AN: hmm… I've noticed that my scene change didn't display for some reason… I hope it wasn't too hard to read without them….
Disclaimer: I don't own anything… which is good for all, because I would royally fuck it up
The Glass
Chapter 6
And since you know you cannot see yourself,
so well as by reflection, I, your glass,
will modestly discover to yourself,
that of yourself which you yet know not of.
William Shakespeare
The next day, Jiraiya started to train Naruto, Fuwa, and Tarim. Naruto was given weights to help increase his speed. Once he got used to that, Jiraiya began to teach him how to summon toads. Fuwa was given a scroll of taijutsu skills to learn and practice. Tarim was taught Underworld Spines, Jiraiya's jutsu for using hair as a shield. Once she graduated from that, she worked with Fuwa on taijutsu.
For most of the month, the training was routine. Naruto could still barely summon a tadpole and Fuwa and Tarim were still trying to beat the shit out of each other.
A week before the third exam, the routine changed. After arriving at the training area, Jiraiya led his students to a deep canyon.
"Yo, Ero-sennin! What are you up to now?" Fuwa questioned, peering cautiously over the edge.
"Just giving Naruto some incentive to get the summons right." With that, Jiraiya pushed Naruto over the edge.
"Naruto!" Fuwa rushed to where he fell and watched as his other self plummeted.
Tarim, on the other hand, grabbed Jiraiya's shirt and pulled him down to see eye to eye with her. "What the fuck is wrong with you! Go help him!"
Jiraiya shook his head and pushed Tarim away from him. He was about to explain himself when a dull thud drew their attention to Fuwa, who had passed out.
"Hey! Naruto!" Naruto was woken up by Fuwa's voice. "Where the hell are we?"
Naruto slowly got to his feet and turned to Fuwa. "Huh?"
They both jumped as a loud howl came from one of the nearby hallways.
"That doesn't sound good…" Fuwa commented as he started inching closer to the hallway.
"This feeling…" Naruto headed down the hallway, leaving Fuwa to follow. "It's that chakra…"
The pair came upon a large gate. Naruto started to get closer but Fuwa pulled him back. "Hey! Getting too close to mister large, fuzzy and destructive may not be such a good idea."
Naruto gave Fuwa a blank look. "What?"
Fuwa pointed to the gate. "You know… Kyubi? The only thing that's sealed in your body." Fuwa rolled his eyes as understanding filled Naruto's face.
"You!" A deep growl came from behind the gate. "Kukuku… I didn't think I would see you again…"
"Again?" Fuwa shifted uncomfortably when Kyubi's eyes focused on him.
"You don't know?" Kyubi moved closer to the gate so that he could have a better look at the two. "I see... You are not him…. He's there… but you are not him."
"What the fuck are you talking about!" Naruto yelled, moving closer to the gate.
Kyubi's focus shifted to Naruto. "Hn… you don't know about the seal, do you? Creating it binds the soul of the target and the user of the jutsu together. That blond monkey you call the Yondaime has been keeping me company in this hellhole for the last thirteen years." Kyubi let out a rough laugh. "Even in a dormant sleep, he annoyed me."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Fuwa asked.
"About a month ago, the little shit disappeared. Now I see why…" Kyubi snickered. "Now… For you to come here… What do you want?"
Naruto and Fuwa looked at each other for a minute before Naruto remember his impending death. "Oh, yeah! Lend me your chakra!"
Kyubi grinned down at his vessel. "Gwahahaha…If you die then I die, eh? Alright… Here's a gift for coming this far."
Naruto screamed as the chakra surrounded his body.
When Fuwa woke up, Tarim was shaking him violently. "Wake up, you bastard! What's wrong with you?"
Fuwa grabbed her arms and forced her to stop. "You're not helping, wench!" He pushed her away from him and got to his feet. "Where's Ero-sennin?"
Tarim shrugged. "The bastard took off a couple of minutes ago. He said something about not wanting to be seen and that he really needs to talk to us tomorrow."
"That might not be possible…" Fuwa headed over to the edge of the cliff.
"What do you mean by that?" Tarim joined him at the edge.
"Naruto is – " Fuwa was cut off as the ground started to rumble. He and Tarim watched as Gamabunta jumped up over their heads and landed behind them.
"Shit!" Tarim exclaimed, shielding her eyes from the dirt Gamabunta kicked up. "Naruto summoned something that big!"
Gamabunta turned to where they were standing. He glanced at them briefly before he looked at the scroll on the ground nearby. The giant toad grinned then put the unconscious Naruto down in front of Fuwa and Tarim. "Take him to the hospital." With that, he disappeared.
Tarim started laughing. "Right….This is just too weird." When Fuwa just looked at her, she pushed him towards Naruto. "Hey! You heard the frog. Pick him up and let's go!"
Naruto woke up to see Fuwa lounging next to his bed. "Hey…" Naruto sat up and looked at Fuwa. "What's up with you?"
Fuwa yawned. "Nothing really… I've just been feeling lazy since you passed out." He shook his head as if to clear it. "Anyway… Ero-sennin wants to talk to us. I think he's suspicious of us because I went with you to see the fuzzball."
"Naruto? You're awake!" Tarim chirped as she strolled into the room. "About time you woke up." Tarim chuckled as she bounced onto Naruto's bed.
"About time? How long have I been asleep?" Naruto asked, getting out of bed.
"Three days." Fuwa supplied before turning to Tarim. "Do you know where Ero-sennin is?"
"He's probably at the bathhouse." Naruto commented.
"Normally I would agree," Tarim started, "but I think I saw him heading into the Hokage's Tower."
