The Melody of the Fox
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.
Chapter 37
Sunlight streamed through the window, gently signaling the start of another beautiful day. Or it would've been had the sun decided to not be an asshole and hit Naruto square in the face with a beam of light. Groaning slightly, Naruto tried to duck his head under his arm to hide from the sun––only to get a face full of something soft and sweet smelling. He sputtered noisily and opened his eyes to see what the hell the stringy stuff in his mouth was.
His eyes landed on Tayuya–who was curled up against him–and he felt himself smile. Memories of the night before flooded his mind, and for a few seconds, he wasn't sure if he'd dreamed the whole thing or not. But then he saw the small hickey he'd left on her collarbone the night before and felt reasonably sure that he had, indeed, made out with Tayuya.
He reached a hand over to brush her hair out of her face, marveling at how gorgeous she was. He'd always sort of noticed, but now that they were somewhat together, it was like he was seeing her for the first time. Her skin was nearly flawless except for a couple of pimples and scratches, her hair was rich and full, and her light pink lips were curved into the slightest smile. The thing that endeared him to her the most was that, even though she'd changed in dozens of ways since that night he'd woken up to her sleeping on his arm in the hospital all those years ago, she was still a drooler.
He sighed and leaned over her, unable to resist placing a kiss on the corner of her mouth that wasn't leaking spit. She didn't stir, so he placed another one lower on her jaw and then another near her neck where he'd left his hickey. Her eyelids fluttered open after the last kiss and she yawned, rolling over to face him. She stared at him confusedly for a few seconds before smiling, eyes lighting up as she too seemed to remember what had happened.
"Morning," she mumbled, wiping the spit away from her cheek. She was a little embarrassed, but he didn't seem to mind neither that nor her slight morning breath as he shifted forward and pecked her directly on the lips.
"Morning."
She yawned again and stretched her limbs out, wincing at the loud popping emanating from her joints. "So...I guess last night wasn't a dream?"
Naruto laughed a little, amused that she'd thought the same exact thing he had. "If it was, it was the best one I've ever had." She smiled that bright smile of hers again, and he had to lean in for another quick kiss––only this time, she wrapped her arms around his neck so that he couldn't move away.
No matter how much she kissed him, she still couldn't believe that any of this was happening. Three years ago she thought she'd die alone under a pile of trees, and now she was ferociously making out with a genin from the 'weak' Village of Konoha. Even though she was enjoying her current position old habits died hard, so she broke the kiss long enough to turn him over so that she was on top and in control.
She took a moment just to stare at him. This was hers. He was hers. She could do whatever she wanted now without feeling creepy or gross. She could play with his hair as much as she wanted, stare into his eyes, watch him sleep...okay, that last one was still pretty creepy, but less so if they were together.
"What?" he asked, a small grin on his face.
She ran her hands over the wiry muscles of his arms and up to his face, pinching his cheeks between her fingers. "You're cute."
"You're cuter," Naruto replied, reaching his hands up to do the same to her.
Tayuya groaned and rolled her eyes. "I can't believe we just did that."
"Me either," he laughed. "How did this happen?"
"I wish I knew. You have no idea how much I'm freaking the fuck out right now."
Despite saying that, she grabbed his arms and pushed them over his head, wishing that she'd made him lose his shirt the night before. She knew that realistically he was probably stronger than her, but she just liked the idea of owning and being in control of him as terrible it sounded. She nervously bit her lip, not really sure what to do next. Her experience was pretty much nil, and except for one of Anko's racy books that she'd read out of boredom a year ago, she didn't have anything to even work off of.
"Don't bite your lip," Naruto mumbled, looking away from her.
Tayuya furrowed her eyebrows. "Why not?" She then noticed his grimace and smirked. "Does it turn you on when I do that?"
"No," he lied unconvincingly.
She slowly bit her bottom lip again and he closed his eyes, a pained expression flashing across his face. "Holy shit, you're kidding me. That really does it for you?"
"Because you're doing it, yeah."
Tayuya felt her mouth drop open slightly. If she didn't know him as well as she did, she'd swear he was just saying these things to get into her panties. And if he was just trying to get into her panties, well, it was definitely working.
"What's wrong?" he asked, looking up at her in that adorably confused way of his.
Still gripping his face, she pulled his face to hers and kissed him, a little surprised at how bold she was being. She was running solely on her instincts, because if she stopped long enough to think about it, she might throw up all over him.
She and Naruto were sort of, kind of, together.
That short, annoying, loud mouthed, weak idiot from the supposed weakest and stupidest village in the shinobi world was lying beneath her. She was kissing him. Naruto. Her whole world felt backwards, and it'd take some time for her to think of this as normal. Not that it was unpleasant. It was fucking great, actually. It just felt...weird.
Naruto sat up and grabbed her around the waist, lifting her up along with him. His hands slipped under the hem of her shirt and rubbed the soft skin of her lower back, and it was all he could do to keep them from going any higher.
She moved her hands from his face and wrapped her arms around his neck, once again pulling him closer. Their teeth accidentally knocked against each other's, and they simultaneously held their fingers against them to stem the pain.
"Ouch," Naruto said, laughing as he rubbed his mouth.
"Sorry." She kissed his top lip as penance, leaning back and smiling sheepishly at him.
"It's okay." He leaned forward––gently, since banging against her teeth had hurt quite a bit––and captured her lips in another kiss. They continued to languidly make out, their breath coming in short, rough pants. Maybe it was because they were shinobi and knew their time was short, or maybe it was just because this was a long time coming, but they couldn't get enough of each other. Tayuya pressed her chest against his until she was flush against him. She could feel him poking her thigh through her thin shorts, but she barely noticed. At least not until she felt his hands on her stomach, lightly pushing her back.
