Chapter 24 - Kyuubi's secret

Snowflakes were drifting softly in the air. It was night and the weather outside made everyone retreat into the inviting heat of their home. Even in a great city like Gotham, the streets were empty that night. It was unusually cold.

It was the first snow of that year. What would normally be a reason for joy for normal people, did nothing to diminish the frustration and sorrow a certain individual was experiencing in that moment.

Said individual was sitting on the edge of a skyscraper, watching the desolate scenery as a blanket of snow slowly covered the empty streets. Despite the extreme cold outside, he was dressed in a surprisingly light outfit consisting of just a pair of black baggy pants, black sneakers made of a soft material and a black top - it was the traditional ninja outfit, identical to the one he had used to wear for a few months as a mercenary, before having been thrown into prison. However, his head was not covered by the balaclava, which made it possible for his identity to be recognized in an instant - he was none other than Uzumaki Naruto.

"He had assured me that the entire Justice League is making efforts in finding out Misaki's whereabouts... they're all nothing but pieces of shit!" Naruto muttered darkly when he thought back at his meeting with Batman that took place just a few moments before on that rooftop.

It was the beginning of December. Nearly 2 weeks passed since Naruto killed Deadshot during his first contact with Cadmus and 3 weeks since he had asked Batman to help him find his sister in exchange for the information he had provided him about USA government's secret agenda, namely Cadmus. Despite that, Batman just told him that neither him, nor the Justice League could find any trace of Misaki.

"He can break into all the government's classified files. He's supposed to be some sort of genius at everything. One of them is a telepath that could read the minds of the entire city's population at the same time. Another one has super speed. Two of them are fancy-ass magicians and either one could cast a spell to locate Misaki in a heartbeat. Yet none of them could find even a trace her? Bullshit!" Naruto said angrily.

He was pissed. But he understood the reason. In Justice League's eyes Naruto was nothing but a mass murderer. What Naruto was not aware was that they were actually seeing him just as they were seeing Darkseid - a dangerous animal that needed to be put down. Why would they help him with anything?

His mind then went to Kyuubi. The now puny fox said he could not help him for a while seeing as he needed to acclimate himself with the new feeling of his 5 senses. But he promised that after that, he would trace Misaki's scent. Kyubi assured him that nothing will stop them from finding her. But more than a week passed and Kyuubi had yet to tell him that he was ready.

On top of a skyscraper, in the thick of the night, the time passed as he stood amidst the slowly falling snowflakes, seemingly lost in a trance. Eventually, he let out a long sigh.

His eyes fell on his right hand. Under his control, bones protruded through the tips of his fingers, taking the appearance of tiger-like claws. Glancing at the translucent blue colour of his bones, he couldn't help the melancholy that overtook him. He contemplated his life during the last three years.

"I was just a human. A delinquent that went to school only so he could watch over his sister..."

"Now look at what I have become." he said as his clawed fingers sunk into the concrete border of the building's roof as if it was pudding.

His attention also shifted towards the beating coming from his heart...or better said, from his two hearts. He was getting the chills at just thinking what a mess the inside of his body must be. How did his body even work properly with a chakra-skeleton? How is it possible for the chakra heart to actually become corporeal?

He wondered: how would his life have been had nothing happened to his sister? How would his life been had his grandfather not been killed? And ultimately...How would his life been had he not failed to kill Uchiha Madara in his previous life?

A torrent of questions flooded him. Regret naturally surfaced. Until then, he had never taken the time to think profusely about his life. After his grandfather was murdered, he had preoccupied his mind with giving Misaki perfect living conditions. After he thought that she was killed, his entire being was consumed by a burning desire for vengeance. Then, when he was thrown in prison, as if he had become numb to everything around him, he had ceaselessly trained for two years.

"I've regained my freedom..." Naruto said to himself.

"And I've become more powerful than I have ever been on my own..."

"Soon, I will find my sister and slaughter everyone that had taken a part in this..."

"But after that? What then?"

Naruto's eyes fell on his clawed hand. He retracted the bones into his hand, the skin naturally closing up as if it had never been punctured in the first place.

What was going to happen after that? Will he live together with his sister happily ever after? Would he be able to do it?

"No...would she even look at me with the same eyes after all that happened?"

What would her reaction be after watching the video of him torturing the Joker to death? What would she think of him after finding out that he had murdered over a hundred people in Arkham Asylum?

And then, the question he was the most afraid of, came:

"What will I do if she rejects me?"

For the first time since Misaki's apparent death, Naruto looked back at his life. For the first time since that incident, regret surfaced.

"Even if she were to accept me regardless of who I have become... would I be able to live an ordinary life?"

Standing there, contemplating his life, many hours passed unknowingly. A thick blanket of snow covered the entire city. Morning came and with it, the city's life seemed to return as well. The streets become filled with cars and busses and crowds of people flooded the sidewalks. Covered in snow, on the top of the skyscraper, he struck a lonely figure as we watched the world below.

