Author's Note from Panda: Sorry we haven't updated this story in a while. You all know how it goes on this site. Life, love, and other stories get in the way and publishing for this story falls to the wayside in favor of another. So I hope you enjoy it when Naruto and Sakura's journey to save Hyrule begins in ernest with the first dungeon. Deku Dungeon.
Morning did not come pleasantly for the Leaf ninjas forced to camp out in the Lost Woods. Shiekan had insisted on two ninjas being awake at all times for the night watch. The fire was to be kept burning brightly no matter what and the threat of being attacked by monsters was more real than ever.
Above all of this, Kakashi had practically forgotten his position as Jounin Platoon leader. He would spend the entire night sending out more and more Shadow Clones to try and find his pupils. None discovered so much as a footprint. It was like the two had vanished.
Come daybreak the mood was somber as the children ate their meager breakfast of dry crackers with beef jerky.
They had to move out soon, yet Kakashi was still preoccupied with finding his students. Shiekan sighed as he stood up to go talk to the Jounin. They would have to make a decision soon.
"Kakashi?" Shiekan asked. "We have to move out soon."
"You can take them. I'm staying." Kakashi stated firmly.
"No you're not. You have a mission to fulfil and three teams of Genin to lead. They need you more than your two pupils do."
"Then I'm transferring my command to Shikamaru. I'm not leaving my pupils here to die."
"Kakashi, I forbid it!" Shiekan ordered as he stood right in front of the Leaf Jounin.
"You'll never find them out in the forest. Your Shadow Clones have been searching all night for them and haven't found hide nor hair." Shiekan argued.
"What would you have me do?! Leave them behind?!" Kakashi shouted.
"I'd have you trust them. They're skilled ninjas. We all know it. Let them find their own way out of the forest. They'll meet us back at Hyrule castle and we won't have to risk losing our Jounin leader."
"Well you're going to have to. I've made up my mind."
Shiekan sighed. There was just no use arguing with the man. He could see it in his eyes. Yet even as experienced and revered as the Copy Cat Ninja was, it seems he was still green in some areas and would have to learn them on this mission.
"If that is your decision. Then I'll have to take charge of the young'uns."
"Actually, I want to put Shikamaru in charge of the other Genin."
"You know what I meant. These children need a more experienced leader. Not a newly promoted Chunin."
"He's the smartest of our group and, like his father, is an expert tactician."
"That does not mean he is qualified to lead such a large team on such a high ranking mission." Shiekan stated.
"Hey! Shikamaru is a great leader!" Kiba protested.
All around him, he saw the same determined looks that Kiba had. Then he turned to look at Shikamaru. His posture, his face, his eyes, they all showed the look of a natural born leader. The same look he had seen on his grandfather before...
"Alright...I yield command to you. Because...you remind me of my grandfather." Shiekan sighed.
"What does that mean?" Shikamaru asked.
"My grandfather was a great leader, as the Shinkage of the Village Hidden in the Shadow." Shiekan said, making Kakashi's eyes go wide.
"Very well. Troublesome as it is. I'll do it." Shikamaru stated.
"Hidden Shadow Village?" Ino asked.
"A story for another time. Right now we need to get out of this forest as soon as possible." Shiekan stated.
"Alright. Make sure everything is packed and let's move." Shikamaru ordered.
"Wait!" Hinata spoke up, gaining everyone's attention. "Kakashi sensei, I wish to go with you." She declared.
"No, Hinata. I need you to stay with the group. I could never forgive myself if you got lost too." Kakashi stated firmly.
"You need me. Out in the woods, only my Byakugan can find a landmark twice." She argued.
Kakashi sighed. He did have the Sharingan, but it had its limits. "Very well...but stick close to me."
"I don't suppose I can talk you out of this foolishness either?" Shiekan asked the Hyuga mistress.
"Yes Lady Hinata. Please reconsider." Neji begged firmly.
"No. I'm doing this." Hinata said firmly.
"Hinata...this isn't going to win you Naruto's heart." Ino said bluntly.
Hinata just narrowed her eyes at the Yamanaka heiress.
"I'm going." Hinata said finally as she packed up the last of her things and stood next to Kakashi.
"Very well. I'll expect you both to return to Hyrule castle in a week. After that we will assume that you're both dead." Shiekan stated. "I hope to see you and your two pupils before then, old friend."
"You as well. We shall return as soon as we find them." Kakashi declared.
Shiekan and Shikamaru nodded.
"Platoon, move out!" Shikamaru ordered. The 9 remaining ninjas, led by Shiekan, began hiking towards the Hyrule Plains. Leaving Kakashi and Hinata alone with the camp fire.
"Guess it's our turn. Did you happen to see where they went after the battle or during?" Kakashi asked.
"I didn't. I was too preoccupied watching my own battle against those skeletons." Hinata said sadly.
Kakashi sighed. "Then we'll have to try some other methods." He said as he took out a kunai and sliced his thumb.
"What are...wait, summoning? Why didn't you think of that when we lost them?" Hinata exclaimed.
"I have my reasons." Kakashi stated. 'I can't believe I forgot about it until now.' He thought.
Kakashi slammed his palms to the ground and summoned Pukkan, his ninja pug.
"Hey Kakashi. What's up?" Pukkan greeted.
"Gotta track down my missing pupils in a forest known for people getting lost at the drop of a hat." Kakashi informed.
"Alright." Pakkun sniffed the air and smelled something rather familiar. "Wait a minute...where are we?"
"The Lost Woods." Kakashi stated.
"The Lost Woods?! What in blazes are we doing out here?"
"We were taking a shortcut to get to Hyrule castle. But never mind that now. We need to find Naruto and Sakura as fast as possible. Can you pick up their scent?"
"I can try...how long have they been lost?"
"Thirteen hours."
"That might be a problem. Knowing these woods, their scent would have dissipated after 8."
That's when the tiny dog noticed the Hyuga girl standing next to Kakashi.
"Who's she?"
"That's Hinata Hyuuga." Kakashi informed.
"She has the Byakugan?" Pakkun asked.
"Obviously." Kakashi stated.
