Disclaimer: If I said that I was Kishimoto, and that I owned Naruto, and that I am a sexy beast, I would be telling two lies. It is up to you to figure out which two the lies are.
Bad news fans (for you, not me), I'm going on vacation, oh yeah! This translates into no new chapters for a week or two, for any of my stories. If you know anyone who reads my other work, pass the word. Anyways, don't fret, more chapters will come for my stories in a short while.
Summary: Heroes don't always win, and Naruto is about to find out how. One small mistake on his part and his greatest nemesis is making his worst nightmare come true. Naruto can only watch helplessly as his life is torn apart, and fortune is reversed. Can the most cunning of pranksters figure a way out of what can only be described as the most dire of situations?
AN. Last Chapter I said that this story was set before the Chuunin exams, but I remembered today that the event with Jiraiya happened before the end of the exams. My bad. Anyways, this story is set right before the finals.
Reversal of Fortune, Chapter 2:
An Immodest Proposal
"YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS YOU DAMN FOX!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs, still imprisoned in what was formerly 'his' seal.
"Quiet, kit, how can I imitate you properly if I have an insignificant runt screaming in the back of my mind?" The Kyuubi answered back, quietly, still impersonating Naruto well enough to fool Jiraiya, who had only known the boy for a few days.
At the moment, Jiraiya and "Naruto" were both riding on top of Gamabunta, on their way back to Konoha after a long day of training. Jiraiya had decided that after completely mastering frog summoning (and surpassing his every expectation), Naruto had all that he needed to succeed in the Chuunin exam. At the moment, "Naruto" was whispering to himself, and this struck Jiraiya as odd. But he simply reasoned that after awakening his tenant for power, Naruto had also gained the burden of having to speak to it.
"So, Naruto." Jiraiya spoke. "Now that you have gained the power to unleash your red chakra, you must also take the responsibility that comes with it."
Naruto's head snapped eerily in Jiraiya's direction, before he made his reply. "What responsibility is this… master?" his voice sounded shriller than normal, as he added the only word that he knew to address a superior to the end of his statement.
Jiraiya tossed his head back and laughed, completely ignoring the vocal differences his pupil was displaying. "Master! Hahaha! No one's ever called me that before, out of all of the people that I've taught." He wiped his eyes. "It feels good to finally have a student that appreciates my tutelage." He patted Naruto's shoulder. "Tell you what, kid. I'll let you accompany me to get some ramen on the way home. I'll tell you all about this responsibility of yours at Ichiruka's!"
Gamabunta hopped its way into town while Jiraiya enjoyed the respect that he was receiving, and "Naruto" continued to argue with himself quietly.
…Ichiruka's Ramen, A Few Minutes Later
Jiraiya's face was twisted in disgust as he watched Naruto eat. He had already heard from his teachers that the boy ate like an animal, but he was still surprised by how disgustingly the boy was eating. The boy wasn't even bothering to use his chopsticks, he was just stuffing the food into his mouth with his hands.
Naruto slurped loudly as he drained the contents of his bowl into his stomach. "Smack This is a good Smack meal… But smack I would like some meat slurp as well."
Jiraiya chuckled. "I guess all of that summoning has made you hungry." He motioned to the stand's owner. "Get this kid something high in protein! He's never gonna get taller eating only ramen!"
The stand's owner nodded.
Jiraiya leaned over to Naruto. "Ya'know, kid. You are never going to get a women with the way you eat."
Naruto ceased eating. "What bearing does my manner while eating have on my chances of acquiring a mate, master?"
Jiraiya laughed audibly. "There you go with that flattery again, Naruto. Boy, you sure do seem different since you summoned Gamabunta." He got closer to the boy so he could whisper. "Or maybe growing as a ninja is causing your body to grow in other ways as well." He leaned back to his initial position. "Regardless, you should try to show more manners when you eat. If any ladies see you wolfing down your food like that, they'll be running the other way before you even finish!" He began laughing to himself.
The ramen-maker approached and set down some fish in front of Naruto.
Jiraiya flicked a coin at him to pay for the meal. "Thanks for the food."
The ramen man caught the money, nodded, and then left abruptly to prepare more food for other patrons.
