Chapter 1: New Life & Meeting Kyubi

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I'm not gaining profit from this.

This chapter isn't betaed, any mistakes are my own and English is definitely not my first language. Constructive criticism is much appreciated, flames are not.

Naruto's thoughts

Emphasis

WRITING

Naruto talking to Kurama

Kurama talking to Naruto

He wasn't hurting. Pain had been his constant companion since he could remember. Nothing hurt now. He opened his eyes, expecting… he didn't know what he expected to see. Pearly white gates and cherubs? Definitely not a dirty grey ceiling with thin cracks in it. He sat up in the small bed and looked around. His bed was pushed up against the wall with a window to his left, a bedside table on his right with an alarm clock on top and a door beside it. A small kitchenette was located against the right wall caught between another door. He assumed one led outside and the other to the bathroom. The kitchenette had a fridge pushed against the corner, a sink beneath a cupboard and stove beside it beneath two cupboards. A small table with two chairs was placed in front of the kitchenette. A wardrobe stood against the wall in front of the bed, a small bookshelf to its right. A light was hanging from a cable on the ceiling. The floor was covered in empty ramen cups and dirty clothes. Bright orange clothes.

It felt somewhat familiar, like he lived here, but it definitely wasn't his room. His room was white and smelled of antiseptic. There was always an IV and all kinds of monitors attached to him, his daytime or night time nurse were always present. He was alone in this apartment and there was no medical equipment to be seen. He wasn't hurting. I'm dead. There's no other explanation.

He got out from under the covers and put his feet on the ground. He stood there for a moment, relishing in the cold he could feel through the soles of his feet. Then he stood, amazed he could. His muscles weren't shaking, his legs weren't having trouble holding him. Slowly, hesitantly, he walked toward the door beside the closet and opened it. It led to the landing of the apartment building. He closed it and headed towards the door beside the kitchen.

The bathroom was small, with a shower stall, a towel hanger, a toilet, a washing machine near the toilet and a sink below a mirror. He opened the mirror and saw a toothbrush, toothpaste, and spare toilet paper. He did the toilet, no catheter needed! Washed his hands, that's new, I don't remember having bronze skin. Only after his hands were dry did he look at the image in the mirror: blue eyes, blond hair and three whisker marks on his cheeks. Am I dreaming? He pinched himself just to be sure, it hurt. Not dreaming then. Is this the afterlife then? If so, THANK YOU GOD! I'm not sick anymore, I'm in the body of my favorite character, I can move like normal kids if not better and I share my body with a fuzzball that can heal anything! I'll never be that ill again and I can finally go outside!

He twirled outside the bathroom while squealing like a fangirl. He had an ecstatic smile on his face and his eyes were shining. It took awhile for him to calm down. Naruto, I'm Uzumaki Naruto now. But once he did, he sat on the bed and breathed deeply, he had plans to make. I need to know when I am, but how… he looked around again and saw a calendar above his bed, past days where crossed off. It was Saturday 26th of April, the word GRADUATION was written on Saturday, June 29. I have two months to learn how to be a ninja… wait… do I have just Naruto's body or his memories too? He pulled his legs up to sit crossed leg on the bed and closed his eyes.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

Slowly, memories started coming. They were vague, indistinct, like the world through the morning fog outside his window. Skipping school with Shikamaru, Kiba and Choji. Asking Sakura out and getting hit. Sparring against Sasuke at the Academy… why always him? Shouldn't the worst students get paired together?

More memories surfaced. The teachers teaching him different taijutsu and throwing stances, kicking him out of class for no reason, the vendors selling him overpriced goods, the civilians glaring and calling him 'demon'… No wonder the Original Naruto was messed up. He gave up on learning because the teachers were biased, when Iruka started teaching two years ago the damage was done. He'd given up, the pranks weren't just to attract attention, but to get revenge the only way he could.

He opened his bedside drawer and took a pen and paper out of it before closing it. He crossed out today's date from the calendar and checked the time on the alarm clock: 9 a.m. Naruto knew he had to plan, but he was no strategist so making a detailed one was out of the question. He drew a line down the middle of the paper to form two columns, on the left one he wrote SHORT-TERM in Sindarin, on the right LONG-TERM in Khuzdul. Yes, he was a nerd, but to be fair, he was stuck in bed 24/7 with nothing to do. Learning fantasy languages was a way to pass the time before his inevitable death. The doctors were surprised he even reached 14.

