Hiruzen's tired, oak brown eyes glittered with moisture. He felt himself drowning in the depths of grief as a wave of regret crashed over him.

"How could I have let this happen? Minato...you were the one chosen to lead this village long after I, myself, had passed. No other could fill that role as well as you. I even watched as, Jiraiya of all people, matured and grew alongside you, the two of you bonding together like father and son. I have never been as proud as I was the day you became Hokage. With all my heart I love every citizen of Konoha, but, you were different. You, were no regular man. You, Minato, are the fourth Hokage!"

Hiruzen grimaced, his agony showing through the cracks of his battle-hardened mask. It seemed that Kushina had shared Minato's fate. Hiruzen's head turned away, allowing his weary eyes to linger on the fresh crimson blood that painted the crisp green grass with death.

"Minato... I should have been the one to seal the fox!" Hiruzen choked, his voice strained as if the words had been forcibly pried from his throat. Hiruzen steeled himself. He grit his teeth and refused to look away from those brave enough to sacrifice their lives for Konoha.

"Its the Hokage's job to protect the village. This was my responsibility." Minato comforted. His words had lost their former heroic edge and a pained grin was all that warmed his dying face.

Hiruzen assumed that all of Minato's efforts were focused solely on supporting his beloved wife, his arms tightly wrapped around her blood coated waist. Hiruzen's face fell dark, his fists clenched white with effort. He refused to show weakness during their final hours.

"Sorry Sandaime, I'll have to leave Konoha in your care once more. Please, take care of Naruto." Minato's tone of voice was solemn, this had been his only option, it had been Konoha's only option.

Kushina couldn't take it any longer. A low pitched wail left her at the mention of her son's name.

"Naruto!...There's so much I wish that I could tell you. So many moments that I hoped to experience right by your side!" Effort shook Kushina's deathly pale body. She sniffed strongly, wrenching back her emotional tears only to be greeted by a nerve splitting pain.

"Make sure you stay warm and bathe everyday! Don't be picky and be sure to eat lots! Your Mother's favourite was always ramen...and your father...your father loves you very much! Grow big and strong and protect the village just like he did! Most importantly! More important than anything else in the world!" A weak smile graced her as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Make friends. Smile. Be happy. Be yourself, Naruto!" Tears finally stained her cheeks,

"There's so much more. So, so much more! I wish I could stay with you longer, I love you!" Kushina's voice had been trembling. Blood, sweat and tears marred her face and a sob finally left her.
"I'm sorry, Minato, I spoke for too long." She whimpered only to hear him huff softly, disagreeing from behind her.

"Sorry, Naruto. I guess I won't get much time to talk to you, though, your chatty mother handled it better than I ever could. My advice as your father would be to listen to everything she just said." He grinned, his eyes hollow and his body trembled with effort as he performed his final seal.

"Eight Trigrams seal." Minato's words seemed to hum with power. The Kyuubi faded away with a brilliant flash of gold light, dispersing like particles of dust. As the last of Minato's chakra left him, he took Kushina's along with him and placed it into the intricate, inky black seal that burned a deep amber on Naruto's stomach.

Hiruzen saw the final glowing kanji of the seal burn and sizzle into place, then, Minato and Kushina were gone. He shook his head slowly in grief, he considered their loss too great a shame. Hiruzen offered a noble goodbye with a slight bow of his head in respect, his eyes closed to honour the fallen.

"Lord Fourth, Lord Third! The Kyuubi is gone!" An ANBU squad declared with enthusiasm but their pace slowed as they came closer to Hiruzen who remained unmoving. They stood still, shell shocked in surprise.

"The Fourth...don't tell me?" The ANBU asked, his voice merely a note above a whisper.

"Collect their bodies. It appears I have much to do." Hiruzen ordered, gathering baby Naruto into his arms and looking down at the child in which so much hope was instilled in to. Tomorrow, Hiruzen would be the Hokage once more.

In his office, Hiruzen allowed the flat of his palm to seek comfort in the cold of the room's window.

"I shall make time for you tomorrow, no matter what, Naruto. So, expect my visit." Hiruzen spoke softly into the office. A smile managed to stretch across his face as he remembered his time with Naruto fondly.

