Author's Note: many thanks to the person who brought up to me the fact that the second half of chapter 14 did not show up before the Omake. You know who you are. To all my readers, my utmost apologies for this inconvenience, and I hope it does not detract from further enjoyment of "Genkyouien."
Naruto Genkyouien
- ナルト- 幻脅威宴
Chapter Fourteen: Dawn of the Little Lily (Part Two)
Answering Naruto's question, it took seventeen minutes and thirty-nine seconds, most of which were spent by the lilies stopping each other's wild attempts at awakening the boy.
Yurimi had been quick to offer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Yuria quickly struck her down, both for trying to kiss her mate and for being unoriginal.
On a positive note, this prevented Yurina from proposing the same solution.
Kokoro did not bother with suggestions and just went and did it…or at least, she tried. Horniness-enhanced speed was no match to a nine tails' righteous (and jealous) fire.
Yuria stated that there's nothing a good punch in the gut cannot solve. Sayuri was horrified that Yuria would do something like that to her husband, to which a flustered Yuria responded by stating multiple times (around twenty-six) that they were not married. This led to Yurika reminding her younger sister that the institution of marriage is utterly meaningless to Kitsune hence there was no reason to be flustered, which itself led to further pointless wrathful shouting.
Yuriyo suggested pinching his nose until the lack of air made him wake up. Then she spontaneously combusted.
Yurine, in one of her occasional bouts of brilliant idiocy, suggested an "anti-lullaby." Her argument being that, if a lullaby could make children fall asleep, the "anti-lullaby" should be able to wake them up.
Then she began to sing.
The Higashiyama lilies, plus guests and waiter, woke up ten minutes later, unsure of what exactly had happened.
Some things are better left unknown.
They were arguing on the worth of having Yurina shine very bright Celestial Fire in front of Naruto's eyes (because apparently no amount of tails prepare a Kitsune for these kinds of situations…or they're just idiots, the whole lot of them) when the boy in question woke up by himself (leaving a very unhappy –and frustrated, in more than one way– Sayuri within the seal), quickly noticing he was strangely comfortable.
"Welcome back, Naruto-sama."
"Ah, Kotono-" Naruto looked up from the fox-woman's lap…and made an odd face. "I can't see your face."
"I can't see yours either," Kotonoha mirthfully replied, all the way looking down at her considerable bust.
"You're not gonna hug me, are you?" Naruto's voice sounded a bit frightened.
"I'd rather not add to your developing trauma, Naruto-sama."
"Thank you. Really." He did sound relieved.
"Still, I must say it's a bit disheartening to know there will be no hugs from now on."
Sayuri can hug onii-chan. Sayuri's still fwat.
"Ah! I-I-I d-didn't say that!" Naruto hurriedly whispered. "I-I'm happy to be friends with Kotonoha-san. So…just don't suffocate me, okay?"
"I'm sure we can find a way around that issue," The swordswoman responded mirthfully. "And, please, drop the '-san'. I would be much happier if Naruto-sama called me just by my name."
Sayuri will always call onii-chan onii-chan. 'Coz onii-chan's Sayuri's onii-chan.
"Will you drop the 'sama'?"
"Of course not."
"Muuu, you're unfair."
The four-tails giggled.
"Oh, come on, retinas don't burn THAT fast!"
Whoosh!
"Damn it, Sayuri!"
"Riyo-nee-chan, be nicer, please!"
Naruto grimaced. "What's going on over there?"
"They are trying to figure out the best way to wake you up."
"All of them?" Naruto was riddled with disbelief.
"Not really. Yuri-sama is drinking tea with Sayoko-san over by Yurisa-sama's table. They probably noticed you're already awake, but do not seem to intend to let the girls know. Yuriko-sama and Yurika-sama disappeared at some point, but it's not hard to figure out what those two are up to."
Two less OCs to worry about. You know how that works.
"My sister and her newest human friend are right here."
"Hey." Tenten slumped down to the boy's right side. "Looking comfy."
Munii?
"Ah…" Naruto blushed a bit, grinned and scratched his right cheek. "…ahaha, yeah, it's very comfy."
"Ufufufu, Naruto-sama you flatterer."
Tenten looked at Kotonoha and Ayame. "And you two are sisters."
"Ayame-san is an only child, but if you refer to the Kitsune currently in possession of her body then, yes, I am her sister, Katsura Kotonoha. Please to make your acquaintance."
"Her sister," Tenten repeated. Her eyes glanced down at Kotonoha's bust, then at her own, then at Kotonoha's once more. "For some reason I'm really pissed off now."
The swordswoman made a face that begged for a hug. "Why does that always happen?"
'coz Koto-chan's got huge bwebs. Sayuri's are not that big.
They're big enough.
Massive eye-rolling ensued. "Gee, I wonder," Kokoro mumbled. Looking down at what she could see of Naruto from her position behind her sister, she pouted.
"It's not fair. I'm the one who's in heat, but you're the one who's closest to him."
"Wait, what?" Tenten jerked her head towards Ayame.
Sayuri wuvs onii-chan the most!
"I can build a meaningful relationship with Naruto-sama precisely because I do not chase him like a vixen in heat."
"What she said," Naruto muttered very quietly. "I love you, Kotonoha."
"Ara, how sweet."
Mugyuu…
Naruto rolled his eyes. Figures. I love you too, Sayuri.
Waaaai!
Wiggle, wiggle.
"I hate you two."
"Now that's not true," Kotonoha quickly responded.
"You fox-chicks keep getting weirder and weirder…"
"You haven't seen anything," Naruto commented. Then he gave a good look at Tenten. "Why are you here anyway?"
Who is she?
"And he finally notices," Ayame muttered.
Tenten gave Naruto the evil eye. "No way in hell I'm telling you."
"She's training to be a magical girl," Ayame explained matter-of-factly.
"DAMN YOU!"
"…what?" Naruto's brain went 'ping' for a moment there. "You know what? Forget it. I have the feeling I'll only get hurt if I insist."
Lywical! Magical!
"Awfully smart of you," Tenten admitted.
"Thank you…I think."
"So, shouldn't we, like, tell the others I'm…huh?"
Puzzled blue eyes met nervous carmine.
"Uhh…" He turned to Kotonoha. "Since when has she been here?" He inquired, pointing at the little owner of those frightened eyes.
"The very beginning," Kotonoha, Ayame and Tenten spoke simultaneously, also sweatdropping as one.
"She's been looking at you very attentively all this time, Naruto-sama."
"Heeeh…" The little Kitsune went awfully stiff when Naruto's eyes reached her once again. "Hello there, Mayuri-chan."
He-llo!
The two-tails avoided Naruto's glance by dropping her face. Her tiny hands clutched her red hakama until her knuckles went white…er. Of course, Naruto was not one to desist so quickly.
"Thank you for looking after me."
From another table, Yuri and Yurisa attentively watched the scene. Kotonoha also was very interested in the outcome of this, only more from the Naruto side than the Mayuri side.
The cute little albino Kitsune still refused to look up. Naruto decided to go for a more direct approach. It worked with Sayuri, as well as with Yurine and her twin-tailed daughter, right?
Just like the Harmonious Lily and her half-Celestial daughter, Mayuri stiffened when Naruto's right hand reached for the crown of her head. She did so, however, for a very different reason. A rather unfortunate reason, in fact.
Even the sometimes slow Naruto noticed the trembling of Mayuri's shoulders and how it traveled down her arms and torso to take control of her entire body. Putting aside of thoughts of petting, he rested his hand on her shoulder, futilely attempting to stop her unease.
"Mayuri-chan?"
His words only strengthened the effect. Yurisa was stopped by her mother from going over to look after her daughter. With but a simple gesture from the Matriarch, Yurisa slumped down and watched in agonic stupor.
More than a little worried, Naruto's hand reached for the underside of Mayuri's chin and raised her head
"Mayuri-chan, look at me—"
His breath was caught up halfway up his throat, choked by the stunning, even frightening expression on the little foxgirl's face. Tenten actually took a step back; so taken she was by Mayuri's anguish.
As if she were trapped in a silent, prolonged torture, Mayuri's face was contorted in a disturbing mask of agony. Her lips were fiercely pushed together, as if pushing back a scream, and her pupils had become awfully thin, surrounded by a web of tiny capillaries clouding the white of her eyes. Sweat was rapidly gathering on her forehead and her neck.
