Naruto's POV
Slowly opening my eyes, I winced, letting out a groan as the sun shown through the windows, causing a sharp pain to go through my head. Sitting up, I instantly regretted it, as my stomach seemed to flip. Hopping out of bed, I rushed to the bathroom and leaned over the toilet, immediately getting sick. After staying hunched in front of the toilet for a few minutes, I heard quiet footsteps behind me.
"Well; I was going to ask you how you were feeling, but I guess I got my answer." She said, before walking over and sitting next to me, rubbing my back. "Still, how are you doing?" She asked, looking at me, concern in her voice. Wiping my mouth, I grimaced.
"Everything's spinning... What happened?" I asked, and she looked at me in surprise.
"Do you not remember last night?" She asked, and I frowned. My thoughts were all jumbled up, and my memories were a bit hazy.
"I... Remember helping out with watching the village; Being told that I could go; But after that, everything's a blur..." I said, and she sighed, shaking her head.
"Well; You decided to go to the bar... And treated yourself to the highest proof alcohol you could get." She said, getting up and heading into the bedroom area; Grabbing something and coming back, only to hand me an almost empty bottle labeled 'Phoenix Fire' Sake. Seeing the alcohol percentage, I couldn't help but to groan again.
"Did I seriously drink all of this?" I asked, and Kurama nodded.
"By the time I found you, you were already drunk, and that was all that was left." She said, before sighing. "So... Do you want to talk about it?" She asked while leading me back to bed now that I wasn't getting sick anymore.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, looking at her hesitantly, and she sighed.
"About why you decided to go get drunk..." She said, and I frowned, shaking my head.
"I'd rather not." I said, laying back down, as Kurama shut the curtains, before looking back at me.
"Well, with you having a hangover like you do, you're not doing anything but resting in bed!" She said, and I winced at her increase in volume. Sighing, she lowered her voice. "Look... I know it was because of what your friends said. You may not think they are really your friends, but they are." She said, and I looked at her in surprise for a few seconds, before shaking my head.
"That isn't what you said before." I said, and she sighed.
"Yeah, well I was wrong!" She said, and I once again shook my head.
"Actually, you were right, and I was just to gullible to see the truth..." I said, and she looked at me sadly.
"Naruto..." She said, before wrapping a tail around me. "You aren't gullible... Well, maybe a bit, but you weren't being gullible this time; If they weren't your friends, they wouldn't have stopped by to check on you." She said, and I mumbled a bit, before rubbing my head due to a splitting headache. Frowning, Kurama got up, before heading to the kitchen area and grabbing a cup, filling it up with water. Coming back over and climbing into bed, she handed me the cup, before gently pulling me back so that the back of my head was resting against her breasts. "Here, drink some water, then try to get some more sleep." She said, giving me a caring smile, and I sighed, gulping down the water. Setting the cup down, I began getting comfortable, before looking up at Kurama, who wrapped her arms around me, bringing the blankets over us. "That's it; Just get some more sleep, you'll feel better when you wake up..." She said, and I nodded, closing my eyes.
Kurama's POV
Watching Naruto slowly drift off to sleep, I frowned, not being able to help feeling bad for him. Finding out that his friends had been avoiding him had been a hard blow for him; Enough that he'd went out and gotten himself drunk. Looking over at the bottle of alcohol I had set on my side of the bed, I raised an eyebrow, feeling curious as to what it tasted like. Picking it up carefully, I hesitated, before taking a quick sip, my eyes widening slightly. Well, at least it could be said that he had good tastes in alcohol. Licking my lips, I gulped down the rest, not having to worry about the alcohol content due to being a Biju. Sighing in content and licking my lips, I set the empty bottle back on the bedside table, before once again getting comfortable. Finding a good position, I laid back down, looking down at Naruto, who was now fast asleep. Brushing a lock of hair from his face, I wrapped my arms a bit tighter around him, pulling the blankets over us and bringing him a bit closer. Having nothing else to do, I closed my eyes, deciding to catch some more sleep as well.
After what only seemed like a few seconds, I was jolted awake by a knock on the door. Looking at the shadows being cast across the floor, I could tell it had been longer. Looking down at Naruto, he was still fast asleep. Another knock a few seconds later caused me to sigh, and I slowly slid out of bed, careful not to wake Naruto. Slowly walking over to the door, I looked out the peephole, before opening the door, not worrying about putting up my disguise as I recognized who was on the other side. Opening the door, I raised an eyebrow, coming face to face with Kankoro and the girl from last night.
