Hey guys i had these two chaps done for a while almost have the third done, i figured i'd release these two first. I almost have another chap for a different fic done and almost got the first part of one shot done. Quick question, who likes the chunin exams? I do, it's one of my favourite parts of Naruto, but after the world expanded feel that more could have been done. So this is what I feel should have happened. If you guys want you can use this fic, adopt it, or borrow ideas from here, just send me a link when your done. This is will have a lot of my shadow clone challenges here.

I DONT OWN NARUTO!


"Huh?" Naruto let out as he opened his eyes. It was a dark hallway that was slightly flooded and filled with pipes. It was lit by round light bulbs that let out a yellow glow that gave the hallway a very depressing look. He quickly got up and tried to dry himself off as best he could, but found that he wasn't wet at all. He looked at the palm of his hands and then to his feet. He felt like he was in water. He bent over and poked the water with his right index finger. It felt wet and cool to the touch. He pulled it out and found that it was dry and he didn't feel cool or warm. "What is this place?" He asked out loud while scratching his blond scalp.

He quickly gave himself a quick check. So far he was wearing his regular orange jumpsuit. No cuts, no bruises, he was fine. Then a brief flash of a weird woman came to his mind, specifically the pail woman who forced her hand into Naruto's stomach. He quickly lifted his jacket and black shirt to see that he was fine. He let the shirt and jacket fall then as he tried to figure out what was happening. Last he checked he passed out on a three branch, way up high in a tree. So why, why on earth was he in a hallway that was flooded up to his ankle but isn't wet? It made no sense!

Naruto scowled as he looked behind him, it was a hallway that seemed very long and full of doors, but near the end it got pitch black. Who knew if it even ended? He looked back in front of him. It was a very short segment of the hallway. There was one closed door at the end of the hallway and an open door on his left, leading to a room that a lot of pipes seem to be to going into. Seeing no other choice he simply followed the pipes into the dark room. No, rather, it was more like he was drawn to it.

The room was dark, but it did have a light source. A small light bulb that was pretty much close to dying and flickered every ten seconds or so. His steps splashed every time, echoing throughout the dark room. From the echo you could tell how big the room was. It was making him nervous. As he moved forward he quickly came upon a large set of columns that acted as bars; at what seemed to be the door of the bars, there was single sheet of paper with a bunch of scribbles on it. "What's this doing here? Hmmp, what am I doing here?"

"Tch."Naruto was caught off guard. He quickly pulled out a Kunai and braced himself for an attack. When nothing happened he relaxed a bit.

"HEY! WHO'S THERE?" He yelled.

"OI!" A loud angry voice from behind the bar began. Then suddenly a big eye with a bunch of red veins as well as a red slit appeared from the darkness. Suddenly a whole face appeared. It was a very furry face of blood red fur and bat like ears as well as a fiendish pair of whites. "I'm trying to sleep here you gnat, leave."

"Gnat? No wait…WHO THE HELL ARE YOU! Actually-WHERE THE HELL AM I, DATTEBAYO?"

"Hmph, so the jailer doesn't even know the cell he's policing," the giant furry creature said, "well that is surprising, I suppose."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean," Naruto asked with a confused look.

"Take a guess, in fact, have nine," it said as nine red tails came to view.

"AH! YOU," Naruto yelled as realized what the furry monster was. "YOU'RE THE KYUUBI!"

"Congratulations…you're smarter than feces."

"HEY! What's that supposed to mean," he yelled.

"Figure it out on your own," the giant fox said yawning as it rested its head and tried to go back to sleep.

"Look if that's an insult-Hey! Don't ignore me! TELL ME WHAT THIS PLACE IS! GOD DAMN IT, WHERE THE HELL AM I?" Naruto yelled when he realized that the fox was beginning to snore.

"Where do you think? Either we're in the seal that binds us together or we're in whatever your mind represents the seal to be; any rational being with a shred of logic would conclude that." It replied, then it followed up with, "As to ignoring you…Well there's no point to talking, so why bother. It's not like you have anything to offer me, and likewise, I have nothing to give. So a discussion would be pointless." It sounded like a solid argument so Naruto didn't really have anything to counter with. Then Naruto remembered that his teammates were still fighting the woman. And how bad of a shape they were all in and Sasuke for the first time, that Naruto had ever noticed, was scared.

"Hey!" Naruto said loudly as he put his kunai away. "Look this is inside me basically, right? So what's happening outside is still happening right?"

"Who knows," Kyuubi said, "For all we know, time is either progressing at a very slow rate or at a very fast rate. I have no way of knowing what is happening outside. Only what happens to your body directly. Well that and the emotions."

"But still happening, right? Look my friends are in trouble and you do have something to give!"

"Ooh?" Kyuubi let out in amusement, "What might that be?"

"Your chakra," Naruto said firmly. "I remember…back at the bridge...I was…I was powerful...I…I wanted to tear Haku apart, I wanted to tear everything apart because I could….That was your chakra wasn't it? You gave me your charka back then. Well now I need it again, so fork it over!"

"…No," It responded calmly.

"Huh…" Naruto let out by such a calm answer, "why not!"

