A/N: Sorry for the delay, I know I promised to post yesterday. Anyways, I wanted to inform the readers of this story that I'll stop the weekly updates and instead post twice a month. The 7 and the 21st of every month, to be specific (This is me, subtly ingorming when I'llupdate next). Before tomatoes are thrown, I want to clarify that thanks to this fic, I've gotten into writing again and I'm continuing three other old WIPs. And considering that I try to keep my word count to at least 4k (And in some, like this one, with 6k), let's just say it's a lot of writing I need to do, so, yeah.
I actually wanted to ask about it. Would you prefer 6k-7k chapters starring one character? Or ones with the three POVs and the same length. Obviously, less focusing into internal monologues. Or maybe you want monthly updates with lengthy chapters (maybe 12k-15k) with the three POVs and, you know, 'quality'? I'm placing a poll just in case in my profile.
PS. There's a second author's note at the end of this chapter but it's mostly a rant, so you can ignore it.
Thanks for all the reviews, faves and follows! They're greatly appreciated by my muse. Please continue uwu~
Kurama doesn't need a lot of things. Sleep, drink and food are some of them. Those needs are for humans and he's not that. He's a force of nature; a being made of chakra; sentient raw energy who by all means shouldn't have emotions or wants. Or even a gender as they are useless for someone like him. And yet, even for all that dictates that he should only be little more than a tool, he is not. He may not need food, but he still wants to eat for the pleasure of eating. He doesn't need to sleep but still likes to rest and enjoy the warm of the sun against his fur. He doesn't have a real gender but prefers to be a he, in the same way Chomei prefers to be a she.
They don't need a lot of things but they still have preferences—they have emotions even if by all means they should have been like their predecessor, the jubi, who wasn't more than a mindless beast. They feel and want since the moment they opened their eyes for the first time to find their father standing in front of them, smiling. He looked tired and old, small and completely different from them. Even so, Kurama knew in the moment his father named him Kurama that he was going to love him forever. There was just something inside him that told him 'this man is worth loving'. It could have been his kind smile or the warmth of his emotions, he didn't know—he still doesn't know. He only knew that if father asked him, he would follow him to the end of the world.
That was his first emotion: love, appearing in the moment his father stroked his fur and told them he was their father. Because it didn't matter to him if he was only human, Kurama loved him.
The first time he wanted something came afterwards, not too long from his first experience with emotions. Or at least, not too long for a being to whom time doesn't matter. It came with another emotions, these ones negative in nature. Sadness and disappointment came as soon as he realized that for all his prowess he wouldn't obtain what he wanted; his father was going to die anyways. He was human.
Kurama doesn't know if 'waiting' could be considered an emotion, but for them it was. Then the moment came and all the biju stood reunited next to their father's bed, trying to enjoy the last moment with his company, some of the tension the waiting brought somewhat gone, but still there, like a solid presence in the room with them. He thought the Waiting was the worst thing he'd experience—he was wrong. His inexperience and youth blinded him because as soon as the moment came, the grief took over and Kurama needed to go away as his brethren's emotions were too much to handle alongside his own.
That was the first time he slept. It was just an attempt to shut himself from the pain, to ignore for a moment that the smile his father gave them before his breathing stopped was the last.
He didn't know how humans slept then, didn't know how it worked for them and what the differences were between one and the other. Now that he knows, he's not sure which one he prefers the best. Humans have dreams and nightmares, they're more active and sometimes he wishes to have that instead of the empty void that is his own sleeping, if it can be called that. Most of times he's glad he sleeps in the way he does. He's an old being. He's experienced a lot. Bad memories exceeds the good ones. Kurama is glad he doesn't dream. Glad that he just closes his eyes, lets his mind wander and an emptiness meets him. It can last a couple minutes or weeks, he doesn't know as time doesn't matter then; it all feels the same. One moment he's asleep; the next he's awake and ready.
