[REWRITE STATUS]: COMPLETELY NEW CHAPTER
"Well, shit," murmured Naruto as he wandered through the maze of white walls.
He curiously walked closer to one of the large number of doors interspersed uniformly throughout the corridor. Raising his fingers, he ran them over the golden numbers embossed on the surface, wondering at their significance.
'32'? Why are there so many?
Without much hope, he tried to turn the doorknob, but it was locked securely, much like every other door he had tried.
This is stupid, he thought angrily, why'd the old man make me come out here to do this anyway? I don't even know what the hell I'm supposed to do!
Naruto exhaled, before throwing a furtive look around. Not seeing anybody around, he wound up and then unleashed his strongest punch against the door, hoping to rip it off its hinges with his enhanced strength.
But despite emitting a loud thwump that rung throughout the corridor, the door itself did not budge, or show any indication of taking any damage.
Naruto swore explosively and cradled his reddened knuckles, glaring at the door.
"What is this blasted thing made of, anyway? Doesn't feel like wood or metal…" he muttered under his breath.
"It's not," came an unexpected answer.
Naruto yelped and spun around, landing flat on his ass.
"Whoa!"
Standing in front of him, looking slightly bemused, was a red-haired teen girl.
With a shake of her short crimson hair, the girl looked down and offered her hand to the still sprawled Naruto.
"Here," she said, "Let me help you up."
"Uh, thanks?" responded Naruto, slightly puzzled.
He clasped her hand delicately, but was surprised when she gripped it firmly and yanked him up.
There was a moment of silence as Naruto regarded the girl in front of him, neither of the two seemingly knowing how to start the conversation.
Naruto blinked in surprise as he noticed small details that he hadn't while he was still on the ground. Like the fact that the girl's ears were slightly pointed, giving her a distinctively impish, pixyish appearance. Or the fact that her eyes sported strangely-shaped pupils and were a fascinating mixture of emerald green irises and interspersed red flecks.
"S-so, um… are you going to let go of my hand?"
Naruto started as he heard this, immediately releasing the girl's hand, which he had unknowingly held on to all this time.
He flushed red.
"A-ah, s-sorry," he stuttered.
The girl, however, didn't seem flustered at all. Instead, her face had settled into a very neutral expression, as if she didn't know what to do with her features.
"Do not worry about it," she said with an uncertain smile.
There was another uncomfortably long pause as Naruto tried desperately to find words to break the silence.
"So, uh, why are you here?" asked the girl finally.
Naruto brightened as she presented him with what seemed like a lifesaving opportunity.
"Oh, the old man, whoops- I mean, Hokage-sama sent me here, so I can finally start using Flying Leaves, Splitting Shadows. But the thing is, he didn't tell me how… oh dear, I don't suppose you know anything about this?"
The girl gave a helpless shrug.
"Nope, sorry, I don't know… wait," she trailed off.
Naruto raised an eyebrow as he watched the strange girl mutter to herself as she paced up and down in front of him. He hadn't really had much experience with girls of her age… maybe this was how they normally acted?
"Um," he asked, "Who are you, anyway?"
At this, the girl stopped her pacing and turned to give him a very curious smile.
She tapped his forehead lightly, saying only, "Isn't that a good question?"
There was another awkward silence, before, the girl abruptly waved Naruto over.
"Follow me," she said shortly.
Naruto blinked as he walked past row after row of corridors, all filled with those same impassive doors.
"Say," he remarked to his guide, "How many of these doors are there in my mindscape anyway? Do you know what they do?"
"Who knows?" she replied shortly.
Naruto repressed a sigh at the non-committal answer and just wordlessly followed the girl through the endlessly repeating labyrinth of white walls and blank doors.
The golden numbers flickered endlessly in front of his eyes, the only variation in a world of emptiness.
"Stop," came a sudden command.
Naruto did so, looking at the girl questioningly.
"We're here," she said, as a way of explanation, "Once we step through this door, most of your questions will be answered."
Naruto nodded, noting that the door's number was '0'.
"Lead on," he murmured.
She gave an enigmatic smile, flung the door open, and strode in fearlessly.
"Come on in," she said.
The door opened up into a dark room. Or so it seemed. In contrast to the brightly lit corridors, the stark difference was surprisingly intense. Only lit by a pair of flaming torches suspended on invisible brackets, the room was nowhere near illuminated enough to make out any defining features, even to Naruto's relatively good night vision.
"Aaaaah… yesss," came a moan from the middle of the room.
