Hi! I'm as shocked as y'all this took almost a year to get out and for that I apologize for the SUPER long wait!
In short the good: I finished school, had to study for my state license, got a new job and finished training!
In short the bad: i got anxiety about the quality of my work and wondering if it was good enough...but I've since come to peace with how I write and will continue! I also had Evieoof offer to beta for me and I'm grateful. This year has been a pretty hectic one so unfortunately all they got to beta was the first scene and the rest remains unchecked haha. Still I hope you enjoy too!
Let me not delay y'all any longer. Enjoy as this is 13000 words!
So not even two hours into their traveling and Naruto disappeared.
And hours later, Kyuubi thinks about how in the end it was for their own good after all. And weeks, months, and even years later, he sometimes thinks about how it changed the trajectory of their lives.
Kyuubi saw Naruto leap out of his carriage and catch up to Kira. They started talking about something, Kyuubi didn't really catch the content because he was busy listening to his real auntie talk about her camera and not really thinking too much about the actions happening ahead of him. Despite their head start by leaving in the late afternoon, travel still was going to take two nights because the bulk of their two days of travel was walking through the desert. Kyuubi figured since the desert isn't known for its privacy spots, he would find some way to sneak Naruto off to plan after Hakucho Auntie finished speaking.
But then Naruto took off running ahead.
Which yea okay sure, that's not suspicious at all. Maybe Naruto had to super pee or something.
Then Kira stops, which Kyuubi totally thought was because Naruto was yanno, going to pee and they were going to wait. In fact he thought he oughta 'go pee' too while they're waiting and catch Naruto alone to discuss what they should do once they reach their destination. And she even dropped the carriage handle— she was totally going to wait. Until he heard her mutter, "sonuva…"
Which made him go 'huh?.' Because Kira is offended by many many MANY things, but to be offended by someone taking a bathroom break is breaking new ground. Kyuubi weighed the idea of telling her that he had to go take a crap, when she sighed heavily.
And then said back to them, "will he realize what he's done or do I have to drag him back? Never mind. Watch the carriage, we'll be back shortly."
She ran off after Naruto, without waiting for a response. Which excuse Kyuubi but he had some questions.
"What in the world?" Kyuubi loudly wondered.
"Oh my! Kurama-chan did your beloved just go rogue?" Hakucho Auntie was smiling though, as she swiftly lifted up Naruto's carriage with one hand, ignoring the handle completely.
"That's 'betrothed' to you. Very big difference!" He huffed. Denying the 'beloved' part was pretty low on his list of priorities so he had to squeeze it in there fast.
"And no way! He's invested in this journey, he wouldn't do anything to throw it off course. It sounded like he was just going to the bathroom or something!" But he was running straight ahead and judging by how fast his scent was moving, he was showing no signs of stopping.
Kyuubi had half a mind to go catch Naruto himself. He wouldn't run off for any random cause. His first thought was that Kira pissed him off. It's Kira, she's perfectly capable of it, mission or not.
"Well going rogue doesn't mean he's hindering us. He's just helping himself along without our ordered protection."
"Don't make that sound like a good thing…" Kyuubi grumbled as he crossed his arms and tapped his foot. Nothing can be good about having to wait. Why was he waiting? How long was 'shortly'?! It was pissing him off that they weren't back immediately! And Naruto's scent was continuing to travel further and further and further and…becoming dangerously faint.
"Would you like to go to the bathroom yourself while we wait for them?"
"No I don't even want to wait!" He was from the desert so he could hold it for days. But he could not hold his stance for even a few more seconds as he growled and his ears flicked when Naruto's scent finally got out of range.
"Then there's no reason for us to hang back here hm? I am ready for a high speed chase." And Hakucho Auntie was right and fortunately just as impatient as he is. The schedule of travel seemed more for…home-base's convenience than their's. And he's not writing to home-base about his traveling experience so what does he care if they run ahead a little?
It brought him little relief that when they caught up to Kira he caught the faintest whiff of Naruto's scent again. Because Naruto himself wasn't visible and he could only hear the trace sounds of his running and how the hell were they so far behind him?!
Kira reached her full potential at four tails, and as remiss as he was to give her any kind of compliment, she did work her ass off to utilize her strength to the best of her potential and it was strong—course she is a Kitsune. So it was mildly infuriating that she couldn't catch up with Naruto. He knew Naruto was quick but geez was he surprised at what some training did for him.
If he really wanted to, he could've just zoomed up and caught him himself and maybe if he had just done so in that moment he could've saved himself the stress later on.
…
But he was feeling unusually petty and pissing off Kira for whatever slight she committed would've provided immediate gratification.
"Dear! What happened? Where is Naruto-chan going?"
"What'd you say to him you witch!?" Kyuubi quickly accused. He saw Hakucho Auntie glare at him from the other side of Kira, but he barely paid it any mind.
Kira bared her teeth, but kept her eyes trained forward when she answered.
"I think he has more problems with a missed dinner than he does with me stupid nephew!" She growled out. "He wants to save time on this journey so he ran ahead."
What the hell? What happened to traveling together?! Naruto had a role to play —to catch any signs of the seal master! It's not like he was going to stay in his carriage the whole time!
And yanno, if he wanted to speed things up that was fine but…why didn't he tell Kyuubi what he wanted? He would've encouraged this if he just knew…So what's-what's that idiot thinking?! As of the present moment after this flashback, Kyuubi still doesn't have the answer. But he really wished he had suggested a bathroom break or really any excuse to get Naruto alone. He didn't realize at the time that he would lose the opportunity to do so, so quickly.
"I can't even hear him running anymore. Ha, do you have sight of him?"
"Nope!"
"Crap. If he reaches the mountain range the terrain will make catching him more difficult. Obviously he thinks he can handle himself despite being a target!" Kira growled again as she picked up speed.
Oh yes. At that distance, the mountain was a visible outline behind the clouds. The mountains have trees and rivers and caves and crevices and jagged rocks all of which Naruto could technically lose them in, though that wasn't the problem.
The problem was what Kira mentioned. The problem was this seal master, who had already attacked Naruto once with a six-tails, could be hiding there too.
Kyuubi could feel something going on inside him. Was it his heart skipping beats? Was it his chakra banging against his rib cage? He didn't know. But Kira's reminder that Naruto's Uzumaki blood makes him a target was running through his mind, making it hard to think about anything else.
"Does he know exactly where we're going?" Hakucho Auntie asked, in her usual bubbly tone. "I could also get an aerial view."
"Maybe. If we reach the mountain range without finding him for sure you'll have to. But, nephew you're plenty faster so you should—"
Way ahead of her. Literally. Kyuubi sped up, following that ever fainter scent of lemony leaves. If it reached the mountain range…he'd still do everything in his power (his massive power) to find Naruto. But in the best-case scenario, Naruto runs into a massive object again. The thought actually brought a grin to Kyuubi's face.
The fuk? He stopped.
"Why are you stopping—why is his scent in three different areas?" He could hear Kira ask from behind. Indeed Naruto's scent…it was still ahead of them but it was ahead to the left and ahead to the right and ahead…right ahead…in the mountain range.
"If he's making an illusion to throw his scent off he might be in danger. Ha, you'll have to take to the sky now. Nephew I'll follow the left trail and you take the right."
"On it," Hackucho Auntie responded with an uncharacteristic seriousness. He heard the sound of her dropping Naruto's carriage before the large shadow of her unsealed form passed over him.
"You're overreacting. He's probably just messing with us," Kyuubi growled quietly, over the sound of his pounding heart. He couldn't sense anyone else—not by sound, scent, or anything! There's nothing there that could've possibly spooked Naruto.
Unless…unless unless unless, there's another disguise seal in use.
Kira obviously heard him and answered, "pray that's the case then."
He didn't respond as he took off towards Naruto's scent towards the right and heard Kira run off towards the left.
No blood no tears a little bit of sweat. No screams no sounds of flesh against flesh. No disruptions but weaving—to and fro. Not exactly erratic but still fast movement…
An orange speck.
Kyuubi was so fast that the orange speck turned into a tackle-able back in seconds. Until said tackle-able back disappeared underneath the sand in a dive to which Kyuubi instinctively stopped again. He taught Naruto that move. It was to hunt for snacks so they didn't have to go back to the compound while they were training during the day.
