Nope

by animemiau9000

NOT MINE ILL DELETE WHEN I FINISH I JUST WANT THE MECHANIC VOICE

2. Kushina

If there was one thing Kurama had an abundance of, it was patience. Human lifetimes were nothing but the blink of an eye to him and his long existence.

Still, it was surprising to Kurama how quickly his host was growing and changing. The blurred outlines of the world that Kurama could see through his eyes were slowly sharpening, and his useless nubs that passed for hands could now grip and grab. Naruto was mobile, and vocal, and an absolute menace to everyone around him. With the limited (nonexistent, really) entertainment in his prison, watching Naruto terrorize his family and friends was the only enjoyment he got day in and day out.

He didn't know if he should have expected things to change after his confrontation with Kushina Uzumaki, but things stayed just as dull as ever. Of course, he completely ignored the threat from the boy's mother. She didn't return to the mindscape, and other than the occasional exasperated sigh or annoyed scowl when Kurama not-so-subtly lent Naruto the tiniest sliver of his chakra, she mostly ignored him.

Occasionally, Kurama caught Kakashi staring at Naruto with an unreadable expression, but he always melted when the boy would smile and reach for him. The fox was irritated that Kushina had so flippantly revealed the truth after he warned her against it, but he wasn't exactly surprised. His experience with his Uzumaki hosts had taught him that they weren't exactly known for their impulse control. And really, Kakashi wasn't the worst human he could think of to find out the truth. It might even work in their favor, since he spent the most time with Naruto, outside of his family.

With nothing else to do, Kurama kept watching, and waiting. Sometimes, particularly right after his confrontation with the stubborn Uzumaki woman, he was tempted to take control of Naruto's body just to get him away from that damned village. He wanted to crush their buildings that were still being re-made, and shred the stupid Tomato Head with his claws. He wanted to rain fire and death upon them, and then take Naruto somewhere far, far away. He'd gone as far as planning how he could control Naruto's body until he was old enough to learn how to take care of himself. The seal may be stronger than ever, but this time around his chakra wasn't split in half, and Naruto was still a weak, useless baby. Taking over probably wouldn't be that hard.

But then…what next? Would he, the great Kyuubi, raise a human child from within his mind? Would he destroy the home Naruto fought so hard to protect in their other life, kill the friends he had yet to make, and raise him in isolation?

Even if the idea had been practical, which it wasn't, he couldn't go through with it. Feeling the joy radiate through Naruto's body when his parents held him close reminded the fox why he chose this time in the first place. It was ridiculous how much satisfaction he got from his host's happiness.

Sage, he really had gone soft.

Every time he tried to think about why , all he could he hear was Naruto, his Naruto, with his stupid declaration of, "Because you're my friend, you dumb fox."

Friendship. Love. Stupid, useless, human emotions. It made him voluntarily imprison himself in a weak, defenseless, human infant. It made him allow himself to be leashed, and scolded like a pet . Would Kushina have dared speak to him that way if he'd still been sealed inside her?

…what was he thinking, of course she would. Her stubborn fearlessness was one of the few things he actually admired about her. Not that he would ever admit that, particularly after their confrontation. He found himself passing the time by fantasizing about all the ways he could kill his former host. He was very creative, after all, and had plenty of free time.

The only real excitement in his life occurred on the rare occasions Naruto managed to fall into the mindscape. It happened far earlier than before, since Kurama was keeping their connection as open as possible. Still, with the seal so fresh and the boy so young, it was only by chance that he ever appeared. And it was honestly a little annoying, dealing with his nonsensical jabbering and insistent fur-tugging, but Kurama allowed it anyway. He would even admit that he enjoyed their meetings, and had taken to whispering in the back of the boy's mind while he was awake too. When Naruto would smile and laugh at the sound of his voice, the people around him seemed to assume that he was just reacting to something in the environment. It didn't seem to cross any of their tiny minds that he might be smiling because of Kurama .

And it seemed that they likely never would. Kushina had refused his help, and as far as Kurama knew, she hadn't told Minato about the visions she'd been given. They hadn't even gotten either of the Sannin to return to the village. So basically, Naruto's parents were useless, but there was nothing Kurama could do about it. The boy needed human parents, and Kurama needed his host strong, and preferably happy. With Naruto too young to understand Kurama's words, and his squishy body too soft for combat, he wasn't any help either. Kurama did choose to share some memories that he thought Naruto would enjoy, but he wasn't foolish enough to think that they would carry any meaning for the boy right now.

One thing that remained difficult for Kurama to track was human ages. Their lifespans were just so short compared to his that he felt like he blinked and lost track of the years. However, he had enough awareness to know that the upcoming celebration plans aligned with Naruto's first birthday.

Naruto's first birthday, and the anniversary of his journey through time and space. For the humans of the village, it was the anniversary of their near destruction. Wisely, Naruto's parents understood that. There would be no grand celebration for the boy, no public acknowledgement of the milestone. When prompted, the boy's parents brushed it off as being too concerned with planning the festival for the village, but Kurama had witnessed them confiding in their close friends that they feared the young jinchuuriki might be targeted.

The caution was warranted. Kurama could feel that while Naruto was not outwardly hated by the majority like in his previous life, there were certainly individuals that had ill intent. No one dared shun him if he was with his parents, of course. Whether out of respect for the Hokage or fear of the Red Hot Habanero's temper, no one was foolish enough to be outright cruel when the boy's parents were around. Even being with Kakashi, his reputation well-known even now, was generally enough protection. His guardians (and the not-so-secret ANBU detail trailing them) were enough to discourage anything outright hostile, but people were far less subtle about pulling their children away or whispering "demon" if the boy was only with Kakashi, or if they thought Naruto's parents couldn't hear them. Still, it was a marked improvement from their previous life, and Naruto was oblivious anyway.

When the occasion arrived, Kurama rumbled a genuine, "Happy birthday, runt." The greeting reverberated in his host's mind, but of course went unanswered. Still, Kurama could feel the boy's emotions, so he knew that Naruto had indeed heard him and was happy to be acknowledged.

The actual day itself was quite anticlimactic. Naruto got to eat a big helping of something sugary and unhealthy for breakfast, which he obviously loved, and both the boy's parents and Kakashi fussed over him more than usual. But as they'd promised, there was no party. Naruto, and by extension Kurama, spent the day being passed between his various guardians as they scrambled around, frantically setting up for the village's celebration of the "defeat" of the great Kyuubi. Kurama scoffed at that. Naruto enjoyed the festivities, pointing excitedly at the various stalls and vendors that had set up. Most of the villagers that approached them to sing praises of their beloved Yondaime also offered a quick "happy birthday" to Naruto as well. Kurama could feel the ones that weren't genuine about it, that were trying to keep up appearances but looked upon the young jinchuuriki with disdain.

There were presents, of course. Toys, clothes, sweets, and other useless human things. How Naruto hadn't become ill from all the junk food he was eating, Kurama didn't know. And because of the potential threat against their son, gifts presented by any non-trusted friends were taken by Naruto's ANBU guard for careful assessment before he'd be allowed to have them. He whined unhappily every time a toy was kept out of his reach, despite the fact that he already had an armful of presents from his parents and Kakashi.

As the night went on, speeches were made, tears were shed, and a very tasteless puppet show (at least in Kurama's opinion) marked the celebration, so Kurama did his best to drown out the ruckus. Of course Naruto enjoyed all of the noise and flashing lights. He made grabby hands at every game stall they passed, which usually resulted in the vendor trying to hand the boy the biggest prize, because Sage forbid they make the Hokage's runt work for anything. Kurama would have to make sure he didn't end up acting like a spoiled little brat. Still, part of him was pleased with the attention his host was getting, because it had been so sorely missed in the boy's other life.

Naruto only fussed a little during the Hokage's grand speech about sacrifice and rebuilding and blah blah blah. Kurama may or may not have whispered nonsense to him to make him giggle at very inopportune times. He wanted to inconvenience the Hokage, but he only succeeded in making the crowd "aww" at the boy's antics. Of course, the kid was too charming for his own good.

The fireworks were Naruto's favorite. He stared up in wonder, pointing and squealing as the various colors lit up the sky. Kurama had a vague recollection of Naruto enjoying the fireworks in their other life, but he had to watch them from a distance because he was never welcome at the celebration. In this life, he was almost the centerpiece. People naturally flocked around him. Whether it was because of his status as the Hokage's son, the bizarre human fascination with the juveniles of their species, or just because he was Naruto, the boy couldn't stay out of the spotlight. And he loved it.

At least one of them was having a good time. Kurama was just trying to avoid leaking killing intent at the drunk shinobi who were playing some rendition of "pin the tails on the Nine-Tails".

The only enjoyable part of the night was when Naruto spotted the Kyuubi puppet during a show and pointed gleefully, yelling "Ku-ra! Ku-ra!" It made Kurama almost wish the boy's parents knew his name, so they would realize that their precious baby's first word was the name of the dreaded Kyuubi. But alas, they assumed it was nothing but gibberish and ruffled his hair with an affectionate chuckle, not realizing the important milestone that had just occurred.

Not surprisingly, Naruto eventually passed out, drooling on his father's shoulder. Kurama knew the celebration continued long after Naruto was taken home and put to bed, but he was glad to be gone. It was better that most of the world remained in the dark about Kurama's intentions and his journey through time, but he still grumbled irritably about being painted as the villain in every story. He hadn't even been the one to attack the village! If the damn Uchiha had just let him be, he'd still be sealed in Kushina. He may have wanted to smash the village to pieces, but it hadn't been his decision that day. He didn't care the least bit about what the humans thought of him, but Sage it was annoying how closeminded they could be.

