Author's Note: (I FINALLY convinced Maskmaker88 to let me adopt this story. Of course, he didn't know that I already had the first chapter done before he said yes, or that the second is almost done. Ah well, enjoy and criticize!)

The sound of labored breaths mixed with tiny feet pattering against stone echoed through the streets of Konoha as a small blonde child ran for dear life, faint shouts far behind him encouraging him to pick up his pace. Turning into an ally, he came to a screeching halt as he saw a dead end at the far back.

He decided that this was as good a hiding place as any, seeing as the men couldn't have seen him turn here. He hobbled over to the back of the ally and rested his back against the cold brick wall whose shadow would hopefully obscure him from the rest of the world, including his attackers.

While taking this moment of rest, the boy decided to contemplate as to why he was being chased in the first place. He was walking home from the ramen stand when he happened to pass a local bar. A few men were outside, passing a large bottle to one another and taking a swig. One of them looked at the boy with an expression that seemed to be a mix between confusion, dull surprise, and anger.

He shouted some insult at the boy, to which he was quick to respond with his own off comment about the man's age and weight. After that, he had to run as the man quickly finished the bottle, broke the bottom off against the bar wall and held it up threateningly while saying something about "gutting him inside out".

The boy didn't really understand why the people of the village disliked him so much; his only clue was that he was apparently a "monster" to be feared. He never really understood that either. He didn't have fangs or claws, and he certainly didn't have scales or fur like the monsters he read about in his storybooks.

He recalled a villager once whispering something about a demon while shooting him a distasteful glare that sent a shiver up his spine. But he wasn't a demon, he barely knew what that was, outside from references to the Nine Tailed Demon Fox, or Kyuubi no Kitsune. And he certainly wasn't anything like that. He saw the artist drawn pictures of the beast. Some were different from others, one of which depicting it as a three headed beast that breathed fire and controlled the elements. Yeah, he defiantly couldn't do anything like that.

So for the most part he just assumed it was because he was born on the same day the demon attacked. Not fair, but he could somewhat understanding disliking someone who gets to celebrate on a day in which hundreds had died. Though, he rarely celebrated his birthday as there were never any willing participants to celebrate with besides the village leader, the Hokage.

He smiled as the "Old Man" came up in his train of thought. He was one of the few people in the village who were kind towards him. He actually treated him li-

"There he is!"

The boy was broken from his thoughts as a loud, somewhat shaky voice slurred. He looked up to see the three men standing at the end of the ally, two of which brandishing makeshift weapons such as a broken broom handle and a shovel. The boy cursed for not paying attention to the entrance as the three made their slow, albeit faltered approach.

The one brandishing a broken sake bottle managed to stagger ahead of his companions, reddened eyes lazily fixated on the quivering form before him as he slurred, "Whasya gonna do now, eh brat?"

The boy wanted to step back in fear; however the cold brick wall behind him glued him to the spot to watch his attackers inching closer. He crouched into the corner, arms covering his face as he awaited pain to come.

Meanwhile, two figures stood overhead, silently watching the scene that unfolded before them. One of them took a moment to briefly look up to the position of the full moon that seemed almost unnaturally large tonight as it loomed over the village, before nudging the other figure. The two had to suppress letting themselves smile as the midnight hour was soon approaching, indicating something they had been waiting some time for.

Back in the ally, the boy was attempting to keep from crying as his assailants were but a few feet from his crouching form. He chanced a look at them, only to regret it as the lead man tossed his broken bottle at the boy. Thankfully, his inebriated state caused his aim to be off by at least a few feet, and the bottle shattered harmlessly against the wall, bits of glass scattering about the ground.

"Aw shit," cursed the man as he stumbled a bit to the left. "Now I gots ta use mah hands…" he held up two shaky, halfway clenched fists, seeming to try to keep from falling as he drew close to the boy. He reared one of his fists back only to fall on his backside with a loud "thud." His friends laughed at the spectacle, much to the man's chagrin.

