A/N: Okay, I know I really, really shouldn't be doing this, that I should be writing Insanity Reigns and The Unlikely. Don't worry, I'm not abandoning those stories – far from it – in fact, I've even written some of the next chapters. But I don't know – I guess I needed a break. This is what a one-shot does for me, as well as letting me release some of my strange plots. And this isn't even the only thing I've been writing – I've been writing a Doctor Who/ Harry Potter crossover, that's actually pretty neat, but won't be up for a while, yet – at least not until after I update my other stories.

I warn you, this is a pretty intense Naruto/LoZ crossover – have I mentioned that I've taken such a liking to xovers? – And not for the weak minded. It's pretty darn confusing, even to me, but I love it that way. Hopefully, this will broaden the horizon of Naruto/LoZ crossovers. If anyone knows any good ones, pm me!

So, here's part one of a short story (although too large to really fit into one chapter), and I hope you enjoy it and bear with me. I'd love any and all feedback – it's slightly experimental, parts of this chapter, and I'd like to know what worked for you, and what didn't.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Legend of Zelda. But the uppage fuckage is all mine!

Whispers in the Mind

Part One

"I fight for my precious people."

That was what Haku had said. It was his reason to get up, and to keep on fighting. It was what he had thought, said, done, everything about him before he…

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, turning over in his bed, hands clenched, knuckles white. No! He couldn't think of it! Shouldn't remember the way Haku had fallen limply to the ground, eyes lifeless and staring, a gaping wound, raw and red and bloody – so much blood – head lolling to the side, chest in a frightful stillness – NO!

His eyes were starting to get wet. Roughly, he rubbed his fist against his eyes, stemming the flow of tears with a wavering will.

Why oh why did Haku have to die?

Because he couldn't help Haku. He was weak. Useless. A complete failure – he knew it! Didn't need Sasuke-bastard to repeat it every hour, every day, to use it as a bloody greeting. That's not what friends did; they were supposed to help you up when you fell, cheer you up when you were down, and help you out when you were stuck. Not like Naruto had ever had anyone to do any of those things – it was why he stunk at anything more that what involved using force of will and strength.

So why did he keep on fighting? What was his reason to go on? Power? Acknowledgement? None of those things really mattered…

A promise? A person?

A flash, of a forgotten girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. Always blurry, never seen but always there, in the back of his mind. The same girl he'd seen, dozens upon dozens of times, always unexpectedly and never clear.

Naruto felt like he would do anything for her – and he didn't even know her name, or if she existed! He laughed, a deep chuckle that was anything but humorous. Maybe he was going mad. Perhaps it was all a part of the Kyuubi's twisted power? Who knew?

The sun began to peak through the blinds, the golden rays full of whispers of a new day.

Another day, of people staring hatefully at him, and surrounded by people who didn't like him, and all with loud, happy chattering on his part. Naruto wished he didn't have to talk – wanted to stay silent, unnoticed, and stay an outcast out of their way. However, the Hokage had people following – did the old man really think he wouldn't eventually notice the ANBU trailing him? – but if he stopped talking and laughing, they would start to think something was wrong, and he hated worrying the man who had become like a grandfather to him.

So he would stick it out behind his happy mask. And train. Definitely do lots and lots of training.

oOoOo

Fire, raging along the castle walls, casting shadows that danced along the field. A dark, cloudy night, illuminated by the destruction before him.

Hooves impacting against the wooden drawbridge, as the black horse, laden down with demonic armour, a frightening sight – but not nearly as terrifying as the man that rode the beast.

Heavy set, with a large nose, a sharply cut jewel crowning a head of crimson hair on sallow, dark skin, and inhuman red eyes. His mouth was twisted in a frown as he looked down at Naruto with utmost contempt.

"Where is it, boy?"

What? What's he talking about?

"Where's the Ocarina? I know you have it. SHE gave it to you. GIVE IT TO ME! TELL ME WHERE SHE WENT!"

Ocarina?

Feeling without control of his body, Naruto reached behind and brought out a sword – Where'd he get that? – And levelled it at the man, fierce determination tensing his whole body.

The man laughed cruelly and raised his own blade, swinging it down, throwing Naruto against the ground with a cry as air escaped his lungs –

- And he lunged forward, gasping, hand grasping the sheets that pooled around him. What was that? A Dream? A nightmare? Not, it was too real – too focused and clear. Was he really going mad, seeing things that hadn't happened and weren't there?

