AN: Revamped so enjoy.
Chapter 1
The feel of the cold void enveloped him as he floated among the stars of space; there was but a faint pulse in his body. It was the orange bubble that enveloped his entire body that protected him from the void of space. Long, spiky blonde hair flowed aimlessly inside. Slowly his crystal blue eyes opened at the whisper that echoed in his head 'You're going to be happy again, I promise.'The voice said with what he could only describe as love, his eyes closed once again; but not before he caught a glimpse of the beautiful planet in the distance.
Beach City - Nighttime
Nighttime in Beach City was usually as quiet as either the Crystal Gems could keep it when they weren't fighting monsters or defending Beach City from panic caused by Steven. At the moment however one Gem was wide awake. It wasn't like Pearl to be awake and out at such a time during the night, but something inside her mind had raged for her to come out. While her body was naturally thin and her skin a beautiful pale white that seemed to illuminate in the moon's light, her eyes shined a light blue color. Pearl's short pastel-orange hair is styled to a point like pixie cut, but like her fellow gems Peal bore a gemstone on her body. A large pearl embedded into her forehead. "What is this feeling of foreboding?" Pearl questioned looking up into the night sky, the stars that lit up the sky made her smile a bit as fond memories of exploring the cosmos came back to her. "I can't help but wonder what I'm missing." She said through a whisper. That's when something caught her eye; a single blazing star in the sky that looked to be moving. The longer she stared at it the more she came to a single conclusion; the star wasn't just moving it was getting closer at an extremely fast pace. It didn't take more than a minute for the star to become a visible burning inferno that now looked to be a small asteroid as it entered Earth's atmosphere, but something about it was off. It felt like it was giving off a serious energy signature "Like it's another…Gem." Pearl said with wide eyes.
The star was now close enough to where Pearl could identify it as a bubble that they used. The bubble crashed into the ocean, but it didn't stop; effectively splitting the ocean as the headed to land. A crash echoed through the night when the bubble crashed into the cold sand, Pearl simply stood there mouth agape. 'Oh no, oh no!' she began to panic, but she quickly regained her bearings before bringing out her magic spear. Slowly but surely she stepped forward, gathering up any courage she had at the moment. Upon getting closer Pearl couldn't help but drool a little upon seeing who was inside. The young man looked to be about eighteen or nineteen, on both his cheeks were three marks that looked like whisker marks; they made his sleeping face look a lot cuter. The sleeping blonde wasn't overly muscular; in fact upon getting a closer look, Pearl noticed that, he was actually quite lean. That's when she saw them, two gems embedded into his body. One was a golden curricular sapphire that was snugged perfectly between his collar bones and on the back of his neck was circular shaped red emerald. Suddenly the orange bubble that contained the young man, popped, much to Pearl's surprise. The blonde immediately began to stir, in response Pearl was on guard even when he looked up at her with sleepy eyes. The blonde said but one thing.
"My name is…Naruto." he said with a smile that was aimed directly at Pearl before falling into blissful unconsciousness much to Pearl's confusion.
"Naruto" Pearl repeated with a curious gaze; it was obvious that this Gem wasn't a danger at the moment, and considering the fact that he was naked, Pearl couldn't help but blush a bit at the sight. Her next course of action wasn't obvious, but it would cause a bit of commotion among her fellow Gems.
Beach City – Daytime – Universe Home/Temple
"Whoa! So he's a crystal gem just like you guys?" Steven questioned with a curious gaze that was fixed on the sleeping blonde, though Garnet kept him at a safe distance just in case the blonde woke up and was hostile enough to attack.
"So he said his name was Na-ruto before he hit the sack?" Amethyst questioned pronouncing the blonde's name wrong on purpose much to Peal's ire. They knew nothing about this new gem other than his name, so no chances could be taken with the sleeping blonde. The sudden sound of a groan caused the gems to turn to the blonde, their weapons drawn and ready to fight if needed. Naruto's blue eyes opened to the world around him, sitting up ever so slightly he yawned. All was silent as he simply stared ahead out of the open window. Steven waited in a tense silence that was at best barely being contained, but he was trying his best at this point. Naruto either didn't notice the crystal gems or he chose not to acknowledge them at all.