"Yes? What do you want?" I asked, not in the mood for company. The girl looked at me in surprise for a few seconds, before taking a step back.
"K-Kurama?" She asked, and I realized she had never seen my real form. Sighing, I rolled my eyes.
"Yes. Again, what do you two want?" I asked, and Kankoro nodded.
"How's Naruto? We didn't spot any of you today, and when we asked the bartender, he said a woman dragged him away." He said, and I scoffed, rolling my eyes.
"Yeah, I had to guide him home after he downed a bottle of 'Phoenix Fire'. He's currently sleeping off a hangover." I said, and they flinched slightly, before sighing.
"We figured something like that might have happened, so we made some food that might help." The girl said, handing me a small box of scrambled eggs, as well as a small cup of what looked and smelled like miso soup. Raising an eyebrow again, I gave the girl an appreciative look.
"Oh, um, thanks..." I began, looking at her, and the woman raised an eyebrow, before giving a small start.
"Oh! I never introduced myself, did I? I'm Maki!" She said, raising a hand out to shake mine. Setting down the containers next to the door, I awkwardly shook her hand.
"So... Naruto's ok? I honestly didn't mean for anything like this to happen." Kankoro said, and I gave him a long look, before sighing, closing my eyes.
"He'll be fine; He just needs to get some rest. In fact, by the time he wakes up, he should be fine. He's just going through something that alcohol won't just fix." I said, and he nodded, before looking at me in surprise.
"You know, you don't seem like how the legends describe you." He said. "And certainly nothing like the tailed beast inside of Gaara." He said, and I looked thoughtful for a few seconds, before realizing who he was talking about.
"Are you seriously comparing me to the one tails? I am nothing like Shukaku! I am the Queen of the Bijus!" I said, and he raised his hands up.
"Hey, I was just making an observation... Anyways, we should get going; We just wanted to see how Naruto was doing before we headed over to guard the village entrance." He said, and the girl named Maki spoke up.
"Please make sure to let him know we stopped by, and that we hope he feels better." She said, and I nodded as they turned to leave. Closing the door, I picked up the food, bringing it into the bedroom.
"Who was at the door?" A voice asked, and I looked up in surprise, only to see that Naruto was sitting up in bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Oh, it was Kankoro, as well as that Maki girl. They were wondering how you were doing, and they brought you some food." I said, placing the food next to him on the bedside table. Looking at it in interest, he slowly sat up more. "So, how are you feeling? You weren't doing so well this morning." I said, and he paused in his reaching for the miso soup for a few seconds.
"Well, my head feels a lot better, and I don't feel like getting sick." He said, grabbing the dish of eggs, before looking at me and holding it out. "Want some?" He asked, and I shook my head. Shrugging, he took a bite. "Basically, I'm feeling as good as new." He continued, and I nodded in slight relief.
"I'm glad; You really looked like shit earlier!" I said, and he looked at me in annoyance.
"Gee, thanks..." He said, before sighing. "Though you aren't wrong; I certainly felt like that." He said, going silent as he continued to eat. Breaking the silence, I cleared my throat.
"So... Have you decided where we're going to go and what we're going to do? I mean, after we visit these friends of yours near the Hidden Mist and you learn sage mode, what then? Do you have any plans?" I asked, and he frowned, looking thoughtful for a few seconds.
"Honestly, I was just planning on us traveling around. Being part of a village meant we could never really do that." He said, and I nodded, before frowning slightly.
"Ok, but what about after that? What about money? Ryō is going to be a bit harder to come across honestly." I said, and he again looked thoughtful, before shrugging.
"We could always freelance... I'm sure we could find people who need jobs done for them." He said, and I nodded once again.
"I guess that could work..." I said, as he finished off his eggs, setting down the dish and sitting back with a contented sigh. Sitting in silence for a bit, we watched as the room gradually grew darker; The sun slowly sinking over the horizon. As the streetlights kicked on, Naruto slowly stood up, looking at me.
"Well, I've been in bed for long enough, I could use some fresh air; Want to come?" He asked, and I thought about telling him he should rest up a bit more, before sighing.
