Hello Simply Hopeless a.k.a. Assassin's Kiss here with a new chapter for you. Has it been a long time… Heck yes. Are you pissed at me? More than likely yes. But guess what?! I'm honestly sorry that real life situations and writer's block took me away from wrestling with this monster of a story. There was a lot I took out over the last few weeks and months, and a lot I put in. There will be people dying in this fic, inappropriate languages and thoughts. This fic is owned by me but unfortunately I don't own the anime/manga Naruto.

I'm updating at 7:32pm against my better judgement because I know as soon as I post it people will read. I didn't hold this story hostage because I just finally finished it less than thirty minutes ago. You will read the hell out of this because if you've gotten this far then this Naruto has gotten under your skin in a bad... or I guess good way. Yes, despite me wanting to give up on this story several times trying to right just this chapter alone, that Naruto refused for me to stop until this was at least written. If you like it review. Tell me what you like about it and hopefully I will be able to update this month, yes depending on reviews. Not just because I'm review whore but because good reviews help me push through writer's block when I just want to give up. Lyrics below are awesome, try listening to that when you get to Danzo… it's morbidly upbeat.

'But I really, really want to thank you!/

For dancing till the end/

You found a way to break out!/

You're not afraid to break out!/

But I need to know!/

If the world says it's time to go/

Tell me would you freak out?!'

~Dance Apocalyptic by Janelle Monae

/Recap/

"I'm remembering."

"Wh… What?"Iruka barely managed to whisper as his body was about ready to sag in defeat.

Naruto let a long suffering sigh as he combed his fingers into his already bound hair. He looked into the disbelieving eyes of the Headmaster before turning to look at his small master who had ordered him to always stay truthful to him."Poppet, ever since I saw Minato's hologram and realized what I did, I've started to remember him. It's not much. Shards really of fragmented conversations and disembodied feelings; but I think if I allow it, my memories of my past life and the love I felt for him can come back. So what do you think I should do Poppet? You wanted to be treated less like a child so now that you know, what should I do."

"A… Anything that will keep you at m… my side. I… I can't lose you to him," Sasuke began panicked. He was already feeling his chest tightened painfully at the idea of losing his Guardian to anyone. Especially when that anyone was a ghost that he had thought was dead.

"Then it has been decided. I can only serve one master. So I will kill Minato before I remember to love him again," Naruto announced determinedly, kissing the crown of silently crying master's head.

Chapter Eight: Never Let a Demon Show his Ugly

He wasn't going to kill Minato.

He knew what he said.

He hadn't hesitated to say it.

However, Kyuubi had kept that particular human alive for a reason. It might have been something as loathsome and ridiculously sentimental as love, but he would not dishonor his former life by killing what Kyuubi had tried to sustain.

Naruto might not remember now, but he would. He knew he would and when he did. He didn't want to have regrets. He didn't deserve any in his final life.

So no, he wasn't going to kill Minato.

No, the only reason he said something so heartless in the first place was because he wanted to get a rise out of Iruka. He deserved it after all after nearly getting him killed without having all the facts. Besides the man wore his heart on his sleeve and Naruto was a sadistic bastard who found it funny how Iruka seemed to implode in on himself after hearing such blatant words.

The fiend bit back the smile of amusement as red-rimmed eyes took in looks of bemusement followed closely by anger. There was even a brief moment where the human feverishly eyed his paperweight on his desk as if he wanted to cave in someone's head, whether Sasuke or his own was yet to be determined. He'd have impaled him on one of his last remaining tails, of course, without batting an eye because no one touched what was his. However, it never came to that because just as suddenly as anger seemed to hold dominion over the brunette, it suddenly disappeared and Iruka looked apologetically abashed at his behavior.

"You ate away his anger, didn't you?" Naruto suddenly demanded, breaking the awkward silence that hung over them all since his earlier declaration. His brow wrinkled in bemusement. It was such a logical and illogical concept to explain why Iruka went from wanting to kill his little master to smiling gratefully at his Guardian in such a short span of time.

"What kind of Guardian would I be if I did not do my utmost to put my Lord and Master's heart at ease? I only nibbled a little away to clear his head some. It's a little too spicy for my taste, but not actually bad," Kakashi murmured jovially even as he rested his hand against his own heart. He bowed mockingly to his brunette, a playful wink given. "I'd rather take a nibble of him when he's horny. But you can do the same thing too; devour Sasuke's negative emotions now that you're bonded like we are." (1)

"Now why the hell would I do that?" Naruto said rudely with a snort. He kicked his feet up onto the coffee table and crossed them at the ankle while still holding his precious cargo on his lap. He viciously enjoyed how the tea cup tipped over the side pouring the last dredges of the 'oh so special tea' onto what seemed like an expensive enough rug. "I like a little coffee in my milk. That bittersweet taste of darkness blossoming against such a pure, white soul makes my mouth water just thinking about the mere whisper of a taste. It just makes me want to devour him right now and suck him down to his very marrow," Naruto practically purred in a deep timbre. His large hand was suddenly around Sasuke's throat, tilting his pale chin up even as his teeth lightly grazed the side of Sasuke's tattooed neck. A smirk was hidden against the warm column of flesh as little Sasuke shivered in anticipation of being consumed. His small master was such a willing lamb to the slaughter, lying pliant and needy for more.

Naruto was the type of fiend that liked to fan the flames of chaos, not keep it at bay. Even if he didn't quite remember them, he knew he had led many former mistresses and masters to destructive ruin by coxing out their darkest desires because that was his nature. What was the fun if they all remained just boring, purely sweet vanilla? Maybe at first he might like to keep this dark-haired child sweet and malleable to his will with the aid of the 'Demon's Proposal'. But Naruto eagerly anticipated the day Sasuke would no longer be so meek and show more of the ugliness of his heart. His final taste would surely be rapturous, his soul brimming over with the sweetest of sins.

"Be that as it may…" Iruka began before the blonde could start teasing and manhandling the naïve little Uchiha even more. "Anytime I try to get in your way I come out looking like the bad guy. I don't want that and I have at least known you long enough to know that pleading with you would fall to deaf ears; especially when you feel you've been slighted. So let's try this tactic," Iruka offered with a mocking smile, his fingers steepled together in front of him. "Let's make a deal."

"There is nothing you have that I could possibly want." Naruto drawled out callously after a long, pregnant pause. Despite his words he reluctantly pulled his greedy maw from the flushed column of Sasuke's neck, ignoring the mew of protest from his Poppet. It thrilled him to his core to give and take away from Sasuke at just a simple whim. A please little smile tugged at his lips at his human's distress even as he situated the ten-years-old on his lap so that he could run his fingers in soothing circles down his back. Then the blonde sat up a little straighter, feet once more on the floor, his interest piqued.

Why not? Demons loved deals. It was almost a scientific fact. Anything that could somehow benefit them without any real sacrifice on their part was always a good thing. Many, like Naruto, lived for getting over on the other by twisting their words just so that every little loophole benefited them more so than the other party. Why else did many fiends disguised as humans decide to entangle themselves in the dirty mire that is business, law and politics?

"Well then I guess Naruto-senpai doesn't want this present I specially ordered to thank him for helping me in safely retrieving and keeping my Aniki alive and unharmed indefinitely." Iruka murmured as nonchalantly as possible while still stressing four particular words. He then motioned for his Guardian to bring out the present that he had prepared originally to coax the blonde into helping him find his Aniki before Sasuke threw a wrench in the works. He knew he was on bad footing with the blonde after mistaking him for Minato's killer and his obvious frustration with Sasuke. But if this underhanded gesture gave even the slightest chance that this might gain an ally out of Naruto, Iruka would take it with both hands.

Honestly, all it took was a soft meow and a flash of a furry tail and Naruto's pupils were practically blown to kingdom come. Black night swallowed his amber irises until only the red rim showed. He stood unceremoniously as if summoned, barely hearing the offended squawk of his unseated master as his eyes greedily drank in the wiggling, molten gold bundle in the crook of one of Kakashi's arms before looking in equal parts at its' sibling led out by a silver chain.

"Samson and Delilah are Savannah cats," Iruka barely managed to explain before his voice turn into white-noise. The world had quickly shrunk to just Naruto and the two furry beauties before his eyes.

It was clear the furry felines were already successfully weaned from their mother's teat and were several months old when Naruto considered their sheer size. They were almost the same size as a full grown housecat, but still had the awkward innocence of adolescents. It was perplexing because they were by far the largest kittens, outside wild cats, he had seen in all his lifetimes.

'That spotted, soft fur, so much like a cheetah with its gold and black canvas. Such beauty in its supple, small body and the way it cries… so sinfully sweet. Oh… Oh and look at how it flutters it's furry, striped tail back and forth as if to say 'hello, come pet me'. Who could resist such a beautiful tempter or temptress with those big feline eyes and huge paws just waiting to show such deadly claws? I can just imagine the deep, throaty purrs that will reduce such noble creatures into such furry, receptive partners to praises and caresses. They must possess-' Naruto's feline montage could almost be done to a CG backdrop of a misty background and floating colorful bubbles, it seemed so surreal and out of place. However, such an idea quickly vanished as the blonde suddenly came to himself with quiet fury.

