Disclaimer:

Did any countries track or even seem to care about the status of their jinchūriki unless they were fairly popular people as well? If not, I don't own Naruto, nor any of that universe.


Chapter 11:
Allies and Enemies

"Please accept my thanks for your generous gifts, Ojii-sama."

Takumi smiled at her. "Of course. You're my only granddaughter, after all.

"So! We got a couple hours, anything you want to do before dinner? Maybe you can tell me some stories about what you've been up to in Taki? And how you met your friend?" he said, standing up. Tayuya got up with him, holding a sword in each hand, and Fu stood from her place beside them. Takumi started walking out the door towards the main room, waving for them to follow.

"Uh, sure. So, I worked with this guy named Yamada. He was literally the most boring guy I've ever met." They reached the living room, and Tayuya sat back down on the couch where she had been before lunch, Fu sitting next to her. The swords went in her lap to slightly alleviate the itchy tingling feeling whenever she wasn't touching them. "I helped him make traditional wooden masks for a festival, and then porcelain masks for ANBU after that. I actually learned a lot from it. Things I'll probably never use again, but I guess are kinda cool to know anyways. Like, I knew what you were talking about when you said that these scabbards have a resin finish. Because we used stuff like that." The redhead looked to her right at her friend. "I met Fu by kind of… um, seeing how she was treated by the village and trying to figure out why."

"More like you cornered the only other person I had contact with and demanded to know what was going on." Fu retorted in clarification. "Which made me look for you only because I was afraid you were going to end up making things worse."

Tayuya was a little embarrassed by that. She definitely could have gone about that better. With a bit more tact. "Well, it all turned out okay, right? So it's not that bad." She turned back to Takumi. "Anyways. I ended up inviting her over for dinner, and we started doing sparring practices in the morning and eating lunches together. We kinda just hit it off immediately, and everything developed from there." Takumi nodded in understanding.

"Well, you two definitely seem close. Almost as close as Akiha and Shu were." he said knowingly.

His implication flew right over her head.

"Haha, yeah. Maybe. But they were together for years, right? And we've only really known each other for a couple months. Though it does kinda feel like years to me." she responded. Fu 'hm'ed. "Either way, I think we both might have just needed a friend." Though maybe Fu a bit more than me.

"I see… well, I'm glad you're doing well. And you seem pretty happy. Which is really all I care about." He scratched his chin. "Ah! Right. Before I forget, let me show you the rooms you can stay in."

He got up and Tayuya and Fu followed his lead, walking around the couch to the staircase behind them that went over the entrance of the hallway they had just come from. "There's only a couple rooms up here, but that's really all we needed when we built the place, and I suppose it works well for you two too." They climbed up the stairs after him, reaching the small square landing and turning left, and then ascending the few remaining steps to the second floor.

Takumi pointed at the door only a few in front of them and to the left. "So that was Shu's room originally, what with all of his sealing projects, and it's the one that they shared when they got married. And that one" he pointed to the door that was further away and to the right. "was Akiha's room. Neither of them have anything in them, so it's up to you who gets what room."

Fu spoke up. "You take your parents' room. I'll take the other one."

Tayuya nodded in acknowledgment. "Thanks." She knew the girl was only trying to be nice, but she was worried about her mental state.

"I'll let you two get settled in, you're probably a bit hankered with all of the traveling and excitement today. And I've got to go get dinner ready. Cooking for three's going to be bringing back memories, I can already tell." he said, walking down the stairs before they could say anything.

Fu yawned. "I'm going to go take a nap."

"O-okay." Yeah. She was really worried now. At least when Fu showed signs of being uncomfortable, Tayuya could try and be supportive. But when she acted alright even when the redhead knew she wasn't, like now, Tayuya really had no idea what to do.

Maybe a nap would do her some good too.


A sharp series of knocks on the front door disturbed the trio while they were having dinner later that evening. Takumi excused himself from the table and walked towards the door, mumbling about so many unexpected visitors in one day. Fu and Tayuya kept quiet and listened, curious who it was.

The smith's muffled voice could be heard from the genkan next to the living-room area. "Mifune-sama! Please, come in! We were just having dinner."

Footsteps echoed, getting closer to the large room and the table they sat at.

Takumi came into view first, followed by another man. He looked old, his face lined with age. His beard, mustache, and hair were long and grey. Cloth was wrapped around his head. He wore old green samurai armor that looked like wooden shingles, and green bodysuit. A sword, what Tayuya thought might be a katana, was strapped to his back. But despite his apparent age, his posture and demeanor exuded pure confidence and strength. Who the heck was this guy?

Takumi gestured to the table "Please, sit. This is my granddaughter, Tayuya Yakin-Uzumaki, and her friend Fu." He turned to them. "This is Mifune, General of the Land of Iron." General!? Why the hell was the general of the entire country visiting them during dinner? She supposed he could know Takumi, but she also had a sinking feeling in her stomach. And that was never a good sign. Her mind kicked into overdrive, trying to figure out what was going on.