There was nothing else around, and Kyuubi liked to believe that he was more confused than anything because Naruto's behavior only made sense in hindsight.
He followed Naruto's zigzagging, an unpredictable pattern in the ground, before he finally stopped. Sunny blond hair poked out of the ground not long after.
Naruto looked from side to side, and Kyuubi heard him mumble, "nothing over here…"
But then that sunny blond jerk hopped up and turned around to face him. He waved like nothing was wrong.
"Hey Kyuubi! This way was a waste of time!"
W-What? Waste? Of time?
Kyuubi stood still as Naruto walked towards him. "Unless you saw something I missed?"
Kyuubi ignored that question entirely, too busy thinking of his own. And he had a million of em.
'Why did you run off like that? Weren't you thinking about the danger? Were you in danger? Why didn't you say something to me? If I knew I could've—'
So many so many…but if he had to ask the most pressing ones, they were, "Are you being followed by someone? Are you hurt?"
"Uh, yea I'm being followed by you General Obvious. And only on the inside. This place is completely clear."
"Clear. Of. What?"
"Seals y'know."
SEALS? FUKING SEALS?! Was Naruto actually saying that this entire hair-raising scheme was all about him doing what he was supposed to do?
Fury? Infuriated fury? The absolute worst feeling of his chakra heated and beating around his torso, in desperate need of a release! Not painful, but desperate so so desperate and he was so so tempted to disregard everything and just let it all loose.
But Naruto was standing in front of him. Frosty blue eyes hard but bleeding a frustration that matched the slight pout of his bottom lip and the downward turn of his brows.
And Kyuubi couldn't. He couldn't. Much as he wanted to explode, just the sight of Naruto was strong enough to hold him back.
And so he pushed his chakra down. Down to the palms of his hands. He then slowly brought his hands up to his ears and squeezed. It wasn't much of a release but at least it was something while his tongue tried to form the words he wanted to scream instead of chakra. Because if he opened his mouth now chakra might come out.
"A-heh, you got steam coming outta your ears again. I'm pissed too."
He was not pissed. He was annoyed. Very big difference.
So where's all this chakra coming from then? He thought. It's—It's—It's obviously because he has so much after all! It's irrelevant all he has to do is control it!
"So," Kyuubi bit out through gritted teeth, keeping the chakra in. "You ran off by yourself to look for seals?"
Naruto blinked at him with a confused expression. "I'm not by myself! You chased me!" He then sighed. "I was trying to cover my unexpected bases, but you should've followed me to the mountains. Maybe I had more success there."
"…I'm so lost with you I don't even know where to begin."
The small grin Naruto gave him was tellingly guilty. "No time! Meet me in the mountains and ask me there okay?"
"Wh-"
And then Naruto disappeared. A plume of smoke was all that was left and it was quickly blown away by the breeze.
wHAt
Like a vacuum, all the boiling chakra that was causing him problems was sucked back to where it belonged as Kyuubi curiously looked around. No Naruto? He got on his hands and knees and sniffed around, patting the sand until he reached the hole Naruto popped out of and looked down it but no…no Naruto…again.
Now even now, Kyuubi still thinks this was an incredible showing of how good Naruto was at illusions. Because nothing else could explain what just happened. Seriously nothing else. Kyuubi was sure in the hole 'Naruto' popped out of was some poor, defenseless bug or small animal that had a sticker on it, an unfortunate tool in what had to be Naruto's prank.
Why prank now? Well why not? It's what kitsune do after all, play tricks in ways that inconvenience others. Naruto had the set up (searching for seals), the disobedient nature (stay under their protection), and the opportunity for it. And Kyuubi has to give props for it. Deep, deep, deep down, he has to give that kitsune respect.
But on the surface, he was pissed.
Oh unbelievably beyond pissed. Chakra flash boiling, head hot pissed. Squeeze his eyes shut as flashes of reds, yellows, oranges, and even white happened around him pissed. The sound of crinkling and melting glass pissed.
Because Naruto is in danger with that seal master after him and Kyuubi can't protect him if he's on a wild goose chase with a fake Naruto. There's a razor thin line between perfect time to pull a prank and STUPIDEST time to pull one and Naruto picked the latter! Playing games and-and not telling him about these games! SO so stupid!
Kyuubi had snarled, and chakra was leaking out of his mouth as he turned around and launched out of the crater he made. The sound of shattering glass but a whisper behind him as he ran back, hoping one of his aunties had caught the real Naruto so Kyuubi could scream his head off at someone who deserved it.
He saw Kira first and she usually fits that role perfectly. But she was looking around with her eyes wide before spotting him.
"The-Naruto, he was—he just disappeared," she said, immediately as he came to a stop in front of her. "Just right in front of me before you showed up. He was standing here talking and he just-"
"He's playing a prank. Mine was an illusion that disappeared too. I guess Hakucho Auntie is catching the real one as we speak," he huffed out, chakra hot on his breath and arms crossed. It actually made him feel a little better to know it wasn't just him on the receiving end of this prank. But it still felt off that he was pranked in the first place. They were supposed to be a team and this wasn't the time…
She looked at him like he was talking nonsense.
"Nephew, the kind of illusionary power it would take to pull all this off is far beyond a four-tails. It's beyond you even."
And she didn't have to imply he was dumb AND weak. He knows what Naruto's capable of better than her and it's NOT better than what he can do.
"He's good at illusions and pulling tricks so I think he's smart enough to pull a fast over you unquestionably! You would know it too if you didn't spend all of your time glaring down from the high and dirty windows of your complete bitch tower! But if you wanna believe this is all real somehow, then yanno the ability to disappear from your miserable presence so fast that you're left looking cross-eyed is the most commendable trick he knows!"
The string of curses and insults that left his mouth after was probably a little unwarranted, but at least he got to scream his head off at someone. He's still not apologizing.
"Charming," she said venomously when he paused for a breath, "Once again you prove why my big brother had to make this courtship required on Naruto's behalf. The reason I'm not helping out with this farce is because I feel so sorry for him," She hissed at him. For a second, he thought she would strike him. But when she crouched down it was to pick up the carriage handle that he just realized was there. She gave him one more nasty look before she took off, pulling Naruto's carriage behind her.
And he ran off too in the last direction Naruto went. Sand turned into hard ground, trees appeared aplenty, and the rushing sound of rivers came as he made his way through. He didn't pay any more attention to Kira, except to note that maybe it was her he was mad at all along. What Naruto did was dangerous, but by God at least he's not home-base's little sister. Sometimes he would think about the fact that being banished means he'd never have to see either of them again.
When they finally found Hakucho Auntie actually, it was no surprise at all that Naruto was with her and there was an incredible lack of anger and tension in the air. In fact, both were just talking to each other.
Naruto was facing in their direction and so of course noticed them first. And it still tickles Kyuubi's curiosity that Naruto smiled and waved, again like nothing was wrong.
"Hey Kyuubi! Kira!" He shouted. And never made any follow up comments about what he did.
"Oh there are you. We've been waiting for you, but on the bright side, we've had a very fine chat in the meanwhile didn't we Naruto-chan?"
"We're a team! And teams stick together," Naruto immediately said, looking wearily at Hakucho Auntie with a weak grin and while backing up. Hakucho Auntie was smiling back but her smile was a great deal more innocent. The heck is Naruto afraid of?
"Thanks again for grabbing my carriage for me!" He said to Kira. Who didn't look him in the eye and may or may not have nodded, but he classified her as eternally rude anyways so it didn't matter.
"I found some seals around here already," Naruto had said to him as he hopped into the doorway of his carriage. "Whoever this seal master is knows how to hide, but not from me!"
Before he could respond, Hakucho Auntie said, "remember what we talked about Naruto-chan! Please stay at least close to the carriage until we stop to rest."
He remembered Naruto's smile looking a tad guilty as he nodded like his life depended on it before leaning over to whisper to him,
"Did I miss the warning? I was not prepared for her y'know."
Warn about what now? Hakucho Auntie was clearly pleased as she clapped her hands together and joyfully shouted,
"And in other news, it looks like we're only going to be spending one night together instead of two if we keep walking at our original pace. Not ideal but in these circumstances let's not waste any time hm?"
And that's how they shaved an entire day of travel off. A very good thing after all.
