Child of Red and Black

by Sandova Mirell

Ascending at the time of sealing, the infant planeswalker Uzumaki Naruto and his 'passenger' Kurama form a bond with the plane of Ravnica. Years later, the boy finds his way back and meets new friends! Fun friends!...as long as you like pain and blood, that is.

Child of Red and Black:

Kurama, the Nine-tailed Demon Fox thought he had seen it all, experienced it all. He was wrong. After that trice-cursed Uchiha forced him to demolish Konoha, which he would've done anyway, it's the compulsion that rankled him, he found out that those pathetic mortals had one last trick up their sleeve. The trice-cursed Fourth Hokage. Not only had the blond man forced him out of the village, he even had the gall to try and seal him again!

Normally, he would be angry beyond mortal comprehension. However, there was something very strange about the offspring of his vanquisher. Kurama did not know exactly what it was, but there was an undercurrent of power in the spawn's soul. A hidden potential, one might say.

As the last remnants of Kurama's chakra infused the baby this hidden potential decided to stop hiding. The fox went from interest to concern in the san of seconds. This power might actually rival his! Weakened from both the battle and the subsequent sealing, Kurama could only observe as the baby's soul ignited, for a second eclipsing Kurama's power by an order of magnitude before dimming again.

In spite of existing for over eight millennia Kurama had never seen anything like it, and yet there was a niggle of recognition at the back of the great fox' mind. A long forgotten memory from the time before he became the sentient mass of malevolent chakra he was now, the time of the Ten Tails. Caught up in both his surprise and the distracting pseudo-memory he did not see the aftermath of the event before it was far too late.

Apparently the power had punched a hole in reality, and the child seemed fated to fall through. Of course, that meant that Kurama would be taken along for the ride. Now this was not a good thing. Holes in reality had the unfortunate tendency to be one-way openings, and Kurama liked this reality thank you very much. So the thrashed, he squirmed, he shouted, pleaded and even begged, but to no end. The last thing Kurama could observe before the world became swirling madness was the shocked expression on the dying Hokage's face.

"Heh, serves him right"

XXXXX

Kurama had no idea how long they drifted there, it could be eons, it could be seconds. Either way, reality suddenly sprang into being once more. While Kurama was glad they were out of the swirling madness the underlying problem persisted. This was not their reality!

Luckily, the ancient demon had focused all his not inconsiderable power and mental capacity in trying to keep some sort of hold on his original reality. If they found themselves in the madness between worlds again there was perhaps a greater chance they could return home.

Meanwhile, his host had woken up and became somewhat fussy. Understandable, considering it was cold, his blanket was open and his parents were nowhere to be found. Understandable, and immensely annoying. Ever been in a room with a fussy baby before? Try living inside one. Kurama knew it was helpless to try and soothe the child(yes, the irony of his was not lost on him), but he did it anyway. His container was barely two hours old and he was greatly weakened himself. Most powerful demon or not, vulnerable is vulnerable, and Kurama did not want to be taken advantage of by the denizens of whatever this place was.

Quickly deducing that he could never soothe a baby that just lost its parents Kurama stuck with his strengths. Overwhelming power and a terrifying presence. He forced as much of his power through the still settling seal as possible and felt the child's mysterious power flare up again. Knowing that there was no way in Hell that someone did not notice the power he was currently broadcasting the great fox prayed that the child would hop realities again very soon. Kurama grew more agitated when he sensed something powerful approaching his container, but again luck was on his side and both baby and demon found themselves back in the swirling madness between realities.

Tugging at the feeble connection with their shared home world the Nine Tails felt the strain of using the last dredges of his power. As they appeared back in the same cradle they left this world in the ancient fox was already fading into a deep slumber, unaware of the unlikely connection they both made with the other reality they visited.

XXXXX

In perhaps the greatest city in the entire multiverse, a powerful individual wondered just what had happened there, and how they could exploit it if it ever happened again.

XXXXX

Six years later a blond boy was running from some angry shopkeepers he just pranked. Serves those bastards right for ignoring him! A shame they didn't see it that way, and decided to "Teach the demon brat a lesson.". So, the young Naruto Uzumaki was running his little legs ragged while dodging carts and stands, and doing a good enough job to maintain a lead on his pursuers. Unfortunately, he seemed to be running out of obstacles to use for this, so he did the next best thing. He made a sharp turn and ran into an alley. Any other alley and it might've worked, but unfortunately this one was a dead end.

