The Nine-Tailed Guardian

Chapter 3: Loss

A/N I would like to thank Challenger for the awesome artwork; in this chapter, naruto's clothes get (mostly) shredded, and if you don't mind, I would have the new ones look like the ones he's wearing in Naruto-Within (the one with Kyuubi in the background) also, I like the idea of kyuubi (yes, she has a name of her own, to be revealed this chapter) having blue eyes (unless she gets mad)

The timeline should be much more understandable by the end of this chapter, if it isn't, please let me know; I'll most likely explain it in an A/N in chapter 4, if that is the case. Also, anyone with any ideas on how to introduce Orochimaru to Spira, please, tell me. I'm kinda stuck on that one.

Please note: Naruto's arrival is 1 year before the actual events of FFX. Also, in this story, Auron stays dead, only giving the group advice when they visit the Farplane in Guadosalam.

Disclaimer: Much as I'd love it to be so, neither Naruto nor Final Fantasy X belong to me.

And now, on with the show. Enjoy!

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Naruto stared at the ceiling, thinking about all the good times he'd had with, and sometimes at the expense of, Kakashi. He remembered the time that he, Sakura, and Sasuke had tried to get Kakashi's mask off, and sighed. He'd never get to see Kakashi's face... He'd been doing this for a few days now, and, frankly, Lulu was sick of it. It was time to take matters into her own hands.

She stuck her head in through the doorway. "Naruto, I can understand that you would grieve Kakashi's death, but you've got to pull yourself together! Are you gonna just lay there for the rest of your life? What about your dream of becoming a great ninja?" Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment, and then nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right..." Lulu brightened considerably at this (well, as much as Lulu can) and she even gave him a small smile. "Glad to hear it. Well, now that you've... recovered, there's gonna be a bonfire in the village center tonight; you can tell everyone your story then." As she left, Naruto thought to himself, That might not be the best idea... Then, Kyuubi spoke up. "Don't worry, kit, I'll behave." "Hey, why do you call me 'kit'? You're only a year older than I am!"

In Naruto's mindscape, Kyuubi winced. Oops...

A few hours later, as Naruto was heading through the flaps, she spoke up again. "Hey, are you planning on telling them about me?" Naruto sighed. "Yeah, I guess... why do you want to know?" The Kyuubi rolled her eyes. "Because, I would rather be called by my real name, not my mother's title." Naruto rubbed the back of his head, embarassed. "I guess I never thought about that before... so, what is your real name?"

"It's Ikari." Naruto laughed. "Anger of God? Well, it fits..." Kyuubi rolled her eyes again. Oh, if only I could strangle him... "That wasn't my fault, you know..." At this point, however, Naruto had stopped listening to her, and didn't hear it.

Naruto walked into the firelight, his 'whiskers' casting eerie shadows on his face. He saw Lulu, Yuna, and Wakka, and another, unfamiliar boy that looked a lot like Wakka (A/N: Chappu died about a year before Tidus came, right?). Immediately, the villagers became quiet, staring at him expectantly. Here goes nothing... "Well, it all started one day when a giant, nine-tailed fox attacked my village..." Several of the villagers started laughing at him, and, try as he might, he could not make himself heard. Angrily, he began walking down the path leading out of the village, and ended up sitting on the beach, staring at the full moon, and the waves upon which its silvery light was reflected. Yuna softly sat by his side, her eyes shining with worry. "I'm sorry the villagers didn't believe you..."

"S'okay, that wasn't your fault; seriously though, they've never heard of the Biju?" Yuna frowned. "What's a Biju?" Naruto sighed, and said, "The nine biju are the most powerful beings in my world. They're so powerful that they create huge natural disasters, like earthquakes, and cyclones, just by existing, and they cannot directly be killed by a mortal. Each Biju's rank is shown by the number of tails it has, from the weakest, the One-Tailed Tanuki (A/N: Raccoon? Badger? *shrugs*) to the strongest, the Nine-Tailed Fox. One day, the Fox attacked our village, I don't know why. Our lord, the Fourth Hokage, knew that he couldn't kill the Fox, so he sealed it within his newborn son, to protect his beloved village." Naruto pulled up his shirt, making Yuna blush, and exposing the ink on his stomach. "This is the seal he used. Unfortunately, using this seal cost him his life, leving me an orphan. I was born early because my mother was so stressed, and the medics... they couldn't stop the bleeding. No one knows why, and it's suspected that someone poisoned her, although there was not a shred of proof to be found." Naruto looked out into the waves, contemplating the seeming gentleness of the sea, and paused for a moment before asking, "What's your story?"

