As for the Kyuubi in this chapter…well, I decided to add my own personal touch to him. I apologize if you want Kyuubi to be malicious and evil. I made him out to be a trickster, since that is how a fox is portrayed to be.
Disclaimer: Always refer to Chapter One, because I will be tired and lazy to put up a disclaimer every time. I know that no one here on this site owns any rights to any of the fics that they write. In the words of Nara Shikamaru, it would be "too troublesome" to type it. The same goes with the key/legend of this fic, even though I know most of you know how it works.
Well, enough about my rant. Here's the next installment of Birth of a Legend: The Fox Druid.
Chapter Two: Kyuubi: The Slumbering Beast Awakens
Drip…Drip…Drip…
The pitter-patter of the dripping fluid caused Naruto to stir. Fluttering his eyelids, he slowly opened them. Immediately, his eyes opened wide and he became fully aware of his surroundings. He lurched up from the watery solution, taking note that his clothes were still bone-dry. Glancing around, the blond genin stared at a gloomy and barely lit dungeon, similar to a catacomb with iron-like piping that lined the walls. He also noticed that there were two pipes that were emanating some kind of energy source; on one side of the ceiling was filled with a red essence, while the other was a weak, blue hue.
"I guess I'm not in Wave Country anymore…" He muttered to himself as he began to get back on his two feet.
Shakily standing, the jinchuuriki gazed at the multiple maze-like pathways, all inked in darkness. He was perplexed. What the hell was going on?
"Where am I, exactly?"
As if to answer his question, he heard a deep, rumbling sound from one of the shadowy corridors. The low rumble piqued his interest, so he followed along the inky pathways.
After what appeared to be a few minutes later, he thought that he had heard a presence…that was breathing. Taking a quick glance to the ceiling, the red pipe was considerably brighter than the blue pipe and walked right along, with insatiable curiosity.
After the myriad of corners and turns, the demon vessel came upon a tunnel with a bright light at the end. Walking through said tunnel made the blue-eyed boy squint his eyes from the light, while crossing his arms around his face.
After readjusting to the newfound light, he felt a very powerful presence in the room in which he was standing. The demon container fully opened his eyes and took note of the fifty-foot double-doors made of iron, held together by a flimsy piece of paper with the kanji for "seal" written on it.
"What the hell is this place?"
"This is where I reside…and who dares disturb my slumber…?" a deep, booming voice echoed throughout the room. The whisker-marks flinched and stared wide-eyed at the spirit behind the bars.
It was a crouching figure of vulpine stature, with a muzzle to prove so otherwise. The apparition had carmine fur, with slit eyes matching the color of its coat. The form would have easily stood as tall as Hokage Rock, had it not been for its uncomfortable, confined corners. Each of its feral claws was just as large an adult-sized man. From what Naruto could interpret, the essence was highly perturbed from being stirred from its peace. Then, a swish of its nine tails caught the wide-eyed blond boy by surprise.
The presence in front of him sneered and chuckled. "So…you must be the one. Come closer, boy."
As if complying with an order of a sensei, the blond stepped near the cage, where the crimson phantasm lashed out of the bars with its claws, causing the demon container to jump back like a scared little rat. The spirit in the cage chortled.
"Hmm…You appear rather weak to be my container, O Precious Warden." The sarcasm practically oozed from the demon to the point that even the kid understood it.
"Your container? Just who the hell are you, anyway?" Naruto roared back with fervor, pointing his finger at the beast.
The blue-eyed shinobi felt an unprecedented, suffocating amount of pressure coming from the imprisoned spirit as its eyes narrowed. The murderous intent caused Naruto to break into a cold sweat.
"What did you say to me, gaki?" the vulpine phantom roared back with more venomous intensity than the whisker-marks. "No one dares to raise his voice to the mightiest of bijuu, himself!"
'Mightiest of bijuu…?' Naruto thought and wondered what exactly was that…thing inside the tall iron bars that made even the knucklehead who knows no bounds flinch and feel helpless.
'Okay,' Naruto thought. 'This bastard creature looks a lot like…the…the…'
His thought stammered and his eyes widened as he realized what was exactly in front of him. From what Mizuki had said when he had stolen the Scroll of Sealing, to the surge of energy that came from him a while ago caught up with him.
"K-K-Kyuubi…?"
The nine-tailed bijuu was amused that even the little brat knew of his name. "In the spiritual flesh, gaki, for I am the Kyuubi no Youko, the youma kitsune…and a monument to all your sins…" He leered at his jailor with mild disdain.
