And hello again. Yep, believe it or not, I'm still alive and kicking. Well, metaphorically, anyways. Anyhow, no time for chit-chat, as I am currently running out of precious time, and am in somewhat of a pinch.

In reference to my work outside of this domain of writing stories (Fafiction), which includes hour upon hours of my most horrific enemy; studying, I have not been able to work on my other stories. This is something that I wrote in order to calm down some of the stress I have been suffering from…

Well, this story, like most of my others, has humor in it, but not as much as the others… this story consists of drama as well…

"Hello there." Human/Demon in human form voice (Untranslated language speaking included)

'That's a big creature…' Human thoughts

"Hello there…" Demonic/Supernatural voice (Untranslated language speaking included)

'What a tasty looking human…' Demonic/Supernatural thoughts

"What?"Different language (Translated) ((Can be merged))

"Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!" Attack

The Heir of Lucifer

Chapter 1: Lucifer the Second. Part I

Makai (Demon World)

A tiny horned creature scuttled along the rocky walls of a dark fortress, a forked tongue flickering in and out of its mouth. It slipped into a small hole in the wall, and emerged not to late afterwards in a large, dark room, illuminated by flaming torches that threw eerie shadows against the tall walls.

The room was enormous, with disturbingly horrific decorations hanging on the wall, suspended by stakes. A multitude of decapitated skeletons hang on the walls, and skulls were embedded into the marble floor. Anyone had to admit, that even if it was quite disturbing, it looked oddly neat. In the middle of the room stood a throne that seemed to be constructed completely out of black bones, skulls, and blood red jewels decorating the arm rests.

A dark figure sat upon the bone-encrusted throne, one leg hauled over the other. His left elbow was resting on a skull on the thrones side, his head resting on the up-turned hand lazily. The horned creature stopped scuttling near the figures feet, and changed its shape, growing in size while still retaining his horns and a few reptilian features.

"My Lord…" The horned creature addressed the figure with a clumsy bow. "The elders have sent me to inform you about your newest heir… they have chosen him… out of thousands of available candidates… "

"Leave it be." Spoke the figure calmly, a tone that did not seem to fit in with its evil voice. The horned creature looked up at him a frown settling itself upon its reptilian lips.

"But my lord… the council is unanimous on its decision… if you do not announce an heir soon…"

"And I believe that I told you to leave it be!" snapped the figure, causing the reptilian beast to flinch, its chameleon-like eyes revolving around in panic. A small smile spread across the figures face. "Tell the elders that they need not worry. I have already found the perfect candidate to carry on my name, someone whom I have had my eyes upon for quite some time now."

Human World/Konohagakure

Loneliness.

That was one of the emotions that Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto had always been accompanied by. It was always by his side, it accompanied his every step, and it lurked within his shadow. And even though this emotion was resting on his back, a great burden, he hid it. Up until now, hardly anyone had noticed this emotion raging in the boys heart, a beast that wished to consume its host and devour his soul, to turn his heart dark, to let him slump on the crossroads to success and failure in defeat, obtaining neither fate.

And yet, that had not happened, for there was another emotion in Naruto that kept holding back the negative motion, keeping it restraint. Restraint, but still existent, just waiting for the moment his heart would give.

What that emotion was, in order to answer any sane person's questionings?

Determination. It was what kept him going, what prevented him from falling to that darkness that gave birth to the monsters that many were terrified of. It had always been his dream, no, his AMBITION to prove himself.

Prove himself for what and who? That is also something easy to answer.

He wished to prove himself worthy of his parents' acknowledgement, of their attention, and of their love.

Exactly, the Yondaime Hokage Namikaze Minato and his wife Uzumaki Kushina were alive. Minato had managed to avoid the deal with the Shinigami, requesting his soul for the sealing of the Kyuubi no Kitsune into Naruto's Twin sister, Hikari.

12 Years ago

The Yondaime was happy, unaware of the turmoil that he would soon face.

He was sitting with his wife and the twins that she had just given birth to, a regular happy family, their eyes shedding tears of joy at the new life that had come forth into the world in form of these two children, bringing a new happiness into the married couple's heart. Of course, that happiness was not one to last as they heard a massive explosion erupt outside the hospital building, making the room shiver and caused dried plaster to fall from the ceiling.

A masked ANBU member entered the room hastily, gasping for breath.

"Hokage-sama…" He managed to say between pants. "… Monster… attacking village… Kyuubi…" the man fell over in mid-sentence, his masked face crashing to the floor and blood beginning to seep out from under his vest, while the family of four gazed upon the body, the two Shinobi in horror, and the two infants through squinted eyes, not sure what to make of this.

Minato stood up, his eyes grim with determination. He looked at his wife grimly, and her eyes widened when she understood what he had planned. The only way to stop a Bijuu permanently, and suppress this… demon kings power. All the Bijuu, in the eyes of Shinobi, were seen as that.

Their theory stated that there were nine layers of hell, and that each Bijuu was lord over one of the layers, with the Kyuubi ruling over the ninth layer of hell, the layer that was known as the worst and deadliest of them all.

The only way to defeat such a creature was to seal it away inside a human's body, provided the human did not run amok under the beasts influence.

Kushina's eyes brimmed with tears as she looked up at her husband, and, although she knew that it was the right thing to do in this case, she did not wish for either of her children to suffer through that. It was not only the villagers or the Shinobi she was worried about, but the influence of the fox upon the child and the mental stress induced by the burden of sealing.

She clutched her newborns to her chest, her eyes beginning to swell slightly. Minato grimaced. He did not wish for this either, but he had no choice in the matter. The village could be destroyed at any moment, and he had to hurry.

