Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Faith in Humanity ❯ Soul Searching ( Chapter 9 )

Title: Faith Arc - Faith in Humanity (PG-13)

Author: Karrafear

Summary: AU. What if Naruto survived a murder attempt on his life at the age of 6 and had to leave Konoha for his protection. Now 12, Naruto and Jiraiya returns to face the genin test.

 

Disclaimer: Naruto is an anime and manga series created by Masashi Kishimoto. It does not belong to me; I'm simply using the characters and plot for my own creative devices.

 

"Demon's talk", /Thoughts/, "Speech", 'Speech emphasis', (FLASHBACK), Titles, (Author's interruptions)

 

Warning: Naruto OOC. PG-13. LOTS OF SWEARING!! DEEP ANGST!!! Mentions of suicide! DARK!!!

 

Pairings: eventually NarutoXHinata.

 

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Chapter 9 : Soul Searching

 

For three days and three nights, Naruto had remained unconscious. To the outside world, he was anything but active. However, within his psyche, his mind wanders in a never-ending circle of confusion, anger, determination and resolution; all of which none of the others could ever fathom.

 

---------------- (Inside Naruto's Subconscious Mind!!)

 

Two very different voices could be heard in the deep, black darkness that befalls one's own mind.

 

“That was pathetic! Kittling (1)! What the hell are you thinking!?” A loud and demonic voice yelled into the darkness in annoyance.

 

“Doing what I could against one of the three Legendary Sennins!” The other - a softer, human voice - also aggravated, rebuffed back.

 

“Bah! That's just an excuse and you know it! You could have taken him on and beaten him into a bloody pulp if you wanted!” The first voice insists.

 

“And how do you suppose I do that with my limited amount of Chakra!?” The second replied back in sarcasm.

“USE MINE OF COURSE! Together we could have beaten that slimy snake easily!”

 

“You know I can't use too much of your Chakra. It's written in our pack or have you forgotten? Kyuubi!”

 

“Of course I haven't! The pack entails that you have full access to 10% of my overall power supply but the rest of it is outside of your control. However, you are STILL a fool to not use all the resources at your disposal! Stop finding excuses! You're just afraid of my power after that incident three years ago!”

 

“You Fxxking took over my MIND, Kyuubi! You killed all those...”

 

“I DID NOT!!! YOU DID!!! Your emotions are tied to my own. My essence - my soul may be sealed inside of you, and my original body destroyed, but my emotions are directly linked to yours. You've always known about the rage that lurks in the darkness of your heart. And you know that I can feel EVERYTHING that you are feeling! Stop lying to yourself and face the truth! You're afraid! You're HESITANT over the use of my power, you always have been!”

 

“JUST SHUT THE FXXK UP!”

 

“Don't you dare turn away from me, Kittling! You could have been KILLED back there, and all because you're too afraid and too God Damn proud to ask me for help! If I hadn't lent you some of my powers at that critical point in battle, you really would have been snake food! And where would that leave ME!!!??”

 

“Just shut up, Kyuubi! I know what I was doing!!! I don't need YOU of all creatures to mother-hen me to death!”

 

“OF ALL OF HELL'S FLAMES! (2) Talking sense to you is like talking to a brick wall!!… FINE! I'm warning you now, Kittling! If… and I mean IF you face that opponent again and can't hold your ground against him… I WILL do whatever I have to… to keep us alive!”

 

“….”

 

“Think over it, Kittling! … Well, it seems like we've run out of time for our little chitchat! You seem to have subconsciously activated your other gift without knowing it…”

 

“WHAT!? Oh noooooo, not another vision?! Kyuubi! Hey! Kyuubi!”

 

“We'll talk next time, Kittling. Right now, I've got to start the healing process…AND DON'T YOU LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT! I told you I'd do anything to keep you safe and I MEAN IT! This includes healing your sorry ass even if you don't want my help!”

 

“… But can't you stay…”

 

A sigh is heard. “You know I can't enter your dreamscape, especially during one of your episodes… So I'm gonna have to leave you. Until then, STAY ALIVE AND SANE!!!” And with that, the voice disappears.

 

Naruto could no longer feel the presence of his other. Though not admitting it, he too, also felt slightly ashamed at his performance and slightly afraid of what could come now. He was never able to perfect his visionary skills; the visions come in all sorts of forms and at the weirdest of times through out his life. Sometimes they were dreams when he was asleep; sometimes they just pop up in between what ever he was doing. But these visions never appeared when he wished them to.

 

“Damn! I hate visions!”

 

--------------------------

 

Naruto opened his mental eyes and gazed forward at what he expected to be there. In front of him stood a tall dark mirror, two metres high and one and a half metres in width. Naruto silently (though unwillingly) took two steps forward, standing directly in front of the flat surface of the innocently looking mirror. Naruto felt a shiver travel down his spine as he watched the mirror shimmering into life, feeding off his Chakra and his still suppressed Bloodline ability.

 

The dark surface of the mirror faded away to show a small boy with blonde hair punching a small, dead tree until his seemingly gentle hands turned blood red with bruises. Naruto watched impassively as his younger-self tried to beat the dead tree into submission, using training as an excuse to keep away the loneliness that ate at his young heart. He remembered those dark days but could do nothing to stop the incoming memories to flash in front of his eyes as if he were reliving them once again.

 

(FLASHBACK) (WARNING: ANGST!)

 

“Hn! Hn! Hn! Hn!” Seven-year-old Naruto grunted each sound as he slammed his small fists against the hard bark of the dead tree. With each punch, more splinters were forced into his tiny fingers and blood oozed out of these crevices continually. But Naruto ignored the physical pain, completely focused in the task at hand; he aimed to create a dent at least three inches deep into the bark by the end of the long day's training.

