The Uzumaki Brigade

Naruto was unsure what was going on right now. One moment, he was talking with Hinata about her moving in, the next he was thinking something perverse, the next he hit the ground, and finally, he was in some strange place. There were no walls, no ceiling, or even a ground for that matter! There wasn't even color, just white background. Naruto was confused as hell right now. Suddenly, a hand clasps onto his shoulder. Naruto stepped forward and spun around, trying to whip out a kunai. He found his pouch was empty, and quickly began to form the handsign for kage bunshin.

"Easy kid! I ain't gonna hurt ya!" Said the voice.

Naruto looked at the person that came out of nowhere. He was maybe a year or two younger than Gimmy. He had grayish-blue hair, wore no shirt, only a tattered cape. His stomach was bandaged heavily, like his arms, probably for looks. His shoulders had a strange, blue, tribal tattoo. He wore simple, black pants with two red lines going around the bottom. These were held up by a white belt with small hearts going around it in two perfect rows. The man carried a large katana, easily the best Naruto had ever seen. But the most impressive thing about him was his glasses. They were orange shades without legs, and they formed a big 'V' with an indent upward at the bottom. This man was among the coolest that Naruto had ever seen.

"While I do admit you look…cool? I don't think I can trust you…Who are you?"

The man looked like this is what he was waiting to hear. He inhaled deeply, and began his introduction.

"All across the world, there is but one name that strikes fear into the hearts of evil-doers! He is the judge, jury, and executioner of all planets, who looks back with no doubt or regret! He goes beyond the impossible and kicks reason to the curb! He is the indomitable Kamina, leader of the Dai-Gurren Brigade!"

He raised his fist into the sky, his index finger extended upward. Naruto gazed at this man, a look of interest and awe on his face. This guy made Naruto feel like he could trust him, and gave him confidence in himself. But something suddenly began to nag him, and Naruto had no clue what it was. It had to do with his name, he gathered…That's it!

"Hey, do you know someone by the name of Darry?"

"Darry, yeah she was a little girl that was a part of Team Gurren years ago. Last I talked to her was about ten minutes ago, then she just 'poofed' away," he snapped his fingers, "like that."

"Yeah that was my girlfriend's doing. Gimmy couldn't live without her, so we did him a favor and brought her back. It was kind of my fault she died anyway."

"Yeah she told me about it. She said she was going to find some chick named 'Hinata'?"

"That's my girlfriend…"

"…Oh."

"Anyways, I thought you were dead, so what's going on? Why am I here?"

"Right, about that! I needed to talk to you about something important!...Now I've been watching you Naruto, and I think you have what it takes to pilot Lagann like my Soul Brother, Simon. But there are still many things you need to learn to be efficient like him. You need to learn to release the burning passion that lives within your very essence. I can teach you these things, but I need to be able to talk to you whenever. As it stands now, I can only talk to you when you are unconscious…I think you know where I am going with this…"

Naruto understood what he meant. He was asking to be brought back to life to assist in Naruto's training. Hinata would be able to revive Kamina, and then things would really get interesting. Naruto could already see himself saving Konoha from some kind of alien invasion. Then he suddenly felt a splash of water on his face, but Kamina wasn't doing anything but standing there, looking at him.

"Looks like it's time for you to wake up. Well, I'll see ya soon kid."

Naruto felt another splash of water, and suddenly, everything around him changed. He opened his eyes, to see Gimmy, Darry, and Hinata standing over him. Darry was holding an empty bucket, Hinata looked like she'd seen Naruto die (that was what she was thinking actually) and had the same expression on her face that Gimmy had when Darry came back to life. They were still in the forest apparently, Naruto gathered. He sat up, and Hinata tackled him like she hadn't seen him in forever, they both wound up on the ground. Gimmy and Darry walked away, deciding to leave the pair alone. Naruto was about to ask where they were going, but he caught the memo, and thanked them silently. Was it just him, or were they holding hands? Naruto shook this thought out of his head. He didn't really care about their relation now, only the one he was wrapped up in…with Hinata. He stared into her beautiful eyes, and she stared into his.