The boy decided to take this opportunity to exit the ally, as the men were too busy picking each other up off the ground. He used the wall to spring forth and managed to duck under one of his assailants' weapon being haphazardly swung at him. He left the ally and made a mad dash for his home that was but a few blocks away. He couldn't help the confidant smirk that graced his lips as he could see his apartment in the distance, only to abruptly stop as he felt something within his stomach stir. It felt as if there was a whirlpool within his guts, slowly expanding and filling him with an overburdening sense of dread of things to come.

And then he felt it.

The boy lurched forward as his stomach felt like it had been kicked by a horse. He began to retch and heave as he heard a loud cracking in his ears, and his head began to spin and ach. The boy's knees buckled under him as the pain in his stomach intensified, forcing him to empty his ramen dinner onto the road, gagging as a few stray noodles slowly slid from his esophagus into the pool at his hands. His skin began to burn and itch like fire, and as he tried desperately to scratch it, he found his hands had become bloody and his fingernails had been ripped off.

"There he is," slurred someone from behind. The boy had been so focused on the unholy pain that wracked his entire body that he hadn't noticed the three men approaching him, one of which brandishing a bloody piece of glass which sliced into his palm.

"Hey… wasshe doin'?" asked one of the men as he stepped forward, half lidded eyes now more awake than before as loud cracking sounds seemed to be coming from the hunched over boy. He reached to the boy's raised shoulder to turn him around for a better view. However, he was stopped as the child quickly turned to face the men. Each man froze at the sight that met them.

Instead of the solid blue eyes they had grown to hate, two dark yellow eyes stared furiously towards the three assailants, slit pupils fixated on the bleeding hand of one of them. These were not the eyes of the boy they cursed and had previously sought to do bodily harm to; these were the eyes of a coldblooded, soulless predator staring hungrily at its prey and ready to pounce at a moment's notice. The boy let a small growl rumble in his throat, his spine arching down with a sickening crack as he tried to crawl forward.

After seeing his ears fold and stretch up the side of his head, the men looked at one another, silently agreeing on the correct course of action. Run like hell and never look back. Each man sprinted off from the boy, leaving him to whatever hellishness he was undergoing, one dropping a bloody piece of glass.

The boy let another growl escape his lips as he watched the men leave, though his bodily pain took him from his rage filled thoughts as he felt his knuckles crack and bend, and that angry growl became a pitiful whine. Looking down, the boy watched as tiny black claws slowly tore through the bloody tissue where his broken nails once were, curling slightly as they made their way to the surface. He was about to scream in pain as his muscles began to tear and stretch in unimaginable hellish pain, when he felt something small roll down his throat. After violently coughing and gagging on the offending object, he was surprised to see what it was when it fell onto the ground. It was a tooth. Before he could react, the boy felt, and watched, as more teeth began to fall out of his mouth, nary a drop of blood on a single one.

He felt around his mouth with his tongue. Nothing. If his eyes weren't already letting tears rool out from the pain, he would have started crying. As it was, he could only pray that the pain would end, as the burning itching sensation in his flesh intensified each second. Sadly, his prayers went unheeded as his gums suddenly started to ach, saliva and blood pouring from his mouth. The boy howled in pain as what felt like knives sliced out of his gums, forcing him to cough another few globs of blood and spit out.

He stopped his convulsing briefly when he felt and heard his nose crack. The boy watched on in utter horror as his jaw and nose stretched and snapped forward, stopping a few inches before his eyes. Suddenly, there was a loud ripping sound from behind. The boy looked to see what looked like his exposed spine protruding from his backside, reaching at least fourteen or so inches out. The bone was soon wrapped in pink muscle tissue, then flesh, as it took on the appearance of a tail.

For a moment, the pain subsided, outside from the itching and burning, but his muscles were no longer in severe pain and his bones had stopped popping and cracking; however, the unending stinging in his skin met its climax as his flesh began to feel as if it were on fire, when what looked like fur finally burst from his skin, wrapping him in its warmth. The boy let out a small whimper as his body finally felt at peace and the unbearable pain left him, allowing him to let out a few more dry heaves from the aftermath.

