Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Digital Devil Saga.

Summary: This is simply an experiment that I'm uncertain as to whether I will continue. If I do eventually decide to continue, it will be a Naru/Hina fic. Obviously several concepts are from Digital Devil Saga, but since there isn't a Digital Devil Saga section of the site, and even if there were, very few people would see this fic, I've put it in Naruto.

Chapter 1

Shadowed Heaven

Beep. Beep.

"How are they?" An aged man asked, taking a puff of his pipe. The room was small, little more then a adjoining room with a glass panel, but the room that it connected to was sterile and white, filled with nine beds with nine very different people within them. To his left, a pair of men in white lab coats studied various charts and reports, one having a frown on his face. To the old mans right sat three different people, each wearing the green flak jacket that represented their rank as Jounin, amongst the elite of the shinobi core.

"Not good, I'm afraid." One of the doctors stated, writing something in a notepad. "The virus in their bodies mutates every time we try to cure it. I'm uncertain as to how we can isolate and destroy it without placing an unacceptable risk on their lives." One of the Jounin, Yuuhi Kurenai, began to frown.

"Should Uzumaki's body not have purged the virus by now?" She asked. The doctor shook his head, letting out a soft sigh of despair.

"We had originally been depending on his body fighting it off, so as to transplant the antibodies his body created and destroy the virus in the others. Unfortunately, the Kyuubi is ineffectual in battling this virus. Hopefully Jiraiya-sama returns to the village soon and can identify why." The doctor wrote another few lines in his pad, before turning to the Jounin. "From what we can identify, the virus is somewhat intelligent. I know its hard to believe, but there are no other explanations for its ability to evolve at such a impressive rate. This virus is detecting our attempts to kill it long before they actually happen."

"Is that even possible?" Another of the Jounin, Hatake Kakashi, asked. The doctor shrugged.

"If this were any other circumstance, I would say it is impossible. However, this virus is defeating even Uzumaki-san's immune system, which, while placing it well outside the realms of improbability, makes the virus quite possible." He replied. "However, it is concerning that Uzumaki has not recovered already. It has been almost a week, but his condition has improved the least."

"Keep me informed." The wizened old man stated with a sigh. "I have paperwork that needs to be done." With that, he left, leaving the doctors and the Jounin alone, watching over the nine teenagers in the next room, uncertain of their fate.

One week later…

Sarutobi Hiruzen hated council meetings. It wasn't the meetings in and of themselves that were bad. In fact, without them, Hiruzen had no idea how he would keep the village running. Rather, it was the council members that he loathed with a passion. For the mot part, the civilian council was filled with men and women who were more concerned with lining their own pockets then the safety of the fair city of Konoha. The shinobi council, on the other hand, was filled with massive hypocrites and fools that desired more power for their clans. The two sides of the council were united in only one way, their hatred of one Uzumaki Naruto.

Sitting down in his seat, Hiruzen wearily eyed the two halves of the council as they filed into the room, taking their own seats in the forum. Unlike the formal meetings held once a month, this meeting was held in a nearby boardroom, where there was room to splay out sheets of paper and make notes. Once everyone had entered the room, Hiruzen patiently waited for Homura to announce the floor open.

"Today, at noon, this council meeting is now open. The first topic on the agenda is virus strain N-972. You will find all relevant documents before you, however, it was expected that you had reviewed this information prior to this meeting." Homura called. Hiruzen just braced himself and waited for the outcry of the shinobi council. To his surprise, there wasn't one… yet.

"The Kyuubi is trying to kill our children!" No, instead, Haruno Sakura's mother screamed out her vocal disgust for the Kyuubi container. To Hiruzen's surprise, Nara Shikaku and Hyuuga Hiashi were the ones to come to Naruto's defense.

"Your argument is unfounded and without basis, Haruno-san." Shikaku spat.

"If the Kyuubi were responsible for this virus, then why would it incapacitate its host with it?" Hiashi asked, the venom barely hidden in his voice. Hiruzen frowned as Shibi called for the floor, his face impassive.