"You know what? Sure." I said, and he smiled, grabbing his jumpsuit and putting it on, before zipping it up and walking to the door. Following him, we made our way out of the apartment, heading into the village. Looking up at the sky, Naruto let out a sigh, and I looked at him in confusion. "What is it?" I asked, and he shook his head.
"Oh, it's nothing, I'm just a little excited about heading out again." He said, and I continued to look at him. "You know, at first I was sad about having to leave the Hidden Leaf, but now I'm actually happy. Before, the only way we were allowed to leave was if we had a mission, but now, we can go anywhere!" He said, and I gave him a weak smile.
"I guess that's true; It's just a shame it had to happen this way." I said, and he shrugged.
"Eh, it was bound to happen eventually." He said, before continuing. "I'm just glad I'm not alone." He said, and I blinked, before giving him a smile.
"Right... So, what did you want to do?" I asked, and he once again shrugged, continuing to look at the stars.
"Honestly, I just felt like getting some fresh air after being inside all day." He said, and I looked up at the stars as well. After a few seconds, he looked at me. "Hey Kurama, I have a question I've been meaning to ask you. Before, you mentioned an 'Old Man Six Paths'. Did you mean the Sage of Six Paths?" He asked, and I sighed in content at the fond memories I had of the man who had raised the other Bijuus and I.
"One and the same, though we were never so formal with him." I said, and Naruto looked surprised.
"I always thought he was just a legend! You actually knew him? What was he like?" He asked, looking at me in interest. Shrugging, I continued to walk next to him, thinking about the old man who raised us.
"Well, I guess you could say he was a father figure to me and the others." I said, and Naruto looked at me in confusion. "You see, at first, the others and I were once one being known only as the Ten Tails. He separated us into nine different beings and raised us... He even gave us each names." I said, trailing off. "Anyways, that's probably not what you wanted to know about." I said, and he shook his head, still looking interested.
"No no, that's ok, go on!" He said, and I looked at him for a few seconds, before continuing.
"He was a fair and trusting man. He believed that we would find someone who we could trust as much as him, and who would show us what true power was. Seeing how humans were, I didn't really believe him." I said, and Naruto looked at me in confusion.
"But you trust me, right?" He asked, and I looked at him with a deadpan look.
"What kind of question is that? Do you even have to ask? Of course I trust you!" I said, before blinking. "In fact... For some reason, you remind me a lot of the old man..." I said, and he blinked, looking surprised.
"R-really?" He asked, and I nodded.
"Yeah... Maybe there's some relation..." I said, before sighing.
"What ever happened to him, if you don't mind me asking?" He asked, and I shook my head.
"Splitting us up into nine beings certainly didn't help. It weakened him greatly, and forced him into an extended bed rest. However, it was old age that eventually got him; We didn't call him 'Old Man Six Paths' for nothing." I said, and he nodded in understanding. "Anyways, maybe I'll tell you more about him later." I said, and he once again nodded. After walking around for a bit longer, my stomach began to growl, and Naruto looked up at me in confusion.
"I thought you weren't hungry; Why didn't you want any of the food from before?" He asked, and I frowned.
"I never once said I wasn't hungry, I just wasn't going to eat the food that was made to help you feel better!" I said, and he rolled his eyes slightly.
"Honestly I wouldn't have minded, but if you want, we could always stop and get some tofu." He said, and I perked up slightly, before remembering that we needed to save Ryō if we wanted to get anywhere.
"Wait, how much Ryō do you have? Remember, it has to last until we can find work." I said, and he nodded.
"I know, and don't worry, we have plenty left. Remember, I had to live by myself, so I got accustomed to saving, and as a result, I've saved a lot. Now do you want tofu or not?" He said, and I bit my lip, before nodding. "Then come on." He said, and we began making our way to the shop from before. Making it to the little shop, we opened the door and walked inside, the woman behind the counter looked up.
"Welcome!" She said, before recognizing us from before. "Oh, hello again! What can I get you two?" She asked, and Naruto stepped forward.
"Hello, can we get three things of tofu?" He asked, and the woman nodded.
"Certainly!" She said, grabbing three blocks of tofu, putting them in a bag and sliding them to him as she took the money. "You must really like tofu..." She commented, and Naruto shrugged.
"Honestly, I'm not much of a tofu eater, but Kurama loves it!" He said, passing the bag to me. The woman nodded, smiling as I immediately opened the wrapping on one and began to eat.
