Lunar Eclipse

by Random Writer 46

Summary: Three clans, one destiny, and one boy to change it all. (KOF Elements and characters included.)

DarkGaara: Well, I do like Terry. I just don't like his non-2003 outfit, that's all. Anyway, I think Rock's much better.

holyknight: Yeah, that usually happens when somebody who doesn't know about the Kyuubi mess with Naruto.

Raven11: I'm still waiting for that to come out! Do you think it'll be for the PS2?

soul ice: Thanks. Kyo's one of my favourite characters, though I can't use him very well. His super cancels are too hard for me, so I use Shingo instead. Laugh out loud. "BAKI--!" after a fake Aragami is always fun.

Sourdough-AK: Oh, no problem. Iori's definitely going to be in there, though the way that he's integrated might not surprise you.

jpthug12: Thanks! I intend to.

I regret to say, my readers. I suffer from a textbook case of '2-much-xovers!' syndrome, it's a very fatal disease that causes many, many elements from way too many different shows and comics and stuff to be stuffed inside one story. Of course, my case isn't as bad as many. I can find ways to incorporate elements from other series into Naruto. Oh, and a word of warning. There will be chocobos in this story, bet your life on it.

Chapter 2: Nail Art, Crescent Moon, Golden Sun, the Kyuubi, and You

Elsewhere...

A slim figure dangled itself over a terrace, staring at the commotion down in the streets. He wore a red outfit, emblazoned with flames on the edges of the fabric. His platinum blonde hair was kept parted with a headband, and he was staring, searching for something intently.

This is boring... When will they get here?

The figure silently lifted his hand, inspecting something. In the dim sunlight, blocked by the black clouds above, a elegant hand with nail art was seen. The figure looked at it, and was apparently disgusted with something. Probably not the nail art itself, though other people would probably rather die than be seen with something like that in public.

Hmm, why did I have to choose those two for the mission again? One's a loud, annoying braggart, and the other one's way too cold and feminine-looking for my tastes. The figure apparently ignored the fact that he himself was also way too feminine. Well, we don't have much time left. That's my fault for letting him go crazy in the last town when he found out fifty percent of the restaurants specialized in crabs.

"Hey!" A voice called from behind him, and Ash smiled. Shen was here. "I brought you back some of that french candy stuff you love so much! Thank me please, I didn't even know they had that stuff here in Rock Country." Ash warily turned around, it wasn't like Shen to be nice. What he found didn't surprise him.

"Shen, that's a croissant." He said, pointing at the pastry.

"What's the difference?"

Ash refrained from smacking his forehead in disbelief and just sighed in exasperation. Oh well, Shen wasn't exactly the expert in food except where crabs were concerned. Ash turned back to the streets, and Shen walked up beside him, munching on he croissant that he had been saving for the flame-wielder. Oh well, if he didn't want it, there was no point in letting it go to waste, hm?

"So, did you find him?" Ash asked.

Shen shook his head.

"Nope, he'll be here when he wants to be here." Shen said, sagely.

"Any ideas when he'll want to be here?" Ash asked icily. There wasn't much time left, three months. It would take two months just to travel to the Leaf, and that meant they would only have one month left to execute the plan. "Seriously, we want to get out of this town by noon."

Suddenly, a monotone voice spoke behind them.

"I'm here." A tall slim figure, wrapped in a black coat emblazoned with two dragons, said. His hair was pulled back in a peculiar way, and his pale complexion would've made anyone think, if they met him in a dark alley in the middle of the night, that he was a vampire. Not exactly far from the truth. Most of the Hizoku clan did have a taste for blood anyways.

Ash and Shen both turned around quickly. It was always unnerving that he could sneak up behind somebody so silently and quickly. But the Hizoku clan specialized in assassinations and silent killing, so it was to be expected.

"Well, if you're both here. Then let's go already." Ash said, calmly. Shen nodded happily, and Duo Lon did nothing at all. "Get back to the hotel room and pack up your bags. Sight-seeings over, remember, the mission comes first."

