ᴅᴇꜱᴛɪɴʏ ʀᴇʙɪʀᴛʜ|ⁿᵃʳᵘᵗᵒˣⁿᵃʳᵘᵏᵒ

A second chance p.4

"Well there is some good news," Kurama said, gaining his container's attention, "If I'm reading the chakra signatures right," a chuckle escaped from the fox's snout, making Naruto slightly suspicious and wary. "He's a she."

"WHAT!?" Naruto's shout echoed throughout the forest, causing the birds to fly away in fright as the trees ruffled from the force of the shout. "You mean that other me ... is a girl?"

Naruto felt Kurama mentally nod. "I'm positive. No questions about it."

"But that means ..." Naruto started as a small, hopeful smile formed on his lips, "She's my sister?"

As long as he could remember, he always craved for a family he could call his own, like how the Sandaime became his surrogate grandfather and Jiraiya his Godfather. And now Kurama, the greatest of the Bijū, was now his surrogate brother. But having blood relative meant so much more than that — it meant that he was having a real family, and he was certain his counterpart felt the same way too.

"In a way, yes kit, she's your sister." Kurama explained with a wistful sigh, "Now you have a real family again, that means you don't need me anymore. Heh, well, it was fun while it lasted ..."

In an instant, Naruto was in his mindscape and he tackled the great fox in a hug, but his enormous size meant that Naruto was only able to hug one of his giant paws, but it was still the same to him.

"Don't you ever say that! You're family now, and nothing's going to change that!" Kurama looked down at Naruto, seeing the tears welling up in the young blonde's eyes, and he immediately felt guilty. "Please Kurama, don't say anything like that anymore. I lost my friends once, I don't want to go through that pain again!"

Kurama sighed as he nodded. "I'm sorry Naruto," he replied, "I promise I won't leave you ever again."

Naruto grinned as he wiped away his tears with the cuff of his arms. "You know you've mellowed out a lot more since becoming my brother,"

"Don't get too comfortable gaki, I'm not that mellow yet!" Kurama stated with a barking laugh, and Naruto just smiled, same old Kurama. "Now, you better get going kit — I think there's someone coming."

And with that, Naruto was pulled out of his mindscape and into the real world. He noticed that he had been walking for a long time while talking to Kurama, as he was nearing the edge of the forest, and soon was in a clearing of some sorts. A strong sense of nostalgia hit him as he gazed at the training grounds.

In all his life, Naruto had only acquainted himself with only three training grounds of Konoha, and these were the places he always trained in.

The first was Training Ground 7, the meeting place of Team 7.

The second was the 'unforgettable' Training Ground 44, or 'affectionately' known to the locals (Mitarashi Anko comes to mind) as 'the Forest of Death'.

And the last one was a bit more personal to the blonde, as it was at this training ground that he had found respite from the glares, jeers and mental-abuse from the villagers when he was younger — especially on his birthdays when the abuse was at its worst. It was the Hokage's Private Training Ground 3. He had received permission from the then ruling Sandaime Hokage to use this place as his safe-haven from the villagers, as well as a temporary home as his apartment would most likely be thrashed in the villager's 'celebration' of the 'defeat' of Kurama at the hands of his father.

Looking around the clearing, Naruto smiled as he breathed in the spring air whilst taking in his surroundings.

It was slightly smaller than the generic training grounds around Konoha, and it sported a standard ring of Konoha's famous forests around the clearing, as well as a pristine lake which formed from a river further away to train Water Release techniques in. There was also a waterfall at the source of the river flow, which further enhances nature's beauty in Naruto's eyes.