Wow! I know, this is is amazing after the last few updates. Only a week! I got ahead on my writing during spring break--and updated all of my stories! Yay!

Okay, so Wolfpad, Twilight Falls, Spitfire-Hanyou17, BlIvorySS, spikemyangel, and aki6 all recognized the Shakespeare 'quote.'

Kyuubi said: "Look, little human, there are more ways to manipulate chakra and energy than are dreamed of in your philosophy." That is taken from Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5: "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

I'll admit, it is not one of the better known ones.

My roommate who proofread said this was kinda angsty, so be prepared. (No, not Minato just yet, but be patient, we're almost there! Even if I wanted to, I couldn't stretch this out too much longer without you all hating me.)

Chapter 10

Sasuke stepped up to Naruto's bedside and pried the blond's eyes open. He could enter his mind without it of course, but this would ensure a stronger connection. He would find out what was going on. Sasuke's eyes turned red and he slid into Naruto's mind.

The real Naruto felt the spell tug him to his left. He lowered his hands slowly.

"Well?" Kyuubi demanded. "Which way is he?"

Naruto lifted a finger and pointed to his left. "That way."

"Alright, kit," Kyuubi grinned, eyes scanning the horizon in that direction. "Let's go get your father."

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the fox's choice of words, but it had been brought up one too many times. Again, the image of two Namikaze Minatos came to him. One was the Minato from the other world, the one who had massaged his cramped legs and stayed with him when he had nightmares. The other was the one from his world, the one who had sealed a demon in him and then abandoned him.

He knew which one was his father.

Kyuubi, who had already started running, noticed that Naruto wasn't with him. He turned around and searched for the brat, who hadn't moved since performing the spell. "What's the matter, Naruto? Your injuries aren't bothering you, are they?"

Naruto shook his head, trying to get a handle on his emotions. You're a ninja, dammit! You need to learn control!

"Well then come on. We need to save your dad—"

"Stop calling him that!"

Kyuubi stopped moving. He had started to run in the direction Naruto had indicated, but now he froze and spun around to face the unmoving blond. "What?"

Naruto finally moved, spinning to meet Kyuubi head-on. "I said, stop calling the Fourth Hokage my father. He's not."

"The hell he isn't, brat," Kyuubi snarled.

Naruto folded his arms and thrust his chin out. Kyuubi sighed; the kit was in for a fight with this one, but he figured it would be a good idea to air all of this out. Better now than in the middle of a battle.

"Why are you refusing to accept him as your father?"

"He's not!" Naruto shouted.

"Why?"

"My father, my dad, was the man in the other universe!" Naruto retaliated. "Not the Fourth Hokage from my world."

Kyuubi stepped closer to Naruto. "He was an illusion, kit. He didn't really—"

"Don't say he didn't exist! DON'T!" Naruto bellowed. Something in the back of his mind was warning him that he was being too loud, that he would bring danger upon them. "That Samu-whatever guy said that the entire family was real to me!"

"But when you wake up in that hospital bed, it won't be that man who you wake up to!" Kyuubi shot back. "It will be your real father!"

Naruto shook his head, his blond locks flying. "No, he may have created me, but that does not make him my father, you stupid fox!"

"Oh, really?" Kyuubi sneered. "And why not, exactly?"

"Well, genius, maybe just the fact that he sealed you inside me and then died, condemning me to a life of misery and loneliness!" Naruto roared, giving Kyuubi a shove.

The fox didn't budge. "He did what he had to do!"

"As a Hokage!" Naruto shouted. "He was a great Hokage, giving his life to protect the village. But as far as I can tell, he was a shitty father!"

"Your father loved you!"

"Funny way of showing it, dontcha think?"

"He was protecting you!" Kyuubi retorted.

"NO!" Naruto howled. "No! You don't protect someone by setting it up so that they have the crappiest life possible and then dying! If he wanted to protect me, he shouldn't have died and LEFT ME ALONE!"

Comprehension dawned on Kyuubi. "So that's what this is about."

Naruto tried to get his breathing under control. "What are you talking about?" he snapped.

"You aren't mad that he stuck me inside you," Kyuubi said. "Hell, you understand that! You know that's what he had to do to save the village."

Naruto looked resolutely to the left of the fox, refusing to acknowledge what he was saying.