"That's a very low blow meat puppet," Naruto snarled out, now all gnashing teeth.

His longing to touch such beautiful creatures, even just one, was quickly reared in as he tore his eyes away. He visibly flinched and nearly stumbled backwards at the pitiful mew of one of the felines as a big furry head came to bump up against his pants leg, askance for a stroke. Tempting him to give in when he had to be clear-headed and rational.

Naruto was clearly torn because his instincts screamed that this was clearly a trap. Even the names Samson and Delilah rang strongly of irony. But even so, he instinctively wanted to fall on one bended knee and draw the furry brute into his arms for a cuddle and rub down. He oddly enough remembered with regret that his last owner Minato had been allergic to his one true weakness and it was with a sadden heart he rarely tried to indulge in his weakness.

But this, this gift was underhandedly brilliant. Very few could understand, the way he could, the sheer beauty of a noble creature that needed no one but its' on self to satisfy their whims. But out of the kindness of their furry hearts, allowed their human masters to feed, pet and play with them because it amused them and not the other way around. Cats owned their owner, not the other way around. They picked and choose who they would allow to curry favor with them and had no qualms showing their displeasure. They were by far better than the loathsome dogs that practically tripped over themselves to be petted and walked. Dogs were painfully reminders of the demons who had allowed themselves to fall over themselves to be at the beck and call of their loathsome masters.

It was just too bad for Naruto that the cats found in the demon world paled sadly in comparison to their earthly versions. He did have a soft spot for the tall, lanky, skeletal creatures, but there was something about running fingers through soft, warm, fur, that gave him a sense of peace. And it was clear that If he didn't put a stop to this now, Iruka would thoroughly manipulate that particular weakness and have him saying 'yes' to practically anything.

"I cannot accept this offer," he bit out tersely, fists balled at his side. It was clear it pained him to say it, but he couldn't indulge himself so recklessly.

"What do you mean? I thought you like cats of all shapes and sizes? I've already checked with Sasuke's mother and she says none of the family are allergic to cats so I thought maybe…" Iruka trailed off suggestively with a nonchalant shrug, his eyes twinkling with mirth. Naruto had to unfortunately admire the man for committing himself to being a manipulative son of a bitch when he gave it the ole' college try.

"…" Naruto couldn't say much to that besides gritting his teeth in frustration. Iruka would pay. He didn't know how, maybe maim him a bit, but the son of a bitch would pay. But for now Naruto couldn't help but bite out a vicious, "Maybe, we can work something out after all," before storming out with a glowering Uchiha close on his heels.

"Should we evacuate the students for Hurricane Naruto?" asked Kakashi in amusement as he gathered up Delilah, who had moved her furry head to lick up Naruto's forgotten tea. The blonde was giving off such a lovely killing aura, he was afraid even when Naruto reverted back to his child form after passing through Iruka's door, that many would be giving him a wide berth out of natural fear of preservation.

"Not yet, but you might have to start training me again. This is just the calm before the storm and when it really starts raining I want to be ready and preferably this side of not dead and unfit to function in proper society by the end of it," he murmured ruefully before pushing back his chair. His legs nearly buckled under him but he'd do anything for his brother and if that meant facing off one pissed off blonde in order to win him to his side, then fuck it, so be it. His brother better appreciate this.

xXx

They both saw the absence of Naruto's gilded cage and the new addition of the fainting couch at the same time as they entered the room. The blonde fiend had been uncharacteristically silent since his confrontation with Iruka and Sasuke had tried to ignore the alarmed looks his classmates kept throwing his way the rest of the school day. Not even Sakura quaking in a corner, practically curled up in the fetal position, as if all that anger was actually the result of her boneheaded move earlier today, was small comfort to being practically ignored half of the day. So when they entered their inner sanctum the raven snapped.

He pushed at the small of Naruto's back, grimacing when the fully grown demon didn't budge an iota. He hated this… feeling weak and left out. He didn't know what the hell that was back there with Iruka but clearly the brunette knew the blonde well enough to have clearly gotten under his skin and deter him from his earlier declaration of murder.

"Don't," Naruto warned softly. He had been thinking, plotting, calculating on how he could get his revenge on a way that wouldn't automatically elicit disappointment in his mother or the possible loss of garnering one of those delightful Savannah cats. It had to be carefully done, but it was hard to concentrate with his human pouting and glaring at him for ignoring him.

"Then stop ignoring me," hissed Sasuke, pale cheeks flushed in his frustration. Sasuke was selfish. He wanted all that attention on him, whether it was his anger or his adoration, he wanted to be the center of it all. He hated playing second fiddle to a bunch of stupid cats and especially to a headmaster obsessed with getting his brother back. What happened to Naruto being so affectionate and possessive enough to kiss him in front of the entire class. He wanted that 'Guardian' back.

"You would be wise not to get in-between a demon and his plotting. Isn't that right Naruto. Your plotting something horrible. Something that might possibly get you out of my hair for good," Itachi murmured as he stepped into their room. The door was open, he could feel the tension from the hallway, and anyway to put a wedge between the two was to be jumped on immediately.

"Porcelain stop flirting with me, you know your brother doesn't like that," the blonde fiend said with a knowing smirk. He moved to sit gracefully onto his new fainting couch and crossed his legs, arms fanned out to either side as if he was preparing to entertain guests. "You want me don't you?" he purred with a saucy wink at the spluttering Uchiha.

"ANIKI!" cried out Sasuke even as he quickly moved to curl up at his fiend's side. He pouted at his older brother even as he grabbed possessively at Naruto's shirt front, as if daring anyone to budge him this time. He was determined to keep what was rightfully his.

"Down tiger, he probably means well. The idealistic fool," Naruto chided lightly, running his fingers through Sasuke's thick locks "Isn't that right precious Aniki? You want only the best for your brother so just let me have him properly. Just give in and make him truly happy," he murmured seductively, dropping an octave.

"Otouto you shouldn't trust that piece of filth. He's going to corrupt you, turn you from your own. He's already doing it. Don't you see? I will always want your happiness but this blonde asshole isn't it. How about a puppy? I could get you a puppy." Itachi wheedled, alternating between throwing Naruto death glares and looking beseechingly at his younger brother.

"I think I'm worth more than a filthy puppy. Just imagine the drooling, the walks and the constant picking up their shit. No, I'm pretty sure I could scratch an itch that your precious Otouto has yet to know he needs scratching," teased Naruto lasciviously. He was still pissed at Iruka's underhandedness, but watching Kisame quickly restraining his murderous master, went a long way to assuaging his hurt feelings.

"What itch?" Sasuke asked innocently. He was content to by his demon's side again, no longer ignored. But he felt it quite strange how his brother didn't want Naruto anywhere near him. If he could only see that the blonde would never hurt him on purpose, then maybe…. Maybe they could all get along.

"Oh you precious lamb, we'll scratch it together some day," he sweetly cooed. He kissed the child's forehead to see Itachi splutter and Sasuke flushed. The Uchihas' were quite entertaining and he could carry on like this all day except there was a gentle knock on the door that suddenly demanded his attention. "Yes, may I help you?" he asked politely enough, raising a brow, askance.

"If you wouldn't mind, stop riling up my boys and please come down to the study. Apparently Fugaku has remembered us long enough to grace of with his presence and he wants to speak with you Naruto," Mikoto announce, scolding lightly. The petite woman did not like the idea of this fiend coming into her home and turning her children against each other. Whether he did it jokingly or not, she was a mother bear when it came to her children and if anyone, outsider or family, tried to hurt her young, they had one pissed off mother to answer to.

Naruto opened his mouth as if to say something scathingly sharp. But he then looked at the two Uchihas that had become meek lambs before their mother before looking at the ferocious yet small woman in the doorway. He had to admire a human with spirit, even if said spirited person had just ruined his fun.

"Please lead the way madam," he murmured, slightly amused as he stood. He knew where the true power laid and he wanted to stay on its' good side for Sasuke's sake. "I'll be in to tuck you in soon enough Sasuke," he murmured with another wink just to hear Itachi splutter once more. He knew where the power laid, but it didn't mean he was going to let it totally spoil his fun as he smiled innocently enough at Mikoto's unwavering gaze.

"I couldn't help myself," Naruto said jovially as he trotted down the stairs after the lady of the house.

"You could," Mikoto said matter-of-factly.

"Yes, I could. But what's the fun in obeying every single rule. Just know I'll leave your precious Itachi be for now," he offered in lieu of an apology. He liked this human enough to want to try and earn her respect.

Mikoto clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth, not wanting to say what she thought of his kind offer. She was displeased enough that her wayward husband returned smelling of his demon's perfume, and demanding to see her son's demon after weeks cloistered up at the office on 'business'. She wasn't stupid. She only put up with him this long for the boys' sake. But his inability to make sure their children were healthy and safe since the last demon joined their ranks proved that maybe they were better if Fugaku left permanently.

