Naruto
"Must you do something so ridiculous?"
Naruto didn't bother to look up at the masked man as he continued to paint his nails burnt orange.
"Must you teleport into my room unannounced?" He blew on his left hand in an attempt to dry the nail polish. "You could teleport outside my door and knock you know."
"Where's the fun in that?"
It wasn't uncommon for Tobi to visit him, and when he did it was always unannounced and random as ever. The man always had a reason for seeing him, whether it was to teach him something or exchange information. The masked man was surprisingly the biggest gossip Naruto had ever met, he always seemed to know everything. He supposed that if he could teleport he would know everything too.
"Sensei," Naruto teased, "What if you caught me in the act with someone?"
The man laughed coldly, "As if Pain would allow such actions."
He refrained from stiffening at the comment and kept his expression neutral. Tobi knew more than anyone how possessive Pain got when it came to him. It wasn't a romantic possessive like some others thought, but more of an ownership type. Naruto was his to command, his to punish and his to sacrifice for his goals. And he had learned the hard way during his rebellious phase where exactly he stood with the purple eyed man. Disobeying the man wasn't worth the trouble.
At least not yet. Naruto knew he was becoming powerful. Soon enough he would be able to make his own decisions and Pain would have to respect that. He had to admit the man was starting to compromise when it came to letting him go on solo missions. But he suspected Tobi had something to do with that.
"There's not much he could do if it was someone in the Akatsuki," Naruto mused, "Do you think Kisame would take the offer? He's kind of hot without a shirt on."
Tobi choked in response, bending forwards as he coughed up a lung while the blonde laughed.
"Are you trying to kill me?" The man gasped for breath, "I would have thought Itachi or even Sasori, but you decided to choose the shark man?"
His relationship with Itachi was one that Tobi always questioned, as did Pain. There wasn't anyone that knew the clan killer's true intentions and it put them on edge to know that he'd go as far as killing his entire family - excluding his little brother - to betray his village. They knew that Itachi allowed Naruto to get closer to him than any other, but the blonde always respected the trust Itachi had for him and dodged the attempts to get information.
"Please, I don't like straight men. There's something a little gay about the shark," Naruto chuckled, "Now come over here and help me paint my nails. I always mess up my right hand."
"I don't even want to know," Tobi muttered, shaking his head.
The masked man walked over to the teen laying on the edge of his bed and pulled a chair so he could sit while doing his task. Naruto watched amused as the man grabbed his hand and started doing as he had asked. The man couldn't find it in himself to deny his student much and it seemed to worsen over the years as they got to know each other better.
"I heard there was an invasion in Konoha during their Chunin exams," he watched as Tobi finished his nails perfectly and closed the bottle, "Apparently Tsunade Senju is now the village's new hokage."
Tobi sighed and leaned back in his chair, "Yes, the legendary Slug Sannin. Although the attack benefits us, I wish that snake would have refrained from killing the third hokage. His incompetence made everything much easier."
Naruto couldn't agree more. The old man had failed in many instances, including with him, and their organization had benefited from it greatly.
"Well I did also hear that the woman was a bit of a drunk and a gambler," he shrugged and blew on his right hand, "Perhaps she won't be much better."
"Time will tell," the man shrugged, "Konoha shinobi tend to be unpredictable at times."
"Speaking of Konoha-nin..." he hesitated, "What can you tell me of Sharingan no Kakashi?"
"Kakashi Hatake," Tobi growled and clenched his hands into fists, "Why do you want to know about him?"
Naruto hadn't expected his old sensei to get angry at the thought of the shinobi. They must have a past that the man never mentioned. He took a deep breath.
"He kind of.... found out who I am?"
In his shock the other man forgot his anger and stared at him.
"I only saw him twice in person and he didn't even see my face. Honestly I don't know how he even knew," he continued and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"Naruto," Tobi sighed, "I'm guessing you didn't tell Pain this."
"Of course I didn't tell Pain! That was the first solo mission I had ever gone on and I somehow revealed my identity to one of Konoha's strongest jonin. He would have locked me away for who knows how long, under guard and everything."
