Naruto 1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto -.- Unfortunately

This is my first Naruto fic and like I said in my profile it started out as a dream. Like most of my fanfics will. Anyway enjoy!!

**Feed Me To The Forest**

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The noises of stampeding horse almost lulled Naruto straight to sleep if the constant pace weren't jolting him back awake. They had been running like this for hours on end. Actually, they've been running like this for months! Yes months, day and night, every hour, every minute, every second, they've been running only stopping for their horses to take a break. Why? Well...

From Naruto's understaanding it happened over about two months ago. He had gone on a trip to a neighboring town to get more supplies. When he came back, his village, Kinka Town, was in a huge uproar. Apparently a man-eating panther attacked wounding three men and killing one. After that it's been a _duty_ for all men in Kinka town to hunt the animal down and kill it before it attacked anyone else. Which was why right now, Naruto was traveling at a neck-breaking speed on his horse.

It wasn't that he didn't want to ride with them (even though that was true), it was just that he didn't like the way they run his life with this thing. Wake, eat, bathe, morning hunt, eat lunch, evening hunt, work a little in the town, night hunt, go to sleep, wake, eat, bathe, morning hunt...well you get the drift. After a while... you kind of get tired of it. Alas, there was nothing he could do since he was only 18 and could do nothing against the town's elders.

A loud whiney from a horse broke Naruto from his thoughts as everyone in front of him came to a complete stop. The leader hopped off his horse and studied the ground, carefully searching for pawprints and occasionly sniffing for any marked trail. After what seemed like two minutes the leader scrunched his nose up as if smelling something foul before mounting his horse once more.

"Yep. It's defintely been this way. Split up! You four go that way. I'll take these three with me. If you see that..._thing,_" The leader spat in disgust scrunching up his face once more. "don't hesitate to kill it." With one last murderous look, the leader finally pulled the reins of his horse and lead away three men in their eight men group. Everyone else let the tension fall away before actually taking action.

"Okay. Naruto you go that way." Said one man pointing in a random direction. Naruto groaned inwardly before trotting off as the man barked out more orders. Why was he even required to do this? Sure the panther attacked some people and he was sure the family of the dead guy is very sad but do they have to drag _everyone_ into it? He'd rather stay home and eat ramen than hunt some man-eating panther every waking moment of his young life. He had tons of years before he died. Why spend them all on hunting some animal he may never even see?

His horse snorted angrily almost making Naruto believe he heard his thoughts. It wanted to be here as much as he did. Naruto smiled softly and patted the horse's neck, bending to be leveled with it's small ears.

"Don't worry boy. Soon they'll figure out this is all useless and I'll be back home eating my ramen and you'll be in your stable in with your hay." The horse whinied happily and Naruto beamed before sitting back up. But his smile only lasted for a short while.

"After it!"

"Don't let it get away!"

Naruto snapped his head in the direction of the voice and the horse took a few steps back, shaking it's large head. Naruto pulled on the reins to calm the animal down not noticing a figure till it was too late. Suddenly the horse let out hysterical neigh before falling onto the ground bringing the blond hunter down with it. Naruto quickly scrambled from under the heavy weight before turning to look at his horse's attacker. Blue eyes widened at the sight before him.

The panther that he had been hunting for almost two months now was standing right before him. It's black fur bristled and stood on end. It's thick tail swished angrily behind it. It's claws, which were covered in blood, gripped the ground harshly tugging up the dirt underneath the nails. It's muzzle was pulled back showing rows of gleaming large fangs, all dripping with blood showing the blond that the panther had attacked not only his horse. Naruto quickly scrambled away from the creature as far as he could. Everything about the thing was dangerous and it looked like it was about to pounce and kill him. Naruto trembled slightly. He stood up and drew his sword to attack making the panther growl louder and lean back to pounce. Suddenly, before either could attack, something caught his eyes, distracting him from the screams behind him.

The panther's eyes.

They were blood red, not at all like the normal gold or amber on a regular panther. But the color wasn't what attracted him. It was what they eyes were saying. Everything about the panther's body was screaming "Killer"; saying that if you made the wrong move, you'd be dead. But the eyes were saying something that contradicted everything the body stood for.

_"Don't kill me."_

Naruto eyes widened and dropped his sword, nearly missing his feet. The panther's growls stopped immediately and is ruby eyes widened as well. This hunter wasn't going to attack or anything? Cerulean eyes met ruby for an instant before the loud sounds of the remaining soilders became closer and closer. Suddenly Naruto heard the panther growl again this time louder than before. The large cat glance at him one last time before bounding deeper into the forest. Naruto stared into empty space for a few moments before finally occupying his time with helping his wounded horse.

After much effort, his horse was standing tall even though it snorted painfully. Naruto smiled sadly and patted it's uninjured neck. The other soilders pulled in loudly stopping in a circle around him. The leader quickly hopped off his steed before quickly glancing around for anything he might have missed. After nothing he looked towards Naruto who shrugged with an apologetic look. The leader sighed heavily before climbing upon his horse once again.

"Looks like it's another failed hunt boys." High tension filled the air and the leader sighed once again before leading the way back to the town. Naruto grabbed his horses reins since it was too injured to ride and quickly followed behind, casting one last glace in the direction the panther disappeared to.

"Let's go home."

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Naaruto streched lazily above his head. Waking up was always a bother. He wasn't really a morning person anyway. The blond smacked his lips before trudging his way towards his small kitchen. He was suddenly in the mood for tea. As he put the kettle on a loud noise sounded in front of his door. Naruto jumped slightly before making his way towaards the living room. Who in their right mind was visiting him so early in the morning? And why were they making all of that noise?

Yawning widely the blond opened the door widely, ready to glare anyone away. But there wasn't aynone there. Naruto shrugged and was about to shut the door when something caught his eye. There right in front of his door was a huge bundle. Raising one eyebrow Naruto slowly picked it up and untied it. Suddenly all kinds of fruits fell out and fell onto the floor some hard ones cracking open. Naruto knelt down and looked at the foood. These were the type of fruit you could only find in the deepst parts of the forest. Who could have possibly put these on his doorstep? How did they get them and why him?

Slowly picking all the fruit up, Naruto moved to close his door once more before a pair of blood red eyes caught his. The blonde felt his eyes widen and almost dropped his fruit once more before as quickly as he had seen them, the disappeared. Naruto stared quietly at the spot where those eyes were before shutting his door silently. He knew who those eyes belonged to. And now he knew who gave him the fruit. He also knew what the fruit meant, they same thing those eyes said as he stared into them for that short time:

_"Thank you."_

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Two days in a row.

Two freaking days in a freaking row!

What does a man have to do to get some sleep around here?!

Naruto pulled the covers from his head and angrily stomped to the front door. Why? Why won't the world just let him sleep and bother him during the hunt. Today was his last day off since his horse was still injured. He just wanted to sleep in today. Then maybe eat some ramen and go back to sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep! That's all he wanted was some sleep! Why couldn't he just get some sleep! What did they want? What?! What?!

"WHAT?!"

The hand that was rapidly banging on Naruto's door froze and Naruto groaned at who it was attached too. Reima was the towns troublemaker. She always played tricks on townspeople and especially Naruto. And as gullible as Naruto was, he believed every lie that came out of her mouth. Reima smiled toothily and rocked on her heels her hands folded behind her back. Naruto frowned and put a hand on his hip impatiently.

"This better be good Reima. I'm not in the mood to play today." Reima's smile grew bigger to Naruto disappointment.

"It is! It is! You know how you always complain about having to hunt? Well my daddy said that I can tell you that his friend told him that a neighboring town said that one day this man walked into the forest and he saw a big creature and he thought it was a monster so he went back all scared and everybody didn't believe him 'cept his girlfriend and-"

"Reima get on with it!" Reima huffed irritated that her story was interrupted.

"Well excuse me then Mr. Grumpy. I just came to tell you that we finally caught the panther! You don't have to hunt anymore!" Smiling once again she turned on her heel to walk away. "If you don't believe me come to the plaza. They have it on display in a huuuuuuuuuuge cage and they said their going to kill it tonight in front of the whoooooooole town!" The small troublemaker laughed heartily before running off to tell other people the good news. Naruto stood as still as a statue in front of his door. His cerulean eyes were as big as saucers and his hand was gripping the door frame so tightly they were turning white. They had finally caught it. After two whole months they finally caught it. They had it in the plaza. They were going to kill it. Tonight. They were going to kill it _tonight_. Naruto broke from his trance and turned quickly around to look at the fruit he had gotten from the panther yesterdy. They were still fresh and sitting quietly on his table. He turned back around to look at the sun. It was still high. He thought about his hunt two days go. The way those eyes begged not to be killed by his sword even though it's teeth were bared and claws ready to fight. He thought about how those eyes were glazed with thanks when he found those fruits on his doorstep. He thought about how those eyes probably were right now. He thought about how the panther was right now.

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Naruto ran into the house to grabbed his pack and sword. He couldn't stand it. He couldn't sit here and let that panther be killed. He had to do something, and fast.

