Disclaimer: Naruto and Touhou project belong to their respective owners, and I will delete this story if requested.


New home


A month had passed since Yukari had learnt the truth about Naruto's life. Yukari had investigated Naruto on a daily basis, although not revealing her existence lest she arouse suspicion. As a result, Yukari understood Naruto better than himself. Naruto held within him the kyūbi no kitsune who had attacked the village on Naruto's birth; the villagers treated Naruto as a scapegoat for their loss; and the village was manipulating Naruto to be a weapon that would evolve into a hero and saviour. Naruto's fate had been set during his first day in that world: a weapon for his village. Moreover, Naruto was lonely, and he wanted nothing more than a family.

Yukari had contemplated her options to help Naruto, and she had decided bringing him to Gensokyō would be the best for both Gensokyō and Naruto. Naruto would have a chance to achieve his greatest wish, a family, and would provide Gensokyō with a solution for its problem.

In Gensokyō, a land isolated from the rest of the planet by a barrier, humans and yōkai coexisted in a system drawn a long time ago, which the Hakurei priestesses enforced for generations by protecting the balance between humans and yōkai. If the Hakurei clan vanished, the balance would break, and Gensokyō would end. The obsolescence of the barrier, which would be caused outsider's rapid advancement, would bring fort the same result. And at the moment, Gensokyō was facing two problems: the Hakurei clan had only one member left, and the outsider's advancement and curiosity had become worrying.

Yukari was in the Hakurei shrine, trying to convince the last Hakurei to take Naruto in her home. The last Hakurei was a shrine maiden dressed in a red top and a red skirt, with a ribbon tied around her neck and another ribbon adorning the back of her head. Her top was sleeveless, and the shrine maiden used a tube of cloth as a sleeve around each of her hand—tied with a ribbon near the top so they wouldn't fall. In addition, her two locks, one on each side of her face, was wrapped in a tube of cloth each. The shrine maiden was lying on the wooden floor, ignoring Yukari as the latter tried to convince her.

'What's up with you pushing a child on me?' said the shrine maiden after some time, 'Take him to your own home if you want to help him.'

'The Hakurei god has been pushing you for the next generation of the Hakurei clan recently.'

'Adopted child doesn't count.'

'I never said you would adopt him.'

Reimu rose, giving Yukari an incredulous stare. 'You can't be serious.'

'Oh, I am. You are not interested in anyone from the village, so you have to marry someone from the outside. And I guarantee you will like him. You will get along well, and you will understand each other.'

'Nope, I'm not taking him. I can wait for someone in the village.'

'Waiting for someone to grow up? You would marry someone much younger than you all the same. Let Naruto live with you for a while. See if you like him.'

Hakurei pouted. 'I still want to be a shrine maiden.'

Yukari giggled. 'Not now, Reimu, you won't have to marry him immediately. Wait for a few years. Give him time for his body to mature. And use this time to understand each other. He should have started maturing right now, so you won't have to wait for too long. Even if you don't like him, let him stick around so the Hakurei god won't push you to secure your next in line. Adopt him if you like. If you don't, you may give him to me.'

Hakurei narrowed her eyes hearing the words. 'You're still eating humans?'

'Oh, my, I won't eat him. I will give him to Ran.'

In the village of Konoha, Naruto ignored Iruka's lecture again, for Iruka was once again lecturing about the past leaders. Naruto had made a few friends: Chōji, Kiba, and Shikamaru – three of whom were sitting around Naruto. Naruto tapped Kiba's shoulder, saying, 'Hey, there's an open window over there. Wanna leave?'

'N-Naruto, you shouldn't leave the class,' said Hinata.

But Naruto cared not; he and his three friends jumped out of the window.

'So,' said Kiba once leaving the academy, 'Where are we going?'

'What about my clansman's restaurant?' said Chōji.

'No way,' said Naruto, 'they'll kick me out! Let's go to Ichiraku's ramen shop. I've got coupons!'

'Nah, we've been there last week. Why do you love that place so much?'

'More like he has no choice,' said Shikamaru, 'Not a bad place to eat, though.'

'Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!'

And thus, Naruto and his friends headed for Ichiraku's shop, in which Naruto had to devote all of his coupons to treat his friends. But Naruto didn't mind. The only people his age who accepted him as he was were there with him, savouring what was for him the greatest food in the world served by the only villagers who accepted him.

