The Tailed Beasts Tamed
A Bijuu Various Fanfic
Hey all, Tankou001 here with an all new chapter of The Tailed Beasts Tamed! It's been a while since I decide to start another chappie. Been busy with life and the moving in of a long time friend who is now my roommate ^^
Still I decided, after going on an all night anime binge, that I would sit down and write a fic chapter of some sort and, since I really did want to start a Moribito Fic after finishing off the series and managed to control my insanity, I decided to write the next chappie of The Tailed Beasts Tamed.
Well, last chapter you all got a view of Yattsu, Saisho and Yonbanme. This chapter, however, is all about Daikyū, Byō and Sanbanme, the latter two I know I have had some rl fans practically clawing at my throat to hurry up development with. Believe it or else, Byō and Sanbanme are currently the people's favorite, so far as I have gotten word of. Apparently fans just can't get enough of them XD
Though I have had some wayward fans nagging me for the YattsuZabu lemon I have been planning for some time.
Oh! Good news, as well! I'm now in the double digits for this fic's chapter number! Bonsai!
Enjoy!
{HR}
Chapter Ten: Tails, Whiskers and Shells
A cold wind blew through the Snow Country as Itachi walked beside Daikyū. It hadn't been a very pleasant trip to the Snow Country but, for some reason or another, that was where Daikyū wanted to be and who was Itachi to argue with a goddess; His goddess especially? In point of fact, Itachi and Daikyū were closer now than they had ever been before leaving Konoha. They had been given plenty of opportunities in Konoha to bond and they had used them to their best effect but there was nothing like living solely off one another for two years to bring a couple closer together. When one of the partners forcefully slammed a limiter on her own powers, however, it made reliance fall to a whole new level. Daikyū had forcibly sealed her major power for the trip so that, while they were away, she was no more powerful than the average jounin. Granted this got by in most situations but she couldn't sprout tails and lift five hundred ton boulders anymore. Itachi and Daikyū had come to some very close calls in the past two years simply because she wished to get as close to human ways as possible for the sake of understanding her mate. It warmed Itachi's heart when he thought on it.
"We'll stop at this next ridge." Daikyū called over the roar of the chill wind. Itachi nodded and shielded his lover from a harsh blast of cold air. When they did, in fact, reach the ridge Itachi burned in a section of the cliff and lowered Daikyū into it, following soon after and clearing out the cave further. In the end they ran a warm fire deep in the cave, far from the chill wind that raged in the storm outside. "I'm frozen to the bone." Daikyū said, her teeth clattering together as she sat next to the fire.
"That's what happens to humans." Itachi said simply, pulling his near frozen clothing off and setting it near the fire to dry off. "I still don't know why you ever tried to become more human."
"It's to understand you better." Daikyū countered immediately as she stripped off the first four layers of torso clothing, leaving a thin cotton shirt left on her, soaked from sweat and melted ice. "How can I mate myself to a human being if I don't understand what they feel when they are in trouble, if I don't feel cold just as much as they do. I understand that I don't have to and I probably never will after this time but it's good to know how it would feel if I were one of you humans."
"Fair enough, I suppose." Itachi said with a smile as Daikyū started slipping off the second layer of leg covering, leaving a pair of heavy woolen pants still on her figure and a pair of cotton pants under that. He liked best the way the cotton shirt that she still wore clung to her body from the moisture. The white cotton showed off just enough to let Itachi's mind run wild. "You think this cave goes any deeper?" Itachi asked, looking down the slightly blocked off tunnel leading farther into the system.
"No doubt," The fox bijuu answered, running her fingers through her long red hair, "It probably goes for miles."
"I'd like to see that." Itachi said thoughtfully.
"Why not tonight?" Daikyū asked innocently. "Not like we have anything better to do. And you could work on your latest Mangekyo form." In the past two years Itachi had mastered three more Mangekyo Sharingan abilities and the one Daikyū referenced was the fourth. Tengoku No Ko, The Children Of Heaven, was the latest ability Itachi had found within his amazing eyes. To create, from both eyes, multiple skeletal beings that carried spectral lanterns and dealt damage upon his enemies using the power of their own imagination. In truth it was also just as useful for killing people as it was for lighting up tunnels. Itachi nodded and gave a smile. A walk through a cave system would be fun.
After about an hour of warming up Daikyū and Itachi geared up for the walk through the caves. Honestly all it took was a bit of rope. Not even Daikyū in her unbound form would have wanted to go venturing through an unknown cave system without at least a bit of fallback. They smiled at each other and Itachi stared into the caves ahead after clearing out the initial rubble. "Tengoku No Ko..." Itachi muttered as his eyes swirled into a twisted pentacle. The cave lit up immediately, little black skeletal beings holding lanterns at the end of their shadowy arms that glowed multiple colors. They lit the way as Daikyū and Itachi wandered through the caves. As they continued, letting rope go behind them, they noted beautiful caverns and vast underground rivers. In little ponds were eyeless fish and glowing strands drifted down from the ceilings from cave dwelling silkworms.
