Ch 23. Naruto and Kurama.

Izana waited until it was evening before he returned. He had contacted Jiraiya to ask for a hideout near Konoha. If he had to shelter Shisui somwhere, he rather it would be close by, yet far enough from the village center to avoid attenion. Jiraiya didn't know why Izana would need a safe house inside of the village, but had still prepared a simple house inside the civilian section of Konoha. Somewhere where the average shinobi didn't often pass through.

Izana dropped of Shisui off at that house, leaving after preparing many daily nessecaties for him. Izana had also introduced Ryuujin to Shisui, even if the latter might have had an inkling before of Ryuujin's presence.

Shisui had been quite surpised to really meet Ryuujin in person, especially after Izana told him what Ryuujin looked like. It wasn't everyday he met a Tailed Beast, especially one that was civilized and calm. Ryuujin had in turn been quite nice to Shisui and had even taught him a special sensory ability that made him able to slightly sense his surroundings through sound and vibrations. It would make it easier for Shisui to move around a bit, now that his eye sight had been robbed from him. Not enough to resume being a Shinobi, but enough to move about. With everything taken care of, for now at least, Izana departed from Shisui's house with a slightly lightened heart, knowing he would be fine for now.

Izana arrived at the Uchiha residence a bit later in the evening, where he was greeted by an angry and worried Mikoto. Which wasn't really that surprising as he hadn't said where he had been, nor warned her he would be out for a while. And how could he, when the situation had been as dire as it was?

Izana was lectured for over an hour by Mikoto, not relenting for a single moment. She had been very worried and lectured Izana about the importance of notifying her of his whereabouts. At least when he wasn't out for a mission.

"I even had to ask Jiraiya-sama if he had a clue of where you might be. Really, you need to notify someone when you plan to disappear somewhere. Do you know how worried is was?" Mikoto said, ending her lecture by hugging Izana tightly, almost to the point of breaking his bones in her bear-like hug.

Izana hugged her back as he knew how much he had worried her.

"Sorry.... I will tell you next time." Izana replied meekly, as he knew he was wrong for worrying her, even if the situation asked for it. His reply resulted in a soft smile from Mikoto, as she sighed in relief. It seems the message had come across crystal clear.

"Get some dinner. I am sure you are famished after your little stunt. We left you some, so heat it up and get to bed when you're ready. You look exhausted."

Izana nodded again and suppressed the yawn he felt coming. The last two days had been quite a surprise and gave him quite a scare. It was completely normal to be a bit tired after a tense situation.

After finishing dinner, Izana quickly went to bed.

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The next day, Izana went to find Naruto. With the situation of Shisui, he didn't have time to really think about Naruto. There was something he needed to address concerning Naruto, something he had delayed long enough. If he was right, Naruto was supposed to have a free day today. It was a good time to talk with Naruto about Kurama.

Though the Third might not like it that Izana told Naruto about the tailed beast, Izana couldn't give a damn about what the Third thought. He should care more about Naruto if he really cared so much. The environment Naruto lived in spoke volumes about the aid the Third gave him, which was practically zero.

And seeing as he didn't honestly care about Naruto all that much, then Izana wasn't going to be polite and was resolute to tell Naruto about it, consequences be damned. It was Naruto's life after all. If something went wrong, he could surely handle it. Especially since the chance that Kurama lashed out was rather small, considering Ryuujin and Kurama had a history together.

Izana looked around to search for Naruto and he didn't have to search for long. Izana had just passed by a corner when he spotted multiple store fronts and homes covered in paint. Again.

Even the Hokage wall in the distance had received a nice new colour. Though he had to say, the newly styled mustache on the Thirds face was rather fitting if you asked him. Others didn't seem to share his opinion. The villagers were complaining again as they grabbed a few buckets with soap and began to clean their walls, grumbling while doing it. An unwelcome routine at this point.

They had become accustomed to these occurrences and had grown slightly numb to them. They still cursed when it happened and would yell at Naruto when they saw him. But that was all.

When a villager would get too hands on, Izana would kindly 'remind' them to keep their hands off. This time however, Naruto was safely above the crowd and was heartily laughing at them, like a prankster usually did when they were appreciating their work.

"Hahahaha, Uzumaki Naruto, at your service!" Naruto yelled as he stuck his tongue out and mocked the people below him before he ran away. Izana couldn't help but laugh at the display and the miserable faces the villagers made. They weren't agile enough to even attempt to catch the brat. They were certain, as they had tried it often.

Izana's laughter at their misfortune earned him a lot of scornfull gazes, but Izana didn't care. It took only one look from Izana to shut their mouths, so they weren't really that harmful. One glare was all it took, which was common with the Uchiha's current standing in the village.

