Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other characters that appear from other anime, video games, or manga, unless they're original characters and jutsu created by me.

Dragon of the Spiral

Chapter 3 – Waiting A Few Years

Two years later, Katakura Compound, Kiba no Kuni

A tall blond teenage boy gripped the sheath of his katana in his left hand stood blindfolded in the large training area, surrounded by wooden human-shaped training dummies with mechanisms attached to their backs. Off to the sidelines in the shade of several trees, a large group of men in blue and gray armor sat in anticipation of what was to come. Above the spectators, lounging comfortably in the tree, sat a young red-haired woman with an ever present scowl marring face.

"Hey Tayuya, aren't ya gonna cheer your boyfriend on," called one of the men while wiggling his pinky.

"Cram it, Fuckstick," she yelled as something in the sky caught her attention. The man laughed at her.

"That's enough," came a calm demanding voice.

The men instantly stopped their laughing under the of the voice's owner. He was a tall gray-haired old-man wearing a brown trench coat with the sleeves rolled up, under it he wore gray chest armor and white slacks with gray shin guards. He fixed his gaze on his two charges, the young woman lounging in tree and the young man standing in the training field.

Under his watch they both matured into a rather "unique" pair of teenagers. Tayuya would still out-cursed anyone that annoyed her in the slightest with her ever increasing vocabulary, but regardless she still matured into a beautiful young woman. She now stood at a nice 5"5' at just over 99lbs giving her a slightly thick build when coupled with her C-cup chest. Altogether the tomboy had a shape most of the female servants desired. She let her hair grow down just past her butt, resembling the length she had when she transformed, and after some goading from Naruto she decided to forgo wearing a head wrapping. She now wore a black sleeve-less zip-up rode with slits going down the back of her legs, that fanned out when she ran, jumped, and fought, but gave the illusion she was a civilian when idle or just walking. It was decorated with blood red-trim lining them and her collar, under that she wore a pair of black shorts, thigh-high shinobi boots with red shin guards, and a pair grappling gloves.

Katakura focused the bulk of her training on improving her genjutsu talents, physical conditioning, and whatever time was left over was put to use trying to figure out how to use her kekkai genkai, but she could only go so far without actually knowing it's fundamentals. So far the only thing she could do was turn her voice into a type of supersonic cannon that had a similar effect of one of Orochimaru's lab rats named of Zaku Abumi, only to much greater effect. She began calling that attack Daihakai-ka (Great Destructive Song). She figured that scaly sodomizer tried to use ninja tools and human experimentation to recreate her kekkai genkai at some point, which pissed her of to no end. She as of yet hadn't figured out how to shatter objects without fear of blowing her own head off.

Just as she grew and matured so to did the young man. Thanks again to the tortures of Katakura's training regiment the once 4"8' shrimp grew to 5"7' with a lean muscular build. After Tayuya used that colorful vocabulary of hers to describe his "look" when they first met and Katakura explaining the importance of being inconspicuous, he changed almost every facet what he considered his style. From the start he never really cared what his hair looked like, he left that to the local barbers and stylists. He know he had to get rid of his trademark blond hair for the time being, so he told them to dye it black, and after that he couldn't care less. They affectionately gave him a cut they called the 15 Special (1). Now his garb consisted of dark blue jacket with gray trim along the zipper and collar, a gray sash, black hakama, and shinobi shoes. To keep his identity secret he used make-up to cover up his birthmarks and when needed he would zip his jacket, which was normally fastened to the base of his throat, all the way up cover to lower half of his face, like his old friend Shino would. To complete his new look, and to replace the bandages where his right eye was once nestled, he wore a black eye patch, a gift from his red-haired friend.

He was trained relentlessly in the use of kenjutsu, physical conditioning similar to Tayuya, and afterwords devoted most of his down to sparring with soldiers from the barracks. One day during one such sparring match, Tayuya tried to place both Naruto and his sparring partner in a genjutsu designed to make them think their clothes wore on fire and the nearest water source was the female only bath house. Things didn't turn out so well for his sparring partner, but they figured out Naruto's condition made most types of genjutsu useless against him. Naruto figured, because his network was in shambles the chakra could go where it was needed for the genjutsu to work.

Naruto studied the ancient scrolls kept by the Katakura Clan and understood the fundamental differences in the energy he could create, known as basara, and chakra. Unlike chakra no specialized organs or networks were needed for it to flow, instead it engulfed the user and flowed according to their fighting instincts and willpower. With that in mind he trained diligently and became quite proficient in the ways of the sword. Currently, his favorite attack was one that combined his hard earned speed, strength, and focus.

"Level 3, BEGIN," Katakura ordered.

At the old general's command the training dummies began cycling around the boy while the mechanisms attached to them started shooting kunai, shuriken, and senbon. The boy grabbed the hilt of his katana and lowered his stance, slowly spreading his legs apart. Then in one swift motion drew his blade with his right hand, fully extending his arm, before quickly sheathing it. The volley of projectiles flew towards their target, when flashes of blue sparks appeared and the sounds clashing metal was heard as the volley of projectiles fell to the ground.

