Oops, I got drunk again (shots self) heh. I really gotta stop that

Warning: Yaoi…if I come up with anything else I'll tell you.

Pairings: a little undecided. What do you want? Itanaru, Sasunaru, Nejinaru or Gaanaru? Your choice, you pick for me

This is pre time skip. After chuunin exams, Tsunade is Hokage. Before Sasuke defects.

-------------

Outaishi

Naruto sighed to himself. The mission had been easy- get the scroll and hightail it out of the place. Though it was annoying when Sasuke kept taunting him on his performance during the mission. Yeah, so what if Naruto was a little clumsier then the others?

He tugged the bandage on his arm tighter. Not that he really needed it, as he had almost healed, but he didn't want the other two to see his healing ability. He placed his finished bowl aside and waited for the others to finish their own meal. When they did, Naruto stood up, intending to do first watch.

"I'll do first watch!" He said. The other three looked at him and Sasuke said mildly,

"Are you sure you can handle it dobe?"

"Shut up teme!" Naruto snarled back.

"Calm down. You can do first watch Naruto… just be careful." Kakashi said, looking hard at the Uchiha. Sasuke snorted and made his way to his bedroll, Sakura following.

"I'll be here if you need me." Kakashi said, before going over to join the other two.

When they were asleep, Naruto climbed into a tree and sat there, looking out over the silent forest. He sighed… nothing much to do really. He looked down at his sleeping companions and scowled.

Sasuke had been such a bastard lately and Sakura as well. She only had eyes for the Uchiha and nothing else, in fact her infatuation almost cost Naruto his life on a couple missions. She really needed a reality check.

Naruto shifted and winced as pain shot up his arm. He unravelled the bandage to reveal the wound. It started at the elbow and spread its way to his wrist. It was also very deep. Luckily there was no poison on the guy's sword otherwise Naruto would have been in deep trouble.

He suddenly snapped his head up when he heard a light footstep from somewhere behind him. He jumped down the tree and walked towards the sound, hoping it was a fox of some kind. After a little while of searching, he found nothing. He shrugged and made his way back to camp when the rustling of bushes caught his attention. He tensed, waiting for an attack, but nothing came. He straightened, his senses on high alert. He should get back to Kakashi and wake him up…something was up.

As soon as he turned away however, he felt a crashing blow to his head, sending him to the ground with a pained cry. He curled up, holding his painfully throbbing head. Through the gaps in his arms, he saw dark figures coming towards him. The stood over him and seemed to stare down at him.

"He is one of the Jounin's charges, isn't he?"

"Yes. I'm sure that the Konoha nins would hand over the scroll in exchange for his life."

Naruto gave one last cry before he lost consciousness.

-------------

Kakashi sat up, frowning. He swore he just heard Naruto. He stood up and looked around the camp, but not seeing any sign of the hyper little blonde. He roughly shook the other two awake. They glared at him for interrupting their sleep.

"What is it?" Sakura growled, trying to rub sleep out of her eyes.

"Naruto's missing." He replied curtly. Sasuke gave a sigh and stood up, and it was obvious that Sakura just wanted to go back to sleep rather then look for her missing team mate. She grudgingly stood up as well.

"You should always sleep with one eye open, and then you would reduce the possibility of getting killed in your sleep." Came a deep, masculine voice. They turned towards the source of the voice and froze.

This man was big…really big. He was about 7ft tall, making even Kakashi seem really small. He wore a tight leather t-shirt with blood red layered armour on his chest and back. He wore tight leather trousers with shin guards as well as heavy steel capped boots. From his thick black belt hung a piece of cloth with a symbol of a grizzly bear. Also attached to the belt was a sword sheath with the handle of the blade visible. It seemed to glow golden in the dim fire light and had a jewel of some kind on the hilt of the sword. They looked up at his face and saw that his face was covered in a steel bear mask that had a twisted sadistic grin on its face. It was painted as if it had just been through a blood bath.

Kakashi automatically put himself in between the man and his two remaining students. Where the third one was, he didn't know. Other figures, smaller then the first, emerged from the forest around them, enclosing them in a circle.