Reminiscing on what happened earlier, kept him occupied so he didn't have to think about the fact that Naruto was on lockdown and getting him alone while they continued to walk was near impossible. Fuck.
He tried. His aunties took their bodyguarding job seriously and stayed close at almost all times despite the futility of guarding him, who was guarding Naruto. He toyed with the idea of bathing with Naruto even just for the opportunity to talk, but Naruto bathed at the ass crack of what-the-fu-is-wrong-with-you AM back at the compound. And Naruto was surprisingly shy about stopping for anything other than an emergency.
As the evening wore on and became the dead of night, the base of the Cloud Mountains was becoming less visible, a sight Kyuubi was used to, with a very loose definition of 'sight'.
Fog everywhere. In all the years he's been alive, passing through the base meant heavy, HEAVY amounts of fog at some point. The usual first day of travel is a sight to behold, seeing the desert transition to a mountain range. The usual second day these ridiculous clouds come, densest in the morning, noon, and at night. And when it does thin out in the in-between periods and he could actually see, there's the still the clouds up near the top of the mountains cloudying the sky up anyway so there's practically no sun. It was worse when there was a lot of moisture in the air, making him feel damp and a lil chilly.
But remove the fog and the clouds and the chilliness and the dampness and STILL the bottom of the mountains was not his cup of tea. It felt like there was no room at all to stretch. Just rocky paths, some very fat trees, and those damn loud rivers rushing everywhere. Seriously loud and seriously everywhere. The loud water practically pushed people up against the mountains and left only just spots of walking and living space. And did he mention they were loud?
The spaces were also crowded with these pretty dank and dark caves at points. Some had nothing special other than a spooky atmosphere, some housed animals, some housed youkai…And to top it all off, there was this unexplainable marketplace built up against the base of the largest mountain. He had no idea why anyone would live here AND try to thrive.
Except, he did understand that the base of the mountains needed to be carefully navigated. The perfect place for anyone trying to hide…if they're quiet.
They wouldn't fit in. Night has settled, they had dinner, and the sounds of their voices echoed throughout the land.
"~~At the same spot, at the same stars, let's loo-oook at theeeem~~!" Hakucho Auntie sang. Her six feathery tails glowed softly and fanned the air around them a little.
Hakucho Auntie had a soprano voice so high that the people on top of the mountains are probably out enjoying the show. But she could control it, the tone, the timbre, the decibel, she worked with her shamisen that she strummed with perfection. That's what made her so wonderful to listen to. She said it was just good blessings, but Kyuubi was convinced it was a natural ability. her voice got better and better over time and she trained a lot too so. That's his theory. It was also his theory that she was singing romantic songs on purpose. Fool me twice and all that.
And Naruto, her enthusiastic back-up and instrumentalist could hum and scat a tune even as he pounded his hands against some sturdy rock he found. So he understood some music theory did he? Several times Kyuubi's ears twitched as he heard a little 'hmmm' or an 'ahhh'. wondering if he could sing over the sounds of the numerous rivers, including the one right next to them. He didn't think that loudmouth with his rough voice could sing but he managed to harmonize it with Hakucho Auntie's voice and it was… incredibly pleasing to hear them both. But if he could just be louder…which Kyuubi's already sure he's going to regret thinking.
"Dear! Take it away!" Hakucho Auntie cheered. Kyuubi glanced to his left to see Kira—an outline of her really due to the dense fog—shake her head. He saw a flash of her gritted, shiny teeth as she growled out, "no."
"Kyuubi! You need to join!" Naruto shouted. His ears twitched at the mention of his name and his rhythmic bouncing of his tail turned into a limp curl. He was glad everyone missed the hidden look of longing that appeared on his face. He can't sing. But no way will he let anyone else find out about that.
"I need a drink."
"Drinking alcohol on a mission is unbecoming, honorable heir."
Kira Kira Kira. His aunt really does have some nerve. Speaking so carefully doesn't hide the venom behind her words. It's like she can't help herself can she? Always has to try and look so much better, so much smarter, so much more sophisticated than him. But he's NOT mad about it anymore. Nope, no need for anger. He's got the control and this would be an absolute disgrace to lose his shit over and he's completely over getting mad at things not worth getting mad at. See?
Besides there are plenty of worse things than having a bitter aunt take her frustrations out on you. For example, he could NOT outrank said aunt. After all certain protections don't extend to Kira the way they do to people like Shion. Which means she is fair game for receiving some venom back. So he grinned a foxy grin at her, hoping she could see his fangs even if it's just the glint.
"So's being jealous. When I get to our destination, I'm going to drink until my blood is 99% alcohol, still outrank you and there's nothing you can do about it."
Kira shook her head and stood up.
"Ha, let's go catch a few more fish. We'll need the extra food since our journey will continue."
What's this? Alone time with Naruto? And no one's clothes have to come off?
"Take your time down there. Please."
"Bring us something back too! Please!"
"Oh of course Naruto-chan! All that musical work deserves a good snack!"
Hakucho Auntie tsked at him before he felt the familiar feeling of her fingers ruffling his hair. He heard her put down her instrument before following Kira away. They were probably going to fish at this weird fork formation in the river a few meters back and was that far enough?
"Is it time for our duet?" Naruto asked before slapping on the rock a couple of times.
"Shhh! I'm trying to see if they're out of earshot."
"An amazing feat considering this beautiful view…"
Kyuubi ignored him until the voices of his aunts were but murmurs interrupted by the occasional splash.
"Rrrgh crap. They're too close," Kyuubi swore quietly as he stood up. He grabbed Naruto's hand, feeling his partner jump a little before he pulled him up into a stand and whispered in his ear, "Naruto. Talk with me about something," as he tugged on him to follow.
"Sure, but promise to carry me back if I fall asleep!"
"Where you fall asleep, is where you are going to wake up in the morning."
"Okay then. When we're through I'm going to keep scouting ahead, but you're going to tell Hakucho that it's your f-f-faaaaaaaah," Naruto yawned that last word. He let out a frustrated sound right after, "I can't be tired now when we're so close! You got something that'll wake me up!?"
"So our target can get their hands on you sooner? Forget it."
"If you're worried about my safety then I'm gonna be pissed y'know. I can HANDLE myself just fine."
"This isn't what I pulled you away to talk about! Just—hold on let's get away first!"
He only wanted to walk until he couldn't hear his Hakucho Auntie and the other one splashing around. The fog stayed thick and he couldn't exactly see Naruto that well while they talked but sightseeing wasn't a priority at least. Just made things slightly easier.
"Okay. Tell me, since you've been watching for signs of our target's presence, have you gotten any insight?"
Kyuubi has been looking for any recognizable seals but hasn't seen anything out of the ordinary. But as the quote unquote "seal master" of the group, Naruto took on that responsibility anyway. Very seriously at that, Naruto has been on high alert, eyeing everything they passed by closely and most surprisingly not cracking a single flirtatious joke since they started walking together again.
He hasn't been sharing just what the heck he sees, and so Kyuubi didn't figure it was important enough to ask. But they'll reach their destination tomorrow morning and Naruto decided to sing of all things tonight. He just needed to know if there was a launch point for this operation of theirs.
"Yea," Naruto sighed. "Plenty but only one that's super useful. There's a stupid amount of detecting seals. Whoever's behind this has been detecting everyone who comes into the mountains from the desert and been tryin to keep track of their path."
Detecting seals? Keeping track of them?! "Seriously?! Why didn't you say anything earlier?!"
"Keep your tails in! They aren't advanced detecting seals, y'know they just warn the sealer that a youkai is passing through. They ain't getting our specific and personal details and I don't know how far spread your alibi goes, but maybe they're expecting us anyways."
Pfft. Naruto is so casual about his safety like he isn't the weakest one in the group. Like he wasn't in this target's sights already. Like Kyuubi can protect him without their element of surprise. Which he can of course, but they didn't have to make this harder than it needed to be. Not that protecting Naruto will be hard it's just…ugh whatever! He's not going to worry about anything not worth worrying about either! That's what self-control does to a person!
"I still don't like the thought of us being tracked."
"It wasn't really avoidable. Besides, the amount of seals increased as we kept walking so maybe it'll lead us to them too y'know. Unless they're THAT vigilant makin' the journey from somewhere else and all to place these seals."
