Kenta: This chapter is going to have a slightly mature scene, so please, be mature about it. It's not TOO bad.

He had made it...somehow.

Despite being shot out by that crazy guy's cannon, Naruto was able to land in a nice, soft patch of-

"QUICKSAND! QUICKSAND! AAAAAHHHH!"

Thankfully Midna was there to help him out of the sinkhole.

With the strange little escapade over and done with, Naruto found himself standing at the beginning of the dessert. But Naruto worried of the coming days. He was tired from not being able to sleep the past few days, nightmares of Sasuke and Zant haunting him in his sleep. At the end of every nightmare, he would see the Kyuubi standing behind Midna before roaring loudly, his vision going black and Midna's scream echoing in his ears. He looked to the black and grey imp, knowing very well he couldn't tell her the dreams, as not only was it embarrassing, he would also have to explain his past.

His past...

Since Naruto left Ordon Village in search of the children, he had recovered memories of a past he never knew he had. A world that was torn by war, where a mere human could breath fire, control lightning and even walk on water. A world where he met numerous people, fought hundreds of opponents, and saved the world from another war. His head pulsed, recalling memories of fighting alongside Kyuubi as warriors of the Hidden Leaf Village. The form he gained when he used Kyuubi's chakra, and the training he took under Killer Bee. How could he tell Midna of his past, when he was still gaining memories about it? He was living another life, one where only he could create clones, only he could control the wind, where only HE could walk on water. If people heard of his abilities, they would no doubt come to fear him. A god, a monster. Blessed with the Triforce, was it not also a curse?

Naruto shook his head. This was not the time for thinking. It was the time for doing. He looked up to the moon in the sky, knowing it wouldn't be long until the sun would rise. And even HE knew that the dessert would be unforgiving for someone who brought no water with him.

Taking a few steps forward, Naruto felt a hand touch his shoulder.

"Naruto...wait..." Midna said, quickly pulling her arm back. Instead she held her arm tightly, a pained look in her eye. The blonde turned to her, wondering what was wrong. "I...before we go on, there's something I want you to know..." The blonde tilted his head slightly, wondering what she would say. Midna suddenly seemed very shy, kind of like how Hinata would act whenever she got close to him, though she wasn't blushing like crazy. "Do you remember what the spirit said about the Fused Shadow?"

Naruto put a hand to his chin in thought. Now that he thought about it, he fought Sasuke right after he restored light to Lanayru Providence. He hadn't even paid a whole lot of attention to the story Lanayru had told him.

"There...was a tribe, who was really good at magic...they appeared during the war that started because of the Sacred Realm...right?" Midna nodded.

"Yes...they excelled in a special magic...a very powerful magic. The goddess ordered the four Light Spirits to seal away the magic...but what do you think happened to the magic wielders who tried to rule the sacred realm?" Naruto watched Midna carefully. What did happen? Were they banished or something? Surely a group of people that arrogant would be punished by the gods...much like how Sasuke had been punished...though he still came back and basically beat Naruto like a rag-doll. Naruto noticed Midna's gaze become apathetic.

"They were banished. Chased across Hyrule, and driven into another dimension created by the goddesses." Naruto eyes narrowed lightly. Something was up. If it was about anyone aside from herself or Zelda, Midna would just scoff at the condition of a person. She never concerned herself with anyone aside from Numero Uno. So why did she seem so down-trodden at the fate of these people? "It was another dimension entirely. One that was the opposite of the light adorned Sacred Land of Hyrule. Its people could no longer mingle with the light. It came to be called 'The Twilight Realm', and from it, none could return to the light. It became a prison, a place where its people would wander endlessly between Light and Dark, mere shadows of Hyrule."

Naruto stared at Midna in silence. He was beginning to understand where she was going with this.

