My breath came in short and sharp bursts as I looked up at the teenager from my knees.

"Kabuto? What are you doing here?"

I shook my head, disregarding the thought, "Actually, it doesn't matter. You need to get Sasuke back to the village."

Desperation laced my tone as I spoke to the bespectacled teen, "He was trying to defect to Sound."

As I spoke, unease began growing in me but I couldn't place why. Kabuto's face remained full of sympathy and understanding as he delivered his next words,

"Oh I know Naruto-kun... I am here to help him."

A wave of despair washed over me at the proclamation. I was so tired.

Too tired.

It had taken everything I had to subdue Sasuke and now it would be for nothing. I was on my knees, fighting unconsciousness and the signs of severe chakra exhaustion, every tissue in my body aching from using the Kyuubi. I couldn't even pretend I would fight.

I watched as the teenager I had trusted, that I had liked, scooped Sasuke up and started walking away.Suddenly he stopped. Without turning around, he said,

"You should know Lord Orochimaru extends his welcome to you as well"

I was about to reply with an acerbic comment about traitors when he continued, "He also wants you to know that he can give you the full use of your legs"

My world stopped.

The second he delivered those words, it was as if Konoho stopped existing. My mind was only occupied with trying to verify the truthfulness of the statement. It was entirely possible.

Orochimaru was an expert in kinjutsu and at one point, he headed the Research Department within Konoho. He could know a means that the village was unwilling to perform on me. I knelt on the floor paralyzed by the offer.

Kabuto turned around sympathetic smile still etched his face,

"Well?"

Healer Yamada Mosqueda looked down at the rough haired, fourteen year old sat on the bed in his office. The teenager studiously avoided looking at him. He kept his eyes locked past the window in a far away gaze.

"So Naruto, have you noticed any change in the amount of time you are able to walk unaided?"

The Healer's voice remained clear and matter of fact. He found sympathy just annoyed Naruto. They would get through this much more easily if he was frank.

"No, not really." Naruto's voice sounded distant and distracted, as if he wasn't really there.

Mentally rolling his eyes, the Healer tried to drag more information out of his patient,

"Your daily routine remains the same?" he prompted.

He received a nod, still without eye contact,

"So you start off the day walking with the aid of your cane. When you can no longer control your legs you use your wheelchair. You remain capable of around an hour of gentle movement with the cane, correct?" He noticed Naruto's jaw tightening at the mention of his wheelchair.

"Yeah, that's about right" Naruto said.

Really, he should be used to this, thought the healer.

He had personally been giving Naruto full monthly assessments for at least 7 years,

"You still find movement more efficient when you channel chakra through your legs?" he asked

"Yeah" Naruto said, his eyes still fixed on the skyline.

"No adverse effects from your daily injections?" he asked

"Apart, from the fact they hardly do anything!" Naruto's voice abruptly lost the distracted tone as he snapped at the healer.

Well at least that's some spirit Yamada thought,

"Well, I have all the samples I need and we've done all of your test's so your free to go." Moving back to his desk he started adding the notes into Naruto's large paper file.

As Naruto lowered himself back into his wheelchair and made his way out of the office the healer looked up to watch him. Just as he was approaching the door, he called out to him. He had been putting this conversation off. Even though he wasn't required to, he felt that it was only right that this should come from him.

"Naruto wait. Before you go I have something I want to discuss with you." A slight gravity entered his voice.

Naruto noticed it because when he stopped and turned around, he looked directly at him.

"Yes Healer Mosqueda," Naruto said, curiosity touching his tone.

"I know we've touched on this topic before but with your academy graduation exam coming up, well..." He left the sentence open.

"Yeah, what about it?" There was a slight weight to Naruto's voice.

"You still want to become a Combatant Ninja," he sighed.

He had hoped the reality of the upcoming exams would have brought him to his senses. He continued,

"Look Naruto I'm aware you have an ambition, and I hate to be an obstacle in that, but ethically I am obligated."

"The bar I placed on you attending the taijutsu portion of your academy lessons is going to extend to the physical combat portion of your graduation exam, just as it has with your end of year assessments so far." He stopped, preparing himself for whatever Naruto would throw at him.

"I guessed as much."

And clearly, Naruto had.

He looked totally unfazed by the statement. If anything, he looked like he was waiting for the Healer to get to the point.

"If you apply for a Combatant Ninja position the combat portion of your exams are worth 50%." The Healer spoke slowly as if Naruto hadn't fully understood the situation.