The bad news, however, came soon enough. When the pair decided it was time to turn back they walked for a few minutes before finding their rope had broken. They were much farther than they thought and had no lead to get back. What was worse was that, when they did find ropes, it wasn't their rope. People had clearly been through this system before and they had gotten lost as well. Daikyū gave Itachi a worried look. Itachi knew as well as she did that her limitations couldn't be removed on a whim. Only once she set foot back inside the walls of Konoha would she regain the power she once possessed.
"Well, what now?" Daikyū asked in a mildly worried tone. Even the Kyuubi No Youko could succumb to starvation if left without food for too long.
Bad went to worse as the lights of Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan went out. He knew he couldn't give up the chakra for it any longer. "Give up and hope for the best?" Itachi said with mild humor in his nervous voice.
"Not the time, Itachi..."
"Well you can't blame me for trying to find something positive..."
"Finding something positive would be getting us out of here!" Daikyū yelled out into the cave.
"Well your yelling isn't going to help!" Itachi yelled back, losing his calm a bit. They had never, in truth, had a fight. However, this was just the best setting to get one started "You decided this would be a good idea anyway!"
"Maybe I should have gone with someone like Chouji instead of with you!" Daikyū cried out into the darkness, knowing Itachi to be right beside her. "At least he would have been able to carry me out of this place easily instead of putter out our only source of light at the very last second."
"You mean you liked Chouji-kun better than you liked me?"
"I'm starting to think about trading with Byō, to be honest! At least he's not so skinny and pale!"
"I'm not very pale at all anymore!"
"But you are skinny! Maybe Sanbanme was right to not understand why I kept you around! Even if I were to need to eat you it'd only give me a few extra hours! Why did I even choose you as my mate?"
"You know what?" Itachi spoke up loudly, "If that's the way you feel then I'd be happy to free you of my skinny, useless presence!" With that Itachi turned to stomp off.
"And I'll take my bad choice making skills away so you can lead your own stupid way through the tunnels until you die!" Daikyū likewise turned a direction she guessed Itachi wouldn't go and started stomping off that direction.
One of the greatest problems, the pair found, with wandering angrily and blindly through largely unexplored cave systems was that you didn't know when you would fall down some sort of crevice. The fact that both of them did just this not minutes after stomping off in opposite directions confirmed highly that very point. Itachi's fall was quite stable. He fell and, at the bottom, slid to a halt, unable to get back up but largely unhurt save for a couple of scrapes that didn't bother him in the slightest. Daikyū's fall, however, couldn't have gone worse. The fall was ragged and came complete with jutting spikes the whole way down. Daikyū landed hard at the bottom right on her knee, feeling a bone in her lower leg snap at the impact. She screamed in agony. "Stupid human legs!" she screamed into the darkness around her. "Stupid mate! Stupid cave! Stupid hole in the ground!"
In truth Daikyū stopped her screaming very soon, realizing that it was better to tear her clothes apart and make a wrap for her leg than scream idly about her woes. Now that she was as normal as a jounin she wouldn't heal right away. She couldn't fix herself up until she got into light and to Itachi. It was his fault for getting lost in the scenery and forgetting how much rope was left and how far in they were. If he had been more attentive Daikyū wouldn't have been wandering around in the dark with a broken leg.
Meanwhile Itachi stumbled around in the dark with his own woes. He wasn't hurt but he knew very well that he had no idea how the hell to get out. In fact he knew that, without some sort of clues he wouldn't get out of the cave for a while. He wandered about, his hand on the wall the whole way. Theoretically speaking, he would eventually get out of here if he just stayed to one side, wouldn't he? Or was that mazes? Itachi couldn't particularly remember. If Daikyu was around he could at least be in some sort of company. But what did it really matter when she was going to treat him so badly. Thank goodness they hadn't really tied the knot yet. She could have Chouji if she wanted! Itachi would be able to settle just fine with Byō. At least Byō would have been laid back enough top not bite his head off if he got them lost. At least Byō would have had the night vision to wander around without being completely blind if Itachi had gotten to her first. Who needed Daikyū anyway?
As the hours went by Daikyu and Itachi started getting hungry. The two of them were still wandering, completely blind. Itachi had run into some bad situations, drifting over chasms and swimming through subterranean lakes. However, Daikyū, though having a peaceful stroll through the caves, was worse off with her leg the way it was. She had lost a good deal more blood than she would have liked and the pain was really getting to her. Why had some human attachment compelled her to "Walk a few years in human shoes?"
Eventually the two had finally reached their ends. Itachi hit a wall and let his hand fall, feeling a backpack of sorts. He reached over and felt a human skull. When Daikyū stopped she sat next to a climbers kit, a pick axe right next to her and a human skull beside that. Both of them chuckled. "Guess this is the end, huh?" Daikyū asked to nobody in particular.
