Author's Notes: Chapter thirty-six! Oh. Em. Gee. (That's 'OMG' for the lazies like me.) There are no words to describe my embarrassment or convey my apologies for this totally, inexcusably long absence. I am so upset primarily because you people were so damn sweet, asking me if I was okay and stuff and then telling me to take my time when I assured you I was alive. I didn't get one person telling me to "update or else!" (Not that I'm complaining, but I thought there'd be at least one.) Do you have any idea how GUILTY that made me feel?
And there it is--I can be guilted into updates. Make sure you write that down, just in case.
In my shame, I have only apologies and sad, unworthy gifts to offer. See the "Answers To Questions" section for more details on that and why I was gone so long. And hey, guys? Can somebody tell me when I hit two thousand reviews? 'Cause I don't think I remember. My mind is such a sieve--it had to have happened long before my absence, but I don't remember! Well . . . I guess it doesn't matter when it was. (Incredibly belated!) Thanks for two thousand reviews (and over three hundred thousand hits), everyone! Group hug!
By the way, a lot of you didn't get review replies from me this time around. Aside from those who had questions or involved comments, I didn't respond to reviews. I apologize, but I figured everyone would much rather see a chapter than a review reply. Below are a few anonymous reviews I felt needed to be answered, but otherwise, feel free to skip to the meat!
jwg676: Thank you! My ideas don't come from one place--sometimes from my head, sometimes from something I'm doing, sometimes as a spin-off of another piece of fiction (DNT itself was such a thing)--and that is very inconvenient at times. Still, I appreciate my imagination! More is here!
Kat: I most certainly do take notice. If I have the balls to demand more reviews, then I should be courteous enough to respond to them as well. :) Naruto-chan-chan the super uke . . . I like that. Very . . . imaginative. XD
Haji: I'm glad you like (if you're going to lose sleep over an author's work, Foxie-sama is definitely one of the ones I'd choose)! You know, you're the first person to mention the technology and that's a very interesting observation. The plastic medicine cup could go either way, because I've only ever seen glass cups, in hindsight (though I have seen a dead ringer for a plastic water bottle). The heat lamps are the same--if you consider the first movie to be canon even in the slightest, that had lots of stage/set lighting and I don't think heat lamps would be too far from that (though it could be argued that the apparently primitive electrical grids might not support that kind of drain and so they had never really caught on). As you said, with no definite line drawn, it could go either way. I didn't mean for the other foxes--particularly the triplets--to end up in here, I swear! They just . . . invited themselves, like my cat does.
In regards to the "Answers To Questions" section, you're right. This is an older piece of mine and I also have the tendency to ramble, so I skimped on some things (to my detriment and your displeasure) out of eagerness to get to more important things and concern that I would embellish too much. Ideally, that will have stopped in future works (and will be cleaned up if/when I rewrite DNT), but if you read any of those and see it there as well, I would much appreciate you pointing out where. For information like the kitsune lore (for example), however, I generally consider that non-negotiable; the culture of the characters in this particular work means that all of the main characters and more than seventy percent of the supporting characters are educated (or superstitious) enough to know what I explain in the "Answers To Questions" (such as the definition of 'myobu' and 'tenko'). Trying to squeeze it into the storyline, if it isn't of vital importance, would be awkward and time-consuming, divert the story even more from the plot, and make it more like a dictionary or encyclopedia entry than a work of fiction (which I have already been accused of doing previously). I will definitely keep your words in mind, because you do have a point (for example, my first endnote in chapter twenty-eight could have been slipped into the chapter itself), but this is my reasoning in other instances.