"Naruto-kun, I was worried so much! I thought maybe we could live together, but when I asked, you started bleeding from the nose and passed out. Then you hit your head on a rock, and…blood everywhere."

She shivered, and Naruto wrapped his arms around her. He smelled lilac in her hair, and held her tighter. She placed her arms on his shoulders, and leaned into him.

"Don't worry Hinata, I'm fine. You caught me off-guard is all. Anyways, I think it's a good thing I passed out. I met Kamina, Gimmy and Darry's ex-leader, and he said he could train me. I think he may also be able to help you when you get a gunman. The only thing is, he's kind of…dead. Did you return the scroll yet?"

"No, but are you sure we should bring him back? What if it's some kind of trick being played by one of Team Gurren's enemies? We could put the entire universe at risk if we do this."

"Worry not, Hinata. Gimmy told me all about him when we were at the hospital. The guy is legit, and a bit…eccentric."

Hinata reached behind her, and pulled the Forbidden Scroll out of her pocket. She wasn't sure that they should use it. Hinata could barely produce enough chakra to do it once. What if she couldn't do it this time? What if something went wrong and it was someone evil? What if she…died? She voiced her concerns to Naruto, who simply stared into her eyes with a conviction that erased all her fears, and gave her boundless confidence. So long as she was with Naruto, she could do anything. Then Naruto took the scroll out of her hand, and removed the tape holding it closed.

"Hinata, I'm worried that you are right about that, so I'm going to do it in your place. I have plenty of chakra left, and whatever I can't generate, Ryu will share with me. I have no doubt this will work."

Naruto studied the jutsu, committing it to memory for future reference. He might need to revive other members of Team Gurren later, and he can't just keep the scroll with all of his country's jutsus. He made a mental note to return the scroll before the night ended.

He then turned to an empty space nearby and made the handsigns. He felt his chakra molding, and it felt like almost none of his reserves were barely tapped into for this technique. He held his conversation with Kamina as all that mattered at the moment. He released the chakra and the ground began to shake. A wooden coffin emerged from the ground, and Naruto walked over to it, a kunai ready just in case Hinata was right. He removed the cover, and braced himself. He looked inside, to find Kamina, asleep.

"*Snore*…BACON!"

This promptly freaked Naruto and Hinata the shit out, causing them to land flat on their asses. Hinata looked terrified, and swiftly brought out a kunai, prepared to fight this strange man. Naruto got up and smacked the shirtless man across the face. Hinata was slightly confused now. Why did Naruto slap this guy? Why was he not wearing a shirt? What the hell did bacon have to do with any of this?

"OW! Damn kid, did ya have ta slap me like that? And I was having a nice dream about bacon, eggs, and Bouta…Mmmmm, Bouta."

Hinata was a bit less confused now. She understood what he meant by bacon now, but what was Bouta? It made no sense to her…

"Kamina, control yourself. Your frightening my girlfriend. And what the hell is Bouta? Start making sense or get back in the coffin!"

This man…Kamina was it? He was starting to freak out Hinata. But she guessed it could be worse. At least Naruto had voiced her question, and she could end the headache she felt coming.

"Damn kid, ya really got what it takes to pilot Lagann. That takes spirit. But you also need a partner…Huh? Who's tha hottie Naruto?"

At this question, Naruto's face grew red with embarrassment, and Hinata did the same. Kamina laughed so hard, he fell on his ass, clutching his side. He continued this for three minutes, and Naruto was beginning to get annoyed and was about to slap him again. Before he got the chance though, Kamina stopped laughing, and stood up.

"Hahaha…Oh that was good. I get it kid, this is ya girlfriend huh? This is Hinata? Nice catch man."

"…Get back in the box…Now."

