A look beneath the mask

Originally written by: wickedlfairy17

Revised and Rewritten by: Shinigsmi no ko

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, you'd know it.

Warning: Shounen ai, Shoujo ai, Sadism, Language (Shisui will have a mouth like Hidan, so you've been warned), AU, OOC-ness, Use of OC's and Sakura bashing.

Pairing: A shounen ai/ shoujo ai. Many one-sided x Naruto...

Permanent:

Itachi/Naruto

Kakashi/Iruka

Sasuke/Haku

Sai/Shin

Neji/(non cannon) Lee/Gaara

Anko/Kurenai/Anko

Shino/Kiba

'Run! Don't look back keep running! Make it to the forest and you'll be safe, just endure the pain...Keep running or they'll continue their actions before finishing you off!'

Naruto was exhausted; his breath came out in wisps of mist as it hit the cold air, sweat glistened on his forehead, but the young continued to push himself. A shuriken whizzed through the air, slicing through fabric and skin. Naruto swallowed the cry of pain that longed to escape from his lips. He had to be strong right now, he had to reach the forest and hide until Itachi or Iruka or Kakashi or Shisui could find him. The only safe place he could think about was the forest, so pushing through the ache and pain that threatened to not only bring tears to his eyes but also his body to the ground, he forged on.

Welcome to the everyday life of Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto.

Uchiha Itachi knew something was wrong the moment he entered the village, but decided to shake it off for the time being as he made his way towards the Hokage tower. Passing the secretary without a word, he knocked on the door and entered when he got the permission to do so.

"Ah, Crow-san, welcome back. How did your mission go?" The sandaime questioned, motioning for the ANBU's in the room to leave for a while, which they did so, allowing their leader and fellow ANBU member their privacy. "Well?"

Itachi bowed his head towards his leader, as he removed his mask, "It went well Hokage-sama. Nothing out of the ordinary." Dark eyes narrowed at the look the Sandaime tried to mask, "What happened?"

With a sigh the Hokage told Itachi the news, knowing how upset the younger would be and he wasn't the only one, he was terrified to even mention the news to the Uchiha clans head and his wife. The both of them were close friends of Minato and Kushina and wanted to take Naruto in, raise him along side their youngest, but they were blocked by the civilians and the elders. heck everyone who wanted to adopted the jinchuriki were denied the right.

Itachi frowned, arms crossed over his chest as he leveled a glare upon the Hokage. A look that promised pain, anger churned within the gaze and the elderly leader couldn't help but feel a small smidgen of pity for the person responsible, "What do you mean you can't find him, he's four years old, he couldn't have gone too far with out anyone seeing him, unless it was another attack by those things." the last words were hissed out, laced with venom.

The Hokage sighed, "I had Kakashi, Iruka and Shisui check on Naruto a while ago. They came back and told me that Naruto was missing from his apartment but the place was trashed, again, and bloody hand prints decorated the walls and the floors. I had the three search the village for him, but they haven't returned yet."

The ten year old ANBU placed a paper on the desk, "My mission report." Body visibly trembling, Itachi lowered his head, "I'm heading out to help look for him." With that said, Itachi attached his mask to his face and disappeared in a plume of smoke.

The Sandaime bit the end of his pipe and glanced at the photo of a grinning blond man, 'Surely your rolling in your grave by what the village is doing to your son, Minato. If you knew the outcome of what would become of your son, would you still have sacrificed him for their sake?' Blowing out smoke, The third turned and looked out the window, 'No, I don't believe you would. These people don't deserve it.'

From within his hiding spot, Naruto watched as a group of men and a few females, who had been tormenting his mere hours ago, surrounded the gates blocking his only exit. One of the men kicked a tree in anger. Growls, grumbles and curses escaped one of the males, "Damn brat, I can't believe he got away."

His companion grunted, "Let's go back, 'sides this forest gives me the creeps, and if we're lucky some wild animal in there will attack that damn demon brat and save us the trouble." he retorted turning around.

The others grinned at the thought, brushing back dark brown strands of hair from his face, "Yeah, besides I heard some crazy stories about this forest and if the animals don't kill him then surely the poisonous plants will do it." one of the females added as she followed her companion away from the forbidden area; otherwise known as area 44, the forest of death.

