Pain and desolation

After an extremely painful moment at the Konoha hospital, Naruto practically begged the Hokage to allow him to see Iruka's grave, being brought by the Hokage himself and taking a little time to accompany him.

But how could Naruto calm his emotions in a few minutes?

He has literally been standing in front of the tomb for hours, being totally dazed and disconnected from reality while intermittent tears constantly covered his cheeks.

"..." Standing in front of a gravestone, Naruto clenched his fists tightly as his empty gaze did not for a minute leave the name written on it.

The dark sky hovered his head, while noticeable gusts of cold wind shook his weakened body with ease.

"I'm sorry..." Bowing deeply for a few seconds, Naruto gritted his teeth and turned, then rushed out of the place.

Stopping his pace as he stood outside the cemetery, Naruto turned his gaze towards the cemetery for a few seconds and looked down sadly.

Slowly making his way into the bustling streets of Konoha, Naruto put his hands in his pockets and out of sheer inertia, continued on his way home.

"I heard he killed his sensei."

"What else could you expect from a beast?"

"I don't know why he's still allowed to run loose."

"Careful, maybe he can hear us."

"What does it matter? Let him know what it is."

Gritting his teeth as he clearly hears the obvious mutterings of the people around him, Naruto gave them a quick glance and with a forlorn face, he started running again, but before he can even reach the corner, suddenly a stone flew towards his face and hit his forehead.

Stopping his stride instantly while holding his hand to his forehead in a daze, Naruto felt the warm blood on his palm and turned his gaze sideways, noticing sadly that despite only one person throwing the stone, the look on everyone's face seemed to clearly indicate that they not only enjoyed it, but that if they had the guts, they would do the same.

Gritting his teeth while lowering his gaze, Naruto simply ignored them and went back to running.

Nimbly passing around people, it took him a couple of minutes to reach his house and without even stopping, he quickly entered and closed the door tightly.

Taking a few more steps, Naruto reached his bed and closing his eyes, he dropped heavily on it.

"..."

The atmosphere in the place couldn't have been sadder.

Remains of food on the table, clothes lying everywhere, an unmade bed and a distinct smell of sweat in the air.

Adding that plus the darkness of the night, the pain in his forehead and the torrent of negative feelings, Naruto could no longer bear the pain and let bitter tears fall on the bed as he slowly crumpled into a fetal position.

Bringing his trembling hands to his stomach, Naruto murmured in a broken voice, "M-mother..."

*Sniff* *Sniff* *Sniff*

***

"..." Leaning his back against the wall and fixing his gaze on the moon rising on the horizon, Naruto let his thoughts sink into the darkness that surrounded him.

Two days passed quickly since Naruto woke up.

Since lying in that bed, his face had shown nothing but a countenance of desolation, a mask of pain covering the emptiness that nestled inside him. With deep circles under his eyes and blue eyes that reflected the abyss of his suffering, Naruto remained motionless while only the small movement in his chest as he breathed, highlighted that at least he was still alive.

Waking up the next day, Naruto could barely find the strength to get up, and when he did, it was only to face the disdain and hostility of the village like he had never seen before.

Every look, every murmur, were like daggers piercing his already wounded soul.

Somehow, the story of how he was tricked, Mizuki's betrayal and Iruka's sacrifice, had spread like a poisonous shadow throughout the village.

And Naruto, the boy marked by the stigma of the beast, now found himself at the epicenter of the storm of scorn.

If before he endured the cold indifference of those around him, now he had to face the cruelty emanating from the hearts of the very people from whom he seeks acceptance.

Having the traitor dead next to the hero, it is unfortunately inevitable that all the negative feelings focus on his only survivor, even more so if that survivor who was deceived turns out to be the most abominable being in the village, the recipient of the nine-tailed fox.

After those heartbreaking events for a child, Naruto plunged into a sea of loneliness and despair, unable to face the whirlwind of accusations and contempt that surrounded him, and although his room became his refuge, the truth is that it also became his emotional prison, where negative thoughts devoured him mercilessly and quickly ate away his naive innocence.

With his gaze lost in Iruka's forehead protector, a solitary tear escaped Naruto's eyes, marking the beginning of a painful and desperate conviction.

Sitting up with his legs closed, Naruto slowly calmed his breathing as he struggled to focus his awareness within, fervently visualizing the secret brought back by the mysterious memories.

Opening his eyes, he found himself surrounded by an eerie dampness, managing to see how the ground was covered by a thin layer of water, while the monotonous sound of drops hitting the ground echoed in his ears.

Naruto cautiously stood up and directed his gaze towards the gigantic cage at the back of the dark basement. With hesitant steps, he approached and stopped in front of the bars, awkwardly facing the darkness that dwelt within.

Suddenly, two terrifying crimson eyes began to glow from deep within the cage, accompanied by a guttural growl that chilled the blood in his veins. 

But despite the fear that flooded him, he stepped even closer, meeting with a vacant stare the fierce gaze that watched him from the other side of the bars.

Lifting his gaze to his eyes, Naruto's lips trembled as his eyes quickly let tears fall, then began to slowly walk inside.

*Sniff* *Sniff* *Sniff*

With snot dripping from his nose, Naruto didn't stop in front of the bars and walked straight into the cage, then walked a little further and stopped in the center of the darkness.

