"Dammit Naruto! Stop moving around so much!" The sound of limbs slicing through air and the occasional grunt of exertion echoed through the small training room on the eastern edge of the Fire Temple as two combatants constantly moved back and forth in a graceful dance of punches and kicks.
"Maybe you just need to move faster Sora." A grinning blonde ducked under another high kick before gracefully sliding through his opponent's legs. Before he could remove the other combatant's base though the other boy jumped up, aiming for a heavy axe kick. At the last moment though he suddenly found himself falling faster than he expected, throwing him off balance and leading to him falling in a crumpled heap on the ground.
"That's another point to me Sora." The dark blue-haired boy looked up with a pained groan at the hand outstretched in front of him before taking it with a few mumbled curses. "How many does that make now? Five to two?" Sora scowled at the grinning blonde before pushing the hand away in irritation.
"I would have had you that time if you hadn't used your gravity manipulation. It's cheating." Naruto just chuckled as he patted his friend on the back.
"All's fair in love and war as Chiriku-sempai says." Sora just scoffed as a smile finally broke out on his face.
"Yeah, and what would Chiriku-sempai know about love?" At that both boys burst out laughing, the joyous sound bouncing around the small training area.
"Oh?" At the sound of a third voice both boy's immediately froze before shakily turning their heads to look into the amused expression of the very man they had been talking about. "And what does Chiriku-sempai know about love?" Outside two monks were passing by the training ground when they heard two loud gulps followed swiftly by two even louder thumps. The monks simply looked at each other once before sighing and continuing on with the same thought.
'Naruto and Sora again.'
"Sorry Chiriku-sempai." Back inside the training ground Sora and Naruto were rubbing their aching heads while Chiriku was the picture of serene innocence, despite the shakujou he was subtly resealing into a pouch on his hip.
"Now now boys, final bell is about to ring, we don't want you all sweaty before you go to bed, you know how Chigasu would feel about that." Both boys nodded immediately with slight fear in their eyes. They knew exactly how the old grumpy keeper of the temple would feel about that and the mere thought had them rubbing various phantom pains.
"Alright Chiriku-sempai, but first I gotta show you something!" The older monk simply raised an eyebrow at the excited blonde, a year living in the temple really hadn't done all that much to calm his energetic spirit.
"Would this thing happen to be a certain technique Master Chukaku has forbidden you from using in any of the indoor training grounds?" The blonde smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck, glaring at Sora as the other boy chuckled behind his hand. He was remembering the other times Naruto had supposedly 'mastered' the more powerful techniques at his disposal.
"No no come on Chiriku-sempai I swear I have it this time. I know what I was doing wrong!" The older monk stared at the whiskered child for a few moments as Naruto bravely met his gaze before sighing and gesturing outside.
"Fine, but not inside, we don't need a repeat of last time." As if to stress his point he looked across the open field they were entering to a large hole in the wall on the far side. The result of Naruto's latest attempt at his technique.
"Not gonna happen, just watch me!" With an excited cry Naruto dashed across the fields to face one of the pre-prepared training dummies before adopting a standard fighting stance. Sora dropped to the ground, getting comfy for something he was sure was going to be hilarious while Chiriku watched more intently. Naruto relaxed himself, concentrating on the pool of energy deep inside himself, drawing it out and directing it through his body. He allowed it to build up inside him but controlled it from becoming too strong; he had learned the consequences of that the hard way.
Finally he pushed the chakra to his eyes and hand at the same time, simultaneously bringing one arm up so his palm faced outwards in one smooth motion.
"Shinra Tensei!" Sora and Chiriku could only watch on amazed as the training dummy was summarily obliterated by the veritable wall of gravitational forces slamming into it. It soared across the field, flying out of sight over the roof of the next building over, raining stuffing and bits of hay down as it went. Unfortunately that wasn't the only thing that went flying.
