Every time I listen to that song I vision something akin to when Kyuubi shows up at the end of the last chapter. I enjoy Wolfmother a fair amount, they really get my adrenaline going and make me just wanna rock out. I'm going see them 11/11/09 in Toronto, so excited. On with the story. This chapter will start in Konoha for various reasons and end with Naruto and Kyuubi erasing the village they are in. It's all within good reason. I do not own Naruto, a Japanese genius does. Thank you to Acaykath for Beta Reading my Story.
Chapter Four: A Question of Being
I've got the world on a string
Sitting on a rainbow
Got the string around my finger
What a world, what a life I'm in love
I've got a song that I sing
I can make the rain go
Any time I move my finger
Lucky me, can't you see I'm in love
Life is a beautiful thing
As long as I hold the string
I'd be a silly so-and-so
If I should ever let it go
I've Got the World on a String, Frank Sinatra, Best Of Capitol Years.
"Today is a day of remembrance. A day where we acknowledge our loss and pain. But today is also a celebration of life. Of two Shinobi's lives. Two Shinobi that fought out of rank and brought the enemy down with them. Today we honor Akimichi Chouji, a brave young Shinobi who lost his life defeating an enemy on the mission to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha and today we honor Uzumaki Naruto for greatly influencing the return of Uchiha Sasuke with his passing," Tsunade said, a quiver of anguish laced her voice, but for an entirely different reason that only she and a certain Nara knew of.
"With Naruto's passing, the secrets of his heritage and his tenant now may be revealed. This knowledge was kept secret for Naruto's safety and protection. He was not a foreign baby as many of you were led to believe and he was not an only child. He was the son of the late Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and Uzumaki Kushina the Fish ANBU. Naruto's brother passed away eight years ago because of an attempt on Naruto's life. Many would remember Naruto's brother as Konoha's Blood ANBU, but his real name was Ichirou Uzumaki Namikaze. After he passed away, Naruto's mind could not handle the stress so he eventually forgot all about his brother and that is why knowledge of this was buried."
"Now for Naruto's burden. As many of the city's adults already know, the Kyuubi was not destroyed by the Yondaime, Naruto's father, but was sealed away into a container. Naruto was the container for the Kyuubi. He held this burden his entire life, the murderer of his parents, and lived with it. When he accidentally learned of this, he did not let it stain his will and he never held any vendetta against the village for the way he was treated. Naruto is a great example of this village's and this country's Will of Fire and we shall remember him as the courageous young hero that he was." The entire mass of people that were gathered for the funeral were stunned.
Konoha's 'fox bane' was, in reality, it's Prince. They had doubted their Hero's power and cursed his son. The man that saved their entire city from the ferocity of a beast had begotten a child that saved them and they had all mistreated him. With knowledge of his heritage they held no doubts that Naruto was not the demon. The resemblance was uncanny when someone were to see the boy instead of the demon. The shop owner's, the street vendors, the rebellious teenagers, the obnoxious swine, and many others who had cursed Naruto's very existence were drowned by a wave of guilt. What wrong they had done the legacy of their greatest hero?
"Naruto passed away because of the Kyuubi's poisonous chakra running through his system as well as internal damage to his organs. He fought bravely to the end and we shall honor him as the son of our hero Yondaime, as the tamer of the Kyuubi and as a brave Shinobi of this village. Chouji passed away of chakra exhaustion and the use of a near-suicidal jutsu. He brought down his enemies with his mass of will and strength and we shall honor him as part of his clan and as a Shinobi of this village." Tsunade finished.
Tsunade was in a rather tender position. A few months on the job and she had already lost one genin to death and another to unfortunate circumstances that others believed to be death; plus she almost lost the last member of the, oh so important, Uchiha clan to one of the villages greatest traitors. She was up for review and a certain war hawk was going to try and take advantage of that.
Sasuke was found to have suffered injuries from Kyuubi's chakra as well and was too ill to evade the hunter Shinobi sent by Konoha. It turned out that Kyuubi's chakra was eating away at the seal, so it was slowly vanishing and causing a great deal of pain to Sasuke. He was found and brought back to Konoha the day before the funeral and put in a hospital cell so nurses could monitor his condition while he was being restrained. He'd been unconscious when they found him and he was still in the same state.
