Naruto's Monstrous Daily Life!

by djunk101

Naruto thought sealing Kaguya would solve all his problems, instead he finds himself stranded in a strange new world with the now powerless Goddess. At least that nice Ms Smith seems willing to help him out. She's even provided him with a house in return for looking after some people for her whilst he tries to find a way back home. How hard could it be? If only he knew. Harem

6. Chapter 6

Hey guys and gals! Here's chapter six. Sorry it took so long, but there were a couple of things Drake wanted to do before we started writing out this chapter. That's not to say I was twiddling my thumbs waiting. I took that time to plan this chapter out further (as well as about the next four), develop more story ideas, deepen preexisting future character plans, and got three commissions done, and there's another on the way! One of Kaguya as she appears in the story, one of a future character, and one special one for this chapter. As usual, you can find them all on my deviantart. The idea for this chapter was one me and Drake had way back before we even started on chapter 2. A lot has changed since then, but the basic idea is still there. And with the theme of this chapter, it's quite appropriate that we were able to get this out in October!

Before we get started on the chapter, I want to say a few things. First, as I've gotten a ton of questions about this, Kaguya will NEVER regrow her arm. She may get a prosthetic at some point in the future, but she'll never have a flesh and blood left arm again. Second, please do not ask for specific girls. I've already made my decision about most of them, so asking won't change anything. Also, I'm aware of the online game. I will not be using any of its characters, but I have taken inspiration from some of the species for OC, Toph being an example of such. Finally, if you want to ask me a direct question, do not do it in a guest review. I have no way respond to those. I'm not saying don't leave guest reviews, but if you do and ask a direct question, don't expect to receive an answer. Anyhoo, I've blabbed on long enough. Let's get this show on the road!

Disclaimer: Insert funny quip about how I don't own Daily Life with a Monster Girl or Naruto.

---

Chapter 6

There was an uneasy silence as Chichi observed the scene of the crime. She had be woken from her uneasy slumber by Kaguya's scream and had immediately raced towards the sound. Currently there was Naruto, herself and Toph stood around an unconscious Kaguya, who was laid face down on the bed, covered with the same slime that was on the side of the house.

The room was undisturbed, besides the slime trail from the window to the bed and there were no signs of a struggle. Clearly Kaguya had either been taken by surprise, either not knowing the attacker was in the room or knowing who the attacker was. She bent down to look at Kaguya, checking her for injuries but she appeared perfectly healthy, bar some light bruising on her forehead.

"Is she alright?" Naruto asked uncertainly.

"She's just out cold. By the looks of things she took a blow to the head. I would advise calling a medical professional to look after her, but first we need to figure out what happened, lest a similar fate befall us."

"Ha!" Toph snorted. "Like I'd go down as easy as the bunny hag! If whatever attacked her comes after me I'll kick its ass!"

Chichi narrowed her eyes and looked at Toph critically.

"What? Ya wanna fight?!" Toph scowled right back at the Arachne.

"I was just thinking, you would have the motive to attack Kaguya," Chichi rubbed her chin. "Which is more reasonable than believing some demon attacked her."

"What? How the hell would I have done that?" Toph snorted. "I was sleeping next to you, ya stupid pig."

"True," Chichi chose not to respond to her insult. "Which leaves you Handler-san."

"Me?" Naruto blinked, "When you two woke up I was in the same room."

"Which would have been a convincing alibi," Chichi nodded. "If not for your ability to create clones of yourself. I see what happened." She paced the room. "Earlier today you left a clone behind to monitor Toph and myself. On seeing us leave the house in direct violation of the agreements that allowed us to stay here, you decided to punish us. The clone heard Jackie-san telling us about the ghost story surrounding this place and you decided to scare us, using the slime. After seeing how scared it made us, you decided this would be the perfect opportunity to get a bit of revenge of Kaguya, who we all know doesn't treat you with the respect you deserve. It was the perfect crime," The Arachne crossed her arms. "You get revenge on Kaguya-san and get to blame it on a ghost story!"

"...Eh?" Naruto tilted his head. "First things first, what ghost story are you talking about? Second, if I wanted revenge on Kaguya I'd just prank her again. I wouldn't attack her. I mean she's pretty much helpless as it is." He rubbed the back of his head. "It wouldn't feel right."

"But out of all of us gathered here, you're the only one with the motive and ability to have attacked Kaguya." Chichi pointed out. "Plus you're not wearing your jacket."

"How is that suspicious?" Naruto and Toph shared a confused glance.

"It was damaged in the struggle with Kaguya-san." Chichi nodded. "So you had to hide to make yourself look innocent!"

"Okay if I can create clones and used a clone to attack Kaguya, how would my coat have gotten damaged?"

"...Er…" Chichi faltered. "W-well you are still the only one who could have done it when looking at all the evidence."

"Unless there is someone else here," Toph pointed out.

"Well yes," Chichi shivered. "But I prefer to deal with the facts I have in front of me. I can't comment on evidence I haven't seen."

"And the fact is I was with you when Kaguya was attacked. I don't tend to have my clones summoned unless I need them, seeing as Kaguya would whine that I am 'wasting her chakra'." He reached towards aforementioned lady. "Besides if I heal her, she might wake up and tell us what happened to her." He placed his palm on her forehead and closed his eyes as he left the chakra flow into the former goddess. He could feel her third eye beneath his hand as Kaguya started to stir as his healing chakra started to take effect, much to his surprise. 'I thought she had lost it when her powers were stripped. Come to think of it, if she still has that eye then maybe her other powers are still there but she can't use them since she doesn't have any chakra?'

'I guess it isn't impossible.' Kurama yawned. 'Do you think that's such a good idea? Didn't she seem pretty upset last time you healed her?'

'I'm sure she'll be more understanding this time.'

"Ah…" Kaguya gasped as she started to wake up, a slight blush on her face. "W-what is happening?"

"You were attacked," Naruto smiled at her. "Are you okay?"

"Mm…" Kaguya closed her eyes again, leaning into his hand as the warmth started to spread through her body. "That's nice…" She started to doze off again as the energy started to swirl around inside of her, stirring up feelings she had not felt in a long time, causing her to fully wake up and kick Naruto away from her."Y-you indecent servant!"

"Eh?"

"You were doing that again!" She pointed at him angrily.

"Heal you?"

"Ha! What you call healing is actually..." She blushed deeply. "Your chakra molestation technique!"

"Okay?" Naruto backed off with his hands up in the air. "Well at least you are okay," He offered a hand to help her up, but she hit it away and struggled to her feet, refusing to meet Naruto's gaze.

"Do you remember what happened?" Chichi stepped forwards. "Who it was that attacked you?"

"W-well," Kaguya frowned. "What I remember is…"

---

Flashback

Kaguya face reflected her inner turmoil as she headed up to her bedroom, her mind still racing with the fact that Naruto of all people shared her 'DNA' as the doctor called it. She and he were distantly related, albeit so distant that it barely mattered. Still the fact was her servant had noble blood, the same as hers even if it was heavily watered down.

She pushed open her door, pausing when she saw that the bunnies that usually inhabited her room were missing.

"It appears the others have gone somewhere else," Kaguya glanced at Usagi who leapt off of her shoulder to the floor, its nose twitching before it left the room. 'Probably looking for its family.' The rabbit goddess sighed as she sat down on her bed, before scowling as she lifted her hand to find it covered with some sort of pinkish-red slime. "Those… Those vulgar commoners! They dare to vandalize my room?! I shall have the servant administer some sort of punishment for them that will fit this heinous crime."

With some difficulty, Kaguya started to strip her bed, casting aside the stained sheets while cursing the 'warty ruffian' and the 'vulgar spider'. She considered yelling for Naruto to assist her, but changed her mind. Some things she had to do for herself, otherwise she would be little more than a lazy noble, letting everyone else do the work while she did nothing. It was nobles who lazed around that annoyed Kaguya the most. The common class and noble class had their own duties to fulfill and those who took all the power of nobility and none of the responsibility were lower than scum in her mind.

Panting slightly after clearing her bed, she made her way towards the closet to get a fresh set of bedding when she heard something moving behind her.

"What is it?" She turned around to face who she thought was Naruto but there was a blur of reddish-pink and suddenly Kaguya found herself stumbling forward, hitting her head on the side of the bed before passing out.

---

End Flashback

"So you didn't see your attacker?" Chichi asked.

"No," Kaguya scowled as she looked at her kimono. "And now my only outfit is ruined. Truly this day could not get any worse."

"I'm sure you can get some more clothes," Naruto tried to cheer her up.

"Oh, so you can get another master-crafted kimono made by the legendary tailor Chiso-sensei? The greatest tailor in the lands? A kimono that took him two years to get everything perfect with?" Kaguya remarked angrily. "This was a masterpiece and now…" She clenched her fist. "Another memory of home is… ruined by this world."

"I… I'm sorry," Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "I didn't think it meant so much to you."

"I gathered from your attire that you cared little about clothing," Kaguya remarked snidely. "But for those of us from a noble bloodline..." She paused, "At least those of us with a noble upbringing, clothing is of great importance. It is a fine clothes that separate the man on the throne from the man in the fields."

"I guess that makes sense." Naruto shrugged. "Personally I just like stuff that's orange. Plus has plenty of pockets to store kunai and seals and all that sort of stuff."

"Plus this kimono was a present," Kaguya frowned softly. "From my sons."

"Oh…" Naruto bit his lip as the room fell into an awkward silence.

"Getting back to what is important," Chichi frowned.

"My kimono is very important," Kaguya retorted but was ignored by Chichi, much to the noble's ire.

"We're still no closer to understanding who is attacking us." Chichi looked at Naruto. "I trust you Handler-san, so if you say it isn't you I'll believe you. However, if it was you and you accidentally took a prank too far, I will not report you if you come clean."

"I promise you it wasn't me," Naruto frowned softly.

Chichi stared at him, before nodding her head. "I suspected as much. I just hoped that it was you and not an unknown individual. As a police officer I should not ignore a possibility just because it makes me uncomfortable." She bowed her head. "I apologize Handler-san."

"Don't worry about it," Naruto laughed, "I mean, I guess this is a stressful situation."

"Bah!" Toph exclaimed suddenly. "What are we sitting around doing nothing for then? This house is my territory and nobody messes with me on my home turf!"

"We shouldn't act rashly," Chichi crossed her arms. "The sensible thing to do would be call the police or possibly Agent Smith."