Another long sigh came out of his mouth. Lightning suddenly flashed across his body and the snow that had been accumulating on top of him was instantly dispersed.

He remembered the words his grandpa had once told him:

"There is a time to rest and a time to train. There is a time to cry out and a time to endure. There is a time to think and a time to act. Everything must be done at its own time."

As the thin tendrils of black lightning danced over his body, Naruto murmured.

"It's not the time for me to rest yet. It's not the time for me to fall in my thoughts yet..."

"I'll make sure my sister is safe and that the ones behind her kidnapping are dealt with."

"I'll have time to think about my life later."

Scene break

Swapping his card on the lock, the metallic door opened. He was now in the apartment that Lex Luthor had offered him in his tower.

"G-Good morning, Naruto." a voice came from the other side of the room. A very fat teenager was carefully sipping from his coffee, his small and beady eyes looking at him nervously. Two weeks have passed since they became partners in name but Rupert was still as afraid of Naruto as he had been after seeing the Prison Island carnage.

"Have you seen my fox?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. He asked me half an hour ago how to..."

But the Naruto couldn't hear clearly the end of his sentence as Rupert's voice became an unintelligible mumble.

"Care to repeat that?"

Rupert gulped.

"H-He asked me to teach him how to use the internet..." the fatty said, his eyes looking to the side in what Naruto perceived as discomfort.

"He...he confiscated my laptop. He is in your room..."

Naruto was stumped for words. He didn't think that in his absence Kyuubi would bully Rupert like that. Even so, he was quite curious, just what could a former bijuu, currently a fox cub, could possibly do with a laptop?!

When he arrived in front of the door leading to his room, Naruto tsk-ed. It was closed. Apparently, he won't be able to catch the fox red-handed in whatever he was doing...unless Kyuubi won't be able to react in time and hide the signs of his previous activities.

With that thought in mind, Naruto abruptly rushed inside, slamming the door open. A clatter of things falling down was heard when he entered and his eyes eyes fell on the nine-tailed fox cub that was standing on two feet like a human. His tails were spread widely along with his hands, in a desperate attempt to cover the screen of the laptop.

After that split of second of surprise, Kyuubi quickly pushed the screen of the laptop down, his heart beating as if it was about to jump out of his little chest.

"What are you hiding there, Kurama?" Naruto asked insidiously.

Kyuubi felt himself starting to sweat.

"N-Nothing!"

"Now, now, that wasn't very convincing you know?"

His hand went to touch the laptop...only for one of Kyuubi's tails to slap it away.

"Why would you stop me if you didn't have anything to hide?"

If foxes could blush, Kyuubi would probably be steaming at that moment.

"Hehe. Seeing you acting like that only makes me want to see your secret even more."

"S-Shut up! That's none of your business. Can a fox not get any privacy in this house?"

Naruto lost it. He couldn't reign in his laughter anymore.

"Bwahah!"

"The high school white teen girl needs her privacy!"

Naruto choked on his laughter though when a deceptively long red tail slammed into his midsection.

*bang*

His body broke through the wall of his bedroom and crashed into the living room, right next to Rupert who stiffened in panic like a statue.

Although he looked miserable, Naruto had not even a scratch on him. It was only the wall and the furniture that were reduced to rubble.

"You've done it this time. You've got no idea for how long have I wanted to kick your ass.." Naruto growled when he got back to his feet.

"Right back at you, asshole!" Kurama shouted at him trying to sound menacing but his squeaky voice ruined everything.

With that, both of then lunged at each other like like a pair of savage barbarians.

Naruto ducked under the slash of one of Kyuubi's tails and grabbed it with both of his hands.

*bang*

Holding the fox cub by one of his tails, Naruto slammed him into the floor. Then, he lightly threw him in the air and kicked him as if he were a football. The fox was sent through the large windows of the living room like a rocket, breaking through them.

Kyuubi's red slit eyes met Naruto's deep blue. A mocking expression was in the puny fox' eyes, as if he was asking: 'Is that all you've got? My grandma hits harder than you!'

However, Naruto's eyes went to his room and a smirk crept up on his face.

It was then that Kyuubi saw through Naruto's actions as well. However, it was one second too late. He had been thrown through the window and he was...falling from a height of a few hundred feet.

Naruto laughed gleefully. He quickly went into this room and opened the laptop - the reason he threw Kyuubi through the window was so that he could see what his secret was.

When the laptop was switched from sleep mode to active, a moaning sound filled the room.

"Ahhh! Master! Fuck your slutty kitten harder!"

Bent over a kitchen counter, a blue-furred cat-like female humanoid was having her ass penetrated roughly by a red-furred fox-like male humanoid.

It was animated furry porn.

"..."

"You nasty son of bitch!"