READ THIS IMPORTANT NOTICE OR SUFFER! ^_^

IMPORTANT NOTICE! (01/12/2011): I AM UPDATING CURSED DEMON! Alright, now that I have your attention, I am indeed going to be updating Cursed Demon, which now as you can see has been renamed Cursed Demon: Kaibutsu Akebono. I have gone back and done some minor editing, revision and changes to the Four chapters already posted, and will be posting the nearly complete Chapter 5 by the end of this week.

If you are wondering about the new name added on to the Cursed Demon title, is in fact due to this story being shortened into a Part 1 of 3 that will compose the entirety of the Cursed Demon story. Part 1 and Part 2 are will in fact be more like Prologues to Part 3 (the main part of the story) and both Parts 1 and 2 will be shorter than Part 3 by far, each representing about a 2 year period in Naruto's life. They are both their own stories due to the two completely circumstances Naruto finds himself in. Part 3 is going to much much longer and will be an entirely new circumstance for this new Naruto. Don't worry, I'm not getting rid of any pairings I've had planned, matter of fact not too much had to be changed in the first 4 chapters at all. They fit in just fine with my grand plot.

So I would appreciate for all of you who have read Cursed Demon before, to do so again, due to some of the minor changes I've instilled, I believe you will find it a better read and some of the extra stuff I added to be intriguing.

IMPORTANT NOTICE! (01/12/2011):

Cursed Demon: Kaibutsu Akebono 怪物曙

Chapter 1: Akebono 曙

-By Gadalla Rune-

October 10th. All of Konohagakure was celebrating. There were fireworks, parties and large groups of people walking arm in arm down the streets, apparently drunk. All was good in the world, all were happy.

All, except one boy.

He never understood why everyone could be so happy on his own birthday, and at the same time he could be so… sad. Lonely was more the word for it, and an utter depression that he had felt ever since he could remember feeling emotion. The boy looked up as the sky was illuminated in brilliant showers of green, blue, purple and white… never red or yellow though, never those. He liked watching the sky erupt in the glowing sparkling colors, but they seemed to be the only good thing about that day and night.

It had taken him awhile, but after watching the other kids he realized that everyone got presents on their birthdays. They would get something special that would make them smile and jump around… make them happy. He had never gotten a present before, except when the old man gave him his yearly pay and a dresser full of new clothes, and the one time someone had left a pair of goggles at his doorstep with his name on them. Those weren't on his birthday though, and weren't really presents, not in his opinion.

He felt lonelier on his birthday than any other day of the year. He had watched kids during their birthdays, watched them play with multitudes of friends… even kids who weren't friends and had just been invited there by the parents. He wished he could be those kids. He wished he had parents also. He wished for so many things.

But worst of all, his birthday was when all the adults got worse. They would stare at him with such cold and hateful eyes; He didn't know what he had done to deserve it. They would curse him, swear at him, and if he didn't run away, they would chase him; usually waving something hard or pointy as if to beat him with it.

The one time he didn't run away a drunken man had swung on him with a wooden baseball bat, knocking him to the ground where he had proceeded to continue beating him, trying to kill him. But it had suddenly stopped, and all Naruto could remember after that was waking up in a hospital room

The drunks were the most dangerous; he knew that, so he hid usually. In the past he would return home where he would find his apartment trashed and ripped apart. With the old man's money he was able to replace everything, but that never seemed to change what he felt afterwards. So, he hid here on a roof somewhere near the Hokage monument. He felt safe here... almost.

Down, several stories below the boy, he could here them searching for him.

"Where sha hell ish that Ushumaki trash!" The man was just more than a little drunk.

Naruto heard answering yells and growls, wondering where he was. Every year they did this. The adults who ran the orphanage would kick him out when the mobs came and yell at him to draw them away. He would run back to the door and bang on it, crying for help as he was pulled away by rough hands that smelled like alcohol. By the time the mob had worked themselves up enough to start beating him they were usually stopped by men that he recognized to be ninja, though they always wore animal masks.

When he had turned five and had the old man give him his own place it had only gotten worse. That year he had barely escaped his room and onto his roof. From then on he stayed hidden and away during his birthday.

"I bet you heesh on sha roofsh!" This was another, yet equally drunk, man. Naruto didn't bother looking; they probably couldn't climb up any roof without falling on their asses anyway.

Naruto glared at nothing in particular as he hugged his knees tighter. He was an academy student now, was one ever since he started living on his own, been one for three years. He was going to be a ninja, and show all those assholes, all of them ,that he was no loser… though, he wasn't sure that was the reason they hated him. He didn't know why everyone hated him. Even the kids at school either ignored him with a good imitation of their parents or barely tolerated him, calling him names like 'shorty' and 'dobe'.