Her eyes were on him, but Naruto knew she was not looking at him. She was looking at something only she could see, and it terrified her.
"Mayuri-chan, l-look at me…"
Tears formed on the corners of her eyes. A desperate Naruto went for desperate measures.
"Look at me!"
The group of foxgirls arguing some distance away were finally made aware of the futility of their argument (Naruto was awake, after all), only to meet the sight of Naruto holding the second smallest of the lilies against his chest. This seemed to make Mayuri's intangible torture even worse, but Naruto did not give up even then.
"It's okay!" He cried. "It's okay, Mayuri-chan!" He knew his words felt awfully empty, but still, he tried. "Don't look! Look at me! Look at nothing else but me!"
A little too forcefully, he seized Mayuri's head between his hands and forced her eyes to meet his. She was still trapped in her own world of suffering.
"Look at me! Look at me, Mayuri-chan! Don't be afraid and LOOK AT ME!"
Mayuri's facial muscles twitched in disturbing ways.
"DON'T LOOK OVER THERE! STAY HERE WITH ME!"
Somehow those words actually had an effect. Mayuri blinked, and Naruto somehow knew she was back in this world. Her eyes were no longer staring at a phantasm.
"Sheesh…" A worried-looking Naruto ruffled Mayuri's colorless hair. "You got me really nervous, ya know."
While the little foxgirl's shuddering gradually relented, Naruto gently picked out her loose tears. Mayuri was now fixated on the boy's smiling face.
"Dunno what is it that scares you so much but, whatever it is, we'll kick its ass! Right, Sayuri?"
Mugyuu?
"Well, I will definitely help," the older Sayuri intervened. "The younger me, that is."
Munii?
Mayuri stiffened once again when the mighty nine tails approached them. It was understandable after Sayuri's previous comments.
"Mayuri."
Sayuri's hand fell on the two-tails' head, hard.
"You need to relax."
The nine tails sat down next to Naruto. "The very fact I am here is the proof that history can be changed. I guess this timeline must have already changed just because I came here. So, how is it?" She made an odd face. "Ah, right, right. I guess no matter the changes, it's still a messy tale, huh."
"Yurisa-nee!"
The blonde four-tails was startled by the sudden call. "Ha-hai! Sayuri-onee-sama?"
"Mayuri will stay in this table for a while; is that okay?"
The motherly Yurisa blinked at that, but quickly corrected herself and responded with a gentle smile. "Of course, onee-sama."
"Alright." She turned back to Mayuri. "So, be grateful! You get to keep onii-chan for a while." She pouted. "Don't get too cocky."
Two equally confused individuals turned their heads from Sayuri to each other. Naruto and Mayuri blinked in unison.
"Umm…hi." Naruto sweatdropped. His attempt at welcoming the girl to his lap was stopped when he came into the most interesting of sights.
Mayuri's lips were trembling. The way her eyes shifted from looking down to looking at him to looking back down added to her overall image of undiluted hesitation.
"Mayuri-chan?"
The Sorrowful Lily parted her lips for a moment…but then closed them and buried her face in Naruto's chest, sobbing quietly.
"Huh. Weird girl."
"Ri-Riyo-nee-chan!"
Naruto could only turn to the adult Sayuri wearing a mask of confusion.
"Just leave her be, dear," she declared. "I have to correct myself. The one I hate is the Mayuri ten years from now, not the one in front of me. Still, given that they are one and the same, I cannot stop my blood from boiling when I see her in your arms, onii-chan."
"Still, right now she needs it. I truly hope I—no, we…I hope we can change Mayuri into someone I will not grow to despise. I think we're already making progress, actually."
She winked; a wink only for him to see.
Naruto nodded. So it was not his imagination. A single word had escaped Mayuri's lips in that split moment; more a weak, raspy growl than anything else, but definitely distinguishable. It was the first word Higashiyama Mayuri spoke in almost 35 years.
"…why…"
At Sayuri's request, dinner was a silent affair.
Mugyuu…Sayuri wants to be hugged by onii-chan…Mayuri should burn.
"My…how quaint." Yuri held back after a glance to the gloomy hallway lined with darkened, moldy pipes. Behind her, most of the lilies shared similar expressions of…discomfort. Manabu Akamon—I mean, Higashiyama Koushiro, stayed behind to clean up.
"Don't expect me to apologize." Naruto pouted. "I'm mad at you, ya know."
"How come?" Yuri asked in a sweet tone.
"For the whole killing everyone thing!"
"Ara, is that so."
Naruto waited for a few seconds; until it became obvious the Matriarch had nothing else to say.
"Kotonoha, I don't like that mean woman."
"Awww, that's too bad. Come here."
"Kotonoha!"
"Naruto-sama."
A vein popped out of Ayame's head at the two embracing affectionately. "You two are doing this to piss me off, aren't you?"
Sayuri (adult) stepped next to her mother. "Thank you for bringing us all here, Mother. Your skill just does not cease to amaze me." In a lower tone, she continued. "Truly, there is so much I could have learned from you…"
Yuri could only respond with a pained glance. "I take it Sayuri-sama will explain things now."
"Of course."
The nine tails presented the base facts while the large group made it to the seal.
"Had I not presented myself today, you would have spent the night getting on good terms with onii-chan. Am I wrong, Mother?"
"No, you are not, Sayuri-sama."
Sayuri nodded. "You intended to gauge onii-chan's intentions. You wanted to see if he intended to use my power for personal gain. By the end of the night, you would be certain that onii-chan had nothing but my best interests in mind, and he wanted me to be free from the seal more than anyone else. Then, you would reveal you had figured out a way."
"Once you had his trust and cooperation, you would have spent the next three evenings examining the seal and making adjustments to your original jutsu. You would confirm the suspicion that, indeed, the sealing involved making a contract with Shinigami-sama, one of the few beings in this world with a greater control over souls than you. You would reverse engineer the jutsu, Shiki Fuuin, as it is a more restricted variation of Spirit Jutsu such as Embrace of the Death God or Soul Mastery,or Sayoko-san's Gaze of Oblivion."
"In any case, you learned everything there was to learn about the structure of the prison that contained me…well, almost. Unfortunately, that 'almost' made the extraction go awfully wrong."
Sayuri pondered something. "Speaking of Spirit Jutsu, how much have you taught Yurimi-nee-chan so far?"
Everybody noticed Yuri hesitate for a moment before answering with subtle, but noticeable, reluctance.
"I already taught her Embrace of the Death God," Yuri admitted, and Sayuri whistled.
"That's a tricky jutsu."
"Yurimi seems to perform better the more difficult the jutsu. She's also learned Brand of the Spirit Diplomat, and I know she's been working on Soul Forging when she thinks I'm not looking."
Yurimi actually looked away, and Yuria held back a chuckle. She knew why her mother had hesitated to flaunt her prized daughter's prowess.
Thanks, mom. But I already…
She shot a glance at Naruto, who attentively listened to the conversation, only a little bit confused.
…I'll become strong, in my own way.
"It's good that you're cultivating her talents, Mother, but Yurimi-nee is not really a fighter at heart. She's really a lot like you in that respect." Sayuri's smile became more enthusiastic. "Maybe in this timeline she'll become the wondrous Kitsune she has always been meant to become."
"I…I am flattered, Sayuri-nee-sama."
"Hahaha, it's okay, it's okay. Just don't suck poor onii-chan dry, okies?"
Wink, wink.
"Oh my." Yuri mumbled in amusement.
"Hawaa…"
"SA-SAYURI!" Naruto and his mate screamed in simultaneous outrage.
Yurimi, however, had dropped her glance and assumed a meditative face.
"I…I can't promise anything."
"YURIMI!"
Tenten inched her head closer to Ayame's. "So, the flat one with the short silver hair has the hots for Naruto?"
"Yeah…" Ayame growled.
"…but Naruto's with the shortie with the big boobs."
"…sorta."
"…damn. And the cutie pie with the twin tails is also into him, right?"
"Who, Yurina?"
"You didn't notice? She's been looking at him the whole damn evening! Look!"
Indeed, the half-Celestial would shot quick glances at the orange-loving blonde every four seconds or so.
Ayame's only response was gritting her teeth, and Tenten wisely backed away.
Finally, the lighting abruptly increased as the narrow passage led to the ample room which housed the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.
"Wah, it's Sayuri! Sayuriiiiiiii—OOF!"
A few lilies shrieked when a sudden explosion rocked the prison beyond the bars, blowing little Sayuri away before she reached the bars.