"Excuse me." Pearl said gaining the blonde's attention. Naruto's eyes went straight to Pearl who seemed to heat up a bit by the blonde's innocent blue eyes. Regaining her composure she decided to try and properly greet the newcomer. "Good morning Naruto." she said making Naruto blink a bit.
"Good morning." Naruto replied with a smile "Who you are, may I ask?" his question while not unusual, did propose the possibility that he didn't know them at all. "Also can you please tell me where I am?" Those words alone made them realize that the blonde truly didn't know about them.
"You're on Earth, Beach City to be exact." Garnet stated putting her gauntlets away. Naruto's head turned a bit in confusion "From the look on your face, I assume that you were on another planet before you crashed here." The leader of the crystal gems said, but what Naruto would say next would confuse everyone in the room.
"I don't know, all I can remember is my name, and that's Naruto." Naruto said much to everyone's confusion. While Garnet and Pearl could tell that the blonde was telling the truth. One question popped up in Pearl's mind though.
"Do you know exactly what you are?" Pearl questioned. As expected Naruto's face twisted up into that of utter confusion almost like he didn't know how to answer the question, but then he adorned a look of sadness before nodding 'no'. Steven while young, could see it in Naruto's eyes, he was sad about something.
"You can stay with us!" Steven suddenly exclaimed running straight at Naruto only stop mere inches from the blonde. "If he doesn't remember anything then he's not dangerous right?" the young boy questioned. The gems seemed to sport faces of curiosity almost like they agreed with Steven's logic, expect for Garnet who still held her same stoic expression. That was until a smile came to her face and her hand gracefully set on, Naruto's shoulder.
"Welcome to the Crystal Gems, Naruto." Garnet said with what sounded like enthusiasm. Needless to say Steven cheered like mad, as did Amethyst, and while Pearl simply congratulated the blonde; she found it hard to contain her excitement. Though a sense of wariness still remained as nobody knew what this Gem was capable of.
The Next Day
Understanding nothing of the place which he would call home Naruto was surprised at how eager, Steven was to show him around Beach City. But not before getting Naruto some acceptable clothes as wearing Greg's oversized clothes wasn't the best look. Now the blonde wore a pair of red shorts, a white short sleeved shirt with a golden star in the chest area, and a pair of sandals much like Steven's own. Casual wear until Naruto could generate his own clothes like the other gems. Currently he was being led around Beach City by the young half-gem, Steven. "Finally there's Connie, Sadie, and Lars." Steven stated "And that's everyone in Beach City that I know." he said "Any questions?" Naruto nodded. "Not even one?" the young boy questioned confused.
"Steven, you've pretty much explained everything I needed to know; besides this place isn't hard to understand. It's peaceful enough minus the gem monsters that show up to cause some sort of mayhem, but they're taken care of pretty quickly." Naruto took a breath "Aside from all that, I've learned much from you regarding Beach City, and for that I thank you." the blonde's smile of gratitude seemed to make Steven light up with joy. Naruto's thoughts went onto what he'd been told about what exactly he was. "They said that I was a gem just like you and them, but they weren't very informative about the history and such." The blonde said "Why is that?" his question while valid was one that Steven didn't have the answer to.
"Oh! You have to meet my dad!" Steven exclaimed excitedly grabbing Naruto's hand, and effectively dragging the blonde gem; granted Naruto was actually running with Steven. Running in sandals however, was not the best idea as Naruto wasn't exactly fond of the uneasy feeling that they brought on when running. Reaching the car wash, Naruto could immediately see the obvious family resemblance between Steven and his dad. "Dad, look who I brought!" he exclaimed gaining his father's attention. Turning around Greg was greeted to the sight of Steven presenting Naruto with both are pointed toward the blonde. Greg stared for what seemed like hours before taking in a breath, but surprise was evident on his face upon seeing the star shaped gem in between Naruto's collar; his shirt was low enough to allow the gem to be seen.
"You're a g-gem." Greg stated obviously surprised.
