A/N: As requested! I present to you! NarutoxAries! I've received a TON of requests for this pairing, so here ye be! Next will be the mysterious Flare Corona, or perhaps the fiery Aquarius? Either one will prove to be interesting, I assure you! As I'm sure you've all noticed, I've been on an updating CRAZE the past few days. Now, I'm sure some of you are wondering why? Well, thanks to my new surgery I have a new lease on life, one I plan to make good use of!

Please be nice to me...

~Aries.

The Ram and the Fox

How the hell did I get myself into this situation?

He lay there, the breath of life fading from his lungs.

They'd won.

They'd finally won.

After a long and violent battle against Tobi and Kabuto the Allied Shinobi Forces had at last won the day. The Akatsuki had been crushed, and Kabuto slain. Victory was theirs, but it was a bittersweet one; because it had come at a terrible cost. Straining, the genin turned his head, gazing upon the prone form of Uchiha Sasuke. He'd spoken the truth on that day, after all. He'd take on all of Sasuke's hatred and die with him.

He wanted to speak; wanted to call out, desperate to see if his friend-turned-enemy was still alive. Despair threatened to overtake him when he failed to notice the rising and fallinf of the Uchiha's chest. So that's how it is, Sasuke. He tried to laugh; it was a bitter, hollow, sound. It stank of despair and rattled off into a harsh coughing fit. Damn. He must've pierced a lung or something; brcause he could taste it.

He tasted blood when he breathed.

He felt in his lungs, cloying each breath, clinging to him as he choked on it. His once pristine tresses were sullied by it; the dampened locks cling to his face and forehead even as he struggled to squint through bloodshot eyes. No matter. He'd be joining him soon. Yup. Not much longer now. By the time Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei arrived on the battlefield, he'd be long gone.

His only regret was a silly one; he was going to die a virgin.

It was silly. Stupid.

Childish.

And yet he still regretted it. Ero-senin would mock him incessantly in the afterlife for this. Assuming there even was an afterlife. Naruto had never really been one to pray, but he found himself praying now. Maybe he didn't want to die yet. Maybe he wanted to live just a little bit longer. Ha! Who was he kidding? He was a dead man. If exhaustion did not do the deed, than blood loss would.

No medic could possibly hope to heal these wounds. Not even Kyuubi could hope to patch him up now. They'd exerted all their chakra, the both of them, and he was beginning to feel faint. And even should he live, should he somehow survive these wounds and live on, what was there to live for? He'd just killed his best friend. He wasn't worthy of the title of Hokage, nor was he in any position to earn it after all he'd done.

It was sad, really.

He'd never had the chance to live. Never got to go on a date with Sakura-chan. Never kissed a girl. Never had sex. Never raised a family. Never became hokage. Never. There were too many 'never's' in that sentence for his liking. Looking back, he'd lived his entire life as a shinobi; because it had been all he'd ever known. He'd grown up expecting a career as a ninja. As a trained killer. He'd never really thought about it like that. Until now. Until he lay here, dying, soaked in the blood of his best friend...

Naruto wept as he lay there, in the river, drifting away into nothingness...

It came as less a surprise, more a relief, when he finally awoke.

At first, anyway.

His first clue that he had returned from the land of nightmares came when darkness truly fell. The visions evaporated and the voices went with them. For a very welcome period there was nothing to see or hear or even think. He could just rest, and be.

Then new noises began to intrude upon his solace.

Then new noises began to intrude on the peaceful silence: the whirring of rustling cloth, low-pitched whispers and murmurrs from someone, a fizzing, spitting noise that could have been running water, and other sounds that had no place in his serenity. His heart rose at the sound of a voice rising above the others. The faint sticking point between each cycle was horribly familair.

Whatever obscure scene he had found himself in, it had passed. He closed his eyes and let out a small sob of relief, but refused to lower his guard all the same. The darkness had still yet to lift from his vision; because his eyes remained painfully scrunched shut. Whether it was a refusal on his part or simply his that his body coping with the trauma, he simply could not bring himself to see a thing. Finally, he could stand it no longer.

Naruto opened his eyes.

A bright, starry sky greet him, stretching overhead and before him, cresting across the horizon. Naruto sat up, propping himself on his elbows. He felt grass, wet and damp against his back. Where the hell was his shirt? Ah. Now he remembered. He'd lost it to Kabuto during their battle. The man really did spit venom, just like a snake. Shaking himself from the memory, Naruto realized he was alone, on a long, grassy plain.

He was alive.

