Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto nor High School of the Dead. All rights to their respectable owners.
"Naruto" Normal speech.
"Naruto" Thoughts.
"Naruto!" Kurama speaking/Characters shouting.
How would life be if you learned to let go of things that already let go of you?
From relationships long gone, to old grudges, to regrets, to all the 'could've' and should've'
that plague you and hold you down, like dead friendships you still cling onto...
Some people think of holding on makes us strong. But, sometimes its finding the courage to let go of things that would never change truly, makes you the stronger person...
-Naruto-
"Let me ask you this, Naruto Uzumaki..." Kaguya Otsutsuki spoke, her tone passive and expression distant. "What do you think when you are enshrouded by the darkness? Do you grow fearful? Do you worry and cry? Or would you feel anger at your being abandoned?" Taking a breathe, she paused, her white eyes staring into Naruto's bright blue before she continued. "Do you still feel nothing but apathy for the world around you, or others at times? Even in your most private of moments? Tell me, would you still hold compassion for those that will spend his or her lifetime tearing apart everything you build long after you draw your last breathe, and succumb to death's eternal embrace?"
Naruto floated across from her, his brow furrowed as he pondered when exactly it was that this went from a life or death battle for the fate of the world, to a series of questions. "Uh...I'm sorry, but how did this go from us fighting to the death to you trying to play 100 questions with me?" He asked, his expression reflecting his inner turmoil.
Kaguya fought back the makings of a smirk. This one reminded her of Asura more and more...
"I am simply asking what you feel when you hear the word darkness. You know better than most what it feels like to be an anomaly, trapped in a world that only views you for your physical prowess. That measures you only your worth..." she crossed her arms and gradually grew closer, "do you truly feel that your ideals and feelings will exist long after you pass? When people still view you as only a human sacrifice?"
Naruto's lips drew themselves into a thin line. He was trying hard to make sense of what this woman was asking. "My ideals and feelings? Darkness? You aren't making much sense, lady! I may be confused, but I know this much! The bonds I built with the people I cherish the most will help carry my will of fire though out the land! I know peace will come. A peace that will drive away all the war and bloodshed! A peace my late mentor believed in. Don't you get it? We've already found common ground!" He retorted, his eyes burning with a brighter flame than anything Kaguya had ever seen.
Stopping just a few feet short of him, Kaguya eyed the reincarnation of her child. Her face as impassive and stoic as before, betraying nothing of what she actually felt.
"Then answer me this one last thing, Naruto Uzumaki. What do you think it is that makes us human?" She reached out to him, her palms spread wide as she gently flexed her fingers. Admiring her own limb as if it were the first time she'd laid eyes on it. "Do you think it is because we stand upright? Or is it because we have the ability to think independently? To act beyond out most basic of instincts? Or...perhaps, it is our ability to choose?"
"No." Naruto interrupted her, that same determination burning as bright as the sun. "You're wrong, those things don't make us human, if they did we wouldn't be any different than the Toads or Snakes." he suddenly faltered, a hand coming up to scratch his thickly marked cheeks. "Errr...that is to say, if any of that makes sense..."
This time, Kaguya did smile. "Then is it our ability to be benevolent? To show mercy to other living creatures? Is the disposition to do good what makes us so curious?" Kaguya crossed her arms and tilted her head, her smile full of mirth, like she were amused with all of this. With him.
Running his hand though his spiky blond hair. Naruto tried his best to ease the unsettling feeling that was building up within him. These questions made him feel like she was trying to judge him, or get him to admit to something he wasn't completely sure of.
"I...I don't really get what you mean. Are you saying that we as people are no different than animals? If that's the case than you're wrong! Humans are different because we learn from our mistakes! From each other! And I know we can find better ways than killing each other to solve our problems solved! We can do so much good in the world! This war is proof that we can get along, even after hundreds of years of bloodshed and feuds!" Naruto stated, confident that even those in complete darkness could change for the better. He'd seen it too many times to not believe.
