Naruto Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Kurama in Narutoland ❯ Chapter Fourteen ( Chapter 14 )

Kurama in Narutoland

Chapter Fourteen:

Neji woke a little before sunrise, and blinked sleepily. Wait a minute, what was that wrapped around his legs? He sleepily looked behind him, and his eyes widened at what he saw. Kurama had, at some point during the night, wrapped his left arm around Neji's waist and pulled him closer. Their legs were entwined, and a bright red blush spread across Neji's features when he felt Kurama's breath on his ear. Gulping nervously, he tried to pull himself out of Kurama's hold, but was held tightly in place. Thinking quickly, he tried to figure out a way to get out of Kurama's arms… A smirk settled on Neji's features, and he suddenly flipped over so he was straddling Kurama.

Kurama woke with a start, and opened his eyes to see Neji straddling him. He blinked cutely, surprised at the sudden change of positions.

Leaning down, Neji kissed Kurama sweetly on the lips, and the redhead responded in kind. Slipping his knee in-between Kurama's legs, he applied a bit of pressure, and smirked when Kurama gasped. Neji took full advantage of Kurama's mouth, tasting the sweetness within. His head became heavy with lust, and he left Kurama's mouth to trail kisses down his neck.

Kurama gasped softly when Neji sucked on his pulse. The white-eyed boy had an incredibly talented mouth… Then he sensed Kakashi coming in for the morning wakeup call. Moving quickly, he separated Neji from him and pretended to already be up.

Kakashi came in with a bucket of water and found Kurama digging through his closet while Neji turned his attention to him. Kakashi blinked when Neji stared at him coolly with a calmly raised eyebrow. Looking down on his bucket of water, he felt rather foolish, and made a quick escape.

The day progressed quickly, and Kurama and Neji pretended they didn't know eachother like any other day. They were told that the graduation tests were coming up soon, and that they should prepare for them. Kurama found no need to prepare, as did many other students in the class. However, the few bookworms that were in the class and the people who cared enough actually studied.

The day of the tests came, and Kurama ignored what was going on the entire time. He didn't care how the other students did (although he watched when Neji did his tests). Soon he was up, and he recited the Ninja rules that they had to memorize. They had to do a kunai throwing test, and he performed it perfectly. Next, however, he had to create a bushin. Forming the proper hand seals, he easily performed a perfect copy of himself. Walking back to his desk, he ignored the rest of the exam and spaced out thinking about nothing.

"FAIL!!" blasted through the room, almost causing Kurama to fall over. He righted himself quickly and looked at who had failed… the class dunce? Poor guy…

At the end of the examination, all the hitai-ate were handed out, symbolizing that they were all adults. Kurama took a good look at his, and wondered where he was going to put it. He didn't want to put it over his forehead, really, so he fiddled with it. Some of the students in the class had done some crazy things with theirs, and Kurama simply decided to hang it around his neck and leave it there.

At the end they all left, and were to come back to class the next day to find out who they had been sorted out to go with in a genin team.

Kurama went home, and Kakashi insisted that they celebrate and go out for dinner. Kurama, of course, forced Kakashi to take them to a REAL restaurant instead of Ichiraku. With much complaint from the silver-haired jounin, they made their way to a nice little restaurant a few blocks away. Kurama ordered a pasta dish, and Kakashi ordered… you guessed it, ramen.

"Kakashi, we're at a restaurant, and you order ramen?" Kurama asked, an eyebrow coolly raised.

"Yep," Kakashi said, his eye curled up in a smile.

Rolling his eyes, Kurama waited for their dishes to arrive while sipping on a glass of lemonade. Their food arrived quickly, and they ate in comfortable silence. At the end, Kakashi paid the bill and then dragged Kurama to the Hokage Monument.

Kurama looked out over the village, a sense of peace resting upon him. Breathing in the fresh air, he relaxed with a small smile on his face. Kakashi sat down beside him, and silence reigned for a few moments. "Kakashi," Kurama began softly, "why bring me here?"

"This is the monument of the past Hokage. I come here often to relax and enjoy the peace. I thought that it would be a good place to watch the sun set, what do you think?"