Itachi heard the words of the bijuu and spoke back. "I suppose so." Of course neither one believed that they were actually sitting beside one another. In fact they both firmly believed that they were at opposite ends of the caves from each other. They believed this to be a hallucination drawn upon by hunger or blood loss by Itachi and Daikyū respectively. "I guess I at least get to hear your voice before we die."
"Oh ya." Daikyū said with a smile on her weary face. "I suppose it's true. I'll get to hear your voice. Good thing I know it so well."
"Sad that my last words to you were so horrible."
"I wish I could have parted on better terms as well. Maybe, in our next lives, we will meet again and be something better to each other."
"Bet you'd say that to any guy."
"Probably not to Chouji, to be honest."
"Byō's not my type either, to tell the truth. At least I can come to terms with that before I die alone."
"Oh ya." Daikyū chuckled as she felt sleep touching her eyes. "Still, I wish I could have slept in your arms once more before I went... Never expected to hit the bottom of a cave and die there. Battle would have been nicer.
"I never even got to kill Tobi..." Itachi spoke sadly, sleep touching his eyes as well.
"I'm sure somebody'll come along and take care of the bastard." Daikyū muttered, leaning sideward with a yawn.
"More than likely. I mean, couldn't put everything on me, could you?"
"I suppose I always just gave you too much responsibility. I always depended on you for taking care of all of the problems for me."
"And I always wanted to impress you so much more than I knew I could." Itachi said, his hand touching Daikyū's as he faded into a dream.
"I'm sure it'll be alright when we wake into different bodies."
"I love you Daikyū," Itachi said finally, "Even if you're just a figment of my imagination."
"I love you too Itachi." Daikyū responded. "Even if you are only a hallucination brought on by blood loss."
"Goodnight." The two of them spoke as they drifted off in each other's arms, completely oblivious to the fact that they were, in fact, touching each other.
Hours later light seeped into the cavern as a patch of snow dropped from the opposite cavern wall, waking both of the couple. The sun shined from outside and, as the two awoke, they noticed each other. "I-Itachi?" Daikyū asked in shock, still a little dizzy from the blood loss.
"Daikyū?" Itachi asked in similar shock. "So was I really talking to you last night?"
"I think you were! That means I was talking to you as well!"
"Is that the way out?" Itachi asked, standing up and going to the hole in the opposite cavern wall. "It is! Sunshine all around! Let's get out of here!"
Daikyū moved to stand but she couldn't. "M-My leg's broken."
"I'll carry you out." Itachi said proudly, stepping up and picking up Daikyū with some difficulty due to the lack of food. "I think you've gotten a bit heavier..." Itachi said with a smile.
"I think I'd rather have Chouji carry me out." Daikyū spoke with a smirk on her lips.
"Too far, honey, too far." Itachi laughed as he pulled Daikyū.
"Let's never fight again."
"Last night was our first and last."
"Deal!" The two of them agreed in unison.
Beyond the Snow Country, the Mountains Country, and any other known country was another pair, snow whipping around the area just as it had been the previous night with Itachi and Daikyū. However, here there was always snow, at least at this sort of time. Midwinter was in full swing in Hyōga Sanmyaku, the home of the Polar Clan, the Polar Bear Summons. For two years Chouji and Byō had been there, training with the bears and learning their ways. This was Chouji's third family branch now. The Akimichi were well covered and so were the other bijuu. All of them approved freely of Byō and Chouji marrying. However, Byō and Chouji had to get blessing from more than just those two parties. The third party was Chouji's other family, The Polar Clan of Hyōga Sanmyaku. They consisted of Polar bear summons that were hard headed, hot blooded, heavy handed and not too enamored of anyone of feline degree. To be honest, the polar clan hated cats, at least when it came to their rival clan, The White Tiger Clan, which had shared Hyōga Sanmyaku with them for thousands of years. Chouji had known the problems so he had made sure that, as soon as was possible, the two of them were in the Polar Clan Capital, making themselves worthwhile to the clan as a whole. Byō had found out rather quickly however, that this wasn't near as easy to do as a human as it was for a bear.
Chouji had already been well accepted into the clan as a member. He was even official, so far as Human clan members went. He had trained for years and learned all of the many holidays. Chouji had learned the customs and mastered the hunting rites. He was almost more Polar Bear, now that Byō saw him in this sort of environment, then he was human.
However, this was still anything but a welcoming environment. Even Chouji was treated as the bottom man on the totem pole, so far as adults went. They all still considered him a cub until he was, in fact, married. As mating went the Polar Clan was much more willing to give blessing to Chouji marrying one of their own than bringing a feline humanoid into the clan as well as raising himself into adulthood seemingly independent of their assistance. When Byō had asked just how Chouji would have been able to successfully mate into the clan with one of their own, however, she had found just how truly capable the Polar Clan had made themselves over the past thousand years in the art of wholly changing their being to a more humanoid shape. The average adult female Polar Clan member was able to fully change their physiology into human form right down to enough genetic structure to successfully breed with humans, though they didn't do it much. They believed most firmly that they were, in fact, produced by a savage man of sorts thousands of years ago who trapped the very spirit of winter into a human body and mated her, making the intelligent polar bears.
