New chapter :p

Small clarification I need to make: when Kyuubi and Minato speak together, they don't use actual words, communicating directly through their minds. Since they share the same body, it's a lot easier for them to understand each other.

Days passed in excruciating dullness. He was kept in this burrow-cage all the time, and hadn't yet figured how to pull open the pieces of wood that led Elsewhere. He needed the human for this, and the human wouldn't let him leave the burrow-cage.

On the other hand, seeing how complicated life already was in this minuscule piece of territory, he shuddered to think of what lay outside, especially when he remembered how vivid the last experience had been. No, staying in the burrow-cage, at least until he had adapted, was clearly the wisest solution.

There was an infinity of rules. Humans had complicated life to the point where his head spun, wondering why these fragile, wailing, explosive creatures had ever seen the day.

He couldn't eat with his mouth -his mouth!- or forepaws, and had to use oddly shaped sticks of metal to place the cut pieces -because he wasn't allowed to use his teeth, obviously- between his jaws. He couldn't drink from anywhere, and had to activate a water-giver located in one of the cage-burrow's smaller chambers. Water for the plants belonged to the plants, and water from the wet-rooms belonged to the wet-rooms. Except there was another water-giver in one of those. He had to keep his forepaws clean, all the time; before and after meals, after relieving himself -and that couldn't be done anywhere else than inside the strange white bucket located in the smallest wet-room (he'd taken hours to figure out that one out, even with the human's help), and the horrible sound it made to make his productions vanish did nothing to help- and whenever he touched the ground, or plants, or anything sticky (although there he could understand the necessity) and had to clean his entire body in the big wet-room, where he'd learned that humans had finally mastered rain in its entirety.

He also had to keep on the fake-fur, but had to change it every time the sun crossed the horizon, and couldn't remove them even to sleep. He had to learn how to walk on his hind legs -a true challenge, that one, he couldn't figure out for the life of him how these humans managed to do it so quickly- and most of all, he needed to understand human speech.

The sheer variety of sounds they could produce -and the multitude of meanings that could spring from different associations of those sounds- was simply overwhelming, and yet he had to learn some of it.

From the energy readings, he could interpret certain meanings from the human -'wash your forepaws' had actually been the first- and he'd learned to recognize the sounds. His human ear might have been weak, but differentiated the sounds with a skill his fox-ear might not have managed. His nose wasn't so troubling as well; he'd understood the necessity to wash, or rid oneself of his belly productions by getting the whiff of it -human noses were actually very good for detecting bad odors, and it was amazing to see how many things fell into that category- and his eyes...Just like with all of his other senses, they had begun to appreciate something he had never consciously registered in his fox-body. Beauty.

The human had named the concept when he spotted Kyuubi observing one of the colored squares that were hanging off the walls. Put on it was an odd substance Kyuubi had been unable to identify, but which had been skillfully placed to represent the Other Human, the one who had to hurt to make the pain go away. The image was very similar, but that was what his human brain told him. He couldn't have conceived that an entity could be anything else than a live corpse. But now, he accepted the fact that the lifeless human on the square and the Other Human were the same.

And yet, there was something quite different here. Perhaps it were the colors that provoked this, but the Other Human on the square was more thrilling to watch, more soothing to the eye, agreeable in a way that sometimes made him sit in front of the square during his hours of solitude, and remain there until his human returned. And he'd remembered the word associated to this notion -the eye-pleasure, or the ear-pleasure, when the human had showed him sounds designed only to be listened to for the feel of it; beauty.

His own soul was numbing, he knew this, and so he focused every day on his anger for Minato. His powers hadn't returned, not those that hadn't been there from the start. But his reading had gotten a lot better over the days. Which was the only positive point he could admit to himself.

Kyuubi rolled beneath the warm fake-fur (it wasn't exactly fake-fur, but it seemed to be made out of the same material, and had the exact same function of keeping his vulnerable body warm while he slept). He was uncomfortable, although he couldn't tell exactly why. Especially if he kept tossing.