Fortunately, the day came and went without any incidents, but Kurama still felt strangely on edge. Maybe it was because he was still used to how Naruto was treated in their other time, or just a sixth sense. Either way, he felt his hackles raising for no apparent reason, and his tails twitching on their own accord.

The day that it finally happened wasn't a particularly special day.

With nothing else to do as usual, Kurama was lazing around in his prison, watching Naruto take in the newly rebuilt Uchiha district as he was carried in his mother's arms. Kurama didn't remember what it looked like in their future, because Naruto never went there. He could guess, however, that this was an improvement, because there was more life and cheer on the faces of the occupants than Kurama ever recalled. To be fair, most of the Uchiha still looked like they'd been given a particularly rancid scrap of meat, but they always kind of looked like that to Kurama.

Kushina was walking with her Uchiha friend; Mikoto, was it? He seemed to recall that name on Kushina's lips frequently when she was his host. The pair received polite nods, and even the occasional wave as Mikoto showed her friend around. Kakashi was met with suspicious and hostile stares, but he didn't react. At least he'd finally started staying out in the open and not lurking in the shadows, as if everyone didn't know that he took his "guard duty" much too seriously. Kurama had seen the Hokage try to offer other tasks, but Kakashi was adamant about "protecting" Naruto. As if Kurama couldn't do that. Kurama heard Kushina say something about "trauma" or "fear of abandonment", but it was meaningless to him. It was a joke, anyway, pretending that he was just a guard, like he didn't live in their house and eat their food. He was just a glorified babysitter. Stupid humans.

Mikoto was prattling on about something that Kurama couldn't care less about. Some Uchiha history, or significance of a building. As if it didn't look like every other building in the area. As far as Kurama was concerned, the sooner they were away from all the Sharingan users, the better. Not that most of them would have the power to control him, but he still felt uneasy being around so many of them.

"Oh, I miss that little sweets shop that used to be around the corner from your place," Kushina sighed longingly.

Kurama rolled his eyes. Like mother like son, apparently. Food was always on the forefront of both of their minds.

Mikoto hummed thoughtfully. "I know it's not the same, but the couple that owned that place did open a new shop. They even have ice cream now!"

That, of course, prompted a trip to said shop, where Naruto made a mess of himself trying to grab a scoop of ice cream with his bare hands. It went about as well as expected, and ended with a very scrunched up, confused Naruto experiencing what Kurama learned was "brain freeze". He'd have to remember that terminology. He never knew that a frozen desert, of all things, had such an incredible power. It's applications for combat should be considered.

Following their brief stop, they returned to the house of the clan head. Mikoto called out a chipper, "I'm home!" as they entered, and Kurama could hear a quiet response from another room.

Naruto was deposited onto the floor with the two Uchiha brats. He immediately toddled over to the younger one, grabbing at his friend's arms and chattering like he was telling the most important story in the world. The Uchiha brat blinked slowly in response.

Kurama could hear Kushina telling Kakashi that she and Mikoto had some business to attend to, leaving him in charge of the group of kids. So apparently it wasn't just a social visit. Of course, the younger children had no idea, and were completely in their own world.

The older Uchiha brat though, the clan killer, Kurama didn't really know what to do with. In this time he seemed harmless enough, and had some level of fondness for Naruto. Despite the younger age, he was significantly less awkward with the young ones than Kakashi, who always managed to make a mess of things when he was left in charge alone.

Case in point. "Ah, Itachi. How is…training?" Kakashi clearly had no idea what to say to the kid.

The younger boy stared blankly at Kakashi, just as expressionless as Kurama remembered. "It is going well, thank you for asking."

"Right. Good." Kakashi mumbled awkwardly.

Kurama snorted in amusement. For a supposed genius, he sure could be clueless. The younger ones, at least, seemed to be a good buffer. Kakashi would coo softly at both of them and engage in their menial little games. Even the clan killer–Kurama should probably stop calling him that–seemed to soften when the young ones badgered him for attention.

Of course, Naruto was going to charm another Uchiha, which meant Kurama would have to give a shit about him too. Oh well. At least this one would be a strong ally, once he was older. That was assuming Kurama had successfully stopped the events that would lead to the clan's downfall. Only time would tell.

Kakashi stared out the window, his arms crossed lazily over his chest as he leaned against the wall. "It's such a nice day. Is there a park nearby?" He glanced back at the group of kids. "Want to help me wrangle these two? Seems like a shame to be inside on a day like this."

"If it is alright with my mother and Naruto's mother," Itachi responded cooly.

Kakashi waved him off. "Of course. Pretty sure both of them would skin me alive if I took their kids somewhere without asking first." He pushed off the wall and disappeared for a few minutes. When he came back, Naruto squealed happily, as if he'd been gone for hours instead of mere minutes. "Alright, let's go. Both of them agreed that it's too nice to be inside. And you were volunteered to help me."

Itachi didn't seem upset by the development. He nodded in understanding and helped usher both of the younger ones toward the door. Kakashi picked them up and carried one in each arm, with Itachi walking silently at his side. Both of the young ones were grabbing at Kakashi's hair and mask, but his hands were too full to stop them. He kept jerking his head around to stay out of their reach, looking completely ridiculous and a little bit insane. Both of the young ones giggled at the display, and Kurama didn't miss the very brief, but amused smile from Itachi.

"There is a park in the compound," Itachi explained, "but the playground is not quite finished. The rest of the land is open, though. I've taken Sasuke there a few times." He led Kakashi toward the aforementioned area.

Sure enough, there was an open field, surrounded by thick woods. There was a bit of a chill in the air, Kurama thought, but his chakra would keep Naruto plenty warm. Plus, they were right under the direct heat of the sun.

As Itachi said, the playground didn't seem to be finished. It was fenced off and the structures were only partially completed. Still, neither of the young ones seemed upset when they were placed in a large tuft of particularly long grass. At least they were easy to entertain at this age. Immediately, both boys started plucking the blades of grass around them. Kurama grumbled at Naruto not to eat them, but he didn't understand. Fortunately, Kakashi managed to keep the boy from eating dirt. Meanwhile, the younger Uchiha brat had grabbed his brother's hand and toddled over to an apparently very important clump of weeds. He was pointing and babbling half-coherent sentences. Itachi smiled and nodded along like he knew what the gibberish meant.

Kakashi laughed lightly, and even Kurama felt himself huff with amusement. Still, the uneasiness hadn't left him. He felt hypervigilant. There was one other pair of older children at the park, but they had been summoned by an older relative shortly after their group arrived. That left the park empty, besides the four humans that Kurama wished he didn't have to keep such a close eye on. Things were honestly easier when he wanted to kill everyone.

The young ones chased each other around, occasionally convincing Kakashi or Itachi to join in. Kurama was half tempted to plug his ears to ignore the loud, happy shrieks from his host, but he resisted. At least the kid was having a good time, even though Kurama didn't really understand the point of many of his activities. Chase made sense, because it built speed and stamina, but some of their games just seemed pointless. He assumed humans were like fox kits, that needed to wrestle and play to practice future hunting and fighting skills, but they seemed to go about it in the least efficient way possible. What making towers out of mud had to do with honing battle skills, Kurama had no idea.

It was very sudden when Kurama felt the shift.

Kurama noticed the wave of malintent before any of the humans could react. And then he felt the familiar chakra of the ever present guard around Naruto blinking out of existence. Kakashi tensed, his instincts seeming to tell him that something was wrong, but he wasn't a sensor so he couldn't tell anymore information. He subtly shifted closer to the younger boys, taking up a more defensive position. The older Uchiha looked up at Kakashi quizzically, his brows furrowing as he seemed to be reading the teen's body language. Prodigy or not, his skills at this time were a far cry from his formidable self in Kurama's time. He might be gifted, but he was still a child, and Kurama didn't know how useful he'd be in a fight.

Kurama wanted to warn Kakashi, but there was nothing he could do. It wasn't worth testing the seal now and potentially exhausting their connection before the fight even started. He needed to save both his and Naruto's strength in case his protection or his healing was needed. He tried grumbling a warning to Naruto in his mind, but of course the boy couldn't understand. Naruto did seem to shiver involuntarily, his head swiveling around to try to make sense of what he was feeling.

All Kurama could do was extend his own senses as far beyond Naruto's as they could go. To be fair, it wasn't much in their current state. The seal was too tight, and he was cursing himself for not bothering to test it sooner. In the previous timeline, Kurama hadn't even awoken until Naruto was much older, and starting to understand hatred. The seal had a lot more time to decay.

The world around them seemed to be holding its breath, a far cry from the previously light atmosphere. There was the sudden flutter of wings as all of the birds in the area seemed to take off at once and the leisurely birdsong suddenly silenced.

Lowly, Kakashi murmured, "Itachi. When the fighting starts, take the boys and run."

Wisely, the older Uchiha brat didn't verbally respond, but he did incline his head to indicate he'd heard. He continued to engage with the younger children, but Kurama could tell his attention was on their surroundings.

The two young ones, of course, were clueless. They both seemed briefly curious about what had caught the attention of their guardians, but they quickly lost interest and returned to pulling at the blades of grass around them. Their usual babble filled the otherwise eerie silence.

All at once, chaos erupted around them. Kakashi intercepted some kind of projectile and uncovered his borrowed eye. Lightning crackled at his fingertips as he engaged the first pair of attackers. More surrounded him, trying to overwhelm him with numbers. At the same time, the older Uchiha did as he was instructed and grabbed the two younger children. It was awkward and clearly laborious for him, given that he was still quite small himself, but he managed to get enough of a hold on both of them to pull them away from the fight.

