As soon as they crossed the border from red to green, Naruto fell silent. The Hokage looked down to see tears running down his face silently. "What's wrong, Naruto?" Naruto shook his head and hid his face in the Hokage's robes. As they walked, Naruto turned around in the Hokage's arms and gleefully watched the scenery of the forest glide by. When they entered the town, Naruto leaned out of the Hokage's arms, looking around like it was the first time he had ever seen Konoha. Between giggles and pointing, Naruto seemed quite calm and almost like a normal child, except for the fact that he was covered in blood and rubbing blood all over the Hokage's robes. The few villagers that were still outside couldn't help but stare at the odd congregation that walked by. Most didn't recognise Naruto and the Hokage was grateful for that. The boy didn't need any more negative attention than he already got. He knew that after this incident, everything needed to change. Naruto was no longer stable, or maybe even no longer sane, and so it was up to the Hokage to find an appropriate solution for this all. But before all that, they needed to find out what had happened, who was involved and what had triggered it all.

Dog walked up to the Hokage, smiling behind her mask at Naruto. Naruto seamlessly picked up on her and gave her a big smile in return. "I like you. I won't hurt you either." Dog's smile faltered a little, but she recovered quickly. "Thank you." She said, earning an even wider smile from Naruto. The smile snapped away, replaced by glaring eyes staring right past her. Dog looked behind her to see that Cat had stepped closer as well, but Naruto reacted to him in the same way the chakra had done. It seemed Cat and Naruto weren't going to get along at all. "Cats should be drowned." He stated coldly, staring directly at Cat. Cat gulped and stepped back into line. He didn't attempt again to get closer to the boy, but still he felt a little jealous at the fact that Dog was able to so easily interact with the boy. Ever since the barrier, he had the feeling he needed to do anything in his power to get into Naruto's good grace, though he didn't really understand why he wanted it so badly. Maybe it was an aftereffect of the mesmerizing properties of the barrier. It had captivated them all and seemed to have had the most effect on Dog and him.

They reached the tower without any incident. Dog and Naruto had a small conversation about trivial stuff, but it kept Naruto calm, so the Hokage was glad he had taken a liking to her. The Hokage himself had added to the conversation as well, being rewarded with a big smile and a bright blue eye. The Hokage only hoped that they would be able to keep the blue eye bright and the red one dull. It seemed the more hateful side was linked to the red eye. Yamanaka-san had his work cut out for him with this case.

"Naruto, why don't we get cleaned up before we see Yamanaka-san?" Naruto yawned in response and nodded into the Hokage's shoulder. As soon as they entered the tower, they went to the closest bathroom. The Hokage told Dog to wait outside and Cat to get Yamanaka-san ready, dismissing the rest. He placed Naruto down and undressed to his underwear, Naruto followed his example. When the water was nice and warm, the Hokage worked shampoo into the blond hair, watching the foam turn pink. The hair needed three washes before the water ran clean, but fortunately, Naruto seemed to enjoy the attention and sat still during it all. When Naruto's hair was clean, the Hokage told Naruto to wash the rest of himself while he went to get some towels. Again Naruto obediently did what he was told, surprising the Hokage. "I never really got the chance to bathe with warm water before. It's nice." Naruto said in a sad voice. The colour seemed to be dimmed in both eyes. He had stopped moving and stared at his reflection in the bucket of water in front of him.

"Don't you have hot water at home?" The Hokage asked. The apartment he had arranged for Naruto should have had all modern facilities. Naruto looked up with sad eyes. "Only if I boiled it. I never took the trouble of heating water just for washing. That would have been too expensive." The Hokage saw a shiver run down Naruto's spine and thought better than to push onwards. Instead, he dressed in a clean set of clothing and walked up to Naruto. He covered Naruto in a big fluffy towel that folded around his shoulders almost three times. Naruto snuggled into the towels, sighing and closing his eyes. "I'll make sure you get a better place to live. From now on, you will be under my guardianship." The Hokage told Naruto. A weak smile made its way to Naruto's face as the boy drifted to sleep a little.

The Hokage almost felt guilty, but as sleepy as the boy was now, it would only make it easier for Yamanaka-san to break through. He picked up Naruto, bundled in the towel, and carried Naruto to Yamanaka-san's room. He didn't dress Naruto or even change his underwear to a pair of dry ones. As cruel as it seemed, people felt more vulnerable being near naked and that is what they needed for Yamanaka-san to conduct a proper examination. Leaving the wet underwear on was just another small thing to make someone a little more uncomfortable. Of course, he wouldn't let it get too far with Naruto. As soon as the boy would show actual signs of distress, he would intervene.

