Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. Kishimoto Masashi does…

"spoken"

"as spoken by Kyuubi"

-thought-

-as thought by Kyuubi-

Awakening of the Slumbering Beast

Chapter 1: Dreaming of past memories

Sunrise was splaying a breathtaking panorama across the oceans surface. This however went unnoticed by a lone figure sitting at the end of the pier. -Damn it! As if things weren't bad enough for me already, why can't I, just for once, get a break - Yesterday had been pretty bad, even if you took into consideration that they had pretty much accomplished their mission. No one had died but Sasuke had been seriously injured by multiple senbon needles that had hit his vital spots. Sakura, of course, flew off the handle and gave Naruto the worst tongue lashing ever. Seriously only thing that kept the tongue lashing from becoming a real, and quite brutal, lashing was Sasuke. Who in his incapacitated state diverted Sakura's attention from Naruto.

-It really sucks to be me. And to think that I probably saved the whole team out there. But do I get any thanks? Hell no! I get viciously scolded by Sakura-Chan because I somehow obviously 'held' back her precious Sasuke-kun and thus caused his injuries.- Well, it wasn't all that bad. Kakashi-sensei had actually asked if he was alright and after giving him a once over had commended him on a job well done. Tazuna and his family had showered Naruto with thanks, something the boy was certainly not used to, for saving Tsunami and Inari. After they had settled in for the night, things had gone from bad to worse, which was exactly why he was sitting on the end of the pier, watching sunrise with unseeing eyes.

These very interesting musings were cut short however, by a hand that suddenly appeared on his shoulder eliciting a loud scream of "KYAAAAAH!" from the startled youth. Naruto turned around in a rush while yelling "Kakashi-sensei! Don't use your ninja stealth to sneak up on people."

Kakashi sweat dropped. "Um… Naruto, I wasn't trying to sneak up on you. I even called out your name a couple of times." Kakashi peered at the boy who was still trying to control his erratic heartbeat. His visible eye narrowed slightly when he noticed the troubled look on Naruto's usually cheery and carefree face. "Are you alright Naruto? I mean you've been out here for some time now and breakfast is ready…"

This statement caused a loud outburst of "NANI? Breakfast already, but I just came here." - I must've spaced out or something... there's no other explanation. Well might as well tell him and face the music.- Naruto scrunched his face in a thoughtful pose and tapped the side of his nose with his finger. "Ano… Kakashi-sensei, I… umm… need to talk to you about yesterday and… well you know who." His words caused an instant reaction on Kakashi whose visible eye narrowed quite noticeably. He didn't give any other visible signs and only offered a nod of confirmation and told Naruto that they would speak after breakfast.

The 'super' bridge builder Tazuna, Tsunami and Inari were in a cheery mood. Overall however the mood in the breakfast table was gloomy at best. Sakura looked like she hadn't slept well, which gave her all the more reason to berate Naruto again for endangering the life of 'her' Sasuke-kun. Naruto, still mulling over the events of the night before and dreading the outcome of his talk with Kakashi, mostly ignored Sakura's speech. Until it was accentuated by a 'light' rap on the head by Sakura, who now was getting more pissed because she was being completely ignored. "Naruto you jerk. Don't you dare to ignore me when I'm talking to you" Naruto, wide eyed, was trying to sputter out a defensive reply when he noticed that it was being ignored as Sakura was back in her rant "…sleep a wink because I was so worried about Sasuke-kun…"

Shrugging his shoulders Naruto tuned her out and was again immersed in his own problems. Kakashi, the Jounin instructor of Team Seven, was thoughtful as well. He was going over possibilities as to what exactly did Naruto want to talk about. Certainly Kyuubi wasn't loose or in control of the boy. Best possible explanation he could come up was the same thing he wanted to talk to Naruto anyway. He had sensed Kyuubi's chakra on the bridge. It had been brief but still… and he was certain that the boy had felt the difference. Yes that had to be it. Naruto knew that the nine-tails was sealed in his belly and had felt, quite intensely he surmised, its chakra and now wanted someone to talk about it. There were of course other possibilities but this was the most likely scenario.

