I do not own these series, nor do I make any money off of this.

"talking"

'thinking'

Chapter 78: Fighting to Change

Naruto awoke to find himself wearing his cloak. He glanced over at Sasuke who was glaring at Inosuke. The Beast Slayer had gone on a tirade about stealing his sword. Tanjiro had to hold him back to stop him from fighting Sasuke. Zenitsu on the other hand was staring at Naruto. He could hear his heartbeat, so he knew Naruto was alive, but from what he had seen, he was both concerned as well as afraid of him. That giant fox was something he'd never expected to see. When the blue eyes of the other blond opened, Zenitsu flinched.

Naruto sat up and looked around. Their tent was in pieces. He frowned. "How much damage was done?"

"We lost the tent as well as an entire scroll," Sasuke said. He motioned to the paper that was scattered around. "The barrier on our backpacks managed to protect everything else."

"So we need to go shopping," Naruto sighed. "Great. We don't have a lot of money left." He shook his head before he looked down at himself. "Why am I wearing this?"

"When you turned, your clothes got ruined," Sasuke said. "The cloak was the easiest thing to put on you." Naruto blushed at that. "So much for holding back. You told me not to use my Sharingan yet you went full on Kyuubi."

Naruto looked away. "I got mad." Sasuke raised an eyebrow but he didn't question him. Naruto got up and grabbed his backpack. "I'm going to wash off at the river."

"I'll go with you," Tanjiro said. "It wouldn't be a good idea for someone without a Nichirin to wonder around." Naruto nodded and allowed Tanjiro to follow him. Tanjiro looked at his comrades. "I'll be back soon." Zenitsu looked at him then at Inosuke who was eating and glaring at Sasuke.

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Naruto took out a change of clothes and a towel, hanging them on a tree. He then grabbed some soap before stepping into the water. He tossed his cloak in the water and began to wash it. Once he deemed it clean enough, he placed it on a branch. He then began to wash himself.

Tanjiro sat nearby, keeping an eye out just in case. He knew they should be ok since demons couldn't come out during the day, but something told him to not let Naruto be alone. His eyes fell on Naruto's back and he had to wonder just how strong the demon inside of him was to heal him so quickly. Inosuke had said the fox was stronger than the Demon Moons. If that was true that meant Naruto had to be strong enough to not only contain him, but to reel him back in after letting him out.

Feeling the eyes on him, Naruto turned around. "What's up?"

"I was just thinking about that fox of yours," Tanjiro answered.

"His name is Kurama," Naruto said. He grabbed the towel and wrapped it around himself, stepping out of the water. "He was sealed inside of me when I was born. He's not as bad as people think."

"He's powerful," Tanjiro said. "He was a great help with those demons."

"Are you afraid of us?" Naruto asked.

"No." Tanjiro shook his head. "I can tell that you're not a bad person. I can't explain it, but that's just how I feel."

"I feel the same way. And your comrades are good people too. I have to ask though. Who's Muzan?"

"He's a demon with the ability to create demons. He's the one who turned Nezuko."

"He killed someone you loved didn't he?"

"He attacked my family while I was out and left only Nezuko alive."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm going to stop Muzan and save Nezuko. I'll turn her back into a human. I just need to get stronger." Naruto nodded. He knew how Tanjiro felt. His mind went to Jiraiya, Asuma, his parents, and the Jinchuriki that have all died at the hands of the Akatsuki. There were only a few members of Akatsuki left and Naruto wanted to stop them. He knew it meant killing them. It was something he'd have to do no matter how much he hated it. Naruto finished getting changed before he and Tanjiro returned to camp. Zenitsu was holding Inosuke back as he yelled at Sasuke who seemed to be ignoring them.

"What happened?" Naruto asked, sitting down next to Sasuke.

"He's still mad about the whole sword thing," Sasuke answered. Tanjiro was now in Inosuke's face, trying to calm him down.

"For the last time, he took it to help us!" Tanjiro yelled.

"He's a thief," Inosuke complained.

"Would you rather him going into that fight without a way to defend himself?" Tanjiro asked. Inosuke fell silent at that. He grumbled a little before sitting back down.