However there are moments in which his mind is muddled before waking up, disarrayed thought come forefront and he doesn't what's happening. It only happens when he got knocked out cold or was out of energy before sleeping. Thing it happened few times in all his existence and most of those times occurred in the War, though he had Naruto alongside him to reassure him as he startled at the jumble of emotions he was projection onto him. Now he doesn't have anyone.
He just wakes up, terrified at how vulnerable he feels—how weak. He stays motionless as he tries to ignore the way his fur stands on end and how he swears there's a sound of a heartbeat loud to his ears that seems to belong him even when he's sure he doesn't have a heart.
Breathing in and out for a couple of times even he doesn't need that either, not really, before he's aware of his surroundings. He's on top of a car that's moving, his mind provides and he realizes just then his size is smaller than should be and even as he tries to gather some energy, he can't quite manage it. It fleets away from his grasp at the same time he feels Nature pulling at him, claiming his power. Kurama tries to increase his awareness and his range is larger than it should be, his senses feel sharper, but he feels weaker all the same. He feels part of Nature and it scares him. He wants to dwell more into his new discovery but in the same way his awareness has grown, it seems his ability to sense emotions got stronger, too.
And there's a lot of heavy emotions coming from under him.
"—need to look for a place to rest, Sasha. We can't continue like this. Ben has a concussion and moving around won't do him no—"
"And what do you want me to do, huh? We're in a hotspot. Haven't you seen what we just encountered? We need to run, Adam. Better be injured to continue fighting than dead and be one of them."
"Sasha!"
"No, Donna. Someone has to say it like it is. I don't like the weather more than you do, but we can go around trying in every town we find. Look at what just happened."
There's a ragged breathing mixed with quiet dread from whom he's sure is Sophia that make a headache form. He's experienced something similar from other humans. Triggers, he thinks it's called. Kurama doesn't know much about the girl past before the walkers but he's seen enough to know she comes from an abusive family. And as he's spending more time with her, Kurama's more attuned to her emotions. This not quite anxiety drills into his head painfully. It makes him want to destroy something.
Luckily he's not the only noticing it as he senses Tyreese's aggravation mixing with worry. Kurama hears him taking a deep breath and senses Sasha's own annoyance receding with the sound.
"Maybe we should stop and discuss later. The kids are tired, and frankly I am, too. But Adam is right, Sasha. We can't continue like this. I hate going into towns and trying our luck but we can't always stay in the car and hope no one dies of hypothermia. Here doesn't snow as other states but it still snows and we're lucky it hasn't so far."
"What do you want me to do then, Tyreese?"
There's a tense silence in which the emotions twirling under him become worse, making his headache turn into an ugly pain. He doesn't know what the context is but he can shot a guess and make a deduction from what he's heard. And it rattles him.
In the back of his mind, there's a voice that sounds suspiciously like Naruto's, telling him to show himself and scare the crap out of them just for kicks. But he ignores it as he has ignored most of Naruto's stupid plans to prank. Besides, it's gotten silent so there's hope for the emotions to withdraw into a quiet hum in the back of his thoughts, easy to ignore.
No such luck. As soon as Kurama tries to use the peace to rest and do a checkup of his current state, something (and he doesn't know what) happens because the tension rises. Kurama curses and sits, enjoying the feeling of the wind brushing his fur for a moment before he glances at his tail and increases the number into two, which he uses to get a better handle of the car's roof. Then, moving to the window he senses Sophia is close to, he taps the roof box twice with his paw, moving his head next to the glass to glare at the humans.
"Would you knock it off? I am trying to sleep here."
"Nine!"
The car jerks from the road and Kurama is glad he decided to use his second tail because something tells him he'd have ended on the ground otherwise. The car stops with a loud screeching sound and Sasha's head turn to look at him, following the actions the others have taken.
Kurama frowns at their shock because he's sure they've heard him talk before. There's a mad cackle in the back of his mind that, again, sounds suspiciously like Naruto's after a well done prank. He decides to ignore it to look at Sophia, who's giving him a big teary smile that doesn't seem to be losing its size anytime soon.
"So how long has it been since I slept?"
