Warnings: Yaoi, language and SPOILERS, or at least a spoiler for the later part of the series, as my beta pointed out to me. Sorry Willowbranch, I forgot you hadn't seen that far . . . oh the things my you put up with for me.
Chapter 3"Sanctuary, huh?" The Fox smiled, a bright flash of teeth. His voice is amused and ever so faintly scoffing.
The Lady doesn't react to his tone. Instead, she turns her head to Naruto. "It's a place of safety, for those of us who are feared and hated, all because we're different. As you can see, there's more of us then you'd think. Here, those who are cast out can find a home." One of her pale hands rose gracefully to absently brush against the small kanji tattooed on her face.
Kyubi followed the gesture with sharp eyes, but for once stayed silent. Instead he shifted his gaze to Naruto. The boy was quiet, staring outwards, a light breeze ruffling his sun-bright hair. When he finally spoke, his voice was hushed and far away. "So many of them are kids. . ." Sky blue eyes fasten on the group of three children playing. As they watched, the frog-faced boy pounced on the girl with the butterfly wings, and the sound of their laughter drifted on the wind up to their ears.
"Yes." The Lady murmured. "Children hated for things they can't control."
They are silent for a moment, then the Kyubi's eyes narrowed as he stared at the woman. "Yeah, and I bet everyone of them has a sob story too." The glance he flicks over them both is dismissive, and the curve of his mouth is nasty.
Despite his attitude, the Lady's face remained as blank as her eyes. But the huge behemoth beside her isn't nearly so composed. For the second time that day he took an angry step toward the demon, hand fisted around his club with violent intent. Again the Lady has to lift her arm and hold him back. "Shale," she spoke quietly, and yet the tone is cold. "Go take a walk."
The deformed man stares at her and starts to protest. "But my Lady . . ."
"Do you think I can't protect myself from him?" Her voice is as expressionless as her pale features.
"No, of course not, but . . ."
"Then why are you still here?" Such an angry phrase should have been spoken with sarcasm, or at the very least mild annoyance, but from her mouth it was merely inquiring, almost polite.
The huge man knew better than to argue. With an awkward, jerky bow in her direction, he plodded off.
Alone now, the woman turned back to the fox-demon. "A sob story?" She murmured, answering the Kyubi's petulant little jab from earlier. "Yes." Her mouth twisted into a bitter parody of a smile. "I suppose everyone here does."
The demon scoffed. "So that's why you went to all that trouble to let me out? Wanted to add a couple more freaks to your collection?" From several feet away, Naruto turned and stared at the bitchy fox, sensing an angry tirade about to come on. "How did this happen anyway? When I went in I had fur." The demon reached up an angry hand and tugged almost viciously on his red hair. "And this hardly counts. Then there's the boy."
Kyubi took a couple of rapid steps toward Naruto, completely disregarding the blonde's instinctive step back, and grabbed his chin harshly. "Do you see this? The kid has fangs, not those leaf grazers he had before. You fucked with both of us."
The demon glares harshly at the Lady, completely disregarding the blonde's muffled protests as he tries to wrench his jaw free. Though he was soon reminded as those aforementioned fangs sunk angrily into the meaty flesh between thumb and pointer finger. With a shout, the demon let go.
"Fuck! You little bastard! You bit me!" The fox cradled his injured - though already healing - hand to his chest, staring murderously at the boy who had fortuitously already sprung back and away.
Naruto wiped his mouth and returned the glare. "Screw you, stupid fox-pervert! That's what you get for grabbing people!"
They both stared, seething lividly with identical expressions of outrage, the Lady completely forgotten for the moment. A breeze soothed over them, cooling the angry flush on Naruto's face but completely missing the hot glare. The fox stared, and gradually, his angry face began to morph into something distinctly predatory. Naruto caught the look and took a nervous step back, finally realizing that he might be in trouble.
Suddenly, Kyubi tore across the distance between them with Rock Lee-like speed and scooped up the blond boy. Naruto hissed and spit and wiggled but found himself firmly and expertly immobilized. To add insult to injury, the demon plopped himself down on the rock and pulled the struggling boy into his lap as if he were a misbehaving five-year old.
