Good morning everyone, caramel here, dragonemperror's beta reader and little sister. Due to some small problems, my brother is too busy readying for college to handle his literature work so he left it on me to conclude and publish this chapter. Sorry if I don't talk too much here, I'm not really that good for this kind of things but I don't want to left it hanging either.

Strange Behaviors

Somewhere in a disclosed forest clearing, two stallions were standing muzzle to muzzle at each other in an uncomfortably deafening silence.

On one side was the well-known Lieutenant of the Canterlot Royal Guard, Shining Armor, standing firm and proud in his complete set of gleaming silver Greek armor consisting of a plumed Trojan helmet, a chest plate whose Canterlot Royal Guard emblem glimmered under the slightest sunlight and a saddle armor with a sheathed sword strapped to the side.

On the other end was an absolutely anonymous stallion with his orange fur coat being the only visible feature. While his golden armor signified that he was a part of the Royal Guard as well, he was missing a few essential components, particularly the four golden shoes and the chest plate. A single-edged knife was strapped to his left foreleg by the means of a leather holster.

All around them, green leaves slowly fell to the ground, signifying the summer season but the two heed no attention to this and maintained their hardened gaze to each other.

Then, under an unannounced cue, Shining Armor speedily unsheathed his sword with the aid of his unicorn telekinesis powers and charged at him. He managed to close the distance between them in two seconds flat, an impressive record for a non-Earth pony. Once the orange stallion was within striking range, Shining began swinging his blade in a series of fast arcs, strikes that should've shredded anypony into ribbons within seconds.

Surprisingly, the other pony easily evaded all the blows on the very last minute. He'd sidestepped when he tried to thrust him in the chest, duck when he did a horizontal swing and back step when he brought his blade down in a downward strike. If that wasn't good enough, he was also nimble to the point where he'd pull out a series of acrobatic maneuvers whenever Shining tried to throw a feint at him. Even more surprising was that he managed to do it in a calm state. As if thinking that the stallion meant no harm to him.

Such thought does not go well with the Lieutenant one bit.

Gritting his teeth in mild frustration, the Lieutenant quickened the pace of his attacks in an attempt to land at least a single hit on the orange stallion but to no avail.

He hated to admit it but he was fast. Way faster than him. To make things worse, he was already beginning to feel drained out from trying to rush him earlier hand; a mistake he wished to avoid as much as possible upon fighting him.

His doubt was proven to be spot on when he started becoming sluggish and reckless with his attacks, a mistake that the other guard saw through if his twinkling cerulean blue eyes were of any indication.

Just when the blade was merely inches away from meeting his chest, the red-plumed guard finally did the inevitable and drew his knife out and parried it to the side with little force, something that obviously surprised Shining.

Despite the difference in weapon length not to mention how limited his movements were with the knife being held in his jaw against Shining's complete mobility with his sword, the anonymous guard managed to keep on par with Shining's swordsmanship by demonstrating his deadly efficiency and tactics with such puny weapon.

In some occasion, he would feint an attack that was aimed to some of his exposed body parts, prompting Shining to bring his sword there to block the attack, only for him to receive a hoof somewhere else. Not enough to knock him out but enough to make him stagger over and over again.

Outmatched and out of breath, the grey stallion tried to back step to regain his composure but the other guard was having none of that and kept advancing, continuously delivering strikes and feints that slowly but surely chipped his already-crumbling guard away and giving him not a single chance to recover.

Then just when he was about to deliver a horizontal swipe that was aimed at his vulnerable neck, Shining Armor suddenly dissipated in a purple flash. Apparently, as tired as he was, the Lieutenant was still careful to keep a lookout for any lethal blows.

Whether if the guard was surprised by this sudden turn of event or not, he didn't show it and spun around, with his knife still clenched in his jaw, just in time for the Lieutenant to appear mid air behind him once more with his magically-imbued sword raised high in a lethal gravity strike.

CLANG!

