Chapter 2

A/N: Warning for slight OOC.

Tsunade's Office, 0250 hours.

It was raining heavily in many places throughout the Land of Fire. Lightning flashed across the dark grey clouds gathered in the sky over Konoha, soon followed by thunder that shook several buildings around the entire village. It was a surprise to many – this rain. There was no forecast for rain, much less a storm of this magnitude. Tsunade snapped her eyes open as bullets of waters spattered against the windows around her office in the Hokage Tower. She had been passed out tipsy with piles and piles of papers and scrolls all around her with a sake bottle to her left. She lifted her head back up and then leaned back on her high-backed chair. Swivelling around, she stared at the lightning arching through and across the clouds, the flashes of light blue and white illuminating the water raining down on her village.

'There was no forecast for a storm,' Tsunade thought to herself as she stood up off her chair, her body covered in her low-cut grey blouse and trousers while her bright green overcoat hung off the rear of her chair. She stretched her arms over her head and yawned – she heard her body cracking in various areas before she lowered her arms and looked out the windows.

There was a feeling in her gut that she couldn't shake off. A feeling of emptiness that she would later ascribe to her loneliness as being the last Senju. She then turned back towards her desk and eyed the bottle of sake. Sighing, Tsunade rolled her shoulders as she walked past her table and towards the door.

She was going home for some sleep; hopefully that would help push the emptiness away.

Sakura's Room, 0300 hours.

Sakura couldn't sleep. She couldn't even lie back on her bed. Instead, she was sitting down cross-legged on her bed, her body facing her closet while her head was turned slightly to her right as she remained staring out the window at the rain pouring down from the heavens.

"It's like the sky's crying huh, Sakura," her Inner Voice said softly in the back of the pink haired Kunoichi's mind. Sakura closed her eyes tight and placed her hands over her ears at the flash of light, and then at the accompanying thunder, "it's just as if someone up there knows we killed…"

'Please stop!' Sakura mentally cried out in anguish. Opening her eyes ones again, Sakura felt the tears stream down her cheeks. The same tears that had been falling non-stop ever since she finished her third shower. She looked down at her right hand – even though she scrubbed the blood off her arm, hands, and from under her fingernail's multiple times during each shower – she could still see it covered in blood.

Naruto's blood. The blood of her teammate. The blood of a friend. The blood of a boy who had been declaring his love for her ever since they first met.

And Sakura killed him because of her love for Sasuke. A love that had her desire leaving the village with him. A love that had her follow his request to kill Naruto, to shred the bonds they shared, before wanting to leave with him for parts unknown. Sakura knew that she wanted to be with the last Uchiha. She had known in her heart that he was the One.

"And now where is he for us? Where is he, Sakura?" the Inner Voice asked, "were we wrong all this time? Were we…"

'Shut up!' Sakura mentally yelled while her impassive tear streaked face looked out the window and at the flashes of lightning. She loved Sasuke. She knew she loved Sasuke. She looked back down at her hands once again, and saw bright red blood covering her left hand, 'I love him… I love him… I…'

"Heh!"

Sakura's eyes opened wide at hearing the familiar voice whisper in her left ear.

"You LOVE him?" the voice whispered as Sakura, her body trembling, her eye wide open in fear, turned her head slowly to her left. And then she found herself staring into pale blue eyes and a sneer.

"Na… Naru…"

"Oh, come on, Sakura-chan," Sakura closed her eyes and shook her head upon hearing the honorific being spoken with such disgust. She started to sob, opening her eyes at the pale blue eyes staring back, "I think you forfeited the right to even say my name, don't you think?"

"Sakura, that's not Naruto… listen to me… that's not, Naruto!" the Inner Voice said while all Sakura could do was stare at Naruto; her eyes red and puffy from crying. She was finding it hard to say anything since every time she tried talking, she would hiccup a sob instead of speaking words.

"How about just calling me The Body, or the dead man, or…"

"Na… Naru… Naruto," Sakura managed to speak before sobbing again. "Please… please… I.. I am…"

"That was kind of smart, you know," Naruto said, his arms folded across his chest, as he stepped back. Sakura stared at him with tears still streaming down her face, "hiding the Kunai like that." Sakura closed her eyes and looked away from Naruto. She knew what he was talking about – with several areas of the village still under construction thanks to the great damage caused by the Sand-Sound invasion during the Chuunin Exams, it was relatively easy to find a place that was still being reconstructed. Sakura recalled being in a daze when it happened, it was as if her body was not her own… that she wasn't in control. She remembered changing directions when she was almost home following her return to Naruto's apartment after Sasuke was gone.

She saw several buildings that were still undergoing construction. So, she hid the kunai and its holster in a section of pavement near one of the buildings. The patch of pavement was covered by a tarp with a sign that read 'Wet Cement', and Sakura landed next to that tarp. The workers must had just finished, working late into the night before leaving for home since the small cement mixer was warm. She took out the kunai, still in its holster, grabbed a nearby trowel, loosened the edges of the tarp, and then pushed the instrument of death into the still wet cement using the trowel to then smoothen out the surface. The entire time, Sakura felt as if she was a passenger in her own body as her hands re-tightened the tarp. At this time, she looked up to see clouds starting to gather.

And then, she rushed home. She felt she was in control once again. And the tears flowed.

"What will you do now, Sakura?" Naruto asked with a quizzical look on his face, "are you gonna kill Ino, Shikamaru, Choji? Or how about Hinata – she's a little weird, right?"