She blinks faster, obviously trying to erase the wetness from her eyes, before she clears her throat. "I think it's been close to two months, Nine." She looks over her shoulder as if to help her confirm her words but the others seem to not letting the shock go.
Kurama doesn't like it but it's better than the previous tension.
"Are you better, Nine?"
"I'm smaller, kid. I'm not going to be better any time soon."
Sophia's smile turns into a faint smirk. "You were smaller; the size of a baby. Actually, you started growing two weeks ago. Three days ago we had to move you to the roof again as you were too big for the car."
Kurama's ear press to his head, scandalized. He shudders. "Glad I didn't get to see that," he mumbles before directing his gaze to look at Sasha, who slightly jerks back under his stare. "Were are we going?"
That seems to be enough to wake her from whatever state she's in as he senses some annoyance and incredulity spiking in her. She raises an eyebrow and mouths a disbelieving, "We?"
Kurama answers her eyebrow game with a tilt of his head.
"Well, seeing I'm on top of the car your group is in and you've been moving me around for about a month, I think I'm entitled to say 'we' and not 'you'. So?"
The expression in her face is familiar. It's the same Naruto always wore before he started shouting. Though hers is more subdued and Kurama pities that. However, before words can come out from her mouth, her brother stops her with a hand on her shoulder. It works as she backs away to glare at her brother. She frowns at him, a silent conversation happening with expressions, before she rolls her eyes at whatever thing she finds on her brother's face.
She returns to look at him. "We're running from a town half an hour from here. Don't know exactly where we are going. We just want to be away from that place."
Kurama glances to the opposite direction the car was moving towards and sniffs. The scent of death is strong. He spreads his newfound awareness and is surprised when he can sense faintly the dead. He hums distractedly, more curious about the new development. "Yeah, can smell those things from here. It's a wonder you managed to survive with that many."
"Yeah. A wonder," Adam says sarcastically, glancing at his son whose face is pressed to her mother's side. "Wait. Smell them? Can you do that?"
Kurama smiles in that sociopathic way Naruto has told him so many times how scary it is. It seems to work fine on adults, too. Or that's what he gets from the way he sees the humans inside the car as they tense. "Of course. I can do that. I can do even more, human."
"Does that means you're not as weak as before then, Nine?" Sophia asks with furrowed eyebrows. Kurama is reminded that from all that he managed to teach her, she's still but a child. He could ignore as he feels she's truly worried about him but that kind of question is not meant for company and Kurama thinks of himself as her teacher so he can't let it slide.
He makes another tail appear. This one with more difficulty as it seems three tails are his limit, and flips Sophia on the head. She doesn't complain but her hand still goes to rub her forehead.
"Kid, you need to learn when not to divulge things. Never put all you cards on the table. But yeah, that's true. I'm not at my normal levels of power. When I'm around the height of a house you will know I'm improving. Until then, I can only the basics, but those seem to be enough for this world."
There is a lull in the conversation in which the adults take the time to glance between each other meaningfully. It's Donna the one who stops them by looking at him in exasperation. "Look, we all would love to know what hell you are and what your intentions here are. But the true is that my son is unconscious and injured. We could barely stitch him and we still need to check those up. We don't have any painkillers for the fever that's breaking and we've been almost a week on the road so we don't have enough gas either. We need to search for a place to sleep. So if any of your mysterious abilities can help, that'd be great."
"Donna—"
"Shut up, Adam," she shots her husband before turning to look at him. "Can you do it?"
Kurama glares at the human, a slight thread of killing intent sweeping in the background. It's not enough face a genin but for a civilian with a non-developed chakra network is enough to make them freeze.
"Let's be clear in something, human. I'm no pet. I'm no something you can order around. If I'm here, with your group, is because of a whim. These 'walkers' don't face me; they're just a nuisance to me. You'll do yourself a favor in showing me some respect."
Donna's head slightly tilts down. Her brain recognizes him as the threat he is, but her glare doesn't lessen and for that, he's gained some of his respect. "The fever can kill him in this weather. Can you help my son, please," she asks between gritted teeth, a bead of sweat falling from her hairline from the exertion his killing intent is taking on them.
