Disclaimer: don't own Naruto, still don't want it.
Recap: Naruto aced her Jounin exam after presenting her case to the Third despite Minato's protests. Kujin was her proctor, and after the one-sided beating she gave to a poor random Jounin, the two decided to fight against each other to test their skills. They're interrupted by an alarm that indicates the village is under attack.
At the entrance of the village, gatekeeper Chounin Hitoshi is faced with Kumo-shinobi led by infamous brothers Ay and Bee, and the poor man definitely needs some help ASAP.
Jagged Pieces
Konoha worked like a well-oiled machine. As a military village, the population was required to go through a security drill every two months to ensure everyone knew what their job would be should the village be attacked. The hospital would cease all non-life-threatening operations, evacuate the civilians present in the premises through an underground tunnel, and be ready to receive their first injured. Should the situation prove to be dire, the staff had been trained to prioritize the wounded and decide which lives were worth saving in the long term, all for the village's sake. The administration buildings would enter a complete lockdown, seals ready to self-combust to protect the village's secrets. An archivist was to stay behind in the case the seals did not work, most likely sacrificing their life to make sure everything burnt in due time. The civilian population was to orderly seek refuge near the Hokage monument where low-level Chunin would lead them through secret pathways out into the deep forest that led to the Daimyo's courts. From there on, they were on their own as all able-bodied ninja had the standing order to go back to the village and fight as soon as their duties were performed. Once all this was done, all shinobi, from Genin to special corps, were to prepare for battle while the first line of attack would go protect the village.
The thing was: the security drill had already happened a month prior, meaning that this alert was the real deal, and like all real situations, nothing ever went as it should have. So far, the only ones who had managed to do their jobs right had been the administration buildings led by a senior Uchiha archivist and the hospital, the Sandaime's former students losing no time in rounding up their medical staff. The Chunin assigned to the village evacuation were struggling in keeping the civilians calm as they rushed towards the mountain overlooking the village, stomping on each other in their haste to reach safety. The Genin were completely lost in what they were supposed to do, most of them still freshly out of the Academy, and their instructors were too busy trying to reach their commanding officers to glean some much-needed information as the Hokage had already vacated the Tower, nowhere to be found.
As soon as they heard the alarm, both Sarutobi and Minato were on the move. The older man had his armour on as Minato sent a clone to his own team to relieve them from their babysitting duty, eager to get his son to safety. Hiruzen then turned to his successor, appraising him.
"Sandaime-sama, your orders?"
"There's no better moment like the present to learn," the old man decreed. "So, Minato, you are the Hokage and you just received an alert saying the village is under attack, what do you do?"
They had to jump to the street below the Tower, watching dispassionately as civilians were running around, following the Chunin guiding them. Minato focused for a moment and frowned at what his senses told him.
"Nothing," he whispered, crouching on the ground. He rubbed his hands together, feeling the heat of electricity building up in his palms before he touched them to the hard dirt, sending pulses through it. His eyes closed and he mentally reviewed everything his chakra felt.
"You'd do nothing?" Hiruzen pressed.
Minato cut the pulses and stood up, hands still tingling. "Not quite. I would call of the evacuation, seal off entrances, and go with a squad to meet the enemy."
"And why is that?"
"Because the village Is not under attack, Sandaime-sama, but I do not trust at all the men standing at its gates. It is only a company of seven led by the Raikage."
Suddenly understanding the situation, Hiruzen hailed one of his ANBU and gave them a sign to cut off the alert. The village was to cease all activities and remain on its guards, but it was not a critical situation anymore. He then turned to his chosen successor, frustration battling with weariness.
"Did I not tell you to sort out your issues with your brother, Minato-kun?"
The young man frowned, displeased by the remonstrance. "I never thought he'd be as foolish as to come to the gates of Konoha."
He focused an instant on his chakra and a clone popped up next to him, looking at the original copy in askance. Minato scoffed at this peculiar clone that embodied all the soft qualities he would rather get rid of while dealing with the nuisance that was his brother.
"You know what to do," he told the copy.
The clone hesitated a second before nodding with resolve, going away with a flash. Hiruzen stepped back from his successor, mouth folding down as the blond man kept getting gloomier by the second. Without further ado, Minato idly twirled one of his pronged kunai and disappeared a second later, leaving the old Hokage behind to oversee the frenzied villagers and wound up shinobi.
"Aah, this one is trigger-happy, brother," Bee remarked with a slight smirk as Hitoshi stood his ground on shaky knees, waiting for the first line of defenders to back him up and knowing he'd surely die before help arrived.
"Konoha, ever so welcoming," Ay scoffed as more of his own men dropped from the trees in response to the alarm.
