AN: Hey guys, another idea for a FanFic; I currently have a little case of writer's block with my other story, so I'm writing this one to try and get it out of my head so I can get back to my other story.
This is a little idea that I came up with one night before bed, and it's been bugging me for ages. I'm posting up the first chapter, see what you guys think and then I'll decide whether to carry on with it. If you have any questions regarding things in the story, or perhaps you don't like how I've written something or something is plausible, let me know, and I'll try and fix or explain it to you. I have added all english translations into brackets beside some things that are Japanese, I know some of you might find it annoying, but for those first time readers, it's a bit of an adjustment getting used to some Japanese terms. Those of you who don't like it... tough.
Now that that's out of the way, please continue with the story...
LAST EDIT: (24/11/2014) - Changes to all chapter sizes.
Disclaimer: All characters of Naruto and things Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter 1: Prologue
"Normal talking"
'Normal thinking'
"Bijū/Summon talking"
'Bijū/Summon thinking'
Somewhere in Tsuki no Kuni (Land of the Moon)...
The water of the Kaijū Ocean sounded out with a roar as the billowing waves of the sea crashed against the sandy shoreline with wanton abandon, sending up a shower of cool salty water into the air. White foam bubbled out at the edge of the sea water's reach, receding back into the blue mass that was the ocean as the sea prepared to pepper the shoreline with another barrage.
It was truly an amazing sight to watch as the gargantuan body of water was able to, without fail, send wave after wave crashing back against the white sand of the shore with practised ease. The melodious sound of the water rocking rhythmically back and forth against the sand was more than enough to lull someone into a tranquil sleep. However, for an inhabitant of this beautiful island setting, this everyday luxury was nothing more than a simple lunch break from a normal island life in the settlements located towards the centre of the island.
Despite the fact that they were on a secluded land mass in the middle of the ocean, with the nearest body of land being another island as well, the infrastructure of this island was impressively modern. It was a very sought out tourist destination, where only the moderately well-off individuals would be able to experience the delights and pleasures it had to offer. But having lived on this island for all his life; or for as long as he could remember anyways; this place was nothing special. Sure it had beautiful forests, top class hotels and resorts, and out-of-this-world views – or that's what it said in the brochures at least – but from his perspective, the forests were no more special than any other. The hotels and resorts were no more spectacular and luxurious than other spas and resorts that he'd seen or heard of. Granted, he'd never been off the island himself, but he had heard his fair share on hotels from other lands during his life here in Tsuki.
This place was, simply put... home. Home for one 13 years old Naruto Uzumaki, who was clad in a sleeveless vermilion vest with black stripes along the shoulders, a pair of blue trousers and blue shinobi sandals. He had messy blonde hair with a few stray bangs hanging across his forehead, along with three whisker marks on each cheek that were noted as birth marks by many; a birth mark which people said he supposedly received from his clan. In his left ear lobe were two identical golden-looped earrings; a characteristic which was shared by his best friend; and tied around his left bicep was a black bandana.
Thinking back though, considering this place home wasn't always the case for Naruto. Not up until four to five years ago at least...
(Flashback)
It was a blisteringly hot day out in Tsuki no Kuni as per the norm. The sun was beating down upon the inhabitants of the island relentlessly, the only reprieve for Naruto being the small amounts of shade granted by the stalls of some wandering merchants who'd decided to set up shop in this section of town today; the section that was adjacent to the island's harbour.
An eight year old Naruto was currently lounging underneath the table of a shop owner's stall, using the merchant's mobile store as a shield from the unwieldy sun. The small blonde was clad in a browning white shirt with several rips and tears in the material, and was wearing a pair of blue shorts that were torn and frilled at the edges, with a stray hole in the material every now and then. He was wearing a pair of brown sandals that were stained lighter than what they should've been due to overexposure to the sun's harmful rays, and his hair was a much darker blonde than it should've been because of his inability to get a proper shower.
He was lying safely underneath the stall, hidden by the table cloth, with said stall's owner being completely unaware of Naruto's current position. Had the owner known there was a small homeless boy using his stall as a pit stop, the consequences would have been severe to say the least. The merchants did not take kindly to the homeless. This was mainly due to the fact that said homeless individuals would constantly steal from the merchants, but such was the life in Tsuki no Kuni.
But fortunately for the blonde haired youth, getting caught at the moment was not an issue. He was out of sight and out of mind in his current lodgings, soaking up as much of the shade as he could while he was still undiscovered. Him being spotted would lead to a lot of running and expending of unnecessary energy trying to get away, so remaining quiet and absolutely still was of utmost importance in his current situation.