Now, a ninja student for three years… and there was nothing he could do. If they ever found him he wouldn't be able to outrun grown men. He could hide, sure, if he could get away in time. He had no illusions who would win in a fight between him and one of those drunkerns. He was an eight year old boy, malnourished, and barely able to use weapons of any sort against any one man who was more than twice his height, weight and strength. He was able to buy a couple of blunt practice kunai and shuriken for twice the price of real ones. An outrageous price, but he had paid nonetheless. He was lucky he got them at all, the shopkeeper had been about to throw him out. Of course, blunt practice weapons weren't going to do him a whole lot of good against men intent on hurting him.

Naruto got up slowly, time to move to a different roof.

"Where do you think you're going, demon shit?"

Naruto's heart skipped a beat. A cold ball of ice formed in the pit of his stomach as he turned around slowly. Behind him were three men, or almost men, more like older teenagers who've almost hit twenty. They wore the vest of regular chuunin-rank ninja and each had a kunai in his hand. Naruto took a single step back.

Neither one of them was drunk in the slightest.

Yakushi Kabuto sped through the night, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. The village he was supposedly aligned to had given him, and his other two genin teammates, patrol duty. It was basic D-rank mission criteria, though, he had used the time to go examine the new Chuunin Finals battle-arena that was being constructed. With all the celebration going on, no one was bothering to guard the nearly finished complex. The plans and blue-prints he had gathered would please his real master greatly.

Kabuto mused to himself about the lax security of Konohagakure during this particular time of year. You would think that after the catastrophe of the Kyuubi no Kitsune nearly decimating the village and losing their precious Yondaime Hokage – arguably the strongest ninja of his time – that the village would use this day to mourn. But, it seemed they felt that celebrating the defeat of the Nine-tails and the noble sacrifice of the Hokage was the best way to show remembrance for those who were killed on that fateful night.

"It was YOUR fault you little SHIT!"

Kabuto paused and stopped on the next roof, his musings interrupted for the moment. Looking to his left he saw a peculiar scene unfolding before him. Three men, chuunin by their vests, had cornered a single boy on a rooftop; a mere two streets from him.

"It was your fault my parents died!" the man, who was apparently leading the assault, pulled out a second kunai to compliment the one he was already holding. Kabuto noted the other two were holding kunai as well. "This night, your dead DEMON! Do you hear me? DEAD! No one's going to know, no one's going to care, and NO ONE'S going to come and help you!"

Kabuto raised a single interested eyebrow. Demon? Could it be…? As the three men advanced on the frightened boy, Kabuto frowned and thought as quickly as his relatively high IQ would allow.

There were a lot of options to this little scenario, if he thought the boy was who he thought he was, that is. Of course, who else would be called 'demon' in this village of all places? He had always wanted to get close to the boy and converse with him on his little 'condition'; but that senile old man, claiming to be a Hokage, had forbidden anyone from speaking to the boy of it, or mentioning it to their own children. No other ninja were allowed to approach him either except for academy teachers and ANBU who were responsible for watching him, not until he graduated at least.

Kabuto supposed they were good rules, ones that would ensure that the boy would live long enough to graduate. Of course, if the man wasn't so senile maybe the villagers and his own ninja would actually listen to him for once. He had heard plenty of second hand accounts of men boasting of how they had chased the little 'demon-child' away.

Kabuto crouched down, preparing to leap if he felt the need to. He isn't particularly excelling in any part of his ninja training. The Uchiha clan's newest little genius seems to be taking up the spotlight. Kabuto 'tsked', the Uchihas, a corrupt clan that had been wiped out three years ago by one of their own, leaving only little Sasuke as the sole survivor. Him and his older brother of course.

Kabuto didn't really care for the Uchiha heir, the boy was a gloomy brat in his opinion, and too stuck up for his own good. Maybe the reason Naruto isn't excelling is because he isn't receiving the right environments or the right chances? With the amount of potential the boy had it shouldn't of been that hard of a decision.

And of course, tonight his ANBU escort probably isn't around with how far this scenario seems to have escalated. Kabuto made up his mind in a split-second as the three men leapt towards the boy while he vainly tried to turn and run away.

Naruto turned to run when the men leapt at him, murder apparent in their eyes... and stumbled and tripped. He hit the roof tiles, slamming his chin painfully, and knew it was the end. He covered his head with his hands and curled into a little ball, praying to whatever gods that were out there that it wouldn't be too painful before he died.

Nothing happened for one second. Two seconds. Three. Five. Ten.

What are they doing? Waiting to see if I'll cry? The thing was he already was crying; he had been ever since the man had called him a demon. He didn't know why people called him that, but it hurt to be hated enough to be called something so evil.

After his sobs had died down, and nearly two minutes had passed, Naruto slowly lifted his hands to peer between them to see why they hadn't attacked him yet. His fear was jumping around in his stomach still, like boiling grease when it begins to bubble and snap, but he forced himself to look anyways. What he saw did nothing to alleviate his fear, but more than anything confused him.

Before him stood apparently another ninja with his back turned to him, though he didn't wear a vest like the others. Blue and gray loose-fitting clothes draped his lean frame, black sandals on his feet.