Izana quickly followed Naruto, catching up to him in no time, though he wasn't the only one to chase the yellow haired kid. Naruto was being chased by other shinobi, who were hot on his tail, but he managed to skillfully shake them off. A feat Naruto had become a master in.

When Naruto thought he was alone, he was suddenly grabbed from behind, his feet dangling in the air as he was lifted by the scruff of his neck. Well, jacket to be precise.

"Woahh!"

Naruto vigilantly turned his head around to see who it was, ready to unleash his deadliest transformation attack, up until he saw who it was.

He happily laughed when he recognised the perpetrator as Izana.

"Well, little troublemaker. Why don't we scram before that pesky teacher of yours discovers us? Scrubbing your handywork clean is postponed till later today." Izana commented offhandedly as he body flickered away towards the forest, just in time to avoid Iruka, Naruto's homeroom teacher.

Unlike the other times, Izana went to a more deserted and less known clearing in the forest near Konoha. A bit more distant than the other training grounds, but it had its uses. It had a lot of good hiding spots, keeping Izana and Naruto completely hidden from view from any suspicious eyes.

Naruto looked curiously around him. He had never been here before and it was a nice place to hide when he was chased. A secret refuge so to say.

Izana sat down crosslegged in front of Naruto, patting the ground beside him. Naruto followed Izana's lead and sat down as Izana began to talk, getting immediately to the crux of his objective of today.

"Naruto, do you know why the villagers hate you?"

Naruto shook his head as a miserable look appeared on his face, one that spoke about his annoyance of always being in the unknown, the unknown about something concerning himself. 

"You know about the kyuubi, Right?"

Naruto slowly nodded, thinking hard about what he knew about the subject in question.

"The Kyuubi is a monster fox that attacked the village six years ago. Many villagers died including my parents." Naruto said gravely.

"Then Naruto, do you know what a jinchuriki is?"

Again Naruto shook his head.

"To simplify it, a Jinchuriki is a person who has a tailed beast sealed inside his body. There are nine in total, the monster fox being the kyuubi and the strongest of the nine. You, Naruto, have the kyuubi sealed inside your body. That is why the villagers hate you. Everytime they look at you, all they see is the monster fox sealed inside of you. The cause of all their grievances and suffering." Izana said, gouging Naruto's reaction with every word he spoke.

As he had suspected, Naruto became a bit angry and sad.

"But I'm not the Kyuubi! I'm Naruto! Uzumaki Naruto, the one kid at school who can't even perform the most basic of jutsu's! An idiot who can't do anything right!" Naruto angrily yelled, words of self loathing spilling out as well. It just showed how depressed Naruto was deep down. 

"I know that, as do the others, but they can't help it but only see the kyuubi when they look at you. But Naruto, know that as much as you did not choose to be a jinchuriki, so did the kyuubi not choose to be sealed inside of you. Both of you are angry. Can you hear him? His muttering, his loathing of those around him? Listen carefully and focus your mind. Can you hear him cursing and grumbling?"

Izana said, placing his hand over Naruto's eyes. Like Izana had said, Naruto focused and he could faintly hear another voice inside him. It cursed a lot and Naruto could only feel the hate it held for everything around him. For everything around him.

When Naruto focussed more, he could see a wide dark space. In front of him were bars streching from one side to the other. Their red paint of the bars stood out against the bleary sight of the grey, watery area around him. High up in the middle of the bars, Naruto could see a sealing paper.

"Hoh, the brat came to have a look?"

A deep voice echoed through his mind, forming ripples in the waters on which he stood. Big red eyes appeared behind the bars, staring down at his small figure.

"Kyuubi." Naruto whispered in awe. It was much bigger than he had thought. He felt a little scared when those hatefilled eyes stared at him. 

Naruto slowly moved backwards but quickly bummped into something behind him.

"Naruto, look closely. The one you see before you is the Kyuubi. Most see him as a terrible monster, but he is also a person with feelings and more importantly, a name. You know how it feels to be called a monster, right?" Izana said as he had appeared in Naruto's mind space. He ruffled Naruto's head and brought him back in front of the bars.

At this point, the hatred oozing out from behind the bars had faded, shimmering just in the background. The Kyuubi had calmed down, his anger and hatred suppressed when Izana had appeared. 

"I know. I too have a name. But they only call me a monster." Naruto sniffled slightly, gaining the attention of the Kyuubi behind the bars. Its eyes having surprisingly lost their hatred as it stared down at Naruto, waiting for the boy's reply.

