Kitsune-chan!!! (CRACK)

Chapter 28: Barrier

"Well, I should get going. Here comes the boring part."

Somewhere along the bathhouse and hotsprings area, Jiraiya the sannin slipped a notebook into his pocket with a happy sigh. Clearing his throat as if nothing happened, he set his mind towards his current destination: The T&I building. 

After years of being out of the village, there was no way he couldn't return after so much had happened. Unravelling the letter written to him by his sensei, the third Hokage, he walked down the streets deep in thought. 

Major events that occurred recently included his student's son, Naruto, becoming genin at last. Jiraiya has only seen him a few times in the past since he was busy with his spy network on the Akatsuki, but this was a pretty big deal. It might mean a chance for him to train his student's student, possibly to become a top shinobi known worldwide like his father again.

Then there's also Orochimaru's capture. After going rogue and slithering all the way around even into the Akatsuki, the snake had finally been captured back into its homeland, and he heard that a remarkable genin rumoured to be the Uchiha princess was the one who captured him. Which was weird, considering how the whole Uchiha clan was supposed to be massacred. Maybe Itachi didn't finish the job properly, after all. 

And most importantly... 

He stopped in his tracks as he neared the entrance of the T&I building, spotting two familiar figures sitting on a bench outside. One was Kakashi Hatake, who was reading his latest release. The other one was....

"Kakashi," Jiraiya called out to the man with a wave. The white haired man looked up in surprise, shutting his book close. The blonde boy sitting on his lap looked up at him as well with eyes full of wonder. At the sight of him, Jiraiya's gaze almost softened. So this is his student's son...Naruto Uzumaki. Look at that boy.. how'd he end up like this? He seriously looked like he was 3. 

"Jiraiya-sama," Kakashi nodded in acknowledgement, standing up to formally greet the sannin. 

"I see you're enjoying my latest work of art. I should make you my beta reader next time," Jiraiya chuckled, massaging his chin at the thought of his work in progress. Kakashi's eyes seemed to light up in agreement and excitement. "Well, back to the topic. I heard Orochimaru is here. You guys sure he won't slip away again?" 

"Well... I think he won't be able to escape from my cute little genins. They're the best, not just of their bunch," Kakashi smiled, thinking about the wonders that his team (namely Sakura) has achieved. He held up the blonde boy, scooping him up like a cat. "And Naruto here is surviving so..." 

"The third told me about him, but we didn't go into much detail," Jiraiya spoke, smiling at the boy. "Hello there." 

"This is Jiraiya, a sannin, Naruto. Say hello," Kakashi introduced. The gears in Naruto's head seemed to turn for a while. It took him approximately 5 seconds for that information to process and for Kurama to whisper him a few words before he gasped aloud. 

"NOOOO!" The boy shrieked, flailing his arms as he flew out of Kakashi's grip in an instance. "You are NOT allowed to touch me!"

"Naruto, what's wrong? He's a good guy," Kakashi assured, ruffling the hair of the boy who was now hiding behind his legs, away from Jiraiya. Jiraiya squat down to meet Naruto at eye level with a smile. 

"Don't worry, Naruto. Wanna go for some ramen?" 

The boy's demeanor seemed to take a 180 degrees switch, his eyes glittering as he gasped in delight. Jiraiya was relieved, but that relief didn't last long as he retreated back behind Kakashi. 

"You bride." 

"I what-?" Jiraiya was now confused. What's that supposed to mean?

"He's not trying to bribe you, Naruto. He's a good guy. Besides, you haven't had dinner yet. Sakura is going to haunt you if you don't eat, Naruto," Kakashi reminded, to which Naruto instantly flinched at. 

"Nooo...I don't wanna. Kura said Sakura would be okay too if it means not talking to this pervert," Naruto pouted. Kakashi felt a sweatdrop roll down his forehead. So it was because of Kurama, huh? There were quite a few reasons Kakashi could think of for Kurama not wanting Naruto anywhere near Jiraiya, but he should ask later. 

"Maybe not today, then," Kakashi sighed to Jiraiya who shrugged in response. 

"No problem. I've gotta take a look at the snake anyway. We can do this some other time," Jiraiya brushed the boy's complete rejection off his shoulders with another sigh. "Best of luck, Kakashi. I'll see you tomorrow, Naruto." 

Watching Jiraiya leave, Kakashi breathed out quitely as he felt Naruto climb up his legs into his arms in an almost monkey-like manner.  "Let's go home." 

Sat at the living room was Kakashi and Kurama facing each other, with Naruto rolling around on the floor trying to hug his tail but failing miserably. 

"What's up with Jiraiya that you don't want Naruto around him at all?" Kakashi questioned casually, sipping a cup of tea as he leaned back into the sofa. Kurama was shoving his face in omurice, a delicacy he didn't get often because of how Naruto's diet consisted of 99% ramen. 

"I'm..." scared? No, scared wasn't the right word. The great nine tails could never be scared. "I don't have faith in his abilities. He doesn't know what he's doing. He doesn't know what he's saying. I don't know what he's gonna do to Naruto either. I can already see it in his eyes." 

"....Look," Kakashi sighed. "You're still a tailed beast. The civilians are inevitably scared of you. It's a miracle how I can sit here casually with you, but I may be the only one who will be comfortable with you being completely free. This was bound to happen." 

"I could decimate this village if I wanted to," Kurama growled, his gaze becoming more threatening now. Noticing that, Naruto turned towards him with a frown. 

"What's wrong, Kura?"

"It's nothing, kit." That's what Kurama said, but Naruto knew something was wrong. They shared the same body as of now. If Kurama felt awful, Naruto would be able to sense that. 

"Can you tell the pervert guy to not seperate us? Please?" Naruto pleaded Kakashi as he clung onto Kurama now, hugging him like a soft toy. Kurama, who would usually run out of his grip immediately, complied quietly. Any wrong move right now could ruin all his progress. The thin layer of trust the Hokage had in him, same for the jonins who found out. 

And Jiraiya, who's more than willing to put Kurama back in the cage he was once in. 

At this situation, Kakashi heaved another heavy sigh, now lying completely flat on the couch. What was he supposed to do? He had maybe a 15% chance of stopping it. Naruto has done something to this world. Nothing was the same anymore after he transformed. Can't he do that on Jiraiya as well? Was all of this really coming to an end?

Despite all of Kurama's constant complaints of exhaustion, he had to admit that he enjoyed this time with Naruto. 

But maybe this was where they had to part.