She kept those thoughts to herself as she led the blonde fiend to her estranged husband's study. "Please reframe from killing him," she murmured softly. Then before Naruto could give her a look of bemusement or sympathy for her troubles, she was gone, probably to putter around in her gardens or in her large kitchen.

Fugaku, not realizing the trouble that was already brewing at home, directed Naruto to a chair, only to grimace when the blonde demon opted to stand instead and lean up against his library bookcase, directly across from him.

"We got off on the wrong start last time we met; but I'm here to amend that. Please… Have a seat," the raven haired man asked once more.

He didn't even bother to introduce Naruto to what clearly was his own Guardian standing behind and a little to the right of him. She stood stoically, watching the blonde with burning brown eyes, her hair short-cropped and efficient for battle. She wasn't quite as pretty as Mikoto Uchiha, but it wasn't uncommon for masters and mistresses to cheat on their spouses with their Guardian's. Even if they might not enjoy their owners' advances didn't mean they could deny who tugged at their short leash.

"Words mean nothing without the actions to back them." Naruto quipped smoothly even as he stubbornly remained standing, his long legs stretched out before him. He even respected Itachi more than Fugaku, and he love torturing the little shit for being so protective of what was his. At least that Uchiha and his mother had Sasuke's best interest at heart.

Fugaku's smile quickly disappeared even as he sat stiffly down and waved for his own demon to bring him a decanter of something old and expensive. After pouring himself a decent amount of liquor he sniffed gingerly before downing it in one go and continuing as if Naruto wasn't being difficult.

"You are a great asset to my son and therefore a great asset to this family. We want to make you feel as comfortable here as possible. But there are rules our family demons are to follow," he began carefully as he poured himself another cupful. He snapped his fingers and his demon dropped two ice cubes into his warm brandy before he nodded his head in approval and took another healthy sip.

"You say ours like you own me and yet the only one who summoned me back into the human realm was Sasuke. Not you," he murmured with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulder. Oh, he really didn't like this human. He might have been irritated at Iruka, but at least the brunette had balls to come onto his playground and try to thwart him by exploiting his weakness. No, this guy right in front of him came from a rich family and he thought because he scowled and withheld his love, only lavishing it when it suited him, he'd be shaking on his boots to agree to anything.

'No wonder Mikoto warned me not to kill him,' he thought a bit in amusement. It honestly was tempting, even if it was to end this insipid conversation. This human had nothing to bargain with. He held no ones' respect in this household and/or shouldn't have. He needed to break Sasuke of his dependency on his father. This patriarchal figure was only a figurehead to the true powerhouse here.

"I own your master. He's my son. Ergo, I own you," Fugaku insisted, through clenched teeth. He sloshed his drink a little bit as he went to take another great swallow and missed in his anger. He was the first son of the first son of rich, influential Demon Summoners. If he had to use his own Guardian Shizune to beat this insolent demon into submission, possibly calling Kisame for back up against things got a bit dicey, then he would.

"Amusing," Naruto sighed out dryly. "And what makes you think you can ride this ride?" he mused as he stood up straight, using every inch of his height to intimidate. "Only a select few have, and even less managed to get away with their souls intact." He smiled a smile with so many teeth that he could already see Fugaku's Guardian already shifting down into a fighting stance. She'd die. She was strong, but not strong enough and that wall all that mattered in this world.

"I will have Sasuke break you in order for you to serve my interests. I guarantee you that!" Fugaku roared, standing up. He pulled out his cellphone prepared to call Kisame at a drop of a hat. He would not allow such insolence to live under his roof. It was better to break the wild ones early if you wanted them docile enough to control.

"Sasuke can speak for himself. I actually quite like the fact that even now, despite being under the influence, he has such a combative personality. It'll make things more interesting later on," he smiled that secretive smile of his. Then before the infuriating human could say anything else or try to send off his demon to attack him, Naruto silently left out the door.

He needed to make arrangements. There was one particular human he did need to kill and order to do that he needed to call up a special friend. A friend who owed him big time for secrets that weren't meant for him to tell.

xXx

"So what the hell is up with Naruto?" whispered Neji, eyeing the blonde a few feet from them. He might have itched to have his Guardian go up against the pipsqueak on that first day, but the kind of dark aura that was coming off him a few days ago was damn near tangible. He'd have to be blind, deaf and stupid, not to know that he was someone you didn't easily fuck with without a death wish.

"Yeah, is he always this grumpy?" Ino asked, scooting her chair closer to Sasuke. That was putting it mildly, but she needed to know for her Guardian's sake. Sure Sakura had overstepped her boundaries when she tried to make claims on Sasuke; but the blonde had to fight tooth and nail to get the pinkette to show up today.

She seemed timid, for the first time, instead of her babbling bossy self. She wasn't quite as jumpy when they were at home but here, she seemed to flinch at any loud noise, her big frightened green eyes quickly darting over to Naruto as if he had created the disturbance instead of someone else in the opposite direction. Normally Ino would like the respite to have a chance to talk for herself instead of having the bossy pinkette talking over or for her. But this, this wasn't the Sakura she had grudgingly befriended and she wanted her back for better or worse.

The blonde in question was currently drooling peacefully on his desk, snoring softly while his arms stretched out in front of him. It was lunch time and since human food was like drinking water, replenishing, but lacking the nutritional level of a juicy soul, the blonde took a hard pass in favor of a nap.

Although once in a blue moon Naruto was tempted to revisit Iruka's dirty trick, he had bigger fish to fry. So he had been calling up old acquaintances for the past week, trying to see who were truly loyal to him Those who had seemed on the fence of the plan he was starting to cook up, where either silenced with a threat or permanently depending on the blonde's mood. He could only use his shadow clones to perform such tasks because he didn't want his master or his master's family to become too suspicious. But right now he needed to conserve as much energy as possible for the task he had in mind for someone truly special.

'Is he plotting to kill me?' The bold words were scribbled onto a piece of paper that trembled as the uncharacteristically meek Sakura held up her question. She didn't quite meet Sasuke's eyes, unsure on when the blonde would wake up. If he hadn't seemed so pissed after returning back to class and the last few days, she might have tried to cozy up the young Uchiha and try to coax him to give her a chance. But any time she thought of even daring, she'd remember those angry blood red eyes trained on her and she'd let out an uncharacteristic squawk of fear.

"No he's not killing you or anyone that I know," Sasuke said, sounding more confident than he truly was. He honestly didn't know what his demon was capable of. He had yet to truly hurt Sasuke in their handful of waking days together, but it was also clear that his demon was playing some things close this chest. He didn't want to air his suspicions out to his friends, or frienemy in Neji's case, but he had a feeling Naruto was plotting something big.

He had tried sneaking up on the blonde while he was in the middle of what seemed like intense conversations. But they abruptly ended when he was within hearing distance. It was more than suspicious, it was hurtful. He didn't like his demon keeping secrets from him and the Uchiha didn't know how long he could play the bigger person and wait until Naruto divulge to him what he was plotting. But he held his tongue on the matter and threw his suspicious friends a red herring. "It's all because that idiot is still throwing a temper tantrum because the headmaster has something that he desperately wants. But Iruka-sensei will only give it to him if he makes a certain deal with him," he said vaguely enough to pique their interests.

"Most be one hell of a deal if he's having this hard a time sealing a deal. He looks like one hell of a wordsmith," Shikamaru murmured, nonchalantly. He seemed as if he didn't care as he gratefully plucked up an offered potato chip from Chouji's snack bag, but his brown eyes were sharp and observant despite how bored he may appear.

"Wake up Uchiha Naruto. This is not nap time. You are a Guardian and class has started back. Either protect your charge or pay attent—" hissed Kabuto. Then a shadow tail sprouted from Naruto's backside and wrapped like a python's coil around his wrist, tight and unyielding. "Release me you hellion!"

"See this was why we weren't trying to wake him," Shikamaru said nonchalantly. He had no sympathy for Kabuto. That particular teacher kind of creeped him out in a different way than the secrets that Naruto chose to hide behind.

"I… is someone g… going to d… do something?" squeaked out Hinata. She scraped her chair back, standing and unsure whether she should comfort Sakura who had gone into a whimpering panic, curling into herself at Naruto's attack; or their creepy biology teacher who was swearing as he usually tried to tug his hand free.

"This is not a fight you will win. Sit," instructed Shikamaru gently. He stood with a sigh, hands shoved in his pocket and walked over to Naruto. He tried to stay out of things, preferring to observe, but if someone didn't do anything, Kabuto would lose his hand. So with some quick hand movements he prepared to connect his shadow to Naruto's tail in hopes of gently unwinding it.

Unfortunately, or fortunately for them, depending on who you asked, Sasuke had just then shot up like a bottle rocket, marched over to his demon, grabbed a fistful of buttery locks and huffed in his ear. "Wake up idiot, you're embarrassing me."

