Hello! We're back again with another chapter. Not gonna do a long intro since it hasn't been too long since the last update. As always a quick thank you to everyone who engages with the fic, I appreciate it and sincerely can't thank you all enough for the encouragement you all give me when it comes to writing this.

Anway with that said, I'll shut up and let you get into it!

"Natsumi! I see you've made it back in one piece, not that I expected any less!"

"It is good to see you again as well Nakamura-sensei, you seem to be busy as ever." She noted idly, striding into her mentor's office with a slight smile tugging at her lips at the sight of the grey-haired physician. "Is that a new pair of bags under your eyes I'm seeing?" She joked lightly not even bothering to stifle her chuckle at the unamused glare he shot her way, the piles of paperwork littered about his desk giving a fairly clear understanding of the workload that seemed to forever plague the man.

Being the head doctor wasn't as glamorous as some might have made it out to be. Just another reason she had no intention of taking over the position.

"Your sense of humor seems to have survived the trip as well I see." He scoffed but there was no real heat to his words as such jabs were common between them after so much time spent working together. He gestured to her to come closer to which she obliged, closing the distance between them and approaching his desk. "How was your mission? The chance to visit a foreign shinobi village is not an opportunity often afforded to most genin as I'm sure you can imagine so I do hope you made the best of your limited time there."

She nodded and folded her arms. "It was certainly a learning experience and a surprisingly positive one all things considered." She admitted thoughtfully. "I can freely admit that while I am not exactly a fan of the region itself I must concede getting the opportunity to witness Sunagakure's unique sandstone architecture and viewing its culture was quite enriching. I even managed to procure some plants native to the area for my own personal use which I hope to cultivate further in my own time." She surmised, earning a low hum of approval.

"One should take every opportunity to broaden their horizons when possible, life is too short to spend it living in ignorance." He recited easily, leaning back into his chair and folding his hands atop his lap. "The people of Suna are hardy, they have to be to survive in such an inhospitable land. It is for this reason that they are known to be somewhat prickly to outsiders, I wouldn't be surprised if they view the rest of the world as soft in comparison."

"That was certainly my initial impression as well, although quite a few were amicable enough towards me." She agreed. "It is a shame we could not spare more time to explore but such is the nature of business."

"Were there any complications?"

"Other than a short exchange with a few overconfident bandits? Nothing of note." She shrugged. "I appreciate the good fortune that our assignment went accordingly but part of me can't help but be disappointed at the lack of any true adversity."

Nakamura chuckled and inwardly shook his head at her answer, how fitting for her.

He was already familiar with his pupil's underlying desire to test herself against the challenges lying in wait beyond the village walls. It was a trait not shared among most of the students he'd trained which made her all the more unique in her decision to study medicine. In his many years of teaching, he had come to find that most who wished to study the medical arts had little desire of ever truly facing combat, and instead they simply wished to support those who were better suited to the frontlines or picked out the profession in hopes of avoiding a grizzly end out in the middle of nowhere.

Natsumi did not fall into either of those categories.

She was sharp, like a scalpel it sometimes felt as though her only purpose was to dissect problems and obstacles presented to her. He had caught on more than one occasion how her eyes would shine with thinly-veiled interest whenever they covered the more offensive functionality of medical techniques and from her the reports he had received about her academy scores as part of the program, he was well aware that Natsumi was something of a terror in combat.

He could only imagine what she would grow into...

"The life of a shinobi is one filled with adversity, I don't imagine you'll find yourself lacking in challenge for much longer if you continue on your current path." He offered her a relaxed smile before glancing back towards the stack of papers still waiting for his attention, his expression visibly souring in response to its presence. "We'll have to talk more in-depth about your trip at a later date I'm afraid, I feel as though if I take my eyes off of these forms they'll breed like rabbits behind my back." He sighed.

"Of course sensei, I'll leave you to your work." She nodded but before she could leave he held up a hand to stop her.

"Before you head out, could I ask you to drop off this form for me? I've been meaning to take this down to the administration office all day and it keeps slipping my mind." He said, pulling out a vanilla folder and holding it towards her.

"It won't be a problem, do you need me to file it for you or is there someone waiting on this?" She asked, taking the folder in hand.

"There should be someone down there who can file it, you can leave it with them." He said, offering her a grateful look. "Thank you for doing this and I promise we will talk more another time, I'm interested to see where you are in your studies now."

