Demon's Path

Disclaimer: yeah... don't own Naruto... if I did, Sasuke would have actually kissed Naruto at the valley at the end! Also, Kai would have been there. All original characters belong to me unless otherwise specified.


Chapter 2: Uzumaki


"So, Senji," another jounin asked the pale haired man. "It's been almost two years now, how've they been fairing?"

Senji grinned to his companion. "Not bad, not bad. I'm going to give them two more years before I even think of entering them into the Chunin exams, but I think things are going well."

"So soon?" another jounin asked. "Isn't Kaishi only ten?"

Senji nodded. "Eleven, but she's a fast learner, and she has much potential."

"A genius, huh?" the first jounin asked.

Senji sighed as he nodded again. "Hai. I think if she were to really try, she'd be a chunin already."

"Nani?" the second gasped. "She's not even trying?"

Senji shrugged. "She will, but she hasn't found the right motivation yet."

"What of the other two. I hear Namini is a real pain," the first asked.

Senji chuckled. "He is at that. Doesn't think things through, doesn't plan ahead, but he's very strong and has a powerful will. That and I think he may have luck on his side. Even so, he depends too much on overpowering his foes with his immense strength and outlasting them with his increased stamina. I have a feeling it will be his downfall. That, and his temper. I don't know how she handles it, but Kaishi seems to just take it and turn it on him."

"And Nariko, what of her?" the second asked. "She's the quiet one, ne?"

Senji nodded. "Hai. She has good control over her chakra and some real talent for medical techniques. She'll make a fine medic nin one day. All she needs is to come out of her shell a little more."

The door to the bar slid open, revealing the young jounin, Hatake Kakashi. He scanned over the group before landing his dark gaze upon Senji. "Hisho-san," he greeted.

"Hai?" the pale haired jounin asked the masked boy.

"The Yodaime needs you and your team to assemble and come to his office," the slight boy informed with a casual air.

Senji nodded. "Of course, I'll get them now. Am I going to find out now or when I get there?"

Kakashi looked around the small establishment before locking eyes with the taller man. "When you get there."

"Hai. I know where Nariko and Ryuo are but it might take too long to find-" he started.

"Kaishi-chan is waiting for you there. I found her first," he interrupted.

Senji raised a brow before casting the strange boy a nod and rushing out the door to find the rest of his team.

~*~

Senji stood with his team before the Yodaime, Kakashi waiting behind the tall, blonde man. "You summoned us, Yodaime-sama?" Senji asked.

"Hai. Your team is being sent on a special mission," the Yodaime started.

"Yosh!" Ryuo cheered. "A special mission! Finally, I can show off my skills!"

Kaishi cast a glare to her teammate before turning back to the Yodaime, whom merely smiled slightly at the enthusiastic boy. "Let us hope your skills will not be necessary. There is a woman in a village not far from here. She is in her eight month of pregnancy, and would usually not travel, but she is needed here in Konhoa. I want you to escort her here, safely."

"A-ano, Yodaime-sama," Nariko spoke up with a slight stutter. "Why is this woman risking her pregnancy at this stage?"

The Yodaime smiled. "She is stubborn, much like myself, and refuses to give birth anywhere but here."

"Who is this lady anyways?" Ryuo asked with a slight growl.

"She is my wife," the Yodaime answered.

All eyes widened as the team looked to the blonde Yodaime. "Your wife?" Senji asked.

"Hai," the blonde hokage confirmed with a grin.

"Nani?" Ryuo exclaimed. "You have a wife? When the hell did that happen?!"

Kaishi rolled her eyes at the red headed loud mouth before taking a step forward. "She will reach Konhoa with safety, Hokage-sama. We will make sure of it."

The Yodaime nodded. "I knew that you would. You have your mission now."

The team turned serious and nodded to the hokage. "Hai," they all said in unison before vanishing from his sight.

"Do you think sending a team of Genin and Senji was a good idea, sensei?" Kakashi asked the Yodaime.

"Hai. Of all the teams to come out lately, they have the most promise. They will not let me down."

Kakashi sighed and shrugged. "I hope you're right, sensei, I really do."

~*~*~*~

The village was not far from Konhoa, and usually one would not need such protection for the trip. But, when you add in the impending attack of a Kyuubi along with a very pregnant, stubborn woman, things changed.

"Come on, lady! This is insane!" Ryuo shouted as the group rushed through the woods.

"Emi-sama, Ryuo is right. It is not wise to move this way, we are coming far too close to the battle!" Senji called out to the shorter woman.

