Chapter 37: A Small Freedom
Naruto looked at his right hand, flexing his fingers. It hurt like hell, but there was no numbness or tingling. And the digits all moved like he told them. The teen wasn't sure if it was the adjustments he made to the technique, his personal growth, the extra clone, or some combination of the three. But this time the Rasenshuriken had only damaged his skin, not his nervous system.
"Thanks for the good work you guys," he told the clones. He pressed his palms gingerly together, and canceled the Blood Clone Jutsu.
"Release."
To Naruto's bewilderment, only one of the two remaining clones vanished. The other one lingered, not looking at him. He pushed his hands together more firmly, grimacing from the pain in his right hand and forearm. He tried to connect more deeply with the clone's supply of chakra, and ended the technique again.
"Release!"
"That isn't going to work, kit."
Naruto was surprised by the growl in the duplicate's voice. The clone met his gaze, and its eyes were still red.
"What the heck?" he stammered, "Get out of there you damn fox."
"I don't think so," the Kyubi chuckled darkly, "For the first time in almost sixteen years, I have a body. Not exactly one I would have chosen, but a body nevertheless. Although, I suppose there is one way to improve on it."
The stolen hands came together, and the demon incanted, "Sexy Jutsu."
Unlike Naruto's normal use of the technique, the Kyubi's version of Naruko was almost modestly dressed. She wore armor of orange silk and steel scales, though the configuration resembled Sakura's beach attire more than any functional battle costume. In the process of transforming, all of the injuries to the Blood Clone's body also vanished. The human bound spirit stretched languidly, pronouncing, "Much better," in her echoing voice.
Naruto's eyes goggled; he had never seen his own Sexy Jutsu from the outside before.
"Bu… Wha… How?" he stuttered in amazement.
The demon girl chuckled suggestively.
"That technique was mine to began with," she purred, "I have long enjoyed the power to become a beautiful, human female. You somehow absorbed the jutsu from me, even though you didn't know I was there…"
Naruto shook his head, trying to steady himself. He could not afford to be distracted now. He exhaled, and glared at the fox again.
"How did you take control of that clone?" Naruto tried to move subtly, to block off his tenant's escape.
"I had control the instant you created it," she admitted, mockingly, "It was easy, what with you borrowing so much of my power."
"But … wait…" Naruto was confused again, "That means you fought Kabuto with me."
"I could hardly let you fight him alone," she shrugged, her voice condescending, "If you die, I die. Besides, I was hoping to kill him myself."
"So, what are you going to do now?" he asked, pointedly, "That body won't last forever. The longest I've been able to maintain a Blood Clone was ninety-two minutes."
"I know that," she snapped, "I was there."
Then she added softer, with an odd tremor, "I'm always there."
She quickly brightened again, evilly suggesting, "But I can still have plenty of fun in just over an hour. I haven't felt blood cool on my fangs for far, far too long. And there are so many targets here, targets with both combat strength and emotional ties that make them very interesting. Shikamaru, Shizune, Iruka, Kakashi; they are all here. Or especially Sakura or Hinata."
"Leave them alone," Naruto growled, "If you want someone to fight, fight me."
"You know I can't do that, kit," she shook her head, "You and I are linked. I'll just have to hurt you emotionally."
"You'll have to get through me, first!"
"In your current state, that's hardly a challenge," the demon sounded almost disappointed, "Stone Claws Jutsu."
Without warning, and without hand signs, she invoked the earth chakra jutsu. Seven stony hands erupted from the ground, gently grabbing Naruto's arms and legs.
"Later, kit," she waved as she turned and ran in the direction of their camp.
Tenten caught her opponent's spear between her hatchet and mace. Though the Sound shinobi was not one of the assigned targets, he was still proving a tough foe. Behind her, Ino and Gai were handling the other three members of her opponent's squad. She wrenched the pike's blade to the side, but the Sound ninja used her momentum against her, and struck the side of her neck with the butt end of his spear. Tenten went down, waving her axe vaguely at the shinobi as she struggled to stay conscious.
