Underneath the Underneath

By: FlameXFullmetal

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the characters used in this story. I do not make money off of the writing of this work of fanfiction and I do not want to be sued. You have been warned.

A/N: For those that have been with the story for a while thank you. It means a lot. As I promised I am NOT stopping the story. I have changed and moved things around to make the story flow better. This used to be a sub-chapter between two and three. Now it is the first chapter. I have edited the story to tone down some areas and to try and better explain others. For those that are new to the story welcome! I would like to point out if you intend to review please keep the language appropriate and please don't tell me to go kill myself. First for those that need an English lesson the definition of Bash according to the Merriam-webster dictionary. Thanks!

Bash (transitive verb): 1. To strike violently, also: to injure or damage by striking: smash or: 2. to attack physically or verbally.

As such character bashing exists in the manga and anime anytime someone lashes out at Naruto or any other character and insults them is therefore bashing. Therefore, I don't want to hear anyone complain about there being character bashing in the story that didn't exist in the anime or manga. The best example being the bashing that Sakura did before team seven met Kakashi and the bashing that Neji did to Hinata in the chunin exams.

"hello" people (bijuu in human form) speaking

'hello' people (bijuu in human form) thinking/coded hand signals

"HELLO" bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity yelling

"hello" bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity talking

'hello' bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity thinking

hello jutsu

*************Explanations****************************

To anyone else, this was a typical night with the festival running smoothly and the village moving around animatedly. However, for one boy it was the night that would change everything. He was running for his life. He never understood why the villagers hated him and why they tried to act like he didn't exist. He didn't understand why a small group would attack whenever this time of year came along. All he could think of was that the alcohol that they consumed made them hallucinate. He couldn't possibly be the Kyuubi like they always called him, could he? He knew that he wasn't supposed to leave his house that night but he had really wanted to see what all the lights were about. Tripping on a stone he quickly pulled himself to his feet and began running once again. If he could get back to his home he would be safe. Glancing up ahead he grinned slightly and darted into an alley that he knew had a loose board in the back fence. Granted he would have to go the long way around to his apartment but he would lose them.

"It escaped again!" The leader growled. It wasn't the first time that he had tried to corner the brat. However, he always managed to slip free. He had hoped to catch the demon and get revenge for his wife who had died when it attacked but it seemed he would have to wait again. He knew that many believed the brat to be an innocent human but he also knew of a select group that hated him just as much. The scars from their losses ran deep and the knowledge that the demon was still alive was an insult to the memory of all the ones that had died that day.

As the blonde slipped out on the other side of the fence he groaned as he noticed that he had cut his leg. It wasn't unusual but he also knew that it would slow him down in taijutsu and they had a test tomorrow. He slowly made his way through the overgrown grass and began to make his way back to his apartment. The orphanage hadn't wanted to take care of him so he had eventually gotten an apartment of his own. The Sandaime came by once a month with money for expenses but sometimes he wanted to scream that it wasn't enough. Trying to manage his money when he had no idea of how to cook or what food to buy often times made him buy things he didn't need or that would go bad in the refrigerator. So he often stuck to buying instant ramen. He knew that it wasn't good for him but it was the only thing that he knew how to make and cookbooks were just not possible with him having to buy new clothes every so often to replace the ones that got damaged and buy new school supplies all the time. He couldn't get the same gear that everyone else in his class could because he was living on a very strict budget so he had to sometimes make due with sub-par equipment.

While Naruto had taken this path many times before he had always done it during the day and he had always been able to see where he was going. So he had no idea that he had veered off course and was heading for a steep decline. He had been too caught up in his thoughts to notice that the fences had gotten so much further away. He knew he was in trouble however when his foot slipped out from under him and he went sliding down the incline before he flipped from crashing into a rock. Tumbling down now he felt a number of impacts that just felt more painful than they probably should be. He knew that he would not only have bruises but perhaps a broken bone or two as well. He didn't remember the rest of the trip however as his world went black around him. He did remember waking up in a sewer. How he got there he had no idea. It was then that Naruto heard someone speak to him. Looking around he passed it off as his imagination until it came again. This time it was more audible and Naruto felt himself growing angrier at the voice that dared mock him.

"Who's there?" he demanded. The voice laughed and let out a growl.

"DO NOT DEMAND MY NAME MORTAL. BUT IF YOU WISH TO KNOW THEN COME AND FIND ME IF YOU CAN." Shivering Naruto turned and began to head down the dark hallway attempting to find the source of the noise. Following the slight noises that he heard every now and again, he soon found himself in front of a huge cage with a tag bearing the kanji for 'seal' on it. Peering through the gate he gasped as he caught sight of the nine blood red tails swinging behind the massive fox in front of him.