Naruto sighed as the last of the group left, and crawled out of the hole he was in; needle like pain shot through his body causing a gasp of pain to escape his lips as he he hunched over slightly, tears filling his eyes. Blood poured from various wounds, though the shallow cuts were long since healed, it did nothing to dampen the pain.

Fighting through the pain, the four year old struggled to raise from his hunched position and took staggering steps forward, further into the ominous looking forest, and with every step, blood fell to the floor, marking a trail for anyone who bothered to look close enough.

After ten minutes of walking, the four year old finally saw a cave and headed towards it. Entering the safe haven, the blond wasted no time in allowing his exhaustion to take a hold of him as he gave into sweet oblivion called sleep, unaware of the magnificent creature that entered the cave moments later before existing.

It's been nearly two hours since they started searching and there was no sign of the boy being anywhere. Iruka gripped his hair, tears filling his eyes, "Where the heck is he?" the kindhearted teen practically wailed in distress. "He's four years old, he shouldn't even be living by himself, and he wouldn't if those damn bastards would allow someone to adopt him." Iruka was bordering hysterics, and Kakashi feared should no sign of Naruto be found soon, Orochimaru would be the lease of Konoha's problem.

Placing a calming hand upon the younger males shoulder. He didn't know what he could say in a situation like this, what could he say when his feeling matched what Iruka was expressing so thoroughly, "We'll find him Iruka, and when we do, we'll finally put the council in their place once and for all."

Iruka opened his mouth to retaliated but stopped himself when a figure leaped beside them, well two actually. Dark hair, dark eyes and pale complexion marked them both as Uchiha's; the heir and his cousin to be more specific.

"Have you guys found Naruto yet." The shorter of the two questioned, eyes narrowed and lips pulled downward into a frown, the worry and concern for the missing child was obvious.

Kakashi shook his head, "Afraid not Itachi."

Shisui bit his bottom lip, eyes turning towards the left in apprehension, "The only place left now will be the forest of death. Naruto could have ran into the forest knowing his attackers would pursue him inside or maybe he thought he could hide out inside until they gave up and left not knowing how dangerous that forest is."

Itachi, Kakashi and Iruka shared a look, glancing in the direction Shisui was looking, the latter of the two was nearly hyperventilating.

Naruto shivered and curled into a tighter ball, wrapping his arms around himself. It was cold and he was really hungry. Blue eyes fluttered open with a small whimper the boy closed his eyes. "Iruka, Kakashi, Itachi, Shisui..." trembling lips spoke the names of the four who always cared for him. He wanted them to find him.

A shadow fell over the blond and he snapped his eyes open only to close it again as a cold, wet nose brushed against his cheek, a purr rumbling from the creatures chest.

Opening his eyes again, Naruto took in his guest and gaped at the shadow figure looming over him. Sleek and slender, covered in black fur tinged a dark purple was the most magnificent creature he had ever seen. It looked like a large cat.

The large animal lowered it's head and nuzzled the blond cheek, gently, a purr vibrated against Naruto's face, caused the boy to release a small giggle. Hunching it's back the cat stretched out before sitting itself down, curling around the small child, who smiled and leaned against the animal, closing his eyes. Despite his hunger he was tired and sore as well, and because of the warmth provided by the cat and it's rumbling purr lulled him to a dreamless sleep.

The cat watched the blond for several minutes, taking in the boys appearance as he wrapped his tail around the child for extra warmth. Gold eyes softer then it has ever been, observed the young orphan before lying his head upon his paws, eyes closing to rest. He'd protect the child until someone trustworthy came for him.

Leaping through the trees, the quartet searched the forest ground for a flaxen haired boy, but nothing could be seen except wild animals, trees, trees and more trees, they knew they were heading in the right direction due to the blood trail Kakashi had picked up, but there was no sight of the four year old any where.

With a frustrated sound, the kindhearted chunin leaped from the branch and down to the ground below, running his hands through his hair in frustrated worry, "I swear I'll kill those people one day! How can they hurt a child and then abandon him in a forest called, 'Shi no Mori'?"

Kakashi dropped down to land beside the brunet and patted his head, "Calm down, Iruka, everything's going to be alright. Naruto is a smart kid. I'm sure he's perfectly safe, besides I doubt any of the animals here are going to hurt a child."

