Lust

Here's the next one guys. Please enjoy!


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Naruto shuffled down the dark street. Hands ruffling through his hair he was on his way to his house. His teammates had gone ahead to report their mission while the captain went to talk to a reliable source about a complication in the mission. They had told him to head home after arriving to the villiage. He agreed, after some reluctancy. He knew he needed to tell someone what was going on with him, he knew it with all his soul, every fiber of him was begging to tell someone. What then, would keep this powerful ally to Konoha, from telling someone about his dark, bloody secret? The damn secret itself. He practically craved the power lurking in the corridors of the invisible channels coursing through the human body.

The blond Kitsune growled in frustration. He had a frighteningly strong addiction to the sweet liquid power, but it was just that, frightening. He tried to quit thinking about blood, then he tried resisting from licking up the crimson fluid off the walls and floor that had once belonged to a person. His teammates were somewhat understanding, almost allowing him to take the blood if he wish. They still knew him as the demon then, and had expected him to react that way to the violence of ANBU-hood. They had just as quickly dissmissed their accusations when they found that Naruto hadn't been growling for the blood, he was growling because he had been trying to resist it. They hadn't talked about it, but they came to a mute agreement that no body was to kill their enemies or target before Naruto had a say.

Still trudging down the softly lit streets of Konoha, Naruto hadn't had the energy to flit acrossed the rooftops. Rather, he would walk in the streets where he could take his leizurely time and enjoy the sightseeing in the pale wanning moon. The Uzumaki legend enjoyed his time at nights, it seemed to calm him and strenghthen him at the same time. Sometimes he could feel the soft, cool power seeping into his skin from the lightest touch of the moons rays. Those are the nights when the man would sleep, practically bask, in the moonlight.

He pulled out his key on his keychain from around his neck and unlocked his door, ears straining to find something out of place. He already knew nobody was their, but it didn't hurt to be cautious.

Opening the door to his flat he had a painfull feeling of de ja'vu when he saw the ramen mess around his room. His bed wasn't made, a milk carton layed out on the table and his clothes were strewn everywhere. He heard footsteps coming from down the hall where the bathroom was located. Suddenly the light changed, it was bright and he could hear the morning birds chirping and singing their praises. He saw a scruffy little kid practically stumble out of the bathroom with his orange jacket half on, headband around his neck and a few scrolls in his hand and one in his mouth.

"Shimatta! 'm gonna be la'te" the twelve year old said. He continued running right through the present Naruto and tripped down the hall.

The light dimmed and the chirping of birds faded to the chorus of crickets outside his window. The room was spotless, nothing was out of place except a few scrolls Naruto had been working on before he received the mission. His bed was folded into his couch like it had been for the past couple of days since before the full moon.

Naruto walked over to the couch and fell asleep with his ANBU mask on and bloodied clothes still caked to his body.

oO@Oo

"I swear, he didn't even wake up when I entered his house!" A woman exclaimed quietly. Naruto listened carefully to the voices around him.

The first was a woman with an iron soft voice, meaning that although she spoke softly, she demanded the respect and attention to who listened. She was practically hovering above his head, but not threateningly, not yet anyways.

"Yes, the lazy idiot didn't even twitch when I changed his clothes." Naruto frowned, how dare that ass call him lazy.

"Shikamaru... Naruto's still naked, you never changed his clothes, you just took them off so I could wash him."

Affirmative, Naruto was indeed naked underneath the single wool blanket he owned. Naruto shifted to let who ever else was in his house know that he was awake. Sure enough, before he even finished his mock twitch, Sakura was by his side, ready to give him a lecture.

"Naruto! How dare you come home from a mission like that and not check in with me or Tsunade-sensei. That could have been your... blo--" Sakura couldn't find the air to fill her lungs worth her life, which was now a concern.

Naruto had opened up his eyes to begin his rally when she had stopped talking and breathing all together. She didn't take a step back, yet she didn't move either, Naruto began trying to sit up but found it rather difficult with her still hovering over him. Naruto was about to ask what the hell had gotten into her when she spoke first.

"Is... this Naruto? O-or, K-k-itsune?"

What an odd question to ask, of course he was Naruto. He wasn't going around tryin to destroy things left and right at the moment, correct? So why would she ask such a silly question.

"Oh, yeah, forgot to tell you kit, Naruto's dead and I've taken over his body now." Naruto teased with her. "Of COURSE I'm Naruto. Why would you ask that?"

He missed how Sakura was about to clobber him to death with her heruclean strength before she caught his tone of sarcasm. Naruto had been too focused on his strawberry haired friend to notice Tsunade and two of his three other teammates lurking in the shadows. Shikamaru had stiffened then relaxed quite visibly. The jounin now sat on the edge of his idiotic friends bed, trying to calm his already stressed heart.