The fox looked back up at the Lady, unconcerned with his squirming lapful, and continued their conversation. "Well, answer me; what the fuck did you do to us?"
"I did nothing. I merely released you."
The demon's red eyes glittered. "Lying bitch! That doesn't explain this stinking human body!"
Her thin lips tightened with irritation. It was a small thing, but it was the first nuance of expression that the fox had seen cross that frozen face. "Don't be dense. How long have you been trapped inside that child?" She didn't wait for him to answer. "It's been long enough that your life energy has intermingled irreversibly."
The demon growled and tightened his hold on Naruto until the boy squeaked, reminding the fox to ease off a little. He was feeling belligerent and wanted someone to blame for his current predicament, but for all that he grudgingly admitted, (if only to himself), that she seemed to be telling the truth. However . . .
"I look more human," he spat, "then fox. If our energy got all tangled up equally than how did that happen?"
"Whoever said it was equal?"
The demon stiffened, and even Naruto stopped his wriggling to look up at her curiously.
Realizing she had a captive audience - literally in one case - she continued to explain. "The stronger personality guided your changes."
The Kyubi bristled, the fur on his head spiking even more in his fury. "Stronger? Hah! You stupid bitch! The brat's so weak that he's had to borrow chakra from me just to stay alive!"
A look of outrage crossed Naruto's face. "Hey!"
"Strength isn't always measured in chakra."
The demonic red eyes narrowed. "I could still snap his neck like a twig." One clawed hand came up and caressed the struggling boy's throat.
The Lady smiled coolly. "But you won't." It wasn't a question.
Naruto didn't seem to be so confident in his safety. With a half-panicked, half-pissed off snarl, he reared forward and then smashed his head back into the demon's face. The Kyubi was taller, so instead of hitting the demon's nose – and breaking it – the back of Naruto's skull collided with his chin. Not nearly as damaging, but still painful.
The fox yelped and let go.
As Kyubi rubbed his bruised chin, Naruto swiftly put the Lady between them. Once safely behind her skirts – so to speak – the blond stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry.
The fox-demon stared at the boy in outrage, still cradling his face. "Why you obnoxious little ninja brat . . ."
Naruto blinked. Ninja.
Shit. In all the excitement, he had forgotten to ask about Sasuke and Shikamaru. What if they were . . . he quickly turned to the Lady, not bothering to worry over the fox-demon. "Hey, scary-lady, what happened to those other two guys I was with?"
"What, you're asking about them now?"
Naruto ignored the demon and waited anxiously for the answer. He knew he probably should have been wondering this earlier, but whatever the Lady had done to get the fox out had left his head a bit scrambled. He felt sick. What would he do if they weren't okay?
"Your traveling companions are still alive. We were only there for you, and we don't kill people unless they are a threat to Sanctuary." Naruto let out a relieved breath, but then the Lady continued. "Of course, if they persist in looking for you, they'll have to die."
Naruto tensed. Double shit. Sasuke was probably pissed that he had been beaten. Most likely he'd come after them for no other reason than his injured pride. "You can't do that! Look, I'll go find him and then . . ."
Her cool voice interrupted him. "You shouldn't leave Sanctuary."
Naruto glared. "So what, I'm a prisoner here, is that it?"
The Lady sighed again. "You belong here. Do you think anyone's going to accept you out there? You're even more different than before."
Naruto clenched his fists, and was suddenly aware of sharp claws cutting into his palms. That was true, but, he'd always been different, and he'd been alone for the first twelve years of his life. But then came Iruka-sensei, followed closely by Kakashi and Sakura and Sasuke, and then finally other ninjas in his age group, people like Shikamaru, Hinata, and Kiba. He wasn't really alone anymore. He had found acceptance. Plus, the ninjas were a freaky bunch anyway. They might not even notice his new claws among the pupil-less eyes and bizarre getups already prevalent in Konoha.
His real problem had always been the shadow of the demon-fox. Naruto regarded the Kyubi out of the corner of his eye. What would they do once they had found out that the seal was broken? And Naruto wasn't exactly human himself anymore either. He was finally the monster the villagers accused him of being.