Atrix: Once again, this is something I have failed to adequately cover--thank you for bringing it up. Parallel!Naruto's chakra reserve is extremely low--he was never really interested in his training, as noted by the Fourth. Presumably, canon!Naruto's training would help that, but it couldn't cure it; I can't imagine that full recovery would take less than a year to happen--exercising atrophied chakra paths would be just like any other rehab, I think, and it would also have to be done in slow stages. As for jutsu like a kage bunshin, canon!Naruto would have to be very careful. I don't think one shadow clone would be difficult, but multiple ones would be impossible because those would require Kyuubi's chakra. Kyuubi has stated at least three times (once clearly, twice more subtly) that use of his chakra will cause a great deal of harm to parallel!Naruto's body, which is not geared--in any manner--to handle it. On top of that, the clerics are hunting canon!Naruto by seeking out Kyuubi's chakra, which means that a single flare of it could bring them down on his head. Canon!Naruto will be using jutsu soon (it could be assumed, also, that he used jutsu while fighting the clerics in chapter thirty-three, since no one was around to see him use anything of a level that a twelve-year-old boy wasn't supposed to).
The proclamations to be Hokage are easier to explain. Firstly, canon!Naruto is seventeen while parallel!Naruto is twelve. I am taking an incredible leap and expecting that by that age, canon!Naruto has learned something of common ninja sense, so he would be hesitant to say such a thing before he found out if his parallel self would have said it. In chapter twenty-two, with the explanation of parallel!Naruto's behavior, canon!Naruto would assume that his parallel self was not interested in becoming Hokage and would thus choose not to say it in the future. As for the supporting characters such as Kiba and Neji, they were omitted at the time because I was uncomfortable with my knowledge of their personalities. I will be including them in the 'deleted scenes', to be posted after DNT, but they will unfortunately not make it into DNT itself for the time being--the current timeline would require a lot of sidetracking if I tried to include them now (which sucks, because I really wanted to include Lee, but he didn't work out).
I have a Fullmental headache: This fic does not need more killing--you need more killing. As I've said over a dozen times, this fic is not about fighting. Go. Somewhere. Else. For it.
nottery: The shinobi leader in Wind Country is definitely the Kazekage ('kaze' is 'wind').
Title: Door Number Two
Author: Reaper Nanashi (Lady Shinigami)
Pairing: None Intended
Word Count: 2,944
Type: Multi-Chapter (Work In Progress)
Rating: T (bad words, sexual innuendos, blood, violence)
Date Submitted: 7/21/07
Disclaimer: No.
Claimer: Genko, Byako, Shakko, Hotaru, Nyoko, Aya, Hitomi, Shinju, Akane, Takako, Tsukiko, Mimi, and anyone or anything relating to them is mine
Summary: Maybe it's a dream, maybe it's real. Naruto doesn't know how he got there, but he's not sure he wants to go home. Perhaps the little decisions aren't so little after all--one choice can change a life forever . . .
Chapter Thirty-Six - Pressure
"A name?"
Kyuubi nodded. "We do not give out our real names because that gives whoever speaks it power over us. It's easier and safer to provide a false name appropriate to the situation we are involved in or something unique about ourselves. For example, you always referred to me as Nine-Tails when we first met, so I adopted 'Kyuubi' when you asked for a name."
He nodded in return. "So if I knew your real name, I could tell you to . . ."
Before he could think of anything, she said firmly, "If you knew my real name, you could tell me to do anything that your little blond head came up with and I would have to comply with it if I did not want to be banished from here or if I wanted to protect something of mine that you had threatened harm to."
"So this is a serious issue."
"Most definitely."
". . . What are your options?"
"My options are 'do' or 'don't'. If you wish my assistance, I will provide it. It doesn't matter either way to me."
"Don't kitsune prefer to avoid fights?"
"That's between individual kitsune. This myobu has been rendered insane by those who speak her name. The only way to avoid fighting her later is to fight her now."
He sat back in his chair. "Then I'll call on your strength."
"What do you plan to do?"
"I don't know . . . Seal her, maybe."
Kyuubi frowned. "Arashi . . ."
"When will she get here?" was the dismissive question.
The vixen sighed. "Days. Perhaps a week. Myobu are powerful--they'll have to fight her themselves so they can be sure they'll have control over her no matter how angry she gets."
