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XXXI

Totality

L did not exist in his world.

Naruto had learned much during his trip to the world of Death Notes.

Something he would never be able to forget with time was the sheer importance of names.

It had been subtle at the beginning, but reality became clearer as his unplanned stay dragged on due to his inability to find the Shinigami Mask.

One cannot exist without a name.

Without a name of the world that one resided within to ground oneself to, one simply could not be.

It was the same with Kurama or Cairn.

As a foreign entity not belonging to the world that he had been temporarily residing in, Kurama did not exist before Naruto randomly picked a name for him. Thereafter, it became impossible for the latter to refer to the former by a name other than "Cairn". Naruto himself appeared to be an exception to this rule, an existence that the shinigami referred to as a "Regulator". Even then, he could not refer to himself with a name that was not his own. After beings that belonged to the world of shinigami named him, he ceased to be a nameless being -- a mere traveller. He became Sirius Es Ebon, an existence that belonged in that world as much as the shinigami that the world raised.

It was a mystical connection -- the link between one and one's name.

Though Naruto lacked understanding of the concept behind this, he knew that every being needed a name. It was not so strictly enforced here, but it was not something that one could be without. Names were an anchor that prevented one's existence from dissipating -- he could feel this truth resonate within him without words,

It was something he had overlooked in his excitement for having reunited with his family.

"You don't have a name," Naruto explained to L, whose keen perception had noticed something off before the blond had been able.

L blinked owlishly, curiously approaching the three who continued to squint at the position he had occupied during the brief exchange.

"They don't see me," he remarked. "It's somewhat like how shinigami remain invisible to the eyes of humans who have yet to come into contact with their notebook?"

Naruto's lips inadvertently quirked upwards at the childlike fascination that L displayed now.

Despite his predicament, L was not worried at all.

Instead, he seemed very intrigued by this new state that he had discovered himself to be in.

"What would you like to call yourself?" Naruto asked, fondness softening his voice.

This inevitably caused Yagura's eyes to sharpen as he caught a hint of something more brewing between the pair.

He did not know L, but he understood Naruto quite well.

The blond was not one to put up pretences with those he did not care for.

For example, he did not bother with showing false affection for Uzumaki Kushina.

However, he grudgingly faked admiration for Namikaze Minato despite only having despised him in his heart from the onset. He did not resent or begrudge the man as he knew his brother to do. He would seethe on the inside at how Minato would brush aside the sacrifice of Naruto's birth parents carelessly with his decisions but he would not allow it to show before the man himself. It would not benefit anyone, Naruto knew, even if he were to seek petty revenge through such low means. Unlike Deidara, Naruto was not inclined to seek to requite upon Namikaze on the behalf of his deceased parents.