A pair of the attackers split off, heading straight for the trio. They clearly didn't expect much resistance from the children, and foolishly seemed to be letting their guard down ever so slightly.

"Give us the jinchuuriki, brat. There's no need for you or the other kid to die today," one of them threatened.

Itachi froze, like he was afraid, but Kurama was close enough to sense that it was a farce. The two idiots seemed to relax even further, assuming they'd have no resistance from a child. Unfortunately for them, the lapse in judgment gave Itachi enough of an opening to slip one of his clones behind the attackers, stabbing him in the neck before he knew what hit him. One down. The other enemy finally seemed to realize the mistake they'd made and quickly disposed of the clone, before rounding back on Itachi with intent to kill.

The kid had no choice but to engage the attacker, and was holding his own well enough. Kurama could tell without a doubt that if he'd been any other brat, he wouldn't have stood a chance. Still, he was clearly outmatched, and the element of surprise was gone. Whoever these attackers were, they were obviously skilled, and the older Uchiha had very few of his future skills that made him such a dangerous opponent in Kurama's time.

Kakashi was struggling in his own fight. There were bodies around him that indicated he was a formidable opponent, but Kurama could see that he was bloodied and starting to slow. He'd managed to summon one of his ninken, probably to get help, but Kurama didn't know if it would make it in time. One of the attackers had immediately set off after the ninken, and it was clear they were starting to get the upper hand in the fight.

What happened to the damn ANBU guard?! Stupid, useless creatures! What was the point of having them around if they were just going to be killed off the second combat started? Had they even made a dent in the enemy's defenses!?

Kurama could feel that Naruto was starting to panic. In fact, both of the young ones were whimpering with distress. They didn't know what was wrong, but they clearly didn't like what was happening.

With both Kakashi and Itachi preoccupied, one of the attackers slipped away from their frontal assault and took off toward the now undefended children. Kurama saw Itachi valiantly try to throw off his much more experienced attacker, and he almost managed it, before the older shinobi caught him by the back of the neck and slammed him so hard onto the ground that Kurama heard the unmistakable sound of bones cracking. The boy didn't get up again, but Kurama could sense that he was still alive.

Now unhindered, the attacker limped over toward his companion, who was towering over the two kids. Kurama could see every detail through Naruto's eyes, because the boy was staring up at the unknown shinobi with obvious fear.

"Fucking kid, what the hell?" The injured one grimaced. "Stupid brat got the jump on me," he grumbled to his companion. "Now grab the jinchuuriki so we can get the hell out of this shithole village."

The other one snorted in amusement at his companion's expense, but he did as he was told. He reached down and roughly heaved Naruto over his shoulder. "You're just bitter because you let a stupid kid beat you up."

Both of the kidnappers took off as soon as they had Naruto. Kurama could hear Kakashi calling out for Naruto, before he was cut off with a strangled yell and a gurgling sound. Naruto was screaming and thrashing on the kidnapper's shoulder, and received a rough smack in response.

"Agh, don't tell me we have to listen to the stupid brat cry the whole way!" the one carrying Naruto complained.

"Just break a few fingers or something until it stops screaming," the other one replied. "Kids this age are supposed to be almost as smart as a dog, right? It will figure it out quickly enough."

Within his prison, Kurama was raging. He felt more like an animal than he ever had, gnawing at the bars of the cage and snarling violently. He felt feral, and full of bloodlust. He would kill them! He would rip them apart and decorate the earth with their entrails! How dare they talk about hurting his jinchuuriki, comparing him to a dog!

Understandably, his young host was completely panicked. Despite the rough handling from his kidnappers, he continued to wail pathetically. The kidnappers didn't appreciate that at all. With Naruto's senses, Kurama could taste the blood in the boy's mouth after one of the kidnappers hit him particularly hard. Kurama almost broke his teeth trying to pry the bars of his prison apart. He would not let anything happen to his host, his friend. Kurama had promised that he would not fail the boy again.

The fear and desperation from his host seeped into the seal. Naruto was really too young to understand anger and hatred, which usually served to weaken the seal for Kurama's previous hosts. But the strong emotions, along with Kurama's sheer willpower, would hopefully be enough. Kurama could feel the seal resisting his chakra, and his influence. He swore in every language he knew, violently thrashing against the walls of his prison.

And finally, he felt a snap.

Though it was nothing compared to the power they shared in their previous life, it should still be enough to save them. Kurama let his corrosive chakra surround Naruto, causing the kidnapper holding him to shriek in pain and drop him as he was burned. He would have to be careful, with Naruto's body still so small and weak, but he should be able to make quick work of these fools. One tail only, so he didn't overwhelm his host. Truthfully, he didn't know if more than one tail was possible now anyway, and he wasn't willing to endanger Naruto to find out.

Naruto's consciousness appeared in the mindscape, confused and shaking. He had tears dripping down his cheeks from pain and fear. It wasn't the first time Naruto had visited him here, but it was the first time he'd done so awake.

"It's alright," Kurama cooed as softly as he could. It was a challenge for a being as large and powerful as him. "I will protect you," he promised.

Of course, the boy didn't understand. He was still too young. But he recognized Kurama as safe, and toddled over to him, slipping in between the bars. Kurama let the boy curl up at his side, clutching at his fur and dribbling snot and tears everywhere. He curled his tails around the boy protectively as his chakra seeped through the seal, feeling his own consciousness taking control of his host's body.

Kurama felt Naruto's useless nails sharpen into claws, and his teeth became elongated. He wasted no time launching himself at the kidnapper that had manhandled his young host, slicing through him with a combination of claw and chakra. The man was dead before he even hit the ground. The other kidnapper let out a startled yell and made a laughable attempt to defend himself. Kurama snarled, and even though it sounded a tad pathetic in his host's squeaky voice, it still made the would-be kidnapper shake with fear. There was a bit of a back and forth as Kurama slashed out at the attacker with his chakra claws, not quite used to the limited range of this small body. He had to dodge a few times, and it was awkward to maneuver with Naruto's stubby, still developing limbs. Fortunately, his chakra cloak was enough to give him the edge he needed, particularly since Itachi had already wounded him. Kurama managed to latch onto him and rip his throat open with Naruto's pointed teeth.

In his host's body, Kurama crouched on all fours, snarling and bristling. Even if Kakashi's ninken hadn't made it for help, the unmistakable feeling of his chakra would have every shinobi in the area aware of their presence now. Their rescue party should be on the way.

He thought about letting go and waiting, but his mind wandered back to the scene they'd left behind. Kakashi was probably dying, if he wasn't dead yet, which would mean the two Uchiha brats were undefended. He didn't particularly care…

…but Naruto did. Even if now he was too young for their deaths to mean anything, he knew how important Kakashi and the younger Uchiha brat would become to his host. Kurama couldn't allow harm to come to Naruto's precious people. Unfortunately, that description could probably fit virtually anyone the boy interacted with, the damn extrovert. But still, Kurama knew these two were especially precious to Naruto.

With a long suffering sigh, Kurama raced back to the clearing on all fours, bursting through the treeline. A quick glance to the side confirmed that the Uchiha brats were still alive. The younger one had shuffled over to his unconscious sibling and was looking down at him with wide, confused eyes. Kurama could feel that the older boy was breathing evenly, though definitely injured.

He turned back toward where he knew Kakashi had been fighting, and was met with a chorus of surprised gasps and stares. Kurama knew he must be a strange sight in Naruto's tiny body, but the blazing aura of his chakra was apparently still intimidating enough. Kakashi was on the ground, bleeding, but conscious. Only a couple of the enemy shinobi remained, standing around Kakashi and looking uncertain in the face of Kurama's wrath.

Kurama growled, and even though it sounded less intimidating with his host's small frame, it still made the enemy shinobi flinch. They seemed to be weighing if it was worth trying to finish their mission, or if they should just turn tail and run. They opted for the latter. Cowards.

With a snarl, Kurama took off after the fleeing enemies. One, he caught with his chakra claws, dragging them to the ground and slicing straight through their body in an instant. The remaining two whirled on him and attacked, trying to catch him off guard.

Kurama had to be careful, fighting in this underdeveloped body. Naruto wouldn't be able to take a lot of damage, even with Kurama's healing abilities. That made it a little more difficult to take out the remaining two, who fought with obvious fear and fury in their eyes, but he wasn't called the strongest of the bijuu for nothing. With more effort than he cared to exert for such a menial task, the last two fell like the rest of their squad of would-be kidnappers. With a huff, Kurama ripped his claws out of the lifeless body of the last attacker.

Naruto's body was covered in blood, and he sported a few injuries that Kurama hadn't been able to avoid. He was letting his chakra already heal his young host, but he knew there would be repercussions for borrowing his host's body. The boy wasn't used to using Kurama's chakra, nor was he used to exerting his body like this. Naruto was already terrified and stressed from the ordeal, and would probably pass out the moment Kurama's influence faded. In the mindscape his cries had faded to the occasional sleepy hiccup as he pressed himself into the fox's fur.

By now, everyone would have felt his chakra. Even humans without any chakra sensing ability wouldn't have been able to miss it. The boy's parents would be here any moment, undoubtedly. Naruto would be safe. Still, he didn't want to relinquish control until he knew for sure, so he remained crouched on all fours, scanning the landscape with his slitted eyes.

"Naruto?"

Kakashi's voice, weak but steady, caught Kurama's attention. Kurama turned his head toward the teen with a bored expression. "He's fine."

It seemed like Kakashi was trying to sit up, but he was too weak. He craned his neck to get a better look at Naruto, at Kurama. His borrowed Sharingan was still visible, and his other eye was drooping with exhaustion. Briefly, Kurama thought about healing him and the older Uchiha brat, but he really didn't have enough chakra to spare, and he didn't care enough anyway. Besides, he was barely able to safely keep control of Naruto's body, and he didn't want to push it.

