A/N: Hey guys. First off I'd like to thank everyone who has read/followed/favourited/reviewed this story, your support is greatly appreciated. I honestly didn't expect to get much in the way of reviews, favourites, or follows, so I'm really surprised at how many follows and favourites I have, you're all amazing!

Also, to Vkass, thanks for the encouragement, and I hope that I can meet your expectations for this story. On another note, I chose to do those pairings because there's so few of them. Hope I do them to your liking!

Anyway, here's the next chapter. Hope you guys like it as much as the first one!

NOTE: Fair warning, the next few chapters are mostly filler until we get to the main plot, so please bear with them, they might get a little dry.

Disclaimer: All canonical characters, references, and abilities/techniques belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 2 – Inner Demons

"Normal speech"

'Thoughts'

"Biju/Biju-mode Jinchuriki speaking"

'Biju/Biju-mode Jinchuriki thoughts'

~ Naruto's mindscape ~

Narutos small body, surprisingly void of any and all injuries, lay belly-up in the murky waters of his mindscape. For a moment, all was silent; then a stream of crimson energy slammed into Naruto and was absorbed. Naruto did not move for a full minute, then he twitched and his sky-blue eyes snapped open. Drawing in a lung-full of air with a throaty gasp, he bolted upright, his body taut with fear as he snapped his head left and right. His body shook with his heaving breaths, his pupils contracted from a combination of fear and adrenaline. Eventually though, he calmed down enough to take proper stock of his surroundings.

Noticing the ankle-deep water around him, his first thought was that he had somehow managed to escape the mob and crawl into the sewers, like so many other times he had been beaten up. That train of thought was immediately ended when he looked up and saw just how massive the room was: far too big to be any sewer in Konoha. Gulping nervously, he edged his way in a random direction, hoping to find some way out of this place.

As he walked, he felt a sudden breeze ruffle his tattered rags and his hair. Blinking in surprise, he immediately began walking in the direction the breeze came from. His time spent on the streets and running from mobs had taught him that if he were ever to be caught in a place like this, that even the slightest breeze could lead to a potential exit.

With this thought in mind, Naruto trudged onward; hope beginning to fill his chest.

After several minutes of walking, Naruto found himself in front of the largest set of gates he had ever seen. His jaw dropped open in awe as he stared at the massive bars, and he glanced up to see how far it went. As his gaze travelled upward, he noticed a small piece of paper attached to the gates, seemingly holding them shut. Raising an eyebrow in confusion, he edged forward to take a closer look.

He had only taken two steps when a massive blast of air erupted from within the bars, nearly knocking him over. He staggered backwards, scowling in annoyance at the wind. He stubbornly lifted his foot to take another step forward when a gigantic pair of crimson eyes snapped open, stopping him dead in fear.

Naruto slowly put his foot back down, his eyes never leaving the unblinking gaze of whatever was behind the gate. Swallowing nervously, Naruto decided to break the silence. "W-who's there? Who are you?" This time, he heard the unmistakable sound of an animal breathing, having spent enough time hiding out in the woods to know what that sounded like. Only instead of the gentle huffs he was used to, the breathing of this creature sounded like a hurricane.

The eyes just stared at him and blinked once. Then a gigantic maw appeared below those eyes, a maw filled with razor sharp teeth each more than twice the height of a man. Said maw spilt into a massive, ear-to-ear grin, as Naruto began to shake in terror. Then the being spoke, its voice booming like thunder, "So, my jailor has finally seen fit to pay me a visit. I'm honoured."

Naruto flinched at the semi-mocking tone and the massive dose of sarcasm in that last statement. Taking in the child's frozen form, the creature snorted in disgust. "Pathetic. For one who can tolerate those… ingrates like you do, you're very easily scared aren't you, boy?" Naruto frowned at the insult and, dredging up an inner reserve of bravado, yelled at the massive creature, "Don't insult me! You're one to talk big, stuck in that cage like that!"

Immediately, the crimson eyes narrowed and the creature moved forward into the light, finally allowing Naruto to see the massive form of the Kyubi no Yoko in all its glory. Naruto felt his blood run cold as he gazed up at the scourge of the Land of Fire, and he had to fight the urge to flee in terror as the immense fox glared down at him.

