Disclaimer: Yeahhh, I really don't own Naruto. Oh, and SPOILER WARNING.

Scenes Referenced: Sasuke vs. Naruto at the Valley of the End. Sasuke nearly kills Naruto, who taps into the Kyuubi's chakra and heals herself. Naruto seems to be winning, until Sasuke develops his Sharingan up a level, and knocks her out once more. This time, the fox bequeaths her with his"chakra cloak". The first state of this is the one-tailed form, and while Naruto takes a level in badass, Sasuke wins anyways.

Also, Kurama is seen recalling the battle between Madara and Hashirama the first Hokage, in which Madara controlled him with the Sharingan.

Gaze

A fatal wound. Naruto stood bleeding before him once more. Rivulets of red streamed down the human's ridiculous orange jacket, dripping and mixing with the floodwaters at her feet.

The sight made Kurama's lips curl into a snarl.

A knot of anger coiled deep within his gut. Uchiha. The demon's eyes slid shut, allowing himself to view the world from his host's point of view. Achingly familiar... the Valley of the End. For a moment, he was lost in another fight, in another era. Sharingan. Servitude. Kill Hashirama.

Wait- no! Kurama jolted back into the present, blinking furiously. Contemplating the times his will had been stripped away... nothing good could come from it. The mass of hatred, the sheer loathing that made up his existence, would have to be set aside for now. You have a child to save, the demon reminded himself.

"I can't loose this fight, Fox." the child croaked, voice breaking. "No- I won't loose. Not to that bastard." The kunoichi's head tilted downwards, and Kurama couldn't see her face past the curtain of blonde hair.

More promises. Naruto could talk herself up, but in the end she was no different from the other humans. Kurama could see the darkness behind those determined blue eyes, feel the residual bitterness and resentment had built up within her chakra. Naruto carried a façade; her true self was nothing more than an embodiment of animosity. Much like himself.

The snarl shifted into a sneer. "That wound would have killed you, if not for my presence." Even now, the severed muscle and bone on her torn shoulder began to knit together, bound by blood vessels and lung tissue.

"Shut up!" Naruto's head shot up, azure orbs ablaze. "Sasuke's a retard, but he's my retard. I promised Sakura I'd drag him back even if I had to break every bone in that asshole's body!" Her fists, clenched at her sides, were shaking.

Kurama fell silent, chakra tails shifting in thought. The kunoichi's outward tenacity fell on deaf ears. The girl spoke of loyalty and friendship, but all he could hear were words of desperation and hurt. He chose his next words carefully. "...the Uchiha has abandoned your precious shinobi village, yet you're willing to go to such lengths for him?"

Naruto recoiled, before snapping back with doubled ferocity. "I would do anything for my family, old man!"

Ah. So that's how it was. Kurama himself had never felt especially close to his... family. If one could call them that. But, despite that, he too would bend over backwards for their benefit if need be. Nine parts of a whole; the innate connection was impossible to dispute. The Uchiha was her brother in all ways except blood. This time, at least, he understood his human's point of view.

"Hmm... fine. I will grant you my power."

Minutes later...

"You runt, you really are weak!"

Naruto twitched in her sleep, floating atop the waters of her subconscious. "Wha...?" The kunoichi groaned, clutching her throbbing head as she swung her torso into a sitting position. "What happened? I remember Sasuke... then nothing."

Hidden in the darkness of his prison, the old man who lived inside her (kami that sounds creepy) was practically spitting in rage. "What happened? You were nearly killed! That damn Sharingan..." The fox's lecture faded into a low growl before busting through the silence once more. "Your sheer incompetence is appalling!"

The blonde hissed; it felt like her forehead was splitting open. The old man really needed to shut the hell up, his stupid lectures were just making it hurt more. "Stick a sock in it old man, I'm not down for the count just yet." The kunoichi peeled herself off the surface of the water, now standing, but rubbing her temples religiously.

"His pretty new eyes caught me off guard, is all. Hand over some more chakra and I'll kick his ass real fast." But just... wait until this stupid headache goes away. Ouch.