Whether Byō believed such a thing or not was largely moot. Her lover believed it almost as firmly as the Polar Clan did and Byō was well aware that, no matter how much Chouji wanted to marry her he wouldn't without Polar Clan blessing, which they had yet to so much as budge their opinion on. Mating to Byō was right out, paws down.
However, Byō had found a wonderful way to fix this! The Polar Clan loved items of marvel, anything that was shiny, sparkly and of some sort of metal. Byō had been scouting out places all over Hyōga Sanmyaku for things to take and give as tribute to the Polar Clan.
Still, the day came and Byō left for a week, coming back with sleds of goodies in return to offer to the Bear King himself. Only after a hard scolding and Chouji taking a supreme beating in Byō's place did Byō realize just how wrong she was for finding and returning treasures to the clan. While the Polar Clan was largely equal rights, so far as males and females went, they had a strong sense of chivalry, especially in the fact that men were the ones who brought treasures home, not women. That was a luxury women were encouraged to take great love in. In fact, many of the clan henceforth thought less of Byō for not demanding treasures of her supposed mate, rather than going and getting them herself.
As the night fell one evening Chouji walked into the room they had been given. Of course this "room" was well enough to be as large as their home back in the Fire Country. It had many rooms to it but it was just called a room nonetheless. He had bruises all over him as he came and slammed his body down on the furs that littered their bed. Byō stepped up to him and ran her hands across his back. "You okay ~Nya?" She asked, a bit of concern in her voice. Long gone was the largely carefree Byō. Though she knew still how to be such a person she had no time to figure out when the next time she would be getting catnip was. Now she had to actively impress people to keep herself happy in the end.
"I'm fine..." Chouji said with a groan, unconsciously flexing his muscles as Byō ran her fingers across his back. This was something Chouji had also become after coming to the Capital. While Byō had already loved Chouji with a shirt off she hadn't guessed just how lovely his most recent passive Jutsu would have made him. While in the Capital all Chouji ever wore was a pair of fur pants, nothing more. However, after making a jutsu shortly after leaving Konoha that compacted his fat into a super dense layer around his torso Chouji had gone from "Fluffy" to "Built Like A Bear." He was, in point of fact, about five hundred pounds more than before they had left Konoha. However, this fat that he had gained was compacted to about a half an inch wide all about his torso, making a steel hard layer of fat reserves that kept him warm and made his body look like a masterpiece. Byō had always been in love with Chouji on a very personal level. She had found almost no love in his body right from the start, due to her uncaring nature. However, now his allure wasn't just in his sweetness and caring demeanor. He was not only perfect for Byō mentally and emotionally but a total hunk so far as the physical scales went. "Just a few bruises again, the norm."
Of course Chouji always came back a little battered but today was worse than usual. Byō curled up beside him and snuggled with him for a time. "I know I've asked it before ~Nya, but do we really have to get approval from the Polar Clan?" Byō asked earnestly. "They hate me, Chouji, and I know it. There's no way they'll choose me over one of their own. Maybe we should just give up ~Nya..."
Chouji's eyes shot open and he sat bolt upright, grabbing Byō by the shoulders. "You never say that again, Byō!" Chouji said seriously. This surprised the cat bijuu, as she had indeed asked several times if they had to get approval. However, it appeared that wasn't what Chouji was talking about. "They do not hate you and they will eventually approve of you! I'll make sure of that even if I have to defeat Kuma-Oumono myself to gain control of the clan. Nothing anyone could say, not even you Byō, would ever make me give up on marrying you, on making our love official by all meanings of the word." Chouji pulled Byō close to him, embracing her tight. "You just need to be patient. Let me take care of it and learn what you can. I promise that it won't be long before Kuma-Oumono approves of our mating."
Byō, for the first time in a long time, cried that night. It wasn't that she thought it was hopeless, of course. She just didn't believe that Chouji was making the right choice in being so insistent. It wasn't as if they hadn't already talked about having kids without tying the knot. For that matter, according to Chouji, a human marriage meant nothing to the Polar Clan. It was their mating rites that mattered to them, making a human marriage perfectly acceptable to the Polar Clan without needing to get approval. It just all seemed so hopeless to the feline bijuu.
The next morning Chouji awoke before Byō, which was rare because the bijuu girl was always so wanting to help around the compound. Chouji moved her from atop his form, shook her lightly awake and smiled. "I had an idea."
Byō blinked her highly squinted eyes as she looked up at Chouji, raising an eyebrow. It was difficult to actually tell that Byō was blinking because her eyes were so squinted most times that she appeared to have them perpetually closed. However, Chouji now knew the difference between Byō closed eyes and when she had her eyes actually open. "Nya?" Byō made a noise of confusion.
"Start not caring anymore." Chouji said, Byō raising her eyebrow further. "Just stop giving a fuck! You shouldn't have to! You've been working yourself so hard, trying to get them to accept you that you've forgotten who you are!"
Byō made another noise of confusion. "I don't get it ~Nya..."
