AN: Hey everyone! Here's Chapter 20! A quick word: I've decided on the pairing for Naruto, and I would like to thank everyone who submitted ideas: I appreciate the effort! Also, I just released a humorous Naruto one-shot called: Why Omoi Can't Do Weather Forecasts. Be sure to check it out if you're interested! And now: onto the chapter!
Chapter 20:
Naruto's sleep was just as restless as he thought it would be. He tossed and turned in his blankets every few seconds and grunted in agitation as his nightmares reached higher levels of terror.
It became so bad that Kurama pulled the young boy into his mindscape to alleviate some of the duress, (although Kurama wasn't going to tell Naruto that).
Naruto blearily opened his eyes as he sat cross-legged in the ankle deep water of his swear-like mindscape, only to notice a disgruntled Kurama glaring down at him from his place in his seal.
"Hey Kurama," began Naruto in bewilderment. "What am I doing here?"
The giant fox demon scoffed and rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"You were having night terrors brat," Kurama explained. "You were rolling all over the place and your thoughts were in complete disarray. I brought you hear so things would calm down for both of us!"
Naruto blinked in surprise and then smiled widely.
"Wow!" He exclaimed. "You did that for me? Thanks!"
Kurama's eyes widened and he cleared his throat quickly, while waving a tail in blatant dismissal of the topic.
"I didn't do it for you!" Kurama defended vehemently. "I did it because I couldn't stand all the noise you were making!"
Naruto nodded sagely, but maintained a goofy smile.
"Sure you did, fur-ball."
"It's true, brat!"
"Sure it is!"
"It is!"
"Naturally."
"I hate you."
The two continued to glare at each other until Naruto broke the engagement by asking:
"So, what do you think that Shadow guy meant by 'things changing'?"
Kurama growled slightly and lowered himself down onto his belly.
"Like I said earlier: I don't know." He stated. "But whatever it's up to, I'd be on my guard. Just like when it used that shadow-double of your meat-sack teacher, it could be up to something more devious."
Naruto gulped and nodded slowly. He wouldn't easily forget meeting the doppelganger of his sensei that night in the Old Man's office. If his mysterious pursuer was planning something worse than that, well; he really didn't want to be caught unawares when it happened.
"I think I should go see the Old Man and tell him everything..." Naruto mumbled out loud. Unfortunately, Kurama picked up every word.
"I agree that you need to let the old meat-sack know what's happening brat," Kurama replied. "But it still is not prudent to let him know that you know about the awesomeness that is Kurama the Nine-Tails!"
Naruto felt a sweat drop run down his face at the fox's statement.
"Fine," Naruto sighed, scratching his head. "I won't tell the Old Man that I know about you yet. But he needs to know everything about what the Shadow said, right?"
The giant fox nodded slowly in agreement. Naruto smirked.
"Glad we can agree about something!"
Kurama simply huffed.
There was a poignant silence between the two as Naruto searched for something to say. Finally, he decided to ask about something he'd been wondering about for a long time about Kurama.
"So, Kurama," Naruto began carefully, trying to gauge how the fox would react. "Why did you attack the Leaf Village seven years ago?"
Kurama stared down at Naruto with such a severe gaze, the boy actually backed up a few steps. Noticing the fearful expression on his host's face, Kurama chuckled quietly.
"I don't feel like sharing that story just yet brat," the fox grumbled. "It's not relevant to anything happening right now. If I were you, I'd just worry about this Shadow guy that's after us!"
Naruto pouted slightly, but knew better than to try and cajole Kurama into explaining further. When the fox refused to answer something he wouldn't change his mind until he felt like it, no matter what Naruto did. And, Kurama had a point. Knowing about the motive behind the Bijuu's attack on his village years ago would not help him in his current predicament of preparing for whatever his hunter planned to throw at him next. Dropping the subject seemed like the best option.
Naruto got up from his seated position and looked around the cavernous space that was Kurama's seal. Even though he had ventured to his own mindscape many times over the past year to speak to his tenant, he still found it somewhat amazing that this place was actually in his own head. The thought was disorienting and incredible at the same time. Naruto had done some research about mindscapes, and discovered that very few people can access their own mindscape at will, if they are not a Jinchuuriki. Naruto could do it about fifty percent of the time now, whereas just a year ago, he couldn't do it at all. Most of the time, he needed Kurama's help to access his mindscape, but he was slowly beginning to understand how to do it on his own.