No, that was stupid. He may be all weird now, but he hadn't been the one to almost destroy Konoha. He wasn't the one who had killed Iruka-sensai's parents. The being who was responsible for that, the real object of everyone's hatred, was standing no more than twenty feet away from him, inspecting his claws as if bored.
So what was going through the Kyubi's head? Why hadn't he killed Naruto yet? And what would happen if he went off to do whatever demons did? Would he go on another massacre, or even worse, head back to get revenge on Konoha?
Naruto's lip firmed. No way, that wasn't happening. He hadn't chosen it, but like it or not, the fox-demon was his responsibility. It would probably be best if they did stick around here for now, where Naruto could keep an eye on him and keep him far away from Konoha. Hell, maybe he'd get lucky and he'd find a way to stuff the Kyubi back through the seal. He just had to keep the fox from doing anything demony, and of course he had to remember to keep his eyes peeled for Sasuke and keep the bastard from getting killed for sticking his nose where it didn't belong. Not exactly an easy job, but he was the village's number one hyperactive ninja, so he could do it, right? He stared at the fox, and the demon was starting to glare back, looking irritated – not that that was a new expression or anything.
"What are you looking at, brat?"
Nope, not an easy job at all.
Sasuke landed cat-foot quiet on a branch and crouched suddenly. He moved his hands in a silent signal for Shikamaru to stop, and the other ninja came to rest beside him. Shikamaru sent him a brief questioning look, but knew better then to ask anything aloud. Sasuke's eyes bled to sharingan-red as he scanned the seemingly empty forest.
There. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and motioned for Shikamaru to look ahead and to their right. For a second, the other boy peered blankly into the forest before he was able to pick the figure out from the surroundings. His eyes widened and he turned to glance at Sasuke for confirmation, who nodded once. The forest camouflaged her, and it was no wonder. She could have been a tree grown into human form – bark skin and tangled leaves for hair. Sasuke recognized the one who had knocked him out before they had taken Naruto.
Shikamaru tapped his arm, and once he had the other boy's attention his hands moved in a quick succession of signals. Sasuke nodded once and leaped silently from the tree, preparing to circle around the near-camouflaged figure.
They may have lost the trail, but that wasn't the only way to find someone. Sasuke just hoped that Naruto would keep himself out of trouble until he got there to rescue the idiot.
Naruto leapt from stone formation to stone formation. His body felt light and fast, and he was just beginning to notice the he was stronger. It seemed that claws and a weird pupil weren't the only thing the perverted demon fox had gifted him with, though this was a damn bit more useful than the surface changes. Naruto felt like he could give both Rock Lee and Sasuke a run for their money in Taijutsu. The blond grinned and gloated briefly. He bet Sasuke was going to be jealous.
The blond was definitely in a good mood, and it wasn't just his enhanced abilities. He had managed to ditch the fox when the demon had gone to take a shower. He may have made a vow to stick close to the Kyubi, but Naruto had quickly found that that wasn't really necessary. Instead, the fox was perfectly happy to stick close to him. In fact, the demon had been downright clingy. Add to that the sheer numbers of sexual innuendos, and Naruto had begun to feel more than a little suffocated.
Hence the escape, and what a wonderful escape it was.
Naruto paused on a narrow spire of granite and glanced down curiously. Below him were the three kids he had noticed from earlier – the boy that resembled a frog, the girl with the butterfly wings, and the kid (at least he assumed it was a kid), swathed head to foot in a featureless brown cloak. The girl was waving cheerfully at him.
Grinning, he hopped down – a height that would previously shattered his ankle, ninja-training or no – and landed gracefully in front of the three children. The frog boy and the short brown figure shyly drew behind the girl, but she actually moved a couple of steps closer to him excitedly. "Hi!"
Naruto's grin got wider. "Hi," he had a soft spot for kids, and they in turn seemed to like him. Sakura had once mentioned it was probably because he was so immature himself. He hadn't actually been able to dispute that.
The girl bounced excitedly, wings gently flapping with the movement. "You're new here!"