Kiba was standing by the entrance, poking his head to see outside. 'Shit!' blurted Kiba, 'Iruka's coming. Gotta go!'

Kiba ran out of the shop while other three remained inside, joking about the ridiculous of his exit.

'What are you doing outside of the academy?' asked a new presence, silencing the joking trio.

Shikamaru looked at the new presence. 'Asuma? Shit!'

'I'm not repeating my question. What are you doing here?'

'We're running out because Iruka's replacement is picking on us.'

'Yeah!' added Naruto, 'Iruka's sick!'

Asuma glared at Chōji, causing the rotund boy to confess. 'Damn it, you three. Why are you leaving again?'

'It's boring!'

'Well, what about an early start? But this time, Shikamaru and Chōji are joining us.'

'Wait, what are you talking about?' asked Shikamaru.

'Naruto's training with the Sarutobi clan,' said Asuma, 'Mostly just with me, though.'

Although Shikamaru said nothing, the statement alerted Shikamaru's mind. Naruto was enigmatic enough without this information, and he had become more interesting with this information. In addition, the Nara clan had never been notified about this. Shikamaru gazed at Chōji, whose face reflected genuine surprise. What was so important about Naruto to necessitate the Sarutobi clan to act without informing its closest allies in the village?

Naruto stepped out of the shop, and waved as he ran away. 'I'm going hunting. See ya!'

Naruto left his home, taking a map and a pouch of kunai—proper ones this time—and set out to the forest. There, he laid low in a bush, holding a kunai in each of his hands. The bush was near the path of rabbits—Naruto knew by instinct after hunting for years. A rabbit entered range; Naruto prepared his weapon. Naruto threw a kunai; the kunai hit the rabbit in the stomach, causing an unpleasant noise to erupt. Naruto then hit the rabbit's head with the other kunai.

Naruto ran to take the carcass, wary a carnivore might steal his kill. But gap opened in front of Naruto, whose momentum prevented him from stopping. The moment Naruto realised he was not in the forest anymore, the gap had vanished.

Naruto was in a long hall, a pleasant and well-kept one. To his left was a wall as long as the hall, sliding doors adorning it at intervals. To his right, a field of grass spanned far before disappearing into a wall of trees, which appeared to be a half-circle connecting one end of the hall to another. 'Fuck!' Naruto concentrated, channelling his chakra to break what he perceived as an illusion to no avail.

Naruto jammed his kunai to his thigh, hoping the pain would break the illusion. He jammed another one to his other thigh, but the sight was still the same. Must be a strong one, thought Naruto. Naruto pulled both kunai from his thighs, wincing as his wounds contacted air. He then held both kunai with his right hand, aiming at his stomach. I won't die from this kind of wound, anyway, thought Naruto as he swung his right hand. He failed to stab himself, however, as a hand caught and held his in place.

'Stop harming yourself,' said Yukari, 'What good would it do?'

'Damn illusion won't stop messing with me!' Naruto tried to break his right hand free, and the hand that was holding his threw him back-first to the floor, scattering the kunai off his hand. The first thing Naruto saw was an extravagantly dressed woman in purple and white, whose hat was of a ridiculous design. She knelt beside him, observing him with an eerie smile on her face. Naruto felt like a toy. He reached a kunai and stabbed his stomach. 'Damn…. Illusion's still here.'

'This is not an illusion,' said Yukari. Naruto cursed at her, and her smile turned predatory. Yukari struck his head with an umbrella before doing it again. And she kept repeating until her umbrella broke, at which point Naruto was sobbing under a layer of blood. 'Illusion doesn't cause pain, does it?' She received no answer. 'I know it was painful, but it was nothing compared to what awaits you.' Again, she received no answer. 'Very well. I'll get Ran to take care of…. Never mind. You've healed already. Well, come with me.' She offered her hand to Naruto. 'Come on, take it. I will not hurt you again.'

'Why did you kidnap me?'

'You live alone and pitiful. I took you so you can have someone to live with. A family, even.'

'I'm not pitiful. The village is my family.'

'No, they are not. Tell me, what good has they done to you?'

'Ichiraku and Ayame are nice to me.'

'Because you are their guarantee for a living. They earn their income from you.'

'No, I'm poor as heck and villagers avoid them. They take risk to feed me!'

'Notice how they always have blinds on the door whenever you eat? That is to hide your presence; you have eaten there enough for them to predict your pattern. And you never realise how they keep track on how many bowls of ramen you eat to demand the Hokage for reimbursement. When they don't, they always limit your portion.'

