Disclaimer: I do not own any of the anime/manga/movies/etc. that I write about; otherwise I would be a millionaire NOT writing on fanfiction publishing my own ideas.

Chapter 3

Naruto awoke with a start. His eyes darted around the room and he noticed he was no longer in the sewer-like room but his own bedroom of his apartment. Naruto went through a whirlwind of emotions, the most prominent one being disappointment. After talking with Kurama for most of the night, the boy had thought he made his first real friend, only to wake up leading him to believe the previous night's events were only a dream. 'Did any of that actually happen? Is there really a fox sealed inside of me?'

"It happened all right." Said a very familiar voice out of nowhere, causing Naruto to leap around 10 feet in the air giving off a high-pitched girlish squeal. Kurama's voice chuckled a bit before quipping, "Man Naruto, you sure aren't a morning person, are you?"

"Kurama?! Where are you, I don't see you anywhere!" Naruto called out while searching around the room, even going as far as to look underneath his bed and in his closet.

Inside the seal, Kurama didn't know whether to laugh or face-palm at his host's actions, so he settled for a sweat-drop. "I'm still in your mind Naruto. Now that we've made contact I can talk to you whenever I want as long as you don't block me out. Did you honestly think I could hide myself in this tiny room?" he asked rhetorically.

Naruto laughed sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head and said, "Well, what'd you think if you heard a voice out of nowhere? So, are you still sure about the plan?"

Earlier, Kurama had asked the blond if there was anyone he knew who might have an idea on why the fox was currently sealed in the boy and why it seemed like he was transported into the future. Naruto, after much thinking, had decided that Old Man Hokage would most likely have the answers. After all, he had seen many people come to the elderly man with questions during the times the man came to visit him on his birthdays. Naruto figured that if anyone could answer his questions it'd be the Old Man. That and the fact that he was one of a few people the boy whole-heartedly trusted. The whiskered child told his newly found friend about the old man and the fox had decided it would probably be for the best if the blond met with the aged leader.

"I'm sure. Hopefully this 'Hokage' guy can answer our questions or at least show us someone who can." Kurama replied with a nod of his vulpine head. He also figured that if the man tried anything fishy he'd be able to sense his ill intentions and be able to get Naruto safely away using his chakra.

"Alrighty then, but first some breakfast!" Naruto cheered happily while going into his kitchen and pulling out some instant ramen. Through Naruto's eyes Kurama looked on questioningly. "Hey Naruto, what's that?" causing the blond to halt in his tracks with a wide-eyed expression. "WHAT!? You've never heard of ramen before?! It's only the greatest food on God's green Earth, anyone who doesn't know that must be enlightened!" Naruto cried out while an angelic light surrounded him and you could faintly hear a chorus singing in the background.

'How'd he do that?' Kurama wondered about the strange phenomenon before shaking his head and, deciding to amuse the blond said, "Well, I've never heard of it but I think I know of a way I can. You see, if you allow it I can interact with the world through your body. From what I can tell of this seal though it'd only let me if you willingly allow it." Naruto thought about it and, even though he was creeped out by the whole 'using your body thing,' I mean what kind of sick, twisted, most likely pedophilic person would ever use that sentence? (Meanwhile in the still forming Sound Village an extremely pale man sneezed.) Naruto decided he'd allow it because he wanted to have a good relationship with his new found friend and he also felt obligated to show the fox the beauty that is ramen! So, with a mental nod of his head, Naruto allowed the Nine Tailed Fox interact with the world for the first time in 4 years (not that either of them were aware of this fact). Naruto's eyes became red with his pupil becoming a narrow slit. While the jinchuriki was aware of his surroundings and still had control of his body, it felt as though another presence was with him, almost like when someone stares over your shoulder.

The four year old poured the cooked ramen into a bowel after the aggravating three minute wait and started to dig in. Meanwhile, inside the seal, Kurama's eyes widened comically as he was able to taste the noodles through his host's senses. The young fox had never tasted anything like it before and he loved it! It was almost better than having live game from a forest! After Naruto slurped down the last of the ramen Kurama said, "That was awesome! Is there any way we can get more?" Naruto could practically see the waterfall of drool coming from the fox kit's mouth as his nine tails wagged behind him.

Naruto grinned a foxy smile. Yet another person has been taught the wonders of ramen! He couldn't wait to introduce Kurama to Ichiraku's ramen. Naruto changed into his street cloths after his morning routine of brushing his teeth and showering before heading out the door to go meet with the Old Man.