"Once per chapter is enough," The adult Sayuri declared, all the while the rest of the clan gaped at her.
"You blew her away with an explosion!" Naruto cried.
"I can take that."
"Mugyuu…" Little Sayuri moaned within the darkness.
While the rest of the group stepped inside the cage, adult Sayuri stayed on the other side of the bars.
"The seal is meant to contain Higashiyama Sayuri, regardless of what time she comes from. If I go in there I won't be able to get out," she explained. "That's why I had to make a deal with Shinigami-sama before coming here. If I had made the trip straight away I would have appeared inside onii-chan's body, unable to get out or do much of anything."
Very few actually listened to the explanation, however.
"Sayuri…hello."
The little foxgirl looked up at the first to reach her prone form. "Ma…mama…"
The Matriarch softly caressed her youngest daughter's golden hair. "It's…it's been so long…it's been hard for you, hasn't it?"
"Mama…" Sayuri's eyes quickly watered. "Sayuri…Sayuri was…MAMA!"
Almost thirteen years later, the family was reunited again. Sure, five lilies are missing, but that doesn't really matter.
Beyond the bars, the older Sayuri, Naruto, Ayame and Tenten watched the family reunion, as the little nine tails shared hugs with each and every single of her relatives. The reunion between Sayuri and Sayoko was particularly emotional, as the two joined in resonant bawling. It was deafeningly touching.
"Well, all's well that ends—Kokoro stop humping me."
"Tch."
Tenten backed away very slowly.
Sayuri shook her head. "It will end when she is out of this prison in a way that does not harm anybody."
"What's with the yucky water anyway?" Tenten complained. "My feet are soaked."
"Actually the level's lower than it was before," Ayame, still pressed against Naruto's back, stated. Sayuri grinned.
"Oh, so you've noticed?" Sayuri seemed a bit impressed. "This whole place is a reflection of onii-chan's soul."
"Your soul is a sewer," Tenten stated.
"Shut up."
"Putting some thought into it, I'd say the water represents onii-chan's hesitation and fears," Sayuri added. "Now, it's up to onii-chan to change how this place looks like, but I guess I can help a little, if only for tonight."
The entire group was awed when the place was gloriously transformed from the depressing sewer system to a marvelous alpine prairie. When the others looked at Sayuri in search of an explanation, she simply smiled.
"I thought it would be a nicer place to sit down and chat. Drier, too."
The ominous bars had been replaced by a cute white fence that seemingly anyone could jump over. The paper strip with the kanji for "seal" was the lone reminder of Sayuri's prison.
"But…" Sayuri hesitated. "…this kind of change…onii-chan, do you feel any different?"
"Well…" He scratched the back of his head. "…I suddenly have this weird urge to yodel."
"Ah, that's okay…"
Sayuri's smile took a hungry quality Naruto did not appreciate at all.
"ONII-CHAN!"
Tenten and Ayame quickly scampered away from the path of Sayuri's mighty pounce.
"Whoa!"
"Onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-oniiiiiiiiiiiiii-CHAN!"
"Oh crap, she's doing it again!" Yuria called from beyond the thick bars. "Yurina, Yurimi: to battle!"
"Ah? Ha-hai!"
"Yes, honorable sister."
"DON'T PLAY ALONG WITH HER!" Yuriyo provided an excellent tsukkomi. It was fruitless, though. The trio were already pulling at Sayuri's tails to stop her from smothering poor Naruto (where would his spirit go if he was asphyxiated while inside the mindscape, anyway?), and getting their heads set on fire as a consequence.
It took Mayuri, of all people, to twack the back of Sayuri's head with one of her tails for the mighty nine-tails to stop. The little two-tails got one hell of a glare for that.
Yurine, the last to greet Sayuri, had trapped the little foxgirl in a bear hug and a threnody of hawaa's. Sayuri could only set herself free with, of course, fire.
"Onii-chan!" She called. Surprisingly enough, she actually remembered there was a seal this time. "Pet me!"
Naruto actually bothered to offer an apologetic glance to the older Sayuri before going to tend to the infant Kyuubi's need for brotherly affection.
"Heheheheheh…munyaa…"
Less than a minute later, little Sayuri was drowning in her own word of bliss, courtesy of Naruto's callused hands on her tails. She was small and flexible enough to curl herself like a kitten on Naruto's lap. Her large, furry tails were another story, however. Sprawled all over the place, Naruto looked like he was wearing a skirt of golden fur.
Few of the present missed the nostalgia present on the older Sayuri's face for an instant. Still, she quickly masked her deeper emotions and sat alone on the other side of the silly-looking white fence.
"Well, let's begin the Q&A! Who goes first?"
"Q&A?" Yurisa asked the obvious question. Sayuri shrugged.
"Well, if I start talking I'll probably end up saying more than I should, and then Mayuri would get mad and she would come and we'd end up fighting again." She explained. "Happens more often than you'd think. Anyway! You ask questions, and I answer to the extent of what I can share with you. So, you decide the order or does the eldest Kitsune go first?"
Her eyes were on Sayoko as she finished that sentence. Yuri spared her from having to talk by seizing the right herself.
"Let us begin with the primordial question. In which way did my jutsu fail in your timeline, Sayuri-sama?"
Sayuri shot a grin at her mother, but nodded and acquiesced.
"It is rather simple, in fact. As you would have inferred in a day or two, the Fourth Hokage's technique summons the Death God to remove a soul from its body. In exchange for responding to the summons, Shinigami-sama also takes the soul of the summoner. It's a rather telling demonstration of the difference between humans and youkai: humans need to give their very existence to accomplish the same thing a Ghost Kitsune can do with nothing but enough tails. Six, if I'm not mistaken. The point is that, by all means, Sayuri should be dead; her soul consumed by the Death God."
"With this knowledge, you would come to the conclusion that the modifications visible on onii-chan's seal are meant to contain Sayuri's existence within an appropriate receptacle, instead of becoming Shinigami-sama's latest snack. This is true, of course. The problem is that you focused entirely on the seals you could see, and you never noticed the concealed ones."
"Wah!"
The smaller Sayuri chose this moment to jump off Naruto's lap, chasing after a fluttering butterfly. Her eyes gleamed like the cat who's found its next toy. The group followed the little nine-tails' antics for a few seconds before adult Sayuri continued her explanation.
She shrugged. "Even if you had found them, I'm sure you wouldn't have been able to figure them out anyway. I only know of them because I read Konoha's Forbidden Scroll."
"When the Fourth sealed Sayuri within Naruto's body, he also split her chakra, separating the yin chakra from the yang."
Yuri's eyes instantly widened, as those words made complete sense to her. While her head dropped to a meditative state, Tenten took the chance to ask.
"Yin and yang chakra?"
She did not like the 'ah, right, they don't teach you this in the academy' look she got from Sayuri.
"Everything is made of opposites. Everything is yin and yang. Even chakra. Some have more yin, like, let's say, Yurine-nee-chan or Sayoko-san. People like Chiyuri-chan and your much-admired Tsunade, on the other side, have mostly yang chakra. The power to destroy versus the power to restore. Imperfect beings that we are; we spend our entire lives striving to find balance, generally without success. It's fundamentally impossible to have equal parts yin and yang: it's simply against our nature."
"So you're saying that's just a part of Sayuri over there." Yuria pointed at the little Sayuri, whose nine tails swayed almost hypnotically as she stared at the butterfly.
"The vast majority; I am mostly yin chakra," Sayuri clarified.
"So you mean that's the evil part of Sayuri?" Yuria insisted.
"Well, I wouldn't call her 'evil'…"
Whoosh.
"Waaaaaaaai!" Little Sayuri wagged her tails happily at the visage of the burning butterfly. The harmless creature twitched its wings one last time before it stopped moving for good.
"…okay, so she's the evil part," adult Sayuri dejectedly accepted. "Sayuri, dear!" She called for her younger counterpart. "Would you please stop burning pieces of onii-chan's soul?"
Naruto jerked his head to the dying cinders left by the incinerated butterfly. "Wait, WHAT?"
"You probably won't miss it anyway."
The blond gaped at his mate.
"In that case, where is Sayuri-nee-sama's yang chakra?" Yurisa asked.
"Oh, she's around, I think. It might take a while, but if we walked around, we'd surely find it...her? I dunno."
"Then, when I used Kagai Kaiin…" Yuri prevented the discussion from being diverted.
