Loss.
As his body was forcibly pulled into the event horizon created by a collision of techniques, all he could do was watch helplessly and feel nothing but loss, hurt, and pain as his teammates: Sakura, Kakashi, and Sasuke, all died before him… as their bodies turned to ash and disintegrated… before all he knew was complete and utter darkness.
Where was he?
How long was he out?
Why was he even alive?
These questions, a few more were what piled up in his mind the moment he came too from the realm of unconsciousness; though if there was one thing he knew, it was the sheer simple fact that things weren't exactly going to be the same anymore; and the realization that something was wrong with his body only seemed to bolster this conclusion.
Everything was different.
He couldn't hear Kurama, nor his Bijuu siblings. He couldn't feel their Chakra, nor his Six Paths Chakra, and that worried him. Oh yeah, he still had Chakra. He could feel his body giving it off in waves, much more than what he was used to, but therein lied the problem. What he felt was something new. It was still Chakra, but what he felt… it was like a complete mesh up many different energies synching in perfect harmony; different from what he was used to; and on top of that, not only did it feel like it seemed he was now in a permanently active state of his Sage Mode, his vision felt different.
Straighter, Smoother… Sharper.
It was so confusing.
Everything was so messed up.
And worst of all…
Kaguya was free.
He failed to complete his mission, keep his promise, and worst of all, save his friends.
He failed.
He graduated from being the Shinobi Academy deadlast to being the number one… at failure.
What good were these seemingly new gifts if he was just going to fail again? What good was a failure like him alive and well while his friends suffered death and the Shinobi World had suffered much worse under the gaze of a Rinnegan tainted moonlight?
"Everything," He mumbled. "Is ruined…"
"How so?"
Naruto, tracing the sound of the female voice he heard, shifted his gaze to another side of the room he was in, until he found who he was looking for, before shifting his gaze back to its original looking position: the roof.
"I let my guard down and lost a war to decide the fate of my home world." He replied, quietly sighing and frowning sadly, as he stared at seemingly nothing. "And now, all my friends that are alive, are all currently suffering a fate worse than death." He snorted. "Some hero I turned out to be. I don't even think I can look myself at the mirror anymore without feeling disgust at myself for failing."
Silence.
"Fighting a war is never easy." The female stated, breaking the short silence. "And I should know, because despite the fact it may've look like my teammates and I won, we all suffered a huge loss, something that we couldn't get over for years." She said. "It made our victory bittersweet, but we didn't let that feeling overcome us in the years following."
Naruto sneered.
"At least you won."
"But at a cost higher than we could imagine." The female replied, cooly and calmly, despite the memories that were being brought up onto the surface. "We lost a lot of close friends that day, so much so that at a time, if it wasn't for our leader being with us, we would've broken completely." She stated. "She explained to us that though the loss of our friends may hurt us, we must honor their memory and remember what we were fighting for. She told us that in order to make sure something like this doesn't happen again, we must train, to stronger, and remember the bond we have with each other."
Naruto's sneer lessened at each word, before it was a scowl as, without turning his head, he glanced at the female speaker.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Garnet, and as someone who's been on the losing side of a war, I know it's going to take time to recover." The woman, now known as Garnet, got up from her sitting position showing the blonde her full height. "So at least, until you're able to move well on your own, you're going to need help, someone willing to look after you until you're completely healed both physically and mentally. I need to make sure that you're not a threat to yourself and anyone around you, especially my family, so I hope you're willing to understand my compromise."
Naruto, slowly closed his eyes, before uttering a word that earned a smirk from Garnet.
"Crystal."
"Exactly." And, no longer feeling the need to stay behind, Garnet walked towards the exit of the room, before she paused, as she remembered something... "Oh and by the way, those are some funky set of eyes." She, turning her head back to look at the bedridden blonde, took off her glasses. "But I guess compared to mine, they're quite normal aren't they?"
And Naruto, unsure of what he was seeing, blinked.
"Huh?"
"Later."
[- - Scene Change - -]
(With Garnet)
"Well?"
As she walked inside the living room of her home, Garnet frowned, before looking up at the one who spoke to her, Pearl. "I can't read him." She said, "No matter how hard I try to use my future vision on him, it's always the same answer: no response."
Pearl frowned. "That means that we're dealing with more of an anomaly than we originally thought." She said, placing her hand on her chin. "That's not good. And this is something we've to worry about, on top of homeworld…"
"What are we going to tell Steven?"
"For now, nothing." Garnet stated, glancing to the one who spoke, the shortest of the trio females in the room, Amethyst. "We all know how excitable he tends to act with certain strangers we seem to encounter from time to time and it's pretty clear, that this man is no ordinary stranger."
"You're telling me." Pearl remarked, easily recalling how she and her teammates came across him while they were in the process of subduing one of the more rouge Gem Monsters. "For a human to somehow appear on one of the Gem Battle Sites… that alone is a mystery I don't think we'll find out on our own. And him appearing out of thin air on top of that? We're going to have to keep an eye on him."
