A/N: Ideas I simply couldn't get rid of, they just keep popping up and I had to put them down. I've pretty much realized that I love to start things, but sadly, I'm not much of a finisher.

So yeah, until July, the update schedule for my fics would be pretty hectic. What with tests and all sorts of crap flying everywhere, life just isn't too nice right now. But at least I still update, so all is well.

I hope you enjoy this, because, well, I'm having a blast writing it, haha.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.


Previously on Lost Paradise…

"I swear! Be it my limbs, my organs or my life! I'll gladly give it up for her!"

For the first time, in so many years, he heard her voice. It was a melodious one, "So granted, my love…"

A torrent of chakra engulfed the entire area, forming a gigantic tornado of energy as it forced all those near it back, including one completely astonished Sarutobi.

In the midst of all this, the Konoha citizens and shinobi watched as a fox materialized in the middle of the whirlpool, yipping joyfully, before vanishing altogether with the chakra, leaving an empty spot with Naruto and Yukari nowhere to be seen.

The pact had been made.

A demon's bond with a human formed.

Three lives interconnected in ways one could never hope to intrude.

The search for the lost paradise had begun.


Lost Paradise

Chapter 2: Birth

"Kimi dake o, kimi dake o, suki de ita yo." ~ "It's only you, It's only you, who I loved." – from 时を刻む唄 of Clannad After Story

Flashes of light illuminated the area, the surroundings rushing past him in a hurry, like a tape fast forwarding continuously, the images that formed barely linking to each other before they disappeared once again without a trace.

Where am I?

Blurs everywhere, incoherent voices calling out, stringing onto each other, creating layer upon layer, yet for some reason, they do not feel chaotic. In fact, they feel familiar, close and sometimes, even soothing.

What is this?

The last thing he could remember was being sucked into some kind of vortex, with flames licking his skin, caressing them in a loving way that he never would have thought possible. It felt like second nature to embrace the element, giving himself to it as he lost consciousness, thinking of it as the requirement Kyu-chan spoke of.

Huh…?

The whispering grew stronger as his thoughts wandered to the beautiful kitsune. The background soon sounded hushed, and instead of a mumbling of multiple voices, a select few sounded and certain images flashed before his eyes.

Kyu-chan!

A lone kitsune stood outside of the clan, eyeing them with distaste as it huffed and held its head high. There were few kitsune that seemed older that held sad expressions on their faces, but nevertheless, they were solemn and serious.

As swiftly as it appeared, the scene changed, to one of massacre, the kitsune tearing through the demons that kept piling up. Even though it put up a brave front and a ferocious fight, Naruto could hear the true voice calling. The desperation and disappointment that no one would recognize her power sounded loud and clear. Even as she plowed through them with ease, her eyes bled tears that should never have been on that lovely face. All she wanted was recognition, was it that hard for them to accept her?

Pain and anguish filled Naruto's heart as he moved deeper through the emotions, hearing the dimmed cries of agony, even as she withstood countless injuries to attain that level of strength, all the sufferings and misery she had endured to achieve nine tails of power and worst of all, the absolute loneliness that came with such a difficult task, she persevered.

She had to be strong.

She had to become strong.

She would show them all.

Kyu… chan…

The fury soon changed into uncertainty, images switched over to a much younger kitsune kit. With her tiny soft tails swinging merrily behind her, she stared at the ground, countless thoughts racing through her mind.

"What am I?"

"Who am I?"

Simple questions that no one answered, ones that she had to ponder for herself. She had no name, no links to those who gave birth to her, and no understanding of just why she was treated like this. It was such a conflict, where the other Kitsune would do everything to tend to her every need, yet none of them cared what she was doing. They would do something if she asked, but never would they volunteer their help. If anything, they seemed hostile of her. Just why was this so?

It was then she came to the conclusion that she would have to find the answers herself, and to one as young as her, the only way to do that would be to be the strongest of the entire clan. That way, they could not hold any information from her! Yes, that was what she would aim for. And happily, she bounced off to plan her route to strength.

Somehow, watching her in such high spirits made Naruto feel pain beyond belief. Spears of anxiety thrust through his heart as he realized that the pictures from before showed how Kyu-chan did not succeed in her goal. For that moment, the reason why the vixen always held such sadness within her gaze became clear in an instant.

He would always kiss her when she seemed down, and despite her constant protests to such behaviour, she soon gave up and instead, chose to smile softly at his childish attempts to cheer her up. But then again, Naruto was sure that she understood what he was trying to do.

To him, it wasn't childish, because he only wanted to see her smile. That was all, and as a child, that was the only thing on his mind that could possibly surprise the lady so much that she would relent and grace him with a lovely smirk.

He was jerked out of his reverie when the scene was suddenly engulfed in flames, with mass destruction everywhere. Screaming was heard from the background, and there stood Kyu-chan, majestic and glorious in her gigantic form, facing off against what would appear to be a gigantic toad, and another figure that stood on top of the toad's head. Against the dark, dim sky, Naruto could just about make out the bright blond hair. Of course! It was the Yondaime Hokage!

At this moment, all he felt from Kyu-chan was slight misery, combined with extreme frustration. All the stress bottled up had to go somewhere, and Konoha had been there at the wrong time. A few of the other bijuu had tried to rebel against her, and as much as she hated to admit it, she was bitter. She resented the fact that there would always be people in her way, always someone to disrupt her course of action just to prove that she was not the best. They didn't care for her reasons of achieving power; as long as it was her, they wouldn't allow it.

