Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's note: for the people who are not necessarily familiar or don't remember all the suffixes used in the Japanese languages for various relatives, here's a quick glossary fo the ones I used in the story so far:

Jiji = Gramps/grandpa

Neechan = big sister

Niisan = big brother

I will post such glossaries from time to time just to make sure that you don't have to wreck your brain trying to remember what each of these words mean.

That said, on with the story!

Normal Text

'Person thinking'

"Person talking"

"Jinchuriki talking inside his head with Bijuu"

'Bijuu thinking'

"Bijuu talking"

"Bijuu talking inside jinchurki's head"

Chapter 5 - A friend in need

Midnight. Naruto is pulled from his bed by his hair out of bed by one of ten villagers standing eagerly in his room. He struggles to get free but it's to no avail. They are too strong. And then it starts. A punch, a kick and then more, and more and more, until he is left a bloody mess on the floor. He thinks it's finally over. They've had their full and are just going to walk away. Nine of the ten leave, much to his relief. The tenth does not and this fills him with dread.

"You will die today, and it won't be pretty. I will make sure you die slowly and painfully."

With that, he plunged the kunai into his belly.

"No!" shouted Naruto. He was sweating profusely, holding his hand over his stomach, where, not three days before, he was stabbed by that angry villager. After a few short breaths, he realized he was sitting up in his bed, caressed by the rays of the morning sun.

"It was just a dream… it felt so real though…"

"Are you alright, Naruto?" Asked Kurama. He was able to sense Naruto's torment, so he guessed what he was going through, even if he could not see his dreams.

"Huh? Oh, it's you, Kurama… I… I don't know, I just dreamed of that night, when the villagers beat me and that man stabbed me. It felt so real. I felt the pain all over again… I was so scared." As he said this, Naruto brought his knees together and hugged them with his arms.

"If you want to talk, you can come in and see me."

"Right. You said I should meditate. How do I do that?"

"Just lay back in bed and close your eyes. When you do that, just think of me and focus on my image in your mind."

"Ok."

Naruto followed Kurama's instructions. He laid back in bed, closed his eyes and focused on his image of Kurama. As he did so, he felt himself pulled inward and, before he knew it, he found himself in front of the cage. Seeing Naruto, Kurama rose his head slightly and greeted his guest.

"Welcome back, Naruto."

"Hi, Kurama." After fidgeting in place for a moment, Naruto ran straight into the cage and hugged his giant furry friend for dear life, crying his nightmares away. Seeing the boy in such distress, Kurama wrapped one of his tails around him to give him comfort. He waited until the crying stopped and then saw Naruto shifting his gaze back towards the tailed beast's face.

"Thanks. I needed that."

"Anytime."

For several minutes the two friends stayed in comfortable silence, with Kurama napping lightly while Naruto just let his thoughts astray while looking nowhere in particular.

Suddenly, Naruto shifted a little and sat down with his legs cross and arms leaning on his ancles. He was looking around with a thoughtful expression on his face, that made Kurama, now awake, wonder what was going through the young human's mind.

"Umm, Kurama, why is this place so dark and wet and gloomy?"

"That is a good question. If I had to guess, it's because of the hardships you have faced. This must be how your mind decided to interpret how you felt."

"So, if this is my mind, then I can do whatever I like in here, right?"

"You should be able to, yes. Though, I guess that the seal will bring some limitations. I am pretty sure you can't make the seal disappear no matter how much you wished it away."

"Yeah, that's probably right. But that doesn't mean that the cage has to be in here. I could put the seal anywhere I liked. It just has to be somewhere around there, right?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"Hmm. Well let's start with something simple then and see if it works!"

And with that, Naruto scrunched up his little face in concentration. Kurama thought he looked kind of silly. That hard expression had no place on the face of a child. It felt so out of place. Just as he was finishing his thought, He was suddenly blinded by a bright flash of white light.

A few seconds later, after the light died down, his jaw almost hit the floor.

"The cage! It's gone! But where is the seal?"

Naruto grinned mischievously and pointed towards the Kyuubi's chest. Now the seal was no longer on the door of the cage. It was hanging on an ornate golden necklace, around his neck.

"It worked! This is awesome! We can do whatever we want in here now!"

Still a bit dazed from the entire experience, Kurama looked around with wide eyes and just nodded in agreement.

"Hey, Kurama, since you're gonna live here for a long time, what do you want me to make for you?"