"Well," she began, "up until I was six, I lived a fairly normal life. My mother died when I was young, but I had my father, and we were happy. And then, on my sixth birthday, Sin was reborn. My father, being a man of Fayth (XD), felt it was his duty to become a Summoner, and rid Spira of its evil for another ten years. He began his pilgrimage, with your sensei, and a young warrior-monk named Auron. He completed his pilgrimage, and defeated Sin with the aid of the Final Aeon." seeing Naruto's clueless expression, she laughed lightly. "I take it by the look on your face that you don't know about Aeons? Well, it seems it's my turn to explain things. Aeons are creatures comprised of heroic souls sealed in stone statues, called Fayths. Every summoner, in order to defeat Sin, must go on a pilgrimmage to every Fayth in Spira, and pray to it. If a Summoner's prayers are strong enough, and their heart is pure enough, the Fayth answers their prayers by allowing them to summon the Aeons sealed within. Anyway, before he set out, he sent me here to Besaid, where I've made friends with Lulu, Wakka, and his brother Chappu. We're really happy here, but I'm worried. It's been almost ten years since Sin was defeated, and it will be reborn soon."

From behind them, the two heard voices calling out to them, and waved as Lulu, Wakka, and Chappu joined them on the shore. Wakka asked, "What've you two been doin', huh?" "Just talking," Yuna answered. "He told me his story, and I told him mine." "Would you mind tellin' it again? We'd all like to hear it, ya?" Then, Naruto retold his story, much to the amazement of his new friends. Lulu asked, when he finished, "Kakashi told me, before he left, that you have some abilities that are... unique, in Spira. Do you think you could show us some?" Yuna interjected. "He's already shown me one, the reason I was unconscious when you came in was because he showed me his... What did you call it again?" Yuna looked over at Naruto. "It's called the Shadowclone Jutsu, and it's my signature move. Here, let me show you!" Naruto made a cross seal, and a shadowclone 'poofed' into exisance beside him. Both Narutos grinned and rubbed the back of their heads, in perfect sync. Naruto dispelled the clone, and yawned. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting pretty sleepy. G'night!" Together, they walked back to the village. Naruto could still see some of the villagers sniggering at him, but he decided to let it go. As he followed Lulu through the doorway, he could hear the peaceful sounds of a village drifting off to sleep. He lay down on the pallet of blankets Lulu had made for him, and spent a dreamless night asleep. Unbeknownst to him, Ikari had projected some of her chakra out of him, forming eyes that gazed upon him fondly...

The next morning, Naruto awoke to find Lulu cooking breakfast, a savory scent emitting from the kitchen. Naruto's eyes widened. Could it possibly be what he hoped it was, or was this the gods playing a mean trick on him? He snuck up behind her, and almost made her jump out of her skin when he shouted, "RAMEN!!!" He gave the still-recovering Lulu a bear hug, causing her to blush slightly. "Naruto, it's kind of hard to make ramen with my arms pinned..."

Naruto let go, still bouncing up and down with excitement. "Kakashi told me this was your favorite food, I decided to cook it to make up for what happened last night. Do you really like it that much?" Naruto grinned. "Ramen is the best food ever! I'd eat it for every meal if I could!"

Lulu smiled. "Well, I don't know about every meal." Naruto grinned again, and they both ate their breakfast, Naruto holding back (Compared to his usual), and only eating three bowls of ramen, as Lulu watched, dumbfounded. Wow. That kid sure does like his ramen. He's actually kinda cute... she stopped this line of thought short, and helped Naruto clean up the dishes. Together, they walked down to the beach, where everyone was waiting for them. Wakka offered Naruto a pair of his old swim trunks, and the girls carried their swimsuits to the nearest cliff to change. Wakka taught Naruto how to play blitzball, and soon all three boys were taking practice shots out into the ocean, with Naruto running on the water to catch the ball when it went too far.

