A/N: Yeah yeah I know... ANOTHER new fic. Sorry guys. Blame Leonineus for this one. After reading his fanfiction Biju Sage, this idea came to me and well with me being ADHD, I couldnt help myself. Now im sure anyone who has read said fic will see alot of similarities between it and this chapter. However, I wish to tell you this was all me. I have permision from Leonineus to borrow the ideas so nobody complain. Also, I'm certain ill get complaints about my OCs and the canon chars ages. Allow me to remind of you of something: THIS IS FANFICTION. I can do as I please with the characters. Now for those of you who havent read Biju Sage by Leonineus, I suggest you do. In fact, if you're a Naruto/Yugito fan or a fan of Naruto in general, check out his fics.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Never have, never will.
Darkness, pain, fear. These were the only things ten year old Naruto Uzumaki was able to comprehend as he floated in the black void that was now his mind. He wasn't sure how happened, one moment he was sleeping at home in his bed, the next, his body was screaming in pain as darkness set in over his vision and clouded his mind, cutting him off from the only source of comfort he'd known during his life; the Kyubi no Kitsune. Fighting against the pain as best he could, Naruto moved around his mind, still unable to see anything, but trying to feel something or to sense the powerful demoness he held within him. "Kyubi?" He called out, his voice echoing through his mind like it did before he had managed to change it to better suit Kyubi.
No response came to Naruto's call however. Undetered however, he continued to fumble around in the darkness until he found a faint red glow which over the years he had come to associate with the Kyubi. Following the light, he eventually made it to the cage which housed the giant fox only to see the usually magnificent being on the floor rolling in pain, muffled howls of pain coming form her.
"Kyu-chan!" Naruto cried, rushing between the cage bars and moving to hug his friend. "Kyu-chan! Whats wrong?"
The giant fox opened one large teary eye and looked at the boy in front of her. "Naruto... run now... before it's too late!" Even as she said this, she began to fade from the cage, her energy being drained and Naruto's as well since he was holding her.
"No!" The blonde shouted. "I won't leave you Kyu-chan! You're my only friend!" He refused to let go of his only source of friendship and comfort in the crappy life he lead, hugging her tighter.
Sighing in acceptance, Kyubi wrapped her tails around him keeping him close to her. "Very well, Naru-kun. Whatever lies ahead we face together." She spoke softly before they both vanished from his mindscape.
Pein allowed a small smile to grace his usually stotic face. "It has taken a long time, but Akatsuki has finally achieved its goal. All nine biju have finally been gathered and stored in the Gedo Mazo stone and once the statue has had time to adjust to the Kyubi's chakra -" The man began talking but was suddenly cut off as the statue began shaking. Cracks began to run down the side of it as random pieces began to break off.
'Nagato... I warned you not to do this... now it appears that Kami is exacting her vengeance for sacrificing those pure souls for this evil cause.' The blue haired Konan thought as biju energy swirled wildly around the room. Bowing her head and preparing for the end, she had one last thought before everything vanished in a white light. 'May Kami-sama forgive me for my inaction in this matter.'
~Realm of Kami~
As Konan's eyes adjusted to the light which now surrounded her, she was able to focus on the figure directly in front of her. It was a young woman dressed in pink and white glowing in an aura of the same colour and gave the paper user a radiant smile. "Hello, Konan-chan"
It took a moment for Konan to realize just whom she was looking at. When it dawned on her, she let out a gasp and bowed. "K-Kami-sama!"
"Raise your head, Konan-chan. You have asked for my forgiveness and I will grant it to you." Kami replied in a calm voice.
"How can you forgive me, Kami-sama? I stood by and did nothing while nine innocent lives were snuffed out for Nagato and Madara's evil plans." The paper user asked, not entirely sure why she was trying to talk the kind deity out of forgiving her.
Kami's voice became sadder as she spoke. "While it is indeed true that all it takes for evil to succeed is that good men and women do nothing, I do know you voiced your thoughts against Nagato's plan many times. It is also true that eight innocent lives were ended by this plan, but Naruto Uzumaki, the vessel of the Kyubi survived the sealing." The goddess ended on in a slightly happier tone.
"The Nine tails jinchuriki survived?" Disbelief was written all over Konan's face. "How is that possible? No other host survived."
"That is because of two parts. The first is due to his Uzumaki kekkei genkai. It grants him longevity and better than usual health and energy. The second is because of his bond to Kyubi. When the demoness was extracted from him, he refused to let her go and thus his soul was sucked into the Gedo Mazo statue as well. It is because of this that the nine biju worked together using all their might combined with the boy's larger than normal chakra reserves and destroyed the statue from the inside out." The goddess paused to allow Konan to absorb this information. "You ask how I can forgive you? This is simple. I plan to offer you a second chance."