"Hn," Sasuke smirked. That just riled Inosuke up even more.

Catching on to what Sasuke was thinking, Naruto spoke up. "Why don't you spar?" Everyone looked at him. "You both need to let off some steam."

"Without the swords," Tanjiro added.

"Ha," Inosuke said, standing. "Fine with me."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. He stood up and dusted himself off. He handed his sword to Naruto while Inosuke dropped his beside Zenitsu. The two moved away from the others. Naruto moved between them.

"The rules are simple," Naruto said. "No use of lethal moves. Only try to immobilize your opponent. That means no killing each other. If I have to, I will step in to stop you." He glanced over at Tanjiro who nodded in agreement. Naruto pulled out a kunai. The moment this touches the ground, you may begin." He stepped back and tossed the kunai into the air. Inosuke and Sasuke watched the kunail as it fell, both ready to move. As soon as the tip hit the ground, they lunged at each other.

Inosuke used his flexibility in an attempt to outmaneuver Sasuke. Tanjiro and Zenitsu were reminded of Inosuke's fight with Tanjiro. The biggest difference was that Sasuke didn't seem to be the slightest bit put off with Inosuke's attack style. In fact, it was clear that Sasuke had experience with similar movements. Naruto wondered if he was as flexible as Inosuke.

Sasuke grabbed Inosuke's foot and slammed him into the ground. Inosuke laughed as he lowered himself even closer to the ground and kicked out towards Sasuke's legs. Sasuke smirked as he flipped over the kick and slammed his hand against the back of Inosuke's neck. Inosuke continued to try and land a blow on Sasuke only for him to suddenly lose consciousness. Sasuke stepped to the side letting Inosuke's body slam into the ground. His boar mask fell off, revealing his face. Naruto blushed slightly, turning away. Sasuke glared before he walked away in a huff. Naruto raised an eyebrow, wondering what pissed Sasuke off. Tanjiro looked between Inosuke, Sasuke, and Naruto. Decided that Inosuke and Naruto would be fine, Tanjiro ran after Sasuke. Zenitsu looked like he was going to pass out.

Tanjiro caught up to Sasuke easily. "Hey! You shouldn't run off like that!"

"You said that demons only come out at night," Sasuke said. "I'll be fine."

"That's true," Tanjiro said. "But…"

"Go back," Sasuke said. "I don't need someone babysitting me." He walked up to Tanjiro, getting close enough to whisper into his ear. "Or are you after something else?"

"I just… wanted to make sure you were ok," Tanjiro said. "Did you get hurt?"

Sasuke snorted. "As if any of you could."

"Why are you so angry?" Tanjiro asked. Sasuke ignored him and walked further into the forest. He came to a stop at the river. Sasuke began to strip, causing Tanjiro to turn away. Sasuke stepped into the water, not caring how cold it was. He closed his eyes and began to relax. Tanjiro stood frozen in place, unsure of what to do. He knew that Sasuke was right in that he didn't need someone to watch out for him during the day. He also knew that Sasuke was strong enough to defend himself even if he somehow got into trouble. But something told him to stay. He sat behind a tree, turned away from Sasuke to allow him some peace.

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Naruto sighed as he went through their belongings. He was making a list of everything they would need. Zenitsu was near Inosuke, but not too close to get hit when the other woke up. Inosuke instantly sat up and had a temper tantrum. Zenitsu tried to calm him down, but Inosuke ignored him. Naruto rolled his eyes at Inosuke's behavior. He turned back to his task, frowning as the list continued to grow. They'd have to find a way to make money as fast as possible.

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Although he knew Tanjiro was still there, Sasuke let himself relax. The cold water helped calm him, it always had. He knew the benefits working out in cold water did from his time with Orochimaru. The thought of his ex-Sensei brought a bitter taste to his mouth. He frowned before letting himself sink further into the water. He closed his eyes, the tiredness of his body seeping away.

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Naruto dropped the list as he felt something tug at his heart. He glanced at the forest, wondering how much longer Sasuke was going to be. Another tug at his heart caused him to stand up. The sudden movement made Inosuke and Zenitsu turn towards Naruto. Zenitsu managed to hear Naruto breath out Sasuke's name before the blond was running into the woods. Insuke quickly ran after him. Zenitsu stayed behind, promising to protect Nezuko if anything bad happened.

