Chapter 2


Naruto gave a light groan as rays of sunlight made its way past the curtains and into his room where it speckled on his face. He shook his head, his eyes still closed as one of his hands came up and began swiping away at his own face.

His hand fell back onto the sheets and his face scrunched up before he curled into a ball and managed to lift the covers over his face. At last, his expression relaxed as he once more began to doze off.

Unfortunately, he was unable to enjoy it for long as soon thereafter the sound of someone knocking one the wooden walls from outside of his room.

And like that, the covers were thrown to the side, revealing Naruto who was staring at the wooden ceiling with a blank look.

''Naruto-san, are you awake?'' He heard Yasaka's voice coming from the other side of the door, slightly muffled but still clear enough.

''Yeeah..'' He let out a loud groan as he slowly got out of bed before dragging himself over towards the door which he slid open to reveal Yasaka's form as she was wearing that same outfit she had yesterday.

''Morning!'' She greeted him with a smile, a light blush dusting her cheeks as she focused on his face and not the fact that he was only wearing shorts.

''Morning Yasaka,'' He returned her greeting with his own mumbled one as his eyes were still half closed and he rubbed the sleep out of him. ''Oh, and there's no need for any suffix you know? Since you don't mind me calling you by your name.''

''Alright, i'll do that then Naruto.'' Her smile widened a bit. ''I was a bit unsure despite yesterday. Now, you mind putting on some clothes? If you do i will makes us something nice to eat.''

He nodded before raising an eyebrow at her. ''I will. Though is it okay if i take a shower first?''

''Sure. You remember where everything is?'' She received a nod from him.

''Yeah i remember. Mostly. But seriously, i think i can figure it out. See you in a bit.'' They shared one more smile as Yasaka turned around and walked off, Naruto watched her tails flail around in a controlled manner before she turned a corner and out of his view.

''Heh.'' He chuckled to himself before he slid the door close and grabbed clean clothes to wear for when he was done showering.


Despite what he had told Yasaka earlier, Naruto was indeed somewhat lost. It wasn't his fault though. Not at all. This palace was simply too big for the amount of people that lived here which was just Yasaka and himself as a guest.

Thankfully the scent of food managed to reach his nose which twitched in response. His senses had gotten also better it seemed, much better than they already were before the changed he underwent as he just followed his nose which lead him towards Yasaka.

She appeared to have been waiting for him as she was already in seiza position in front of a low table with her tails calmly resting on the ground behind her. ''I've been waiting for you to arrive.'' Yasaka told him as she gestured for him to copy her and position himself in front of her on the opposite side.

He did what she asked him to as he slowly sank to his knees on top of the soft cushion that was prepared. ''Smells nice.'' He commented once he too was in a seiza position and looked at what she had prepared.

Two bowls for both of them. One filled with rice and the other was miso soup.

''Thank you. I hope you like it.''

''I think i will Yasaka. Itadakimasu.'' Said Naruto as he picked up a pair of chopsticks and grabbed a bit of rice which he brought to his mouth.

Delicious. His taste buds were treated to a whole new experience. It was like heaven itself was delivered to his mouth. He couldn't help but let out a moan with closed eyes as he savored it.

He didn't think it was possible but just the small amount of rice tasted better than even ichiraku's.

As he slowly opened his eyes he was met with Yasaka who seemed to be waiting on his opinion as she hadn't touched her own food yet. ''And?'' She tilted her head upon asking.

''It's delicious!'' Naruto said earnestly while licking his lips. ''I've never tasted something as good as this. Well, aside from the food yesterday that you made as well.''

Yasaka beamed at his words before she began eating as well. Occasionally glancing towards him and stifle a giggle at seeing his expression while eating.

''Haaaa~'' Naruto let out a blissful sigh once he was done with the food. The taste still lingering in his mouth. ''That was good..''

''I'm glad you liked it that much.'' Yasaka said as she too finished with her own food and placed her chopsticks down. ''So, do you have any plans on what you'll be doing today? I'll be busy with my own duties here in the palace and occasionally visiting one of the shrines.''