The weapon clash was so strong that it triggered a high-pitch ringing sound wave that spread outwards from their position. The two ponies evidently flinched at the contact but neither dared to break contact less they want to become vulnerable to the next attack.

Gritting his teeth in frustration at his failed surprise attack, Shining tried to make amends of his mistake by pushing his blade forward to overpower him but to no avail. While he may be superior to him in terms of magic capability, the Earth pony still retains his massive physical strength that keeps them in level to one another. It didn't help that he was already starting to feel the mental strain from using his Unicorn telekinesis. Suffice to say, the two ponies were in a stalemate.

In the midst of their weapons lock, the orange stallion did the unexpected once more when he suddenly headbutted him in the helmet. While this was proven to do nothing in terms of damage, the course of action served to break his concentration albeit for a few milliseconds, allowing him to easily push forward with relative ease.

Dazed, Shining took a few steps back and tried to resume attacking, only to realize that he no longer have his sword when said weapon spiraled across the sky and stabbed itself a safe distance away. Seeing this, the orange stallion quickly seized the opportunity and charged at him at an alarming speed, intent on finishing the battle once and for all.

Realizing his disadvantage, the lieutenant closed his eyes shut and flared his magic.

In a myriad of pink illumination, the Lieutenant unleashed a deadly barrage of magical blasts in all directions. Some embedded themselves on the unfortunate tree barks around them, leaving charred bullet holes in it wake while the rest of the magical projectiles created potholes on the ground.

Whereas none of the magical blasts actually hit its intended target as Shining Armor ruefully hoped for, it does serve as a good deterrent for him, prompting the stallion to gracefully somersault to safety and leaving him with enough room to regain his breathing.

Or does he?

Midway through his third somersault, the guard surprised him for the umpteenth time of that day when he suddenly flung his one and only knife at him.

Eyes went wide from bewilderment and fatigue, the panting Lieutenant had little to no stamina to move around and instead conjured a purple force field bubble around. He evidently flinched when the knife struck dead centre and the dome-shaped barrier shuddered and fizzled under the force but grinned afterwards when it showed no sign of popping out of existence anytime soon.

Said confidence dissipated however when he saw the barely-noticeable fracture on his bubble of protection, one that was created from the blade a while ago. It shortly contorted into a look of pure horror when the stallion suddenly materialized in front of him in a puff of white smoke, his raised forehoof seemed to be imbued in a faint blue fire-like magic aura. As if he hadn't retreated a few hundred feet away in the first place.

With a wicked grin under his helmet, the stallion's forehoof struck the weak point, shattered his trusty barrier into millions of pieces and struck Shining Armor right in the face, sending the unfortunate lieutenant ragdolling across the field before coming to a stop.

Shaking the dizzy spell off and ignoring the excruciating pain that was blazing on his cheek, Shining tried to stagger back to his hoof but immediately went rigid when a shadow loomed over his downed figure and he felt something cold pressed against his throat. Slowly and carefully, he sighed and averted his muzzle to face the looming figure of the orange stallion above him.

For a few good seconds, the two were enveloped in a long silence, the only means of sound were the chirping of the birds and the wind as it blew across the grass clearing.

Finally, it was Shining who broke the peace.

"Three years." He suddenly declared out loud. "I've been with the Royal Guards for three years…and I had my flank beaten by a pony who only joined a few months ago. If this is what you call a practice session in your ninja world then I definitely don't want to see you in actual combat." He scowled. "Naruto."

Grinning victoriously at the statement, said guard recalled his knife back and proceeded on taking his helmet off, revealing the orange stallion's spiky blonde mane, sparkling cerulean blue eyes and three pair of whisker marks; all that was hidden by the helmet before this. A few months back, the locks of his mane was only a few a few inches long. Now, his mane was twice as long, still not as long as Shining Armor's fabulous mane but still long nonetheless.

Sheathing his knife into place, he lent the Lieutenant a helping fore hoof. Shining graciously accepted his help and hoisted him back to his hoof. He winced and stumbled for a bit but he can manage, albeit barely.