"No," Kyuubi continued. "You're pissed and hurt because he died, aren't you?"

Still, the blond refused to answer, though his breathing began to get fast and heavy again. Kyuubi was pushing at very old wounds, ones Naruto had covered up, had thought healed, years ago.

Kyuubi stepped up, closer to Naruto and got in his line of sight. "You're mad because he left you alone."

"Leave it!" Naruto bit out. "Let's find the bastard and get out of here."

"Oh, uh-huh," Kyuubi contradicted. "We're going to air this out now. I don't want you distracted if we have to fight something."

"The longer we stay in here, the better the chances of that happening are," Naruto reminded him.

"The sooner we find your dad, the sooner you can go back to your life and not think about him, is that what you mean?" Kyuubi demanded.

"Fine, fine," Naruto shouted. "Let's have it! What do you got?"

Kyuubi shook his head. "It's not about me, it's about you, Naruto."

Naruto let a breath out through his teeth. "What. About. Me."

"Admit it," Kyuubi encouraged. "You're upset because your daddy died when you were a baby."

Naruto shook his head ferociously. "No, no—"

"But I'm close." It was a statement, not a question.

"It's none of your business!" Naruto snapped.

Kyuubi folded his arms. "Don't bullshit me. It's about your dad leaving you and it is my business because I'm stuck with you for the rest of your ridiculously short life."

"And whose fault is that?" Naruto questioned, seizing on the opportunity to steer the conversation elsewhere. "Huh? Who sealed you in me?"

The fox flinched and his eyes narrowed, but he said, "We'll get to that later. Don't try to change the subject, little kit. Spit it out. Why are you so mad at your father?"

Naruto shook his head and dodged past Kyuubi, sprinting in the direction the spell was leading him. If he could get out of the Shinigami's stomach, he could ignore Kyuubi, just refuse to go into his chamber.

"You're not getting away that easily," Kyuubi said, running alongside Naruto.

"What do you want from me?" Naruto cried. The old ache had returned. Naruto had thought Iruka-sensei banished it, but now it was back and stronger than ever. The ache was quickly turning into a sharp pain with Kyuubi's prodding and Naruto wanted to bury it.

"I want the truth from you, kit! Why do you think you're running?"

"Because I don't want to talk about it!" Naruto shot back.

"About what?"

Naruto stopped and faced Kyuubi. "You wanna know? Do you? Fine! I'll tell you."

"Finally," Kyuubi muttered.

"He knew!" Naruto shouted.

Kyuubi waited for him to expand, but he didn't. "Knew what, kit?"

"He knew what kind of life a Jinchuuriki would have," Naruto cried, his voice cracking. "He was a Hokage, not an ignorant Genin! He had to have known! But did it matter to him?"

"Kit, listen—"

"Did it?" Naruto shouted. "Did he care?"

"Yes! He had to—"

"Oh, really?" Naruto cut him off. "Cause, see if I knew my kid was going to life a HELLISH life, I would do something, anything to make sure I was there to take care of him! I wouldn't leave him alone with the dying, stupid, naïve wish that he be treated as a hero in a village that was bound to hate him!"

Kyuubi was silent. Naruto dropped his head and wiped at the tears that were streaming down his face.

"But, hey," Naruto muttered. "What do I know about how a father should act? Never had a real one."

"Kit, I didn't mean—"

Naruto shook his head and started walking again. "I was always told that my parents died in the Kyuubi attack. Your attack."

Kyuubi closed his eyes as guilt swamped him. He'd have to explain that soon.

"I thought the Fourth Hokage wouldn't choose an orphan, someone who had nobody to protect him, to guide him, to love him, and put that burden on him. But secretly . . ."

Naruto stopped walking and his hands clenched. "Secretly, I always wondered," Here he took a deep breath. "I wondered if they hadn't died. If they just d-didn't . . . care."

"Naruto—"

The blond shook his head and his face scrunched up. More tears were coming and Naruto didn't want them to come out. "I wondered if I was ever wanted or loved by my parents. At all. If they just handed me over to the Fourth Hokage, if they didn't care what happened to me before or after you were sealed in me."

