Well sorry for the delay. Got lost on the road of life. All seriousness took a lot to get this one out. Idk why, had a hard time writing last few weeks. Anyway, here it is. Also, prepare for some major divergence next update. Only hint, think it'll be a shocker. Please enjoy
Tayuya stared Konan down as the two stood at a standstill, looking for any openings to take advantage of. All of her training had led up to the moment when they took the Akatsuki head on. She knew she only had several minutes until her Sage Mode ran out, so Tayuya struck first.
In a swift motion, Tayuya darted towards Konan and struck out at her. Konan stepped back and watched as Tayuya's fist narrowly missed her cheek. Before she could capitalize, she felt the force of the punch somehow hit her and send sprawling back.
As Tayuya attempted to strike again, Konan wisely leaped back to create distance between them. So even if you don't hit me directly, your Sage Mode allows you to still make contact… Distance is more to my strength anyway.
Konan began to bombard Tayuya with paper shuriken as Tayuya tried to close the distance between the two. Each step Tayuya took forward, Konan matched by stepping back to keep the distance between the two.
The shuriken were batted away as each one came close to hitting Tayuya. Her sage training plus releasing the Gravity Seal did wonders for her speed as she dodged most of them while still moving forward. However, she could see through Konan's strategy and decided to try her move.
With one hand she began to form her new jutsu she had been working on in secret. A Rasengan began to form in her hand for a split second until it turned into a massive ball of spinning fire. A small smirk streaked across Tayuya's face as it began to enlarge and she remembered what happened when she had actually used it in battle.
"You should have kept it close quarters. Just going to make me fight fire with fire." Tayuya said confidently.
Konan watched with attentive eyes knowing what the technique did. That's the same move Sensei did, she just added fire. As long as I stay away I should be fine. However the assumption was ill founded as her eyes widened in genuine shock as Tayuya somehow threw the massive fireball towards her.
Tayuya grinned and yelled, "Rasen Bomb!"
There wasn't enough time to dodge as the fireball jetted towards her. Konan knew it was a powerful jutsu; she could feel the stinging heat the moment Tayuya began to form it. What really surprised her was the speed. It was almost like a missile as it sped towards her.
Only at the last second was she able to move out of the way of the jutsu, or so she thought. Konan glided a few feet away only to watch as the fireball hit the ground and began to expand. The spinning ball of fire began to enlarge rapidly and caught her in its wake.
Tayuya watched with admiration as her jutsu exploded in a giant fiery haze. There was also a sense of relief. She had almost lost her arm the first time she tried to use it. Now she didn't have to worry about risking damaging herself with the jutsu.
Her jaw slacked open a bit as she watched a Konan propelled through the air. "How the fuck did she survive that?" Tayuya muttered to herself incredulously. She watched as Konan landed and slid across the ground until she skidded to a halt.
All Tayuya could do was stare in amazement as charred pieces of paper began to fall and crumble off of Konan. Konan on the other hand simply stared at Tayuya with one eye, making Tayuya grit her teeth in agitation. She's missing like half her body! How the fuck is she still standing?!
More paper began to shed off of Konan's undamaged half and began to reform her damaged side. A few seconds passed until she looked the same as when the fight started, unnerving Tayuya greatly.
"Is that your trump card? It'll take more than that to kill me." Konan said indifferently.
With a slight twitch of her brow, Tayuya spat back, "How the hell did you survive that? And are you made of paper or something?"
Shaking her head, Konan replied, "Origami is splendid, no? It can be beautiful," she said as a piece of paper floating above her hand morphed into a butterfly. "Or it can be deadly," she finished as the butterfly morphed into a kunai.
Before Tayuya could register what she was saying, the paper kunai shot out and sliced her face. She reached up to feel the stinging pain and blood seep out onto her hand. Leaping out of the way, she managed to dodge more of the paper kunai.
More blood seeped out onto her pants as she felt a few more stinging cuts in her legs. Fuck I didn't dodge them all.
The cold emotionless stare Konan seemed to always have creeped Tayuya out as she spoke. "That's just the first five."
"First five what?" Tayuya responded.