"AAGH, A DEAD END!" What would he do now! The shopkeepers would be running into the alley any minute now! He had to get out. Naruto closed his eyes, praying he could somehow escape before the angry men got to him.

He felt something inside him surge in response, followed by a somehow familiar compressed feeling. When he opened his eyes, he was not in the alley anymore. Or anywhere else in Konboha for that matter.

Naruto blinked, this was not where he was standing just a second ago. Everywhere he looked there was wild activity, a frenzy of festivities. But there seemed to be something wrong with it, somehow. There was something wild, something almost fanatical in the movements of the people around him. That, and the smell of blood and fire made it a place unsuited for a newly translocated six-year-old.

"And what have we here?" Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin at the smoky voice in his ear. Before he could turn around he felt a long, sharp fingernail stroke his cheek almost tenderly. Almost being key here, and he winced as he felt the nail break skin.

"Aw don't be afraid little boy, we just want to play." Naruto blinked. No one ever wanted to play with him, but the creepy lady behind him said she wanted to play. Who was he to reject such a generous offer? "Really? You want to play with me?"

He felt her grip loosen and Naruto turned to his new friend. She as tall and clad in scraps of black and red cloth. A mask hid most of her features bud did nothing to disguise the wicked grin and the manic gleam in her eyes. Her clothes were also riddled with all kinds of sharp blades. "She must be a ninja. I have a new friend who is a ninja. This is the best day EVER!"

Naruto gave her a massive grin of his own. "Hi, my name is Naruto Uzumaki, who are you? Are you a ninja? Why is it so warm in here? What game are we gonna play first?" The lady, more of a girl, actually, blinked, not expecting that reaction from the kid. How did the kid get in Rix Maadi anyway? Eh, it doesn't matter. She found herself a new playmate!

"I'm Exava, I'm not a ninja but a guildmage! I don't know how you got here but I know some games we can play. Follow me." Naruto nodded and followed the girl through the mob, doing his best to stick close to her. She led him to a smaller room that was filled with hooked chains and red banners. Braziers at the walls gave the room a hellish look, but Naruto was only thinking of the games he could play with his new friend.

"Hey Exava-chan, what are we going to play first?" Exava smiled and took two of her sliver-like knives, giving one to Naruto. The blond boy accepted it and took a good look, it was so sharp! Exava smiled wider when she saw his enthusiasm, this kid would make a fine Rakdos. If he survived the year, that is.

"Now, you take the knife like this," she helped Naruto adjust his grip. "And then you hold out your other hand like this." Exava waited until Naruto got it right. "Okay, now we take turns in trying to cut the other person's hand. You get one try, and the other can pull their hand back to doge the knife. Understand it so far?" Naruto nodded, but cocked his head sideways with a confused expression.

"Hey Exava-chan, doesn't it hurt when you get cut?" The girl nodded happily. "Exactly! We get to experience both joys of cutting! Cutting and getting cut! This will be so much fun!" Naruto was now less sure he wanted to play this game, but Exava-chan looked so excited he could not refuse. They went easy the first rounds, slowly getting him used to the game. Then Exava picked up the pace, and Naruto got a nasty gash in his hand. The blonde boy dropped his knife and started crying softly, making Exava lower her knife as well.

"Hey, what's wrong Naruto?" Naruto sniffled and held his bleeding hand. He could not believe that his friend would hurt him like this. He looked at her with sad eyes. "Why would you hurt me? I thought we were friends!" Exava squatted in front of the crying boy and ruffled his hair, giving him a softer smile. "Silly boy, pain is not always bad. It shows that you are alive, that you can still experience everything life has to offer! We get hurt all the time, so why not enjoy it? It's certainly easier that way. Here," she gave Naruto her knife and held out her hand. "You can cut me just as bad, then we're even, okay?"

Naruto thought it over, Exava did seem genuinely sorry that she upset him, and she did explain why it wasn't so bad. They were still friends! He grabbed the knife with his good hand and gave the girl a deep gash over her whole hand and she smiled at him. She removed two strips from her outfit and wrapped both their hands, stopping most of the bleeding. They both got up and played some other, slightly less painful games.

Naruto had a lot of fun that day, he made a new friend, learned an important lesson and even got to explore the chain room a little more. It was a little creepy, but in a cool way. Of course, it went too well to last. As they were playing hide and hunt, which was like hide and seek but with knives, a huge tattooed man entered the room. The man saw Naruto and grinned hungrily, showing the boy his sharpened teeth.