Scene Break

Hiruzen Sarutobi, nicknamed the God of Shinobi and the Professor by his peers. He was a man who led his village as it's Hokage for many years and had lived through all three major ninja wars. The elderly man had been taught by both the First and Second Hokage and had retaken his mantle after his predecessor died in the Kyubi attack four years ago. This great man was currently in his office and had just won a battle with his eternal nemesis: paperwork.

The aged leader smiled and leaned back in his chair while lighting up his pipe. So far the day had been going well for the man. He had visited his recently born grandson Konohamaru and was able to finish the towering stack of papers fairly early having worked on most of them the previous night so he'd be able to have a me day. The Third Hokage stretched his stiff muscles and was just about to reach into his desk to pull out his student's latest Icha Icha book when his office door opened.

Muttering a slight curse under his breath, the closet pervert looked to see who interrupted his me time. When he saw the mop of blond hair he smiled warmly and said, "Well good morning there Naruto!"

Naruto Uzumaki filled Hiruzen with both happiness and regret. It saddened the man that it was unlikely that the boy would ever live a normal childhood, given his little 'condition.' The elderly Sarutobi knew that the boy's life would be difficult due to his status as a host of the most powerful Biju, but it couldn't really be helped. Too many people had been present to witness Minato seal the beast into the new-born and, rather than risk that information leaking out without his knowledge and causing a riot, he decided to announce the boy's status to the village along with Minato's last wish for the boy to be seen as a hero in the hopes that the villagers would listen to their deceased leader's wish. It was all for naught sadly, as most people let their grief and hatred override all sense of reason. Fortunately nobody had actively gone out of his way to harm the child (just to be sure he had Anbu members on constant guard around the boy to stop any random drunkard or hateful villager) but the results were less than satisfactory.

The villagers had opted to just ignore Naruto's existence, besides the occasional derogatory insult aimed his way. Even though Hiruzen had forbade all talk of the boy's status to anyone under chunin rank or outsider, the people of the village had instead found a loophole by telling the children and any newcomers to the village that the boy was a no good troublemaker. The Hokage might be the supreme power in the village, but even he couldn't change people's hearts. The only real major scare he had with the boy though happened recently when the owner of the orphanage that Naruto was living in kicked the boy out a few weeks ago. Hiruzen had personally seen to it that the man got taught a lesson by Ibiki in the T and I division with the help of his latest assistant Anko. He also made sure that the boy was given a place to stay as well as lessons on how to live on his own so if Naruto ever found himself in a similar predicament at least the old man would rest easier knowing he could take care of himself. Sarutobi knew that his life in the village might improve if he told the villagers, or even the boy himself, who his parents were but he also knew that the potential cost outweighed the benefits.

But with the bad came the good. Naruto had a sunny disposition despite his hardships and a personality that just made people want to trust him if they ever got to know him. The elderly leader just knew that the boy was destined for great things. His mind snapped back to reality when said boy called out, "Good morning Old Man! How're you doing?"

"Oh this morning is going quiet well for me Naruto. So tell me, how have things been? Are you adjusting alright to your new home?" the Professor said while putting out his pipe so he didn't damage the boy's lungs.

"It's been going great so far Old Man! I'm able to make my own meals and stuff all by myself and everything," the young boy said excitedly. "Oh, and I've made a new friend named Kurama. He's actually one of the reasons I wanted to stop by 'cause we both gots some questions for you!"

"That's wonderful news Naruto! It's always a privilege to make new friends. So, who's Kurama and what questions do the two of you have?" Hiruzen said while on the inside he was extremely happy for the boy he'd come to see as a surrogate grandson. The old ninja was taking a long drink of some freshly brewed tea when the boy answered.

"He's a big fox I met last night in my mind and the two of us were wondering what's he doing sealed inside me?" the boy asked innocently and bluntly.

Let it be known that there are few things that could startle Hiruzen Sarutobi, but that question made the aged leader spit out the lukewarm tea he'd been drinking all over his desk. Unfortunately, the tea had soaked all of the papers he had just spent the last two days working on, ruining them completely.

'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOO!' Inner Hiruzen screamed while crying anime tears while the real Hiruzen just stared at the young blond in naked shock. He stared at the boy for a good five minutes while sputtering nonsense before Naruto started to wave his hand in front of his face and saying, "Hey Old Man, you still there?"