Witnessing the boy's concern for his wellbeing, the tailed beast closed his eyes, appearing in thought. In truth though, he was afraid he might escape a tear and that just won't do. He had a reputation to maintain being the force of nature that he was. After a while, a slight smile crept on his face. Feeling ready to open his eyes again and face his jailer – no – his friend, he gave Naruto his answer.

"Let me show you what I miss the most from my past. If you can help bring some of that here, I would be grateful."

Slowly, carefully, he placed the tip of is index finger's claw on Naruto's forehead. At once the boy was transported to a large forest whose scenery was dominated by a hill on top of which proudly stood a temple raised in honor of the Great Fox. As he experienced this vision, Naruto found himself joined by a human-sized version of the Kurama.

With longing in his voice, the Kyuubi spoke "This used to be my home, long ago, before I was sealed inside humans. It used to be a place of peace, right here, in the Land of Fire. It used to be my duty to protect the people who lived here. We lived in harmony for a few good centuries, until the clans started warring with each other. I miss those days and I miss this place. It's probably just ruins by now… If you could make something like this, it would bring me great comfort."

In a flash of light, Naruto and Kurama were back in the mindscape.

Naruto felt a bit overwhelmed by the request. Sure, he wanted to help his friend, but at the same time, there was so much to remember and his six-year-old brain just wasn't able to process all of that so fast. "I don't know if I can make all that. There are so many little things to make and I don't think I remember them all. Think you can help me as we make this place better?"

"We can try, though the way in which we will attempt to accomplish this task has never been done before. Bump your fist with mine like last time, and we will synchronize your movements with my memory of that place. I will move my hand, and in doing so, will guide yours, much like a painter moving his paintbrush."

"Ok. Let's do this. Together." As he said that last word, Naruto smiled brightly at the tailed beast he now saw as his one and only friend.

Bumping fists, boy and beast felt connected. It was a strange experience for both of them, acting as if they were of one mind and body. Steadily, they started moving their hands, Naruto his left, Kurama his right, as if they were painting on a blank canvas. First, they did away with the sewers and the water on the floor. 'No more. This darkness will not decide my fate!' Naruto thought, determined to overcome his past suffering. After removing what was, they found themselves standing in a vastness of white with no beginning and no end in sight. With careful strokes they made ground and hill. Then, steadily, the grass was risen just a few inches above ground level. The trees soon followed, one by one, raising and matching Kurama's memory from long ago. They returned their gaze to the hill where the temple was to stand. Using their mind's eye, they drew closer to it. At first the foundation raised from the ground. Then twelve pillars, six on each side. The walls. The windows. The roof. Mighty a structure it was, worthy of hosting a being as powerful and magnificent as the Nine-Tailed Fox, Lord of the Kitsune and most powerful of the Nine.

Having built the temple, they soon got to adding the details and any furniture that might have been inside, just as Kurama recollected. Symbols of the Kyuubi were added on the large doors and on the inside walls. On the wall on the far end of the main hall they depicted a series of tailed beasts, each stranger than the next. From the left to the middle of the mural, Naruto saw a one-tailed tan racoon gesturing excitedly, followed by a two-tailed cat of blue fire just about ready to pounce, then a three-tailed turtle that stood lazily with only one eye open and, finally, a four-tailed monkey with bright purple fur and octopus-like tails staring bluntly towards him. From the right towards the middle, he distinguished a five-tailed white horse with what looked like a dolphin head and five horns, painted as if it was trotting. It was followed by a six-tailed snail who seemed to be leaking water from all over his body. The seven-tailed bug was more like one tail and six wings and it flew slightly above its peers. Purple its shell was and lemon green its wings and tail. Next came an eight-tailed brown ox that leaned heavily on its strong forearms, boasting eight octopi's tails in the back. In the middle of them all, stood the Nine-Tails Fox itself, with a commanding presence, befitting a great general or lord among lords.

As they finished the temple, they looked to the sky. Clear and bright they made it, with a few clouds here and there, and a Sun to fill the entire domain with life.

Once they painted the sky, Kurama blew slightly towards their creation and the trees started to sway ever so slightly, as if he breathed life into the canvas they had painted.

'It is done' they thought in unison.

Disconnecting their fists, they returned to their starting point and smiled at their handywork. It was beautiful. It was good.

Even if he knew it was not the real thing, Kurama couldn't help sighing in contentment seeing his old home once again.

"Shall we?" Asked the great beast smiling.

"Yeah, lets!" Naruto replied, boasting a smile that reached from one ear to the other.

"Hop on and hold tight. We are about to get wild!"

