Into the depths of Eden

Warning: This chapter and subsequent story is to be rated T for language usage (cursing) and violence.

If I ever incorporate gore or future lemons to the story later on, it will be bumped up to an M rating. Lemons will most likely be given their own separate story in order to not hinder the viewing pleasure of others, or I will give fair warning to their inclusion in a chapter and of the rating change. The romance and subsequent relationships though will still remain in the story…

Official Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Animal Crossing, The Cat Returns or any other referenced or related works in that may appear in this story, those belong to their respective owners. If there ever is an OC inclusion in this or any of my stories, the resemblance of a name and/or physical appearance to anyone living or deceased is completely coincidental. What I do own is the story concept, story board, the story itself, and any OC's I do create.

This story is not a full blown The Cat Returns crossover however, it only incorporates elements of it. I shall likely make a crossover of that nature in the future though. This story is mainly a Naruto x Animal Crossing crossover.

The rights of any pictures or art I will ever use go to their respective owners, if said artist would like the picture removed from my profile, for that is where it will most likely be, please say so instead of jumping to conclusions of infringement.

Chapter I

The Forest of the Lost

~o~

Naruto was currently fleeing from the Hokage Tower with a large scroll on his back. This being none other than the Forbidden Scroll.

He had been informed upon his most recent failure of the graduation exam of an alternate test he could take in order to become a shinobi, and being as desperate as he was he immediately jumped on it. He had failed his last attempt at taking the exam after all so if this did not work out he would remain a civilian and with most of the villagers distaste for him he would likely never be able to get a job or anything. He would be stuck mooching off his Jiji until he was of age, whilst struggling to get a job. None of his dreams would ever come true; he would never be a great ninja, he would never be Hokage, and he would never make his Jiji proud.

He wouldn't let it all end like this, he couldn't. He couldn't let so many years of effort go wasted like that.

So when he heard of this final opportunity he was ecstatic, it was understandable, after all the sole reason he failed was only because he was incapable of performing a single elementary ninja technique. It wasn't even his fault either he had been attempting it for years. He just didn't seem to be capable of performing it for some reason.

He also remembered that last semester there had been a kid that could not use chakra that graduated anyways even whilst being unable to perform even the most basic of elementary level ninjutsu techniques. Which meant that there had to be some alternative to the normal testing system for those that felt that the tests did not accurately represent their skill-set.

So using this logic he had gone forth with the test propositioned by Mizuki-Sensei. To steal the Forbidden Scroll of Konoha from the Hokage's office.

Now it had not been an easy task and he had almost gotten caught on several occasions, but he had managed to get the scroll…

…and knocked Sarutobi out in the process as well.

It was an accident though, he was just surprised at Sarutobi's sudden appearance and reacted accordingly to the abrupt arrival of a pervert in his general proximity. This being done by utilizing his most dangerous technique of all to incapacitate one of the most powerful ninja in the world in one move.

Orioke no Jutsu, a self-stylized kinjutsu that could incapacitate even the most powerful male shinobi as long as they contained even a modicum of lust in their being. It's technical process and development was actually incredibly complex, and was one of the most elaborate henges in existence. Its execution did several things, amongst which it activated the targets hormones and indirectly attacked the targets neural processors to cause a mental overload at the sight of his henge. His henge usually took the form of a woman to most but in reality it was mostly a large energy construct of differing wavelengths continually sending foreign chakra towards any that gazed upon it. The energy wavelengths released though were gender specific which at this time he only had it to the point it worked on males that were of a weak mental fortitude when it came to things pertaining to lust and females. In other words perverts. (Naruto's scientific reasoning to the perversion of the Orioke no Jutsu)

He had vacated the area of the crime scene as quickly as possible afterwards, but not before leaving a note explaining the details of the test to Sarutobi whilst apologizing for knocking him unconscious in the infiltration mission and begging him not to count the encounter in the final score for the test. He placing said note on top of an unconscious Sarutobi, who was currently experiencing a profuse nose-bleed while wearing a perverted grin on his face.

