I have absolutely no excuse.
The language in this chapter is atrocious. I also decided to write this because many people wanted to see Minato's thoughts, and I now realize that I'm not gonna get away without showing you guys something.
I don't own Naruto.
This chapter is dedicated to Doctor Winter and Sovereign2808
Minato Namikaze stared at his daughter.
The perfect mixture between himself and her mother. Look wise at least. She was without a doubt her own person. Her hair was blonde again, and somehow it made the blue in her eyes just a bit brighter.
"Dad…?"
Minato stepped closer, and he smacked her across the face.
Honestly, he'd been numb since Naruto admitted to meeting her mother. The impact of his hand on his child's cheek was what brought feeling through him. It's what woke him up. Before he'd been going through the motions.
Minato blinked, watching Naruto's wide eyes as she watched him. The split in her lip that he knew she got from Shisui had reopened from his slap, and trickled crimson sluggishly.
"Are you entirely daft?" He found himself demanding. "Completely out of your damn mind? Do you have any idea how many accounts of treason you have committed against this village? A village you are sworn to protect and serve with absolute loyalty? I could have you executed right now not even touching on the crimes committed by Karin and Harime during your little vacation."
What the hell was he saying?
That's not what he wanted to say!
"But, I cannot have you killed." He said, blue eyes narrowing, more at his own self than her. "You are a Jinchuuriki and I'm sure the consequences of your death do not have to be explained, not to mention there is no one suitable to take your place as the bijuu holder. As Karin is new and cannot be trusted with such dangerous power."
He didn't mean that. He'd never have her executed. He didn't care if she slaughtered half of the village, he would never have her killed.
'Oh, I see. This is what a Hokage is supposed to say.'
In a way, he was still going through the motions. But he was no longer numb.
Naruto pursed her lips, and seemed to accept all that he was saying with a passive sort of maturity. Like she was so done that she couldn't bring herself to hurt at the words he was spewing. His own words hurt him more than the person they were directed at.
Or maybe it just wasn't fully registering yet. Minato wasn't giving her any real time to react.
Through their past experiences she had usually lashed out and cursed at him when he was being cold, but now she just looked at him.
But this time was different.
Naruto knew that he cared. She knew, but the rift that he'd wedged between them was keeping that knowledge from mattering.
Now, that rift, it was messing up this entire encounter. He was acting upon what he should be saying to his shinobi that had done wrong, and not like a father that had so many things he wanted to tell his daughter.
And simply, he didn't know how to interact with her. He was stressed beyond words, he'd found her suffering was greater than just insanity, and he finally saw exactly how worthless he was as a father.
Sure, Minato admitted to his mistakes before, but after seeing the extent of only one of her nightmares- "The Hag" his mind supplied, he was at the complete and utter end of his rope. What else was she hiding in those closets? How did she feel treading through the graveyard of her perceived failures?
Good god all of those secrets… What the hell had he been doing?
Nothing.
The answer was absolutely nothing. He'd known that of course, he'd already had that epiphany, but now it was hitting him. The extent of his failures had been revealed. Not completely, and he knew that he couldn't even handle the complete truth, pathetically enough. But something had been shown to him.
It showed in the inherent sadness inside of his child's mind. It showed in the nightmares that Naruto had brought to life. It showed in the tiny, childish, corpse like body that Harime had dragged out of the shadows.
'Do something you idiot.' He snarled at himself. 'Anything. Help her. Just fucking DO SOMETHING!'
"But," Minato found himself whispering, leaving behind his rant about suitable Jinchuuriki. "Before you are a treasonous brat, before you are a bijuu holder, and before you are anything else, you are my daughter. You are my child."
Naruto's eyes got wider than he had ever seen them.
She was really surprised that he would say something like that. And he knew that her surprise was all his fault.
"I realise it's unfair to show favoritism, and I realise that it probably makes me an unsuitable Hokage for allowing you to go mostly unpunished, but frankly I don't care. The only people that would know would never betray you, or me."
Minato knew for certain Harime, Shisui, and Karin would never betray Naruto. And neither would they betray him. Shisui for obvious reasons, and Karin and Harime because they knew Naruto would never truly betray her father, despite certain things between them both in the past and present…
Minato wasn't sure how he knew Naruto would never betray him, despite him doing absolutely nothing to deserve her loyalty, he just… he just knew.