"Please, Kushina." He said. "You know that I have to do this. There's no other way but to…"
"SHUT UP!" Yelled his wife, tears of sadness, frustration and hopelessness beginning to stream down her pale face at a faster getting rate while the two infants began to whimper, as if they were sensing what was happening. Minato understood his wife's feelings. He understood them very well, more than he would like to admit. His heart felt like it was beginning to rip apart.
"I'm sorry, but there's no other way. You know that yourself!" He said, his voice getting slightly louder than intended. The infants began to bawl softly at the raised voices, and kicked the air.

The first one was a boy. He had spiky blonde hair, mush like his fathers, and three whisker-like marks adorning each cheek. He had sky-blue eyes, making him resemble his father even more.

The second one was a girl with straight, red hair. Like her brother, she had blue eyes, and had two whisker-marks adorning each cheek. She seemed to be more outgoing than her brother, as she was flailing her arms more wildly while bawling.

Minato's eyes softened for a moment as he looked at them, regaining the stature of a caring father for a moment. His gaze hardened once more, and he turned back to the ex-container of the Kyuubi. The woman laid down her children on the slightly stained hospital bed, and looked at her husband seriously.

"Then, can't you use me?" She asked him. "I've held the fox before, I can do it again."

Minato shook his head, his eyes looking just as serious as his wife.

"No, you can't." he stated grimly, causing Kushina to open her mouth, wanting to interrupt him. Minato raised a hand, telling her to stop, and continued. "You see, since your body has already absorbed the fox, and then released it, the seal would weaken drastically if reapplied…"

That was true. Five years ago, Kushina had managed to find a rare seal that would let the Bijuu be released form her body and transferred into a statue that stood in an abandoned shrine. The seal must have dissolved over time…

"Can't you renew the seal on my body?" She called angrily, her eyes still leaking tears. Minato shook his head once more, trying not to look at the source of the screams and roars outside.

"No, I can't." he said, and although he sounded calm, Kushina could hear the suppressed sadness in his voice. "If I do manage to somehow do that, the Kyuubi would break out in a matter of months, provided you don't die first. And the children MUST grow up with at least one parent." Unnoticed by him, a lone tear escaped his eye, and slid down his cheek. His voice had also begun cracking. "And also, these two are our children. Whoever gets the Kyuubi is definitely going to control it. Also, think of the benefit; the village would have a great hero who protects them from harm."

Kushina mulled it over. Her husband was right, that was a good thing. The village would see whoever the beast was sealed into as a great hero, and the child would grow powerful, able to protect itself. She frowned, and, with a deep breath reached over to the girl and gave her to the Namikaze head. Minato gently took his daughter, as if he were afraid that she might break.

"What are we going to call her?" He asked.

Kushina smiled, and seemed to forget about the eruptions outside for a moment.

"Hikari." She said confidently, and put a hand over her heart. "Because, she will break through the darkness and destruction that occurred tonight like a healing light."

Minato nodded, and smiled himself. It was indeed a fitting name. He took the child into his arms and vanished in a yellow flash, leaving Kushina who was desperately trying to smile through her running tears behind. She sighed to herself, and went over to the bleeding ANBU. She held out her hands above him, and let the green-colored medical Chakra heal his wounds

Minato reappeared outside of the hospital, and gritted his teeth at the damage he saw. Buildings were partially destroyed, smoke rose from the holes, and multiple corpses lay by the street-sides, Shinobi and Civilians, men and women, elderly people and children. He grimly turned to face the towering beast that loomed above him like a dark cloud of destruction and wrath. Grimly determined, Minato bit his thumb while holding his tiny daughter on the opposing arm gently but firmly.

He slammed his free hand down into the earth, feeling the slightly muddy earth beneath it.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" He roared, and the area was instantly covered in a large smoke cloud that darkened the vision of all who were looking. As the smoke cleared, a large figure could be made out in the density of the cloud. It was a large toad, easily dwarfing the Hokage Tower. It wore a dark-blue coat, and had a large Katana strapped to its thigh. A long scar ran down the left side of its face, rendering the eye that met with the bloody line effectively blind. In its mouth rested a long pipe. The end was smoking, indicating that he had already stuffed it with Tobacco and lit it.

"What do you want, brat?" Rasped the giant toad in a deep, scratchy voice, and turned its eye upwards to look at the Namikaze who was standing on its forehead with the baby cradled in his arms. The Namikaze looked at the toad determinedly.

"Gamabunta." He addressed the creature, his voice dead serious. "I need you to occupy that thing." He nodded towards the growling Bijuu.

Gamabuntas single eye widened.

"Kyuubi, eh?" He muttered, the sound muffed slightly but his pipe, but loud enough to be heard by the Yondaime.

"How long can you hold him down?" Asked Minato, and felt a small sweat bead run down his cheek in his anticipation. His anticipation should be of no surprise to the others, since what he was preparing for required extreme precision and focus. The Jutsu alone needed over fifty specific hand signs, none of them being arranged in an acknowledgeable order.

"Not for too long." The toad called to him. "I'm lucky that it is weakened right now, so I should be able to hinder it for a few seconds. Whatever ypur going to do, you'll have to do it fast."

Minato nodded, then raised his hand and pointed two fingers at the fox, giving the signal for Gamabunta to face off against it. The toad pulled out its Katana-style knife and charged head first into the multi-tailed beast.

It was quite a heated battle, and although it was obvious that the Demon had the upper hand, the toad managed to block most of the incoming slashes and bites. Minato was almost finished. He had nearly completed the one-handed hand signs. Only a few more…

SLAM!

One of Kyuubis tails had managed to knock aside the toad he was riding, letting the amphibious giant spin towards a nearby ruin, crushing it. Minato tightened his hold on his daughter, and looked at his hand, feeling slightly afraid of what he would see. He sighed in relief. The final hand sign was still intact.

Keeping his hand in the same hand-seal form, he looked down at Gamabuntas head.

"Gama-oyabin!" He called, using the widely known nickname. "Get closer to him. I need to be in contact with it for the Jutsu to take effect."