"Death by a Thousand Cuts. Normally paper cuts are my choice but with the demon inside you they'd heal too fast. I made my paper a little thicker, think of more as box cuts. They might not seem that bad, and certainly they'll heal, but they'll take their toll on your body."
Tayuya scoffed at her as she waved her off. "Paper cuts aren't going to cut it with me!"
In return, Konan stared at her dumbfounded. "I let that fire one slide… But are you trying to make bad puns?"
Putting her chin in her hand, Tayuya looked down in contemplation. "No, just a coincidence." She shook her head before filling with vigor again. "Stop distracting me! Put up or shut up!"
Again Tayuya rushed forward towards Konan set on ending the fight quickly. Konan tried to keep the distance but Tayuya wasn't going to let her. The two began to trade blows as they both punched and kicked on another on the move.
Each one thought they had the upper hand. Tayuya knew that in Sage Mode, Konan couldn't match her blow for blow. Even the strikes she dodged, she was still getting hit. However, Tayuya knew that each strike was like hitting paper so she knew she wasn't physically hurting her but she figured it was must be draining on her chakra so she kept it up.
On the other end, Konan thought she had the advantage. She felt her chakra draining slowly from using her paper transformation but she wasn't too worried on her reserves. Each blow that Tayuya struck and each block of Konan's attacks left a cut on Tayuya.
After a few minutes of taijutsu the two leaped away from one another. They both stared each other down waiting for one to make the next move. Tayuya cringed as she felt the air making contact with the cuts she received. For every one that healed, Konan landed another two. She knew that it couldn't continue if she wanted to beat the woman.
Konan panted a bit from the excursion. She used more chakra than she had thought. Not enough to be worried but enough to recognize she couldn't keep that up. Her chakra was nowhere near Tayuya's and she had to end the fight quickly if she wanted to win.
An explosion in the distance caught both of their attention as they glanced towards the battle Naruto and Pain where in. Each knew that they had to focus on the person in front of them or they would lose. They couldn't afford any distractions.
Tayuya attacked first as she used a Fireball Jutsu. Konan easily side stepped out of the way only to be face to face with Tayuya who threw a kick into her mid-section. Reacting quickly, she caught the quick and spun her around and shoved her forward as she slapped an explosive tag on Tayuya's back.
Stumbling forward, Tayuya almost fell before the tag blew up and dispersed the Shadow Clone. Konan scrunched her face in confusion before noticing a shadow cover her face. She looked up to see the real Tayuya throwing another Rasen Bomb towards her.
As she fell through the air, Tayuya watched as her jutsu begin to dig its way into the earth. Within a few seconds it exploded like the first one, creating a large crater in the crust. Inside the crater lay Konan, missing multiple limbs and burning slowly.
With a large leap, Tayuya jumped into the crater and stood beside the smoldering paper. Staring at each other, Konan gave her a smug grin much to Tayuya's surprise. Turning her head upwards, she saw the real Konan amass thousands of pieces of paper together to form a massive drill.
` She raised her hands to block as the drill descended upon her. The strength of Sage Mode allowed her to hold it back with ease, yet she couldn't because she felt the drill chewing through her hands. Without wasting another second, Tayuya pushed it forward and leaped back to watch as the paper drill burrowed its way into the ground.
Rocks shifted on the surface as it dug further into the crust. A brief sense of relief passed through Tayuya as she was thankful she hadn't remained on the receiving end of such a precise and menacing jutsu for very long.
To add to the growing sense of anxiety in her were the explosions in the distance. Tayuya knew Naruto could handle himself, but it would be foolish to think he would trounce Pain easily. The only thing that would make her feel better was if she could beat Konan quick enough to assist him.
However, Konan wasn't going to let her off that easily. As the drill kept digging Konan began to attack again. Numerous paper butterflies' dashed towards Tayuya. The first neared and Tayuya saw the symbol etched on its back.
Paper bomb! Instantly, Tayuya began to evade as each one detonated behind her; each one coming closer to its intended target. Konan was also throwing paper shuriken in front of Tayuya to impede her progress.