Her grandfather turned back to the man. "How is Kurosawa?"

Mifune seated himself to the left of Tayuya, at the end of the table. He smiled warmly in reply. "She is as fine as the day you forged her and gifted her to me, friend." Okay. So he had one of Takumi's blades. That wasn't too unusual, since her grandfather's reputation had gotten rather large with the samurai. But it still didn't explain why he was here now. And that persistent feeling of dread was steadily increasing. Tayuya bet Fu was feeling it even worse.

"Would you like something to eat? Or a drink? Tea?" Takumi asked, looking at Mifune.

The older man inclined his head slightly. "Tea would be nice." Takumi went to prepare a cup, the clinking of ceramic sounding in the large room from over the kitchen island.

Mifune turned and looked at Tayuya and Fu. Fu froze, as still as stone, and Tayuya swore she could hear the girl's heartbeat increase. In contrast, she herself was more becoming agitated by his piercing looks than nervous.

Takumi reappeared at the table with a steaming cup, handing it to the older man. He took a sip, smiling at the smith, and then let out a slight sigh.

"Unfortunately, I am here on official business." Mifune said wearily.

"Oh?" Takumi sat down. "What about?"

"Iron was contacted by Takigakure-"

Tayuya shot up, throwing her chair back, and slammed her hand on the table with a bang. She stood between the man and Fu protectively.

"I am NOT letting them take her back to that fucking shithole." she yelled.

They had just gotten her away from there! It hadn't even been 48 hours. How the fuck did they know Fu was deserting them already?

Mifune sat still, unperturbed. "Young lady, please, calm down, take a seat, and let me finish." he said, his voice calm, and yet feeling like the edge of a razor blade. She caught the implied or else. There was no sense of killing intent, but she know he could kill her before she moved an inch.

Keeping an eye on the man, and still standing in front of Fu, she grabbed her chair and moved it back to its spot before sitting down.

She looked over at the other girl for a moment. Fu was white as a sheet. Fuck. A stream of profanities ran through her mind. Tayuya reached out and grabbed one of the girl's hands, squeezing it and rubbing her thumb in circles, trying to calm her down and bring her out of the self-induced emotional shutdown she was in.

Tayuya turned back to glare at Mifune, who sipped at his tea.

"As I was saying. I was contacted by Takigakure about the location of their jinchūriki." Mifune pinned Tayuya to her seat with his eyes, despite the mass of things she wanted to spout in his face. "They were able to tell me that she was on this very mountain-side, within a two mile radius, but not how they knew that, which disturbs me greatly. I only recognized the location immediately because of my contact with Yakin-dono." He nodded to Takumi.

"Girls." Tayuya caught Fu slightly turning her head out of the corner of her eye. "I am not your enemy. I do not wish to acquiesce to their demands and treat a human life, particularly one such as yours, like a mere bargaining chip. My concern is only for my country, and its best interests. Your presence, and Takigakure's demands, have put me in a very undesirable position."

"So what if she doesn't go back?" Tayuya snarled.

Mifune raised an eyebrow. "Then there will be trouble." That did not sound good for them. "Takigakure has threatened a trade embargo with the Land of Iron, and if that does not receive a result, war. Possibly escalating into the Fourth Shinobi World War, what with the rising tension between the nations."

Oh gods. Fuck. Shitshitshitshitshit.

"Both actions would take some time, as they need approval by the daimyo, but I have no doubt they would be approved. Do you understand the position I am in?"

Tayuya felt like an animal trapped in a corner. She did not enjoy it. "Do you understand the shit she went through!? Her own parents threw her out and told the whole village she was a demon. She had one person that treated her kindly before I was there, and he couldn't even act that way in public because she was afraid he would be publicly shunned. They would lock her up forever, at worst extracting Chomei to put him in someone else, killing her. Going back is not a fucking option."

Mifune looked at Fu. "Is this true?" Fu nodded her head silently.

His face became saddened at the confirmation. "I was aware of some of the prejudices against jinchūriki, but treatment such as that is far beyond what I had imagined."

He took a sip of tea.

"The Land of Iron is a neutral land. We do not become involved in shinobi wars. However, if provoked we will respond in defense. Iron is superior in military strength, but all sides will still suffer casualties if there is a war. Normally, you would be more than welcome to stay here. But, your status as a jinchūriki makes that impossible, as you are inherently intertwined with the politics of the shinobi nations.

"I cannot, in good conscience, send you back to such an environment. But I will if I must, for the sake of my country and its people."

Fu completely stilled at that, her fingers going limp in Tayuya's hand, and her breathing becoming shallow. Tayuya turned to look at her. Her pupils were completed dilated, and her face looked like paper. She was very clearly going into shock.

