I do not own these series, nor do I make any money off of this.

"talking"

'thinking'

Chapter 63: Gods and Yokai

Naruto and Sasuke's eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness around them. It was nighttime in this world. Naruto took a step forward and nearly tripped. Sasuke managed to catch him. "Thanks," Naruto said. Sasuke only nodded before his eyes looked Naruto up and down. The blond also looked at himself. "I guess we are in a world similar to Halloween Town." Naruto was wearing a white haori (kariginu) over a black kimono. His clothes were not what was surprising. It was the pair of fox ears that replaced his own. He looked over his shoulder and gasped. Instead of one tail like he expected, there were nine tails swaying back and forth. "That's a bit strange." He then looked at Sasuke and frowned. "How come you didn't change?"

Sasuke looked down and saw that he was still wearing the same shirt and pants that he had been wearing in the last world. He looked behind his shoulder and noticed that he lacked a tail. He moved a hand over his body, feeling for any changes, but there were none. "Hn," he smirked.

"Teme!" Naruto yelled. "It's not funny."

"It just means that you are affected by this world while I'm not," Sasuke said. "It may have to do with the Kyuubi."

"Right," Naruto said. "Guess I have to use a Henge to hide these." His fingers moved through the fur of one of his tails.

"There is no need for that," a voice said. Naruto and Sasuke turned towards a tree, their guards up. "Normal humans can't see you."

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked, glaring at the man.

"My name is Mikage," the man said. "I just happened to be passing by."

"Says the man in a tree!" Naruto yelled.

"Yes, well, this is one of my favorite spots," Mikage said. "And if you must know, I was here first." He shifted slightly in his sitting position, moving the leg that was under him so that it dangled over the tree branch. "I have seen a lot of things in my life, but I must say that you two have an amazing entrance. I have to ask though, where you came from." Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other, but neither spoke. Mikage opened his mouth to speak but stopped when he heard a call of his name.

Three pairs of eyes looked at the form of a girl running towards them. She stopped a few feet away from the tree, trying to catch her breath. She then looked up with a smile. "Finally found you. Tomoe has been looking for you…" Her voice drifted off as her eyes took in the sight of Naruto and Sasuke. "Oh, it seems that I interrupted something."

"It is nothing, Nanami," Mikage said. "You said Tomoe was looking for me?"

"Yes," Nanami said. "He said he wanted to talk to you about something."

Mikage smiled. He slipped from the branch, landing on his feet with ease. "Then I suppose I should go see him. Nanami, why don't you bring our guests into the shrine. I'm sure they're thirsty."

"Of course!" Nanami smiled. Mikage smiled back at her before walking away. Nanami turned towards Naruto and Sasuke. "Tea will be ready soon." With that, she turned around and headed back towards the shrine. Once more, Naruto and Sasuke look at each other, before silently following after Nanami. Both were wondering if Mikage was another one of Yuko's friends.

The shrine stood in all of its normal glory at the top of several steps. It looked plain, but it held secrets unknown to many of this world. Naruto took in the shrine's appearance and had to wonder why it looked so plain. There were no decorations to make it stand out. Naruto began to wonder if anyone actually came to this shrine to pray. Sasuke on the other hand couldn't care less about the shrine. His mind was racing a mile a minute trying to figure out what the rules of this world could be. Mikage had said that humans wouldn't be able to see Naruto, but Sasuke was human and he could see the blond even without his sharingan, so the rules had to be different from the rules in Natsume's world. This was of course assuming that Naruto had turned into a Yokai upon entering this world. The possibility was highly likely as Naruto's appearance was similar to the Kyuubi's human form, just in more formal clothes. Sasuke's mind went back to their time in Halloween Town and he had to admit that he prefered that version of Naruto to this one. He shook his head. Those thoughts wouldn't help him.

Nanami lead them into the shrine. She pulled out two pillows for Naruto and Sasuke to sit on. Then she turned away from them and smiled. "Thank you Kotetsu." Naruto and Sasuke looked over to who she had spoken to. Sasuke frowned. No one was there. All he saw was a tray with three cups of tea floating in the air. He was tempted to use his sharingan to see who was holding the tea, but decided against it. There was no reason for him to waste his chakra on such things. Naruto on the other hand was able to see Kotetsu. He took the offered cup from the spirit with a smile and a thanks. He glanced at Sasuke who hesitated for a second before taking his cup. Naruto wanted to know why Sasuke hadn't activated his sharingan, but he stayed silent. He could tell that there was something off about Sasuke. He could tell that Sasuke was deep in thought. His own thoughts went back to what he'd been about to say to Sasuke. He blushed slightly before shaking his head. His gaze turned back to Nanami. "So, where exactly are we?"