'Lie!'

'It is a lie, since your life is but a lie fabricated to make you a weapon of your village.'

'No, you're lying!' Naruto rose to run, but he changed his mind as soon as he saw a kyūbi no kitsune walking towards him. 'M-monster!'

The kitsune kept walking, and Yukari restrained Naruto in place. The kitsune asked Yukari, 'May I buy foods?'

'I'll buy you fried tofu later. You have a task right now.'

'What is it?'

'Sit here and wait. I'll tell you later.'

'Understood,' said the kitsune as she sat near them. She then looked at Naruto.

'Get her away!' Naruto struggled, trying to get away from the kitsune.

'She is not dangerous.' Yukari tightened her restrain. 'She is gentle.'

'Uh, really?'

'Yes. Now, Naruto, let me ask you something. What is the worst thing the villagers have done to you?'

'All they do is mock me and sometimes break my stuff. It's no big deal! I don't care about the mocking, I'm used to it already, and I can always ask the old man for the broken stuff!'

'And that is the problem. He provided you with everything you asked because he wants you to feel indebted. Do you know why your house is sparse?'

'He wants to make sure that I have space for my hobby!' Naruto answered with such confidence that if Yukari had not seen the truth, she would have believed him.

'Unfortunately, no. He knew that you would ask for more facilities if he provided you with the bare minimum. He wants you to ask him so you will feel indebted when he finally bought them for you. You are vital to your village, so he wants to make sure that your loyalty remains pure and strong enough to weather the villagers' hatred towards you. Do you think they never went to psychical violence? They did. And they would do it again if you stay in that village.'

'You lie! I'd remember that if they did!'

'Do you remember what the academy taught you about the Yamanaka clan?'

'Of course! Who do you think I am?! They can read mind and… erase memory…. They erased mine, huh?'

'I will explain.'

Meanwhile, Konoha was in turmoil. Naruto had been reported missing, and the information leaked to the villagers. As a result, Hiruzen deployed a vast majority of available personnel to look for Naruto, while villagers partied like never before since the attack eleven years ago. In fact, the partying was so heavy personnel had to be withdrawn from the search operation to control them.

The situation in the Council Chamber was no better. Council members accused, blamed, and shouted at each other. Some felt fear, for the greatest asset of the village might have fallen into enemy's hands. Some felt tricked, as they they had invested much in Naruto's trust. And some felt relieved in Naruto's disappearance. All, however, shared one common feeling: anger.


'That is why I have brought you here. You can return to the place of your birth if you find life here uncomfortable. Just try to live here before you ask me to return you.'

'Won't people judge me or something?'

'Of course not. You are not really a kitsune. Even if you are, no one would mind your species as long as you do not disturb them.'

'What would happen if I do?'

'If you disturb humans, they would hire exterminators to exterminate you because your presence feels like a yōkai, permanently if you are unfortunate. If you disturb yōkai, they would eat you because you are a human.'

Naruto yelled, 'They eat humans here!?'

'Not so loud.' Yukari opened a gap for Naruto to enter, and said, 'Enter. It will take you to where you would live.'

'Wait, you said I'm going to live here!'

'You should live with another human.'

'You're not a human!?'

Yukari pushed Naruto inside the gap. When Yukari followed him—after buying fried tofu for Ran—she saw Naruto arguing with Hakurei over his orange attire, which Hakurei called a hideous hide not befitting the Hakurei Shrine. Hakurei told him to wear a priest uniform, and Naruto refused, reasoning it was hard moving in that uniform. Naruto even said he'd rather live with Ran than surrendering his orange attire. Seeing this, Yukari offered a solution.

'Let him wear his clan's uniform.'

'My clan's gone extinct.'

'Yes, but their heritage still remained, waiting for you to claim them.'

'Wait a minute!' Hakurei dragged Yukari somewhere secluded. Hakurei whispered, 'I thought you're giving him to my clan.'

'I do.'

'But giving him his clan's heritage? Won't that cause him to identify with his clan instead of mine?'

'His clan is, if seen this way, his world's counterpart of the Hakurei clan. It's a clan of seal-masters with most members specialising in barriers. Moreover, the clan lived in a secluded place behind natural obstacles and a great barrier. The similarities should make him willing to accept Gensokyō as his home and your clan as his family. You can even combine both to make the Hakurei clan more proficient in seals.'

