AN: Here is the second chapter of Paper Reality. I'm happy that I received some positive feedback. I messed up with paragraphs while uploading first chapter, and for that I'm terribly sorry. I fixed it. This will be somewhat filler chapter, when Naruto awakes himself back in Konoha. For your information, I don't plan bashing characters, so don't be surprised that Sasuke isn't complete jerk in this story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, however I do own stuffed Kurama plushie.

"Normal writing": people talking

"Italics": People thinking

"Bold": Tailed beasts or summons talking, jutsu names

"Bold italics": Tailed beasts or summons thinking

Chapter 2 - Dillemma

Naruto started to wriggle in his bed, courtesy of sunrays assaulting his eyelids without mercy. He didn't even have to open his eyes to tell where he was. The smell of antiseptic was all he needed to know, to tell that he didn't like this place.

"Damn, hospital again. Gaahhhh, I hate hospitals! I have to get out of here quick, I'm starving."

As a proof of that stating Naruto's stomach growled. He tried to get up, but failed. When he finally opened his eyes, he found himself chained to hospital bed.

"Great, I guess it was baa-chan's idea. She knows that I can't stand hospitals. Crap, now I have to wait for her. By the way, I wonder for how long I was out."

He looked to his left, where was a small table. On top of it he found a lot of cards, flowers and gift boxes neatly wrapped in decorative paper.

"Is this all for me?" He thought to himself. Being alone for over half of his life, he wasn't accustomed to gifts. Naruto, being hyperactive ball of energy, wanted to check all of the items immediately, but because of those damn ties he could only lie in bed. Just when he was about to have a talk with Kurama, the door to his room opened and Tsunade walked in.

"Hey Gaki, how are you feeling?" She asked.

"Im as good as new baa-chan! Can I go home now, you do know that I can't stand hospital food. I wanna go to Ichiraku… And can you tell me how long I was asleep?"

Tsunade decided to ignore the nickname, this is Naruto we're talking about. He never shows any respect.

"I'll give you a quick checkup and if everything is allright, then you're free. It's a good thing that I personally chained you to bed, otherwise I would have to send ANBU to chase you aroud the village right now." She said with a smirk. "And for your other question, you were out for 5 days. You had one hell of a chakra exhaustion. If not for the Kyūbi, you would probably end up in coma, or even worse. You are NOT indestructible, so don't push your luck."

"So it was your idea you damn old hag, I knew it!" Naruto shouted. Tick mark appeared on Tsunade's forehead and she barely restrained herself from punching the lights out of Naruto.

This brat was really getting on her nerves… If looks could kill, then Naruto would be turned into steaming pile of ash. Naruto decided to not try his luck anymore, after all Tsunade could just leave him in a hospital for another day, and he wasn't eager to spend another day in this place. The busty Hokage did quick scan with medical jutsu, and then undid the ties.

"You're fully healed Gaki, though I would recommend to not train to hard for now. There was something strange with your blood sample, as if some foreign genes mixed with it, but I believe that it was a mere coincidence. It could get soiled or something. You're free to go, so get out of here before I decide to change my mind."

"Thanks baa-chan!" He said, and was about to jump out the window. But then he reminded himself that he has to do something about the gifts he received.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" 2 clones appeared next to the original and without a word they went to grab the items. With that problem solved, the original Naruto decided to go grab some ramen.

The blonde Senju looked at her surrogate son with amusement. He always brought light to her life, even if he could be annoying sometimes. "Who am I kidding? He's almost always annoying me. But I just can't stay mad at him longer than 5 minutes. I think it's time for Sake. I hope Shizune hasn't found my secret reserve." She thought. She wasn't paying mind to that blood test anymore. After all Naruto never really got sick, so she simply decided to forget about it. Little did she know, that the sample wasn't soiled…

Naruto was racing through streets of Konoha, his mind set on getting at least ten bowls of steaming, delicious ramen. Poor Gama-chan wasn't going to like it. The orange loving boy was so lost in his own ramen filled world, that he haven't noticed the looks, he was getting from young girls. Whispers and giggles could be heard, but the blonde Uzumaki wasn't paying mind. After few more minutes he found himself in front of Ichiraku ramen stand. The smell was so intoxicating, that he couldn't help but drool.

"Are you going to order something, or just stand here all day Naruto-kun?" Asked the owner's daughter.

