The snake and the fox

Chapter 4

Kyubi was laying in the grass, opening his eyes to a vast open field, he could smell the air of the outside world through his container, the cool breeze of the night, the fragrances coming from the various restaurants, hear the leaves blowing in the air, it wasn't the same but it was good enough for him. For the past two years something had been bothering him, the blonde was confusing to him, he was weird, different from the other containers and humans he had encountered up until then. He remembered the first time the kit came to him, there he was, looking down at a little ten year old, the boy wasn't scared, no, he was fascinated, curious. No hatred, no resentment none of that, he didn't try to ignore him and pretend Kyubi didn't exist, he never once called himself a jailor. Despite the fact Kyubi killed the boy's parents, despite the fact he attacked his village, despite the fact he was the reason why the child was so hated, Naruto never once held it against Kyubi, in fact he wanted them to be friends. He didn't see Kyubi as a weapon or monster, not a natural disaster, he saw him as the mighty creature he was. To this day the fox was sceptic but the evidence showed, Naruto wanted them to be a team, if he wanted to protect his village he'd need the beast's help. The kit accommodated the fox to the best of his abilities, giving him access to the outside world, it's only when Kyubi asked what would be the price that the boy got confused, needing a couple seconds to understand what Kyubi meant, waving it off and only asking for full access to a tail. He looked but the boy only had hatred for those who harmed his precious people, as he called them, but none of it was directed at him. It was strange, the boy kept pestering him with question, trying to build a bond with him, saying that he hoped to resolve the hate in Kyubi's heart.

'Troublesome brat.' he said before going back to sleep. 

The blonde reached his door satisfied that his seal had held up, he'd need to add a few more just for good measure. He slid the key in and unlocked the door, pushing it open to reveal his living room, taking a deep breath, there was still a hint of bleach and paint in the air but it wasn't enough to really bother him. He put his scrolls away, undressing, looking at himself in the mirror, his body covered with scars, some from training and rest from the various beating and attacks he endured from the villagers on the rare occasions they caught him, seals covering his body linked to each other through thin lines of ink. He had left some free space for other seals he might come up with. After opening various scrolls to put away the clothes and belongings he bought on his travels with Jiraiya, he went to take a shower, putting on a simple shirt and pants. He cooked himself some dinner before going over his notes, he finished studying his father's scrolls, opting to work on the Rasengan first as he needed more time to breakdown and study the flying thunder god's seals, it proved more complicated but he was up for the challenge. 

'It took him three years to create it.'

'Hmph, a pale imitation of the tail beast ball.' the raspy voice echoed in the back of his head. 

'The fact he managed to copy that makes it even more awesome.' the boy smiled at hearing a growl in response 

'First step is rotation. I'll have to buy some balloons and rubber balls after training tomorrow.' 

With that the blonde went off to sleep. 

A few days later, at training ground 20 Naruto was breathing deeply as he stood at the edge of the river. 

"Again." Anko called.

The blonde flew through hand seals "Fire Style: Dragon's breath jutsu!" he took a deep breath before a spewing a dog sized torrent of fire causing the the water the bubble beneath, he kept it up for a minute before stopping. 

"Wind."

 He flew through another set of hand seals "Wind style: Great breakthrough!" he took another deep breath, exhaling a gust of wind powerful enough to part the water.