The Lost Clan

The Dreams

The full moon shines over the forest. Tall trees, common in this part of the Land of Fire, reach up from the mountains toward the sky. Smoke rises up from the forest as flames race across the trees, destroying all in their path. Coming up from the burning trees stands an enormous creature, a beast with deep red fur, rows of sharp teeth, and nine long whipping tails. Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Fox.

The beast roars and red chakra flies from its mouth, spreading the flames. A small flash of movement in the forest below catches it attention. Kyuubi leaps after it, crushing trees under its claws.

A woman, wearing a white kimono with the symbol of her clan woven on the back, runs frantically through the forest. Her long black hair tied into a bun on the back of her head. In her arms she carried a small bundle wrapped in white blankets. She looks back only for a second, and her blue eyes stare in horror as the fox closes.

She runs again, holding the bundle in one arm and using her other hand to focus her chakra. Her speed increases and she disappears into the trees, followed closely by Kyuubi.

She runs out of the trees, the white bundle in her arms now missing. As she comes to the middle of the small clearing, she turns to face the Nine-Tailed Fox. The great demon slowly walks out of the woods, coming to face her. A man, a ninja stands on the fox's head.

The woman holds out both hands and a spiraling sphere of chakra forms in her hands. "Rasengan!" She cries and jumps to attack the man on the fox's head. Just before she can hit her mark, the fox moves to attack, putting itself between her and the ninja. The woman's eyes become wide and the sphere of blue chakra dissipates. Kyuubi opens its mouth and the woman falls toward the rows of enormous teeth.

Naruto bolted out of bed, his pupils dilated and his face covered in cold sweat. He gasped for air and slowly whipped the sweat off his forehead. The silver light of the full moon shone in from his bedroom window. Naruto pulled off his sleeping cap and climbed out of bed to stand by the window. What time was it? Midnight? Maybe 1:00 am?

It was this dream again. The same one three nights in a row. And this wasn't the first time this had happened, each year at about this same time these dreams came to him. Always around October 7th. They begin just a few days before his birthday, and also just before the anniversary of the demon fox being sealed inside him.

"Why do I have these dreams?!" Naruto yelled. "I don't even recognize anyone in them. Except that damn fox." He opened the window slightly and let a cool breeze slip in.

Naruto sat back down on his bed and tried to sleep. But the disturbing thoughts of that woman trying desperately to attack the fox kept sleep from coming to him. Naruto raised one eyebrow as a thought came to him. The fox is in this dream, so why not ask it? Naruto sat up, closed his eyes, and entered the realm of the demon fox.

Naruto found himself in the dark concrete halls of his own mind. Water dripped slowly down from the ceiling. Naruto stood up and started to walk in the direction of Kyuubi's cage. The cage stood incredibly tall, made of steel with a seal placed over the opening, keeping it closed. "Hey! Damn fox! Get over here!" Naruto yelled.

The red eyes and grinning mouth full of teeth appeared. Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Fox. "What do you want now, little worm?" The fox asked, "here to beg for more chakra?"

"No, I'm here for answers. You live in my body so you know of the dreams I've been having."

"Do you want me to bring up that one dream you really liked about Sakura?" The fox chuckled. Its chuckling shook the room.

"NO! I'm talking about the one with you. You, the burning forest, the ninja, and the woman." Naruto growled at the fox.

"What do you want to know?" The fox asked, sounding annoyed.

"Who is the woman? How does she know the Ragesgan? What was she carrying?" Naruto asked.

"Maybe she's just someone you saw one day, and she know the technique because you do, have you thought about that?" The fox said.

"What about the ninja riding on your head? Why would you let anyone do that?" Naruto asked.

"I wouldn't!" The fox roared.

"Then why did you?" Naruto asked.

"It's your dream. I don't know anything about it. So QUIT ASKING ME!" Kyuubi roared.

Naruto shirked away and then walked back out of the room.

Kyuubi turned slowly and crept back into the darkness of his cage. It settled down and thought out loud. "I know more than I expose. I would tell you but that blasted seal of the 4th's stops me. You would be very surprised to know the truth, Uzumaki Naruto. But since I can't help you, you'll have to find the answer on your own."