Chapter Three – Bijuu and Training

Disclaimer – If I owned Naruto, I would be swimming in cash. I just picked up a one rupee coin lying on the road. Figure it out. Author's Note – I know I'm slow and all but thank you all for being patient and awesome :)

H17 – Eyyy! I hope so too. I just totally loved OHH and wanted to pay tribute to it in my own way I guess. Hope you like this chapter!

NeffieD33 – Oh my god thank you so, so much! I just LOVE stories where Kurama and Naruto are bros and god manga and anime dropped the ball on their canon relationship coz Kurama basically went from super-duper hate to insta-love and I wanted it to be more realistic :)

That Dude There By Himself – Yeah, the quote worked out pretty well huh. I love sort of summarizing the 'tone' of the chapter at the end with a quote or a lyric and so it all worked out.

Livinganime14 – YAS! Bonding time will definitely continue in this chapter and it will be great, I promise.

"I am building a fire and every day I train; I add more fuel."

Naruto doesn't find out about the history of bijuu and jinchuriki first – no, instead, his first foray into the library yields information about the kyuubi attack. Of course, he had known in the back of his mind that Kurama was the kyuubi, after all, how many giant, devastating, nine tailed foxes could there be?

And so, when he goes into his mindscape that day to talk to his friend, his first question is "Why did you attack Konoha?"

Kurama had always been described as a giant mass of living rage and hatred animated by chakra, so when he sensed what Naruto had been reading about, he was prepared to cut all ties and live the rest of this mortal's life in darkness and isolation once again. Except that rage thrives when it is not understood, and hatred emerges from disappointment – and betrayal.

And Naruto Uzumaki knows this. So he asks Why instead of accusing him – he chooses to let his friend, who he has worked for months to befriend to tell him the truth, and for the first time in Kurama's life, he feels the urge to explain, to clarify exactly what happened that night on October Tenth. So he did not speak. No, he took one memory from his mind, one that encompassed the entirety of that night, and he pushed, willing his tenant, no, acquaintance…comrade perhaps? to see. And indeed, Naruto was crying. He was crying as he had cried on that night so many years ago. How could he not? Was not an orphan's greatest wish to know where he came from?

Kurama was nervous, which was shocking by itself. He was the king of the tailed beasts – born with half of the juubi's power, stronger than the rest of his siblings combined; he was strong, vain, and yes, even prideful. Yet now, he wished with all his heart – one he did not know he had that Naruto wouldn't push him away, wouldn't lock him up for the rest of his life, wouldn't let him slip further into blind hatred and incessant rage.

"Thank you." Such simple words, not even a full sentence and yet they hit Kurama with the force of a Tenpenchii.

"I killed your parents boy, why are you thanking me for it?" Kurama snarled, wanting to elicit some true reaction from Naruto because no way in hell did the brat see what he had shown and then thanked him for it. He had provoked him in order to find some semblance of rage, of hatred, and blame – instead, for a split second, the seven year old boy looked immensely, immeasurably sad and something painful constricted in Kurama's chest, for a moment he had hated himself for what he had said.

"Did you do what you did that night of your own free will?" Naruto asked oh so very softly, because he knew this wasn't a topic to be brought up with frivolity. There was no condemnation in his eyes. When Kurama had grudgingly muttered no, the forgiveness had been instant. Foolish, unconditional and without thought. For the life of him Kurama couldn't figure out if Naruto was an idiot or wise beyond his years.

"Thank you" Naruto muttered again, "for showing me my parents, and for letting me see for myself how much they loved me." Kurama had no answer to give, and it did not matter. For Naruto had already left.

"What are your siblings like?" Naruto had asked him one day – anxious to learn more about his partner's family, and Kurama had told him about Shukaku's sand, Matatabi's flames, Isobu's defence, Son Goku's lava, Kokuo's steam, Saiken's acid, Chomei's wings, Gyuki's ink and his own absolute mastery over the aspects of chakra. He had once jokingly (but not quite coz he wanted to see what Naruto would say) commented about how each bijuu represented a sin or flaw of humanity – from Shukaku and his insanity to Kurama and his wrath. No one since the Sage of Six Paths had defended him and his siblings with such vehemence. Kurama liked it very much. The small ember that Naruto had ignited within him turned into a bonfire – still new but growing stronger and hotter every minute.

Kurama had decided that Naruto needed to get stronger – a lot stronger, if he wanted to win against someone of Madara's calibre. He was just seven right now, in his final few months of the first year at the academy, and he had moved past the dead-last rank, not quite at Sasuke's level but not too far off. It just wasn't enough. Even at seven, Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama had been at the very pinnacle of what shinobi represented – at least for their age. So, when he had asked Iruka sensei shyly after class if he could help him with his shurikenjutsu, the man had jumped at the chance and actually hugged him for a second! It felt…..nice, like how an elder sibling would do for their hopelessly cute younger brother. He hadn't been hugged much before and each time it happened, he hoarded the memories like they were the most precious of treasures because to him, they were.

Except for Ayame, she just hugged him whenever she saw him – something about adorable blue eyes and cute whisker marks and an innocent face that just begged to be pinched. Much as he swatted her arm whenever she tried to do exactly that, he knew he loved it. And she knew it too.

And so by the time the first year exams came, he had top notch shurikenjutsu and bukijutsu, knew all about history – the benefits of having a literal thousand year being sealed inside you, and his situational analysis has improved by leaps and bounds, courtesy of Iruka sensei and Kurama teaching him to slow down and use his brain rather than his mouth. He had tied for first place with Sasuke Uchiha who had pouted at him before walking up to his Itachi nii-san, who had shown up in his father's stead. Naruto thinks its unfair that someone could have parents and still be ignored.

