The Demon's Shadow

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… but I wish I did.

Summary: Naruto is running through a forest, fleeing from the murderous inhabitants of Konoha, until he is found by a certain someone and raised to become the nightmare of people everywhere.

It was October tenth. The fifth year anniversary of the attack of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, or the nine tailed demon, as well, it was the birthday of Uzumaki Naruto, the container for Kyuubi. Five years ago, the Yondaime hokage had sealed the demon inside the body of a kid from the local orphanage, born that morning. His mother had died in child birth and his father was unknown. The hokage had died on the sealing and it was his wish that Naruto be treated like a hero. Naruto's treatment had been quite the opposite; his entire life had been one beating after another, a life of begging, of hunger, a life of sadness.

Every year on this date, there was always a group of villagers who got smashed, and took Naruto's beating too far. They would cut him with broken glass, break his fingers or just thrash him until he stopped breathing, which did happen on occasion, but for some reason, none of his beatings left marks for than a week, his bones grew back within an hour or two. Cuts down to the bone would be covered with fresh skin in minutes. It was inexplicable.

On this present day, Naruto was fleeing the first round of drunks, to a recent spot he had discovered, training ground 42. He had discovered it a month ago; he had been fleeing a group of villagers, and had run into the fence enclosing the area. For someone as used to climbing walls and fences as Naruto it had been relatively simple to climb over the fence and drop into the forest that was within. He had never been followed there, not once. The forest was dangerous beyond belief for the average human and most shinobi, but for some reason, the fugitive had an aura which scared off all but the huge predators, which Naruto had exceeded in running away from, for the moment.

He climbed over the fence, just as usual, except this time he was being followed by a young man wearing a hita-ate with a leaf carved into it.

"I'll catch you! You-you bastard demon!" He yelled.

He was obviously piss drunk. He could barely climb, but Naruto was not one to test his luck, so he jumped into the forest, speeding from branch to branch at breakneck speeds. His pursuer was gaining on him, there was a severe gap in age and skill. A shuriken landed into the branch where Naruto had been standing, on of the spikes grazed his foot and he tripped. He plummeted towards the ground and landed with a sickening crack. Naruto screamed in agony, his leg was broken in several places as well as his nose which at an angle previously undiscovered. Naruto propelled himself with his hands, using all his upper body strength to drag his legs forward.

There was a thud.

Blood lazily began to flow onto the grass and sprayed into the dark night air.

Naruto's chest was covered in holes. Kunai littered the ground, all stained red with the juices of the 'demon'. Naruto's hand was pinned to the earth until something happened that he hadn't expected, a branch broke. He fell. Then, just as suddenly, he slammed into the trunk of a nearby tree, pinned there by shuriken. Naruto could feel deaths cold embrace. His lungs were punctured. His heart it self was intact, but his pulmonary artery had been destroyed. Blood was pouring out various holes. It would be a miracle if they could figure out his cause of death, asphyxiation, blood loss or cardiac arrest, that is if they found his corpse before it was eaten by animals.

Something in Naruto awakened.

Takashi Haru was feeling pretty high. He was drunk. He was having fun. And he had destroyed the demon, the demon who had stolen his father, mother and brother from him. He had thought revenge would feel good, but this felt great. The kid was dying, anyone could tell that, and no matter how quickly he could heal, in a minute or two he would be dead. He turned his back to Naruto to see if any of his drinking buddies had followed him. That was the last mistake he ever made.

Naruto rose from the ground, from the clutch of death. His wounds were healing, he had a new lungs; his severed blood vessels were joining together. He took a breath. Then he turned to the man who had done this to him, Kyuubi no Kitsune, lord of the demons.

Takashi was scared out of mind. The kid was standing up. The kid was breathing. The kid was healing. He watched as blood vessels healed, bones cracked into place. He even saw his punctured lungs, which had been spewing blood heal up. Then he saw the kid move. Then darkness.

A man was hiding in training ground 42, and had been for the last week. His target was the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure. Normally he would have declined such a mission, sure he was high jounin level, he could probably give one of the sanin a brief fight, but to fight against one of the most feared ninjas ever, that would be suicide. However, if his plan went as it should, then a fight would not be necessary, that did not in any way lower the risks by any means. One might wonder why such a person would take such a mission. The answer, ten million ryu. He thought that the job was out of his limits, but after a week's surveillance, there was a possibility.

Then he felt a huge amount of chakra coming his way. Fuck. He had been discovered, the ANBU were on his trail. Shit. He had no time. This will have to do.

Naruto had come to and found the mutilated corpse of his foe. What happened? He didn't wait to find out, he climbed the nearest tree and sped along, looking for his usual hiding spot.

There was a whoosh.

Then a thud.

The branch Naruto had been about to land on had been sliced by a shuriken. He fell for the second time in the night, before two kunai altered his course and anchored him to a nearby tree. A man whose face was wrapped in some sort of mask, they looked like bandages, but Naruto couldn't tell. There was a sword longer than his body placed at Naruto's neck.

"Who sent you kid?" He heard a voice growl.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked, he was used to these situations, that said, he was still scared witless.

"I guess it couldn't hurt to tell, I am Momochi Zabuza, Demon of the hidden mist" The masked figure said. Then he brought his blade back and swung.

A/N: To be continued? I wrote this in an hour or two this afternoon, does anyone want me to continue? This was more an idea than the beginning of a story, if anyone would like me to continue please say and I will, otherwise… I might leave it as a one shot type thing.