Melody of the Fox
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.
Chapter 2
The next day, Naruto and Tayuya stood in front of the Hokage's desk. Or rather, Naruto stood and Tayuya sat in a wheelchair next to him. He played with the zipper on his orange jumpsuit, struggling to zip it up to his chin. He only had two more at home, and they all felt a bit tight since his fight with his former teammate. Tayuya wore simple black ninja pants and a dark blue long sleeved shirt. The bandages on her head and left arm were still present, but she'd been able to get out of her leg casts in favor of a couple of small metal braces. The hokage finished signing off on one last sheet of paper before leaning back in her chair.
"Finally! That's the last of them." She reached into her drawer and tossed a Leaf hitai-ate to Tayuya, who deftly caught it with her left hand. "Congratulations, you're an official genin of Konoha. By wearing this headband, you acknowledge that you will protect this village and the people in it with your life, blah, blah, blah. Do you accept?" Tayuya cocked an eyebrow at the blonde.
"Do I have a choice?" She asked, fingering the thick cloth of the headband. Tsunade nodded.
"Actually, you do. You can either become a Konoha ninja or I can turn you over to Morino Ibiki for interrogation." She smirked inwardly. She was bluffing, but they didn't need to know that. Naruto's face visibly paled in recognition of the name. Though he hated to admit it, the scarred special jounin had quite an effect on him.
"Ah...Tayuya, I think you should just accept." He whispered. The girl eyed him strangely, noticing the slightly nervous look on his face. "He's...he's a really scary guy." Instead of arguing, she turned back to the godaime and nodded.
"Fine, but I ain't gonna like it." She lifted the headband towards her escort expectantly. He stared at the headband in confusion, an action which quickly annoyed his red haired companion. "Put it on me dipshit! I only got one arm!"
"Shut up! I'm not psychic, geez." He grabbed the headband and move to put it on her forehead before pausing. "Where do you want it?" She titled her head in thought.
"Tie it around my neck." The blond grunted and tied the cloth into a loose knot around her neck.
"Happy?"
"Fuck no."
"Tch, not even a thank you..." The fifth slammed her fist down onto the desk, effectively quieting the teens down.
"Listen up!" She bellowed, causing Naruto to flinch. "Both of you are to report to room 23 at the Academy. I've arranged for one of the chuunin teachers there to assign you a few tasks to keep you busy." Tayuya frowned deeply in response.
"Yeah, one problem blondie. My. Fucking. Legs. Don't. WORK." Tsunade smirked.
"I've informed them of your condition, so whatever they set up won't require a whole lot of movement. If there's nothing else, get out of my sight." She drawled, waving them off. Grudgingly, Naruto grabbed the handles of his new teammate's wheelchair and began to push her towards the door. He accidentally pushed her legs into the door frame, earning himself a hard elbow in the side.
"Watch where you're going, dipshit!"
"Yes, Tayuya-hime."
"S-Shut up and push!" Lucky for her, neither of the genin turned around to see the mile wide grin Tsunade had on her face.
'Part one of operation "Skin Orochimaru's scrawny ass" complete.'
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They were everywhere. Laughing, taunting, torturing. Little horns protruded from their large melon-shaped heads, and large globs of blood clung to their faces as if they had just eaten twenty shinobi alive right before they had arrived. At least that's what Tayuya saw when nearly a dozen Kindergartners swarmed her as soon she had appeared through the door of room 23.
"Read us a story!"
"Wanna play dress up?!"
"Hey! What's wrong with your legs?"
"Can I sit in your lap?"
"Is he your boyfriend?"
Tayuya sat mortified amongst the large group of five year olds. When the hokage mentioned they would be working at the Academy, she assumed they would be filing papers or showing ten year olds how to throw a kunai. Never in a million years would she have expected something as inhumane as this. She glanced up at Naruto and was glad to see that he was equally shocked. At least she could be sure that he wasn't in on this. The chuunin who had shown them the room snickered slightly at their expressions before turning and making a mad dash down the hallway.
"Have fun! They really like stories!" He yelled over his shoulder, turning a corner at record breaking speed.
'That has to be some kind of escape jutsu...' Naruto thought as he watched the shinobi flee from the classroom. A slight tug of his pants snapped him from his thoughts.
"Ne, Onee-chan, are you our new sensei?" The genin glanced down to see a sickly brown haired boy staring up at him with large, hopeful eyes.
"I...uh...y-yes?" A large chorus of cheers went throughout the room. A few of the toddlers darted off to grab books, blankets, and pillows, much to the genin's confusion. It wasn't until the same little boy held up a large book to Tayuya that they understood. Her eyes widened and she began to shake her head ferociously.