For a moment, Kaguya remained quiet, until a tiny cackle made its way through his ears and sent a slight chill running down his spine. Before he could voice his feelings, Kurama made himself known.
"Don't listen to her." The beast growled out, its deep voice booming within Naruto's head. "She will say anything to stop you form sealing her away! You have shown me, a being that's been hated by humans since the day I was born, that there is a chance! If you can reach me, who was filled with such a deep resentment for everything that drew breath, who reveled in madness and hatred, than humanity shouldn't be a problem. All she is doing Naruto, is trying to confuse you. Make you doubt yourself and your intentions." The Kyubi warned.
"You think she's just trying to toy with my emotions, Kurama?" Naruto responded, never once taking his eyes off of the rabbit-goddess.
"I wouldn't put it past her. Do not forget, she comes from an era that rained blood. A time where the only way to bring peace was to eat the fruit of the world and commit the ultimate sin. Her 'peace' was brought on by death and destruction and maintained through fear..." Kurama spat his words like they were poison. "She knows nothing of your peace."
"Then...what should I do, Kurama? I'm in some dimension by myself, without Sasuke, Sakura, or Kakashi-sensei. I know I can't beat her by myself, but I can't lose here either." Naruto clenched his fists at his side, his pursed lips forming into a tight frown.
"...Keep her talking, I will try to formulate a plan. Don't forget, we still have power from the old man. All we need is a single opening and we can seal her away for good."
"Okay, I'll do my best, Kurama!"
"Having fun talking with the nine tails, Naruto?" Kaguya spoke, that same playful smirk spread even wider on her ivory features.
Naruto blinked, a nervous bead of sweat falling from his brow. "C-Could you hear us?"
The woman laughed and shook her head. "No, I cannot read minds boy, but I am no fool." She brought up her torn and scuffed sleeve and concealed her smile behind the white fabric. "I have asked you many questions, have I not? To stir your thoughts, to see what kind of person you are... And now, I will answer that question for you. What separates us from the rest of them child, what defines us, truly, is not our capability for compassion or mercy. It is not that we can choose or learn. No...what defines us, Naruto Uzumaki, is that we are the only creatures in this world who are inherently capable of evil. We start wars, we pillage for no reason other than our own greed or for the blood of mayhem. You see...deep down, we do it because we love to be in control. To rule. We lust after our own pleasures, we kill and murder for our own amusement. We, above all other creatures, bring about the end of our own species for the enjoyment of it." She swept her arms wide and grinned at the sight of his expression, her third eye humming with power as she continued. "You have seen it first hand throughout your own shinobi career. How men and women all lusted after their own desires."
A shudder ran up and down his body as old memories were somehow forced to the forefront of his thoughts. Mizuki, Gato, Zabuza, Orochimaru, the list went on. And then...other memories followed. He thought back to the feeling of companionship when he first met Haku. The understanding of the shinboi world though the eyes of Zabuza. How Orochimaru changed. A slight tremble, and a sudden exhale, and then gradually he composed himself.
"Kaguya, she's starting to play dirty... Trying to use his own experiences against him!" Kurama thought to himself, not liking the red glow of that eye.
"Why did Itachi slaughter his entire clan? When only a small percent actually supported the coup? Did you even know that 99% of the Uchiha voted against the coup to began with. That Sasuke and Itachi's mother was helping to supply information for a peaceful resolution with the hopes to avoid bloodshed? Tell me, why did Itachi use Mangekyō on his little brother not once, but twice, forcing him to watch his family be brutality slaughtered. Was it for any other reason that because he could?" Kaguya mocked him.
She was mocking him!
Balling his fists, the memories shifted to during his time on team seven. With every bad memory she tried to bring up, he replaced it through sheer force of will. All the trials and tribulations that himself, Sasuke, and Sakura went through.
The battle with Sasuke in the valley of the end. The battles with him after he tried again and again to reach him... the final battle that would surely come next.
