Whew, long chap! I spent the three hours between school and choir rehearsal typing this in the library! Enjoy!

Byakko, the Hand that Heals
Chapter 5
The Void

Naruto stretched and basked in the sun as he exited the safe house.

A casual glance revealed that the village was still very much busy, and he had about two hours left before he should dare the trip home. Naruto never traveled during peak hours, there was usually too many hurled insults and objects involved for it to be comfortable. And of course there was the fact that he really didn't need to be doing anything at the moment.

Naruto turned around and began scaling the cliff wall, as he had many times before. Some people preferred the paths, but Naruto liked the thrill of danger that accompanied the treacherous climb up the side of the mountain. The safehouse was already half way up, and Naruto made good time, only about an hour, when he hit the top.

As he reached the top he gazed out over the village that he had been raised in. On reflection, there wasn't much that should inspire a love for this bustling town. Most of the civilians treated him like dirt, and all but a few of the ninja thought he would be better off dead, or even held a death grudge. Even the children his own age had cast him out, Naruto had been ostracized since he was a small child.

However, there were a few things that made this village worth the pain and suffering that he went through. The Hokage, Iruka, a few of the other ninja in training. These few things were what Naruto held so precious to him that he would endure the pain of discrimination and the hopelessness of every cold night.

Naruto's cerulean eyes sparkled as they narrowed, "Someday you're all going to respect me!"

Naruto's fierce whisper was carried away by the wind, unheard by the unwitting occupants of the village below.

'Then I suggest you keep a better eye out.' Kyuubi interjected.

Naruto nodded and slowly pulled three shuriken out of his holster. He listened to the quiet whisper of the wind, and compensated for it.

Naruto spun around, the three shuriken fanning out. A glint of red flashed before his eyes and he hurled the projectiles at it. The clang of steel on steel reverberated for a second before a soft clapping interrupted Naruto's focus. A spinning Kunai with a red ribbon attached to it slammed into the ground, followed shortly after by Naruto's shuriken.

Naruto panted for a second, feeling the rush of adrenaline wear off quickly. A slender man stepped into view, revealing the source of the clapping. The man wore a loose gray robe, tied off by a red sash, his copper hair was offset by his green eyes, which were slit in a predatory smile. A elegant blade hung at his waist, the hilt studded with three clear gems. Naruto shivered slightly as the man showed his canines.

"Excellent technique young Naruto, tell me, has my old friend been teaching you tricks?" The man asked.

Naruto could literally feel Kyuubi bristling, 'Naruto, you need to leave here. Now!'

The man put up a finger, "Just a second boy, let me guess, he's telling you to run?"

'Naruto!' Kyuubi echoed.

Naruto dug in his heels, no matter how terrifying this man might become, he had to find out why Kyuubi feared him so much.

The man laughed, "A stubborn one eh? You know, you should really listen to your sensei."

Before Naruto could retort, the air around the man seemed to distort, and he was... gone.

"Not quite yet."

Naruto spun around, catching the blade in his open palm. He cried out in pain and dropped to one knee. Blood spilled onto the blade, running down it's length, then it slowly began to fade. From his position on the ground, Naruto stared at the edge he held in his hand as it greedily sucked on his wound.

"Do you like it?" The man asked innocently.

Naruto tore his hand away and scrabbled backwards, the man in hot pursuit, blade gleaming in the light of the sunset.

'Use your Kitsune Bi! It might give you a chance to run!' Kyuubi cried out.

Naruto shuddered, 'I don't know how!'

'Then just run, you cannot fight him here, not now!'

Naruto rolled left as the blade descended, getting his feet under him and propelling himself forward. He felt a sense of elation as he glanced over his shoulder to see the man just standing there, right up until his disappeared.

The air in front of Naruto distorted strangely, and a blade shot through, heading for his head. He ducked and wove, trying to avoid the distortion, but only succeeding in running into a hand with a vice-like grip. Naruto clawed at the hand as it raised him into the air.

"Tsk tsk, the Byakko have chosen such a weak herald, it makes me wonder where the Myobu are hiding theirs." The man mused, not even noticing Naruto's failed attempts to harm him, "Well, I'm done wasting my time with you child, send my regards to your ancestors."

The blade pulled back and plunged forward, only to falter aside, piercing Naruto's shoulder, Naruto and the man screamed out in pain as a blur of red slammed into the man's leg and began to ravage it. The blur resolved into Kyoki, who pulled away from the man's leg, snarling and staying low.