Naruto glanced over, not quite sure what to expect from such a confusing prompt, and almost did a double take when he saw the red-haired girl from before standing between the two torches, facing him.
But a change was overcoming her.
She was standing on her tip-toes, with her back arched in a way that suggested either unbelievable ecstasy or unimaginable agony. It was a posture that seemingly defied gravity and common sense, but Naruto felt a sudden spark of guilt and disappointment that he had actually let his gaze linger (for too long, he told himself) on the way the pose accentuated the girl's growing bust.
Literally growing.
Because even as he watched, the red-haired girl's breasts swelled and expanded, filling out the loose cotton blouse that she wore. Soon, they were as large and well defined as an adult woman's, or even slightly larger.
Naruto blushed deeply, but even that deeply set impression was swept away as the girl stood up straight once more, showing what other changes had been wrought.
Most obviously, the girl was a girl no longer. Although before, she was already significantly taller than the five-year-old Naruto, she was now the height of a fully-grown woman, with the accompanying curves. Her stunning crimson hair had now grown longer, now hanging shimmering down to her waist.
Her clothes had somewhat changed as well. Before, she had worn what might have passed as normal civilian clothing, but that had changed. Now, it had been subtly modified to exude a sort of elegant, regal sub-texture.
The woman scanned up and down Naruto's height, a curious, slightly amused smile on her flawless features.
"Welcome," she said, giving a semi-formal half bow from the waist.
Even her voice had changed. Instead of the informally neutral speech she used before, the woman's every word now resonated with an undercurrent of sultry passion, oozing with barely concealed seductiveness. But even then, it seemed to hold a mocking, almost dangerous tone. To Naruto, it was very clear that he was not 'welcome' at all.
"I've been waiting for you, Naruto," she said, even making the simple pronunciation of his name sound like an insult.
But despite these distracting factors, Naruto did his best to stay on task.
"Um, who are you? Why are you in my mind? Who was that other girl?"
The woman gave a dry little chuckle.
"You ask a lot of questions for someone in my domain," she said lightly, the barest hint of menace slipping through.
Naruto said nothing, but only tried thinking furiously, trying to deduce her identity.
The woman watched him with contemptuous amusement before enlightening him.
"Fool. The greatest of the bijuu- 'tis I, the Kyuubi! The Nine-Tailed Kitsune, Queen of All Demons!" she declared.
Naruto froze, his mind stopping in shock, those words echoing in his head. His muscles tensed as he considered the courses of action he had open to take at the moment. He deliberated for only a few seconds, before he decided to simply execute a small half bow of his own.
"Nice to meet you, uh, Kyuubi-san, was it? Now, if you'll excuse me…" he said, and although the words were delivered in an offhand manner, the obvious quaver in his voice betrayed his nervousness.
Kyuubi stood there for a second, even as Naruto turned his back on her to leave the room. But as he took his first step towards the door, she moved.
"Hey, hey, hey," she said, sliding an arm around his shoulders, "This is kind of a momentous event here for you, boy, so why so eager to leave?"
Naruto paused to consider the hidden threat hidden within those last few words, before shrugging off Kyuubi's arm.
"I know full well who you are, Kyuubi, but at the moment, you're not the one I'm looking for," he said, "So please kindly stay out of my way until I require your assistance."
With that said, Naruto walked decisively towards the door.
The Kyuubi only stood there, watching Naruto move with a calculating expression on her face.
Then, just as his fingers were about to close on the door handle, she spoke.
"What if I told you I am the one you seek?" she asked.
Naruto's fingers froze, just centimeters away from the handle.
"Really?" he asked skeptically, without turning around.
"Yes. But first, let me get this clear to you before we talk about your little human technique. I don't like you. I don't like humans in general, really. And you probably hate me. Or you might not. I don't really care. But I'm stuck in here, and a seal is – nevermind. The thing is, I'm stuck in here, and, at the moment, can't get myself out. And you're the 'jailer' so to speak, and have 'power' over me."
Kyuubi paused to give a sarcastic little laugh.
"But you are a mere human. No power at all, if you look at it in perspective. But I can help you there. A deal, so to speak. I'll help you with your little shinobi life… and act civil- that is… I won't actively corrupt you, and generally just …act like your little pet bijuu. I can give you power. How about it?"
"No."
This reply was uttered before the Kyuubi even really finished talking.
The Kyuubi looked at Naruto with an almost interested expression, one elegant eye-brow raised.
"Why not?" she asked.
"There's a catch-"
"But of course. I am a demon, after all. And the 'catch', as you call it, is only a little thing. Really small. Almost nothing, in fact."