Under Iruka sensei's instruction, Naruto picked up cats-cradle and followed a physical training regimen during the month long break before the start of year two, to improve his finger movements and dexterity needed for hand signs and to make him faster, stronger, better. He would have asked Kurama but being a giant fox whose footstep covers kilometres, Kurama had sheepishly admitted that he wouldn't know Naruto's limits.

Kurama teaches him about what Naruto calls the 'cool stuff.' First the leaf sticking exercise, then the leaf spinning exercise, then tree climbing. No ninjutsus for him yet – they'd just blow up in his face. As a chakra entity, Kurama knows exactly how sucky Naruto's control is because of the massive Uzumaki reserves and the effects of Bijuu chakra in his system. According to the academy curriculum, the leaf sticking and leaf spinning is a year three exercise and tree climbing is a genin level exercise, by which time his control would be shot to hell with minimal to no chance of going beyond low jonin level for the rest of his life. With him focusing on control at the tender age of seven, he might just get to Tsunade's level in a decade or less if he practised hard enough. That isn't a problem though – Uzumaki Naruto literally does not know what giving up or slacking off means, ironic, since one of his best friends was Shikamaru Nara, known for his distaste of anything deemed too 'troublesome' and his love of cloud watching and sleeping.

To Kurama, everything is training, and everything is about building up his foundations. He had told Naruto once – "The true basics of building strength and ability have nothing to do with jutsu, and everything to do with simple skills and knowledge. Basic life lessons." Naruto doesn't quite follow; no ninja battle is going to be decided by how fast you can chop an onion or how spotlessly you can clean your room. So he asks Kurama, "life lessons?"

"Like things your parents should have taught you." There's a subtle apology buried deep in those words, and Naruto feels such overwhelming love for Kurama because Kurama never apologizes, and to care for Naruto enough to regret what he did to his parents when he didn't bat an eyelash at the damage the village sustained? It makes something ache in Naruto's chest, but it's a good kind of ache and Naruto is a big boy now – he doesn't say anything.

"How does that help in shinobi training?"

"Cooking prepares you for when you eventually want to brew paralytic or lethal poisons that senbon and kunai are coated with. Many a jonin have fallen not to fire or lightning but to a drop of poison. It's an integral part of Sunagakure's Kugutsu Butai."

"What about the other skills?"

"A ninja whose equipment is in top condition, efficiently packed and easily accessible is a ninja who has an edge over an opponent who can't organise his things well. Seconds is all it takes to decide a high level battle."

"Huh…never thought about it like that."

"Often, the difference between a lethal skill and a menial skill is how you use it. A kunai can also be used to chop vegetables after all."

Naruto knows Kurama is leagues and orders above him in terms of experience and intelligence. Never before has he been so grateful to be the fox's companion. Unaware of his thoughts being projected, Naruto starts cleaning his apartment, moving a lot of stuff around while within the seal, the giant fox snorts and rests his head on his paws, in awe of how different Naruto's thought process is as compared to literally most of the world. "That kid…."

Kurama had noticed how Naruto was received in Konoha, had seen how basic supplies and foodstuffs suddenly went out of stock when he was near. So, when he had told Naruto to get a cookbook and supplies, he wasn't surprised to hear that he wouldn't have enough money – after all, it wasn't too difficult to introduce a tax on his bill when no shinobi was watching.

"Very well fishcake, you will have to learn your first jutsu tomorrow. Ask your Iruka sensei to teach you the Henge. It will help."

Naruto was excited of course – this was the first step in the path to becoming Hokage, to becoming strong enough to protect the entire village. He would master the Henge and all jutsus he learnt. Besides, Kurama would demand no less.

It was official. Henge was the best jutsu ever. No more hateful glares, no more overcharging and no more out of stock goods. It was perfect for civilians…..and it was just as useless against shinobis. Any half decent sensor would pick up on the chakra 'shell' that surrounded the caster's body, anybody who knew the person being impersonated would figure out the disguise based on mannerisms and one good hit or a loss of focus would result in the dispersion of the technique. Still pretty cool for a child who hadn't entered the second year of the academy yet.

Of course, after he had the jutsu down pat and healthy food and hygiene was no longer an issue, Kurama decided to bring up the elephant in the room.

"Your clothes brat."

"What about them?"

"They've gotta go."

Naruto hmmed, "Which ones?"

"All of them."

"WHAT? Why? What is wrong with them?" and god Kurama had thought that he had beat that motor mouthed nature out of him. The kid really was an interesting case of nature versus nurture now that he thought about it.

"Trust me, you do not want me to answer that."

"But, but they're orange!"

"Precisely."

"Your fur is orange too! I don't ask you to change it, do I?"

"I can also destroy civilizations with a flick of just one of my nine tails, do you really want to use that argument fishcake?"

And so after tons of whining and begging, Naruto found himself wearing a pair of black ANBU style trousers secured to his ankles with a roll of bandages and a mesh shirt with a muted, deep orange jacket on top. He looked more badass if he did say so himself. A kunai and shuriken holster was strapped to both sides of his waist and an additional holster was secured on his left thigh, a little above the knee. After all, as a budding weapons mistress would say, you can never have too many sharp, pointy, lethal things. And so, Uzumaki Naruto prepared, ready for whatever second year could throw at him. He was ready, and he had never felt better.

"I've got to take my life back
One chance to make it right
I've gotta have my voice be heard
And bring meaning to this life"

A/N - I actually do love interacting with all of you readers, so even if you wanna criticize me or make a request or ask a question, don't be shy! Drop a review or PM me :)

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Au revoir amigos!