"Senkiru (Thousand Cuts)," Naruto said. Katakura smirked at the boys performance.

"Level 5, continuous barrage," he called.

On his command three new lines of training dummies appeared behind the first encirclement, all with launchers and seal tags attached to their heads and forearms. Each line began cycling around the boy in alternating directions at varying speeds.

"BEGIN," he ordered.

The dummies started circling him faster and began firing kunai, shurikan, senbon, capture nets, and hammers with chains. The boy swiftly draw his sword once more and with blinding speed and grace began deflected the projectiles. As the projectiles continued firing faster and faster, the boy seemed to steadily increase his speed and precision. The tags on the dummies began glowing, each randomly cycling through five colors; red, green, blue, brown, and yellow, and began firing large fireballs, pressurized jets of water, compressed bullets of wind, violent streams of lightning, and giant arching boulders of earth and stone. The boy sensed the elemental attacks nearing him and shifted his foot back to properly intercept them, when the earth below him started to shake and a jagged spike burst from the ground. The boy dodged the spike and spin around it to use as a shield against the water jets and boulders.

He continued to deflect the projectiles, each step he took followed by another spike bursting out of the ground. He dodged, parried, and deflected everything launched at while maneuvering around the spikes shooting out of the ground. As he moved around the encirclement, he noticed the spikes began serving another purpose, limiting his range of motion. To counter the spikes the boy compressed his actions, each move he made became sharper. Instead of resembling sword routine it began to look more and more like a dance. He was concentrating so much on his training he failed to hear the spectators cheering him on from the sidelines.

"The kids gotten good,"

"He's almost as good as me,"

"Says you, didn't the kid almost take your head off last week,"

"HE GOT LUCKY,"

"His footwork pretty damn good,"

"Hard to believe he couldn't tell his left foot from right when he got here,"

"What's it been 2 years now?"

"TWO YEARS, he's only been here two years and he can fight like that. Guy must be a prodigy or something,"

"Oh yeah, forget you were new here,"

"The kid's defiantly got talent. When he first showed up he was injured head to toe and covered in bandages,"

"Hey Red, when the kid finishes up," the guard looked up, but Tayuya was gone, "Where did she go?" The guard looked around the field for her and noticed an elderly woman walking past them towards the training area.

"Wait," the young guard called, "Ma'am this area is off limits to the public." He tried to intercept the elderly woman, but was stopped by the older guards.

"My apologize Lady Chigusa, he's new," the large guard apologized.

"Think nothing of it," she brushed it off with a smile and approached Katakura.

"I wasn't expecting you for another month," he said not taking his eyes of the boy.

"Is that anyway to greet an old friend?" she answered, "Our tour was cut short. A prince contracted us to perform in his country."

"I assume Arisa is overseeing the troupe, are you sure she's prepared for that?" he asked.

"She is more than ready," she raised an eye at his remark, before turning her attention towards the training field, "The Young Master's training has yielded superb results. You've done well Katakura."

"I've given the boy my utmost attention, but even so," she glanced to him, "his progress is impressive."

"There's nothing wrong with having drive," she countered.

"That's not what I'm talking about," his gaze hardened on the boy, "I sense something ominous growing in him. Tayuya companionship seems to slow it's progress and I doubt the boy even noticed it himself, but still it's there." Chigusa focused her senses on the boy and just as Katakura explained the boy gave off an ominous, foreboding feeling as he swung his sword.

"I see," she frowned, "how long do you suppose it's been there?"

"I first noticed it around the time he began his second level training, but I suspect it reared its head around the time he was judged," he deduced.

'The Dragon's Judgment,' she thought back.

Two Years Ago...

The large fortress gates opened to the Spiraling Emotion Entertainment Troupe. Lady Chigusa and Arisa lead the way inside, past the saluting guards. Just past the threshold waiting to greet them stood Lord Kojuro Katakura, Samurai General of Kiba no Kuni.

"It's been a while Chigusa," he bowed his head.

"Seven years, you look well," she smiled, "You remember my granddaughter Arisa."

"Arisa?" he looked behind her at the woman bowing with an amused smirk.

"Hello Master Katakura," she greeted.

"Arisa, little Arisa-chan?" he stifled his laughter as he appraised the young woman before him, "Somehow you grew into proper young woman." She tried to keep the smile on her face, but her twitchy brow gave away her displeasure towards his comment.

"It's nice to see you too," she said. They continued talking as the guards escorted the troupe inside. After they were safely inside the walls and gates closed and Katakura finally felt it was safe enough to ask his question.

"Is what your message stated true?" she nodded, "Has his condition improved?"

"He has improved and he can walk his own, but I've noticed his other symptoms starting to emerge. The boy hides them well, but not enough for me not to notice."

"So the plan I was originally thinking of is likely to slow," he figured, "Take me to him." They did as he asked and took him to meet with the boy they hoped to stake there future's on.