"Kyoki!" Naruto yelled through the haze of pain.

The sword tore itself from his shoulder as the man fell to one knee, causing Naruto to collapse completely as the man turning his vicious gaze towards the large fox. Kyoki went for the man's throat, but was stopped by a bone shattering punch to the head. The red fox sailed through the air and slammed into a nearby tree, sliding to the ground, eyes rolled up into the back of his head.

Naruto raised his head and watched as the fox got one foot under him, only for it to collapse. Kyoki used his other three legs to right himself, baring his bloodied fangs at Naruto's attacker.

"You will leave Byakko-sama alone!" He declared, stumbling as he tried once again to get his leg under himself.

The man stared for a second, then began a bout of howling laughter. Naruto pulled himself away from the man and tried to keep pressure on his wound as his white chakra danced over the injury.

'Now! While he's distracted!' Kyuubi shot.

Naruto looked at Kyoki, whose leg appeared to be broken, 'I'm not leaving without Kyoki'

'You will die here!'

'I won't let this bastard kill my friend!'

Kyuubi sighed within his cage, 'Fine! Then find out how to summon your Kitsune Bi, and remember all the things I've taught you about fighting!'

Naruto's shoulder wound and hand were fully healed now, the white chakra having done it's part to remove the damage. Naruto skirted around the half crazed man who was still laughing like he was at a comedy skit.

He wiped some tears from his eyes, "Oh, that's too good! They send a fox to protect you?! The arrogance of the Byakko, that one of them would not consent to assist you. Wonderful!"

Naruto ignored the man and dashed towards Kyoki. A sword appeared in front of his leg, cutting down to the shin bone as a fist slammed into his back, sending him flying through the air. Naruto's cry of pain was cut short by the ground as his face slammed into it, breaking his nose and filling his mouth with dirt.

The man silently strode past Naruto's still form and stood over the injured fox. Kyoki's fangs swiped out, but a brutal kick dislocated the fox's jaw, bringing a harsh, pained noise from within the fox's throat.

"They tell me that animals go to heaven." The man said, "Give them my best."

Naruto regained his senses enough to see the man raise his blade into the air, ready to deliver a killing strike. Kyoki shrunk back, but had nowhere to run to. Naruto planted one foot into the ground and hurled himself forward in a drunken lurch. The man dropped the sword down to his side and struck out, cutting Naruto through the clavicle and into his right lung. Pain raged through Naruto's body, and white chakra began to swell within him.

The man grimaced, "Now that's unfair, here, let me show you a trick."

Naruto felt a surge of chakra, then his own white chakra seemed to fade. He blinked and looked up, eyes blurred with blood and tears. He did not have the strength or breath to cry out as the man's now black eyes seemed to consume him.

A moment later, the man gasped, stumbled, then grinned at Naruto, who was still severely injured, and now could not summon his white chakra to assist himself. The blackness receeded from his eyes and he looked... paler for a moment, then he was returned to his old self. He yanked his blade out of Naruto's body, one of the jewels now showing bright red.

Naruto wheezed, then coughed up some blood. His body felt weaker than ever, even when he had been poisoned as a child.

'Hold on Naruto, this is going to hurt' Kyuubi said.

Naruto braced himself for another blow from the outside, but this one came from within. A terrible rending feeling coiled out of his stomach, circling into his body and filling it with feverish heat. A haze of red chakra erupted from his body, sending the man stumbling back.

Naruto spoke with two voices, "You dare strike at me Nogitsune!"

Naruto felt the power of Kyuubi's chakra eating away at his young body, destroying him even as it heightened his raw potential. He could feel Kyuubi's rage settling over him, as Kyuubi spoke through his voice.

"Burn!"

Naruto raised his hand and a stream of flame spiraled out of it towards the man. The man's eyes turned black once again as he raised his hand towards the stream of fire, causing the air to funnel in strange shapes, sucking the flames into oblivion. Kyuubi growled and unleashed another burst of youki into Naruto's system to fuel the attack as the damage to Naruto's body reached critical levels.

The man's eyes flashed between black and green, and Naruto could see small tendrils of darkness creeping out of his eyes to cover his skin. The distortions in the air grew more crazed, and Kyuubi's attack still seemed to stop dead just before reaching it's target.

