The great Kyuubi peered at the small blonde child from within his prison.
He sneered as she recklessly approached the OBVIOUSLY DANGEROUS ITEM in the middle of the seal room.
Since he didn't feel like dying today, he graciously forced his tails out through the bars towards the floating orb, intending to destroy it quickly, and rid them of whatever this threat was.
He suppressed all of his malice for the moment, forcing himself to remain calm so his energy would not leak outside his host's body and alert the sensors of the village.
Finally, the child noticed his tails approaching, and was startled out of her hyperfocus.
"Waaahh! What is that!" She cried as she took a tentative step back.
She watched as the several furry orange appendages surrounded the orange flame, and poised themselves to grab at it.
"No! Don't!" She cried as she reached forward. She didn't know why, but she just knew if that flame disappeared, something bad would happen.
However, it was too late. One of the appendages touched the small flame and was lit ablaze.
The flame traveled slowly and grew in strength. As they consumed the tail, the others began thrashing.
Naruto dodged the flailing tails as they began to burn as well. She didn't know what was happening and was just a little scared.
Whenever a tail was lit, it stopped its movement. When all but one had been taken, the last attempted to retreat, but the other 8 suddenly darted forward and grabbed it.
As the final tail burst into flames, a loud roar rang out in the room, and Naruto was forced to cover her ears.
"What was that?" She asked herself shakily.
She watched, enraptured as the tails filling the room slowly retreated further into the room, disappearing into a darkened area behind giant barred gates.
The original flame stayed where it had been all along, and flickered quietly.
She stared into the darkness with trepidation, unsure if she was in danger or not.
The darkness stared back, with gleaming red eyes.
Kurama opened his eyes.
Gone was the battlefield, devoid of life.
Gone was his Naruto, Her cheeks stained with tears of grief.
Gone was the overwhelming stench of death and decay.
Instead, he saw before him the bars of his old prison, and beyond them was the little girl Naruto whom he had detested and sneered at not so long ago.
He had done it, he had managed to make it to the past. Now, all he had to do was drag HIS Naruto back as well.
He watched as she cautiously approached his cell, her hesitance showing in every step.
"Hello? Who's there?" She asked with all the confidence she could manage to muster.
"Naruto…" He said with his booming voice.
"How do you know my name?" Naruto asked, her suspicion level rising rapidly. "Who are you, 'ttebayo!" Her verbal tic she had inherited from her mother surfaced due to the fear she was valiantly trying to hide.
"Naruto, you need to be strong. Something terrible has happened. There isn't much time for explanations, so I'll just say this, and explain the rest later." He paused for a moment to mull over how he should word this to her. "The future is in danger. YOUR future is in danger. I have come back to this point in time to give you a chance to change things for the better."
Naruto looked into the darkness, then looked back at the floating flame behind her. As she stared, she was filled with warmth, but beneath that warmth, she could now feel a slight tang of sadness.
She turned back to the giant caged eye.
"What do I have to do?" She asked with determination.
Kurama looked at her with all of his fondness.
That determined glint in her eye, the one that screamed to the world: 'I will never give up!' That was something he recognized from the Naruto who had earned his respect with her blood sweat, and tears.
"This seal is what keeps me here. If you rip it off, I will be released." He said but was quick to stop her before she tried to rip it off too quickly. "However! Attempting to do so will activate the first failsafe. This failsafe is a fragment of the chakra of the one who sealed me here. It will not last long, but long enough for me to explain what is happening. If I can convince him, I will be able to save your future self. And the rest of the world as well, I hope."
"So, all we gotta do is tear up this paper, and then save the world, 'ttebayo?" She asked with a tilt of her head.
"That's just the first step, I'll explain the rest once we have begun." He took a deep breath. This next part wasn't strictly necessary, but he knew this would bring the girl a bit of joy, as well as further convince her to go along with the plan. "There is something you should know about the person who sealed me." He began ominously.
"What? What is it?" Naruto asked, eager to get on with this and save the world.
"The person who sealed me is also your father." He revealed.
Naruto's breath caught in her throat.
Her father? Was she going to meet her father?