"No can do Naruto, death doesn't work like that. I gotta die all over again. So until that day, your stuck with me."

"Naruto-kun, can this guy really train us? I'm just not sure we should trust him."

"I'm starting to second-guess him too… Butt if he doesn't put out, we can just put him in the dirt again later, right?"

Hinata didn't like the sound of that. Naruto was basically saying to kill him if he didn't do what he was brought back to do. It wasn't something the normal Naruto would say, even if he was kidding. That wasn't his style, at least that was what she believed in.

"Please kid, you wouldn't stand a chance against the mighty Kamina!"

Naruto was afraid he was about to go into another speech again, and even though they sounded good, now was not the time. Besides, Naruto was getting the feeling that Kamina was all bark and no bite. He decided to test the waters…

"KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"

"Kaga-wha?"

The area became clouded in smoke and when it cleared, there were fourteen Naruto clones surrounding the shirtless teen. He stared at the clones like they had grown wings, a tail, and devil horns. Then a smile spread across his face, and the guy unsheathed his sword. It was a long, plain katana that looked like it had never seen battle before. Nonetheless, Kamina knew how to use it.

When you are stuck in Heaven with nothing to do and no one to talk to, you find something to occupy your time with. For seven years, Kamina had only himself to train with. Then some of his old teammates from Team Gurren came along, and Kamina finally had a chance to practice with someone. Now he would finally have a chance to see what he could do. The look in Naruto's eyes said everything, and Kamina pointed his sword at the original.

"You want to fight me? Well then, I'd be happy to oblige. Just try not to bore me."

Hinata was scared, for both of them. On one hand, Naruto was an accomplished ninja trainee with clones and a demon fox at his disposal. On the other, she had no idea what Kamina was capable of. She was torn between rooting her love on, or warning the other guy to flee while he could. Then the sword wielder spoke up.

"Heh…Hehehehehe…Hahahaha. This ought to be interesting. Fifteen on one, and you can probably make more. I haven't had an interesting opponent like you since I fought Viral all those years ago. I wonder what he's doing right now? Probably still trying to take down all of the human race, to no avail. But I digress, let's get on with this fight. Show me what you can do, kid."

Naruto dashed forward, as did the clones. Kamina slashed at three of them, cutting them in half and dispelling them. The original Naruto jumped and pulled back his fist, ready to crash into this guy with enough force to send him about fifty feet back. But as he came close, Kamina noticed him and grabbed the fist as it came within inches of his face. He smirked and threw Naruto into a nearby tree. He smacked the trunk hard, and slid to the ground. All the clones vanished, covering the area in smoke. When it cleared, Kamina was standing over an unconscious Naruto. He picked up the blonde by his head, and Hinata knew it was all over.

Kamina head butted Naruto, sending him back into the tree. But as he crashed, Naruto 'poofed' away. Kamina noticed something on the ground, and gasped. There was a large hole where Naruto was laying down before. He heard something close by, and had a thought. He looked down, just as Naruto's fist collided with his face. Kamina was sent flying back in a large arch. He landed head-first into a massive oak, and passed out.

Naruto walked over to Hinata, and she hugged him tightly. That was amazing in her opinion. To create a hole and leave a clone to cover it while he positioned himself under Kamina was something that left her in awe of Naruto's ingenuity. She released him, and walked over to the unconscious teen, hoping he was still alive. Then something weird happened.

Kamina grabbed Hinata by the ankle, and pulled her close, making her fall flat on her ass. He put one arm around her stomach, and the other went under her neck. Hinat was so flustered, and was unable to do anything with her arms pinned to her sides by this guy. She looked up at Naruto, hoping he would contain himself, and not rip this guy a new one. Her eyes looked like they were pleading for help, and Naruto's face became red with anger, envy, and confusion. Ryu was acting like the usual ass he was inside Naruto's head.

