I've decided to work on this fic. Now I received an interesting review from a Rubius asking about Brooklyn and Angela's standing with one another. My response is simple: Brooklyn didn't get with Angie, Broadway did. Brooklyn got his own little adventure and found his wife Katana while on it. A side note to Panther-Strife: What's with all the 'also' in your review?

Gargoyle of the Leaf

Morning came sooner than the scarlet gargoyle would have expected. Around the earliest hints of lighting, the blonde turned to stone as he and Midorimaru gazed out over the village from atop his father's carved head. On his left, the former Inuzuka dog also turned to stone as she sat next to him. As the first rays of light hit the statues of the two, a small crackling could be heard from both of the statues before ever so slowly they started to chip off, revealing the once again human face of Uzumaki Naruto and the wolf-like one of Midorimaru.

The sun was halfway up by the time the two were fully freed from their stone state. Naruto yawned and stretched slightly, popping his back into place, before he rubbed his eyes as though he just woke from a ten hour nap. Midorimaru was doing her own morning stretches and yawning as though she were in the same situation before she examined herself. Instead of the usual black and grey, she now had a nice clean coat of brown and black as well as a long tail that was slightly bushy.

Naruto scratched his side and took a step back, only to step on a fragment of his stone shell. Grabbing his foot and hissing in pain, the blonde glared down at the shard that stood straight up in a spike-like manner. Looking back at his foot, the blonde was not surprised to see the small cut healing up already. With a final yawn, Naruto looked around at the village when a sudden breeze came to his attention.

Geez, since when is it so cold up...oh that explains it, Naruto thought as a small gust of wind blew through the sizable hole in his trousers left from his tail. The teenaged clan head clutched the gap in his pants, unknowingly covering more than he originally thought, and began the quick journey home for a new set of clothes. Midorimaru followed her new master eagerly, wondering why he was clutching his torn pants in such an undignified manner. Naruto hopped over the rooftops of the village when a large white blur barreled into him, knocking him onto the rooftop of a building.

"Geez, dobe, you should really watch where you're going!" a familiar voice chided to the blonde playfully. Naruto opened his eye to see the duo of Kiba and Akamaru, the former smirking down at him as the latter sat atop his stomach. Naruto dryly laughed at Kiba's attempt at humor.

"Oh hardy, har, har," the blonde said as he stood and regained a hold on his pants. Akamaru barked kindly towards the blonde when a brown and black blur tackled the large white dog, throwing the rider from his back and the white dog to its side. Kiba gaped at the size of the dog growling down at his own, his jaw dropping when Naruto spoke, "Midorimaru, leave Akamaru alone."

Midorimaru growled once more before pushing off of Akamaru, making the slightly smaller dog yelp as she went to her master's side. Naruto scratched her ear affectionately with his free hand and smiled back at Kiba.

"How'd the mission go, dog breath?" he asked. Kiba shook himself from his stupor and looked at the blonde with a grin.

"It went well...Where'd ya get that dog, Naruto?" Kiba asked, his eyes dropping to the fairly large canine next to the blonde. Midorimaru crouched into her growl and Kiba swore her eyes flashed a pure white.

"No," Naruto sternly commanded, causing the dog to stop her excessive growling, "Do not growl at Kiba, Midorimaru. She followed me home from your clan grounds last night."

"Why were you at my clan grounds?" the Inuzuka heir asked suspiciously as Akamaru crouched fearfully behind him from under the light growling of the brown dog standing next to his partner's friend. The white dog didn't know why she smelt of stone instead of the wonderful scent of dogs that most Inuzuka hounds are usually associated with, but it didn't help with his sudden unease towards the strange dog that was strangely familiar.

"I walked your sister home from the bar," Naruto casually said, not realizing the insinuations that could be implied by that statement until he was hoisted up by the leather jacket wearing heir.

"And WHAT were you doing with my sister at the BAR?" Kiba growled as his eyes narrowed dangerously. He released the blonde when sudden pain engulfed his left leg. The heir cried out and grabbed his leg, which was bleeding, and looked to see the large brown dog growling at him, her eyes were definitely glowing white as small droplets of blood dropped from her mouth.

