A/N: Wow it's been a really long time hasn't it?
I haven't forgotten about this story, it's just writers blocking me like you wouldn't believe. I haven't given up on it; I looked it up again because I'm looking to finish off all my stories before giving ff dot net a rest. I'm in my final year right now so the chances of me having time for fanfics next year is something I don't even want to attempt to guess.
Usual apologies, I've gotten a little rusty on non-yaoi stories so yeah. But this is on the top ten lists of stories that are taking up priority right now, so I'm definitely going to finish
Disclaimer: see previous chapters
Karui dug up a bit of the dirt and grass beneath her paws.
Nervously staring at the ground as the crowd next to and around her steadily grew.
Snakes, lizards, cats, abnormally large vermin and birds of all kinds gathered around a large grassy clearing in a semi-circle of sorts as the moon bathed the whole area in its pale light. Wild flowers in bright purples and blues were scattered across the grass while fireflies danced around them, completely oblivious to the gathering of animals nearby.
As she lifted her head just a bit the panther could see a hyena with its head leaning against the zebra beside him, a large eagle playfully flapped its wings at the dog sized rats running around its talons while a wolf gently nudged the house cat beside it awake. Grinning when the creature stretched out its body and gave a wide yawn.
Karui gave a snort.
If only animal planet could see them now.
Darui lay next to her with his head resting on his paws, while his tail swished lazily from side to side and Killer bee stood on her brothers other side.
Suddenly Karui hit the dirt hard and a heavy weight settled on top of her.
The cat gave a confused mewl as she tried to get her bearings. When she looked up she found a large lizard grinning down at her with its tongue hanging out of its mouth.
Kurotsuchi.
The panther tried to get up but Kurotsuchi wouldn't let her. The lizard moved up and slumped over Karui completely and got comfortable, curling its tail to the side while laying its head on its claws.
Karui gave a sigh and lay back when she found an owl staring down at them with amusement glowing in its pale eyes.
An annoyed mewl left her throat, a distinct heavy scent suddenly filled the air and every animal in the forest immediately looked up in attention. Darui sat up with a tired yawn.
A large tiger suddenly leaped into the middle of the clearing with an ear bursting roar. A gust of air swept over the grass and flowers, making them sway at the impact.
Kurotsuchi quickly moved off of Karui and sat beside her with Hinata doing the same and sitting on the lizards other side.
All the animals lowered their heads and Karui did the same until she realized that Darui was still staring ahead at the enormous animal. Killerbee stood up and walked over towards him and sat next to him.
Karui couldn't help but notice how similar they were. Other than their differences in size that is. Uncle Bee was at least five inches shorter than the other, making her think about her and Darui. There wasn't much of a difference in their kaiju forms either, other than the blonde and red stripes there were no differences between them at all.
Is this some kind of relative?
The larger tiger looked up and around the clearing giving a slow nod.
The surrounding animals all stood and started shifting this time including Darui.
Karui blushed. This is the one part that she's been dreading since she first got there. After a deep breath Karui shifted as well, fur receded and the claws retracted until nothing but a deeply embarrassed redhead was left behind.
None of the others seemed as embarrassed as she did though. Some stood while others sat and a few looked completely bored.
The only other person who seemed a little bothered was Hinata. The raven haired girl stood with her arms over her chest and a light blush on her face.
Darui nudged the girl with his elbow and gave her a smirk, Karui glared at him before bringing her attention back to the two in the center of the clearing and her mouth fell open.
There standing next to Killer Bee stood a large muscled man with blonde hair plaited back in cornrows and a blonde goatee.
"Uncle Akio?!"
The redhead gawked at him while the man pinned her in a glare. She was startled when Kurotsuchi leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"Kaiju meeting red, we call him Ei here." The brown eyed girl said as she sat down Indian style propping her head up on the palm of her hand.
Darui plopped down on the ground too, one knee pulled up with his arm braced on it while the other leg was stretched out in front of him. Completely comfortable with his nudity.
Hinata and Karui on the other hand both sat down carefully, and pulled both their legs up against their chests trying to cover up as much as they possibly could.
Bee walked back and stood beside Darui, just before Ei spoke.
"Kaiju of the hidden cloud," he started in a loud gruff voice. "It has been months since we last met and much has changed in this time. Today we welcome a-"
Ei fell silent when another heavy scent came out of nowhere along with three others and a roar tore through the air. Before Karui could blink, a lioness burst through the brush on the opposite side followed by a smaller black dog, a bright orange fox and a green python...
