Disclaimer: I do not own any of the content following this statement. All titles, names, and plots are owned by Masashi Kishomoto even thou he ruined the story for so many of us.
Note: the use of the name Naruto for both will stop after this chapter I wanted to just make a point they they are and are not the same.
Reflections
Chapter 2
To Live Again
….
Some time later as the clouds break and the rain stops Kakashi lands next to the couple. Not understanding what he is looking at, a Kunoichi wearing the old style uniform of the second world war laying over one of his lost genin. The rain had washed away all traces of blood but moving her aside he can see the hole of a Chidori in Naruto's jacket with signs of a scare fading on his chest. Looking over the girl she looks about the same age as Naruto, with a hole in her uniform that matches Naruto's, he can see she is slim but very fit with all the signs of hard training, with long flowing blonde hair and a truly beautiful face he can understand her need for the mask he can see attached to her collar.
His ninja dogs report they can't find any scent of Sasuke in the rain, he orders them to spread out and keep looking as he scans the valley looking at the damage his two Genin created.
Hearing the sound of running feet he turns to see the members of the second medical corps arriving at his side. They immediately check the two on the ground for any life-threatening wounds before turning to him.
"Where is Sasuke?", the lead medic asks, "He wasn't here when I arrived and I can find no sign of him.", Kakashi replies. The medic nods in understanding and orders his team to pick up the two shinobi and rush back to the hospital.
"How are the other Genin.", Kakashi asks between jumps as they travel through the tree tops.
"All wounded have been accounted for and have been taken to the hospital,", the lead medical said, "Shikamaru Nara has minor injuries, Kiba Inuzuka has serious injuries but they are not life-threatening, and both Neji Hyuga and Choji Akimichi are in serious condition. Personally, I am not sure they will make it to see the morning."
Looking over at Naruto on the medic's back Kakashi wonders how he will take it if one of his friends dies on this mission.
…
Waking up to the strange feeling of a soft bed with clean sheets and fresh flowers trying to cover the smell of antiseptic Naruto doesn't move a muscle as she tries to understand what is going on. This isn't the cold ceil of her room at the bottom of the root cave system nor is it the steel floor of the Hokage's lab she had found herself in way too many times. Never having seen the inside of a hospital she didn't recognize any of the strange sounds or smells in and around her room.
The last 24 hours have been a blur of pain and anxiety ending in a fight at the valley of the end, then it all comes back to her, the fox's plan to escape the world into another had worked. Not only that but she found someone that every bone in her body screamed out was just like her. His pain, his loneliness pulled at her. He was her other self, she could feel it and nothing but nothing in this world would keep her from seeing him again.
Opening her eyes she can see that the room is dark with some light coming in through what she assumed was a window curtains three feet to her left. A lamp on a side table sharing its space with a picture of water and a real glass. The water reminds her how thirsty she is so scanning the room one more time until she is sure she is alone and leans over and grabs the glass and empties its contents in one gulp, refilling and emptying the glass one more time she falls back on the bed.
Suspecting something she lifts the covers and looks down, she is only covered in what she assumes is some kind of nightgown and nothing else, becoming aware of her body she can not feel anything wrong. Checking with her hands feeling for busing or any other indication she had been molested while passed out.
Releasing the breath she didn't even know she had been holding she relaxes back into the bed. "Where am I?", she said out loud but the fox was silent and she gets a feeling it is in a deep sleep comes to her mind. Ok, fine she will have to do this alone like always. Sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed she pauses for a moment as she hears the door being unlocked.
Weighing her options, not knowing if this is a friend or foe, she opts for sitting still and watching the door open. The familiar sight of an Anbu agent is soon replaced by a woman in a white dress, and a big smile, "Oh I am so glad you are a wake, we were all worried about you dear.", she said walking over to the window and drawing the curtains aside. Looking out the window Naruto can see she is on the third or fourth floor of a building and has a view of the leaf village below her.
The woman leaves the window and walks up to her, she is so cheerful Naruto can't understand what to do. None of her training covered 'Cheerful' so she simply follows the woman with her eyes as she walks up to Naruto. Standing close, easily within striking distance Naruto tenses up waiting for the customary punishment for failing a mission. 'She is well trained to not recoil from my uncovered face.', thinks Naruto feeling more naked now them when they made her stand in the hall unclothed for two whole days but for her face covering.
When the woman takes her hand and feels for the pulse on her wrist Naruto is at a total loss on what is going on. "Can you tell me where I am?", Naruto said in her soft voice, long ago learning that people react badly if she raises her voice.
"You are in the hospital,", seeing the puzzled look on the blonde girl's face she adds, "more precisely the shinobi wing of the general hospital of the leaf village."
Thinking for a minute she knew what a hospital was but having never been in one or even allowed to walk by it, it was all new and somewhat exciting. They were treating her like a person, a real normal person for the first time in her life. Not wanting to break the spell but she needed to know, she asked, "What happen to the boy in the orange jump suit that I was with?", she asked hoping not to hear he died from that chest wound.
"Oh, you mean Naruto, he is doing fine recovering in a room down the hall.", not showing her surprise at him having the same name she cleared her throat, "Do you think I could see him?"
Now was the real test, with an Anbu right outside the door she doubted she would leave this room any time soon.
"Mmmm, I don't see why not?", said the woman, "Let me check with the head nurse, by the way, I am Akia, I will be your nurse while you recover." Reaching down she pulls a cord out of the side of the bed, "If you need anything, anything at all just pushes this button here and I will come." Akia said with her best cheerful smile that unnerved Naruto to her core.
"Now I need you to sit still as I check your vital signs,", and with that, she checked Naruto's temperature, respiration, and using some strange jutsu her blood pressure. Patting Naruto's hand Akia said, "You are as healthy as can be, not a thing out of place. How do you feel?"
"I am functional.", said Naruto, giving one of only two allowed answers to that question.
"Yes, I can see that, but how do you feel, are you in any pain?", getting more confused Naruto just looks at the nurse, learning long ago that silence was the best course of action when confused.
"Ok, they said you had chakra exhaustion when you came in last night, I guess you're still tired so rest here and I will bring you some food.", said Akia leaving Naruto to her thoughts.
Staring out the window, Naruto can see that it was almost the same village as her own, one or two buildings seemed out of place and the shield was missing overhead. Overall, it felt calm and peaceful, not that fake peace she was used to but a real peace.