Sasuke's pale cheeks were burning pink with embarrassment and fury. He hated to be ignored and he refused to let his demon carry himself this way in class. So he was going to take actions, damned the consequences.

"You're no fun poppet," slurred Naruto sleepily as slowly blinked his eyes open. He didn't appreciate the hair pulling or the scolding but he released Kabuto's hand, scuffing when the teacher tried to shoot him a dirty look. "You can't expect me to help what I do in my sleep. Everyone knows you have to be careful when waking up a demon. We might retaliate," he purred dangerously before drawing his sulking human close.

"I should show you true embarrassment by putting you right over my knee and swatting you in front of your little friends." His warm breath tickled Sasuke's ear, making his skin prickle and his cheeks flush darker at those whispered words as he looked with widen eyes at his demon.

"Y… You wouldn't," Sasuke breathed softly, nearly choking on his words. He didn't know if he wanted that kind of attention on him, but he did miss having his demon's attention on him. Even if it was in the less desirable form of a blonde human.

"Maybe when you can prove how naughty you can be," he said, with a soft kiss to the raven's temple. His blue eyes twinkled with mischief at his master's slightly disappointed face before he stood and rubbed his hands greedily together. "My ears have been burning, who's been talking about me?"

His smile was downright wolfish and Sakura let out a weak squeak, trying to make herself smaller, by hunching her shoulders and bowing her head.

"Oh, this will be fun indeed."

xXx

It had been a little over two weeks since their last confrontation with Iruka in his office and even though he had attempted, for Mikoto's sake, to sleep on the fainting couch—it was useless. Wherever Naruto slept, the small Uchiha wasn't far behind. He took naps with his head on Naruto's lap while the fiend caught up on a bit of literature. Sasuke curled up on Naruto's lap or against the fiend's side when he deemed it necessarily for his body to recharge for the day.

Wherever Naruto went, Sasuke wasn't that far behind, sometimes making conversation with his contact difficult on his brand new cell phone. It was compliments of Mikoto because she was smart enough to know that it was important to be in contact with Naruto when needed, knowing her son would be close behind. He had made several calls, to two particular individuals, sometimes texting them when it appeared his little human would snoop.

Sasuke could ask him what he was plotting, he would have to tell him the truth. But it was quite clear the small human was waiting patiently, or as patiently as an Uchiha could wait, for Naruto to tell him on his own. It was kind of naively adorable. He was plotting revenge on a particular someone and once completed he wanted to make sure Sasuke knew only just enough that he didn't accidentally implement himself in an incident that was clearly out of his hands. But for right now Naruto was happy enough to lay in bed with his Poppet.

"When I tried playing with your hair before you'd usually be asleep and ready to bite me." Sasuke breathed this out into the quiet night air even as he busied his fingers twirling a golden strand around his digits before unwinding it again. Over and over again, his pale digit the spindle for the golden threads that turned into smoldering red embers at the roots. He found he greatly enjoyed these quiet moments with his Naruto in their shared bed.

"If you want, I can still bite you," Naruto sleepily murmured as he tilted his face upwards. Slowly he captured one of his master's wrists, drawing it purposely to his lips, dangling it just so, so that he had to lean up to nip playfully at his fingertips. A smirk tugged at the drawstrings of his lips as he felt his little master shiver in anticipation as he chased each offending teeth mark he made with tiny apologetic kisses. "After all, I am here to serve you and all that sentimental crap that you humans love hearing," he finished with a final kiss to his wrist's pulse mark.

"Why must servitude be such a chore for you? I would prefer you work with me, not simply serve." Sasuke reasoned even as he scraped his perfectly manicured fingernails down into the very embers of his fiend's hair. He honestly doubted very few were brave enough to attempt such a thing and the throaty purr that unfurled from his Naruto's lips was an added bonus as the blonde nuzzled his face affectionately against Sasuke's pajama clothed stomach in appreciation.

"So small, and yet already a sentimental fool," Naruto mused with a dark chuckle. He could vaguely recollect another individual that wished to be more than the status quo and yet here he was in bed with another.

The fiend preferred to be nude, but he didn't want to corrupt his human yet with his such sinful tendencies. His face was usually pressed somewhere in the region of Sasuke's stomach, large hands grabbing fistfuls of the back of the child's pajama top as if he was hugging a small teddy bear and was determined to keep him firmly in place. They curled around each other, Sasuke's upper half occasionally curling around Naruto's head as he hugged him close to his body. Or he spread out like a 'T' arms out to either side while his 'Guardian hugged his lower half. Naruto curling his feet just under his butt, while his shadow tail rested twitching on his lower hip.

They made two lazily coiled 'S's the way they were twined around each other usually. He didn't find anything wrong with the way they were fitted together, as long as he got to sleep close to the one he had tied his life to. Naruto personally slept in only pajama bottoms while his small master wore the complete pajama set. His above normal warmth, a pleasant contrast to Sasuke's usually chilled fingers and toes.

"Are you really as bad as people say you are?" Sasuke broached hesitantly into the still night's air. His small, pale hand tightened in his Guardian's golden locks as if afraid. His stomach muscles suddenly clenching at the tickling sensation of Naruto's warm breath brushing against it in his laughter.

"I'm far from a saint Poppet. I have a past that's liberally dipped in darkness no matter if I partially remember it or not. I'm no good. But then again, you wouldn't be cuddling up to me if that truly bothered you," he murmured, pressing a soft kiss over Sasuke's clothed belly button. His fingers had long since crawled inside the boy's to sustain skinship and take in some of his warmth. It was the kind of warmth that would never quite seep into his blackened heart.

"What does it feel like… You know… Killing someone," Sasuke whispered anxiously, afraid to say it any louder.

"I want to keep you as pure as I can," Naruto confessed, as he dragged his eyes up from the child's clothed belly to look into those doe gray eyes.

"What is it like killing someone?" Sasuke was more insistent this time, his eyes trained steadily on him, unwavering.

"It depends on the person. It depends on the soul…" The fiend began, choosing his words carefully even as he lifted his head up with some difficulty. His fingers gently unfurled those stubborn pale digits from his hair so he could look his master in the eye. He would not lie to the boy if he wished to learn every ugly facet of his person. Perjury be damned.

"Sometimes I can feel my mouth watering at the mere idea of ending someone's life. For example, you were asleep at the time, but I had threatened your Uncle in order to have you back during the night you summoned me. I had grabbed Obito by the throat and I could feel his heart pulsing like a frightened rabbit against my throat. It was so intoxicatingly heady; the power I had over such a measly life that I wanted to tear into him like he was a juicy, red apple. I might have felt a moment's regret if I went through with it, but most meat puppets I see are nourishment. His death would mean nothing to me, but a way to sate my hunger and my anger for a short time.

"But there are others who I have later regretted killing. Those were the ones I somehow managed to get close to and was ordered to kill because my previous masters wished it so. I know I shouldn't remember, but when you get as old as I you have dreams, dreams of your past life you can no longer remember. I wake up in a cold sweat and a heavy feeling in my chest I know… I know somehow in that dream—dreams that I can no longer remember once I'm awake—that I did something to someone. Something so horrible that it actually feels my stomach with so much regret that not even quenching my thirst can assuage it. I've killed so many Sasuke. The guilty and the innocent. The old and the young… so young and trusting… and unknowing of sins. There is so much blood on my hands, Poppet, that I will never be clea—" Naruto began thickly, feeling his stomach twisting once more into knots.

He might enjoy killing on occasion, but he never enjoyed or condoned the killing of children. They, to him, should always remain as pure as freshly fallen snow for as long as they could. The world would corrupt them in time without any fiends help. This child in his arms, even though he was destined to corrupt him, yearned to paint him with a brush of sin until he was as bitter as he was sweet; there was also a large part of him who wanted this child to stay like this. So naively hopeful and trusting that he would willingly seek out this corruptive soul and curl around him as if it was him and not Naruto, who would shield him from the world.

"You don't have to say anymore," Sasuke murmured in a choked voice. His small arms came up to wrap around that golden head of Naruto's. He softly kissed his crown even as he drew him closer to his tiny chest. He squeezed his eyes shut, fighting back the tears, but once the dam was broken, Naruto couldn't stop. He kept going on and on.

"—that first bite into their juicy soul and watching their eyes glaze over in realization, fear and then finally pain before there is no more. When you kill someone for the very first time, there is no going back Sasuke. Whether you see it as justified or not; killing someone, taking their life, it changes you. I've taken enough lives to know that. I want you to stay as innocent for as long as possible. So don't grow up so fast just because of me. Remain my sweet, sweet innocent just a while longer Poppet. Your soul will be dark soon enough. Just as dark as mine. Dark, dark, dark, as the midnight sky and I'm sorry for that. So, so sorry little one for the pain you will go throu—"

"STOP!" Sasuke sobbed out, curling closer to the fiend as if that was possible. All that poison dripping from the demon's throat, making him shake to very core with sympathy and dread, yet he still felt himself taking comfort in his presence. Naruto was his air, but he was killing him right now and he need it to stop for both their sakes. "Please, just stop," he hiccupped tearfully.