Simply put, a Kitsune with nine tails was never heard of. In the Summon Realm, one individual out of nine particular species would be born with powers way above any of their kin, and they would be identified by the appearance of a tail or tails. Only nine beings in the entire Summon Realm could have tails, and they were ranked as such, with one being the weakest, and nine being the strongest.

In the ancient times, it would seem that the dragon and the phoenix had both had nine, and fought each other for days on end until both of them perished for neither would give up. Hence, a demon with nine tails was practically unheard of for centuries, until Kyu-chan appeared. Not only was she a kitsune, but she was a mere kit when the nine tails had sprouted. And there was no way the Summon realm would acknowledge such blasphemy.

A trickster?

With Nine tails?!

Preposterous!

That had been the kind of view most people imprinted her with all her life, and to think that once again, the bijuu would defy her, even as she stood at the epitome of her strength. She simply couldn't stand it.

Was it so hard to be peaceful? Was it so difficult to let her have some peace? Why must everyone be so damn annoying?!

She had been stumbling around, negative emotions running wild as she blindly made her way around, exhausted both mentally and physically after the confrontations with the other bijuu. And then, it was chaos. She had been dragged into a fight with a shinobi village, one that she had no intention of having at first. But then, she thought with a savage pleasure, that why shouldn't she retaliate? It was time she became selfish and did something that made her happy instead of making everyone else satisfied.

And hence she fought, decimated and destroyed any shinobi that stood in her way. Even as she plowed through the puny humans, she couldn't help but feel her heart aching. This wasn't what she wanted, this wasn't helping her at all, yet she could do nothing else. If this was the only release of pain she could have, then yes, she would take it. She would kill them all!

Please… just let the pain be gone…

I don't care anymore…

Naruto's eyes widened as a new voice entered the scene and spinning around, there she was, standing silently, her long red hair flowing off her as she stood before him, eyes half closed, head tilted to the side, "So now, you know. You know exactly why I did that six years ago."

Naruto bit his lips, before sighing, "Yes, I do."

Kyu-chan walked towards him slowly, those mesmerizing crimson orbs choosing to gaze right into his cerulean ones, her emotions hesitantly being reined back as she neared him, "So? What is your decision?"

Naruto blinked, before shaking his head, "I'm not following."

Kyu-chan continued on, in that melodious voice of hers, "I am a demon, a full-fledged Kitsune, nine tails of power in my grasp. I butchered your kind on that very day six years ago. Will you still use me?"

The way her eyes locked onto his, unrelenting, unyielding as she steeled herself, ready for the inevitable answer that would without a doubt, shatter her, just like how it always was ever since she was born.

"No."

Though she tried to hide it, her entire being flinched ever so slightly, before she steadily replied, "I see, then – "

"I won't use you. Never use you, Kyu-chan." Naruto whispered as he moved forward, arms spreading apart, and to the vixen's immense shock, the blond embraced her totally and completely.

She faltered right then and there, her body melting at his very touch, leaning in willingly into his arms, her head resting under his chin, her face close to his chest, hearing his steady heartbeat, enjoying his warmth.

"I see now. I understand why Yondaime was there, and what he meant by that. He probably thought I wouldn't be able to handle this sudden change." Naruto chuckled, as he finally took a good look at himself.

Gone was the small, frail body of a six year old. In its place was a robust and fit torso, combined with muscular limbs and a much aged complexion; his hair much wilder than before, spiking out as his palm roamed the back of his head. Feeling the whisker-like marks on his face, he grinned as they seemed rougher and jagged.

His mind was enforced with knowledge that he had never had before, it was as though years of experience and information regarding shinobi and the demon world was inserted into his brain just like that. As a six year old, he was possibly one of the most intelligent child in his age group, but now, he felt like he would understand anything, be it a concept for a very complicated ninjutsu, or the specifics of the human body, and as stupid as it sounded, he thought he understood the meaning of his life. He just felt confident, his mind easily adjusting to any new situation, as proven by how smoothly he reacted to that string of memories played to him.

He had somehow been forced to grow all within what short time span he had been unconscious. But then again, there really wasn't a way to compare the difference in time in this dimension and the one he was from, seeing how this was a different space realm.

Time could be classified as a whole new type of dimension all together. Over the years, many have argued that time could be the fourth dimension that governs this universe, but now that Naruto was experiencing it himself, he understood. There was no way to classify just how fast it passed by, nor would there be a possibility to predict when it would just end. Humans' perception of it and their ways of setting a way to 'measure' time did not truly define this element.

As of now, Uzumaki Naruto was being 'reborn', to put it simply, for the mere phrase 'speeding up growth' did not truly cut it. Not only was Naruto's own potential being brought out at an alarming rate, his body had to cooperate with the sudden efflux of Kyuubi's chakra, and in order to stabilize his being itself, his cell structures had to morph and even carry out mutations to adjust themselves to the demonic tint within the energy that they were now going to be receiving in order to assist their reactions.

There was also the other bit. Yondaime Hokage, had apparently, sunk back into his original seal, and by doing that, had somehow enveloped himself within Naruto's conscious, not as a being, but merely as knowledge and thought processes. That was one of the main reasons why Naruto had suddenly become able to perceive interactions between two different beings with such ease. Had it been his own six year old self, he would simply think that using Kyu-chan was good, because that would mean saving Yukari-san, and by using Kyu-chan, he would be closer to the foxy lady as well, so all was good.

