Suguru, who had received Matatabi's willingness to be interviewed, swiftly requested a wisp of the Nibi's chakra to be sent to him.
Complying with such a simple demand, Matatabi now manifested herself within the darkest depths of Suguru's mind.
Looking around the abyssal darkness, even Matatabi, with her flaming body, felt a weird and persistent chill.
When Suguru appeared before her, she got straight to the point.
"Who told you about my name? Which sibling of mine has a loose tongue?" Matatabi asked, genuinely intrigued by Suguru's earlier words.
"I interviewed Shukaku-sama and tried talking to Kurama-sama — however the fox wasn't so welcoming. Shukaku seemed confused by me, so I got a lot of information out of him."
"Shukaku and Kurama, huh... How odd. I'm surprised your mind is still untainted." Matatabi recalled Kurama's nature. The persistent invasion of hate, slowly bleeding into whoever he was sealed into.
All that hate would've left its mark on anyone who would encounter him... though it seemed like there were exceptions.
Thus, the boy before her further piqued her interest.
"Can you tell me more?"
Hearing Matatabi's words, Suguru couldn't help but smile. Given the Nibi's personality, the entire encounter was proceeding in a very different manner. Compared to her siblings and her fiery body, Matatabi was surprisingly easy to talk to.
"Well..." Suguru started, "I first encountered Shukaku when he and his jinchuriki were being used as a chakra battery in Sunagakure..."
Thus, the storytelling began.
Suguru spoke of a variety of things, and Matatabi listened. The Nibi often interjected with a comment or a reaction, and the pleasant atmosphere flowed.
'It's likely that Matatabi was still lonely, despite allowing Yugito to control her chakra.'
From what Suguru knew, it wasn't until Naruto fought Obito that the different jinchuriki learned of their Tailed Beasts' names. Furthermore, their opinions had yet to be transformed until then.
'No wonder Matatabi didn't even attend the meeting that Naruto called for dealing with Urashiki.'
Suguru processed his thoughts and shifted the gears of the conversation.
"Now that I've shared a lot about myself, would it be alright if I asked you some questions too, Matatabi-sama?" Smiling, Suguru summoned a pen and paper into existence.
A palpable excitement emanated from him, allowing Matatabi to further her conviction on what kind of person the boy was.
"Sure," Matatabi's tone was lighter than it was half an hour ago. "Ask away, child."
First and foremost, Suguru went and cross-checked the questions he had once asked Shukaku. After confirming Matatabi's outlook on things, he proceeded with the weirder questions.
"Have you ever tasted fish?" Suguru's question rendered Matatabi speechless.
"I... I don't think I have. In the first place, I have never felt hunger." Matatabi took a moment to think. "We Tailed Beasts don't really eat."
"So..." Suguru squinted. "Do you have no taste buds at all? Or does the food you eat simply turn to ashes when you bite into it?"
Curious as to how Matatabi's body worked, Suguru theorized that both the Ichibi and Nibi had elemental constitutions. Unlike Isobu, Son Goku, Gyuuki, Kurama, and Chomei, the more unnatural bodies of Shukaku, Matatabi, and Saiken, were worth researching.
He wondered how their bodies processed other sources of energy and how they lived their lives.
"Have you ever felt weaker in colder environments?" Suguru thus continued his questions.
Matatabi shook her head. "No, I haven't. Snow tends to melt the moment I approach. I can't really create cold flames, now can I?"
Amused by the question, Matatabi chuckled.
"But... what if you can?"
In a way, Matatabi's body was the result of heat rapidly flowing outward. The flames on its body strictly fed on chakra, burning nothing else other than her intended targets. Perhaps this was why, despite fighting Hidan and Kakuzu underground, the oxygen levels there did not snuff out her flames.
'Or, I've failed to account for very lively air flow through the pipes there...'
Suguru wasn't sure.
Unlike Shukaku, Matatabi's physique was a lot more volatile. Why was she burning even in Yugito's consciousness? Was there a necessity to always be on fire? Even Kurama, who had his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, never had it permanently activated.
Suguru found this point intriguing.
'Perhaps, if I figure out how Matatabi's body works, I can further enhance my Blaze Battle Body.'
With no reason to neglect the further development of the jutsu he invented, Suguru was keen on finding a source of inspiration. Especially after witnessing Hiruzen's interpretation, Suguru felt a sense of rivalry with The Professor himself.
'That candlelight aura is way too strong.'
Who knew that the calmest flame could be the most destructive?
Since Suguru couldn't study Hiruzen's technique just yet, he planned on drawing inspiration from Matatabi instead. Then, he could also locate Itachi in the future and study the black flames of Amaterasu.
'If only Hiruzen hadn't annihilated Fugaku's eyes...'
Perhaps Suguru would have had access to the Mangekyou Sharingan already.
Suguru smacked his lips in momentary regret before placing his focus back on Matatabi.
"Would it be alright to have a sample of your chakra, Matatabi-sama? I truly find it baffling how you can maintain such a state, even in the psyche of another being. Of course, if I have any findings, I will inform you as soon as I can."
Matatabi hesitated for a moment, "How much do you want?"
Wary of being used again, the shift in her tone was evident. Suguru perceived the frosting of her words and hurriedly set boundaries.
"Only as much as you are willing to provide, Matatabi-sama. However, all I really need is a very small amount — I'm not going to use it to fight, after all. I just need something to look at closely without disturbing your sleep."
Hearing Suguru's explanation, Matatabi's tension faded, ever so slightly. Nodding inwardly, she decided to see where this request would lead.
"Give me your hand, Suguru-kun." Though still on guard, Matatabi extended her paw.
—Bump.
A speck of chakra entered Suguru.
Matatabi watched as the chakra she provided 'disappeared' into the child's body — and disappeared from the world as well.
"Huh?"
Shocked, she did a double take, trying to sense the chakra she had given the boy.
"How did that happen?"
Although she was in Suguru's psyche, she hadn't expected her chakra to simply vanish like that. After all, it was her lifeblood. Her chakra was her own existence.
It was the reason why she was immortal.
Thus...
'What have I done?'
A shiver ran through Matatabi's entire body, making her fur stand on end.
Suddenly, the faint hunger radiating from the pleasantly smiling child terrified her. No longer could she ignore that feeling.
Some part of Suguru saw her as food.
Not as a battery or a weapon of mass destruction, no.
But food.
...Prey.
A target to consume.
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