Kurama smiled and sat down beside his perverted `guardian'. "It is very peaceful… I like it here…" he said softly.

They sat in comfortable silence for the rest of the evening, thinking of nothing and relaxing with the wind at their backs. The sun set spectacularly, with a large array of colours. Afterward, Kurama and Kakashi went home to sleep the night away.

Kurama woke the next morning feeling well rested. Stretching his muscles, he got ready for the day. Sensing around for Neji's aura, he was surprised to find that it was on its way here already. Weird. Making his way to the kitchen, he threw a bowl of cereal together. Neji arrived while he was eating it, knocking at the door softly. Kakashi answered it, and wasn't surprised to see who was there.

"Good morning," Neji said to Kurama, sitting down at the table with a plop.

Kurama smiled back at him, "Morning. Why are you here so early?"

"I wanted to get away. Who's team do you think you're going to be on?"

Shrugging nonchalantly, Kurama said, "I dunno. Does it really matter? No amount of hoping might get us on the same team."

Neji sighed softly, agreeing silently. "If we're destined to be on the same team, then we are."

Kurama frowned slightly and said, "Destiny has nothing to do with it. If we're on the same team, we're on the same team. If we're not, we're not. People make their own lives, and there are some things in life that are out of our control. However, are also many things that ARE in our control."

Frowning, Neji spoke bitterly, "My fate is out of my control."

"What do you mean?"

Neji sighed softly to himself, and muttered, "You wouldn't understand."

Kurama spoke calmly, "There are many things in this world that I understand, and few that I do not, Hyuuga Neji. Why don't you let ME decide whether or not I understand what you are going through? I have been through many things throughout the years of my life… Things you cannot comprehend."

Neji couldn't help but stare. "I do not wish to speak of it," he said coldly.

Kurama shrugged, without a care in the world. "When you do want to talk about it, know that I am always here. Perhaps I can even help you."

"You can't help me with this."

"How do you know? You barely know me, Neji, I am a mystery to you. You know nothing of my past, of my abilities, of my feelings… And you say that I cannot help you? You don't KNOW if I can't help you or not, only I do," Kurama said calmly.

Neji was silent, and refused to look Kurama in the eyes.

"Like I said before, know that I am always here to talk if you are willing to speak. Now, what do you say we get going to the academy? We're both eager to see who will be on whose team." Kurama smiled, as if nothing had happened, and put his empty bowl in the sink. Making his way to the door, he let Neji out before him, and they left.

Silence reigned as they walked down the street to the academy, both thinking about what had transpired.

`Could he possibly know how to cure my Bird's Cage curse?' Neji thought to himself. `No, there is no way that he could rid me of it…'

`What is it that he is so reluctant to speak of? It's probably some sort of `case' he might have… or a problem of his that he is angry about, or hates.' Kurama thought on the subject for the entire morning, wondering what may have happened to make Neji think that his destiny was already set in stone.

"Alright class, quiet down!" Iruka shouted out over the excited giggling and conversation. "I'm going to announce who's teams you are on now!"

The class became dead silent, and Iruka began listing off the teams.

"Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura…"

A boy with yellow hair hooped for joy while a girl with pink hair sat glumly in her seat.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

The pink haired girl yelled happily while the blond kid glared.

Kurama blinked. Such strange kids… And since when had the class dunce graduated? What in the world?

"Rock Lee, Hyuuga Neji…"

Kurama waited with unease for the next name, hoping he was with Neji…

"Minamino Kurama."

A bright smile lit Kurama's face, and he inwardly rejoiced at his good luck. Looking over at Neji on his left, he inconspicuously winked at the white-eyed boy. Ignoring the rest of the groups, Kurama wondered what kind of sensei they would get to do team missions with.

Kurama and Neji made their way to the assigned classroom that they would meet their sensei at. To their surprise, their sensei was already there, with the other boy on their team.

"Hello, I'm Rock Lee," the strange doppleganger of their sensei said, striking a rather unusual pose.

