Author's Notes: Well, this has been long due... I'm so sorry for saying this every time, but I greatly apologize for the delays. If anything, I'm glad to say that the health issues plaguing me now are seeming to slowly fade away. Regardless of this, let's continue on with Born Different.

Review Responses

biob1: My apologies, I'll try my best to not imply, but directly state from now on.

Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: I'm glad you've enjoyed the utter insanity of the last chapter.

Deltablacknaruto: Well, I'm not a physicist, so I'm only working off of what I do know about the topic, especially when the topic is in regards to sub-atomic freezing. But I'll keep that in mind for the future.

biginferno: That is right, with all of the different personalities at play in Naruto's now very extended family, it's safe to say someone like this version of Hinata isn't going to last long.

Dragon and Sword Master: I'm glad you enjoyed it's inclusion! I'll be doing my best to introduce more custom jutsu.

BlueDragonInferno: Thanks for the suggestion, I'll give it some thought before I come to a conclusion regarding their inclusion.

Harem - Fem!Kurama, Anko, Fem!Haku, Temari, Shizuka, Tayuya, Fem!Deidara, Shizune, Amaru, Koyuki, Ryuzetsu, Pakura, Fuka, Samui, Kin, Guren, Konan, Fu and Yugito.

Naruto - 16(altered anatomical structure)
Anko - 23
Kurama -?
Haku - 16
Temari - 16
Kin - 16

"Talking"
'Thinking'
"'Talking or thinking by Kurama or berserk Naruto'"

Well... For the first time in a while, let's delve right back into Born Different!

-Naruto's Mindscape-

The next day, Naruto slowly came to again, finding himself in Kurama's embrace whilst nine fluffy tails laid sprawled out upon his chest, where Kurama had curled up next to him. Not knowing what else to do, Naruto gently stroked Kurama's hair.

"Kurama-chan... Are you going to wake up soon..." Naruto asked, "I want to know whether or not Haku-chan and Anko-chan are doing okay..."

"Hmm...? Oh, good morning, Naruto-kun..." Kurama whispered, yawning softly as she slowly got off of Naruto, "So sorry for the abruptness of me pulling you into this place... It kinda was the only way to save your consciousness..."

"It's alright, Kurama-chan... It was one of our contingency plans, anyways..." Naruto replied assuringly.

"And also one of my holiday getaway plans... But... That's not the important part," Kurama joked, before turning serious again, "I have something to show you, Naruto-kun... Something very, very important to you."

"Hmm? Well... Since I'm stuck in here... I suppose I might as well..." Naruto replied, standing up and following Kurama through his mindscape, walking to the deeper corners of the dense forest.

"Oh, please don't speak as if I'm holding you captive here... I'm keeping you here for your own good..." Kurama giggled as she led Naruto to the front of a particularly large tree, "Go on, place a hand on it... It has quite the number of... Things, to show you..."

"Well, if you insist..." Naruto mumbled, slowly walking over and pressing his right palm against the trunk, quickly taking it off soon after. "What the... This is strange... Everything's... Spinning..."

As Naruto's head spun about, something he didn't even realize was possible in his own mind, trees in the forest began to be uprooted one by one, each quickly being lifted into the air and burnt to ash, the tree Naruto touched being the last one to go, right as the blond fell to the ground, passing out as if his mind had stopped functioning for a moment in time.

A few minutes later, or so Naruto's mind perceived, the blond slowly awakened from his slumber, looking around in amazement as an extremely distorted world appeared in front of him, whilst Kurama waited next to him.

"Ummm... Kurama-chan? What happened here...?" Naruto asked, looking around in confusion as he did. "Did my mind finally break?"

"No, Naruto-kun, please don't be ridiculous, hehe..." Kurama giggled as she helped Naruto back to his feet, "This is a land your mind created... I call it Shinkyo, but don't worry, this place won't occupy your mind for too long... It'll be gone once you wake up."

"I see... Are these..." Naruto began to say, looking around the strange land as he stood up. "My memories?"

"Precisely, Naruto-kun," Kurama replied, walking around with the curious blond.

Naruto slowly walked about the place, catching glimpses at the trees he had tested his chemicals on, the snakes Anko had gifted him with on several occasions, the multiple dissections he had conducted as well as the chemicals he had created.

"You remember me, don't you?" A strangely familiar voice asked, prompting Naruto to turn around, the blond coming face to face with one of the genin he had fought on the day he met Anko.

"To be very honest, not very," Naruto admitted, remembering the day he saw this genin on, but not the occasion of which they had met.

"I came with some of my friends, and we all thought you'd be an easy target," The genin went on to state, "It started off well at first, but the moment you revealed your sharingan, you beat us all into a bloody pulp."