"I'm sure you will be a fine ninja, just like your parents." Hiruzen finished, looking to Minato's portrait in the office, offering a curt nod to the man before leaving for the night.

Naruto's body still ached a little. Not only that, he was still wet. His eyes couldn't betray his curiosity and began to flicker open. Naruto screwed up his face in displeasure, bright sunlight bit at his eyes and the overwhelming smell of clinical cleaning products stinging nose.

"Yo." A deadpan voice greeted.

Naruto turned his head, noting that the hospital staff must have left him in his wet clothing. Choosing to ignore his uncomfortable clothes, Naruto frowned suspiciously at the odd looking man in his room.

"Huh? Who're you?" He couldn't help but ask, shuffling slightly upright in his bed.

"Me? I'm just a doctor passing through, thought I'd stop in and check on you."

"You don't look like a doctor." Naruto wasn't impressed, he glared at the man who was clearly a ninja, if the forehead protector and flak jacket were anything to go by.

"You got me." He raised his hands into the air as if surrendering.

"It's just, you look a lot like someone I used to know." The man said with a smile as he rubbed the back of his head, clearly a little awkward. Well, Naruto imagined it was a smile, it was difficult to tell with the man's lower face being covered by a mask and his forehead protector covering his left side.

"I do?" Naruto tilted his head to the side, not sure if he'd heard the man correctly.

"Mhm. I'm sure you know him too, actually." The visitor said, pointing up to the Fourth Hokage's carving on the mountain. Naruto followed it with his eyes before turning back to the man with sheer excitement plastered across his face.

"He was my teacher and the leader of my squad, though eventually he became a close friend." The man explained with a slight hint of remorse that seemed to linger in the air.

"Wow! You knew the Fourth Hokage? That's so cool! I always thought he looked the strongest!" Naruto exclaimed, he'd discarded the sheet and sat up fully, staring at his visitor with barely contained excitement and a grin that stretched from ear to ear.

"It's easy to see a bit of Kushina in him as well." The man thought, giving a masked smile to cover for his moment of silence.

"If you'd like, maybe I can teach you some of what he taught me." He offered, watching as Naruto went from an excited boy to an explosion of joy.

"You mean like training? Like you'll teach me some really cool ninja stuff, right?" Naruto questioned, his eyes filled with stars.

"...You could call it that." The visitor muttered, scratching the back of his head, a little overwhelmed with Naruto's eagerness.

"Perhaps training wasn't the word you should've used, Kakashi." A new voice entered.
"It's something you probably shouldn't mention to young Naruto, among other things." The warm voice belonged to Hiruzen, a friendly smile hiding the poison behind his advice.

"Though..." Hiruzen considered, stroking his wiry beard,
"I'm sure Naruto would appreciate your tutelage. Who knows? You may even reconsider on my offer of becoming a squad leader." Hiruzen let out a hearty chuckle, his image ever the loving grandfather.

"Old Man Hokage! What're you doing here? Aren't you busy today?" Naruto questioned, he was glad to see Hiruzen but the timing felt too convenient.

"I wonder if he knows what happened last night? Maybe he's come here so I'm not mad with those guys." Naruto considered, folding his arms over his chest as he puzzled over the situation.

"I heard you had been found in the rain by one of our ANBU last night, I decided I would stop by and see how you were doing. I'm glad to see you're acting yourself." Hiruzen replied, sitting on the bed next to Naruto and resting a hand on his shoulder.

The last words hung heavy on Naruto's mind and he couldn't help but bite, "What else would I be acting like?" He asked, a drop of venom lacing his words.

Hiruzen raised his brow before an understanding fell into place, he eyed Kakashi who was dressed with the same concern.

"I was worried you may have caught a cold." Hiruzen chuckled, leaning a little closer to Naruto with his hand still resting on his shoulder.

Naruto faltered, feeling slightly guilty though the nagging feeling of being lied too didn't leave him.

"Come now. " Hiruzen clapped merrily, "Since you're feeling better I see no reason that Kakashi can't get to know you a little better. He's an incredibly talented ninja, Naruto. You should be thankful he's giving you this opportunity." His soothing deep voice lured Naruto into a sense of respect.