It had been almost two minutes and no one was coming. Hitoshi was growing whiter and whiter and eventually broke. Overcome with panic, the Chunin roared and ran at Bee, kunai in hand. The Kumo-nin grinned and surged forward, grabbed Hitoshi's hand and twisted it harshly, breaking the wrist. The Chunin bit back a scream, tumbled to the floor and tried to sweep Bee's feet with a kick, following it with an Earth spike when he failed. The unexpected pillar surging up from the ground almost beheaded his foe who laughed, somersaulting back to his brother's side. A bead of blood shone on Bee's cheek and he swiped it away with his thumb before licking it clean.
"First blood," he grinned. "And here I was trying to be nice." He cracked his neck, smile gone. "I think it's my turn to slice 'n' dice."
But Ay rose a hand to halt his brother. "Not so fast, Bee. We wouldn't want to give Minato the wrong impression." Then he turned his attention towards the pale, anxious gatekeeper. "We're not here to fight, Konoha. Kumo came all the way to Fire country for a diplomatic visit. Aren't you going to welcome us as is due, Chunin?"
Hitoshi gritted his teeth, cradling his broken wrist to his chest. No more Kumo-nins tried to attack him, all standing behind their leader, awaiting his instructions. He was about to reach out once more with his sense to see if more shinobi were lurking around when a shadow fell over him, attracting the attention of the Raikage and his brother. Hitoshi looked up, relieved to see the formidable Minato Namikaze standing on the wall guarding the village… though his relief was short-lived as the blond man sneered at him.
"Eight shinobi. You rang the alert for eight shinobi."
"Namikaze-san, I—"
He was cut off by a sharp wave of the hand. "I'll deal with you later," the Hokage candidate dismissed, turning his attention to the Kumo envoy. He mustered them for a few seconds, seemingly weighing his options. "You have no official business with Konoha. If you want to talk with our Hokage, you will have to go through the usual channels and wait for his answer."
This was not to the taste of the Raikage who clicked his tongue, annoyed. "Minato," he greeted. "The prodigal son," he drawled mockingly, quoting the Kumo civilians who kept petitioning him to bring the blond exiled back home. His full lips stretched into a smirk as he saw how the words displeased the younger man. Raising both hands placatingly, he tried to temper him. "Now, now, brother. We both know it's not the old man I want to talk with."
"Then leave, I have no wish to discuss with you."
No reasoning with him, then. So be it. Quick as a snake, Ay jumped over Hitoshi and ran up the wall before anyone could stop him, reaching Minato in mere seconds, only to be greeted with a pronged kunai pressed tightly to his jugular, Minato silently daring him to move a muscle. Ay only grinned, leaning forward, pushing his throat against the deadly steel, not minding the blood that started to sluggishly drip down his shirt as Minato never let up the pressure. "What a pity that we lost such a fierce shinobi," he offered, amused to see his brother's sneer deepened at the mere idea of being a Kumo-nin. "Now, be a good lad and let us have a talk. Or I'll be forced to declare war on your village for marrying a Kumo citizen without my express authorization."
The kunai pressed deeper into dark flesh, blue eyes flashing with something that made Ay's blood sing.
"I don't know what—"
"Save your breath, brother. Bee has a loose tongue and was never good at keeping secrets. Now, what do you say: a chat or a war?"
There was a tense moment during which Minato seriously considered just cutting the Raikage's throat, consequences be damned. All the hatred he'd kept locked deep inside him just seemed to boil out all of a sudden. It is true that while concocting his little plan in marrying Naruto, he had thought of truly mending his frayed relationship with his brother, for the sake of Konoha. He had fooled himself into believing that he could do it, but now, staring at Ay's face, all he wanted was to spit on him and bury his kunai deep in the neck so easily offered to him.
Instead, he signed to the team that had followed him to let the Kumo envoy in.
Back on training field 37, Naruto looked with wide eyes at Kujin, waiting for an explanation. Her hands had begun to tremble and she balled them into fists, trying to control the slight tremors. It was so not the time for her PTSD to come and bite her in the ass. Focusing on her chakra, she started modulating it just like Hinata had taught her after the war – slow, in a circular motion. Breathing in and out slowly, sweat glistening on the back of her neck, she tried to keep alert and followed with her eyes as the red-haired man straightened up, head tilted North-West where the village's main entrance was located. It looked like he was trying to listen to something, and his focus suddenly snapped back to her, eyes locked on the trees behind her shoulders. She tensed but never ceased her chakra exercise, her breath and pulse regulating slowly. No matter what the situation was, Naruto knew that she'd be ready for battle.
"That son of a bitch," he snarled, tugging his hair into a high ponytail before cutting a slash in his arm. As soon as blood made contact with his skin, an array of seals revealed themselves, carved into his flesh. Just as he was summoning a naginata from a knot of ink in the hollow of his elbow, a yellow flash came from the trees and Minato was standing next to a still frozen Naruto, face set in stone.
