Primal
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Naruto talking to Kyuubi in bold.
Kyuubi talking to Naruto in bold italics.
Chapter 4
A few minutes later, Orochimaru smirks. This was a most wondrous opportunity. Not only would he have an Uchiha as his next vessel, he might very well soon possess the power of a Jinchuuriki.
"Naruto, this doesn't need to end in tragedy. You want to ensure that Suki safe and so do I. She's far too valuable to me to allow anything to happen to her. What I propose is very simple. You would stay in the Sound. We find Itachi. He can become my next vessel and then Suki can return to the Leaf with you." He says.
Naruto's eyes narrow. That sounded a little too perfect. Sure, Orochimaru would probably take Itachi's body as fast as he would Suki's. Why would he just give her up though? That didn't make any sense.
"Leave him out of this!" Suki snarls at Orochimaru.
"Now, now, Suki. This is Naruto's decision. Just as you decided to come to me willingly, he should also be extended the same courtesy." The Sannin coos at her.
Suki felt white hot rage rushing through her veins. Naruto didn't belong in the Sound. She had to kill Itachi and she would pay whatever price was necessary to do that, but Naruto didn't have to.
"Just go back home. You don't belong here." Suki tells Naruto.
"You did manage to draw blood, but the Mark didn't take. If you want her as your Mate, you'll have to bite harder next time. The chakra exchange has to take place, for it to be a true Mating." Kurama says.
Naruto blinks in confusion. He didn't know what Kurama was talking about, but it sounded important. Was that why he wanted to bite Suki so much? He wanted to Mark her? What did that mean?
"Marking? Mating? What are you talking about? You aren't making any sense? What do you think about Orochimaru's offer?" He replies.
"It would be easier just to go along with it. Once you are alone with the Uchiha, you can Mark her and then use the Flying Thunder God Technique to return to the Leaf. As for Mating, I'll explain that later. Right now, you need to keep your eyes on the Sannin." The Nine Tails reminds him.
Naruto frowns as he considers Kyuubi's advice. He did have a point. It might just be easier to stay and grab Suki at the first opportunity. Then he could take her home. Oh she'd be mad at him, but it was for her own good.
He couldn't seriously let her stay here. Not with Orochimaru. He wasn't going to lose her again. Naruto remembered what happened during the fight with Haku once more and shivers. No. He never wanted to feel that way again. One way or another, he was going to save her.
"He's right about one thing. It's my choice." Naruto says.
"Yes, which is why you should go back to the Leaf. Naruto, I can handle this. This has nothing to do with you." Suki tells him.
That irritated him. Why couldn't she just let him help her? Why did she always have to act like she had to do everything on her own?
"I'm staying. It's the smarter deal. Orochimaru gets Itachi. So he'll get his vessel. You'll avenge your Clan and you can come home." Naruto reasons.
"Are you out of your mind?! Go! I don't want you here!" Suki growls at Naruto as she charges at him, forming a Chidori.
"You're Mate is going to be a handful. The sooner you Mark her, the better." The Nine Tails informs him.
Naruto have time to formulate a response to that little gem though . He was too busy, dodging Suki's attack. His friend really didn't want him to stay here. The blonde decides to take that as a good sign.
On some level, Suki realized that this place was bad news. She knew that it was dangerous to be here. That and she feisty Uchiha didn't want him here. She didn't want him here because she knew that Naruto could get hurt or even killed at the Sound. Suki still cared about him.
"I said that I'm staying!" Naruto says as he grabs her hand and slams her into the wall.
He quickly grabs her hands and wraps them around her back. Suki's hands were lethal. Whether it was Taijutsu or Ninjutsu, they could prove deadly. He needed to make sure that she couldn't use them or her Sharingan on him.
Suki tries to slam her elbow into Naruto's stomach. Unfortunately, his grip was too strong. It was just like before. When had Naruto gotten this much of an edge on her when it came to brute force? Was it the Nine Tail's influence?
"Naruto, let go of me." She hisses at him.
"Not until you realize that I'm staying. I'm not going back without you. I meant it when I said that I didn't deserve to be Hokage, if I couldn't save my friend." He tells her.
Suki didn't know whether to laugh or cry at that moment. Naruto really did believe that. He thought that it was that simple. The good guys would always win in his mind. The blonde just didn't understand the way the real word worked, but she did.
"I'm late!" She said to herself as she raced back inside her family's District.
She had stayed late at the Academy. Suki had been practicing her kunai throwing. Her goal was to become a powerful ninja, just like her big brother and maybe then her father would acknowledge her too! Like he did Itachi!
Now though, she was late. Suki knew that she was going to be in big trouble. That was why she ran as fast as she could through the District and towards her house.