"I guess," Toph reluctantly handed the phone over. "But if we see 'em I'm gonna smack 'em!" She smacked her fist into her palm with a smug grin. "They are gonna regret invading the territory of Toph the Almighty!"

"I'm sure," Chichi replied dryly before glaring at the phone. "Nectophry-san."

"What?" Toph crossed her arms. "Ya got a problem?"

"The phone is dead," Chichi glanced at Toph.

"It was fine early on when I was using it as a flashlight while we boarded up the house."

"Did… Did you turn the light off?"

"Might've forgotten," Toph mumbled.

"Great," Chichi sighed. "And the charger is probably in the living room."

"Well it could be worse," Naruto offered.

Suddenly, all the lights went off and darkness swallowed the room. The only lighting was that of the full moon, although the light it offered was meager.

"...You can't see my face you idiotic servant, but know I am glaring at you in contempt." Kaguya's less than pleased voice cut through the silence.

"So… Too scared to face the almighty Toph in the light, are ya?! I don't care, I'll kick your ass in the dark!" Toph yelled.

"Don't run off! We're safer if we stay together!" Chichi reached out for the Toad Type, grabbing her by the scruff of her jacket. "Fortunately I have excellent night vision, so if we stick together I can keep you all safe. We just have to go to the fuse box and make sure it isn't damaged, then we can turn the lights back on."

"Like hell I'm gonna rely on a copper for protection!" Toph squirmed out of her jacket.

"If you must run off to challenge the invader, would it not be wiser to wait until the vulgar spider has turned the power back on?" Kaguya remarked bluntly.

"Every second that bastard is on my turf pisses me off just that much more!" Toph stormed out of Kaguya's bedroom, tripping over the discarded bedding and hitting the floor with a crash. "D-damn it!" The Toad Type howled as she tried to pull herself out of the bedding. "Fine damn it," She crossed her arms. "I guess I'll stay here, but the moment those lights come back on…"

"Right," Chichi nodded to Kaguya. "You've already been attacked once so I would advise you to stay here. I am sure Handler-san will leave you plenty of clones to ensure your safety."

"No." Kaguya grabbed Naruto's arm. "I… I will not be left here, guarded only by your flimsy clones. As my servant I demand that you protect me. Unlike your clones you can serve as an effective shield."

"Jeez thanks," Naruto deadpanned.

"Also… Should we encounter the brute that attacked me… I shall have my revenge for the unspeakable atrocities inflicted upon me!" 'After all, it is that foul creature's fault that the servant had to use his… ability on me. Plus a commoner should never attack a noble! That is a sin!"

"Unspeakable atrocities?" Naruto clenched his fists. 'Just what did the assailant do to her?'

'Why do you care? The fact she's alive is all you really need to get home.' Kurama remarked.

'She's my responsibility.' Naruto frowned. 'I should have been there to help her out. Speaking of which, didn't you notice any feelings of malice?'

'That's the thing. I didn't sense any hostility. Either whatever attacked her lacks the ability to feel aggression or didn't actually attack her.'

'What do you mean?'

'LIke when Chichi suggested you'd taken a prank too far. Maybe something was trying to prank her, not hurt her.' Naruto could almost hear the fox shrugging. 'That's the best guess I can make. I guess you could try sage mode.'

'Oh right…' Naruto chuckled weakly as he closed his eyes and stilled himself, gathering just enough natural energy to enter sage mode. 'What the hell?! The entire house… It's saturated with natural energy? I can't sense anything?!'

'That's really suspicious.' Kurama sounded serious. 'It's possible whoever is in the house can use natural energy themselves. But no one in this world has chakra, so it would have to be someone from our own.'

'But that's not possible is it? Only Kaguya and I fell into this world. I'm sure I would have noticed someone else when we were falling through the… well I guess the void between worlds?'

'True… Still, it would be a good idea to stay alert.'

'Will do Kurama.' Naruto let out a sigh and opened his eyes, releasing sage mode with a sigh. "Okay… Are you coming Toph?"

"No chance," Toph snorted. "The moment those lights are back on I'm gonna hunt down this bastard! You'd just slow me down."

"Fine," Naruto sighed. "Then I'll leave a few clones up here with you while we go and turn the power back on."

"Suit yourselves," Toph remarked as she struggled out of the bedding.

"Follow me," Chichi started towards the door, before stopping and realizing Naruto was reaching out and taking very small steps with Kaguya holding his arm. "Oh… I guess it's too dark for you two to see."

"I don't see why you can't just carry us," Kaguya remarked.

"Carry you?"

"You have a huge posterior like some sort of beast of burden. Surely carrying us would be far more effective than having this idiot stumble around blindly." Kaguya remarked.

"Huge posterior?" Chichi glanced at her abdomen, 'Is it really that big? I thought it was pretty normal for my species…'

"I think what Kaguya-chan…"

"That's Kaguya-hime to you."

"...Kaguya-hime-chan." Naruto chuckled at the snort of indignation from Kaguya, "Was trying to say is as you're the only one who can see, it might be easier for all of us it we just rode on your abdomen."

"Y-you want to ride me?" Chichi bit her lip. "I suppose in the situation it cannot be helped." She walked over to them and kneeled down. "I am right beside you on the left hand side."

"Right," Naruto reached out and placed his hand on her abdomen. "Ah I feel you. Heh," He smiled as he felt the slightly fuzzy exterior. "That's a kind of strange sensation."

"Please hurry," Chichi mumbled. "This is somewhat embarrassing for me."

"Ah sorry," Naruto managed to climb on top of her body, although the shape of her abdomen meant he started to slide down until his chest was against her which had the unintended effect of his crotch pressing into her humanoid rear. "S-sorry." He laughed weakly.

"It… It's alright," Chichi mumbled. "Given the circumstances there is nothing that can be done."

"Ahem," Kaguya cleared her throat.

"Well are you getting on or what?" Naruto asked her.

"And how do you expect me to clamber onto the vulgar spiders enormous rear?"

"Oh right… Your arm," Naruto rubbed the back of his head as the clones he had summoned helped Kaguya onto Chichi's abdomen where she sat side saddle, only for the slime covering her causing her to slide down until she was leaning against Naruto.

"Er… Kaguya-chan?" Naruto blinked as Kaguya grabbed his shirt.

"Do not get ideas above your station," Kaguya remarked. "In my current state, there is little friction to stop me falling from even this massive rear. I am merely using you as an anchor."

"I will be setting off shortly," Chichi mumbled, somewhat self-aware thanks to Kaguya's constant remarks.

As if reading her mind, Naruto tried to cheer her up. "I'm sure you are the perfect size for your species," He remarked as he put his hands around her waist to steady himself.

"T-thank you," She mumbled. "Hold on tight. The fuse box is downstairs in one of the unused rooms that's currently holding some of the empty crates from the delivery."

"So plenty of places for our assailant to hide." Naruto frowned.

"Indeed," Chichi nodded. "Don't you know any abilities that can illuminate the area?"

"Well there is my golden cloak…" Naruto started.

"No." Kaguya scowled. "You will not waste my chakra when the vulgar spider is perfectly capable."

"I guess there is my Rasengan. That kind of glows."

"Rasengan?" Kaguya frowned. "That sounds like a waste of chakra."

"Oh it's pretty cool!" Naruto summoned two clones beside Chichi who created the spiralling blue ball in their hands. The glow it generated was minimal however.

"It's too noisy!" Kaguya scolded him. "We might as well start yelling at the top of our voices. Plus it is still a waste of chakra! Whoever taught you that illumination technique was a moron."

"It isn't an illumination technique," Naruto smiled sadly. "It's an attack taught to me by… a great old pervert." He closed his eyes sadly.

"O-Oh," Kaguya floundered slightly, seeing the sad look on Naruto's face as the Rasengan and the clones dispelled. "I apologize. I did not mean to criticize something so important to you. A noble should be more thoughtful of others feelings."

"She says that but I can almost guarantee she'll make another reference to my abdomen," Chichi mumbled under her breath.

"What was that you vulgar spider?" Kaguya frowned.

"We're at the stairs. Please hold on." Chichi started her descent, with Kaguya clinging to Naruto for dear life as she started to slip and slide thanks to her earlier sliming. As she clung to Naruto, she could hear her heart beating as she considered her situation. Something had attacked her and she had been powerless to do anything. That same being apparently understood how the non-chakra based lighting worked and had disabled it. Even with her not entirely useless servant nearby, she had to admit that she didn't feel as safe as she would have liked. Every shadow seemed to contain monsters ready to jump out at a moment's notice and every sudden jerk from Chichi seemed to be her being attacked, causing Kaguya to suppress her instinct to dive off of the Arachne.

She briefly considered allowing Naruto to use his golden cloak so that they could see, but dismissed the thought. Her divine blood demanded that she was an example to the others. She should be fearless and inspire them and by allowing Naruto to use his cloak, not only was she allowing Naruto to waste, what she assumes is, a large amount of chakra, she would also be letting the others know that she was scared and that would be a failure of her duty as a noble.

"Right," Chichi tried to focus on the journey rather than the fact Naruto was being pushed against her back. "This is the room."

"Do you want us to get off?" Naruto offered.

"If you wouldn't mind," Chichi kneeled allowing Kaguya to slide off and land daintily, while Naruto tried to climb off of her, only to put his hand on a slimy patch where Kaguya had been sat and fall over, landing in a groaning heap next to Kaguya.

"Idiotic servant! You could attract the intruder," Kaguya hissed.

"Are you alright Handler-san?" Chichi turned to help him stand.

"Just peachy," Naruto groaned as he got to his feet with a brief nod of thanks to Chichi.

"I shall enter the room first to ensure it is safe," Chichi turned to face Naruto and Kaguya, who were stood still, visible straining to hear any noises that might suggest something was approaching.

"W-wait," Kaguya grabbed Naruto tightly. "You're leaving us blind and helpless?"

"I'm not helpless and if I used my cloak we wouldn't be blind."

"If you use that cloak you might as well start singing and dancing," Kaguya mumbled. "You would be making us a target."

"I can't win with you can I?" Naruto sighed and leaned against the wall.

"I am your lord and you are my servant. I do the thinking and the delicate work, you do the grunt work." Kaguya remarked. "It is your duty."

Naruto chose not to respond, closing his eyes and focusing on the noises around him as Chichi opened the door and entered the room. In the silent house, every step of Chichi's caused a floorboard to creak as she walked into the room.