Naruto was slightly nervous about this, but decided to trust his friend. Nodding, he saw Kurama leaning to allow Naruto to climb on his back. Little did Naruto know that this was the greatest honor he could be given. Proud and strong as he was, the Nine-tailed Fox would never in a thousand years have thought he could accept being ridden like some beast of burden. Yet here he was, ready to give his friend a taste of the freedom he enjoyed in his youth.

Once he felt Naruto holding tightly to his fur, the great beast sprinted in full haste towards the temple. Only now did Naruto realize just how vast the expanse they had created really was, for it took them a good 5 minutes at full speed to reach their destination. And given that the Kyuubi was the size of a thirty-story building, that is saying something. As they ran, Naruto held onto the tailed beast for dear life. He did NOT want to know what would happen if he fell off.

Reaching the temple, the two made their way inside, at which point Kurama bent down to allow Naruto to get down from his back.

"That was scaaryyy… but it was also a lot of fun!"

Smiling, Kurama spoke "I will never forget what you did for me today, Naruto."

"Hey, this is what friends are for, right? To make each other feel better!" said Naruto, sporting what was steadily becoming his trademark foxy-grin.

"Indeed."

After a few moments, in which both of them got comfortable, with Kurama sitting and wrapping his tails around him and Naruto leaning on one of his tails, Naruto broke the silence "So, what now?"

"Hmm… I suppose it's time we talked about that sensing ability you acquired."

"Right! And about Chatora!" Responded Naruto excitedly.

Sighing, Kurama responded "It's 'chakra', not 'chatora'. But alas, one step at a time. The emotion sensing ability is the more pressing matter."

"What do you mean 'pressing'?"

"…Urgent."

"Oh…"

Sometimes Kurama had to remind himself that his friend was still just a six-year-old boy. He knew that he had his work cut out for him. He thought for a while, trying to figure out how to explain things to Naruto in simpler terms. After reaching a conclusion he started his explanation.

"Your ability to feel other people's emotion is a great boon. However, there are times when you will want to shut it down. Otherwise, you may feel too much from too many people and it will hurt your mind and heart if you are not ready for it."

"Yeah, like with the villagers, right? I mean, I know they hate me, but I wouldn't want to actually feel that all day. It would be depressing."

"Hoh, you learned a big word now, did you?" responded Kurama teasingly.

Kurama's remark seemed to have achieved its goal, as Naruto became instantly irritated.

"Hey! You're making fun of me again!"

"Well, you give me so much material, it would be a shame to let the opportunities pass."

Naruto took his "I'm irritated with you" pose, with arms crossed and angry face looking away from the tailed beast. After a while, seeing that the amusement of the scene finally wore down, Kurama continued his lecture.

"As I was saying, it is important that you train your sensing ability. And just like you pointed out, it would be best that you train this ability while staying away from crowded areas in order to avoid being overwhelmed. To do this, I will ask that you stay in your house for a day or two until you get the hang of it. As you close your eyes and meditate, I want you to focus on feeling the emotions of people from closer to further and further away from you. One trick that helped me tell the difference between people was to match the emotions I feel from people with colors. In time, I got to a point where I could tell who was around me by just looking at their color. I believe you can achieve the same level of skill with your sensing ability."

In a way, Naruto felt a bit better knowing that even Kurama, at one point in his past, had to actually learn how to use this skill. He was pretty sure that the Kyuubi, proud as he was, wouldn't just go around admitting that to just about anyone, so his confession made him feel a bit special. That said, the boy still felt a little lost. Meditate? See emotions as colors? He wasn't sure he could accomplish this all that easily.

"Umm…Kurama, I only know red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown white and black! And Konoha has so many people!"

"No worries little one. You won't need words for every color you will see. You will find that in time you will see so many variations of the colors you mentioned that there wouldn't be enough words to describe them all. And that's ok. Your goal is not to call out the colors but to recognize the people wearing them."

With a thoughtful look and his arms crossed, Naruto responded: "Hmm… I guess that makes sense. Alright, so I will have to leave the mindscape and practice this, right?"

"For now, yes. In time you will be able to sense things from inside this place as well."

"Alright. I'll see you around then!"

Saying their goodbyes, Naruto focused on his body in order to pull himself back in to the real world. He opened his eyes and looked out the window. He realized that only about 20 minutes had passed while he was in his mindscape, even though in there it felt like he spent hours with Kurama painting that new world.

'Well, that is freaky. I could spend my whole life there and no one on the outside would even notice' He thought.

"Alright, let's get some breakfast and then let's start sensing training!"