His peace was unfortunately interrupted as he saw two hulking figures land before him with nary a crack to the earth. He tried to stand to meet them, but found such an action became difficult and awkward, and he eventually chose to prop himself up with his arms.

"Try not to move so much, Naruto-san. Your body needs time to adjust to the changes," spoke one of the figures in a gruff, deep voice.

The boy, or Naruto as he was known, looked at the two with a mixture of fright and confusion. "Wh…what do yo- MY VOICE!" Naruto brought his hands to his throat, only to stop when he felt what he could only describe as metal spikes digging into his neck. He looked to his hands, only to shout in surprise at what he saw. While they were somewhat normal in shape with five fingers, the hands themselves were anything but normal. Thick black claws protruded from his fingers, each gleaming under the moonlight like tiny sharp gems. And his hands, scratch that, his whole body was covered in a thick coat of dark yellow fur. He remembered the pain of it growing, but he had forgotten most of what happened to him when given the chance to rest.

"Calm down," said the other figure, holding up its own furry hands. "You've gone through a wonderful change, Naruto. You should see yourself now… you're the spitting image of him." The figure stepped forward, revealing a creature that looked much like Naruto did now, albeit larger and taller. This creature however had a coat of black fur.

"S-stay back!" Naruto shouted, attempting to crawl away from the beast, though his legs refused to work properly.

The creature's lips twitched as if suppressing a laugh at the boy's attempts while it drew closer, large hand outstretched to pick him from the ground. Naruto tried to thrash and claw at the beast, trying anything to keep it away from him, but his movements were stopped when his back came to a large, furry wall. He looked up, the fear evident on his features as he saw the face of the other beast with brown fur, large white fangs shining in the pale moonlight smiling down at him mirthfully.

"Now, why are you running from us like this, Naruto?" asked the beast. "You're going to hurt my feelings…"

"G-get away!" Naruto made an attempt to swipe his new claws at the creature, only for his wrist to be effortlessly grabbed. He let out a yelp as he was raised from the ground to come snout to snout with the beast.

"Naruto, we are not your enemies," it growled. "We are here to hel-" it was cut off as Naruto began to kick and slash with his free hand. The beast snarled when a set of claws raked across its face. Ok, now I'm pissed!" it reared its head back and slammed it into Naruto's skull with a powerful head butt, forcing the boy into unconsciousness.

"Leena… was that really necessary?" asked the black furred beast in an annoyed tone.

The so called "Leena" gave her partner a menacing glare as she slung the unconscious Naruto over her shoulder, his arms dangling close to her tail. "Oh fuck off Victor, you saw what he pulled," she huffed, indicating to the boy she held then rubbing her face. "Besides, this way we can get him somewhere more secure for a little heart to heart conversation."

Victor just let a tired sigh escape his maw as he turned to lead the way. "You're impossible sometimes, you know that?"

"Yeah, well, you know you love me for it," she replied with a smile, nudging her partner.

An hour later, in Naruto's apartment

Naruto awoke with a jump, looking left and right for his assailants. After getting a good grasp on where he was, the now beast let out a content filled sigh. 'Just a dream,' he thought as he began to relax. Naruto went to wipe his brow when he froze at the sight of his hand. 'Not a dream, NOT A DREAM!' he thought as he stared disbelievingly at his clawed, furry hand.

As if to reinforce the fact that this was real, the two beasts from before came to his bedside, the brown one holding a small backpack and a black plastic bag. It looked at him with what he supposed was a smile as it said, "Finally awake, Sleeping Beauty?" it let out a small snigger before continuing. "You were out for about an hour. Also, your place smells like shit mixed with ramen and more shit."

"Leena. Language," the other beast said in an irritated tone. It turned to face the frightened boy, who was now backed against the wall his bed was against. "Naruto-san, do not be afraid. We are not here to harm you, we promise. Right Leena?" He said it more as a command rather than a question.

Leena's ears lowered as she let out a sigh. "Yes Victor," she said in a tone of obviously fake shame.