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The town was busier than usual. Everyone was shopping as fast as they could as if they were all in a huirry. Children were jumping up and down, pulling on their mothers' dresses and robes to move faster. Naruto had to move swiftly and maneuver his way through the clumps of people of the street. The town's plaza was still a ways away. Naruto's house was at least four miles away from Kinka Town so it had taken him most of the day to get here since he couldn't ride his horse. The sun was beginning to set and if he didn't make it there by the time the first star came out it would be too late. Nruto was extremely glad it was summer. The days were much longer.

Finally after much time and effort, Naruto saw the plaza up ahead. Kinka Town was famous for its plaza. In the middle stood a huge satue of the founder, Kinka Sakamura, who had died in order to protect this town from raiders. The statue stood at least six feet tall and it also stood on top of a four foot tall fountain. Surrounding the entire plaza were houses, markets, and other businesses. Surrounding that was beautiful scenery that can calm even the most malevolent person on the planet.

But those aren't the things that caught Naruto's attention. What caught his attention was the crowd of people surrounding the fountain. Everyone, including the owners of the markets and business, were standing around laughing or cursing. Children were running in and out the throng of people, grabbing rocks and sticks before plunging right back in. Naruto took a deep breath before making his own way through the crowd. What he saw made him cringe and recoil as if he had gotten struck himself.

There in front of him sat the panther. Its black fur was drenched in blood and dirt. It had several stab wounds, one deep enought to kill a man with one blow. There was a huge gash down its chest like a soilder stabbed it and dragged the sword downwards. Part of its left ear was cut off and there were scratches all over its muzzle which actually looked like the panther had done them with its own claws. Its wounds were infected badly since Nruto could see pus and unknown white substances in them. Rocks and parts of sticks that the children were throwing were also caught inside the wounds. The panther's breathing was extremely shallow and looked as if it would stop at any minute.

Naruto closed his eyes at the sight. The panther was still putting up a fight. Low growls could be heard whenever something was thrown at it. Claws, that were caked with dirt and blood, were scratching softly at the bottom of the cage. Its tail was twicthing in annoyance everytime someone said something about it or cursed at it. Naruto let his gaze run over the animal before they settled on the panther's face. He wanted to see those blood red eyes. He wanted to her what they were telling him. He wanted to see that it was in pain and need his help. He needed it to tell him it wanted his help.

But the panther's eyes were closed. If it weren't for the growling or the clawing or even the twitching of its tail, Naruto would have believed long ago that it was dead. But he refused to let those thoughts enter his mind. It was still alive. It was still breathing so it was still alive. All it needed to do was open it's eyes. All it needed to do was turn his way and let Naruto see what he needed to see. The blonde couldn't do anything unless he saw those eyes.

_'Please open your eyes.'_

The panther's body twitched slightly and the growling stopped. Naruto's eyes widened. The growling stopped. The scratching stopped. The twitching stopped. Naruto felt his gaze move slwoly towards the panther's chest. It was still. It was completely still. The panther's breathing had stopped. Naruto felt his own breathing stop too.

The crowd fell completely silent. The children stopped throwing things. The women stopped whispering. It almost felt as if the entire town just went dead. Everyone stood and looked into the cage. No one made a sound.

Finally one brave soul decided to speak up. "Is it dead?"

Once again everyone started to mummur again. Was it really dead? Was it just faking? Should they burn the body? Should they keep it and just let it rot? All were questions Naruto blocked out from his mind. The panther couldn't be dead. It couldn't. The sun was at the horizon. Only a little while longer and Naruto would have saved it. It couldn't have just died. Not now. Not when they were so close.

_'Please open your eyes.'_

More silence. Everything was still. Naruto felt his spirit drop. It was over. The panther was dead. He was too late. There was nothing he could do now.

_'I'm sorry.'_

A small movement caught the corner of Naruto's eye. With surprise the blonde looked at the panther. Was it really still alive? The blonde looked intently to see anymore movement. Everything was still and the crowd was starting to disperse. But Naruto would not move from his spot.

_'Please open your eyes.'_

As if hearing his thoughts, Naruto heard the panther give and almost inaudible growl. It's tail twitched at least once before suddenly one blood red eye opened slowly. Naruto had to suppress the urge to grab the bars in excitement. The panther let out a slow, ragged breath before its gaze turned towrds Naruto as if on instinct. The first thing the blond saw was surprise. Then he saw relief. Finally he swa what he had been waiting to see.

_"Help me."_

The blonde smiled widely before grabbing his sword and waving it high into the air. The large weapon caught a lot of people's attention and they turned around to seen what this person was doing. Naruto cleared his throat loudly.

"I am Naruto Uzumaki! I have faced this beast once," he paused, moving to point his sword at the panther, "and it wounded my horse. My horse is my pride and my joy since I have had it since it was just a foul. Now I wanted to repay the favor!" Naruto turned towards the panther's cage. The black animal looked up at him with confusion before it turned quickly into anger. Naruto didn't look into it's eyes for he knew what he would see.

"In the name of Kinka Town!" He shouted before swinging his sword down with all his might. Some women gasped and covered their children's eyes. Some men looked on greedily ready to see the panther chopped into bits. No one expected to see the sword miss the panther entirely, and instead hit the lock that was attached to the panther's door.

As soon as the door swung up, the panther jumped to it's feet and gave a loud growl of pain. The crowd screamed and ran away as quickly as possible. Naruto stood still for moment before sheathing his sword. The panther looked at him and Naruto felt that he never wanted to look away ever again. He had done it. The panther may be injured, but it was free. Naruto felt extremely happy at the moment.

"After him!"

"Traitor!"

The moment was broken as soon as the shouts were heard. Hunters were coming for them both. If they didn't leave now, everything would have been in vain. Naruto turned back towards the panther who was glaring in the direction the voices were heard and growling angrily. Naruto knelt before it and placed a hand upon its muzzle. The panther snapped its jaws almost biting the blonde's hand off. Said blonde backed away a few steps before cradling his hand softly.

"Look. We need to leave and we need to leave now. They will kill you when they get here and they will kill me for letting you go. So let's trust each other until we get away okay?" He said before trying to touch the panther's muzzle again. But like the last time the panther snapped its jaws and Naruto barely moved his hand out of the way this time.

"Hurry up!

"Don't let them get away!"

The panther's eyes grew cold before it took off into the direction of the forest. Naruto's eyes widened and he scrambled to his feet.

"Hey wait for me!"

The panther ran through the crowd quickly. People cleared the way as best as they could. Some didn't know what was pssing them. Some screamed and ran home for shelter. Naruto ran after the panther as fast as he could. It was easy since everyone was moving out of the black cat's way. After a long time of running they finally made it to the forest but that didn't slow the panther down. Naruto looked back to the town before he followed close behind.

The head hunter who was chasing them growled angrily as he watched the two disappear into the denser part of the forest. He couldn't catch them without horses. And by the time he got horses, they would be long gone and the trail would be too cold to track. The head hunter sheathed his sowrd before cursing loudly and turning everyone back.

The sun disappeared behind the horizon and the first star glowed brightly in the sky.

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So what do you think? You do not know long it took me to write this chapter. Like FOREVER!!!!! I still think it's crappy. I have to find someone to Beta it for me. I will take any volunteers. ......Don't all raise your hands at once. Lol just kidding. No but seriously if you want to help then tell me in your reviews. Oh and speaking of reviewing -cough cough- don't forget to press that review button and tell me what you think. Bye bee!!!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto -.- Unfortunately

Okay! Time for the second chapter! Isn't everyone happy?! ...Right. Lol. Okay so as a heads up this language I am using is not Lation. It is called Esperanto. I fell straight in love with it as soon as I heard it. I knew it wasn't popular so I wanted to use it in my story. Don't worry about not understanding it unless you speak it. I'm going to write the translations after the story. So enjoy my second chapter.

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Naruto panted heavily. He knew they had to keep running but couldn't they at least take a short break? He was only human! Not only that but the panther was badly injured. Naruto was surprised it could still keep up it's pace with such injuries. And Naruto also had to cover their tracks since said animal was leaving a very prominant blood trail. So stopping and taking a short little rest wouldn't hurt anyone right?

Apparently, he was wrong.

Naruto felt his legs buckle but he immeditely caught his balance once again. He couldn't stand to get left behind. They had run far away from the village already. Now there was nothing but dense forest and if he lost his bleeding compnion, he'd be dead met. Naruto was horrible with direction. Not to mention it was pitch black outside. The panther may be able to see in the dark but Naruto's fragile, human eyes couldn't focus at all. The blonde had to trust his fragile, human ears to help him because trying to see a black cat in the black night was around the same as giving up ramen.

Impossible.

Sweat rolled down his brow as the blonde kept up his constant pace. He couldn't give up now. Not only for his sake but for the panther's sake too. They were in this together and he would be darned if he gave up now and left the black cat on its own. Naruto wasn't sure as to why he was to keen on helping this cat or why he was still with it since it was supposed to be a man-eater, but he felt somewhere down in his heart that this was what he was supposed to do and he was going to follow through no matter what. A spark of determination enlightened the blonde's heart and he suddenly found strength somewhere deep inside. The would get somewhere soon and when they do, he and the panther would still be with each other. No one will be left behind.