Naruto could see that his silvery-grey hair reflected the fireworks as they continued to erupt throughout the night sky. Though, when the new shinobi turned to face him he didn't look old at all. In fact, he was young, only six or so years older than Naruto himself, and he wore circular glasses that hid his eyes through the multi-colored reflections of the fireworks. At this mysterious ninja's feet lay the bodies of the three men that had tried to attack him. They weren't moving.

The new ninja took a step towards the fallen boy, but stopped when the blond flinched at the movement. Kabuto sighed and put on his most pleasant smile, the one that everyone seemed to see him as likeable and innocent for, and slowly crouched down, resting his elbows on his knees. "Hello there. I'm Yakushi Kabuto. I'm sorry about them…" Kabuto jerked his thumb behind him at the three bodies. "They won't be bothering you again, okay?" Naruto just stared at him, uncomprehending. Kabuto just smiled pleasantly, shrugged and stood up as if to go. Before he had even turned around all the way though…

"Wait!"

The cry was half sob half plea, and Kabuto couldn't help but feel pity for the wretched thing. He couldn't possibly fathom what it would be like for everyone to hate you, but he did know what it was like to grow up without a real family, and this kid had had none at all.

Kabuto turned around slowly, a curious and expectant look plastered on his face. "Yes...?"

Naruto had started getting up but froze when Kabuto turned around. The blond bit his lip, looking anywhere but at Kabuto. He didn't want to say something wrong to make him angry at him, but he had to know, "Why…why did you help me?"

Kabuto frowned playfully, "Why, whatever could you mean Naruto-kun? You were in danger from these fools here…" Kabuto nudged a corpse with his toe, "… and I came to help. Why wouldn't I have helped you?" He was going to have to dispose of the bodies soon, but that was less important than this at the moment.

Naruto, for the moment, ignored how the gray-haired ninja new his name, "Because everyone here hates me." The words were bitter, and full of self-hatred.

Naruto suddenly felt hands on him, helping him up so he was standing. The taller Kabuto crouched down again so he was level with the blonde's eyes. "I don't hate you Naruto-kun, and personally I don't think its right that everyone else hates you."

The boy merely frowned, confused at these words. No one had ever said anything remotely like that to him before. "Y-you do?" at Kabuto's assuring nod, Naruto felt himself smiling, and tears started slowly falling down his cheeks. "Y-you really mean it?… (sniff)… you aren't just trying to trick me?"

Kabuto smiled warmly, "Naruto-kun, I swear to you, on my nindou, that I meant everything I said. You are more than you know, more than this village will ever realize. You deserve so much better, you deserve more than anyone, especially that Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto visibly brightened at the mention that he was better than the annoying Uchiha. But he still seemed slightly embarrassed and uncomfortable with someone telling him that they actually thought something good of him. He couldn't help but mumble about how he should probably get home and fix his room, and whether he was going to have any ramen left for breakfast.

Kabuto kept smiling and placed his hand gently on Naruto's shoulder, "Since you look hungry, how about I go get you a nice steamy bowel of ramen? I hear that its your favorite. The treat will be on me."

Naruto suddenly turned from a not-so-certain boy, into a bouncing kid with a major addiction to over-dosages of sodium and the ramen noodles found in it. "Really? Your treat? There's this one place called Ichiraku! They don't treat me bad there; they just treat me like the rest of the customers. Come on! I'll show you the way!"

Kabuto only smiled as he pushed his glasses back up his nose with one of his fingers, he already knew where Ichiraku's was. He had observed the boy there on a number of occasions. Nonetheless he allowed the now hyper-active blond to lead him to the ramen stand.

He quickly whispered into the radio strapped to his neck, informing his teammates, Yoroi and Misumi, to dispose of the bodies before an ANBU patrol arrived.

On the way there Kabuto performed a relatively easy genjutsu that would fool all passersby that saw them that they were just two normal revelers wandering the streets during the largest celebration of the year. Good thing he did to. Away from the dark allies where Naruto usually hid, the city streets were full to bursting and the taverns and restaurants were as well; almost no one was home this night. The villagers partied and even ninjas who didn't have a mission at the time joined in the revelry. Some ninjas like Kabuto and his team were given general patrol duty since Konohagakure was exposed to any attack from the outside during the celebration. Though, the threat really wasn't that imminent, so low-ranking genin usually got the job.

Ichiraku Ramen Stand was one of the few eateries that didn't have a large amount of people crowding it's seats. After all, Ichiraku's was only a ramen stand, and most who wanted to party this night went either to expensive restaurants, or to bars and taverns to get drunk. Regardless, there was still a couple of customers buying some of their favorite ramen. Kabuto dropped the genjutsu as they approached the small restaurant.

Naruto sat down in the same seat he always sat and as usual, instead of waiting for his service, "Hey! Jiisan! Your best customer is back!" Naruto grinned widely, swinging his feet idly a few feet from the floor.

