I don't own Naruto. All rights go to Misashi Kishimoto. AU fic.
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Naruto was kicked out. As soon as he recovered enough to walk, he was kicked out. He was no longer part of the hidden leaf village. It was near unanimous of those who wanted to kick him out. Pretty much the only people who voiced not wanting him to go was Iruka, Kakashi, Sakura, Hinata and Jiraiya. Though not even the sannin could save him. Despite Tsunade also not wanting him to leave, the mountains of death threats that someone would kill him if he wasn't exiled from the hidden leaf due to his beating of Neji in the chunin exams and failure to bring back Sasuke forced her hand. Right now, here he stood, right under the front gate at the brink of dawn, facing towards the people who wanted him to stay. Hinata and Sakura looked torn up from conflicted feelings while the adults looked disappointed that they couldn't save him from exile. Iruka sighed.
"Naruto, I'm sorry things had to go this way. You know we wouldn't let this happen if we could."
"Yeah, you guys defended me until it was decided. Thank you so much." Hinata started crying harder hearing that. Kakashi stepped to his former pupil and gave him two scrolls.
"Here, these scrolls contain enough ninja tools for a small army; thanks to Tenten. Choji suggested you need food, but Shikamaru said you should be able hunt on your own considering you have the shadow clone jutsu and the rasengan. All of your friends give their condolences, even if they couldn't say it or show up." Naruto took the scrolls with a sad grin.
"Tell them all thanks. I'll cherish what I had with them forever." Kakashi nodded with an attempt to smile, but he couldn't make it genuine enough. Jiraiya asked him worridly,
"Are you sure you don't want to train under me? The Akatsuki will consider you easy pickings and some of them are S-rank jonin level ninja."
"I'm sure. I wanted to so that I could get Sasuke back and protect the leaf, but now, having no home because of my actions, I don't care wether I die or not." Hinata burst at this.
"Don't say that!" Everyone turned to the normally quiet Hyuga girl. "Naruto-kun, the f-first day we met, you d-defended me from those b-b-bullies at the ac-cademy that winter. I t-then watched you from a d-dist-tance. I saw how you w-wanted at-t-t-ttention because you were lo-lonely." The longer she spoke, the less her stutter happened. "You-you wanted to be the Hokage, and you never lost f-faith in that. You gave me the cou-courage to never give up. Don't say you don't care to d-die, because... I really really like you!" Everyone was silenced from her exclamation and stared as she sunk back into herself and fiddled with her fingers.
"Hinata." Naruto said. She looked away, her whole face and eyes red. Naruto stepped up to her, and gave her a hug. She took a deep breath as he replied, "Hinata, thank you for saying that. While I need to walk my own path, I'll always remember what you said. If I return, part of it will be for you." He didn't hear a response, but he didn't think he needed one, so he tried letting her go, but her body slumped toward him and he gasped as he struggled keeping her body up.
"Way to go, lady-killer." Kakashi jested as Iruka picked up her body off of Naruto.
"I'll take her back to the estate. She might've stayed here hours after you left." Iruka remarked before leaving.
"Naruto?" The orange clad kid looked to his crush. Maybe ex-crush now?
"Yes Sakura?"
"I'm sorry I always called you an idiot and punched you in the head. After the time we had together, I've really come to like you as a friend and a good comrade. I'll miss you. Don't worry about me though. I've taken apprenticeship under Lady Tsunade, so the next time you come around, I won't be weak anymore." Naruto grinned.
"Heh, I never thought of you as weak. Good for you Sakura." He congratulated. Sakura blushed and grinned before giving him the quickest of pecks on the cheek. Naruto then blushed.
"Don't think that means anything." Almost as if used as a front, her angry face appeared, looking forced to everybody else. "It's not like I like you a lot or anything! Sasuke's my crush! That kiss was just for luck!" Once her words processed through his head, he grinned and responded,
"Alright Sakura. I won't worry about it much. Thank you though." Seeing that her ruse was obviously seen through, she turned her back to him and sneered,
"Whatever. Just get out of here knucklehead." This merely made him laugh.
"Don't worry. I'll always be your hyperactive knucklehead friend." He gave her a breif hug. "Seriously, I'll miss you too. Believe it." Sakura's lips quivered, but she refused to look at him. He turned and exited the front gate, only looking back to wave,
"Goodbye everyone! I'll see you guys later!" He continued on his path, only walking about 10 minutes before he couldn't hold it in anymore and fell onto his knees crying.
"Damn it! My dream... shattered. My friends... gone. My headband... taken away. My home... turned their backs to me. And for what? Having the tailed beast in me? I'm not the monster. Iruka-sensei said so. I'm just a kid."
