Naruto POV~

I already knew what so many people must've been planning.

'They're going to try and bring me back.' I said. 

"They probably noticed that you'd disappeared quickly. From what I know, they should at least know what happened and sent search parties after you by now."

'Yeah. At least I'm not in Fire country anymore.'

"Technically, you still are."

Kurama was right. It's been a week since I left that note and snuck out of Konoha. Despite that, I was still wandering around on the border of the Land of Fire.  I looked down from my perch hidden on a tree branch, down at the friendly village where I'd gone to eat and stuff. The village was right inside the border, so yes, technically I was still in Fire country.

'Damn. Should I just live as a wandering ninja?'

"For a while, yes. It'll be dangerous to settle down for several months at least. The Leaf will never stop searching for us, but the number of search parties will diminish after some time if they don't find any trace of you."

'Yeah.'

"So don't get caught, gaki."

'Ok, jeez.'

Kurama hummed. He seemed a lot more...I don't know, cheerful. I could understand why, but despite that, he still had an edge to his chakra. The way it spiked at the mention of Konoha was like the way his emotions surged when I was in danger. Or when someone like Sakura was nearby.

He was still wary, as was I. Just because we were out of there didn't mean we were completely off the hook yet. Kurama hated the Leaf, and rightfully so.

'I think I'll stay in this village for a little. They seem nice.'

"No more than a day or two. Don't underestimate the search parties. I don't have a doubt that they'll be looking for you here and anywhere else along the border soon."

'You're right.' I said, dropping down from the tree and entering the village. 'I won't be here long.'

'The ramen here is good.'

"That's all you've been talking about. Ramen."

'It's not as good as Ichiraku's, but then again, Ichiraku was the only peaceful place I could eat at one point. I wish I could have said a proper goodbye to Ayame and Teuchi, but I know they would understand. My last Ichiraku's... it was so good. Even then, I hinted that I would leave, and they seemed to have gotten the hint. True friends, they are...'

"Enough with the ramen."

I rolled my eyes. 'Tch. Everyone here is so friendly. I'm not used to it.'

"Thats...not a good thing. But it makes sense. You should stay on your toes."

'I know, Kurama. You've been saying that for hours. At least let me sleep, okay?'

Kurama grumbled. "I have a bad feeling. Don't stay for more than a night."

'If you say so.' I trusted Kurama's instincts, and if they were telling him to be careful, then I knew well enough to listen.

I finished up the rest of my ramen (any ramen is good ramen, even if it's not Ichiraku's) and debated with Kurama on where I should sleep.

'This might be the last time I can sleep in a bed.'

"Staying in a motel will be dangerous. If any Konoha shinobi ask around for you, they'll know you were here."

'I already ate at the restaurant and met almost literally everyone here! Staying in a motel won't change that. And I'll be long gone before any Konoha shinobi appear. It won't matter as long as they can't track my next move.'

Kurama sighed, "Fine, stay in a motel. That's not what I'm worried about."

'Then what?'

"It's about that last bit. If you keep appearing on the grid, it'll become easier to track you. After this village, you can't show your face anywhere else if you want the Leaf village off your back, understand?"

'That makes sense.' I nodded. 'It's doable, at least. Hopefully, none of them show up while I'm still here.'

"Hm." Kurama grunted, catching my attention.

"Naruto," he said, "what do you think about syncing our chakra?"

I thought for a moment. 'We've done that. You lend me some chakra and I can use it if my own isn't enough.'

"Something like that, but more powerful. A Tailed Beast transformation, of some sort."

'Like what you said Hachibi and his Jinchuriki do?'

"Exactly. Our Tailed Beast transformation isn't nearly as advanced as their's. We must work on that."

'Yeah. I guess we do.' I chuckled at a sudden thought. 'Everyone thinks you're evil and trying to take over my body or something. Just imagine what they'd think if we did a Bijuu transformation.'

Kurama rolled his eyes. "I'm taking a nap. You should sleep too. Get up early tomorrow."

'Ok, mother.'

"Shaddap..."