The toad hesitated for a moment and barely avoided being slammed into again by one of the over-sized beast's nine appendages, and leapt forward. Gamabunta sheathed his knife back into its scabbard, and slammed his hands forward on the foxes shoulder, managing to hold it own while having to use every ounce of its remaining strength. Indeed, the toad summons may be one of the strongest, but they were far out of the league of such beasts as the nine kings of hell. Just touching the fox felt like plunging into an acid pit. Feeling his strength drain, he turned his good eye towards his rider.

"Brat, hurry up! I can't hold it much longer!" he roared, a tremor beginning to travel through his muscles. The Yondaime rushed forward to the very tip of the toads snout, standing just above the cracked pipe. He place Hikari down on the warty skin, and slammed his hands onto the Demon Fox's snout. Even though he felt great pain at the touch, he still managed to het a firm hold on it. Through pain-clenched teeth, he took a deep breath and shouted the name of the technique he was about to use.

"Shiki Fuuin!"

Sending a huge burst of chakra, he narrowed his mind on his objective as fast as he could, while the Toad boss beneath is sandals struggled to maintain its grip. The Jutsu began to take effect, Minato noted as he felt time slowing down around him. The roaring of the beast let down, stopping in mid-bellow while its mouth was still open, giving Minato a good view of its glinting, razor-sharp teeth.

Time had frozen still.

Minato turned his head left and right rapidly, looking with both hope and dread in his heart for a sign of the summoned being, only to see nothing. His face began to twist into an expression that seemed to be a mixture of dread, frustration and despair. Had the Jutsu failed? Images began to flash through his mind. Amongst them were his family, the third Hokage, Kakashi, and many others he knew, loved and cared for as a family. Had he failed them? Would they all be…

His thoughts of dread diminished as he began to hear an unearthly chuckle. Instinctively he grabbed his tri-pronged Kunai and spun around while taking a fighting stance. What greeted his eyes surprised him greatly. A young girl who looked to be no more that thirteen years of age was standing in front of him. She had long, white hair that touched the ground, and wore a black Kimono with etchings of skulls and dancing skeletons drawn on the sash. She also had a large scythe in her right hand, while the other was put in front of her lips, covered by the Kimono, giving a slight ladylike touch to her chuckling. Her eyes were squinted shut as she smiled, but she seemed to look through the Yellow Flash's very soul as her head turned towards him.

Minato frowned.

Who was this child and what was she doing here? She did not seem to even falter at the malicious glint in the frozen fox demons eyes, but instead seemed quite amused by it. The girl opened her eyes and Minato had to restrain himself from gasping in shock. She had no eyes. In her face were simply two empty eyeholes, which were black as night. But that was not the only thing that had surprised Minato this drastically. From her eyes a black substance seemed to seep, making the air it came in contact with begin to twist unrealistically. Minato gulped, and voiced the question on his mind.

"Who are you?" He asked, feeling slightly weary of the answer. The girls hollow eyes adopted a look that might have been hurt, and she lowered her sleeve from her lips.

"How rude." She said, revealing her voice. It itself was unearthly, sounding as if more than one person was speaking. The voice seemed to penetrate his skull and find a way into his mind, searching deep within his darkest secrets, and the Hokage swore that he could hear a considerable amount of despaired shrieks within the voice, as if a thousand souls were being tortured greatly. "Summoning me here and not giving the proper etiquette to addressing me."

Minatos eyes widened, and he took a step back.

"Are you… Shinigami?" he asked. The girl nodded.

"Indeed, that I am." She said. "And why have you called forth someone like me? What do you wish to achieve?"

Minato gulped back his nervousness, and stepped forward.

"I have summoned you here, my lady, to seal away the Demon King Kyuubi no Kitsune inside this newborn." He said, pointing at the fox then at his daughter.

The Shinigami suddenly chuckled.

"Demon King?" she said. "Is that what you see him as? You mortals really are pathetic."

Minato frowned, and decided to ponder over that in heaven, hell or wherever he would end up in.

"I must do it." He said grimly, and kneeled before the death god. "I offer my soul as payment."

He received no response, and after quite some time of waiting, looked up.

Shinigami was snoring quietly, a large snot bubble blowing from her nose.

Minato sweatdropped.

"E…excuse me, Shinigami-sama?" he asked out hesitantly, feeling slightly awkward at the situation.

"Excuse me…"

Shinigami's head snapped forward. She looked around hurriedly, as if wondering where she was. After a few moments of reassuring herself, she seemed to remember what was going on and turned back towards the Hokage.

Shinigami shook her head.

"Do not worry." She said. "I will have no need for your soul."

Minato looked up at her, confused but hopeful, while resisting the urge to sweatdrop at her previous antics.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, as the goddess of death I shall be coming to you anyways sooner or later." The Reaper answered. "So I see no reason to take it here and now."

Minato felt a smile spreading across his face, and he sighed in relief. That meant that he could be there for his children as they grew up, along with his wife. He could still enjoy the wonders of such things as a happy family. Wiping away the tears of happiness and relief that streamed down his face, he looked up at the Goddess o Death with a broad smile on his face.

He nodded, and readied himself for what she was about to do. Shinigami went forward towards the beast that had brought this destruction upon the village, and raised her scythe above her head. Her empty eyes began to seep even more darkness, and she let her scythe come down, bringing the judgment and end the Yondaime had planned for upon the fox. The scythe itself was aimed so that the hooked end came down, plunging deep into the Bijuu's furry skin. As the blade connected, the Girlish figure began to utter a chant.

"Bei der Kraft die in mir liegt, entnehme ich hiermit die Seele dieser Bestie, und verbanne sie in diese unschuldige Form!" She said in a language unknown to the listener, and pulled the weapon back out. The scythe was hooked to a strange red substance, which looked like it consisted of together sticking wisps of energy and a flaming aura surrounding it. Shinigami brought the object towards her hand and let it float above her outstretched palm. She then walked towards the baby lying on the toad's snout and pressed the object into its stomach. The touched place glowed red, and strange inscriptions began spreading out from the infant's belly button.

