A/N (15/5/2013): Another month gone by with nothing to show for it. =( At this point, I'm probably going to change my approach entirely, skipping past Naruto and Kurama's early years and picking up when they start at the ninja academy.

I apologize to anyone who reads this for how long it's taking me to get this story going.


A/N (15/4/2013): Keeping to my promise of an update once a month, here's an unfinished, unbetaed, potential beginning for the first chapter. Considering that this is all I've managed in a whole 31 days, I'll probably end up completely scrapping this bit and starting over from a different perspective.

Please don't review this, as it will eventually be replaced with an actual chapter.


Chapter 1

A Rough Start

In his earliest memories, it was just the two of them. When they were together, it was good. When they weren't, it was bad. Time passed slowly, and others entered their world. The old man. The lady who fed them. The silent watchers who hid themselves away.

But no matter who came and went, she was always there. Even when they were separated and couldn't feel each other's warmth, when they were sad not knowing where the other had gone, they could still sense each other's presence. Her soft fur against his cheek would help him fall asleep, and her rough tongue against his nose made him giggle.

Eventually, the pair started trying to copy the sounds (words) the others made, since the others responded to the sounds. The others couldn't sense those around them the way the two of them could. He had a lot more success than she did, at least in the way the others could hear. Watching the others, they learned their names and the differences between them. He was Naruto, a human. She was Kurama, a fox.

The others around them were all humans like him, and that made the pair curious. Where were the other foxes? He tried asking the old man one time, but the old man gave off a feeling Kurama didn't like, and the answer he gave was weird. He didn't ask about the foxes again. But there were lots of other things he asked the old man, because the old man knew lots and lots of stuff, and he normally gave off good feelings when answering.

He had to ask for Kurama, too, because the others couldn't understand her like he could. He asked about the people who came and went and about the ones who were always there, and the old man told them about "adults" and "ninja." He asked about the food the lady gave them and why she was sad all the time, and the old man told them about "milk" and "death." he asked about the smooth see-through wall and what was on the other side, and the old man told them about "windows," "village," and "outside."

Kurama was the first one to realize the connection between the words the humans made with their voices and the symbols they would draw on things all the time.