The man, who had first emerged, chuckled at his captives.

"Give me back my scroll, and I won't kill your other student."

The figure on his left held up an unconscious Naruto, who had dried blood in his tangled hair, as well as some on his face. The first man held a kunai to his throat so that with one flick, he could end the blonde's life.

"Give us the scroll." He commanded, pressing the kunai into the boy's throat for emphasis. Kakashi slowly drew the scroll and approached the man, laying it on the floor and then retreating back to his students. He watched carefully as the figure on the mans right came forward and picked the scroll up, handing it to his leader who inspected it before nodding and putting it away in his pouch. He made no move to hand the blonde over to them.

"Aren't you going to give my student back now?" He asked, hoping that this man would not put down his rights.

"No," was the simple reply. Sasuke and Sakura looked surprised and the pink haired girl asked,

"Why not?"

"It is within my right as a high ranking clan member to take the boy. You can do nothing to stop me. I'll be going now."

The man did a few hand seals and disappeared in a puff of smoke, along with the other figures… and Naruto. They stood there in shock a few moments and then Sasuke turned to Kakashi, a question in his dark eyes.

"What does he mean by that its right to take Naruto away?"

Kakashi sighed, and placed his head in his hands.

"That man is part of the Haiiroguma clan. If a high ranking member of that clan were to lose their son, they can adopt another. But the way they adopt is that if they come across a boy with a guardian that had wronged that clan member in anyway, then they have the right to take that child and raise it as their own. In this case, I have stolen that scroll that belongs to the clan. So he has all the right in the world to take Naruto. Naruto will be taught all the clan techniques and such as if he was born in that clan. I doubt that we can negotiate his release either. We should talk to Tsunade-sama about this."

-------------

The next day when they reached their village they immediately went to the Hokage's office. The woman was hiding behind a stack of papers that was dumped in front of her by Shizune. She didn't look too pleased. She shoved them out of the way when she saw Kakashi and his two students…wait, two!-?

"Where's Naruto?" She asked sharply. Kakashi sighed and said,

"He's been taken, by a member of the Haiiroguma clan. The scroll we were asked to take belonged to that man…"

"So he took Naruto as his adoptive son?"

Kakashi nodded. Tsunade gave a heavy breath and leaned back in her chair, a thoughtful expression on her young looking face.

"I'll send Jiraiya, maybe he can talk to them. What did the man look like? I might recognise him."

"He was very high ranking. He wore leather clothing with red overlapping armour-"

"With a mask in the shape of a bear face?"

Kakashi blinked and then nodded, surprised. Tsunade swore loudly, slapping her forehead.

"This is not good." She said to herself.

"What isn't?" Sakura asked, curious at what made the Hokage swear so badly.

"The one that took him was Mamoru. He's the Head clan member… and also the king of the land of the Bear, hence their clan name."

"S-so that means that Naruto would be the crown prince?" Kakashi asked, his voice startled. The other two looked in between the two older nins and then Sakura burst out laughing. The other three turned to look at her.

"What's so funny?" Tsunade asked sharply, narrowing her eyes in slight disgust.

"N-Naruto being a crown prince! Get real! That's so funny! There's no way he can be a prince!"

"Watch you tongue. This is serious. Get out of my sight you little impertinent snip!" Tsunade growled, throwing a vase at the still laughing girl, who ducked in time and rushed out of the room, scared witless.

Tsunade sat back down and rubbed her temples, trying to relieve her headache.

"I only hope that he's alright. And I hope he stays there until Jiraiya is there. If we try to take him by force, or he escapes himself, then that clan will come and destroy Konoha… and they have the power as well." Tsunade said, looking out of the window, not seeing the suspicious look the Uchiha was giving her.

-------------

Naruto felt himself slowly wake up. His head was throbbing slightly and he felt light-headed. He opened his eyes to look at a wooden ceiling. He sat up and realised that he was only wearing boxers. He frowned, trying to remember what had happened to him. He pushed the soft covers aside and stood up, only to sit back down as the movement made him feel sick. He took a few deep breaths, trying to control his stomach. When that was done, he looked about the room he was in. It was small, only big enough to have the bed in and a few cabinets on the far wall. There was a paper sliding door, but there were no windows, making the room dim save for the small candle that burned on the small table beside the bed.