"What is this? A little snack deciding to find me? Oh, you shouldn't have." Naruto yelped and scurried away, but the large man was surprisingly fast. "Don't run, boy. I just want to take a little bite." Naruto was now properly scared and called for his friend, hoping she would find him quickly.

Exava was stalking around when she heard her friend call for help. Understanding immediately what probably happened she ran towards the sound of running. She found Naruto just in time to shield him from his assailant. The half-ogre, not happy with his snack being kept away from him, swatted the girl aside. "Get back, bitch. I'm hungry."

Exava immediately got back up and grabbed two knives. "Fuck off, he's my playmate. Find someone else to eat." The ogre stopped and turned towards the girl, grin widening. "Okay, guess I'll eat you instead."

Naruto could only watch in horror as the large man backed Exava in a corner. She fought back like mad, but the man ignored the cuts entirely and grabbed the girl by the throat, lifting her to his face. Exava struggled as best as she could but the man's grip did not waver. He had to do something! "Hey, leave her alone!"

The man gave Naruto a chilling grin. "Don't worry little boy, I have room enough for both of you. Just wait your turn." His cruel laughter filled the room, reminding Naruto of the mean kids that picked on him at the orphanage. His friend was about to be eaten and there was nothing he could do! He had to help her somehow!

"Brat, stop panicking. It makes the sewer shake." Naruto blinked, where did that voice come from? A sigh seemed to echo through his head. "I'll explain later, don't you want to save your precious friend? Hurt the man that is hurting your friend?"

"Y-yeah, I want to help her." A deep chuckle answered him. "Good. Now, this might burn a little." Naruto was about to ask what the voice meant when it felt like liquid fire invaded his body. It hurt, but he felt so powerful, so angry that he did not care. That large bastard tried to hurt his friend, Naruto would make him pay.

Exava felt herself lose consciousness. "Damn it, just when I found a playmate that actually wanted to play. And now I can't even enjoy corrupting the kid." A massive surge of mana registered briefly in her oxygen deprived mind. "What was that?"

A red blur slammed into her assailant, making him drop her. In front of them stood Naruto, a cloak of pure red mana enveloping him. His features twisted in a feral snarl, Naruto growled and showed off his now fanged mouth. The ogre laughed loudly. "Ooh, I like you. Come on and get some!"

The ogre drew on the ambient mana and his muscles engorged obscenely. Both boy and man looked at each other and charged. Fangs glittered, fists cracked and blood flew. Exava had never seen someone so young fight so, so wild, so feral. She blearily stood up in time to see Naruto get hit with a punch that cracked the ground, and the sound of shattering bones echoed through the room. But Naruto just got up, bones reknitting with astonishing speed, and roared.

The ogre did not have the benefit of regeneration, blood oozing from numerous gashes and claw marks. Yet he too was caught in the throes of bloodlust and answered the boy with a roar of his own. By now, they had attracted some attention from the main hall. Cheering cultists stood at the entrance of the room, howling for blood and violence. They did not see the danger they were in until Naruto charged the ogre and drove them both through the entrance and into Rix Maadi's main chamber.

What followed was pure, violent pandemonium. A massive riot erupted almost immediately, all the gathered cultist all too eager to participate in some violence of their own. With a bestial cry, Exava joined the fray. Naruto could not have all the fun for himself! She ran through the throng and joined the berserk boy against the ogre, who had found some friends of his own. The surrounding cultists could feel the tension and backed off, forming a small clearing for the combatants while around them the riot raged on.

Naruto wasted no time and flung himself at their foes, charging on all fours. Exava grabbed her knives and charged after him, laughing maniacally the entire time. Her blades flashed and cut deep, and Naruto's claws gauged out chunks of flesh, leaving ragged strips hanging from bone. The intensity of the fight only got higher from there. The ogre's buddies used the same bloodlust spell their leader did, practically tripling their strength. In the midst of the maelstrom of violence, Naruto sank deeper into his mind, letting instinct take over.

XXXXX

Naruto looked around, this was the second time this day he found himself somewhere different. This time, it was a sewer. A sewer with a massive cage in the middle, the cage itself glowing with a harsh red light. As Naruto approached the cage he could see a small tag inscribed with the word 'seal' hanging on the middle of the bars. Streamers of red light curled around his feet, making him feel like the fire he felt before.