"No! Not a fucking chance in hell!" She screamed, attempting to hop out of her chair and crawl towards the door. Unfortunately, a little girl had somehow made her way into the genin's lap, foiling her escape plan. Her escort snickered and waved an admonishing finger in front of her face.
"Watch your language, Tayuya-sensei. There are children in the room." She growled and practically snatched the book from the little boy, only further amusing the blond; who was suspiciously three steps closer to the door. Tayuya narrowed her eyes and smirked.
"Where are you going, Naruto-sensei? I'm going to need someone to turn the pages for me. I only have one arm, after all." She asked in a sickeningly sweet voice, using his own sarcasm against him. Realizing he'd been caught, Naruto groaned and sat down in the empty chair closest to her. Grinning to herself at the small victory, she turned to read the title of the book in her hand.
"The Princess and the Fox." The girl glanced up to see that every set of eyes in the classroom was watching her intently. Though it was a little unnerving, she was happy to see that they were at least being quiet. When they were quiet, she didn't have the incredibly powerful urge to roast them over a large flaming pit of charcoal. Alive. Naruto reached over and turned the cover so that she could continue. "Once upon a time, there was a Princess who lived in a beautiful castle. Many of the animals loved her, but none of them loved her more than her friend the fox." She picked the book up to show the children the pictures before turning to the next page herself.
"Hey! You don't need me to turn the pages for you!" Naruto yelped, shooting up from his chair. Tayuya grinned.
"Deception is one of the tricks to being a ninja, isn't it? Now sit down and let me continue." Looking back down at the book, she continued. "One day, the Princess decided to visit her friend the Wizard." The girl glanced up to make sure that Naruto was still in the room. She noticed with some surprise that he wasn't in his seat anymore; he was sitting on the large blanket with the toddlers, a few of them leaning against him as they listened to the story.
"What happened next, Tayuya-sensei?" the girl in her lap asked, snuggling back against her.
'What the fuck?' The genin asked herself, blinking in surprise at the foreign feeling. Deciding it wasn't completely uncomfortable, she continued on with the story. "The forest was thick and dangerous, with giant weasels, frogs, and snakes at every turn. But the princess wasn't afraid; she knew her friend the fox was watching her."
Tayuya snorted. 'Who writes this shit?' "After walking for awhile, she came upon a giant white snake. 'Where are you going, little girl?' The snake boomed, staring with big yellow eyes at the princess." A shudder went through her as she absentmindedly fingered her cursed seal, an action which didn't go unnoticed by Naruto. "But the princess wasn't afraid; She knew her friend the fox was watching her. The princess stood up straight and looked the snake in the eye. 'I'm going to visit my friend the Wizard, Orochi-san.' She said, unaware that she was being hypnotized by the snake's big yellow eyes."
A gasp went through the crowd of toddlers, the loudest of all coming from her escort. She fought to keep a smirk from breaking out onto her face at their expressions. Even she had to admit that she was really starting to enjoy having all of the attention focused on herself for once. "The big white snaked smiled evily and slithered his way over to the princess. 'Well, princessss...' the snake hissed, wrapping himself around her. 'Allow me to esssscort you there.' With the princess wrapped in his slimy skin, the big white snake headed for his lair. Just as he was about to enter his home, a golden fox appeared and..." Tayuya trailed off, glancing up at the clock. "...that's the end of storytime!" The children all stared at her in disbelief.
"NANI?!"
"You can't just end it there!"
"What happened to the princess?"
"Did the giant snake eat her?"
"C'mon Tayuya-sensei, finish the story!"
Tayuya grinned maliciously to herself. Though it wasn't quite as entertaining as watching the little demons roast, it would have to do; for now. Naruto stood up and grinned. "She's right, guys. It's snack time!" Their disappointment forgotten, the toddlers all hopped up and ran to their little plastic tables and chairs. After setting down a few cookies and a carton of milk in front of each of the children, the genin inched their way towards the door; only to back into the same sickly little boy from before. His eyes were wide and his lips were puffed up into a small pout.
"You'll come back and finish the story, won't you Tayuya-sensei?"
The girl blinked and forced a small smile onto her face. "Uhm.. sure..."
"Jin!"
"...Jin." Seemingly satisfied, the boy bounced off towards the others. Not wanting to risk being stopped again, Naruto grabbed her wheelchair and practically raced down the hall and out of the academy, not stopping until he was well into the residential district of Konoha. After receiving another sharp jab in the ribs from Tayuya, he finally slowed his pace down to a walk.
"So...did you enjoy storytime?" Naruto asked, stepping back far enough to avoid another jab from the irate redhead.