"Kakashi is right." Itachi's statement caused both older men to turn towards the Uchiha heir in confusion. "Shisui and I found his whereabouts." he called out, "Not to far from here is a cave, he is inside fast asleep, but he appears to have gained a protector of sorts." Motioning for the two to follow him he lead them towards the cave where Shisui stood.

Peering into the cave, Iruka blinked his eyes in shock, "Is that a panther?"

Shisui nodded his head, "Yes, I believe that is, indeed, a panther."

As if sensing their presence the panther opened his eyes and stared at the three for several seconds before deeming them 'safe' and closed it's eyes, alert yet at the same time relaxed, taking that as a good sign, the quartet approached the duo, slowly, so they wouldn't startle the cat.

Knelling beside Naruto's prone form, Iruka reached out to take the blond from within the panthers tail when the giant cat growled and snapped it's eyes open, startling the brunet into scrambling backwards. Kakashi stepped in front of the younger male and eyed the panther, "Uh, panther-san, i don't know if you can understand me but we came for the boy..."

The panther rose to it's full height, careful not to hurt the child, as it glared at the three in front of him. He would not let anyone else harm the boy. Itachi seemed to know what the panther was doing and bowed his head, "We mean no harm to Naruto-kun. We wish to help him, as you do, but in order for us to help we need to take Naruto-kun with us."

'And how do I know you can be trusted.' The panthers smooth, yet icy tone pierced the Uchiha heir's mind, causing dark eyes to widen in surprise as he stared at the cat in shock. "Well human, how can I trust you to look after the little one when he was hurt by your own people."

"Did you just talk to me?" Itachi couldn't help but question his sanity in that moment.

A cheshire looking smile formed on the panthers face, giving the giant cat a feral looking disposition. 'Yes, in a way. I know what your next question will be before you even ask, so I'll just tell you now and save you the trouble of having you ask me. I'm directing my thoughts to your mind; like telepathy.'

Itachi nodded his head, "And how is that possible." His question caused Kakashi, Iruka and Shisui to look at him weirdly, he ignored the looks they were giving him and continued to stare at the intimidating cat.

'Eh, I guess I could tell you, it's not like you can do anything to me. I'm what your people will call a demon, in the world which I came from everyone is able to do communicate this way, it offers more privacy and no one can eavesdrop or spy on you. But aside from that, two others -not including myself- are here as a sort of guardian for Naruto. We were waiting for the right moment to approach him, but he made it easier by coming to us. The other two, if your wondering, went to find food and clothes for the child.'

"That's allot to take in..." Itachi couldn't believe he was actually talking to a demon.

The panther sat back down, and motioned his head to the ground, taking the hint, the Uchiha sat down and motioned for the trio to follow his lead, though confused Iruka, Shisui and Kakashi did as Itachi asked.

Not being to take the curiosity any longer, Shisui turned and rose an eyebrow towards his younger cousin, wondering if the future head of the Uchiha clan was really alright, "What's going on? Are you seriously having a conversation with that panther, Itachi?"

An amused snort sounded from the panther, 'Maybe it would be better if I switched forms that way I can communicate with your companions as well, after all it won't be good if your companions think you've gone insane, ne." With that said, a dark purple chakra-like energy poured off the creature to cover his entire body; when the chakra resided, Kakashi and Iruka gaped at the male while Itachi and Shisui blinked.

A male who appeared to be in his early to mid twenties stood before them. He was broad shoulder with a slim built and looked to be well over 6 feet in height. The panther turned human had shaggy dark purple hair and golden eyes. "Hello." his voice held an icy quality to it but at the same time it wasn't threatening. "My name is Murasaki Byakuya and as I told the young one." He pointed towards Itachi with claw like nails, "Myself, as well as two others are self-appointed demon guardian for young Uzumaki Naruto. We've been waiting here for the right moment to appraoch him, but he made it easy by coming to us."

Iruka furrowed his brows, "You and who else? And just what do you mean by self- appointed demon guardians? Are you guys actual demons? Like the Kyuubi!"