In Naruto and Tayuya's quarters

Naruto and Tayuya just finished taking their medicine, both sat up in their beds to began eating the paella dish on the small table before them.

"This is pretty good," Naruto stated as he scooped another spoonful onto his plate.

"THAT WAS ON MY SIDE, ASSHOLE," Tayuya claimed.

"I'm still injured, gotta keep my strength up," he smiled taking spoonful off her plate and sticking it his mouth.

"I know you didn't do what I think you did," she glared.

"And what are you gonna do if I did?" they stared each other down.

Outside Chigusa, Arisa, and Katakura approached their guests' quarters,

"YOU FAPPY LITTLE BASTARD,"

"BRING IT ON, CARROT TOP," they heard, followed by the sound wood breaking and shattering glass.

"Is this normal?" Katakura asked.

"It has as of late, sorry," Arisa apologized, but Katakura just smiled at her.

"Not at all, reminds me of the old days," he brushed off as they entered. Inside they saw the redhead grasping a broken chair by one of its legs over her head poised to strike the blond boy holding one of Chigusa's walking sticks reverse grip. A strange sight considering the girl was laying down in her bed and the boy had a bent spoon in his mouth.

"Naruto-sama, Tayuya-sama, you have a visitor," they turned their attention to the entrance, "This is Lord Kojuro Katakura, he will be overseeing your training from now on."

"And we don't have time to waste," he got their attention, "because of your condition we can't afford to treat you with kid gloves. Originally I planned to teach you basic kenjutsu styles and history, but because of your situation I decided to go for the sink or swim approach. Your first lesson begins now follow me." Unbeknownst to Katakura his words struck a cord with the injured boy, something told him he preferred this method. Naruto got out of bed, using the walking stick to keep his balance, and followed after Katakura. After the two were gone, the silence was broken as Tayuya put the broken chair down.

"Sucks to be him," Tayuya said grabbing the plate.

Katakura led Naruto through his compound to his private dojo in the back next to a large shrine with ornate statues of ancient gods of war. He knelled down in front of it and placed his hands together like he was praying.

"What I'm about to show you was intrusted to my family by yours centuries ago," he began muttering something Naruto couldn't make out.

The two statues responded to Katakura's chant and slowly began to move. They turned to face away from each other and knelt down on one knee towards Katakura and Naruto. Their heads moved up as if they were staring at Naruto, before each of their right eyes glowed blue and a passageway opened behind them. Katakura stood back up and motioned for the awestruck Naruto to follow. They walked carefully to a long, dimly lite, staircase leading down into the earth.

"This is just like that Princess Gale movie," Naruto muttered.

"This is no joke, your about to enter a sacred place only those of your heritage are allowed to experience," he said.

"Since your here doesn't that mean you'll be apart of it to?" he asked.

"This is a rite of passage is used by your ancestors to unlock the full power of the Dokuganryuu,"

"What is my bloodline anyway, a doujutsu like the sharingan?" Kojuro glanced back at the boy.

"Didn't Chigusa fill you in?" Naruto shook his head.

"She told me about my family and the Uzumaki Clan," Katakura seemed to understand.

"I see. Tell me have you ever heard of the Rikudou Sennin," Naruto shook his head again, "He was the first to explain the true nature of chakra, more than a thousand yours. He spread the ideals and religion of ninshu around the world. Those teachings later his became the foundation for all ninjutsu. The Dokuganryuu however, doesn't follow such teachings. Chakra is created when the you combine the spiritual and physical energies in your body. The Dokuganryuu allows you to combine mental energy with spiritual energy and physical energy with your own life energy to create an energy called Basara."

"What can I do with something like that?" Naruto asked.

"That's something you'll have to ask yourself," he saw the confused look on Naruto's face, "But I can tell you that each of your ancestors that possessed that ability changed the world."

"What do you mean?'" Katakura thought for a moment, before answering.

"The progenitor of your bloodline was said to have conquered the entirety of the Elemental Nations, before they known as such, from the swamps of Numa no Kuni to the snowy plains of Yuki no Kuni," Naruto looked at him disbelievingly.

"You made that up. No matter how powerful someone is nobody could have done that," or so he believed, "If that was true way isn't it in any history books?"

"The same reason the Rikudou Sennin isn't in any history book," the general stated, "Their exploits are far to fantastic for people to believe."

"Okay if all this is true, how do you know about all this?" Katakura stopped dead in his tracks and faced Naruto.

"My clan along with one other vowed a blood oath to your ancestors to serve and protect their heirs for as long as we exist. And we have honored our pledge time and time again. When Uzushio was destroyed and again when Kushina-sama died, we believed we had failed our duty. However, when Chigusa found you and word of your presence and condition spread amongst the clans, we have been preparing diligently for your arrival."