After what seemed like an eternity, Naruto felt Kyuubi's chakra falter, then disappear completely. The shell of red chakra around him evaporated, and he fell to the ground, no longer bleeding out of wounds that had been cauterized shut by the Kyuubi's chakra. The man closed his fist and breathed deeply, opening his eyes back to their natural green color, only for them to widen a second later as a kunai planted itself in his ribcage.

Two ANBU appeared in front of him, blades already moving. The man brought his own blade up, blocking both attacks, then once disappearing in a distortion which bent the air around him. The two ANBU readied their swords and waited, but sensed that the man had departed.

The two ANBU quickly turned to Naruto's still form. One picked up the boy gently and nodded to the other, both disappeared in a swirl of leaves, heading to the Hokage's office and the hospital respectively.

Kyoki watched from the shadows, feeling the throbbing pain in his body as Naruto was carried away by his pack mates. After he was certain it was marginally safe, Kyoki closed his eyes to oblivion.

XXXXXX

"What?!" Sarutobi yelled at the ANBU who had just finished giving his report.

The ANBU cringed slightly, "He's being treated as we speak Hokage-sama. His wounds were quite severe, but were all burned shut."

Sarutobi's gaze burned upon the ANBU, "And what exactly were you doing that took you an hour to find a boy who's chakra signature is like the sun next to a candle?"

The ANBU set his jaw, "With all due respect Hokage, not even you would be able to sense Naruto's chakra signature, seeing as he has the ability to suppress it on a chuunin level at least. Not only that, but his assailant wasn't using any sort of chakra we could sense, his technique was completely silent."

The Hokage sighed, "Affiliation?"

The ANBU shook his head, "He wasn't wearing a hitai-ate, or a mark of any kind. All we know is that he was carrying this."

The ANBU handed Sarutobi a kunai with a red ribbon attached to it, "He was also wearing a sash of the same color and material. We think it may be a mark of rank in whatever organization he is a part of."

Sarutobi examined the ribbon closely. There were markings of some sort written on the material, but he could not understand them.

He sighed and handed the kunai back, "Take this to the code breaker's office, priority one."

The ANBU nodded and exited, only to be replaced by his companion a minute later.

"Report." Sarutobi snapped.

The ANBU bowed and held out a medical chart which he had hastily copied from the doctor's. Sarutobi examined it carefully and waited for a minute before the first ANBU returned. His eyes glinted dangerously at the first man.

"Why is it that Uzumaki Naruto appears to be suffering from chakra exhaustion, and you couldn't sense Anything!" Sarutobi began with a growing voice.

The second ANBU interjected on his partner's behalf, "Hokage-sama, I am just as perplexed by this as you are. The boy is covered by chakra burns, but all are from a foreign source, not his own. It's as if his chakra just... disappeared. His tenketsu aren't suffering from any of the usual signs of heavy use, although his hand looks like something tried to tear it's way out of his palm."

Sarutobi looked unimpressed, but glanced back down at the chart, only to have it confirm Naruto's condition. He sighed and set his hat on his desk, his anger dissipating as he continued to read the chart.

"Very well, you are both dismissed."

The two ANBU nodded and took the door out. Sarutobi finished the report and leaned back in his chair, pondering.

There were only two reasons why anyone would want to kill Naruto. The first was due to his status as the jinchuuriki of the nine-tails. Kyuubi was a powerful force which would eventually be harnessed by the young blond and used for the purpose of advancing Konoha's power, much like other countries used their jinchuurikis. Killing him while he was young would be a good way to destabilize the investment that Konoha had made, and paid for with their fourth hokage. Of course, with the way the villagers treated him, it was more like they were kicking an active volcano, tempting it to explode at any moment.

Why not just kidnap him? Or better yet, show him kindness and lure him away. There was not much which held Naruto down to Konoha. He had little of material value, and no parents. It could be said that he didn't even have any real friends. If someone could infiltrate Konoha and cozy up to him, he would easily come with them.

Which left the second reason. Somebody knew about his heritage. Sarutobi only had to make one guess about which country would want the progeny of Minato dead, Iwa. With the massive casualties inflicted by "The Yellow Flash," the shinobi of Iwagakure would find special joy in killing off the last heir of that man.

Sarutobi wasn't exactly surprised by this news. A person merely had to look at the boy to realize that he was at least related to Minato, let alone his son. He was surprised that Naruto himself hadn't made the connection, but of course, Naruto wasn't known for being the brightest bulb in the box. All it would take is for a foreign diplomat, or a visiting shinobi to catch a glimpse of him to spread rumors to Iwa about his existence.