"Hokage-sama, I must question the logic of keeping all nine of the infected in the same room." He stated. "Given the Kyuubi hosts… questionable carrier status, would it not be advisable to…"

"I am not isolating a sick boy from his friends." Hiruzen spat. "If Naruto was truly the cause of the virus, then why is he, too, infected? In fact, let's take your line of thought a step further. If the virus is, indeed, the work of the Kyuubi, then why is Naruto, of all people, the only one whose condition is, in fact, getting worse over time. Of the nine infected, only Naruto's condition has deteriorated. Only Naruto truly suffers at this viruses hand."

"Even more of a reason to isolate him. The Kyuubi Junchuuriki may be re-infecting the oth-" Shibi was cut off by the one, by Hiruzen's standards anyway, sane civilian councilor in the room, Doctor Hikanzo, chief of medicine.

"The virus strand is not transmittable by any means, including blood transfusion." He stated. "Believe me, we checked in every single way possible. The virus refused to transmit. It's almost like it homed in on these nine teens."

"Your saying it was designed to attack my daughter?" Hiashi spat. "Hokage-sama, we need to investigate this. Perhaps another village is…" Before Hiashi could finish, however, an ANBU operative burst into the room, his body soaked in blood.

"Hokage-sama, we need every possible unit in the hospital. Two of the nine have awoken and transformed into monsters!" He cried. Hiruzen's eyes bugged out at the man's words.

"Wait, what? Who?" He asked curtly. The ANBU took in a deep breath before replying.

"Hyuuga Hinata and Aburame Shino." He answered, before collapsing. Only then was the massive, gaping cut in his back revealed. Slamming on the intercom by his desk, Hiruzen didn't wait for an answer.

"I want every single shinobi, active or not, at the hospital immediately!" He roared. " Meeting adjourned. Shinobi, on me." With that, he flickered out of existence, the entire shinobi council following a second later.

The scent of blood and gore greeted Hiruzen as he emerged in front of the hospital with a cloud of smoke. The scene before him was horrific in almost every single way possible. Patients were strewn around, almost unattended save for the small team of medics dedicating themselves to keeping people alive as shinobi rushed into the building to save who they could. The sounds of kunai and various other sharp implements clashing filled the air, as did the sound of insects, but Hiruzen couldn't identify where, exactly, the noise came from. All he could identify was that it came from the hospital. To his left, to his eternal shame and sorrow, he saw the remaining seven infected under what would be considered overkill guard, nine ANBU prepared to immediately slit their throats should one even show any sign of change. He could, however, understand the reason for it.

"Hokage-sama!" Hiruzen waved off the doctor that came straight to him, a stern look on his face.

"Keep the infected under guard. Where is the other two?" He asked. The doctor gave a frenzied look to the remaining infected, before returning his gaze to Hiruzen, opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

"Hyuuga Hinata is on the roof. She's turned into a monster with arm blades, but still humanoid. Our weapons are unable to pierce her skin, but Jutsu seems to work fine. Aburame Shino is currently in the foyer. He's turned into a giant mosquito and is wielding a staff. We currently have no way of getting close to him without being slaughtered by what appears to be a instant death Jutsu." A nearby ANBU operative called once it was apparent that the doctor didn't know what was happening. "Hokage-sama, we have lost three teams to Hinata and another six to Shino. We simply don't have the manpower to…" The ANBU trailed off as the entire front wall of the hospital exploded, glass flying everywhere. From the ruins, a massive fly, almost twenty feet tall, walked (or as close as it could to walked) out of the wreckage, a massive staff with a skull fixed to its head in hand. Hiruzen immediately tossed away his hat, preparing to battle the beast.

"Men, keep your distance. Use deadly force!" Hiruzen cried, forming a multitude of hand seals as the monster took in its new surroundings, its eyes adjusting to the light. "Katon, Ryushin Inferuno no Jutsu!" With a cry, Hiruzen breathed out a blast of white flame from his mouth, paving a path of destruction that swept up the monster Shino had become and enveloped it in a pillar of flame. The ANBU held even more Jutsu at the ready, prepared to unleash all hell should the Hokage's assault had failed.

