The Legend of the Kyubi

Who could it be? That was the question that haunted the mind of a beautiful red-haired girl as she gazed at the moon. Her name was Kushina, the daughter of one of Japan's most famous merchants, all thanks to his kindness and good ethics.     

Every night, she had the same dream, she and a man with hair as white as snow, holding hands with a little boy with red hair and marks on his cheeks that resembled cat whiskers.     

Every time she remembered those images, a deep warmth invaded her heart as tears ran down her cheeks.     

She tried to talk about it with her mother, but she didn't know what to say to her.     

Kushina tried to better express her dream in detail, only to notice how her mother had a smile on her face when she commented on the man in her dreams.     

"You're in love, daughter."     

Kushina didn't know how to respond to these words because she found it illogical that she had fallen in love with an unknown man in her dreams, after all, he was a figment of her imagination.     

Or so she thought until she saw him during one of the parties her family had organized.     

Kushina couldn't contain her surprise when she saw the same man she had seen in her dreams during her birthday party.     

He was alone on the balcony of her home, looking up at the stars gloomily.     

Kushina could feel her heart pounding, as she unconsciously walked in his direction, only to hear his soft voice when she was close.     

"Don't you think the moon is beautiful?" - The man asked as he continued to watch the sky.     

"It is" - Kushina replied as she looked at the handsome white-haired man.     

He slowly turned around and watched the girl with a smile, one she felt she had seen before.     

"You" - Kushina murmured as she felt her heart pounding - "Who are you?"     

"Me?" - asked the white-haired man as he closed his eyes for a few seconds - "You'll know soon enough."     

The man shook his head before retreating, but to his surprise, he felt the red-haired young woman grab him by the sleeve of his suit - "Huh?"     

"Don't even think about leaving me, Kuro-chan!" - Kushina exclaimed as she earned the gaze of everyone present - "Huh?"     

Kushina quickly let go of the man as her cheeks tinged a pretty pink color, only to feel her heart pounding a mile a minute.     

The white-haired man was silent for a few seconds before looking the woman in the eyes.     

"How come I know your name?" - Kushina murmured as she gathered the courage to look the handsome young man in the eyes - "Why is it that I've seen you in my dreams for the past few weeks?"     

Kurama was silent before sighing - "I'm sorry, I can't tell you."     

Kushina bit her lip carefully and watched the man's every action - "Why?"     

"Because it's not the time yet" - the man replied as he shook his head. He slowly walked towards the exit of the residence as Kushina followed him with her eyes.     

"Kuro-chan" - Kushina muttered as she apologized to all the guests and ran to her room.     

Her parents watched this with concern as the husband signaled his wife to follow their daughter.     

"Daughter" - said the wife as she knocked on the door of her princess's room.     

Kushina quickly opened the door and hugged her mother with tears in her eyes.     

"Daughter" - murmured the woman as she hugged her baby.     

"I saw him" - Kushina said as she increased the strength of her hug - "He was the person of my dreams."     

"!" - Kushina's mother opened her eyes in surprise when she heard this, only to look at her little girl again - "Are you sure?"     

"His face, his hair, his eyes, his voice, everything was just like my dream" - Kushina answered in a whisper as she looked at her mother - "Why do I feel like I know him? Why do I know his name? Why did my heart ache when I saw him leave without looking back?"     

The woman didn't know how to answer her daughter's questions, because she never thought something like this would happen. She always thought her daughter had dreamed of an imaginary man, but now she realized that things were not as simple as she thought.     

"What was his name?" - The woman asked.     

"Kuro-chan, no, Kurama" - Kushina answered as she blushed when she heard that she was unconsciously calling him by his nickname.     

"Kurama" - muttered the woman as she frowned - "Ok, I'll try to investigate as much as I can, for now, I want you to get ready because it will be your birthday soon."     

Kushina nodded weakly when she heard this, only to feel her heart seem to beg to see Kurama once more.     

* * * * *     

Days passed and Kushina's birthday had arrived, but she wasn't happy, in fact, it was quite the opposite.     

Kushina had been having increasingly real dreams, to the point where she no longer knew which ones were her real life and which ones were just an illusion.     

Her mother had been starting to lose patience and the results of her search were nil. She didn't understand how there was no trace of the man named Kurama, more so with such a strange name.     

"I feel a little strange, Kaasan" - Kushina muttered as she looked at her mother.     

"Don't worry, everything will be fine" - replied her mother.     

Kushina was about to say something else, but noticed how everything seemed to freeze - "Huh?"     

She looked around, only to see how the birds had frozen in the sky as they flew, how the children seemed to have been petrified, how her mother had stood as still as a statue.     

"What's happening!" - Kushina exclaimed, only to open her eyes in surprise when she saw the man who had tormented her all these days - "Kurama!"     

Kurama only smiled at her in response as he looked her straight in the eyes.     

She could feel her heart pounding as he walked in her direction, but stopped mid-stride to frown.     

"I know what you want to ask, and yes, your mother is fine, it's just that time is frozen" - Kurama replied as he shrugged his shoulders.     

Kushina was about to say something else, but her expression changed when she felt a sharp pain in her head. Without her being able to do anything to stop it, countless memories came to her mind, only to feel a warm, soothing sensation on her head.     

She slowly looked up and noticed how Kurama's hand was glowing with intense emerald color, only to open her eyes in surprise as tears ran down her cheeks.     

"Kuro-chan" - Kushina murmured as she felt him caress her cheek - "Kuro-chan!"     

"Kushi-chan" - said Kurama with a smile as he hugged the red-haired girl gently - "At last we're together again!"     

"Kuro-chan! Kuro-chan!" - Kushina couldn't hold back the tears of happiness as she remembered the love of her life - "Kuro-chan!"     

Kurama smiled as he listened to how the girl cried in his arms, how she cried out his name, how she finally recognized him.     

"Kuro-chan" - Kushina cried as a smile appeared on her face.     

"This time we won't be separated, Kushi-chan" - said Kurama as he kissed the woman - "This time we'll finally be together forever."     

"Hai" - nodded Kushina with a huge smile on her lips. She didn't understand how this would be possible, but she didn't deny her beloved's words because she knew that he would never lie to her with something this important.     

"Come on, Kushi-chan" - Kurama said while extending his hand, but not before looking at Kushina's mother.     

"Are you going to use that?" - Kushina asked with a smile.     

"Of course" - replied Kurama calmly - "After all, I can't take away their daughter just because of my wish."     

Kushina smiled as she watched her husband make a hand seal.     

"Onmyoton: Doppelgänger" - Kurama said quietly as from Kushina's shadow, a copy similar to her appeared.     

"I feel a little dizzy" - Kushina said with a frown.     

"It's because this technique copies your memories and transfers them to a solid clone that keeps part of your consciousness" - Kurama answered calmly, then put his hand on the woman's stomach - "With this, she will be able to conceive a new child and without risk, it will even be much more resilient than a normal child"     

He knew his girls, so he knew that they would stay loyal to him despite being just clones, that's why he had thought of some ways to keep the bloodline of his girls' parents when they were reborn.     

"Let's go" - Kurama said as Kushina smiled and the two disappeared from the place.     

"I wish you a happy life together" - muttered Kushina's clone with a smile as she looked at her mother. She would live Kushina's life until the day she dies and returns to the original.