The door burst open and Akia walked in carrying a large serving tray with several plates full of steaming food. "Come away from that window girl, your giving everyone a free show,", Akia laughed, putting the tray down and helping Naruto tie the hospital robe closed in the back.
Having the idea of modesty beaten out of her years ago Naruto allowed the Nurse to close her robe before sitting at the small table that Akia placed the food on. Shoving the food in her mouth as fast as she could Naruto cleared one plate and pulled the next to her, waiting every moment for Akia to take it away from her. Seeing the shocked look on the nurse's face Naruto paused with half a dumpling in her mouth.
"You poor dear you must be starving.", Akia said with such a look of concern Naruto didn't know what to do or say so falling back on her training she swallowed and grabbed the next dumpling clearing that plate as well.
Feeling full for the first time in a very long time Naruto said, "Thank you for the food.", giving a small bow.
"I was able to ask about you visiting Naruto's room and the head nurse said she didn't see why not, visiting hours don't start for a couple of more hours but technically you are not a visitor.", Akia said with a small laugh and that smile Naruto was just starting to get used it.
Standing up Naruto started for the door, "Hold on their little lady, we need to get you some clothes first", said Akia moving to block Naruto's way, Akia had learned long ago not to touch a shinobi unexpectedly from behind.
Pulling from the nightstand a set of hospital blues, she watches Naruto pull her robe off without a thought to covering her naked body and pulled on the pants and shirt, looking around the nurse could see for the first time a look of worry, almost panic on the beautiful blonde girls face.
"What do you need dear.", Akia asked as Naruto started to pull open all the draws looking for something. "I need to cover my hair and face, I can't go out like this.", Naruto said, her body she didn't care about having been told how ugly and useless she is, but her face, she had been trained to never let people see her face.
Understanding her need to cover her face, many shinobi had strange and peculiar quirks, Akia pulled out a spare sheet and helped Naruto ripe it into a makeshift mask and bandanna. Now feeling whole Naruto allowed Akia to open the door first. The Anbu was standing there but didn't give them a second look as they walked by. Seeing two more Anbu in the hall Naruto could see they were in a formation to stop people from entering the hallway not prevent people from leaving.
Reaching the third door down from hers at the end of the hall Akia turned to her and said, "Now he isn't totally awake so don't force him to talk, his injuries were very bad when he came in last night."
Opening the door Naruto can see the blonde boy from last night wrapped from head to toe in bandages, he was propped up on some pillows so he could look out the window but his eyes were focused on the headband in his hands.
As she walked in he looked up and looked at her for a second, hearing the door close behind her Naruto lowered the mask from her face for a second before turning to the side to place it back on. Turning back to the boy, his smile lit up the room. "My Angel ", he joked seeing her face and waving her over with his bandaged hand.
"How are you feeling.", she asked learning from Akia that was the thing to say.
Waving his hands pointing at himself he laughs again, "As good as expected I guess, Granny said I would be able to leave in a couple of days."
Walking up and standing at his bedside she felt safe for the first time since waking up. Looking around she pulls a chair up to his bed and sits down with her back to the window so she can face the door. Years of paranoia and fear of closed doors coming to the forefront.
He leans back into his pillows dropping the headband in his lap, looking over at her he said, "So, what is your name? I can't keep calling you angel.", laughing at his own joke she joined him with one of her small smiles the world has never seen before answering him.
"Naruto.", she said without thinking about how weird this could turn out to be.
He looks at her for a second and gives her his trademark smile, "That is so cool, my name is Naruto too, isn't that great.", he said slapping his fist into his hand. Shaking his hand in pain from hitting himself too hard, she thinks, 'is this guy an idiot?'
Staring at her face Naruto can't believe such a beautiful girl is in his room talking to him without wanting something from him. Her eyes are blue like the best summer day, clear and bright without a hint of hate in them. No one, not even the Hokage looks at him with such acceptance.
Silence is an old friend of hers, feeling no need to talk, she is happy to just sit for hours but he is a creature in need of attention, silence is soul-crushing and can't be allowed. "So tell me about yourself, what were you doing at the valley of the end?", reaching over he took her hand in his, and for the first time in her life, she felt a touch that wasn't in anger, "You can trust me.", his honest question had no sign of trickery or deception. She didn't know if it was his kind eyes or the child-like look on his face but his words compelled her to speak.
She told him about her mission to stop Sasuke, leaving out the kill on sight order as he seemed to not understand the need to truly defeat your enemies. When she said the fox used its power to find a way to set them free, he looked down at his stomach and the seal upon it wondering if someday the fox would try to help him.
"And then I landed next to you by the river.", she finished, looking for any sign he would push her away like all the others. Squeezing her hand he rubbed the back of his head with his other hand.
"That was a great story.", he said, not really understanding it all, "So I have a question for you", he paused and then with a very serious look about him.
"Do you like Ramen?", he asks her, but not waiting for her to respond he continues, "I love Ramen, it's the food of the gods, I would eat it every day if I could. Have you ever been to Ichiraku Ramen, it's the best in the whole world, they have …."
She listen to him talk for an hour about Ramen in all its forms, learning much but just enjoying the fact that someone was willing to talk to her. Naruto can't remember when the last time someone talked to her about something other than a mission or training. As he branched out to talk about all the pranks he played while in the academy, she had to laugh at his tale of painting the faces of the Hokages.
He paused hearing her laughing, the pearls of laughter rolled from under the mask , it was the most wonderful sound he had ever heard and he decided right then and there he would do anything to hear it again.
Going into great detail on the panting story hoping to get her to laugh again he didn't feel the change in her demeanor as the door opened and in walked the Hokage. Looking to the Hokage he didn't notice she had moved to hide behind him as he yelled out. "Granny, have you met my new best friend, Her name is Naruto too, isn't that cool." He shouted at the Hokage turning to an empty chair he starts to look around for his new friend.
All Naruto could see from her place next to the bed when the door opened was the butcher of the sound walking into the room. Her picture had been hung in the root rooms with orders to run on sight. The stories of her torturing of any root member captured ringing in her ears, her training screamed run but hearing him greet her as granny froze her in place.
The Hokage placed her hands on her hips as she stared at the bright blue eyes of a slim girl staring at her from behind Naruto's pillows. Having seen that look of total terror on many faces in the battle field Tsunade knew to not make any sudden movements.
