Title: Akatsuki's Hope

By: Namikaze Naruto, tenma no ouji

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, if I did you can bet there will be shounen ai. Naruto will be with Itachi, Akatsuki will be good, Haku and Zabuza will be allive and Sakura will be dead. So I definitely don't own anything but OC's and the plot. I also don't own YYH.

Warning: Shounen ai. Use of strong language. AU. OOC. Bashing of certain characters (Mainly: Sakura). This is a crossover, encase you missed the memo.

Tears fells from blue eyes, a scream of pure anguish left plump lips. "Itachi!" The roaring voice went unheard over the harsh winds that whipped around the area. His heart beat painfully against his chest and every breath he took felt constricted. He was suffocating.

'Kit!' Kurama paced the length of his cage in worry. 'Kit. I have no choice. I'll have to open a portal to the spirit world and hopefully Koenma will be able to help him. At this rate he's going to kill himself in order to reunite with Itachi.' Pushing fiery chakra into his vessels coils, enough so it became visible. With a smirk, Kurama tore a small hole into the barrier which separated the worlds. 'Kit, enter the portal. I opened it to a place where you'll be able to speak to someone about seeing your lover again.'

Naruto blinked as turned his bloodshot eyes towards the hole not to far from him with confusion. "I'll see Itachi again if I enter that hole?" Kurama voiced his agreement and with nothing to lose, Naruto got to his feet, albeit with a drunken stagger, and entered the hole, which closed up immediately after he passed through.

Reikai

The underworld (Spirit world)

Yusuke glared at the baby behind the desk in annoyance before turning his gaze towards the dark haired male standing not to far from them in curiosity. He knew the other wasn't a demon but the power that rippled around him made even an A class demons look like insignificant worms in comparison. Turning his attention back to his mini boss, Yusuke crossed his arms over his chest, and narrowed his eyes, wondering if Koenma was blackmailing someone else into joining his team of rag tag spirit detectives, "Hey, toddler, what's going on? Whose the new guy?"

Koenma's brow twitched at the name he was addressed as. "For the last time Yusuke, I'm not a toddler." the child ruler insisted, sucking on his pacifier in agitation, "As for who this guy is, well his name is Uchiha Itachi, he was killed," The group of four glanced at the dark clothed male before turning their attention back towards their boss. "but because of his strength, I decided to give him another chance at life, but he had to work for me as a spirit detective, so..." Koenma was interrupted by a portal being ripped open and a body stepping through before the hole, for all appearance, seemed to stitched itself back together.

"Who're you?" Yusuke narrowed his eyes at the beautiful person while grabbing the back of Kuwabara's shirt to keep him from doing anything stupid, like asking the new person on a date, like he was prone to do. "What are you doing here?" Hiei fingered his katana while Kurama blinked in surprise, sensing something was different about the blond, almost familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Naruto stared at the people around him, before his eyes landed on the male leaning against the wall, eyes closed, ignoring everything around him. "Itachi?" at the sound of his name, red eyes snapped open and stared at him. "Itachi." the blond yelled running towards the man in question, who in turn pushed himself of the wall and caught the slender male within his arms. "Itachi!"

"Naruto." Itachi whispered, hugging the small male tightly within his arms. His arms tighten when he heard the boy sobbing against his chest. Lowering his head, he nuzzled the side of the blonds neck. "Naruto, why are you here? Did you die as well?" at the thought of someone actually touching, much less killing, his beloved, pissed Itachi off. "I'll kill them..."

The blond shook his head, "I didn't, Kurama opened a portal, he said if I entered, I would be able to see you again." the blond bowed his head, tears falling from his eyes. "I was contemplating suicide so I could join you, but I knew it wouldn't work, Kurama wouldn't allow it." Itachi gripped the small shoulder in his hand and pulled the boy back.

"Naruto," the stern tone, caused Naruto to look into red eyes. "I don't want you to ever contemplate taking your own life again." he hissed. "I don't want you dying."

The blond shook his head, sobbing, gripping the shirt of his fiancee, "But I couldn't handle life without you Itachi. I love you too much to continue without you." he buried his face within Itachi's chest. "It hurt so much when Sasuke came back and told everyone he had finally killed you..." Naruto's hand shook, "I wanted to kill him, I did, and the only thing that stilled my hand from doing so was the thought of you. I didn't want that bastard anywhere near you in death." he growled.

