A/N
I know I shouldn't probably be starting a new story when I already have bunch of them to update, but I'm still doing it. And don't even feel sorry about that.

Betaread by DemonicWhispers

Falling In Reverse

A wave of explosion from where jutsu had clashed hit Naruto full force and he was thrown across the field, landing hard on the ground in a cloud of dust.

He was tired.

Naruto coughed. A sharp pain jabbed at his chest and side, a bitter irony taste irritating his taste buds. He tried to lick the blood from his lips, but his tongue felt like it was glued in his mouth.

He was so, so tired.

The blond Jinchuuriki heaved his broken body from the ground, ignoring strained muscles and the red liquid dripping from his numerous wounds. With some struggle, he stood up, planting his feet deep into the blood-drenched soil for much needed support, and straightened up.

He was tired, but he would not die groveling in the dirt.

Naruto choked out a chuckle, imagining the expression of those two pompous Uchihas that they would make seeing him stand up again and again and again. Because even if he would die, he refused to die as their enemy had dictated. He would choose his own way, clawing at it with his teeth and nails, as always.

Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze never gave up, even if he was completely exhausted.

Kurama was roaring in the back of his mind, and though the young man could hear him, the meaning of his words eluded him at the moment. There was constant ringing in Naruto's ears and uncomfortable pressure to the side of his skull that just wouldn't go away. He brushed the wet strands of blond hair off his face and grimaced at the blood on his hand.

Sweeping over the chaotic battlefield with his eyes, Naruto felt strangely detached from all of that. His chakra reserves were completely empty and he couldn't draw more from the Kyuubi if he didn't want to kill his friend or, more likely, both of them. He was beyond saving without Kurama's healing. Tsunade-baa-chan and Sakura were already gone.

Blue eyes snapped up as a colossal shadow fell over him. Juubi was staring down at him, its enormous red orb glowing menacingly even in the daylight. Obito Uchiha appeared on one of the beast's shoulders while reanimated Madara stood on another.

A small smirk tugged the edges of Naruto's lips. Both Uchihas sneered at his obvious mocking gesture, and all hell broke loose in the next minute.

A huge black ball of energy started to form in front of the open mouth of Juubi.

A ribcage of Susanoo suddenly flickered into existence around Naruto. "Silly Sasuke…" he wheezed out, unable to stop the tender smile.

They had reunited just a few days ago after a year being apart, without knowing that they both survived the primary battle and went into hiding after it. Sasuke together with his reanimated brother, and Naruto with Kakashi and the three reanimated Hokages, excluding the Sandaime who sacrificed himself so that the others could escape.

Obito ran his fingers through series of seals, but before he could finish, another Susanoo flung him from the Juubi's shoulder.

Naruto swayed, yet kept standing fueled by the pure willpower alone. He briefly glanced to the side, catching sight of bleeding Kakashi on the ground not far from him, the silver-haired man's Mangekyou Sharingan spinning wildly as he used his last strength in a vain attempt to protect his blond student.

The latter's smile grew a bit wider.

Itachi's Susanoo slowly dissipated into nothingness. After a moment, Obito returned to his previous spot, his own Mangekyou Sharingan and Rinnegan flaring to life.

A water shield, courtesy of the Nidaime, enveloped the area where Naruto was standing in the middle of Sasuke's barely formed Susanoo, the young Uchiha clearly pushing his last drops of chakra into it, just as the Juubi roared, sending its bijuudama forward.

"Naruto!"

The young Jinchuuriki winced as a shout, thick with despair and fear, reached his ears, overpowering the ringing. A sudden displacement of air, a flash of yellow hair and a white coat, and his father was in front of him, his bright cerulean irises surrounded by a black sclera brimming with concern.

Thin, gentle tendrils of red chakra uncurled from within Naruto's stomach and spread along his chakra paths as a sign of Kurama's unconditional support for the last time and also a goodbye for his first true friend.

Naruto couldn't help it. A peaceful, genuine grin, absolutely unfitting in this imminent death situation, brightened his features. He knew that he was extremely selfish by being happy when everyone spent their last slivers of chakra protecting him instead of fleeing; however, he allowed himself this last pleasure of selfish emotions.

Minato's eyes softened as he instantly understood the implication of his son's smile. There was no way to win this anymore, and they all knew it. Naruto accepted the death, but that didn't mean that he had given up. To wholeheartedly embrace the upcoming demise was the bravest thing a shinobi – no, a mortal man – could ever do.