Naruto started to devour the fish like the ramen before it.
Jiraiya eh-hemed. "Anyways, Naruto. It's time to talk about your new responsibility."
Naruto's eyes shifted so that they were looking at Jiraiya, but he kept eating his fish.
"Now, listen well, my star-pupil." Jiraiya started. "I know that you consider your newfound power to use your red chakra an enormous gift. However, you are not to just go around using it against your garden variety opponent." He emphasized not. "The truly wise ninja learns to hide his trump cards. Furthermore," His eyes met Naruto's as his features harden, emphasizing the gravity of what he is about to say. "Your red chakra is useful, but it comes at a price. The Yondaime made that seal the best he could, but it isn't perfect. If you decide to whip out too much of that red chakra, the seal can and will redirect it back to the fox inside you. But the more it does this, the weaker it'll get."
This caught Naruto's (and by Naruto, and mean the Kyuubi, who was currently impersonating him) attention. "Elaborate!" The boy said, his voice stronger than natural.
"Hey, boy! Don't go snapping at me!" Jiraiya said. "I was just about to get to the important part. Anyways, If that seal of yours gets too weak, then your natural chakra will freely mix with the red, and they don't mix well." Jiraiya decided to use an analogy. "Do you know how certain chemicals explode when you mix 'em?"
Naruto's head nodded.
"Well, if that seal ever fails, everyone in Konoha is gonna know. Either 'what's inside you' will be released, and then you'll die. Or," Jiraiya made a wide gesture with his hand. "You'll explode, and then you'll die!"
Naruto gulped. "And if I were to pull out too much of this chakra, say, all nine tails, how long would the seal last? Would there be enough time to repair it?"
Jiraiya's expression grew sadder as his eyes fell to the ground.
'Damnit!' The Kyuubi cursed inwardly.
Jiraiya's face suddenly rose, as he was wearing a large grin. "Don't worry kid. The seal is stronger than a professional lifter! It would be a couple of years before it would fail you, and it'd take even longer for you to gain the ability to draw out all nine tails. I was just telling you all of this so the seal won't be a problem in the future."
Naruto stood up from the stand. "I apologize, master, but I just remembered that there is something I must do."
Jiraiya looked surprised. "But you didn't even finish all of your food."
"I must leave, now!" Naruto said, making his way to the street.
Jiraiya shrugged before returning to his own meal. "Probably has to use the restroom."
The ramen man walked up to Jiraiya. "Something is very strange about Naruto. Has anything happened to him since he left?"
Jiraiya smiled. "The boy's right as rain! He's just still shaken up from my harsh training." He began to laugh outwardly as Naruto moved further and further into the distance…
Naruto roared angrily as he bumped into more than a few villagers while walking down the street. The majority of such villagers were surprised and made afraid by the fact that Naruto seemed immune to their stares on this particular day, and that he seemed feral.
Naruto began cursing in some demonic language as he made his way into an alleyway where there were no villagers to fear him. He looked up, and spoke to himself. "What a mess I find myself in…"
"HAH! YOU'RE JUST GETTING WHAT YOU DESERVE YOU DAMN FOX!" the real Naruto called out from his prison. "NOW YOU'VE GOT TO LET ME BACK OUT, OR WE'LL BOTH DIE! HAHAHAHAHA!"
The Naruto impostor snarled. "Obviously, you lack a grasp of the current situation, kit. But don't worry, I will instruct you." He kneeled in a corner, taking some sort of meditative position as he closed his eyes.
Moments later, and Naruto and Kyuubi were face-to-face for a second time, this time with their roles reversed. The Kyuubi looked like Naruto, standing on the 'free' side of the bars of the Shiki Fujin. Naruto now had the appearance of a baby, demon fox, and he was imprisoned in the Curse Seal itself.
"So, you're not too much of a coward to talk to me man-to-man, eh?" Naruto said. "Now come a little closer, SO I CAN KICK YOUR ASS!"
The Kyuubi chuckled, sounding like a cross between a demon and Naruto. His voice carried some of its original bass now that he no longer needed to imitate Naruto. "Kit, kit, kit… You don't understand how things are. I've only come down here so that I can explain. I have no desire to allow you to 'kick my ass'" He approached the bars, but stayed just out of Naruto's reach. "Now listen up."