Ichiraku, a large gentle-faced man came from the back wiping down a glass cup with a white towel, wearing his ever present apron, "Ah, Naruto. I thought you'd be in bed already." Ichiraku looked to Kabuto who was apparently in Naruto's company, "But I suppose you got yourself a babysitter to make sure you didn't get yourself into any trouble. What can I get both of you?"

Naruto squinted his eyes and stuck out his lower lip at being told he needed a babysitter, but nonetheless he ordered in an eager voice, "I'll have some miso pork as usual!" Naruto pointed over to Kabuto and covered his mouth with his hand as if sharing a secret with Ichiraku, "He's paying for all of it." The whisper was none too quiet.

Ichiraku gave the silver-haired shinobi a pitying look and Kabuto had to wonder if he had brought enough money. He had seen Naruto eat on occasion. The boy seemed to have a black-hole situated within the bowels of his stomach. Either way, he would pay. Kabuto had never broken a promise to anyone (when he had truly meant it), and he wasn't going to start now. It was part of his nindou. He smiled his usually innocent smile at Ichiraku and ordered, "I'll have the same as Naruto-kun here, but heavy on the vegetables, please." Kabuto couldn't understand how Naruto could get any nourishment from the salty noodles without any sources of vitamins and minerals in it. Unless you counted sodium, of course, lots and lots of sodium.

Ichiraku nodded and turned to head back through the door and into the kitchen in the rear of the store. "Ayame! Two miso porks! One with heavy veggies!"

The answering call came from a girl who, from what Kabuto had seen of her, was close to his age; the daughter of Ichiraku, "Yes, Otosan!"

Kabuto turned to Naruto as he excitedly swung his feet. The blond was probably thinking of what his next ten or twenty bowels of ramen were going to be exactly. Kabuto sighed, this may lighten his wallet a good bit, but this was worth it by far. Not like he didn't have more money anyways. "Naruto-kun, I was hoping to talk to you about something." Kabuto performed another elementary genjutsu that would make onlookers believe they were sitting quietly waiting for their food, or eating it when they got it.

Naruto turned to look at Kabuto, curiosity written plainly across his face. He still wasn't used to someone treating him so nicely and actually wanting to talk to him, much less with him. "What is it, Kabuto-sama?"

Kabuto grinned at the title, "To you I'm just Kabuto or Kabuto-san, Naruto-kun."

Naruto nodded, "Okay then, what is it Kabuto-san?"

"It's about the villagers and how they treat you, Naruto-kun." Kabuto watched Naruto's reaction as the boy went from excited to slightly crestfallen. "Naruto-kun, you don't deserve such treatment from all the villagers, especially from the other ninja and the other children your age."

Naruto shrugged, becoming more and more dejected as the seconds went by. "Everyone hates me… I don't know what I did to deserve it, but I must of done something. Besides, not everyone is like that; Ichiraku likes me and actually lets me buy his food at the same price everyone else buys it; and the old man treats me nicely to."

Kabuto sighed, putting just a tad bit of exasperation into it, "Naruto, Ichiraku didn't live here when everyone started hating you, and he only treats you the way he does because you eat more than ten customers combined. As for the Hokage, he only treats you that way because its his job and he's scared of you. Even if it were true that they actually liked you, that's only two people out of thousands, Naruto-kun."

Naruto was now so deflated that he wasn't even looking at Kabuto, instead he was fiddling with the wood grain on the restaurant counter and staring at nothing in particular. "Scared of me? Why?"

From Naruto's tone of voice, Kabuto could tell that the blond was beginning to believe him. It wasn't that hard, everyone already hated him; it wasn't a far leap to assume that Ichiraku and the Hokage weren't that nice after all. Just a few white lies and twists to the truth and he's ready to consider anything I offer. "Yes, Naruto-kun, the Hokage and everyone else in this village is scared of you. Because you see, its not what you did that the villagers hate you, its what you are."

Naruto looked up finally, confused. "What I am? What am I that's so scary? And why does everyone hate me for it?"

Kabuto could feel the edge of anger creeping into the boys voice. Ichiraku set down both their bowels in front of them and left for the kitchen with a quick "Enjoy!" Kabuto ignored his ramen for the moment. He had the boy's rapt attention and he wasn't going to lose it. "Because, you're special, Naruto-kun. You are capable of so much. So, naturally, everyone is afraid of you and what you can do, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were slightly jealous either. You have the ability to be one of the greatest ninja in this village and no one wants to give you the chance because they're scared of you and what you might be able to do."

Naruto frowned, almost believing, almost not, "I don't feel that special."

Kabuto smiled and let some of the eagerness show in his face and voice, "Tell me Naruto, is there anything that makes you different? Anything at all, even the smallest little thing."

Naruto screwed up his face, trying to think of anything that was different about him from the other kids. It only took a moment before he started remembering how many times he got hurt.

Kabuto watched as Naruto's face went from thinking to wonderment, then to excitement, "I know what it is!"

Kabuto waited patiently for Naruto to explain. Of course, he already knew what it was, more than Naruto actually, but he needed the blond to realize how he was different from everyone else on his own.

