𝑾𝑯𝑬𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑾𝑰𝑵𝑫 𝑩𝑳𝑶𝑾𝑺 •𝒃𝒙𝒃•

A great loss

He felt cold.

So, so cold.

His feet were wet, water slipping through, soaking his toes with its freezing embrace.

The room was dark, walls damp, almost falling apart.

His breath came out in puffs of steam and as it dissipated, it revealed the thing he feared most.

The cage. The giant red cage.

Various scratches were carved into it, as if something was trying to get out. And something was.

He stepped closer, the gate getting larger and larger the more he approached it. Until... he was right in front of it.

The awaited slam came, and he wasn't surprised. Bulging crimson eyes glared at him through the darkness, lighted aflame by pure rage.

"You dare come here again?!" The fox snarled, teeth flashing inside the dark, dark cage. Its pupils shrunk to almost invisible beads, showing the anger which was bubbling deep inside it.

The boy stayed quiet, staring at the fox, not moving an inch. He was still cold.

The boy's quietness further angered the mighty beast, causing it to wrap its great tails around the rails of the gate and pull with all its strength.

But the cage didn't budge. It showed just how trapped the beast was.

"Speak you foolish human!" It roared, and the room shook under the pressure, making small wall fractures drop into the water. The fissures in the water stopped as soon as the boy moved.

He lengthened his arm, fingers gently caressing the cage in front of him with undeserved care.

"I pity you". His voice lacked the usual hate it held when he spoke with the beast, instead, it was coated with a thick layer of... indifference.

The cage rattled once more and as the majestic tails extended beyond the cage's prison, the boy brought his hand back, fingers barely grazing the dense fur.

"You?! A human?! Pities me?! I should be the one who pities your worthless race!" It growled out, its teeth clenching with a force such great, it could bite a building in half. The boy shook his head, features showing how tired he was.

"Then do it, pity us". His arm was lowered down, brushing the side of his thigh, before it stopped still.

"I did not come here to argue". He turned around, eyes shifting over every crack in the wall, over the ceiling from which small droplets of water fell, creating small fissures in the water which coated his feet.

"You came here because you know you are in danger". The fox grinned, the smile looking nonetheless frightening than before. Its claws dragged down the cage's door, leaving thin carvings on it and producing an ear-splitting screech. Its tails flicked around, occasionally flapping against the cage, before dropping back down.

The process repeated itself until Akashi spoke. "It was unintentional, trust me on that, I had no wish to see you". Nine-Tails's paw flexed, claws extending past their usual length.

"You're hurt". It concluded, its grin widening further at the discovery.

Akashi's ears perked up at its words. "I assumed you already knew that, did you perhaps not?" The fox went silent, as silent as night can be. The only sound Akashi could hear, were the droplets dripping from the ceiling above him.

"Well, that's interesting, is it because Jiraiya strengthened the seal?" He asked, trying to see if he guessed correctly, but the fox gave no answer. It just stared at him in an unnerving way. "I haven't heard from you since it happened, so I guessed it worked, but finding out for myself...?" He trailed off, a grin climbing onto his face.