Naruto closed his mouth with an audible click. His fingers sliding under Sasuke's top to rub soothing circles into his back. Maybe this time would be different. Maybe Sasuke would be the savoir that Minato was unable to be due to his humanities' untimely demise. This life was filled with many possibilities and he choose carefully and savoir each decision because he had this sweet thing now to cry for the both of them.

"Yo… You'd tell me if you killed again, right?" Sasuke said after what seem a little over a half an hour. He didn't want to know, but he needed to know because they were in this together.

"I'm going to soon," Naruto sighed out in frustration. "Tonight, actually."

xXx

Danzo Shimura was no stranger to dirty dealings and making enemies of powerful people. He thrived best in the shadows. The blood on his hands and the darkness in his soul was small penance to his ever-present desire to become the Kage no Ȏ, Shadow King.

He deserved that position. He was the worthy one. He was the person who had the best interest for Konoha at heart. He had served the thriving city for many years as a soldier against the battle against demons.

Those filthy, parasitic creatures greedily wanted to devour the innocence in the world and suck dry the last dredges of humanity. But he thwarted them. Corralled them and took great pleasure executing them with his ROOT task force before any Unnamed even dared put a foot pass the city's threshold.

Konoha was a safe port because of him.

Demons deserved no rights. No gentle words or care. They deserved nothing because their presences alone bred chaos. They watered and nurtured the evil intent in all men's heart, fanning the flames of hatred and distrust before gorging on the results with little to no remorse. Their only real use to society, according to Danzo, was to serve men like him who desired power and strength.

Let the majority of the populace not know of the danger that lurked behind ever corner. On the other hand, the founding families—who knew all too well—were too lenient. They treated some of the Guardian Angels' as favored pets because of the prestige these demons garnered them. Oh, but their pets had fangs. Give it time. They would soon turn and bite the hand that fed them. Maybe a little more, if they didn't stay vigilant and keep a foot firmly on these demons' throats.

He knew. He traveled. He saw. The roaming caravans of Nameless, brainless demons devouring defenseless villages that didn't have people like him protecting it. They thought themselves equal, even better than humans. If only he had been given the position he so rightfully deserved, he would have made sure that all demons that tried to go up against humanity were wiped off the face of the earth or enslaved.

Yet, despite his righteous crusade his position kept being diverted to bleeding hearts like Hiruzen Sarotubi and Minato KamiKaze. People who wanted to think of demons as something more. Guardian Angels… What a laugh, more propaganda bullshit fed to the ignorant masses that wanted to believe in a higher, holier power. God did not exist to Danzo. He was his own God. He blessed the citizens of Konoha with his mere presence and wisdom while he smitten all those that were seen as unworthy.

He clawed and fought to the top, despite not being born from a rich family, and despite not being able to summon a demon of his own. Maybe the fiends sensed that something was rotten in his soul long before he did; but it did not matter. He had been close to getting what was his. He had been painstakingly trying to nose Hiruzen Sarotubi to retirement.

The old goat had retired once before because of him. Unfortunately, the mantle of Kage no Ȏ was then taken up by the young, ambitious buck known as Minato. But the blonde was thankfully dead and the councilmen had finally realized a few months ago that Danzo, despite not having a demon himself, was worthy. That Konoha still stood tall, strong and impregnable to attacks from the Nameless because of his militaristic background and experience.

However, just as he was finally able to grasp that power in his two hands, it was snatched away. Glowing white teeth and hungry amber orbs wrapped in a thin band of red tortured him in his sleep. They leapt at him, pinned him, measured him and finding him unworthy they then devoured him while he screamed for mercy. Several times, since Kyuubi returned, he woke up fisting the knife he kept under his pillow; his heart braining itself against his ribcage.

Never in his seventy-three years had he feared the consequences of his actions as he did right now. It wasn't because he grew a conscious. Kami, no, that had shriveled up and fell away as his heart became darker as the days stretched into years. It was just Danzo just didn't know who wanted his head more, the slowly recovering Shinigami Ebisu or the nearly executed Kyuubi... no Naruto.

Honestly it wasn't his fault that Ebisu had lost a limb to the Uchiha brat's fiend. If that cocksure Jiriaya and his busty succubus of a Guardian Tsunade hadn't gate crashed the proceedings and showed that damnable evidence, then things would have been different. Danzo could have, if not killed Naruto, had him properly locked up and Ebisu wouldn't be in the painful processes of growing back his arm.

The fact that killing Kyuubi would sacrifice one small child was of little concern to Danzo because he saw the bigger picture. What was one child compared to the safety of all others once that red-eyed menace was properly destroyed or contained? Clearly it was the Uchihas' that were being selfish by clinging to sentimentality when the mother looked young enough to possibly pop out another squirming, mewling brat to replace the one he wanted sacrificed.

Neither was it his fault that Minato was assassinated. Sure, Danzo had wanted that optimistic street urchin dead way before he took his dream job. The blonde had been raised by a demon so of course he would become a demon lover in more ways, apparently, than one. The fact that he had wanted those soul suckers to have equal rights was proof of his ineptness. But it wasn't just him that thought that what Minato was preaching was dangerous. Why else would someone else beat him to the punch line before he could wring the life out of that pretty little neck himself? No, he would have relished taking the credit, but since he didn't do it, he refused to be made a willing sacrifice.

But how could he possibly go about explaining that to this Kyuubi turned Naruto person when he had every intention of killing his previous master before he had been thwarted; had been willing to sacrifice his current master, and even clearly tried to unsuccessfully execute the demon not so recently? Everyone who knew him knew that he had hated how smug and all-knowing the well-dressed redhead had been in his former life as he walked around as Minato's personal shadow.

That demon knew how to play society like a fine fiddle, pulling the right strings to get people to believe in some nobody street urchin from some long gone village. Naruto bore the sophistication that Danzo greatly lacked from his humble, militaristic upbringing and the idea of being looked down upon by a demon, no less, nearly sent him into fits. Yet despite that he had convinced himself that it was for his and his fellow councilmen's' safety that he wanted Naruto put down like the rabid animal that he was. Not some pity inferiority complex on his part.

It was clear the demon was un-hinged and his current master was just a slip of a boy easily influenced by poisonous words coated in honey. They were so ill-matched that it was like trying to harness a tornado's raw power with a simple toy pinwheel. Those red-rimmed eyes of the blonde had bored into his soul when they last met at the trial. They looked down at him, judged him, and demanded retribution and he got goose bumps at the mere thought of what he would do if the fiend got him alone.

That was why, while Naruto was hibernating and out of commission, he had beefed up his already stellar security. There were attack dogs, alarms set up, lasers, pass codes, and he even swallowed his pride enough to hire demon security guards in the form of Torune and Fū to help protect his person. Yet he was still on edge because he expected this Naruto person to attack him any day now or Ebisu. He was going into dizzying circles of paranoia in his own head, but he couldn't hide the unsightly truth.

Sleep never stayed with him for long. He'd wake up with a start, like this very night. His palms were always sweaty, breath shallow and his heart sounded a loud staccato beat in his ears. He would try to close his eyes and let out a bitter chuckle that ended in a soft curse. How many nights had this been? Even with sleeping pills and liquor to wrestle him down to sleep, his burning need to survive would eventually break free and wake him up like now.

Danzo felt like he was in one of those bad horror flicks. The kinds were he knows the killer is lurking close, possibly observing him at that very moment; but if he were to get up from his bed right now to explore, he'd find nothing. It was always nothing staring back at him in those shadows. But what if this night was different? What if today he died?

The ice slicked fingers of fear wrapped tightly around his throat, siphoning air from his lungs. His veins thrummed with adrenaline to fight or flee. Fight or flee what, was yet to be decided. It was as if his primal instincts had kicked in, forcing the luxury of sleep out of his weary, old body. Once he made sure that his wife was there beside him, a reassuring warm lump wrapped in blankets, he once again blindly reached behind him and under his pillow for his deer knife.

Danzo tried to force himself to take deeper, slower breaths not wanting his fear and instincts to override cold, hard reasoning that he made sure to cultivate over his long years. There was no boogie man to terrorize his nights except the two aforementioned who had yet to come. No enemy that he couldn't eventually buy off, ruin or kill, if the need was necessary. All he needed to do was turn on the lights, call his security if the mood struck him to further assuage his fears, before taking some more sleeping pills to fall back to sleep.

Danzo moved to turn on the light on his nightstand, his deer knife firmly gripped in his other hand. But instead of the warm yellow florescent light he was used to, he was met with an eerie blue glow that cast elongated shadows around anything with a form. Not only that, there were glowing splattering marks all over the bed and even over Danzo's body. It was as if the older man was sitting in a Jackson Pollock painting and his tired eyes roamed around the room to see where else this glowing paint had possibly fallen. His heart thundering in his ears when he noticed someone else in the room with similar splatter marks across what apparently was a face.