But the fact remained that the last thing Kyuubi needed right now was for her to be used. To say that she had been living a life for herself would be an outright lie. From the flashes that he witnessed, he had seen the pain and sorrow she had to withstand just by living, and though her reason in attacking Konoha had truly been one that only demons would use, he could not deny the fact that he couldn't find it in himself to fault her.

It could be because he was bias, or even because his body had already reacted to the demonic influence, but he really couldn't care less. Kyu-chan was one of the only two people currently in this world that he would do anything for, just to ensure that she remained happy. Laying down his life for her didn't even begin to show just how much he cared for her. Care received as a child always goes a long way, and because Kyu-chan had been there throughout all those nights, teaching him, educating him, and generally being a wonderful presence in his life, that he couldn't bear to see her hurt at all.

Knowledge of the Shinobi world and even his father's way of thinking had been incorporated into his essence, and hence, the reason that his father had met him that way was resolved. No longer would the two of them ever see each other, but to feel you truly having a part of your father within you made him really warm on the inside. Finally, he could say that he had 'known' someone related to him by blood. As an orphan, that really meant a lot to him. The knowledge was a good present, but to understand what your father had been through while he was holding his son after he was born, and just to catch a glimpse of how his mother actually looked like and how her loving gaze had lingered on him all the while made it all the more worthwhile to carry on his burden.

He could now face life right on and not have any doubts that he wasn't loved. The mental support that he had gained from this simple action would be enough to power him just as it had powered his father to attempt the supposed impossible feat.

Sealing a bijuu properly was thought to be impossible. In the past, Suna's one-tailed Jinchuuriki had always been either insane or completely devoid of self-will, mindless machines that did not comprehend anything else other than to kill, maim and destroy. The sealing was the reason. Unequal formulas and incorrect interpretations of the nature of chakra led to leakage within the seal, causing the demonic influence to not only interfere with the human's thought process, but to overwhelm it, destroy it and replace it with nothing but simple blood lust, a magnification of what the bijuu was feeling because of its imprisonment.

When Minato suggested sealing Kyuubi, everyone thought he was insane, Yondaime or not. The chances that the seal would fail were too high and the backlash that would result from that failure might detonate Konoha right on the spot. Half of the council members wanted to evacuate the village and start off anew elsewhere, seeing no other choice before the might of the strongest bijuu on this planet, Kyuubi.

Given his prowess in Fuinjutsu and his excellent theory overall on the manipulation, control and basically the understanding of chakra was superb, Sandaime had eventually agreed and let him carry on his project of the Hakke Fuin Shiki. The question was always the same in these cases. Who was to be the container?

The choices were limited and though multiple names were put forth, none of them were actually considered. Minato himself rejected them all, for the simple reason that his sealing did not work like others and could not have an adult as a container. The bijuu would be forced to aid the container with its growth, unlike the other Jinchuuriki in the world, where the bijuu actively resisted the container's influence and did whatever it wanted. Rumours were that you had to either merge completely with your bijuu for it to even consider what you want, and that situation was something Minato could not have.

No, the bijuu would listen, whether it liked it or not.

Then, there came the problem of a sacrifice. Well, that bit was simple. He himself would be it. After all, the sacrifice had to be in complete sync with him in terms of chakra flow, regulation of the four aspects of Nature, focus of the eight divinations and all sorts of other stuff. The simplest solution would be to let his own essence be used up for this, and that was what he went with.

The day had finally arrived where Kyuubi attacked them. It had seemed to shy away from them at first, but then rushed at them with a vengeance. The menacing anger emanated from its chakra could be felt miles away and the whole of Konoha was on guard.

It was also the day Kushina gave birth to Naruto.

Minato did all that he could and tried to hold Kyubi at bay. He had no choice! The possibility that he came up with was thrown right out of the window. Sealing such an enormous chakra capacity within himself and taking it to death with him was pretty much impossible. At best, he could take about four tails worth before his body exploded from the sheer pressure. He wouldn't be able to finish the sequence and well, five tails were pretty much all it needed to crush Konoha anyway.

Regrettably, he sighed, knowing that he had no other choice. He had to use an infant.

The irony…

Contrary to popular belief, fuinjutsu wasn't just insanely hard. It was completely infuriating. One would question just why using an infant would succeed where the Yondaime Hokage, one well known for his chakra capacity and control, would fail.

Apparently, an infant would not attempt to absorb any of the chakra during the sealing process. There would be no influx of demonic aura at all when it comes to an infant. When born, at their most vulnerable states, it would appear that nature gave them the most powerful weapon of all. The ability to take in no exterior essence, retaining but his/her own life force, and keeping it that way as it matures.

What was essence?

Humans have souls. Souls could be good or bad, like the cliché stories told in ancient tales. They will be influenced at some point in life, but never right after birth. The souls of infants remain intact, for the brains of the infants would not yet be developed to the extent for it to comprehend the exterior forces working on it, and hence would be treated as a 'passive' state by any other essences that revolve around it.

Hence, conclusion was drawn by sealing masters that every single person had a unique essence, much related to chakra and their own life force. It flares like an invisible aura around the person and through actions, the intent of the people performing the actions amplify the essence, mingling them with other people so that each of them get 'benefits'.

Take for example, a man helping an old lady. Anyone seeing this would assume that the man is 'kind'. Why is that?

Sealing masters argue that this is not merely using common sense of knowledge, but actually the essence of a person interfering with theirs, transferring the 'intent' of the man's actions to the others around him, and in such a way, show that he is 'kind'.