Naruto was about to laugh at her incredibility when he opened his eyes and Sakura stiffened again. A pretty frown graced his features as his lips pouted in a learned thinking mode. Someone else had pouted that way, or rather, was trying very hard to think about a reletively simple task. The subject for debate was, 'Tomatoes or Onigiri?'

"Saku-chan, what's wrong?" He asked as he attempted to sit up again. The woman backed off again as she took a seat beside him.

In the corner of his small apartment, Naruto's teammates took up a relaxed pose and waited for the events to unfold. Shikamaru looked interested in the topic and was now staring at the half covered man. Tsunade was just as eager to know why her favorite ninja's eyes had changed into his demons' eyes.

"Naruto, your eyes. They're..." she trailed off, not knowing how to word it. She wasn't so sure that he would just shrug his shoulders and say, 'It's alright.' or freak out and say 'What's it to you?'

"What about my eyes?" Naruto reached up as if to touch the organs in question. He hoped she wasn't trying to say what he had feared. "They aren't... red, are they?"

His question seemed too calm for someone who looked about ready to shatter.

Sakura stood back up and looked around the room for something. She glanced down the hall and when she didn't find what she was looking for she sighed exasberatedly. She folded her arms around her chest and looked down her nose at the blonde ANBU.

"Naruto..." she paused, "you don't own a single mirror?"

Said ninja lifted one eyebrow and looked at his vain friend.

"Saku-chan, I may be gay but I'm also not as vain as you."

Had it been some other time she would have slapped him half across the village and yelled at him for calling her names. But instead, every occupant in the room sighed at his oblivious-ness and for his distracted conversations.

"Babe, she's trying to say you should look into the mirror your self. But obviously you can't so, yeah, you have red eyes." One of the masked men, of course no one could tell who it would've been if he hadn't been flaying his arms around like the fairy princess he is.

Again with Naruto's frowning.

"Naruto, I have to go, and unless you have some urgent need to join the intellectual and tell us what's going on with you, then I'll be where you can find me." Tsunade gumbled.

Translation: "Your so dumb I wish I could put you out of your misery. Now brighten up before I do hit you and tell us what's wrong."

Naruto looked like he was about to say something, but Tsunade left anyways with the ANBU and Sakura behind her. Shikamaru stayed on the bed looking like he wished his friend had a skylight. Naruto laid back down on his bed, his covers dragging lower on his bare hips. Before closing the door all the way, Sakura kept a crack in the door and spoke softly.

"Please, I wish I knew what was going on with you. I wish he..." Sakura closed the door.

The electricity was thick and heavy in the air. Shikamaru felt uncomfortable within the confines of Naruto's small apartment. The man still lay motionless on his folded out bed, red eyes staring at the ceiling. Everyone knew not to talk about a certain black haired friend around the emotional blond haired ninja. It was just common knowledge. But you also don't leave said emotional ninja alone after someone's tounge had slipped. The man may be an exceptional ninja and one hell of a good friend. You just can't mention anyone's first and only love gone traitor and hope that the abandoned would still be alive when you came back. So, inevitably, Shikamaru stayed.

The birds that were chirping outside the man's window had left. Gone to find their mates most likely. It felt so unreal. He knew that he hadn't been dreaming when he was kissing his lover passionately before jumping out the window and racing him to their randezvous point. Wasn't it only yesterday that they had the roughest, hottest sex here on this bed? So why did he feel so abandoned and cold. Then again the cold might've been because he was naked and half covered in thin sheets.

An old scar that looked like it would never fade stood out on his broad chest. A large dark circle of scar tissue was gathered on his right pectorial. Lines of burned skin snaked from the circle to create a wicked child's version of the sun. Otherwise, the man's body looked unharmed. Even the tattoo of the seal had dissapeared.

Before, there had never been a time when Naruto was like this. Alone, laying in his bed, thinking about the times he had with his wished-to-be lover. That was, before he felt like he was betrayed. In all actuality, he was betrayed, they all were. Tsunade had recieved a messege that day concerning the base of operations within the snake pit. Including photos, country, special jutsus right down to their favorite food. That was kept out of the mission reports seeing as it was of no use to Konoha. So he had stayed. A spy. The most dangerous job in Konoha next to being a S-class ninja.

Shikamaru felt like there was nothing he could do to console his best friend. What Naruto was going through was his problem, not some lazy bum's problems. Although the Nara felt slightly annoyed at the depressed state Naruto was in, the shadow user stayed around to make sure he didn't do anything foolish. The man looked around Naruto's apartment. When he had walked into the apartment more than two hours ago, he had half expected the place to be a mess. When him and Sakura walked in he was surprised to see that all his things were put away and his counters were clean, as if never used. The table was spotless, except for one solid black scroll. A pot sat on the stove, awaiting more water to be put in to be used for tea or to cook the infamous instant Ramen.

