Not Alone

Chapter 8

Naruto woke up to before Kurama, which was a first in many years. He went to sit up until he felt the tail and paw of his companion. He laughed a bit, then skillfully escaped the trapped claws of his companion. He went to put some food in his bowl until he realized there wasn't any food. A sigh escaped his lips as he went to take a shower instead.

     He got out of the shower and got dressed. Just as he was about to put his jacket on, he heard the distressed whimpers of his fox friend. He started laughing and walked over to his room. "What's wrong, boy? Surprised?" He said as he zipped his jacket up.

     The fox growled at him a bit, before walking over to him and started smacking him with his large tail. "Ow! Alright, Alright! I'm sorry! But I had to get up early so we could get Ramen for breakfast!" He said, picking up the fox with a bit of struggle.

     The two walked over to Ichiraku's and ordered their usual. "Gosh, Kurama. You've gotten big. I could barely carry you this morning." Naruto said, patting the fox's head as he ate his noodles. Kurama looked over at him and sat up straighter before continuing to eat his food.

     When the two were finished, they walked over to the bridge, where the team usually met. He was there first, then Sakura, who was quite surprised to see Naruto. "Naruto? Why are you here so early?" She asked, almost skeptical. "Well, we woke up early," Naruto answered.

Sakura took that as a reasonable answer and watched as Naruto and Kurama played together. When Sasuke got there, he watched Naruto play with his fox as much as he could before Sakura started talking to him. The three waited for about an hour before Kakashi arrived. "You're late!" Naruto and Sakura yelled, like usual, as Sasuke glared at the grey-haired ninja. "Sorry, sorry.

But I had to help an old lady get home." He said, rubbing the back of his head. "Lies," Sakura grumbled, while Naruto just glared at him. "Yeah yeah, anyways, today we're going on a mission." He said, making Naruto jump in the air with joy and sakura smile. The three went to the Hokages office to receive their mission.

"You four will be delivering this to the hidden mist village," he said, pulling out a box with a crystal necklace in it. Naruto nodded, along with Sakura and Sasuke. Kakashi grabbed the box and put it in his jonin jacket. "Meet at the gate in an hour," Kakashi said, and left the room, the other four following. Once everyone was at the gate, they started to head off.

They were running through the trees when a drizzle. Kurama went a bit closer to Naruto when it started to rain heavily. "Kakashi-Sensei, shouldn't we stop? The rain is hefty." Sakura suggested, Sasuke and Naruto nodding in agreement. "No, we can stop when we reach a good place for a camp," Kakashi said as he continued running.

They continued running, Naruto looked over at Sakura and saw her shivering. "Uh, Sakura? Are you cold?" Naruto asked, making Sasuke look over. She nodded and looked at Sasuke. "can you lend me your coat, Sasuke-Kun?" She asked, causing him scoff before turning back around.

"Oi teme! Give her your jacket! She asked for it!" Naruto said, not wanting his friend to get sick. "I don't have a coat; I have a short sleeve shirt, dobe," he sneered at the blond—a small oh resonated from Naruto's mouth before he unzipped his coat.

He took it off and handed it to Sakura. Sakura looked shocked, along with Sasuke. "You're cold, right?" He asked, shoving the sweater into her arms. "But aren't you cold?" She asked, which is what Sasuke was thinking. Kakashi smiled from in front, he knew that Naruto was kind, but this was a bit much.

He was happy that Naruto was willing to do something like that, even if it was small, for his teammate. Sakura took the coat and put it on, quietly thanking Naruto. Everything was fine for a while until it wasn't. For Naruto, at least. Naruto was jumping from one branch to another when lightning struck a tree in the distance.