Shikamaru was gone after the last words of the ceremony were spoken, struck by pain and loss he made his way back to his home. He felt like what had happened to Chouji was all his fault and that he was the reason the Kyuubi had had a chance to manipulate Naruto. He had failed his mission and lost two good friends.
To reminisce and remember good times and to soothe the aching pain in his heart, Shikamaru had taken a path into the forest where he had always used to lay and watch clouds with Chouji and the rest of his team. His reminiscing was interrupted by the sight of foxes surrounding a morbid scene.
The sight was of two carcasses torn apart. The recent night's rain had washed the blood into the ground, causing the surrounding plants to start growing a mild red tint. The bodies were melding into the ground, mixing with dirt and other various ground debris. It seemed like they were attacked by some horrible monster. There were gashes and cuts from claws and the throat of one was gone, but, in a flash of calm orange light, the small area was cleared of the corpses.
Shikamaru just muttered, "Foxes," under his breath. True to their trait of being mischievous. Masters of deception. Doing something like this while everyone is busy grieving.
"We have to what?" Naruto asked.
"Just as I said Naruto. Since your unexpected hunger has revealed just what we are, we have to destroy this village," Kyuubi stated casually as he threw a sword at Naruto.
"How come you're never hungry and what's with the Katana?" Naruto asked, irritated as he caught the sword.
"By the order of this village, you two are under arrest for: trespassing without permission in a Shinobi village, attacking a civilian, and now plotting to destroy this village," one of the ANBU stated. He was clearly the captain.
"I'll answer that later, Naruto. Just store the Katana," Kyuubi said, turning to face the ANBU, "And first of all, your pathetic guards let us walk right in — we had permission — and second, you will not be taking us in. We have to abolish you and this village."
"If you will not come willingly, then we will force you," the ANBU said, tone as cold as ice.
"Naruto, if you find yourself in a troublesome situation, just use your imagination. Okay?" Kyuubi said as he vanished. The ANBU all tensed waiting for an assault. A moment later the earth shook with the realization of an explosion.
"But, I don't want to kill anyone," Naruto said to the empty air. "These people haven't done anything to deserve death. This is wrong, Kyuubi," Naruto said, the name made some of the ANBU tense.
Naruto, this village is a cancer. That hotel was built from stolen money. This village is the reason for over seventy percent of modern crime in Fire Country. That man who tried to rape and kill you, Naruto, originally came from this village with orders to kill you. The group of ninja who attacked your brother, Itachi and you that night all originated from this village. They were told to kill you and your brother. The village council did not want to seem like they were disobeying your father's last wish and did not want the Third to suspect anything, so they tried to order your death through this village. Not to mention that this village had a great influence on the reason for the Third Ninja War. I was learning this last night while you were being enlightened.
"Those ninja were from here?" Naruto said to himself anger building inside of him.
"Enough of this rambling! Who the hell are you calling Kyuubi? That beast was destroyed by the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha twelve years ago," The ANBU demanded.
"That beast, was the person who was just in this room," Naruto said, eyes sharp, "And he was not destroyed. My father sealed him inside of me the day I was born. My father, the leader of that ungrateful village Konoha, and you filthy ANBU are the reason I killed my brother!" Naruto vanished as all the ANBU tensed.
He reappeared in front of the ANBU captain as a wave of immense, burning chakra escaped from him. What have I become? Naruto questioned after he slashed through the quivering ANBU with the Katana. He looked around the restaurant. The rest of the room's occupants had all collapsed; some threw up, others fainted. His mere chakra took out a team of ANBU. The katana vanished in a burst of flames.
You have to destroy this village with me, Naruto. Remember, you can manipulate the elements with only a simple motion and thought. You have to get rid of them. It is vital.
Naruto was hesitant. How do I know that you're not lying?You could have just said those things to try and persuade me to loathe this village.
You cannot lie in your mind; you can only ignore. What I spoke of before is the truth of this village, Naruto. This village is the reason for much of your pain.
You have to let go Naruto. Just let go and follow your instincts. The words echoed in Naruto's head.
He felt a minor twinge from where his tails sprouted as he positioned his hands in front of himself. "Wh…what a-are yo-you?" The bloody mess of an ANBU managed to ask from behind his blood covered mask.
You are the Jubi no Kitsune, Naruto, Kyuubi stated.