"Because it wouldn't do you any good, it's pointless on you. I've seen many warriors, many Shinobi," he spat out, "That is what you call your selves, right? I've seen many great shinobi fight. From one glance I can tell that you are weak. Therefore, my power would not do you any good," it stated, looking at Naruto as if he were a muse.

"THE HELL! Back at the bridge-that thing, that chakra! It made me strong-Strong enough to do anything!" Naruto exclaimed, "You-you've been living inside me the entire time…WELL NOW IT'S TIME TO PAY RENT!"

"…Is that right?" The fox asked in an amused tone, he rested his head down on his paws and closed his eyes. "Well then my self-appointed landlord, I'm afraid I'm unable to reimburse you at this time."

"WHAT!"

"Yes, it is quite troublesome," the fox continued with a smirk, "and the only way to deal with a troublesome tenant is to remove said tenant from the premises, isn't that right? Mr. landlord," the fox taunted.

"Arrrrrrg," Naruto began growling, causing the fox's lip to rise even further.

"Oh my, I can stay? What a saint of a landlord I have! While you are still in the mood, Mr. Landlord, can you do something about all this water? It's bad for my fur and it is very vexing."

"BE SERIOUS!"

"Tch, I am. I don't know anything about a bridge but I do remember your hatred. Such intense hatred that drew my power against my will…that is all I remember. Even the most recent rage was nothing compared to before. To the matter of giving you chakra…even if I did want to give you my chakra, I am currently unable to. Whatever was happening out there, it seems that it resulted in an extra seal being placed on the preexisting seal that binds me here."

"Huh? …So does that mean I can't get your power?"

"It means that as long as that extra seal is in place, I can't willingly give you chakra and you can't forcibly take it from me."

"Wait you mean there's no way for me to use it!"

"Besides the usual amount that already runs through your blood, no. You have to remove the seal."

"Okay, so then how do I remove it?"

The fox cracked an eye open and stared at him, it then closed its eyes before it did a motioned that appeared like shrug, "The seal was placed incorrectly; it probably wouldn't take much to break it. Hatred, an overwhelming amount of hatred should do it. Had it been placed correctly, you would have to either carve it off your flesh through special means or with a fuinjutsu of equal or greater caliber. That much should be obvious."

"Wait, how? How? HOW ON EARTH WOULD THIS BE OBVIOUS TO ME, DATTEBAYO?"

"TCH, you really are a loud one."

"OI! Answer me!"

The fox seemed to sigh while it rolled its eyes, "You honestly expect me to believe that the young Uzumaki doesn't understand how seals work," the beast asked.

"Well sorry, seals are way too complicated for me, plus it takes a hellava long time to make one." The fox looked at Naruto with one eye open again, then it opened the other and looked at him. The fox realized that the boy was serious, it grinned. Then it started gekkering loudly. The sound it made was pretty much like a hyena laughing. Its massive body trembled as it laughed.

"OH THAT'S RICH! GEKGEK-GEK-GEKGEK-," the entire room vibrated a bit because of the loud laugh.

"HEY! What so funny!" While the sound creeped Naruto out a bit, he could tell it was laughter; he didn't like being laughed at.

"YOU! Gekgekgekgekgeke. An Uzumaki being bad with seals! GEKEGEKGEKEGEKEGEKE!"

"HEY QUIT IT! WHAT'S SO FUNNY ABOUT IT?"

"An old vixen kept boasting of her clan's inherit ability to master Fuinjutsu, but before me lies a dotty kit from the same lineage who is inept in the art. Truly the highest form of amusement."

"What the heck are you talking about? For your information, I'm an orphan; I have no family thanks to you!"

"Hmm…Actually…now that I recall that day…you right it is my fault. It appears that you do have a brain, Naruto."

"How the hell do you even know my name, anyway," Naruto asked, completely irritated at the biju's quips against him, "you said you have no idea what happens outside."

"And the small spark in your head vanished…gekgek, I did not expect such an idiotic kit to be my vessel," the biju said while waving is…paw.

"The hell is so funny, dattebayo!"

"You are! You haven't put it together yet!"

"QUIT BEATING AROUND THE BUSH AND TELL, YOU DAMN MONSTER!"

"Gekgek, fine, I heard your name before I was sealed inside you. I swear, I kept hearing that annoying name over and over. Oh Naruto; my baby Naruto, he'll be just like the gutsy shinobi from the book, dattebane. Blarg," the beast let its tongue stick out for a bit, "that left a bad taste in my mouth."

"You-you hea-…but then…do you…know m-my parents," Naruto hoped to god the monster didn't.

"One at least, and by the look in your eyes, it seems you have a faint idea how," the biju let out a white grin, and lifted one of its furry fingers-er-claws in this case, it was the middle one, "It was this one." It stated, "I ran this right through them." Naruto just stood as if he was frozen, face drained of blood. "Unlike all the other lives I took, your parents were the only ones I could recall. I remember it so vividly, to be honest. But…I am not the only one to blame…"

"Who…" Naruto began as he trembled; "who else…" he struggled to get out through his clenched teeth.