Thanks to her night vision, she could clearly see the slime around the fuse box, yet no sign of the one responsible. All the boxes around her were sealed tight, and judging by the slime trail, their aggressor had disabled the electricity then left. Chichi opened the fuse box and let out a sigh when she realized all that was required was a few fuses re-seating. No sooner did she reset them than the lights flickered back on. She returned to the hallway to see a relieved looking Naruto and Kaguya.

"Well that's that sorted," Naruto let out a sigh. "Oh…"

"What is it?" Chichi looked at him.

"One of my clones just dispelled itself. Apparently Toph is now on the warpath. Something about reclaiming her territory." Naruto cleared out his ear. "She seems a little more fiery today."

"There is a reason for that," Chichi sighed. "It's a full moon tonight, which is also the time that the attacks happened in the ghost story we were told by Jackie-san."

"Jackie?" Naruto blinked.

"She is another handler who lives on a farm not too far away." Chichi explained as they made their way through the hallway.

"Ah, I think Ken mentioned something about a farm nearby," Naruto nodded remembering the delivery driver's words. "I'm guessing this Jackie runs it then?"

"That is correct," Chichi nodded. "She told us about the history of this farm. To summarize, the previous owner went missing one full moon and apparently there are moans that sounded from the forest every full moon for a while afterwards. The moans stopped, but when people have tried to live on the farm or knock it down, they get attacked."

"I see," Naruto frowned. "I wonder if Ms. Smith knew anything about this?"

"I would be surprised if Sunglasses didn't." Kaguya retorted.

Before Chichi could think of anything to say to defend Agent Smith, there was a loud cry from upstairs and Naruto got the memories of two of his clones suddenly being dispelled.

"That scream sounded like Toph and the clones I left have just dispelled!" Naruto cursed as he started to towards the stairs to the first floor bedrooms, closely followed by Chichi.

"H-hey!" Kaguya hurried after them. "Don't leave me behind!"

---

A Few Minutes Ago with Toph

"Ahahaha! Toph rises again!" The Toad-Type cried triumphantly as the clones helped her escape the slimy bedding. "Now… To find that bastard who dares to try and take what's mine!"

"Maybe you should wait for the lights to come back?" One clone suggested.

"Tch," Toph snorted. "Like I need the lights on to beat some coward who won't even face me!"

"So long as you don't come across any bedsheets you should be fine," Another clone replied with a smirk.

"Fight me!" Toph retorted.

"Because that worked so well for you last time?" The third and final clone chimed in.

"I underestimated you," Toph admitted. "But now I'm in a much better state to fight you!"

"Is that so?" The three clones grinned in unison.

"But you're lucky that today I have someone else in mind," Toph pointed her bokken at the door.

"How fortunate of us," The clones deadpanned before looking around as the lights started to flicker back on.

"I guess the boss and Chichi must have sorted out the lights." Clone one remarked.

"Hehehe. Alright then!" Toph charged out of the room, hitting the walls with her bokken. "COME ON OUT YA BASTARD! I'LL PUT MY FIST STRAIGHT THROUGH YA FACE!"

"...One of us should probably let the boss know about this," Clone one remarked.

"Thanks for volunteering," Clone two smirked as he hit clone one, dispelling him.

"Let's make sure that Toph doesn't get herself killed." Clone three gestured for clone two to follow him.

"Hey, who died and made you the boss?" Two grumbled as he followed after the angry toad.

"Come out ya damn chicken!" Toph yelled before slipping on a slime puddle. "D-damn it! Ya trying to make me look stupid!" She quickly leapt back to her feet and looked at the slime trail she had slipped on. "But you're the stupid one. I'm gonna follow this trail right to ya and when I catch ya… Hehehehe…" Toph chuckled darkly and started swinging her bokken madly before following the trail.

"How do you know we aren't following the trail in the wrong way?" Clone two gestured in the opposite direction.

"Simple," Toph looked smug, "My gut's telling me we're getting closer to the bastard."

The two clones shared a glance before shaking their heads as Toph cheerfully and animatedly explained exactly what she was going to do when she caught the intruder.

"That bastard…" Toph froze as the trail stopped at a door. The door to her room to be precise. "So not only do ya invade my turf… ya invade my room! I was gonna go easy on ya since you got the bunny hag but now… It's personal!" She kicked open the door to her room, glaring at the many mounds of clothing. "Tch… They could be anywhere."

"Just turn the light on," Clone two suggested.

"I kinda broke the light when I was practicing my sword swinging," Toph shrugged.

"Why didn't you report it?" Clone three asked.

"What, and get a lecture from the copper? No thanks," Toph snorted. "'Sides, I ain't got nothing to fear in the dark!"

"Except bedding?" Clone two suggested, earning a snicker from clone three.

"Laughing at ya own jokes is just sad boss," Toph remarked as she entered her room, poking the random piles of laundry with her bokken. "Yo Narf. Ya here boy?" She was greeted by silence. "I swear if ya hurt Narf… Oh boy I'm gonna break every bone in ya body. I don't care if it gets me deported!"

There was the sound of movement beneath her bed and Toph grinned.

"Got ya now bastard!" Toph dived underneath her bed only to come face to face with her pet rat, Narf. "Oh… It's just you ya daft bastard." She struggled to get out from under the bed only to find herself stuck. "Oh come on!" She squirmed.

"Hehehe," The two clones shared a grin. "Looks like she's got everything under control."

"Very funny boss." Toph dead panned. "Now get me out of here."

"Sure, sure," The clones bent down to pull her out.

"Hey? What are ya waiting for? Pull me out!" Toph squirmed, freezing when she heard a strange puff noise. "Ya still there?"

She suddenly felt something twist around her leg, something that felt suspiciously like a slimy tentacle. "So… Ya show your face at last ya bastard." There was a tugging on her leg and Toph tried to swing her bokken at her assailant, earning only the slightest glance of a pinkish-red blur before she was swallowed by darkness.

The next thing she knew she felt a strange warm tingling throughout her body that she find pleasurable yet incredibly tiring. As she opened her blurry eyes she saw the concerned faces of Naruto and Chichi.

"What the hell ya want?" Toph mumbled. "Gimme another ten minutes…"

"Are you alright?" Naruto removed his hand from her forehead. "You were attacked."

"Attacked?" Toph grumbled groggily. "Ah that's right!" She suddenly leapt to her feet before being struck by a wave of fatigue. "D-damn… That healing of yours really saps my energy."

"Really?" Naruto looked confused. "It shouldn't do that..."

"Well it did," Toph realized she was coated in slime. "Ah damn it! It got me! Son of a bitch. Attacking me in my own home! Doesn't he get who he is messing with?!"

"You saw your assailant?" Chichi leaned forward. "What did they look like?"

"Well," Toph frowned. "I didn't get a good luck but they must've been at least ten foot tall."

"Ten feet?" Chichi looked around the room. "I'm not sure a ten foot tall assailant would fit in this room."

"Well he was hunched alright? Must have had like a thousand tentacles too, but I cut most of 'em off." Toph puffed out her chest. "If I didn't get distracted trying to defend Narf I would never have lost."

"I don't think we can trust her assessment," Chichi turned to Naruto. "Maybe she's suffering from a concussion or something."

"Probably, when my clones were dispelled she was stuck under the bed." Naruto agreed.

"D-damn it," Toph deflated. "Ya know about that?"

"When my clones are dispelled I get all of their memories." Naruto explained.

"And did your clones see anything?" Chichi asked.

"Unfortunately not," Naruto frowned. "Whatever it is that is attacking is fast and doesn't generate any killing intent."

"Killing intent?" Toph blinks. "That sounds kind of awesome. Like when a real badass gives you a glare and ya know you're gonna die if you try and tangle with them."

"Yeah, it can have the effect when strong," Naruto shivered as he remembered facing off against Zabuza for the first time and the pressure of Zabuza's had Sasuke shaking like a leaf. "But just the act of trying to attack someone usually generates some killing intent, but using… my special abilities I can usually sense such things."

'Yeah… I didn't get anything. I'm kind of concerned about this. Your clones didn't even have time to react before they were destroyed.' Kurama sounded more annoyed than concerned.

'I know… I guess the only way we are going to catch this intruder is by setting a trap for it. Maybe Chichi has some plans. She says she's a pretty good hunter right?' Naruto glanced at the Arachne who was currently lecturing Toph on her reckless behavior.

'Can't you think of a plan?' Kurama asked. 'You seem to be pretty good at thinking things up on the fly, your less than impressive intellect considered.' Kurama smirked.

'Ha, ha.' Naruto sighed at the insult. 'I have enough of that from Kaguya-chan. I had a few plans but most of them involve using my explosive tags in a trap and to be honest, I don't really have that many of them and the few I have with me will be the last tags I ever have.'

'Can't you just make more?' Kurama suggested.

'Well Ero-sennin always used to say creating seals in dangerous work. I… I kind of wish I'd paid a bit more attention to him though. Still no point brooding. Jiraiya would kick my ass if he knew I was moping when there were pretty ladies that needed saving.'

'Pretty ladies?'

'What? They're all kind of attractive in their own ways.'

'... If you say so.' Kurama's voice made it clear he didn't see what Naruto was talking about, 'People are just people to you, even me.' Kurama chuckled. 'Maybe you just have a unique viewpoint of the world.' He settled down.

"Hey Chichi," Naruto interrupted the Long Legs-Type's lecture. "I was thinking, you're a pretty good hunter right?"

"I'm an accomplished hunter, yes," Chichi nodded.

"Can't you think of a way to trap whoever keeps attacking us?"

"Well." Chichi looked thoughtful. "They seem to prefer ambush tactics so it's clear they know what they're doing. It's always harder to hunt the hunter. All we know is that apparently it is ten feet tall with tentacles, if we are to trust Toph."

"Maybe I was exaggerating on the height and number of tentacles," Toph admitted. "But still, it definitely had tentacles! They were made of a sort of thicker slime than the slime that it leaves around!"

"So it has tentacles… and exudes slime…" Kaguya frowned. "What a positively revolting creature. No doubt it is an ugly beast and is so hideous that it keeps to the shadows."

"I bet it'll be a cute girl." Naruto stated.

"Why do you say that?" Chichi glanced at him.

"Well, I remember Kaguya-chan thinking that Tio-chan was a big burly man and we all know how that played out."

"The big breasted ogre," Kaguya scowled. "She may have the body and personality of a girl but she… er…" The former goddess trailed off.

"In that case I agree with the boss," Toph nodded.

