The Kyuubi watches.
He watches the blonde lad hop from roof to roof, wearing a smile bright enough to compete with the sun.
He watches the boy as he shouts atop rooftops, and glances as those below shout and wave back in greeting.
He sees the boy sneak up on his pinkette of a teammate and earn a supersized punch to the face.
He smirks as the duo then begins dogging the last Uchiha, who scowls as his personal space all but disappears.
He watches all three of them chastise their ever tardy sensei, and witnesses another failed attempt to dislodge the man's facemask.
He watches the boy move through the village, greeting friends and comrades, members of his makeshift family, ever smiling, and receiving the same in return.
The Kyuubi watches, and thinks.
It took a while, Old Man…
The sun was at its zenith.
They spotted each other miles upon miles away. It simply wasn't feasible for either of them to ever overlook each other's presence, even from across the lands.
Neither of the two acknowledged the other, though, and the Kyubi continued moving forward unabated.
It was finally after they were back to back, did the Hachibi break the purposed silence: "So, the prodigal son finally returns."
Several fangs glistened in the sunlight. "Where're the others?"
Gyuki turned around then. He stared at the sashaying of nine gigantic tails and, after a long, quiet moment, sighed. "We've all paid our respects already. You're the only one left."
The Kyubi snorted. Several trees toppled. "Tell Shukaku to stay out of my way. I'm not in the mood. I won't hesitate to obliterate him."
"That won't be a problem. He went out of control just yesterday and Goku has been keeping him in check. Go. The Old Man doesn't have much time left."
It was instantaneous. The Kyubi snarled, head snapping back and glared with the intensity to set forests aflame, looking fully ready to pounce and sink his teeth in for the kill. Instead, he turned back around just as suddenly and trudged along at a pace quicker than before.
Now alone, Gyuki sighed again, and gazed at the cloudless sky.
"It's been a while," the man began, with a warm smile, "You've grown."
The giant fox grimaced. "How would you know? You can't even see anymore, Old Man."
"But I can sense it," the man laughed, eyes covered by the gauze wrapped around his head, "Come now, I may be blind and dying, but I can still tell a shrub from a tree. And your capacity has outstripped the largest of either."
The Kyuubi remained silent, but his jaw tensed and the earth beneath his paws rumbled softly.
The man's smile did not wane. "How was your journey?"
"It was fine, I guess," the Kyuubi muttered, after a long moment.
"How far have you gone? You have seen interesting things, no doubt."
"Not much to tell. There wasn't that much to see. Frankly, it was all very dull."
"I would like to hear about it, all the same."
The Kyuubi grit his teeth. "Like I said, not much to tell. Saw a bunch of mountains and trees. Living things either screamed or threw stuff at me. Usually both. Crossed the ocean at one point. Had to fight a giant squid. Turns out I either have gills or I don't need to breathe. Made a lot of seagulls happy after the fight."
The man laughed, shifting the bedcovers. "Dull indeed! You traversed the ocean? I had thought you would loathe the salt water!"
The giant fox huffed. "I do. Swimming in that thrice damned cesspool made me feel sticky all over. I didn't feel right in my own fur for weeks. Good place to drown Saiken and his disgusting, odorous fumes, though. It could probably cover the smell."
"And a giant squid! I did not know such things existed! Tell me, did it resemble a calamari in all but size?"
"I will never understand your fascination with fish baits, Old Man. But, no, actually. It had a lot of teeth in its stomach of all unimaginable places and feelers the size of—NO! No! You are not doing this! I will not allow it!"
Still, the old man smiled.
The Kyuubi was shouting now. The force of his voice shook the compound. "Don't you dare distract me! Don't you dare try to downplay this! I won't allow it! Do you hear me, Old Man! You are not allowed to!"
The man attempted to speak—
"I'm done with my stupid stories! They're not important! I'm sick of stories! You keep hinting! You think I don't know!.? Of course, you do! Because you're doing it on purpose! Keep trying to justify your foolishness when there is no need for it! You're bedridden and blind! And still you fancy yourself the guide, the teacher! Well, if you're such a grand oracle of the entire universe then stop with all this dying nonsense and live!"
His breath came out ragged, heated, despaired.
The man gave a weaker smile. Nothing was said for long, terse moments…
"Kurama."