He decided to deal with his long-term objectives first, they would be easier to come up with than the short-term ones. First, did he want to be Hokage? He wasn't sure.

LONG-TERM:

1. BECOME HOKAGE?

2. BECOME AN S-RANK NINJA

3. LEARN FUINJUTSU

No way am I letting Kurama rot inside me, I know how it feels to be trapped. I read a couple of fanfictions where Naruto found out how to give him a human or fox body without freeing him and dying. I'm going to figure out how to do it and Fuinjutsu is the way to go. Plus, it's cool.

4. STOP SASUKE'S DEFECTION?

I don't really know him, but if we become friends, I don't want him to leave, kill his brother and go insane. But if I stop him the timeline will change… not that it matters, I might sort-of have his memories but I'm not the Original Naruto so screw the timeline! He crossed out the question mark and moved on.

5. KILL DANZO

6. SAVE KISAME, IF POSSIBLE

7. SAVE ITACHI, IF POSSIBLE

Kisame was one of his favorite characters, so he'd try and save him. Itachi wasn't, he put the village before his family and allowed himself get backed into a corner by Danzo-teme. However, Sasuke went even more crazy after his brother's death, so saving him was a must. If Sasuke didn't want to kill him even after knowing the truth. If he did, well… sayonara, Itachi. Without being overwhelmed by all the revelations and the guilt from killing his 'innocent' brother, he doubted very much that Sasuke would forgive him that easily, following orders or not. Naruto sort-of knew his rival, he wasn't the forgiving type. Though he did have a weakness a mile wide for his big brother, even now that he hated him, so who really knew.

8. GET A DIFFERENT SUMMONING SCROLL

Summoning was cool, but toads were not. He wanted cats, or any type of feline. Or foxes. Something cute and deadly, not slimy toads.

9. LEARN WIND AND WATER JUTSU

Wind was weak against fire and water beats fire. Plus mixing them would make a deadly combination even if Ice Release was impossible without a bloodline limit. Too bad. Wait, do I even have a Water affinity? … Who cares, Kakashi learnt to use all the elements, I can learn two.

10. DEFEAT AKATSUKI

11. DEFEAT ZETSU

12. DEFEAT TOBI

13. DEFEAT MADARA

14. DEFEAT KAGUYA

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, overwhelmed by the enormity of his task. He abandoned the pen and paper on the bed and went to the kitchen to eat breakfast. He was unsurprised to find only water and milk in the fridge and cupped ramen and cereal in the cupboards. They were the only things he could afford with the overpriced goods in the market. He grabbed a bowl, filled it with milk, after checking the expiration date, it was good, and smothered it in cereals. It took four bowls before he felt full.

After breakfast, he washed his teeth and took a shower, the water took ages to warm up and the pressure was shitty. He wrapped a towel around his waist and walked towards his wardrobe. Orange jumpsuits filled it, he liked orange, especially now that it went with his coloring, but there was no way he'd wear neon orange. Burnt orange maybe, neon no. He rifled through the back of the closet until he found a short sleeved white shirt with a dark orange Uzumaki swirl on the back and blue cargo shorts Iruka had gifted him. He grabbed a pair of black briefs, put everything on and sat back on the bed to complete his list.

SHORT-TERM:

1. LEARN KANJI

Turns out, the reason why Naruto was the dead last had nothing to do with pranking and skipping school and everything to do with biased teachers. The Original started the Academy early at 6 years old thanks to Hokage-jiji's recommendation, he paid attention at first but Tsubasa-sensei kicked him out with any excuse. Because of that he never learned how to read nor write properly, tests were a problem and so was homework. To top it off, Mizuki-teme was the TA for Tsubasa-sensei too and he taught him the wrong stances. The Original had noticed but there was no way for him to learn the right ones on his own, not when the librarian didn't let him inside Konoha's Public Library. The Original started skipping school once he realized there was no way he'd learn anything in school, he just went often enough to avoid being expelled. Iruka-sensei was the only one who cared, but it was too little too late. That and Original had too much pride to admit he couldn't read nor write properly. Naruto was disappointed that Iruka hadn't noticed, but at least Mizuki-teme had stopped sabotaging him, not that he needed to, Original's dead last status was assured.