"Your catching on…that's right; I alone am not responsible for village's destruction or the death of your parents. One individual instigated my release, the destruction, your parent's deaths, all the killing."

"WHO GODDAMN IT? WHO THE FUCK DID ALL THIS! WHO FUCK DID THIS TO THE VILLAGE! WHO THE FUCK DID THIS TO ME!" Naruto shouted from the top of his lungs in pure rage.

"Tch, who do you think, it was you!" The giant fox roared. Naruto was stunned.

"M-meh, me?"

"It was your birth that allowed for a narrow window to be. It was your birth that allowed me to be free. It was because of you, that she jumped right to her death protecting you. You see, the minute I saw you I knew who my future jailer was. So I tried to kill you, but you mother traded what little life she had left to save you. As for your father…well I can only assume he was your father but I have no idea who he is. Either way, the fool just jumped just like your foolish mother. Gekgek, a family marred with tragedy."

"…ut…ust…." Naruto began, his eyes we're watering, he kept recalling all the time he saw kids, kids like him, being happy with their mom and dads. "Just shut up…."

"What this? Don't like taking responsibility?"

"…How…how is any of that my fault! I DIDN'T CHOOSE TO BE BORN! I DIDN'T CHOOSE FOR THE VILLAGE TO BE DESTROYED! I DIDN'T CHOOSE THIS LIFE! I DIDN'T CHOOSE ANY OF IT," he yelled as he stared at the beast in the eyes.

"True, I guess if you really want to blame someone, then blame your mother's greed."

"THAT'S EVEN MORE STUPIDER!"

"Tch, it's your tongue, at least learn to have proper control of it," it said with a roll of it's eyes.

"Don't change the subject!"

"Honestly, I don't know whether to find it amusing or tragic that you haven't realized it yet."

Naruto's teeth began to grind his teeth in hatred, "I SAID-"

"FIRST-" the fox interrupted loudly, "why you? Why was I sealed inside of you, surely you have thought about it before? Why you above all other children? Your parents were around, if only briefly, yet they freely allowed their child the fate of bearing me? What for?"

"Why me? All the time…I've asked it even before I knew about you," the past flashed into Naruto's mind, all the time he was alone, why everyone kept their distance, why he was singled out; why out of all the kids, it had to be him?

"Did you ever get an answer?"

"The-FUCK DO YOU THINK, 'TTEBAYO!"

"Hmph," the fox let out with a smile, "from this village…yes, you're my third vessel."

"Third…third vessel?"

"I believe the term is jinchuriki, my third jinchuriki," the fox corrected itself.

"If I'm third then…"Naruto's eyes slowly widened. "You-you're lying! It-it can't be! You wouldn't have attacked Konoha!"

"Geh, no your realization is true but your conclusion isn't. You're mother was my previous host and because you are her son, you were the perfect candidate to be my vessel."

"LIAR!"

"Spare your breath. Lying is a tool for you frail humans. Such a thing is beneath me! Your mother was the second vessel, the second person to house me! Before her, was another Uzumaki, an old vixen of the Uzumaki clan! Do you get it now! Your mother could have prevented all of it, but instead she had you. And look what happened, look how many people died because she wanted a child of her own!"

"I said quit it you liar!" Naruto shouted angrily with his teeth grinding together. "Your just a liar!"

"Tsk." The fox clicked as it closed its eyes as it thought. Then it smiled. "Don't be picky, eat lots and grow strong," the fox suddenly said.

"Huh?" Naruto said completely dumbfounded.

"Make sure you bathe everyday and stay warm."

"H-hey what are you-"

"Also don't stay up late. You need lots of sleep. And make friends. You don't need a lot. Just a few… Ones you can really trust."

"Wha-what're you…"

"I wasn't very good at it, but keep up with your studies and practice your ninjutsu hard. Remember that every one has strength and weaknesses. So don't get too depressed if you can't do something well. Respect your teachers and upperclassmen at the academy. Oh and this is important. It's about the three prohibitions for shinobi. Be extra careful about lending or barrowing money. Put your wages into you savings account. No alcohol until your twenty. Too much can ruin your health so drink moderately. Another prohibition is women. I'm a woman so I don't know too much about this but; all you need to remember is that this world is made up of both men and women. So it's only natural that you would take an interest in girls. But just don't get hooked on to bad women. Find someone like me. Speaking of the three prohibition be wary of Jiraiya sensei, dattebane. Naruto, from now on you are going to face lots of pain and hardship. Be true to yourself. Have a dream and have the confidence to make the dream come true. There's more. So much more. So much, much, oh so much more I want to pass on to you. I wish I could stay with you longer…. I love you."

"That…That…" Naruto began, his eyes already watering.