He had been living on the streets of Tsuki no Kuni for as long as he could remember. He didn't know how he had managed to survive as an infant, or whether he ever had parents or someone that looked after him when he himself couldn't. But when you found yourself living on the streets, you couldn't dwell on such things. There was neither the time nor the desire to know those kinds of details when you were roughing it out in the slums, so to speak.
Every day was a constant struggle for survival: scavenging for food, finding roofed places to sleep for the night, hunting down possible sources of clean water. The life of a homeless was an unfavourable one; a life that he'd sadly become quite accustomed to. If he had to be blatantly honest with himself though, life on this island could have been a lot worse for him. He'd seen people a lot worse off than him – people without clothes, without food, covered in dirt, boils and cysts, bones visibly protruding out their bodies due to severe malnutrition and starvation. The list just went on and on.
But he'd discovered at a young age that he had an uncanny ability for moving around stealthily enough to get what he needed, when he needed it. Now, some people might call what he was referring to as stealing. But in the eyes of a homeless person, and in his young mind, he liked to refer to it as 'borrowing indefinitely'. Nevertheless, at the impressionable age of eight, he was an old hand at swiping small amounts of food, water, items of clothing; anything that he needed, he could get it with practised dexterity, which in hind sight, was pretty scary.
He was currently leaning against the leg of a table that was draped with a white table cloth, shielding him from the sunlight as well as the eyes of the stall owner who was sitting on a chair a couple meters ahead of him. From just beneath the table cloth he could keep a watchful eye on the legs of the owner, so if need be he could turn tail and run. But he hadn't been caught in ages, so he wasn't counting on getting caught today.
He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second and let out a blissful sigh as he brought the small canteen of cool water in his hands up to his lips; a canteen that he had relieved from another store owner only an hour ago. He let the cold liquid slide down the back of his throat and took another few sips before twisting the lid back on and placing it in the backpack he had laying on the ground beside him. He sat his head back against the table leg and was about to close his eyes again when he heard the sound of feet and hooves crashing loudly against the ground, with shouts from the Tsuki no Kuni's Royal Guard and the shouts of a boy following closely behind them. However, it was the boy's shout that gave him pause. It was a shout that he recognised as one of the other younger homeless boys he frequented with when 'borrowing' things from people. It was Shūhei!
Shūhei was a small seven year old boy (just several months younger than Naruto) with teal-green eyes and dark brown hair, with his bangs falling naturally into a middle-parted curtain-type style. He also had a tanned complexion that was similar in comparison to Naruto's. He was wearing a pair of raggy brown trousers with a simple pair of brown shoes, and he had on a green shirt with small string tassels at the collar.
Grabbing what little belongings he had and slapping his backpack over his shoulder, Naruto scrambled out the back of the table cloth so as not to be seen by the shop owner and took off in a dash towards the area where he heard the shout of his good friend coming from, swaying and swerving through the crowds of people as he kept up his relentless pace. 'What has he gotten himself into this time...' he frantically wondered, sighing heavily in his thoughts.
He rounded a corner and was met with the sight of his homeless friend, Shūhei, lying on the ground while propped up on his elbows and completely surrounded by guards. He was looking up fearfully at one of the King's men, who was angrily glaring down at the boy from atop his horse with a hand gripping tightly on the hilt of his sword, preparing to draw said sword and strike the boy down for getting in his way and causing him to fall off his horse earlier.
A little ways behind Shūhei and the angry guard was the newly promoted captain of Tsuki no Kuni's military, a man named Korega, if Naruto remembered correctly. He had been inducted the day before and there had been a massive ceremony, a ceremony where he and Shūhei had sneakily helped themselves to the delicacies of the island. It had been a good day to say the least. Behind the captain was the king of Tsuki no Kuni himself, Tsuki Kakeru, as well as his long time friend and minister Shabadaba, both of whom were riding on horseback and taking a tour through the towns of the island that day; for what reason Naruto had no idea though.
Naruto ignored them though and reached backwards into his bag frantically, pulling out the first thing his hands found, which just so happened to be a fresh green pear that he had swiped that morning from a fruit cart. He looked back towards the commotion and saw that the guard was holding his sword above his head with the intent to kill his friend clearly etched on his face. Shūhei was looking up with wide, fearful eyes at his evident demise, trying futilely to back away, but only hitting his back against the legs of the other guards that were surrounding him. Naruto narrowed his eyes and drew his arm back before launching the fresh green fruit straight at the offending guard's face with as much strength as he could muster, hitting home with an audible thud.