"It's so quiet." Suki whispered to herself, slowly slowing down.
It was too quiet. It was as bit late, but it wasn't that late. There should still be some people out in the streets or at least some lights should be on. Where was everyone?
Cautiously, she approached her house and entered. She looked around, but didn't see anyone. Suki didn't see her mother, father, or brother. Feeling more frightened, she decided to check her parents' bedroom. That's where she found them. Laying in a pool of their own blood.
"Mother! Father! Wake up!" She screamed as threw herself on their bodies and tried desperately to wake them up.
Her young mind didn't want to believe that they were actually dead. Despite all the blood, she thought that maybe she could save them somehow. She screamed and screamed for help.
"They aren't going to wake up. They're dead." She heard a familiar voice say.
"Itachi! Who did this?!" She asked.
"I did. I was the one who killed them and the rest of our Clan." He told her and her eyes widened in horror.
That couldn't be right! Her big brother wouldn't do that! This couldn't be happening! It couldn't possibly be true!
"Why?! Why?!" Suki demanded, tears flowing freely down her young face.
"To test my limits." He told her and Suki felt an unfamiliar emotion bubble up inside her.
It was dark and hot. It hurt. It wasn't just sadness, it was something else. It was hatred. For the first time in her young life, she knew what it truly felt like to hate someone.
"To test your limits?! That's the reason you butchered every single member of our Clan?!" The Uchiha girl yelled at him.
"Yes. You're pathetic. You're not worth killing. One day though, you might be. Nurse your hatred. Let it make you stronger. Then come find me. Maybe you'll be wroth fighting one day." He said as he used a Jutsu on her that she had never seen before.
When she woke the next day in the hospital, she overheard the medics talking. Her family was gone. They were never coming back, but she was going to avenge them. Suki was going to find Itachi and she was going to make him pay for what he did to their Clan! She would avenge them!
"The world doesn't work like that! You can't always get what you want! Go back to the Leaf!" She snarls at him.
Naruto watches as Suki became practically rabid. It was like trying to keep a tigress pinned to the wall or something. She kept trying to free herself from his hold, but he wasn't going to let it happen. This time, he was going to save her.
"Maybe not, but I'm not going to give up. He offered me a chance to stay and I'm taking it. I'm not leaving you behind." He tells her.
"Suki, he's made his decision. You should respect it." Orochimaru says gleefully.
If Suki hadn't been pinned to the wall, she would have punched Orochimaru. Wait. It had worked once before. Maybe she could shock Naruto off of her again.
"Her chakra is beginning to spike. She's going to attempt a Chidori. Knock her out." Kurama says.
Naruto quickly aims a swift blow at Suki. It was just hard enough to render her unconscious, but not to cause permanent damage. He sighs as he catches her in his arms.
"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" Naruto whispers.
"Women are like that. Come Naruto, there is much that you have to learn." Orochimaru says with a smirk.
Naruto tries to fight back the impulse to attack Orochimaru. He knew that the man was weak. He needed the transfer soon. Somehow though, he was standing and walking. The blonde doubted that would be the case for long though.
"Later. I'm going to find someplace safe for her to rest." He insists.
Orochimaru smirks. Ah yes. It was all going according to plan. Clearly, a Mating was going to happen soon. He had already tried to bite her. It was only a matter of time.
"Very well. I'll have Kabuto show you to her room." He says as he heads back to his own.
He was growing far too weak. They would need to perform a transfer and quickly. For now though, he needed his rest.
"Follow me." Kabuto says simply.
Naruto does so. He was still carrying Suki in his arms. It wasn't lost on him that he was carrying her Bridal Style. If Suki woke up right now, he was sure that she would have tried to kill him.
"You may share a room with her. Lord Orochimaru figures that the two of you will want to be close to each other." He says.
"Yeah. Thanks." Naruto says as he gives Kabuto his best Death Glare.
At that moment, Naruto found himself envious of Suki. No one had a better glare than her. She could have scared anyone with that trademark dirty look of hers. Unfortunately, he'd just have to make due with what nature gave him for the moment.
Thankfully, it worked. Kabuto nods at him and heads off. The second he was out of sight, Naruto lays Suki down on the bed and shuts the door behind Four Eyes.
"Soundproof the room. She's going to be furious when she wakes." The Nine Tails points out.
"Yeah. Good point." Naruto agrees as he does exactly that and waits for Suki to wake up.
Meanwhile back in the Leaf Village, Tsunade groans as most of the Rookie Nine and Gai's Team give her their report. This wasn't good news at all.
"So you encountered Suki Uchiha, but she escaped?" She demands.
"Yes. She flickered back into the village. We had to leave. Otherwise, we would have been fighting the entire Sound Village." Ino says.