''That's fine. I think i'll be reading up a bit more on the world and how things work. You've really helped me a lot so far but i think it be wise to learn more necessities. Though should i head towards a library or do you have books here that i can read?''

''I should have some books here.'' She told him with a nod of her head. ''I can bring you some later if you want?''

''Well, if it's not a bother i would be grateful.'' He scratched his cheek at her smile.

''No worries. I'll come by your room later then to give them to you.'' Yasaka slowly rose to her feet and placed their empty bowls on a tray.

''Ah!'' Naruto snapped his fingers before a clone formed next to him, shocking Yasaka with its sudden appearance. ''I'll have my clone clean up and do the dishes if you don't mind. It's the least i can do for giving me such a delicious breakfast.''

''You can create clones?'' Asked Yasaka as the clone took the tray from her hands. Looking at it she saw that it was exactly the same as its creator, she could even sense it held chakra and a decent amount at that.

''Yeah, it's called a Shadow Clone. They're a special kind of clone that creates a copy of the original by halving their chakra. They're indistinguishable from whoever it creates and able to do basic task such as cleaning, cooking and reading all the way to fighting and using Jutsu as well. A nice thing about it is though that when dispelled it's memories, experience and chakra are all transferred back to me.

I imaging you can see its uses? I can pretty much create well over a thousand which accelerates why ability to learn and train new techniques my a lot.'' He finished and the corner of his lips twitched upward upon seeing the awestruck expression on Yasaka's face.

''That's.. amazing! You said it used chakra, right? You think you can teach it to me?'' Yasaka could already imagine the time she could same with even a single clone. She could visit the shrines more often while her clone stayed in the palace.

''I'm not sure.. You mentioned your chakra is different from mine so it might not be possible. We can try though, it wouldn't hurt to see if you can.'' He then got to his feet as well, stretching his limbs from being it that position for quite some time. ''Well, i'm heading back to my room for now. I'll see you when you drop off those books you were talking about.'' With a wave of his hand and a small smile he left her alone as he walked out.

Her golden orbs followed his form until she could no longer see it as he slid a door close. She stayed silent for a moment, her gaze still locked onto the now closed door before she brought a hand up and held it over her chest, her heart to be precise.

She could feel it hammer in her chest. It had been like this from the moment she had been close to him back at the hospital. And it only increased when she was in his presence. When he would smile at her it made her cheeks heat up.

Yasaka let out a small gasp.

It couldn't be, right? She couldn't be falling for him this quick! It had been less than a day since they had first met! Yet, what she was feeling was a new experience even for her.

While she was older than she looked, she was still young in comparison to other supernatural and even Youkai and she stood out for not having a partner. Of course, her being without one had opened the gates of offers for her hand.

Yasaka knew she was beautiful, even as far as being considered one of the most beautiful women amongst the supernatural. And that had only increased the offers for marriage, those who wanted her as a lover or to add her to their harem. But she had rejected them all. From powerful devils that lusted after her to both minor and major gods of different factions across the world.

No, Yasaka did know that if she was going to pick a partner she would make sure she'd choose someone who wanted her and only her. She had no interest to join someone's harem and be reduced to just another number.

Which was why she never even bothered with offers of men she knew had other women already. Another reason was that she knew that most of them were lusting after her. It wasn't love for she had never met any of them in person. And if it wasn't them lusting after her looks, it was the power that came with her.

For while she only ruled Kyoto and the Youkai within, it was still very valuable in comparison to its small size.

So it wasn't that she didn't want a partner, mate, husband or whatever one would call. She would like nothing more than have children of her own with a man she loved. It's just that the she hadn't come across the right person. But perhaps this time will be different. It had been different for her so far.

Yasaka shook her head to clear her thoughts. It was something she could think over some other time. For now she should bring her guest those books that would be a good source of information, after which she too could start with the duties her position required.


Naruto hummed a soft tune as he looked at himself while standing in front of a mirror. He was currently shirtless as he ran his fingers through his new appendages he had out in the open.