"Wooaaah!" Almost as fast as the training dummy was blasted away, Naruto was sent flying back in the opposite direction. However he came to a much quicker stop, embedded in a wall a few feet away. "Urrrgghhh!" Like a marionette with its strings cut he flopped to the ground, leaving a surprisingly accurate imprint of his body in the wooden wall. A few seconds of silence passed before Sora burst out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, even Chiriku had to stifle a few chuckles before walking over and helping his student up from the ground.
"I'm impressed Naruto, you finally managed to direct the force of the technique, although you might need to work on counteracting that force on yourself." Naruto just nodded limply, his eyes looking slightly distant as he gazed up at the three sets of his sempai looking down at him. Soon after Sora came over and gave Naruto a shoulder to lean on, but not before he finished his laughing fit. Even so, while he found his friend's misfortune as funny as any good friend would, he had to be impressed by the sheer power behind the attack; he certainly wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of it.
"Alright Chiriku-sempai, I'll help Naruto to his room. We were going to have another spar but I don't think he's in that condition right now." Chiriku just nodded once before turning and retiring to his own quarters, even as the evening bell began to toll around the temple. Sora hefted Naruto up so that his arm was slung around his friend's shoulders and began walking in the direction of the living quarters.
"You're always doing this you know." His only response from the blonde was a groan and a small chuckle which made the monk-in-training smile. "You're always trying to do the impossible." Again he didn't get much of a response from his injured friend. "Even so, you'll go ahead and try it over and over again until you get it right won't you." He looked down and found Naruto grinning weakly up at him, a knowing glint in his squinted eyes.
"And then you'll try and one-up me." Sora chuckled at that but didn't deny Naruto's statement.
"What can I say? You're a bad influence on me. And stop doing that, you look like Master Chukaku when you narrow your eyes." Naruto just nodded wearily before allowing his head to droop again. By now they had reached Naruto's room and with a bit of manoeuvring on Sora's part he managed to slide open the fusuma and lie Naruto down on his futon. "Get some rest and we'll see tomorrow how the score turns out." He looked around when he got no reply but saw that Naruto was already asleep. Sora just chuckled as he slipped out of the room quietly; his friend was a real idiot sometimes.
"Sora, this is Naruto, he'll be staying at the temple with us for the foreseeable future and I want you to show him around the temple." Blonde hair peeked out nervously from behind Chukaku's robes catching the young trainee monk's attention.
"Umm Ohayo, I'm Naruto." The blue-haired youth just stared at the boy for a few moments before tentatively holding out his own hand as they shook. It was an obviously awkward scene, neither child having had good experiences with people their own age, or in Sora's case, no experience period.
"Good, I know you two will become the best of friends, now I have some paperwork to do so run along." With that the elderly monk turned on a heel and calmly trotted away from the scene.
"So uh, what's it like being a monk?" Sora just blinked at the whiskered boy before looking away at a wall.
"I uhh don't really know, I've always lived here so I don't know much else but it's uhh... nice?" Naruto nodded at that with a small smile as his posture became less tensed.
"So what do you do for fun?" Sora blinked again, finding this very different to talking with the monks who were always very reserved and self-assured.
"Well we have breakfast in the morning followed by meditation and training, then lunch then..." Naruto waved his hands in front of him, cutting the boy off.
"No no I mean like for fun! In your spare time and stuff! When you're not training or anything!" Sora frowned as he looked at Naruto, this was a surreal experience for the boy, that was for sure.
"Well the library is always available for recreational reading." Naruto blinked once before hanging his head down, a metaphorical cloud suddenly appearing over his head.
"That sounds so booooring!" Sora suddenly gained a tick mark over his eye as he slammed Naruto over the head with his covered arm, his eye twitching in irritation.
"The monk's pursuit of enlightenment is not boring! It's a spiritual journey into ones soul and as such-" Sora trailed off as he saw Naruto miming along to his words with his hand with a decidedly unimpressed look on his face.
