Author's Note: Sorry for the brief first chapter but I wanted to give you all a summary before coming to the main story. I know many things in this story-line will be drastically different because this story is based in an AU. I hope you enjoy this fic. Please R & R. Prince Badman out…..
Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Naruto or any of its original characters, Kishimoto does duh!
Blah….normal narration/ character talking
Blah….normal narration/ character thinking
Blah…. Kyubi/summon talking
Blah…. Kyubi/summon thinking and Jutsus
Chapter 2
Currently with the broken piece of soul…
Naruto's consciousness seemed to be slipping and plunging into darkness as he desperately tried to stay awake. To say he was surprised by the sudden change, would be a huge understatement. One moment he was engaged in tug of war with Nagato, his soul on line, then Itachi came out of nowhere wielding the Susanoo and then sudden darkness.
'What the hell is going on here?' Naruto thought, confused as well as scared shitless.
Suddenly getting a bright idea he tried to get into his mindscape to talk to Kyubi. When he arrived at the familiar place he got the shock of his life. Instead of the towering, glaring mighty nine tailed fox he was greeted with a much smaller one tailed version. Not knowing what to make of the scene in-front of him he carefully proceeded towards a much smaller cage with some trepidation.
"What happened here and where the hell is the Kyubi?" Naruto asked the smaller one tailed fox.
The said fox gave him an eerily familiar glare as it began to speak, "You insolent brat, I am the Kyubi. Who else would be there in this place you call a mindscape?"
"Well your evil glare is familiar and your argument is all right but you can't be the Kyubi. Give me a break. Kyubi is humongous and has nine tails well and look at you." Naruto said tauntingly.
"Yeah rub it in my face only if I was free of the cage I would rip you a new one." growled Kyubi.
"You certainly do sound like Kyubi. Just to be on the safe side tell me something only Kyubi would know." Naruto said passively as he stared at the fox.
The fox in question almost grinned evilly before replying "Your first kiss was Sasuke."
Naruto face-faulted at the answer and began barfing at the recalled memory.
"Gaaah that never happened, I don't want to remember that….." Naruto retched and barfed comically.
"Now do you believe me stupid brat?" Kyubi called out to Naruto.
"Yeah I got it, but was that really necessary?" Naruto asked angrily.
"It was the fastest way to get your attention." Kyubi replied.
"Well you got it now. But mind explaining what exactly happened to us and why is it that you have become your chibi version with single tail?" inquired Naruto.
"I don't know for sure, but I have a pretty good hunch. I believe that when your friend, that Uchiha saved your soul from the tug of war he accidentallybroke a part of your soul." Kyubi paused as he fixed Naruto with a poignant stare.
"What? Why did you stop?" Naruto asked suddenly feeling a bit worried as he tried to put pieces together.
"You are the part that broke away from the whole." Kyubi answered seriously.
"So what you are saying is that I am a part of me but not the whole." His own words sounded incredulous to him.
"Yes, think of it like you are in place of a shadow clone of yours." Kyubi explained.
"Why do I sense a but coming, a major BUT?" Naruto dejectedly asked.
"There is and it is a major problem if we don't reach to a decision fast." Kyubi once again looked into Naruto's eyes before it continued speaking "You are only a part of a full soul and thus cannot exist as such. Slowly you will dissipate into nothingness."
Naruto nodded as he fully understood his predicament. "So what do you suggest?"
"I am in a state similar to yours. The same thing is applicable to me too. Unless one of us absorbs the other's energy. We can fight for our existence as we did before or peacefully resolve this. The choice I leave it to you." Kyubi explained in a monotone and looked at Naruto expecting his answer.
"Before I make my decision, I would like to know something." Naruto spoke in a soft tone. "What will happen to our originals?"
"I am not sure but I expect my original to eventually recover the chakra it lost along with your soul. As for you, your soul will eventually grow whole as the damage is not significant." replied the demon.
"I am glad to hear it. Well I have made my decision." Naruto stood up and walked closer to the cage.
Kyubi eyed him apprehensively but was shocked when Naruto simply removed the seal.