Aside from the reasons for Naruto being attacked, there was also one more disturbing issue. The Kyuubi.

The ANBU reported having sensed a malicious chakra in the area, and had cut off their search to check it out. The ANBU had seen a pillar of flame being engulfed by the air itself, then Naruto collapsing. They hadn't wasted any time with questions, and had attacked the man immediately. According to the fact that Naruto had probably been using the Kyuubi on his assailant, and that he was still standing, indicated that it was probably a good idea to shoot first and ask questions later.

If the ANBU's report was accurate, then Naruto had somehow learned to harness the power of Kyuubi's fire to unleash a deadly attack. Sarutobi was most worried about this, not because of Naruto getting stronger, but by the fact that in using the fox's power, he was invariably exposing himself to it's influence. The Kyuubi was a natural disaster which was filled with malicious intent, and Sarutobi wasn't willing to bet his villages safety on the fact that Naruto would be able to control the Kyuubi once he unleashed it.

Sarutobi needed a solution, and he knew of only one man who could provide one.

A pen and scroll found it's way into the aging Hokage's hands, and he began to pen a letter to his perverted student.

XXXXXX

In a land far from Konoha, the air distorted strangely in an underground cavern.

Naruto's assailant stepped out of the tear and it closed immediately, shutting light off from the cavern once again. The man knelt and awaited his master's words.

"So Yatsuko, you have failed me..." came a sibilant voice.

Yatsuko raised his head, "Not exactly my master."

Yatsuko sensed his master's curiosity, and impatience. He quickly drew his blade and held it out, revealing the two clear crystals, and the one blood red one. A chilling laugh filled the cavern as Yatsuko's master examined the stone.

"It shall have to do for now, you know where to take it, go."

Yatsuko nodded, and the air around him warped and he was gone.

The darkness shifted in anticipation.

XXXXXX

Naruto's whole body hurt.

He groaned in pain as he finally struggled to the surface of his consciousness, suddenly wishing that he could go back. A small squeak interrupted his self pity and he looked over to find a small dark haired girl sitting by his bed. This image did not compute, so Naruto put it down to the Hallucinogenic properties of the IV drip that was inserted into his arm. He groaned again and felt how much his body really hurt, and it hurt a surprisingly large amount.

Naruto was well acquainted with pain, it had been a fact of his life for pretty much his whole life. However, he was always used to going to sleep and having everything be better in the morning. In fact, this would be the first time he had woken up in hospital and didn't really feel like escaping. Not that he wouldn't try anyway.

'Ease up kid, you almost died. You're body isn't going to heal as fast as usual because you have no chakra, and your cells are already saturated with mine, so my regeneration abilities won't work until you can purge whatever is in their with your own. I'd give it two days tops.' Kyuubi said.

Naruto groaned again. Two days of sitting here!

"Uhm... N-n-naruto?" squeaked out his hallucination.

Naruto shrugged, trying to humor his drug laden mind, "Yes?"

"The H-hokage was here ealier... he told y-you not to try to e-e-escape this time. H-h-he also said to g-give you this." muttered the girl, gesturing to a stack of scrolls and books in the corner.

Naruto groaned, schoolwork. He felt like he was groaning a bit too much today. At least he knew that the girl was real now, no hallucination of his own would dare to give him homework. He would banish it in an instant.

"What are you doing here, um, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

Hinata turned into a human tomato, "I w-w-was j-j-just passing b-by, and I saw y-y-you. The Hokage n-n-needed someone t-to give these to y-y-you."

Naruto nodded thoughtfully, "I see, well, thanks Hinata-chan! You can go home now, I'm sure watching my dying body wasn't very exciting."

Hinata blushed even further, but didn't comment. Instead, she made a beeline for the door before she fainted in front of the blond pre-ninja. Naruto shrugged as she left his line of sight, and reached over to the first scroll on the stack.

Chakra control

Naruto blinked. This was actually an interesting subject, or at least, a useful one. Nothing taught in the academy was interesting or useful, besides physical exercise and the three basic techniques. This wasn't homework.

A small note dropped out of the scroll as he opened it, it had the familiar writing style of his favorite person in the whole village.