The Kyuubi twitched.
"It is not that I do not wish to live. It is merely that my time in this world will soon come to pass. I am only human, after all."
"No," the bijuu intoned, shaking his head, "No, you are not merely human. That pair of sniveling whelps that retain only half your teachings and none of the skills are humans. You're beyond that. You can go even further than beyond. You had split the earth and made the moon. You subdued the force of nature itself. If you wanted to you could transcend the laws of nature and all that is bright in the sky and attain godhood. But you won't. You won't because you're stubborn and foolish. You won't because of some stupid sentiment towards humanity that is barely worth the ink to put that word into writing!"
"And yet, in the end, that is what I am. I am merely a man. One amongst many."
"But you don't have to be!" the bijuu argued, head lowered, eyes clenched shut, "You could siphon the power of the land itself! It will not deny you! It will be willing! And if not, we the bijuu will fuel it! You created us! You named us! Pool our energies together and you will get a reservoir of chakra large enough to flood everything in sight and more! Enough to drown the Shinigami itself! You can remake the rules with whatever jutsu you have at disposal with the power that you wield! The very concept of mortality will become a joke and you can continue to salvage this unworthy world!"
"… … … Kurama."
Slowly, the Kyuubi opened his eyes…
…to see a nose-licking "troll face".
"BWUA!" The giant fox jerked backwards so quickly the whiplash caused an avalanche on a nearby mountain.
The old man laughed heartily. "Hah haha hah hah! Here I was thinking that, with all this talk of giant squids and godhood, you've become sturdier stuff! But you're still just a wet-behind-the-pointy-ears pup! Hahaha!"
The Kyuubi blinked twice before his nose soon began to sweat slightly. "Th-th-that was—that shouldn't count! That doesn't count! You caught me off guard!"
"No excuses, child! You were duped and spooked by a blind old man! Hahaha! Wait until I tell Matatabi of this!"
The bijuu looked panicked. "What! Dammit, Old Man! You can't tell! That overgrown hairball will be insufferable and-and just annoying!"
The man continued laughing, while the Kyuubi continued ranting.
In the distance, Gyuki watched. Smiling.
The sun began to set.
The Kyuubi was still fuming, muttering and grumbling.
The old man smiled, warmer and wider than before. "Kurama."
"Ah?" the giant fox grunted, expression almost like that of a street thug.
"Let's go for a walk. It's too splendid of an evening not to."
"What? You shouldn't get up, Old Man, you're too…" he trailed off, suddenly hesitant.
But the man was not, and in a few hops, was seated upon the head of the gargantuan Kyuubi. "Let's go, Kurama! Don't pussyfoot!"
"Argh!" the biguu growled, "Fine! Don't blame me if you fall off and go 'splat'!"
The old man merely grinned and crossed his arms, unmoving even as the bijuu darted across fields and leapt over mountains, savoring the cool, speeding winds of days in spring.
Moving towards, but never reaching, the setting sun.
Atop of a hill, the Kyuubi gazed at the full moon. "…why do you have so much faith, Old Man?"
The man, still sitting cross-legged upon the bijuu's head, breathed in deeply the cool air. "Because of hope, Kurama."
"…the only reason the world has any hope to show off is because of you. Like that big rock in the sky. If it weren't for you, all we would've seen would've been just be crater after crater. Dust after dust."
"Perhaps," the man smiled, "but I have passed on my teachings. I have passed on my will and knowledge and all that it entails. The remaining tasks rest in the hands of those who shine bright with wills of their own."
"Those two brats," the bijuu almost spat.
The man nodded. "They are my heirs."
"But…but what of the others?" the Kyuubi asked, in a pitiable tone, "What are they to do? The sheer mental regression they are capable of continues to shock and dismay. Skukaku can't go a week without going into a killing frenzy. Isobu is so mindless he wades in lakes and never leaves. And I half expect at any moment for Son to fling his dung at the moon!"
The old man laughed.
The Kyuubi, however, did not. "And…and…and what of me?" He all but choked out. "Even now, I can feel the rage. It is quiet now, but it festers. If…if you are no longer… It will boil. Not only will I not be able suppress it, I will indulge in it. I know this."
The old man "looks" at the moon. "Do you remember the first thing you said to me?"