"P-Please," Sakura stuttered shaking her head while her eyes were closed, "I… I…"

"Oh, you're hesitating now?" Naruto sneered as he glared at Sakura, "what if the greatest of the great Uchiha-damn-him-Sasuke told you to kill them? Would you do it? Would you do it for his love?!"

"Damn it, Sakura!" the Inner Voice yelled, "that's not Naruto! I should know… he's in your head. He's in your head!"

"I am in your head, Sakura," Naruto said as Sakura snapped open her eyes and stared at the vision of her former teammate in stunned silence, "feeling guilty? I never knew you had such a spunky version of yourself in your own mind." Naruto then sighed, "I'll be here for a long time, Sakura. Maybe you should have taken that Kunai and shoved it into your chest."

"Na-Naruto," Sakura stared in disbelief at what the figure in front of her, a figment of her own imagination, had just said, "I…"

"You were just thinking it, Sakura," Naruto whispered, "about how you could have just shoved that kunai into your heart after seeing my body again."

"Stop, please," Sakura closed her eyes tight again and shook her head.

"I'll never stop, Sakura," said 'Naruto', "you never wanted to be with the real me, which is ironic since now you're stuck with… well… me." Sakura opened her eyes to a flash of lightning illuminating 'Naruto's' face, "and I'll make sure you feel guilt eat up everything that you are… from your friendships, to your bonds with your family, to whatever else remains in that pit of darkness you call your heart. I will make sure you die alone and unloved for EVERYTHING YOU DID TO ME! FOR THE PAIN YOU CAUSED ME AND FOR MURDERING ME!"

At the clap of thunder – one that caused Sakura to choke out a sob as she reached out with her hand and tried to call out for 'Naruto'.

"You sicken me, Haruno," the 'Naruto' in her mind said as he stood in front of her, "you sicken me. And it sickens me that the real me never realized the kind of monster you are."

"We made a terrible mistake, Sakura, we…"

"Stop making excuses for her!" the 'Naruto' yelled out at Sakura's Inner Voice, "a terrible mistake is not going to the Hokage immediately after cleaning MY blood off HER HANDS! But she's sitting on her bed like the deranged maniac she is and…."

"Stop it!" Sakura flinched at her Inner Voice yelling out while her own voice was silent. She was shivering as 'Naruto' then spoke.

"Then go the Hokage now," demanded 'Naruto', "tell her that you killed me. Tell her that your precious Uchiha left the village. You know where he's going, Haruno. SO, GO AND TELL HER!"

"I… I'm just... just Haruno now?" Sakura managed to whisper in between her sobs.

"Do you think you deserve to be called anything else?" the 'Naruto' in her mind growled, "you think you deserve to be called Sakura-chan? Or just plain Sakura? Do you really think the real me would ever call you anything but a murderer?"

Sakura just stared at 'Naruto' with anguish etched on her face. She was silent, knowing in her heart that the image of Naruto in front of her was correct. She didn't deserve to be called Sakura or Sakura-chan by him.

"What was it that Kakashi-sensei said?" the 'Naruto' rubbed the back of his head while deep in thought, "oh yeah, those who break the rules and regulations are trash…" Naruto had a sneer on his face now looking back at Sakura, "you killed me… you broke the rules; you killed me, so you are trash."

"NAru.." Sakura whispered as a sob threatened to escape her lips. But before she could finish saying his name, Naruto continued to speak.

"And those who abandon their friends are lower than trash," Naruto then chuckled before pointing at the crying Sakura and saying, "you're both. Trash and lower than trash. How does it feel, Haruno?"

"Sakura, this was a mistake we made." The Inner Voice said as 'Naruto' tilted his head, "we killed Naruto because we were fools. Then I took over control of your body when you were mentally retreating while in Naruto's room. I was the one who used our body to throw away the evidence. We will mourn. We will…"

"I will make sure you never move on, Haruno," the image of 'Naruto' growled, "I will remind you of what you did every day, week, month, and year until the day you die. You are trash, Haruno. You are lower than trash." Sakura looked away and lowered her head.

"Sakura, we need to get some sleep. I know it's hard, I know…"

"She will never sleep," 'Naruto' growled as Sakura shook, "if she has a heart, she will never sleep. She will…"

"Forgive me," Sakura whispered, turning her head towards 'Naruto' her eyes wet with still flowing tears. "Please forgive me."

"I'm a manifestation of your guilt, Haruno," the 'Naruto' said, "I'm in your head. Can you really seek forgiveness from yourself even when you know deep inside that black heart of yours that you are guilty? I know that you know that guilt will never fade away. I mean look at you… so pathetic."

"Naruto," Sakura whispered, the green in her eyes brighter because of the tears in her eyes, "I…"

"You know you don't deserve forgiveness because if you thought you did, then you would have gone to Tsunade and told her that the traitor left the village," 'Naruto' said shaking his head as lightning flashes across the sky, "you still protect him. The both – you and your inner subconscious self - still protect that little shit despite…"

Sakura looked away in shame while her Inner Voice yelled out, "It's to protect her!"

"Sure it is," the 'Naruto' growled at the Inner Voice's words.

"I keep her safe. I keep all of us safe, including you, Naruto," the Inner Voice gently spoke out.

"I still find this funny," chuckled 'Naruto' as he stood facing Sakura, "two Haruno's in one mind. But then again, your guilt created me. So, there's two Haruno's, one conscious and one subconscious, and one Uzumaki in your head. There's a joke somewhere in that, I know it… somewhere there is a joke. Oh, oh, Two Haruno's and one Uzumaki walked into a ramen bar, and…"

"Shut up!"