"Please report anything you hear."
She inclined her head slightly, took the form of a mosquito, and buzzed out the window. Arashi let out a long breath, got to his feet slowly, arranged the papers on his desk for the next day, and headed home.
As he stepped in the door, the first thing he noticed was the lack of . . . anything, really. He could not hear the girls cleaning and singing, nor could he hear or smell Aya's cooking. Both were things he came home to every evening. His body responded instantly to the tension in the air, but he did not let himself get carried away by it. The tension was different; expectant, but not afraid. Carefully, he made his way down the hall toward the kitchen, peeking into each room along the way. He stopped at the lounge, where Aya and the girls and even the ANBU sentries were gathered around one of the couches, murmuring quietly.
The ANBU took note of his entrance immediately and saluted, which made the women all turn to him. The girls then parted silently, allowing him to see what had caused them to abandon their duties. On the couch sat a dirty civilian boy--his plain clothes gave him away--with straight, limp hair that was virtually white, which hung in front of his bowed head. Whatever was wrong, it seemed to be a grave matter.
"What's going on?" he demanded, wrestling down his irritation. Haven't I gotten enough bad news for one day?
At his voice, the boy's head jerked up toward him and the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen met his. He was already making the connection as the boy's mouth formed one word over and over.
". . . Dad . . ."
Then the boy was on his feet and running across the room toward him. Arashi's knees buckled and threw him to the floor, where he held his arms open to let the boy dive into them. The boy's face nuzzled against his chest as he curled around the smaller form. ". . . You're home," he choked out, overwhelmed by exultant, exhausted relief. His son cuddled closer and he tightened his grip fiercely as he pressed a flurry of kisses to the small head to give voice to prior frustrations and fears. "You're home . . ."
The front door opened and closed--the hall brought familiar but indecipherable voices to those gathered in the lounge--then was followed after a long moment by a confused, "Aya? Is everything all right?"
"Everything's fine now, dearie," Aya responded.
"Fine now?" came the confused echo. Bare feet padded demurely into the room and came to a sudden stop. "Arashi," Hotaru prompted, "what is this?"
He turned to look at her over his shoulder and his firstborn's head lifted as well.
She gasped, fighting down a scream. "My baby . . . My baby!" She sank to the floor and edged her arms around the boy so Arashi would not have to let him go.
Pinned between his parents, his head tucked beneath his father's chin, Naruto had never felt so safe or so loved.
"Oh, Naruto," Hotaru sighed, "where have you been?!"
"Hiding," he answered quietly, not wanting to say where in case he had to go back.
"Hiding wh---Good gods, haven't you been eating?! You're skinny as a rail!"
"I ran out of money," he said softly. "Between maintaining my disguise and eating, it only lasted a few weeks. I would've taken on jobs, but I didn't want to be seen."
"You needn't worry about that, child," Aya assured him with a warm cluck. "You just give the word and I'll cook you whatever you'd like."
Naruto smiled weakly. The first time he could have whatever he wanted and he chose: "I really don't care as long as I don't have to cook it."
Without thinking, Arashi rattled off a list of foods that would help his son recover in the swiftest amount of time. Aya swept purposefully from the large room, her assistants on her heels. Everyone else dispersed slowly.
"I'm tired," Naruto announced with a yawn.
"Go to sleep. We'll take care of you," Arashi promised, kissing his forehead soothingly.
So Naruto closed his eyes and drifted off completely, secure and reassured. He did not know how long he slept, but when he was awakened he felt groggy. It could not have been more than two hours. "Buh . . .?"
"Eat," he was instructed, and he realized that he had already been placed in his seat at the dining table.