Kyuubi bit his bottom lip and put his hand to his chin. Not as helpful as he would've like. It'd be better if there was a way to actually track whoever drew the seals. But something else also nagged him.
"What was the one useful seal you said you saw?"
"Well it was more like two, one seal drawn on top of another so they'd work together. The seal on the bottom looked like it used to be a storage seal, a big one. And the one on the top looked like it was an unleash seal, to unleash whatever was in the storage one." Kyuubi heard Naruto make a heavy sigh.
"The unleash seal was temporary so I could remake it, but the storage seal was smudged that makes it useless. It's probably got nothing even if I did put it all back together. Heh, if it had chakra, maybe you've could've memorized the signature of it and track the maker down."
Kyuubi blushed and tried his best not to grumble. Naruto was slightly overestimating his ability to sense and recognize chakra. He was just teasing Naruto for being so easy to find on the training grounds and it spiraled into bragging about his superior sensing abilities. Truthfully, he could only recognize the chakra of the other members of the Tailed Beast Crew, except Tobi. He's a 100/100 on sensing them. But he may have left out the word 'only', in his explanation.
B-But it might not matter! He's been practicing around the compound and he's…like…25/100 with others. It's totally possible that when the time comes, Naruto can rely on him like that. He'll make sure he can rely on him like that. When the time comes.
But for now it's not as important as Naruto's information triggering a swarm of questions and thoughts in his head. He started to pace just as he started thinking out loud.
"Er—put that aside and think for a minute as to why someone would want to unleash something big in a random spot in this area. What kinda planning do they have in mind? Or do they have any other types of tricky seals set up in place elsewhere? Are they trying to attack or defend? All those detecting seals like you said indicate they were definitely on the watch, but what for? Do they know the Kitsune know about them or is it something else?"
"Look at you asking all the questions," Naruto chuckled.
"There's a lot to figure out here! Naruto this means we have to be suspicious of everyone."
"We'll have to narrow it down. The location of the seals, the material they're made of, the handwriting even…."
Kyuubi realized this was his chance! The perfect seqway to his actual plan here.
"And given the time needed to search, there's no way we'll be returning in 2 days."
"HAH! Two days is nothing. I can figure it out in a day and a half y'know."
Kyuubi narrowed his eyes. He was going to have to subtly convince Naruto to stay longer and it'd be best to do that if Naruto thinks it's his idea.
"And what if this seal master that doesn't want to be found is in a disguise or uses other techniques to hide their trail? And if they're the ones responsible for that frog, it'll be masterful."
"I've grown up around seals. Trust me, I know how to spot them out. Y'know just give me time to explore and set up a few traps, I got this."
His usual confidence was cute even as an obstacle. It'd be cuter if it wasn't an obstacle though.
"…Have you thought of every possible way this seal master could give us the slip? Could they make invisible seals even?"
"Ain't no such thing as an invisible seal y'know. People have tried, but seals have to visible because they have to made with a stable object. From beginner to master, the sealing arts all follow the same rules. A seal is a drawing of a picture or a character that communicates the user's intent for an action to happen. And it's powered by chakra to actually make the action happen. Follow me?"
"I know what seals are. Can you skip to the relevant specifics?" He did have a tiny bit of education in basic seals and their use. Even used a basic seal once maybe in his life…okay once certainly. And he doesn't like to remember it.
"Okay good. Follow me closely. Anyone can try and make a seal, but the pictures and characters have to be SO precise to actually get it right y'know. You can imagine that a seal master is just someone who has memorized and mastered drawing all kinds of seals. Putting a single unnecessary drop in the drawing or, if you're like my dad, having bad handwriting can mess everything up. No seal can do more than one action EXCEPT, y'know, seals I make with my blood. Seals are completed the moment all the right lines and dots connect. Still following?"
…Well color him surprised. He had no idea Naruto had a library of seal knowledge in that noggin of his. He never would've guessed when they first met that he wasn't an idiot. At all. But he heard the underlying excitement in Naruto's voice as he explained seals. Like he could actually teach. Like he had things he wanted to…say. And Kyuubi surprised himself when he answered,
"Keep going. I'm following you."
"So did you know, that you can write a seal with anything?"
"Hm?"
"Ink and blood are common because they're easy to use, easy to get, and they last a pretty long time. But all that said, you can also make temporary seals. Something that connects and makes a picture or a character, but doesn't last nearly as long and can easily be ruined. A pile of rocks or leaves—cups even—can be made into a seal y'know. Easy to stop those, but being temporary is effective for getting something done and then—"
"Hiding that you made a seal to do it."
"Exactly! Throws the suspicion way off you. Unless of course, someone is on to your game. That's why anything that doesn't look suspicious, is suspicious. In this fog especially, we'll have to keep really keen eyes out to see anything here. Even the terrain could be used as a seal and a seal master would know how to do it."
It was smart. He's been on this route so many times, but even he would have trouble determining what's changed or what's not. But it was also delightful to hear how incredibly complex this search would be. Having to sniff in every corner and all.
"This still feels like it'll take more than 2 days."
"No way! I told you I can get it done before that time!"
Kyuubi sighed. Subtly is an art form. A patient art form. And he's all out of patience now that he was getting a bit excited.
"You're not picking up my hint Naruto. I don't want to go back in 2 days. I want to stay longer."
"Eh?"
"Why just confirm a presence that we already suspect is here? We're going to confirm someone is here, go back and then what? Wait some more while someone comes back out here to question them? How is that going to make things move faster? We can stop them in their tracks! We can even gather more information. We're already here early anyways."
"…You…want to do more?"
'Want' is putting it mildly.
"This seal master HAS to know more than—," his throat tripped a bit on itself there. Even in his excitement he should not use 'Daitaru' or whatever insulting nickname he had in mind around company, "—my father."
Naruto was silent for a beat too long and Kyuubi just had to get him on board with this. Had to.
"Come on Naruto. This has been going on for too long and we have the opportunity to speed things along. You're not going to throw that away just to obey my father's ridiculous schedule demands are you?"
'Not when he caused all of this in the first place.'
He heard Naruto breathing quietly before he started talking again. Although his voice was quiet, there was an undercurrent of a dark anger in his tone so loud that he might as well have shouted, "…Kyuubi? I wish I knew what's going on too. I'm trying to be patient but I hate being held back… It's my mom and so my fight. I just want to know where she is and get her back."
And he wanted the fight of his lifetime. The one that will bring him to the top of the world.
So he held out a fist.
"Then let's make this happen—our way. Nothing is going to stop us from finding Kushina and making who has her pay."
With the fog so thick he wondered if he had to say out loud that he was holding his hand out for a fist bump, but he was beaten to the punch.
"…You mean it? Even though…even though you're trying to get rid of me? Making a plan like this won't help with that y'know."
Kyuubi frowned. "Not get rid of you. The situation! The circumstances that brought us together in the first place! Because when we remove the courtship there's still us being-"
Naruto's hand over his mouth cut him off.
"Don't finish that sentence, Akagitsune," Naruto mumbled. And Kyuubi's ears went straight up as he heard the smile in his voice. And Naruto's hand was pretty cool which really wasn't helped by the fog lessening just enough so he could see a glimpse of the upward turn of his lips because his cheeks started to feel heated just then. And shit if he could see so could Naruto.
"Hey! Your hand's cold! And so's this air!" He voiced, muffled against Naruto's fingers that he refused to remove himself. Not because he wanted to keep Naruto's touch or anything. But because it was a different type of 'cool' compared to this air and he was trying to figure out what exactly made it different!
When Naruto mercifully removed his hand, Kyuubi felt the skin of his knuckles bump against his own and all his partner said was,
"I get it. You should've told me before we left. I packed two weeks' worth of stuff thinking that I was gonna have to convince you to leave without me!"
"Hehe great minds think—wait. Why convince me to leave?!"
Naruto shrugged before explaining anyways, "you didn't pack much. Seriously when you asked me to hold your bag in my carriage I lost it behind my plant pots at one point. So I thought you'd want to go back after two days y'know."
"That? Hachibi and I have been friends since we first blinked. I have so many things at his place I can live there if I wanted. The only things I need to pack from home are my haircare supplies." Hachibi swore by his miracle products but Kyuubi did not swear by those same products. His hair was a different texture, different porosity, therefore different end results. And he was sticking by that this time!