"Midorimaru!" Naruto snapped, surprised at the dog's actions before rushing to his friend's aid, "You ok, Kiba? Oh man, here, um...Ah, Akamaru, come here."

Midorimaru, who slunk back at the command at her master's words, began to stand as Akamaru approached him, only to be met with the glowing glare of the blonde hybrid.

"You stay," he growled, causing the dog's ears to drop as she whimpered in acknowledgement of her wrong, and he looked at Akamaru with his normally kind blue eyes, "Good boy. Come on, Kiba, Akamaru will get ya home."

Naruto helped his injured friend onto the back of the enormous white dog and redirected them to the boy's clan home. He followed them for a few moments before stopping when Kiba said he'd be fine. He took this time to turn his attention to his ashamed companion.

"What was that all about?" he asked with narrowed eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest. Midorimaru whimpered and approached him cautiously, her ears flat against her head and her tail between her legs.

Not surprised by his ability to interpret her whimpers into a language similar to his own, Naruto began scolding her, "I don't care what you think you have to do to defend me, Kiba is a friend of mine and you don't attack my friends!"

Whimper-whine.

"Don't give me that!" the blonde snapped, "You remember how Inuzuka are; he was only defending his sister."

Whine.

"No, I don't agree with you."

Growl-whimper.

"You were wrong in that aspect then. I'm not your old companion and I'm sure as hell not your 'master' now! I can defend myself."

Whimper-whine-whine.

"Ohh...well, why didn't you just say that?" Naruto asked as he crouched next to the brown dog and began scratching her ear, "I'm not gonna die anytime soon, Midorimaru."

Midorimaru panted in relief and relished in the forgiving affection showed by her mas-companion, she corrected herself. The large dog panted happily as the shame she had shown vanished with each wag of her tail. Naruto gave a final pat on her head before he turned towards his apartment's location.

"Alright, I'm starting to freeze," he grumbled, crossing his arms over his bare chest before looking down at his companion, "Care to give me a lift, Midorimaru?"

The reply he was given was to be quickly positioned onto her back as she shot between his legs, making it seem as though she was a horse rather than a dog. Naruto chuckled before patting the brown dog on her side. He comically pointed at his apartment before crying, "High-ho Midori-chan...AWAAAYYY!"

After getting a new set of trousers, and writing a note on his dresser to get some clothes more attuned to his nightly form, Naruto pulled a black shirt on and tied his headband around his arm, before using his trousers' remains to make an orange band with an Uzumaki patch (he conveniently had discovered a small envelope slipped under his door during his night fun with his new companion) before tying it around her neck securely. The brown canine wagged her tail happily as soon as the band was around her neck and she barked her appreciation to the blonde. Naruto laughed as he opened the door, snatching a pear in Kakashi's basket, and exited the complex, the large dog following shortly afterwards.

Naruto bit into his pear as he walked before looking at Midorimaru and asking, "So...I've never talked to Tsume-sama...maybe said hello once or twice, but that's it. What's she like?"

Midorimaru made a quiet rumble that translated easily in Naruto's ears as he walked and chewed his snack. His nerves were getting to him and he was still rattled from his earlier encounter with Kiba. Hearing that his friend's mother was just as brash and quick to act nearly made him inhale the pear in his hand. The blonde clan head swallowed the last bit of his pear, not surprised he ate the stem considering gargoyles and hybrids were capable of eating more destructive things to a normal human's organ system, and mused, "Hmm...This is going to be much more of a hassle than I thought. Come on, Midori-chan, I need to grab a pack of smokes."

Naruto and Midorimaru made a quick left into the Dragon's Den, a small chain store for civilian supplies, and he purchased a few packs of cigarettes as well as some dog treats for Midorimaru. What surprised him during this little side-trip was the cashier, a girl named Ami, kept subtly flirting with him. Chalking it up to Tsunade's embarrassing CRA announcement, the blonde hybrid simply kept a smile on his face and gave Ami a good day as he left. He wasn't surprised to find a small note with the girl's number on it in the bag, stuffing it into his back pocket as he sealed three of the four packs of cigarettes into a storage scroll, giving Midori a small treat, and opening the other pack and pulling a cigarette out. Naruto stuffed the smokes into his pocket and lifted his hand, cupping the other over it as he turned his fingers to stone (he was unaware of the white flash that came over his eyes) and he clicked them together for a spark.

