The village was burning.

In front of his eyes, a nightmare was unveiled. The village he'd sworn to protect, the village he'd dedicated his life to, was being torn apart, the beast's every motion destroying more and more of it. Already the outer walls had crumbled. Already, hundreds had died.

It had to be stopped, and stopped before it could do further damage.

" Your Hokage is counting on you. Your families are counting on you. Konoha herself is counting on you. The Kyubi will claim no more lives today - not while we still draw breath! Who will come with me, to stop its rampage? Who will be brave enough to challenge the strongest of the tailed beasts, to hold it back while our Hokage prepares?"

A resounding chorus of 'Aye's met Sarutobi Hiruzen's words, the veteran ninjas of Konoha shouting out their resolve. Fearless, they stood against the Kyubi, preparing weapons and techniques alike to challenge the mighty creature.

While they rose as one, the rookie shinobi were put to the task of evacuating the civilians, of moving everyone they could away from battle. They had their whole lives ahead of them, after all. They were the future of Konoha. Sarutobi wasn't going to throw their lives away in a suicidal charge of the Kyubi.

No, that honor he reserved for himself. And his friends and comrades, the ones who'd been with him for decades now, the last of his generation. This could well be their last stand, but none of them were scared - they were only doing their duty, after all. There was nothing to be afraid of.

Leaping on top of a roof of a nearby building, Sarutobi flickered through an incredibly fast sequence of seals, finally blowing a massive river of fire from his mouth - large enough that it covered an entire city block - straight at the Kyubi. The flames were further intensified as one of the other Konoha shinobi released a massive gale of winds, and was followed by several other fire attacks, each one larger than the last.

The top half of the Kyubi was utterly consumed by the onslaught, and the creature roared it's defiance, bursting out of the smoke and debris left of the attack without a scratch on it. With a single swipe of his hand, it struck out at the gathered veteran shinobi at such a speed that a shockwave of wind erupted from its extremities, barrelling into the gathered ninja at supersonic speeds. Most of the ninja escaped, but a choice few weren't fast enough - these ninja were pulped by the winds until they barely resembled humans, their corpses dropping down to the ground below.

As titanic as the clash was, it was only the opening salvo to the battle. A battle Sarutobi and the rest of the veteran ninja of Konoha were determined to win, with Konoha as the prize.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The masked man had vanished after his defeat - retreating to lick his wounds, likely. Now that the battle was over, Minato felt the fatigue enclose around him. The battle had been difficult, and he'd been pushed to his limits by the ninja - but he had no time to rest. No time to ...

He glanced to the side, at where Kushina had been, and felt his heart break all over again. Her body was still, her face frozen in an expression of surprise. Her death had been quick - the masked man had killed her first of all, simply teleported in and slit her throat while her reactions were still impaired by child birth and by having the Kyubi ripped from her.

Without her help, he wasn't sure he could restrain the beast well enough. Certainly not enough to complete the long sealing process that involved summoning the shinigami. He'd have to improvise.

Luckily, he had already prepared for this eventuality - for the scenario where he'd be pressed for time. It was untested, and he was leery of relying on something so strange and unknown to save his village, but he didn't have a choice.

He unsealed the prepared scroll, grabbed Naruto, and vanished in a yellow flash, heading to the battlefield where the ninjas of Konoha tried to stop the Kyubi from destroying the village.

He may die today, but he would at least ensure his village and son survived.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The beast was unstoppable.

That was the conclusion Sarutobi had found himself reluctantly coming to, as they attacked it with everything they had. Geysers of water, sharp and strong enough to drill holes in mountains, were shrugged off as nothing. Storms of wind and lightning, chained together for maximum effect, barely affected it. Rivers and stars of fire did absolutely nothing to it, the energy and explosive force barely distracting it from its actions long enough for it to take notice.

Enough firepower had been levelled at it to destroy the village half a dozen times over, and yet the Kyubi was still standing, even if it was distracted and regenerating now.

Already, 15 ninja had died, simply holding the Kyubi's attention. More would likely die soon, as the fatigue of using so many chakra-intensive techniques at once set in, slowing their reactions and hampering their stamina enough that they would be unable to boost their physical abilities enough to survive in this fast-paced battle. They couldn't hold out much longer.

Minato, whatever you're going to do, you'd better do it quick.