The Shinigami walked towards the Yondaime, and gave a strange smile that seemed to stretch to her ears.

"It is done." She said calmly.

The Yondaime nodded, and opened his mouth to give his thanks, but the reaper had already disappeared. The tension vanished, and time began to move again. The Kyuubi itself however remained still. A crack appeared on the creature with a strong snapping sound following it, and spread along its enormous stature rapidly. A spider web-like fissure had now decorated the fox, and it began to glow slightly. And as the survivors watched in awe, the angry beasts soulless shell began to disintegrate piece by piece, its ashes flowing with the cool breeze that blew through the ruins of the village.

"It's… It's over." Muttered Minato, not believing that he had succeeded with saving what was left of his precious village. With a smile he stood tall and held up his child, and took a deep breath.

"Hear me, people of Konoha!" He shouted into the crowd, and they turned their bruised faces upward to face.

"This…" Continued Minato, and raised his daughter above his head. "Is my daughter, Hikari. She is the light that broke through today's darkness, and is the host of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. She is our savior, our light, and our permanent hero!"
The crowd cheered loudly, their voices filling the emptiness of the village, and slowly, everyone felt a feeling of calm spread through their hearts. They felt that they would be safe now, and as people began to hug each other in their moment of happiness, they had no idea what was in store for them in twelve years…

Present Time

Naruto sighed as he walked through the village streets, thinking about his troubles.

Up until now, he had tried almost everything to get his parents to notice him, but without any successful results. His parents were always doting over his twenty-five minute younger sister, teaching her everything they knew, while leaving Naruto only with a small book about Chakra control given to him as birthday present for his tenth birthday, which was two years ago.

His sister, Uzumaki Hikari, was the Jinchuuriki for the dreaded Kyuubi no Kitsune. She was, in contrast to most of her kind, not seen as what she held, but praised for holding it back, constricting the beast within herself, and preventing the Demon King from wreaking the dreaded havoc that it had made twelve years ago. Thus she was treated like a little princess, and often acted like such. And whilst she was not as spoilt as some of the blue-blooded children you often see living in gigantic houses, she was incredibly proud of what she held, and would always use what she had been taught in using the fox's Chakra instead of using her own power.

Alone that fact made Naruto bristle in repressed anger. His sister had been taught a large amount of Jutsu's, among them their father's Hiraishin and Rasengan techniques. But did she even once appreciate what she had gotten and he had not?

No, she hadn't. She always relied on Kyuubi's power.

Naruto had even begun wearing bright orange clothing and performing pranks on the village, which had also included painting the Hokage monument. Of course, his parents simply gave him five minutes of scolding and sent him of to bed.

Gritting his teeth, he grasped a dark jeweled necklace that hung around his neck.

After a few deep breaths, he managed to calm down. Touching his necklace had always calmed him. It filled him with warmth, and was a reminder for the very first person that had actually paid attention with him…

After all, it wasn't like he was all alone in the village. He had few friends in the village, and true friend at that.

"Naruto!"

Naruto turned towards the voice calling his name, and let a small smile slip across his depressed features. Uchiha Sasuke was walking towards him casually, a hand in his pocket while the other hand was raised in a wave.

"Yo!"

"Wassup, Sasuke!" Naruto called back, a wide grin lighting his face like a candle.

Uchiha Sasuke was one of them. He was Naruto's first friend actually. They had met when Sasuke was reminiscing sadly about the massacre of his clan at the hands of his elder brother, Itachi. They had talked with each other for a few minutes, and, realizing their similarities, had started off as good friends. Being placed on the same team was quite a relief for the two, for even if they were teamed up with a third member that they did not know that well, they had at least someone to relate to, and had a higher chance of working together as a team.

Ironically, their third teammate was Haruno Sakura, top class kunoichi and local banshee. She didn't get that bad once you got to know her better, though.

He, along with his teammates, were supposed to meet their Sensei in about a week,and they were quite exited.

"So, wanna grab somethin' to eat?" Naruto asked, grinning at his best friend.

"Ichiraku's?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You betcha!" Naruto all but yelled at him. "Last one there pays the bill!" at that, he started running as fast as he could, leaving a small dust cloud behind.

"Ah… Dammit, Naruto! No fair!" Cried out the raven haired Uchiha, and ran after him.

"Hah! Ya can't catch up with me Sasuke, give it up!"

"In your dreams, loser!"

The friends continued running to their favorite restaurant, Naruto still in the lead. Naruto swiveled his head to look back one more time, and grinned cheekily at the desperately running Uchiha behind him.

"See, ya should just give it up… UGH!" Naruto was interrupted when he felt himself slam into someone with great force.

"Ittai…" He muttered. "Hey pal, watch where you're…" He fell silent as he gazed upon the slightly weeping pale eyed girl in front of him.

"Hi-hinata?" He gasped, recognizing her. "I am SO sorry!" he reached down to lend her a hand. "You OK?"

Hinata Hyuuga was another close friend. She had since of early suffered from neglect due to a superiority complex that was thrown upon her by her famliy, due to her father continuous nagging and comparing her to certain relatives. After she had been comforted by a passing Naruto, she had also become friends with him, and come out of her shell. She may have still stuttered a lot of times, and was still quite shy, but in comparison to herself a couple of years back, she was now a much more interactive person, a kindred spirit. And also, unbeknownst to Naruto of course, she harbored strong feelings for him as well, something that never seemed to get through his thick head no matter how many times she fainted, blushed, or stuttered in his presence.

This was something that Sasuke was also trying to hint to Naruto, to no avail.

Hinata took Naruto's hand hesitantly, and blushed as he hoisted her up close to his face. She instantly leapt back a few feet when she felt his breath on her face, and poked her fingers together shyly.

