A/N: First of all, I have to say I'm impressed with the truly (well, for me at least) massive amount of responses to the first chapter, it has shattered all records of my other fics in no time. I would never have imagined to attract this many readers. While it still pales in comparison to some of the truly great authors around here, it still is very nice. So I would like to thank you all for reading and commenting on this story. I've made a habit out of replying to every single review (if signed) and I will keep on doing that.

Again, I thank you all.

Enjoy


Chapter 2

While Jiraiya was still a bit jumpy with Kyuubi around when they left that day, it lessened over time. Nevertheless, he still remembered her warnings all too well. He wouldn't make the mistake to piss her off, because unlike Tsunade, a hit from this fury would actually kill him. But since she seemed to leave him alone as long as he didn't bother her or Naruto too much, he didn't really care. He was too busy thanking the gods. It was unreal, right next to him was the Kyuubi, the most powerful creature on the face of the world, a being known to be pure evil, and yet here she was, chatting happily with a certain hyperactive blonde. The situation, and all of the implications for when they reached Konoha were mindboggling.

Naruto on the other hand was having the best time of his life. Simply walking towards his home, next to a beautiful girl. Only now did he understand why Jiraiya did what he usually did, even if he failed miserably. Having someone that loved you by your side truly felt wonderful, and he was actually beginning to fall for her as well.

"She probably didn't even need to use the seal to make me fall in love with her", he thought as he glanced sideways at her. Ever since that fateful evening, she had surprised him almost constantly, and now that he looked back at it, ever since the valley of the end, she hadn't threatened him or anything else even once. She'd only been asking to be released, and he understood her reason for tricking him as she eventually did. It was to be expected actually, who would ever trust a demon fox. The only choice she had was to break free forcefully and prove herself afterwards. It was only logical, and as it was, she was doing one heck of a job out of it. When she wasn't making a joke of some sort, most of them aimed at the hermit walking a bit behind them, she was either telling something about herself or she was recounting a story from far back in history. Being immortal had its advantages. Though it actually ticked him off a bit that he couldn't tell her even one good story that she didn't already know. She had been living inside of him for his entire life and thus knew everything that he had been through. For someone who liked to tell about his own adventures as much as he did, it was a bit depressing, though Kyuubi's presence at his side blasted it away completely.

It was a completely new experience to him. All of his life he had been training and trying to grow stronger. The few moments he did have contact with anyone of the opposite sex were far too short to have a lasting impression, despite Jiraiya's efforts. He couldn't help but laugh when Kyuubi told him another joke, this time about the two-tailed demon. Apparently she had been sealed when she was busy chasing her own tails.

As they walked, they slowly moved towards each other, neither of them really noticing until they felt their hands brush. They looked at the other, Kyuubi smiling widely while Naruto simply blushed. It was funny in a way, the usually overconfident and boisterous blonde was now quite shy, as opposed to the redhead walking next to him. Though it might have had something to do with their first meeting, well at least not with her as a giant fox. She grinned, he'd get over his shyness soon enough. With the two of them connected as they were, a certain something was bound to be happening soon or later, even if Naruto had asked her to take it slowly.

They stopped at a small village after making a detour and managed to get some clothes for Kyuubi to wear. It wasn't really up to shinobi standards, but she didn't really care. For once, the single most powerful engine of destruction on the face of the earth wasn't interested in violence.

"Well I must say Kyuubi, you look quite good in that outfit", Jiraiya said with a small grin on his face. Even with her warning, he still couldn't resist.

"Eyes forward mister", she growled at him in response to his comment, understanding all too well that he was slipping a bit.

"Give him a break Kyuu-chan", Naruto smiled, "he's got a point you know".

Kyuubi sighed, he was right. The old lady they'd bought the clothes from had done a remarkable job. She was now wearing a black pair of trousers and a T-shirt that had been dyed a deep shade of crimson. Below that were some standard black sandals most of the people in fire country wore. While simple, the clothes fit her perfectly and complemented her looks, causing her to make a lot of heads turn in her direction once she had walked out of the little shop.