"Yeah?" asked Naruto, his distrust showing up clear on his resolute features.
"Yeah. When the time comes, I just want you to lend me your body. For one day. Don't worry, it won't be soon- not next year or even five years from now. Just one little day. One little day."
"…"
Naruto just looked at her, an 'oh, really?' look on his face.
"No."
The Kyuubi, after hearing this steadfast refusal, now let an irked grimace mar her lips. Her mouth twisted unpleasantly as she reflected on what she had just heard.
"You little fool." she hissed, "I am being far too kind. To have the assistance of one such as I is an honour which no-one has ever received on this world before. The price for which I ask is a mere triviality. You would regret making this decision… if it were your decision to make.
Let me put it this way. If you were attacked on one of your 'shinobi missions' by an enemy beyond your puny little power, and in desperation, you turn to me, do you think it would be better to rely on a demon who you were on amicable terms with? Or one that you spurned? One full of bitter feelings after having the altogether too generous compromise it had brokered ruthlessly rejected? Think about it."
Naruto bit his lip. When she put it like that, it really did seem like a no-brainer. But… something about the condition the Kyuubi had stipulated screamed 'Danger!'. It seemed like much too good of a deal to be true, which was the basis on which he rejected the offer before. But… in the end, thought Naruto sourly, I guess I am a jinchuuriki, so I might as well learn to get along with the bijuu. Who knows when I might need its power?
"Fine," he said, "But let me get something straight. Do not abuse that one day of freedom. I want to put conditions on that day, like 'no killing anyone I don't want killed' or 'no destroying the seal or anything'."
"Yes, yes," grinned the Kyuubi, "Do not worry. That day, is not something that I am planning on using as an instrument of my escape. No, I have lived for long enough that simply waiting for your death is no matter. No… what I plan to do is something that can only be achieved with a human host. Like I said… do not worry."
Naruto only shut his eyes and pinched his brow. He simply couldn't shake the nagging feeling that he was making a terrible, terrible mistake. The terms were simply too good. It just didn't seem logical, especially when considering that Kyuubi, from all accounts, hated humans with a passion.
But, realizing she was still talking, he turned his attention back to her, not wanting to miss any information.
"Yes," she was saying, "Well I guess I should help you with your little human technique. What was it again? Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows? Huh. Well, in order for me to do that, I think I'll answer one of your earlier questions first. That girl, earlier? She was your Gatekeeper."
"Gatekeeper?"
"That old human didn't tell you? The Gatekeeper is… well, a failsafe… kinda. I'm sure you know how much potential this human technique has- pity you humans don't really recognize it. Well, it has the potential to elevate you humans to greatness, but it can also lead to tragedy.
So, the Gatekeeper was implemented in order to both act as a safety for your village, as well as ease the difficulty of the technique. You remember when the old human painted on those funny runes and shared his mind and chakra into you? He was implanting a Gatekeeper into you."
"So what is it?"
"Well, I guess it's an entity created from your own subconscious. It relegates your Formes… wait… you do know what this technique does, right?"
Naruto nodded slowly.
"I know a little," he admitted.
"Huh. Whatever, if you don't understand anything- either her or I will answer it later. Anyway, what was I saying? …oh yeah, the Gatekeeper. Well, the Gatekeeper 'manages' your Formes, and creates new ones… among other things."
"Oh… okay…"
Naruto looked a little overwhelmed. Kyuubi sighed, looking bored as she gave him a push.
"Oi, stay with me, human."
"Yeah, yeah. Wait, why do you know so much about this anyway? I would have thought this 'human technique' as you call it, would be beneath one such as you," he asked, his tone becoming slightly mocking at the end.
"It is, brat. It is. But that girl from before? Your Gatekeeper? She's me. Was. Something. I'm not quite sure anymore. Usually the Gatekeeper is sculpted from your subconscious, and can take any shape… from yourself, which is common, or even a mentor-like figure or something. But I'm in your subconscious, in your mindscape, so… you know… one thing led to another, and she came into being. She's not really me anymore, I guess. Nothing like me. Not anymore. It's complicated."
A curious tone of melancholy snuck into the Kyuubi's otherwise uninterested tone. Naruto furrowed his brow as he tried to place a reason for it, but soon gave up, realizing that he knew next to nothing about the Kyuubi.
