A/N

Language warning! There is some swearing, just thought I'd warn y'all (granted it's only one swear, but still, fair warning).

"Kana, we're going out for dinner, we should be back by eight." Tsubaki said, standing in the doorway to the genin's temporary room.

"Alright, I'll probably be here, I'll eat later." Kana replied, laying on her back and gazing up at the ceiling.

"See you later." Haku said, smiling despite Kana's sour mood.

Azumi didn't bother with any sentimental gestures, simply bidding her farewell with a, "Bye."

The door shut behind them with a soft click and Kana sat up, pulling her pack towards her. She sifted through the contents before pulling out a scroll, plastered with messages that read, "Do not open!"

She unfurled the scroll and channelled her chakra through it until there was a puff of fluffy white smoke. Once the smoke cleared, a pile of severed human limbs sat on the scroll before her. Kana licked her lips, her eye sclera turning to black and her pupil red.

Her hand hovered above the pile, moving left and right as she debated which limb looked the most appetizing to her. She settled on a meaty arm with pale flesh, the forearm cauterized to stop the blood from flowing out of the severed limb. She hated when there was no blood.

She placed the limb aside and resealed the scroll, stuffing it back into the bottom of her backpack.

Picking up the arm again, she eyed it with a hungry gaze, bringing it to her mouth. Her jaw opened and clamped down on the flesh, ripping off a chunk and sucking up the juicy liquid that spilled out like a beautiful raging waterfall. Again and again, she ripped pieces off with her teeth, scoffing them down greedily until nothing but bones remained.

She spat out a nail with a look of disgust, licking extra blood off of her lips before it could dry.

Kana made her way to the tiny kitchen, snatching up a plastic shopping bag from under the sink. She dumped the bones in the bag, tying it up tightly and placing it beside the door to take out later.

She made her way to the bathroom, flicking on the light and running the water. She stared at herself in the mirror, noticing the bit of dried blood on her chin and neck. She ran her hand under the warm water and scrubbed the blood off, watching the red disappear down the drain.

She watched as her eye faded back to brown, making her look normal once again.

But without her family here, this was as normal as she could feel. She had Haku, but that was all. Pein and Konan were around too, but they were very busy.

"I miss them..." She sniffled. "Deidara, Sasori, Zabuza, Itachi nii-san, Kisame, Kakazu, Hidan, and even Zetsu."

Sighing, she shut the tap off, flicking the lights off and leaving the bathroom. She walked to the front door, slipping her sandals on and picking up the bag she left there. She took the stairs down to the main floor and walked out into the night, turning into the alley where a dumpster was located.

She tossed the bag into the dumpster and dusted off her hands, heaving a sigh before turning back.

She would've screamed if she hadn't noticed his scent behind her.

"Kaneki, what are you doing here?" Kana asked.

Kaneki stepped out of the shadows with a shrug. "I really don't have anything better to do."

"So you're stalking me?" Kana teased.

"Whatever you say." Kaneki rolled his eyes.

"You might as well come inside, no point in hanging around in an alley." Kana said, walking back towards the inn's front doors.

Kaneki followed behind her silently, watching as the receptionist shivered as he walked by. He rolled his eyes at her fear.

"My teammates went out for dinner, it's only me here right now." Kana said as she began climbing the stairs.

"So have you eaten?" Kaneki asked.

"Yes, I did," She nodded. "I was just throwing out the leftovers when you found me."

"Ah," He replied. "I see."

The two fell into a comfortable silence as Kana opened the door with her key. She turned the knob and opened the door for her guest, letting him in first. Kaneki walked in, his eyes looking all around the room to find all the nearest exits, windows, and weapons in case of emergency.

"Are you hungry?" Kana asked, sitting down on the floor where her blanket was.

"A little, if you're offering then I'll eat, I'd rather not cause any more trouble while I'm here," Kaneki sighed. "The Hokage already has his eye on me."

"That's what you get for hunting inside the village." Kana huffed, crossing her arms.

"Where else was I supposed to get a meal?" Kaneki grumbled. "It's not like people grow on trees."

"Good point," Kana hummed. "But I have some food packed, Hidan got it for me."

"Who's Hidan?" Kaneki asked. "I might as well start to learn about the members of your little family since I suppose I'll become part of it."

Kana's eyes sparkled in excitement. "I can't wait to have you meet everyone! I can tell them all about my new... Uh..."

"Brother," Kaneki cracked a small smile. "I can be your big brother."

"Kaneki nii-san," Kana smiled. "I like the sound of that."

"So then," Kaneki said. "Who's Hidan?"

Kana grinned, stories of all the fun she and Hidan had together and all the nice things he'd done for her. Afterwards, she told stories about all the Akatsuki members, including how she met each of them. Kaneki listened attentively, smiling as she described each memory in precise detail.

~~~~~

Naruto clawed his way out of the ravine he was shoved into, absolutely livid. This training exercise hadn't gone as Jiraiya planned at all.

Naruto didn't use the Nine-Tails chakra to summon a toad, he didn't even have a scratch on him. Instead, orange tails speared into the solid rock walls of the ravine, eventually stopping his fall. He used them to claw his way back up to the top, where his eyes clouded with anger.

Jiraiya stumbled back, staring at Naruto's eye in shock.

"W-what is that?" Jiraya stammered in awe and fear, watching as the boy crept closer.

The white of his eye was a soulless black, his pupil a blazing, angry red, focused solely on Jiraiya, his tails swishing behind him.

"It's not the Nine-Tails cloak, or even the Nine-Tails chakra," Jiraiya mumbled. "What is this?"

"What the fuck did you do that for?" Naruto seethed.

Jiraiya flinched, falling to the ground and scooting as far back as he could, scraping his palm on a rock. He winced in pain, holding his bleeding hand to his chest.

Naruto's nose twitched, his eye-locking onto Jiraiya's palm, more specifically, the blood.

"Naruto, calm down," Jiraiya said nervously. "I was trying to help you, you'll understand when you're older."

Naruto didn't respond. Instead, he crept closer, his legs tensing as his jaw relaxed open.

"Blood..." Naruto murmured.

Then he jumped, mouth agape, straight at Jiraiya. Unfortunately for him, his teeth never made contact with the man, as he substituted himself for a nearby log. Naruto spat out the wood and sank to the ground with a sob. His tails wrapped around him as if they had a mind of their own and were comforting him.

"Maybe Kana was right," He mumbled. "No one gets me."

"No one gets us..." The voices whispered.

"No one gets us." Naruto agreed with a broken cry.

~~~~~

Jiraiya appeared in the Hokage's office suddenly, making the Hokage glance up in slight annoyance, that is, until he saw Jiraiya's state.

His clothes were messy, his face contorted with worry, and his palm was leaving a tiny trail of blood.

"Jiraiya," The Hokage said. "What happened?"

"No, you listen to me," Jiraiya huffed. "What the hell happened to Naruto?!"

The Hokage sighed. "Sit Jiraiya, I will explain all of this to you, and maybe then you can help me come to a decision."

"A decision?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes, in regards to Naruto's future." He nodded grimly. "So listen carefully."

A/N

Hope you guys liked the chapter! Next chapter I'll either go straight to the Chunin Exams (finally), or it will be the last chapter before the Chunin Exams. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as I really enjoyed writing it!