章 2194: 6
Summary:
In the aftermath of the attempted kidnapping, Kushina finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew about the Kyuubi.
Notes:
Heya, I hate to leave a novel in the notes, but if you all could take a gander here before reading on that would be appreciated!
I'm probably gonna get a little slow on updates for a while and I wanna be up front about that. I've gotten a handful of less than supportive comments on this and the newer short fic I posted in this fandom. No one has been outright hostile or anything and the vast majority of you are so wonderful and encouraging but I've never gotten criticism on here before so I wasn't expecting it. I'm absolutely oversensitive about criticism, and that's no one's fault for not knowing. But listen, please. I certainly can't speak for everyone on here but everyone that I know that posts their work is not interested in criticism/suggestions unless they specifically state otherwise. So please think twice about posting what you may intend as constructive criticism, because for myself and I'm assuming others with similar anxiety issues, it is super disheartening to deal with. Ah I feel like a baby cuz no one is being outright mean or anything but it honestly made me not want to keep writing for this fandom. We all have different experiences with writing and with the fandom itself and posting something that we made is super personal. So please be understanding. We're not professionals, and we're not gonna be perfect with the plot and lore. Especially in a long series like this. Negative comments really impact us. But on the flip side, so do positive comments! The thing that kept me from stepping away from writing for this fandom all together was you all that have posted supportive comments and have been so kind. So even though I kind of lost my inspiration for this fandom (temporarily, I hope), having all of your support has made me not want to give up on it. So thank you for that.
tldr: Assume that fic authors are not interested in criticism/suggestions unless they specifically state otherwise! And be nice.
Also because of all this, I have changed the comment settings so that only registered users can comment. Sorry.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
When Kakashi's ninken appeared in a flurry of fur and mud, Kushina was reminded of the phrase, "mother's intuition". She was just supposed to know things, because she was a mother now. She was supposed to know when her kid was misbehaving, or how to answer his questions before he even knew to ask them. And surely she was supposed to know when her son was in danger. And yet, she felt utterly clueless until she felt the familiar burn of the Kyuubi's chakra both in the air and in her veins. The tendril that seemed to be permanently residing in her flickered to life, making all of the hair on the back of her neck stand up.
Both her and Mikoto were barely a step behind the ninken, pressing forward with every bit of energy in their bodies. It was both of their families that were in danger, and neither one of them were ones to sit back and let someone else handle a tough situation. The ninken had given them as much information as he could, which honestly wasn't much, but at least they were given some warning on what to expect.
Unknown attackers, quite skilled, and clearly after Konoha's jinchuuriki. After her son.
With gritted teeth, Kushina kept pushing forward. The park wasn't far, but it felt like it was taking forever to get there, like the distance just kept increasing with every step forward. She knew that was just her nerves playing tricks on her, but it really felt like they would never make it in time.
She was kicking herself for letting Naruto go anywhere without her. Even with Kakashi, even with the ANBU that should have kept him safe, she shouldn't have let him go. She should be there protecting him. It had seemed like such a harmless request for Kakashi to take Naruto and Mikoto's boys just a few blocks away. He was smart, and skilled, and there should have been an entire guard of elite shinobi backing him up. Clearly that wasn't enough.
The Kyuubi's guttural snarl could be heard cutting through the air, even before the scene appeared in front of them. Kushina didn't know what to expect from the attackers, or from the Kyuubi. They'd sealed the Kyuubi, with its full strength, in their infant son. Even with the seal Minato had put on him, that might not be enough if the Kyuubi decided it wanted to take over. And the strain that it would put the poor boy's body through could kill him. It had been hard enough to deal with it when she'd been the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki for years, and a trained shinobi at that. There was no way a baby stood a chance against the demon fox's might.
Kushina grit her teeth as they passed the remains of the ANBU guard that was supposed to be protecting her son. She didn't have time to stop and check if any of them were still alive, though she highly doubted it based on how most of their bodies were twisted at unnatural angles, or soaking in pools of blood.
When they pushed into the clearing, Kushina was just in time to see her son collapse, but not in time to catch him. Fortunately, her husband didn't earn his nickname for nothing. Minato had apparently arrived just before her, and managed to catch their son in his arms right before his head hit the ground. Thanks to his legendary speed, he arrived well before any of his own guard or reinforcements.
Mikoto, of course, made a beeline for her own children. Kushina could see Itachi sprawled out on the ground, and she couldn't tell if he was breathing from where she was. Mikoto reached them quickly, and the sigh of relief from her friend had Kushina suspecting that both of the boys were alright.
Minato was wearing a similar expression of relief as Kushina slid to a stop beside him and Naruto. She could see her husband checking Naruto's pulse with two fingers. He was breathing steadily, but he looked so small and frail. He was covered in blood, and sporting a few bruises and already healing wounds. She was no medic nin, but it seemed like he was at least relatively ok.
Kakashi was the only one unaccounted for, and he quickly made himself known with a pained groan. As much as Kushina didn't want to leave Naruto's side, he was safe with his father, and Kakashi still needed to be checked on. Minato offered a quick nod, and she took it as acknowledgement of her own thoughts. She kissed both of them quickly, before rushing over to Kakashi and kneeling at his side.
"What happened? Are you alright?" Kushina didn't move him, unsure of what kind of injuries he had.
"We were surrounded," Kakashi grunted painfully, trying pitifully to sit up. "They were after Naruto. They went right for him." He hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry. I was too weak–"
As firmly as she could without actually hurting the already injured teen, Kushina elbowed Kakashi to shut him up. "Don't finish that sentence. I saw the entire ANBU squad dead in the woods, so they were obviously very strong and prepared for a fight. You're just one person, Kakashi."
"Still. I'm the one who wanted to bring him out here–"
"I don't want to hear it. I just want to know if you're alright," Kushina pressed.
Kakashi had managed to sit up, but he was very unbalanced. His Sharingan was still uncovered, and his other eye was puffy and bruised. He had numerous gashes on his face and body, and his leg was obviously broken, with bone visible beneath shredded muscle. But he was alive.
"I'll be fine. Are the kids…?" He tried to glance past Kushina to see what was going on, but even that motion was too much of a strain.
