Naruto: With a Ghost Mom and a Grumpy Fox

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I woke up to something warm buzzing inside my chest.

Not the "I had an awesome dream about ramen" kind of warm.

More like the "someone just whispered in your brain and it wasn't your voice" kind of warm.

Which is way worse, by the way.

"...Naruto."

There it was again.

A soft voice. Gentle. Familiar in a way that didn't make sense.

I sat up fast, nearly headbutted my window, and reached for the nearest weapon I had—which turned out to be a chopstick.

"…Who's there?!" I shouted into my empty apartment.

No one answered.

Except the voice.

"Naruto... Sweetie. It's me."

"Your mother."

…Okay, yeah, I dropped the chopstick.

---

So, quick reminder:

I'm Naruto Uzumaki.

I just graduated from the Academy.

I live alone, eat ramen almost every day, and most of the village hates me for a reason no one ever bothered to explain.

Well—until last week.

That's when Mizuki-sensei told me the truth.

That I'm the container for the Nine-Tails.

Not that I am the Nine-Tails, but that it's sealed inside me.

Which kind of explained why people looked at me like I was a time bomb.

But also, that was pretty much all I knew.

I had no idea how or why it happened. No clue who my parents were. No answers, just… that.

And now, apparently, someone claiming to be my mom was speaking directly into my brain.

So yeah, it was a weird morning.

---

I blinked a few times. "M-Mom…?"

"Yes, Naruto. I'm here now."

"Not alive, not exactly, but… not gone either. I was part of the seal. Part of you."

I didn't know what to say.

I'd never met her. Never even thought about what she might be like. I just assumed… well, that she was gone.

But now she was here.

Warm.

Kind.

And then a second voice joined in.

"Tch. Finally noticed, huh?"

This one was way less warm.

Rough, gruff, and way too annoyed to be a hallucination.

I froze.

"…Are you the Nine-Tails?"

"Took you long enough."

I felt a pressure stir deep in my gut. Heavy. Ancient. Like something enormous had just opened its eyes for the first time in a long time.

I swallowed. "So you really are in there…"

"You've known that since the scroll incident. And yet you never came to visit."

"Kurama," the first voice—my mom—chided. "Don't tease him. He's still adjusting."

Kurama.

That name hit different.

So the Nine-Tails… had a name?

---

I sat back on my bed, head spinning.

"I thought the Nine-Tails was just… a monster."

"Watch it," Kurama growled.

"He's not a monster," my mom said firmly. "He's just a giant fox—always angry, always loud, and with absolutely no manners."

"I heard that."

"You were meant to."

Okay. So now I had two voices arguing in my head, one of them was a giant fox demon with attitude issues, and the other one was my chakra ghost mom.

This was fine.

Totally fine.

Perfectly normal day.

---

I leaned back against the wall, staring at the ceiling.

"…Why now?" I asked. "Why are you suddenly talking to me?"

"Because someone tried to hijack your soul last night," Kurama said bluntly. "Didn't you notice?"

I blinked.

"...I was asleep."

"Exactly."

"It wasn't your fault," Mom cut in quickly.

"A foreign soul slipped in. Some arrogant fool from another world who wanted to replace you."

My jaw dropped.

"Wait, like… a reincarnation?! Like those weird books Iruka-sensei reads?"

> "Yes," Kurama muttered. "Except this one was dumber."

"He tried to overwrite you," Mom said. "But Kurama destroyed his soul. There was… something left behind, though. Some fragment."

"I was curious," Kurama admitted. "So I merged it with the last of her chakra."

"…You did what?"

"Relax. She's fine."

"I'm more than fine," she said. "I'm… awake now. I don't know exactly what I am, but I think I'm something like Kurama. A chakra entity. Bound to you. Alive in a different way."

I stared at the floor.

"You're really my mom…?"

"Yes."

"But I've never seen you."

"You were just a baby when we said goodbye."

The warmth in her voice hit me harder than any punch.

For a moment, I didn't say anything.

I just… sat there.

Letting it sink in.

I wasn't alone.

Not really.

Not anymore.

---

"So now what?" I asked. "You're just gonna stay in my head forever?"

"Pretty much," Kurama grunted.

"We'll guide you," Mom said. "Help you grow. Keep you safe. And make sure no one ever tries to mess with your soul again."

I exhaled.

It was a lot.

But not bad.

Actually… it was kind of amazing.

"…Thanks," I mumbled. "Both of you."

"Hmph."

"You're welcome, baby."

---

Then a silence fell between us.

Peaceful. Warm.

Until Kurama ruined it.

"Brush your teeth, brat. You've got team assignments today."

"And eat something besides instant noodles," Mom added. "You're still growing."

"…I have a demon and a mom in my head," I muttered, grabbing my toothbrush. "This is my life now."

"Correct."

"Deal with it."

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