The life of a fox after war
Kurama is finally getting accepted by the village.
Here is a sweet little story I thought of and wanted to write out. It's so sweet that I won't need any sugar in my coffee for a while :p
There are NO mature themes in this one (for a change haha).
If you notice any mistakes, please leave a comment or note.
I'm always open to constructive criticism and don't hesitate to comment or suggest ideas ;)
The life of a fox after war
After the war with Kaguya, everyone went back to their respective villages to try and rebuild their lives. It took some time and effort, but after a while everyone got settled in again and life was almost back to normal. The peace was a nice change of pace after the threat of the whole world being sapped of all of its chakra.
And Naruto was no exception. His shadow clones were a massive help in the rebuilding process. There was one thing, however, that did change in Naruto's life. That "thing" was his nine tailed foxy tenant, Kurama, who was instrumental in defeating Kaguya.
The kitsune was not used to being respected by humans. For almost all of his life, humans feared the fox. They called him a demon, a beast, a monster. You name it. Now though, because of Naruto's and Kurama's help in the war, the fox became well liked by the villagers.
Kurama used his newfound acceptance to finally roam free again. Since the villagers did not see him as a threat anymore, the fox was free to do as he pleased in the village. And Kurama took full advantage of this. While in the village he of course assumed a smaller form, about the size of a small horse. If he stood next to Naruto on all fours, their heads would be the same height.
The fox came to like taking a stroll through the streets, the park, the nearby forests. He felt like he needed this peace after all those years of hate. When the villagers crossed him, he would be met with smiles and greeted with respect. At first the adults were still weary of him, but slowly that weariness eroded away when they realised that the fox was harmless. The fact that he was controlled by a sharingan when he "attacked" the village all those years ago helped many people change their opinion as well.
He even became somewhat of an idol amongst the kids. Don't get me wrong, his first real couple of interactions with youngsters were awkward to say the least. The kids were not born yet when the "big bad fox" attacked, so aside from stories they had no reason to fear Kurama. So, when one kid simply walked up to him, called him cute, and even petted him he had no idea what to do. To think that he, the kyuubi for sage's sake, was cute was preposterous. His former self would probably just eat the child and be done with it. His new and reformed self just, well... just stood there with an uncomfortable expression on his face.
"Oh no, Hikari don't do that! I am so sorry Kurama-sama, I did not pay attention to my son for a second and he just ran up to you." The mother said, hoping that her don's actions did not anger the fox.
"It's no problem. This just never happened before. In all my many years I have never been called cute, but I suppose I'll have to get used to it in the village." Kurama replied.
"I can indeed see you become very well liked among the children. Have a good day, Kurama-sama." The woman politely said before walking off with her son.
"*sniff* That made me very happy, you fox." Kurama looked behind him and saw Naruto standing there wiping a tear from his eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"Just that you are finally accepted by others. As you know, I know what it feels like to be shunned by everyone, so to see them treat you like that... Kind of reminded me of how I felt when people first started treating me with respect. I am just happy for you, you know." Another tear started rolling across his cheek. Kurama smiled at his friend, and walked over to him.
"Come on, don't get all emotional on me." The fox said as he prodded Naruto's belly with his nose, which earned him a giggle. "Though I cannot say you are wrong. It feels good to not be looked at with either fear or hate."
"And who is the emotional one now? C'mere you stupid fox." Naruto said before he playfully tackled Kurama. They rolled through the grass of the park they were in, trying to playfully dominate the other. Not wanting to make any more of a scene than they probably already had - because how often do you see a human wrestling with a small horse sized nine tailed fox? - they just layed next to each other on their backs for a while.
"Look at those fluffy tails!" Kurama eventually heard as he woke up. When did he fall asleep?
"Do you think they are softer than our dog's?" He heard another voice say.
"Only one way to find out!" A third voice said.
Not five seconds later he felt the distinct feeling of his tails being touched. The bijuu yelped (not that he would ever admit that) at the unusual sensation and quickly looked at what was offending his beautiful appendages.
He saw three kids, all seemed to be about six years old. Two girls and one boy. They just sneaked up to him and started hugging his tails. Not even Naruto ever touched his tails. His tails were his and he was proud of them, and people did not just go ahead and touch his tails. He would teach these kids the wrath of a bijuu. He would teach them just why he used to be feared...