"Oh really now?" Naruto stopped crying, as he immediately found himself inside of his mind again, looking at the worn down yet strong as ever gilded cage. "If you're not a monster, then what does that leave me with you?"
"Nine tails!"
"So, what will you do now, brat?" The demon questioned the little kid. After a few seconds, Naruto grinded his teeth and accused,
"You! You're the one who ruined my life right from the beginning! As if being an outcast is bad enough, now I'm not even a member of the hidden village because of you!"
"Of course. I'm hatred incarcerate. And it just so happens that I'm stuck in you, thus attracting all the surrounding hatred towards you inadvertently for housing me. Oh, and you know what makes it even better?" He held up a hand and fashioned a Naruto in it, only it had black eyes and red pupils. "You harbor enough hatred for everybody that I created an exact replica of you, only damn pissed off at the world, who would gladly destroy it."
"Oh what do you know?!" Naruto retorted back. "Sure, the villagers hurt me, but it's not like they ever physically beat me. The worst they done was just tell me to go away." The demon fox frowned to this. "And then there was Gaara. I could see myself in him, as he was just as sad as me, because he didn't have friends, and he had a tailed beast in him. After that experience, I swore I'd never personally hurt the hidden leaf, because it was my home, where my friends were. And I never go back on my word. That's my nindo; my ninja way. Believe it." The fox snarled as he crushed the replica of Naruto.
"So what?! You may not have the resolve, but I will eventually be able break free from this cage, kill you, and destroy your worthless village!"
"Tailed beast, why do you want to destroy Konoha so bad?" The fox stiffined from this. "I can understand the whole world but why my village specifically? Did it do anything to you?"
"Hmph, foolish brat. I've lived more centuries than you can comprehend. Every shinobi has tried or had using me for power, and your village was just the most recent in those crimes."
"So you were forced against your will."
"What of it? Why would you care about my past?"
"Because I think... I get why you're full of hate."
"Don't you try understanding me, boy! You can't solve me! I'm not obligated to explain my whole backstory for you to pity me!" The fox roared.
"Then, I just have one more question, before we decide to end this conversation."
"Hmph, ask your question, so that I can ignore you and leave you unsatisfied." He said rather smugly.
"What's your name?" Again the tailed beast stiffined, this time more noticably. "People has called you only tailed beast or a demon fox, right? I'm just wondering if there's more to you than what I know." The demon was silent for about a minute or two before asking,
"You... want to know me?"
"Well, after actually talking to you instead of asking for rent like usual, I'm curious who you actually are."
"You're really something else, you know that? You're the first person to actually ask who I am. I was only a weapon to everyone else. In fact, what if this some trick?"
"Please, I'm 12 years old. I may trick people but it's either for pulling pranks or winning fights. And I only use your power when I really need it. Is there anything wrong to try to be friends? Or at the very least, not hate each other?" After several minutes of awkward waiting, The fox said,
"Look, you're not going to solve my hatred, and we are not friends. But... I can at least tell you my name. I'm Kurama, the nine tailed fox." Naruto smiled.
"Nice to meet you Kurama. It's fine if we're not friends yet. We might become so in time."
Naruto soon found himself back in the real world, the ground below him wet with tears. He didn't know how long he cried there, but he wiped them away from his face and sniffed up the mucous in his nose before setting off feeling somewhat better. At least he won't be alone.
"So, where are we going?" Kurama asked his host.
"We're going to see Gaara."
"That sand ninja?"
"Yeah. I'm going to spend some time with him and come up with a plan." He walked several hundred feet before Kurama asked him,
"Can I ask you a favor?"
"Sure, what's up?"
"With my help with directions, could you help me reunite me with my kin?"
"Kin? What does that mean?"
"Kin means family. You know that Gaara has the one tailed beast? Well, we're not the only ones. There's a total of nine of us. And as far as I know, we're all stuck in jinchūriki, or human sacrifices such as yourself to keep us imprisoned. We can sense we are anywhere in the world because of our kinship. If we find my kin, we'll be more cooperative together, and likely grow more powerful because of it."
"Wow, there's nine of me?" He grinned and raised his fist up into the air. "Alright, now I'm excited! Let's go!"
"Okay then. Let's find One-Tail. I can sense him in the SouthWest. Go around your former village to head there."
"Ok." Naruto nodded before beginning his journey.
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It took 15 days, but the young ex-genin finally made it to the village hidden in the sand. As he approached the front entrance, the two guards stopped him.
"Hey, what are you doing here kid? You got lost from your team or something? The desert's no place to be for a lone kid." One guard said. Naruto's response sounded very parched, as he hadn't had much drinkable water lately.
"I've been kicked out. I'm no longer a Konoha ninja. And I have no team. I'm just simply Naruto Uzumaki; the ninja of nobody."