Itachi gripped the boy. "It's alright now."

Everyone stared at the two in surprise before glancing towards Koenma. Yusuke blinked and turned towards Kurama, "Hey 'Rama, you know the chick? She said your name, unless there's another Kurama out there somewhere."

Kurama smiled and shook his head, "I can't say that I do Yusuke, I'd remember meeting someone as beautiful as him, I'm sure." Hiei smirked, wondering how long it would take the detective to put together the gender of the alleged 'chick'.

"What?" Two voices yelled.

'Twenty seconds.' Hiei shook his head. In his opinion, that was nineteen seconds too long, "Hn. The blond is a boy!" he stated the obvious to make sure the two baka, he was reluctant to call them friends, understood.

Yusuke and Kuwabara turned towards their new teammate and the blond in question, pointing, "Your a boy? But your too pretty to be boy, I mean your cuter then even Yukina." the two human males, well one half human, couldn't believe what they were seeing. "This is so wrong."

"The world is full of weird things Yusuke." Kurama smiled. "But I'm curious as to the reason you're here, and I'm sure our boss, the prince of spirit world would like the answer to that question as well. And while we're on topic, maybe Koenma would like to continue telling us what he was going to before our guest arrived."

Itachi rose his head and glared, "This is Namikaze Naruto, soon to be Uchiha, or was soon to be before I died. He came here because someone opened a portal for him, as you heard him say himself." The Uchiha's arms tightened around the blond, protectively.

Koenma gasped, "Namikaze Naruto!" he declared bolting upwards. "Son of Namikaze Minato and Namikaze Uzumaki Kushina. And the rightful heir to the throne of Makai." his eyes wide as he stared at the small male. "You're here!"

Everyone blinked, not understanding what was going on. "What are you talking about toddler? What is all this about the rightful heir to Makai?" Yusuke, stared at the blond before looking at his boss in a serious manner. "Are you saying he's that King."

"Yes Yusuke." Koenma took a seat and motioned for Itachi and Naruto to come closer. "I take it you don't know anything about your family history." Naruto shook his head in the negative. "Well let's start from your ancestor first. You're the direct descendant of the first King, King Seiji; he was a dog demon. He and his mate had a litter of four, all males. Centuries later, the first born son succeeded the throne when his father died. Tohru soon fell in love with a young male fox demon and was going to give up the throne to one of his brothers in order to stay with the fox, for he knew he wouldn't be able to produce the needed heirs, but a few days before he was about to seek the council, his mate came to him and told him the truth about kitsune demons." Kurama's eyes flashed knowing what was coming before Koenma could even voice it. "Fox demons, as well as some other species, despite genders, are able to bare young's and it just so happened, he had been one of them that could and the only reason he didn't voice this earlier was because he wanted to make sure the king truly loved him and what greater love then giving up the title king."

Naruto nodded his head at that while Kurama smiled. Yusuke and Kuwabara snickered at that while Hiei and Itachi stared at Koenma with blank expressions.

"Anyways, the two were together for years before Gin became pregnant with their first litter, unfortunately there had been some complications when he went into labor, and he died shortly after giving birth to twin boys. He was alive long enough to gift the both a name before passing on. Hinoko Kurama and Yoko Kurama. Hinoko, inherited his fur coloring from his 'mother' and was as fiery as his name suggested, he preferred to be called Kurama while his brother, inheriting his coloring from his father, chose to be addressed as Yoko. The both of them took after their mother in species, a fox demon, with slight traits belonging to the dogs such as possessiveness, and if I recall correctly they were very territorial of what they felt was there's, traits similar to the dog demon species." Koenma smiled at the blond, "The years passed and the two grew to become quite close. Yoko denied wanting the crown instead he left the palace along with another of their shared friend and became a well known thief. A few years after, Kurama met and fell in love with a nature fox, whose fur was the polar opposite of his own, where his fur was red as fire, the other was as bright as the sun. Hiatari no yoiko. Like his 'mother' before him, Kurama could bare kits so when they mated, Kurama and Hiatari had a litter of ten. seven boys and three girls. The youngest they named Minato."

Naruto and Itachi gasped at that. "My father!" he whispered.