Naruto hesitated only a moment. Kabuto didn't seem to hate him, even though he was different, so he might as well tell him. "I… I used to watch the other kids at school and at the playgrounds. They sometimes got hurt, like a scraped knee or something. Once I watched a boy break his leg when he jumped from the swing. They would come back the next day, with bandages on their scrapes, and the boy with a broken leg came back with a cast. He told all the other kids that he had to stay in the cast for six weeks before his bones healed."

Naruto hesitated again, but plowed on, "I used to get scrapes all the time when running away from the adults, usually when they chased me from the stores or from the playground, and once a man hit me with a baseball bat. I'm not sure but I think he broke my ribs… every time no one came to help me or give me a bandage, except those masked ninja, but they just made sure I wasn't dieing or something. I didn't need it, though. The next day I would be as good as new, not hurt at all. Even when my ribs were broken, the next morning I was just fine."

Naruto frowned, thinking about that, and suddenly got angry, "Is that why everyone hates me! Because I don't get hurt like they do?"

Kabuto smiled proudly and nodded, "Yes, Naruto, that is why they hate you. You can't get hurt like everyone else because you have something very special inside you that no one else has. They fear you for it because you're different, because they don't have it, and probably because some of them wish they had it to, but never can."

Kabuto smiled inwardly as Naruto clenched his fists in anger, then suddenly relaxed, crestfallen and dejected once again. "No one here will ever like me will they? They'll always hate me or fear me, even the old man…"

Kabuto felt his pulse quicken, he had to strike quickly now, he had to strike hard and true.

"Yes, Naruto. They will always hate you here. To them, you will always be the 'demon-child'." Kabuto's smile changed to one of triumph as the already depressed Naruto became even more so. As the first tear burned a wet line down Naruto's face Kabuto struck again, but this time, in a different way.

"But I know somewhere that's different…"

Naruto looked up so quickly that he almost gave himself whiplash, his wide-eyed stare riveted on Kabuto's face. "What do you mean different?"

Kabuto relaxed his muscles and mentally slowed his pulse, he couldn't get too excited now, the boy was all ready to be convinced. Now, all he had to do was convince him. "A place that no one here knows about, a place where you'll be welcomed, Naruto-kun. A place where there are people and children like you. People who were hated by their own villages and clans, who had no one to love them. They are different like you to, not exactly like you, but in their own unique ways that made other people hate them. Even the people there who can be called 'normal' don't hate the ones who are different; everyone has their place there, everyone is happy to be there. They would rather be nowhere else in the world, because there they are accepted and treated as equals."

Naruto's face was one of such wide-eyed wonder that Kabuto almost chuckled, but he quickly got serious again. He could tell the boy was believing everything he said from the way he hung on to every word. Now all Naruto was waiting for was Kabuto to tell him why he was mentioning this. Kabuto hesitated for a moment, but he was so certain of this outcome that he decided to tell the truth. Before he did, though, he strengthened the genjutsu slightly... just in case.

"Naruto, what I'm about to tell you and ask of you will require an answer not at this moment, but by the morning you'll have to tell me your answer."

Naruto looked confused for a moment, but asked something rather intelligent for once, "Okay, but why are you telling me this? If you tell me, I promise to answer your question by the morning."

Kabuto smiled, amused. Everyone treated the boy as a loud idiot, and he did nothing to disabuse everyone of such thoughts. The boy, however, had to be quick-witted and perceptive enough to have survived so long, on his own, in a village that was so hostile towards him. "I'll tell you why Naruto-kun, because mostly I like you and I don't think anyone deserves to hurt someone so special. The reason I'm telling you this, and the reason why I like you, is because I don't really belong to this village."

Naruto's eyes widened for a moment, but he didn't say anything only waited for Kabuto to continue. "Naruto-kun, I am a spy. You know what that is, right? I believe you learned it in your first year of the academy in Basic Shinobi 101. I belong to a different ninja village, known as Otogakure no Sato. The Village Hidden in Sound, its north of here but not too far away, and so far, no one else knows about it but the ninja loyal to it. I work for a man like you, Naruto-kun. He was once a Konoha shinobi, just like you and me, but they didn't give him what he deserved. So, he left and formed his own ninja village where he began to take in those who were treated wrongly, because they were different and more special than others."

Naruto looked like a little child hearing the grandest fairy-tale of them all, "Who… who is he?"

Kabuto got close, and acted as if he was whispering to the boy, though no one could hear them anyways. "He is the Otokage. A great man, a genius who would've been the Hokage if someone else didn't take it from him. You would've been treated fairly and with much attention if he had become head of this village, for he recognizes the potential in others and brings it out of them, making them the best they can be. And most of all he makes sure they get the respect and love they deserve. His name is Orochimaru-sama, the great Snake Sannin. One of the most powerful ninja in the world."