"Like I said, boring." The blonde flopped to the ground, adopting an incredibly poor attempt at a meditative pose. "I mean what's the big deal with sitting like this anyway?" Sora's eye began to twitch again, suddenly regretting getting lumped with this obvious idiot. Suddenly though a superior smirk appeared over his face as he too got onto the floor, adopting the correct pose for meditation with his palms facing up, his hands in loose fists and his knuckles touching.
"Well Chiriku-sempai says that it takes the utmost skill an concentration to properly meditate, obviously such things are beyond you." At that Naruto looked up in annoyance, his own tick developing over one eye.
"Oh yeah? I bet it's not so hard, I could meditate way better than you could." He looked over the position Sora was in and quickly adjusted his own posture to match. If Sora hadn't been so annoyed with the blonde he might have been impressed at Naruto's first attempt. Instead he simply raised a haughty eyebrow in mild contempt.
"Amateur." When he didn't get any response he looked up to see Naruto's head turned away, his eyes closed in a mockery of meditation. It was obviously an exaggerated way of ignoring Sora. The blonde quickly found a fist buried in his skull and an angry Sora above him.
"Hey! Don't ignore me!"From a nearby window Chukaku watched the whole scene with his mouth hidden by his sleeve. A mild chuckle escaped his lips as he observed the two boys interaction. He knew it was a good idea to introduce the two, for the other monk's amusement if nothing else.
Chukaku looked up from his desk with a fond, nostalgic smile as he thought back on the last year since Naruto had joined the temple. It was quickly marred with a frown however as he once again picked up the piece of paper he had been reading. He sighed as he placed it to one side, quickly drafting up the same response he had written every time he received a letter like this. Finishing with a flurry as he signed his name he sealed it into an envelope ready to give to the passing mail-nin the next morning.
He sighed again as his gaze drifted over to the seal on the envelope the message had come from, the seal of the Hokage. He would change the wording every time, sometimes offering things in return but the gist was always the same; bring Naruto back to Konoha. In the same manner his answer never changed from a firm and resounding 'no'. As long as Naruto was under the roof of the Fire Temple Chukaku would see he never had to return to his old home.
The young blonde had told him about his life there after some coaxing and the elderly monk was appalled. He had worked out from the boy's treatment and the village's vehement requests for him to be returned just what he was as well as from his appearance just who he was, although it was speculation until he could find evidence. Even so he found the village's blatant hatred of a child horrific, especially considering the burden that was already on the poor boy's shoulders.
What made it all the better was that he had the power, the authority, and the influence to keep Naruto here, whether the Hokage or anybody else had anything to say about it or not. The Fire Temple was firmly under his control as head monk and in turn he reported directly to the Fire Daimyo, nobody else. He had known the man since he was just a baby in his mother's arms and had always made sure to be in his favour. What's more the man knew better than to upset the person who controlled his protection detail, the Twelve Guardian Shinobi.
Of course it was always Naruto's decision, if the boy ever actually wanted to return to his old home Chukaku would not stop him. He would of course be sad to see the boy leave; the temple had been a much brighter place since the boy was introduced. However he had never seen any indication Naruto wanted to leave, in fact the boy seemed incredibly happy here, like he had found a smile long since thought forgotten.
Chukaku was suddenly broken from his musings as he heard a loud commotion somewhere outside. He moved to the window, a troubled frown creasing his already wrinkled brow as he spotted what looked like a fire on the other side of the temple. However it was when he saw the first flicker of red and felt a malevolent aura wash over the area that he immediately rushed from the room.
Naruto's short-lived sleep was troubled, filled with orange fur and blood red eyes before he awoke with a start. Cold sweat covered his body making his robes stick to his skin uncomfortably as he panted. He took a deep breath before raising himself onto his elbows. Glancing over at the clock on his wall he noted it had only been about half an hour since Sora had brought him to his room. More than that though there was a presence in the air, weighing down on him like an invisible weight.