A streak of yellow, orange, and silver slowed as it struck the Sound ninja, just before he could impale the Leaf Kunoichi. Though her vision was still blurred, Tenten could hear a sickly grinding noise, and was able to recognize as her opponent's head separated from his body. As the corpse collapse, she rubbed her eyes gently to clear them. Her sight restored, Tenten saw Naruto, or rather his female form, Naruko, standing over her, contemplating her. The Chunin was unnerved by the cold, frank quality of her savior's eyes.
"Tenten!" Ino rushed over to help her, as Gai dispatched the lost of their foes. She glanced back at the other Kunoichi despite her discomfort. And when she faced front again, Naruko was gone.
"Are you all right?" Gai asked extravagantly, helping her stand.
"Was that Naruto?" Ino asked.
"Yeah," Tenten shivered, thinking of those eyes.
"Why did he run off like that?" Yamanaka huffed, "We could have used his help."
"I don't know," Tenten admitted, "He was acting strange."
The other two Leaf Ninja frowned, and she qualified the statement, "Stranger than usual."
Unable to break free of the Stone Claws Jutsu, Naruto quickly grew desperate. He had to catch up with the fox before she could hurt someone he cared about. He generated an unstable Rasengan, and dropped it. The sphere exploded on its way to the ground, delivering a few more minor injuries to the boy, but also damaging the rock sufficiently for him to break free.
Naruto sniffed intently, searching for Naruko's scent, like his own natural odor, but softer and cleaner. It was difficult to find amongst all the smells of the battle, but he found it. He headed south, following her trail. He doggedly ignored the battles round him. Until someone called for him.
"Naruto," he slowed when Tenten shouted his name.
"I didn't get a chance to thank you for saving me earlier," she said, trotting along side him. Then she frowned, "But weren't you heading back to the camp?"
"I was? Great, thanks Tenten."
Glad to have another confirmation, but worried about the demon's intent, Naruto picked up speed again, leaving the Kunoichi behind.
"You're welcome?" Gai's student mumbled in confusion.
As Naruto neared the camp, the fox's trail lead not towards the base, but instead to his left, to the southeast into the forest. At first he was surprised, but then an idea made him worry. Had the demon found someone on patrol, or used some sort of trick to pull one of his friends away from the group? He increased his speed, hopping between the old growth branches.
The scent trail lead higher, confusing him further. Still, he did not hesitate to follow, and before long he had broken through the canopy of the trees. The sun was more than half fallen, and the sky was painted in red and purple. He tensed when he saw the stolen clone, perched on one of the thickest of the branches. The spirit did not seem to have noticed him; she was gazing intently at the horizon.
"Relax," the Kyubi finally spoke as he drew closer, "In fact, why don't you join me?"
"What are you playing?" he countered carefully, his hand drifting slowly towards Kitsune's grip.
"Watching the sunset," she answered, as if instructing an oblivious child, "I was just thinking, even before that bastard Namikaze locked me in you, it had been a while since I had seen a twilight this beautiful."
Her relaxation set him further on edge, and he demanded, "What did you do?"
She smirked at him and answered, "Nothing."
He did not look convinced, and she chuckled under her breath, adding, "I swear, I haven't done anything else since I reached the forest."
"But why?" now the slightly dense teen was totally lost, "I thought you wanted to kill someone."
"Oh, I do," she agreed, "Lots of someones. I came up here to spy on the camp, find a target. But I realized my time was more limited than I initially thought. Maintaining the Sexy Jutsu is burning my chakra faster. And my supply was limited to start. This facsimile doesn't appear to recover energy naturally, like a real body. And separated from the seal, I can't draw in my own chakra. When the power runs out, this body goes with it."
"Which meant I had a choice," the demon sighed, "I could go into the camp, maybe kill one of your friends. But that would shorten my time, if they didn't destroy me outright. Or I could stay here, watch the sun, feel the wind in my fur, smell the smoke of the burning buildings, and squeeze out every instant of life I have at this point."
"But you're a demon, the disaster made flesh," he didn't understand.
"I'm going to teach you something, Naruto," she said intently, "There is no such thing as absolute evil."
"I am evil, and proud of it," she told him, "I don't try to convince myself I'm in the right or have an excuse, that's just weakness. I hunt down powerful shinobi and other demons, and kill them for fun. When I'm not indulging in murder, I like to use this Sexy Jutsu to seduce men to leave their wives, and to cheat at cards and dice. I enjoy watching humans' despair."