The Third quickly shook his head and cleared his mind before looking at the blonde's questioning face before asking, "H-how did you end up meeting this…Kurama, was it? And what did the two of you talk about?" After Naruto explained how he met the young fox and their discussion, Hiruzen went into deep thought. 'Has the Kyubi honestly lost its memory, or is it simply trying to trick Naruto? Kushina and Lady Mito once said that any contact that they made with the beast were never civil, so why does it seem like Naruto is different? And why does the fox call itself Kurama? Does it actually have a name?! I better gain another opinion on this before I make any decisions.'

Calming his features, the Professor looked at the boy and said, "Well Naruto, I do understand a bit of what happened to your new friend, however I need to talk to a few other people just to be sure on the matter. If it is alright with you can you come back sometime tomorrow afternoon? I'll make sure to answer your questions then to the best of my ability."

Naruto tilted his head like he was listening to something or someone and after a moment said, "Sure Old Man, I'll make sure to come by tomorrow!"

Before the blond left the older man called out to him, "Oh and Naruto; don't try doing anything in the seal until after tomorrow please. We wouldn't want anything bad to happen now would we?"

Naruto gave an affirmative wave before heading out the door. After the blond left Hiruzen paged his secretary and said, "Get me Jiraiya and Inoichi, they both should be in Konoha at this time so please make sure they arrive on the double." With that, the God of Shinobi turned to his stack of ruined papers and thought, 'Now how can I make these papers mysteriously disappear without a trace?'

Scene Break

Naruto casually strolled down the streets of Konoha while having a mental conversation with his foxy friend. While both were slightly upset that they couldn't get their answers right away, both of them could see that the information had shocked the old kage and they figured if he needed to take a moment to process everything. It did slightly worry the duo about how their might be more people getting involved, but figured that their current situation was over both their heads so having other inputs might not be a bad thing. Plus they figured the elderly leader wouldn't betray their trust so readily anyway, in their child-like innocence.

"So Kurama, anything you'd like to do today?" Naruto asked his friend out loud, earning a few weird glances from nearby spectators. Inside the seal, Kurama scratched his head in thought before saying, "Well, is there any place where I can get a full view of this village? I've never really seen a human town before so I'm kinda curious. Oh, and before I forget, ya might wanna talk to me using your thoughts from now on, I think your making others think you're crazy!"

Naruto looked around and finally noticed that everyone was looking at him like he grew a second head (still beat the glares though). He laughed sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head before sprinting towards the park. The whiskered child figured that the best way to show the kit the sites was to go to the top of the Hokage Monument that overlooked the village. As the boy traveled through the park that leads to the monument, he came upon an infuriating site.

A group of boys a few years older than him were surrounding a dark haired girl around his age and seemed to be shouting out random insults at the trembling girl. There were such phrases used as 'pale eyed freak' and 'stuck up noble' among them. The girl was clearly shaken and was trying not to cry, which seemed to encourage the bullies to increase their verbal assault. Then one of the boys shoved the girl from behind, causing her to fall on her knees. Despite what happened after he saved that pink haired girl from a similar situation a few days ago, Naruto's chivalry and sense of protecting those in need rose up with a vengeance. Kurama was mimicking his jinchuriki's train of thought and started to leak some of his chakra to the boy. The boy's pupils became slits while his whisker-marks thickened a bit, but no other immediately noticeable changes occurred.

The blond rushed forward and delivered a wicked haymaker to the bully who pushed the girl, sending him flying while missing a few baby teeth. The other boys, after getting over their initial shock, started to rush the younger child. Naruto ducked under one boy's punch with speed he didn't know he had and delivered a roundhouse kick to the back of the boy's knees, causing him to collapse in a heap. The next two rushed him at the same time with their fists drawn back but, due to Kurama's quick advice, the fox container was able to duck at the last second causing the boys to knock each other out. The final boy tried going in for a snap kick to the blonde's temple but the shot only grazed him leaving a slight cut. Naruto saw an opening and punched around the boy's still outstretched leg, nailing him square in the family jewels.

With all the bullies laid either out cold or in too much pain to cause further problems, the whisker-marked boy moved over to the girl he saved, who was still on the ground but in a bent over position with a wide-eyed expression having seen the whole one-sided fight. Naruto's features quickly returned to normal and his cut had already started to close as he moved over to the girl's position. Absentmindedly noticing the girls strange pupil-less pale lavender eye's, Naruto asked, "Hey, you alright?"

