I do not own Naruto or Steven Universe.

"Believe in Steven!" normal speech

"Believe in Steven!" thought/mind speak

"Believe in Steven!" demon speech

Chapter 6: Fox in the Moss

*Beach City; Crystal Temple*

Naruto was sleeping on the bed by himself as Garnet walked in the room with a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice in her hands. "Naruto," said Garnet as she set Naruto's breakfast on the desk before gently shaking Naruto's shoulder, "Naruto, it's time to get up son." The blonde slowly woke as he looked at Garnet and said, "Morning, Kaa-san. Did you sleep well?" Garnet nodded as Naruto wrapped her in a loving hug as they both knew that they were mother and son in each other's eyes.

Naruto was eating the bowl of cereal when Garnet reached into the desk and pulled out a small box. "What's that?" Naruto asked as Garnet gave him a smile. "A gift," said the Gem as Naruto opened the box to reveal a dark red cloth with a small metal plate attached to it with a golden star-shaped gem in the center of the plate. It was a custom made hitai-ate just for Naruto as a feeling of awe rushed in the blonde's heart. "This…is for me?" Naruto asked surprised wonder in his eyes and voice. Garnet nodded and smiled as Naruto wrapped her in a hug, thanking her for the amazing gift. After Naruto had gotten his shower, he stepped out of the bathroom dressed in his normal attire with the addition of his new hitai-ate wrapped around his forehead. "How do I look?" Naruto asked as the star gleamed in the light. Garnet smiled as she took a hand and ruffled the blonde's hair lovingly as she said, "It looks perfect on you."

Outside Garnet's room, Pearl and Amethyst were sitting on the couch as Steven was in the bathroom to prepare for the day. "So…" Amethyst asked nervously, "what was it like…when you two accidentally kissed?" Pearl blushed a bit as she suddenly took interest in her twiddling thumbs before she said, "I…I can't really explain it. It was so sudden that my mind just…just froze and my heart was running like crazy! But after he told me about the massive scar on his chest…I…we…I wanted to kiss him again and it seemed that Naruto had the same feeling…at least until Steven called out to us." Amethyst raise an eyebrow in order to hide that she had seen them about to kiss when she had Steven get Pearl and Naruto. "You really felt that?" the purple Gem asked in curiosity before receiving a nod from Pearl.

"Yeah, but I couldn't help but notice something yesterday," said Pearl as she looked at Amethyst now, "You said that you thought that you almost lost Steven after that scare when his gem was making his age fluctuate wildly. Mind telling me what that was about? You have a crush on him?" Amethyst chuckled a bit and said, "I love Steven, but as a little brother; he's really fun to be around with and he has a way of cheering people up by just being who he is. Sure I mess with him sometimes, but I love and protect him like you guys do…I was just really frightened at what had happened yesterday that's all." Pearl couldn't argue with that as they all had quite the scare with Steven before that whole ordeal with Naruto; Steven was precious to them all as it seemed that the boy had kept them together as they had fallen apart so easily during that incident.

After Steven arrived ready for the day, the door that led into the temple opened up as Naruto and Garnet walking out with the blonde carrying the bad from yesterday. "Hey guys," said Naruto with a smile as he held his free hand to show the hitai-ate wrapped around his forehead, "check out what Mom got me!" Everyone looked and saw the new hitai-ate Naruto was sporting as Steven said, "Wow, that's so cool! Garnet really gave you that?" The blonde nodded as Amethyst said, "Now you're really rocking the Gem look. So what are you going to do about the other one?"

"I have it resting in Mom's room until we can find me a good room so we can move my stuff in," said Naruto as he set the bag in his hand on the floor, "I got some gifts for you guys yesterday." Naruto reached in the bag and pulled out a CD with wild dance music before giving the CD to Amethyst. "I know how you like to have fun with some of the pranks and dancing you do, so I got you some dance music for you," said Naruto as the purple Gem cheered as she looked at some of the music listed on the back.

"I know that it's not a real one," said Naruto as he pulled out a small foam sword and gave it to Steven, "but I think that you might actually like to have a sword to practice with if the Gems decide to allow you with a real sword." Steven gave Naruto a big hug before taking the toy up to his room as Naruto then turned towards Pearl. "I got you a few small books on cultures from around the world, Pearl-chan," said Naruto as he gave Pearl three small books, "The book store was having a special 2-for-1 deal and I knew how much you loved to learn about the many cultures on Earth." Pearl smiled as she kissed Naruto on his whisker-marked cheek and said, "Thank you, Naruto! I can't wait to read them!"

