A/N: I would like to thank everyone that added this story to their favourites and follows as well as everyone that reviewed the last chapter
"So what is the Mafia?"
Naruto kept her eyes focused on the whistling pot as Shikamaru and the other members of Team 10 took a seat on the stools in front of the kitchen. The first day of school had went without a hitch, with her three former childhood classmates making a name for themselves in the school. Other than the surprising fact that Shikamaru now had a fan club in their class, nothing really happened.
She put down the stirring spoon and flickered her eyes to Haku. The brown-haired boy tilted his head at her, eyebrows raised as if silently asking her if she would prefer if he explained the concept to them. Naruto paused. It will be a good idea for Haku to explain it to them but I know of the simplest explanation. A sigh escaped from her lips.
"You can think of them as being another country version of the Yakuza," Naruto answered. The Yakuza was well-known in their part of the world and the blonde ran into them once as a little girl. She curled her lips into a very thin line. They were usually scums of the earth and it was rather unfortunate that Sawada had to end up becoming like them.
It was good for her in the long run. It gives me a better opportunity to see how their organizations are run. She darted her eyes to Haku before landing her eyes on Team 10. Their eyes widened and only Ino jerked her head at her. The reaction almost brought a smile to her lips but the whiskered girl schooled her expression into a blank one.
"You knew they were members of the Mafia!" Ino accused. The Yamanaka heiress slapped her hands on her hips, light blue eyes glowing with irritation at the idea that she kept something like this from them. Naruto's response? She only picked up the stirring spoon and pulled up the lid of the whistling pot. The scent of seasoned meat filled the small room as the three members watched her.
She offered them a shrug and tasted the meat. It needs just a little bit more salt. Naruto frowned and picked up the salt from the shelf, sprinkling it back into the meat before focusing her attention back on the three members of Team Ten. What shall she do? Deny it? That would be pointless. Use it as an opportunity to milk some money from the girl? Now that sounded more like her.
"If you want to know if your accusation is right or not then give me ¥15,000," Naruto finally said. Haku snorted and shook his head at her classic response while Shikamaru and Choji pulled out ¥5,000 from their wallets. Ino glared at her but Naruto shrugged. Instead, she picked up the combined ¥10,000 from the two males and stared at Ino.
"Fine!" The platinum-haired girl growled as she pulled out the other ¥5,000 from her wallet. The whiskered girl did not jump up when the Yamanaka heiress smacked the counter with the money. She only picked it up and slipped into her pocket. She must really want to know if I knew this or not. She smiled and chuckled.
Picking up the lid, the blonde resumed it back to its original position before staring at the three teens. The answer was obvious from the way she interacted with Sawada and that idiot Longchamp. But Ino has always been known for her impatience. That impatience was what got the girl to lose ¥5,000.
"It is hard for me not to know when Reborn drags me into one of Sawada's mess," Naruto answered with a shrug. She twisted her whole body towards them and rested her hands behind her back. Of course she never got dragged willingly, but once the toddler started to accept her demands for money then she went along with their plans.
She was that greedy for money. The knowledge of Tsuna belonging to a powerful Familigia meant more opportunities for her to get money. There was also the fact it meant access to resources in the future. I'm not dumb to see Sawada use for the future. There was also the fact she would need a client in the future when she had this organization up and running.
"And you just go along with it? Is that Dame-Tsuna your new buddy?" Ino mocked. Naruto's eyebrows twitched and the blonde forced herself to inhale. Did I ever claim Sawada was my friend? Going along with Reborn's schemes did not make her one of Sawada's friends. Friends stuck to each other when things went rough and the moment Sawada had no money…she would terminate the relationship.
She exhaled and shrugged. The need for her to go into such detail was pointless in her eyes. The idea of even explaining how their relationship worked was too much of a pain in the neck. I need to explain it in very easy terms for her. She wrinkled her nose. The things she would do in the name of her reputation.
