Hi! I'm Eiralyss and this is my first attempt at a Naruto Fanfic! I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter or whatever other stories I may drag into this. The only thing I do own is my name. One day I shall own the world . . . perhaps.

Shadow Magic

By Eiralyss

Chapter One: Prologue

"Kakashi, I have a mission for you, Shadow Fox (1), and the brats. A man from far away has a year-long protection mission for us. I need you to get Neji, Kiba, Shikamaru, Sakura, and Sasuke. Meet me here in three hours, and for the last time, DON'T BE LATE!"

Tsunade emphasized the last three words with a punch that put a large crack in her desk and sent the piles of paperwork that had accumulated there flying. Kakashi merely nodded and walked out of the office.

Tsunade couldn't help but sigh. He had changed, all of them had, after the hyper-active blonde's 'death'.

Flash Back

A weary blond with a raven haired boy on his back hobbled forward, blood dripping from his numerous wounds. He had a large gash in his chest where the other boy had hit him with a chidori. The battle had left him nearly depleted of chakra and it was only thanks to the fox that he was still alive, much less moving.

The only thought going through his mind was that he had to keep moving, otherwise Sasuke would die.

The raven haired boy had gone over to Orochimaru's side only six months ago, and it took everything Naruto had to get him back before the snake sannin took Sasuke over completely. Now they were both close to death, heading to Konoha.

Naruto had just made it to the gates of the village before he passed out in front of the guards.

Sasuke had been immediately taken to the hospital to have his wounds taken care of, whereas Naruto got a slightly different welcome. Three Anbu had taken him and pinned him to a tree using their kuni. The blood slowly drained from his arms and legs where the knives had pierced him until there was no more blood to drain. Meanwhile the Anbu merely laughed, cold and heartless, glad that the 'demon' was finally dead.

It wasn't until around midnight that Kakashi found him there, without so much as a hint of a chakra signature to show that he was still alive. The vision of the blond soaked in blood tinted silver by the moon light would haunt him for decades.

He had carried the boy as gently as he could to Tsunade, praying beyond hope that the boy was somehow, miraculously alive.

His prayers were unanswered. There was nothing that Tsunade could do but weep and vow vengeance against those who had a hand in his murder. The curse of the necklace had taken another precious person from her.

End Flash Back

Tsunade smiled wryly at the memory. Things were not always as they had seemed, and sometimes you had to look underneath the underneath. Not long after Kakashi had left Naruto's dead body with her had she heard his heart start up again. It looked like the fox didn't want to go down without a fight.

Her little brother was alive.

She knew of the assassination attempts against him, how he had been plotted against since he was barely old enough to walk, but before never had the village come that close to succeeding. There seemed to be only one option left. Tsunade proclaimed Naruto dead and, once he recovered, sent him off with an old friend who owed her a favor. Zaraki Ichigo(2).

Ichigo was a rounin, a wandering shinobi without a village, and incredibly powerful. If no one else, he could protect Naruto, and he owed her for healing him after a particularly grueling fight.

He could give Naruto a new chance at life. A better chance.

The village was never the same after the blond left.

Almost all of the rookie nine were devastated, and Iruka, who had considered Naruto as both a son and a brother, had to be restrained by five Anbu to keep him from destroying those who had killed the boy, including the unconscious Uchiha.

Jiraiya had almost destroyed Kanoha with some help from Gamabunta before Tsunade had managed to tell him that the brat was still alive.

It was two long years before the blond was ever seen in Kanoha again.

Tsunade had nearly choked when she saw the cloaked nin appear in her office. She hadn't even sensed him. Her muscles tensed prepared for an attack when she heard an all too familiar and missed: "Hey baa-chan."

It was obvious that the training with the slightly sadistic Ichigo had paid off, but Naruto had changed. His face was older; missing the baby fat it had two years ago, and his smile tentative, a far cry from his maniac grin. He was quieter too, but she could still see the spark in his eye, the symbol of his undying courage and kindness. He was still her Naruto under this new, tougher exterior.

He refused to tell her the exact training he had gone through, or the extent of his powers. He mentioned only in passing that he had several teachers and that he was infinitely stronger than when he left. 

Tsunade couldn't mask her sadness as her little brother refused to tell her about the life he had been living for the past years, but that sadness was wiped away in an instant when he gave her the foxy grin that she remembered him for. "Ne, baa-chan, I was wondering if you needed a new Anbu captain to protect Konoha."

Naruto, under the alias of "Shadow Fox" had become the Anbu captain in less than a month, with no one in Kanoha realizing who he really was.

Wow, that was longer than I wanted it to be. I wrote this during math after a quiz and decided to run with it. It's a bit different from the previous stories I've written, no? BTW, all reviews are welcome, if I made any mistakes, please correct me, this is an AU and pairings can be voted on in the future. Eiralyss

(1) If you can't guess who this is, you deserve to be dumped in a pond.

(2) Kudos to anyone who can guess which two characters this name comes from. Sadistic, battle crazed, has a sword bigger than him…ring any bells?