Minato had turned that theory, and hence reasoned, that because an infant would be 'intact' from exterior essences, sealing Kyuubi within it would cause none of the pressure expected, due to the fact that any killing intent or anger would have absolutely no effect on the 'ignorant' baby. Sealing it within him, such a marvelous genius of chakra, would combust him on the spot. The more in control of your chakra, the more essence affected you, the more in understanding of chakra, the more essence influenced you.

That complicated bit done with, Minato was faced with the shaking face of one Uzumaki Kushina. Every time Minato went into one of those trances where he would just stare at something with his eyes wide open, she felt like slapping him out of it. The fact that he was staring at their baby made it all the creepier.

Knowing him, he was probably going to do something drastic like sacrifice their baby or something…

No, she didn't think that.

No, he wouldn't that…

He better not do that.

And it was then where Minato snapped out of it and quickly outlined his plan to her. Staring at her husband as if he was insane, she raised an eyebrow and shot down that idea in an instant.

What a retard! How could he even possibly think that sealing a freaking chakra entity within their baby after he killed himself to maintain a link between said entity and infant could possibly solve anything?!

Ok, so she was hyperventilating, but who cared?!

Did this idiot even realize that there would be no way that the link could even be maintained for that long? He would obviously need a catalyst of some sort so that their baby would survive!

What was he thinking going into this alone?

Did he not have brains or something?

Some genius he was.

Apparently, she had said those thoughts out loud, and looking at the horrified expressions on her husband's face, she couldn't help but sigh in amusement.

Minato's worst fears were confirmed when Kushina declared that she would be the catalyst. What was with this woman?! Did she not understand that she had to die and that he didn't want her to die?! Was it so hard to comprehend the fact he was going to die so that she didn't have to?!

Women.

Too damn troublesome.

Watching this memory, Naruto couldn't help but laugh.

This was what his parents were doing right when the mighty Kyuubi was at their doorsteps?

Beside him, Kyu-chan shook her head in exasperation. Naruto was their son alright. No wonder he had dared kiss her when he first met her. She just knew that he wasn't right in the head.

Now there was proof. His parents weren't either.

Somehow, Naruto thought that he should have felt hurt that his parents decided to use him without a single protest. He should have been disappointed in their willingness to try out this seemingly insane project.

But he didn't. Quite the contrary, he felt pleased and proud. His father chose him to seal one of the legendary beasts, because Minato trusted him. His mother chose to sacrifice herself so that he didn't get damaged the by the backlash that was bound to occur from this gigantic sealing process.

They weren't the kind to lament on the past, nor were they the kind to yearn for the future. What mattered was the simple present. And to the both of them, they knew what had to be done.

Kushina and Minato had been together during the sealing. Naruto saw how they had both cradled their baby with the utmost care and shielded him from most of the chakra waves that were splashing onto the area around them. Kushina had placed a kiss on his cheek, before she forced her own chakra around him, layering it so that it would not penetrate and the sealing would proceed without complications.

Minato's last words to him were a simple "Be good."

Not "Be strong."

Not "Be safe."

But "Be good."

Naruto understood now that his father had no doubts that he would be strong and safe. Konoha was his village, and he ruled it for a time, to understand that while there would be prejudices, overall, Naruto wouldn't be too bad off. Besides, he was his son, so he could just suck it up as he grew up. Life wasn't fair, it never will be, and that was a precious lesson to be learned.

At this moment, Naruto fully understood what Minato meant by "Be good". He wanted his son to enjoy his life, to do what he wanted and to help others get what they wanted too. Normally, Naruto would say that was impossible, because being a 'good' person would be insanely difficult in the world of Shinobi. But then again, he was never the cliché ninja to begin with, especially not after the confrontation with Kyu-chan moments ago.

He would be good. Oh yes, that he would be.

No more pain, no more sorrow, no more wars.

That's a pretty 'good' thing to make happen, right?

Sure, it wouldn't be one hundred percent, but hey, seventy-five percent would be pretty sweet.

Kyu-chan was currently staring at him with the most bemused expression, and he could help but caress her face as he chuckled, "Don't mind me; dad's essence is 'interfering' as we speak."

Groaning at the fact that he was already into those stupid seal theory stuff, she resisted a snort and sighed, "How can you be so amused all the time?"

She crossed her arms across her bosom and shrugged in an exasperated manner, "Shouldn't any other normal being be extremely upset and distraught that their parents would just decide to kill themselves and place a huge burden on their just born son?" Her eyes dimmed slightly at the mention of 'burden', "Don't you regret being born?"

Silence reigned in the void as Kyuubi closed her eyes, remembering her own past and how she simply could not deal with the pain and sorrow in her life anymore. Not being acknowledged and always shunned had made her accept the harsh realities present in her own realm.

She was shaken out of her reverie when a hand gently stroked her cheek, sliding smoothly along her skin before resting below her chin, lifting it lightly as her crimson orbs gazed into cerulean blue.

"I don't regret it." His words rang loud in her ears as her eyes widened ever so slightly, the expression of disbelief written over her face as she stared at the boy, no, man in front of her.

Tilting his head slightly, he bent down, lips hovering just over hers, his gaze never broken as he grinned, "If I weren't born, then how would I have met you, Kyu-chan?"

