I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. WARNING: this is the beginning of the complete AU starting with a new Jinchuriki.
Italics mean thoughts.
"Italics with quotes mean conversations with Kurama."
Soothing the Savage Beast
"We have to save him!" Hinata said when Kakashi finally stopped but held her wrist to keep her from returning to Naruto.
"We will," Kakashi said.
No sooner had he said that did three thousand ANBU leap overhead and make their way to Naruto. They moved like they were at war which they probably thought they were. The truth was, they were heading to a bloodbath and everyone Naruto knew knew it.
"They can't win," Hinata said.
"They'll still try," Kakashi said. "Naruto's not going to take this very well when we tell him."
The ANBU arrived within a minute and landed behind him. The first wave of fifty leapt forward drawing swords and streaming their chakra through it. One ANBU launched a Wind Blade Jutsu at Naruto but before any of the shinobi or the jutsu could make it half way, Naruto wheeled around swinging his arm through the air and sending red chakra senbon into all of the ANBU. One senbon went through each shinobi's heart and the shinobi exploded into a cloud of dust. They had just enough time to scream before they died. The Wind Blade jutsu hit Naruto in the face but shattered like glass.
"He...killed them all," Hinata said. "I have to stop him!"
"You can't!" Kakashi said grabbing her.
"Matatabi will keep him under control," Yugito said running off toward Naruto.
"No!" Hinata said. "Matatabi can't help him!"
Suddenly, half the jounin from the Hidden Leaf Village along with a large portion of the jounin of the Hidden Cloud Village all passed overhead and headed toward Naruto. Killer B landed beside Kakashi and groaned.
"Yugito knows about Naruto's problem but refuses to listen to me," Hinata said. "Get her back here."
"Naruto has to die," B said. "Unless you know a way to bring him back to himself."
"I do," Hinata said. "If you would let me go!"
Kakashi shook his head.
"You can't save him this time," Kakashi said. "He's gone, Hinata."
"You said we could save him not five minutes ago!" Hinata said.
"We can save him," Kakashi said. "From his curse."
"No!" Hinata said paralyzing Kakashi with gentle fist. "Get me to Naruto."
B nodded and picked Hinata up then carried her after the other jounin. When they arrived, bodies littered the trees. Where it had been peaceful before, it was now unsettling to the point that Hinata didn't want to go any further. B set her down on a branch and Hinata looked around. Yugito was pinned to a tree by a piece of blade through her shoulder. It looked very painful and the tree below her was coated in fresh blood. B leapt over to her and sighed in relief.
"She's alive," B said. "I'm sorry but I have to get her to a hospital."
Hinata nodded and B pulled the piece of blade out of Yugito's shoulder then left. Kakashi landed beside Hinata less than a second later and tried to pick up Hinata.
"Don't touch me!" Hinata said. "I can save him!"
Naruto saw them and roared. The sound was deep and more unnerving than the surrounding area but Hinata still leapt toward Naruto while Kakashi flinched at Naruto's roar. Even Kakashi was afraid of Naruto. With good reason, of course.
Naruto growled seeing Hinata moving forward and crouched readying himself to fight. Hinata landed on a branch a couple of meters away and stopped holding her hands up.
"Naruto," Hinata said. "Please, it's me. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help."
"NO!" Naruto shouted in a mix between a roar and his own voice. "YOU NEED TO...LEAVE! IT'S...TOO LATE!"
"No it's not!" Hinata said. "Please. You can fight this. I know you can."
"I...CAN'T!" Naruto said.
"Yes you can," Hinata said. "Please. I need you. Naruto please! I love you, and I need you! Please don't give up!"
Naruto began to shake then roared again and held his arm out. The arm extended and the hand grew until it could wrap around Hinata's entire body. Just before it grabbed her, Guy grabbed her and pulled her out of the way.
"Words can't stop him," Guy said. "Only music can sooth the savage beast."
"Don't even start!" Kakashi said. "What you do isn't singing. It's torture and it makes Tsukuyomi feel like a massage."
Just then the hand flashed up and smashed Guy toward Kakashi then grabbed Hinata. Then it pulled her back toward Naruto stopping just in front of him. Hinata didn't flinch and Naruto set her down directly in front of him.
"What's he doing?" Kakashi asked.
Naruto took Hinata's hand and placed it on his head then growled and his eyes suddenly began to glow white. Hinata's eyes also began to glow and Guy tried to get to her but Kakashi stopped him when Hanare arrived and told him to.
"It's a mental jutsu," Hanare said. "He pulled her into his mind."
Hinata opened her eyes and looked around. There was a huge set of prison cell doors set into an enormous wall that she assumed was part of the boundary between Naruto's mind and Kurama's. She continued looking around and noticed two other things. First, was that the floor was covered in a thick red liquid that Hinata somehow knew was blood. The second thing was that a fair distance behind her there was a sphere of light. The sphere was clearly a prison and Naruto was inside of it. The blood was coming from an enormous hold in his chest and running out of the sphere through a similar hole. A miniature Kurama was beside the sphere holding a round red ball that was coated in blood and was throbbing. Hinata knew it was Naruto's heart instantly and covered her mouth to keep from screaming.