"Just try not to come off too strong if you insist on bothering him." Garnet, as she crossed both her hands over her chest, advised, glancing at the short one of the group. "Because if what he's told me is true, I can safely say that at the moment, he is going through a lot; and that sort of mental trauma is anything but safe, if left unchecked."
"So anyone but Amethyst looks after him?"
"Yes."
"HEY!"
"And how are we going to do that?" Pearl wondered, scratching her chin. "With so much to worry about, I don't think we have the time to watch him, worry about Steven and Peridot at the same time."
"That…" Garnet frowned, "Is a rather good question." She pondered a bit, on the correct way to answer it until she said: "But I'm confident we'll find a way to make this work. So for now, I guess we'll have to go with the flow and do what we've been doing, see where that takes us which means at the moment, Pearl: You and Amethyst are going to be working together on the missions, while I stay behind and figure out why my future vision has been on the fritz lately."
"It could have something to do with the guy staying in the barn..." Amethyst suggested, rather casually. "I mean it's pretty clear when you think about it, seeing as nothing was wrong with that third eye of yours until that guy showed up."
"And - I can't believe I'm saying this - what if Amethyst's theory is right?" Pearl added, whispering some part of the question to herself. "If that seems to be the case, and he has some sort of ability that messes with our powers, then we have to eliminate him." Pearl declared, standing boldly after pulling out her weapon from her gem. "We need to be prepared if we're going to be fighting other gems sent from Homeworld, and we can't have someone like that interfering with the state of our mission to defend the Earth."
"And I understand what you're saying." Garnet remarked, "But I feel that we can't act rashly just like that." She looked towards the direction of the barn. "Besides, I've a gut feeling that somehow, our new friend could be a crucial part in shaping our future, but it's only just a feeling; so until I figure out what's up exactly, the best decision is to make no move against this man, unless he decides to provoke us for no reason. Understood?"
Pearl frowned, unsatisfied with Garnet's conclusion. "Understood." She grumbled. "But why do I get the feeling that this is going to just bring more trouble in our doorstep?"
"And I say: You're worrying too much about it." Amethyst said, folding her hands behind her head and leaning back on the wall behind her. "It's like Garnet said: Let's go with the flow and see what goes on. I mean, what's the worst that can happen?"
"I can think of many ways to answer that question."
(- - Beach City Sage - -)
Days Later…
"BOO!"
"Gah!"
Steven panted, grabbing his chest to stop his rapidly beating hat, as in front of him, the purple skinned Amethyst laughed out loud while the two of them stood behind the fence perched in front of his house. "Amethyst," He stated. "What was that for?"
Amethyst finally started to calm down. "You were looking all sad and mopey, so I decided to cheer you up!" She grinned. "So what's got you all bummed out kid?"
Steven got back to what he was doing: squatting under the open part of the stair fence as his eyes looked at the lone figure sitting on the beach. "It's nothing really." He stated. "I wasn't really sad either. I was just wondering who that guy sitting over there is, because each time I try to talk to him I don't get a reply. It's like talking to a statue. And it's been four days since I found him in our barn…" He frowned, sadly. "He seems kinda bummed out."
Amethyst settled next to Steven, eying the same being Steven spying on. She, leaning her chin on her palm, frowned as she and steven watched the blonde haired man meditate. "Yeah he does doesn't he?" She said, before shrugging. "But what're you gonna do? I mean it's not our problem."
"Yeah well…" Steven, slightly, folded into himself. "I don't like it, it's bumming me out; and I bet it's bumming everyone else out too."
"Hmm maybe, but he's not hurting anyone so I think it's okay." Amethyst stated, before getting up and stretching. "So don't let it bother you too much and it'll be fine I mean look at me, I'm supposed to be watching over him to make sure nothing bad happens but I've been chilling all day because I know everything's gonna be alright if we let things to continue playing out the way they do." She turned around, walking towards the house. "Chill out man, just do what Garnet says and don't bother him. I'm sure things will work out eventually."
'Yeah,' Steven thought, 'I hope so too...'
(Meanwhile...)
'It's been four days.'
As he sat lotus style on the surface of the rock below him, gazing at the crystal clear blue pool of water, Naruto frowned, glaring hard at the pair of eyes staring right back at him through the reflection of the pool, eyes that he'd only seen on a hand full of people: Nagato, Obito, Madara, Sasuke and Kaguya…
The Rinnegan.
That explained why his eyesight was much better than he knew it usually was; somehow, it seemed that he had activated the dojutsu either before or when he arrived at Beach City, and he didn't know whether he should feel happy or upset about it because these eyes (while indeed they are very powerful) are the reason for his current predicament… as it was clear that had these eyes never even existed, he would've never been in this predicament in the first place.