The guard turned his hateful glare towards the newest pest, a blonde haired boy that looked to be homeless as well, roaring angrily as he made a lunge for the offender. "Get back here you little shit! You'll pay for this with your life! Guards, seize them!"
Naruto ducked and weaved under the offending arm's of the guards and quickly grabbed Shūhei around his waist, hurriedly pulling him to his feet and taking off in a mad dash towards a building with wooden beams jutting out the side of the wall, making for a perfect climbing surface. "Run Shūhei! Hurry, get up the wall! Now!" Shūhei only had time to blink before he was shoved forward and started running towards the building for his life, clambering up the wall using the wooden beams jutting out the side of it for support to reach the top.
Once they reached the flat of the roof, they rounded their very first corner and Naruto flung them both behind a small wall, shushing his friend immediately. "Stay here," Naruto barely whispered, pushing Shūhei into an enclosed space on top of the roof and making sure that he understood. With a shaky nod from his friend, he ran out from behind the cover and got the guards' attention, springing away from Shūhei's direct vicinity and leading the guards in the opposite direction. "I'm over here you assholes! Try and keep up will ya?" he taunted mockingly with a grin on his face, turning tail and vaulting over a wall with refined ease.
He landed on the other side of the high wall with an expert roll to comfort the high drop and navigated his way across the rooftops. He ran at top speed along the edges of the roof of each building he crossed before noticing that his tail wasn't letting up one bit, in fact... 'They're gaining on me!' he thought frantically, his eyes darting everywhere to look for a possible escape route. He came to the end of a rather high building and launched himself to the roof of a building that was give or take four metres away from his position, landing with another cushioning roll and using the momentum to shoot forward at top speed once again, hoping that the guards would be too weighed down by their gear to make that last jump.
Glancing backwards, he gleefully noticed the absence of chasing guards, so with his immediate tail lost, he dropped back down to ground level by wall jumping between two closely separated buildings, effectively slowing down his descent so as to avoid a mortal wound on the way down. A wound like that would definitely allow the guards to reach him and inflict Kami-knows how much pain for that stunt he had pulled with the pear. 'At least Shūhei is safe now...' he thought with relief, glancing back in the direction of his friend.
Shūhei had taken a bit of a shine to Naruto back when they had first met, and although they didn't always move around as a pair during the day, they would meet up every night and stay together in the same general area, sleeping wherever they could find a spot. Despite the situation he was in, he found himself snickering at the thought, momentarily reminiscing the few years past with his good friend by his side, all their joint 'borrowing' sessions springing to mind.
Naruto's momentary lapse in concentration seemed to prove fatal though as a guard suddenly popped up in front of him and wrapped his arms around the smaller boy, using his much bigger build and weight to keep Naruto's small frame under control. Naruto wasn't easily deterred though, and he wasn't going down without a fight, so he continued to thrash around frantically while kicking his legs out and flailing his arms wildly, trying to shove the hulking guard away from his body. "Let go of me you asshole! You're going to regret messing with me and my friend!"
The guard currently holding Naruto down chuckled evilly at his prisoner's expense, taking great amusement in his prisoner's continued attempts to free himself from his grasp. "Is that so? I'm trembling with fear," the guard sneered sarcastically, letting out a bellow of laughter as he made his way back to the market square where the rest of his men were.
Naruto growled dangerously and threw his head back, smashing his skull into the nose of the guard holding him down, sending blood gushing out of his now-paining and bleeding appendage. "Ahh! You little fucker! I'll rip you to shreds!" The guard threw Naruto to the ground and enlisted the help of a few of his men to keep him down, successfully restraining the blonde haired 'fucker'; as they took to calling him now; and forced the boy's arms out in front of him. The guard readied his sword in his right hand, preparing to dismember Naruto and forcefully remove both of his arms with his blade. He raised the sword up high and sent a malignant glare in the boy's direction, his brows turning down in a glare and his teeth exposing themselves as he growled.
"In the King's name!" he started loudly, before being cut off by a hand grabbing his raised arm from behind. He whipped his head around and was about to assault whoever had dared to interfere with his business before spotting the supposed interloper and immediately dropping himself to his knees along with his sword. "King Tsuki..." he began, only to be cut off again as the king raised his hand to silence him.
