The past reveals the truth

Once again, Naruto is enveloped in darkness. This time, when he opened his eyes, he saw his home turf, or at least the outskirts of it! He looked around, and then spotted a large den. As he approached it, he heard a roar of rage from within. He instinctively knew it could only be Kyuubi. The fox lord dashes out of the den, looking for the culprit. He can't see Naruto, as the boy is simply watching the past. He tries to enter the den, to see what made Kyuubi so upset, only to find a barrier blocking him!

Kyuubi is stuck behind the seal…he knows it would be impossible to get out until Naruto returned to the present. Even then, he'd be stuck in another form, since his rage was free and nearby! But there was something he COULD do in the timeline they were in. He could lower the barrier for Naruto. He carefully took control of Naruto's body, and raised the boy's hand to the shield. When it felt Kyuubi's aura, it lowered enough for the boy to pass unharmed…when he was through, it went up in an instant before he could react!

Naruto didn't know what to do about the barrier. Suddenly, he couldn't move. He tried to move his leg, arm, ANYTHING…to no success. Then the being in control raised his right hand to the shield, and it slowly lowered after a moment. He was re-given control, and he quickly went into the den. The barrier came back up before he could react properly after he was safely in.

He slowly walked deeper into the vast den. He stopped short when he saw something…then jumped back when he figured out just WHAT he was looking at! It was the body of a newborn kit, dead. Once he got over his initial shock, he went closer, and felt a wave of sorrow from Kyuubi…he felt a similar surge of sadness. The kit never had a chance to even learn what it meant to be alive!

He walked past after paying his respects, and realized exactly why Kyuubi was so furious. Someone had invaded his den and killed his mate and newborn kits! And to make matters worse, there was no sign of the culprit. That's when the truth about WHY Kyuubi chose to attack Konoha hit him. The very emotion Kyuubi used to intimidate mortals could very well have backfired on him! Fear was the reason why the villagers never attacked him, and fear could have been the motive for his family's death.

He walked to the entrance and tried to exit the den. The shield knocked him backwards. It was the failsafe, should anything manage to get into Kyuubi's lair without him knowing, the barrier would prevent them from leaving until his return. (Seeing as how Kyuubi would never return, Naruto was almost screwed on that point!)

Kyuubi retook control yet again. He repeated the shield trick; then gave Naruto back his body…until the NEXT obstacle arose.

Naruto left the den, unsure what had just happened with the barrier. He decided to look for clues as to who actually killed the kitsune in Kyuubi's den. He wandered randomly, then something caught his eye. It was…a snake skin? He went closer, and realized the skin was too large to be from an ordinary snake. As he drew even nearer, he jumped back with a yelp. The snake that shed the skin was monstrous! It had to be at least 100 meters long in Naruto's opinion. (134 meters to be exact.)

"What the hell…!" said Naruto in disbelief. As he tried to stand up, he realized he was exhausted. He sat back down, and decided to examine the snake skin. He could see the eyes. They were as dead as a doll's eyes. Finally, the darkness returned…but not before he saw two five-tailed kitsune return to the mouth of the den. They appeared to be the guards in Naruto's opinion.

Naruto was on the ground, gasping for breath. The fox spirit sat down and looked Naruto in the eye.

"What did you see?"

"I saw…why you were…in such a…rage that night. I'm sorry about your family Kyuubi."

"You're the only human who IS sorry about what happened! Your fellow villagers don't give a damn about WHY I attacked them!"

"Well that blasted barrier certainly didn't help THAT!"

"I see the beast within helped you get into the den and back out again. Now do you see why I hate your kind?"

"Even if there's a very good chance it wasn't humans who killed them?" said Naruto, suspecting Kyuubi never saw the skin outside the den.

"What nonsense are you spouting now boy?!"

"So you never did see it. Kyuubi, I went outside the den while you relived attacking the village and I saw something nearby."

"It had better be good…"

"I saw a very large snake's skin. It had to be over 100 meters long! Its eyes were creepier than a doll's…"

"An enormous snake's skin? Why would there be a demon serpent near my den? Unless…it was that damn serpent!"