"Oh come on, Shining. It wasn't that bad." Naruto stated. "Besides, I didn't even get to use my shadow clones yet."

"Exactly my point." The last time the two trained, Naruto had shown him a fraction of the devastation his shadow clones jutsu was capable of doing. Needless to say, he didn't want to experience it ever again unless of course he wanted to experience the undesirable sensation of having his neck dislocated.

Shivering at the foreboding thought alone, Shining Armor flared his magic and conjured himself a healing spell, earning him a quirked eyebrow from Naruto. "What?"

"What? Nothing for me? Such a considerate commanding officer you are." Naruto remarked in utter sarcasm.

He snorted. "Oh please, it's not like you have any bruise that needs patching up." He responded. "By the way, Princess Celestia said she wants to see you today."

"Really? What for?"

Shining simply shrugged. "No idea but she wants to see you as soon as possible." Cracking his neck, Shining let out a long and grateful sigh as the pain on his cheek subsided to a tolerable margin. Praise Equestria for granting him with unicorn powers.

Putting a hoof under his chin, Naruto quietly pondered about it before shrugging. "I guess I'll go now then. Not like I have anything else to do after this."

Approaching to one corner of the clearing where the two kept their respective belongings, Naruto began suiting himself up with the last remaining armors he previously left off. "Man, I hate these things." He pointed out as he put on the golden hoofshoes on. "Are you sure I can't go around without wearing these things?"

"Dude, I've already told you. You have to wear them whenever you're on duty. It's standard royal guard rules and regulations."

Naruto casted him a pointed look. "Oh really? What about you then? Most of the time I don't even see you with your helmet on."

"That's because my ranking is Lieutenant." He stated as a matter of factly, puffing his chest as if doing so would make him cooler. It doesn't. "Upon reaching promotion to Sergeant ranking or above, a Royal Guard has the special privilege of not wearing full armor or even none at all if they desire so. You're even allowed to wear a custom armor of your own if you want."

Naruto whistled at that. "Sergeant, huh? Not sure if I'll be able to get there any time soon."

"You'll be fine. I mean, you managed to become Corporal after only a few months, Sergeant should be a haywalk for you."

"Not with General Iron Hoof, I won't." He retorted with a snort.

Ever since their first unplanned encounter a few months back, General Iron Hoof had been keeping a punctual eye on the blonde. Whilst he trusted his records to be flaw-proof since it was done by Princess Celestia nonetheless, Naruto was willing to bet all his bit savings that the black stallion was suspicious about his origins. He had spent enough time with peo—ponies like him to distinguish them.

It didn't help that the blonde kept on doing things that he shouldn't do such as talking back to your drill sergeant (which coincidentally was the same grumpy black stallion as well), not doing half of the things he ordered you to do and correcting the things that he deemed to be wrong.

All in all, he was General Iron Hoof's number one favorite trainee.

The grey stallion could only laugh at him, as if the thought of him being lectured was an amusing sight. "Well, it's your fault for disrespecting him. Even new cadets learnt better than to get on his bad side and they're just cadets!"

The whiskered blonde shrugged. "What can I say? I'm prone to getting into troubles."

"I've got no complains on that one." Shining laughed before noticing how long they've been standing here. "You should go now, you don't wanna keep the princess wait too long."

"Yeah yeah, I know." He remarked as he adjusted the chest plate and making sure it was self-centered with his body. Dear Kami, I miss my old jumpsuit very much.

Once he was sure everything was in place, the blonde proceeded on lowering himself into a crouching position and swiftly hop onto one of the low hanging branches without barely a single sound; just like the shinobi he truly was.

"Oh, and don't forget about tomorrow!" Shining called out once he was at a particular distance away. "Cadence said it's compulsory for everypony to be present!"

Snorting in derision, Naruto nonchalantly waved a hoof back in affirmation before hopping onto a few more other branches and disappearing completely out of sight. Since when was it not compulsory?