The gears in Tayuya's mind spun wildly. How the hell could they get out of this steaming mess? Taki was gunning for Iron because of Fu, and Iron would have to respond.

But what if Fu wasn't in Iron?

"Wait!" Tayuya yelled, turning back to Mifune. "What if we just left? Left Iron. So that they couldn't start a war or anything."

He looked at her, gauging her expression, and smiled like a teacher to a student who had just found the correct response to a particularly difficult koan. "If you did, we would have no choice but to inform Takigakure that I requested that you return, but you fled before we were able to apprehend you." His expression became serious. "However, there is still the fact that they were able to locate you so precisely, which is a matter of national security. I need to know how that is possible."

"Shu probably could've done something like that with seals." Takumi interjected.

Seals! Why hadn't she though of that? Fuck. What if it was part of Fu's bijū seal?

"Would you excuse us for a moment?" she asked. Mifune nodded hesitantly.

Tayuya tugged on the hand that she was still holding, and dragged Fu upstairs to the bedroom Tayuya had taken. Her parents' bedroom. Flicking the overhead lights on, she moved the girl over to the bed and sat her down.

"Fu!" the green-haired girl was in a daze, her eyes glassy and emotionless.

"Fu!" She snapped her hands in front of her face. Nothing. She just wasn't there. What else she could do?

Please, please, please don't get mad at me for this.

Tayuya slapped her. Not lightly either.

…It was probably going to leave a mark for a while.

"OW! What the hell, Tayuya!?" Holy shit. It actually worked. Weren't things like this only supposed to work in movies? Well, she'd take it

"You shut down. Completely. I need you to take your clothes off."

"W-what!?" Her face went from white to red so fast it was almost instantaneous.

"Well, actually, I need to know about that goddamn seal on you first. Is there anything in there that could locate you? Find you?" Tayuya backed up a bit.

Fu slowly shook her head slowly, confused. "It's just chakra transfer, and a bunch of things that tie it into my network so I can't remove it without dying."

"Alright. Then I do need you to take your clothes off. You can keep your underwear on."

"B-but.." Fu spluttered.

"But what? We're both girls. And this is kind of really fucking serious, in case you haven't noticed. As in could cause the Fourth Shinobi World War serious." They both sobered at that.

"F-fine. But I haven't seen anything weird in the mirror." She stood up from the edge of the bed, and started to take off her shirt.

"Even while you were channeling chakra?"

Fu shook her head. "I haven't really checked." She flushed again. "Stop looking and turn around. You're embarrassing me."

The redhead turned around. "What the hell does it matter anyways? I'm still going to be looking at you." But she still felt herself start to heat up at the rustling sound of clothes being taken off.

"It just does." Fu replied from behind her, quietly.

Why was Tayuya's face so warm? She didn't care about nudity. You got used to it when there was only one bath and four other guys. Sakon and Ukon looked like girls, anyways. So why was she feeling so weird?

"A-Alright, I'm done." Tayuya turned around. Fu had a simple pair of bright green panties and a bra on. Instead of letting her eyes rove over the girl's body like they were trying, she forced them to look at her face, and said the first thing that came to mind.

"Green? Really?"

"S-Shut up! They match my hair." Well, that was true. And Tayuya couldn't really comment. Her favorite underwear was red.

"Can you get on the bed?" she asked. "I'm afraid I'm going to miss something." Fu laid down wordlessly. "Alright, start channeling."

The seal on her midsection below her sternum showed up, and Tayuya started looking over every inch of skin for any signs of something foreign, clamping down on the strange roiling emotions and thoughts in the back of her head.

"This is really uncomfortable." Fu complained "If you're going to make me get undressed, you could have at least got me in the mood me first."

Tayuya flushed and looked up at the girl's face. Fu's eyes went wide and she became even more red, which the Uzumaki hadn't even thought was possible. "Did I say that out loud?" Tayuya nodded. "Just- just ignore that. Keep looking."

"O-okay." And anyways, it wasn't like she would mind doing things like that with Fu. The green-haired girl was more than attractive enough. Focus, Tayuya. She shook her head, clearing her mind of the intruding thoughts, and focused on the girl's smooth, butterscotch-tone skin.

"I'm not seeing anything. Can you flip over?" she complied, and Tayuya continued the search over every inch of her back, which was definitely easier without the girl's orange eyes tracking her.

There was nothing. It was just skin. Where the fuck could they have put something like that?

She backed up away from the bed to get a wider view. A flash of black glinted out of her eye, and she turned her head towards it. Fu's right foot.

"There's something here. It looks like a seal. On the heal of your right foot. No wonder you haven't ever seen it. I'd bet my ass it's what we're looking for."

"Then why did I need to get undressed!?" Fu shouted into the pillow.