"Yeah, I showed up Monday night." Naruto said rather plainly "So far your son has been showing and teaching me much about Beach City. It's been quite insightful." He stated.
"Well here's hoping that you feel welcome here, but I'm pretty sure that, that won't be a problem." Greg stated with a smile "So where're you coming from anyway?" to answer this question, Naruto pointed up.
"I'm not sure, but apparently I crashed here from space." He explained "Other than my own name which is Naruto, and what I've learned so far I don't remember anything else. Whoever I was before is lost to me, and all I can do is hope that I wasn't evil." Unconsciously he touched the gold sapphire gem embedded into the back of his neck. "But I doubt that I could ever be evil I wouldn't make a good villain anyway." He laughed attempting to cheer himself up, but the very thought of him ever being a bad person weighed heavy in his mind. Greg could tell that the gem was nervous about his shrouded past, and while he would leave it alone for now; it was a subject that would need to be brought up some time. For now however he wanted to make a good first impression.
"I wouldn't worry too much about something about that, you're here now with a clean slate and no memories of the past; you've pretty much got a restart on life." Greg stated "There are a lot of people who'd give anything for what you've been given." Such words of wisdom made the blonde smile. For the rest of the day Naruto spent the day with Steven and Greg, and after a while he found that he liked it; being around them. Joy was the emotion that he proclaimed to have. As the night began to take hold Naruto told Steven that he would be back at the house in a bit. Now he sat on the beach alone and he didn't know why, but something inside whispered to him words that were to fuzzy to make out.
'F-feel j-joy, feel happiness, and feel…real lo-' the voice was cut off before it could finish that last word; this was the clearest that he'd heard. Maybe this was his subconscious trying to tell him something? But if that was the answer then why was the voice so fuzzy? For now it was a simple mystery that could wait, it wasn't important at the moment anyway. Closing his eyes he began to concentrate on the things around him and found a sense of peacefulness among the sound of the wave and night air. The feel of every grain of sand on his hand gave off a seemingly endless feeling of minerals, and the sensation of a sign of life coming toward him was incredibly detailed. Blue eyes widened at that last feeling, turning to his right he saw the person who was indeed coming toward him; a smile came to his face.
"Hey there Pearl." He greeted the gem who found him.
"Naruto what are you doing out so late?" Pearl questioned though the same could be asked of her.
"Just taking in the feelings of this place, and seeing how I feel about them." he answered "What about you; what are you doing out so late?" he questioned catching the gem off guard.
"W-well I saw that you weren't on the couch so I came out here to see what you were doing." She said though Naruto could see through her not so obvious lie.
"How'd you know where I was?" Naruto questioned with a smirk, he'd caught her, and she knew it. Lucky for her, Naruto wasn't one to say words that needn't be said.
"Steven has taken a liking to you." she stated with a small smile "Tomorrow we'll be training you with Steven." She paused upon seeing Naruto's worrying expression. "That's right, you don't know how to use any of your powers; heck you don't even know how to summon your weapon. But that's okay because you'll have help just like Steven." What Pearl got was Naruto's cute smile, her face red a bit at the sight.
"Thanks…I believe that I'm going to love calling this place home." His words gave Pearl a semblance that Naruto may indeed become what the human expression was, but it was an expression that she dared not say aloud she needed to think on it. Pearl hesitantly put her hope for Naruto on the line. That night both would wonder about what tomorrow would bring. Neither knew that Amethyst and Garnet had seen and heard everything with a wide yet mischievous smile on their faces.
Beach City – The Next Day
To Naruto, learning was the process of advancement and power; well that's what he personally believed. Today he and Steven would be learning together, granted he was new to this while Steven was not. There were two things that he'd be training in today, shape shifting and activating the bubble that was protecting him when he crashed. The bubble was primarily used for defensive purposes and keeping gem monsters contained. "Concentration is a key part in using any gem skill; keep that concentration going until it comes to be natural." Garnet explained. Naruto simply nodded and extended both his hands, his body still and unmoving.