Getting to his feet he was shocked to see flames out his window; his eyes widened even as his feet carried him out of his room and towards the fire. He got there to see it was one of the smaller temple buildings, the walls and roof were up in flames. The orange and yellow tendrils of fire were licking at the sky as smoke billowed out from the building in choking sheets. There was a gathering of monks, some attempting to douse the flames with buckets and water Ninjutsu while others seemed to crowd around something else.
He took a few hesitant steps toward the second group until he felt a familiar hand grip his shoulder.
"No Naruto, you have to stay away, it's dangerous." He looked up to see Chukaku, his normally serene features marred by worry and concern. Suddenly a monk was tossed out of the group like a ragdoll, landing not far from them. It distracted Chukaku long enough for Naruto to break out of his grip and rush forward. He didn't want to be treated like a child, this was his home now and he would protect it with his life if he had to.
Ignoring Chukaku's desperate cries Naruto barged his way past two monks only to freeze in surprise at what he saw. Sora stood at the centre of a ring of monks, except it wasn't the Sora Naruto had known for the past year. He was hunched over, a crazed expression in his eyes as an evil grin lifted the corners of his mouth. The arm that he usually kept covered was a mottled red, spiky protrusions jutting out at random and the fingers had become more like claws. Worst of all his entire body was enshrouded by a cloak of intense red chakra, bubbling like it was alive; three tails slowly swayed back and forth behind him.
"SORA!" Naruto's cries only served to draw the boy's attention to him, his now red and slitted eyes locking firmly on the blonde. However there was no recognition there, only an insane bloodthirsty glee, like a predator spotting its next meal. Naruto took a step back as he saw the pure malice behind the boy's eyes, it wasn't Sora, it just couldn't be.
"Naruto stop!" The blonde just barely heard Chiriku's voice along with a few others, no doubt monks concerned with his safety. He ignored them anyway, rushing forward towards the creature his friend had become. He didn't make it within three metres of him before a malicious red tail swatted him away from the side, moving faster than he could even follow. He landed a few metres away, his clothing ripped and torn in a few places and he knew there were a few spots that would bruise the following morning.
Even so he picked himself up on shaking legs, a desperate look in his eye as he looked at his friend. Sora had turned away from him, obviously having lost interest in the prey that put up barely any fight. Naruto's features set into a determined mask as he watched another monk get batted away by those tails. He set his feet into a solid stance, already drawing up the chakra from inside of him and directing it to both his eyes and his hands. Discreetly he placed his other hand behind him pointing in the opposite direction as he finally released the pent up chakra.
"Banshou Ten'in!" Naruto immediately felt the pull on his body like gravity had been temporarily been inverted but the hand he had behind him kept him glued in place. Sora on the other hand was in no such luck as he suddenly found himself flying through the air towards Naruto, unable to react in time to do anything about it. The blonde had already pulled his hand into a fist, ready to knock some sense into his friend however at the last moment it unfurled.
The possessed Sora blinked in confusion as he suddenly found himself wrapped up in an iron-like grip. Naruto's hands were firmly wrapped around his friend's back, his chin over one shoulder. The tails behind him waved uncertainly for a moment, as lost as the one guiding them.
"Please Sora, I don't understand what is going on but please stop this." A solitary tear rolled down Naruto's cheek, evaporating as it touched the cloak of pure chakra covering Sora. "Just stop this, let me help you." He hugged tighter, ignoring the pain as the malevolent chakra began to burn his skin and rip away at his already tattered clothing. "STOP IT!" Suddenly Sora seemed to freeze, the tails stopping in mid-sway as if caught in some invisible giant's hand.
Ever so slowly the long red tails began to shrink back into the cloak, even as the cloak itself slowly began to leak off of Sora's body. The chakra seemed to twitch in midair before slowly being absorbed into Naruto. As it did so the burns and bruises across Naruto's body began to heal so fast the monks around them could actually see it happening. Finally when the entire cloak had disappeared and Sora's features had returned to normal the two boys collapsed to the ground, Naruto still clutching Sora tightly to him.