"But we are still the Kyuubi, her and I. I guess, if you tried to explain it, I am more of a Kyuubi, because she is just a pathetic little offshoot that came off as a result of a pitiful human technique… but the point is we are the same, intrinsically, her and I. So as a result of her entering this room, I could gain dominance over her, and use her avatar as mine. I guess she thought it were proper if I were the one who introduced us, being the true mind. So right now, talking to you, I am simultaneously the Gatekeeper and the bijuu that is trapped within. The Gatekeeper bit is what supplies the information about this technique. I guess it comes naturally, as part of the technique. Convenient, that."
Naruto wrinkled his mouth into a crinkly curve. The explanations were very detailed, and he had the feeling that the Kyuubi was trying to flood him with information… for an ulterior motive. To make sure he missed something?
"Uh… what do I have to do to create a Forme, then?"
Kyuubi paused and looked at Naruto questioningly.
"…Nothing. All you have to do is discuss it with me… her, and have it approved, and then we can create the Forme, assign it a Room and all that technical detail…"
"A 'Room'? What's that?"
"Like I said… technical stuff. Don't worry too much about it, it'll become clear later. So… anyway, got any ideas for Formes yet?"
"Uh, for my first couple, yeah, I have some ideas, I guess, and it's nothing concrete but…"
Kyuubi abruptly raised her hand to stop Naruto's rambling.
"Wait up," she said, "Maybe we need to get something straight- you already have a number of Formes at your disposal."
"What?! Really?"
"Yeah. Come on, I'll show you."
She gestured for him to return to the doorway, which he did, before she stopped short suddenly .
"Give me your hand," she ordered.
Hesitantly, Naruto tentatively offered her his palm, which she gripped tightly and then pulled him through the threshold.
Finding himself in the brightly lit corridor once again, Naruto blinked several times to try and accustom himself back to the light. He was about to rub his watering eyes, but then realized his hand was still gripped by the Kyuubi.
Speaking of which, for some reason, she was back in her 'teen' form again. The Gatekeeper form.
Upon seeing Naruto's inquisitive look, she deigned to offer a quick explanation.
"I told you, the Gatekeeper, and I, the Kyuubi, have been split. In some ways we are the same, in others, not. I could use her avatar when she was inside that room- my seal, because it was my domain. But outside, in this general mindscape, I should technically not be here. The seal would normally automatically force me back, but… this body is not the same as the Kyuubi. Of course, it's not as easy as just switching bodies like putting on a hat. I am a bijuu, I can take over a derivative of myself very easily. But she… is not, so it is difficult to contain my power without the seal reacting. So, if I make contact with you, I can create a three-fold link between the jinchuuriki, the bijuu… and the Gatekeeper. "
Naruto's eyes hardened.
"So, in essence, you are the Gatekeeper and controls my Formes?" he asked.
Kyuubi's eyes widened in surprise.
"Is that what you're worried about? No, I told you, I cannot use the Gatekeeper's avatar outside of the seal- where it matters, without having you there as well. And the Gatekeeper… well, she's no threat to you. After all, she was created from your own technique after all. She's an artificial intelligence born from your Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows, who's been 'coloured' by my power slightly, is all. She just wishes to help you with your technique. No ulterior motive there at all."
Then she reached over and gripped his shoulder, spinning him around gently to face the door he had just exited.
"So, it is in her place that I have to say congratulations!" Kyuubi smiled sarcastically, "You've just successfully used Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows for the first time! Good job, human. "
Naruto looked at her, a confused look on his face.
"Wait, what?"
Kyuubi sighed. Pointing at the embossed '0' on the door, she explained.
"See those numbers on these doors? They represent your Formes. As you can see, you have a staggering amount of potential Formes. But I haven't unlocked them for you yet, so you can't open the doors. Right now, you can only access about ten Formes… or even less, technically. Actually, the one you just entered is probably the only one you can use safely."
Naruto rubbed his brow.
"Wait… you're telling me that just by entering that room… I used a Forme?"
"That's right. Unfortunately, because you're unconscious, you can't really make use of it, but your physical body should be undergoing the changes nonetheless."
Naruto opened his mouth, but Kyuubi cut him off before he could ask the question.
"In case you're wondering, the '0' door is in fact, the Initial Jinchuuriki Forme. So I think you can deduce what Formes 1 to 9 hold, eh? Speaking of which, if anyone was watching you while you were in that room, they'd have gotten quite a big surprise."
Hiruzen looked down at Naruto's sleeping face with a grandfatherly smile.
He's grown up so fast… even faster than his father. Only just five years old and yet he can probably take on most genin, he thought.