"You sensed him too?" Kujin spat, swinging his naginata around with a vicious gleam in his purple eyes. He looked demonic, now that his face was not bearing a stupidly wide smile and that his eyes were not dancing with laughter. He was about to launch into a tirade of insults, but took a second glance at his friend and frowned. "Ah. You're not Minato." He clicked his tongue, annoyed. "Why did he send a defect here?"
The clone seemed to hold back a sigh and decided to ignore Kujin, turning towards Naruto. "Another clone already went ahead and retrieved Hajime from my team. He's somewhere safe, so don't worry. Take my hand, I'll use my Hiraishin to get us to him."
For a moment, Naruto was paralyzed as a war raged inside her. So that's what it felt like to be a parent shinobi, she thought hazily. That was the choice they were faced with – to protect their kids, or go to battle to protect the village. Bile rising in her throat, Naruto steeled herself and shook her head. "I can't. If something is threatening the village, I can't do nothing. I'm good—really good. I can help."
She expected Minato's clone to scoff at her and yell about priorities, just like its caster had not so long ago, instead, its shoulders slumped down. "I understand the feeling, I really do. But our son needs you. I'm already at the gates, and my students will soon be required to help the other abled shinobi in rounding up the panicking civilians and bring order back to the village. You, on the other hand, are not yet officially part of the corps. You can help make sure Hajime is safe, while I just cannot." Sensing her indecision, the cloned tackled on. "Besides, there is nothing to fear. The village is safe from enemies. I've got the situation handled."
"Ah?" Kujin chimed in. "You're saying that dumbass went to greet that asshole Raikage without me? Tch, typical." Without further ado, the red-head flickered away in a shunshin, leaving the two blondes alone.
No enemies. Situation handled. Village safe. That was everything Naruto needed to hear for the rush of calm she forced on herself to vanish. She was free to panic, then. Nobody counted on her to be the strong hero, nobody counted on her to fight for them—ah, no, no, no, that wasn't true—there still was Hajime—ah but it was too late now, wasn't it? Her breath was already shortening, and as she tried to grapple for her chakra to modulate it again in soothing circles, it kept slipping away, and the panic kept growing. No, no, no, no, no—
"Naruto-san? Do you feel unwell?"
Her ears were ringing, and black spots were dancing in her vision. Dammit, she was weak, so weak, always too weak. Here she was, freezing instead of acting, letting people die instead of saving them – but nobody is dying, safe, situation handle, no enemies, it's okay, it's okay, everyone's okay, she's oka—useless. Utterly useless. Why could she never do something good? Why could she never be enough? Why did everyone always have to die? Why, why, why?
When her vision cleared up, Naruto was in a forest and her lungs didn't feel like they were collapsing on themselves anymore. A sweet breeze was ruffling green leaves above her head. The whisper of their ruffles was the only sound, no birds trying to join their chirrups to the slow harmony of the trees. This forest looks familiar, she idly thought, playing with the velvet-like petals of a soft pink flower growing in the underbrush. So pretty, the woman thought with a grin, already forgetting what had her so frightened moments ago. She plucked the flower and brought it to her nose, but no scent came. Disappointed, Naruto tucked it in the zipper of her jacket – it was strange, she wasn't wearing one earlier. Never mind that, Naruto thought, she'd show the flower to Sakura. It was exactly like her hair!
Something rustled in the bushes to her right, and Naruto turned towards it, kunai in hand.
Nothing.
A giggle, another rustle, and Naruto was now giving chase. To what, she did not know. She just felt it in her guts, that need to follow. She leapt into trees, dove into bushes, somersaulted from one branch to another until finally, she caught up with the something—no the someone she was chasing.
Pink.
Pink hair.
Heart in her throat – but why was she so anxious? – Naruto yelled out, "Sakura-chan! Wait for me!"
But Sakura dashed into another run, and Naruto almost lost her as she kept diving deeper into the forest whose trees were growing closer and looming further above them, darkening the path as the sun seemed to not be able to reach the ground. Finally, the blond woman came to a stop as a mountain's wall faced her, the dark, moaning jaw of a cave somberly greeting her.
She had seen this before. Before… waking up?
"What the hell…"
"Naruto."
The voice had been a deep rumble, like rocks rolling over each other beneath the thick coat of the earth. Naruto knew that voice. She had known it longer than she had known her own name. She knew, and yet she still hopefully, quietly uttered, "Sakura-chan…?"
"She died, don't you remember?"
No, Naruto wanted to say. Sakura is just missing. It's you who don't remember, Kur—"Kurama?" she gasped, finally stepping into the cave. Darkness seemed to swallow her, and two giant red eyes opened to watch her as she stumbled her way to him.
The last time Minato had seen Ay, his mother had been put into a coffin and repatriated to her native land to be burnt in a pyre as was the fate of all exiled citizens, her orphaned son fighting tooth and nail to get her body back as he was denied the right to bury her body in Konoha. Sarutobi had done nothing despite the young boy's pleas, and to this day, Minato knew that he will never really forgive the old Hokage for his inaction, nor his brother for his heartlessness.