"How am I supposed to tell them what I like about you and expect them to understand when you don't actually exhibit the behaviors?" Chouji asked, pulling Byō to her feet. "I miss the Byō that I fell in love with! The Byō that climbed on me in public and used my hair as handholds to stand on my head. I missed the woman that walked around with her tails out and made a mess of the kitchen after breakfast and scratched up my wooden carvings because she thought she could make them better! Stop caring about approval and be yourself again!"
Byō shook her head in mild disbelief as Chouji gave the most insane smile she'd ever seen grace his face. "Y-You realize what you're telling me to do, right?" Chouji nodded frantically. "No turning back once you really agree to this."
"I... Don't... Care!" Chouji said, opening the door and pushing Byō outside as he stepped into the halls of the Polar Capital. "Go completely... Byō."
Byō blinked a bit for a moment and then a twisted grin blessed her face, the look Chouji had been wanting to see for almost two years already. She looked around, finding the halls bare. She walked to the nearest intersection, her tails popping out of her tail bone and the ears flashing upright on her head. She seemed to see something down the nearest turn and was off like a light, racing down the halls with complete abandon. Chouji let out the first genuine laugh in a year and turned the other way, walking to his daily duties.
The day went by rather slowly, which surprised Chouji. He would have expected Byō's troublemaking to have reached him sooner. That was unless she had been put in her place by the Polar Clan. Chouji hadn't thought of that. He raced toward the royal wing, Where Kuma-Oumono, the bear king, made his home. He slammed through a few doors, not at all noticing the chaos that blessed the halls he ran through. When he slammed into Kuma-Oumono's room to immediately apologize for his lover's antics he found a scene that silenced him immediately. There Byō was, walking around in a synchronized two beat gait, right arm and leg moving at the same time with left arm and leg doing the same when their turns came. Gigantic polar bears, some half decayed, were walking in beat with her around Kuma-Oumono's suite. Mirroring her movements and bashing down the furniture. She was, after all, the master of the undead. Kuma-Oumono was trying to get to Byō but none of the Polar Bear zombies would stay down long enough for him to get to her. Chouji found himself now rolling with laughter. He knew he would later pay for such things but he couldn't help it. For the first time in two years Byō was being herself again; that crazy, quirky, laid back, insane cat girl who didn't care what happened so long as it amused her more than anything else.
"I demand you stop this at once!" Kuma-Oumono cried into the great hall that was his suite.
"You asked for it ~Nya!" Byō called as she leaped toward the Bear King along with all of her undead walking partners before stopping her control and disappearing, appearing right beside Chouji and letting all of the zombie bears come crashing down on the monumental polar bear who was still alive.
"Cub!" Kuma-Oumono howled as he ripped his way out of the long dead polar bear carcasses, noticing Chouji finally. "What is the meaning of this disrespect and sacrilege?"
"That," Chouji said, standing up and rubbing the laughing tears from his eyes, "Is the wonderful woman I wish to be mated to. And if you don't approve of her then we'll just stay around until you do." Chouji said with a laugh. "I've gotta go help on the hunt. See you later, Kuma-Oumono-sama." With that Chouji was gone, leaving Byō to her devices.
The hunt was a long one that wasn't too pleasant. Chouji nearly got his arm chewed off by a giant seal but it was still successful and Chouji's arm was still attached. Upon arriving back in the capital Byō stood at the front gate, Kuma-Oumono beside her along with several other bears. The bear king held the least satisfied look Chouji had ever noted right upon his face and Byō's near closed eyes showed a smile, her mouth wide with a grin. Chouji dropped the gigantic seal beside Kuma-Oumono and looked up at the bear king. "I'll have you know that I still don't like this..." Kuma-Oumono rumbled, "But I have no choice. I'll give you my blessing only on certain conditions."
Chouji's face brightened and Byō ran up and impacted with him, embracing him tight. "We're gonna make a baby!"
Chouji had gone from smiling to frowning in that instant. Of course they had talked about it but never had they really put much serious thought into it. "Kuma-Oumono-sama?" Chouji balked. "Don't you think that's a bit fast?"
"Call me Outo-san now." Kuma-Oumono muttered as he turned about. "Your mating ceremony is in three weeks. After that I expect you two to have a cub to show for it as quickly as possible. Now get that arm cleaned up and get inside for the feasts. It's the Eve Of Glory and I want to announce all of this."
Chouji looked down at Byō as she draped herself off of him. The Eve Of Glory was one of the many holidays the Polar Clan celebrated. It was a minor one, about as important as Valentine's Day, but it was still important to the bears. They had near as many holidays as there were days of the year and some holidays shared the same day. However, The Eve Of Glory was a night of feasting and announcing new bonds. "So what else do I have to do aside from knock you up, Byō?" Chouji asked, knowing that Kuma-Oumono would want more than just a cub to see when it was born.
Byō looked up at Chouji with a puckered lower lip and a look of worry, however fake it may have been. "Love me, care for me, feed me and don't die ~Nya." Byō said simply before smiling. "And make sure that Outo-san doesn't kill you in the required training courses he's making you do to prove yourself good enough."