"Mmm," the fox said in an affirmative tone, "Your mother's last words to you." That's when the tears finally came. Naruto cried. For the first time…for the first time in his life he finally has something from his parents to hold on to, even if it was words from a monster, it was something. "I wonder, how closely did you adhere to your mother's words?" After hearing that Naruto cried a bit more, he tried to wipe away the tears with his sleeve. But there were too many tears. He was picky, all he ate was ramen, and it was all he spent his money on too, so he barely saved. He took a lot of showers, but after he started going on missions outside the village he had to hold off a bit, but he always stayed warm. Alcohol, he snuck a cup from Tazuna when he passed out. He stayed up late at nights, he'd think all night how his life would be having a mom or dad, but he made up for it at the academy. Well, he practically destroyed that part of his mother's final wishes. He disrespected everyone. He barely studied and he slept in most classes, but at least he tried his hardest at ninjutsu, but that's all right, his mother wasn't good at it either. As for finding a woman like her…he had no chance in hell.

"Heh, even now. Those words, each and every single letter, all meant out of love, yet in the end they give you grief."

"You…"

"It's true. Your mother meant everything out of love, but the life you were given, what you were forced to inherited is a curse."

"SO *sniff* what you, you calling yourself a curse *sniff*," Naruto asked angrily as he finished wiping away the tears, but he still had a few sniffles.

"Tsk," the fox tsked as it stood on its fours. "What I'm saying is that your life is meaningless. Your birth was pointless. No matter what you do, no matter what you try, or even how hard you try; your fate is and shall always be misery."

"The hell?" Naruto sniffed out. "The hell do you mean?" Naruto hardened his face, "I…I have friends! I'm I'm strong-I'll become hokage! Just you see! I'll at least get that part of my mother's wishes down!"

"Hokage? The leader of that village eh. And what's this? Your strong, you say? Bah! Don't kid yourself, kit."

"I am strong! I can kick your ass from here into next week, believe it dattebayo!"

"Hmmp! I do not lie. You are weak. The only reason you have any value at all, any strength, any true worth at all is because of me!"

"Like hell, dattebayo! You and your chakra have nothing to do with me! You can stay locked up in my stomach for all I care!"

"Oh? Was it not you who was asking for my chakra just a few minutes ago?" That shut Naruto up, but still the fox continued, "Was it not you who lost and desired my power? If you were strong at all, we would have never met. Do you get it now kit? I HAVE EVERYTHING TO DO WITH YOU! Did you think I am sealed in your stomach? Oh right, you are innate in fuinjutsu, so you don't even know how it works. Well let me tell you, I am in every part of your body! From the cell in the marrow of your toe to the cell in your rotted brain! My very existence runs through every liter of your blood. They only reason I haven't taken over your body is because of the cursed seal! And do you really think your worth is limited to my chakra? That very body you claim ownership over is because of me! You are weak without me!"

"Now I know that is straight up lie, dattebayo!"

"I do not lie! Your mother housed me long before you were even concieved! My influence over you began the moment of conception! Your body, its current form is a byproduct of my chakra! That birth mark on your cheeks, your rapid healing, you aversion to sickness, did you really think that it was all because you were my jinchuriki? Those are benefits that originate from me! Your body merged with MY chakra! Who knows if you were even born human!"

"I am human!" Naruto, "and you-your fullashit, dattebayo!"

"Arrrg," the Fox growled, "Can you really say that? Do your so called friends even know what you are?" Naruto was again stopped in his tracks. "They are not aware of it are they? The minute they know who you are, what you really are, do you think human will be the top of the list of what they call you? It will not, I can guarantee that."

"I-I," Naruto stuttered a bit, before he reaffirmed himself, "I define myself! That's the difference between us, dattebayo! I'm the guy who's going to be hokage and you; you're a monster that kills anything that moves. That's why you're trapped behind bars! Why did I even believe for a second that you even knew my parents? Jiji, the old man, the third hokage didn't even know and yet you did? The old man is the greatest old guy there is, he would tell me who my parents are! You're nothing but a desperate fox locked in a cage!"

The fox was growling showing it whites, clearing showing his anger. Then his lips curled to grin. "That's another quality, one you seem to share with humans, the thing is," he moved his claws to the bar, "they tend to be overconfident and they also tend to be too…assuming." He flicked it and instead of ripping the paper and opening the bars, the entire set of columns fell forward. Naruto let out a scream as fell backwards; he hugged his body and closed his eyes as he felt water covering half of his body. There was a loud splash along with a vibration, but other then his face being sprayed with what he is assuming is water, he was fine. He opened his eyes to see the ceiling with pipes and the yellow flickering light bulb. He was in the space between the columns, he sighed in relief.

Then a paw struck down pinning him where he laid and then he was a few inches away from the fox's face. "You are a dotty kit, do you honestly believe anyone would trust you? The old man, the old hokage you swore your loyalty to would never trust you! Do you think he would trust a living weapon! Of course he'd show you his best image, of course he'd be nice to you, because you house ME! Without me you would be nothing but an orphan, not even worthy of interest! You don't have a thing to claim your name to! You have nothing that gives you worth! Even your mother had chakra that was capable of restraining me, she had those blasted chakra chains! YOU? You have nothing! Your only entitlement is your mother's misfortune, the suffering she passed on to you! Compared to those you see, to those you fight, you are nothing! You have nothing significant to define yourself because you can't even accept what you are!"

"…Your wrong," Naruto began, he was scared, Naruto could tell that the fox knew, but more than anything he was also angry. "YOUR WRONG! He would never do something like that! All on my own, I'm just as good anyone else!"