The king put his hand down once silence ensued and looked over all the guards around him with a calculating gaze. "Is this what has become of the Royal Guard of this island? Have you all fallen so low, fallen so corrupt with your power that you are attempting to inflict harm unto those who you have been enlisted to protect? Attempting to inflict harm unto those who you have sworn an oath to shelter from harm's hand?" he asked rhetorically, glaring seriously at the guards who were supposed to be this island's protectors. He turned his gaze to his newly appointed captain and sent him a firm nod, silently telling him that he had a lot of work to do to whip the military back into shape.
The previous captain had been a deranged man, a psychopath who had instilled a sense of superiority amongst the current ranks of the military, something which the king had promoted captain Korega for in order to right the previous captain's wrongs. He knew what kind of man Korega was, and he had complete faith in his ability to fix this problem; the military's problem of thinking themselves superior to everyone around them. That problem also being the very reason for the king's visits into the smaller towns of Tsuki no Kuni today, where the heart of the problem resided.
With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the guards and turned back down to the blonde boy who he had watched from when the start of the scuffle had begun right up until the end, watching as another brown haired boy came sidling up to the blonde one's side and helped him up. The boy the blonde had been protecting, he thought quickly. "What is your name boy?" asked the king curiously, carefully watching the emotions that played through the whiskered boy's defiant blue eyes.
The boy stood his ground in front of the king with a calm collectedness, the fire in his eyes burning brightly as he put a hand in front of the other younger boy protectively. He stared down at the boy's sparkling cerulean blue eyes; eyes that held no fear of defying the Royal Guard or fear of the consequences that would arise from defying them in order to protect what was precious to him. The king regarded the boy with a high level of respect, admiring his unwavering determination to protect his friend, going so far as to throw his food at the guard, even though he was clearly starving if his small body was anything to go by.
Naruto stood his ground and shrugged his backpack, making sure it was attached properly in case he needed to run again and get the hell out of dodge with Shūhei in tow. He turned his calculating gaze up into the king's warm eyes and answered the question firmly. "Uzumaki Naruto," he stated before gesturing to the boy to his left. "And this is my friend, Shūhei." The younger brown haired boy nodded his head timidly towards the king, averting his gaze when the spotlight was pointed at him and hiding further behind Naruto's back.
The king nodded his head towards the boy and looked around for a moment before training his gaze back down on the two youths. "What of your parents, child?" The blonde boy's eyes played through a multitude of emotions and his determination wavered for but a split second before his stronger forefront of defiance was back on his face. A split second was all the king needed though to realise that these two boys were in fact homeless and without parents, getting him to look down woefully. It was such a shame, the amount of people who resided in this town that were without homes and without families. This island was in dire need of better orphanage facilities and better living conditions, and he was planning to tackle this problem of homeless individuals head on. He was trying to create an island where everyone was equal, where everyone would have a somewhat decent standard of living.
He focused his eyes back on the two boys and his gaze softened. He reached inside his coat and pulled out a green pear, rolling it around in his fingers for a bit before tossing it down to the blonde boy and watching as he caught it with a momentary look of surprise on his face, recognising the pear as the one he had thrown earlier at the offending guard.
The king dismounted his horse and slowly walked towards the two boys, making sure not to make any sudden movements in case he scared them. They had just been assaulted by his Royal Guard, so he couldn't blame them if they were slightly jumpy and mistrusting of him. He stopped in front of them and knelt down, putting a hand on both boys' shoulders and looking into both of their eyes, giving them a warm smile. "I admire your courage and bravery to protect your friend, a daring trait which I can respect. You care for your friend's well being, and that is exactly what I would like to instil among the people of this island: a sense of compassion and benevolence."
He watched as they took in the information; or tried to take it in as best as a seven and eight year old boy could at least; slowly releasing a small amount of the tension in their muscles as they relaxed ever so slightly in the presence of their king. He looked out towards the ocean where the sun was descending behind the horizon, sending beams of orange sunlight glistening across the surface of the all-blue surrounding the island as he spoke softly. "I can see the kindness in your heart and your selfless-to-a-fault nature. It's spilling out at the seams, so-to-speak, and I would like to make an offer to you both," he half inquired while continuing to stare out at the ocean, watching as they both slowly nodded to signify that they were both listening intently to the king standing before them. He squeezed reassuringly on their shoulders, being careful not to seem hostile in any way to frighten them, before staring down into their eyes again. "I would like for you both to come and live with me and my family in my castle."