"As you reached for an incomplete soul, the jutsu sought the means to make up for the void you created, Mother. To complete the soul of the being, 'Higashiyama Sayuri', your jutsu sought out the souls of anybody within reach and homogenized them with my own chakra, using onii-chan's body as the boiling pot. How many would it have claimed if left unchecked? I can't even make a guess."
"While your death stopped the jutsu, it was Shinigami-sama's direct intervention which saved both mine and onii-chan's life. In my timeline, what's left of the Higashiyama Clan is still being punished for what happened that night…but I won't go into details."
Once again making an effort to remove the melancholy from her expression, Sayuri strived for a smile.
"Next question?"
"You will excuse me for my rudeness, but may I ask a second question before conceding the right to my lilies?"
Sayuri acknowledged her mother's respectful tone. "You may."
"How can we, then, release my youngest from this seal?"
Sayuri chuckled. "Simple. We ask Shinigami-sama to do it. That means you need a means to reach the Sanzu River…that does not involve dying, of course."
Silence ensued. Some distance away, little Sayuri sniffed around for her next burnable target.
"…no, I'm not telling you how to reach the Sanzu without dying."
Yuri sighed very quietly. "I guessed as much. I should get to work, then."
"You should." Sayuri nodded. "Now, anything—"
"Wait."
All eyes shifted to Naruto. It was not hard to tell why he attracted all the attention.
It was not very often he made such a serious face.
"You said…" He began. "You said the Fourth's jutsu summoned the Death God to take Sayuri's…your soul, giving his also as payment or whatever."
"Yes…" Sayuri nodded. She had an idea of where Naruto was getting to. In her mind, she was a bit surprised he of all people would figure it out first.
"…but, the Fourth put you in me… the Death God didn't take you."
Several pairs of eyes narrowed. Sayuri almost chuckled. It took them long enough to get it.
"Souls are souls are souls," Sayuri joked. "Everything that lives must die. What belongs to the Death God goes to the Death God…sooner or later."
Yurisa gasped in horrendous realization; her hands quickly going up to cover her mouth.
"But that's enough of that!" The nine-tails put an end to that bitter trail of thought. "Yurin-nee, you're next!"
Naruto, however, still seemed to be deep in thought. However, he guessed he could bring back the topic in another time. Sayuri seemed to have a schedule of sorts.
"Hawaa?" Yurine was startled, taken aback by the awfully serious conversation taking place until just now. "Anoo…ma-maybe…about Yurina-chan and Yuriyo-chan…?"
"Aww, sheesh…" Sayuri, clearly uncomfortable, scratched the back of her head. "Out of the frying pan and into the fire, huh?"
"In my timeline…like I said…Yurina-chan was very affected by your death, Yurin-nee, to the point that she blamed her own sister for not saving you." A shrug. "Of course, it was a baseless accusation: it's not like Yuriyo asked the Void to save her."
Her eyes met the half-Void's. "The Void is a very selfish little thing. Just like my soul belongs to the Death God, your existence belongs to the Void, Yuriyo-chan; there's no way it was going to let some rampant jutsu take you instead. Unfair, yes, but it's the way things are."
"With your sisterly bond damaged beyond repair, Yuriyo abandoned the clan and roamed the world on her own, like your usual run-of-the-mill Kitsune, until she died at the age of 302." Noticing the looks on Yuriyo and her sister's faces, Sayuri spoke further. "Your future self was claimed by the Void after using Avatar of Oblivion to slay the rampaging Five-Tailed Bijuu in Earth Country. I was surprised to hear that your last deed in this world was such an altruistic, selfless act, after a life of pointless self-gratification and debauchery." A snort. "Yurina-chan apologized to your tombstone."
"The most interesting thing was that someone had actually predicted you would go like that. I think it was Setsuna-san."
"As for Yurina-chan…" She looked at the blond with twintails. "After Yuriyo left, she devoted herself to her new life in Konoha. It wasn't easy, with everybody hating Kitsune and all that, but I like to think she was happy with onii-chan. After he died, she moved back to Higashiyama, and she's been living there until the present time in my lifetime. It's a bit of a boring life, but at least it's peaceful."
"Yurisa-nee-san." Sayuri offered a placid smile to her four-tailed sister. "I can imagine what you want to ask about. Same as Yurin-nee, am I wrong?"
Yurisa did not say a word, but the way she dropped her gaze and shyly nodded said everything.
"Unfortunately, you did not live to hear Mayuri's voice again. In my timeline, it happened…two years from now. I cannot really tell you the circumstances, but the artificer of that accomplishment was, of course, onii-chan."
Yurisa and Naruto exchanged uneasy glances.
"It would not be proper of me to talk about the circumstances that led to Mayuri's change…besides; thinking about what she's done repulses me to this day."
"I can make this clear, however: the Higashiyama Mayuri from my timeline has gone completely and utterly insane. And I'm not talking Kotonoha-insane here."
"I'm here, you know."
"Her crime is abominable, and her heartlessness is an insult to everything I once held dear."
"I'm a woman, with feelings…" Kotonoha pouted some more, seemingly impervious to the trace amounts of killing intent Sayuri was releasing.
"I hate her, and I have sworn to myself I won't die before she does. I WILL stop her madness, even if it kills me."
"And Yuri-sama didn't bring Makoto-kun for some reason; I hope Koushiro-kun is keeping him company."
Sayuri sighed; it was the sigh of a tired, aged woman. "I…I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to hear that. It's just…it's a really touchy subject…where I come from."
"I…I see. So-sorry for bringing it up, then…" Yurisa quietly apologized. Mayuri did not complain about her mother's fingers digging into her shoulders, as if afraid Sayuri would leap at her any second.
"I mean, I'm grateful for Yuri-sama's favors towards my family, but, really, sometimes I'm a little lonely…I could use some kind words every once in a while…"
"Aww, come on…even with all your odd quirks you know everybody loves you!" Naruto spoke comforting words to the slightly depressed swordswoman. "I know I do! Well, not like THAT, but, uhh, ya know…"
The four-tails giggled at the boy's initiative. "Thank you, Naruto-sama!"
"Kotonoha!"
"Naruto-sama!"
"I'll kill you both," Ayame growled at the embracing duo.
"And I'll help," Tenten added.
"We're having a serious moment here—ah!" Sayuri noticed the action taking place outside her current field of view. "No fair! I can't go in there!"
"Yurine too!" The five-tails, eager for anything to lift the heavy mood, jumped into the fray.
"Stop it, mothe—ahh screw it." Yuriyo just gave up.
"Hawaa!"
"No, wai—ggggrrgrrgble." The sounds of an enviable death.
"Death by symmetrical docking…he can't complain," Yuria stated…and then she cracked her knuckles. "And if he survives, I'll kill him."
"You are quite cute when you act the jealous wife role, you know."
"I'll enjoy utterly destroying you one day, Yuriyo."
"You foxgirls have no shame," Tenten concluded. Ayame was busy shoving her fist in her mouth and biting, HARD.
"Muuuu~"
Sayuri was still pouting. Ayame and Tenten had been displaced two steps away from Naruto, to make way to a Yurine who was all smiles. While Yurimi's attraction to Naruto was obvious and Yurina's own was noticeable if you bothered to look, Yurine's eagerness to offer her breasts as pillows for Naruto had no reason other than her natural niceness. Most unfortunately (a very subjective choice of words, though), Kotonoha was awfully clingy to the boy, for reasons not even she understood. However, a strange glint in Yuri's eyes told the swordswoman the Matriarch might know more about what lies in her heart than Kotonoha herself.
In any case, after making sure their combined voluptuousness (which totals for higher circumference than Hoshigaki Kisame is tall) would not cause Naruto's demise, the two fox-women reached a silent agreement. Holding on to the other's shoulder, together they circled Naruto and caught him in a motherly embrace.
The boy had never been surrounded by this much soft flesh before.
"Looking comfy," Tenten muttered, feeling a bit angry about the whole thing. How could he be so…calm in the middle of all this madness?
"Yeah…" Naruto sweatdropped and scratched the side of his head. "…pretty much."
There was no denying it: he was comfortable. He did not get hugs very often, so he was quickly growing fond of them. Besides, these two Kitsune practically exuded "motherly" all around them. Sure, one of them had a grin on her face that would not look odd on little Sayuri, and the other was lovers with a skull, but still, caught in their embrace, he felt like a small child…and did not mind in the slightest.