Forcing himself to remain still, he closed his eyes, and explored his body with his mind. He didn't hurt anywhere. Not exactly. It felt more like he was missing something. Something extremely dire, which would bring him great relief. But it wasn't the usual trip to the small wet-room that he needed. Although...Opening his eyes, he looked down. It did come from the same area. But it wasn't at all the same thing. This need was much, much stronger.

In the few seconds that followed, Kyuubi finally understood what this meant, and cursed. Why did the mating season have to come now? Didn't these humans have any practical sense? They were at the start of winter, and females already had to feed themselves, much less any other soul forming inside of them. But it didn't matter. Right now, he needed to find a mate, or his need would never lessen.

Stiffly, he got to his feet, hissing at the cold air, and edged out of the den-room. He needed to get out. He still hadn't figured how to open the wooden panels, but maybe he'd convince Yondaime to let him blow it apart. This was an emergency.

But the trapped man refused. Furiously, he clawed at the door, cursing Minato with all the fervor he knew, and then became absolutely still. Despite the race's weak hearing, he'd woken the human. And that wasn't good at all.

He couldn't be the only one who'd sensed the mating season's arrival. And in the face of this other male, he didn't stand the slightest chance. Nevertheless, he bared his teeth defiantly, and growled as the human spoke, his tiredness edging out of his throat.

Sasuke inspected the blond male in front of him. Naruto was crouched next to the entrance door, and from what he'd seen before being spotted, desperately wanted to get out. He sighed. "What is it?" he asked in a tired voice. The blond had heard that question enough to understand what it meant.

However, the reaction was not at all the kind he expected. Naruto released a defensive snarl, backing away from him as though he'd been about to attack the blond. He frowned, and turned the lights on.

Naruto snarled again, retreating as far as he could while his eyes got accustomed to the light. Once he had, he glared, teeth bared out and ready to bite if he dared get to close. Aggression, but also fear clouded the sky blue orbs, and the Uchiha's frown deepened. Raising his hands to signal he had no desire to harm the other male, he lowered his body. "What's your problem?"

Kyuubi inspected the human with suspicious eyes. He knew the position he'd taken was terribly unstable, even for him and he wouldn't resist an assault from the transformed fox. His face carried no hint of threat, and seemed to wish no more but to go back to sleep. Hadn't he felt the call?

The voice was smooth, and didn't sound dangerous at all. Maybe he hadn't, then. And perhaps he could help Kyuubi, if the fox could just explain that he needed to go to the Other Side. So with his human forepaws, he began scratching the door again.

Sasuke's frown didn't lessen over the minutes. Obviously the blond wanted to get out of the apartment. He'd gotten the message. But what he didn't get was why. Inspecting the other male, his desperate face, his tense body, his- Oh. Suddenly the Uchiha smirked, realizing exactly what was going on. The visible bulge inside the blond's pants could lead to no other interpretation.

Confusion let place to wonder. The kid knew what his problem was, much better than he, in a way. But he hadn't realized there was an easier solution.

He caught the blond by the arm, and helped him to his feet. "Come on," he growled tiredly as he felt the other male resist his lead. "There's another way to deal with this."

Kyuubi fought the human as he was pulled back towards the den-room. He couldn't go back to sleep, not when- But the human wasn't taking him there. Instead, he was lead to the small wet-room, and released an exasperated growl. The human had already done this, showed him how and where to relieve himself, and he hadn't forgotten. This wasn't the problem, most definitely not, so why couldn't he understand?

"Hold still," Sasuke growled as the blond struggled into his arms. "I know you don't want to go to the bathroom, just let me-" He stopped, and felt Naruto freeze. His hand had slipped inside the male's sleeping pants, grabbing the source of his need in a firm grip, showing him he understood exactly what the problem was. Not daring to try his luck too long, he swiftly lowered the pants, and growled, "I'm only showing you this once." It was extraordinary that the kid hadn't realized how to pleasure himself on his own. And he was too noisy for Sasuke to wait for him to figure it out by himself.