"That you got your ass handed to you by a cute girl?" Naruto chuckled.

"Eh? I mean I agree with Kaguya 'cause it was huge and real ugly looking." Toph quickly changed her tune. "And I didn't get my ass handed to me! It took me by surprise! I would've won otherwise!"

"Sure, sure," Naruto chuckled before returning his attention to Chichi.

"The only way to trap this hunter would be to lure them into a situation where they think they are in control and turn the tables on them." Chichi nodded and paused for a brief moment before speaking again, "I have a plan."

"This ought to be good," Toph snorted.

"I'm sure I will achieve better results than you." Chichi remarked calmly. "Unlike you, I actually have a plan of attack."

"I do have a plan, it's to attack!" Toph declared.

"In order for the plan to work we need bait." Chichi pointed out. "This house is too big to go around trying to find this intruder. We need to get them to come to us."

"I volunteer one of my clones," Naruto suggested.

"That'll work," Chichi nodded. "If memory serves, on the third floor are plenty of rooms that we don't use at the moment correct?"

"Third floor?" Naruto looked thoughtful, "I think I have some of the spare bedroom furniture in one of them but the rest are pretty much empty."

"Excellent. Do you have a wardrobe that you could hide in?"

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "At least I'm pretty sure there's one there."

"Here's the plan then. Your clone will make noise to attract the hunter and lure it into the room. I will be hidden in a corner of the room and you will hide in the wardrobe. That way even if one of us gets sneak attacked, the other is in a position to assist. If all goes as planned when the hunter attacks the clone, I will leap down and pin it to the floor and you will leap out of the wardrobe and assist me."

"And what are we going to be doing?" Kaguya asked.

"I was going to suggest that you locked yourselves in a room together." Chichi offered. "Given that you two have already been attacked once then left relatively unharmed, it would make sense that whatever the hunter is after, it isn't you."

"So ya want me to just sit this one out?" Toph snorted. "Like hell I am!"

"Fine," Chichi decided not to argue, "There will be plenty of furniture for you to hide in, I'm sure. I am sure that once my plan is carried out, we will have this hostile defeated and we can call Ms. Smith to collect them."

"That's a thought," Naruto glanced to Chichi. "Did you put the phone on the charger?"

"I didn't have time if you remember. As soon as I had restored the lights we were required to save Toph."

"Hey I didn't need saving!" Toph declared. "I had the bastard right where I wanted him."

"Far away from you?" Kaguya suggested.

"Fight me!" Toph snapped.

"I wouldn't give you the satisfaction of being crushed by a noble."

"...Oh…" Toph stepped back from her glacial glare.

"Let's… Let's just get the plan all set up," Naruto and Chichi tried their best not to snicker at Toph's rapidly paling face.

---

Ten Minutes Later

The third floor of the house was full of unused rooms, most of which were completely empty. While Kaguya would complain about the house and the dilapidated state it had been in when they first arrived, the fact was it was practically a mansion. Each floor was large enough to hold several families (or enough servants for a minor noble by Kaguya's estimation) and as Chichi had mentioned, with only four people to search the grounds the intruder could easily evade them and strike at their leisure.

Naruto convinced himself for the fifth time that this plan was their best chance for success as Toph 'accidentally' elbowed him in the stomach. Kaguya, Toph and he were all hiding in a wardrobe, on the grounds that the only other thing in the room of unused furniture that could hold one of them was a chest with an incredibly heavy lid. If Toph was in it, the shape of the box meant she could only kick against the side and not bring her full force to bear against the lid, which was too heavy for her to lift with her arms.

Naruto would have had more success, but Kaguya was adamant that he fulfill his duty as her servant and stay close enough to be used as a meat shield should the situation demand it and they both couldn't fit in the chest. Admittedly it was very cramped in the wardrobe, the three packed in like sardines. Naruto assumed Kaguya and Toph were tired from their earlier ordeals as they weren't complaining about the arrangement, although Toph was muttered a very graphic description of what she was going to do when she got a hold of the one responsible for humiliating her.

Kaguya was just eerily silent. Ever since she had climbed into the wardrobe with him, she just stared at the door, rocking ever so slightly and twitching every now and again.

'Whatever that bastard did to her has really messed her up.' Naruto narrowed his eyes.

'Yeah… She does seem a little out of it doesn't she?' Kurama agreed.

'I wonder what time it is.' Kaguya stared at the wooden door, lost in thought. 'I am starting to feel a little exhausted… Still, I must not lose focus. I have to set an example to the others… Although… It is kind of comfy in here…' She leaned forward as she started to drift to sleep before quickly snapping out of it and jerking backwards. 'Curses! I nearly fell asleep. It is my duty as noble to see this through to the end!'

Outside the cramped wardrobe, the clone was looking around the room nervously. As well as the ornate chest and the wooden wardrobe, the room had various bits and pieces scattered around the room. There was an old set of drawers that was badly damaged, the old kitchen table that Naruto hadn't been able to repair and an armchair that was missing most of its fabric, leaving only a wire frame. In order to keep Chichi hidden in the shadows, they had removed the light bulb from the socket to make the hunter less suspicious why this lone person was in a dark room.

Chichi was perched in a corner of the room, her six eyes focused on the clone, waiting for the moment to strike. Maybe it was her love of hunting or her species natural hunter mindset being amplified by the full moon, but she was excited. This was almost as exciting as in her crime dramas, where the pieces of the puzzle are all starting to fall into place, where all the professional policing is starting to pay off. That feeling as you waited for the final moment, the time to strike, even the challenge of taking the target down without breaking the law… Chichi loved every bit of it.

She was fairly certain that a Liminal was to blame for the attacks, which made things easier for her. Had the assailant been human, she would have found it difficult to capture them without violating the very laws she had sworn to uphold. But she had committed herself to stopping this trespasser who was attacking her fellows, and when Chichi committed to something, she committed 100%.

In this case however, she was so focused on the clone, ready to carry out her plan, that she wasn't paying sufficient attention to her surroundings. The only warning she got was the sensation of something wrapping around her abdomen. Before she could cry out a warning she was hurled out of her hiding spot, dispelling the clone and crashing into the wardrobe and knocking it over. As her vision blurred she could have sworn she saw glowing green eyes in the darkness and a voice growling "NECTAR..!"

The sudden movement disorientated Naruto and as they wardrobe fell resulted in everyone inside getting elbowed and headbutted as they fell into each other, landing on their backs looking worse for wear as the doors of the wardrobe now faced the ceiling.

"Chichi?" Naruto called out as her rubbed his forehead where one of Kaguya's horns had struck him. "Chichi?!" He yelled loud and tried to push the door open. "Damn it… Something's on top!"

"Get me out of here servant!" Kaguya ordered as Naruto tried to push the door.

"Crap… My ankle!" Toph grimaced. "I think I twisted my ankle."

"What the…" Naruto blinked as a glob of slime oozed through a gap in the wardrobe. "This is… oh no. CHICHI!" Naruto banged on the doors before closing his eyes. 'Kurama!'

'Way ahead of you.' The mighty kitsune channeled chakra to Naruto, activating his golden cloak and allowing him to lift the doors and the heavy weight to slide off of it.

"Where is it?" He looked around. "Damn it!"

"Looks like it got away," Toph winced as she clambered out of the wardrobe.

"Chichi?" Naruto dropped his golden cloak aura. "Crap, she was what was holding the doors shut!" He ran over to the slumped spider-woman who had been knocked to the side of the wardrobe when the doors were opened. "Come on Chichi." He held out his palm and tried to heal her, earning a soft moan from the Arachne as she came too.

"More…" She mumbled.

"Chichi are you alright?"

"Huh?" Her six eyes started to focus on Naruto. "Handler-san? What… I... " Her eyes suddenly widened. "It got me didn't it?" She looked at the slime covering her entire body. "I failed..."

"At least you're alright," Naruto let out a sigh of relief.

"But the criminal got away." Chichi clenched her fists angrily. "I… I thought I was the hunting the hunter, but I was still the prey after all. Sorry… I let you down Handler-san."

"Chichi," Naruto sighed. "There's no need to be so down. Sure we got a little bruised, but we're still up and alive aren't we? We live and learn."

"Yes," Chichi struggled to her feet. "I… I apologize. I feel extremely fatigued. Maybe I should lay down."

"Ha! Typical copper. Can't take a hit." Toph mocked as she limped over.

"You don't look too good either," Chichi grumbled.

"I think the best thing to do is to get you somewhere safe." Naruto frowned.

"Where is safe though?" Toph frowned. "It's like that thing can go through the walls."

"Indeed," Chichi nodded. "I had the door and windows in my view at all times. It wasn't in the room when we started so it must be able to ooze through the walls."

"Then we should go to the bathroom." Naruto decided.

"Of course," Chichi nodded. "The bathroom is water-tight which means the only way in or out is through the main door, even if it can ooze through walls the waterproof material in the bathroom should be safe enough."

"I for one would not turn down the chance to clean myself of this slime," Kaguya agreed.

"Okay then," Naruto nodded. "I'll use clones to ensure the way is safe."

The others simply nodded, too tired at this point to argue.

The journey to the bathroom was relatively uneventful, despite Toph reacting to every sudden noise. When they arrived in the bathroom she looked far happier.

"We need a plan," Chichi frowned, "Or else we won't stand a chance."

"We just need to find it and kick its ass." Toph declared. "It invaded my territory and needs to get an ass whooping!"

"What is with you today?" Kaguya scowled at Toph. "You are more annoying than usual."

"Fight Me… Er…" Toph remembered the earlier gaze. "Never mind." She mumbled.

"It's a full moon," Chichi paused. "Surely you understand what that means?"

"Should I?" Kaguya ran the cold water tap and started to wash her face.

"We Liminals tend to be more influenced by our instincts and our emotions run higher on days like these." Chichi coughed awkwardly. "Even I am affected, as much as it shames me to admit it."

"Really? I can't say I noticed a massive difference," Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

"You are kind to say so, but I know my failures Handler-san. I… I have not even mentioned a law this entire night."

"Huh…" Naruto looked thoughtful. "That is a point."

"When you asked me my plan, all I thought of was the hunt and the satisfaction of capturing my prey." Chichi bowed her head. "Toph is suffering from increased territorial aggression."

"Well my turf is under attack!" Toph crossed her arms angrily. "I have every right to be pissed!"

"And Kaguya-san appears far more clingy than usual."

"Excuse me?" Kaguya twitched. "I am not suffering from any 'Full Moon' related issues."

