Disoriented...

That was the only thing I was feeling suddenly sitting in a room full of kids. A wave suddenly crashed into me without notice. Clutching my head, waiting for the throbbing to stop. Seconds that felt as if they were eternity.

I remembered.. though there was nothing worth remembering. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. An orphan that had just started his first day at the academy. JiJi finally let me join the academy when I was five, but the semester hadn't started until April.

I was a quiet kid. Not because I want to be, but I never had anyone I could consider close. Well except for Ayame nee-san, Teuchi o-cchan, and Hokage Jiji. But it seems like I could remember something else, though every time I try to remember it, my head throbs as though its being hammered in a furnace. Immediately trying to drive whatever thought that was causing me pain away into the depths of my mind. What I found from the brief flashes of memories and images, I realize it was not the life I lived as Uzumaki Naruto up until now. Because these memories contain the one thing that I have been wanting for my whole life… a family.

Now that I saw these flashes in my head, I almost wanted the throbbing to continue because of the brief warmth I felt at that split instant. Now however, seems to be a bad idea since I am not at a convenient place to do so.

Recovering slightly after my head stopped throbbing, finding myself in a fetal position. I looked up, finding myself no longer in the classroom full of my classmates, but in an old Sewer.

Still feeling a little fuzzy, I observed the place I was sitting. It was a dark, run down, seemingly creepy tunnel, that seemed to stretch on in front of me. The ceiling seems as though it would collapse at any second.

It was shaking.. I haven't realized until now, but the sewer was rumbling. I didn't find the reason until I looked behind me. There a giant fox was screaming, at least that's what I think it was doing since I didn't seem to be hearing a voice of any sort.. Though the whole sewer and the air around me was vibrating as it did so.

Before I could panic in any sort of way, it collapsed. Causing the sewer to shake as it did so.

I didn't dare make a sound, fearing for the worse. Looking around me, other than the tunnel that seemed to stretch on endlessly on either side, there was only the fox that laid next to me.

Placing my observations to the side. I plan on getting out of here in any way I can and as quick as possible. There was a gigantic fox lying next to me, no cage or seal stopping it from quickly devouring me in a matter of seconds. This was what I felt from the waves of negative emotions hitting me like a wedgehammer. There was fear, anguish, and the one emotion prevalent above all else, hate. Something that seems as though it would take control over you if you let your will power slip in any sort of way. It was intoxicating, appealing to the animalistic side of me. I felt as if I would become a mindless beast if I was under it any longer.

Just as I was going to choose a direction and go as far away from this beast as possible. I felt his gaze on me. From surviving as long as I had, I would say my senses are pretty good. But even the dullest of senses could pick up the pressure that the fox's gaze exerted. Looking back, only to hold eye contact with the beast I was about to run away from. I see recognition, curiosity, camaraderie, sadness, and..

"Troublesome.."

'Huh' As though suddenly something clicked inside me, I formed my first coherent, not so much, thought.

Not elaborating any further, the fox closed its oval shaped slit like eyes and made an evidently relieved sigh as if it just survived the apocalypse.

"What are you? Where are we? What is this place, and… who are you?" I asked, many thoughts swirled in my head causing me to not hear my own words.

"Oi chibi.. what was the last thing you noticed before arriving here?" Ignoring my questions, the being pressed his own. I was a bit miffed that he just ignored me, but thinking it was idiotic to feel disrespected from the god-like character in front of me, my survival instincts kicked in.

"I-I was just at the academy starting my first round of classes before.. you know.." I spoke nervously, mentally congratulating myself for not biting my tongue near the middle.

"I see, that sucks." Making an amused expression after observing me. Under its gaze, I felt a brief chill in my spine effectively covering up my inner thoughts.

'Who would've thought that a godlike entity would use the word sucks, and was he talking about me suddenly getting dragged here, or from being in the academy?'

Shaking my head, trying to rid myself of excess thoughts to think what was important to me right now and adapt, I tried pressing my questions again.

"About-"

"I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune. The nine-tailed beast existing before even your shinobi ancestors.. Kurama." The Kyuubi stood up to its fullest height looking down from where his eyes were, suddenly making me feel very tiny. It briefly hesitated before giving his true name. Not that I realized the significance of it.

"You are inside your mindscape. You were probably drawn to my roars and the seal collapsing" The Kyuubi continued.