"Oh, hey Ayame-neechan, I just got lost in my thoughts for a moment, he he…" He gave her sheepish grin, while rubbing back of his head in his typical fashion.

"Ow, you were thinking about me, weren't you?" Ramen waitress teased him. Naruto immediately blushed bright red, and started making excuses. That only served girls further amusement.

"Allright Naruto-kun, I was only teasing you." She said, saving him from further embarrassment. "So, what would you like to eat today?" She went to her 'professional mode'.

"I think that six bowls of miso ramen, two bowls of beef and two pork with extra fillet will do." He replied.

"Okay, it'll be ready in few minutes!" With that said Ayame went to prepare the meal.

Meanwhile Naruto's doppelgangers made it to his apartment. They placed all things on his kitchen table, and then dispelled themselves. Apparently their journey was uneventful. While Naruto was going through bunshin's memories, Ayame made his meal and placed it on a counter. When the aroma assaulted his nostrils, he immediately was snapped out of his thoughts.

"Itadakimasu!" He grabbed a pair of chopsticks and dug in his ramen. He ate in silence, enjoying his meal. After a few minutes Ayame decided to break the silence.

"So… Tell me how are you feeling now, that the whole war is over? I can see, that a lot of people is talking about you. You're quite popular, after all it's thanks to you that the war is over. You're everyone's hero." She asked him. Naruto immediately lost his smile. It was sore topic to him. Even if everyone was alive again, for some reason he didn't want to talk about it. As if he was trying to hide something.

"I'm just happy that this nightmare is over. War is something, that you cannot describe with words. You have to see it with your own eyes. It's painful, seeing your comrades die in front of you. I finally understand what Nagato said about war, when I confronted him in that paper tree. I think that's it. As for me being hero, lets just say that I think people are exaggerating. I'm not the only one who fought on the frontline." It was strange that Naruto was so modest and reserved, instead of being his usual hyper self. It seems the war really made him more mature.

"I see…" Was all Ayame said. She decided to change topic. Maybe that will brighten the mood a little. "I'm glad that you're back, Konoha wasn't the same without you. It was way to quiet." Ramen waitress said.

"Yeah, I'm also happy to be back in the village. After all, now I'm definitely going to become Hokage –ttebayo!" He replied with his trademark Uzumaki verbal tick, and gave her thumbs up.

He could probably talk with Ayame little longer, but Sasuke made his appearance known.

"Naruto, we have to talk." He said. It was rare for Sasuke to use Naruto's name instead of calling him 'dobe', and usually meant that the last Uchiha was serious, and Naruto knew it.

"What do you want to talk about Sasuke?" Was the blonde's reply.

"I want simply to ask you a few questions. Come to the my house tonight at 8 o'clock. Don't be late."

With that said, Sasuke was gone, leaving curious Naruto, who wasn't hungry anymore, after eating 10 large bowls of ramen. So the Kyūbi jinchūriki paid for his meal, and decided to go home and check his gifts.

10 minutes later we find him in his apartment. Curiosity was literally eating him. So he started to unpack his presents. He received a huge bunch of flowers from Ino, as a 'thank you' for giving her back her Dad. Inoichi along with Shikaku and rest of people who were in HQ building was also revived after Naruto's clash with Madara. It brought a big smile to blonde's whiskered face. He was truly happy, that Ino and Shikamaru could have their parents back. After all he knew how does it feel to be orphaned.

Next was gift box wrapped in orange paper. He found it was from Iruka-sensei. It was brand new Hitai-ate, that resembled Jiraya's own forehead protector. It was horned (just like gama-sennin's) and made of reinforced steel finished on high gloss. On the steel plate was engraved Konoha's leaf symbol, and next to it kanji for "oil", which symbolized Naruto's affiliation to both Konoha and Mount Myōboku. Said blonde was speechless, after seeing this gift. It reminded him of Ero-sennin. But at the same time it also brought back memories from time, when he graduated from academy, after the incident with Mizuki. This gift was just perfect. Naruto could barely hold back tears.

He went through the rest of items, until only one box left. This was wrapped in lavender paper and was anonymous. Inside He found dark orange trench coat, that was very similar to his father's own. On it's back was written in kanji 'gama sennin' which meant toad sage. Bottom was adorned with black flames. It was made from the highest quality material, very light but at the same time extremely durable. Naruto was speechless again, it must cost small fortune. At the same time he was happy, because after the war his favourite outfit was left in shreds.