Inosuke tried to keep up with Naruto, but he was too fast. He slid to a stop at the river, right near Tanjiro. Tanjiro looked up at him in surprise. Naruto ignored him and walked into the river, swimming down to Sasuke. He pulled Sasuke out of the river and lowered him to the ground. Checking his pulse, Naruto nearly into his memories, Naruto knew what to do. He turned Sasuke's head to the side for a few seconds before turning it back to face him. He then pinched Sasuke's nose before leaning down and breathing into Sasuke's mouth. Tanjiro and Inosuke looked on the scene in confusion. Tanjiro hadn't even heard Sasuke begin to drown so how did Naruto know? Naruto breathed into Sasuke's mouth for the fourth time, only to have a hand grab his head and pull him back.

Red eyes glared at him. "What are you doing?" Sasuke asked.

"You weren't breathing," Naruto answered.

"I was meditating," Sasuke said.

"Normal people don't meditate until they drown!" Naruto yelled.

"I wasn't drowning," Sasuke said. He released Naruto's head and sat up, pushing Naruto backwards. "And even if I was, I'm not so weak that I need you to help me."

"Why does everything lead back to that?" Naruto asked. "I've never called you weak!"

"Just stay away from me Dobe," Sasuke said. "I don't need your coddling." He stood up, grabbing his clothes and looked down at his arm. "Two days." Without another word, he vanished.

Naruto cursed. "Teme!" He then turned on his heels and stomped his way back to camp. Inosuke and Tanjiro looked at each other before following after Naruto.

Sasuke fell to the ground and sighed. He lifted his hand and pressed his fingers to his lips. 'Naruto.' He hadn't expected that his meditation would lead to Naruto giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Sasuke had been so deep into his meditation that he didn't even feel Naruto pull him from the water. He blamed the way he had reacted on Tanjiro and Inosuke. 'Had the two of them not been there, what would I have done?' He licked his lips. 'Something is wrong with me.'

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Naruto grabbed his bag and threw everything back inside, including the nearly destroyed scroll. He then grabbed Sasuke's things. Tanjiro and Inosuke caught the concerned look on Zenitsu's face. Naruto was muttering curses about 'stupid Temes' as he went. Once he had everything together, Naruto began to walk in the opposite direction of the forest.

"Naruto!" Tanjiro called after him, running towards him. "Where are you going?"

"Away from that stupid bastard!" Naruto yelled. "If he thinks I'll go after him this time, he's wrong!" Naruto picked up his pace. Not sure what to do, Tanjiro asked his teammates. Neither of them was really helpful. By the time Tanjiro decided to follow Naruto, he was long gone, leaving only Sasuke's sword behind.

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Naruto tossed the bags on the floor before he jumped onto the bed. He pressed his face against the pillow and left out a yell. He then sat up and began punching the pillow. 'Stupid Teme!' After a few minutes, he let himself fall onto the bed. He then cuddled into the pillow. 'Why is he always like that?' Naruto sighed. 'I… I haven't changed either.'

"You want to find him, don't you?" Kurama asked.

"I know I shouldn't but…"

Kurama sighed. "That's just the way you are. Always running after the Uchiha no matter how much he hurts you." He shook his head. "All Uchihas are the same. They take what they want, not caring about anyone else."

"Itachi was…"

"Itachi wasn't any different. He could have prevented things from turning out this way, but he didn't."

"He did it for Konoha and for Sasuke."

"That doesn't change how selfish he was."

Naruto didn't know what to say to that. "I'm tired."

"Then sleep. I'll wake you up."

"Thank you, Kurama." Naruto closed his eyes.

"No problem, Kit."

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It didn't take Sasuke long to release that he left everything behind. He didn't even have his sword. He made his way back to camp, expecting a lecture, only to find Naruto not there. "He left," Tanjiro said. "We couldn't stop him."

"Where are my things?" Sasuke asked.