She didn't really have a response to that. "Well, you can put your clothes on now."

Fu groaned, and lifted herself off of the bed, standing up. She hastily put her clothes back on, Tayuya looking away again automatically.

The two of them exited the room and headed downstairs, each unwilling to meet the other's eye.

Mifune and Takumi seemed to be discussing oils for polishing metal. Weird. Was this what blade fanatics did for fun?

Both of them turned towards the girls as they entered the room. The table had been cleared of food while they had been gone, most likely into the refrigerator. It had already gotten cold by the time they had left the table.

"We found a seal." Tayuya told them. "On her foot. I don't really know anything about seals, but that has to be it."

They sat down at the table, and Mifune eyed the red hand print on Fu's right cheek curiously.

"If we promise to leave Iron as soon as possible, can you to help us get it off?" the redhead asked him, praying that the answer would be yes.

"Officially, I can't do anything to assist you, as it would be seen as aiding a fugitive of another country… However, if we talk of removing the ability of a potential enemy that poses a serious security risk to my nation, I may be able to send a man who could do such a thing."

Urgh. Politics and fancy wordplay made Tayuya's head hurt. And it was only worse because of the strange thoughts and images of Fu that kept forcing themselves to the front of her mind. "Is that a yes?" She thought it was.

"Yes." HELL yes. She let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "I could send him here tomorrow. If you were to theoretically carry out such a plan as soon as possible, I would suggest traveling to the Land of Lightning, perhaps even joining Kumogakure, as their jinchūriki are revered as heroes."

Tayuya nodded. Lightning. Kumo. Got it.

Mifune smiled. "I am exceedingly pleased we were able to come to such a peaceful conclusion." He stood up. "I need to be going." He bowed to Takumi, who hastily stood up to return it. "Yakin-dono." He turned towards the girls, nodding his head "Uzumaki-san, Fu-san. Have a good night."

He walked to the front door, Takumi trailing behind him. As soon as she heard the front door close, Tayuya let out her breath in a large sigh. She collapsed onto the table bonelessly, her head banging against the surface.

"I fucking hate politics." she said. "And Takigakure." she added as an afterthought.

Fu looked at her. "I'm not even going to say 'I told you so'."

Tayuya turned her head "If it weren't for that fucking seal on your foot, my plan would've worked perfectly. No trouble at all."

"I don't care. It doesn't matter now." Fu smiled at her, but it lacked her usual happiness, empty of feeling. "Everything's going to be fine."

"You know, I should be the one saying that to you." Tayuya became serious. "Fu, it really fucking scares me when you shut down like that. I'm afraid one day, I won't be able to get you back. You'll just be there, blank. Forever."

The girl looked down at her lap. "Sorry. It's… It's sort of become a habit."

Tayuya snorted. "Yeah, a bad habit. We're not in goddamn Taki anymore. And I'm not going to ever let them get you again. I promise."

Fu looked back up and smiled again. It held more warmth than before. "That's the second one now. Yesterday to never leave, and today to protect me. What else are you going to do?"

Tayuya shrugged, still on the table. "I dunno. At this rate we'll probably end up married." Where the hell did that come from!? As soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted saying it. Fu fell silent, and the redhead opened an eye to look at the girl and see what her reaction. She was frozen still. Tayuya decided to try and play off the weird response. "What? It was just a joke. Sorry if the thought of me being a wife is so scary."

Fu unfroze. "Nonono. But. Just." She struggled to voice a coherent thought. "I think you'd make a great wife!"

Tayuya was shocked, and her slight embarrassment disappeared. "Really? Cause I don't."

The green-haired girl nodded emphatically. "Yeah, you can cook really well. And, uh…" She trailed off, trying to think of other things.

"See? Not much." Not to mention her temper, her language, her inability to deal with young children. Yeah. She'd make a great wife. Not that she wanted to be married. She couldn't even imagine a guy she would ever be that comfortable with. And she had a lot of things she wanted to experience before ever settling down like that.

"But still! I think you would." Fu chirped.

"Alright, alright. I get it. But I'm glad I was able to get you to cheer up." She smiled up at Fu. "Being cold and emotionless doesn't suit you at all."

The jinchūriki reddened a little. "T-thanks. I mean it. You're the first person that's even tried."

"Not even Sado?"

She shook her head. "Whenever I lost control of my emotions, I just put them in a box and went to my room until they stopped hurting. I talked to him about it afterwards, but by that point I was able to act like I was okay, even if I wasn't. He could tell, but he couldn't really do anything about it. Not like you."

Tayuya felt her chest warm up. It felt really good to be special like that to Fu. To be needed. To be truly wanted.

It was a something she wanted to keep feeling.


Fu had disappeared upstairs soon after, and a while later Tayuya went to go take a bath, expecting her to still be in there, but there was no sign of the girl.

