Kitsune no Akuryō - Under Maintenance

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Kitsune's P.O.V.

     As soon as we left the Hokage, Tenzo gave me a tour of the village. As we wended our way through the districts, both of us seemed to know that I wasn't entirely present. I kept getting side tracked one shop after another while he kept glancing back at me after each building we passed. He paused when he caught me looking down at my hands again. I couldn't say which time it was, only that I couldn't shake the fear from my mind. He glanced back to the next stop, a shop of some sort before shaking his head and gesturing to our right.

     We veered a little off the path, taking to the trees overlooking the village; however, once we stilled, unlike my usual experience when Fukurō would try to keep me on track with the present mission whether that be by coaxing or command, this Tenzo sat silently against the base of the tree and waited. I watched him a moment, expecting just that but the demanding words never came, so I carefully approached him before climbing passed him and perching on one of the branches while I watched nothing and yet everything. A long time he waited for me to join him again on his tour, but I didn't want to go back: to the glares, the closed doors, the massacre. The gift of the name, Naruto, was only one of a horde of old memories crowding out my mind as I watched my fingers open and close, still not sharpened into claws.

      "You certainly know how to keep hidden," huffed the older voice which was becoming familiar: Kakashi.

      I glanced down as Tenzo shrugged, "I wanted to help him get his bearings."

      Kakashi watched me with hard eyes as he said, "He will get his bearings tomorrow, at dawn on Training Ground 34. Here are the keys for your apartment, kid."

      When he tossed them up, I caught them easily before glancing around and looking back to Tenzo and Kakashi, the silent question already on my lips, "Where?"

       When Tenzo relayed the question, Kakashi glanced out into the city; his voice was hollow, "It can't be helped. Come on." 

     The entire journey there was much less nerve-racking or otherwise dreadful than going from the Hokage's office, helped by the main fact that we didn't take to the streets and generally traveled by roof, leaping through open air between houses, but we had to land eventually, and that part I dreaded. When we did land, we entered a crowded street which immediately cleared. I was glad for the mask which hid my forced apathy. Once we reached the determined door, I accepted the key mutely and, glancing back to Tenzo, gave a slight nod before I was really thinking about it and quickly entering the apartment and shutting the door. After I caught my breath and cleared my head, my eyes actually caught sight of my new living arrangements.

     The apartment was homey, but not too big. It had a common room about the size that I was used to, but it was filled with seats and tables, aside from being joined to the kitchen. The bedroom was a quarter of the size of my own in the barracks; however, one bed occupied the space rather than innumerable empty cots. It opened up into a lavatory which was small, but as I ran the water for a moment, I was relieved that it didn't echo back to me.

     Now, after meeting my new commander, I sat down on the bed and took a deep breath.  My hands were still normal nor itching with chakra but would not stop shaking. I swallowed, remembering the old fear which I thought had passed, but clearly only slept. The Nine-Tails hadn't surfaced like that in a long time. Normally, I had some signal or conversation, a sensation that the Kyūbi wanted to be let out. To be overtaken had left me choking as I tried to regain some sense of control over my own limbs. How could I have been so foolish? Gaining the Kyūbi's trust was meant to grant me some sort of peace in a world which was entirely against me, but what if I really was the puppet of others bidding: the Nine-Tail, Danzo, the Yondaime. Maybe I was alone under their whim.