"We have the relationship between a client and an agent; nothing more and nothing less," Naruto answered. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and flickered her eyes to the clock. I will have to go to my training soon. Her lips curled into a thin line and her blue eyes flickered back to the three teens.
Shikamaru and Choji raised their eyebrows at her and Naruto rubbed the back of her neck. I'm not telling them anything. They might have been skipping buddies and while she was grateful for the space they gave her, it did not mean she forgave them. It did not mean she was ready to let them in her life. Besides they had no time. Choji had to go to his shift in one of the nearby restaurants while she had training to do.
"You don't have a romantic relationship with him, do you?" Ino asked. Light blue eyes inspected her and Naruto raised a single eyebrow at the girl. Is there anything about my relationship with Sawada that speaks love? I can understand it if it was even Yamamoto. She rubbed the sides of her head and exhaled.
Besides Sawada is hopelessly in love with Kyoko and I am in a relationship with Hibari. She rubbed the back of her neck and looked up at the ceiling. The words were on the tip of her tongue but she swallowed it down. It would be easy for her to point out the former but admitting about her relationship status to Ino was wrong.
It made it seem like Hibari was a trophy and he was anything but a trophy to her.
"Pay me ¥45,000 and I will tell you the truth."
"So what are you going to be training me on, today?"
Naruto leaned against her foot as Jiraiya stood right in front of her with one arm behind his back. Was it taijutsu? No, he would have told her yesterday. Ninjutsu? It was possible but he wouldn't have told Haku not to come with her if it had been the case. She thinned her lips. What was her mentor planning to do, today? Nothing good that much she could be certain.
Jiraiya thinned his lips and regarded her with blank eyes. There was only one reason her mentor would make that kind of expression with her. Did I do something wrong? She had been perfectly good if you asked her. No fights with Team Ten and she had been diligent with her fuinjutsu training. When her teachers had been too busy talking of what they were doing for the year, she had been studying on her fuinjutsu.
"We are going to be training on your use of the Kyuubi Chakra."
Oh? Does that mean I have to talk to the Kyuubi? She tilted her head as Jiraiya inspected her. It would be interesting if she talked to the beast contained inside of her. She spent nearly three years believing that she was the beast inside of her. Now he wanted her to learn how to use its chakra for her own benefit. Naruto eyed the man.
Did he have so much faith in her that he believed she wouldn't use the chakra to destroy Konoha? Jiraiya was not naïve. He was a seasoned shinobi. He should know how risky this is. She poked her tongue against her cheeks as the white-haired man continued to watch her. His eyes looked at her like he was waiting for her to argue.
He really did not know her.
"Okay."
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at her as if he was trying to figure out what was going through her mind. You won't ever figure out what I'm planning to do. Naruto clasped her hands together and placed it behind her head, keeping her expression as blank as a piece of paper. Even if he looked at her, the blonde still kept her mouth shut.
She raised her eyebrow and waited for her godfather to voice out his concerns to her. Birds chirped and a few squirrels scurried away from them while the earthy scent tickled her nostrils. Was he going to vocalize his concerns to her? Neither of them had all the time in the world. She had patrols to do, a date to go on while her mentor had some bathhouses to peek at.
"You are accepting it just like that?" Her mentor questioned. Doubt and suspicion leaked through his tone, earning a shrug from the whiskered-girl. You have every right to be suspicious. It was not like her to accept a training where she had to use someone else powers, but he didn't know what she planned to do with the Kyuubi's chakra.
For all he knew, she might be planning to use that Kyuubi chakra to destroy Konoha. It is very tempting when I think about it. She took a deep breath and stopped herself from quirking her lips into a smile. If she hinted her desires then he would stop this training. Even if he was not going to drag her back to that hellhole, he was still loyal to Konoha.
"I see no reason for me not to accept it," Naruto answered. She kept her tone light and innocent as her blue eyes focused on her mentor. The man curled his lips into a frown and inspected her. It is the type of answer that I will always give. She raised a single eyebrow at him, daring for her mentor to vocalize his suspicions to her.