"But all Liminals do," Chichi frowned. "That's why you haven't left Handler-san's side since you woke up."

"I am not a Liminal." Kaguya scowled. "I am something far more."

Before Chichi could ask for more, Naruto interrupted.

"Look, this isn't really helping us out." Naruto frowned. "What we need to do is call the emergency number that Ms. Smith gave us."

"But the phone is dead," Chichi produced the phone from her utility belt, "And the charger is in the first floor living room."

"Then I'll go and charge it." Naruto nodded. "With my clones I'll be perfectly safe. I'll even leave a few here to guard you, alright?"

"That… That is probably the best plan." Chichi nodded tiredly as she handed the phone over. "I apologize for being such a burden."

"Not at all," Naruto chuckled. "I'm the host right? It's my job to look after you all. You girls just stay put and recover alright? I'll be back with a charged phone before you know it."

"Handler-san… Be careful." Chichi frowned. "I was confident in my own ability and that was my downfall."

"Yeah this creature ain't messing around boss." Toph rubbed her ankle. "Keep your eyes open."

"Got it," Naruto nodded and stood up to leave.

"Wait! Where do you think you are going?" Kaguya asked.

"To charge the phone so we can call for help," Naruto blinked.

"I am going with you." Kaguya declared. "This creature has embarrassed me for the last time."

"But…" Naruto sighed. "I guess I can't change your mind huh?"

"If a single commoner could influence a noble's decision, what a sad state of affairs the world would be in." Kaguya declared.

"You know I have told you before that I was pretty much a prince of my village," Naruto grumbled.

"I will acknowledge there is… a slight nobility to you," Kaguya looked as if she had been forced to swallow a lemon, "But still I outrank you."

"...What?"

"Even amongst nobles there are several ranks and you barely qualify for the lowest category. Maybe the lesser lord of a small village perhaps, whereas I was a member of a ruling monarchy before becoming a goddess. Ergo I am the highest ranked noble in this household."

"... Whatever," Naruto shook his head as they left the bathroom.

"'I'm not a Liminal, I don't stick to Servant-chan. I'm better than you all'" The instant the door closed, Toph had started doing her best Kaguya impression and maybe it was the fatigue, but Chichi genuinely found it funny.

She just hoped Kaguya never found out she laughed. "Let's get ourselves cleaned up."

---

With Naruto and Kaguya

"So you have a plan I assume?" Kaguya looked around the hallways nervously. She was keeping close to Naruto and continuously scanning around them. As a former goddess, this helplessness was not a feeling she appreciated. It was a painful reminder of how far she had fallen.

"Kind of," Naruto shrugged. "We find the charger for the phone then we call for help from Ms. Smith."

"And in the meantime?" Kaguya jumped as a door creaked open and a clone grinned at her, before wilting under her intense glare.

"Whatever it is that's attacking us seems to only target people when they're alone or with clones. It seems to know my clones are easy to destroy." Naruto frowned slightly. "Plus it's been showing some signs of intelligence by going after the power and realizing that we were trying to set a trap for it."

"Whilst you have every right to be envious of its intelligence, that doesn't answer my question." Kaguya remarked bluntly.

"If we all stick together I don't think it will attack." Naruto nodded. "If it is intelligent than it must know that attacking us all together would be suicide."

"And you are basing this on what evidence?"

"Er… My gut instinct?" Naruto laughed weakly.

"We are all going to die." Kaguya sighed. "If had my former powers I would have utterly destroyed this assailant by now."

"Well if someone wouldn't complain whenever I try and use my abilities maybe I would have already resolved this," Naruto grumbled.

"There is no need to be wasteful with my chakra," Kaguya scoffed. "Besides I have not been complaining about the excessive amount of clones you are creating am I?"

"Well no…" Naruto admitted.

"And if you were to use your glowing form, what would that actually achieve?" Kaguya asked.

"Er…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "Well I would be faster and stronger?"

"Ah and that would help how?" Kaguya asked. "Considering we cannot seem to find the assailant?"

"I… er…" Naruto's shoulders slumped.

"Exactly," Kaguya smirked. "It is not my fault that you do not think before wasting my chakra. If you used it effectively I would have less of an incentive to complain."

"I'm noting that you didn't say you would stop complaining." Naruto shook his head as they walked into the living room. There were a few clones who nodded at him as he entered, before returning to their assigned task of patrolling the house. So far he hadn't received the memories of any being destroyed so it looked like the intruder was trying to stay under the radar for the time being, although the slime trail suggested their uninvited guest had been through this room.

"How unpleasant," Kaguya grimaced as she looked at the slime trail over several of the seats. "You are sure that the creature isn't here?"

"My clones have been patrolling the area," Naruto assured Kaguya as he made his way towards a small coffee table. "Huh… That's not promising," He ran a finger along the glass table and looked at thin coating of slime.

"Do you think the strange creature has stolen the 'charger' as the vulgar spider called it?" The former rabbit goddess fidgeted with the sleeve of her kimono.

"It's possible," Naruto frowned. "I mean, it was smart enough to disable the power. Maybe it could tell that phone's battery was empty."

"Or possible it was eavesdropping on us when the ruffian toad tried to use the phone."

"Yeah… It had just attacked you, so it could have been hiding nearby." Naruto sighed. "So I guess that's my plan out of the window. Back to 'Plan Naruto'!"

"If the plan is as stupid as it's name then I shall start working on my last will and testament."

"H-hey!" Naruto crossed his arms. "My name isn't stupid."

"You are correct. Servant is not a stupid name."

"You still don't remember my real name, do you?"

"... A noble does not remember the names of those who serve her. Have I not informed you of this before when you tried to tell me Ken Minoru's name?"

"What?! You remember his name but now mine?" Naruto looked at her. "He's just a delivery driver who you've never even met!"

"Oh?" Kaguya had a smug look on her face. "Does it bother you that I claim to not know your name?"

"Not at all," Naruto lied as he continued to search the room for any sign of the phone charger. Chichi had briefly shown him how to use it, although it was quickly decided that Naruto was not to be trusted with the phone after learning there was a number he could ring that would result in Ramen being delivered direct to their house. When it came to Naruto and Chichi, it was usually hard to tell who was the host and who was the exchange student.

After ten minutes of searching, Naruto finally decided the charger wasn't in the room. He sat down on a chair with a heavy sigh, shortly joined by Kaguya who sat next to him.

"So what was 'Plan Naruto'?" She asked.

"Find and beat up the intruder until they see the error of their ways." Naruto replied honestly.

"And you believe that would work?" The former goddess sighed.

"You'd be surprised how many time it has in the past." Naruto chuckled.

"I see," Kaguya chose not to comment further. "And how do you plan on luring out the assailant?"

"Well I figured if I created enough clones so that every room was occupied then it would have nowhere to hide," Naruto suggested.

"And how many rooms are there in this house? Not to mention it could have fled and be hiding in one of the barns."

"The barns…" Naruto's eyes widened. "You're a genius!"

"Compared to you certainly," Kaguya remarked dryly. "But do enlighten me as to why you have come to this realization so late."

"I remember when Chichi and I were looking around there was this one barn that made me feel like I was being watched." Naruto grinned. "I'll bet the assailant was there! Maybe that was its home until we disturbed it!"

"So the assault on my noble person took place because you and the vulgar spider stuck your noses where they didn't belong?" Kaguya scowled.

"Technically this entire farm is mine, so the barn does belong to me… I think?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "I'll escort you to the bathroom and then I'll go and face this assailant by myself."

"With your limited intelligence, such a course of action is doomed to failure," The noble snorted, "I shall lend you my valuable intelligence and in turn, receive the satisfaction of seeing the one who dared to… perform such a heinous act receive their just desserts!"

"Are you sure?" Naruto gestured to a clock on the wall that showed the time was 01:15. "It'll be pretty dark out there and if I'm to sneak up on this assailant then I can't use my golden cloak."

'Your golden cloak?' Kurama remarked huffily.

"I will not be swayed servant." Her tone of voice made it clear that the debate was over and Naruto knew better than to argue.

"Okay, okay," Naruto sighed as he summoned a small group of clones. "Let's end this so we can all get some rest."

---

Back with Chichi and Toph

Chichi stood in the shower with her eyes closed, allowing the gentle spray of water to rinse the last of the slime from her long hair. While the shower had succeeded in cleaning her of the slime that had clung to her clothes, it hadn't shaken the fatigue from her body. As she stepped out of the shower, she couldn't help but marvel with the size of the bathroom.

while there was a normal bathroom already in the house, this one had been installed by Smith shortly after Chichi herself had moved in. There were several showers large enough to easily fit her as well as coming with various settings to help make showering as comfortable as possible for a variety of Liminals. As an Arachne, these settings were very useful as due to her ability to breath through her skin, she was not a fan of being completely submerged in water. while she wouldn't drown if her abdomen was submerged, it would be extremely uncomfortable as her air intake would be greatly limited. It was the reason she never used a bath.

Speaking of baths, this custom bathroom had a large one, although it could have been mistaken for a small swimming pool, a misconception that was currently being reinforced by Toph as she swam around inside of it.

Stifling a yawn, Chichi walked over to a towel cabinet stocked with towels for a variety of Liminal sizes, drying her hair and humanoid body before glancing at her slimed clothes with a frown. With a tired sigh, she set to work trying to clean the worst of the slime from her clothes, reasoning that going alone to get a fresh set was just asking to be attacked.

"You shouldn't stay in a warm bath too long," Chichi advised Toph as the Toad-Type floated on the surface.

"Tch," Toph glared at Chichi, "Look at ya, flaunting that damn body. No wonder the rabbit hag calls ya a vulgar spider."

"I have all the correct proportions for my species," Chichi remarked bluntly as continued to scrub her clothing to remove as much slime while keeping them as dry as possible.

"Tch," Toph clambered out of the bath. "So…"

"So?" Chichi prompted.

"Ya think the boss is gonna make it?" Toph glanced at Chichi. "I mean it's not that I particular care or nothing but… He is kind of my last chance to stay in the program."

"Yes," Chichi glanced at the many showers, "I have a feeling that Agent Smith is counting on Handler-san living for some time judging by the facilities she had installed in this house."

"Ya reckon?" Toph snorted. "The suit probably just wants as many free meals outta him as she can get."

"Agent Smith is the coordinator for the exchange and should be shown some respect as of article…"

"Oh come off it," Toph sighed. "Ya were doing so well up till then."