Naruto was completely nescient of how he should answer such a question. He was confused by the question. He was not quite sure of what he was anymore. First it was a human building his way to the top; then a sacrifice and cage for a horrible beast, subjected to a life of misery; then a demon with equal power to the Kyuubi and a mind crazed with bloodlust. But now, he did not quite think Kyuubi was so much the demon people claimed him to be, and if that was so, then what was he.
Kyuubi had taken away his pain, taken away his misery, and taken away his unhappiness. How could Kyuubi be a demon if he was so kind to Naruto, protecting Naruto from a childhood full of nightmares and loss of innocence? What was Kyuubi when shined in this light? How could Naruto compare? What was Naruto?
Was Naruto the boy who lived a life of lies and deceit; royalty obscured by the shadow of a beast; born into a family destroyed by everything, but the beast he held? Who was he?
He let go of the energy he was going to form in his hands and clutched the base of his tails as he fell to his knees. He was in pain, an immense amount of pain. It was like what happened back at his apartment all over again. He felt the needle feeling, but only on his spine. He could not make a sound, just gargled noises and fox whines. Then, a spike of chakra, so immense that all the windows of the hotel shattered, washed over his body. From the base of his spine appeared a tenth tail.
The pain stopped. He felt absolutely nothing—no pain, no emotions, no fear. The only thing in his mind was the question: Just who and what was Namikaze Naruto? What purpose was there for him to exist?
The hidden pillar that was the foundation of his entire life once again rescued his crumbling structure. You are the Ten-Tailed Demon Fox as I once was, Naruto. You are a pure hearted person with good intentions and you will protect those closest to you with all your strength. I have given you the strength and now you are going to change the world with your heart. You are a god of will and fire.
The ANBU who had managed to remain conscious took in the sight of the new appendage and was awed at the power. This was a being of supreme energy and grace. A god on Earth.
Naruto's clenched eyes opened.
Kyuubi pointed his finger at the building he had just jumped from. It was a tall business building with countless windows and offices. Really, the only difference between this village and Konoha was the more modern buildings. Konoha had to stick to its culture and keep low to the ground for safety measures while this village had the freedom to build up. As Kyuubi descended, he noticed thousands of overpaid consumers lined the floors. He smirked.
At the tip of his finger, a small ball of fire appeared. It seemed harmless and looked like it was going to blow out as he fell, but then it began swirling around so rapidly that it looked akin to a small sun. It became so bright that the surrounding area darkened under its beaming light. As Kyuubi released the small sun's power, it was the only light visible.
In a thin line of almost white hot light, it destroyed the building floor by floor as Kyuubi moved his finger up and down effortlessly. It was almost as if he was coloring with a drawing utensil of chaos and destruction. Explosion after explosion went off as his marker's ink colored the building. The whole scene happened in rather quick succession and was a minor display of the power Kyuubi possessed.
As Kyuubi continued to descend, he turned to face the hotel and did the same to three other buildings. Feeling the immense chakra pulsing out of the hotel he said, "Time for him to apply what he has embraced."
What am I, who am I? He heard Naruto's voice echo in his head, emotionless.
You are the Ten-Tailed Demon Fox as I once was, Naruto. You are a pure hearted person with good intentions and you will protect those closest to you with all your strength. I have given you the strength and now you are going to change the world with your heart. You are a god of will and fire, Kyuubi truthfully answered.
As he observed the hotel, all the windows began to glow with an intense white light. The whole city darkened under the building's newfound glow and then the building exploded into millions of pieces, littering the city with its debris.
Suddenly, Kyuubi was jerked out of his destructive coloring.
"THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU KYUUBI!" Naruto shouted as he hugged Kyuubi, a huge smile on his face and his tails swaying happily behind him. His soft, golden ear was gently poking Kyuubi in the eye. His very being lightened the sky.
Now that's the enthusiastic Naruto I know and love. "Your more than welcome Naruto. Now, can we finish what we started?" Kyuubi asked hugging him back.
"All right," Naruto said. His mood still bright, but with a hint of mild worry.
They landed gently in the middle of an intersection and, moments later, were surrounded by hundreds of shinobi. It was a surreal and very strange scene for most who observed. Landing on the ground from over two-hundred feet in the air as though it were an effortless feat, were two teenage boys with fox traits.