Doing his best not to focus on what he was doing -to another male- Sasuke let his hand slide up, slowly, and heard the blond release a surprised gasp. He nearly smirked. But he was tired, and doing something he'd obviously never thought he'd do to anyone but himself. So he didn't find the situation funny enough.

Naruto, however, didn't seem to mind his position at all. He arched unabashedly into the other male, thrusting against the pale hand in sheer need for release. His panting was the only sound filling the apartment, and he soon reached his climax, shaking convulsively as he came, and nearly losing his already unstable footing. Sasuke caught him with his free arm, and waited until the other male was over, before cleaning him up swiftly, and pulling his clothes back on.

Naruto clutched his shoulders, visibly dizzied by his experience, and Sasuke had to lead him back all the way to his bed, before returning to his own. Strange dreams followed his mind the entire night.

Days passed. Having no notions of what weeks were, Kyuubi couldn't honestly affirm they passed as well, but pass they did to his human. He gradually got more accustomed to his daily life. He'd finally learned to understand human speech -and grudgingly had to admit Minato Namikaze had helped him there- and read it as well -objects that could talk, what next?- although he still refused to make any use of his mouth. But the Other Human had found a way to get around this. Humans could also speak with their bodies, he'd learned. He'd struggled to master the language, but had ten times rather use this one than the one that required his mouth. He refused to communicate in what the human called 'sentences', in any case. He only used the necessary key words, and leave the rest of the world to assume he would never master the art completely. People always stopped worrying about you if they thought you couldn't understand them.

His human wasn't fooled, however, which proved, in the end, to be a good thing. He offered the fox these knowledge-carrying devices called books, which helped Kyuubi make a use of his otherwise very empty days.

He had begun to wish the human would let him explore Elsewhere. He believed he knew enough now to deal with all the strange objects that had to litter the 'streets' and 'roads'. He could evolve on his hind legs fairly well, now. He ate to the human's satisfaction, behaved properly whenever 'guests' were welcomed inside the lair -although he refused to speak in any way at those times- knew exactly how to use the fake-fur (called 'clothes'), and knew he could never get lost if he looked for home.

But the human was reluctant to let him come out. He locked the door -which meant that Kyuubi couldn't open it even though he knew how to do it with all the other apartment doors- whenever he came in or out, and the small device that he used to seal it -the key- stayed with him at all times.

But he wanted out. The non-liveliness of this place was making him sicker every passing day, and he needed to replenish himself. One way or another.

As the days passed, he began to consider exiting by the window. His human body was fragile and weak, but hands were a new utensil that he'd been wishing to figure out for some time, now. Although he needed to be careful. The window was high, and the grips -from what he could see- weren't numerous. And Yondaime still refused to lean him some power. Too bad for him.

He knew how to open the window. That was simple enough; he only needed to tug the 'handle' down and then pull everything back.

Cold air hit his face as soon as he did so. He didn't flinch, having already learned that the seasons never correlated Inside and Outside. Where he was, it was summer. Outside, it was the midst of winter. It wasn't snowing right now, but the ground was already coated in white. It would soften his landing. A bit. Pushing himself up upon the balcony, which the human had told him over and over not to do, he crept out, biting his lower lip as the glacial air his sensible skin. Humans, he cursed to himself. He needed his power. But Yondaime simply ordered him to return to the den. Like that was going to happen.

Last warning, he growled to his inner guardian.

You're going to get yourself killed, the man snapped back. Wait for the man to let you out himself.

But Kyuubi wasn't about to let a human -any human- dictate when and how he would make his first journey to the exterior. The ground below was far. With his body alone, Yondaime was right, he wouldn't survive the fall. He just hoped he wasn't the only one with preservation instincts. He jumped.

He heard someone scream from below, but didn't try to identify the human. His eyes focused on the ground rushing towards him, praying, praying...

Power blasted underneath his fingers, and he barely had the time to smirk before landing in an ear-splitting crash. Snow and dust flew everywhere, and Kyuubi nearly lost his balance as his hind feet slammed into the cushioned ground. He caught himself in time, and took advantage of the confusion to dart away from his landing spot. Humans were curious. Too curious, and he had no time to spend with them.