The soft hush of his voice drew Kyuubi in, the air blowing lightly over her lips, enticing her, alluring her, drawing her to him. Subconsciously, she leaned forward, searching for his lips, only for him to pull back just an inch or so, just out of reach. This continued for a few more seconds, before Naruto finally planted a deep kiss on her mouth, savoring her taste as he pulled her into a warm embrace.

Almost losing herself completely to his love, Kyuubi barely managed to pull away, her breath slightly rushed as her gaze lingered on the smirking blond before her. Everything he did to her felt so natural, her instincts understanding his every move perfectly, and right now, she wanted nothing more than to melt into his arms, and stay forever in this sanctuary.

It was extremely unbecoming for a demon lord, a Kitsune demon lord especially, to even consider such an option. She was supposed to be the best, the strongest and the mightiest entity of them all, and yet…

Naruto brushed his fingers through her hair and chuckled, "What's wrong Kyu-chan? Feeling guilty after taking a jailbait?"

That brought her out of the reverie as she raised an eyebrow, remembering the bold, unpredictable and mischievous six year old, yet in its place stood someone enough to be considered a young adult.

"Very funny, Uzumaki." Swatting his hand away, she regained her composure, deciding to think about this development at a later time. After all, she had a promise to carry out.

Naruto simply laughed, before focusing, "Will you be alright by yourself?"

Kyuubi huffed before shaking her head, "I'm not as frail as I look."

The grown-up blond walked behind her, tracing his fingers gently up her spine, sending delightful shivers through her body, before finally resting on her shoulder, his face rubbing her cheek in an affectionate manner, just like how he did it when he was a child, "No, but you're just as precious."

Kyuubi barely resisted a purr at the comment, before unwillingly detaching herself from him, "I'll be fine. You just take care of your Yukari-san." Her tone held a teasing note, "Wouldn't want her to be freaked out by you now, would we?"

Naruto sighed, "To be honest, I should be freaked out, if anything." He rotated his neck once, letting an audible crack echo through the area, before nodding, "But nah, I'm just not like that."

The redhead looked at him for a short while, before smiling, "I'm glad you're my vessel."

The blond started for a bit, before laughing and replying in a cheeky tone, "Ah, I'm always here to serve."

Scowling, Kyuubi playfully slapped him on the head before wrapping her tails around her and disappearing from the void.

Naruto stared at the spot for a few moments, before sighing, "Talk about raging hormones. Least I don't have to worry about puberty anymore." Rolling his eyes at the randomness of that particular thought, he quickly brought himself back to focus.

Yukari-san was still waiting for him. Yes, she would definitely still be there. There were quite a few problems however. Just what would she say about this 'new' him?

Normal people don't just zoom from six year old to the body of a twenty year old in a day or two, nor do they suddenly gain vast amounts of knowledge of about pretty much everything ranging from shinobi matters to the most personal matters such as ninety-nine different positions of making love. Yes, ninety-nine.

Apparently his parents got bored and started experimenting, but seriously, that piece of information could be done without. It just so happened that he had to inherit all his father's knowledge, unable to filter out stuff. Well, at least he still retained himself and he should probably be glad that he didn't have his father constantly nagging about stuff like a third voice or something in his head. That would seriously be screwed up.

Kyuubi's knowledge aided him as well, and perhaps that was why he knew instantly just what the vixen craved, what she needed and what he needed to do to complete her. He was no longer naïve.

The pact had been formed, he would always be one with her, and together, they would accomplish great things that no one had ever dared dream of. Maybe venturing into the God's realm wouldn't be too difficult after they were done with the human one.

He loved her, ever since he was a boy, he had loved her.

To Naruto, there really wasn't that much difference in the way he loved. He hadn't the opportunity to show 'brotherly' love, or 'lover' love, or whatever. If he loved, he loved with his heart. As far as he was concerned, he had only felt that way for two.

He would save them both, Kyu-chan from her abyss, Yukari-san from her hell.

"Alright, enough thoughts. Let's do this." For the first time since his forced growth, Naruto reached into his core, and silently searched for the power that lay within. It wasn't long before his eyes flashed open, a flare of the purest white engulfing his entire being. Bracing himself, he held his hands before him, before plunging them into the air.

Slowly but surely, he could feel it. The space and time dimensions were getting distorted by his external interruption.

"Come on!" Pulling his arms apart, it was quite the impressive sight as a rift was dragged open before him.

"Here goes nothing!" Diving in head first, he rushed into his destination. Oh yes, he knew where he had to go. He had been under the impression that he had been in his mind all along, and yet that proved to be untrue the moment he reached out with his chakra. Conversing with Kyu-chan only served to prove his theories true, that they were indeed in the fine line of void that separated the living and the dead.

It wasn't all that surprising. Accepting Kyu-chan's vast chakra by absorbing it into his body while at the same time, letting the shadow of his father activate all the hidden potential within him had at least a fifty percent chance that he would be killed. Musing that Kyu-chan probably brought them there so that if he did die, she would rush in to save him herself, Naruto couldn't help but shake his head at the vixen's affection.

Well, it was a pact, and there was no way that could be broken. Right now, all that was left would be for him to save Yukari, once and for all. First, the soul, and then… the body.

"Ready or not, Yukari-san, here I come!"

Penetrating the barriers with ease, he arrived in an entirely different setting, landing gracefully onto the ground as he eyed his surroundings with caution. Unlike what people normally thought, the realm of the dead was not filled with desert-like crevasses nor was it endless plains portraying the perfect picture of tranquility.