"In light of current circumstances… I suppose I can overlook it just this once," Chichi conceded. "And unfortunately I suspect while your terms were lacking in the proper respect, you are not incorrect with your judgement. Still, Agent Smith did seem to try hard to get me put onto the program. And unlike a certain someone, I would not have required much paperwork to send back home."

"Hehehe," Toph grinned. "I'm such a badass they'd have to hire an entire elite guard to send me away!"

"Or just one ogress?" Chichi reminded her.

"Tch," Toph scowled as she sat down next to the busy Arachne, "She took me by surprise!"

"Just like this mysterious assailant," Chichi chuckled as she folded her shirt and put it to one side before lifting up her custom skirt and started to clean the slime from it.

"Hey! It got you too." The Toad-Type defended herself.

"Indeed," Chichi nodded. "My pride has taken a blow today. I was so sure that I was the hunter that I never even considered the fact that I was the prey. Whoever it is is definitely a dangerous opponent."

"But it doesn't seem to want to kill us," Toph frowned. "Ya reckon it thinks we aren't worth killing?"

"Who knows?" Chichi replied honestly. "I've never seen anything like this before." She paused for a second as she looked at the sullen toad girl. "It's showing signs of intelligence, so I would be surprised if it didn't have some sort of plan."

"Whatever it is, it's a coward." Toph reached for her bokken and pointed it at the ceiling, "Always running before ya can get in a good hit on it. I have no respect for cowards!"

"I'm not sure whether I would call it a coward. It's tactics are well thought through. If it wanted us dead then I fear that Handler-san would be the only person still alive." Chichi frowned. "By not killing us, but leaving us in a state that made it clear we were completely helpless… It's almost as if it's trying to scare us away."

"How'd ya figure that?" Toph glanced at Chichi.

"Well it isn't trying to kill us. It had plenty of time to do that with you and Kaguya-san." Chichi frowned. "It's attacks seem to be trying to generate fear rather than injure us."

"But why would it want to chase us away?" The smaller Liminal frowned before sparring an imaginary foe. While she didn't say anything so as to avoid possibly provoking Toph, Chichi had to admit that her technique was pretty impressive. She was fast and quick and used short, explosive leaps to close the distance between her and her target in order to continually harass them. Admittedly her fighting style relied on her legs and if she was unable to leap at her target, her sword skills would not be enough to defend herself for a long period of time. 'It also helps that she has such a modest chest. It allows her to keep her balance while performing her more acrobatic attacks.' Chichi glanced at her own chest. 'Not that I am complaining.'

"For some reason I get the feeling I should be pissed off at ya," Toph paused in her actions. "What are ya staring at?"

"I was just deep in thought about our attacker," Chichi looked away from Toph, "Maybe… It's protecting something." Chichi's eyes widened as she realized something. "The forge… I vaguely remember Handler-san commenting on feeling like he was being watched when we were there. It could be trying to protect something in there. I mean, Handler-san and I had a quick look around, but we didn't see anything of value. Maybe the forge was built on something and that was why the original owner was attacked."

"The forge? Isn't that where ya found those sword holsters?"

"Oh," Chichi turned away with a slight blush as she recalled the condoms that Toph and Naruto had been playing with as they tried to figure out their purpose. "Er… Yes."

"Well if ya right… Then maybe we can threaten the bastard who dares defile my turf," The shorter Liminal started to grin evilly. "We could threaten to burn the forge down. That would get it's attention."

"I don't know if I can overlook arson," Chichi frowned.

"Doesn't the boss own this farm anyway?" Toph pointed out, "Just call it some heavy DIY?"

"I don't think burning down a building could be overlooked so simply." Chichi shook her head.

"Tch, ya just jealous you didn't think about it." Toph remarked as she walked over to her pile of clothes and started to shake them furiously to dislodge as much slime as possible. "I was always raised to believe that when someone messes with your stuff you mess up there's even more."

"Who taught you that?"

"My mother," Toph shrugged as something flew out of her clothes.

"Really?" Chichi paused. "I just realized but… We really don't know that much about each other, do we?"

"What's there to know? You're a copper, I'm a badass."

"I feel that we would get along a lot more easily if we understood each other better and I do believe there is a lot we can talk about." Chichi tried her best to appear warm and welcoming, as she recalled reading in her book on defusing conflicts.

"I don't do girly talks," Toph fidgeted.

"Didn't you have any sisters to talk to?"

"Oh I had plenty of sisters," The Toad-Type rubbed her ribs. "We were never much for talking though. Toad-Type Bullywugs aren't the family type."

"Oh," Chichi frowned softly, "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"I'm not looking for pity!" Toph glared at Chichi. "I don't need pity. I'm plenty strong!"

"Is strength so important to you?"

"Ya gotta be strong to survive. It's that simple." Toph frowned. "When ya got hundreds of people out for ya blood, being merciful isn't exactly an option."

"Hundreds of people?" Chichi paused. "What did you do that earned you that sort of hatred?"

"...I was born."

"Oh…" Chichi found herself wishing she had her book on hand for some hints on what to say.

"Not that I'm expecting ya to understand." Toph chuckled. "This is my baggage. I don't need no one getting all up in my business ya hear?"

"I'm sorry."

"What for?" Toph tossed her clothes to the floor.

"Your past."

"I'm not." The Toad-Type smirked. "It was… educational. I learned how to live in this world. At the end of the day ya can only trust yourself."

"That's a sad way to look at the world." Chichi shook her head. "You'll be lonely if you never let anyone close."

"Hah," Toph shook her head. "Ya let people close they just find it easier to stick the knife in your back. Not that I'm guessing you get that. I'll bet ya had a happy upbringing."

"W-well," Chichi had to agree. "My upbringing was a happy one. My mother made sure we were looked after, but let us make our own decisions. She was a little insistent that I make my own way so I decided to join the program, but it wasn't as if she was chasing me out of our home, that's just how we Long Leg-Types are."

"Sounds nice," Toph remarked lazily, "Never having to watch your back as a kid… Ya haven't seen the darkness that lies at the hearts of people like I have. Your kinda like the boss in that aspect. I know for a fact if our roles had been reversed I wouldn't have let the boss live if he challenged me for control of my turf."

"I don't know," Chichi shook her head. "I think you're a better person than you think you are. It'll just take the right people to make you realize it." The Arachne looked fired up. "I can't change your past, but I swear I'll help you overcome it and become a productive member of society!"

"Good luck with that," Toph shook her head at the larger Liminal's look of determination and walked over to the strange object that had been dislodged from her clothes when she had shaken them. "Say copper?" She held it up. "Is this the phone charger?"

"...Yes it is…" Chichi sighed. "Let's get dressed and find Handler-san. Then we can put the phone on charger and call for back-up. I just hope that he's not about to do something stupid."

---

With Naruto and Kaguya

The fields were deadly silent as Kaguya and Naruto laid down in the long grass to spy on the forge. At least Naruto was laid on the grass. Even slimed up, Kaguya refused to have her dress dirtied any more than it already was and as such was sitting on a mat that was a Kage Bunshin using Henge.

'I can't even hear any insects,' Naruto frowned as he squinted at the dark building, trying to look for any signs of life or movement from within. 'The natural energy seems to be saturating here too so my Sage Mode's is still useless for detecting whatever's attacking. Any luck sensing any hostiles?'

'The only hostility I can sense is from Kaguya.' Kurama yawned. 'Which is odd considering all the local wildlife appears to have fled further into the forest, including Kaguya's pet army. If the threat isn't exuding any malice or killing intent, you would imagine that the wildlife would pretty much ignore it.'

'Something's definitely not right,' Naruto glanced at Kaguya, who was staring at him unimpressed, before returning his gaze to the forge. 'I guess I should send some clones in first to investigate.' He thought to himself as he summoned a group of five clones who cautiously advanced on the forge.

'Careful, you don't want Ms. 'I used to be a goddess' complaining about you wasting 'her' chakra.' Kurama scoffed.

'I doubt she'd make too much noise. She must realize how serious this situation is.' Naruto paused before glancing again at Kaguya, whose face was quite clearly saying 'Why did you summon five? Stop wasting my chakra!'

Two of the clones took up positions either side of the large barn doors with two of the remaining ones clambering up the sides of the barn walls to peer in through windows. After several minutes of silence, the last clone nodded to the two on the door and opened one and peered inside before signalling for the other clones to follow him inside, turning on a flashlight that Naruto had taken from the house.

Naruto took a deep breath as he waited for his clones to either be dispelled or signal that everything was clear.

"Yo boss! It's empty." One of the clones yelled.

'Or maybe they could just draw the attention of whatever it is that's hunting you.' Kurama snorted.

"Idiots," Kaguya stood up as she followed Naruto towards the barn housing the forge.

"I think you should stay here," Naruto glanced at the former goddess.

"Why?" Kaguya eye's narrowed. "Are you intending to use me as bait?"

"What? No!" Naruto shook his head. "But if my clone yelling did attract unwanted attention there are plenty of places to hide in the forge."

"So wouldn't that be better?" Kaguya challenged.

"I meant for our assailant to hide to launch an ambush. While the lighting isn't brilliant," Naruto gestured to the full moon partially covered by clouds, "At least you're in an open space. Since the intruder only seems to attack at close range, it'll be harder for them to attack you if you stay outside with some of my clones."

"Not it!" The five summoned clones yelled at once.

Kaguya twitched at the clone's outburst but decided to focus her anger on the original. "And why are you entering? Wouldn't it be safer just to use your clones?"

"Yes, Yes it would," The clones chirped as one.

"If the creature attacks then I can defend myself better than the clones and if the phone charger is in here, then we have to get it. Our survival could depend on it."

'I'm sure the fact it would allow you to get a few moments away from Kaguya completely slipped your mind.' Kurama remarked bemusedly.

'Well, she has been a little clingy today.' Naruto frowned. 'Not to mention she was in an odd mood the whole way home.'

"Fine," Kaguya sighed heavily. "If my survival counts on retrieving this 'charger' I find myself unable to think of a good reason for you not to go in."

"Great," Naruto nodded. "I'll be back in a few moments."

"You'd better," Kaguya and the clones responded in unison, the lead clone tossing him the flashlight.

Naruto merely rolled his eyes at his clones' antics before summoning a couple more and entering the barn, the flashlight's beam throwing all the shadows into sharp relief but otherwise revealing a scene almost identical to what he'd seen when he had last been in here with Chichi.

"No slime boss," One of the clones cheerfully informed him. "Looks like it isn't here."