They continued walking in silence. After Katakura's declaration, Naruto wondered just what his ancestors could have done to inspire that much devotion in them. He wanted to know but, he couldn't find the words to ask. They continued down the stairs until they finally came to a archway, Naruto's eyes had yet to adjust from the dim lighting and was temporarily blinded by the brightness. His eyes slowly adjusted and was shocked by what he saw. A beautiful crystal blue lake surrounded by six gigantic statues sculpted out of pure white marble. The rippling blue and white light from the lake bathed the entire cavern with its light. It was the most mesmerizing thing Naruto had ever seen. His attention was drawn from the lake to the statues that surrounded it, each one meticulously detailed to the point they seemed to be breathing. Like Naruto, Katakura took in his surrounding, the last time he entered this cavern with more than 50 years ago with the boy's grandfather.

"This is the Dragon's Well," he said. Naruto snapped back to reality.

"What is this place?" he wondered.

"This is what was entrusted to my clan," Kojuro answered as he ran his hand along one of the statues, "Each statue is a depiction of one of your ancestors."

"If they're my ancestors, shouldn't there be more?"

"Quite astute. More specifically, they were the only ones to unlock the Dokuganryuu," he enlightened, "Each one of them changed the world in some way or another."

"What do you mean "some way or another"?" Katakura looked at him, before pointing to the statue of woman with long hair tied with a ribbon dressed in a hakama In her right hand she gripped a katana reverse grip.

"She ruled and protected the empire the progenitor of your bloodline created. When it was threatened by an invasion from another continent, she with sword in hand annihilated them," he then pointed to another statue. This one of a wild looking man with spiky hair in a tattered looking, loose fit hakama, showing off his chest, over that he wore a haori with the sleeves torn off. Over his right shoulder, he held a long katana with a serrated edge.

"While that man destroyed the empire," that surprised Naruto, "if he hadn't done it we likely wouldn't have the Elemental Nations."

"Why would he do that? Shouldn't he have helped protect it like she did?"

"I have my suspicions, but it isn't my place to speak for him," he said wanting to get back to task at head, "The reason I brought you here is to have you confer with your ancestors. This will be the first step in your training. Originally, I had hoped to give some basic instruction before entering this place, but by doing this first it'll help jump start your process should you pass. Take that path to the center of the lake and meditate."

"That's it?" the graying man nodded. Naruto turned and eyed the stone steps worriedly before continuing on. He walked carefully on the steps, so not to lose his balance. When he reached the center he sat down as instructed and crossed his legs. He closed his eye and began to focus on his chakra, placing his hands in the ram sign. Almost immediately, a sharp stabbing pain coursed through his body and he remembered his condition. Instead of weaving his hands into another sign, he simply placed them in his lap and closed his eye again.

An hour past with nothing seemingly happening, Naruto was starting to feel tired and let a yawn slip and blinked a few times. He turned to talk to his guide, but instead of seeing him at the lakes edge, he saw a vast darkness.

"What the crap!" he jumped up.

"So ya noticed, took you awhile," said a voice.

"Who said that?" Naruto asked.

"Is everyone here?" Naruto turned around to face the unknown voice. The void closed in around him, stopping just short of slab he stood on.

"Alright, lets get started," Naruto faced forward and saw a figure shrouded in light. At its call the figure was joined by five others.

"This will only hurt for a second," said another voice. As its words started to set in he grabbed his head and shouted in pain. He felt like someone had jammed his head in a vice. He tried to endure the pain, but suddenly it intensified and he dropped to his knees, blacking out.

"Still green, he's got much to learn,"

"He is still tainted by darkness. Will that be a problem?"

"He has a strong will. It shouldn't pose much of a threat,"

"Who cares, as long as he can fight,"

"His potential's far greater than the others,"

"I wonder what he'll be like if he reaches it,"

"He'd better be something, I haven't had a good fight in over 2000 years,"

"Shall we see what he can do?" They seemed to come to a consensus and vanished one by one until only one remained and approached Naruto. "How long ya gonna stay like that?" Naruto stirred and sat up slowly.

"Ah, What the hell?" he rubbed his head.

"Kicks like a son-of-a-bitch, huh?" Naruto just stared at the figure, not sure what to make of it, "What's with that look, you should be happy you past the test. And on your first try no less." That put Naruto on guard. He suspected whatever this thing was it knew a lot about him. "Relax kid, from this point we'll see if you have what it takes succeed us," he explained.

"What test? Who are y...," something clicked in Naruto's mind and remembered what the old man said, "Are you?"

"So you finally figured it out," the voice said, "We'll save the intros for the trials." It turned and vanished from his sight.

Meanwhile...

Katakura sat watching the boy meditate with great anticipation. Over the past hour, he watched as the boy's presence on the lake slowly diminished to the point he could have been mistaken for another statue. As he observed him, he took notice of a strange haze starting to surround Naruto as if he was on fire. The air started to feel heavy and he found it difficult to breathe normally. Unsure what this might mean, he focused all his senses on Naruto and saw he was shrouded in a thin blue layer of flame-like energy. He was about to act, but saw the flames weren't effecting him. On the contrary, they seemed to ebb and flow with his breathing.