"This is the history of the Twili, as it has been passed down by our ancestors." She said quietly, her arms beginning to quiver. "Do you understand what I am now?" Naruto turned away from her, watching the moon begin to fall behind the mountains in the distance. "I am a descendant of the tribe that was BANISHED to the Twilight Realm!" She clenched her clawed hands tightly before loosening her grip and staring at her hands. "It has been a peaceful for as long as I can remember...but then Zant suddenly appeared and turned all its inhabitants into Twilight Beasts..." She clenched her hands once more. "He used a magic that none from my tribe have ever seen before...even I do not know where he gained that power from." She let her arms fall to her sides, Naruto not looking at her. She looked up at the swordsman, watching him in silence. "Though I was able to escape, I cannot return without his power...But our ancestors have yet another tale."

Naruto turned to her finally, Midna not able to see what he was thinking. He was usually such an open book, but now...he seemed so unreadable. Like a wall of foreign hieroglyphs.

"Though the goddess forbade us from ever returning to the world of light, a link was left between the Light and the Darkness." She looked away, closing her eye. "It was called 'The Mirror of Twilight', and it was left in the protection of Hyrule." She floated over to Naruto, staring up at him in what he could only describe as, 'hope'. "It's our only way to get to the Twilight Realm and Zant!" She said before slowly lifting a hand to Naruto's cheek. "You'll come with me...won't you?" Her eyes quivered, showing a tenderness she never showed to anyone, not even her elders. Naruto stared at Midna for a moment before turning away, looking at the light beginning to shine over the horizon.

"You know, with your boring speech, the sun's already rising. Now I can't get any water..." Naruto said as he walked a few steps away from the imp. Midna felt something inside of her snap, and though she normally would have retorted by smashing his skull in, her arms seemed to lose all of their strength. She felt tears start to flow down her face. Had he really just tossed her to the side like that? She had revealed her deepest, darkest secret, and he couldn't care less? "If it wasn't for you sweating the details, we would have already been half-way across the dessert, possible already finding the stupid mirror..." Naruto said clasping his hands behind his head before hearing the light sound of sniffling. His arms quivered before he stomped over to the imp. "WOULD YOU STOP THAT CRYING!" He shouted, causing Midna to stare up at Naruto in shock. Her eyes widened further as she felt teardrops hit her own face. "JUST BECAUSE YOU HAD A HORRIBLE PAST DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING! THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS IS MOVING FORWARD!" Tears streamed from the blonde's face. "The past doesn't matter, only the present and the future!" Naruto spun on his heels, not able to look Midna in the eye anymore. "And don't think I'm crying over your story! I just got some sand in my eyes!"

Midna slowly floated up before hovering next to the blonde, hesitant to touch him. She squeaked as Naruto suddenly spun around, grabbing and holding her tightly in his arms. The two stood there for a moment, Naruto's hand on her head and holding her tightly. Midna lightly grasped the front of his tunic, letting her head rest gently on his warm chest.

"I hate complex stuff...my head isn't big enough for all of that..." Naruto started quietly. "I don't need complex things to deal with. Just tell me what I need to do and I'll do it." He said, slowly stroking her bright orange hair, the imp tightening her grip on his tunic. "I don't care what happened to your people in the past Midna. I only care about what's happening to you now." The imp slowly looked up to see a smiling, whiskered face. "And the only thing that I see happening is us kicking Zant's behind out of the Twilight Realm. If the ass-hole turned your people into monsters, then all we have to do is change them back!" The blonde grinned brightly, though Midna shook her head.

"How can you be so sure there's a way to change them back? What if they're stuck like that forever? What if I'm-

"Midna!" Naruto said sternly. The imp stopped, looking up at Naruto in slight fear. "If I said we're going to change them back, then we will. Doesn't matter HOW. We WILL change them back." Midna blinked a few times as she floated a little away from Naruto. The blonde gave her a small thumbs up and a smile. "We'll save your tribe Midna. That's my promise of a lifetime!" He smiled as he grabbed her and gave her a noogie. "Now quit worrying and let's get going! We have a mirror to find!" Naruto laughed as he started across the dessert, Midna staring after him with watery eyes.