"Wait," he said, breaking their kiss.
Her eyes took a few seconds to adjust, but she was eventually able to look at him. "What?"
"We need to talk about this."
Tayuya's mouth formed a thin line, and she leaned back a little further to glare straight at him. "Okay. Talk."
He could hear some hostility slipping into her tone and realized that she was automatically assuming the worst. It kind of stung that she thought so little of him and was expecting him to hurt her, but he brushed it off. This was new for the both of them, so of course she'd be wary. "Are we gonna tell anyone about this? About us being like...you know."
She visibly relaxed at his question, and he had to wonder what she thought he was going to say before. "Oh." Tayuya cocked her head, screwing up her face in thought. "Maybe we shouldn't. People will just bug us about it."
"I was thinking the same thing. We should wait until this trip is over."
"Yeah, that might be best. The less drama the better––at least until we get back to the village. Then, I want everyone to know that they'd better keep their skanky paws off of you." She started to lean forward to kiss him when he stopped her by speaking again.
"Tayuya––"
"Yeah?" she answered a little too quickly, slightly miffed that her lips weren't pressed against his. "I mean, go ahead."
"I, uh. I'm...really happy right now."
Tayuya felt her entire body blush. It was like he knew exactly what to say to make her insides turn to mush. He'd found her heart underneath all of the bullshit and was doing everything he could to make sure that he kept it forever. The worst–or best–part was that it was working if the full, toothy grin on her face was to be believed. "Me too."
Spinning lithely on her toes, the girl used her chakra to keep herself standing on the water. Long, fluid strands of liquid of surrounded her, and she expertly manipulated them into nine whip-like tentacles. Despite how beautiful they looked as they lashed and swirled around her, the tendrils weren't just for show. Anyone who got within ten feet of her would receive at best a large gash and at worst would lose a limb.
She'd done this nearly every night for the past three years, honing her chakra control and building dozens of new techniques in an effort to get stronger. She was tired of being weak. She was tired of always being overlooked. She was tired of being herself. With a final exhalation of breath as she released the technique, Hyuuga Hinata deactivated her Byakugan.
She stared at her reflection in the now still water, smiling at how much she'd changed in nearly three years. She'd let her dark blue violet hair grow to the middle of her back, her breasts had jumped nearly two cups in size, and she had more confidence than ever; especially with guys staring and consistently asking her out on her dates. She'd accepted nearly all of them, reasoning that they would make good practice for when Naruto returned (and plus it was fun to get free food), but she never went on a second date. She'd learned the hard way that guys' expectations increased with each subsequent date, and he'd learned the hard way that you never tried to force yourself upon a Hyuuga.
Exhaling again, she allowed herself to fall backwards into the water, using chakra to cushion her descent so that she simply floated onto her back. Her large, pale eyes stared up at the moon, and she found that she was unable to stop a wide smile from breaking out on her face. She couldn't believe it was almost time for him to come home. Everything would've fallen into place––If only if it weren't for her.
That hideous, conniving, redheaded bitch who was on the training trip with him. She wasn't so naive as to believe that she hadn't tried to dig her claws into her Naruto-kun, and knowing how lonely he was, he'd probably succumbed. One of her deepest regrets was not making her feelings known before he left.
Hinata clasped her hands over her chest, wincing at the dull aching coming from her heart. Even after all this time she couldn't stop thinking about him. The way he smiled, the way he laughed, and the way he always made her feel good about herself without even trying. It was no wonder the slut was all over him. But she didn't care for him like Hinata did. She didn't know him or what he'd been through, so she had confidence that she'd be able to win him back.
Of course, she wasn't delusional. She knew her father wouldn't stand for her dating someone who wasn't royalty––and the village pariah, no less. That's why she was consistently squirreling away money into her own separate bank account. Even if her father disowned her and kicked her out of the house, she'd be fine. Between her nest egg and the B-ranked missions she went on, she'd be able to afford a decent living until she and Naruto were married. If they moved in together, even better.
A shy, elated smile appeared on her face at the thought of starting her life with him. She wanted a minimum of two kids, but with how often she estimated they'd have sex and the failure rate of current contraceptives, that number could easily pass five.
Hinata shook her head and removed her hand from her breast, shaking the dirty thoughts from her mind. Lately, her imagination had been growing out of control. Besides, she was getting too far ahead of herself. He wasn't even back in town yet!
After swimming to shore and pulling on her clothes, she took one last glance at herself in the still water and smiled.
When Naruto got back, he wouldn't know what hit him.
A slight shudder went up Naruto's spine, forcing him to gasp and break his kiss. It was a weird feeling––almost as if someone was plotting something evil about him. Which wouldn't be that farfetched considering how many enemies he had.
"What's up?" Tayuya asked, furrowing her eyebrows as she looked up at him. Or at least she tried to. It was dark in the second floor hall closet where they were currently making out.
Naruto shook his head, not wanting to worry her over a stupid feeling that probably meant nothing. "Do you ever feel like all we do is make out nowadays? I mean, I love doing this, but I really miss just talking to you as your friend."
She smirked and rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a bitch. We're talking right now, aren't we?"
"A bitch, huh?" He flipped them around so that he was the one pushing her against the wall, eliciting an uncharacteristically girly squeal from her throat that was becoming more and more common. "I didn't know you were into women."
"Of course I am. I'm into you, right?" she teased, a challenging look in her eyes.
"Oh, now you've done it." He attached his lips to the one spot he knew would wipe the smirk right off of her face and was instantly rewarded when she leaned her full weight against him. She moaned loudly into his ear and he couldn't stop himself from smiling.