"Dude, I told you time and again: Tap that! Why can't you just listen to a simple suggestion for once in your life? You just lost the girl, and now you're going to be a virgin forever! HAHAHAHAHA! WHAT A LOSER!"

…KILL…FOX…SOON…

"N-Naruto? P-Please help m-me…"

Hinata tried to wiggle out of Kamina's grip, but every time she moved, the guy just moved with her. Each time he did though, his hand on her stomach got closer to her chest. Naruto told her to not move, no matter what. She nodded slowly, and Naruto began to think up a plan, besides killing Kamina on the spot.

"Mmmmn, Yoko. You still have a nice set. C'mon, lets go for a walk. I know a place where we can…*snore*"

Hinata began to get extremely worried, as Kamina's hand was beginning to move on it's own now. One more inch and it would be…

"GET…YOUR…FILTHY HANDS…OFF…MY…GIRL!"

Hinata looked up to see Naruto glowing with…purple chakra? But his was blue, so how could it be purple now? It suddenly hit her that the fox had red chakra. Could it be possible that Naruto had mixed chakra with Ryu? But that was impossible, or so she believed.

Naruto lunged forward and grabbed Kamina by the head. He lifted the guy up, pulling Hinata up with him. Kamina's hands loosened up enough for her to slip out of his grip. The shirtless one opened his eyes, to see pure hate and malice glaring into his very soul. He cringed in fear, expecting to die again any moment. He probably would have, had Hinata not slapped Naruto across the face. He lost his grip on Kamina's head, and began to fall backwards, stepping with it to prevent falling on his ass again.

Kamina hit the ground face first, and came up with a mouthful of dirt. He spat it out, and glared at Naruto, who glared back. The one thing about Naruto was, he had KI control, and was currently releasing whatever he could, as well as whatever he forced the fox to release.

The result was Kamina feeling like his mind, body, and soul were being ripped apart. He tried to stand up, but found his legs refused to work, and his heart began to slow. Kamina couldn't think, and felt like he wasn't getting any air in. His vision clouded, and he shaked his head vigorously. What the hell was going on?

Hinata looked at Naruto, a worried expression on her face. Naruto was beginning to become extremely aggressive, which wasn't like him. At the rate things were going, Naruto would kill the next person to even LOOK at Hinata. She would have to help Naruto control this, one way or another.

"Naruto-kun, please stop. This fight has gone too far. I…I can't stand to see you fight."

"H-Hinata…"

"Just please stop it…" Hinata crumbled onto the ground, and placed her head in her arms. Her next word she said in between sobs.

"Y-Y-You can't j-just h-hurt people like th-that. What if y-you had k-k-killed him?"

At this point, Kamina was able to regain control of his body, and stood up. He walked over to Naruto, and extended a hand. Naruto looked at him with contempt, but accepted it. Naruto walked over to Hinata, and placed his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. Naruto made a mental note to kick his own ass later. He was sure Ryu would be able to help with that.

"Hinata, I'm sorry. You're absolutely right. I know I can never made it up to you, but I will try. So help me God, I will die trying to make you happy…"

Kamina looked on, and decided to leave them alone. He grabbed his sword, and sheathed it. He pressed his shades up, and began to walk away.

"Kamina!"

"What kid? I need food, and talking with you is only gonna make my hunger worse."

"…Apologize to Hinata, it's the right thing to do."

"Heh, you got me there. Fine then, Hinata, I'm sorry that you had to witness that event, and I promise it won't happen again… Okay then. Now that we've settled that, can we head into town? Food is calling and I want to find a place to sleep."

Naruto stood up, still holding Hinata. They walked over to Kamina, where Naruto placed his hand on the guy's shoulder. Naruto pulled an image of Ichiraku's shop into his head, and willed his chakra into action. He told everyone to close their eyes, andas he did, he released the chakra. He opened them to see the were in front of Ichiraku's and told them they could open their eyes now. Kamina began to sniff the air.