"Tch." Adult Sayuri gave up. "Awwight, next question. I believe Yuria-nee-sa—Yuria-nee-chan's next."
"Alright! Question time for Yuria-sama! But first…"
With absolutely no shame or hesitation, Yuria covered the few steps that separated her from Naruto and harshly let her bum fall on his lap.
"Oof! Wh-wha-! Yuria!"
"Don't think I'm enjoying this!" The three-tails declared, activating her tsundere protocols. "I have to make my claim as your mate, ya know."
"Uh huh."
Yuria positively shrieked when Naruto rested his hands on her thighs.
"I have to rest my hands somewhere, right?"
Yuria glared at Naruto's mock-innocent grin. "I'll get you for this."
"Hai, hai."
"I gotta admit; I like the brat's style," Yuriyo told her sister in a quiet tone.
"So nice…" The twin-tailed beauty wistfully watched the scene.
It was Yuriyo's turn to glare. "…you're hopeless, Yurina."
"Now, question!" Yuria leaned on Naruto's chest for further comfort…and somehow enjoying the grownup Sayuri's blatantly envious look. Naruto was doing his best not to look at his mate's tantalizing cleavage over her shoulder. "Was that really my jutsu back there?" She could not stop herself from smiling as she said that.
Her jutsu. It sounded so…right.
Sayuri could not stop herself from returning the smile. The girl truly held to anything that could give her hope, didn't she?
"One of many," The nine-tails responded…then she hesitated. "Okay, maybe not that many. But, really, you don't need an extensive arsenal, anyway. Everything you need is already there, in a most beautiful and nicely wrapped package."
Yuria blushed in a very Naruto-esque way, even scratched the back of her head for good measure; an action that did things to her chest Naruto found quite delectable.
Naruto had seen Yuria as pretty since the very moment they met. When he met her determined, blazing eyes later that night, after he had thoroughly beaten the crap out of her, Naruto thought she was beautiful.
At this moment, Yuria was in close physical contact with him. His mind quickly recalled every single inch of her body he had seen, and he had seen a lot. He could not recall any other female with a body like Yuria's. Heck, her muscles were almost as well-defined as his! Naruto did not know what kind of haphazard routine she had been following, but Yuria had somehow managed to work out every single muscle in her body. He had seen it; damn, he could feel it!
Neither Sakura nor Ino had bodies like this. Hinata hid hers under bulky clothes, but Naruto doubted the Hyuuga had that kind of body. Kotonoha was really strong and athletic, but any firm musculature she might have was masterfully disguised by the softness of her…well, her.
In the literal sense of the word, Yuria had the most athletic body he had ever seen. And it clicked in him.
She had curves and she had muscle.
God damn, this must be what they mean…
By 'they', he meant every single man he had often listened to as they drabbled on about women.
It was as if he had been blind all these years, and all of a sudden, he could see.
Yuria…Yuria's hot. Thinking about it, Yurimi's pretty hot, too…only for different reasons. Damn, this is tricky shit.
He had had short bursts of awareness for the past few days, mostly instigated by Yurimi's unmistakable advances. This time, however, it was his mind initiating a response to a natural increase in hormonal concentrations.
As he became more and more aware of his surroundings; namely, of the horde of very beautiful females around him; a pleasant yet uncomfortable tingle in his chest grew notably stronger. He was getting a bit dizzy…and red on the face; that he knew.
"Huh…so, what happened to me in your timeline? I wanna know!"
Sayuri chuckled. "Well, it would be a nice change of pace after all the depressing stuff I've said so far…but I can't. At least, not much."
"Huh? Why?"
"It was a request," Sayuri replied. "From the Yuria in my time, I mean. She knew you'd be curious, so she was very specific on what I could tell you."
"Wha—why would she do that?" Yuria's pupils shifted to the side. "That bitch."
"Uhhh…" Naruto sweatdropped at that. "Tha-that's not the best thing to say about yourself."
"But it's not fair!" Yuria crossed her arms under her bust, and Naruto shuddered. Oh my God! What the hell?
Some people are hit rather hard by puberty. Naruto is basically a victim of circumstances.
"She's very thoughtful; she just doesn't want to either hinder or inappropriately aid your growth," Sayuri explained. "But it wouldn't be fair to leave you with nothing after having answered the other's questions, so I'll speak within the limits of what the future you deemed acceptable."
"While the survivors of the Higashiyama Clan were pardoned and allowed to live in Konoha, it was obvious you were no more than prisoners. You were not trusted enough to be allowed to go and if it were necessary your very lives would be used as a buffer against youkai incursions. Still, you continued your training, and Naruto taught you everything he could. It wasn't really much, but it was more than enough."
"Many things happened in your first years in Konoha, but I won't go into details. The Hokage allowed you and only you to accompany onii-chan on his missions. You fought together. You were there when he passed the Chuunin Exam. You protected Konoha together from threats both human and youkai. So, when onii-chan became unable to fight anymore, he proudly gave you his headband, and you took his place as a true ninja of Konoha."
"The future you has always regretted being away on an S-rank mission the day onii-chan passed away."
"In the end, you were the only one who stayed in Konoha after his passing, if only for a short while. It made sense: you were the only one amongst us the people of Konoha actually liked, and you certainly enjoyed being a kunoichi…but I shouldn't really go any further, I guess. Things get a bit complicated after that, anyway…from a historical point of view, I mean."
"Yurine-chan? Yuriyo-chan? Any questions?"
"Ah…umm…no…not from me." Yurina scratched her cheek as she answered. She had questions, but somehow she feared the answers.
"I have one," Yuriyo interceded. "From your description of my death in your timeline…I guess I can assume I never learned how to control the Void, right?"
Sayuri nodded. "Sayoko-san never got the chance to teach you, and you didn't bother with the other Kitsune who might have been able to help you."
While the discussion was undeniably interesting, Naruto's newly developed mentality was all of a sudden more focused on Yuriyo's shapely figure. While Naruto did not know of the Night Lily's specialization of seduction and manipulation (even if she still has almost null actual experience), he could definitely tell the girl knew how to show off her body. While the others comfortably sat on the soft grass (and little Sayuri ran all over the place), Yuriyo was regally sprawled on her left side, resting her head on her left hand. The slit on the side of her yukata revealed tantalizing amounts of leg, and the dangerously loose piece of clothing had slid past her right shoulder, baring it for all to admire.
Her clothes, her expression, her velvety voice and even the gestures she made with her free hand as she spoke: everything was meant to attract all attention to her, to make her the center of the world. It was unbelievably arrogant, but, gods damn it, it worked….almost.
There was no doubt in Naruto's mind: Yuriyo outdid both Yurimi and Yuria (and pretty much everyone else) in, well, hotness. However, he still was more drawn towards those two than towards the half-Void. Of course, he had interacted far more with Yuri's daughters than with the sexy granddaughter, but there was something else…
The answer was very simple, but it would only come to Naruto after a little time dealing with the lilies.
"So…Yurimi-nee-chan, you're next," Sayuri continued the Q&A session.
The short-haired princess shook her head. "I pass. I have no interest in a timeline that no longer concerns me."
Sayuri blinked…and the giggled. "Ahahaha…wise beyond your years, sister…I truly hope this time you take the path you've always deserved."
Next in line. "Mayuri? Any question?"
Needless to say, she jested. After five full seconds of absolute silence, Sayuri sighed.
"Sheesh, no sense of humor at all. Okay then, last one! Sayuri!"
A pair of brown-tipped golden ears perked up in the distance. "Munii?"
"Come here for a moment, will ya?"
Sayuri disappeared in a burst of flame, startling everyone when she appeared an instant later in front of her adult counterpart, separated only by the white fence.
"Sayuri's here," the grinning little foxgirl declared.
"What the hell was that?" Yuria made the obvious question, which, surprisingly enough, Tenten answered.
"Shunshin no Jutsu."
Even Naruto recognized the name. "Wha-wha-how?"
Little Sayuri shrugged. "Sayuri was doing it all the time when she was fighting with mama, so Sayuri wanted to do it, too. I put some fire in it, because I wike fire."
The other Sayuri could only laugh at that. "Ahahaha, no, no, I wasn't using any movement jutsu, little one. That was just reinforcement."
"Aaah…" Sayuri actually pondered for exactly 1.3 seconds. "But I wike this better. It has fire."
"Fair enough. So, do you have any questions you'd like to ask me?"