"It is no issue, I will visit again soon. Take care, sensei." She gave him a nod and made her way out from his office and down the sterile white halls of the hospital. The nurses on staff gave her short nods as she passed, her status as Nakamura's favored pupil afforded some modicum of respect within these walls even if she was certain that most of the staff quietly loathed her presence beneath their friendly facades. She didn't much care one way or the other about what they thought of her, so long as they did their jobs efficiently and didn't interfere with her lessons or her work they could hold whatever opinions they wanted.

Passing into one of the backend hallways, she neared her destination and slowed her pace to a crawl. Why the administration records were all the way back here was beyond her but her opinion didn't matter much when it came to layout and design.

Opening the door, she stepped into the modestly-sized room that housed most of their records. Like the rest of the building, the room was well lit with bright fluorescent lights and maintained the same sterile appearance consistent with the exterior foundation. Towards the back, locked behind a solid metal door she could make out rows of metal filing cabinets, likely filled to the brim with patient records and data logs. In front of the door was a long half-circle desk and sat in the center, hunched over a small stack of forms was a face she hadn't seen in quite some time.

"Yakushi-senpai?"

Her voice drew the young man out of his work, onyx eyes hidden behind black-rimmed circular glasses widening in surprise as he caught sight of her puzzled expression, and a friendly smile swiftly worked itself onto his face.

"Well now, if it isn't Natsumi-chan! I can say I envisioned running into you today but this is certainly not unwelcome." He placed down the set of papers in his hands and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, his ashen locks parting as he ran his fingers deftly through his hair. "It's been quite some time since we last spoke, a month maybe more?"

"I believe it was about two months ago, give or take a few days." She recalled idly, stepping further into the office and inspecting the young man who she had occasionally been tasked to work with during her infrequent shifts here. "I believe it was during Nakamura-sensei's lecture on chakra coil decay, you were assisting that day."

His eyes brightened with recollection and he nodded. "Yes, I believe you are right! I must confess that I've tried to repress that lesson somewhat as the imagery was rather… graphic for my taste, hehe." He gave a nervous laugh and she couldn't help but chuckle softly to herself at his squeamish disposition. Yakushi-san had always been like this, he was a talented medic that much was indisputable, but his skill was hampered somewhat by a weak stomach.

"You haven't changed at all, Senpai." She noted a hint of fondness in her voice as she neared the desk and handed him the file she'd been tasked to deliver. "Sensei asked me to drop this off with you, supposedly he'd been meaning to deliver it himself but you know how distracted he can get at times."

Kabuto nodded and took the folder, briefly glancing at its contents before adopting a pleased grin. "Ah, so he did have it after all. Great, that's one less thing for me to worry about then, I'll have it filed shortly." He nodded and placed it down with a series of other folders at the corner of his desk "Thank you for bringing it down."

"Think nothing of it." She dismissed his thanks with a wave, it really wasn't that much of a hassle there was no need to thank her for such a small task. "Delivering a bit of paperwork is far less tedious than chasing cats and pulling weeds."

"I assume it's fair to say that you aren't exactly loving the wonders of D-rank assignments then?" He asked rhetorically, easily catching the undertone of annoyance in her voice as she spoke of the glorified chores. "Not that I can blame you, my team and I aren't exactly fond of them ourselves but I suppose that just comes with being a genin." He sighed.

That's right... Yakushi-san was still a genin despite having graduated quite a few years before her. The only reason she even knew of him was that before her, he had studied under Nakamura-sensei as well, maintaining a position somewhat similar to the one she currently held before he seemed to shift focus towards different outside endeavors. He was eventually supplanted by herself but did not seem to hold any ill will towards her for that/ Instead, he expressed interest in her abilities and offered his assistance on matters she had questions about.

Inwardly, she found his lack of career success slightly odd given that he certainly wasn't inept, speaking with him for any length of time made it abundantly clear that the young man was clearly well informed on a wide range of topics but she supposed that his mind was simply more developed than his body, his talent for medicine not extending equally in regards to his combat ability.

Still, it wasn't her business so she did not comment on it. He seemed perfectly content where he was now, even if his career as a ninja wasn't as successful as he might wish she wouldn't be surprised if he became quite an accomplished doctor in the future. She could also admit she found conversations with him to be, for the most part, enjoyable.

Yes, he tended to baby her a bit given the gap in their ages but he never assumed she was stupid and during their joint lessons the two of them would engage deeply in meaningful discussion of nearly any subject.

It was truly a shame they could not meet more frequently.

She clicked her tongue and nodded. "Everyone has to start somewhere although I believe such tasks would be better suited to academy students than rising genin. I can only hope I prove capable of progressing to chunin within a reasonable amount of time so that I no longer have to waste time chasing lost pets for negligent owners."