Naruto was leaning on the edge of his seat, looking to all the world like a bundle of fireworks ready to shoot into the sky. "And your question that I have to answer now that you told me this?" the hope in the blonde's voice was almost too much. Kabuto would so hate to shatter such hope.

Kabuto sat up straight, causing the boy to lean even more towards him, "I want to know that if you are willing and prepared to leave this place, Naruto-kun. To come with me to Otogakure. There you'll become an Oto ninja, any ties you have to this village will be cut. Everyone, including Ichiraku and especially the Hokage, will be your enemy the day you leave. You'll never be able to come back, Naruto-kun. Do you understand what I'm asking you?"

Naruto nodded slowly, full understanding of the situation dawning on him. "Yes I understand, Kabuto-san."

Kabuto smirked, "And your answer? Or do you need to wait still?"

Naruto jumped down off his seat and grabbed his ramen bowel. He was eager with his next words, "I'll be ready in the morning." As Naruto left he turned around just long enough to look Kabuto in the eye, "I won't tell anyone about you, and remember, you're paying!" before he turned to go though he said one last thing, "And… and thank you Kabuto-san… for everything."

Kabuto watched the blond disappear around the corner. He had no worries about the blond; the genjutsu wouldn't wear off until the boy got back to his apartments. As Kabuto lost sight of Naruto he deactivated the genjutsu on himself and grabbed his bowel of ramen. He paid the amount for two bowels and exited Ichiraku with a smile on his face. He was returning home tomorrow, wouldn't his master be surprised with what he brought in. And happily surprised at that.

It was morning of the next day as three shapes sped from rooftop to rooftop.

"Are you sure about this Kabuto? If he decides not to go you could seriously jeopardize our position here."

Kabuto rolled his eyes; Akado Yoroi was having trouble believing that he had convinced the 'demon-child' of Konoha to defect to Otogakure. Kabuto only turned his head to regard the usually quiet man for only a second as they leapt, form roof to roof, towards Naruto's apartment. The black glasses and the face mask hid his expression, but Kabuto knew he was angry. Yoroi, and the other third of their team, Tsurugi Misumi, truly disliked it when Kabuto went and did things on his own without consulting with them.

"Do not worry Yoroi-san, he has already decided to leave and he won't be changing his mind, I can assure you of that." The two masked men were going to have to deal with it anyways, they may be four years older than him, but he was the leader of this group and far stronger than either of them.

Misumi merely grunted something that could've been agreement. He too didn't talk too much, but behind his round glasses, much like Kabuto's, the silver-haired spy could tell he to was angry as well. Oh well, as long as they don't complain too much they can be as angry as they want.

It didn't take long for the trio to reach one of the more dejected areas of Konohagakure. Here was Naruto's apartment, a ratty thing in need of repair and maintenance. Kabuto grimaced in disgust at the sight of the buildings and the perpetual amount of garbage in the streets. No matter, Naruto-kun will be finding all he deserves once we reach home.

As they landed on a roof next to the apartment building where Naruto lived, Misumi pointed down towards the street. "Hey, that blond kid down there with the backpack, that's him right?"

Kabuto looked in the direction his teammate was pointing and saw that Naruto was sitting on the stoop of his apartment building, a single backpack held in one hand. "Yes, that's him. Come, lets retrieve our quarry before we leave this 'lovely' place." Lovely was said with a hint of disdain and disgust, and pertained not to just Naruto's neighborhood, but all of Konohagakure.

Kabuto used his senses, scanning the area and assuring himself that no ANBU or other ninja were present before leading his teammates towards their prize.

As they jumped down, landing lightly a few feet from Naruto, the blond jumped up at the sight of them and ran towards Kabuto, slowing down when he noticed Yoroi and Misumi. "Who are they? Are they from Otogakure to?"

Yoroi flashed Kabuto a dangerous look. Apparently, he was not pleased at not being told that the silver-haired Sound Nin had informed Naruto of Oto and the fact that they were indeed spies. Kabuto merely waved a dismissive hand at Yoroi, no doubt pissing him off even more, and turned back to the small boy before them. "Yes, Naruto-kun, they're from Otogakure as well, and part of my team. Did you think about my request some more last night? Did you change your mind about anything?"

Naruto shook his head, "Nope! I definitely want to go with you, Kabuto-san!" The smile slipped a little as the boy's face became grim, "I hate it here, and I believe you about Oto. I want to go there and meet Orochimaru."

Kabuto grinned and ruffled the boys hair playfully, he had not doubt the boy barely got any sleep last night from excitement, "I thought you'd say that. Although, from now on, Naruto-kun, it would be best to refer to our Otokage as Orochimaru-sama. He tends to be a stickler when it comes to formalities."

Naruto brightened at the reference that he was now a sound nin, and that Orochimaru was now his Otokage as well. "Orochimaru-sama, gotcha!"

Misumi came forward, apparently warming up to the boy a little bit, "Well, I'm glad you decided to say yes Naruto." otherwise he would have been tempted to kill him on the spot, "You'll be very welcomed back in Sound Village." The masked man turned around and crouched down, "You can't travel as fast as us, so you'll be riding on my back from here to sound village. It will be faster this way and will only take us a few days to get there."

