Getting his bearings Naruto looked around and realized he was in the sewer again. With a smile he got up and walked in what he hoped was the direction to the Kyuubi's cage. Eventually it came into sight, and what he saw startled him. The Kyuubi was tossing and turning in his sleep. It was funny to see such a large being doing that, but also kind of sad. Naruto hated seeing anybody in pain. He walked closer and tried to figure out if he could get past the cage. He stuck a hand towards the bar. Sticking a hand through the bar he found he could. Walking towards the Kyuubi's head he thought about what could possibly be causing such a powerful beast (no, he reminded himself, no beast would feel sadness and anger. He was a being, a person with feelings and dreams and a past). Slowly he rubbed the head of the Kyuubi. Eventually the Kyuubi quieted down, and slept once more. Naruto stood there for the longest time, staring at nothing. He couldn't think of what caused the Kyuubi so much pain.
She woke up slowly, opening an eye and wondering why she felt so peaceful. She hadn't felt this in years. Not since the change. Her vision came into focus and saw...that blasted human! Why would he be in here! How would he be in here, for that matter? "What do you want?" she growled.
"I'm sorry," he replied, "I saw you in pain so I tried to help."
'Why would he possibly care,' she thought, 'what is there to gain?' Out loud she said, "It's not your business if I'm in pain or not."
Naruto had finally had enough. He was tired of his help being scorned even though he honestly cared. He cried out, "Even if it's not my business I will still ask. I don't know what happened to you that made you hate humans aside from the obvious, being sealed and all, but I truly hate seeing somebody in pain. I know what it is like, unlike what you believe. So if you want to stay here and pity yourself that's fine. I won't bother you again." With that he started to walk away. 'He's different. I haven't met a human like him since, well it's been a long time. He reminds me quite a bit of Colette. Except male. I may as well give him a chance.' "Wait," she called.
He turned around at the edge of the bars. "What?" he asked.
"I'm sorry. It's been so long since I've actually been talked to like an intelligent being. Your right, I shouldn't wallow. Especially since it seems your willing to reach out."
He smiled. "Okay. I'm sorry I got mad. I've been trying for years to gain acknowledgment, and for somebody who probably has gone through things that are similar, and who is willing to throw away a chance at a friend, well it just doesn't sit well with me. If I may ask though what was causing your fear?"
"A memory of the past. The beginning of the end of my humanity."
"You were human? I didn't know that! Though it could explain why you're so bitter. If humans caused you to be sealed despite the fact that you were one yourself at one point must have been depressing. What made you lose it, may I ask?"
"You may. We, that is my companions and I, were fighting a giant demon. A true demon of the land of Niflheim. The only way to actually stop it was to seal it's soul in the moon, and split it's power. We would then take it into ourselves and die, taking the power with us. Things didn't go as planned, though. The Juubi, as it was called was too powerful. We successfully sealed its soul, but the power was too dense. It destroyed our bodies and forced our souls into the pieces. We were warped into pure chakra bodies. We kept our minds, but our bodies were monstrous. We decided that humanity would shun us, so we disappeared. We lived in solitude for about 150 or 200 years. Then the first of us was discovered and sealed. Over the next 200 or 300 years each one of us was sealed. We some how could sense and speak to each other with our minds, so we knew what was happening. We started to move around more, but we were to large and noticeable. I escaped simply because for some reason I had gained the most power. Eventually though, even I was caught. At first I was controlled, but eventually I was sealed. From what I could gather, I was sealed to protect others from my uncontrolled wrath, not as a weapon. That was the only relief I had. You've got to understand that over the years we changed from believing in the good of humanity to cursing it. We were treated as mindless beasts or sources of power. Nothing else. Our first containers got to know us, but they were mistreated as if they had our true power. They died, through their own hand or another's. We escaped but were immediately subdued. Eventually the newer containers had no clue how we felt and just believed like the others that we were mindless calamities. Even the most kind-hearted of all of us, Lloyd Irving and Colette Brunel became jaded, especially seeing how the ones they were sealed in got treated. They still were themselves, but they now distrust most of humanity."