"Oh yeah can't leave home without those y'know? Good thing it was mandatory for me to come. I think you'd miss my hands in your hair again—"
Kyuubi saw frosty blue eyes come closer, half-lidded though bright. The soft slide of Naruto's hands on his cheeks and tips of his fingers brushing his hair was the strongest of sensations. Once again a cooler feel than the air around him. But not frigid, not annoying, not aversive. It drew him in, raised the finer hairs on his skin and made him shiver. A rush of something—a feeling rattled his body and to ignore that—to ignore what he didn't want to identify didn't want to know, he thought of what he did want.
He wanted Naruto to keep touching him. In fact, he wanted to lean in—
Wait—no.
But Naruto pulled back with another yawn. A big one too.
"I think we should head back. I'm getting tired and I want to be able to get up right in the morning."
Yea…him too. They didn't get through nearly the amount of planning he wanted to get through. But he remembered how sluggish Naruto got when he didn't get enough sleep.
"R-Right. Yea let's go."
They didn't hold hands, Naruto taking the lead and Kyuubi following. For once, Kyuubi's steps were actually pretty slow and it sucks but he knew why. He's so ridiculous. Does he even know what a friend is?
Under the comfort of the fog, he could fold his ears back without being seen.
"G'night," Naruto yawned as Kyuubi heard him climb into his carriage.
Kyuubi didn't respond, too busy noticing that neither Hakucho Auntie nor Kira were back. His ears twitched as he couldn't hear the sound of splashing anymore, but there were still quiet murmurs down where they had headed off too. As Naruto's snoring started, he realized he had a few options here.
He could just go to sleep too. Let the night pass quickly and tomorrow come faster. He could find something to do on his own, given that he wasn't even remotely tired and the thought of lying on a bunch of rocks alone in the fog trying to fall asleep didn't feel appealing at all. Or…Or…
Or.
He could go hear what his aunties were saying. What they were up to that was taking so much time. Juicy Kushina-related information? Or spilling dear-old…Daitaru's plans for him and Naruto? They've been marginally trying to push them together. Or Hakucho Auntie was. Kira, true to her word, at times pretended they weren't even on the same trip. But if he were to sneak over and listen in on some probably important information, then he needed to be sneaky about it. Obviously he is not…trustworthy enough to be voluntold about the plans of the Kitsune. Which is fine because it's not like he wanted to be the heir anyways. But while he still held the title, it was only fair that he eavesdrops right? It's not like he was going to cause any more of an upset than he was already planning. But his planning would be better if he could know, what he does not know.
His illusions aren't mobile so getting closer to cast one may just get him caught before he could fully cast it, assuming his aunts were on high alert. And he wasn't about to wake Naruto to ask for a sticker. Time for a different measure. Rather than putting up a disguise, he'll just turn into one. Like saaaaay a fish?
He grinned and dived into the river, pleased that it made a loud splash. The current was strong, but not stronger than him. Oh wait, they're fishing. A fish won't do, he realized, hopping out of the water. He should shapeshift into something else. Something with ears and is not in their diet tonight. The simple process of shapeshifting into a large snake was an easy one as he carefully and meticulously captured the beady eyes and lined underbelly and the scent of scales on top. It's not his first time shapeshfiting into a snake and so of course he has the form memorized to perfection. And he'll just slither along the rocks and settle like he's resting and they'll be none the wiser.
…He's not going to travel far from Naruto so…he'll be okay. Of course. Of course he will…Kyuubi's own scent was all over where he was sitting down so he'll be fine. And he's not going to worry about it! With a determined hiss, Kyuubi went ahead and slithered in the most frustrated manner closer to where his aunts were sitting. Not too close, just close enough to hear…maybe just to be really sure, he could settle—in—these—rocks—over—here!
Oof! Kyuubi thought with a wince as he somehow squeezed his scalely behind through these rocks up against the base of this mountain and now feels stuck. It's probably not that bad. It's probable he should've quit while he was ahead so he wouldn't have to know what having a snake's innards be rearranged felt like but hey what's life without new feelings? At least he was safely hidden here. He couldn't see his aunts clearly through this dense fog so he was playing a risk if he can't leave before they get up and head back. But life's pretty boring without a few of those. Now to just listen.
"—rprising. I really expected not just larger fish but MORE fish over here. Especially at this time of the year. Isn't this disappointing?"He heard Hakucho Auntie's melodic voice perfectly!
"Yeasure."
"If you're not feeling okay right now Dear, we can talk-"
Hah. What luck. What are the chances something important was going to show up in Kira's stupid ranting—which by the way, is highly likely to involve insulting him? Kyuubi recognized this as another 'quit while he was ahead' moment but…the previous one was kinda preventing that. Oof, why did he shapeshift into a snake this large!? He can't even scoot!
"Didyouhearwhathesaidtomeearlier?ThatspoiledidiotrunshismouthjustlikehisstupidfatherdoesjustboilingmedowntobeingsomejealouswomanwhenIamgivingadvicetohelpthem! Itdrivesmemadlikenothingelsehowbullheadedmyfamilycanbe!"
Wait, wait wait what?! What did she say? He caught 'spoiled' and 'father' and 'woman' but that was it. When did she learn to speak so fast?!
"I won't lie, I've never been able to figure it out even after all this time. All three of you are very peaceful and charming with other people, and you're a pacifist too. But when you talk to each other it just breaks my heart to watch!"
If he could wince, he would. Hearing it from Hakucho Auntie made it sound worse. And it was already pretty bad in his head.
"I've got it! It's time to practice dee-escalation, emotional honesty, and positive feedback!"
"LikeIhaven'ttriedtomakepeace1000sand1000softimes?I'mamazedI'mstillhanginginthere!DaitaruNEVERlistenedtomeandthat'scausedhimsomuchtrouble!AndKuramathearrogantsonofabitchwasobviouslyraisednottolistenoreventhinkofmethatmuch!YouthinkIdon'trealizehelikesANDtreatsyoubetter!"
…He heard '1000s' and 'Daitaru'. To hell with whatever else she said, this is the first time he's been brought up. Was this important?! Geez! He can't move but he can stretch closer can't he? It hurt and he could feel what he really hoped was bile moving through him, but what was she saying?!
"Theyaresoimpatientandself-centereddon'tthinkaboutanybodybuttheirownwantsandneedsandtohellwithmeforbeingRIGHTfromtimetotime! Imaginewhatcould'vebeenpreventediftheynheededmywordsthelastmajortimeIwasright!" Kira let out a frustrated scream. "I saved us from a yako! So why?! Why am I put down?! Just listen that's all I ask!"
Kyuubi's tongue flicked out. Just a couple of times. In this form he couldn't talk, couldn't speak a rebuttal. But he could regret eavesdropping in the first place.
"Dear, I'm listening. And you're right this has been going on for long enough. But none of you are bad people and so I don't think it's time to give up. It's your family, aren't they worth the effort?"
"You're asking a pretty loaded question aren't you!? It's DAITARU AND KURAMA WHO ARE THE PROBLEM!"
"Ah! Okay okay Dear! We should revisit this conversation later. Let's just get back to the campsite and hope Kurama-chan didn't hear you…"
"Like he gives a shit about what I say. Have you really been listening?" He heard them get up, Kira silent even as they walked past him back to the campsite.
He was so nauseous might just throw up out of pure spite anyways. Their last night together thank God.
"Y'know, I think they really are hoping we get back to your place safely. What do you think?" Naruto asked idly from the entrance of his carriage where he sat as he idly kicked his legs. It's funny Naruto is pretty astute at reading the room, but he tends to disregard people (or Kyuubi usually) and start blabbing anyways. And so when Kyuubi 'requested' that Naruto rests in his carriage while Kyuubi pulls it in an attempt to avoid looking into those blue eyes and having conversation about…anything really, Kyuubi was surprised when he graciously complied.
It was nothing Naruto did, Kyuubi just didn't want to talk. When he couldn't confront the problem head on, he liked to be alone when he was angry and this was the closest he could get to feeling like he was alone. Even the rivers were fin-a-lly calm! So why is Naruto trying to break the immersion like that's a good idea? It's too damn early to be dealing with this and he didn't get any sleep at all last night. Plus the fog was heavy again and cold.