 

“Oi! Oi! Don't you think that's enough, Naruto?” The Pervert Sennin sat, leaning against a large tree on the outskirts of Naruto's training clearing. “It certainly won't help you if you bleed to death.” He said nonchalantly with a straw stuck out of his lazy lips.

 

“Demons don't bleed to death.” Naruto whispered harshly as he continued with his training, ignoring the Sennin's words.

 

Jiraiya sighed heavily from the sidelines. “Come on Kid! Even I'm getting tired by just watching you!”

 

“Hn!” Naruto winched in pain as a particular large splinter forced its way in between his knuckles but didn't pause the action to answer back with a final “NO!”

 

Jaraiya manoeuvred himself into a more comfortable position, laying straight out on the floor and looking up through the canopies of the tall trees. He sighed again as his words fell on deaf ears. “Naruto… You are NOT a demon. How many times do I have to repeat myself?”

 

Naruto slammed his right fist heavily into the blood stained trunk one last time before he retaliated back in anger. “If I'm not a demon, then how come I can heal much faster than other people?! How come I have so much evil Chakra in me?! How come...”

 

“Just shut up and listen for once, Naruto!” Jiraiya interrupted Naruto in middle of his rant. He sat up again and looked directly into the eyes of Naruto, eyes that seemed too young to hold so much pain. “What that bitch (3) did was her problem, not yours! You have to let go of her words, Naruto. You are NOT… I repeat… NOT KYUUBI! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!”

 

Naruto looked down, away from Jiraiya's determined gaze. “But what if they see me as the demon? What if they never accept me? Will I forever live in the shadow? Will I always be afraid? Afraid of being killed? Afraid of being hurt? Afraid to live?”

 

“That is for you to decide, Naruto! Your future is based on your choices, your decisions and your actions. You should be able to find a future that suits you! You are not a puppet, nor are you simply a dog following its owner. You are real and you are HUMAN, as such, your decisions will lead you to your appropriate destination. Have faith in yourself, I do!” Jiraiya gave Naruto a small smile before raising his hand to indicate that the boy should come forward so that he may bandage the injured hands.

 

(END FLASHBACK)

 

The training scene that occurred close of five years ago faded into the original darkness of the mirror, as the same time, the memories that accompanied it also disappeared back into their locked locations. Naruto shook his head to clear the slight depression that had overcome him with the arrival of his memories.

 

Naruto had indeed suffered a long period of depression in his younger days. He remembered that during those times, all he ever did was train. Training kept him busy - physically and mentally - so he may avoid acknowledging the loneliness that stood just on the outskirts of his sanity. Other than Jiraiya, he really had no one else to trust during those first two years of travel, and as such, it depraved him immensely of any social interaction.

 

The pain resulting from training at such a young age also helped him focus. Naruto had learnt a long time ago that nothing could be gained without some pain or sacrifice. He had wanted to be strong, strong enough to protect himself from people like Mrs. Tanuki or others that may want to harm him. He had used the pain he felt, turned it into anger, and focused it into strength. As long as he had his pain and his anger, he would be strong. But even with this twisted logic in his mind, loneliness eventually won the battle and Naruto (for the first time in almost three years) reached out to an outsider, a person other than Jiraiya for comfort. And that person was Ellie.

 

Ellie was his first friend and he was still not strong enough to protect her. In the end, physical strength accounted for nothing because he couldn't even save a single soul. What's the point of protecting yourself if you are the only creature that gets to live? /Is that why I treat Sasuke the way I do? Because I know what he went through? What he's going through now and what will be awaiting him at the end of his journey if he doesn't change? That… that emptiness that eats away the soul? I... I don't know…/

 

A soft tear slid down Naruto's face as he watched the visions presented by the mirror, depicting his life in chronological order. He watched avidly as his younger self (now nine) stared down at his own blood stained hands, standing in a room splattered with so much blood that it was impossible to tell what the wall's original colours were. He was in so much shock at that time, and then fell into a second depression. /Yeah… I became only a shell with no soul…/

 

(WARNING! WARNING! Suicide Attempt! Don't read if you can't stand it!)

 

The visions shifted again, this time it displayed the same boy, now thin and frail, with deep sunken eye sockets and pale bony hands lifting a kunai up slowly as if it weighed a ton. The kunai travelled up until it rested almost longingly next to the boy's throat. The nine-year-old closed his eyes, gave a soft smile, as he slitted the kunai's sharp edge across his own throat.

 

The mirror darkened suddenly, indicating that Naruto, too, had immediately lost consciousness after that incident. It had taken a whole two weeks before he had regained consciousness again and he wondered why he hadn't died. Considering he had been purposely starving himself for a whole months before he finally decided it was time to end his life as a demon carrier, only to have said demon bring him back from death's sweet clutches. Once again, the miracle of being Kyuubi's container - a demon's replicate or shadow - had resurfaced and pulled Naruto's shattered psyche even further into the spiral of depression and self-hatred.

 

(Okay! You can come back now!)

 

The next sight that presented itself on the mirror's surface in front of Naruto was of a woman, in pure white robes. She sat high on her golden thrown and gazed silently with a blank expression down at the almost ten-year-old Naruto. The present Naruto remembered their first rocky meeting and gave a small ironic smile.

 

(FLASHBACK) (Finally, the introduction to my other OC)

 

“Name.” Her voice was stone cold and it sliced through the thick tension in the air. For some reason, Naruto felt the compulsion to answer her. He had not spoken a single verbal word for almost two months and here, in front of this mysterious woman, he just couldn't fight her command.

 

“Uzumaki Naruto.” Naruto replied in a very soft but raw voice, indicating that he hadn't been using it for a long time. He felt Jiraiya shift slightly in nervousness as he stood beside him. They both stood stiffly in front of the penetrating gaze of infamous Lady Oracle, of the Hidden Air village.