"That'll help. Stick close to me. Hopefully we can pick up something." Pakkun stated.
With that, the trio dashed into the woods in search of the Tenchi duo.
Meanwhile, said ninjas were sleeping peacefully inside their tree hut in the Kokiri village. Sakura was sleeping on her side with Naruto wrapped up behind her.
They were suddenly rudely awakened when Saria rushed in and stumbled on a rug.
"Guys! Wake up!" She said in a panic.
"SKT! What!? What!?" Naruto snored as he shot up.
"The Deku Tree! It's full of monsters! Please help!" Saria begged.
"Woah, what?! Monsters? Slow down." Sakura said as she too began to wake up.
"The husk of the Deku Tree has become a holy place for us since he died. But when a couple of my friends went there to pray for Links safe returned, they were attacked by monsters living inside it!"
"Monsters? Are they alright?" Sakura asked as Naruto instinctively put on all his gear.
"They're okay, but scared."
"That's a relief. But why do you want us to go in? Don't you have warriors of your own?" Sakura asked.
"No, we don't! Link was the only one to be considered a warrior..."
"Well don't worry. Me and Sakura-chan will take care of these monsters no problem. Believe it." Naruto declared, earning a groan from Sakura.
"Really..." Sakura sighed.
"Please help...we'll reward you however we can..." Saria begged.
"No need. You guys took us in. Consider this a freebie." Naruto said as he zipped up his Chunin vest.
"Hold on, exactly what kind of monsters are we talking about here?" Sakura asked.
"I don't know...I can't get much out of them, but we have a pair of fairies to aid you if you need them."
"Fairies?" Naruto wondered if he had heard that right.
"Yes, fairies. I have one. Every Kokiri has a fairy." To assert her point, Saria's fairy popped out as a small ball of glowing light with wings.
"Woah!" Naruto exclaimed the fairy danced around his waist and back towards Saria. Sakura meanwhile made a huge gasp. "FAIRIES!?" She squealed in delight with her eyes sparkling.
"You act as if you never seen a fairy before." The little ball of light giggled.
"No, we don't have any fairies where we come from. Although we do have fairy movies, which Sakura-chan is a fan of." Naruto explained.
"Oh my God. I can't believe that they're real! I want one of my own..." Sakura said as she tried to touch Saria's fairy.
"Hands to yourself if you please." The fairy requested.
"The two fairies we have just flew in a few days ago. Tatl and Tael. They will help you to identify the monsters and their weaknesses." Saria informed, bring the two back to the whole reason why she was here.
Two winged balls of light flew into the tree hut. One a dark purple like the setting sun and the other bright yellow like the rising sun.
"Oh my god!" Sakura squealed.
The yellow fairy circled around Sakura and landed on her arm as gently as a butterfly.
"Hi, I'm Tatl." The yellow fairy spoke.
"Hello, I'm Sakura." The medic in training replied giddily.
The purple fairy landed on Naruto's shoulder and burped. "What's up? The names Tael." The obviously male sounding fairy greeted.
"Tael, that's gross!" Tatl complained.
"I thought it was funny." Naruto chuckled.
"I like this kid already." Tael smirked.
"Boys..." Sakura and Tatl groaned.
"Please tell me you don't know him." Tatl said.
"I do. We grew up together and we're dating." Sakura informed.
"Dating?! Ick!" Tatl exclaimed.
"Yeah seriously. Why'd you want to date an annoying girl?" Tael demanded.
"Hey, she's not annoying. She's awesome!" Naruto defended.
"She's a girl ain't she? Ain't nothing but trouble. The lot of them." Tael declared.
"Better watch what you say around her. She'll smear you across the wall like a fly." Naruto whispered.
"You wanna repeat that..." Sakura growled, a vein popping out of her forehead.
Tael gulped. "N-no..." Tael hid behind Naruto's shoulder and whispered in his ear. "What'd I tell you?"
"Stay on her good side and you won't have anything to worry about. Piss her off and you'll know it." Naruto whispered back.
"Phsst, whatever." Tael said as flew back around to Naruto's other shoulder. "So I didn't get your name. You do gotta name, don't-cha?"
"Naruto."
"Naruto, eh? That's a strange name, but who am I to judge?"
"We're from Fire Country." Naruto informed, shocking the two fairies.
"ACK! That's over a thousand miles away!" Tatl exclaimed.
"What in the world are you doing here of all places?!" Tael asked in shock.
"Tatl! Tael! They have the Triforce markings on their hands!" Saria's fairy exclaimed, making the two look down at their right hands. They both gasped before looking at one another and sending the other a knowing nod.
"Please...time is of the essence! If those monsters are not cleared out, the whole village will be overrun." Saria pleaded.
"We can explain everything later. Come on, we've got a village to save!" Naruto declared.
Naruto and Sakura quickly dashed out of the door, the fairies following behind before catching up to lead them to the Deku tree.
"This way!" Tatl ordered.
They ran through the village, on top of the water and through a narrow passageway that led to a large clearing with an enormous dead tree.
Naruto whistled. "Wow...that's a big tree."
"Hey! Newcomers!" An annoying voice yelled from the base of the tree.
"Oh goodie...its Mido..." Sakura muttered before they ran down the hill to meet Mido at the base of the tree.
"What the...how are you going to help us if you don't have a sword and shield?!" Mido questioned.
"Don't need any. We've got our ninja tools, our ninja skills, and our armor." Naruto replied.
"I didn't let Link through because he didn't have them. What makes you think your skills are good enough to go in there?"
"Are you gonna go in yourself?" Naruto asked.
"I don't have my gear on me. Besides, it's not my job."
"So why do you care if we go in?"
"Because if you two die in there, who's gonna get rid of the monsters?"
"Nobody apparently, because I don't see any other volunteers lining up!" Naruto exclaimed, his arms outstretched to behold the empty field they all stood in.
"Alright, look." Sakura started before pulling out some of her weapons. "These are more than enough to deal with your monster problem."
Mido saw Kunai, shuriken and senbon needles in Sakura's arsenal. He assumed Naruto had the same and relented. "Fine. Just go."
