Waking Up Pt. 2

Naruto appeared within his mind, finding himself standing directly in front of kurama who was lying on his stomach with his head resting on his front hands. His giant slitted red eyes seemed to stare into narutos soul.

"Kurama." Naruto greeted calmly.

"Naruto." Was the foxs reply.

The blond let out a small sigh as he turned his head a bit in order to stare at the new addition to his mindscape." I take you realized that i was away while i slept?" He asked, turning to face the fox once more.

"I figured as much." Kurama replied with a nod." Was it the old man again?" He asked curiously.

Naruto shook his head." No." He answered as he walked up to kuramas snout before he jumped up onto the beasts nose. With a small huff naruto aloud himself to fall backwards until he was lying on the foxs snout." I met kaguya." He told his friend in a soft tone.

Kurama didnt react. Instead he just looked down at naruto who was lying on his snout with his eyes closed." How?" He asked." I know her husk has been removed from fathers seal, but she still shouldn't be alive." He stated matter of factly.

"Im not sure really." The blond replied." I just remember waking up to a world of white and she was there.. we talked for awhile and she told me about my left eyes 'development'" the boy explained." Truth be told she wasn't anything like i was expecting. She was.. nice? Calm? Pleasant?" Naruto mumbled out.

Kurama closed his eyes and let out a thoughtful hum." But shes still our enemy, right?" He asked after a moment and he felt naruto nod his head.

The two let silence settle upon them for a few moments before naruto opened his mouth.

"Are you angry with me kurama?" Naruto asked his oldest friend. The fox cracked an eye open and stared down at the blond." For not ending tobi i mean.." he elaborated." I had the chance and i know i could have done it.. but if i did then i wouldnt have been able to seal isobu away.. are you angry with me?" He asked once more.

"No." Kurama answered truthfully." Im aware that in the heat of battle i let my emotions control me sometimes. Father always said i felt to much." The fox stated softly." But thats why im happy to be sealed away inside of you. Despite my seal being open, im glad to be here, with you, because in an odd way.. you balance me out naruto." The fox looked down at his host with soft eyes and naruto stared back at him.

"When i was sealed away inside of your mother, i had no senses. I couldnt see through her eyes like i can yours, i couldnt hear anything, i couldnt feel anything. It was like being locked away inside of a timeless void." Kurama spoke softly." But here, inside of you, i can feel again. I can see and hear and in avatar mode i can even feel..." he let out a heavy sigh." You've reminded me of a lot of the things that I've long forgotten and its.. pleasant." He admitted." And if my father had taught me anything in life, its that things happen when they need to happen. I know that we will defeat tobi. It may not be now or even next year, but i know we will. I also know that right now we need to focus on saving my brethren so i cant really complain when you save one like you did with isobu." He finished his speech and stared down at the blond.

Naruto let out a content sigh before he closed his mismatched eyes once more." Thanks kurama, im happy to know you dont hate me. And im also glad that you're my friend." Kurama just nodded softly." Speaking of isobu, hows he adjusting?" He questioned curiously.

Kurama let out an annoyed huff." Hes sleeping now but when hes awake he does nothing but bitch and moan." The fox stated." Its annoying." He added.

Naruto let out a small chuckle at that.

" and ive been awake since you fell asleep so im tired as well." Kurama added." Im going to rest for a few days and when i wake up we can talk more about your eye."

Naruto nodded at that." Sounds good buddy." The blond then stood up before he waved to kurama." Let me know when you wake up." Kurama just gave the blond a small nod before said blond vanished from his mindscape.

With the blond gone, kurama closed his eyes once more and let sleep take him.

• konoha hospital •

Sasuke walked behind sakura as the two headed towards narutos room. He had his usual emotionless look on his face accept it was a lot less broody than it once was.

Sakura on the other hand had a small smile on her face as she looked down at the clipboard in her hands. She was softly humming to herself as she looked over the recent reports of narutos condition.

"Why are we visiting naruto again?" Sasuke suddenly asked as the two passed a few nurses." I mean we've visited him at least once everyday, except yesterday when we had the day off." He added.

