Starting from the End

23. Inside Chaos...

"Did I become too unreasonable to approach?" Naruto asked with a faraway look.

"What?" The woman froze for a moment and continued.

When he was sure of not getting any answer, Naruto said with a self-deprecating smile, "I lost everything again, including myself."

This time the woman stopped in her steps. Naruto brushed past her. She said with utter disinterest, "I'm sorry."

"No... You are not, you never were."

"Maybe you are right."

"Maybe... maybe is not a word that applied to you, Alpha."

"I did what needed to be done."

"And, I cannot even trust my own shadow from now on.", Naruto shouted in anger.

"I'm sorry", this time, Naruto could hear the remorse in Alpha's voice.

"Was there any truth behind these elaborated stories?" Naruto asked with a defeated tone while raising his hand to the direction from where they emerged.

"You just saw those with your eyes, and you are still doubting me. I know, the method to draw your attention was beyond disgusting, but I had to inform you. You are still angry over things that happened with your team. I couldn't get a hold of you. The situation is deteriorating with each passing day. You need to sort your issues so that both of you can merge properly." Alpha stated with a very agitated voice.

Naruto felt the weight settle heavily on his shoulders. He had an inkling that something was wrong. Because Kurama didn't need this much time to recover. Moreover, if required, he would at least try to maintain some sort of communication after the last confrontation. But Kurama's physique became more sickly instead of attaining some health back. He still remembered the feeling of the dull and rough coat of fur, the shrunken physique of Kurama in his last visit. He had felt the labored breathing.

There must be a way to avoid the separation. I want him here with me. Whom should I ask for advice?  Jiji is out of the question. I don't have any faith in Konoha's Fuin Master. Hell, I don't even know their names. Pervy -sensei... no, no... he will probably tighten the seal. Maybe Danzo will have some restricted scrolls on this, but that treacherous man will never help anyone other than himself. And I just can't walk through that b*****d's base. If only I've known Sai at this point in my life. Again he is already heavily brainwashed. It was equally impossible to make him help me. I'm stuck.

A sudden rage flared through his whole body. He just wanted to hit,  to beat his rage out of his body. In a flash of a moment, a tree stump appeared in front of him. He started to hit the stump, thinking it will drain some of his anger. He waited for the searing pain in his hands, waited for the torn skin and blood. He waited but nothing happened. He didn't felt the pain either the relief. The anger still simmered inside him. He remembered that no type of physical attack could be inflicted on him in the mindscape.

Instead, he started counting and breathing exercises. Those would not diminish any of his anger but will help him retain some clarity to work with.

"Let's go to the chamber. I remembered the key sequence. I will be able to unlock it without triggering the master key sensor.", Naruto said with a calm voice.

Naruto took the lead and Alpha started to follow him. They both kept their thoughts to them.

"What is about the outside world. I... We were falling. What happened next?"

"The clones are still working. One of them dispelled. Both of you are taken to the hospital. Dad is fine, he pushed too much chakra to gather the water bed. He was already exhausted, but the last one affected his chakra pool a little. The doctor said he will be up within two days. But your case is complicated. Your body is rejecting any type of chakra-infused treatment. And your chakra regeneration is very low compared to the overall activities." Alpha indicated the traveled path behind them. "You are kept in the fūin layered room. Your team and the Third are outside."