Koenma nodded. "Minato was out playing one day with his older siblings when tragedy struck. Hunters came and killed all of them, or so they thought. Minato fell through a hole in the battier and lost his memories. He was found by a couple who couldn't have any kids and the only thing they knew was his name because of a chained necklace he wore around his neck. So he grew up as Namikaze Minato, with no memories of his demon heritage. And as the story goes, Minato fell in love with a woman named Uzumaki Kushina whose hair was as red as his 'mother's own. Kurama had been taking a break from duty and happened across the shinobi world where a familiar scent invaded his senses."

"He came to Konoha to see Minato-sama." Itachi voiced "And humans in all there arrogance and ignorance attacked him, so he had no choice but to defend himself from the attackers." Koenma nodded his head.

Naruto wrapped a hand around his midsection, "So. Kurama is actually my 'grandma', which is why he has always been overly protective of me." Blue eyes teared up as he wrapped his arms around Itachi, "And if your story is right, I have an uncle as well. And my granddad, what of him? Is any of my family still alive?"

Koenma nodded his head. "Hiatori has been searching for his mate for the last fifteen years, as for the rest of the family, no, I'm sorry the last surviving members is Hiatori, Kurama and..." Koenma trailed off glancing at the redhead who smiled.

"My name is Shuichi Minamino, otherwise known as Yoko Kurama, but my friends call me Kurama." the redhead told the blond and his new teammate his story and when he finished he found his arm full of Yoko's grandnephew. He smiled lightly at the small kit, "I'm very pleased to meet you, Naruto-kun."

Koenma shuffled several papers, "Hm, Naruto-sama, why don't you join the team that way you will be able to stay with Itachi-san, unless you have somewhere you needed to return to?" Naruto shook his head, telling the prince of spirit world that he ran from the village so he could join Itachi. "I see, then Yusuke, welcome two new members to your team." Yusuke grinned, "And this works out well for us."

"How so?" Hiei questioned.

Koenma held op a paper, "A tournament, just like the Dark tournament, is starting up, the committee in charge of it is having it in the shinobi continent, a place where both Itachi and Naruto are well acquainted with. The needed members is upgraded by one, so instead of five it's six, and this works out with Naruto joining since Genkai won't be able to help you out this time around." Yusuke was about to question, but decided against it, he didn't want that grandma coming along anyways.

"When is the tournament?" Kurama asked, pulling away from Naruto, who went to cuddle against Itachi instead. "And what is the purpose for it this time."

The spirit prince sighed, "An uprising, some demons think Makai needs a new King since Kurama's been missing for fifteen years now, so the tournament is hosted to find the next ruler. Hiatori can't do anything because he was married to the crown."

"But I'm a direct descended to the throne, which will make me the heir right, being the son to the former heir of the king? Or something like that." Naruto waved his hand dismissively, "So why can't I claim the title?"

Kurama nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, Yoko would like to know the answer to that as well." the redhead stated, wrapping an arm around his waist. "Without, um, Hinoko the title should belong to Naruto, so why wasn't this so?" Kurama had no idea how to address the other, sharing a name with him and everything was confusing.

Naruto smiled at the way Kurama had to pause, not sure how to address his, or Yoko's brother, "You can call him Kyuubi, less hassle, and that way it won't be too confusing." At hearing this Kurama smiled, nodding his head before returning his attention towards Koenma repeating his earlier question.

"No one knew that Minato survived. It was only recently that we found out. So the tournament will be introducing Naruto to Makai and the only way he can claim the title now is to win the tournament and prove that he's the strongest and will be able to protect them. But there's a team fighting to claim the thrown for the power to enslave the demons and bring war to all the worlds."

Yusuke scowled, "What about the three Lords, they have power to stop the King should he go overboard..." Koenma shook his head causing Yusuke to pause, eyes narrowed. "What is it?" He didn't like where this was going.

"Two of the three Lords has joined forces with the dark ryders, which means there is only one Lord that will stand in the way. You, Yusuke is the only Lord that didn't join, not that they bothered to ask you anyways. So the tournament is not only to introduce Makai's heir, but we'll also be searching for two new Lords as well when the time comes."

Yusuke cursed at the news, Kuwabara frowned, Kurama shook his head while Hiei allowed his annoyance to surface briefly before being concealed, "And is the tournament being held in Ningenkai or Makai?" The half-demon paused in his cursing to question the spirit prince.