He had almost forgotten about them if he were honest. And now he was watching his hand comb through one of his three golden colored tails, somewhat awed by how soft they were. Much like Yasaka's own when she had wrapped one of hers around his arm the previous day.

Though moving them around was a bit more trouble. It wasn't that it was hard per se. More so that they reacted to the slightest thought and rather erratically so. He was thinking of incorporating them in a possible fighting style with that would be a while until he managed to gain proper control of them.

Even right now two of the tails were swishing back and forth behind him in response to the one he was currently running his fingers through.

''I wonder…'' He let go of the tail which joined the others behind him. He tried to focus on them, eyebrows scrunching up as he attempted to form some sort of connection. Yet, he was met with failure as what he had hoped for did not happen.

''Naruto, i've brought you the book you wan-''

His head snapped to the side at such speeds it was a miracle he didn't break anything. He froze and so were his tails in the air behind him as he saw Yasaka standing there, at the doorway that lead towards the guest room she had offered him. He hadn't even heard her slide open the door.

Likewise, Yasaka too was unmoving as she stared at her guest or rather his new appearance, courtesy of the extra appendages she was pretty sure he didn't have before.

''Y-Yasaka..'' Naruto muttered in surprise.

''..I thought you said you were human?'' She asked with equal surprise though by now she had her eyes narrowed while focused on his form.

''W-Well i am- Or was? I, i mean i wasn't before but uhm…'' He sputtered before giving up and hung his head. The ears sticking out between his hair drooped as so did his tails as he was unable to give Yasaka and explanation at the moment.

Without saying a word, Yasaka used one of her own tails and closed the door behind her before she made her way over towards his bed and sat down. ''Naruto, come over here.''

Despite the soft way she spoke Naruto couldn't help but a flinch a bit as he made his way over towards the bed and sat down as well. Yasaka frowned as she noticed he was keeping a distance from her and wrapped one of her tails around his waist, surprising him as she used her tail to pull him closer. ''Relax, i'm curious not mad.'' She whispered and smiled slightly upon noticing him already being more at ease though she kept one of her tails wrapped around him. ''I know that you spoke the truth back in the hospital when you said you were human so i think i would be correct if something else is at play, right?''

''..Correct..''

''Then why don't you tell me? I'm honestly interested as instead of a single tail you now have three.'' Her golden eyes looked at his face that held a thoughtful expression mixed with nervousness. ''I promise i won't speak until you're done.''

''I.. I'm not sure.. I mean i'll have to tell you everything from the moment i was born and i rather not relive my childhood. If you can even call it that..'' He let out a hollow chuckle that only made her much more curious. ''But, i guess if it helps. You've already been so kind to me and it would only be rude to reject such a simple sounding request.'' He then faced her with a broken smile that made Yasaka's heart ache for some reason. ''I'll tell you a story, the story of Naruto Uzumaki from his first memory all up to now.''

And so he did and as promised, Yasaka just listened as it seemed like he needed this. Just someone he could talk about his bottled up emotions with.


A soft smile adored Yasaka's face as her golden eyes were focused on Naruto's sleeping form. She ran her fingers through his surprisingly soft hair as his head rested on her lap, having fallen asleep as he finished telling her his story.

It was quite a journey as Yasaka came to understand the kind of person the blond on her lap is. A selfish young man who only ever wanted to be loved. A young man who had been denied even the basic forms of affection from a young age all the way up to now.

She found it admirable, how he could still smile even now after telling her about his childhood. He hadn't even noticed that a couple tears had run down his face as he brought certain memories back to the surface he'd rather kept locked away.

Yes, he was stronger than she was by virtue of going through a childhood such as his and still look so happy on the outside. A perfect mask to hide that he's actually lonely and someone who wanted to be near a person for the fear of being alone longer.