Victor nodded and returned his gaze to Naruto who by now was a little more relaxed, though his guard, if you could call holding your left hand a foot in front of your chest a guard, remained raised. The brown beast gave the boy a small smile, no doubt frightening him with his massive fangs. "Now then, I'm sure you have questions, and we will answer any you have."

Naruto looked between the two creatures, trying to figure out what possible hidden motives they may have, though he had no way of figuring out such things. He sure as hell didn't want to make any attempt to hold a conversation with them right now; he'd rather find an escape route.

"Any questions." The beast repeated.

Not wanting to make them angry again, Naruto tried to go along with the situation, for now. He sat up, albeit far from the two beasts. "Um… what are you?" he started.

Victor took this opportunity to sit down in an attempt to make the boy a little more comfortable. After all, there was nothing more distracting and unnerving than a hulking beast standing over you. He sat cross legged on the floor, bringing him to Naruto's eye level. "We are Werewolves, or Lycanthropes if you want to be more "scientific"," he said, nudging Leena and indicating with his hand for her to copy him and sit. She did.

Naruto cocked his head at the words Victor used. "Werewolves? Lyca-whats?"

"Lycanthropes," Victor corrected. "Werewolves are beasts with the ability to take the form of a man, though some often think it is the other way around, in which a man becomes a wolf. However, most of us take on the form of a large half man half wolf. You may have noticed that you too are in the form of a Werewolf."

Naruto looked down at himself and, regrettably, had to admit that he did indeed look exactly like the beasts before him, albeit smaller.

Victor continued, "We are faster, stronger and more agile than most humans, and our senses are matched by none… save for one other race, but we don't need to get into that now."

Naruto began intently examining his arm, twisting and turning it in order to inspect every crevice under the moonlight. He quickly slammed his fist sideways into his wall with a loud 'BOOM!'

Both Leena and Victor jumped at this as they hadn't expected such a reaction from the boy. Immediately after regaining herself, Leena stood and snarled at the destructive child. "Gaki!" she yelled, giving Naruto a swift smack to the back of the head. "You could've broken the Kami damned wall! Think before you do something like that!"

Victor stood to face Leena better and placed a hand on her shoulder, pressing down with a bit of force. "Leena, sit down," he commanded. Thankfully, she listened. Victor returned his attention to Naruto (idly thinking how at this rate his neck would snap from the constant movement from looking to Leena then Naruto so many times) and said, "Naruto, it is unwise to use your abilities so recklessly. Look what you've done to the wall."

The boy looked to where he had slammed his fist, unable to see it before from the pain in his head courtesy of Leena, and felt his eyes widen as he saw what he had done. His fist had created a small, one foot long crater that had to have gone at least three inches deep. The white paint cracked and chipped from the wall, falling onto his bed. "I…" he couldn't believe his eyes. The strange thing is that he didn't even put all his strength into the hit. Sure he hit it hard, but he could have done a bit better, and the thought of what that would have done was somewhat disturbing.

"You must be careful," Victor continued. "Such noise may alert your neighbors…"

Naruto nodded dumbly, still buzzing with shock at his own destructive capabilities. "What do you want?" he asked.

"We have come to take you with us, of course."

At this Naruto grew wary of the two, shuffling back further against his wall as he carefully kept his eyes fixated on Victor. "What?" he asked.

Victor did not react to the boy's movements, though he was watchful of the window that was on the other side of his bed. If Naruto managed to escape through there and onto the rooftops, the effort of catching him would be unwanted. 'Especially with so many shinobi using the rooftops as a form of transportation to witness us chasing him down,' he thought as he moved a little towards the window.

"Yes, we are here to take you on a training trip," he said, inching a bit closer to Naruto's possible exit. "We will be teaching you how to be a proper Lycan, and ninja. This has, of course, been approved by the Sandaime Hokage."

That got a clearer reaction from the boy as his feet slipped on his sheets and the back of his head hit the headboard of his bed with a loud 'BANG!'

Naruto ignored the pain in his head as he shot up and shouted, "WHAT?!"