It did seem strange to Jiraiya though. No one on the village seemed to be bothered by the fact that Kyuubi was walking around with her fox attributes in plain sight. One of the kids had even run towards her and asked Kyuubi if he could touch her tails. Jiraiya's initial horror had gone over in shock when instead of scaring him off, Kyuubi simply smiled and brought one of her tails to right in front of the kid's nose. The youngster had no idea he was holding something that could wipe the entire village off the map with a simple flick. He shrugged, it was probably because people saw their hitai-ate and assumed that she was either a summon of sorts, or that it was some form of technique. Apparently, the size and location of their village meant they had little to no communication with the outside world, which translated into a lack of knowledge about the events that had taken place about eighteen years before. Perhaps it was for the best he sighed.

"Well", Kyuubi responded to Naruto's statement, "even though they are a bit below the clothes the queen of demons should be wearing, I must admit, they are rather nice".

"They look great on you", he smiled, this time making her blush a bit. She wasn't used to people giving her a compliment. Usually it was something more along the lines of, "die demon", or "ruuuuun". Still, she recovered quickly and hid her blush with a broad smile.

"Thanks Naru-kun", giving him a playful nudge with her shoulder as they walked.

"No problem", he replied, giving her a small shove in response.

What followed was a playful reverse tug-of-war which lasted until both Naruto and Kyuubi were walking shoulder to shoulder, each at an opposite angle leaning into each other.

A small snort made them turn their heads, and they saw that Jiraiya, who had been watching the entire show, was desperately trying to contain his laughter. He was actually doing a decent job of it, right until identical goofy grins came over Naruto and Kyuubi's faces at exactly the same time. This broke the dam and the hermit cracked up until he was literally gasping for breath, the couple in front of him soon following his example.

After they'd finally gotten their laughter back under control, Kyuubi and Naruto righted themselves and continued their journey, Jiraiya following them as he had been before.

Several hours later, Kyuubi was getting a bit irritated. Naruto's hand had been brushing against hers every now and then, and while she looked at him every time with a smile on her face, he never acted on it. It was thoroughly frustrating.

"You're a man for crying out loud Naruto", she shouted in her mind. Much to her surprise, Naruto jumped a bit and looked at her.

"Did you just say something Kyuu-chan?", he asked.

"No, why?", she frowned.

"I thought I heard you say something to me", he said, a confused expression on his face. He could've sworn he heard her say something but it had been so vague.

Behind them, the gears in Jiraiya's mind were turning at a rate that was quite a bit above normal. He'd been watching them with quite some interest. The interactions between the two were amusing to say the least, and while he was no Hyuuga, he could still read people's intentions and general thoughts by studying their body language and facial expressions. Kyuubi right now, was an open book to him. When Naruto asked her if she had said something though, it made his mind go into overdrive. She hadn't said anything, yet Naruto thought she had. Given the fact that he had been communicating with her through a mental link for the past five years, it was simply a matter of putting two and two together.

"I think you two still have the mental connection from during the time you were still sealed inside Naruto", he said to her. He saw a slight twinkle in her eyes and wondered what exactly she was thinking at that moment.

"What do you mean Ero-Sennin?", Naruto asked his teacher. It was clear that he hadn't really been paying attention, or rather, not at him.

"What I'm saying is that the mental connection the two of you had while Kyuubi was sealed inside of you still exists. I don't know how it's possible, but it's there. My guess is that it's because of the bonding seal she put on you".

"You're telling me she can read my mind?", he asked in horror. He wasn't exactly too keen on having her snoop through every single one of his thoughts.

"No, it's probably a severely weakened version of what you had before. I think it's mostly strong emotions that are being transmitted through the link".

Naruto nodded, trying to digest this new bit of information as they walked.

"So if what I heard was a strong emotion Kyuu-chan, what exactly was it that you wanted to tell me?", he finally asked after several minutes of pondering.

"Nothing", she sighed dejectedly.

This however wasn't a good idea since Naruto was known to be persistent. Almost in an instant, it became a reversed version of the nagging that Kyuubi had been doing for the better part of five years.

"Come on Kyuu-chan, tell me, please", he asked, looking at her as if he was begging her.

"I said it was nothing", she fumed, increasing her pace, Naruto hurrying after her.

