Please take note that English is not my native language, so it's impossible for me to know which words 7-years-old kids use and which ones are too hard for them. The same goes for sentence structure. I try to use simpler words (in my opinion) and make sentences less complicated, but I can't guarantee that it won't sound too stilted and/or mature.

Lest you fade here all alone

Chapter 10

Rei sat down on a chair next to the boy and frowned at his own clasped hands, thinking how to breach the topic. "I have something to tell you."

"What about?" The little blond's voice was small, apprehensive.

"About your parents and the reason why the villagers treat you so unfairly."

Naruto's tiny frame visibly hunched over, tension clinging to his rigid shoulders, and his eyes dropped, suddenly finding the surface of the table so much more interesting than his uncle's face.

"It's not because you did something. You know that, right?" Rei questioned as he pried the boy's fingers from around the mug before pushing it out of his reach. When there was no immediate reply, he urged, "Naruto."

The small blond nodded, albeit reluctantly.

Rei threaded his fingers through his hair as he leaned back with a sigh. This was turning out to be harder than he had expected. He didn't like seeing his kid retreating so deep inside of himself, still feeling so insecure about his place in this world.

The man also didn't know how exactly to tell him everything in a way that would be easy to understand and wouldn't leave space for misinterpretations. No matter how complicated the truth was, it was better than lies or disinformation.

Rei scrubbed the hand over his face, muttering, "Where to start…" under his breath.

Naruto peeked at him. "The beginning?" he suggested in an uncertain whisper. When all he received was a blank look, he fidgeted in his seat. "The beginning is important, 'ttebayo! If someone doesn't know where it started, they won't know what happened. This one time, I got into a fight with the older boys—such jerks!—and sensei caught us and I got punished before I could tell him anything," he babbled, huffing unhappily at the end. Realizing that he just admitted getting into a fight, his anxiety peaked. "But, but, but those jerks were hurting a puppy, 'ttebayo! And I wanted to save it! I told them to go away, to leave it alone, but they wanted to hurt it even more, so I punched one… Sensei never let me tell him what happened, if he knew where it started, maybe I wouldn't have been punish—"

A hand on his head caused Naruto to go still. However, Rei was smiling at him, the same warm and kind smile, and he relaxed, unconsciously leaning into the touch.

"Good job on standing up for those who can't protect themselves, Naruto."

The boy ducked his head, cheeks flushed and a shy curve on his lips.

"And you're absolutely right about starting from the very beginning," the older Uzumaki said as he pushed himself up. "You're smarter than me," he teased affectionately, gathering Naruto in his arms. "But it's a long story, so we better make ourselves more comfortable."

Rei carried the boy into the bedroom and deposited him on top of the bed, sitting down cross-legged in front of him. Their eyes were now at the same height.

Much better.

Naruto wiggled, finding the most comfortable position. Some of his uneasiness settled down the moment his uncle believed him, so now he gave his undivided attention to the adult.

"A very long time ago, a time before ninja villages and ninjas themselves," Rei began, "there was a being. A god. An incarnate of the destruction. With the power never seen before and rivaled by no one, it ravaged the land and threatened to destroy every living creature under the sky."

"But someone stopped it, right?" Naruto asked, sounding a bit breathless.

Rei smiled. "That's right. Two brothers stepped up to fight against the god to save the world from destruction. Their fight was long and exhausting. Eventually, the brothers won against the beast, but it turned out to be too strong. They couldn't kill it in the end."

"What did they do?"

"They decided to imprison the god so that it couldn't harm anyone. Not anything or anyone could hold such a being from escaping, however. The older brother took upon himself to become a vessel and sealed the god inside himself." Rei paused. "Do you know how the storage seals work?"

Naruto scrunched his brow. "You put stuff into the seal, like… like into a box?"

"Something like that. Sealing a living being into another living being is a much more complex process, but similar in concept. It doesn't make them one entity, they are still two separate beings. In the same way as the thing you put into the box doesn't suddenly become the box." This was an extremely important point, so Rei waited until the boy worked through that piece of information. "Do you understand, Naruto?"

Naruto blinked, startled by the deadly seriousness in his uncle's tone. A bit intimidated by it, he opted to nod rather than answer aloud. The stuff in the box was not the box, he could understand that.