She kept her emotions in check so he had no reason to believe she was up to anything. It is not like I see any reasons to vocalize all my hatred of Konoha to him. It would raise red flags. Red flags meant more observation on her and Naruto had no desire for the man to get more closer to her. She accepted his training because of her desire to live.
"Lift up your shirt and channel your chakra into your seal."
Naruto hummed and accepted the request. Her hand fell down to her white shirt and the blonde lifted the shirt up to the point where she recalled the seal stopped. It is a good thing that I'm under 18 and he is my godfather or else I would be worried he might sneak a peek. She shook her head and took a deep breath.
Molding her chakra while her hands were up in the air was a little bit difficult. If she had to describe it then it had to be as difficult as her trying to recognize all of her emotions and reconnecting with them. She eyed her mentor and blinked when the man revealed his right hand to her. The faint blue glow of his hand made her paused.
He placed all of his fingers on all five corners of the seal, turning it slightly and Naruto winced. Her whole body burned like Jiraiya poured a barrel of gasoline on her and set fire to her whole body. The world around her blacken out and the urge to scream was great but Naruto bit her tongue till it bled.
She crumbled down to the ground and allowed the pain to envelope her.
"So my container finally decides to meet me."
Large metal bars loomed over Naruto, separating her from the large beast that stood right in front of her. So this is the Kyuubi. The beast looked as terrifying as the images in the Academy's textbook. His eyes radiated with so much hatred. Hatred towards her and the other people of her pathetic species. She could not blame him.
The whiskered girl took a seat right in front of the bars. Sewer water clung to her pants, earning a raised eyebrow from the blonde. So it can feels real too. That was interesting for her to know. It meant there was a possibility for the beast to hurt her inside the realm of her own mindscape. She shivered at this fact.
"I didn't know how to contact you," Naruto answered. The Kyuubi bared its teeth at her and a huge gust of wind smacked her face but Naruto kept her eyes completely blank. "I have no time to meditate and now I have to contact you because Jiraiya wants me to use your power. I won't use it without making an offer to you."
The Kyuubi eyed her as if it was taken back by her desire to compromise with him. I guess neither my mother nor the other container tried to talk to him. She curled her lips into a bitter smile. Why would they? They had never suffered in that hellhole. They probably had no idea of what it meant to be treated with anything less than respect.
Her eyes darted upwards to the seal. If I wasn't terrified of dying, I would break that seal. A sigh escaped her lips and the whiskered girl placed her hands on either sides of her body. She leaned backwards and stared at the beast's furious eyes. Did the beast only feel fury? Or could it feel other emotions?
"Oh? And why are you making an offer to me, little human?" The Kyuubi asked. Curiosity colored his tone and his red eyes inspected her as if he was trying to figure out her game plan. So he can't hear all of my thoughts? She thinned her lips and rubbed her chin. That was an interesting for her to know.
But he can contact me because his voice sounds the same as the voice that stops me from doing anything with Hibari. She curled her lips into a thin smile and stared at the beast. Should she be grateful for him? Be annoyed? It meant he knew when things got heated between her and Hibari but it meant he was watching them.
Not the point for her to think about.
"Because you have been a part of my life the longest, haven't you?" Naruto observed. The Kyuubi snorted and leaned his face forward to the point that she could reach out to touch his snout. Not that she would do it. "You have been my healer when those ungrateful humans left me to die in that orphanage."
If Inu never saved me and killed the Matron then I would have suffered even more. She looked up at the beast and stared at its blank eyes. It would be foolish of her to believe the beast did it for no reason but she would admit that the beast was better than most of the humans in her life. He could have left her to die but healed her instead.
Naruto exhaled and folded her legs against each other. It is funny how Konoha made out the beast to be a monster when they were even worse than the beast right in front of me. A scowl crept up to her lips and Naruto exhaled. There was no need for her to think about it. That part of her life was over and done. Her suffering from that hellhole was now a closed chapter.
Besides, she would have her revenge sooner or later.