Minato must have a plan. He had to, or else all was lost. That was what Sarutobi thought, in those bleak moments when the Kyubi seemed ready to break through.

A flash of light in the battlefield brought a surge of hope to the shinobi, as their Hokage arrived ... with a baby in tow?

"So this is little Naruto," said the Sandaime, staring at the child who was crying out loud in the middle of the sudden hush that had fallen over the battle.

"Yes. Yes, he is." Minato took a deep breath, and seemed to still for a moment.

"Ninjas of Konoha! Your Hokage needs you! Hold of the Kyubi for a little less than a minute, and we will have won! Konoha will be saved!"

As one, the ninjas cheered, each one descending on the Kyubi in a final salvo, desperately trying to buy their Hokage time. Sarutobi had several questions, but they would have to wait - for now, he had to fight, fight alongside his comrades and stop the Kyubi long enough for Minato to complete whatever technique he was working on.

Minato took a deep breath, and then unrolled a scroll from the pack of scrolls on his back. The scroll in front of him contained the pre-prepared seal that would be used to seal the Kyubi into his son.

He had no clear idea what entity the scroll summoned, only that something would be summoned. And that the creature summoned would be capable of being far more proactive than the Shinigami, which was what he needed right now - with nothing to tie the beast down, he wasn't sure that the original technique would work.

Still, this was why he'd prepared this seal beforehand. He was pinning his hopes on this seal, and sealing a piece of himself into his son to guide him along with the Kyubi. Hopefully, as the child grew up, he would grow strong enough to stop Uchiha Madara and whatever nefarious plans he had. He felt saddened that he had to ask this of his son, but he had no choice - his own life would be over once the seal was completed after all.

With the preparations complete, Minato leapt into the fray himself, vanishing in a flash of light only to appear next to a kunai he had thrown a moment ago, right in front of the Kyubi.

It was time.

Minato rapidly flew through a series of seals, controlling his chakra just so, before striking the seal on the ground with his palms, activating it.

The seal did nothing for a single, heart-stopping moment. Then, it burst into a light that eclipsed that of the sun, eliciting a roar of shock and confusion from the Kyubi as it felt something forming in front of it.

The being that formed was strange. Eerie. It seemed to have no solid shape, only an impossible surface that seemed to reflect everything around it perfectly. It floated up to the Kyubi, as directed by the seal, and in a single fell swoop, consumed it.

For a moment, all was silent on the battlefield. Everyone could only watch, as the strange being floated down, shrinking in size until it was only slightly larger than a child, rather than the size of a large mountain. It hovered over the child the Hokage had brought to the battlefield, before enveloping it the same way it did the Kyubi.

Minato didn't say a word. The seals were right, he knew - Naruto was in no danger. That didn't stop him from clenching his fists tightly, however, as he found himself having to hold back from rushing in to save his son.

The being seemed to melt off the child, leaving him none the worse for wear. Upon the child's navel, a blood-red seal glowed ominously in the dark. With its job done, the being vanished.

And Minato fell, cutting off the cheer that had been forming in the throats of the shinobi at the Kyubi's sealing.

The seal may have been different, but the cost hadn't changed - his life had always been forfeit, and he'd known that.

Still, it was with a mixture of sadness and pride that he beheld the image of his son, the last image he would ever see.

Take care ... Naru-

And with that, Namikaze Minato, the 4th Hokage and one of the strongest ninjas the leaf had ever produced, died, protecting his village from a monster of legend.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Minato did not know.

When he had decided to use that seal, he'd chosen to summon something far more alien than the god of death. The being he'd summoned had been called many names in its existence - The One Who Shows, The Gate, The Reflection of Infinite Truths. Many names, all to outline the nature of its ability.

To peer into other worlds. Other truths. Other realities.

Minato did not know.

That when he had created the seal, he'd crafted a vessel for the being to inhabit and perform the duty he'd assigned to it. Unlike the Death God, which had a fixed method of summoning and whose actions were tailor-made to follow a specific pattern, the being summoned was far more flexible. Minato could craft a vessel for it to inhabit, dictate its actions, but ...

Minato did not know.

That while he could dictate its actions, its nature bled through. And that nature ... that nature told it to see. To see past one world, and into another.

That nature told it to reflect. Reflect what it saw, reflect what it grasped, from one world on to another.

Minato did not know.