I snickered again and headed over to the motel. I was exhausted, and was ready to sleep as soon as I collapsed on the soft bed. I packed up everything in my bag before going to bed, in case I had to get up and run immediately.

I was uneasy though. Sleep was restless. I couldn't help but worry about what would happen if I was found.

"Hm..." 

Kurama's deep rumbling soothed my thoughts. He really was like the parent I never had. He kept me sane through everything. It pained me and angered me how everyone saw him as a monster.

He was still rumbling in the back of my mind. His chakra flowed easily alongside mine, unlike how conflicted our chakras were in the beginning. Back when he was angry and resentful of all humans. Back when the rumbling in my head was more like a threat than a comfort.

More than anything in my life, I'm glad I befriended the beast inside me.

I smiled to myself, drifting off to sleep.

"Naruto!"

Kurama's urgent voice had me out of bed in an instant, grabbing the bag beside it.

'What happened?'

"They're not here yet, but I sense Leaf shinobi on their way. Get out of there now!"

Shit. I leapt out of bed, slipping on my shoes and jacket and throwing my bag onto my shoulders, all exhaustion wiped away with adrenaline and fear.

'The fucking hell? How'd they find me so fast?'

"They probably don't know you're here yet. Get out of there before they do."

'How far are they?'

I felt a surge of Kurama's power, and suddenly I could sense the chakra of everyone in the village I was in and several miles beyond that. 

There. Six Konoha shinobi and something that felt like a dog's chakra, only about seven or eight miles away.

Fuck.

I fished out a little money from my pant pocket and slapped it down on the counter before throwing the window open and hopping out. With Kurama's power coursing throughout my body, I was out of that village before anyone even realized. With the new strength in my legs, I leapt through the trees in the opposite direction the Leaf ninjas were coming from.

"This forest is deep, it should be enough to hide you if you stay here a while."

'Thanks, Kurama.'

Kakashi POV~

"The least we can do is search all the villages at the border of Fire country." I said.

"This one is so far though. Do you really think he'll be here?" Kurenai asked.

We were on a search team together, consisting of me, Sakura, Kurenai and Kurenai's team. With Shino's bugs, Hinata's byakugan, and Kiba and Akamaru's nose, they made the best tracking team among the genin. 

I nodded. "Naruto had a very long head start. And this village is small and insignificant, a perfect place to hide after a long travel."

"We searched every village along the border except for the few on this side." Kurenai chewed her lip nervously, "What if he left the Land of Fire? It'll make finding him even harder."

I grit my teeth together, "That's a high possibility, unfortunately, but if he's still here, I want to find him before he's out of reach."

"I'll send my bugs ahead to search." Shino's low voice drifted over to us.

I nodded and a stream of insects came flying out of his sleeves and spreading among the forest. Hinata had her byakugan active the whole time, so there was no need to tell her twice. Out of all the others on her team, she was most determined to search for Naruto. Both Kiba and I had a good sense of smell, so we would catch his scent if he was nearby.

Not long later, I could see the small village in the distance. My anxiety was overflowing as we approached. What if he wasn't here either? Or at the next village? What if we couldn't get to him and he stayed lost forever?

But then something caught my attention. I familiar aura hung around this village. Kiba and Akamaru seemed to notice too.

Immediately, I ran up to the nearest person and asked if they'd seen the blond anywhere. His reply sent electricity shooting through my veins.

"You mean the friendly yellow-haired kid? Yeah! He was at the ramen place the other day. Do you know him?"

I could barely breath as I quickly thanked him and took off toward the closest smell of ramen. 

"Turns out he stayed in an inn here." I said, the excited adrenaline nearly leaking into my voice. I was turning desperate, I know. But we were so close.

"I can still smell his scent." Kiba said.

The six of us, seven including Akamaru, rushed to the motel and, to our delight, it turned out that he did stay at the inn.

"From what I know," the lady at the counter was saying, "he should still be there-"

"What room?" I interrupted. 

"Room 14."

I dashed up the stairs before she finished, followed first by Hinata and then the rest of the group.

I didn't bother to knock as I burst into the room and saw -

Nothing.

He was gone. Bed still unmade, a small bundle of money slapped carelessly on the table, and window thrown open, letting in a breeze.