"A-arigatou, N-naruto-kun." She stuttered in her quite voice, her blush beginning to deepen. Naruto blinked for a moment, and let his trademark grin spread across his face.

"Don't mention it, Hinata!" he said in his loud voice, still grinning like a fool.

Sasuke looked at the oblivious blond, then at the shy Hyuuga. He looked back to Naruto and again at Hinata. Slowly, a sly grin began to spread across his face.

"Say, Naruto." He said to his blond friend, and said blond turned to look at him. "Why don't you two…" he pointed at them for emphasis, "go on ahead without me? I forgot that I had to do my… my chores today, OK?"

Naruto tapped the headband on his forehead in thought.

"Well, I don't really mind..." He said, and Sasuke grinned again. The Uchiha turned back, and began to saunter back to his empty clan compound, hoping that his brilliant matchmaking plan would work. This was SO going to go into his NaruHina matchmaking progress Album…

The two Ninja that Sasuke was currently thinking about were, just as he had planned, going into the famed Ichiraku Ramen shop. This store was one of the three friends' favorites, and the reason behind that was not simply the delicious food. The man who ran the store, Ichiraku Teuchi, and his nineteen year old daughter, Ayame, were one of the very few people who actually knew them and respected them, not for their heritage, but for their ability to put up with the ignorance and provided by both of most of Konoha's residents and their families.

"Ah, Naruto and Hinata, is it?" Said Teuchi looking around the Ramen shop counter as the two entered. "Is Sasuke not coming today?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Nah!" He answered the man. "He said he had some chores to finish, so me and Hinata decided to come without him."
Teuchi and his daughter looked at each other, eyebrows raised. They both knew that the last Uchiha was more of a lazy person, as he rareky even bithered to clean the plates at his compound after use. A light went on above their heads as they realized what Sasuke had been planning by doing such a thing.

"I'll have ten Miso pork Ramen!" Naruto shouted enthusiastically, as always ordering an unnecessarily large portion of the food.

"I-i'll have o-one M-miso, p-please." Stuttered the ever shy Hyuuga girl. Soon, the two were eating their warm Ramen bowls, Hinata at a normal pace, a slight dainty touch to her eating style, whilst Naruto literally inhaled the food.

With a grin, Ayame decided to help that the young Uchiha's plan be put in action.

"So…" She said to the two Genin who were currently making themselves comfortable on two of the arranged stools that were aligned in front of the counter, making sure to stretch out the word. "Aren't you two looking comfy together? Are you going out yet?"

Hinata blushed deeply, and Ayame and her father could swear that a smoke cloud had risen from her face. Naruto however, dim as he was, merely looked up from his half-eaten Ramen bowl while still eating.

"What are you… SLUUURP… talking about?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "Hinata… SLUURP …and I are just friends. Right, Hinata?"

Hinata looked at him with her blushing face, and nodded shakily. Streams of tears began to comically flow down her face.

"Y-yes… just friends…" She said sadly, and laid her head on the counter top, creating a small puddle of tears on the wood, her blush doubling in color. Naruto stopped slurping his noodles and looked at his friend worriedly. He leaned towards her.

"Are you alright, Hinata" He asked, and put his forehead against hers. "You don't have a fever, do you?"

The Hyuuga heiress promptly fell unconscious.

"Hinata? Are you O.K.? Hinata?"

Teuchi and his daughter sweatdropped.

"He really is dim, isn't he?" sighed the girl, and her father nodded.

"O.K. then, Hikari!" Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage said with a happy grin. "Now that you can control your Bijuu's Chakra to an advanced level, I'm going to show you how to control your wind Chakra, and possibly merge it with the Fox's power!"

His daughter nodded eagerly. "Yes, sir!" she exclaimed enthusiastically as always, and here father smiled proudly.

He had made the right choice when he had sealed the Kyuubi's soul and power into his daughter. She was a worthy Jinchuuriki indeed, who, at the age of twelve, could already control all nine Tails. Strangely enough, as he and his wife had found out, she cold also summon the Kyuubi temporarily. This was the power of the ninth tail. Instead of turning into the Kyuubi itself, she simply stood atop its great maw whilst it seemed to be completely under her control. She had only used it once, when they had been training in the mountains on her sixth birthday.

His wife smiled, even more proud than him of her daughter. The girl had surpassed her in terms of controlling the Kyuubi, as she could quite easily control the beast inside her, and much better and easier that she had ever been able to do.

"I'm home!" Naruto called out, and traditionally took off his sandals before putting them beneath the stairs, right beside his sister's shoes. He winced as he put his slightly battered sandals beside his sister's many rows of polished shoes and sandals. That was his only pair of sandals, too. With a sigh and a shake of his head, he let go of his jealousy and sadness and chose instead to put on his bright smile as he usually did.

"Hi, Guys!" He called out cheerfully. "What's up?"

His father turned to him and gave him a smile. "Naruto, you're just in time." He said. "Could you help your sister with her training? She needs a sparring partner to fully use her wind Jutsu…"

Naruto scowled inwardly, and looked down to hide his expression of anger and sadness. Was that what he was in their eyes? Was he a mere stepping stone for letting Hikari achieve her full strength? Was he nothing but a living practice dummy, a human tool?

He looked up at his father, once more wearing his fake mask of happiness.

"Sure thing, Otou-san!" He said enthusiastically, an adopted the classic puppy-dog-eyed begging expression. "Ne ne, when are you gonna teach me a Jutsu like Hikari, Tou-san?" he asked, his hands clasped together.

Minato couldn't help but sweatdrop at his son's eagerness to learn. However, as much as his son wanted to learn from him, his daughter was the priority here.

He winced as he thought that. Could he be playing favorites? Should he and his wife teach Naruto as well for once? After all, when thinking about it, they had basically neglected him throughout the years for his sister…

A light bulb appeared above his head.

"Say, Naruto?"

His son looked at hi questioningly.