"Come out and let me see you.", Tsunade said motioning her to walk around the bed. It takes a long ten seconds before the girl stands up and looks not at the Hokage but at Naruto in the bed as if asking if it really is safe.
From the bed, Naruto said, "This is Granny Tsunade, she is the Hokage.", he said as if that answered all her questions. Walking around the bed she gave the Hokage a low bow and stands still with her hands held to her chest and eyes down looking at the floor.
"I live to serve", the girl's soft voice was so low Tsunade had to strain to hear her.
She had glanced at Kakashi's report and recalled that he found a young shinobi with Naruto at the valley of the end. Putting two and two together she figured this was her. Surprised she was not only up after coming in with almost no chakra but to find her in Naruto's room was puzzling.
Looking away from the clearly terrified girl Tsunade said, "So you're telling me I have two Naruto's to deal with.", she chuckles hoping to lighten the mood.
Walking around the girl and up to Naruto's bed, she scans over the wounded boy and sees he is healing as fast as expected she looks over at the girl who hadn't moved a muscle and looking closer she wondered if she was even breathing at this point.
Sensing no evil intent in the girl and very little chakra Tsunade felt it was safe to leave her here for now. "You can visit but you both need to get some rest," Tsunade said walking to the door, she stops and turns back to look at the two teenagers in the room. "I will be seeing you both in the morning, in your separate rooms." With that final warning, the Hokage left the room, the clicking of her heels on the hard floor fading away.
Taking a deep breath Naruto moved back to her seat and looked at Naruto on the bed waiting for him to talk.
"Granny is great, you don't have to be so worried so much,", he said in his endless optimism.
Relaxing back in her chair she tried to remember that this wasn't her world, that wasn't the butcher and she wasn't in root anymore. "How long has she been Hokage," she asks.
Naruto had to lean over to hear her clearly but he thinks he got the idea of what she was asking and launched into the story of how he and Master Jiraiya had brought back Tsunade to become the fifth Hokage after a great battle. Not remembering ever hearing the name Orochimaru in her world she just enjoyed the story, glad to hear her counterpart in this world wasn't weak and useless as he first seemed.
The only question she had was why the most powerful Yakuza Master in the five get nations, one as powerful as Jiraiya of the toads, would be personally helping return a Hokage. There must have been a very large reward or he found some way to use it to blackmail the village. It was something she would have to look into at some point.
Without warning the door burst open and in marched a pink-haired girl, she stomped her way over to the bed and hit Naruto on the head. "Baka, where is Sasuke, you promised to bring him back to me."
As she raised her fist again to make sure Naruto was paying attention she found her arm pulled behind her back and a soft voice in her ear. "Hit him again and I will end you."
The killer intent behind the words was weak but still burned into Sakura as she tried to pull free.
"Sakura-chan this is my new friend, her name is Naruto too, isn't that cool.", Naruto said from the bed still rubbing his head. Feeling her arm being freed Sakura turned to look at the other girl, the blue hospital clothes fit so poorly she couldn't see anything about the girl's figure if it wasn't for the long blonde hair flowing out from under her head scarf and sharp blue eyes she would be unsure it was a girl at all.
"Who would be dumb enough to name a girl Naruto?", Sakura said stepping back and giving this new person a wide berth.
"My mother." was the soft but blunt answer that didn't leave any room for debate.
Not having a response to that Sakura gives her a sideways look before turning back to her original target. "Were is Sasuke, Naruto.", Sakura said changing back to her one note song she has been singing all her life.
Looking away from his pink teammate he said, "He got away, but don't worry Sakura-chan, I will get him back, it's a promise of a lifetime." ending his little speech with another fist slap hurting himself again, Sakura didn't even notice as she put her hands on her hips and stared at the idiot in the bed.
"You better keep your promise.", she said raising her first but this time backing away from both crazy blondes in the room before stomping out the door and closing it with a slam.
"Who is that?", Naruto said as she walked over to the bed helping Naruto fix the pillows at his back, he shook them loose with his bouncing around.
"That was Sakura-chan, she is on my team with Sasuke.", he said not realizing both his teammates had tried to kill him in the same 24 hours.
Thinking back to the sound/sand invasion Naruto remembered seeing the dead body of a pink-haired girl in the rubble of the collapsed arena. She had been crushed under a fallen wall while running away. Thinking nothing of it she returned to her seat again as Naruto started another story about their first mission to wave and how it proved Sasuke was his best friend.
The knocking on the door was light but both blondes heard it clearly, not seeing the door open Naruto walked over and pulled it open to see a black almost blue-haired Hyuga standing there waiting. She let out a little eep as she looked up at Naruto's covered face and long blonde hair that was wildly flowing out behind her.
"Hinata, come in.", said Naruto from the bed as Hinata stood frozen at the door. Walking to the bed she looked over to Naruto who still stood at the now closed door before turning to talk to Naruto.
"I am glad to see you're feeling better.", Hinata said calling on all her strength. "The rest of the retrieval team is also healing well.", she continued before she lost her nerve or worst fainted in front of that strange girl who still stood by the door. Who is she and what is she doing in her Naruto's room.
Feeling bad for not asking about the other team members Naruto asked about his friends. Over at the door, Naruto gave him some room to talk to the Hyuga, having not seen many Hyuga in person, what with them hiding behind their compound walls ever since the night of the Uchiha massacre. It was clear the dark-haired girl had something for Naruto that he didn't notice or maybe didn't care about. That thought gave her a small happy feeling she didn't know how to handle as they ended their short talk and Hinata gave her a look as she walked out the door Naruto was holding open for her.
Before the door has a chance to fully close in walked Akia.
"Time for you two to rest, now back to your room.", Akia said pushing Naruto out the door into the hall. Seeing the Anbu Naruto decided it wasn't the best idea to resist. Walking into her room Akia takes the time to help Naruto into bed before leaving. As Naruto stared at the ceiling she wondered if this was all real or just the random thoughts of a dying girl floating in a river.
Out in the hall one of the Anbu walks over to Akia as she stands looking at the girl's closed door, "Captain", he said to Akia, "What are your orders."
"We activate the seals and report to the Hokage what you heard.", Akia said as she placed bother hands on the door and pushed Chakra into the seals painted on the door. The chain reaction is faster than the eye can see as seals around all the walls in Naruto's room flash alive and she falls into a peaceful sleep as all her chakra is suppressed.
…
"What do you think?", said Jiraiya taking a long drink and looking at Tsunade over her desk. They were listening to the Anbu's report on what they overheard while the two Naruto's talked.