'Um, that is... Wait, what does the uniform look like? I won't let him wear it if it looks hideous.'

'Red-white. White top and bottom under a red low collar coat that reaches down to the ankles. The coat functions like a cloak this way, giving warmth to the users. In addition, the coat has pockets inside for carrying amulets, weapons, and writing supplies. We will pick some pairs for you if you like.'

'Please do! Must be useful for winter.'

'Later days. Also, Reimu, please be patient with him. He's a born orphan and has been deprived of human interaction since birth. He may do weird things.'

'I know, I know. I'll be gentle. Now go get him. I'm going with you.'

'Lord Hokage!' A chūnin barged into the Council Chamber. 'The fox! He must have stolen the scroll. He's gone missing and the scroll of seals is missing too. It must be him!'

Council members erupted. They demanded an execution for the missing fox.

'No,' said Hiruzen, 'We have not enough evidence for that. And his codename is 'shrimp' now.'

'What more do we need? Even if he didn't steal the scroll, he must be executed for treason, for carrying our ultimate weapon with him!'

'We have no one to execute,' said Danzō.

'Listen here, you old—'

'Shrimp is not here,' Danzō said, 'Search for him first. Then bring him here before executing anyone.'

The council members except Shikaku Nara—Shikamaru's father—dismissed themselves to instruct their clans to join the search. The chūnin dismissed himself as well. Hiruzen slammed his fist on the table. 'Danzō! What were you thinking?!'

'Increasing the manpower for the search. The moment they bring shrimp here, we will take him from them and carry him to a facility for conditioning.'

'We won't do that. We'll take him, but we won't condition him.'

'As you will, my liege.'

'Shikaku, find and follow that damn chūnin. What the fuck was he doing in the storage instead of controlling the villagers.'

'Yes, sir!'

In the Land of Whirlpools, Naruto navigated a war-torn landscape flanked by his companions. As far as they could see, nothing but rubbles and skeletons in red rags were there. The crashing of waves in the distance and the grey moonlight gave the sight a dreamlike quality, beauty and terribleness at once. In the distance was a seagull, greyish and semi-transparent, perched on a piece of rubble. The seagull's brilliant white eyes were like a beacon for Naruto.

'What is that?' Naruto asked.

'There is nothing out of place,' said Yukari.

'That bird!'

'I don't see one,' said Hakurei, 'Go after it if you see it. We'll be waiting here.'

Naruto ran after the bird, ignoring the traces of violence around him. In truth, Hakurei and Yukari noticed the bird, as well as identical others around them. The pairs pretended not to notice so that Naruto would go seek his own answer.

'In the meantime, Reimu, why don't we interview these spirits?'

'Good idea. Why do human spirits look like birds, anyway?'

Naruto was unhurried. The bird changed its pace according to Naruto's, keeping a distance but staying in sight. The bird led Naruto to a half-ruined building, guiding him to enter through a broken window. Inside, Naruto found himself in an enormous hall. It was dark there, but the light from the bird's eyes was enough to illuminate the walls, revealing a spiral pattern Naruto often had sewn to his attires covering the wall in an interval.

The bird flew away. Naruto chased after the bird, its shining eyes being his guides. The hall twisted, forcing Naruto to slow down in fear of slamming to a wall. Naruto found the bird again; it was hovering above a square stone tablet, which was illuminated by the bird's eyes. The tablet was red, decorated in its centre with a round white stone that was outlined into a spiral by a series of black stone. 'What's this?' questioned Naruto.

The bird perched on Naruto's shoulder. It pecked on Naruto's cheek, causing him to distance his head from the bird. He leant to his side, losing balance, and fell. As he fell, his hand tried to reach for support but pulled a locker instead. It fell beside him when he hit the floor, spilling the scrolls that were its contents. Naruto looked at the locker, realising that the bird was hovering above it. 'You want me to read these?' Naruto received no answer, yet he felt something in his heart telling him to read the scrolls. 'Okay.' Naruto sat cross-legged and unfurled a scroll, ready for whatever secret awaited him.

The colours in our crest are black, red, and white.

Black symbolises our willpower and capacity for violence to protect our loved ones.

Red symbolises the blood that we spill to protect our loved ones.

White symbolises our peaceful nature.

'What the heck is this?! I thought it's a technique or something.' Naruto threw the scroll.

The seagull started pecking Naruto's head. No matter how hard Naruto tried, the seagull would not go away. Whenever he tried to shove it away, his hands always went through it. A voice spoke from within him. 'Respect your family.'