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Rays of sunlight shone over the horizon and Naruto smiled at finally being able to see where he was going. Ignoring the fact that he had ran for hours on end with a man-eating panther through a thick and uncharted forest, the blonde felt refreshed when the cool morning air and the pink sun washed over his face. He would keep going. He would keep running. He would keep-

Naruto's train of thought was cut off when his foot caught something hard making him fall flat on his face. The blonde groaned in pain and rubbed his sore and most likely bruised face. Was that a root or something? Whatever it was it hurt like hell. His foot felt like wet. Was he bleeding? Oh no. What if the panther left him? It probably didn't see him fall. Even so it probably wouldn't have stopped. It barely acknowledge him throughout the whole trip. Naruto scrambled to his feet in a hurry. He had to catch up with the panther or he'd be stuck here all alone.

Naruto's train of thought was cut off once again by a sharp growl. The blonde looked down to see what he tripped over was not a root but the panther itself. The large cat laid spread on the ground on its side. Its eyes were closed and its breath was shallow again. The only way to see if it was alive or not was the constant growls it emmitted. Naruto looked down at his foot. So that's why his foot felt wet. He wasn't bleeding, he tripped over the panther and hit its wound. Naruto's eyes widened before he scrambled over towards the black cat. Said animal slowly opened its eyes and looked at his human companion. Naruto gasped and felt tears form in his eyes at what he saw.

_"Goodbye."_

"No," The blonde felt himself whisper. He crawled closer to the panther and placed his hands on an uninjured part of the cat's body. "No. No, no, no! Look don't die on me now! Don't!" The blonde moved so that he was closer the the panther's face. Its breathing became almost non-existent. Naruto's breath got caught in his throat.

"Please! Come on! Look we're almost there! I can see a town just past those trees! We can make it so come on!" Naruto groaned as he tried to lift up the large cat. Said animal growled in protest but the blonde ignored it. They had to get somewhere where there was a medic. He had to get them to safety. Naruto crouched down and loaded the panther onto his back. He felt blood soak his shirt lmost immediately but he didn't care. He was tired, hungry, and exhausted but he needed to get them both somewhere where they can rest. Maybe there really was a town at the edge of the forest. Even if there wasn't they still had to keep going.

Naruto slowly stood up and lifted his foot to take a step before falling once again. The panther was heavier than he thought. And he was weak from his travels. He couldn't hold them both. Nauto felt his cerulean eyes close in anger and resentment. Damn it all to hell. If there was anything he regretted it would be not leaving that damn town sooner. Maybe then neither of them would be in this mess. Naruto opened his eyes. No. He wasn't going to rot in this forest regretting things like he was weak. He would get them somewhere, anywhere, other than here. And if he died a second later so be it, as long as they got somewhere safe.

Pushing himself up once again, the blonde stood for a moment before he slowly began to walk. The panther's low growls vibrated on his back but the blonde walked undistractedly. The edge of the forest was close. He could really see light coming from beyond the trees. The thought made him walk a little faster. He was almost there! Just a little farther and they would be in sweet civilization! Naruto quickened his past to as fast as he could go. He was so close he could feel the heat of the sun shining through the trees on his face. The blonde closed his eyes tightly as he burst through the thickets around him.

Cerulean eyes opened once more and shined with dissappointment. There wasn't anything even similar to a civilization around. It was just a large clearing. Naruto swallowed thickly and let out a heavy sigh. There was no way he was going to make it to a town in time_, if _there was even a town nearby. He didn't have the strength to walk anymore. Who was he kidding? Thinking that he could do the impossible, letting himself set high hopes only to fall in the end. Naruto slowly placed the panther down softly and laid down beside it. It's face was scrunched up in pain and it's breathing was more and more rapid. Naruto placed a hand upon its head and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry." He whispered softly. Maybe Reima was right all those years even though she had been just teasing. He was a complete idiot.

**_"Tien ĉi!"_**

Naruto's eyes shot open. What was that? Did someone just speak? So that means people are around. Naruto scrambled up from the forest floor and looked eagerly to the direction of the sound. Saved. They were saved! Naruto turned towards the panther smiling toothily. They were saved!

_**"Rapid! Ili estas tien ĉi! Mi povas odoron ilin!"**_

Naruto's nose scrunched up as if he was smelling something foul. hat sort of language was that? He had never heard it before and he had heard many languages. Foreigners passed through Kinka town on a daily basis. He knew enough to tell that this was a new language not known to any man. But if that was the case...what exactly was coming to save them?

As soon as that thought passed through his mind, a loud rustle came from some bushes nearby and two figures dressed in weird armor stood before him.

One of them was a boy who looked about his age. He had shaggy brown hair that went wild all over his head. His dark brown eyes were peircing and Naruto noticed he had fangs that glimmered brightly in the sunlight. He was wearing a dark gray shirt accompanied with metal armor that shined as brght as his fangs. His pants were slightly baggy and a deep black with what looked like a bandage around his left leg. Attached to the bandage was a black pouch. What caught Naruto's eyes the most was the loud, red triangles that were resting on his cheeks.

The second figure was a boy two around the same age as Naruto maybe a year older. Her had black hair that stuck up widly. He was wearing a light gray jacket but the color reached up high and covered almost half of his face. He also bore armor as well. His pants were a light brown and like the boy beside him it had the bandage with the pouch. On his fae were dark sunglasses that gave him a mysterious look. He was also holding a long spear. Both boys glanced towards each other as if Naruto was not what they had been expecting.

**_"Est-as homa." _**The one with the read triangles said before turning back to Naruto and giving him a glare.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Naruto almost sighed with relief. So they did speak english. That was a huge load off his back. There was no way he could learn whatever weird language they were speaking. Realizing he had not answered the question Naruto straightened up slightly nervous.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I'm from a town far away from here called Kinka Town. I got lost and I need help quick you see-" The boy with the triangles interrupted him loudly.

"More like you were hunting. How dare you come into our part o the forest killing our animals." He growled walking around Naruto to get a better look at what was behind him. Suddenly it felt like time stood completely still. The boy stood looking at the panther speechless. Naruto suddenly felt extremely nervous. He felt if he talked to explain the boy wouldn't listen. But then again the boy seemed extremely horrified by the panther's condition. Naruto didn't want him to misunderstand. he blonde opened his mouth to speak but the boy stopped him by taking a few steps forward. Then he knelt down and placed a hand upon the panther's head. The panther flinched before slowly opening its eye and looking up at the new person. Naruto saw something in the panther's eyes this time that he had not seen since he met it.

Fear.

The boy lifted his hand slowly and Naruto saw him slightly shaking. Though with sadness or anger the blonde did not know.

Yet.

"Sasuke." The boy mumured softly. Sasuke? Who was that? Naruto looked towards the panther. Was that its name? Did they know each other? Was the panther his pet? Naruto watched the boy's hand ball into a fist. He was shaking noticably now but Naruto was still not sure of with what emotion. All he knew was that either one was going to be directed towards him if he didn't say something quick.

"You bastard." The boy whispered again before he stood up quickly. "You bastard! What did you do to Sasuke?!" He shouted before he lunged himself at Naruto knocking them both to the ground. Naruto felt a fist connect to his face and the air was knocked out of him before he tumbled to the side.

"Kiba!"

"You son of a bitch! I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!" Naruto caught the next punch that was thrown at him and use all his strength to push the hand back. Suddenly the boy was lifted of of him and Naruto quickly sat up to catch his breath. The boy with the sunglasses was holding the boy with the traingles, Kiba, who was trashing widly in his arms.

**_"Delas ĝin Kiba. Ne las via kolero blinda vi." _**The boy with the sunglasses said softly. Kiba growled angrily still thrashing like mad.

**_"Liberig min Shino tial mi povas mortigi lin!"_** Kiba replied angrily. Naruto looked at the two before looking at the panther...Sasuke. This had gone on far enough. The blonde stood up abruptly making the two boys look at him, one blank stare, one angry glare.

"Look," the blonde started, "I'm not too up to date on the situation but this panther...Sasuke...needs help fast! I've risked my life for him and carried him when he couldn't go any further. I didn't hurt him at all. I want to help him. So please..." Naruto got down slowly and laid his head on the forest floor in deep respect. "Please save him. I don't care what you do to me. Leave me here to die, put me on death row, whatever you please just please," Naruto raised his head to look them both in the eye. "please don't let him die."

The two boys stood silently before Kiba snatched himself angrily from the boy with the sunglasses, Shino's, grasp. He straightened himself out before going over to the panther's...Sasuke's body and picking up gently. Naruto felt his eyes widen at how easily he lifted him when Naruto struggled through the forest only to collaps in the end. Shino watched Kiba leave with sasuke in his arms before going up to Naruto. Said blonde felt his blood freeze. Were they really going to kill him? Naruto swore he say a smirk appear from underneath the giant collar.

