Chapter 46 - K

"I'd prefer if you called me Nine, though," he says quickly.

Her smile grows alongside the others in the group but no one says anything. Sophia glances curiously at him. "What about me?"

Ugh.

Kurama wants to say no, but those blue, still innocent, eyes are looking directly at him and… fucking Naruto.

"Sure, kid," he says but it's clear to the others how much it pains him to do it. Sophia realizes too, but it seems she's not going to be merciful to him. Damned brats.

"Thanks, Kurama!" she chirps and everyone laughs at how he faintly cringes.

"Okay, okay. Enough of that," says Adam, motioning with a hand to stop. "We agree to go look for your friend but do you've got a clue of where he is?"

Kurama settles his head on top of his paws and points to the direction he last felt Naruto with a tail. "That way. The thing I did on the road? It was to point out where he was. I just have a vague direction of where he is, but that's probably because he's not close."

"What's that thing you did anyway?"

He can sense something like dread in those around him and now that he's not a single-minded being focused on Naruto, Kurama admits he's curious.

"I don't know, what did you feel?"

There's a shared glance, as if they don't know how to answer, or are afraid to say the words aloud. It's Sophia the one that speaks in the end. "It was as if something sucked in deep inside of me, grabbing me. It was overpowering and it felt like it was crushing me."

Sophia shudders at the same time Kurama gives a 'Huh'.

Sasha frowns. "'Huh'? Is the only thing you've to say?"

"Well, what do you want me to say? I don't know what happened then. I was kind of panicking and I… connected into Nature? Yes, I did that."

Kurama looks down at himself and closes his eyes, focusing on that newfound connection he's been trying to ignore. It's sentient and slightly familiar in a way he doesn't want to look too deeply into.

"I think… I think that what you felt it's happening to me to a lesser degree. When I deliberately connected more to Nature, it got you too. Though I'm not so sure why."

"Are you fine? Has this happened to you before?" Sophia asks, her eyebrows furrowed together in worry.

"No, never," he answers though he's not entirely sure and that frightens him. He's been trying to connect to Nature to regain his energy more quickly. He's been too weak to notice if there have been any changes in his body. He's not even sure why now he's able to—

"It has noticed me," he murmurs, slowly looking up. "When I shot that bijuudama, Nature took notice of me. It's trying to assimilate me because I am energy."

"You… you speak of nature as if it was sentient," Adam says somewhat shakily, trying to lighten the mood with a laugh but it comes out weak.

"Because it is. Though I don't know what for Nature's harboring energy." A sense of foreboding slowly settles into his being, creeping into his mind with a cold grip. He stands up. "We need to find Naruto. Now."

His demanding tone startles them, but just momentarily. Sasha leans forward and tries with an understanding tone. "It's raining and we're tired. Ben needs rest, too. We agreed to help you find your friend, but we're humans and you've got to understand that. We can't just go now that we found a warm place."

"You don't understand," he says, something desperate crawling in him, making his voice weak. "I gave all my power to Naruto before we separated and he's more connected to Nature than I am. Whatever Nature is doing to me is nothing compared with what it must be doing to him. It could be draining him even more or making him into a time bomb that could decimate half of this planet. And knowing Naruto, it's probably the latter. Walkers would be the least of your problems if that happens."

Now he's scared them but he can't help it, he's scared himself too. Now he's not sure he wasn't able to pinpoint Naruto's because they were too far away or if it's his presence the one that grew too faint.

Sasha looks around and seems to be debating something, but she nods once after a couple of seconds have passed. "We will rest for a couple of hours, gain energy while the rain stops and then we go. You can help us avoid the walkers and hunt like you usually did before so we can move quickly."

Tyreese stands up. "I'll search around to see if we can replenish supplies. Adam, you've got the map?"

"Yeah, I'll look into it."

"I'll be taking the blankets out then," says Donna as she moves to where the backpacks are in the corner.

Sophia follows Donna. "I'll help you pack whatever we're not going to use."

"Sure, honey. Thanks."

Adam is walking past him before he stops. "You know how to read maps? I need you to give me the directions so we can see if there are towns or the like near."

Kurama nods, not being able to do more than that. He's glad they don't ask him how he's going to fix the problem because he's not sure himself. He just wants to go see Naruto even if he only manages to say a word to him before he blows up. He'll think about a solution later when his mind isn't too full of worry.

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