"You mean the master's courses?" Chouji cried out as his blue haired lover nodded. "I'm gonna fuckin die! Are you insane, Byō? Prodigies have been slain in the first lesson from that training! Couldn't you have worked something ou-"
"CUB!" Kuma-Oumono's voice rumbled from within the capital. "Get in here! I'm going to work you till you die!" Chouji went pale and numbly walked into the capital to face his doom. Byō just smiled as all of Chouji's companion hunters wept soundlessly behind her for their soon to be fallen comrade. One of them actually wailed in sorrow after Chouji was securely inside the capital and out of earshot.
Across the world there was a sound of fear. A man screamed as a young woman stalked him through a forest. The woman possessed long green hair and had pentagon markings on her back with three tail markings spreading out, weaving about the lines on her back. Her yellow and red eyes penetrated the island trees, seeing the short old man running. This was her food. As she advanced the man only slowed from exhaustion. The woman had been on her hunt for hours now and she was untiring while the old human man was most certainly beyond his prime. Finally she pinned him to the ground and loomed over him, her red and gold eyes piercing into his soul, paralyzing him so that she could better devour him. Just as her mouth was about to dig into his collar bone there was a voice from far away, bold and demanding. "Sanbanme-san! Get off of him! Now!" Sanbanme froze in mid-bite. "You heard me! Do as I say! Get off that man!"
Sanbanme looked back to see Hyuuga Neji standing at the root of a nearby tree, his white eyes pinning her to her spot and demanding obedience. Why didn't he let her eat her fill as often as she liked? So long as she didn't eat him she would have guessed it would be fine to feed off of humans. Stupid Hinatas had too much authority in her life, especially this one, one with a pentagonal turtle shell shard embedded into his chest. Not only could she not eat him but she felt compelled, always, to follow his orders. Neji pointed to the ground at his side and Sanbanme felt the tugging at her heart. She reluctantly stepped off the old man and walked to Neji's side.
"I'm very sorry, sir." Neji spoke, his eyes still on Sanbanme. "Please flee from here and warn everyone never to come here." The man looked at Neji and Sanbanme before nodding frantically and catching his second wind, enough energy to get out of dodge before the green haired assailant could get the chance to change her mind. Neji watched as he ran and Sanbanme itched to chase him. In fact she tried to get at him again but Neji reached out and grabbed her by the hair, tugging her back as she screamed in anger and turned on Neji, biting into his arm in her rage. There it was again, however, that horrible taste, that pain in her heart and her brain. She recoiled viciously, tearing her teeth from Neji's arm and rolling on the ground, trying to get the horrid taste of his flesh from her mouth. As Neji stepped up to her she bared her teeth and yelled at him unintelligibly but a hard slap came from Neji, striking her across the face. "Bad girl!" Neji cried, his arm bleeding violently. "Humans are not food, Sanbanme-san!"
Over the past two years this had been the norm. Neji had gone from a beautiful, practically untouched man living in the lap of luxury to a wild sort of man. He still looked the same, for the most part. However, his skin was a heavy tan now. In the center of his chest was a deep green pentagonal piece of turtle shell that had been embedded there to better bond with Sanbanme. It was, after all, part of Sanbanme's shell. His beautiful brown hair, that had once been expertly tended to every day, was something of a mess. There was some semblance of it's former beauty still there but it was largely a mess now. His body, mainly his arms and legs, were covered in healing cuts and bruises from when Sanbanme got a bit too irritated to hold back her vicious tendencies. It had been a difficult two years past and Neji had made very little progress. At first Sanbanme had behaved herself, for the most part. Then Tanget had parted ways with them and Neji could very easily tell that Sanbanme's temper was getting more out of control. She started becoming less placid and more at home denying any orders Neji gave her. Eventually she started running wild and Neji had to reinforce his demands with chakra suppression, pumping energy into the shell piece that was, at the time, an amulet that hung from his neck. Eventually it had just become too much. Neji had found out the only way to freely enforce his demands was to physically embed the shell piece into the center of his chest and so he did. He didn't have to use chakra anymore to command Sanbanme but it was still tiring.
The worst possible thing about this all was that, over the past two years Neji had fallen very much in love with Sanbanme but she simply didn't understand it all yet. She still wanted to devour humans and run free. She didn't understand that she couldn't do that now. Neji had been finding himself striking her more and more often lately, just to keep her in control. She had been attacking him more often, only to back down after she had dealt him harm, finding it once again to be not to her taste. Sanbanme, on the other hand, was angry with Neji. He was still not in the "People Category." He was still just in that fine line that "Hinatas" inhabited; the "not quite people but certainly not food" category. She understood she had to obey him and stay close but she still didn't understand why. To a degree she understood the words "love" and "caring" from him but she still didn't understand why she had to be given a mate who wasn't even a person. Why did he have to rule over her life like this and keep her from what she wanted?