"Dig…deep, and bring out…the…power…into what you want." His eyes widened upon hearing the voice once again, it was giving advice this time, and its words were much clearer now. Calming his breathing he began to feel not just all things around him, but the feeling of magic energy inside. His thoughts went through into silent commands, and the result was exactly what he wanted. An average sized bubble had phased around him. Poking at it, Garnet found that it was hard as rock.
"On your first try to, are you sure you don't remember using this before?" Steven teased.
"Maybe I did use this before, but I kind of doubt it because of the…" Naruto paused unable to utter a word about the voice, it was like he was being blocked from even mention it. "Anyway what's next on the list, it was shape shifting right?" Garnet caught Naruto's sudden cut-off sentence, and something about it wasn't right; it was obvious that something had just silenced him. Allowing this to pass, she explained the process of shape shifting; the only question Naruto had was kind of expected. "I don't understand, could you please explain it to where I don't have an aneurysm?" truly he was confused.
"Imagine your arm stretching out like a snake." Amethyst stated "Or like some kind of weird sea monster!" she exclaimed. This brought a look of realization to the blonde's face; apparently this was the best kind of explanation. Putting up his right arm in front of him he once again tapped into his magic energy while imagining his arm stretching out. His bones becoming loose, his skin being able to handle the act, and the thought of a snake in his mind; his arm glowed and as it died down his arm was now completely black. His hand was no longer a hand, but a snake head with eyes, a mouth, and fangs. It stretched out around Naruto's body, its length continuing to grow as Naruto silently commanded. "Wow you took the snake thing literally." She stated gaining the snake's attention. Its tongue hissing at the gem "What! You wanna go silky?!" not wanting to risk getting his arm cut off by Amethyst, Naruto quickly retracted his arm effectively turning it back to normal.
"Full body shape shifting is possible as well?" he questioned.
"Yes, but it takes a lot more concentration and energy; add that to the fact that you need detailed knowledge about what you want to transform into. Whether it is a person or animal." Pearl explained. For a few seconds the blonde was silent as he contemplated what he currently knew in detail. Snapping his fingers he thought of someone that he could easily transform into. Concentrating he allowed the glow to envelop his body, and take for of the person he was thinking of. The light died down and Pearl was now looking at an exact replica of herself, but minus her own gem.
"Turning into people I know is much easier than taking the form of someone on the street." Naruto stated "But I must admit that this feels weird taking your form." He said getting no answer. "Something wrong Pearl?" For Pearl, it was actually kind of odd seeing someone transform into her. Was it some sort of flattery?
"Nothing's wrong it's just uh, you've got it nearly perfect!" she nervously said "g-good job." Granted Naruto and Steven couldn't exactly place where Pearl's true emotions were, Garnet and Amethyst on the other hand could. Only a few days in and Naruto was already getting on Pearl's good side; granted the blonde didn't know that he was unconsciously doing such a thing. 'It's nearly perfect!' she silently exclaimed 'How is he able to make it so detailed?' she paused when a profound thought came to mind. 'Has he been checking me out?' while Pearl did consider herself to be quite attractive she never did receive any attention from males or females, and while she didn't show it she did find it disappointing. Yet here was Naruto the new gem of the group, possibly making a subtle pass at her.
'Wow, he really got to her.' Garnet noted, she'd known Pearl for more than a thousand years now, and this was only the second person who'd been able to get Pearl this flustered. The first was Rose. Getting tired of the awkward silence Naruto proceeded to turn back to his own form.
'Two lessons down and easily accomplished.' Naruto silently stated. For the rest of the day he and Steven would be working on the reaction time when it came to the bubble, but at the same time Steven would try and bring out his weapon; the shield that his mother used. Naruto found that while he couldn't yet bring out his weapon, he could improvise via shape shifting his fingers into metallic claws. They were crude, but they'd have to do until he could bring out his weapon. That night the blonde found himself on the beach once again staring at the waves.
"You…did s-so good today…proud of you." the voice praised, but Naruto said nothing as it faded away. Its origins were still unknown and he didn't want to take the chance of replying, and suddenly being taken over. Granted he didn't know if that would actually happen, but better safe than sorry. As sleep began to take him, and he trekked up to the house he could say with certainty that he loved it here in Beach City. He loved his home.
Chapter 1 End