That a link had been formed, in that moment, between the Naruto and Kyubi of this world ... and a Naruto and Kyubi, newly formed, in another.

Minato did not know.

That by using that seal, that by using his son as the jinchuriki ...

... He'd opened the gates to a world of fantasy

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

8 years later ...

Umino Iruka had a problem.

It wasn't a personal problem. It wasn't even a professional problem, though there was a relation there. No, Umino Iruka's problem was a boy.

A boy named Naruto, who was always asleep.

It didn't matter what topic was being discussed in class, or what exercises were being practiced. The boy spent most of his time just laying there, sleeping. It was as though he suffered from some kind of horrible illness, that resulted in him being asleep for most of the day!

As might be imagined, sleeping through all his classes did not exactly help his grades. It was no wonder he was the dead-last of the class, really - he didn't study much at home either, and besides his practical skill at shurikenjutsu and stamina augmentation, he had nothing really going for him in his studies.

And therein lay the problem.

Iruka knew the boy had talent. The way he quickly picked up all the tricks related to chakra use pointed to it, as did his skill in the various practical aspects of being a ninja. But the boy was an absolute dunce when it came to his studies, and Iruka knew it was because he didn't apply himself.

Which was why he was here with him, right now - trying to convince him to actually work at his studies.

"Eh, isn't it fine though? I mean, I'm passing aren't I?"

"Yes, but barely Naruto. And I'm not sure this state of affairs will continue for long - things will only get tougher from here on out, and if you're barely managing right now, you'll definitely be left behind later!"

"Well, things are fine right now, aren't they? I mean, why worry about what might happen later?" Naruto pouted, his voice coming out like a whine.

Iruka sighed, admitting defeat. Naruto could be stubborn when he wanted to be, and when his voice went to that pitch, it meant he wasn't going to listen. Still ...

"... Could you at least not fall asleep in class anymore?"

"I make no promises. Now, are we going to Ichiraku's or not?"

Iruka sighed. "Fine, fine, you damn brat. Let's go."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The moment Naruto got back from his outing with Iruka, he collapsed onto the bed.

This was not because he was tired. No, there was another reason for it. A reason that had to do with a certain seal that had been placed on him, moments after his birth.

When Naruto went to sleep, he didn't dream. He didn't even have a 'dreamless' sleep, like some people did.

No, when Naruto went to sleep, something different happened, every time. Something special.

Naruto closed his eyes, his breathing slowing as he began to drift off into unconsciousness. After a few moments, he felt himself fade away ...

... And awaken somewhere else.

"Bjorn! Bjorn! Where is that lazy son of mine ..."

A voice, sharp and motherly, echoed from behind a wooden door.

"Bjorn Stormwind, you wake up right now! There are chores to be done."

Naruto smiled, the words leaving his lips almost by themselves.

"Coming, mother."

The sixteen-year old blond-haired boy in the bed yawned, before getting up out of bed.

Yes. A world without prejudice. A world without judgement. A world where he wouldn't be glared at, or hated for some reason he still didn't know.

What else could you call such a world but paradise?

Naruto, now named Bjorn, stepped outside the door, gently hugging his mother, Hilda Stormwind.

"Good morning, mother."

The woman smiled, a fond smile, a smile of affection and acceptance.

"Good morning, cub. Well, don't keep your father waiting - you need to chop firewood, after all. You've already slept enough."

Naruto nodded, moving to the door. Skyrim was a simple land, a mysterious and beautiful land, but it could also be harsh. Firewood was needed, if one was to survive the winter.

Skyrim. That was the name of this place, the country where he lived. It was the place he went to, whenever he slept in that world, a place of dreams. He almost wished he didn't go back to that world whenever he slept in this world, but he had no control over his situation. The best he could do was reap the benefits.

It was the reason he slept so much. Compared to that world with it's cold glares and hatred, this world, with his loving parents and happy family life, was practically paradise. And what child would not choose paradise over the drudgery of a hated existence?

Smiling, Naruto walked out to meet his father, to begin the day's chores. Another day in the life of a world that was not his.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: Yes, I am well aware that I said 8 years later. Naruto's 16 in Skyrim for a reason, tied to how much he sleeps. It's pretty simple to figure out really.

Anywho, Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, don't own Skyrim, Blah Blah Blah

Hope you guys enjoy it. Read and review, please!:)