" cause hes our teammate sasuke-kun." Sakura answered." And besides, tsunade-sensei told me that hes doing better. According to her he should be waking up soon." She said happily. Sasuke just grunted as he continued to walk after her.

The two finally made it narutos room and sasuke lazily slid the door open.

Neither he nor sakura were prepared for what they saw..

Standing next to his hospital bed in nothing but a pair of black pants, was naruto.

The blond just stood there with wide mismatched eyes as if he'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Sakuras eyes were wide as she finally, after years of knowing naruto, got to see his full face!

"You have whiskers!" She cried out, her emerald eyes seemed to sparkle.

In the blink of an eye naruto was dressed in his normal outfit, except he didnt have his jonin vest on. His mismatched eyes were narrowed into slits.

" you tell anyone what i look like without my mask on and they wont find your body." His tone was cold and held the promise of pain.

Sakura ignored the threat with a grin on her face." I gotta tell ino!" She spun around and dashed out of the room, leaving sasuke behind.

"Whats with all that noise?" Came the tired voice of hinata who sat up in narutos hospital bed while rubbing her eyes. She let out a small yawn before she looked over to naruto and sasuke." Oh.. hello sasuke-san." She greeted with a small, tired wave.

"Hinata-san." Sasuke replied with a small nod before he looked to naruto once more." It seems you're finally awake huh?" He asked." You've been out of it for a few weeks." He added.

Naruto nodded his head before he took a seat next to hinata on his bed." I suppose passing out for awhile is a side effect of fighting the three tails." He said with an eye smile.

"Why didnt you tell me you had the nine tails inside of you?" Sasuke asked, cutting straight to the point.

That was when hinata got up from the bed and cleared her throat." Im gonna head home and shower." She stated in a quiet awkward tone. She could sense the sudden tension in the room and knew that she didnt need to be here while the two boys talked.

Naruto gave her a small smile." Ill be home soon hime-chan." He told her.

Hinata gave him a smile and a kiss on the cheek before she left the room, awkwardly stepping past sasuke in the process.

Once the door was shut naruto looked back at sasuke who was standing in front of him with narrowed eyes.

"Me being the nine tails host was a need to know type of thing sasuke." The blond stated in a much more serious tone.

Sasuke scoffed." Sakura and i are your teammates. You shouldve told us." He stated." Why didnt you?" He asked.

"Its complicated sasuke-"

"Then make it not complicated!" Sasuke cut the blond off, his voice was filled with annoyance." Its like you dont trust us or something-"

"Its not that sasuke-"

"Then what is it?!?" The uchiha shouted out, his sharingan activated.

"Its because you arent ready yet!" Naruto shouted back as he stood up. His mismatched eyes were aflame with both anger and annoyance and his tone alone silenced the uchiha." If i told you or sakura about the nine tails then it would have brought you into a world neither of you are ready to face yet!" He pointed at the uchiha." Theres things going on behind the scenes sasuke! Things that would make your head spin and i have to deal with those things by myself because no one else is strong enough to stop the things that are coming! The things that are already here!" By the end of his rant naruto was breathing a bit heavily.

Sasuke on the other hand took a step back from the blond with a shocked look on his face." What the hell is going on naruto?" He asked, his tone was softer now and his sharingan had deactivated.

"You wanna know whats going on sasuke?" Naruto asked as he stepped up to the uchiha. He lifted his right hand and poked the boy in the chest." Before i tell you anything, before i can fully trust you, you need to move on from itachi. You need to let go of whatever anger and hatred thats driving you right now because in my world, the world that youll be apart of soon enough, it isnt a place for that type of shit." He narrowed his eyes as he gazed into sasukes stunned ones." Im not telling you to forgive or forget about what he did to you and your family, im telling you that you need to start living for the people that are still with you. Your mother, sakura and the rest of the people that consider themselves your friend." Naruto reached up and poked sasuke on the forehead." Keep getting stronger sasuke. Not to kill itachi but to protect the people you love from people like him." With his peace said, naruto walked past sasuke before he left his hospital room, leaving the uchiha alone with his thoughts.

