A/N: I'd like to thank everyone that took the time to read the beginnings of my story. Gives me the warm and fuzzies all over.

'Thought' …think thought bubbles from comics/manga

"Speech"

"Kyuubi" outside

"Kyuubi" inside/thought

"Speech/Speech" …Simultaneous speech.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I only wish I did.

Now…On with the show!

Chapter 2: Revealed.

Tsunade looked out over the horizon from her office window. She was just starting to warm up from the cold sweat she broke into after feeling a massive burst of chakra somewhere nearby. She knew who it belonged to…but she couldn't pinpoint exactly where it'd come from. It was too powerful to get an exact idea of the source…it'd felt like it was everywhere at once. But…almost as soon as it had started…it quickly faded away. Still, she stood and stared, waiting for what she feared was the inevitable. Kyuubi was going to appear. He was going to appear and destroy everything in sight in a gleeful rage. She just knew it...but why hadn't he shown himself yet. "What in the world is…"

"…going on here??" A few miles away, Sakura had finished Tsunade's very same question. She could see it with her own 2 eyes but…her brain just could not get a grasp on what she was looking at. Here he was…this all-powerful demon that nearly decimated Konoha some 2 decades ago sitting down with her best friend's wife and infant son. She'd almost call the scene "cute" if it wasn't so disturbing to look at. This made even less sense than Naruto did sometimes, and that's saying a lot about the village's number one unpredictable ninja. "Kakashi-sensei? Are you sure this…thing…is the nine-tails?"

Hearing this, his head finally snapped up and locked eyes with the medic-nin. "Just who are you calling a "thing", brat!? I am Kyuubi no Yoko! The most powerful demon you'll ever live to see and tell the tale! And if this were any normal day, I'd already be using your bones for toothpicks for that remark! Be thankful that I don't." he barked, startling Hinata at the same time, to say nothing of what it did to poor Sakura.

"Yeah. That's Kyuubi alright. No mistaking it. As to what's going on…I'm as much at a loss as you are, Sakura. The last time I saw him, he wouldn't have even dreamed of doing something like…well…this" motioning towards the scene of Hinata and the fox. "I can't believe I'm seeing it myself." Kakashi answered. Through out all of his years of service as a Leaf ninja…Kakashi thought he'd seen and done it all. Wars, plagues, demons…you name it…he'd seen it. But this…this went beyond any experience he'd ever had. Way, way, way beyond. Especially since it was the nine-tails they were gawking at.

Meanwhile…Naruto had went into a state of brain-lock. No one knew this animal better than he did. He'd been living with him all his life. They hadn't seen or heard the things he had. They had no idea…they couldn't. They had never felt the rage and bloodlust he possessed. The hate the demon felt for Konoha and all its citizens. The desire to kill without conscious or remorse. In a word: evil. Pure, unrelenting, unflinching evil.

"Kyuubi…I…I don't understand. Why after all this time…? How did you break…?" Getting out a complete sentence was proving difficult. His confusion and astonishment was beyond compare. Sure…he had nightmares about this very thing happening. Hell…who wouldn't in his situation? His home lit up in flames. Screams of the dead and dying echoing through out the streets as this menace wreaked his bloody revenge on any and everything in his path. But this? Nuh-uh. No way. Not in a million years would he have thought this would…or could happen. Him just lying there all nice and cozy with his…wi..fe….and…!!! "What the hell, Kyuubi!!? Just what in the hell do you think you're doing with Hinata and my boy! I swear to heaven I'll rip your ass limb from limb if you harm a hair on either of them, you hear me?!!! And just what in the hell do you mean our son? He's my kid! He's Mine and Hinata's, ya scraggly mutt. You keep your mitt's OFFA him or so help me I'll…"

He couldn't help but laugh. He was just starting to wonder just how long it'd take Mr. Hyperactive to snap out of his stupor and go ballistic. He just lived for moments like this. If nothing else…the kid did always make for good entertainment. "It sure took you long enough to speak up, Kit. I was beginning to think you fell into a standing coma or something. Hahaha! You really should've seen the look on your face. A-so-lute-ly PRICELESS! Makes me wish I could do this whole thing over again just to see that." It was hard to stop laughing at the poor kid. He hadn't laughed like this in a loooong time. Oh sure…he'd had a good chuckle or two at Naruto's expense, but this was different. He was never on the outside to see his work first-hand. "Air, air, AIR! Oh man…this is just too rich." He choked out…struggling to find his breath. He forced himself to take several good, deep breaths to ease the pain in his chest from his fit. When his case of the giggles had subsided…he looked back to Naruto. "Alright, alright already. Geez…you don't have to get all up tight about it", he relented.