"You're the Kyuubi," Kakashi rasped.

Kurama tilted his head. "Yes."

There was a beat of silence, and obvious uncertainty rolling off of Kakashi. "You…you came back here to…save me?"

Kurama didn't bother responding beyond a quiet scoff. Anytime he bothered to do anything that wasn't related to death or destruction, the humans acted like he'd traveled through time all over again. Had he not proven his dedication to his host, to his friend? Apparently their tiny human brains still couldn't comprehend it. Useless creatures.

Kakashi was still staring, obviously struggling to stay conscious. Kurama looked past his collapsed form as he sensed very familiar chakra signatures approaching. "The runt's parents are here," he announced, before withdrawing his chakra from Naruto.

As expected, the boy immediately collapsed as soon as Kurama was no longer in control. He shuddered with exhaustion, and fell forward. Kurama knew he was fine, because Naruto was in the mindscape, twisting tendrils of Kurama's fur in his fingers and babbling with wonder.

The outside world, however, was lost to Kurama. As soon as Naruto lost consciousness, Kurama could no longer see through his eyes. It would be up to the boy's parents to protect him now. Hopefully they would do a better job than they had today.

When Kakashi's ninken appeared in a flurry of fur and mud, Kushina was reminded of the phrase, "mother's intuition". She was just supposed to know things, because she was a mother now. She was supposed to know when her kid was misbehaving, or how to answer his questions before he even knew to ask them. And surely she was supposed to know when her son was in danger. And yet, she felt utterly clueless until she felt the familiar burn of the Kyuubi's chakra both in the air and in her veins. The tendril that seemed to be permanently residing in her flickered to life, making all of the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

Both her and Mikoto were barely a step behind the ninken, pressing forward with every bit of energy in their bodies. It was both of their families that were in danger, and neither one of them were ones to sit back and let someone else handle a tough situation. The ninken had given them as much information as he could, which honestly wasn't much, but at least they were given some warning on what to expect.

Unknown attackers, quite skilled, and clearly after Konoha's jinchuuriki. After her son.

With gritted teeth, Kushina kept pushing forward. The park wasn't far, but it felt like it was taking forever to get there, like the distance just kept increasing with every step forward. She knew that was just her nerves playing tricks on her, but it really felt like they would never make it in time.

She was kicking herself for letting Naruto go anywhere without her. Even with Kakashi, even with the ANBU that should have kept him safe, she shouldn't have let him go. She should be there protecting him. It had seemed like such a harmless request for Kakashi to take Naruto and Mikoto's boys just a few blocks away. He was smart, and skilled, and there should have been an entire guard of elite shinobi backing him up. Clearly that wasn't enough.

The Kyuubi's guttural snarl could be heard cutting through the air, even before the scene appeared in front of them. Kushina didn't know what to expect from the attackers, or from the Kyuubi. They'd sealed the Kyuubi, with its full strength, in their infant son. Even with the seal Minato had put on him, that might not be enough if the Kyuubi decided it wanted to take over. And the strain that it would put the poor boy's body through could kill him. It had been hard enough to deal with it when she'd been the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki for years, and a trained shinobi at that. There was no way a baby stood a chance against the demon fox's might.

Kushina grit her teeth as they passed the remains of the ANBU guard that was supposed to be protecting her son. She didn't have time to stop and check if any of them were still alive, though she highly doubted it based on how most of their bodies were twisted at unnatural angles, or soaking in pools of blood.

When they pushed into the clearing, Kushina was just in time to see her son collapse, but not in time to catch him. Fortunately, her husband didn't earn his nickname for nothing. Minato had apparently arrived just before her, and managed to catch their son in his arms right before his head hit the ground. Thanks to his legendary speed, he arrived well before any of his own guard or reinforcements.

Mikoto, of course, made a beeline for her own children. Kushina could see Itachi sprawled out on the ground, and she couldn't tell if he was breathing from where she was. Mikoto reached them quickly, and the sigh of relief from her friend had Kushina suspecting that both of the boys were alright.

Minato was wearing a similar expression of relief as Kushina slid to a stop beside him and Naruto. She could see her husband checking Naruto's pulse with two fingers. He was breathing steadily, but he looked so small and frail. He was covered in blood, and sporting a few bruises and already healing wounds. She was no medic nin, but it seemed like he was at least relatively ok.

Kakashi was the only one unaccounted for, and he quickly made himself known with a pained groan. As much as Kushina didn't want to leave Naruto's side, he was safe with his father, and Kakashi still needed to be checked on. Minato offered a quick nod, and she took it as acknowledgement of her own thoughts. She kissed both of them quickly, before rushing over to Kakashi and kneeling at his side.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Kushina didn't move him, unsure of what kind of injuries he had.

"We were surrounded," Kakashi grunted painfully, trying pitifully to sit up. "They were after Naruto. They went right for him." He hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry. I was too weak–"

As firmly as she could without actually hurting the already injured teen, Kushina elbowed Kakashi to shut him up. "Don't finish that sentence. I saw the entire ANBU squad dead in the woods, so they were obviously very strong and prepared for a fight. You're just one person, Kakashi."

"Still. I'm the one who wanted to bring him out here–"

"I don't want to hear it. I just want to know if you're alright," Kushina pressed.

Kakashi had managed to sit up, but he was very unbalanced. His Sharingan was still uncovered, and his other eye was puffy and bruised. He had numerous gashes on his face and body, and his leg was obviously broken, with bone visible beneath shredded muscle. But he was alive.

"I'll be fine. Are the kids…?" He tried to glance past Kushina to see what was going on, but even that motion was too much of a strain.

"They're all alive. I can't tell too much else, but I think they're all ok."

Kakashi slumped forward with relief, and then kept falling. Kushina had to catch him to keep him upright. His non-Sharingan eye seemed to be glazing over, and his head fell limply against her shoulder. He was obviously losing consciousness.

Before he passed out, he murmured, "...the Kyuubi saved me."

Kushina didn't have time to respond. Kakashi was already out cold, and the rest of their backup had arrived. Medic nin, trackers, and the Hokage's elite guard. Despite the seriousness of the situation, they all looked incredibly exasperated with their leader's insistence on charging ahead alone. It was understandable, considering that it could have easily been a trap, but there was no way in hell anyone would convince Minato to sit back and wait when his family was in danger.

The medic nin sprang into action. They were assessing all four of the kids (because dammit Kakashi was really just a kid too), and making sure it was safe to move them. Out of all of them Sasuke was the only one left conscious, and seemed unharmed. He was allowed to stay with his mother, though the attending medics insisted on having him brought for a checkup as well. The other three weren't quite so lucky. Kushina watched as her son's tiny, unresponsive form was gently scooped up and rushed away by one of the medics. He looked so small. Kakashi and Itachi had to be carried as well, and Sasuke protested loudly when he saw his brother being taken away.

Before they left, the medic nin assured them that all four appeared stable. Then as soon as the medic nin were off the field, Minato shifted from a concerned father to a stern leader. He got to work getting the bodies of the unknown attackers collected in storage scrolls so they could be sent for autopsies, and he sent groups to fan out and search the area for stragglers or clues. There were a few Inuzuka and their ninken sniffing around, leading other shinobi along invisible scent trails.

Kushina didn't know what to do. She felt frozen in place, staring at the spot where her son had been laying so eerily motionless. The field was trampled, and covered in blood. A few vultures circled overhead at the sight of so many corpses.

She was so out of it, the hand on her shoulder made her jump far more than it should have for someone of her skillset. Minato looked at her softly, but he had an obvious crease in his brows from worry.

"I've got this. You should follow them to the hospital with Mikoto," he reasoned.

Numbly, Kushina nodded in agreement. One of them should be there to monitor Naruto and Kakashi's progress. And really, she wanted to be by her son's side immediately. Still, it was hard to get her feet to move.

"Kushina?"

She couldn't look up at her husband's face without breaking down, so she settled for wrapping him in a tight hug. "We could have lost him. We could have lost both of them."

"I know." Minato returned the embrace, but they didn't have time to dwell. He had duties as the Hokage to attend to, not just as a father. It wasn't just his son that was targeted, it was the village's jinchuuriki. He couldn't afford to lose his head.

As Kushina stepped back, an ANBU operative in a bear mask appeared beside them with a respectful bow of their head. "We found two others in the forest. They were…shredded."

Kushina inhaled sharply. That had to have been the Kyuubi. She'd felt its chakra, and then she saw Naruto collapse. It had to have used his body to fight off the attackers. Kushina remembered the first time that had happened to her. Well, she didn't remember all of it. She remembered waking up sore and exhausted, with someone else's blood under her fingernails. She also remembered getting violently ill when she saw the aftermath of what the Kyuubi had done while in control of her body. At least Naruto was too young to be mentally affected by all the carnage, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be in pain or nearly dead from exhaustion.

"How could this have happened?" she muttered in disbelief.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Minato's face was hard, in a way that was very unlike him. "They should never have been able to get this close, especially a group this size." His face softened as he turned back toward her. "Seriously, I got this. Someone should be with Naruto and Kakashi when they wake up."

Part of her wanted to ask if he was sure, if he wanted her to stay, but she didn't. She wanted to be with Naruto. To hold him and feel his heart still beating, and to know that he was ok. So she nodded in agreement, and they parted with none of their usual fanfare. The occasion was too sober for their usual sweet kisses or lingering touches. Kushina left with Mikoto so her husband could go back to being Hokage.