The aura slowly grew stronger as time went by, until it stabilized several inches from his body. He was very pleased with the seeming success, but stifled his thoughts, so not to jinx the boy's progress. He saw the boy begin to stir and expected him to awaken from his trance, but instead of the aura receding like he expected it ignited engulfing Naruto and blinded him temporarily. When his vision returned he saw the boy collapsed over. Kojuro rushed to his side, fearing the worst may have come to past. He checked the boy's pulse, and let out a relieved breath. The boy was just asleep. He grabbed the walking stick and lifted the boy onto his back before carrying the young successor out of the well.

Present Day...

"I see you believe this may have something to do with his trials," she wondered.

"No matter how much I try to guide him or offer him counsel, that darkness hasn't waned," he explained, "so I'm obligated to believe either he or his bloodline's fostering it."

"Regardless wither he overcomes it or not, its out of our hands," she surmised, "Instead of dwelling on this any longer, can you tell me how the young master's studies are going?" They turned their attention back to Naruto.

"I believe his performance speaks for itself," he deadpanned.

"Indeed, but I'm referring more to his academics," she clarified.

"Ah yes. His studies have progressed nicely in all the subjects I've presented to him. He has a firm grasp of various combat strategy and tactics. I've also sent him on negotiation assignments with some of my contacts from the Merchant Association. The one who really impressed me in this regard is Tayuya," she was intrigued, "Despite her choice of language, she has a keen mind for tactics and strategy. Usually I have the two spar with each other, they work well together. Naruto forces her to think more outside the box and Tayuya forces him to think before acting."

"When you said she was helped slow his darkness, is that what you meant?" she wondered.

"Somewhat,"he thought how he should word this, "She seems to have feelings for the boy, but wither or not they friendly or romantic remains to be seen. She is quite stubborn."

"I see," she stifled a laugh, "How is she progressing?"

"Remarkable doesn't do her credit, but I believe that stems from her competitive nature," he stated, "In the beginning, I thought she was genjutsu-type, but she is more inclined towards taijutsu. I'm not sure where I'd place her skill level though. How is the search for the Asagiri Clan scrolls?"

"Not as well as I'd hoped," she regretted, "It seems Orochimaru has more pursuers then we originally thought. Misinformation is rampant wherever he's concerned." He let out a tired sigh.

"It seems there's bad news on every front," he claimed, "I was recently received a message from the Mazoku. They've been analyzing the treatment process you proposed for the boy and found it was far too life threatening."

"Have they found an alternative,"

"They're using all their resources to find a solution. From the message it sounds like they searching for someone in particular,"

"Not many come to mind, with the ability to restore a jinchuriki's chakra network?" she wondered, "Are they trying to get the Slug Princess?"

"No, they don't want to use anyone with ties to her or any hidden village for that matter," he clarified.

"Did they mention who?"

"Discretion is are their highest concern. They don't want to heal him, just for him to be targeted immediately afterwords," their conversation was ended abruptly by the chorus of cheers erupting behind them. The training area now covered in rubble and debris from the earth spikes and training dummies and at the epicenter stood Naruto. He took a deep calm breath and sheathed his blade, before removing his blindfold. He smiled at waved as he approached the old woman he hadn't seen in so long.

"Been awhile Granny," he smiled.

"It has Young Master," she smiled, "How have you been?"

"Been better," he said, stretching his shoulders, "Oh yeah, thanks for the painkillers." He patted his right shoulder.

"I'm glad they were of use to you," she said, "but your thanks should go to Arisa. She's the one who created those seals."

"Is she here? I haven't seen her in awhile,"

"I'm afraid not. She leading the troupe now,"

"You finally retiring?"

"I have been considering it, but not quite yet,"

"Let me see your sword," Katakura interjected, to which Naruto complied. He unsheathed the blade, glanced at it, then to Naruto with an annoyed look.

"How many times do I have to tell you to conserve your basara, use only the necessary amount," he asked rhetorically, "Look at this blade. It's chipped, bent, and singed. It was brand new this morning, now it looks older than Methuselah." Naruto scoffed looking away.

"It's not like I can help it," he said, "I was holding back as much it as I could. At least its not rusted." Katakura re-sheathed the blade and whacked him on the head with the hilt for his insolence.

"DAMMIT," Naruto shouted, "what was that for?"

"Go take a break. It's almost lunch," Katakura ordered as he and Chigusa walked away, "Can you accompany me to the den, Chigusa?"

"We can continue catching up later, Young Master,"

"Yeah, see ya," he waved. The guards took this time to approach Naruto while he was crouched down nursing the lump on his head.

"Nice workout kid. Wanna join me and the guys in the mess hall? I heard they're serving pork OMPH," the large guard was cutoff by something landing on the back of his head, smashing him face first into the ground. When the dust cleared, they were greeted by everyone's favorite foul-mouthed redhead perched on the back of the unconscious guard's head, with a large menacing grin on her face.

