A/N: Hey guys, I started yet another story, sorry. I'm sorry for not posting as often as I used to, but I've been really busy with my school work, what with 8 more weeks until I'm done. But I'll try to get better and post more often.

Chapter 1

"Stupid Mizuki-sensei. Stupid village. Stupid me." Naruto mumbled under his breath as he ran through the trees, a large scroll strapped across his back. He was currently on the run from the traitorous Chunin who was once his teacher. Turns out he only wanted to use Naruto and kill him, framing him for stealing the Forbidden Scroll, which he planned to take from Naruto.

"Why did I believe him, I mean no one likes me, why would he, I should've seen the signs that something was up, but I was so desperate for attention that I just went with it." Naruto berated himself as he stopped, breathing heavily as he looked around.

"Well, at least I can see what it is I'm going to end up dying for. Last request and all that, right Kurama?" Naruto said, and heard a grumble of assent from inside his mind. That was another thing, ever since he could remember; he had contact with the fuzz ball inside his mindscape. It was strange hearing everyone putting the guy down, when he actually wasn't to blame for the attack.

"Okay let's see what we have here. Shadow Clone jutsu, no Kurama already promised to teach that one to me when I get older. Uhmm, 'How to Release your Soul Blade', nope, I prefer my soul inside me thanks. How about… this one, it's a Summoning seal. It says, Pan's Shadow. Let's see what the description says." Naruto whispered as he unrolled more of the scroll, reading the description for the summoning seal.

"Okay, it says that Pan's Shadow comes to rescue lost orphans and give them a home, that actually sounds really cool and useful, huh Kurama?" Naruto asked, smiling as he pictured his best friend smiling, although it still creeped him out to see a giant demon fox grinning.

"Okay, you know how to use summoning seals, right Kurama? Just tell me what to do, and we can get on our way." Naruto said, setting the scroll down on the ground so that the seal was laid out flat.

"Just apply some blood to the seal, then apply some chakra, and it should work. But be careful, we don't know what's going to come through that seal, silly boy. You did just get mad at yourself for being gullible, and what are you doing now, taking something at face value." Kurama rumbled from inside of him, pacing around in his cage. Naruto had offered to let him out, or to change his mindscape, but the fox said that the cage was okay for now, but he'd teach Naruto how to alter his mindscape later in his life.

"True, but I suppose that's what I have you for." Naruto said, biting his thumb as he rubbed the blood on the seal, pushing some of his chakra into the seal as per Kurama's instructions. Naruto felt a smile creep across his face as the kanji of the seal began to crawl. However, Naruto rolled to the side as a giant shurikan almost took off his head.

Whirling around, he came face to face with Mizuki, who was grinning menacingly from a tree branch. The Chunin grinned as he leapt at Naruto, swinging at him as he reached for the scroll which was glowing.

However, Naruto kicked him in the leg, knocking him down as he ran to the scroll, only for Mizuki to throw several kunai at him, which he was forced to dodge by rolling to the side. He tried to climb to his feet, only for Mizuki to tackle him, pushing him up against a tree as he tried to plunge a kunai into his neck.

Naruto grabbed his wrist, trying to hold the weapon away from his neck as he struggled to overpower the older male, who used his other hand to put more weight on the kunai as it inched closer to Naruto's neck, and subsequent death.

He felt the tip prick his neck, when a large shadow appeared over his shoulder, a gruesome smile splitting the shadow's pitch black face. Naruto gulped as he gave one more push, moving the kunai slightly to the side as it sunk into the wood, nicking his neck as he hissed in pain, immediately grabbing the wound to hold the lifeblood inside.

He saw the shadow reach down, grabbing Mizuki's shadow before pulling it free, the shadow making a ripping sound like paper tearing as Mizuki's face went blank, and his body went limp as it fell against Naruto, who shoved the man off of him, turning to the shadow which grinned at him.

"Who are you? What do you want? If you're going to kill me, just get it over with!" Naruto demanded, refusing to beg for his life, as the shadow continued grinning; turning back to the scroll as understanding dawned on Naruto.

"You're Pan's Shadow? But who's Pan?" Naruto asked, the shadow tilting his head as Naruto groaned, holding his neck as the skin restitched itself, a single rivulet of crimson blood running down his finger as he licked at it, shivering at the metallic taste of blood.

"Do you understand what I'm asking? Of course you do, you gestured to the scroll when I asked where you came from. Let's try something else, it says that you'll rescue orphans and give them a home, is that true?" Naruto asked, the shadow smiling a minute bit larger as it nodded furiously n the affirmative.

"Okay, I'm an orphan; can you take me to a home?" Naruto asked, refusing to let the seed of hope inside of him blossom just yet. The shadow gave one more nod, and Naruto sighed in relief as the shadow grabbed him suddenly, dragging him into the scroll as it rerolled itself behind them, leaving the forest empty.