Mido stood aside to let them pass through and the two Shinobi entered the massive hollow tree. Almost right off the bat, they were met with a myriad of monsters that were on the ground floor.
"Oh boy...This is gonna suck..." Naruto groaned.
"Oh what are you doing, complaining? You love a good fight." Sakura lectured.
"Well I woke up early and I'm hungry so I'm grumpy. So there." Naruto countered.
"And I'm not? My ribs still hurt." Sakura shot back.
"Fine. I'll just finish it off quickly." Naruto said as he crossed his fingers.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He shouted.
In an instant, 100 clones popped into existence and the monsters rushed. Skulltulla's, Deku Scrubs, Tektites, Floormasters and Lizafols charged at them like a stampede.
"Alright men!" Naruto shouted a rallying cry as he drew his kunai. "ATTACK!"
The clones all drew their own kunai and let loose a thundering war cry before charging at the monster horde.
"LET'S DO THIS!" Tael shouted as he flew side by side with Naruto. Getting ready to flutter around the monsters to death.
'Like hell I'm being left behind.' Sakura said with determination as she joined in on the fray as the clones and monsters collided.
She stabbed one lizard monster in the eye and punted a Deku Scrub into the head of another Lizafols. Naruto meanwhile was making use of his many allies to block, dodge, and party every attack sent at him while he found openings to finish off his opponents.
Together they worked like a perfect team of death, sweeping through the enemy lines and destroying them with impunity.
One by one the monsters fell to them and before either of them knew it, they had defeated the last monster in the chamber. The two shinobi were left standing in a room piled with monster corpses.
"Well that was easy." Naruto said as he rested his head against his hands.
"We're not done yet." Tael stated.
"Huh, how do you know?" Naruto asked.
"Obviously, if the monsters came from the hole, there is more. So we need to go down there and finish them off." Tatl clarified.
"Huh, makes sense. So we just jump down there, pop him in the chops, then see what qualifies as breakfast over in Kokiri." Naruto said.
"It's more detailed than that, but once we get down there, we can guide you." Tatl said.
"Sounds good. Lead the way." Sakura said.
"Just jump down, but it's a long drop." Tael said before flying down.
"We could always climb down." Sakura suggested.
"Nothing to climb onto! Just jump down!" Tael said from below.
"She means the ninja way of climbing." Naruto clarified as he walked right off the edge of the cliff, but instead of falling 100 feet into the water below, his feet stuck to the sides of the cliff like suction cups.
"What are you guys?!" Tael exclaimed.
"They're ninja's obviously!" Tatl called.
"Well the only Ninja's I know of are the remnants of the Hidden Shadow Village so bite me!"
"No thanks! I'm on a low stupid diet!"
"HEY! YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"
"Yell a little louder! I don't think the monsters heard you on the other side of the world!"
"This is gonna be our whole day, isn't it?" Sakura whispered to Naruto.
"You guys coming or what?!" Tael called.
"Yeah we're coming." Naruto answered back.
The two descended to the bottom of the hole where there was a pool of water at the bottom.
"Aw...I was hoping you'd make a splashy entrance..." Tael pouted.
"Really..." Tatl deadpanned.
"Not today, buddy." Naruto said as he stepped atop the pool of water as easily as he would on a bank of snow.
"Well, damn...okay, so that platform across from us is shear we need to be. In order to do that, we have to go through the rooms to our right-"
"Left, idiot. We have to go through the room to our left that will...wait a minute. What am I saying? You two can just climb up there." Tatl deduced.
"Why don't we just try both? I'm sure listening to you two argue will never get old." Naruto said sarcastically.
"Oh like you two don't do that..." Tatl stated.
"We don't...wait, do we?" Naruto asked.
"Not as often as we used to. We had our fights, sure. But usually because Naruto here did something stupid." Sakura said as she went into the room on the left.
"You know that's the long way around, right?" Tatl reminded.
"Well in case there are more monsters hidden in the other rooms." Sakura reasoned.
"Fair enough." Tatl relented before joining up with Sakura. "You guys coming or what?"
"Yeah, and what was that about me always starting our arguments? They were because you just had to be so uptight about stuff." Naruto countered as he followed behind Sakura.
"Oh don't you turn this around on me. 90% of the time it's always been you doing something stupid. Like the time you thought mom's lipstick was candy." Sakura shot back.
"And you just wouldn't stop teasing me about it! Told everyone in school about it." He defended.
"You deserved it." Sakura retorted.
"I was 6."
"Yea, now whose arguing." Tael scoffed.
"Shut up!" They both shouted.
"Okay, geez." Tael said as he rested back on Naruto's shoulder. The two ninjas stopped when they entered the center of the room.
"Grr, got me in a bad mood. So what do we do now?" Naruto said.
"You see those torches in the center of the room? They act as a switch to raise the bars on the door. Find a way to light them." Tatl instructed.
"Where is that Teme when you need him?" Naruto grumbled as he took a torch.
"Who?" Tael asked.
"Our bastard teammate." Sakura explained. "He knew the fireball jutsu."
"Ah..."
"So...do you have anything to light the torches?" Tatl asked.
"We've got flint and steel." Sakura said.
"That works." Tatl relented before she spotted some large nuts on the floor. "Sakura. Collect those nuts. Those will be useful in the future."
"Huh, how will they be useful?" She asked as Naruto got to work on lighting the torches.
"They act like a flash grenade. They will blind your enemies, temporarily stunning them."
"No way." Sakura said as she took one and threw it at the wall. It exploded into a flash of light, just as Tatl said.
"See? They are Deku Nuts. These are plentiful all over Hyrule."
"Eh, I'd rather just use bombs." Tael said. "Better to blow up your enemies rather than daze them for a bit."
"Sounds reasonable to me." Naruto said.
"They would have to go to death mountain to get those, Tael."
"I know that. It's the only place they can get a bomb bag." Tael replied.
"Death mountain? What's that?" Naruto asked, intrigued.
"An active volcano inhabited by the Gorons." Tael said.
"Who are the Gorons?" Sakura asked.
"A proud race of people who typically dwell in the mountains. Also called, Rock Folk. Mainly because their diet consists of rocks." Tatl stated.