Reaching for his center, he cast an invisibility spell -Yondaime hadn't locked his powers back completely yet- and trotted off. He could run. That was good. He'd tried to in the human-den, but the distances had been too small for these to be proper attempts. He ran, and shed his spell as soon as he was far and well out of view of curious eyes.

And stopped, panting, to listen to the fulminating monologue that was going on inside his head.

Are you completely out of your mind? the Fourth roared at him. You realize you could have hurt someone? Don't use a Blast right in the middle of town, you fool!

Fair enough, Kyuubi retorted with a cynical inner smirk. I'll be more careful next time. He looked around. I didn't feel any awakened souls around, he then informed the man. I need to make sure.

One tail's worth of power is more than enough, Minato Namikaze snapped. I don't feel anything either.

How can you feel anything?

With your power, of course. The voice was dry. Someone has to be able to use it. There isn't anyone. Wait. A pause ensued. There are several powerful souls, eastwards, Minato then said. Slumbering. Perhaps they've stopped teaching people how to use their ki. But you can awaken them.

What, with this speckle of power you gave me? Kyuubi snorted aloud. It's barely enough to protect me from the cold. He shivered slightly, and felt an additional ounce of energy slip into his grasp. Thanks, he told the human dryly.

I should have let you break a leg, Minato retorted. Be thankful. So are you going to explore this strange town like you wanted to or are we going to stay there until you turn into a snow-spirit?

Kyuubi snorted, and finished wiping the melting snow off his shoulders, drying the cloth in the process. His sleeves were short, his bottom clothes thinner than a normal human would have liked, his feet bare. But he wasn't cold.

Ignoring the curious looks shot his way as he advanced, he began advancing through the streets, this time much less wary than on his first experience. Humans had, for the most part, put on thick fake-fur -clothes, sorry- and even the few that were dressed mostly like him had all covered their feet. He could understand why.

The streets were as dead-feeling as before, although that wasn't what his eyes told him. Lights were everywhere, colorful, blinking, and music was in the air, very different from the one he was used to. He listened, intrigued as he advanced, walking along the sidewalks and shops, inspecting what was held inside the latter. He didn't enter them, however. Humans guarding the doors observed him with too much hostility for him to dare approach.

Kits were the more numerous outside, playing with the snow by throwing pieces of it towards one another, and tried to attack him several times. Having realized after his first try that baring his teeth meant nothing in human, he decided to play by their rules, and scooped up his own handful of snow, throwing it towards the closest figure. The snow hit the human kit squarely in the chest -without any magical protection, snow in the face could be quite painful- and the rest of them all turned towards him.

If Kyuubi learned one thing on that day, it was to never underestimate the power of human loyalty.

To him, a mere fox, alliances were something to put into consideration at least for a minimum time before accepting it. One could never know when an ally might decide to switch sides. But humans obviously didn't bother about this when they played. Two groups immediately formed, classified by size, so that Kyuubi eventually found himself teamed up with other humans, as they assaulted the younger and more numerous crowd. The kits screamed in glee as they avoided the snow targeted towards them or threw it back, and the combat could have lasted more than an hour if a black car -one Kyuubi sadly recognized almost immediately, despite the fact that he'd seen it only once- hadn't stopped next to the combat area. The human -his human- stood out of the door, and Yondaime, who had been silently observing his actions with amused approval ever since the beginning of the fight, suddenly caught his attention.

He's one of the slumbering souls, the fourth warned the fox.

Kyuubi snorted. And you couldn't have warned me before this, he growled.

I didn't want to alarm you, Minato replied innocently. He's powerful, though. He might even see-

But obviously the human hadn't seen anything apart from the fact that his charge was both outside and barefoot.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded furiously, rushing over. "You're soaked! Get over here!" He rushed over, removing his topmost layer of clothing, and set it upon Kyuubi's shoulders. The human fox started shrugging it off, then realized that perhaps it was better not to use too much power this close to a slumbering spirit. Lowering the heating spell, he wrapped the soft, warm coat more tightly around his body, and followed the human back into the car.