 

“Proof of your heritage.” Naruto blinked in mental surprise. /If she was really the famous prophetess that I've heard of, wouldn't she already know that I'm the real thing?!/ As if reading his mind, her icy gaze lifted from him and moved towards the seven old ladies who sat on the sidelines of the court room. /Ah... the Counsel Elders... I see, she needed proof to appease the ruling Counsellors. I guess I can follow her order./

 

Reaching into his pant's side pocket, he lifted out one of his most prized possessions, the jade amulet left by his deceased mother. There was a surge in the uproar of talking and gasps of surprise that followed his action. He had heard from Jiraiya that anyone outside of the royal blood daring to touch that amulet, it would automatically give them an electrical shock. The fact that he could nonchalantly lift it up proves that he is of her blood. He is the son of Yuuki Uzumaki (4), official princess of the Hidden Air village, and sister to the famed Ruri Uzumaki (5), renowned as the Lady Oracle herself.

 

(END FLASHBACK) (More about them in later chapters! ^_^)

 

/Hmm... Wonder what Aunt Ruri would think of me now if she saw me here… Then again, she'd probably already know about this even before it started./ Chuckling sardonically, Naruto mentally shook away his dark thoughts. He had realised during that first meeting that his life was going to change drastically, but for the good or bad, he couldn't fathom. He still didn't know whether Jiraiya's decision to bring him to see his Aunt was a good idea even now.

 

After surviving his first suicide attempt, Jiraiya had kept a very close watch over him in the following months. Without any weapons at hand and knowing that he'd have a better chance at starving to death, Naruto had decided to live the rest of his life as a shell. He had locked himself within the darkness of his heart, wrapped the comforting emptiness around his soul and simply waited for Death to return. However, Jiraiya had other plans.

 

It still surprised Naruto that he hadn't even known he had an Aunt until he was ten years old. It had taken them a long time to reach the Hidden Air village, which was literally hidden in the air, within the clouds, on top of one of the Legendary Mountains of history. Upon reaching the village itself, Naruto could not help be shudder as he felt the enormous amounts of Chakra just flouting in the air. It was suggested that the Mountain itself was a natural spring for gathering large amounts of Nature's Chakra through out thousands of years. This was also why the villagers living there were so protective over their home as well as why they were so strong compared to Shinobis in other countries, even the Leaf could not match up to the raw power and talent of those living in the Hidden Air village.

 

For the first time in his short life, Naruto had found a sanctuary that welcomed his existence. To the villagers of the Hidden Air, he was the son of their lost princess, which made him their prince. Not to mention that they value strength above all else, no matter the origin, as long as you could prove your worth, you are bound to end up with recognition and acknowledged.

 

For the two years that he had stayed in the Hidden Air village, Naruto had been treated as the hero he had always wanted to be seen as, the hero that his father had wanted him to be seen as. However, as always, everything good comes with a price. While the villagers welcomed him into their home as one of them, they also expected him to uphold the family traditions of the Uzumaki clan.

 

It was then that Naruto had understood why his mother and father had wanted him to stay in Konoha instead of the Hidden Air. Everyone living in the Hidden Air village was bound by hundreds of years of tradition and many of the population were still conservatives at heart. They were not brought up with knowledge on the outside world and had stayed in their safe haven for thousands of years, refusing to change their old ways. Upon arrival, Naruto had been forced to wear their traditional gowns, eat their traditional foods, follow all the rules that were standardised on the walls of the Counsel halls, abide by all the commands of the Counsel elders and many more actions that he would never have fathomed before had he stayed in Konoha. Even Jiraiya had found it difficult to put up with all the pompous traditional ceremonies and events that occurred in the small village on a daily basis.

 

Naruto had felt like he was a captive there, living in an illusion of freedom hidden behind a very well formed cage. All of his actions were monitored down to the number of times he went to the toilet. It was just so frustrating to live a life when you know that seven very old and very cynical ladies would critically look over every action that you take.

 

Coupled with the intensive training that Aunt Ruri and her Shadow guard, Kaga-san (6) had given him, Naruto had spent two hellish years in the Hidden Air village trying his best to appease his only family. What he didn't realise at the time was that he was subconsciously trying to hold onto this second home without somehow failing the people whom accepted him or loosing anything precious in the process. It wasn't until one of those training sessions where he almost collapsed in exhaustion before he realised that he was burning himself out.

 

After the incident with Ellie, Naruto had completely cut off any ties with Kyuubi's chakra. He had fought tooth and nail to keep Kyuubi's chakra from mixing with his own, and that had of course created severe side effects for his Chakra control and stamina. It was Aunt Ruri that had provided him with his solution - a pack with the demonic fox written in blood and bound by soul.

 

(FLASHBACK) (Understand that this is in the past! As you already know, Naruto and Kyuubi act very different towards each other in the present time!)

 

Three small figures stood in front of a giant gate as they waited patiently for the being inside to come forth towards their call. Soon, two large, burning red eyes could be seen from the other side of the infinitely large cage. A cage that was specially made for the most powerful youkai in the world, deceptively weak with only a small paper strapped to its great gateways with the word `seal' written on it with the fourth's blood.

 

“Well… it seems like you've brought some guests, brat! What do you want?!” The Kyuubi's voice boomed and echoed through out the room. His voice bounced off the walls, and created ripples in the water on the floor.

 

The Lady Oracle stepped forward, directly in front of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, unafraid and unsurprised by his demand. “I am the Lady Oracle, current mistress of the Tenkun no buki and keeper of time. My name is Uzumaki Ruri.”