…

Meanwhile, back in the castle throne room, a certain white Alicorn was reading a paper parchment while simultaneously scribbling her feather quill on another one. Celestia momentarily stopped her work when her assistant, Raven, trotted into view with a stack of neatly rolled paper parchments her forehoof.

"Princess Celestia, here are the reports from the weather ponies you've requested a while ago."

"Thank you Raven, you may put all of them there." Nodding, the Earth Pony assistant obliged and put the fresh stacks of paper parchment along its fellow brethren, further increasing the stack to the point where it became way too messy for comfort. "Have the books I requested been sent to Ponyville yet?"

The assistant shook her head. "Not yet." She responded. "From what I heard, the postal company is caught with up plenty of delivery work this time of the year. It's safe to assume that they won't be able to ask for their help anytime soon."

"I see. This is going to be a bit problematic."

"Shall I talk to them again?" Raven inquired with a tilt of her reading glasses upon seeing the troubled expression on Celestia's face. "I could try convincing them again and tell them that it is an urgent business."

"That won't be necessary." She answered. "The postal ponies have done quite enough for us already in the past few months; let's not disturb them any more than we should. In fact, I'll have somepony else in the castle to send them instead."

Raven tilted her head to the side in puzzlement at that but didn't dwell on it too much. "Very well then." Wrapping the current paper parchment she had on hoof into a neat roll, Raven lowered herself front half in a respective bowing manner to the Alicorn before her. "If there's nothing else, your majesty, I'll be taking my leave."

Nothing left to say, the assistant left the throne room, leaving Princess Celestia alone with her pile of work.

Letting out a tired sigh, she brought out another paper parchment amongst the pile and unrolled it open. As used to it as she was, the white Alicorn would be lying to herself if she said she like paperwork. She was better off going out and tend to the problems directly rather than being stuck in the throne room like this. But alas that wasn't the case. Not now at least.

Knock!

"Hm?"

Lowering her paper, the white Alicorn glanced around the throne room for the source of the knocking. At first, she thought it was another guard coming to report something but dismissed such thought when the two huge doors on the other side of the hall showed no sign of opening or whatsoever. Shrugging it off as her imagination, she went back to doing her usual work.

Knock! Knock!

Lowering the letter once more, Celestia scanned the throne room for the cause of the sound but there wasn't a single pony in sight except for herself. Frowning, she slowly went back to reading her reports but not before sparing the hall one last remaining inspection just in case…

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Now more curious than ever, the white Alicorn gently put all her works aside and got off the throne. Something was making that sound over and over again and she intend on finding out what.

Obviously it wasn't the main doors. Otherwise, she would've heard a hint of metal clanking as well. It wasn't the wind either since the Wonderbolts themselves had forecasted that today will be a sunny day with a few gentle breezes here and there. This one sounded like somepony was knocking their hooves against glass…could it be coming from one of the windows perhaps?

For the first few windows, she saw nothing worth mentioning. However, just when she thought that whatever that was making that sound disappeared, imagine her surprise upon seeing a certain blonde stallion casually waving a hoof from the other side of the window with a goofy grin plastered on his face.

"Naruto?" Approaching said window, Celestia magically opened it for him and asked, "What are you doing out there? You know you could've used the front entrance."

Rather than giving an answer straight, Naruto prompted on casually getting into the throne room first, as if he hadn't stick himself onto a window that was several dozens of feet above ground which may had led to his literal downfall if he wasn't careful enough. "Yeah, I know but I figured it's a lot easier to use the windows."

Celestia could only exasperatedly sigh at that though there was a faint smile on her muzzle. As much as she wanted to know how the blonde's mind works, she knew better than to question his bizarre sense of logic. In fact, she learnt better than to do so if his stay here in the castle was of any indication.

"So," He began. "Shining said you wanted to see me?"

"Why yes I did." She acknowledged with a nod. "But this is not the proper place to talk so let us go to the garden instead. I've requested some of the servants to prepare a lunch for us there. I'm sure you're famished from your training."

