Naruto's Inner World – The First Meeting
Naruto's inner world was a glowing red sea, cradled by distant pulses of chakra. Kurama sat like a living mountain atop a floating stone outcrop, one tail lazily swaying, one eye half-closed—serene, almost human.
But this time… he wasn't alone with Naruto.
Another presence had slipped into the dream. Not abruptly. Not like an intrusion. Like a warm breeze following an extended hand.
Kurama opened an eye. Slowly. Deeply.
Standing before him: Natasha Romanoff.
She didn't flinch. Didn't tense. But she watched—with the precision of a survivor. Every muscle in Kurama's frame, every flick of his tails, every ripple in the thick, memory-drenched air.
"So… you're him."
Kurama sniffed.
"I'm him."
Naruto didn't intervene. He stood at a distance, back resting against a rock, arms crossed. Observing, but ready to step in if either one collapsed under the weight of the moment.
Natasha took a step forward.
"You're… calmer than I imagined."
"What were you expecting? A rabid beast? A nightmare made flesh?"
"No."
She paused.
"I expected a jealous guardian."
A silence followed.
Kurama rumbled softly. Not a warning. Almost… a chuckle.
"You're sharper than most."
She stepped closer. The landscape rippled with each step she took, as if Naruto's inner world were adjusting to her presence—not resisting her, but cautiously welcoming.
"I know you're bound to him. That you've watched him grow. Fall. Rise again. That you knew him before I even understood what love was."
Kurama bowed his head slightly.
"And yet here you are."
"Because he opened a door no one ever had. Not even me."
A gentle tension passed between them.
Then Kurama spoke. Slowly. Gravely.
"I hated him. I despised him. Then I watched him fall for others—again and again—until I stopped seeing him as a human… and began to see him as a brother."
He turned his head toward Naruto, still silent.
"He freed me. Not by breaking my chains. But by accepting me. As I was."
Natasha exhaled.
"Then we're alike."
Kurama smiled.
"Yes. Too much. That's what unsettles me."
"You're afraid I'm a mirror?"
"Worse. That you're an echo. A reflection of his past. Or of what he couldn't save."
She stepped forward again.
"I'm not a ghost. I'm alive. And I love him. Not because he sees me—but because he accepts me. Like you."
Kurama tilted his head.
"And if he dies?"
She lowered her gaze. Then raised it again, clear and unwavering.
"Then I'll die inside. But I'll carry him forward."
A long silence.
Naruto closed his eyes, moved. Quiet.
Kurama then stepped forward. Slowly. Like a mountain bending time.
He touched his nose gently to Natasha's forehead.
And she didn't flinch.
"Welcome."
A soft red light enveloped all three of them. Fusion. Harmony. The inner world pulsed… then stilled.
"You are not just bound to him," Kurama said.
"You are now bound to us. To all that remains of our world."
And in that silent promise, something etched itself into Natasha's heart: an ancient seal. Not one of Naruto's creations. A seal of ancestral acceptance.
A memory given.
An unspoken pact.
At last, Naruto stepped forward. He took both of Natasha's hands in his.
"You've met."
Kurama sat again. Majestic. At peace.
"She's ready."
Naruto nodded.
"Then the real fight begins."