A/N – So, this fanfiction has been sitting in one of my folders in the documents section on my laptop for almost six months. I decided not to be a pussy anymore and post this shit. There won't be any shipping going on in this fanfiction and, after this chapter, you'll see why. Um… this is completely an alternate universe where this shit can happen so don't go being anal about 'that's-not-correct' or some bullshit like that. Woah, I'm so salty today. Don't mind me, just being me. Well, I don't remember why I wrote this months and months ago, but it's pretty okay. I've just done some editing and the likes of to make it somewhat presentable. I only have one more chapter for this fanfiction prewritten. This fanfiction is probably going to have slow updates, but whatever, it's who I've become now. So, yeah… that's enough introduction.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters that belong to it. I only own the idea, plot, and cover picture for this fanfiction.
Summary: Naruto was dying, it was so simple yet unbelievable. He was young and had a whole future ahead of him. That's what Kurama believed, anyway. He wanted more for his pseudo brother and couldn't stand see him perish. Something must be done. And when it is? The future will never be the same again.
Chapter 1: We Are but One Now
Naruto looked at the sky, watching the light from early dawn start to coat the clouds with vibrant pinks and oranges. It was a beautiful sight to see. His dull blue eyes slowly followed a crow for a few seconds as it flew away. He went back to staring at the sunrise, to the fluffy whiteness in the atmosphere, to the void of beautifulness.
While he stared with such a pressure on his chest, Naruto could feel the hot tears well up in his eyes. There was a pain somewhere in his body that he couldn't quite identify but he found that he was awfully numb in most areas. A scream is bubbling up in his throat slightly, wanting some release from the anguish he was feeling within his heart. Despite seven o'clock in the morning coming around the corner, the world around him was darkening in his eyes. Naruto frantically searched the sky for the clouds that expressed so much wonder. A dreaded tear fell from his eye slowly. "Kura-nii-san…" He thought, his words soaked with sadness and unadulterated fear.
"No… Naruto!" Disbelief was clear as day in Kurama's wide, red eyes.
The flood of sorrow left his eyes as he cried, still looking up at the morning sky, "I guess… t-this is it… right?" It hurt too much to think, the pounding in his head making his thoughts echo repeatedly.
The demon fox banged on his cage with his large head as panic started to settle in his heart, "NO! This isn't it! I can… I can save us!"
"Kura-nii-san… I" Something cold and foreign seemed to have punctured his body, stopping his thoughts for a few seconds. He clamped his eyes shut, sobbing in pain, "I can't… g-go on…" The distant laughter escaping the mouths of his attackers, filling his ears.
"This isn't the end!" Kurama fought the bars with all his might, noticing the darkness starting to cloud the sewer. It cracked the walls and flooded the area. His paws were underneath the water, feeling the floor rumbling beneath him. "This can't be the end!" He screamed out, stepping away from the bars as the darkness came towards him. Realization hit him hard.
Naruto was dying.
"I d-don't…" Naruto mumbled, voice echoing inside his mindscape. His words were halted as he used some of his strength to open his eyes. He needed to see the sky one more time. "I… can't…" His mind couldn't conjure anything to say, the screaming of his pseudo-brother sounding so distant. Naruto could feel his eyes starting to close; he felt so weak and helpless. He couldn't see the sky anymore. "I'm… s-sorry… Kura-nii-san…" Tears slid down his face, "T-This is it…"
"No, it's not and you know it! You're not going to die! You've got to be strong!" He shouted to the only human he ever considered a friend, a brother, "I can save you! I can save us!"
A sudden scream of bloody murder left the boy's mouth. Kurama's heart pumped faster as he watched through a warped mirror of sorts inside the mindscape. In a second, a cloth-like object was shoved down Naruto's throat. He gagged by the foul taste and screamed, tears leaving his eyes in quick succession, "I… d-don't want… to die…"
"Naruto-"
"If… If I die… t-then… you d-die too!" He stated extremely quietly, fear and panic well voiced through his thoughts, "We… c-can't die… Kura-nii-san… we've got to… to k-keep… going…"
Kurama felt tears coming to his own eyes, watching his brother struggle to fight something that no child should ever have to experience, "There's… one way."
"P-Please…" After the boy's shouts, his energy suddenly felt so depleted.
"You have to understand that… if I do this, if we do this… neither of us will exist anymore. We'd be one of the same. Naruto Uzumaki will not exist. Kurama the nine-tailed fox will not exist. But together… together, we'd continue onwards." Kurama explained, a tear falling from his large eye, "Do you… do you wish to go forth with this?"
