Blonding

Chapter 14 : Father and Son

*Crack!*

"Shit!"

Naruto stumbled a bit in the air, trying to regain his balance after nearly blasting the limb off of a tree in the darkness. His son twitched a little in his arms at the outburst, but Boruto was, indeed, Naruto's son; he simply lolled his head to the other side and started to snore again.

Slowing down slightly to pace himself, the man let out a small sigh. He was losing his grip on things, his exhaustion getting the better of him. His chakra control was already almost as bad as it had been when he'd barely been a fresh genin, and it was embarrassing, if he was honest with himself.

He turned his attention to his son once again, shaking his head with a tinge of worry.

He had genuinely no idea what was going on - why his son was with him, why someone was walking around henged as his late father...

...and why, why the hell all nine of the most conceited beings in all of existence were crammed in his gut.

"I heard that," Kurama mumbled within his mind, although Naruto had a sneaking suspicion that even his trigger-happy Tailed Beast companion was at his wit's end.

'Do you have any idea what's happening?' Naruto asked mentally, still jumping from tree limb to tree limb in the faded darkness. 'I mean... there's a lot of weird shit going on. The last time this happened...'

"No, we're not in some strange genjutsu," Kurama sighed in annoyance, predicting the words before they fell out of Naruto's mind. "I would have sensed that, at least. This... this is different, that much is certain."

'What exactly is 'this' anyways?' he deadpanned, staring straight off towards the horizon dazedly. 'I mean, it could just be an elaborate prank... Maybe Konohamaru-'

"Do you really think that brat would be able to pull off cramming ALL of my siblings in here?" the Tailed Beast said with what Naruto could only assume was an eyeroll. "Please. That monkey child has no more skill than that idiot child of yours."

'Oi!' Naruto chided with a frown. 'He's not stupid, y'know! Maybe a bit headstrong, but not stupid.'

"Hmm, I seem to remember another blond that exhibited both of those character traits..." Kurama trailed off in amusement, his foxy smirk manifesting itself in Naruto's mind.

The blond man just rolled his eyes. 'Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, asshole. That headstrong idiot just so happened to become the Seventh Hokage.'

"And who do you think was responsible for that, you brat?"

'Oh, I don't know, maybe... ME?!'

"I feel sorry for your village. Really, I do. Maybe I should have put it out of its misery when I had the chance."

'Seriously? Don't even joke about that.'

"Relax, you whelp. I'm just making conversation. It beats everything those other fools are blabbering on about. Do you know how many times I've had to convince them not to just burst out of you like some sort of meaty balloon?"