I do not own these series, nor do I make any money off of this.
"talking"
'thinking'
Chapter 99: A Cursed Sleep
Once the wound was completely closed, Sasuke took in a sudden deep breath before his body returned to its normal state. It looked like he was just sleeping. Kurama took a step towards his form when another, much brighter flash of light stopped him. He was forced to shield his eyes. Through the cracks in between his fingers, he saw the white light shift as it began to take on a human form. The light dimmed, allowing Kurama to finally look at the beautiful woman before him.
She had long blond hair with some of it tied into buns. The blond color was so light that it could be mistaken for being white. A netting of white beads draped over her hair. A white dress loosely covered her body. It could easily qualify as a wedding dress. Upon a closer look, Kurama could see that her white corset was embedded with swirls that formed small roses. Her body had a thin white glow around it. When she turned, Kurama saw her amazingly blue eyes that were like the ocean. Their gazes met and Kurama fell to his knees. He had never felt this way before. It was similar to how he felt around his creator, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki. This woman was clearly a Goddess.
"Kurama," the Goddess said. Her voice was filled with kindness and it instantly caused Kurama to relax. He stared at her. "Everything will be ok. Sasuke Uchiha shall awaken when the time is right."
"Is that why you came here? Kurama asked. "To save the Uchiha?"
"I felt the flame extinguish suddenly, so I had to make sure its spark hadn't fully disappeared," the Goddess said. "It seems I needn't have been worried." She looked at Naruto and Sasuke. The white light appeared around her feet, and Kurama realized that she was about to leave.
"Wait!" he yelled. The Goddess turned towards him. "You seem to know what is going on. Tell me, will they be ok?"
"They shall align shortly, fitting together perfectly," the Goddess said. Seeing the confusion on Kurarma's face, the Goddess smiled. "Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha will be fine." She walked over to Kurama and pressed a finger to his chest. He felt an overwhelming sense of comfort circulate through his body. "You may not be a flame yourself, but you will find felicity." The white light finished covering the Goddess's body and Kurama closed his eyes as she vanished in a flash.
Kurama looked at the spot she once stood in wonder and amazement. A groan caught his attention and he stood up. Naruto was awakening. "Kurama?" He looked around. "Sasuke?"
"He's asleep," Kurama said. He motioned to the spot next to Naruto's body.
Naruto turned and his eyes widened. He could see the small rise of Sasuke's chest. Tears came to his eyes as he brought his head down to Sasuke's chest. He could hear his heart beating. "He's alive."
"Yes," Kurama said. "The stone Sasuke got from the Keeper of the World of In-Between, brought him back." Kurama explained what he saw, including his interaction with the Goddess.
"So he's just sleeping," Naruto said. He brushed some of Sasuke's hair to the side. He then looked up, his eyes meeting Kurama's. "We have to protect him until he awakens." The determination in Naruto's eyes made Kurama agree.
"Then we need to put a barrier on him." Kurama tapped the black gem on his bracelet. Watanuki appeared in a hologram. "Can you get me in contact with the Naruto that's Hokage from that world we went to?" He paused. "I don't know how else to explain it."
"I can link you to the one you seek," Watanuki said. "You just have to picture him and his world."
"And the price is blood, right?" Kurama stated. Watanuki nodded, already holding out a flask. Kurama grabbed a kunai and sliced his hand. It didn't really hurt and, as far as he could remember, it was the first time he's ever seen his blood. It was the same red color as Naruto and Sasuke's blood. Once it filled the flask, Watanuki passed him a mirror. It matched the one in Sasuke's backpack. Kurama briefly wondered why they don't just use that one. The Kurama on the mirror vanished and in its place sat Hokage Naruto next to a girl with white hair. He had a flower in his hair. He looked up.
"Well this is weird," Hokage Naruto said. "I didn't know you could contact me via a mirror. It is good to see you Kyu."
"Ku-nii?" the little girl asked.
"Not quite," Hokage Naruto said, smiling at the little girl. "He's not our Kurama, but another from a different world. You'll understand when you're older." He turned back to the mirror. "So what's wrong?"
"You have created several different types of barriers, correct?" Kurama asked.
"Yes," Hokage Naruto said.
"Well, we need one to put around the Uchiha," Kurama said. He moved the mirror to show Naruto and Sasuke.
Hokage Naruto's eyes widened. "Is he…?"
Kurama nodded. "He's in a coma."