Now, as he faced him in a private room he often used for T&I sessions in the Tower, Minato could still feel all the resentment he held for his sibling who kept smiling at him as if he knew exactly what the younger man was thinking.
"So," Minato drawled out, leaning back against his chair, arms crossed defensively. "What brought you here?"
Ay stretched his legs, at ease in the foreign setting. He looked around him, letting his dark grey gaze roam on everything. "I thought my last message was quite explicit."
"And I thought my answer was, too."
This earned Minato a scoff accompanied by a harsh glare as Ay finally settled deep into his own chair, like a king holding court. "Silence is not an answer to a plea for help."
"Isn't it?" Minato blinked, feigning confusion. "Isn't it, Ay? Because that's exactly what my mother got when she reached out to you, way back then." She had been sick, knowing her death was looming, and had tried to reach out to his sibling instead of his father, trying to appeal to their brotherhood so that he would take care of Minato once she was gone. Instead, Ay only came to retrieve her body on his father's order, not even gifting the orphaned boy with words of acknowledgement. And he left like he came, a simple shadow in the life of a boy whose village still didn't trust him, with only another pariah boy for company.
Ay tutted and waved a hand around, as if trying to chase away a foul smell. "It's in the past, cease your childishness and focus on the here and now. You read my letter, right?" He didn't wait for confirmation and went on: "What happened near our borders should be a concern for everyone. Konoha should be grateful we were willing to share what happened with you in the first place."
The letter Mochi had brought still lingered in his mind. He had thought about bringing up its content to Sarutobi, but ultimately decided against it. If Kumo wanted help, they should talk directly with the Hokage, not his successor. "That a bijuu decided to trample around your borders is your own concern, not ours. We're not allies, we owe you nothing."
"And yet, you married one of my citizens." Ay played with a lone pen forgotten on the table, twirling it between his thick, scarred fingers. "Didn't you tell Bee that it was out of good faith and a desire to better relationships with Kumo?" His tone was mocking and his eyes flicked up towards Minato's, fingers squeezing around the pen hard enough to break it if he so wished. "Or were you lying?"
Silence followed as both men stared at each other, neither willing to look away first. In the end, the Raikage dropped the pen and crossed his legs, eyes going half-mat as he scratched at a deep cut carved into the sturdy wood of the table, as if a sword had been entrenched there at one point. Intrigued, Ay dipped the tip of his thumb in the opening, trying to feel just how far down it went, and almost distractedly said: "That woman doesn't exist in any of our registers, did you think me a fool to believe simple forged papers would be enough to placate me?" A splinter caught on the thick skin of his thumb, and Ay growled as he pulled his sore finger back, slightly annoyed. Time to bluff a little. "In my magnanimity, I let that union happen – a show of goodwill to my estranged little brother." Ay paused, examining his hands, before finally looking back up at a stone-faced Minato. "But I could very well decide to punish my citizen and her brood for—"
"Touch them and you'll end up just like the last man who sat there."
Well, his bluff landed a little bit too well. Curious, Ay tilted his chin up. "Meaning?"
"Push me a bit more and you might find out," Minato hissed.
And there it was. A reaction, a show of humanity that Ay pounced on like a starving jackal. He grinned, showing teeth. "Is that a weakness I feel here, Minato?" He clicked his tongue. "Bad, bad shinobi. What do they teach you here, hm?"
"Basic human decency, I guess."
This tore a real, booming laugh out of the older man who clapped his hands together, as if enjoying a show. "Pah! Human decency, he says, as if Konoha doesn't kill its fair share of innocents on a daily basis! You're one of the great nations for a reason, it's not for frolicking around in your forests. Come off your high horse, will you?"
Patience never was Minato's forte. He was used to people fearing him or respecting him, sometimes both. He had carved himself a place in Konoha through blood and sweat, and his reputation preceded him. No one sane enough would ever play with him like Ay was doing now, because no one sane enough would ever believe Minato to be anything else but a predator to be wary of. Unfortunately for him, he had met his match in Ay, and he now acutely felt like a mouse running around a maze, a cat lazily following behind and ready to pounce. Mouth thinning, Minato spat: "Better offering a neat death to innocents than abducting and torturing them, I'd think."
Silence rang in the room before Ay slapped his thighs with a startled chuckle. "Is that what this is about? Are you still hung up on that failed mission with the Uzumaki menace?"
It was enraging to see how much the Raikage didn't care about what had been a traumatic experience for both Kujin and Minato who'd barely been out of the Academy. It was even more enraging that despite being twenty-three and building his own family, Minato was still craving some sort of recognition from his brother. How pathetic was it that he sometimes wished Kumo had tried to snatch him rather than Kujin… He wanted to yell at Ay for being so dismissive, for hurting his friend but also hurting him. Instead, like the lost, unwanted child he would forever be deep down, Minato asked, heart beating fast in his chest: "Were you trying to get at me when you stole him away?"