Kurama stared at the strangely round-eyed kid and his bowl-cut hair. "I am Minamino Kurama, it is a pleasure to meet you," he said, putting on his best smile.

"Hyuuga Neji."

"Aren't we conversational today," Kurama said, amusement in his voice.

Neji merely glared at him, causing Kurama's eyes to shine with mirth.

"I am Gai," their sensei said, a strange twinkle on his teeth as he gave the thumbs up sign. "Why don't you three tell us a bit about yourselves. Lee, why don't you start?"

`Lee-san and Gai-sensei seem to be on familiar terms,' Kurama thought absently.

"My name is Rock Lee! I'm a drop-out who specializes in taijutsu," Lee said enthusiastically.

Kurama blinked, and Neji kept his cold look.

"Um… Neji, why don't you go next?" Gai said.

"Hyuuga Neji. My last name says it all," Neji said coldly.

Kurama stared at Neji, then said absently, "Of course your last name says it all, excluding the fact that I know absolutely nothing about your clan."

The other three in the room stared at Kurama in shock. Then Gai spoke up, "Hey wait, aren't you that kid that was found out in the forest about half a year ago by Kakashi? With no memory about where you came from and everything?"

Kurama raised a cool eyebrow as the other two genin stared at him in curiosity. "I am that boy, yes. My name is Minamino Kurama. I live with Kakashi. I don't really specialize in anything. My abilities are a wide range. If anything, I'm not as strong in genjutsu as taijutsu and ninjutsu."

"I see! Well, why don't we all go to our assigned training area? I have a test for all of you!" Gai said cheerfully, leading them all away.

They arrived at the forested area quickly, and Gai explained the test.

"I have hidden a scroll, and the three of you must find it. You have an hour. You must successfully keep it from me for the full hour, by any means necessary. Begin." With that said, Gai disappeared with a poof.

The three genin turned to stare at eachother, wondering how to go about doing all of this. "Well, there is three of us, so why don't we work as a team?" Kurama suggested.

"I can get the scroll on my own," Neji said coolly.

"I bet you can, Neji. However, that is not the point of this exercise. The point is to keep the scroll away from Gai, so why don't we use all of us to make the job easier? Remember, he said `the three of you must find it', and as far as I'm concerned, that is a pretty obvious clue that the three of us should work together. Pick apart is words and find the true meaning to them. What do you say? Shall we work as a team?"

Lee nodded his head enthusiastically, and turned to look at Neji.

Neji frowned, and then looked Kurama in the eye. His coldness disappeared, and he said calmly, "Very well, Kurama, what should we do? You are the more experienced of us three."

Lee couldn't help but stare at Neji in shock at his voiced agreement that Kurama was the strongest.

"Well, first we need to locate him. Lee-kun, you specialize in taijutsu, right? You know no ninjutsu or genjutsu?" When Lee shook his head, Kurama continued, "Neji, both you and I can find Gai. That will not be a problem. The problem is finding the scroll. Your eyes, can they find the scroll?"

"Yes."

"Good. I will locate Gai, in case there is any genjutsu of a bushin or something similar. You find the scroll. Lee-kun, I ask that you be a distraction while I extract the scroll from wherever it is, okay? Neji, you will be the one to keep the scroll from Gai. We will pass the scroll between the three of us until the hour is up. Who has a watch?"

Lee showed Kurama his watch, indicating they had 50 minutes left.

"Okay, from the top. I locate Gai. Neji finds the scroll, and tells me where it is. Lee-kun, you will pretend to go after the scroll, only to pull Gai's attention away from that area. When I think the best chance has come, I'll go for the scroll, and pass it off to Neji in the forest. He will then hide for a while, before locating one of us who is farthest away from Gai, and make his way over there discreetly. Neji will then pass it off to them. If it is passed to Lee-kun, I will be the one to take it from you, okay? Now, any questions?"

Both Neji and Lee shook their heads in then negative, rather surprised at Kurama's strategic thinking.

"Good. And, Neji, if Lee-kun fails in keeping Gai far enough away from the scroll, then I want you to send out a bushin to help. Do NOT reveal your position to Gai, for it is crucial that I am able to pass it to you in the forest. Keep as far away from Gai as possible. I will find you, so you don't need to worry about that," Kurama said calculatingly.