"Yea sure," he grumbled back anyway, knowing that not answering his companion would be way worse. He could feel Naruto's stare on him.
"I mean Hakucho for sure y'know. But Kira sounded like she was being sarcastic so—"
"Naruto. Sure. Fine. Shut up now."
"You're in a mood." Naruto commented, very casually.
"And you think talking is going to fix it because?"
"Y'know, it usually helps me to talk about how I feel to fr—" He didn't finish that sentence and Kyuubi really didn't care for him too. His chakra was getting bubblier by the minute and this isn't his terrain to destroy. So unless Naruto's voice had the magical power of transporting him to a place of peace for a good hour, he didn't want to hear it.
"Good for you. I however feel talking is a waste of time!"
"Kyuubi, y'know damn well you don't feel that you talking is a waste of anything." Geeeeeetting bubblier. He may have jostled the carriage over a particularly large rock on the path. And he may have taken the tiniest bit of pleasure at the way Naruto yelped.
"You don't know me! I just might! Now hush! We're almost there anyways," he growled out. Because all they had left was this trail to the little mountain with the climbing point, also known as the point where he usually makes his ascent by jumping from rock to rock on up. Ooooo it doesn't have a trail for the carriage. It's been so long since he last brought his own carriage he wasn't even thinking about that. Well either Naruto was going to have to be okay with leaving his carriage down here, or he'll just have to carry it up. Either option was not a problem for him so long as Naruto keeps quiet.
But that's like asking a fox to do something they do not want to do.
He could hear Naruto's angry 'hmph! Before his noisy companion bellowed, "fine! Ignore me and rot!"
Kyuubi rolled his eyes. Does that mean ignoring him is a good idea now?
But then Naruto started singing. His ears twitched and mentally he paused as the rough voice sounded so clear over the quietness of the environment. Naruto was singing one of the songs he sung with Hakucho Auntie last night. The song itself was romantic boppy nonsense the meaning of which he never understood.
"Under that sky that hadn't changed since we met~! We maaade a sin-gle voooow~!"
Highly inappropriate. Naruto's voice though…the tune floated in his mind. For some reason, he thought of sunshine. Not of his desert sunshine at the Kitsune compound, but of rays of sunlight all around him. Sunlight he could reach out and touch almost, dispersed among the leaves of tall standing trees. He could hear the tune like a breeze brushing softly against his skin. As the melody rose and dropped, he could feel each step like he's bounding along a grassy floor, a soft crunchy feeling under foot that he wanted to walk on and savor….
Naruto's voice wasn't even, Kyuubi smiled fondly—unconsciously—, that good…
But he liked it.
But then, inexplicably, he felt a spike of searing hot chakra rush up from his stomach to his chest. And it hurt. His throat hitched and he found it hard to breathe. It feels like he swallowed a hot iron rod. But that's impossible. He is embraced by heat it isn't supposed to hurt! Why was this happening now?! At all?! It was throbbing now, like it was his chakra moving to the beat of his heart—which was getting faster and starting to hurt too.
"Naruto!" Kyuubi shouted. He had no idea what to say next. He had no idea where he was going with that—why he even shouted his name. He just needed to shout something—anything— that could ground him and take him away from this worsening pain. Shouldhejumpintheriver—
Naruto stopped. And so did the pain.
"What?!" Naruto asked in what had to be the most flippant tone he could muster.
Kyuubi could barely formulate a response. He realized he was still walking, if Naruto didn't notice anything was amiss. But what was that? It was almost worse than what he felt back in Daitaru's room. Does he need more vitamins? Did he pull something during his last training session? Did he swallow something nasty? This was so weird and it—it almost—no! No no no! No he wasn't afraid of a little pain! He wasn't afraid of pain at all, he couldn't get strong without it obviously. This was just unexpected is all. And okay it's annoying but he'll figure it out. Later. When he has time. Because something so minor can wait.
'Mmpfh,' Kyuubi winced as he thought of the phantom sensation of the burning. If it hurts again, he'll ask Hachibi if he has anything to help…Never in his life…
"You don't hear me talking to you do you?! In fact I'm kinda busy right now!" Naruto snapped again. Oh how nice of him to distract Kyuubi from his problems! Again!
"It would be easier not to hear you at all if you would just THINK instead of speak. But I know how hard that is for you."
"I can't NOT respond when you're asking for an ass-whooping."
Maybe that sounded too much like a threat. Maybe Kyuubi's instincts were just that good. But he got the instinctual command to get out of the way and so he did so. He let go of the carriage handle and lightly leapt to the side just as a punch of sweet rushed by him.
Now Kyuubi really rolled his eyes to the sky. What was Naruto even hoping would happen if he started a fight?
"I'm sorry do you need a restraint? I wasn't aware how easily you could fall out of your carriage."
"Come on! If you're gonna use fighting words you better be ready for these hands!"
"My my aren't you excitable this morning," Kyuubi commented as he quickly determined how to end this. He heard the rolls of a few pebbles right as Naruto moved and scented the punch of sweet, before lifted his arm and sidestepping. He brought he arm down right as he should, getting a good hold around Naruto's torso at his side. Naruto had apparently tried a flying kick in his direction which meant the way he was holding him meant Kyuubi's face would be susceptible to some feisty claws.
So while Naruto was loudly whining, Kyuubi adjusted his grip. His strength was more than enough to make Naruto feel like a lightweight. He held Naruto like a log at his side, making sure to have both arms secure. Kyuubi wasn't particularly bothered by the four tails smacking against his back. Hah. And this weakling thought he could best him?
"Alright let's go."
"THIS IS COWARDLY! YOU WON'T GET THERE WITHOUT A FIGHT!"
"Your tails are tickling me. I think I will."
Naruto growled and Kyuubi laughed as he picked up the carriage handle with his other hand and resumed his trek. His partner just radiated frustration and disappointment. Naruto's shenanigans were truly amusing. Enough to make him almost forget his pain from earlier.
He really almost forgot, when he felt one of Naruto's tails coil around his neck as if to choke him.
Kyuubi froze for a second, all muscles tense. It was a valid technique to get out of this hold, but one that could do some real damage to Kyuubi too. Would he really do it? Kyuubi would have to seriously respond if so but…a part of his heart whispered to hold and wait. His gut's loud silence on how to respond to defend himself was telling.
Naruto wouldn't truly try and hurt him like that…is that what he was trying to see?
…Kyuubi felt Naruto's tail fall away. An almost resigned sigh left his friend's mouth as the number of tails shrank to one, that loosely almost weakly smacked his back a few more times. Naruto's growls softened to grumbles and he practically went limp in his grip.
"Well? We're not going to get any closer if you just stand there."
"Hmm…You have a good point."
The fog started to thin out as he continued to move forward. And soon enough they were there! Wonderful the climbing point!
It was blocked. There was this house settled and snuggled right up against the base of the mountain. Well, house was a mild term because this was a very big construction that could pass for a two-level castle.
"What the heck?" He asked quietly. Naruto shifted at this question and Kyuubi finally put him down. "That's new," he continued, to answer Naruto's unasked question. His own question unanswered until—
"GOOOOOOOOOOOD MORRRRRRRRNNNNNINNNNNNNNNGGGG!" A voice screams from above. A figure whose chakra he already identified crashes down into the ground in front of Kyuubi and Naruto. The rocks fly up at them and Kyuubi only lifts his arm to protect his face as Naruto yelps and dodges them. Whaaaat an entrance Hachibi.
Indeed the bulky man in front of them stood up tall from his landing crouch, black shades somehow shining despite there being no sun. Teeth showing and as white as that suit he was wearing and it was amazing he even found a suit with sleeves large enough to not stretch thin over his muscular arms. His ivory hair was in dreads now, falling around his prominent horns, one of which was still broken, and down to the back of his calves. His skin was cool dark brown color, telling of how well he'd fit in a sunny environment rather than this place that he for some reason never left. Though maybe it's because his announcer voice echoed.
"Well look who really loves the sound of his own voice," Kyuubi snickered. Hachibi crossed his arms.
"Hey now. I'm coming from a high place and how would ya know I'm here to help not attack without a polite greeting? Welcome ya two! T'the base of Cloud Mountains! Bout time ya showed up huh, our guests of honor?"
