AlexandriteSky: Many, many thanks to IWishIWasACheescake, Ishieeee, and Om0cha for reviewing! Your feedback was greatly appreciated, and this next chapter is dedicated to you guys. I hope all of you enjoy this new installment!

Disclaimer: I think it's pretty obvious I don't own Naruto, but I would like to pay respect to where respect is due. Thank you Masashi Kishimoto for developing such brilliant characters that can be used to tell wonderful stories.

Chapter 2: Gray

Wake up, brat.

Naruto woke to an incessant nudging against his arm. Dazed and confused, the blonde slowly opened his eyes, only to shut them instantly in protest of the violent sunlight that assaulted them. He groaned loudly, wondering why his body felt like it had just been run over by bulldozer as his arm ignored his initial command to move.

He didn't understand why his bed was back underneath the window…he distinctly remembered moving it as to avoid that exact problem.

Maybe if he just slept a little more…?

If you even think about going unconscious again, I am going to bite you.

Who was talking to him, anyways? It sounded a lot like the annoying fox currently freeloading in his body, but that wasn't possible. After all, that would mean that the seal was broken, and such a thing would be very, very bad.

I'm going to bite you.

True to the stranger's words, Naruto felt sharp teeth sink into the flesh of his arm accompanied by blinding pain. With a howl, Naruto leapt to his feet, only to have his legs give out underneath him and send him crashing back to the ground. This time, his eyes stayed open, and they instantly flew to his assailant as curses came flooding from his mouth.

His cussing came to an abrupt stop as his brain struggled to process what he was seeing. In front of his dirt-covered face sat the Kyuubi, but he was in no way similar to how he had been during their last encounter. Perhaps meeting him while he was chained up within his body had altered his perspective, but Naruto definitely remembered the fox being a lot…larger. What sat in front of him now was an animal no larger than a big dog, though it still had nine tails protruding from its bottom end.

"Kyuubi?" Naruto asked incredulously, for a moment wondering if he was having some kind of crack dream.

Do you know any other nine-tailed foxes? The fox snarled, lips pulling back and showing off the sharp teeth he had utilized earlier to wake the blonde.

Before Naruto could get too worried over his unnaturally realistic hallucination, his memories of what had just transpired slowly began trickling back into his mind. It was as if his brain had shut off in order to preserve his body, ensuring that his limbs were functioning again before reminding him why he was lying next to a giant crater in the middle of the Valley of the End.

Sasuke.

The sorrow cut deeper than any blade. Naruto's eyes widened before they closed slowly, and he rose to a sitting position while Kyuubi watched intently.

"Why am I still alive?" he asked softly.

His chest could still feel the blade that Sasuke had used to pierce his heart, but the pain was nothing compared to the grief that overwhelmed him.

The same reason I'm not off torturing villages and eating people with my newly found freedom. Kyuubi replied with a growl of disgust. Your boyfriend messed up the extraction.

Sasuke tried to kill me. The thought remained permanent within Naruto's head, filling it to the point of obsession. He shook his head, trying to focus on the Kyuubi's words. "What?"

He managed to pull out my physical form, but my chakra remained in your body. That's why you're not dead and at the bottom of that lake over there.

"…How the hell did I manage to get out of the lake?"

I pulled you out, you idiot. This is not the detail you should be focusing on. Instead, figure out a way to give my chakra back to me! The fox roared, though he was significantly less threatening when he only came up to Naruto's hip, not to mention kind of adorable. The humor of the situation was lost upon the blonde, however; it was eclipsed by the image of Sasuke and the merciless glint of his eyes as they stared down at him from above.

Sasuke, who once held him so tenderly and got angry on his behalf when the villagers insulted him.

Sasuke, the man who had pulled him out of the infinite tunnel of loneliness, tentatively offering his warmth in his own clumsy way.

Sasuke, the one person Naruto had truly opened up to; the one person he had finally allowed to understand the person that was Naruto Uzumaki, both the good and the bad.

Naruto shuddered, biting his lip.

To be perfectly honest, he felt as though he would have been happier if he were still lying at the bottom of the lake.

Humans. Kyuubi snorted, probably annoyed by Naruto's extended period of silence despite his desire for a response. Always caught up in your emotions.

"Don't, Kyuubi." Naruto spoke quietly, head hanging in an uncharacteristic show of wariness and defeat. "Not now."

Kyuubi surveyed him with narrowed yellow eyes as he sat a few inches away from the blonde, his nine tails swishing behind him. Naruto glanced at him for a moment, wishing that the demon fox would leave him alone for a little bit. The last thing he needed right now was the fox's cynical personality and personalized death threats.

Still, the comfort of another living being was undeniable, and Naruto dissolved into chuckles that sounded just a little bit like sobs.