She eventually just headed into her room. She thought the bed was uncomfortably large. Her nap on it had felt strange. But it was a connection to her parents, and that outweighed her discomfort. She got undressed, putting on a nightshirt, and slid beneath the covers, closing her eyes and letting herself fall asleep to thoughts of her mother and father.


Tayuya woke to the sound of a knock on her bedroom door.

"T-tayuya?" She heard Fu's voice through the wood.

"Hrghnnm." She sat up. "Whazit?"

"Can I come in?"

"Yah."

The door opened silently, and then closed. Tayuya recognized the vague outline of Fu in her pajamas. She walked over to where Tayuya was sitting up in the bed.

"Whazzwrong?"

"I- I can't sleep. I'm… I'm still kinda scared of what's going to happen." the admission took a lot out of her.

Tayuya threw back a corner of her sheets and scooted over.

"C'mere"

Fu got into the bed stiffly, as if afraid it would eat her, and pulled the covers up, facing away from Tayuya on her side.

"S'okay. M'here. N'thn's gunna happn."

Tayuya lay back down, and hugged Fu from behind. There was the sound of a quiet 'pop' from the direction of the girl's head.

No longer being held awake, Tayuya allowed herself be dragged back down into the calm, warm, comforting darkness of her dreams.


Fu, on the other hand, was more awake now that she'd been in her own room. She really hadn't thought this through. Yes, she was enjoying being hugged tightly by her friend/crush/love-interest/whatever but it was also making her extremely self-aware.

The only sound in the room (that she could hear) was the steady in-out of Tayuya's breath behind her. She could also feel it. On her neck. Fu repressed the rising shudder of excitement or nervousness or arousal or whatever that she was feeling, and tried to ignore the raging feelings and desires her hormones were giving her. It was not easy.

But. She also had a lot of experience in the field of self-control. Even if she was going about this in a different way. She was not retreating inwards, for one, mostly just because she didn't want to cut off the majority of the nice sensations she was feeling. But she still managed to push them aside… for the most part.

Was this what it was normally like to be a teenager? Uncontrollable feelings and desires that spiraled out of control like a badly-thrown shuriken? She'd managed to deal with her crush-leading-to-apparent-love in what she thought was a fairly mature manner. But she hadn't really been prepared for this

She hadn't even expected Tayuya to do this, Fu had only wanted to talk. But then again, maybe she had, subconsciously. After all, she had woken up literally in the redhead's arms this morning.

Just like she was now.

Maybe Tayuya had a thing for hugging? She hadn't shown it before. Or even indicated it. Fu had rather thought that she was one of those prickly don't-like-lots-of-physical-contact people. But maybe not.

Waking up this morning had been… interesting. Well, more like intensly surprising. And painful. Her head had hurt all the way until they had gotten to Haboro, where they had found Takumi.

That reminder brought her thoughts in a completely different direction.

Takumi. Tayuya's grandfather. Her family.

Once the daze induced by the whirlwind of leaving Taki had dissipated, the aching sensation of envy had reared its ugly head. And she hated it.

Her friend had no control over the events that had happened. No control over the things in her life that had led to this. But it still hurt. No matter what, Fu was still haunted by her parent's faces as she had last seen them. And Tayuya's sudden discovery of her heritage had made Fu extremely uncomfortable.

She was from civilian parents. The only reason she had been chosen to be a jinchūriki (and thus a ninja) was because of her reaction and compatibility with Chomei's chakra. She had no clan. And despite the redhead's vehement denial that it didn't make a difference, Fu still wished she could have had something like that. Where even if her parents had forsaken her, she would have still had relatives and people around her who would support her. But she didn't. An only child (well, at least as far as she knew. Who knew what'd happened since the last time she'd seen her parents). No cousins, no aunts or uncles. Nobody.

Well, nobody except for Tayuya.

Who had promised to always be there for her.

Who had promised to always help and protect her.

Who was comforting her and (completely unexpectedly) sleeping with her in the dead of night.

Fu wrapped her arm and hand around Tayuya's limb that was in front of her.

Who might even become something more, with the reactions and feelings Tayuya had been showing, as unguarded and transparent as ever. Even if Fu was probably doing the same thing. And she knew it. This whole falling-in-love business was new, and dealing with it in real-time was much different than looking back and reflecting on everything, like she was now.

She still didn't want to get her hopes up. But it was really difficult. Really, really difficult. Because for one, she wanted it so badly it made her chest ache, and two, Tayuya was showing so many signs, and yet also seemed totally oblivious to everything. Then again, that was typical Tayuya.

At least she had something prepared to counter that. Well, as much of something as Fu could get together at the last minute, anyways. But, with them leaving so quickly after only just arriving here, it looked like it would have to wait until they were settled down in Kumo.

