Note: Captivate was added to a few new communities. A thank you to whoever is responsible.
Scenes Referenced: This is never shown in canon, but during the two year time skip between the original Naruto series and Shippuden Naruto trained with Jiraya. He wanted to find a way for Naruto to control the Kyuubi. This current series of drabble chapters is about that time period she's off gallivanting away from Konoha.
Caress
The days turned into weeks, and still the kit persisted in her meditation practices. Kurama felt her presence, shakily slipping into the mind realm. Clumsy and unskilled. These entrances, however, grew quieter with each attempt. Naruto's cannonball splash gradually fine-tuned itself into a smooth and practiced dive.
Unlike her efforts in manifestation.
"Ramen, why is it always ramen!?" The girl cursed, kicking up a fit on the water. Kurama edged further into the blackness of his cage. He sighed and cradled his poor skull. Loud. So loud. She really did take after her mother. Kushina, too, had been a sore loser. She had possessed a boundless rage at the world, towards the fate that turned her into a vessel for demons. It seemed determination ran in the blood.
However, neither Kushina nor Mito had plagued him this relentlessly. The nights dragged on, and the Kyuubi began to forget the meaning of 'solitude'.
Her mind space… reacted when Naruto arrived. The desolate sewers remained cold and hollow, but less so. The kunoichi's smiles, her flailing, her noise, all lit up the dungeon. Even the clothes she wore were loud. The place, once empty and gaping, now only had room for three things.
Kurama, Naruto, and the bars between them.
He watched her to remind himself he detested her. Quietly. Until his eyes burned.
Kurama was not the only creature born of hatred on this earth.
Indeed, every human carried a seed of darkness embedded deep within their hearts. Under the right care, this seed could be nurtured into a festering flower of anger and resentment. Even the Sage's children, Indra and Asura, succumbed to the seed that grew within them. Not even their father could stop them from killing one another.
The kit was no exception.
Naruto hid her hate with well-wishes and plastered grins. Tiresome. Humans always tried to deny their true nature, and it wore on Kurama in ways he found difficult to describe. The kit, of course, managed to be one of the most grating of the lot. She was born in the cradle of antipathy. Nursed on synthetic baby formula. Raised among cold shoulders and even colder stares. Her closest childhood friend was a lonely wooden swing.
If there was any logic in this god forsaken world, Naruto would have been his.
What a farce.
"Oi. Fox." The red-haired bastard was doing that thing again. That weird, broody, hide in the shadows thing.
Nonono, shit. Bastard wasn't the right term for the kitsune; they were supposed to be on, uh, friendlier terms. He even liked her ramen from that one time. Naruto cracked a half-smile at the thought, raking a hand through her unruly blonde hair. Hadn't brushed it in a couple days. Too much training to do, right?
She shifted her weight. Lukewarm water lapped at her bare feet.
"What, kit." Kurama's eyes were red glints in the darkness. "Decided you had enough failure for the day?"
Okay, you know what asshole, it wasn't her fault this manifestation crap was hard. Every time Naruto tried to visualize a kickass sword it would come out a gnarled lump of metal or she'd get hungry and distracted and then it'd be ramen. Not just any ramen. Perfect ramen. Every time. Naruto had so much ramen, that in any other scenario it might be considered a personal heaven. But... the fox was right.
The fourteen year old scowled, hair bristling. Her hands fisted at her sides.
It took a long moment for her to swallow her anger. "...feh. Whatever." Naruto crossed her arms, blue eyes fluttering to glance away at something else. "Maybe I just wanna talk to you. It's just me an' you down here, old man. Even I could use a break every once in a while."
He didn't answer. She began stretching luxuriously in the silence. Uh. Naruto glanced back at him.
"...did you notice we have the same, uh, you know...-?"
"I do not know. Enlighten me."
