Prologue: The little Maelstrom

Konoha's Shinobi Academy, afternoon.

Something's not right.

Even knowing that he might not be as perceptive as some of his peers, the messy blonde-haired youth otherwise (in)famously known as Uzumaki Naruto could definitely tell that there was something...off.

It all began on that seemingly ordinary morning. Everything was going as usual for Naruto: he woke up, had instant ramen for breakfast, and went to class.

That sense of normality only lasted until he set foot out of the premise of his apartment, as Naruto instantly felt a very slight but unmistakable sensation akin to a lingering gaze on his person.

If he was willing to put it into words, it was similar to the looks people kept giving him when they thought he wasn't looking, only with much less hostility.

Nontheless, that presence was so obvious that he had been throwing glances over his shoulder every few minutes or so. This resulted in nothing other than the weird looks of the bystanders, and an irate Iruka catching him and telling him to concentrate. Which of course did nothing to deter the feeling of being watched.

This went on throughout the entire class and up until lunch break, and yet he still hadn't caught sight of the mystery person, whose presence only he seemed to notice.

It was because of that fact that he decided it might be better that he not attempt any of his pranks today. If there was indeed someone watching him, they could very likely warn others of his latest schemes, and that would not be good, not at all.

"Hey, what the heck is wrong with you?"

Jolted out of his train of thought by the sudden voice. Naruto instantly pulled his mind away from his out of character silent musing, and turned his attention to the person who had spoken up.

Inuzuka Kiba, one of his classmate who he had taken to referring as 'dog-boy' or 'fleabag' was looking at him questioningly. No doubt wondering about his unusual behaviour. Joining him on the questioning looks was also his canine accomplice Akamaru perching at the top of his head.

"Don't you feel like someone is watching us somewhere?" Naruto asked.

Since Naruto himself couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the person likely watching him, he would disregard his pride just for a little bit to ask the Inuzuka to sniff it out for him. It beat the alternative of walking around feeling uneasy like this for the rest of the day after all.

"What nonsense are you-" the boy questioned, but complied with a sign after seeing the seriousness in Naruto's face.

"Hey Akamaru, do you smell anything?" He asked his partner.

Doing as he was told, the white dog lifted his head and sniffed the air twice to find anything unusual, ignoring that white-eyed girl hidden behind a tree at the moment since there was nothing new about that. After searching for a few more seconds, he barked his answer back in negative.

"He doesn't smell anything." Kiba relayed. "So, are you sure you didn't hit your head or something, or are you finally going to admit you're crazy?" the brown haired shinobi-in-training jabbed.

"Shut up, dog-boy." the blonde grumbled. Even though Kiba might be right and that Naruto was over-reacting a bit, the feeling of someone watching him is definitely there and he's sure of it.

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm not the one having a paranoia attack right now. If there was someone nearby doing something suspicious, Akamaru would have smelt him." the Inuzuka retorted dismissively, aiming for the low blow at Naruto's current behaviour.

'So, he wants to play it that way, huh?'

Then it was time for him to bust out the explosive tags.

"Says the one who walked around with a note on his back for 4 hours straight." the blonde said in an condescending bored tone.

The sudden tensing of Kiba's posture was all Naruto needed to know that his remark has hit its intended button, the Inuzuka no doubt had a lot to say about that subject, but held his tongue remembering the humiliation from last year.

Even up until now, Naruto could still say that it's one of his greatest work. Kiba still hadn't figured out how and when the blonde managed to put a sticky note that has "I love wearing skirts" written on it on his back that day.

Worse for the fleabag, nobody had said a word and it wasn't until he was at home that he finally knew something was wrong when he saw his elder sister on the verge of laughing openly at him.

To add a cherry on top of it all, the lesson they had that day was about being aware of changes in your surroundings, so it wasn't a big surprise the next morning when Iruka told him as soon as he entered the class to pay attention to the lesson instead of goofing off.

It took around two weeks for Kiba to salvage the fragments of his poor shattered pride after that particular prank.