 

Kyuubi's narrowed eyes racked over the small two-legged creature in slight surprise. “You are the blood descendant of the Uzumaki Hunters (7)?”

 

“Yes, I am.” Ruri answered blankly. “Lord of the Underworld, Kyuubi no Kitsune! I am here today on behalf of my heir apparent and future successor, Naruto Uzumaki. And I wish to sign a blood pack with you.”

 

Kyuubi gave a loud and maniacal laugh that made both Naruto and even Kaga-san shudder in nervousness, but Ruri stood tall and never wavered under the pressure.

 

“Yes! You really are one of the Hunter guardians! I can feel it in your blood! But that BRAT is your HEIR!!!??” Kyuubi roared with laughter, “It seems the once great Uzumaki clan are now nothing but a shadow of their past! To depend of such a lowly brat to uphold the name, honour and power of the Uzumaki, you must be desperate, Child of Oracles!”

 

“We are not here for you to mock us, Kyuubi no Kitsune! Are you willing to partake in the blood pack or not. State your answer and don't waste my time!” Ruri interrupted the barrage of sarcasm.

 

“Heh heh! Uzumaki's have always had their prides, even in death! So, Child of Oracles! What is in this Blood pack for ME!?” Kyuubi's voice boomed against the walls for a second time.

 

“Your freedom.” Ruri's statement was followed by a long pause in silence from Kyuubi.

 

“Speak! Before I change my mind! Time Keeper!” Kyuubi demanded suddenly.

 

“In exchange for giving Naruto complete control over a portion of your power, I can ensure you a partial un-seal-ment. After Naruto have grown into his fullest potential and taken over my position, I can dedicate the rest of my time and life force to return you to the Underworld, as you belonged.” Ruri explained.

 

“What type of partial un-seal-ment? Even YOU are not strong enough to unseal that man's Justus!” Kyuubi rebuffed back.

 

“Indeed, I cannot undo the Fourth's original seal for that is impossible. What I can do however is give Naruto an additional seal on top of the first that rectify part of the original seal's Chakra progress. I can manipulate it so that Naruto will have complete access and control to 10 or so percent of your original power and I can dedicate another part of your power to create separate Chakra life forms that can exist in the outside world. In that sense, it is a partial un-seal-ment, for part of you (namely your Chakra) is unsealed and free to roam about in the outside world. What say you to this agreement?” Ruri detailed her plan blandly, even her last question had been asked in a very forthright way with no fear.

 

A long pause followed her statements as the Kyuubi thought over her plan to see which part of it benefits him, and to what extent. “I would still be trapped in here; there is no way for you to completely unseal me! And even if I have not wanted to, that BRAT over there could always command part of my Chakra to leak into him! What is your reason for making this blood pack if either way HE wins?” He asked in the most reasonable way an angry demon fox would.

 

“To strengthen the bond and relationship between yourself and Naruto. Neither you nor Naruto may want to admit it, but your entire existence depends on the ongoing interactions between your two different souls, minds, emotions and Chakra living in the same body. If I do not do this now, eventually one of you will merge within the other and will forever disappear from all of existence.” Ruri patiently explained.

 

“If that is so, then there is a chance that I may take over that Brat's body and be free again on my own! I would not need for your interference!!” Kyuubi stated in retaliation, still slightly suspicious of Ruri's plan.

 

“There is a higher chance for you to be merged into Naruto instead of the other way around, for that is what the original seal that the Fourth Hokage had intended to do. On the contrary, as you may well know, Naruto has no plans to share his eternity with you as part of him. What the both of you may not know is that this type of sealing and merging will cause side effects in both of your existence. Not only will you, Lord of the Underworld, simply disappear as if you have never existed; Naruto, too, will suffer the side effects of having an immensely prolonged life, namely, over 300 human years of living before he finally dies! (8) The blood pack I propose can negate this process from happening by keeping the two of you separate and yet linked.” Ruri tilted her head up in an arrogant manner, as if daring the Kyuubi to argue her point. “Now, what say you to this deal?” She demanded, tired of wasting her time in explanations.

 

Kyuubi gazed intently into Ruri's unmoving eyes for a long time before coming to its decision. “I accept. It seems I have no other choices but to accept. However, if I am not satisfied with the results, know that I will use any way I can to retaliate against the second seal.”

 

“Agreed.” Ruri simply stated, and that had ended the bitter anger and hatred between Naruto and Kyuubi due to the misunderstanding of the events following Ellie's death.

 

(END FLASHBACK)

 

It was after that incident that both Kibi and Kirin (9) were born, or in a more proper sense, they were created from Kyuubi's Chakra and hold part of his consciousness. Though he may share Naruto's emotions, the Kyuubi sees the world through Kibi and Kirin's eyes. However, they must always stay near or close to either Ruri or Naruto himself because they're depended on the Uzumaki blood to hold their existence together in the real world.

 

Naruto had always wondered what was in the famed Uzumaki bloodline that makes their blood so feared and yet desired by those whom had knowledge of it. He had heard from Kaga-san that the Uzumaki clan had once been a very powerful clan and the ruling party in the Hidden Air village, the oldest village in the world (10). Now, there was only him and his Aunt Ruri whom ruled supreme. It was kind of sad to find out that his supposedly great heritage had now crumbled into just the two of them trying to uphold the expectations of the world. But like many others, Naruto soon cracked under the intense pressure to be the best, to prove his heritage true, to become what the Counsel members want him to become, something which he was not.

 

It took almost killing himself in one of the training sessions using one of the Tenkun no buki that finally convinced him he could not keep the façade of happiness up forever. It was just a mask to appease those around him, though most of the villagers and especially Aunt Ruri knew he was crumbling under the pressure for a very long time. Jiraiya even threatened some of the Counsellors if they continued to force him to prove his worth.

