A/N: This going to be the start of a collection of drabbles I've written on my roleplay blog (kyuuzuchiha DOT tumblr DOT com). I roleplay as Naruto and Sasuke (also Nezumi from No.6 on another blog too). I figured I would start sharing my drabbles on here, since I cherish a lot of them. Know that the characters listed when browsing will be only the characters involved in the latest update. So, for now, it's Naruto and Kyuubi. But for the next update, it will change.
Title: I Have The Power
Word Count: 1472
Rating: K+
Characters: Naruto Uzumaki, Kyuubi/Kurama, Jiraiya, Tsunade Senju
Setting: Alternate Universe, Modern-Day
Summary: Ever since his parents died when he was just baby, Naruto has lived with his Pop (Jiraiya) and Baa-chan (Tsunade). He could never understand why he was outcasted as a child, so he repeatedly did all he could do to connect to the other children. That involved upgrading his stuffed fox into an imaginary friend, thinking that it might be the toy that made the other kids dislike him. That was when Kyuubi turned from harmless friend to a separate identity. Now, Kyuubi is this presence that lives in the back of Naruto's head. He can manifest himself physically, make Naruto hallucinate, and even take over Naruto's body if he has the chance. After a multi-month boat trip with his godfather, Naruto learned how to best control Kyuubi so that he could lead a normal life. It's not a question of what Kyuubi will do any longer, but whether or not Naruto has the strength to withstand the tormenting entity.
Naruto laughed uncontrollably as Jiraiya tickled mercilessly him. He kicked his legs in a wild attempt at escape, but to no avail. His godfather was sitting on them to pin the boy down. He tried to still the tickling hands with brute force before simply trying to shove the man off of him, but he was laughing and squirming far too much to make any headway at all.
"B-Baa-chan!" he squealed between giggles. "H-H-Help!"
Tsunade looked up from the papers she had been reviewing—official complaints and statement from various parents that were, essentially, the cause of Naruto being kicked out of school—and smiled. This is what those parents referred to as a monster? Did they even know of who they spoke? Because Naruto was such a kind, loving, and gentle child. This boy laughing wildly on her living room floor was anything but a monster. It was what sat within Naruto that they spoke of. Yet, that was far too complicated a thing to explain to anyone who was not within their tiny circle. Too quickly was Naruto labeled with words synonymous of crazy and insane, or worse even.
"B-BAA-CHAN!" Naruto hollered desperately, snapping Tsunade back to the present. She opened her grinning mouth to answer, but Naruto cut her off before she could begin. "STOP!" he screamed suddenly, his voice taking on an extremely urgent tone.
Jiraiya immediately pulled his hands away. "Did I hurt you?!" he asked quickly, worry and fear clearly etched into his expression.
Naruto looked up at Jiraiya, looking slightly dazed, with big, innocent eyes and shook his head slowly. "No... I—" He cut off and furrowed his brows. "Stop," he repeated sternly. His vision cleared as he looked back up at Jiraiya, who had moved off his legs to sit beside him instead.
The man scrutinized Naruto carefully for a moment. "Kyuubi?" he asked. Naruto nodded. "Remember what I taught you." Naruto nodded again, and Jiraiya nodded back. They all waited, then, in silence.
A few moments later, Naruto's eyes began to well with tears and his lip began to tremble. Jiraiya put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed firmly, but Naruto was completely unaware of his presence.
"Stop," the boy muttered weakly, wiping his eyes with the backs of his hands.
"Naruto!" Jiraiya snapped, causing the child to startle and look at him. "Stop crying," he demanded. "Toughen up. Now."
Everything about the usually relaxed man was suddenly regal—his words were harsh, his tone unforgiving, his eyes sharp and intolerant—and it was all too coarse for Naruto to handle in this state of vulnerability that Kyuubi had suddenly reduced him to. The man inside Naruto always knew what buttons to push to weaken and hurt him the most. Naruto tried with all his might, but he couldn't stop himself from crying.
"I'm s-s-sor-ry," he choked out, curling into himself and beginning to sob.
"He's just a boy!" Tsunade hissed sharply in Jiraiya's ear as she pushed past him to cradle Naruto in her arms, not hesitating to smack Jiraiya on the back of the head in passing.
She had never been motherly type. But when Naruto was thrust upon her after his parents' deaths, she had learned that this type of love came naturally. It was impossible not to fall in love with a child and want to care for them. It was natural. Just as it was natural for her to comfort when he was so distraught.