Shen and Duo Lon nodded, and vanished. Ash sighed. It was hard being a jounin when both you're teammates were chuunin. Very, very hard. Suddenly, a glint of metal was seen on Ash's upper arm. Tied around the soft red fabric that was Ash's shirt, was a hitae-ate. The symbol on the headband was a star.

He took out a sheet of paper from his pocket, and checked it over again.

Ash smiled. As a jounin of the Hidden Galaxy village, it was his duty to accomplish all missions given by the Hoshikage. And that was exactly what he was going to do.

Kyo stared uneasily at the kid in front of him. He was still in that trance of his, even though he had been there a good half hour already. Kyo had been tempted to get closer, but each time the tails had hit him away. The tails weren't normal either, they were made of Magatama. Strong Magatama. Stuff that even Kyo couldn't reach. Each swipe of the tails had left marks across his arms, and his black jacket was all but ruined. He would have to get a new one after this, with the money that his dad had given him of course.

Suddenly, the boy blinked, and the tails vanished. Kyo cautiously took a step forwards.

"Um... Kyo-sensei? What happened? Why are you hurt?"

"Actually, I was hoping that you could tell me. Nothing like this had ever happened before, at least that I know of."

Naruto gulped, there was no way around it. He couldn't bluff something that he didn't know about, after all. And maybe there was more to the ritual than the Kyuubi had said... he definitely felt stronger, after all. Though that might've been the burning feeling that coursed through his veins now... it was a warm feeling, unlike the rough burning that seemed to scorch his organs when the ritual had been occuring.

And so, to a interested Kyo, Naruto spilt the beans.

Elsewhere...

Many shattered men were lying all across the grassy plains. There was blood, there were body parts, there was evidence of a battle. Broken kunai, snapped shuriken... The corpses of men and women burnt to death. And there was only one standing figure.

He stood silently, the moonlight washing across his back. His eyes were downcast, as if afraid the light would reveal his identity, though to who might be the question. There was no one left alive in the fields, except for him. He wore a strange outfit, caked with dirt and grime. Blood stained his hands, though he was unhurt. A black tuxedo-like jacket covered a long white shirt. He wore red pants that were tied together at the knees with a long belt that didn't seem to hinder his movements, and, almost out of place, were his kunai holsters and his headband, which he had tied around his upper left arm.

"You know, you didn't have to go all out, sir." A blonde woman said. She hadn't been there a moment ago. She was wearing nearly the same type of thing that the man was, though of course, her's was a lot more feminine. She wore dangling earrings... a strange sight, comsidering how much of a target it would be to enemy ninjas. It was proof enough of her strength that she was a jounin, and yet her ears were still undamaged.

"Shut up, Mature." Another red-haired woman said. She also hadn't been there a moment ago. Like the blonde female, Mature, she wore clothing similar to the red-haired man's, though where they had white, she had red. Her hair was cut short, and her earings were of the non-dangling type. She looked bored. "You know how he is after a battle. He's all adrenaline and shit."

"Vice." Mature chided the red-haired woman. Though Vice's hair was red, it was a dark red, almost mistakable for black, while the man's hair was more of a maroon colour. "Don't speak that way of your superiors. Iori-san might have problems controlling his power, but in both rank and status, he's higher than you."

"Meh, not my problem." Vice said, grumbling.

The red-haired man hadn't said a word since the two women had appeared. But now he opened his mouth, and in a dry voice he croaked, "Have we recieved any new orders yet?"

"Yes." Mature said, procuring a paper from her left pocket and tossing it over to the red-haired man. "Here it is, sir."

"Hmph, don't worry about me." The red-haired man started reading the letter, and after he had finished skimming through it, he read through it again, this time with wider eyes. After he had finished the third time, he started laughing, slowly at first, but then faster and faster, louder and louder.

"Kusanagi... Hahaha... Kusanagi! KUSANAGIIII!"

The two women started chuckling.

The moonlight washed over the man, his features now shown. On his face was a maniacal glare. He brought his left hand up to his forehead, and his laughter got madder and madder.

On his back, was the emblem of a large white crescent moon. And on his hitae-ate, was the symbol of the Hidden Galaxy.