He quickly tossed the comforter aside and sprang into action, belying his long years on earth. He stabbed first, over and over again, hearing the whimpering moans from his victim. But they deserved it, thinking they could sneak up on him and survive. He twisted his knife deep into the victim's kidney, crowing in triumph, feeling their warm blood pooling around his fingers.

The adrenaline was addicting, his heart sung with it. His eyes momentarily feeling with white spots as someone else in the room turned on the real lights so that the room was filled with yellow luminescence. His eyes quickly went towards the other intruder, of course there would be more than one and there they stood leaning back against his wall.

"So you finally woke up? I got a little tired of waiting so I decided to do some finger-painting," the intruder said blandly. They lifted up their bloody hands, chuckling softly behind a white animal mask of a fox with artful ink swirls painted in such a way to enhance the animalistic features. It would have been beautiful if it didn't look so menacing in this context.

"Who… who did you hurt… who did you kill?" Danzo demanded, throat thick with foreboding.

The intruder was tall and lean in his black combat outfit. Blonde hair drawn tightly back into a messy man bun and not a demon limiter in sight, despite clearly being a demon. Danzo could smell the sin on him.

The masked man pointed to the bed that the old man had recently vacated and his limbs felt ice in dread. He hadn't seen the bloody stain on his wife's side of the bed. He didn't want to look but he found his trembling fingers yanking down the sheet to not stare into the eyes of his dead wife, but the mutilated bodies of their family dog and the guard dogs that were supposed to be protect him.

"Why…. Where is she… Where is my wife?" Danzo demanded dreamily because this was what it had to be. Some terrible dream that would right itself when his fear-filled mind woke him up and left him gasping in cold-sweat on his side of the bed.

"I hate dogs. Filthy things. I did them a favor ending their lives. As for your wife… well, you know where she is, right?" The masked intruder scolded lightly before pointing to the intruder in the chair that he had so eagerly stabbed.

"No, you're lying. It can't be," he ground out, dropping his bloody deer knife before he realized what he was doing. He needed that weapon but that weapon killed the only woman he truly loved. He shakily stepped forward towards the clearly tied up individual that wore roughly the same outfit as the intruder by the wall. She was dressed in unfamiliar black clothing and wore a white sheep's mask with artful ink swirls. But when his trembling hands moved to toss away the offending mask, he looked into the pain-filled and now glazed over eyes of his wife. Her tears still wet.

Her lips were taped shut so that she could not properly tell him it was her and he had killed her. He had taken glee and stabbing her over and over again believing her to be the reaper come to rob him of his life and yet it was him. He stole his precious wife's life, had thrust his knife and twisted it into her kidney. She was still warm, he could call the police, but he doubted she would make it through the night with such a glazed over look. She was bleeding through too many wounds and it was all his fault… No… Not his fault, his.

"YOU. SICK. SON. OF. A. BITCH!" he roared. He looked blindly for his deer knife, but the intruder had already retrieved it while he was mourning his wife's lost. Danzo swallowed hard and ran. There were other weapons secreted around his house. He would fight, he would not die today. That bastard would pay for what he did to his precious, innocent wife.

Danzo thundered down the stairs as quickly as he could, occasionally glancing back all the while the dog-masked intruder walked down the stairs at his leisure. His long digits skimming the railing, smearing blood as he took his time picking his way down the impressive stairwell.

The old man quickly tried the front door. It was right there, he could dart out, call for help. Possibly run to his door. But it was locked, of course it was locked. He jiggled it uselessly, eyebrows wrinkled up in bemusement that he couldn't get out of his house before he darted to a nearby room, knowing he hid a gun in there somewhere.

"Do you honestly think we'd allow you to escape?" a female voice asked, disapprovingly. She wore a white bird's mask with artful ink swirls to accentuate its' features. She shook her elegant finger at him before pointing a finger gun at him. "Bang, bang, you're dead," she sing-song, edging him out of the room.

"W… We?" the old man choked out. His head frantically tried to run through every tactical maneuver he had performed in the past to deflect the demon in front of him. But it was hard to maneuver when he suddenly bumped into a third holding a camera.

"Oh, my, my, my I hope you're not camera shy," teased the third with a white mask like a rabbit. He jerked his camera away from Danzo's reach when it looked like the old human was going to try to smack it to the ground. "Now don't be a grumpy grandpa. We call came to your death day. I even brought you a cake," he laughed pulling out a hostess cupcake with one single lit candle.

Danzo did smack that out of the bird man's hand, earning a curse of 'I was going to eat that later' before he tried to dart back up the stairs. Only he forgot that the dog man was there, slowly drawing his mask down and revealed spinning red and black pupils of one pissed off Naruto Uchiha.

"You should have made a wish while you could asshole," purred out an all too familiar voice before Danzo collapsed on the spot. The demon let out a humorless laugh, lowering back his mask and grabbing a bare ankle preparing to drag the unconscious man to the living room. He made sure the old man bumped against every object he came pass whether it was a wall, an ottoman or something as simple as an umbrella night stand. "Come kiddies, it's time to set up. When he wakes up from his sharingen dreams I want the real fun to begin," he ordered. The bird and rabbit quickly followed, looking nervously at each other, glad that they weren't on Naruto's shit list.

xXx

"I think I found something," the rabbit man said, pushing up his mask to reveal the face of one Deidara. He wiped his forehead, making sure he was in the blind spot of all the disabled cameras, his doing of course, then waved a manilla folder triumphantly in Naruto's direction.

"What's in there?" Naruto asked curiously. The blonde had his white mask pushed to the left side of his head, unashamed who would see him in his full demonic glory. His sinfully long, powerful legs stretched out in front of him, boots resting against the expensive coffee table. He wanted the motherfucker to see him so that he knew who was going to take every ounce of pleasure in torturing him to death. He could always have Deidara edit out any images of him later.

"Geezer might not have killed Minato, but he was going to. Here are the kill orders, drafted team, and copies of the money that would fund the hit party," he said, walking towards his comrade and dropping the file into his hand.

"Anko your name is on the list," the blonde leader chided lightly. His red-rimmed golden eyes having skimmed the list for other people he might want to hunt down later, landed on Anko and Ibiki's names towards the bottom. The fact that she knew such a list existed and hadn't told who was on it… She was a very bad girl indeed.

The woman fidgeted nervously and rubbed her arm. "We weren't going to. If I knew you, knew you like I knew you now I would never have…" She began to babble nervously. She had drugged her demon and tied him up because she knew he would disapprove of her blindly following Naruto. He murmured something like Stockholm Syndrome, but she had brushed it off. She'd do anything for Naruto because he would only punish her if she was being bad. But she was being, so, so, good and he had to believe her. She had given him floor plans and security intel because she was all in. All in and he had to believe. "I would never…" she said once more, feebly.

"Shut up. He's waking up. Did you make sure to tie him properly? Deidara ready the camera" He ordered this as he thumped his booted feet down from the coffee table and leaned in eagerly, as if anticipating a glorious masterpiece to unfold before his eyes. He missed this. The fear and the anticipation of a kill that was well deserved. His body almost hummed in excitement to truly begin.

"Wha… what's happened. H… How did you three get here?" Danzo slurred out as he slowly stirred awake. He already knew how. Naruto had made sure to implant the memories of how all three of him had waltzed into his home, spreading a cloud of death as they mercilessly killed everyone, but two in the house. No, Naruto had reserved the right for him to kill his own wife even as he showed Danzo how he had carefully stripped his quaking beloved of her clothes and trussed her up in enemy colors to act as bait.

Danzo had wanted to stop, his eyes relieving the stabbing sensation of tearing into his wife like tissue paper every time he shut his eyes. But this sight, of two masks faces and one so naked, familiar and leering, filled his heart with dead in a sense of finality.

"Expensive little security systems are child's play when you are up against my genius. I once had cameras installed to see every nook and cranny of whole village," Deidara said proudly while adjusting his camera. He opened his mouth to say more, loving to wax on bout his genius, but Naruto neatly cut him off.

"Not important," Naruto murmured nonchalantly as he crossed his long legs in front of him. He stood in one fluid movement, poetry in motion as he rounded the coffee table and looked at demon hating human that had been a thorn in his side since the time he was still Kyuubi. He didn't need to remember Danzo much to know that their hatred was mutual. So he took pleasure and watching that human filth squirm like the worm that he was, trying desperately to break free and fight.

"I'm not afraid of you," Danzo spat out. He moved as if to spit into Naruto's face, but the blonde slammed his hand down over Danzo's mouth so fast it nearly knocked his front teeth out. His hand gripped his jaw so tightly that it was all Danzo could do not to wince in pain at the force while still breathing through his nose.

"Your heart is telling me something different," Naruto teased in a sing-song tone. He loomed over Danzo, suddenly showing a pretty row of sharp teeth, making a playful snap to demonstrate how sharp and eager he was to dig in. "I can hear it. I can taste your fear on my tongue and it's sooooo fucking tantalizing I sort of want to crack you open now." He emphasized his point by digging his clawed fingers into Danzo's cheek as he squeezed down on his lower face as if he'd break off his jaw right then and there.