'Where am I?' He thought, starting to feel a little panicked. As if in answer to his question, the paper door opened to reveal a male figure that stood about 7ft tall. He wore leather clothing with blood read overlapping armour on his chest and back. On his belt, there was a cloth with a bear symbol on. There was also a bear mask hanging at his waist. Naruto looked at the man's face and saw that this man had kind brown eyes with well shaped lips and nose with a firm chin. His waist length brown hair was tied at the neck with a leather cord, leaving a few bangs to frame his slime face.

"About time you were awake kid. I was starting to get worried."

"Who are you?" Naruto blurted out, feeling confused, which made him feel angry. The man chuckled and sat down beside him on the bed, watching the blonde carefully.

"I am Mamoru, King of the bear country and head of the Haiiroguma clan."

Naruto blinked, not sure of what to do… he'd never meet a king before.

"Do you know of the rules within my clan boy?"

Naruto shook his head, unsure about whether to speak or not. The man sighed and said,

"My son died a couple of years back, leaving me with no heir to the thrown. In my clan, I have a right to go out and seek another son, especially since my wife has died. It is considered sin to re-marry. Anyway, if we find a child whose guardian- whether it be parent, carer or a sensei- that has done a crime against my person, I have a right to take that child and raise them as my own."

"What has that got to do with me?" Naruto asked in a quiet voice.

"Your sensei stole that scroll off me, so it is within my right to take you as my son."

Naruto stared at the man, his mouth wide open.

"W-what! Don't I have a say in this?"

"No. Children are not considered to have a voice until their eighteenth birthday. If you try to escape, or your friends come to take you by force, I will have the right to destroy your former home. My country would follow me, and we have enough power to overwhelm that little village."

Naruto stood up, glaring at the man,

"Why would you do such a monstrous thing like that?" He asked, his voice dripping with venom. The man stood up as well, towering over the tiny blonde.

"I want a son, and I have chosen you. Whether you like it or not, you are the crown prince to the throne."

Naruto stared at him, lost for words. Why would he want him? Sasuke would have been a better option. He's had a taste of life like this…Naruto's had nothing but neglect and abuse all his life. He wasn't going to cope with this, heck, he wasn't even asked about this. He wanted to scream and yell, anything, but knew that the man wouldn't listen to him. He felt like a prisoner, not some king's 'son'. He considered running away, but the thought of Konoha being destroyed held him in check.

He sat back down, not looking at the man.

"Good. I'm glad you understand." The man then reached out and ruffled Naruto's hair. Naruto involuntarily flinched at the close contact, only associating contact from other people with pain. The man frowned at this.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"N-nothing…" Naruto replied, shaking a little bit. The man's frown deepened.

"I asked you, what's wrong."

"N-nothing!" Naruto replied, hiding his eyes behind his hair while turning his face away. He heard the man sigh behind him.

"Go back to sleep. We'll talk when you wake up and feeling better."

Naruto heard the man's footsteps walk away from him, open the door and walk out, closing the door before going away. Naruto sighed as he glared at the paper door, He considered going out, but his head was aching. Maybe he should do what the King suggested and get some more sleep. He lay back down and as soon as his eyes closed, he fell asleep.

-------------

He woke up later to cool hands feeling his face and neck. He opened his eyes to look into the face of a pretty, dark eyed, dark haired young woman. She smiled when she saw his eyes. He sat up and realised that his head no longer hurt and he no longer felt sick. He looked down at his arm to see that it was once again bandaged. The woman beside him handed him a cup. Naruto looked at it suspiciously before taking a small sip. He made a face at the unpleasant taste.

"Drink it all." The woman ordered in soft voice as she cleared away some bandages. Naruto sighed and thought it better to drink the drink before setting it on the table.

The woman smiled at him and then put some clothes on his lap.

"Get dressed. His majesty wishes to speak to you."