After he had forced Naruto into his mindscape, the elderly Hokage had placed Naruto into a cot that sat in an adjoining room, intending to do some paperwork while making sure nothing happened to him. Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows was a relatively safe process, but there was nothing wrong will making sure, especially if the matter concerned Naruto, who definitely was, or, more accurately, will be a particularly important player on the world stage.
Hiruzen smiled fondly as he remembered his own first meeting with his Gatekeeper. Unlike Naruto, who had a few days between the 'initiation' and the first creation ('genesis') to mull over the significance of what had happened, Hiruzen had gone straight from one to the other, resulting in an extremely confused boy stranded in a strange place.
Throw in a person that looked exactly like him, and you get a recipe for disaster. Hiruzen had, amusingly, mistakenly thought it was some kind of strange convoluted assassination plot by Iwa to replace him with a lookalike and then kill his sensei, the (soon to be) Second Hokage.
So he had tried to run away from the strange mirror image person. Perhaps, in hindsight, it was a fruitless endeavour to try and avoid an entity that could control the very fabric of reality. The mindscape was the Gatekeeper's domain to modify and change as it wished (that was its job, after all).
But that didn't stop Hiruzen from trying.
It took quite a long time for the Gatekeeper to restrain Hiruzen and subsequently explain who it was and what it was meant to do, as well as convince him that it meant no harm.
And, now, more than a half-century later, while it wasn't one that the Third Hokage would consider a 'friend', per se, as it was identical to him in almost every way, he was still very comfortable with the Gatekeeper's existence. Its presence was a relaxing comfort that reassured him and kept him on track, especially when dealing with the confusion of managing several Formes in the heat of battle.
Awash in nostalgic memories, Hirzuen closed his eyes briefly, to relive those moments in greater clarity…
…only to jerk upright in shocked alarm when a distinctly vile aura spread through the room, permeating the air with malice and violent intent.
"Holy shit!" he yelled, a huge tongue of flame bursting from his fingertips and setting the neat stack of completed paperwork on fire.
Sometimes, cultivating hair-trigger battle instincts intended for wartime was a bad thing. Hiruzen had gotten so used to switching Formes in a heartbeat that sometimes he did it unconsciously.
Hissing in annoyance, he switched Formes and extinguished the fire with a wave of his hand.
But ignoring the soaked pile of ashes on his desk, he rushed towards the source of the disturbance- the child lying in the next room.
Flinging open the door, Hiruzen stared, agape in horror, as he saw Naruto lying in bed, vicious red chakra forming a protective sphere around him. It bubbled furiously, as if constantly spawning hundreds of new evils every second.
Shit, the seal! thought Hiruzen in a panic.
He bounded over to Naruto and yanked up the child's shirt to reveal his stomach. Surprisingly, despite how nauseating the chakra cloak felt to Hiruzen's senses, it did nothing to impede his actions or harm him. It just felt like a layer of thick jelly covering Naruto's body. After Hiruzen had lifted the shirt, the chakra just lazily oozed back to fill the gaps back in.
But thankfully, it was transparent enough for Hiruzen to inspect the seal without needing to repeatedly clear away any obstructions.
But even before Hiruzen could think to change into his Fuuinjutsu Forme, he relaxed completely. His fingers, which had been glowing with arcane light as he held them above Naruto's stomach, faded as he lowered his arms.
The reason for his ease was the spiky '0' that lay in the middle of the intricate seal that was inked over Naruto's stomach.
Oh, thought Hiruzen in relief, it's only a Forme. Hmm, I never knew jinchuuriki abilities counted as Formes. Wait, does that mean Naruto can use the Kyuubi's powers whenever he likes? Ah, I'll need to talk to him about it. This could be troublesome.
…
Wait… why would he need to use a Forme anyway?
But after speculating about it for a while, Hiruzen just shrugged, knowing that, when concerning Formes, the Gatekeeper would not let any harm befall Naruto.
So he exhaled and turned to return to his main office. But that's when he recalled what had happened just moments before.
"Aaah goddamn it…" moaned Hiruzen, remembering that he had just incinerated the pile of paperwork that he had painstakingly completed.
"I need some alcohol. Fuck."
Naruto stared at the door with an indescribable emotion somewhere between horror and determination. His fingers hovered over the handle of the door, shaking ever so slightly. A bead of sweat slid down his cheek, dropping off to land on the ground with an audible plop.
"Well?" asked the Kyuubi, looking smug, "Aren't you going to open it? You did say you didn't believe me when I said you could access the full might of my nine tails, didn't you?
Prove it to yourself! Why don't you just open the door? Hmm?"