And failed it had, for the monster walked out of the flames, the only evidence it had been struck being a few light burns on its body. Hiruzen felt his heart fall into his stomach, horror engulfing his bodies. This monster had just taken the most powerful fire Jutsu in the land of fire to the face and almost completely ignored it. Hiruzen heard cries of Katon and Fuuton around him as the ANBU augmented their flame assaults with wind Jutsu, but could only watch in horror as the Jutsu did almost no visible damage whatsoever, the monster striding straight through them. If this was what it took to cause harm to one of these monsters (and minor harm at that), then Hiruzen could see why they had suffered so many casualties.

This thing seemed to be completely unstoppable.

He had been here before, twice, in fact. It hadn't been that long since he'd found himself here, so soon after the battle with Haku. However, unlike the last time he'd been here, there was one key, titanic difference.

The Kyuubi, in all her glory, was little more then a weak kit begging for its own survival. Uzumaki Naruto, widely regarded as the most hyperactive ninja ever, was speechless at the sight of the Kyuubi, rendered completely helpless by the virus that had ravaged his system.

"Please, stop the pain." Kyuubi whimpered, her eyes shut and paws on her nose. If she weren't in pain, it would have been cute. Naruto couldn't bring himself to move, despite knowing he must have simply stood there for days at the very least.

"What happened to us?" Naruto finally asked, the Kyuubi's eyes snapping open and staring at him.

"So now you speak, ningen!" She snarled. "I've been in pain for how long? Do you not care for my safety? Do you not care for yourself?" Naruto shrugged, walking towards the cage and moving through the bars, kneeling before the Kyuubi.

"Answer me." He whispered, gathering the tiny fox in his arms. The Kyuubi snuggled into him, seeking an escape to the pain but finding none. Only when Naruto began petting her did she calm down, the pain forgotten.

"The virus, it cursed us." She whispered. "The virus causes its host to transform into a demon and grants them strength well beyond mortal ability. However, that price comes at a cost. The host must devour the flesh of others to survive."

"Do we have that ability?" Naruto asked softly. The Kyuubi shook her head.

"The virus is trying to kill me. What do you think?" She asked sarcastically. "So long as you and I are individuals, the virus will do nothing but hasten us towards death." Naruto frowned.

"So long as we are individuals." Naruto muttered. "You mean, so long as you are within the seal?" The Kyuubi glanced up at him, confusion in her eyes.

"Wait, what?" She asked, as Naruto stood up, moving back towards the bars of her cage. "Wait, what are you do-" She didn't even have time to finish as Naruto walked straight back out of the cage, easily sliding between the bars with the diminutive Kyuubi in his arms. As soon as he'd left the cage, the sewer around him shimmered, cracks appearing in its walls, before the entire sewer collapsed.

Hiruzen could only curse at the insanity that was the battle he was leading. The monster that had once been Hyuga Hinata had leapt over the roof of the hospital only five minutes after Shino had burst out of the front of the hospital, her body almost entirely pink save for the twin white blades that extended from her arms, the white bone-like blouse and skirt covering her torso and the white crown of the same substance upon her head, covering her eyes. She had immediately waded into close combat, vivisecting ANBU left and right with weaponry that was almost too fast to follow. The battle truly looked hopeless. At the rate the two were going, the ANBU corps would be completely decimated in half an hour.

"Hokage-sama, Uzumaki is waking up!" One of the guards of the infected cried. Hiruzen turned; ready to give the order to have Naruto executed if he saw signs of change, only to freeze in shock at the now sitting blond.

His whisker marks were gone, his eyes now seeming to shine blue. Naruto took only one look at the situation before leaping from the bed, revealing a black whirlpool of black upon his forehead. Hiruzen tried to call out, to stop Naruto, but the boy charged in towards the two monsters before him.