"Let's start with the last question first." Byakuya shifted his golden eyes to glance at the blond child, "Kurama -or as you've taken to calling him, Kyuubi- is our prince, the future ruler of our people. Chitose, Kazuya -who you'll meet when they return- and myself were Kurama's best friends, we did everything together since we were kids, as we got older and responsibilities set in, Kurama chose the three of us to be his guards, he knew he could trust us with his life after all." Byakuya turned his attention towards the quartet, "Four years ago, October 10, Kurama was just returning to the palace after visiting a neighboring country when he vanished right in front of us. It took two hours before we found out what happened. We arrived here just in time to see Kurama get sealed."

A rustle in the bushes caused the four to look over, and watched as a giant wolf and an equally large tiger entered the cave. They glanced from Byakuya, to Naruto, towards the four males then back towards Byakuya before shifting forms.

Where once stood two animals in it's place was two men, the same height and body built as Byakuya. The wolf had short gray hair and light blue eyes while the tiger had waist length snowy white locks and pale gray eyes. And just like Byakuya, the two were really good looking. Byakuya nodded his head and pointed at the wolf first before looking at the tiger, "These two are Takahisa Chitose and Kobayashi Kazuya, the other friends of Kurama-sama and the other protectors for Naruto-kun as well."

"I've seen you four around Naruto-kun before. You protect him and as such we will consider you friends until you do something to make us think otherwise." Kazuya took out a scroll, unraveling it, he pierced his fingers and ran his blood through the seals causing it to glow white for a second before it faded revealing several trays of various food, from BBQ meats to sticks of dango.

Chitose gave a nod of his head. "Your a friend until you do anything that causes Naruto pain. Hurt him in anyway and we will hunt you down and kill you in the most vicious way we can think of; and don't doubt it, after all, we are demons." The gray haired man took out a scroll and repeated his friends actions, but instead of food appearing, a pile of children clothes did. "I stole a lot of different outfits, Naruto can always mix and match what he wants to put on later."

Byakuya gave a nod, "Later." he responded, "But for now," he reached over to the pile of clothes and grabbed a pair of black pants, a dark gray sleeveless turtleneck shirt and a black jacket with brunt orange cuffs "he can wear this." and held out the outfit towards the brown haired teen, "Not to far from here is a small pond; could you take Naruto there, get him cleaned and changed?"

Iruka nodded his head as he approached the blond boy and picked him up. Kakashi took the clothes and the towel Kazuya was holding and placed them into a sealing scroll to make it easier on Iruka, who nodded his thanks as he placed the scroll in his pocket before leaving the cave and headed towards the pond.

As soon as Iruka was far enough away, Shisui glanced at the three demons with a curious expression, "What's going on? Is there a reason you sent Iruka to take care of Naruto?" he questioned, brows knitted and a frown tugging at his lips. "Besides getting him cleaned and into better clothes."

Byakuya glanced towards the trio before turning his attention towards Chitose and Kazuya. "We wanted to speak with the three of you without Iruka-san present, 'cause we knew he wouldn't be able to stomach everything we're about to say."

Kakashi rose an eyebrow, "What do you mean by that?"

"From what we observe of Iruka-san, we know he's a very kindhearted boy and is easily brought to hysterics when Naruto is involved, so we thought it would be best he not be here when we tell you the news."

Itachi rose an eyebrow, "What news?"

"We saw Naruto enter the forest, being chased by several villagers," Chitose snarled at the last word, "Not long the villagers left thinking the animals would be the one to finish what they started, what they don't know is none of the animals will actually hurt a child, there most protective over young's and because Naruto holds Kurama, he gives off the scent of a newborn kit and that in itself will call out to the female animals in the forest." The trio nodded their heads in understanding. "All that aside, when they left, Naruto looked really hurt, blood poured from wounds Kurama couldn't heal fast enough and when he went further into the forest, Byakuya followed him while Kazu and I went into the village to get food and clothes for him."

Byakuya gave a nod of his head. "Naruto was really tired when he finally found this cave and passed out almost immediately after entering. I came in after he lost consciousness, just to make sure he was alright. He wasn't." the panther shook his head, lips curling. "As I mentioned before hand, he had wounds which Kurama couldn't heal fast enough so his clothes, what little still adorned his small frame, that is, were soaked in blood. I healed the ones that weren't healing by itself and that's when the smell assaulted my nose."