"Um!" An eager nod. "Sayuri has a quesshun!"
Even the adult Sayuri was a bit surprised. She had expected a "mugyuu?" or something. "Umm, okay…fire away."
Pun intended.
"Nee, nee, Sayuri…Sayuri's bweasts are weally big, ne?"
"OW!"
Naruto's attempt at a facepalm ended up smacking Yuria on the face.
Yuri and Yuriyo were holding back chuckles, and the adult Sayuri was actually blushing a little. Was she actually that blunt as a child?
"Uhh…well…while they're not as…umm…notable as certain members of our clan, yes, I could say I'm proud of my bust. Why do you ask?"
Sayuri's tails wagged excitedly.
"Nee, nee, did you get onii-chan to squishy squishy puni-punii?"
Yuria felt Naruto burying his face in her hair. "Kill me now."
"Where's the fun in that?" His mate promptly answered, eliciting a groan from the embarrassed young lad.
"Haaa…most unfortunately, onii-chan died before my bust was available for squishy squishy puni-punii," Sayuri explained…but it seemed the words did not satisfy her little self.
"Mugyuu…oniiiii-chan! You pwomised!"
"Well, sorry for dying!"
"So, you promised." With a raised eyebrow, Yuria twisted her neck to interrogate her mate.
"Uhh…"
He did not need to look around to know he was getting similar looks from everybody else. Oh, well, Yuriyo was just amused by the whole thing, same as Kotonoha.
"…you would have done the same thing in my situation."
"I highly doubt it," Yuria argued.
"Speaking of which…"
All eyes moved to Kotonoha.
"Ah…" The swordswoman blushed a little. "…I-I…I am in no position to ask, but…"
Sayuri actually looked a bit embarrassed herself. "Of course. How rude of me. Your questions are more than welcome, too, Kotonoha."
Impeded from bowing properly, with Naruto leaning against her and all, Kotonoha only inclined her head. "My gratitude, Sayuri-sama."
"I wanted to ask…how did Naruto-sama pass away in your timeline?"
It was as if someone had taken a knife and dug it straight through Sayuri's heart. It was impossible not to recognize the very definition of pain on her otherwise lovely face. Dejectedly, the powerful quasi-goddess dropped her head; her eyes hiding behind a veil of golden threads.
"Kagai Kaiin reached only for the yin-part of my chakra…of my soul. To compensate for the lack of yang, it seized the souls of everybody within reach, transmuted them into Spirit-type chakra and mixed it with my own; adding more and more until my chakra naturally assimilated the foreign infusion and converted it into yang chakra compatible with Higashiyama Sayuri…a most inefficient process, which explains the tremendous amount of souls it demanded."
"Onii-chan's body was the boiling pot for this process, and it destroyed him from the inside."
"Can you imagine? My chakra was running through his system without control, together with his own and the chakra of dozens of different sources. No chakra system is built to handle that kind of strain. Even after it was over, he was left with a permanent imbalance: my yang chakra remained within his body, after all."
"Ever since that day, every single time onii-chan used chakra he moved a step closer to the grave, as his chakra system degraded further and further. Still, onii-chan, wonderful onii-chan that he is, fought until his body could not take it anymore."
Her teary eyes reached for Mayuri's. "He fought so hard to save you…even though he knew it would kill him."
"It was a combination of Chiyuri-nee's and Mayuri's powers which kept onii-chan alive for a little over ten years. But even they did nothing but delay the inevitable."
The uncomfortable silence that followed was filled with Sayuri's long sigh. Her body shuddered for a second, as if she were trying to shake off an uncomfortable feeling. When she was done, she was back to her collected self.
"Which brings me to the second reason I'm here."
Everybody listened.
"I came to this time with two purposes in mind. The first has been accomplished: avoiding the tragic demise of the Higashiyama Clan."
"The second is avoiding onii-chan's own tragic end."
"B-But, if Yuri-sama is not going to use her jutsu anymore…" Kotonoha boldly inquired, and Sayuri shook her head ominously.
"Unfortunately, even if he's not ravaged by Mother's Kagai Kaiin, my very presence in his body will eventually destroy his chakra system in the same way."
"The seal is meant to contain the existence known as Higashiyama Sayuri. The Fourth Hokage split my chakra in yin and yang, allowing the yang to roam freely within onii-chan's body while hoping the yin would be fully contained by the Death God's power."
"As you have noticed already, this is not true at all. Sayuri…well, the yin part of Sayuri, she can use her chakra freely. With diminished effects and a narrower scope, but she can use her chakra. This is because the Death God's seal is a conceptual technique."
"Conceptual?" Yuri asked.
"The main difference between gods and mortals is their multidimensionality. Gods observe the universe from a perspective far beyond our understanding. That's why even I, with all my power, cannot be counted as a divine entity: my awareness is limited to four dimensions."
"Shinigami-sama's seal contains the concept 'Higashiyama Sayuri' all the way to the eleventh dimension. I have no idea what this means; I can only repeat what Shinigami-sama himself told me. What I know is that, while that seal would prevent me from leaving onii-chan's body or even from returning to my own time, should I enter; it does not restrict my chakra in the same manner. And…well…my yin chakra is not very kind to onii-chan's body, at least not in its raw form."
"Sayuri, right now, lacks the skill and the self-control needed to 'dilute' her chakra into a form that is safe for onii-chan to use. My yang part has a similar problem: while it is not harmful to onii-chan by itself, it creates an imbalance because onii-chan himself favors yin chakra. However, I can see that my yang chakra has somehow 'contained' itself. It is only released when onii-chan is hurt, and it mostly explains onii-chan's superior healing ability."
"Bu-but!" The smaller Sayuri intervened, much to everybody's surprise. "Sayuri helped onii-chan! When he went splat! And when the Pwetty Beam made the fugly faces go boom!"
"IT WAS YOU!"
"Oh stuff it," Naruto easily dismissed Tenten's cry of outrage. "And you stop mentioning the 'splat' thing!"
"Mugyuu…"
"Yes, yes…" Sayuri actually stopped herself from reaching to pet her younger self's head. "…you may have helped him, but it will only harm him in the long run. Your chakra is not even suitable for regeneration anyway."
"That's why I'll train this little one here."
Silence.
"…eh?" There's no agreement on who said this. It might have been everyone…but Sayuri.
"Munii?"
…okay, and Yurine.
"Hawaa?"
There you go.
The Sayuri from another timeline giggled amusedly. "Who better to teach this little one how to use her powers? There's a limit to what Mother or Sayoko-san could teach her…and there's nobody else in this world who knows how to properly use Kakuton jutsu. I had to learn by trial and error myself."
"…it was…nasty."
"Besides, if onii-chan's going to rely on her chakra more and more in the near future, it's necessary to make sure it won't kill him or render him impotent or some other horrible, horrible tragedy."
"She has her priorities straight," Ayame murmured. Naruto was a blushing mess. Apparently he was aware of the concept of impotence.
"Can I ask…?"
"You can, Kotonoha."
"Thank you." A bow of her head. "I know Naruto-sama is not one to overly rely on Sayuri-sama's chakra to gain more power. Naruto-sama wants to prove his worth by his own means, using his own power."
"That's the way, my bro."
Naruto and Yuria exchanged smiles for a moment, and Naruto's heart began to beat faster.
Sayuri nodded. "I am aware of this. It is another of onii-chan's wonderful traits. However, as much as I hate to agree with Mayuri on this, some things are just inevitable." Her face hardened; the face of one who had fought and killed to survive. "Things are changing for you, fast."
"Both Shinkirou Kougon and Kuromiya Fubuki are extremely sensitive chakra sensors, the former more so than the latter."
Yuri was the only one who immediately understood what Sayuri was getting at.
"Oh gods…" The look of sincere alarm on her face was not very appealing to her lilies.
"Now that Sayuri's begun to externalize her chakra again, those two know I am here, in Konoha, and not in Higashiyama, where I would be safe. In that respect, things have not changed in this timeline. They will come, soon, and their intentions…well…"
"Wh-Why would they want to—" Yurisa began.
"Because they like the status quo," Sayuri declared. "Divine law states that there are two Kyuubi, one of them the Bodhisattva of Shinkirou. This has ensured a delicate balance between Celestial Kitsune and all others—no, between Celestials and Voids, for hundreds and hundreds of years. A third Kyuubi is a destabilizing factor for them, and they won't tolerate it."
"But it was Inari-sama who—" Yuri insisted.