"So, you finally made it here, brat." Naruto's head shot up. Inside the cage was the largest fox he'd ever seen! And it seemed like the light came from the fox's nine...tails?

Kurama snickered when he saw his host's eyes widen in realization. Now that was a face he loved to see. He waited until he saw the boy getting a little panicked before speaking.

"Relax brat, I mean you no harm. You see, if you died here I will never get home. Besides, you keep getting in the most amusing situations. Like the current one, for example." Having calmed down somewhat the blonde cocked his head. "Eh, what do you mean? I don't understand it at all!"

Kurama sighed but refrained from yelling, his host was only six years old, after all. "You somehow have the power to cross worlds kit. And because I am sealed within you, I get taken along for the ride."

"Sealed within me? But everyone says the Nine Tails is dead!" Kurama laughed out loud at this, it was just too much. "Arrogant humans, do they really think I could die? I am immortal!" He shook his head and crouched down so that he could properly look his host in the eye.

"No, I was sealed inside you by the fourth Hokage to prevent me from destroying your village. Now, I don't believe we are properly introduced. My name is Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, pleased to meet you."

Naruto blinked, then grinned at the massive fox demon. "Hi Kurama, I am Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage of Konoha!" Kurama laughed out loud again, the nerve of this kid! "Now that we are formally introduced, let me tell you what is happening. Right now I am lending you a little of my power. This means that you can go toe-to-toe with those men you are fighting." Naruto perked up at this, giving the fox his signature bright grin. "Thanks, Kurama!"

"Don't thank me yet, kit. You body can't handle my power for much longer, and your mind has regressed to a completely feral state. That is why you're here, by the way. I need to pull back my power for the moment. Try not to die, kit." Naruto couldn't get a word in edgewise before he felt himself flying upwards.

XXXXX

Naruto blinked his eyes to focus them. He was sitting on the tattooed man's chest, which was an ugly mess of torn flesh and broken bones. Around him were the cheers of blood-crazed cultists. He looked with increasing horror at the broken visage of the man he'd fought. Said man locked eyes with the boy and somehow managed to smile.

"Back with us kid? That was-cough- that was the best fight of my life." His smile became a bit wry. "Probably the last too. No, don't feel bad," he hastily added when he saw Naruto's horror-stricken and tear stained face. "I don't regret you killing me, and you should not feel bad about it. We're all part of Rakdos' cult here. We expect to go out this way. We want to go out this way, so thanks for that. I-cough -I think I'll close my eyes now."

Naruto felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Exava standing there, blood-splattered and disheveled, but smiling. Her slightly manic expression softened and she ruffled his hair. "He's right you know." Naruto sniffled a little. "But how could I just do that to him? I got so angry, and then there was this voice and,-" Naruto stopped talking, only now realizing just what exactly happened. He ducked his head and whispered to himself. "I have a monster inside me, and now I'm a monster too."

"And what's wrong with that, silly boy? We're all monsters here." Exava ruffled his hair while the cultists around him made noises of agreement. The young cultist looked up when the crowd parted to let someone through. "Speaking of monsters."

A tall, leather-clad and busty woman stood before them, a truly terrifying grin on her scarred face. "Exava my dear, would you like to introduce me to your little friend?"

XXXXX

*Six years later*

"You are the fox, that is why everyone hates you!" Iruka's heart sank at his former friend's words, he could only hope Naruto wouldn't snap. The energetic boy had already displayed a slightly worrying preference for violence during his earlier academy days, only the gods would know what he'd do if he snapped.

The red and black clad boy in question just blinked at the traitorous chuunin. "What the hell are you smoking? I'm not Kurama, the fuzz-but's only stuck inside me!"

That brought the two chuunin up short. "He knew? He can communicate with it? Oh dear lord we're doomed!" Mizuki had to act fast, before the monster in front of them could unleash its wrath upon him. He grabbed a giant shuriken and flung it at the blond boy.

"Die, demon fox!" Seeing the giant shuriken streak towards his student there was only one thing Iruka could do. In league with the Kyuubi or not, Naruto was his student and he'd die before letting him get hurt! In the blink of an eye the scarred chuunin stood protectively over his student, grimacing in pain from the giant shuriken now imbedded in his back.

"Why?" Looking in the surprised red eyes of his student, Iruka couldn't help but flash a weak smile. "Because you are one of my precious students, I can't let you get hurt."

