Wooohoo guys, I'm glad you all liked the fluff, now onto some more serious stuff though I personally think I put a nice little chunk of fluff and Kurama-Naruto stuff which I always love, since honestly their friendship is awesome and I loves it. Anyways, read and review as always.
They hadn't made it far from the village before they stopped and Jiraiya turned to Naruto.
"I want you to summon Gamakichi."
"Uh, okay." Naruto shrugged, but she did as she was told, biting her thumb and formed the hand seals before slamming her hand into the ground, a moment later there was a puff of smoke and a familiar orange toad, who grinned.
"Hey Naruto-chan!"
"Hey Gamakichi-kun."
"Gamakichi, you'll need to go home and tell your old man it's time."
"Oh!" the young toad looked pretty excited, grinning. "Got it bosses!" he disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Naruto pulled a face.
"Ero Sennin what exactly did this just do."
"Well kiddo," the man was smirking, "You're about to find out." Jiraiya wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and then she felt a slight tug and there was a cloud of smoke around them, Naruto stumbled slightly, letting out a surprised gasp as they landed in a lush green land with bright colors all around them, giant plants were all around, and Jiraiya laughed at her open mouthed awe.
"Where are we?"
"Mount Myoboku."
"The home of the toads?" Naruto looked around eagerly, "Really? Oh wow... so this is where I'll be fixing up my new seal and learning to use Kurama's full chakra."
"Exactly. There's nowhere safer."
"Welcome." the ground shook slightly as a familiar toad arrived, landing a short distance in front of them.
"Gamabunta-sama!"
"Naruto-chan. It's been too long since you first summoned me. You remind me more of your father each time I see you."
"Thank you for allowing me to come here."
"Jiraiya suggested it to the Elders and they agreed that Mount Myoboku would be the most secure place to do what you wish to."
"As much as I doubt that the Kyubi is going to go on a rampage there could be a rush of Chakra when the seal is unleashed we have to be careful just in case."
"He'll be good. I know he will." Naruto pressed her hand over the seal on her stomach.
"Soon Kurama. Soon I promise."
"I know brat."
Kurama's voice was incredibly soft, "Soon I won't be locked up and you'll be able to use my Chakra, all of it."
"I can't wait. You and I in harmony. It'll be perfect."
"Naruto-chan." Jiraiya chuckled, "You'll have plenty of time to speak to Kurama once the seal is off."
"Would you two like to eat before you do what you wish to do?"
"No." Naruto said the words quickly, "I've been waiting for ages to do this. I need to do it as soon as possible I want Kurama to have space and freedom."
"Of course. There's private building set aside, the key to the seal is already waiting, we figured you may need a great deal of space."
"I'm not sure I'll even need it." Naruto admitted, "Not if I plan on removing the seal entirely to place a new one there."
"It's best to loosen it first-don't worry I can do that for you." Jiraiya said easily, "That way it won't be such a shock to both of your systems."
"Thank you." Naruto smiled brightly.
"After it's over I can show you around." Gamakichi peered down at them from a spot on his fathers head, he'd been tucked out of sight until he moved forward, and Naruto grinned at him. "I'd love that."
"We have plans for after but I'm sure you'll get the chance." Jiraiya's voice was amused."
"Plans? What plans?"
"You'll see." Jiraiya ruffled Naruto's hair, laughing when the blonde pouted and mock glared at him.
"You're so mean Ero Sennin"
"C'mon brat. Let's go and get you all fixed up." he draped an arm over Naruto's shoulders, squeezing gently and pulling her into his side as Gamabunta and Gamakichi to a large building.
"It's rather bare inside." Gamabunta informed them, "But it should serve your purposes well enough."
"Thank you." Jiraiya gave a small bow. "We'll take our leave of you for now."
"I'll have some food brought to you if you take more than three hours."
"Don't worry about the food. Naruto-chan can be picky I packed some food for her." Something about Jiraiya's expression told Naruto she should be very grateful for that. "And it could be a while. The seal Naruto-chan came up with is complicated.
Truthfully I'm only here as an emergency measure if something goes wrong."
"Of course."
"I'll see you when you're done Naruto-chan." Gamakichi grinned, "Have fun!"
"I will Gamakichi-kun!" Naruto gave a little wave as Jiraiya grabbed her other arm and towed her into the building, shutting the door behind her.
It was essentially just a large hall, and once they were inside Jiraiya moved to a toad in the corner of the room quickly, calling behind him as he did, "You'll have to get your coat and top off Naruto-chan."
"I know Ero Sennin!" she hummed to herself as she pulled her coat off first, folding it and placing it in the corner of the room, along with her top, which she also folded up and placed on top of her coat. She took a deep breath when she was done,
looking down at her bare belly.
She was glad that the placement of the seal was low enough that she could keep her bra on at least, and she hummed to herself as she channeled chakra into her hands and held them over the seal, which came into view at the touch of her chakra.
For the thousandth time she examined it, taking in the strokes, a perfect seal, though it wasn't fit for her purpose.
"You'll need to lie down brat." that was Jiraiya, and he was coming closer, "I can loosen the seal and you can remove it entirely once that's done."
"Of course." Naruto nodded, dropping down to the floor and laying back, the stone ground cool against her skin.
"Comfortable." Jiraiya was lowering himself to his knees next to her, sealing equipment laid out beside him. "If not say so now."
"A bit cold but I'll be okay Ero Sennin."
"Good." Jiraiya nodded, and he got to work, dipping a brush into a bottle of ink.
Then he started, drawing the key seal on top of the normal seal, and Naruto closed her eyes, forcing herself not to squirm at the tickling sensation.
It was much different than when she did it herself, it tickled more.