Naruto, seeing as how you have the time to break into the tower's secured locations, get attacked, and almost assassinated, I've decided to start you on an advanced training regimen. I expect a monthly report and marked improvement.
-Sarutobi Hiruzen

Naruto blinked, and almost cheered. Finally, some real ninja learning, not the stupid things they taught in the academy. He was excited beyond belief.

After browsing through the pile of scrolls and books, he was even more thrilled, most of the things in here were in the genin and chuunin restricted sections of the library. He opened up the scroll on chakra control and began to devour it greedily. The first exercise was one that was foreign to him.

'Hey fox! Why didn't you teach me how to stick and move leaves over my body?!' Naruto yelled in his head.

'Let's see... Because I didn't know about it!' Kyuubi retorted.

Naruto snorted, 'Says here it's a basic chakra control exercise.'

'And your a stupid gaki.'

'So much for all knowing...'

'I'll have you know that chakra control exercises vary from nation to nation. Besides, I thought you could handle a level 1 chakra control exercise rather than a level 0. Was I too generous in my assumptions?'

'Shut up!'

Naruto heard the Kyuubi snigger and fall silent.

"Baka." He muttered under his breath as he continued reading.

An hour later he had read most of the scroll, and was now trying to stick Sarutobi's note to his forehead, and doing quite well for that matter. He had gotten to swirling it around when he felt a strange lethargy come over him.

"What the..." Naruto began, then fell back.

'Oooooh, fuzzy. That's the evening dose of painkillers, you should feel awesome for a bit.' Kyuubi noted.

"Hey Kyuubi, the ceiling is so pretty, look at all the little cracks in it." Naruto began, then giggled, "Heh, I said cracks. They're like mushrooms."

'I think they may have overdone it, then again, a normal person would still be in excruciating pain.'

"Heh, you said pain." Naruto giggled.

'This is going to get old reeeaaalll quick.'

"Hey, you're old!" Naruto slurred out, "Only old people are so red and fuzzy, and shiny. Mmmmm, furry. My bed feels like it's make of liquid honey."

Kyuubi thumped his head on his prison walls, 'Great, I'm in the mind of a kid who just got high...'

Naruto giggled again and started waving his hands in the air, then poked his stomach.

"Hey, you in there? I'm like... knocking on your door fuzzy. My hands are purple enough to touch you."

'Ok, call me fuzzy again and I kill you. I think somebody is messing with your meds, do me a favor and look over at the plastic bag that's dripping into your arm.'

Naruto looked at it and stumbled over the name.

Kyuubi growled, 'Don't they know that oxycontin reacts with youki to form a powerful hallucinogen? Naruto, this village is full of idiots.'

"The ramen is marching!"

'And apparently you're the biggest one of them all. Hold on, I'm putting you to sleep.'

Naruto pouted, "Awww, but I liked the hippopotmuses.... erm, hippopotomi?"

'Good night.'

"If I had savory salmon I would snack your sleep."

XXXXXX

"And you don't know who he was?"

Naruto shook his head, standing, for once, at attention in the Hokage's office. It was slightly unnerving to see the boy, now clad in a white t-shirt with Konoha's symbol on it and a pair of blue cargo pants, actually paying attention.

"And the power you felt before?"

Naruto shrugged, "I don't really know what it was, but it saved my butt, so I'm happy to have it."

Sarutobi sighed, "Power is a burden Naruto, always remember that. All power comes at a price, sometimes too high to pay."

Naruto nodded sagely, "I see, so does that mean being old is the price for your power?"

Sarutobi's eye twitched and Naruto laughed. Sarutobi was glad to hear it, if Naruto's personality had been altered, he would have had to detain him. As it was, he had very little manpower to devote to finding out exactly what happened up on the Hokage monument, let alone keeping a young boy with exceptional stealth skills under close watch. As it was, there was a standing order among all ANBU and Jounin to keep a close eye on Uzumaki Naruto wherever he went.

Naruto had just finished his debriefing, and was ready to go, but Sarutobi had one more... surprise up his sleeve.

"Oh yes, I've also found you a... teacher." Sarutobi said.

Naruto cringed, "I don't like it when you say it like that."

Sarutobi had his turn to grin now, "Maito Gai, I think you might remember him, blinding teeth? Green Spandex?"

Naruto shuddered, Sarutobi continued, "He has agreed to mentor you in taijutsu when he is not performing missions. In fact, I believe he has some time tomorrow morning during his own, ehem, training."

Naruto remembered the power behind that door, and was a little worried about what kind of 'training' he would be receiving.