He wanted to, he wanted to break Danzo's everything for the way he treated both his humans. It was only with Herculean strength that he finally took his hands from Danzo's mouth because he needed to hear his fears confirmed. The camera needed to hear it all before he could truly enjoy. So he took a step back, took a deep, shaky breath and tried not to look at the blood that was clinging to his clawed fingers.

"D… Do you want money? I can g…give you money," stuttered Danzo painfully. His jaw ached so painfully. Blood was slowly leaking down from five spots on his cheeks were Naruto's figners had dug in. He had no qualms the demon in front of him could have easily cracked his head like a coconut. He hoped that the only reason he hesitated was because he had something that he could give. Something that could buy him enough time to get way and have this demented fiend arrested, tormented and killed after he was nothing more than bloody pulp.

"I'm usually the one to grant wishes. Like a genie on steroids, don't you remember?" Naruto's red-rimmed amber eyes were already bleeding crimson red, the embodiment of death. Danzo's death.

"Do you want money, fame, power, practically anything your greedy heart desires? I'll give it to you in spades. Give it to you so good and hard as long as you sell me your pretty little soul. I'm always in need of a good, juicy soul." He purred this out dangerously, his lips parting to show once more his razor sharp teeth that glimmered pearly white in the fallen light of the lamp one of his comrades knocked over. "It's just too bad yours is rotten to the core. I've had gristle that has been more appetizing than that garbage you'd call a soul." He quipped as he stepped on top of the chair cushion Danzo once was on before he placed his foot on the top of the chair he was strapped to and threaten to tip it over.

"Th… then wha… wha… what can I give you. You must want something from me. I ca… can get you souls. There is a whole penitentiary of souls that no one in polite society will miss. I could offer you those. Gorge to your heart's content, play with them, torture them, do whatever you want if you would just spare me," he pleaded. It hurt his pride that he was reduced to groveling to this parasite of human society. But if it bought him one second, one hour… He needed more time. He had hoped to eradicate all demons before he finally died.

"You killed him, didn't you?" The demon said calmly as if he were only commenting about the weather and not just interrupting the babbling of an old fool. He knew the truth, he read the manilla folder. But he needed it for the camera because when this was over and he burned the motherfucking house to the ground he wanted this tape to serve as a warning to his enemies. You don't fuck over what was his, without having to pay the piper.

"Who?" Danzo asked, feigning confusion even as he oh so subtly pulled out a razorblade he always had sewn into the hem of his sleeve. His fingers were bloody as he gently struggled to free the small blade before trying to saw through the ropes that bound his hands behind him.

"Don't play stupid with me!" growled out Naruto, his one shadow tail flickered to life before rattling violently behind him. He narrowed his red orbs, daring the human meat puppet to even think another lie so he could rip out that treacherous tongue and feed it to some loathsome stray mutt.

"I didn't kill him," gasped out Danzo. He shook his head vehemently 'no' at the idea. He never would dirty his hands with the actual killing of anyone. Not when he had minions to do his dirty work for him. 'Where the hell are they now?' he thought. One had to have survived.

"Maybe not you yourself, but you must have really had it out for Minato. What with him preaching equality and revising the Demon/Summoner system; you must have badly wanted to see that blonde goody two-shoes dead and six feet under. Plus it wouldn't hurt that it would put me in my place, taking away someone I clearly cared about. We can't have demons having nice things, now can we?" Naruto murmured in a dangerously soothing voice.

He began to pace. He needed to pace. His temper was getting the best of him because that part of him that was still Kyuubi, that would always be Kyuubi, needed this man to pay. He tried to kill Minato and he didn't hesitate to try to kill Sasuke too. Didn't this miserable human realize that Naruto had so very little that he could, without hesitation, call his own. He carved his initials on their very souls and they were his. Yet, here was this selfish, husk of a human being trying to snatch them away because he was jealous. No, no, no, he messed with the wrong demon.

"I d… don't know what you're talking about," he insisted. Danzo eyed the camera cautiously. He'd have to get that footage so he wouldn't incriminate himself and also show proof that him killing Naruto was justified.

"Admit you wanted him dead," Naruto fairly snarled out. He was suddenly raising the old geezer by his throat, his mouth slowly blossoming into a savage grin as Danzo struggled to escape.

"He would have ruined everything," hissed out Danzo. His eyes bulge, his brow wet with perspiration as he put all his energy into sawing the last bit of rope before he stabbed. Bloody fingers slippery with his own blood and that of his wife, dove into Naruto's jugular with a satisfied hiss. It was over it was all over.

What Danzo didn't expect was to hear a thick, throaty chuckle bubble from Naruto's throat as he looked at the quivering human in amusement. He spat a wad of bloody spit in Danzo's fist before tossing him aside like a rag doll. His clawed fingers quickly and efficiently fished out the razor blade and one off his scars on his body disappeared as the cut on his neck began to knead together.

"Oh, you poor, poor puppy. You thought I was going to die in such a pedestrian way?" He murmured dangerously as he slowly stalked the human, one powerful step at a time. Naruto knew he looked imposing as hell, especially when he began to strip away his black top, drenched with his own blood. He wanted that filthy human to see why he hated humans so much as he exposed his scared golden torso, sinewy and lean with years of combat.

"For every cut, bruise, or whatnot a human has committed to my flesh, I seal a little of their soul into it so I can remember their hate and eat away that piece of soul in case of emergencies," he began to explain, eyes blood ready and pissed despite his amused smile.

"Thi… this can't be. You should be dead. Why aren't you dead, you filthy monster?" Danzo choked out in disbelief, too stunned to think of trying to move and escape.

"No, no sweetie you don't survive this long as a powerful demon without having a few tricks up your sleeve. I've lived hundreds upon hundreds of years. I'm not your ordinary, stupid Nameless that you kill for sport. So for that slight, for doubting my value and for all other slights I'm going to make sure you scream my name extra hard before I rip out your voice box and feed it back to you," he continued.

His eyebrow raised in amusement as the old coot finally tried to scramble up from the book shelf he had fallen into. But it was clear as he slowly tried to pull himself up, bloody fingers slipping on the book shelf surface and books; that he had already broken his leg and probably bruised a few ribs when he collided with the solid bookcase.

"You are a blight on humanity, that's why you deserve to die. No demon wants to buy what your selling because your soul is so sour that I'd do the world a great service by squishing it under my boot like this," he cooed, stepping closing enough to grind his booted foot into Danzo's crotch. "You really fucked with the wrong one when you even thought to spit in my general directions. I'm going to take my time with you and by the end of it all you will be begging me to end your miserable, pathetic life, while I'm still deep inside of you," he murmured, punctuating every other word with a vicious stomp to Danzo's groin.

Danzo was already ready to pass out from the pain. He would welcome it. The darkness, as long as he didn't spend his last minutes on earth begging to be spared. He knew he wouldn't be. So yeah, bring on the darkness. The sooner he died, the sooner he'd be hopefully reunited with his wife. But just as he closed his eyes, trying not to imagine what that filthy demon would do to his remains, he felt a burst of pain splintering across half his face.

Someone cleared their throat behind Naruto even as the demon in question smiled brightly at the powerful slap he had delivered to the human. He wagged his pointer finger in a scolding manner at the human for daring to lose conscious before glaring at the person who dared interrupt his fun.

"Can't you see I'm busy," snarled Naruto. His shadow tail smacked against the bookcase to show his frustration as he stood there, half naked, hot and eager to tear into some tender flesh.

"I… I thought we were going to broadcast this," Anko squeaked out.

She timidly pointed to Deidara and his camera to remind him of their presence. She, personally, had remained as closed-lipped as possible, staying as far from the other two as possible so that his wrath wouldn't rebound onto her. She even removed her mask because she saw that both blondes had already.

Anko knew that if she hadn't brought this to his attention, that all they could really see, even up close, was his sinewy back and the way those black pants hugged his ass and powerful thighs, he'd be mad. He wanted the camera there not just to capture Danzo's confession but to record his pain for feature enemies and that couldn't happen until he moved or something.

"Anko you bitch, you are working for him? How long? It doesn't matter. Save me. I can make you rich. I can… I can give you anything you ever wa—" Danzo began desperately, diverting his gaze and attention to her. His thighs were wet with blood, he was going in and out of consciousness and if he didn't receive medical attention soon he'd definitely die.

"She's with me now old man," Naruto bit out viciously. Then he grabbed Danzo by his arm and began to drag his bleeding body out towards the living room carpet where there was better lighting and maneuverability for his cameraman.

Anko blushed at the thought of being his. Her trembling fingers shakily combing through her purple dyed-hair before she smiled and looked away. Naruto made her so nervous in the best of ways by being so strong and determined. If she had a demon like him, they'd be unstoppable instead of some sniveling demon hater's lowly pawn.