The smile returned on the older blond's face. "Good thing you're such a smart kid," he praised and chuckled at the boy's bashful expression. "So, continuing with the story… The older brother sealed the evil god inside himself, but he was still a mortal man after all. Knowing that it would escape once he died, he took the beast's chakra, split it into nine parts and molded each part into a living creature."

Naruto gasped. "He created living things out of it, 'ttebayo?!"

"Yes. He created the Bijuu. They were creatures made out of pure chakra in different forms, but the man loved them as his own children and they called him their father. Each of them had a unique personality with thoughts and emotions that belonged only to them."

Rei's gaze wandered to the window on its own as he continued to speak and stayed there, tracing the outlines of the clouds and seeing the shapes that weren't really there.

"One-Tail Shukaku, a rambunctious brat. Two-Tails Matatabi, always polite and elegant. Three-Tails Isobu, such a timid and good child. Four-Tails Son Gokuu, a proud and headstrong warrior. Five-Tails Kokuo, a quiet and reserved one. Six-Tails Saiken, kind but annoyingly energetic at times. Seven-Tails Chomei, an endlessly cheerful lucky seven. Eight-Tails Gyuuki, an overly serious but easy to tease individual."

The world outside didn't share Rei's sudden melancholic mood. Bright and sunny day, a warm breeze occasionally flittering through the crack of the open window, carrying the songs of birds tightly weaved in the ambiance of the village.

"And finally, Nine-Tails, the big brother of the family, even if he'd rather pluck all his fur out than ever admit it," the blond's voice fell, lips pulled into a wistful arc, blue eyes speaking volumes of longing that welled inside his heart.

Two small, hesitant palms on either side of his face snapped him from the daze. He blinked at Naruto in uncomprehending bewilderment.

"You look sad," the boy said, expression tight with seriousness. "Don't be sad."

A few seconds passed in silence as Rei gathered and centered himself so he wouldn't drown in a sudden surge of memories. "Sorry," he uttered quietly. "I suddenly remembered my friend."

Naruto's frown deepened, but he did lower his arms and sat back down. "Thinking about your friends shouldn't make you sad, 'ttebayo. Remember all the fun you had with them. Isn't that what having friends means?"

Rei hummed in consent. "Remember all the fun… Yes, I probably should do that." Then, he poked the kid's nose. "You truly are smarter than me, huh." Naruto's giggle loosened something dark and unpleasant inside his chest just a tiny bit. "Anyway… Where was I? Hmm. Right. So, after their father's d—"

"Waaaaait!"

The older blond actually startled. "What? What is it?"

"You forgot to tell his name, 'ttebayo!" the boy huffed like his uncle was slow on the uptake.

"Er…" Rei scratched his cheek. "Whose name?"

"The big brother's!"

Only then he realized that, yeah, he omitted the Kyuubi's name previously by sheer habit. His friend always treasured his name as his greatest possession and he respected that. He would have preferred Kurama eventually revealing his name himself, but… this story wasn't intended just for Naruto's ears. The blond knew his partner's counterpart was listening, sensed his chakra stirring and growing more and more restless with every correct Bijuu name that he spoke.

"Kurama," Rei breathed out with a tinge of reverence. "His name is Kurama."

A spike of fury and resentment in the Kyuubi's toxic chakra hidden deep under his Jinchuuriki's naturally fresh and light one almost blindsided him. Knowing his name truly made Kurama mad. Rei suppressed a smirk. He would let the Kyuubi rage for now in hope that he would wind down after some time and be more susceptible to a civilized conversation.

Naruto stared, eyes wide with anticipation of hearing the continuation of the story. If the boy felt anything from his tenant's rage-induced breakdown, he didn't show it. The Yondaime's seal held strong.

"So, after their father's death, the nine siblings scattered around the world and for a while lived in peace. Their strength rose as they grew up and soon people took notice of these wandering colossal beasts that could flatten mountains and uproot forests with a single swipe of their tail."

"So strong!"

Rei's smile at the little blond's cheer was rather bitter. "But they were not humans. They were giants with unrivaled strength, something that people couldn't fathom. And because of that, humans started to fear them. They feared their sheer size, feared the power they could wield, feared that they would come to destroy their home. More and more conflicts arose between two different sides, but even with these occasional clashes the animosity between them grew non-stop."

As he listened, Naruto twiddled with the corner of the comforter, nervously clutching and twisting it.