"Still as driven as ever eh, Natsumi-chan?" The spectacled youth noted bemusedly. "You've only recently graduated and already you are looking to advance the ranks, I can't say I'm entirely surprised." He gave her an appraising stare. Are you considering taking part in the Chunin Exams then?" He asked suddenly, prompting her to raise her brow.

She of course knew of the Chunin Exams, a set of trials set in place following the Third Shinobi War as a means of cooling tensions between villages while simultaneously displaying their power. It was the only way outside of a field promotion or the direct order of a Kage, to earn the rank of chunin. Orochimaru's journal made no mention of the Exams but that they were instituted after the conflict where he and his team had earned the title of Sannin that didn't come as much surprise.

"I was not aware the exams would be held anytime soon?" She commented with genuine surprise, she wasn't sure how the order was decided or even how often the exams were held. Such information wasn't covered by their academy curriculum and she had never taken the time to personally research such things.

"They are held bi-annually, the last exam was set in Iwagakure but Konoha will be hosting it this year sometime in the coming months." He revealed drawing an intrigued look from the blond. "Though to enter you have to be nominated by your jonin leader so whether or not they deem you fit to participate is a matter left to their discretion." He added.

"How interesting…" It seemed as if fortune favored her after all, the opportunity to not only earn a promotion but gain insight into the strengths of the other major villages was not something to be ignored out of turn. "Do you have any insight into what the exams will entail?" She asked, she presumed he had participated at least once if not more and so he would doubtlessly have some information to share.

"I can't give you much in that regard since the tests differ from village to village." He admitted. "What I can tell you for certain is that none of them are easy. Each village is trying to scope out the potential strength of their rivals and so the tests are designed to put you through your paces in the hopes of revealing something noteworthy. I'm not sure what trials our village is going to use, but I doubt they'll prove any less challenging than the others." He admitted.

"I see, I suppose that is to be expected given the different terrain and geography of each village. I will have to look into the subject more when I get a chance." Not to mention she would need to up her training again, she had no intention of remaining a genin for longer than she had to if Kurenai deemed them fit to enter the exams. "Thank you for the information."

He waved her off with an easygoing smile. "It was nothing, I'm glad I could be of use." He then gave her a faux-competitive smirk. "Maybe I'll even see you in this year's exam, I have high hopes of making it to the end this year you know?" He joked and she leveled him with a confident glare of her own in response.

"Perhaps, but I hope you understand that I won't go easy on you just because you're my senior. I'll leave you behind if you aren't careful." She warned semi-playfully, turning on her heel and making her way to the door. "You've given me quite a lot to think about Senpai, we'll have to discuss it more at a later date should the opportunity present itself."

Kabuto laughed at the bit of banter between them and waved her off. "Of course, feel free to stop by and say hello any time."

She gave him a parting nod as she vanished behind the doorway, her golden tresses blinking out of existence around the corner just as his cheery expression slowly melted into one of contemplation, an inquisitive edge coming to light in his eyes.

"Natsumi Uzumaki… I can see why he's taken an interest in you…"

He stared at the door for only a moment longer before adjusting his glasses and returning to his duties. His serene expression acting a shield to his inner thoughts.

Things were certainly going to get interesting.

…

"Of course there is nothing useful in here, why am I unsurprised?"

She sighed and closed the book in hand with a dull clap, moving the useless tome onto the small pile she had stacked beside her and reaching for another that she hoped would contain something of value though at this point she did not have high hopes.

Having concluded her business at the hospital the next stop on her list had unsurprisingly been the library. It appeared as if there was no end to her need for information but in the same vein, it appeared as if there was no end to the dead-ends lying in wait for her inquiries as well, a truth that was becoming more ever grating in its frequency. Why was nothing ever simple?

She supposed her lack of success had more to do with the information she was looking for than anything. After all, she doubted there was much reliable information regarding demonic creatures or the methods used to lock them away.

This wasn't the first time she had searched for such information either. Her first attempts had come only days after her initial discovery regarding her status as the container for the Nine-Tails, conducting some preliminary research on the Kyuubi in the hopes of gaining some measure of understanding of the creature. Naturally, this effort had proved fruitless and based on her prior conversation with the Third, she had little doubt that if any such information existed at all then it was almost certainly being suppressed and tucked away somewhere safe. Accessible only on a need-to-know basis which hypocritically did not include herself.

So why was she wasting time searching again if she already knew there was nothing here?