 

Within a short two years of staying in the Hidden Air village under the harsh but firm tutelage of his Aunt Ruri, Naruto had went from a half-assed runt (probably only a strong Genin with some exceptional skills) to almost bordering the rank of Jounin. He had been exposed to a multitude of different fighting styles and jutsus, some of which were specifically catered for the Uzumaki and others were general techniques that needed a lot of practice to master. However, the more he learnt from the Hidden Air villagers, the more Naruto realised that he could learn all these techniques, it would just be impossible, so he started to fell just content with what he already had.

 

And suddenly, out of the blue, Jiraiya confirmed with him that they were going back to the Hidden Leaf village. Naruto never questioned why Jiraiya wanted him to go back; perhaps it was because Naruto was starting to lose sight of what and who he was under the pressure of becoming someone completely different. Naruto didn't mind the sudden move at all, in fact, he felt relieved to leave. With out the burden of a whole society's expectations on his shoulders, Naruto felt that he was truly free to enjoy his freedom and to recover from all the psychological problems he had had in the past. But it was what his Aunt Ruri had told him to concentrate on that really influenced his decision in coming back to Konoha and face his past.

 

(FLASHBACK) (Promise, this is the last one!! ^^;;;)

 

Two figures stood in front of a setting sun, their silhouettes created shadows that stretched along the mountainsides. One stood stiffly, either in nervousness or discomfort, he didn't know; but the other, stared blankly forward as if she had seen too many beginnings and too many ends. Finally, the later spoke in a calm and soft voice.

 

“Naruto.” The Lady Oracle began, “Where is your home?”

 

Confused but bowing automatically none the less, Naruto answered simply without thinking. “This is my home.”

 

“Then tell me.” She continued after a very awkward silence in which Naruto fidgeted, afraid he had answered wrongly and would be punished. “What do you consider... is a home?”

 

Completely confused, Naruto thought over what he should say to that, wondering whether this was another one of her test to find out where his loyalty lies, but was interrupted in mid-thought. “I am not asking what you think I want to hear, Naruto. I want the honest truth. What do you think is in a home?”

 

After an even longer pause, Naruto bowed his head down slightly, unable to find an answer. “I don't know. I really don't know what a home is like. I've never had one…”

 

Surprisingly, the Lady answered back with a: “Neither do I…”

 

Naruto blinked at his Aunt in shock. /Surely she must be mistaken! This entire village treats her like a Queen! She belongs here, with her people, with her family!/

 

As if reading his mind, or in a better sense, she already knows what he was going to think about before he even thought them, the Lady Oracle rebuffed all his beliefs. “My only family was my sister, Yuuki. These are my people, my subjects and friends, but they are not my family, nor are the Air my home.”

 

Not really understanding, Naruto was about to ask her to explain when the lady willingly continued. “I believe a home should not feel like a cage. An invisible cage with a burden so great, it will either make you insane or wish for death. People say the home is where the heart is. But my heart does not lie here, not in these dying lands.”

Naruto gazed back at the now darkening sky and thought over his Aunt's words in silence. Finally, he asked: “Then what is in a home?”

 

“I was hoping you would know… or at least find out, when you return to Konoha.” The Lady answered quietly, as if slightly uneasy with asking for a favour from her nephew. Naruto watched her from the corner of his eyes. Under the fading light of day, Aunt Ruri really didn't look as intimidating as she usually does with her blank expression and penetrating eyes as if she could see right through you and know your greatest secrets, which in fact, she does.

 

“Yeah... I guess I could find out.” Looking back onto the ground in shame though, he continued: “Though I'm not sure whether they will accept me… or if they still hate me like before. I'm not even sure I'll like it there…”

 

“The Fourth Hokage was the chosen husband to be by Yuuki. And both he and my sister chose to stay and fight for the Konoha, instead of returning to the Air as they rightfully should. There must have been something attractive in Konoha that binds their lives and souls to it. I believe living there is the only way to find out what the people there have that we do not.” The Lady answered directly, without pause or hesitation.

 

She then turned to look directly into Naruto's eyes as he too, looked back at her resolutely. “Believe in your heart's judgement. See with eyes unclouded by hate (11). Learn their ways and search for the truth that binds you to that place.”

 

Naruto looked confused once again. “What binds me to that place, Lady?” He asked in a very soft voice, as if afraid that others would over hear.

 

“Konoha is your birthplace, it may well be your ultimate destination. You are bound there by the blood and heritage of your father, just as the same things of your mother and myself bind you here. You have already followed the path of your mother's name, now try to re-enact your father's legacy.” The Lady sprouted off a lot of philosophical babble, which Naruto couldn't understand nor interpret, but he had memorised the next part of the conversation by heart. “Once you have found your answer, return to me and tell me: `What was so great about Konohagakeru that your father - the Yondaime - would not only sacrifice his own life, but the future life of his son, to protect? What did your father see in Konoha that was worth so mach pain and suffering?'(12) Find that answer, and you will find your destiny.”

 

Naruto blinked at her. “Are you trying to tell me that you would not die to protect the Hidden Air?”

 

The Lady's eyes had hardened into rock and gazed back in an intensity that was rather scary. “Yes. I would not die for this country, nor would I willing suffer to keep it alive. This is because I know it is already dying, if not sooner, then later, it will perish. And after that… I have no where to go.” She looked away sadly. “That is the truth behind all those that live here. We have no place to go at all. So do not follow our path, Naruto. That is my only advice to you in this entire lifetime.”