'This village is a cage.' Minato thought. 'Her cage. I… I'll open the gate for her. And though it's not much… she'll know freedom. Maybe she can find happiness somewhere out there…'
"Dad…?" Naruto trailed off, uncertain.
With a frustrated sigh, Minato shoved his hand through his hair.
'Even still, she needs to know there are consequences for her actions.' He reminded himself. 'I can't make it seem like she's just off the hook. She's never going to learn that way.'
"That is not to say that you will not be punished. Because you will." Minato said, lips pursing.
Naruto winced, but didn't protest.
Minato gathered his nerves so that he could say what needed to be said.
"Well," Naruto finally drawled after a long moment. "What do you have in mind?"
"Leave." Minato ordered.
"W-what?" Naruto stuttered.
"You will leave this village." Minato restated. "You have one week to situate all the matters that you need to. And on this same day next week, you will leave Konoha."
Minato stared down into the blue eyes so similar to his own, yet so very different. He'd taken her completely aback. Honestly, he'd done the same to himself.
"You're serious." Naruto said, head cocking to the side slightly, her shock fading. "You're absolutely serious, aren't you."
She hadn't really phrased that as a question, but when she said it Minato finally realized that the answer was yes. He was completely serious.
"It won't be forever." Minato continued, not bothering to respond because now they both knew he was serious. "You will leave on a trip for three years under the supervision of a shinobi of my choosing. And you will send a report on your whereabouts on every first of the month until you return."
Minato watched his daughter as she watched him.
"And you will return, Naruto." The Hokage said gravely.
'I'm letting you go, but you have to come back.' He thought. 'Someday you have to come home again, and when you return, the both of us need to have grown.'
"Three years you will be gone. No more and no less. Do not make me send ANBU after you."
He wouldn't. But he could see Naruto wasn't sure of that. And that uncertainty was all he needed to know that she would come back.
Naruto tore her gaze away from her father's, looking out the window, into the evening orange glow that was slowly spreading across the village.
"You have one week to prepare for this trip." Minato repeated, realizing she wasn't going to speak first.
"Okay," Naruto allowed, still gazing out at Konoha. "You can send your guard dog with me, but can I take Karin? You said Harime will share this punishment, so that's chill. But I want Karin to come too."
He'd had a feeling that she would ask that. But really, he didn't mind. Karin wasn't a Konoha shinobi, nor would she ever be. That meant she was a civilian, and had the right to travel.
He didn't care if she left. As long as she did nothing to hurt Naruto, (which he seriously doubted after all that was hinted she did simply to help Naruto), things would be okay.
"Alright, I'll allow you Karin as well." Minato muttered. "But also, when you return I want you to have the answer to a question I have for you."
Finally, Naruto looked back at her father.
'I am opening the cage.' He thought. 'But when you see freedom, you also need to feel truth. You need to find your truth. And I am sending you to find it alongside happiness.'
"Hm? A question?" The blonde hummed.
""Have you found what you're looking for?" Is the question." The Yondaime revealed.
"Huh?" Naruto asked, brows furrowing.
That look made her look just like Kushina. It softened something inside of him at the same time that it made his heart clench.
"You are going on this trip to find something. I'm sending you to find it, and it is not a tangible thing. It's something only you can find."
'I want you to find out who you are.' Minato thought. 'I want you to be happy, and be a person that you choose to be. Not the person that I moulded by ignoring you. Not the person that Danzo got ahold of…'
"What am I gonna be looking for?" Naruto asked.
"I don't know." He lied. "What will you be looking for? You have three years to figure out what you're looking for and to find it. It's something that you can't touch, and only you can decide you want to find it. Only you can find it."
'You know what I'm sending you to find.' Minato thought. 'You know, Naruto. Just not consciously.'
"Hm." Naruto hummed again. "Okay. I can do that."
'Yes, yes you can.' His mind agreed.
"Get going then." Minato said quietly.
Naruto nodded once.
"I'll be back in a week to say goodbye." The blonde promised.
He just looked at her.
Minato wanted to say something reassuring, but would comfort from him really matter to her at this point? He wanted to tell her that he was sorry, that he loved her and that he sucked and fuck him he was so so sorry.