He haven't even noticed that the whole thing took him nearly four hours and it was about 4 o'clock.

"Man, I really can't wait to wear that coat. It's a piece of art, just like that hitai-ate from Iruka-sensei. I wonder who gave it to me. Heh, I'll have to do some 'research' in that matter. But right now I could use a hot bath. After all I have to get ready to visit the Teme tonight, so relax in hot water is really tempting. I wonder what does he want from me…"

Meanwhile in Hokage tower, Tsunade was far from being happy. Stacks of that triple-damned paperwork were piling on her desk. Not only that, most of that paperwork regarded her favourite knucklehead. Marriage proposals from all over elemental nations. She really wanted to just burn that all papers. There was no way in hell that she will let some harpy have her surrogate son. Not that she wanted Naruto to be alone for the rest of his life. She just wanted him to find a wife by himself, not force him to marry someone he doesn't love. She simply wanted him to be happy. But damn, this paperwork was getting on her nerves. So she opened her drawer to get herself a bottle of sake, only to find a message from Shizune, saying that it's not time to get drunk, because the paperwork wont do itself. Now, Tsunade was really asking herself, why she did agree to become Hokage in the first place…

It was 5:45 when Naruto came out of bathroom. He felt refreshed. It was so long since he had a nice hot bath last time. He decided to grab himself some water to drink, and then maybe watch something in TV. But before he could turn the TV on, Kurama decided that was good time to talk with his host.

"So Naruto, when are you going to tell someone the whole truth about your fight with Madara? You do know, that you will have to tell someone eventually. If you think, that you can just bottle it in yourself, then you're wrong. It'll just eat you from inside. Not to mention, the power you now possess will be useful in future." The ancient kitsune said.

"Maybe I'll tell Baa-chan or Iruka-sensei someday. But right now I don't think I'm ready to tell anyone. I still can see Madara's terrified face, when I close my eyes. I want to forget it so badly… And I don't want to use THAT power ever again. I hate it. " Naruto replied.

"Do you REALLY hate it? Think about it. You may hate the way you obtained it, it's reasonable. But if we didn't reverse Madara's technique, then YOU would be dead in his place, and everyone would be doomed. He wanted to take your life force to save himself, and with Uzumaki longevity probably no one could take him down. Face it, you did the right thing. And because of you did, everyone is alive again." Kurama reasoned.

"Maybe you're right. But his death was horrible, even if he was total bastard. And now I'm cursed with his power. I don't know what to think anymore."

"Face it Naruto, it was necessary. He deserved it. He didn't hesitate to use Obito, nor did he when he used that kinjutsu to take you down. Without him world is better place. Maybe you should talk about it with Sasuke, he could feel the same after taking Itachi's eyes to obtain Eternal Mangekyo. I think he'll understand you." Kurama tried to lift his hosts spirits.

"Allright, I'll TRY to tell him, but no promises. I don't even know what he wants to talk about."

"That's all I ask." The fox said.

After the small talk with his tenant Naruto tried to kill some time watching TV. It was about 7:30 when he left his apartment and went straight to Sasuke's house. When he arrived, Sasuke greeted him with his trademark 'Hn'. They went to living room, where on a coffee table was a teapot and 2 cups. Sasuke may seem impolite and arrogant, but he knew how to treat a guest.

"So, what do you want to talk about Sasuke?" Naruto started.

"Tell me the whole truth about your fight with Madara. I know that you're hiding something. Tell me, why did you go after him all alone. I know that you easily get cocky, but I've got a feeling that it wasn't just a cockiness."

"You're busted." Kurama laughed in Naruto's mind.

"Oi, go back to sleep fuzzbutt, you're not helping at all!" Replied annoyed blonde through mental link.

"Don't get mad at me, I'm just stating the obvious." Kyūbi said back.

"Oh, thank you so much Mr obvious…"

In the real world Sasuke was getting impatient. Naruto was spacing out, when he was supposed to answer his questions.

"-ruto! Oi, Naruto! Stop spacing out, I asked you something." Sasuke said while poking his friend in the shoulder.