"So, that was your power that emerged from me?" he asked in mild confusion.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, it was," the spirit fox answered toward his future tasty morsel. "And since you tapped into my power, the seal gave way while I was clever enough to weaken it. That explains where you are as of now, kid. This is your subconscious, and I have gained a stronghold in it, because you lost control of the mental barriers that prevented you from…being influenced by me. However, since I have some partial control in the realm of your mind, you'll be hearing me from now on. And soon enough, I will be free from a weakling like you…" The demon gave an evil, fang-toothed grin.
"Like hell I will let you take over my body!" Naruto was about to storm off when he heard a huff from the nine-tailed being.
"Well, fine, runt. Have it your way, and wallow in the mire of mediocrity," the Kyuubi remarked in a condescending fashion. "It looks like that you won't need some of my power to get stronger. And since you are an ungrateful little flesh-bag, I'll take away the healing abilities. How does that sound?"
Naruto turned on his heel and looked toward the demon with eyes filled with unreserved caution. The fox was the embodiment of dealing with the devil. "Why do you want to help me? Why should I even trust you, you flea-bag? You're evil…"
"Relax, kid," the Kyuubi interrupted. "I was only bluffing about revoking the healing abilities. And if I were to take your body by force, I'll die in the process…and you will, too." The matter-of-fact statement caused a small pit of shock within Naruto. "Anyway, it comes with the power that you have been granted, and being sealed inside you was my punishment for betraying my guardian nation…"
Human hands assumed a T-shaped pattern, signaling a time out. "Wait a minute! Are you telling me that you were a guardian? I don't believe that crock of bull one bit!" yelled a furious Naruto. He should not have done that…
"SILENCE!" The phantom fox unleashed another choking tsunami of chakra potential at the stubborn blond. The demon vessel was on his knees, struggling to breathe, before the wave receded a minute later. "Now, as I was saying, I used to be a powerful summon and protector of the Land of Fire against my will. I managed to break free once…when the man with red clouds ripped me from my second container."
"Huh?" The blond knucklehead was bewildered by such a tall tale. "I really don't buy that, you know."
"Believe what you want to, human," the demon fox growled out, voice resounding like thunder in the chamber, "but, in the end, I want to rip that bastard limb from limb…and you're going to help me, whether you like it or not…"
"…Who are you after, Fox?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" he tantalizingly asked—almost as if he dangled ramen in front of his vessel.
The demon really tried his patience. "You do know I have a choice to refuse your power, don't you? You were the one who made my life a living hell!" Blue eyes narrowed to slits, cold fury beginning to rise forth as he pointed at the crimson behemoth. "The cold stares! They ignored me…refused to acknowledge me! And it's all…" he pointed for emphasis, "your…fault…"
The bijuu heaved a sigh, blowing his hot, rank breath around the wrought-iron bars. "I yearn for freedom, and being free from you would be worth it, since you give me a headache…"
Naruto, much like his unwanted tenant, growled, showing off his teeth. "Why are you acting like you're so tired? That's really getting annoying!"
"As with your incessant yelling!" the ninth tailed-beast snapped back in rebuttal.
"…You said that you were imprisoned beyond your will." Naruto decided to hear out his prisoner's case. He folded his arms over his chest in subtle defiance.
"…" The demon remained silent.
"So, how did it all start, Fox?" Naruto thought to himself that it was better to show respect to the nigh-omnipotent force than be drowned in killing intent again. Twice was enough for the blue-eyed shinobi to learn his lesson. That and he felt small, controlled, hurtling waves of essence when the beast was recollecting.
The nine-tailed beast looked at his container with an odd eye, due to the suddenly respectful tone. "You might want to sit down, Naruto, because this tale will be very long to tell…" The bewhiskered one obeyed without hesitation as he listened to the tale of the carmine fox-spirit.
"Since time immemorial, I have become a mere pet on a leash to you vile humans."
Naruto easily felt the disdain rolling off the vulpine monster. "What do you mean? You mean, a long time ago, you got imprisoned by a human, and it's been hell for you ever since?" he asked in a concise manner, not really having any tact.
An extremely large tick mark found its way onto the red-orange scalp of the Kyuubi. "You…could say that…" he growled out while showing off his gargantuan fangs that easily matched the size of a fully grown man's lower torso. "Since that night, my life has served nothing but to be used as a mere weapon to enact bedlam and carnage in order to bring about your idealistic dreams of order and security."
"Huh…" Now, the blond shinobi-in-training had a nagging curiosity clawing his mind. "I didn't take you for the bitter demon-type, Kyuubi…"
"Being thrust from one body into another tends to give you…perspective…" The tone the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox emitted sounded like one fitting an old man; one who has seen, done and witnessed all sorts of nightmarish realities.