• with naruto•

Naruto, in his fox form, was walking down the road that was located behind the villages hot springs in search of his sensei. His mismatched eyes scanned the wooden walls while his tail slowly swayed behind him.

He was feeling rather annoyed due to his confrontation with sasuke still but he put the matter to the back of his mind. The sage said he'd deal with sasuke when the boy was ready to receive his half of the six paths chakra, naruto just hoped itd be soon due to the fact that the next few years seemed so dark.

Naruto was brought out of his thoughts by a familiar giggle and he looked up to see his master kneeling next to the wooden wall with his face practically smashed up against the wooden divider. He had a large perverted smile on his face along with his little notebook and pen in his hands.

Narutos eyes then moved over to the blue haired figure standing a few feet behind the toad sage and he frowned.

He knew that she was one of the akatsuki members that were after him but what he didnt know was why she was here and why jiraya seemed to be comfortable enough around her to keep his back to her. He wouldnt jump the gun and attack her though, not out in the open like this. Maybe jiraya knew why she was there?

"Sensei." He called out, cutting jirayas giggling off and getting both the women and him to look at that large fox that was standing only a few feet away from them.

"Oh naruto! Whats up buddy?" Jiraya asked with a smile on his face as he stood up from the wall and put his notebook away." Tsunade hadnt told me you were awake yet." He added, happy to see his student out of the hospital.

Naruto sat on his hind legs and blinked at the sage." She doesnt know im gone." He told the man.

Jiraya chuckled at that." Well she'll probably beat you once she finds out you left." Naruto just shrugged at that before his eyes traveled to the women.

Jiraya, seemingly remembering that the two hadnt formally met yet, motioned towards konan with a smile on his face." I forgot you two hadnt really met." He told them." Naruto thus is konan, one of my old students." He then looked at konan and motioned towards naruto." Konan, this is naruto. My current prodigy of a student." He finished.

"Its nice to see you again naruto." Konan greeted with a small bow." You look well." She added.

Naruto just shrugged." Yeah, last i saw you, you were standing over me with the rest of the akatsuki, that is before i kicked all your asses." He finished bluntly. He then looked at jiraya." Why is she here sensei and why shouldnt i kill her right now?" He asked the man in a serious tone.

Jiraya held his hands up." Calm down naruto." He told the boy." Konan here has decided that she doesnt wanna fight for akatsuki anymore and is now a turn coat." He explained calmly while konan just nodded her head." Ive been traveling with her for a few weeks while getting as much info out of her as i can. Plus shes easily a low s-ranked ninja and her help will be invaluable against her former group." The sage explained.

Naruto looked between the two before he let out a sigh." Fine, if you say so pervy-sage." His fox form went up in smoke and he walked out of the cloud with his hands buried in his pockets." But i need to tell you some things." He told Jiraya before looking over to konan." And since you were apart of the dumbasses that started all this, i suppose you need to hear it too."

Jiraya crossed his arms as a much more serious look came over his face." Whats going on kid?" He asked.

"We know that akatsuki are trying to capture the tailed beasts in order to seal them away in order to bring back the ten tails right?" He asked them and the two nodded." What neither of you know is that the entirety of akatsuki is actually being used as puppets in order to resurrect kaguya otsutsuki.. the rabbit goddess, mother of the sage of six paths.. the mother of all chakra.." naruto trailed off.

Jiraya blinked in a bit of confusion unlike konan, whos eyes widened in shock.

"Thats bad." Jiraya finally spoke after a moment." Thats really bad.." he added with a sigh. The only reason he knew who kaguya was, was due to the elder toad sage up on toad mountain. The old toad had told him stories about both the great sage and his mother. The only thing he really knew about her was that she was insanely strong, practically a god type of strong.

"Do you know whos pulling the strings?" Konan asked the boy.

Naruto shook his head." No. All i know is that its apparently kaguys third and youngest son. A son that has managed to survive in the elemental nation for thousands of years while going completely unnoticed." He told the two." At first i thought it was that fake madara guy, tobi." Naruto told them." But it cant be him due to the fact that he has the sharingan and that didnt show up until after kaguya was sealed away and the sage had his own kids." He explained.