Tears began to well up from her eyes, but when she noticed the floating flame flicker once more, she remembered that they didn't have a whole lot of time.
Kurama could see she was as ready for this as she would ever be, so his tails reached out once more, and carefully raised her up to the paper seal on his gates.
Naruto reached for the seal, and soon after she got a grip on one of the corners, A hand came down and clasped her wrist.
She stared at it in fascination.
This was her father's hand. A hand she had imagined holding for years. It was pale, and the fingers long. There was staining around the cuticles. Ink, she supposed.
She lifted her head, peering towards his face, and gasped when she saw him.
"You are…" She said breathlessly.
After Minato Namikaze sealed a fragment of his chakra within his daughter, that fragment remained dormant until Naruto touched the physical manifestation of the seal. The moment she did, her memories flooded the fragment, and he awoke and appeared in the seal room.
Quickly doing what he was there to do, he grabbed his daughter's wrist and stopped her from releasing the Kyuubi entirely.
Naruto practically shook as she turned to face him.
As expected she recognized him right away. She had grown up looking up at his face her whole life after all.
"You are…" She said with shock and awe.
"Kyuubi! What is the meaning of this!?" He said as he turned to glare at the fox.
"Kyuubi?" Naruto gasped, and looked into the shadows of the cage, which had lifted with the revelation, revealing the Kyuubi's massive form to her.
She was understandably shocked. She had been taught that the Kyuubi was a mass of sentient chakra, filled with nothing but hate and malice. Yet, this creature before her had been kinder to her than any of the villagers had ever been, barring Iruka-sensei, Jiji, Teuchi, and Ayame.
"First, You should greet your daughter, Yondaime." He said with authority. "She has waited 12 years to finally meet you. She deserves your attention."
Kurama glared at the man, as he still held a slight grudge against him. He did not appreciate his forced imprisonment inside of infant Naruto, even if the event had begrudgingly brought him to the one his father had prophesied.
"As much as it pains me to admit this.." Minato began as he turned his face from the Kyuubi, "He's right."
His eyes softened as he looked down at his daughter.
"Naruto…" he said with love in his voice.
Naruto was having a mental crisis.
The Yondaime was her father?
The Kyuubi was INSIDE of her?
Her birthday was on the day of the Kyuubi attack?
The Kyuubi was SEALED INSIDE of her?
The Yondaime defeated the Kyuubi on her birthday?
The Kyuubi was SEALED INSIDE of her by the YONDAIME?
Her father defeated the Kyuubi?
THE KYUUBI WAS SEALED INSIDE OF HER BY HER FATHER ON THE DAY SHE WAS BORN?!
She was freaking out.
She couldn't figure out what emotion to feel.
Anger? Sadness? Joy?
"Naruto…" She heard her name called by her father and came to a decision.
She lifted her head and looked at her father, tears streaming down her face.
Suddenly she moved as fast as she could towards him, ramming her head into his stomach.
The Fourth Hokage grunted as his daughter suddenly headbutted him in the stomach, having not expected that, he was unprepared.
He was also unprepared for the death grip around his abdomen that immediately followed, as his daughter sobbed into his Jounin vest, babbling her woes and joys.
"Mmpfhh...mnmnrnnnmffss…under-ssaff...Kyuu…mmmffsd…" He pets his daughter's blonde hair gently as she continued to mumble into his vest. "Auundd...den geii Kubni wd rlly nce tu gee…ncre dem arr vijers…dun undsnd…"
As her mumbling trailed on, he looked to the Kyuubi behind him, making sure it would not attack while his back was turned, and he was preoccupied. But all he saw was the creature staring at them calmly, if a little impatient, as one of its tails was tapping impatiently like a foot.
To see such a human expression coming from such an angry being, it surprised Minato.
The arms around his stomach tightened impossibly as Naruto's mumbles faded into silence.
Minato decided to give the Kyuubi a chance and focused all of his attention on his daughter.
"Naruto…" he said as she stiffened. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that… Just know that your mother and I loved you very much."
He tilted her head towards him as he looked into her eyes trying to convey all of his love with his gaze alone.
"I know we didn't get to spend much time with you, but we loved you with all our hearts." His eyes watered a little as he knelt down to give her a hug.