Naruto hesitated only long enough for Kabuto to nod his assurance before climbing onto Misumi's back. The masked-man wrapped his arms behind him to support the blond and had Yoroi take Naruto's backpack. Kabuto nodded his approval at the arrangement and turned west. "Alright, or destination is the west gate, and then we'll circle around and head north. I'll be in charge of the genjutsu so the guards don't notice us."

In truth, no one would realize they were gone till it was too late. Well, at least notice that Naruto was gone anyway. Kabuto and his team supposedly had a 'mission' to the west and were expected to be leaving this morning. But since Naruto rarely showed up to the academy anyways, it would be several days before that old man known as the Hokage noticed he was missing. When he finally got a search party assembled, Naruto would be far from Konoha's grasp. In more ways than one.

Yoroi and Tsurugi nodded their assent and as one the trio leapt upwards and onto the rooftops.

Naruto had almost yelled at that first leap, he had never jumped so high before. He had always climbed to the rooftops, but this was… exhilarating. He got used to it quickly, but each time Misumi jumped, his stomach would still try to flutter out of his chest as he saw the streets pass by several stories below.

It hadn't taken long for them to reach the west gate. Here, they merely walked by the guard station and out through the open gates of Konoha. Naruto had expected them to ask something along the lines of 'Hey! Where are you taking the demon-boy?' But then he remembered Kabuto had mentioned something about using a genjutsu. They were hard to understand in class, but Naruto had learned enough that a genjutsu affected people's mind in a certain way within a certain distance of the user, and sometimes a genjutsu could be 'attached' to a certain target. Naruto supposed Kabuto had made the guards think he was an extra heavy backpack or something like that.

Either way, no sooner were they out through the gates, than they were jumping into the trees and along the massive branches that made up Fire country's forests. They only traveled west for a minute or two then Kabuto veered left and they were suddenly heading north.

A couple hours passed before anyone spoke again.

"So, kid, I can only assume that you are excited about leaving behind that wretched Konoha and coming with us to Oto." This was from Yoroi, who finally seemed to be making an attempt at talking to the blond.

Naruto grinned, flashing teeth, "I'm not excited. I'm Super-Excited! I can't wait to get there!"

Yoroi's eyes crinkled around his black sunglasses as he smirkd behind his mask at the childish term. He usually didn't like kids, but this one seemed alright, plus he couldn't help but feel some pity for the hyperactive blond. He was pretty much the villages savior and was treated the worse out of everyone there. "Well, that's good to hear. But are you sure you're not nervous or anything?"

Naruto's excitement died down a good bit at that question, and he began to study the knot that tied Tsurugi's hitai-ate to his head. "Yeah… I am. I'm excited and all, but I don't really know how everyone is going to treat me…"

Yoroi chuckled, "Don't worry kid, you'll like it there, I'm sure of it." And with that he moved to the front with Kabuto to converse about something.

Misumi turned his head to look at Naruto over his shoulder, "Don't worry Naruto, I'm sure you're bound to make some friends when we get there." Misumi usually didn't like kids either, but the blond was difficult to dislike for some reason that he couldn't place.

Naruto nodded. He was excited about leaving and about everything that Kabuto, Misumi, and Yoroi had told him. But he was more than a little nervous, something caused by the hope that was bubbling inside him. It would break him now if everyone at Otogakure treated him the same as they did in Konoha.

The rest of the journey that day was made in silence. They stopped in a rather large tree, and made a quick camp. The men slept in a triangle, with Naruto in the middle, one of them awake at all times to keep watch. It made him feel safe, a feeling that was all too rare for the blond. He slept with almost no nightmares that night.

The next few days were spent that way. Rising to the sun to travel, and then setting up camp at sundown. During the day all three men would take turns quizzing Naruto about what he had learned in the academy. Naruto began to enjoy the questions, because if he didn't know the answer they wouldn't yell at him; instead, one of them would inform him of what it was, and sometime during the next day they would ask him again to see if he remembered.

Before they went to bed every night, Kabuto would have Naruto go through his basic kata and jutsu, making small comments and adjustments here and there. Naruto was horrible at the Bunshin no Jutsu, but Kabuto made him do it over and over again, until he could finally make at least one viable Bunshin. Still Kabuto was pretty sure that it would never be a useful jutsu for boy, and he'd probably never be able to make more than one or two.

Naruto had shown them his Oiroke no Jutsu the second night and had gotten nose-bleeds out of all three. After Kabuto had stopped his impressive flow of blood, he seemed to be amazed that an eight year old boy could know so much about the female anatomy; and then, in a much sterner tone, warned Naruto against using that jutsu. At least not too often. Naruto's taijutsu was almost non-existent, and Kabuto had to almost re-teach all of the basic kata to the boy.

