Naruto could see his father’s back, the text “Fourth Hokage” standing out brightly on his white coat, yet no matter how much he ran, how far he stretched out his hand, he couldn’t reach him. He couldn’t reach his mother either, standing right there next to his father, her back to him as well, giving him a clear view of her long, beautiful red hair.
It was alright, he was used to it. And it’s not like being unable to reach his parents meant that he was alone; not at all. He wasn’t alone, he never had been. Even if his parents had died on the day he was born, they’d left someone else to watch after him. And that someone was always there.
Turning to look over his shoulder, Naruto saw Kurama’s looming form behind him, as usual. With a grin, he held out his fist to the fox, who met it with his own. But then, the fox started moving, walking past him.
That had never happened; Kurama had always stayed behind him.
“Kurama?” he questioned as the tailed beast walked over to his parents “Where are you going?”
Kurama looked over his shoulder after reaching the couple, before looking forward again. Then, the three of them started walking away.
“Wait, Kurama!” this wasn’t how it was supposed to go; Kurama was always there with him. Always. His parents never were, but up until now, Kurama had always-! “Don’t go!”
Naruto ran after the three, after the fox, but despite going as fast as he could, their backs only got smaller, their presences further. He reached out his hand desperately, calling after him-
“KURAMA!” Naruto shot up in his bed, hand reaching out. Sitting there, it took him a few seconds to process the situation.
“It was a dream” he realized “Just a dream.”
Except no, not really. It wasn’t just a dream; Kurama was gone for real, just like his parents.
Kurama had never been gone before; they’d never been apart before, save for that short time during the war he’d been forced out. Sure, Naruto hadn’t even known he was there for the first 12 years, but he’d been there all the same.
He regretted not hearing the truth earlier. He regretted those three or so years that he knew but hadn’t really put any effort in to talking to Kurama. He had never even thought of asking the fox’s name, a fact that had filled him with shame for years now. At times, he wondered if they could’ve become proper partners earlier if he’d asked about it.
Tears of frustration tingled at the corners of Naruto’s eyes. There was nothing he could do about that anymore, absolutely nothing. And now Kurama was gone. For the first time in his life, he was really, truly-
Naruto’s head shot up, and his eyes met Kawaki’s as the boy sat on the couch, a book hanging in his loose grip as he stared at the older man with eyes that were definitely concerned.
“Y-yeah!” Naruto hastily wiped his eyes. He didn’t like the idea of the kids seeing him cry, but considering his circumstances, it was even worse that it was Kawaki who saw him cry. The boy had enough worries of his own; he didn’t need Naruto’s on top of them!
Kawaki kept staring, and Naruto had a feeling he was going to ask. Not wanting things to get there, he got up and looked at the clock. Fortunately, the timing was good.
“Dinner’s probably ready soon; we should head down” he says, going to the door. His hand is on the handle when Kawaki says: “I’m sorry.”
“The Tailed Beast… Kurama, you called it? It’s dead because Jigen came after me” Kawaki continued “I’m sorry.”
Naruto closed his eyes. He should’ve known it’d come to this.
“It’s not your fault” he says “If anything, I’m the one at fault for failing to protect you.”
And failing to protect Kurama.
“Kawaki” he says, now looking at the boy “It’s not your fault. Kurama was the one who suggested that I used that technique, even though he knew it’d kill him. It was his idea; he chose to give his life to protect us.”
The one who was thought of as nothing but a mindless beast for so long, the one that many still thought so of no doubt, had given his life to protect others.
Naruto would have to make sure that this part of the Tailed Beast’s history would be recorded down just the same as his attack on the village. The future generations needed to know just who had protected the Will of Fire so that it could be passed on to them.
And speaking of passing it on…
Naruto took few steps back in to the room to reach Kawaki, who was still sitting down, before patting his head.
“Just promise me one thing, okay?”
Kawaki wasn’t the type to agree to something before knowing the details. Not that this surprised Naruto in the slightest; he’d already figured that one out.