"I see... Is there anything specific?" Naruto questioned, walking closer as the memory of the genin began to fade.

"I still feel pain, right here where you wounded me," The genin stated, pointing to his neck before fading away, Naruto's memories of the event flashing before his eyes.

"I... This is fascinating..." Naruto stated, before continuing to explore the strange world.

As the blond continued to walk across the land, more and more visions of people begin to show up, all having their specific stories to tell before each fading away, the memories all playing once again before Naruto's eyes. One in particular, however, stuck out, as Naruto walked closer to a younger version of himself, one who seemed to be writing on a thick book.

"In this regard... Since children develop their superegos in response to adaptations or their imitations of the behaviors of their parental figures, children growing up without any people of the sort are likely to have more difficulties with social interactions, as well as an increase of the likelihood of the children to have problems with making new friends, as well as the capability to develop behavioral problems," The younger Naruto read out as he wrote, a small, nine-tailed fox lying asleep next to him.

"Well... The irony of all this is not lost on me..." Naruto mumbled, catching his younger version's attention.

"Oh, this is strange..." The younger Naruto stated, standing back up and walking closer to his older version, "Did you come up with a way to manipulate the space-time continuum?"

"Unfortunately not, that's still on the list," Naruto replied, looking down at his younger version.

"I see... Well, considering you're here... Would you be so kind to help me with some disections? Or in the creation of some chemicals?" The younger Naruto asked, "I've run into some difficulties, so any help would be rather appreciated."

"Unfortunately not... Look, please go outside... This isn't the life that you'd want," The older Naruto began to say, "You need to make more friends, you need to... For fuck's sake, you need to talk to people more!"

"But... This is the life I want..." The younger Naruto argued, taking a few steps back from his older version, "You... We wanted this, remember? We wanted to prove that... That even someone different from everyone else is capable of living a fulfilling life, we wanted to allow science to coexist with ninjutsu... Didn't we?"

"I... We did..." The older Naruto stated, coming to something of a realization, "But, I'm rather busy right now..."

"Busy? What happened to you in those years..." The younger Naruto questioned, only to vanish before the older version was able to give a proper answer.

"Life happened... Maturing happens when one comes to learn of all of which they had taken for granted..." Naruto tried to explain, stopping in his tracks for a moment before continuing to walk on.

"Hey, Naruto-kun, over here..." Kurama requested, pulling Naruto to the edge of a cliff.

"Woah, you're not gonna push me off now, are you?" Naruto asked, "If that's the reason, I'm so sorry for being so pessimistic... Things haven't been too bright these days..."

"What?! No! I'll never entertain such an idea!" Kurama assured, hugging Naruto tightly for a moment before turning him towards the clearance under the cliff, whilst still keeping her arms wrapped around him, "Look, down there..."

"Hmm...? Oh, I... I can see why you may be interested in watching this scene..." Naruto admitted, looking as a younger version of himself speaking to Kurama, who was in her bijuu form.

"Hehe... Shhh... Let's enjoy this..." Kurama giggled as she sat down on the ledge with Naruto sitting in her lap.

-The Opening Below Them-

The younger Naruto stood behind a large cage, water dripping down next to him as he looked up at the massive red eyes looking down upon him, showing no sense of fear as he ripped off a tiny part of the seal in front of him.

"Tell me why, Kyuubi..." He began to say, "Give me answers... Tell me... Tell me why I can't ever die, besides your intervention."

Kurama said nothing, merely looking down upon Naruto and remaining in her fox form.

-On the Cliff-

"Hold on, wasn't I in this form when we were speaking on this? Why am I still in my bijuu form?" Kurama asked, gently ruffling the current Naruto's hair.

"Well... Maybe I just forgot about something..." Naruto mumbled, "Some memories are repressed without any reason, even if traumatic ones are mostly repressed... I can assure you, I was not traumatized when meeting you, Kurama-chan... In fact, it's one of my most cherished memories, or well, however much I remember of it..."

"You know... From this conversation, and looking back on how you used to be when I first met you..." Kurama began to say, resting her chin on the top of Naruto's head, "You've become quite the sweet-talker, haven't you?"

"Very funny..." Naruto joked back as he gently took one of Kurama's tails in his hands and began to stroke it gently, causing her to shudder slightly.

"Hey... Naruto-kun... I... That tickles, y'know..." Kurama stammered, placing her arms around Naruto as she pointed downwards, "Look, I'm in this form now..."