"Yep. I'm Naruto."
"Cute name! I'm Kita, and these guys are Kouichi and Takahiro. She pointed first at the cloaked kid and then at the frog boy. She leaned closer to him conspiratorially. "I'm the leader."
"Are not!" The frog boy – Takahiro – seemed to forget his shyness as he hopped forward. "Who put you in charge?"
Kita stuck out her tongue. "The Lady did, so you had better listen to what I say."
"She did not! You're a liar!" Takahiro shouted, as Kouichi nodded his hooded head in agreement.
Kita's lower lip trembled. "You just take his side because you're both boys. It's not fair!" She looked up at Naruto imploringly. "You won't take their side, right?"
Naruto rubbed his head nervously. "Ah, I can't really take sides . . . I just got here, remember?"
"Oh, that's right!" She blinked up at him curiously. "Do you like it here?"
Naruto looked down at her. It wasn't the typical first question to ask. In Konoha, if someone new showed up, the question to ask would be where he or she was from. Of course, it made sense to avoid asking that if everyone here was trying to leave their past behind. "Um, yeah, it seems nice."
"Wanna play a game with us?" Kita peered up at him hopefully.
Naruto could hardly turn down that look, and so for the next half-an-hour they played something complicated that involved a lot of screaming and running around. The blond was careful not to use his newfound speed.
Naruto had just been tackled by Kouichi – and found that when the cloaked boy's sleeve blew up there didn't appear to be anything there, though he felt like he was holding onto an arm – when he sensed someone watching him, and it wasn't one of the kids. The blond glanced up and locked eyes with a man leaning against one of the stone columns. The man sneered at him, and gave such a look of contempt that Naruto's fists clenched with the sudden almost overwhelming desire to punch him.
He had seen this man before, and Naruto racked his brains trying to remember where. It didn't seem like the guy should be all that easy to forget. Instead of hair, the sneering man had actual flame. It cracked and popped like a campfire as Naruto watched.
The kids had stopped to see what he was staring at, and once Kouichi had gotten a look at the man he ducked behind Naruto. The blonde's eyes narrowed further at this, and the fire-haired man's sneer got harder.
Their staring match was finally broken when a group of three others approached the fire-guy. The new arrivals were all tough looking too, and fire-hair shot one more sneer at Naruto before leading the group off.
When the group had cleared the corner, and Kouichi had stopped hiding behind him, Naruto turned to look at the kids. "Who's that guy?"
Kita shivered and grabbed Kouichi's gloved hand. "That's Mai. He's mean. We don't like him, do we Kouichi?"
The hooded head nodded in vehement agreement.
Naruto was just about to grill them further on the mysterious jerk when the Lady's behemoth of a bodyguard showed up. As soon as he appeared the kids squealed and mobbed him, with cries of "Shale" and "what did you bring me?"
The blond blinked and was surprised to see the lumpy man pull something from behind his back. Naruto drifted closer and looked at it, expression going curious as he saw it was a very complicated piece of origami, folded into the shape of an elephant. The delicate piece of paper was held incongruously gently in the big, brutish hands.
Kita squealed when she saw it, and her wings were flapping happily. The other two kids seem just as excited. The big man ponderously gave the little piece of paper art to Kita. "Go inside and get the paper out and you can make some," he instructed gently, in his big booming voice.
Kita cupped the elephant in her hands. "Shale, you'll show us how to make more? Please?"
He nodded slowly. "I will, and I'll show you how to make a butterfly too."
This obviously pleased the girl, because she grinned hugely and immediately grabbed Kouichi and Takahiro and began towing them away. "Bye Naruto! Thanks for playing with us!" The other two waved helplessly with their free hands.
"Bye!" Naruto called, and couldn't help but grin as they turned the corner. For a second he had been sharply reminded of a young Sakura towing an unwilling Sasuke and a thrilled Naruto around.
Realizing that the big guy was still standing there and making no move to follow the kids, Naruto turned and looked up. And up. He wanted to ask about the origami, but that's not what came out of his mouth. "So, you work for the Lady, huh? Just what exactly is her deal?"