Naruto nodded and watched the woman walk out, closing the door behind her to give him some privacy. He stood up and looked at the clothes. There were cream silk trousers along with a fishnet top. To go over the fishnet top there was a kimono styled top that came to mid thigh. It was light blue in colour lined with a black strip. There was a dragon pattern on the right sleeve and flames rimming the bottom.

He shrugged and put the clothes on, missing the feeling of his headband on his forehead. He went to the door and opened it to find the woman waiting for him.

"Come, your highness."

Naruto jumped at being called 'your highness' and glared at the woman, who ignored him. She walked down the corridor with Naruto at her side. She led him through several corridors of what seemed to be a traditional Japanese house, a large one at that.

They reached their destination and she slid open the door, ushering him inside before closing the door behind him.

"Naruto-kun, glad you are awake. How are you feeling?"

Naruto turned to face the King and then blinked when he saw Jiraiya sitting next to him with a cup of sake in his hand. Naruto approached them and said,

"Erm, I'm fine… thanks."

Jiraiya looked at him closely. Naruto looked back and asked,

"Are you here to get me out of here, Ero-sennin?"

"I told you not to call me that, you brat!" he growled, sending the blonde a glare. The king chuckled at their banter and said,

"Jiraiya-san here tried to convince me to let you go, but I have chosen you as my heir. Nothing is going to change my mind."

Naruto huffed, crossing his arms as he stuck out his lower lip in a cute pout. Jiraiya snorted at this and took another sip of his drink, waving Naruto to sit down.

Naruto sat in front of them as he looked about the room they were in. It seemed to be a study of some kind with shelves that contained various scrolls and books. He looked back at the two older men asking,

"When can I go back home?"

"This is your home now, Naruto-kun."

"Konoha is my home!" He objected.

"No. I have been talking to Jiraiya-san and I have agreed to let you return when you are sixteen to study under him and also under the Hokage to learn medical jutsus."

"But not before?"

"No. I will train you here."

Naruto frowned at this and asked hesitantly,

"And what will you teach me?"

The man chuckled and said,

"You will be taught as if you were born part of this clan. Which means all our specialities and such, one example is our ability for sword fighting. It takes years of practice, but it is worth it."

Mamoru closed his eyes with a sigh.

"I have informed the rest of the clan about your adoption, and there has been a little bit of an uproar about it. Normally if the king dies without an heir, then the generals of the clan fight for the right to be king. Your adoption has prevented this. This is why I have asked the son of my most trusted general and friend to guard you. His name is Takashi and he will look after you as well as teaching you in things like how to behave in court. Takashi-kun, you may come in now."

Naruto turned to see a male figure; about 6ft8 walk into the room. He wore a light grey Kimono with a long twin sword on each side of his waist. His eyes were a light blue colour and like the king, had well shaped features. His hair, a midnight black colour that was tied at the neck to his waist, leaving some strands to fall into his face.

'Was it a fashion for them to wear their hair like that?' Naruto thought while staring at the man.

"Takashi, this is the crown prince, Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto-kun, this is Haiiroguma Takashi."

The man gracefully bowed to him and Naruto hesitantly bowed back.

"Pleased to meet you, your highness." He said in a rich velvety voice.

"Um, just Naruto will do…"

"If you wish Naruto-kun."

"Thanks."

"So, Naruto-kun… will you stay here and learn the ways of the clan?" Mamoru asked, looking intently at his adoptive son.

Naruto looked back at the king and gave a small sigh,

"It was always my dream to be Hokage… but I guess I can't follow that dream now. I'll settle with being King."

Mamoru smiled as Jiraiya gave a sigh, downing another cup of sake before looking at his student with mournful eyes. He stood up,

"I better be going now… look after him please Mamoru-kun."

"Of course, I will do everything in my power to keep him safe."

Jiraiya nodded and then turned back to the small blonde.

"Take care; I'll pop back sometime… until then, good luck."

"Bye…" Naruto said in a small voice, watching as the old man walked out with not so much as a backward glance.

-------------

There you go, so… which pairing do you want?

Me and my sisters have already voted, so all I need is your votes:

Itanaru- 2

Sasunaru- 0

Gaanaru- 1

Nejinaru- 0

Take your pick and review! (Sorry about getting drunk again XD)