"Because that is the position I was given, Sanbanme-san." Neji spoke up, hearing her thoughts through the shell piece. "And I intend to bring you back as a wonderful young woman who is responsible and acceptable for mixed company... And I expect you not to eat humans anymore. They're not food. Not anymore."
This notion was preposterous! Humans had always been for eating! There had never been any problem with it before! Sanbanme should have been able to eat until she was full! She reluctantly followed Neji to their "home;" a small hovel in the forest of the island they now lived on. It was largely uninhabited, only a few times a year did anyone come by to explore it and Sanbanme made sure to chase them off rather quickly. The only people who actually lived there were Neji and Sanbanme. They eked out a rather good living despite the fact that Neji knew next to nothing about construction or clothing repair. Sanbanme knew next to nothing about anything that mattered save for her own ability to survive by herself. It was not a very good setting for the two of them but they managed well enough.
When they entered Neji took a bit of old cloth and wrapped his wound with it. "You need to learn to become more placid, Sanbanme-san. I really do only want the best for you." Sanbanme made a sound of disgust and looked away from Neji, sitting at the edge of the "patio." She didn't need him! She would have been much better off with The Woman Of Many Beasts or even The Man Of Many Buzzing Sounds. Not some non-person who wasn't any good even for eating. "You just don't get it, do you Sanbanme-san?"
Of course she didn't get it! She couldn't understand why such a horrible person was placed, by her own sisters no less, as her prospective mate! He couldn't do anything, didn't want her to eat properly and, every so often, struck her for trying to get a good meal. As she stood she felt Neji's hands grab her by the shoulders and throw her to the ground. He stood tall above her now, his torn pants the only thing adorning his figure, as usual. His eyes were intense, fiercely magnified by the past two years of hardship. The veins extended from the sides of his eyes and his arm dripped slowly as he looked down at Sanbanme angrily. "Do you honestly think I like this, Sanbanme-san?" Neji yelled out. "Because I hate it! I didn't ask to be paired with you! I didn't ask to have to haul you around for the past two years! I didn't ask the Hokage to assign me to your side after finding out what you are!"
Neji slammed his knees down on the ground, straddling Sanbanme. "And I didn't ask to fall in love with you!" He cried as he held Sanbanme's arms down while she struggled. "Because I do love you, Sanbanme-san! I love you more than I love my own clan and that's a fact! I know I've never said it before but I do love you!" With that Neji pressed his lips hard against Sanbanme's and she stopped struggling. This was a different feeling than usual that made Sanbanme stop her thrashing. It was warmer, gentler than Neji's usual ministrations. He normally slapped her to get her attention when she was raging or wrestled her to the ground and held her in place until she calmed down. However, now he just had kissed her, a gentle but still somehow firm show of authority. It was torture. It was horrible... At the same time, however, it was heaven. To a creature who knew largely only hunger, fear and anger such as Sanbanme love was such a foreign thing. It made her heart ache as the shell piece in Neji's chest glowed dimly as the sun went down over the horizon. What was happening? This couldn't be real.
As Neji's hands let go of Sanbanme's arms she didn't struggle. His hands explored freely, tugging off the small bits of hide that covered her body and tugging off his own torn pants. She was giving in already, despite he fact that she fully knew his intentions. He was going to take her right there and then. Thinking a bare bit on this she tried to struggle again but, as she went to bite his neck she found herself stopping just short. It wasn't for any reason. She hadn't gotten the bad taste yet. She hadn't been struck or told not to bite Neji. She just, for some reason, didn't feel like it. As Neji's hands continued their exploration about Sanbanme's body she moaned quietly, accepting his touch for what it was. This was love. This was pure, unadulterated love coming from Neji into Sanbanme, something she hadn't ever felt before.
She let out a weak growl as Neji pressed his nude body against hers but she didn't try to get away. It disgusted her a bit that she was letting this being do what he wanted but, at the same time, she longed for him to do it. She longed for Neji to make her his own. Briefly Neji stopped and looked into Sanbanme's eyes. His own eyes were still hard and cold but, deep down, she knew there was love for her inside of him. Then they met, and in more ways than one. Neji made the meeting below as Sanbanme pushed up to meet his lips with hers. Their bodies crashed together and they rolled about on the ground like a pair of serpents struggling together in a mating ball. It didn't matter, any sense of decency either of them had possessed previously. All that mattered now was that they were together and that they were coupled. The feeling of being partnered with Neji was insane, like a sensation that swept over Sanbanme hard as the greatest wave in the ocean but gentle as the stillest waters of a simple pond. There was no fighting the feelings that overtook Sanbanme. Feelings she had never even known about: Passion, lust, love, longing, partnership. They were all there in full force. Sanbanme came to new realizations. Among the many new emotions she experienced came the very most foreign: shyness, sorrow, embarrassment. It made her feel strange, being this close to someone she knew that she had hated for the past two years. What had come over her?