The first time he'd decided to try her grandmother's advice about their family's 'weak spot', Tayuya had screamed. Loudly. He'd barely had enough time to separate himself before the entire house had stormed into their room, weapons raised and ready to fight. Luckily they'd been able to explain it away as a nightmare from her time with Orochimaru, and since Anko occasionally had similar dreams, no one had really questioned it. From that night on, though, he always made sure to work his way up to that spot so she wouldn't be too surprised.
"Not bad, toots. Keep that up and I might let you make me a sandwich," she panted, hanging onto him for dear life.
Naruto laughed, blowing warm air on her neck. Even when she could barely stand she had something smartass to say. He loved that about her––how he never knew what she would say or do next. Occasionally that was bad for him, but most of the time, it was what he looked forward to day in and day out.
"Oi! Naruto! I'm leaving!" A loud voice called from somewhere in the house.
"Shit, is it ten already?" Tayuya mumbled, pulling down her shirt and straightening it as best she could in the dark.
"I'll go first." Naruto leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek before slipping out of the closet and jogging down the stairs to meet Kankurou.
After he left, Tayuya pressed her ear against the door. She was waiting to hear the sound of the front door slamming so she'd know when it was safe to leave without being seen by them since it'd be a little suspicious if they both suddenly appeared from the same direction looking breathless and disheveled.
While she waited, she for the millionth time pondered how strange her life was now. To go from years of feeling angry all the time to nothing but happiness...to be honest, it frightened her. Her anger was a huge part of who she was. It was what had kept her alive up until this point, and it was what gave her the strength to keep living when she felt like ending it all.
Between reconciling the bullshit with her grandmother and finding someone who seemed to think she was the best thing to ever walk the Earth, well, she just didn't have much to be angry about. Her hatred for children and furry animals felt more like a dull loathing now, and the minor annoyances like chirping birds or bright sunshine didn't even register to her anymore. She still wanted to run a sword up Orochimaru's ass, but that was more of an obligation than anything.
Pretending to be angry when she wasn't was a problem she never thought she'd have. It was a chore just to keep up the act for the sake of everyone else, and it was a wonder no one had caught on yet. The worst part was...she didn't mind it at all. She actually liked being happy, even if it changed her. Even the little things like handholding and staring into each others' eyes that she used to find disgusting were suddenly her favorite things to do even though they couldn't do them very often.
On the downside, she found that she had a rather intense jealous streak. If another girl so much as stared at Naruto she'd make a point to show that she owned him by either kissing him or grabbing his arm. She'd always been sort of possessive of his attention since she was his best friend, but now that they were unofficially dating, well, she wasn't sure what she'd do if any of them actually tried to touch him.
While she was lost in her thoughts she didn't feel the door begin to open, and it wasn't long before she was sent tumbling to the ground outside.
"...What are you doing?" Temari asked, staring down at Tayuya with honest surprise.
Embarrassed that she'd been caught, the redhead got up and brushed herself off, doing everything she could not to meet the blonde's curious gaze. "None of your business."
Unperturbed, Temari took in her appearance. Her eyes scanned her messy hair, her flushed cheeks, her bruised lips, her lightly heaving chest, and a second later, her eyes widened. "You and Naruto were just making out in here, weren't you?!"
Tayuya's first reaction was to run. She knew Temari was perceptive, but fuck, she'd hit the nail right on the head on the first try. They'd been so careful to keep their activities under wraps, so the fact that she'd even gotten close frightened her. Who else was starting to figure it out? Acting on instinct, she screwed her face up into disgust, hoping it was convincing enough to throw Temari off. "No! Gross!"
But it was too late. A huge, knowing smile had already broken out on the jounin's face. "It makes sense now! I just saw Naruto come running around this corner looking all pleased with himself, and now here you are with the same exact look on your face. Don't deny it!"
Tayuya desperately moved in front of Temari and forced her to look her in the eyes. "But you're wrong! We aren't like that!"
"Yeah?" Temari lunged forward before Tayuya could react and grabbed her by the shoulders. She moved her long, red hair out of the way, pulled down the neck of her shirt, and Tayuya instantly knew that it was over. "Holy––Naruto's been busy."
She was sweating, she was blushing, and she felt sick. The worst part was that she didn't know why she was even embarrassed. Maybe because she hadn't been prepared to suddenly tell anyone, or maybe it was because she knew that there were a minimum of five hickeys in her collarbone area alone. He really seemed to like marking his territory.
"How long?"
Now that the jig was up, she saw no point in lying. Besides, Temari usually had good advice and she could use a confidant. Shoulders sagging, she hung her head and sighed. "A month."
The jounin's mouth dropped open. "A month? You two have been making out and Kami knows what else for a whole month without me noticing?"
Nervously glancing around the hallway just in case someone else was home, she leaned forward and scowled. "Keep it down! Fuck, just tell everybody why don't you!"
"I ought to! I'm the one who got you two together in the first place! Going to the club was my idea, and who gave you the advice to just let it happen naturally? And you just decided to not tell the most important person in this equation that all of their hard work paid off?"
"Why does it matter to you?" Tayuya asked, a little shocked by her strong reaction.
Temari looked at her as if she were stupid. "I thought we were friends. Friends tell friends when they're getting some," she said, speaking slowly as if talking to a toddler.
Ignoring the blonde's extremely condescending tone, she raised her eyebrows. "Friends? You and me?" she asked, pointing between the two of them.
"Well, yeah. Aren't we?"
Tayuya blinked. Sure, Naruto was her friend, and Anko was sort of her friend slash sister, but she and Temari were bitter enemies. She'd almost killed Temari's boyfriend, and in return, Temari had almost killed her. Them being friends after all that seemed impossible, but here they were. The strangest part is that she didn't hate her anymore. In fact, they actually had a lot in common. Blinking at this realization, she hesitantly answered her question. "I...guess?"