When breakfast was over there was yet another explosion of temper tantrum when Sakura, who had been on a low boil, was informed that she was to guard Tazuna-san while he was working on the bridge. "Sasuke-kun is seriously hurt so I need to stay here and look after him. Naruto should go and guard the bridge and make himself useful for once…" Sakura was stopped by Kakashis cool explanation that Naruto had used a tremendous amount of chakra during his fight and needed some time to recover and that only thing Sasuke needed was uninterrupted rest.

Naruto on the other hand had stayed uncharacteristically quiet through the entire exchange and observed the byplay between his team mate and sensei. The result of his observations was disheartening, Sakura didn't even care whether he was hurt or not. -Sheesh, she really doesn't seem to care a whether or not I'm alright. Only that I'm somehow keeping her from Sasuke… and to think that I really had a crush on her too.- Consciously voicing the thought brought forth a revelation. He really didn't have a crush on the pink haired kunoichi anymore. Not that he didn't like her or anything but the infatuation was gone. He shrugged wistfully -Probably that damn dream…Stupid dumbass fox, going through my entire life and taking me along for the ride-

After Tazuna, with an irate Sakura in tow, had left to oversee the construction of the bridge, Kakashi led Naruto towards the area where Team Seven had learned chakra control in form of tree climbing. When they arrived he motioned Naruto to sit on a nearby log and asked "So Naruto, what was it that you wanted to talk about? Does it have something to do with…"

He paused, searching a proper word when Naruto spoke up. "Fuzzy… yeah I wanted to talk about Kyuubi, the seal and a whole lot of things actually." There was a moment of silence, after which Kakashi, in almost apologetic tone of voice asked if the seal was still intact. Naruto nodded in answer and then explained "The seal is still intact and… active. It's kinda hard to explain, but apparently this was supposed to happen…" seeing the unvoiced question in his sensei's eye he continued in a tired tone "The seal was activated… and now Kyuubi has woken from her long slumber."

Thoughts were racing circles in Kakashis mind -The seal was supposed to… awaken Kyuubi? Her? Kyuubi is a she? How? When? The seal was supposed to…- Mustering his willpower he snapped back into focus. His entire list of possibilities as to why Naruto had wanted to talk was blown to hell. Then again he should have anticipated that as Naruto certainly lived up to his name as the number one ninja in surprising people. Focusing again on the matter at hand Kakashi began to run a mental list of scenarios ranging from the best to the worst… At the best Kyuubi was rapidly being absorbed by the seal and the whole ordeal would be over. At the worst… well, Kakashi shuddered, he really didn't want to think about the worst case scenario. Calming himself the Jounin reached for his Konoha Hitai-ate uncovering his single Sharingan-eye. In an even voice he ordered simply "Tell me everything. Leave nothing out."

Naruto was startled. He didn't know how Kakashi would react to his news. But to uncover his Sharingan, something that he only did when facing an enemy, was ominous to say the least. In a shaky voice he began to recount the events that led to the seals activation. "…then I saw Sasuke go down and that Haku guy started gloating so I kinda snapped. I don't know exactly what I did but I reached in to draw out every last drop of chakra so I could kill the bastard. That's when it happened I guess" His voice dropped into a whisper "Things went a little hazy but then I could feel this enormous amount of power that surged through the seal and into my body… I could have ripped Haku apart piece by piece. And I almost did because I was so mad at him."

Naruto hung his head in shame at this. He continued in a more subdued tone "After I calmed down the power seemed to flow back into the seal, but there was a small throbbing or well prodding of sorts. I guess it was stupid not to say anything sooner but everything was going on so fast that I didn't really have time. Besides it stopped soon enough anyway. The thing is I kept feeling something though, the presence of something… alien but still, familiar. It was weird. Anyway after we turned in for the night things went really weird…" Kakashi had to squash a sudden urge to strangle the boy for stating something like that. As if using demonic chakra to defeat your enemy wasn't really weird… Then again this was Naruto, the guy who carried around the most powerful demon ever, so maybe the usual standards didn't apply.