"Don't worry. Everything's going to be alright now. But you'll have to come with us." The boy said before walking in the direction Kiba went to. Naruto stood silently for a while before following along quickly. Whereever they were going, everything was going to be okay. Naruto smiled softly as he thought of the panther. Everything was going to be okay.

* * *

It was almost nightfall again by the time they made it to the destination. It was a silent travel and Naruto felt so tired healmost wanted to fall asleep on the spot right where he was standing. Shino walked in front of Kiba and placed his hand upon a large gate. The gate was about ten feet high and had a giant golden symbol on the front of it but n the darkness Naruto couldn't make out what it was. Regardless of the symbol it seemed like they had finally gotten to a town or something. Anything was fine as long as he ate and slept, if the allowed him to.

Shino lowered his head and with his other hand held up to fingers horizantally in front of his face. Naruto watched as he made quick hand signals and mumured a soft chant.

_**"Mi estas tiu kiu nur povas paroli la lingvon ke malfermas ĉi tiuj pordoj. Kun kiu atent mia sekvanta peto. Malferm!**_**_"_**

As if by magic the large doors opened wide and shook the ground lightly. Naruto shivered in nervousness and excitement as he watched Kiba rush in. Shino stood to the side with his spear straight as if telling him to enter. Naruto looked at the gate once more before walking foward. As he got to the door he heard Shino whisper softly:

**_"Bonvenon al nia mondo." _**Welcome to our world.

* * *

Okay it took me forever to write this chapter too but I actually like this one. Thank you everyone for the reviews. I hope to keep looking forward to more. Any suggestions would be great to if you want to add your two cents into the story. Now for translations!

_**"Tien ĉi!" -**_ Over here!

_**"Rapid! Ili estas tien ĉi! Mi povas odoron ilin!" -**_ Hurry! They're over here! I can smell them!

_**"Est-as homa." -**_ It's a human

_**"Delas ĝin Kiba. Ne las via kolero blinda vi." -**_ Let it go Kiba. Don't let your anger blind you.

**_"Liberig min Shino tial mi povas mortigi lin!"_** - Let me go Shino so I can kill him!

_**"Mi estas tiu kiu nur povas paroli la lingvon ke malfermas ĉi tiuj pordoj. Kun kiu atent mia sekvanta peto. Malferm!" -**_ I am that who can speak the language and open these dorrs. With that please heed my next request. Open!

Once again this language is called Esperanto. If you want to double check you can go to /. That is where I am learning it. Thank you for reading and please review.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto -.- Unfortunately

Third chapter here! Sorry it was a little slow. I got overflooded with homework. (Teachers are such a drag. -.-) Oh well! Here you go. Enjoy.

* * *

As soon as Naruto stepped through the large gate it shut suddenly behind him. The blonde turned around in surprise before looking at the place he had entered into. Cerulean eyes widened wide as saucers at the sight before him.

The town was, for lack of a better word, beautiful. The buildings were nothing like he had ever seen before. Instead of the usual hut, there were large stone houses and instead of the square shape with the cone roof, everything was a cylinder shape with the excption of door and windows. Also there wasn't a stone path anywhere. There was no fountain, no shops, no merchants, there was just...land. Just houses and true nature. Naruto could see everything that humans back in his town covered up. But that was only the beginning. Right in the heart of the town was a humongous tower that looked almost like part of a castle. It was more than four stories high and had a huge gate just like at the entrance of the town. There was also a golden symbol on the gate as well but it was shaped differently than the one on the front gate.

Naruto, entranced by the tower, slowly made his way toward it. Dirt flew up to his heels as he walked. He didn't know if this was where he was supposed to go but he continued walking as if hypnotized. Also he could see Kiba's footsteps imprinted in the road ahead of him. The brunette had obviously gone this way and Naruto knew no where else to he wanted to stay close to make sure that Sasuke was okay. Finally Naruto made towards the big gate and stared in confusion. How was he going to open it? He didn't speak the language that Kiba and Shino spoke and he couldn't remember the words from what Shino had said earlier.

**"Malferm!"**

Naruto's eyes widened. That one word. He did remember that one word. He didn't know what it meant nor if it would open the door but he was willing to give it a try. The blonde placed his hand on top of the large gate and gave a shaky breath before he hissed softly:

**_"Malferm!"_**

The gate groaned loudly before it slowly opened. Naruto smiled toothily at his success and he walked inside. What was waiting on the other side of the gate made him stop in his tracks though. A small cat sat on the ground right in front of Naruto. Its fur was black all over save for its paws and its belly which were painted white. Its eyes were a rich black and had a soft look to them. Its tail swished anxiously behind it. As soon as the gate finished opening, the cat stood to its feet, gave Naruto flickering look, and bounded up the stairs that lay behind it. Naruto looked at the stairs and inwardly groaned but nonetheless, he made his way up after the cat who often stopped to see if he was still coming.

After many flights the two finally made it to a long hallway. Naruto groaned heavily and collapsed on the ground. He was too tired, too hungry, and too sleepy to do anything more. The cat's black eyes blinked at him. Naruto felt it lick his face as if encouraging him but he couldn't go any further. He had pushed himself to the limit.

The cat mewed softly and flicked it's tail furiously toward a door. Naruto looked in that direction and saw a large crimson door not to far from where he lay. Obviously this was where the cat wanted him to be. The blond, with much effort, pushed himself into a standing position. He stood for a second listening to the cats happy mews before he made his way towards the door. When he made it, Naruto gripped the handle and slowly opened the door with a creak, the cat bounding inside.

"Good job Shizune."

The black and white cat transformed into a woman right before Naruto's eyes. Her hair was short and black as were her eyes. She wore black robes with a large white outline in the rim. Naruto could see a fishnet shirt underneath her robes as well. A white sash was wrapped firmly around her waist and black sandals were worn on her feet.

"Thank you Tsunade-sama."

Naruto lifted his gaze from Shizune and directed it to who she was speaking to. Behind a large desk sat a young woman that looked maybe a little older than Shizune. Her hair was a dirty blonde and pulled into two ponytails. Her eyes were a dark hazel and her lips completely red. An indigo diamond rested ontop her forehead and she had on a large green robe. Under that robe she wore gray robes with black lines decorating them, but Naruto's attention was immediately pulled to the large chest that was barely hidden by those robes.

_'Whoa.'_

Tsunade stood out of her seat and pointed to a couch across from the desk.

"You can lay there if you like while I question you. I know you are tired." Naruto looked at the couch before making his way towrds it. He lowered himself slowly onto the cushions and let out a content sigh. He almost fell asleep at the moment but Tsunade had begun to speak.

"To clear things up my name is Tsunade. I am the Hokage or leader of this village called Konoha. My assistant's name is Shizune. She is training under me in the medical field." Naruto sat up quietly and scratched the back of his head; a nervous habit he's always had.

"Um...my name is Naruto Uzumaki. I'm a hunter from a town called Kinka town. Look, I didn't do anything to Sasuke! I wanted to-" Naruto stopped when Tsunade held up a pale hand towards him, a small smile on her face.

"I am fully aware of the situation. I had to treat Sasuke myself since he was so badly injured." Naruto's eyes widened.

"How is he? Is he okay? Will he live?" The blond asked eagerly. Shizune cast a glance at Tsunade who just smiled in return.

"Sasuke is in a stable condition. His wounds should heal perfectly." Naruto let out another sigh of relief this time louder than before. He opened his mouth to thank Tsunade but the smile had fallen from her face and he closed his mouth quickly.

"Right now you shouldn't be worried about Sasuke. Right now you should be worried about yourself. Especially since you are covered in Sasuke blood and was found carrying him through our territory. I want to hear your story from the very beginning to the very end with every detail possible." She said as she sat down on top her desk. Naruto took a deep breath before starting. He did exactly what Tsunade said do. He started at the very beginning when he first meet Sasuke on the hunt. He told of the fruit incident, all the way to the rescue. He paused to see their expressions but nothing changed so he continued on. He told of running through the dark forest, of Sasuke collapsing, of carrying him to the clearing, of hearing the strange language, of meeting Kiba and Shino, of fighting with Kiba, of Shino breaking them up, of walking towards the large gate, of how he opened the second gate by copying Shino's words, until he finally made it to the moment where he was now. Tsunade listened intently and Shizune stood quietly next to the desk. There was a tense silence before Tsunade stood erect agian.

"Shizune."

Shizune quickly ran to her master's side. "Yes Tsunade-sama?"

"I want you to take Naruto to the visitor's rooms. Prepare a bed for him and have food brought in." Tsunade turned towards Naruto. "I can believe your story but until Sasuke awakens and confirms the truth, you will be kept as a prisoner, but treated like a guest. Right now you are innocent until proven guilty." Tsunade went back to sit behind her desk and Shizune looked at Naruto.

"Come." She said before turning into cat again and bounding away towards the rooms. Naruto followed more slowly. Shizune did as she was told. She prepared a bed, then went to get the food. After Naruto gobbled everything down, she bid him goodnight and left. Naruto looked out the window near his bed at the sky before he lied down and finally let sleep overcome him. He had a big day tomorrow in a foreign place where people could turn into animals and spoke a strange language never heard of by any man.