Karui groaned.
The animals shifted and Karui tried not to flinch when Sasuke's eyes instantly caught hers and stayed on her as he morphed into his human form.
"What are you doing here Tsunade?" Ei growled as he stared the woman, who simply smiled as she tossed her blonde hair back. Karui couldn't understand how everyone was so comfortable walking in the nude like that. Especially this woman.
It's like she had no idea that her double D's were completely exposed.
"Uchiha and Uzumaki are both mine." The blonde said smoothly, "You don't honestly think I'd just let my kids run off to a meeting without my presence did you?"
Ei's eyes moved over the other three, a young woman with black hair stood between Sasuke and Tsunade while Naruto stood on Sasuke's other side with a beaming smile on his face.
The man gave a grunt, "You're late."
Tsunade smirked, "We got held up, so where are my Kaijus mates?"
Ei's eyes narrowed in annoyance and he looked back at Killer bee.
"Karui. Hinata."
"Yeah."
"Go ahead."
Karui's eyes widened a bit and she hesitated, until she quickly stood and walked over, trying not to look as awkward as she felt. Hinata followed desperately trying to avoid Naruto's gaze as she folded her arms over her chest.
The redhead stopped just beside the tiger, "Uncl- Ei sir."
Ei glanced down at the girl with concern flashing in his dark eyes, "This is Karui and this is Hinata."
"Ah," Tsunade said as she gave Karui a smile, "So this is the troublesome little kitten I've heard so much about."
Karui flushed, "Good evening mam."
"Oh don't bother with the formalities; you're one of my kids now anyway. Besides calling me mam will make me feel like an old woman."
Ei gave a snort earning a glare from the blonde, before she shifted her attention to the raven haired girl with the deep blush on her face.
"Hyuuga Hinata, right?"
Hinata quickly looked up and blinked, "Y-yes."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the girl, "I hope your mother is doing well?"
Karui was surprised to see anger suddenly flash across her friend's eyes as Hinata took a deep breath and looked up defiantly at the older woman and almost snapped.
"She's fine, mam."
"Looks like the hidden cloud has changed you little one." The blonde gave a smile, "And what did I say about calling me mam?"
"Lady Tsunade is fine." The woman beside Tsunade said with a warm smile, "I'm Shizune."
"It's nice to meet you."
Karui said with an awkward smile still trying to avoid Sasuke's gaze by looking down at her friend in concern.
"It's nice to meet you too," Shizune said with a quick nod
"If the introductions are over, we'll continue." Ei turned towards the crowd and placed a hand on each girl's back.
"Kaiju of the hidden cloud as I have said much has changed during the past few months. Today we welcome a newborn to our ranks. Koizumi Karui."
A loud roar rose over the crowd. As the hundreds of eyes turned on her Karui felt her cheeks instantly flare with heat and she fought the urge to cover herself up.
Lady Tsunade suddenly cleared her throat and gave Ei a smirk. The man silently groaned and shut his eyes, cursing every god and deity in existence for binding his niece's soul to a leaf kaiju.
Taking a deep breath the tiger lifted his hand and the crowd grew silent.
"It has come to my attention that our newest Kaiju has, found a mate, as well as another. A hebi and kitsune from the hidden leaf and as such," Ei took another deep breath, "It is my obligation to announce that as a result of these unions, the hidden cloud and the hidden leaf are now to be joined."
A murmur instantly broke over the crowd and a thick tension suddenly rose in the air.
"Tsunade."
The blonde gave Sasuke a slight nudge and the Uchiha went to stand next to Karui. While Naruto didn't have to be told before he practically ran over to Hinata to grab her hand with a large grin and a light blush on his face.
"Beasts of the hidden cloud I introduce, Uchiha Sasuke and Koizumi Karui, Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata. With their union a pact has been set, two sides of the Kaiju world have been combined and will stay as such, as long as the mark of eternity remains."
Karui's eyes widened as the murmurs rose to angry hisses and low sneers.
'What's going on?'
"There's been bad blood between the leaf and the cloud for years now." Sasuke suddenly whispered from beside her and Karui's eyes snapped up to see the raven facing forward. "News of the two sides joining is bound to stir up trouble."
'How did he-'
"I understand your concerns." Ei said as he took a few steps forward, "However this pact was made by the first leaders of all the Kaiju clans and will be honored by this generation and every generation thereafter."