'Mindscape? seal?' I was silently listening, pretending as though I understand while hopefully trying to catch onto anything that I truly understand from what the demon fox is saying. I had little to no knowledge of anything, which was one of the reasons I wanted attend the academy in the first place. I had a rough idea what a mindscape is though.

'Basically the scape of my mind.'

The fox sighed, seeming to know what is going through my head.

"It is quicker to just show you." He concluded.

Quicker than I was able to react. The Kyuubi touched my head, and streams of images flashed across my mind. It was as though I was suddenly living two lives, but not so much living but rather watching the two memories of a certain blond boy and red-haired girl as they travel through the story which was their lives. Adventure, self-realization, love, war, I was able to see the nasty truth of the world, but also the beauty hidden. Students, friends and teachers.. Then there was me. I saw the love they had for the child yet to be born. The plans they made in order to raise me into a respectable man and shinobi.

However, everything collapsed. A masked man, the demon fox destroying everything within its sight, the sacrifice of the blond and red-head that the boy finally realized were his parents, and their last words to a baby Naruto. Although he wasn't able to feel the emotions of the two by simply watching, he was able to realize his parents' love for him. Tears trickled down his whiskered cheeks knowing that he was loved and his parents being heroes that he would never imagine his parents being for all the scorn he had received from the villagers his whole life.

The images continued until they stopped with the sealing of the Kyuubi. Sealing the yin inside himself and the Shinigami, and the yang inside Naruto. An act that gave him very controversial feelings. He could understand. After watching the lives of his parents, he was able to empathize and guess the reasoning Minato had and admire his sense of justice, but it didn't mean that he would want to accept it. He knew he was loved by his dead parents, but they had abandoned him and he was scorned his whole life by the actions of his parents he had no control over.

Remembering his life in the past five years, from being ostracized in the orphanage, not given the same opportunity to read and learn like the other kids, getting kicked out, glares and occasional attacks of the villagers, abuse during his last couple birthdays, meeting Hokage-Jiji, kindness and a bowl of free ramen from Ayame nee-san and Teuchi-ossan. The controversy between light and darkness that had developed seemingly subsided. He too was able to experience love and people he wants to protect. He saw the people's adoration of his parents and their want of protecting their own loved ones. They were also humans after all…. just like him.

He woke up. Saw the sewer around him and cringed.

'Why is my mind this messed up?'

He also realized that the sewer seemed to be more damaged then before. Looking at the fox in front of him staring back at him. He asked

"How long was I away?"

"A few seconds." The kyuubi replied.

"So, what is stopping you from taking control over me and destroying Konoha."

Naruto now understand the severity of the situation. The seal was utterly destroyed from what he could see. If the fox attempts to take control of him. He has no defense whatsoever to stop him from accomplishing that. He was not ready.

The kyuubi looked at him thoughtfully before replying "Too troublesome.."

Naruto raised his eyebrows, mentally connecting the kyuubi with the laziness of the Nara clansmen, or at least what his parents knew about them.

"Plus, I'm too tired. I felt the full brunt of the pressure of absorbing and your parents' souls, at least their residue that remains in the seal, along with their emotions compressed within the span of a couple seconds after the seal was broken so you would not be overloaded and completely wreck your mindscape."

"So you would take over my body once you recovered?"

"As I said before, too troublesome."

"Why?"

"…. personal reasons."

The Kyuubi was visibly getting irritated from this exchange. Naruto didn't like what he heard of the Kyuubi absorbing his parents' souls. He could also see that there are many things the Kyuubi is hiding from him but he gives up the effort to press for answers, hoping he would be given them in due time. Naruto decided to take the lead moving forward.

"Hey Kyuubi, if we are to live together, we should set up some ground rules."

"Continue. Also, it's Kurama, not Kyuubi." The demon fox replied stoically.

Naruto raised his eyebrows. From what he knows from his parents, the name of the fox never existed. The Kyuubi, no Kurama, would use anytime he gets to curse his containers and try to control them. Kurama no longer felt like the bundle of hatred that it once were. Naruto takes this as a chance, to defy the fate and destiny of the relationship of the kyuubi and its container.

"I don't really know what I could do for you, but is there something you would want from me. I know of the abilities given to the Jinchuriki and its perks but I want to make it a two-way relationship."

"Well for one, you should fix up your mindscape. Basically your mind is a mess, but it is nothing a session of meditating wouldn't help."

"Hm.. okay! I guess this is a start of a beautiful relationship -ttebayo!"