-The Opening-

"Well... How should I put this, Naruto..." Kurama began to say, looking at the younger Naruto in front of her, "Your blood is tainted, diluted... It contains the DNA of many, many different families, clans, and even individuals from all around the Shinobi world... All their blood, abilities, strengths, weaknesses... They all live within you now, Naruto..."

"I- I see... Please, I... I apologize, this is a lot to take in..." The younger Naruto apologized, holding his head in his hands. "So, you're saying I'm the descendant of many different clans, some that are even extinct?"

"Precisely, Naruto," Kurama replied, "Your blood, for the lack of better terms, is tainted."

"But... This... This can't be a byproduct of adultery, can it?" The younger Naruto questioned, "Only one sperm gets to fertilize the mother's egg, so... Some adequate explanation needs to be done."

"I-" Kurama began to say, only to be interrupted by the voice of another.

"Perhaps I can be of some assistance in this regard..." Said the warm voice of a mother, one with long, crimson-red hair who slowly approached the younger Naruto from behind. "My son..."

"Kushina..." Kurama began to say, turning her head slowly in shame as she slowly morphed into her human form.

-Naruto and Kurama(Present)-

"Wait... I don't remember speaking like that... When we had that conversation..." Kurama said suddenly, confused as to what was going on beneath them.

"You sure?" Naruto asked back, "I perfectly remember you talking like that."

"No, I didn't... I remember our conversation being much longer... And... I remember being in this form much earlier on in that conversation..." Kurama mumbled, "Am I losing my marbles? No, it can't be that..."

"Hmm... This is most interesting..." Naruto pondered, "Maybe... We could have something happening here..."

"Wha- What's going on?" Kurama asked, "You're not coming up with-"

"Maybe, the universes have just shifted, just enough that..." Naruto began to say, "You're a version of the Kurama-chan I knew, whilst I'm a version of the Naruto you knew."

"-another one of your ridiculous theories..." Kurama finished as she facepalmed, "Someone please tell me what's going on here..."

"Don't worry, Kurama-chan... I'll explain all of it..." Kushina began to say, appearing before them and turning towards Naruto whilst placing her hand on his chin. "You've grown up quite a bit... Haven't you?"

"Kami... I've really lost it, haven't I...?" Kurama asked in confusion.

"No no, I still exist in Naruto's mind..." Kushina began to explain, "Some version of me, anyhow... I exist as his memories, and with some finicking on Minato's original seal... I'm able to have some form of autonomy."

"I... I see..." Kurama mumbled, "So... You're gonna explain how my memories of the conversation differs from Naruto-kun's? And... Well... I'm so sorry for thinking of sleeping with your son for quite a while..."

"Oh, don't worry, Kurama-chan~" Kushina teased as she poked the flustered fox on the cheek, "My son's been rather popular with women, hasn't he? Especially with his encounter with a snake mistress... And his escapade in the forest-"

"Long time no see, Kaa-san," Naruto replied jokingly, as if trying to remind Kushina of his presence.

"Oh! Naruto! So you do remember me!" Kushina joked right back, embracing her son in a tight hug as she did, "I was worried you may have forgotten!"

"Heh... Very funny, Kaa-san," Naruto replied, hugging Kushina right back as he looked up at her, "I've missed you... But... I think you have something to tell me... Don't you?"

"I do, my son... I do indeed..." Kushina replied, slowly letting go of Naruto as she turned towards both Naruto and Kurama, "The reason your memories are like this... Naruto... Is rather simple. Your mind is a beautiful place... A very special one... Although, it proves to be... Too beautiful."

"I... Thank you?" Naruto asked back, somewhat confused.

"That's... Not quite what I meant..." Kushina replied, "The thing about your mind, and well, everyone else's mind, is that, it automatically works to suppress all... How should I put it..."

"Alright, Kaa-san... Just a second..." Naruto began to say, holding up a hand, "Why do you keep sugarcoating things?"

"Well, that does help things a little," Kushina assured, "I exist only as part of your memories, so in a way, your mind is the one explaining things to you, it just so happens that it took my form. You see, I'm not the one sugarcoating things, I'm more or less limited with what your mind allows me to say and what it doesn't."

"Hmm... So are you suggesting... That my brain works to suppress certain parts about myself? That certain memories have been repressed... Or even that my own mind created a vision of you to explain things to me?" Naruto suggested.

"And as usual... You somehow manage to get everything right about the situation," Kushina joked, "As you clearly noticed by now, your mind suppresses certain things about yourself, be it memories or... Other things..."

"Other things?" Kurama spoke up, staring at Naruto, "Naruto-kun, have you been hiding things from me?"

"I didn't even know I could do that!" Naruto replied in shock.

