Naruto smiled, "You have a very nice name, Kurama."
The newly dubbed Kurama smiled, "Thank you. It means a lot coming from someone whose name means fishcake", Kurama smirked at the end, intentionally making the jab at Naruto's name to see if he could rile the boy up.
His success was only miniscule though. Naruto only had a tiny frown on his face, instead of the full blown childish rage Kurama was expecting, "Actually, I prefer the other meaning of my name. 'Maelstrom' is much better than being compared to a fishcake, Kurama."
Kurama chuckled, a smooth, deep baritone that lit up a warm feeling inside Naruto. Naruto decided he liked Kurama's voice.
"No one would think of a maelstrom when they look at you, Naruto. Perhaps when you are older, but certainly not now", Kurama teased him.
Naruto shrugged, and then his eyes turned serious, Making Kurama do the same.
Naruto asked the bijuu, "Kurama, you know I have questions, right?"
Kurama nodded, "I assumed as such. However, I had expected us to meet when you were significantly older. I have to say; I was not expecting your call to me."
Naruto shook his head, "Well, if it makes you feel better, I was not expecting you to pull me inside my mind", he said, absently noting that he was not wet at all, in spite of standing and sitting in the water.
Kurama returned to his earlier position, lying down, face on his paws/hands, "I will do my best to answer whatever question you have, Naruto", he assured him.
Naruto gave him a nod of gratitude and sat down as well. "Okay, first question. Why does my mindscape represent a gutter or a sewer, whatever you want to call it?"
Kurama looked silent for a moment, after which a mischievous grin broke out on his face, exposing his sharp canines, "You know what they say about people whose minds are in the gutter, right?"
Naruto gave him a blank look, reminding Kurama that Naruto, however intelligent for his age, was still only five years old. Kurama's embarrassed blush would have been visible on his face if his fur were not orange. He cleared his throat loudly to avoid embarrassment.
"Sorry Naruto, but I have no idea why your mindscape is a sewer. There is a theory that says that your mindscape is a reflection of your mental state. It could have been the psychological trauma that was given to you by the villagers, but why it is particularly a sewer, I don't know", he replied.
Naruto absorbed the information like a sponge and after a few seconds, he asked Kurama, "So, I have psychological trauma. I knew about that. Which means that even if I change the appearance of my mindscape to something else, there will always be something that represents the trauma, right?"
Kurama inclined his head in agreement, smiling a little, "That's right. I have to say though, it's nice to talk to someone who is intelligent."
Naruto's eyes visibly brightened up at the praise, giving a full blown smile to his newest friend. Kurama noted with some amusement the grin looked very similar to his own and a redhead.
Naruto jumped to his feet, "Your answer just confirmed something for me Kurama." His eyes had a mix of excitement and determination to them, as if he was about to do something new.
Naruto closed his eyes and clapped his hands together, face scrunched up in concentration. Kurama observed him quietly, wondering what his host was about to do.
Naruto snapped his eyes open after a few minutes, having envisioned what he was about to do. With a cry of "Ha!", he slammed his right hand on the ground. What happened next completely blew away his mind.
A wave of energy exploded from Naruto in all the directions, completely lighting up the mindscape and almost blinding Kurama. 'Was it chakra that exploded from him? How is that even possible when he hasn't even unlocked it yet? That pulse of chakra completely shredded everything it came in contact with! Naruto may have possibly destroyed his own mind!' were the thought running through Kurama's head.
When he opened his eyes, however, he was stupefied to a degree he didn't think was possible. His eyes were wide, his jaw was hanging, making him look quite comical.
A beautiful valley greeted his eyes. Grounds that were lush and a shade of green that that looked heavenly, streams with water clearer than he had ever seen. The grass felt soft under his limbs and there was a massive oak tree with a shade that made it great for naps. The cage around him had disappeared, instead replaced with a collar which had the same piece of paper from before with the kanji for seal written on it. He looked at Naruto in wonder. This kid was a package of one surprise after another.
Naruto got up from his position, looking no worse for wear. He smiled satisfactorily, "This is so much better than before! Wouldn't you agree, Kurama?" he asked, turning to him.
Kurama was smiling like he was the happiest being on Earth. No one had ever done anything for him, and Naruto, who had just met him, had already done so much for him.
Kurama looked at Naruto with gratitude in his eyes, "Thank you, Naruto. You have no idea how much this means to me."
Naruto just shook his head at him, "Don't worry about it. We are friends, right?"
Kurama nodded, feeling excitement in a long time, wanting to explore what Naruto had created for him. He was about to leave when Naruto's voice stopped him, mid-step.