"They're all alive. I can't tell too much else, but I think they're all ok."
Kakashi slumped forward with relief, and then kept falling. Kushina had to catch him to keep him upright. His non-Sharingan eye seemed to be glazing over, and his head fell limply against her shoulder. He was obviously losing consciousness.
Before he passed out, he murmured, "...the Kyuubi saved me."
Kushina didn't have time to respond. Kakashi was already out cold, and the rest of their backup had arrived. Medic nin, trackers, and the Hokage's elite guard. Despite the seriousness of the situation, they all looked incredibly exasperated with their leader's insistence on charging ahead alone. It was understandable, considering that it could have easily been a trap, but there was no way in hell anyone would convince Minato to sit back and wait when his family was in danger.
The medic nin sprang into action. They were assessing all four of the kids (because dammit Kakashi was really just a kid too), and making sure it was safe to move them. Out of all of them Sasuke was the only one left conscious, and seemed unharmed. He was allowed to stay with his mother, though the attending medics insisted on having him brought for a checkup as well. The other three weren't quite so lucky. Kushina watched as her son's tiny, unresponsive form was gently scooped up and rushed away by one of the medics. He looked so small. Kakashi and Itachi had to be carried as well, and Sasuke protested loudly when he saw his brother being taken away.
Before they left, the medic nin assured them that all four appeared stable. Then as soon as the medic nin were off the field, Minato shifted from a concerned father to a stern leader. He got to work getting the bodies of the unknown attackers collected in storage scrolls so they could be sent for autopsies, and he sent groups to fan out and search the area for stragglers or clues. There were a few Inuzuka and their ninken sniffing around, leading other shinobi along invisible scent trails.
Kushina didn't know what to do. She felt frozen in place, staring at the spot where her son had been laying so eerily motionless. The field was trampled, and covered in blood. A few vultures circled overhead at the sight of so many corpses.
She was so out of it, the hand on her shoulder made her jump far more than it should have for someone of her skillset. Minato looked at her softly, but he had an obvious crease in his brows from worry.
"I've got this. You should follow them to the hospital with Mikoto," he reasoned.
Numbly, Kushina nodded in agreement. One of them should be there to monitor Naruto and Kakashi's progress. And really, she wanted to be by her son's side immediately. Still, it was hard to get her feet to move.
"Kushina?"
She couldn't look up at her husband's face without breaking down, so she settled for wrapping him in a tight hug. "We could have lost him. We could have lost both of them."
"I know." Minato returned the embrace, but they didn't have time to dwell. He had duties as the Hokage to attend to, not just as a father. It wasn't just his son that was targeted, it was the village's jinchuuriki. He couldn't afford to lose his head.
As Kushina stepped back, an ANBU operative in a bear mask appeared beside them with a respectful bow of their head. "We found two others in the forest. They were…shredded."
Kushina inhaled sharply. That had to have been the Kyuubi. She'd felt its chakra, and then she saw Naruto collapse. It had to have used his body to fight off the attackers. Kushina remembered the first time that had happened to her. Well, she didn't remember all of it. She remembered waking up sore and exhausted, with someone else's blood under her fingernails. She also remembered getting violently ill when she saw the aftermath of what the Kyuubi had done while in control of her body. At least Naruto was too young to be mentally affected by all the carnage, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be in pain or nearly dead from exhaustion.
"How could this have happened?" she muttered in disbelief.
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Minato's face was hard, in a way that was very unlike him. "They should never have been able to get this close, especially a group this size." His face softened as he turned back toward her. "Seriously, I got this. Someone should be with Naruto and Kakashi when they wake up."
Part of her wanted to ask if he was sure, if he wanted her to stay, but she didn't. She wanted to be with Naruto. To hold him and feel his heart still beating, and to know that he was ok. So she nodded in agreement, and they parted with none of their usual fanfare. The occasion was too sober for their usual sweet kisses or lingering touches. Kushina left with Mikoto so her husband could go back to being Hokage.
They moved briskly, not wanting to waste any time getting to their loved ones, and fortunately made it to the hospital without incident. Mikoto hugged her tightly when they arrived, before splitting off to meet with Fugaku and a few other clan members that Kushina vaguely recognized. They promised to keep each other updated.
A nurse led her to her son's room, and Kushina's heart rate picked up. She'd been assured that he was stable, but still unconscious. The thought of seeing him looking so tiny and broken again was too painful. The image of her son collapsed in his father's arms, so unnaturally still and quiet, would never leave her. It would be burned into her mind forever.
When the nurse opened the door, she scowled. "You're supposed to be resting. In your own room. Your treatments aren't done."
Kushina couldn't help but snort at the scene in front of her. Apparently, Kakashi had regained consciousness, and immediately made a beeline for Naruto, if the nurse's irritated grumbling was anything to go by. He was bandaged up, but had clearly left before his wounds were done being tended to. He sat on the edge of the hospital bed, elbows on his knees and head resting in his palms.
"I had to make sure he was ok. I had to make sure I didn't get him killed–"
"Stop that," Kushina scolded. "I already told you this wasn't your fault. No one blames you for anything." She hurried over to the bedside so she could see Naruto. A heavy weight left her as her eyes took in his obviously unconscious, but breathing, form. Kushina leaned forward to kiss her son's forehead. It looked like he'd mostly already been tended to, with a handful of bandages and an IV in his tiny arm. She swore they left just a minute or so after the medic nin, but apparently it had been longer. It was funny how time didn't seem to pass normally when there was a loved one to worry about.
Kakashi refused to look at her, even though they were now side by side. "I'm the one that took them out there. I put them all in danger."
"And I gave you permission to go," she reminded him. "We couldn't have known what would happen."
"I shouldn't have–"
"You took them to the park, Kakashi, not to a warzone," Kushina retorted. She glanced over at the nurse. "Would you excuse us, please?"
The nurse sighed, and threw up her arms in exasperation. She grumbled something about "difficult patients", but left promptly. Kushina wasted no time putting up a few silencing seals before continuing. The conversation would undoubtedly end up on subjects that she didn't want others to overhear.