Snapping out of her daze the girl looked at her savior and stuttered out, "Y-yes, t-thank you for saving m-me." She said shyly.

Naruto gave a foxlike smile and said, "No problem! I hate it when jerks like them pick on others. My name's Naruto Uzumaki, what's yours?"

Slightly startled by the sudden change in topic the girl said timidly, "H-Hinata Hyuga."

"Hinata, that's a pretty cool name! Mine means maelstrom you know!" Naruto said in his usual loud way of speaking, "So what were those bone-heads messing with you for?" Internally Naruto was asking Kurama what he thought was wrong with the girl, as she kept stuttering and was looking a progressively darker shade of red. The Biju child just shrugged his hairy shoulders and said, "Beats me. Maybe she's still in shock or somethin'?"

Mentally nodding at the reasonable explanation, Naruto turned his attention to the young heiress before him as she was finally able to stutter out a response, "W-well, they m-might not have l-liked me for my c-clan. Most p-people seem t-to hold the H-Hyuga clan in h-high r-regard, b-but others look to us with j-jel-jelosily?" Hinata stuttered over her explanation that her father had given to her on why some people would treat her the way they do outside their compound. She hadn't fully understood it until today, due to her guardian Ko allowing her to go to the other side of the park as long as she promised not to go far so she could spend time with children her own age. She was just out of Ko's range of normal sight and hearing when the bullies had surrounded her and the following chaos ensued. Hinata was still trying to piece together why the blond (she blushed to herself) had gone out of his way to save her even though it looked like he had no idea who her clan was, let alone that she was the heiress of said clan.

Just as she was about to give her thanks to the boy, she heard Ko calling out to her and saw the Branch member standing on the hill looking worried. Hinata then turned to the mysterious boy and bowed while saying a quiet 'thank you'.

Naruto looked slightly bashful at the rare display of respect to him and said, "That's alright! Hope to catch you around Hinata!"

Said girl turned maroon and said shyly, "I-I'd like that." Before heading over to where her guard was waiting for her. Naruto nodded his head and said, "She seems nice, a little weird, but nice!" while on the inside he was hoping he had made another possible friend in the stuttering girl. "Gotta agree with you there Naruto. Hope those idiots learned their lesson not to mess with us huh?" said a certain fox Biju

Naruto blinked and said, "Oh that reminds me, what'd you do Kurama? I suddenly moved faster than ever and was able to take those jerks down with one hit!"

Kurama nodded with a flop of his long ears and said, "Yeah that's because I channeled some of my chakra into you." Noticing Naruto's dumbfounded expression Kurama elaborated, "It basically means I let you use some of my power so you wouldn't get your butt kicked by those other humans."

"Wow, so that's what your power is like? It felt awesome like I could do anything at all! If we work together, we could become an awesome ninja duo in the future, believe it!"

"Heh, that'll be something to think about later, right now you promised to show me the sights, y'know what I mean?" Kurama said before thinking, 'Why does it feel like I learned that from someone else?'

Naruto gave a nod and raced up the mountain side to sit on his favorite spot in the village, at the top of the Fourth Hokage's stone head. Kurama looked at the breathtaking site through Naruto's eyes and thought, "Wow, this is beautiful." Naruto grinned and said, "It sure is, isn't it?" The two spent the better part of an hour just watching the village from their vantage point in a comfortable silence before Naruto started to head back home so he could rest up for his meeting with the Old Man the next day.

AN: Well here we are again. Before anyone says anything, yes I know that eh interaction between Naruto and Sarutobi could have been better but I found myself lacking in knowledge on how to write a conversation between a four year old and a sixty year old about a giant fox demon. I'm always available for a beta or constructive criticism via PM's or reviews, so if people are able to give me enough material to work with I'll go back and edit this chapter. I don't want to set up an update schedule so as to not get people's hopes up, I'll update when I can as often as I can. I plan on adding at most two more stories onto my page but that'll be it. I don't want to write more stories than I can handle. Also, the more popular the story the more it'll get updated. Please note NONE of my stories will ever be discontinued. I'll allow people to try and adopt my ideas but I plan on at least trying to finish my own versions for my readers. Please keep on reading and reviewing and I want to thank everyone who's followed me and my stories so far, it must mean I'm doing something right! Till next time!