"Yeah right, in the end, you'll never be able to hold on to anything with those hands of yours. And that old man, well, just asks him your mother's name. Kushina Uzumaki. See how he reacts."

"Ku-Kushina Uzumaki?"

"Yes, when he you ask him if she is your mother. One answer, only one answer will tell you if I am right or not. That answer is, 'yes.' Now I'm tired. Out of my SIGHT!"

"Uwah!" Naruto yelled as he sunk into the water.

"Tch," The fox let out. It backed away as the bars sprang back up. The fox yawned as it rested its head on it's paws, "that brat…. At least now I can go back to themmmm.…" And like that the fox was back to sleep.

"…zzz…."


Naruto was surprised but he quickly held his breath as he began to sink. The hell! He thought in head. He was on solid ground not an underground ocean! How the hell was any of this possible? He tried to move but he couldn't go anywhere. He couldn't turn his body no matter how much he flailed his limbs. All he could do was hold his breath as he saw the faint light above him disappear into darkness. He was sinking fast and it was dark, he was trained to hold his breath but the best he could do was-

TWAMP!

His back hit something solid, that the rest of his body felt. He felt like letting go of all his breath right then and there. He moved his hands to close his mouth as he shut his eyes tightly. He wriggled on the ground desperately trying to hold his breath, grunting in the process to hold it in. He opened his eyes only to see the darkness that enveloped him…

"Oi," a calm voice caught his attention. He quickly turned his head to the source of the voice. His eyes widened. He was staring at the entrance of park, the park in konoha next to the lake! But what he was really focused on was a swing set with a guy sitting on one of the swings. Naruto couldn't get a good view of him it was dark. He could tell that there was light from the light post and big ball in the dark sky. "You stupid or somethin'? Just breathe already. Open your mouth and suck it in."

Feeling that he was about to let go anyway, Naruto did. And then he inhaled, what entered his mouth wasn't air it was water that went down his throat. He panicked and gurgled a bit before he found himself breathing normally. The entire feeling of being wet vanished in an instant! He moved his hand around then ran it through his hair. It was like he was never wet to begin with! He sat up and looked at the guy at the swings. He had blond hair and wore a suit the looked very similar to Naruto's.

"Well, aren't you going to thank me for teaching you to breathe?"

"…Thanks…who are you?"

"Who do you think, I'm you," the other Naruto said as it continued to face away from Naruto.

"Really, last time I checked there was only one me," Naruto said as he stood up.

"No, your right. There is only one you. I'm just the you inside you. I'm everything you swallow down."

"So…you're my food," Naruto asked as he approached.

"No. I'm just the honest truth. You can call me your shadow if you like, it wouldn't be untrue…. So do you remember?"

When he was getting close he could tell that the shadow in front of him had an odd patch of hair on his right side, "remember what?"

"This place." The Shadow said as he slowly rocked back and forth. "One time I stayed even though the sun was setting. All the grownups telling the kids it was time go back home. I stayed until it got dark, hoping someone would come and yell 'hey it's late, you have to come home already son…' it never happened, right?"

After he finished Naruto grabbed his head in pain. He could remember it vividly. He was five at the time, he had a small gauss Band-Aid on his cheek. He sat on the swings until it got dark. It got cold but still he refused to move. He wanted it to happen. He desperately wanted someone to come and take him home. In the end it got too cold so he gave up and went home, if you could even call it that. "Wha-what was that."
"Whaduya mean? It was memory wasn't it…I wonder, do you remember," the shadow lifted its right arm, from the hand Naruto could tell it wasn't right, the hand had a few visible veins and the nails were longer and sharper. "That," he pointed at the moon.

"What the hell," Naruto exclaimed. The moon or what looked like it anyway; it just looked like a cutout circle of a crumpled paper. And yet it still unleashed a white glow that lit up the night sky along with a bunch of cut out paper stars and diamonds. All of it from crumbled pieces of paper. "That-that can't be the moon, arg where the hell am I!"

"So you don't remember," Shadow said.

"Damn it! I was just falling after I was talking to big furball! I was drowning! Where the hell am I now!"

"What's it look like," Shadow asked. Then it turned to look at Naruto, showing how half its face, the right side of its face looked like Naruto was feral. A bright red eye, a fang showing, and half his hair had a feral look to it. "It's Konoha."

Naruto quickly jumped back and pulled out a kunai from the holster tied to his right leg with bandages.

"Ah…," the shadow let out as it touched it's face. "I guess it would scare you," it said as it covered it's red eye, "it was only a glance at the mirror so you don't remember."

"Remember what! That you're the fox," Naruto yelled as he gripped his kunai tighter.

"Close, this half," he gestured to the feral half. "This is how I looked when I fought Haku when I beat him to a pulp."

"Huh, wait you mean. That's what you and if you are me then that's how I looked like back at the bridge?" Suddenly the feeling he had back then, at the bridge when he got that burst of power. They way his body felt, the way he wanted to kill haku, and the double in front of him, that was how he looked. He quickly shook his head. "No wait…who are you!"