Just before the black bomb of concentrated Juubi's chakra collided with them, the Yondaime hugged the younger man tightly, wishing not for the first time that he could feel the warmth of another person again and give it back in return. Having this reanimated body was a blessing and a curse at the same time.

The moment the world around collapsed, the last words Naruto had heard were just above a whisper, but for him, they had echoed throughout his whole being.

"I'm proud of you, my son."

…He was falling, Naruto realized with a start, and he was doing that for quite a while now.

Just how long could it be until he reached the ground? It couldn't have been so darn far away.

Naruto tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids were so unbelievable heavy that they'd refused to budge. He tried to move his arms, or legs, or anything. Nothing worked.

He couldn't get in touch with Kurama either. The lingering sensation of the old fox's presence at the edge of his psyche he was so used to, felt… cold. That sent ripples of panic throughout his mind. Not that Naruto could do anything with his body completely immobile.

And he was still falling.

Now that the blonde thought about it, he couldn't hear anything. He should have been able to hear at least the wind rushing past his ears, but he was surrounded by a deadly silence. It made Naruto uneasy.

And then in an instant, the stillness around him shattered. He cried out as suddenly an extreme pain coursed through his every cell. His ears and nose were assaulted by various senses, completely overwhelming his frazzled mind.

Naruto finally could feel the wind on his skin just before he crashed into the ground and his world exploded into devastating agony.

As soon as he emerged from the safe haven of unconsciousness into some semblance of awareness, the young Jinchuuriki felt a familiar tug to switch, and he let himself be pulled down into the seal.

"Brat."

Naruto eyes shot open, sky blue gaze immediately zeroing on the huge form of the nine-tailed fox lying right in front of him with his head resting on his front paws. The Kyuubi observed him, his crimson eyes half-lidded and a small grin playing on his lips.

"Kurama!" Naruto exclaimed happily, relief washing over him. With a few wide strides, he crossed the distance between them and jumped on the fox's muzzle, burying his face into the soft fur and squeezing it like his life depended on it. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

Kurama huffed in a mild annoyance, but made no action to remove the clingy human from his person. In the past year, he got used to the little blond's affection. Living in a war-torn world among merely a handful of survivors and with only one of them actually alive would have made even the coldest individual seek out any kind of friendly companionship. It just happened that Naruto didn't have to look far for one; he had it literally in his guts.

A muffled careful voice woke Kurama from his musings.

"What happened?"

"Truth be told, I am not sure," the great fox replied, intently watching his human. "Yet," he added. Crimson eyes narrowed a bit at the slight tension of the boy's shoulders.

"The others?" Naruto asked quietly. "Dad and Kakashi, and…" He suddenly whipped his head up to look at his friend, those bright orbs, now filled with horror and fear, standing out in his ghostly pale complexion. "I can't just lie around, I need to help them!" The teen scrambled on his feet. He felt only a small fraction of the pain his real body, currently controlled by Kurama, was enduring, but even that made Naruto flinch at even the smallest motion. "Madara, and Obito, and Juubi, and–" he rambled non-stop in panic as he slid from the fox's muzzle and almost planted face first into the water when his knees threatened to buckle. "They can't– Dad and sensei– Sasuke is– They–"

"Easy, Naruto," Kurama soothed. He wrapped one of his tails around the panicked boy and pulled him closer. "They are not here. Your body is a mess and needs to heal. You should stay here until I deem that it is painless enough for your fragile human's mind."

"But–"

"They are not here," the beast repeated patiently. "There is no one around us."

Naruto ceased his weak struggle and laid there in silence for a while. "So, where are they?" he put forward a question, his voice just above the whisper, broken and full of pain.

Kurama's eyes softened. "I do not know," he confessed. "Something happened when Juubi's bijuudama collided with us. We were… thrown somewhere else."

The Jinchuuriki blinked in surprise, turning his head to look into his friend's eyes with a small frown. "Thrown somewhere else?"

"I had lost connection with you for a while after the collision, so I am not completely sure what exactly had transpired," the Kyuubi explained. "But you and I somehow survived. We are safe for the time being."

The implication of 'you and I' wasn't lost on Naruto. He closed his eyes and took a shaky breath. A tear slid across his cheek, but he did nothing to hide it.