He looked down at his hands –something was missing, should be there, a shape, glowing and omnipresent- clenched them, and looked away, out of the window. It was still the same old Konoha, bathed in the fiery glow of the rising sun. Another day gone, another night of nightmares and daymares and things that lurked in the back of his mind, in the pit of his stomach, growling something fierce out of bloodlust and want.

But what? What did they – it – want? Was it him? Something inside? His mind flashed briefly to the Kyuubi – and dismissed it, just as quickly. No, it wasn't that. It didn't feel as… demonic. It felt ancient, powerful, and yet ever so familiar.

A rooster crowed –blue and clucking as a balding man grunted as he finally woke- reminding him that he hadn't dreamt up the morning, and that he did, in fact, have somewhere to be very soon, even if his good for nothing lazy arse teacher wouldn't show until much, much later.

oOoOoOo

He arrived before his teammates for a change, having not slept much the night before, and settled himself against a tree, lounging under its shade. Sasuke showed up – "Oi, Teme!" – with a grunt and a curse, shortly followed by Sakura, hot on his heels. "-Chaaaan!"

After settling down, none of them spoke, comfortable to simply sit there in silence. Sasuke sulked (or skulked), Sakura peeked looks and giggles at the dark haired youth, and Naruto stared off into space, trying to organise his mind. Was he dangerous, like this? Unstable? These strange, memory-like accounts popped up randomly, whenever he was reminded of something – although he didn't know quite yet what it was, or why he would even be reminded of something he'd never even seen before. It wasn't such a worry, except they seemed to be happening with greater frequency now.

That wasn't the only startling thing; he'd find himself, sometimes, doing odd little things that came almost naturally, yet hadn't been done before. Waking up, for instance – he'd done it so silently and still, like a battle-hardened shinobi. But hadn't he been snoring not long ago?

Cooking, for one. It wasn't that he'd gone off ramen – far from it – but he'd started to develop some sort of appreciation for vegetables and fruits, even anticipating the taste of a peach the other day – but how could that be? He hadn't eaten one before. Had he?

Suddenly, there was a poof of smoke –with a flash as he left, once more, just a shadow on the wind, with blonde- white hair sticking up, and a worn green vest covering a slim, well-toned frame.

"Yo, Kids," "Greetings, Hero,"

"I think you guys are ready for something special! I've got –lero of fire, will transport- forms for you guys, for –fire temple- the Chunin exams."

It was a bit disjointed, on its way in one ear and out the other, but Naruto caught the gist of it. "What? Are you serious? The Chunin exams? Awesome!" He was quite proud that he let none of his confusion show on his face.

Sasuke "hnn'd" and Sakura look nervous.

The rest of the meeting passed in a blur, leaving Naruto looking down at the forms in his hand, wondering if he should really take part in the exams next week. He didn't feel scared, as usual. But he did have to wonder – what would happen? He'd heard of them before, of course. It was a vital part of the shinobi lifestyle, and he would eventually have to pass one if he ever wanted to become Hokage –

His musings were broken by a sharp cry, that he recognised as belonging to Konohamaru. He sped up, and was soon met with the sight of a towering teen, holding onto his friend. Apparently, Konohamaru must have done something to upset him, and the girl next to him.

As he approached, he felt something about them, not much – the build of the boy, stocky and looking like the figure in his nightmares –

He moved, shouting, still a bit dazed but determined not to let them pass. They felt familiar, but trespassers, at the same time. They didn't belong in a forest.

Then a boy appeared, dressed in the clothing of thief's and warriors, ruby red hair –tied tight and high, long and flowing, ensnaring the grains of sand as they fought, desperately- and he just smelt of sand and dessert and blood – and another scent, beneath all that, of sharp demonic fury-

They stared, locked eyes and knew each other – recognised an equal at some sort of base level-

And a rock was thrown, the arrogant Uchiha strolling in like he owned the place, asserting his authority. How dare he interrupt? This wasn't his problem – but of red and fur and ten-story monsters – even the foreigners had the sense not to interfere –

But then that intense, chilling moment was over, the redhead drawing Sasuke away with fake promises of gore and victorious battles. With one last parting look, the sand-thief trio left, and his teammate, satisfied for now, went shortly after.