"Inari-sama will not save your daughter!" Sayuri exclaimed. "The gods will only intervene if the clash of three Kyuubi escalates to a point where the world is under threat."
"So, we have to get ready. If only, we have the relief that they will not act personally until it becomes obvious there's no other way to get rid of me…well, her. Personal pride, plot convenience and all that."
"And also," Sayuri turned to Naruto. "If the little one is busy training with me, she will not bother onii-chan in his training."
The image of a certain haughty loli filled Naruto's mind, and he felt a strange but not unwelcome feeling of elation in his chest. Then the image switched to the same haughty loli tenderly and erotically sucking his fingers, and he felt like his heart wanted to burst through his ribcage.
The adult Sayuri clapped twice. "Alright, it's decided. We'll start tomorrow, first time in the morning." She smiled at the younger her. "You will become a strong Kyuubi who will protect onii-chan and everyone else, right?"
"Hai! Sayuri will do her best! And set the bad guys on fire!"
"That always works," Yuria agreed.
"Well, with that said…" The older Sayuri grinned as she spoke…and a strange tune filled the place. Naruto was quick to react.
"Wha—what's that?"
There were mixed reactions from the lilies. Most of them looked either defeated or exasperated. Yuriyo was plain horrified. Her mother actually looked excited.
"Oh gods, no…"
Sayuri, on the opposite side of the spectrum, was all smiles and excitement. "Ah! Waaaaai!"
Kotonoha had to strain herself to keep her perennial smile. "Oh…my." The twitch on her forehead was impossible to conceal, however.
"Wha…really, what's that music?" Naruto insisted.
"Karaoke time!" Sayuri declared gleefully as she got back on her feet. "Sing with me, Sayuri!"
"Waaaaai!"
"Sing?"
"Me too, me too!" Yuria was quick to join, eager to have some mindless fun and drive her relatives insane. The two Sayuris were quick to welcome their favorite nee-chan into their impromptu show. Like that, the odd trio of tall, shorty and midget began their song of infamy while dancing a haphazard can-can on both sides of the fence, at the same time an electric guitar joined the odd music with a just-as-odd riff.
"I wanna burn this pwace.
I wanna burn this pwace.
Tell me mommy, what is out there I can burn?"
Now even Naruto and Tenten were twitching. "Don't tell me…"
"Yeah," Ayame tiredly responded to Naruto's suspicion. The boy just groaned.
"It actually has complete lyrics."
"Gods I hate this fanfic," Ayame declared.
The adult Sayuri began to sing, her face radiant like it had not been in centuries. She was a child again.
"Evwybody's hearts go doki-doki; ears go twitchy, kyun-kyun-kyun!
Eyes look awound, twitchy-twichy, and then there comes a weally big WHOOSH!
Evwybody runs, para-para, and it's nice, once again it's Suu-mmeh
No, it's not! It's so hot! Evwy-body! Huwwy, huwwy! CWOTHES AWAY!"
Tenten's face was the very definition of "what the fuck." Yuriyo was seriously considering spearing her ears with her tails. Yurine was clapping along, her left breast bouncing against Naruto's overly stiff face.
What little Sayuri lacked in vocal technique she made up for with sheer enthusiasm.
"Cwothes on fire unneeded, so why wear them? Evwything's better with no cwothes!
Sweaty, yucky, want some water? Ah, it just went poof an' smoke!
And now it's all smokey, nee-chan, kaa-chan, evwybody's go-ing cough-cough-cough!
Nobody knows what's going on, but they all know it was me!"
Yuria and the alternate Sayuri joined the little nine-tails for the next part, leading to the chorus.
"Let me show you what I just did, it's weally awe-shum!
That funny thing over there, I weally made it burn!
It's pwetty and nice, but now I think the best paht is,
that things get jumpy and evwyone goes wiiiiiiild!"
Yurimi closed her eyes, as if it could make the whole thing go away.
"…The Fire Song."
"I-don'-knooooow why you are wunning-it's juuuust my-house-that's-buhnin'!
Blazin', scohchin', smoldewin', glowin', flamin', wazin' to ashes!
Evwyooooone's just-too-loud, the houuuuuse's gonna-fall-down,
Droppin', plungin', tumblin', sinkin', collapsin' to the gwound!
And then the fiiiiire's just-gonna-gwow; it waaaaants to-burn-some-moar!
Flawin', kindlin', searin', meltin', broilin', gleamin', flashin'!
It ghwows and ghwooooows, consuming all; it's hot and it neveh sto-ops!
Twees burn, wocks burn, we burn, air burns: the fun just neveh ends!"
More tense that he had felt in quite some time (and that's saying a lot), Naruto took in the forest around him. It was a scene he had gotten used to, having lived his entire life in Konoha, so it was not very often that he actually bothered to admire the sights which surrounded him.
Yuria was still sleeping like a log, as far as he knew. For someone so enthusiastic about training, she seemed quite attached to his bed sheets already. It had been a tricky ordeal to get off the bed without disturbing her rest: she was also abnormally clingy.
We could go on a long diatribe on Naruto's thoughts about sharing his bed with the small but voluptuous three-tails, but the word count is high enough as it is. Long story short, as much as it pained him (and terrified him), Naruto felt like he could get used to sharing the bed with Yuria.
But, why did he not wake her up, anyway? He had promised to help her train, and Uzumaki Naruto fulfills his promises.
Basically, he had a gut feeling. He felt it was not a good idea to introduce Yuria to Setsuna, yet. He could not really explain the feeling, but he went along with it.
Also, he felt like he needed some time away from the three tails. It was not that he disliked her, or felt uncomfortable around her; the very opposite. He was too comfortable around the pretty, spunky foxgirl, and it was making him feel things he just did not want to feel at the moment.
After carefully closing the bedroom door behind him, he was surprised to find breakfast already served on the table. Kotonoha greeted him with her perennial smile. Ayame had left early to meet with Teuchi.
It was a quick and silent breakfast, to make sure Yuria's sleep remained unbothered. He was not allowed to leave, however, until Kotonoha caught him in her warm and delightfully comfortable embrace. The boy almost fell asleep again, enraptured by the feel of his body resting against hers. It was truly the pinnacle of comfort.
"Be careful," she had whispered before (reluctantly?) letting go.
Naruto needed to relax. Setsuna could show up any time. He had absolutely no guarantee that the fox-loli would show up as promised, however. He could only believe. And he chose to believe.
Bending his knees to drop his body, Naruto decided to practice a bit before his little sensei arrived. He had a patch of grassless soil in front of him, and he rested his right hand there, acquainting himself with the rugged, grainy feel. Sending a bit of his chakra, he stuck the hand to the ground. That was the easy part. The days he spent mastering the tree-climbing exercise at Wave felt so far away…
Slowly, very slowly, he pulled the hand away, creating an uneven column of chakra between the two surfaces. He had to focus on the motion of chakra. Anything worked, as long as he did not stop it. He went for making the chakra rotate around an axis parallel to the ground. Once he had a proper, stable motion, he tested how easy (or how hard) it was to control the "structure." Waving his hand up and down, the chakra column grew and shrank accordingly. Of course, it got harder the further he raised his hand, as the chakra got "looser." He could solve this by adding more chakra, but then it would be harder to "compress" it and shrink the column.
He hoped it would be enough to please the Kitsune.
"I see you got the hang of it."
The column dispersed to inexistence the moment Naruto stiffened. He had actually skipped a beat there. And why was his heart beating so fast? Why…why, why, why?
"Ah, ah, it won't do if you lose control so easily."
His upper body shuddered for an unknown reason. The corners of his lips were twitching. What was this?
Ah.
An answer. His answer.
He sighed mentally.
Idiot.
He stood and turned to face her. Her sundress was light blue this time, and she had changed her ribbon to a cerulean one. He also noticed the white choker around her thin, elegant neck. It was not a training outfit, but neither was the one she had the first time, after all.
Regardless, she carried that slightly mocking (or was it teasing? No, that was Yuriyo) smirk he was already used to.
"Good morning, boya."
Higashiyama Sayuri had not slept. She had gotten used to a different kind of biorhythm in her future timeline. She needed little sleep, usually staying awake for months, or even years, before sleep claimed her. Of course, when she did sleep, she slept a lot. Her longest slumber had last seventeen months. She remembered waking up to find her Citadel Gehenna in the midst of a terrible succession war.
It was one of the most annoying afternoons in her long life.