2. LEARN ACADEMY TAIJUTSU

3. LEARN TREE WALKING AND WATER WALKING

4. LEARN HISTORY, SHINOBI RULES, ETC.

He had to talk to Iruka-sensei, explain the situation and get his help.

5. GET BETTER FOOD

6. LEARN HOW TO COOK

This too, needed Iruka's help. Maybe he could convince him to buy groceries for him, with his money from the Hokage's stipend of course.

7. MAKE STRONGER BONDS WITH TEAM 7 THAN IN CANON

8. SURVIVE THE WAVE MISSION

9. SURVIVE THE CHUNIN EXAMS

10. SURVIVE THE INVASION

11. STOP GAARA

12. STOP SASUKE GETTING THE CURSE MARK?

There was an idea brewing in his head. Could kawarimi be used with people? If so, could he use it in battle? He needed to find out. Substituting himself with Sasuke right before Orochimaru bit him likely meant getting the Mark himself. In theory, the pedophile could only place the Mark once in a short amount of time, so he wouldn't be able to give it to Sasuke too. After the preliminaries Sasuke would be safe training with Kakashi and he'd be safe from any retaliation with Jiraiya. After the invasion, Orochimaru would lose the use of his arms and then he'd have to switch bodies, so no time to bite Sasuke.

However, he didn't really know Sasuke, and even if they did become friends, he refused to be marked permanently. One seal was enough. He had to speak with Kurama, the old fox might know a way to get rid of the Mark. Maybe use his corrosive chakra to burn it away somehow? If not, Sasuke would just have to deal with the Cursed Hickey.

13. TALK TO KURAMA

14. BECOME CHUNIN DURING THE EXAMS, IF POSSIBLE

He hesitated after that, there was one thing he had to know, but he was scared. The nurses never judged, neither did his sister, his mother was rarely there, but his dad looked so disgusted… not that he cared what that asshole thought. But if Iruka-sensei hated him… he'd have no one. Hokage-jiji was always so busy and while Teuchi and Ayame were nice they weren't really close. Iruka was like a brother to him. He didn't want to lose one of his precious people. Damn, Original's feelings are strong. Although… they're not just his feelings, they're mine too, kind of. He took a deep breath, gathered all his courage and determination and wrote it down.

15. IS HOMOSEXUALITY ACCEPTED IN KONOHA?

16. LET HAIR GROW OUT. FIND OUT IF JUTSU CAN SPEED IT UP

17. BUY NEW …

He stopped for a second but soldiered on.

17. BUY NEW FEMALE CLOTHES

He wasn't transsexual, he just liked wearing dresses and girly things most of the time. He loved feeling pretty and crossdressing did that. Pampering himself, putting on makeup, nail polish, pretty clothes and accessories was almost a ritual for him. It calmed him, made him feel safe and helped him deal with the reality of his approaching death. Like an armour. He'd never left his room since he was 4 years old, he never had to confront other people's opinions of him, he didn't know how he'd react to being bullied, but he refused to not be himself. Even if he was terrified.

18. BUY BETTER TOILETRIES

19. BUY BETTER SHINOBI EQUIPMENT

Konoha's civilians must really want him dead: first they sold him only a neon orange jumpsuit, then faulty shuriken and kunai plus moldy or overpriced food that stunted his growth. Naruto did love ramen, but he ate it all the time because it was cheap and Ichiraku's was the only restaurant willing to serve him. That and the shop where he bought his prank devices, he was pretty sure that the old woman knew, or at least suspected, he was Kushina's son. He'd heard her mutter her name once, the Original may not have known its significance but he did.

He looked at the clock, to see it was lunchtime already. He grabbed both lists, folded them up, opened the back of the alarm clock and hid them inside. After checking to make sure everything still worked properly, it did, he headed towards the kitchen to make himself some ramen. Three bowls later, he washed his teeth, put on the blue shinobi sandals Original left by the door the night before and locked the door on his way out. It wouldn't stop a ninja, but it should stop a civilian.