Her determination reminds him of Naruto's and because of that, Kurama smiles. "I don't think I have the enough energy to completely heal him, but I can try, human."
She nods and signals her husband to open the door. He seems reluctant but eventually accepts. Kurama jumps from roof and is slightly surprised to notice that the wind is stronger from outside his roof box, or whatever is called. He looks up to the sky and sees it darkening. It'll rain in a few hours.
"Here," he hears and turns to see the man, Adam, helping her wife into pulling his son into a better position, closer to the door.
Kurama notices the red mark on the kid's head and the gash on his upper arm that has darkened the dark green shirt he's wearing. He's sweating and the heat he's exuding can be felt from where he's standing. He glances once more to Donna before he tries to concentrate his energy, pull it away from Nature, and for one hand of chakra. It works, if barely, but the arm is red instead of yellow. He knows if he tries to touch the kid, he most likely will end burning him. He moves the arm away from the humans to avoid accidental touching and Kurama closes his eyes to better ignore his surroundings so he can concentrate, but it's still hard and only gets the arm to turn into orange.
"Fuck," he hisses and makes the arm disappear as he shakes his head. He looks up at the kid and sees Sophia peeking from behind his form. Seeing her reminds him of something, giving him an idea.
Taking a deep breath, he tries to recall the feeling of Naruto's chakra, of his person. He turns again into him, though it's a slightly younger version than the one he remembers. His clothes again are like Mito's but simpler because even if he's weak he's not going to let others look at him with his clothes. His ego wouldn't let him.
There are gasps around him but he ignores it as he kneels in front of the kid. The transformation demands more concentration, but it's somehow easier to split that concentration into doing other things. His right hand turns into a less solid yellow and he presses it into the kids arm. It's harder to heal someone from the outside than it is from the inside, it seems. Harder but still doable. He doesn't have that much energy but that rest seems to have worked as it's not as taxing. Or perhaps is not that strenuous because he's borrowing from Nature.
It seems in the same way Nature it's taking his energy away, he can take some of it back too.
He closes the wound and disinfects it, but not completely heals it. He then moves to the head and recedes some of the pain to make it at least bearable.
Kurama sits back with an inhuman fluidity as he inspects his work with slightly frowning eyes, posture straight and cold. He then shrugs and stands up, giving his legs a shake as to erase the wrinkles that formed in the clothes.
"Is he going to be okay?" Donna asks breathless, her hands somewhat trembling as she inspects his son's wounds. He doesn't know if she's trembling because of what she's seen him do or for the relief.
"Better than nothing, I guess."
"Better than nothing?"
A hand goes to his hip as he turn his head back to look at Adam. He raises an eyebrow. "I'm not going to waste more of the energy I've already wasted. It'll take a while to fully heal but I've seen kids his age with worse and still going to fight. He's going to be fine with that."
Kurama doesn't mention that the kids he's talking about are actually ninjas, child soldiers, but he never claimed being good at comforting people.
"He seems better, Adam." Donna's hand leaves her son's forehead to look up at him. "Thank you."
Kurama makes a face at the sincerity of her words. Honest gratitude is hard to swallow even coming from Naruto.
"Whatever."
Sasha huffs somewhat shakily. "Not good at receiving thanks, huh?"
"You're getting off lucky, actually. I threw the last guy who gave me the thanks against a wall," Kurama grumbles as he gives her a passing glance, but his lips curl at the memory of Naruto shouting at him.
"I get he didn't die then," deadpans Adam.
Smirking, he glances down at the hand that is solid again. "He's a resilient kid. Hard to kill."
"Is that your friend? We're going at the general direction you told me to."
Kurama's head shots up to look at Sophia, his body losing some of its form at the slip of concentration. He looks from side to side as if a giant red arrow is going to appear and signal him towards the last place he felt Naruto. He spreads his awareness to its limit, ignoring how Nature latches more into him. Adam, who was standing next to him, stumbles. He grabs the car's door to keep him upright but Kurama ignores that as he concentrates, barely registering that he is once again in his fox form.