'What the?' Naruto stopped trying to push the bird away, more concerned with the voice. Naruto asked the bird, 'Is that you?' 'Yes.' 'How did you do that?' 'I am a spirit cursed to wander this land. I knew the day would come, the day when the last of our lines would come to this land and claim his heritage.' 'Huh? Then how can I hear you?' 'I speak from your heart.'

Naruto's eyes shone red, different from the red of the kyūbi. These red eyes were glazed red, burning with misery and rage. 'Get out of our heart!' Naruto's voice came out distorted.

'No, young one. The bond between us is powerful. It links our hearts together despite your rejection.'

'Powerful bond, my ass! I don't know you. You were never there for us. We suffered for our entire life with no one who loves us and to call family. If our bond is powerful, then where have you been this whole time?!'

'What's happening to you? Where did the cheerful and curious boy go?'

'He is inside. We are one and the same. That naïve fool locked me inside for far too long. Now, I am in control.' The darkness around Naruto wrapped, forming a naginata made of solidified darkness in his hand. Naruto swung the naginata at the bird, thus slicing its wing. 'You are nothing but forgotten past. A meaningless ghost trying to rebuild a broken bridge.'

'We are not meaningless! We are your relatives; We're family. You may hate us for not being there, but you should not hate our bond, for it is our bond that gives us strength.'

'No. Do not even try to build a bond between us. We had no bond and will never have one.' Naruto swung his naginata, its blade cleaving the bird in half.

The usual Naruto was in a hall far darker than the one he had been in earlier. A liquid, far thicker than water, flooded this hall. A chain blacker than night held Naruto against the wall, wrapping around him with no space to breathe. He felt as if death would come at any second, yet it never came. The chain tightened its binding every second, pressing against Naruto's body until his neck and digestive tracks were crushed under the pressure. Even his ribs gave up, collapsing inside and piercing his lungs.

Beside Naruto was a gigantic cage. It was closed, but the trash of the great beast locked inside was unmistakable. Chains erupted from the floor and bound around the beast, and it tore them apart with its claws and fangs.

Naruto knew the beast, the infamous kyūbi no kitsune whom the villagers often mistook him for. He did not hate the beast, as it had done nothing wrong to him. Naruto, if anything, was sorry for the kitsune.

Naruto rampaged across the ruins outside, hunting every spirit of his deceased family and striking each with chains and a naginata. Every trace of his family's existence would only bring misery, a longing for something he had never known. It would be better if they did not exist at all. But they did exist, and he would rather erase their existence than to long for them. Naruto roared. 'Come, you damned seagulls!'

'We are not 'damned seagulls'. We are the spirits of your dead family!'

'Shut up!' Naruto swung a chain through a seagull, disintegrating it into shiny particles.

'Stop it!' a feminine voice came from behind Naruto. Naruto turned around, ready to strike, but froze when he saw whose voice it was. 'Who are you?' asked Hakurei.

Naruto lashed his chain at Hakurei instead of answering. The chain expanded and passed through her, as though she was never there.

'I won't ask again. Who are you?'

'Who I am is none of your concern.'

Darkness writhed beside Naruto, giving birth to a construct of solidified darkness. The construct was of serpentine shape and darker than night. It was only because of the moonlight that the serpent was easy to spot. From Naruto erupted an energy foreign to him. The serpent opened its maw, and a blast of wind tore through the landscape. However, Hakurei appeared unharmed despite taking the attack head-on.

'Leave him alone! You don't have to possess him if you want to speak, you know?'

'Shut up!'

'I don't know who you are, but I'll kick you out of him!' Four Yin-Yang orbs appeared behind the shrine maiden, pulsing with energy as they orbited her.

'Come and try it!'

The orbs grew to a gigantic size. They came down on Naruto, and Naruto evaded them. However, he was taken by surprise when they bounced back to him. In response, Naruto batted them with his chains. He thought it would disintegrate them, but he was only accelerating their return. Thus, Naruto sought the shrine maiden to finish her.

When Naruto found her, the shrine maiden was floating high above him as though entranced.

Naruto tried his best to attack her, but everything was futile. Naruto's only means of attack were his serpent and chains. He could attack only when the orbs allowed him brief respites, which were growing rarer and shorter each time. Furthermore, the shrine maiden was never harmed when hit.

Growling, Naruto prepared the last of his energy into his serpent. 'Release!'

