Chapter 27 - K

"Nine, are you—are you okay?"

She tries to place her hand on his body but it only manages to go through his skin. She gasps and her arm goes away in surprise. Kurama tries to get a grip on his form. It's hard so he reduces his height, making it more compact. His head turns towards the path he made. He really needs to rest and it seems this time he won't be able to ignore the urge. He tries to stand anyways.

"My friend is there. I need… I need to go there."

"Where?"

His consciousness is slipping off and he falls again even as Sophia tries to catch him. This wasn't his best idea but it always seems to work with Naruto, the no thinking things through. Why it doesn't work for him?

A hollow chuckle escapes him because he's not Naruto and doesn't want to be. It's obvious it wouldn't work for him. It barely works for Naruto. "Just—That way. South. Take me there."

"What about—Are you going to—"

He swallows and looks directly at her. She's not crying but her arms are trembling. "I need to rest. Just for a while."

"Nine? What's... Nine?!"

Fuck, he really shouldn't have thrown that bijudama. Perhaps he's more worried than he thought.

"I miss him," he croaks, eyes slowly skidding shut.

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"Hey, Kurama, what do you want to do once the war is over?"

The fox opens one eye, not wanting to disturb his rest entirely. "Sleep before I knock you out, brat. That old Hokage of yours told you to do it, didn't she?"

Naruto huffs, arms crossing as he takes that same stubborn expression, though Kurama can read the slight anxiousness clearly on him. "I can't sleep."

"Nervous? Heh. That doesn't sound like the act-first-think-later Naruto I know."

"Yeah, I kno—Oi! Stop mocking me! I'm just… I just keep thinking in Madara and Obito and…"

Kurama lets out a breath that makes Naruto's hair and clothes flutter. He knows where this is going. "We couldn't follow them."

"I know, but isn't it weird they retreated? I mean—"

"Don't overthink it. Madara just obtained his body. He needs to acclimate first to his body."

"See! He was weak, we should have taken the opportunity to—"

Flicking the tip of his tail gently against his chest making him fall on his ass, Kurama stops him from continuing. "This so-called Alliance needs rest, they can't keep going after those two maniacs without stopping. You too. You can't continue giving chakra as if it were candy."

Naruto looks up and his hand reaches the tail that's still in front of him. "You look tired, too. I'm sorry for—"

Another flick of a tail. "Don't get all mushy with me, brat. We need all the help we can get. If they didn't have my chakra then they won't be more than cannon fodder."

"Yeah, yeah. What would we do without the Mighty Nine Tails, huh?" Naruto chuckles.

"Exactly."

There's a lapse of silence in which no one speaks and Kurama thinks it's over. He closes his eyes, trying to recover as much energy as he can.

"Hey, Kurama."

Kurama sighs and doesn't bother opening his eyes or acknowledging the words. Not even when he feels a weight leaning against his tail, faint breathing against his fur that's warm and comforting. He really wants to smack Naruto across the seal. His tail is already preparing to use all its force in removing the leech on his tail.

"Let's show everyone how awesome we are tomorrow and end this war, okay? When they realize the hero you are, we can go to Konoha and we're going to have ramen together! The old man Teuchi will cook so much and… let's make that the first thing to do when all this is over, okay?"

Opening slightly his eyes to peer at the being lying on top of his tail, Kurama attempts to dissuade all the emotions coming from Naruto and the ones he feels inside him with, "Is ramen all you can think of, brat?"

He expects Naruto to shout and start ranting about ramen but he gives him a small smile, not like the big, toothy ones he uses when happy, but somehow it's brighter and warmer than those broader ones.

"I just really want to eat some ramen with you," he says, his face going to rest against the orange fur.

Kurama closes his eyes, enjoying the pleasant sensation of Naruto's emotions close for one long breath before he smacks Naruto towards the end of the seal with a flick of his tail.

He would like to try to eat with him, too.

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