"Is something wrong?" Yamato said looking at the still unmoving form of Naruto before him. "He won right? Why is he still like that?"
"Chill dude, he's probably talking with the Kyuubi" said the Killer Bee, quickly losing interest now that Naruto had won.
"What! Talking with the nine-tails?"
"Yeah, man. When I bet the Hachibi I talked to him. Turns out he was a pretty cool dude."
"Somehow that doesn't make me feel better."
It wasn't making Naruto feel better either.
The red-headed vixen gave Naruto a disgusted look and walked a few feet away keeping her back to him. "Can't believe my first host is such an idiot. Just leave. You got what you came for. I never want to see you until our pathetic existence is over."
Naruto slowly got up and shook himself as if trying to jumble his thoughts into their proper places. "Hang on, you're, um, you're…"
"You're what? Female?" said Kyuubi looking over her shoulder.
"No, well that too, but, your human… sort of." Naruto stared at the obvious differences between her and your average human female. Not only did she have nine red tails with white tips but when he looked closer he noticed two red fox ears on the top of her head.
"That's because I created this form to interact with humans. Obviously that was a mistake." The bitterness of that last comment was palpable. Naruto cringed at the thought of what she had gone through to make her like this.
"Oh." Naruto said with an understanding look on his face that wouldn't fool a three year old. "Well, is there anything I can do to help?"
With that question the fiery red-head rounded on him, hands clenched firmly at her side, and stomped over to within inches of his face. The glare she gave him could have topped even Sakura's instantly. "HELP! I don't want your help or your pity!" After her explosion, the nine-tailed woman cooled off and replaced her fierce look with one of suspicion.
"Why would you help me anyway? I am cause of all the misfortune in your life. I am the reason the villages hated and shunned you as a child. I am the reason your life is in danger from Akatsuki. I have tried to take over your body numerous times, so why? Why should I believe that you would want to help me? You should hate me." She looked into his eyes as if trying to rest the answer from his soul. Naruto looked back with the same intensity.
"Your right, I should." The once mighty nine-tailed demon fox flinched and looked away from his face at the confirmation of her earlier statement. "But, I don't. Most of that isn't your fault."
"Of course it is. How could you know any different?"
"I met my father, the fourth Hokage. He told me someone was controlling you, an Uchiha named Madara. The villagers and Akatsuki aren't your fault. Also, all those times you took over you saved my life. I can't really be mad at you for that even though it was as much to save your life as it was mine. If anything I should thank you. The power and strength you have given me are what make me such an awesome shinobi. Without you I probably wouldn't have even survived my first C-Rank mission let alone defeat so many other powerful shinobi."
The Kyuubi absorbed his words with a look of shock and confusion. She was certain that he would furious with her because of all the hardships he had to endure just because she was in his body. He had to work and train several times harder than anyone else just to keep up. He had no encouragement, no support, and no family to speak of yet here he was, offered an easy excuse for why life had left him in the shadows and yet he wasn't taking it. He was again, taking the burden off someone else's shoulders. She had to make sure what he was saying was real.
"You… don't hate me?"
"I have felt annoyed by you, but I have never hated you. I still think you're a stupid, old fox though." The once excellent prankster smiled inwardly as he got the reaction he wanted from that last joke. He saw the sides of her lips rise just slightly. It wasn't much but it was better than the scowl she had previously. Unfortunately, now that she was closer he could better take in every inch of her gorgeous body. He blushed slightly and looked away but his eyes darted back every few seconds.
"What?"
"Um, can you cover up or something?"
"What, do I make you uncomfortable?" Kyuubi stepped back one foot and spread her arms and placed them on her hips as if showing off.
"A little," the red-faced teen said pulling in his collar slightly to try and cool off his face.
"Good, the great Nine-Tails, strongest of the tailed beasts is reduced to making little boys uncomfortable." The obvious taunt quickly got a rise out of Naruto who turned to look her in the eyes with his chest slightly puffed out.
"Hey, I am taller than you and I am 16. I have been a man since I was 13 when I became a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village."
"Humph," was the vixen's only response but she covered up just the same. The tails proved to be more than just for show as the center one went between her legs and up to her naval while four wrapped around each side of her body and angled upwards. The effect was what looked like a fluffy, one-piece bathing suit that still left little to imagine what she looked like before. Naruto again found himself staring.
"You're starting to look like that perverted sensei of yours, Jaraiya."
Naruto's eyes widened at the comparison and the truth behind it. He immediately looked away and crossed his arms. A comical pout adorned his face but it was worth the embarrassment to see a slightly larger smile than before cross the demon foxes face. Naruto felt the mood was right to ask a question had been dying to ask.
"So, what was all that earlier, about taking everything away you cared about?" What little progress Naruto thought he made with her disappeared faster than Jaraiya when Tsunade caught him peeking. Her face had a mask of indifference but her eyes held unfathomable pain.
"It's nothing that concerns you."
"Oh c'mon, I said I would help."
"I said it doesn't concern you." Kyuubi crossed her arms and starred at Naruto with a look that said nothing more was going to be said. Naruto starred right back with a look that said oh yes you are.
"I think it does since it concerns Uchiha Madara. He is after me and I think I should know what happened." Again, the foxish female adorned a face a pure malice. The truth stung but that was nothing compared to the pain she had already been through.
"Fine you want to know why the only emotion my will carried when you took my chakra was pure, intense rage! You want to know why I hate you…" No. She couldn't include Naruto in her hatred of shinobi after he had taken the burden of his difficult life off her shoulders. "…a certain shinobi! I lost my love, my children, my freedom. All I had left was the possibility of escaping this damn prison and getting revenge. Now I don't even have that."