They moved briskly, not wanting to waste any time getting to their loved ones, and fortunately made it to the hospital without incident. Mikoto hugged her tightly when they arrived, before splitting off to meet with Fugaku and a few other clan members that Kushina vaguely recognized. They promised to keep each other updated.

A nurse led her to her son's room, and Kushina's heart rate picked up. She'd been assured that he was stable, but still unconscious. The thought of seeing him looking so tiny and broken again was too painful. The image of her son collapsed in his father's arms, so unnaturally still and quiet, would never leave her. It would be burned into her mind forever.

When the nurse opened the door, she scowled. "You're supposed to be resting. In your own room. Your treatments aren't done."

Kushina couldn't help but snort at the scene in front of her. Apparently, Kakashi had regained consciousness, and immediately made a beeline for Naruto, if the nurse's irritated grumbling was anything to go by. He was bandaged up, but had clearly left before his wounds were done being tended to. He sat on the edge of the hospital bed, elbows on his knees and head resting in his palms.

"I had to make sure he was ok. I had to make sure I didn't get him killed–"

"Stop that," Kushina scolded. "I already told you this wasn't your fault. No one blames you for anything." She hurried over to the bedside so she could see Naruto. A heavy weight left her as her eyes took in his obviously unconscious, but breathing, form. Kushina leaned forward to kiss her son's forehead. It looked like he'd mostly already been tended to, with a handful of bandages and an IV in his tiny arm. She swore they left just a minute or so after the medic nin, but apparently it had been longer. It was funny how time didn't seem to pass normally when there was a loved one to worry about.

Kakashi refused to look at her, even though they were now side by side. "I'm the one that took them out there. I put them all in danger."

"And I gave you permission to go," she reminded him. "We couldn't have known what would happen."

"I shouldn't have–"

"You took them to the park, Kakashi, not to a warzone," Kushina retorted. She glanced over at the nurse. "Would you excuse us, please?"

The nurse sighed, and threw up her arms in exasperation. She grumbled something about "difficult patients", but left promptly. Kushina wasted no time putting up a few silencing seals before continuing. The conversation would undoubtedly end up on subjects that she didn't want others to overhear.

"And really," Kushina continued when she felt that they had adequate privacy, "you did everything you could. Whoever they are, they were obviously very skilled, being able to take out so many ANBU without alerting anyone." Kushina patted his arm comfortingly. Her other hand was occupied holding Naruto's tiny, limp hand. His hand was warm.

Kakashi looked up, but didn't respond to her comment. From how close they were, Kushina could really see the damage the teen had taken. It was probably just pure stubbornness that was keeping him conscious right now. He looked like he was ready to fall over at any second.

"Are Itachi and Sasuke ok?" He asked quietly.

"As far as I know," she responded. "I came straight to Naruto so I haven't heard any new updates." Realistically things probably hadn't changed in such a short amount of time, but Kushina didn't want to worry Kakashi any happened?"

With a heavy sigh, Kakashi told her every detail about the attack. Truthfully, there wasn't much to say, since he was too busy fighting off the attackers to gather intel. Kushina couldn't help but wince when Kakashi told her how Itachi had fought off at least one of the attackers that went for the younger kids. She felt a stab of guilt, remembering that she'd been nothing but suspicious toward the boy thanks to the Kyuubi's weird visions about him. He very well may have saved Naruto's life, and she'd only been worried about some probably-fake futuristic version of the kid who by all accounts, probably wouldn't even exist now.

Kakashi paused when he got to the part of his story where Naruto was taken. It made a combination of rage and terror twist in side of her, thinking about her precious boy so close to being taken away. She'd had her fair share of kidnapping scares as the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki, so she knew how terrifying the outcome could be. Whatever they'd had planned for Naruto, it wouldn't have been pleasant. And judging by the cuts and bruises on his body, already healing thanks to the Kyuubi, they hadn't exactly been gentle with him. If they weren't already dead, she'd wring their necks for hurting her son.

"I don't know exactly what happened," Kakashi admitted. "I tried to go after him but–" he shook his head. "They overwhelmed me. And then the Kyuubi's presence was just there ." He shuddered. "I'd almost forgotten what that chakra felt like."

Kushina nodded in understanding. "Apparently there were two bodies found in the woods, completely shredded. I'm assuming the Kyuubi was responsible for that."

Another pause as Kakashi considered what to say next. "I thought Naruto was gone, that they'd gotten away with him. And then…" he glanced at her, judging her reaction, "and then Naruto–or the Kyuubi, I guess–was chasing them away from me. It saved me."

"So you said…" she replied dryly. Truthfully, Kushina didn't know what to say or what to think about the Kyuubi's daring rescue. It made sense that it would have saved Naruto, but why Kakashi? There was something at the back of her mind, an answer that she didn't want to admit. She recalled her fight with the Kyuubi, when it told her that it purposefully chose to return to this time so Naruto could be raised by his parents. And then she recalled how the fox had saved her life the night Naruto was born.

She shoved those thoughts down. She couldn't think too much about the Kyuubi or its motivations, or she'd go mad.

"I guess if I didn't believe you before, about the whole time travel thing, I'd have to now," Kakashi sighed.

"Yeah…"

Silence fell over them. Kushina stared at Naruto's unconscious form, trying to pretend that he was just asleep. Except, he had flecks of dried blood in his hair, and a darkening bruise on his cheek. And usually when he slept, he snorted or mumbled. Now, he was unusually still, and quiet. Just laying on his back with too many tubes and wires attached to him. The beeping of his heart monitor was both soothing and maddening at the same time.

Eventually she gave up her spot on the edge of the bed in favor of dragging a chair over. She sat down and let her arms and chin rest on the bed, so her face was next to her son's. She counted every breath, and watched for any sign of discomfort on his face.

Kakashi was herded out of the room after a while, much more willing to leave Naruto now that Kushina was here to keep an eye on him. With his injured leg he limped awkwardly, supported by the same nurse that had scolded him earlier. He still looked incredibly forlorn, and guilty. She insisted again that she didn't blame him, and that really he was the only one of Naruto's guards that actually managed to fight the attackers. He didn't seem encouraged, only offering one of his fake, plastered on smiles that made Kushina want to smack him upside the head for lying to her. She probably would have done so, if he wasn't already injured.

She wished Minato was here, but she also wanted him out searching for answers. Who were the attackers? Another village, willing to risk the tentative peace that had been established for the chance at getting ahold of the Kyuubi? Or was it a rogue organization? Hadn't the Kyuubi hinted at one in the future? Worst of all, could it be an inside job? Kushina didn't want to even consider that, but she wasn't naive enough to assume it was impossible.

Kushina closed her eyes, trying to focus on Naruto's even breathing. His doctor stopped in and said he would be ok, and that he was mostly just exhausted. But what if they were missing something? It wasn't like there were a lot of medics that had experience with jinchuuriki, and Naruto was an unusually young jinchuuriki at that. Once again, she wondered if sealing the demon fox in her son had been the right choice. She'd seemed so sure at the time, with the Kyuubi's promises and ominous prophecy, but had it been a mistake? What if his body couldn't recover from the strain of the Kyuubi's chakra? She wanted answers, and she wanted assurances that her baby would be ok.

When Kushina opened her eyes to assess her son's status, she was surprised to find herself no longer at his bedside, but instead in the cold, damp prison that housed the Kyuubi. Had she nodded off? She didn't even remember feeling tired. And why did she end up here? Ever since her fight with the Kyuubi, she hadn't even felt the slightest desire to return to the mindscape, nor had it seemed like it would be easy to get there. There had been no hint of the fox or his visions in Kushina's mind since their argument.

She blinked a few times to confirm that she was really here, then turned her gaze toward where she knew the Kyuubi would be. Had it brought her here? She expected it to be alert, probably ready to start another fight, but it wasn't. Instead, it was lying comfortably in its cage, one hip turned to the side. And it wasn't alone.

It wasn't necessarily alarming to see Naruto here, since it was his mindscape, but Kushina hadn't exactly been subtle about warning the fox away from interacting with her son. There was nothing unusual about a jinchuuriki being able to visit their bijuu's cage, but his circumstances weren't exactly typical for a jinchuuriki.

When she had been the Kyuubi's host, it had always been easier to find her way here when she was sleeping. She recalled that when the fox had first been sealed within her, she used to end up here by accident, so Naruto probably didn't even have any control over whether or not he came here. But the fox did. She knew that there were times when she had to fight the fox to enter the mindscape when it was sealed inside her. It took years of training to be able to overcome the demon's strength, so it could have easily barred Naruto's entry if it wanted. If it had listened to Kushina. She scowled at the thought.

The scene unfolding in front of her made it clear that the Kyuubi had definitely not listened to her. Naruto was toddling around inside the fox's cage, giggling and babbling happily. Kushina felt her stomach drop at the sight, and was poised to rush forward to stop the fox from doing anything to him. In the back of her mind she did remember that this version of the Kyuubi (allegedly) cared for her son. It had the opportunity to kill him during their battle a year ago, and it hadn't. Still, she didn't really trust it not to hurt Naruto. She couldn't. Not after years of its venomous words and cruelty, and definitely not after their confrontation. Months of contemplation following the night of Naruto's birth had also given her time to over-analyze every interaction with the Kyuubi. It gave her time to wonder if she'd imagined the fondness in its voice or the sincerity of its actions. So she wasn't about to trust it not to hurt her son, who was completely defenseless at this stage of development.

Years of training made it easy for Kushina to observe every tiny detail of the interaction, even as she started to rush forward. The Kyuubi's head was lowered, hovering just above the water. It had a lazy, toothy grin as it regarded Naruto.

"Come on, say it. Ku-ra-ma."

Naruto giggled and responded with a very enthusiastic, "Ku-ra! Ku-ra!"