Naruto turned back to the giant fox and posed another question.
"What about Anko-sensei?" Naruto asked.
Kurama's eyebrows rose.
"What about her?" He grumbled in reply.
Naruto began to pace around the room in rapt thought.
"Well," he continued slowly. "What if I tell her about you? I need to tell someone that I know why the village hates me! I can't tell Teuchi-oji, or Ayame-nee: they wouldn't understand! I also can't tell Mikoto-oba, or Sasuke: in fact, I get the feeling letting the Uchiha Clan know that I know what I am is a really bad idea!"
Kurama huffed in agreement to the latter statement, as Naruto rounded on him with wide, pleading eyes.
"Kurama," Naruto whispered with his head hung low. "I need to let someone know. I...I can't keep this burden to myself anymore."
Kurama remained silent after Naruto's admission for a long moment before replying:
"Then, tell the female meat-sack you call sensei about me, but make her swear to secrecy!"
Naruto looked up, and his expression brightened immensely.
"Okay!" Naruto cheered. "I can do that!"
Kurama narrowed his red eyes at the boy in front of him.
"But," Kurama hissed. "Be aware that her loyalty is not only tied to you, but also to the village altogether. Even if she swears not to tell, what's to stop her from revealing your knowledge of me to the old meat-sack if he orders her to? You need to be careful in how you tell her."
Naruto blinked, and his smile faded slightly.
"I don't understand," Naruto replied. "I don't think the Old Man would do that-"
"Brat!" Kurama bellowed in annoyance. "The old meat-sack is in charge of the whole village! He's probably done things that you wouldn't believe! You need to trust me on this. Make sure if you tell your sensei about me, you do it in a place away from others...Perhaps ask her to meet you in that forest training ground..."
Naruto paled considerably.
"THE FOREST OF DEATH!? NO WAY!"
"Yes way." Kurama answered, leaving no room for challenge. "That is my condition. Take it or leave it. Besides, it's not like you have to worry about being attacked there if she is with you, right?"
Naruto kicked at the water at his feet, and grumbled.
"That's true," he sighed in dejection. "I hate that place, though."
"Tough cookies!" Kurama growled. "You're the one who needs to get this off of your chest! So either you tell her there or you don't tell her ever!"
There was a long stretch of silence between Naruto and Kurama as they stared each other down, before Naruto sighed deeply and finally replied:
"Okay then. I'll ask Anko-sensei to meet me there when I see her next."
Kurama nodded in satisfaction.
"Now, you should probably leave," the fox grumbled as he closed his eyes. "I'm tired, and I can sense that you need to actually try and sleep. You have a long day ahead."
Naruto nodded glumly and did nothing as his mindscape started to disappear all around him, leaving him in a world of darkness, before sleep finally took him.
When Naruto awoke to his alarm clock in the morning, he had to resist the urge to toss it out of his window. He didn't want to invoke Neko. So, he shut it off and unplugged it from his wall as he got ready for the day.
Sasuke met him outside of his apartment as usual and the two friends made their way to the Academy not saying much besides exchanging greetings.
Naruto noticed that his friend was more quiet than usual, and wondered what was on his mind.
"Something wrong Sasuke?" Naruto asked as they rounded a corner.
Sasuke looked at Naruto and began to open his mouth to answer, but thought better of it, and shook his head. Naruto wasn't convinced by that and pressed the subject.
"Really," Naruto egged on. "What's wrong with you?"
Sasuke sighed deeply and stopped walking.
"Something's going on around the compound," he said dejectedly. "The adults in the clan and my father think that I don't notice, but Itachi-nii and the other adults of the clan aren't getting along for some reason. My mother says it's nothing to worry about, but I can't help but feel like something's going on..."
Naruto thought about what his friend had just said and had a brief flash back to last night and the cryptic warning he had received.
'Things are going to change, very soon' is what the masked figure had said. Could Sasuke's family have something to do with it?
"What do you think is happening then?" Naruto asked as he kicked a nearby can down the street.
Sasuke placed his hands in his pockets and glared at the ground so fiercely, he could've burned a hole through it with his gaze.