Supper passed without the expected questions, which Naruto was immensely grateful for. Usual meal chatter went on as he remembered, but he barely heard any of it because he was too busy keeping a distinctly cheerful and delighted Nyoko from wriggling out of his lap to pay attention. He was allowed to eat dessert until he got sick from it before being sent in the general direction of bed. He figured he would have to read for a few hours--the sugar from the desserts had him completely wired--but that he was home was all that mattered. As he moved toward his room, he overheard his parents talking and paused to observe before leaving the room.
"Do I have that expectant glow pregnant women are supposed to have?"
Naruto watched his father smile gently at his mother and hug her warmly. He thought the Fourth was going to come up with a sensitive answer, but instead gawked in disbelief when the other blond said brightly, "Well, you have a shape like a light bulb. Does that count?"
His mother punched his father angrily in the gut--Naruto could not see it, but the way the Fourth's body had jumped said all--and decided that his father deserved it, silently discounting the knowledge that if that very question had been asked of him, then he undoubtedly would have said the same thing.
It's a gift, to be capable of being that insensitive at a moment's notice.
Even so, Hotaru looked relieved that he had said it, as though something had changed for the better at that moment and everything was going to be all right.
Arashi yawned and rubbed his eyes for the sixth time in fifteen minutes. He had already lost a lot of sleep worrying over Naruto, but his son had returned and instead of half-sleeping the whole night as he had been before, he had spent a mere half-hour at a time deeply asleep before jolting awake and feeling that he had to go check on Naruto to be sure it was not a dream and that he really was still there and safe.
With a soft sigh, he looked at the floor to his left. Naruto lay curled on the big pillow from the closet, tucked beneath Arashi's overcoat. The smaller blond had, upon being awakened for breakfast, washed his hair clean of the dye and gel he had disguised himself with and changed his clothes. Aside from his exhaustion and thinned face, he looked as though he had not taken a step away from Konoha's walls. Smiling warmly, Arashi reached down and ran his fingers through the spiky blond locks that were so like his own, then yawned again.
". . . I can't work like this." He glanced at the nearest clock. "Lunch time. And I've done seven things since I got here at eight-thirty. Urgh. I give up." He slid out of the chair and onto the pillow next to Naruto, who murmured and shifted in his sleep to give Arashi more room. Soon both blonds were out, Arashi's hands wrapped firmly around the one of Naruto's that was poking out from under the overcoat.
They napped in peace for over two and a half hours before the door burst open and a very alarmed chuunin called, "Hokage-sama!" Then, seeing the empty chair, he hesitated in confusion at the unusual situation. ". . . Hokage-sama?"
"Just a minute," Arashi responded, and urged a violently startled Naruto back to sleep. He then climbed up into his chair once again. "Yes?"
". . . Are you . . . all right, Hokage-sama?"
"I'm fine. I was just resting. Now what is it?"
The chuunin gathered himself once more and saluted as he said urgently, "Hokage-sama, there's been a murder in the village!"
Arashi twitched and mentally let out a stream of invectives that, had they been said aloud, would have made Hotaru apoplectic. "What?"
"The Council has said they will investigate since you're busy with something of greater importance, but they may have need of a few of our elite."
Greater importance? Oh yeah . . . That myobu. I almost forgot about that, with Naruto's return. Damn. I'm going to have to do some training to make sure I can perform that sealing quickly and correctly. "That's fine. Please tell the Council that I wish to be informed of what they find. This might have to do with the clerics."
"Hokage-sama!" The chuunin left the office, pulling the door shut behind himself.
"Murder," Arashi muttered, shuffling through his papers. "That's exactly what I need to be dealing with now." He looked longingly at Naruto, who had yet to spread across the space that Arashi's absence had left, and considered writing the day off as a loss and continuing his so rudely interrupted sleep. Laziness finally caught him--Do I really want double the work tomorrow when I've already fallen so far behind during his absence?--and he set to work diligently, stopping at every minute sigh to check on his son.
Just in case.