The fox reached around with one of its tails, gently pushing Naruto forward. Naruto laughed happily and spun around on wobbly legs, grasping at the tail that was already out of his reach. The Kyuubi reached around with a second tail and tapped him on the back again, prompting the same giddy reaction from its host.

The fox chuckled , low but warm. "Humans are so easily amused." It prodded at Naruto again, catching him with another tail when the boy spun around too fast and almost lost his balance.

Kushina was so shocked by the scene that she actually stumbled. The Kyuubi was…playing? It was playing with her son.

Her misstep seemed to have alerted the fox to her presence. It sat up suddenly, eyes narrowing in her direction. All of its fur was standing on end, and it immediately curled a few tails around Naruto and let out a growl that caused the water to ripple around them.

When it noticed Kushina it looked almost surprised, but it withdrew its tails and let its fur fall flat. "Oh, it's you, " it sneered.

Naruto also seemed to notice her, and he looked back and forth between his mother and the Kyuubi with an indecisive whine. Kushina stepped forward toward the pair, which seemed to please Naruto immensely. He grinned, babbling nonsense and gesturing wildly with his stubby little hands. The Kyuubi seemed to instinctively reach out and catch him with a tail when the boy became a little too enthusiastic and almost fell over once again. It flattened its ears against its skull, looking at Kushina like it was daring her to say anything.

Unfortunately for the fox, she wasn't one to keep her mouth shut. "Are you…playing with Naruto?"

The fox looked indignant. "Of course not! I don't play with humans! I am a malevolent force of chakra and fire and–"

Naruto whined again, staring up at the Kyuubi with his big blue eyes. The fox bared its teeth halfheartedly, making a show of its rejection. Except, Naruto wasn't fazed. He held up his arms and grabbed at the air, a clear indication that he wanted to be picked up. The fox still didn't budge, until Naruto mumbled a quiet, "Ku-ra?" Then, it just sighed and let the scowl drop off its face. It scooped up Naruto with a couple of its tails, prompting a stream of excited giggles and chatter.

Kushina watched the entire interaction with a mixture of emotions. She wanted to say that it was a lie, a trick to lull her into complacency, but the fox clearly hadn't been expecting her. It seemed almost…embarrassed at being caught. And watching it begrudgingly give into Naruto's request for attention, it didn't look like an act. The Kyuubi was being affectionate and gentle toward her son, and she didn't know how to feel about that. She didn't know what that meant for her perception of the Kyuubi, or its actions. She'd assumed the worst intentions from the fox, but seeing it interact so casually with Naruto now made her question everything.

She stared at the pair of them, her mind whirring. "You saved him today."

"Of course I did," the fox grunted.

Kushina shifted awkwardly. "You saved Kakashi, too."

"Yes."

"Why?"

The Kyuubi paused its game with Naruto, but resumed after a squeak of protest. "He is one of Naruto's precious people." The admission was soft.

Somehow, it was the answer she knew she should expect. It was the answer she was expecting, because despite the protest, the denial that was on the tip of her tongue, she could feel the heavy weight in her stomach and the hot embarrassment burning in her veins. The feelings of shame, and guilt. The feeling of knowing that she'd been wrong, so unbelievably wrong. She was a proud woman, and undeniably stubborn, but not so much that she couldn't face the truth staring her in the face. The truth of her son, cradled gently by the creature she thought only capable of death and destruction. The truth that she had denied vehemently.

"You really do care about him," she commented.

The fox didn't respond, save for a quiet grunt of affirmation. It was carefully bouncing Naruto on its tails, responding to the boy's garbled requests to get up higher. Naruto was shrieking with glee.

The reality of the situation hit Kushina so hard that she felt dizzy. She had to take a series of deep breaths to calm herself. The Kyuubi cared about her son. The Kyuubi saved Kakashi's life because it knew that Kakashi was important to Naruto. The Kyuubi cared about her son. The Kyuubi time traveled to protect him. The Kyuubi cared about her son. The Kyuubi willingly chose to return to this time so Naruto could be raised by his parents. The Kyuubi cared about her son.

…shit.

The words were heavy on her tongue, but Kushina managed a very quiet, "I'm sorry."

The fox was taken aback. "What did you say?"

"Don't make me repeat it," she snapped, and immediately winced. Kushina took another deep breath to calm herself. It was her first instinct to snap at the fox, but she knew she was in the wrong. "I assumed the worst of you, and I shouldn't have. I'm sorry for what I said to you before. I was needlessly cruel." She bowed her head slightly to show that she was being genuine.

The Kyuubi studied her intently, finally lowering Naruto back to the ground despite his protests. It didn't respond, watching as Naruto toddled through the cage bars and over to his mother. Kushina picked him up immediately, giving him a sloppy kiss on his cheek that made him giggle. Her mind was a mess, and her heart was hurting, but holding her precious baby in her arms helped.

This whole situation was too weird. She was having a heart-to-heart with the Kyuubi, in her son's mindscape. And apparently she'd been the asshole. Kushina had to swallow her pride and own up to it. "I don't know if I can get past our history," she admitted. "But I want to try. Thank you for watching out for Naruto, in this life and the other."

There was no immediate response from the demon fox, only obvious suspicion. Kushina supposed that was fair. Eventually, the Kyuubi sighed. "I suppose I can admit that I have never made it easy for you to trust me."

An olive branch. "I never made it easy for you to give me a reason to trust you," she acknowledged.

They regarded each other silently, both of them deep in thought. Kushina thought she knew the Kyuubi after all the years it was sealed away within her. She thought it was nothing but anger and evil, but clearly she'd been wrong. It was gentle with Naruto, and cared enough about him to make an impossible journey from another time to protect him. She recalled some of the Kyuubi's words about its siblings (not that she had ever thought to call the other bijuu that) and their imprisonment from their previous conversations. Kushina had never considered the Kyuubi's perspective on the matter. No one had. Of course it resented being locked away. She, and everyone else, always justified it as a necessity to keep the Kyuubi's destructive and malicious power out of the world. It was a given that the Kyuubi, and the other bijuu, would have destroyed humanity if they had been allowed to remain free…right?

Except, the Kyuubi was here willingly. It had the chance to kill them, and to escape. But it didn't. It chose to put its trust in the very people that had kept it imprisoned. All for Naruto. Oh, she would love to know how he managed to make the demon so soft.

"I think," Kushina mused after a few minutes of awkward, heavy silence, "we should start over. We need to work together to stop the future that you lived through. Plus," she couldn't help a small smile, "we both care about Naruto. We should try to be civil, for his sake."

The Kyuubi's expression remained neutral as it considered her words. Finally, it rumbled, "My name is Kurama."

At first, Kushina didn't understand why the fox was telling her this. Then, she remembered its words on the day of Naruto's birth:

"An exchange of names would imply mutual respect."

"Kushina Uzumaki," she replied.

Of course the Kyuubi–Kurama–knew her name. It was the gesture that mattered, and Kurama seemed to understand as he offered a brief nod in response.

There was silence, save for the occasional drip of water and the puff of the fox's breath. Naruto wiggled in her arms to be put down and she complied, only because she knew the scenery in the mindscape wasn't actually real. Still, it was quite dreary.

"Couldn't you have picked better scenery?" she grumbled as Naruto toddled back to the great fox. "I don't know how I feel about my son playing around in what looks like sewer water."

Kurama huffed in response, letting Naruto latch onto him again without complaint. "Do you think I chose this setting?"

Kushina raised an eyebrow. "Did you not?"

"Of course not," Kurama grumbled indignantly. "But my prison was never meant to reflect my desires."

"What would you have picked?"

Kurama seemed surprised by the question, but he responded anyway. "When I was a kit, there was a great forest where one of your human villages now sits. The trees were ancient, and wiser than any of your kind." The fox looked past her, recalling the memory. "They had voices of their own, not that you humans could hear them. They would sing with the wind, and their voices would carry over the highest mountain peaks."

"Se What happened to it?" Kushina could guess, but she asked anyway.

"Humans happened." Kurama bristled. "Centuries of wisdom and life, burned to ash." The fox sighed, shaking his massive head. "That's what I would have picked."

Kushina tucked that information away for later. She'd never thought about the life the bijuu had lived before they were sealed into their jinchuuriki. If anything, she'd just assumed they were running wild somewhere, rampaging and killing. Waxing poetically about a bunch of trees had never even crossed her mind.

Kurama's tails flicked. "But you are not here to listen to musings about the past. Why did you come?"

"I wasn't really thinking clearly," she admitted. "I was worried about Naruto, and I guess I wanted to know what happened. I fell asleep worrying about him, and woke up here."

Kurama hummed in acknowledgement. "I see. Well, I didn't recognize the attackers from my time, but their intent was clear enough." He growled lowly. "You should really re-examine your ANBU guard, by the way, it was embarrassingly easy for the attackers to take them out."

Kushina nodded. Oh, she would do just that. They were supposed to have the best of the best guarding not only the Hokage's son, but the village's jinchuuriki. Kurama was not off base in calling this slip up an embarrassment. She shuddered to think about how horribly wrong this could have gone if Kurama hadn't been protecting Naruto. Apparently she owned the Kyuubi his life.

"Will he be alright? He's been unconscious for hours."

Kurama nodded. "Yes. He should wake up very soon, I expect. I took care of all of his physical wounds, so he just needed to sleep off the exhaustion and heal a little more." The fox looked a little guilty as he added, "It was quite a strain on his body to house so much of my chakra, but I didn't have a choice."

"I know," she responded. Kushina had no basis to scold the fox for his actions. If he hadn't intervened, Naruto might be–

She was absolutely not going to finish that thought.