? ? ?

It wasn't the first time she observed him.

She found him by chance, when she was on one of her many travels to search for anything that was worthy of her attention and stave off that ever present boredom threatening to consume her.

It was nothing more than just a whim on her part really, wondering how and why a boy so young could be so cheerful and energetic one moment when he was in the public with the presence of others, only to close himself off and wallow in his solitude when there is none other than himself and her -hidden as she is.

She left of course, since obviously nothing else was going to happen after that. The boy caught her attention with his condition, yes, but that would mean nothing in the grand scheme of things for someone like her, for all she cared: he was just another human being with human problems.

And that would have been the end of it right there.

Yet, despite all logic and as if compelled by an invisible force that one particular vampire would refer to as 'Fate', she found herself coming back the next day, wondering how the boy was doing. Only to find him running like a bat out of Makai from an adult man wearing a metal headband -a ninja she later learned- that looked like he just took a quick and very much unwelcomed shower of orange paint.

That caught her attention.

But what it didn't do though, was prepare her for the thing that came next.

At one point or another, the boy decided that he had enough of running and proceeded to deal with his pursuer by suddenly transforming himself into a very… well-endowed adult woman with nothing more than a thin seen of smoke to preserve her modesty, which effectively sent the ninja into the realm of unconsciousness via extreme nosebleed.

Despite herself, she actually got a slight chuckle out of her at that. Idly she wondered whether or not if that same trick would work on the denizens of where she came from.

Interest as well as amusement quipped, she has since then came back once in a while since then to observe his exploits. Which, of course, allowed her to observe exactly how well he was treated by the others around him, if she was willing to stretch the term 'well' to the extreme that is.

Additionally, while the boy himself doesn't seem to realize it, she could tell that there is something unusual about him, a very familiar kind of unusual.

This warranted the gathering of information on her part, a lot of it. It was worth it though, because at the end of it her interest in the boy actually skyrocketed to the point she never imagined possible for a human of any kind to take out of her, other than a certain shrine maiden of course.

"After all, not everyone is the container of a demonic entity on the caliber of the Kyuubi."

As soon as she learned of that particular tidbit of information, some things immediately made sense to her while others don't.

Now, she already knew humans all too well to know that they could be silly like that in the way they glared at someone who was totally innocent and completely oblivious about what happened when the demon attacked them -Even though the fact that not only the real target of the glare couldn't even see them but that it surely wouldn't be bothered by the opinions of those it considered beneath it made the entire thing moot.

No, she was not troubled by it, not one bit.

What she really wondered is why no one bothered to bring out that potential out of the boy. Because with that much raw power inside of him, the possibilities he could brought to bear was practically limitless, all of which would be grand.

They never even attempted to research the seal to strengthen it, to make sure the demon would never get out or to avoid other unpleasant side-effects of using it from arising, or even to try and help the boy get past the trouble he had from his special condition, no nothing.

Even also knowing that humans wouldn't usually dare mess with the delicate work of a being higher than them, the defectiveness of their action, their idiocy in wasting untold amount of potential, it was simply infuriating.

It was so infuriating in fact, that it nagged on her mind for a while now. The boy grew up alone, lived alone, and -unless she missed something since she wasn't surveying him 24/7- has the number of people who would actually care much if he suddenly went missing able to be counted on her two hands.

No normal human could possibly live like that -alone and being glared at as if his existence was a sin- and not go insane. In fact, it was almost a miracle that he turned out as well as he is now currently by sheer stubbornness alone, showing how much that same mentality could achieve in the right condition.

She knew that even she would be at the very least irritated if not straight up indignant if almost all the people she knew avoided or ignored her for as long as this boy had suffered such.

So she decided, that night was the night that she will make her own move. She was sure the boy would be a very... interesting addition to the Yakumo household, and she also knew some people who could help with his foxy problem. Not to mention that she wanted to see how much he could grow up to become if someone that could truly grasp his potential -like she- took care of him.