Naruto then turned towards Garnet and said, "It was a bit hard to get something for you, Mom, as I wanted to show you how great of a teacher you've been to me." Naruto then pulled out a small framed photo as the picture showed Naruto and Garnet standing side by side. "But now that you're my mother," said the blonde as he handed the Gem the photo, "I guess that this might be a really good gift for you." Garnet smiled as she looked at the picture as it was just the two of them with Naruto taking a small glance up towards Garnet as he smiled. "I love it," said Garnet as she kneeled and hugged her son, "and I love you too, Naruto."

After putting their gifts away, everyone was on the beach training with Kurama teaching Steven his first jutsu, Substitution. "Since you have been showing some progress with chakra control, I'm going teach you how to perform Substitution," said Kurama as he motioned towards Amethyst, "Amethyst, I'm going to need you to give me a good punch to the gut for the demonstration." The purple Gem nodded as she ran towards the possessed clone and punched him…only to find out that she punched a piece of driftwood. "That is Substitution," said Kurama as he was now behind the Gems, "a basic jutsu that allows a quick and easy escape or a counter attack against your opponent." After showing Steven the hand seals needed for the jutsu, Kurama then placed pieces of driftwood and said, "You are to switch places with these pieces of driftwood until you start to get tired, but try and do it as quick as possible to work on your reflexes. Timing is key."

While Kurama was supervising Steven's training, Naruto was sparring with Amethyst while Pearl and Garnet practiced their stances. "I hope you're ready for this," said Amethyst as she summoned her whip and got into her fighting stance. "Bring it," said Naruto as he summoned his claws. The two stood still until Naruto decided to charge towards Amethyst as the Gem launched her attack. The blonde used his protected arm to catch the attack as the whip wrapped itself around his arm before grabbing it. Naruto gave the whip a quick jerk in hopes of disarming Amethyst, but the Gem held on tightly. It was a match of tug-of-war between the two until Amethyst jumped forward with added momentum from the released tension. Naruto had lost his balance and saw Amethyst jumping behind him before she began to spin. "Shouldn't we stop them?" Pearl asked as she watched Naruto fly around in the air. Garnet saw the blonde spinning faster and faster as she said, "Probably."

"I'm not feeling too well, Naruto," Amethyst said with a confident smirk as she spun around, "I think I'm going to HURL!" At that moment, the purple Gem had let go and made Naruto fly through the air as he screamed, "AAAAAAAMEEEEEEEEETHYYYYYYYSSSSSSSSSSSSTTT!" Kurama saw Naruto flying in the air as he sighed, knowing that the blonde is seriously going to get hurt without the fox to regulate the demonic chakra. "We're done for now," said the possessed clone, "Better go check on the kit." Steven saw Kurama disappear in a cloud of smoke before the others appeared. "Come on Steven, we have hurry!" said a panicked Pearl, "If my calculations are right, Naruto's going to land there!" Before Steven could ask, Garnet grabbed his hand as she and the others madly dashed towards where Naruto flew.

*Dead Man's Mouth*

Everyone arrived to a small lagoon that was surrounded by cliffs. "Where's Naruto?" Garnet asked with slight desperation in her voice. Pearl looked around until she saw dust and gravel falling off of a recently disturbed part of the cliff. "Let's see," said Pearl as she projected a holographic image of Naruto in the sky and moved it as she continued, "With further calculation, Naruto's flight would have had him land on that cliff over there before falling in there." A sound from underneath alerted the Gems as they looked to see Naruto pull himself out as he used a claw to swipe at the growing moss.

"Get off!" said Naruto as he cut the moss that was grabbing his leg before ripping off the moss that was still latching on. The others soon arrived to find Naruto getting to his feet as he held his shoulder. "My shoulder…" said Naruto as his claw vanished, "I think it's out of place. ENGH! Yep…out of place." Garnet moved behind Naruto and with a loud pop, she moved Naruto's shoulder back into place. "Better?" Garnet asked before she received a thumbs up from her son as he held a painful scream in.

"What is this stuff?" Steven asked as he approached the odd moss and he was about to touch it when Amethyst used her whip to pull Steven away. "It's the moss that Rose Quartz used to raise on the hill," said Garnet as she looked over Naruto while dusting him off. "My mom planted this stuff?" Steven asked as the moss slowly continued to grow. "Rose Quartz used to climb that hill every spring and tend to the moss at the top," said Pearl before she winced at the memory, "but now that Rose is…gone…the moss is on the move!"