It had been something he had often wondered about, despite Kujin's claims that Kumo was thirsting after his Uzumaki knowledge and didn't care about the exiled Namikaze. Now, he'd finally get a straight answer.
Ay heaved a long sigh, no longer laughing, and rubbed a hand down his face. "Honestly?" Yes, honestly, Minato thought. "You didn't even compute in my plans, Minato."
'That's how little you mean to me' went unsaid, but it was heard all the same. Minato felt something finally break for good in him, and for a second, he felt like the scared boy he had been after his mother's death, writing a letter, eyes blurred by tears and nose dripping with snot, praying that his last relative would take care of him and fetch him from the village where nobody trusted him. But Minato finally understood that he was and would forever be a lone, dirty bastard orphan.
Felling strangely detached from his inner turmoil, the blond man nodded, unsurprised. "Then you'll understand that you and your village do not compute in mine either. I may not be the Hokage yet, but rest assured I'll do my best to make it so no help will ever be sent your way."
"Is this how you want to play this game, brother?"
It was Minato's turn to grin and show teeth. "It is how I want to end this game."
There was no more laughter and smirks from Ay, now. A deep frown had settled on his brow. "You really are your mother's son – only fit to be spat at, blood traitor that you are. Turning your back on your village and family—"
The air in the room suddenly felt heavy, electricity crackling around them. Minato didn't even need to move, his chakra already encompassing the whole of the room, ready to fry the Raikage. He always had known that booby-trapping the entire Tower with his seals would one day come in handy.
"And you really are your father's son – only fit to feed the worms, and definitely not worth my time. Do you want to join him so badly, brother?"
The word dripped with venom in his mouth – an insult more than a title. The men stared at each other, one with grey eyes full of scorn, the other with blue eyes cold as a tomb. Finally, Ay stood up and dusted his pants. "One day, your stubbornness will get you killed, and I'll be the first to rejoice. I pity that poor wife of yours."
"Oh, Ay." Minato stood up in turn, a warm smile stretching his lips as he came up to his brother to clasp his shoulders. "Only the weak die. I believe I'll be the one rejoicing. Perhaps even sooner than you'd think."
The rest went unsaid but was heard all the same. The door opened and in came Kujin, hair dishevelled in its ponytail and face set in a snarl as he rose his naginata.
"Ay," he roared. "Finally, our paths cross again!"
"Stand down, Kujin."
The redhead bared his teeth at Minato. "You'd take my revenge from me?"
"Trust me, there will be a better time and place for revenge. But not here in Konoha. We don't seek war, after all." Ay and Minato exchanged a long, hard look. Both knew the Raikage could use the threat of war as much he wanted, he couldn't back it up. Not if he had to crawl to Konoha and beg for help with their bijuu problem. He cut his glare to Kujin who had yet to lower his weapon, rage still brimming in his purple eyes as all he wanted to do was kill the man who had tried to enslave him. "Kujin. It's an order. Stand. Down."
With an enraged scream, the former Uzumaki scribe threw his naginata to the ground, glaring at the foreign Kage who simply smiled tauntingly and made to leave the room, strutting like a peacock.
"Uzumaki," Ay said as he passed him.
Kujin spat at his feet and shoulder-checked him before going to stand at Minato's side. With a scoff, Ay finally departed, eager to try and have a word with the Hokage, not knowing yet that in the end, he'd leave Konoha the same as he came – empty-handed, with fear lodged deep inside his belly. Kumo would be on its own to fight against the giant Fox who had lurked too close to their borders for comfort.
"You should've waited for me," Kujin said harshly.
"What for? I can handle him by myself, I'm not a child anymore."
He didn't try to dodge as the redhead shoved him, but he did shoot him a warning glare. Kujin wasn't impressed, though. "Yeah, right. That's why you created a defect before 'handling' that asshole. Could've fooled me here for a sec, pal."
Minato had no retort because it was true, and he was gracious enough to admit defeat. His clone - the "defect", as Kujin said - was a technique that was born from miscalculation and exhaustion. It allowed him to divide his feelings, and he often used it during harsh missions so that he could shed his more humane qualities and retain the cold, calculating mind he was known for. He didn't like staying divided for too long, it always messed up with his psyche for a while afterwards.
He sighed and rubbed at his shoulder. He felt around for the defect but sensed that it was still with Naruto, and both were away from Hajime. He frowned but dismissed it, vaguely knowing that he should've felt more concerned but unable to care more about the situation knowing that there was no real threat around. Still, it bugged him, and Minato knew that it would soon be time to recall his defect clone and be whole once again.
Giving his attention back to Kujin, he affected a bored tone. "You know how Ay likes mind games, I'm always better at them when nothing else can divert my attention. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm needed elsewhere."
"I fucking hate you when you're like that!" Kujin yelled at his retreating back.