"Please, Naruto, stop," Sakura whispered, her body shaking, "please."

"No," 'Naruto' growled.

"Please," Sakura whispered bring her hands to both sides of her head pressing down into her temples, "please."

"What if I told you that to get rid of me, you would have to kill Sasuke," the 'Naruto' said. Sakura opened her eyes and stared at him with a distraught face and then looked away, her arms falling limping by her sides.

Even the Inner Voice was quiet.

"I pity you, Haruno… and the Inner Haruno," Naruto said before shrugging his shoulders, "I suppose I could let you relax for tonight. I'm not going anywhere, and there is the rest of your pitiful life for me to torture you."

"I'll protect her," the Inner Voice said.

"Good luck, I would like to see you try pushing away the guilt that's in her head," the 'Naruto' sneered before vanishing. And suddenly, Sakura felt exhausted. She released several sobbing sounds before falling sideways on her bed. Her head landing on her pillow before she fell into an uneasy sleep.

Hokage's Office, 0700 hours.

"Kakashi," Tsunade said handing the Jonin a scroll coloured green with white and blue borders, "we received an emergency request from a small town at the border of the Land of Fire."

Kakashi unsealed the scroll while Tsunade continued speaking, "a gang of bandits are using the current weakened state of Konoha to molest several towns on the border. Their MO is on the scroll."

"They threaten the village, demand all their money and resources-particularly gold and silver- and then return two weeks later to collect," Kakashi read the scroll before looking back up, "and I take it you want my team to head there and take care of these bandits?"

"Yes, Team Seven leaves in an hour," Tsunade said nodding her head. Kakashi simply bowed before turning around and walking out of the office. He stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind him, and then with his hands in his pockets he walked towards the stairs at the end. Once he was outside the building, he leapt up and began running form one roof to another, never expecting the type of day he was about to have.

It would be two minutes later that he would be using the chakra on his feet to stick to the small ledge outside Sasuke's apartment window. He was staring at the already made bed while knocking on the window.

There was no sign that anyone was moving. No shadows coming from the other room indicating that Sasuke was rushing to his bedroom to investigate who was knocking. Kakashi knocked again while staring into the room. Everything seemed normal, everything seemed to be in place. He knew that Sasuke was immaculate, so of course everything in his apartment was going to be where they were supposed to be. Kakashi's eyes scanned the room while he knocked again – his gloved knuckles continued rapping against the glass and only stopping mid-way when he noticed something out of place. It was a photo frame he had given Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura; their first picture together after the Bell Test.

"Why is that frame…?" Kakashi whispered staring at the downturned photo frame as he rapped harder on the window, "Sasuke."

Still no answer. Kakashi looked away from the glass and spoke to himself, "is he training? That sounds like him but…" Kakashi looked back into the room through the window and saw the photo frame facing downwards – it was something definitely out of place. "Sasuke." Kakashi hoped that the feeling of dread in his gut was just that, a feeling. He went to Team Seven's training ground and saw no sign of the dark-haired boy.

'Maybe he's with Naruto and Sakura?' Kakashi thought that was unlikely, especially given the fight he stopped on the hospital roof yesterday, but he still had to hope the two boys made up. One was the last of the Uchiha, a prestigious bloodline, one was the top Kunoichi of her class – a civilian with no clan associations, something that in of itself was amazing; and the other was the only son of his sensei and the container of the Kyuubi. It was both painful and a relief whenever Kakashi would look at Naruto – he reminded the Jonin so much of his Minato-sensei, and at the same time it was that same memory that hurt. Kakashi was the last of their team – Obito died, Rin died by his own hands, and then Minato died saving the lives of the village by locking the Kyuubi away in his own son.

It was a few minutes later that Kakashi landed on the window ledge just outside Naruto's bed. And what he saw shocked him to no end; so much so he felt his heart skip a beat. His breathing quickened, tears welled up in his eyes, and a sense of horror took over.

There was so much blood spattered across the inside of Naruto's window. So much blood.

"Naruto!" he yelled out. He didn't care if anyone could hear the grief in his voice. He ran the side of the wall and jumped onto the balcony. "Naruto!" Kakashi yelled kicking the balcony door down and rushing into the blonde's room, his nose immediately smelling the stench of blood… a lot of blood. As he frantically ran to Naruto's room, Kakashi's memories went back to that fateful night.

The night of the Kyuubi attack.

Kakashi heard the rumours.

He told himself that it wasn't possible. Not Minato-sensei.

He rushed into the Hokage tower. He ran up the stairs whilst breathing hard. He passed by those who reached out and tried to stop him. He passed by those who pulled others back while whispering, "he was the Yondaime's student, let him be." Kakashi heard the sadness in their voices when they used the past tense – 'was'. As he rushed through the hallway on the top floor. He saw the elders walking out of the Hokage's office.

They didn't stop him. They didn't even look at him.

He passed the one who would later approach him – the one known as Danzo – to join his Root organization. Kakashi ran to the door, he grabbed the handles with hands that were trembling. He didn't care that it was inappropriate, he simply pushed the doors open and rushed inside before he stilled at the sound of a crying baby. Kakashi stared, his eyes wide open in shock and grief, at the Sandaime Hokage standing in his armour with a baby cradled in his arms. The old man looked up at Kakashi and then looked away with a great sadness painted on the older man's face – that told Kakashi everything he needed to know.

The rumours were true.

"Close the door, and come in, Kakashi," the Sandaime said while still cradling the baby in his arms.