"Well that's ok, I'm happy someone likes it." She said, and I gave an affirmative nod.
"Well, we should get going; Hope you have a good night." Naruto said, and the woman nodded and smiled.
"Ok, and thanks, you too." She said, as we began to leave the shop. Finishing the first block of tofu, I turned to Naruto.
"So, what do you want to do now? It's getting late, we could head back to the apartment..." I said, looking up, seeing that the moon was fully in view. He shrugged, letting out a sigh.
"We could, but I'm not really tired, are you?" He asked, and I frowned, shaking my head. Sighing again, he looked thoughtful.
"Well, since you're feeling better, we could always go to the cave and train..." I said, and he immediately seemed to perk up slightly.
"Really?" He asked, and I nodded.
"I don't see a reason not to; You rested, and you're feeling better. If you wanted to get some more training in on the Rasengan, we can." I said, and he immediately nodded.
"That would be awesome!" He said, and I couldn't help but to chuckle at his enthusiasm.
"Well then, let's get to the cave!" I said, before leading the way towards the entrance. Waving to Kankoro to let him know we were going through, we made our way out of the village and to the cave. Entering the training area and lighting the torches, Naruto began his training, summoning a few clones, before beginning to work on his Rasengan. After about an hour, he disbanded his clones, before leaning against the wall, looking worn out.
"I-I think I've got it down." He said, and I blinked. Having been watching him, I couldn't help but be surprised by how fast he had learned to successfully form and maintain the Rasengan.
"Well, color me impressed. Your father would have been impressed by how fast you were able to master his jutsu!" I said, and he smiled, looking proud of himself. "In fact, since you've successfully mastered the one handed Rasengan, I think you're ready to learn the Bijuu Bomb!" I said, and he looked at me in excitement, forgetting all about his weariness.
"Really?! Can I learn it now?" He asked, and I frowned slightly.
"Not at this very moment, no. This will take quite a bit of energy to use." I said, before sighing as I saw his disheartened look. "Though I suppose it wouldn't hurt to show you a demonstration..." I said, beginning to gather energy into the palm of my hand as he watched in interest. As if forming a Rasengan, I focused on forming the energy into a sphere; However, instead of using just normal chakra, I began to inject some of my own, and after a few seconds, the sphere in my hands began to gain a dark purple hue, and after a few more seconds, I had a successful Bijuu Bomb formed. Taking aim at one of the wooden training dummies, I chucked the ball of energy at it, destroying the dummy on contact, causing splinters to go flying.
"Woah..." Naruto said, and I smirked; Wiping the sweat from my forehead and taking a deep breathe.
"That... was the Bijuu Bomb." I said, and he looked at me in shock.
"That's what you plan on teaching me?!" He asked incredulously, and I once again smirked.
"Yep; And you wondered whether or not I trusted you..." I said teasingly, and he looked away. "Now come on, let's get back to the apartment and get some sleep so you can have the energy you need to perform that Bijuu Bomb!" I said, and he frowned.
"I'm not even tired though." He said, and I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Well I certainly know a way we can tire each other out..." I said, smirking and pressing against him, and he looked at me in confusion.
"How?" He asked, before he seemingly caught on, rolling his eyes.
"Seriously?" He asked, and I looked at him in confusion. "Is sex the only thing you think about?" He asked, and I pouted.
"No! Of course not... I also think about food!" I said, sticking my tongue out playfully, causing him to roll his eyes once again. "Either way, you didn't say no…" I said, and he smiled slightly.
"I haven't said yes either." He said, as we made our way back to the apartment. "We'll just have to see when we get there, won't we?" He asked, and I continued smirking, licking my lips in anticipation for the fun night I was positive was in store.
Chapter 9 is finally done. I had a bit of trouble with this chapter, as I am not used to writing Kurama's POV. Also, not sure if I made the hangover part realistic or not, as I've never had a hangover to base it off of.
In other news, I really want to ask all of you for your opinions on something. I was thinking about opening a virtual tip jar of sorts (not ), and as receiving tips for fanfiction is a gray zone, I wanted to leave the decisions of whether or not I should, up to you all.
Last but not least, if you have questions about this story please write them in the reviews section or PM me. I will answer them in a Q&A chapter if I get enough questions.
~spudbud16