The realm of the dead was essentially different to every single person, interconnected only if the souls had truly accepted their deaths and chose to 'move on'. The scene that any dead being would have within this dimension would be the one and only place that they could feel truly at peace in. That being said, he was currently in Yukari-san's 'death realm', and right before his eyes, was the very orphanage that he had spent six years with her.

He could just feel her presence within the matron's room, emotions echoing off the walls as he walked into the building. Every step he took, he braced himself for the inevitable outcome of this intrusion. It just wouldn't do for him to get interrupted while he attempted to rescue a dead person now, would it?

Oh, apparently, bringing someone back to life was forbidden.

Hm… Nah, he didn't care.

Finally reaching the designated room, he took a deep breath, before pushing it open, seeing before his eyes a perfectly 'intact' Yukari-san holding a photo frame to her chest, weeping.

For that moment, Naruto couldn't speak. The vivid image of how Yukari-san had died in his arms was too horrifying for him to forget anytime soon. His lips parted slightly, his breath caught in his throat. His hands reached out, before halting, merely wanting to continue seeing this woman before him, not wanting her to fade away like she did before.

On an impulse, he rushed forward and scooped her into his arms in one swift motion, embracing her like he always did, with all his love and care, with all his warmth and tenderness. Her gasp followed by a confused gaze at his face stopped him temporarily in his tracks, making him curse himself for not telling her who he was.

Yet, the way her hand slowly rose to cup his cheek, squeezing it once before stroking those whisker marks of his, how her eyes became half-closed, a sigh left her lips followed by a bemused sentence, "It looks like I really do miss him too much, but humour me." With a slightly raised eyebrow, she gave a sad smile before whispering, "Naruto?"

Eyes widened, Naruto barely resisted the urge to gape and instead, let loose a gigantic grin, one that threatened to split his face as he gave a huge nod, "Yep."

Chuckling, Yukari-san simply shook her head, "I wish." Her gaze was so longing, her caress so soothing, and yet the melancholy lingered.

"It's okay, I understand. I did what I had to. All I could ask for would be for him to lead a happy life." Closing her eyes, she lightly pushed the blond back, before bowing, "Whoever you are, I thank you for letting me see this dream. I guess now's a good time for me to accept my fate."

Even as she said it, her body began to glow, and slowly, her hands began to become transparent. An eerie aura slowly surrounded her body as she stood there, waiting for all this to end.

Goodbye… Naruto…

She had a good life, even if she couldn't forget the horrors of the ANBU, she still made herself useful for her village and for the later part of her life, had Naruto redeem her. She was completed by the blond and would never forget about him.

One moment she was disappearing, the next, her eyes were wide open, disbelief etched all over her face as she watched the blond place his lips onto hers, his tongue entangling with hers, kissing her as she lay limp in his arms.

What the…

"Man, that was close."

Huh?

"You really do scare me at times, Yukari-san."

Wait, wait… what?

"I'm guessing saying I'm Naruto again wouldn't do any good in making you believe me?"

No seriously, what?

"You do realize I can sorta tell what you're thinking right now by the expression on your face right?"

This has to be some kind of a joke.

"Well, as much as I like to hang around, I believe it's time to get you out of here. Wouldn't want you to 'move on' now, would we?"

What, the, hell?

Naruto, on the other hand, had to pat himself on the back for daring to attempt such a move. But then again, ever since he was young, he knew that kissing someone would be the best way to get a person's attention, and well, he definitely needed to get her attention just now, or else she would have ascended into Heaven, and that would just make things ten times more difficult.

Or maybe a hundred times, but who cares.

This was the borderline to the death realm, and obviously, for someone to truly 'move on', there had to be some sort of 'collector' of souls, right? At least, that's what Naruto had gathered from the information Kyuubi gave him. And that was quite a lot of information, considering how the vixen had lived for quite some time. One did not count the number of years in the summon realm the same way you do with the human realm. It just didn't work that way.

Carrying her bridal style in his arms, Naruto dashed out of the house. Meaning, he had to crash through the 'windows' at top speed before the entire place collapsed.

Now, why was the place collapsing?

Yukari could only stare wide-eyed at the rubble that was 'the orphanage' before.

"What the… You better have a good explanation for this!"

Naruto smiled grimly, "Oh, but I do! Then again, let's do the talking later."

The ex-kunoichi was about to retort when she noticed the entire area shaking vigorously, with multiple cracks appearing on the 'ground'. Gulping as landslides began to form; she gave a meek nod, "Good decision."

Laughing loudly, the blond's eyes glowed gold, "I knew you'll see it my way."

In a burst of speed, they were off. Yukari could only feel a sudden slam of wind currents into her being that was somewhat shielded by the blond carrying her, before her mind reeled from the velocity they were travelling at.

She was a Kunoichi before, and to say she travelled fast was an understatement, but this was ridiculous. This wasn't running at all, this was just pure speed.

Barely able to turn her head, she gasped in surprise when she realized that the 'ground' that used to be behind them, was now falling off.

Wait a minute… Falling off…?

It was then realization hit her. The black abyss that appeared in place of what used to be soothing imagery really hit her hard.

Would I have… been stuck in there?

"The moment you accepted your death, it signified the end to this realm. There was no need for it to exist anymore for you have embraced your death, and that's why, we're gonna escape."

As fast as they were moving, the destruction of path was quickly gaining on them, and it would seem that the road before them was endless. In fact, where were they going? Yukari stared at the blond, wondering just what else was going to happen.