"How are you able to find me?" Neji asked, rather intrigued.

"I can sense auras."

Both Neji and Lee blinked, and stared at Kurama.

Kurama ignored them, and spread out his senses. He found Gai almost a kilometer away, in a small clearing. "Neji, Gai is kilometer away in front of you, slightly to your right. Please use your eyes to take a good look at his surrounding area. Note trees and bushes, or efficient areas of cover."

Neji formed a few seals, saying, "Byakugan!" Veins popped out on the sides of his eyes, and he looked forward slightly to his right for a kilometer, and was surprised to find that Kurama had been right. He took a good long look at the area, and kneeled down on the ground. Using his finger, he sketched a drawing of the area, including distances and such. Soon, they had a small detailed little map of the area.

Kurama kneeled and examined the map. "Which way is Gai facing at the moment?" he asked softly. Neji merely answered by drawing an arrow beside the stick figure Gai. "Where is the scroll?"

Neji had to look again for the scroll, and was surprised to find that he couldn't see it. "I can't find it… not in the surrounding area or on his body. It's just… not there…"

Kurama frowned in thought, then asked, "Is it beneath the ground?"

Neji blinked, and then turned his attention to the ground. To his surprise, it was buried right beneath were Gai stood. "Right under Gai," he said softly.

Kurama nodded his head, and marked it on the map. "We have a very effective team," he said, smiling at Lee and Neji. "Lee can be the one who does most of the fighting, while Neji and I take care of the genjutsu, ninjutsu, and all the technical stuff. Okay, Neji, I want you to follow me into the forest, and I'll tell you where to stop and wait, okay? Lee, you move in a straight line towards Gai, since you can't sense him. As long as you keep going straight, then you will be fine. If you go off course…" Kurama frowned, thinking of something that he could do… "Actually, I'll have a bushin lead the way for you. It will disappear once you are exactly twenty feet away from Gai. That way, you can get into a good ambushing position. I will be taking a round about route, to come out on the right. Any questions?"

Neji seemed seriously in thought, before he asked, "What if Gai gets the scroll back? Then what do we do?"

"If Gai gets the scroll back, then try to get it back from him at first. If it doesn't work after a little while, then go into the forest where I can find you and we'll form another plan. Ready?"

The two nodded their heads, and Kurama formed seals with his hands. "Bushin no Jutsu," he muttered softly, and a copy of himself appeared. Motioning for Neji to follow him, the four of them ran off into the forest.

Lee followed the Kurama bushin, amazed at how easily he moved amongst the foliage. `Don't forget that this is only a bushin!' he told himself seriously. `The real Kurama-kun is much more impressive, I bet!'

Neji followed Kurama through the forest. After a short while, Kurama motioned for him to stay, and Neji jumped high up into the trees to hide. Kurama continued on, on his own. Once getting close to Gai, he swerved off to the right to come around him. Once in position, he waited for Lee to make his entrance. He waited for a few minutes, before Lee finally burst from the trees on the left side of the clearing, to jump at Gai. Kurama watched as the both of them used an incredibly alike form of taijutsu. Once they were a good enough distance away, Kurama used a small amount of chakra instead of youki to make the roots push the scroll above ground. He would have used youki, but if any of the jounin or ANBU here could sense the foreign energy, things would not be good for him.

Once the scroll was above ground, Kurama sleekly slid in while Gai was not looking, to snag the scroll and jump back into the trees. Smirking when Gai remained oblivious, Kurama made his way to his rondevous point with Neji. Searching for his aura, he found it high in a tree. Throwing the scroll upward, he smirked when Neji caught it. He called out softly, "Move a little ways away from here and find a better hiding spot! We can't have Gai track you down!" When Neji nodded his head in conformation, Kurama ran off into the woods again, in Gai's direction. He planned on taking the jounin on and keeping him away from Neji as long as possible.

Okay, now I know that Neji and them are actually a year older than Naruto and them, but in this fic, they're all the same age. Ciao!