Koenma shook his head, "None. The tournament is being held in the Elemental nations. The world belonging to the shinobi's, in other words, this is the place both of your new teammates came from."

Naruto glanced at Itachi before turning towards the toddler, "Hey Koenma-sir." the blond started, "Do you know the location the tournament will be held? And just how are they going to hold a demon tournament in a world which hates them more then anything, I mean, they even hate the jinchuriki that holds the tailed beast."

The spirit detectives didn't know what was going on, so they asked him. Itachi and Naruto shared a look before the blond proceeded to tell them about the shinobi world. The different countries, the people, the powers that shinobi utilize and every thing in between, than he began telling them about what everyone had thought were the nine tailed beast and how each demon had been sealed into vessels known as jinchuriki's. He spoke about the life of a jinchuriki. The loneliness, the isolation, the beatings, harassment. By the end of his story, everyone, sans Itachi who already knew everything, was pissed. Hiei was upset. it reminded him of a time long passed where he was treated less then even half demons because of his 'dirty blood'. Kurama was beyond angry that humans had dared to hurt his nephews kit. Yusuke and Kuwabara were disgusted that humankind could stoop even lower than they already did, to hurt an innocent child for no reason at all except for saving their miserable, ungrateful lives. Koenma had no clue what had been going on and vowed to keep a closer eye on the Shinobi world from now on.

"That's truly tragic." Koenma stated solemnly,

Yusuke shoot his fist, "If such bastards come within a foot of you I'll spirit gun them straight to the after life where I'll make sure Koenma will damn those bastards soul to hell." the leader of the spirit detectives growled, sounding quite menacing. While the other detectives gave nods, well Hiei grunted not bothering to agree or disagree with what was being said.

Itachi just blinked at them, "I'll help after all I can't allow you to have all the fun with my fiancee's tormentors now can I, Yusuke." Naruto flushed a bit at how protective they were without actually knowing who he is. "Your so adorable, Naruto." Itachi commented seeing the blush that tinted his loves cheeks.

Kurama chuckled at the sight. "Hm, he is cute isn't he." the redhead commented glancing at his grandnephew, for all intense and purposes that is exactly what the blond was to him since he holds the spirit of Yoko within himself. "So how long do we have until the start of this tournament?"

"Two months." Koenma smiled, "Genkai has already agreed to whip you guys into shape for this tournament, the only surprise will be Naruto but she'll be happy for more victims to tor... I mean students to train." the spirit prince's smile widened before he clicked a button summoning an instant portal below the groups feet, "Tell the others I said 'hi'" was the parting as the portal closed.

After years of Botan spontaneously opening portals beneath them, the group managed to flip to land on their feet, Yusuke cursed and glanced towards the two members to see how they were doing and blinked to see both of them gliding to the ground. "How?" he pointed at them.

Naruto smiled, "Oh, I have mastery over wind. I can do anything with it. Gliding in air is easy enough with the right training. I wish I could fly using the wind, but I'm not that good at controlling the wind as of yet." the blond leaned his head against Itachi's arm. "So where are we?"

Yusuke looked around. before groaning at the sight of the stairs, "Genkai's temple, I can't believe that toddler, he could've at least open the portal at the top, but no."

Sharing a glance, Itachi and Naruto took off in blurs of black and yellow. The group stared at them for several moments, Hiei inwardly impressed by their speed. One moment they were there and the next their were at least 20 steps ahead of where they were previously standing. "Damn." Kuwabara whistled and took off after the two new members with the rest of the group following.

This was going to be an interesting two months for sure.

Konohagakure
Naruto's retrieval team
Teams 7-10 including team Gai
and their teachers.

After notifying the Hokage about Naruto's parting words, she immediately had them out of the village, telling them that they better find Naruto, alive or else. No one was brave enough to question the last bit and left the village as fast as they could. They had to find Naruto, no matter what.

Tsuzuku

(To be continued)

Sorry for the long wait everyone. I work six days a week and when I get home, I'm tired with sore feet by being on them for eight hours, but thanks to the holiday, I have a break, today and tomorrow, so hopefully I'd get some of my stories written up and posted before Saturday when I have to go back to work.

... oh before I forget, HAPPY THANKSGIVING MINNA-SAN!

Tenma