Naruto stared off into the distance looking effectively zoned out. Kakashi was about to prod him on when he continued his narrative. "Last night I dreamed. I saw my entire life go by in a flash… and I have to say it wasn't very pleasant." He frowned at the memory and the feelings that it brought up. The dream had been bad alright. The cold stares, the hatred, the numerous beatings, rip-offs and other cruelties he had been forced to live with his entire life. He had watched as the other kids in the orphanage got birthday and Christmas presents when he got nothing, how other students in the academy received extra lessons, instead of punishment, from the teachers if they failed in something. And he remembered the pain from every one of those injustices, now freshly imprinted into his mind. But there had been the good moments too.

The old man Hokage who had looked after him as often as his duties permitted. Iruka-sensei who had acknowledged him as Uzumaki Naruto, not as the demon Kyuubi. And there had been a memory of the Yondaime Hokage, of the words he had said to him… the trust he had placed in him. Kakashi too began frowning as he listened to his pupil tell about his life. He had guessed that Naruto didn't have an easy childhood but never had he expected the sheer amount of abuse the boy had been through. It was amazing that he was sane, much less civil. It also explained his lack of ninja skills. No sparring partner to practice taijutsu, no one to instruct him on the finer points of molding chakra and so on. This was certainly something he had to bring up with the Hokage the next time he spoke with the old man.

"The dream ended on the moment I reached through the seal. After that I started to… drift in a void or something. That's when she came to me, telling me that I had to wake up and then find my centre so that we could speak. She stressed that it was important and that time was running out… Then I woke up." Naruto cleared his throat and glanced expectantly at Kakashi. He was not disappointed as the Jounin was completely immersed in the story. "Afterwards I just laid there for a few moments trying to regain my bearings and then went outside and ended up sitting on the pier. And then I decided to do as Kyuubi told me and began my… ummh meditation exercises."

---- Flashback ----

Naruto was trying hard. He tried to remember what they had said about meditating in the academy. Finally he gave up and decided just to relax and calm his mind… or something. And then suddenly he wasn't on the pier anymore. Instead he was sitting cross-legged in a dark, dank hallway. He stood up and surveyed his surroundings. It was desolate to say the least, there was at least an inch of murky water on the floor, and more water was dripping from broken pipes on the ceiling. In the distance there was an eerie glow and the alien presence that he had felt was coming from that general direction. After wandering in the corridors for a few minutes Naruto finally arrived at, what he surmised, was his destination.

He could only gape at the massive gates that had, he noted, a scrap of paper with the word seal written on it. But what really unnerved him was the enormous presence that loomed behind the said gates… Presence that was in a form of an animal, an animal with nine swaying tails to be exact. There before him was Kyuubi, the most powerful demon ever to walk the surface of the world. Naruto struggled to compose himself. A task which came almost impossible as he suddenly became aware of two large eyes, crimson eyes with slit pupils, that were focused on him. Resolutely squashing thoughts of his own insignificance he put up a brave face and called out in what he hoped was 'cool' and 'Kakashi' like manner. "YO! You Kyuubi? You wanted to see me."

There was a moment of silence as the eyes seemed to bore holes into his skull "What do you think brat? Have any other resident demons in you that I don't know about?" The reply dripped with sarcasm. Before Naruto could respond the voice continued "And yes I wanted to talk to you…" Naruto however was not intimidated by the tone, he had after all heard sarcastic and condescending remarks all his life, and was now getting the same treatment from the one ultimately responsible for his screwed up life.

"Now tell me just exactly why should I want to talk with you, this is all your fault anyway." Kyuubi tried to interject but Naruto was on a high gear and could not be stopped "And just who the hell do you think you are, going through my memories like that you bastard…" She blinked then blinked again. This certainly had never happened before, never had she in her long years seen a mortal stand before her like this, screaming bloody murder and demanding answers. Usually most mortals began to quiver when they faced even lesser demons let alone one of the Bijyuu. And here the brat stood, angry, his initial fear forgotten. Granted the brat carried within him the strongest of the demons and had during her slumber absorbed some of her power, but still… -The kitling shows promise, he's had a hard life but still he's loyal to those bastards, if it was up to me I'd devour them in a heartbeat… Now how do I stop this irritating rant?-

Kyuubi drew in air and then let loose a deafening roar. A roar, that effectively cut of Narutos list of profane names for the demon and actually sent him lying on his back in the inch deep water. Kyuubi roared again this time with less force bringing the dazed boy out of his shock. "Now you listen to kit, we don't have much time and you can berate me all you want after you get your facts straight. But right now we have business to attend to…" Having Narutos undivided attention she proceeded to explain the inner workings of the seal to the bewildered boy. After about fifteen minutes of explaining, arguing and yet more explaining they had reached an understanding.