"Looks like it," Naruto nodded in agreement as the beam from the flashlight danced across the walls. "I guess I was wrong."

"B-boss!" One clone pointed to a small pot that was shaking.

Naruto merely nodded and put a finger on his lips as he walked over to the pot, flanked by the two clones, counting down from five on his fingers. On five he flipped over the pot, causing its contents to fall on the floor, with the other two clones forming a Rasengan ready to attack.

"Oh…" Naruto's shoulders dropped as a small rabbit rolled out of the pot. "False alarm," He gestured at the other clones to dispel the Rasengan.

"Isn't that the bunny hag's main bunny? The one she had on her shoulder earlier?" One of the clones kneeled down to look at the rabbit.

"Usagi right?" Naruto kneeled down at the shivering rabbit. "You were probably with Kaguya when she was attacked."

"Yeah looks like there's some slime on it too," One of the clones reached out to grab Usagi, only to dispel when the frightened rabbit took a bite out of the chakra construct's outstretched palm.

"Go get Kaguya," Naruto chuckled. "No doubt she'll want to know that Usagi is alright."

"Are you sure boss?"

"Yeah," Naruto looked around, shining the flashlight around the roof. "We're alone here."

"You're the boss," The clone shrugged as he walked outside.

"Well then Usagi…" Naruto smile became frozen as he felt something drop onto his shoulder. 'Kurama.'

'Yes?'

'I definitely checked the ceiling right?'

'Yes, you did. But you do remember that forge has a few holes in the roof and that this assailant appears to be good at climbing walls stealthily, don't you? Hell, it managed to sneak up on the spider girl when she was setting a trap of for it.'

'Ah…' Naruto turned to look at the glob of reddish-pink slime that had landed on his shoulder. He slowly looked up and saw two green eyes staring at him from the shadows, 'Well… This happened.'

"I hear you found Usagi," Kaguya walked in and the creature's eyes seemed to lock onto her. "What? Stunned by my majesty?" She smirked.

"Get out of here! It's here!" Naruto warned before there was a pinkish-red blur and he was sent sprawling into some boxes, dropping the flashlight that rolled across the floor, illuminating the far wall, leaving Naruto and his struggle to be shrouded by darkness. Usagi bolted towards Kaguya and hid itself in her kimono as she squinted into the darkness, trying to spot the being that had attacked her earlier this night. After what seemed like an age, the sounds of struggling seemed to stop.

"S-servant?" Kaguya paused momentarily only to hear a deep guttural voice chanting "NECTAR, NECTAR, NECTAR!"

"Servant?!" Kaguya tried to see through the darkness, being caught unaware by another pink blur heading towards her. Fortunately Naruto, having swapped places with his clone at the last moment, picked her up bridal style and leapt clear of the reddish-pink tentacle.

"Was that a note of concern I heard in your voice? Aw shucks. I didn't know you cared."

"Servant?" Kaguya's brief look of relief was quickly replaced by one of confusion. "How…"

"Heh," Naruto smirked as he skidded to a halt outside the barn. "There's always more than one of me. If you think you've hit me, you've probably hit my clone."

"Cease your attempts to impress me," Kaguya remarked. "And explain."

"Well you see there's this technique called the Substitution Jutsu and it lets me swap places with just about anything, so I swapped places with one of the clones that was guarding you and…"

"Not that." Kaguya growled. "Explain why you feel the need to carry me in such a position? Are you getting thoughts above your station?"

"Eh?" Naruto looked confused.

"Unhand me at once!" She refused to make eye contact with a slight blush coloring her pale cheeks.

"Jeez," Naruto dropped Kaguya on the floor, "I don't know, you save someone's life…"

"Such an action is expected of my servant," Kaguya remarked as she stood up, brushing her rear. "I will remember this. Still… For a brief moment you were almost worthy of being in my employ. I am glad you are still capable to perform your tasks to the usual degree of ineptitude. Had you gotten killed it would have taken two hours to train up Toph to replace you." She looked away from him.

"I… I can't tell if you're genuinely glad I'm okay or you're just insulting me." Naruto chuckled.

"Must I be blunt in all my statements about you?" Kaguya sighed. "For one who claims to be a prince, you seem to lack the basic understanding of noble speech."

"I'm choosing to take it as you saying 'Oh Naruto I am so glad you are alive. I can't live without you.'" Naruto spoke in a high pitched voice.

"I sound nothing like that." Kaguya scowled at him.

"You didn't say that wasn't what you meant." Naruto smirked.

Before Kaguya could issue her rebuttal, a clone flew past their heads and dispelled.

"Er… Maybe we should continue this conversation later," Naruto frowned. "That was my last clone. It looks like any attacks that land on it are just ignored somehow. The lighting was poor so I don't know what happened, only that my clones landed hits, but didn't seem to deal any damage."

"So that whole exercise was little more than a waste of chakra," Kaguya remarked dryly as she turned to look at the barn. "I shouldn't be surprised by now. You truly are a wasteful servant."

"Yeah, yeah…" Naruto sighed. "The good news is, it's definitely a Liminal from what I did see. Taking into account what Chichi told us earlier, I'm pretty sure that it's just suffering from the effects full moon, so after tonight everything will probably be fine."

"This Liminal has disrespected and assaulted me," Kaguya intoned darkly. "They will be made to suffer the consequences of their actions!"

"Look out!" Naruto pushed Kaguya to the floor as another tentacle narrowly missed them.

"S-servant?" Kaguya started at Naruto. "Pushing me to the ground like this? Who do you think you are?"

"Just a kick ass ninja saving your ungrateful life," Naruto rolled with Kaguya as another tentacle hit where they had been lying down, before tossing Kaguya into the arms of a freshly summoned clone who leapt backwards out of the tentacles range, despite her furious yells at being manhandled.

"Tch," Naruto cracked his knuckles as he stared at the barn doors where several tentacles were oozing out. He made a dozen more clones, sending a few of them to hold them back, the others on standby for if the first wave was destroyed.

'Got a plan?'

'I'm working on it,' Naruto frowned. 'I can't help but wonder if this is just an innocent Liminal who's been overpowered by the power of the full moon.'

'Does it really matter?'

'Of course it does! It could be like someone stuck in a genjutsu, not in control of their own actions.'

'You're such a bleeding heart.' Kurama chuckled. 'Well, I guess you wouldn't have made it this far if you weren't. Still the fact is, if your memories from your clones are correct, this thing isn't entirely solid which means you can't just punch some sense into it.'

'Shame… That usually works pretty well.'

'Shame you never got to punch that Uchiha until he came to his senses.' Naruto could practically feel the grin on Kurama's face. 'I would have paid good money to see that brat get put in his place.'

'Not a big Uchiha fan are you?'

'I wonder why…' Kurama rolled his eyes as he settled down to rest.

"Handler-san!" A slightly-less slimy Chichi ran towards him. "Ah, thank goodness you're alright."

"See, that's how you show relief," Naruto called over his shoulder at a sullen Kaguya.

"Hehehe," Toph leapt off of the Arachne's back, resting her bokken on her shoulder. "I've just had an amazing bath and now I'm all pumped up! Ya got nowhere to hide now!" The Toad-Type cackled victoriously.

"I've never seen anything like this…" Chichi frowned. "I even had a quick look in my reference books before we came to assist you." She handed a book over to Naruto. "This is a small guidebook on some of the more exotic Liminal types. Unfortunately the type I suspect it maybe is… well…"

Naruto opened the book to the page with a bookmark in it.

"Slimes," He read aloud, "Suspected to have gelatinous bodies. Attitudes vary with color…. That's it?!"

"Until today, I figured they were just a myth, a made-up Liminal." Chichi admitted. "They're not officially part of the program. From the few rumors I've heard, they don't really have a society. Most Slimes are solitary creatures and keep to themselves."

"I see," Naruto sighed as he handed Chichi the book back. "So… What do we do?"

"Kick its ass!" Toph declared as she charged at the tentacles, her sword getting stuck halfway through one of them. "H-hey! Gimme my bokken…" The tentacles suddenly jerked violently in the air, dislodging Toph and the bokken who were sent flying backwards and landing ungracefully in the middle of the field, a few clones being knocked back with her and dispelling in puffs of smoke. "Damn it!" Toph yelled. "My ankle!"

"We should get in touch with Agent Smith," Chichi tried to be the voice of reason. "We have the phone charger, do you still have the phone?"

"Er… yeah." Naruto frowned as the clone that had been helping Kaguya lifted up the limping Toph. "Maybe it can be reasoned with?" He glanced at the second group of clones that were valiantly trying to fight the tentacles back.

"Ya wanna try talking to it?!" Toph blinked.

"Well have any of us tried that?" Naruto pointed out.

"I… well…" Chichi bowed her head. "I apologize. It should have been the first solution that I tried rather than setting the trap. The Exchange Program laws are very strict when it comes to harming other Liminals. Violence should have been my last resort. I shall report my infringement of the laws to Agent Smith."

"There's no need to do that," Naruto chuckled.

"If I who preach the laws do not follow them, how can I expect anyone else to?" Chichi clenched her fists angrily. "I have let myself down and worse… I have let you down Handler-san."

"Chichi?" Naruto blinked.

"You promised to help me with my dream," Chichi smiled at him. "But it appears that I'm not capable of being an officer if I forget the laws so easily."

"Oh get over yourself," Toph snorted. "Ya feel bad don't ya?"

"Er… Yes." Chichi frowned.

"Well then, learn from this then." The Toad-Type frowned. "Ya think I became such a badass without a few slips along the way? When ya fall ya just need to get straight back up before they can administer the couper grays!"

"Coup-de-grace," Chichi corrected.

"Whatever," Toph shrugged. "I ain't good with my Latin."

"French," Chichi responded without thinking.

"Whatever!" Toph replied hotly.

"Are you going to learn anything from this experience?" Kaguya asked the shortest Liminal.

"Eh?" Toph frowned. "What lesson am I supposed to get from all of this?"

"That charging in isn't always the correct answer?" Chichi suggested.

"That sometimes you should wait for backup before doing something rash?" Naruto suggested.

'That's rich coming from you.' Kurama roared with laughter.

"Nah," Toph smirked. "Everything I did was completely to my plan."

"Including spraining your ankle?" Chichi asked.

"Had to give 'em a chance," Toph mumbled. "Wouldn't be fair otherwise."

"Amazing," Kaguya remarked dryly. "And I thought my useless servant was delusional."