She couldn't help but be angry at his home and the people who could treat a child like he's some kind of disease and was impressed how he could protect a village that had done so to him. Though, from what she could tell this Hokage, the old man who would take care of him though even that was a stretch, he seemed to have somewhat manipulated Naruto by giving him that little affection he craved and making sure he would strive towards becoming Hokage much like himself in an attempt to get him to comply with the village.

Then again, what should she expect from a place where they teach children barely twelve years old how to kill as opposed to giving them a proper childhood. Yes, Yasaka's opinion of his world was low, very low for even Devils didn't teach their children how to kill at that age.

Though, something good did come out of all of this. Yasaka could say she felt closer to him than she did before. She understood him now and knew why he didn't want to tell her the cause for his change initially and didn't held it against him.

If she was in his place she too would've been unsure if not afraid to tell someone that it had to do with the reason people treated you like a disease in the first place.

Her fingers scratched the base of his ears that were almost hidden between his spiky hair and she giggled softly as he let out a pur and rubbed his cheek against her thigh while still asleep.

She froze for a moment as without a warning his eyelids opened and blue orbs stared up at her. He looked so vulnerable as she could read the emotions that flashed through his eyes before they were being pushed down and his lips curved up into a smile.

Instead of returning his smile Yasaka sent him a frown as she could tell his smile was fake. In response to her frown his smile dropped a bit, turning into sad one. ''Are you okay?'' She asked him softly as she hadn't stopped running her fingers through his hair.

''I should be.. I've suffered through harsher times and came out fine, didn't i?''

Staring at him for a moment, Yasaka shook her head as she trailed one of her fingers towards his face and rubbed her thumb over the thin, almost unnoticeable lines on his cheek. She laughed as he purred in response before blushing in embarrassment at what he just did.

Letting out a drawn out groan he sat up, removing his head from her lap with a small frown as it was comfortable before he rolled his head to loosen up the muscles of his neck. ''Say, is there a place around where i can train? Preferably one that's away from people as i need to try my techniques after my increased reserves. While my chakra control seems more precise i rather give it a couple of test as opposed to finding it out during a battle where it can cost me my life.''

Yasaka hummed for a second or two before she nodded. ''There should be a place you can train near some of the mountains on the outskirts of Kyoto. People don't come there often and there's a barrier in place to keep the noise down and also casts an illusion to make everything seem normal.''

''Oooh, that sound exactly what i'm looking for. You don't mind if i use them later, right?''

She sent him a look. ''If i did i probably wouldn't have told you, would i?'' Yasaka then rose to her feet. ''Seeing as we're done here i'm going to start with my own duties. If you need anything you can find me at the right wing of the palace immediately after entering. Later, Naruto-kun.'' Sparing him one last look she turned around and moved towards the door that lead out of the room. Her tails briefly touched his face as she turned before she was gone and he was all alone.

He didn't say a thing for a couple minutes even after she had left until he blinked. ''Did.. Did she just call me 'Naruto-kun'?'' The blond wondered if he had heard her correct.

Oh well. He could think more about it later as he had some training to do! He felt rather excited just to test and see if his Jutsu had gotten any stronger or not. And he really hoped they did.

Naruto then jumped off the bed, created a clone that would read the books Yasaka had brought with her when she came here while he himself went out, ignoring the glare sent at his back while he did so.


Ringed eyes, purple in color overlooked the raining village that had aptly been named Amegakure. The eyes were narrowed as the owner of them turned around, just in time as a plant-like creature rose from the ground of the building he was standing.

''Zetsu, any news on the whereabouts regarding the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki?''

''No leader-sama.'' Zetsu shook its dual colored head. ''We've searched through the Land of Rivers and the surrounding areas but found not a single trace. It's like he vanished from the face of the earth. We even looked through Konoha and there's no trace of him there either. Indeed, though it seems like Konoha is trying to cover up that their Jinchuuriki is missing as well since rumors spread that he's on a long mission with Jiraiya of the Sannin.''

''I assume you checked up on those rumors?''

'''Yes leader-sama, we tracked down Jiraiya who seemed to be enjoying himself near Yu no Kuni.'' Zetsu's black half said with the while half nodding in agreement.