"He took everything," Tanjiro answered. "Well, except your sword." Tanjiro held it up to Sasuke who took it with a frown on his face. "He went that way." Tanjiro pointed in the direction Naruto had gone. "But I don't know how far away he is."

"It doesn't matter," Sasuke said. "In two days we will meet up regardless." Tanjiro raised an eyebrow at that, but Sasuke chose not to say anything. Instead, he walked a few feet away and sat down. Since Naruto took everything, that meant that Sasuke didn't even have food. He was going to have to either trust the people around him or go hunting. He was hesitant to do either of those. The third option would be for him to try and find Naruto. Without his map, he didn't think it would be easy. Itachi suddenly popped into his head along with a memory. The memory was of the time he had run off to try and find Naruto before Itachi and Kisame did. He managed to find Naruto before they could harm him. He briefly wondered what would have happened if Itachi had ignored him. It would have been easy for Itachi to take Naruto away. Itachi used Sasuke to prevent this, a fact Sasuke bristled at. He shook his head. That didn't matter right now. He had found Naruto then so finding Naruto now should be even easier. Sasuke was stronger, faster, and he had his Summons on his side. Nodding, Sasuke stood up.

"Sasuke?" Tanjiro asked.

Sasuke bit into his thumbs, letting the blood drip down. Tanjiro panicked, but Sasuke ignored him and quickly waved a few signs. He slammed both hands on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu." Out of the smoke appeared several snakes. Zenitsu screamed and Inosuke got into a battle stance. Tanjiro was confused, a bit afraid, and amazed.

The biggest snake looked at Sasuke. "What do you need, Sasuke-sama?"

"I need you to find someone for me," Sasuke said. He looked around before he cursed. He didn't have anything with Naruto's scent on it.

Catching on to what Sasuke was doing, Tanjiro took out a towel and held it up. "Here. This has Naruto's blood on it." Sasuke looked at Tanjiro in confusion before he grabbed it and threw it to the snakes. Tanjiro wondered if Sasuke was going to ask him why he had a towel with Naruto's blood on it, but Sasuke didn't. Instead, Sasuke's eyes remained focused on the snakes. Tanjiro was about to open his mouth when the leader of the snakes beat him to it.

"He's not close," the snake hissed. "And the scent is fading."

"Which of you has the strongest nose?" Sasuke asked. A pinkish snake slithered forward. "I'll take you then." Sasuke lifted the snake up and allowed it to crowel up his arm. It wrapped itself around the collar on Sasuke's neck. Sasuke dismissed the rest of the snakes. Making sure his sword was secured at his side, he began to send chakra to his feet. Without another word, Sasuke bolted in the direction Naruto went. Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitu were left staring after the raven in silence and bewilderment.

If Sasuke veered off the scent's path, Zephyra would tell him. She stayed hidden when they reached the town Naruto was in. Sasuke slowed down, not wanting to cause a scene. When he arrived at the inn, he wondered if he should get a room, or just force his way into Naruto's. Sasuke walked down the alley near the inn and sat down.

"What's wrong, Sasuke-sama?" Zephyra asked. Sasuke didn't say anything. He looked up at a window. He knew Naruto was in that room, as he could sense him. "He is safe." Zephyra moved down Sasuke's arm and crawled into his lap. "Whatever caused that blood is gone. I can't smell it." Sasuke sighed and let himself lean back against the wall. "If you are tired, sleep. I'll cloak us." With one last look at the snake, Sasuke closed his eyes. Zephyra moved to the heel of Sasuke's shoes. She then moved in a circle. A pink barrier surrounded them. Anyone that walked by would see an empty alley.

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Kurama felt Sasuke's presence, but he didn't say anything. He waited to see what the Uchiha would do. He expected him to barge into the room, demanding his things. It would lead to another argument, one Kurama really didn't want to hear. He got his wish when after a few minutes, Sasuke's presence disappeared. Just in case, Kurama extended out his charka until it hit Zephyra's barrier. Zephyra simply looked up at the window, before she got more comfortable. Kurama also relaxed, glad to know that Sasuke was finally beginning to change.

Zephyra's name comes from zephyranthes rosea also known as the pink rain lily. She is a leucistic rat snake, whose scales look like pearls with a pink shine to them.