Throughout all this Naruto was listening and thinking. 'Those names. Juubi, Colette, Lloyd. I know them from somewhere.' It came to him like a ton of bricks. The Dream! Somehow he had seen the Kyuubi's memories! He said enthusiastically, "Somehow I saw that. I saw your memory of the time before the Juubi got sealed! I saw it in a dream!"
"What? How? Describe what you saw!" He went on to describe the entire dream sequence. The Kyuubi seemed surprised by this. 'He saw my dream. But how? He missed the last bit, but still...'
Naruto eventually asked, "What's your name? If you were human once, surely you had a name that wasn't, 'the fox of nine tails'. Also, what did you look like? Can you take a human form?"
Kyuubi replied, "My name was Fujibayashi Sheena, as to how I look like, I've never been very good at describing myself. As to whether or not I can take human form, well I never tried."
"Sheena? Isn't that a girl's name? Also, I would think you could. After all, you were human once, right? And chakra can become almost anything right? So you know how the human body works, and you are made of chakra, so why not try?"
The now named Sheena replied, "Yes, I am female, is that bad? And perhaps I should. It would make things less cramped." With that she focused. She disappeared from view. She felt better, lighter than she had in years. She opened eyes she didn't realize she had closed. She looked around and at herself. A hand, a five fingered hand was in her line of sight. With an excited shout, she danced around. "It worked, It worked!" All the while Naruto stared in awe. His idea worked. It actually worked! As he stared, though, he realized how incredibly pretty Sheena was. With Dark Purple-Bluish hair, and a light purple Kimono, as well as the smile, made Naruto blush. Controlling his expression he said, "No of course not, your voice while large sounded booming and masculine." Sheena stopped her dancing and said, "Ah, okay, as long as you aren't sexist or perverted. One of my companions was extremely perverted. In fact, the only thing he had going for him was that he didn't think we women couldn't fight. After all, I beat him plenty of times." 'Why I'm telling this to an eight year old I don't know. I would think that he hasn't ever had a talk with anybody about human reproduction'.
"What's a sexist and a pervert?" Naruto innocently asked.
"Um, you'll understand when your older. Anyway, I was wondering could I see your memories? I've been sleeping for almost the entirety of your life because I never expected to have somebody to talk to as an equal. Because of this I don't know what your life has been like, and I'm incredibly curious," Sheena replied.
"Sure, go ahead," Naruto replied.
Sheena walked over to Naruto and placed a hand on his head. Naruto stiffened then relaxed. She stood there for 5 minutes, then 10, then 20, until suddenly she jerked back as if shocked. Her expression was one of anger and sadness. "I'm sorry," she said after a few moments, "I'm sorry for claiming you know nothing of my feelings. I saw the horrible crushing loneliness you went through. As long as you wish, I will be your friend, your family, and your shoulder to cry on should you need it. I will even help you train and pass on some of my knowledge."
"Thank you, Sheena. You have no idea how thankful I am," Naruto said.
"That said, you should wake up soon. I should be able to speak in your mind and if you think your words I will hear you back. I will train you whenever you are ready."
Naruto woke up to the Sandaime calling his name. The Hokage saw that Naruto was awake and spoke. "Ah, your awake. The doctors have assured me that you are good to go. In addition, I have found a teacher and companion for you."
"Well, Lord Hokage, I'll have to decline your request," Naruto said coldly. The Sandaime recoiled as if slapped. "What's wrong, Naruto?" the Sandaime said in shock. "I told you. I haven't forgiven you for lying to me. I might in time, but for now, I want nothing to do with you," Naruto shot back with venom. With that parting shot, Naruto got up and left, the Hokage standing there looking down in shame.
A/N So yeah. The Kyuubi is Sheena. She was the prime choice for several reasons. 1. Corrine/Verius was a fox 2. She's one of my favorite characters 3. She's badass and has similar skills (that is what appears to be sealed cards), to the Uzumaki (she appears to use a form of fuuinjutsu). Oh, and I'm pretty sure what Sheena wears isn't a kimono, but sadly I don't know much about traditional garb. If isn't a Kimono, could some body tell me?