The shinobi's weren't the only ones looking at Byakuya now, "What smell?" Chitose questioned, eyebrow raised. "Byakuya, what did you smell?"

"Sex. Several people raped him. I stripped what remained of his pants just to make sure..." Byakuya's eyes were glowing red, "He had bruises in the shape of hands on each hip, red marks decorated his chest and he had the evidence as well. I cleaned him as best as I could without waking him. I know Iruka-san will know what happened because of the evidence, but I don't think he could handle hearing the details." Silence reigned for a moment, before pandemonium erupted.

Bolting upwards, Shisui began shouting, "What the fuck!" he hissed, "Those fucking pigs. I'll fucking kill every single mother fucker who dared to rape Naruto. Those sick bastards!" the Uchiha paced angrily, "How much times did they assault him before he got away? Was it more then once?"

Byakuya gave a nod of his head, "Males and Females alike took a turn with him. By the order emanating from his body, there was at least five men and three females. so eight for sure but I'm unsure how much times they actually did him before he was able to get away. I'll have to consult with Kurama to find out."

Itachi and Kakashi were inwardly fuming, images of them murdering the villagers played. Black eyes shifted to red, as they stared at the three men in front of him, "Do you know who were responsible for sexually assaulting Naruto-kun?"? Itachi's voice was cold with an underlying tone of fury.

"No, but I know their scent, so if I ever smell it, you'll know." the panther called out, crossing his arms. "But I bet you'll find out either way." Golden eyes glittered with what could only be maliciousness, "There is no way those bastards will keep their mouth close about what they did to the 'demon'."

"Bunch of sick bastards." Shisui muttered.

Stripping the tattered remains of Naruto's outfit, Iruka wasn't prepared for the sight that met his eyes. Lips quivered and tears filled his eyes, a sob threatened to break free. Tan arms wrapped around the small boy tightly. "Oh my Kami-sama! What did they do to you, Naruto." the brunet held the blond securely as he headed towards the pool of water, sitting on a slope he leaned against the rock, and as gently as he could he wiped the boy free of blood, dirt and things he would rather not mention.

As soon as Naruto was clean, Iruka stood up and dried him off and quickly placed the new change of clothes on the blond. Setting him on the ground, Iruka wrapped the towel around his body before picking the blond up and racing towards the cave. He was never letting the small boy go. Not now, not ever and he didn't care two cents what the council had to say on the matter. He would protect Naruto, even if he had to do it himself.

Nearing the cave opening he heard angry words being yelled out by Shisui and knew what was going on. Entering the cave he sat Naruto into Itachi's arms before undoing the towel and drying himself properly. "He was raped, wasn't he?" His voice cracked and at the nod of Byakuya's head, the brunet closed his eyes. "I'm going to speak with the Sandaime-sama. Naruto cannot stay by himself, not after something like this I won't stand for this happening again. I don't care what those bastard council people have to say on the matter."

Kakashi, Itachi and Shisui nodded their heads in agreement. "I'll speak with my mother, she'll be rightly upset when she finds out what occurred as will father. The both of them have been trying for years to get custody over their best friends only son, but were blocked every time, if they find out what happened to him now, they won't take 'No' for an answer, and I know the Shinobi half of the council will back that claim up."

Kazuya stood up, placing the food into the scrolls as well as the other outfits, "Maybe you should leave. Naruto-sama should sleep on a bed, bur first..." The white haired man knelled beside Naruto, a hand placed on the blonds left bicep, glowing an icy blue before he vanished, a seal appeared where Kazuya had been touching moments before. Seeing this both Byakuya and Chitose nodded at each other and approached Naruto's body, ignoring the looks Itachi was directed at their face. Chitose touched the flaxen haired boys right bicep, while Byakuya placed his hand upon the small boys chest, and just as Kazuya done before, they focused chakra into their hands, a seal forming as they vanished from sight.

Kakashi, Itachi, Shisui and Iruka glanced at each other in confusion, wondering what was going on. Just as they were about to verbally question what happened, Kazuya appeared before them. "You must be wondering what is going on." Nods were his only answer, "Well we basically sealed ourselves within Naruto, so we could stay with him and talk to Kurama-sama. Unlike the usual seals, we can come and go as we please since the seals are made out of our own youki. And before you ask, we did this because it will be easier and the fastest way to protect Naruto when your not around. In the long run, this will work out better for we can train Naruto to use his abilities when we think his ready."

