Published at 18th of September 2024 12:41 pm

Chapter 129 Kurama’s Misadventures, Fox in a Ninja’s Body: 2 Ramen Troubles

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Kurama sat across from Hinata at Ichiraku’s, staring blankly at the steaming bowl of ramen in front of him. The scent of broth and noodles wafted up to his nose, and he tried not to gag. Naruto may have loved this stuff, but to Kurama, it smelled like a strange mix of salt and… sadness.

Hinata, on the other hand, looked like she was on the verge of fainting again. Her cheeks were flushed, her fingers twisting together nervously as she tried to sneak glances at “Naruto.” She had barely touched her own bowl, too flustered to eat.

Kurama internally groaned. This was so awkward.

“Uh, so,” he began, trying to sound casual, “ramen’s... good, huh?” He punctuated his statement by jabbing the noodles with his chopsticks, stirring them around as though he was interested in eating.

Hinata looked like her heart was about to explode. “Y-Yes, Naruto-kun,” she whispered. “It’s... it’s the best.”

Kurama nodded, grumbling under his breath. What is this human obsession with food?

He tried to take a bite, but the moment the noodles touched his tongue, his face contorted in disgust. “Bleh!” He dropped the chopsticks, and a few strands of ramen fell back into the bowl with a loud splat.

Hinata blinked, staring at him in surprise. “N-Naruto-kun? D-Do you not like the ramen today?”

Kurama panicked for a moment. He had forgotten that Naruto adored this place. He quickly tried to cover up his blunder. “Uh, no! It’s great! I just, um, burned my tongue! Yeah, that’s it. Too hot!”

Hinata’s eyes widened with concern. “Oh no, I’m s-so sorry! Maybe I should ask for a cooler broth...?”

“No!” Kurama practically yelled, causing several patrons at the ramen stand to turn and look at him. He cleared his throat, lowering his voice. “I mean, no, it’s fine. I’ll just... wait a minute.”

Hinata nodded, still looking a little concerned, but she didn’t press the issue.

As the awkward silence stretched between them, Kurama began to think that maybe, just maybe, pretending to be Naruto wasn’t going to be as easy as he had thought. He couldn’t stand all this small talk and eating, not to mention trying to keep up with Naruto’s friendships.

But Hinata kept glancing up at him shyly, and Kurama sighed internally. He had to at least try.

“So, uh, Hinata,” he said, desperately trying to think of something Naruto would say, “been training hard lately?”

Hinata blinked in surprise and smiled a little, clearly happy that he had shown interest. “Y-Yes, Naruto-kun. I’ve been working on improving my Byakugan techniques. I-I still have a long way to go, though.”

Kurama nodded absently, half listening while keeping an eye out for an escape route. “Uh-huh. Sounds... good.”

Hinata smiled more brightly now, the conversation seeming to relax her a bit. “W-Would you like to spar with me sometime? I-I could show you what I’ve been working on...”

Kurama froze. Sparring? With Hinata? He barely had a handle on walking around in Naruto’s body—how was he supposed to fight without blowing his cover?

“Uh... maybe later!” he blurted out. “I’ve been, um, really busy. With training. You know, Hokage stuff.”

Hinata’s smile faltered slightly. “O-Of course. I understand, Naruto-kun.”

Kurama felt a pang of guilt, which was an unusual feeling for him. He wasn’t used to dealing with human emotions like this, and it was beginning to wear on him. He quickly changed the subject, hoping to steer the conversation away from anything too complicated.

“So, uh, Hinata... How’s your, uh, dog? You know, that little one... with Kiba?”

Hinata blinked, her eyes widening in confusion. “M-My dog? Naruto-kun, I don’t have a dog. That’s Kiba.”

Kurama mentally slapped himself. “Right, right. I knew that. Just, um, testing you! Haha, good one, Hinata. You passed.”

She gave him a puzzled look but smiled anyway, clearly too polite to point out how strange he was acting.

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After what felt like an eternity, Hinata finally finished her meal and offered Kurama a shy goodbye before heading home. Kurama sighed in relief as soon as she was out of sight. That had been way too close. If he had to pretend to be Naruto around her again, he might lose it.

As he made his way through the village, Kurama tried to come up with a plan. If he could just avoid Naruto’s friends for the next few days, he could keep up this charade until the real Naruto came back. No one needed to know that the Nine-Tails was in control.

But just as he thought he might get some peace, he spotted Shikamaru walking toward him with his usual lazy demeanor. Kurama cursed under his breath. This kid was too sharp. There was no way he’d fall for Kurama’s “I’m totally Naruto” routine.

Shikamaru approached, his hands in his pockets, his eyes scanning Kurama curiously. “Naruto, what are you doing standing around looking like you’ve got something on your mind?”

Kurama smirked, trying to look as casual as possible. “Oh, you know. Just... thinking about stuff. Hokage stuff.”

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. “Hokage stuff, huh? You sure about that?”

Kurama frowned. “Of course I am. What, you don’t think I can think about serious things?”

Shikamaru stared at him for a moment longer, then sighed. “Troublesome... You’re acting weirder than usual. What’s going on?”

Kurama panicked for a second but quickly composed himself. “Uh, nothing’s going on. Just had a rough day. Ramen didn’t agree with me.”

Shikamaru gave him a long, hard look, clearly not buying it, but eventually shrugged. “Whatever. Just don’t do anything stupid.”

Kurama watched as Shikamaru walked away, a bead of sweat forming on his brow. That had been way too close. This was getting harder by the minute.

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As night fell, Kurama returned to Naruto’s apartment, collapsing onto the bed with a groan. “This is exhausting,” he muttered, rubbing his temples. “How does that kid do this every day?”

He closed his eyes, hoping for some rest before he had to face Naruto’s friends again. Tomorrow was sure to bring more challenges, and Kurama was starting to realize that pretending to be a human was way more difficult than he had anticipated.

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***

Kurama’s misadventures continued as he struggled to navigate the complexities of human interaction. With every encounter, he found himself getting deeper into trouble, and the real Naruto was nowhere in sight.

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