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Naruto gave Fu a very gentle smile when the girls head snapped around, orange eyes focusing on her. "Hey Fu-chan." her voice was very soft and gentle, and Fu's eyes filled with tears.

"They took Chomei. I couldn't stop them I'm sorry-"

"Fu-chan!" Naruto darted forward, reaching Fu and wrapping her arms around the other girl as Fu sobbed, "Fu-chan it's not your fault you did amazing-"

"I tried to get away from him but I couldn't he... he was so fast and I-"

"Fu-chan please don't blame yourself." Naruto shifted so that she was perched on the edge of the bed, holding the sobbing girl gently, almost rocking slightly as she tried to soothe her. "You did so well. You did, you were brave and you managed to draw the Hirashin symbol so that I could get to you. Obito is something else you didn't stand a chance against him. I barely stand a chance in a fair fight and he isn't going to fight fair. Believe me I wouldn't want to have to fight him one on one."

"He-you... I lost Chomei Naruto-chan. I lost Chomei."

"Fu-chan you did the best you could. Please you can't blame yourself. Chomei wouldn't want that."

"How are you so sure?"

"Because Kurama was in the shared mindscape with him in his last minutes." Naruto's voice was gentle as she rubbed Fu's back. "Chomei asked Kurama to save you Fu. If she blamed you then she wouldn't have wanted you saved."

"Her last words were-"

"Were pleading for your life." Naruto confirmed, "And they won't be her last words Fu-chan I promise you I am going to find a way to save her and Kokuo and Son Goku."

Fu's brows furrowed, "Chomei isn't the first they got?"

"No. They got to Iwa's two Jinchuriki first." Naruto sighed, I found out the day that you were taken-he left their bodies for me."

"That's horrible." Fu's voice was small. "Naruto-chan I... how am I alive?"

"I infused you with a tails worth of Kurama's Chakra. Your body was in shock from the trauma of having Chomei ripped away, to survive you need to be able to adjust more slowly to the lack of chakra, having a tail's worth or Kurama's allows your body to adjust as it's worn down."

"Thank you. For saving my life." Fu rested her head on Naruto's shoulder, "What do I do now Naruto-chan? I... now that I don't have Chomei I don't know what to do."

"That's your choice." Naruto shifted slightly, "You can go home once you've recovered, return to Takigakure... or you could stay here if you wanted."

"Would your village even accept me?"

"Given the fact that I'm going to officially be made Hokage within the next month or so it'll be my choice." Naruto remarked wryly.

"You.." Fu's eyes widened, "You're going to become the Hokage?"

"Yeah. Yeah I am." Naruto nodded, "So I can promise you that if you want to stay here I can make it official. But it has to be your choice Fu-chan. I know you have some people you care for in Taki."

"Only Shibuki." Fu admitted quietly, "I don't have anyone else."

"Think on it." Naruto gave a reassuring smile. "You don't have to decide yet. You can take your time there's no rush." she shifted, "I'd like you to stay until my Inauguration at least though. I plan on calling a Five Kage Summit to discus the threat of the Akatsuki."

"You want me there?"

"You can back up my claim... Iwa may try to say that we're making it up and that we killed their Jinchuriki or something ridiculous like that. I want to know that they can't accuse us of lying under the circumstances."

"I'll be there." Fu nodded, "I owe you that much-"

"No, no you don't owe me anything." Naruto corrected, "I appreciate you agreeing to be there-you have no idea how much it means to me but you do not owe me anything. I like to think that anyone with a good heart would have done the same as I did."

"I... okay." Fu nodded, "I get it, I think." she let out a breath, "I... do you think it'll get better?"

"Do I think what'll get better?" Naruto asked softly, tilting her head, a curious look on her face."

"The emptiness. I've had Chomei with me for as long as I can remember and now she's gone. I just... I feel empty. Does that sound stupid or crazy?"

"No." Naruto shook her head, "No Fu-chan it doesn't sound stupid or crazy at all." she bit her lip. "I can't even imagine how it feels for you right now-and I don't... the idea of it makes me feel sick. I've known Kurama since I was just a little girl. He's my longest most trusted friend. The idea of being without him... I can't even imagine what you're going through but it doesn't sound crazy at all. And I don't know if it'll get better. I won't lie to you I don't think I'd ever recover if I was in your position." She felt Kurama stirring uncomfortably in her mind at that thought-he didn't like it any more than she did. "But then again I don't know how clone you and Chomei were."

"We... I don't think we were as close as you and Kurama but I care about her and she cared- no, no she cares, about me. I think."

"It'll probably take time." Naruto said after a moment of careful consideration, "You need to let it happen. You've lost a part of yourself you need to give yourself the time to recover I think. It'll probably get easier with time. It's like losing a limb, it hurts, and it will always leave a scar, that's never going to go away there'll always be something missing, something not quite there but you'll heal up, you'll recover enough that you'll be able to live, able to fight and smile and be happy."

"Time." Fu whispered the word, "I guess I have a lot of that now."

"It might help if you find something to distract yourself when you're recovered enough to leave the hospital." Naruto suggested, "I'm sure I can show you around. It'll do you some good to get out and have distractions."

"I'd like that." Fu said after a moment, "I.. I'll find things to do." she smiled hesitantly, "I'll get the chance to make some more friends maybe."