"Hi...na...ta," Naruto said weakly pointing at the cage.
Hinata nodded and ran over to the cage then up the front.
"If I let you out will you save Naruto?" Hinata asked. "And then go back into your cage quietly?"
"Yes," Kurama said. "That abomination has to go. It nearly killed my girlfriend and my container."
"You can kill it?" Hinata asked.
"No," Kurama said. "But Naruto can. All he needs is to be able to move."
Hinata ripped the seal off the cage and Kurama pushed the doors open then charged out and hit the miniature him away. Hinata caught Naruto's heart then pushed it through the hole in the sphere. Naruto pushed it back into his chest which instantly healed then teleported to the seal that he still had on Hinata's back.
In the real world, the moment Hinata removed the seal on Kurama, Naruto expanded to a full size Kurama and Hinata was standing on his snout with her hand between his eyes. When he teleported to the seal in his mind, in the real world he roared and a sonic boom leveled the surrounding area. The roar actually came from the miniature Kurama who was outraged about both Naruto and Kurama being free.
Naruto drew a kunai and smirked.
"Want to see what I can do inside of my mind?" Naruto asked Hinata.
"Sure," Hinata said.
Naruto smiled and sealed himself, Kurama, Hinata, and the abomination all inside a large round room about a mile across and a mile tall. Then, he covered every inch except for a small circle with teleportation seals. Hinata took the hint and stood in the circle and Naruto held out his hand.
"Lend me a hand?" Naruto asked.
Hinata held her hand over his and understood he meant for her to help him form a Rasengan. They both gathered chakra and formed a Rasengan. The Rasengan wasn't the standard blue that it generally was. This Rasengan was white with a hint of lavender like Hinata's Byakugan. The moment Naruto noticed this, an image of a Byakugan appeared inside the Rasengan.
"Suck it freak," Naruto said teleporting around randomly to disorient the abomination before appearing in front of it and smashing the Rasengan into his face. "Byakurasengan!"
The Rasengan shot away from Naruto's hand dragging the abomination with it and Naruto let his mindscape return to the way it had been before then sealed both the abomination and the Byakurasengan in a sphere of light. The Byakurasengan exploded and the sphere cracked heavily but held. The explosion finally ended and the smoke cleared to reveal the abomination standing and swaying in the sphere. Then it fell forward and when he hit the side of the sphere, the entire sphere shattered and the abomination landed hard on the ground. Naruto walked over and created an enormous sword then drove it through the abomination's head. The abomination shone white then faded and Naruto sighed in relief then turned toward Kurama.
"Go back to your cage," Naruto said. "I'll take your chakra later."
Kurama stared at Naruto for a while then sniffed and whined like a worried dog while walking back to his cage.
"Hurry back to the hospital please," Kurama said.
Naruto nodded and allowed himself and Hinata to return to the real world. When he had destroyed the abomination he had returned to his hanyou form but with two tails now. Then, he had fallen onto his back and Hinata hand landed on top of him. Now, he opened his eyes and groaned then looked down and blushed and Hinata opened her eyes and also blushed realizing their position. She rolled off of him and stood then helped him up and he groaned before looking around.
"Jeez," Naruto said. "So many. Did I...really do all this?"
"No," Hinata said. "You weren't you."
"True," Naruto said. "I don't think the Leaf Village will feel the same way."
"Then the Sand village will happily accept you," Temari said landing on a branch that was free of bodies. "You'd better hurry to the hospital. Yugito isn't looking too good."
Naruto nodded then ran to the hospital with Hinata. When they arrived, jounin from both the Leaf and Cloud Villages shrank away from him. He ignored them and walked into Yugito's room to see B trying hard to keep a straight face while Yugito asked him to say goodbye to A for her. B nodded then looked around to see Naruto and stood.
"This is your fault," B said.
"I know," Naruto said. "Yugito, Kurama would like to speak with Matatabi."
"Okay," Yugito said.
"What's he mean?" Hinata asked.
"Jinchuriki can allow their tailed beasts to talk to each other by temporarily taking control of their hosts," B said. "Whatever Naruto says or does, just remember that it's not actually him, it's Kurama and Matatabi."
"Okay," Hinata said.
Naruto and Yugito both closed their eyes and when Naruto opened his, the irises were red with slit pupils like Kurama's. Yugito's had also changed. Her right eye was completely black with a yellow dot and her left was similar but with a green dot. Their voices had also changed. Yugito's sounded more regal and deeper while Naruto's was unmistakably Kurama's.
"Kurama," Matatabi said. "It's good to see you again. Your container, is he cured?"
