The Changed Tales Of A Gutsy Ninja (On Hiatus)

Chapter 22

Dawn hadn't broken yet when Naruto woke up. He was having a bit of trouble with sleeping for a while now. Sometimes he wont be able to sleep for days, sometimes he'd wake up at odd hours and sometimes even if he could sleep soundly at a responsible time he wouldn't wake up even after sleeping for more than 20 hours. He had checked with Kurama and even his Bijuu did not have any answers. If he was having nightmares then it was understandable but he had always been a heavy sleeper and rarely ever dreamt. Be it happy or sad.

His pseudo-insomnia was precisely why he was very quick in completing his solo missions, with his stamina and chakra combined with no need to sleep. It was no surprise Tsunade would be impressed with his speed to get the missions over and done with.

He heaved a sigh as he stood near the window. He stood there for a while and patted the two little green plants he had settled on the window. Whispering to them praises for their healthy and speedy growth he hummed for a while. He gazed out, the soft wind blew and he breathed in, he leapt out of the window and perched on his roof and look up at the stars. The wind continued blowing, giving him an assurance of a companion he longed for.

He glided his hand in his, now shoulder length, wild hair. Surprisingly, the more his hair grew the more tamed they looked. His blonde hair still had the edgy touch of wildness like loose curls but they didn't look that unkempt when he tied them in a ponytail. Right now he was wearing a loose baby blue yukata and had let his hair free, appearing rebelliously boyish and carefree. Only the moon and stars as his onlookers, he talked out loud carefully picking words, "Mother, Father I don't know what I'm hoping to gain from this coming journey of mine. I don't hold expectations someone would answer all my questions even the ones I'm afraid to acknowledge. But right now all that goes in my head is, 'What exactly is it that am I seeking, dattebayo?'"

He breathed deeply, Kurama was deep in his slumber and Naruto was mindful to not wake him up with his nonsense. However, unknown to his knowledge Kurama woke up because of the immense surge of emotions in his host's body and mind as if someone had finally unleashed an overflowing dam. Kurama kept silent, he didn't let the child know.

Naruto continued looking troubled and lost, "I, I'm not running away. I swear! But I'm. Mom, Dad, I don't know how to get used to the eyes watching my every step. It's as if, should I even falter in my steps let alone make a mistake, I would be swept away."

"Am I scared?" Whom did he question? His long dead parents who had dies because of him? The moon? The stars? The wind? Or himself?

He shook his head chuckling, there was no mirth. What was the name of the emotion he was feeling anyway? Who would answer him, he had no one to ask such questions to. Who had ever bothered to look beyond orange, Kyuubi-vessel, "I'm gonna be the Hokage" anyway?

He answered himself, like every time he has a question to ask. "Perhaps."

Kurama stayed silent and faded further in Naruto's sub-consciousness. He was all but a chakra demon, though his existence would be of centuries by no means did he understand what these 'emotions' were. All he knew was fury. All he had was chakra. when the time is right he will give both of these to this child he has seen worthy. He had already given him his friendship either way.

Naruto shivered, it wasn't that cold but his body was feeling vulnerable. Or was it his mind? Maybe his heart? Who knows.

This fluttery companion of his, the wind. Would it shield him from the world, would it provide him warmth? This question drifted in his mind and he laughed out loud. "Just how lonely am I?"

Nonetheless he sat up from his lying position and concentrated assuming a meditative position. Might as well try. He gathered chakra in his joined palms and steadied it, not gathering it on a point like Rasengan but let it flow around him. He narrowed his eyes in delight when he actually started feeling gradual warming around himself.