But he didn't say any of that. He just looked at her, and she looked right back. The lack of communication between them (his fault) was a huge reason why they had a nearly nonexistent relationship.
But not yet...
He wasn't going to say anything yet. Minato had a whole week to sort through the shattered remains of his ideals and thoughts before he could talk to her again.
When he gathered himself up, and she came to see him before she departed, he would know what to say to her.
With a shake of her head, Naruto fled through the window.
He let her go without a fuss.
Right now Minato was too raw for anything else but solitude. And yes, he was a coward for letting her leave his office at this point, but he was afraid he'd only make things worse if he acted without truly thinking.
The last time he'd done that, he behaved like he didn't care about his daughter, and he destroyed her childhood.
He wasn't going to mess up like that ever again.
Naruto closed and locked her front door after herself.
She took a big whiff of her home, the homesickness that had been lingering inside of her ever since she'd reached the in between settling.
'Well, not like I'm gonna get to enjoy being here for much longer.' She thought. 'Gotta get my shit together.'
Should she pack now or tomorrow? She should probably go find Konohamaru. Her sudden absence had probably broken the little guy's heart.
Naruto looked up, finding two people she didn't recognize sitting on her couch.
"Uh, who are you?" Naruto asked, raising a brow.
The pale girl with brown hair blushed. The one beside her with platinum blonde hair crossed her arms indignantly.
"We're the cavalry." The blonde huffed.
"Shut up," The brunette snarled, standing up to bow politely. "You're Naruto, our unofficial boss, aren't you? I'm sorry. My name is Yakumo Kurama, and this is Shion. Harime recruited us for reasons we're not really sure of."
Naruto cocked her head to the side slightly. 'Unofficial boss? The hell does she think this is? The yakuza?'
"Um, okay." She scratched the back of her head slightly. "Nice to meet you I guess."
"T-thank you." Yakumo stuttered awkwardly, sitting back down.
'Okay, can anybody say weird?' Naruto wondered, ignoring the way that Shion rolled her eyes at their antics. 'You're trying to be a better person. Do not slap that girl.'
"Yo, I'm Fū."
Immediately Naruto sensed something different about the green haired girl that was sitting at her kitchen counter, eating from an instant ramen cup.
"Bijuu holder?" Naruto blurted, blue eyes wide as she made her way closer. Yakumo and Shion went back to conversing amongst themselves.
"Yup!" Fū chirped, grinning. "I'm the Nanabi jinchūriki. What are you again? I'm sure I should know but I don't so… yeah."
"I'm the Kyuubi holder." Naruto found herself saying honestly.
'How the hell, did Harime get her hands on a freaking tailed beast holder?' Naruto thought, aghast. 'We are definitely going to have a talk about boundaries…'
"Oh? The strongest huh, Ms. Nine." Fū said, amused. "Well, this is just awesome. I'm glad I came along."
"What exactly are you doing in this village anyways?" Naruto asked. "Aren't you like, committing treason against your own by being here or something?"
"They think I'm dead so it's totally fine," The green haired girl waved away, orange eyes sparkling as she perked up. "Hey! You know, you're pretty twisted. Your clone eats people y'know."
"Yeah…" Naruto drawled. "She does tend to do that…"
"But like, ew." Fū said, stuffing her chopsticks full of ramen into her mouth before speaking again. "You're not a cannibal are you Naruto? 'Cause like, that'd be super messed up."
'Please stop talking with your mouth full…'
"No," Naruto deadpanned. "That would be disgusting. But I do sometimes drink blood. But only because my bloodline makes me anemic."
"What?" Fū exclaimed, eyes getting impossibly big. "You serious? Why is that?"
"I can weaponize my blood, so naturally that makes me anemic because I'm always losing it. But I only drink the blood of one person so you don't really have to worry about that."
"Huh," Fū hummed contemplatively. "That's chill then I guess."
"I guess," Naruto shrugged, already over the fact that this stranger knew so much about her and was in her house eating her ramen.
"So…" Fū drawled, eyeing her fellow jinchūriki, and wow was that weird to think about. Naruto had only met one other holder and that was Gaara. He wasn't exactly the talkative type, so it was bizarre to be in such close quarters (her quarters), with someone like her and just talk to them. No fighting, no killing, no scheming. Just… talking.