"How about you, I, your mom and your sister go out for a week of training in celebration of your birthday, huh? I can teach you both along with your mother! The teams are gonna fully start in about a week, so we should have enough time!"
The twins cheered, and for the first time in a long time, a true, radiant smile appeared on Naruto's face. His family DID care about him!

Five days later

Naruto grinned as he packed his clothes and other necessary things into a yellow bag. He still couldn't believe it. For the first time in his life, his parents had finally asked to properly train him! This was a dream come true!

Humming a happy tune, he looked at his bag, and tried to think of something else that he should pack for the training trip. His fist slapped down upon and open palm with a slapping sound. That's right! Ramen! How could he have forgotten his precious Ramen?

Still humming, he ran down the stairs at a speedy pace. His parents ad sister had already gone ahead of him, so he didn't have to worry at being berated for bringing too many Ramen cups. Not that his parents had ever been paying enough attention to him to berate him of doing anything. But all that would finally change!

Creeeeak!

Naruto stiffened and turned rapidly at the unexpected sound, and felt a presence behind him. The compounds kitchen door was slowly opening. The minute he set his eyes upon the handle, the wooden door slowed down before stopping.

"Dad, is that you?" Naruto asked nervously, and ventured forward, slowly. "Mom? Hikari?"

He received no answer, and shrugged the uneasy feeling off as his imagination. That however didn't stop him from throwing one last and suspicious glance at the half-open door. As he reached for yet another Ramen cup, he felt someone approach him from behind. This was definitely not his imagination.

He turned, and grew nervous when he still did not see anyone. Ignoring the rest of the cups, Naruto walked at a quick pace towards the backdoor, wanting to exit the compound as soon as possible.

He froze in place suddenly when he felt a wave of killer intent directed at him. The earth in front of him rumbled slightly, and a skinny figure erupted through the ground. Before Naruto even had the chance to blink, his world was enveloped in darkness.

Naruto opened his eyes slowly.

He looked around.

The first thing that his mind registered was the fact that the room he was in was barely lit. He warily noted a few black candles hanging on the wall, dark wax dripping down from them.

He blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to rid his mind off the drowsiness. He instantly regretted the action with a wince, as his head began to feel as if it were being cracked open.

Trying to ignore his throbbing head, he tried to sit up, only to bite his tongue to keep himself from screaming in pain. He looked at his right hand anxiously, then at his left. They were both strapped to a wooden board that he seemed to be lying on, as was the rest of his body. With a wince, he noticed he razors that ere attached to the underside of the straps, making it impossible for him to move without losing blood.

"So the lost little lamb is finally awake, is it?" came a raspy voice from his left. Not daring to move his head, he settled or rolling his eyes sideways to get a good view at the speaker.

With an ominous chuckle, the speaker stood up to his full height, and walked over to Naruto. He was a tall man, standing almost seven feet tall, and was very lean. His back seemed slightly hunched, adding a dark atmosphere to him.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked, and did his best to ignore his sore throat. The man chuckled again, his shoulders twitching in sync to each wheeze.

"This matter does not concern you, neither is it important…" He hissed. "In fact, I would have preferred not to have it end his way. But facts are facts. You are too dangerous to b left alive. Thus…" the man reached into his dark cloak, and took out a curved dagger, a black substance coating its blade, dripping down slowly. Naruto stiffened. He tried to scream for help, but found his voice betraying him as his body shook with fear as the stranger raised the blade slowly, almost ceremoniously over his head.

A dark smile.

Then… unfathomable pain.

Naruto screamed as the dagger dug deep into his arm, cutting through the tissues of muscle, and denting his bone. Slowly, the dark man began tracing the dagger down the adolescent's arm. The fact that the blade had actually hit the bone was not helping Naruto relax, and neither did the pain of his muscled and veins being slice in two.

Blood was spilling from his arms and onto the stone floor at rapid speeds, and with every drop that splattered upon the marble floor.

The man grinned sadistically, and repeated the same gesture with the boy's other arm. Naruto screamed, and his small form began to writhe and shake with the pain, causing the spikes on the underside of his restraints to dig further into his flesh, ripping it as he shook.

Naruto was almost numb with pain, and felt his insides burn as poison began flowing through his veins, reaching his heart. He screamed, screamed with all his might, and is throat felt like it was ripping into pieces.

The blade once again penetrated his flesh, this time hitting his organs near his stomach. Tears began to run down his face, as he screamed and coughed up blood.

Time seemed to stretch out, each second felt like an hour, making each stab seemingly last an eternity.

Naruto was gasping, blood flowing freely from his veins. The man gave another twisted grin as he plunged the dagger into the child's left eye.

Naruto screamed. His body tensed, and unconsciously applied pressure to his blood vessels, speeding the leak of blood.

The man ripped out the dagger from the boy's body.

And it was over. The man grinned darkly as he waved his dagger, seemingly ripping through the air. A rip opened, and a barely conscious Naruto was thrown through before it closed. The pain and the evil laughter resounding from the walls and the were proof that what had happened was not a dream, but reality. Naruto found himself staring at the ceiling, which looked remarkably like his clan compounds ceiling. His eyes widened when he realized that he WAS in fact in his home. He focused on gathering his Chakra, as a memory flashed through his head.

Flashback

"Hikari-chan." Said one Namikaze Minato as he bent down in front of his daughter. "Today, I'll teach you how to make a Chakra signal, so that you can call Mommy or Daddy for help anytime you want, O.K.?"

Kushina nodded at her child as well, finding herself proud that her little girl was becoming stronger everyday. Neither of the three noted the blond child sitting at the table, listening intently to their every word.

Flashback end

Naruto gritted his teeth from his position in the ground. Initially, to make a Chakra signal, the user had to release almost his entire Chakra, form it around his entire body, then focus it into a small ball of pure power. After that, the user was to apply pressure with some of his remaining Chakra, the ball would implode after reaching a certain height above sea level. The waves sent from the usually harmless explosion would alert someone, usually being someone related to the user, since, much like DNA, Chakra also carried genetic information from any genetic predecessor.