At that moment, a huge grin broke out on Temari's face. "So tell me everything. Friends don't keep secrets from friends."
The redhead scowled. She couldn't help but feel like she'd been led into a trap. At the same time, she was relieved. Even after four weeks of continuous encounters, she was still confused and a little bit freaked out about being with Naruto. It felt natural, but it didn't. She always felt like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop, like someone was just biding their time so that they could pull the rug out from under her as soon as she fully gave herself to him.
She took a deep breath and decided to say what had been bothering her ever since their relationship started before she lost her nerve. "I don't think I belong with Naruto." The words scared her, but strangely, saying them out loud made her feel a little better.
Temari blinked, obviously not expecting her to say that. "What?"
"It's not that I don't like being with him, it's just..." she shrugged her shoulders lamely. She didn't know how to explain feeling.
"You feel like it's too good to be true?"
"How did you know?"
Temari sighed and sat down on the floor, motioning for Tayuya to do the same. "It was like that with me and Shika. I've always been independent and a little jaded, so after awhile, I just didn't think the whole love thing was for me. I didn't really like most guys I came across, so when he kissed me...I got confused. I'd already given up on love but now all of a sudden I had it. It's completely normal in your first relationship, trust me. I've asked around."
"But what if it doesn't work out?"
"Then it doesn't work out. So what? You know that you're capable of being happy with someone now. You've had the experience, so you can either decide to be alone or find another guy even better than him."
Tayuya slowly nodded her head, chewing thoughtfully on the inside her bottom lip. "I guess that makes sense." Even though she said that, she couldn't imagine finding a guy better than Naruto. He was the only guy she'd met in her nearly seventeen years of life that was just so...genuine. She didn't want to say he was perfect––far from it––but she'd be hard pressed to find another shinobi like him (because there was no way in hell she'd settle down with a civilian).
All of a sudden a wave of realization passed over her, drenching her in self doubt. What was she doing with a guy like Naruto, anyway? She herself thought that he was amazing, and she, well…wasn't.
She felt the backs of her eyeballs sting, so she tightly clenched her teeth in an effort to stem the tears that were threatening to fall. The thought had crossed her mind before, but it was always fleeting. He'd smile or kiss her and she'd immediately forget that he was out of her league. But Temari had made her realize just how strange it was for them to be together.
She didn't have parents. She wasn't from the Fire Nation, and was in fact from the country of one of their worst enemies. She'd attacked their village, killed their shinobi, helped kidnap the last Uchiha, and just generally been a pain in the ass for Konoha for the last seven or so years. In her efforts to comfort her, Temari had inadvertently made things worse.
They were both quiet for a few minutes, each unsure of what to say next after such a heavy conversation. Finally, Temari turned to Tayuya with raised eyebrows and a curious smirk.
"So, have you fucked him yet?"
Since the Academy was relatively close to where they lived, Naruto and Kankurou were able to make it on time by simply jogging even though they were supposedly running late. As soon as they rounded the corner, Naruto was hit with an intense wave of deja vu.
The first thing Naruto noticed about the Academy building was that it looked eerily familiar. It took a few seconds, but he eventually realized that except for the materials used to build it it––sand and rock––it was the spitting image of Konoha's academy. Still in a mild state of shock, he followed Kankurou into the school where even the hallways and classrooms looked the same.
As soon as they walked into the room for six year old students, the children all gasped excitedly and jumped to their feet, eyes shining and smiles wide.
"It's Kankurou-sama!"
"Kankurou-nii-chan!"
"Over here, Kankurou-nii!"
"You're popular," Naruto joked, staring amusedly at the starstruck expression on the children's faces.
Kankurou rolled his eyes. "You think so? Watch this." He cleared his throat dramatically to quiet the kids down before speaking. "Everyone, say hello to Uzumaki Naruto-sensei."
If it were possible, the children's eyes opened even wider.
"You're the one who beat Kazekage-sama?!" One boy asked from the back of the classroom.
Suddenly embarrassed, Naruto regressed into his nervous habit of scratching at the back of his head. "It was a few years ago, but yeah, that was me."
The classroom burst into hushed, excited whispers. Finally, one short blonde girl had the courage to ask him another question. "Are you gonna be teaching us today?"
He grinned widely in response. "Sure am!" A few seconds passed before he realized that they were all waiting for him to, well, teach, so he clapped his hands together and motioned towards the window. "Everyone go to the training field and we'll get started."
As they filed (read: sprinted) out of the room, Naruto leaned over to talk to Kankurou. "Your academy is kind of similar to ours," he said, looking around at the classroom again.
"I guess, but trust me, it wasn't like this before. Until Gaara took over it was much, much harder to become a shinobi, but since we need the manpower, things are a lot more laid back. Like Konoha's Academy."
"Hey!"
Kankurou laughed and nudged his shoulder before walking towards the classroom door. "What? I didn't say that was a bad thing. The kids are definitely happier with this structure, and they're producing roughly the same results, so no one can complain."
They reached the outside training area to see all of the kids lined up and ready for whatever he had to say. The kids looked up at him expectantly, barely able to contain their excitement. To be honest, it was sort of intimidating.
Not counting Konohamaru he'd never actually taught anyone before, and especially not a group this big. He was a little nervous about letting them down, but at the same time, he was excited. He'd have an indirect hand in what kind of shinobi these kids would become. Sure, it was only for a few hours, but it was invaluable practice.
"Okay, uh, here's what we're going to do," trying to remember what he'd done when he himself was a student. " Kankurou and I are going to split you up into two groups. We'll be teaching you how to throw kunai today, and if you guys do well, we'll even teach you how to throw shrunken. First, though, I want three laps around the field to get you warmed up." Before the words were out of his mouth good the kids took off, racing each other to be the first one back.