"I have heard stranger things, hell you remember demon country and that dam cave.", Tsunade said recalling an old mission when they were young. Thinking about everything he has seen over the years Jiraiya's laughter fills the room. "Hell didn't Kakashi tell us the one time he ran into Naruto when he was still a kid himself.", Jiraiya said remembering reading that report from off the fourth Hokage's desk.
"So time travel and demons from hell but does that add up to multiple worlds all existing at the same time?", Tsunade said looking over at her old teammate.
Handing over his glass so she can fill it from the bottle on the desk Jiraiya sits back down and thinks. "The only way I can say for sure is to check her seal, if there is another Nine-Tail fox in that girl then we know for sure she is telling the truth and we have a whole new set of problems to worry about.", with that said he downs the glass in one go before putting it down.
…
The next morning Naruto woke with a start, having never slept so soundly before she felt renewed and full of life. She wonders if she can have a hospital bed in her new ceil when they decide to lock her up again. It would be nice to have a soft bed just for a little while longer.
Leaving her bed and using the bathroom she wanders around her room not daring to hope she can just open the door and leave. Pulling the curtains open she can see the sun is just rising over the village looking down she can see some people walking the streets below coming and going to the hospital entrance.
Turning to her room, she can see there is just enough room to do her Kata stances. Working through her daily routine makes her feel normal but for the lack of a harsh voice pointing out all her flaws. Completing the last kata she now moved to do her flexibility, bending over backward she places her hands on the floor and kicks into a handstand. Lowering down she does a set of pushups with her toes pointed to the ceiling. Lowing down to her forearms with her legs still in the air she bends her legs backward until she can touch her heels to her shoulders from behind.
She starts counting the seconds as she holds this challenging pose, each day she tries to do one more second, failing most days but today she knows she can beat her own record. As she counts up to 30 she feels confident she can break 45, her current record.
The door opens with a start and looking up from the floor Naruto can see Akia standing there with an arm full of towels and a puzzled look on her face.
"You trying to break your back or join the circus?", Akia laughs as she kicks the door closed and puts down the towels on the bed.
"I have fresh towels for you to take a shower, so hurry up and get in there as I will be bringing you breakfast soon.", Akia said as Naruto sprang up off the floor. doing a complete backflip in the air before landing on her feet.
Giving a small bow Naruto thanks Akia for her kindness as she walks out, again the Anbu can be seen in the hallway in their black uniforms and white masks. Unlike most people, seeing them guarding the door brings her a sense of normalcy.
Walking into the shower was a new shock to the blonde girl as it was hot and seemed never ending. She almost cried standing there as the stream filled the room and didn't stop. Getting a hold of her emotions she marveled at the number of soaps and shampoos she had, decided this would soon be gone she tries them all until she is sparkling clean from head to toe smelling like flowers for the first time in her life. Finding a fluffy white robe in the pile of towels she puts it on and wraps a towel around her long blonde hair to help it dry.
It's been so long that she can't remember the last time she let her hair out of its confinement and flow down her back totally free. They had tried endlessly to cut it short even going so far as to shave her head but the fox seemed to have other ideas and would force it to grow overnight until it reached her lower back and sometimes longer still. Braiding it into a manageable form that could be hidden under her head cover was her only solution.
"Come and eat,", called out Akia from the other room placing the food trays down on the small table. Naruto didn't have to be told twice as she rushed out to sit at the table. The amount of food was once again incredible and she started eating with both hands chewing as fast as she could.
Reaching over and with as gentle of touch as she could manage Akia stopped Naruto in her mad rush to eat everything in front of her. The look on the girl's face said she had expected everything to be taken away from her.
"Please dear, slow down, this is all for you and nobody is going to take it from you.", said Akia, having seen this before when they freed shinobi from long-term imprisonment.
Nodding in understanding and swallowing what she had in her mouth Naruto said, "Thank you for the food.", as she started eating again but this time at a slower pace. If she had known hospital food was this good she would have found a way to get into one a long time ago.
Feeling it was safe to leave Akia walks out promising to return once Naruto is done eating.
"How is she doing this morning captain?", ask Tsunade as she waited in the hallway.
"Hard to say,", said Akia, "She seems healthy but her social skills are completely deficient." Walking with the Hokage away from the sealed door and toward Naruto's room.
"From what I can tell she is highly trained in some areas and totally lacking in others. I know for a fact she can't sense the seals around the room or on the window preventing her from leaving.", said Akia pausing at Naruto's door. "Or she does and doesn't care which is worst in my thinking."
"Did you get the DNA sample results back from the lab yet.", asked the Hokage before she opened the door to check in on her favorite idiot ninja.
"Yes, late last night, I reviewed them with the experts on clans and generational drifts. Her DNA says she is part of the Uzumaki clan but it also has a small part of three others, but truthfully, I had myself and other non-clan staff tested and we all have similar patterns in that area," said Akia crossing her arms waiting for the Hokage to challenge her assumptions.
"Did you compare her against the sample I gave you,", said Tsunade knowing the sample was from Naruto's mother.
"Yes Hokage, there were matches in the Uzumaki DNA, we believe it would be from a very close family member, a mother or a sister.
Laughing Tsunade looked down at the shorter Anbu captain, "So you're telling me that she could just be a female version of Naruto in there.", she said pointing to the door they are standing in front of.
"Yes from what I can tell, If her story is true then it's just a Y chromosome is out of place.", Akia said.
Opening the door and yelling "Good Morning idiot", Tsunade turned as the door closed saying, "Get Jiraiya out of whatever bath house he went to this morning and get him ready."
…..
Naruto was able to almost finish all the food, never having enough in one sitting it was strange to leave anything on a plate but she just couldn't do it. Again it hits her, this strange feeling of being full and almost cared for, it made her wonder when it will stop and the real world come in to take it all away.
Still, in only her robe she pulls the chair over to the window, it fascinates her to watch the civilians walk the streets with shinobi jumping from roof top to roof top over their heads.
Hearing the door unlocking she turns expecting Akia to walk in when she sees Jiraiya's large frame fill the door. 'Oh god, they sold me to the Yakuza', she thinks covering her face and looking around for a way out, 'I am not going to be a whore', is her only thought as she stands with her hands over her face looking at Jiraiya.
Seeing the girl panic Jiraiya remembers parts of her story she told Naruto and said, "I am not here to hurt you girl, I am a loyal shinobi of the leaf."