Their eyes widened at the proposed offer, and they were honestly left completely speechless at the question, both of their jaws hanging slightly agape. "You do not have to answer right away, but I will be returning tomorrow to this part town to come and run an errand, and you can inform me of your decision then. I hope to see you two tomorrow," he spoke warmly, ruffling both of their heads before remounting his horse, turning around and proceeding out of the town.
The king saw something special in the two boys that day. Something which reminded him of what he was trying to accomplish on this island with his reign as king. Naruto and Shūhei had accepted the king's offer that day, and have never looked back since...
(Flashback End)
He smiled warmly as he thought back to the day when he and Shūhei had accepted the king's offer without really needing to decide whether they were going to it the offer or not. They were homeless people that were forced to live off the street for as long as they could remember. They were offered a home to stay in where they would get food and clothes without the need to resort to steali-... 'borrowing indefinitely'. Naturally, they accepted the offer without batting an eye lid, and they had been better off ever since.
It hadn't taken them long at all to get settled in with the king's small family. His family consisted of his son and the next king-to-be of Tsuki no Kuni, Michiru, and Michiru's son and the king's grandson, Hikaru, who was also the prince-to-be of Tsuki no Kuni. When Naruto and Shūhei had first arrived at the castle, the boy Hikaru had been, to put it bluntly, a bit of a spoiled brat, being very selfish in nature and extremely dependant on others. The same could be said about his father Michiru, who had picked up a significant amount of weight during their stay since the time when they first arrived in the castle.
But with Naruto and Shūhei being from the streets, they had a completely different kind of personality and outlook towards certain things, cherishing everything that was now freely accessible to them, never once showing a shred of ungratefulness for anything that was put in front of them. The attitude that the two previously-homeless boys had upon being taken into the Tsuki's home rubbed off on Michiru and Hikaru, changing them for the better over the course of the four years that they'd up until now spent together in the castle.
They'd gotten extremely lucky that day when they were asked if they wanted to go and live in the castle with the king. They couldn't thank King Kakeru enough after taking them in. They were eternally indebted to him.
Naruto leaned forward from the tree he was leaning against and stretched his arms out far and wide, rejoicing in the feeling of his bones and joints popping back into place. Smacking his lips together lazily, he settled back down against the base of the palm tree he was resting against and closed his eyes, breathing softly as he just lay there and listened to the sounds of the crashing waves and the odd seagull that would come cawing overhead. 'It's peaceful, isn't it Kurama,' he said to the fox within his mind softly, sighing contentedly as he took in another breath of fresh sea air.
He heard the fox hum in agreement from within his mind, feeling as he let out a content sigh of his own. Thinking of Kurama brought another memory back to him... back to when he was still seven years old and living on the streets... back to the time when he had first met the fox that was living inside him...
(Flashback)
DRIP
DRIP
DRIP
Naruto groaned irritably as the continued sound of water dripping on water sounded out around him, annoying him to no end. It was way too damn early for this. "Can somebody please close that damn tap!" he roared angrily, grunting in satisfaction when the sound finally ceased. He snuggled into himself a little further and tried to reacquaint himself with the sleep that was so rudely interrupted earlier, letting out a long breath and resuming his attempts to enter a deep sleep.
DRIP
DRIP
DRIP
A tick mark forming on his head, Naruto growled lowly again and shot up from his position with his fists balled and his eyes narrowed dangerously. "For the love of-..." He stopped midway through his growling though as he took that moment to look around at his surroundings, taking note of the fact that he wasn't where he thought he'd be. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep in the alleyway of two tall buildings, wrapped tightly within a blanket he'd 'borrowed'.
Balling his fists up and rubbing them over his eyes several times to clear out the sleep, he opened his eyes wider this time and found himself sitting in the middle of what appeared to be an underground sewer system of sorts – 'appeared', because there was a lack of a distinct foul smelling odour.
"Where am I?" he wondered out loud, listening as his voice echoed and bounced off of the walls around him and into the distance. He looked left, and then right, and then left again. There were pipes running along the walls going in both directions, and there were doors scattered across the walls every few metres. But to his left, there seemed to be a light emanating from somewhere in that direction, and he couldn't place this nagging feeling in the back of his mind that was urging him to go left.