I'm not just going to run.
Changing her tactics, she ran towards Konan with the paper butterflies in pursuit. Konan evade a strike only to see Tayuya leap over her head. A triumphant grin crossed her face as the butterflies blew up. Her expression quickly changed to annoyance as the bomb detonated before colliding into Konan.
Konan turned around and sighed. "I can blow them up early. Did you think I would risk blowing myself up?" As she finished she cast out another barrage of butterfly bombs. They collided into Tayuya and blew up, only to turn into a puff of smoke.
Knowing that it was a clone, Konan turned a split second too late as the real Tayuya rammed into her, hurling both of them into the drilled out hole from Konan's drill. Descending through the pit, the two began to duke it out as they fell through towards the bottom.
Both landed with an echoing thud and immediately began to fight again. Tayuya knew she had the upper hand and voiced her thoughts.
"Can't dodge me down here!"
In return, Konan merely shook her head. "I drilled it this deep for a reason. This is your grave." Tayuya couldn't respond before Konan turned into thousands of pieces of paper and began to cover every inch of Tayuya's body.
Each slip of paper clung to her body almost as if she was being mummified. Tayuya tried to pull them off but it was no use as more spread up her face. A bit of panic surged through her as she looked up through her uncovered eye to see the little light that made it to the bottom of the pit; before she was blinded as the paper completely engulfed her.
Can't breathe; this isn't good. Think Tayuya, think! She took a few uneasy steps as she began to asphyxiate from the paper covering her face, squeezing, and pressing upon her. Too late to use my chakra to hold my breath. Fuck!
Falling to one knee, Tayuya struggled to maintain consciousness as she was on the cusp of blacking out. I can't lose like this. Not to some paper folding bitch. Then it hit her. If she's encased around me, there's no way she can evade this… Hope it doesn't hurt too badly.
Tayuya place out her hand and began to form another Rasengan. Please work. Knowing the risk she began to form her technique again. The Rasengan took on a reddish hue as it began to heat up, pulsating with fire as it began to expand. Feeling the heat, she brought her hand closer, immediately disintegrating the first few layers of paper on her.
Sensing what Tayuya was doing, Konan vacated from her body and reformed above her. Another sense of relief swept through Tayuya felt the paper off of her skin. She had almost pushed her jutsu into herself to burn Konan off of her.
Seeing that she was free from her grasps and that Konan was floating directly above her, Tayuya threw her Rasen Bomb only to watch it miss and soar directly out of the hole. Wow… My aim is shit. Konan didn't waste time as she floated towards the surface. "You can't just float away from me! I can just jump out of here!"
Konan replied coldly, "What do you think happened to the drill? Two hundred thousand pieces of paper don't just disappear."
That response prompted Tayuya to look around and notice that the surrounding walls all looked a bit off. Then the dark brown of the dirt faded to reveal that the tunnel's walls were completely covered in paper bombs. Shit.
"I told you this is your grave." Konan said as she exited the cavern.
Thinking quickly, Tayuya used her enhanced strength to begin punching the ground to dig herself deeper. Shit, shit, shit!
Feeling exhausted from the amount of chakra she used for her ploy, Konan let out a sigh of relief as her bombs detonated sending rubble flying in every direction. "Didn't think that fight would be so exhausting. She really did fight for her second chance… It's a shame. Getting her body out of the rubble is going to be a pain."
She took a step forward and stopped as she heard something below. I didn't think it would kill her, but she should be on the brink of death. There's no way she's moving underneath the rubble.
Konan continued to watch the rubble slowly shift before her until she caught something move in her peripheral vision. She wasn't fast enough as Tayuya sprang out of the ground and delivered an uppercut into Konan's chin.
"Got you bitch!" Tayuya screamed at the top of her lungs. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Tayuya continued to keep the pressure as she lunged forward and drove her leg into Konan's ribs, feeling them break from the blow.
Blood spurted from Konan's mouth from the blow; feeling like she had been crushed by an avalanche. The surprise attack caught her by surprise and not prepared to use her paper techniques. The exchange only lasted a few minutes, but it was incredibly one sided as Tayuya finished by kicking her into a tree.