'This is nice.' Naruto thought. 'And yeah, I just got the boot, and I'm gonna have to go on some fucking quest to find some obscure bullshit, but this really is nice.'
"Naruto?" Fū called.
"Hm?" Naruto blinked. "Yeah?"
"Can we be friends?" The other girl asked hopefully.
Naruto thought she should be shocked that someone would actually want that from her, but she wasn't. She knew that look in Fū's eyes, and she wasn't going to act like she didn't get it. She had no reason to say no, and really... she wouldn't mind having more friends.
The blonde snorted.
"I think we're already well on our way, Ms. Seven." She grinned lazily. "What, with you eating my ramen and stuff."
Fū snickered, holding out a hand.
"I like you." She decided.
Naruto took that hand and shook it.
"Wicked. 'Cause I like you too."
Naruto pulled her hand away after a moment.
"Alright, it was cool meeting you Fū, but Karin and Hari are waiting for me in the back."
"Yeah I know," Fū pouted. "They came in a while ago, Karin about ready to piss herself and Harime so mad she made me want to piss myself."
The blonde released a startled bark of laughter that she felt (slightly) bad about. But the guilt didn't last long because Fū was smirking at the reaction she got.
"Come out and talk to me some more when everything's cool again okay?"
"Sure." Naruto said.
With that, the blonde made her way to the back of her home, towards her bedroom.
She twisted the knob and let herself into the perpetually dark room. Karin was lying on her bed, her head in Harime's lap as said other half of Naruto ran comforting fingers through her wild hair.
"What's going on in here?" Naruto drawled. "Can I snuggle too?"
Harime looked up, grinning something wicked that Naruto reflected right back at her.
"I'm petting Karin-chan because the Douchedaime made her cry." Harime informed her. "Only I get to make my cute little minions so scared they cry. He needs to back off."
"Man, it's good to be home." Naruto smirked.
"Naruto, your Dad is really mean…" Karin rasped, staring at her with shimmering crimson eyes.
"Oh don't I know it." Naruto grumbled flatly.
"What's this?" Harime wondered, head tilting to the side as she studied her blonde twin. "Somethin' isn't right."
"We've been given the metaphorical boot Harime." Naruto revealed. "We've got a week to tie up any loose ends you probably haven't told me about, and get the hell outta dodge."
Karin sat up like a bolt of lightning.
"You've been exiled!?" She shrieked.
"Whoa, chill girl." Naruto held up her hands. "Only for three years. I'm being sent on a quest to find my humanity and you and Harime are coming along for the ride."
"Find your humanity?" Harime echoed.
"I can come too?" Karin asked hopefully.
"Okay, maybe not that, but I'm supposed to be looking for something only I can find, and I need to have found it before we have to come back." Naruto admitted, and then, "And yes. You can come too Karin."
"Yay!" Karin cheered.
"Naru-chan I think we need to talk." Harime muttered. "Right now."
"What's wrong?" Naruto wondered.
"C'mon, we're gonna talk." Harime said, sliding out of the bed and walking past Naruto and out the door the blonde hadn't closed yet.
The redhead made her way across the hall to The Gallows.
"We'll be right out Karin." Harime promised after unlocking the seals on the door.
"It's okay," Karin whispered, looking uncertain. "Do what you have to you guys."
"Harime what's with this?" Naruto asked, even as she followed Harime.
Her other half closed and locked the Gallows door after her, turning to face her and crossing her arms, unimpressed.
Naruto huffed and mirrored her stance.
"What?"
"What happened after I left?" Harime demanded.
"Why were you so pissed when you came home that you scared Fū?" Naruto shot back.
"I was just annoyed 'cause Yondy told me to get out." Harime admitted.
"Wow, your annoyed face must really be something then." Naruto mused, amused.
"Stop trying to change the subject." Harime pouted. "I wanna know what happened. So tell me, will ya?"
Naruto sighed, but she told her anyway.
"So that's it?" Harime asked, gesturing a little helplessly at her twin. "You were just all "okay" and left?"
"Well, what else was I supposed to do?" Naruto asked, raising a brow.
"I was mad when he told me to get out of his office," Harime drawled, as if explaining something to small, ignorant child. "You're telling me he told you to leave the village and you're not even slightly not okay with that?"
