A Thousand Years

The Kyuubi

"How are you, Mito?" Nina asked, sitting down on the large white armchair. The redhead had asked to speak with her that afternoon.

"Quite well, surprisingly." She said with a small smile. "I was hoping to talk to you about something." She paused, thinking over what she should say. "You know about the tailed beast that was sealed within me, right? The one Madara had used during that battle." Nina nodded, indicating for her to continue. "It seems very hostile, it has only spoken to me once in these three months." She looked down at the floor, seeming troubled.

"What did he say?" Nina asked, hoping that Kurama was doing well; she hadn't seen him since the battle.

"Actually, he mentioned you. He... asked to speak with you." Mito said slowly, as if she needed to make sure her memory was correct. "Nina, I don't understand, do you know what it wants with you?"

"No, but I do want to speak with him, do you mind?" Nina asked, genuinely hoping to get to speak with the beast. Mito was visibly confused and hesitant, only agreeing upon one condition:

"You have to tell me what this is all about afterwards." She demanded.

"I will." Nina promised. She lifted her hand and placed it on the other woman's forehead; she should be able to access the Kyuubi's chakra through Mito. At first, all she felt was a heavy concentration of the kunoichi's own chakra, everything else was dark. Suddenly felt a wisp of familiar red chakra, distinctly separate from Mito's. Grabbing hold of it, she grew closer and, when she was close enough, felt as if she was being pulled in by an invisible source.

Nina stood up, looking around the dark room. She stepped forward and felt an odd sensation at her heels. Looking down, she saw the floor was covered in water, there was also a distant dripping sound.

"Look who it is." A deep voice behind her mused. A small smirk settled on her face as she felt more and more of the familiar chakra surround her.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Nina asked, turning around. In front of her was a large iron cage that towered high above her head, it was blanketed in shadows, obscuring the back half of the inside. A large paw emerged out of the shadows and into view, the rest of the body followed.

"A couple hundred years, yes." The fox said. He laid down, bringing his head to her level. "You haven't changed at all, I see." He recalled the same woman standing in front of him when he was just a kit.

"I could say the same for you." She stated, sitting down on the wet ground. She took a good look at the large beast, he's grown a bit larger since the last time she saw him. "So what have you been up to?"

And they talked for hours, exchanging stories. Kurama spoke about his jinchurikis, from the first to the current, he told the story of his adventures and encounters with different humans and creatures, of all the things he hated about this world. Nina spoke about her encounters with the Senju and Uchiha clans, of her centuries of solitude, and of the people she's met.

"I've made a few friends through the years, but they were few and far apart. Not to mention they've all passed by now." She paused as the years of pain and loss hit her once again. She took a breath and smiled, meeting the fox's eyes. "There are a few left, however: Mito, the woman you're being sealed in now, and Tobirama, her brother in law." The Kyuubi sneered at her words.

"We're above all of them, humans are pathetic and weak." He closed his eyes and rested his head on his paws.

"Well, yes, the human race is in quite the mess right now, but I wouldn't say we're much better than them. If we could see what was happening with my clan at the moment, I'm sure we would see that they have their own issues." Nina reasoned. "And I have met many humans who held quite some power, too, though few of them had good intentions." She admitted. The fox raised his head slowly.