"He has to learn to control him," Jiraiya defended. "He can't just—"
"He's nine!" Tsunade snapped. "He'll learn, Jiraiya. Give it time!"
"It's already been a year!" Jiraiya argued.
He was silenced, though, with another venomous glare from Tsunade that promised pain if he didn't shut up. He held back a scowl and looked away. He preferred not to fight with Tsunade if he could help it, even though Tsunade really was way too gentle with Naruto in times like these. It wasn't as if Jiraiya enjoyed being so rough with Naruto, but he had to learn to control Kyuubi. And Naruto couldn't control Kyuubi without a backbone.
For a long while, Naruto simply cried as Kyuubi taunted and poked and prodded at him from the back of his brain. He must have become too pitiful for the man to stand, though, because Kyuubi eventually just faded away instead of manifesting himself and taking over Naruto's body as was prone to do. Maybe he'd come to realize that there was never any fun in doing that with Jiraiya around, since the man could and would easily restrain Naruto and keep Kyuubi from getting to do anything fun. Tsunade was more passive, wishing to not use physical force if she could. She always tried to talk Kyuubi into submission. And, of course, that never worked.
Naruto's tears only subsided when he became too sleepy to cry any longer. So much time had passed that Tsunade had shifted so that Naruto lay in her lap and she could continue to read the papers she'd been looking over in the beginning. Eventually, Naruto sat up and yawned, noticing he'd been nodding off. Tsunade smiled warmly at him, lifting a hand to affectionately card through his hair as he rubbed at one of his eyes.
After a covert glance at Jiraiya to confirm that he was, more or less, back to his friendly self, she suggested, "Why don't you have Pop tuck you in, okay?" Naruto's eyes went wide and filled with protest, but Tsunade didn't back down. She understood how important it was for them to address the situation before Naruto went to sleep and forgot all about it. Gentle as she tried to be, she understood how pressing these matters were, and they couldn't be ignored. She just pushed Naruto in the forehead playfully and grinned at him. "Go on, brat. Get outta here."
Naruto looked back at Jiraiya, who was already standing and waiting for him expectantly. He stared for a moment before he was able to stand and join him. He was glad to see a slight smile, at least, on the man's lips. It was that kind expression that gave him the courage to walk with the elder down to his room without breaking down into tears again. Although, he absolutely refused to meet his godfather's eyes out of shame and embarrassment. Despite Jiraiya's attempt at being approachable again, Naruto was wishing he could just disappear into a pile of dust.
As Naruto changed into sleepwear, Jiraiya sat on his bed and stared intensely into empty space. He only snapped out of his reverie when Naruto got under the covers. He moved to accommodate Naruto and tucked the boy in. Naruto was getting a little old for this sort of thing, but Jiraiya held on to the little tradition anyway. The sentimental side of him couldn't let go of these moments. He cherished them deeply. He loved this boy so much.
He sighed softly and tried to meet Naruto's gaze, but the boy promptly looked away and retreated under the covers slightly. That only made his heart ache more. "You understand, Naruto, right?" Jiraiya asked softly, uncertainly. "You understand why I'm tough with you about Kyuubi, don't you?" Naruto nodded, still averting his eyes and pulling the covers up even more to cover his nose. "Truly?" Jiraiya prodded.
Naruto nodded again. "Truly," he answered, his murmur barely audible through the barrier of the blanket.
"Good."
Jiraiya reached out, then, and pulled the covers down so that he could turn Naruto's face by the chin until they were face to face. Rather than forcing their eyes to meet, though, he simply kissed the boy on the forehead adoringly. He lingered only a moment, even if he never wanted to let go, and looked off toward the door.
"I'm only protecting you," he added, his voice quiet and gentle. "That's all."
He paused, finding it hard to give his legs the strength to lift him and carry him away from this precious child. But he did say his goodnight and stand to leave after a short moment. As he was about to go through the door, Naruto said in a voice so soft that it was almost missed, "I love you, Pop."
But Jiraiya had heard, and he paused, and he gripped the doorknob tightly as tears tried to break free from his own eyes. Now it was his turn to be embarrassed of his emotion. He gave himself a moment to steady his voice before returning the sentiment.
"I love you too, Naruto." He glanced over his shoulder at the bright, blue eyes boring into him and smiled gently. "Sleep well. And don't forget, you have the power."
Naruto smiled back. "I have the power," he repeated, his voice noticeably lighter as he nodded with confidence.