"Speaking of which," Naruto glanced at his clones. "I guess it's time to try talking."

"Do not fear Handler-san," Chichi nodded, "While it would be usually be a violation to attack a Liminal, given the circumstances I believe it could be justified as self-defence. I will be ready to leap to your aid in a moment's notice."

"You'll have to be quick," Toph smirked. "'Cause otherwise I'm gonna get myself a tentacle trophy!"

"Really," Kaguya poked her ankle with her toe, causing the delinquent amphibian to fall over with a cry of pain.

While Chichi started to inform Kaguya of the laws she had broken, Naruto slowly advanced on the barn, ordering the clones to retreat.

"Er… Hello?" Naruto coughed awkwardly. "I was wondering if we could talk?"

The tentacles withdrew into the barn and the doors opened wide, before a large blob oozed out. Bathed in the moonlight, towering over Naruto, it was an amorphous pinkish reddish creature, with dark black slime looking almost like hair at the top of the form. Large hands protruded from the oozing mass reaching towards him slowly. In the translucent ooze, what looked like some clothes were floating around, although they didn't look like the clothes anyone in the house wore.

"So," Naruto cleared his throat. "I was wondering if you could… er… stop attacking us?"

"NECTAR!" The creature moaned as it brought its hands together to try and trap Naruto, who easily leapt over the attack.

"Can't we talk this out?" Naruto tried again while dodging the hands and tentacles that tried to grab him, the Slime seemingly ignoring his words.

"NECTAR, NECTAR, NECTAR, NECTAR!" The creature shouts got more and more intense with each missed strike, until it ended up hitting Naruto across the face with one of its tentacles and knocked him back.

"Fine then," He rubbed his cheek before he summoned a clone that helped him form a Rasengan. "Don't say I didn't try to reason with you!" He charged the blob, forcing the spiralling sphere of chakra through the oozing body and watched as the ooze started to suck him in, the Rasengan harmlessly mixing the slime inside. 'Ah… Mistakes have been made.' He started to try and tug himself free with limited success.

"Handler-san!" Chichi raced over and pulled on the back of his shirt, only to be struck away by a black tentacle that wrapped around Naruto's neck and lifted him up to the creature's face. It paused before vibrating slightly and chanting 'NECTAR!' in what sounded like a happy tone of voice, as far as Naruto could tell.

"Boss! Quick ya need to kick it in its weak spot!"

"Which is?" Naruto yelled as he struggled.

"Ain't ya ever played a computer game?" Toph pointed to the black tentacle coming directly from the top of the creature's head, and the only one that had a yellow spot on the end. "That bit has to be its weak spot!"

"Damn it," Naruto reached into his trouser pockets and tossed a handful of shuriken at the creature, watching as they simply merged into the slime. "Wait a second... I had an explosive tag! ...Crap! I left it in my jacket!" Naruto struggled as the creature started to push him inside of itself. "Ack… This feels weird!" Naruto struggled as he was enveloped by the reddish-pink slime until he was suspended in the middle of the creature and it lurched into the forest.

"H-Handler-san!" Chichi struggled to her feet, clutching her ribs. "Damn it…" She tried to chase after creature but was unable to move quickly without flinching due to the pain.

"Don't worry we'll…" Whatever the clones were about to say to the girls was cut off as they all dispelled.

"That… That can't be good right?" Toph limped over to Chichi.

"We have to help Handler-san…"

"He wouldn't want you getting yourselves killed." Kaguya remarked bluntly. "In your current condition, neither of you can fight."

"So ya saying we should just leave the boss to die?" Toph snorted. "That doesn't sit right with me. Sure he may only be my boss till I finally kick his ass, but if someone else kills him how the hell am I gonna take my place as the boss of this farm?"

"If something should happen to our handler, we will all either be deported or assigned new handlers." Chichi frowned. "And I fear that Naruto-san is our last chance of staying in the program. I was already denied entry several times before this and you…" Chichi glanced at Toph, "You're on your last warning as is. As for Kaguya-san…"

"Yeah, she'd be screwed if she didn't have the boss looking after her." The Toad-Type choked back a laugh as she limped into the forest, followed by Chichi.

"...I suppose I have to go and make sure they don't get themselves killed," Kaguya thought aloud before hurrying after the injured Liminals.

---

With Naruto

There were precious few times in his life that Naruto had felt truly content. When Iruka had given him his forehead protector and when he had been welcomed back to Konoha after defeating Pain being the two most prominent memories. There was also the thing with the priestess who asked him to help her out with something or other he hadn't quite understood, but it didn't seem that important right now. In fact nothing did. All the mattered was the soothing chanting of the Slime and the strange scent that filled his mind.

He was quite happy and blissful. Warmth was surging through his entire body and an intoxicating fragrance was clouding his thoughts. He just wanted to stay like this forever. To stay in this warm, intoxicating embrace. He closed his eyes and allowed the Slime to draw him deeper into the depths of its body.

'NARUTO! WAKE UP YOU MORON!'

'Five more minutes…' Naruto's sluggish thoughts failed to register the concern in Kurama's voice.

The creature paused as it entered a small cave. Through his hazy thoughts, Naruto noted the small stove and some bedding as well as some pictures lining the walls of the cave.

'What a nice house.' He thought to himself as he was forced out the slime and onto a small bed. "It's so cold," He mumbled, only to smile as the Slime crawled over him, it's hungry green eyes looking at him as the tentacles started to peel away his clothes.

'Er… Naruto? Now's the time to start defending yourself!'

'From what you silly fox.' Naruto giggled slightly as the Slime leaned forward, placing the discolored tentacle against his head while continuing to undress him.

"Nectar~" It cooed as Naruto laid in only his boxers, linking thier minds with its psuedopod.

Suddenly the creature found itself in an unfamiliar location. It appeared to be in a dark and endless empty space of some sorts with a thin layer of water over a stone floor, but the primal thoughts of the creature were focused mainly on the sudden disappearance of the source of nectar it had been hunting.

"Well… I wasn't expecting a guest today."

The slime turned to face the source of the voice and saw Kurama advancing on it with a feral smile.

"See I don't know what your plan is, but to be honest I don't really care. You're a threat to the kid so that makes you a threat to me. You thought you were the biggest, baddest monster around?" Kurama lips peeled back to reveal his teeth. "You're not even close brat."

The killing intent was too much for the creature, who staggered backwards trying to escape his oppressive presence.

"You don't belong here. GET OUT!" The Kyuubi roared at the creature who started to shiver before collapsing into a puddle as it passed out with fear. "Ha! Still got it." Kurama watched as the slime faded from the mindscape. "You're welcome kid." Kurama thought to himself as he tried to get comfortable.

---

Back in Reality

Naruto blinked several times as he came back to his senses. "What… Who?" He paused as he noticed the unconscious girl laid on top of him. "Er… What?!"

He scrambled away from her, realizing his half-naked appearance and quickly got himself dressed. "That could have lead to a misunderstanding if the other's had seen that. Thanks Kurama."

'It's what I do.'

"Heh," Naruto shook his head before noticing a small portable lamp nearby and turning it on to see the cave in better detail. It was quite a cozy little place and looked like it was well lived in. Walking over to one of the pictures he had noticed earlier, he saw what looked like a guy in a biker jacket posing for a picture with a pink woman. Putting the picture back, Naruto turned to look at the mysterious girl who had been on top of him. She was short, maybe slightly shorter than Toph, and was wearing a black jacket, similar to that of the man in the picture, only the jacket was opened to show a well worn white shirt with a skull and crossbones design and a silver necklace around her neck. She was wearing a jean skirt that looked like it had been stitched together from a pair of old jeans that fell down to her knees and heavy black combat boots, the clothes Naruto recalled seeing suspended in the Slime that had attacked him. Her body appeared to be made of slime, but it was a lighter shade, being closer to pink than the one that had attacked them and didn't seem to be dripping like the it had been before. She also had black "hair" slime with yellow at the end of the pseudopod tentacle on top.

'Wait a minute…' Naruto blinked as the girl mumbled something about a prince in her sleep before smiling and hugging a small blanket to her chest.

"Wait a second!" Naruto tried to pry the blanket from the girl who held onto it as if her life depended on it. "That's my bed sheet that went missing." He scowled as he made out the badly smudged message 'GET OUT, LEAVE NOW OR ELSE!" drawn onto the sheet. It almost looked as if it had been written in blood.

"Er…" Naruto looked around uncertainly. While he suspected that this girl that was so peacefully sleeping right now was in fact the slime that attacked him, he was also sure that he couldn't leave her sleeping and defenseless in this cave.

'Seriously, how has your hero complex not gotten us killed yet?' Kurama groaned.

'Because I have the strongest Bijuu watching my back," Naruto thought as he picked up the unconscious girl, summoning a few clones to keep watch of her cave home just in case.

'Damn straight you do.' Kurama preened as Naruto made his way back to the farm, one question plaguing his mind.

'Now how on Earth do I stop Kaguya and Toph from trying to kill her?'

---

...and that's the end of the sixth chapter!

Who's this mysterious Slime? Why did she do all that? What does she have to do with what happened 30 years ago? How did she get so small? Why aren't her clothes falling through her body?! You'll just have to wait and see! This characters a bit more involved in the next several chapters, so I can't give you my usual spiel about new characters. I'm not completely cruel though, so I'll give you her name. It's Saboten.

Since I don't have much else to say besides that, there are a few things I've wanted to say that I keep forgetting to. First, the world of this story has pretty much all the same media we do, except the Naruto series and Daily Life with a Monster Girl series for obvious reasons. This has a direct effect on another famous Shounen Jump series that I'm sure some of you who know your trivia will get. There's a hint about it way back in chapter one. I mention this because it will have a small, but noticeable effect on something later in the story.

The other thing I keep forgetting to mention is that, as you may have noticed from iit only appearing in small amounts, I'm not a huge fan of fanservice. I don't mind so much if it's only here or there and the creators try to use it for something like a laugh or to have an actual effect on the relationships of a character, something I try to do with this story. But when it's just fanservice for the sake of fanservice, I dislike it. You may ask why I like Daily Life With a Monster Girl if I don't like fanservice, but it's because of the interesting characters, the creative world they live in, and the humor. That's why it bothers me when people treat this series like the fanservice is the only reason anyone likes it. Sorry for the little rant, but I just wanted to get that off my chest.

I'm not doing the expected questions this time, just expect everything to be answered eventually in the story.

See ya next time!