"Then why come here then, Uzumaki? What business do you have?" The other guard asked.
"Visiting an acquaintance. You know Gaara right?" This surprised them.
"Gaara of the desert? You know him?"
"Yeah, from the chunin exams in Konoha awhile ago. He'll probably be glad to see me."
"Well, since you don't have a headband but still have ninja supplies on you, you must be telling the truth. Just head to the Kazekage estate, you can't miss it." One of them said.
"Thank you." He walked past them through the narrow valley and into the village. He noted how unlike his village, all the buildings were made of sandstone. It felt very hot and dry. Within moments he found the building and walked up to the front door. He knocked and waited for a small bit. Eventually someone opened the door. It was Kankurō.
"Naruto? What are you doing here?"
"I've come to see Gaara." He answered weekly.
"Sounds like you could use some water first. Come in and wait while he and Temari comes back." Kankurō suggested while he helped the ex-genin in.
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"So, that is why you have come to my home." Gaara replied as all three of the sand siblings and Naruto discussed about why he was here.
"Even after hearing that, I still can't believe they dumped you at their front gates. After everything you did for them. At least you still have some friends." Temari reasoned.
"Yeah. Sounds like something that our village would do, or the mist village, but not Konoha." Kankurō added.
"Yeah, and there's something else that's just as important."
"Yeah? What's that?"
"I'm doing a favor for Kurama, the nine tails inside me. I'm on a mission to reunite him with his siblings, or kin as he said it. So I'm looking for all the jinchūriki in the ninja world to accomplish that." Naruto explained.
"Wow, that's real nice of you." Temari commented. Gaara thought about it as he talked with Shukaku.
"Shukaku, what do you think of what he says?"
"Normally my esteemed self would bury them under the bottom of the desert by now, but considering he knows nine-tails name, he must be serious about this. Tailed beasts only share their name when the jinchūriki host earns it. However, my esteemed self is only willing to help if nine-tails takes back his claim that he's stronger than me because he has more tails." Gaara nodded before he returned to the hear and now.
"Alright, I'll help you with your quest. But, Shikaku says he's only willing to come if Kurama takes back that he's stronger than him simply by having more tails.
"What?! Like I'd ever say I was wrong! Numbers equal strength!" Naruto heard Kurama deny. He thought back,
("Not so. In spite of having your help, Neji still nearly beat us and Sasuke actually did. I'm not sure if Shukaku would've helped me better, but having an automatic sand shield would certainly be quite useful. You may be stronger in strength or chakra wise, but that doesn't mean you're better than him as a beast. Now apologize so we can get his full cooperation.") Seeing that he wasn't going to convince them otherwise, he begrudgingly said to Shukaku with telepathy,
"I apologize for my behavior, One-Tail."
"Hmph, while my esteemed self don't believe you were sincere, getting an apology from you almost immediately will be good enough for now, Nine-Tails." Shukaku accepted smugly.
"Great! So, how long until we're ready to go?" Naruto cheerfully asked.
"Whoa whoa whoa, hold your horses. How long did it take to get you here anyway?" Kankurō asked.
"Uhh, two weeks. Slightly over." The kid answered.
"Oh no you don't." Temari objected. "There's no way we're going anywhere when you need your rest. We'll leave in two days, and since we have a proper map, you won't have to spend months getting anywhere else, lest you get lost in the mountains or drown in sea."
"Yeah, you're right. I'd normally leave as soon as I could but the last two weeks have been tough on me. I could use a break."
"That's right." Temari established. "And since you came to us with nothing claiming you, you can consider yourself an honorary Saisho. You can still keep your Uzumaki surname but you can also be a new brother to us if you want."
Naruto was stunned by this. Were they adopting him? He could have a family? Naruto started to tear up and lunged at Temari to hug her.
"Thank you, thank you thank you..." He kept saying this over and over as Temari grinned nervously as she looked at her actual brothers.
"Well Temari, you got another lil' guy to look after." Kankurō stated chuckling.
"Hehe, yay." She cheered with clear hint of worry, only to look down and almost said 'aww' to the ex-genin who apparently passed out on her lap, having exhausted himself from coming here. She smiled. "No, I know I'll love him like another brother. Welcome to the family, Naruto." She whispered hugging his sleeping body close.
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A/N: Okay, if the story summary wasn't enough, this is an AU fic, so things are going to happen differently. I've looked for stories of similar concept of Naruto making a family with the other jinchūriki, but it doesn't seem like there's one where it's going to be more family oriented rather than the usual adventure genre. So I think I'm going to be fairly original. I'm also going to be somewhat loose to the canon rules so if you got something to say something nitpicky, at least be polite about it. Be sure to leave reviews for this story, see how you like it, along with my other works, "Reteamed" and "Naruto Uchiha."