The apparent leader of the village's shinobi stepped out of the crowd. "Who are you and what do you think you are doing in our village? If you think two children such as yourselves can waltz into a shinobi village and hope to succeed in destroying it, then you're very arrogant and stupid," he shouted with an angered expression painted on his face. He was a built man with wizened features and a ghastly air about him.
Kyuubi spoke first. "We are not children. I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune."
Kyuubi turned to Naruto. "And, I am the Jubi no Kitsune."
The man's scowling face continued to disfigure. "You claim you are a beast that was sealed over twelve years ago and later destroyed?" the man said gesturing to Kyuubi, "And, you claim to be a beast that does not even exist? I don't see two blood thirsty animals. All I see are a couple of very foolish and ignorant teens. Now, answer my question or I, personally, will force the knowledge from you."
Naruto had a natural hate for the man itching at him. The moment he started to speak, Naruto wanted to make the man suffer. The smell the man reeked of was familiar and angering.
Kyuubi stepped up and connected the scent to the familiarity. "You're the man who led the team that was asked to kill the sons of the Fourth Hokage." Many of the surrounding Shinobi tensed mildly.
"That is this villages most prized success. The murder of a dead Hokage's two pathetic children — one even killed the other — and the end of a horrid beast which you claim to be. How do you know about that? It's a rather closely guarded secret." The man was not daunted by Kyuubi's knowledge, but curious. Kyuubi took a step back from the scene. The man smirked thinking he had intimidated the boy.
Gold lined Naruto's sapphire eyes and pungent orange chakra beat off of him. The surrounding ground was disfigured as Naruto's figure vanished.
Naruto appeared in front the man so quickly that he hardly had any time to defend. With his knowledge and experience, the man managed two arms, enforced with chakra, crossed over each-other before Naruto punched. The punch was so powerful that a crater formed fifty feet around the man and toppled some of the other Shinobi. The man realized his arms were broken as he continued to hold off the blow. Time almost stopped.
"My name is Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, son of the Yondaime Hokage Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, and brother of Namikaze Uzumaki Ichirou. I am the Jubi no Kitsune and I am going to end you," Naruto whispered to the man struggling under his power.
He then kicked the struggling man in the chest after a graceful maneuver to open the man's defense, which in turn sent the man skidding along the ground for a couple hundred feet at a hardly visible pace. The shinobi leader hit the side of a building with such velocity it's side crumbled and cratered. A dust cloud impaired the view.
All the surrounding Shinobi went to engage Naruto but, before they could do anything, Naruto vanished. His figure appeared in front of the dust cloud and some of the Shinobi went to run after him, but their path was soon blocked by a smirking Kyuubi. "Pesky humans."
Naruto entered the brown puffs of dirt and grabbed the man. His eyes were the most beautiful mixture of blue and gold as they pierced the man's soul.
"You… You're supposed to be dead," the man whispered out of a blood filled mouth, "We were given orders to kill the two of you. The first mission ended with your brother's death and the next with yours. How are you still alive?"
"That would be my doing, and a certain Uchiha's," Kyuubi interrupted, appearing right beside Naruto, "I kept him healthy and cleansed of anything negative while Itachi Uchiha protected him from harm. That man you sent to kill him a few years later was a pedophile and Naruto's instincts killed him. Itachi arrived late on the scene then reported it to the Third Hokage. Naruto's unconscious form was in the room which is how I know this."
"The Third then sent back an impostor to inform you that the mission was a success. The council was put on an exceptionally tight and short leash after that, so you weren't sent any other orders," Kyuubi stated.
Naruto was imagining all the horrible things he would like to do to the man. Kyuubi could hear the ideas running through Naruto's head and stated, "Any last words?"
The man hung from Naruto's clawed hand in shock. All his power, all his pride, and all his skill was just brushed away like dust by a boy. He had manipulated his way into power and killed any who had gotten in his way. All the years of doing people's dirty work had paid off and landed him as a politically — as well as physically — powerful figure. His training had hardened him into a powerful shinobi who could stand up to just about anyone, and yet, with two hits this boy had brought him to his knees.
A boy, a mission, a task he had completed successfully had come back and shamefully degraded him into a helpless wimp. His greatest achievement was, in reality, his most severe failure.