"And really," Kushina continued when she felt that they had adequate privacy, "you did everything you could. Whoever they are, they were obviously very skilled, being able to take out so many ANBU without alerting anyone." Kushina patted his arm comfortingly. Her other hand was occupied holding Naruto's tiny, limp hand. His hand was warm.
Kakashi looked up, but didn't respond to her comment. From how close they were, Kushina could really see the damage the teen had taken. It was probably just pure stubbornness that was keeping him conscious right now. He looked like he was ready to fall over at any second.
"Are Itachi and Sasuke ok?" He asked quietly.
"As far as I know," she responded. "I came straight to Naruto so I haven't heard any new updates." Realistically things probably hadn't changed in such a short amount of time, but Kushina didn't want to worry Kakashi any more. "So what exactly happened?"
With a heavy sigh, Kakashi told her every detail about the attack. Truthfully, there wasn't much to say, since he was too busy fighting off the attackers to gather intel. Kushina couldn't help but wince when Kakashi told her how Itachi had fought off at least one of the attackers that went for the younger kids. She felt a stab of guilt, remembering that she'd been nothing but suspicious toward the boy thanks to the Kyuubi's weird visions about him. He very well may have saved Naruto's life, and she'd only been worried about some probably-fake futuristic version of the kid who by all accounts, probably wouldn't even exist now.
Kakashi paused when he got to the part of his story where Naruto was taken. It made a combination of rage and terror twist in side of her, thinking about her precious boy so close to being taken away. She'd had her fair share of kidnapping scares as the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki, so she knew how terrifying the outcome could be. Whatever they'd had planned for Naruto, it wouldn't have been pleasant. And judging by the cuts and bruises on his body, already healing thanks to the Kyuubi, they hadn't exactly been gentle with him. If they weren't already dead, she'd wring their necks for hurting her son.
"I don't know exactly what happened," Kakashi admitted. "I tried to go after him but–" he shook his head. "They overwhelmed me. And then the Kyuubi's presence was just there ." He shuddered. "I'd almost forgotten what that chakra felt like."
Kushina nodded in understanding. "Apparently there were two bodies found in the woods, completely shredded. I'm assuming the Kyuubi was responsible for that."
Another pause as Kakashi considered what to say next. "I thought Naruto was gone, that they'd gotten away with him. And then…" he glanced at her, judging her reaction, "and then Naruto–or the Kyuubi, I guess–was chasing them away from me. It saved me."
"So you said…" she replied dryly. Truthfully, Kushina didn't know what to say or what to think about the Kyuubi's daring rescue. It made sense that it would have saved Naruto, but why Kakashi? There was something at the back of her mind, an answer that she didn't want to admit. She recalled her fight with the Kyuubi, when it told her that it purposefully chose to return to this time so Naruto could be raised by his parents. And then she recalled how the fox had saved her life the night Naruto was born.
She shoved those thoughts down. She couldn't think too much about the Kyuubi or its motivations, or she'd go mad.
"I guess if I didn't believe you before, about the whole time travel thing, I'd have to now," Kakashi sighed.
"Yeah…"
Silence fell over them. Kushina stared at Naruto's unconscious form, trying to pretend that he was just asleep. Except, he had flecks of dried blood in his hair, and a darkening bruise on his cheek. And usually when he slept, he snorted or mumbled. Now, he was unusually still, and quiet. Just laying on his back with too many tubes and wires attached to him. The beeping of his heart monitor was both soothing and maddening at the same time.
Eventually she gave up her spot on the edge of the bed in favor of dragging a chair over. She sat down and let her arms and chin rest on the bed, so her face was next to her son's. She counted every breath, and watched for any sign of discomfort on his face.
Kakashi was herded out of the room after a while, much more willing to leave Naruto now that Kushina was here to keep an eye on him. With his injured leg he limped awkwardly, supported by the same nurse that had scolded him earlier. He still looked incredibly forlorn, and guilty. She insisted again that she didn't blame him, and that really he was the only one of Naruto's guards that actually managed to fight the attackers. He didn't seem encouraged, only offering one of his fake, plastered on smiles that made Kushina want to smack him upside the head for lying to her. She probably would have done so, if he wasn't already injured.
She wished Minato was here, but she also wanted him out searching for answers. Who were the attackers? Another village, willing to risk the tentative peace that had been established for the chance at getting ahold of the Kyuubi? Or was it a rogue organization? Hadn't the Kyuubi hinted at one in the future? Worst of all, could it be an inside job? Kushina didn't want to even consider that, but she wasn't naive enough to assume it was impossible.
Kushina closed her eyes, trying to focus on Naruto's even breathing. His doctor stopped in and said he would be ok, and that he was mostly just exhausted. But what if they were missing something? It wasn't like there were a lot of medics that had experience with jinchuuriki, and Naruto was an unusually young jinchuuriki at that. Once again, she wondered if sealing the demon fox in her son had been the right choice. She'd seemed so sure at the time, with the Kyuubi's promises and ominous prophecy, but had it been a mistake? What if his body couldn't recover from the strain of the Kyuubi's chakra? She wanted answers, and she wanted assurances that her baby would be ok.
When Kushina opened her eyes to assess her son's status, she was surprised to find herself no longer at his bedside, but instead in the cold, damp prison that housed the Kyuubi. Had she nodded off? She didn't even remember feeling tired. And why did she end up here? Ever since her fight with the Kyuubi, she hadn't even felt the slightest desire to return to the mindscape, nor had it seemed like it would be easy to get there. There had been no hint of the fox or his visions in Kushina's mind since their argument.
She blinked a few times to confirm that she was really here, then turned her gaze toward where she knew the Kyuubi would be. Had it brought her here? She expected it to be alert, probably ready to start another fight, but it wasn't. Instead, it was lying comfortably in its cage, one hip turned to the side. And it wasn't alone.
It wasn't necessarily alarming to see Naruto here, since it was his mindscape, but Kushina hadn't exactly been subtle about warning the fox away from interacting with her son. There was nothing unusual about a jinchuuriki being able to visit their bijuu's cage, but his circumstances weren't exactly typical for a jinchuuriki.