Naruto left then, too, thinking that maybe he would take the exams this time, if only to get another look at the thief. There was no way he would let them in his territory without him being there every step of the way to stop them if something happened.

But they were of the dessert, and whilst not wrong definitely not nice, so something was bound to happen, anyway.

oOoOoOo

The room was filled, over stuffed – warmed by the bodies of so many Chunin hopefuls. Naruto looked around, at all the terrifying shinobi, waiting for even the slightest feel of unease, which never came.

Sakura was there, behind him, suddenly screeching – and a sound like tinkling bells followed, and as Naruto turned, wide eyed, he saw –

-Long, flowing golden hair, dressed in purple and pink, his princess, his reason-

Ino, standing there and fluttering her eyelashes innocently at her pink-haired friend. Crystal clear blue eyes –clouded by love, hate, magic and knowledge, so much knowledge- that turned to him, freezing the world, for just a moment. Then she tore her eyes away. But Naruto could tell – something had shaken her, too. Could she recognise him – like he saw the woman of his dreams in her?

The were approached by a grey-haired older boy, who showed them the most fascinating cards – before being blown away by Genin dressed in grey wielding nothing but air – and sound – so powerful it was, calling to him – he could use sound too, couldn't he? And wind – magic –

A loud, booming voice echoed over them as a scarred man scowled his way into the room, ordering them to back off, and directing them into the next room, where the exam began. Naruto was handed a paper – really, a written exam? It had been a part of the academy, but what use could written skills be, in the battlefield?

They where told the rules – Naruto waiting to be scared by the chilling words, but coming back feeling lacking once more – and the test began. Heads bowed and pencils scribbled furiously.

He looked down at the first question, about angles and geometry and weapons – the words and numbers jumbled together, numbing his mind –

Before he stared a bit closer, and realized it was a weapon. His mind singed, and immediately, he knew – the mechanics of it coming to him from deep within his bones. And he also knew, that even though he'd never touched this weapon before in his life, and was only looking at a mathematical rendition, that he'd be able to wield it precisely if he ever came across it.

The test was over, and the scarred man started spouting off rules that he'd never heard of before – to fail? No, that couldn't happen! What the proctor was doing was unjust, and he wouldn't stand for it.

And then, after he'd ranted, inspired the rest into continuing –you're good for the troops, they feel your courage- there was a theatrical bang and a violet lady sprang into the room, all legs and vicious smirks.

And just like that, he'd passed the first stage of the Chunin exam.

oOoOoOo

The three of them, Team Seven, ran into the deadly looking forest filled with -skullkids and skull this and that and traps and twists and turns- other, competing shinobi, that somewhere out there had the scroll they needed to pass.

There where a few skirmishes, brushing aside the smaller beasts and running from the larger ones, until one moment he was relieving himself and the next he was being attacked by a giant –dragon, beast, body of water, a moon with a leer so fierce- Snake with equally big fangs, dripping with murky saliva. It lunged, and before he knew it he was down its slick throat, being squeezed from all sides as acids and kami knows what else almost drowned him as he bathed in its belly.

He couldn't think – had to move, or he would die – and lashed his hand out as far as it would go, a scorching fire of more than just chakra welling up and out of him and lashing out in a wide, burning circle, frying the serpent from the inside out as the heat was too much and it broke apart, sizzling.

With a great heave, he lifted himself up, and knew something was terribly, terribly wrong. The scent of power-lust was in the air, and heavy in the direction of his teammates.

Without a second thought he sped towards them – who knew how long he'd been gone, it was all a blur – and emerged in a clearing to shout at that stupid, stuck up Sasuke and get his ass in gear, because that mutilation of a human being, porcelain white skin and gold, hungry eyes was ready to attack and far too powerful for just him alone.

So they attacked – Naruto reaching for a sword that wasn't there – but were brutally beaten back. He became angry, retched with hate at the sight of an insane, immortal and power seeking man, beating him down – no! He would never let that happen, ever again!