What had he gotten himself into?

* * *

It was the bright sun that awoke Naruto the next day. The blonde sat up groggily and rubbed his eyes, trying to erase any sort of evidence of sleep. After he was sure everything was gone from his eyes Naruto pulled back the covers and stood up to stretch. A tray filled with breakfast consisting os bacon eggs, bread, cheese, and a glass of orange juice sat on the table beside the bed he slept in. The suns rays that woke him up were drifting warmly through the window and Naruto smiled softly. He was well-rested and well-fed and felt that now, he could do anything! The blonde began to walk towards the door but suddenly stopped and looked around.

Wait a minute...

Where in the heck was he? This looked nothing like his hut in Kinka Town! Suddenly the events from yesterday hit him hard as a brick and Naruto almost fell to the ground. That's right, he came here yestserday after meeting Kiba and Shina and Shizune and Tsunade. He was going to be a prisoner in Sasuke's village. Naruto's head snapped up. Sasuke! He needed to see Sasuke! He needed to see if the panther was okay. The blonde scrambled towards the door and flung it open but as he started to walk out he slammed head first into a figure. Said figure fell to the floor with a thump and Naruto looked down before reaching out a hand.

"I'm so sorry." He said as the girl took his hand and stood up. Naruto looked at her closely and felt a blush cover his cheeks.

The girl had short pink hair that was cut into bangs by a red ribbon. She wore a red sleeveless vest with a white stripe down the middle. She also wore tight black capris covered by a pale pink skirt (well what he thought was a skirt) and large black boots that came up to her knees. He hands were covered with black gloves and her elbows looked like they had pads on them. Her skin was quite pale and her eyes were a beautiful jade color. Catching himself for staring Naruto's blush deepened and he scratched his neck nervously.

"Heh heh, sorry about that. I was sort of in a rush." He said again extending a hand towards her. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki." The girl looked at his hand before taking it in a firm handshake.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. I'm supposed to be your guard which means I'm to show you around and escort to wherever you want to go." She replied. Naruto's smile widened. This was great! She could show him where Sasuke was!

"Um, Sakura-san-"

"We have a lot to cover so try to keep up. I'm slowing down for you." Sakura interupted turning around and walking away. Naruto looked after the pinkette before quickly following behind. He was curious of how this town looked but right now the only thing he wanted to do was see if Sasuke was okay. Sure he could take Tsunade's word for it but, Naruto wouldn't be put at rest until he saw so for himself.

"Sakura-san I-"

"Please, you can just call me Sakura. We don't need any formalities here." Sakura said smiling warmly which caused Naruto to blush once again and scratch his cheek nervously. The two continued walking until the got outside the huge castle-like tower. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the empty town he had entered last night bustling with people and animals doing all kinds of deeds and jobs. Sakura smiled and stepped to the side.

"This is the lovely town on Konoha! It's not very big and everyone who lives here knows each other so you don't have to worry about remembering a lot of names. Everyone here has a specific job around the town and usually everyone gets along. Comne on and let me introduce you to everyone." Sakura walked towards a building located right next to Tsunade's tower. It was a small building but unlike the others it wasn't cylinder and had a humongous chimmney that puffed out lafe amounts of smoke. Naruto followed Sakura into the building and saw that it contained nothing but a kitchen. Behind a stove filled with pans a man that was almost as big as the kitchen. His hair was long and wild like a lions mane. He wore a red coat with what looked like metal plates covered it in the front and on the sleeves. From what Naruto could tell he had black pants and his calves were covered with bandages. Just like the others he had on black sandals as well. Sakura walked in front a a counter and motioned for Naruto to follow.

"This is Chouji. He's a bear anima and our town's cook. Whenever you need something cooked Chouji is your guy. But you have to hurry during the lunch hour because then he usually eats what he cooks and that mean a lot." Chouji, hearing the conversation, smiled sheepishly and rubbed his shaggy mane as if embarrassed. Naruto noticed he had two red swirls on his cheeks that reminded him of Kiba's triangles.

After Chouji and Naruto exchanged introductions and spoke a little, Sakura pulled Naruto out the door to show him around some more. Naruto met many people and Sakura explained their jobs and what type of anima they were. He met Hinata who was also a cat anima like Shizune and was in charge of espionage missions as well as clothing duties in the town. Her cousin Neji was an owl anima who helped on the espionage missions and hunting patrol. He met Ino a dove anima, Tenten a rabbit anima, Rock Lee a panter anima like Sasuke, Gaara a racoon anima, Shikamaru a deer anima, Sai a weasel anima, Kakashi a wolf anima, and Iruka a fish anima. Sakura had to pull him away from at least every conversation. Hey, he was a talkative guy.

After the whole tour the two walked back into Tsunade's tower and back into Naruto's room. The blonde thanked Sakura for showing him around and Sakura replied saying if there was anything he needed just ask. Naruto felt a huge grin grow on his face and he took Sakura's hands and held them to his chest.

"Sakura-chan could you please take me to Sasuke. I've been trying to see how he was doing but then...I just...I need to go. Could you? Please?" Naruto put on his best kicked puppy look that made Sakura blush lightly.

"Uh...I'd love to Naruto but I can't. Tsunade forbid anyone from seeing Sasuke until he woke up. Even Kiba and that's Sasuke mate." She replied sadly. Naruto's smile fell drastically and he dropped her hands and turned to walk away. Sakura immediately felt guilty but suddenly the blonde turned back around quickly with wide eyes.

"Did you just say Kiba was Sasuke's mate?" He asked urgently. Sakura took a step back but nodded.

"Well they're not really mates yet but as soon as mating season comes around im sure they will be. I guess you humans call that being engaged. Just think of them as engaged." Sakura patted Naruto's head before turning to walk away.

"Hey Sakura-chan."

Sakura stopped and turned slightly to face the blonde who called her. Naruto stood there for a while before speaking.

"Can you teach me more about animas tomorrow. And your language. I want to know everything I can." Sakura smiled and nodded her head and walking out. Naruto stood in his spot for a few moments before lying in his bed. So Kiba was Sasuke soon-to-be mate. As Naruto closed his eyes he wondered what Sasuke looked like in his human form and why he had the sudden urge to beat Kiba into a bloody pulp.

* * *

"No no no your pronouncing it wrong. Try it one more time."

"But this is so hard Sakura-chan!"

"Do you want another punch? Now try it again!"

Naruto huffed angrily. They had been at this for hours but Naruto just couldn't pronouce the words right. Why did they have to have such a stupid hard language anyway? All he wanted to do was greet Sasuke properly when he woke up but at the rate he wouldn't even be able to say hello.

"I can't hear you Naruto."

"Sakura-chan I just can't do it."

"Quitter!"

Before he could do anything, Naruto felt a fist land on his face and he went flying into the wall behind him with a loud crash. Dammit! He forgot how strong this girl was. Sakura walked over and picked the blonde up by the collar of his dirty and blooded shirt.

"I don't want to hear quitter words Naruto I want to hear you speak our language! Now get back over there and try again!!" She screammed launching the poor blonde into the air and back into the spot where they were sitting at. Naruto was about to sit up and give the pinkette a piece of his mind before they heard the bounding of steps and suddenly the door to Naruto's room flew wide open, hitting the wall with a bang. Shizune stood in the doorway trying to catch her breath and Sakura quickly rushed towards the older woman.

"Shizune-san are you okay?" She said softly. Shizune nodded her head frantically and placed a nad tightly to her chest.

"I-I'm fine b-but you need...you need to come t-to Tsunade...-sama's office q-quickly." Shizune panted between breaths. Naruto scrambled up and Sakura placed a hand on Shizune's back.

**_"Kial? Kio estas?"_** Sakura asked. Naruto felt his nose scrunch up at the language. What could be so important that they have to use their native language so he wouldn't know. Shizune stood up straight and Naruto saw the urgency in her eyes.

**_"Estas Sasuke. Li estas vekita supre."_**

Sakura gasped and placed her hands in front of her mouth in shock. Naruto felt his heart stop. He didn't know what she said but she could hear Sasuke's name in there. Did something happen. Was Sasuke okay? Did he...? He couldn't have...could he? Shizune quickly turned into her cat form and bounded away, Sakura and Naruto hot on her trail. Naruto turned to Sakura who looked as though she was about to cry. The blonde felt his heart break. Please don't let his suspicions be true. Please!

"Sakura-chan what's happening!" _'Please!' _"Is everything okay?" _'Please!!!' _

Sakura turned towards Naruto, her unshed tears threatening to fall over.

"It's Sasuke." She replied repeating the words Shizune spoke earlier before. "He's woken up."

* * *

That concludes chapter 3! Sorry it took so long. I forgot I was even writing this story. And when I remembered our keyboard broke and the N key on my laptop is stuck so I couldn't type for a while. But now I have this awesome wireless keyboard and I'm so happy. Lookk forward to chapter 4 soon! Bye bee!

**_"Kial? Kio estas?"_** - Why? What is it?


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto -.- Unfortunately

Here is chapter 4! Hope you enjoy it! I worked hard and went through so much trouble with writer's block. How I hate writer's block -.- Anyway enjoy!