"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I have a lot of dislikes, but no likes in particular. I don't have a dream, but I do have an ambition. To restore my clan...and, to kill a certain person..."
"What the hell do you know about losing anyone?! You've been alone from the very start!"
It's not that I cut those bonds. I didn't want to give him the pleasure of seeing me obtain power by following in his footsteps... I just spared your life on a whim...nothing more.
I have long since closed my eyes... My only goal is in darkness.
Old wounds resurfaced, and suddenly...he felt it. An ache, a pain in his heart that never went away. A pain that started when Sasuke betrayed him and tried to cast him aside, like a tool. He could numb it, and ignore it...but now the wound was starting to fester underneath the surface. As if another Chidori was being rammed through his chest...
"Naruto!" Kurama barked, his tenants emotions clouding him. Clouding his connection to the blond. To Kurama's dismay, his voice could no longer reach him.
Emotions flowed though Naruto like a rapid torrent of water. Sorrow, anguish, sadness, and finally...anger.
"Why...why did Itachi do all that and turn Sasuke into what he is now?" Naruto's thought to himself. "If Kaguya is right, than why did he slaughter the entire clan when only a small few wanted to revolt? Why go though the lengths to wipe out an entire clan? Why murder innocent people, newborns or those that couldn't defend themselves? Didn't old man Hokage want to avoid bloodshed?" The questions plagued him as doubt slowly started to settle over him.
Seeing the look shifting across Naruto's face, the woman hammered the final nail.
"Are you starting to see it? Do you realize how things really are in this world, Naruto? It is beyond saving. In my own opinion, humanity is like the moon. People show only what the bright lights reflect and hide the side that is never shown. All you will ever see is the false light it casts." Kaguya says, her tone shifting into a more sympathetic one. Like a parent counseling their child.
Locking eyes with her, Naruto's inner most emotions bubbled to the surface, and he exploded, lashing out.
"Starting to understand?! What the hell are you talking about?! Everything you said was complete bullshit! I don't believe that we're just mindless destroyers! I've seen it with my own eyes, that even the most vile people could change if shown the way. I do not see the world in complete lack of colors like you do! I understand people can agree to disagree, but I know deep down we can come together though the understanding of each others pain!" Naruto all but shouted. "My entire life I grew up being shunned, mocked, and made fun of. People acted like my feelings didn't matter! Like I didn't exist! I could have ended up just like Garaa, and blindly killed things to prove my existence to others, but I didn't! I won't be like them! I saw just how dark the world could be and refuse to be like that. I refused to be evil, to take out my shattered pride and bruised ego out of those that never did anything to hurt me!"
The fire in his eyes, the raw determination.
It brought pause to Kaguya, and it was in that moment that she decided. A small smile on her face as she let him finish.
"I found those that cherished me for me. I found so many people that saw me as Naruto Uzumaki, and with the help of those people I will change this world!"
"That's right Naruto! You could of given up a long time ago! But you didn't! You fought me as an equal. You shown me that humanity isn't completely evil. You freed me of a hatred I was born with, don't forget that." Kurama cheered him on.
"Are you saying that because it is what you believe in? Or is it because you still refuse to see the truth?" The smile fell and the cold indifference was back. "You believe in a childish illusion. Not everyone will have a happy ending boy. The reality of it all is this, everyone preys on one another. Your ideals won't change that, you'll just force the evil to hide. As long as humans are humans, there will always be the prey and the predator... When you can look past it, when you stare into the abyss that is the soul. You will come to realize, just like I did, that we are vile, we are evil. We are the quintessential definition of darkness."
The old goddess could see doubt and uncertainty shine within the deep blue eyes of the young man in front of her, a spark still remained of defiance. Straighting herself out, she prepares to drive her point home, and end the resistance of her enemy and finally put to rest this foolish war.
"Even before I came to this world such a long time ago. The humans of this world butchered each other endlessly, that was long before I ate the fruit of this world. I made a difficult choices and, brought an end to all of the war and strife," She took a breath as her eyes glowed with pure power.