"So basically you can't do jack about it then? The seal is now active and is draining you. You want revenge against the people who summoned you to this plane and attempted to possess your powers, then set you against Konoha where you were sealed in me? And in return for this revenge you surrender more of your body to the seal and 'tweak' my body a bit, give me lessons and all that stuff…" Naruto glared at the demon "And you say that you could actually just do this 'tweaking' anyway so I really don't have a say in it… But you chose to warn me because you thought it was 'nice'. Heart warming concern coming from a demon."

Kyuubi growled at the boy and slammed her claws against the gate "I tell you brat… It wasn't my choice to attack your Konoha. I actually considered Konoha to be one of the more decent ninja villages around. But as it is I chose to warn you beforehand so you may warn that sensei of your so we, and I mean we as in you and me, won't get killed before you have time to explain it all to him. You see kit… You die equals I die. And I definitely don't want to die just yet… Besides you aren't completely human anymore, not with the seal transferring my power to you when I lay in my slumber, so consider this as the next step. Besides there are some cool things you can do with a little help."

Then there was a strange sound emanating from the cage. A sound that Naruto suddenly recognized as giggling. The fearsome and omnipotent Kyuubi no Kitsune was… giggling. The blonde ninja sweat dropped "Umm… Ano… Are you… giggling?" The large eyes blinked at this, then a vicious smile accentuated by a row of gleaming white teeth came visible "Yes… I was simply anticipating the fear those ignorant peasants that have mistreated you all your life will feel when they find out that you have the Queen of Foxes backing you up."

Naruto began to tremble visibly. The Queen of Foxes, that would imply that… "You are a GIRL?" The question was answered by a another set of giggles and growl. Then there was a POOF in the cage and suddenly by the gates stood a female, humanoid but not quite human. Naruto noticed several things at once: a) She had fox ears on top of her head, which he noted was covered with red hair. b) She had quite a voluptuous figure that was simply oozing seductiveness and well… sex. c) She was quite naked. d) He felt something warm trickling down his face… -Now that has never happened before. OH NO am I turning into a pervert like all the other adults.- His nosebleed, as slight as it was, and his frantic expression didn't go unnoticed by Kyuubi who 'pooffed' back into her original form.

Once again baring her fangs she inquired in a seductive tone "That answer your question…hmmm? And don't worry, even though you are quite amazing a specimen I wouldn't, even if it was possible, try to seduce you. It would be too much like masturbation. But now get out of here and go find that sensei of yours." At the dismissal Naruto suddenly found himself sitting at the pier and noticed to his amazement that it was dawn already. He began once more ponder about the events of the night and the problems of his life in general. Also he did on occasion wonder what that 'masturbation' thing that Kyuubi had mentioned was.

---- end Flashback ----

Kakashi stared, he simply stared. Here he was listening to what could only be described as a product of an active imagination, with the exception that it wasn't. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Now Naruto, what exactly is Kyuubi going to do to you?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well she said that she'd let the seal to take some of her essence and transfer it into me, specifically in the eyes, ears and nose. She also said that she'd put some of her power into me in general increasing my physical abilities, something that I already have experience in. She also said that there might be some visible changes, especially in the eyes which I understand should become slitted." Kakashi was about to ask if Naruto was really ok with this when he was cut short by the Genin, who stated that if Kyuubi was right then there was nothing they could do about it, and that the adults in Konoha feared and hated him whether he had slitted eyes or not. Seeing as there was no way to argue against that logic Kakashi relented. Moving on he then grilled Naruto for details on the actual 'tweaking' and gave up soon after as Naruto really didn't understand the finer mechanics of the process, nor had Kyuubi bothered to explain them. As there was nothing really left to do he asked his final question "So then, you ready for this?"