Her thoughts were drawn back to the events of the day. Meeting Takumi. Fu had been mostly tuned out for the Uzumaki-Yakin reunion. But she was fully aware when Tayuya swore her clan oaths and received the two swords that even now were only feet away from her, on the other bedside table. And then there had been the general at dinner.

That samurai had rattled Fu in a way she didn't like to admit. And she'd been irrationally afraid once more that the redhead would abandon her, breaking her promise. But she hadn't. She'd chosen Fu over her own family.

And just like that, all of her envy had disappeared. She was more important to Tayuya than family, which the girl clearly cared about a lot. And that said everything that Fu needed to know, and gave her so much hope for the future.

But Tayuya was right. She needed to break the automatic withdrawal response she had developed. It wasn't healthy. But she had been overloaded by the thoughts and fears that were running through her head. The worst case scenarios.

They were still there in the back of her mind, and, despite the nap she had taken in the room, when she had tried to sleep she had been hyper-conscious of the fact that she was in an unusual bed, in an unusual house. Alone. Usually, she would be in her own bed right now, comforted by the familiarity and safety of her surroundings. But now, here, there had been none. No sense of security.

Which was what had pushed her to do something she would never normally do. Something that went against her standard modus operandi.

She reached out for help and sought comfort in another person. The one person who could make a difference. Who always made her feel better.

Tayuya.

And it had been the right thing to do, too. Her anxiety and apprehension had dissipated into nothing, the redhead's presence and unexpected physical affection doing wonders for her state of mind.

And she really liked it.

She liked knowing the girl was beside her. That she was there. Her body heat warming her. Her comforting scent of sea-salt and paprika that saturated the air and enveloped Fu like a blanket.

There was a feeling of true security and protection, despite the fact that Fu was easily the stronger of the two. But this wasn't about physical strength. It was about strength of character. Emotional strength. Which Tayuya had in abundance, always confident, always sure even in the face of adversity that everything could be turned to her favor, using an unexpected level of intelligence and strategy instead of brute force.

It was funny. The redhead was shorter than her by a few inches, and weighed less by over 20 pounds, but she had a maturity and a calm stalwart demeanor that made Fu feel like she was always the one being protected and looked out for.

Maybe it was because Tayuya was three years older.

Maybe it was because even though Fu had experienced neglect and loneliness, Tayuya had had it even worse, living on the streets, being enthralled to a madman, doing terrible things that she now regretted and hated with every fiber of her being. And all of those were things that required someone to grow up fast. Even faster than Fu had, as her experience had only extended to shinobi duties and missions, otherwise living a (relatively) simple life after the event with her parents and the first reactions of the villagers.

Oh, she knew about true human nature and the lies and ignorance people would create to shelter themselves. But Tayuya had seen even worse evils first-hand. Had experienced them. She'd only ever talked about her first mission, the one to Kiri, once. But Fu had known from her speech and particularly the smell of extreme nervousness and fear that she exuded that the senseless slaughter she had witnessed had scarred her very deeply. Equally as badly as her parents' abandonment had hurt her.

Fu's own experiences with people, that they would never help you if it didn't benefit them in some way (other than Tayuya, who seemed to defy a number of preconceptions she had), had been what had made her so frightened and overwhelmed today.

The samurai's willingness to look the other way and twist the situation around to their favor had dumbfounded her. If she had been in his position, she knew she would have just handed herself over to Taki instead of lying about the situation. But instead, he had also defied her judgments. Maybe that was why she was so anxious over the situation, even after he had agreed in his round-about way to help them. Because it all seemed too good to be true.

And that had led her to her irrational extreme worry and discomfort in the bare, dark, lonely room that she had been in, staring at the ceiling for three hours straight until she had reluctantly decided to see if Tayuya would be willing to talk. She had not at all expected the redhead to invite her into the bed, nor to hold onto her in the way she was. But it was nice. Really nice. Warm. Soothing.

And now that she had it, she didn't know if she could go back to sleeping by herself, lonely. They'd be traveling the next few days so it didn't really matter. But once they got to Kumo?

Well, if everything turned out for the best… But even if they turned out for the worst, maybe they could at least share a room. She hoped Tayuya would be alright with that, no matter what.

But how would she react tomorrow morning? Fu hadn't really considered it. Would the redhead be awkward and upset because she had intruded on her? Would she think she was weird for sleeping with her? Would she never let her in again? It didn't seem like it, but she always expected the worst based on experience. Then again, Tayuya had always defied that. Every. Single. Time.

She yawned, the drowsiness of four hours of restlessness finally settling in. It looked like she would be able to sleep.

She slowly closed her eyes, and let herself drift off into the darkness, held in the arms of the girl she had fallen in love with.


Tayuya woke the next morning alone in her bed, and she wondered if the hazy memory from last night was just a dream. It had been a really nice dream, leaving her with that warm feeling she was becoming addicted to very quickly.