Meanwhile, Naruto was screaming and trying in vain to free himself from the shadow's vice like grip as it carried him through the air, clouds covering his face as it looked over the scenery below him.

A large midnight blue ocean sprawled beneath him, a lone island the only sign of life within the hundred or so miles Naruto could see. What's more, that island seemed to be his destination as the shadow continued crawling across the sky as they neared the island. Below, leaping through the waves, Naruto saw sea life that he never expected to see outside of a schoolbook.

Dolphins, overly large whales, even a large creature with eight limbs that Kurama said was an octopus, although he didn't have anything to say about the equally large women who seemed to sprout from the head of the octopus. It filled Naruto with a sense of wonderment, that he realized was probably normal for a child not training to be a covert assassin.

While getting lost in the scene below him, he didn't realize that the shadow was slowly descending toward the island, circling it like a bird bringing prey back to its nest, until it dropped him, his body plummeting to the ground, crashing through several trees, the limbs giving way underneath him as he met the ground, a large dust cloud being kicked up from the impact.

"Ughh, when I find that frickin' shadow, I'm going to kill it, maybe with a nice fire." Naruto groaned as he rolled over, staring into the air as he could see his path to the ground, broken limbs accompanying the path as he gave another groan as he felt his body fixing itself.

"Remind me again why you can't do this more covertly, I mean I know it's going to heal, do I have to feel to fixing itself?" Naruto asked his mental companion, who gave a low chuckle, which could've passed for a growl to people that weren't familiar with the multi-story demon fox.

"I'll explain to you one day, maybe when you're older, like 18 older." Kurama assured the blonde, who gave a return chuckle which sounds to the average ear much like a growling animal. Rolling back over to push himself to his feet, his vision went white as he leaned on the tree as the blood settled, only for a young boy to suddenly appear from behind a tree.

"Oh, I thought I heard someone out here. I probably wouldn't have found you otherwise." The boy said, and Naruto could swear the boy's shadow grinning at him, only when he blinked, the grin was gone, replaced with a normal shadow.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" The boy continued on, ignoring Naruto's obvious distracted expression. Luckily, Naruto was used to hearing things without really paying attention. He looked into the boy's face, noting that he looked a few years older than Naruto, maybe 17 or so.

"I know you're going to think I'm crazy, but a deranged shadow dropped me from the air, luckily the ground broke my fall, along with the tree branches. As for who I am, it proper to introduce yourself first, I believe, unless that's different wherever I am now." Naruto said off-handedly, looking around him at the surrounding wildlife.

"Hey, he's not deranged, he's just misunderstood. Anyways, I don't think you're crazy, just a little shaken up from your landing on Neverland Island." The boy said; gesturing around himself, as Naruto looked at him skeptically.

"Yep, I definitely hit my head on the way down. Anyways, I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're Pan, in which case, I'm Naruto. I was told you can find me a home, was that true?" Naruto said, Kurama commenting on how blunt he was being.

"Huh, been a while since someone came here voluntarily. Anyways, I am Pan, and I can find you a home, I find all children home's, I rescue them from undeserving parents, and bring them here to my island, where they can live happily ever after. Would you like that Naruto, would you like to join me, and live here on Neverland with me?" Pan answered, extending his hand as Naruto looked at it warily. Sure he wanted to find a home, but he'd lived 12 long years and learned that nothing is given away for nothing, that was just the way the world works.

Still, it wasn't like going back to Konoha had much appeal, all he had there was a few possessions which could be replaced. He had Jiji, but I had his suspicions about the Hokage, like he had learned, something for nothing didn't work. He had once upon a time pictured himself with Sakura-chan, no just Sakura now, but weeks of discussing the subject with Kurama had turned him away from the idea. His only real thing he needed was Kurama, and he couldn't go anywhere without the fur ball. At least his situation made a degree of sense, Kurama couldn't leave, so he made friends with his jailor, Kurama got companionship, as did Naruto.

"I suppose I don't have much choice, I doubt you'd let me leave, especially considering it took a magical shadow to get me here, that's probably the only way off this island, right?" Naruto said, Pan smiling as if they shared a secret. "Yeah, I'll join you; I suppose it beats living on my own out here, who knows, maybe I can learn about this new place." Naruto said, grabbing Pan's hand as their hands glowed, and Pan's grin was shadowed by the glow, making it appear sinister.

"Great, considering I don't really have anyone else around here, you'll be my second-in-command, so I suppose you should know what you're getting into." Pan said, turning as he began walking into the jungle, carrying on speaking as he walked.

"No one ever ages in Neverland, so get used to how old you are, well I suppose mentally you'll age, but your body won't. You serve me now, so you won't be able to go directly against my orders, got it? One last thing, you can't tell anyone about this place, unless you're on the island. Got it, Naruto?" Pan said, pushing some brush aside as they entered a camp. "Now then, how about we get busy getting some more kids here?" Pan asked, although Naruto could tell it wasn't actually a question, but an order to get busy.