 

(END FLASHBACK) (Uh.. That was confusing, even for ME!! ^^;;;)

 

Finally, Naruto moved his gaze back at the mirror. All of his past experiences had already been shown, and now, he stood stiffly awaiting his future prophecies. He had known for a long time now that when ever he received visions of this sort, he was usually under intense pressure or emotional stress which allowed him to unconsciously activate the power hidden within him. However, because he had no knowledge prior about how to control the visions, they usually came in very strange forms and needed a lot of interpretation instead of the direct replay of the future in the Lady Oracle's case.

 

Once again, the mirror's surface blackened and faded back to reveal another scene, this time in abstract form. First he saw himself, badly injured and bleeding from all of his wounds. With his head down as if unconscious, Naruto's future self was thoroughly beaten up and hung stiffly from a rope strapped around his wrists that reached straight up into the heavens and disappearing into the clouds above. /A burden from Heaven?/ Naruto interpreted. /Something held from the sky? The Air?/ He questioned himself mentally.

 

The mirror image changed again, this time showing both Sakura and Sasuke strapped onto two large wooden crosses that stood in the midday glare of the sun (13). /Sakura and Sasuke!! Sacrifices? They'd be sacrificed for whom? For what?/ Thinking back to the previous image. /For me!? They'll be sacrificed for me?! And I couldn't help them because my own hands were tied. As if.../

 

His thoughts were interrupted again when the next image showed up. The mirror's surface turned completely black, and suddenly, a circle completely filled with white appeared directly on its centre. Then another circle (this one, only its thick white edge was visible) appeared surrounding the first circle. And again, a third circle (also only visible in its thick white edge - as in its centre was not filled) surrounded the second circle. All of the designs represented a circle within a circle within a circle, the exact replica of the Hidden Air Village symbol. /This is the key! The hidden Air Village? The Hidden Air Techniques? My learning's from the Hidden Air? My relationship with the hidden Air?/ Naruto thought confused.

 

After that, the original Hidden Air symbol moved aside to the left side, leaving room in the centre for the mirror to form another abstract symbol. This time, it appeared to be the Hidden Leaf symbol (the one with the spiral, added arrow-edge thing with a flick of a stroke at the other end of the spiral). The Hidden Leaf symbol shrunk in size to match the other Hidden Air symbol but stayed in the middle of the mirror's surface. /What does the Hidden Air have to do with the Hidden Leaf? What does this have to do with sacrificing Sakura and Sasuke? What does this have to do with me as a burden? Or is it I'm the one with the burden?/

 

Following the two, the third key displayed by the mirror prophecy emerged and with it, Naruto gasped in shock. It was one of Kyuubi's eyes, the raging red slitted pupils of Kyuubi were recognisable anywhere and on anything. Kyuubi's symbol too, shrunk in size and was placed directly beside the two other symbols being displayed in front of Naruto to advise him on his future happenings. /The Hidden Air, The Hidden Leaf, and Kyuubi.. The only connection between these three is Me! Or in a sense, Me and Aunt Ruri since mother married father and died for the Leaf. But most probably, this is about Me!/

 

Naruto blinked in confusion as the three keys stayed on the Mirror's display as if taunting him to grasp onto the obvious truth. /I'm the one with the burden… and somehow it leads to Sakura and Sasuke's sacrifice. It may very well mean their deaths. And somehow, I can stop it by combining the Hidden Air, the Hidden Leaf and the Kyuubi.. But what the hell does that mean?!/ Naruto grabbed onto his head as he felt a wave of headaches crashing through, making him slightly dizzy. He felt that he was very close to the solution but it was still outside of his grasp.

 

Suddenly, all three symbols on the mirror glowed in bright colours to contrast against their black backgrounds. The Hidden Air symbol blazed in a vibrant blue colour to capture the essence of the air's movement and the sky in general. The Hidden Leaf symbol shone with bright yellow and green signifying the relationship between nature and life. Kyuubi's eye glowed an ethereal red pulsing with power beyond any man's comprehension. Slowly but surely, the three coloured symbols started merging into one another until finally there was only one symbol left on the screen, It pulsed and morphed with the multiple colours, creating a strange rainbow like effect that started to expand onto the different surface areas of the mirror itself. Soon the entire mirror's surface was covered by multi-coloured patterns.

 

The mirror then unexpectedly cracked under the power and force of the three combined. The cracks kept spreading until suddenly, the mirror simply shattered into a thousand pieces and thrown in every direction. Naruto quickly covered his eyes and face from the on-coming debris but to his surprise, they passed right through him to land heavily on the ground behind. He looked at the thousands of small mirrors that lay scattered in amazement. /It doesn't hurt me.. What ever the effect is of coming the three together, the power that results may destroy everything else but it won't hurt me! This means that I am the catalyst that starts the process of combining the three. But how? And what will be the results of that occurring?/

 

However, to Naruto's disappointment, the scattered pieces of the mirrors started to disappear; soon there were none of the pieces on the floor anymore. This was the sign that the vision was ending. Naruto simply closed his eyes and waited for the eventual awakening to happen. /You know, this wasn't as bad as a vision as all the others…/ were the last thoughts that went through his mind before he finally found consciousness.

 

------------------------- (Outside of Naruto's mind! Finally!! ^_^)

 

Naruto blinked to adjust his eyesight to the glaring light of day. /When was the last time I've been awake… And where am I?/ Indeed, Naruto did not recognise his new surroundings. /I thought I was still in the Forest of Death? Where is this place?/ There was a plainly thatched roof directly above him as he recognised the fact that he was laying on something soft, probably a real bed. Glancing around the room, looking at the different monitors and equipments, Naruto hazarded a guess that he was in some kind of medical facility. And since he was still alive, Naruto concluded that only two possibilities that could have happened, either he was captured and will be tortured by Orochimaru (since he didn't believe that the battle they had would truly throw the Sennin off their tracks) or he was saved by an outside force (since he really didn't believe Sakura and Sasuke could find a way out of Orochimaru's grips). /Probably the later had happened, since I'm not in some kind of dungeon, then I must have been saved./

 

Hearing footsteps coming closer to his room, Naruto glanced steadily at the door, waiting for whom ever was going to visit him. The door slid open easily to reveal the pink head of his teammate, though Naruto instantly noticed that her hair was much shorter.