Yamanaka-san already sat waiting in the middle of the room on a small chair. An even smaller chair was placed in front of him. Normally, adults would feel condescended by being given a chair that is too small, having to sit in an awkward position, but for Naruto, the chair seemed to be just right. The Hokage placed Naruto in the chair and stepped away, taking the big, fluffy towel with him. He saw Naruto look up to him, the red eye more bright than the blue, but he kept quiet. Slowly, Naruto turned his attention to Yamanaka-san, patiently waiting for the man to speak first.

"Hello Naruto." Yamanaka-san started. He was answered by Naruto shaking his head. "Not my name." He said in a cold voice. "It's not?" Yamanaka-san asked. Naruto shook his head again, slowly, keeping his eyes focussed on Yamanaka-san's face. "Then, what is your name?"

Naruto broke his gaze and looked down at his hands, thinking. He spoke slowly and deliberately. "We don't have one. But we are not Naruto anymore. Maybe we once were, but we aren't now." Naruto spoke in a soft voice, staring at his hands without blinking. It was like he was holding a discussion with himself and as decisions were made, he slowly spoke the information out loud.

"Alright, then what do I call you?" Yamanaka-san asked. He was really interested in this boy's mind now. Not only was he speaking like he was more than one person, he actually seemed to be able to discuss with his other personalities. Naruto sat thinking for a short while again, before raising his head once again, both eyes equally strong this time. "Naruto will do for now. We will give you our true name once we've decided on it."

"Alright, Naruto, can you answer a few basic questions for me?" Yamanaka-san asked. A big smile spread across Naruto's face. "Of course! I like dogs, Mister Ino-chan!" He laughed into his hand, trying to hide it but doing so poorly. Naruto sat hopping on his chair, giddy with laughter.

"How old are you?" Yamanaka-san asked. Naruto held out three fingers on each hand. "Six!" He exclaimed. "Really? You're such a big boy already!" Yamanaka-san went with Naruto's enthusiasm. He figured it would be easiest to get answers out of a happy Naruto right now. "And do you remember what happened earlier tonight, just outside the village?"

"Yes, I do! I'm real good at remembering. I remember everything! People were chasing me. They do that a lot, and then they hurt me. They did that this time as well, but I think they hurt me too much, because it made me really angry, but that wasn't really me yet, but now it is, or at least that part is now me also. And then when I was really angry, I killed them by using both my chakra. It was really pretty and warm." Yamanaka blinked a few times trying to digest what Naruto had just told him. The Hokage understood it a little better, having seen the site for himself, but he didn't step in to explain. Yamanaka-san was quite capable when it came to figuring out what was meant.

"Who is the you that wasn't you back then?" The smile fell from Naruto's face. He looked right at Yamanaka-san and slowly a very different kind of smile took over his face. "Ah... yes, that is quite the question, now isn't it? You'll have to come inside for that one. I'd love the opportunity to 'see' your mind..." The red eye burned with anticipation, enough to send a shiver down Yamanaka-san's spine. Naruto definitely didn't mean just 'see'. There was a threatening undertone in what he had said that almost made Yamanaka-san not want to enter Naruto's mind. But he would do what was needed in order to find out what had happened to the hyperactive child's mind.

"You said you remember everything. You meant everything that happened tonight, right?"

"No, I mean everything that ever happened to me in my entire life. You see, that is one of the advantages of having two minds in one body. Now that two minds are one, we remember everything. Every... single... detail... ever..." A sad look had come over Naruto, lingering in both his eyes as he seemed to relive parts of his life. He blinked tears away and looked up with cold eyes to Yamanaka-san. "I also remember nobody helping me when I needed it most. You even walked past me, ignoring me, while I was cornered. They threw stones at me that day. It hurt..." Yamanaka-san had to think about what Naruto meant. Then he remembered an incident when Naruto was probably around three or four years old. Yamanaka-san had seen Naruto being cornered, but even at that age Naruto had a reputation for pranking and bothering shop owners. Yamanaka-san had assumed that that was the case that time as well and had left the shop owners to deal with Naruto. He never would have thought that people were actually physically hurting a three year old boy. To hear that he had been wrong... He couldn't help but feel guilty about it.

"Ah... Look at that, guilt. Does it torment you? Make you feel all wrong inside? Does it hurt?" Naruto sought to look at Yamanaka's face by dipping his head down and looking up as the man tried to look away.

"If I had known they hurt you, I would have stopped them." Yamanaka-san said.

"Yes, I belief you would have. It's just nobody bothered to notice. Well, it's fine, anyway." Naruto sat back up and leaned into his chair, seeming way older than he was. "Nothing changes the past."