"Don't worry, Kurama-chan, Naruto doesn't do that on purpose..." Kushina assured, "Since you are trapped in his mind and body, you are also subject to its whim, even if you are able to assert yourself now and then... How do I put this... Assume there are three pillars that hold up Naruto's mind. The first is the one that incorporates the moral values of his parents, the societal norms that are learned through them as well. In place of this, you, Kurama-chan, are this pillar."

"I... So you're saying... In place of your and Minato's moral values... I serve as the voice in Naruto's head... That helps him, and encourages him to do good things?" Kurama asked.

"Precisely, Kurama-chan," Kushina replied.

"I... Oh my... I... I didn't know I was so important..." Kurama mumbled as she turned towards Naruto and hugged him tightly, "I... I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun... I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that with my statement a moment ago..."

"However... Naruto's mind is much more expansive than that. On the other end of the spectrum, there is Naruto's other half, the part of him that is more aggressive. More personality driven, more instinctual... In a way... More... More willing to seek out Naruto's deeper, darker desires..." Kushina explained. "What usually happens in the minds of others, is that their subconscious mediates between both halves. In Naruto's case, his mind has picked a favorite between you, Kurama-chan, and Naruto's darker half."

"I... Did I do that?" Naruto asked, still somewhat skeptical regarding all of this, as Kushina began to slowly disperse into fragments of light.

"And there it is," Kushina joked as she began to fade away, "Look, Naruto, I don't have much time left, yet again, but I can still somewhat describe the situation. In simple terms, your mind is capable of so, so much more... Your memory especially, it is capable to remembering much more than the good parts. Why only linger in the good memories?"

"I... I don't follow!" Naruto exclaimed, slowly walking forwards as Kushina began to vanish, "What do you mean linger?"

"Naruto... Trust me... You don't miss what happened in the past! You miss how it made you feel!" Kushina exclaimed, dashing forward to hug Naruto one final time before she left. "Believe me, Naruto... The good parts of your past has never left... And, as usual... I know you'll find a way to bring others there too..."

"K-kaa-san... I... What do you mean by that...?" Naruto asked, looking up to find that Kushina had nearly vanished.

"You'll figure it out eventually..." Kushina assured, vanishing soon after and causing Naruto to fall forward onto his knees.

"Naruto-kun..." Kurama murmured, slightly saddened by having to see Kushina gone again, as evident by the small teardrops in her eyes.

"I... I was so close... And... She... She's gone again..." Naruto murmured, tears flowing rapidly down his eyes as he held his head, "Why... Why was I born like this...? Why... Why do I automatically... Repress... These kind of things..."

"Naruto-kun... It's... It's not your fault..." Kurama assured, trying her best to reassure him as she hugged him from behind. "Kushina tried her best to tell you about your mind, but-"

"I... I never wanted... I never wanted to know why my mind was different..." Naruto mumbled, surprising Kurama.

"You didn't?" Kurama asked, "You seemed pretty worked up about it..."

"I... I know what's wrong with my mind..." Naruto admitted, "Kaa-san was only ever a manifestation of my memories and my knowledge... And thus, my mind only ever created a vision of her... Whenever it saw fit to explain things... I... I just... I wish I had more time with her..."

"I... I understand... But-" Kurama began to say.

"Damn it! I just want to talk to her again!" Naruto exclaimed, smacking his fists into the ground alongside his head, consumed by his frustration as he vented it all out in the world his mind invented. "I just want to see her!"

"Naruto-kun, calm down-" Kurama tried to say, only for Naruto to ignore her.

"I'm always just... Too late..." Naruto mumbled, continuing to smack his face and fists into the ground, causing him to bleed from both.

"Naruto-kun, please... Please stop..." Kurama whispered, lifting Naruto up to face her, "If you have any more frustrations... Please vent them all out on me... But I'm not going to sit idly by as you hurt yourself."

Naruto looked up at Kurama, one of the first beings he knew to ever show him any signs of love and compassion, as he pulled back his fist, launching it forward only to stop short, as he lunged at her and stayed there, crying silently into her shoulder as a pair of soft and comforting hands descended around him.

"There there... Naruto-kun... It'll be fine..." Kurama whispered comfortingly, petting the blond on the back and cuddling him until he would pass out from the stress.

Author's Notes 2: And that seems like a good place to end it for now. I'm so sorry for the long time it took for this chapter to come out, I've been rather busy with work, school, health issues, and a general lack of motivation to write in the face of several personal battles... I'll do my best to find time to write more, but I do hope everyone will enjoy what I do manage to put out, psychological chapters or otherwise.

Regardless, feel free to tell me what you guys think of this chapter in the reviews below, I'm really curious regarding your feedback.