Chapter 1.) At the End of the Rainbow...
D/C: Let me put it in simple English. Me no own Avatar, and me don't own Naruto. Can't get simpler than that.
The breathtaking beauty of the cascading white waterfalls on the outskirts of Konoha were completely lost on Uzumaki Naruto, whose sole being lay focused on the black abyss rushing up to greet him as he plummeted headlong into its depths, cursing the hell out of his teacher's name.
"Curse you, you crazy perverted bastard!" The boy defiantly screamed.
Yes, it was official; years of research had finally scrambled the Toad Sannin's brains. When Jiraiya had said his training was going to end today, Naruto had felt nothing but elated; then his sensei went and pulled a stunt like this. One moment, he'd been climbing to his feet, utterly spent from hours and hours of nonstop training. The very next the loony jackass had sent him hurtling over the canyon ledge with one measly little finger flick to the head. Ero-sennin was going to pay, the boy resolved. Insanity plea or not, it seemed the old toad's latest batch research was destined to have an unfortunate meeting with the paper shredder in Ojiji's office.
Once he got out of this predicament, of course. Which would be soon, very soon. Just as soon as he figured out how...
If only inspiration was so forthcoming. His mind was in complete disarray, a hundred fearful thoughts running a mile a minute in his head. Naruto couldn't speak, couldn't think, could hardly even breath with the endless expanse of oblivion stretching far below like a giant's maw waiting for him.
"Kuso! This is nuts!" Swore the angry blond to himself. "Is that ero-baka trying to kill me?! Well, there's no way in hell I'm going to die out here!"
With agility born of desperation, Naruto twisted his limbs and body around in order to orient himself in the direction of the rocky canyon wall. As he did so he called forth the last bit of chakra in his system and directed it to his hands and feet, praying to catch a handhold on the stony surface. His fingers no sooner gained purchase on a solid outcropping when his tenuous grip gave out on the dew covered stones, causing him to slip and spiral once again in an uncontrolled descent. Time and time again he came perilously close to impaling himself on jutting rocks on the way down. Only quick reflexes on the boy's part kept him from meeting his untimely end.
He was still getting cuts, however, as his body glanced off of the deep ravine walls.
"Ugh! It's slimy and wet," He cursed as his fingers scrabbled for a hold on the algae covered stones. "Can't get a grip on these damn things! What the hell is Ero-sennin expecting me to do?!"
What indeed? Naruto had no idea how long he'd been falling, maybe a minute, maybe two, maybe it was only thirty seconds flat; but whatever the case might be, the blond knew he was running out of time and running out of options fast. His eyes roved desperately over the landscape for a patch of dry rock; an overhanging branch of a canyon tree; anything he could imagine to arrest the momentum of his fall. It was increasingly difficult to keep his wits about him as his gaze inevitably fell upon the endless void of the black abyss, which was beginning to look more and more like his final resting place.
"At least the villagers won't be able to touch my grave down here. Hey, hey, hey, what am I thinking?! Bad thoughts, bad thoughts! I'm not giving up just yet! There's got to be another way, or I'll..."
The boy refused to voice out that thought out loud for fear of jinxing his less than ideal situation, but the words continued to reverberate ominously in his head.
Die...He was going to die...
Long before that event could happen, however, the world as he knew it slowed and faded to black.
Nothing seemed to exist here, wherever here was. There was no light, no sound, no air, just nothing. It was like the very existence of the world had vanished, had ceased to exist, leaving him in a void of emptiness. But even in the absence of everything, his senses felt heightened somehow. Here there was nothingness, yet he was able to sense, no, he was able to feel something beyond the void. Like a burning flame in the middle of an otherwise freezing room...
"I wonder...Where is this? There's no way I could have died... Could I?"
His voice echoed distantly as if he were currently standing in a cavernous room. His feet, he idly noticed, stood on solid ground.
Or at least it had the feeling of solid ground. The sensation felt slightly off to him. It was admittedly a new experience for the curious blond, to be able to feel everything yet be unable to see it.
Faintly, very faintly, he felt a warm breeze blowing up ahead. There were walls to his right and left, and pipes hanging overhead. His vision was coming back to him little by little, and through his limited vision he was able to make out the outline of a long empty corridor. Despite the fact that he couldn't see very well Naruto pressed heedlessly onward, more inquisitive than afraid of what may lay beyond. Before long his footsteps led him straight into an antechamber, and there he realized that there was something very wrong. Not with his eyes, but with his surroundings. Everything he had seen thus far had been shrouded in murky blacks and reds, and the reason for all the smoky distortions seemed to have been emanating from the ominous rust colored cage entrenched at the back of the chamber. A rather insignificant looking seal note plastered over the lock was the only thing keeping the gigantic gate like bars closed.
Naruto couldn't have been more glad for that considering the huge toothy smile that seemed to greet him from within the confines of the cage. A pair of slitted bloodshot eyes followed as the thing crouched closer to the bars, its oppressive shadow looming tall over him. In spite of the knowledge of being safe, the boy couldn't resist a shudder under its unblinking and impenetrable gaze.