"Thought so," Kyuubi said as Naruto sunk his teeth into the man's throat. His chakra beat off of him, angrily searing the man's flesh. The blood in the man's neck dried from the heat and becoming truly painful as the blood continued to flow, scraping through his system. Naruto and Kyuubi heard the man gasp as though he just suffered a heart attack. Then his eyes went a pale white and he looked up at the sky. After a short moment, the man died.
Naruto removed his teeth from the man's neck, wearing an indifferent expression on his face. He stared at the corpse in front of him and watched as the rain washed away the blood flaking off of the man's wound. Satisfaction relaxed his mental being, but there was a splinter — curiosity.
The taste on his teeth was soothing and satisfying, but he had tasted it with a pure intent to kill and that fact poured apprehension into his system. He had abolished one of the people responsible for his ignorant horror of a life and was completely content because of it. Was that right?
It began to rain again as screaming was heard. People were running through the streets, trying to find safety and escape the danger. The few left over Shinobi Kyuubi had ignored had all fled, trying to find their families.
"If we are found out, Naruto, it will cause another war. More than ten times this village's population will be killed and they will be innocent people. We have to be rid of this village," Kyuubi injected in to the close silence.
He knew what he could do, how to finish the city. With the power he felt, it would be effortless. But, he felt he had done enough damage. The most beautiful structure he had ever seen was destroyed by him, the city's Shinobi system was in ruins because of him, and now the village had to be destroyed because of him.
Naruto cursed his naivety and incompetence.
He was the reason they were found out. He had carelessly gone to eat when he knew of what it was something like him had to eat. Irony was again at work in one of its many forms. A kind god, as far as Kyuubi was concerned, could only remain kind by killing.
Kyuubi took his silence as a sign of Naruto's mood and continued to level the city. He started using earthquakes and fissures instead of fire. Naruto watched in mild fascination while Kyuubi destroyed the city. With a graceful wave of his hands, earth would kick up and crush itself. Buildings would be reduced to rubble with the cities people being buried underneath the destruction. Naruto could feel Kyuubi's pulses of chakra reforming the land and knew he could easily do the same.
Kyuubi then let out a net of chakra to kill whatever was left within the city. Animals were left alone since they were harmless and could not be used for information and whatever was not destroyed was run through by the net.
After Kyuubi felt no life left within ten kilometers of where they stood, he stopped. What was a city not more than an hour ago was now rubble and mud. A once populated area with thousands was now vacant and desolate.
It continued to rain as they stared out into the silent massacre they had caused. Naruto began questioning just how powerful Konoha must have been to stop Kyuubi.
"I was not in my right mind that night, Naruto. I was using everything I had and Konoha stopped me. Konoha is by far one of the most powerful forces on earth. This village hardly compared," Kyuubi said, sitting down on a boulder. He was looking at the ever soaking ruins of a landscape.
"Can I ask you a question?" Naruto asked, voice a little shaky. Why would he be nervous?
"Sure," Kyuubi answered, already knowing what the question was and bracing himself for how to answer.
"How come I have another tail?" Naruto said, holding his tails out as proof, the ten of them shining a beautiful hue of gold in the wet and grey light, matching his ears and hair well. He was a little anxious about revealing his new appendage.
"Because you have your instincts. Have you ever heard of the Sage of Six Paths?" Kyuubi asked.
"Shouldn't you know everything I know?" Naruto asked in return, slightly mocking to ease the tense mood. He felt a twinge of chakra in the distance.
"I only know the bad Naruto, not the common or good... if there was any. Anyway, let us walk and talk. We need to leave this place. As I am sure you've noticed, there are some travelers coming." They were a while away, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.
"Okay," Naruto agreed as they began running West, "And I heard that he was just some legend; like someone could possibly come up with all the justus."
"He was quite real, Naruto. He is the reason I only have nine tails now," Kyuubi said. The edge of the forest was coming into view.
"What does this have to do with me having ten tails then?" Naruto asked.
"You feel how powerful you are, correct?" Naruto nodded towards him. "It's scary just how powerful you feel. What I did moments ago, you felt you could easily do, correct?" Naruto nodded again.
"And, if you haven't noticed yet, you unconsciously get sick of human blood. It's only satisfying at first, but never makes you content. You end up having to find a release, or something else to feed on. The release is, well, a sexual release. And, the only way to sate your bloodlust is to feed on another demon's blood, or else you will go on a rampage trying to find satisfying blood," Kyuubi half explained.