With nothing to lose and a quick shrug of the shoulders, he stood up slowly and trudged off to his left, following the light and his gut instinct as he passed through similar tunnels for what felt like an hour. He began wondering if maybe he'd taken a wrong turn back a few meters, but realised that he didn't actually know where here was, so even if he had taken a wrong turn, he wouldn't have the faintest idea. He couldn't help but feel that maybe he was going in circles. Everything looked exactly the same, and he had turned left more times than he could count. In fact, thinking back, he had only been turning left this entire time!
He sighed irritably, ready to turn back around and attempt to retrace his steps before he happened upon a room that he hadn't come across yet. To put it bluntly, the room was massively huge. No, gi-fucking-normous. Like, gargantuanly-gigantic. He didn't even know where he was pulling all those synonyms from. Hell, he didn't even know what a synonym was.
He shook his head and looked back out towards all the corners of the room. The pipes from the passage ways he'd been in earlier all seemed to converge in this one room. There were doors leading back into the passage ways at various other points around the left and right walls of the room, with all the pipes jutting out the doorways leading straight into a hole in the ceiling. That wasn't even the strange thing. Yeah, despite being in a sewer with no recollection of how he got there, it seemingly got stranger.
Ahead of him, spanning the entire length of the room and extending all the way to the ceiling, was a massive red gate. It was a pretty dull-reddish colour, bordering almost on a rusty brown, with patterns adorning the sides of the gate. In the middle of the gate, right where a lock should have been located was a huge piece of paper; huge as far as pieces of paper went anyway; with the kanji for 'Seal' on it, he read. 'At least I think it says that,' he thought to himself, walking closer towards the massive gates. He'd never really gotten taught how to read, but could always just... do it, somehow.
He froze in his tracks though when the feeling of warm air was blasted into his entire body, and a deep, gruff voice sounded out from behind the bars of the gate. He absently wondered if perhaps that wasn't a cell in front of him, keeping something dangerous locked away, but due to the situation he was in, he couldn't care less at the moment. "Ah, so my jailor has finally decided to pay me a visit, has he...?"
Naruto's body screamed at him to run, to get the hell away from the bars of the gate, but his curiosity was keeping him rooted. Or was that fear. He didn't know, but he liked to think that it was the former preventing him from running away from whatever was lurking beyond those bars in the shadowy depths of the cell. "W-what do you mean, jailor?" he asked timidly, cursing himself for his squeaky voice. "Where are we, and who are you?" he let out a little more forcefully, patting himself on the back for that momentary shred of bravery.
The voice seemed to ignore him though and disregarded his questions, asking another one of his own. "Why do you not run, boy? Is it courage that keeps you planted where you stand, the courage to stand up to me? Or perhaps it is just sheer stupidity. Curiosity is another likely possibility, although I suspect that it is none of the above," the voice finished softly, letting out another breath of air that ruffled Naruto's clothes and hair. "My presence usually instils fear, so... does fear keep you rooted to that spot, fear of what you cannot see, and fear of what you might find if you decide to come too close. Or fear of what might happen if you decided to flee?"
Naruto remained standing in his spot, listening intently to the voice speaking from within the shadows. Who did this person think he was, talking down to him like this, like he was somehow superior to him! It reminded him of the guards that patrolled around the section of Tsuki where he stayed. He balled his fists at his side and took a courageous step forward, at the same time throwing out his fist. "I'm not afraid of you or anything else, you hear me?! Now, where are we, and who are you?! Answer me damn it!"
The chamber was quiet for several more moments, nothing but the sound of his heavily beating heart filling his ears. After what felt like an eternity, the voice finally sounded out again, but it let out an amused chuckle, annoying Naruto to no end.
The Kyūbi looked out towards the boy from within the shadows of his cell and regarded him carefully. It seemed that he had been in a sort of stasis for the first few years of his jailor's life, having most probably slept away through the boy's first seven years. But looking into the memories of this boy, he hadn't been in Konoha where he thought he'd end up. They were somehow transported to the island of Tsuki no Kuni, and his jailor had been living off the streets for the totality of his life. It seemed that nobody truly had any idea what had happened to the boy, and by proxy, himself either.
Taking all that into account, as well as the seal that was in place and who had put it there to begin with, he resigned himself to the fact that he was not going to be freeing himself from this seal anytime soon, if ever. This particular seal was designed to help the boy wield his chakra, and his chakra was slowly mixing with the boy's and merging into one. He wasn't going to be able to break out of this seal without killing himself in the process, and when this boy died, so would he, so with that in mind, he made a decision – a decision that would ultimately affect the rest of his days.
