Naruto walked into the trees and laid down against one. He sighed and closed his eyes.
'Like that kid knows anything about true pain." Naruto growled inside his head.
"Calm down kit, its okay," Kurama comforted.
"Hmph,"
Kurama chuckled. "Take a break for a little bit, calm your mind. Just do what I do and take a little nap."
"Nap? Really? You know I don't sleep well." Naruto scoffed.
Kurama shrugged and beckoned Naruto over to him. Naruto obliged and walked over to the fox. Kurama smiled and placed one of his tails next to the blonde. Naruto parted his lips in confusion but then realized what his friend was doing. Naruto closed his eyes and gave a soft smile. He then jumped onto the tail, laid down, and propped his head onto Kurama's large torso. Naruto closed his eyes and drifted into a deep sleep. Naruto realized that he only sleeps well when he is next to Kurama and buried in his soft, orange fur. Kurama smiled and closed his eyes as well.
An hour later...
"NARUTO!!!!" Sakura yelled as she tried to locate her teammate.
'Where is he? He was gone for an hour and he never came back." Sakura thought worriedly.
With Sasuke...
"NARUTO!!!!" Sasuke yelled. "NARUTO!!! Where are you!!!???" "Tch, that usuratonkachi."
'I can't feel his chakra, he must have hidden it, damn of course."
With Kakashi...
"Where is he?"
"NARUTO!!!"
With Naruto...
Naruto woke up, still leaning on Kurama and buried deep in his soft fur.
"Kit, hey kit," Kurama called.
"Hm?" Naruto asked, confused.
"Your teammates are looking for you."
"Uggg, I wanna sleep..." Naruto sighed as his lids continued to droop.
Kurama chuckled. "You're making them worried. Especially your boyfriend."
"Who? Sasuke? He's not my boyfriend Kurama."
"Well, he's going to be," Kurama teased.
Naruto sighed, "Whatever." He got up, jumped off of Kurama's tail, and exited the mindscape.
Outside the mindscape...
Naruto opened his eyes and stood up. He looked around at his surroundings and sighed.
"NARUTO!!!" Naruto turned towards the voice and realized that it was Sasuke's.
"Well, Kurama was right, they are looking for me," Naruto said aloud.
"NARUTO!!!!" Sasuke yelled again.
"Sasuke!! Two o'clock, 30 meters," Naruto yelled back.
"Got it!!" Sasuke replied. Sasuke followed Naruto's directions and finally saw the blonde, standing there, waiting for him.
"Where were you??!!" Sasuke yelled after reaching Naruto.
"Sorry, I needed a break from the outside world so I had a talk with Kurama and I had a nap." Naruto shrugged.
"Well, you should've told us!!! Do you know how worried I- er I mean, we were!!! Sasuke said, tripping on his words. Naruto caught the mistake and smirked.
"Aww, how cute. Well, you don't have anything to worry about. I am fully capable of protecting myself," Naruto smiled.
"Hn," Sasuke blushed as he turned away. "Anyway, we should meet up with Sakura and the others." Naruto nodded and jumped away into the trees. Sasuke followed along right behind him.
A few minutes of awkward silence passed between the two until they finally met up with their teammates.
"Naruto, you don't know how much I was worried bout you!! Don't run off like that!! Did you know how much Sasuke was rampaging after you left and never came back? I was afraid the house was going to be destroyed!!" Sakura complained as she ran over to Naruto and hugged him.
"Sakura!!!!" Sasuke complained as his face went red. Sakura smirked at Sasuke as she let go of Naruto. Naruto sighed after hearing what Sakura said and looked at Sasuke. He raised one eyebrow and looked questioningly at the raven. Kakashi just stood there, smiling as he pulled out his Icha Icha paradise after knowing that his Captain was safe. Haku and Zabuza also smiled. Zabuza had his arm around Haku and Haku was leaning his head against Zabuza's shoulder, smiling warmly at Team 7
"Sakura's lying. I would never do that." Sasuke mumbled.
"Oh, really?" Naruto asked as he looked towards Sakura. Sakura shook her head, signaling to Naruto that it was true.
"Don't tell him though. Just pretend that you believe him. I don't think he can handle it." Sakura said through her personal link with Naruto. Naruto nodded his head.
"Oh, okay," Naruto said aloud. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hn."
Naruto smiled, "Let's go back. I'm sorry for worrying all of you." Everybody nodded and they all headed back to Tazuna's house. When they got there, Inari was waiting at the door. His eyes were red from crying and as he saw Naruto walk over, he ran over and hugged the blonde. Naruto was surprised.
"Naruto nii-chan. Gomenasai!!! I didn't know anything about you. I-I'm very sorry." Inari sobbed. Naruto hesitated for a moment but then smiled. Naruto gently placed is hand on Inari's head and ruffled his hair.
"Don't worry about it. It's fine." Naruto smiled. Inari looked up at Naruto's soft but also piercing blue eyes. Inari sniffled, then smiled.
Flashback...
"Inari right?" Someone asked right behind Inari. Inari turned around and saw a white-haired man that was known to be the jonin squad leader of the team that was supposed to protect his grandfather. Inari nodded. Kakashi sat down next to Inari and sighed.
"I don't know what you guys are still doing here for. As I said before, Gato and his men are way too powerful. My father couldn't even defeat them." Inari scoffed.
Kakashi smiled, "I wouldn't be so sure about that." Inari turned towards Kakashi and cocked his head in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, first of all, I am Hatake Kakashi. A jonin rank ninja that is very well known. I don't want to sound self-centered, but I am very strong. Second of all, Sasuke and Sakura both are recently graduated genin but, they are skilled and very gifted. They are also very strong shinobi."
"Okay... What about Naruto?"
Kakashi smiled an affectionate smile, "Naruto. Naruto is on another level than me or his teammates. He is different from anyone that I have ever met."
"What do you mean? Isn't he just an ordinary ninja?" Inari asked.
"No, he is much, much more than that," Kakashi explained. "Naruto is someone who has a sense of stability. He is calm and very collected most of the time. He is someone who has the experience and is wise beyond his age. Naruto has been through a lot during his childhood. It was as if something has cursed him. When he was just a newborn, his father and mother died from an attack from the Kyuubi, also known as the 9 Tailed Fox. From birth, he was shunned and cast out. He has suffered a lot of pain that many people can't relate to. He was constantly beaten by the villagers and suffered from painful and almost fatal wounds. If it were not for the Kyuubi, he would probably we dead by now. He also had a lot of people not only physically hurting him but emotionally too. They called him a monster, a demon, and they told him to just die. He had a terrible childhood and he lived a terribly life. From the circumstances that you had, you could be considered lucky compared to what Naruto had to experience. I'm surprised that he is even sane right now. A normal person would probably go mad if they were placed in the same environment that Naruto has. In the end, Naruto trained and trained. He worked hard and became someone that everyone looks up to. A person who is worthy of respect. He defied the odds and gained a high position in the ranks. Even higher than a jonin. Who he truly is, I can't tell you. That is a high-rank secret that can never be shared unless I have consent," Kakashi finished. After hearing all of this, Inari felt bad. He felt lucky to be
even living the life he is now and he felt guilty for everything that he said to Naruto. He realized that he needed to apologize. Suddenly, Kakashi saw a newfound determination in the boy's eyes and he smiled, knowing that Inari got the message.
"I will leave you be now, I'll let you think it all through," Kakashi said as he got up off the porch and walked back into the house.
End of Flashback...