As she slid down the trunk and came to a sitting position, Konan looked at Tayuya with a drop dripping down her face. "How did-" she coughed as she found it difficult to breathe with broken ribs. "How did… you make it through my trap? And be in Sage Mode so long? I-I've studied it a bit because of Sensei… You're a beginner, no? You shouldn't be able to maintain it this long."
Tayuya laughed before cracking her knuckles and shaking off the dirt covering her body. "Before your boom tube went off, I realized I wouldn't make it to the surface in time. Started to punch and claw my way down and back up around."
"But I saw the rocks shifting." Konan interrupted through haggard breathes.
Crossing her arms, Tayuya nodded as she recounted her quick thinking. "Yeah, after it blew up I made a clone to do that and distract you. Dug up and caught you off guard. And to answer your other question, Naruto had the idea to leave clones to gather natural energy for Sage Mode. Guessing he already summoned and dispelled them over there."
Konan nodded weakly as she looked down at the ground. "I made the same mistake our Sensei made. I let my guard down…"
A small grunt escaped from Tayuya's mouth as she replied, "Our sensei? The fuck are you talking about?"
Forcing a laugh, Konan looked at Tayuya with a saddened gaze. "Jiraiya was my sensei too. Makes sense you didn't know."
Without a second thought, Tayuya rushed over to her and grabbed her by her collar. "You knew Pervy Sage?! And you killed him?!"
An audible gulp echoed as Konan forced her emotions down into her stomach. "I fought him, yes. Pain killed him, however. But I suppose it doesn't matter… I'm sure he'd be proud you survived this encounter."
Tears began to form in Tayuya's eyes as she thought about her deceased sensei. It hadn't been that long since they found out he died and one of the perpetrators was in her clutches. "You don't get to talk about him like you know. You don't get that right."
A loud cry of pain caught Tayuya's ear as she look towards Naruto and Pain. Then she couldn't hear anything else. That sounded like him. Is he okay? Tayuya looked between the Konan and the crater in the village and shook her head in turmoil.
She let go of Konan and muttered more to herself, "Damn it. Looks like you get a second chance for a few more minutes of life. I'll be back after I go help Naruto relieve himself of Pain." With that she darted off leaving Konan alone.
The blue haired woman watched as Tayuya disappeared in the distance and scrunched her face in thought. She has to be making puns like that on purpose. Those just don't happen.
Tayuya was closing the distance fast before she felt her Sage Mode run out. Shit, I used it all up. Hopefully he's okay. Getting nearer she saw Naruto pinned to the ground with black rods and Hinata laying a few feet from him
Acting fast she leaped and attempted to strike Pain, only to miss as he too leaped out of the way. Hinata was surprised and relieved as Tayuya landed next to her. Without another moment of hesitation, Tayuya made a Shadow clone who helped Hinata stand up.
"Thanks for protecting him, Hinata. I'll take it from here. My clone will get you to safety."
Taking a deep breath, Hinata sighed in slight discontent. "Protect him. Please… You need to take those rods out of him."
Risking a glance away from Pain, Tayuya locked eyes with Hinata and saw the same look she had when she heard Naruto yell in pain. A small smile crossed her face as she gave Hinata a nod. "Don't worry, I'll protect him. Now go."
Her clone nodded as it dashed away with Hinata. As soon as it got to a safe distance it placed her down and dispelled, leaving her alone to watch the fight from afar. Protect Naruto-Kun… Please.
Pain watched as Tayuya edged slowly to Naruto. "Knew you would need help, Shithead."
Naruto grimaced in pain before replying. "Tayuya… Get out of here while you can. I can see you're out of natural energy. You can't win in your normal state."
"Shut up! I wouldn't leave you and you wouldn't leave me. Now quit whining and get ready to fight." Tayuya barked back.
She attempted to grab one of the rods only to have Pain use his jutsu to pull her towards him. Shit!
