Starting from the End

14. WHAT ARE YOU THI...

"You talk too much... you know," Kakashi asked with a limped Sasuke in hand.

"I Know... this time I'm in deep shit", Alpha grimaced and again he walked out.

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It was a nice feeling. Able to stay with the one you seek after, respect, and love. To know you have one to lean on. To not feel loneliness, abundant. The warmth beneath his skin was gradually soaking him, giving his existence an anchor.  The softness brushed against his skin was cushioning him from the harshness of reality. It took him 16 long years to find out he was never alone, from the very beginning. It took him 3 long years to find that he was not a monster or demon. He was a living entity with massive chakra. If he happened to be a demon then so was Gamabunta, Katsuyu, Manda, Aoda, Gamakichi... even Pakkun and his friends... all of the summoning animals. He could feel the almost painfully slow but delicate breathing, assuring him that it is going to be fine. He was his Kurama-nii, Kyuubi-no-Kitsune.

In his 23 years of life-span, Kurama was the only one who didn't lie to him. When he hated Naruto, there was utter hatred and when he started to warm up to him, Naruto gained a lifelong companion. From a very young age, Naruto's immune system and health were good. He didn't know how he could stay healthy after the atrocious food diet. Either it was ramen or scarcely any good food or nothing. That was his food diet. It was mostly Kurama's unconscious chakra feeding that kept him far from malnutrition. 

Then there was rapid healing. Naruto had stopped counting long before how many times he was on the verge of death. It was either to help the blonde or save himself from extinction, Kurama healed any wounds of his host. And during the last 7 years, they become the strongest Jinchūriki in of the entire era. There emotional bonding was that anchor that kept Naruto sane. Naruto's faith and Kurama's vicious protectiveness over the blonde caused the war for 7 years long. Neither of them was ready to give up.

But that didn't mean Naruto forget his parents' death. No... it's just that nothing could bring back his parents. He couldn't have a life with his parents. It was not the Kyuubi who killed his parents that day. If one could trace back the events, it involved Kyuubi, Obito, Danzo, Madara, and Zetsu. He didn't forget their crimes but for his own selfish reasons, he couldn't hold accountable Kurama. He didn't know what he will do about the others but he can't hate Kurama. Kurama was the only constant one his life.

Naruto was enjoying his rest time. And the constant memories at a certain interval of time was helping him to anchor himself to the outside world. Not allowing his mind to isolate himself. 

The incident of Chrysanthemum was the first visible indication that Naruto was not okay at all. It was clear that Naruto needed some special help. And Ino was agreed to do so. But the war never gave him the time neither Ino make it to the end. And his stability slipped through his grasp day by day. Only Kurama kept those fragilities hidden or rather locked away from his host's reach.

And, now the hibernation of the said entity had caused the unlocking those fragilities. Naruto knew very well that it was only the first occurrence. There will more incidents like this if he didn't find some solid anchoring. His mass shadow clones can help him quite well but they will fail someday. And he was sure about it. 'I have to make a seal to hold those fragilities back... oh God... again another project. I will think about that later. Let's just rest now.' 

It was about 6 to 7 hours he took resident his mindscape. And he was feeling great. He was planning to stay there a couple of hours more. But a sudden clone memory made him baffled. He started fighting to grasp his consciousness. 'He was going to destroy everything.' Only that sentence was spinning in his head.