Naruto was now heading to a clearing inside a nearby wood where he was going to train for the next two to three hours until he was to be tested, the location having been detailed to him by Mizuki.

He quickly proceeding to the location whilst tree hopping. However while jumping onto one of the branches Naruto overshot it slightly as he slipped off it and fell backwards off the branch, the large scroll on his back having thrown of his balance slightly and caused him to fall. He outstretching his arm uselessly as he attempted to grab the branch as he fell, before he hit the back of his head and everything went black.

~Nya~

An indeterminate amount of time later

Naruto turned on his side as he groaned in an attempt to shield himself from the sunlight that was breaching the canopy of the wood, it resolute in its seemingly sole purpose of infuriating him. Suddenly his eyes snapped open as they widened in growing apprehension when he noticed a couple of things that were off. It was just night a while ago, he was sleeping on the ground, and there was a large scroll lying across from him.

'The test!' he thought in horror as he bolted upright, the action immediately making him flinch in pain as he grimaced and reached a hand to the back his head. He pulled it away and found slight traces of blood of it, nothing too major, but enough for him to know that he had in fact hit his head and was bleeding a bit.

After making sure he wasn't going to die from it he began to collect his bearings as much as possible.

'Okay I am in the middle of the woods alone, lost. Not the most favorable of circumstances that's for sure.' He thought to himself as he looked around not remembering where he actually was in the forest.

He looked at the surrounding trees, damn they were tall.

"Well at least I didn't crack my head open or snap my neck when I fell, that's a plus." Naruto said cynically, he wasn't feeling in the best of moods all things considered.

It was daytime which meant he had likely missed the time limit for the test and failed, so now his shinobi career was truly pretty much over. He had gotten this godsend of a second chance and he had somehow managed to screw this up too. Truly all he had gotten from this was a headache and most likely a concussion if that ringing sound he was hearing was any indication.

Suddenly Naruto leaned forward and started gagging a few times as a wave of nausea overcame him prompting him to clutch his stomach.

After a few minutes of breathing in and out he managed to calm himself down slightly and soothed his nausea by a small margin as well. He taking the opportunity to once more tie the large scroll to his back.

"I-I have to get back to the village, talk to Jiji. Hell I at least got the scroll that has to count for something right?" he said to himself weakly as he steadily got up before almost falling down again as everything span around him as a wave of dizziness hit him at the sudden action.

"Damn, forget Jiji I need to get to a hospital" he said as he walked with great show of force towards the vague direction he remembered Konoha being at. He taking it slow as he felt as if he was on the verge of passing out as it was, plus with things spinning as they were it was a struggle in itself just to remain upright.

Cautiously he continued walking forwards as he leaned against trees and felt around blindly for them as from his perspective the trees were moving and he would see several for each one that was actually there.

After walking for around five minutes or so with minimal progress he was forced to lean heavily against a tree as he started gagging slightly before he emptied his stomach on the spot. He vomiting until there was nothing left to throw up and continuing to dry heave afterwards. After a few more minutes of calming himself down a bit he continued on his way to where he thought the village to be. Questions running through his mind as he did so.

Why hadn't no one gone to look for him if he went missing in the middle of a test? Would he still be able to pass the test as it was? Would this damn headache ever go away!?

Naruto attempted to lean on a tree only for him to be tricked by his double vision causing him to fall to the ground on his side.

'Damn it, I can't even tell which way is up and down anymore' thought Naruto as the world span around him, he closing his eyes to stem off the upcoming nausea.

However when he opened his eyes again he was quite surprised at the sudden shift in perspective, the world had stopped spinning for one and now he didn't feel like throwing up. However what really caught his attention was the Tanuki (Raccoon Dog) mere inches from his face looking at him curiously. It was standing on its back legs and it had a single green leaf upon its head.