Those gifted with the eyes of God, are either Gods of Creation, or Destruction…
In his opinion, too much destructive power was never good to begin with… his experience with Nagato, Madara and Kaguya taught him that. However, there were people like Hagoromo, and even Sasuke. The Sage of Six Paths used his power to create Ninshu which then developed into the creation of the Shinobi World with the art of Ninjutsu. And Sasuke used his own Rinnegan to help fight in the war against the Kaguya enhanced Madara and eventually Kaguya herself, which showed that the Rinnegan can be used for good things.
However…
He was stuck in another world. In a place where Natural Energy seemed abundant. And from what he discovered, this world - this version of Earth - already had their defenders prepped and ready to fight whenever needed: The Crystal Gems consisting of Garnet, the woman who first met him when he woke up - aka the level headed one - Amethyst, the shorter one of the group - as well as the much more wild and unpredictable, something he could empathize with - and finally, Pearl, the petite one of the group - aka the one who was more like one of his older teammates, Sakura, in terms of being an Organization Freak and a Bookworm - and their power, while interesting, was more than enough to protect their world from harm…
His help wasn't needed.
And he was glad. He was glad because with them doing the protecting, he was left to figure things out for himself and he needed the time. He was left to figure out why his Chakra and of course, body, felt different, whether it had anything to do with the Rinnegan; and finally, he was left to figure out if he could ever possibly return home… or at least, if he even wanted to in the first place.
Naruto clenched his hands.
In these last four days, none of those questions he's figured out; not one. Because he was too wrapped up in self-guilt and wallowing to do so. And that little boy that kept on bothering him - Steven he said his name was - was doing nothing to help matters in the slightest. The boy reminded him of a time when he was young and much more naive, a time when things like this, the current situation he was in, never happened in the first place.
It irked him.
He appreciated what the boy was trying to do, really, but his attitude, while refreshing at times, reminded him of his own naivety and how it cost him his family, his life, home and friends... everything.
And a part of him wanted to be as far away from that failure as possible…
Naruto cupped his right hand, closed his eyes, and concentrated, until finally an Orange ball of Energy formed on his hand.
A part of him wanted to be as far away from that failure as possible, but that would mean to abandon the very thing that makes him… him, his Chakra. And if he was ever going to find a way home, he was going to need it.
No.
A part of him wanted to be as far away from that failure as possible, but he wouldn't listen to it because that would mean that he could possibly subject himself to a failure similar to that in the near or maybe even distant future because he didn't learn from it.
No.
Instead, he was going to learn from that failure and get stronger so that he can make sure that the likelihood of him failing like that again was next to nil. He was going to get so stronger that next time, if he ever found himself in a great battle that is, he won't lose spectacularly, like he did before. He was going to make sure that he would get so strong, that any godly foes he'd be facing would be like garbage to him.
And just like that, he had a new goal…
Naruto dispersed the ball of energy rotating on his hand.
He wasn't going to be broody like Sasuke, or wallowing in his grief for years like Kakashi and Jiraiya did, because like it did with them, it stalled any progress he would hope to make with a record time. Garnet offered him a hand of friendship didn't she? Who was he to deny that?
'Welp…'
First thing's first. If he was going to need to find a way to get out of here, then he was going to have to master his Rinnegan and find out what its hidden ability is, because after all, from what he observed, every pair of Rinnegan's had a hidden ability - Madara and his Limbo, Kaguya and her Dimensions, Sasuke and his Teleportation ability - and from what he'd noticed, those hidden abilities revolved around the manipulation of Space-Time.
It opened new possibilities for him.
It was why, on this fifth day, he decided that he was going to begin his training. His Rinnegan had one ring and from what he knows, they were six of them. Maybe each time he mastered a ring's ability a new ring would appear - was what Naruto thought - and it would keep appearing until finally he would unlock his Rinnegan's hidden ability.
Yup…
He was going to begin his training, but in the process he was going to try and put a little bit more effort into making new friends so that it would help him move on from the void feelings in his heart. Which meant he was going to do a little bit of apologizing here and the.
Naruto got up from his sitting position, and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"You can come out now Steven. There's no point in hiding when the person you're hiding from already knows you're there."
His only concern was whether or not they were going to accept him, after the way he acted.
'Baby steps Naruto, baby steps...'
Because after all, the entiety of Konoha wasn't built in a day.
.
.
.
End.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Steven Universe.
Authors Note: My first take on a Naruto/Steven Universe Crossover and as you probably already guessed it, I'm a bit nervous as to what you guys think of it. Your reply and long reviews would determine whether or not I continue on with this story and create a new chapter and if you want me to, this is what to look forward to.
.Naruto Harem (Peridot and Lapis).
.Super Powerful Naruto (For him to keep up with the Diamonds and Fusion).
.Cannon Plot editing (Because Naruto being there would change some things, definitely).
.And so on...
So please go ahead and give me an honest and good review, one that would - as I've said before - determine whether or not I continue on with this story. I want to but I'm having second thoughts. Maybe Motivation would be the key to remove said second thoughts.
Oh, and Flamers would either be reported or deleted.