'Uzumaki's and their verbal tics' Kurama clicked his tongue in annoyance while at the same time feeling a deep sense of familiarity towards it. Once again laying down, and getting comfortable.

"Maa.. I guess I'll have to see you later. There's a class for me to attend afterall.. and he's not listening" Naruto noted as Kurama already closed his eyes to sleep. He focused on getting out of his mindscape sitting in the lotus position. He was able to leave relatively easily from what he imagined.

Once again, sitting at his seat in his class at the back row. Kids looking relatively nervous while some talking to their deskmates or some friends that they had previously known. A feeling of nostalgia hit him, perhaps from being in his mindscape for so long from his perspective. It seemed like the class still haven't started yet and nobody is taking notice of him. Something he feels both relieved and depressed over. It looked like only several seconds passed in the real world. Naruto pondered over its implications and the many ways he could abuse this.

'I guess I should listen to my parents and try to make some friends and probably find a girl I like' He looked around the room to find these candidates. From what he knew, these kids would not actively ignore him since they don't know about the Kurama too much, and he just entered the school too afterall. He greatly admired his father, the Yondaime, even before today and he was his child hero, the youngest Hokage. He realized from shopping with Jiji the looks of respect that was being given towards the Hokage. When Naruto walked next to him, people ignored him and did not give him the scorn he faced when alone. This created a deep impression on the child Naruto, causing him to want to be the Hokage. His goal still hadn't changed, but he had a new reason for his goals. He wants to protect his loved ones from harm and live up to the expectations and dreams of his parents.

From looking at the memories of his parents, he learned just how much Jiji had hidden from him or just outright lied. He certainly did not approve of how he was raised and some of the decisions he made as Hokage, but nevertheless to Naruto, Sarutobi Hiruzen had been the first family he had ever known, long before Naruto had known him as the Hokage. Deep down, it was never the acknowledgment of the village he had craved, not the attention of people regardless of how negative, not to prove himself to anyone. Deep down, Naruto's desire to be Hokage had stemmed, first and foremost, from his desire to be like Hiruzen. His pranks that he had just started to occasionally pull over people he disliked had garnered the attention he enjoyed from people, but they had started because it was a way to pull Hiruzen away from his work for a few minutes to spend time with Naruto. Before anything else, before proving himself to unknown parents, to teachers, to friends or the village, Naruto wanted to make his grandfather proud.

'I guess I can ask ji-chan if he has time to eat ramen after classes are over or something'

His thoughts moved to his training as a shinobi. He could not remember everything from the images of his parents' lives but he did know how or what he could train. He could always meditate to see if he could sort these memories somewhere in his mindscape to review them. This was a method he learned from his parents training with kage bunshin and sorting through these memories. A short thought passed through his head as he questioned why jiji did not use that for his work.

'guess I'll ask him later'

Classes passes just how he expected from the images of when his parents when to school. Well, except for the glares of his teachers whenever they faced his direction. He did not like any of the teachers as of now, and was glad for the memories of his parents or else he would remain confused and wallow in darkness for years to come.

'After this class is over, I'll see if I can make some friends..'

What he did not notice however, was a pair of eyes in the class that observed him with wisdom that far surpassed the body of the child.

.

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First fanfic published. Don't know if I would continue. Reading and writing is completely different. I did not realize how much a pain writing was until now. Well I'm trying to improve my writing in whatever ways I can. I'll probably not make such a sloppy conclusion to a chapter in the future. I would take no advice to the ending of this fanfic or the mystery elements so far between Naruto and Kurama. That would be my own choice. But please feel free to critique my writing, word choice, or whatever. Naruto is definitely a bit more mature at his age then he is suppose to be, and it's connected with the mystery elements in my story.

Anyway, I do not plan for how Naruto's situation came to be to the main focus of the fanfic, but it would be explained in due time if you haven't been able to guess through the foreshadowing. I know how it feels to be reading a story about a bunch of 5 year olds. Don't worry, this stage would be over soon. I'm strictly following the timeline of Naruto as I know it, but it would steadily diverge until it might seem like a whole other world by the time I'm done with it. Well, I hadn't really plan that extensively though. Ninjas are also pretty smart at this time. Seeing how Kakashi was able to be genin at 5 and chunin at 6, but I guess he's special.

Disclaimer: Don't know if this was supposed to be at the top or something or if I have to put it on every chapter. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. As far as I know, the idea of the story is original, in the fanfiction sense.