The blonde couldn't resist from looking back at the throne where a huge pile of paper parchment scrolls can be seen bundled up in one big mountain, still waiting to be examined. It didn't help that one of the scrolls on top decided to drop onto the ground and unroll itself, revealing its ten foot long worth of ink-written content for the two to see. Frowning, he gave the mare a questioning glance. "Are you sure? I don't mind and all but you look quite busy."

Celestia simply smiled at him and put the scroll back in its rightful place. "It'll be fine. I've done this all the time actually."

If he was reassured by the statement, he didn't show it. "And you're not stressed? Not even in the slightest?"

"Not at all."

Naruto maintained his lingering gaze as if still not believing her at all but dropped the subject in the end. "If that's the case then lead the way." If there was one thing he'll never pass up when given, it's the opportunity to have free food! Especially if it's with Princess Celestia of all ponies!

As they stepped out of the throne room, the two ponies had to restrain their smiles when the two guards who stood outside gave Naruto bewildered looks, no doubt wondering how he got in there in the first place. Luckily for them, they didn't question it and the two managed to trot away without any further complications.

"So how was your practice earlier today?" Celestia asked as soon as they were out of the two guard's earshot. "I presume everything going well on your end?"

He shrugged. "It's going pretty well."

"Judging from the passive look on your face, I assume you've won again?"

He inwardly winced at that before sheepishly smiling at her. "Was it that obvious?"

"Not quite but you'd be surprised of the small things you'll notice if you're as half as old as I am." She said with a knowing smile.

"Well to be fair, I didn't use my Shadow Clones this time."

"Ah yes, Shining Armor have told me about that. Seems to me, you gave him quite a hard time on that one" Celestia commented as she had a brief flashback of a crying grey stallion being consoled by an amused Cadence on that particular day. At least now she knew what made into such a miserable state. "Which brings me to my next question, how are you doing with your Shadow Clones this time? Any decent progress?"

Based on what he had spoken, the Shadow Clone ability was one of the skills he had kept on talking whenever Ninjutsu was brought into the topic of discussion.

"Uh, I managed to create up to twenty clones." He reported. "That's good enough for now, I guess."

Sensing his sadness, Celestia rested a reassuring hoof on his shoulder and gave him her signature motherly smile. "Don't be so disheartened, Naruto. While I do not fully understand how you managed to create copies of yourself like that or how the shinobis of your world work overall, I'm sure you'll be able to regain full control of all your skills in no time. You just need to work hard and be patient with yourself." She consoled with smile. "And if you are still in trouble you can always ask any of us for help. I am sure we can work something out."

Naruto smiled. He wasn't particularly perturbed by the dilemma but was grateful for her word nonetheless. "You're right, thanks Princess Celestia." He said appreciatively.

…

Just as she promised, a rather decent-sized banquet has been prepared just for the two of them in the dining hall. Numerous delicacies was spread across the surface ranging from the apple pie and ciders from the well known Apple Family to the shortcakes made by no other than Gustave himself.

As he got closer to the table, the blonde practically froze in his steps when his sensitive nose caught the scent of something familiar wafting through the air, one that easily overwhelmed the rest of the meal available as if they were nothing. "Are those honey daisy sandwiches?"

The white Alicorn simply smiled at his question. "Why yes, they are. And they're made specifically for you actually." Celestia responded. "I figured you'd need something more refreshing instead of the usual recruit meal."

Naruto could only lick his lips at that. "I've got no complains on that one." While the meals provided by the military were meant to be highly nutritious for ponies. They weren't exactly…edible for him. Apples and vegetables were okay on his books. Hays and things like that, not so much. Kami, he lost the number of times he spent in the toilet after eating some of those things during lunch time. It almost reminded him of the bug meals during his Sage training with the toad summons in mount Myoboku.