"They eat rocks? You can do that?" Naruto asked in awe.
"They can, but humans can't. They are actually living rocks of sorts."
"Oh right." Naruto said sheepishly.
"Then there are the Zora." Tael said.
"The who?" Sakura asked.
"Zora. Water folk. Basically, fish people." Tatl clarified.
"Like mermaids?" Naruto asked, getting excited.
"Sorta...but not really. Think of them as human fish, but without the tail." Tael informed.
"Actually the tail comes out the back of their heads." Tatl corrected.
"Ah, right."
"Interesting. We outta go see them." Naruto said as he sent just the right number of sparks to lit the torch and have it burst into flames. "Got it!" The torch burst into flames and filled the room with a warm light. He then started lighting the other torches by passing the flame from one torch to another.
"Maybe much later. We have to get to Hyrule castle, remember?" Sakura reminded him.
"Right, right." Naruto replied as he lit the final torch and the bars to the door rose up, allowing them to continue. But at that moment, 3 bipedal insects dropped from the ceiling and attacked.
"Are those spiders?!" Sakura exclaimed fearfully.
"Ghoma larva. Their eye is their weak point when it turns red." Tatl informed.
"Right." Naruto said as both he and Sakura dodged their pincers.
They both rolled underneath the legs of the spider monsters and leapt up with kunais drawn. They stabbed them both straight in the eyes and watched as the monsters exploded into nothing.
"Great work!" Tatl praised.
"They ain't done yet." Tael said as the two shinobi made a U turn towards the third and final Ghoma larva. Sakura dashed ahead with Naruto slowed down to make a Shadow Clone. Sakura got the monster's attention and dodged out of the way of its pincers, leaving its eye open to Naruto's newly made-
"Rasengan!" He shouted as he plunged the spiral chakra sphere into its eye, destroying the monster.
"Woah...cool!" Tael exclaimed in awe.
"Amazing!" Tatl praised.
"I gotta learn how to do that..." Sakura said in awe. She had seen it a few times before, but it never ceases to amaze her.
"Alright, what's next?" Naruto asked as he flicked the monster juices off his hand.
"We move onto the next room." Tael stated.
"What's in there?" Naruto asked.
"Have no idea. We'll just have to find out." Tatl stated
"Well okay then." Naruto said as he led the way to the next room.
The door raised up and they passed through the doorway, only to slam shut behind them with bars.
"A trap door? Clique." Sakura stated.
That's then a Deku Scrub popped out of the ground and shot nuts at them, one beaning Naruto in the head.
"Ack! Right in the f- ing nose!" He hissed.
"Bounce its nuts back at it to get it to talk." Tael informed.
"It's what?!" Naruto asked before being beaned again in the eye.
"Those nuts you idiot..." Sakura deadpanned.
"You do it, I'll just punt that stupid thing into- AAAH, MY OTHER EYE!" He cried out.
Sakura sighed. "Dodge you idiot..." She deadpanned before one came at her, she caught it and threw it right back at the Scrub, causing it to squeak in pain and jump out of its hole.
"Owowow! Alright, you win!" The Scrub screamed.
"There, see, not too hard now is it?" Sakura lectured as Naruto nursed his face.
"I'll tell you how to get past my brothers ahead if you let me go." The Scrub said nervously.
"Darn right you will. Let's hear it." Sakura demanded.
"You'll never be able to get past them to get to Queen Ghoma without defeating them in the following order; 2,3,1."
"2, 3, 1...? What are they, numbered?" Naruto asked with a swollen nose.
"You'll see when you come to them!" The Deku said quickly before disappearing into the ground.
"Well that was helpful. I think." Sakura said.
"It's a code. If the numbers are 2, 3 and 1, there must be 3 of them. That means we have to hit them in that order to get through to Ghoma." Tatl deduced.
"Sounds simple enough." Sakura stated.
"It's a code. If the numbers are 2, 3 and 1, there must be 3 of them. That means we have to hit them in that order to get through to Ghoma." Tatl deduced.
"Sounds simple enough." Sakura stated.
"We're almost there so let's go." Tael urged.
They made their way to the next room, where there were plant like monsters that resembled Venus fly traps, there jaws snapping and dripping with venom.
"Deku Baba's. Easy to kill. Aim for the stem." Tatl informed.
"Sure, why does a plant have teeth?" Sakura asked as she readied her kunai.
"They're carnivorous. In this case, man eaters."
"Yes, but why does a plant have actual bones for teeth!" Sakura exclaimed as the babas snapped at her.
"Beats me." Tatl shrugged.
"Whatever." Naruto said before he charged right in. The plants bit at him, but he rolled under their jaws and sliced through its stem.
"Naruto, watch out!" Sakura shouted as another baba bit at Naruto, managing to sink its teeth into his shoulder. Naruto grit his teeth, but kept his grip on his kunai enough to slice his attacker's stem as well.
"That hurt..." Naruto grunted. He pried the plant's jaws off his shoulder. "Shoulder guard on one side. What was I thinking?" He muttered to himself.
"You weren't as usual." Sakura sighed before checking out his injury.
"Give it to me straight, doctor. Will I ever play the saxophone again?" Naruto asked dramatically.
"You could never play it before, so I don't know what you are worried about." Sakura said dryly as she tore open his shirt to get a better look at his bite marks. His skin was punctured and bleeding, but not gushing. Like a large dog bite.
"Doesn't look too bad, honestly." Sakura said before she got working on healing him. She concentrated her chakra into a glowing green sphere and pressed it against Naruto's wound. He instantly felt a soothing relief wash over him from his wound. The relief came in waves, but quickly subsided when Sakura finished her work.
"Done. That fox did most of the work, but it shouldn't leave a mark now." Sakura reported.
"Fox? What fox?" Tael asked.
"She means the Nine Tails." Tatl stated
"Ooooh. That fox." Tael said.
"Wait...how did-"
"How did I know? Simple. I could sense it the moment we met you two." Tatl said simply.
"But how could you tell it was the Kyuubi?" Naruto asked.