"I didn't do it out of the kindness of my non-existent heart, Brat," The Kyuubi declared. His tail smacked the water and the whiskered-girl wiped the water off with the sleeve of her shirt. Must he be so loud? She was not naïve to believe that he was good. The beast did murder a lot of people. "I don't like the idea of reforming again."
It must take years for you to reform. She quirked her lips into a bitter smile and watched the beast carefully. For so many years, Mizuki made her believe that she was this beast. For so many years he made her believe that she was a monster. The villagers made her life hell because of the beast inside of her.
She should hate the beast for ruining her life but it would be illogical if you asked her. It was not like he told those assholes to hurt me or ask my stupid father to seal him inside of me. Naruto sighed and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear before looking again at the beast. She should try to open up to the beast since they were literally stuck with each other.
"Isn't it weird that we are very civil with each other? You should be threatening me with death and I should be cursing at you," Naruto observed. That was what she would have done when she was eight. But those bars made it hard for her to hate him. "But you didn't tell the villagers to ruin my life and frankly you are the reason I'm still alive. Humans ruined my life…not you."
Red eyes looked faintly amused by her commentary and Naruto inspected her hands. She killed so many people because she thought that was what monsters do. But I won't deny killing them had been a very good stress relief. A sigh escaped her lips and her blue eyes focused on the silent beast right in front of her.
She should try and make the offer now, but the offer could be made at any time. This little talk was probably never going to happen again since the Kyuubi did not seem like the tea and biscuit type. Those red eyes inspected her as if he was trying to figure out what was going through her mind.
"You don't have any plans to return to that village, do you?" The Kyuubi asked. Curiosity colored his tone as his red eyes stared intensely at her. Return? Was she insane? She enjoyed her life in Namimori. Money was not a problem for her in this part of the world. No one insulted her about her looks or her brains.
She curled her lips into a smile and clapped her hands together. The beast really could not read her thoughts if he had no idea of her plans when it came to Konoha. It would not harm her to tell the fox of her plans on the place that ruined her innocent childhood. The village that disrespected her and her family.
"Why would I ever return? I don't need Konoha," Naruto answered. Her lips curled into a very thin smile and the blonde allowed the cruelty to leak out into her eyes. "Konoha needs us more than we need them. When the day comes that Konoha needs us to save them then I will turn my back and watch it burn to ashes."
The Kyuubi stared at her for a good couple of seconds before roaring out in laughter. Just because I'm taking training from Jiraiya and I'm training Team Ten, doesn't mean I am loyal. She snorted. Loyalty was deserved and Konoha did nothing to deserve her loyalty. Where was the village when she was tortured every day with that Matron? Or when the shop owners denied her the basics rights of living?
She rubbed the back of her neck and exhaled. I'm not forgiving and if they think I'm a monster then like a monster I will turn my back to their cries. Naruto stared at the beast, who looked at her like she was a weirdo for admitting to her desires. Oh. Did he not expect her to admit that she wanted to watch the whole village burn? He should understand her feelings.
"Do you have plans to destroy the village?" Kyuubi asked. His red eyes inspected her like he could not believe she would think of destroying the village. Naruto hummed. Destroy? It had been tempting in the beginning when she had been on the run. But she was weak and had no idea of how to access his famed powers.
She could have access now and she had a feeling the monster would have no problem giving it to her. But why dirty my hands with them? It would cause a huge mess for her if she couldn't kill everyone. Besides there would be no need for her to kill them. There would be someone else who wanted to murder them even more than her.
"Why should I be the one to destroy it?" Naruto asked the Kyuubi. The beast hummed and leaned even more forward as if curious to know about what her words meant. "The village has too much pride to admit to the whole world that their jinchuuriki decided to run away from the village that abused her."
The Kyuubi chuckled. "They are in a delicate position."
I know. Naruto wished there was a chessboard right in front of her, but she guessed it would be too much for her to hope that her mind could conjure it up. If there was a chessboard then she probably would be the Queen in the board. They were the most powerful pieces in the game and in the eyes of Konoha, she was the most powerful weapon they had.