"One day, a fight broke between two very strong ninjas. In order to get an upper hand in their fight, one of them used a powerful Genjutsu to subdue Kurama and forced him to do his bidding. Unable to win against such foe, the other man's wife used her body to seal the Kyuubi inside herself, to imprison him for the sin that was out of his control."

"B-But…" Naruto stammered out, bright cerulean eyes became glazed with a glassy layer of tears. "It wasn't his fault, 'ttebayo! They could—they could have let him go!"

Rei put a hand on the boy's knee in silent comfort. "After the fight, the winner—the man whose wife now had the Kyuubi sealed inside her—hunted down the rest of the siblings and imprisoned them as well."

"That's horrible!" the young blond couldn't help but cry out in horror. "W-Why would he do that?"

"Because, Naruto, as I said, humans fear what they don't understand. They never understood the Bijuu and the Bijuu never tried to make them understand. They were prideful and solitary beings. Maybe… if they had sought out to communicate with humans, the result would have been different." Rei shook his head with a sigh. "Or maybe it would have ended up the same but with the betrayal added on top of it."

Naruto sniffled, feeling justifiably upset on behalf of the Bijuu.

The older Uzumaki let him calm down a bit before pushing forward. This was the most important part. So far, the little kit reacted just as he had expected—with overwhelming sympathy and kindness.

"The Bijuu were given to the different ninja villages and eventually each sealed inside a live vessel. A person known as the Jinchuuriki." Rei looked straight into Naruto's eyes. "The Bijuu were very angry and used every opportunity to escape, to destroy and kill those who hurt them. The Jinchuuriki held such terrifying beasts locked away and it made people fear them instead. No matter their age, their lineage, or which village they lived in, the Jinchuurikis were feared. Fear bred hate and these people ended up being shunned by society, glared as they walked through the streets, sometimes kicked out of the shops, refusing to serve them. Parents would tell their kids to stay away from the young Jinchuuriki, despite him being just an innocent child with the forced upon sin that was not his to carry."

Rei saw the moment Naruto drew the connection. He froze, face white and eyes blown wide, tears still clinging to his eyelashes. As he blinked, they dripped from them and slid down his cheeks. His lower lip quivered as words slowly made their way out of his mouth. "I-I have one…" he began, yet what followed was engulfed in the tremors.

Instead of offering a verbal reply, Rei pulled the boy off the bed and into his arms, tucking his head under his chin and rubbing soothing circles on his back. He could feel Naruto's fingers curling into his clothes, holding onto him with all his might.

After a few long minutes, Naruto mumbled, "Which one?" into his uncle's chest.

"The Kyuubi, Naruto," Rei replied, voice gentle and bursting with fondness as always. "You have the Kyuubi sealed inside you."

"The big brother Kurama?"

Despite the heaviness of the situation, the older blond's lips twitched up. "The big brother Kurama," he echoed in agreement.

"Can I let him go?"

"I'm afraid not. Not right now anyway."

Naruto leaned back to look at the man properly, but was in no hurry to leave his lap. "Why not?"

"You will die if you do, Naruto."

The boy fiddled with the zipper of Rei's jacket. Then he spoke again, his voice was barely audible, "Does he hate me too?"

"People had hurt him so much that right now Kurama hates everyone," Rei said before a fond, understanding smile warmed the lines of his face. "But I believe that you two can become friends in the future. When the time comes, I'll be there to help you in meeting him."

Naruto lit up like a sunrise at that statement, the look of wonder taking over the drained sadness.

So endearing to see.

And then all happiness was gone again. Naruto lowered his eyes and his grip on Rei's jacket tighten as if scared of him disappearing at any second, leaving him all alone yet again.

Rei cocked his head to the side, confused about the boy's sudden mood change.

"Does that mean that others will always hate me?"

Ah. So that was the problem. "No, kit," Rei stated, tone firm and solid. "I can assure you, you'll definitely find people that will love you and would never hate you. You already have me, Teuchi and Ayame, the Hokage, Kakashi, and we're just the first ones among many."

Naruto listened with rapt concentration, soaking every word like a dry sponge would soak water.

Rei heaved a heavy sigh as he prepared for the next critical reveal. "Citizens of Konoha still live in memories of the Kyuubi's attack from seven years ago," he explained and watched as the little blond's eyes widened. He clearly failed to link the Kyuubi from those scary stories to the big brother Kurama. "They lost their homes, friends, and family members that night. Their grief and terror blinds them. They are angry and scared, yet they can't let it go, and they focus all of their hate at you because you're carrying the beast that haunts their nightmares. It's wrong and it's unfair, but that's how human nature works."