The silence stretched. Then Naruto slowly shook his head to indicate negative. In answer to raised eyebrow he said in a slow almost fearful tone "Kakashi-sensei, there was something more in my dream that I didn't tell you about… something from the very beginning. I saw the Yondaime and he… he gave me something and said some things and I just need some sort of confirmation. I mean, you were his student so, you knew him right?" Naruto drew a breath and then reached into his shirt pulling out a golden chain with a locket attached.

Kakashi's reaction to the sight was immediate, he inhaled sharply then promptly fell to his butt. Blinking at the older mans reaction Naruto began to fear the worst, maybe the locket was a mark of a traitor or something. Kakashi was, however, fixated on the locket dangling from Naruto's hand, he then quickly reached into his own shirt and produced a similar locket. "That locket, belonged to the Yondaime Hokage, I had thought it was destroyed along with his body… Where did you get it?"

The question was delivered with a dosage of menace that promised instant pain if the answer was wrong. Naruto gulped and proceeded to explain "I've always had this, it's the only thing that really is my own. In the dream I saw Yondaime looming over me… He slipped the locket on me and then said some… things…" Naruto hung his head, only to have a hand slip under his chin and raise his face upwards, face to face with now almost gentle looking Kakashi… He gulped again and quoted "Good luck, be brave… and remember that your mother and I love you son… Forgive me"

It was some time before either could move. Kakashi because of the shock from such a bold statement and Naruto because Kakashi was holding his head steady. Finally the older man broke from his reverie and grabbed Naruto's locket with one hand, his hand with the other. He needed to know and there was only one way short of asking the Hokage and if he had chosen to keep the boy a secret… there were implications for deeper reasons. "Open it."

Naruto shook his head. "I tried, but the trigger seems to be broken so it won't open"

Almost growling with frustration Kakashi all but screamed "Channel chakra into your finger and try again you…you…" Naruto blinked, than proceeded to do as ordered. He could see the Jounin tensing as he placed his finger on the locket and then with an audible snap the locket popped open, after which the Jounin promptly collapsed. When he had regained his senses Kakashi offered his own locket for Naruto to open up. After they both held to their respective lockets in their hands Kakashi spoke up "These lockets were made by Arashi-sensei, one for him and one for his wife. Only they or their offspring could open these lockets. You recognize of course your father, the Yondaime Hokage, Kazama Arashi."

Naruto gave a court nod at this, focusing instead on the picture of a woman who had been his mother. He noticed that the woman was quite beautiful and had a silver hair that reminded him of someone… Nah couldn't be could it. "And the woman on the picture is Ayame, your mother… and my sister." He sat on the ground and buried his face into his hands, weeping. Naruto was again shocked speechless, a common occurrence for the day. Hell, he could deal with seals, awakening demons and even with finding that he was related to the Yondaime… but to be related to Kakashi-sensei.

It took another fifteen minutes before Kakashi regained himself. He slowly pulled down his mask revealing unmarred face that strongly resembled Ayame, his sister and Naruto's mother. Naruto could only stare. His sensei, the feared copy-ninja Kakashi, had a face of a poster-boy. Really he could see why the Jounin chose to wear a mask, it would deter potential fan-girl hordes and no one would really take him seriously as a capable ninja if he looked like that. Naruto chortled and then suddenly was rolling on the ground laughing at the now bewildered Kakashi. "Ah Naruto… this is a serious matter. I mean I'm sorry, I was told that you died with Ayame-neechan… I, I've been blind not to see how much you look like Arashi-Sensei." Seeing that Naruto was still out of it he placed a light kick on the boys side effectively snapping him out of his fit of laughter "Hey you… I'm trying to apologize here."

There was a dumbfounded look in the boy's eyes, which was suddenly replaced by understanding as the pieces fell into place. "If you feel sorry for me then save it. I don't need your pity. And if you didn't know who I was then you didn't. Only thing I really want to know is, would you have taken me in had you known?" Naruto spoke the last part clearly and with an even voice, while observing the Jounin carefully. There was a plethora of emotions that played across Kakashi's face settling finally to a mask of determination. He didn't reply but decided to kneel in front of the boy and hold him by the shoulders. Without a word he simply nodded. This gesture was returned in kind by Naruto who flashed him a real smile, not the usual happy-go-lucky smile that he showed the world, but a real one that indicated true happiness… He had after all found family.