Naruto gritted his teeth, his fingers only centimeters from the metal of the door handle. His eyes flickered to the golden '9' placed in the middle of the white door, which somehow seemed incredibly daunting despite the utter lack of overt sinister features.
But despite his desire to prove the Kyuubi wrong, to confirm his inclination that she could not be trusted, to open that blasted door, he simply couldn't. He only had to move his hand a fraction and then pull to complete the deed. But he couldn't do it.
It was not his conviction at fault- no, this was a force beyond what normal humans could hope to defy. Naruto, knew, intrinsically, that what lay beyond that door was something he definitely did not want to see. It contained something so wild, so untamed and primal that its very existence scared him. The sheer depth of power- the unrecorded history- of the dark energy swirled behind the door, like the waiting jaws of death itself.
But the Kyuubi seemed determined to prove a point.
Slinging an arm around his neck, she supported him as she herself gently brushed his outstretched palm aside and confidently wrapped her own slender fingers around the ominous door handle.
"Ready?" she asked, not unkindly, "This is my power, the nine tails of a Demon Lord. The power you now possess. You asked to see it? Here it is."
Naruto didn't know what to say. On one hand, if he saw what was behind the door, it would put an end to the restless apprehension and curiosity that raged inside him- quell the endless questions that swarmed over his mind. But on the other… he knew, if he saw what was behind that door, the experience might not leave him intact.
So, instead, he simply braced himself against the teenaged girl's soft, yet surprisingly unyielding frame as she slowly turned the handle.
But the Kyuubi didn't even get the chance to pull it open, before the first tendrils of it touched Naruto. Calling it 'power' didn't do it justice. 'Power' implied that it granted control and authority. This thing did not grant any impression of the sort. Something like that obviously heralded the End, for nothing but destruction could ever come from that unfathomable darkness.
Naruto shivered uncontrollably, staring without blinking at the door with abject terror. His teeth chattered audibly as he tried desperately to retain his sanity after encountering only a mere whisper of what lay beyond the door.
"See?" said Kyuubi softly, "I don't care what you humans do with what you perceive as 'my power'. Because all that your greedy little hands can take do not even scratch the surface of its true nature. The little containers your kind call 'jinchuuriki' aren't suited to using youki- no matter how many fancy seals you have."
She waved her free hand, and slowly, the stone floor slowly rose up in a curtain, until the door bearing the number '9' was blocked off. But that wasn't the end of it- the Kyuubi also summoned a number of thick chains that bound the stone securely, embedding themselves into both the ground as well as the surrounding wall.
"Enough," she whispered into Naruto's ear, "I think you understand now. Your 'Formes' may help you to my youki much easier than other junchuuriki- but never forget this feeling. Never forget how much power- how terrible this power is. I hope… for your sake… that you don't try and use anything past the fourth door. Consider this your only warning."
"H-how?" came a soft, tentative question.
"How what?" asked Kyuubi.
"How do you live with that power? How… can you stand it?"
Kyuubi looked down at Naruto and just smiled, an enigmatic expression full of dark history and hidden secrets.
"… a lot of practice," she whispered.
There was silence for a while as Naruto struggled to overcome his harrowing experience. Kyuubi, for her part, simply waited for him. Because she knew, more than anyone, exactly how dreadful her power was.
Finally, after a few minutes, Naruto had recovered enough mental strength to think normally.
He turned his back to the Kyuubi, composing himself.
"Uh," he said hesitantly, "T-thank you, I suppose. You didn't really have to go along with my selfishness."
But the Kyuubi said nothing.
Naruto, a sinking feeling in his stomach, turned around, not sure what he was expecting. His impression of the Kyuubi now was indelibly stained with the nature of the force he had experienced. Her beautiful form, no matter how appealing, could not erase the memory of that horrendous, overwhelming power. Naruto didn't know if he would ever look upon the Kyuubi without fear.
"Huh?" asked the red-haired teen blankly, "Naruto-sama? Why am I here?"
However, this girl was no longer the Kyuubi.
Huh, remembered Naruto, the Kyuubi had to hold my hand in order to retain her personality while outside of her room.
But watching the girl who- just a few minutes ago- had demonstrated exactly how far beyond human limits she was scratch her head in a puzzled fashion and look around in confusion suddenly brought a spontaneous smile to his face.
He just couldn't help himself. Naruto burst out laughing, the situation unexpectedly seeming hilarious.
The girl looked at him strangely.
Blinking a couple of times, she tilted her head and let a small smile of her own grace her face.