He feels Naruto. Or at least the vague direction in which he is in. The point in which he used his chakra for the last time is stronger as it left an imprint but he can sense Naruto, too. He can also sense the Uchiha brat but it's an easy to forget dot, just enough to know he's alive, so he ignores it.
There's an answering pulse and something in him warms because that's Naruto going into sage mode. He want to focus more until he can know exactly where he is but Nature breaks away from his grip, leaving him. The action takes more from him than he'd have thought and Kurama staggers back.
He wants to try again and takes a step forward to do it, but Sophia's '"Nine, don't!" stops him. Kurama looks over his shoulder, marveling for a second at the way the world shifts its axis and his vision blurs, his mind moving far slower than normal, before he notices Sophia kneeling next to him. He ignores it, choosing to press his head between his paws and groan, cursing left and right, before he looks up again.
The other humans are gripping the car tightly. They look scared. Sophia's no better; she's pale and terrified but determined enough to be that close to him.
"Don't do that again," she says with a hard tone he doesn't remember ever hearing coming from her. Kurama wants to berate her for it but doesn't have the strength to do it. Something tells him he kind of deserves it, too.
"What was that?" Sasha breaths.
"Fucking Nature," he answers, even if he doesn't exactly know what they've experienced. It's still the truth though, because fucking Nature.
The silence that forms is broken by Tyreese who clears his throat, making everyone look at him. "Maybe we should go," he says looking around. "Donna's right. We should look for a safe place. More now that the Ben's better. We can talk later."
Kurama's ear twitches as he remembers sensing some empty spaces void of Nature he guesses are houses. He points to a direction with a tail. "There are a couple of houses down to that path. They're are free of walkers from what I could sense earlier."
"You sensed them?" asks Adam, doubt clear in his tone.
Kurama glares at him and answers with a resolute 'Yes' that forbids any more questioning.
Sasha is the one who intercedes, even though she seems quite skeptic too. "Like a town?"
"No, they were too separated to be that. Cabins, I think is the term."
Sasha hums as she looks at the direction he pointed before she glances at the sky. "It's going to rain soon. If they're separated enough, each must have some sort of generator so best to try it, don't you think?"
Her question goes to everyone and Kurama is kind of relieved everyone accepts. He jumps onto the roof box without prompting. No one tells him to go off so he lies down and waits for everyone to go to their positions and turn on the car.
They don't question him as soon as they reach the place, which he's glad for. Although the 'talk' still comes sooner than he'd have wanted. He thinks he'd have probably avoided it entirely for at least a day but he's not going to accept their food when he knows they've barely enough to survive. He's not that cruel.
(His mind quickly ignores the knowledge that he would have do it before Naruto just for fun.)
"So… you don't need to eat?" Donna asks, because Sophia is devouring her food and apparently she's been delegated to the position of interacting with him as he hasn't killed her when she talked back.
"Among other things."
"Like what?"
Kurama opens an eye to glare at her, though his head is still comfortably settled on top of his forepaws. He's ready to answer with something snarky but he can sense the curiosity of those around him. He sighs. It's better to do it like a band aid—quick and painless.
"I don't need anything. I'm essentially a sentient walking energy."
She shares a glance with her husband at that, clearly telling him to ask something else, but Sasha is the one that beats them. "So you were made by the government?"
Kurama's head shot up, insulted. "The what?"
"That's a no then."
"I'm not going to share my life story, so don't even try. Let's just leave it at that I'm something supernatural your mind would never get a grasp to understand, okay?"
Tyreese narrows his eyes, clearly pondering what he's just heard. "Supernatural…? Is that—You think that's what this is?"
"You mean your little apocalypse? Don't know. If I've had more power I could try to get a better look at what's wrong with those walking dead humans. Though I'm not that interested to tell the truth."