Jeesh, what was up with him? Something about the fox's tone was superduper grumpy this evening. Damn. Naruto coughed, edging a little closer to his cage as she spoke. "Ahem. The, er, things. The THINGS." She wrung her calloused hands. "C'mere. I'll show you. Eh? No no, closer than that, idiot."
By the time Naruto was done jeering and cajoling him, the tall man stood at the very edge of his enclosure. His entire body, doused in the half light, looked about as taut as a bowstring. Huh. Something about the fox, maybe his clothing or his paper white skin, reminded her of an old scroll. Like the kind the Pervy Sage would drag out every once in while.
"These." She reached up, rubbing her thumb along one of the whisker marks on his cheek. "You gave me your damn fox-prints, old man."
...
All nine of Kurama's tails curled at the human girl's touch.
When the seal finally loosened, the Kyuubi felt it intimately. As though the restraints were a set of heavy iron shackles falling to his feet.
It occurred sometime after the brat touched- no, dare he say, caressed him. With hands that smelled of ramen broth and the leather that bound the hilts of her kunai knives. Hmph. Kurama rubbed at his cheek with the sleeve of his haori, shuddering.
First rent, then noodles, now this. Both Mito and Kushina would have cut their fingers off before laying a hand upon him. Where did that cheeky whelp get these ideas?
The demon shot a sour look at Naruto, who was now meditating atop the water twenty paces away. His looming hostility went entirely unnoticed, of course. The girl's eyes were sealed shut, and she likely could not detect killing intent even if it smacked against her her thick skull. Kurama 'hmph'-ed again, tucking his hands within the sleeves of his robe. Still... Naruto had a way of surprising him. This, he would not deny.
His lips curled into a slow snarl.
Fake. So fake it hurt. The demon had tolerated her antics, played at friendship with the human girl. She, in turn, masqueraded as the disgustingly optimistic storybook heroine. A lie that ran so deep it almost became the truth. But, their dual deception wore his patience thin.
If Naruto came to terms with the hatred she harbored beneath her bones, this would end. The Toad Sage had yet to teach her to resist his will, perhaps there was still time to foster that seed of darkness. Troublesome, yet enticing. Kurama closed his eyes in contemplation, absently stroking one of the marks on his face. At the moment, he lacked the power to possess his host's body.
That changed.
It was maybe only an inch, but when the seal finally loosened... the Kyuubi felt it intimately.
Naruto saw the room darken through closed eyes.
She snapped to her feet, water splashing under shinobi sandals. Shadows drenched the sewers from every corner... the crappy, sputtering fluorescent lights must have flickered out while she was meditating. Shit.
Familiar-looking chakra bubbled out from between the bars of the old man's cage. The sickly, bloodred hue of it glowed in the darkness. Double shit.
That flood gained momentum quickly, and there was... there was more of it than Naruto had ever seen before. Obvious observation, but something was fucking wrong here. Like, really wrong. The room spun. The blonde clutched at her suddenly aching skull. God... when did she get so dizzy? A step backwards turned into a stumble and she nearly lost her footing entirely. The spaces behind her eyes throbbed in time with her slowing heartbeat.
The sinister energy coalesced into a man, and he caught her before she could fall.
His grip was iron on her waist. What... was this, the fox...? Naruto's palms pressed to his chest, feebly pushing herself in the direction she thought might be away. The demon watched her in mild amusement. He gripped her stubborn jaw in a large hand and tilted the kunoichi's head this way and that.
"Now look at this." A deep, unearthly purr. "Our eyes are the same color, kit."
Note: Hey guys, I got a new beta! Please give a big welcome to zbird4, they've been a big help to me in helping plan for the future of Captivate. We had some problems with the website, so they can't officially beta for me yet... but they have already been great regardless. Thank you zbird!
Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed. The two guests, tnle, idea getthe, Vaughn Tyler, BoltItou-ku RT, Rubyia, and especially HannokiKaen. I really appreciate it when you guys take the time to comment and give feedback on these chapters. Don't be afraid to tell me what you think!