- And a deep, rumbling chuckle spread from the bottom of his stomach, flaring with violent chakra and wisps of malevolent being. His brain, addled by the demon's fire, went into a frenzy of feral instincts as he once again battled a snake, this one bigger than the last –

Only for the snake-man to come up from behind him, surprise him, and lunge his open palm into his stomach and stop the demonic flow of energy – clearing his mind so quickly it overturned, unlocked treasures spilling forth as he fell down into the air and the darkness –

- And woke up hours later, with a grating headache and knowing exactly who and what he used to be.

He was in pain, and Konoha Genin were battered around him and Sasuke-teme looked ready to kill, or perhaps he just had – but all he could think about was how strange it felt to have more than one name, and how dizzy he was from merging his past minds for the first time.

oOoOoOo

He was in no shape to help as much as he could have on the journey back, and kept quiet about his change, even as they trudged past a trio of illusionist shinobi and up the steps into the tower, where they were greeted by Iruka, who congratulated them all for passing.

They were led into a chamber where a dozen or so shinobi stood in line, of different nations, those gathered having also completed this stage. They joined the throng, The Hokage rattling off the true meaning of the Chunin exams, and Sakura and Sasuke whispering harshly at each other.

A sickly man stepped forth, a sword slung over his back – and oh how he missed his own, his several, in fact – and coughed and spoke and ordered them to do battle again, right here.

It wasn't long before it was his turn to fight, against Kiba, no less. The enthusiastic dog-boy, pumped and ready for action.

Kiba grinned wolfishly, tossing teases and insults into the air, as Naruto didn't respond, not feeling up to chatting after the events that still caused him to feel dizzy with confusion as his mind sorted itself out.

Then they started the fight, blood rushing as they leapt at each other. Kiba may have been good, but Naruto – Link, was it? Wasn't the hero of time and so many other things for nothing, and not without a more than healthy amount of experience. So he ducked an dodged each and every attack, pinched a nerve cluster on the little dog, leaving it to lie unconscious as he and his master resumed battle – but not for much longer, As NarutoLink took stock of his provisions, duplicating himself and then transforming his copy into a copy of his beloved master sword, which although not the real thing felt blissful in his grip as he swung it, smacking Kiba unconscious with the flat of the blade.

There was silence for a moment, before Naruto grinned in victory, sword poofing out of existing in a cloud of smoke as he casually left the arena. Passing by the shinobi still waiting to fight, he saw the thief – locked eyes with the red-head – and a word, followed by a demons' growl made its way into his mind.

"Tanuki,"

Uconciously, it bubbled over his lips and into the air, a whisper as it tickled the ears of the intended.

Gaara – for that was is name – froze, before his aquamarine eyes lit with a blood-thirsty glee as they stared into his.

"Kitsune," was his muttered reply.

oOoOoOo

In the evening after, Ino waited for him, by a tree stump that he wandered by. They locked eyes, and walked forward to sit next to her in silence as they looked up at the blooming sky.

They studied each other in silence, before Ino – ever the more talkative one – took the initiative.

"Link?"

It was just one word – that he hadn't heard in a long, long time, the source of which he was unable to truly believe was really before him.

"Zelda?"

But why not? If he was here, now, then why couldn't she? She had, before, and every time before that.

It was still awkward, but the hug they shared was full of longing, pain and hope. A lot of disbelief was in there, too.

"Link…?" She said again, still unable to truly believe her words. But it didn't matter, because they were together again, even if he now had whiskers (and as he shortly told her, a demon in his stomach) and her eyes clear. They were still the same, and that was all that mattered, really.

oOoOoOo

They had a month until the final stage of the exams – they both did, having passed the preliminary rounds. As Ino had mentioned, there was no way, split personality or not, that Sakura could ever overpower the sheer mental force the triforce of knowledge had given her and developed.

Ino went away to train in her magic, to learn all that she could – and she was good at that, being who she was. Naruto had no doubt that she would go above and beyond his expectations.

He, however, would be leaving Konoha. Only for a month, mind you. After meeting a hermit and getting a lesson in summoning, He found he needed to get out and find his weapons, wherever they were, and see how the world had changed, leaving a clone behind to cover for his absence.

Drifting his eyes closed, he hummed – vibrations thrumming through his being – as the notes washed over him, empowered by his magic and extra boost of chakra – it was harder to do without a tool to guide him-

And then he was gone, in a whisper of green lights that faded into the wind.

A/N: Still with me? If you are, expect Part Two to be up next Friday!