Though it had been years since they last ransacked his apartment, the Inu-masked ANBU had thoroughly warned them off doing it again. He now suspected it to have been Kakashi but had no way of confirming it because their hair was covered by a black hood, unlike in the anime and manga. Either way, Inu, Neko, Hawk and Tora were his favorites and most protective guards. Well, former guards, ANBU had stopped following him since he was 8 years old and had 'officially' started the Academy. He knew this for sure because Original stopped sensing their chakra around then.

This was another thing he had to bring up to Iruka, Original might think it was normal, but he knew that hearing as well as he did, sensing chakra, seeing in the dark and smelling what he did wasn't normal. He could smell lies, for fucks sake! Well, not exactly, he could smell guilt which meant he could tell if they lied or where hiding something only if they felt guilty about it. Wouldn't work on crazies or undercover agents. Bottom line, his senses were better than normal.

I can use this. Original never really wanted to know why everyone hated him. He wasn't stupid, he heard them calling him 'demon' behind his back and knew exactly what had happened on his birthday. Jinchuuriki was not amongst his theories but he was scared of knowing. He asked, knowing no one would answer. If I ask Iruka if I'm Kyuubi's kid or reincarnation, looking all innocent and terrified, I'm sure he could get Jiji to spill the beans early. Maybe I can also get him to tell me about my parents if I tell him I knew he lied when he said he didn't know them. The guilt was pouring off him more than usual.

Jiji always smelt guilty, whether it came from being Hokage or just from talking to him he didn't know. It was kind of sad either way.

He got outside his apartment building near the outskirts of the Red-Light District. Surprisingly, it was the safest place for him, the prostitutes and druggies mostly ignored him. Some even watched out for him sometimes, it was the 'good' people of Konoha who gave him the most trouble. He shook his head to stop wool gathering and jumped. He easily reached the roof of the building beside the complex, chakra is AWESOME! He started jumping across rooftops at high speed. He felt weightless, like he was about to take flight any moment. He laughed happily, dizzy with exhilaration. I love this life!

He reached Iruka's house and jumped back to street level. People glared at him as soon as they saw him, but he easily ignored them. He was a boy on a mission. He entered the apartment building, climbed the stairs till the second floor and knocked on the first door on the right. Iruka opened the door at the second knock.

"Naruto! What are you doing here?" the scarred Chunin was smiling.

"Uhm," Naruto fidgeted, unsure how to proceed, "can I come in? I have something to tell you."

"Sure, sure," the man let him and closed the door behind him, "sit down Naruto." Naruto sat down on the couch, Iruka headed towards the kitchen. "Want anything?"

"Do you have juice?" Naruto was blushing, this was awkward.

"Orange?"

"Yes, please."

Iruka brought back an empty glass, a jug of orange juice and green tea mug for himself.

"So, what did you need? It's not for a prank, right?" Iruka sounded chiding when he said that.

Naruto could feel his metaphorical hackles rise, Original never asked anyone for help with pranks, not even Kiba. Those were all him and he was proud of it.

"No, that's not it." Naruto took a deep breath and asked, "I need you to let me talk and just listen, can you do that Iruka-sensei?" He waited for the teacher to nod before starting. "The majority of the village hates me. They always did." Iruka opened his mouth to say something but Naruto raised his hand and stopped him. "No talking. I need to say this."

After seeing that Iruka would remain silent he continued. "I was enrolled at the Academy early on Hokage-jiji's recommendation. At first, I was super excited, I was going to be a ninja and make friends! But my classmates bullied me and the teachers did nothing to stop them. Not only that, they sabotaged me. Tsubasa-sensei sent me out of class for no reason and Mizuki-sensei taught me the wrong stances."

Naruto could see Iruka gearing up for a lecture so he raised his hand again and kept talking, "Yes they did. I didn't start pranking until after I realized that the Academy wasn't any different from the orphanage. They treated me like a monster, like a demon." Iruka looked shocked from the amount of venom he put in that one word.

"I know Mizuki is your friend sensei, but he hates me. I know he teaches me the wrong things, I saw him correcting a girl and turn around and tell me to do the mistake he berated her for. I can't learn taijutsu or weapon throwing on my own, I have no examples to follow because he keeps me away from the others during practice so I can't see them clearly and the librarian doesn't let me in so I can't study from scrolls." Naruto could feel tears in his eyes so he blinked rapidly to get rid of them.

Iruka looked indignant, he believed him.