"How come you don't always welcome me like this?"
"OH! YOU'RE SNAZZY!" Naruto exclaimed, holding his fists up like he was gushing. Hachibi the gloat, straightened his clothes, sticking his nose up to say,
"Why thank ya Naruto!"
Kyuubi twitched. 'Naruto?' Hachibi normally doesn't speak to people so familiarly. But whatever…he cleared his throat and gestured to Hachibi for Naruto.
"This is—"
"Gyuki! The Eight Tailed Ushi Oni!" Naruto answered. His voice sounded a little breathy there. Did he need a fan or something? Was he going to faint? Should Kyuubi get him a wet rag? Like, he was an eight-tails too and Naruto's—his friend's reaction when they met was a lot less…breathy. Instead of asking any of these sarcastic questions out loud, Kyuubi wisely just pointed out the obvious.
"Oh. Yea. I guess his reputation could reach your neck of the woods."
"Mmm that and I've been here before, to visit and train with my friend Bee! Gyuki so happened to be here and we got along swimmingly!"
"And now ya're here with Kyuubi. Ya must be good company!" Hachibi responded to which Naruto giggled and blushed. Oh come on! Hachibi didn't even like rhyming much less corny rhyming! What the heck was going on now?! He should be used to people acting bizzaro around Naruto, but he just wasn't used to bizzaro attitudes practically flirting with him! Does Hachibi want to make things unenjoyable?!
"Speaking of, good to see ya too Kyuubi, because this will be unlike any visit ya've had before. Ya might find this hard t'imagine but even I can getta little bored and things have been really quiet lately. It's been a while since there's been something exciting t'do here!" Hachibi's voice got really quiet as he said, "and it's going on a hunt."
"So you know the truth? Cool. But Naruto and I are on the hunt. You are here to make us being here look normal."
"Hah? I'm not a nice shirt Kyuubi! My power and knowledge rivals yours so of course Imma get busy with this. Besides, tha problem is, as I told ya before, ABC took ova this terratory a couple odd years ago. Ya and I will always be close but they are relatively new to holding an alliance with tha Kitsune. It's less headache down the road if I'm involved on their behalf. And if I'm involved Nibi's involved and now that's three of us so the rest gotta get involved. Working together though will be fun won't it?"
"Tch! As long as none of you get in my way! And YOU understand that even though we ARE rivals, I'm still gonna be stronger!"
Now he expected Hachibi to get red in the face. He expected Hachibi to puff his chest out and argue that of course they're still even and that wasn't going to change because blah blah blah. He did not expect Hachibi to get a saucy grin and reach over, using his superior height to easily ruffle Kyuubi's hair.
"I was worried about ya for a second. We were approaching the 5 minute mark and ya almost didn't mention strength once. Ya also have bags under ya eyes and are looking a little paler than normal and I didn't hear ya destroying something to announce ya presence—" And Kyuubi was going to destroy him in a second if the ushi-oni didn't stop grabbing at his face like some worried mother.
"AB…oh! Hah! I get it! Ay, Bee, C family haha! Is Bee gonna be there?"
Naruto's question mercifully distracted Hachibi, who gently patted Kyuubi's cheek—and narrowly missed being bitten in retaliation— to turn and give Naruto his attention.
"Nah he's not even in tha area. He's locked in his room to study more about his duties as the third ruler. Officially. Truthfally, he bounced off somewhere west for some training. He's gotta getta much needed break somehow!"
Naruto nodded with a serious expression. "He's not very excited about being a co-ruler. He told me he has more fun running from responsibility than doing it. I hope A and C aren't too mad…"
"Whose worried about someone taking a break when we can't right now? Or have you both forgotten that we only have 2 days here to complete this mission and climbing up and down the mountain takes some of our time? So chop chop take us to your place to get settled so we can start day one already!"
"Woooooow. Courtship brought out ya betta half did it? I don't rememba ya ever being this serious."
"Yea….about that….." Kyuubi muttered. What to say, what to say about this doomed courtship that no doubt they're aware of? Even knowing where he stood on the idea of him courting anybody, Hachibi was one of the ones who lectured him on the importance of taking it seriously. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that Daitaru's letter would have requests to push them together.
A memory of cool hands in his hair warmed his belly and cheeks and reminded him, firmly, that he didn't want that.
"Oh this courtship's just a courtesy. We're not really together and don't have plans to ever let that happened," Naruto bluntly stated as he stuck his hands in his pockets. Kyuubi's eyes about popped out of their sockets.
Hachibi just smiled and said, "oh."
"Don't just make an 'oh' sound! You know how I feel about being in a courtship! It's between us alright!? This is NOT getting back to my father. You hear me loud and clear?!"
Hachibi sighed and put his hand on his forehead. "This'll make our matchmaking plans more awkward. But that's on ya for pretending and not taking this seriously like Daitara-sama said ya are! Like I told ya t'do. Anyways back to serious Kyuubi. We're staying right down here. ABC family built that homebase over there, it's big enough t'fit all of us and it'll help ya two out t'be close to the action."
Kyuubi narrowed his eyes. Hachibi wasn't wrong but, "and what's the alibi for this then? We always stay at the top of the mountain. Why in the world would you just build a random house at the bottom of it?"
"I'm glad ya asked! Park ya carriage over there and I'll take ya in to show ya tha place and park ya belongings. Matabi, Chomei, and Shukaku are here by tha way. I'm sure you heard the others said they're running late. Except I heard from Tobi that he won't make it."
Oh. He was actually a little bummed Tobi wouldn't make it. This is the longest they've gone without talking and thinking about it, it's kinda weird that he hasn't been telling Tobi what's been going on. Time tends to temper his temperament down and maybe now that things haven't been SO bad maybe Tobi would like to know that…But this isn't something to talk to these two about. He can write Tobi a letter later. There are much MUCH more pressing matters to address.
"How the heck did Ichibi beat us here!?" That was also disappointing. He wandered around a lot yes, but last Kyuubi heard he was in the desert too.
"Shukaku…Ichibi…the tanuki? If he's the same guy I know then it's probably because he functions on ego instead of sleep and he's got plenty of that."
"How. The hell. Do you know. Ichibi?" Kyuubi can't be that pissed about Hachibi's reputation, but that idiot tanuki?
"A long time ago he was a mentor to one of my friends, a great man named Gaara. I beat the both of them in one epic match!"
Kyuubi's ears perked up. He didn't know Gaara that well, but he did recognize that name as the five-tailed leader of a peaceful and diverse clan of desert dwellers. Gaara never raised a fuss at him when he skirted by his territory for some reason or another, and that was good enough for him. But knowing he was that way after being under Ichibi's influence blossomed a new respect for the man.
"Impressive." He smiled and meant it. He will harp on Shukaku until they're old and grey and their teeth fall out, but that slippery tanuki is a part of the crew and does do favorably against smaller opponents. Though it's not that surprising that Naruto defeated the weakest of the Tailed Beasts in a fight—HAH! Naruto was blushing harder at his compliment than Hachibi's! Does he know how to give them or what?
Naruto couldn't even look him in the eye, turning away shyly before-before looking very freaked out all of the sudden.
"Hey you don't think Shukaku is the seal master do you?! I mean he's got a lot of seals on him already!"
"I will cut off my tails and tie them into a string for Kiti Howaito if he is," both Kyuubi and Hachibi said at the exact same time.
"Oh-kay. Anyways I'm gonna leave you two to do the settling. I really gotta get on this trail."
"We gotcha back Naruto. Join us for a nice breakfast before taking off for tha day at least. Kyuubi we can—"
"Do nothing. I'm going with Naruto."
"Alright I know foxes do what they want, but ushi oni like t'be efficient too! I've been thinking of some things as soon as I heard about all a'this and I think it would be best if we discussed this before jumping into the fray. But again, breakfast just so I don't feel affronted that I cooked a feast ya aren't gonna eat."
"No offense but—" Naruto was cut off by the loud sound of his and Kyuubi's stomachs growling. Hachibi crossed his arms.
"And neither of ya run on ego right?"
"There better not be any matchmaking Hachibi. I mean it," Kyuubi grumbled. He could see Naruto already looking around as they followed Hachibi. The 2 day challenge…maybe just maybe they'll do it.