When she had been the Kyuubi's host, it had always been easier to find her way here when she was sleeping. She recalled that when the fox had first been sealed within her, she used to end up here by accident, so Naruto probably didn't even have any control over whether or not he came here. But the fox did. She knew that there were times when she had to fight the fox to enter the mindscape when it was sealed inside her. It took years of training to be able to overcome the demon's strength, so it could have easily barred Naruto's entry if it wanted. If it had listened to Kushina. She scowled at the thought.
The scene unfolding in front of her made it clear that the Kyuubi had definitely not listened to her. Naruto was toddling around inside the fox's cage, giggling and babbling happily. Kushina felt her stomach drop at the sight, and was poised to rush forward to stop the fox from doing anything to him. In the back of her mind she did remember that this version of the Kyuubi (allegedly) cared for her son. It had the opportunity to kill him during their battle a year ago, and it hadn't. Still, she didn't really trust it not to hurt Naruto. She couldn't. Not after years of its venomous words and cruelty, and definitely not after their confrontation. Months of contemplation following the night of Naruto's birth had also given her time to over-analyze every interaction with the Kyuubi. It gave her time to wonder if she'd imagined the fondness in its voice or the sincerity of its actions. So she wasn't about to trust it not to hurt her son, who was completely defenseless at this stage of development.
Years of training made it easy for Kushina to observe every tiny detail of the interaction, even as she started to rush forward. The Kyuubi's head was lowered, hovering just above the water. It had a lazy, toothy grin as it regarded Naruto.
"Come on, say it. Ku-ra-ma."
Naruto giggled and responded with a very enthusiastic, "Ku-ra! Ku-ra!"
The fox reached around with one of its tails, gently pushing Naruto forward. Naruto laughed happily and spun around on wobbly legs, grasping at the tail that was already out of his reach. The Kyuubi reached around with a second tail and tapped him on the back again, prompting the same giddy reaction from its host.
The fox chuckled , low but warm. "Humans are so easily amused." It prodded at Naruto again, catching him with another tail when the boy spun around too fast and almost lost his balance.
Kushina was so shocked by the scene that she actually stumbled. The Kyuubi was…playing? It was playing with her son.
Her misstep seemed to have alerted the fox to her presence. It sat up suddenly, eyes narrowing in her direction. All of its fur was standing on end, and it immediately curled a few tails around Naruto and let out a growl that caused the water to ripple around them.
When it noticed Kushina it looked almost surprised, but it withdrew its tails and let its fur fall flat. "Oh, it's you, " it sneered.
Naruto also seemed to notice her, and he looked back and forth between his mother and the Kyuubi with an indecisive whine. Kushina stepped forward toward the pair, which seemed to please Naruto immensely. He grinned, babbling nonsense and gesturing wildly with his stubby little hands. The Kyuubi seemed to instinctively reach out and catch him with a tail when the boy became a little too enthusiastic and almost fell over once again. It flattened its ears against its skull, looking at Kushina like it was daring her to say anything.
Unfortunately for the fox, she wasn't one to keep her mouth shut. "Are you…playing with Naruto?"
The fox looked indignant. "Of course not! I don't play with humans! I am a malevolent force of chakra and fire and–"
Naruto whined again, staring up at the Kyuubi with his big blue eyes. The fox bared its teeth halfheartedly, making a show of its rejection. Except, Naruto wasn't fazed. He held up his arms and grabbed at the air, a clear indication that he wanted to be picked up. The fox still didn't budge, until Naruto mumbled a quiet, "Ku-ra?" Then, it just sighed and let the scowl drop off its face. It scooped up Naruto with a couple of its tails, prompting a stream of excited giggles and chatter.
Kushina watched the entire interaction with a mixture of emotions. She wanted to say that it was a lie, a trick to lull her into complacency, but the fox clearly hadn't been expecting her. It seemed almost…embarrassed at being caught. And watching it begrudgingly give into Naruto's request for attention, it didn't look like an act. The Kyuubi was being affectionate and gentle toward her son, and she didn't know how to feel about that. She didn't know what that meant for her perception of the Kyuubi, or its actions. She'd assumed the worst intentions from the fox, but seeing it interact so casually with Naruto now made her question everything.
She stared at the pair of them, her mind whirring. "You saved him today."
"Of course I did," the fox grunted.
Kushina shifted awkwardly. "You saved Kakashi, too."
"Yes."
"Why?"
The Kyuubi paused its game with Naruto, but resumed after a squeak of protest. "He is one of Naruto's precious people." The admission was soft.
Somehow, it was the answer she knew she should expect. It was the answer she was expecting, because despite the protest, the denial that was on the tip of her tongue, she could feel the heavy weight in her stomach and the hot embarrassment burning in her veins. The feelings of shame, and guilt. The feeling of knowing that she'd been wrong, so unbelievably wrong. She was a proud woman, and undeniably stubborn, but not so much that she couldn't face the truth staring her in the face. The truth of her son, cradled gently by the creature she thought only capable of death and destruction. The truth that she had denied vehemently.
"You really do care about him," she commented.
The fox didn't respond, save for a quiet grunt of affirmation. It was carefully bouncing Naruto on its tails, responding to the boy's garbled requests to get up higher. Naruto was shrieking with glee.
The reality of the situation hit Kushina so hard that she felt dizzy. She had to take a series of deep breaths to calm herself. The Kyuubi cared about her son. The Kyuubi saved Kakashi's life because it knew that Kakashi was important to Naruto. The Kyuubi cared about her son. The Kyuubi time traveled to protect him. The Kyuubi cared about her son. The Kyuubi willingly chose to return to this time so Naruto could be raised by his parents. The Kyuubi cared about her son.
…shit.
The words were heavy on her tongue, but Kushina managed a very quiet, "I'm sorry."
The fox was taken aback. "What did you say?"
"Don't make me repeat it," she snapped, and immediately winced. Kushina took another deep breath to calm herself. It was her first instinct to snap at the fox, but she knew she was in the wrong. "I assumed the worst of you, and I shouldn't have. I'm sorry for what I said to you before. I was needlessly cruel." She bowed her head slightly to show that she was being genuine.