"Well he knew your parents.... he could have memorized your scent. The Hatake clan was known for producing warriors with heightened senses."
Naruto now stared at him in disbelief.
"So you're telling me the only person that could have possibly identified me happened to cross paths with me on my first solo mission? I knew I had bad luck but this.. this really takes the cake."
"You should count yourself lucky that he had genin with him. You might have been able to hold your own against him but he would have certainly pursued you further without anything to hold him back," Tobi sighed once again, "You're lucky I'm such a good sensei. I'll take care of this... and Pain."
The two both stood up and Naruto grabbed the other man's hand to give it a squeeze before letting go.
"Thank you, Tobi-sensei."
He let the other man pat his head and smiled as the masked man mysteriously produced a scroll.
To the regular members of the Akatsuki, he was known as Kurama Uzumaki. Kurama Uzumaki was not the holder of the nine tails although he did have a fox companion at times. He was the cousin of Pain and was not to be harmed unless Pain permitted it. He was a messy cold blooded killer and was horrifyingly creative with the way he did it. He was very much sarcastic and somewhat humorous at times, but mostly obsessed with dying and relieving pain (from himself and others).
Naruto Uzumaki was very different from Kurama, aside from the slight suicidal tendencies, but Naruto Uzumaki only existed in front of three people.
Pain was not one of them.
"I brought you here to assist and learn about the sealing process. Do not make me regret my decision," Pain said as they walked into the hideout, "It will be the easiest considering that we will be dealing with the least powerful tailed beast."
Shukaku.
He was surprised when Pain summoned him from his room and told him they were leaving for the hideout so he could learn more about the sealing arts. Pain had taught him the basics of Fūinjutsu a while back and he had been learning on his own with scrolls ever since. The latest scroll Tobi had given him had taken him a week to master and apparently his sensei thought to mention to Pain that he needed more hands-on learning.
"Well if it isn't my favorite fox," a loud voice exclaimed, "create any big explosions yet?"
He flicked his red eyes over to Deidara, who stood next to a bored looking Sasori.
"You and I both know that smaller explosions work better," Kurama smirked, "My latest explosion consisted of brains."
He didn't tell them he hated it. That he hated killing, that he hated the feeling of blood on his skin. It was easier to revel in his kills because that's what they all did, who he was forced to be.
Deidara wrinkled his nose. "That's so messy. Bigger explosions are better because they get rid of the mess."
"What about the debris and ash?" Sasori deadpanned. "The kid is in the back by the way."
"You just love proving me wrong!"
Kurama ignored the other blonde.
"The kid?"
"Yeah the one-tail is in a brat from the sand," Deidara shrugged, "just like this critic."
Kurama rolled his eyes and followed Pain to the room where their prisoner was held. He could feel pressure on his chakra coils as soon as they entered.
"I expect you to study the seals I have placed in here as well as the ritual seals I will show you later. You are not allowed to enter the ritual room under any circumstances."
He nodded as Pain looked at him with piercing eyes. The orange haired man left the room but Kurama could feel his chakra remain outside the room's door. He let his eyes fade back to blue and walked over to the small crumpled form that was held in chains. He crunched down and put his hand on the child's head. The boy looked so tiny and frail that Naruto felt his heart break.
The kid looked just like he did. He remembered being that small and he wondered if this boy went through what he had in his village.
It doesn't matter, Naruto reminded himself. He was brought here to die.
Let me out.
He sighed and pulled out a piece of paper so he could create a seal that allowed him to use his chakra in the room with no issue. He then placed the seal once it was finished on his arm and channeled his chakra. He could see the boy stir slightly as he pushed the fox's chakra out from his body, allowing a small fox to form.
The fox moved over to the boy and pressed a small paw on his arm. Kurama whined and Naruto stroked his fur comfortingly.
"I'm sorry you have to feel his pain," he murmured. "I know the other tails are your siblings. It must be hard to see them this way."
At least I get to see Shukaku before...
They had never met any other tailed beasts together although the Akatsuki had already sealed a few away.