''I see. Keep looking for him, expand the search area to Kaze no Kuni and look if you can find anything there.''

The plant-like member of the Akatsuki sent him another nod of understanding before merging back into the ground and going on its way.

''What's happening to the plan if the search turn out fruitless, Madara?''

''Well, Pain, if the search doesn't come up with results have Zetsu search the other countries. Have him look for the summon lands as well as he might be there.'' Madara said after appearing once Zetsu had left. His sharingan eye visible from the hole in his orange mask was glowing as he spoke. ''Have the others continue bringing in their targets. If worse comes to worse i can pay a visit to a certain snake as the Gedo Mazo only needs a small portion of Kyuubi's chakra.''

Pain gave Madara a simple nod as he understood. There was no need to exchange words and Pain prefered it like that as he didn't like Madara. The man knew about him and was able to kill him if he wished to do so. He was also rather secretive with his own actions, often changing the topic whenever he or Konan would ask what he was doing.

But he would push through it. It was a small sacrifice when their goal was peace.


Naruto stood there as the surrounding area was riddled with scorch marks and lingering flames that licked the edges of several craters that had been created.

He was panting lightly after having used every Jutsu he had knowledge on and even those that he didn't quite know perfectly. He was satisfied with the result though as he felt that he still had a decent amount of chakra left despite already having used what amounts to several Jounin reserves worth.

Interestingly, his affinity for fire had increased by a lot which he had found out after forming the seals of the basic Fireball Jutsu and ending up with an enormous ball of flames many times larger than the one he had been capable of creating before the changes to his body.

And it was so hot too!

He had removed his kimono after feeling the heat which left him in just his hakama as a light layer of sweat covered his body. He wasn't complaining though as it was just another increase to his Jutsu repertoire.

Unfortunately, he didn't bother to study any fire techniques aside from the Fireball one as it was an element he wasn't attuned to beforehand. He only remembered that specific one as Sasuke liked to use it and the hand seals were easy to remember.

But it was time to wrap thing up here as he had was quite sure he had been here for a decent amount of time.

And what better way to wrap a successful session off than by trying something new?

Naruto held his hand out with his palm facing upwards, similar to how he would prepare to form a Rasengan. But instead of forming the spiraling blue colored ball of chakra he closed his eyes and focused.

Searching inside of himself for his other source of chakra and he wasn't talking about the Bijuu. After finding it he focused before he attempted to pull it towards the surface, his face scrunching up as it was much more dense compared to his regular chakra.

He kept his eyes closed as he continued to push it to the surface and due to that he wasn't aware of what was happening in the palm of his hand as a ball was forming.

It was dark purple in color and incredibly dense, this much was evident from how cracks had started to form on the ground near his feet. Unaware of this Naruto continued to feed it chakra until the ground cracked audibly and caused him to open his eyes and stare at the purple ball in his palm.

He noticed his hand was trembling as he had trouble keeping it controlled unlike the Rasengan which he could hold without any issues. His danger senses were tingling the longer he stared at it and told him that letting it dissipate in his hand like he would with the Rasengan would not be safe for him.

So acting quickly, he thrusted his palm towards the side of the mountain that he was closest to and watched as it shot forward with high speed.

KA-BOOM!

A deafening explosion followed upon impact that shook the earth. The sudden gust of wind created caught him off guard and forced him to the ground as dirt and small rocks were kicked up and raining down everywhere.

He kept his eyes closed until the tremors stopped and fearfully opened his eyes which promptly widened to the point it was a wonder they kept in their sockets as he looked at the large crater that was now present in the side of the mountain. It was like someone had taken a large bite out of it.

Glancing around he took note that the barrier was still up and thanked the heavens for it would've been impossible to miss an explosion of that size otherwise. No doubt it would've put him in a lot of trouble with Yasaka and that was the last thing he currently wanted.