The brunet blinked in surprise, before raising a curios brow, "So the three of you and Kyuu, erm, Kurama, are going to be training Naruto so he'll be able to use Kurama's powers effectively?"

Kazuya nodded his head. "It won't be anything to intense at the start. When we deem his ready, he'll start off by doing the basics before working up, after all he has to learn how to, not only control his own chakra, but also the youki that he now as flowing through his veins.

"Youki?" Shisui questioned.

Kazuya nodded, "Youki is the powers demons use, or in other words, it's what you humans will call chakra." the tiger smiled, "It's potent and we can use it in whatever way our element will allow us." Channeling a bit of his youki, Kazuya smirked at the gaping faces in front of him when a rose, molded from glittering ice formed within his hands. "My youki allows me to form ice. Byakuya's youki allows him to use poison. Chitose's youki allows him to utilize lightning, as for Kurama, you would think he controls fire, but he doesn't, Kurama is actually a natural based demon, which means he can control plants. An innocent flower can become quite deadly if Kurama wishes it so. Naruto would surely pick up that ability."

Iruka raised, "Wouldn't that take years to master?"

Shaking his head, Kazuya flashed them a reassuring grin, "No longer then it would take an academy student to graduate from the academy, but Naruto's determination and stubbornness will push him to new heights. I have no doubts that Naruto will revolutionize the shinobi world, perhaps even bring peace to the war torn world full of hate and fear."

Itachi smiled as he ran his fingers through silky blond strands, "And we'll be there to help guide and protect him as he changes the world that we live in." the Uchiha heir glanced up, midnight eyes glistening, "We'll help train him in the Shinobi arts while we'll leave his demon training to you three, plus Kurama." Kakashi, Shisui and Iruka nodded their heads in agreement.

"Of course." Kazuya nodded, "I already knew you'd want to take part in Naruto's training without you saying so." the tiger grinned, "We have no objections, after all, the four of you are, perhaps, the only people we will ever truly trust to take care of Naruto, unconditionally."

Itachi hummed, "I think we should bring this matter up to our clan, Shisui, what do you think?" Shisui nodded, muttering something that sounded like, 'we'll finally be able to adopt Naru-chan into out clan.' The Uchiha heir smiled at that and nodded his head, "Mother won't take 'No' for answer this time, not after what the villagers done."

"I think it's about time the civilian's are put in their place, that includes those meddling elders as well." Shisui stated, watching as his younger cousin stood up with a soft smile as black eyes zeroed in upon the blond, "Mikoto-ba-chan will, more then likely, demonstrate the real reason she was best friends with the 'Akai Chishio no Habanero'" Shisui couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips.

Kakashi grinned, his single eyes glowing in amusement, "I wouldn't mind seeing the council's reaction to facing the temper only those who knew Kushina-sama for so many years can mimic, or be immune to. It should be interesting." Gray eyes glanced towards Naruto, contemplating, "I wonder if Naruto will inherit his mothers fierce temper."

Iruka shivered, before a gleeful look overtook his countenance, "Now that would be interesting. I really hope he does inherit that temper, it will make the council and the villagers think twice before messing with him again." the brunet couldn't help but feel a bit vindictive, especially after what they had done to the small boy.

A flash of light erupted before Chitose appeared, "As interesting as this is..." he stated with a grin, "I think it's about time you head back. And don't forget to take the scrolls." he motioned towards the item in question, "His clothes and food, make sure he eats some when he wakes up, he looked really hungry earlier." Iruka nodded his head. "And when you speak with your leader, tell him that Naruto will have three demon protectors, four when Kurama gets some freedom. The prince of demons is beyond pissed at the treatment Naruto has been receiving. We won't let anyone else harm him." with that said both Kazuya and Chitose vanished, the seal glowing briefly.

Shisui smirked, "Heh, that should put the civilians in their place." With that said, the quartet made there way out of area 44 and towards the Uchiha compound to let Mikoto and Fugaku know what had happened to Naruto and the course of action they should take.

Tsuzuku

(To be continued)

Shini-ko