Imagine her shock when the supposed 'Naruto' simply smirked, "Time to shift gears…"

Flames erupted off his body, eliciting a yelp of surprise from the female in his arms, making his smirk all the more wider. This was the first time he reached in to tap his potential, and to feel all that lukewarm energy flowing freely through your veins before suddenly light up and heat up your entire being was one of the best things he could have experienced.

Whoa! What is this?! Some kind of booster?!

Yukari spent but a second to admire the incredible gush of winds that were rushing past them, generated by the sheer velocity at which they were travelling, before she realized something…

Wait, why are we… above the ground…?

It was then where her entire being was in for another shock.

What the hell?!

"Sit tight, Yukari-san, flight's about to get real rough."

"Huh? WHOA!"

With the blond suddenly swerving to the left, a huge blast of dark energy surged past them, taking out an entire chunk of the 'forest' around them. It was extremely unnerving to see that all it did was erase any evidence that there was even such an image to begin with. No explosions, no booms, just good old simple nothing. Pun could be intended, but Yukari wasn't focusing on that right now.

It was the fact that human-shaped, well, if that could even be called a human, monsters were trailing after them, spears in hand and what not, acting perfectly to fit the role of demons as they chased after something.

Of course, anyone with a common sense would be able to tell what they were after, dead person or not.

"Why the heck are they behind us?!" Her voice was bordering on the high pitch side, showing just how she was completely unable to grasp the string of events that had occurred to her. No matter how you looked at it, it was just too weird to be true.

She was dead.

DEAD.

Dead meaning not seeing stuff, not hearing stuff, not breathing.

Musing that she wasn't technically breathing because she didn't think that hell had oxygen, but before she digressed, she focused on the fact that she was experiencing a lot of things that shouldn't be possible for someone as dead as she was.

Utterly ridiculous.

Impossible.

Right?

"Wrong." Taking yet another sharp turn, Naruto gritted his teeth, "Should have known nothing goes right. Hell spawn eh? Alright…" In a flash, a second blond appeared next to them, fazing into existence as Naruto handed the woman in his arms to the copy, "Here."

"Wait, what? What is that?!" Expecting to simply fall because logic informed her that this doppelganger had seemingly just appeared out of nowhere, from no substance at all, meaning that if she were to be handed to a mere shadow, the most likely result would be for her to simply fall flat on her butt after falling through this endless abyss, if there was something for her to fall on that is.

Imagine her surprise when she felt the exact same flesh interacting with her skin as she was whisked away. Staring up at blond number two, or so she had dubbed the doppelganger, she was met with a grin, "Don't mind me. I don't really exist."

Easy for you to say. You aren't the one that's getting all confused and all that.

"Since we now have some time, let's start the knowledge transfer."

"The what?" Her answer was given in the form of the Naruto holding her slowly melting into her body. The feeling was an unreal sensation, as though a warm watery substance was lathered all over her body, before seeping in, bit by bit, feeling her up, making her whole.

And all this time, her body had continued to travel at the same speed, despite the fact that no blond was holding her. Slowly, bits of the information regarding her death, what happened afterwards, and most importantly, memories of the blond, or should she say, Naruto, all combined together to help her gain a new understanding as to just what was happening.

This realm was supposed to be hers only because of imagination, a place linking to true and eventual death only to allow her a few moments of peace before her 'moving on'.

Naruto came to save her.

Naruto was alive…

Naruto was alive!

"Yes he is, you idiotic mortal."

"Huh?" Another being appeared beside her, arms crossed as her tails swirled around them both, enveloping their existence as a gap began to form in the area ahead, much like the one Naruto had ripped before he had plunged into this abyss.

"No way…"

The redhead vixen simply closed her eyes as she reached into her powers, and with a demonic roar, they were both engulfed in a pyre of flames and with that, they escaped Yukari's death realm.

Naruto, after sending out a mere after image of himself, holding it together using demonic energy and conveniently, he fused the knowledge of the events that led him to his current action into the afterimage. Using that and an extra burst of speed, he was able to 'convince' Yukari-san that the afterimage was still solid. He had been a bit worried about that particular execution, unsure if that would really work, but given the fact that he could no longer sense the presence of Yukari-san or Kyu-chan within this void, he assumed they were both safe now.

Eyeing the Hell Spawn on his tail in disgust, Naruto simply grunted, "Show's over." Halting, the blond raised a single hand as flames soared into his palm, "Oh yes…"

Even the monsters could feel the gathering of a huge source of energy and slowed down their pace, muttering to each other in a language incomprehensible to Naruto, but really, that didn't matter.

"You'en! (Flames of the Sun)" Surging white blazes swirled around each other to form a huge sphere vibrating with energy as Naruto held it within his hand.

The Hell spawns could only watch on in fear as they witnessed the power before them, causing them to shake on their spots as Naruto whispered, "Good morning, and good day."

A gigantic explosion erupted throughout the entire void, blasting anything that stood in its way as it crashed through the ranks, taking with it all the Hell spawns, sucking them in due to the cohesion of chakra and the attractive forces of the heat, drawing them close, burning them, destroying them.

Shrieks of pain weren't heard as their end came too quick, one by one they were eliminated, and the resulting detonation was all Naruto needed to rip a new space/time distortion and escape.

The Shinigami might not be too happy that its underlings were wiped out that easily, but then again, they were quite stupid ones, so Naruto was sure he wouldn't mind.

With a smirk on his face, he greeted a somewhat flustered Yukari-san and an amused Kyu-chan, "Yo."