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei! If it's alright, can we go now? Please? I wanna make the most of this!" Naruto pleaded, springing to his feet ready to launch himself through the exit.

"Kakashi-sensei, huh?" He parroted, with the usual unimpressed expression on his face. Apparently sometime during the conversation he'd fell into his habit of reading, staring down shamelessly at a copy of Icha Icha Paradise.

"It has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Maybe Team 7 will continue its legacy after all." Hiruzen chuckled, he was hopeful that Kakashi would warm up to the idea of being a squad leader, Konoha could certainly benefit it.

At the mention of Team 7 a tsunami of memories raged inside of Kakashi's mind. Obito died. Rin died. Minato died. He looked up from his book, his face unchanged and deadpan.

"No thanks." He shot down flatly.

"Can we go now?" Naruto whined, already waiting by the door in his impatience. He heard Kakashi sigh, clapping his book closed with one hand.

"Please do excuse us, Hokage-sama." Kakashi smiled, his formalities sickly sweet as they exited towards the training grounds. Hiruzen let out an amused huff as he watched them go, he knew firsthand how easy it was to grow attached to Naruto.

Kakashi was the master of ignoring people. Wherever he went he read what most people described as "unadulterated filth" without batting an eye. Stares, glares and even voices meant little to Hatake Kakashi. He could ignore them all, or so he'd thought.

He was currently walking to his personal favourite training ground with little Naruto who had a charmingly enthusiastic grin on his face. Even to Kakashi the attention Naruto received was obvious. Civilians muttered in hushed whispers, disgusted looks were thrown their way and the busy crowd of the market street seemed to shift irregularly to avoid their contact.

"If this is what he gets day in day out its a wonder he hasn't gone insane." Kakashi glanced down at Naruto a little astounded that he was able to act completely oblivious. Naruto knew, Kakashi didn't doubt that for a second, the severity of attention was impossible to be ignored.

Naruto was thankful when they ambled into Kakashi's discreet training grounds, he was glad to be away from the populated streets and his disheartening thoughts.

"Well. I'm not really sure what to go over first." Kakashi stole his attention with a bored statement.

"Can I learn a jutsu? Like a fireball! Or one of those huge water dragons?" Naruto asked standing on his tip toes in excitement.

"I think that may be a little advanced for you at the moment." Kakashi let him down easy.
"Maybe we can try the clone technique for now. You would normally learn it in the academy anyway if I remember right." He offered with a shrug.

"Okay! We can try that, I'll be like way ahead of my class and then everyone will be super impressed!" Naruto's naive smile was heart warming, Kakashi almost allowed him to stay ignorant. Almost.

"Well, not quite. From what I hear most children in your age group will come from local clans, it's likely they've started training from around the age of four." Kakashi informed, watching with amusement as Naruto's body language seemed to sag before quickly rebounding back to life.

"I'll just have to train extra hard and surpass them all then! I already know some stuff about chakra and taijutsu from books Old Man Hokage let me read!" He replied with a brilliant smile.

"Something like that, yeah. You should have no problem with this technique, it's a simple one." Kakashi reasoned and proceeded to show Naruto the hand signs necessary to pull off the technique. To his credit, he managed to copy them rather quickly.

"Clone Jutsu!" Naruto yelled with determination, his eyes slamming closed in effort as his chakra fizzed to life by his side. After a few moments of suspense he opened his eyes again. Kakashi's mute expression didn't fill him with much hope.

He turned to the left then to the right and a sigh heaved from his chest. The clones looked ill. They lay across the floor a sickly pale colour and their existence in general looked miserable. With a puff of smoke they vanished, leaving Kakashi stroking his chin.

"What happened? They're not supposed to look like that are they?" Naruto asked with dismay.

Kakashi shook his head a silent negative. When he was Naruto's age the clone technique had been as simple as breathing, a frown of deep thought was visible on the small portion of his face that remained exposed.

"The Kyuubi. I figured Naruto may have a lot of chakra, I wonder if it could be effecting his control. The only way I'd really be able to know for sure is after getting a look at him with the Sharingan but that could bring up all kinds of problems I don't want to deal with." Kakashi mused and a plan came to mind.