Uzumaki, Emi looked back upon the group with her bright blue eyes. Her dark brown hair held back into a low ponytail. Even with her belly protruding as far as it did from beneath her dark blue yukata, she still appeared intimidating. "I refuse to leave my husband and the men of Konhoa to fight the beast alone!"

"A-ano, Uzumaki-sama," Nariko pointed out. "Y-you're risking yourself and your baby more than you are trying to help."

Emi stopped, her eyes and face twisted into a frown as she looked away from the group. A tanned hand laid gently upon her belly and curled into the material of her yukata. "My baby. Fine... we will start again for Konhoa."

~*~

The ground shook as the team and the Yodaime's wife neared the village. The battle had moved dangerously close to the walls of Konhoa. Senji and Ryuo were occupied with keeping debris from falling onto the brunette woman as Nariko kept close to her side. Kaishi seemed to only stop things falling too close to her, her crimson eyes always focused on the round belly of the woman they were protecting.

Emi looked to the darkly clad girl and approached her slowly. "Onibashi-chan?"

Kaishi said nothing, merely shifted her eyes to the blue ones of the older woman.

"Something is bothering you?" Emi asked.

Kaishi shook her head. "Not really."

Emi smiled. "It is pretty daunting, that there's a life sleeping inside me right now. It scared me at first, so much so that I hid myself for most of my pregnancy and cut myself off from my husband, whom I love very much."

"Fear is natural," Kaishi stated.

Emi nodded. "Your family is very close to fear, so you would understand that."

"We are trained to fear nothing, not death, nor anything in life. Fear is to be controlled, not something to control us," the eleven year old said calmly.

Emi smiled again. "Then I am glad that I have met you. Perhaps you can help me control my fear."

Kaishi seemed confused. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you glad to meet me? I am an Onibashi, even the other ninjas fear us."

Emi nodded. "Others fear what they cannot understand. Your family, while small, holds much power. Had you any desire to, I have a feeling your family alone could usurp the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans together."

"We desire no power. It is because of power that my family is as cursed as it is. If anything, we desire less power."

Emi smiled. "That is why you are such a feared family. You don't care for power, or prestige, so the elders and other clans are unsure of your motivations. That alone gives you more power than you would imagine."

Kaishi seemed deep in thought for a moment before focusing on the older woman. "This is true. You are wise, Uzumaki-sama."

"Not at all, just observant," she brushed off cheerfully. She then moved closer to the red eyed genin and took her hand. Kaishi allowed her to move her smaller hand onto the woman's belly, her eyes fixated upon this. "Can you feel the life within me, Kaishi-chan?" Kaishi's eyes widened at the small kick against her palm, evoking a small laugh from the older woman. "If it's a girl, her name will be Hotaru, and Naruto if a boy. Either way, they will be loved unconditionally by myself and the Yodaime."

"I don't understand, Uzumaki-sama," Kaishi said.

Emi's hand tightened upon the girls. "Would you protect my child, Kaishi-chan? Would you treasure him and keep him from harm should anything happen to us?"

Kaishi was overtaken with a look of confusion again. "Of course, Uzumaki-sama-"

Emi's hand tightened again. "Would you swear it that you would protect it?"

Kaishi nodded. "Hai, Uzumaki-sama. Your child would be safe with me."

"You would never let the fear your family controls harm him or her?" Emi asked.

"I would make sure of it, Uzumaki-sama. He or she would need never fear me or my family. They would be an honored child of the Onibashi, no matter what," Kaishi swore.

Emi smiled to the girl sadly. "That is good. I hope I never have to hold you to that, but you are the strongest here, and I needed to know that my child would be protected."

Kaishi nodded, only half understanding the woman's words. The crimson-eyed girl remained at the pregnant woman's side with Nariko for the rest of the night, her thoughts mulling over the woman's demands.

~*~

"We're still too far from the hospital or the Hokage tower!" Senji exclaimed to his genin.

"The little rug rat obviously doesn't care about that, or that he's a month early!" Emi growled as she sat beneath a tree barely within the walls of Konhoa.

"But who'll deliver the baby?" Senji asked.

"A-ano... I believe I might be able to," Nariko volunteered. "I-I'm the only one with qualifications enough."

"Nani? Are you nuts?" Ryuo shouted. "Were standing in a fucking forest!"

"Ursuei, Ryuo!" Kaishi snapped. "If you cannot make yourself useful by staying here, you should scout the area for anything that might interrupt this."

Ryuo glared at the younger girl before vanishing into the surrounding trees. "Bitch," he muttered.

Senji looked to the young genius of the Onibashi family. "Kaishi."