"Your shadow. The one who bears your pain and sadness, all the dark thoughts you shove to the back of your mind. I bear them to protect you."

"Arg, is any of this going to make sense? I mean if you're my shadow then why do you look like that?"

"Because of the fox. I think it began back at the bridge. The second I used the fox's power my body turned to this; I think that was when the fox touched me. The fox…I don't know what the fox is doing. Slowly, I am starting…"he trailed off staring at his right hand.

"Wait," Naruto shook his head, "you protect me right, from what?"

"Yourself, the dark thoughts you have, your hatred, your sadness, your suspicions, your desire to kill, I take it all in order to protect you. I have no problem with that," the shadow went back to looking at the lake. "But ever since the fox touched me…I've started to have a problem with it."
"So in order words, all those things, they go to you," Naruto asked, actually now that Naruto looked at it, Shadow wasn't happy or sad. He looked as if he was deep in thought.

"Yeah…."

"Alright so your part of my mind, so is this place my mind," Naruto asked as he relaxed and looked around. It all just looked like Konoha.

"Not exactly. It's Konoha, what you remember about it. Everything is created from your memory. Go for a stroll, I'm sure memories will pop up one after another if you focus long enough, including the forgotten ones."

"No, I can't do that," Naruto said as he walked towards the shadow. Walked around the swings and looked at himself. "This is kinda of my mind right, how do I wake myself up? My friends are in trouble, I need to save them!"

"…Are they really your friends?"

"Wha-YES- of course they are!"

"I hate them."

"Huh?"

"Those two, you say they are my friends but they're constant reminders of what I'm not. Sakura is smart and pretty, Sasuke is talented and adored; I'm neither."

"Hey, I've never-"

"All the time," Shadow interrupted. "Every time there's practice and they show they're better, smarter. When we walk in the streets together, the shopkeepers would beg Sakura to work part time for them for her brains, and many acknowledge Sasuke. Me? It's like I don't exist with them around. Of course those thoughts were sent to me…. Sorry, I got off track. I don't know how to wake up. But feel free to walk around. Maybe something will happen."

"Arg, really," Naruto said as he turned around and started leaving the park.

"Wait!"

"Huh," Naruto said as he turned around.

"Fight me," Shadow said as he began to swing.

"Will that wake me up?"

"No. Neither of us wins or loses anything."

"Then why would I fight you!"

"I said it before. I have no problem being the dumpster for your repressed thoughts. But I'm starting to now. One symptom is my desire to fight you. It's your choice."

"No thank you!" After that Naruto ran off.

He ran to the first place he could think of. The one place he sleeps and wakes up. His apartment. It was weird, well, what was weird how normal everything looked despite the paper stars and moon. The streets were silent, not a single soul around, yet nothing was dead. "Huh?" Naruto said as he stopped. He looked at the lit streets, more specifically, the stuff moving. Bags filled with whatevers were floating around; at restaurants plates and silverware were moving. A few wagons were even moving on their own. "The heck, why is everything moving on their own."

"Dumbass," Naruto turned to look at Shadow sitting up in front of a shop, only this time he was shorter and without a forehead protector, he wore navy-blue shirt with a sleeveless orange hoodie next to him was a mask of a dog with red with a scar on the dog's left side. "Do you remember this spot? That old man didn't want me ruining his business, so he threw that mask at me and told me to go away."

Naruto could remember it vividly. He was just casually walking by when he noticed the mask. He stopped for just a few seconds when the old man noticed him he told him to scram. He actually pushed Naruto away, threw him the mask and told him to never comeback. The people around him just stared. They held no hatred, nor pity. It was as if they watching a wild animal. Watching him as if he wasn't human. He remember calling out to them, asking them what they were looking at…no one answered "Yeah… So why are…HUH!" Naruto went back to look at the streets. It was filled with shadows, not the ones who stuck to the ground, but actual shadows that walked around.

"Why the surprised look," Shadow asked as he picked up the mask and examined it. "That's all they ever were to me. They all had different shapes, different hair, different clothes, hell different skin color and eye color, but their eyes were the same, it always had that same exact look. Nothing else mattered." He put his finger on the scar and somehow was able to drag the scar to the right side of the mask. "All I had to see were the eyes, that's all I needed, everything else was a shadow…" Shadow put the mask on and looked at Naruto, "fight me."

"NO!" Naruto said as he began running to his apartment. For a world created from his memories it sure felt real. His breath was ragged and he was sweating just like he would in real life. He ran to his apartment, opened the door and jumped on his bed. He squished his eyes shut. "C'mon C'mon!" he muttered as he buried his face into his pillows.

"Remember the night there was supposed to be shooting stars?" Naruto lifted his head and look to his right, the direction of the window. Sure enough Shadow was lying beside him with the mask still on, only he was smaller, wore khaki shorts with a black shirt, and his voice sounded younger too. He lifted his little hand and pointed up. Naruto turned over to see his ceiling. What was stuck on to it were crude cut outs of the moon and stars, the same ones outside in the night sky. There was one difference though; the ones on his ceiling were glowing green. Naruto felt another pain run through his head as a memory surfaced.