While staring at the crater for awhile he knew he couldn't leave it like that as that would simply raise too many questions that couldn't be answered without revealing the supernatural to the humans. And so, putting his fingers in a familiar hand seal he channeled an absurd amount of chakra as he created over a hundred clones and gave them the command to fill up the hole to the best of their capabilities as he was left with just enough chakra to make his way back to the palace. Or at least he hoped so as he dropped his head back.

He remembered seeing a small creek on his way here and was planning on cleaning himself there as it would be rude to return to the palace dirty as he now was. Picking himself up from the ground he marched over to where he had discarded his kimono before leaving the area, making sure the clones would pop ten at the time after they were done to not end up with a headache.


Yasaka hummed a soft tune as she strolled through her home. The ears on top of her head twitched as she heard faint voices coming from the living room and decided to check it out.

''Back already Naruto-kun?'' She asked upon seeing her fellow blond in the living room with his eyes glued to the television.

''Huh, Yasaka?'' Naruto blinked a couple times as his gaze shifted to her. ''Didn't hear you coming. But yes, i've been here for…'' He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall near him. ''An hour or so, a bit more perhaps.'' Yasaka nodded after hearing that.

''I see. Did you have any success as i assume you were able to find the area as i hadn't seen you coming by.''

''I did.'' He nodded. ''It wasn't that hard. And it was a success indeed. Or partially at least as i at least noticed i could go on for much longer than i had been able to do before. I just have to wait for a target to see if they are more powerful but i'd say they are if only from the damage i had caused to the surrounding area.''

''Really?'' She mused as she walked towards him before she sat down beside him. ''Curious, did you have anything to do with the brief spike in energy i had felt coming from the north? It was gone in a second so i think it had something to do with the barrier.''

''Uhmm… maybe..? I tried a new attack and the results were rather explosive so it might. No, actually i'm pretty sure it was my fault as the attack was rather powerful and i wouldn't be surprised as it caused the barrier to flicker off for a second or so under the explosive force.''

''That's good then. Just make sure to be a bit more careful next time, okay Naruto-kun?''

He nodded as she was looking at him with a pout on her pretty face. He also confirmed that she indeed was using the 'kun' suffix with his name and making warmth spread through him. ''I-I will, Yasaka-cha- Yasaka.'' He refrained from using an affectionate suffix behind her name.

Her pout only increased. ''Mou~ You can call me Yasaka-chan if you want Naruto-kun. It's only fair if i'm allowed to do the same.''

He blinked thrice before looking at those mesmerizing golden orbs of her as she nodded with a reassuring smile. ''A-alright.. Yasaka-chan.'' He still sounded a bit unsure but seeing her beautiful smile washed away his insecurities.

''Haaa~'' The blonde vixen then let out a drawn out sigh as she let herself lean against Naruto, her head coming to rest on his shoulder. She felt his freeze up for a second before calming down though he did try to lean away from her which she didn't allow as she kept her head on his shoulder until he gave up after realizing this is what she wanted.

Yasaka was actually somewhat surprised with herself and how she was acting. A part of her telling her that she was moving way too quick but she ignored that voice for now.

It was nice, the way she was leaning against him. His body was really warm and welcoming which made her feel comfortable in a way she hadn't felt before. No doubt that his presence had part in it.

It actually reminded her the thoughts she had during breakfast this morning as a blush covered her cheeks which made her push her head more into his shoulder. A shiver then went down her spine as she felt her tails being brushed. Glancing down at Naruto's lap she saw he had one of her tails in his lap which he was running his fingers through. How she didn't notice this earlier she herself didn't know.

As she sat there with him, both enjoying the closeness between each other Yasaka knew then and there that this was something she could get used to. Wanted more of. Hoping he could be the one to fill the void in her life as her partner.

It would take time, of course. For while she already felt rather close despite the short time of knowing him, she didn't mind waiting a little longer to turn their relationship into a romantic one. They both had plenty of time to know another and she was going to make use of it as he was currently living with her anyway.


Chapter End.

Finished this much later than i had hoped to but with christmas happening and whatnot i had little time to focus on getting another chapter out..

Anyway, hoped everyone reading had a merry christmas and till next time!