"You can absorb my energy." Naruto said without displaying any emotion.
"And why are you willing to sacrifice yourself?" Kyubi inquired with a mysterious expression.
"There are many factors actually." Naruto smiled a little. "First since my original is alright I don't know where I will end up so there is no definite goal in front of me. I had achieved almost everything I had dreamed of. As for the rest of my dream my other self will surely achieve it. That would leave only one thing for me to do." He gave Kyubi a smirk before continuing, "I told you once that I will come after all that hatred inside of you didn't I?
Kyubi stared at the young man in front of him, unable to make sense of his words.
"You were left at the mercy of hatred for a long time Kyubi. I was rescued by the ones that are precious to be but you were still alone. But that's where you are wrong or at least I would like to prove you wrong. Over our time together I have come to accept you as a partner if not a friend. I would have liked to be your friend but it seems time and fate are against that. So I would like to at least offer you your freedom. That's all there is to it." He once again smiled at the fox.
Kyubi laughed out loud but it wasn't the taunting arrogant laughter Naruto was used to, it was filled with genuine humour and appreciation.
"You really are something else Naruto. I have seen your life through your memories, I know of your pain and your hardships. I also saw you fight against the odds and prove yourself through your actions and once again you did the same." Kyubi told a surprised Naruto.
"What do you mean Kyubi?" Naruto asked.
"Kurama, that's my true name Naruto. Remember it brat. As for what I mean, I am a corporeal being. As I didn't have a form when I was detached there is no way for me to exist in any plane. I will cease to exist whatever you do." Kyubi solemnly explained the situation shocking Naruto even further.
"Then this was like a test?" Naruto mumbled out.
"Yes it was, in a way." Kyubi chuckled softly. "Since you passed I am letting you absorb my energy and chakra to make your soul whole. No don't interrupt, the process has already begun." Naruto who was about to argue was suddenly stopped before he could utter a single syllable.
"Not much time remains and I already know what you will say, so save it. Now listen very carefully because this is the important. Even with my energy and your chakra it will be a difficult process so when you will reform completely you will be facing chakra depletion. Get help immediately otherwise you might die due to chakra exhaustion. You will retain your natural chakra reserves as well as my remaining chakra will be added to yours permanently making your reserves even larger. You will retain your physical appearance though your senses will be enhanced and you will be able to sense enemies like when you are in chakra cloak mode. Your healing factor will be there but it will be less effective than usual but still quick enough for a normal shinobi."
Kyubi's form flickered slightly causing Naruto to gasp but Kyubi simply put up a paw to stop him and continued.
"Since I am merging with you I am transferring my chakra natures that are fire and wind to you. Since you already possess a strong wind element it will become supercharged in a way. I am also transferring all my knowledge to you as well. I am sure you will find it useful. There are several jutsus as well as some knowledge of fuinjutsu. They are mostly from the memories of my previous hosts. Be careful that it is all theory you will have to test it out and master it all before you can put it to use. Also, improve your other skills. You can no longer rely on me to save your ass whenever you get in trouble so you can't be as reckless as you were with me here. "
Kyubi stopped pondering what more to say as he remembered the words of Rikudo Sennin a long time ago.
Flashback
A man stood in front of Kyubi. His back was towards him so all he could see was his cloak which had 9 magatamas on it. He was speaking to them all and it was then when Kyubi realisedthat it would be the last time they would see him. The man continued to speak as he smiled slightly
"A boy with blue eyes will be born and he will be the one to reunite all the bijus together once again. He will call you by your names and will be a friend to you all. My time here is almost at the end but you all will continue to live outside my body. And unlike when you were inside me you will experience things from your own perspective. I hope when the time comes for you all to reunite by that time you all will have learnt what true strength is."
He ended his speech with a smile as silent tears fell from Kurama's eyes.
Flashback End
He looked at the young whiskered blond standing in front of him with a pained look on his face and saw a resemblance of his father, the Rikudo Sennin.
"I don't know what to say Kurama…." Naruto stammered and sat down in front of the cage. "A simple thanks doesn't cut it. I don't want to end it like this. Ever since I saw Octo-pops and Hachibi I wanted us to be like that. I wanted us to be real friends." Naruto teared up as he spoke.