"You're coming with me," sounding more like a threat than a request. She grabbed Naruto by the back of his collar and dragged him away with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Poor bastard," the guards all agreed.

"A little help please," the downed guard pleaded, "I think she broke something."

Noubasho, the second largest city in Kiba no Kuni...

Naruto and Tayuya walked through the hassle and bustle of streets in silence. He knew something was bothering her, but instead of talking about it openly he decided to wait until they reached their destination. He didn't have to wait to long when she stopped in front of their usually stop, Okonomiyaki Ucchan's. They walked in and took their usually spots at a booth at the back wall.

"Well if it isn't my favorite customers," they were greet by a smiling dark brown haired young woman with blue eyes and a plump stomach, "I haven't seen you two in awhile. Where's Haseo?" Tayuya scowled at the mention of his name.

"He took off awhile ago. Said he found what he was looked for," Naruto answered.

"Well good for him," she smiled, "So what are you two gonna have?"

"I'll have my usual," Tayuya said.

"Some here," Naruto ordered.

"Okay, that's 4 okonomiyaki, an order of dango, yakitori, tonkatsudon, 2 yaki soba and 2 sides of tempura," she recited from memory, "Did I get it right?" Naruto confirmed.

"Speaking of something right," Tayuya chimed in, "One too many twinkies or knocked up?"

"Yeah that idiot husband of mine finally did something right," she blushed brightly as she answered the redhead.

"Didn't think he had it in him," Tayuya thought aloud.

"I remember it like it was yesterday, a wonderful night," Naruto didn't like where this going, "a romantic night of dinner and dancing, with just the right amount of alcohol and then..." She seemed to glow even brighter and her unwilling audience know what that meant.

"OKAY, we'd love hear the rest, but we don't want to keep you. It looks the lunch crowd's starting to come in," Naruto hurried her away and sighed.

"So what's up with you dragging me out here?" he asked.

"I was hungry and you were there,"

"Along with 6 guards," he remarked, "You should apologize to Bora by the way. You probably broke something with that entrance of yours."

"Smartass,"

"Learned from the best," he smiled.

"Dammit," she gave up, "I've been thinking about some shit."

"Oh?"

"Assuming were both alive to see our next birthdays, what then?" Naruto vaguely understood, "You can't actually want to stay here the rest of your life."

"Hell no," he answered, "I don't really have any plans beyond surviving my 17th, but staying here isn't an option."

"Maybe settle down somewhere else," she said, "Konoha would probably love have you back. A non-explosive jinchuriki would…."

"You know damn well I ain't going back there," he admitted with little bite.

Over the time she had known Naruto nothing set him off faster then the mention of his old home. After his banishment and the events that lead him to this point combined with his time he spent away from Hi no Kuni, effectively cut any personal affection he had for it. At first he hated them, but as the threat of an extremely violent death loomed closer each day and some therapy, that hate slowly morphed into something akin to complete apathy. He couldn't care less what happened to the leaf, with the exception of maybe three or four people, but that didn't mean he wanted to be reminded of it. Far too many bad memories for his taste.

"What about you?" he continued.

"What about me?"

"After you get that scroll, what are you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna murder that snakeskin son-of-a-bitch in his cold blood," she admitted, "Been saying that since the day we met."

"Well maybe I'll come along," he chuckled, "just get me close enough to him and BOOM. Tayuya gets a new pair of shoes." His laughter was lost on her.

"That's not funny," she deadpanned.

"C'mon, am just kidding," he claimed.

"I'M NOT KIDDING, YOU STUBBY LITTLE SON-OF-A-BITCH," she snapped. He obviously misjudged the situation. Something serious must have been bothering her. He looked around and saw that every eye in the restaurant was on them.

"DO YOU MIND," he got them turn away, "Okay what's up?"

"Never mind," she didn't face him.

"C'mon you dragged me here to talk. Just tell me what's up,"

"I'm thinking about taking care of a promise I made to myself awhile back," Naruto tried to remember if she said anything like that to him and one promise instantly come to mind, but thought it still to early to carry out that one.

"Which promise is that?" he fanned ignorance, "Burn down the Wagarashi Casino in Cha no Kuni, beat the shit out of Temari with her own fan, dig up your old teammates corpses, piss on them, and re-bury them upside down."

'I almost forgot about those,' she thought, "Might take care of those too."

"If it's about the one we were just talking about, you know I'm always up for a road trip," she was about say something when the hostess returned with their large order.

"4 okonomiyaki, dango, yakitori, tonkatsudon, 2 yaki soba, 2 sides of tempura and a strawberry parfait for the lady," she recited.

"Wait, we didn't order a parfait," Naruto corrected as she placed their order down.

"It's on the house. You shouldn't make your girlfriend angry, Sugar" she walked away.

"Ain't that a bitch," Tayuya ignored the look on his face and began eating the dessert nice and slow to mock him. They both ate their meal in silence, only being interrupted by the occasional inappropriately loud belch. The meal seemed to temper her attitude, because after they finished she got real tight-lipped.