"What the fuck do you think, Blondie? Those little fuckwits almost drove me mad!"
"Looked like you were getting into it to me."
"I was not!"
"Are you sure, Princessss?" He asked, imitating a voice she'd done previously. The girl blushed and stared forward.
"Just shut up and push, dipshit." The blond genin laughed and continued on down the street. They walked on in silence until she cleared her throat. "Hey, Naruto..."
"Eh?"
"I uh...wanted to apologize. For the shit I said about your teacher yesterday." Naruto blinked in surprise. He'd only known her for a couple of days, but he didn't think the word 'apologize' was even in her vocabulary.
"Oh..." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, I have to say I'm sorry for what I said yesterday. It...it wasn't right." She nodded and shrugged.
"Fine, we're even then. Don't get all sentimental and shit on me. So where the hell're we going now?"
"Well, you're going back to the hospital. I'm going to train so that I can bring Sasuke back."
"What? Oh, fuck no! You're taking me with you!" He stopped in surprise.
"Nani? For what! You'll just get in my way!"
"There ain't no way in hell I'm gonna stay cooped up in that shithole of a hospital all day while you get to run around in the motherfucking sun!" By this time, a small crowd of civilians had gathered around the teens, whispering amongst themselves. "And just what the fuck are you cocksuckers looking at?!" The crowd quickly dispersed, though there was no shortage of glares or snide comments thrown her way.
"Geez, you guys are making a scene." A lazy voice said from behind them. Naruto turned in surprise.
"Shikamaru! How's Chouji? Neji? Kiba? Lee?" He asked, reprimanding himself for not asking about them earlier. Though, he couldn't be blamed when all of his thoughts were focused on his temporary teammate and Sasuke.
"They're all fine. Chouji and Neji got the worst of it, though." He said, grimacing slightly.
"It wasn't your fault. You did the best you could." Shikamaru nodded and glanced at the girl currently glaring at him from her wheelchair.
"Oi, you lived, huh? I have to admit, I'm more than a little surprised. I didn't think anyone could survive a blast like that." Tayuya glowered dangerously at the chuunin.
"I ain't weak like you shitty Leaf ninja."
"But aren't you one too?" He asked, taking notice of her headband. "How did you become a Leaf ninja anyway?"
"Tch, easy. You faggots are so fucking weak that the hokage herself had me instated to help you all out. Watch your back, bitch, 'cause I'm coming for your ass." She smirked up at him, practically daring him to reply.
"...even though you can't use your legs. Right." He continued on past Naruto and a fuming Tayuya. "Later, Naruto, Troublesome woman." Naruto snickered at her expression.
"He's right, you know. You can't use your legs. Back to the hospital!"
"Fuck. You."
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Naruto took a deep breath, focusing himself on the log in front of him. It slowly began to distort and shape into Orochimaru; the perfect target to take his anger out on. Lashing out with right hook, he rolled to his left and followed it up with a perfectly executed roundhouse. He then flipped over his target and gave it a strong donkey kick. The wood splintered slightly under the pressure, much to his delight. Punching the log a dozen times in succesion, he performed a perfect back hand spring and landed thirty feet away, taking deep breaths of air. All of this happened in a span of around five seconds.
"You suck!" A voice yelled from behind him. The blond turned around and flipped the person off.
"Shut up! Can't you see I'm training!"
"Oh, is that what you're doing? I thought you were doing the fucking chicken dance or something." Naruto's eye twitched in anger. He was already regretting not leaving her at the hospital.
"Okay, Tayuya-sensei, why don't you give me a few pointers?" He snapped his fingers in mock realization. "Ooh, that's right! You can't because you're stuck in a fucking wheelchair!" Naruto yelled, feeling a bit of the Kyuubi's chakra trying to slip out of him. Tayuya blinked. Just when she thought he was incapable of getting truly upset, he pulls a stunt like this. Strangely enough, she didn't get the smug satisfaction she usually got from making others angry. In fact, she felt slightly hurt. 'What the hell am I thinking? I've been trying to do this all along! It must be something in the food; those bitches are trying to turn me into one of them.'
"Well excuse me for trying to help your no-talent ass out!" This time, Naruto blinked. She actually wanted to help? He felt the small amount of sinister chakra quickly drain from his system.
"You...you want to help me? Why?" Tayuya again rubbed at the cursed seal on her neck, keeping her eyes low.
"I...I want to pay that bastard back for his 'gift.' Since I can't fuck him up myself, what better way than to have an indirect hand in training the fucker who knocks him off?" His eyes widened in disbelief. All this time, he thought she wanted to go back to the Sound and Orochimaru. Perhaps he wasn't the only surprising ninja in this village anymore.