And she doubted he would refuse. He wanted attention, he wanted to escape the almost permanent solitude he was living in, he wanted someone who would help him become stronger. Things she has in spades.

Despite the meeting not happening in at least a few hours, she already found herself grinning in excitement.

Surprisingly, in spite of what transpired in the morning, the remainder of the day went by pretty much without a hitch for Naruto. The weird feeling he felt suddenly disappeared without a trace in the afternoon, so that was a relief at least. But by then it was too late to plan out one of his stunts anyways, so he decided to just pay a visit to Ichiraku after class and return to his apartment after a bowl of delicious ramen... or four.

He was a feeling bit hungrier than usual that day.

Finally making his way home, Naruto pushed open the door to the apartment that he called his, and was greeted with the sight of the ever present emptiness of his abode.

Even knowing himself, he couldn't help but feel his mood sour just a little bit at the desolate but familiar sight. He quickly shook it off, of course, it was like this for as long as he could remember after all.

Instead, he made haste to switch on the lights that was oh so conveniently placed only in his living room, intending to have a quick shower, hit the bed, and call it another day.

However, just when he entered the premise of the guest room, Naruto instantly noticed something... Not right... A very familiar feeling of not right in fact. Just like what he has been feeling all day, but this time there is actually a source for it.

Said source was right there in his living room.

A woman standing idly in the darkness of the apartment as if waiting for him the whole time, her features illuminated only by the little moonlight that managed to sneak through his window. Just enough to let him know that she was wearing a strange purple and white outfit that he couldn't tell as what for the life of him, presumably long hair coiled inside her poofy looking hat held in place by a red ribbon, and a dainty face with deep golden eyes.

Also, she was carrying around a weird umbrella, for reasons he couldn't fathom.

Naruto's first reaction to the lady was to think that she was one heck of a weird lady, she also looks pretty too, but mostly weird. Then he remembered the more important thing: How in the name of the First that she managed to sneak into his apartment.

He has so many questions, such as who she was, how did she do what she did, or what did she want. So many in fact that Naruto eventually settled with the most obvious one to him.

"Who are you?"

The lady, upon hearing his question, allowed a small smile containing many things that flew right over his head except for a hint of mischievousness, to blossom on her lips. Before she made some steps and took a chair that was next to her with more grace in her movement than that of a wild cat, all the while not leaving her gaze from him.

Having made herself comfy, she finally spoke up for the first time, her voice smoother than any silk.

"My name is Yukari Yakumo, and I have been watching you for quite a while now, Naruto Uzumaki."

…

Now, Naruto knew that things could be strange sometimes, yet it couldn't be helped that he still wondered about them. Like how he wondered why people glared at him for no reasons, or why they said bad things about him when they think he's not looking. He also wondered why his chakra control was so bad, because it wasn't like he wasn't trying, the opposite of it actually.

But seeing a strange lady show up one day in his home and having said lady knowing who he was just now took the cake for being the strangest thing he ever saw, and therefore of course the most wondering-deserving thing.

"How did you know my name? Did we meet before?" Naruto asked bluntly, for let it be said that if he didn't know anything, he isn't afraid to ask it.

"No, as much I would like to have met you earlier, we didn't." smile not leaving her features, the lady named Yukari answered without missing a beat. "I've simply been observing you for a while that's all." she continued.

As for Naruto -the person who could be downright dense sometimes but also have some burst of cleverness once in a while. He finally understood who was watching him recently.

"You're the one who was watching me this whole time?" he half-exclaimed in confirmation, half-asked. "How did you do that? Are you a ninja?" the blonde questioned some more, conclusion drawn to the most likely answer he knew off.

While he boasted that he could catch a full pledged Shinobi by surprise, there is nothing saying another more skilled one could do the same to him after all. In which case he could then tell that this lady was no joke in the ninja department.

"No, I'm not. And this is not a bloodline either, before you ask." Yukari answered swiftly, dismissing his conclusion. She enjoyed keeping Naruto in the dark for now.