"Yes, I guess that's right..." Yamanaka-san was at a loss for words. This Naruto was like an adult in a most unnerving way. He thought it best to just start what they came here to do. "Okay, are you ready for me to enter your mind? Usually I wouldn't ask, but usually it's involuntary, so just try to relax." Naruto nodded before closing his eyes. Yamanaka-san did the same to prepare himself. He transferred his mind and for a moment, everything went black.

When he opened his eyes again, he couldn't tell how long he had been blacked out, but he did know his footing was more solid than in most minds. Slowly the world formed around him into a shabby apartment. A lot of things were either damaged, worn out or outright broken. There was a boy with blond hair sitting on a couch that had springs sticking out of it. "Hello, minster Inu-chan." He said happily as he looked up to Yamanaka-san. "Why are you here?" The boy asked.

Yamanaka-san kneeled down in front of Naruto to keep Naruto as comfortable as possible. "I'm here to see you. To ask a question." Yamanaka-san answered calmly. Naruto enthusiastically nodded and scooched to the edge of the couch, waiting for Yamanaka-san to continue. "Are there others in your head besides us?"

For a second Naruto's smile fell, but he quickly recovered it. "Yes! They aren't here, though, because this is my place. We all have our place."

"Can I meet them? I need to talk to all of you." Yamanaka-san asked. When Naruto nodded, he stood up and held out his hand for Naruto. The gesture seemed to confuse him for a second, before it sank in what Yamanaka-san wanted. Naruto's blue eyes lit up like fireworks as he grabbed Yamanaka-san's hand with both of his. He looked so happy with just that and Yamanaka-san felt a little more guilty about ignoring Naruto for all this time.

Naruto started tugging on his hand as he guided Yamanaka-san out of the apartment and into a narrow lane. It wasn't like a normal lane that lead to different parts of someone's mind, but a memory lane. Yamanaka-san had only seen this a couple of times in his career. Usually, it was either an extremely ordered mind or an extremely traumatized mind that needed such extensive organization to stay sane. Yamanaka-san guessed it was the latter for this case.

The lane seemed to be lined with houses. The windows were like portraits, showing important moments in Naruto's life. More often than not they were partially obscured, like Naruto didn't completely remembered them. Yamanaka-san also noticed that Naruto was very focussed on not looking at any of the paintings, meaning that Naruto's most prominent memories were of things he didn't want to remember. The doors were mostly normal and closed, but a few were ajar. For what Yamanaka-san could see, there was just blackness behind them. Doors usually represented emotions that were associated with the memories, so Naruto had dark emotions when it came to his memories. Oddly enough, though, all the paint on the sills was pristine and there were even blooming flowers decorating the window sills, meaning that despite the cloudy, dark memories, Naruto still took care of himself quite well.

The memory lane was quite long as well, meaning that Naruto had an excellent memory even very early in his life. That made is strange that the memories themself were partly obscured. Here and there in the portraits, Yamanaka-san noticed people he knew either turning their backs towards Naruto, or looking at him in anger. The more Yamanaka-san paid attention to the portraits, the more that seemed to be a common factor in each one of them. The only kindness that Yamanaka-san saw in any of the memories were conversations with the Hokage. It was very sad to see the suffering Naruto had gone through in his short life.

Every few portraits, the window sills would be painted red and Yamanaka-san knew these were memories involving pain, physical mostly or mental if the trauma was great enough. The frequence in which the memories were lined in red made Yamanaka-san sick to his stomach. A six year old should never have this many of them. Hell, even an adult would have great trouble dealing with it and staying sane. Yet when all was said and done, Naruto never really retaliated and never took to cruelty himself. It was amazing. It was like there was another force keeping the young mind calm and even. Yamanaka-san really wanted to find out what that would be.

As they walked even further down the lane, it didn't seem to get any better, meaning that Naruto had been treated badly since a very young age. Even when the memories shifted to mostly inside what Yamanaka-san guessed to be the orphanage it didn't get much better. In fact, Naruto had nowhere to hide in the orphanage, leaving Naruto exposed to a lot of hatred without a safe zone. That is probably why they started in the apartment, as that was the safest place Naruto has ever known.

At the end of the lane, the road opened up into a square. The square was circulair and divided into five wedges. Yamanaka-san could see that the quare had been in one piece originally, but something happened to split it into five. There were deep cracks in between the wedges that seemed to lead into endless darkness. These were newly made edges into Naruto's mind and they terrified Yamanaka-san. A fractured mind was a very dangerous place, yet Naruto seemed to be in full control. There must be something underneath it all and he feared the answer.

There was movement in the four other wedges, drawing Yamanaka-san's attention. Hooded figures emerged from their corresponding lanes and stopped at about the same height as Naruto and Yamanaka-san were standing, forming a circle. Naruto was happily waving at the others, smiling and bouncing on his feet.

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