At the time she had made one critical oversight, one that she now sought to rectify. In her previous search, she had made a rather egotistical assumption in presuming that there were no other demon containers. Now that she was armed with the knowledge that there very likely were others out there in the world with a similar condition as herself, she assumed that a wider search might yield the results she was looking for.

That was the idea anyway.

Sadly, even with her expanded parameters, she'd still found little in terms of helpful information stumbling upon nothing more than wives tales, and folklore at best, and each was filled to the brim with preposterous nonsense that forced her to take such information with a comically large grain of salt.

Part of her wanted to simply march into the Third's office and just demand answers but she violently squashed that impulsive desire almost as quickly as it arose within her. Her trust in the aged Kage was tenuous at best all things considered and she still didn't believe he was telling her the whole truth in regards to her situation. What guarantee did she have that he would tell her anything of value if not just misdirect her entirely?

None and she would prefer no answers to muddled ones.

Chewing anxiously at her lip she considered her options. Out of habit, she had already tried scouring Orochimaru's journal for any mention of the topic that she might have missed but that had turned up nothing of value in regards to her problem, if he had any first-hand experience with those like her it must have come after he'd moved on from writing his thoughts within the tattered pages. The library had so far proved insufficient for her needs, and the Hokage seemed unwilling to engage her in open dialogue which limited any potential sources of information.

All but one…

One avenue she was very tentatively considering now…

Reaching out to The Kyuubi directly.

A sharp inhale ripped through her as she acknowledged the only course of action she hadn't yet attempted to explore. Let it be known that she possessed a myriad of concerns with attempting such a thing. For starters, she didn't know if it was even possible for her to interact with the beast at all, for all she knew her seal acted purely as a simple lock... well simple in purpose not in design or execution of course. No interaction allowed, just a regular barrier meant to keep the beast tucked away until the day she died whereupon the seal would… open presumably?

She had no idea what would become of the fox should she perish and she wasn't exactly keen on prodding at her seal until she felt a bit more confident in her knowledge of the craft.

Secondly, even if she could make contact, there was no guarantee the fox could speak or that it would want to tell her anything. Every story she had heard about the creature painted it as nothing more than a mindless beast hell-bent on causing mass destruction and sowing chaos wherever it went. Now admittedly her source for this information was the same people the creature had attacked a little over a decade prior and who somehow couldn't make out the difference between a girl and the giant fox trapped inside of her so she took their bleating with a grain of salt.

Still, there was nothing wrong with a bit of caution.

"Anything that is sealed can be accessed with the right knowledge… given that I serve as the container and possess sentience, it is reasonable to assume that I should be able to "view" my contents."

It was risky, but then again so was anything worth doing. She was going to get some answers, one way or another.

She wasn't about to do it in here though, she needed someplace secluded in case something went wrong.

…

"This should be far enough away, I can't afford to go too far or I'll raise suspicions." She muttered, stepping into her old private training yard. Thankfully it appeared untouched which meant that the odds of someone walking in on her was minimal.

Now the tricky part… how did one go about contacting the demon in their belly.

She idly snorted to herself at the thought of just shouting at her navel until the fox answered her but not only would that be unbearably stupid, she also doubted that it would actually work either. Instead, she sat down under the shade of one of the many towing trees, her back rested flush against the strong oak trunk as she settled into a meditative pose.

It stood to reason that if she wanted to find the fox she needed to look inside herself, specifically she wagered that she would be able to locate its chakra inside the seal. A being of such immense power would surely radiate unimaginable amounts of the life-giving energy and so all she theoretically needed to do was track it down and follow it to the source. This was all guesswork mind you but without anything concrete to work with that was probably the best she was ever going to get.

Letting out a deep breath she closed her eyes and turned her gaze inward. Darkness enveloping her senses as she swiftly suppressed the intrinsic human need for light, forcing herself to relax with a series of deep, calming breaths. The gentle whistle of the wind winding through the trees and the periodic songs of the birds nesting overhead helped immensely and with a slight twitch, she began to slowly but noticeable increase the rate of her chakra circulation, a mental map of her network appearing in her mind's eye as the azure-colored energy flowed through her.

She watched it carefully for what felt like hours but what she wagered was only minutes in real-time, inspecting the flow of her inner power. Calmly, she overserved the flowing tide as it completed loop after loop through her coils shifting from the very tip of her head all the way down to her toes then back again in a practiced cycle. The longer she watched, the clearer the image became, and ever so slowly but surely she began to take notice of small flecks of orange subtly bleeding into the stream originating from where she knew her seal to be. Narrowing her mind's eye, she focused her attention solely on that point and tried to "reach out" to that orange energy.