The Kyuubi studied her intently, finally lowering Naruto back to the ground despite his protests. It didn't respond, watching as Naruto toddled through the cage bars and over to his mother. Kushina picked him up immediately, giving him a sloppy kiss on his cheek that made him giggle. Her mind was a mess, and her heart was hurting, but holding her precious baby in her arms helped.
This whole situation was too weird. She was having a heart-to-heart with the Kyuubi, in her son's mindscape. And apparently she'd been the asshole. Kushina had to swallow her pride and own up to it. "I don't know if I can get past our history," she admitted. "But I want to try. Thank you for watching out for Naruto, in this life and the other."
There was no immediate response from the demon fox, only obvious suspicion. Kushina supposed that was fair. Eventually, the Kyuubi sighed. "I suppose I can admit that I have never made it easy for you to trust me."
An olive branch. "I never made it easy for you to give me a reason to trust you," she acknowledged.
They regarded each other silently, both of them deep in thought. Kushina thought she knew the Kyuubi after all the years it was sealed away within her. She thought it was nothing but anger and evil, but clearly she'd been wrong. It was gentle with Naruto, and cared enough about him to make an impossible journey from another time to protect him. She recalled some of the Kyuubi's words about its siblings (not that she had ever thought to call the other bijuu that) and their imprisonment from their previous conversations. Kushina had never considered the Kyuubi's perspective on the matter. No one had. Of course it resented being locked away. She, and everyone else, always justified it as a necessity to keep the Kyuubi's destructive and malicious power out of the world. It was a given that the Kyuubi, and the other bijuu, would have destroyed humanity if they had been allowed to remain free…right?
Except, the Kyuubi was here willingly. It had the chance to kill them, and to escape. But it didn't. It chose to put its trust in the very people that had kept it imprisoned. All for Naruto. Oh, she would love to know how he managed to make the demon so soft.
"I think," Kushina mused after a few minutes of awkward, heavy silence, "we should start over. We need to work together to stop the future that you lived through. Plus," she couldn't help a small smile, "we both care about Naruto. We should try to be civil, for his sake."
The Kyuubi's expression remained neutral as it considered her words. Finally, it rumbled, "My name is Kurama."
At first, Kushina didn't understand why the fox was telling her this. Then, she remembered its words on the day of Naruto's birth:
"An exchange of names would imply mutual respect."
"Kushina Uzumaki," she replied.
Of course the Kyuubi–Kurama–knew her name. It was the gesture that mattered, and Kurama seemed to understand as he offered a brief nod in response.
There was silence, save for the occasional drip of water and the puff of the fox's breath. Naruto wiggled in her arms to be put down and she complied, only because she knew the scenery in the mindscape wasn't actually real. Still, it was quite dreary.
"Couldn't you have picked better scenery?" she grumbled as Naruto toddled back to the great fox. "I don't know how I feel about my son playing around in what looks like sewer water."
Kurama huffed in response, letting Naruto latch onto him again without complaint. "Do you think I chose this setting?"
Kushina raised an eyebrow. "Did you not?"
"Of course not," Kurama grumbled indignantly. "But my prison was never meant to reflect my desires."
"What would you have picked?"
Kurama seemed surprised by the question, but he responded anyway. "When I was a kit, there was a great forest where one of your human villages now sits. The trees were ancient, and wiser than any of your kind." The fox looked past her, recalling the memory. "They had voices of their own, not that you humans could hear them. They would sing with the wind, and their voices would carry over the highest mountain peaks."
"What happened to it?" Kushina could guess, but she asked anyway.
"Humans happened." Kurama bristled. "Centuries of wisdom and life, burned to ash." The fox sighed, shaking his massive head. "That's what I would have picked."
Kushina tucked that information away for later. She'd never thought about the life the bijuu had lived before they were sealed into their jinchuuriki. If anything, she'd just assumed they were running wild somewhere, rampaging and killing. Waxing poetically about a bunch of trees had never even crossed her mind.
Kurama's tails flicked. "But you are not here to listen to musings about the past. Why did you come?"
"I wasn't really thinking clearly," she admitted. "I was worried about Naruto, and I guess I wanted to know what happened. I fell asleep worrying about him, and woke up here."
Kurama hummed in acknowledgement. "I see. Well, I didn't recognize the attackers from my time, but their intent was clear enough." He growled lowly. "You should really re-examine your ANBU guard, by the way, it was embarrassingly easy for the attackers to take them out."
Kushina nodded. Oh, she would do just that. They were supposed to have the best of the best guarding not only the Hokage's son, but the village's jinchuuriki. Kurama was not off base in calling this slip up an embarrassment. She shuddered to think about how horribly wrong this could have gone if Kurama hadn't been protecting Naruto. Apparently she owned the Kyuubi his life.
"Will he be alright? He's been unconscious for hours."
Kurama nodded. "Yes. He should wake up very soon, I expect. I took care of all of his physical wounds, so he just needed to sleep off the exhaustion and heal a little more." The fox looked a little guilty as he added, "It was quite a strain on his body to house so much of my chakra, but I didn't have a choice."
"I know," she responded. Kushina had no basis to scold the fox for his actions. If he hadn't intervened, Naruto might be–
She was absolutely not going to finish that thought.
Not wanting to dwell on that topic anymore, she regarded Kurama. He stared back at her, unblinking, and forcefully neutral. The quiet plopping sound of dripping water echoed around them. Now that she was here, and they weren't fighting, Kushina wanted some answers. She had a full year of questions and half-understood premonitions of a dark future. She told the fox as much.
Kurama rolled his eyes. "Of course you have questions," he grumbled, but he didn't stop her.
"Did you help Naruto take his first steps?" Kushina asked.
The fox looked amused, like that wasn't the question he was expecting. "I did."
"Why?"
The Kyuubi cocked his head. "I couldn't let him be outdone by the Uchiha brat."
Kushina gave the fox a flat look. "Outdone? They're babies." She was suddenly reminded of some of the visions the Kyuubi had shown her, where an older Naruto and Sasuke seemed to be at odds. "Is this related to the visions you showed me?"
He snorted in amusement. "If you are asking whether the fate of the future hinged on your runt taking his first steps, then no. My motivations are far more petty." His eyes narrowed. "Not that you've shown any interest in the memories I tried to share with you."