Kankurou whistled as he watched them go, a genuinely surprised look on his face. "Whoa, I've never seen them so happy to run," he commented. "They're already on the third lap."
Just as he'd said, the kids finished their laps and lined up again, some of them doubled over as they struggled to catch their breath. Feeling a little sorry for them, Naruto gave them a few minutes before he began the lesson. "Alright, you ten are with me. The rest of you go with Kankurou."
Both he and Kankurou gave a quick demonstration on how to throw a kunai and basically told them to go nuts––with dulled kana, of course. There really wasn't much he could teach him about this. He'd learned firsthand that the key to getting good at anything was simply to practice. Sure, there was a certain technique to it throwing weapons, but most people picked it up subconsciously after ten or so throws.
A small frown appeared on his face as he noticed an awkward, brown-haired girl in his group who was sucking. Badly. Apparently she was the exception. None of her throws even grazed the target let alone hit the bullseye, and most of them wobbled pathetically before digging into the ground. He felt an odd connection to the girl as he watched her fail time and time again, and it wasn't until the other kids began to make fun of her that he realized it.
She reminded him of him.
Being careful to avoid the wild tosses of the students as he approached her, he knelt down next to the girl and smiled. "Hey, need some help?"
The little brunette looked over at him and frowned. "What do you want, old man?"
Naruto choked on his spit. Old man? He was barely 16! Was he this bratty when he was a kid? Quickly recomposing himself, he pasted on a thin smile. "What's your name?"
She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, gripping the dull kunai in her palm as she tried to decide if she should trust him or not. It seemed as if she saw something she liked, though, since she gradually relaxed her grip on the kunai and fully turned to face him. "Kiko."
"Well, Kiko, you're doing this wrong. Here, hold the kunai like this," he said, adjusting it so that the handle rested loosely between her thumb and pointer finger instead of in her palm like she'd had it. "Now, just let it fly with all your strength!"
Still staring at him dubiously, she tossed the weapon and it miraculously struck the spot she'd aimed for. "Whoa! I hit the bullseye!" the girl cheered, jumping up and down. "Those guys said I was hopeless, but look! I hit it!"
He ruffled her short hair and handed her another kunai. "Why don't you go show them what you learned?"
She smiled, nodded, and ran off to do what he'd said. He watched with a grin as she again hit the bullseye, earning gasps of amazement from her classmates whom immediately began asking her for tips.
He spent the next two hours instructing the kids on how to throw kunai and shuriken since they'd done so well, and by the time lunch rolled around, all of the kids had hit the bullseye at least twice. It filled him with a sense of pride that he'd never felt before, and he knew that when he became Hokage, he'd definitely be stopping by the Academy to teach ever now and then just like the Sandaime had done when he was a kid.
"Alright, awesome job everyone! You guys are gonna be great shinobi." The kids looked around at each other, obviously pleased with themselves and each other. "Class is over for the day––teacher's orders. Go home!"
His smile widened as, instead of immediately leaving, the kids returned to practicing their weapon throwing. It was a good half hour before they finally began to disperse, and since they'd stuck around, he'd stayed to continue giving pointers. It was the most fun he'd had in awhile––not counting making out with Tayuya, anyway.
"This what we're fighting to protect, isn't it?" He asked, watching them laugh, smile, and play as they left the Academy. "I think I understand how the adults feel now."
"Careful, bro, you're starting to sound like an adult yourself," Kankurou joked. "You did a good job today. Come on, I'll buy you lunch." When he saw Naruto's eyes light up, the jounin quickly modified his offer. "Not ramen."
Eight full hours later, Naruto finally returned to the house. Kankurou had indeed treated him to ramen, but only after dragging him around town for the first seven hours to 'run errands.' In other words drink, gamble, and hit on chicks. Initially it'd been fun hanging out with just a guy for a change, but he quickly learned that Kankurou's idea of fun was much different than his own. He was only relieved that Tayuya hadn't been around to see the girls hanging off of him.
He walked into his bedroom with a tired sigh, but his mood was significantly lifted when he saw Tayuya lounging lazily on their bed, clad in nothing but a t-shirt and a pair of short shorts as she flipped through one of her music books. There wasn't anything inordinately sexual about her clothing, but seeing them on her just…did something to him. It also helped that she was lying on her stomach so he got a great view of her ass. At least until she rolled over to frown at him.
"Why'd you get back so late?" Tayuya asked, a childish pout on her face.
It still sort of amused him how different she acted around him now that they were together. She wasn't at all afraid to show what she was feeling, sometimes even going out of her way to make sure that he understood when she was unhappy with him. A second later, Naruto's amusement dissipated. Well, that wasn't completely true.
Every now and then she'd get this sad look on her face when they fooled around, and even though he'd ask her what was wrong, she'd brush the question off and distract him with either a fierce kiss or an 'accidental' touch to his naughtier bits. It ashamed him to admit it, but both of those things were more than enough to make him forget what he had for breakfast, so it stood to reason that they could easily make him forget an expression he wasn't even sure he'd seen.
"Kankurou bought me lunch and it ran a little long." He fought down a guilty wince as he spoke. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't exactly the truth either.
"Oh yeah? How was it?"
"It was cool! Suna has some weird food, though. Can you believe they eat scorpions? Yuck."
Rather than answer with some kind of smartass remark like she usually would, she smiled distantly at his answer, worrying him a bit. Something was wrong. "What about the Academy?" Tayuya asked, still not quite sounding like herself.