"Huh? But I don't know anyone who can do that without being a ninja…" Naruto voiced out confusedly, and he was utterly so. Who the heck was she then?

"Maybe that's because I'm not human." Yukari answered simply.

Now that got Naruto full attention.

"Huh, what are you if you're not human? And what do you want with me anyway?" he asked wearily, the light of the fact that he was alone in a room with a complete stranger finally dawning on him. Naruto didn't think she was here simply to talk, because except for old man Hokage, the people at Ichiraku, and maybe Iruka nobody he know would come to talk to him.

Unknowing of Naruto's tensed muscles, Yukari closed her eyes a second in contemplation, before reopening then and talking.

"First, I am a Youkai." she started. "And yes I know that term doesn't make much sense to you, but it's simply what I'm known as, got it?"

He nodded.

"Excellent." she exclaimed. "Now, as I said before, I've observed your life for a while now. Therefore I've known a lot of things, I know what everyone else whispered behind your back, I know that you're lonely and you hate it, I also know you want to be stronger, And I know you want to be acknowledged." the lady explained, and he couldn't deny that what she said was pretty much true.

Though, a part of Naruto wondered first if she just wanted to lure him into something nefarious… Like eating him... Because for whatever reason, the name 'Youkai' didn't give any good impression. He shuddered at that mental image, but then discarded it when he thought that if she wanted to do something like that, she wouldn't even have bothered to talking to him.

Rising from her seat, the woman brought Naruto out of his thoughts... Before disappearing from existence as she hopped into a Gap -for he could find no other way to describe it- filled with unblinking staring eyes that just manifested itself in reality, said Gap disappeared itself afterward.

What?

Naruto wondered in his head. Before suddenly he felt his panic level rapidly rising as he realized that the lady just disappeared into freaking thin air.

Though, his worries are unfounded, as Yukari's head appeared next to him through another one of those strange Gaps in the air, which made him squawk indignantly. She leaned her elbows on the border of the gap and rested her chin on the back of her hand, eyes glinting with amusement from the scare she just pulled on him.

"Therefore, I want to offer you an invitation to a special place called Gensokyo. I know people who can help you, I know people who won't mind spending time with you, I know people who can train you, and I also know people who would love to help you with your pranks." She didn't bother to admit that she was amongst those who loved good pranks.

Boredom is a common enemy after all.

When she said nothing else, Naruto decided to use that time to calm his heart, before finally speaking.

"Gensokyo… What's that? And why would I ever want to go to a place I don't even know?" Naruto questioned. Even though in truth he was very tempted.

Yukari looked nice enough, and she haven't showed any hostile towards him other than scaring him with that freaky gap of her. But then again, he knew looks weren't everything, she already admitted she wasn't human after all.

"Oh, it's a wonderland on the border of Reality and Illusion, the home of all things forgotten and mystical, including many Youkais and few humans all special in their own way just like you and I." Yukari answered simply, but upon seeing the hesitation on his face quickly followed. "Of course, I know it sound strange to you, the act of abandoning everything you know to go with a stranger like me that is. So how about coming over for a week then, to learn and decide after if you want to stay? I promise I'll bring you back safely after if that is what you want." she finished with an offer.

Hearing that, Naruto's eyes brightened as he made his decision.

He knew she wouldn't be promising things if she was just going around lying about it. Plus, it wasn't like he would mind missing a week at the Academy that much.

Not to mention that the offer also sounded interesting too, and who knows, maybe he could learn an awesome new Jutsu there that would finally prove to everyone that he was way better than Sasuke-teme! Then Sakura-chan would see how cool he was and finally go out with him!

"Alright then! When do we leave?" He answered enthusiastically.

"Right now." was Yukari's answer.

"Huh…?"

Wait what.

"But shouldn't I tell old man Hokage or something before? And I have to also ask Teuchi to water my plants… And also…" he listed off. She couldn't be serious in just leaving right now could she?

Yukari on her part just chuckled for a little bit before answering.

"Don't worry. I'll grab your plants right after so you can continue to take care of them. I'll also leave a note here about you." the lady reassured, easing Naruto's worries.