Seeing the continued stare, he elaborated, if only to make the significance clear,

"You will need an overall minimum of 45% to pass. That means that you will have to get no less than a 90% average in the exams you are sitting to even scrape a pass." It was as if he didn't understand how low his chances were.

He held Naruto's gaze, willing him to change his mind. Moments later he gave up exasperated,

"Naruto I just want you to be prepared. I don't want you to feel like this has been sprung on you."

Finally responding Naruto said,

"It's okay, I can do this."

"I nearly managed it in last year's end of year assessment. This year I have been working extra hard. I'm gonna do this." There was definite steel to Naruto now.

It wasn't that the Healer doubted that Naruto had worked himself to the bone. The simple fact was that the task was next to impossible.

Those exams were designed to be hard. Achieving the overall 45 minimum requirement was no small feat. A mark of around 70 was typical of a high achieving student, in the exam they were most comfortable.

Healer Yamada could think of only one student who had achieved a mark over 90 in an exam since the system had started. While the achievements of Uchiha Itachi were impressive, considering how he ended up, he felt his reservations were warranted.

"Okay then Naruto... I know you don't want to hear this but there are other paths open to you. Path's where someone with your talents would truly excel. I understand that in a village such as ours; where strength is glory, it may seem lesser but that simply isn't true." He would have continued but Naruto cut him off.

"Look, I've heard all this before. I know what I want. Everyone looks at me; see's a cripple and tells me I can't do it. Well I can. I will."

"I am going to be the strongest ninja this village has ever seen and you had better believe that!"

With a surprising strength and dexterity, he sharply spun the wheel chair around and exited the healers' office.

As Healer Yamada watched Naruto leave the hospital grounds he pondered on the boy. He honestly believed that he knew Naruto better than anyone else in the village did. They were not close. At times Naruto probably hated him. By virtue of his job, he had to highlight Naruto's disability almost constantly.

As the highest-ranking medical and psychological technician in Konoho Hospital, he was tasked with the monthly physical inspections of Naruto. He checked the flow of chakra through his seal. He examined the state of his body and his nervous system. He also did his bimonthly psych-evaluations for Internal Security.

The crux of Naruto's problems was his nervous system. From a young age healers had noticed Naruto's slow ambulatory development. With tests it became clear that Naruto had a genetic fault that meant the motor control of his lower body was flawed. His brain would send the messages telling his legs what to do just fine. The muscles in his legs developed just fine as well. Naruto genetic quirk meant that the messages would become incredibly jumbled upon reaching his lower body.

The symptoms of this jumbling meant that after any prolonged use he would begin to feel intense pins and needles and his legs would begin to twitch and spasm. He would also begin to feel a growing phantom pain. After about an hour of gentle activity, like simply walking, the messages would become so jumbled that controlling his legs would be simply impossible (not to mention incredibly painful.) It would usually take a full day of before he would be able to use his legs again.

At first it was thought this might be a symptom of the sealing. It later became clear the only noticeable effect of having the Kyuubi no Kitsune sealed inside of him, was an introduction of filtered chakra to his spiritual energy.

The energy did seem to affect his body by warping his metabolites, though as far as they could tell it was entirely beneficial. His body could produce chakra at an incredible rate, and he healed far faster than the average curve. The problem was that the regenerated cells were inherently flawed.

Mosqueda knew from interviewing Naruto that despite advice, he would stubbornly start each day with his cane. He had advised Naruto to save full use of his legs for situations of necessity. Using common interrogation jutsu, he knew every time Naruto was reduced to the chair he felt a deep sense of failure mixed with an impotent rage. The rage would settle into anxiety that stayed with him the entire time he was in the chair. It would only really abate when he proved to himself that he was a good ninja. All of this was in his reports to Internal Security, as per the requirements for being a prospective ninja.

Mosqueda knew that Naruto worked himself like few would imagine. Being relegated to his chair, he spent all his free time, either reading or practicing techniques. Sadly, if he truly meant to follow this path he would need that kind of unhealthy dedication.

Privately Mosqueda was worried for him. His constant studying as a method of reducing anxiety was typical of compulsive disorders. Internal Security would have noted this but would do nothing.

Ninja lifestyle wasn't exactly conducive of good mental health; they had much worse to deal with. They were only really on the lookout for possible traitors and those who could present a danger to others.