"So imagine you are hungry like you were in the restaurant and I did not come to satisfy your hunger. You would have tried to find a sexual release, but you would have torn anyone you touched apart. The other night you managed to mount that foolish boy by pure luck; that usually never happens. Now, imagine people trying to stop you. Do you think they could?" Kyuubi asked Naruto. By now they were in the forest.
Naruto thought about people trying to stop him. Kyuubi had just leveled a city and he had felt he could have done that with his eyes closed. It was not an arrogant piece of knowledge, but he could feel it; he knew it to be fact.
"Well, I was once in that situation. With no control, a blind desire for destruction because I was unsatisfied." Kyuubi looked away in shame. His posture took on a more ungraceful facade as they ran.
"Then he appeared with the eyes of a god, the bloodline limit that started them all, a doujustu so powerful that it put the Sharingan to shame, the Rinnigan." Kyuubi looked ahead. "He began to fight me and defend his city. The techniques he used and the movements he made were flawless and powerful. A sad fact was that I was still more powerful than him and would not be stopped by physical means. He wanted to end the destruction I was causing more than anything, so with a combination of extraordinary jutsu he sealed me away in himself and sealed my body away within the moon. He became my Jinchuuriki, the first Jinchuuriki." It began raining even harder as they began abusing the tree branches.
The rain seemed to not even exist with the mood that hung over the two, but it was always there. The mood was somewhat pleasant, no matter where they were, as long as they were together, but the water continued to fall. With Naruto's sensitive eyes, he could see the splashes created whenever the drops would be stopped by earth.
"During the rest of his life, he got to know me. He realized that I was not a heartless demon with the passion of killing as my only acquaintance. He came to respect me, and over the years we put our minds together and composed a way for me not to lose control. That is how I came to only have nine tails. When The Sage of Six Paths died, he split up my chakras and created the nine bijuu. The eight other bijuu are my harmful instincts." Kyuubi then stopped which in turn caused Naruto to stop. The scene was covered in a vale of grey and green light as they stood in the rain.
"Why did you stop?" Naruto asked, referring to Kyuubi's movement as well as his speech.
"You have ten tails, Naruto, because you are whole unlike me." Kyuubi looked down at the damp branch below him. "The plan that the Sage and I created backfired. The bijuu were all to remain under my control so I put each of them into an elemental dimension, but with the Sage's legacy of Ninja and justu, power became mankind's greatest desire. They went after the bijuu to abuse their power, creating jinchuuriki after jinchuuriki. My instincts became family heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation." Kyuubi's red eyes shone brilliantly as he looked at Naruto.
"I hate to see a great man's legacy disgraced such as his has been, and how your brother and you were treated as your father's legacy. You may be thinking that I am not much of a demon, but, believe me, I care not for the lives of humans. Few have ever earned my respect, and they always seem to be the ones that are disgraced by lesser humans. The only reason I would ever even get involved in the lives of humans would be to protect my land. Preventing war is my ultimate goal because war destroys life."
Naruto wasn't really getting the answer he wanted, but was concerned about Kyuubi being upset so he chose not to redirect the conversation.
Kyuubi could tell he was worrying Naruto with his mixture of emotions and evasion of his question, so he answered, "You have ten tails, Naruto, because your mental and natural being have never been tampered with. Unlike me, your instincts are still there."
Then Kyuubi explained why it was not immediate, "It took time because my blood would only mix with your being if I was away from you; yet another reason why I left last night. While I was away, my blood formed to your chakra and soul. Your memories, your heart, your desires, and your identity are no longer hidden from you. You have become a pure being because of this."
"It has been many years since the time of the Sage of Six Paths and over that time I have found a way to perfect the idea he and I had so long ago. The solution I have found was greatly influenced by what we tapped into and it will be the end of all our problems," Kyuubi stated, taking off again.
"And what is that solution?" Naruto asked on Kyuubi's heels.
"Fox blood."
As Shikamaru entered his home, he plugged his ears to avoid having to hear his troublesome mother rant to his father. The traditional Japanese style home was large and flat, so Shikamaru's room was a great deal away from all the noise, a fact that relieved him.
He successfully avoided the arguing and, to his surprise, his mother was worried that him being a ninja was too dangerous. But, that was not all he heard. His mother also complained about something that would not be healthy for the village if it became common. In his mother's opinion, Tsunade, was not doing a very good job as Hokage.