"200 years ago, there was a fierce lava dragon by the name of Volvagia. She terrorized the land of Hyrule for some time. One day, the Nine Tails as you call him, challenged Volvagia and won, destroying the Dragon in the process. The Kyuubi, or Kurama as he's known to Hyrule, is actually considered a savior among some of the people of Hyrule." Tatl explained. "I was there when the battle took place, so his energy is familiar to me."
'Oh yea...I forgot about that...'
'You fought a dragon?' Naruto exclaimed.
'Volvagia was a pushover. All talk and no walk. Your 3rd Hokage could have taken her easily.'
'Well the Old Man was no slouch either. He took on that snake Orochimaru in his old age, didn't he?'
'I just said he could take her...' Kyuubi deadpanned.
'But you said...never mind. Why did you fight her anyway?'
'I was passing through the countryside, taking a nap in the fields, and Volvagia was making a ruckus. I thought I'd tell her to shut up. Ended up killing her. Next thing I knew, a bunch of townsfolk came out of their homes to offer me tribute and tried to wrap me in some giant green sheet.' The Kyuubi explained.
'So wait...is Kurama your real name?' Naruto asked.
'Is it so damn surprising that I have a real name instead of THE Kyuubi?'
'Well...I thought that was your name.'
'I go by many names, but yes...Kurama is the name I was given when I was brought into this world.' Kurama groaned. 'Bah, why am I talking to you so often anyway? Pissin' me off, you stupid brat.' He said as he tried to lay his head down to go back to bed.
'I was gonna ask you that same question. Do you miss being in Hyrule or something?'
Kurama sighed. 'Before you ninja came along and started using us as weapons, we roamed about the world in peace and Hyrule was actually the place I could actually call home...so...yeah, I guess I do miss it. There, now can I sleep?'
'Yeah sure...' Naruto said, not sure what to do with this information.
"Yo Naruto." Sakura said as she snapped her fingers in front of his face to try to get his attention.
"I'm good...was just learning some new things about the Ky...uh, Kurama." Naruto said.
"Kurama? The fox...is that who you were talking to?" Sakura asked worriedly.
"Yea...turns out, he's a lot more mellow being here. Hyrule in general. He thinks of it as his place to call home."
"Well that's...that's...that's unexpected..."
"Honestly...I feel bad for him..." Naruto said sadly.
"Feel bad for him later. We've got three more nut heads to smack around, then one last big baddie to deal with." Tael said. "I can feel it."
"Yea, we've stalled long enough." Tatl agreed.
"Right, so where do we go next?" Naruto asked.
"Through that hole." Tatl said, pointing out a small hole in the wall just barely big enough for them to crawl through.
"Huh, ladies first." Naruto offered.
"Youngest first." Sakura replied.
"Highest ranking ninja last."
"You know...ugh...fine..." Sakura grumbled before getting on her hands and knees and crawling through.
'Hehehe...' Naruto smirked as he followed Sakura close behind.
"I swear, of you do anything back there, I will kick you." Sakura warned.
"What me? I would never." Naruto defended innocently.
"Yea right..."
The two of them crawled their way to the other side, where a fall into the pool below awaited them.
"Dumb blondes first." Sakura said as she tossed Naruto into the drink.
"GAAH! What was that for?!" Naruto shouted.
"For staring at my ass the whole time." Sakura said as she leapt down to the water's surface.
"And I've caught you checking me out as well!" Naruto defended.
"It's different when it's me." Sakura said.
"Well if you can look then so can I. It's only fair."
"It's not fair. You're a boy, so when you look at me, it's with perverted eyes."
"Maybe...but they're only for you and you alone."
"Well that's sweet, but I'm still permitted to look more than you. I'm a lady."
"Now you're starting to sound like Ino." Naruto smirked.
"I learned that from Lady Tsunade, I'll have you know." Sakura said as she walked on top of the water.
"Yea yea..." Naruto grumbled before standing up to face the scrubs.
"None shall pass, so be on your way!" The middle scrub shouted.
"Make us leave." Sakura said firmly as she readied a Kunai.
The middle deku responded by shooting his nut at her, which Sakura knocked back to hit him.
"Ha!" She shouted right before getting beaned in the face by another.
"Haha!" Naruto laughed before he too was struck in the face by the third deku.
"Why you..." Sakura growled as she wiped the blood from her nose. She pulled out a Kunai with an explosive tag and launched it. It stuck in the ground in front of the Scrub before exploding, stunning the plant monster.
"Now you..." She said, focusing on the final scrub.
"WAIT! I'll talk! Don't hurt me!" The Scrub cried out.
"No excuses!" Sakura shouted as she charged at the scrub, only to be held back by Naruto.
"Sakura no! It's not worth it!" He cried as Sakura kicked and screamed. "Let me at em! Let me at em!"
"Please don't hurt me! I'll let to you through and tell you how do to defeat queen Ghoma."
"That sounds great. If you could just tell it to us." Tatl said as she and Tael flew over to the deku scrub.
"Yeah, these two might be at it for a while." Tael agreed as they looked over at the two bickering shinobi.
"It's simple. Stun her when her eye turns red. She will be completely vulnerable to attack then."
"That's it? What's with you monsters and your eyes?" Tael asked.
"Oh hush, it's just with the Ghoma's, remember?" Tatl lectured.
"Oh yea..." Tael said sheepishly.
"Idiot." Tatl rolled her eyes.
"It's simple. Stun her when her eye turns red. She will be completely vulnerable to attack then."
"That's it? What's with you monsters and your eyes?" Tael asked.
"Oh hush, it's just with the Ghoma's, remember?" Tatl lectured.
"Oh yea..." Tael said sheepishly.
"Idiot." Tatl rolled her eyes.
The Scrub vanished and the bars to the door raised up, allowing them to continue through to the Ghoma.
The two heroes looked up from their little skirmish to see that the doors had been opened.
"Oy, lovebirds! The final monster is inside and its weakness in its eyes. Let's hussle!" Tael shouted from the entrance.
"Yea come on! You're supposed to be a new couple but you act like an old married couple! Let's go!" Tatl called out.
"We're not lovebirds!" Naruto and Sakura shouted in sync.