"Did you accept it willingly?" She snorted and narrowed her eyes.
"Yeah, but when I did, he only me two things: One, that it would exponentially increase my chakra, and two, that it only had a one in ten survival rate. He didn't mention all of the bad things that came along with it." A sudden realization came to Naruto. If Tayuya had a cursed seal like Sasuke, she could help him study his weaknesses for when it was time to bring him back!
"Bad things? Like what?" The girl looked thoughtful for a few minutes.
"Well, for one thing, Orochimaru can pretty much control us if he wants to. Through our seals, the bastard can inflict an inhumane amount of pain on our entire nervous system. He can also stop us from using it altogether." She glanced up at him, only to find that he was practically raping her personal space. "Gah! What the hell are you doing?!" He blinked and leaned back.
"What do you mean? I was just looking at your cursed seal."
"J-Just go over there so I can help you train!" She yelled, pointing at the field in front of them. Just as he was about walk away, she grabbed his arm. "Wait." He looked back at her curiously.
"What?"
"Uh...can you take me out of this chair? It's hard as fuck." She asked, a light scowl marring her face. Shrugging, he quickly scooped her up in his arms and set her down under the shade of a large tree.
"How's that?" Tayuya leaned her head back and stretched, enjoying the feel of the lush grass beneath her and the freedom to move as she wished. Well, as free as one could without mobility in their legs.
"Fan-fucking-tastic." He stared at her for a few more seconds before smirking.
"You know, you're not as ugly as usual when you're not scowling." She quickly brought her arms back down and crossed them over her chest.
"Yeah, yeah. Get into your usual stance and I'll tell you what you're doing wrong." He nodded and happily settled himself into a stance that one of the Academy instructors taught him before he became a genin. "...Is that your stance?" She asked after he stopped moving.
"Uh, yeah?" The girl smirked, then grinned, then chuckled, and before long, she was full on guffawing. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes as she began to choke on her own spittle.
"W-What the hell is that? Whoever taught you that shit was TRYING to get you killed!" She screamed in mirth. Naruto's eyes dimmed as his arms slowly lowered to his sides. Her laughter immediately quieted down as she noticed a drastic change in his usual somewhat cheerful expression. "Goddamn, you act like I ripped your balls off or something. I was just kidding about the trying to get you killed part. I'm sure they just didn't know what they were doing." His eyes hardened in anger.
"No, I think they knew exactly what they were doing." Tayuya almost gasped; almost. She couldn't believe that a teacher would purposely sabotage one of their students, no matter how annoying or dim-witted he was. What amazed her even more was that his jounin-sensei or precious Iruka-sensei didn't think to at least teach him the most basic of taijutsu stances. Even if she was just using him to take out Orochimaru, she didn't want her weapon to be in low spirits all the time. It made her feel bad about her own problems. Clearing her throat, she put on her cockiest smile and pointed forcefully at her escort.
"Stop looking like the pitiful brat you are and get back into that stance! I'll tell you what to do from there." She thought she saw a spark appear in his eyes as he immediately straightened up, albeit a little less sure of himself. "First of all, your weight should be on your back leg--good. Now, turn your front foot in a bit to give your self more balance. Doesn't that feel better? You'll be able to move much more efficiently like that." He looked over his shoulder and smirked.
"Looks like I'll really have to start calling you Tayuya-sensei now, eh?" Naruto joked, testing out the new form. He had to admit that it felt much more natural than the one Mizuki taught him. Tayuya flushed slightly and scowled.
"Shut the fuck up, I ain't doing this cause I like you or anything. I just don't want you to get your ass kicked by Orochimaru. Besides, this is the most basic form there is. Now lift your back arm up near your chest-- a little higher-- perfect. Stretch your other arm out in front of you-- not all the way out, dipshit-- yeah, that's good. Now you can strike and block from pretty much any angle, and move in nearly any direction." She smirked smugly as he took a few practice punches and kicks, looking much better than he did only ten minutes ago.
"Yes! Thanks, Tayuya!" She shrugged and waved him off.
"Don't thank me yet; you haven't used it in an actual fight." He smirked and put his hands together in a familiar sign.
"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" A shadow clone popped into existence, much to the surprise of the former sound nin.
"Holy fuck, you never cease to amaze me." He smiled genuinely at the girl before settling himself into the new stance and sparring with his shadow clone. She couldn't keep a tiny smirk from slipping its way onto her face as she watched him. By the time she was done, Orochimaru won't know what hit him.
Both genin were oblivious to the angry pair of eyes watching their every move.