"Can I use your restroom?" Shikamaru asked the temporarily naked vegitable.

The man's eyes popped open and he sat bolt upright. Looking around for some sort of covering for his body, Naruto resorted to using the thin sheet already slightly wrapped around his body. Shikamaru, being a greater man than a 6 year old twitchy kid on high doses of caffeine, did not even jump back when Naruto took off in a sprint that looked imposible to reach those speeds inside the small house.

"Uh, just a sec. I need to use it." The bathroom door slammed shut just before he was able to finish his sentence. Shikamaru would have laughed at the blond if he were any more energetic. As it were, the brunette simply sat on Naruto's bed and gazed up at the ceiling with a huff.

Inside the bathroom, Naruto tried hiding his more feme-nin products, pink bottles of hair gel, shavers that he used on his legs, and many other sorts of things. He knew that the Nara wouldn't mind those being left out for everyone to see, but, as it were, Naruto was still, technically in the closet. Hiding his things away was easy, since they all fit in his sinks cabinet, Naruto dug through his clothes hamper to find something to cover his lower body. Pulling on a baby blue and white striped boxers, he exited the bathroom with a sheepish grin on his face accompanied by a small blush.

"Alright 'Maru, it's all yours."

"Thank god, I thought i was going to have to piss outside or something." The door closed with a click of the lock.


xxxx


The rest of the day seemed promising. There were bits of clouds just off to the horizon, few people were up this early in the morning, children ran to make the bell at the academy. Naruto would have remained oblivious to the small children if it weren't for one that latched itself securely around his midsection, almost causing him to stumble.

"Your finally home!" the small dirty blond of a girl squealed in delight. Her legs that were wrapped around his legs kept him from taking another step while her arms were cutting off the circulation to said apendages.

"Yes, Sou-chan, I'm home." he couldn't help but let out a bit of chuckle in his early morning greeting. "Did you finish your homework? You know Shika-sensei won't appreciate it if it wasn't finished."

The small girl released the much talled man. She looked up at him with with pouty lips and a frown that would have done her mother justice. Naruto took a step back, putting his hands up in an effort to keep his alliance with the soon-to-be-genin.

"YOU DON'T THINK I WOULND'T DO MY OWN HOMEWORK?! I swear papa, if you would have given me at least one blue scroll I would have been able to pass my bunshin test." She turnned around and folded her arms, much like her father, and pouted, like her mother. Throwing her hip out for drama, she tried to ignore her father.

"Sou-chan, you wouldn't even be able to comprehend what's in the blue scrolls, those are special jutsu's that I have created. The red and green ones are yours to study when I'm not home." Naruto spoke in a soft tone and resisted the temptation to get on one of his knees to be eye level with his drama queen daughter. "But, you've failed your bunshin test? How? I thought your aunt taught you-"

"NO! I want you to teach me. Your the most powerful ninja in KONOHA!" At this the little one spun around and flung her arms up in the air in true drama queen fashion.

Naruto sighed, there was no way of getting around this. If only he would've had more time with his daughter, she wouldn't be so far behind. Although, being only 6 years old and ready to graduate into gennin-hood was ahead for her age, but considering the parents involved.

"Sou-chan, how about I asked Nana to give me some time off so I can teach you bunshin?" Naruto, by all rights, was not a pushover.

"Well," Sou-chan seemed to be thinking about her options. Allowing her father to teach her bunshin... or, she could wrestle him into something else. "Okay, but I want ice cream too!"

"Deal." What was I saying about Naruto not being a pushover? "Now you need to get to the academy and I need to talk to your Nana."

"OK. bye dad." they pecked each other on the head and went their seperate ways.

Naruto never bothered to tell his daughter that, even though he was one of the strongest ninja's in Konoha, there were still others who were better at their job than him. The Hokage, for example, his Anbu captain, and a few choice others. Sure he had the most power, but that was being greatly hindered lately. He was unable to control his chakra then, and he's barely able to control it now that it's all his.

"Sigh, Well, at least I'm more respected." Naruto, always the optemistic.


xxxx


It was with a loud crash, a grunt, and a loud bang followed by some heavy object or someone hitting the wall that the Chunnin guards came rushing into the Hokage office. What they saw was not a pretty sight. Naruto was currently hiding behind the Hokage chair while an enfuriated Tsunade stood on the opposite side with her fists clutched at her side and foaming at the mouth.