"Oh? So I guess you two are not dating then." Tatl stated, which made the shinobi stop dead in their tracks.
"What? Of course, we are." Sakura replied.
"Could have fooled me, the way you two bicker."
Sakura and Naruto then grasped the reality of what they were doing. A sudden wave of shame hit them and looked down shamefully.
The two of them muttered to themselves, annoyed. They just could never get away from the teasing, couldn't they?
"Come on you two. To destiny." Tael said dryly as he flew over to Naruto's shoulder.
"Destiny? What destiny?" Sakura asked.
"What nothing, I was just making a comment." Tael said as he rested on Naruto's shoulder.
Sakura just shrugged it off for now as they entered into a large, dark room with 4 pillars, but no sign of an enemy.
"It's empty..." Sakura said uneasily.
Suddenly, a door slammed shut behind them, making whatever light was there leave.
Sakura jumped right on Naruto from the sudden sound.
"W-w-what happened..." Sakura sputtered.
"I don't know. Trap maybe?" Naruto said as he went on high alert.
That's when they heard something big crawling around.
"N-Naruto...what is that..." Sakura trembled.
"Sounds like a giant bug." Tael stated, making the pink haired medic in training to go blue in the face. She hated bugs.
She squeezed Naruto's head even harder. She HATED bugs. Ever since she was a little girl. They always creeped her out.
"Oh no no no no no no..." She said.
"Up there!" Tatl called out, making them all look up to see a monstrous bug looking monster the size of a dump truck.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Sakura screamed in Naruto's ear, while holding onto him for dear life.
"GAAAH! My ear!" Naruto exclaimed.
The massive bug dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of them with a ground shaking thud, rearing up on its stinger and roaring.
It was a spider. A massive and horribly disfigured spider with glowing legs and one massive yellow eye with a cross pupil. It seemed to look back and forth between the two ninjas like it had seen its next meal.
"Wait for its eye to turn red. Hit its eye to stun it and then attack." Tatl advised.
"Easier said than done..." Naruto wheezed out as Sakura squeezed his neck in fear. This was the largest bug she had ever come across. Even bigger than the one she saw during the Chunin exams and that one she said was as big as a bus.
"Kill it! Kill it!" Sakura begged.
"I can't...can't...breath..." Naruto wheezed.
Sakura quickly released Naruto's neck and then promptly hide behind him as the giant spider stepped closer.
"Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!" She pleaded.
Ghoma reared up on its stinger again, ready to strike when its eye turned red.
"Now!" Tatl shouted for Naruto to strike.
Naruto slashed at the Ghoma's eye with his kunai. The arachnid gave a satisfying howl of pain but maintained enough of its strength to leap back up to the ceiling.
"Too shallow!" Tael called.
"Grr." Naruto grit his teeth and crossed his fingers, summoning up 3 dozen Shadow Clones to give chase towards the monster.
"Careful! She's going to drop eggs!" Tael shouted out.
"What eggs?!" Naruto shouted as the Ghoma spewed out a dozen eggs at his Shadow Clones. The eggs then burst into mini Ghoma.
"SPIDERS!" Sakura shrieked in terror. One was bad enough, but now they were hatching.
A dozen of Naruto's clones broke off to squash the new spiders. They each stomped or stabbed their prey, save for one that jumped onto a clone's face.
"Ack! Get it off of me!" The clone hollered.
"Sakura! Don't just stand there! Help him!" Tatl barked.
"I... I can't..." Sakura stammered, completely frozen in fear.
"Dammit! Get over it! They're bugs! You'll face far worse than that with future events!" Tael shouted.
"The village is counting on the both of you, Sakura!" Tatl added.
The other clones meanwhile were fighting the mama Ghoma up on the ceiling. Her pincers and legs crushing any Shadow Clone she could reach while the clones couldn't make it towards her weak spot.
Sakura looked up at all the Naruto clone's fighting on her behalf. She remembered all the other times Naruto had stepped in between her and danger without a second thought. All the times he had been brave for her.
"Don't cry, Sakura-chan. Don't give'em the satisfaction. Ya gotta be brave." She remembered.
'Now it's your turn...be brave for him.' Inner said.
"Sakura-chan." Naruto said to get her attention. She looked down at Naruto's back as he stood strong in his Toad stance.
"You can be strong." He said. Even without looking back at her, Sakura knew that Naruto was giving her that smile of his.
Sakura smiled at him. A warm smile that he could feel without looking at her.
"Okay, Naruto-kun." She replied, her determination and her confidence leaking through.
"That'a girl. Now let's take down this bug one and for all. Together." He said as he outstretched his hand, the beginnings of a Rasengan forming. "You know what to do."
"Our combination jutsu..." Sakura gasped in awe.
"Yeah, it'll make mincemeat out of this damn bug. We just need to get in close." Naruto said.
"Right." Sakura said with renewed determination. "Give me a boost up. I'll knock that creep down."
"Sure thing. Say the word." Naruto smirked as Sakura tightened her black gloves.
"Naruto! Maneuver 7!" She shouted as she sprinted towards the Ghoma.
Another clone met her at on the ground with his fingers intertwined and hanging low. Sakura ran straight at him and raised her foot up high to use his hands as a stepping stone. The clone threw her up over his head as she kicked out and was propelled high up at the ceiling towards the Ghoma.
Sakura twisted her body in midair to line up her kick, focusing all her chakra into her leg. She looked over and saw the Ghoma staring back at her, nearly robbing her of all of her confidence with its creepy red eye. Sakura's eyes then glanced over at one of the Naruto clones holding back the Ghoma's pincers for her and her strength was renewed.
"Take this! Medic Kick!" She shouted. Kicking the webbing out of the Ghoma as she sent the monster crashing down to the ground.
"YEA! WAY TO GO!" Naruto cheered.
Sakura smirked even as she felt a shooting pain travel up her leg.
'Damn these glass cannon techniques.' She grimaced.
"DO IT, NARUTO!" She shouted.
"NOT WITHOUT YOU!" Naruto called out.