"I'm being the bigger person," Naruto explained. "I'm aiming for better, and I'm fine. Three years away from this village will be good for us."
"That's what you say… and maybe apart of you believes that… but aren't you slightly upset?" Harime asked. "The Yondaime found out some of your deepest secrets, and he didn't even address them. He didn't say anything. He just threw in your face that you've fucked up, and then told you to leave. Doesn't it… doesn't it hurt?"
"If it did, what would I do about?" Naruto asked flatly. "He's the Hokage, I'm a ninja. He says leave, I gotta leave. It's as simple as that."
"No." Harime shook her head. "It isn't as simple as that. Get angry! Talk shit! I dunno, but do something. Just rolling over and taking it without a fight… it's not like you, Naruto."
"And so what if it's not?" The blonde sneered, finally discarding the bland mask she was hiding behind. "So what if it isn't like me? So I didn't throw a tantrum at something he did that sucks for once in my life, and that's a problem?"
"YES!" Harime bellowed. "It's a problem because you're not venting and it's messing you up!"
"I'm already messed up!" Naruto spat, temper rising. "You're the one that knows that best after myself."
Harime flinched.
"I'm fucked up Harime." Naruto huffed, shoving a frustrated hand through her hair, shoulders sagging. "That's probably never really gonna change. Maybe get less pronounced, but that's how it is. But even if I'm messed up, that doesn't mean I'm never gonna have to grow up. I'm tired of being a brat about everything. It's easier when I think about things instead of just reacting. It makes it… it makes it hurt less. You get it? So don't… don't try and make me explode when I can be diffused, alright?"
"But you can't always just suck it up and "diffuse"." Harime argued hotly. "Sooner or later the "adult way" is gonna backfire, and you're gonna explode anyway, Naruto. And it's gonna be in a way that nobody can hold back. You may think that being passive is a good way, but for you, it's not. I know you. You're not diffusing anything. You're stuffing it in a corner where it's gonna stay until it builds up so much you snap. And when you snap, what the hell am I supposed to do?"
"I'm trying to be a better person." Naruto whispered.
"Fuck that!" Harime snarled. "Is it making you happy? Is being better something you can live with? Because by the looks of it, growing up and being "better" is already proving to be a shit road for you, Naruto."
"What do you want from me?" The blonde exclaimed, throwing her hands up.
"I want you to be happy." Harime returned calmly, taking her other half completely aback. "And you're not. Be a person that you can be proud of, Naruto. A person that won't make you miserable too. Right now, you're trying to be somebody you never can be, because it's who you think is "good". You don't ever have to be good Naru. Just be a you that you like."
"Yeah?" Naruto breathed. "Well who the hell is that?"
"I dunno," Harime shrugged. "But it's not the pansy ass bitch that I'm talking to right now."
The following silence was pierced by a bark of laughter.
Naruto couldn't help it. That statement was so unexpected yet so needed she couldn't help but laugh at it.
"Okay," The blonde allowed, eyeing Harime in equal parts amusement and gratitude. Saying with her eyes what she couldn't aloud.
Harime's identical eyes crinkled as she grinned. The message was received.
"You're welcome!" She chirped.
Naruto shoved her hands in her pockets as she studied her look alike.
"What now?" The blonde muttered.
"Now?" Harime echoed.
Naruto nodded, and Harime beamed brighter.
"Now, you get pissed."
Karin stood outside of The Gallows, her ear pressed against the door. She couldn't hear a damn thing but they'd been in there for a while.
Suddenly, Naruto cried out in wordless rage, and she flinched.
"Who does he think he is?" Naruto demanded loudly, making Karin grimace, caught off guard.
"I know right?" Harime egged her on. "He's got some nerve doesn't he?"
"You're damn skippy!" Naruto yelled. "Fuck him! That fuckin', fuckin' shithead!"
"Yeah? What else?"
"Tellin' me to leave with that stupid blank ass face like, are you serious? You fuckin' serious man?"
"How dare he?" Harime huffed.
"I KNOW!" Naruto exclaimed. "Isn't he the absolute worst?"
"The fuckin' worst!" Harime agreed.
Karin pulled away from the door as Naruto began cursing like there was no tomorrow, Harime yelling and hyping her up as her voice became angrier and angrier. And Karin knew all of it wasn't for the purpose of getting Naruto to vent. The other redhead generally felt indignant on Naruto's behalf.