The deep darkness of the cave was not enough to snuff out the red eyes that glowed like ambers. Her sight slowly adjusted to her surroundings, and Naruto could soon make out the shape of tails and ears as the fox minutely shifted, chest heaving up and down with each hot breath he exhaled.
"Sorry for the little illusion, I needed something inciting enough to make you follow me," he grumbled, moving his snout closer to her. "I've been trying to reach you for months in your sleep, but you always wake up too soon. I was growing tired of waiting." He laid on his side, stretching a leg. "I tried seeking you out but humans are easily spooked, it is annoying. Honestly, I was about to come and just raze Konoha if that one last attempt didn't work." Seeing that the woman kept gaping at him, confused and awed, the fox sighed. His long ears flicked up and down as he hummed, thoughtful. "Never thought I'd be grateful for a panic attack… it was much easier to slip into your mind, this time around."
Naruto found it difficult to swallow through the lump growing in her throat. "So you came back too? I thought I lost you in the travel…"
"Nah… my soul was tethered to my counterpart, I was snapped back to him the instant we came into this dimension. Thankfully enough, your seal held and there is still a thin connection between us, otherwise, we'd both be dead."
Ah. Right. She should've thought of that, really. She wouldn't have survived an extraction, so it was only logical to assume Kurama had lived, just like her. Slowly, memories started to trickle back to her in this strange in-betweenness Kurama had trapped her in.
"I have a son," she mumbled, startled by the realization. "Oh, I have a son, I need to get back, Kurama I need to—"
She was turning back towards the entrance of the cave, but it had disappeared. Wherever she looked, she could only see darkness and Kurama. The fox blinked hazily, resting his snout on his crossed front paws. "Not so fast. We barely had time to talk, don't be in such a hurry to leave."
There was something eerie about the beast, something that set her on edge more than usual, and Naruto narrowed her eyes. He seemed bigger than before. "What happened to the other Kurama?"
The fox grinned, showing his long teeth. "I ate him. He was not too happy about my appearance."
Incredulity washed over her and she shivered. "You… ate him?"
Kurama was unrepentant, stretching his long limbs and tails. "Of course I did. It was either him or me. I chose myself." Opening one huge red eye gleaming with amusement, he peered down at her. "Wouldn't you have chosen yourself too, Naruto?"
The answer was immediate. "No!" she yelled out in disgust. She was the intruder, she was the anomaly. Had there been another Naruto alive, she would have forfeited, because it would've been the right thing to do.
"Ah, yes, the ever self-sacrificing fool," the fox drawled, unimpressed. "Or… is it because you just decided to give up on life such a long time ago?"
The words were like a punch. The fox had never been one to beat around the bush for long. He used words to his advantage, sometimes twisted the truth to fit his tales, and he never shied away from blunt statements. The more hurtful, the better, because the beast had always thrived best when leeching at others' pain. Naruto had never been an exception – she had been fair game from the get-go, even after their tentative truce and the twisted bond that tied them to each other. He had accepted her long ago, and yet, he was perhaps the cruellest to her – there was something thrilling about seeing the sun dies, only to burn brighter when it rose again, brighter than ever.
"I never—I wasn't—"
"Never mind," the fox cut her off. "I've seen many things in your dreams while trying to reach you. You reek of guilt – it was amusing for a time, but the pity party became rather dull a few weeks in. Always crying about that little dead friend of yours—"
"She isn't dead!" Naruto yelled. "Sakura is out there somewhere, and I need to find her, I need to bring her back because I promised I would—"
"Promises, promises—it's always the same tune with you. You're an annoying one, you know that? It's not because you can brave death that the same is true for everyone else." A claw came close, pointing at her. "It's the theme of your life – everybody dies, but you get to live. You should be used to it by now."
Angry, Naruto took a step back, balling her fists. "Shut up, damn fox."
He barked a laugh, tails thumping merrily behind it. "Did I strike a nerve?" He went on when she kept quiet, refusing to meet his gaze. "I saw your mind," he said again, mocking. "I saw how you dream of the dead each night. I know you know they are not coming back, so why do you delude yourself in thinking your little friend survived spilling her guts on the ground?"
There was a saying they all learnt at the Academy. No body, no death. It was a way to drill into their young minds that they should never give up on their teammates if a mission went wrong and one of them disappeared. Naruto had clung to it throughout the war, and it had come true at times. So why not for her own team? She had to bury Kakashi and Sai with her own two hands, and she was the one who dealt Sasuke a killing blow. But Sakura… she had only seen it from afar, caught only a glimpse of her falling body before the sight was hidden by the ongoing fights around them. Naruto had scoured the whole field afterwards. She turned every corpse on their back, interrogated all survivors, sought her summons to track her down… but nothing came up. So. No body, no death.
Kurama seemed to guess what she was thinking because he let out an amused snort. "Truth is you're alone, you were always alone, and that's the only reason you want to go back. You think your friends need you? Pah! What a joke… They all have each other, you are the odd one out, you are the one who needs them. You just want to feel useful again, to be the hero you were taught to be, because that's the only way you know how to live."