But she stayed still, and after what felt like a lifetime of precise delicate strokes she felt something shift inside of her, loosening, and Naruto opened her eyes.
"Is it done? It feels like it's done."
"It's loosened to half way."
"Thank you. You might wanna step back."
"Of course." Jiraiya nodded and moved backwards quickly towards the edge of the large hall, while Naruto closed her eyes
and let herself slip into the familiar landscape, smiling widely at Kurama.
The sky above them was brighter than usual, and there was birdsong in the air, signs of her good mood she knew.
"Are you ready."
"Of course." Kurama nodded eagerly, tails flicking around, moving, a sign of his eagerness. "Are you ready kit?"
"I am." Naruto moved towards the cage, which looked weaker now that the seal had been loosened, the bars much wider.
She smiled softly, grabbing the piece of paper that was the seal. Such a flimsy thing really, to hold in such power. "I love you Kurama. You know that right."
"I love you too brat. Now stop being sappy." there was excitement in Kurama's voice. Hope.
Naruto could do little more than oblige, and her fingers curled tightly around the paper, and then she was ripping it away and the cage dissolved around Kurama, and the fox let out a joyful noise as he stood fully for the first time since he'd been sealed, allowing himself to stretch, his chakra flooding outwards, warm and loving as it wrapped around Naruto, who didn't hesitate, sprinting towards the fox, who's gaze focused on her, and he lowered his head in time for Naruto to wrap her arms around his neck-well, as much as she could anyway, and she pressed her face into his warm fur.
It was the first time she'd been able to give him a true hug in her life, and Kurama shifted his head so that his head was pressed against her shoulder-as awkward as it was.
"Thank you." his voice was soft, "Thank you kit."
"I love you Kurama." Naruto lifted her head slightly, her eyes glowing with pride and joy as she stared at the fox as his tails curled and pressed against her, as he wrapped himself around her, warm and protective.
"I love you too brat." Kurama shifted, lowering himself so that he was led, letting Naruto lower herself to her knees and curl into his neck. "It feels so good, not being trapped in the stupid cage your father made."
"I know." Naruto curled her fingers into Kurama's neck, "You'll never be locked up like that again."
"I know."
"You are okay with the seal I designed."
"Of course brat." Kurama chuckled, "I wouldn't have approved it for use if I wasn't."
"You'll never be locked in a cell again."
"No, no more cells."
"We'll be tied together still but I won't let anyone lock you up."
"I know." the seal would create a tie between their very souls that would anchor him in place inside of her, it would take an incredibly skilled seals master to break it against their wills. He'd be safe inside of her she was sure.
"Ready?"
"Of course. Now go and do what you have to do brat."
Naruto nodded, slipping out of the mindscape and pushing herself so that she was sat up, letting out a breath, a wide smile on her lips.
"Everything okay?" Jiraiya's voice was cautious, "I felt the rush of Chakra when you removed your fathers seal."
"Perfect." Naruto sat up straight, humming to herself as she snatched up an unopened bottle of ink that had toppled when the Chakra had flooded out of her.
She pulled the little cork out, biting her thumb hard enough to make it bleed again, holding it over the opening of the bottle, pushing the pad of her index finger against her thumb, pushing upwards to push the blood out until it dripped into the bottle.
She made sure that there were three drops of blood in the bottle.
Then she was shifting her grip and popping her thumb into mouth, to clean it before she pushed the cork back into the bottle and shook it up, mixing the blood and ink before uncorking it again and grabbing a very thin brush and dipping it into the ink.
It was time to focus.
She worked slowly, carefully, the blood infused ink tracing over the skin of her stomach, standing out stark and dark against smooth skin as she delicately worked on the most important seal she'd ever designed.
She barely even breathed as she worked, very small slow breaths as to not disturb the ink that was drying on her skin.
It took over four hours to complete the seal. Naruto could feel Jiraiya's eyes watching her carefully for any signs that she needed to stop, but her focus was incredibly strong.
As she finished the final stroke and carefully placed the brush down beside her she let out a slow shaky breath-still careful as she didn't want to disturb the seal as it dried.
"Is the design complete?" Jiraiya's voice was hesitant, as if he wasn't sure he should be speaking yet.
"Yes. It just needs to be completed by channeling my Chakra into it."
"Of course."
"The ink's finishing drying it won't take long. I can't risk smudging it." the blonde admitted.
"Not much longer then." Jiraiya nodded slowly.
And perhaps a few minutes later Naruto judged the ink to be dry enough and she took a deep breath, channelling her chakra into her hand, and of course there was some of Kurama's Chakra too, entwined around her own, and she pushed it into her hand as she pressed her hand against the seal on her skin.
She watched as the ink glowed brightly and she felt something inside of her changing slightly, shifting, and she knew it was the blond being formed, their souls latching onto each other.
She was surprised when her right upper arm burned, and Naruto frowned in confusion, brows furrowing as she turned her head to look down at it, brows raising at the sight that met her.
It was almost like a tattoo, a mark forming on her skin-a physical sign of the bond between them even as the seal on her belly stopped glowing and settled-it wouldn't disappear as the old one had, it would stay there, a blood red, a sign of her own blood used in the sealing, a spiral centered seal with nine points jutting out from it with delicate designs in each of the nine points, one for each tail, and in the center of the spiral inside of the seal were the kanji for friends and equals.
The mark on her arm though was a small, vividly colored fox with nine tails waving in the air behind him.
Kurama.
She loved it.
"It's done. I can feel it." Kurama's voice was pleased, smug even. "I'm ask marked as you are kit. I have your clans spiral on my right front leg."
"Tied together forever. No matter what."
Naruto promised.
And it was a promise she intended to keep.