Abandoning whatever restraints he had all this time, the blonde practically dived onto his seat, much to Kibitz's hidden disapproval in one of the corners of the dining hall. Though there were a few other delectables he took a liking to being served on the table, his predatory gaze remained fixed on the plate of daisy sandwiches as if it was the last batch of daisy sandwiches he'll ever have.

Unable to hold himself any longer, he turned and gave her a pleading look, pure impatience evident in his puppy eyed look.

Celestia could only roll her eyes from that. "Go on. Those daisy sandwiches aren't going to finish by themselves."

Naruto grinned. That was all he needed to hear.

Faster than any Wonderbolts she recognized, Naruto snatched all the sandwiches and gulped them one after another like a mean eating machine, not bothering to hide his blackhole-like appetite for Celestia and all the servant ponies nearby to see. Whilst majority sported an uncomfortable look at such a sight, a few was looking at Naruto with a newly-profound respect and awe.

Contrast to the hyperactive blonde's rampage, Celestia simply enjoyed her lunch at a comfortable pace. She was just about to sip on her tea when a random thought came across her mind. "Speaking of which, what is the condition of the Deciphering Stone, is it functioning properly?"

Swallowing his fifth sandwich down his gullet, the blonde proceeded on taking out a glowing jade stone that wasn't bigger than his hoof, coiled around his neck by the means of a thin yet durable leather cord. Although it didn't looked much at first glance, the stone retained a special power that allowed him to understand all the types of language writings in this world without the need to study. A thoughtful gift from Princess Celestia herself, if he must say so himself.

"So far there's no problem just yet. I managed to read some of the books Twilight gave me." He stated before frowning. "Though there are still some books I don't really get."

"You're probably referring to the different dialects available all over Equestria." Celestia elaborated. "It might be a bit difficult for you to register them all at once but I'm sure you'll get use to them over time. You just need to take it nice and slow."

"Right. There are also the ones that have numbers and signs in them." He pointed out. "I think it was a book about zebras or something."

"Algebra by all means is not a language, Naruto."

"Considering how I'm not the brightest in my class, I think I have every right to say that it is."

"Speaking about mathematics," She asked, effectively earning the blonde's attention at once. "Twilight has been awfully giddy when I taught her during today's class to the point where she had a hard time concentrating on her studies. While I do not mind this in the slightest, you wouldn't happen to know why she was acting as such, do you?"

Grabbing the napkin which he conveniently forgot to put on before eating, Naruto took his time wiping the honey smudge off his lips before answering, "It's probably because of tomorrow's meeting."

"Oh really, that sounds rather fun. So what will you four be doing then?"

"Well first we'll be going on a picnic at the castle grounds. Then we'll be going off to Cadence's favorite spa to get a…a hoof—hoofcare—"

"Hoofcure?" She corrected.

"Hoofcure." He repeated as if it was an alien word to him. Then again, knowing Naruto, it probably does. "After that we'll be heading to the city outside to go shopping."

The white Alicorn look mildly surprised by that. "Shopping? Shopping for what exactly?"

"No clue, I totally forgot." Scratching the side of his head, the blonde tried to remember to the point where it looked like he was having a headache. "Oh wait, now I remember! We're going to look for costumes for Nightmare Night next week."

Celestia's motherly smile faltered at that. "Nightmare Night?"

He nodded, oblivious to her brief change in demeanor. "Yeah, seeing as how the three will be celebrating Nightmare Night at Shining and Twilight's house, they decided to bring me along because they say its fun and all." Shrugging his shoulders, he indifferently continued. "Personally, I don't see what's so fun about it when all you're doing is just dressing up in weird costumes and visiting random ponies' doorstep just to get free candy. Right, Princess Celestia?"

Being the wise and considerate ruler she was, Naruto half-expected Princess Celestia to come up with a wise remark on how he should try it for himself before coming up with such accusations just like what she always do before this. Much to his surprise however, he heard none of such. For once, the Princess was eerily silent.

Opening his eyes, Naruto looked at her just in time to see her having a faraway look at…something.