"Ye… yes," Kakashi whispered as he stepped inside and closed the door while the Sandaime activated every single privacy seal in his office. Even the widows automatically darkened, telling the young Jonin that whatever he was going to be told was a secret – the highest level of secret punishable by death. There would be no trial.

"The Yondaime Namikaze Minato has passed," the Sandaime said as the baby in his arms quietened down, "as has his wife…"

"Kushina nee-chan?" Kakashi opened his eyes wide open, 'no… no… no… not her… not the two of them… no…'

"I am afraid so, child," the Sandaime said, looking down at the sleeping baby. The attack took many lives, he would reveal, including that of his own wife.

"I… I… you have my condolences, Sandaime-sama," Kakashi whispered as he looked down at the floor with his eyes closed shut.

"I know you have questions, that is why you have come," Hiruzen, the Sandaime, said, "I know you wanted to know about your Sensei, and… and know he gave his life for the village. As any Hokage would do."

"Hai," Kakashi whispered, his head still lowered while his hands rolled into fists.

"What do you wish to know?"

"Kushina nee-chan was pregnant, is the baby…."

"The elders were told that the baby died at birth, and that Minato selected another child to seal the Kyuubi."

At hearing that, Kakashi snapped his head up and stared into the Sandaime's eyes… his sad eyes. And knew it was a lie. And it was confirmed a few seconds later as Hiruzen looked down at the child in his arms.

"I was there… Kushina used her chakra chains to create an impenetrable barrier," Hiruzen whispered as he walked around his table and then stood in front of the shaking Kakashi who was trying not to cry, "he sealed the Kyuubi into his son, Naruto."

"Naruto," Kakashi whispered looking up as the Hiruzen bent forward slightly and showed Kakashi the baby in his arms – he was a tiny thing with wisps of blonde hair and distinctive whisper marks, three on each cheek.

"I…" Kakashi looked up towards Hiruzen's eyes, "I would like to adopt him. He is my sensei's legacy, I…"

"You are a child yourself," Hiruzen said as he walked back behind his desk, "the both of us know you will be unable to give him a proper home." Kakashi saw the old man looking back down at the now sleeping child and whispered, "even I cannot adopt him."

"Sandaime-sama," Kakashi was outraged, he was about to continued speaking when Hiruzen stopped him.

"It is not that I do not want to," Hiruzen said, "I was… advised against it." It was then that Kakashi recalled the advisors who walked out the hall… the ones he had passed earlier. Hiruzen continued to say that every clan would want to claim the baby since Naruto was the Kyuubi container– and that if a clan was chosen over the other clans, then it would seem like the Hokage was showing favouritism. They advised that the child be adopted by a civilian family with no clan ties.

However, somehow, over the following days, it was leaked that Naruto was the vessel for the Kyuubi. Kakashi didn't know who had done it, but after he was called in again to the Sandaime, he swore he would never put the life of his Sensei's son in jeopardy. In the end, Naruto was placed in the orphanage to placate the advisors and the clans. A law was passed to never mention again that Naruto was the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, this was done so that Naruto's burden wouldn't be an issue for the next generation.

But that backfired spectacularly.

While he had never seen Naruto beaten or physically harmed- he had seen the villagers ignore him, call him names, and tell their children not to be around him. But Kakashi couldn't interfere, those were orders when he was assigned to tail Naruto when the little boy was six years old. His orders lasted for a year before he was sent out to one mission after another as Anbu Captain.

He would check in on Naruto once in a while, but the more he checked in on him, the more it hurt Kakashi. At the same time, the more it pleased him that his sensei was alive in Naruto.

And then came the day of his genin assignment – he was to take charge of Team Seven; Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto. Kakashi still couldn't believe that no one in the Village had put two and two together – that Naruto looked so much like the Yondaime did when the latter was younger. But he supposed the fact that Naruto was the Kyuubi's jailer blinded them.

The day of the bell test, he hoped that Naruto wouldn't mess it up. But he did. Kakashi still passed all three for their teamwork. He saw Naruto slowly improve, but not as much as Sasuke. As for Sakura, Kakashi believed she could be much better than she already was if she wasn't so fixated on Sasuke.

Then came the day of the Land of Waves mission. Naruto showed what kind of ninja he could become. A spark of pride ignited in Kakashi at the blonde ninja who didn't give up. Kakashi knew he had made many mistakes, including not directly teaching Naruto on a one to one basis or taking the boy in when he was a little older.

He wanted to teach Naruto. But he felt that he would be better suited for Sasuke since the latter needed to learn more about how to use the Sharingan – it was something that even Jiraiya agreed with when he returned for the Chuunin exams. The next Kakashi saw Naruto was at the Arena battleground, before sending the boy on his way to be a back-up to Sasuke. It would be later he learned that not only had Naruto been the one to save Sakura, but he was the one who also stopped Gaara of the Sand.

After hearing and reading those reports, Kakashi knew that the lonely boy from years ago had a bright future as a ninja.

Naruto's apartment.

And now, Kakashi fought the bile rising up his throat from the heavy stench of blood.

He gripped the two opposite sides of the wooden door frame so that his body didn't crumble down to the floor while his legs trembled.

He fought the tears from flowing down his cheeks.

All he could do was stare at the pale lifeless body lying on the bed. The sheets were soaked with blood, the red liquid dripping down the edge and forming a pool of mostly congealed blood on the floor. Kakashi stared into the pale eyes staring at the ceiling as he mentally yelled out in anguish, "NO!"