“His name was Kurama” the Hokage said “Not Nine Tails, nor tailed beast. Kurama. He had a name. Make sure you remember it.”
Kawaki was sincere, Naruto knew. Not that he would’ve expected anything else. He smiled.
“Good” he said “Now let’s get to that dinner.”
This time Kawaki followed, but as they were on the stairs, the boy said: “There are more tailed beasts, aren’t there? Aside from Kurama?”
“Yeah, there are. Eight of them”
“Do all eight have names?”
Naruto stops in his tracks again, looking at Kawaki over his shoulder. The boy stops too, cautiously eyeing the older man “…What?”
“Nothing, nothing” Naruto grins, recovering from the surprise and continuing his way down “Yes, they do. Of course.”
Speaking of which, how many people besides him knew them? How many used them? He knew Bee knew them all, but did he remember? Either way, there were way too few people who knew them.
“They haven’t specifically asked me to keep them secret or anything, so would you like to hear?”
Naruto reached the kitchen door, pulling it open.
“Naruto, good timing; the dinner’s ready!” Hinata said as she brought the pot of nabe to the table “Is Kawaki with you?”
“Yeah” Naruto walked in, Kawaki following close behind. The blond spotted his son on the couch, playing with a game console, and Himawari was currently setting the table. The whole family was there.
A rare urge to show physical affection taking over, Naruto walked over to his wife to press a kiss to her temple. Hinata blinked.
“Ew, dad, there are others in here!” Boruto called from the couch, pointedly facing the other direction “Have some manners!”
“You’re overreacting, Boruto” Naruto laughed, holding his arms out for Himawari who rushed towards him, pulling her in to a hug “Now come eat. And it’s about time I taught you kids something.”
“Like what?” Boruto put his game console down, interest clearly caught as he came over, sitting on his usual seat. When everyone else were on their seats as well, Naruto started: “You kids remember who Kurama is, right?”
“That’s the Nine Tailed fox’s name, isn’t it?” Boruto asks as Himawari and Hinata nod “Didn’t you say that he’s… gone now?”
“Yeah, he is. But it’s important to remember him. And not just him; he has eight siblings” Naruto says “Do you guys know their names?”
“Names?” Boruto repeats, thinking “Um, well the one tail is- “
“Shukaaku!” Himawari cuts her brother off.
“Close enough; it’s Shukaku” Naruto corrects with a smile “Most people don’t know their names, or even know they have ones, but I think it’s important to know them.”
“Well, guess it would be rude to just refer to them with the number of their tails” Boruto agrees with a shrug, and Naruto’s glad that he gets it.
“Mom, has dad taught you their names?” Himawari asks. Naruto turns to Hinata. He’d told her, had told all his close friends, shortly after the war, but he doubted she’d remember, at least not all.
“Of course, he has” Hinata replies, and to Naruto’s surprise, she starts listing the names: “One Tail is Shukaku, Two Tails is Matatabi, Three Tails is Isobu, Four Tails is Son Goku, Five Tails is Kokuõ, Six Tails is Saiken, Seven Tails is Choumei, Eight Tails is Gyuki and Nine Tails is Kurama.”
Naruto stares at her in surprise. That was all of them; she got all the names right and didn’t even mix any of them up.
“You did tell us, didn’t you?” Hinata smiles at him “They’re important to you, so I made sure to remember.”
Naruto knew he was getting too emotional lately; tears were prickling in the corners of his eyes again.
His voice is quiet, but right now, he doesn’t have the strength for more.
“I’ll make sure to remember them, too!” Himawari cheered.
“Yeah, me too” Boruto agreed “…Though I might need to write them down; I don’t think I can remember from just hearing them once. Right, Kawaki?”
“Speak for yourself” the boy replies “I can remember.”
Naruto watches his children bicker, too amused to interfere. Why had he been down again? Kurama, the one who always stayed by his side, may be gone, but he’d be alright.
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