In response, he quickly turned around, worried that something was wrong.
"...You're...you're just gonna leave? Just like that? So quickly...?"
The shinobi stared at the yokai princess, wary at her shift in demeanor. "What? You expected me to stay here?"
Kunou looked towards the floor, biting her lips in the process. "I just...hoped that you would...you know? Stay with us for a little bit? Maybe a week?"
Even while the little girl was making her plea, the teen started shaking his head. "I can't, I'd like to...if only to dodge more classes. But I have a responsibility to my friends back at Kuoh Town."
As he was speaking, the shinobi went to take the younger blond's hand, grasping it and tugging so that they could continue. He wanted to make sure that they would cover as much ground as possible.
The little kyuubi was silent as she was now hurried along the cavern, watching as the darkness of the cave grow more apparent as they moved further away from the warmth of their campfire...
"...I thought that you were going to protect me..." she whispered, practically silent.
Naruto didn't say anything at first, he kept moving forward, searching for the right words.
"...I am." was all that could come out of his mouth.
Then all of a sudden, he felt Kunou pull at his arm.
"Then why!?" she demanded. "What happened yesterday...I can still feel it...you're the only one that made that feeling go away! So please...!"
She glanced down again with glassy eyes, tiny fists balling up.
"Help me get away from this fear...make me feel normal again..."
The shinobi went stock still, eyes widening at her words.
Of course. Even after getting rid of the accumulated stress of her day yesterday, there was still a...scar. One that wouldn't heal so quickly.
But despite this revelation, there was something else that he focused on. A word that triggered a memory of a time that seems so...long ago.
A vision of long red hair and hopeful pink eyes, that begged to attend school with him...
All to feel normal.
Was this not the same thing? A reprieve for a stressful time in order to live again?
He did it for her...should he not do it for Kunou...?
"Please!" Kunou wailed, hugging his leg desperately.
The little girl kept holding him, refusing to let go, clenching her eyes as she waited for his response.
After a few more moments of silence, she finally got it.
"...Kunou-chan."
Golden eyes snapped open, glancing up at the towering teen with shocked eyes. Did he just...?
"It's kind of funny..." Naruto began, a wistful look in his eye. "Someone had actually asked me to do something similar for them, ya know? It almost seems like a lifetime ago, but the request is practically the same."
The older blond then tilted his head down, looking back at the still-shocked yokai.
"I accepted her request then."
Kunou gasped audibly, lips spreading into a smile, then that means...!
"That being said...I'm sorry, I still can't stay."
Almost as quickly as it came, the smaller blond's smile cracked and fell apart, eyes looking entirely betrayed at the seemingly cruel decision.
She was so taken aback by the young man's words, that she didn't protest the fact that he was pulling her again towards their destination.
Naruto quickly moved forward, they wasted too much time as it was, but it didn't change the fact that he hoped that the kid would understand why he made his decision.
In time, but now wasn't the moment to deal with it.
So the two kept moving forward, deeper into the cave, until they hit a snag.
A big one.
"...Damn it..." the shinobi grumbled, glaring at the route that they were taking, which was suddenly ending in form of a stone wall.
He thought that this was a way out...damn, maybe he should have actually checked.
The shinobi moved to check if there was another way, maybe a hidden entrance like how he got in the first place?
But someone held firm, refusing to budge.
Naruto sighed, looks like he really couldn't leave this for later, huh?
With that, the blond turned around and knelt on one knee, facing the yokai princess. Intent on ending this discussion once and for all.
"Kunou-chan..." Naruto started. "I know that my declination of your wish has upset you, especially since I've accepted something similar from someone else...but there's a reason for this."
The little girl refused to respond, she only surly turned away.
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