Chiriku and Chukaku immediately rushed over to see if they were okay; aside from Sora's intense chakra exhaustion and a few burns across his skin they were perfectly fine, just unconscious. Chukaku let out a long sigh of relief as he looked down at the two before turning to the assembled monks. He was simply glad there had been no casualties, however he would still have to explain that to the rest of the monks tomorrow and he knew that would be exhausting. Not to mention Naruto was going to be asking questions too and Chukaku was sure he would be hard-pressed to answer them.
"Alright, start putting out those fires, we'll begin repairing the damages tomorrow, for now get some rest." As soon as the murmuring dies down and the monks began to disperse he took another look at the two boys on the ground.
'How can two boys so young bear such a heavy burden?'
Drip
Naruto felt strangely at peace, the air was still but not humid or uncomfortable.
Drip
The ground beneath him, while hard, was not inherently painful, he had grown used to relatively hard bedding anyway.
Drip
There were no aches very his body like he had expected there to be.
Drip
He gently moved a hand up his body, feeling for where he knew he had been burned by that foul chakra.
Drip
Strangely all he felt was his normal smooth skin, not even any bandages.
Drip
Likewise his clothing seemed fresh, there was no noticeable damage.
Drip
Infact-
Drip
"SHUT UP!" Naruto blinked as his voice echoed out through... wherever he was, it was certainly not the temple that was for sure. He got to his feet, once again marvelling that he didn't feel at all hurt and his skin was unblemished. He looked around, his steely purple eyes taking in his strange surroundings with a frown. As far as he could tell it seemed to be the basement level of some kind of industrial building. He had found himself in one once when he was exploring in Konoha, except the one he found himself in was much cleaner.
Pipes ran the length of the ceiling, disappearing off into the darkness in both directions of the seemingly endless corridor. There were many of them but on in particular caught his eye as it was much larger than the rest, it was also the only one that was leaking; obviously the cause of the irritating dripping. Sure enough he watched as a single drop of some foul red liquid gathered at the bottom of the pipe into a droplet before falling to the floor.
Whatever it was Naruto knew better than to touch it; when it made contact with the floor it sizzled for a moment, eating away at the ground. However more amazingly the floor seemed to immediately repair itself, the small hole disappearing like it had never been there. He watched this repeat three times before tearing his gaze away; it was oddly hypnotic. Having nothing better to do Naruto began to walk down the corridor, it didn't seem to matter which way he took; they looked exactly the same.
Every so often he would reach another leak in the pipe, the only indicator he was actually moving at all. Finally though he reached a fork, he blinked, looking down both identical passageways before shrugging and heading right. After maybe another five minutes of walking without any indication he was getting anywhere Naruto finally stopped. He liked to imagine that a year in a temple had somewhat calmed him and given him some semblance of patience, however the truth was-
"SHINRA TENSEI!" The area around Naruto erupted in an explosion of pure gravitational forces, his hands outstretched to either side to evenly distribute the blast. However when he opened his eyes he nearly fell to his knees in shock and despair, the walls were completely unharmed. There wasn't even a single indication his technique had done any damage, not even the pipes seemed affected, they just kept dripping away.
However Naruto did manage to spot one strange thing out of it; just to test it he began to build up chakra within his body again, feeling the flow in his pathways as it circulated at a faster rate under his direction. His ear twitched as he looked up at the pipes above him, it was unmistakable. Whatever was flowing through the smaller pipes sped up when he began to gather chakra and likewise slowed down when he harmlessly allowed it to disperse.
"Weird." With an irritated sigh Naruto just resigned himself to walking along the pathway. However no sooner than he put one foot in front of the other he felt it; that same malicious aura that Sora had been emitting. His eyes widening in panic Naruto took off at a sprint down the corridor in the direction he felt the presence coming from. If Sora was having another attack he needed to be there for his friend.
