Falling In Reverse

Chapter 2: Same, yet not the same

His use of Hiraishin seemed to catch all three hostile ninjas off guard, because Naruto gained a few seconds to grab the kunai and deactivate the seal formula on its handle so that Minato couldn't use it, before all of a sudden the whole world around him twisted and swirled.

A confused "What the...?" left the teen's mouth, when a burst of Kyuubi's chakra disrupted the flow in his coils, and everything instantly returned to normal.

Kakashi was upon him, the edge of his sword glistening against the sun as it made its downward descend towards his neck. Naruto lifted his newly acquired weapon just in time to parry the attack, but there was no strength in his arms, and he was forced to back away instead.

The coordinated movement on his left and right caused Naruto to panic. "Kurama!" he yelled in his mind and instantly felt an influx of his partner's chakra. The yellow shroud of the nine-tailed fox mode flared to life, taking a shape of a full-length haori, and with a last longing glance at his father, Naruto vanished in a yellow flash, moving too fast for a naked human eye to perceive.

The Jinchuuriki landed in a tree quite a way from his crash site. When Kurama's mode disappeared, he felt thoroughly exhausted, but there was no time to rest. Naruto had to flee before Minato's team could catch up with him. He could take the so needed rest once he would be at the safe distance from them.

The young ninja hoped through the trees in silence, when the Kyuubi spoke, "Naruto–"

"What the hell is this?!" the teen interrupted him. "That's definitely not the Infinite Tsukuyomi! It creates the perfect world, and in my perfect world my dad and sensei are not trying to kill me!"

Kurama didn't respond. Being as confused as his human friend, he honestly didn't know what was happening. He had a nagging feeling that he had somewhere, somehow heard about something similar, but the answer was still out of his grasp. The Kyuubi needed time to think. And the little brat needed time to heal.

"Kid, you need to rest," the fox noted gruffly. There was no reaction from the blond, so he huffed and tried again, "Naruto–"

"Fine!" the Jinchuuriki snapped, but then sighed. "Sorry... Can you–?"

"Of course."

Naruto blazed through the series of hand seals, stopping on his most used one – cross seal. There was a build-up of the Kyuubi's chakra before it all went away with a big cloud of smoke. At the same moment, the teen landed on the tree branch and suddenly swayed, his knees finally failing to hold their own weight. He slipped and tumbled down head first, but instead of a hard earth, his body fell into a soft pile of fur.

The horse-sized copy of Kurama gracefully landed on the ground with his human safely cocooned inside his tails. The fox looked around, and, seeing nothing threatening, lay down under the same tree. "You alright, Naruto?" he asked, glancing at the boy, hidden under all the fur.

The teen murmured something incoherently, snuggling even deeper. "Have I ever told you how much I love your tails?" came a muffled question after a minute.

"Keh," the great fox scoffed. "Keep your petty flattery to yourself, brat."

Naruto smiled, already half asleep. He didn't have to see his friend to know that there was a pleased smirk on his lips, despite calling his words a petty flattery.

xxx

"...He's gone," Obito informed, his active Sharingan still wandering the rows of trees, searching for any sign of the unknown ninja.