"Huh? Alright what?"

"I'll get up."

"You…will?"

"Yeah, sure. But first…" Naruto and company tensed for a moment while they watched Kyuubi slowly unwrapping his tails from around Hinata and her baby, "You have to kinda have to get offa me, Princess" He said kindly.

"I-I do?" She couldn't believe it. 'Is he really just going to let me just…get up and walk away?' "Well…unless you actually want to sit down with me all day and have all these people just stand around and stare at us…Yeah…you do. Besides…loud-mouth over there…", cocking his head towards the infuriated ninja, "…seems to be getting a little testy…don't want him to start blowing gaskets all over the place."

Naruto reached his hand out. "Do it, Hinata. Nice and slow. I don't trust him in the least."

"Naruto…" After working up what little courage she could find…she slowly got to her feet. She cautiously took a step towards the love of her life, expecting to be struck down in an instant. She paused…and nothing. Nothing happened. She started to look back at her captor to watch for some sign of movement before she was interrupted by Naruto's voice. "Don't look at'im, Hinata. Just look at me and walk. Don't look back…don't think. Just walk towards me. If he moves…he's dead. Trust me." Her heart swelled at his words. No matter what the situation…no matter how bad things looked…she could always count on Naruto for the strength she needed. Her eyes caught his in that instant. She saw what she fell in love with. That look of sheer determination. That look that told her that no matter what, he'd be there to protect her. The look that told her, unquestionably, that she could trust him. That she could believe in him…and in herself.

Another step…and nothing. Then another, followed by yet another. Step, by anxious step, she got farther away from the demon, and closer to her love, never looking away from those crystal blue eyes. Finally, after what felt like far too long…she felt his arms fall around her. Finally…she was safe from that monster. "Oh, Naruto!" she began sobbing into his chest, her fear finally finding its outlet. "Shh..its ok. You're safe now. Everything's gonna be alright now." He wasn't sure if his words were true or not, but he couldn't really think of anything else. But he had to say something to her…anything to comfort her. He knew how scared she must have been. It was the same fear he'd lived with for years. "How's the baby?" he asked her. "He-he's fine. It was…strange, Naruto. The whole time…he was smiling at that monster. He smiled the same way he smiles at you."

'Man…what a drag…' "Ok…I think its time we got some answers here. What's the deal with this fox and Naruto?" Shikamaru finally spoke up in his usually bored tone, which got everyone's attention. "I mean…if this is the same fox that was sealed inside Naruto…then why aren't we dead yet?"

"Hehe…" chuckled Kyuubi. "I suppose I've left you folks in the dark long enough." he mused.

"Damn right you have, mutt. Spill it! What's the deal here? How did you break free of the seal? And what happened to all your big talk about wiping out me and this village, huh? You get out, and what's the first thing you do? You scare the hell outta my wife and start acting like you're the family DOG or somethin! What kinda sick, twisted game are you trying to pull here, Kyuubi?!" Naruto was staring daggers right into the heart of his "inner demon".

"Game? What game? I just wanted to see our son with my own eyes. That's all. Can't blame a guy for tha-"

"SHUT UP! I've already told you…he's not your kid!"

"You sure about that?" he smiled. "After all…we are the same person, after all…in a manner of speaking." His grin widening with this statement.

Naruto was about to start shooting back every obscenity he could think of plus a few more he was could make up on the spot when Hinata turned to the kitsune and repeated the fox's last remark.

"Same…person? What do you mean?"

Kyuubi just kept that strange smile on his face as he began his explanation. "Think about it. That stinking seal was designed to imprison my soul inside Kit here and keep me separated from him. The fourth, however, knew that the body of a mere human could not contain my chakra completely. So he designed the seal to allow my chakra to be released inside Naruto at a controlled rate and allow his body to integrate it with his own without harm. A pretty good setup, if you ask me. It took me a while…but I figured out how I could use that to my advantage. I used that small little loophole to merge my spirit with his. After all…how can you seal away your own soul inside your own body? Simple…you can't. Took me a lot of work though…with a few costs, mind you. My size being one of them."