"I..." Naruto was blushing, this was the embarrassing part. It wasn't his fault, but he still felt ashamed. Iruka gestured for him to keep going, so he did. "I can't read," Iruka gaped, shocked, "well, I can, but not well, I can only read some kanji, writing is also a problem. No one ever taught me outside the Academy and Tsubasa-sensei… well. Can you teach me?"

Iruka took a moment to calm down, then he stood up and sat by Naruto and hugged him tightly to his chest. Naruto awkwardly tried to reciprocate the hug but he didn't know where to put his hands, he decided to let them hang limply by his sides instead.

"Naruto," Iruka's voice sounded choked, Naruto could smell his tears and guilt. Why he felt guilty he didn't know. "I'm sorry, I was your teacher for two years and I never realized… I failed you Naruto. I'm sorry."

Naruto could feel tears fall down his own cheeks, no one had ever apologized for how they treated him. No one had ever hugged the Original like this. Himself, he didn't remember the last time anyone hugged him. He was used to cold, clinical touches from the nurses or the occasional hand holding from his little sister. His father never came inside his room, his mother only when drunk and she always cried. His sickness was genetic and came from her side of the family, he knew she blamed herself for it even though it was no one's fault.

"Naruto," Naruto startled, he'd almost forgotten where he was. He raised his head to look the Chunin in the eyes, Iruka smiled lovingly down at him and said "I'll teach you. Not just kanji, I'll teach you everything you need to know to be a ninja."

Naruto smiled, "Cooking too?"

Iruka laughed, surprised, "Yeah, cooking too."

They sat like that for a while, until Naruto suddenly remembered his list, there was more he had to ask Iruka, but he wasn't sure now was the time. He decided to shelve his question about ninja sexuality and think of groceries.

"Iruka-sensei?"

"Yes Naruto?"

"You know how I said that the civilians sell me overpriced or rotten groceries?"

"What?!" Iruka grabbed his shoulders and pushed him away slightly to look into his eyes. He looked angry, angrier than Naruto had ever seen him. Naruto flinched, surprised by the sudden movement. Iruka's entire face relaxed and the hold on his shoulders softened. "Naruto, you never said that."

He blinked, surprised. Thinking back, he really hadn't said that, he'd just talked about the Academy. "Sorry sensei."

"Don't apologies. What's this about overpriced goods?"

"The civilians hate me. I'm not allowed in most restaurants. The ones that let me in sell me weird tasting food, it smells different from other people's food and makes me sick." Naruto now suspected poison, from the horrified look on Iruka's face he was thinking the same thing.

"The old man at the grocery store sells me rotten fruit and meat and everything he sells me costs twice as much as other people's he said it was an orphan tax…" Original always thought it was a hoax, Iruka shaking his head and telling him it didn't exist merely confirmed it.

"I love ramen, but I buy so much of it because it's cheap and I'm always hungry. I need three to four bowls before I'm satisfied. Anyway, that's not why I started this conversation, Iruka-sensei, can you buy me groceries?" Naruto stopped to let Iruka answer but he realized what he'd said and hurried to correct himself, "I don't want you to buy them! Well… no, I do want you to buy them because they won't overprice you, but I meant buying them with my money."

Iruka waited a moment to see if he had anything else to add. When he saw he was done, he answered, "Of course I'll buy them for you. I'll pay" Naruto started to protest but Iruka covered his mouth with his hand and kept talking, "I'm an adult with a regular paycheck. I can afford it, you have no source of income other than the orphan stipend, right?" Naruto couldn't talk, so he nodded. "So, I'll pay. What about your jumpsuits?"

Naruto was confused by the question and tried to ask what he meant. Iruka realized his hand was still over the kid's mouth, he sheepishly removed it. Naruto giggled at his blushing teacher, "What do you mean sensei?"

"Did you buy that jumpsuit because it was cheap?"

"No," Iruka looked relieved, by what he didn't know, "it was the only clothes they'd sell me." And there goes Iruka's relief. The man must have noticed his confusion, but chose to ignore his unasked question, not that it matters. He likely thinks they sold me the jumpsuit hoping an enemy ninja would kill me in the field. Best not tell him they sold me faulty equipment too.