He had too much on his mind and tried to relax: the death of his greatest friend on a mission he lead, the tough position Tsunade was now in, Naruto's endless list of issues, and where he fit into all of these situations.
Meditating he tried. It worked to a degree, but he found himself concerned about Naruto. He felt horrible for the poor boy, or fox, or whatever it was that Kyuubi had turned him into. To lose everything valuable to you and be completely ignorant of it would certainly be healthy but, even with his naivety, Naruto's life was still horrible.
Becoming the demon he unconsciously spent his entire life trying to prove he wasn't, was no doubt a horrible event in his life. And now, he apparently had a brother. It would have been nice to inform Naruto of that before he had to leave, but what's done is done.
He was continuing to ponder over Naruto's tragic life when his window suddenly came open with a burst of wind and fluster of the drapes. "What a drag," he said to himself.
He got up, closed the windows, and noticed the lock had been cut. Instinct told him there was nothing in his room, but it never hurt to be too careful. He discretely pulled out a kunai and turned around. He saw nothing so he relaxed a bit and went to sit on his bed.
Once he had turned to lie back down, he tensed at the sight of a cloaked figure in his window and another in the corner of his room. They wore black cloaks with red, white-trimmed clouds. "Akatsuki," he cursed.
"What do you want?" Shikamaru asked. His left hand was hidden behind him, secretly doing a hand sign.
The cloaked figure came out of the shadows of his room and his breath got stuck in his throat, justu forgotten.
"I want to know everything you know about my brother."
Fox blood, as the solution to all of his and Kyuubi's problems?
It was the reason for his power now, the reason he was a whole person for the first time since he came out of his mother's womb, and the reason he could avenge his family. It was the reason he could finally be happy.
He could certainly believe that it would solve the rest of their problems.
They travelled the rest of the day heading Northeast, with curiosity still running through Naruto's system. Naruto wanted to understand why he was in the place he was, so he questioned Kyuubi.
"Why do I look older?" Naruto had asked and Kyuubi had answered, explaining that they would not age past twenty years and that their ages balanced to find an average look. Naturally, Kyuubi would have looked twenty, so when their ages of twenty and twelve averaged out, they looked sixteen.
"Why did the council hate my brother and me so much?" Kyuubi explained that to the best of his ability. Kyuubi told Naruto that his father had wanted to change the way Fire Country went about relationships with other countries. Essentially, he was trying to prevent war from ever happening again. Kyuubi had heard that as a part of Minato's speech during his ceremony when he was chosen as Hokage.
The council did not like that idea because they would have no reason to be a part of Fire Country's leadership anymore. So when the Fourth died sealing the Kyuubi into Naruto, they felt relieved that he was gone. However, they began to see Ichirou as a threat. With his father's ideas, his personality and most certainly his skill, he was a legend at the age of fourteen. With Ichirou as Naruto's role model, Naruto drowning himself in his desire to transcend his brother, and the fact that Naruto had all of Kyuubi's chakra at his disposal, the two of them, as a team, would shadow the counsel and carry out their father's wishes.
So the council devised a plan to put out the small flame before it became a forest fire and hired the destroyed village's shinobi to kill his brother and him.
"Where was my family buried?" Kyuubi did not know that and apologized for his lack of knowledge. He could tell that Naruto wanted to visit their graves at some point.
"Where are we going?" Kyuubi said that they would be arriving there that evening and he would not speak the name until then.
"Why did you give me a katana when I have no experience with one?" Kyuubi explained that they were an elegant and efficient way for them to use their power. Waving an arm that would cause a burst of flames was less effective than a katana directing the blast into a controlled beam.
"Why did Itachi agree to kill his clan?" Kyuubi had stopped and thought about that question. He did not understand that scenario himself. He knew Itachi to be a good hearted person with eyes that saw everything. He would never be so cruel and evil, so he said there must have been a reason for him to do what he did and that if he was truly heartless he would have killed Sasuke as well.
"Why were you so mean to me when I was first being affected by your blood?" Kyuubi took on a grim look and felt awful for the way he had treated Naruto. To keep Naruto's trust, and avoid any further problems, he went with the truth.
