Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. This will be the only place the disclaimer is stated.
Pain… That was all he could feel. The young blond child, barely seven years old, cracked open a swollen eye. He quickly shut it again and hoped none of those who had been beating him for the past hour noticed, but luck was not on his side.
"It's still alive!"
With those words more pain blossomed and the world descended into darkness.
~§~
Young Uzumaki Naruto awoke in a large sewer; he leapt to his feet and spun around looking for the people who attacked him. Finding no one, he examined himself and was surprised to find no injuries.
"Okay, those meanies are gone and I'm not hurt anymore. Now, where am I?"
The young blond chose a random direction and started walking. After about an hour, or maybe five minutes, he was still in knee-deep water with no idea as to where he was. Growling to himself, Naruto ran through the grey pipes towards, whatever. I'm sure I passed this spot already! He was starting to give up hope, when he saw something besides sewer pipe down a nearby corridor. Walking towards it, he found a large cage with the kanji for 'seal' written on a small pad of paper attached to the bars. He frowned, there was something here, but the blond couldn't figure what it could be.
"Well, it seems I have company. You have graced me with your presence, young jailer."
Naruto froze in fear, the something had just talked, and if the sarcasm was anything to go by it didn't seem happy. He watched as a large red fox came out from the shadows behind the bars. Its lower body looked just like a fox, though the torso and arms seemed more human than fox, with the exception of the red fur covering its entire body.
"So, boy, why have you come here? Come to brag to the 'stupid beast' like the rest of them?"
Naruto frowned; he didn't even know where he was and this… Thing insulted him just for being here?! His childish mind overcame his fear as he grew angry.
"Look you! I didn't come here to call you a stupid beast! I don't even know where I am! So why are you yelling at me?! I've never done anything to you!" He then crossed his arms and attempted to glare at the fox, though it came across as something akin to a pout.
"Bwa ha ha! You've never done anything to me?! LOOK WHERE I AM! I'M CHAINED IN THIS CELL DESTINED TO ROT HERE!" He emphasized this by lunging at the young boy, only for chains to wrap around his arms and neck dragging him against the wall causing obvious pain.
"STOP IT!"
The kyuubi was rather surprised at the boy's outburst, he tried to speak only for a hacking-cough to exit his throat. After it subsided, the fox turned towards the boy, his voice hoarse; "Stop what? Scaring you?"
The boy's eyes were wide with tears; "No! Don't make those chains come back!"
Now the fox was curious, he grinned; "Why? Are you afraid they'll get you too?"
"No." The boy wiped his eyes on his sleeve, "Because they hurt you. I don't want you to get hurt."
The kyuubi was shocked, the boy cared? Unlikely, it was probably a trick just to steal what remained of his chakra, though he wanted to see how far the blond would take it; "Why do you care? Humans are all them same, they hate me because I exist."
The fox turned his back on the boy and laid his head on his forepaws, rest would let him replenish chakra faster.
"They do the same to me."
The kyuubi's head moved so fast Naruto barely saw it move. The fox bared his teeth at the boy; "Why? Do you not get enough toys?"
The blond shook his head; "I don't have any toys; they just call me a demon and hit me when I can't get away. You're the only one who hasn't hurt me. Aside from Jiji, but he works a lot."
The fox continued to stare at him, and when the boy slipped between the bars of the cage the kyuubi nearly forgot about escaping the seal.
Naruto climbed atop the fox's head and sat down; "Can you be my friend? I don't have…"
"Are you not afraid of me?"
The question surprised the boy; "Why should I? You haven't done anything to me. My name's Naruto, what's yours?"
The fox smiled, the boy reminded him of the Sage of Six Paths, the only human the kyuubi had ever respected. Maybe the blond wasn't so bad; "My name's Kurama, kit."
Naruto slid down from atop the fox's head, and turned towards him; "Hey! I told you me names Naruto!"
The fox just laughed harder and Naruto growled at him; "Now, you ugly carpet, how do we get out of here?"
Kurama's laughter slowed; "Here? I can't leave. We're in your mindscape."
"Mindscape, what, so your IN me?!"
"Ding ding ding! Give the boy a prize!"
Naruto pouted at the fox again; "So, how do we get you out of me? And me out of me? ARG! Now my head hurts, I'm in me, but I am me… Somebody make it stop!"
Kurama laughed so hard the walls shook; "I can't leave due to the seal placed here by the Fourth, but if you concentrate you can leave easily."
"The seal, but what if I do this?"
Kurama was shocked when the boy reached up and pried the seal of the cage and proceeded to open the bars of his prison, he briefly considered just running until he remembered the blond. He smiled wide and looked down at the boy who was staring up at the fox.
Naruto shivered when he saw Kurama's grin, then one of the nine tails wiped around and hit him in the head then the world, once again, went black.
~§~
Naruto groaned as he awoke, everything hurt again. He silently cried, Kurama had attacked him like everyone else. He tried to get up, but his injuries kept him from moving without severe pain. It didn't matter, he would be healed in a day or so.
"Hello kit."
Naruto's head moved of its own accord, though he instantly regretted his actions and moaned in pain. He opened his eyes once again to see Kurama looked back, though he had changed slightly; "Ah ha ha h… urk. Ah, Kurama, you got smaller."
Said fox rolled his eyes; "I'm aware. It's because I'm low on chakra, but it will replenish in time. Now kit, where do I take you?"
"Take me? What are you… Hey!" Naruto was interrupted when the fox hoisted the boy into his back. Though he was smaller, Kurama was still bigger than Naruto, if not by much; "Well, if you going to carry me I live in that building there, third floor." Kurama then leapt onto the roof of the shop where Naruto had been beaten and proceeded towards the building the boy had pointed out. He looked back at Naruto; "Third floor? The open window?"
"Yes, why what are… WATCH OUT!" Kurama ducked and dodged through trees and wires before jumping into Naruto's apartment. He shrugged the boy onto the couch before looking around; "Kit, this place looks a lot better than I thought it would."
"Hey! What do you mean by that?!"
"Well, I kind of thought you would have some kind of giant mess in here."
Naruto shrugged; "I don't have a lot, so there's not much to make a mess with."
"I suppose so. Now, sleep."
"What?! Why?!"
"Cause even with my regeneration you still need to heal."
"Your healing powers?! So that's where those came from."
"Yes kit, now sleep before I make you!"
"Okay, mom."
"What was that?"
"Nothing!"
~§~
"Lord Hokage."
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, looked up from his paper work; "How may I help you Dog?"
"I have info regarding young Uzumaki-san."
Yo. It's me again. This idea was stuck in my head and refused to go away, so the story was born. I'm using a slightly different writing style then in my other story. I'm still working on Secrets of the Ancients, it's taking some time to get the fight scene just right. Now, tell me what you think about his, wither you like it, hate it, whatever.
Reviews don't make me happy, telling me what I did wrong for an overall better story does.
~Sypher