"You know what I realized, Kyuubi?" he laughed. The fox didn't reply, so the blonde continued on. "You're only one other person that knows me as well as Sasuke, seeing that you've been stuck in my body the past twenty four years. And you want to kill me too."

The fox calmly licked his paw.

Let's get going, brat. He stated flatly. There's a village pretty nearby. Your wounds have healed, but you're still in horrible shape.

"If I die, you're screwed huh?" Naruto asked, picking himself off of the ground slowly. "But I'm too much a push over to leave you behind in that state. Looks like nothing's changed at all."

You have. The fox observed, leading the way. He started with an easy pace, allowing Naruto to stay closely behind him as he gracefully sloped over the dry terrain. Naruto followed with considerably less ease, every motion just serving as another reminder of Sasuke's betrayal as he limped his way forward.

"The only person I've ever trusted just stabbed me in the heart. And I mean that in the most literal way possible – with his fucking sword." Naruto snapped, wincing as his legs threatened to give out. His stomach grumbled pleadingly, begging for some substance, but the blonde grew nauseous at the very thought of trying to eat. "I think I deserve to be cut some slack."

Normally, you would have picked your idiotic self off the ground and instantly went charging after that stupid boyfriend of yours, while I do everything I can to prevent you from killing yourself as you bask in your own idiotic valor. That's usually how it goes.

"I can't. I can't go through that again."

Kyuubi shot him a glance as they continued to move forward.

That is why I said you've changed.

"Almost my entire village hates me, and my boyfriend's made it pretty clear that he wants me dead. Maybe a change was in order." The blonde mused quietly. "I'm tired."

Tired of what?

"…People."

Careful brat, you're starting to sound like me. I don't take to cheap imitations kindly.

The fox's threats no longer held any weight, and they fell upon deaf ears.

The sun was setting in the background, casting their surroundings in a hazy glow that made Kyuubi's fur seem more vibrant than ever.

"I've always tried to show people who I am through my actions." The blonde commented, his pace slowing as it became difficult to continue at the rate that had been traveling. Kyuubi seemed annoyed, but he didn't say anything and merely drew back. "Right now, I don't even know what face I want people to see."

Humans love to philosophize over every little detail. Kyuubi sighed.

"Humor me. We'll be stuck together for a bit longer than you originally anticipated, it seems like."

Fine.

Naruto lapsed into silence. It took several minutes for him to reply, but when he did he spoke truthfully.

"I feel angry. And hurt. More than I know how to bear with. I've lived my entire life bearing the burden of being your host, so I know how it feels to be hated. But I never knew what it felt like to be loved, and even worse, what it felt like to have that taken away from you. If this was the way that it was meant to play out…I wish I had never met him at all." Naruto's voice cracked.

I'm trying really hard not to cry for you right now. Really, I am. The Kyuubi spoke sarcastically.

"You're like a thousand years old. Don't you have any deep words of wisdom to say instead of just constantly berating me for being human?" Naruto snapped, frustrated with the fox's meaningless replies. He didn't need sympathy; that was the last thing he wanted. All he needed was somebody to help him bring some sense back into his world, and though the fox's apparent indifference was welcome, his sarcasm was not.

A thousand years of hatred does not necessarily grant wisdom. Kyuubi replied. Surprised by the fox's admission, Naruto gazed at him questioningly, but Kyuubi did not turn around.

There was only one human in the entire world that I served willingly, but he died many, many years ago. I will tell you his words, though I am still unable to follow them to this day.

"The Sage of the Six Paths?" Naruto asked, thinking back what he had been told about the birth of the Jinchuuriki.

Yes. My creator. Like any human, he died, leaving all of us tailed beasts on our own. Before he did, he told us all that every meeting is fated, no matter what sorrow some may bring. However, if you find the strength to continue forward, you may just find another path – one that will bring you to where you were truly meant to be.

"…" Naruto remained silent.

He created us, only to be with us for a mere human's life time. Afterwards, he left us to the whims of man for more than thousand years, with nothing and nobody to guide us. Only his words remained, but words were not enough. I too sometimes wonder if it would have been better if we had never met.

"And your conclusion?"

After a thousand years, I have yet to find one. Come, brat; all of this talking is a waste of precious time and energy.

Frustrated, Naruto bit his lip and obeyed, though the fox's words continued replaying in his mind like a broken record.

It would have been better if we had never met.

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AlexandriteSky: I've noticed that the way I write Naruto's perspective changes dramatically from the way I write Sasuke's simply because of their different personalities. Also...I've always loved Kyuubi's character, and I've always wanted to see him and Naruto travel together without him being in Naruto's body. Is it just me?

AlexandriteSky: Thank you all for reading, and please review! Nothing motivates me to update more than hearing all of your responses.