AN: Went to the Statue of Liberty yesterday. It had a great view, though I'm pissed that we couldn't go INTO the statue itself, just the pedestal. (*pouts*)

So, here is the next chapter of…whatever.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Chapter 3

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Naruto stirred in his bed, flashes of darkness and shadows boring their way into his dreams- though they weren't nightmares. He grunted and rolled over, arm dangling over an empty ramen cup.

"Wake."

If Naruto could have jumped through the roof, he would have. Instead, he jerked straight up, looking around frantically as he grabbed the half-forgotten kunai lying on his night table. His eyes quickly scanned every area of his apartment- after all, having one's house broken into tends to bestow a sense of wariness. Imagine his surprise, though, when from the shadow cast by his bed, a figure rose up, eyeing him.

"So you have instinct. Good."

Naruto's breath caught in his chest. "Shini-Shinigami-sama?"

The figure stood tall and scowled. "Indeed. Though I would prefer to expect more of a respectable place of habitation than…this." He gestured around the room, taking in the disorganized clothes and old instant ramen cups. Naruto blinked and grinned sheepishly.

"Eh…sorry."

"It is of no consequence, though as per your new station, I will soon expect a certain level of…decorum."

Naruto's attention was quickly piqued, although the rational part of his brain was still screaming at him to get FAR away from this situation. "Yeah…about that."

"Yes?"

Naruto gulped. "I…er…you said something last night about me being 'your hand', whatever that meant. And now…um…you're talking about 'my station' and all. So…I…erm…"

"Get on with it, boy."

"I don't understand!" Naruto burst out. "What's going on? What's happening? What's going to happen to ME? I just…"

Naruto quickly broke down, uncomprehending of his entire situation. The deity only looked down at the blond with a touch of annoyance, though he was a bit worried as well. Naruto needed to have his will steeled, and that must happen quickly.

"Naruto."

At the sound of his name, Naruto froze.

"Y-yes?"

"I have a few things to explain to you, child, and you would do well to listen." Naruto promptly stilled.

"Now. What I have done is something that has been unnecessary for millennia- but not now. You see, on that night all those years ago, I gave you my mark, showing that you would be the one to serve under me. In short, Uzumaki Naruto, I have made you my apprentice."

You could have heard a pin drop.

"But…why me?"

The god almost groaned. Really; couldn't the boy be a bit more intelligent than this. "I will give you three reasons. First, you were the most available vessel that I found to contain my gift. Secondly, you hold the Kyuubi, whose seal was made by myself, and this power and training will allow you to control it, as well as, if you wish, dispose of it." Naruto's mouth was gaping now.

"But! This will be no simple task. You will have many long and arduous tasks ahead of you, Uzumaki Naruto, and you must be prepared for all of them. For I will be sending you on my own missions, not just the wastes that this shinobi village treasures so much. As I said, you will be my hand, and my avatar. For even a fallen angel has responsibilities."

Naruto gave a strangled squeak, as well as what the god assumed was close to a salute. This will take some work.

"Now, mortal, as you have no work at the Academy today, I shall introduce you to the basics of your apprenticeship." Naruto could only nod dumbly at this. "We will now travel to what I believe this village calls 'The Forest of Death.' " Naruto shivered at the sadistic look in his new sensei's eyes.

"Now. Grab onto my hand." Naruto tentatively reached out, hand shaking and sweating- and then their palms touched.

And all was gone in a mass of swirling shadow.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Lights flashing- murky darkness flooding across his sight- shadows flaring and curling around his body- a feeling of compression, and one of stretching- and then-

Naruto heaved, sputtering as he threw himself to the ground, wanting desperately to throw up.

"Wh-what was that?"

Shinigami looked down at the blond disapprovingly. "That was shadow travel, boy, and it is one of the most important and vital skills that you will learn in the times to come." Naruto could only nod weakly before he fell over again, face blanching to a pale white.

"Ugh…"

The god only shook his head slowly. If Uzumaki was to survive, he had to start getting stronger immediately. "Now," he said, as soon as Naruto stopped emptying his stomach. "As the God of Death and, more importantly, as the one who created that technique, I could easily have made that an easier trip for you. In fact, if I did, you would not, at present, be caught in the act of befouling the ground where you have landed." Naruto gave a weak grin at that, blinking sheepishly.