The crack she felt from before was gone, now replaced with a gentle warmth. She couldn't help the smile on her face as she nodded, floating after the blonde.

Naruto was in bright spirits after coaxing Midna out of her depression, but he soon found himself depressed.

He was out of water, dead tired, and now he felt guilty about not telling her about his past when SHE had just told him HERS. Luckily the dessert made him think of only one thing.

"Waaatteeeerrr..." Naruto gasped and wheezed.

"You humans are so fragile." Midna said rolling her eyes. She then pointed to a small pair of trees in the distance. "Try heading over there. With any luck, you'll find some water." With renewed effort, Naruto started for the pair of trees. As he got closer, he found that there were indeed trees, but what looked like a mountain next to them. Taking one last Chakra-induced leap, Naruto found himself standing next to the trees, as well as something else.

"Midna..." Naruto started, looking up at the slightly deteriorated stone slab. "Is it me, or does this kind of look like that one bridge that was taken apart before we went to the Lanayru providence?" Midna floated over to the bridge sticking out of the ground before placing a hand on it. She was quiet for a moment before nodding her head.

"Yeah, it sure is. So this is where it got teleported..." Midna turned back to Naruto. "I'll take it you want me to bring it back?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, it'd make it easier for us to get back to the Lanayru province. So I'd rather be safe than sorry." Midna shrugged before turning back to Naruto.

"This thing's bigger than the last bridge, and unlike the giant volcanic rock, I can't just toss it down, so I'm going to need a lot of concentration. Stay here and don't cause any trouble, or die of thirst or anything. You promised to help me find the mirror." Midna said as she pointed at the bridge, which was suddenly wrapped in an orange glow. She clapped her hands together, grunting in frustration. Naruto smirked as the bridge began floating higher and higher into the air before, with a twirl, both Midna and the bridge disappeared. Naruto smirked before noticing the bridge had covered something.

"Huh? It looks like a cave..." The blonde said as he started walking forward, quickly forgetting Midna telling him to 'stay put'. "It's cooler inside, and I might find some water too!" Naruto said walking down into the cave. As the blonde descended further and further into the darkness, he found a few torches were lit, lighting the way. Naruto found himself at a tall platform, looking down into a small clearing a few feet below him. He looked down, wondering what was down there when the cave suddenly started rumbling. The blonde began looking back and forth, wondering what was going on when he suddenly heard something.

A blood-thirsty roar reached Naruto's ears, making the blonde's eyes widen. The image of red slit eyes made Naruto gasp. He looked down into the cave.

"I know that roar...and those eyes..." Naruto swallowed. "Nine-tails..." His brow furrowed. Was Kyuubi in here? He wasn't inside Naruto now, as the seal would never appear when he focused his chakra. But then, how would he be down there? He was from another world...

"The Kyuubi was used as a medium for one of the goddesses to enter our world."

Naruto's eyes widened. That's what his dad had said! Kyuubi was used as a medium! And if Naruto was here, yet the Kyuubi wasn't inside him, then it was quite possible that Nine-tails would be somewhere in this world too. Naruto frowned as he put a hand to his head. There was something about Nine-tails...something he saw a long time ago. Something about him in a sewer cave...and...a pedestal?

"Argh! What was it?" Naruto grunted, pounding his head, not noticing the edge giving out to his weight. With a THUD Naruto hit the ground. "Oohhh...my aching head..." Naruto grumbled, his eyes spinning. Looking up he found numerous yellow, beady eyes staring at him from the ceiling before all of them dropped towards him while opening their wings. "KEESE!" Naruto panicked as he quickly got up, running to the other side of the room while drawing the Master Sword. He started swinging at the annoying enemies, batting a few away while others nipped at his back. Quickly getting annoyed, Naruto flipped his hands into his favorite hand-sign.

"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Naruto shouted, a single clone appearing behind him. The two stood back to back, rolling over each other, jumping off of the other and working as a perfect team, smashing away the remaining keese. Clapping each other's hands, Naruto grinned to his clone. "Nice job me!"