The serpent released an invisible stream, its heat increasing the air temperature by several degrees. But the attack was still futile; the shrine maiden was somehow unaffected. In fact, she's releasing a many-coloured aura, which then moved to engulf Naruto. 'I'm imprisoned, again.'

Naruto dropped unconscious.

A week after, Naruto sat behind the Hakurei Shrine, reading scrolls his ancestors had left for him. There's a banquet at the Shrine that day. Naruto had expected to meet people, and people he had met. However, they were not human. What kind of shrine was frequented by yōkai everyday but almost never human? Reimu had said humans did visit the shrine, but Naruto had never seen one. Granted, Marisa and Sakuya—Reimu's friends—did visit sometime. But Naruto doubted their humanity. Marisa often introduced herself as a yōkai, as she had done on her first time meeting Naruto, and Sakuya's mistress, a yōkai in her own right, had stated she did not think she could call Sakuya a human. Shelving the thought, Naruto unfurled the scroll and read.

The spiral in our crest represents the whirlpool that surrounds our land

The white represents the paper that we use for writing seals

The black represents the ink that we use for writing seal

The red that surrounds our crest represents blood

In its entirety, our crest represents the art of sealing in our blood

Every other explanation of our crest were made by poets with their own interpretations in minds

Naruto's disappointment was palpable. He had thought the crest had meant peace and dedication, as he had read a week ago. Naruto furled the scroll and exchanged it with another scroll from a box, which Yukari had given him after plundering the Land of Whirlpools. The scroll was a family tree of the royal blood. There were missing links, instilling hope that other Uzumakis were still out there in the Elemental Nations.

Naruto returned the scroll and stored the box in his shared room with Reimu. He lived in Gensokyō, a far better place than Konoha as far as he's concerned. He'd never meet his family in this world. However, he had the chance to live without scorn, to build his own family. He thought he could achieve this with Reimu Hakurei—the shrine maiden who had decided to raise him.

Slipping undetected into the banquet, Naruto moved to a table that housed ramen ingredients. The ingredients were cooked but unprepared. Naruto took a bowl, prepared a portion, ate, and repeated until he's satisfied. Done, Naruto went to the shrine's backyard. He saw a blonde magician elaborately dressed to include seven colours, nailing a straw effigy to a tree. 'Hey, what are you doing!?' said Naruto approaching her.

'Nothing. I'm just researching something.'

'What kinda person does this ritual in broad daylight? And it's not a place for research.'

'Yōkai are infesting the shrine, yet your concern is a lone yōkai hammering an effigy?'

'That's a freaking curse ritual! And you're doing it wrong!'

'I suggest you mind your own business.' The magician walked away. 'I might take my chance to kill you if you meddle too much.'

'What's up?' asked someone to Naruto's left.

'Who is that?'

'Ah, that's Alice! She lives close to me.'

'And gets her stuff stolen as well?'

'Of course not. I'm just borrowing them! Only a little, though. She can be mean, so be careful around her.'

After eating more portions of ramen, Naruto left the shrine vicinity. He wanted to meet the kitsune within him. Perhaps it was lonely, not unlike him in Konoha. He remembered meeting the kitsune when he'd been unconscious, but contacting it was difficult. For this, he needed a quiet place away from any distraction.

Naruto headed to a forest, crossed a road, and disappeared into the forest across it. He went to the deepest part, where sunlight wasn't seen and no one was present. Perfect, thought Naruto.

Naruto sat under a tree and began to meditate, finding it easier than other meditation sessions he had done. Naruto then felt a pull, which he allowed to drag him deep to his mindscape. He opened his eyes. And he saw a massive cage had replaced the dark forest. 'Yeah!'

A pair of enormous red eyes of a canine glared.

'Shut up!' roared a deafening, heavy voice.

'Hey, my name is Naruto Uzumaki! What's your name?'

'Go away!'

'Come on, beast! We're in this together!'

'You dare call me a beast!' The imprisoned kitsune slammed its humanoid paws on the cage. 'What gives humans, such filthy and hateful creatures, the right to call us beasts?!'

'Then tell me your name. I know how it feels when no one calls you by name.'

'No!' roared the kitsune.

Naruto walked to the cage and held the seal holding it together. 'If I release you, would you tell me your name?'

'Your mother said the same thing and all she did was binding me in a tighter seal. I won't fall for this again!'

'You know my mother? Can you tell me about her?'