The Kyuubi shook his head.
"'Who am I?' you asked of me. I didn't know how to answer. I never thought I would need to. But there you were, all nine of you. You may think of me omnipotent, omniscient. But I am just a man. Always have been. And I didn't know what to do or say. At that time, all I was seeking was a solution to the best of my abilities. Whether I succeeded or not, was too early to confirm. But I knew I had to give you an answer. I owed it to you, to all of you. You may not remember anymore, but I spent several agonizing days mulling over names. From fables to childhood myths I scoured. And even when I presented to you an answer, I was nervous it wasn't one you would want. But you smiled, and in turn made an old man very happy."
He simpered. "My disciples. My heirs. I imparted my teachings, my life's work, to them, hoping beyond hope that they shall use my gifts for the greater good. I tried to mould them, to shape them into righteous young men so that one day they may do the same for those whose will shine just as bright. I do this because the world can be a cold, cruel place. And all I can do is hope for the best, for these foolish creatures called humans."
He "looked" downwards. "And I hope the same for you, and your brothers. For you to traverse the right path. But I will not demand this of you. What is considered just is for your own discernment. If you must rage, then unleash it to your heart's content. Who is to know? Perhaps in your rage you will find the path you seek. I only worry. Being angry is a tiresome affair. And so I worry for you. But I also believe in you. I believe, because you are not my creations."
Gradually, softly, he settled a hand.
"You are my children, Kurama. The man that I am, the words that I've spoken and the manner in which I lived, these are known to you and your brothers. Perhaps my techniques and teachings will be passed on long into the future, or perhaps not. Perhaps my actions will be heralded in the annals of history, or perhaps not. But the story of my life will live on. In you, Kurama. If there is any semblance of immortality I'm willing to indulge, it is that. A story of a foolish old man and the life had he led. A life well lived. And you, the storyteller and a witness of the ages. A story well told. That is my legacy. My immortality. And it is within you that it lies."
The Kyuubi had not a shed a single tear since he was a kit.
That day, with a small, warm, hand settled upon his head, the Kyuubi was a kit all over again.
"The world is a place of change, just as the seasons. But after spring has passed, so will spring arrive once again. One day, Kurama. One day…another will know of your name. One day… you will find someone to tell your tales, once again. I promise."
Slowly, but surely, Kyuubi of the bijuu nodded.
The old man smiled. "Tell me, Kurama. Tell me of your journey."
So the Kyuubi did. He told stories of challenging giant and mystical toads. He told stories of talking to weird, well-mannered slugs and stomping despicable, obnoxious snakes. He told stories of human settlements and castles in the far west. He told stories of strange, metallic boats and unusual weaponry of fire and metals. He told stories of dark beasts that roamed the night as well as tales of creatures that ruled the sky. He told of corners of the world, large and wide.
And as he continued with story after story, the sun rose once again.
It took a while, Old Man. But I think I managed to find a bigger fool than you.
He is headstrong and reckless. His emotions rule him and most of the times it's a wonder he doesn't die in a fire-pit of negative brain capacity. But he is strong. His will is that of fire. Vibrant and true. His possibility is never zero.
He saved us. And the world.
Still… …I don't know if he can change the world, or if he even wants to. But… I'll stick around to find out.
I've got time.
I'm not so angry anymore.
"Oi, Kurama! What's the hold up! Get a move on, dattebayo!"
"Shut it, Brat! I don't answer to you! And for the last time, stop using my name in public! It's classified Bijuu information!"
"Aw, c'mon! You're the Ultimate Furball of Konoha! People will find out eventually! Stop pussyfooting around!"
"One of these days, Brat…"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. You'll grind me into paste to use as fertilizer for the Forest of Death. Now let's go! Ramen's awaiting! And don't forget, you promised to tell me the story about that old guy who invented chakra and ninjutsu and stuff!"
"Ha! As if that meager organ you call a brain can retain an attention span long enough to hear the tale! I fear for this village and the future of the Shinobi World once you become Hokage! You will probably lead everyone straight into the abyss!"
"Oi! Take that back, you big, smelly jerkface!"
"Bwahaha! Make me, puny mortal!"
That evening, for the first time in centuries, at a small ramen stand in Konohagakure, the Kyuubi tells a story of a man and a time long since passed.