"He is," Kurama said. "Your first container was wrong. He could had killed the abomination himself if someone had been able to reach him while the abomination was in control."
"Well I guess even the best fall down some times," Matatabi said smirking.
Kurama grinned and shook his head then sighed.
"Don't suppose there's any way to save you," Kurama said.
"No," Matatabi said. "My container's injury is too severe to be healed. I suppose there is one way but unfortunately the training Yugito went through was a bit too thorough. I can only be transferred to someone who's compatible with me."
"I don't suppose there's anyone like that around here," Kurama said half hopefully.
Matatabi looked at Hinata then looked back to Kurama. Kurama raised his eyebrows and grinned even more.
"That would work quite well for us and our containers," Kurama said. "But it would only be okay if she was okay with it...and prepared for the consequences."
"I know," Matatabi said. "What do you say Hinata? Will you save me by becoming my next Jinchuriki?"
"I...but..." Hinata said. "My father would-"
"Disown you," Kurama said. "The villagers would hate you as much as they do any Tailed-beast or Jinchuriki. Your friends and family would likely hate you except for those who have accepted Naruto and probably B. Other Jinchuriki will likely compare you to Yugito and the Cloud Village would believe you a cheap replacement for Yugito who was killed by your monster of a boyfriend. You would become almost as much of an ignominy as Naruto is."
Hinata stared at the ground for a moment then looked at Matatabi and nodded.
"Okay," Hinata said. "There's no point in two people dying needlessly. Of course, if Yugito had listened to me in the first place, you wouldn't need a new Jinchuriki."
"True," Matatabi said. "Kurama will transfer me. The jutsu will kill Yugito and will cause you great pain. Try to withstand it. B, have Gyuki hold her down and be ready to help if needed."
B nodded and closed his eyes then opened them revealing them to be completely white. He told Hinata to lay down on the other hospital bed then grew six tentacles. Four of them restrained her arms and legs, and two held her body down. Matatabi nodded to Kurama who stood between the beds back to the wall and Gyuki stood between the beds at the other end facing him.
"Are you ready?" Kurama asked Hinata.
"Yes," Hinata said.
"Then let's begin," Kurama said making hand seals. "Soul Transfer Jutsu."
He placed his hand on Matatabi's forehead then the other on Hinata's. A sphere of light passed out of Yugito and traveled along Kurama's arm then across his chest and down the other arm. The closer it got to Hinata the more pain she felt. Finally it touched her head and the pain went from a splitting headache to feeling like something was trying to cut its way into her head with a butter knife. She screamed in pain and as the ball of light began to pass into her the pain increased rapidly. She began seizing in agony and Gyuki held her down. The the sphere began to retract as Hinata's subconscious fought against the thing that was causing her pain.
"Gyuki!" Kurama said.
Gyuki held out his hand and began pushing the sphere back into Hinata's head and she began seizing harder and harder until the sphere finally disappeared into her head and she fell limp. Kurama sighed and brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face then looked toward Yugito's body. Now that he was done the jutsu, he was aware that her heart monitor had flat-lined. He shut it off and allowed Naruto to retake control. Gyuki sighed and retracted his tails then looked around.
"Naruto," Gyuki said. "I think your emotions are beginning to have an effect on Kurama. He seems to care about Hinata."
"I know," Naruto said smiling. "He understands how I feel and he's beginning to side with me. I seem to have that effect on people. So, how long until she wakes up?"
"About an hour," Gyuki said just as the doctor and a nurse ran in.
"You're late," Naruto said. "She's already dead."
Gyuki allowed B to take control again and B left the room for the Hidden Cloud Village. Naruto sat down beside Hinata and explained to the doctors that she had passed out from exhaustion after stopping his rampage. The doctors accepted his explanation then left.
"You're brave Hinata," Naruto said. "Not many people would save a dying Tailed-beast and even less when they knew the repercussions. Me and Kurama both thank you. Him for saving his girlfriend and me for supporting me by deciding to bear the same torment alongside me. Kurama may not have picked up on that but I did, even without smelling your emotions."
"I thought you might," Hinata said weakly rolling over and smiling even more weakly. "If you can stand it, so can I."
Naruto smiled and shook his head.
"I never wanted you to have to bear this," Naruto said. "I never wanted anyone to have to bear this again. It's not something you can simply brush off. You'll see soon enough."
"I'll be fine as long as you're with me," Hinata said. "You will be, won't you?"
"Of course," Naruto said.
"Good," Hinata said. "Because we've still got a demon to kill so that we can stop the Ghost Army."
Naruto nodded and they went to Tsunade's office to tell her what had happened. Tsunade agreed that it was the right thing to do and thanked Hinata for stopping Naruto from doing any further damage. The main problem, however, was that the Hidden Leaf no longer had the military strength to fight the Ghost Army. Temari got Gaara to agree to have the Hidden Sand fight it too. B agreed to help as well and Naruto and his team left to escort the Priestess.
THE END
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