I stood unmoving for a long time.

No.

No no no no no no...

He can't be gone.

How did he even know we were coming?

The others were standing, mouths agape, staring at the room that Naruto hurried out of. To get away. 

From us.

My legs could just barely hold me upright as I stared. 

No.

Not Naruto.

I grabbed the doorframe to keep steady, still on the verge of falling over.

Not another teammate.

Just then, the sound of buzzing filled the room. I don't know how long we stood there, but it was as if time itself had stopped. I glanced back with my one visible eye to see that a few of Shino's bugs returned.

His news shocked me.

"Turns out he just left recently." Shino said. "But my bugs have found him."

Everyone swiveled around to look at him.

"What?" Sakura breathed out.

"He's in the forest, about ten miles that way." Shino pointed toward the thick woods outside the village, "If we go now, we might catch up. My insects will continue tailing him until then."

I nearly choked in relief. The forest in that direction was technically still Fire country. Even if it strayed outside the border, there was pretty much no civilization for miles, so we could chase him freely without worry of trespassing. 

"Let's go." I said.

Naruto POV~

I panted heavily, my heart still racing from my mad dash out of that village. Kurama was still feeding me chakra, so I closed my eyes and let my senses rove around.

Nothing but forest for miles. That worked in my favor. I soured when I noticed that the Leaf ninja were at the inn I had stayed in. Upon, closer inspection, I identified them and wasn't happy with what I saw.

I shifted on the tree branch.

'Think this is a good place ?'

"Go a little deeper and I would say yes."

I nodded. 'Let me...catch my breath.'

"You might not have much time for that. If you don't want Konoha to find you."

'You're right.' I stood up. 'Let's get going.'

I traveled for about five minutes until I realized I was being followed. I hissed.

'They're persistent.'

"You left that motel so haphazardly, baka." Kurama groaned, "I don't doubt that team is good at tracking. You know them. At this rate, we'll end up in a jail cell in Konoha in no time."

"Don't say that." I growled aloud. "I won't go down easily. They'll see that they're going to have a very hard time getting a hold of me. I'm not the dumbass they think I am."

"That I don't doubt." Kurama snarled, "I'll give you more of my chakra. Run faster, dammit."

'Ok.'

Even with Kurama's chakra, I could sense that they were catching up quickly. Somehow, they had an exact idea as to where I was.

'How do they know where I am?'

"Hm. Kakashi could be using his ninja hounds. And I get the feeling bug-boy is using his insects to track you."

I groaned. 'That actually makes a lot of sense. Fuck.'

"Just keep running."

This chase lasted the entire rest of the day. With help from Kurama, I can outlast any average kage when it comes to chakra. How the hell were these pain-in-the-ass Leaf shinobi keeping such good track of me for so long?

'If this continues, I'll be running my whole life.' I grumbled.

"At least my chakra could easily outlast any of their's." Kurama said, "Sure, they're extremely determined if they're still chasing after you, but in the end, there is no way for them to catch you as long you have access to my power."

I smiled, despite the shitty situation. 'Thanks, Kurama.'

"You thank me too much, gaki..."

'Cuz you're amazing.'

"Shut up."

I frowned as I realized something. 'I get the feeling I was doomed the moment Shino found me with his bugs. As long as those insects are nearby, keeping track of me without me being able to detect them, they'll always be able to find where I am.'

Kurama growled, his frustration leaking into my consciousness and roiling in his chakra. "We'll have to do something about that."

I clenched my jaw and fists, irritation also seeping into me. I calmed the storm best I could, keeping my head straight. If I let my anger or desperation get the better of me, it would cloud my rational thinking. I couldn't let that happen, especially not now.

'I'm not stopping now. Not after making it this far.'

AN

I hope you like the story so far. 

I don't know if the Akatsuki should be involved or not. I'm still deciding on how they'll play in, but I might not add them at all. I kinda wanted the focus to be on Naruto and Kurama vs Konoha, so I'm not sure about the Akatsuki.

Also, I don't know exactly how to make the chakra-syncing thing with Kurama work, so bear with me :)

Thanks for reading bros.