Even though he was concerned, he couldn't help the bright grin that appeared on his face. "It was awesome! All of the kids were so much fun, and they were eager to learn. There was one girl who reminded me of you," he said, pulling his shirt off over his head.
Her face finally lit up a bit, and she curiously sat up on her haunches. "Yeah? How so?"
Naruto shrugged. "I dunno, really, it was just a feeling. It could've also been her scowl and utter disrespect for authority." When she laughed, he continued, laughing a little himself as he thought of Kiko. "Teaching those kids reminded me of why I want to be the Hokage in the first place. Just like Sandaime-jii-chan did for me, I want to help those kids who might not have someone to teach them. I don't want anyone to be overlooked just because they have a little trouble understanding how to do something, and I definitely don't want anyone to be treated like they're not as good as everyone else just because of who they are." A resolute glare accompanied his statement, making Tayuya's smile fully drop.
"Sometimes I think you're too good for me," she mumbled, frowning as she played with the ends of her hair.
"Sometimes I think you are, too."
Tayuya could feel him staring at her, and after an entire minute, she couldn't take it anymore. "What?"
He shook his head and smiled. "I can't get over how pretty you are."
She felt that annoyingly familiar tingly feeling spread through her chest, and she lifted her head to glare at him. "That's not fair," she grunted.
Naruto tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows slightly, confused. "What's not?"
The redhead sighed loudly and plopped back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. She couldn't explain it without making him upset. She couldn't say that he deserved better, that she was simply no good for him and would ruin his dream of being Hokage. Or maybe she was worried that if she told him these things he'd realize she was right and that he deserved a girl like Sakura after all.
Sakura was bratty and annoying, sure, but she hadn't done the things Tayuya had. She wouldn't bring Naruto down with her sins like Tayuya would, and no one would frown at him dating a smart, loyal kunoichi of the Leaf. If she dated the girl who'd had a significant hand in killing the Third Hokage, though…
"Nothing," she whispered in a small voice, feeling stupid for allowing this to get to her so much. It was just…fuck. She was feeling things now. Weird things. She wasn't just worried about herself or how she felt anymore. Yeah, she'd always fussed over Naruto, but this was different. It actually scared her how much she valued his happiness.
The bed shifted under her as the blond kneeled on it and she curled herself into a smaller ball, insistent on not letting him touch her.
Naruto reached out for her, but she refused to any move closer despite his best efforts. "Tayuya-chan?"
The slight hurt in his voice made her feel bad, but she reasoned that she'd feel worse if she kept leading him on like this. It'd just be worse for the both of them when he finally realized exactly how much she'd screw up his life. It was kinder of her to make him lose interest before they got too serious. "I'm really tired."
The blond frowned. It worried him that she was actively turning down the offer to fool around since she was usually the instigator, but he decided to take her word for it. He didn't know what she'd done during the time he was gone, so maybe she'd just trained too hard and needed to rest. It'd certainly explain why she wasn't acting like herself. "Well, good night, then," he mumbled, leaning over and kissing her on the cheek.
The kiss left her cheek burning. She wanted to roll over, grab him, and never let go, but she couldn't. Not if she really cared about him. She didn't trust herself to open her mouth and reply, so she settled for a more noncommittal sound. "Mmm."
She waited until his breathing slowed before she turned over to look at him. She reached a hand out and gently played with a lock of his long blond hair, smiling sadly at how much the feel of it between her fingertips comforted her. She was going to miss this, but at least she'd had a month to experience what most people took for granted. Even if Naruto married someone else, and even if she never met another guy who could make her feel like she wasn't completely evil, she'd be satisfied. This is the way her life was supposed to be.
Girls like her didn't get happy endings.
Gaara placed the cookies on a plate, taking a strange, slightly obsessive compulsive enjoyment in the way he had arranged them. The nights were made for him. Since he couldn't sleep what with the Shukaku constantly trying to take over his mind and all, he'd usually spend this time either catching up on work or reading a good book. If he was in a particularly restless mood, he might even do a bit of training.
Regardless of his night's plans, though, he always started with some milk and cookies.
As he settled into his custom-made feather stuffed chair that he'd picked up from Konoha a year or so ago, he heard the nearly silent sound of footsteps approaching from the stairwell. His eyes flickered up to see Naruto's second best friend sneaking down the stairs.
"Hi," he said, not quite sure how to greet the girl. He felt his lips twitch upwards when she jumped and twisted her head around to look at him, long red hair wrapping around her face. She seemed to calm down a bit after recognizing who he was, but he could tell just by the way she was staring at him that she was still uncomfortable in his presence. Something that bothered him more than he allowed himself to admit.
"Oh. Hi."
Gaara held out the plate towards her, "Cookie?"
He noticed that she seemed to be having an internal battle of sorts with herself and waited patiently for her to make a decision. Finally, she cautiously made her way over to him and reached a shaky hand towards the plate.
"Thanks." She grabbed one of the chocolate chip cookies and seated herself in the chair across from him, giving herself more than enough room to get away just in case he decided to go batshit. She trusted him as the Kazekage and as Naruto's second best friend, but not as a former psychopathic jinchuuriki who couldn't sleep.
They sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes, staring at each other as they tried to think of something to say. Well, at least he wasn't the only one who had trouble starting conversations. Gaara took a small breath, deciding to open with something light and innocuous.
"Trouble sleeping?"
Rather than answer, the girl shrugged. Not because she didn't want to answer, but because she wasn't sure how to. She couldn't exactly say that she hated herself and was slowly realizing that her sort of boyfriend was way too good for her and deserved better. Not to someone who knew him, anyway.
She chewed gingerly on the treat, a little surprised at how good it tasted. She stuffed the rest of it into her mouth, barely chewing before swallowing it down her throat. "Who made these? Temari?"