"Ah, sorry about that. It was Kurama's fault. Anyway, as much as I don't want to talk about it, I know that I have to tell someone." Naruto took a sip of a tea, and continued. "I wanted do fight Madara alone, because I was mad. I wanted to kill him. He, or rather his insane plan was the reason of that pointless war. He was indirectly responsible for my parents' death. If not for that madman, then Obito wouldn't attack Konoha all those years ago, my mother and father would be alive… Maybe even your clan wouldn't have planned the coup d'etat. We could have different childhood, different life." Naruto was on verge of tears. He rarely got that emotional, and Sasuke knew it.

"So it's just as I thought." Sasuke replied after a while of silence. "I just wanted to hear it straight from you Naruto. How ironic, I thought that we're totally different. You never seemed to be the type to seek vengeance. But I realize that we're so much alike. Finally I found someone, who cand understand me." Naruto looked at his friend wide eyed. He couldn't believe what he just heard. Sasuke just said that they're similar. That they can understand each other. Naruto was happy that his friend was back, that he achieved his goal.

"I know that it's still not the whole truth, but for now it's enough." Sasuke stated. Naruto was grateful, that his friend wasn't pressing him to tell the rest of things. He really wasn't ready for that yet.

"So tell me Sasuke, what is your punishment for leaving Konoha?" Naruto asked, trying to change the subject.

"I'm on a probation for year. I can't leave Konoha and do any missions. There are at least 3 ANBU observing me while I'm going around the village. But after the year I should have all my rights back. I will have a seat in the village council as the head of the Uchiha clan."

Sasuke replied. Naruto was happy, that Sasuke was only on trial, and not in jail, or even worse. After all, nuke-nins are usually executed, not put on trial and reinstated.

The two friends talked about their lives for another few hours. It was almost 11:00 when they called it night. But before leaving, Naruto decided to ask Sasuke a question.

"Sasuke,"-he started- "I want to ask you something personal. Tell me, how do you feel about having Itachi's eyes." That earned him a raised eyebrow from raven haired teen.

"Hn, they are very powerful tool. Sometimes I feel a little uneasy, knowing that Itachi was innocent. But he reassured me that I should use his eyes to protect my own family in the future. My family, and friends. That's it. Sasuke said with a thoughtful look.

"I see…" was all that Naruto said. "I think, that I'll go now. It's really getting late. See you around!" And with that, the blonde shinobi left. "Hn, see you… Usuratonkachi." Sasuke replied with his trademark smirk. But after Naruto left, the last Uchiha started to think about his last question. Why the hell did Naruto ask him about having Itachi's eyes so suddenly. Something wasn't right, and it irked the dark haired boy. Naruto could be very secretive sometimes. If he didn't want to tell something, then there was no way to force it out of him.

Back in his apartment Naruto was thinking about what Sasuke told him. "Maybe Sasuke is right. Maybe I should use IT to protect my precious people."

"I told you. But you're as stubborn as always. It was the same with my power. At first you didn't want to use it. But now we are working together as partners. Remember that it's not Madara's power anymore. Now it's your own, you deserve to use it. You took it just like you took my chakra, in a serious fight. You didn't steal it. Besides, at least you'll use it for better purpose. So stop whining and get serious. You're not a crybaby, so stop acting like one. You have powerful tool, and after you learn how to wield it properly, you WILL use it. Am I clear?" Once again Kurama decided to beat some sense into his host.

"Thanks Kurama, you are right as usual. What would I do without your wisdom?"

"Probably get yourself killed. Anyway, It's good that you finally understand. You should probably go to sleep now, it was a long day. We can talk more tomorrow."

"Yeah, let's call it night. I'm tired." Naruto closed their mental link and went straight to bedroom. After closing the door and undressing, he hopped on his bed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow. His tenant was still awake. Thinking what the future will bring for him and his host.

"I wouldn't press you so much to learn how to use those eyes, Naruto. But I have a feeling, that our future life wont be as easy as you think Kit." The giant fox thought, then went to sleep, just like Naruto.

And that's it for now. I'll try to update weekly, but no promises. I hope you liked this chapter. Naruto somehow absorbed some of Madara's power during their fight. It will be explained in 4th chapter along with other things. In next chapter Tsunade will choose her successor as the Hokage, and Naruto will not be pleased with her choice. He'll have to make a decision, that will change his life. But enough spoilers. See you next time in Paper Reality. Ja ne!