Not wanting to dwell on that topic anymore, she regarded Kurama. He stared back at her, unblinking, and forcefully neutral. The quiet plopping sound of dripping water echoed around them. Now that she was here, and they weren't fighting, Kushina wanted some answers. She had a full year of questions and half-understood premonitions of a dark future. She told the fox as much.

Kurama rolled his eyes. "Of course you have questions," he grumbled, but he didn't stop her.

"Did you help Naruto take his first steps?" Kushina asked.

The fox looked amused, like that wasn't the question he was expecting. "I did."

"Why?"

The Kyuubi cocked his head. "I couldn't let him be outdone by the Uchiha brat."

Kushina gave the fox a flat look. "Outdone? They're babies." She was suddenly reminded of some of the visions the Kyuubi had shown her, where an older Naruto and Sasuke seemed to be at odds. "Is this related to the visions you showed me?"

He snorted in amusement. "If you are asking whether the fate of the future hinged on your runt taking his first steps, then no. My motivations are far more petty." His eyes narrowed. "Not that you've shown any interest in the memories I tried to share with you."

Guiltily, Kushina glanced away from the Kyuubi. "Right…I'm sorry about that too. I–" she took a steadying breath, "I would like to know about them now, if you'd be willing to tell me."

The fox's eyes remained narrowed with suspicion. "You're willing to listen without throwing a tantrum?"

Kushina nodded, grimacing at the Kyuubi's choice of words. "Yes. I…" she swallowed hard. "I want to know about the visions you showed me. Were those all really your memories?"

"Yes," the fox confirmed. "My memories, through Naruto's eyes."

"So him being left alone, and hurt and…" she couldn't finish the thought, but Kurama nodded in understanding.

"That is how the boy was raised in my time."

Kushina felt an intense anger burning in her chest. She recognized many of the people in Kurama's memories. People that smiled at her and asked about her family. People that she passed every day, businesses she frequented. In another reality, they treated her son like a monster. They neglected him, abused him even. No one stepped in, no one ever stepped in. Why hadn't the Sandaime done something? Why wasn't Master Jiraiya, his godfather, there? Why hadn't any of her or Minato's friends taken care of Naruto? She could understand why Kakashi hadn't, only being a teenager himself, but even he had been strangely cold and detached in some of the memories Kurama shared of genin-aged Naruto. There were still missing pieces, since she hadn't seen all of the fox's memories, but she was starting to understand how many people had failed her son. Her precious baby, that had saved their lives minutes after he was born, and then apparently again moments before his death. That world, that reality, didn't deserve the sacrifice her son had made. But she would make sure this reality did.

"Show me their faces again. I'll throttle every last one of them," she threatened.

Kurama snorted with amusement at her outburst. "I don't doubt it."

She had so many other questions, now that she felt that the Kyuubi's visions were actually truthful. Part of her still rebelled at the idea of trusting the demon fox, but she shoved it aside. She'd never forget the soft, fond look on Kurama's face when he was playing with Naruto. When he thought no one was around, and there was no one to fool. Even if she could never completely trust the Kyuubi, she realized she did trust that he cared for Naruto. And that might be enough to save the world.

"What were those visions you were showing me about Mikoto's boys?" Her face fell. "Those weren't real too, were they?"

"They were," Kurama confirmed. "The runt said he wanted to make sure that fate would never befall the Uchiha clan, so I honored his request to the best of my abilities." A tail flick. "Though if it were up to me I would just let that cursed clan be wiped from existence," he grumbled.

Kushina's stomach clenched violently at the confirmation. She didn't want something so horrible to happen to any clan, let alone her best friend's. And to think that there were people in the village right now that would be responsible for such an atrocity in another life. She shuddered at the thought.

"Have we prevented it from happening?"

Kurama shrugged, as much as a quadrupedal beast could shrug. "The future has certainly changed, but I don't know to what extent. You being alive, the changes you've made to how the Uchiha clan is handled, I don't know. I don't know if it changed that outcome, or any others."

Kushina nodded in understanding. It would be difficult to know exactly what they'd managed to change until it either happened, or the fateful day came and went uneventfully. "What else can you tell me? What should we be doing now?"

The fox regarded her. "Hm. There are certain players that should be eliminated."

Kushina tensed, swallowing hard, understanding where this was going. "I think you can understand why I'm reluctant to believe what you told me about the masked man." She had been avoiding that subject for a reason. Bringing up Obito was a surefire way of ruining the tentative peace between them.

Kurama scoffed, likely thinking about their previous altercation as well. "Fortunately for you, there are other targets that can be dealt with while you contemplate the truth of my words."

Miraculously, Kushina kept her temper under control, but her eyelid did twitch a few times. "Like…?"

"Recall the Toad Sage," Kurama instructed. "I will show you my memories regarding the founders of the group called the Akatsuki. They are the ones that will target the jinchuuriki."

"What does Master Jiraiya have to do with it?"

"They are his former students," Kurama explained. "What you choose to do with them is up to you, but I suspect the Toad Sage will be the best to handle them."

Kushina nodded. "Anything else?"

"One thing at a time, Tomato Head." Kurama chastised. "I don't know what has been changed, so no sense in wasting my breath telling you things that may no longer come to pass."

Kushina opened her mouth to respond, but she was distracted by a tugging feeling. Something was pulling at her consciousness, trying to return her to a state of wakefulness. She resisted, wanting to ask Kurama more questions, but she couldn't fight it.

Kurama seemed to sense her reluctance to leave. "Go." He waved her off with a massive paw. "You should be able to return here easily enough, unfortunately for me," he grumbled.

The mindscape started to fade, slowly flickering out of her vision. She watched Naruto continue to cling onto the fox's fur, still chanting a very happy "Ku-ra!" Kurama looked down at him with an exasperated, yet obviously fond expression, allowing the continued tormenting. Before she could help herself, Kushina smiled at the scene in front of her.

"Kurama," she called out, just before she returned to consciousness. "...thank you." She wasn't able to hear or see a response from the Kyuubi, but when she woke up she felt herself still smiling.

A hand was on her shoulder, gently shaking her awake. Kushina batted at it uselessly, mumbling a few rude protests.

"Sorry," Minato's familiar voice drawled. "I just wanted to make sure you ate something."

Kushina blinked her eyes open, fighting the last haze of sleep as her husband's blurry form slowly came into focus. When had he arrived? She groaned, rubbing a hand over her eyes and yawning. Making note of the low light of the room from the singular window, Kushina realized that it was nearly dusk. It felt like she'd only been with the Kyuubi for a few minutes, but apparently it had been hours. In that time Minato must have come back to check on his family. She wondered if they'd found anything at the site of the attack.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep," she murmured against another yawn.

"Probably means that you needed the rest," Minato reasoned. "Don't worry, Naruto is fine," he added quickly.

Kushina blinked in confusion, because of course he was fine. Then it hit her that Minato obviously wouldn't know that, because he hadn't been privy to her conversation with Kurama. She sat up quickly, realizing how much information she had to share with her husband. "Oh!"

Minato raised an eyebrow. "This is weird. Hearing you talk about the Kyuubi so familiarly."

Kushina shrugged. "I'm trying to play nice." She bit her lip as she contemplated her next words. "I…I think I almost messed everything up for a while."

"How so?"

"Like I said," she explained, "We had a fight." She thought for a moment, scratching at her chin. "Two fights, really. The first one was when I thought I was just dreaming. I kept seeing Kurama in my sleep sometimes too. When I finally realized I was actually visiting the real Kyuubi and not just seeing a dream I sort of…yelled at him?" Kushina winced.

Her husband blinked at her in surprise. "You…yelled at the Kyuubi?" There was a touch of amusement in his voice.

"...yes," Kushina replied sheepishly. "And then I yelled at him again after he lent Naruto his chakra. It was a really bad argument. I said some really nasty stuff."

A frown suddenly formed on Minato's face. "Wait, why didn't you tell me any of this before?"

"At first I thought they were just weird stress dreams," Kushina repeated, "and by the time I realized they were real I just didn't know how to bring it up."

Minato looked hurt. "I wish you would have told me. We could have figured things out together."

"I'm sorry." Kushina looked away, feeling a bit ashamed.

There was a hand on her face, carefully turning her head back. Minato smiled gently at her. "Hey. Just, no more secrets from now on, ok?"

Kushina returned the smile. "I can do that." She swallowed hard. "Uh, so there's more." She didn't wait for Minato to respond before continuing. "Kurama sort of showed me some stuff about the Uchiha clan too." As succinctly as she could, Kushina explained the contents of her dreams about the Uchiha. She initially hesitated bringing up the role Mikoto's son played, but ultimately she didn't leave out any details.

With every word, Minato's frown deepened, until his entire face was furrowed with concern. "Wait, is that why you insisted that the Uchiha compound shouldn't be moved?" His eyes widened. "Kushina! Did I make that recommendation based on something the Kyuubi showed you?"

"Well, yeah–"

Minato stood up suddenly and started pacing. A common behavior for him when he was thinking about something that stressed him out. "You should have told me! I can't believe I took advice from the Kyuubi about something so important!" He shook his head repeatedly as he paced. "Oh, this is bad. What if it was lying? What am I saying, of course it was lying!"

"I worried about that too, but…" she shrugged. Truthfully, Kushina had no proof that Kurama's visions were real, or that the advice she'd given was right.

"But, what?" Minato scowled. "I could have just doomed the entire Uchiha clan! If the Sharingan can control the Kyuubi, of course it would try to get rid of them." He continued pacing. "I can't take it back now, construction has been going on too long. And it will raise too many questions. How exactly can I explain why I made that recommendation in the first place?"