The kitsune roared, 'An abusive, sadistic woman!'

'No! You must be lying!' cried naruto.

'And you father was a bastard who sacrificed his son without his consent! And condemned him to live a living hell!'

'Lie! There's no way a father would do that!

'Then open the seal and see yourself.'

Naruto pulled the seal, about to rip it off when someone took him away from the seal. Recovering from the shock, Naruto realised he was sitting on the Hokage Mountain, overlooking the village with the fourth Hokage. The hokage spoke to Naruto, a gentle light radiating from his eyes. 'Hello, Naruto. I'm your father. How is your ARGH!' Naruto punched his crotch. Naruto had actually aimed for the stomach, but he was too short to reach it.

'That's for sealing the kitsune inside of me!'

'I deserve that,' said his wincing father. 'How's life? Do you have friends?'

'I have four! I lived in a house the old man Hiruzen built for me but left it because nobody loves me there!'

Naruto's father crouched, allowing his son's eyes to meet his without burdening his neck. 'Where do you live now?'

'I live in Gensokyō. People are nice here!'

'Son, you should return to Konoha. The village needs you. They might hate you now, but they'll see you as a hero if you keep trying.'

'No, I'm not living in that hellhole!'

'Son, you must understand. I had to seal the fox inside of you because I had no choice. The fox was destroying the village and the only way to stop it is to seal it inside an Uzumaki. Only an Uzumaki can contain the beast, and the only Uzumaki at the time was you.'

'Why the village? Why didn't you save me instead?'

'I had to do it, son. I was a hokage. My duty to the village preceded all, even my family.'

'Y-you're a good leader, but you were never my leader! You were my father! You must be the worst father in history!' Naruto turned to leave, but he was caught before he could turn.

'Son, you must return! You will be heralded as a great hero who brought peace to the world, for that is your destiny. Your fate is to be a hero!' his father declared, holding both of his shoulders.

A black chain pierced through his father's heart, spraying blood to Naruto's face. Naruto saw behind his father, someone identical to him was speaking with his voice. 'Fuck fate. Fuck you and whoever told you about our fate. We have had enough with being controlled. We will not be controlled anymore. Not even by fate.' The other Naruto swung his naginata, beheading his father. A black chain wrapped around Naruto before he could react, before dragging him to edge. Naruto dangled near his father's statue, watching the other him holding the blade of a naginata to his neck. 'Any last word?'

'Who the hell are you?! Why are trying to kill me?'

'I am you. Everything about yourself that you rejected and everything about you that is hidden from you. As to why I want to kill you, it is because you locked me up down there. I have had enough of your rejection. You were rejected by those around you and felt miserable because of it.' Teary eyed, the other Naruto yelled, 'Imagine being rejected by yourself!'

Naruto, upon hearing the words, was in a similar state. 'I accept.'

'What?'

'I accept you. Go on, kill me if it will make you happy. I have no one; No one will be sad if I die. Now I know I wasn't alone this whole time. I'm sorry for locking you down there. I had no idea you were there all this time!' Naruto's tone was cheerful and full of happiness, a stark contrast to what he said. Naruto then felt the chain being pulled. He held his breath, preparing himself for the death that never came; his other half pulled him to a hug instead of killing him.

'Forgive me.'

'I forgave you already. I understand how it must have felt. Still, you can kill me. You can take our body.'

'Do not say that. We will be free, together. Not even fate could bind us.'

Naruto felt knowledge and memory flowing to his mind, changing him to his very core. 'You are right. We will be free.'

Naruto's form was devoured by darkness outside his mindscape. It went for a few minutes until the shroud exploded into a pillar of darkness, which then faded, revealing a trembling Naruto.

In his mindscape Naruto hugged his knees to his chest. Images of vices too vile for words to describe had poured into him after the flood of his memory; He had received more than he had bargained for. As Naruto cried to his knees, the kyūbi no kitsune watched with eagerness and glee. 'You did it, brat. You met the absolute evil of humanity again after centuries. If you survive this without turning against humanity, like you did centuries ago, I will tell you my name. And your oldest incarnation that I know.'


Note:

Naruto's arrival was on 2009, first week of June.

I use real-life southern hemisphere season cycle for the elemental nations. Why? Because why not? The seasons in the elemental nations are never explained (thematic for some countries. EG the land of snow. What about the rest?) and I need something to make syncing two timelines convenient. Why southern? Again, why not? It might be useful to spice some future scenes in case I burn out again.