"Uwa!" He backpedaled unsteadily, falling to his knees.
The thing laying behind the cage seemed pleased by his reaction, as it began to chuckle darkly in an amused black tone. Its laughter started low, rising slowly in crescendo, and before long its earsplitting roar echoed and reechoed until the cage bars surrounding it were set ringing. Just as suddenly as its merriment began, the giant beast stopped. Even as it spoke that predatory leer never once left its dark shadowy face.
"Hey, kit...Don't be afraid. I'm only your worst nightmare."
"You...," Naruto whispered, staring at the massive canines under the pair of demonic blood red eyes.
"Me. You know, there's no need to bow before me, kit. Not that the gesture isn't appreciated," The Kyuubi no Youkou smirked with its harsh and grating voice. "Good to know you flesh bags haven't forgotten to bow down to your superiors! Least we don't have to worry about starting off on the wrong foot. Keep this up and you might just have the honor of being my pet."
"Where are we...?" The blond inquired, ignoring the Nine Tail's condescending tone.
"It's your world, inside your head." The fox glanced lazily around. "Kind of empty in here, isn't it?"
"A whole lot of good brains did you to get yourself stuck in that cage!"
Kyuubi sneered with an almost pleasant sounding laugh.
"Oh, so the kit has fangs, eh? But why should I be so surprised? You always proved you had more guts than brains. Like now, insulting me - the Kyuubi no Kitsune, Bane of Konoha, and Lord of all the Tailed Beasts - right in front of my face. Course, I'm locked behind this seal, so maybe that fact alone gives you strength. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't; I could be wrong. It just astounds me how fanatically you cling to your disgusting little dreams."
"..."
"I daresay it's amusing, you know, to watch the soap opera of your life through your beady little eyes. No offense intended; it's a travesty, but it's all a comedy act from my point of view. Don't get mad, it's the truth! But you know, things would actually be a lot more interesting if you actually showed a little more backbone..."
"What are you getting at, Fuzzball?" The boy impatiently said.
The fearsome Nine Tails didn't explode like he expected. Instead, it shot him a surprisingly flat look.
"See? There's your problem, kit. Always shooting off on the wrong people, always getting your timing wrong! You never aim it at the ones who deserve it! Like that pink haired harpy who's always clobbering your ass around. Hitting isn't a good sign in a relationship, you know..."
Kyuubi grinned demonically as Naruto's ocean blue eyes began to twitch.
"Oops, did I strike a nerve? Wait, you're still not together yet! She's still in denial over her crush over you, and not 'Sasuke-kun,' and loves you so much she can barely even stand to contain herself in your presence! That explains it! You heard what they say; you only hurt the ones you love! Hmm, with that in mind, does that mean this wretched village actually loves you?"
A flicker of conceit passed over the demon's face as his expressionless jailor summoned a Rasengan in the palm of his hand in no time flat. Of course, this being the boy's mind anything he could imagine was entirely possible, but considering the fact that Jiraiya was still teaching him the necessary steps to that move told the Kyuubi a lot about his container's progress.
"Calm down, calm down. Simmer down, kit, I'm just messing with you. I'm only calling things as I see it. Besides, that little thing in your hands couldn't even touch this seal, much as I'd like it to."
Naruto dispelled the blue chakra orb with a roll of his eyes, "And you wonder why people don't like you..."
"Life wouldn't be so interesting for a little pest like you if it wasn't for me," It arrogantly proclaimed. "Of course," It continued, ignoring the boy's accusing glare, "My existence wouldn't been so messed if it wasn't for that two faced bastard of a man!"
"Don't talk about the Yondaime that way!" Shouted the blond. The fox's sneer abruptly blanked out in that instant.
"What? Oh right," The Nine Tails frowned pensively and distractedly. "I almost forgot. Him too."
Kyuubi quit brooding in silence once he noticed his container's curiously confused look.
"It doesn't matter," The demon dismissed with a lazy wave of its fluttering tails. "Not like you mortals would believe me even if I tried. Maybe I'll tell you about it some other time, but for now let's just get back to business." The Fox Lord's drooling black lips split once more into a grin. "I think we can help each other here."
Predictably enough, his container's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Last I saw from the story of your life, your worthless sensei threw you like a sack of garbage down this miserable little gorge. You're tired, you're running out of options, and you're heading nowhere fast. Nowhere except down, of course, but we wouldn't want that. What you need is my power..."
"...But you want something back in return," The blond slowly said.
"Ah, but a trade is only fair," The snickering kitsune said. "Like I've said before, you're life would be so much more interesting if only you showed the world that you have a little spine. You are so afraid to offend people, whereas I am not..."
"Hell no," The boy shot the Kyuubi's proposal down in flames. "Do you actually think I'm that stupid?!"
"...One could only dream," The great beast muttered aside under its hot fetid breath.
"You'll never achieve your evil ends with my body! Never!"