Unbeknownst to her as she did so, her whiskers darkened ever so slightly, and had her eyes been open one might have seen her pupils begin to contract, narrowing like that of a cat.

Unconscious of the physical changes occurring outside her notice, she dug deeper, increasing the flow of chakra to the area, and noted the increase in orange flecks staining her normal chakra. To her knowledge chakra could exist in other colors outside of blue but never before had orange been documented in any of the texts she had read. That likely meant it was foreign and if so the culprit was obvious.

Come on… just a bit more…

Once again she concentrated her efforts on trying to pull out more of the wispy orange energy, willing it to mix further with her own, and to her surprise, it seemed to be actively resisting her attempts, the amount bleeding off increasing only marginally before reigning itself back in. She tugged once more and as expected it fought against her efforts, sparking to life in her core for just a moment before receding and she idly frowned at the unruly nature of it.

"You have a lot of nerve, girl."

That was her only warning, a slight rumble reminiscent of a snarling voice echoing in her ears before the image of her chakra network suddenly seemed to shatter like glass before her eyes before the image of serrated teeth filled her mind and she was suddenly hit with a wave of intense nausea. Outside, her body fell slack, like a puppet with its strings cut slumping against the tree she'd been using for support as her head rolled off to the side and the bliss of unconsciousness swept her into its embrace…

…

She wasn't sure how much time had passed before consciousness reasserted itself in the fluttering of her eyelids, the void that had taken her pierced by the soft glow of what appeared to be a dim yellowish light.

She winced at the sting of it but forced down her irritation, allowing her eyes to slowly adjust to the influx light and take stock of her surroundings and a deep frown settling across her features as she took notice of the unfamiliar local she just so happened to find herself in. The towering verdant trees that had sheltered her were nowhere to be seen, the sounds of birds and the wind equally as absent from this strange place replaced by the dull drip of what she could only assume was water impacting against something unseen…

Metal pipes of all lengths and sizes stretched down seemingly endless hallways, digging into concrete walls before bursting out elsewhere and continuing to who knows where. Along the walls, dull lanterns lit dark halls but the flickering glow gave the entire place an eerie air, as though just around the corner there would be something waiting to ambush you. The floor beneath her wasn't even so much a floor as it was the rippling surface of some unknown liquid, water presumably but she couldn't say for certain.

The entire space was unsettling… Yet at the same time, there was also a sense of familiarity to it? It made little sense as she was certain she had never seen such a space in her entire life.

"Where is this?" She couldn't help but mutter to herself as she slowly began to walk forward, her fingertips idly brushing one of the metal pipes near enough for her to reach and marveled at the way it thrummed beneath her fingertips, as though it was alive. It was neither hot nor cold to the touch yet it gave off a subtle warmth.

"You wished to speak… come then…"

Her eyes widened as the same baritone growl she'd heard moments before she'd fallen unconscious echoed once more through the empty halls, the water at her feet rippling violently at the sheer volume of its voice and the candles overhead flickered as if pushed by the breath of a god.

"I've already gone this far, what sense does it make to try and turn back now?"

Steeling her nerves she schooled her face and once more began to walk forward rounding the corner and making her way through the empty halls that comprised whatever space this was. There were no defining markers anywhere, everything looked the same yet somehow she knew she was on the right path, there was no hesitation in her steps and despite passing by countless halls that likely led only to more winding paths she knew exactly where to turn and when, as if being guided by an invisible hand.

She didn't know how long she walked for or how many turns she had made to get to where she was… ultimately it didn't matter.

Her stone facade cracked slightly at the towering gate that rested within the massive chamber she had stepped into, the gilded bars reaching high into the ceiling far beyond her ability to scale and held shut but what seemed to be a simple slip of paper with kanji scrawled atop it. Darkness swirled like a miasma behind it despite the lights lining the walls… as if being absorbed void.

So this is where it lived.

She stepped forward slowly, craning her neck up to peer into the inky blackness and stopping about halfway into the room. She dared not get any closer.

As if sensing her hesitation, a single crimson eye suddenly pierced the rolling darkness, the molten red orb turning its attention down towards herself like a god sparing a glance towards an ant. Easily larger than her body, she could see nothing but malic and contempt in its form… It practically radiated negativity such was the intensity of its hate and for a moment she felt her breath catching in her throat as it securitized her in suffocating silence.

"You are rather silent now for a mortal who often thinks so loudly." Razor-sharp teeth made themselves visible in a half-smirk, half snarl as she practically felt the creature shift within the confines of the cage, a second eye, equally as vile as the first coming into view. "Surely you did not seek me out just to stand there mute?"