"So," said the Kyuubi, who, after the Gatekeeper had lead Naruto back to the Initial Jinchuuriki Room, had regained both her personality and her adult body, "Do you understand now? The nature of your first ten Formes?"
Naruto looked away, unwilling to dwell on those horrible memories.
The Kyuubi waited, but upon missing a response, merely shrugged.
"Anyway, you probably can't use any of them except the Initial Jinchuuriki and maybe the One-Tail Jinchuuriki Formes. So we'll have to arrange some new ones for you to use in everyday life," she said.
Naruto nodded, looking thoughtful.
"New Formes… how many?" he asked.
"Can't say. Three, maybe? Oh yeah, before I forget, I should advise that you refrain from using your Initial Jinchuuriki Forme unless absolutely necessary. Your status as my host is not something that more people than necessary should know."
"…you do realize that almost the entire village knows?" asked Naruto incredulously.
The Kyuubi blinked.
"Oh, yes, I guess that's true. But still…" she trailed off expectantly.
Naruto waited, but she didn't say anything and continued to stare at him.
"Uh, okay, I understand."
"Gooood," purred the Kyuubi, satisfied, "So… anyway… choose. What Formes shall we make?"
Naruto scratched his chin as he thought. He had some vague ideas about which Formes he wanted to make, but some of them were unrealistic or too complex. And from the rest, he needed to sort out some basic ones to shape into his first three Formes.
"Uh," he said tentatively to the waiting Gatekeeper, "How about just a Taijutsu Forme, a Genjutsu Forme and a Ninjutsu Forme? Will that work?"
The Kyuubi, who had crossed her arms behind her head and had been staring at the ceiling while waiting for Naruto to make a decision, stopped abruptly and turned to look sharply at her host.
"That's… surprisingly well balanced. I would have thought you would have jumped for something ridiculous like a Lazerbeam Forme or an Earthquake Forme. In fact, it sounds like something your former self would have picked," she remarked lightly.
Naruto gave a small smile.
"Well, that's not entirely wrong. My former self did, in fact, compile a list of useful or interesting Formes that we might be able to use, in the event that he, I mean I, learned Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows. But unfortunately, the list was stored in his, whoops, I mean my memory. And when most of the contents of my former self's psyche was wiped when I completed the 'initiation' ceremony, that list was lost to me."
Here, he gave a self-deprecating shrug.
"But some snatches of memory still comes back to me, from time to time. And I seem to recall these three Formes being on the list. In fact, they were probably first on the thing," he continued finally.
"Well, whatever. Good choices, good choices. If it were myself… if I had to rely on this human technique, I'd personally choose damage, an escape ability and some utility. But that's okay. You can always unlock those Formes yourself later, if you want," said the Kyuubi, almost disinterestedly.
Naruto looked at her strangely.
"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned, "You look kind of weird-"
"Give me your hand," Kyuubi ordered.
Naruto blinked.
"Uh, okay?" he said, offering said appendage nervously.
"Take note, I'm only doing this once. Normally, your Gatekeeper will do it in my stead, but perhaps it will be quicker this time if I do it. I might as well do her a favour as I'm using her body at the moment."
"O-kay," agreed Naruto, nodding his head, even though he was still confused.
Abruptly, what he was saying was cut off as the Kyuubi suddenly thrust his finger into her mouth and bit sharply.
What the fuck?
The sharp stinging pain flared through his mind and he tried to draw his hand back, but before he could, he felt pressure on the digit that Kyuubi was still biting on. She was sucking his blood!
"Ouch!" he hissed, retracting his hand as soon as Kyuubi stopped sucking.
"What was that for?" he demanded.
The Kyuubi only smiled, her tongue snaking out to caress her bloodstained canines (which, Naruto realized, were significantly longer than a normal person's).
"I need some of your blood for the ritual, you know," she said, making it clear she did not care at all for his opinion.
"Eh? Um, you could have warned me, you know," retorted Naruto, who was struggling to stay angry, well aware of the rising blush that was rushing to his face despite his best efforts to restrain it.
"Ha! Funny human. What makes you think I'd do something like that?" asked the Kyuubi, but the quip was only delivered half-heartedly, as she was obviously concentrating on something else.
She circled Naruto, inspecting him from all angles, and ignoring his looks of confusion.
"Hey," she said finally. "Take off your shirt."
"W-what?"
"Just do it."
Naruto looked at her strangely, but did as she told. Seeing her gesture for him to turn around, he did so, growing more and more confused.
And when he felt her warm fingers on his spine, he almost jumped out of his skin.
"Hush," Kyuubi said, holding him steady with her free hand, "Be still."