"This is Mikage Shrine," Nanami said.

"Mikage Shrine?" Naruto asked. "Then is Mikage a God?"

"Yes," Nanami said. "He's a Land God, the God of Marriage. This is his shrine." She smiled. "Though it is also my home. You see, he gave me the mark of a deity, making me the new God of this shrine." She grabbed a piece of her hair and tucked it behind her right ear."

"Wow!" Naruto said. "I've never met a god before!" A brief flash of Pein went through his mind. 'Well, at least not a real one.'

Nanami blushed. "It's nothing special."

"Oh but it is," Kotetsu said. "Nanami-sama is a very important God."

Naruto smiled. "I'm sure she is." Sasuke raised an eyebrow since he hadn't heard Kotetsu. Naruto saw it and was about to repeat what Kotetsu said when the door to the room opened.

"Nanami-chan!" a boy with white hair and green eyes said. "Tomoe is picking on me again!" He lunged at Nanami and wrapped his arms around her.

He didn't stay that way for long as a man with silver-white hair and fox ears grabbed his collar and pulled him back. "Don't lie! And get off of her, Snake!"

"Whatever," the boy said pouting. "Stupid Fox."

"So childish," a voice said. Everyone turned to see a boy with brownish-red hair and gray eyes.

"Shut up Tengu!" the fox man said.

"Tomoe, Mizuki, Kurama," Nanami called. "We have guests." The three of them turned towards Naruto and Sasuke.

"What is a Fox and a human doing together?" Kurama asked.

"Does it matter?" Nanami said back with a hint of bite in her words. Kurama just shrugged her off.

"Guess Tomoe has a new friend to play with," Kurma said.

Tomoe glared at Kurama, holding a hand out. Blue flames appeared in his hand. "I think it is time to get rid of the pest."

"Now, now," Mikage said, walking into the room. "Tomoe please do put out those flames. It would not be good it you burnt down the shrine."

"Fine," Tomoe said. The flames disappeared. He then glared at Kurama. "Be thankful that I've decided to spare your life."

"Whipped," Mizuki mumbled.

Tomoe turned towards him. "What was that?" Mizuki just stuck out his tongue. Tomoe's anger rose. Mikage put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. It calmed Tomoe down enough so that he was now sulking.

"So you two aren't from around here," Mikage began. He took a seat next to Nanami. The three Yokai also sat down. "So tell me, where did you come from?"

Again, Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other. It was Naruto that gave Mikage an answer. "We're from another world."

"I see," Mikage said. "May I ask who sent you?"

"A woman named Yuko," Naruto said.

"Hm… can't say I know who this Yuko is," Mikage said. "But you must have been sent here for a reason."

"We are traveling through several worlds so that we can get back to our own," Naruto said.

"How long have you been on this journey?" Mikage asked.

Naruto began to count the days. "Ninety-something days, I think."

"One hundred and twenty-one days," Sasuke said. He had his journal out. "I've been keeping track of how long we've stayed in each world." Naruto frowned. He hadn't realized that Sasuke had been writing so much in his journal that he even knew how many days they had been away from their world. One hundred and twenty-one days was about four months. Had he really been away from Konoha for that long? Then Naruto remembered that time moves differently in each word. For all he knew, he'd only been away from Konoha for two weeks.

"That is quite a long journey," Mikage said.

"Is there anyway we can help them get home?" Nanami asked. Naruto's ears perked up at this.

Mikage shook his head causing Naruto's ears to droop. "It isn't within my power."

"What about one of the other Gods?" Nanami asked.

Mikage thought for a second. "We could ask Ookuninushi-san if he knows anything." He stood up. "I'll go contact him." He walked out of the room.

Nanami clapped her hands. "I hope he can send you back to your world."

"I doubt it," Sasuke said.

"Teme!" Naruto yelled. "They're trying to help us."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. Naruto glared at Sasuke. The raven haired man was really beginning to get on his nerves.