 

Sakura blinked at the now conscious Naruto, her eyes widened a tad in surprise and she immediately screamed in delight, making both Naruto and Sasuke (who was standing behind her) wince at the high pitch sound. She quickly launched herself to sit beside him and started pouring out a huge list of questions without giving Naruto the time to reply.

 

“Naruto!! You're finally awake!! We were so worried! How are you feeling? Are you okay? Oh what a stupid question, of course you're not okay? Are you hurting anywhere? Do you want me to call Haku or another one of the medic Nins? …”

 

“Sakura! Shut up and let him speak!” Sasuke interrupted her tirage in irritation. However, Sasuke had to divert his attention else where as the two foxes (whom had travelled with them) kept running around his feet in complete joy as they figured Naruto was alright, and almost toppling him over. They then ran away towards the still injured Naruto and literally jumped onto the bed to lick his face, wagging their tails happily.

 

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Hey! That tickles!” Naruto laughed as he tried to manoeuvre the foxes' head away from his face. “Stop! You're slobbering all over me! Stop it! That's an order!” Immediately, the two foxes laid down comfortingly on both of Naruto's sides, still wagging their tails happily.

 

Sakura blinked in surprise but just had to ask: “Do you know these two? They've followed us all the way from the second Chuunin Exam into the tower! They refuse to be parted from you for very long and in the end, the nurses just let them be?!”

 

“Yeah! I know them.” Naruto smiled, as he reached out and ruffled both foxes' heads, resulting in them mewing in delight. “They're sort of my pets.” He answered.

 

“Huh?” Sakura looked confused. “You're pets? But I thought you didn't have any? Not to mention, pets aren't allowed in the Chuunin Exam is it?”

 

Naruto started to shrug but instantly winced in pain at the move resulting in his still healing tissues on his back to stretch. “Well… I don't actually look after them or anything. But they come around when ever I need them or if I'm in danger...” Avoiding Sakura's confused expression, Naruto contented with rubbing the foxes' soft fur instead. Sakura was about to ask further questions when the calm Sasuke interrupted her again.

 

“Do you know where you are?” He asked, lifting one of his delicate eyebrows.

 

“Well, considering we're all alive, and Sakura had just mentioned the Chuunin Exam, I'd assume that we've reached the tower and are in one of its medical facilities, am I right?” Sasuke nodded in response so Naruto continued. “What I'd really want to know now is how long have I been out? How did we escape and come here? Did you guys tell them about Orochimaru? And are we still participating in the Exam or are we disqualified?”

 

Sasuke smirked as Sakura frowned; it seems to them that Naruto was back to normal. “You've been out for three days and three nights, your fever due to the infection on your back broke late last night. I really don't know how we escaped Orochimaru, I was pretty knocked out by then but Sakura said that something happened and we were transported somewhere else. We did tell Iruka-Sensei and the rest of the Chuunins here about Orochimaru, but it seems as if they've already known. And we are still participating in the Chuunin exam since Sakura and I managed to grab the Earth scroll while you were still out.”

 

Naruto acknowledged all the information given with a nod of his own. “So what's gonna happen now that the Hokage knows about Orochimaru, and what happened during the exam while I was out anyway? Seems like I missed a lot…” Naruto frowned slightly, since that basically implied that he had done almost nothing to help his teammates in this particular exam and was most probably a liability to them during their travels.

 

Sasuke shrugged indifferently. “From what we've heard, the Chuunin Exam goes as planned, but there will be Jounins and Anbu watching over everyone. As for what happened after you feel unconscious, well, me and Sakura carried you away from the scene, spent three hours moving and took another two hours to rest. Orochimaru caught up to us and I was knocked out, then…” Looking towards Sakura, she started off with the rest of the explanation.

 

“I really didn't know what was happening. Suddenly, this black barrier thingy surrounded you and you started disappearing into the darkness, then the same thing happened to Sasuke and me. When I finally opened my eyes, we were in a clearing somewhere else and there you were, exactly as you have been. I set some traps up and rested for the rest of the night, with your pets standing guard.” Sakura explained.

 

“It wasn't until the next day that we were attacked by Orochimaru's subordinates, the Sound Nin team challenged us while the two of you were still hurt. I held them off as much I could with the traps and weapons, but I wasn't strong enough to take on all three of them.” Sakura lowered her head slightly in shame.

 

“Then Lee-san came and rescued us. But he too, was out-numbered and got hurt because of it too. After that, Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru came to help, and even Lee-san's teammates appeared as well. But it was Sasuke-kun...” Here, Sakura sent her sparkling gaze at her long-time crush. “...defeated all of them and they immediately surrendered their scroll to us.”

 

“After that, we met up with Kabuto-san…” Sakura did not notice Naruto's eyes narrowed at the conversation so far. “…and he helped us carry you all the way here to the Tower and since then, we've been here ever since!” Finally noticing Naruto's slightly uneasy expression, Sakura quickly continued her explanation, trying to bring comfort to the injured boy. “It's not your fault, Naruto! You did the best you could, and if it wasn't for you fighting off Orochimaru in the first place, we would of never been able to escape!”