This breaks Naruto out of her train of thought and remembers Naruto telling her Jiraiya was his Sensei. Feeling a little bit foolish she stands tall, or as tall as her 5-foot 2-inch frame will let her, she faces Jiraiya.
"I am Jiraiya, Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku,", he said without his usual song and dance show, now is not the time. As he is talking Tsunade walks in with Akia and as the door closes she stands to Jiraiya's left and says, "We know you believe you're from another world, another existence but we need to check. If it's true then you will have the Nine-Tailed fox sealed inside you as proof of what you are claiming."
Feeling that the blonde understands Akia walks over to help her uncover her stomach only to see her frozen with her hands covering her face.
"Calm down, we only want to look at your seal.", Akia said hoping she doesn't have to use force to get the girl to lower her hands off her face.
"Why are you covering your face child,", asks the Tsunade in the closes thing she has to a motherly voice.
The girl's eyes grow big and round as she looks at the Hokage, "I am hideous, every member of root that looked at me has told me so,", said Naruto turning her back to them. "Lord Hokage told me, I remind him of all the evil in the world and that I should never show my face to anyone."
Remembering it is not her sensei the girl is talking about Tsunade tells her, "Well I am Hokage now and I order you to show me your seal." Totally expecting the girl to bear her stomach to them she is shocked when she turns to face them and drops the robe to the floor.
To say she is beautiful does not give justice to the word, with a body of a model and the muscle tone of a gymnast she is every teenage boy's dream. She had been lied to all her life as her face was of an angel gracing the earth with eyes so blue you fall into them. If you were ever honored with a smile your heart would break in joy is the only thought Tsunade had.
Naruto pulls the towel off her head allowing her golden hair to fall free down to her waist, the effect was mind-blowing as she didn't even try to use it to hide her perfect breast but let it flow down her back.
Expecting some perverted comment from her old teammate Tsunade turned to see his mouth hanging open and a small line of blood running down his nose. "The seal, I need to see the seal,", Jiraiya is able to say after a couple of tries, finally finding his voice.
With a small bow, Naruto drops to her knees and bends over until her forehead is pressed to the floor, and with a quick practiced hand movement, she pulls her hair up over her head to spray out in front of her like a golden wave.
Everyone in the room stares at the prone girl as she displays her back to them all. It is not the expected perfection they had already been shown but a mass of overlapping seals one over the other each looking more corrupted than the next.
Here is the hideousness she talked of, not one of herself but what has been done to her, time and again seals had been layered over her. Jiraiya walks up to the prone girl and then behind her to read what he can of the chaos.
Mumbling to himself he squats down and stares at the seals so grotesquely displayed, some even looked carved into her with a red hot blade, others seem to be acid burns, and none have the quality of his late student the fourth Hokage.
"Who did this to you.", Jiraiya asks all humor gone from his voice, "I live to serve.", is her robotic answer.
"Child, answer the question, who did this to you.", Tsunade said bending down to look over Jiraiya's shoulder.
They wait, two then three heartbeats before she answers, "The third Hokage gave me my seals. I live to serve the Hokage.", Naruto responds pressing her forehead into the flood waiting for the next seal to be burned into her flesh. The dream is over she thinks readying herself for what is to come.
"I need time, time to study this, my god that looks like a Hyuga pain seal with a death god modifier.", said Jiraiya tracing the lines of the seal near the back of her neck. "And this one, those are the designs for chakra suppression but backward.", moving forward so he can look closer he asks, "Can you even form a jutsu without hurting yourself."
"Master Danzo says that pain is the greatest teacher.", is Naruto's reply.
Standing up and taking a step back Tsunade said, "That enough, I am going to have to kill that old bastard."
Grunting his agreement Jiraiya makes 14 quick hand signs and says, "Don't move.", as he lays his hand down on the middle of her back. The pain is not new and was expected, Naruto knows the world is nothing but pain but the feeling of this new seal is different. Confusion floods her mind as Jiraiya's chakra doesn't add a new layer to the matrix of pain but removes one then another.
Taking a deep breath he stands up and looks at Tsunade, "That is all I can do, for now, I need to study this,", waving his hand down at the girl's back saying, "madness", turning to the Anbu captain at his side, "Help me make a copy of this so I can leave this poor girl in peace."
With that he summons a large sheet of chakra paper from a storage scroll and with Akia's help lays it over Naruto's back. "Hold it still,", he said to Akia but he sees Naruto freeze up and even stop breathing, the forced training she had to have gone through to react to his words make him want to hunt down Danzo if Tsunade doesn't do it first.
Forcing Chakra into the paper he creates a small seal used by spies to copy documents and in a matter of seconds, the paper is covered in a copy of all the seals it covers. Looking it over Jiraiya stands up and holds his hand out for Akia to give him the now rolled-up paper.
Looking over the still prone girl he said, "Breath already, I am done.", listening to her take a breath he steps over her hair and leaves the room without another word already deep in thought on what needed to be done to free Naruto. Tsunade follows him with her eyes until the door clicks closed then turning to Akia still kneeling down by Naruto's side, she said, "Get her some clothes, anything she needs and bring her to my office this afternoon."
Naruto can hear the door close for the second time and dares to speak, "What happen?", still not believing the endless pain had lessened.
Akia takes Naruto's arm and pulls her up so she is standing, wrapping the robe over her shoulders she helps Naruto walk over to the bed to sit down.
"Master Jiraiya removed some of the pain seals,", said Akia handing Naruto a glass of water, "You should be able to form a jutsu now without pain." Naruto forms a hand seal and a small flame springs from her fingers tips, rolling her hand over it jumps from one finger to the next as if it had a life of its own.
Looking at a smiling Akia's approving nod Naruto feels a tear run down her cheek. "It's been so long I forgot what it's like to not hurt". Akia pulls her into a hug but Naruto pulls back not understanding why she is being touched in such a strange manner.
Akia said, "It's only a hug Naruto, you can be hugged and give a hug whenever you feel the need.", with that said she wraps her arms around the girl on the bed and hold her tight until she relaxes into her arms. After a minute or two, she lets go of Naruto and says, "I will be back with some new clothes for you, later we can go shopping together, OK?". Getting a nod of agreement from the blonde she leaves the room giving orders to seal the room as she walks past the Anbu guards.
…..