The tears were falling again and there was nothing he could do to stop them, any more than he could stop the raging pain in his heart. He gasped for breath, on his way to a major breakdown—the kind he hadn't had in years, since the time he entered the Academy.

"Now, I know they didn't."

"Listen to me, Naruto, that is just not true!" Kyuubi protested.

"No?" Naruto spun to him. "My dad made me a Jinchuuriki then died, leaving me alone. The gods said my mom was alive. Alive! But where was she when I was growing up?"

Kyuubi cast around for an answer, but Naruto barreled on before he could come up with a plausible explanation.

"Where was my mother when I needed her? She's alive, why wasn't she there for me?"

Kyuubi grabbed Naruto's face and forced the blond to look him in the eye. "Listen to me. Listen. To. Me. I know, I know, for a fact, that your parents loved you. They cherished you and looked forward to your birth. They loved you more than life itself. I'm sure that your father didn't mean to leave you alone. I don't know what happened to your mother, but I am certain that she did not abandon you."

"How do you know?" Naruto asked. There was doubt in his eyes and voice, but the tears were slowing.

Kyuubi sighed. "When Minato found out that your mother was pregnant, he dragged me out to the nearest bar and we spent the night toasting it. I had never seen him so happy. He would work on decorating the nursery for you, and send me letters and pictures of its progress every week. Your mom would contact him once a day with an update, since she was in the mountains and he was in Konoha. I don't know everything that happened, but I do know they loved you."

"R-really?"

The fox nodded firmly. He was convincing Naruto. "Yeah. Trust me. I wouldn't lie about this."

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut. He scrubbed at his face again and Kyuubi relaxed. "Okay. Now, we need to find him, get out of here, find your mom and figure out what happened, got it?"

Several deep breaths later, Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Now let go of me, ya dumb fox."

Kyuubi grinned. "Alright! The real, annoying, loudmouthed kit is back! At least we know this place isn't affecting you too bad, eh?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Let's get moving."

The two started running, guided by Naruto's spell. It was still leading him to the left. "So," he said after a while. "Are you ever gonna explain why you attacked Konoha? And why you aren't pissed at my dad anymore?"

The fox managed to keep a smile off his face at the mention of Naruto's dad. He'd actually been able to get through to the idiot. "You really think now is a good time?"

"Well, it's now, and I can explain everything myself when we get out of here, or we waste time with me going into my head and talking to you, then figuring everything out and explaining. Your choice."

Kyuubi sighed. He did have a point. Now that he remembered, he knew that Tsunade should know the truth—especially since it still posed a threat to Konoha and Naruto. The fools who'd come after him had made the eternal villains' mistake; trusting in their own victory, they had explained their plan to the captive. Well, Orochimaru had. Once Madara had seen what the snake was doing, he put a stop to it, unfortunately before Orochimaru had revealed the entirety of the plan, but he'd said enough to doom them both.

On the other hand, a story like that could—no, certainly would distract him. Kyuubi knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate on defending against anything. Naruto, well, the kit had an incredibly short attention span to begin with and this tale would be sure to get him off track.

"Look, I'll tell you later, okay, kit?"

"Does it have something to do with those chains that what's-her-name pulled off?" Naruto asked.

Kyuubi sighed again. "Yes. It has everything to do with those."

"Were those the reason you attacked?" he asked again.

"By the gods, kit, why do you have to start using your brain now?" Kyuubi demanded, exasperated. Honestly, of all the times Naruto could start asking smart questions, he would choose the most inopportune time. "Let's just say that without them, I would not have attacked Konoha and leave for now, okay?"

"Well, you made me explore my feelings," Naruto reminded him. "Why can't I return the favor?"

"Because unlike you, I can compartmentalize," Kyuubi shot back. "Are we still going the right way?"

"Yeah," Naruto answered, absently checking the spell. "What does 'compartmenize' mean?"

"First, it is com-part-ment-al-ize," Kyuubi enunciated. "Say it right. Also, it means that I can lock my emotions away and focus on the task at hand, something you at the moment are incapable of."

"Hey!" Naruto protested.

"Don't argue, it's true."

Naruto huffed, but shut up as they continued running. "Why do you think nothing came after us while we were fighting?"

"While you were having an emotional fit, you mean?" Naruto made a face at Kyuubi's choice of words. "I don't know, but I did sense some fighting going on near us, underground."