Victor winced at the loudness of the boy's voice, sticking a pinky in his ear to try and sooth the shattered eardrum. "I said that-"

"I KNOW WHAT YOU SAID!" Naruto continued. "Why the hell would the Old Man agree to let you two… things take me away?!" at this point his breathing became laborious and unsteady, his eyes were so wide they could have popped from their sockets. He had trusted the "Old Man" for as long as he could remember, and these beasts claimed that he had willingly allowed them into the village to take him away. He couldn't, no, wouldn't believe them, not for a second. "Lies…" he whispered.

Victor leaned forward a bit, not because he hadn't heard him, but so to try and understand him.

"LIES!" Naruto jumped up on his feet, his breathing pace quickened as he glared daggers at the black furred beast. He pointed an accusing, clawed finger at Victor and shouted, "You're LYING! The Old Man wouldn't do something like this to me! He's never done anything to hurt me! He'd NEVER let you two… things take me! He'd never allo-" as he opened his mouth at the "ah" sound in the word, Naruto was stopped when something was somewhat violently shoved into his mouth courtesy of Leena's hand.

Before he could do anything other than let his tongue press against the offending object, two furry hands positioned themselves above and below his open snout, then quickly slammed his snout shut and forcing him to bite into the object. He felt a warm liquid run down his throat, sending pricks up and down his spine at how it sled, leaving a trail wherever it went. He remembered once licking a copper coin, though why he couldn't remember, and the liquid tasted strangely similar. It was more salty than the copper, but the taste was close enough to make it come to mind. He couldn't help but find the liquid strangely pleasing on his palate as more and more gushed from the object between his jaws and down his throat. He happily swallowed the salty liquid, reveling in its texture and taste.

Then, something happened that made him frown. The liquid stopped coming. He opened his mouth, thankful that whatever was holding his snout shut was gone, and bit down. Immediately his mouth was filled with that amazing sensation which enticed him to continue chewing. The object, which he was certain was a piece of meat, had an odd texture. It was chewy, slimy, and almost fatty. It was like chewing on a very gristly chunk of pork. That aside, it was pure heaven. Everything that had previously concerned him, all his troubles and worries, all his anger, fear and sadness, gone. It was all replaced with the purest bliss he hadn't known since… ever. Such beauty, such unfathomable joy was almost unfitting of a child such as himself. He refused to let a single drop of the fluid contained within the meat dribble down his chin, such a thing would be a sin against this delicacy. Naruto had to hold himself from crying in sheer happiness as he finally swallowed the fatty meat, it's rich, exotic juices sliding down his throat and leaving small traces of their existence upon his tongue.

For a while, he just sat there, allowing the memory and traces of the experience to linger on as long as he could allow before opening his eyes. He was, to put it in a simple way, completely shocked at his surroundings. He was still in his room, yes, but he was now sitting back against his headboard on his bed, his two "guests" staring at him intently. The one known as Leena was leaning against the wall opposite of him while Victor was sitting at the end of his bed.

"You done?" Leena asked with clear irritation. "You've been eating that heart for over a half hour. You're a regular coin-fuckin'-sure, you know that?" a large, toothy grin then crossed her snout as she stood and patted herself off.

Naruto's mind at the moment was buzzing, partly because of the sensations that remained, but mostly because of what Leena said. 'A…a heart?' he thought. "W-what kind of heart…?"

At that, Leena's smile grew wicked as she answered, "Why, a fresh human heart, right from the Konoha morgue, stitched up and filled with as much blood as we could drain."

Were it not covered in a layer of fur, all the color in Naruto's face would have visibly disappeared. Eyes wide and mouth agape, Naurto swallowed a lump that had been growing in his throat ever since the word "heart" was mentioned. That meat, that wonderful, decedent, delectable piece of bliss was in actuality, a human heart. Naruto's head spun, his ears ached and his eyes glazed and throbbed as a sickening felling entered his stomach and brain. He leaned over his bed to throw up, when a furry hand quickly clasped his snout shut.