"Oi, Naruto. Is that the Hokage over there waving to you?" Kakashi asked, pointing in the distance.

"Huh?" Naruto innocently responded, turning with a grin only to tilt his head in confusion, "I don't see 'em." He complained, turning on Kakashi with a scowl.

"My mistake, it was just a tree." Kakashi replied flatly.

"A tree? What? That doesn't even make any sense! How do you mistake Old Man Hokage for a tree? Aren't you supposed to be a great ninja? How am I suppos-" Naruto hadn't stopped talking, Kakashi simply tuned him out. There was a slight high pitched hum that continued in the background

"For a kid it's pretty incredible, even with the Kyuubi I didn't think his natural chakra would be so huge. I've heard stories that Uzumaki's were naturally gifted when it came to chakra - Kushina certainly was. I wonder..." Kakashi mused his finger resting under his lip in a thinking manner.

"Oi! Are you listening?" Naruto asked stomping the ground, flustered from his long winded rant.

"Naruto. How about we try something else. Now, what I'm about to show you is a variation of the Clone jutsu we've just went over." Kakashi introduced the subject, watching as Naruto settled down and drank in as much as the information as he could.

"This is the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Kakashi demonstrated and a carbon copy of him puffed into existence by his side, waving to the star struck Naruto.

"Unlike standard clones, a shadow clone is solid. This means they can be used in combat or more commonly, for recon missions. A shadow clone also has the unique property of transferring information once it dispels." He summarised, he then thought of a more practical example.

"Try this, go over there with my clone." Kakashi pointed over into the distance, outside of hearing range and had his clone lead the way. Naruto nodded, doing as he was told and trailed after the clone.

"Whisper something to me, it doesn't matter what it is. Once you've told me I'll dispel." Kakashi clone instructed. He watched as Naruto frowned in thought for a moment before leaning up to the clone's shoulders on his tip toes.

The clone looked down at him with a dry expression that only Kakashi could manage before popping out of existence leaving a small burst of smoke as he did. Naruto was curious, so much so that he sprinted eagerly over to the real Kakashi to find out the results.

"You love ramen." Kakashi stated, stomaching the urge to sigh.

"Wow! That's so cool, so a clone will remember something then pass it on to me, even if I don't see or hear it. Does it work for stuff like reading books and doing homework?" Naruto questioned, a mischievous foxy grin on his face.

"In some ways, yes. Though I wouldn't recommend it. This jutsu is technically forbidden for a few reasons but due to the large amount of chakra you have the standard clone technique would be far more difficult for you to learn. Put simply, it hasn't been thoroughly tested. The amount of mental strain absorbing large amounts of information could place someone under would likely cause serious harm. You should avoid thinking of them in that way." Kakashi was starting to warm up to teaching, doing his best clearly explain things in detail.

"Now, here is the hand seal. For the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu there's only a single seal, so you should have no trouble remembering it." Kakashi smiled beneath his mask making a cross formation with his fingers.

"Give it a try." He offered in encouragement. Although Kakashi wouldn't admit it to the Hokage any time soon, he actually found himself interested and not that forced interested that he was when people usually spoke to him.

"Alright, here goes." Naruto fell into a stance, finger's crossing just as Kakashi had demonstrated.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He yelled, feeling the familiar warmth of chakra wash over him. His eyes peeked open, looking around him.

"Woah! This is amazing!" Ten Naruto's said in unison, then fell sheepish, all of them rubbing the backs of their neck as if mimicking the original.

"I'm impressed." Kakashi complimented, "To be able to make ten shadow clones is no small feat." He nodded in acknowledgement.

"Really? I feel like I could do way, way more!" Naruto boasted, revelling in the positive reinforcement he was receiving.

"Do you think you could make less?" Kakashi asked with intrigue, watching Naruto's face fall into consideration. The clones dispersed around the training ground leaving just the two of them while Naruto prepared himself.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He attempted with noticeable effort written across his features, this time he heard only four popping sounds, signifying his success.

