Chapter 59 - K
"Nine," Sasha finally says. "You know him better, what do you think?"
Kurama looks over his shoulder, his eyes not looking at her but at Sophia standing close, taking into account her disheveled state, strands of hair stuck to her sweat-covered forehead, and clothes already too dirty for comfort. Her eyes are slightly sunken, cheeks sharper than before because of the lack of current meals, body thin but strong. She's no longer the kid he has found a little more than a month ago; someone who barely could take care of herself. Still a child but a resilient one.
He looks at the others and sees the same. They're tired and want to rest for at least one night without having to always wonder if they'll be safe. Sasuke's attitude hasn't sold it in their minds, but they want to believe. And that's the problem, isn't it? Hope is a dangerous weapon, worse than any physical pain could sometimes be.
He remembers people being kind to Naruto when he was very young, offering discounts on stores and candies when he entered looking hesitant and afraid. He remembers Naruto giving bright smiles after buying, a skip on his step that spoke of innocent naivety. He remembers him returning with a grin, eyes alight with happiness, a hand held out for a greeting, and an enthusiastic shout of 'Hi, mister!' only to receive cold eyes and disgusting realization.
"We're not open," the person would say with a harsh tone, fear palpable in the way they gripped their broom. "Go away."
Rinse and repeat. Once, two, three, and more times more. But not that much. Word quickly spread when there's fear empowering it.
"The demon boy has bright blonde hair," they would whisper, not loud enough for Naruto to catch but Kurama did. "It has whisker marks, the marks of the fox."
Kurama remembers wishing the seal holding him was not so tight, wishing he could be able to let more of his chakra outside it so he could enhance his jinchuriki's ears, enough for Naruto to always hear what they all whispered of him. To crush that hope that always manifested when he met someone new.
He now hates himself and is so glad his plans never succeeded. Not that it would have done anything if they had as it wasn't long before rumors spread and every adult in Konoha knew what Naruto looked like.
Yet, the hope a young Naruto always felt, only to be soon crushed was more painful than the name-calling and avoidance did to him.
Can he give someone hope? Can he give them that when he was not so sure of the outcome himself? Sasuke may be one of Naruto's precious people but his history of betraying others isn't exactly sparkly clean.
He probably wouldn't bother, if they all were adults. But he looks at Sophia and sees the confidence she has in him. The same he and his siblings gave Naruto when they put their trust in him.
Perhaps if the kid didn't have blue eyes. Perhaps if Sophia didn't have blond hair.
The wrong shade, the wrong texture, but—
"I'll go check. You can rest in the meantime."
"Check?"
"I'm faster," he answers Donna in a way of explanation. Taking a last glance at Sophia, he adds, "I'll be back soon."
He then leaves without giving them more. The sounds of the start of a conversation become distant with each step he takes. He runs until he reaches the stream before turning left, following the current.
It's twenty minutes after leaving that he halts. He hasn't picked any signature yet, but he has a familiar scent near. It's faint and just barely there, but at least not gone. He can help but be glad it hasn't rained for a couple of days; he wouldn't have noticed otherwise.
Fifteen minutes later of top-speed running following his nose, he comes across a couple of dead walkers. There are a couple of broken makeshift arrows going through their heads. He sniffs. A slow smirk forming. While the scent is not the same as the stuffed doll Sophia still carries around, it smells similar to the blankets they found on top of the car. The stuff Sophia's group left for her was full of different scents and he memorized all in case he could find some to interrogate about Sophia's mother.
What were the odds? He asks himself as he walks the last steps to where the sounds of grunts and moaning are coming from. He found the group.
Or part of them at least. They're across a fence that surrounds what looks like a large building. There are only a few he can see, but he senses more inside. He recognizes their smell too, slightly tangy because of the sweat and lack of proper cleaning, but strong in the way the trail he found weeks ago on that car wasn't.
Kurama smiles because now it's not only empty hopes he can give. The place is big and more like a fortress than he assumed from the Uchiha's words.
He can work with that.
Kurama turns around and leaves the place.
.
.
Merry Christmas!