"That's what's bothering me!" he growled. "I can't make heads or tails of it! All I know is that things are changing from what they used to be like, and I don't like it!"
Sasuke's latter statement caused Naruto to stop dead in his tracks. Sasuke realized that Naruto had stopped and looked at him strangely.
"What's wrong with you?" Sasuke asked with raised eyebrows.
Naruto blinked and began to laugh nervously.
"Nothing! It's nothing! Everything's fine! "
Sasuke shot Naruto a suspicious look, but didn't press the subject, which Naruto let out a sigh of relief at.
"Whatever," Sasuke said dismissively. "Let's just go to class."
Naruto nodded and began to follow after his friend, his head hung low with a scowl on his face.
'Everything's fine?' Naruto thought scathingly. 'Yeah, right.'
After a rather uneventful day at the Academy, Naruto said goodbye to Sasuke who headed back toward the Uchiha District, and then made his way towards Dangoya, where he was to meet Anko.
Upon arriving, he found Anko sipping on a saucer of sake and going through what had to be her ninth plate of dango. Naruto scowled as he took a seat on the stool next to her.
"All of that dango has to be bad for you, sensei!" Naruto huffed as he crossed his arms.
Anko took a big gulp of her sake and looked down at him with raised eyebrows.
"What's troubling my favorite brat today?" She asked curiously.
Naruto blinked and looked at her in surprise.
"Was I really that obvious?" Naruto asked.
Anko laughed and drained the last of her sake in one go.
"Kiddo, you wear your emotions so openly it isn't even funny!"
Naruto glared at his sensei in indignation, which only made Anko laugh harder.
"Okay," Anko corrected. "It's pretty damn funny!"
Seeing that the troubled look on Naruto's face hadn't changed, Anko adopted a more serious expression and added:
"Seriously: what's wrong?"
Naruto took a deep breath and looked at his sensei. He had known Anko for a year and a month now, and could count her as someone he trusted, even though she could really drive him crazy sometimes.
"I-I need to tell you something sensei..." Naruto began slowly, looking down at his hands in his lap.
Anko's eyebrows rose and she cocked her head to the side curiously.
"Okay then," she replied cheerfully. "Well, spill it!"
Naruto glanced around at the other denizens of the dango shop and scowled
"Not here," Naruto added quickly. "I need to talk to you alone."
Anko's brow furrowed slightly, and then she smiled slyly.
"Oh?" She said with a knowing smirk. "And what's so secret you can't tell me right now? Could you perhaps have a crush on someone you don't want anyone but me to hear about? Hmm?"
Naruto flushed red and shook his head frantically.
"NO! IT'S NOTHING LIKE THAT! I'M SEVEN YEARS OLD FOR KAMI'S SAKE!"
If Naruto's intention was to not try and draw attention to himself, he was doing a horrendous job. Every head in the resturant turned to look at him curiously.
Naruto glared at everyone looking at him in return.
"WHAT'RE YOU LOOKING AT!?" He bellowed. As quickly as everyone turned to look, they went back to their own business.
Anko chuckled and placed a few ryo on the counter as she stood up.
"All right brat," she said as she stretched out. "Where do you want to go talk then?"
Naruto stood up as well and played with the hem of his vest nervously.
"Can we talk at Training Ground #44?" He asked quietly. "It's important that we're not overheard..."
Anko's eyes widened in surprise. In the year that she's known Naruto he never offered to voluntarily go to her favorite training ground! Whatever the boy wanted to talk about must be important.
Anko smiled deviously as she patted Naruto on the head, which he growled at.
"Lead the way, kiddo!" Anko cheered.
Naruto began to walk out of the shop while muttering:
"Why do I get the feeling I'm going to regret this...?"
When the two of them arrived at the Forest of Death, Anko opened one of the many gates to allow them entry. They hopped through the trees in relative silence, before Anko stopped on a tree branch about a mile in and turned to her student, arms crossed expectantly.
"Well," Anko began. "What is it that you have to tell me brat?"
Naruto took a deep breath. This was it. He had no idea what his sensei's reaction would be. Would she be mad that he kept his knowledge of Kurama from her? Maybe she would be scared that he was conversing with the very beast that terrorized the village for a whole year without telling anyone about it? Or perhaps, knowing his sensei: she wouldn't give a damn either way?
Naruto exhaled and looked at Anko seriously.