Kyuubi said that he was irritated by Naruto because of how stupid he acted and for the way he disrespected him. He was angered that Naruto had been rude to him when he was the reason for Naruto's more peaceful life. Even though Kyuubi knew Naruto did not know, it still hurt him. He was caged inside of a host he had protected on countless occasions and said host did nothing but insult and use him so, naturally, Kyuubi wanted to make Naruto feel horrible.
But, it was also a healthy start to a new life. If Naruto had started out with a different attitude, it would have been disastrous for Konoha so Kyuubi had to depress him. He apologized for the cruelty, but said that it was necessary.
The last question Naruto asked was something Kyuubi wanted to avoid until later, but he had to answer it.
"Why did it feel so pleasant sleeping with you?" Both of them held a mild blush because of the question, Naruto more so than Kyuubi.
Kyuubi said that it would only be natural to be attracted to a being of the same species and that they were essentially two halves of the same whole. Their bodies and minds naturally affected the other in a positive way and that it was completely natural.
Naruto had flushed even further. His mind told him that is was wrong to feel that way about someone of the same sex, but his body and his heart's desire was steadily decomposing that thought. He was not human anymore so human morals did not apply, plus it was not healthy to deny your heart. Ignoring his heart was wrong and he knew he had feelings for Kyuubi, but there was no way he was going to admit it until Kyuubi admitted that he felt the same.
Kyuubi knew Naruto's feelings and wanted to see who would last longer denying their body's lusts.
After that last question was asked, they had travelled in silence and now they were walking in a unique system of rocks and caves.
The day's journey again was at an incredible pace and they were at the border between Lightning Country and Fire Country. It was an incredibly mountainous region far away from any civilization. It was now just before dark and light was getting scarce. The rain still fell, but now only gently.
Kyuubi walked in a narrow passageway with Naruto right behind him. The unique path had been created from the earth splitting apart. The passage was so narrow that if someone was on ground level, thirty feet above them they would be able to place their feet on either side of the small fissure and stare down it. The bottom was dark, damp and littered with leaves and twigs, making footing awkward at times, but they managed.
The walls were layered with bushy mosses and adjacent riveting lines stretching horizontally across the rock face from weaker layers of rock that had been affected by the elements. It was so narrow that their tails gently brushed against the sides as they walked.
The path wound around many curves, but never had a sharp turn. They walked along the path for a good twenty minutes before they came to a fork where the path widened a bit. The split went directly to the right and the left in a T-shape.
Kyuubi stopped directly in the middle of the fork and turned around to face Naruto who was still twenty feet behind him.
Naruto stopped where he was and looked at Kyuubi. His fox's ears twitched gently and his tails rustled a bit. His ruby red eyes no longer bore any anger and seemed to be soothed. Naruto thought that Kyuubi was beautiful, standing elegantly between the rocks that were as ancient as he was. The contrast between the grays, blues and greens of the stone and the reds, oranges and beiges of Kyuubi were in perfect harmony. The scene was amazing and breathtaking.
"This place is called Kitsune no Metsuki, the Fox's Sight, and it has been my home since I was born."
Kyuubi then turned to his right and walked down the left passage. Naruto followed. Once he was around the corner, he could see the naturally narrow hall end. The stone to his right ended and the stone to his left continued and curved gently out of sight. He saw a few of Kyuubi's tails wave out of sight right after he turned the corner.
Naruto, excited and anxious, walked down the rest of the small fissure and turned the corner. It was beautiful and charming. There was a marvelous and grand flat sprouting rooms over a wide calm pond. Small islands, large enough to hold a small Sakura tree, dotted the pond while an inviting bridge led into the main house. An old feeling of warmth and history dwelled within the place.
Naruto saw that the wall ended abruptly with a cliff. From what he could see, there was a magnificent view of the surrounding landscape and Kyuubi's home was in a random half moon carved out of the mountain side.
The ground he stood on was a gentle carpet of moss that calmly descended into the water for a few feet then dithered away into smooth rock. The water gently ran off the cliff's edge like the pool he had spent the previous night in. The pond was like al large and shallow bowl with its bottom directly under the house.
"Well, are you going to come in? This is your home too now," Kyuubi said from the doorway at the end of the wooden bridge. Naruto contemplated the idea of a home. When had he ever really felt at home? This place seemed so right though.
"Naruto, you are here not as a guest, but as a resident. This is your home. I know you feel that it is. This is no longer a question Of, being, Naruto, you Are, being."