"I did. What's troubling you?" he asked, using his sand to send the cookies over to where she was. Sweets had a tendency to loosen ones tongue, and he was honestly curious as to why she looked so haggard.
Tayuya shrugged her shoulders, grabbing two more cookies from the offered plate. He'd never given her a limit on the amount she could eat, so it was his own fault. "Life in general. We live in a pretty fucked up world."
"I agree. But that's not why you can't sleep."
She sighed loudly, nibbling on one of the cookies in her hand. It wasn't like Gaara was going to tell anyone. Somehow he didn't seem like the gossiping type. "Well...we're going back to Konoha in a few of weeks."
Gaara nodded, slightly pleased that she was finally talking to him. They'd exchanged maybe a dozen words in the roughly month and a half she'd been there. It wasn't anyone's fault, really. He was always busy and rarely around, and she was always either with Temari or Naruto in their rooms. "Sadly."
"And, well, you know, I'm just anxious. I'm technically a shinobi there, but I've spent much more time on the road than I have in Konoha. Long story," she explained, noticing the way he cocked his head slightly. "It's just...when we get back, I'm going to be officially starting my life there. What if I don't fit in with those goody goodies?"
If he were capable, he might have laughed. "I can assure you that there are many less than decent people who reside in the Leaf. You'll be one of the better ones."
"Yeah, but only because Naruto's around."
"If Naruto weren't around, Konoha wouldn't exist right now. I'd have flattened it when I turned into the Ichibi. In fact, there probably wouldn't have even been a Konoha for me to flatten if the Kyuubi hadn't been sealed into his body. Thousands of people have been saved just because Naruto's been around. I fail to see your point."
"My point is that I'm not a good person. Naruto is, though, and I'm just pretending to be a good person so that he'll still like me. I should just…" she sighed and toyed with the cookie in her hands, picking the chips out with her fingernails. "I should just leave him alone."
At this, Gaara was silent for a few minutes. His fingers were threaded in front of his face as he thought, and he stared over them at his fellow redhead. Just when she was about to ask him what the fuck was up, he spoke.
"You don't know Naruto very well."
His statement pissed her off. As far as she knew, Gaara had only spent––at most––a month with him while she'd spent over two years with the blond. Her first reaction was to tell him to fuck off, but she figured he deserved the chance to explain himself. "What?"she asked, barely containing her anger.
"Naruto can sense good people, and the fact that you even care about what kind of person you are tells me that you're good. Besides, If you weren't, Naruto wouldn't like you. And he certainly wouldn't be kissing you."
Tayuya's eyes widened. "How did you––"
"I've walked by your bedroom on the way to mine. I've heard the giggling." Her reddening face amused him. And to think he thought she couldn't get embarrassed. "Just try to be the best person that you can be and everything will work out." Right after the words left his mouth, the boy cracked a rare, tiny grin. "At least that's what I say to make myself feel better."
Unfortunately, his words had the opposite effect. "You don't fucking understand!" she growled, raising her voice. "You haven't seen what I have. You haven't done what I have. I'm not good for him! I'm evil, I-"
"I've killed over a hundred people, most of whom didn't deserve it," Gaara interjected.
Her argument died in her throat at that. Well, shit, that's right. She'd actually forgotten that he used to be a violent, raging psychopath. "Oh."
"You won't hold Naruto back. You'll help him. You know what it's like to live in the darkness. You know how they––we––think, and you can be the one who keeps him from falling into it. After all you've been through––after all you've seen and done––Tayuya, he needs you. Just like you need him. Yin and Yang."
Tayuya blinked. She hadn't thought of that, of Naruto needing her. Gaara had a point. Girls like Sakura weren't tough enough to deal with the shit he'd be going through in the next few years. They'd crumble under the pressure of what was basically war. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, and for the first time that day, she considered the possibility that maybe she was the best thing for him. Finally feeling sleepy, she stood up and stretched.
"Thanks," she said, smiling down at the younger boy. "I'm glad you're one of Naruto's friends."
"And hopefully one of yours, too."
"Duh." Grabbing another cookie from his plate and giving him a small wave, she hopped back up the stairs two at a time, in a substantially better mood than she had been only ten minutes before.
Gaara watched her go with a satisfied smile on his face. Knowing that he'd helped his best friend, even if he didn't know it, filled him with a pleasure he couldn't describe. He felt like he was finally paying Naruto back for everything he'd done for him––though they'd never be completely square. In his opinion, there was absolutely nothing he could do to thank Naruto for giving him his life back.
He reached for one of the treats, only to touch the cold, smooth porcelain of the dish. Surprised, his eyes shot down to where his hand rested on the plate.
There was only one cookie left.
Reading over the Fourth's scrolls, Naruto felt an intense amount of anger and confusion. True to his word, Jiraiya had given him all of the Fourth's notes on the Hiraishin Technique a month ago. He hadn't had much time to look them over what with Tayuya taking up any free time he had left, but since she'd been acting strange lately, he suddenly found that he had all the time in the world and had been poring over them night and day. Only half of it really made sense, and that was because Omoi had taught him a little more about sealing while he was in Kumo.
He didn't know how the Fourth had done it, but somehow, he had managed to warp himself through time and space. Rather than just concentrating on where he wanted to go like with the Shunshin no Jutsu, he would have to lock onto both his exact location and the location of the seal. The seal then needed to be remotely activated by himself, which was no easy feat since he needed to lock onto the specific chakra signature of his seal. It also required that he have a general awareness of the location of each of his seals.
Naruto rubbed his forehead, already feeling a headache coming on. This was ridiculous. The Fourth was a genius, and even though he was definitely smarter than he was a couple of years ago, he was far from the Yondaime's level. The guy's head must've huge to hold such an obviously large brain.
