ᗰOᑎᔕTEᖇ [🧡 ᑎᗩᖇᑌᕼIᑎᗩ 💜] [Ɱҽէąʍօɾքհօʂìʂ] Bσσƙ Oɳҽ

The Fodder

Chapter Forty-Eight

The Fodder

May 17, 2010

Seated in a plush chair inside Ino's hospital room, Naruto sank deeper into the recesses of his psyche. Darkness surrounded his subconscious self a beat before brightness, a yellow haze, spreads within the confines that is his mind. He lands softly, the ground rippling beneath his feet. Stood before the enormous mass that was of his friend, Naruto studied the beast, his eyes moving rapidly over his tense form.

Kurama was still agitated.

Seething with it.

The Jinchuuriki could see it in the bristling fur and bared fangs, the erratic swishing of all nine tails. erratically. Kurama's distress weighed heavily on his shoulders, beating at him with the force of a thousand suns. And yet, even that blazing energy couldn't disguise it.

His brow furrowed.

Something else was humming underneath it; an oppressive sensation, a slight suffocation that wasn't emitting solely from the kyuubi.

Faint thought it was, he recognized the rot beneath Kurama's blistering emotions.

Residue from that tree that wasn't a tree.

Like a hot room that had once housed a decaying body, it's nauseating stench lingered. He grimaced, stomach turning as the unseen muck settled over his skin, invading and seeping through his pores. It was one of the most nauseating sensations he'd ever experienced, giving rise to a feeling he'd never had within this space they shared.

A urgent need to leave.

Breathing was laborious effort, the very air so heavy his lungs couldn't draw it in. He knew it was the after effects of entity 504. That the strange frequency was to blame for the discomfort in the place he shared with Kurama. That it was not only driving the pain in his body, that it was also fucking with his head. Teeth gritted, he tuned out the noise around him, channeling that calmness he'd gained during his senjutsu training, taking a few moments to collect himself.

When he settled, when he draw an unhindered breath, he turned his mind and eyes back to his friend.

'Kurama, you've gotta tell me what's going on. What's the matter? What happened?'

It was as if he hadn't spoken. Kurama's red slitted eyes fixed on one point to another, the wall to his left, the ceiling, the floor, the ceiling and behind him. His rumbling growl echoed, his teeth grinding as he looked everywhere but at the blonde man before him.

What...was he looking at?

Worried, more than a little creeped out by his behavior, Naruto waved his arms at the shifty kitsune.

'Kurama!' he called again, 'hey! Look at me!'

Slitted eyes snapped to him. There was a slowly clearing glaze within their depths.

'What's wrong Kurama? Tell me!'

It was like Kurama was having trouble comprehending what he was saying. He looked spacey. They stared at each other for several moments. The jonin waiting, feeling a bit on edge as those red eyes gazed without a single blink. after what felt like an eternity passed before he spoke.

"They were communicating with me."

Though he'd been waiting for a response, the deep raspy voice startled him. His cerulean orbs blinked as him mind struggled to make sense of the words.