So this castle was supposed to be a 'hotel'.
"Ya love t'see it! Efficiency!" Hachibi claimed, rubbing his fingers together in front of Kyuubi's face. "Part 1! Whose gonna suspect a hotel here? Now we can stay down here where tha action is."
It was just them three in the dining room, surrounded by many empty tables.
"Honestly, looking at this very sad state of affairs, I would." Kyuubi grumbled impolitely as he chewed his food. But he offered no argument to do anything else.
"Hey now. I moved all ya stuff down here t'make ya room to look exactly as it does at my house. I think my consideration warrants less tongue from you t'day."
Kyuubi grunted in reply and continued eating. Surprisingly this wasn't a total waste of time. Hachibi was right, food did make him feel better. Hachibi also went over what he knew about 'the truth' and it wasn't any more than what they knew. An enemy of the Kitsune and Namikaze might be in the area, the Kitsune just want to be sure they're there, and make sure no one gets hurt and is back safe and sound by the deadline because this enemy is a seal master who can command at least a six tailed frog.
"Anyways, plan part B is t'have all eyes out scouting. That's where tha others are. Unlike you those rapscallions couldn't bother t'park their stuff and enjoy a breakfast!"
"What alphabet are you reciting?"
"And they're looking for seals right?" Naruto asked between shoveling food into his mouth like he was starving, but it's probably more accurate to say he was in a hurry. Kyuubi put his elbow on the table and leaned on his hand closer to Naruto. Juuuuuust in case.
"In the wilderness yea. They're scattered around here. I was anticipating us spreading out and searching for clues t'day."
Naruto nodded.
"Yea that's my plan too. Search today and conquer tomorrow!" He shouted, punching his fist into the palm of his hand. Kyuubi however, was not so enthusiastic.
"Not separately you mean? Didn't you hear me earlier Hachibi? No way is Naruto going off on his own, he's a target!"
"Let me stop you right there Kyuubi!" Naruto shouted. He stood up and leaned over him, pointing his finger in his face. "Haven't you been listening to me?! You said we're friends so you gotta trust that I can take care of myself when I say so!"
Like Kyuubi would accept that sitting down. So he got up too, leaning so close to Naruto that their noses were centimeters apart and between their furious eyes was a spark.
"Trust isn't the issue here! We're dealing with someone who can command a six-tails at the least you four-tailed oaf! If anyone's being irrational here it's you!
Hachibi scratched his head, raising an eyebrow he looked baffled. "Being an enemy makes one a target anyways huh? Unless ya covering up ya own need to be protected?"
Naruto laughed as Kyuubi's face got red.
"You must be joking! The enemy's afraid of me!"
"A likely and probably true story. But explain why ya friends Nibi and Ichibi can prance around by themselves and ya buddy here needs protection?"
"Try not to get lonely without me around Kyuubi. I mean if you cry because you miss me I at least want to be there to see it."
AHAHAHA! Gyuki rules! I can only DREAM of getting Kurama to do what I want him to do with so few words and no bribes or blackmail!
He looks so grumpy and cute and red! I KNOW he wants to say something but he's definitely holding his tongue to protect his pride hah!
"Now since I'll be sweeping up on tha top of tha mountains, I'm going t'need ya both to shout REAL loud if ya need me. And remember no boundaries but be discreet! AHEM! I want B found pronto! That lazy bonehead isn't gonna gettaway with this one! Undastand?" He winked!
"Got it!" I winked back! It's always nice to work with a fellow who likes to wink! Lots of people say Gyuki is a serious no-nonsense type person and he can be, but when he's working with motivated people he's actually a cool guy!
"And remember treat anything that uh—looks like Bee's handy work with suspicion!"
Kurama scoffed and rolled his eyes. Someone's not in the mood for playing pretend it seems.
"Anything to add Kyuubi?"
He just stuck his tongue out at me! Should I laugh or strangle him?!
"That's tha spirit Kyuubi! I have an inkling you'll find the key to unravelling all a'this."
"Oh I will. Your sarcasm won't stop me."
"Haven't ya learned yet? My horns can tell the future based on the attitude of the person I'm thinking about. Stay sharp Hachibi!"
I'm cackling and Gyuki cackled as he started making his way up the mountain. Kyuubi's so interesting to watch. He's so…expressive! He's shaking his fist and gritting his teeth and I wonder if he's so dramatic because he knows he's so cute—!
I-I mean I wouldn't put it past him to be thinking that way. H-He likes attention too y'know. We have so much in common for a couple of people who're working together like this. I wonder…if he called us friends because he sees it too…? Still to use a term as strong as that one is so weird. I've never even liked another kitsune before let alone had one as a friend—
"BASTARD! If I wasn't about to prove you wrong later, I'd prove you wrong right here and now!"
Aheeheehee~! It suits them though! They sure are funny together. When I get my mom back, I'll be sure to let her know in my next letter that I had two best-of-buds eight tails helping me find her!
"What are you giggling at?! You doubting me now Naruto?!"
"So defensive. Can't a guy get a little relief before he embarks on a dangerous quest? You should try smiling a bit heehee!"
But obviously he won't on his own so I'm just going to pinch his cheeks up into a smile! There! Hah…it feels like it's been forever since I saw him smile. And not those smirks or that psychotic laughter he does sometimes and certainly not that dam 'I-want-something-Narutoooo' smile (badumbadumbadum)—gahh just remembering it makes my heart run away! All I want is just an actual grin like he's happy!
Eh? He's holding my wrists but he's not pushing me away?
"You absolute muffinhead. Is getting me to smile really your priority right now?"
….He's right…he's absolutely right!
"Gah! Why is your smile a concern to me?!"
"That's what I'm asking you!"
What a stupid question! I-I-I-I-I'm just messing with him! I have a promise to fulfill after all y'know! Y'know I need to make him happy of course that's how you woo someone! Which even my mom when she knows she'll…
…
"Just be careful out there too y'know." And I gotta get outta here before he keeps talking me into circles. Stupid, I'm so stupid!
(Naruto didn't wait for a response before running off, the pounding of his steps matching the pounding of his heart—which he denied—and the cool morning air bringing more attention to the fact that his cheeks were heated—which he also denied)
It's just a matter of time before I find out everything and this is all over. And when it is, I'm going back home with my mom and that'll be that!
And woo! Finished!
Once again I'm so sorry for slipping so badly off schedule. You can be assured that writer's block isn't really a problem as I know what's eventually going to happen even as I get all picky and perfectionist about the little details. I just want this to be a story that we all will hopefully enjoy re-reading again! Writing relieved a lot of stress during school anyways...
I hope you're not too mad! But onto the fun facts (imma just put them all together):
1) Hakucho was singing 'If' by Kana Nishino. It's the song used at the end of the 4th Naruto Shippuden movie which I know isn't a romantic movie but I loved the melody and wanted to picture someone singing it haha. And the lyrics are a beautiful story of connection~. I put one of the english translations there.
2) Naruto meanwhile was singing Yura Yura (again I put an english translation). I put it there for the exact same reasons: pretty melody and pretty words. I originally was going to go with 'Nobody to Love' by Sigma because every time I hear that song I think of these two but it didn't quite fit here just yet so I'll save it lol.
3) People from different areas have different accents/dialects and I'm not trying to do any particular one but I hope it helps with identifying whose talking when I don't use dialogue tags hehe!
4) Hakucho calling Kira 'Dear' is inspired from this Malaysian soap opera I saw on Netflix called 'Laws of Attraction'. It's AMAZE-BALLS and it follows the lives of 4 'couples'. One of the couples is a married couple and I liked how they called each other 'Dear'. If y'all ever watch it, gush about it with me~!
5) anyone want to guess at what Kyuubi did with a basic seal once upon a time? It may come up later in the story but if it doesn't it'll be one of the last fun facts I reveal haha.
And that's it! Denial is still rampant but we've sorta found a tipping point here. Next chapter will be heavy in Naruto's POV and may or may not have a heavy chat between him and Kurama.
BIG BIG THANKS to EVERYONE who read, reviewed, subscribed/favorited, and patiently waited for this chapter! I cannot thank y'all enough and I really do appreciate y'all putting up with this! As always feel free to leave feedback! Til next time!