The clone grinned uneasily as he felt the teeth marks on the back of his neck. "You don't think we're gonna become vampires now that we've been bitten, right?" The real Naruto's eyes shrank, his face paling lightly.

"Of course not! Where in the world did you get THAT idea?" Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms and glaring at the clone.

"Hey, I'm you. I'm just voicing my concern, which in reality is YOUR concern as well."

Naruto paled, a small line of purple spreading across his nose. "Sh-sh-shut up! Th-th-there's no s-such thing!" Naruto stuttered, stomping off towards the next room as he dispelled the clone. "Bigmouth..." He grumbled quietly.

Lizalfos, Bokoblins, more keese, even some Bokobabas. It seemed there was a never ending swarm every floor he descended. As Naruto finished the last room, which contained twelve keese, three bokoblins and two lizalfos, he realized someone hadn't returned from her trip.

"Midna? Midna! Can you hear me!" Naruto shouted around the cave, nothing reaching his ears but his own echo. Uh-oh. That wasn't good. Naruto felt his stomach dropping slightly, fear beginning to settle. At the same time, his thirst was still bugging him. Naruto turned to the next floor, staring at the entrance. He could go back and try to find Midna, and hopefully find a source of water with her, or he could continue down the cool cave, possibly finding a spring or source of water. The blonde stood still, pondering his decisions.

His throat feeling even drier than before due to the fighting, Naruto nodded.

"One more floor...then I'm out of here." Naruto reasoned with himself, his curiosity still getting the best of him. Walking into another room, Naruto found what he had been searching for.

"WATER!" Naruto cheered as he jumped and splatted against the small spring. "GASP! I still need water!" He panicked, both gulping in water and filling up some flasks with water at the same time. After finally having his fill of water, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. He looked up to the dim ceiling, a smile on his face and his eyelids drooping. He could fall asleep, right here...right now...

"Nononono! I gotta get out of here first!" Naruto shook his head before splashing more water on his face. It was then that he finally looked up and found a small glowing light in the center of the small spring. "How did I not notice that?" Naruto wondered. Taking a closer look at it, the small light reminded him of the Four Light Spirits. It reminded him of Faron and the others, before he rekindled their lights with the Triforce on his hand. Naruto looked at his left hand, the three golden triangles appearing again, pulsing with power. Holding his hand out, Naruto watched as his birthmark burst into a bright light, sending hundreds of golden beams of light into the dim light in front of him.

The light began pulsing before bursting in a flash of light. Lowering his arm, Naruto found himself on the receiving end of a nosebleed. Before him stood a beautiful woman, the only thing covering herself being her long golden blonde hair. Her light giggle snapped Naruto out of his perverted gaze. He had heard that laugh before.

"Shame on you Naruto, staring at a lady when she's not properly dressed." The blonde said standing up and walking over to Naruto, lightly draping her arms over Naruto and pressing her bare chest against his.

"Uh..." Naruto didn't feel blood just rushing to his head as the woman began sliding her tongue along his jawline. The blonde giggled as she kissed the quivering Naruto's cheek.

"Oh, that's right, you don't remember." The blonde sighed, a smirk lying on her face. "You loved it when I did that to you. Of course, you probably don't remember what you'd do to me next." The blonde woman said seductively to Naruto's ear.

"WOAH WOAH WOAH!" Naruto panicked as he backpedaled. If he wasn't awake before he DEFINITELY was now. "WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?"

The woman giggled once more.

"Yep, you're definitely Naruto. You even remembered!" She flipped her hair back, another drip of blood rushing down Naruto's nose as her chest was now left uncovered. The blonde swordsman tried in vain to stare at the woman's face, his eyes shifting back down.

'Dammit Pervy-sage! This is all of your fault! If you hadn't gone to so many hot springs on our training trip, I wouldn't have this problem!' Naruto swore as he turned his head sharply, glaring at a certain corner of the room.