"Big Mama?" Naruto worried. He didn't feel the ground shaking. Wasn't that an indicator of Slimy or Big Mama coming?

Kyuubi shook his head. "No, I made sure to memorize her chakra signature. She's not coming after us now."

Naruto relaxed slightly, and the most evil entity residing in the realm burst through the ground, groping and grasping at him. He staggered back, the sudden change in momentum throwing him off balance.

In front of Kyuubi and Naruto, floating menacingly, was a pair of pale arms with tattoos on them. The fingers wiggled, somehow managing to be comedic and threatening at the same time. Naruto and Kyuubi stared in amazement and horror.

"So, that's Orochimaru," Kyuubi commented.

Naruto put his hands to his head. "Wait. I'm confused. Isn't Orochimaru's soul, like taking over Kabuto now or something?"

"Not exactly, but I can't explain now," Kyuubi hedged. The arms were drifting apart, with the intention of taking them on individually. "Look, Minato's on the other side of the arms, right?"

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "A little to the right, though."

"Okay, then, you stay behind me, I'll start to circle to the right," Kyuubi instructed. "When you have a clear shot, run, got it?"

"Got it!"

Sasuke had been wandering around Naruto's mind for what felt like forever. He honestly hadn't expected it to be this complex, but he should have known better. Naruto may have been a fool, but he wasn't a simple one.

He also should not have expected to land in the Kyuubi's chamber. Last time, Naruto and Kyuubi had been conversing, so it had been easy to find the fox. Now, though he had to go searching for it.

Finally, Sasuke turned a corner and found it. Just as Inoichi had said, the gates were open, but neither they nor the seal had been damaged. Sasuke ignored them and stepped up to the two strings leading up, into the darkness. One was blue, so he assumed that was Naruto's string, but he couldn't figure out why there was green running through it. The other was red.

That must be Kyuubi's.

Naruto and Kyuubi were slowly circling around, though Orochimaru's arms made it a hard job. Kyuubi was managing to battle both of them at once, a flash of arms and red chakra.

"Almost there, Kyuubi," Naruto encouraged.

Sasuke reached out and slowly wound a finger around Kyuubi's string. It was vibrating, as if the fox was drawing on chakra.

Wondering if the strings were connected to the souls, Sasuke decided he wanted to talk to the Kyuubi. The fox would be able to give him better answers than stubborn, inobservant, emotional Naruto.

Sasuke grasped the red string and gave it one strong, firm tug downward.

Kyuubi gasped, feeling a sudden hold on his chakra. He staggered, and the arms took advantage of that to knock him to the ground.

"No!" he snarled as the arms floated over them. "Screw the plan, kit, run!"

"Way ahead of you!" Naruto shouted, already on his way, following the spell. If he could just keep ahead of the arms, he might make it. Unfortunately, he was operating under the assumption that these arms would behave like normal arms—limbs that were stuck to a body.

Increasing their speed, the arms split up. One jabbed Naruto in the head, while the other grabbed his ankle. Naruto went down, and the hand around his ankle lifted him up.

"Hey! Put me down!"

The arm heaved Naruto across the plains of the Shinigami's stomach, then the pair of limbs split up again. One flew after Naruto, while the other went back to finish Kyuubi off.

Kyuubi roared. "Narutoooooooo!" The kit's body couldn't take any more abuse. One more bad landing and he'd be a pile of mush.

Naruto instinctively curled up as the wind rushed by his face. He felt Orochimaru's chakra coming up after him. He whipped out a kunai, preparing to do anything, slice, hack—heck he'd chop the arm up into little Orochimaru bits if he had to.

He was distracted, however, when a kunai flew in front of his nose and a hard body slammed into his.

Well, what do you think? I know the abandonment card has been used a lot, but it makes sense and he hasn't worked out all his feelings for his dad yet, obviously.

Also, Naruto's mom was named Meara in my other story, but I can have her called 'Kushina' in this one. No, I won't be changing the character or her background (which are both very important) if you all choose Kushina. You can tell me here or go to my profile and use my poll. (Use the poll! It's exciting to check!) If you tell me in a review, I'll just add it into the poll, so ONE or the OTHER, NOT BOTH!!

Okay, thank you all for reading!