"Who?"

"There's a snake I know of who has some grudge against me and mine. But why would he attack my kin? And how the hell could he have gotten inside the den to begin with? It only opens for me or my mate!"

"I don't know…"

"Knowing my kits, they probably threw that in a special place in the den that is immune to time."

"So what're you gonna do now, Kyuubi-san?"

"It depends…"

"Let me guess…I can either fear the power and become consumed by it, face it and be allowed to help, or embrace it and gain power."

"So you've been told that, eh? What way will you choose?"

"I've never really feared you and I don't want to face you in battle…"

"I'm losing my patience boy. You have one minute before I decide to have you for dinner!"

"Wait…!" said Naruto alarmed.

'Kyuubi' charged at Naruto, determined to eat him. Naruto dodged the first run, and narrowly avoided the second. He panicked as 'Kyuubi' came round for another attempt.

Kit! That's NOT me! It's nothing but a manifestation of my rage that's followed us!

Kyuubi-san?! Wait…what does 'manifestation' mean?

Not right now boy! The point is that that isn't me! You CAN attack him! And don't worry about hurting him…he'll heal faster than you can attack.

But I don't have my sword! And I'm too freaked out to use any of my Jutsus!

Kit, you're TIED to the Lunara Staff! All you have to do is call it, and it will come.

O-o-kay, Kyuubi-san!

-----

Naruto tried to call for the staff, but it was difficult with an enraged kitsune trying to eat him alive. It came to him and he caught it in his left hand.

Alright kit, now's the perfect time to teach you how to get it to change shape in the heat of battle.

How's that?

Here's what you do… take the staff and twirl it in your hands without letting it go. Now while you're doing that, FOCUS on the sword. When you stop twirling it, it should become the Lunara Sword. Oh, and whatever you do, DO NOT DROP THAT STAFF!!!
Hai…Kyuubi-san!

-----

Naruto began twirling the staff, not allowing it to leave his hands for an instant. He focused only on the sword within, and when he felt the blade, he caught it in his right hand. He held it as he went into a stance. 'Kyuubi' charged again, and this time Naruto stood his ground.

Claws and metal met with an eerie clang! Naruto did his best to keep his ground, and not slip. The fox pushed and tried to bite the boy, with NO luck. Naruto pushes the fox back and then attempts to land a blow. He narrowly misses the fox, who tries to land a strike of his own. Both continue trying to stop each other, and both narrowly avoid the other's attacks.

Naruto was slowly but surely wearing down. If the battle continued it was clear who would be dead. He tried everything he could to avoid the fox, yet he still couldn't end the fight. The fox's patience was wearing thinner than ever. If he couldn't end the fight, he'd simply eat the boy sword and all!

Suddenly, Naruto slipped and the fox's fangs sank deep into his left shoulder. He cried out in pain as he felt the teeth puncture the skin. He knocked the fox off of him, hard. He gasped for breath as he clutched his shoulder, which was bleeding heavily.

"You taste pretty good for a human. It's been a LONG time since I've eaten a human child. I almost forgot what they tasted like…" the fox chuckled sinisterly.

Naruto was fading fast…he was bleeding too heavily from the wound. If he didn't stop it soon he would die. He faced the fox, determined to end it then and there. The fox charged for a killing blow. He was taken aback when Naruto dropped the sword and caught the fox right as the creature's fangs sank even deeper into Naruto's right shoulder.

"Please…let me try…to end your…pain…" gasped Naruto. The blood flowed faster than ever, and the fox was clearly startled by the boy's actions.

"You?! End MY pain?! I'd love to see you try brat!"

"You've…been…all…alone…for…too…long…Kyuubi-san…" said Naruto between gasps. He could feel his life slipping away. The fox let his grip go slack and the boy fell to the ground. The real Kyuubi tried everything to save Naruto, but he was too late to do anything. But he forgot what would happen should Naruto embrace the rage in an attempt to soothe the beast.

The fox carefully sat the boy up against a tree, then backed up and charged again. This time he didn't attack…he went right through Naruto!