In the ninja world, especially during missions, moments of happiness were a rare commodity. Naruto was reminded of this by a sudden pulsating feeling from his stomach. He quickly composed himself and shook Kakashi from his reverie as well. "Kakashi-sensei… I think it's starting soon. Kyuubi said that my eyes and ears might be a little sensitive after she's done with me, so she said that I should be placed into a dark and quiet place after I pass out from the exhaustion. I have a pair of sunglasses in my backpack, so if you could put them next to me or something when you leave me, it would be nice."

Kakashi was going to inquire more about the passing out from exhaustion part which Naruto had neglected to mention before but all inquiries were cut short when Naruto suddenly cried in pain and keeled over. It was not a nice thing to watch, even for someone who had seen the horrors of a war between ninja villages, or the destruction wrought by Kyuubi. Naruto curled into a fetal position while whimpering in pain. Soon enough the whimpers turned into moans and then into blood curling screams that echoed through the forest. Finally after what seemed like hours Naruto went limp and passed into blissful unconsciousness. Shaking his head wistfully Kakashi picked the unconscious boy on his arms and headed back towards their temporary home.

Naruto was hovering on the edge of consciousness. He was becoming aware of the multitude of sounds and smells that assailed his ears and nose. As he was about to open his eyes he remembered Kyuubi's warning about the sensitivity of his 'new' eyes. Suddenly he snapped awake, keeping his eyes shut and almost yelping in amazement from the multitude of things he could sense. He could clearly hear Sasuke breathing a few meters away, smell his breath. Concentrating he began to go through the sensations. He noticed that he could focus on sounds. He could hear Tsunami cooking downstairs. His own heartbeat and the heartbeat of Sasuke and, quite surprisingly Inari who was stationed outside the door, probably guarding the room where his hero was resting.

The smells were no less interesting, though very much less appealing. He himself, and Sasuke he was happy to note, reeked of sweat and dirt. The room, which to casual eye seemed clean, was actually anything but. There was also a mouth watering aroma of cooking food that was wafting from downstairs. He could identify the smell of frying fish and cooking rice but the other smells eluded him. Shrugging he decided that he would probably spend the rest of his days cataloguing new smells.

Before he could even start to open his eyes he suddenly 'heard' Kyuubi "Enjoying yourself I see… don't let the multitude of new smells overcome you, most smells are fairly common and you'll learn to associate them soon enough. As for your eyes, I suggest you try to find those sunglasses. It might make the experience less… painful"

Naruto almost blew up at this and decided to scream back at his mind "YOU SON OF A … err YOU BITCH… YOU SAID THAT IT WOULD HURT A LITTLE… I'VE NEVER BEEN IN SUCH A PAIN IN MY LIFE. AND YOU SAID I'D PASS OUT FROM THE EXHAUSTION"

He could almost feel Kyuubi shrugging "Well it hurt a little, at least I was in slight pain… then again you are weak. And before you ask, yes we can now communicate directly. But as it is, please wear the sunglasses and then come see me." Naruto shot a parting curse inwards, but when he received no reply, he decided to do the demon's bidding. Feeling around he found his sunglasses, which he promptly put on, and to his delight a glass of water. Feeling thirsty he quaffed the water only to find out that among other things his sense of taste had been enhanced as well. Showing the fact aside he tried to relax and soon enough found himself in a vastly different place.

Cracking open one eye and feeling only slight discomfort he soon opened his other eye… and almost popped both eyes from their sockets. The corridor, previously dark due the broken light fixtures was now bright as day. The amount of details he could make out, in what seemed bright environment, made him decide that wearing sunglasses had been a good idea. He started towards Kyuubi's den in brisk pace and soon enough arrived at his destination.

He felt Kyuubi's eyes on himself the moment he entered the room. There was something in the gaze that made him uneasy. It was if… he was being evaluated. Following instructions from the demon he turned around once, then again. Naruto began to grow frustrated and was about to yell when Kyuubi simply stated "Oops…" -Oops? what the hell does she mean 'Oops'- Now Naruto was really getting pissed and let it show by swishing his tails in agitation… then it hit… -Tails… I have tails…-

"You freaking bastard. What the hell did you do to me? I have…one, no two tails." Kyuubi was amazed, now she really had made a mistake by letting the seal absorb a bit too much of her essence, not that it mattered to her but the boy might not be able to adjust if the pace was too demanding. And he already had two tails, quite the individual indeed. She shifted her perception to observe the boy and ah… there it was, most interesting. She decided to stop the boy who was in a full rant mode about villagers, lynch mobs and pitchforks.

