The Legends of the Fox

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Never will, don't want to. But it's fun to dabble!

Chapter Three: Fall of the Red Moon Part One

"Uzumaki Naruto."

The sound was low and cold. Not a whisper, but just as quiet all the same.

The aforementioned teen was lying in a crumpled heap on the floor of the tiny room. He barely moved, his chest rising laboriously.

"Uzumaki Naruto. You are gravely injured."

Naruto's eyes opened slightly, and his lips curled in a weak smile. "I.." he coughed "I know.."

"Do not move."

What could almost have been a laugh came from Naruto's throat. "Is that… an order… Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara of the Sand sat in another corner of the cell, watching his blonde companion closely. His face was expressionless.

For a time there was silence. Naruto was the first to speak, though still slowly and painfully. "Gaara… have to… tell you something…"

"Save your strength, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Ha…ha… call me Naruto… Akatsuki…"

"The people who captured me. And you? I do not know their goal."

"Me… either… But they need… us. I'm… like you."

Gaara's eyes flicked to the door and back to Naruto's prone form. "People like us… Naruto…?"

Naruto tried to smile. "Demons. You… Shukaku. Me… Kyuubi..."

"I see." The red haired Kazekage didn't seem to be affected by this news at all. He had thought something like that might be the case, based on what Naruto had told him when they had first met, and on how strong the blonde teen was. But all the same, it was shocking to hear it out in the open.

Gaara had never entertained the possibility that there might be someone else out there cursed in the same way as him. Still, no emotion showed on his face. It never did.

Inside, though, he was crying. Tears of joy or empathy, he couldn't say.

"Come… closer… Gaara."

The Kazekage edged towards Naruto carefully, making sure to still keep facing the door. He raised a hand out in front of him and paused for a moment before placing it on Naruto's shoulder. Just the tiny contact was enough for Gaara to feel bones that had been shattered inside the skin.

"Akatsuki… morons… They don't understand… strength… powers…"

"Do not speak, Naruto. You must save your strength."

Naruto coughed, and turned his head to face Gaara as much as he could. "Gaara… how did they… capture you?"

"I was caught off guard. I was forced to use all my strength to protect the people of my village. That is my duty as Kazekage of the Sand."

"Ex… exactly. Glad… you understand. But…"

"Don't speak. Your body must heal before we can escape."

Again Naruto laughed, even though the sound was twisted horribly and the effort cost him. "No… no escape."

"Do not speak like that. Together we will escape our captors and return to our homes."

"No… Akatsuki morons… They think we're… weak. Take away… sand… and think you're weak. Break… my bones and think I'm… helpless…"

"Which is why we shall escape their clutches."

Naruto tried to grin. "Gaara… how do you think… they caught me..?"

"You will fight to protect those precious to you. I assume you fell much like I did – protecting the village you love."

"Ha… ha… Close but no… kunai."

Naruto lifted his arm, broken and mashed though it was, and touched his limp hand to Gaara. And he held his blue eyes open and clear, staring back at Gaara's eyes.

"I… let them… capture me…"

Naruto closed his eyes, the pain so great he let out a tear. And he opened them again.

This time they were red. Naruto's blue orbs had changed. The pupils had elongated, becoming animal-like, and the colour was as different as could possibly be. The eyes of the Kyuubi.

Gaara jerked his hand up. For a second he felt something strange, and so he started. It was almost as if the bones were knitting themselves back together under his touch.

Naruto spoke again, this time without any pain or effort in his voice. "I told you, Akatsuki are morons. They didn't even know what the powers of the Kyuubi were. I've healed from worse wounds than this. Wouldn't have taken this long, but I had to do it slowly so no one could sense it. Poked a needle hole into the seal and bled out a tiny amount of power, then flowed it around my body before activating it."

"I see." Gaara said, smiling on the inside but static on the out. He was glad that his friend, for that was what he considered Naruto, was okay. He wasn't sure exactly what Naruto was talking about, but then he was sure that Naruto wouldn't understand some of the ways in which he used his demon's power.

"Now listen Gaara. There's just one thing I want you to remember."

Gaara looked unblinkingly at his friend. "Yes?"

"We're not their prisoners. They're the ones trapped with us."

Naruto grinned, and for once even Gaara smiled a little.

Far from there, another meeting was taking place, and more plans were being made.

They appeared to rest, all of them, within a large room. No one talked, and half of them looked asleep. The other half were reading, or sharpening kunai, or any number of meaningless activities. One in particular sat cross-legged, her eyes closed and murmuring something under her breath. Her name was Yamanaka Ino, and she was the reason they were so quiet.

Ino had her eyes closed because she was concentrating. And she was murmuring because it was part of the jutsu she was performing.

The Yamanaka family specialised in jutsus that affected the mind. The first one Ino had learned had given her the ability to enter the minds of others and possess their bodies. The second jutsu had let her cloud the minds of her foes and control their actions. This jutsu was not the third she'd learned, or even the fourth or fifth. It was something of her own design.

Ino weaved her own mind in and out of the minds of her friends, linking them all together. And together they came. Inside their collective minds, they sat all around a large table. It was round and gold, and each of their seats was marked with their clan symbol and their own personal sigil.