Naruto ignored his desire to make another bratty comment, figuring that it would be prudent to at least know exactly what the Kyuubi did to him.
"Now, kit." The Kyuubi started. "If escaping from my torment within your body was as simple as switching places with you, then I would have done it a long time ago. However, things are a lot more complicated then that."
"How complicated?" Naruto growled.
"Look at yourself, look at me. I've been figuring out the intricacies of swapping places with you without swapping bodies for a long time." Sure enough, it occurred to Naruto, he was in a fox body and the Kyuubi was in his. "You see, that seal of yours is impenetrable. It is completely impossible for any being, no matter how strong , to escape from it without outside help. And even with it, that bastard Fourth Hokage of yours made sure that this seal was especially made so that it would keep me in it even if you willingly wanted me released. That damn cage your in doesn't have a key, so to speak." The Kyuubi grinned. "At least not for demon foxes, that is…" He chuckled menacingly.
"Then how did you get out!" Naruto yelled out.
"I made a technique that lets me switch souls with you, without switching bodies, essentially putting my spirit in your body and your spirit in mine. It is slightly unfortunate that this also means switching chakra as well." The Kyuubi began manipulating chakra, and it was visibly red, quite unlike Naruto's invisible kind. "This is why you are such a small 'demon fox'. Your demonic body is comprised of 'your' chakra, and although you have enough to form a body, it's still small compared to mine." This also made sense, Naruto's demon body was a lot smaller than Kyuubi's was. "Anyway, I brought all nine tails out with me, and if what your master said is true, that means that we are royally screwed."
"What do you mean, damnit!" Naruto would give almost anything to rip through the bars and get his body back.
The Kyuubi frowned. "Even now, I can feel the seal pulling against my chakra, trying to put it back in the chamber with you. I imagine that it'll pour my power into you until there is none left. But once me and you are both in that cage, there'll be a power vacuum and we'll both die."
"Die?" Naruto couldn't believe it. What the Kyuubi did wasn't just as bad as a simple switch. The Kyuubi had put him on death row. He was stuck in this prison until the seal broke and his life ended. He slumped to the ground. "But, I can't die yet." Tears were trying to force their ways out of Naruto's fox-like eyes.
The Kyuubi smiled. "If we switched it back, it would just expedite the process, shattering your seal to bits. But there's another way out."
Naruto rebounded quickly, forgetting who he was dealing with and rushing to the bars. "How do I get out of this? Tell me, please!"
"I didn't switch places with you out of some sick desire to steal your life away." The Kyuubi started. "The truth of the matter is that my imprisonment inside you was not my fault, and even if it seems unbelievable to you, all I want right now is to get my life back, not to take yours away. We have a few years kit. I'm going to figure out a way to break this seal once and for all, and then I'll put you back where you were, promise. All you need to do is help me imitate you properly and it'll work out…"
Naruto eyed the Kyuubi as he grinned, almost compassionately. But then he saw a glint in the fox's eye. "Wait a minute, you damn fox! You're trying to trick me again, aren't you?" Naruto spat at the demon. "Screw you, hear me? Screw You! I'm not falling for another one of your fox-lies, you can go to hell! I'll get out of here by myself!"
The Kyuubi frowned. "If that's the way you want to play it, then fine, kit. If you change your mind, you know where to find me." He snickered at his own joke, before vanishing.
"Good riddance" Naruto muttered to himself, before settling down to start thinking of a way out.
Back in the real world, the Kyuubi left the alley. 'Looks like I'm going to have to fool these humans without the boy's help. Shouldn't be too hard.' He started walking. "Now, where is this boy's den, I'm tired." He kept walking, randomly.
Next Time on Reversal of Fortune, The Kyuubi still struggles to emulate Dead Last when he is the most powerful demon in the known universe!
Here it comes again, cough cough… THE BEANS ARE COMING! gasp
Six men, with six days, to change the tide! The guns of Navarro! Six men, with six days, it may take their lives! the guns of Navarro!