As she neared he used it again to propel her to crash roughly into the ground, sending dirt into the air. With shaky knees, she stood up and clutched her head. "Vertigo or what? Is this what you've been dealing with?" Trying to shake off her grogginess she again tried to run towards Naruto to free him only for Pain to toss her again like a ragdoll.
She could only press on even knowing it was a losing fight. Again she tried to run towards but Pain changed his tactics. He cut her off and pierced her with one of his black chakra rods. Tayuya fell to her knees as she felt it go through her stomach out of her back.
Pain took a step back as she collapsed face first into the ground, stunning Naruto. He watched as Pain easily defeated Hinata; then again as the love of his life tried to rescue him only to fail as well. No words could describe what he was feeling or thinking. Naruto was at a loss until Tayuya slowly lifted her head and looked at him.
Tayuya used her hands to pull herself forward inch by inch to reach Naruto. The look of determination on her face choked him up as he knew they had already lost. A few tears streaked down his face as he watched her come closer to him.
"Why did you have to rush over here? Why couldn't you escape when you had the chance?"
A small smile crossed her face as she gazed into his saddened eyes. "Thought I could help. Guess I was wrong. But you're not dying without me, Shithead."
In any other situation he would have laughed at the comment. Even in the end she would tease him. Damn it… I'm sorry I couldn't win.
Pain watched the exchange and shook his head. He walked over to the two as Tayuya's hand got near Naruto's. He created another black rod and stabbed Tayuya in the back with it, pinning her to the ground. A small yelp of pain escaped her lips as Naruto watch in horror as blood began to seep out of the wound.
She tried to reach out to his hand and was only inches away as she cried his name. "Naruto!" Her face fell flat into the ground as Pain impaled her with another black rod. No more tears streamed from Naruto's face as he stared at her unmoving body.
Shell-shocked or completely emotionally overwhelmed didn't come close to describing how he was feeling. Naruto just stared at her body; ignoring Pain as he lectured him.
"It was just like this… My parents were killed before my very eyes… By ninja from the Hidden Leaf. Out of love, sacrifice is born… Hate is born and we are able to know pain."
Tayuya drifted in and out of consciousness before looking up to see Pain engaged with some kind of red demon. Naruto! Is that you? How did? No…
She struggled to move only to stop as she felt the black rods kept her firmly in place. Tayuya tried to protest but her eyelids became heavy as they slowly closed, darkening the terrible sight she had just seen. Naruto…
"Wake up girl!" A voice bellowed through empty chambers.
Groggy, Tayuya found herself floating in what appeared to be water in the inner recesses of her mind. Two menacing eyes pierced through the darkness, glaring at her.
"Fuck it's you again." She barely mumbled
A deep rumble vibrated through the room as the demon growled at her. "You want to save the one with my other half; correct?"
Her thoughts went back to Naruto as she realized what was happening. "I'm stuck. I'm not strong enough to get free to save him from Pain and himself." Tayuya muttered half awake.
Thick infectious chakra began to pool around Tayuya as it began to flow into her.
"Use my power. It's the only way to save him."
Through half-lidded eyes Tayuya replied, "Only for him. I'll only use your help to save him."
A cackle erupted from the fox before he sneered at her. "Of course. Just sleep and I'll take care of it."
"Yeah… I'll just sleep…"
Pain was surprised by the resilience of the Kyubi. Whatever he threw at it was batted away like it was nothing. "Amazing… And to think, this is only one half of the demon." A dark red light shot up into the sky from Tayuya's body catching his attention.
He watched as she too, like Naruto, began to transform into a demon. Five tails sprung from her as the cloak of chakra engulfed her body. The half in front of him watched it progress as well. Inside, Pain hoped that the two would be aggressive towards one another. If he was having that much trouble with one, a second one would be unimaginable. Even gods have their limits.
The other Kyubi possessing Tayuya launched itself forward and landed in front of the other. Pain could only watch as the two demons seemed to be eyeing one another down until both look towards him. In unison the two let out blood curling, thundering roars and began to dart towards him.
Knowing he was on the defensive, Pain began to fight dodge swipe after swipe from the claws of the two. One was a handful and he knew if he didn't end it quickly, he would lose. Without any backup he couldn't possible win.