The red eyed girl merely looked to her sensei. "Senji-sensei. I think that you should stay close, the Kyuubi's shockwaves are still shaking the ground and causing damage out here."

Senji smiled to the young genin. 'So, she's found some motivation, ne? What did Uzumaki-sama say to the girl to get her so determined?'

Nariko seemed more confident in this situation, her brown eyes more sure as she examined the older woman. "How long have the contractions been coming for?"

Emi gasped for breath. "An hour or so, I concealed my water breaking and hoped that we'd get to the hospital here in time."

"I believe you are fully dialated, Uzumaki-sama," Nariko said, her usual stutter gone for now.

Emi looked to the stoic girl and beckoned her close. "Stay at my side, Kaishi-chan."

The red eyed girl nodded, her smaller hand linking with the panting woman's in silent agreement.

~*~

"I need you to push, Emi-sama!" Nariko commanded.

"I can't!" Emi cried out. "I'm too tired."

"Just a little more, Emi-sama, onegi," Nariko asked.

Kaishi tightened her grip on the older woman's hand. lending some of her chakra to the woman's in hopes that it would help. Ryuo was back from his sweep and panicking as Senji-sensei was trying to remain calm, although it was pretty obvious he had no clue what to do here.

"Just one more, Emi-sama," Nariko pleaded. "Just one more and your child will be here."

"He better damn well have a good excuse to not be here! I'll kill that bastard!" Emi screamed as she pushed one last time.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light and Kaishi felt chakra of huge magnitude pass through her hand, rushing through the umbilical cord and into the freed infant. Kaishi stared in silence as a strange seal appeared on the child's belly before a huge wail came from the little thing.

"Kaishi-chan, hand me your scarf so I can cover the baby!" Nariko asked.

The black haired genin complied immediately, revealing a black mask underneath. (ha ha, I got you!). Soon, the baby was swaddled in the dark crimson cloth and handed to the gasping woman that birthed it. "Meet your son, Uzumaki-sama," Nariko said softly.

Emi held her wailing son close, a tired smile passing over her face. "My Naruto," she whispered.

Kaishi's red eyes glittered in wonder as the sight of the small child wrapped in her scarf. "Naruto."

Kaishi didn't notice the fading color in the older woman's eyes and her face slackening. "Emi-sama? Emi-sama!" Nariko's voice broke through the haze.

"Uzumaki-sama?" Kaishi questioned.

Nariko's hands glowed green then, a look of distress covering her face. "She's hemorrhaging."

"Kaishi, you're the fastest of us all," Senji took charge again. "Take the boy to the Hokage tower, now!"

Kaishi nodded as she pried the still-wailing infant from his mother's grip. Without saying a word to anyone, she vanished into the night, her speed carrying her to the Hokage tower with speed that exceeded many of the best ninja of Konhoa.

~*~

Kaishi had been sititng in the Sondaime's office for a long time now. Naruto had fallen a sleep soon after they had arrived, unlike so many that feared the Onibashi, he seemed most comfortable in her arms, refusing to be held by anyone else by threat of screaming.

"I just don't understand it, Sondaime-sama," a voice complained on the other side of the door. "The child just won't let anyone else hold him. An Onibashi even!"

"Ursuai, onna!" the sondaime's voice growled. "There is no need for your petty complaints when we have lost so much this evening."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," the voice said, subdued.

The door opened and the Sondaime appeared with Senji and another jounin at his side. Kaishi stood from where she sat with the infant and approached the Hokage. "Emi-sama?" she asked.

Senji looked away and Kaishi knew. Uzumaki Emi, the mother of this small boy in her arms, was gone. Died bringing him into the world. The Sondaime took a step forward. "May I see the child, Onibashi-chan?"

Kaishi nodded as she handed the boy over. "His name is Naruto. She told me that's what she'd name him."

The Sondaime smiled sadly and nodded. "Naruto it will be, then," he said as he pulled back the red cloth to reveal the black seal upon his belly and waking the child with a rush of cold air. Naruto wailed loudly in unhappiness, causing the red eyed girl to take a step forward, only to stop in hesitation. This was not her child, she had done her duty to the boy and his mother by bringing him home, surely the Yodaime would care for him?

"So, this is what he sacrificed his life for," the Sondaime muttered. "To seal the Kyuubi within his son, and save our village, the Yodaime is dead."

Kaishi gasped, her eyes widening in shock. "Iie. That cannot be true," she murmured.

"Unfortunate, but true," Senji confirmed.

"Who will care for him then?" she asked.

The Sondaime seemed puzzled. "We do not know where the child will go. He has no family and I fear that the villagers will not give the vessel of the Kyuubi the love he deserves."