"Of course." Naruto nodded encouragingly, "It'd be good. Dwelling on the bad stuff isn't gonna help you get better." it was for the best that Fu and Chomei hadn't been as close as Naruto and Kurama, the blonde decided. As much as she did feel sorry for the other Jinchuriki who hadn't managed to forge that bond it would mean that Fu could move past this with time. Naruto... she'd never be able to move past it if Kurama was ripped from her. She'd be in a lot worse a condition than Fu was, she'd be attacking and fighting and screaming and tearing the world apart to get her grumpy asshole of a Bijuu back.

"Brat stop thinking about it." Kurama's voice was gruff, "It's never going to happen so there's no point in dwelling on it."

"Sorry Kurama."
Naruto thought back softly, "It's hard not to think about it right now." she pointed out. "Are you okay though? It can't have been nice, being with Chomei when-"

"It wasn't." Kurama's voice was tighter than usual, "We may not be as close as we once were but the other Bijuu are still my siblings and I still care when they're frightened and scared. And Chomei was scared. She might not be dead but being locked away like that is a terrifying thought."

"We'll save her." Naruto promised, "I don't know how yet but we will. And we'll save Son Goku and Kokuo too."

There was a moment of silence before Kurama spoke again, his voice quiet. "Thank you Naruto-chan. For caring so much-"

"Don't be dumb Kurama. Of course I care."

"About me yes, I knew that. But to be so willing to help my siblings when I doubt any other humans would... it shows the type of person you are." he hesitated before saying the next words. "You remind me of father."

"Of-wait are you talking about the Sage?"

"I am."

"I remind you of the sage?"

"You do. And of his youngest son. You have their good heart and kind soul."

"Thank you Kurama. That... that's the greatest compliment that I've ever been given."

Naruto was distracted from her mental conversation by Fu shifting slightly, by the way she pressed her hand to her mouth to try and stifle a yawn.
It reminded the blonde of Inari when they were younger, when he'd stayed up too late and didn't want anyone to realise that he was tired. And of course Fu was tired, it would take her a long time to recover, she'd be tired for a while.

"You should get some sleep Fu-chan." Naruto suggested gently, shifting slightly.

"I don't want to sleep. I... I don't want to sleep and to be alone." Fu admitted quietly, "I... I've never been alone before. I don't like it I don't want to be alone."

Naruto hesitated for a brief second before shifting so that her legs were up on the bed. "I swear if you're a squirmer-"

"What?" Fu's brows furrowed as she shifted, looking at Naruto in confusion, "What do you mean by that."

"Exactly what it sounds like." Naruto declared, "I'll stay with you while you get some sleep for now. I can't promise I'll be able to do this every night of course but you need to sleep, your body needs to heal and it'll do that best when it's sleeping and if you can't sleep alone then so be it. We'll figure out a more long term solution later but for now... it's not as if I have anything urgent to do right now."

"I don't want to be a bother." Fu mumbled the words, but even as she did she was shifting, getting comfortable as she burrowed into Naruto's side.

"Fu-chan shut up and get some sleep." Naruto laughed very softly, shaking her head as she awkwardly managed to pull the blankets up so that they were both covered.

It didn't take long for Fu to fall asleep.

They were left undisturbed for over an hour until Rin poked her head around the door, a soft concerned frown on her lips. "Hey." her voice was pitched low when she saw that Fu was asleep, "How is she? Sakura-chan filled me in on what happened?"

"About as well as can be expected." Naruto sighed quietly as her mom crept into the room, closing the door behind herself. "She's gonna have a hard time adjusting but I think she'll manage to do it eventually. I've told her she can stay in Konoha if she likes but it has to be her choice."

"Of course." Rin gave an understanding nod. "And how are you feeling honey?"

"Exhausted." Naruto admitted, "Tired. Guilty-and before you say it mom I know it wasn't my fault but that doesn't make it any easier." she shook her head. "I just wish I could have gotten there sooner."

"The fact that you got there at all was amazing." Rin's voice was soothing, "You saved her life. No other Jinchuriki has ever survived the extraction Naruto-chan. You managed to do the impossible and save your friends life. Don't be too hard on yourself."

"Have you told Isobu?"

"He's upset." Rin admitted, "And angry, and worried about how Kurama's handling it. As the oldest Isobu thinks Kurama's probably feeling guilty too."

"It wasn't nice for him." Naruto admitted, "But I think he'll be okay with time, we all will."

"I spoke to Tsunade. She told me what you're planning."

"Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"

"I think you're doing the best you can. Something needs to be done about Obito and his insanity." Rin shook her head, "And I doubt that the other Kages would call a summit until it affected them."

"Gaara might." Naruto said after a moment, "If it gets much worse, "I know for a fact that he'll come if I call one. And I imagine the Mizukage will too. I don't know for certain if the Raikage will, I did kind of piss him off when I met him."

"Of course you did." Rin shook her head, "But you also have him a valuable warning regarding a threat to his people. If he has any sense he'll at least hear you out, which will force Onoki to come too, purely so that he can know that we're not all conspiring against him."

"Will you be there during the Summit itself with me?" Naruto asked quietly, "Sasuke-kun's already decided he'll be my guard, and Fu-chan will be there to help convince the of the seriousness of the situation but as a fellow Jinchuriki I want you there."

"Of course I will be." Rin nodded, "Was that ever even a question Naruto-chan?"

"Not really, but I had to ask." the smile Naruto gave her mom was soft and relieved.

"Well you've asked and you've got you answer." Rin shook her head, "I'll leave you in peace now. You should take the chance to have some quiet time too princess. You're going to need to make the most of what little peace you have if things go as planned."

"Don't I know it." Naruto let out a soft somewhat bitter little laugh as she shook her head and watched her mother close the door behind her. "Don't I know it."