Lost Nin

Chapter 1

Naruto walked through the dank waterlogged hallways that made up his sealscape with a sense of purpose. Moreso interesting was the nature of the purpose. He had some serious suspicion but he needed to confirm it. This whole shitck had the name Kurama written all over it.

One of the best things that had happened to Naruto was his friendship with the Nine Tails. Looking back, he had treated Kurama the same way the villagers had treated him in his younger years. With hatred and prejudice. He had assumed that since others hated Kurama, he should hate him too. And he did exactly that. He hated. And that was the biggest regret of his life.

He had missed a whole lot just because of his denseness. If, perhaps if, Naruto would've taken a bit calmer approach and tried to actually communicate with the Nine Tailed Furball, then maybe he would have gained a friend sooner. He could have been a confidante for him, one with whom he could share his deepest darkest secrets. That did not mean he wanted to just use him. It was just that it would had been nice to have someone who you could trust your secrets to and not have him reveal any of them.

Speaking of the furball, he had changed much since his more prickly self. The fox had become more mellow and fun loving than he ever was. More than that, he had gained a sense of humor in making bad bathroom puns and a pechant for teriyaki. And rabbits. One must not forget rabbits.

Idly Naruto remembered one time when he and his furry partner had organised a prank on Kakashi. Suffice to say that when two devious foxy minds cook something up, it does not bode well for the target.

Kakashi had to hide his neon green hair all that day, especially from Guy. The man had refused to remove his Hokage Hat that day. Afterwards Kakashi found out that the entire village supply of shampoos had gone missing. The Copycat had panicked so hard, he refused to come out of his office or remove his hat.

Naruto and Kurama had laughed all that day on the poor sap's misfortune.

Ah, good times.

Lost in the reviere of the past, he did not notice when he had reached the giant gold bars that was Kurama's place.

More than that, Kurama had company now. His eight brothers and sisters. When the Fourth World War ended, the Bijuus refused to leave his side, agreeing to live in the seal until death. The Nine Bijuus had all but demanded Naruto to agree, and Super Gramps was more than happy to let them stay with him.

Looking at how much the seal had changed, filled Naruto with happiness. 

The place on the other side of the bars remained same, with dank halways and drain pipes that littered the place. The place behind the cage had been changed into a landscape similar to Konoha, except the people and the houses, instead, it was a large grassy clearing. And lounging in the middle, basking in the sunlight was Kurama napping as usual.

"Oi furball! Wake up!" Naruto shouted. Seriously, the fox was epitome of lazy, aside from being Destruction Incarnée.

The fox opened his eyes. Damn. Who the hell was screeching in the middle of his nap. He swore if Shukaku was filling up Isobu's Lake just to annoy him...again, he would greet that prick with a Bijuudama on his face. Opening his one red eye, he was greeted by the scowling visage of his human partner. Huh, what was up with him?
"Oh, its you. What's up?"

That served to annoy Naruto further, Kurama realised. It was not so hard to notice if one had a vein node throbbing on his forehead.

"Don't 'What's up' me you idiot. How the fuck are we here?" Shouted Naruto right at his face.

Huh. The fuck did he mean by that?

"We're here because of the seal remember?" Kurama replied lazily. The 'Are you an idiot?' tone did not went unnoticed. One the second thought, Naruto was an idiot. Was, as in past tense. Not that it made any difference.