"Nanami-chan!" Mizuki called. "Want some more tea?"

"Sure," Nanami smiled. "Thanks Mizuki."

"No problem," Mizuki jumped up and practically skipped out of the room. It didn't take long for him to come back holding two cups of tea. Onikiri and Kotetsu were behind him caring two cups each. Onikiri handed her cups to Tomoe and Kurama while Kotetsu handed the cups to Naruto who passed one to Sasuke. Sasuke glared at Naruto, but accepted the new cup. The two shrine spirits disappeared to check on Mikage.

Nanami and Naruto managed to start a conversation about their favorite and least favorite foods. Both agreed that mushrooms were disgusting. Tomoe watched Naruto carefully. He didn't really like the blond. He glanced at Sasuke. The human was even worse. There was something about Sasuke that Tomoe didn't like. He didn't want him to be anywhere near Nanami, his overprotectiveness only being held back by the fact that Mikage welcomed them into the shrine. He blinked when he realized that Naruto was talking to him.

"...being a fox demon," were the only words that Tomoe caught. Naruto saw Tomoe's frown, so he repeated himself. "Is it hard being a fox demon?"

Tomoe raised an eyebrow. "Not at all." He was confused. Why would Naruto ask him that?

"I see," Naruto smiled sadly. "I'm glad." Sasuke didn't like seeing Naruto's sad smile, but there wasn't anything he could do.

"Are you a Fox in your world too?" Mizuki asked.

"No," Naruto said. "I'm… human." Sasuke frowned at the way Naruto had paused.

"Then how come you're a fox now?" Mizuki asked.

"I think it has something due to Kurama," Naruto said. "Ah! I don't mean you." He looked at Kurama. "You see, I have a Nine-Tailed Demon Fox sealed inside me. I think this caused me to change to fit the way this world works."

"Sealed?" Kurama stepped towards Naruto. "You sealed a Kitsune inside you?"

"Not me," Naruto said. "My father did after Kur… the Kyuubi was forced to attack Konoha."

"Forced?" Kurama raised an eyebrow.

"He was being controlled," Naruto said.

"Can't you unseal him?" Mizuki was now in front of Naruto, just a foot away.

Naruto leaned back slightly. "The seal can be broken, but I'm afraid that I can't let that happen."

Mizuki tilted his head to the side, reminding Naruto of a child. "Why?"

"Because removing Kur… the Kyuubi would mean my death," Naruto said. Silence filled the room as Naruto's words sunk into everyone's mind.

"Sorry I took so long," Mikage said, stepping back into the room. "I just finished talking to Ookuninushi-san. I'm afraid there is nothing he can do."

"I see." Sadness flashed through Naruto's eyes before a smile appeared. "Thank you for trying."

"At least you can stay here for however long you are in this world," Mikage said. "If you don't mind, we Gods could take a look at those bracelets and see if we can learn anything about the magic behind them. May be then we could bypass it and send you back to your own world."

"Really?" Naruto jumped up. "That would be awesome!"

Nanami had also stood up. She took Naruto's hands into her own. "That's great news. I hope it works out."

"Thank you Nanami-chan," Naruto grinned. Tomoe glared at Naruto while Mizuki frowned. Kurama just smirked as he glance at Sasuke whose eyes were on Naruto and Nanami's joined hands. A blank look was on his face, but Kurama could sense Sasuke's anger.

Mikage clapped. "With that settled, why don't we get dinner started. Tomoe, Mizuki."

"If you don't mind an extra hand, I'd like to help," Naruto said.

"Not at all," Mikage said. Naruto followed after Mikage. Tomoe glared at Naruto's back while he and Mizuki followed after them. Naruto felt the glare, but chose to ignore it. He could tell that Tomoe was in love with Nanami and that he was just jealous of how easily Naruto and Nanami got along. Tomoe wasn't the only one in love with Nanami though. Naruto secretly glanced at Mizuki. It was obvious that he was too. Naruto remained quiet about it though as he helped make dinner.

Note: Sasuke says that they were traveling for 121 days. This is the exact amount of days they have spent in the various other worlds, including day one in this world. As for Naruto's thoughts about it, he was close. By the time they leave this world, they would have been away from Konoha for 15 days. I have a Timeline written out to keep track of this.