There was no gaping hole in his chest from where he'd been struck by Sasuke's chidori. He wasn't missing most of his left ear. He still had all his fingers and toes. He could try and imagine it, the pain in his chest as the jutsu pierced his lung, but his body assured him that he was still breathing. Still alive. And there was something there in the fingers of his fist. He'd been holding for quite some time now, without realizing it. At first he thought it was a kunai. But it wasn't a kunai.

Uzumaki Naruto was holding a key.

But not just any key.

This key was made of platinum, pure as can be. Teeth on the end fastened around its facets, shaped like a lightning bolt. In the middle of the key's head was an orange gem, ridiculously rare and not to mention expensive. It was a very special key. He turned it end over end and marveled at it; its sleek, tapered design. Warm to the touch, it held a strange significance for him, even though he didn't know what is was.

'When did I get this key?' he wondered aloud. "And how did I get here?" He winced. His voice rang strangely when he spoke. It reverberated; tickling at his throat and making him uncomfortable. Where was here, anyway?"

"Ano...

Naruto yelped and spun around at the sound.

"Oi!"

He found himself face to face with a young girl with pink hair, brown eyes and a pair of twisted horns on her head. Her clothes-if they could even be called such-were made of wool, white and fluffy, and probably very soft. Her doe brown eyes flitted from his eyes, to his face, widening as they noted his lack of attire. She blushed, tried to speak, only to blush again.

"Ano...who are you?" she managed at last, glancing at the ground instead of his face. "I haven't seen you around here before...

"Pleased to meet you," Naruto put on his most winning smile, "The name's Naruto! Uzumaki Naruto!" If there was one thing Ero-senin taught his apprentice, it was the proper etiquette towards women. Naruto knew better than to loudly shout random accusations at the first person he encountered. He also knew how to flirt-damn you sensei!-but he found himself strangely tempted to be nice to this girl. Moreso

"Aries."

"Well then, my lovely Aries-chan...would you have any idea where we are at this moment?"

Oops!

The girl turned red as a rose.

Naruto swore a blue streak. He hadn't meant to say that! Well, he had meant to ask where he was, but what was with the chan? His mouth didn't seem to be working the way he wanted it to. If anything, it seemed to have a mind of its own...or did it? He immediately suspected a certain fox. He'd opened the seal during the battle with Tobi, leaving Kurama full access to his body, and apparently his mouth, if his suspicions were correct. So why didn't he sense the old bastard's prescence? When he tried to speak to him, a strange sense of emptiness welled up in his stomach. A void. Almost as if nothing was there...

"Ano...may I see that?"

Aries's voice jerked him out of his reverie.

"Huh?"

"Sumimasen!" The girl promptly covered her face in fear. "I just wanted to see your key!"

"My...key?" Naruto asked quizically. "I just found this thing when I woke up...

"M-May I?" Aries asked softly.

"Sure." Naruto tossed it to her. "Catch!"

Aries cried out as if she'd been struck.

"Wai!"

"W-What's wrong!" Naruto stiffened, expecting an attack. Instead, Aries dove to catch his key before it could hit the ground. The girl heaved a sigh of relief, cradling it close to her bosom for a moment. She stood up slowly, cradling it, as though it were made of fine china. When Naruto reached for it, Aries, refused to give it to him. Disbeilef coloured her very feature.

"Y-You musn't throw your key!" She insisted, staring at him with her overlarge eyes. "Ever!"

"Why not?" Naruto blinked, not understanding.

"Our keys." Aries pointed to his, "Are special. They are the very escence of ourselves that allow us to be summoned. You musn't ever throw yours away." Naruto nodded, not really getting it, but deciding to follow along anyway. "There is nothing more precious in the realm of the Celestial Spirits." Gingerly, she placed the key into his awaiting palm, still looking fretful. "If I were to drop my key in the Celestial Realm my master would be so angry with me...

"The realm of the what now?"

"Th-This is the realm of the Celestial Spirits." Aries pointed out. "Humans, like my master, Karen, can't stay here long. Only spirits can live here."

"Meaning...

...you're probably a spirit, too." Aries finished timidly. "You've been sleeping over there for almost three days now...

There was a silence.

Then:

"Eh?"

And that was how he first met Aires.

A/N: Hope you liked it! I did my best to keep everyone in character! Hope you enjoy the fluffy-excuse the pun!-goodness that is NarutoxAries! Is Kurama gone, or is he up to something? Is Naruto, now a celestial spirit, destine to serve Karen alongside Aries? Or will he put that wicked wench in her place as he should?

Alas, those questions will have to remain unanswered for now. Because now, sadly, I must logoff for the day. I thought I could update a few more stories before the pain got to me, but AARGH! That is clearly not the case. Guess its back to the damned pain pills and bed for me...

R&R! =D