"I know about the fox," he said quickly. "I've known about him for a whole year now, and I've talked to him, and-"
"Hold on!" Anko said in shock. "You know about the Kyuubi!?"
Naruto nodded.
Anko pinched the bridge of her nose in agitation.
"Why didn't you tell me!?" She shouted. Naruto flinched at her stony glare before answering meekly.
"Well, Kurama and I thought-"
"Brat," Anko interrupted. "Who the hell is Kurama!?"
Naruto sighed.
"Kurama is the Kyuubi's real name," Naruto explained. "He and I thought that it was best that I didn't tell anyone that I knew about him. He thought that it would just complicate things!"
Anko looked at Naruto with a mixture of exasperation and annoyance.
"Brat. You understand that the mere fact that you're aware that you're a Jinchuuriki complicates things, right?"
Naruto nodded glumly.
Anko sighed and plopped down on the tree branch and rubbed her head.
"This isn't good. I'll have to tell the Hokage that you're aware-"
"NO!" Naruto shouted so loudly that several birds took off from the top of the tree they were perched in nearby. Anko looked at him in bewilderment.
"No?" Anko repeated. "Kiddo, I have to!"
"You can't!" Naruto pleaded. "Kurama and I think it's better that the Old Man doesn't know, yet."
Anko narrowed her eyes at Naruto.
"Naruto."
Naruto's eyes widened. Anko only used his name when she was deadly serious.
"The fact that you're even listening to what the Kyuubi, Kurama whatever; says isn't good. The Hokage needs to know that you've been doing it. What happens if it's trying to escape? We can't let this go on without getting his advice!"
"Kurama isn't all bad!" Naruto argued. "Please Anko-sensei, I'm telling you this because you're the only person I can trust! I just couldn't keep it a secret anymore! I'll tell the Old Man when the time is right!"
Anko's eyes narrowed further.
"And when," she asked in a skeptical tone. "is the right time?"
"I don't know!" Naruto replied, looking completely harried.
Anko sighed again and shook her head.
"I don't think this is a good idea brat," she said at last. "But: I'll keep your secret. Is that why you wanted to talk out here? Is there anything else I need to know about?"
Naruto let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when Anko finally agreed to not tell the Old Man about Kurama.
"Yeah sensei," Naruto said with relief. "That's why I wanted to talk to you here. I didn't want anyone to overhear us. Also, my Shadow appeared to me last night..."
Anko's eyes widened in alarm and she grabbed Naruto by the arm.
"It did!?" She exclaimed. "Tell me everything!"
It took Naruto the better part of an hour to explain the visit from the shadow and his talk with Kurama the night before. When he finished, Anko stood up and ran a hand through her hair tiredly.
"This isn't good." She said with obvious worry in her voice. "I don't like that warning one bit."
'Me neither.' Naruto thought.
Anko fixed him with a pointed glare and shook her head again as she sighed.
"I still don't like the idea of keeping your knowledge of Kurama between the two of us," Anko continued, but upon seeing the worried look on Naruto's face quickly added: "But, I'll honor your wish. BUT!"
Naruto looked at her in rapt attention.
"We have to tell the Hokage about the Shadow's warning. No if's and's or but's about it!"
Naruto nodded in agreement.
Anko stretched and looked at the sky.
"It's about five in the afternoon, so the Hokage should be getting ready to go on break. If we hurry back to the village we might be able to get an audience with him."
Naruto nodded and began to prepare to head back when Anko said:
"And Naruto!"
Naruto wheeled around to face her to see that she had a genuine smile on her face.
"I'm really happy that you trusted me enough to tell me first."
Naruto blinked back a tear and gave Anko a genuine smile in return.
"Of course sensei!"
With that, teacher and student made their way towards the village to hopefully get an audience with the Hokage.
Unknown to our two heroes, there was another figure who was listening to the entire conversation.
"Lord Danzo will be eager to hear of this development." Said the shadowy figure as they quickly fled in the opposite direction to deliver their new-found information.
AN: Come on, you all know you were waiting for Danzo to stick his mummified nose into the story! What will he do with the information his spy will give him? And how will the Hokage react to Naruto's news about his Shadow's warning? And what troubles are stewing in the Uchiha Compound? All this and more in the next chapter of The Fox's Shadow! R&R!