"But… Uzushio will be different?" Naruto asked, hesitant and so hopeful, staring at his uncle like he was both his salvation and his worst fear.

"Uzushio will be different," Rei confirmed with sincerity. He would rather die than fail to provide a safe haven for his kid to grow up.

The boy beamed at him. "Kurama really hates us if he attacked the village," he mused after a moment.

"Kurama hates us, but that's not why the attack happened. Your mom—"

Naruto's whole being snapped into attention at the mention of his mother.

"—was the Jinchuuriki before you. During your birth, an enemy nin attacked your parents. He used the Genjutsu to enslave Kurama, ripped him out of the seal, and forced him to attack Konoha." Rei gently wiped off the stray tear that trickled down Naruto's cheek. "Your dad didn't have any other choice but seal the Kyuubi again. To save the village from destruction, to protect his family from being killed, and also to get Kurama away from the clutches of the enemy."

"My dad did—" Naruto breath hitched. "But why? Why me?"

"Because he had faith in you. He trusted his son to keep the Kyuubi from doing even more harm and at the same time to prevent the enemy from using him against his will."

"Oh…" Naruto stayed silent for a while before his childish features hardened with resolve. "Then… I'll do it, 'ttebayo!" he exclaimed, a conviction roaring through his veins. "I'll become strong! Strong enough to protect Kurama and make my parents proud!"

Rei broke into a bright grin and ruffled the young Jinchuuriki's hair. "I'm sure they already feel proud, I know I am."

As he tackled his uncle into an impromptu hug, Naruto laughed, happy and carefree and filled to the brim with feelings of being loved and cherished. "Can you tell me more about my mom and dad?" he asked, still reveling in the warmth of his precious person.

"Hmm, let's see…" Rei trailed off, thinking. "Have you ever seen the Yondaime's photo?"

Naruto unwrapped himself from the older blond and leaned back so that he could blink at him in confusion. "Yeah? During a history lesson in the Academy. Iruka-sensei showed us the previous Hokage's pictures and told us about them," he chatted, getting hyped by the memory. "The Yondaime was so cool, 'ttebayo! Strong and kind and all sorts of awesome!"

Rei chuckled at the enthusiasm that spilled out of the boy in heaps. "And can you describe what he looks like?"

"Of course!" Naruto flashed a proud grin. "He has yellow hair and blue eyes… He looks just like you, Rei!"

The blond continued to look at the boy, an easy smile barely touching the corners of his mouth. The identical sky blue eyes gawked at him, and he could see when the gears began to whirr under that sunshine yellow mop. He knew that the kid was able to click all the puzzle pieces together.

"You-You're the Yondaime, 'ttebayo?!"

Rei spluttered, caught completely off guard. "No! He was my brother!" he blurted out. "You look just like him too!"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before his mind registered the implication. "Brother? Look like him?" His mouth parted in shock as his head spun. "The Yondaime was my dad?" he whispered in awe.

"Yes, kiddo. His name was Minato Namikaze and your mom's name was Kushina Uzumaki. They loved you so much," the man said quietly. "Never doubt it."

Rei felt his own heart fracture at the distant memory of his parents. Two achingly familiar threads of chakra called out to him from the depths of Naruto's seal, so well hidden that no one would have noticed without knowing what to look for and lacking his extraordinary sensory abilities. So close, yet so far away.

One day, once Naruto and Kurama bonded with each other, he would let the boy see them. He could even make a seal that would allow their chakra imprints to stay for a bit longer. Shouldn't be too hard. The possibility to spend more time with each other would make Naruto and his parents so happy.

Being an outsider that didn't even belong to this world, Rei had no real place in this family's reunion. He would just sneak a glance at the two people that were his parents and at the same time weren't, and then let them have their moment.

"You look sad again," Naruto murmured, shifting slightly.

"Just thinking what exactly to tell you," Rei offered a white lie. "What about the story of how they've met each other?"

Naruto's eyes sparkled. "How?"

"Well, it all started…"

A couple of hours later, Rei and Naruto were still talking, the world beyond the small apartment momentarily forgotten. Their conversation flowed like a river, picking up momentum at some topics and slowing down in others.