Naruto, for his part, did not even remember waking at the chuunin's abrupt entrance. His time in the mangroves of Wave had reminded him coldly of the majority of the nights of his life, where he had existed strictly on the minimal requirement of sleep to protect himself from those who wished harm on him. It was terrible to have to live that way in his own village, but it had not been long before he had gotten used to it. Where he had ended up, for all the sleep he got and was otherwise allowed to have without fear of inside aggression, his previous habits were still alive. He had reacted to the chuunin's presence, but not registered it.
". . . Naruto . . . wake up, sweetheart."
Nor had he really ever gotten used to being called 'sweetheart'.
"Naruto, honey . . ."
He inhaled sharply to wake himself and blinked sleepily. "Mm . . . Mom . . .?"
Hotaru looked at him in concern. "Your father's right--you're definitely catching up on your sleep . . . Didn't you rest at all while you were gone?"
"'S hard t' sleep when 's not safe," he slurred.
She stroked his hair back. "Well, I guess it's a good sign if you're sleeping so well here, then. Unfortunately, something else that's very important to your recovery is eating, and supper is ready. So up."
He groaned and flipped onto his side, yanking the folded bedcovers--I'm in bed?--over himself to hide from his mother and the overhead light. From almost the instant he was hidden in the darkness, he drifted into a semi-conscious state.
"Naruto, I'm serious."
Naturally, he did not respond.
"Naruto." There was a sigh and then the weight next to him on the bed shifted and when his mother next spoke, it was with a raised voice. "Arash---Oh. Arashi, make him get up so he can eat something."
The weight on the bed left, only to be replaced by a greater weight. The covers were very gently folded down once more and he was picked up and rolled onto his back. His half-open eyes focused fuzzily on the face before him, but no farther. His face was touched and examined, but he did not so much as flinch.
"See?" Hotaru asked. "He needs to eat, but he won't get up."
"Hotaru," was the quiet response, "he's not even awake anymore."
"What?"
"He's already gone back to sleep. Or mostly so."
"But he needs to eat."
"There's no point in making him get up--he won't be hungry. That's how exhaustion is. We can't make him eat just because it'll help him. If his body wants to sleep, bothering his mind about eating won't do any good."
There was a long silence.
"Arashi, this isn't working."
"I know." He suddenly sounded so tired . . .
"Leaving him by himself just isn't cutting it."
"I know."
"How much longer do you think he can keep doing this? It's killing him."
"I know, Hotaru. I know. Any ideas you have would be helpful."
"Well first of all, being a ninja---"
"Being a shinobi has nothing to do with it," Arashi snapped, irritated. "The clerics don't want him because he's a Leaf-nin or even because he's my son! They want him because he has some kind of connection to kitsune that even we, somehow, aren't privy to. Why else would they call him Tenko-sama and not want Kyuubi specifically? They're looking for something much, much bigger than one nine-tails, Hotaru. Kyuubi's told me that the clerics already have a myobu. They learned her name and they're using it against her. They'll probably send her here, for him, and we . . ."
". . . Arashi?"
"He knew."
"What?"
"He knew," Arashi repeated, sounding a little excited. "He knew about the myobu. He knew about it and came back the same day that Kyuubi told me."
"Kyuubi could have met with him or sent the triplets . . ."
"The triplets always help watch Nyoko and Kyuubi hadn't seen Naruto since he escaped from the clerics. If any of them had spoken to him, keeping it from me would have no point. He knew--found out himself--and came back."
"He said he ran out of money," Hotaru reminded him.
"But that wasn't enough to send him back. If he ran out of money, he would have snuck back or sent a letter to ask for more right away. Instead, he virtually starved himself for weeks. That's not efficient, certainly not with the clerics hovering about, but that wouldn't matter if he was sure he wouldn't be found. He starved that whole time and has yet to ask for any money or any other kind of supplies; he didn't come back for them at all. And he didn't come back to see us, either. Sure, he missed us while he was gone, but it's not like he hasn't been separated from us under other scary circumstances."
"Arashi, I think you're fishing here . . ."