"Anyways, good luck, I'll expect your first report in a month." Sarutobi said with a smile, "Don't forget you have academy classes tomorrow as well. Lot's of catching up to do!"

Naruto trudged out of the office like a condemned man. His memories of the green clad jounin were not especially good, and something in his gut told him he was going to have a lot worse of an opinion later. Not to mention the fact that he was still enrolled in the academy.

As Naruto crossed the threshold of the Hokage tower, a sudden thought struck him with staggering force.

Kyoki.

Naruto blinked, then took off at a run, moving to the rooftops. He was fairly sure that he set a chakra unaided rooftop speed record in his haste.

The Hokage monument loomed over him in less than fifteen minutes. He didn't even bother to prepare himself for a climb, but instead ran straight at the surface. Chakra swelled through his feet as he focused what little of his reserves he had been able to recover into a surface which would allow him to adhere to the cliff wall.

Naruto had never tried running up rock, and it was considerably harder than wood, but he was able to adapt quickly to prevent himself from falling to his untimely death. About half way up, his chakra failed, and he was forced to hang on for dear life, feet scrabbling and hands reaching for nearby handholds. A few moments later, he was slinging himself up the side of the mountain by muscle strength alone, and found himself at the top in less than ten minutes due to his death defying speed.

"Kyoki!" He yelled.

Naruto dashed towards the forest, opening his senses, searching for his companion.

'Slow down Naruto, you could run right past him at this pace. Relax, let my senses guide you."

Naruto heeded Kyuubi's warning and stopped. He cast aside his own feeble senses in favor of the fox's more acute ones. The world around him seemed to sharpen, he could feel the light touch of the breeze shifting through the trees, the stream nearby babbled a song of serenity to his heart, and the evening sun cast a warm glow about him. Naruto reveled in the sensation for a second before getting down to business.

Naruto focused on his nose, trying to sniff out the scent of blood. He found it, quickly.

He followed his nose back to the site of the battle, guided by the scent of his own blood. He scanned the area with his eyes, and found a pool of blood under the shade of one of the trees. Naruto moved closer, reading the impressions on the ground.

It appeared as if Kyoki had stayed here for two days, then moved on, probably not an hour ago. Naruto examined the tracks, finding others overlapping those of his friend. Without further thought, Naruto took off, following his fox's nose towards his target. Before long, he heard the sounds of growling and scuffling.

Naruto burst into a clearing, and stumbled back at the sight before him. One of the tigers from the forest of death had apparently gotten out, and was trying to get at Kyoki, who had taken refuge in under the roots of one of Konoha's larger trees.

The tiger was a massive specimen, over eight feet in length and taller than Naruto in height. If Naruto weren't so busy being horrified and angered he might have actually enjoyed the majesty of the mighty creature. As it was, he would have to find a way to get rid of it before it ate his friend.

Naruto took cover, even though the creature was distracted with Kyoki, he didn't want to take his chances of also getting turned into a snack for later. He ran his mind through what little he knew about fighting and his general ninja skills.

"Yeah, none of this is going to work..." Naruto said to himself, "Kyuubi?"

'Sorry kid, I can't help you until you've purged your system of my chakra, unless you wanna go back to the hospital for a year'

"Right, last resort then." Naruto said, "Then what do I know..."

A light bulb literally flashed to life over Naruto's head, "Of course, it's genius!"

'What is' Kyuubi asked.

"Shhh, he'll hear you." Naruto hissed.

'I'm a VOICE IN YOUR FREAKING HEAD!!!' Kyuubi roared

Naruto ignored Kyuubi's rant and put his awesome plan into action.

XXXXXX

Naruto sat about half way up tree in which Kyoki was hiding, and beginning to fail to hide in. The cat was getting smarter, going claw first instead of face first. Of course, Kyoki was biting it whenever it tried anything, so Naruto still had some time.

Naruto drew a fist sized stone out of his pockets, which he had loaded with all sorts of natural and crafted projectiles, from sharp sticks to a strange mushroom he had found. Kyuubi had commented about drug users when he had picked the mushroom, but Naruto had ignored him.

Naruto took careful aim at the cat and launched the stone.

A loud yowl filled the air as the rock connected with the tiger's head, causing it to swing it's baleful eyes up at Naruto's grinning form.

"Hey kitty! Come and get me!!" Naruto yelled, hurling another rock.