She didn't like that. She didn't like hearing her deepest thoughts – the one she never wanted to acknowledge – in the voice that used to haunt her nightmares. "Stop…"
Kurama grinned, showing all his teeth. "How pathetic," he mocked. "That's why you were stupid enough to work on that seal even though the Nara boy told you it was risky. That's why you drew on my chakra even though I told you not to."
"Enough!" she yelled, pulling chakra into her fists, ready to hit the fox.
"You wanted to die that day. You didn't even care about that little leech growing in your body… For once, you were selfish, you only thought of yourself and your pain and desires." The fox's grin grew larger and Naruto glared at him through her tears. "So Naruto, stupid little brat… What will you do now? Will you be selfish again?"
He brought his muzzle closer to her and she could feel the hot, almost searing air escaping from his nostrils. "Or are you going to stay the same dirty, unloved orphan you've always been, trying to please everyone while no one ever reaches out for you?"
"I hate you," she whimpered, tears glistening in her eyes that she refused to let go.
"No," Kurama laughed, red eyes boring into hers. "You hate yourself more." Pushing his wet muzzle against her head, he made her stumble backwards. "But it's okay. I like you well enough, and that's better than nothing, no?"
Naruto turned away from the fox, pushing the heels of her hands into her eyes to stave off the tears. She won't cry. She wasn't a kid anymore, Kurama couldn't make her cry, no matter how hurtful his truths were.
Eventually, Kurama seemed to grow bored of his little hurtful games and softened a bit. "Chances are you'll never be able to go back without me. The first time was a fluke, after all."
"I know," the woman whispered.
This was her chance, she knew it. She had wanted to find Kurama and bail out of this dimension since the second she had realised what had happened. He was offering himself to her, even though they both knew that the most likely outcome of trying to go back the same way they arrived would surely end up in a gruesome death – she still wasn't sure how they had survived the first jump. And on the off chance it worked a second time… what could guarantee that they'd end up in the right dimension and time?
"So," Kurama eventually broke the silence that had settled between them. "Aren't you going to ask where I am?"
Naruto hesitated for a second, before shaking her head 'no'. The fox hummed in thought before laughing. "Always the martyr… Do you enjoy hurting so much?"
"I can't ask you to jeopardize yourself for me, Kurama." It was a bad idea. She knew herself well enough to acknowledge that in a moment of weakness, she wouldn't hesitate to seek the bijuu and ask for his chakra. So she'd rather stay clueless and only count on herself.
"I wouldn't be jeopardizing anything, silly girl. When will you understand that I end where you begin and vice versa? You're so hell-bent on offing yourself, I'm doomed to follow anyway. So let me at least go with a bang – I wouldn't mind taking that pesky village of yours along with me."
"I don't want to die." At his scoff, Naruto amended. "Not anymore." She licked her lips, trying to find the words to express how alive she felt now that Hajime had entered her life, how much she wanted to see him grow, how much she wanted to care for him and be cared for in turn. How much she wanted to love unconditionally, something she had never been allowed to do until now. Instead, she settled for this—"I want to live. Kurama—" the tears she had tried to keep at bay finally started to fall. "—I miss my friends, but I want to live."
It's only as she said these words that a weight seemed to have been lifted from her chest, and she heaved in deep breaths as she sobbed. She wanted to see Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru, Kiba—everyone. There were still so many things Naruto needed to do. She needed to find Sakura – her corpse, Naruto amended to herself with pain – and bury her, mourn her, and atone for failing to keep her alive. She wanted to help Hinata with her clan, just like she promised Neji she would. She wanted to tell Ino not to worry about her anymore, that she'd take care of herself now, that she was okay, truly. She wanted to reassure Chouji, tell him he'd make a great clan head, and that he needn't stand in his father's shadow. She wanted to tell Shikamaru that it was okay to cry, that he didn't have to always be the strong one. She wanted to sit with Kiba and Shino and tell them she understood what it was like to feel alone. She wanted to help Tenten finding a new path in life, and she wanted to make Lee smile again—
Naruto wanted to do so many things, but she also knew that her Konoha had slowly been killing her. The guilt had eaten at her, the knowledge that the ones she called family were gone was too much to bear, and she just couldn't take the pitying eyes anymore. Her Konoha had broken her, and she couldn't go back, because she'd let it destroy her without blinking an eye. Kurama had been right. Naruto Uzumaki was a martyr. She didn't know how to be anything else, had never learnt to put herself first, and would've gladly continued had she not been hit with this new world in which nobody stared at her for guidance and just let her be.
"Then, this is goodbye," the fox said, with some kind of finality to his words.
Naruto nodded, resolute. "It is. Farewell, Kurama."