"Hmm… you think we're in trouble?" Fuwa asked Naruto.
Tarim frowned. "For what? Not telling anyone about the division thing?"
Naruto just shrugged. "I don't know… Why don't we just track him down and find out?"
The gennin headed to the Hokage Tower, where they were told to sit in the waiting room. After about ten minutes, they were told to enter the Hokage's office. The Hokage smiled at them and gestured for them to sit down in front of his desk.
"Jiraiya will be here in a minute. I just sent someone after him." He turned his attention onto Fuwa and Tarim. "Hmm… I don't know you two. You're names?"
"Fuwa."
"Kitanaka Tarim."
"Kitanaka?" The Hokage questioned. "Are you Reika's daughter?"
"Yup!" Tarim nodded as Jiraiya entered the room.
"So, the brat's awake…" Jiraiya greeted, settling himself on the edge of the Hokage's desk. "Why don't you two explain what happened at the ravine?"
Naruto and Fuwa shared a look. "Well… for starters…." Fuwa took off his hitai-ate and partially unzipped his shirt to show his face.
Jiraiya frowned. "Explain."
"When we fought with Orochimaru in the Forest of Death, I had just activated my Kage Bushin when that snake freak put a seal on my stomach. I was knocked out and when I woke up, Fuwa was there with me." Naruto recounted.
"We're connected, but it doesn't seem as if we draw on the same chakra source." Fuwa added.
The Hokage thought about this for a minute. "And you knew about this?" He asked Tarim after noticing her neutral attitude.
The girl nodded. "Yeah… I met up with them before Naruto returned to his team, so I saw Fuwa before he could disguise himself. "
The Hokage sighed, then pinned down Naruto with a reprimanding look. "If something big like this happens again, make sure to tell somebody about it."
Naruto gave a nervous laugh. "Yes, sir."
Jiraiya walked over to Naruto and lifted up his jacket and shirt. "Pull out your chakra."
Naruto protested and tried to push down his clothes. "What! But…!" He darted a glance towards Tarim.
"Just hurry and do it."
Naruto reluctantly did as he was told. The seal appeared on Naruto's stomach and Jiraiya began studying it. Tarim moved so that she could see what was happening. "That's complex! What does it do?"
Naruto and Fuwa looked over to Hokage, who shook his head. "Don't look at me. It's up to you whether or not you want to tell her."
Should we? Fuwa asked.
I don't know… I have the feeling that she'll take it well… but that could be just wishful thinking.
The question is: do you want to risk it?
Tarim looked between the two while they were talking to each other. "Do you really have to think that hard on it? You know… if it's really that big a deal, you don't have to tell me. I was just curious…"
"No… it's alright…" Naruto started, but paused long enough to get a nod from Fuwa before continuing. "That seal traps the Kyubi inside of me."
"Kyubi?" Tarim asked. "Is that how he was really defeated?"
"Yes…" The Hokage answered. "Kyubi was too strong to be killed so the Yondaime used a forbidden jutsu to seal away its soul into a newborn child."
"Hmm…." Tarim thought for a long while before nodding. "I guess that makes sense."
Jiraiya had long since finished his examination and was watching the exchange with interest. "Nothing surprises you, does it?"
"Huh?" Tarim lifted an eyebrow at Jiraiya. "Why would it surprise me? My mother's been commenting for years that there was more to that fight than was being said. This just explains things."
"Your mother?"
"Kitanaka Reika. A seal specialist." The Hokage supplied. "The Yondaime consulted her numerous times while developing the Shikifuujin."
"So…" Naruto cut in, hesitantly. "You're okay with me being the container of Kyubi."
Tarim bopped Naruto on the head. "Don't be an idiot. Naruto is Naruto. You're still the same guy I became friends with."
Naruto grinned at her and looked like he was about to cry. "Thanks."
Fuwa stared at Naruto. "You need to stop crying when you're happy. You look stupid."
Naruto shot out of his chair and glared at Fuwa. "Hey! Shut up!"
Jiraiya shoved Naruto into his chair. "Anyway…I can tell that this is Orochimaru's work but I'm not entirely sure how Fuwa was created. From what I can tell, the bushin should have deactivated and there should have been a barrier between Naruto and Kyubi's chakra."
"When you threw Naruto off of the cliff, we both went into his mind and spoke to Kyubi." Fuwa explained. "He said that the Yondaime's soul had been disconnected from Naruto and put into me. Could that have done anything?"
Both Jiraiya and the Hokage were surprised at this. "The Yondaime's soul was inside of you? How?" Jiraiya asked.
"Perhaps it would be best to take this matter to Reika." The Hokage suggested. "She should be able to clear up this matter."
To be continued…
AN: Yeah… the Yondaime trapped in Naruto's body… it's an old theory… but I think it's more plausible that the Yondaime being Naruto's father (not that I wouldn't be happy if it turned out that way .)
About Kyubi, he is a little bit different than in the original scene( ie. There's no "I want to eat you"). There are two reasons for this. 1) At the end of this scene and when Kyubi talks at the Valley of the End, I got the impression that he was amused by Naruto (I've never seen the anime, so I don't know how he was displayed there) and 2) He's in a good mood because he no longer has to deal with his enemy. Oh yeah… and some of the lines in that scene are taken directly from the manga.
The scene at the hospital is different because of the time frame. I had Jiraiya do the cliff thing earlier, so Naruto isn't in the hospital the day before the finals and so he doesn't see Shikamaru or Gaara.
The next chapter may take a while because I have a lot to plan out and logic to test. I'm doing my best to explain shit instead of just saying "oh it just happened that way." And I'm trying to make it at least SOMEWHAT believable.