It is just too bad that they don't treat me with respect and love. She exhaled and looked at the smirking Kyuubi. It seemed just like her, the beast was happy with the idea of watching the village burn to ashes. Not that she could blame him. Her own father sealed him inside of a baby and that must have hurt his pride.
"The Akatsuki have no idea where we are and they are going to attack Konoha sooner or later since they will look for us," Naruto observed.
The beast looked at her like he knew what her plan was and maybe he did know. That single sentence spoke volumes of what her hopes for the future was. Making that spy organization was one thing but she still wanted to watch the village to burn in hell. This was not her being rational. This was her unleashing her fury on them.
"You want them to do your dirty work."
Naruto grinned.
"Why should I dirty my hands with trash?"
Because that was what Konoha was to her…they were trash.
"How was your day? Found any new herbivores to bite to death?"
Naruto curled her lips into a smile as Hibari and her walked through the trail of the forest. Owls hooted as if to signal to her that it was not only nighttime but also the fact that it was late at night. They would have left earlier if it was not for the fact that her geography teacher had given her class a lot of homework to do.
Her blue eyes took in the dark trees that glinted from the moonlight. There was a faint glow behind those trees but where did it come from? The moon? Or something else? It will be terrifying if it came from ghosts. She shook her head. Ghosts were not real. If ghosts were real then there would be millions of ghosts that would haunt her.
"Yes," Hibari answered. She blinked at the answer and swirled her head at her usually quiet ally. Did he just vocalize his answer? Judging from the amusement shone through his eyes, the answer was a yes. The blonde quirked her lips into a smile and those grey eyes fixated on her lips, before flickering to her eyes.
He really likes looking at my eyes. Her lips curled into a wider smile and they resumed their hike through the forest. Flowers scent tickled her nostrils and the blonde knelt down to inspect the lavenders. What was the symbolism of lavenders again? Her teacher drilled it into her. Purity and grace. Her lips curled into a smile and she flickered her eyes at Hibari.
Purity would never suit him but Naruto could see why he would wear lavender in the future. The boy moved with a grace of the panther at times and maybe this flower suited him. But he won't ever take it. She quirked her lips into a smile and blinked at the sight of grey eyes staring at the flower with interest. His eyes flickered from her to the flower.
"Does the Little Fox likes flowers?" Hibari asked. No judgment shone through his eyes and curiosity colored through his tone. Naruto bit her bottom lip. Well it won't hurt for me to admit that I like flowers but it doesn't mean I expect flowers from him. She curled her lips into a small smile and bobbed her head.
Naruto tucked a strand of her hair back, removed the roots from the lavender and placed it against her left ear. She inhaled the lavender scent and pushed herself up from the ground. Do I look weird with a flower? Hinata-chan used to say I look pretty with one. Her partner fixated on the lavender on her ear before moving his eyes back onto her.
The whiskered girl gulped down a lump in her throat when her eyes locked onto his grey eyes. I guess he thinks that I look pretty with a flower resting on my ear. Her chest tightened and she pushed down the desire to blush. They had been together for a few months now, so she had to be used to the way that he looked at her.
Maybe it was time that they talked about something else.
"What was it like growing up here?" Naruto asked. She clasped her hands behind her back and looked up at the twinkling stars before flickering her eyes at her ally. If I tell you about my childhood then will you reveal something in return? That was what she understood from the way he tilted his head at her and how his eyes stared down at her.
What can I tell him? The heavy stuff is still a long way to go. She rubbed the back of her neck and stared at the small animals scurrying away from them. Well there was a lot of things that she could talk to him about her childhood. Things that were light and easy in her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she nodded.
"Boring," Hibari finally answered. Naruto hummed and nodded. That was something she could picture but it was not enough if you asked her. What is his definition of boring? She opened her mouth to ask, only to find herself tripping over the roots of one of the trees. Blue eyes widened when a single hand grabbed her. An amused smirk played on Hibari's lips and she smiled sheepishly. "My brother would take care of me while our parents were at work."