She got out of bed, took off her nightshirt, wrapped her breasts, and put her extra set of clothes on. She'd have to wash the other ones today before they left. Takumi had to have a washer and dryer with all the other appliances he had.

She yawned, and rubbed at her eyes before heading downstairs for breakfast. Hopefully it wasn't too late in the morning. She had been tired. And the seal-guy was supposed to get here sometime.

Tayuya shivered when she got to the first floor as a wave of cold air hit her. The hot air from the fireplace had naturally risen to the second floor, and the first floor was a few degrees chillier.

Takumi and Fu sat at the table in the center of the room, quietly eating rice, miso, and fish.

Tayuya walked over to the other place that was set next to Fu, sat down, said her thanks for the food, and began to eat.

Takumi looked up from his bowl of rice. "So you're finally up. Sleep well?"

She nodded, and Fu blushed and turned away from the redhead. So it hadn't been a dream. It had been very comfy though. And warm.

"How about you?" she asked him, trying to be considerate. It was hard this early, but the cold air and food was helping.

"It was alright. My damn back's starting to act up. I'm not as young as I used to be." he grumped. Tayuya nodded in understanding. He had to be seventy or something, but he looked surprisingly fit and youthful for his age.

"Uh, do you have a laundry room? I need to do some before we go."

"Yup. It's that first door on the right in the hallway." he answered, motioning behind him with his head.

Tayuya continued eating, enjoying the company of Fu and her grandfather. It was nice. She got the same sense of family that she had with Shin and Yomi, but this felt more real almost. Shin and Yomi were like an aunt and uncle. But this was truly close family.

They finished eating, and Takumi cleared the table. Fu just sat there, swinging her legs and playing with her thumbs. She looked really cute. Tayuya shook her head. The weird thoughts were becoming more and more frequent.

Fu cleared her throat.

"S-Sorry about last night."

"What? Why?" The redhead was a bit confused. Hadn't the company helped her sleep?

"For waking you up. And doing something weird."

Stop making it seem like it was so strange or I won't be able to think of it as nothing. the voice at the back of Tayuya's head whispered.

"I-I don't really mind. I was the one who invited you in anyways." At least, that's what she thought. The memory was very fuzzy. "And, um, it's not that weird, right? At least I don't think it is. So don't worry about it. It was… It was really nice." she said softly "I've never had anybody I was comfortable sleeping with before."

"O-Oh. Okay." the jinchūriki stuttered out. "W-well, thanks. It helped. A lot"

"M-hm. Well, uh, I'm going to go start my clothes, you need anything done?"

Fu shook her head, and Tayuya started walking to the hallway to the left of the genkan.

"C-can we keep doing it?" The question voiced was almost a whisper, and the redhead turned around to make sure it wasn't just her imagination. But Fu was staring at the floor, her face glowing. So probably not.

"What?"

"S-sleeping together. Can we keep doing it?" the green-haired girl slowly got the words out of her mouth, even if she kept stumbling over them.

The warm feeling in Tayuya's chest blossomed all over again, making her feel all tingly and happy. If it hadn't felt so good, she might have questioned it.

"Yeah. I'd like that."


A little after lunchtime (which was warm home-made ramen this time), there was knock on the door, and Takumi brought a short balding man into the room. Fu moved to the couch, and propped her foot up to give him access.

He worked silently, and wouldn't even respond to Tayuya's questions, which ended up getting her very ticked off at him, but unable to do anything about it to vent, leaving her in a broody, annoyed mood. After 40 minutes of work, and a number of new characters on Fu's foot, the modified seal dissolved into nothingness. The man packed up his ink, and quickly left.

And then they had to say goodbye.


Tayuya hugged her grandfather. This didn't feel right. Not at all.

She wanted family so bad. To have that connection with people that could only be shared because you were related by blood.

And the one time she found it, it was taken away from her almost immediately.

This sucked.

But at the same time, it was alright. Because he'd be here. Just like Shin and Yomi would be in Se-shi. And they could come back and visit when everything settled down, now that there was (supposedly) no way Fu could be tracked. So maybe in a year or so.

And then they wouldn't have to leave so quickly.

"I'm sorry we didn't get much time together, jii-chan." she said, stepping away from him.

"Nah. I'm a tough grizzled old guy, I can see why you'd choose the young, beautiful traveling companion over me." he said

Tayuya flushed slightly but smiled. "Sorry."

He became a bit more serious. "All joking aside, this is the right thing to do. I'm okay. But remember what we said yesterday? You need to help your taisetsu-na hito, the ones in your heart, when they need you most. And this is one of those times."

Tayuya heard a rustling sound of water-proof fabric behind her, and she turned to look at Fu. The girl was blushing, and looking away, almost hiding in her jacket like a turtle. She seemed to be doing that a lot these past few days, becoming meek and embarrassed easily. It was rather adorable.