"It's lost…" said Steven as he looked at the moss sadly. "It's not lost," said Amethyst with slight disgust rarely in her voice, "it's gross." Pearl let out a sigh and said, "Yes, but Rose loved it anyway. She saw the beauty in everything, no matter how gross." The Gem then moved her hand through her hair and with a nervous smile she said, "Fortunately, I know just what to do in this situation!" Naruto carefully moved his shoulder and said, "While you guys are taking care of this, I'm going to get us some pizza." Naruto was already gone before anyone could object, but not without Garnet noticing something off about the blonde. Should I follow him, the Gem thought as she watch the shadow disappear in the distance, or should I just let him be?

*Fish Stew Pizza*

Naruto was walking by the restaurant when Kurama said, "Why did you lie to them like that? You weren't even hungry." Force of habit, I guess, Naruto thought as he stopped and looked inside the restaurant where he saw Sour Cream with a couple of other teens with him enjoying some pizza. Kurama sighed as he had a feeling that Naruto was sympathizing with the moss and couldn't tell the blonde that the moss actually feeds of chakra…demonic chakra…almost like how the Shodaime's Mokuton bloodline suppresses it.

Naruto was about to leave when he saw Sour look at him and wave towards the blonde to join him and his friends. Naruto pointed to himself before the teen inside nodded as the blonde entered the restaurant. "Hey, Sour, Jenny," said Naruto as he sat at the table where the teens were, "what's up?" The girl sitting on the counter looked at Naruto and said, "Just chilling around, Sunny. In fact, Sour told us about how you're an orphan…is…is it true?" Naruto grabbed a seat as he said, "Well, once the papers are signed I'll actually have a mother." Naruto looked at the other teen that was wearing black jeans and a large, red jacket over a white shirt that had a lightning bolt in the center. "You're an orphan?" asked the new teen as an eyebrow rose from behind his sunglasses, "I've never seen you at any of the orphanages my dad visits."

"That's because I'm not actually around from here," said Naruto as a melancholic look formed on his face, "I was…kicked out of the orphanage where I'm from before I got kicked out of the city for some bull crap because I roughed up there golden boy…the teme." Jenny and Sour winced as Naruto had never told them about that part, just the orphan part. "Here," said Jenny as she moved the pizza pallet towards the blonde, "go ahead and have a slice. Oh before I forget, Naruto, this is Buck Dewey, the mayor's son." Naruto picked up the slice of the pizza and took a bite as he listened to the conversation while answering a few questions towards him.

Time had passed when Buck looked at Naruto and asked, "How did you meet Jenny? She told us about the time you first had pizza and devoured a whole pizza, fresh from the oven, by yourself." Naruto nervously chuckled and said, "Well…she was the one that saw me eat the pizza and we sort of talked after I drank almost a whole jug of cola." Jenny giggled as she said, "Yeah that was really funny. I still remember the look on your face when you took that first bite of the pepperoni pizza." Naruto smiled as he remembered actually thinking that pizza was now his favorite food right next to ramen. "You up for a swim?" Sour asked Naruto before the blonde nodded as he could use a bit of time off and hang out with other people.

Naruto and the others exited the restaurant and were about to head towards Jenny's family's car when Steven approached them. "Hey Naruto," said Steven as the group turned towards him, "how's your shoulder?" Naruto rolled his shoulder and said, "Doing find, Steven; I've always been a fast healer. I was about to join these guys for a swim." After the introductions between Steven and the other teens, Steven then asked, "Is it alright if Lars and I join you?" That jerk? Naruto thought as he looked up to in fact see Lars near the pizza shop, desperately looking away, Why do you hang out with him, Steven? "Sure, why not?" said Buck as he shrugged his shoulders. Oh boy…

Naruto and the others, along with an excited Steven and an annoyed Lars, were riding in the car before stopping where they saw Mayor Bill Dewey standing at a podium as he kissed a baby to convince the public to re-elect him. He's definitely faking it, Naruto thought before the group drove away. "Hey Naruto," Steven asked as he noticed the necklace around the blonde's neck, "where did you get that necklace?" Lars saw the piece of jewelry and said, "Probably from his grandmother since it's so girly." Naruto wanted to smack Lars upside his head, but instead he said, "Well, she's not my real grandmother…but I did see her as one and she gave this to me after I nearly died saving her from a psychopath."

"You nearly died?" asked Sour as the car was now silent. "Yep," Naruto said as if what he was talking about was nothing, "and it wasn't the first…nor the last." Steven could feel the awkward tension in the air as Lars mentally scolded himself for looking like a jerk. "So Naruto…" Jenny asked as she tried to change the subject, "what was your grandmother like?" Naruto smiled a bit as he said, "Well Tsunade's not like your average sewing circle grannies. She's no pushover as she'll beat the crap out of anyone who messes with her and she's an amazing doctor." Everyone smiled a little to hear the blonde happily talk about the many people he knew from before and all of them, save for Steven, couldn't understand why people would kick out such a good and jolly person like Naruto.