"We should go shopping, then. Tomorrow is Sunday, so I'll come by your house at 10 a.m. with groceries and help you cook breakfast. After that, we can go shopping for clothes and shinobi equipment," he looked pointedly at him while saying this. Naruto rubbed the back of his head while laughing sheepishly. Damn, he figured it out.

Iruka just sighed and continued, "Once that's done, I'll teach you to read and write. Starting next week, I'll come by every day at 6 p.m. to help you with dinner and keep teaching you. I know I said I'd teach you taijutsu but I think it's best if I just find you a teacher for that. I won't have time to teach you everything after school, so I'll teach you kanji, chakra control and the other Academy basics. I assume you'll start paying attention and stop skipping class?"

Naruto nodded and Iruka harrumphed, satisfied by his answer. Iruka threw away the now cold tea and they sat quietly drinking the abandoned orange juice. Iruka then gently ushered him out the door, he looked like he was gearing up for the mother of all lectures. Naruto was just glad he wasn't the recipient this time. Hope the old man suffers, I know he was following my stupid dad's wishes, but who the hell is naïve enough to think they wouldn't mistreat me? As far as they know, Kushina, a grown woman and a Jōnin, either couldn't control Kurama or unleashed him on Konoha. Then they're told a baby is his new container and they should trust the seal will hold. A Jōnin couldn't keep it in, how can a baby? Naruto could only shake his head before such idiocy. He understood where the civilians and some shinobi were coming from, but just because he understood didn't mean he liked it.

Naruto left and roof jumped to his apartment complex. Once he got back to home it was 4 p.m., he looked around at his dirty apartment and sighed. He had a lot of work to do. He went to the kitchenette, washed and dried the dishes he'd left in the sink. He opened the two overhead cupboards to check the contents. One held the cereal he ate that morning, the other one held the cooking utensils and dishes. He placed the now clean dishes back inside the latter and closed the cupboard.

After that, he grabbed two black rubbish bags from the cupboard under the sink where the empty bin was. He filled one with ramen cups, he searched in every nook and cranny of the apartment for more and found some even beneath the bed. Once that was done, he went to the bathroom to grab the white plastic basket above the washing machine.

He removed all dirty clothes from the floor and split them into two piles: those that went in the basket to be washed and those that went in the rubbish bag. All briefs and shirts went in the basket, the orange jumpsuits went in the rubbish bin with the weird nightcap. His pajamas were carefully folded and placed underneath the pillow after making the bed. He then headed towards the wardrobe and removed every jumpsuit to put it in the trash.

That done, he headed out into the streets and threw everything in the rubbish bin beside the building. Every time someone glared at him, he waved and smiled. They looked creeped out and left quickly, he chuckled, amused by the reactions.

He got back home, placed his sandals by the door and grabbed the basket of dirty laundry. He headed towards the bathroom and started the washing machine with half the dirty clothes inside. It would take a while, so he decided to train in the meantime. He went back to the main room and stretched, half-remembered routines from the first year at the Academy and half rehabilitation the nurses made him do. He'd ask for better ones from his taijutsu teacher.

Wonder if it's Gai?... Nah, just because he's the best doesn't mean it'll be him. He's a Jōnin-sensei and I doubt Iruka knows him… I hope he doesn't, I'm not ready for the 'Sunset of Youth'. Stretches done, he did 50 sit-ups, 50 push-ups, 50 squats and a one-handed handstand with each arm for 10 minutes. By the end of it, he was only slightly out of breath and it was fading fast. Jinchuuriki stamina for the win!

It was 6.30 p.m., Naruto removed the now clean clothes from the washing machine and stripped. He placed the sweat filled clothing with the rest of the dirty laundry and started another load in the washing machine. Thank fuck the Original knows how to do the laundry. I certainly didn't. He entered the shower and poured some shower gel on his hands and soaped himself thoroughly. He washed away the suds and put shampoo in his hair, combing through it with his hands. He tried to get rid of every knot, but he was forced to give it up as a bad job. Tomorrow, I'm buying a comb and I'll ask Iruka about a hair growing jutsu. Surly it exists?

He washed away the shampoo and dried his body and hair with a towel. He went back to the main room, grabbed his pajamas from under his pillow and a pair of briefs from the wardrobe's first drawer. It had three, the top one for underwear and pajamas, the second one for shirts and the third for pranking supplies and smoke bombs. The ninja wire, kunai and shuriken were in his kunai pouch inside the bedside table drawer.