The redhead turned back to Takumi. "Yeah. But I promise I'll be back. I want to learn how to forge from you. If just so that I can say I'm living up to our name."

He smiled. "Well, I'll be here waiting. I'll be around for at least three or four more decades. Having so many of our clan marry Uzumaki and have kids in our clan gave us a little of their lifespan after a while. So don't you worry if it takes a couple years, okay?"

She nodded.

He smiled at them. "Have fun kids. Be safe, you hear?" She almost laughed at the phrasing. It made him sound like a mother. But that was probably what he was trying to accomplish.

Tayuya reached for the door and opened it, letting a blast of cold air into the small room that kept the freezing wind from invading the rest of the house.

She stepped outside, crunching in the thin layer of snow. She heard Fu behind her, and when they were about ten feet away, she turned around and waved at Takumi, who was still standing in the door. He waved back, and then closed the door. She didn't blame him. It was cold.

Fu stood there behind her, and Tayuya impulsively reached out and grabbed the girl's gloved hand with her own.

"Come on! We're pretty far south, so maybe we can make it out of this kami-forsaken country before nightfall." she said, tugging on Fu's hand to get her to walk next to her. "Lets just hope we can. As much fun as it was camping out in a cave with you, I don't think I want to do it again. At least not for a few months."

Fu laughed, the happy, tinkling, bell-like sound bouncing through the trees around them. "Okay. Let's go."

They walked away into the whiteness, hand in hand.


They took the easy path down the mountain this time. From Haboro, they headed south, just following Tayuya's compass and taking the paths that seemed to be going in that direction.

Tayuya adamantly refused to cross through the Land of Rice Paddies to get to Hot Water because of the cell-like nature of the Village Hidden in Sound, dispersed throughout the entire country in small pockets, so they would go to Fire, and then head east to Hot Water, then north-east through Frost into Lightning. She hated the thought of more cold, but at least they were prepared for it. It was better than not having been prepared and still needing to go through it.

By the end of the day, they had managed to make it to Fire Country, crossing the border just before the sun set. Now that Taki couldn't track them, they decided to sleep for the night instead of pushing themselves for distance. Their quick pace through Iron along with the snow had made for a combination that tired both of the girls out completely.

They fell asleep next to each other on the forest floor, gazing up at the stars through the canopy of leaves.


Somewhere in Rain Country

A wet, sucking sound echoed in a large room. A black and white two-tone person with large protrusions on his shoulders emerged from the floor.

"Leader-sama." The white side spoke, seemingly independent of the black side.

A man in the darkness turned towards the source of the voice, only a silhouette in the shadows.

The black side explained the intrusion. "We have located the host of the Nanabi. She has left the protection of her home, and is traveling through Fire Country. We are now able to track her using the spores."

"She was pretty cute, huh? It's too bad we've gotta kill her." the white side quipped.

"Would you shut up. Nobody cares about her appearance. We only need the bijū she contains." the black side responded.

"Well, yeah, but-"

The silhouette open his eyelids, and both sides of the man fell silent at the sight of the glowing, purple, ringed eyes.

"That pair is in the area, correct?"

The black and white man nodded silently.

"Good. Send them to capture her. It will be a good test of their… abilities."

"Hai, Leader-sama."

The sucking sound repeated as the strange-shaped man dissolved back into the floor.

"This will bring us to two."


A/N:

MUA-HAHAHAHA /evil laugh

Mifune's a chill guy. I always thought he was really cool at the Kage Summit, especially with all of the hotheads in the room. *cough* A *cough*

Evil Pain is great. You know, before we ever saw his face. When the Akatsuki were nothing but shadows. And Kishimoto planned on making them all actual monsters. Before we found out Nagato was just a big softie being manipulated by Obito and Zetsu.

Moving from writing characters that I built from the ground up and OCs to canon characters is an interesting experience. Reading through the arcs of the manga and trying to get a feel for how they act, and then replicating that is more difficult than I expected. I'm really trying my hardest to stay faithful to Kishimoto's original representations. At least at first. From here on out, we're only going to be seeing canon characters for a while. I think. Writing, even with an outline, is a bit unpredictable for me.

Ohhhh man. Our first fight's next chapter. It's gonna be good. After 11 chapters of nothing but long (but important) drama and build-up, we finally going to get a classic(ish) battle. Hope you're looking forward to it.

I love all you guys. Putting up with my weird characters and crazy shenanigans.

Read! Review! Favorite! Follow! Enjoy! Tell your friends!


Translations:

taisetsu-na hito (大切な人): lit. 'important person/people'. First introduced in the 'Wave' arc, it's one of those phrases you see everywhere in Naruto fanfiction. But, unlike what most people use it as, it also has the undertone and alternate meaning of 'significant other'. Which is what Takumi is alluding to. Tayuya's just completely oblivious.