Each one sprouted another tail and began to form a skeleton. However, the transformation paused as a tail from each of them intertwined with the other. The two demons made of red malevolent chakra began to merge into one to form a larger demon.
At least there's only one now. I can deal with that.
The metamorphous continued as the skeleton formed around the now singular demon. It turned its attention back to Pain and quickly launched a Tailed Beast Bomb towards him. Thinking he could just block it with his jutsu like before, he created a barrier only to watch as the ball of chakra smash through it and collided with him.
Pain flew a few hundred yards before sliding off of the ball of chakra and falling to the ground. He turned as he watched it soar into a mountain in the distance and explode. Turning back to the fight he narrowly dodged another strike from the Kyubi.
I have to keep moving. Pain began to run away, leading the Kyubi away from the village. As one it's twice as strong, twice as fast, and apparently twice as dangerous. I thought myself to be a god, but these… Is this what it was like in those old stories about Greek gods fighting titans?
There was only one option left. Pain used his ultimate move despite the risks to his own health. Forming the signs, he releases a ball of energy into the air. The demon sprinted towards him snarling in abhorrence as it neared.
"Planetary Devastation."
Pieces of earth began to break away and rise up towards the sky, towards the ball of energy he had released seconds ago. It began to become larger and swallow more pieces of rock along with the Kyubi into the air.
Rocks began to smash into the Kyubi, as the jutsu began to form a sphere of rock in the sky. Pain watched as the demon disappeared into the sphere, pleased that he was able to quell even the most powerful Tailed Beast.
His self-assurance wore off as the Kyubi erupted from the sphere, almost in its final form. Fire spewed from its mouth as it let out a terrifying roar that was heard for miles.
"I never imagined it would be this powerful… Even I can't hold back that force of nature… Its strength is just incredible." Pain said in a bit of awe.
Both Naruto and Tayuya sat next to each other completely unaware of the other in front of cell in their combined mind-scape. Inside the cell were four sets of eyes, separated by bars in the middle. Both spoke to their respective hosts.
"She's dead…" Naruto muttered to himself. "I'm lost without her. What do I do?"
The Kyubi grinned as he replied, "Destroy everything. Erase everything that hurts. Give me your soul. I will save you from your suffering."
At the same time the other half was speaking to Tayuya to get her to remove the seal from his side as well.
"Did we save him?" Tayuya asked hopelessly.
A growl vibrated through the cell in anxious pleasure. "No. You failed. But I can. Give me your soul. I will save him from that man."
The two didn't readily accept, but neither offered any resistance as they felt the taint of the demon begin to consume them. Both stood and walked towards the cell to rip off the seals. Each one reached up to peel off the seal at the command of the Kyubi.
Each said their last words, saying the same thing as they began to peel off the seals. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you…"
"Naruto…"
"Tayuya-chan…"
A man appeared from nowhere and grabbed both of the teens, snapping them out of their trance. He pulled them away from the cell and stood them up in front of them.
Naruto and Tayuya were dazed for a moment before looking at the man then one another.
"Naruto!" Tayuya almost cried out in surprise.
"Tayuya!" Naruto replied just as shocked.
Both turned towards the man but only Naruto knew who he was. "Fourth… Hokage…"
The man nodded with a smile as he looked at the two. "I worked it into the seal spell so that I would appear within your psyche, should the seal be broken to the point you sprouted the eighth tail. I really wanted to avoid that…" Turning back towards the cell he added, "Since I had no desire to see you again, Kyubi."
Tayuya watched the exchange, baffled from what was going on. She didn't really remember getting there and didn't know who the guy who saved them was. Thankful was all she could think as she looked at Naruto out of the corner of her eye.
"Then again," he continued. "I did look forward to seeing my son as a young man. So I'll call it even." The Kyubi tried to shout out at him in hatred but the Fourth Hokage ignored him. "Let's go somewhere else where it's a little quieter."
Their mind-scape left the damp cell and the three found themselves in a whitish void that didn't really resemble anything they could think of. It just went on and on.
"Sorry about that, Naruto."
