Chapter 6

The two waited on a bench near the board. Naruto had sent a shadow clone off to meet with the person who had wanted protection for the Kyuubi cult, and he shook slightly when it dispersed. Minutes later, they were approached by a woman a little over five feet, with dusky skin, ruby eyes, and dyed red hair.

"So, you two are the ones who are going to protect us?" The red-haired woman asked, her long, ragged and stitched up crimson kimono showing her status as a priestess of the Kyuubi cult. A few small bones with etchings on them laid on her waist, charms that they believed would bring them good luck. Naruto didn't know this though, trying to see how a, in his mind, woman was worshipping something as vile as the Kyuubi. Either way, he would reserve his judgement for the time being.

"Yep! Naruto Uzumaki and Karin-chan here to help out!" He said, "With us here, you won't have to worry about nothing!"

"I hope so Uzumaki-san. We aren't well liked around here...or well, anywhere really." She said as she turned, "A side effect of our earlier...practices. We've never really been able to overcome that stigma of live human sacrifice. However, we have no time to speak of such things. Come, the ritual will be starting in a couple of hours and it'll be a disaster if I'm not there. It's bad enough that we have to do this in secret and not in Fang Country since we were kicked out of there due to…circumstances, but to have to hire outsiders for protection…" The woman sighed, "It's just not normal, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Come, we'll be just on time if we start moving now."

The two followed her, and were quickly met with the sight of large tents, the traveling cult having brought everything with them. The full moon shined down on them, lending the place an eerie glow as they traveled further into the tent village, large wooden totems decorating the grounds with fox-like faces protruding out of them. Naruto glanced around noticing that everyone had red hair, most of them obviously dyed that way, along with small bones as charms matching the woman they had followed. Many wore torn clothes, while some wore far more expensive clothes, showing how the desperate from all walks of society came into these cults.

"Hey, Karin-chan...you noticed how everyone seems to have red hair? Isn't it a little weird?" He asked. Karin looked rather offended by the question, so he backtracked a little. "N-not you Karin, your hair makes you gorgeous, believe it! But i-isn't it still a little strange?"

Karin grinned as Naruto complimented her hair. It was something she both despised and loved. Despised, because people knew where she hailed from because of it and had used her for it, along with the scorn and mockery that came with being a foreigner. And loved, because it reminded her of the clan she hailed from and her mother and father, and now, due to Naruto's rather sweet compliment, finding someone who thought her red hair made her gorgeous. Still, it wasn't enough to deter her from her Sasuke-kun, but it was putting Naruto in a rather new light.

'Having him as my backup plan is looking more appealing. Plus, he's added the chan honorific to my name already. It must be something that he does to females, so perhaps I can use this to my advantage.' She pushed her glasses up slightly, the gleam concealing the menacing thoughts leaking out into her expression

"The Kyuubi sect, and well any bijuu sect, want to mimic their deity as much as possible. Hence the crimson hair and bone ornaments." She whispered to the blonde. "It's kind of disgusting really. Those bones can't be too clean unless they bathed them in chemicals or washed them thoroughly. It's just asking for some bacteria to fester." Naruto winced slightly, disturbed by the thought that anyone would want to worship that big ball of hatred, or even be like it.

"But...the Kyuubi?" Naruto asked, and Karin shrugged.

"They believe it to be a divine deity that watches over them. Protects them with its massive strength, as long as they worship it. Even if it's disgusting, I can see the appeal." Karin whispered back and Naruto nodded. When he was at his lowest back in Konoha, he would have done anything to know that there was someone watching over him, some plan in his life. He could sympathize with Neji slightly, because having all actions be some sort of big plan was sort of comforting in its own way. Unfortunately, that wasn't the reality, Naruto reminded himself, and he would have to make his own future.

"Hello, Head Priest Shiruba-sama." The woman they had followed said, bowing before an older man who wore crimson robes that had stitched lines running through them, obviously well worn. He bowed back, his eyes looking towards the two shinobi, his verdant orbs scanning them as he seemed to determine their worth, nodding at them before returning his attention to the priestess.

"I assume these are the shinobi who wanted to help us?" He asked and the woman nodded.

"Yes Shiruba-sama." She replied, before hugging the man. They stayed like that for a short while before the woman let go and the head priest continued speaking.

