Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its original characters. Suing me won't get you anywhere. This disclaimer will be applicable for every chapter in this story since I find it utterly ridiculous to type this sentence every time again…

Double trouble

Chapter 1: No more ramen?

In an unexpected turn of events, Naruto and his team, team 7 under the wing of Hatake Kakashi, consisting of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke, find themselves in a war zone between several Fire and Mist shinobi.

Lying there, with half of his stomach removed due to flying trees, Naruto fades away in darkness, no longer noticing the wide range of terrain-altering jutsus that are being used around him. He no longer notices the face of his sensei twisted in agony under his facemask. Silently looking onto the oncoming darkness…

'Whoa! The pain is going away! Yosh! I'll get up and kick ass in a minute! …Wait a sec… this feels different than Furball's healing…' Naruto suddenly gets hit by a rather disturbing idea. 'Am I… dying..? NOOOO! NO MORE RAMEN!'

.-.-. .-.-.

Kyuubi, being severely pissed by having a tree through his cage that pierces his body sees his soul leave from his body. 'Damnit, not again! The dumb brat actually got me dead before himself! When I get my hands on that little shit- !'

.-.-. .-.-.

She opens her eyes. Slowly. "All that white… it's annoying…". She blinks several times and the blur in front of her starts to take shape. "Who are you if I might ask?". The young man standing in front of her replies in a light and soothing voice; "I am Sabaku, guardian of The Gate. Welcome, Kyuubi-Hime."

Kyuubi is a bit taken back by being named Kyuubi-hime. No one addressed her like that since the corruption… She looks at her reflection in the enormous silver door. A female human figure returns the gaze. Feminine in 'the right spots', a slightly reddened skin color, scarcely covered with red fox fur that appears to be her own 9 tails. Both hands and feet are covered with thin fur and powerful, yet maintained claws a toe- and fingernails. Slim little lips located under a foxy nose with little whiskers spread in amazement as the ruby red eyes widen seeing the reflection in the door. "Where am I?" she asks as a certain realization hits her: This was the gate to the 'Next Life'.

She looks around in fear; 'Where's the boy?' was the thought racing in her mind. As if on cue, Sabaku answered the lingering question: "The boy known by the name of Uzumaki Naruto is still alive, but barely". Kyuubi lets the words sink in with relief washing over her shoulders. "However, he will die in a few moments. This is quite an extraordinary situation. This should not be possible, due to the seal placed by Shinigami-sama. Shinigami-sama has therefore decided to give you a choice: to go on through The Gate and face your penalties, or return to your previous 'quarters' with the boy, giving him a better chance of survival."

"Then, he isn't dead yet? Thank goodness… A boy with a heart that pure shouldn't be leaving the living world yet. He still needs to become a handsome young Hokage.", chuckled Kyuubi. "Wait a minute, if I'm not there, he will die, but he's not dead yet… How's that even possible?".

"That is beyond even Shinigami-sama's comprehension. Thus, to correct this little 'misfortune', you are given the choice I just offered.", replied Sabaku.

'Hmm… getting my rather sensitive behind kicked beyond The Gate, or return to my 'quarters' and live to enjoy the antics of that little young man… Not a very hard choice there.' Kyuubi's thoughts of the boy painting the Hokage Monument with rather insulting markings result in a little smile on her face. "I am willing to return to the boy who had me sealed in him, if it means he will be able to live a little longer to fulfill his dreams."

The answer resulted an "As you wish" from Sabaku and the quick blurring of the 'annoying white' scenery.

.-.-. .-.-.

'It must be due to the Kyuubi's regenerative abilities that he's still hanging on. But it won't be long now… He's slowly slipping away.', Thought the Jounin sensei. On the other side of the cave sat the pink-haired Sakura silently sobbing over her other teammate Sasuke while treating some of his wounds as good as she possibly could. She had a broken rib and several cuts and bruises, but nothing seriously life threatening. Sasuke had a big gash over his chest and several other cuts and bruises, next to a broken left arm.

Sakura's caretaking stopped the bleeding and stabilized Sasuke's condition. Kakashi tried to stop as much bleeding on Naruto's wounds as he could, but somewhat in vain, seeing the boy missed more than half of his abdomen area, where at the edge of the wound, a part of a seal was continuously glowing up a bit red.

Kakashi turned to look at Sakura's progress, as Naruto could not be helped any further.

Suddenly, Naruto's body became the source of an enormously blinding light.

…Continue?

Hehehe, first fic ever. Reviews appreciated, 1-lined comments are not. Be honest about what you like and dislike.

Can anyone gimme a little bit of a jutsu list? I wanna use the Japanese versions instead of the englishish ones…

Update might follow :P