"Well…" Karin drawled. "I think things are gonna be fine after this."
With a shrug, Karin got up and went to the kitchen in search of some instant ramen.
Naruto had showered, packed her gear into scrolls and donned a high collared black shirt, matching pants, and red sandals. She pulled her hair into a low tail and made her way into the living room. Harime looked up from her position on the couch next to Fū.
"Naru, where are you off to?" Her twin asked.
Naruto popped a peppermint into her mouth.
"I'm going to see my friend." She said. "I wanna start sketching some stuff for new ink."
Harime looked down at her arms, which bore Naruto's body art and seals.
"You want these back?"
"Ew, ew no." Naruto grimaced. "Let's just not okay? I'll be back before tomorrow. Probably."
Harime grinned sharply.
"Oh you're no fun Naru-chan." She giggled darkly.
Naruto rolled her eyes.
"Freak." She muttered.
"Aw you're leaving?" Fū whined. "You said we were gonna talk some more."
"We are," Naruto promised. "I just got somethin' I wanna do."
"Oh okay," Fū said. "See you later then."
"Later boss." Shion called.
Yakumo waved instead of speaking.
Karin pulled her head out of the fridge, calling, "Come back soon Naru."
"Yeah, yeah." Naruto waved away, smiling.
The blonde closed and locked the door behind her.
"So what happened next?" Fū asked. "How'd you get this body Hari?"
"Okay and then…" Harime began anew.
Their voices faded as the blonde walked away.
Naruto's house seemed oddly homely all of a sudden…
'I like it.' She decided.
Naruto roamed through the village's red light district.
Well, she wasn't really roaming, she had a destination in mind.
She felt a lot more centered after cursing up a storm and venting her hidden frustration. Now she wanted to see a friend that she hadn't for a while. The blonde had found a companion in him two years prior after killing the man that had betrayed him and fled the village with a sacred artifact.
The boy had been a Genin then, and his sensei had used him to steal one of the village's treasures. Danzo had sent Naruto to retrieve said treasure from the traitors, and she had. But when she found that the Genin boy had been a mere pawn, she'd killed the traitorous shinobi that manipulated him and smuggled the boy back into the village with her.
He was doing rather well for himself presently. Only fifteen and owned his very own business.
Naruto was going to see him so that she could gather herself. They both liked to draw and he was actually the one that had helped design some of the tattoos that she used to have.
The evening was hanging heavy overhead, a canvas painted with swirls of pink, orange, gold, and yellow. The night life was getting started, people milling about, chattering, setting up stands for little knick knacks. Naruto bent into an alleyway at her left, stepping over trash and scattered about food carcasses.
The building on the right of the alley was the one that she desired to enter. There was a black iron rimmed balcony two stories above, and as soon as the occupants on said balcony spotted her, they began crooning and catcalling.
"Lookie lookie, girls! It's our little princess!" One of the scantily clad women cooed, ruby glossed lips pulling into a leer.
Naruto paused.
"Oh Naru it's been so long," A brunette whined. "Come up to play, will you darling?"
"My little Naruto there you are!" Another called, smirking sin at the young teen below. "You look stressed. Come up and let us help you unwind..."
The other women spoke of their agreement, and despite how it should've made her uncomfortable to be standing under a whorehouse, Naruto grinned.
"Sorry ladies it's still a no," She called up. "I'm underaged you know."
Though that last statement was complete bull because Naruto was a firm believer of being old enough to do whatever adults did if you were old enough to take a life. The blonde really just wasn't interested in those kinds of activities.
"It'll be our secret~" A busty woman said in a stage whisper, her peers nodding in agreement, holding fingers to their lips in a hush hush manner.
Naruto rolled her eyes fondly.
"I'm going to the basement." She said. "You guys know I never go upstairs."
"Spoilsport!" One pouted.
"We'll get you to play one day, Naru-chan…" Promised another.
"Weirdos." The blonde chuckled, continuing to walk on to just under the balcony.
Finally, Naruto reached two black painted iron banisters, which framed a stone stairwell that led down to a heavy bolted basement door. Her destination was in the basement of the whorehouse, and it was a completely separate establishment.