"Another chance?" The bluenette asked,confused.
"Correct." Kami replied. "I have spoken to the other gods and we have agreed to grant life once more to the former hosts of the demons."
This statement only served to confuse Konan further. "You call them former hosts, but when bringing them back will you not seal the biju back into them?"
"To do so would do more harm than good at this point in time." Kami spoke. "You see, when the Gedo Mazo broke and the biju along with Naruto's soul were released, they all entered the nearest living being which just happened to be Naruto, thus fusing them very life-forces with young Naruto's and making him the first human ever to contain ten demons inside of them."
"Ten demons? Kami-sama, there are only nine biju. What is this tenth demon that inhabits young Naruto?"
"The tenth demon is known as the Reibi or the Zero tails. It hides within the darkness of human souls or in places where darkness and hatred fester. In this instance, the Rikudo Sennin captured the beast within the statue to prevent it from upsetting the balance of the world. It seems Nagato was not aware of this and continued using the statue." Kami moved to a screen off to the side of the room. "Your second chance is very rare, Konan-chan. In order to return to life once more, you must become a parent.
"A a p-p-parent?" Konan stuttered, not quite sure what to think. Her a parent? Unconsciously, she moved a hand to her stomach. She had been a few months pregnant while she was alive, but she was still unsure if she would keep it or not.
Kami saw Konan's movement and smiled. "Your child will be returned to you, Konan-chan, however that is not to whom you must become a parent." Waving a hand in front of the screen, it lit up, showing a red-brown haired by with teal eyes. "Sabaku no Gaara. Age: Nine. Former host of the Ichibi no Shukaku."
Another wave of Kami's hand and the screen changed. This time the picture was of a young girl with light blonde hair tied back into a ponytail with hazel eyes. "Yugito Nii. Age: Eleven. Former host of the Nibi no Nekomata."
"Haku. Age: Ten. Former host of the Sanbi no Kyodaigame." The screen showed a girl with black hair and bright red eyes before changing to a young man with red hair and blue eyes.
"Akai Kensei. Age: Twelve. Former host of the Yonbi no Saru." And the pictures continued. A girl with white hair and ice blue eyes named Kisa Toukan. She was seven and the former host of Gobi no Ookami. A young man with dark hair and sea-green eyes called Utakata. He was Ten and the host of the Rokubi no Namekuji. A girl with mint green hair and orange eyes. Fu, Age nine and the former host of Nanabi no Kabutomushi. A child with pink hair and eyes. Lilly Kensei, Akai's younger sister age six and the former host of the Hachibi no Kyogyu. The final picture showed was of Naruto. He was ten years old and the former host of Kyubi no Kitsune but now he was the host of ten demons.
"I presume these pictures to mean they are the reason I am being given my second chance? You require someone to watch over them and so you have chosen me." Konan deduced as she studied the pictures of the children. She waited a few moments and when no response was given she turned to see Kami also studying the screen, eyes darting from child to child.
"They have all lived hard lives, Konan-chan." The goddess spoke softly. "They deserve a chance at a proper life and to know the love of a mother. A few like Akai, Lilly, and Utakata have known it, but it was soon lost." Her face took on serious look. "You have two options, Konan. Option one, I return you to life and you become the mother figure these children need, or option two, I take you before the council and judge you as you are, be it good or bad and leave the kids to find their own way in life."
Biting her lower lip, Konan nodded. "May I have a moment to think it over, Kami-sama? Even you must admit it is a lot for a mortal such as I to take in."
Nodding, Kami turned her attention back to the screen, focusing on each child, using her divine powers to begin restoring them to life.
Konan knew it would not take the deity very long so she immediately set to thinking. Could she really be the parents to nine children and then later give birth to her own? Yes... she could, but not alone. Nagato was out of the question and Yahiko... as she thought of her dead friend, an idea occurred to her. "Ano, Kami-sama. Would it be possible to bring Yahiko..." Her words died in her throat as she saw her old lover's picture appear on the screen, causing a light smile to cross her face. "Thank you, Kami-sama. I will accept your offer."
Kami turned from the screen and smiled at Konan. "I knew you would." She replied. "When you return, Yahiko's body will be reconstructed and he will once more be among the living. He will also be the new wielder of Nagato's Rinnegan."
As Konan's vision began to fade away, she heard Kami's voice. "Take care of them, Konan-chan"
~Akatsuki Base~
Inside Naruto's mind, the young blonde awoke to find himself wrapped in the embrace of the Kyubi in her human form. "Welcome back to the realm of the living, Naruto-kun." She said in a warm tone.
Lifting his head from his friend's embrace, he took note that the cage which formerly held back was once again gone as his mindscape had now changed to adjust to hosting more than one demon. "Did the plan work, Kyubi-chan?"