She blushed at one point, Neji looking down at her with a ghost of a smile upon his lips. It made her feel so open, so vulnerable to be in such a position. She squeaked out with all of her strength for Neji to stop but she knew, deep down, that she didn't mean it. She wanted more. She wanted Neji to be even farther inside of her, deeper, closer. "I won't let you go, Sanbanme." Neji spoke out through a groan. Sanbanme looked up at him, his still cold eyes letting out tears now. "You are my lover now and I won't let you get out of line anymore. It would put the Hyuuga name down... And you're now part of the Hyuuga. I can't let you make a fool of yourself! From now on we are moving into... civilization. I'm going to... teach you how... to be a proper... woman!"
A feeling swept over Sanbanme like a wave of fire, an electric current of pleasure that flooded her senses. Deep inside she felt Neji's seep fill her, a feeling of completion her body seemed to remember despite the fact that Sanbanme knew she had never felt before. She gasped silently, fighting for air as the pleasure defeated her.
Hours went by with Sanbanme shaking from the experience. Of course it was all done. Neji had finished and Sanbanme was certainly not struggling. The two were spooning on the ground, Sanbanme curled up in front of Neji, holding his hands to her chest and cuddling with him. She had so many things running through her mind and, at the same time, there was nothing coherent. She was thinking so much about nothing at all. Neji held Sanbanme tight, trying to sense her thoughts and getting nothing but a jumble of gibberish. He knew she couldn't think properly at that time just as he wasn't going to try. They fell asleep together, uncovered and uncaring.
The next morning Neji was breaking down their former home. They were moving to humanity. They were leaving the wilderness. Neji had been firm about one thing in the passion of the previous day., He was indeed bringing Sanbanme into civilization and he was going to force her into a proper woman who would know to be civil, cordial, well behaved and to not eat people. They broke down everything, the whole area was nothing but shambles and broken pieces of wood when they left. They traveled for two days on the ocean on a dugout that Neji had made before reaching a little port city.
When they arrived Sanbanme was clearly itching to sink her teeth into a human but this time she held back the urge. She looked at Neji as they walked through town, barely covered by any clothing at all as Neji led her through the market. She was in a daze, trying only to behave herself. She knew what needed to be one now. She needed to behave according to human standards, even if they only existed as food in her mind.
Neji arranged for clothes for them. He arranged for everything. After a day in the town Neji had gotten them clothing, a home, food, a job for him as a bodyguard and errand runner as well as a trainer in the martial arts for a nearby noble man. As payment, aside from living in with the noble family Sanbanme was given classes; an assortment of lessons on propriety. As she was brought in for proper dressing Neji waited outside for her. Humans were touching her all over, putting things on her. She found her mouth watering. As the three young women attended to her, putting her hair up in a big bun and dressing her properly, teaching her how to correctly walk in some strange wooden shoes, she fidgeted eagerly. Finally, when all was done and Sanbanme was properly dressed she was led out to see Neji in a haori and hakama with the symbol of the noble family on his chest and the Hyuuga symbol on the other side of his chest. He stood in complete discipline, the mark on his forehead openly showing. Sanbanme, however, was in a wonderful blue kimono, her deep green hair brushed and put into a beautiful bun atop her head with the remaining hair in a pony tail that cascaded down her back
A young man, the lord of the estate, was right next to Neji. "She looks wonderful." Neji said aloud with a small smile upon his face. "Thank you very much for this opportunity, sir."
"No problem, Neji-san. Just fulfill your end of the bargain now and we'll be alright. A single year's lessons, room and board for your services and then you'll be free from my command with a beautiful proper young woman, mute as she may still be at the end of the year."
"Again, thank you very much, Sabure-sama. You have my word that my services will be no less than satisfactory and that my partner's behavior will be nothing less than absolutely proper as much as she can manage it. Isn't that right, Sanbanme?" Neji looked deep into Sanbanme's eyes from across the room and, slowly, she nodded her head.
It was then that Sanbanme saw Neji as an actual person, one deserving of his own name; The Man With Frightful Eyes. That was now Neji's name to Sanbanme. She now understood the power he held behind those eyes, even if not in a literal physical sense. His eyes commanded respect, even more than those of his kinsmen. Even if these humans were still only just that Neji was her master and lover now. She had to look good for him and be good to him. She understood now, more than ever before, that eating humans was not alright while he was around and, while he was around, she was happier than ever before, no matter how many humans she was allowed to eat without him. When it came between the joy that she felt with him or the satisfaction she felt eating humans, she preferred that joy to a semi-full stomach.
For the next year she would be with these humans and she would do what they said or she would face the disapproving glare of Neji: The Man With Frightful Eyes.
{HR}
There ya have it, people! Chapter Ten of The Tailed Beasts Tamed. Yes, Neji did, in fact, rape Sanbanme, essentially Xp
I've actually been planning that little lemon for a couple chapters. Sorry it wasn't very good but it got the message across. Yes, Sanbanme's in love! Isn't that sweet?
Anyway, Next chapter is a year forward from this one and all of the tailed beasts are going to meet up again, including Kakashi and Yonbanme! Be ready for the awesome return!