* * *

Naruto felt his heart pound painfully against his ribcage as he ran down the hallway behind Sakura and Shizune. Everything that happened in the past three or four days replayed over and over in his head. The only moment he could focus on was when he first met Sasuke. A lonely panther that had killed one of his fellow men. A beaten animal that had wounded his horse while Naruto's back was turned. A dying creature that risked his life for Naruto and Naruto risked his in return. Even though he was forced to leave his village, even though he nearly died by starvation and fatigue in the middle of the forest, even though through all the trouble he went through for Sasuke, the panther never even let him touch it's muzzle. However, Naruto felt that if he could go back in time he would do the same things over again.

He knew he would because there was nothing for him in his town anyway. He had no friends, he had no relatives, he had no one at all. He had been lonely his whole life there. Not to mention he was forced to go on those hunts ever since he returned from his trip. How Naruto wanted to skip those stupid hunts that were extrememly pointless and boring. Naruto's eyes narrowed. Those hunts... those hunts nearly killed Sasuke. If Naruto had not been on that hunt that certain day who knows what would have happened to the panther. Would he be dead? Would Naruto still be in that hut in Kinka town happily celebrating that the hunts were over even though an innoecnt life was lost? A life that changed his whole being in just one night.

Sasuke...

Sasuke had changed him...drastically. In just one night he was a traitor to his town. In just one night he was a starved figure, struggling to survive in the forest. In just one night he was a prisoner in a foreign town with foreign people that spoke a foreign language.

Sasuke...

But even though he was thrown into this strange world filled with animas, Naruto never felt more at home. He was being accused of injuring and almost killing one of their own yet they gave him friendly looks, enthusiastic conversations, and warming smiles. This world, where he was an outcast, gave him more than his own world did, in which he fit in quite perfectly. He was glad to be here. He _wanted _to be here. Here in a place where people cared for him no matter who he was. And it was all thanks to one person...

"Sasuke!!!"

Everyone turned towards the pinkette who screamed Sasuke's name as soon as the trio burst through the doors. Sakura quickly made her way towards Sasuke's bed and embraced the boy in a tight hug with tears streaming down her face.

**_"Sasuke! Aj Sasuke! Mi estas sekve gaja! Mi estas tiel ĝoj!" _**Sakura cried holding her best friend tighter. Everyone watched in silence as two pale hands reached up and rested themselves on Sakura's sides. The pinkette continued to hug and cry onto her best friend, rocking him back and forth, before Tsunade had to come and pry her off before she suffocated the boy. Sakura smiled sheepishly and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I'm sorry Sasuke. I'm just...I'm so glad you're okay. I was so worried." She apologized. The room was silent and Naruto, who had found himself for some strange reason closing his eyes at the sight of Sakura hugging Sasuke, opened his eyes slowly to see said patient. Naruto's cerulean eyes grew wider than they had ever before as he stared at the sight before him. Sasuke's human form was...was...

Beautiful.

The boy looked no older than 17 and despite how Naruto saw him before, all he could see now was Sasuke's beautiful, pale skin. His hair was like his fur, a deep black, styled so that two bangs adornded the sides of his face and the rest spiked in the back messily. His eyes were covered with long lashes and his plump lips held a small pout. To everyone he looked uncaring or slightly bored but Naruto knew better. Appearance meant nothing when it came to Sasuke. The only thing that talked to Naruto was his eyes. If only he could see his eyes. Naruto broke from his trance and moved slowly towards the bed in which Sasuke lay. The blonde sat himself on the side of the bed and, knowing full well everyone was in the room but ignoring that fact, lifted a hand and placed it softly on one of Sasuke's pale cheeks. Naruto heard a small growl in the background and somehow knew it was Kiba but once again the blonde ignored it. The only thing he wanted to pay attention to right now was Sasuke's eyes. That's the only thing he needed. Naruto leaned in closely so that he and the brunette were only a few inches apart.

"Sasuke?" He whispered softly. Naruto felt Sasuke let out a shuddering breath before slowly opening his eyes. The sight of those onyx eyes gazing deeply into his own made Naruto almost lean forward to close the distance between the two for now he knew. Now he knew why he held a dislike for Kiba. Now he knew why he couldn't watch Sakura hug Sasuke. Now he knew why he risked his life just trying to save this one soul before him or why he even wanted the panther to live. Now he knew that he had fallen head over heels in love with Sasuke and by look in the brunette's eyes, he also knew that he wasn't alone.

* * *

"He should be out in a day or two. His wounds have healed perfectly but Tsunade-sama wants him to rest before leaving."

Naruto sat still in the chair outisde Tsunade's office. Shizune's explaination to Kiba barely even reached his ears. What was he to do now that he realized that he loved Sasuke? He couldn't just whisk him away into the sunset whenever he wanted to. No matter how irritated it made him, Sasuke was Kiba's mate (soon-to-be- mate he reminded himself) and Naruto was just an outsider waiting for a death verdict. Who was he to butt into someone's happy life.

But it couldn't have been a happy knew he saw love in those eyes. The coal, black eyes reflected the same feelings that were in Naruto's deep, cerulean ones. He couldn't be mistaken about that. He absolutely _refused _to be wrong! So that brought him back to his previous problem. What was he to _do_?! Sitting on the side lines was absolutely out of the question. He was never that type of person that could hold his tongue. But confessing his love wasn't a bright idea either. Impossible actually. Naruto slumped his shoulders. Completely and utterly impossible.

Such thoughts dampered the blonde's mood but suddenly the door to Tsunade's office burst open and the busty blonde poked her head out swiftly.

"Naruto! In here." She commanded before going back inside. Naruto stared confused however he scrambled up quickly and went inside closing the door behind him. The blonde noticed Kiba scowling angrily on the couch next to the wall and Shizune standing innocently next to Tsunade's desk, a small weirdly dressed and weirdly looking pig tightly held in her arms. Tsunade cleared her throat loudly, getting Naruto's attention before she motioned towards the chair in front of her desk. Naruto sat down and looked the leader of Konoha in her honey brown eyes.

"Naruto," Tsunade began, "I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that Sasuke confirmed your story of saving his life on more than one occasion and of your journey through our forest. So you are an innocent man." She said smiling toothily. Naruto couldn't help the large smile that came onto his face as well.

"Tell him the bad news Tsunade-sama." Kiba said breaking the happy mood. Naruto turned towards the bruntette and couldn't help but glare. He seemed to take Naruto's bad news as good news. Tsunade cleared her throat again before continuing.

"The bad news is, he requested you leave the village at once." Naruto's smile fell immediately and his eyes grew wide. No, no no no! No! He couldn't just leave. He didn't want to! This was where he belonged! Why? Why?!

"Why?" The blonde choked out quietly, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. Sasuke...Maybe Naruto was mistaken. Maybe the look in the panther's eyes wasn't love. Maybe he was just hoping it was.

"He said he wanted you to live in your own village. Your a hunter. Hunting is what you do. It would be trouble on us animas if you suddenly turned back to your evil ways." Kiba said his grin so wide his fangs nearly blinded Naruto. That bastard was enjoying this. He must have figured out how Naruto truly felt. Said blonde turned towards Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama please. I have no where to go. The village I lived in has nothing for me. I was an outcast, a loser-"

"I can belive that." Naruto shot a dirty look at Kiba who just snarled in response.

"I can't go back." Naruto continued as of the hostile brunette behind him had never spoken. "I wouldn't be able to live there anymore. Not now that I know I-" The blonde quickly cut his sentence narrowed her eyes at the sudden stop and Naruto faintly heard Kiba growling loudly behind him as if he was ready to attack Naruto at any moment. Tsunade closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breathas the room fell into a deadly silence. After a long moment of quiet, the leader of Konoha leaned forward, resting her chin on folded hands, and opened her honey brown eyes again.

"Alright Naruto," she said quietly. "I won't make you go. But I must warn you it will be rough living in this village. Not only are you not an anima but you also don't have the power or strength to do the things that we do everyday. You'll only end up being in the way of everyone else." Naruto winced slightly at the blunt explanation. Tsunade was right. He wasn't an anime nor did he have anima powers. He was just a normal human that would become a hinderance and an annoyance to everyone. It'll be just like being in Kinka Town again. Naruto shook his head. No, no it wouldn't. He could live through it. He'd find a way to work like everyone else. He could never compare this village to his horrible town. Especiallly since his town didn't have...

"You don't have to worry about that Tsunade-sama." A deep voice stated out of nowhere and everyone in the room turned their heads towards the doorway where a expressionless Sasuke stood leaning on it cooly. Naruto's eyes lit up at finally being able to hear the brunette's voice after so long. The sound was like music to his ears and the blond closed his eyes just to savor it as it echoed through his head. Kiba sat up from his slouching position and Tsunade rested her cheek in an open palm with a bored expression on her face.

"And why is that Uchiha?" The busty blonde asked, making Naruto look towards the door to see what Sasuke's reaction would be. Sasuke closed his eyes and a small smirk rested on his face. Before anyone hand the chance to blink to see what happened, a sharp yell of pain filled the room and all eyes turned towards one source.