"Now let's get this show on the road. I want me elbows deep in this bastard, strangling him with his own intestines. But we can't have me on the screen so Anko… I'm going to possess you doll. Isn't that great? I'm going to be inside you," he purred out seductively, depositing Danzo on the floor. Then gently gripped Anko's chin with bloody fingers.

"But… but if I'm on camera, won't the world see me killing him? I'll be considered a murderer. I mi… might go to jail or worse," Anko began to babble uselessly, scared. She didn't realize she was going to be made into a scapegoat.

"The camera will love you. I promise," soothed Naruto. He drew her trembling body towards his warm heat. Then began to pet her head like she was a simpleton that could easily be easily assuaged. "Now let's make some magic together," he said brightly kissing the top of her head.

Anko nodded shakily, biting her bottom lip and wringing her hands together. She looked down at her former boss, not wanting to end up like him but knowing there was no way out but to obey. She honestly wished she had listened to Ibiki but it was too late because just as she was getting ready to protest, he was inside her, and boy were they both craving how best to disembowel Danzo.

xXx

"I'm glad at least one meeting turned out well," hummed Naruto, truly rejuvenated. He was practically bouncing; he was so content. Even if he might have destroyed a pair of good leather boots and definitely had no intentions of wearing that blood soaked shirt again.

"We… we did good?" she stuttered out. She was deafly pale from her ordeal as she stepped out into the moonlight. She smelled faintly of the gasoline they had finished pouring around the house and stunk of the blood and gooey insides that were inside Danzo. Anko just wanted a nice, hot bath, a bottle of Merlot and possibly a handful of Xanax.

"You were such a good girl Anko. Now don't forget to lock up after yourself," Naruto murmured soothingly. He carelessly tossed a lit bottle of alcohol into the house, and let out a chuckle as it smashed against the grand stairway and already started to blaze greedily.

"I… I don't want to die Naruto," she practically sobbed. He was in her long enough. She had heard his thoughts. Knew that once this was over, she would no longer be useful. She didn't want to die. She could still happily serve him if he gave her a purpose.

"But you killed someone sweetie." He murmured this soothingly as if addressing a child. He placed cold lips against her temple in mock reassurance even as he patted her head once again. "If you don't kill yourself surely the others will. So just burn yourself and all of the evidence and I will forgive your past transgression," he reassured, giving him most devastatingly bright smile.

"Pro… Protect me," she warbled out weakly. Her fingers gripped at black armguards, her bottom lip poked out and trembling. She looked so helplessly needy and scared that it sickened him to the very marrow of his bone. It was cute on someone like Sasuke to be so needy but this piece of human filth that nearly killed Minato? No thank you.

"And why would I do a stupid thing like that?" questioned Naruto in bemusement. He shook his blonde head, clicking his tongue in displeasure then yanked his arm free from her grubby, little hands.

"B… Because you love me. Y… You can't because you d—" Anko began desperately, face crumbling as tears and snot rolling down her face before Naruto smacked her for her boldness.

"You stupid, stupid bitch! You honestly don't seem to get it, do you? I don't love you. I don't love anyone for that matter. I'm incapable of loving aand I'm perfectly fine with it," he hissed, like an angry, punctured balloon. "Now mind your betters and burn like a good girl. Don't you dare disappoint me!"

"Let her go. If it wasn't for her intel we wouldn't have been able to get into Danzo's fortress, un. Besides, I will edit this footage so it clearly appears as if Anko did this all on her own. If she even dares to escape from whatever hidey hole she decides to crawl into, she'll be arrested and prosecuted so quickly she'll wish she just burned," Deidara tried to reason.

He didn't much care for the human or any humans interested in his ex. He didn't really know her. But he knew how it felt to be so taken up by the blonde in front of him that he was willing to do things that might damn him later. That was why he, himself, was here, not because he was threatened. He got enough of those from that old bag of bones that was his master Sasori's grandmother. No, Naruto was the kind of drug you couldn't quite quit when you got addicted. They had been a decade estranged and he was already buzzing on a contact high.

Naruto took you places that few might dare to go; the belly of the beast and back with you laughing and begging for more. That blonde was the ultimate high and he felt sorry for Anko because when that particular drug turned, he turned hard enough to kill. She was dead the moment he took an interest in her. He might one day die too because of Naruto; but for right now he'd enjoy the ride and occasionally take pity on the lowly beings tripping too hard on his friend.

"Fine," scuffed Naruto. He'd reluctantly released Anko, deciding to spare her if only for Deidara's sake. He didn't care where she went or what she did at this point. As long as she stayed her narrow tail out of his—

Thwack!

He had shifted out of instinct. Just a half-step to the left and a slight movement of his head. He watched in detachment, barely even grimacing as a fine mist of blood splattered against the right side of his face as Anko keeled over dead as doornail.

Not by his hands, of course. She was no longer worth the energy to kill. But as he spared a glance at the husk of a woman still yet cold, he couldn't help but notice the trowel embedded in her forehead and stiffened. He knew that calling card and hastened to retrieve both his katana from the shadow realm and another tail before dodging the next sharpened trowel.

"Run, Deidara, it's HER," he gasped. Then he performed a simple somersault and pivoted midair to confirm his fears even as the very hairs on the back of his neck rose in warning.

"Karin, I was hoping not to run into you… Ever," he spat out. He was already on the move, as soon as his feet touched down on the ground. He was running, dodging, parrying trowels that shot down at him from up above like they were ninja stars and not the simple garden tools they were meant to be.

"You're always so hurtful to me my darling Kyuu-Kyuu. When I heard Ebisu tell me about you being back I had hoped you would find me out. But since you haven't, I decided to find you. Only to see you talking to this random bitch and your ex. I should really be mad at you. But I can't. Did you want me to be jealous?" she whined, pouting and stomping her booted foot.

She stood there in a tree, garbed in some old Nazi SS uniform, complete with non-issued standard high heeled combat boots, blood red hair tied up in a power bun, and horn rimmed glasses glinting. She'd honestly be a stunner, skin glowing pale and flawless in the glow of the burning mansion behind them, if she wasn't so clearly crazy as she fought between blowing him kisses and throwing sharp gardening tools at him before disappearing.

"No I didn't want you jealous. Just dead," he growled out under his breath. He nimbly leapt up the burning column of Danzo's balcony in order to see where the crazy psycho was now, while hoping Deidara and that footage stayed safely out of the way.

"Oh, you don't mean that. We have too much history for it to end now. I killed too many would-be lovers for it to ever end. You just need a real woman in your life to just bend you over and give you want you need," she squealed hugging a pair of twin scythes before taking a flying leap at him. "I just want to love you to pieces."

"Yeah, literally. Naruto, sweetie, your love life is fucked up with deranged people crushing on you hard and this is coming from your ex, un," Deidara gasped out after only dodging the rest of Karin's trowels with the 'bye bye bomb birdies' that he had kept close at hand.

"Help me stop this crazy bitch from chopping me up and you can lecture me later!" Naruto shouted, wincing when he was suddenly tackled. It was just like a Shinigami to spoil his fun, especially if it came in the form of one of his deranged exes. He had promised Sasuke he would come back to him in one piece… but if Karin had her way she'd be hugging his bloody corpse, or at least a severed arm.

"I want my weight in lollipops when this is done," Deidara declared after he came up on the struggling pair. He quickly smacked the deranged redhead, who was happily trying to saw off Naruto's arm while also trying to kiss him at the same time, in the head with a loud crack. It wasn't enough to keep a good girl down, especially when she was a Shinigami, but it would by them time.

"Where the hell did you get a bat from?" Naruto exclaimed as he stood up, clutching his arm and making sure to give Karin a generous kick in the side.

"Does it matter? She threw it at me. Just run or teleport us. Just now cause bitches like her… they stay crazy!" Deidara said frantically. He needed the other blonde to understand that he was missing a night full of trolling young teenagers in online gaming to take care of this shit. He didn't sign up for all this extra and if Naruto didn't Houdini them quickly, that redheaded terror was definitely coming back.

"Yeah, okay, your right," Naruto nodded dumbly. He didn't mind running when it came to Karin because try as he might, it was kind of hard to kill that level of crazy. 'Bet you Ebisu told her I'm still alive,' he thought bitterly to himself as he opened up a portal large enough for Deidara and him to slip into.

"Oh no sweetheart. We aren't going anywhere," Karin purred ominously. She cracking her neck that was set at an odd angle, rose up and pulled out 'Big Bertha'. It was the name of her large cordless power saw and it was just the devil's luck that both him and Deidara dove inside whole before he was scalped.

A/N: Yeah, it ended silly-ish but I'm been wrestling with this whole how to properly kill Danzo and what to do with Karin for at least a year. So funny note. Please review… this monster of a fic was hard to write and would have been updated sooner if it wasn't for some rather killer writer's block.

1 – Nifty thing about the Demon's Proposal is that if a demon chooses, he can eat away his chosen's bad energy.