Jiraya rubbed his chin in thought as konans brows furrowed." It cant be nagato either." She stated.

Naruto blinked." Who?" He asked.

"Pein."

"Oh." Naruto mumbled back.' I knew pein couldnt have been his real name.. unless the guys parents really didnt like him..' he thought to himself. 

"If its not pein and its not tobi.." jiraya began." Then who the hell could it be?" He asked.

"Im not sure sensei." Konan replied.

Jiraya looked back to naruto with a curious look on his face." Where did you get this info from anyways kid?" He asked. Naruto had been asleep for weeks so theres no way he couldve been out of the village gathering info or talking to a contact.

Naruto shifted nervously." I got the information from.. kaguya herself.."

• location unknown•

Orochimaru sat on his stone throne looking over a a few reports handed to him by kabuto. He shifted through a few papers before he looked up at his assistant.

"Is this information accurate?" The snake asked with narrowed eyes.

Kabuto pushed his glasses up on his nose and smile." Everything in that report has been fact checked by me personally, lord Orochimaru." The man replied kindly.

"Why didnt i know about this sooner kabuto?"

Kabuto frowned a bit at the mans annoyed tone." I apologize, but our spies are having difficulties gathering any information on the boy." He told the man." Everything except his name and age are completely blacked out sir. Its almost like the third hokage is destroying everything about him." He added with a shrug.

Orochimaru growled." I see what that old man is doing." He stated." He knows that people are after him and hes helping him stay off the other villages radars." The snake scoffed before he threw the folder away from him.

The folder hit the cold stone ground before it opened, showing off a single photo attached to the folder via paper clip.

It was a photo of naruto uzumaki eye smiling at the camera.

"It doesnt matter kabuto." Orochimaru told him with a wave of his hand." From what my spies have told us, the boys currently in a coma after his fight with the three tails. Its the perfect opportunity to sway sasuke into joining me." He rubbed his chin with a greedy look in his eyes." Send the sound four to infiltrate the village and have them persuade young sasuke to join us." He ordered.

"Right away my lord." Kabuto bowed his head." And what of the boys mother?" He asked.

Orochimaru waved the man off." Kill her if she gets in the way. And if she does die then tell them to bring me her eyes." He added.

Kabuto bowed once more before walking out of the room, leaving Orochimaru to stare off at the far wall with a thoughtful look on his face. 

• leaf village- uchiha residents•

Mikoto was happily humming to herself as she watered the few plants that were growing next to her front porch when she heard someone walking towards her.

She turned around and smiled once she saw her son walking up the path towards their home. He had his hands in his pockets and his head was down, seemingly lost in thought.

"If you think any harder, you might hurt yourself." She called out with a small giggle.

Sasuke blinked as he looked up to her." Huh?" He asked as he came to a stop and mikoto just chuckled even more at his confused look.

"Nothing." She waved him off before she tilted her head." What are you doing home so soon? I thought you an sakura-chan were visiting naruto in the hospital?" She asked.

"Oh." Sasuke replied." The idiots finally awake so i just decided to come home early.." he said with a shrug." Maybe get some more training in before i grab some lunch." He added.

Mikoto hummed at that." Well theirs some food in the fridge." She told him before she turned back to her plants.

Sasuke walked up the porch before stopping in front of the front door." Hey mom?" He called out as he looked towards her.

Mikoto looked up at him curiously." Whats up honey?" She asked in a motherly tone. 

"Naruto said some things to me earlier and i just.." he shuffled nervously before he let out a small sigh." I know that after what itachi did.." he shyly turned his head away." I know that i wasnt exactly easy to deal with.. and im still not but.." he sighed once more before he looked her in the eyes, a small smile gracing the boys face." I just wanted to say thank you.. for staying with me and i.. i love you mom." He finished with a small nod.

Mikotos eyes were wide in surprise. It had been such a long time since she had seen sasuke smile, let alone say that he loved her, she began to think that she'd never hear it again. So with a happy smile on her face and a small tear falling from her eye, she spoke.

"I love you too sasuke."