Kushina frowned. "Do you have to take it back? I thought things were going better with the clan now?"

Minato made a frustrated noise. "I thought so too, but now I don't know what to think. I just can't believe the Kyuubi would do anything for the Uchiha clan that would help them."

"Kurama didn't do anything for them, I did," she insisted. "Apparently the other Naruto wanted to stop the clan from being massacred."

"So the Kyuubi says," Minato replied dryly.

It seemed like they were going around in circles. "So I say," she countered with a scowl.

"Because the Kyuubi says," he retorted.

Kushina sighed irritably. "Look, I get it. I wasn't exactly first in line to trust Kurama either. But I'm trying to be more open to that possibility. He hasn't given us a reason to distrust him so far."

"I don't get it," Minato admitted. "All of a sudden you're on a first name basis with the Kyuubi, and you're trusting it not to lie to you? You should know better than that!"

Kushina felt her temper rising. "I do know better!" she snapped. "I had the damn thing sealed in me for most of my life, y'know? Don't you think I'm better equipped than anyone else to figure out if he's telling the truth?"

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Minato sighed heavily. "I can't believe this is an actual conversation that we're having."

If the conversation regarding the Uchiha clan was going this badly, there was absolutely no way she would bring up what Kurama told her about Obito. She still didn't really know what to think of it anyway. It was better to stick to safer subjects.

"I get why you're concerned," Kushina replied through gritted teeth, "but we have to look at the bigger picture here. Kurama also told me what our next steps should be. He said to call Master Jiraiya back, and then he'd share some information about an organization that's going to target the jinchuuriki." She couldn't help but frown as she spoke of Jiraiya, knowing that in another life he'd completely abandoned his godson. Oh she would have words with him, for sure.

Minato ran a hand through his hair, his eyes closed in frustration. "Kushina, this is an entire clan we're talking about! I can't just leave their fate up to the Kyuubi !"

"And this is the entire world we're talking about!" she retorted. "It may have been another future, another life, but our son died to get Kurama here! He died so we could stop the world from ending," she reminded him.

Minato leaned forward, his head in his hands. "Thinking too much about this gives me a headache. Time travel, the fate of the world. And here I thought the Sandaime had it rough, dealing with the war and all that."

Kushina laughed dryly at that. "Yeah, kind of makes everything else seem sort of inconsequential, y'know?"

Her husband grunted in response. He peeked through his fingers at her. "You and that fox of yours are going to make me go gray."

"He's not my fox!" Kushina grumbled, smacking her husband lightly. "If anything he's Naruto's. I think we've just reached the point of begrudging tolerance."

Minato snorted at that. "Alright." He let his hands drop back to his lap. "It's probably time to tell Master Jiraiya anyway, and I would like him to meet Naruto. But," he gave her a sharp look, "we're not done with this discussion about the Uchiha clan. I can't just blindly trust the Kyuubi on this."

"Fine," Kushina relented.

"No more secrets, right?" He prompted.

"No more secrets," Kushina promised, but she knew she'd already broken that. She was withholding the information Kurama told her about the masked man's supposed identity. It just wasn't worth starting another fight with the fox, or having Minato disregard the trust she'd fought to establish regarding Kurama's motives.

Minato looked for a moment like he wasn't going to buy it, but then he smiled, that stupid bright smile that made her fall for him in the first place. She felt guilty about not being completely upfront with him, but right now she didn't think she had another option. Either she would figure out the masked man's real identity…or she would find out that against all odds, Kurama had been truthful. Even though she didn't want to think that Kurama had lied to her, the thought of the alternative, of sweet, goofy (and very dead) Obito being the mastermind behind the attack last year, was even worse.

Another thought hit her. "Oh, one more thing," Kushina added. "How would you feel about making some adjustments to Naruto's seal?"

Minato raised his eyebrows and frowned in concern, but he didn't say they couldn't do it.

Text

"Ugh, and do you want to know what he said next?"

Kurama gave her a flat look. "No, but I'm sure you will tell me anyway."

Kushina ignored the fox's attitude. "He said, 'oh I would definitely not abandon your perfect, precious, orphaned son to run around the world and write porn!'"

"I'm sure it was phrased just like that." Kurama rolled his eyes.

The fox sat comfortably under a massive tree that cast dappled shadows onto his orange fur. It still amazed Kushina that they'd been able to alter the seal to create such a realistic setting. The sunlight felt real, and warm, and the mountain peaks that lined the backdrop were obscured by clouds. Even the grass seemed to be covered in a light morning dew, even though the time of day never actually changed here. Kurama seemed more content, even if he refused to acknowledge it.

"Ok, maybe I exaggerated a bit," Kushina admitted with a shrug, "but he might as well have said it that way!" She frowned as she realized Kurama wasn't even looking at her, instead staring off toward the mountain range. "Hey! Are you even listening to me?"

"I'm trying very hard not to," Kurama replied dryly, " but unfortunately your voice is very shrill."

Kushina scoffed at the fox's reply. "Naruto," she turned toward her son, who was busy trying to climb the giant tree, "would you please tell Kurama he is being very rude?"

The boy grinned and abandoned his climbing efforts, instead clapping his hands gleefully. "Ku-ra rude! Ku-ra rude!"

Now that Naruto's vocabulary and understanding were expanding, she was taking the time to teach him a few useful words and phrases. He, of course, already knew how to ask for Ichiraku (want ich-ku!) and complain about being told to eat his vegetables (no ege-bles!). It was difficult to believe that he was almost two !

Kurama scoffed at both of them. "Hey, runt. Here's some new words for you; can you say, 'fuck off'?"

To Kushina's horror, and Kurama's amusement, Naruto did indeed try to repeat the words. "Uck off! Uck off!"

Later, when Minato was putting their son to bed and asking for a goodnight kiss, Kushina would have a very hard time explaining why their toddler was cheerfully cursing at him in response.

"You know," Kushina huffed in response, "for a centuries old being of unimaginable power and rage, you're actually incredibly immature."

Kurama glowered at her, but the gesture was much less threatening than it used to be. Their relationship had come a long way since Kurama saved Naruto's life. Their interactions were generally civil, even pleasant most of the time. They still bickered and butted heads, but it was a huge improvement from where they'd started. Kushina no longer questioned Kurama's motives, and trusted him completely to have Naruto's best interests at heart.

That didn't mean all of her wariness was gone, and she knew Kurama felt the same about her. Still, they'd definitely reached the point of begrudging acceptance, and many nights she found herself in the mindscape almost enjoying the fox's company.

"And how did the Toad Sage react to the information you passed to him?" Kurama asked, gently flicking Naruto away as the boy started tugging on one of his tails.

"He took it surprisingly well," she responded, shaking her head fondly as her son just giggled at the fox's attempts to shoo him away.

All things considered, Jiraiya had accepted the truth of Kurama's journey through time with very few protests. He'd been around long enough, and seen enough of the world, to understand that time travel was not the strangest thing out there. He'd taken the information in stride, and he'd been more concerned about whether they were positive Kurama was being truthful about his intentions, rather than if he was being truthful about the time travel itself. Kushina had been resolute in her insistence that yes, she was placing her trust in the Kyuubi, despite the obvious reluctance from her husband. He told his former master that he trusted Kushina's instincts, but the way he pursed his lips made it obvious that he was barely convincing himself of that fact. He didn't trust the Kyuubi, which Kushina could appreciate. What she didn't appreciate was that he didn't trust her , despite what he said to Jiraiya. He still seemed convinced that Kurama was tricking her, or that she was missing something in the fox's intentions. Bah, and they called her the stubborn one!

Minato was still convinced that Kurama was deliberately feeding them false information to weaken the Uchiha clan. Kushina tried to explain that yes, Kurama was not shy about his distaste for the clan, but no he wasn't really a threat to them at the moment. Her husband didn't buy it. Kurama's devotion to Naruto was unyielding, to the point that his protection extended to the most important figures in Naruto's life. Hence why he'd saved Kakashi, and probably Sasuke and Itachi too, even if she didn't know if that had been intentional. So as long as Naruto remained fond of Mikoto's boys, Kushina knew in her gut that Kurama wouldn't harm the clan. Not after the memories he'd shown her, with how far Naruto had gone for Sasuke.

So even on the days when she found herself wondering if she was in fact insane for trusting the demon fox, she still trusted that Kurama would never do anything to hurt Naruto. And apparently that included protecting his precious people. Who knew the Kyuubi was such a sentimental creature?

Kurama sighed in defeat as he failed to dissuade Naruto from yanking on his fur. "And what does he plan to do now?" The fox asked.

"He went to Amegakure to speak to them in person," Kushina replied. "He felt that a letter would be too impersonal, and probably ineffective."

The fox hummed in response, no longer reacting as Naruto played with his tails. "His logic is sound."

Kushina sighed. "I just wish we could have been able to save the third one. That's what kind of caused them to go off the rails, right?"

"That is one way to put it," Kurama grumbled.

The Kyuubi didn't share her sentiment, but he at least agreed that it would have saved them a lot of trouble. Unfortunately, the remaining member of their group had apparently been killed before Naruto was born, which meant that it was before Kurama traveled through time. There was nothing they could do to prevent it at this point, but Kurama assured them that the remaining two should be amenable to changing their plans. If Naruto had been able to change their hearts after a decade or two of scheming, hopefully their old master would fare equally as well now that the group was just in its infancy. Particularly since Kurama agreed to let the duo know the truth about "Madara's" intentions, and an abridged version of how they came upon the information. They weren't planning on telling any more "disgusting humans" (Kurama's words) that the Kyuubi was their source, but they weren't going to lie about the time travel bit. The theory was that Jiraiya would have enough information to convince them he was telling the truth.