HAPPY PRIDE MONTH LOVELY PEOPLE!

Is it really Naruto without flashbacks, no, so here's a flashback to a plot I meant to write but never did, it's important to the rest of this story making sense!

I know this chapter is short but I wanted to publish something while I work on the final war scene. I plan to have the next, long chapter out within the week!

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Sasuke questioned, his brows still furrowed together in bafflement.

"Nope." Naruto and I responded much too cheerily. Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose letting out the deepest sigh. Naruto and I each threw an arm around the brooding teen knowing that was his acceptance to our plan.

"Hn, if we get trapped inside his mind with a rage monster, it's all your fault, freak." I took a step back aghast that Sasuke had the nerve to blame it on me. Naruto, my ever loyal best teammate shouted in indignation, stepping closer until he was nose to nose with Sasuke.

"Oi teme, if anything it's your fault for not being good enough with your Sharingan. I thought your Sharingan was the most powerful or something, it seems pretty lame to me 'ttebayo." That paired with the little smirk on Naruto's face instantly pissed Sasuke off. His eyes narrowed into a challenging glare. I could practically see the lightning shooting off between the two.

"Wanna say that again dobe?" Sasuke stood up straight to emphasize his height difference over Naruto. The whiskered blonde was undeterred, grinning as he taunted his rival. If you ever want to third wheel don't do it with a couple, you'll really feel the pain of third wheeling when you hang out with people who have such a strong bromance all the time. Just another perfect example of why not one person will hang out with Gai and Kakashi without a friend themselves. The bromance is just too strong.

"I said, if your Sharingan is so powerful, prove it." I snickered into my palm at the sass. Naruto knew exactly what he was doing, he was playing on Sasuke's pride in his eyes, in his heritage. It was manipulative and I was so proud.

"Yeah duckass, prove your worth." Sasuke snapped his head towards me, looking betrayed.

"I'll go without you." I narrowed my eyes at Sasuke, that short clipped statement was spoken with so much honesty.

"You wouldn't dare." He would, Sasuke was definitely petty enough to do it.

"Hn." The Uchiha licked his lips and let them curl into that natural, slightly arrogant, stupid Uchiha smirk. His eyes bled into the glowing red of the Sharingan and he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, never breaking eye contact with me. His smirk was now bordering on an actual smile, a smug one, but a smile nonetheless.

"Wait, wait, wait, ok I'm sorry. Please take me with you guys, I have to meet Kurama!" I was fully ready to get on my knees and beg. Now that Naruto and Kuruma didn't hate one another, Naruto spent time convincing his battery to meet us too. Sasuke and I were both wanting to meet the giant fox. Some of us more than others, but either way I was not about to miss out on my chance of getting to meet him. I have been waiting to meet him during a time he wouldn't try to bite my literal head off.

Although the fox agreed to meet us, he was still being grumpy and refused to take over Naruto in order to talk to us, so instead Sasuke using his Sharingan seemed the best option. He was supposed to bring us into Naruto's mindscape, and since I don't have the Sharingan, I'm at his mercy to bring me with him.

At my pleading, Sasuke's smirk was now bordering on an actual smile, a smug one, but a smile nonetheless. His Sharingan spun once more and everything went black and hazy, I felt weightless for a second before slamming into water, disoriented. Sasuke and Naruto were both snickering next to me, the two of them totally fine. "Yeah yeah, laugh it up." I wanted to sound exasperated but I couldn't stop my smile. It was hilarious, that and I'm so excited to meet Kurama very few things could bring my mood down.

Hot breath washed over me from behind, blowing all of my hair around me in a messy mop. "What do you brats want." Kurama's deep voice boomed out and I spun around on my heel so quick, letting out the most embarrassing squeak for him. "I should eat you for trespassing during my nap time Uchiha bastard." Kurama has his 9 tails waving menacingly behind him, his muzzle pulled back into a snarl. He was standing up and he was huge. After seeing Isobu's full size, it wasn't surprising, however it was still shock inducing to see a living being be so massive. Muramasa and Katsuyu were massive too but they held no candle to the size of a tailed beast.

"Be nice, these are my friends. Kurama meet Hinata and Teme. Hina-chan, Teme meet the grumpy old fox." Naruto gestured between us with a proud smile, he was so excited to finally be showing Kurama off to everyone and not have it be a massive threat to anyone's life.

Unlike Sasuke, who just gave the fox a nod and grunt of hello, I bowed deeply to the thing that quite literally kept us alive many times over. "Tch, at least this brat has some manners unlike you two." He snapped his jaws at Sasuke who just narrowed his glowing eyes at the fox creature.