"It warms my heart to see you again Akajosei-san. It warms it even further to see that we won't be without protection this day." He said, looking at the two shinobi. "And you," He says, poking Naruto with is cane, "I can sense it too. I used to be a shinobi sensor of Kumo before I realized that they were caging our saviors. Unfortunately, I had to flee when I was caught trying to free the Nibi, but it has left me with a distinct sense of what a Bijuu's chakra is like." He said with a grimace, before his eyes light up. "I can feel the chakra of a Bijuu and...Naruto-san...you have been touched, haven't you?" He asked, a fire in his eyes as he stared at the blonde teen.

"Touched?" Naruto asked, feeling uncomfortable as Akajosei and Shiruba stare at him. Naruto wondered whether to lie or not, but he's always been terrible at lying. So there really is only one answer.

"Er, yes I have been touched." Naruto replied, and is ashamed by the glee he feels at seeing the surprise and happiness on the two cultists's faces. He had wanted attention and acceptance when he was younger...but not like this. Not for holding their "savior".

'Oh don't be so down about it Naruto. Perhaps if you tell them about what you contain, they might let that girl give you a pity fuck before they free me, their savior' The Kyuubi whispered into his mind, snickering at the last word.

"Glorious. The bijuu have certainly blessed us this day. Which one was it, the Ichibi, Gobi, Kyuubi?" Shiruba asked.

"Kyuubi." Naruto replied in a shaky voice. He looked around, seeing the jubilee in the cultist's eyes before he turned to the side, looking at his redheaded companion, expecting to see disgust on her face. Instead what he got was a small smile and a hug. It felt...nice, Naruto thought before Karin whispered in his ear.

"You're so brave and strong Naruto-kun, to be able to handle the chakra of the strongest of the Bijuu." She whispered into his ear, before pecking him on the cheek. He rubbed the spot, a small smile on his face, the joy from the kiss tempered with the shame of having lied about just how much the Kyuubi was in his life, letting the people believe that he'd simply been touched by it. He was too busy being happy that he got kissed by a pretty girl that he didn't notice the way Karin grinned at him, as if she was a cat that had caught herself a nice juicy rat.

'Kamis above, the way he's rubbing his cheek! I must be his first kiss,' The redhead smirked as Naruto tried to redirect his attention back onto the head cultist, 'Now, I'll need to cultivate this. I can't let any other girl give Naruto-ku, er I mean, Naruto, the same attention I give him. I'll make sure he only looks to me for the pleasures of the flesh and for a relationship, and I'll be his one and only Karin-chan, the only girl he can love. I am such a genius!'

"A shinobi touched by the Kyuubi and a natural redhead? Truly, this ritual shall be blessed! Akajosei, go grab the bull! I hesitate to wait any longer, not with our two guests with us!" He shouted. The priestess bowed before she run to the back of the nearby wooden shrine to grab the animal. Shiruba bowed, "I thank you both for arriving here, as you must certainly have the Kyuubi's blessings. Now, I know you must do your jobs, but I hope that after the sacrifice, you can join us in the feast." He bowed again before joining Akajosei. Naruto and Karin moved to the outer edges of the camp, Naruto using shadow clones to patrol where he couldn't, and simply waited as the Priest and Priestess got the ceremony ready.

"Karin?"

"Yes Naruto?"

"I...i'm not merely touched by the Kyuubi." Naruto forced out. He never really wanted to tell anyone, but with how she reacted, he figured that she might not hate him for it. "I contain it. The Kyuubi couldn't be killed by the Yondaime, so he sealed it in me." Karin's eyes widened slightly, though Naruto didn't notice how practiced the emotion looked.

"You know how I said that you were brave and strong earlier?" Karin asked, and Naruto nods, "Well, I think I was vastly understating it. The Kyuubi is on record as having the most corrosive chakra of the bunch, so for you to survive it is…fascinating." She replied. She took advantage of his emotionally vulnerable state and kissed him again, this time on the lips. Naruto's eyes widen in disbelief before he returned the kiss. It was awful in Karin's opinion, the redhead initially doing most of the work, but it is Naruto's first kiss on the lips. Well there was the one with Sasuke, but Naruto didn't like to think about that. Still, Naruto makes up for his little experience with passion, taking control of the kiss as his tongue slips into Karin's mouth. The two eventually break off the kiss, a small trail of saliva connecting the two as they both blush intensely, Naruto's face turning the same shade as Karin's hair.