It was not the Kyubi who answered but rather a woman with deep purple-blue hair and amber coloured eyes. "It did indeed work young Naruto."
The blonde turned to the woman and grinned. "That's great, Nibi-chan!" He said before turning to the other demons who now resided in his mind. "Alright ladies! Now that I have full reign over my mind again lets get this place fixed up so its fit for all of us!"
A cheer went up from the demons as they began working with Naruto to create various areas within his mind for each of the ten to call her own away from the others. While this task took months in his mindscape, it took no less than a few minutes of real time. Once he was finished with that, each of the biju took the time to learn about the only host Kyubi had ever taken a real liking to. Naruto got to know them all a bit better during this time as well.
It turned out as a side effect of destroying the Gedo Mazo while inside of it was that its seal somehow combined with the Yondaime's creating a new seal entirely which despite the intent of the biju to only form a temporary partnership with Naruto, permanantly sealed them within him, but on the plus side it gave him unlimited access to their chakra and youkai.
Finally, after nearly half a year in his mindscape, Naruto awakened to find an older woman with blue hair and an older man with orange hair and spiral eyes looking down at him.
"Oh good! You're ok Naruto-kun. Thank Kami-sama." Konan said, reaching down and embracing the blonde.
"Easy Konan-chan, I don't think the kid knows who you are." Yahiko responded from a few feet away. He had moved back when Konan had glomped the boy to check on some of the other children.
Once all the children were awake, alert, and calmed down, Yahiko began explaining things. "Ok kids. Long story short? Kami-sama have given my Konan-chan and I a second chance at life along with you lot." He said.
Konan sighed and further explained. "With the downfall of Akatsuki and the rebirth of you children, Kami needed someone to look after you all to ensure you get to live the lives that you were unable to live the first time around. She selected myself and Yahiko-kun. Now, are there any questions?"
Yugito spoke up first. "I remember you. You and that Yahiko guy were here when Nibi was being sealed! Why should we believe you?"
At her comment, murmurs and chatter broke out among the former hosts and current host, each having figured out the reason there were nine of them together in this place.
"I agree with Yugito-chan. Nibi-chan says she doesn't trust you as far as she can throw you." Naruto voiced the demon cat's thoughts on the situation. As he finished however, his eyes became distant and he zoned out.
The former containers saw this and became silent immediately as they watched Naruto, having been told he now held all the biju. Each of them knew the look on Naruto's face meant he had been pulled into his mind to speak to one or more of the demons in person.
Even Konan and Yahiko had silenced themselves simply out of respect for the children. Neither could deny that they both had taken part in the sealings, if only slightly on Konan's part and through the involuntary control of his body on Yahiko's part.
A few minutes passed before Naruto's eyes refocused and he turned to his soon to be siblings. "Alright guys, Nibi-chan talked to Shinigami-sama who confirmed Konan's story. We have a family if we want it."
The words took a few seconds to sink in but when they did, the younger children immediately ran to Konan and Yahiko, nuzzling up to them, happy to finally have a family. Naruto, Fu, Yugito, Utakata, Akai, and Lilly remained slightly cautious of them but agreed to travel with the two adults back to Konoha so they could at least have a home and a chance at being ninja.
As the others were getting ready to leave, Naruto stepped outside with Gaara and Utakata to gather materials he would need according to his biju to act as mediums for their powers. Thankfully, the sand nearby allowed Naruto to form several small sized gourds to store sand in and when combined with storage and weight seals, which Kyubi had instructed him how to make using Hachibi's ink, they could hold nearly infinite amounts of sand. Also using the sand and Nibi's Hellfire combined with Yonbi's lava, the blonde managed to construct himself several pipes of varying colours. Taking out deep blue glass pipe similar to the one the Hokage used, he formed a small pocket inside with his chakra which held moisture from the air and allowed him to blow bubbles, much to his, Utakata's, and Rokubi's delight.
~Gates of Konohagakure~
The new family arrived via paper shunshin just outside the gates of Konohagakure and since the guards were asleep, they easily walked past and entered the Hokage tower to find said Hokage glaring at his paperwork. If looks could kill, the paperwork would be dead ten times over.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up when his officed door opened and was surprised to see an orange and blonde blur rush towards him with a cry of, "Jiji!"
"Naruto!" Sarutobi cried, hugging the blonde after righting himself in his chair. "Where have you been all this week? You've had me worried sick!"
"Well..." Naruto began only to be cut off by Konan.
"Hokage-sama, what we have to tell you is of the utmost importance and should therefor only be spoken of in private." She told the aging Kage.
Glancing at Naruto who nodded, the Sandaime closed the door to his room and activated the privacy seals. Returning to his seat, he pulled Naruto onto his lap once more and turned his gaze to Konan and Yahiko. "Explain."