Then, she held out her dainty hand for him to grasp, before continuing.

"Now, hold my hand and don't let it go. It will only take a few seconds." she said.

Unhesitatingly, Naruto did so. Before the Gap widened enough for her to pull him in.

The last thing heard in the apartment that night was a Naruto saying how cool the weird space inside the Gap was before the Gap itself closed. Leaving no trace of their existence.

A few seconds later, five smaller Gaps appeared and devoured all of Naruto's plant before also disappearing.

A few hours later, the Hokage tower.

A small squad of ANBU were standing in wait in the Hokage's office, waiting with unrestrained dread for the reaction they would receive from The Third from the report.

"So let me get this straight." the man himself started with ultra calmness, turning to look at them. "Naruto disappeared, with no traces of a break-in on the door or the window, and with absolutely no chakra detected. Nobody at the gates saw him or anyone else leaving the premise, and your unit haven't seen or sensed anyone strange in the village on your nightly patrol. Yet, not only that but the kidnapper also took Naruto's plants -Kami-sama knows why- along with him and no one was the wiser?"

The leader of the night patrol was afrai- Scratch that, he was terrified, for a very good reason too.

The Hokage, the man known as the Shinobi god was grinning. And not a grin of amusement or anything of the sort of course, but more like a grin that a deranged or a very pissed off person would likely have. Take into account that he was the one happens to be on the receiving end of that, and we got a very unsettled ANBU.

"And not only that, but they left a note along with it?" Sarutobi was not done with him yet though, obviously.

The Hokage proceeded to take said note to slam it on the table, and then read out loud the content for those present who hadn't heard of it.

"To the 'Old man Hokage'

I took Naruto to pay a visit to a special place. He will be back in a week if he wants to.

Yukari Yakumo"

The ANBU gulped, an action that went unseen under his mask. It was clear then: The Third Hokage was very pissed off by this turn of events. Naruto disappeared to Kami knows where place and nobody had heard of this "Yukari". He knew how much his leader liked the boy after all.

But it wasn't like they knew something so ridiculous would happened either! They truly genuinely did their patrol as usual and didn't saw or sensed anything out of the ordinary, and it wasn't like there was any ANBU stupid enough to just conveniently forget to check on him.

They lost many ANBU Operatives when the Kyuubi attacked the village and all those who survived remembered what it could truly do, they weren't foolish enough to get their feeling mixed into professional business to believe something as dumb as the kid being the demon or something like that.

"So what explanation do you for this have then?" The Hokage said, bringing the ANBU away from his thoughts. Said ANBU could only once again gulp nervously, since he had nothing to say and was just as confused as The Third about how Naruto disappeared.

They said that after that particular meeting, which ended with a rarely seen angry Third Hokage, one ANBU fainted right after leaving the office and the other two couldn't sleep for the rest of the night, still mentally scarred from the meeting.

But no matter how much time spent wondering on both the Hokage's and ANBU's part, no answer could be found from Naruto's disappearance.

A/N

Greetings, you people of Fanfiction. Net

Now, as some of you guys may have seen, this is a very familiar story, because it is. Yes, I am now officially adopting Megaolix's famous Naruto X Touhou work, 'A Gap and a Fox'. A story from the good old times of Naruto, before all the cliche fanon tropes. Credits goes to him for allowing me to do so. And some good luck to me because I have some big shoes to fill.

As you see, my job is to polish, improve, and adapt his work into something new and hopefully better that will see an actual ending this time. The first chapter is pretty similar, but won't be quite later on, so don't worry.

Also, don't worry, my others stories are not dropped... They will just take some time that's all. My passion is currently on this story, but not all of it.

Also, I do not own Naruto or Touhou Project, for I am neither Masashi Kishimoto nor ZUN.

That's it. If you liked this piece, plz Follow it, Favorite it and of course Review it to your own accord, Constructive Criticisms is good, Flame requires a fire extinguisher.

Yours Sincerely

The Indominator