Naruto gave Karin a goofy grin before a rather horrified expression came over his face. "Ah sorry about that. I shouldn't have been so forward. Crap, please don't beat the crap out of me!"

"Why would I do that?" Karin asked as she tilted her head.

"For being a pervert. You know, doing stuff like that. It's fine for a few kisses but stuff like that, crap, Sakura-chan would beat the crap out of me if she saw me doing something like that." He said, causing Karin's to perk up slightly.

'He seems quite scared of this Sakura-chan. A former lover perhaps? No, by the way he's acting it goes less like a jilted lover and more like a girl he has a crush on, who hates Naruto in particular since he seems so terrified of her. She must be trying to keep him from any other woman so that she can keep him to herself.' She smirked, 'Well tough luck you dumb bitch, you made him ripe for the picking.'

"Naruto-kun, wanting to kiss someone back isn't perverted. Now if you wanted to have intercourse with me, it'd only be appropriate after a five-course meal," The blonde's eyes nearly bugged out at that comment, Karin letting out a small chuckle, "but I am a far classier lady." A completely lie, but he didn't need to know that she would do anything to survive. "Still, it was simply a kiss. I like you. I think you're cute, strong, and a powerful shinobi." She said, playing with his ego. It wasn't like they were untrue either. He was cute, his whisker marks lending him a sort of foxy look and his blonde hair was yellow like the sun, he was rather muscular and obviously used to physical work, and he had enough chakra to make Kages envious, and having large and nice chakra like he did was her fetish.

It was part of the reason she liked Sasuke after all, as he had large chakra reserves, but even his was pitifully small compared to the blonde's. Though he did make up for it in the other areas, namely, being very good looking.

"You really think so?" Naruto asked.

"Of course, I do. But hey, why don't we get to know each other better, preferably at a nice restaurant. Make sure it's got Fried Pork Cutlet bowls on the menu too, it's the best stuff in the elemental nations. They got that, and we've got a date."

"A date? You mean like, that kind of date?" The blonde asked, a hint of eagerness in his voice. Years of being looked at as unattractive and undesirable (though he knew it was partially because of his poor diet) had let to a rather low self-image. His pink haired teammates had diminished it even further, but this new red head made him feel a lot better about his body than Sakura ever did.

"Yep. That kind of date." She replied, a hint of amusement in her voice. She would have continued to tease him about it, had they not been interrupted by a young female cultist.

"Hey, you two, the ceremony is starting! Get your butts up there and make sure nothing goes wrong!"

Naruto looked at Karin, who nodded, and they began their trek to the center of the tent village. A large platform had been raised up, by Earth Ninjutsu if the completely square shape was any indication, and upon it was Shiruba and Akajosei, a bull laying on its side on a pedestal. Naruto looked a bit nervous as people crowded around the stage, all of them eager to worship their deity, the bull struggling slightly in its binds. Shiruba raised his hands up, quieting the crowd. The full moon lended the man an eerie light, as he began to speak.

"We are here, everyone, to worship the Kyuubi. Bringer of Malice, Hatred, and Rage, but also the bringer of Pride, and Strength, both Physical and Mental. We honor it this day with a sacrifice of a pure bull." He said, motioning towards the brown bull, "Let the Kyuubi's might protect us from any that wish us harm and give strength to those who fight in his name." Shiruba said, glancing at Naruto, the boy avoiding the man's eyes in shame. Shiruba motions Akajosei to move forward, and she does, raising the knife as she before bringing it down, slitting the struggling bull's throat. It's blood flows, pouring into a large bowl, and soon, the animal succumbed to the blood loss. The bowl is passed around, the cultist's dipping their hands into it and making whisker marks on their cheeks. When the bowl is passed forward to Naruto, he looks at the bowl, a battle going on inside of himself on whether to do it and please the people around him, or throw it and run. In the end, he chooses to rub the blood onto his whisker marks, with Karin rubbing blood onto her face as well, even if she is disgusted to do so.

'Ooh, the smell of blood...my cultists surely do know what I like~' The Kyuubi whispered out in his mind. Naruto closes his eyes as he pushes down the self-disgust he feels, before his eyes slammed open as he feels one of his shadow clones disperse.

"Now that everyone is exalted in its name, let us go and feast. Everyone head towards the tent in the back, and, as always, praise the Kyuubi." The cultists headed towards the tent, leaving Shiruba alone with the two. "So, what brings the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and an Uzumaki here?"