He had to be alive, Kakashi stared at the bloody gash from the left side of the neck to the middle of the throat. He knew that Naruto was dead... he knew it. But it didn't matter, in his mind Naruto had to be still alive. He rushed forward and placed his arms underneath Naruto's body. He could feel the slick wetness from the blood on the sheets as he lifted Naruto off and then rushed out of the apartment through the backway. He then hopped as fast as he could towards the hospital… the doctors had to be able to do something.

Even though Kakashi knew Naruto was dead; he wanted the doctor to do something. His mind was screaming for them to do something for the son of his Sensei.

He hoped against hope that there was something… anything that could be done. He knew grief was clouding his mind – after all he was holding onto the last legacy of the Yondaime. The last legacy of the woman he called an Older Sister, the last legacy of his Sensei. Kakashi knew he had made a lot of mistakes in his life – and he hoped this wasn't payback by the gods for those mistakes. He would rather his life be ended than the boy in his arms.

'Naruto! Naruto!" he mentally yelled. But he knew for a fact that Naruto was dead, yet his heart refused to follow his mind.

"Kakashi!" the Jonin heard a voice in the distance. It was familiar to him. But he didn't care to stop He couldn't stop.

"Kakashi!" the voice was getting closer. The hospital was also getting closer, but he couldn't stop. He didn't want to stop. The doctors at the hospital had to do something… they had to….

'Tsunade-sama. What am I doing… I need to get Naruto to Tsunade-sama… she can.. yeah.. she can…' Kakashi changed direction while hearing a yell from his left, "my rival!"

It was now that Kakashi recognized the voice. It was getting closer until he could just make out a figure in green from the corner of his eyes.

"My rival, you are moving as if the fires of youth….!" The voice stopped. Kakashi could see, out of the corner of his eyes a figure with bowl-cut hair, thick-eyebrows and a stunned look on his face moving alongside him. "Kakashi, is.. is that… what happened?"

Kakashi couldn't remember the name of the man next to him; his eyes were dead set on the distant windows of Tsunade's office.

"Kakashi!"

At the scream, now Kakashi remembered the name of the man. He had been by his side the day of Obito's funeral along with Rin. And then he was by Kakashi's side the day of Rin's funeral. And then he was by Kakashi's side the day of Minato and Kushina's funeral.

"Gai," Kakashi wheezed, his head turning around with welled up tears towards the stunned Gai. The Green Beast of Konoha's eyes were fixed on the body of the blonde who was still in his bloody pyjama's, being carried in Kakashi's arms "he… I.. I found him…"

"Where?" Guy asked, his breath hitched.

"His… his bedroom… I.. I need to get to Tsunade… I…"

"We're almost there," Gai said looking at his rival and best friend before looking down at Naruto. Gai hoped to see some sign of life, but the fact that Naruto wasn't breathing and the deep gash on the boy's neck told him that the boy was dead. Gai looked ahead with his face having lost any outward expression.

Tsunade's office.

The door to her office closed following the issuance of a mission scroll to Team Ten; it was decided that Sarutobi Asuma would be second in command on this mission so as to give Chuunin Nara Shikamaru some experience in being an official team Captain. Tsunade leaned back on her seat and reached down to the bottommost drawer on her desk. She slid it open, and reached down to grab one of the sake bottles inside. Her fingers just touched the neck of one of the bottles when suddenly the whole thing shattered, broken glass and liquid on the bottom of the drawer among the other bottles. Tsunade's eyes widened, she felt a jolt of pain in her chest as she sat straight back up. Her heard was racing, her breathing deepened. She felt as if there was something bad about to happen – the same feelings she'd get once she won at gambling.

It was a feeling of dread.

Suddenly three was a blast of wind through the open windows behind her to the opposite side of her table. She saw a swirl of leaves which dispersed revealing Gai and Kakashi – the latter carrying Naruto in his arms.

"Hokage-sama," Gai said while the big breasted Tsunade jumped into action, her arms sweeping aside every pile of papers and scrolls on her table to the floor, "Naruto…"

"What happened?" Tsunade ordered while activating the privacy seals around the office. She signalled Kakashi to place Naruto's body on her table before she looked up to the one eyed Jonin. Tsunade saw the wetness on the man's mask before her blurring vision, thanks to her own wet eyes, shifted towards Guy who was staring down at Naruto.

"I… I was.." Kakashi took in a deep breath and looked up at Tsunade who had her hand on the gash on Naruto's neck before her eyes widened and she reached down and lifted his pyjama top to just under his chest.

"No this cannot be happening… no… no… no," Tsunade whispered as she pumped a little bit of chakra into where she was told by Jiraiya the seal would be… or rather should have been since it didn't reveal itself. Tsunade tried to keep her breathing calm and collected – something she was finding hard to do – while examining the rest of Naruto's body. However, she knew, just from looking at Naruto's body, that he was dead. Tsunade simply knew - his body was pale, he had no heartbeat, and no blood flow. She could tell that Naruto had been dead for at least five hours just from a cursory examination.

Tsunade gulped as tears slipped down her cheeks while she pulled down the pyjama top to cover his abdomen.

"Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi whispered as he watched her close his eye lids, "you must be able to do something? Anything?"

"His youth cannot be gone, Tsunade-sama," Gai added as Tsunade wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "you are the best medic in the world and…"

"And even I cannot bring someone back from the dead," Tsunade whispered looking at the bloody face lying on her table, her hands trembling as they lay flat on his chest while she stared at Naruto's face. He eyes then shifted towards the crystal hanging from the Shodaime's necklace, 'the curse… even you Naruto. Everyone I gave that necklace to has died and…" Tsunade's vision blurred as more tears fell down her cheeks remembering the boy she met more than months ago, the boy who restored her faith in a dream that was already lost to her at that period of time. And now, it felt as if everything was crashing around her again.