"Care to repeat that, human?" Snarled the fox as he lowered his head, his massive muzzle inches from the bars. When Naruto remained silent, the fox huffed in amusement. "What's the matter boy? Too in awe of my majesty to speak?" "T-this is impossible." Stammered Naruto, his face pale, "The Fourth killed you." The Kyubi opened his mouth to say something, when Naruto cut him off with a scream of terror. "AAAHHHH! Th-then that means… I'm dead! No, no, no, no, no. I can't die yet, I haven't become Hokage… I-I-"

The Kyubi rolled his eyes and laid his head on his paws to watch Naruto freak out. After several minutes of Naruto bemoaning his fate and wearing a circle into the floor, the fox decided enough was enough. "SILENCE!" Roared the fox, knocking Naruto over with the force of the shout. "As amusing as it is to watch you whine and scream-" "Hey!" "-you're not dead, and we have more important things to discuss."

Naruto sat up, blinking in confusion. "I'm not… I'm not dead! Yeah!" He began to dance around in joy, and then he skidded to a halt. "Wait, if I'm not dead, and you're here, then… that means you're not dead. Right?" "Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!" Snarked the Kyubi before he started snickering under his breath.Naruto rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at the fox. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up fluffy-butt." The Kyubi froze, his eye twitching, then, "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?! I am the Kyubi no Yoko, greatest of the Biju! I am nature incarnate! I am-" "Stuck in a cage?"

The Kyubi spluttered, trying to come up with a reply to that, only to draw a blank. Upon seeing the semi-frustrated look on the massive fox's face, Naruto promptly burst out laughing. The Kyubi tilted his head curiously, having never heard Naruto laugh, truly laugh, ever. This was not the fake laugh he used around the Hokage, or the irritatingly loud guffaws that signaled a successful prank, this was a joyful laugh, a happy laugh, one that made even the mighty Kyubi crack a small smile.

Once Naruto had calmed down, he turned to the fox, wiping tears from his eyes. Shooting the Biju a small smile while sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, he said, "Thanks. No one's ever made me laugh like that before." The Kyubi blinked in surprise at the thanks, then he smirked, 'Well, this one's certainly different from every other human I've ever met. His aura is as pure as yours was… Father. Might he be the one?'

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, the Kyubi looked at Naruto and nodded once, accepting the thanks. Then he cleared his throat. "Right, we have quite a bit to discuss, and not very much time to do it, so sit down and listen up. Understand?" Naruto nodded eagerly and sat down, uncaring that the being speaking to him was a mountain-sized fox capable of leveling entire nations, all that mattered to him was that a complete stranger was willingly spending time with him. The Kyubi caught onto Naruto's stray thought and suppressed a flinch. 'I may despise humans, but what's happened to him is something I would not wish on anyone. Not even Madara… alright, well, maybe Madara, but no one else, and especially not a child.'

"Right, first I need to ask, what do you remember?"

"Well…I remember getting cornered by that mob, then they... uh, beat me up." Naruto swallowed at the memory. "Then I got pinned to the wall, and… it's all blank after that actually."

The Kyubi sighed and nodded as though Naruto had just confirmed something for him. "As I suspected. Your conscious mind shut down, bringing your body into an instinctive fight-or-flight mode."

Naruto blinked in confusion. "Uh, I may be a bit smarter than the average four-year old, but I'm still four. Could you use smaller words?"

The fox nearly facepawed. Naruto was so mature for a child, an unfortunate consequence of being forced to fend for himself ever since he could walk, that the Kyubi had forgotten that he was just that, a child. "Right. What I meant was… you actually already fainted, your body just reacted by itself. Anyway, one of those shinobi shot a fireball at you, and you did the most amazing thing: you pulled metal sheets from the buildings and made a wall to block the attack."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "I did what? But… how?" "I was surprised myself honestly, I haven't seen that ability in over a century. The last person to have it lived during the days of the warring clans." Shaking his head, the Kyubi continued, "Back to you, after blocking the fireball, your body gave out and the metal fell to the ground. Fortunately for you, the one you call "Hokage" showed up with several of the ANBU and one old man who smelled of toads. They arrested the mob and brought you to the hospital, where your body is currently resting."

Naruto nodded slowly as he assimilated the information, his mind reeling. After sitting in contemplative silence for several minutes, he jerked as a sudden thought hit him. "Wait a minute… how did you know what happened after I blacked out anyway? It's not like you were there to see it… were you?" 'Here we go.' Thought the fox, 'Time for you to prove my gut feeling right, child.'

"The reason I know these things is because... the Fourth Hokage could not kill me, so he sealed me away." "Sealed? What's that mean?" "It's like locking something into a box." "Oh. Where?" "Into the only child that was born that night of course."

