Fox in the Woods

The Shady Temple
Somewhere in an unknown land…

On the terrain of a destroyed land stood the bare bones of what could be considered a temple--a very large temple. There was a logo near the entrance of the temple, but due to the times that have passed, it would be virtually impossible to make out just what the symbol represented. Most of it appeared to be smeared and washed off because of the years that have passed.

Inside of the temple, in the deepest and darkest crevasse. The underground labyrinth was dark as black. The only thing that could be seen, were a set of eyes that seemingly floated in mid air. The pupils of the being were abnormal. Well, abnormal for a human that is. Just from the position of the eyes, once could conclude that whatever these pupils belonged to, wasn’t human.

There was a grunt which echoed throughout the underground base. Followed by a couple of blinks of the eyes. “Damn, old man.” The voice cursed. It was obvious that the voice and eyes were linked as following the statement, water began to build up and glide down the side of its face. “It’s been over one hundred years and this place is still a shit hole. What’s the point of even trying at this point! We should just destroy it as a whole!”

“Well, well, Kurama-sama.” The area in the dark base lit up, revealing an overgrown orange furred fox, bearing nine large tails. This was the Nine-Tailed Fox, Kurama, one of the sacred and feared Tailed Beast of the land. “It seems you still meet in the old man’s temple I see.”

“Shut your mouth, Matatabi! Ever since you got so close to your human, you’ve forgotten just what this place was! We used to meet here every week! All of us, now look at the half of you that have been caught.” Kurama shook its head in disappointment. “Seems like the nine of us sharing our chakra and meditating here to passively absorb the old man’s chakra to increase our strength was nothing more than an compelling waste.”

There was a soft laugh. “It was against my will, yes, but my jinchuriki is one of a kind heart. And while we are on that topic, you will not like what’s about to come out of my mouth next. Son-san was also captured by those of Iwa.”

“Had we all chose to remain here in the temple, we would all still be safe! This world is nothing like it once was, Matatabi! Before you know it, we will all be bound. I’d rather destroy this worthless globe before being sealed in another one of those jinchūriki. He gave me empty promises and the old man was ALMOST right. I’m not taking that chance once again. The rest of you can have fun at it. But I will not.”

What Kurama had been referring to was not clear at the moment, but with a couple of guesses and dot connections, one could make out just what it was he had been saying. The shinobi world change so much after the death of the beast’s former jinchūriki and after that, the nine tailed fox seemed to have reverted to its old hateful ways.

“Kurama-sama, the reason you see the world so bad, is because you are not actually trying to change it much yourself. My jinchūriki has helped me see that the world can change. That negative emotion you have packed inside will be your downfall. I’ll continue to stay in contact and check on you. It’s best you remain in the temple to ensure you won’t become an easy target.”