She looked up and saw Kakashi's shoulders slumped forward while Gai placed a comforting hand on the masked Jonin's shoulder. Tsunade could see that Kakashi was trying to push aside his emotions… he was shaking… his hands were rolled into fists, and he was trying to look past Tsunade to a spot on the wall which tears fell down to the edge of his mask… the water causing wet spots as it beaded down the cloth surface.

Tsunade reached down and gently placed a hand on Naruto's arm before taking a deep breath. She wanted to scream out, to weep out and openly, she wanted to sob hysterically at the death of one who she considered a distant nephew. Tsunade knew in her heart that the boy lying on her table would have been Hokage one day; but now that would never happen. Naruto was dead, and she was the Hokage… which meant she needed to have some professionalism. And so she continued to speak while struggling to keep a steady voice, "Naruto died at least five hours ago.. At least that's what I can tell from a cursory examination. The seal on his abdomen is gone…"

"Which means?"

"The Kyuubi is gone, it's dead.. or.. take your pick.. it's gone," Tsunade said shaking her head. A large part of her didn't care that the Kyuubi was gone – to her, the loss of the seal meant that Naruto was really dead since death was the only way that seal could vanish on its own. And she would have felt it if the Kyuubi was forcefully extracted from Naruto.

Tsunade then turned to Kakashi and noticed the blood on his arms, 'the guy must have carried him all the way here,' she thought while wiping her eyes and continuing to make her voice sound professional.

"Kakashi, what happened?" Tsunade asked once again, this time a crack in her voice.

"I… I went to Sasuke's apartment to inform him about the mission, and to meet at the gates in an hour," Kakashi said, "but when I knocked on his window, there was no one there."

"Was he training?"

"No," Kakashi said, "I thought that maybe he was doing something... maybe he was speaking to Naruto after the fight they had but…"

"And Haruno Sakura?"

"I haven't talked to her yet."

"I'll tell her, and…"

Kakashi took in a deep breath and stood straight, "it's my responsibility, Hokage-sama. I.. I'll tell her."

"Neko," Tsunade whispered before an armoured Anbu appeared in the room next to Kakashi. The woman behind the mask staring in shock at the body on the table before turning towards Kakashi who was staring at the body now, "take a team and search for Uchiha Sasuke. Find him, and then tell him to meet Kakashi and I at the hospital. Don't tell him anything else." The purple haired Anbu nodded her head, "and Neko, what you have seen is a SSS class secret, understood?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Neko said bowing towards Tsunade before she looked over at Kakashi who was now standing still as he continued staring at Naruto. Neko nodded her head at Kakashi, "I am sorry, senpai," she whispered before she shunshined out of the office.

"Bear," Tsunade said as a large masked man in Anbu uniform wearing a ceramic mask made to look like a bear shunshined in, his head was then turned towards Naruto's body. Although he didn't outwardly show surprise at what he was seeing, Tsunade, GAi, and Kakashi could tell from the way the man slightly twitched that he was stunned. However, Tsunade didn't have time to waste, someone killed Naruto - it could be an assassin from outside the village who figured out he was the Kyuubi Jinchuukiri, 'or it could be much worse. Someone from the village... a citizen of Konoha... killed him because they couldn't stand that Naruto is just a boy dealt with a bad hand.' She glared at Bear and said, "form a team. I want Anbu towards all the gates in and out of Konoha. Tell the sentries to lock down the village. No one goes in or out until we find out who did this."

She glanced at Kakashi and GAi, both of whom simply looked at her before she turned back towards Bear, "tell the gatekeepers that this is a battle drill. Tell them to pass on the message to the other sentry's on the wall, this is a full scale battle drill... no one is allowed in or out. If anyone lets anyone come in or leave, they will answer to me." Bear nodded his head, his eyes shifting back towards Tsunade before she continued, "and what you have seen is an SSS Class secret, is that understood?"

"Understood, Hokage-sama," Bear said, his eyes shifted back towards Naruto's pale body. His eyes then shifted towards Tsunade and then to Kakashi, "you have my condolences, Kakashi-san." Kakashi stared at Naruto, but he nodded his head as Bear looked away and back towards Tsunade who had one more order.

"Bear, before all that. Ready three Anbu to relay a message to the Elders," Tsunade said, trying her hardest to speak in an even voice while wiping the tears welled up in her eyes, "tell them to meet me at the morgue... do not tell them why. Just that it is urgent."

"Understood," Bear said nodding his head.

"Go," Tsunade ordered, and the man was gone in a swirl of leaves before she closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and then glanced at Naruto with a look of sorrow before she turned her head back towards the two Jonin in front of her. Kakashi was staring at Naruto's body as well, his eyes showing regret and sorrow as his body was shaking while his hands were rolled up into fists. Tsunade awas going to call the man when he suddenly looked up at Tsunade and spoke.

"Tsunade-sama, with your permission I would like to get my nin-ken onto the trail of who ever it is that killed Naruto," Kakashi said, his eyes going back down to the dead boy and then back up to the Hokage doing everything she could to keep her anguish away from the surface, "I have his blood on my arms, and the way he was killed..." Kakashi closed his eyes and shook his head at the thought of an attacker murdering NAruto by slicing one side of his neck wide open He then opened his eyes and stared at the blonde boy as Kakashi imagined him struggling to breath while reaching out towards his attacker, 'he was alone. He was alone and probably wondering where we were... where Sakura, Sakura and I were... why we weren't there to back him up and...'