"That's enough!" He cried, catching the attention of both demons. Shino raised his staff, preparing to strike at Naruto, as Hinata poised her blades to eviscerate him.

"Naruto!" Hiruzen screamed.

"Light shines upon the heavens, the earth, the spirit, light brings glory and grace." Naruto began to sing, both monsters freezing at the lyrics. "May it open your eyes to the truth, shan-ti, shan-ti." Deep grey lines began to cover Shino's body, while blue lines covered Hinata's. With a flash of light, both were human again, lying face first on the ground. Naruto let out a sigh, falling to his own knees in exhaustion.

"Naruto?" Hiruzen muttered, moving towards the boy. Naruto glanced around at him, a small smile on his face.

"Hey… sorry for worrying you." He muttered, wearily standing. "Heh, looks like…" He didn't manage to get off another word before collapsing, Hiruzen's timely intervention the only thing that prevented him from smashing face first into the dirt.

"Relax, Naruto. You're exhausted." Hiruzen whispered to the boy, but Naruto stubbornly used him as a crutch to stand.

"They need meat." He whispered. "Raw or cooked, it doesn't matter, but feed them meat." Naruto's stomach rumbled, but he gripped Hiruzen even tighter, staring into the aged mans eyes. "When they wake up, have meat in the room. They might beat on each other for a while, but they'll eat it sooner or later." Hiruzen nodded, sweeping Naruto into his arms.

"That's enough from you, Naruto. You need to rest." He whispered. Naruto glared at him.

"I'm not invalid. Give me some meat and I'll be fine." He whispered weakly. Hiruzen nodded, but made no move to put Naruto down as he took him from the combat zone.

After ensuring that Naruto was safely hidden away and was eating, Hiruzen returned to the battle-zone outside the hospital. Several dozen teams of ANBU were standing guard as shinobi of other levels cleaned out the dead and the wounded from the hospital. Hiruzen simply hadn't realized how many were dead until now. The number was at least over one hundred, although he was certain it would break two hundred if the pile of dead got too much bigger. The infected were under armed guard, while Shino and Hinata were tied down and had weapons at there…

Wait a moment…

"What is going on here?" Hiruzen roared, silencing any and all argument. Hiashi and Shibi had been standing guard over their children, as many, shinobi and civilian alike, had stood screaming for their deaths.

"Hokage-sama, even you cannot deny that these two are dangerous." Danzo, a man engulfed in bandages and using a crutch, stated. "They should be executed before they have a chance to kill more." Hiruzen felt disgusted at Danzo's words. The man was ready to kill a pair of children that had, in all likely-hood, transformed against there will.

"Until we know exactly what happened, they will be kept confined and secure." Hiruzen spat. "We have nine children who have an unknown illness and you are proposing that we simply execute them? Where do we live, Iwa?" Danzo opened his mouth to form a counter argument, but Hiruzen stifled it with a wave of his hand.

"If you have a problem with it, Danzo, there are proper channels to lodge your complaint." With that, Hiruzen completely ignored the war hawk, moving towards the two children. "Hiashi, Shibi, I must ask you to stand aside. Hinata and Shino will be kept in holding cells within our most secure facilities until we understand what just happened." The two men nodded reluctantly, knowing exactly the kind of cells they would be kept in. ANBU holding cells were horribly uncomfortable, but in the interest of village safety, they really couldn't fight Hiruzen's decision.

"If any harm comes to her." Hiashi let the threat hang. Hiruzen nodded, motioning to his personal guard.

"They will be treated with the utmost respect." Hiruzen stated. "I swear it on the name of Sarutobi. ANBU, take them to holding cells S-279 and S-280. Make sure they are fed, I am told they need meat specifically." The ANBU immediately moved into action, gathering the two unconscious Gennin and vanishing from sight. Hiruzen let out a sigh of annoyance, turning to a third ANBU. "Tell the council that we will continue tomorrow at ten." The ANBU nodded, going about his duty, as Hiruzen left the scene once more.