"I-If it means… that y-you… are saved t-too, then… yes... please?" A small smile appeared on his face which seemed to anger his assailants. Blood rose to his mouth as something encountered his abdomen, the crimson liquid gurgling in his throat with no way to escape due to the cloth-like object shoved into his mouth.
Naruto was drowning in his own blood.
"Alright, prepare yourself." Kurama spread his tails straight out in a giant-like fan. He pulled Naruto's mind from reality, throwing him into the mindscape. The boy stumbled but fought the darkness crawling towards his pseudo-brother, heading for the Kyuubi's den. The fox pushed his head forward, letting Naruto embrace his snout with a hug. They hugged and cried together. Kurama nuzzled the boy he considered a little brother, "You have to say these words out loud. Repeat after me… Kur…"
"Ku… r…" His voice outside the world of the mindscape was barely a whisper.
"Mei…"
The sewer was becoming darker, circling around them like vultures.
"M-M… ei…"
The cheers of his attackers appeared to echo in the sewer, like unwanted taunts.
"Bore…"
Kurama was getting worried; Naruto wasn't responding that quickly.
"Bo… r-r… e…"
The fox's and boy's heartbeats seemed to start beating at the same time, slow and steady.
"Kei…"
"Ke… i-i…"
Their breathing evened out.
"Kur, mei, bore, kei."
"K-ku… r, m… ei… bo… r-re, kei…"
The two started to repeatedly chant these few words as the sewer started to glow brighter by their words. Neither worried about the world outside of the mindscape. Neither worried about the darkness that came closer and closer. Neither worried about the endless possibilities of the future. Right now, they needed each other.
"I love you, Kura-nii-san…" Naruto whispered, his hug tightening.
Kurama smiled, "I love you too, Naruto…"
Then, everything stopped.
Hiruzen tapped the mahogany desk in front of him. He hadn't gotten his daily stack of paperwork in yet, even though he'd already been at the office since five in the morning. While he wasn't complaining, he slowly found himself becoming oddly bored. It was a feat in and of itself since the God of Shinobi doesn't get bored. Sometimes. The old man twisted his chair in circles, finding humor in such a childish activity. Rolling his eyes at the thought, Hiruzen stopped messing around with his chair and looked out the window. The sun was just starting to rise. He decided that it'd be nice to watch it.
The rest of the world did not agree.
The door to the Third Hokage's office flung open, revealing a very disheveled ANBU. Her mask was falling off her face, her wide eyes and parted lips being revealed to him. Had the woman's posture not looked so shaken and her breaths unsteady, Hiruzen would have reprimanded her on the lack of control of her emotions. "What is it?" He asked.
She took a deep breath in, pointing out the door, quivering slightly, "There is a large disturbance of demonic energy northeast."
Hiruzen shot up from his seat, flying past her, "Naruto!" The Third Hokage and the ANBU woman hopped out of the window, jumping atop of the roofs. Now that he was out of the office, the old man could clearly feel the demonic chakra emitting from an area in Konoha. The coils of such large chakras would probably be felt throughout the entire village in a few minutes. Hiruzen was mentally praying to Kami, desperately hoping that the Kyuubi hadn't been released from the seal, that Naruto wasn't hurt. Both possibilities were unlikely. However, he had found out early that Naruto was a very unpredictable child. Anything can happen when that boy's around. Anything.
"The thing that's creating the disturbance is just ahead." The ANBU informed as the two picked up their pace. Other ANBU and Jonnin were at the scene surrounding a crater in Konoha. While Naruto is known for his unpredictability, Hiruzen stood stock still.
This is unreal.
There standing in the middle of a wide crater was a child-like person with about a dozen bodies surrounding them. They looked to be civilians of some kind, however, Hiruzen could still see them breathing. From the structure of this person's body, the Third Hokage could determine that it was a male child. His heart started to pick up with worry. The boy's clothing was torn with dried blood covering it from head to toe. Black claws, ones that were longer than the boy's hand, extended to the ground, stained with blood. He had shoulder length blond hair with tuffs of red everywhere. It was incredibly spikey and messy. Practically sensing the Hokage's arrival, the boy turned around revealing a chilling sight. "No…" Hiruzen whispered.
The boy smirked.
"Demon eyes…" The old man whispered. Dark red, cat-like eyes sent fear down the Third Hokage's back. The boy's eyes narrowed with… distrust? Curiosity? Excitement?! Hiruzen couldn't tell, but he knew what must be done. He stepped forward, seriousness in his voice, "Release Naruto Uzumaki, demon."