He looked back down at the small boy standing defiantly in front of his cage and, despite the situation, the fox smirked to himself. This was going to be fun, he thought amusingly. He let out another large breath of warm air and laid himself down on top of his hands. "To answer your questions boy, this place all around you, this... sewer of sorts, is the inner recesses of your mind, or more easily known as your mindscape."
Naruto took a cursory glance around him and cringed in disgust. "So this... this is my mind? Why is it a sewer? And what am I doing inside my mind?! Am I dead?!" Naruto slowly started panicking, looking around frantically and clutching at parts of his body to reassure himself that he was still, in fact, alive, holding his palm over his chest to try and feel the reassuring beat of his heart.
The Kyūbi huffed annoyingly and let out another large breath of air, effectively getting the boy's attention once again. "Be quiet boy, you are making my head hurt! Now, if I may continue, we are currently inside your mindscape; and no you are not dead; and lastly, I am under the impression that you could change this sewer setting if you so wished. Now, to answer your other question, I am..." He paused there for a second, thinking carefully on the words he should use. He had to remind himself that he was only talking to a seven year old, so he had to muster up what little patience he possessed and spoke again, moving forward into the light so that the boy could see him in all his orange-furred and nine-tailed glory. "... I am your conscience. Yes, that's it. Conscience." He patted his back with one of his tails and watched as the boy slowly started to relax before his eyes widened at the sight of him.
They returned to their normal disposition after a while and he took on a thoughtful look before he nodded to himself. "Hm, that makes sense," he agreed easily with a nod of his head, watching as a massive sweat drop formed on the giant fox's head. Children were too innocent, he chuckled. "Sooo... what's a conscience? And are all Conscience's foxes?"
The almighty Kyūbi palmed his face, shaking his head exasperatedly as he ran his hand along his maw. "Never mind the details behind it, just know that I am your conscience, and I am a giant fox. I can see, hear, feel, smell and taste everything that you can, unless you decide to purposefully shut me out, but never mind the details behind that."
Naruto nodded his head at all this information while deciding to take a seat to listen to it all. His young mind couldn't comprehend most of what was being said, but his head was nodding along nonetheless. "Okay, I understand Conscience. So do you just sit here in this sewer all day? That doesn't sound like too much fun at all."
"You have no idea," the Kyūbi deadpanned, beginning to find the boy's name for him a tad bit annoying. "But, and I stand under correction, as I said earlier, I surmise that you can change this sewer if you so wish. All you have to do is think of something else, and it should change accordingly."
Naruto nodded his head and took on a thoughtful pose, sticking his tongue out absently and holding his hand beneath his chin. His eyes snapped open and he clicked his fingers in success. "I think I've got it." He took on a look of immense concentration and closed his eyes, trying as hard as he could to change up his mindscape. The Kyūbi watched in fascination as the floor within the room morphed into long green grass, and the walls and area all around them changed into a light yellow colour. The gates were still present, and the numerous doors still leading out towards the passages from earlier were still located all around the room, but where there used to be brick walls and a multitude of pipes running along all the walls, there was now just a light yellow wall.
Naruto opened his eyes and glanced around, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly and turning back towards the giant fox. "Sorry Conscience, but this was the best that I could do."
The Kyūbi didn't say anything at first, simply using this time to wriggle his fingers and paws into the grass below. 'Who would think that I would miss something as trivial as grass as much as this...' He bared his fangs in what Naruto assumed to be a smile before the fox looked down at him again with a calm expression. "This will do boy. And stop calling me conscience. It's grating on my last nerve," he growled lowly.
Naruto glared chidingly back up at the fox and crossed his arms over his chest like the child he was, huffing in annoyance. "Fine, but then stop calling me 'boy', and call me Naruto. I have a name to y'know!" Naruto's eyes glazed over for a second as he processed what he said before he looked back up at the fox with a pondering frown. "So what's your name then if it's not Conscience?"
The Kyūbi remained silent for a long while yet again, taking note of how patient the usually-fidgety boy was remaining. He let out another sigh before crossing its massive arms over one another and laying its head on its arms, closing his eyes at the same time. "You can call me... Kurama, Naruto," the giant fox finally answered, allowing Naruto to nod his head before being forcefully ejected out of his mind. Kurama had had enough talking for the day. Now he needed to get back to what he enjoyed most when confined to the stomach of a human. Sleeping.
