Life continued, a year has gone by since the Kyuubi attack. As of now Tomoka is able to walk albeit with wobbly steps. After the incident her parents became very protective of her. As shinobis of the village they knew that Tomoka would be looked down on due to having a bijuu sealed inside of her. Himiko and Nagi would pamper her and spoil her. Any other kid would have been spoiled rotten by now. 

 

On the other hand Tomoka had made a deal with Kurama. Thanks to that they trusted each other a lot now and it could even be said they were friends. Though Kurama would always deny it. 

 

---flash back---

 

“Hey Kurama, I have a deal for you” A smug Tomoka stood in front of Kurama’s seal. 

 

[What do you want, brat. Even though I agreed to help you I never gave you permission to use my name]

 

"Come on Kurama, we will be stuck with each other until I die so it's best for us to get friendly with each other, don’t you think?"

 

[As if I want to be friends with a human]  

 

"Well I want to at least try 'cause I would rather not have a grumpy and unfriendly fox as my roommate for the rest of my life. There is nothing I can do about the grumpy part tho"

 

[How about you leave me alone, I won’t listen to another word you say]

 

"Oh and here I was thinking about removing that seal for you buddy. It must be quite uncomfortable. Oh well, nothing to do here then, bye"

 

At those words Kurama’s ears perked up. It was indeed very uncomfortable. Not to mention that without the seal he could break free whenever he wanted. He didn’t know what Tomoka was planning but as long as she removed the seal it wouldn’t matter. 

 

[I am listening, what is your proposal?]

 

"Nothing much really. All I want is for you to promise not to escape and kill me and I will remove the seal, I promise" 

 

[What makes you believe I won’t break my word and escape right after?] 

 

"It’s simple, I have seen enough of you from my past life to know that you won’t break a promise you make. You hate humans and would rather not do what they do, that is, backstabbing each other"

 

Kurama remained silent for a moment. He hated Tomoka’s guts but she was right. As long as he gave his word he would not go back on it. At least not as long as the other party did the same. 

 

[Fine I promise to not try to break out, kill you, or try and take control of your body]

 

"That’s all I needed to hear” With a bright smile Tomoka moved forward to remove the seal. She was gambling with her life here. As soon as she removed the seal her life would be in Kurama’s hands. However, she still decided to go through with it. If she managed to befriend Kurama then she would have a huge head start. 

 

As her hand began pulling the seal paper a hand caught her wrist. to her left Minato appeared with a stern look. 

 

“Tomoka-chan I don’t know what Kyuubi told you but he is lying. As soon as you remove that seal he will try to escape and you will die” Tomoka was surprised for a moment until she recalled that this also happened in the original naruto story.

 

“Relax Minato-san, Kurama has given his word that he won’t and he never goes back on his word” Tomoka smiled towards Minato. For a moment Minato was caught off guard as her bright red hair and smile reminded him of Kushina. 

 

Taking advantage of his distraction Tomoka pulled off the seal. However, a problem remained. Even though the seal had been weakened due to her pulling it off. She didn’t have the key to completely remove it. 

 

“What are you doing Tomoka! If you release the Kyuubi you will die, Don’t you understand!” Minato was in a panic as he saw Kyuubi standing up inside the cage. He prepared himself for combat. Even though right now he was just a construct made from his chakra that remained in the seal he believed he should be able to re-seal Kyuubi.

 

[Oi kid, you don’t have the key right?]

 

“Hahaha, oops that part went over my head, sorry!"

 

[Doesn’t matter, I should be able to finish breaking the seal though it will be very painful]

 

"Go ahead then I don’t mind a little pain"

 

“Tomoka! Stop this fool’s errand. You need to resist the Kyuubi!” Minato’s panic was at an all time high. He might be able to re-seal Kyuubi with the chakra he had but that is only if Tomoka aids him in doing so.         

 

Before Minato could think of a plan he saw Kyuubi slamming his body against the cage that represented the seal. As he did, cracks began appearing in the bars of Kyuubi’s cell. In a panic Minato began his attempt at containing Kyuubi but Tomoka stood in front of him.

 

"Minato-san please stop, this is my decision. I trust Kurama to keep his words so I will have to stop you if you wish to interfere" 

 

Minato could see the sheer determination in Tomoka’s eyes. At this point there wasn’t much he could do but watch and hope for a good outcome.

 

“I see. I hope you know what you are doing” Having said that, he relaxed his stance and instead looked towards Kyuubi, no, Kurama. 

 

Soon enough Kurama’s giant body slammed against the cage for the second time. The cracks spread further and for sure the cage would break with a third impact. At that moment Minato realized he could release the seal himself. However, it was too late now. Kurama’s body slammed the cage for the third time, breaking the seal completely. 

 

As soon as the cage broke Tomoka felt pain, a lot of it. If she had to describe the pain it was akin to breaking a few bones. 

 

"No kidding, this is painful" 

 

[Told you it would be]

 

“Are you alright Tomoka-chan”

 

"Yeah, it's just a little pain nothing much" 

 

After that the three began talking. Tomoka told Minato about the bijus and how they weren’t mindless beasts. Minato apologized to Kurama and Kurama did the same albeit reluctantly. A few moments later Minato's chakra ran out and so he disappeared from Tomoka’s mindscape.

 

"That went well. Yo, Kurama, how does it feel to be free or kinda free I guess"

 

[Not bad actually. My body was getting stiff from not moving for so long]

 

"Glad to hear. Though this place still looks as gloomy and shitty as always" As she commented she looked around. The place looked like a sewer. 

 

[You will need to train your mind if you want to change your mindscape]

 

"Guess that’s on the bucket list now… partner"

 

[Please don’t]