Adam sits straighter, food forgotten on his lap. "Not that—You know how many have died because of this? If you could help—"
"You seem to forget I'm not human. I don't care what happens to your species. Besides, is not as if you're going to die. Something bad always happens to your kind that almost kills you but you manage to survive and get back up eventually. You're like cockroaches that way," he says, remembering all those centuries he's seen humans.
He doesn't think it must be that different if they're from another world. Humans are resilient even when they're the ones that try to annihilate their own species.
"So you're not going to help us, even if you could, Nine?" Sophia asks and there's something in her expression that remind him of Naruto before he gives ones of his speeches. Something fierce and firm.
It makes him slump on his spot as a flash of nostalgia hits him hard. "Please tell me you're not going to give a speech about love and friendship too?"
"What? No!"
Kurama let's a relieved (and somewhat disappointed) breath out at the surprise on her face.
"Nothing, kid. You can stop with that face, too. I don't want to help you. I really, really don't, but something tells me I'll end doing it somehow. Naruto is a problem magnet and a self-sacrificing buffoon; he's going to drag into helping and I know it. I'm just trying to enjoy being a cynic bastard for as long as I can."
There are raised eyebrow at his words, but it seems the shock at seeing a talking fox is waning. Humans are that adaptable. Probably it has to do with the fact their world is being threatened by dead walking people, too.
"Nar-u-to?"
"Naruto," he corrects Tyreese, recalling the feeling his sage mode gave him. "He's a human and my friend."
He sits on his ass, feeling tired and just wanting to rest, but he's got a clue and he'll be damned he if doesn't follow it. He glances at the humans, realizing that even if he's said he doesn't need them, he really does need them if he wants to go to Naruto and kick his ass for all his absence has make him do.
The eyes of the humans are heavy on him and Kurama can feel the questions they want to make. He looks down and ignores them, because it'll be hard enough without looking. He knows he needs help, but asking for it is hard. He's pretty sure he can count how many times he's asked for help with the fingers of one paw. However, the situation demands for him to let go of his ego.
"I may need your—"He stops himself and clenches his jaw shut, feeling somewhat disgusted by what he's trying to do. He wants to think that he's trying to search Naruto because he needs him to power up again and not feel this constant tiredness with every step he takes, but that would be lying. He'd be insulting Naruto and the change Kurama's made because of him.
So he swallows back his pride and this time it's easier. He looks squarely at every member of the group in front of him. "I need your help. Sophia knows this, so I'm just informing you: I've got separated from my friend when we came here and I'm looking for him. I'm not as strong as I once was so I don't think I can make long trips. I need your help to accomplish that."
"I will help you," says Sophia, standing up from her seat. She then looks at the people around her. "I told you about him before. Nine saved me. He's taught me so much and while he can be somewhat harsh, he's nice to be around and he's helped us a lot. I—I've liked to travel with you and I'd like if you could come with us. But it doesn't matter if you don't want to help him, I will."
Sophia is standing straight, glaring at the grow ups she once tried to make them acknowledge her, daring them to tell them the contrary. It's so familiar that Kurama can't help the snort that escapes him.
"Nine?"
Now she's looking at him with confused wide eyes and the snort turns into laughter. Because he pictures Naruto giving him that look after a speech and that's too good to hold.
"I'm serious!" she snaps indignantly.
"Oh kid, believe me, I know," he answers between chuckles, body sprawled on the floor. "Didn't you tell me you weren't going to give a speech? I give it five of ten. Sorry, but heard too many of those and if it makes you feel better, it improves with time. You can go from changing criminal's hearts to demon beasts the size of buildings."
He snorts again. "Just don't use an orange jumpsuit."
"I think I speak for everyone when I say, what?"
He flips a tail at Sasha, not bothering to sit straight again. He likes the floor. "It's an inside joke. If you help me, you'll probably get to understand when we meet Naruto."
"What kind of guy is he anyways?" asks Adam, not as faced as the others with his change of mood. Kurama sits right once again.
"Let's just say that if a stranger would have asked him for help like I just did, he would instantly agree, not caring if the one asking is an innocent kid, a talking animal, or a criminal determined to destroy the world. Actually, he'd specially help the criminal. Then he'd make them see the error of their ways and they'd end like best friends or something as crazy. Usually a fight between ideals would happen before that."