"Control yourself kitling… You really don't have tails. I did give you more than I intended, the seal you see. However I seriously doubt you have tails in the real world. Not all the time anyway… If you haven't noticed your hands sport a nice set of claws and you seem to have developed quite the fangs too." She simply had to stop to giggle a bit at the sight of Naruto comically poking his extended canines with his tongue. That and the befuddled look he had when he stared at his fingers. Getting over her mirth she continued. "Now your claws, fangs, eyes and… tails are all surging with my chakra. I think it's safe to assume that you normally retain your blue eyes and your normal, if insignificant, teeth and nails. And you will have no tails. However should you tap into my chakra, or channel your own chakra into those body parts you would manifest them as you have now.

As it is I'm most curious about your eyes. You certainly should try channelling chakra into them when you have the chance. I would think it possible that you might exhibit some abilities normally associated with more advanced bloodline limits, which by the way are remnants of demonic heritage. Now get out of here and go get something to eat, having smelled those foods after a fourteen year beauty sleep has made me ravenous."

At this Naruto stuck out his tongue at the demon. "Ha Ha Ha, the jokes on you then, I can eat but you can't… right?" the last part was added in a more hesitant tone caused by a widening, and quite toothy, grin.

"Kit, I can now touch the world just like you can. Maybe I can't do anything aside from watching, but still… I see, smell and hear what you do and I taste what you taste. You eat and I get nourished and so forth… the seal works both ways you know. On that note, while I think Ramen is tasty and everything, you really should expand your menu. It's not healthy… if it wasn't for me you'd be suffering from various ailments due malnutrition. And again before you ask, yes you can keep on eating ramen only, but it will seriously affect your physique… like say your growth. So if you want to stay midget…"

Naruto was quick to screw his eyes shut when he was forcibly ejected from his own mind and back into the world of the living. Hastily he grabbed his own backside and let out a silent prayer when he found no trace of tails sticking out of his behind. Feeling his fingers he also deducted that his nails had reverted back to normal as per Kyuubi's prediction. Now all he had left was to do the hard part. Ever so slowly he cracked open his eyes, flinching at the dazzling brightness despite his sunglasses. Slowly letting his eyes adjust he opened them more, until finally he was able to look about without feeling a stabbing pain. -Damn, she was right about the sensitivity…I wonder how I look though, and what was that about developing traits similar to bloodline limits. It would be cool to have something like the Sharingan eyes, it would the very least piss of Sasuke-teme.-

Standing up he decided to go downstairs to the bathroom to find a mirror. Opening the door caused a new set of problems however. Inari… upon seeing his new hero emerging from the room promptly leaped up and started to question him in what, to Naruto, seemed like a deafening voice. After he had managed to get over the initial pain and had quieted Inari down, an easy task of actually asking him to talk in whispers and then instructing him to go tell Tsunami the same thing, he headed for the bathroom. Once there he shut his eyes, removed his sunglasses and slowly began the process of eye opening again. After about five minutes he finally managed to open his eyes and actually see enough to make out his own mirror image.

Staring at him from the mirror was, well… him, Naruto. A Naruto with blue eyes, but instead of the usual this one had slit pupils in those cerulean eyes he was so proud of… they had reminded him of the Yondaime after all. Also the whisker marks that he had were now a bit thicker. Now for the real test, yelling back in his mind he managed to coax a few tips out from Kyuubi, who quite frankly considered this something that absolutely could wait… until after the meal at least. Naruto then proceeded as per the instructions to channel some chakra into his eyes and to his amazement the eyes turned crimson. They also 'felt' different, something which Kyuubi said confirmed that they had some 'special' effect. She also suggested that Naruto should keep his eyes 'activated' during training and in any unusual situation until such a time when he found out exactly what their speciality was.