"However, it seems strange that there is no presence of a celestial body in the sky. I had envisioned it just like outside", he mused, a frown on his five year old face that would have earned him so many squeals of "Kawai!" from girls.
Kurama too wondered what the reason could be, and quickly figured it out. He looked up in thought, "Perhaps it is because of the seal", he muttered.
Naruto looked up at him, confusion written clear on his face, "What do you mean?"
Kurama looked down at Naruto, "The seal that keeps me inside you, Naruto. If it was only you, you would have had absolute control over your mindscape. But since I am here as well, the control gets divided equally. However, control on my side is restricted because of this seal. The absence of the sun or the moon that you envisioned could signify that this place is cut off from my senses. In easier terms, the outside world", he explained.
Naruto processed Kurama's answer. If the seal was restricting Kurama's activity…..
"What do you propose I should do, Kurama?"
Kurama put his hand under his chin. He could see only one way around this, and if Naruto messed up, it could spell trouble for both of them. But he would try his best to not let that happen.
"You would have to tear off a very small piece of paper on my collar. Leave the rest to me", Kurama assured him.
When Naruto looked a bit hesitant, Kurama told him, "Don't worry Naruto. You can do it. If something goes wrong, I will take care of it."
The reassurance erased any doubt from Naruto's face and he promptly marched up to Kurama's collar, making sure to tear only the smallest piece of paper.
Kurama nodded in satisfaction and approval. He could feel a tiny bit of control get back to him. Just a snap of his fingers and a sun appeared in the sky, lighting up the valley, making it even more beautiful.
Naruto smiled at the sight, but it faded at the sight of a cave that he instinctively knew not to go near.
He turned back to Kurama, who had an expression of curiosity on his face, "Naruto, what was that wave of energy that exploded from you earlier? And how did you know how to change your mindscape?"
Naruto gave him an innocent look, "It is my mind, Kurama. I can make anything happen in here. As for the energy wave", his expression turned sheepish and he rubbed the back of his head, reminding him of the boy's mother who had the same habit, "It just seemed cooler than simply changing the surroundings in the blink of an eye."
This time it was Kurama who gave him a blank look. A sweatdrop appeared on the side of his head at the sheepish laugh of his host. He shook his head, it seemed Naruto like to be a dramatic smartass. He concentrated and nodded in satisfaction. He could now sense chakra signatures of almost the whole village. Once Naruto opened his eyes, Kurama would be able to see as well.
"Nevertheless, you have my thanks. Allow me to repay with something that will come in very handy once you become a shinobi", Kurama smiled, raising a fingernail and very gently touching Naruto's forehead. The nail shined for a moment and then faded back.
Naruto raised an eyebrow, "What was that?"
Kurama smiled mysteriously, "Why don't you discover it yourself? I can feel several chakra signatures closing in on you. Time for you to open your eyes, Naruto."
Naruto nodded and turned to leave, but froze. He slowly turned around and smiled embarrassedly, "How do I leave?"
Kurama had to squash the urge to facepalm. It seemed that Naruto had his moments of stupidity every now and then, "Just jump into the water, fishcake", he said exasperatedly.
Naruto frowned at 'fishcake', but nodded and with a leap that was impossible for any child his age, jumped into the water. Kurama shook his head, amused. It was only because Naruto was in his own mind that he was able to do so.
'Perhaps I should have told him that he could get out with just a thought', he mused. Then he removed that thought immediately, 'Nah, it's too much fun messing with him.'
XXXXXXX
Naruto opened his eyes slowly, without a hurry. He was thinking about what gift did Kurama give him when he felt it. Like something, no someone was coming his way. He slowly turned his head around, face paling at the sight.
Dozens of people, knives, clubs, crowbars in hand, excited expressions on their faces, shouting, "TODAY IS THE DAY YOU DIE, DEMON!" "WE WILL FININSH WHAT THE YONDAIME STARTED, AND WE WILL AVENGE HIM!" Naruto's expression had turned utterly horrified. There was only one way to get off the monument without falling splat on the pavement.
Outrun and outmaneuver the mob.
He wasted no time. He kipped up to his feet and immediately started running in a perpendicular direction to the mob. Since he had been running regularly for one year, he had built up some pretty good speed and endurance.
His plan was to take a wide arc around the mob and as soon as it was behind him, hightail it into the streets where he could lose them. He took off into the forest, the mob following him closely behind. As he began to cut an arc around the mob, hairs on the back of his neck stood up, a clear sign of danger. However, unlike before when he could only detect danger, this time he could feel the direction the weapon was coming from.