"Why don't you tell me, instead of acting like you have pride?" the boy queried with an alien tone.
It took the Kyuubi no Youko time to gather his side of the story. "When I was the final demon summoned into your realm, I was quickly subdued into this pentagram-like symbol in a forest clearing…"
"Pentagram? Like, a star-shaped symbol with a five-pointed thingy in it?"
"You mean a pentagon?" he clarified for the bumbling idiot of a ninja.
"Yeah, what you said!"
'This boy is hopeless…' the carmine trickster dully considered. "Anyway…it was apparently the medium in which some pitiful human used to draw me out. I bore witness to this pathetic human that had some dumb, orange spiral-mask that showed off an eye with odd-looking tomoe. Never had I felt a sinister chakra unlike my own that had come from that crimson-eyed Uchiha and his repugnant Sharingan…"
"Uchiha?" Naruto was now dumbstruck. "Hold it right there. Are you telling me that an Uchiha ripped you out from the last container?"
"Correct, brat. Anyway, I have to hand it to you; you're actually taking this quite well for a twelve-year-old runt." Naruto scowled at the bijuu.
"I'm thirteen…" he grumbled. "And the Uchiha…Is he the one you want to go after?"
Kyuubi sighed and deadpanned. "He was the shodai of that accursed Uchiha clan, Uchiha Madara." The eyes of the fox demon narrowed, slightly ignoring the brat's question, though he was not sure. The masked man had that Uchiha's signature, though. "With his Sharingan, he was able to put me into a spell that made me his pet on a leash. It was then that my rage peaked and my mind was manipulated into attacking Konoha.
"Then, while I attacked, Gamabunta-san appeared on the scene, along with the spiky, blond-headed ninja known to you people as the Yondaime Hokage and a bundle of bouncing joy in his arms…you." Kyuubi worded it so as to not state it outright that he was his son. To his point-of-view, it was only logical speculation, although it made perfect sense. Thinking that none of the villagers would offer their newborn sons or daughters (or even themselves) to be the demon container, he only had one viable option: to unwillingly bestow the responsibility onto his own progeny. 'I'll tell him when he's a bit older…that is,' Kyuubi mused. 'If he doesn't figure it out by the time I might tell him…or anyone else, for that matter…Besides, how can't you tell that he looks a lot like the man that sealed me inside of him…?'
"So…about the previous demon vessel…" Naruto prompted.
"I don't know what happened to her, to be honest." The Kyuubi placed a paw under his chin, which would have been comical, despite the grave thought. "My memory's a bit fuzzy, anyway."
Naruto merely blinked, not really sure if he should trust this demon. "Your last vessel was a girl?"
"A woman, child," the fox amended in a snarl, "and a damn feisty one, too…" The boy before him reminded him of that infernal wench.
"And this Uchiha Madara character…Where is he, now?"
"To hell if I know, but you will find him in due time." The fox displayed his sharp fangs, once more. "He dons the black cloak of red clouds…" His blood-red eyes grew to slits. "Tread carefully, lest you regret awakening slumbering giants…"
"How about a deal, fox? Something that will help the both of us with our…problems…?" the blond suggested, his facial features growing impassive and not revealing what he thought. "It looks like you could use a friend." He heard the beast snort. "Don't be like that, you big fur-ball. I don't want you to serve me. I want this to work both ways between us. You're in my body, and normally, what I say, goes."
"And your point? You're boring me, boy," he deadpanned.
"Well, I can't say that I want to be your friend, so, how about…we become companions and help each other out?"
Kyuubi's eyes slightly widened at this brat's proposition. Even though he may be a dimwitted knucklehead, but he was forced to grow up, and that did a lot to him.
He chuckled lightly at the strange enigma known as his container. "You sure make an interesting bargain, Naruto. I'll tell you what…I'll help you out…I mean, help us out. Allow me to tweak the seal a bit to grant you some of my power to use at your disposal. While I tapped into your consciousness, I noticed that you had a troublesome time with chakra control and your senses are sub-par compared to my levels. That and you're on the short side compared to your teammates." The blond demon vessel scoffed, feeling a bit sensitive regarding the topic of his height.
"Hey, it's not the size of the dog in the fight, you know!" he cried in defense of his short stature.
"Your petty insecurities amuse me so, brat." Now, it was his turn to hear his unwanted jailor snort in derision. "Nevertheless, allow me this one time to rectify the events in our lives hereafter. You have my solemn vow that I will protect you as well as those you hold dear to you." Naruto looked at Kyuubi with uncertainty before reluctantly nodding.