"Honestly Tsunade, I didn't tell her to call you Nana. She's been doing it, YIPE!, since she was, SHIT! three!" If there was anything a ninja shouldn't be allowed to throw at their opponent, it would be, a chair, and a picture frame that shouldn't replaced the use of shuriken. The blond man moved from his cover after the chair was thrown, to move behind the chunin guards who came in. All three had dodged the picture frame and Naruto resisted his survival instinct to run down the hall screaming like his little girl yelling for Sakura's protection.

"I DON'T CARE WHO STARTED IT, YOU SHOULD NOT ALLOW HER TO CALL ME NANA!" The red faced Tsunade was looking around for something else to throw when someone had interrupted their little quarrel.

"Tsunade-hime." Naruto guessed she would rather be called princess than a grandmother. But still, the responsability to be a grandmother was far more greater than being a princess. "We need Naruto alive, there has been a message from Him."

All forces of nature in the world would have stopped if Naruto were in control. His emotions quickly turned from absolute fear, to complete understanding, to fear again, then to un-adultured anger. He looked from his sensei to the Hokage, then out the window. Hoping, that by some force of entity, he could jump out the window without being snatched Tsunade or Jiraiya. He has obligations to a pigmy kunoichi, but he also had a responsability and until-death-do-I-part dedication to his villiage. Naruto's mind and heart were being shrewdly ripped from his body, his training urging him not to be committed to things outside of the ninja life, and to turn off his emotions.

The blond Anbu stood full height and payed attention to his up coming mission. Jiraiya's face looked grim, but when he looked at Naruto, hope shone through those hardened eyes.

"He's in trouble. Orochimaru found out his true alliance and is about to enter his body. I think we should send Her as well as Naruto and a few others." Tsunade took in the information and looked toward her favorite ninja. The Chunnin excused their selves as soon as Jiraiya appeared, leaving only the two generations of Sannin.

"Naruto, I want you to stay here. Nami!" Tsunade yelled while turning to her desk and shifting through the disrupted papers. A petit woman fell from the rafters and landed silently on her feet off to the side of Naruto. She had shoulder length blond hair that looked like she cut herself with a kunai. She had no mask on to identify her as a Anbu, she wore no specific uniform, only solid black clothes. The woman stood with grace and power, much like Naruto. If the man was facing her he'd notice she had a unique set of golden eyes, her dark brown hair had chunks of orange-red streaks in them reminding Naruto of a tiger. The blond Anbu knew that this woman was not to be messed with. Tsunade, finally finding what she was looking for, handed a piece of paper to Nami.

"This is what your target looks like, kill the master. You will be accompanying Naruto over there along with Hyuuga Neji and my apprentice Haruno Sakura. Just come back safely."

"We'll leave as soon as possible Hokage." Nami's honey voice held no coldness, no respect, nothing. Naruto noticed she had left out the 'sama' part of his leaders title, but didn't mention anything. He was under a new captain, a new leader now, this was the woman that he would have to die for.

"Naruto." said man's head snapped in attention, body becoming tense and alert. "Please show Nami where Haruno and Hyuuga are."

Naruto bowed and was about to leave with his new captain in tow when he was stopped by his sensei.

"Make sure you come back alive." Jiraiya's voice sounded hopefull but somewhat distant. It was like the man knew what plagued Naruto's thought of every hour. He prayed that he was right.

Nami allowed the heavy doors to close shut behind her. They walked in silence until they were down the hall and heading down the stairs.

"Our mission is to retrieve Sasuke and kill Orochimaru, right?" Naruto was proud of the fact that he had figured out what was in store for them. Ever since he could remember, he had always wanted to be the one to know everything. Perhaps it had started when he was part of Team Seven.

"Iie, we have a different target. Do you know Yakushi Kabuto?" she asked. Naruto frowned, of course he knows that bastard. That man, he never died, it seemed.

"Of course, but why is he of any releviance. Aren't we only after Sasuke?" he was sure they were only after Sasuke. Nami sighed.

"No. Naru, you are aware that Orochimaru had created the body switching jutsu, yes? Well, to put it bluntly, we have received word that Orochimaru had already merged with Sasuke's body. Kabuto is at risk too because he was a minor spy for Konoha. When Sasuke was there, Kabuto was able to lay low while Sasuke handed us all the information we needed. All we know now, is that Sasuke is no longer alive."

The small women walked past the frozen Naruto. There was no way. Sasuke was dead? That couldn't be true. But somehow, Naruto had always known. He knew that Sasuke didn't stand a chance against that snake. But why did he, Sasuke, the all powerful avenger, allow himself to be taken by that bastard?

"That can't be true, Sasuke, he wouldn't--"

"Don't get emotional. Your Anbu, start acting like it. Our mission is to retrieve Yakushi and kill Orochimaru." With that Nami allowed her new subordinate to lead the way to the other two teammates.