Naruto's Labyrinth

Chapter 1

This is not a crossover with Pan's Labyrinth, which I don't own. This is a crossover between Naruto and Jim Henson's Labyrinth, which I also don't own. I haven't given up on either of my other works, I'm just also going to be working on this as well.

Hinata Hyuuga was a skilled ninja in her esteemed clan and was also a bit of a storyteller. She was a great fan of fairy tales specifically, a passion that she shared with her younger sister Hanabi. One night, she was rehearsing a story to tell her, and had just reached the climax.

"'Give me the child,'" she read, making her voice sound powerful, "'Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Demon City to take back the child you have stolen. For my will is as strong as yours and my kingdom as great. You…You…' What could that next line be…? Ah yes 'You have no power over me…'"

"Hinata?" she heard her father call, "I need you to come down here."

"Yes, Father," she responded, "I am coming."

Once she got downstairs, she greeted her father and stepmother, and asked, "What do you need me to do, Father?"

"Hinata," Kurenai said gently, "Your father and I plan on going out on a date, and Neji was knocked out and dragged off by his female teammate. Could you watch Hanabi for us? She's already had dinner, so you just need to put her to bed and check on her every once in a while."

"Hai, Kurenai-sensei," Hinata responded. Despite how long it had been since her father married her jounin instructor, Hinata still hadn't gotten out of the habit of referring to Kurenai as sensei.

"Thank you so much, Hinata," Kurenai smiled. Assured that Hanabi was in good hands, Hiashi and Kurenai left the compound.

When Hinata got Hanabi to bed, her younger sister yawned, "Onee-chan, can you tell me a new story?"

"Of course, Hanabi-imouto," she answered, seating herself into a chair beside her younger sister, "Once upon a time, there was a clever young maiden who was considered beautiful by many. One person in particular who was interested in her was the King of the Demons, who was referred to as the Demon King. In his castle in the center of a Labyrinth, he spied on the girl and was attracted to her beauty and gentility, as well as her courage. So moved was he that he gave the maiden a power, which she never planned on using. You see, it was a spell to banish her sister to the realm of the Demons. The words were simple, and she knew them well. They were 'I wish the Demons would take you away right now.' One night she accidentally…"

Hearing Hanabi breathing at a slow, but steady rate, Hinata turned to see that her sister was asleep, and so left her there sleeping. She would check on her in 10 minutes. Suddenly she heard a crash in her sister's room. Rushing in as quickly as possible, she burst into the room to find…nothing. There was no sign of a mess, no broken items, and no open window. It was completely silent. Wait.

Realizing that there was no sound, whatsoever, she ran to Hanabi's bed, only to find that her sister was not in there. Rushing out of the room, she began shouting, trying to find Hanabi as quickly as possible. She searched the bathroom, the dining room, the kitchen, and every other room, but she still could not find her sister. Hoping against all odds that Hanabi had just escaped her gaze, she activated her Byakugan in an attempt to find her sister. Seeing a chakra system of a small person, she rushed up to her sister's room and yet, when she got there, she found nothing, so she deactivated it. Looking through the window she saw a fox charging at it. Bursting through, it leapt in front of Hinata and suddenly transformed into an orange-clad boy with blonde hair and fox whiskers, who appeared to be around her age.

"Now, why would you make a wish like that?" the boy inquired in a droll tone, "You sent a small child into a Labyrinth of all manners of magical beings."

"That wasn't a wish," she responded harshly, "I was telling her a story. Now, do you wish to tell me who you are, and why you are here telling me to have not told a simple story?"

"Well, love, your manners are very good for getting information, aren't they," he taunted, "At any rate, why would I be here to admonish telling a fake story? You told our story, so, here I am, believe it."

"Where is Hanabi?" she asked, reactivating her Byakugan, "And who are you?"

"Easy there, my darling," he responded, "At least I'm not throwing snakes at you. She's in my castle, in the center of the Labyrinth surrounding the Demon City, as you should know. You made the wish, after all. As for who I am, guess."

"You can't be the Demon King," she responded, scrutinizing the boy carefully.

"One and the same, my dear," he said, conjuring up a ball of blue energy, which then solidified into a ball of crystal, "Your wish, untimely as it was, was heard, so I came and took the child from the bed, and yet you are not pleased by this, so here I stand."

"As I said before," Hinata growled, "That was not a wish."

"What's said is said," he returned, playing with the crystal ball, "Now, if I weren't so assured of your good nature, I would offer you this in exchange for forgetting the girl."

"And I wouldn't trust it," she retorted, giving him a sharp glare, "What is it?"

"It's only a crystal, nothing more, nothing less," he answered, grinning roguishly, "but if you turn it this way, you can see your dreams. Still, as the Hinata I love would not be sidetracked by mere trinkets, I will give you a chance to reclaim your poor sister. You will have nine hours to make your way to the center of the Demon City, in the center of my Labyrinth, escaping traps, dead ends, and other little surprises that will befall you. Needless to say, if you fail to reclaim your sister in that time frame, she is considered forfeit, and therefore must remain in the Labyrinth as my heir. Well, I suppose that I'll just be leaving now."

Before he could do anything, she grabbed him by his collar, looked him square in the eye and glared while saying, "Bring my sister back to me now."

"Believe me, precious, if I had my way, things would be that simple," he responded, trying to squirm out of her grip, "Unfortunately, you said the words, 'I wish' and so I had to honor your request. I have no control over the matter, and quite frankly, if I did, I would wash my hands of the whole matter and be done with it. You can't take the shortcut to getting her back, even if you did make the wish."

"Alright, I'll play your game," she relented, releasing the boy, "But, I want your word that Hanabi-imouto will not be harmed."

"Believe me, love," he answered, "she will not be harmed in my castle or kingdom. At any rate, you've already missed five minutes on the clock. I would recommend not missing another."

With that, he snapped his fingers and faded away as the area surrounding her slowly morphed into a field in front of a large, seemingly endless stone wall, "Best of luck, my love. It wouldn't do if the future queen couldn't solve the Labyrinth."

Feeling a lips brush against her left cheek, Hinata felt both cheeks get slightly hotter before her desire to save Hanabi reminded her to press onward. She only had 8 hours and 55 minutes to solve the Labyrinth, after all. She instantly found herself rather glad she had the Byakugan.