A similar deadpan, disbelieving look is shared in the people around him and Kurama agrees with the feeling. He often feels it when he's with Naruto.
"He sounds like a nice guy," Sophia says, though she even sounds dubious. "You didn't mention him like that the other time."
"It's because he really is an idiotic, stubborn goof that goes face-first into a problem without thinking, too."
If possible, the incredulity in their faces increases.
"See? That's why I can't leave him alone. A personality like that one asks for problems. And trouble finds him faster than I'd like, unfortunately."
"Do I want to ask how you became friends?" Sasha asks.
"I wouldn't say that he 'made me see the error of my ways', but I can't think a better explanation, so let's go with that."
"But you say he's human. And that he gets into lot of trouble." Tyreese looks around, as if not sure how to continue. "I mean, are you sure he's even alive?"
Kurama snorts. "He's fine. Not even a goddess could kill him. He's the ultimate cockroach."
"I thought you said he was your friend," Adam says, letting the 'goddess' bit slide.
"A nice cockroach then. So, are you going to help me? I can just offer protection and whatever energy I can waste into helping you from time to time. Nothing else."
There's another round of silent talking and Kurama's frankly getting bored of those. He still waits though. He's slightly sure they're going to agree if only because they know what he's to offer is more than the way he shrugged it off. Humans are good at taking advantage of dire situations.
"I'll help you with or without their help," Sophia murmurs as she sits next to him, her legs pressed against her chest. "I don't know if you consider me a friend, but I do. I owe you so much, Nine."
"I'm not good with this friendship gig but for what it's worth, thank you, Sophia."
She smiles down at him, blue eyes bright and blonde hair longer than it was before, noticeable even with the ponytail. She seems ready to say something else but Sasha clearing her throat makes them look to the other humans.
"I think we could help each other by staying together. Surviving is what's important these days and it's not as if we have an actual place to go, so... We agree, Nine."
Kurama dips his head in thanks. He doesn't think his ego would take saying 'thank you' out loud. One thing is saying it to Sophia, another is to them. It still doesn't feel enough though.
"Kurama," he offers. At her raised eyebrow, he clarifies, "Kurama is my given name. Not Nine."
Sasha smiles slightly. "Okay then, Kurama."
He makes a face, already regretting telling them his name. It just feels wrong to hear it say it by a human. "I'd prefer if you called me Nine, though," he says quickly.
Her smile grows alongside the others in the group but no one says anything. Sophia glances curiously at him. "What about me?"
Ugh.
Kurama wants to say no, but those blue, still innocent, eyes are looking directly at him and… fucking Naruto.
"Sure, kid," he says but it's clear to the others how much it pains him to do it. Sophia realizes too, but it seems she's not going to be merciful of him. Damned brats.
"Thanks, Kurama!" she chirps and everyone laughs at how he faintly cringes.
"Okay, okay. Enough of that," says Adam, motioning with a hand to stop. "We agree to go look for your friend but do you've a clue of where he is?"
Kurama settles his head on top of his paws and point to the direction he last felt Naruto with a tail. "That way. The thing I did on the road? It was to point out where he was. I just have a vague direction of where he is, but that's probably because he's not close."
"What's that thing you did anyways?"
He can sense something like dread in those around him and now that he's not a single-minded being focused in Naruto, Kurama admits he's curious.
"I don't know, what did you feel?"
There's a shared glance, as if they don't know how to answer, or are afraid to say the words aloud. It's Sophia the one that speaks in the end. "It was as if something sucked in deep inside of me, grabbing me. It was overpowering and it felt like it was crushing me."
Sophia shudders at the same time Kurama gives a 'Huh'.
Sasha frowns. "'Huh'? Is the only thing you've to say?"
"Well, what do you want me to say? I don't know what happened then. I was kind of panicking and I… connected into Nature? Yes, I did that."