"Sasuke!"

Naruto looked down to see said brunette as he clung to his hand painfully, his teeth digging in deeper and deeper. The blood flowing from the wound dripped noisely on the floor and Naruto vaguely noticed how everyone in the room was only staring at him in complete and utter shock. After a moment, Sasuke opened his jaws and Naruto let out a yelp as the large fangs ripped out of his skin. Instinct clicked in and the blonde grabbed his bleeding hand withhis uninjured one before turning towards Sasuke and staring into his blood red eyes. Why? Why did he do that? Naruto was about to open his mouth to speak, to say something, but instead his cerulean eyes grew wide and he fell to his knees as what felt like fire consumed his entire body. Naruto couldn't help the scream that tore from his throat at the pain he was being engulfed in. The blonde wrapped his arms around his stomach tightly and bent over as if trying to ease the pain. Tsunade was on her feet in a moment with anger brewing in her eyes. Sasuke turned into his human form and took a step back, trying not to listen to the pain filled screams that resounded off the walls. A light, red energy covered the crying blonde on the floor and a crackling sound joined the loud yells and groans. Tsunade ran over to Naruto frantically, Shizune right behind her.

**_"Sasuke kion vi faris?!"_** She screamed angrily, glaring at Sasuke who still held an expressionless look on his face.

**_"Mi estas farita kiu estis farenda." _**

Naruto screamed loudly. His skin felt like it was ripping off. His teeth felt like they were falling out. He was in so much pain right now yet he could still focus on what they were saying and strangely he could understand it too. Naruto wanted to look towards Sasuke. He wanted to look into the panther's eyes and see the answer to why he would do this to him. Suddenly Naruto saw something that made him opened his eyes that he had clenched in pain. His fingers...they were slowly being covered in ginger-red fur. His nails were elongating and growing shaper. His teeth were doing the same. The blonde opened his mouth in a silent gasp as he felt his insides change was well: his feet slowly shrinking into paws, his legs and arms awkwardly shaping like an animals, a tail painfully ripping from the back of his pants...and then another...and another...and another.

**_"Li povus morti!"_**

**_"Li ne estos."_**

As soon as the words left Sasuke's mouth Naruto fell to ground unconscious. Tsunade and Shizune quickly raced to the blonde and Tsunade noticed his ragged breathing. Letting out a sigh of relief, the leader of Konoha stood up quickly and glared angrily at the culprit of every event that happened so far.

"Uchiha that was way out of line! There are procedures you go through if you want to turn a human into an anima. He could have died! Is that how you thank someone who saved your sorry ass and carried you through hell and high water to keep you alive huh? What the fuck were you thinking?! You can't just bite his hand out of nowhere! What if he didn't want to be an anima huh?! What if he changed his mind and wanted to go nack to his own damn village?!" Tsunade screamed, almost ready to punch that damn stoic look off of Sasuke's face. Said brunette closed his eyes before crossing his arms and sighing deeply.

"Tsunade-sama before you punish me for what I did, take a look at what I created first." Sasuke replied calmly. Tsunade's glare grew harder and her fist tightened so that her knuckles turned white.

"I know what you fucking created Uchiha! You created-" Tsunade stopped in mid-sentence as she whipped around to where Naruto lay. Her honey eyes grew larger and her cherry red lips stilled sliightly gaped at the sight before her.

"Oh dear God..." The blonde whispered softly finally processing the situation.

There, on the ground, lay Naruto, but in a form Tsunade thought she would never see in her life again. Naruto, no, a large, orange-furred _fox _lay one the ground. his body was huge and muscular, not as big as Tsunade in her anima form but bigger than any anima in her village with the exclusion of Akamaru. His eyes ans his mouth were outlined by a thick black line and his eyes, even though they were closed, Tsunade knew were a deep blood red. But the most shocking and disturbing of all was his tail...no...his _tails._ Nine of them protruded from the fox's rear but lay perfectly still except for occasional twitching. Tsunade turned back towards Sasuke who was staring at Naruto with a unreadable expression on his face. The blonde closed her eyes in deep thought. Naruto...this fox wasn't supposed to show up ever again. He was supposed to be disposed of long ago after that...incident with Sasuke's family. How in the world did he find his way back into another vessel? And why Naruto?

Sasuke knelt down and looked at Naruto sleeping peacefully on the floor. He knew the blonde was carrying this fox the moment he laid eyes on him in the forest. He wasn't sure his plan would work when he thought of it but he thanked the heavens that it did. The brunette placed an hand on Naruto's head and began stroking the light orange fur softly. He thanked the heavens that Naruto didn't die because if he had, Sasuke wouldn't have known what to do. Sasuke changed silently into his anima form and made his way to Naruto's side. Curling up into a small ball and wrapping his tail closely to him, the brunette closed his scarlet eyes and snuggled as closely as he could to the fox beside him. He felt Naruto purr contently and the rumble massaged his back making Sasuke purr softly as well. God, he was so thankful this hadn't gone wrong.

* * *

I am so sorry! I was in such a hurry to get the chapter up I forgot to put the translations at the end. Sorry! Here they go!

**_"Sasuke! Aj Sasuke! Mi estas sekve gaja! Mi estas tiel ĝoj!" _**- "Sasuke! Oh Sasuke! I'm so glad! I'm so glad!"

**_"Sasuke kion vi faris?!" _**- "Sasuke what did you do?!"

**_"Mi estas farita kiu estis farenda." _**- "I have done what needed to be done."

**_"Li povus morti!" _**- "He could die!"

**_"Li ne estos." _**- "He won't."

Here you go! Once again I'm so sorry!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto -.- Unfortunately

Okay here is chapter 5! Yay! I'll just let everyone know that this will probably be a long fanfiction because I haven't even gotten to the conflict which is many chapters away so for those who are impatient or just don't feel like waiting, this fanfic is probably not for you. Thank you everyone for the reviews! I'll try to keep the updates faster since it's summer! I love all my readers and hope to gain more in the future! Enough sappy stuff and more Narusasu!

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To say that Kiba was pissed would be the biggest understatement in the entire universe. Kiba was beyond pissed. He was even beyond murderous. He was so angry that he would claw anything or anybody he got his paws on, but hopefully it would be a certain blonde hunter who had just happened to pop the hell out of nowhere and ruin his fucking life!!!

If anyone hadn't guessed it by now, Inuzuka Kiba was near close to absolutely ripping Uzumaki Naruto to shreads. The reason behind it wasn't because Tsunade-sama had let the blonde hunter off the hook. It wasn't because Tsunade-sama allowed the demon to stay in Konoha. It wasn't even because Tsunade-sama nearly _shoved_ him out of the room after _his _soon-to-be mate Sasuke had sat on the floor with that...that...that freak of nature and curled up** _purring_** like that was the best moment in his entire life! In the fighter den Sasuke wouldn't let Kiba come five feet near him! He always said cuddling was meant for mates and since they weren't mates yet it should be kept down to absolute minimum!

Kiba growled loudly and punched the tree his was sitting on with all his might. The small birds resting in the tree fluttered frantically, chirping angrily as they left their home. It had been a week since Sasuke changed that damn hunter into an anima and the panther hadn't left the hokage tower since. But that wasn't only thing that upset Kiba. Everyone anima in all of Konoha had taken a liking to that damn hunter! **That **was the reason Kiba was pissed beyond sanity. His own kind turned against him! Kiba hated the way they cooed over him, joking with him, caring for him, acting like he was one of them and not their enemy. Sure he was an anima now but he was raised as a hunter, taught to hunt, _lived_ to hunt, and Kiba knew from a first-hand experience that there was no way to make peace with a hunter. Once a killer, always a killer.

Kiba jumped down from his perch on the tree and made his way towards the hokage tower. He wasn't about to lose anything to that damn hunter, not his home, not his friends, and _especially_ not his mate!

* * *

"Hunting patrol?"

Naruto looked curiously yet suspiciously at the person in front him. It's not that he didn't trust him (which he probably shouldn't), it was just the proposal as so out of the blue and that made Naruto a little nervous. That and the shit-eating grin that was plastered on the person's face. Naruto eyed Kiba warily but all the dog anima did was place a hand upon his shoulder as if they had been best buds an not enemies.

"Don't worry it's nothing. We just walked around for a few hours and catch what we can. Deer, skunks, racoons, cute little forest animals. Nothing dangerous at all." Kiba said wrapping his arm around Naruto's shoulders and patting his chest.

"And besides, I believe we started off on the wrong foot. Just take this proposal as an apology. An invitation to a truce if you must. Come on. Whadda ya say? You in?" Naruto thought for a second. Maybe he could actually get along with Kiba. Maybe this hunting patrol thing wasn't so bad. But then again it could be a trick. Yet what harm could be done? Kiba did say there was nothing dangerous. Not to mention there would be a lot of other people there too to witness or help if anything really did happen. So it was really no harm right? Naruto put his arm around Kiba's shoulder and wore a huge grin on his face.

"You bet I'm in!" Kiba's smile grew wider before giving a loud hoot.