"You are wrong, Hokage-sama." Naruto voice was deeper, scratchier, "There is no one named Naruto here."
"Do not play coy with me, demon." The Third Hokage gritted his teeth, walking forward into the crater, "Release the boy!"
The boy tsked, chuckling quietly, waving off the older man, "I cannot do that, Hokage-sama."
"And why is that?!" The old man was growing more and more frantic.
"Neither the fox nor Naruto exist anymore. We are but one now." The world seemed to cave in now.
Hiruzen took a step back, "W-What?!"
"We are Naruama now." He gave a foxlike grin, bowing mockingly.
The Third Hokage took slow breaths, trying to comprehend what the hell was going on. He needs to know what's happening, "Naruto-"
"He doesn't use that name anymore." The boy grinned, sharp teeth flashing dangerously at him, "We are Naruama now." He narrowed him eyebrows, stance becoming straighter. "Call me by a different name again and… well-" He stared directly into the eyes of the Hokage with a grin on his face, showing sharpened teeth, "I might do something I might regret."
ANBU stiffened up, bringing out their weapons of choice. Hiruzen almost took a step back due to the killing intent surrounding the crater, but fought himself to stay still. "We need to talk… Naruama…"
"Hm…" Naruama hummed mockingly, tapping a clawed finger against his chin, "Do I like talking? I'm not too sure."
"Stop messing around, you have some serious explaining to do and… possible criminal charges at hand…" Hiruzen felt like he couldn't look Naruto – Naruama now – in the eye without feeling so stuck.
"Criminal charges? Are you fucking serious?" The look of his face told the group that he was frustrated, "Oh, now I really don't want to talk with you if you are just going to press charges." The Third Hokage balled his fists, glancing at the ANBU and Jonnin surrounding him and the crater. He nodded to them all. Naruama seemed to have caught this, bursting out laughing, "Oh ho! This is going to be good!" Several members launched themselves his way, spiraling into a taijutsu battle. Naruama grinned menacingly, shivering in glee as red demonic chakra started to pulse through his body. A transparent red tail bubbled out from behind him, his body started to be cloaked by it. He dodged at the last moment as a kick flew out in front of him. A clawed hand grabbed the leg and chucked it away from him. The man hissed in pain, the demonic chakra rotting his skin away. "You know, old man, you really need to have better eyes on the situation. You could have prevented this." Naruama giggled out, it was more creepy than funny.
"What?"
"If you had just let Naruto get adopted… none of this would have happened. It's all your fault, dearest Hokage." He tsked, wagging a clawed finger at the older man, "Don't think I don't know about the ban on adopting one Naruto Uzumaki from the orphanage. I also know that several families had asked and set in adoption papers for Naruto. Ah, but you didn't let those families – who only wanted a son, mind you – have him? How selfish of you, dearest Hokage?"
Hiruzen gritted his teeth, "What are you even talking about?
"Let me use your own words against you!" Naruama cheered, quickly firing a black ball of chakra at a ninja, "Don't play coy with me! Ah, that felt fun to use!"
"I… I have no idea what you're talking about." He lied.
"Man, I would hate to force it out of you, but… oh well! I guess it can't be helped that you've grown to be such a selfish old man. I can't believe Naruto wanted to be like you one day… Hokage, can you believe it?" The blond-and-red-haired boy shook his head, blinking mockingly, "Wow, just wow."
"Enough of this, now!" Hiruzen gritted out, stopping all movements on this semi-battle.
Naruama's expression fell off him face, "Are you admitting that you are guilty for what you've done to Naruto Uzumaki?"
He sighed, "Yes, I did place a ban on the adoption but that was because I wanted to protect him from families that would want to harm him."
"Why would they want to harm him?" He blinked owlish, "Is it because he had the nine-tailed fox, the great and almighty Kyuubi, inside of him? Because the Kyuubi attacked the village six years ago?"
"Yes."
"Finally, we are agreed then… that you're a selfish old man?" Naruama smiled, teeth shining devilishly.
Hiruzen wanted to argue, but it seemed that this boy had taken control over the situation nicely. He grits his teeth, hands balling into fists, "Yes."
"Okay." He shrugged, "Where to?"
"Excuse me?"
"Where would you like me to explain myself?" The boy asked, blinking innocently.
"Torture and Interrogation Force, unit seven." The Third Hokage stated.