The occupants of the car never noticed a red eagle following them from the sky. The eagle flapped its wings to reveal two garnets on the topside of the wings. Please be careful, Naruto, Garnet thought as she continued to follow the car before she saw it turn to where that moss was, oh no…

*Dead Man's Mouth*

The group looked at the police tape and saw the ribbon that was right in the center of the barring tape. "We shouldn't be here," Steven said nervously before he saw Naruto rip the tape to allow the others to cross. Naruto was about to cross when he felt Steven grab his hand and said, "We can't go in there, the others are trying to figure out what to do with the moss!" Naruto looked behind him and said, "It's not the first time I've gone somewhere where I shouldn't have and the others might be heading to a different swimming hole."

"But what about Pearl, Naruto?" Steven asked desperately, "Don't you like her?" Naruto quickly looked around before he said, "I do like her, Steven, and I mean I could even say I love her! I've never told her because I wasn't sure if she liked me that way." Steven looked shocked as he asked, "You don't remember what Pearl said yesterday when...you know…" Naruto sighed and said, "All I remember when that happened was nothing but darkness until I heard Mom call out to me. Are you…are you saying that…that Pearl…" A nod from Steven answered Naruto's unfinished question as the blonde then said, "G-go on Steven…and tell Lars and the others I'll catch up in a little bit." Naruto ran into the nearby bushes and when he saw Steven chase after the other teens, the blonde pumped his fist in victory. "Woohoo! Yes! Yes! Yes!" Naruto quickly cheered with a huge smile on his face, "Pearl really likes me like that! She really loves me!"

"Of course, Naruto," said a voice that caused Naruto to freeze in fear in recognition of the voice. "Oh…uh…hey…Mom," said Naruto as he turned to see Garnet standing behind him with her arms crossed as her sunglasses shone with a scolding look, "what…what brings you here?" The blonde could tell that he was in deep trouble as Garnet approached him and said, "I thought you would know what the police tape would mean to NOT go in there. We still haven't thought of what to do with the moss." A scream was heard as Naruto and Garnet looked towards the location and knew that Steven and the others could be in trouble. "We'll talk about this later," said Garnet as she gave Naruto a stern look before the two of them dashed away.

The two of them arrived to finds Steven and Lars sitting near the water where the moss was moving around like sharks. "Steven!" said Garnet as she and Naruto approached the two, "What happened?" Steven looked to see Garnet and said, "The moss Mom had planted sucked the others in when they jumped in!" The three other teens appeared out of the water, covered in moss, and walked towards the shore before collapsing. "We have to help them!" said Steven as he, Lars, and Garnet went to help them by trying to rip the moss off of the teens. Naruto was about to join when Kurama said, "Wait Kit, that moss feeds off of life energy and chakra; you are a walking buffet table for even Kami itself with me seal inside you!" But what are we supposed to do, let them die?! Naruto thought when as he tried to think of something.

"I think I know what to do," said Steven as he took a glance at the hill before Lars interrupted him. "This is all your fault!" Lars said angrily as he looked at Steven, "I knew that if something went wrong today, it would be because of YOU! Now I'm never going to be friends with these guys all because of your weird mom!" Steven was silent for a moment, which actually scared Lars a bit, before he angrily countered, "What do you know about my mom! I didn't even get to know my mom!" Lars stepped back a bit as Steven continued, "But I do know she saw beauty in everything, even in stuff like this and even in jerks like YOU!" Lars looked away guiltily as Steven calmly said, "Now help me get into the car."

"I have a better idea," Naruto said as he approached the fallen teens, "It's crazy and incredibly stupid…but it's faster than just driving up to the hill. Get…back…NOW!" Steven and Lars complied as Kurama said, "No Kit, I'm not going to let yourself get killed like that! That thing will eat you like an Akimichi would eat barbeque chips, down to the last bite!" I know, Naruto thought as he focused his chakra, but you do owe me rent. Kurama sighed as he knew there was no talking Naruto out of this as he said, "Fine, but it'll only be enough to draw the moss's attention on you as you'll be in the One-Tailed State…just don't get caught."

Garnet, Steven, and Lars watched in amaze as some odd, red ooze slowly covered Naruto's body before the blonde crouched down on all fours with the ooze forming a fox-shaped cloak. "Hey moss!" said Naruto with a different tone in his voice, "dinner time." The moss began shaking wildly and let go of Sour, Jenny, and Buck in favor of the shrouded Naruto. The blonde jumped onto the water as the moss began to chase after him and knew that his plan was going as planned for the moment. "Ugh, what happened?" asked Jenny as she and the others slowly regained conscious. "I think I died," said Sour before he saw Naruto dodging the moss, "What the hell?! Is…is that Naruto?!"