"So that's what happened." Kyo muttered as he rubbed his forehead. He and Naruto were both sitting, cross-legged, in the clearing where they had the ritual. Naruto inspected his orange outfit, there was nothing wrong. The red character that Kyo had swiped across the orange fabric had disappeared, and so had the symbols that he had left on the ground. "Sorry about that, it was my fault. I should've asked you some questions before doing the ritual."

Naruto was surprised.

"You're not afraid of me? You're not mad at me?" Naruto asked. Years of abuse had left its mark on the child after all, it was deep within his psyche that if anybody knew about the Kyuubi within him, then they would hate him instantly. That was the sole reason he had kept from telling this stranger for so long.

"Why would I be afraid of you? I can kick your ass from here to the moon, and then afterwards I can send you to hell and then drag you back, only to send you to hell again. And why would I be mad at you? I didn't ask about the Kyuubi, and you never knew how the ritual was supposed to work, so why would I be mad at you?" Kyo asked, quizzically.

Naruto's mouth was dry.

"I mean... all the villagers..."

Kyo nodded. He understood now. It was the same with the Sanshu no Jingi, the Trinity Clans. They were different, so they were feared. And it didn't help that people usually didn't forget bad blood. Villages had black sheep, and villagers need scapegoats.

"Ah. I get it. Well... I guess it's because I've never met this Kyuubi head-on. He's never done anything to me, and I've never done anything to him. And even if we did have a feud or something, why would I be mad at you for caging a dangerous creature?" Kyo asked, with an air of confidence.

"R--Really!" Naruto asked, his voice quivering.

"You, my boy, suffer from a serious lack of faith." Kyo grinned, though he was surprised when the boy didn't laugh back, and only turned his head down. Kyo was suddenly worried, what if he had hurt the boy somehow with his words? "Hmm? What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

"Thank you."

Naruto's face rose, and Kyo lost his breath for a second. The boy's face was full of gratitude, the type that one man gave another for saving his life. Ushed tears were brimming at the edges of his eyes. Kyo was suddenly afraid, there was no way he could leave this kid now, not after this. It was like he was drowning, and Kyo was a thread in the rope that he was hanging on to. Did this kid have friends at least? At least... When he was part of the Trinity Clans, he had friends to help him... Family members that would care for him and tell him everything would be alright... This orphan didn't have anything like that. Kyo cursed, damn his compassionate spirit, damn it all!

"Don't worry about it. Wipe your tears, I don't train crybabies." Kyo regained his composure. He threw Naruto a napkin that he procured from his pocket, and grinned. "Let's get to the training now. We've only got... three hours left. That's good enough for me to teach you how to use the Magatama, and if we're lucky, maybe a simple Shiki."

Naruto wiped vigorously. Hard enough for his face to become red.

"YEAH!"

Kyo grinned.

S-Class Mission: Code 2052

S-Class Order (override any previous missions)

S-Class Objective (use any means necessary)

S-Class Personnel (best shinobi deployed)

Issued by the Hoshikage, date xx/xx/xxxx

Assigned to: Ash Crimson, Shen Woo, Duo Lon of the Hizoku

Objectives: Retrieve the guardian spirit of the Hidden Galaxy, Kyuubi no Kistune. Information recieved is that it is currently sealed within a Hidden Leaf genin known as Uzumaki Naruto. Use any means necessary to retrieve him unharmed. Do not try to extract the Kyuubi. You have a three months time limit. Do not ask why.

S-Class Mission: Code 2053

S-Class Order (override any previous missions)

S-Class Objective (use any means necessary)

S-Class Personnel (best shinobi deployed)

Issued by the Hoshikage, date xx/xx/xxxx

Assigned to: Iori Yagami, Mature, Vice

Objectives: Kill the nukenin Kyo Kusanagi. Information recieved is that he currently resides within the Hidden Leaf. His goal is to become a shinobi of Konoha. Retrieve or kill him before he does, as it would be an act of war to hunt another village's shinobi. The estimated time you have is three months. Go now, and burn this paper.

Sorry for the short chapter, I just needed to set the settings and everything. Now that's another six KOF characters down, and I'll bet you're itching to see some other Naruto characters except for Naruto himself, huh? Well, you'll get that... next chapter! Thanks for all the reviews, people!