Tsunade sighs and nods. She couldn't exactly argue with the other blonde there. That wouldn't have ended well for them.
"Wait. Where's Naruto?" Tsunade thunders at them.
That's when every other member of the Rookie Nine and Gai's Team look around for Naruto. Damn it. He wasn't with them.
"Oh no! He must have gone back for her!" Sakrua cries out in terror.
Was Naruto trying to get himself killed? Sakura knew that he wanted to get Suki back. She wanted to get their friend back as well, but this was just suicidal.
"If we send a team in after him, it will be the end of him. As one person, he might be able to escape. There is also the slight chance that somehow he might be able to retrieve her on his own." Tsunade says.
"We can't just leave him there!" Sakura and several of the others chorus at once.
"If you charge in now, you'll be facing the entire Sound Village. It will be a suicide mission. I can't condone that. Stand down! That's an order from your Hokage!" She snaps at them.
She didn't like doing it. Tsunade wanted nothing more than to charge in and save the day, but that would likely get them all killed. She could only hope that Naruto would come up with a plan or get extremely lucky.
A short while later, Naruto was still in Suki's room. She was still unconscious. He sighs and sits next to her, running his fingers through her hair.
"Her fur is rather well kept." Kurama offers and Naruto could only nod in agreement.
Despite the spiky appearance, it was surprisingly soft. It felt like velvet really. He smiles at the sensation. Naturally, that's the moment that Suki chose to woke up.
He was suddenly staring into a pair of very angry ruby red eyes. Uh oh. Naruto wisely jumps back a few feet.
"I can't believe you knocked me out!" She growls at him.
"I had to. You weren't listening to me!" Naruto says.
"So you're saying, that I should knock you out all the time. You never listen to me! I told you that I would come back to the Leaf. I just have to kill Itachi first!" She snaps at him.
"Well now I'm going to help you do that." The blonde replies.
Suki sighs. Naruto was impossible. He was going to get himself killed at this rate and she wasn't sure how to prevent that.
"I can't do this. I can't chase Itachi and worry about you. Naruto, why couldn't you just listen to me?" She demands.
"I told you why. Besides, I can help. I have the Nine Tails!" He exclaims.
"Fine. You can stay. Just don't bite my neck again." She says, hoping that he'd leave it that.
Naruto sighs. He wraps his arms around her and hugs Suki. He knew that she didn't want him there, but now he knew why. Suki still cared about him. That's what mattered most.
"Yeah. About that. I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." He whispers.
"It's okay. It's not you fault." Suki whispers back.
Naruto didn't know then. Damn it. He had almost demonically married her and he didn't even know it! She wasn't even sure how she was going to explain that to him. She did know one thing though, she couldn't tell him until after Itachi Uchiha was six feet under.
Elsewhere Itachi was speaking with Obito. Well he mentally corrects himself. He was speaking with "Tobi." It was really Obito though. Obito who sometimes pretended to be Madara Uchiha. (Honestly, the man had more identities than most people had sandals.)
"You're growing weaker and you know it. If this keeps up, you'll die long before she can kill you." He taunts the other man.
"I'll worry about that. After my death, you are to leave her alone. She has nothing to do with either of our sins." He says.
That's when Itachi launches into a coughing fit. The younger Uchiha coughed up alarming amounts of blood. Damn it. The medicine wasn't working as well as it used to.
As much as it pained him to admit it, Obito was right. He was going to have to act quickly. Sadly, that snake had a hold on Suki now. If he couldn't lure her away from the Sound, he was going to have to visit that village.
"Once you are dead, there really isn't anything to stop me. I do wish that you would cease playing the role of a martyr. It truly is a shame. You have such potential and a new world is about to dawn. It's a tragic that you've chosen not to see it." Obito continues.
Itachi's eyes narrow. If it wasn't for Obito, he didn't know whether or not, he would have been able to go through with it. The memory of that horrible night still weighed heavily on his soul. It had to be done though.
Despite that, he would do it again. Itachi had prevented a war. That was more important than any personal suffering he was enduring. His only regret was that Suki had to suffer along with him.
"You are aware that she's gone to Orochimaru, are you not?" Obito inquires.
"I'm aware. She won't stay with him. He's foolish, if he really believes that she's going to give him her body. She's just using him in the same manner that he believes that he's using her." Itachi reasons.
"I suppose that we shall see if that is indeed the case." Obito says and Itachi could only nod in agreement.
In all honesty, he probably had less time than Orochimaru left. He needed to act quickly. Itachi just wasn't sure how he was going to lure her away from the Sound, but he would find a way to do it. He had to.
Back in the Sound, Suki sighs. It was apparent that Naruto wasn't going to listen to reason. Now she had to find a way to kill Itachi and prevent her loveable, dumb blonde from getting killed.
