Not Alone

Chapter 5

Naruto was sat across Sasuke on the ground, while Sakura was tied to the stump. Naruto had looked at her with sympathy, he felt bad. He knew what it was like to be hungry, and he didn't want anyone to feel like that. He picked up a rice ball and put it close to Sakura's lips. "Eh?! What are you doing?!" She yelped.

"Aren't you hungry?" He asked, confused. A blush spread across her cheeks and she looked annoyed as she took the rice ball from the chopsticks. The second she swallowed it, Kakashi appeared in front of them with lightning and thunderclouds in the sky. Kurama jumped in front of Naruto and stood in a protective stance. "You three... pass!" He said, a smile showing from behind his mask.

"Eh? But you said-" Sasuke started, but Kakashi cut him off. "This was a test about teamwork," he said and started to explain that if the hadn't fed Sakura, none of them would've passed. Sakura sighed in relief and looked down at Naruto, muttering a thank you. Naruto just said your welcome before Kurama jumped into his lap. "Okay, well, since you've all passed, you're all allowed to go home." He stated and started to walk away.

Naruto walked home with Kurama, and Kakashi decided to follow him. He wanted to see what the fox did without being surrounded by others. As soon as he was sure they couldn't sense him, he started to follow them. It was normal, Naruto talking about being Hokage as usual. But then Kurama started to jump up and down and Naruto started to laugh for a moment.

"Well, c'mon then!" Naruto yelled before running away from Kurama. The fox started running after him and soon running with him. Kakashi followed, careful not to be noticed. Soon enough the two got to a clearing in the forest where Naruto sat down. Kurama sat down next to him, tail slowly swishing back and forth.

They had sat for about an hour, an hour full of just Naruto ranting about anything and everything. Soon, Naruto flopped back, sleep taking over his body. The fox caught his head with his back, making Kakashi's face twist in surprise. The fox laid down on the floor, Naruto's head laying on his back. Pretty soon, the sun went down and the clearing was no longer as safe.

Kakashi would've taken Naruto home, but the fox licked Naruto's face gently. Naruto woke up, and the fox grabbed his sleeve, leading the practically sleeping boy home. Once Kakashi confirmed that his student had made it home safely, he went home himself. What has he just witnessed? What did that fox do?

He decided to shake it off and go to sleep himself. The next day, Naruto woke up in his room Kurama licking his face. "Mhm, no. Five more minutes, Kurama" Naruto whined, but the fox jumped up and down and continued licking his face. Naruto laughed a bit and slowly got out of bed. He put food in the fox's bowl and went to go take a shower.

     After breakfast, the two went to the bridge where the four were supposed to meet. There he saw Sasuke and Sakura. Of course, Sakura was trying to make any conversation with the boy, but he hadn't replied to anything she said. "Good morning!" Naruto shouted from afar, running to the bridge. Sasuke looked over, then looked away, which Naruto found a bit weird.

     Kurama ran alongside Naruto until the two stopped at the bridge. Naruto had played with Kurama until Kakashi-sensei showed up. Which wasn't surprised when he showed up late. Sasuke has been watching Naruto play with his fox, and he felt a sense of fondness envelope him. He quickly covered it up and clicked his tongue.

     "Okay, today we will be doing our first mission!" Kakashi started, clapping his hands together.

•Time Skip•

     Team 7 had gone on D rank missions non-stop, and the team was getting quite sick of them. So, finally, they had convinced Kakashi to get them a C rank mission. They were going to be escorting a man to the land of the waves. Naruto was ecstatic, Kurama seemingly sharing that energy. Although, Tazuna, the man they were escorting, did not seem all that pleasant.