Naruto was an imaginative child. From where he had developed his imagination, no one knew. But there was one thing about his imagination that even HE knew was not normal. His body had the most unnatural and peculiar ability of following the commands of his mind down to a T. As soon as he had sensed the knives' speeding at him, he thought of only one escape scenario, and his body followed it as it did before several times, just not in a life and death scenario.
He jumped, body in the air, rotating like a screwdriver, the knives going under him, missing him by just a few inches. He rolled on the ground to soften his landing, and continued running away, successfully getting the mob behind him and the road in front of him.
He managed to get to the streets, where he purposefully chose the market street where he could lose them. He knew the civilians could not do the tricks that he could. He vaulted neatly over several carts without losing momentum, each time increasing the gap between him and the mob. He turned left at an intersection, and jumped up a wall, hanging on the other side until he was sure the sounds of the mob faded away. He jumped back on the road.
He took a moment to catch a breath. If he was not mistaken, he had run at full speed for close to 3 miles. 'Impressive for a five year old', the familiar voice of Kurama sounded in his head. Naruto looked surprised for a moment, but then shook his head. It was probably because of the change that he had done to the seal. He also chalked it up to adrenaline that he had run so far and fast.
That was a lot difficult than he had imagined, but he blamed it on his clothes. An orange jumpsuit stuck out like a sore thumb among the masses. It was as if he had stuck a piece of paper behind his back saying, "Kill me!" The blonde hair wasn't helping either.
But then again, he had nothing else to wear. The keepers at the orphanage looked very satisfied when they had given him the jumpsuit. They probably wanted him to be spotted in case he attempted to hide from a mob. Too bad they underestimated him.
So deep he was in his musings that he didn't notice he had entered an area of Konoha, no one had taken a stroll in for at least five years. He looked when he saw he was standing before the gates of a beautiful mansion.
'Naruto, open the gates of the mansion. Let's explore', Kurama's excited voice sounded in his head.
Naruto shook his head, 'I would be an idiot to even touch the gate. Can't you see all the seals engraved on it?'
Kurama insisted, 'Do it. Who knows, you might get a surprise.'
Naruto frowned at the behavior of the fox, but followed his advice anyway. He placed his hand on the seal of the gate and closed his eyes, as if waiting to be blown up. He didn't notice the seals glow slightly.
He opened his eyes when nothing happened. Tentatively, he pushed the gate and to his surprise, it opened easily. 'The seals must be malfunctioning if a strange like me could enter in here', he thought.
The mansion was beautiful. It was a traditional two-story mansion, surrounded by lush, green grounds. There was even a small pond with clear water in front of the house.
'Whoever this house belongs to must be insanely wealthy', he thought with wonder. Money was something that was rarely available to him. He decided not to dwell on it further.
As he approached the front door, he began to think it was a bad idea coming here. What if someone spotted him? What if he accidentally activated a trap?
He cautiously turned the doorknob, hearing it click open. He opened the door fully, seeing the dark living room with a sofa and comfortable chairs. He turned on the light, surprised that electricity still flowed in the circuits of the house. But it was all covered in a thick layer of dust.
'The owner has been gone for a long time, but why?', he wondered. As he turned in the direction of the fireplace, he stopped short at what he saw.
The first thing that caught his eye was the uniquely shaped kunai embedded in a stone slab placed on top of the fireplace. Every shinobi or to-be shinobi worth his or her salt would recognize the tri-pronged kunai.
It was the Yondaime's kunai. He now knew that this house belonged to the deceased Hokage.
Crap.
He had just broken into the Yondaime's house.
Double crap.
He was just about to turn tail when Kurama's voice sounded in his head, 'What's that?'
He turned around again, seeing the portrait above the fireplace for the first time. It was Minato Namikaze, decked out in full Hokage uniform, along with a beautiful redhead wearing a high-collared, sleeveless blouse under a long, loose-fitting dress with a wristband on her left wrist and standard shinobi sandals. A medium-sized bulge on her stomach made him realize that she was pregnant. But that was not what caught his eye.
The redhead was waving a peace sign, with a very familiar grin. The same one he wore whenever his mischievous tendencies surfaced or when he was really happy. Her face was also very similar looking to his own. Her exquisite violet eyes were shaped just like his eyes.
With a jolt, the pieces of a puzzle that he could never solve arranged themselves, forming a long sought-after answer.
Blonde hair….azure blue eyes…..the familiar grin…..same shape face….identically shaped eyes
He had just found out the identities of his parents. 'Congratulations, kid. You finally found them', Kurama's smooth voice was softer this time.