Guiltily, Kushina glanced away from the Kyuubi. "Right…I'm sorry about that too. I–" she took a steadying breath, "I would like to know about them now, if you'd be willing to tell me."
The fox's eyes remained narrowed with suspicion. "You're willing to listen without throwing a tantrum?"
Kushina nodded, grimacing at the Kyuubi's choice of words. "Yes. I…" she swallowed hard. "I want to know about the visions you showed me. Were those all really your memories?"
"Yes," the fox confirmed. "My memories, through Naruto's eyes."
"So him being left alone, and hurt and…" she couldn't finish the thought, but Kurama nodded in understanding.
"That is how the boy was raised in my time."
Kushina felt an intense anger burning in her chest. She recognized many of the people in Kurama's memories. People that smiled at her and asked about her family. People that she passed every day, businesses she frequented. In another reality, they treated her son like a monster. They neglected him, abused him even. No one stepped in, no one ever stepped in. Why hadn't the Sandaime done something? Why wasn't Master Jiraiya, his godfather, there? Why hadn't any of her or Minato's friends taken care of Naruto? She could understand why Kakashi hadn't, only being a teenager himself, but even he had been strangely cold and detached in some of the memories Kurama shared of genin-aged Naruto. There were still missing pieces, since she hadn't seen all of the fox's memories, but she was starting to understand how many people had failed her son. Her precious baby, that had saved their lives minutes after he was born, and then apparently again moments before his death. That world, that reality, didn't deserve the sacrifice her son had made. But she would make sure this reality did.
"Show me their faces again. I'll throttle every last one of them," she threatened.
Kurama snorted with amusement at her outburst. "I don't doubt it."
She had so many other questions, now that she felt that the Kyuubi's visions were actually truthful. Part of her still rebelled at the idea of trusting the demon fox, but she shoved it aside. She'd never forget the soft, fond look on Kurama's face when he was playing with Naruto. When he thought no one was around, and there was no one to fool. Even if she could never completely trust the Kyuubi, she realized she did trust that he cared for Naruto. And that might be enough to save the world.
"What were those visions you were showing me about Mikoto's boys?" Her face fell. "Those weren't real too, were they?"
"They were," Kurama confirmed. "The runt said he wanted to make sure that fate would never befall the Uchiha clan, so I honored his request to the best of my abilities." A tail flick. "Though if it were up to me I would just let that cursed clan be wiped from existence," he grumbled.
Kushina's stomach clenched violently at the confirmation. She didn't want something so horrible to happen to any clan, let alone her best friend's. And to think that there were people in the village right now that would be responsible for such an atrocity in another life. She shuddered at the thought.
"Have we prevented it from happening?"
Kurama shrugged, as much as a quadrupedal beast could shrug. "The future has certainly changed, but I don't know to what extent. You being alive, the changes you've made to how the Uchiha clan is handled, I don't know. I don't know if it changed that outcome, or any others."
Kushina nodded in understanding. It would be difficult to know exactly what they'd managed to change until it either happened, or the fateful day came and went uneventfully. "What else can you tell me? What should we be doing now?"
The fox regarded her. "Hm. There are certain players that should be eliminated."
Kushina tensed, swallowing hard, understanding where this was going. "I think you can understand why I'm reluctant to believe what you told me about the masked man." She had been avoiding that subject for a reason. Bringing up Obito was a surefire way of ruining the tentative peace between them.
Kurama scoffed, likely thinking about their previous altercation as well. "Fortunately for you, there are other targets that can be dealt with while you contemplate the truth of my words."
Miraculously, Kushina kept her temper under control, but her eyelid did twitch a few times. "Like…?"
"Recall the Toad Sage," Kurama instructed. "I will show you my memories regarding the founders of the group called the Akatsuki. They are the ones that will target the jinchuuriki."
"What does Master Jiraiya have to do with it?"
"They are his former students," Kurama explained. "What you choose to do with them is up to you, but I suspect the Toad Sage will be the best to handle them."
Kushina nodded. "Anything else?"
"One thing at a time, Tomato Head." Kurama chastised. "I don't know what has been changed, so no sense in wasting my breath telling you things that may no longer come to pass."
Kushina opened her mouth to respond, but she was distracted by a tugging feeling. Something was pulling at her consciousness, trying to return her to a state of wakefulness. She resisted, wanting to ask Kurama more questions, but she couldn't fight it.
Kurama seemed to sense her reluctance to leave. "Go." He waved her off with a massive paw. "You should be able to return here easily enough, unfortunately for me," he grumbled.
The mindscape started to fade, slowly flickering out of her vision. She watched Naruto continue to cling onto the fox's fur, still chanting a very happy "Ku-ra!" Kurama looked down at him with an exasperated, yet obviously fond expression, allowing the continued tormenting. Before she could help herself, Kushina smiled at the scene in front of her.
"Kurama," she called out, just before she returned to consciousness. "...thank you." She wasn't able to hear or see a response from the Kyuubi, but when she woke up she felt herself still smiling.
A hand was on her shoulder, gently shaking her awake. Kushina batted at it uselessly, mumbling a few rude protests.
"Sorry," Minato's familiar voice drawled. "I just wanted to make sure you ate something."
Kushina blinked her eyes open, fighting the last haze of sleep as her husband's blurry form slowly came into focus. When had he arrived? She groaned, rubbing a hand over her eyes and yawning. Making note of the low light of the room from the singular window, Kushina realized that it was nearly dusk. It felt like she'd only been with the Kyuubi for a few minutes, but apparently it had been hours. In that time Minato must have come back to check on his family. She wondered if they'd found anything at the site of the attack.
"I didn't mean to fall asleep," she murmured against another yawn.
"Probably means that you needed the rest," Minato reasoned. "Don't worry, Naruto is fine," he added quickly.
Kushina blinked in confusion, because of course he was fine. Then it hit her that Minato obviously wouldn't know that, because he hadn't been privy to her conversation with Kurama. She sat up quickly, realizing how much information she had to share with her husband. "Oh!"
Minato raised an eyebrow at her, looking surprised at her sudden movement. "Hm?"