Naruto sniffled into his shoulder as she basked in his presence.
Kurama twitched impatiently as he looked at the father-daughter duo before him.
As much as he wanted to let them be together for as long as possible, he couldn't. He looked at the ball of his chakra floating and noticed a flicker of blue peeking through. Time was running out. His chakra wouldn't be able to prevent his naruto's from dispersing for much longer.
The technique he had used to come to the past had stripped both him and Naruto of their physical bodies. All that was left was their chakra. He used his massive reserves to protect her from being scattered and lost to the time stream.
Unlike him, she was not a being made of pure chakra. It could not survive long without a body to contain it.
So, as Minato and little Naruto exchanged pleasantries, he subtly and carefully manipulated his host's limbs to travel to where they needed to be.
When they reached the village gates, Minato finally took notice of his machinations.
"Kyuubi! What are you doing! Why have you moved us here!?" The blonde man shouted as he prepared to seal the chakra beast away.
"There is no time for words anymore, Minato. Take this, and you will know all you need to." Kurama manipulated a portion of his chakra to wrap around a small segment of Naruto's and guided it to the Yondaime's side. While doing this he was forced to cease his movement of Naruto's body.
"And Why should I trust you, my enemy?" Minato asked with suspicion.
"Because the life of your daughter and everyone in the Elemental Nations is at stake if I fail here!" Kurama snapped.
Shocked, Minato stared at the massive fox, as he slowly returned to manipulating his daughter's body.
Taking a chance on the truth he could sense behind the fox's words, he reached his hand into the orb of golden red chakra, touching the cool blue within.
When he did, his mind was instantaneously assaulted with 5 years worth of memories.
When it was over, he was frozen in horror.
"Dad?" a young voice said from his side.
He whipped his head towards the young version of his daughter, and his eyes widened.
"Now do you understand Yondaime?" The Kyuubi asked as he finally took control once more.
Minato nodded as he continued to stare at his daughter.
His daughter who would TAME the Kyuubi.
His daughter who would complete his Rasengan.
His daughter who would become a Sage.
His daughter who would befriend THE KYUUBI.
His daughter who was a reincarnation of Ashura.
His daughter who would befriend ALL THE TAILED BEASTS.
His daughter who would defeat a false god.
His daughter who would seal away a GODDESS.
HIS DAUGHTER, THE CHILD OF PROPHECY.
Suffice to say, he was mildly perturbed.
Holy shit! I'm on a fucking roll!
I honestly thought it would be at least 6 months before my next update. especially since I am STILL having terrible luck.
Since my last update about a month ago, I have had to put down my 17-year-old cat, Torre. And yes, that is spelled correctly. TORRE. NOT 'TORRIE' PET CREMATORIUM!
Anyway, Torre was my first cat, and I had her for 16 years. I loved her dearly. She was very affectionate and loved to sleep on my favorite pillows. She would howl loud enough to wake the whole house if we didn't feed her, her canned cat food on time, and sneak out the backdoor only at night, since her black fur camouflaged her (I put a bell on her after she went missing for an entire week 2 years ago. I thought she had died then, I was so worried.)
But she had acute kidney failure, and it would have been cruel to force her to stay when she was clearly ill (vomiting massive amounts and losing weight constantly) So we had to say goodbye. I miss her terribly.
I also had to see the doctor 4 times, since some bloodwork came back showing diminished liver function. In my family, we are hyper-aware of liver medical problems, since my dad died of liver cancer when I was 7. It may have been almost 2 decades ago, but we still fear it.
I am sick, but it's treatable, and hopefully curable with a bit of effort on my part.
But anyway, it occurs to me I never put my author's note in the previous chapter here on FF. Here it is so you can understand my horrible bad luck.
Hi? Don't kill me?
Yeah, so... There was a rush of bad luck that involved broken phones, car repairs, 2 broken computers, one heavily monitored computer, a change of college majors, animal deaths (my dog, Jake), job loss, loss of academic credits, and an entire YEAR of wasted college tuition on culinary school.
All not necessarily in that order.
Also, did that time in the psychiatric facility happen before or after my last post? I can't remember.