Once his cigarette was lit, the blonde took a nice inhale of the cancerous smoke before exhaling it, releasing a small sigh of relief as he did so. His nerves were settling and his heartbeat slowed. The blonde grinned down at the dog chewing on the small rawhide given to her before he spoke, "Alright. Let's go meet the Alpha."

Inuzuka Tsume was a strong woman, so it wasn't that surprising to see her sitting at her clan desk in her den, her trusty partner Kuromaru at her side, only a few weeks after the attack on Konoha. The one-eyed dog had taken quite the beating during Pain's invasion, as she herself did, and was comfortably snoozing near her leg. Tsume was wearing her signature attire, minus the jonin vest, and had her hetai-ite tied around her arm. Currently, she was reading through the naming and processing of the Inuzuka pups her daughter had birthed last night.

She wasn't smiling as she read it though.

"Listen to this, Kuro," Tsume growled, "'Hana-san allowed a blonde beast to change the mother into a green beast. When other dogs approached, the green beast growled before being shushed by the red demon. The red demon is reported to be the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, Uzumaki Naruto, who was reportedly named a clan head earlier that evening.' Can you believe that load of crap? Honestly, what jutsu could transfer a bloodline to an outsider?"

"If I may interrupt," a new voice said before Kuromaru could speak, making both Alphas look up with surprise to see the blonde mentioned in the report standing before her, an unnerved Hana and a slack-jawed Kiba standing behind him as well as a large dog resembling the mother that was reported to have changed. Naruto continued as soon as he noticed he had their attentions, "It was a spell that allowed Midorimaru to join my clan, not a jutsu. Though I am currently using several clones to research more of my clan's bloodlines, it was, in a way, possible."

"Y-Y-You...Care to explain yourself, Uzumaki-dono?" Tsume asked, her eyes narrowing upon seeing a former Inuzuka dog at the side of another, "Kidnapping and brainwashing is a serious crime in Konohagakure no Sato."

"Huh, and here I thought you'd leap up and take a swipe at me," Naruto mumbled before stepping forward, being followed by Midorimaru, and saying, "Yes, I'm aware. I'm also aware of your clan's bonding laws, or rather, laws concerning debts. Simply put, I saved Midorimaru-chan's life, giving her a second chance where Hana-chan, despite her best efforts, couldn't. In return, Midori-chan has sworn herself and her offspring to assist my clan."

"You cannot claim the pups, boy!" Kuromaru snarled, being matched with a warning growl from Midorimaru. The two dogs held glares at each other, and before one could move, Naruto grit his teeth together and blew wind chakra through them, making a high pitched whistle causing the five in the room to clutch their ears or whimper in pain.

Naruto stopped quickly as soon as the growling ceased and he looked apologetically at the clan head, "My apologies. In my effort to control Midori-chan, I have harmed you and your kin. I did request a meeting concerning Midori's decision, Kuromaru-dono, if I may call you such. You are, after all, the Alpha of the Inuzuka Dogs, ne?"

Kuromaru begrudgingly growled and sat on his haunches, "I am. Don't do that again, boy, or you'll be missing something important."

"Again, my apologies," Naruto bowed as he apologized before righting himself, "Perhaps we should walk as we talk, less tension that way and I'd rather not sit after having such a...interesting night."

"Now I'm curious," Tsume muttered before slowly standing. The Inuzuka head and Naruto walked out of the room, their companions walking along opposite sides as the Inuzuka heirs followed them. The elder clan head turned to the blonde and asked, "So, how's a brat like you, with no previous background, turn into a clan-head?"

"Search me," the blonde replied with a shrug before he put his hands in his pockets, "Got it from my father...whoever he was..."

"Is that right?" Tsume mumbled, eyeing the blonde curiously from the corner of her eyes, "And just what is your 'demonic' bloodline anyway?"

"It's a nocturnal bloodline," Naruto replied before looking at his fellow clan head with a grin and flashed his white eyes, "But it has it's daytime perks, too."

