Not Alone

Chapter 2

     He got home and took his shoes off at the door, the small fox still in his arms, it's nine-tails brushing his face. Naruto walked into the bathroom and turned the bath water on. "Let's give you a bath" he said, putting the fox into the bath. The fox barked a bit in response. A laugh escaped Naruto's mouth and he scratched the fox behind it's ears.

     Scrubbing the little fox, he made sure he was nice and clean before going to dry him. Once he grabbed a washcloth, he started to dry off his new furry best friend. "You want a name, huh? Let's name you... ramen? No, ramen, rama, Kurama! How do you like it? Do you like Kurama?" He asked his little friend, and the fox barked in response.

     "Okay, Kurama it is!" He laughed and hugged the fox close to his chest. Kurama licked his cheek and nose. "Oh, you're probably hungry, right?" He asked, Kurama did a little bark in response. "Okay! We can go get some things for you and then we can eat ramen!" He said getting up and putting his shoes in.

     He put Kurama on the floor next to him and started walking down the street. His fox companion following next to him. He got stares and whispers, but he kept his smile on his face. It didn't matter anymore, he had a best friend and that's all he cared about. If one person, or fox, cared about him, it was fine.

     They walked all the way to the pet store and stopped to buy him a collar. Naruto found a pretty red one and picked it up from the shelf. He bent down and showed to to Kurama. "How's this one? Nice, eh?" He asked and the fox's tails started wagging.

     Naruto went to go pick out a leash. "Do you want a leash?" He asked, immediately Kurama jumped back, an angry look etched on his face. "Guess not," he said, putting the leash back. He went to go pay for the leash and the two went to Ichiraku's Ramen. The only one who never treated Naruto like a monster.

"Hello, Naruto! The usual?" He asked, his daughter waving hi to him and ruffling his hair. "Yes, please! But, can you also make some for Kurama? He's hungry too!" Naruto giggled, smiling and picked up the fox, placing him on the seat next to him.

Ichiraku almost dropped his bowl at the sight of the fox. "O-oh, Okay! What does he want, noodles?" He asked. The fox barked in response, it's nine-tails wagging. "Yeah!" Naruto responded.

Once the food was ready, Naruto and Kurama started to eat. When Naruto finished his second bowl, he looked over at Kurama, who just got done with his noodles. Naruto was going through his pocket for money to pay, and once he slid it over the counter, the two were off. Kurama following next to Naruto, when he suddenly ran off to the side. "Eh? Kurama! Wait!" He yelled, chasing after his fox friend.

The fox barked in response and Naruto laughed. The two ran when they got to a dead end with dumpsters on each side. Naruto sat down in the middle of the dead and held the fox in his arms. "You-you're fast!" Naruto panted, kissing the fox's nose. Kurama licked his cheek in response.

Then Naruto heard two kids laugh, walking towards the dead end he and Kurama were in. Naruto paled instantly. He knew those kids, those kids were really mean to him. Naruto instantly got up and hid Kurama in one of the dumpsters. "Stay here, okay?" He whispered, shutting the door to the dumpster.

     When he turned around, he saw the two kids had just turned the corner. At that moment, Naruto was horrified. The two made eye contact with Naruto and they both looked at each other and grinned.