"My husband wanted a better world to which our children didn't have to live in fear, a world in which they could be what they wanted to be, without fear of someone murdering them over pointless reasons...like clan or blood rites!" She spat the last part with pure venom.
"I did unspeakable things...because, I thought it was truly the only way to make things better, no matter what kind of diplomacy, trades, or relations I tried to build. It always faltered and fell apart once people got the 'itch' of wanting more."
The raw power and energy dissipates from the aging goddess as a more somber expression overtakes the older woman. A more gentle and softer tone laced with sadness and regret leaves her lips, that gives the young man pause.
He could only look on with a look of understanding.
"I watched though the eyes of my husband such a long time ago, he was so much like you Naruto..." A sad smile graces her lips upon remembering his memory. "He wanted peace, he wanted to see the world brighter and more welcoming then what he lived though. To see a world that wasn't on the edge of madness everyday, as he held the hope for a better place. Even though those ideas would get him assassinated later in life. He was another good man dying for wanting to carry the dream of peace as you do." She slowly looks away from the blond before uttering. "Sometimes nice guys don't always finish last Naruto, sometimes they never even get the chance to even finish..." Her words slowly go into a whisper.
Naruto...faltered, as his will to fight anymore left him completely.
He was alone right now. He could no longer hear Kurama, and there was no one else to help guide his way. And her words, the cut deeper and deeper by the second. If the wound was real Naruto would no doubt be bleeding out by now.
"I've seen so many people who embodied that darkness. That only hurt people because they could." Naruto mused to himself. "If I became Hokage, could I actually change anything? It's not like I could actually make people do what I want. If they made a choice to only nod their heads, to follow my words because of my power, but don't follow with their hearts..." His thoughts trailed off. "Sasuke, you have shown me that even with the best intentions. A person can refuse to change, to be dead set on destruction. Fully knowing it would leave you with nothing...and you're not the first."
The feeling in his heart, the ache. It was all the proof he needed. Proof that no matter how much time goes by, the wounds of that blackened soul would never close and would continue to bleed for eternity. Could he really expect people to move on? To forget and forgive when he himself was still holding on?
"Could Kaguya be right…? Could I just be adding onto the misery of others? If I tried to introduce true peace within the elemental nations, how many would actually reject that notion, wanting old debts to be repaid? Even if it meant getting payment by blood?" His gaze fell downward, and he found he could no longer sustain eye contact with the rabbit-goddess.
Looking on though the sea, Kurama racked his brain! Trying his hardest to formulate some kind of plan. He could feel that Naruto was starting to lose ground, his very will power starting to slip.
"Damn it! There has to be something I can do! Anymore talk form her and Naruto really will lose all will to fight!" Kurama growled, "Damn it!"
"I wonder child, you've done so much for others. I've watched you through the eyes of the fox, just as I've watched the rest of the world while I slept. Tell me Naruto, has anyone ever asked you what it is that you ever wanted?" Kaguya voice became softer, gentle even. Like a concerned mother, wanting to know what is ailing her child.
"What I truly want...?" Naruto echoed.
"Yes Naruto, what is it that your heart yearns for?"
"...To be hokage? No...It wasn't my dream and I think that really doesn't matters anymore. Then is it world peace? No, that wasn't mine either..." Naruto seemed uncertain, and as more and more old memories, ones that dated to when he was a child, gradually filled his head...he realized what it was that he wanted. And hesitantly, he spoke up. "I...I want a family. I yearn for the affection and love that was denied to me when I was a child. To grow up and go though life without ever fully understanding what it is to be loved." Naruto mumbled softly, tears starting to build up and threatening to spill froth form his eyes. "I...I just don't want to be alone anymore..."
"When you cast aside duty, and finally accept your hearts desires. You start to see things much more clearly." The rabbit goddess says in a warmer tone, one that was full of understanding.
And suddenly, Naruto found that he was being held. Like a mother would her son. He stood frozen, rigid and stiff as she pulled him closer. Never mind when she moved or the fact that she could kill him right now... For the moment, Naruto only shut his eyes and reveled in the warmth of someone else.
