I have been attacked by the plot biiju lately. I have not forgotten my other works.

Now for an odd pairing: HayatexNaruto. Yes I'm a little crazy, I know. Enjoy.

CHAPTER 1

I have always hated hospitals; even more so since I've had to visit one so often. Of all the people in the village to get a chakra resistant cancer, it had to be me didn't it? Me, Gekko Hayate, 22 year old Tokubetsu Jonin, master swordsman, last of the Gekko line, and it didn't look like I'd be seeing my next birthday.

It was close to midnight, and it seemed like my illness and subsequent inability to breathe was likely to result to another sleepless night. Laying back after yet another painful coughing fit, I saw I had a visitor. While most people might find it odd that it was the middle of the night, and visiting hours should be over, but this was a shinobi clinic in a Hidden Village of ninjas, so random visitors at unusual times was not all that unexpected.

My visitor's eyes were directed at me, but weren't actually seeing what was in front of him. Looking at the boy close up for the first time, I could really see that the Sandaime's choice to trust the villagers with this boy's status was not working out like the old man had hoped. His clothes were little more than over sized rags, this tan skin and blonde hair were dirty and bore small patches of dried blood, despite a lack of visible injury. Luckily only the jonin and above knew of the boy's healing abilities. Who knows what more damage would be inflicted on the child if it was common knowledge.

The boy finally tuned back in to the real world, and offered me a small smile. I smiled back. Unlike unknowledgeable civilians and some shinobi too wrapped up the past, I bore no ill will for the child. I had even interrogated several jonin about sealing, merely to try to prove a point to my childhood friend Yuugao, that her dislike of the boy was unfounded. Incidentally I had also found out during those talks that the constant neglect and emotional abuse the child suffered was actually damaging the seal. I laughed out loud when the Sandaime told the council that they couldn't kill the boy for being in contact with the demon he contained because it was their own stupid fault.

"Shinobi-san." The boy's quiet, shy voice broke the silence of the room.

"Hayate. My name's Hayate." I introduced myself with a smile. Following this I started coughing again. Damn cancer.

"Naruto." The child replied with a small bow once the coughing had subsided. "I want to help you Hayate-san. I can break up the tumours in your chest for you." Needless to say, I was shocked speechless by this.

"I know that the doctors said it was chakra resistant, but that's only to human chakra which isn't potent enough. I'm not trying to trick you or anything, I really want to help." The little blonde continued nervously. "No one's asked me about this because they don't expect me to know about this kind of stuff. But I do, on my own and what the Kyuubi's taught me, and-"

"Naruto-kun," I interrupted the 12 year olds nervous rant. "It's okay. I believe you." Now it was the boy's turn to be shocked speechless.

It was pretty sad that simply having someone say 'I believe you' could affect Naruto so much. He obviously didn't expect that there are people around who truly don't believe that he's a mindless demon hell-bent on destroying everything.

"Y-you believe me?" He asked, still stunned.

"Yeah, and really at this point I'm willing to try anything. Choking to death just doesn't sound like much fun, does it?" I easily responded. He gave a small snort of laughter at my blasé commentary.

"Okay. Well I guess all you need to do is lay still and try not to cough. I don't want to accidentally hurt you." The little blonde explained. I coughed a few times before laying down still on the hospital bed.

I watched curiously as Naruto placed his hands into the ram seal to concentrate on his chakra. Right before my eyes he underwent a partial transformation as he brought up the demon's chakra. The slitted red eyes and over long canines poking out over his bottom lip would normally be a little intimidating, but coupled with his expression of intense concentration; I found it rather cute instead. How I wished I had a camera at that point.

He brought a hand, glowing with reddish chakra to my chest. I somewhat expected pain when coming into contact with demonic energy, but instead all I felt was a slightly tingling warmth, like Deep Heat cream used on sore muscles. Naruto moved his glowing hand to a different spot on my chest, and I felt the strong urge to cough, like there was liquid in my lungs that I needed to get out. I held my breath and nose, resiting the instinctual movement of my diaphragm with everything I had.

"Demon." Screeched a voice from behind the boy's back. I moved my eyes to the left to observe the night shift nurse, probably rushing off to find the doctor. Naruto didn't break his intense focus on my chest, and instead just moved his hand slightly to the right. The urge to cough increased and I had to flex all the muscles in my body to maintain my resistance.

Abruptly the tingly burning stopped, and the door burst open again. Naruto, back to his normal appearance, gave one fearful look to the doctor, nurse and ANBU who had just burst in and escaped out the window. I lost my concentration, leaned over the side of the bed and began coughing. I could taste stale blood on my tongue, and watched with detached fascination as brown blood and strange little greyish pink lumps of flesh left my mouth to splatter on the white linoleum floor.

The doctor placed a small basin under my mouth to catch some of whatever it was that I was coughing up. I continued struggling to breathe and get the disgusting crap out of my lungs. The taste was almost enough to make me add my dinner to the mess on the floor.

"Holy shit." The white coated man eloquently stated, staring at the contents of the basin with wide eyes. He threw the basin onto a nearby table, and turned his attention and green glowing hands onto me. The nurse who had called the doctor from his desk nap, unceremoniously shoved out of the way.

"Amazing," I heard the man mutter. "The boy even cauterised the attachment points where the tumours were. This is incredible." I continued with my uncontrolled coughing fit, ignored as all eyes were on the mesmerised doctor.

"ANBU give the boy a medal. He just saved this shinobi's life." The doctor announced happily. He applied a different jutsu to my lungs, helping me to cough.

"What?" An ANBU questioned. I recognised the voice as Yuugao. "He's coughing up blood!"

"Oh that?" The doctor scoffed. "Gekko-san is just purging the diseased tissue. I can't believe it. No offence Gekko-san, but we all thought you were a goner. Who ever thought demon chakra could be used to heal, huh?"

I continued coughing, the doctor's jutsu helping to bring even more brown blood and pieces of tumour out of my lungs. Slowly less and less was brought up, and my coughing subsided. The doctor was happily explaining, over my head, to the nurse and shocked ANBU about my condition, and how I was miraculously healed by the 'demon child'. Exhausted, I fell asleep.

I woke to find none other than the Sandaime grinning at me. I could understand why he was so happy. Not only was one of his high ranking shinobi and Konoha's only sword master not dying anymore, he'd just been proven right about the boy everyone else loved to hate.

"Hokage-sama." I croaked. My throat and chest hurt from so much choking the night before.

"Gekko-san, how are you feeling?" The old man asked, smile still very much evident on his face.

"Tired... sore... happily alive." I commented. When I tried to sit up in respect of the Hokage, the nurse simply pushed me back down and told me to rest.

"Yes. You wouldn't believe how ecstatic your doctors are right now." The Sandaime chuckled. "After a few days rest you should be able to get back into training. Now, you wouldn't happen to know where young Naruto went after he left last night?" I shook my head.

"No Hokage-sama. When the doctor and nurse burst in, he took off through the window. He looked like he thought he was about to be murdered."

"I see." The old man frowned. "Well, I'm sure Iruka-san will be able to find him to give him the good news. You rest now Gekko-san, and we'll see you back in the mission room in a few weeks, yes?" I nodded tiredly. I must have fallen asleep again before the aged leader left the room.

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