"And I'm guessing something is preventing you from being able to wake him up," Hokage Naruto said. Again Kurama nodded. "So you need a barrier that moves with him, unless you want to simply put him in a scroll."
"You can't put living people in a scroll!" Naruto yelled, a horrified look on his face.
"Actually, you can," Hokage Naruto said. "I've sealed clones in scrolls several times, regular and Real ones. You only need to put a barrier around them that stops time and a protection barrier on the scroll to prevent it from being destroyed. But I guess it's not a good idea to try out something like that without testing it on clones. I could do it for you, but then you'd need me to unseal it as well. A moving barrier would be best. You'd need to carry Sasuke's body to travel, but he'd be protected from everything no matter the movement for as long as the barrier remains intact."
"That would probably be the best option," Kurama said.
"Then come over here," Hokage Naruto said. "I'll show you how it works." Naruto hesitantly slipped out of the bed and walked over to the mirror. He watched as Hokage Naruto made a clone then waved some signs and touched its shoulder. A thin red barrier surrounded the clone. The clone then moved around, showing off how the barrier moved with him. The clone even took a kunai and stabbed himself with it, but nothing happened to him. Instead, the kunai had melted a bit. Hokage Naruto waved some different signs and touched the clone's shoulder. The red barrier disappeared followed by the clone only a second later.
Naruto decided to copy Hokage Naruto and text the newly learned jutsu on a clone. When it worked, Naruto put a barrier around Sasuke. He thanked Hokage Naruto profusely. Hokage Naruto just laughed. "It's really no trouble. If you ever need my help, just ask."
"There is something I'm curious about," Naruto said. His eyes fell on the little girl before they moved down to Hokage Naruto's stomach.
Hokage Naruto smiled. "As you've probably guessed, I'm pregnant." He moved a hand to his stomach. "As for Hanami…" the little girl looked up at her name. "She's Karin and Suigetsu's daughter. You didn't get to meet her when you came since she was still in the surrogate's belly. Oh, and I should probably let you know about Shima and Minaku."
As if they'd been summoned, a boy and a girl walked into the room. They were carrying trays of food. "Papa said you'd be hungry," the boy said. "Uncle told him that Mama needs to eat a lot."
"That's right," Hokage Naruto said. "I nearly ate Konoha's entire food storage during both of your pregnancies. That's why we have the gardens."
"Mama?" the girl asked. "Who are they?" She pointed to the mirror. "He looks like Uncle Kyu and he looks like you."
"They are from another world," Hokage Naruto answered. "I'll explain later." He turned back to the mirror. "I need to go to the bathroom. So if there is nothing else you need…"
"No," Naruto said. "It was nice to see you though. I hope everything is going well."
"Yes," Hokage Naruto said. "And I hope you get to tell him soon." The mirror returned to normal. Kurama returned it to Watanuki. Silence filled the room.
Naruto stared at Sasuke. "I know he's right here, but I miss him."
"He'll wake up soon," Kurama said. Naruto only nodded before the silence returned. Kurama got up and left, deciding to find some food. He'd have to make Naruto eat even if the blond didn't want to. He briefly wondered how they were gonna take care of Sasuke when the Uchiha couldn't feed himself. Kurama groaned. He found an uninhabited place before he went through the process again with Watanuki, only to contact the Sakura of Hokage Naruto's world. She gave him a lot of advice as well as a book on how to take care of coma patients.
"Oh and one more thing," Sakura said. "I have something else to give you. I just need to go get it." She vanished in a puff of smoke before returning a couple minutes later. "I was told to give this to you if you ever contacted us again. Naruto forgot to give it to you earlier." Kurama took the book, but didn't really look at it. He thanked Sakura and the woman went back to work.
Kurama bought some food before returning to the inn. He found Naruto asleep again. He let him rest while he prepared the meal. Once it was done, she shook Naruto awake. "You have to eat." Naruto just nodded before accepting the plate. Kurama quickly ate his own food before he explained everything he had learned. Naruto listened carefully, despite wanting to just snuggle up to the raven and sleep. Seeing that Naruto was still tired, Kurama allowed him to do just that while he cleaned up. He then sat down and watched over the two for the rest of the night.
-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-
When the gem turned green, Naruto lifted Sasuke into his arms. It looked a bit strange since Sasuke was taller than him, but Kurama knew that Naruto wouldn't give him up. Kurama didn't really want to carry Sasuke, so it worked out. Instead, he held Sasuke's bag. The familiar green light surrounded them. The queasy feeling was back and Kurama grumbled as the two took in their new surroundings.