"Heh…but, then why…?"

The Shinigami gave a derisive snort. "It was to provide an example, child, and, hopefully, it is one that you will not soon forget." He looked Naruto directly in the eye and the blond jinchuuriki suddenly once more felt that oppressive aura of death and foreboding.

"The things that I will teach you to use…are not toys. They are weapons."

Naruto quickly nodded in understanding.

"Secondly, the things that I will have you do as my servant will be full of risk, as well as potentially lethal. Thus, you must take everything else that I tell you with full seriousness. This is not a game, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto's eyes were wide and his ears were open in an attempt to remember everything that the god was saying.

Shinigami's glare softened somewhat, though he still carried an air of danger. "Be grateful that I only gave you an upset stomach, child, and do not test me." Naruto gulped, but eventually managed a sickly grin and a bow of respect. The god smiled to himself. Perhaps you can be taught some.

"Uh, Shinigami-sama?" Naruto asked carefully.

"Yes?"

Naruto looked at his feet. "I was wondering…what exactly are you going to be teaching me?"

"Tell me, boy. You want to be Hokage of this village, do you not?" Naruto blinked.

"Er, well… I used to."

"And?"

"But, the thing is…now I'm not sure that it's possible." Shinigami raised a questioning eyebrow at the child. Surely he hadn't given up that easily?

Naruto quickly raised his hands in protest. "It's not like I don't want to…" he said loudly. "It's just…"

I'm not sure if this village will ever let me…

The God of Death eyed the boy carefully. Pensiveness was an ideal attribute, but if Naruto was thinking negatively, then he had begun to lose his determination- and that would not sit well with the deity. "Listen to me, boy." Naruto looked up, eyes blinking owlishly. "It is good that you have begun to think things through. However, what you have done is given up on your dream, and that is no more than running away- an act of cowardice." Naruto flinched.

"And I despise cowards."

Naruto looked down, eyes closed and solemn. So Shinigami-sama did hate him too…

Naruto was interrupted from his moping by a hand on his shoulder, and he slowly raised his eyes to see the Shinigami.

"I said that I despise cowards, boy, and what you have done is not enough to merit as such. If you can see ahead, your path- and dream- are still there, waiting, and you can reach it- but only if you apply yourself." Naruto's breath caught.

"You will begin your lessons today, and I will begin with outlining what you will learn from now until you graduate the Shinobi Academy, upon which you will start doing missions for myself. So…are you prepared to begin?"

Naruto nodded quickly. "Hai!"

"Very well…"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Naruto sat very still, seated on a rock. Before him stood the Shinigami, standing tall and proud. The god fixed Naruto with a dull stare and the boy sat at rapt attention.

"So. We will be learning many things in the years to come- and, though it is not my primary objective, these lessons will eventually prove invaluable to your quest to become Hokage." Naruto smiled widely- he finally had a teacher who would help him! This was great!

"So, what are we-"

"Do not interrupt me when I am speaking, Uzumaki." Naruto nodded rapidly, head bobbing up and down.

"While I am your teacher, you will not call me by my title, nor will you utilize any honorifics when speaking to or of me. You will simply call me Sensei. Is that understood? Good.

"Primarily, you must understand that being a Hokage is not only about strength and power, no matter what you may individually think. And I will not settle for an unintelligent student- and neither, I think, will the Kyuubi that you hold." Naruto winced slightly at the reminder of his prisoner; after all, the wounds were still fresh from his discovery. He could understand the reactions of the villagers, as well as their general attitudes, but only to a point, and he still resented both them and Old Man Hokage, the latter for not telling him sooner of his burden.

"So, in addition to Shinobi and, as well as your lessons in the power of Death, we will also be having…academic studies." Naruto's eyes were wide open. What? No-

"You will learn basic strategy, language, politics-"

Nononono-

"Mathematics, calligraphy, sciences-"

Nonononononononono-

"History, reading and writing."

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Ignoring the whitened boy in front of him (whose mind was currently occupied by a chibi-Naruto crying his eyes out and rolling on the floor), Shinigami took a perverse sort of pleasure in the prospective suffering that the Uzumaki was imagining. Though, of course, he refrained from showing any actual emotion. Appearances had to be maintained, after all.