Luckily, Jiraiya chose that exact moment to walk by the room, and the blond quickly hopped to his feet to catch him. "Ne, Ero-sennin, do you know how to summon an object from one place to another? And when you seal an object, where does it go?"
The old man paused. "You know, Minato asked me a very similar question he was younger." Jiraiya stepped closer and looked over what Naruto had written down, eyebrows rising a bit as he tried to make sense of the scribbles. "Are these your notes?"
Embarrassed, Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, but they're stupid. They're just a bunch of doodles."
The man shook his head. "No, you're just a visual learner. They actually make sense." He straightened back up and rubbed at his chin. "I can't say for sure, but Minato seemed to think that objects sealed into scrolls were placed into some kind of alternate space. However, that dimension still existed parallel to our own, so the object also exists in this one––it's just displaced, I guess you could say. For example, Mount Myoboku exists in this world, and we can get to it, but we first have to pass into that dimensional space. I don't know if that helps at all."
"Hm," Naruto mumbled, scratching at his forehead. "It kind of makes sense. I guess."
"Good luck. He...I'm proud of you for giving it shot. I just want you to know that."
The blond grinned. "Thanks, Ero-sennin." He waited for Jiraiya to leave and plopped back down on the couch.
"A parallel dimension..." he mumbled to himself after the sannin left. His mind drifted to one of the books he'd read half a year ago about a group of friends who'd accidentally teleported themselves to a strange world. They'd only been able to escape after constructing a makeshift radio tower out of spare parts and sending an SOS beacon back to their own world. Naruto's eyes widened.
That was it! Maybe he could somehow travel to this dimension, leave a piece of himself that would stay in that dimension, and create a link that would act as some sort of...conductor and allow him to summon himself!
But how would he get to that dimension? Was it even possible? He frowned deeply, annoyed that he'd once again another wall. Just when he thought he was getting somewhere.
"Hard at work?" Tayuya asked, wrapping her arms around his torso from behind. She leaned her head around his shoulder, staring at his scroll with a mixture of curiosity and confusion.
The blond blinked, still finding it hard to come to terms with their relationship. It was weird having her be so...nice. She was never really mean before, but she was definitely never this affectionate towards him. She still swore like a sailor, and she liked beating up people twice her size, but when they were alone, all of that stopped. She became a person who only shared her best smile with him and allowed only him to see her at her most vulnerable.
It was like she was just waiting for them to get together before she let him in on the fact that she was a normal girl. It was both a huge honor and responsibility to protect her and her feelings, and it was one that he wouldn't trade for the world. They weren't officially boyfriend and girlfriend or anything, but they might as well have been. They could barely be in the same room without at least sharing a kiss, and more often than not, a whole lot more.
And that was why he was careful whenever they were near each other. He didn't want to say or do anything to ruin whatever it was they were building, so he had, admittedly, been avoiding her. After what happened a couple of nights before, he was a little wary of her. Still, he answered her question, reasoning that
"Kind of. I can't figure out how to get to something to a parallel dimension so that I can use the Hiraishin."
"Really? Why don't you just go to Mount Myobazu or whatever Ero-Sennin mentioned," Tayuya asked, inadvertently revealing that she'd been eavesdropping on their conversation. She'd been waiting for the perfect time to apologize, but he always seemed too busy. She ignored the voice in her head that was saying she was just afraid to confront him.
Naruto smacked himself on the forehead. "You're a genius!"
"I was just pointing out the obvious. I think you need to take a break; your brain's fried and you're starting to turn back into stupid Naruto."
"Maybe you're right. I can pick this up tomorrow." He threw the scroll and his notes onto the chair and stretched, yawning widely as he did so. "Thanks, Tayuya-chan. I don't know what I'd do without you. I mean it."
His bright blue eyes stared unwaveringly into hers, and she knew that he really did mean it. He always meant what he said, even if she was sometimes too jaded to believe it.
"You'd be a weakass loser, duh." She pecked him on the cheek and sat down in his lap, slipping her arms around his neck this time. She leaned her lips up and placed them gently against his chin, feeling the fine whiskers that were just starting to come in. She placed another teasing kiss a little higher up on the corner of his mouth, smiling when he tried to capture her lips as she moved away.
"Don't," he murmured, glancing around to make sure that no one was coming. They were in one of the house's many dens, and while they hadn't heard a peep from anyone besides Jiraiya in the last hour or so, there was still a chance that someone could walk in on them.
Tayuya rolled her eyes. "No one ever comes to this side of the house. We're good."
Naruto looked down at her and raised his eyebrows. "So I guess you're feeling better? What was wrong?"
She shrugged her shoulders and smiled awkwardly. "I was tired."
Unconvinced, he narrowed his eyes. "Really?"
"Yup."
He knew there was something she wasn't telling him, but when you have an extremely attractive girl in your lap practically demanding that you pay attention to her, you don't question it. You just don't. "Well…are you tired now?"
She smirked slyly at him, understanding what he was getting at. She leaned up again and kissed him full on the lips this time, pulling away before he had a chance to even register what she'd done.
"Nope."
AN: The pacing absolutely SUCKS and I haven't fully proofed it-only the first half, really. I'm cutting out so much character building and stitching two chapters together, but like, I've been writing this thing for SIX YEARS. It's time to get things going, which is why this chapter's ridiculously long. The whole updating on the same I day I started thing was pure coincidence, by the way :P
Thanks guys for your awesome reviews! I literally can't forget this story because I get a new review at least once a week, and then I'm like 'oh fuck I need to write.' I have work tomorrow but fuck it, needed to finish this! I'll check it for errors tomorrow night.