Then you must have been really close to him. Naruto kept her mouth shut, even though the words wanted to spill out of her tongue. It would be silly for her to point it out to him. That was expected. If someone took care of you as a little kid then it was expected for them to be close. So close that Hibari did not like to talk about him that much.
I guess I am special if he tells me this much. She smiled and nodded her head at Hibari. The stiffness in his arms told her that he was still not used to giving this kind of touch to her and that was fine with her. You can let go if you want. She hoped that was what her eyes conveyed to him and her eyes widened when the boy shook his head.
Just this once. That was what his eyes told her as he clasped her hand with his own hand. Naruto curled her lips into a wider smile and soaked in the warmth that his hand offered her. If he offered her the chance to hold his hand then she should grab it while she still could. The boy might change his mind the next time.
"I used to hunt for food in the forest," Naruto informed him. The two of them stopped right in front of a stream of water and the blonde took a seat on the boulder. She looked up at the twinkling stars before looking down at the sparkling steam in front of them. "Nature is a lot more kinder than humans."
Hibari took a seat beside her and the blonde hummed a small tune. It is a good thing that I watched the animals on how to hunt or I wouldn't have been able to eat any meat. She curled her lips into a tiny smile at the memory and her eyes flickered to the deer approaching them. The animal lowered its head and took a sip of the water.
"Was this when you had no money?" Hibari asked. The blonde tore her eyes away from the animals and focused her attention on the black-haired boy. His grey eyes flashed with curiosity as if he wanted to know if his suspicions were true or not. He hit the nail on that one. She hummed and bobbed her head.
His grey eyes looked down at her pants and then back on to her eyes. If he thinks I was like Tarzan then no. She had some clothes on when she used to hunt for food. Although she was a little bit naïve to think that a forest was more safe than her own apartment. Then again the Hokage talked her out of hunting in the forest.
I wonder if he talked out of me hunting because he cared or because he couldn't find me. She sighed and looked up at the night sky. The stars twinkled so brightly that Naruto wondered if the Hokage's words had been true. She guessed not. If her parents were really watching her then they might not be happy with her plans for Konoha.
They would probably haunt her ass.
"The stars are very pretty, don't you think?" Naruto asked, shaking her head. Not the time for her to think of the dead. The blonde inhaled and exhaled before flickering her eyes to Hibari. Grey eyes did not look at the stars, only focusing on her. It is like he is telling me that he will only look at me. But that was her own wishful thinking because even if that vision was true…it could change.
The future was unpredictable while the past was fixed but that might be her own opinion.
"The Little Fox is prettier."
Naruto flushed a bright shade of red and smiled when the boy pressed his lips against her own. Her whole body shut down with the only system working was her lips. This kiss burned her. It marked her. But it also spoke volumes to her of what he was trying to convey to her. He wanted everything that she could offer him.
Her whole body trembled and she brought her hand up to his hair, pulling it as he continued to kiss her with an intensity that made her whimper. Was it because of his kiss? Or because of the intent in his kisses? It seemed like it could be both. The desire to have her. He sought permission for her and the blonde granted it. A small whimper escaped from her lips when he bit her bottom lip and her hands caressed his back.
It was an innocent game but she knew that this was a game that she was getting addicted to.
"Little Fox, we need to return back to the hike," Hibari muttered as soon as he removed his lips from her. Amusement shone through his eyes and Naruto just blinked at him. It took a good couple of seconds before the fog lifted and the blonde squeaked at the sight of how her hands snuck underneath his shirt.
She groaned.
"I'm going to get you back for this!"
Hibari smirked.
"Little Fox, I look forward to your pay back."
Why must he look like the devil when he said that?
A/N: Here are the next couple of questions for you:
Question 1: What do you think of the talk between Naruto and Kurama
Question 2: Do you think that I should increase the pace of the story?
Please do tell me your thoughts on this chapter.