That is what he would do if he was not so content at that moment. He could not bring himself to care enough about his own pride to do anything drastic, but that did not mean he could not have a little mischievous fun.
"Who dares to touch my tails without my permission!" Kurama said in a booming voice. Immediately he felt the three kids release his tails and carefully back away. Kurama then stood up on all fours and eyed the trio with a predatory gaze. Meanwhile Naruto woke up unbeknownst to Kurama, but only watched to see how the fox would handle the situation.
"You three!" Kurama barked, startling his three offenders. "Were you the ones brave enough to sneak up on me?"
"Please don't eat us!" A girl and the boy pleaded.
"Eat you? Hmm... Now that is a good idea, I was feeling a bit peckish anyway!" Kurama said as he yawned, revealing his very sharp fangs.
"You can have me, but please let the others go!" The remaining girl said bravely as she stepped in front of her companions.
"Khehehe aren't we a brave little girl! Very well, I am a fox of my word. I will let the other two go. You however..." Kurama agreed before he grabbed her with a tail around the waist. He then pulled her close to his head and looked her dead in the eyes. "Any last words?"
What the two other kids did not see was the obvious playful wink he gave the girl in his tail. Luckily the brave girl got the hint and decided to play along.
"Just make it quick!" She acted overly dramatically.
"As you wish!" The bijuu said as he opened his maw wide. At this point the other two kids just closed their eyes and screamed in horror. And then...
*giggle* "HAHA! Stop it!" *giggle*
The boy and the girl opened their eyes again to see what happened. They saw the large for playfully licking their friend's face. Their friend laughed and tried to get away, with no success.
"Hmmm you taste delicious, kit!" Kurama snickered.
"So you're not going to eat her?" The boy asked.
"Of course not, it was just a joke." He finally admitted with a grin.
"THAT WAS NOT FUNNY!" The boy and girl yelled in unison. Kurama and the girl in his tail did not seem to agree and laughed hysterically.
"Yes it was! You should have seen your faces!" The brave girl said.
"Just wait until I tell mom and dad that you scared us!" The boy replied.
"*gasp* MOM AND DAD! IWe have to get home in 10 minutes and it is about 20 minutes to get back!" The other girl noted, having seemingly already forgotten about the prank.
"Okay, okay, I apologize for scaring you. How about I make it up to you and let you ride on my back and bring you home?" Kurama offered as he was finally able to stop laughing.
"You would let us sit on your back?" They asked.
"Sure, just this once." Kurama smiled.
"YAYYY" They all cheered. 'Man, these kits have already forgotten that they were scared for their lives a moment ago. How amusing.' Kurama mused to himself.
"Well I'll let you take care of that then." Naruto finally spoke, having seen all of it. "I'll go home as well to eat, see you later this evening Kurama!"
"Sure Naruto. I'll return to your apartment as soon as these kits are back with their parents." The bijuu replied to his jinchuuriki. Naruto nodded and turned around. If Kurama could see Naruto's face, he would see tears rolling over Naruto's whiskered cheeks with his mouth set in the widest smile imaginable.
"Let's get you three home." Kurama said to the three kids. They cheered as he lifted them one for one on his back with his tails. He then started walking in the direction given by the trio.
"So tell me" He started halfway through the journey. "Were my tails softer than your dog's?"
"Are you kidding? Your tails are the softest things I have ever felt!" One of the girls answered. Kurama felt a strange bit of pride at those words.
"Good!" Kurama smiled.
"Hey kit, I'm back!" Kurama shouted as he opened Naruto's apartment door.
"Hey Kurama! How did it go?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Well the parents turned out to be florists. After bringing the kids back home the parents gave me a bouquet as thanks, here." Kurama replied, handing Naruto the collection of flowers he carried in his muzzle.
"How nice of them!" Naruto said as he looked for a vase to put them in. "And Kurama?"
"Hm?"
"That was very nice of you too. I don't think they will forget today for the rest of their lives!" Naruto said enthusiastically.
"I don't think I will either, kit." Kurama smiled.
There was a break where they didn't say anything. They were simply content with each other's company.
...
"You totally yipped when they touched your tails!" Naruto said teasingly. Kurama's eyes widened as he remembered.
"That did NOT happen, you hear me?!" Kurama roared.
Naruto only giggled at the tsundere bijuu.