 

Naruto shook his head to indicate that that wasn't what was worrying him, but before he could open his mouth to ask, Sakura launched into another tirage of words. “Well, we weren't the first ones here of course. That sand team you mentioned before beat us, and Kiba's team was here earlier than us also. We came on the second day with Kabuto-san's team, Lee-san's team came the day after! Yesterday, it was the horrid Sound team that made it - it seems like they were able to beat two opponents and get both the Heaven and Earth scrolls. And finally, today, Ino's team also made it. This means that all of this year's Rookie Genin team made it into the Third round! Isn't that exciting!? I wonder what the last exam will be! The Hokage stated that everyone was to have a day's rest today before they start the next Exam tomorrow, so you don't have to worry about that now. However, I don't think you should participate, especially with your back and…”

 

“Sakura!” Naruto stated firmly, interrupted her. “I appreciate your concern and I'm sorry I worried you! However, I've already decided to go all the way through this Chuunin Exam! I will not quit until I reached the end, no matter what the consequences. I hope you understand that and don't ever make any decisions for me!” He reprimanded firmly, making Sakura bow her head lower in shame. Gazing at Sakura's dejected look, Naruto sighed. “I'm sorry! I'm just a bit cranky at the moment because I hurt!” The comment led to Sakura displaying a small smile on her face.

 

Naruto then turned his expression to Sasuke: “Is there anything else I should know about?”

 

Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched Sakura sent an anxious expression at Sasuke and he glared back at her hotly, denying whatever intention she had of speaking. Following Sakura's defeated posture after Sasuke's glare; it was Sasuke who answered the question. “Nothing... There's nothing else you should worry yourself with.”

 

/Sasuke's hiding something! He's probably hurt somewhere but is too proud to tell me and forced Sakura to help keep that secret. Damn that boy's pride!/ Wincing again as another sharp pain shot up his spine, reminding him that Kyuubi hadn't finished its healing process yet, Naruto just had to drop the subject for now. “Okay, I'm gonna take a nap now, so if anything comes up, then call me...”

 

He gave a large yawn and positioned himself carefully on the soft bed so to ease his backs pain (14) enough for him to fall into a comfortable sleep. He did not see both Sasuke and Sakura giving each other intended looks and they softly left the room, leaving behind one sleeping boy and two small foxes.

 

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(1) Inspired by stories like Covenant by bubblytoki. In my story, the Kyuubi and Naruto have a very strange `love-hate' relationship. The Kyuubi doesn't treat Naruto like a father would a son, like in Covenant; but he doesn't hate Naruto as much as the manga and anime's implications. In this story, they… sort of `care' for each other but they will never openly admit it. They've come to accept each other's existence and know that they are never alone because one lives in the other. Their emotions truly are `linked' - which is why it's easier for Naruto to accidentally access more of Kyuubi's powers when he is angry - hence the eyes turn red and slitted. They've agreed upon the `pack' after the Ellie's incidence and it helped build up Naruto's strength and trust in the Kyuubi, but Naruto had never really recovered from what he went through when he was nine and so, he is still hesitant in using the Kyuubi's powers.

 

(2) Uh… I made up this curse for Kyuubi. ^^;;; While other people say: “For the love of God!”, Kyuubi says: “Of all the Hell's flames!!” Stupid… I know… ~_~;;

 

(3) Referring to Mrs Tanuki.

 

(4) The name “Yuuki” has got NOTHING to do with the upcoming Naruto movie. They may use the same name but she is a different “Yuuki Hime”, an OC of this story and belonging to ME! ^_^

 

(5) I actually wanted to introduce her AFTER the prelims but since the story itself is screwing with my original plotline, I just gave in and let it do what ever it wants. So here it is, my other OC! Uh.. I'll be the first to admit that some of you will probably complain that she's too much of a `Mary Sue' in this story, but like Naruto, she has her reasons.

 

(6) The name of the other main OC! He appeared shortly in Chapter 8, remember?

 

(7) SECRET!!! Will be explained MUCH later in the story line! ^_^

 

(8) COMPLETE AU! Don't know if that is happening or not, but in this story, I'm assuming that it would.

 

(9) The names of the two foxes. The golden brown one is called Kibi, while the chocolate brown one is called Kirin. More about their stats will be presented later, just keep your attentions on them!

 

(10) SORRY!! It's very similar to Return of the Unforgettable! In this story, the Hidden Air village is the oldest Ninja village in the world and all the advance bloodline families DO come from that particular village (including the Hyugas, Uchihas, Inuzukas, Aburane, Naras, etc.) but I will explain later WHY they have all left the Hidden Air village. ^^;; Sorry, I just couldn't change it any other way! This is actually very important to the plot! MASSIVE apology to the author of Return of the Unforgettable.

 

(11) I believe this was an exact quote from the movie: Princess Mononoke! It just kinda fit the bill. ^^;;

 

(12) This may sound familiar because it was an exact quote taken from the Prologue. I'm trying to link all the different parts of this story together to form one coherent plot line so I have to always repeat this process of `introduce a theme' - `develop the plot' - `explain the past' - `redirect it to the original theme' etc. So please bare with me if it seems confusing.

 

(13) I must apologise for all Christian believers here! I did NOT mean to insult you or offend you by using this symbol of Christ, it was just a mean to represent the abstract idea that I wanted to portray. I give you all a sincere Apology for using it without consent but please don't hate this story because of it! O_o

 

(14) I know that people with back burns SHOULDN'T actually sleep on their backs, but for this story's sake, let's just say that Naruto's the exception! ^^;; Not to mention, even though Kyuubi has started the healing process almost three days ago, but since the injuries caused by the Tenkun no buki is so extensive, it takes some time. Also on another note, since Naruto is unconscious and also very unwilling to let Kyuubi help, Kyuubi can only send a small amount of Chakra to heal him at any one time, prolonging the healing process even more. Yes, Naruto is very stubborn about healing at the normal rate that most normal people do.