Tayuya managed to put a coherent thought together as she heard that. "Wait you said your son and his name. You're Naruto's dad?"
"My dad?" Naruto replied shocked from the revelation. A few tears began to stream from his face as he smiled.
"Guessing the Third didn't talk about this at all to you? I suppose it was to keep you safe. If people found out you were my son, you would have been in danger." The Fourth said deducing what the Third Hokage was probably thinking in not divulging the information to his son.
Naruto's smile turned into a frown as he socked his father in the gut. "Why did you seal the Kyubi inside your own son?! Do you know what I went through because of that?!"
Placing a hand on his shoulder, Tayuya said his name softly in reassurance. "Naruto…" He didn't acknowledge it as he began to speak loudly about what he had endured to his father. Tayuya nodded along with him until he finished. Then she too struck out and punched the Fourth in the gut.
"What was that for?" The Fourth asked surprised.
Tayuya shrugged as she crossed her arms, annoyed with the man. "You hurt his feelings. No one does that to him."
The Fourth accepted that and replied, "Who are you anyway? You shouldn't be here? And what was that other presence I felt in that room?"
Naruto seemed to be over his emotional rollercoaster and piped in. "This is Tayuya-chan. She was an enemy shinobi but turned a new leaf and had the other half of the Kyubi after Pervy Sage sealed it in her after Orochimaru released some seal so he could summon that half. She's my girlfriend and I love her and we were fighting some guy named Pain and I thought she died and then I woke up to you saving us."
Pinching her nose in annoyance, Tayuya commented, "Hard to understand you when you speak that fast and without pausing… Shithead."
His father didn't mind as he nodded in understanding. "I think I got all of that. It's disconcerting but we don't have time to talk about Orochimaru. How old are you now, Naruto?"
"Sixteen." Naruto responded while rubbing the tears from his eyes.
The Fourth nodded with a sense of pride on his face. "Wow… You're already sixteen years old, huh? It must have been hard for you… I'm sorry. I sealed half of it in you because I believed you could control its power. Because you are my son."
The two began to talk to one another and Tayuya excused herself to give them alone time. There wasn't really anywhere to go but she walked several feet away to let them be alone. That is until Naruto called her back over.
"What's up?" Tayuya asked innocently.
The Fourth smiled as he looked her up and down, scrutinizing her in plain view. "So, you're the love of my son's life. You look similar to his mother. Lighter hair though."
"The fuck does that supposed to mean?" Tayuya spat back.
He laughed in reply at the girl's response. "Quick tempered too. Just with a more colorful vocabulary. We know how to pick them well, huh, Naruto?" Tayuya turned red in embarrassment as both men laughed.
"My son will treat you well, trust me. He's a good man. I only ask that you treat him well too, or my wife will come back to haunt you."
Clearly annoyed from the teasing, Tayuya just nodded along. Then he did something that surprised her. He opened up his arms and looked at her expectedly.
"Probably the only chance I'll get to hug my daughter-in-law."
Tayuya smiled as she went in for the hug. The two embraced and she felt a sense of belonging she wasn't used to. She felt like she finally had a family, one that accepted her. A few tears of happiness leaked out of her eyes as Naruto joined in the hug.
Some time passed and the three relinquished the hug; each boring a contented smile. The Fourth placed his hand in Naruto's hair as he started to fade away. "I know you'll find the answer. I have faith in you."
Emotions began to feel Naruto from those words as he watched his father fade away.
"I will rebuild the seal for the both of you. However, this will be the last time." The Fourth said as he put a hand to each of their stomach's and fixed their seals. "I'm counting on you two, Naruto and Tayuya."
Pain watched as the Kyubi disappeared in a cloud of smoke, surprised that it had just stopped before escaping. He continued staring up until he saw two figures standing on the bottom of the sphere of rocks looking down at him.
Naruto and Tayuya stood side by side as they glared down at Pain, both already having their natural energy built up and in Sage Mode. The two looked at each other and gave each other a nod.
"Ready to finish this, Naruto?" Tayuya asked confidently.
"You know it. Let's make my dad proud." Naruto replied with determination.