The signal could of course be altered accordingly to the user's situation, alerting the receiver if the signal was a call for help, an urgent message or simply a notification.

Using the last ounce of his strength, he summoned his Chakra. He was lucky that he was an Uzumaki, as large Chakra reserves were considered a family trait in this clan.

He concentrated on forming it inton a shivering sphere of blue light.

Naruto tried to focus, but found that his mind was betraying him, finding the pain that was going through his body somethig to direct itself to.

Naruto gripped his necklace with a bloody hand, and gathered up his determination. With a final grunt, he shot the concentrated ball of energy into the sky. His head fell back against the marble floor with a crack, slipping away from the force of pressure applied by stressing the body.

Naruto smiled, despite the situation he was in. everything would be alright now. His parents would come to help him. They' do it. They loved him after all.

With that, Naruot fell into a coma-like state, his body and mind trying to rest, and doing so, but the pain prevented him from falling completely asleep, thus making him aware of his surroundings. Ignoring the pain, he relied on the part that reassured him that his family would come soon.

How wrong he was, the poor child.

Outside Konoha

The remaining members of the Namikaze clan were currently walking down the path leading to Kumogakure, a path that stretched far beyond their range of sight. The were pllanning to go to Sunagakure to fullfil their promise to their child, going on a training trip. Kumo was the Yondaime's first choice, as two Jinchuriki already resided in there.

The first was Nii Yugito, Jinchuuriki of the two tailed bakeneko. She was known for her calm perspective of every event, including battles and the occasional fan boy or demon hater.

The second was known as Kirabi, host of the eight tailed Ox. He had a widely known addiction to the foreign music style 'rap', something that the Namikaze family (Excluding Kushina herself,) found both funny and entertaining.

Namikaze Minato suddenly looked up from the conversation he was currently having with Hikari about Ramen when he felt a sudden Chakra spike to the east. The Yellow Flash, along with his wife, turned towards the power source.

A frown settled on Kushina's face as she turned to her husband.

"Anata, who do you think that could be?" she asked him, a hint of worry seeping into her eyes. Minato looked at her, then back at the source, then back again.

"I don't know. It's probably just a fluke." He answered her, feeling only slightly unsure. "I mean… we don't know anyone who could be in trouble right now, right?"

The two bit their lip and began to think. The only picture that came into their minds was Hikari, but she was right at their side so they did not feel the need to worry. With a shrug, they turned back towards their daughter, who was already skipping happily ahead of them.

They had forgotten their child.

Namikaze Mansion

Naruto felt terrible. His wounds were throbbing with pain, and the sunlight that shone through a window was stinging his eyes. His eyes had glazed over, not alight with any emotion except the determination that had kept him going all his life. He believed in his parents; believed that they had not forgotten him; believed that they would save him soon.

As the hours began to pass, however, his confidence ad trusting began to dim. He could already see that night had fallen, and he was quite sure that they should have received his signal by now. Had his parents actually forgotten about him?

He gritted his teeth, and mentally slapped himself. He needed to trust his parents. They were the only ones that could help him right now…

Naruto forced his thoughts into the lane of trust and optimism. He couldn't lose heart, not now. Tears began streaming down onto the floor as he forced himself a bitter smile.

They would come.

They would.

They had to. They were family after all, right? And those who abandon their comrades, family and friends are nothing but trash… he remembered the day that his father had said those words to Hikari.

The boy winced.

Hikari. He had told that to her, not him. anger slowly began to raise its ugly head within his heart, accompanied by jealousy. Slowly, he began to remember every thing that had made him feel more and more neglected…

Flashback

"Namikaze Hikari, did you do this?" his mother asked angrily as she pointed to the Hokage monuments that could be see outside the window, engraved into a mountain. The figures would have been proud and somewhat menacing if not for the paint that was spread across their faces, courtesy of Hikari.

The girl shook her head hurriedly, denying the fact. Her mind spun as she began to think of a way to get out of punishment. That was when she noticed her brother, calmly eating his Ramen o the kitchen table. She pointed at him quickly.

"It was Naruto!" She said. Naruto's head snapped around, and he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Surely his parents wouldn't believe that nonsense. After all, there had been witnesses…

"Is this true, Naruto?" Kushina asked angrily. Naruto looked at her, stupefied. She had accepted her words that easily? Before he could open his mouth, he found himself outside the house, catching only his mothers last words about letting him think about what he had done.

As time past, the young blond began to lose track of the hours that had passed. He had tried to knock on the door, only to be ignored. He sighed, and sat down on the grass, preferring to watch the people moving outside the realms border that was the mansion's closed gate.

Quite suddenly, without any sign of previous warning, Naruto saw a quick flash. He half expected it to be his father, but froze when he heard the following crack of thunder.

He turned his head warily towards the sky, and noted the dark clouds that had begun flitting across the azure beauty. Like ink tainting a glass of pure water, it spread across the sky, whilst lighting lit the inside. Droplets of freezing rain began falling down upon him, and he protectively held his hands above his head as the falling water began to gain force.

He quickly jogged back to the main door, and pounded the wood with his little hands.

No one opened.

An hour had passed.

Naruto felt the water drenching him to his bones. His orange jumpsuit was matted against his skin, showing his slightly developed muscle.

The boy sneezed once. Then twice. Soon, he had erupted in a barrage of sneezes and sniffles, water running down his wet face, matting his blonde mop of hair even more. He groaned warily, feeling a sense of nausea wash over him.

"What are you outside here, boy?"

Naruto jumped at the sudden sentence that seemed to emanate from nowhere. He turned around rapidly, his head snapping right and left as he squinted through the rain, trying to get a grip of his orientation that the heavy rain was distorting.