Back at the Hokage's office Jiraiya had set up a new table to the side of the Hokage's desk and had laid out the chakra copy paper. Staring at it he then started making copies of each of the seals on a separate scroll.
"Did you feel the fox in that poor girl or is she just brainwashed to think she is from a different world?", asks Tsunade from her desk watching Jiraiya work. It's been years since she had seen him so focused outside of his perverted research.
"Yes, yes I did feel it, deep behind all these seals was a chakra I have only felt once before when training Naruto.", Jiraiya said as he copied another seal. "It was weaker than our Naruto's but it was there nonetheless." Shaking his hand to get the cramp out of his fingers he looked over to Tsunade, "You know we need to come up with a name or something, calling them both Naruto is going to cause confusion."
"I have been thinking of that problem and I am going to leave that up to the two of them.", the Hokage said, walking over to look at his work she points to the seal near the top. "I thought the Hyuga seal could only be activated by a main branch member."
"That is true here, but this one has been modified to work with only two other chakra,", he points to a set of small thumb sized seals attached to the edges of the main seal, "I know this one is our old sensei's chakra seal and I would have to assume this one is Danzo."
Standing back he looks over to Tsunade, "We need to remove this one first as it acts as a kill switch, the old bastards wanted to be able to kill her with one hand sign."
"Wouldn't that have released the Fox at the same time?", Tsunade asked.
"Yes and I think that was the plan, they made her into a walking bomb that they could send into any other village and set the fox free.", said Jiraiya, it was getting harder not to hate his old sensei even knowing it wasn't really him that did this but it felt like something he would do if pushed too far.
"I will order a Hyuga seal master to come help, if that bastard Hiashi says no to this request then he will have hell to pay.", said the Hokage as she wrote a quick order on a scroll and called for an Anbu to deliver it to the Hyuga's compound.
…
Feeling the seals release around her Naruto looks up to the door. With the pain seals removed she can once again feel the world around her. Now she knows she will not be surprised again by that hated door opening again without her noticing.
Seated at the window for the past hour she had probed the seal around the window with her chakra and found many small weaknesses she could use if she had to. The seal master that did the work hadn't had to seal in a duel chakra person it seems. She found if she pushes the seal with her own chakra then again with the little bit of fox chakra she still could access it would start to fail trying to adjust from one chakra to the other.
Covering her face with her self-made mask she turned to face whoever lowered the seals. As the door opens she was happy to see it was Naruto fulling dressed in his orange jumpsuit, as soon as he laid eyes on her he lit up with a great smile.
"Naruto-chan, how are you feeling, Granny said you had to stay in your room for a little while longer", he said walking over to stand close, almost too close she thought but it felt right, almost safe.
Looking out the window at the village and its people below he asked, "What have you been doing? It's almost lunchtime, I was thinking of going to Ichiraku for Ramen, do you like ramen, you know I really like ramen it's the food of the gods."
Not sure what part he expected her to answer, looking up at him as he bounced on his heels looking out the window, did he want an answer at all. Seems he was a ball of pent-up energy once healed, it would be nice to have someone that could keep up with her.
Holding up a wooden comb she said, "I have been trying to untangle my hair so I can brad it." He looks at her with all of his attention, noticing the wave of blonde hair flowing down behind her he said, "I can help Naruto-chan.", taking the comb from her hand he sits behind her.
She braces herself for the coming pain, every time someone tries to comb her hair they end up pulling out handfuls. She hears the comb but doesn't feel any of the normal hair-pulling pain that follows. He starts to hum a tuneless song as he works from the end to the middle and back down again, finding all the little knots and working them out without a single pulled hair.
"How are you doing that,", she asks.
"Doing what Naruto-chan?", he asked as he focused his full attention on every little hair in his hands working the comb through the strands as smoothly as he could.
Not sure if she should tell him or not, she figures to let it go. "Forget it, just don't forget to do the top, I brad all the way up.", she said waiting to see if his skill was just a fluke.
"OK, Naruto-chan, I got it.", he said running his fingers through her hair and then using the comb to gently work out the tangles.
They sit like this for a better part of an hour as he works each and every strand of hair into a long straight line, her hair was shining now in the afternoon sun as he finished the final locks and sits back.
"you have a lot of hair Naruto-chan, you don't like to cut it?", he asks handing her the comb and standing up to admire his work.
"I wish, that dam fox grows it back every night if I cut it. I think it's a perverted game it plays with me.", she said looking up at him, their eyes lock and the world stops spinning for a second before it start again with a bang.
The bang was Akia returning with an arm full of bags overflowing with clothes. Seeing the two blondes stare at her, she gives them a little wave. "Come over here and help me boy.", she said figuring that was the best way to tell them apart.
Naruto runs over and takes all the bags from her and puts them down on the bed.
"Wow, you've been shopping for Naruto-chan, Akia Oneesan.", said Naruto deciding at this point Akia was now part of the family if she was willing to shop for Naruto-chan.
Giving the blonde boy a sideways look she figures it would be best not to correct him on the proper way to address someone, just gives a nod. Having seen how he gives familiar names to people he likes she thinks it a good thing to be part of the family of the strongest Demon container now living.
Using a piece of ripped bed sheet like a ribbon to hold her hair in a quick pony tail Naruto walks over to see what Akia had brought in her bags.
"Sorry I couldn't get you to come with me so I ended up buying different sizes of everything, don't worry we can return what doesn't fix.", Akia said as she started laying out some things on the bed.
With both blondes staring at her she thought, 'Did I do something wrong, then she was pulled into a hug by Naruto-chan and soon joined in by Naruto as they said.
"Thank you Akia Oneesan", feeling her feet leave the ground she waited for the over-excited teens to put her back down. "Ok OK, enough of that, put me down you two.", she had to say as they seemed to be enjoying this little group hug too much.
Naruto-chan not wanting to wait grabs one of the smaller bags and dumps it on the bed, a dozen different colored bras and panties fall onto the bed cover from plane grey to lacy red, and even an orange pair, Naruto picks up the bra to look at.
"You like orange, Naruto-chan?", he asks in his innocent mind not really understanding what he is holding.
She looked over and said, "I don't know, I have never used one like that before,", having been only given bandages to wrap herself in this was a new and exciting adventure.
Opening her robe and dropping it to the floor she reacher over to take the bra from the totally frozen and shocked Naruto. His mouth drops open and he can't take his eyes off of the most perfect body he has ever seen. A line of blood from his nose joins the drool at the corner of his mouth.