It was taunting her? How... unexpected.

It took a moment for her to find her voice, the realization that she was currently in the presence of a creature capable of wiping out entire shinobi villages with relative ease brought pause to her errant thoughts. Suppressed as it might appear now, it would be foolish of her to assume that it was entirely powerless and so she swiftly decided it would be in her best interest to engage on a more respectful note.

"I'm certain you can forgive my manners escaping me for a moment, your presence is not something one can entirely ignore." She responded tactfully, choosing to ignore the slight crack in her voice as she addressed the jab at her silence. "In truth, I was not entirely sure you would be capable of speech. I don't imagine many have had the fortune to hear your voice and lived long enough to speak about it.

Slit scarlet orbs narrowed and a rolling blast of air barreled past the rattling bars nearly knocking her to her feet as it passed.

"Were these damnable bars not present I would not have even graced you with that privilege." Another rumbling snarl sent ripples through the flooded room and she bit back a frown at the open hostility that dripped from each spoken word. She supposed some degree of anger made sense given its current situation, but she also found such open disdain to be slightly unwarranted. After all, it was not as if she had asked to be its jailer.

"Then I shall consider myself quite lucky that they are." She rebutted, her tone slightly clipped as she found the courage to take another half-step forward all the while keeping her eyes peeled for any sudden movement within the writhing miasma of darkness that shrouded its features from view. "That said, I have no desire for this meeting to be antagonistic if it can be avoided."

"Diplomacy? How quaint…" A heavy chuckle echoed through the vacant chamber. "You mortals often resort to preaching and deceit when you lack the strength to take what you want by force, am I to believe you are any different?" It leveled her with a hard glare and she fought down the urge to shiver beneath its piercing gaze.

"Does it matter?" She folded her arms and cocked her head to the side. "More so, can you claim to be any better after just admitting that we are only speaking because the seal prevents you from killing me outright? The only difference between you and I is that you lack the freedom to exert your will upon me while I lack the strength to enforce my will upon you. The result of such a stalemate is two parties meeting at the proverbial table to discuss their options."

She felt a slight surge of satisfaction at the twinge of surprise that bled into its eyes at her rebuttal, anger momentarily supplanted by an unreadable emotion before yet another blast of hot air swept past her, although this one was far less intense than first.

"Hmph, you really are an irritating whelp…"

The blinding darkness slowly began to clear, the dim lighting of the candlelit walls finally piercing their way through the cage bars revealing her prisoner in all of its glory. Vulpine features curled into something half-way resembling a grin awaited her, while in the back she could see nine swaying tails dipping in and out of the farthest edges of the room confirming the identity of the creature sat before her.

"I doubt you'll leave here until you've gotten what you came for so let's set aside the pretenses for the moment." It leveled her with a bored glare, the hatred that seemed to radiate off of it dying down somewhat as it settled onto its forelimbs. "You were content to ignore my presence up until now despite possessing knowledge of my presence for months, now here you are seeking answers after all this time."

"Perhaps that was wrong of me and I can only offer my apologies for ignoring you for as long as I have." She bowed her head slightly as a gesture of sincerity. "However, you've made no noticeable attempts to contact me either. Before I lost consciousness I heard your voice quite clearly… It stands to reason then that you could have spoken with me at any time but only chose to do so after I had prodded you." She pointed out.

"I'd imagine you would do the same if you felt someone tugging at your chakra like some kind of parasite." It scoffed.

"True, though I can't say there were many alternative methods I could think of to attract your attention. Truthfully, I didn't expect much to come out of my attempts." She admitted.

"Insolent… though this meeting would have occurred regardless of your actions today. Eventually, you would have drawn on my power be it consciously or not and that would have led you to me."

She raised a brow at that little nugget of information.

"I noticed that your chakra seems to bleed into my own but I was unaware that I could actively call on your power. It seemed rather resistant to my earlier attempts."

"This seal is naturally designed to siphon a small portion of my chakra into you, not enough that the drain is even noticeable to me but enough so that your body can continue to tolerate my presence within you. It is why your reserves are so large, this has been occurring since the moment I was placed within you and shall continue until the day I am either freed or you die." The fox narrowed its eyes at her for a moment before continuing. "However, my power is still my own and I do not give it so freely… but if you were to find yourself in a situation dire enough to require my aid the seal will assist you in drawing it out, regardless of my input on the matter."

"I see… but I can't imagine there are no strings attached to such strength." She noted softly and the beast's vulpine smirk seemed to widen marginally.