"I can feel while misguided in some places, you are a good man at heart. You are too pure for this world that we live in, Naruto. The darkness of this world will one day consume even the goodwill you would try to bring forth." Kaguya mumbled into his ear.
"Then...what should I do?" He asked her uncertain of his future.
At that, she smiled. Pulling them apart and gazing lovingly into his teary eyes. "Leave." Kaguya replied, as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
"Leave...? Leave and go where?"
"No-where, at least not in this world. This world is too set in its ways, it will never change. What I propose is to go to another world, one that isn't covered in blood and filled with people that refuse to ever change."
He blinked up at her. "Another world..." he breathed out, "Isn't that impossible?"
"Perhaps... perhaps not. Would you be interested in finding out?"
The red glow of her eye stopped, and whatever was blocking his connection to Kurama was finally lifted. The fox's desperate and mad cries finally reaching his ears. The second the cloudy haze lifted, Kurama acted.
"Naruto! Finally, listen to me, whatever she's said don't-"
"-Is it really possible to go to other worlds?"
Kurama paused, not missing the heavy sorrow that laced those words. He took a moment to feel what his tenant felt, and then sighed. "I've heard the old man talk about it before. He said that Kaguya has done it a few times, but that he himself lacked the power to do it. I'm not sure what she means, but at the very least, it isn't an impossibility... Although, I have a feeling this is something like a one-way trip." The fox looked down at the shallow waters, where Naruto now stood, his head dipped and shoulders drooping.
For a moment neither of them spoke.
"...You're considering her offer aren't you?" No response. "What about your friends, and those you consider your precious people?" Kurama asked.
No response.
Not that he really needed one, he could after all, feel the emotions that Naruto felt. He could feel them all. These doubts...the dreams of a family, of running away. They'd been there from the very beginning.
"If this is something you want to do, than make sure you're committed to it. We are strong, but we aren't stronger than her. You will more likely not be able to return here, as there will be no turning back once what ever she will do is done."
Naruto stood breathless, feeling as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Even more so than when it actually was.
A life free of all the burdens? A life free of fighting? Of killing? To do what he wanted to do with his life, to march to the beat of his own drum for once.
Was it actually possible?
"I know, Kurama." He lifted his head up and smiled. "I know...and I would never run away...but..."
The seal vanished, and he was once again within a void of indescribable colors. Refocusing his attention back to Kaguya, Naruto braced himself and prepared to make a choice. One that would affect the rest of his life.
"How do I know you're not lying? How do I know this isn't lip-service to stop me from sealing you away?" Naruto questioned, his eyes narrow and glare as sharp as a dagger.
A smirk slowly formed on Kaguya's lips. Her inhuman eyes shining with that cryptic amusement as she responded. "This is no trick. I want to help you out, simply because I feel you could do actual good somewhere else. It doesn't mean I won't stop in my pursuits to regain chakra that wasn't meant for humans to have in the first place, but at the very least your friends will not suffer. I will drain their chakra and keep them sustained in a perfect dream world, just as Madara Uchiha planned, until their bodies perish. Then...I will join this world, and be reborn with it. I am being honest with you and am extending my help with no strings attached. I'll even make sure that the nine-tails will be able to accompany you on your journey. This is a once in a lifetime offer I am giving you, a fresh start somewhere else." Kaguya said while stretching her hand out for him to take. "All you have to do is trust me and I'll do the rest.
Naruto remained silent, weighing the pros and cons for what felt like an eternity.
"You...you won't kill them? They'll live until they can't live anymore, right?"
"And they'll be happy...until the very end." She finished for him with a slight nod.
"...Kurama?"
"It's all right, Naruto. I'll follow you wherever you go." Kurama assured him. "Besides, more than anyone else...you deserve this one chance."
"You're sure?"
Kurama barked out a laugh. "Someone has to make sure you don't do anything to get yourself killed."