"I know it sounds that way, but I'm seeing it from a first-person viewpoint, Hotaru. I may sound as though I'm completely out of my mind, but I'm thinking very clearly. If it is nothing more than a coincidence, it's the biggest coincidence I've ever come across. He never came home after escaping the clerics because he knew they would be looking for him and that here would be the first place they would look. It wouldn't make sense to go to all the trouble he did--travelling to Suna, sending a note back to ask for more money, dying and gelling his hair and changing his clothes--just to come back so soon after leaving and jeopardize his hiding spot. He had every intention of going wherever he ended up and staying there until something gave in regards to his status in both this village and among the clerics.
". . . He knew about the myobu and that it has to do with the clerics, but he came back anyway, for whatever the reason." Arashi's voice hardened and sharpened. "They need him a lot more than they're letting on, Hotaru, but I won't let them have him."
To Be Continued . . .
Answers To Questions You Didn't Even Know You Wanted To Ask:
Kitsune rarely give out their true names because knowing the name of a kitsune gives you power over it. Not necessarily complete obedience, but since knowing a kitsune's name allows you to banish that kitsune, it's in the fox's best interest to do whatever you want. As a result of this, kitsune generally give a name appropriate to the situation they're in at the moment or as a joke, as Kyuubi-vixen explained.
---
I know I've already said it in chapter ten, but I won't make you go looking for it. A 'myobu' is a nine-tailed Celestial kitsune. They are like tenko, except that myobu are strictly servants of Inari, which means they're generally kind and helpful kitsune. So all myobu are tenko, but not all tenko are myobu.
---
Kitsune try to avoid fighting one another, and they definitely don't attempt to kill one another without very good reason. So Kyuubi-vixen agreeing to fight is a big deal.
---
Yes, there was actually a man in real life who made that connection between his wife and a light bulb. No, I don't know what he was (not) thinking.
---
It's weird when you can hear and feel everything going on around you but can't move or open your eyes. I've only ever had it happen once that I can remember, and it was freaky.
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To explain my hideous disappearance: All the month of May, I had to take my grandmother to dialysis three times a week, like I said a chapter or two ago. That wore me out way more than I expected and I didn't feel like posting during that time. As soon as--and I mean the minute--I was let go from the dialysis thing, I caught the flu my mother had brought home. I was only dead in bed a day or two, but I felt like toilet sludge (isn't that a nice image?) for the next two weeks. Obviously, no posting there, either. Then, my mother had to finish her online class--which she was behind on--so I did not have dibs on the computer ever for that week (we only have one comp on the 'Net and Daddy pays the DSL bills, so if he says no, that means no). I tried cleaning things up to post the last week of June, but my older sister was coming down from NYC for a visit and to see the Transformers movie (the romance sucked, as it always does in action movies, but if you want to see giant robots kick each other's asses, see this movie--even my mom liked it), and I got excited about that. After my sister left, I got sick again (not my mother's fault this time; I somehow managed to do this to myself), but it's not a flu so I'm typing this up while I'm still kind of scratchy-throated.
A big distraction throughout the whole mess has been that I'm stuck dead on chapter forty-seven, which I am very tempted to strangle to death and just say to hell with it (but I can't because it's the Final Boss Battle and it must be included).
So, big thank you to everyone who chased after me to make sure I was okay. Your words were kind and supportive and I didn't feel the least bit hounded. I felt so bad for not updating that I almost cried. I'm serious--I'm sensitive like that. The only worthwhile apology that I can really offer for this obnoxiously long disappearance is more to read, so once you finish with Door Number Two, skip to my profile (or whatever is easiest for you) and check out the Timespan triad. Timespan has absolutely nothing to do with DNT (read "The Reasoning Behind It" there for a full explanation), but it was (more) finished--as opposed to ninety-five percent of my other stuff--so I trimmed it up for you and voila. Enjoy!
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Reviews are very much appreciated, thank you.
--RN (LS)