She opened her mouth to respond, but closed it almost immediately. Kushina hadn't been able to think about how she was going to explain everything to Minato. She hadn't exactly been forthcoming about the dreams she'd had a few months ago. Apparently she'd have to start from the beginning.
"Er, I have something to tell you." Kushina rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, a nervous tic that usually belonged to her husband.
Apparently her hesitation was obvious. Minato was frowning at her in concern, and he found a place next to her on the couch. Their sides touched. "Everything ok?"
"Yeah, I just–" Kushina took a deep breath before launching into her explanation. "I know I should've told you at the beginning but I really didn't think it meant anything, y'know? I thought it was just weird stress dreams, because what else was I supposed to think, so I really didn't bother to mention it but I should have and I'm sorry and–"
"Whoa, slow down!" Minato chuckled nervously. "You lost me already."
Kushina winced at her anxious babbling. "Right, sorry." She tried to slow down her thoughts and her words, swallowing hard against a lump in her throat. "Ever since I woke up in the hospital a year ago, I've been having these weird dreams. "Well," she amended, "I was , but then–" she shook her head. "Ah, I'm getting ahead of myself again."
"So you were having weird dreams?" Minato confirmed, getting the conversation back on track.
Kushina nodded gratefully. Minato knew her well enough to know that she would ramble like this when she was particularly nervous about something, and he'd had plenty of practice helping her stay focused. "Yeah. They were all about Naruto. Or rather, from Naruto's perspective." She recalled the first visions Kurama had shown her, making her heart feel heavy as she remembered how alone he'd been in those memories. She told Minato about what she saw, not yet mentioning anything about the Kyuubi himself.
He looked just as upset about thinking about the other reality where Naruto was alone. "That will never happen in this future," he promised. "It seems like the Kyuubi's words that night really got to you, huh?"
Kushina shook her head. "No, I–well, that's what I thought at first too. But then…" she explained how she started dreaming about other people through Naruto's eyes, and how she sometimes would see the giant fox slumbering.
Minato's brows were furrowed with worry. "Wow, that's really vivid and specific. No wonder you were having so much trouble sleeping back then."
It didn't seem like Minato was catching on, but Kushina hadn't figured it out either until Kurama literally spelled it out for her. The truth was kind of unbelievable to think about. "They were really vivid for a reason," Kushina pressed.
"What do you mean?"
Kushina took a steadying breath. "They weren't dreams."
"Ok…?" Minato was looking at her curiously, waiting for the explanation.
"They were memories," Kushina continued.
"Whose memories?"
"Kurama's. Through Naruto's eyes."
Minato's face was scrunched in confusion. "Who's Kurama?"
Oh, right. She hadn't mentioned the bit about the fox yet. "The Kyuubi. That's his name."
That answer only made Minato even more confused. "What? Since when do you know the Kyuubi's name?"
Kushina waved a hand. "Ah, sorry, I'm kind of doing this out of order. He told me after we made up following this really bad fight we had, which was technically the second fight–"
"Wait, wait. When did you fight with the Kyuubi?"
Kushina scratched at the back of her neck again. "Uh, most recently right after Naruto started walking. The Kyuubi sort of…helped him walk better."
He frowned at her. "What?"
She sighed. It really sounded ridiculous when she tried to explain it like this. "Kurama let Naruto use some of his chakra to help him take his first steps."
"I think I'm lost again. What does this have to do with your dreams?"
Kushina barely avoided actually facepalming. She grabbed her husband's hands with her own, turning toward him so she was looking into his eyes. "Listen to me. The Kyuubi was showing me visions of the future, the other future. I thought they were just dreams, but I was wrong. They were real events that happened to the other Naruto."
"What?" Minato frowned. "How do you know they were real?"
"The Kyuubi–ah I mean Kurama–he told me," she explained.
Minato raised an eyebrow. "And you're going to trust the Kyuubi now?"
"I…I'm trying to," Kushina admitted. "We trusted him enough to seal him in Naruto, and I think he's being as truthful as he can." She smiled softly. "I saw them together, Minato. Kurama…he does really care about Naruto."
"What are you talking about? You saw them? Where? When?"
Of course he would have no idea about the mindscape, why would he? "The place where I used to be able to visit the Kyuubi's cage, I went to Naruto's version of that. Kurama wasn't expecting me to be there, so he was playing with Naruto. It was cute."
The explanation only seemed to make Minato more confused, and more concerned. "I don't understand. How were you able to visit the Kyuubi that's sealed in Naruto?" Carefully, he asked, "Are you sure you weren't just dreaming? This all sounds impossible."
Kushina leveled a glare at her husband. "I'm sure. I thought I was at first, but now I'm positive that it was all real."
"If you say so…" Minato rubbed at the back of his neck.
"You don't believe me?" Kushina crossed her arms, scowling.
"It's just a lot to take in, but if you say it was real, then I trust you," he promised. "It's the fox that I don't trust…"
"I get it." She really did. Kushina's first instinct was still to rebel violently against the idea of trusting the Kyuubi. "I don't know if I'm ever going to trust him completely," she admitted, "but I trust that he cares for Naruto. I saw it with my own two eyes. So I don't think Kurama would do anything that might end up hurting him."
Minato sighed, still looking uneasy. "You know, I kept thinking I imagined, or at least over-exaggerated how the Kyuubi looked at Naruto the night we made the seal. But you think it was genuine?"
To her surprise, Kushina nodded without hesitation. "Yes. I really do."
He shook his head in disbelief. "I feel like I finally came to terms with the Kyuubi being an ally, and now it's, I don't know, Naruto's friend?"
"I think he always was," Kushina commented.
Minato raised an eyebrow. "This is weird. Hearing you talk about the Kyuubi so familiarly."
Kushina shrugged. "I'm trying to play nice." She bit her lip as she contemplated her next words. "I…I think I almost messed everything up for a while."
"How so?"
"Like I said," she explained, "We had a fight." She thought for a moment, scratching at her chin. "Two fights, really. The first one was when I thought I was just dreaming. I kept seeing Kurama in my sleep sometimes too. When I finally realized I was actually visiting the real Kyuubi and not just seeing a dream I sort of…yelled at him?" Kushina winced.