Almost immediately, she was caught by a clone in midair who carried her to Naruto's side as he formed a Rasengan. Forming several hand signs, Sakura put her left hand under his right and her right hand over the Rasengan. This made the Rasengan turn pink with razor sharp sakura petals swirling around it. They had hoped this would work as this was their first time using it in combat.
"Ready..." Sakura said softly before removing her right hand.
"Thanks Sakura-chan." Naruto said before sprinting towards Ghoma as fast as he could, the pink Rasengan spinning faster and faster. He screamed a war cry as he slammed his palm into the monster's eye.
"CHERRY BLOSSOM BOMB!" Naruto shouted as the attack exploded, shooting thousands of razor sharp Sakura Petals through the monster as it howled in pain.
Its cries were short, as it soon exploded into a million gooey monster pieces, covering our two heroes with monster guts.
"Aw man..." Naruto groaned.
"Ew, ew, ew, ew... BLUECH!" Sakura was so grossed out that she actually threw up from the monster guts all over her.
"Oh my god, that's so gross!" Tatl screamed.
"Eh, quick complaining, it's fine." Tael said.
Almost in an instant, the guts of the monster burned away into nothing but smoke, but didn't help Sakura's weak stomach.
"Oh my god, that was so gross." Sakura said on her hands and knees. She then felt a hand rub her back in slow circles.
"You okay?" Naruto asked.
"No. I just threw up the breakfast I didn't have, my ankle is probably broken, and that was so gross I just want a shower and for you to keep rubbing my back." She whined.
"Can do..." Naruto soothed as he continued to rub her back.
"Ugh, now I'm gonna puke." Tael groaned as he sat down on Naruto's shoulder.
"Not on me please..." Naruto warned.
"Oh he's just being a jerk." Tatl said as she landed on Sakura's shoulder to comfort her.
It was then that some sort of glowing light appeared in the middle of the room with some kind of wisp in the center. Naruto and Sakura both looked up at the glowing apparition in question.
"Brave youths..." The wisp started in a calm and booming tone. "Thou art truly courageous and skilled. Truly, thou can carry on thy mission to save Hyrule..."
"Who said that?" Naruto ask as he readied his kunai for another attack.
"It was that wisp..." Sakura said as she sat up. "Who are you?"
"Worry not young one. I mean thy no harm. I am a messenger from the Gods, the ones who have bestowed upon thee the powers of the sacred triangle; Triforce."
Naruto and Sakura noticed that their two hand seals began to glow brightly through their bandages. They both held them up to get a better look at them.
"Yes. You two are the chosen ones. Thy have been chosen to bring balance to the world and stop the corrupt heart of the Gerudo King himself; Ganondorf, from spreading his evil through the world. Even thy home is not safe from that vile man."
"What do we have to do?" Naruto asked with determination. If there was a way to stop this evil man than they had to take it.
A glowing green light appeared above them that soon transformed into a green stone, encrusted inside a gold spiral in the shape of a leaf. Similar design to the Hidden Leaf symbol.
"Thou must collect the remaining spiritual stones and enter the Temple of Time. There, thou will come across the Blade of Evil's Bane; the Master Sword. With it, thou will be able to banish the man in black into the Sacred Realm, where he will remain for eternity."
"The Blade of Evil's Bane..." Naruto repeated. He liked the sound of that.
"What are these other spiritual stones. How many are there? Where will we find them?" Sakura asked.
"There are two more stones. thou must now travel to Death Mountain. There, thou will find the second stone, the Stone of fire, is kept safe by the Goron people. From there, thou must travel to Zora's Domain, where they hold the Stone of Water. Once thou have acquired all 3 stones, make your way to the Temple and retrieve the Master Sword."
"Death Mountain, Zora Domain, and Temple of Time. Where are we supposed to find these places? We come from a land far away." Sakura said.
"I know where it is you come from, O Ninja of the Hidden Leaf."
"H-how?"
"As I have said, I was sent here by the gods."
"Who are you really?" Naruto asked.
"In life, I was once this tree you now stand in."
"The what?" Naruto asked as he looked around at the walls of the tree trunk.
"No way..." Tael gasped.
"It's the spirit of the Great Deku Tree..." Tatl breathed out as both fairies bowed in respect.
"I'm sorry, but how can a tree talk?" Naruto asked, being his usual brass self.
"I was once the guardian spirit of these woods, given a consciousness by the goddesses. Because of Ganandorf's evil magic, I succumbed to death and this tree is now nothing but a mere shell."
"Oh..." Naruto said sadly.
"Do not despair young hero. Go forth to acquire the stones and the sword, save these lands, and nothing shall be in vain."The Deku spirit commanded, filling both young heroes with hope.
"We will." Naruto said, even while Sakura remained uneasy.
"Then I leave it in your hands." The spirit smiled down upon them before ascending. Leaving the heroes and their fairy companions alone.
"Alright, time to go find those stones!" Naruto declared.
"Wait!" Sakura interrupted.
"Wait? Why?" Naruto asked.
"Naruto, I know that you're not gonna want to hear this, but I think we should rejoin our platoon first."
"Oh...but we gotta do this after we meet back up with them." Naruto pressed.
"Wait, you're not arguing with me?" Sakura asked.
"That was our original deal, wasn't it?"
"Well I mean... I thought you'd want to go out and get this master sword as soon as possible." Sakura admitted.
"And I do, but you raise a good point. We should find our friends first. That's the smartest move."
"Huh...wow..." Sakura was truly flabbergasted.
"What? That's our shtick, isn't it? You're the brains and I'm the brawns." He said.
"Well yeah, but you always...never mind..." Sakura waved off and picked up the glowing green stone. "Wow..." She said in awe of the large gem before her.
"Yeah, it's a beauty, ain't it?" Naruto said as he beheld the jewel.
"Yea, but look at the design of the gold inlay."
"Um, I'm no jewelry expert. What am I looking at?" Naruto said.
"The gold trim around the jewel. It looks like the Leaf Symbol, doesn't it?"
"Oh yeah." He said, now realizing that detail. "Ain't that a coincidence?"
Just then, another glowing light appeared in what looked like some kind of portal.
"The heck is that?" Sakura asked.
"Oh. That will take you out of here and back in front of the Deku Tree husk." Tatl informed.