Naruto went white. "What?" He whispered, his eyes wide in disbelief. "M-me? He sealed you into me? Why?" The Kyubi sighed. "That… is not for me to say. You will have to ask the Hokage to tell you."

Naruto pouted in indignation, but nodded all the same, recognizing the firm look in the fox's eyes. It was the same look the Hokage gave him when he refused to change his mind.

Naruto sighed in acceptance; then he blinked in confusion. "Hold on, if you're sealed into me, then where are we now?" "In your head. This is what is called a "mindscape"." "This is the inside of my head? Wow." Naruto looked around before deadpanning, "What a dump." This blunt assessment caused both him and the Kyubi to break out into chuckles.

As they calmed down, Naruto remembered something. "Wait a minute! You attacked the village that night! That's how you ended up here in the first place, isn't it?!" The Kyubi nodded, his expression impassive. "What'd you do that for? Do you know what my life's been like because of that?!"

"Do NOT think for even a moment that attacking this pitiful village was my idea!" Snapped the fox, his eyes blazing with anger. "I was forced to attack your home. I'd much rather have left the village entirely so I didn't have to be sealed!" The Kyubi glared at Naruto for a few seconds, then turned around, feeling slightly hurt that Naruto had just accused him like that.

Naruto flinched at the anger and subtle undertone of hurt in the fox's yell. He looked down, mentally berating himself for judging the fox like how the villagers judged him. "I-I'm sorry for going off at you like that." The Kyubi's ears perked up in surprise and his head turned slightly to look at Naruto. "It's just…"

"You wanted something to lash out at? Something to distract you from the hurt and pain?" Naruto nodded meekly. "Y-yeah. But that makes me no better than the villagers. Besides, I can tell that you're telling the truth." The Kyubi's eyes widened slightly and he spun around fully to face Naruto. "You… what?"

"Well, yeah. It's not so hard. After dealing with the villagers for so long, I can sort of tell when people are lying." He beamed up at the massive fox. "So far you've been completely honest with me. So thank you!" The Kyubi just stared at him, trying to process what it was seeing, and then he grinned. "You are an interesting human. I think you'll be rather interesting to work with."

"Work with? Like… uh, what's the word… par-ten-ers?" "It's "partners", and yes, like that."

Naruto tilted his head to the side, his eyes squinted as he mulled over the offer. After a minute, he shook his head. "No, not partners." He smiled a megawatt smile and held his hand out as thought to shake. "Let's be friends!"

The Kyubi raised an eyebrow. "You want to be friends with me? After everything that's happened?" Naruto nodded emphatically. "Yes. You've been nicer to me than anyone other than Hokage-jiji, Teuchi-ojisan, Ayame-neechan, and some of those animal ninjas, why wouldn't I want to be your friend?"

There was a stunned silence in the mindscape for several seconds, then the Kyubi burst out laughing. "BWAHAHAHA! You're something else, kit. Alright, I accept." "Great! My name's Naruto, and I like Hokage-jiji, Teuchi-ojisan, Ayame-neechan, all my ninja brothers and sisters, and ramen! My dream is to become Hokage one day!" The Kyubi cocked his head in confusion, and after an awkward silence, Naruto said, "Go on; introduce yourself!" "Oh, right. My name is Kurama, I like… well, my family I suppose, and my father. My dream is to fulfill my father's dream."

"Cool!" Yelled Naruto. "Nice to meet you Kurama! Who's your family? What're their names? Are they giant foxes like you? Who's your father? What do you mean your father's dream is yours? Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

Kurama snorted in amusement. "Calm down, kit. I'll tell you, just not now. We've been talking long enough, and I think that it's time you woke up." Naruto's expression turned pleading. "AWWW, come on! Just a little longer? Please?" "As much as I'd like to, I think you and the Hokage need to talk. We'll continue this another time, alright?"

Naruto sighed and acquiesced. "Fine. How do I get out of here?" "Just close your eyes and imagine that you're waking up."

Naruto closed his eyes, then hesitantly reopened them. "W-what if I can't get back here?" Kurama smiled, amused by Naruto's concern. "I'll bring you here until you learn to come by yourself, now go on."

Naruto nodded, and closed his eyes, properly this time. His body wavered, flickered, and vanished, his consciousness returning to the land of the living, leaving Kurama alone in the mindscape.

There was a peaceful silence in the mindscape for several seconds, then Kurama focused on a pair of shadowy figures, one male and one female, standing in the darkness somewhere beyond the cage. "That kid of yours is really something you know." The fox grinned viciously as the figures shifted slightly in response. "He will accomplish great things one day, I can feel it."