Her husband blinked at her in surprise. "You…yelled at the Kyuubi?" There was a touch of amusement in his voice.
"...yes," Kushina replied sheepishly. "And then I yelled at him again after he lent Naruto his chakra. It was a really bad argument. I said some really nasty stuff."
A frown suddenly formed on Minato's face. "Wait, why didn't you tell me any of this before?"
"At first I thought they were just weird stress dreams," Kushina repeated, "and by the time I realized they were real I just didn't know how to bring it up."
Minato looked hurt. "I wish you would have told me. We could have figured things out together."
"I'm sorry." Kushina looked away, feeling a bit ashamed.
There was a hand on her face, carefully turning her head back. Minato smiled gently at her. "Hey. Just, no more secrets from now on, ok?"
Kushina returned the smile. "I can do that." She swallowed hard. "Uh, so there's more." She didn't wait for Minato to respond before continuing. "Kurama sort of showed me some stuff about the Uchiha clan too." As succinctly as she could, Kushina explained the contents of her dreams about the Uchiha. She initially hesitated bringing up the role Mikoto's son played, but ultimately she didn't leave out any details.
With every word, Minato's frown deepened, until his entire face was furrowed with concern. "Wait, is that why you insisted that the Uchiha compound shouldn't be moved?" His eyes widened. "Kushina! Did I make that recommendation based on something the Kyuubi showed you?"
"Well, yeah–"
Minato stood up suddenly and started pacing. A common behavior for him when he was thinking about something that stressed him out. "You should have told me! I can't believe I took advice from the Kyuubi about something so important!" He shook his head repeatedly as he paced. "Oh, this is bad. What if it was lying? What am I saying, of course it was lying!"
"I worried about that too, but…" she shrugged. Truthfully, Kushina had no proof that Kurama's visions were real, or that the advice she'd given was right.
"But, what?" Minato scowled. "I could have just doomed the entire Uchiha clan! If the Sharingan can control the Kyuubi, of course it would try to get rid of them." He continued pacing. "I can't take it back now, construction has been going on too long. And it will raise too many questions. How exactly can I explain why I made that recommendation in the first place?"
Kushina frowned. "Do you have to take it back? I thought things were going better with the clan now?"
Minato made a frustrated noise. "I thought so too, but now I don't know what to think. I just can't believe the Kyuubi would do anything for the Uchiha clan that would help them."
"Kurama didn't do anything for them, I did," she insisted. "Apparently the other Naruto wanted to stop the clan from being massacred."
"So the Kyuubi says," Minato replied dryly.
It seemed like they were going around in circles. "So I say," she countered with a scowl.
"Because the Kyuubi says," he retorted.
Kushina sighed irritably. "Look, I get it. I wasn't exactly first in line to trust Kurama either. But I'm trying to be more open to that possibility. He hasn't given us a reason to distrust him so far."
"I don't get it," Minato admitted. "All of a sudden you're on a first name basis with the Kyuubi, and you're trusting it not to lie to you? You should know better than that!"
Kushina felt her temper rising. "I do know better!" she snapped. "I had the damn thing sealed in me for most of my life, y'know? Don't you think I'm better equipped than anyone else to figure out if he's telling the truth?"
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Minato sighed heavily. "I can't believe this is an actual conversation that we're having."
If the conversation regarding the Uchiha clan was going this badly, there was absolutely no way she would bring up what Kurama told her about Obito. She still didn't really know what to think of it anyway. It was better to stick to safer subjects.
"I get why you're concerned," Kushina replied through gritted teeth, "but we have to look at the bigger picture here. Kurama also told me what our next steps should be. He said to call Master Jiraiya back, and then he'd share some information about an organization that's going to target the jinchuuriki." She couldn't help but frown as she spoke of Jiraiya, knowing that in another life he'd completely abandoned his godson. Oh she would have words with him, for sure.
Minato ran a hand through his hair, his eyes closed in frustration. "Kushina, this is an entire clan we're talking about! I can't just leave their fate up to the Kyuubi !"
"And this is the entire world we're talking about!" she retorted. "It may have been another future, another life, but our son died to get Kurama here! He died so we could stop the world from ending," she reminded him.
Minato leaned forward, his head in his hands. "Thinking too much about this gives me a headache. Time travel, the fate of the world. And here I thought the Sandaime had it rough, dealing with the war and all that."
Kushina laughed dryly at that. "Yeah, kind of makes everything else seem sort of inconsequential, y'know?"
Her husband grunted in response. He peeked through his fingers at her. "You and that fox of yours are going to make me go gray."
"He's not my fox!" Kushina grumbled, smacking her husband lightly. "If anything he's Naruto's. I think we've just reached the point of begrudging tolerance."
Minato snorted at that. "Alright." He let his hands drop back to his lap. "It's probably time to tell Master Jiraiya anyway, and I would like him to meet Naruto. But," he gave her a sharp look, "we're not done with this discussion about the Uchiha clan. I can't just blindly trust the Kyuubi on this."
"Fine," Kushina relented.
"No more secrets, right?" He prompted.
"No more secrets," Kushina promised, but she knew she'd already broken that. She was withholding the information Kurama told her about the masked man's supposed identity. It just wasn't worth starting another fight with the fox, or having Minato disregard the trust she'd fought to establish regarding Kurama's motives.
Minato looked for a moment like he wasn't going to buy it, but then he smiled, that stupid bright smile that made her fall for him in the first place. She felt guilty about not being completely upfront with him, but right now she didn't think she had another option. Either she would figure out the masked man's real identity…or she would find out that against all odds, Kurama had been truthful. Even though she didn't want to think that Kurama had lied to her, the thought of the alternative, of sweet, goofy (and very dead) Obito being the mastermind behind the attack last year, was even worse.
Another thought hit her. "Oh, one more thing," Kushina added. "How would you feel about making some adjustments to Naruto's seal?"
Minato raised his eyebrows and frowned in concern, but he didn't say they couldn't do it.
Notes:
In case you didn't read the blerb up top, please do not leave me criticism/suggestions. It makes me really anxious.
I bet Kurama is super soft and warm and would be the best pillow on a cold day.
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