"Then why don't you call this big fox by his name too. Unlike being called kyuubi, he has a name. You want to know it?"

Naruto nodded. 

Deep down, a feeling blossomed inside of him. A yearning for connection, not to the villagers, but towards the Kyuubi currently sealed behind the bars. He had a feeling it was as lonely and miserable as he was. Something they shared in common. If only they could become friends...

"His name is Kurama."

A voice that wasn't Kurama's, Naruto's or Izana's responded to Naruto. Naruto looked around him and could see another being lounging behind Izana, its large claws serving as a seat for Izana to lean against. It was huge, the same size as the Kyuubi, Kurama, maybe even bigger.

"Naruto, meet Ryuujin, the tailed beast residing in my own body and soul. It isn't a normal one and not one belonging to the other nine. He is special." Izana said in an kind, almost affectionate manner one held for their family, while Ryuujin just looked at Kurama, not having seen him since a few years ago.

Kurama stared back at Ryuujin, but unlike before, there wasn't any hate inside his eyes.

"Ryuujin. You have a pretty good brat to live in." Kurama said, not glancing at Izana and only keeping his eyes on Ryuujin, a sly smile gracing the fox's snout.

"Yes, that I know. He is perfect wouldn't you say? You have a pretty nice one too, Kurama. He's as mischievous as you are. I am almost jealous how good a match the two of you are." Ryuujin replied as he chuckled

Naruto looked from one to the other and thought the conversation was a bit strange.

"Don't bother with those two, they have a lot to catch up on, they go way back after all. Now what about you? Aren't you glad, Naruto? Finally knowing the why. As well as knowing you aren't alone anymore. If you ever have any problems, you can talk to me, Ryuujin or with your grumpy Kurama. After Ryuujin talks with Kurama, he should be less hostile and talk with you a bit. An understanding mind can do wonders." Izana said, though he wasn't really sure about the last part.

"Well, try to be a little nice to Kurama. From what I've heard, he has been through a lot and doesn't trust humans. Why don't you try to be friends with him and see what happens."

Naruto nodded, a slight smile on his face. It was nice to know about this. He had wondered about this a lot. At least now he knew it wasn't him they hated, it was the Kyu-.. no, Kurama. Though they still only saw him. That was probably why they hated him, as they only saw him as Kurama.

Before Naruto could get a little more depressed, Izana placed his hand on Naruto's head again.

"Naruto, I can only manage this once a year, but... do you want to meet your mom?" Izana said, dropping a bomb in Naruto's head.

Naruto stared with his mouth agape at Izana. Izana hadn't thought it would be different, as it would be the first time Naruto saw Kushina.

It had taken him a while to figure out how to do it. During the three years he was gone, Jiraiya had helped him with coming up with ideas in making this happen. It was a lot of trial and error, but Izana had finally succeeded in making a pathway between the mind and the sealed charm.

Now, Naruto or Izana could talk with Kushina once a year. It would take a considerable amount of chakra to steady the seals and they had to be strenghtened again after the conversation. Especially since the charm wouldn't hold out long enough for an extended duration. It had to recover after that, as the amount of chakra needed was nothing to scoff at. This didn't take away the happiness Izana could give Naruto once a year.

Naruto fervently nodded at the proposal, aslready wondering what he wanted to talk about with his mom. Izana glanced slightly at the two bickering giants, and left the mind scape with Naruto in tow. While the two tailed beast were talking, Izana handed Naruto the charm and explained how it worked.

"You have around ten minutes, afterwards the chakra in the charm will weaken and the connection will be broken." Izana smiled at Naruto, as tears were streaming down Naruto's face just at the thought of meeting his mom even once.

"Talk a lot with Kushina. Make sure it will be memorable."

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes again.

While he was focussed on the charm, a bright smile and fresh tears appeared on his face. Izana ruffled Naruto's head again and decided to keep quiet and let Naruto enjoy his talk with Kushina. The only thing Izana did in the meantime was sit beside Ryuujin as he and Kurama were catching up on what Ryuujin had missed. Which was a lot.

Afterwards, Kurama had grumbled in annoyance, but promised Ryuujin that he would help Naruto and would try to get along with the kid. He was stuck inside Naruto for a long time after all, even more when he considered the future. Might as well make it comfortable.

They all waited for Naruto to finish his short reunion with Kushina. It was only a bit sad that Izana couldn't reunite him with Minato, but as Izana looked at the seal on Kurama's cage, he could slightly feel Minato's chakra and a faint smile graced his lips.

Minato always had his ways to still leave an impression, even if it might take a while for it to happen in the real world.