Solemn like he had never been before, the great fox bowed his head as darkness swallowed him whole. When she blinked her eyes open, Clone Minato's concerned face greeted her, but she ignored him, stumbling on wobbly legs as she glared at the horizon, trying to sense her friend. Like the previous times, Naruto could feel nothing.
There was something hollow in her, knowing that she would never be able to meet Kurama again in this life. But the hollowness was soon filled with warmth as the thought of her son trickled back in her mind, and she turned on her heels, just like she turned her back on her old life.
Goodbye, my friends. Goodbye, my home.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
It won't be forever, she thought soothingly to herself. Just let her heal, let her find peace of mind, and when she was ready, she would find a way back without having to abuse Kurama's chakra again. She could do it. She'd find the knowledge needed, even if she had to tear it from Kujin's mind and Minato's hands. But right now…
"Take me to my son," she firmly told the clone.
Her parents had once chosen a village over her.
Naruto decided to choose herself and her son.
To be continued…
A/N: HI DUDES AND LADIES! I'm back for more fun! I tried these last few days answering all your reviews, but might have missed some, my apologies in advance if that's the case, but know that I really cherished each and every comment I got: it's thanks to all these kind words that I keep the motivation to come back and write this story despite the occasional flame. You're my heroes, thank you for always being there!
I really enjoyed writing all the dynamics in this one, I had a blast with all the family issues! Also, I'm bored of always seeing Kurama being fatherly and all that crap. So I decided to just picture him as a real, demonic fox, who has nothing to really lose in life and enjoys being an asshole. Please, note that I upped the rating: I realised a bit belatedly that unhealthy/fucked up relationships are worth more than a measly T as a warning.
SOME MUCH NEEDED NOTES CONCERNING THE STORY:
About chakra: In this series, chakra has two signatures; the one pointing towards your affinity, and the one pointing to your "origins." So, a ninja hailing from Kumo would have a distinctive marker that feels like electricity (Konoha would be fire, Suna would be wind, so on and so forth). So le'ts take Naruto for example: her parents are from Uzu (Kushina) and Kumo (Minato), and her affinity is wind. Depending which parent has stronger chakra, she will inherit either the Kumo or Uzo marker. Minato has stronger chakra than Kushina, so Naruto inherited the Kumo marker, hence why everybody in this dimension wrongly assumes she is from there. It's the same with Minato: he has the Kumo marker, and he has an affinity for wind, as well as a secondary affinity with electricity. He used to solely hone his wind out of spite for Kumo, but soon realised that he was only handicapping himself by not using his full abilities, and now uses both indiscriminately! (Thanks to anon user "S" for asking!)
About Minato and his team: many found him to be quite uncaring with his Chunin! To be fair, he was in the right. As a martial instructor (and I insist on the "martial"!) it is definitely not his role to parent shinobi that might be young, but are also lethal. They've seen their share fair of horror, already killed quite a lot... So when they get a little bit hormonal and get in a row, Minato rightly expects them to be mature enough to get over their issues and make up quickly - which they always do. However, it doesn't mean that Minato doesn't care about them. Their lives lie in his hands, which is a huge responsibility, and he teaches them all he knows to help them survive as long as possible in the cruel world of shinobi. Plus, he's far from heartless: Kakashi alluded to the fact that it was only thanks to Minato that neither her nor Rin had to go on honeypot missions. He is, in fact, the only martial instructor who goes out of his way to preserve that piece of innocence, because he doesn't approve of anybody having to whore themselves out for information. Hope that cleared things up a bit about his relationship with Team Minato!
Fun tidbit that didn't fit into the story: Minato was totally bluffing when he said "push me and you'll find out". I mean, a dude did die. But Kujin was the one doing the beheading after he was done with a session of I&T, Minato was just there in the corner, playing secretary as he took notes and complained through all of it like "Kujin, stop pulling on his nails, he keeps screaming in the middle of his sentences, how do you want me to takes notes when he can't talk!" – "Bro, it's called TORTURE for a reason." – "and INTERROGATION, Kujin, you can't just have your fun and leave the serious busin—WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THE NAILS, he was finally CRACKING, fucking dammit Kujin!" – "SORRY, I WAS JUST ON A ROLL, I FORGOT!" (I need to stop, I fucking need to stop these non-sensical snippets that bring NOTHING to the story BUT DEAR LORD DO I LOVE 'EM).
ANYWAY! Welcome to the new readers that kept trickling in these last few months, and welcome back to the old readers!
BTW: I've uploaded a complete story about little Naruto who keeps accidentally jumping through time, if you're interested (shameless promotion time OVER!)
As usual, please, DO NOT ASK when I'll update, I'M AS CLUELESS AS YOU!
Feel free to drop a word here or on my Tumblr if you have questions/theories, I'm always happy to answer!
Thank you for all the kind words that kept me smiling (and random flames, I needed them to keep me warm at night during the cold months), and SEE YA AROUND, LIL' BANANAS!