"At least we know she is a true blonde,", said the fox in the back of his mind as the fox was also staring in wonder. "Now that is a vixen."
"Naruto what are you doing.", said a shocked Akia as she stood between the two teens pushing Naruto to turn his back. "Ok boy, time for you to leave.", Akia said holding Naruto's arm just above the elbow until she can push him out the door.
Turning back to the still naked girl Akia looks her over and can appreciate all the hard work that went into getting a body like that, "Ok we need to talk, you can't keep doing this."
…..
"Hi Granny, what did you want to see me for.", said Naruto as he walked into a large room in the basement of the Hokage tower. He can see Jiraiya sensei talking to a Hyuga over to the side as they looked at sheets of paper with dozens of seals spread before them.
"Akia will be here with Naruto shortly and there are some things you need to hear.", said Tsunade from behind the table putting down a sheet of paper.
"What that Granny?", Naruto said being the most impatient ninja alive.
Throwing an empty bottle at him she said, "I said when they get here, now go sit over there.", pointing to a chair in the back of the room.
In less than five minutes in walks Akia with an orange covered Naruto close behind, after hearing of her counterpart's love of orange she decided to try the color, she personally didn't have a favorite color having lived her life in a grey world without color.
She was wearing a dark orange blouse that buttoned up the front and had puffy sleeves down to her wrest. With bright orange silk pants showing off her nice round ass and that flared out around her legs but were tied tight around her ankles just above burnt orange dress boots with 2-inch heels.
The Long single brad of hair as thick as a man's arm hung down to the middle of her back and was swinging with her every step in counter point to the sway of her hips. It was a classic catwalk you see on every model but done by a trained killer who mesmerized every person in the room.
Tsunade only thought was if she hadn't covered her face with a silk scarf she would break poor Jiraiya. "Over here girl, "Tsunade said, taking the easiest name that came to mind.
Seeing the Hokage Naruto walked up to the table and dropped to her knees and pressed her head to the floor, "I live to serve.", echoed in the room as she knelt before the Hokage.
'Going to have to train that out of her.', thought Tsunade as she came around the table and pulled the girl up to her feet. "Stand here and don't move.", said the Hokage as she waved Naruto over from his chair to stand next to the blonde girl. Seeing them together with only a hairs breath of space between them, you could feel a hum of repressed power coming from both of them. Akia took a half dozen steps away from the couple as if she was standing too close to a raging fire.
Taking a deep calming breath Tsunade said, "We have studied all the seals on you girl and we believe you when you say you came from another world, another existence other than our own.", taking a moment she checks Naruto and can see he is almost following them, she looks to the girl and that dam mask hides any reaction she may be having. Her eyes do tell a story of relief at being believed.
Calling Jiraiya over Tsunade steps back to let him explain the plan to the two blondes hoping the girl understands what needs to be done and Naruto at least doesn't get in the way.
Giving each of them a stern look Jiraiya starts, "There is no easy way to say this, you have a form of the Hyuga obedience seal on your back but this one if activated will kill you instantly and your death would release the fox you contain."
"Who would do that?", said Naruto finely understanding the word kill and death, he looks around confused at everyone in the room.
"Danzo always said I would die at his command.", the soft voice of Naruto-chan could be heard in response to Naruto's question.
"Well yes but not the Danzo of this village, let's remember that.", said Tsunade trying to prevent Naruto from doing something stupid if something happens to the girl tonight.
Jiraiya gives her a dirty look but continues, "Tonight we are going to remove that seal but to do that we have to loosen the seals around it, that means the fox will need to be held back,", looking over at Naruto he points at his chest, "By you my boy."
The look on his face was one of frozen shock both about the girl's death and his part in stopping it.
Looking over at Naruto-chan then back to Jiraiya he said, "but I don't know how to make a seal!', the panic in his voice was clear, causing Naruto-chan to turn and look at him in the face.
"I understand, you can imprison me until you can find a new container for the fox.", she said, knowing it was the end of her freedom but at least she had a day of happiness and found a friend to share some time with.
"What!, yelled Naruto, "You can't do that, it would kill her to remove the fox and it's not fair to lock her up for doing nothing!", the overactive blonde pushes the girl behind him as if to protect her from the Hokage and those in the room.
"Stop that you idiot, we don't want to kill her, we just need you to use your chakra to power the seal to hold back the fox while we remove the seal that could kill her.", a pissed off Hokage said lifting up Naruto by the front of his shirt and shaking him until his teeth rattle around in his head.
Dropping him, he lands on his butt and looks up at the Hokage rubbing the back of his head. Now, this is something Naruto-chan understood, it felt normal and familiar.
"OK I got it", he said from the floor, "You want me to just, you know, push chakra into a seal.", he asked as much as agreeing to the plan. Clapping her hands the Hokage called in a group of workers to remove everything from the room leaving the fifty-meter-wide circular room bare.
In marched a group of Chunin, and using wind and water jutsu the marble floor was cleaned of any sign of dirt or dust, any remains of old seals, and even dried blood from out of the cracks along the edges from failed attempts.
With all the movement around them, Naruto didn't notice Jiraiya walking to the center and yelling out, "SEAL", slams his hand to the floor creating a massive seal filling the entire flood. The design was so complex it was hard to make out anything more than the human-shaped center of the seal and another focal point in the shape of a spiral 20 feet to the side.
The seal had 12 smaller circular seals spaced evenly around the outside close to the wall with a spoke of lines swirling into the center joining everything into both main designs. It all looked confusing and way too complex so Naruto decided not to think about it too much before it gave him a headache.
Naruto-chan seeing the center piece was for her walked confidently to it and sat down waiting to be told what to do, Naruto getting the hint as she stared at him walked to the second swirling seal and sat in the center facing the blonde girl.
"What do you think is going to happen?", he asked her as they waited for something to happen. "Pain, lots of pain, and then hopefully I will be free one way or the other.", not getting her meaning at first then realizing what she meant Naruto crawled over to her and hugged her tight.
"I will not let anything happen to my Naruto-chan, that's a promise.", he said to the shocked girl in his arms, pushing him away she looked him in the eye, "So is that like a promise of a lifetime?", she shot back remembering the pink haired girl and his reaction to her challenge to bring Sasuke back to the village, more like back to the pink haired girl.
Getting her meaning and seeing the distrust in her eyes he said, "No this is better, I promise on my life you will live, Dattebayo."With that, he slammed his fist into his hand and gave her a true smile from him to her.