Naruama clasped his hands together, black claws started to seep back into his fingers to make them look more… normal, other than the color of said nails, "Great!" He looked to the ANBU and Jonnin that he had fought for a little while. "It was nice to go against such worthy opponents," He sighed, starting to walk out of the crater to stand beside Hiruzen, "Sadly, I must be on my way. Until next time!" The chakra that once surrounded his body like armor dissipated in seconds. An unconscious sigh left the ninjas as he started to walk beside the Hokage to T&I.
Hiruzen looked down sadly at Naruama, "What happened to you, Naruto?"
"This was fun, wasn't it?" The shorter boy exclaimed, an almost cocky smirk on his face, "The look on your face was priceless."
"This isn't a joke, Naruto – I mean, Naruama…" His chest clenched together while speaking.
A dark glaze fell over his face, "While I applaud you for correcting yourself, don't think that I don't know that this isn't a joke. I almost died, Hiruzen, and it wasn't fun."
"Are… Are you alright?" He said slowly, absorbing this information. There was concern in his voice.
Naruama looked towards the horizon, seeing the sun peaking up teasingly, "No, not really. It was very scary." He looked up to the older man, red eyes staring at him with… guilt? Hiruzen couldn't tell. The Third Hokage put a hand on the boy's shoulder. The blond-and-red-haired kid just shrugged it off, walking ahead of Hiruzen into T&I's headquarters. "Unit seven, right?" Naruama asked, pointing down the hall.
"Yes. They have already been informed and Ibiki will be here soon." He stated, watching the boy nodded and walk away. He bit his lip, "I really am to blame for this."
Naruama stared at Ibiki with bored eyes, his sad spell had gone with the wind. "How are you?" He asked after the interrogator continued to be silent.
"We will ask the questions here." Ibiki stated with not an ounce of emotion lacing his words.
He scoffed, rolling his eyes, "Ugh… fine. Get on with it. I'd appreciate if you'd get on with it, then. I'm super tired… and kind of sore."
"What is your name?" He asked.
"Naruama." The boy said, head resting in his hands.
Ibiki narrowed his eyes, "Before you became… Naruama."
"Naruto." The multi-colored-haired boy stated, "Kurama."
"Who is Kurama?" He inquired.
"It's the true name of the nine-tailed fox." He spoke with such honesty that it kind of startled those watching from behind the one-way mirror.
Ibiki gave him a calculated stare, "What is the relationship between Naruto and Kurama?"
Naruama smiled brightly, "They are like brothers… they have become to understand one another and care for each other."
"How did Naruama come to be?" Ibiki questioned. The tension in the room started to increase.
He looked away, thinking his words enough for those to understand. "Around midnight, Naruto was taken from his home – the apartment Hiruzen Sarutobi gave him – and was moved to a mostly remote location in town. Everyone had already closed shop and it only left the drunks and masterminds to play in the dark. Naruto was six… he's not able to fight against adults. He was going to the academy in a month." Naruama looked pained and saddened while speaking, "Those people, they're demons in human skin… that's what they are. They hurt Naruto and, if not for Kurama, he'd have been dead long ago… but that didn't stop them. That didn't stop them from… hurting and hurting him… over… and over..." He became silent, eyebrows twitching as he kept remembering Naruto's traumatic episode.
"Please continue." Ibiki instructed.
Naruama took a shaky breath in, "Yeah… Yeah, okay. Anyway, Naruto was going to die; it was plain to see. Kurama wanted to save Naruto… neither wanting his brother nor himself to die. If Naruto died, then Kurama died and Naruto didn't want that to happen… Kurama saved Naruto's life… I… I don't remember how it's all started to blur together now that I think about it. Naruto had lost a lot of blood though… and he was… I just…" The look of pure confusion crossed his face, claws starting to protrude from his fingers. Hands stuffed themselves into Naruama's multi-colored hair as he shook his head. "But… we just came to be… and we felt so angry and sad… and happy but we… it was just-"
"I think that's enough, Naruama." Ibiki interrupted, "However, I do have one more question?"
"Yeah?"
"Is there any way that you can get back to normal?" He asked slowly.
Naruama thought for a second, "I… I don't think so."
"Alright." He nodded, "You are free to leave. If we need you for any more questioning, then we will send for an ANBU to go get you."
"Finally!" He gasped out in relief. He shot up from his seat and waved mockingly at Ibiki. The man's eyebrow twitched but he didn't say anything. Walking out of T&I, he headed towards his apartment to get some needed rest.
If you have any questions, comment them and I will answer them in the next chapter.