Naruto grabbed his list from inside the clock and ticked off 6. GET BETTER FOOD. Iruka would bring it tomorrow. He put it back inside the clock and went to make himself dinner.

Four bowls of ramen later, he washed the dishes put everything back in place. The clock signed 7 p.m., too early to sleep. He went back to the washer and grabbed all the clean clothes. He carefully folded everything and put them in its proper place inside the closet. Time to cross something else off the list. He set the alarm for 8.30 a.m. and sat crossed leg on the bed. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

He opened his eyes and found himself inside a sewer. When you say, mind in the gutter! He giggled nervously. He knew his tenant couldn't hurt him, but he was still dealing with a likely pissed off Biju. He gathered all his courage and followed the ceiling pipes down the water filled corridor. He reached an open space and saw the golden cage. Kurama was there, waiting for him.

"You're not the same brat you were yesterday." The fox's voice was deep and gravely, like thunder. He could feel reverberating through his bones.

"No, I'm not. How did you know?" He was curious about that.

"Your chakra. It's more like your mother's than before."

My chakra… "What does it mean? And can anyone feel it?" It would be a problem if they could.

"No," it was obvious the fox thought he was an idiot for asking. Naruto simply stared at him, waiting. "The change is subtle and easily attributed to puberty. I can tell because I live inside you."

"I gained the memories from a past life. Or I took Naruto's place and his fuzzy memories." He shrugged, not knowing the answer and not really caring. He was Naruto now.

Kurama laughed. Naruto felt indignant, he geared up to yell at the giant fox but the being stopped him by saying, "I believe you."

"What…?" Naruto gaped, flabbergasted. He really hadn't expected anyone to believe him. Not that he ever intended to tell anyone but his tenant. The nine tailed fox couldn't tell anyone else.

"I never heard of it happening. But this is the shinobi world, anything is possible." The fox nodded sagely and Naruto couldn't help but agree with him. Although…

"Where I come from this world is a comic book and a tv show."

This seemed to surprise him, but he recovered fast. "Does it mean you know the future?"

"Yeah. I mean, ripple effect says that because I'm not the Original Naruto, things will change. So, I know the future up to a point."

"Makes sense." They lapsed into silence after that, but something tickled at the back of Naruto's mind.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Which one?" Kurama sounded disinterested.

"What does the change in my chakra mean?" he had a suspicion and he wanted confirmation.

"What do you think it means? You can use her Chains."

Wow. "The Original couldn't."

Kurama looked surprised at that, "All Uzumaki can use the Chains. It's their birthright."

"Well, he couldn't." he knew he sounded snappy, but he didn't like being called a liar.

"He must have taken after his father then, some half Uzumaki are like that. It's rare, but it happens."

"But isn't that genetic? How can I have it if he didn't?"

"Chakra is only partially genetic. It mostly depends on the person's life experiences and personality. That's why a kid's chakra can be completely different from his or her parents. If it was genetic, it would feel like a mixture of the parent's chakra."

"That makes sense." Naruto wasn't sure he should ask, he didn't want to anger his tenant but this was too weird. "Why aren't you angry?"

Kurama just looked at him for a moment, "I felt like it."

Naruto facepalmed. Bratty Biju, alright.

"I'm going to find a way to give you more freedom and not die." He said like it was nothing, not like the Original boasted he'd be Hokage, but with a silent confidence. He would do it, failure was not an option.

Kurama stood, motionless and wide eyed. "Why?" it was a whisper, a hope well hidden, almost lost.

"I know how it feels like to be trapped inside a body that will die on you." He hadn't meant to say more, but Kurama's gaze conveyed his confusion.

"I was sick. A terminal disease that should have killed me as a kid. I survived to 14 by being stuck in bed, always attached to one machine or another with a nurse always on standby. When I died, I almost felt relieved. By then, every breath hurt and I could do nothing without straining myself further. This is my chance at freedom and I refuse to be responsible for the imprisonment of another being. So, I'll free you, because I wished someone had done the same for me."

Kurama clearly felt overwhelmed. Naruto chose to turn around and leave his mindscape, to give the fox time to get his bearings.

"I'll be back tomorrow night. We can talk more then."