"You…..You're the Kyuubi!" He gasped out.

"YOU ARE CORRECT FOOLISH MORTAL. NOW, WHAT DO I OWE THE PLEASURE OF THIS VISIT?"

"I found this place by accident?" Naruto said in a timid voice. Swaying he grabbed the wall to steady himself.

"YOU CAN'T EVEN STAY ON YOUR FEET? HOW PATHETIC."

"Well excuse me for falling down a really big hill!" He shouted petulantly.

"I WILL NOT ALLOW SUCH A PATHETIC VESSEL! YOU CAN'T EVEN STAND BECAUSE OF A LITTLE FALL? WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE SUCH AN UNDESERVING HOST?" The Kyuubi roared in anger. It couldn't believe the audacity of this mortal. The demon's last vessel wasn't that bad and the first had actually talked with him frequently. This vessel, however, he would not allow himself to remain in such a weak human like a common low-class demon. Glaring at the human he tried to weigh his options. He could not control the boy and he knew that manipulating him would be next to impossible. Shaking his head he smirked as a plan entered his mind. The boy was alone outside and had only the Hokage for support, so if he could gain his trust maybe the boy would let him out of his own free will. However, he would not make it easy.

Jolting awake in bed Naruto looked around and tried to remember how he had gotten back to his place. The last thing he remembered was meeting the fox. He had some inkling that the reason he was hated in the village had something to do with the fox. Despite not knowing everything he had been the only child born the night of the Kyuubi attack and the only one treated like an outcast. He had never expected to find the demon in his own body though. That had cleared up a lot. Closing his eyes he slipped into the meditative position that the Hokage had taught him a few days earlier and after many failed attempts managed to find his way back to the fox's cage.

"Kyuubi? Can we talk?" he called out in front of the cage.

"WHAT WOULD WE HAVE TO DISCUSS AFTER LAST NIGHT?" the demon roared. Flinching at the harsh tone, the boy lowered his head and gave a slight bow.

"I'm sorry? I didn't know that you were here and I guess that I could have done more not to insult you by falling behind everyone else in my class. I promise that I will try harder." He whispered to the demon in front of him. Freezing the ancient demon glared at the youth before him.

"DID YOU JUST APOLOGIZE?" the fox couldn't believe his ears. A human had just apologized to him for being, well human. Nodding Naruto dared not lift his head for fear that the fox would not forgive him. Then he heard the sound of laughter.

"VERY WELL. I ACCEPT. YOU ARE THE FIRST HUMAN THAT HAS EVER APOLOGIZED TO ME. THEREFORE, I WILL ALLOW ONE QUESTION TO BE ASKED BY YOU THAT I WILL ANSWER WITH ALL HONESTY. THINK CAREFULLY FOR THIS WILL BE THE LAST TIME THAT I OFFER THIS." Naruto raised his head and then tilted it in confusion before nodding to himself.

"Ok then, why did you attack Konoha?" the question took Kyuubi by surprise.

"IT IS A LONG STORY AND I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY QUESTIONS OR INTERRUPTIONS. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Nodding Naruto sat down and began listening to the Kyuubi's words. It was that explanation that began the foxes' plan. However, not even the fox could predict just how unpredictable the blonde truly was. Then one day Naruto asked the question that would change him forever.

"Kyuubi, I was wondering since you do not want a weak vessel and I am obviously not getting the training that I need at the academy and am still falling behind my classmates, will you train me." The silence that followed was almost unbearable. Kyuubi had found himself enjoying the human's company as he was interested in learning as much as he could. However, to train the human was another story.

"ON ONE CONDITION. YOU MUST AGREE TO FIND A WAY TO RELEASE ME FROM THIS INFERNAL SEAL." The demon negotiated. After thinking it over Naruto nodded and smiled at the demon enthusiastically. They agreed that they would start his training from the very beginning and the fox quickly noticed several problems with his existing education. He decided that he would put up with the human for as long as he could until the day he would be released once again. At the very least his vessel would be able to stand up to the other jinchuriki and he would retain his status as the strongest. Despite that, he vowed to be very harsh with the boy. He may be biding his time but that did not mean that he was going to accept the human child as his equal. He was only doing this for the freedom that came from the deal.

************************T.B.C*********************

A/N: I usually don't write chapters this short however as this is not the main part of the story and merely opening the stage for future events I thought that I should make it short and sweet. I hope that it is better than it's original. Hopefully, I have cleared many of the grammar and spelling mistakes as well. Ja ne!