Tsume jumped back when the blonde's left fist turned into a stone without so much as a single hand seal. Her eyes were nearly as wide as her children's, considering how they were gaping at the blonde's newfound ability, and she failed to form a coherent sentence as her mouth popped open and shut numerous times. Finally, when her brain had rebooted, the Inuzuka heir grinned in a feral manner, "So...a hybrid...I knew it."

"Knew what?" Naruto repeated, his fist cracking before it shattered and a normal hand was in its place. Tsume smirked and shook her head before resuming her walk.

"It isn't the proper time," the Inuzuka matriarch replied with a smile before glancing over at her companion. Kuromaru had a serious look in his eye and he kept glancing over at Midorimaru, as though he was trying to figure her out, before he locked his eye with Tsume's. Slowly, the canine alpha nodded his head and Tsume's smirk dropped into a friendly smile.

"To business then," Tsume said, earning the observing blonde's attention, "You want to adopt..."

"Midorimaru's pups, yes," Naruto replied with a nod, stopping and placing a hand on the dog's head, making her tail wag as she sat on her haunches. The blonde smiled down at his faithful companion (despite only having known her for less than seven hours) before continuing, "Already, Midorimaru has done more for me by accepting my bloodline and defending me; the least I could do is fight for her right to be a mother."

Tsume smiled as her two kids did as well. Kiba was glad his friend wasn't as thick headed as he seemed to be, an ironic thought some may have said had they heard him speak his thoughts. The heiress, Inuzuka Hana, however, found her face heating up as she watched an outsider show such compassion to a strange animal. If there was one thing Hana liked in a potential mate, it was loyalty.

Hana blinked before blushing, when did I think of him as more than an acquaintance? He's a clan head for Kami's sake! A clan head I hardly know!

"Hn...fine," Kuromaru said, walking away towards the bunkhouse where they keep newborn pups, "Follow me, Uzumaki-dono."

"Arigato, Kuromaru-dono," the blonde replied with a smile before looking down at Midorimaru, "Midori-chan and I are very grateful for this chance."

"Mind you, boy, if the pups aren't welcoming toward her, I want you both out immediately," the dog growled, making Midorimaru growl her own warning back. Naruto snapped his fingers at her, making her stop, before looking back at the Alpha dog of the Inuzuka clan.

"We understand. Thank you again, Kuromaru-dono," the blonde said, nodding his head and showing his respect. The dog nodded and nudged the door open, before stepping in and allowing his companion to enter behind him and the two Uzumaki members followed. Midorimaru took a whiff of the air and went to her immediate left, sniffing and looking in each pen for her pups. Soft yipping was heard and the large dog hurried her pace before stopping before a door on her right.

The brown dog nudged the door open and she walked in, silencing the yips of the newborns in the room. One brave newborn sniffed the air and made its journey over the hay covered dirt to Midori's feet. Naruto and Tsume watched from the doorway, the latter with a smile and the former with an emotionless face. The blonde was silently praying to whatever deity would listen that the pup would recognize its mother.

Midori lightly sniffed the pup that was exploring her feet and lightly licked its head. The pup yipped in protest and continued examining the strange female's paws. After a long tense moment, the pup pushed itself on its hind legs and licked at Midorimaru's leg. Naruto grinned as he stepped into the room while his companion licked her pup and laid down, going to her side as the pups all made their way to get her milk.

The blonde knelt at her side and placed his hand on her head, both their eyes turning white and he spoke, "In the light of the day, you shall remain as you appear, but as the moon rises, you'll be like your mother here. As the milk enters your bodies, your strength will grow, this I promise or my name wouldn't be Naruto. My spell will make all your skills increase, because tonight you will all be the next batch of the Uzumaki Beasts!"

A light covered the room before it died down. Midori's tail lightly swung in happiness as she cared for her pups and Naruto scratched her ears before looking up at Tsume and an astounded Kuromaru, "So...got a cart we can use to get them back to my home?"

AN: YAY! An Update! Thanks for being so patient and waiting for me to update this...NOW! Onto our favorite story: Amegakure's Jinchuriki!

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