"Alright! And look man to seal this agreement officially," He started but stopped and went out of the room. Naruto raised his eyebrows in confusion. Kiba then came back into the room with a wrapped gift that seemed to be steaming. Cerulean eyes widened at the sight of what Naruto hoped was in the package.

"I had Chouji whip up your favorite dish since you probably won't be getting it for a while." Kiba finished, unwrapping the present to show a bowl of freshly made miso pork ramen.

It took everything in Naruto to not drool on the floor right then and there.

Kiba laughed at the blonde's expression and handed Naruto the ramen. "Knock yourself out." He said happily. Naruto grabbed the ramen smiling goofily. Kiba laughed again.

"Alright, well, the patrol's going to leave first thing in the morning so be sure to be at the front gate exactly at dawn." He informed. Naruto nodded showing he understood but his eyes never leaving the smoking ramin in front of him. Kiba chuckled and made his way out of the room. Once he closed the door his grin grew so it could rival the grin of a cheshire cat. This was going to be too easy.

* * *

As soon as the sun slowly began to peek above the horizon, Naruto was racing towards the village's front gate. His blood was pumping and his adrenline rushing. He couldn't believe he was going on his first hunting patrol with his fellow villagers. Not to mention his newly made friend Kiba. Naruto slowed as he neared the gate. He was still wary about Kiba. After all he did just appear out of nowhere and distracted Sasuke's attention from him to Naruto. Naruto was sure that the dog would be pissed for all eternity. Apparently he was wrong. Maybe Kiba figured that Naruto had no chance since Sasuke was his mate-to-be and that it wouldn't make sense to fight a pointless fight.

Naruto shook his head. He wasn't about to think like that. He was going to enjoy this day with his new friends on his first ever hunting patrol. No bad thoughts were going to enter his mind. Naruto smiled as he stopped in front of the gate, the rest of the hunting patrol already there. Kiba was waving at him frantically, a toothy smile on his face. Also accompanying them was Neji, Gaara, Shikamaru, Lee, and Shino. Lee looked towards Naruto in surprise before smiling brightly and striking a...unique pose.

"Naruto! It is so good of you to join us on this test of bravery, courage, and the strength of youth!" He said cheerfully. Naruto quirked his eyebrows at this.

"I thought this was just the hunting patrol." Naruto stated. Kiba laughed and patted Naruto on the back.

"It is. Just ignore him. The only things that comes out of his mouth are something relating to love and youth." Kiba said before turning towards the rest of the group. "Alright let's divide up into teams. Neji and Shika, you two can get the northern pathway. Lee and Graara take the west. Shino and I will take the east and..." Kiba trailed off, realizing the Naruto was the odd man out. Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his head, a old habit of his.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I have the south right? I may be new but I can take care of myself. Believe it." Whoa. It's been a while since he had said that. But nonetheless it seemed to calm down his crew and everyone nodded, spliting up into their groups and bounding off into the directions they needed to go. Only Kiba stayed behind for a short while.

"You can catch anything that you think is good out there. Cat animas like Hinata and Shizune like small animals like mice and birds. Catch the big things for us and when you do, bring them back into the camp. Small animals you can bury for later but the bigger ones have to be taken to Chouji immediately." Naruto nodded to show that he understood. Kiba turned away to face his direction he was hunting in.

"Be careful out there. Meet back here at sunset." He finished before bounding off. Naruto turned towards his direction and took a deep breath before he began on his way.

* * *

The cicadas, who were extrememly loud at the beginning of Naruto's hunt, slowly began to quiet down, signaling to Naruto that sunset was close. The young fox plopped tiredly onto the ground and fell upon his side. He never knew that hunting was this hard! First he couldn't even find anything even though he was positively sure this forest was filled with delicious, little creatures. Then when he did find something, without the proper training, he ended up scaring away everything in the surrounding area. Finally after he had gotten some clue how to hunt, the only thing he could catch were squirrels, mice, and a couple of birds. He tried to catch a deer but that only resulted in him getting kicked in the face...multiple times.

Lettin out a loud huff, Naruto strectched before getting to his feet. Well since it was close to time to go he might as well dig up his catch and take it back to the village. He was lucky that the guys were so understanding that this was his first time. If it were anything other than he would probably be too embarrassed to show up with such a pitiful catch. Naruto made his way back to his last hiding place, sniffing the ground along the way. Suddenly a scent pulled him out of his thoughts. This scent was different. Way different than anything he's smelt so far, and it was coming from deep into the forest. Naruto's tongue flew out of his mouth as he panted heavily. It smell absolutely delicious. If he caught this thing he was pretty sure the rest of the patrol would forgive him for his lack of food. Not to mention he couldn't wait to sink his teeth into _whatever_ it was.

Following the scent of the animal, it didn't take long for Naruto to find the tracks. They were large and very familiar. Naruto had seen those tracks before when he was still on the hunt for Sasuke in Kinka Town. Naruto raised his head high and sniffed the air. He couldn't remember what animal these tracks belonged to. He couldn't even remember if he had ever seen the animal. But judging from the tracks it was nothing like the little creatures he killed so far. This one was going to be a little harder to take down. A loud growl interrupted Naruto's train of thought and as a reflex the fox crouched low, his long tail swishing anxiously behind him. The ground shook slightly as the large paw that made the tracks Naruto had been following emerged from some bushes surrounding him. Naruto took a step back as he immediately recognized the animal. He was definately in trouble.

The bushes shook angrily in front of him before a humongous bear pushed his way through them, his front paws raised and his head thrown back as he released a vicious roar. Naruto's red-orange fur stood on end and he pulled his mouth back into a snarl. The bear glared down at Naruto before its huge paw fell down for a swipe. Naruto, not expecting the immediate attack, yelped loudly in pain before his flank collided heavily with the forest floor. Pain seared throughtout his body but Naruto grudgingly stood up on shaky legs. That was definetely more painful than getting kicked in the face by a deer but he couldn't sit and wallow in his pain. This bear was obviously bent on getting rid of him and if he didn't fight back quick, the bear was going to get what he wanted.

A sharp bark tore from Naruto's throat as he lunged forward, clamping his teeth and claws onto any part of the bear he could get to. The bear roared in pain and trashed its body trying to get rid of Naruto. But Naruto was hanging on for dear life. The fox gripped tightly onto the bear's fur forcing another roar from the vicious animal. Naruto pulled his teeth off their mark to place them onto the bear's neck but unfortunate the bear saw this as his perfect chance and pushed Naruto to the ground roughly, causing the fox to rip its skin but crash to the ground painfully from such a high fall. Naruto barked and his back arched to escape the pain from hitting the ground.

**_"Tien ĉi!"_**

**_"Rapid!"_**

**_"Naruto!"  
_**

Naruto whined opening his eyes and looking at the animal that was about to finish him off before a loud howl sounded followed by the sound of the bear hitting the ground with a thud. Naruto summoned up the energy to open his eyes a little wider only to see a huge dog fighting viciously with the beast.

**_"Naruto, vi estas bona?"_**

Naruto felt his body being lifted slightly and he whimpered in pain before he looked into the eyes of Shikamaru, Neji, and Shino. He looked down to notice that he had reverted back into his human form. He looked back to the fight and also noticed that it was Kiba was fighting the bear along with Lee and Gaara, all attacking from different places to help take the huge animal. The bear let out a final roar that shook the forest before falling to the ground heavily that also shook the forest at least twice as hard. Naruto's cerulean eyes widened and he scrambled out of Shikamaru's arms and towards the now deceased bear lying on the forest floor. Kiba transformed back into his human form and placed his hands upon Naruto's shoulders.

"Hey, Naruto, are you okay?"

Naruto glanced sidely towards Kiba who was covered in large scratches but small gashes. Things that would easily heal. Even with Naruto followed by three strong animas together, the bear still didn't go down without inflicted some kind of damage upon them all. If they hadn't come along Naruto would be in the bear's den as his little cubs enjoyed Naruto for their afternoon snack. Knowing that Naruto couldn't help but ask why was such a dangerous animal in this forest? Naruto shook his head as he looked at Kiba who was licking his injuries to help them heal better. No. The better question was, why was he not warned that this dangerous animal was here in the first place?

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I know this is a short chapter. I was going to add a little NaruSasu scene at the end but this just seemed like the perfect ending and I didn't want to ruin it so sorry if it's too short for you. I'm trying to type this fanfic as fast as I can but it's just taking SO long and I'm not even close to touching the climax. I haven't even developed Naruto and Sasuke's relationship yet. Heck by the way it's going it should be a NaruKiba since that's all I seem to be talking about! Haha don't worry I won't turn it into a NaruKiba that's just stupid. Anyway I'm going to be working on my other stories so this one may be a little more slower but do not worry. I will definately not just like stop right in the middle. I'll keep it going...it'll just be going really slow. It's Translation time!

**_"Tien ĉi!" _**- "Over here!"

**_"Rapid!" _**- "Hurry!"

**_"Naruto, vi estas bona?" _**- "Naruto, are you okay?"

Hope you liked the chapter. Don't forget to review. Ciao Ciao!


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