Ino had to stay quiet through this. After all, it was a very tiring process. But the others were free to talk. Completely free, because there was no possible way anyone could spy on them.

Sakura started. "As you know, Naruto has been kidnapped. But you don't all now the whole story behind this. I've only just found out, and I didn't think it was fair not to let you know.

"This is Naruto's story to tell, but he can't do it right now and you need to know. He may never forgive me for telling you, but if it helps save his life then I don't care."

There was a murmur around the table. Neji and Shikamaru were silent. Shikamaru had his head in his hands, and Neji was glaring. Not at anyone there, but the mind-room was distinctly lacking in Akatsuki members for him to glare at, so the Hyuuga was left to glare blindly into space.

Hinata looked scared. She didn't know what Sakura was going to tell them, but she knew that she loved Naruto and wished he were safe. And that she'd do whatever she could to save him, whatever the secret was.

"Okay. There's no easy way to say this. Naruto has been captured by an organisation called Akatsuki. You might remember that they attacked the village right after the Third's funeral." There were some nods from this.

"What you might not know is that they were after Naruto then too. Naruto has… something inside him that they want."

Hinata interrupted, her stutter returning for the first time in years. "W-w-what did they want with N-naruto-kun?"

"He…" Sakura's voice trailed off. This wasn't easy for her. She was having trouble coming to terms with the news herself as well. "He…" tears came to her eyes.

"Naruto has the Kyuubi sealed inside him." A languid voice filled the air. Shikamaru had not even looked up.

Kiba laughed. "Oh come on! We all know the Fourth killed the Kyuubi sixteen years ago! Not funny guys."

"Of course it isn't funny you idiot!" Sakura yelled, tears on her face. "Shut up you moron, I shouldn't have invited you here!"

"Sakura," Neji said softly. "Please calm yourself." To the others he spoke. "It is the truth. I was told as much when I became Jounin. Kiba, on what day was the Kyuubi defeated?"

Kiba looked up from glaring at Sakura to answer. "Easy, October 10th, same day as the festival. It'll be the seventeenth anniversary of its death this year."

"And Hinata-sama," Neji continued. "On what day was Naruto born?"

Hinata was hugging her head to herself, hiding her tears, but she answered. "Naruto will be seventeen… On the 10th of October."

Shikamaru was the one to continue this time, his voice raw. "The Fourth sealed the Kyuubi inside of a newborn baby boy. That boy grew up hated by everyone. That's why our parents always told us to stay away from Naruto, because he was that boy."

"But Naruto-kun is not hated by everyone!" The Leaf's Proud Azure Beast spoke up for the first time, pumping his hand into the air. "We are all his friends! And he needs our help!"

Lee jumped to his feet. "I will go and save our beloved friend. It is my Ninja Way! Who will come with me?!"

Hinata stood up, letting everyone see her tearstained face. They also saw the look of ultimate determination on her face. "I promise to save Naruto-kun. And it is my Ninja Way not to go back on my words."

Neji stood as well, though he said nothing. Inside he was remembering the words that Naruto told him after the fox boy had won their battle. There was no such thing as fate. Naruto could still be saved.

Kiba stood, saying there was no way he'd let that idiot die on him, glancing at Hinata as he did.

Shino was just as quiet as Neji. He didn't know Naruto well, but he would still fight to the death for him.

Chouji spoke about Naruto's love of ramen, and how he could never let a fellow gourmand down.

Ino stood silently, still maintaining the jutsu.

Tenten mentioned that she'd never spoken with Naruto, but she recognized his strength.

Kankurou and Temari stood up together, exchanging a glance. "Our brother has been captured as well," Temari explained. "He's the Kazekage because of two reasons. One, he has a demon inside him as well. And two, Naruto showed him the importance of love. We might be coming to save Gaara, but we'll never forget what Naruto has done for our family and our village."

Sakura smiled at her friends as she rose. "Tsunade-shishou would never forgive me if I didn't bring the idiot back in one piece. Besides, what would the Leaf do without its next Hokage?"

As one, they all turned to face the only one still sitting. Shikamaru sighed. "Oh of course I'm coming. But do I have to stand up?"

Temari smiled fiercely at the lazy ninja, and he shot to his feet. "Alright, alright! Now, sit down again," he slumped back into his chair. "We need to plan this out, if we want to actually rescue Naruto."

Again everyone looked at Shikamaru. And again he sighed. "Okay, okay, I get it. Alright, this is what we'll do…"

At that exact moment, far away and deep below the earth, in the holding cell of the Akatsuki, the fully healed Naruto grinned at Gaara. "Alright, here's what we'll do…"

Author's Note: Well, I said it would be back at the time of the Akatsuki, and it was. But then I also said it would be action and it wasn't - I guess the action part of the Fall of the Red Moon will have to wait. The next chapter will not be part two of this, but don't worry it'll come soon.

A SasuSaku chapter was requested, and a SasuSaku chapter shall be written. But I don't promise a happy ending, or even what you might expect. Mwahaha.

Once again, thank you for all the reviews and kind words. I guess I've jinxed it now and all I'll get from now on is flames, but I hope that's not true. So review review review. And remember, request something or someone you want to see and I'll try and work it in.

PS: Review. Wow, what a one-track mind I have. Oh, but it's so gratifying is all.

Later.