After another five minutes of running as Naruto became increasingly worried he finally turned a corner only to skid to a stop. In front on him was a massive room, a change from the otherwise cramped hallways, but the most noticeable feature was the enormous metal gate spanning the length of one wall and behind it... Naruto couldn't be sure. Darkness stretched on beyond the gate showing no visible floor or ceiling making it seem like Naruto was staring out into nothingness.
Of course it didn't stay that way for long, two enormous eyes cracked open in the darkness as Naruto stepped into the room. Their slitted black pupils framed by red stared through him, piercing him with their gaze. They were followed by an equally large mouth, teeming with teeth as it stretched into a horrific facsimile of a grin. Each gleaming white tooth was taller than Naruto was himself and looked like they could tear through just about anything.
"So my jailor finally honours me with his presence and with a gift of my own chakra no less. How very..." The two massive eyes narrowed slightly as whatever invisible head they were attached to lowered to better look at Naruto, simultaneously pulling in a deep breath of air. "...thoughtful." Large white claws, much bigger than the teeth, appeared at the base of the cage door, gently stroking the bars with a deafening ring of metal. While a terrifying sight it did give Naruto the impression that whatever this thing was, he was safe as long as he stayed away from the bars.
"Are you not going to speak Ningen? It has been so long since I have had the pleasure of company, eight miserable years in fact." Naruto gulped, trying to hide just how frightened he was of this... thing, whatever it was. Demon was the first word that sprung to mind but upon thinking of that word Naruto suddenly remembered his life in Konoha, those quiet whispers when they thought he wasn't listening. They too had called him demon but Master Chukaku had told him they simply didn't understand him and it was their ignorance that led to their hatred.
"Hello, I'm Naruto." The great eyes once again focused on the small child, the head lowering even further so that they were almost at eye-level with one another. It wasn't that hard considering Naruto was about as tall as the diameter of the eyes.
"I know your name Ningen, I listened to you shout it out every time you made that foolish declaration of becoming Hokage." The creature seemed to spit the word Hokage like it left a sour taste in its mouth. By its voice Naruto would assume it was male but it was so loud and booming he couldn't really tell either way.
"What's yours?" Suddenly the creature laughed a deep, bellowing chuckle that resounded in the small space, at least small in comparison to itself. However the laugh contained no humour, it was more mocking than anything.
"Just because you have those eyes Ningen, do not presume you can hold a candle to their original owner!" The creature slammed its remaining invisible paw down somewhere in the darkness beyond the cage, the boom resounding through the room. Its eyes narrowed dangerously as Naruto didn't even flinch, its mouth once again stretching into a sickening grin.
"Do you not fear me Ningen?" Its voice was low, like a soft grumble despite its sheer volume in Naruto's ears; it also didn't particularly sound like a question. Naruto stood firm though, quickly shaking his head defiantly.
"Master Chukaku says that fear is the natural human response to something we don't understand. But if we don't choose to try and understand, it will lead to ignorance and unfounded hatred. Then that hatred will only lead to more pain, suffering and fear." The creature in the cage almost seemed amused by this, its head rising up into the darkness even as its eyes never left Naruto's unmoving form.
"Don't hope to believe you could ever even try to understand me Ningen. I am a being beyond your comprehension. The culmination of millennia of hatred and rage."Naruto looked down at that, breaking eye contact with the creature for the first time since meeting it.
"Master Chukaku told me that nobody is born hating. It is only their experiences, their losses, their sufferings that drive them to hate and that hatred is only the most extreme expression of love." He looked back up and saw the creature regarding him with what might have been curiosity; it might also have been contempt. Whatever it was it was gone before Naruto could really see and the creature was lowering its head back down, its eyes narrowed but firmly fixed on the blonde. After a few moments of tense silence it finally spoke out in a deep but low tone.
"For now you may call me Kyuubi, now begone Ningen, this idiotic conversation has already bored me." Naruto suddenly felt a tug from behind as if he had been snagged by some invisible rope before he was violently yanked back into darkness. However before he left he caught a glimpse of the Kyuubi's full form, that of an enormous nine-tailed fox.