It was an interesting night, the last one. After an hour or so of singing her lungs out (she couldn't believe she still remembered 'The Mugyuu Song'!), Naruto and his group (Ayame, Yuria and Kotonoha) retired for the night, not before getting a promise from the Matriarch to research the jutsu to reach the Shinigami's realm. Sayuri had also exchanged a few words with Ayame concerning Tenten's magical training.
After that, it was the turn for the ladies of Higashiyama to retire to their tents. She had lied to her mother, claiming she had made arrangements for the night. She spent the night by the river shore, gazing at the stars and waiting for the inevitable company.
She had entered Konohagakure right before sunrise, cloaked in an illusion strong enough to fool any human who was not a Genjutsu Master. She knew the Hokage would have been able to see her, but fortunately he did not make it a habit to patrol the streets of Konoha.
In a matter of minutes, she was standing before the bed, watching her most beloved's sleeping face. She scowled at Yuria's overly possessive hold on the boy, even as she stained his t-shirt with drool.
Really, she doesn't even realize how fortunate she is.
Stopping herself from touching him, Sayuri entered his body and reached for the seal.
"Zzzzzzzzz….munya-munya-munya-munyaaaaa…."
She sweatdropped. It was a bit embarrassing, her younger self.
"Sayuri."
"Zzzzzzzz…..munya-munya-munyaaa…"
A roll of eyes. "…Sayuri."
"Zzzzzz…mugyuu…Ilyaaaa…Ahcher's your onii-chaaaan…zzzzzz…"
A twitching vein.
Whoosh.
"Munii?" The little Sayuri blinked, as she returned to the world of the awake. "Mohnin' mohnin'…mmm…it's hot…"
"Good morning, Sayuri." She was a nine-tails. She knew patience. The flaming Kitsune rubbed her eyes groggily.
"Ah?" Behind the cloak of fire that covered her, Sayuri recognized her older counterpart. "Ah, it's Sayuri. Hello, Sayuri."
"Hello to you, too."
Not even aware that she was combusting, the little Sayuri clumsily got on her feet.
"It's time to train, Sayuri," the other clarified.
"I'm hungwy."
"No, you're not!" Sayuri spat back. "You haven't used enough chakra to be hungry."
"Mugyuu…I want wamen."
"Ra—oh for the gods' sakes, let's just get started."
An instant later, the gloomy sewer was replaced with a barren wasteland, devoid of any and all signs of life. A simple and rather childish trail of pebbles marked the boundary of the prison, and the paper strip with the seal mark rested on a round rock slightly larger than the others. Little Sayuri stared up at the cloudless canopy of their training field.
"Waaaa…"
"This is a good setup to practice without risk to onii-chan's soul, you see. He probably won't even notice what we do here."
"…Sayuri doesn't get it."
A mild chuckle. "Of course you don't. Now, it won't be easy to teach you chakra control, so we'll tackle that slowly. It's better to start with something you can pick up more easily…hmm…"
Eighteen tails swayed from side to side at a sedate pace while the older Sayuri pondered how to begin. Finally, her ears perked and her lips stretched into a grin.
"Got it! I'm sure you'll love this jutsu: Nuclear Energy Shadow Clones!"
"Munii?" Sayuri did not seem very impressed. The future counterpart smirked dangerously.
"That EXPLODE!"
"Waaaaaaaai!"
Double wiggle-wiggle.
"Bye-bye, mistress! Have fun!"
Setsuna cursed under her breath as she departed that morning, leaving Tobi behind. Sometimes she wondered why she still kept him around.
Ah, right. She needed someone to take care of the chores. She could do it herself, true, and she actually enjoyed it, but she had a reputation to maintain. What kind of super villain took care of the dishes anyway?
Also, he was a frighteningly good stylist.
Right before dismissing the summons, Setsuna had told Naruto they would meet again "early in the morning of the day after tomorrow." Thinking about it, they never agreed on a place, so she was going to the place where they trained the last time. Also the place where they…
She walked a little faster, as if that could cool down her overheated cheeks. Was that steam coming out of her ears?
"Baka!" She hissed to herself as she walked. "Baka, baka, baka! Stop thinking about—why did I even—but it was goooood…" She caught herself drooling. "DAMN IT!"
She would have been very pissed if she had not found Naruto at their undetermined meeting spot. The boy did not disappoint her, though.
Her body moved by itself, hiding behind the nearest tree. A second later, she wondered just what the hell she was doing.
Naruto seemed lost in his thoughts. His back was to her, so she could only watch him standing there, in the middle of nowhere, thinking about gods-know-what.
He's waiting for me.
It was obvious, but, still…
He's waiting…for…for m-m-m-me-why the hell am I blushing!
She almost hurt herself when she ran her nails down her cheeks in frustration.
Still, she waited to settle down properly. It would not do for her to show up all hot and bothered like that. After all, she was not only the superior race, but also the mistress. Naruto was the lowly student/minion; the tool for her to reach the World of DFC and destroy Kotonoha (not in that order).
While she checked for wrinkles on her dress, Naruto squatted down. It took a while, but what he was doing eventually became obvious to her.
"Heeeh…" She muttered to herself. "He actually went and did it."
She ignored the tiny smile that adorned her lips.
"Aaah, look at him."
"Hmm."
"He's been working hard, hasn't he?"
"…yeah."
"…he's been working so hard…for you, you know."
Setsuna dropped her blushing face a bit, unable to stop her smile. "…yeah."
"That kind of dedication; that kind of loyalty…he barely knows you, you know. But still…"
Her fingers gently slid on the rough trunk she was hiding behind, as if longing for the feel of another's skin.
"He cares. He thinks of you as a friend. He made you feel good. Feel like a woman."
"Hnnn…" Setsuna moaned quietly, remembering the touch of his rough fingers in her most intimate spot.
"He accepts you the way you are…he's nothing like that man."
"…he isn't, hmm?" Setsuna whispered wistfully. "Bu-but, he is…the Kyuubi…"
"Oh, but think about what he can give you. Think about what he can do for you. Maybe, just maybe, he could…"
"He-he's just a brat," Setsuna resisted. "I'm not a shotacon."
"Oh, but this isn't really about what he lacks. It's about what he has. What he can share with you. What you have sought for so long…it's been so long…"
"So long…" She squeezed her thighs together.
"Do you want him, grandma?"
"I…I…" She frowned. "Grandma?"
"…oh crap."
She turned, and her twitching eye met an overly familiar spiral mask; the lower half awfully close to her right ear.
"Uhh…umm…" Tobi wracked his mind for a moment. "Uh-uhh…ooooooooo…" An 'ominous' sound. "…I'm an illusion of your subconscious, ooooooo—oof!"
Even with his masked head in the clutches of Setsuna's right hand, the Uchiha trickster managed to get away before he was consumed by her Void Fire.
"Tha-tha-that-To-To-I'll KILL HIM!" A tsundere's furious hiss. "Aaaaargh!"
After forcefully shoving several thousand volts of electricity through her body, Kiyoura Setsuna found her center again. No time to lose anymore. Naruto was playing with his chakra construct.
Taking a deep breath, she walked out of hiding.
"I see you got the hang of it." She mentally complimented herself for her even tone, and managed not to smirk when the boy went awfully stiff and lost control of the construct.
How cute.
"Ah, ah, it won't do if you lose control so easily."
The boy's shoulders shuddered for a moment there, but he did not move. What was taking him so long? Did she scare him or something?
He did look surprised when he turned to face her. What was the big deal? In any case, she had manners she chose to follow.
"Good morning, boya."
There was a strange silence after that. Naruto would not respond to her greeting, choosing instead to just look stupid. Not that it was odd coming from him, she thought, but still, it was unusual for that moment.
What if—what if she had something on her face? Why is he blinking so much? Why is he—is he…?
Her lips parted a fraction of a millimeter.
He is.
He was crying. A single tear from each eye, the one from the left a bit faster than the other one.
He was crying, but still, he smiled.
And she blushed.
"Wha-wha-why are you—"
His smile grew so he closed his eyes. He had never looked more childish. He had never looked more handsome.
"It's so good to see you, Mistress!" He bowed, and sniffed.
Setsuna's lips parted a bit more, and her cheeks became redder and redder. He called her…so spontaneously…and his smile…and…
"Ahh-uh…ahh…hmm…" In the end, she just pouted and turned her head aside.
"…idiot."
CHAPTER 14 END