"You are an observant one… yes, the seal may help you draw upon my strength but my chakra is a part of me and is subject to my will. Should you call upon too much for you to handle the results will not be pleasant for you or those unfortunate enough to be in your presence." It revealed, clearly not bothered by the dangers present in using its power.

"That is certainly something to keep in mind…" She nodded before frowning once more. "I must admit you seem to be awfully forthcoming with this information. Why is that?"

"The effects of using my chakra are not subtle, impudent as you may be, you are no fool." The fox snorted and lazily whipped one of its tails against the bars of its cage, a dull rattle echoing around the room at the impact. "As entertaining as it might be to watch you lose yourself to it, you are much too self-aware not to notice the dangers of drawing upon my power. To put it bluntly, if I believed you dull enough to be so easily felled by such a tactic I may have gladly offered my chakra to you before now. If only to watch you choke upon it"

At least the fox was honest about its intentions if nothing else.

"I see..." She frowned but nodded regardless. "I'll take that as a compliment then, but I still have more questions."

"It seems as though you never run out… be thankful there is nothing else of value here. Ask your questions but understand that I have no obligation to answer you should I wish not to."

"That is fair enough." Even some answers would be better than nothing and she was in no position to make demands. "Might I ask then, what exactly are you? You've taken the shape of a kitsune clearly, but I would assume that there would be more accounts of giant talking foxes if such creatures existed."

"Feh, if they did exist mortals would have long ago hunted them down or enslaved them as you do everything that does not naturally wish to submit to your kind." The fox shook its head with open disdain clear in its voice. "There are no others that bear the title of Kyuubi, there are however eight other creatures that bear a different title… the title of Bijuu or "Tailed-Beasts" as your kind have taken to calling us."

"Bijuu…" She tested the word on her lips for a moment before speaking again. "Would one of these tailed-beasts just so happened to reside in the deserts of Wind Country, perhaps within the jurisdiction of Sunagakure?" She questioned.

"You allude to the Ichibi, the weakest of us. Barely worth considering among us but yes, I faintly sensed his presence while you were there but this seal is tight enough that I doubted the fool could even tell I was there. Had he sensed my presence I can assure you that he would have made it his personal mission to provoke you" The beast let out a low growl as if irritated just at the thought of the one-tail.

"I assume that you and the Ichibi are not exactly on the best of terms then?" She asked rhetorically.

"He is a prideful fool, arrogant given his position." The fox let out something akin to a huff and tapped the tip of its claw against the ground. "So yes, you could say the two of us are not on speaking terms."

"I see… what about the rest of the Bijuu then?"

"The rest are not relevant to this conversation, I do not know of their current whereabouts nor I feel any obligation to reveal anything more about them. If you wish to find out more you'll have to do so on your own."

Damn it, so much for that… well that was still more than she expected to learn. Assuming that the fox wasn't lying she now knew there were nine of these creatures in total and given the naming conventions, she assumed their titles went as such...

Ichibi, Nibi, Sanbi, Yonbi, Gobi, Rokubi, Nanabi, Hachibi, and Kyuubi. The nine Bijuu… nine great beasts of presumably earth rattling strength. Such information was useful but something the fox had just said piqued her interest.

"What is your name?" She asked suddenly.

"My name?" The beast repeated, seemingly caught off guard by the inquiry.

"You referred to the word "Kyuubi" as a title, not a name." She narrowed her eyes met its glare with a curious expression. "You also said the word Bijuu was a title given to the others like you by humans but a title is more akin to an alias than a proper name." She noted curiously. "What is your actual name?"

A deafening silence fell over the chamber and she watched as puzzled expression overtook the creature's darkened visage, if she was to be presumptuous for a moment she would say it almost seemed befuddled at her inquiry, as though she had her question in an entirely different language.

"My name… is not your concern." It let out a hot blast of air and once again she had to fight to remain standing as the heated wave passed over her. "Names have power and you have not earned the right to know such a thing!" It snarled.

"But you do have one, which means the other's also have names." She rebutted, shaking off her fear in favor of rubbing her chin in contemplation at the revelation. All the while ignoring the not-so-subtle growl that rumbled in her ears as she spoke. "You are entitled to your secrets but perhaps one day you will deem me worthy of knowing your true name then?"

"Unlikely." It scoffed, the fur on its body bristling in response to the clear irritation in its booming voice. "I'm growing tired of this conversation, you may have one final question and then you will leave my sight."

She frowned at the sudden change of tone in their conversation before it seemed as if the fox was willing to engage with her on some level but not it appeared agitated and cagey. She wasn't sure why such an innocuous question rattled the beast but unwilling to press her luck she considered her options. There were still many things she wished to know but she would have to try again another time.