"I see…it makes sense."

"What was that, Shikamaru?" Suffering from a slight case of informational overload…Chouji could almost feel the question marks floating above his head.

"Oh man… (sigh) . Simply put…Naruto and Kyuubi now share the same soul. It's like two sides of the same coin." He explained to his slightly slow friend. "They aren't separate anymore. They're the same person…more or less."

"BINGO! My, my…aren't you a bright boy."

"He's right." Neji interjected. "His and Naruto's chakra are in perfect synch. They match each other's exactly. It's as if Naruto…is standing in literally two places at once. They just look different on the outside."

"And there you have it" quipped Kyuubi. "A stroke of pure genius if you ask me. Can't believe it took me so long to figure it out."

"What I don't get, is why. Why go through all of that when you knew there would be some "costs" as you put it?" Normally…Shikamaru was good at figuring out riddles, but this was one he was still having a little bit of trouble trying to crack. 'Why would someone of the nine-tails power pay a price like that and seem happy about it?'

"You can blame Kit here for that…mostly" looking directly at Naruto.

"Huh? Whattya mean blame me for this. What the hell did I do??" It was Naruto to don the clueless look this time around.

"Oh…nothing special really. You're just you, Kit…plain and simple." He could tell by the deer in the headlights look that Naruto didn't get it. "You've got a way, Brat. Just look around you. All of these people at one time or another could have really cared less about you. Now they'd all live and die for you. When you're not acting like a loud, obnoxious, pain in the ass, and Kami knows you've been a real pain in mine for the longest, you have this knack for bringing out the best in people. There's just something about you that just makes anyone that gets to know you actually like you…and makes them want to be more like you, to change themselves for the better. Even I apparently wasn't immune to that."

"Oh yeah? How so?" Now Kyuubi had Naruto curious. How could he have changed him? He didn't even LIKE the kitsune…and he was sure that the feeling was VERY mutual.

"When we first met…I couldn't stand you. How could I? You were my prison after all and no one likes bein locked up…especially a demon. But…because of our…"situation"…I watched you grow up. I also got assaulted with every emotion you ever had. Personally…I tended to like anger the best. It most fitted my usual mood. Plus…it was a pretty good way for me to be able to get out to play. Then just when I started thinking that you'd hit me with the best…you hit me with a whammy, Kit."

"RrrrrAH!!! Would you just get to the point already?!" Naruto's head was starting to hurt. He really hated long-winded explanations that made him have to think. 'Geez…I'd rather go 10 rounds with Orochimaru and his pack of Sound ninjas than have to listen to all of this. It's worse than listening to Shikamaru!' (sweat drop)

"He means…love." Everyone turned to the silver-haired Jounin, obviously waiting for him to elaborate. "Love is just about the most powerful emotion a person can feel…next to hate, of course. And considering what we've all seen here…I'd say it's pretty safe to rule out hate. Added to that, by his own admission…Kyuubi had to pay a toll to get here. No one…not even him…would do that out of hate. Only love can make someone do that."

"Someone give this man a cookie. You hit the nail on the head there, Kakashi. It was because of what he felt for the Hyuuga girl that really got me. It was nothing like that crush he had on little Ms. Pretty in Pink over here. This was real…and it was stronger than anything I'd ever felt. It was then I started to get REALLY interested. At first…it disgusted me to no end. It made me wanna puke in my cell….in fact I think I did a couple of times." Naruto's eyes went wide hearing this 'Oh GROSS!' then got a bluish tint to his face and started to look sick. iNow Iwanna hurl…' "After a while though…I got used to it. It reminded me of something I felt countless centuries ago when I was still young. It reminded me of how good it felt."

Hinata started to get a small smile on her face 'I-I did that? I helped Naruto tame Kyuubi and didn't even know it?' Her face was breaking out in a warm blush. Naruto had done so much for her in her life. He helped her find the will to become stronger…to believe in herself when no one else would. He'd shown her that by struggling on and not giving up…you can achieve your dreams. The ring on her finger and the child in her arms were living proof of that. To hear that she'd done something as grand as this for him, was the greatest feeling in the world to her. Even if they didn't even know it…she'd been the key to something remarkable.