This continued up to the point where they were racing through the treetops. Kyuubi was getting frustrated. She didn't want to tell Naruto anything, but she couldn't outrun him. She had to keep her chakra suppressed to this level because otherwise she might inadvertedly cause a natural disaster or something. This of course meant that she was restricted in power, comparable to a shinobi at about Kage level, perhaps a bit higher.

"Kyuu-chan", Naruto whined. He was still chasing right behind her.

She decided enough was enough and stepped on the brakes, snapping through the branch she landed on and skidding further along the ground. A stupefied Naruto simply overshot her, slamming into a tree because of losing focus. She sighed, walking through the falling leaves towards the blonde who had slid down along the entire length of the oak, hitting a branch every now and then.

Holding his head, he crawled up back to his feet, only to come face to face with an irritated Kyuubi. He unconsciously took a few steps back, fully understanding why Jiraiya was so afraid of Tsunade when she got angry.

"This is what I wanted to tell you", she almost yelled at him as she grabbed his hand and interlaced her fingers with his, "If you want to hold my hand, just do it. You're a man for crying out loud, show that you've got some guts".

Naruto blushed, but nodded.

"Good, so now that's solved, we better get back on the road", she smiled, eagerly dragging him along.

"Wait a second", he interrupted her, tugging on her hand to make her stop, "Where's Jiraiya?"

"I would appreciate it if you rascals told me whenever you planned on playing a game of extended duration tag you know", an out of breath Jiraiya wheezed as he stumbled through some bushes.

"Couldn't keep up old man?", Kyuubi snickered.

"Hey, have some respect for your elders".

"Just so you know, I think I'm the oldest of the two of us", she grinned as she watched Jiraiya stomp back towards the main road, muttering under his breath, "I can still hear you Jiraiya".

Over the next few days, things continued as they had. Kyuubi and Naruto growing closer bit by bit while Jiraiya continued to follow behind them, careful not to do anything to anger the redhead.

"You really like that shirt don't you", Naruto commented one night as they crawled into the tent for the night.

"I love it", she grinned widely, "and I'm going to keep it".

Naruto couldn't help but smile. It was typically her in a way. Once she had laid her claim on something, she wouldn't budge. You could consider the item in question to be lost for good. Not that he minded about the shirt though. She had the habit of sleeping in it, and only that shirt. It was long enough to be considered sufficient as a nightgown, seeing that she only came up to about Naruto's chin, but even so it gave him an occasional view if she made a sudden move or something comparable.

"I'm glad you like it that much", he said just before he gave her a kiss on the cheek and laid down.

Kyuubi got the hint and placed herself in what seemed to be her favourite position, in Naruto's arms as he laid on his back, one arm draped over his chest, her head resting on his biceps.

"We better get some rest, tomorrow's a big day", he whispered.

"I almost can't wait", she smiled back at him.

Tomorrow was going to be a big day. It was the day they would finally reach Konoha. Naruto's mind was abuzz with all sorts of things. How would it be to see his old teammates and the rest of the rookie twelve again. He'd finally meet Tsunade-baa-chan and Iruka-sensei again. But most of all, he'd get to eat some Ichiraku Ramen again, for the first time in five years. Still, there was the nagging concern about what everyone would say about Kyuubi. He'd ask her and Jiraiya about that tomorrow he decided.

The following day, Jiraiya voiced Naruto's concerns without the latter even having to mention it.

"Kyuubi", he started, "I'd like for you to hide your tails and ears while you're in the village, and perhaps you should use a different name as well".

"Why?", she asked, raising her eyebrow at Jiraiya's question.

"Ermmm, isn't it obvious?", he continued, a baffled expression on his face, "if people were to see you like that, there'd be widespread panic. You'd be attacked almost instantly".

"Their funeral", she grinned, "and if you want a reason why I'm not going to hide who I am, here's one. I'm the bloody queen of demons, like hell I'm going to hide my true identity just because some weak-willed idiots are going to get scared. I don't really care about them anyway".

Jiraiya sighed deeply, resting his forehead in the palm of his hand, he had figured as much. Tsunade was going to have his head for this.

His actions were mirrored by Naruto, though for entirely different reasons. He was actually anticipating the reactions of the villagers. To him, it seemed like she was going to pull a massive prank on the entire village. As he looked up, he saw her grin widely and couldn't help but mirror her expression.