"Kakashi," Gai said when he noticed Kakashi stopped talking and was staring at Naruto's body. He felt for his friend, and he could only imagine waht he was going through before saying, "your nin-ken, you were about to call for them."

"Right," Kakashi whispered before he bit his thumb, drawing blood, and then slammed his hand onto the floor after turning around, "Summoning Jutsu!" There was a large plump of smoke that dissipated to reveal all of Kakashi's nin-ken. It was Pakkun who look up at Kakashi, raised a paw, and then spoke.

"Yo." Pakkun then sniffed the air, as did the other dogs before they looked at the boy lying on the table behind Kakashi. Pakkun had his eyes wide open before looking up at Kakashi, "is that Naruto? What happened?"

"Someone killed him," Kakashi said, an edge in his voice before crouching down and then offering his bloodied arms to Pakkun and the other dogs, "remember the scent. Whoever it was, cut one of Naruto's arteries... the scent of the blood spatter should be on his or her body and clothes. It;s something that can't be washed off that easily."

Pakkun nodded his head.

"Follow the scent, once you find who it is, come back to me. Do not engage, I'll do that myself," Kakashi said, his mind still going back to imagining a man under the cover of darkness killing the son of his sensei. In his mind, Kakashi could see Naruto's arms flailing about as he tried to reach for the man. Kakashi then took in a deep breath as he stood up and said, "scatter." The dogs rushed off, after which Kakashi turned around and face Tsunade who was rubbing her forehead while looking down at Naruto, and then back up at Kakashi.

"Gai, please accompany Kakashi to notify Haruno Sakura," Tsunade whispered while staring at the green clothed man as she placed a hand on Naruto's forehead, "and then…." Tsunade stopped talking and her head snapped back down towards Naruto's head. Her eyes opened wider at the sensation she was feeling through her hand resting on the dead boy's forehead.

"How…" she whispered narrowing her eyes at Naruto's head, the middle of his forehead specifically, where her hand was resting.

"SHIZUNE!" she yelled out, causing the two men in her office to jump, "SHIZUNE! GET THE HELL INTO MY OFFICE NOW!"

Tsunade looked back up at Kakashi and then at Gai, and then back to Kakashi while saying excitedly, "Kakashi, I'm getting foreign chakra here..." she tapped her fingers on Naruto's forehead and then began the Mystic Palm Technique, pumping chakra into an already dead body. "It's clear now, there's foreign chakra here, around his brain."

"The Kyuubi?" Gai asked while Kakashi stared at Naruto, his features highlighted in the green glow from Tsunade's palms.

"No," Tsunade said as she moved her hand on Naruto's forehead to his face, just over his closed eyelids, "nothing here." Her hand moved down to his torn neck, "no chakra here." And then down to his chest, specifically his heart. And she gasped in disbelief, "there's foreign chakra here, but… but it's different to the one around his brain."

Before Kakashi and Gai could ask anything, the doors to the Hokage's office swung inwards and impacted the walls on either side of the room.

"Tsunade-sama! You called… oh my God!" Shizune rushed in and then stopped at the sight on the table, "Naruto-kun!" Shizune then looked back up at the Hokage, "What.. what happened?"

"Shizune," Tsunade looked up at her apprentice, "we don't have a lot of time. I need chakra tags in Operating Room 5A. I also need every unit of 'O' blood we have, a heart lung machine, and a crash cart now!"

"But… I.. oh God, I can see he's… he's dead…"

"Not every part of him is dead. Now go!" Shizune rushed out of the room with tears in her eyes leaving Kakashi and Guy to stare at Tsunade – Kakashi with hope in his eyes.

"He's dead… but I'm detecting two types of foreign chakra around his brain and his heart and then…." Tsunade stopped her hand over where the seal used to be. It was now hovering over the exact center of his abdomen. She pumped in more of her chakra through her medical ninjutsu, "but none of his own chakra." Tsunade then looked up and placed a hand on his forehead, and then one on his heart, a smile forming as her mind raced on how to best revive the boy. "The foreign chakra is very weak," Tsunade said, "it just needs a little reinforcement, another push of chakra to light the fading spark." She then looked up to the confused faces staring back at her.

"This is simply not possible," Tsunade excitedly said, her forehead beading with sweat, as she continued to gently pump heling chakra into his forehead towards the brain and his heart, "there are two distinct foreign chakra around his brain and his heart."

"I don't… I don't understand," Kakashi whispered looking down at the pale Naruto, "how? If it's not the Kyuubi..."

"Minutes after death, the brain stops working, and then slowly the heart starts to die," Tsunade mumbled to herself while pumping more chakra into Naruto's brain and heart, "it's not the Kyuubi, but I detected a bit… a drop of…." Tsunade looked back at Naruto with narrowed eyes, her heart racing at the possibility that there was a way to bring Naruto back to the land of the living. But it was the foreign chakra that concerned her, if it wasn't the Kyuubi, then how did those two chakra signatures end up in his body. The more she reinforced that foreign chakra with her own healing chakra, Tsunade felt something familiar emanating from the foreign chakra signatures. Tsunade then looked up at Kakashi, "who are his parents? Gai? Kakashi? Who are Naruto's parents?"

"Naruto's an orphan," Gai said as he looked at the boy before looking towards Tsunade who was herself staring at Kakashi. Gai turned towards Kakashi who was staring at Naruto with a look of relief and… there was something on his face. Something that told him that he was staring at Naruto with an expression of familiarity, "Kakashi?"