Five hours later…

Hiruzen sighed as he made his way through his paperwork, signing this and stamping that. His day had gone from long to horrific after the incident in the hospital, leaving him signing documents and proposals for repairs to the hospital at almost nine o'clock at night.

"You know, Jiji, you could use Kage Bunshin to sign all this crap for you." Hiruzen jumped as his gaze went to the door, where Naruto had obviously snuck into the room. The boy looked tired, but he wasn't on the verge of collapse anymore.

"Unfortunately, Kage Bunshin are technically not me, thus, can't sign any of this paperwork." Hiruzen replied. "What brings you here, Naruto? Konoha is out for your head."

"I know. It doesn't really bother me, though. They've always hated me, now they just think they have a reason to." Naruto replied, sitting down across Hiruzen's desk. "I like this chair, though, nice and comfy."

"Why are you here?" Hiruzen repeated. Naruto looked at him, a small smile appearing on his face.

"Did Hinata and Shino wake up at all?" He asked. Hiruzen shook his head, but wouldn't be dissuaded.

"Naruto…" He was about to admonish the boy, but Naruto placed his elbows on Hiruzen's desk, holding his head up with his hands.

"I see. I'll have to go wake them up later. Maybe I was too forceful forcing them to turn back." Naruto muttered. "What of the others?"

"I your not going to tell me why you're here, Naruto, I have to ask you to leave." Hiruzen growled. "I have too much work to…"

"The virus was named the Atma Virus. I'm not entirely sure why, seeing as the Kyuubi's memories don't go back that far, but that's its name. It grants the infected the power to turn into demons, at the cost of never truly sating their hunger and requiring the bearer to devour meat, preferably that of demons, to survive." Naruto cut in, causing Hiruzen to go silent. "Please, Jiji, I'm just worried for the others. How are they?"

"Sasuke has stirred, but other then that, there have been no changes." Hiruzen admitted, placing the document he'd been reading to the side. "Naruto, how do you know about this virus?"

"… I did something very stupid, but it might have been the only way I'd survive the infection." Naruto admitted, staring into Hiruzen's eyes. It was only then that Hiruzen noticed the slit in each eye.

"The Kyuubi and I are two minds trapped in the one body. There is no Kyuubi and I now, there is only Naruto."

Insomnia for the win. Man, it's been a while, hasn't it?

To all the reader's of Shikotsumyaku no Naruto, I am eternally sorry. Rest assured that I am editing the first few chapters. However, I am unlikely to produce any new material for quite a while, as I have come to a major block on writing it. Between the end of year 12 and my entry to university, it simply slipped my mind to the point where I did pick it back up, only to find I no longer really knew where I wanted to take it. Coupled with the old computer that I used dying (a highly amusing incident involving coke, in hindsight), I only have the stuff that I've put online to use. I will eventually get back to it, but it will be a while. I will try to get to work on it after my exams, but I will make no promises.

This actually spawned from the fact that I, over the last two weeks, played Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2 from start to finish (took me a total of sixty-something hours, and Digital Devil Saga 2 was on hard mode). After I finished, I started to reread some of the Naruto fanfics that I bookmarked but never really got back to reading once I started uni, and I got inspired to write this. I don't know if I'll continue (and if I decide to, then this chapter will need to be cleaned up, as it assumes knowledge of which readers won't have), but please read it. If you find it remotely interesting, let me know, and I'll see if I can actually plan a storyline for this. Yes, this actually has no real plot. I'm serious, I want to see something like this done, but I just don't know if there is an audience for it (there really isn't much point in writing a story with no audience, as I found with Naruto: Earthbound. I got halfway through chapter 2 before I realize that only 100 people had even glanced at it, and of that, I knew only one person who actually read it all the way through). There is a disturbing lack of Digital Devil Saga fics on this site, period, which is really a pity for such a good series.

Again, to the readers of Shikotsumyaku, I'm so sorry.

- BoneNomad