"Give it a rest, I don't have any further interest in destroying your village," It casually drawled, examining its nails. "Wasn't even myself that day, to tell you the truth, but you're not going to believe me and it's not like I care. Do you know what's the funny thing about seeing through your eyes, kit? You might find it strange, but I can't feel anything."
The blond cocked his head to one side, clearly not understanding.
"Every action you take, every failure or a victory under your belt is a spectacle for me to see," The Fox explained slowly but imperiously as if he were a particularly slow child. "As much as your life amuses me, however, I get no feeling, no satisfaction, no sense of oomph from seeing it all. Seeing is certainly believing, but I cannot feel your triumphs, your frustrations, your anger, or your joys. Really, its pathetic; to live vicariously through you, and yet be unable to savor the sensations of life for myself. Like being locked in a room with only a Television set to pass the time, year after year after year. What I ask for lending you my considerable power is just a little bit of that time. Maybe a few hours when you don't need it. I'll even give you my word not to cause any trouble, to not interfere when you don't want me to."
Naruto turned his back with a scoff.
"Quit jerking my chain, you know I'm not going to believe that. Only a moron would trust your word. Besides, you're going to have to help me either way. If I die you die; it's as simple as that."
"So stubborn," The Demon Lord sighed, shaking its mighty head. "Well then, so be it..."
Darkness filled the boy's surroundings just as swiftly as it had before, and with it went all awareness of the room. Weightlessness consumed his being, and suddenly he was falling into the abyss once again. It wasn't black any more; he could just barely make out the rocky bottom of a fast flowing torrent down below. The water unfortunately didn't look so deep...
"KYUUBI!" He screamed.
'Ungrateful brat,' The Nine Tails groused as he played a game of Solitaire with his tails. 'Demands my power without giving something in return. Humph, it's because of me he's survived this long on this world...Although it kind of is my fault that his lot in life ended up like this. Wait, what the hell am I thinking?!' The Kyuubi growled, 'I'm the one whose the victim here!'
"AAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!"
'Well it's not like he's going to die while I'm still around, but I suppose there's no sense taking unnecessary risks. Sigh. You are one ballsy mortal, kit, I'll give you that. Just for impressing me I'll give you this much for free, so make it good.'
Power unexpectedly flared from the boy's belly like a fireball beneath his skin. He had felt this distinct sensation only once before, but he already knew what this irresistible euphoric rush meant.
'Let's what the kit can do...' The Fox watched the boy's flying hands with interest.
"Kuchiyose no-"
That was as far as Naruto got before starbursts exploded in his vision.
SPLASH! THUNK!
The demon fox's leering smile slipped when his container slammed face first into the drink and took a mouthful of sediment and stone. Consciousness mercifully fled the boy as he bounced off the rocky bottom of the raging river and floated up to the water's surface, oblivious to the painful fact that his body had literally become one huge patch of black and blue. Kyuubi winced, thankful that he couldn't feel this pain. Apparently, water could not soften the blow of a nearly five hundred foot fall.
'...Well, that was anticlimactic,' The Nine Tails mused as Naruto's limpid form drifted in circles down the stream. 'Kit, you still with me?'
"Ugh..." Came the listless reply.
'Good enough for me. Meat sacks are so fragile,' The demon lamented into the emptiness of the blond's head. 'One little fall and they end up like this. You're going to owe me later, brat.'
Red chakra began to seep from the seal in Naruto's belly, spreading out in a hazy halo that wrapped around his battered form like a cloak of sentient flames. Plumes of smoke arose as dozens of cuts closed instantaneously with a hiss of knitting skin. The single dark bruise that encompassed the boy's body gradually receded in pinpricks and spots. Broken bones snapped into realignment as shoulder joints popped back into place. Kyuubi was just pausing to gloat over its handiwork when it finally noticed the tumultuous state of the roiling waters that its jailor was in. Watching with creeping feeling of dread through Naruto's half lidded eyes, he caught sight of a spectacular rainbow only twenty feet ahead. Rainbows hanging at the foot of the rapids only meant one thing.
'Kit, snap out it, there's a waterfall up ahead, and this one looks like a doozy! Kit? KIT!'
Blue eyes flecked with hints of black and red widened as the demon lord stared down, down, down, the precipitous drop. Two words came to the fore of the fox's mind as the boy's body toppled straight down the abyss like a log.
"Oh, shit."
A/N: Seriously, what sort of fucking moron throws a 12 year old off a cliff?! I know I shouldn't rag about this, and I know that Jiraiya was just trying to teach Naruto to summon the Kyuubi's chakra, but to what end? Naruto, as far as I can tell from reading the manga, still can't control/summon that self same chakra at will! Gaara was sort of able to do it; Yugito was able to do it; Killer Bee was able to do it; hell, all the Jinchiruku we know can do it, so if Ero-Baka's stunt was supposed to teach the boy to do just that then why does it seem like the boy's situation hasn't noticeably improved?!
P.S. You're probably wondering why I am doing two Naruto/Avatar crossovers at the same time, and the simple answer is I'm not. One of these will stay; the other will be deleted. I just want to see the reception for each, and which I feel most comfortable with is all.