The door had a sign on it, which was laminated and kept there by what looked like red stitching. The sign simply read: 痛い, which meant painful, something hurts, or is sore.
It was the name of the person who owned the place as well as the place itself. It was a name that Naruto had given to the owner when they decided they wanted to be someone else.
Naruto descended the staircase, and knocked on the door. There was no handle, and it could only be opened from the other side by being pushed. Their was another entrance through the establishment upstairs, but Naruto didn't want to walk through there for obvious reasons.
The girls would never let her leave.
The blonde knocked three more times and then stepped back so that she wouldn't get smacked with the door.
Said heavy bolted thing swung open after a few moments, held ajar by a young man that was a few inches taller than Naruto with diamond pierced knuckles and silver painted fingernails.
He had shoulder length inky hair, the left side shaved away, and bangs that shielded the right side of his face. His skin was tan but paling from being inside so often, his irises a bright, shimmering, hazel-gold, and the sclera as black as night. He had a silver labret piercing, and was wearing a sleeveless black shirt, his strong, lithe arms sleeved by bold and swirling tattoos alike. He also wore black harem pants, and his feet were bare, showing off his silver painted toenails.
Naruto rose a hand in greeting.
"Yo, Itai."
The teen holding the door stared at her for a long moment, and then his confused face lit up with recognition and delight.
"Naruto!" He exclaimed.
The blonde found herself grinning in return when he opened the door wider.
"Well what are you doing just standing there? Get in here you bitch!" Itai laughed.
Naruto snorted a laugh and walked in, onto the polished marble floors. Itai pulled the door closed behind her and it clicked shut audibly.
Naruto was looking around, and like she remembered, there were two rows of glass display cases that showed off the different pieces of jewelry Itai sold for various types of piercings. Behind the two rows were two large black leather setups. One was a tattoo chair, and the other a tattoo table.
The walls behind the tattoo area were large mirrors, and across from said area were several mannequin torsos that displayed masks of various shapes and styles. Most were Naruto's designs, which she gave to Itai to sell when she found she had no use for them, as she designed them for fun.
The ceiling was covered in grim art, sheets of paper of her drawings that Itai tattooed onto people if they so wished. His own art mingled with hers, noticeably less twisted, and more ironic and tragic.
"I didn't recognize you without your mask." Itai said, pulling the blonde from her thoughts so that she turned to face him.
He had his arms crossed over his chest and his head was cocked to the side.
"Your hair's changed too. Blonde looks good on you."
"Thanks. It's natural in a sense too." Naruto grinned.
"I'll bet," He allowed. "You're strange like that. But you're not gonna convince me all that ink you had on you just up and disappeared naturally."
Naruto looked down at her naked arms, already missing her seals and body art.
"Yeah," She drawled, looking up at him. "Somebody else is wearing that ink. It suits her though, so no worries."
"You telling me somebody is walking around wearing your skin?" Itai asked incredulously, disturbed.
"Yeah." Naruto nodded. "But, she's like, my sister or something so I'm chill about it. She didn't start out trying to wear my skin if that helps. She was just trying to make me stronger."
"You're not making any sense." Itai deadpanned.
"I know," Naruto laughed, running a hand through her hair. "A lot of thing's make no freaking sense anymore dude. Everything's so fucked up and now I have a week to leave and just… shit man."
Itai bit his lip, uncrossing his arms so that he could move closer to her.
"What's up Naruto?" He asked, gold eyes earnest. "Tell me how I can help."
"I just… damn dude. I feel like such a chick right now!" She complained, smacking a hand to her forehead.
Itai snorted.
"You are a chick. Now tell me what's wrong."
"It's a long story." Naruto warned, eyeing him. "I have to start to before I even met you. You up for that?"
Itai shrugged.
"There's not anything that you could say that would make me ditch you, if that's what you're worried about." He said, smiling slightly.
"Can you help me start sketching the designs for my new ink?" Naruto asked quietly.
Itai beamed, and took her hand in his, pulling her further into his studio and towards a desk in the very back corner of the room.
"Sure." He said. "We can even draw while you tell me what's up."
Naruto followed him without complaint.
"Thanks man."
"Anything Naruto."
No, Itai is not an OC, but he is OOC. So yay! Naruto is getting to vent and she's getting new ink. Fun fun times huh?