Falling In Reverse

Chapter 2: Same, yet not the same

"Haha, very mature," the teen grumbled, spitting out a few stray fur strands out of his mouth. Kurama sent a mischievous smirk over his shoulder.

Suddenly Naruto perked up and his whiskered face brightened with a smile. "Hey, they found water! Come on!" He leaped into the tree, Kurama following suit, and they both rushed towards the place where one of the shadow clones dispersed.

Soon they came to the end of the trees that opened up into a small lake. The air was warmer here, the sounds of insects and an occasional splash of a fish – somehow appealing. The water was calm, but had so many different hues of blue: reflecting the bright blue sky in the middle with a deep blue under while near the shore it was pale blue, nearly translucent. The ancient trees of the Fire Country, hugging the lake from every side, were mirrored on its surface and, as the lake rippled, they seemed to dance with a life of their own.

It was so peaceful. Like nothing was wrong with the world.

Naruto shot a smug grin at his nine-tailed friend. Then he quickly shed his dirty clothes and with a joyful cry ran on the surface of the lake before jumping high into the air and diving in.

"Keh," the Kyuubi scoffed, but there was only affectionate fondness in his tone. "You are still such a child." He plopped down on the ground, putting his head into his palm and leaning against it, closing his eyes, his tails lazily swaying to the sides as he thought.

After the Allied Ninja Forces were completely and utterly destroyed together with almost everyone Naruto had come to care about, they heard about some stragglers, however, their lives were snuffed out before their group could reach them. Naruto had almost lost his mind. Only Minato's and Kakashi's united effort managed to prevent it. Finally having his father in his life was the kid's saving grace, and he latched onto him and Kakashi with all the tenacity he could muster.

Kurama frowned, tapping the ground with his finger in irritation. Having those two attacking the blond brat so ruthlessly was truly disconcerting. The fox was genuinely happy that Naruto could still possess the strength to enjoy this short peaceful moment after all the pain and grief he had gone through and also after yesterday's events.

Soon, the two Narutos who were sent for food jumped from the trees with a dead rabbit and some berries and mushrooms. They begin to prepare the fire to cook the meat, while the rest of the clones surrounded their resting spot in a protective circle, staying on a lookout.

The original stayed in the lake for a few more minutes, scrubbing all the grime and blood from his body and hair until he felt clean enough.

"I have a theory," Kurama said slowly when the blond finished his bath and came back to the shore.

Naruto raised an eyebrow in a mute question, at the same time activating the storage seal tattooed on the inner side of his left forearm and snatching the scroll that appeared from mid-air. "Yeah?" he prompted when the fox failed to elaborate.

The Kyuubi tapped his finger again, one of his eyes fluttering open in a slit to gaze at the human. "Remember my words about us being thrown somewhere else?" he asked, and Naruto nodded. "I believe that all that power and energy clashing into the same spot accidentally ruptured the veil of reality and we fell right through that crack."

The Jinchuuriki furrowed his brow, simultaneously unsealing the set of spare clothes from the scroll. "Fell where?"

"Alternate universe." Seeing the confused look on the boy's face, Kurama lowered his arm and stared straight into those blue eyes. "My Father once told us about other dimensions. He said that at some point in time for unknown reasons, the reality had split into several paths. Its fragments split again, and again, forming an infinite number of parallel universes, each differing from another by one detail."