"Kabuto said that I could stay with you, in your room." Naruto says.
"Wait. What?!" Suki demands in outrage.
Oh when she got her hands on that damn medic, she was going to strangle him! That idiot knew that Naruto had tried to Mark her. That was probably why he was so eager to have her share a room with Naruto. Damn him.
"He said I could share a room with you. It'd probably be safer. I mean this place is crawling with creeps. I can protect you easier this way." He says.
Of course, Naruto would say that. He probably meant it too. Any other guy would have tried to take advantage of the situation, but Naruto just wanted to play her Knight in Shining Armor.
"Naruto, I'm a big girl. I don't need you to protect me. I've been here for years. I'm fine." She insists.
"Well now you'll be better than fine." Naruto says.
"I have no idea what I'm going to do with you. I guess we'll share the bed. It's better than having one of us sleep on the floor and mess up our back." She says.
Suki was trying her best not to blush. Naruto might have still been completely innocent, but she wasn't. Naruto was her first kiss and she'd never gone further than that, but she knew about kunais and pouches. She knew enough about the topic to realize what happened more often than not when men and women shared a bed.
"Suki, are you alright? You're face is turning kinda red." Naruto says.
Damn it. Why was this happening to her? Why couldn't Naruto just stay in the Leaf where he was safe? Why did he have to see her blush? Well at least he didn't realize that she was blushing. That soothed her pride a bit.
"Nevermind. Let's just get some sleep. It's probably going to be a long day tomorrow." She says with a sigh as she gets on the bed and waits for him to join her.
"Yeah." Naruto agrees as he gets on the bed with the girl who was constantly haunting his dreams.
At some point, Suki fell asleep. Naruto smiles when he felt her curl into him. She might not let anyone near her when she was awake, but it looked like she was actually a cuddler.
Who would have ever imagined that? Suki Uchiha was a cuddler. Damn. It was like the world had turned on its axis or something.
"Please don't wake up and kill me." Naruto whispers as he lifts the sleeping woman in his arms and flickers to the Seal.
He'd take her back to the Leaf. Suki was going to be furious with him. He knew that. Still Naruto would rather have an angry, live Suki than a dead Suki.
"That's better. Sometimes one has to be firm with their Mate. If you aren't, they will walk all over you." Kurama says knowledgably.
"What's the deal with all this Mate Stuff anyway?" Naruto demands as they arrive in the Leaf Village.
Kurama shakes his head. Naruto was young, but was he really that young? He couldn't believe that he was going to end up playing matchmaker to two "baby ninjas." He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at that irony.
"You'll see." He says cryptically and the Nine Tails chuckles when he hears Naruto's rather colorful response to that.
"Oh that was helpful! You useless old fleabag! Would it kill you to just give me a straight answer for once?!" Naruto demands.
Kurama chooses that moment to ignore Naruto. Naruto grumbles and takes Suki to Tsunade's office. Granny Tsunade would know what to do, right?
His instinct was to call out to her, but he knew better. That would wake up Suki. So he looks for the busty blonde and sighs in relief when he found her still in her desk.
"Naruto? How did you get back?" She asks in astonishment.
"Flying Thunder God Technical. I placed a seal in the Leaf and at the Sound. I tricked Orochimaru into thinking that I was joining him. I got Suki. I'm just not sure what to do with her now. She's going to be really, really mad when she wakes up." Naruto whispers.
"Well first things first, chakra cuffs are a must." Tsunade says as she takes out a pair and slaps them on Suki's wrists.
Uh oh. Naruto knew that Suki was definitely not going to like that. Sadly, he couldn't really argue with Tsunade's logic. They were kinda needed.
"Alright. Then what?" He asks.
"You put her down, I think she's waking up." Tsunade points out and Naruto gulps as he sets Suki down in a chair and the youngest Uchiha looks around in confusion.
"Where am I? The Hokage's office?" She whispers.
"Yeah. About that. I kinda used the Seal to teleport us here. You're safe. Sorry about the cuffs, but it's just a precaution." Naruto says brightly.
"…" Suki is speechless.
She was back in the Leaf. She was back in the Leaf AND cuffed. How the Hell did this happen?
"You actually outsmarted Orochimaru. I can't believe it." She says with a sigh.
"Yeah! I did! Believe it! Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" He demands.
"Well usually, planning isn't really your strong suit. You tend to rush in without thinking about the consequences." Suki replies and Tsunade shakes her head.
She couldn't argue with that accurate description. The Hokage knew that Naruto was going to though. Oh boy. This was going to be a long night and it likely wouldn't take Orochimaru long to realize Suki was missing. All Hell was about to break loose.