Naruto immediately freaked out thinking that maybe the creature had thought him to be dead and was going to scavenge his remains, that or it was waiting for him to do die to do so. This prompting a suitable reaction from Naruto, he screamed before backpedaling away from the creature.

"I am not dead!" he shouted at the little creature defiantly, it only tilting its head in confusion at him in response.

'Wait, do tanuki even eat meat? Plus if it was hungry why didn't it try to bite my face off while it had the chance?' he thought to himself as he looked at the little rodent with narrowed eyes.

His thoughts soon shifted to a more pressing concern, why exactly did he feel so much better all of a sudden? He didn't know how concussions or head injuries worked, but he doubted they could heal that fast.

He reached his hand to the back of his head once more and pulled it away to find it devoid of blood. The injury that was there moments previous apparently gone. He could only stare at his hand dumbly at the development for a few seconds. Things were just getting weirder and weirder.

He looked back at the tanuki who was still looking at him curiously and stared back at it thoughtfully for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"I can't think too much on this, I need to get back to village and talk with Jiji." He voiced aloud as he got up from his seated position and dusted off his clothes, before looking at the tanuki once more.

"Well I don't know if you had anything to do with the pain going away, but I am grateful for you not biting off my face" he said to the small rodent who only tilted its head once more at him in response

He sweatdropped at that, well he really should not have expected more of a reaction anyways, I mean it was just a tanuki.

"I'm talking to animals, I must have hit my head harder than I thought and knocked a few screws loose if I think they are going to talk back" he said aloud to himself as he started walking off in the direction where he thought the village was.

He missing as the tanuki broke out into a large unnatural grin that looked like it was going to tear its face apart. This mere moments before a sudden wind swept through the area lifting a large amount of leaves in the process, the tanuki disappearing along with the gust of wind, a lone leaf gently drifting down to the spot it stood seconds prior.

Naruto was navigating through the woods as best as he could, he had forgone tree hopping as first of all he wanted to avoid an incident similar to the one prior and secondly he was not sure exactly of where he was. From what he remembered he presumed he was going the right way, however he had this nagging feeling in the back of his head that these woods felt…different somehow to the one's he had been navigating through last night.

'There's something wrong here' thought Naruto as he looked around nervously

These woods, why were they so quiet? Beyond that Tanuki there seemed to be no other animals here, the forest itself seemed entirely devoid of life. The only thing there was were the trees, each one feeling like it was scrutinizing him, judging him as he walked past them. Each tree suddenly seemed to command a sense of respect greater than even the hokage himself had held when around Naruto. It was unnatural.

Naruto felt a state of unease greater than any he had ever felt before, even when the villagers cast their hurtful glares at him it was nothing compared to what he felt now. This feeling, the feeling as if millions of eyes were currently gazing at him, judging him and every action he performed, it scared him.

Naruto could honestly say without a shadow of a doubt that it was one the most frightening things he had ever experienced, to fear something and not know what it was, it was disturbing on some level.

Naruto's walking soon became a jog, until he broke out into a sprint as he barreled through the forest to get away from that oppressive atmosphere. He did not like the silence, it scared him, he needed to get out of here.

Naruto stopped at a small clearing that he emerged out into, it looked exactly the same as the one he woke up in.

Naruto was freaking out at this point, as he shook his head from side to side in disbelief, this just wasn't possible. He had run straight the whole time!

He looked at the surrounding forestry, to find that it all looked the same, he tried to orient himself using the position of the sun only to find it directly overhead neither leaning to the East or West.

Naruto was starting to hyperventilate. Where was everyone? Where is the village? Shouldn't he have spotted it by now? Naruto suddenly heard a cracking sound making his head snap in the direction it came from. There was the tanuki from earlier sitting on a low branch cracking a small nut with it teeth.