Shale shot him a menacing look, at least Naruto thought it was supposed to be menacing. It was hard to be sure with all the extra bumps of skin on his face. "The Lady is a great being. She saved us all and continues to provide for us."
"Yeah, I get that, but what exactly is she?" Naruto got the worst goose bumps when she was around. Not many people made him that uneasy. If he was able to survive Sasuke's chilly personality so flippantly, there had to be more to her than just that stoic exterior.
The deformed man looked at him suspiciously, but then seemed to come to the decision that the blond didn't mean anything by it. He was just curious. "The Lady is the child of a kami and a demon, and neither side wants her. I think she makes them uneasy with her power."
Naruto's jaw dropped. Well, that explained the goose pimples. He'd never met someone who was half kami before, and add to that a demon side too . . . wow.
A familiar voice from above echoed Naruto's thoughts. "So that explains the power I sensed."
The blond groaned when he heard the voice of the Kyubi. Great, just when he thought he had gotten away . . .
The fox-demon jumped down from the same spire Naruto had perched on earlier, only his landing was even more graceful than the blonde's had been. Naruto turned to look at him, and gasped. It was a good thing the kids weren't around anymore.
"Fox-pervert! You can't just walk around outside like that! Where are your clothes?"
The naked demon looked at Naruto blankly. "I had them on earlier, but then I took a bath."
"You have to keep them on all the time!"
The Kyubi looked puzzled. "Why? They're uncomfortable, and they restrict movement."
Naruto spluttered, and turned red with embarrasement.
The demon looked at him curiously. "Why are you turning colors? It looks funny."
Naruto wasn't sure how he had gotten the fox demon back to their room. He had a vague memory of telling the Lady's bodyguard that they would have to finish their conversation later, and then he had used a combination of threats and cajoling to get the shameless creature indoors. If only his pain had ended there. Now he had to convince the demon to put clothes on, though the Kyubi didn't seem to understand because now they were indoors and hadn't Naruto said that he only had to wear clothes outdoors?
"Look, I realize you used to have fur, but you don't now, and you have . . . parts . . . that shouldn't be just hanging around out in the open!"
The Kyubi looked down at himself. "What parts?"
Naruto flushed a painful shade of pink. Oh no, he was not going to point out the 'parts' that they were discussing. "You know what I'm talking about, fox-pervert!"
Red eyes sparkled wickedly. "What? You mean these parts?" The demon reached down and fondled himself suggestively, grinning smugly at Naruto all the while.
"Fox-pervert!" The blond turned his back and blushed. "Just put some clothes on okay?"
Instead of following Naruto's orders, the demon walked up and nestled against the boy's back. Naruto stiffened, and suddenly remembered why it was a good idea to not turn your back on a tricksy fox. "How about you let me explore this new body? And while I'm at it, I might as well examine yours too." The Kyubi leaned forward and breathed into his ear. "Just to compare, of course."
Naruto could hear the leer in the fox's voice, but for some unfathomable reason did not immediately bolt away. The demon was warm against his back, and he fit so well, like a part that was missing. Unconsciously, Naruto leaned back in to the heat, and Kyubi made a funny purring noise.
And something poked him in the small of his back.
Naruto screeched and vaulted to the other side of the room. "Fox-pervert!" Fuming, he turned to glare.
"What?" The demon idly scratched his chiseled stomach, and Naruto turned even redder as he realized that it had been the Kyubi's finger that had poked him and not his . . .
Naruto smacked himself in the forehead. Over and over again. The demon watched him in confusion. "Just put some clothes on!"
Kyubi stared at him like he'd lost his mind.
The blond realized he was going to have to try a different tack. Obviously, decency and modesty weren't in the demon's vocabulary. "Look, clothes are useful."
The fox cocked his head with interest. "How so?"
Encouraged by this response, Naruto continued. "Well, they keep you warm when it's cold out."
"But I'm not cold."