The vixen simply chuckled, "You do realize that Shinigami-yaro ain't gonna be happy with that last stunt you pulled."

Shrugging, he mused, "Well, maybe he should understand that I'm not too happy with him either."

Kyuubi laughed, "My, my, aren't we the confident one?"

Naruto simply shook his head, before turning to Yukari-san, "I believe Kyu-cha has…?"

Yukari could only nod as she sorted through the information transferred to her mind. She was now technically a wandering soul, without a chance to 'move on', as they called it, free to do what she wanted and finally, free to 'live' again.

As Kyuubi had stated, there was only one problem, and that was the fact that she didn't have a body. Subconsciously, a thought entered her mind that even if she took up her original body, it wouldn't work considering how she had been mortally injured, and contrary to popular belief, when a soul re-enters said body, the injuries do not just magically disappear. A soul with a dead body would only lead to the rotting and eventual decomposition of the soul. And that was a fate quite worse than death.

Then again, without a body, she wasn't able to do anything. Without a physical link, she couldn't experience anything and therefore, 'living' wouldn't be of much use either.

"So, do you want to give it a go?" Kyuubi whispered as she placed her arms around her waist, "I believe it would be quite worthwhile to try considering how you and I would be one."

In order for her original body to 'heal', Kyuubi had offered to merge with her body, using the demonic powers of her soul to morph her human body into something more befitting of her status. That way, a body holding two souls would be possible, seeing how normally, a body would simply disintegrate, seeing how it wouldn't be able to contain two souls at once. The merging, so as to speak, wasn't a complete one, merely sharing each other's conscious, acting as one person on the outside, two on the inside.

Yukari took one look at Naruto, before smiling, "You know, I would never have expected that little boy to grow up into the man standing before me." Turning to Kyuubi who was leaning against her, she bowed slightly, "I thank you for being there for him as well."

The redhead chuckled, "Oh no need. I was quite infuriated with his presence every night, bothering me to teach him stuff."

"Oh? He does that to you too?"

"Indeed, he does. Hence the reason why I've decided to save myself the trouble and dump my knowledge on him in one go. One of the up sides of transferring chakra."

"Haha, I see."

Resisting the urge to blush, remembering the more naïve times of his childhood, Naruto scratched the back of his head, before deadpanning, "What's that got to do with anything?"

Yukari raised her hand and caressed Naruto's cheek, "You silly boy, I know everything now. How you felt for me, what you did for me, and just how big a price you paid to bring me back to life."

Naruto grimaced, before glaring at Kyu-chan in a reproachful manner, "You didn't have to tell her that."

It was then where both females stood in front of him, gazing into his eyes as they pulled him into an embrace.

This action surprised Naruto, but their words silenced whatever protest he was going to give.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you accepted me, embraced me, and loved me for who I am. For that, you gave up on any chance of entering Heaven." Kyu-chan whispered, her fingers tracing his whiskers, "You associate yourself with a demon like me, even offering your bare soul to me, choosing to trust me when others have doubted me. It's only you, and only ever be you, that I love."

"Diving in there to save me, you baka, Hell too closed their doors to you. Shinigami-sama would never allow you entrance after that stunt you pulled." Her eyes were smiling as she nuzzled his cheek, "To think you really did become my knight and protect me. I understand now, your thoughts, your actions, and how you had given up any chance of a normal life just to be with me. Kyuubi showed me everything."

Naruto closed his eyes and sighed, "I'm sorry. I was too… too naïve. I thought everything would be alright as long as you guys were with me, and that life would simply go on as it should."

He shook his head, "When you died, I didn't know what to do at all. I failed in my promise to protect you, and all that was on my mind was how to get you back, right here, by my side." Cerulean blue met amber as he whispered, "I'm sorry."

Yukari simply placed her head on his chest, seeing how he was now notably taller than she was, and replied, "It's okay. You're here for me now, and that's all that I need to know. You were but a boy then, blissfully ignorant of the horrors of this world, and I, who couldn't stand seeing anymore needless bloodshed, chose to use you as my sanctuary. You were my hope and light, that this world could still be changed. It's only you, and can only be you, Naruto, that I love."

Both females then took a step back, before linking their arms together, a fiery red engulfing their presence as Naruto smiled gratefully, "I'll learn, I'll get stronger and I'll avenge the unjust raised on the both of you. I will be your pillar of strength, just like you were my havens. I love you, and only you…"

"Yes, onlyyou, it's only you that I love."

In a spiral of blazes, Yukari and Kyuubi both felt their essence leave their bodies, slowly revolving, gradually fusing with each other, before they fazed out of the realm.

There was no doubt where their combined essence were heading for, and Naruto, after one last look at the area around him, smiled and whispered, "Thank you for this gift… father…"


Well, I updated. Sorry if it took awhile, exams and all that. But yes, a few of you guessed correctly that Kyuubi and Yukari will merge, but how they do it and what will become of them has yet to be revealed. Naruto's sudden growth in power and knowledge coupled with Yukari's sudden return from death along with her complete understanding of everything will be explained in further detail next chapter.

I understand the tempo of the second half of the fic picked up too quickly and the flow might have been disturbed because of that, but don't worry too much, there's more to come anyway.

Any questions and queries can be directed to me through reviews. I thank you for your patience and look forward to seeing you guys again.

What is the result of the fusion?

What becomes of Naruto in the human world?

What is his fate now that heaven and hell both rejects him?

Find out in the next chapter of Lost Paradise.