"He's an orphan," Kakashi said looking back up and directly at Tsunade.

"Given that the chakra's I'm detecting are of two people I know who are dead, I am guessing that he's an orphan," Tsunade said, "his Ninja and Academy files are all redacted. No mention of his parents." Kakashi nodded his head as he stared at Naruto, "but I know the two different chakra's… the two foreign chakra's in his body. I met them before I left Konoha." Kakashi looked back up at Tsunade, his eyes shifting back down to Naruto while Gai shifted his gaze from Kakashi to Tsunade, to Kakashi once again.

"Two different chakras'?" Guy whispered at Kakashi, and then he asked the same question to Tsunade. 'Who are his parents? And why is Kakashi so…' Gai thought as he looked back at his rival and best friend, sensing the disbelief that was emanating from him.

"Is… is it theirs? Really?" Kakashi asked in disbelief, "Tsunade-sama, really?"

"You know then," Tsunade concluded while Guy was looking at Kakashi, and then at Tsunade, and then at Kakashi once again with exasperation. She saw Kakashi nod his head before looking back down at Naruto. She wondered how it is that no-one, not even herself, noticed the similarities. A smile formed on her face, "so it's true?"

"The Sandaime wanted Naruto to know who his parents were after he turned eighteen, or when he became a Jonin- whichever came first," Kakashi said as he remembered that fateful night he saw Naruto for the first time, "Sansaime-sama wanted him to learn how to defend himself before learning the truth. The Sandaime gave me his birth certificate.. his real certificate I mean, and every record in regards to him and his parents."

"Who are the boy's parents?" Guy asked, sensing that Tsunade and Kakashi were keeping a secret.

"So everything we heard was a lie," Tsunade shook her head while a confused Gai stood next to Kakashi, the latter's question remained unanswered, "Sensei asked you to keep everything that rightly belongs to him, and them, safe?"

"It's all in a secret location," Kakashi whispered, "in the event the Sandaime passed away, he left me in charge to transfer everything that was rightly Naruto's on his eighteenth birthday."

"What are you talking about Kakashi, Tsunade-sama?" Gai asked looking between the two of them.

"So you have…" Tsunade wanted to laugh. All the jutsu's and secrets of the Namikaze family and the Uzumaki clan were right under the noses of the Elders and herself; they were away from Danzo. But Tsunade held back from laughing, "everything? Even…. Even HIS jutsu?"

"Even THAT jutsu," Kakashi said nodding his head, "it was a few days after the attack. The Sandaime told me to protect everything that belonged to THEM so that certain people…"

"I see," Tsunade said looking back down at Naruto, her hands now over his forehead and heart while she pumped chakra, "I am slowly reinforcing their chakra."

"Naruto's parents chakra?" Gai asked.

"Gai," Kakashi said looking at the man, "I can't tell you. Not until I tell Naruto."

"You plan on telling him then?" Tsunade asked, her eyes locked with Kakashi's, eyes that then looked down towards Naruto.

"I made many mistakes in my life, Tsunade-sama," Kakashi said, "one was always knowing who Narutos's parents were, and not telling him. But if this has proven anything, I don't want him to… to die without knowing who he is, and who his parents were."

Gai wondered to himself, why would anyone want to keep Naruto's true parentage a secret. He himself thought that Naruto's parents were simple casualties of the Kyuubi attack and that the Yondaime selected an orphan to hold the Kyuubi within. As he looked down at Naruto, Gai thought to himself that he pitied Naruto for being selected for such a burden. When he first heard the truth about Naruto being a Jinchuriki from the leak, he couldn't believe that the Yondaime would do such a thing to an innocent child. He was there at the funeral for Minato, Kushina, and there was another blacked out picture frame that represented the baby the two of them had lost in the attack.

Hell, even Kakashi had confirmed to him, after he rushed off to talk to the Hokage, that the baby and Kushina died when the Kyuubi went on a rampage. But now, the way Kakashi was staring at Naruto, this was the most open he had seen the usually guarded Kakashi. Gai could sense the relief coming off him in waves.

And Gai began to wonder. Why would Kakashi be so relieved about this particular boy? He had sensed a great sorrow earlier from Kakashi, and now the masked shinobi was relieved. However, Gai's thoughts were broken by Kakashi who asked if Naruto would be alive… if he could be revived.

"We're lucky," Tsunade said as medics entered the office with bags and a gurney, "his parents' chakra's are acting like blood; protecting his heart and brain."

"Will he recover? Will he…"

"I don't know," Tsunade admitted as the body was placed on the gurney before Tsunade who, so that Naruto received a steady amount of chakra, climbed on top of the boy while keeping her palms over his forehead and heart.

'Minato, Kushina, even in death, the two of you are trying to save your son,' Tsunade thought, 'I will do my best to revive him. I swear.'

Tsunade then turned towards the medics, "get us to room 5A. Kakashi, get us there under a genjutsu."

"Understood," Kakashi said as he lifted the pat of his headband covering his left eye to reveal the Sharingan.

"This goes for everyone here," Tsunade said, "what you have seen is considered from this moment a SSS class secret punishable by death. Understood?"

"Yes," all of them nodded their heads.

"Tsunade-sama, I.. I want to apologize for my emotional…" Kakashi said before he was interrupted by Gai.

"Kakashi, your student was… well… dead…." Guy then turned to Tsunade, "it is a human response Hokage-sama."

"Agreed,' Tsunade said looking at Kakashi and then at Guy, and then down at Naruto, "let's move."

TBC.