Hi everyone!

Here's another update and without further ado, I present the next chapter!

Updated: May 12, 2015

Well that was interesting…

No, scratch that, it was pretty terrifying!

I couldn't believe that fox demon is inside of me, but where? Was he living in my mind like a conscience? If so he is one hell of a guide. I did have a nagging suspicion that this was not the case however. Just as I finished the thought I felt a slight tingling on my stomach. Lifting up my shirt I found something that looked like an intricate black ink tattoo appear. The overall shape was circular, a spiral shape embedded in the middle and surrounded by slanting characters.

That answers my question... I think? Maybe it has something to do with the whole chakra thing? I sighed, just one more thing to pile on the platter of unanswered questions. Glancing down towards the forest floor I noticed that the titans were fast asleep. Hmm, interesting. It seems like they were active when the sun is up, but calm down once night falls. Perhaps it will be safe to move in the dark then. I did need to find a source of food somewhere and also test out my new abilities but it might be better to wait until morning where I could see where exactly I was going, even if those beasts were active.

With that thought I settled down to sleep, but not before tying myself down with spare rope to the branches below. There was no way I was going to end up as food for a monster. I had bigger plans for my life than that. I distinctly remember having some sort of goal before my memories were taken and I would do anything in order to succeed. Becoming a snack would definitely not help me to succeed. I closed my eyes and struggled to achieve unconsciousness, knowing that those humanoid creatures were waiting at the bottom of my tree.

Sunlight was streaming through the canopy once more, bathing my eyelids with its light and turning the world into a vivid red. I opened my eyes, though it took me a moment to adjust them and to become fully conscious of my surroundings. I was still in my tree which meant that I had managed to survive the night. Midori and Kurama would be so proud.

That's right Kurama. Maybe I could try some sort of communication outside of that dank prison-sewer place.

Um, Kurama? I asked hesitantly. After all the fox wasn't exactly the nicest person, or rather thing, I could imagine meeting. He seemed like a rather vile houseguest.

Yes? Answered the kitsune in a mocking tone. Does my host have a question? If so it better be worth my time. You know I won't just come to your beck and call. If this isn't urgent I'll be going back to sleep now.

What else did the fox do when he's not talking to me? I mean it's not like he can get out and terrify small villages. I immediately felt a bit of grief at the thought. I mean I was only, what sixteen, or at least that's what Midori had said. So what did the fox do before he became sealed inside of me? Perhaps he really had created a path of destruction, I mean, there had to have been a reason he was sealed in a human. It's not like he could be completely harmless judging by the razor sharp teeth and claws he possessed. Not to mention that ungodly aura.

All this thinking made my head ache, as if memories of the fox's history and my weird stylized tattoo were bursting at the seams of my mind. I had to ask though, to see if I could gather any information from him.

Uh, I was just wondering why you were sealed in me. Do you know who did it or why? I just can't comprehend why something like you would be living inside of me.

Kurama paused before answering, as if it bothered him as well. I'm not sure. My memories of that time are… obstructed. I had the sneaking suspicion that he wasn't being entirely truthful.

I do know that the person who did this only meant to stop the person who was controlling me. Now I know this might be strange to think about but even we mighty bijuus, which is what my kind are called, can be controlled. It takes someone who is very powerful but it can be done. No one has been able to successfully do it in many decades, at least to my knowledge.

Interesting.. Do you think I might be able to control you one day?

Hahahaha, Kurama barked, as if a kit like you would be able to. Perhaps, if you're very lucky, I might be willing to work with you. But right now you're not even close to being powerful enough and you lack the chakra control necessary to fully harness my powers.

He said this in a taunting tone and I felt a spark of anger ignite. As if I were a weakling! I was Naruto.. something or other and I knew for sure that I was not weak! I may have lost my memories but I had certainly retained my sense of pride. Hmm, chakra control. How could I work on this?

I thought back to Midori, who had effortlessly jumped from tree to tree with little effort. I also reflected on practicing back in that training field while I was stuck with Kurama.