"This is going to be good", he thought as he unconsciously rubbed his hands together.

Several hours later, the gates of Konoha finally came into view.

"There it is", Naruto shouted, almost bouncing all over the place with excitement.

"Oooohh", Kyuubi smiled before turning towards the two males, "can I burn it?".

The two of them were baffled by her question. It actually took them several seconds to regain their composure and both shouted a resounding 'No' at her.

"You guys are no fun", she fake-pouted, turning her back towards them, kicking a pebble in the process. She turned around with a smile on her face as soon as she heard the tell-tale sigh which indicated that they had caught on.

"Don't joke like that please", Jiraiya said disapprovingly, holding a hand over his heart, "It's not good for both my heart and my state of mind". The coming confrontation with Tsunade was obviously having its effects on the toad sage. Naruto didn't envy him. He'd seen the results of her punishment whenever Jiraiya managed to tick the Fifth Hokage off, again.

"I hate this job", Hagane Kotetsu sighed as he lazed about in the gate guard shack. Together with his long time friend and colleague, Kamizuki Izumo, he had been stuck with guard duty for several years now. While it wasn't physically taxing or anything, the mental strain it caused was immense. Boredom could do a lot of damage to a person's mind.

"I know it's a tedious job, but it pays well and it's risk free. Would you prefer to be doing dangerous missions?", Izumo replied, though he too was leaning back in his seat, staring at a nonexistent spot on the ceiling.

"Still, why do we have to keep the gate closed, it's not like Konoha's a sealed off village like Iwa".

"Probably to make sure we don't slack off".

"Slack off? I'd be happy to do something around here. We haven't seen anyone pass through the gate lately, or at least, no one unfamiliar", Kotetsu muttered, angry at his superiors that they would think he'd skip the only times this job had the potential to get interesting, "really, the next person that comes through this gate and that doesn't have the proper authorisation to do so is going to find himself in quite a bit of pain. I'm desperate for some action".

"Errr, Kyuu-chan, what exactly are you doing?", Naruto asked as they approached the gate. Ever since Konoha had come into view she'd been acting a bit off, almost even happier than she had been before. While she didn't do anything threatening, it was still strange to see her so excited.

"Nothing Naru-kun", she replied, but continued skipping forward, a big grin plastered all over her face.

The closer they got, the more cheery she grew. Eventually, it was Jiraiya that figured it out.

"Naruto, hurry up, stop her before it's too late!", he shouted at the blonde, who simply looked at him in confusion.

Meanwhile, Kyuubi had already reached the gate, and with a small tap of her hand, brought it crashing down into the village.

"Too late", Jiraiya muttered, smacking his palm against his forehead. Tsunade's list of strikes against him just kept on growing.

"What the hell did you do that for?", Naruto asked her as he raced to her side. She had already advanced halfway across the gate.

"Well, you said I couldn't burn down the village, so I had to find something else. Besides, you can't expect me not to make an entrance right?", she smiled sweetly at him, completely ignoring the two chuunin sitting in the small hut, mere meters from where the shattered remains of the village gate had landed, their jaws hanging wide open.

It took them several minutes to close them and by the time they had come back to their senses, Naruto, Kyuubi and Jiraiya had long disappeared into the village.

"I think this job is affecting our mental health a bit too much", Kotetsu said incredulously.

"Agreed", Izumo agreed, "I say we get back to missions".

Without another word passing between the two of them, they stood up and headed for the Hokage's tower so they could ask for another assignment, and possibly to get Tsunade to do a mental check-up on them as well.

Naruto couldn't really understand the reactions of the two chuunin on guard duty near the gate, but he didn't really care. At least Kyuubi's little stunt hadn't gotten them in trouble, yet.

Their passage through the village towards the Hokage's tower was less amusing though. Unlike the small village they'd bought Kyuubi's clothes in, the people here instantly recognised Jiraiya, himself and Kyuubi. It didn't take any of the adults long to figure out exactly who she was, not that it was hard. There weren't exactly that many people on the planet with fox ears and nine tails. The result was a crowd running away from them, screaming in terror, much to Kyuubi's amusement. Jiraiya on the other hand looked at her, pleading. It seemed as if she was purposely adding to Tsunade's list against him.