Kurama looks down at himself and closes his eyes, focusing in that new-found connection he's been trying to ignore. It's sentient and slightly familiar in a way he doesn't want to look too deeply into.
"I think… I think that what you felt it's happening to me in a lesser degree. When I deliberately connected more into Nature, it got you too. Though I'm not so sure."
"Are you fine? Has this happened to you before?" Sophia asks, her eyebrows furrowed together in worry.
"No, never," he answers though he's not entirely sure and that frightens him. He's been trying to connect into Nature to regain his energy more quickly. He's been too weak to notice if there have been any changes into his body. He's not even sure why now he's able to—
"It has noticed me," he murmurs, slowly looking up. "When I shot that bijuudama, Nature took notice of me. It's trying to assimilating me because I am energy."
"You… you speak of nature as if it was sentient," Adam says somewhat shakily, trying to light the mood with a laugh but it comes out weak.
"It is. Though I don't know what for Nature's harboring energy." A sense of foreboding slowly settles into his being, creeping into his mind with a cold grip. He stands up. "We need to find Naruto. Now."
His demanding tone startles them, but just momentarily. Sasha leans forward and tries with an understanding tone. "It's raining and we're tired. Ben needs rest, too. We agreed to help you find your friend, but we're humans and you've got to understand that. We can't just go now that we found a warm place."
"You don't understand," he says, something desperate crawling in him, making his voice weak. "I gave all my power to Naruto before we separated and he's more connected into Nature than I am. Whatever Nature is doing to me is nothing compared with what it must be doing to him. It could be draining him even more or making him into a time bomb that could decimate half of this planet. And knowing Naruto, it's probably the latter. Walkers would be the least of your problems if that happens."
Now he's scared them but he can't help it, he's scared himself too. Now he's not sure he wasn't able to pinpoint Naruto's because they were too far away or if it's his presence the one that grew too much.
Sasha looks around and seems to be debating something, but she nods once after a couple of seconds have passed. "We will rest for a couple hours, gain energy while the rain stops and then we go. You can help us avoid the walkers and hunt like you usually did before so we can move quickly."
Tyreese stands up. "I'll search around to see if we can replenish supplies. Adam, you've got the map?"
"Yeah, I'll look into it."
"I'll be taking the blankets out then," says Donna as she move to where the backpacks are in the corner.
Sophia follows Donna. "I'll help you pack whatever we're not going to use."
"Sure, honey. Thanks."
Adam is walking pass him before he stops. "You know how to read map? I need you to give me the directions so we can see if there are towns or the like near."
Kurama nods, not being able to do more than that. He's glad they don't ask him how he's going to fix the problem because he's not sure himself. He just wants to go see Naruto even if he only manages to say a word to him before he blows up. He'll think about a solution later when his mind isn't too full of worry.
A/N2: Was that a cliffhanger? I think it is. Okay, doesn't matter. And don't worry, next chapter will be from Naruto's POV. This one got too long to include him.
Okay, so: rant! Though not much of a rant as I only want to clarify something I mentioned in the first author's note of the first chapter: why Naruto appeared just recently. I wrote that time that I wanted to develop Kurama's and Sasuke's characters as we don't get enough reveal of their personalities in the manga (haven't seen the anime, sorry). I mean, we all know the basics and I wanted to show a little bit of them so you'll get a base of how these characters will be in this story. You already know Naruto because the story (manga/anime) is about him. I could do a time-skip and you'd still know how he works, or the kind of stuff he must have gotten himself into.
That's not to say he won't change in this fic at all, because he will. But the essence that makes him won't.
Because of my need to work on Sasuke and Kurama, I couldn't write Naruto that much and I made the pace slow (and I'm sorry about that), but I needed them to be at least on the same level of development so I could move the plot forwards. And that's what I'm going to do now. Don't worry, the answers will come.
Also, I'm sorry if asking you to guess where Naruto is bothered some of you? I remember wanting to make it as vague as possibly because a friend answered it, like, in her third choice. Just to clear it out, Naruto was in that store from season 4 where there was a helicopter and Beth's bf died? Big Spot?