"Hi Kurama, I've been waiting to meet you!" I bubbly greeted the fox and in return he said he didn't want to meet me and yet here I am. I would have fully believed him if it weren't for the now calm, dog like sway of his tails. He's just a big, deadly, adorable tsundere. He was just so cute and soft looking for a creature that could kill me if he so much as yawned too hard.

Realizing none of us were intimidated by his display he huffed and laid down, resting his head on his massive paws. Naruto took his place on top of the beast's head, finding a comfortable place to sit. I moved forward, taking a seat by his paw, right in front of one of his eyes. He blinked languidly as he looked me over more closely. "So, you're the brat who Isobu talked about."

"Even when they are sealed in the Gedo statue you are able to contact your siblings?!" I wasn't sure how their mind link worked, actually I had little idea about a lot of what the mechanics were for most things involving tailed beasts, sealing within the statue, mind-links and the like. I'm guessing it's different than the Yamanaka mind-link, but even that is a secret jutsu so all of this is news to me.

Kurama outright scoffed at me, rolling his eye in the most dramatic way possible. "Of course, you think something created by you petty humans would be able to seal up all of our power?" Pakkun and Kurama might be friends with how much they both insult me and everyone else for being stupid humans.

"Since you were made from the statue, yeah I kinda thought it would seal all of your power away. I guess not!" The more you know I guess. I shrugged slightly as the giant ball of fluff gave me a foxy, kinda scary, smile of amusement. "Wait, then would you tell Isobu and the others hello and I'm sorry to everyone who got sealed away because of me...please?" I don't think I'll ever stop feeling bad about sealing away as many tailed beasts as I did while on Akatsuki mission. Even if they never forgave me, I would fight tooth and nail to save the creatures I trapped away.

"No." The 9 tails bit back with no hesitation, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Hn." Sasuke stood up from his seat, making his presence known for the first time since he 'introduced' himself. He was glaring down Kurama, ready to make the fox appeal to his/my request but before he could do anything, Naruto jumped down in front of us rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Hina-chan, it's not your fault. Besides, everyone already knows, Kurama is just being a stupid fox 'ttebayo. Gaara, Shisui's girlfriend, Octo-pops, Isobu, me, and even the old fox told them the full truth after Kurama finally let me meet everyone. Nobody is mad, well they won't be once we save them all." Naruto gave me a blinding smile and I'm once again amazed at how I can be teammates with someone so bright and amazing. Both of them.

At his admission of the truth, Naruto was quite literally swatted across his mindscape by a fluffy, clawed paw. It wasn't anything too hard nor did it have any real affect on Naru, but it was absolutely hilarious to see him go flying for embarrassing such a tsundere. I let out a laugh, Sasuke let out a snort of amusement, and Kurama looked immensely pleased with himself.

For the rest of the time Sasuke kept us in the mindscape, we all bonded. Sasuke and Kurama found some camaraderie in their twisted pleasure messing with Naruto every second they can. I wasn't much better when Kurama and I had conversations going over every embarrassing moment in Naruto's life. He was there for all of them and though I was there for a lot of them, there were so may stories I'd never heard.

The blonde was so embarrassed by the end he practically kicked us out of his head. I even got a minute to say hello to the other tailed beasts, Shukaku was still as wild as ever and him and the fox fought like cute giant angry children. Isobu let me lay on his head and I got to snuggle the sweet turtle. He said he left me a gift but I wouldn't know what it is until he decides. The whole event was amusing to say the least.

In the end, I knew that matter what he said, I knew Kurama would help us out to the best of his ability because he wanted to save his siblings more than any of us could even know. It was worth every second and someday the fox is going to let me pet him.

A/N: So I haven't updated in a while but things in life for me and most of you have been pretty intense. I've been struggling a lot with everything happening in the world and as a black person, even if only half, my heart is broken and i didn't feel right to write or publish anything the last few weeks but now I hope my writing can bring you some peace and happiness in a time where there is none. If you feel like I do, please do whatever you can to support BLM even if it is just educating yourself and learning to support anyone who is a different ethnicity than yourself, this is beyond politics, it is humanity and people wanting to be treated like people, not trash. But yeah,

I'm sorry again and any of you suffering from this or from fear or sadness or corona or loneliness my inbox is always open. We are in this together and I wish you all the love and support in the world, my hopes and prayers is that when this is over everything will be different, but better different. Please stay safe if protesting and I love you all! To all of you LGBTQ+ members, happy pride and I fight for your rights as well, please know that!

remember if you ever need a impartial person to talk to or rant my inbox/ comment section is yours to fill up!