"Stop right there", an angry voice suddenly called out. It was followed by the sound of several men landing on the street right in front of the three travellers. Kyuubi's eyes widened a bit as she took in their numbers and apparent strength. There were fifteen in total, three jounin and twelve anbu.

"Three full anbu squads is all?", she snorted inwardly, "they really think that a measly three anbu squads accompanied by their captain is going to be enough to put me down? Please, that's just insulting".

"Hold it people, she's not here to kill or destroy", Jiraiya quickly stepped in front of both Naruto and Kyuubi. The shinobi however, ignored him and started advancing carefully, weapons drawn and ready to strike.

"We don't know how you got Jiraiya-sama under your control you foul beast, but he'll be free when you die", the apparent leader of the group of shinobi hissed.

"And what about Naruto?", Kyuubi growled as she pushed Jiraiya out of her way.

"The demon brat? We know you had him under control for his entire miserable existence, but don't worry, we'll send him to the afterlife right after we dispose of you".

"And you really think you can kill me", she sneered as she slowly cracked her knuckles, her tails unconsciously starting to whisk faster through the air as she got more excited about the upcoming battle.

She had been so focused on the opponents in front of her, that she was taken completely by surprise when suddenly a yellow and orange blur shot past her and barrelled into the group of shinobi. The resulting fight was surprisingly one-sided. It took Naruto less than a minute to knock out every single shinobi that had found the guts to stand against them.

"Awww, you're no fun Naru-kun", she pouted, a bit miffed because she had been denied the chance to enjoy a fight.

"No, I was just preventing any unnecessary loss of life", he replied, "listen, Kyuu-chan. I know they haven't treated me right during my life, but I don't really care about that. I want to become Hokage one day, and it just won't do if the one I'm bound to starts killing those that will protect".

Kyuubi growled lowly in disappointment. She was still quite angry about the way some of the villagers had treated him, but she really couldn't pay them back with interest if Naruto asked her not to, especially when he looked at her the way he was doing. He was absolutely serious about it, to the point where he would actually go against her if she ever threatened any of them again.

"Fine", she finally admitted. It was no use trying to go against Naruto if he was having that look.

"Well then", Jiraiya said, secretly wiping some sweat off his brow, "if that's all worked out, I suggest we go and see Tsunade before we've got more of these brawls on our hands".

Said person was at that time having a very bad day. First of all, Shizune had discovered yet another one of her secret sake stashes. Then she had been forced to work through several stacks of papers that needed signing and last, but most definitely not least, she was beginning to have reports of something weir going on in the village. She, and many other people had heard the massive crash caused by the gate coming down, but she figured a few squads of anbu would check it out and report back eventually. It wasn't like the village needed her exact guidance at any given moment in time. She did get a bit worried when no one came with some sort of report. The only thing she had heard was a bit of people screaming but nothing more. With the infiltration of an enemy spy lurking around every corner, she wasn't that worried. It happened every now and then and usually caused some people to go around town screaming bloody murder. What didn't happen that often though, was that about half the village was having that exact same reaction, at the same time. Just as she was about to step outside and see what exactly was going on, she heard a loud crash at the base of the tower, followed by a few bangs. She raised an eyebrow, but moved into a defensive stance as she heard the sounds slowly moving upwards in her direction.

"No wait, don't", she heard an awfully familiar voice shout, just before the door to her office was blasted off its hinges and embedded itself halfway into the opposing wall, missing Tsunade by a hair.

"Honestly Kyuu-chan, did you really have to break down every single door on the way?", the voice grumbled again. Tsunade's eyes widened as a certain blonde stepped out of the dust that was still hanging around the doorway.

"Naruto!", she squealed as she ran towards her semi-adopted grandchild and put him into a bone-crushing hug. Only after a few seconds, and after a few impatient taps on her shoulder, did she notice Jiraiya standing beside her. Just then, she realised the destruction in her office and her mood instantly shifted to anger, which she gladly directed into the perverted hermit's direction.

"What exactly is the meaning of all this commotion Jiraiya", she shouted, a vein on her forehead starting to bulge out from her irritation.

"Hey, it's not my fault you know", he shrugged, "I couldn't exactly control her".