(Flashback End)
That was a good day for Naruto. He found another friend in his 'conscience', and although he didn't really understand why there was a giant nine tailed fox stuck in his mind, he just shrugged it off like everything else he didn't really understand. He knew it wasn't his conscience, but he was there nevertheless, so he made sure to keep him company and talk to him whenever an opportunity presented itself. He supposed it could get pretty boring up inside his head. 'You have no idea how boring it gets inside this empty abyss that is your mind,' the deep voice sounded out sarcastically, snickering in the recesses of Naruto's mind.
'Ah, so you've got a sense of humour now. I'll remember that.' His ears perked up though at the familiar sound of sand crunching beneath feet, prompting him to crack an eye lid and turn his head in the direction of the sound, only for him to close his eyes once again and continue to listen to the ocean once he spotted who it was.
The crunching of sand continued for a little longer before stopping a couple metres away from him. "I thought I might find you here," came the voice of his best friend Shūhei as he took up a spot against a tree beside his best friend. Shūhei was wearing a short sleeved beige coloured shirt with string tassels at the collar that was similar in appearance to his shirt from when he was younger, as well as a maroon sash about his waist. He wore brown trousers and brown ninja sandals, with two golden earrings in his left ear lobe as well as a black bandana around his neck.
Naruto gave a soft chuckle as he continued to take in his surroundings using all his senses sans sight. "I'd be a little worried if you didn't know where to find me after all these years," came the friendly reply as he and he his best friend sat in an amiable silence for the next several minutes.
There was a crunching of sand again as Shūhei readjusted his position and turned towards his friend. "You know why I'm here don't you," he asked with a sigh as he made to stand up. Not getting any response from his friend, he got down on his haunches and snapped his fingers in front of the blonde's face a couple of times. "Hey, wake up Naruto. The lunch break is almost over and we've got to get back to the Getsugakure (Hidden Moon) Academy, which is pretty far away. Hey, are you even listening to me!" he snapped loudly, watching as his best friend continued to blatantly disregard him. His face turned into a scowl before his lips turned upwards in a devious smirk. He lifted his foot above Naruto's body and planted it straight into his abdomen, getting a satisfying 'oof!' and a low growl from his best friend, prompting him to smirk victoriously.
Naruto looked up at his best friend in annoyance before his lips also upturned into a devious smirk. He quickly grabbed both of Shūhei's ankles and pulled them forward, sending his friend into the sand onto his backside. Naruto chuckled at his friend's expense and rolled away to avoid any backlashes from his brown haired companion. "Payback's a bitch Shūhei! How many times do I need to tell you that before you get it through that thick skull of yours?" he shot victoriously, jumping to his feet and throwing on his backpack.
Shūhei look defiantly up at his best friend, but for the life of him he just couldn't stay angry at the blonde, and his lips twitched into a smile before he started laughing as well. "Yeah, yeah, just help me up will ya."
Naruto leapt over to his friend and grabbed his friend's extended right hand, pulling him back to his feet as they both dusted themselves off. Naruto looked in the direction of the Academy and his face morphed into a challenging smirk. "How's about we have a little race," he began, glancing backwards to his friend, only to find him not there anymore. His head shot forward again and he grinned upon spotting his friend already racing off into the distance.
"What's taking so long Naruto?!" Shūhei shouted back rhetorically as he continued to sprint ahead to the Academy, his smirk glinting cockily in the afternoon sun. "At this rate, you'll never have a chance at beating me," he taunted cheekily, turning forward again and shooting off back towards the Academy at full speed.
Naruto grinned mischievously and took off after his friend. "Oh, we'll see about that," he murmured to himself, leaping from tree to tree as he dashed after his friend and brought his right hand up into the ram seal.
AN: So, that's the first chapter, it's a little bit different from other stories I've read so far, so I'm hoping it will catch. I really enjoyed writing this one, and I hope to be able to write more. A quick question, I want to see if you guys know who I based the looks of the OC, Shūhei , off of. A big thumbs up and a cookie to those who can :D
Also, the scene with the King in the market square, anyone see where that was from ;)
With regards to the Japanese translations, for things like places, I will only add the translation once before removing them, but for things like jutsu, I don't know, it just feels right to have the english translation beside them, especially if it's for a jutsu that I create and add into the story. Maybe I'll add a few explanations for the jutsu to the bottom of the chapters, but we'll see.
Anyways, rambling over, exams starting soon, so chapters will be coming up soon after I'm finished with them. Till next time...