By the time the forest ended into green plains dotted with monolithic rocks, Naruto felt as if he had learned more during their few days of traveling than he had during his three years in the academy.

That night when Naruto had finished his kata and had gone through his known jutsu, excluding the Oiroke no Jutsu, Kabuto fished out a small scroll from his pack. He removed a small piece of paper with a seal from the scroll and it grew to four times its size in a puff of smoke. Nearly as tall as Naruto himself. The scroll was huge, and Kabuto gave it to Naruto, instructing him to put the seal on it when he was done so it would shrink again and fit in his backpack.

Naruto looked like a child in a candy store who was told he could have any, and as much, candy as he wanted when Kabuto handed him the over-sized scroll. "I took that from the secret vaults just for you Naruto-kun." Naruto didn't seem to hear him, hunkering down to pour over one of the first jutsus on the scroll, 'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu'.

Kabuto grinned at the boys enthusiasm. In fact he had stolen the scroll planning on leaving it around for someone to find, which he did. He later retrieved it from a chuunin a little older than him by the name of Mizuki. The chuunin had given up the scroll without learning anything, in fear that Kabuto would report him. Kabuto had taken back the scroll with a smirk, planning on bringing it back to the vault. He had no doubt that the kinjutsu in the scroll would fester in Mizuki's mind, until he would eventually try to steal it again sometime in the not too distant future.

In all effect it would have caused a bit of chaos, Kabuto's own form of mischief. Which made him not too different from Naruto in that aspect. Though, the blonde's pranks ran to the more comical side than anything else. When Kabuto had met Naruto, however, he had made the decision to keep the scroll. He had released the homing seal on it so that the senile old man couldn't observe whoever had it through his cheap scrying tricks. Kabuto figured Naruto would be one who could master such techniques given time.

"Naruto-kun?" Naruto looked up at Kabuto, distracted for the moment from his reading, "That scroll I stole from the Hokage for you. Its yours to keep. Think of it as a belated birthday gift."

Naruto smiled widely, and then hid his face as he attempted to make it look like he was reading. Kabuto could see the tears falling from the boys face as they made little wet splotches on the thick vellum of the scroll. "Th-thank you Kabuto-san."

Kabuto smiled gently and ruffled the blonde's hair before sitting back against the tree they were resting in, and let Naruto study the scroll as he watched the stars wheel overhead. I suppose that Mizuki will still try to steal the kinjutsu scroll sometime. Heheh, too bad I won't be there to see his face when he realizes it's already been stolen.

The next day they traveled along the ground, since there weren't that many trees in sight. The land around them was mostly flat land with some soft rolling hills and green grass as far as the eye could see. Instead of forests the ground was dotted with multitudes of rocks jutting out from the ground, some as high as a three-storied house.

Sometime around noon they stopped in front of one particularly large monolith. This one had to be the size of a stadium, classifying it as a good-sized hill.

Kabuto walked up to the smooth surface and seemed to randomly stick both hands on the rock at different points. He then channeled a small amount of chakra into where his hands touched the rock, and then quickly stepped back as the rock face seemed to open. The rock split in two revealing two very large, and thick, stone doors that slowly swung open. They made no sound at all, except a strong gust of wind that ruffled their clothes and hair for a moment after they opened all the way. Before them, Naruto could see a set of stairs that led into darkness.

Misumi had set Naruto down and Yoroi had given him his backpack. Both men went into the darkness first. Kabuto turned to the nervous and slightly frightened Naruto, smiling his gentle smile, "Come Naruto-kun, its time to meet your new master." He gestured towards the stairs and the shadows.

Naruto swallowed, and slowly stepped forward into the darkness. Kabuto came behind him and the stone doors swung shut without a sound except some rushing air. They were enveloped in such darkness that Naruto thought he could touch it.

A bluish light appeared behind Naruto illuminating the stairs several feet downwards before fading away into darkness; he could see Misumi and Yoroi's backs as they walked downwards into the shadows. They seemed to know where they were going. Kabuto was the one making the light as pale blue chakra enveloped his one hand, creating a make-shift torch.

Kabuto put his other hand gently on the nervous boy's shoulder and began to lead him down the stairs. Down to his new master.

To his new life.

A/N: Alright this is actually edited and updated, which is what i'm doing with all four chapter's of Cursed Demon before I update with the fifth chapter.

As many of you can see the title has been changed to Cursed Demon: Kaibutsu Akebono 怪物曙. Kaibutsu 怪物 means 'monster' while Akebono 曙 means 'begining' or 'dawn' The title of this chapter is also Akebono 曙. I've already decided how this story will be going now, and its actually different from what i had originally planned. Its better in my opinion. But due to how the story plays out Curse Demon: Kaibutsu Akebono will only be part 1 in a 3 part trilogy. This story and Part 2 will be relatively short and will be more of Prologues than anything else. Part 3 will be the main story after the events of Part 1 and 2. So I hope to have chapters 2, 3 and 4 edited, revised and modified by the end of the week where i will then post the new chapter 5.