The boy gave Iruka one of his sharp-toothed face-splitting grins. "Thanks Iruka-sensei! But I can take care of myself, you know?" Naruto then scooted back from Iruka's protection and faced Mizuki, who had grabbed another of his giant shuriken. Iruka was about to tell the boy to get away when an immensely potent feeling of bloodlust filled the area.

The black and red clad boy smiled at Mizuki, and it was not a nice smile. It was feral, it was menacing, it was more than a little unhinged and above all, it was aimed solely at Mizuki. "Hey Mizuki-sensei, what's the matter? Aren't you going to kill me? Don't chicken out, now!"

The traitorous chuunin snarled, the little monster thought that he wouldn't kill him? He'd show him, he'd show everyone how 'scared' he was of the little brat! He made the shuriken spin and flung it at the little monster. His aim was true, there was no way a failed academy student would be able to dodge that!

Indeed, Naruto did not dodge. Instead he lifted a hand at the incoming projectile, showing the world the glowing symbol of a burning skull. When the shuriken came in contact with the symbol, it shattered, sending metal shrapnel everywhere. If Naruto felt bothered by the cuts and gauges he received he did not show it, if anything his smile grew.

"Wha-, WHAT THE HELL?!" Naruto would've commented on the hilarity of both teachers swearing at exactly the same time, if he wasn't preoccupied with enjoying the burning sensation of his healing cuts while he still could. "Let all feel joy in pain," is what Sarchesa-sensei always said, so he did.

"Good one, Mizuki-sensei. Now it's my turn!" He briefly looked at Iruka, giving the shocked man a light grin. "If I show you a technique I learned from the scroll you'll pass me, right?" He then crossed his fingers and gathered his chakra. "Kage bushin no jutsu!"

When the smoke cleared, there was red and black as far as the eye could see. Iruka slumped against a tree, any thought of helping his student forgotten. "That must be at least a hundred clones. When did he get this strong?"

One clone turned to the original with a quizzical expression. "What are we gonna do boss? I mean, he did try to kill you and Iruka-sensei." The original shrugged. "I dunno, flaying?" The clone smiled and nodded. "Flaying it is, you heard the boss! Skin the bastard!"

It didn't take long for ANBU to arrive, drawn towards the agonized screaming. They took in the scene and turned to Iruka. "Report."

"Mizuki turned traitor, tricked Naruto in stealing the Forbidden Scroll and tried to kill us both. I took a shuriken in the back for the kid, he took exception to that. Apparently, he learned the Shadow clone technique as well as a steel shattering technique. You can guess the rest." They all turned towards the grisly scene, a couple of clones pinning Mizuki down while the others each tried their best to skin the traitorous chuunin, with limited success.

Cat felt like she should stop the boy before the traitor bled out. It would not do if the traitor died before he could be brought to Ibiki. "Uzumaki, cease your actions immediately. The target must survive to be brought to T&I. You have my thanks for apprehending him, though."

The clones stopped and flashed her a grin before dispelling. "Thanks Cat-neechan! I guess I overdid it a little, ehehe." Cat signaled her colleagues to take Mizuki away and nodded to Iruka. "Your dedication to your students is to be commended, Iruka-san. I will report this to the Hokage."

Iruka blushed and Cat shunshined away, leaving the chuunin alone with his student. "Naruto, come here for a moment." The boy complied, his smile never leaving his face. Iruka returned that smile and crouched in front of Naruto. "Close your eyes, I've got a surprise for you."

Naruto would barely hold his excitement. Iruka had a surprise, and he wasn't allowed to look! It could be a knife, or a bomb, or maybe even-

"You can open your eyes Naruto." Naruto didn't see anything in front of him, so the surprise was probably whatever Iruka-sensei put around his head. Then he saw that the scarred chuunin was missing his forehead protector, and while he wasn't the sharpest knife on the altar he wasn't stupid. Smiling, Iruka-sensei ruffled his hair. "Congratulations, you pass."

AN:

So, something I have written years ago, and decided that I could publish what I have, even though it is shorter than I originally intended. On the other hand, it is a short story with an open end. I might eventually write more of this, but then again I might not. If you want to use this premise for your own story, go ahead. Just give me a PM and a link to what your story ended up like, because I would love to read anything inspired by something I made. I hope you enjoyed the story as is, at least. Tell me what you think!