That last word caught Tsunade's attention.

"Her?"

"Before you say or do anything Tsunade-baa-chan", Naruto quickly added, "please know that she isn't going to do anything to harm the village or its inhabitants".

"What do you mean?", Tsunade asked, still confused. It didn't last long though. As the dust cleared, she could clearly see a redheaded young woman standing in the doorway. But what really made her eyes widen again, was her physical appearance.

"Kyuubi", she breathed, suddenly feeling petrified by the mere sight of the demon standing in front of her.

"Hi", Kyuubi waved, smiling widely. She actually had a bit of respect for Tsunade. Besides the fact that she was one of the few people that actually treated Naruto right, she was also a woman with a tremendous amount of power, much like herself. In a world where most of the powerful shinobi were men, women of that level were extraordinarily rare.

"But how?", Tsunade asked, shifting her look from Kyuubi, to Naruto and Jiraiya and back.

"Long story short. The seal broke, for some very stupid reason I might add", Jiraiya began, "and now Kyuubi's out and about, but she's not going to hurt anyone, even if it may sound unbelievable. She did however knock down the gate and every single door on the way, and she scared some villagers".

"I see", the Hokage grumbled, her surprise slowly turning to anger, "and is there anything else you should tell me about?".

Jiraiya swallowed, he could already see it coming, but he didn't have any chance to avoid it.

"Yeah, she's in love with Naruto", he added, already bracing himself for the inevitable.

Tsunade snapped inwardly. Standing right in front of her was the reason for the disturbance. Oh, she could already see the paperwork coming. Luckily for her, the perfect way to blow off some steam was standing right in front of her. Without warning, she slammed her fist into Jiraiya's face, knocking him clean through the wall.

"Pheeewww", Kyuubi whistled in awe as she watched him sail through the air over the village in a graceful arc, before making a decently sized crater in the stone wall surrounding Konoha, "looks like you haven't lost the touch".

"It's like riding a bike", she shrugged, "once you've learned it, you never forget. But that aside, what exactly is the meaning of this?".

"Well Tsunade-baa-chan", Naruto started, "It's exactly like Ero-Sennin said".

"And when did all this happen?".

"Five days ago".

"Then why didn't you tell me about this beforehand?"

"Well", Naruto hesitated, "we didn't have any way to contact you, and, umm, we sort of forgot".

Tsunade sighed and sat down on the chair behind her desk before burying her head in her hands.

"So what are you planning to do now?", she asked Kyuubi, looking directly into those blood red eyes.

"Well, since I'm bound to Naruto via a seal of my own design, I was actually planning to live with him and perhaps form a team to perform a few missions every now and then. So I kindly ask you to give me permission to become a Konoha nin Hokage-sama". The 'sama' suffix wasn't exactly necessary, but she felt it would give her a bit of a bonus in Tsunade's opinion.

"You're serious".

Kyuubi simply nodded in response.

"And it's not like I have a choice right?"

Another nod.

"Fine then", she conceded, "but I have a few conditions. I take it you won't be hiding your true self, so I'll be making a few new rules here to make sure that no one attacks either you or Naruto. Nevertheless, this probably won't prevent some people from doing something stupid. So I hereby order you never to kill or seriously injure a person while you're here. If it's someone from another village that isn't our ally, you're free to do whatever you wish, but no one from either Konoha, Suna or any other allied village. For the rest, you are to follow the same laws that are used here. If you fail to do so, you'll suffer the consequences, together with Naruto. Also, you'll be starting as a genin".

Kyuubi started protesting against this, but was interrupted by Tsunade.

"Just so you know, every new shinobi, regardless of ability, must start at genin rank when he or she is allowed to join the village forces. That and Naruto is also still a genin, so if you want to form a team, that's the rank you'll be at. I don't have any other available shinobi at the time, so it'll just be the two of you with no sensei or third teammate, but I don't think that'll be a problem right?"

Neither of the two youngsters in front of her said anything, so Tsunade simply continued.

"The following chuunin exams will be held here in Konoha again, in one month. I take it you'll be wanting to participate in them?"

As they heard this, equally wide grins appeared on both Naruto's and Kyuubi's faces. This was going to be fun.