Feeling pleased with himself Naruto donned his sunglasses and headed downstairs only to find everyone else, with the exception of Sasuke, there. He glanced about, everyone was staring at him… him, Kazama Naruto, son of the Yondaime. Not that anyone knew about it but… Apparently Inari had made a number on how they were supposed to be quiet lest they hurt his ears. Deciding to make a 'Naruto style' entrance he promptly channelled chakra into his teeth, making them grow into intimidating fangs and then flashed his trademark grin eliciting a chorus of gasp from his loving audience. Sakura, being herself, forgot to be quiet and yelled out for an explanation.

Suddenly Naruto was feeling all hot and uncomfortable. Oh yes when he had explained this all to Kakashi-sensei they hadn't talked about a cover story, it wasn't like he could just say that 'Yeah well got the Kyuubi, drained her powers so deal with it' or something. Grasping straws he suddenly came up with a great idea, being a notorious prankster had taught him how to make excuses after all. "Ah please… keep it down, you are hurting my ears. You see… um yesterdays events on the bridge caused me to…ah… activate a bloodline limit. Just like Sasuke, except my speciality seems to be enhanced senses all around."

Kakashi was quite pleased. Naruto had come up with a plausible explanation for his new look, the eyes and well the ears too, as they had become a bit more pointed… or so it seemed. There was something more in his posture that he noticed. The way Naruto carried himself, there was much raw untapped potential there… much more than there had been previously. Also the eyes offered a good excuse for him to spend some training time with Naruto the next day. He had actually been surprised that it was Sakura who asked if she was to guard Tazuna the next day, just to give Naruto a chance to get more used to his 'bloodline' limit.

All in all he was quite surprised in Sakura's positive reaction. She had been ready to eat Naruto alive earlier but now seemed to be back to usual. He sighed… It had been a long day, and tomorrow would be another one. Good thing it would take another two weeks or so to get the bridge completed. He still needed to formulate his report to the Hokage and make some plan to stop the villagers from lynching his newfound nephew. Maybe he should teach him the Chidori… that would make them think twice. Or maybe he should track down Jiraya and make him teach the kid the Rasengan. The Jiraya option sounded pretty good, he needed the newest 'Icha Icha Paradise' anyway. With that final thought Hatake Kakashi fell into a dreamless sleep.

TBC… (in a week or so)

Author's rant:

Edited 11/02/06... chopped up the paragraphs so that it's easier to read or something

1) Here it finally is, the first chapter (1/10 I hope) of my school inspired masterpiece. Namely I wrote/write raw sketches of this during my, ah so fulfilling, classes of computer 101 (this here is the mouse… and this is the mouse pointer… you get the picture) I actually got a commendation from the teacher for making notes ;)… the sadistic bastard snoops on our computers during classes to see if we are playing solitaire or surfing the net or something, luckily he has no Byakugan so he can't snoop my notebook.

2) Before the members of SST (Sakura StormTroopers) decide to pay me a visit and break my kneecaps please take heart that even if she is bitchy in this chapter (She really was quite the bitch towards Naruto until the Chuunin exam's 3rd round.) She'll get nicer and won't be killed or anything that bad.

3) Those of you who wonder why this is listed under Naru/Hina and there's no Hina in this chapter… well I believe Naruto and Hinata actually spoke for the first time during the chuunin exams and that's around chapterIII so be patient. Also it won't be immediate "Ah Naruto-kun I love you" "Hinata-chan… let me take off those panties" either… actually there will be no panty removal (unless some1 writes that for me, sorry don't think I'm 'up' for the task... not that it's a pressing issue anyway) For those of you who fear the coming of Super-Naruto…fear not. He'll just get some decent teaching and a few cool (I hope) abilities… and no he won't be able to walk around with 10000kg weight suit or anything.

5) Umm I think I ran out of things to say… Oh yeah and please review this. I kinda need that to activate the ultimate level of my hindsight-gan…

6) And if you didn't figure it out by the summary, or the story this one starts after the whole Kakashi/Zabuza and Sasuke&Naruto/Haku fight, which happened in the end of the wave country arc

7) I made a slight boo-boo here: Having Kyuubi refer herself as one of the Jinchuuriki instead of Bijyuu. This error was pointed out by GMan and has now been corrected.

Ta Ta…