"Thank you my friend."
"Okay, I'm read-" Naruto was interrupted mid-sentence when a hand was suddenly thrust into his belly, fingertips digging into each point of the seal.
"This will more likely going to sting, so bare with it." Kaguya commented, a smile on her face as she looked on at his widened eyes and gaping expression. Her glowing white hand slid into the seal and reaching inside of him. Naruto could feel a slight tingling sensation though his body, and then all he felt was pain. As if someone had just rammed a fully powered Rasengan to his naval. The blond doubled over, his hands coming up and gripping the woman pale arm tightly as unimaginable pain seared through him. He could faintly hear Kurama screaming as well.
"Oh man! I feel like she's pulling Kurama out of me!"
After thirty minutes of continuous agony, Kaguya finally freed her hand. Naruto took a moment to catch his breath, and then turned an angry glare to the woman.
"W-What the hell was that for?! What did you just...do...to me...?" The words left his lips as he focused on what exactly was in her hand. It felt familiar to him. Taking a moment to allow the sudden rush of wanting to puke his guts out to passing out as, his eyes focused on the glowing object held loosely in her hand.
"It looks like a tree root, but it's glowing?" Naruto thought to himself.
"A fragment of the Shinju. The core of Kurama's power." Kaguya said, as if reading his thoughts.
Naruto's eyes bulged. "That's Kurama's power?"
"Indeed" She nodded. "Now to wrap things up." Kaguya's fingers flew through a set off seals that he was completely unfamiliar with, before finally stopping on a hand sign that looked similar to the Ryu.
"Release!"
A massive pulse of chakra overcame him, and a sinking feeling began to take over.
"Kurama...?" Naruto thought, anxious and worried.
"I...Am still here…Very tired…Will talk another time..."
He was alive! That was good! So far, Kaguya has been telling the truth!
Though the question remained...now what? After a few minutes of waiting and nothing happening, Naruto spoke up.
"So...uhm, is something supposed to happen?"
"Like what?" Kaguya said, once again using her sleeve to hide her smile.
"I dunno, maybe things start shifting around. Getting sucked into some weird looking hole in the ground. I don't know...I expected something crazy to happen." Naruto said, feeling a bit sheepish at her questioning gaze and raised brow. That was, until a sudden realization seemed to strike her.
"Oooooh, that! Yes, that happens right about..." A single finger came up and flicked the metal signet of his headband, "Now."
"Wha-!"
It was instantaneous. Within the blink of an eye, Naruto disappeared in a blinding flash of white light.
"That never gets old~." Kaguya cooed with a grin. Redirecting her attention back to the task at hand, the rabbit-goddess opened her own dimensional gate and finally left her private dimension, in a much better mood than she'd when she first entered. It was time to give the bad news to the Shinboi Alliance, the reality that the only other person that could stop her was now gone for good.
"Looks like I win this time my children~ I may have promised Naruto not to kill, But it doesn't mean I won't have my fun!" Kaguya thought to herself as a giggle of excitement left her lips.
Stepping into the dimensional gate, Kaguya reveled in the fact that she was the victor of this war. A war she won not with brute force, but with words and honesty.
The Elemental Nations greatest hero leaves for greener pastures. To find his own place somewhere, and his own small measure of happiness that he was never allowed. Traveling though a swirling vortex that carried him on, Naruto could only ponder on what would come next...
Alec-Origin here with a repost of this story that I took down a good while back. Did some small changes with this chapter, and I hopefully won't run into all the hate mail that caused me to lose inspiration to write this story and take it down. Trying to see if I can get up from a slump I been stuck in with a lot of crappy stuff happening in my personal life and get back to writing again.
It will still have some of the core ideas I originally planned for this story, like Kurama taking a debuff. But, things will even out when the zombies take over the world and Naruto having to ensure his group survives in a almost dead world.
The beginning pairing will still be Naruto and Shizuka like I originally had planned. Not sure if it will be a harem, but depends how the story will go this time around.