"Yeah. I wasn't allowed in any of the spots to see them. On my way home I found some kid throwing away a bunch of wet paper. He must have been angry, he kept kicking them, but from where I was I could see that they glowed. After the kid left I took the papers here. I looked for ones that were dry enough and cut them out and stuck them up there. I figured I could make my own shooting stars."

"But it was awful," Shadow continued, "I looked at it all night, hoping for something to happen."

"But nothing happened," Naruto continued, "I just hung them to display, so of course nothing would happen. One by one they fell…"

"What about there?" Shadow pointed towards the entrance. "That time I asked the third hokage who my parents were."

"Right…. I remember," Naruto said as he rubbed his head. "He brought me some money and I sprung the question on him. It wasn't the first time I asked."

"I remember. That's why I know he never lied, because he never lied. You remember the answer that time, right?"

"Yeah, it was the same as the other times…'Knowing who they were won't bring them back'…ARG!" Naruto jumped out of bed and ran out the door.

"Hey, fight-"

"NO!" Naruto shouted as he got out the door. "I don't have time for this!" Naruto ran to the next spot. There was only one other place he slept at. IN CLASS! He ran through the rooftops, ignoring the shadows below on the streets. Every once in a while a memory would flash. Pranks he pulled. Once he got to the academy, he could see a different set of memories. Memories of him being by himself, memories of him being laughed at, memories of watching everyone else eat together.

Running through the hall, he got memories of running away sneaking out, hearing other talk bad about him behind his back, how he go into fights. Everything he forgot and everything he wanted to forget was backing to him, regardless of his will. He got to his class breathing hard dripping with sweat.

"Your late again, Naruto!"

"Ah!" In front of Naruto was Iruka, not a shadow or his double claiming to be his shadow. The genuine Iruka. Iruka rubbed the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "Detention after class, grab a seat." Naruto did so absentmindedly. He went to his usual spot to sit. There were shadows in the class. "Alright class, quick review, how do we strengthen our chakra?" He turned and pointed to a shadow, "Yes…. Astute as always! That's right Chakra can only be strengthened by strengthening the body and spirit, and that goes without saying the connection between the two. We know how to strengthen our body, and we know experience strengthens our spirit, but how do we strengthen the connection between the two? Mmm Naruto," Iruka pointed at Naruto.

"Ah," Naruto pointed at himself.

"Yes you, well?"

"I-I donno."

"Correct. No one knows the exact way to strengthen the connection between the human spirit and the human body. And yet connecting the two is the core principle of molding chakra. Unless you have ditched the class like a certain someone then you should all be aware that there are multiple theories, which we will go into." It was weird. Iruka would ask a bunch of questions and the shadows would raise their hand, it was usually one shadow, and they would answer but Naruto never heard it. All he would hear was Iruka's voice and the chalk scribbling on the board that turned into a bunch of squiggly lines. The writing being a mess was obvious, he didn't pay attention. Why isn't Iruka a shadow? Naruto thought to himself.

"WHY WOULD HE BE," A voice from outside called out to him, answering his thoughts. He turned to look outside. It was Shadow, still wearing the mask but back to Naruto's current image. Shadow was throwing shurikens at a wooden post. And he was missing each shot. "IRUKA IS THE ONLY PERSON I HAVE FAITH IN. SO OF COURSE HE WOULD NOT BE A SHADOW. DAMN! MISS! BUT WHAT ABOUT MY FRIENDS?" Naruto looked around but all he saw was Iruka writing on the board and bunch of shadows. "SASUKE, SAKURA, EVERYBODY ELSE? DOES ANYONE EVEN SEE ME AT ALL? WHAT ABOUT JIJI? COULD THE FOX BE RIGHT? DOES HE REALLY JUST SEE ME AS A MONSTER? Hmm?" Shadow said as he turned to see Naruto walking out the window.

"Why are you following me," Naruto asked as he approached.

"I'm your shadow. Naturally the shadow follows the body, right? …Let's fight."

"I need to wake up."

"Okay. Lets fight."

"WHY DO YOU WANT FIGHT SO BADLY," Naruto yelled in anger. Shadow just kept staring at him, Naruto couldn't see the face, but he could see the mismatched eyes. Blood red crimson and cerulean blue, they just kept looking at him. Naruto grounded his teeth, "Arrrrrgg, FINE! I win you help me wake up," Naruto demanded as he pulled out a kunai. But the shadow just stared at him as he reached behind him. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

In one quick motion, Shadow sent an attack at him, Naruto dodged but he still got hit in the shoulder. "OW!" Naruto yelled but he was confused. The thing that hit him went back to shadow. It was a wooden yo-yo with a red swirl as decoration. "The hell? WAH!" Naruto yelled as he dodged the yo-yo. Shadow kept turning and twisting his body, making the yo-yo hit against Naruto. "OW!" The head, the shoulder, the arm, the thigh, he hit 'em all. Of course Naruto would parry it back every once in a while but it still hurt. That's when Naruto remembered. He used to go around and hit kids with yo-yos and beat them into submission. It went on for a whole hour until they got smart. And what they did was… Naruto thought to himself.