"Perhaps we should send him away?" the other jounin suggested. "Spare him the grief."

Kaishi's eyes narrowed as she snatched the child from the Sondaime's arms and wrapped him again within her scarf before cradling him to her chest. "You could start by keeping him warm," she snapped, forgetting who she spoke to.

"Kaishi, would your family care for him?" the Sondaime asked with a slight glint to his eyes. The young, red-eyed girl truly had grown attatched to the little blonde infant.

Kaishi raised a brow. "Why would they? By tradition, I am no longer a child to them and live on my own. To have become a genin is to be an adult to the Onibashi. I have been so since I was nine."

The Sondaime seemed shocked. He had forgotten that tradition of the Onibashi. The family held little ties to one another, save blood. It was the way they did things in order to keep grief from consuming them, should a member die as well as in their pursuit to conquer fear.

Senji smiled to the dark haired girl. "And you, Kaishi?"

Kaishi seemed confused. "Take him in? I am not sure I am equipped to do so, sensei."

"You will not do it alone," the Sondaime stated.

Kaishi seemed to contemplate it for a moment, her eyes locking upon the open, bright blue of the wriggling infant in her arms. She smiled a true smile to the infant as she took in his golden hair and whisker-like markings. She could tell, just by how he looked at her, that he would be a handful. She always did enjoy a challenge, though.

Kaishi lifted her head and looked to the Sondaime. "Hai, I will take care of him."

~*~*~*~

The assassin crept silently along the walls as he moved towards his target. It had been hard getting this close to the little monster, he was so well protected. There had to have been an entire squad of ANBU guarding the small room. His knife gleamed in the moonlight as he reached the side of a small crib, a sick smile crossing his lips as he looked down at the vulnerable, blonde infant sleeping within. This would be a satisfying and easy kill. His hand raised, ready to slice into the baby's soft belly like it were made of cellophane. The monster had to die.

Within a flash of a moment, the knife was buried in the wall, and his body was standing immobile in front of the crib. Slowly and agonizingly, he wrenched his head to the side, his black eyes locking upon the small girl that stood beside him. He hadn't noticed her standing there before now, those crimson, cat-like orbs, surrounded by a cornea of black, burning into him from beneath a curtain of pitch black tresses, her small, bandaged hands curled around his wrists, black claws digging into his skin.

"N-nani?" he muttered in shock.

"You are trespassing inside my home," she informed him in a soft, calm voice.

She had to be no older than twelve, garbed in a black tank top and pants that hung past her knees with bandaging from mid-calf into her crimson red sandals. The bandaging that covered the bottom half of her fingers and hands trailed up to below her elbow. A brown belt hung about her waist loosely as bandaging and a small pouch clung to her right leg. A crimson scarf hung about her neck, blocking her mouth and trailing behind her almost resembling a cape. From beneath the mane of hair, he could see the forehead protector held in place ob her brow by a red cloth. She was a ninja, this young, frightening girl was a ninja.

"It has to die," the assassin stated.

"Not according to the Sondaime," she countered in a soft, calm voice.

"The Sondaime has been blinded by the bakemono's appearance."

"He is merely the container. Not the Kyuubi itself."

"That's a lie! He's just another form of the Kyuubi! Before we know it, we'll be under its power again. The only chance we have to destroy it is now!" he shouted.

She raised a brow at the man. "You're a narrow-minded baka," she stated as she tightened her grip on his wrists with one hand and another crept towards his throat.

The man's body lost it's mobility completely as he glared at the girl. "Bakemono lover!" he spat.

Without a bat of the eyes, the girl watched on as her claws tore deeply into his throat, slashing it open and drowning him in his own blood, silently. As his eyes faded she cast the man a wicked grin, making sure her face would be the last he saw before releasing him to fall with a loud thud onto the floor.

She ignored the corpse in front of her as she turned towards the crib and leaned as best as she could over the side. Her crimson eyes widened in shock as the crystal blue of the baby locked onto hers. He made no sound as she watched him, waiting for ANBU to come to clean up the body.

"I promised your okaasan, little one," she whispered to the captivated child as she transformed back into her normal self. "I promised her that nothing would ever harm you." The baby cooed and smiled at the darkly clad girl. "I intend to keep that promise, because that's my way of the ninja."

She noticed her blood stained hands gripping the crib and she moved away from the crib, hearing the footsteps of an ANBU member through the door. She cast a genuine smile to the baby before starting for the door. "Go to sleep, Naruto, and know that I'm here, and that I'm going to try to always protect you."

~*~*~*~