"Well that's... convenient" Sakura said.
"Very, now let's get out of here." Naruto said as he lifted Sakura up in a bridal carry, much to her surprise and delight, and walked into the glowing ring where their wounds were immediately cured and their energy replenished.
In an instant, they found themselves outside and completely refreshed. All their injuries and their fatigue from their week-long travel were just memories now.
"Holy crap, I feel good." Naruto said.
"Same. You can put me down now." Sakura said with a warm smile.
"Sure thing." Naruto said as he carefully put Sakura down. She tried to put some weight on her foot and was delighted to find that it was completely healed.
"Oh that is so much...OH GOD!" Sakura shrieked when she turned to the direction of the village and saw a huge, thick cloud of smoke billowing from it.
"The village!" Tatl shrieked. "Is it... burning?"
"Let's go find out!" Tael said.
They rushed back to the village as quickly as they could. Once there, the grim reality set in. Every house was set ablaze. Bodies of the Kokiri lay strewn throughout the burning village as monsters piled out of there from the direction they came.
Fat out in the corner, there were still a few Kokiri villagers desperately trying to put out the fire on their homes. Filling up their buckets with pond water and rushing back and forth between their tree huts. Only to be cut down by skeletons with swords.
"SKELEFOS!" Naruto growled in rage as he charged at the murderers.
"Stalfos." Tael corrected.
"They'll fucking pay..." Sakura growled in rage as she charged as well.
The Stalfos pulled it's blade out of the torso of one of the villagers as Naruto punched it square in the face, sending the skeleton flying across the front yard.
It landed hard against a burning house where it shattered to pieces, a second one joining the first that was sent flying by Sakura.
One by one, each Stalfos was destroyed, but only a few of the villagers were left alive and where trying desperately to extinguish the flames.
Sakura put her hands on her knees and gasped. "Where did they...come from?" She gasped.
"I don't know, but I think we got all of them." Naruto responded.
"No you didn't." One of the villagers said with dread. "Look!" He pointed at the piles of bones that began to reform itself until the once defeated Stalfos rose again. Then another Stalfos rose and another and another. They were all coming back to life.
"Oh that's it..." Naruto growled before creating over a hundred shadow clones, all armed with explosive kunai.
The army of clones charged, determined to finish off the monster hoard. Sakura was about to join them when she heard something. A man? A boy? Definitely a male, screaming, "HEYAH!" Out in the distance.
"What is that?" Sakura wondered out loud.
"I know that battle cry anywhere..." Tatl said in awe.
"You do?"
Tatl nodded. "That was...Link..."
Almost on cue, a black figure jumped right out in front of Sakura, a sword aimed right for her head.
Faster than Sakura could react, a clang rang out in front of her. She opened her eyes and saw that a boy in green with a shield was standing between her and the dark figure.
"Mido?" Tatl asked.
"Sup, Sakura." Mido smirked as he held back the attack from the dark figure.
"Mido? What are you doing?" Sakura asked.
"Saving you, obviously. Now get out of here while I fight this guy. Find Saria and get her to safety."
"What about the rest of the villagers?" Sakura asked.
"Naruto has that well in hand from the looks of things." Mido pointed out all of the clones saving the villagers.
"Where is Saria?" Sakura asked as Mido held the dark being back.
"I don't know, look for her!" Mido grunted before pushing the dark figure away.
"Okay!" Sakura said as she and Tatl ran off to find Saria. Leaving Mido alone with the dark figure. The leader of the Kokiri people reached for his sword.
"Come on you ugly jerk! Show me what you've got!" Mido shouted as he swung his sword at the figure's neck.
The dark being simply parried Mido with its own sword and then knocked the Kokiri with his shield. Mido stumbled back and was completely open to the Dark being's slashes. First, he cut off Mido's sword arm and then his legs. Faster than the Kokiri leader could react. He fell on his back, failing pathetically as the dark being stepped closer to him.
"NO PLEASE!" Mido screamed as the dark being plunged his sword inside the young looking man, ending his life in a single thrust.
The dark being looked up at the pink haired girl running away from him, his eyes glowing red with hate. He said not a word as he vanished into a cloud of ash.
Sakura turned a corner past another burning tree and saw Saria trying to raise a poor, sobbing girl to her feet to run.
"Saria!" Sakura called out.
Saria looked over at the voice that called out to her and was surprised to see a head of pink hair amongst all the embers and ash floating about in the air. Then she remembered her friend that she had met just the other day.
"Sakura." Saria said as a black figure materialized next to her and cut down the girl she was helping right before her.
She looked up in horror and recognized another familiar face.
Amidst all the smoke and ash, the shimmering darkness and the glowing red eyes, she would recognize that face from anywhere.
"Link...?" She asked at the dark figure before her.
"SARIA!" Sakura shouted as she saw the girl Saria was helping being cut down. She tried to sprint towards the girl, but her path was cut off by a squad of Stalfos.
"Damn it, MOVE!" Sakura shouted as she charged at the Stalfos, ready to fight her way through.
She charged chakra through each of her arms and plowed through them like they were made of paper.
Yet for each one that she beat down, another seemed to take its place.
Meanwhile, Saria could no longer see the destruction happening around her. All she could see was the shadow covered face of her friend growing clearer and clearer. The shadows seemed to calm in front of her presence until she could clearly see the face of the boy she considered to be her best friend once again. The boy she...wanted to be more with... He had returned.
"Link..." She nearly cried as she leaned forward and placed her open palm against his cheek. He had grown taller, and he was so cold.
"You're back..." She choked out. Her heart was going crazy with emotions. The dam nearly broke when she thought that she saw Link smile.
"...Yeah..." Link said softly.
Saria smiled before feeling an ice cold blade slip through her ribs and pierced her chest and out her back.
"It's good to be back..." Dark Link finished.
"SARIA!" Sakura shouted as Saira fell to the ground, completely lifeless. She could help her, but not with these Stalfos in the way. She felt so helpless...so useless...
Then something snapped.
Her Triforce seal exploded in a bright golden light, creating a shockwave that vaporized the stalfos where they stood.