Naruto shot his left arm forward, towards the incoming yo-yo, the yo-yo went below his hand, so he quickly moved his hand down to grab it and with the Kunai in his right he cut the string of the yo-yo. "Heh," Naruto let out with a smile as he looked at Shadow, displaying the wooden toy.

"Dumb ass, it's just a toy, can't believe it took you this long to deal with it," Shadow said calmly.

"Ah," Naruto gasped, that was the same exact excuse he used against the other kids, specifically, the person he attacked the most and finally dealt with his yo-yo rampage…Sasuke. "ERRYAH!" Naruto cried as he as he threw the yo-yo and ran forward, sending a fury of swipes at Shadow who dodged by stepping back and side to side, Shadow spun around once and sent Naruto a punch to the nose with a cry of his own "HA!" "PUH!" Naruto was sent backwards and landed on his back. "AH!" He quickly stood up as he wiped away the blood from his nose. He quickly pushed his fingers together to form a hand seal. "Multi-Shadow Clones Jutsu!" And like that a bunch of clones came into existence.

"Multi-Shodow Clone jutsu," Shadow said as a bunch of clones, matching the same amount Naruto made, came into existence. Naruto gasped at the sight. "I'm your shadow, doing this much should be natural." After the shock disappeared, Naruto and his army rushed Shadow and his army. Both sides clashed loudly. Kunais and Shurikens were flying everywhere. Naruto could hear a pop every five seconds. Naruto kept kicking and punch everything with a mask.

Naruto kept getting cut up. Then the place began to collect smoke. It got so bad that Naruto had to slash every thing. He couldn't tell if he was winning or losing! It took a total of five minutes before the entire field was covered in smoke. "Arg, screw this!" He shouted as he threw a paperbomb.

Naruto jumped out of the smoke just as an explosion went off. Naruto was forced back a bit but luckily he was able to stay on his feet. Naruto was breathing heavily with lots of scratches, cuts, bruises and sweat on his body. As soon as the smoke disappeared, Shadow could be seen with the same injuries as Naruto.

"The hell," Naruto huffed out, "it didn't work?"

"As I-As I thought," Shadow huffed out, "we're equal-no matter what," Oddly, Shadow's mask was fine despite how the rest of the body was. Not a crack on it. "I'm okay with it but I am not okay with it."

"Make sense-will ya, dattebayo," Naruto huffed out. "You know everything I know, you're me and I can't beat myself. We're the same."

"No." Shadow huffed, "we're different. I'm everything you hold back. In a fight and otherwise," he pulled out his kunai, "I'd win, cause I'd wouldn't hold back. I can kill. I can WIN! HYA!" He threw the kunai at Naruto. Naruto dodged to the right, but then Shadow made a seal. "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Suddenly one Kunai turned into a hundred. Out of reflex Naruto brought his forearms up to cover his face and chest.

"AAAAAHH!" Naruto yelled as his body was pierced with kunais. He fell back on the ground. The kunais on him disappeared into smoke, letting all the blood pour out of his body. Naruto groaned in agony but he could still hear him.

"…You had the thought. But you pushed it back because you thought it was stupid. You-you were never aware of it, not consciously. On the whole you don't know anything about the shadow clone jutsu. I-I noticed…I won because of it…because I didn't hold back. I tried to kill…. Is the fox right? Will I never be able to hold on to anything with my own two hands?" Shadow looked at his hands as Naruto began to stand up, despite the blood coming out of his body. "Will I even have people to defend? If I do can I even defend them?"

"It was a fluke," Naruto said. "I'll defend everyone," he declared. Then for some odd reason a strong image of Sakura flashed through his mind, "I'll protect, Sakura. I gotta protect her!"

"What for," Shadow asked. "She's never really looked a me. Her, everyone, they always look at him," he turned his head to see a bunch of shadows gathering a round a person. "She will always look at Sasuke. That guy with the eyebrows, he only saw Sasuke too. He barely looked at me, when I tried to force him, he sent me spinning to a wall. In a fight between the two of us, who would my friends cheer for…me or Sasuke?"

"Shut up, I'm still standing," Naruto said as reached behind for his pouch and grabbed a kunai.

"Yeah," Shadow interrupted, "I'm always standing. And every time i have I've stood alone. I can get a lot of people close to me, but at the end of the day no one will stand up for me, hell they probably wouldn't even say any thing. Even if I'm on my own, no, especially because I'm alone I stand. I stand alone," he said with an air of confidence.

"The hell ya babbling, dattebayo?"

"You're going to see me again," Shadow said peering at Naruto from behind the mask. "You'll hold yourself back and get da shit beaten out you. That's when you will see me again."

"What?"

"Wake up."


Naruto's eyes snapped open. He was staring at the blue sky. He blinked a few times. "What?" He sat up and looked around. Choji and Shikamaru were next to him, in the distance he could see Ino tending to the guy with big eyebrows and a girl with panda-like buns was with Neji on a branch and Sakura was with Sasuke. When he saw Sakura he saw how tattered and cut up she was, and most of all he noticed hair. It was shorter and messed up, "Sakura! Damn what the hell happened, dattebayo!"

"So now he wakes up, jeez what a drag."