'Naruto' thought Kurama 'you already did something for me. You changed me, a being that was made up of hatred offering his help to a human is no mean feat. Besides you are 'his' chosen. I hope when time comes and you finally meet 'him' you will forgive me for this charade. '
After hardening himself for his last goodbye Kurama spoke "Listen to me brat I the mighty Kyubi no Kitsune will not be all mushy and sappy in my last moments so stop with all these snot and tears. I could have simply let you die but I offered my help. Doesn't it mean anything to you or you want my sacrifice to go to waste? Now man up and send me off with pride and honour." Kyubi growled almost sounding like his previous self.
Naruto slowly stood up and looked up at Kyubi. He slowly wiped away his tears that threatened to fall before speaking "You are right Kurama. Being sappy and mushy doesn't suit me either. I will make proper use of the gifts you have given to me. I also promise to live well wherever I might go, I promise it on my ninja way."
Kurama's form flickered one more time before darkness started to engulf both of them.
"So this is it gaki. I hope I never see your ugly mug again" Kyubi smirked at Naruto
"Heh seems like it. It's not as if I want to receive your evil glares for another 15 years." Naruto taunted back at the demon fox.
As the darkness engulfed them both they said their last greeting to each other "Goodbye my friend/ Goodbye my friend."
"I did what you asked me to jiji. You were right as always. I am glad I managed to meet you one last time and I am glad that my last jinchuriki was a man like you Naruto…." Kurama softly spoke his last words as the last vestiges of his chakra vanished from existence.
######################################################the lost soul#########################################
An old man with very distinguishable features watched a part of Kurama and the boy bearing his younger son's energy signature exchanged their last greetings. He was floating in the air seemingly sitting in lotus position with ten black spheres hovering behind him. His purple ringed eyes shone with power in dim light of his surroundings. Overall he exuded an aura of tranquility and peace as he watched the interesting interaction. His spirit was unexpectedly summoned when he felt a mixture of Ashura's and Kurama's chakra.
'I had hoped that one day this possibility would come true, but I never expected it to occur like this. You are a truly remarkable child Naruto. I await for our meeting when you will be able to truly come into your powers. Your new self, created using Banbutsu-sozo contains a few surprises for you. After all you can't rely on Kurama for your backup as of now, so I hope you like your compensation. I wish you luck in your endeavorsChild of Prophecy.'Hagoromo Otsutsuki or the Rikudo Sennin as he was known to most people contemplated this bizarre turn of events. He knew about the existence of dimensions but the existence of a parallel world was an astonishing discovery.
######################################################the lost soul #########################################
As soon he was engulfed by darkness Naruto felt like falling into a deep abyss which narrowed into a tunnel. Slowly raising his gaze he saw a small light coming towards him at a rapid pace. The said light grew in size as it came closer and opened into a portal. Naruto passed through that portal and suddenly slammed against something. He felt pain as if all his bones had broken and his muscles were on fire. With difficulty he raised himself up and took in his surroundings. He seemed to have fallen in the middle of a forest.
"Help" he cried out. He called for help a little louder the second. He tried moving himself and found it excruciatingly painful. With difficulty he walked to the edge of the forest and into a clearing.
"Help" he called for assistance again.
This time a group of ninja wearing ANBU masks surrounded him. "Identify yourself" one of the masked shinobi called out.
"Where am I"? Naruto asked turning to the man who had just asked for his identification.
He had spiky silver hair and a dog shaped mask. He looked vaguely familiar but Naruto being groggy could place his resemblance.
"You are in Konohagakure no sato…." Another started speaking before he was stopped by another. "Baka he might be the enemy spy"
"Young man I will ask you once again who are you and what are you doing here." The silver hair ANBU enquired again.
"Take me to the Hokage and I will explain." he replied weakly before his gaze fell upon the Hokage monument. What he noticed was enough in his weak state to make him pass out.
'Oh shit!' were his last thoughts as he took in the hokage monument which carried only three faces instead of the usual five before he fell unconscious.