"Garnet-sensei! Steven!" said Naruto as he quickly climbed the cliff side, "Get everyone out of here while I take this to the hill!" The blonde flared his chakra to get the moss to follow him as Naruto ran towards the hill. Garnet and the others ran towards the car as Lars said, "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT GUY?! NO NORMAL PERSON CAN DO THAT!" After everyone got in the car, Jenny spun the car around and drove toward the hill that Naruto was heading towards. "Mind telling how one of my family's favorite customers just suddenly creates oozing red energy from his body?" Jenny asked as she drove through the curve, nearly hitting a semi. "It's a long story that is not really mine to say," said Garnet as she held on, "but my boy is special and he was banished from his last home because people saw him as a threat and a monster." Everyone kept quiet and knew that there was going to be a very long talk with the blonde once this madness was over.

With Naruto, the blonde was running through the fields with the moss following him from behind. "Come on now," Naruto taunted as he slowed down a bit, "I thought demon chakra was your favorite." Naruto sped back up before the moss could slam onto him and the blonde had made it to the base of the hill when the moss had managed to grab his ankle. "Hurry Kit!" Kurama shouted, "I'm not sure how long the cloak's going to last with that moss clinging on!" Naruto slashed the moss to free himself, but he felt it grabbing on to his shoulders as the blonde turned towards the top of the hill. Have to make it, Naruto thought as he used his clawed hands to pull himself up the hill with the moss still latching onto him, I'm almost there. Naruto could feel the cloak fading and his energy being sapped away as he heard the sound of a car stopping. "NARUTO!" everyone shouted as the approached the blonde, but were still wary of the moss. Garnet rushed towards Naruto's side as the cloak surrounding the blonde had completely vanished with the moss slowly enveloping him.

"Hang in there Naruto!" said Garnet as she tried to pull the moss off but was stopped by Naruto's voice. "Sorry about doing this, Mom, but since this feeds of chakra and energy I had to lure it here with Kurama's demonic chakra. Can you tell Pearl that I love her…and that I'm sorry." The moss had fully covered Naruto as Garnet froze at the sight before her. "It wasn't even a day," said Garnet as the others carefully approached from behind, "and I lost him…my baby boy." Jenny covered her eyes and hid her face in Sour's shoulder as the teen comforted her. Damn, Buck thought as he saw that Garnet must have been the 'mother' Naruto was talking about, what a way to go…and in front of your mother too.

The clouds parted and light shone onto the moss covered Naruto as everyone sadly watched the display. Steven looked at the fallen teen before he saw flowers blooming from the moss and said, "Hey guys…look!" Everyone saw the moss turn into pink flowers and get carried away by the wind, leaving Naruto behind on the ground. The blonde suddenly awoke, gasping for breath, and went into a coughing fit. "Never…*gasp* guh *gasp*…never doing that again," said Naruto as he caught his breath, "…ever." The blonde looked in the sky to see flower blossoms floating in the air as he heard Steven saying that the moss was actually trying to bloom.

"Naruto!" said Garnet as she hugged the blonde, "I thought I lost you again. Don't you ever scare me like that again!" Naruto returned the hug as he said, "I'm sorry, Mom. Looks like I owe everyone an apology…and an explanation." Naruto and Garnet watched the beautiful scene before them as Sour, Jenny, and Buck were 'raving' to the beauty until Naruto said, "I'm still in trouble, aren't I?" Garnet continued to watch the flowers float by as she said, "Yes…you are."

Figures…

*Konohagakure*

Tsunade was sitting in her office and she was looking out the window in thought of her favorite little brat. Naruto, the Hokage thought as she stared off into the distance, I know that you are still alive out there, but I am still praying that you are in safe hands. Tsunade was about to return to her work when she saw something floating around towards the window. The Hokage opened the window to see a small pink flower with what looked like a pink gem, a rose quartz in fact, right in the center holding the petals. "What a peculiar flower," Tsunade thought as she examined the blossom, "I can feel chakra from it...wait a minute...this is Naruto's chakra!" Tsunade would have begun going into a panic attack were it not for the gem shining an odd golden color that seemed to comfort her. "Naruto," Tsunade said as she placed the flower in her hair, "thank you for reassuring me of your safety. I'm so proud of you."

Naruto and his crazy luck. Don't forget to rate and review!

Ja ne!