"So you still don't remember me Naruto?" The blonde giggled once more. Naruto turned back to the blonde woman once more, catching sight of two wings that appeared on her back. She crossed her legs as she sat down in the spring, Naruto's eyes widening.

"Shion!" Naruto gasped. The fairy giggled as she lifted a hand up, extending two fingers towards him. Naruto watched as a symbol appeared above each of her outstretched fingers. His eyes widened as he saw the Hidden Leaf crest floating above one finger while his Uzumaki Spiral floated above the other.

"You're regaining many of your memories, but there are still some you're missing." She held up her other hand, where three other symbols appeared. One was an hourglass, the other a fan, and the last, two bull-horns. Each symbol was grey and colorless, while his Uzumaki symbol was bright red and the Hidden Leaf crest was bright yellow. "Where you are now is known as 'The Cave of Ordeals'. It was created by the gods as a proving ground for the hero. At the end is a very powerful artifact, one that will give you tremendous strength." Shion said, noting Naruto's excited expression. "However, in your current state, you cannot reach it." She giggled as she saw Naruto's face fall.

"Then...how can I get it?" Naruto asked. Shion smiled as the Hidden Leaf Crest and the Uzumaki Symbol floated over to him. Naruto held each in his hands, looking at the two curiously.

"To do that, Naruto, you have to unlock the rest of your memories. There is a friend you will meet soon, and regaining your memories of him will bring another symbol to life. When you have restored the life of all five symbols, you can continue through the Cave of Ordeals and obtain the powerful artifact." Naruto nodded before watching Shion stand up and walk over to him. The blonde swordsman flushed as Shion grabbed his sword and winked.

"See you later honey." She giggled as Naruto disappeared in a flash of light.

Naruto blinked, his face still flushed, as he stared out to the dessert. He looked around, finding himself just outside of the Cave of Ordeals. Naruto stared at the entrance, swallowing.

'The way she called me 'honey'...it sounded like we were...' Naruto pondered before he shook his head. "No, no no no, that's probably me over-thinking it..." Naruto said to himself, trying to assure himself. The feeling of her last grab however caused a heavy debate FOR it.

The light chingling sound of chains caused Naruto to pull out two chain necklaces, one the Hidden Leaf crest while the other was Naruto's Family symbol. Naruto looked at the golden yellow crest, somehow knowing what it meant.

"It means I remember everyone in Konoha...Kakashi-sensei, Bushy Brows, Kiba, Hinata, Old Man Hokage, Grandma Tsunade..." He then turned to the Uzumaki Symbol. "It means I remember my family...Mom and Dad." He closed his eyes as he clenched both. Naruto stared off into the dessert, his eyes full of determination. With each new symbol, he'd find out more and more of his past. Naruto reached into his back pouch to find the other three symbols, grey and colorless. The blonde stared at them, feeling slight connections to each of them. He could feel memories ready to pour into his mind...but it was like a filter was blocking them from entering his mind, only allowing the feeling of 'almost remembering' to pass.

"What are you doing?" A voice caused Naruto to almost drop the three symbols. Turning, Naruto found Midna staring at him confused.

"Midna?" Naruto started before his shocked look turned to a glare. "Where the hell were you? You've been gone for hours!" Naruto raged. Midna glared back at Naruto.

"What are you talking about? I've only been gone for maybe ten minutes!" Naruto blinked in shock. Only fifteen minutes? But he had first gone down to the Cave of Ordeals at LEAST an hour ago! The blonde swordsman spun around, staring at the cave in shock. Midna watched him staring at the cave, glaring at him. "We don't have time to look in a cave! We have to find the mirror! Oh, and some water too." Midna said turning and floating away. Naruto started after Midna, looking back at the cave over his shoulder. He yawned loudly, sleep still eating at the back of his mind.

'Gotta stay awake...' Naruto thought to himself, trying once again to keep his eyes open. 'Now that I think about it...if it was only ten minutes out here, yet over an hour in there...I probably could have gotten some sleep...' The blonde groaned as he trudged across the dessert.

Well, at least now he had water.