"…FOOD!"

"Yeah, it's called ramen. It's really good, so I eat here frequently. Cmon guys, everything is on me."

Hinata was confused right now. How did they get from the Hokage Memorial clearing, to Ichiraku's shop in a single second? Did they teleport? She decided not to worry about that now, and just enjoy being in Naruto's company. They'd have a nice meal, go home, go to bed…Hinata blushed deeply. That was why Naruto passed out! She shook her head, trying to remove the thoughts…for now.

"Hey Ichiraku! Can I get three bowls of veggie ramen, two bowls of pork ramen, and one shrimp ramen?..No they are not all for me! I have a friend and someone special to me here. I'm treating them to dinner…WHAT? Okay just please get them ready, I'll be back in a moment."

Naruto stepped out from the shack, his face had a look of worry on it.

"Guys, I'll be right back. I need to get some money right quick."

Naruto vanished, leaving Hinata alone with Kamina.

"So Kamina…Who's Yoko?"

"…How the hell do you know her? I never told you guys about Yoko."

He said it with a low voice, like it was top secret or something.

"You mentioned her in your sleep when Naruto knocked you out. You grabbed me and began to…touch me…You mentioned Yoko. Then Naruto got angry and you woke up."

"…She was…special to me. Just like you are to Naruto."

He looked up at the stars that blanketed the sky. To him, they held memories of his father, of the desert, and all the adventures he had with his soul brother. He remembered Gurren, Viral, Daiaka, Rossiu, and Yoko. He remembered that last night he had with her. That kiss, his promise, he felt like a loser now. How would he ever face her?

"Damn, I feel like an ass. She's probably found someone else by now. I wonder if…she still remembers that night?"

"Why wouldn't she? If you remember, the she would too right? Just because times have changed, and something seems impossible, doesn't mean that all hope is lost! Sometimes, you just have to try until nothing is left, and your soul had taken the final blow. If the world always forgot, then what would we have left that truly defined us?'

"…Hinata?"

"Yes?"

"…Naruto is lucky to have you…And thanks."

"For what?"

"Showing me how weak I really am. I guess I just have to…hold on to that sliver of hope longer."

He reached up, hand extended into the sky. Hinata saw tears form in his eyes. He closed his hand, like he was trying to grab something in the sky. He began to shake, and Hinata was about to comfort him, when Naruto reappeared with a coin purse shaped like a frog.

"OKAY! I got the money, so dig in guys, eat as much as you wa-"

Hinata was sitting at her chair, feeling guilty, even though she did nothing wrong. Kamina was sitting down, about to begin eating. Naruto grabbed a seat in between them. He put the money down, and Ayame brought out the food. Hinata broke her chopsticks, as did Naruto. Kamina was confused. How the hell do these work? Is it some kind of fork? What the hell were those two doing? Kamina decided to try it…

He broke the stick, and placed them in his hand like he saw Naruto doing. He tried to grab some noodles, but found they wouldn't hold. He tried again, and again, and again. Ayame looked at the strange man, who failed to do what a five-year-old could do with ease. She guessed he was from out of town (in a way, she was right, but he is actually from another planet where chopsticks don't exist). She reached over, and instructed him how to use them. After he finally got it, she walked away, leaving the trio alone.

"…Naruto, Hinata?"

"Beha (yeah)?" asked Naruto.

"…Thanks…For everything…"

"*Gulp* Ahh!..No problem Kamina! You're one of us now, so relax."

"Yes Kamina-san, we are happy to have you."

"…Heh, thanks…Also, can you do me a favor? Can you two call me…Aniki?"

"…Brother?" The two said in unison.

"…Heh, guess I'm just feeling nostalgic or something. Forget I said anything."

"Okay then, Aniki." said Naruto.

"…*sigh*…Guess that makes us…Soul Brothers…and Sister…Heh. What an interesting world this is…"

The two genin and their friend ate their ramen in silence…