ᴅᴇꜱᴛɪɴʏ ʀᴇʙɪʀᴛʜ|ⁿᵃʳᵘᵗᵒˣⁿᵃʳᵘᵏᵒ

Revelations p.4

—before a single slitted blood red eye opened, glowing clearly in the darkness of the tunnel. Naruko froze as her eyes were unwittingly drawn towards the single crimson orb, and she couldn't look away.

A deep, rumbling chuckle echoed throughout the tunnel which came from behind the bars, as if the air around Naruko was visibly vibrating and shaking at the sound which caused ripples to form in the water. Taking several more steps backwards in fear, Naruko was about to turn and get as far away from the cage as possible when the same voice as the chuckle spoke through the confines of the damp sewer.

"So, you're finally here... at last." the booming voice said curtly and Naruko froze when she found herself unable to move due to her fear, the ominous way the voice said it sent cold shivers up her spine. It was as if the voice commanded her to stay.

She trembled slightly as she tried to force her legs and body to move. Never had Naruko felt so absolutely terrified for her life since the villager's last mob that had nearly chased her out of the village, even then she had her caretaker taking care of her and the Hokage's protection. But right now, she had neither of those. Whatever being that was speaking to her, she was at its complete mercy.

"W-Who... w-who a-are you?" Naruko stuttered out as she hugged herself to keep from trembling like a leaf. She was a kunoichi damn it! She wasn't supposed to show fear to anyone!

The voice chuckled once more as the glowing crimson eye shifted to reveal another identical eye, both staring directly at her through the darkness of the cage as if they were judging her worth and gazing at her very soul. Naruko squirmed, forcing herself not to whimper under the intense gaze. She really hoped Naruto was here with her now to calm her down.

"Who am I, you ask?" the being asked with amusement in his voice and Naruko heard the water shift inside the cage making her eyes widen in fear, "I go by many names for the past millennia child... but most humans would know me best by my title, the Kyūbi no Kitsune."

As soon as those words were said, the being stepped into Naruko's line of sight, and she had to force herself not to scream in utter terror. Standing before her in the cage, was the greatest of the nine Bijū in all his glory, its nine tails swishing behind him slowly.

The Kyūbi grinned, his sharp canines coming into view purposely to intimidate the poor girl further as she had fallen on her knees while shaking in fright, violet eyes gazing in a mixture of extreme fright and confusion.

Naruko was scared, and rightfully so when she met the being responsible for the deaths of thousands twelve years ago. She had heard the tales, the stories and the rumors, but none of them prepared her for meeting the real thing in person. Then, fear turned to anger as she thought back on the countless lives that were lost and her own miserable childhood before her caretaker — come to think of it, she hadn't checked up on her for a while — took her in, and those thoughts alone banished all signs of fear and nervousness from the blonde girl as she stood up, eyes glaring angrily at the fox who merely grinned further. Naruko took the fox's smirk as a challenge — she wanted the fox to have a piece of her mind, whether it liked it or not.

The Kyūbi shook his in amusement, wanting to test the girl further, "Such a weak container I have been sealed in, it's degrading really." He said in mock sadness, "How am I supposed to show the world the might of being my container when you are such a weakling... Hmm?" he remarked with a feral smirk, his old personality as the cruel and unforgiving demon fox shining through once more.

He was about to continue when a huge amount of killing intent filled the room, and Kyūbi actually was surprised when he sensed that they were coming off from the blonde girl in front of the cage. 'Well now, what do we have here?' the Bijū thought with a smirk.

"Now listen here you damn Kitsune! I don't care what you think of me or anybody for that matter!" Naruko shouted with hatred in her voice and her hair waved wildly behind her like a flame which actually made her look even more intimidating — Kurama had to admit he was impressed, "But know this! I will never forgive you for attacking the village and killing its citizens and robbing it of its Hokage! If I ever hear you yapping about this or goading me in trying to break the seal, I'll make you pay for it! Dattebane!"

Naruko was expecting a retort of some kind or a snarl or a cry of outrage at her outburst which she felt that the damn fox needed to hear. Therefore, she was very confused when the fox chuckled as it sighed with a kind smile on its snout, making the girl look up in suspicion and confusion.

"What are you smiling about...?" Naruko asked before the sound of clapping and a familiar warm presence stopped her from continuing. Naruko turned and to her utter disbelief, she was greeted by the sight of Naruto in his usual attire, clapping at her with a smile.

Naruto clapped once more as he grinned. "Not bad Naruko-chan, you're far more gutsy and cunning than you claimed to be."

Naruko would've blushed at his praise if not for the confusing situation she was in, or how Naruto got in to her mindscape I the first place. "Naruto-kun..." she blushed at her sudden change in suffix, but disregarded it as she continued, "What's going on?"

Naruto chuckled, not minding the change in suffix as he smiled sheepishly. "Sorry Naruko-chan... I kinda, you know, wanted to test you to see your resolve for myself?" He offered awkwardly.

The blonde girl widened her eyes in surprise and slight annoyance.

"You mean that... all that trash talk and belittling, was just a test?" Naruko asked disbelievingly and Naruto nodded.

Naruto turned to look up at the grinning Nine-Tails as he sighed. "But still, it would've worked out better if fuzzball here would cooperate and try for once not to intimidate everyone he met for the first time." He griped mock-seriously. "I mean seriously, how hard could it be you overgrown carpet?!"

Kyūbi laughed, brushing the insult aside with practiced ease. "And waste my chances seeing them squirm and sometimes scream hysterically like babies when seeing my true form? Now where's the fun in that?" he inquired mischievously, making the blonde boy shake his head in amusement and Naruko to gawk at him.

"Sometimes I don't know why I even bother with you Kurama-nii," Naruto replied.

Naruko looked shocked as she heard her brother say that. That couldn't possibly be true! "H-He's your brother?!" she asked in astonishment.

Naruto nodded with a smile. "Surrogate brother, but yeah, ever since I was almost killed by Madara."

The blonde girl looked back up at the grinning fox, and couldn't help but still feel a little anger left in her conscience. "I don't know, how can I be sure that he won't harm anyone any longer?" she asked suspiciously.

Naruto sighed as he had expected the girl to be skeptical from the beginning given how her life until now was miserable until the villagers looked past her as the Kyūbi itself and more of a person, and Naruto was sure if the villagers hadn't turned out that way, the girl's animosity towards the great fox would be even greater.

Naruto walked forward until he was directly in front of the massive gate and he looked up at the sealing paper. "Now, to get that paper off..." he muttered.

Naruko looked anxious as she rushed to her brother, holding him in place. "No!" she cried, "You don't know what will happen if...if..." she looked back at the fox that was showing a sad and guilty expression on its features, which made her rethink her stance that the fox was an evil being.

Naruto chuckled as he turned around and embraced the girl, startling her as she blushed. "Don't worry Naruko-chan — he won't hurt you or me. He's not that kind of fox anymore." he assured her while gently running his hands through her hair.

Naruko was still unconvinced as she reluctantly pulled away from him. "How can you be so sure? If anything, he could be using you!" Naruto sighed sadly and looked at her silently with a guilty expression as her pessimism was getting the better of her, "On top of that, how did you get here? We're in my mindscape and how or when did the Kyūbi become your brother?! If anything, how is it that the beast seems to know you if you only met him once?!" she asked — shouted really — bluntly, earning a slight frown from Naruto and a sad one from the Kyūbi.

They had planned to break it to her slowly and gently, but the situation had changed drastically in a matter of minutes and they had no choice but to tell her the full truth.