"Very well… then for my last question, I want to know if I am your first container, or have there been others?" She asked. "I can only imagine how long you've roamed the earth for, is this your first time being sealed like this?"

She noted the slight spike of rage in its visage, the waters beneath her feet coming to a sudden boil as steam began to fill the chamber and an eerie red glow crept out from the darkness of the cage.

"No, I've had the distinct displeasure of being trapped within you fragile monkeys on two prior occasions." The utter toxicity of its words made it very apparent that whatever feelings the fox held towards its prior holders were not pleasant. "Both were quite insufferable and if they were still alive today I would take the first opportunity I could to grind their bones to dust beneath my foot. Now I've had more than enough of you, begone!"

She had no time to react as a sweeping arc of crimson energy slammed into her, the deafening roar of the fox's final words ringing in her ears as she was sent flying back into the dimly lit corridors and forcing her into true consciousness without so much as time to blink.

All the while, back within its cage, Kyuubi waited for his host's presence to fade from within the seal before finally settling down again, the malicious hum of its chakra dying down into faint embers and allowing the darkness that had enveloped it to slowly consume his form once more.

"Hmph… impudent monkey."

To ask his name so casually… never had a mortal done such a thing, let alone an Uzumaki.

"Mito… Kushina… your kin is quite odd, even for one of your blood."A hushed whisper echoed through the halls before the shadows finally swallowed him whole, blood-red eyes disappearing within the dark as he returned to his slumber, thoughts of what the future might hold on his mind.

AN. Chapter Complete!

We did quite a bit here, didn't we?

So, there is a lot I want to cover here (probably gonna be a longer AN but oh well) and so I want to start off with what was covered in this chapter before addressing some of the other things I've seen in reviews or PMs! There were only really two big revelations in this chapter so not a ton to cover there.

1.) Natsumi knows Kabuto:

To me, this makes sense given Kabuto's role as both a medic and a spy, naturally, he would have some involvement in Konoha's medical forces and so I think having them be at least on speaking terms now opens them up to lots of future dialogue options, especially when Natsumi eventually learns of his role as Orochimaru's right-hand man. What their relationship might look like going forward is of course subject to change.

2.) Natsumi's meeting with the Kyuubi and their relationship going forward:

This has been a long time coming and with all the information gathering and speculation Natsumi has been doing I thought it was high time we pay that off with a meeting between the two of them. Now obviously Kurama is not exactly fond of humans in general and so despite some people's wishes of them hitting it off well or Kurama instantly revealing her parentage I decided to go for something more neutral.

Given that Natsumi is fairly intelligent and polite I figured that Kurama would at least entertain her questioning if for no other reason than boredom but given that she is an Uzumaki (and a female Uzumaki to boot and we know how he feels about Mito and Kushina) he wasn't going to immediately fall in love with her either. As its stands, the two are going to have a pretty rocky/snarky relationship to start but unlike in my other stories, I do want her and Kurama to interact more often and with Natsumi's inquisitive nature I don't see her bothering Kurama with unwanted visits into the seal as out of character.

What Natsumi will be like under the influence of Kurama's chakra remains to be seen.

That's mainly it for this chapter so I will just quickly address some other things I've noticed in your reviews.

So in the last chapter, I asked you all if you wanted to see the Wave mission or not and it seems pretty down the middle in regards to yes vs. no. I haven't made a decision yet and because there are valid points on each side I have put a lore more consideration into it than before but just I wanted to thank you all for your feedback on the matter. I want to be clear that whatever the choice I make is, the next mission is going to be more action-oriented (I expect) and if I do pick Wave you can rest assured that I will make adequate changes to the mission though if I do go with something original it may take a bit longer to plug up any plot holes and such so I will ask for your patience in that regard.

It's also been a while since I've spoken about the potential romantic element of the story. Now no choices have been made here and anything serious in regards to real romance is a fair ways off even if it does happen but I thought I would address the popular choices and some sentiments. Right now it seems like most people are on the side of Shikamaru which in hindsight is to be expected but there have been some other names thrown in. Some have suggested Kakashi as a potential choice, I've had Neji suggested to me a few times in private, and some suggestions for just semi-open relationships. Now I'm not saying this to have people vote or anything, just making it clear that I am reading your reviews and taking your feedback on board!

Overall I'm glad you guys are still enjoying the story, it's always a pleasure seeing your feedback and I hope to be back with another chapter soon (no promises tho, don't pin me to a cross lol). Take care and stay safe!