He looked up to see Leena giving him a stern look. "Don't reject it Naruto," she said. "It's only natural for you to enjoy it. I understand that you may have some issues with this, but just think of this, was it really THAT bad? Dose the fact that it was once a vital organ to a creature of which you previously took the form of change how it tasted? Tell me, if you knew what it was when I shoved it into your mouth, would you have spat it out?"

Naruto moved back as Leena let his snout go and chose to use his wall as support again as his mind began to race. In all honesty, he couldn't see himself spitting it out. It was too damn good to waste it like that. But the fact that it was a HUMAN heart that caused such unbelievable contentment was what unsettled him. And yet, the more he thought about it, the less sense it began to make.

According to these two, he wasn't human, he was some sort of wolf…man…thing. And wolves have attacked and eaten people before, and he was apparently a Werewolf, so it sort makes sense. Then he realized something important. If he DID go with these creatures, he was likely guaranteed to enjoy the taste of human again.

He mumbled something under his breath, causing Leena to lean forward, a smile spreading on her lips. "Pardon? Didn't catch that."

Naruto once again mumbled something inaudible to most listeners, lowering his head.

"You're gonna have to speak up gaki."

"I SAID I'LL GO!" he finally said clearly, albeit loudly.

Leena's smile widened as she crumpled up the small black bag that had been used to transport the heart and headed for the door, Victor following. "Then let's head out, your shit's packed, at least the shit that matters."

Naruto shook his head at the two, not in a way as to disagree with them, but rather because he was having a hard time grasping the situation. He expected there to be a bit more drawn out conversation, arguing, or at the very least some time for him to say good bye to his living area. Instead, the two seemed almost eager to leave ASAP, though he wouldn't argue with them now.

"A-alright," he said, hopping off his bed and following, or rather stumbling after them as he was still unused to his new form's feet. "Where…are we going?"

Victor didn't spare him a glance as he placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and made a sign with his other hand. "We need to see Sarutobi first… Shunshin!" and with that, they were gone.

Hokage Tower, Sarutobi's office

Sarutobi was currently taking something he rarely took considering his daily workload, a break. He was leaning back in his chair, enjoying the taste of the tobacco smoke from his pipe. It wasn't often he could say that his paperwork was finished. All the mission requests were read over and signed, all the forms concerning the graduating Genin of this year were stamped and filed, and all the mission reports were completed and placed in their proper places.

His relaxation was, unfortunately, cut short when three figures appeared in front of him. He did not jump or startle, as he had expected this, though he did let out a discomforted sigh as he put his pipe out and leaned forward. "I see you have convinced him," he said in an unusually calm tone considering his company.

Naruto had to use Victor for support as his head slowly stopped spinning from the Shunshin. When his mind was back to normal, he managed to give the Hokage a somewhat sad look. "Old Man… you knew they'd come here? That I'd turn into… this?"

Sarutobi returned Naruto's expression with a slightly saddened one of his own as he stood, leaning back to remove a small kink in his spine. "Naruto," he spoke calmly. "I can't tell you how sorry I am that I did not tell you of this before, but I felt that only these two," he gave Victor and Leena a quick glance before continuing, "were better suited to explain this to you. It is not my place to introduce you to your own species, which is their job. That is also the reason they have come here, if I am not mistaken?"

Victor nodded and bowed quickly. "Of course. We will do all we can to prepare him, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi sat back in his chair and gave Naruto a once over. 'He looks just like his father…' He shook his head and smiled at the boy. "Good, Naruto, I trust you are happy with this?"

Naruto was prepared to continue to ask the Hokage questions, but was stopped when Victor placed a hand on his. He looked up to the Lycan who shook his head. "Yes…" he replied quietly.

Sarutobi smiled a bit more and returned his gaze to the two Werewolves that would be teaching his surrogate grandson. "And can I assume you will bring him home safely, and on time?"

Both Werewolves nodded, though it was Victor once more to give a verbal response. "Of course, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi then opened his top left drawer on his desk and fished through it, grumbling under his breath about 'too much paper' before retrieving a set of papers held together by a staple. He quickly signed several sheets before handing them to Victor. "Everything seems to be in order, Naruto, I expect you to listen to these two and treat them with respect."

"I will…"