Rei regained his focus when the memories from one of his shadow clones rushed in. The information about fulfilled tasks and other things from various places flowed in all the time, but unless it was of great importance, the original's mind sifted through the data without any outward signs of it happening at all. He was very good at multitasking.

This set of memories, however, was pretty crucial.

"I need to go," Rei said. He stood up, putting Naruto on his feet as he did.

The boy's expression fell. "Okay…"

"Well, I have to go, but he," there was a pop sound as the older blond jabbed the thumb over his shoulder, "will stay."

Another Rei gave a cheery salute. "Yo!" When Naruto beamed at him, he squatted down in front of him with a mischievous grin. "Hey, tell me, am I your favorite shadow clone?"

Naruto just stared, his eyes darting back to look at what he knew was his real uncle a moment later.

Rei scowled at his copy and reprimanded, "Don't confuse him unnecessarily."

That earned him an annoyed glower. "Just go wherever you need to go, Boss. Shoo!" He made a shooing gesture. "Let me spend some time with my favorite nephew!"

Rei rolled his eyes. "See you later, Naruto." Shooting a stink eye at his own clone, he added, "Just punch him if he gets unbearable."

"Hey!"

The young Jinchuuriki grew bubbly with mirth at their silly exchange.

Rei patted the boy's head and reached deep into his mind for the specific Hiraishin marker way back in Uzushio.

A split second later, he stood in the middle of the spacious room.

Reacting to a new presence, intricate patterns of multi-layered wards on every inch of the floor blazed menacing red before dimming back into a barely visible blue luster. Another giant matrix on the low ceiling glowed soft yellow, illuminating the surroundings in its ethereal light.

It was a huge circular chamber. Walls were covered in murals with such details and precision that it came to life before the eyes of the lucky spectator. Scenes of battles long forgotten and monsters long extinct, images of dancing happy people and festivals to honor the sea, depictions of children being taught the secrets of the Sealing Art—the highlights of the Uzushiogakure history carved out of the mountain's innermost parts.

If they stand behind you, protect them.
If they stand beside you, respect them.
If they stand against you, destroy them.

Rei gazed at those words on the wall, carefully chiseled in the center of the huge Uzumaki spiral.

The secret vault of the Uzumaki clan still humbled him every time he visited. A place out of time, a majestic sanctuary, a place to recharge and forget the things the world said had to be done even if only for a brief reprieve.

Books, scrolls, other artifacts, and some random notably cherished personal items lined the sides of the chamber, thrown haphazardly into piles without any order. The Uzumakis of the past had no time to arrange them in order with the danger of annihilation looming over their heads and only worried about preserving their knowledge and wisdom for future generations.

In the future from where Rei came from, the blond read and memorized every single line in these treasures. It took a significant amount of time to sort through all of it; he was yet to finish tidying these valuables at this time.

The man glanced around before moving towards the stone table in the eye of the chamber. He examined an article of clothing laid neatly on top, then brushed a hand across its surface in slow motion, feeling a faint prickle of chakra on his fingertips. The seals were invisible, weaved in the very fabric of the material, each fiber becoming a part of the Fuuinjutsu at the highest master's level.

Rei shook off his current haori and picked up the new one. It was almost identical, short-sleeved and of burnt orange color decorated by black flames on the bottom edge, except the newly added design on the back—meticulously embroidered Uzushio name in black with the red Uzumaki spiral above it.

A grin spread on the blond's face as he looked over his new haori. It only grew bigger when he put it on. A few quick handseals and the entirety of the seals came to life. Pure power sizzled in the air, raw and sharp and imposing, till gradually settling down to a stable thrum against Rei's presence.

Deep inside, Rei could feel it shifting as the pressure on its bindings increased, its rotten energy all but snarling as it was pushed back. He could still feel it though; crawling inside him, twisting and slithering, like larvae under his skin that he had no hope to get rid of.

Rei's eyes landed on the other item on the table—shiny new ninja headband, fixed on the black cloth. He swept a finger across the Uzu symbol displayed proudly on it and the grin returned to his face. The engraved patterns of yet another seal, another failsafe, were on the other side of the metal plate, fully concealed, but from the shadow clone's memories, the blond knew what a truly marvelous job Old Sho had done.

Tying the Uzushio headband around his head couldn't have felt more right for he was Rei Uzumaki now, the leader and the first official ninja of the newly rebuilt Uzushiogakure.