Seeing that she won't be answering his previous question anytime soon, the blonde went off with another one.

"Would you like to join us, Princess Celestia?"

Blinking her magenta eyes several times, Celestia stared at him as if she actually saw him for the first time. "I beg your pardon?"

"Would you like to join us tomorrow?"

"I-I'm afraid I can't, Naruto…"

"That's Because…um,"

"Princess Celestia, if I may," Kiblitz interjected as he popped beside the princess out of nowhere, a ticking pocket watch floating above him. "It's nearly time for your meeting with the Apple family from Ponyville."

"Ah yes, thank you for reminding me, Kiblitz. I nearly forgot about that." She replied as turned to face the blonde. "I am terribly sorry Naruto but I'm afraid I'll have to cut our lunch short."

"Oh, it's alright. I understand. I'm actually about to go to my shift anyway." He said as he stood up from his seat. "Thanks for the food, Princess Celestia."

"My pleasure, Naruto."

…

Nightfall has once again fallen upon Canterlot in the next few hours time. Yet the blonde stallion found himself still concerning over the Alicorn princess as he does pushups all the while simultaneously keeping himself intact upside down on the ceiling via Chakra.

Naruto knew he shouldn't dwell on it too much but he couldn't help it. Her reaction earlier this afternoon was far too out of place to be easily ignored. Obviously, he had struck a sore subject on Princess Celestia's side but what exactly? All he did was asking about some old mythical legend that was probably as old as she was. Nothing wrong with that, right? Right?

Alright, I'll bite. He heard the fox inside him finally spoke. What's on your mind now, Naruto?

Naruto simply sighed. It's Princess Celestia.

Kurama quirked an eyebrow. What about her?

I can't explain it in details but she's acting kinda weird during today's lunch.

Isn't that what you always say about her or any other ponies you met for the first time for that matter?

I know that but what happened today seems to be more than just that.

Kurama grunted in consideration. So what do you expect? She's a princess to an entire kingdom. She probably had a lot of things to worry about today. You have seen it yourself just how much work has been piled up back on her throne.

The blonde sighed at his partner's valid point. You're right. I'm probably just over thinking things.

There was a brief silence before Kurama spoke. …Of course you do. Now hurry up and get to sleep already. If I remember correctly, you have a meeting with that pink vixen friend of yours tomorrow morning.

Ignoring his cruddy remark about Cadence, Naruto spoke, Yeah, yeah, I know. Cutting off the Chakra flow to his hooves, the blonde calmly plopped himself back to the ground from the ceiling he had purposely stuck himself on upside a while ago and proceeded on crawling onto his comfy bed to call it for the night. Goodnight, Kurama.

Said Bijuu only grumbled in return before going dead silent, no doubt going back to sleep inside his mindscape like he always did. Naruto smiled. Even after all those years, he still wasn't up to becoming mushy in their relationship. Luckily for him, he didn't mind this.

…

…

…

…

…

Unbeknowst to the blonde, Kurama didn't actually go to sleep like he thought he was going to be inside his mindscape. Instead, the fox was too busy chuckling to himself as he lazily rested his head on his crossed forearms. As if he had just heard the most funniest thing in the world.

"Naruto, you never cease to amaze me." He thought to himself as he glanced up to the ceiling, his lips shaped into a wide grin. "Even until now, you're still as dense as ever."

At some point however, the laughter died down and the bijuu was left with a relative silence for him to ponder about it properly.

"Then again, that's probably a good thing." Closing his eyes, he recalled back his tenant's past. "Otherwise, staying with you won't be half as interesting as it used to be."

Another moment of silence lingered by before he continued on.

"Though I'll admit, I am curious on what'll he do about it once he does." He lamented as he swished his nine tails left and right.

"Will you completely embrace the ways of this new world…?"

Kurama snapped his eyes open, his amused demeanor now switched into a fore looming serious one.

"…or will you keep on letting your past haunt you?"