Naruto abruptly came to from his reverie of internal sobs and suffering to notice that his new mentor was staring at him with impatience and annoyance. "…Yes, sensei."

"Very well. In addition, I will be teaching you a particular martial art, a taijutsu style, as you call it."

That got Naruto's attention focused back immediately.

"I will also teach you basics of the shinobi arts- for you will not be going to the Academy anymore, at least not personally."

Naruto gaped. "But…but sensei! How will I graduate if I'm not-"

"Silence."

Naruto shut his mouth.

"I would ask for you to discontinue your interruptions and arguments; however, considering who I am dealing with, that would be less than likely." Naruto nodded dumbly.

"For now, whenever I order you to do something, assume that I have my reasons that I will share if ready. I have already informed you of the larger reason of why I am taking you on, and so going further than that in that direction will not be necessary.

"To answer your attempted question, you will not personally be going to the Academy- our time is far too valuable for you to be wasting it at that mediocre training ground." Naruto nearly shouted back at the Shinigami for insulting his village, but quickly remembered himself and stayed silent.

"Furthermore, as I said, you will not personally be going to this school of yours- though you will experience every lesson." Naruto wisely kept his mouth closed.

"There is a technique known to Konoha ninja as Kage-Bunshin no jutsu: the Shadow Clone technique. It creates physical clones of oneself that can interact with various objects and people, and is only limited by one's amount of chakra. One of the lesser-known aspects of the jutsu, however, is that when a clone is dispelled, all of its learnt information is given back to its creator, making such a clone invaluable for infiltration missions.

"However, I will not be teaching you this move."

Naruto's mouth hung open, and if he had been more expressive, the Shinigami would have chuckled at the look on the boys face. Shaking his head, the god continued.

"No, I will be teaching you a different technique, one that will reflect the effects of the Kage Bunshin, though without the drawbacks that lie inherent in the form of a simple clone. With your chakra levels, you would be able to make as many as perhaps fifty clones, though with this technique, you will only be able to produce one- and it won't be much of a clone, nor will it use chakra to be activated." Naruto was staring blankly at his teacher now.

"But…you said that it would be a clone technique, and now it isn't? Exactly what are you going to teach me?"

Naruto shifted uncomfortably under his teacher's stare. "You will find that out in due course. For now, though, I want you to meditate."

Naruto's mouth worked soundlessly, before the order registered with him. "Ah! Right…er…meditate." With that, he quickly sat back down and crossed his legs, closing his eyes and attempting to breathe slowly- an effect that was spoiled by the fact that he kept opening his eyes and peeking at the clearing every few seconds.

Shinigami could have slapped himself on the forehead. Could the boy do nothing correctly? "No. This is completely incorrect." Before Naruto could protest, the god had moved over to his side and was telling him what to do.

"You have been learning hand kata, handseals in the Academy, correct?" Naruto nodded, uncomprehending of where he was going.

"I will teach you my personal seal, the one which can be used to invoke my power. The sign of karasu, the raven. Put your hands together so that they are straight, and touch your palms together, as well as focusing on the medallion that I have given you." Naruto quickly obeyed, feeling the cold touch of metal on his chest.

"Now, close your eyes- do not open them!- and focus on the feel of the wind on your face, and on your hands. Hear the sounds that enter your ears, but block them out. Concentrate on your heartbeat, and on your breathing, slowly bringing them to down to a lower level."

Naruto relaxed. His eyes closed, the breeze dancing across the bridge of his nose. He heard the sounds of the leaves rustling, of the birds chirping- and blocked them out. He had no place for them. Focusing in on his breathing and on his pulse, he slowly, ever so slowly, inhaled, and then exhaled. Inhale, and exhale. Breathe in-

BuBump.

Breath in- wind through the trees- no!

Focus…

BuBump.

BuBump.

Bubump.

And then the darkness faded.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Naruto came to in a huge room, one with stairs leading off into shadowed corners, and with doors plastered on each square inch of the walls- and floor. The doorways were in constant motion: opening and closing, moving up and down, and even fading into nothingness and then coming back, a constant state of flux. Naruto idly noticed three sets of huge gated doors- one was barred across the front and was painted in a blindingly-wide array of colors- white, black, grey, purple, orange, yellow and green- and second other gate was slightly smaller, with red and black doors and bolts lying disused on the sides, a glowing red liquid slowly leaking out from the bottom. And then-

"My door."