A flash of blindingly white fangs. "Do you truly think you can defeat him in your condition?" Uh, yeah. But for the benefit of her pained head, Naruto remained silent, lips drawn into a taut line. "He will destroy both of us... you runt, you don't deserve this. At that, the blonde tilted her chin upwards to look at him.

A sound came from behind the bars- the sliding of fabric. Was he taking off his clothes? Oh shit. "H-hey fox, no one wants to see you naked!" Naruto sweatdropped, taking a few cautious steps backwards.

There was a long, drawn out sigh, followed by a growl of frustration. "Silence, kit. I'm bequeathing my cloak to you. Be grateful." A pale hand (hmm, notably without wrinkles?) slipped out from between two columns, clawed fingers curled around the neckline of a long, sweeping haori. The cloak shimmered faintly, from red to orange to yellow, looking for all in the world as though the cloth had been set aflame.

Naruto nearly choked. 'It's looks so badass!' She shifted closer, sandaled feet sending ripples across the water. "Please tell me you were wearing something under that." She could see his scarlet eyes even through the darkness of his confinement. The slit pupils contracted, before narrowing. "Just take it before I change my mind, mortal."

She could take a hint. The kunoichi shuffled up to him, accepting the cloak with both hands. The dormant, fiery quality of the fabric ignited at her touch, raw power licking up her arms. Naruto, already retreating several feet, raised her eyebrows in appreciation. The haori was warm and thrumming with demonic chakra; clearly awesome as hell.

"Sooo... what will this do for me, exactly?" Naruto asked as she fed one arm through one of the sleeves, watching as the red chakra within the threads began to bubble at the contact. Glancing back to the huge gates, she could see that the demon's exposed hand had returned to the shadows.

Huh, wait. The old fox must have leaned closer than usual or something, because Naruto could make out a long lock of red (orange?) hair, a vaguely white streak of jawline. "Wearing my cloak deepens our connection. With this, I can bypass the seal and channel more of my chakra into your system."

Well there were a lot of things that were worrisome about that statement (deepening connection? bypass the seal?), but Naruto could tell that this wasn't the moment to be bothered with it. Slowed down time or not, Sasuke could be readying the final blow as they were speaking.

Both arms in place, the cloak settled over her jacket-covered shoulders. Ah shit, the thing was freaking huge on her, of course. She scowled at the sleeves that fell far past her hands, the fabric that pooled at her feet, floating on the surface of the water. The twelve year-old felt utterly swamped. 'Just how tall is this guy...?'

Nope. Not the time to think about it, with Uchiha ass to kick and a promise to keep. Naruto lifted her chin, placing fabric-engulfed hands on her hips. "Alright Fox, is that all?"

Was that a snicker? "You're even smaller than I originally thought. How amusing." The demon's voice, while as smooth as ever, carried an undercurrent of laughter. The girl's mouth dropped open. The asshole! "Shut up! I'm normal size; you're the deformed one here, weirdly human-shaped old man!"

"Quit calling me that, you runt." With a growl, the demon leaned into the light, shoulders banging against the gates. Naruto's eyes flew wide open. His face was lean and angular, cat-slit eyes framed with black, and lots and lots of fiery hair falling down to what might be his waist.

Uh. Well, there goes that theory.

Haori- A loose, knee-length, Japanese garment resembling a coat. Lightweight and usually silk, it's used to keep the kimono clean and dry.

Kami- Japanese deities, gods.

A/N: From here on out, I'm going to try to use these notes to clear up what happens in the story. This is it for the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, I want to focus on just Naruto and Kurama, so the fact that Sasuke wins and so on will simply go unmentioned. This is the last short chapter, probably. They will be longer after this.

I fashioned Kurama's appearance after romanized Japanese aristocracy. The markings around his eyes are similar to the ones he has in his fox form.

Thank you, everyone, for the reviews/favorites/follows! Feedback is greatly appreciated, as well as possible romantic/cute/funny moments. If you've already suggested something, keep reading, because it might show up in the story! You guys typically have really great ideas, so I'll try to fit them in as best as I can.

Up Next: On the three year training interval with Naruto, Jiraya loosens the seal on the Kyuubi...!?