"But I also like to watch the sunset, the deepening colors and slow appearance of the stars. I don't kill children or the infirm, because it is boring and beneath me. And once or twice I've let married men off the hook if they satisfied me in bed."
Naruto blushed, but then shook his head 'no'.
"You destroyed the entire Hidden Lakes Village," he countered, "And you would have done the same to the Leaf Village."
"But that was not of my own free will," she looked down, "There are techniques that can compel me. I am still not happy about what I was forced to do to the Kosuigakure. And there are times when I'm almost thankful the Fourth Hokage stopped me from doing the same thing to your village. Almost."
She suddenly turned back to him, her expression fierce, "If there is ultimate evil, some of you humans come a lot closer than any demon or spirit."
"Maybe you're getting soft," he offered, slightly sarcastic, "You did save Tenten."
"I killed an opponent," the fox did not let him bait her, "I considered killing the panda girl, but decided it wasn't worth it. Sure you get along with her, and have gone on missions together. And she is sleeping with your buddy Neji."
"What? Tenten and Neji are…" he turned bright red again.
"Grow up," she chided, "Anyway, she isn't that special to you. Plus the princess and the doofus were there too, so they might have stopped me, or spread the word when they couldn't. And then I would have had no chance to get near your real friends down there."
"So what now?" he asked, finally sitting beside her.
"We watch the sunset," she said. Then she brought her face close to his.
"Unless you can think of a better way to spend the time," she purred lecherously. Naruto ducked back, almost falling as his chakra control was disrupted. He caught a branch below, and glared up at her.
"You are too easy, kit," she laughed at him, "You better get back up here and watch me, so I don't do something wasteful."
He scrambled back up to the perch, the nine-tailed spirit still laughing it him. They sat in silence, until the sun finally passed behind to mountains.
"Ouch," Naruto cried out, as the clone jammed a single Cyclone Spike into the back of his hand.
"I will break that seal, some day," she told him fiercely, "So you better make sure you are strong enough to provide a challenge when I do."
Before he could argue, the clone dissolved, wetting the leaves with his blood. Naruto suddenly felt a weight in his stomach, where he had not realized something was missing.
"Naruto!" Hinata's head jerked up, and Shizune felt nauseous from the sudden, unexpected shift in her borrowed vision. Sakura cast about, but without the Byakugan, she could not see their teammate.
"You two can go," Shizune told them, "We've dealt with the worst of Gaara's wounds already, I can finish the rest on my own. Thank you both."
Hinata bowed slightly, and then both girls ran out from behind the curtain. Hinata moved determinedly towards the edge of camp, and Sakura followed close behind. As they swerved past another treatment booth, the pink-haired medic finally saw her friend.
Naruto's jacket was shredded, and a number of his wounds continued to bleed. And he looked more tired than either woman has ever seen him.
"Are you alright, Naruto?" Hinata ran to his left side, and draped his arm around her neck to help him stand.
"Yeah, I'm OK," he said weakly. Sakura moved to his other side to provide her own support.
"You look like hell," she said appraising his injuries.
"I've had worse," he told them, unconvincingly. Then he looked around, and asked, "How is Gaara?"
"He'll live," Sakura answered, "What about Kabuto?"
They sat him down on an empty bed, and as they started to treat his wounds, he told them what had happened.
Kabuto staggered through the forest, his goal a secret path known only to a handful of Orochimaru's most loyal and powerful soldiers. But he was not sure why he continued. The pain and blood loss were such that he could barely stand, despite plasma pills and a pain dulling jutsu. More than that, his beloved specimens, his data, his ultimate upgrade, they were all gone.
"You tried to take my place, or even surpass me," a soft yet harsh voice emerged from the woods, "But you failed."
"Lord… Lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto looked around in confusion, but he could see nothing. He leaned on a tree, wondering if he was dying, and being called to the underworld.
"I am not done with you yet," the hissing voice told him. Kabuto stared intently ahead, and he saw it. Two crimson eyes, glowing at the edge of his vision. Crimson, but with vertically slit pupils, like a snake.
"Come, Kabuto," the voice encouraged, "we have pressing matters to attend to. We will deal with these traitors in due time."
Kabuto Yakushi pushed himself back upright, and stumbled forward, following the voice away from the Sound.