Tall buildings surrounded them. It looked similar to Light's world. There was a strange aura around the city, but they chose to ignore it. "I'll find a place for us to stay," Kurama said. "It probably wouldn't be a good idea to be seen carrying around an unconscious person." Naruto nodded. He quietly sat down, hiding behind a billboard. Kurama had to bite down his concern for Naruto in order to walk away. He looked around, searching for an inn. He soon found a hotel. It was on the fancy side, but he didn't really care. Kurama walked in and noticed that there weren't a lot of people in the lobby. He grinned. 'This should go quickly then.' He stepped up to the counter. " I need a room." When he didn't get a response, he frowned. "Excuse me." Still nothing. His frown deepened. "Hello! I said I need a room!" His anger spiked as he believed that he was getting ignored. He slammed his hands on the counter. "Why the hell are you ignoring me?"
"They can't see you," a voice said. Kurama turned to see a boy with black hair. Next to him were a boy with pink hair and a girl with reddish-orange hair.
"What do you mean?" Kurama asked.
The black haired boy motioned to a corner where there was a table for four. "I think it would be best to talk over there." Kurama nodded. He could tell that the three of them were on guard. He thought about leaving them but if some people really couldn't see him, he needed to find out why.
"So?" Kurama asked once everyone sat down. "What do you mean that they can't see me? And if that is true, how can you see me?"
"It's because you are a Curse," the pink haired boy said. "Gojo-sensei said that a Special Grade curse was here, but something is different about that curse."
"I don't understand how you two can be so calm," the girl said. "We don't know anything about him. How can Gojo-sensei think this curse is peaceful? Can't you feel his Cursed Energy? It's covering his whole body."
"Look here girl, I don't know what this Cursed Energy is," Kurama began. "But I can tell you that I only want to find a place to stay for the Kit, Uchiha, and I."
"How does a Curse like you not know what Cursed Energy is?" the girl asked.
The pink haired boy raised his hands. "Calm down Kugisaki. I don't think Gojo-sensei's wrong."
"Itadori's right," the black haired boy said. "Gojo wouldn't send us blindly into danger." He glanced at Kurama. "Though I can understand how you feel." He turned towards Kurama. "If he's really dangerous, Gojo would have joined us."
"Fine," Kugisaki said. "If Fushiguro thinks this is fine, then I'll go along with it."
Fushiguro rolls his eyes before his attention returns to Kurama. He can tell that the red-head is antsy, as if he had somewhere to go. "The reason they can't see you is because you're a Curse. We are Jujutsu Sorcerers."
"What is a Curse?" Kurama asked.
"They are a race of spiritual beings manifested from cursed energy as a result of the negative emotions that flow out of humans," Fushiguro said. "They usually bring harm to humanity and we Sorcerers are supposed to exercise them."
"So what?" Kurama asked. "Are you here to kill me?"
"No," Itadori said. "Gojo-sensei said that you're an anomaly. We're only here to make sure you're a good Curse."
"If you're asking me if I plan on killing anyone, then the answer is no," Kurama said. "I just need to find a place to stay." He glanced towards the door, briefly worrying about Naruto.
"Then you should come with us back to Jujutsu High," Itadori said.
Kurama looked at him. He was hesitant since if he was viewed as a Curse, he wondered what Naruto and Sasuke would be. But Naruto and Sasuke couldn't just stay outside. It was probably better to have a roof over their head. Kurama didn't know if his healing would work in this world and he didn't want Naruto to get sick. "Alright. But I won't be alone." The three kids looked at each other. They weren't sure about what to do. "I can't stay here. The Kit needs me." Kurama stood up. "If we can't go with you, then we'll have to find other accommodations." He made his way around them. Itadori tried to stop him, but Kurama ignored him.
Kurama knew they were following him, but his concern was on Naruto. He found the blond shivering while holding Sasuke. Kurama cursed before squatting down and placing his hand on Naruto's forehead. "You still have a fever."
"Who are they?" Naruto asked.
"Sorcerers," Kurama said. "Ignore them. We have to get you somewhere safe."
"Did you find an inn?" Naruto asked.
Kurama frowned. He was about to admit his failure when Itadori spoke up. "You can come with us."
"Itadori?" Fushiguro and Kugisaki asked.
"They need our help," Itadori said.
Kurama glanced from Naruto to Itadori and then back to Naruto. He sighed. "Ok."