"How's that? I think that's probably the least I can do...is that bad?" Naruto asked, hopefully staring up at Kakashi.

He realised that even if it was a bad thing he doubted that he'd be able to break it to Naruto. In a way it actually upset Kakashi to see his Sensei's son so starved of positive attention.

"It's a great start, Naruto." He affirmed, being rewarded with Naruto glowing at his kindness.

"Today we can start on your taijutsu, just the basic forms you'll be using in the academy. We can also have a quick look at what you can do in your own time to help your control over chakra. If you like, I even have some special paper which will show us which element your chakra affinity is. A chakra affinity is something you're naturally better at using." Kakashi explained getting ahead of himself with a hint of excitement leaking into his lecture.

He remembered Obito and Rin's excitement when Minato had first brought out the chakra paper, he knew Naruto would have the same reaction.

"Wow! I hope its water, I wanna be able to make those dragons! No, no! It's gotta be fire so I can shoot fireballs right?" Naruto babbled, lost in excitement "Lightning would be pretty cool too!" He added which scored a smirk from Kakashi.

"Uhh... I don't really know much about earth but I bet it can be super useful! Lemme try!" He was about to burst, luckily he saw Kakashi draw out a rather ordinary looking sheet of paper and hand it to him.

"Here, just summon some of your chakra and the paper will react." Kakashi said, handing him the paper and watching with amusement as Naruto followed his instructions.

"Woah! Did I break it?" Naruto exclaimed, scratching the back of his head as he looked down at the halved paper on the ground.

Kakashi shook his head with amusement, "Not quite. The paper split in half because of your chakra. This means that you have a wind affinity." Kakashi folded his arms over his chest. "Quite rare." He added before Naruto could complain.

"That's the only one I didn't want!" Naruto complained anyway, stomping his foot and cursing his luck.

"I wouldn't underestimate wind techniques, they're incredible for combat." Kakashi advised sternly.

"Well, I wouldn't worry about it just yet. Like I mentioned earlier, I'll explain the finer points after we've went over your taijutsu so that you may learn more about it in your free time. I'm sure the Hokage can grant you some text books from the academy for various exercises more suited to your element." Kakashi shrugged lazily, he preferred to take logical paths in progression rather than a structured academic style.

"I will go over some exercises that you can work on to improve your chakra control though. I think it may be necessary, otherwise you might have trouble using the academy techniques." Kakashi informed him and Naruto nodded seriously, he was surprisingly attentive.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked quietly, he was fidgeting uncomfortably, "Would it be okay if we did this again? I feel like i'm really learning alot an'!" He looked up at Kakashi, cutting himself off with a happy exhale, shaking his head.

"Never mind." He corrected himself, "I bet your super busy already but I'm really happy you could teach me like this, that's all." Naruto smiled sincerely.

Kakashi's eyebrow raised slightly. Surprisingly, he found himself speechless from what he had just witnessed.

"So much for my days off." Kakashi let out a huff of amusement at the thought of his sacrifice. He would probably end up regretting this.

"Sure." He said simply causing Naruto to snap up to meet his gaze, "We can do this once a week until you enter the academy. I'll let you know each week which day. It's not like I'll be busy, so, don't worry about it." Kakashi sealed his deal and Naruto leapt to his feet, cheering as he did.

"This is so awesome! Thanks Kakashi-sensei! An' with you here I can even go home when it's dark so we've got plenty of time!" Naruto yelled, overwhelmed with joy. A deep, heavy sigh left Kakashi as he realised it was only around 10:00 AM.

"What've I gotten myself into..."He mumbled beneath Naruto's shouts.

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!

I hope this chapter didn't come off as too heavy, there's a lot of set up but I hope that Naruto and Kakashi managed to lighten it up a bit towards the end. As for the civilians, I wanted to give them reasoning to their actions, so I hope that worked out too!

As an edit, this chapter is a complete overhaul thanks to some amazing feedback left by a great reviewer! I'm overall much happier with this version and it made me rethink over some important plot points of the story.

I just wanted to say I'm honestly thankful to anyone who takes time out of their day to leave a review or wants to follow my stories through alerts or favourites!

Cya next time!
-MM.