The boy's body twitched and Naruto saw his eyes open, the dim light casting shadows under the red-head's eyes. He shot back towards the wall, shaking in place.
Naruto supposed the boy knew he was helpless in this situation. His fox backed away from the boy to give him space.
"I'm not here to hurt you," he said softly, "I have never met another jinchuriki before. Another person like me."
"You're like me..." the boy looked into Naruto's sad eyes, "You're not here to save me, are you?"
He looked away hating the boy's expression. He couldn't bare to look into those defeated wide eyes. It was like the boy had expected a day like this to come, and perhaps he had.
"No, I am not."
The boy stayed silent for a moment and looked at the fox, who had curled into Naruto's side.
"Why are you here?"
"To learn. To meet you. To let my nine-tails say goodbye to your one-tail," he murmured, "To learn what will be expected of me one day too."
Gaara. His name was Gaara and he was almost as tiny as Naruto was at his age. He was only eleven years old and he would be dead in three days.
It was easy for Naruto to sneak around with Pain being so busy preparing for the ritual. The orange haired man told him that they were expecting shinobi from both Konoha and Suna. So the man had to fortify their defenses on top of prepairing the ritual. He was given scrolls detailing the ritual, then was sent away as he couldn't enter the ritual chamber.
In the meantime he brought a boy with panda eyes some food and water. He talked and talked even when the boy had nothing to say just to take his mind away from what was to come. He gave the boy a blanket with a warming seal when he noticed he was shivering. He walked to the nearby town to bring the boy sweets and ramen so he could try Naruto's personal favorites.
He was asked on the second day why he went through the trouble.
"You deserve better than this," Naruto admitted, "But this is all I can do for you."
It didn't make him feel better that the boy was heading towards all that Naruto had ever wanted. Death had always been a comforting thought to him. It seemed like a peace away from hell that he could never seem to crawl himself out of. For Naruto, he knew that he would never find true peace in the world among the living.
But for Gaara, it felt more like a sudden end to something that had never been experienced. It didn't feel like peace to him, it felt like life ripped away.
He could imagine a boy with red hair living the life he always wanted and it hurt, because he wanted that for him so bad. But reality wouldn't let Gaara have that life.
On the third day he could see the boy shaking against the wall with his blanket wrapped around him. He could see the tears in his usually emotionless eyes and he knew that the boy knew.
"This is my last day isn't it," Gaara cried softly, "I can feel it."
Naruto did something he had never done but always wanted as a child. He wrapped the small boy in his arms, wiped away his tears, and stroked his knotted red hair. The boy only cried harder and clinged to him.
"I'm sorry," he murmured, "I'm so sorry."
Gaara snuffled, "I never cared to live, I didn't understand it. I could never feel like the other people did in my village. They laughed and cried but all I could feel was anger. I tried so hard until I gave up and became a killer. It's not fair that I found you here. I don't want to go now."
Naruto could only hold him tighter. He had no words for that. There was nothing he could possibly say that would make this better for the young boy, but he tried anyway.
"I don't want you to go either Gaara," he choked out, "But I imagine that death is peaceful and that you will know freedom there. You will be free and you will see everyone that ever loved you, including me one day."
The sun rose through the clouds and the grass felt soft on his skin but it wasn't enough. His fox laid next to him, sad yet comforting. It was the start of a calm peaceful day.
Naruto hated it. He hated that the world continued as if nothing had happened. That the sun shined in the sky and the birds chirped blissfully. He hated that he had to feel Gaara's chakra fade from his world. He couldn't bare to be inside the hideout, to hear his screams.
"You should come inside," a cold voice came from behind him.
He sighed and stood up, taking Kurama into his arms. The fox disappeared into his skin.
"The shinobi are close," he told Pain, "They will be here in an hour or so."
He wanted so badly to ask. Where was he? Where was the body? Did they leave him on the cold floor of that chamber?
"We should be gone before they get here."
Naruto Uzumaki was very different from Kurama Uzumaki, aside from the slight suicidal tendencies, but Naruto Uzumaki only existed in front of three four people. And one of them is now gone.