Naruto jumped at the sound- Shinigami's voice- coming from right behind him.

"Wha-where am I?"

Shinigami smirked. "Boy, I have to admit: I am impressed that you managed this on the first attempt." Though I'll never tell him just how much!

"Ehehe…"

Naruto put his hands behind his head and chuckled uneasily. "But…where am I?" he repeated.

"Have you not guessed?"

Naruto shook his head.

"Very well then. I shall…inform you.

"This, for lack of a better term, is your mind." Naruto's mouth formed a silent 'o'. "What you see here are your thoughts, your dreams, and your secrets. That," he said, pointing toward the multicolored door. "That is the gateway to your innermost soul, a place of tranquility- or, so I'm told. My source of such things is my brother, Kami, and so we will have no use for that door.

"This next door," the Death God went on. "Is the entryway to a tunnel- and at the end of the tunnel, a cage. Do you see the mass leaking out from inside?" Naruto gave a silent nod. "That is chakra, or, more accurately, youki. Now, can you tell me where that doorway leads?" Naruto's mind quickly moved, making connections, observing and thinking, and then-

"The Kyuubi!" he blurted out loudly.

"Very good," the deity said, and Naruto grinned proudly.

"Don't get overconfident."

Naruto deflated.

"Yes, this doorway would lead you to the residence of the Nine-Tailed Fox, who is currently imprisoned in your soul and in your body. You see those black markings on the sides? Those are my personal seals, forming the gateway to connect the Kyuubi's prison to your soul.

"And now," Shinigami finished grimly. "I come to the final great door: mine." Naruto froze.

"This is the gateway to the representation of my power in your soul, Naruto," the god said, for once using his student's first name. "Through here is where you will access your powers- and it is near here that we will take the next step in what I am teaching you."

The door was black, with a deep darkness that drew the eyes in before they slid off into nothingness. A single skull grinned out from the center of the doorway and Naruto shivered at the menace present.

"There," the deity pointed out, and Naruto noticed another door, much smaller, to the side of the Shinigami's door. "You will enter that door, and we will progress on."

Naruto took a deep breath and suddenly found himself standing right in front of the door, a silver doorknob glinting as he reached for it with his shaking hand. He slowly opened it-

And stepped into the inky darkness beyond.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Naruto's first impression was of floating. He groaned and slowly opened his eyes, raising his hand to his forehead- and froze. His hand was slightly transparent.

"Gah!"

Naruto took one glance down at his feet and saw that they, too, were see-through- and what was more, beneath the sat…himself with a blank look on his face. Naruto quickly scrambled away, freaked out beyond all comprehension.

Shinigami suddenly appeared to Naruto's left and the boy gaped before finding his voice. "Wha-what happened to me?"

The god's voice was quiet and commanding. "I separated your soul from your body, to put it simply," Shinigami said, and eyebrow raised at the blond's reaction. "This way, you will able to learn from me easier, as it is easier to access your power at first without the hindrance of a mortal, physical body."

Naruto was still dumbstruck. "But…how…what about my body?"

The Death God shook his head. "While you train with me in spirit, your body will go to the Academy. It cannot function without a soul, however, and so I have prepared an artificial soul- one based off of your personality and abilities- to 'wear' your body. Observe." With that, the deity placed his palm to the forehead of Naruto's physical body and a white light flared, making Naruto avert his eyes. When he turned back, his body was standing up, a cheeky grin on its face.

"Uzumaki Naruto, reporting for duty!"

Naruto gaped like a fish. "What…how…why…"

Shinigami resisted the urge to slap his forehead. "This artificial soul will take your body to the Academy, learning anything about Konoha shinobi that it can. It will, of course, act exactly like you, so that your teachers and classmates do not become suspicious. Every night when you re-enter your body, it will assimilate your physical and mental memories- as will you of its. In short, you will both function as an advanced Shadow Clone for one other, though you will be able to fully use your body when you graduate."

The god's grin was nearly feral and Naruto shuddered. "Now…we begin training!"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

AN: And…CUT!

K, so not much to say besides "Vote on Naruto's teammates!"

Also: YES, there will be some Bleach influences, but not too many! (Think of the last thing in this chapter as an actually competent modsoul).

R&R!

-SoS, out!