Suddenly, a loud roaring sound was heard, out in the general direction of the sea, and a pale, dark- haired figure could be seen running on the water, attempting to escape a large brownish creature, with a lot of glowing tentacles (A/N Think the first miniboss on FFX, but mobile). As she drew closer, Naruto was shocked to see that her eyes were a pale lavender color, with no pupils! "Hinata!" he yelled, rushing out to her rescue. Lulu, Yuna, Wakka, and Chappu were amazed at the superhuman speed at which Naruto moved. In an instant, he was beside Hinata, just in time to catch her when she stumbled. She looked up at him, and smiled. "So this is what heaven is like..." Naruto looked at her oddly. "Uh, Hinata? You're definitely not in heaven, not yet. Naruto is so... Wait a minute, what? Then that means I'm... Hinata turned beet red, and fainted. Naruto sighed. Some things never change... He set Hinata down on the sand, and turned to face the Sinspawn behind him. "Hey, ugly! You wanna fight? I'll give you a fight, all right!" "Naruto!" Lulu called. "That's not a good idea! Those things are extremely powerful!" "So am I, bring it!" Naruto summoned a shadowclone, and an orb of whirling blue energy formed in his hand.

He leapt toward the Sinspawn, shouting, "Rasengan!" He punched the Rasengan into the creature, but he only made a slight dent in its armor. It whipped his face with a tentacle, and his life became a world of pain, as the sea creature began whaling on him (XD). A battered and bruised Naruto was flung back onto the beach, and he found himself in his mindscape. "Help...me..." Ikari sighed. "You can't do anything without me, can you? Very well." A pool of red chakra spread out from between the bars of Ikari's cage, enveloping Naruto like a protective cloak, with two fox tails waving behind him. Naruto opened his eyes, which were now a feral crimson, and growled. "Okay, you overgrown squid, you asked for it! Naruto held out both of his hands and an orb similar to the first appeared, only about fifty times bigger. He smashed it into the Sinspawn, this time with much more satisfting results. A multitude of rainbow-colored souls burst from within it, and it faded away to nothing. Naruto's cloak soon followed, and he stumbled over to Hinata, checking to make sure she was okay, before falling to the sand, unconscious.

Naruto woke a few minutes later, to find a worried Hinata hovering over him, her lavender eyes shining with concern, and... something else, something he couldn't quite identify. As he sat up, he heard Ikari shout, "You idiot! She loves you!" Naruto blinked, and looked at Hinata in a new light. "Oh." "What is it?" Hinata asked, leaning in towards him. "Ikari just told me... you have... feelings for me?" Hinata then gave Naruto a hug that was almost strong enough to crush his ribs. "Oh, Naruto, I've always loved you, I was just... not brave enough to tell you." She clung to him tightly, afraid of his reaction. Naruto chuckled. "What a fool..." Hinata looked up at him, on the verge of tears. He continued, "What a fool I was for not seeing this before. Hinata... I've always thought you were nice, but I was worried about what your father would think if I were to... admit... that I love you. However, all the love in the world won't save me if you crush my ribs," he said, smiling gently. "Naruto!" she shouted, before giving him a smouldering kiss. Then, realizing what she'd done, she promptly turned red, and fainted.

Naruto heard a voice from within his mind. "Awww, they make a cute couple." "Quiet, mother! He'll hear us!"

Naruto frowned. "Us? Who else is in there?" Ikari groaned. "Of all the times to start being observant!" "Hey, who else is in there?!" Ikari growled. "That's none of your damn business, you twerp!" A deep, rumbling voice came from the background. "Ikari! What have I told you about swearing?" Ikari sighed. "Don't..." was her grumbled reply. "As for you, little one, let me tell you a story..."

"Sixteen years ago, my husband and I were celebrating the first birthday of our precious daughter." Ikari cut in. "Moooom, stop, you're embarassing me!" "That's my job, sweetie, now stop interrupting. Anyway, we were celebrating Ikari's birthday, when the most curious man came to visit us. I remember looking him in the eye, and then, next thing I know, I'm stuck in this cage with my daughter, and my husband nowhere to be found... I remember, the reason I found hims so curious, is that he had the strangest red eyes..."

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Well, there goes another one, this time much faster! I've tried to make this chapter longer, and yet I finished it within 2 days of intense work! I may not be able to do this every time, but I'll do my best!

As always, keep the reviews coming! :) 'till next time!