He was surprised when the rain suddenly seemed to stop coming in contact with his wet skin, even though he could still hear the tell-tale pitter patter of falling rain on the grass around him.

Using his left hand, he rubbed the water out of his eyes, feeling the soaked clothing material brush against his skin. He looked upwards, halfway expecting to see the dust-colored clouds that hung depressingly over the sky. His expectations diminished when he saw a large, black umbrella covering him in a radius that prevented the rain from splattering onto his six-year-old form.

He turned so quickly that he fell on his rear on the grass. He frowned suddenly and began to probe the earth beneath him with the hand that had helped him gain slight protection from the impact, only finding, to his amazement, that the patch was dry.

The boy turned his head upwards slightly, only to meet a strange figure dressed in gentleman-like clothes that he found very similar to some of the foreign nobles that sometimes visited the village. It was what the boy recognized as a 'suit', he believed it was called, and a tall top hat that sat upon his scalp, teetering slightly to the left.

The clothing was all black, with a blood-red tie and blood-red gloves that added the finishing tough to the figure.

The man's left hand rested on a black, shiny cane that as adorned with a disturbing grinning head with horns instead of a handle.

Naruto looked at the gentleman's face, his azure eyes sweeping across the slightly aged features of the man, his blue eyes meeting red.

Instantly, he was on his feet, taking a sloppy fighting stance while his hand instinctively reached into his Kunai pouch. Finding nothing, Naruto settled to raise his fists as threateningly as he could manage.

"Who are you?" He asked, trying desperately to suppress his rapidly increasing heartbeat.

The man smiled widely, a smile that, for some reason made Naruto's hair stand on end.

"Relax, I'm not an enemy. Yet, anyways." The man answered, and Naruto noted the aristocratic manner in which the man talked, along with the faint, almost untraceable accent in his voice. However kindly the man spoke, however, naruto refused to let his guard down.

"How did you get in here?" Naruto asked curtly, trying to pay no heed to the slowly drying hair that clung to his face. "This is the securest around, ya know."

"I have my methods."

Naruto, by this time sensing no ill intent from the figure in front of him, allowed his muscles to relax slightly. Just slightly. Before he could question the man in front of him again, the latter spoke first.

"Putting my case aside, what are you doing outside, boy?"

Naruto twitched slightly, but did not answer.

The man looked at Naruto, then at the closed door behind him. his eyes widened slightly in realization.

"I see." He murmured. "They forgot about you, didn't they?"

Naruto wanted to protest, but deep inside knew that that was true. His parents had always barely payed attention to him, only calling his name when they wished to test their daughters new techniques. The fact that they never took care if the injuries he received afterwards only added salt to the wounds of his young heart. But…

"Tell me, boy. Why do you not weep?"

Naruto looked up at the man, and felt a fire begin to burn within him. Determination began to fill his eyes, and he locked eyes with the person.

"I won't show weakness." He said, his voice filled with emotion. "I won't let them think of me as useless… and I'll definitely step out of her shadow!"

The man seemed stunned, and did not react. For a few moments, silence stretched, and Naruto was beginning to question the man's wellbeing. His worries were scattered to the winds when the man reared his head back and began laughing heartily, revealing his white, slightly pointy teeth.

"W-What the hell's so funny?" Naruto exclaimed, feeling slightly offended at the man's laughter. The laughter began to die down slowly, and Naruto found himself being stared at by warm eyes. A red-gloved hand fell upon his head, ruffling his hair while leaving his cane somehow standing perfectly still, defying the laws of gravity.

The man reached into his pocket, and pulled out a dark jeweled necklace. Wordlessly, he put it around the child's neck, and seemed amused when he was stared at with wide eyes.

"Keep it." the man said with a smile, and turned to leave, but not before he turned back his head.

"You have quite a future ahead of you, boy. Biss Bald, Kleiner!**"

And with that, the man completely disappeared from view, leaving behind no trace for his existence bit the necklace that hung around the blond's neck. Naruto felt happiness grow inside him. He had, for the first time inn his young life been acknowledged by someone without his sister being mentioned.

With a small smile he curled up beside the door, and did not seem to notice the heavy rain that had started pouring heavily upon him.

With a last smile, he took the necklace in his hand, and inspected it.

There, right on the sides if the chain that suspended the jewels, a line of runes could be made out. Even though he could not read the strange scripture, he knew exactly what it said.

End Flashback

Naruto chuckled grimly. That was the first man to acknowledge his existence. And ever since that incident, he supposed, a small darkness had gown in him, a darkness that always whispered the negative emotions he experienced, and the small nudge in his mind that knew that his parents would never fully notice him. Today had only increased the feelings that he had tried to ignore for so long.

A he suppressed the tears that threatened to spill out of his eyes, and closed them.

And slowly, very slowly, his world fell into darkness.

Opening his eyes, Naruto uttered a small groan.

He felt… soft. He looked around, and was instantly awake.

On his right, one Hyuuga Hinata was looking down at him worriedly. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she had tear-marks running down her cheeks, which seemed paler than usual. She looked ragged, as if she hadn't slept in days.

Naruto turned his eyes slightly, and noted Sasuke sitting on the other side of his bed. The Uchiha survivor's eyes were darker than their usual shade, and small bags underneath them indicated his lack of sleep. Even though his face seemed stoic, it was obvious that he was holding back an enormous amount of emotion.

"Hinata… Sasuke…" He managed to mutter before passing out again.

This time however, a lone word echoed in his head, reminding him of the meaning of the runes that were located on his necklace, which he had also known were the symbols for the man's name.

'Lucifer…'

TBC...

Well, that was it. It took me months to write this thing, so I hope that it's to your liking. Hopefully, the update won't take too long, as will my other stories. Well, hope you had fun.

SNK out.

Translations

*By the power that lies within me, I hereby take the soul of this beast and banish it into this innocent form!

**See you soon, kid!