"They do more than that!" Naruto racked his brain, trying to come up with an argument that the Kyubi would get. "They, ah, they let you carry stuff. Like weapons and things." Epiphany. Naruto grinned triumphantly, and warmed to his lecture. "Ninja's carry all sorts of useful stuff in their clothing. Like kunai and smoke bombs and even poison. Having clothes has saved my life more than once." Not really, it was what was in those outfits that had done that, but for the sake of argument he was sticking with this. "It keeps things from being immediately visible. A lot of times, ninjas even were masks and stuff to keep their enemies from knowing who they are and coming after them later." Hah, take that logic, Fox-pervert.
The demon looked at him, and then spoke slowly, as if to a particularly stupid child. "But I'm not a ninja. And besides, I hate ninjas, why would I ever copy anything of theirs?"
"Jerk. I'm a ninja!" Naruto stared at him, and then turned to the wall and started to smack his head against the stone in time with each word. "Stupid. Fox. Just. Do. What. I. Say."
A clawed hand got between the blond head and the wall, and Naruto blinked when he hit flesh instead of stone. He twisted around to look at the demon, who was looking at him almost seriously. "I hate ninjas, but I don't hate you."
Naruto stared back. "Oh. Why?"
It was the demon's turn to blink. "What do you mean why?"
"You hate ninjas, you hate humans, and I'm both. You should hate me." Naruto was familiar with hate after all, though usually it was for other, fox-related reasons.
Kyubi looked taken aback. Then he bent forward and sniffed at Naruto's jaw line. "Funny, you don't smell human to me." He smirked and drew back to look into the boy's eyes, and then frowned when he saw the serious expression there.
"Yeah, so I'm not completely human anymore, I get what that Lady said, but just because I'm sort of like you . . . it doesn't mean anything."
"What do you mean?"
"Just because you're the same species as another, and I'm not completely sure we are anyway, it doesn't stop them from hating you. Believe me, I know."
Kyubi wasn't sure how the conversation had gotten so serious, but he could sense that the boy was suddenly vulnerable, and it brought out all of his protective instincts. He couldn't explain this even to himself, so he wasn't sure how he was supposed to explain it to the kid, but he knew it was important that he try. "I don't hate you. You are . . . what you are."
Naruto looked exasperated. "That doesn't make any sense."
"Yes it does, you just don't realize it yet. Look kid, why don't you hate me?"
"Don't call me kid, and who says I don't?" The blond stuck his lower lip out belligerently.
The fox smirked. "Me. I'd be able to smell it if you did. You're often angry at me, but you don't hate me. In fact, I don't think you hate, period."
"Of course I hate. There's lots of people I hate. All those bastards back at the village who gave me the cold shoulder."
"You didn't hate them, at least not for long. If you had, you wouldn't have turned out as ridiculously nice as you are. You aren't looking for revenge."
"I hate that snake bastard, Orochimaru. He killed the Hokage, and the things he tried to do to Sasuke . . ."
Kyubi smiled. "All right, I'll give you that one. But you still don't hate me. I killed one of your precious Hokages, and it's because of me that so many villagers shun you. So why don't you hate me? You should have tried to kill me as soon as you realized who I am – and I do mean tried – but you didn't, explain to me why."
Naruto stared at him, and his face was a riot of puzzlement. "I don't know. I guess . . . you weren't what I expected. I mean, you're a jerk, but you didn't try and kill me or anything." And Naruto felt strange around the fox, like his body knew that this being belonged inside him. They had been together for sixteen years, and separate for only a couple of days. But Naruto wasn't going to tell the fox that.
The fox grinned and patted his head. "And you're such a sweet kid. Don't worry about things so much. They are how they are." He bent down and put his face next to Naruto's miffed one. "You know, you're cute when you're all serious."
And just like that Naruto sensed their bout of serious conversation was over. Also, he couldn't help but notice that the stupid fox was still naked.
TBC . . .
Author's Ramblings: Thanks so much to all you nice people who have reviewed so far, it makes me feel very special. Also, particular thanks to Espi for pointing out my name spelling error, it's all fixed now, (I hope.)
Also, some people have been asking for more yaoi, and since your wish is my command, the next chapter will contain some lime/lemon. Hopefully it won't get me kicked of ff.net. Crossesfingers