"Rest, Naruto," Kurama urged softly. "And then, we shall figure it out together."

"Thanks, Kurama," the teen murmured. His hand's fingers curled around the fistful of the fox's fur, anchoring him to probably his last friend left, and he sunk into uneasy sleep.

Naruto woke to a world of aches and pains shooting through his body, though it was nothing compared to the agony Kurama had saved him from.

Groaning, the Jinchuuriki carefully rolled from his back and onto his stomach so that he could begin the painstaking effort of rising himself from the surface he was lying on. His muscles quivered under the strain as he used his arms to push himself up.

Even before Naruto's eyes opened, an approaching whizz suddenly sent an alarm throughout his whole being. The blond barely had the presence of mind to process exactly what it was, when he was already moving, his body acting on pure instincts, engraved into him during the war. He jumped backward, clenching his teeth as not to let out a scream when hot pain shot through his still numerous wounds. There was not enough time, injuries were too severe, and Kurama was yet too drained to fully heal them all.

There was a sudden displacement of air, a flash of yellow hair, and a person appeared in front of Naruto. A rapid spinning sound reached the latter's ears, but he completely disregarded it as his gaze landed on the man. Happiness swelled inside his chest. "Dad…" the teen exhaled out with a small smile curling on his lips, all of his relief crammed into that one word.

Those familiar bright cerulean eyes widened, an utter shock crossing the older blond's features.

"Watch out!"

Naruto's irises flashed red as the Kyuubi forcefully took control for a brief moment, flinging his human's body out of harm's way. A Rasengan dispersed into nothingness, and the attacker leaped back, creating a bigger distance between them, to stand with his two companions.

Naruto groaned where he hit the ground, already pushing himself into sitting position with his arm around his aching ribs. "Dammit, Kurama," he cursed quietly. "Humans are not supposed to move like that when they're hurt so much."

A growl came from the back of his mind. "Look more carefully, Naruto," the great fox urged.

"What do you mean?" the Jinchuuriki questioned in confusion as he lifted his head and quickly looked over the three men on the other side of the clearing, made by his crashing into the forest floor. "It's just dad, Kakashi-sensei, and–" the words died in his throat as what he was seeing finally caught up with his brains.

There was no doubt in Naruto's mind that the first man was Minato Namikaze. He saw the same sunshine yellow mop and the same color eyes every time when he looked at his own reflection, being a little carbon copy of his father. Hashirama teased them to no end about it during their one year hide and seek game with the Uchihas, especially after the teen let his front locks grow longer on either side of his face.

But the usually warm and loving blue eyes were now giving a glare that was freezing Naruto's flesh, bones, and soul, and he felt like standing nude in the middle of a hailstorm, where every chunk of ice was a frosted dagger cutting into his skin. His father seemed older; the teen noticed a few wrinkles around his eyes, which had nothing to do with a hard scowl etched on his features, and weary – more so than he had ever seen him. The black sclera was gone, meaning that the man was truly alive, not just brought back with a Reanimation jutsu.

Kakashi who was standing on Minato's left looked almost the same with his spiky gravity defying silver hair, his mask firmly in place, covering his lower part of his face. The man was alert, his stance ready to spring into action at any given second, as both his dark gray eyes scanned the clearing before eventually settling on stunned Naruto, fixing him with a sharp, measuring gaze. There was no vertical scar running over his left eye, no Sharingan spinning in that socket, not even his forehead protector slanted over it.

But it was the shinobi taking a position on the Yondaime's right who made Naruto's hair stand on the back of his neck and his muscle tense up the moment his cerulean orbs met the pair of the red ones with three tomoes swirling around the pupils. Obito Uchiha. He would never forget the person who sent the world into madness and chaos, who unleashed the raging inferno to devour forests and fauna and to cover the sky with its smoke, who slaughtered his friends and allies, who painted the young blond's life in blood, grief, and pain…

However, now Obito didn't give the same malicious feeling as the last time Naruto had seen him. He didn't have any scarring on his face either, which was beyond strange. Many things in this picture were wrong, but this particular Uchiha standing alongside his father and sensei topped it all.

Maybe not, for there was one more detail that made Naruto question his grip on the reality.

All three men had shinobi headbands tightly wrapped around their heads. All three headbands depicted a leaf with a swirl inside it, showing their allegiance with Konohagakure. And all three Konoha's symbols had glaring deep slashes across each of them.