For some reason the familiar sight soothed Naruto a bit as he made his way over to the little rodent. He calming down at its appearance while he thought things through as he leaned against a tree across from it. He shouldn't be freaking out so much, he was just being paranoid, it was just the stress from the test and the head injury that had him off his game, he just needed to relax.

He breathed in and out a few times, before looking once more at the sun. Well it was noon, he just needed to wait an hour or two before he could properly orient itself that was all.

Naruto looked towards the tanuki once more to find it had just finished its meal and was looking at him curiously once more.

"You wouldn't happen to know where the village is would you?" he asked the little rodent rhetorically only to get a tilt of its head once more making him sigh at that.

"I guess not huh? Well it's not like-"

Naruto was cut-off as he heard a muffled sound from the direction of the tanuki and looked to where it had been moments before to find the spot vacant. He looked around a bit and managed to spot it on the other side of the clearing looking at him almost expectantly.

'How did it get over there so fast?' he questioned to himself as he slowly made his way towards it.

When he got to a certain distance the little creature shot of into the woods.

He sighed at that "I must be crazy for doing this" he said under his breath as he shook his head before running after the little critter. The forest swallowing him whole as he ventured inside of its labyrinth of trees.

~Meow~

Naruto had been following the tanuki for a while now, however it was not walking in a straight line like he himself had before, instead its path would twist and turn every once in a while. At one point he had thought that maybe it was simply running away from him, but that thought was discarded the moment he had stopped to catch his breath and it had waited patiently for him to do so. He was getting worried though, from what he could tell they had gone in circles a few times and had even headed straight back towards where they came from quite a few times as well.

The little creature would at times disappear from his sight momentarily making him stop for a few seconds as he looked around for it before he found it perched on a nearby branch looking at him. It was actually slightly unnerving for some reason.

As he continued following the little animal though he started questioning if it even knew where it was taking him, or better yet if it even really understood what he had asked. Just as he was starting to doubt any progress he was making he noticed that the tanuki had disappeared, however he could see that the end of the forest was only a few feet away. He mentally cheered at his good fortune as he walked to the edge of the woods.

However a thought suddenly struck him as he did so, from what he could make out all those twists and turns should have ultimately led him back near the clearing he woke up in. How was it that…

All thought process suddenly halted for Naruto as he reached the end of the woods. As he found himself on a cliff, facing off towards the sea. It stretching as far as he could see into the horizon.

Naruto could only stare dumbly as the waves crashed against the reefs. This wasn't possible, it didn't make any sense for one single reason. Konoha was in the middle of a continent a multitude of days travel from the nearest large body of water.

A single thought going through his mind as he gazed upon the endless expanse of water before him.

Where exactly was he?

One thing was for sure however, he sure wasn't in Konoha anymore.

Author's Note:

Well that was chapter 1 and we already find Naruto out of Konoha. None of the Animal Crossing elements have truly presented themselves as of yet sadly, hopefully by next chapter we can see some more development on that end. Lot of mystery this chapter as well, lot's of unanswered questions as of yet. (Don't worry this is intentional, it is a mystery after all, things are discovered as you progress along the story line)

This chapter is for all purposes a prologue that get's Naruto out of Konoha and into Animal Crossing. This was a necessary transition as you can imagine, because I can promise you that if anthropomorphic people were walking around the Elemental Nations people would be flipping out. This is necessary. Also remember at it's roots Animal Crossing is a veritable slice of life, it's pretty slow paced as well, don't expect any fights to break out any time soon. I mean who would he fight? The villagers?

If you are expecting a huge amounts of fights from the get-go then I have to tell you are probably reading the wrong story here. This is going to be a story with an intricate and well thought out plot, and tons of meaningful dialogue and interactions that pertains to the series. It is first and foremost Mystery, then Adventure, then probably Romance. The plot is going to be slightly psychological in nature so expect some things that might be considered a bit...off, and question everything.

If you need a more intricate picture of what Naruto was experiencing as he walked look up details on vertigo. It can help paint a better picture.