"So now that we're full and little sleepy, wanna tell me about this trip of yours?" Naruto picked his teeth, "I hear Tsuki no Kuni's nice this time of year."

His comment had fallen on deaf ear, since Tayuya had already left the booth and made a B-line for the exit. Naruto went to follow, but stopped at the bar to pay the bill and dashed out the door. He scanned the streets for his temperamental friend, when he saw a tuft of red-hair turning around the corner and rushed after her. He caught up to her fairly quick, but her mood hadn't changed, if anything she seemed more pissed off then usual.

"Hey, I have an idea," he claimed

"That's new,"

"I heard that,"

"I know,"

"How about we head over to the arcade," he offered, "Gratuitous violence and grown men crying allows cheers you up."

"I'll pass," she sped up her pace to the compound.

Naruto continued to try and cheer her up with no success. Each of his attempts was met with either a halfhearted threat or snide remark. He couldn't figure out what was wrong, if he pissed her off, normally she take off and blow something up, but apparently that wasn't the case since she was still here. He thought maybe if he just stayed quite and left her to whatever was on her mind she'd cheer up some, but that seemed to set her off more.

When they finally returned to the compound, he was still no closer to figuring out his friend. He was about to try something else, but she had vanished when his thoughts side tracked him. He spent the rest of the day searching for her in and around the compound to no avail. He figured she just didn't want to be found. He called off his search when he heard the dinner bell go off and went to the mess hall. When he arrived he thought he see her eating at one of the tables, but still no Tayuya. He had gotten there before the crowd started pouring in, so he grabbed a tray and loaded up. He saw that same group of guards from earlier setting at a nearby table and took a set next to them.

"Looks like we got another one" one of them pointed at him.

"Huh," he answered.

"Red finally dumped ya?" Naruto told them how he tried to cheer her up and her responses. They just laughed at him for trying figure out what women were thinking, and gave him a drink to try and cheer him up. An hour and several bottles of sake later, Naruto's blacked out form was being carried away to his room.

Later that night...

After the lights went out, and only the faint spotlights from the night guards was present, a lone figure stalked the shadows of the Katakura Compound making its way to the drunken young master's room. The figure made it to his quarters with ease and silently slid the door shut behind them. He knelt down and put his knapsack on the floor, before making their way to his bedside. The moonlight shining through the window revealed the figure's long unkempt red-hair and identity. She stood over the drunk young man and looked at him with a flurry of emotions. She sat down softly next to him and gazed at his blissfully unaware face.

She wanted to tell him about the message she received when he was training, the plans she formulated, and most of all she wanted him to go with her. Earlier as their lunch went on, it was pretty apparent he know something was going on, but his suicidal joke made her rethink asking him at all. Sure he said he would help her, but she wanted both of them to come out of it alive. She noticed each and everyone of his sudden pain attacks over the years, no matter how he tried to hide them and the time between each attack was steadily shortening. She knew Katakura was working with someone to save him and his chances for survival were a hell of a lot higher here than going on what might very well be a suicide mission if her information wasn't accurate. She thought about all the time they spent together, him, her, and even that prick Haseo. She could honestly say those were the best years of her life. The images of those days flash before her eyes in quick succession and she knew her answer.

She reached down to him, but instead of jerking him awake or pulling a prank on him like many had seen her do, she gently traced his cheek and let an uncharacteristically warm smile grace for face. She slowly leaned down whispered something in his ear, before a heated blush appeared on her face. She slowly pulled away and hovered over him, her hand never leaving his cheek, Her smile faded as her blush intensified. She quickly looked around the room, before focusing back on him. She leaned back down and placed a single gentle kiss on his lips. She felt him moan and stir a bit as they kissed. She thought he might have been getting into it albeit subconsciously, when something unexpected happened. The boy let out a loud, alcohol ridden burp into the her mouth. She shot away from him with a hardened scowl as she clenched her fist, but stopped herself before she could slug him. If she did he would have woken up and that would have put her an awkward position. She say him stir once more and took it as her cue to leave.

The Next Morning

Naruto awoke the next morning with a massive headache, last night being his first time drinking he wasn't prepared for the later effects. He lethargically opened his eyes and looked around his room, for a moment remembered how he spent his night. He took a deep breath and held his head, swearing not to drink again. After his eyes adjusted, he got a drink of water and readied himself for another day of training. As he proceeded to the blacksmith quarters for his new sword he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He had this same feeling when he woke up, but dismissed it thinking it was probably because of the alcohol. As he walked around the corner and the blacksmith huts came into view, he heard some of guards talking off to the side.

"Why would she just leave without telling anyone?"

"Who knows. Her room was completely cleaned out,"

"So she's probably not coming back,"

"How's the Young Master handling it?" the guard wondered, "Weren't those two a couple?"