Okay well, it couldn't be too hard to practice out here in the real world. I rationalized that if I had done it once I could definitely do it again. Closing my eyes I concentrated to feel the energies that flowed within my body. I could feel them merge into the familiar sensation of chakra, which willingly coursed throughout my body and seemed to respond to my every whim. Now to test it out.

I eyed the tree across from mine and judged the distance. Okay this is easy, I've done it before I could certainly do it now, I mean, how hard could it be? Apparently it was harder than I thought.

As I leaped I realized a little too late that I had put too much force into the jump which left me scrambling to clutch a branch that was three trees past my goal. I ended up with plenty of scratches and the horrifying sight of my paparazzi, also known as the freaky giants at the bottom of my tree, vying to catch me just in case I fell. I quickly pulled myself up on the branch to a much more suitable and upright position.

"Hehehe," laughed Midori as she appeared by my side to investigate my wounds. Her sudden appearance almost managed to make me lose my precariously regained balance.

"What gives you the right to leave and then appear the next day after leaving such cryptic messages? I could have died!" I nearly screeched out this last bit. I knew I was blushing rather deeply which only seemed to increase her amusement.

"I only wanted to check in on my favorite guinea pig! After all I did leave at a moment's notice which, in hindsight, was rather rude of me. So I figured why not check back in on the kid, after all I expended too much energy on you for you to just die after one day!" She proclaimed all of this in a tone that indicated everything was just fine, though the opposite was true.

"Well next time a little warning would help!" I snapped

"Okay, okay, Mr. Grumpy. I'll try to keep that in mind next time, but you should have seen yourself!"

"Yeah hahaha real funny" I replied with as much sarcasm as I could muster.

"It seems like you require a little instruction. Oh and just out of curiosity, how did your little chat go?"

"You knew that would happen, didn't you? That I had this thing inside of me."

I am not a thing! I am a horrifying monster who is found in nightmares of the most fearful sort. I am the…

I ignored the impromptu interruption from my companion and continued on with my rant. "You could have left me with at least a warning!" I finished lamely after several minutes of rambling on about the dangers of scaring people in the middle of a forest that was surrounded with hideous giants.

"Oh but that's no fun!" she pouted. "I love a good surprise, it keeps the brain stimulated and the blood flowing. But the real problem is your lack of control, is it not? You could have crashed into the tree and been knocked unconscious, or maybe even missed the tree and became a juicy morsel for those monsters down there. I told you to try to stay alive and what do you do? You try to kill yourself the first chance you get!"

I thought this was a rather unfair assumption but, realistically, I could use all the help I could get. "I could use a little help," I admitted reluctantly. The chance to control the snarky fox that resided inside the seal was tempting. Also the idea of being able to explore this forest of big ass trees was a proposition that was quite exciting in its own right. Civilization seemed like luxury about now.

"Very well, I have constructed a rigorous training regime. By the time we're finished you will regain your previous proficiency and will become well one your way to advancing." She explained with a gleam in her eye that promised misery. On reflection I could only surmise that it was indeed misery that I experienced.

She made me go through the most intense training that I had ever endured, in my limited knowledge, during the course of a week. I had to run along the forest floor at blazing speeds while avoiding all of the giants in the area. I was instructed to leap from tree to tree using nothing but my feet while my arms remained tied to my side, severely hindering my balance. Target practice became a nightmare as I threw my kunai and shurikan thousands of time before I perfected my aim to one hundred percent accuracy. Swordplay was no better but the idea of being able to kill the never ending hoard of giants with it was all too enticing. Last but not least, I was able to perform all of the techniques I had practiced with Kurama to perfection along with many others, such as allowing my sword to become encased in a sheath of wind-like chakra, which enabled it to remain razor sharp after slicing through the back of a giant's neck. Each night I would go to sleep before my head hit my branch. But by the time I was done with the harsh training program I was able to destroy the inhuman beasts at my leisure.

After I was given confirmation that my training was done Midori simply said farewell with the warning to not die and left. Thus ended my brutal training with Midori, a woman who proved to be both capable and sadistic in her own special way.

I hope you enjoyed the newest addition to my tale. Thanks you for your reviews and please feel free to leave more!

~Strix