Raising his head to where the crimson eyes are, Naruto wiped the tears from his eyes and clenched his fists tightly as he exclaimed.

"Let's work together!"

Slowly lowering his gigantic head as an eerie smile formed on his furry face, Kurama fixed his giant eye squarely in front of Naruto's small body and commented in a cheerful, husky voice.

"Kid, do you know what it means when you enter this place?"

"*Sniff* Yes" Nodding firmly, Naruto stared at the eye in front of him and continued "You can kill me."

"And yet you still went in?" Placing his giant paw behind Naruto to prevent him from escaping, Kurama smiled even wider and asked "You want me to destroy everything for you?"

"No" Shaking his head quickly, Naruto continued "I come here because I want you to be my friend."

"And why would I be friends with a disgusting human?" With pupils already forming a line, Kurama asked with mock contempt.

"..." Finished wiping away his tears, Naruto wiped his nose with his arms and stared at the giant eye, then pointed his thumb at himself and exclaimed "I'll help you be free, dattebayo!"

"..."

"I know you don't want to be locked up and just want to be at peace, but there are a lot of dangerous people out there who want to use you to cause a lot of harm and you know you can never be free while those people are roaming around" With the most serious face a sad child could form, Naruto continued "Even if I got the key to the seal or you tried to cloud my mind to weaken the seal so you could manage to escape, it would only be a matter of time before you fall into their hands again and end up inside another Jinchuriki."

"..."

"But I promise you that as long as you're my friend, you won't have to be locked up ever again!" Steeling himself, Naruto continued "I will work hard so that no one else will have to bear the sadness of the Jinchuriki, while the Bijus will be able to live freely!"

"..." Slowly erasing his malevolent smile, Kurama's slitted pupil began to slowly expand as he asked "What do you seek from me?"

"I..." With a tired smile, Naruto replied sadly "I just want a friend..."

"..." 

"*Sniff*" Shedding bitter tears again, Naruto smiled forcedly "I-I don't want to be alone anymore *Sniff*"

"..." Reflecting Naruto's silhouette in his giant eye, Kurama was silent for a while, then asked earnestly "How did you know about me? Who taught you to enter this place?"

"I..." With a complicated face, Naruto answered "I have weird memories in my head... I see some pictures of me as an adult and about things in the village... but many memories are fuzzy and confused."

"And in those memories you saw me?"

"Dattebayo..." Nodding, Naruto continued "Kurama and I are friends."

"You know my name..." With obvious surprise in his gaze, Kurama commanded "Tell me what else you know."

"The sage of the six paths spoke to you before saying goodbye!" remembering that scene perfectly, Naruto continued "You cried!"

Pulling his eye away with aggression in his gaze, Kurama shouted angrily "I didn't cry!"

"Hehe, yes you did" Having his face flushed with tears, Naruto smiled childishly and continued "I saw it in my memories!"

"..." Finally showing the entirety of his body, Kurama stared at the smiling boy, while his gaze seemed fixed far beyond his small body, then turning towards the end of the cave and snorting "Scram kid, and don't come back if you don't want to die!"

"Wait!" Running quickly to Kurama, Naruto stood next to him and cocked his head to the side as he asked excitedly "So you accept!?"

Wrapping Naruto in his chakra, Kurama quickly led him out of the cage and growled "I don't like noisy kids, so beat it!"

"I'll be quiet!" Hiding his lips as he again approached Kurama once he was released, Naruto ran to his side and sat down next to him, then looked up and stared at him still keeping his lips sealed.

Looking at Naruto out of the corner of his eye, Kurama snorted and leaned back, turning his back to the boy, then closing his eyes and ignoring him completely.

Waiting a few seconds, Naruto silently stood up and circled Kurama, then approached his giant snout and lay down next to his furry neck.

"Kurama, do you want to hear my plan?"

"..."

"I'll explain it to you" Totally ignoring the grumpy fox's silence, Naruto lowered his gaze and continued "I'll go find each Jinchuiriki and we'll form a group... we'll never betray and help each other... then we'll work together and create a world free of war."

Widening one of his eyes and looking mockingly at Naruto, Kurama asked with obvious sarcasm at his foolish naivety "The most feared and hated tools of war want to create a world free of war?"

"Dattebayo!" Nodding with conviction, Naruto replied.

"Nonsense!" Snorting, Kurama continued "Not to mention that not only will Konoha hunt you down as soon as you set foot outside this place without their permission, but even the villages of the other Jinchurikis will hunt you down with everything they have to get them back if they should elope with you!"

"I don't care" Standing up, Naruto continued "I'll fight if I have to!"

"Are you ready to kill even your fellow Konoha members if necessary?"

"..."

"Think carefully about what you'll do kid, because when the consequences come, it's already too late... not to mention that it's very likely that the other Junchirikis won't be the least bit interested and will end up trying to kill you."

"I..." Opening and closing his mouth as the implications of his desperate decision hit him, Naruto remained silent for a few seconds and clenched his fists tightly, then replied in a hoarse voice "It's already been proven that this village doesn't accept me... if they decide to hunt me down and force a match, so be it... and as for the other Jinchurikis... I'll think about it in the future."

"..."