Then, Naruto gasped as he felt a brilliant searing pain where Kyuubi's slender fingers touched the skin of his back. It only lasted a moment, and after that one supernova of agony, he felt normal again.
But the Kyuubi wasn't done with just that- spinning him around, she pressed her fingers against his collarbone, swift as lightning. And, with similar speed, that same instantaneous blast of pain burst through him once more.
"W-wha"- was all that Naruto could say before the Kyuubi repeated the process once more, this time gripping his right forearm.
After doing this, she let go of his arm as if she had been stung and retreated back, cradling that hand delicately.
Meanwhile, Naruto had fallen onto his butt, completely overwhelmed by the rapidness with which events had escalated. He looked at his forearm, where the last flash of pain had originated.
But seeing the spiky '13' tattoo that had been drawn onto his skin with what seemed like blood was totally unexpected, and he spent a almost a minute simply inspecting the new addition to his arm, trying to discern its nature.
But abruptly, the Kyuubi interrupted his speculations.
"A-alright," she said wearily, "I'm done, for now. And… I think you should go now. I'm starting to wear on this avatar. I need to go back before I do some permanent damage."
Naruto looked to her with gratitude.
"Um, t-thank you so much," he began, but she waved off his thanks.
"Little human… thank your Gatekeeper. She's the one who suffered to lend me this avatar. Do something nice for her- she means only the best for you. Now, it would probably be best if I… leave… now," she said with tiredly, shooing him away.
Naruto bit his lip, unsatisfied with his inability to express his appreciation for her efforts, but nodded regardless.
So he allowed her to tap his forehead, and so departed from his mindscape, walking away with his first three Formes in hand.
"Kyuubi," said the Gatekeeper, leaning against the open doorway, "What are your plans?"
"Mmm?" asked the Kyuubi, sporting a mischievous grin, "Whatever could you be talking about?"
"Do not take me for a fool. Your little deal with Naruto-sama. I don't underst-"
"Sorry, what? Aren't you… me? Shouldn't you know this stuff?"
The Gatekeeper gave a little shrug.
"Not really. I share characteristics with you, yes. A little of your power. A derivative of your body- which you, in turn, borrowed from your hosts. But I am not you. We may have shared minds for a little while when you borrowed this avatar, but it should have been enough for you to realize that I am nothing like you."
The Kyuubi tilted her head.
"Huh. Why would I have noticed something as insignificant as that? Oh, nevermind, I don't care. So what do you want to know?"
"I am Naruto Uzumaki's Gatekeeper. As guardian of his mindscape, I will not allow any harm to befall hi-"
"Relaaaaax," interrupted Kyuubi, waving a hand, "I'm not going to hurt him. I don't wish him any harm at all."
The Gatekeeper opened her mouth but before she could say anything, the Kyuubi continued.
"Look. What have I got to lose? He's a pitiful human. And a shinobi to boot. He's got thirty, forty, fifty years to live, tops. Maybe a little more, if I gift him some of my youki. For someone like me, who's lived for millennia, a century or two is nothing to wait. At what cost? A little freedom? Please. I've hibernated for longer. The use of my power? Why would I care? Naruto can use my power all he likes- it's not like it will ever run out. I've got so much power that I don't even know what to do with it. I've got nothing against sticking around and being lazy in some human's stomach. If I'm already sealed, then kudos to whoever did it, and I'll just roll with it until I'm out again."
The Gatekeeper's face twitched.
"So… your deal… what was-"
The Kyuubi gave a short laugh.
"Don't worry about that. It's just that there was something I wanted to do as a human, with human chakra. You already know I have a human form based off my previous hosts- but that is still made of and contains youki- demon energy. There is… something I want to do one day that requires human energy. Don't worry- it's not going to hurt him or anything."
"What is it?"
"That… is a surprise," smirked the Kyuubi, "Now… if you don't mind… I'm kind of tired."
Then, after that obvious dismissal, the door slammed shut in front of the Gatekeeper's face, the shiny '0' staring her right in the face.
She shrugged before turning to retreat back into the depths of the mindscape. But before she did, she stared at the door, certain that the enigmatic bijuu behind it was still aware of the events that transpired on the other side.
"I've got my eye on you, Kyuubi. I am the Gatekeeper, and this is my domain. Gods help me if you betray his… and my trust. Even one such as yourself may not emerge unscathed from my wrath."
There was something that the Gatekeeper might have interpreted as a snort of derision, but she decided to put it off as a trick of her imagination. She finally turned, and stalked off down the corridor, past door after uniform door.