Naruto caught onto the the conversation they were having and dashed off in the opposite direction before they saw him. He ran straight to Tayuya's room and open the door. He scanned her room and saw it was indeed cleaned out, all of her things were gone from her weapons down to the last sock. He rushed out of her room and immediately went see Katakura. He found him lounging in his rock garden drinking tea with Chigusa.

"Master Naruto, how are you this morning?" the old woman greeted.

"She's gone,"

"You found out about that rather quick," Katakura stated.

"Did you send her on a errand?" he asked.

"No, she left sometime in the night," Katakura claimed, "She didn't leave us many clues to where she could be heading."

"Perhaps that's the idea," Chigusa interjected, "Some of the servants had the impression you and she had a fight yesterday."

"I wouldn't call it a fight," he thought, "more like dodging."

"She probably wanted to tell you something, but changed her mind," Naruto thought back to his conversation with her and felt like banging his head on the wall for being so blind. He turned to leave when Katakura spoke.

"You plan to go after her," he nodded, "even though she doesn't you to?" The boy nodded again.

"How do you plan to find her," Katakura asked, "She's a better tracker than you. Do you know where she's going? Does she have any contacts?" Naruto thought she would head for Oto no Kuni, but he couldn't be sure of thought and besides that guess, couldn't answer any of his teacher's questions.

"So you want me to wait till her trail completely vanishes or she turns up again," he knew that if Orochimaru catches her she won't ever be found, living or other wise.

"Perhaps there's another option," Chigusa thought aloud, "Maybe you should meet with the Mazoku." Katakura stroked his stubbled chin and thought about the effects her idea.

"I think that may be our best option," he deduced, "If Naruto goes to them with a request, they won't deny it if he proves himself. And their information gathering abilities are greater then our own. Would you be willing to sacrifice all your progress here to go after her."

"What do you mean?" he didn't understand.

"The Mazoku are fiercely loyal to your lineage and they don't like weakness," Katakura explained, "If you don't meet their standards, they may hold you indefinitely. Are prepared for that?" Naruto didn't even need to think it over and turn to pack some things.

"What kind of question is that," he answered, "It's obvious what my answer is." With those words he left their presence.

"You've certainly done a good job," the old woman smiled. Katakura let a small almost unnoticeable grin creep onto his face as they watched the boy leave.

Somewhere on the Kaze no Kuni Border

Tayuya stood in an office facing down someone she really really wanted to kill, but couldn't afford to.

"It's been a long time, Tayuya of the North Gate," he smiled at her, "Oh I'm sorry. I forgot your no longer in Orochimaru's employ. Should I just call you Tayuya-chan." She really hated this guy. She looked around his office and noticed how just about nothing stood out; mahogany bookshelves filled with random books, a few potted plants here and there, black leather couches, a coffee table and a S-shaped desk where he sat with his computer. If she hadn't known any better she would think his business was legit. However the one thing that stood out most was a peculiar looking board game at the end of the desk next to the computer.

"Your still playing that moronic game," she stared at the odd assortment of Shogi, Chess, and Go pieces.

"And why wouldn't I continue this grand game," he looked out of the giant glass windows to the city below with a croaked smile, "everything's just starting get exciting." She got the feeling he wasn't talking his board game.

"Where's the information I asked for?" she wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"Now, now, you know as well as I do that everything has a price, Tayu-chan," he picked up a file out of his desk and waved it around.

"How much?"

"This one's on the house," he tossed it to her, "I have a feeling just you coming here is all the payment I'll need." Tayuya looked the information over.

"Remember this information is about our favorite fork-tongued friend, with him there's no telling how accurate this really is," he told her as she left, "I'll be sure to tell them you said hello." She flipped him off and slammed his door shut. The man laughed at her obvious reaction.

"Human being's are so predictable," he laughed out.

Harute's Corner

Daihakai-ka (Great Destructive Song)

Rank: B

Classification: Ninjutsu

Class: Offensive

Range: Short - Medium

Tayuya kneads chakra in her vocal cords to magnify her voice into a pressurized supersonic blast capable of leveling the immediate area or decimating target(s).

Senkiru (Thousand Cuts)

Rank: B

Classification: Kenjutsu, Kekkai Genkai

Class: Offensive, Defensive

Range: Short

Naruto focuses all his attention on his immediate area and anticipates the trajectory of any incoming projectiles, then with the aid of his basara draws his blade at superhuman speeds and intercepts them before they reach their targets. When done correctly this move appears as a single horizontal slash.

Author's Notes

(1) 15 Special – Ichigo's hair cut when he appeared to fight Aizen, when Gin was killed (image link in profile)

Chapter 3 – Waiting A Few Years has been revised and titled. I put a description of both Naruto and Tayuya's skills along with an image of Naruto's new cut in my profile. Tell me what you think of the edits. It's the last bit of build up we'll probably see for a while, after this a lot of things are gonna start happening and I'll be I'll be introducing Lightning Road's first two members. Tell me what you think of the Senkiru and Daihakai-ka.

Till then keep reading and reviewing.

Harute Haptism