The cat complied, bunching it's powerful muscles and launching itself halfway up to Naruto's position before stalking it's way up, gouging huge chunks of wood out of the trunk. Naruto continued to pelt the cat with projectiles before abandoning his post and jumping to another nearby tree and leisurely walking down it, still pelting the cat with his improvised weapons.

"Heh, stupid cat, cat's can't climb down from trees." Naruto said.

'Um... Naruto.' Kyuubi began.

"Not now, later! I'm basking." Naruto said as he coaxed Kyoki out from under the tree's roots.

Kyoki's eyes were filled with gratitude, "You came for me! I knew you would."

Naruto grinned and lifted the fox over his shoulder, "Uffah, you weigh a lot. Don't worry, I won't ever let you down Kyoki."

'Naruto, please look up.'

Naruto obliged him, and found himself staring at a massive cat who was ready to pounce on him from a branch of the tree he had 'caught' it in.

'What's the next part.'

'What do you mean next part?'

'The plan baka, what's the next part where we get away?'

'Well, I hadn't planned that far ahead, you see, I was under the impression that cats can't climb down trees.'

'BAKA! That's not a cat, that's a tiger, it'll just jump down'

'No way, look, he's not jumping.'

Indeed, the cat seemed to be fixed on Naruto, but was not jumping. Instead, it seemed to be... measuring.

'RUN!'

Naruto didn't need any more encouraging. He plunged headfirst into the underbrush as the tiger executed a leap onto the area which he had just been standing in.

'You are such a BAKA!' Kyuubi roared.

"Shut up and help me run!" Naruto yelled, sprinting for dear life.

The tiger recovered from it's leap, having landed rather heavily after missing it's intended target. It turned and pursued it's meal, quickly gaining on the burdened Naruto.

"Naruto-sama, lots of ninja use trees to move quicker, why not do that?" Kyoki suggested.

"I don't know how!" Naruto yelled, feeling the fetid breath of the tiger closing in on him.

'Now's a good time to learn!' Kyuubi called out.

Naruto channeled chakra into his feet and sprinted up the side of one of the trees, leaving massive gouges in the bark in his hurry, the tiger followed in hot pursuit, barely missing Naruto with it's first leap. Naruto got himself situated on a branch and began looking for a likely candidate to jump to as the tiger clawed it's way to the top.

Breathing heavily, Naruto launched himself towards a likely target, landing heavily and nearly falling off completely, even with chakra to hold him on to the bark. The tiger roared and leaped after him, scrabbling to a stop a few yards away from Naruto's position. Naruto stared at it wide eyed before forcing his tired muscles to get him to another branch.

"This isn't working guys, I can't keep going like this. I've just been injured twice! Give me a break!" Naruto yelled at the air.

"Set me down and go!" Kyoki said.

Naruto shook his head, "No! I won't sacrifice you to save myself, hold on."

Naruto leaped to another branch as the tiger came crashing down on his previous location.

"Wait! I have an idea!" Naruto shouted through panting breaths.

'Oh boy...' Kyuubi thought.

"Kyoki, stay here." Naruto said, placing him up against the junction between the trunk and the branch.

Naruto ran out further along until he reached a suitable spot, then hurled more projectiles at the cat, who was regaining it's balance.

"Over here fuzzy! Yeah, look, nice human! We're good and tasty!" Naruto yelled, pelting the creature with stones.

The cat roared and leaped for him, expecting to carry them both off of the tree. Naruto allowed the cat to slam into him, but strengthened the chakra holding him to the tree. Naruto spun around the branch a couple times, sporting some shredded clothing and a few cuts, but was otherwise fine.

The cat on the other hand, it's momentum unhindered, took a face plant right into the tree a couple yards behind Naruto, crumpling to the forest floor in a daze.

Naruto picked up Kyoki slung him over his shoulder again.

"Let's get out of here!" He said.

Naruto dashed away from the cat while it still lacked the senses to chase after him.

XXXXXX

Sarutobi watched as Naruto ran from the tiger through his crystal ball, allowing a chuckle to escape his lips. Naruto was ever the trickster, and definitely the most surprising ninja that Konoha had. Where had he learned to tree walk? And where had he found such a large fox?

Luckily for Naruto, Sarutobi couldn't hear any of his words, so his monologue to the Kyuubi wasn't recorded.

Man, two updates in one week?

This must be what little Kuriboh feels like right now...

No new techniques that you know of... Or I want you to know of.