Sensing a change she looked up as 10 people entered the room wearing long robes and holding beads in their hands. They each kneed down at one of the small seals around the edge and started to chant.
"These are the Ninja Monks of the Monkey temple, they will help me channel the chakra needed to break the seal.", said Jiraiya as he and the Hyuga seal master took their place at opposite sides of the great seal.
Walking to the center Akia stood next to the girl and said, "We need to remove your shirt.", holding her hand out to take it.
"But you said I wasn't supposed to do that in front of strangers anymore.", said Naruto-chan not understanding the strange rules Akia tried to teach her in the last couple of hours.
"Come girl, this is different, take it off and lay on your stomach.", doing as she was told Naruto-chan stripped off the blouse and removed her orange bra for good measure, and handed them both to Akia. Naruto not 10 feet away watched in total fascination the whole time.
Before laying flat Naruto-chan gave him a good luck sign and laid flat, Akia helped her place her hands and feet in their correct alignments in the seal. Then walking over to Naruto she kneed next to him.
"Place your hand on these two seals and when Master Jiraiya orders you, force all your chakra into them, you may feel something pushing you back, you have to fight it and get it in place, you got that?", she said looking for any sign of confusion.
"Push chakra and fight back anything that pushes back, I got it.", he said understanding fighting for what you want. Figuring that was as good as she was going to get Akia walks to the Hokage still holding Naruto-chan's clothes.
"You think this is going to work,", she said to the Hokage, Not wanting either of the two Naruto to know the true mission she whispered back. "Yes, we have no choice, removing all those seals and replacing them with one based on Naruto's without the use of the death god is our only hope of keeping that second fox under control. The rate her seals are failing it will break free in a week maybe two if the girl fights back."
When Jiraiya had told her the true reason for the death seal and all the many other seals that had been layered over the girl's back she had been shocked and then pissed off at the lack of skill that version of her Sensei had in the sealing arts.
As the monks chanting grew louder and louder until it filled the great room with echos of echos Jiraiya placed both of his palms on the seal and yelled, "Now Naruto, give it everything you got."
This being one of the few chances Naruto had to just let loose of his chakra and not worry about control, he flooded the seal with massive amounts of chakra. The seal turned and twisted his chakra to mix with the others around the great seal, it allowed them to channel and control the blast of power Naruto provided into a controlled stream of strength that flowed back into the center of the seal and finally into the girl who found herself pinned to the floor and unable to move as the chakra closed in on her.
There was pain, a great overwhelming pain that flowed out from her and into the seal trying to break it, Naruto being at the Nexus received almost all of it. He fought it with his iron will and unending determination, unable to even think of giving up he was able to push it back and hold it at bay.
The chanting of the monks faded as he closed his eyes and pushed back on the pain and the living chakra that was producing it. Harder and harder he tried to stop it until in a blink of an eye it was gone and he was standing at the great gates of the fox cage with a pair of bright red eyes staring at him.
Looking around he can see Naruto-chan naked and curled into a ball at the fox's feet, she was still and unmoving covered in overlapping black seals across her whole body. The seals glowed blue and red with lightning flashing from her to the fox as both of them were trapped behind the bars.
"Who are you boy and what are you doing to my host.", said the great fox whipping its tails around the cage.
'This isn't my fox is it.', thought Naruto seeing that this one was not as red as the fox he had talked to in the past, was more yellow than orange but its hate was as strong as he remembered.
"We are trying to save her from you.", he said to the giant chakra monster in the form of a fox, "so stop fighting us and let her go."
"Let her go you say,", the fox pushed the unmoving girl with its noise. "I am not holding her here, it is that dam monkey you call Hokage that is holding her here. That fool locked my jailer behind the bars with me."
"That Hokage is gone,", Naruto said stepping closer, "Help me set her free."
"Gone you say, so the plan worked and we crossed over.", the fox said laughing at its own victory, "So are you, my new jailer, then.", Naruto had reached the bars of the cage and looked up into the great eyes of the fox.
"No, I already have a fur ball in my gut, I don't need another. Naruto-chan is still your container but she needs a seal removed before it kills her.", said Naruto trying to get the fox to understand what is happening.
Laughing at the idea of helping, the fox noises the girl closer to the bars so it can cross its paws and lay down on them to face the crazy human talking to it.
"Why should I help my jailer, boy. I want to be free.", It said.
Thinking hard Naruto had an idea, "Free you say but if she dies then you will have a whole village trying to lock you up again and this time it will be worst than before, they know how to seal you now, they will lock you in a box so tight you will have to way out. Help me, help us and we can give you some freedom to see the world with your host. The same freedom I have with my fox.", Naruto said with all the passion of innocent youth.
Closing its eyes the fox seemed to glow for a minute and then opened its eyes it says. "Yes, I can sense myself in you but not myself. I am the Yang and you contain the Ying, most interesting.", using its noise the great fox pushes the girl into the bars.
"Take her then before I change my mind.", kneeling down in the running water that is the fox's chakra Naruto reaches between the great bars and pulls Naruto-chan's naked body into his lap. Pushing the wild wet hair from her face he looks down at his angel. Feeling his touch she opens her eyes and says. "The pain is gone, am I dead", "No, I am here with you having a chat with your fox.", he said pointing up at the great eyes of the fox on the other side of the bars.
She looked at the fox and then back to Naruto, then back to the fox, and said. "You're on the other side of the bars now. So you can't hurt me anymore."
The fox looked at the girl child as the lines of the seals faded off of her and drained away into the darkness.
"I never wanted to hurt you, I only wished to be free.", the greatest of the nine chakra monsters said.
Looking at the naked girl in his arms and feeling things he has never felt before Naruto said, "Let's get out of here." Getting a nod of agreement Naruto focused all of his willpower to think one thing, 'RELEASE' and in a flash, he was back in the room holding Naruto-chan tightly to his chest as she cried and laughed at the same time.
Akia came running over to them but Naruto-chan would not move so she covered the girl as best she could and asked Naruto, "you have been in the seal for two hours, what happen."
Seeing that some of the monks had fallen over from chakra exhaustion and Tsunade was helping Jiraiya stand up he said, "We had a little talk with the fox and he agreed to let her go."
...…
I need some feedback, unlike my other story I am trying to avoid the smut/lemons and focus more on 'feelings' but if that doesn't work for you all then tell me now.