'What pact?'
"After a disagreement under similar circumstances years ago that almost led to war, the first leaders of the Kaiju clans created a pact. Should Kaiju from two different clans mate each other the two clans would be joined in an effort to maintain peace."
The redhead stood there and gaped at Sasuke, until she suddenly blinked and hissed, "How did you do that?!"
Sasuke glanced at the girl from the corner of his eye and smirked, before subtly taking her hand and lacing his fingers with her's.
'Just like this'
Karui's eyes widened when Sasuke's voice echoed in her head.
"H-how... When did you-"
'It started a little while after the dreams.'
'Dreams?'
Suddenly someone stood up in the crowd, "How can we trust them! The hidden leaf has betrayed us before, what's stopping them from doing it again?!"
Another stood as well, "The first made the pact before the leaf showed their true colors!"
A chorus of sneers and growls followed, until Ei silenced them by letting out a loud roar.
A burning glare settled on the man's face as he looked out over the crowd. "Silence. I understand your concerns but like I said before this agreement was made centuries ago between the ancestors of both of our clans and as a sign of respect we will adhere to these laws, for now." Ei said as he looked over towards Tsunade and the woman's eyes narrowed down at him for a moment before Ei turned back to face the crowd. "A new treaty will be arranged before the rise of the full moon, until then I expect you will all follow the laws that have been set between our tribes as you have done before."
'Karui.' The redhead looked up when she suddenly heard her name in her own head and Sasuke's hand tightened around her own just the slightest bit, 'I'm-'
"Tsunade." Ei suddenly said and Sasuke's train of thought was cut off when the man spoke, "I assume that I can expect the same cooperation from you and your clan's Kaiju."
"For now." Tsunade said cheekily and the man suppressed a growl, the woman only smirked as she looked down at the teens beside her and smiled, "Well, now that we're done here I think it's time that we got going. I hope you two are ready to go."
Karui frowned when Tsunade's gaze fell on her before quickly snatching her hand away, causing the Uchiha to let out a soft sigh of frustration while Karui just ignored him. "Ready to go where?"
Tsunade gave her a smirk of amusement, "To meet with the rest of the leaf of course, honestly Ei I thought you already explained all of this."
Ei just continued to glare at the woman as he folded his arms over his chest, "You were late, with your clan's reputation, I assumed that you weren't going to show up. There wouldn't have been a reason to tell them."
Tsunade glared back at the man when Shizune quickly spoke in an effort to end the steadily growing tension between the two Kaiju that seemed dead set on subtly insulting one another.
"Since we brought Sasuke and Naruto here to be presented in front of your clan, its expected of you to return with us to the leaf so you can be presented to our clan." The raven haired woman explained only for Hinata to tense even more, Karui couldn't help but frown when she caught the subtle movement. Shizune seemed to catch it as well as she gave the girl a soft smile, "You won't be there for long, it'll be a short introduction and then you'll be allowed to go home I promise."
Hinata nodded and Naruto frowned as he took her other hand, he leaned forward to whisper something in her ear causing the girl to blush and give him a small albeit forced smile. "Y-Yes of course."
Karui gave a sigh as she watched the two, pointedly ignoring Sasuke's attention on her as she just gave a nod as well, "Right, O.K."
"Well, if we're all sorted out." Tsunade said as she started to shift and the others followed suit, Ei let out a loud roar the moment that he finished phasing and the rest of the kaiju in the clearing gave a shout before they all started phasing as well. Darui came trotting over once he phased as well, nudging his sister's side with his head as he let out a few short chuffs while Karui just mewled in annoyance.
The large lioness tossed her head nodding towards the path where they first appeared and took off with Shizune, Ei and Darui followed with Hinata and Karui just behind them while Naruto and Sasuke brought up the back. All the while completely unaware of the bright golden eyes watching from a tree just a few yards away high up in the branches, with his scent masked by the strong scent of the pine needles in the tree. A large python with grey almost silver skin lay coiled around a thick tree branch with its head moving slowing from side to side, its tongue flicked out as it scented the air while its body slowly slipped free of the branch. Around the stump and down to the ground before suddenly taking off. Swiftly moving around the trees, under the forests fallen leaves and over the soft earth, Kabuto followed the scent trail before him. Not that he had to try all that hard.
Even without their scents.
His mark would show him the way.
A/N: Yeah
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