"If you try anything funny, then I will show no mercy…" Naruto emptily threatened. "It's not a promise; it's a guarantee!"
It was time to reel in the boy to put confidence in him. "Okay, Naruto, now, here is what's going to happen. With my manipulation of the seal, you will be bestowed with better chakra control, seeing that you have a lot of chakra to maintain, and enhanced auditory, visual and olfactory senses." He glanced at the bewildered blond, as if the demon was speaking in demon tongue. "That means you will get better hearing, sight and smell." This earned a flashy grin from the whisker-marks. "Adding to that, you will acquire a strength boost as well as more nourishment to stimulate your growth." He sighed heavily. "Frankly, ramen is not helping you grow to your true, full potential. Eat more variety, for the sake of the gods!"
"Hey, don't knock ramen, Fuzz-Butt!" the blue-eyed genin rebelliously roared. "It's the perfect food choice!"
'I might as well throw intelligence into the mix…and all this power for only a tail-worth of my essence…He's getting a lucky break,' Kyuubi mused to himself. 'Besides, I don't want my demon vessel to act like an idiot and get killed…or close to it, at any rate…'
"I need for you to climb up to the seal and hold it while I transfer some of my chakra to mix with your essence."
"Hey, are you even listening to me?"
"No…" The little runt had the nerve to growl at him again. "You're a nuisance…a mere gnat that needs to be squashed…"
"Well, you're a big meanie!"
A single, elongated ear twitched in annoyance. "Do you desire the need to be stronger, or not, runt? This isn't an open offer. I need a decision, and I want it…now…"
The bewhiskered boy sighed out his frustrations. "Is this going to be painful?" he hesitantly asked as he walked up the cage, sticking to the iron bar near the seal-tag.
"…Maybe…" he cryptically murmured.
"That gives me nothing…"
"Try it out, my dear container…" the red vulpine taunted.
Holding onto the seal, Kyuubi held up his forepaw and touched the other side of the paper seal holding the prison intact. The jinchuuriki felt the raw essence rush through him as he howled and gurgled in anguish. Bloody tears formed in his eyes as he clenched his teeth to endure the pain. After what felt like an eternity, Naruto fell into the watery muck with a sickening thud.
"You…should have…told me…that it…was going…to be…PAINFUL!" Naruto struggled to say between panting breaths.
"Oops…Did I forget to mention that little tidbit, kiddo?" To Naruto, it looked as if Kyuubi was giving him his own trademark foxy grin. The blond, who was not really amused, shakily stood up, feeling as if his body had gone through a trash compactor and a blender, along with being burned by one thousand Katon ninjutsu.
"Before you return, there is another caveat," Kyuubi advised with a faraway tone in his voice. Naruto actually understood the word without looking puzzled. "When you wake up, you're going to be in a world of hurt from the adjustments, as well as certain…side effects from the seal manipulation. I advise that you avoid training at all costs for the next couple of days, while getting accustomed to your new body." After the carmine trickster finished, a small wave of bubbling-red chakra encased Naruto and heaved him out of the mindscape to the realm of the living.
"Whoa, whoa!" The blond ninja got pushed around the labyrinthine structure, getting jolted this way and that, as he saw the oncoming bright light at the end of his journey. 'What the hell is he doing to me?'
"Enjoy your new power…Naruto…" he heard the Kyuubi's voice echo before hearing a chilling fit of laughter. After reaching the light, his world went dark, once more.
'To consider me an ally rather than treat me like a prisoner…' The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox hummed, rattling the iron bars containing him.'I don't know whether to laud him for his foolhardiness, or curse him for potentially damning his soul to the throes of oblivion…'
The boy played a dangerous game by giving the demon a bit of his trust.
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A/N: Greetings, once again, from the author in the future (coming to you, ladies and gentlemen, from the year 2011). This chapter posed the most contention, and, as noted by my go-to pre-reader and beta, I have had to make adjustments in this chapter to make things fall better in place, instead of having an outdated chapter with newer information pouring in from the recent canon chapters.
I have also taken some criticism into consideration with overhauling a good chunk of this chapter, to make it flow a bit better. The Kyuubi, in this story, for all intents and purposes, is neutral, to an extent, but still has that trickster mentality that rears its ugly head from time to time. He's going to be a more helpful entity as the time progresses in this story.
Romaji/Jutsu Guide
Gaki: brat
Kyuubi no Youko: Nine-Tailed Demon Fox: rumored to be the most powerful tailed-beast in existence on the mortal plane
Youma kitsune: spirit fox
Shodai: founder or first generation
Katon: Fire Release