"Then came the clincher." Looking back to Naruto and Hinata, he gestured towards their infant son, "Him."

Hinata looked down at the boy in her arms. "My…baby?" Raising her eyes back to the fox she asked, "What does he have to do with it?"

"Again…simple. He was born. When I saw him through Kit's eyes…I saw something that I loved. Something that I wanted to protect, just like the rest of you. You've all got something or someone you're willing to give your life for to protect. I never had anything of the sort…not that I really cared, either. Not until him, anyway."

They all stood around the fox in silence. After his emergence…this was the last thing any of them expected to hear. The demon fox freed himself…for love? This was just too unreal. Kyuubi, on the other hand…just patiently waited for all of this to sink into their heads. He could tell by the looks on their faces that this was hard for them to wrap their minds around. He couldn't blame them really. If you'd have told him the same story...he'd have just laughed in your face and called you crazy. But the fact remained…that here he was. The demon that knew love. When he felt that they'd had enough time to digest his story thus far, he continued.

"Now as to that "toll" bit. It seems that I lost a bit of my power during the melding of our spirits. In addition to my size…and yes…this is as big as I get now…it seems that my chakra reserves have been cut down in half. Kit's got the other half. That's why spooky eyes can see that our chakra is the same. We're split…right down the middle." He could see the surprise in their expressions. He had to chuckle at that one. The more he went on…the less they expected to hear what he was telling them. 'Gotta love humans sometimes. They're so easily shocked. Hehe' "Course…that's not to say that I…or rather, we…have completely lost our power. Apart, we are, as was so eloquently stated, 2 halves of the same coin. Separate but one. But together…we are truly one."

"Separate? Together? Would you stop talking in riddles, already and just spit it out! You're givin me a headache, ya stupid fox!" yelled an irritated and more confused to the moment Naruto. Once again…this merely caused Kyuubi to break out into yet another fit of laughter. This was just too easy!

"In terms that even you could understand: You've got half our chakra, brat and I've got the other half. By fusing our bodies…we can access 100 of our power. And as icing on the cake…with no limitations, unlike before. Due to our spirit melding…your body has also been strengthened to compensate for that power. Our minds and bodies will be as one. We could probably even take my true form, or anything in between……..I think."

Naruto couldn't believe his ears. Was this even real? '100???' No way! Naruto was still, to this day, nervous about going into anything higher than his three-tailed state due to the risks involved with it. Plus it hurt like hell. But now…he would be able to have access to ALL of it? And with no drawbacks to boot! This was something that was WELL beyond anything he could've imagined…not that he could have even imagined what was happening right now as it was. Then, he got to thinking. "Hey, mutt? What happens to me if we were to fuse back together? I don't mean my body…" he tapped the side of his head a few times, "I mean up here. Would it be like before and I go all outta control and stuff?"

Kyuubi actually looked impressed for a change. The kid was actually starting to use his head for once. "Short answer: No. Long answer: You wouldn't turn into some rampaging beast like…well, frankly…ME. Our thoughts and actions would be as one and the same person. But…I can't promise you that you wouldn't get some of my more…oh how should I put this…endearing qualities. But for the most part…you should be fine."

After answering Naruto's question, the demon fox let out a yawn, smacking his lips at the end. "Wow…going through all that work really tuckers a guy out. I think I'll go find myself a shady spot and take a nap."

"Oh no you don't! You're stayin' right h-" Naruto never got the chance to finish as Kyuubi turned, trotted a few steps before leaping into the air and disappearing in an instant…leaving everyone, especially Naruto, pondering everything that was said and happened in a daze. The one thing they all knew for certain was: Things…are gonna get interesting from here on out. Leave it to Konoha's weirdest ninja to drop yet another bombshell…even if he didn't want to.

Ok…that turned out much longer than I expected. I really didn't mean for it to get that complicated…but as they say…these things happen. But…I wanted to try to get this all out in one chapter, so it had to be done. Hopefully…this will be it for the slower moving chapters for a while.

And…2 chapters full of references to Naruto's and Hinata's baby boy…and no name yet. I've actually got an idea for it though. Just trying to decide on whether or not I want to toss in the dramatic irony of it. Hehe. Course…if anyone has any suggestions…I'm all ears.

Next Chapter: Hints of a new threat and a few more secrets.