Naruto had never been more thankful for his shinobi training in his life. It was times like these where that stuff came in handy, especially when you're a sobbing, blood soaked, wreck.

He snuck from alley to alley, picking out a scent similar to his own and following it in hopes that he could find Kana, or that older boy she was always with. Kaneki, was his name.

Naruto dropped into another alley for a moment, surveying his surroundings. A cat that seemed familiar rummaged through a dumpster beside him, creating plenty of noise. His sensitive ears picking up on the sound of heavy footsteps coming towards him, and he quickly climbed to the rooftops to hide. They entered the alley, yelling at the cat.

"We have you now Tora!" A familiar voice yelled.

Naruto peeked over the edge of building, spotting Konohamaru and his ragtag team. No, they weren't official genin, but they wanted to be, so they often gave themselves missions. This also explained why the cat seemed familiar, it was the demon cat Tora.

Naruto quickly continued on his way, following the scent trail. Eventually he ended up at a small hotel, and from the outside he managed to trace the scent to a small frosted glass window. The sound of running water came from the room, making Naruto figure it was a bathroom. He knocked on the window, waiting for a few minutes as he heard the water shut off and shuffling inside.

Kana slid the window open, a towled draped around her and her white hair dripping wet.

"What the hell dude?" Kana said in both concern and irritation.

"I-I need to talk to you." Naruto replied, climbing into the bathroom.

Kana inhaled sharply, taking in his bloody appearance.

"You look like you just killed someone." Kana said.

Naruto sniffled, his eyes watering.

"Oh crap!" She exclaimed. "Was I right?!"

Naruto nodded, sniffling and wiping his nose on his bloody sleeves, causing the blood to spread around his face.

Kana pat his back, pushing him toward the shower. "Go take a shower, I'll see if I can steal- I mean borrow some of Haku's clothes until I can get the blood out of yours."

Naruto nodded.

"Take your time," Kana smiled. "In the mean time though, I need to get dressed. Having a conversation in a towel is kind of awkward."

Naruto chuckled a little. Kana shut the door with a soft click after she left and headed over to her bag to pull out some clean clothes.

~~~~~

Clothed in a sports bra and white shorts, Kana dug through Haku's stuff. She shoved aside all his fancy looking clothes and pulled out a white tank top and black pants with an adjustable waistband. She set them aside and put away the rest of Haku's things.

Gathering up the borrowed clothes, she headed back to the bathroom, knocking twice and announcing her arrival before walking in.

"I'll set the clothes on the counter for you," Kana said. "I'm going to take your clothes and start stain treating them."

"Ok," Naruto replied from behind the shower curtain. "Thanks."

"No problem." Kana replied with a relaxed shrug.

She left with Naruto's bloody jacket and pants, taking them to the kitchen.  Kana filled the sink with cold water, plugging the drain to keep the water in. She scrubbed with cold water until no more blood came out. When that failed, she pulled out her secret weapon.

Vinegar from under the sink.

Since the blood was fairly fresh, with the help of cold water and some vinegar, she managed to get the blood out of Naruto's clothes.

Of course it was Hidan and Konan who informed her of the wondrous power of vinegar.

Kana wrung out the clothes and hung them on the faucet to dry, letting out the bloody water. She was about to sit down when there was a knock on the window behind her. She turned around to see Kaneki standing vertically on the building. Sighing, she threw on a tank top and headed to the window, opening it for him.

"Hey." Kaneki greeted her.

"Why can't you use the front door?" Kana sighed.

Kaneki shrugged, climbing in through the open window. His eyes scanned the room and quickly landed on the familiar jacket hanging on the kitchen faucet. Kana followed his gaze and sighed when her eyes landed on the jacket.

"He was adjusting so well," Kana sighed. "Then he suddenly appeared here sobbing and covered in blood. I think... I think he got himself a fresh meal."

Kaneki just nodded, sitting on a bar stool near the kitchen.

"I guess all we can do is try to help him." Kaneki shrugged.

"But shouldn't the Hokage know about Naruto's condition?" Kana asked.

"Let's hear the boy out first, then go see the Hokage." Kaneki replied.

"Alright," Kana agreed. "He's in the shower at the moment, I'm guessing he'll be out soon."

Kaneki just nodded, leaning back in his seat.

~~~~~

Naruto emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, a towel sitting over his damp blonde hair. He had put on the tank and sweats that Kana gave him to wear and they seemed to almost fit him perfectly. Naruto smiled weakly at Kana, his eye then focussing in on Kaneki.

"Hey, I hear you've had a rough time?" Kaneki began.

"Uh, yeah..." Naruto nodded hesitantly.

"Could you tell us what happened?" Kana asked softly.

Naruto hesitated, shifting his weight.

"You really have no reason to hide what happened," Kaneki said. "I've probably done much worse."

Kaneki cringed at the last sentence.

Naruto nodded.

~~~~~

Darting through the woods like a wild animal, he searched for his prey, locking onto a nearby scent. He followed it closely until it lead him to a group of three men wearing matching skull bandannas, presumably a gang of thugs.

He hid in the trees, not bothering to focus on their conversation and instead watched them with a hungry, one-eyed gaze.

The men barely had time to scream when he jumped them.

All that was left was a bloody smear and their bones.

~~~~~

Naruto sniffled as Kana placed a comforting hand on his back, whispering words to him.

"It's okay," She assured him. "It happens to the best of us."

Kaneki nodded. "It was bound to happen, you're always surrounded by people, and emotions make you lose it."

"I think I've made my decision, Kana." Naruto said.

Kana smiled caringly. "Then I suppose we should go pay the Hokage a visit to discuss this."

~~~~~

"So that's it then?" Jiraiya asked with a sigh.

"Indeed," The Third Hokage nodded. "I just have to tell Naruto of the plan."

"Ah, should I go get him?" Jiraiya asked.

Before he could reply, and ANBU appeared before his desk, kneeling on the floor.

"Hokage-sama, Naruto Uzumaki and some... Friends, are here to see you," He said. "Shall I bring them in?"

"Yes, bring them right away." The Hokage nodded.

A minute later, Naruto, Kana, and Kaneki walked in. Kana wore casual clothes with her hair down, Kaneki was still armed to the teeth, and Naruto wore a tank and sweats, an eyepatch over his damaged eye and small streaks of white in his once perfect blonde hair.

"Naruto," The Hokage smiled softly. "What is is?"

"Old man," Naruto sighed. "I think I'm going to have to go with them."

The Hokage nodded. "I understand, I think that may be best."

"I promis we'll take good care of him." Kana chirped. "And he will receive the best training in Ame!"

"Good," The Hokage said. "But he will not be transferred until after the Chunin Exams."

"Understood," Kana nodded. "Thank you for your time."

The three left the office after that, leaving Jiraiya alone with the Hokage.

"I'm going to miss that kid." Jiraiya sighed.

The Hokage leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "Yeah, me too."

A/N

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! And yes, I'll be working on Between Worlds more soon.