The older temple lay straight ahead, up on top of a mossy knoll, surrounded by an old grove of cherry trees.
Naruto felt foolish going there, but he was at wits end, and was willing to try anything and everything.
Medicine hadn't worked. Well, he never really had a chance to see if it would or not, since the chief medical personnel had all beeen women.
Hopefully, the temple personnel would be men. And, if by chance the strange happenings were somehow related to spirits and possession, then maybe the holy men could offer some kind of solution.
The architecture of the buildings was breathtaking. And, the serenity the garden offered was so very welcome. Edgy, he kept looking around, expecting some woman to come rushing at him from out of the mouth of the stone fountain…… from under one of the decorative stone tiles…… or from behind one of the sculpted shrubs.
"Have you come for the Okiyome, the cleansing and empowering?" A voice asked, seeming to come from behind a latticework of cedar. Holding his hand up to block the sun, Naruto still couldn't make out any form.
He also couldn't tell if the voice were a man or not.
"Yes…… I think so…… I'm worried that the women in the town might be possessed by spirits or something!" Naruto felt silly saying that, but he couldn't see how it would hurt to do this.
"What makes you think this?" Another voice asked.
Naruto explained the way that the women had been reacting towards him.
It sounded so unbelievable, even to him.
"It would seem unlikely that so many people would be inhabited by the spirits," a different voice said. "But, were you possessed, a spirit within you might be able to influence others that way."
"Really?" Naruto suddenly felt hopeful. "Is there something you can do to help me?"
"Yes, if you are willing to go through the ritual cleansing and exorcism. We will use salt, water, and fire." The fourth voice said. "As we begin to chant the sacred hidden words, you must throw salt into the pool, then disrobe. After cleansing yourself in the pool, make your way over to the fire at the center of the shrine. Drink the glass you see there. Throw the incense pellets on the brazier. Lay down on the mat there and close your eyes."
"Ok…" Naruto swallowed hard. He began to wonder if possession actually took place.
He also worried that the ritual might somehow release Kyuubi.
"But, whatever you do, keep your eyes closed when you recline near the flame!" A fifth voice was very insistent. "Your very soul may be at risk…."
"I will!" Naruto did what he had been instructed to do, step by step. He set his clothes out of the way, not wanting them to get all wet again. At one point, when he looked, they were gone.
He still didn't realize exactly what happened, or that his clothes were far more saturated with Shino's solution than his skin had been.
As he lay naked on the mat, Naruto suddenly thought that he would be very vulnerable like he was.
If any of the girls had followed him…
He was tempted to open his yes, but didn't. This was a temple. He should be safe here. Somehow, he felt incredibly mellow, even drowsy.
He heard giggling. Why would priest or monks giggle? Still, he kept his eyes shut.
He could hear footsteps approaching.
There was the sound of fabric sliding over something. What was going on? Naruto had no idea, not being one who usually visited shrines or temples. It took great willpower, but he kept his eyes shut.
"Now, it is time for the Wild Horse Leaps!" It was a woman's voice.
Naruto opened his eyes. He was surrounded by five naked or near naked women. One fairly attractive woman was on her back, feet in the air, her bottom almost touching him. Another had her hand reaching towards his….
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!"
"You weren't suppose to look!" One girl cried, her breasts bouncing.
"Ooooooh! Now you'll ruin everything!" A second girl said, stamping her foot, her cute face flushed.
"We're going to assist you through a position written about in the Ishimpo, a thousand year old text. The position is called the Wild Horse Leaps." The third woman looked at the prone woman with envy. She untied the silken robe she wore and let it fall to the marble floor.
"Huh?" Naruto's skin was tingling all over. These women weren't all grabbing for him, but he knew they were not on the up and up. They were naked. As he spoke, his eyes wandered the room, looking for his clothes.
'Take your time' his inner self seemed to say to him.
He wondered if the incense in the room was drugged. But, did it really matter….
"The second chakra point is the chakra point of sensuality, sexuality, and pleasure. It is also the chakra point of emotions. When is it unblocked, this allows for the free flow of emotional, sensual, and creative energy throughout your body. " The fourth woman, a beauty with long dark hair, licked her lips and moved her hips in a tempting motion. She took out and ivory comb and began working on her hair.
Naruto reacted physically, for the second time that day. Realizing that, he began to feel anxious again. He sat up and placed his hands over his privates.
"Ahhhh, he is ready for the Tantra," the fifth woman said.
"The what?" Naruto was about to make a run for it, clothes or no clothes. But, he wanted to know what that word meant.
"Rati…."
"Esoteric rituals rooted in Hindu and Buddhaist philosophy," Rati told Naruto, winking. She gestured for him to move his hands. "Sexual intercourse is not at all a part of all tantric practice, but it is the definitive feature of left-hand Tantra. As the Yoni Tantra states: 'there should be vigorous copulation.'"
That had all of the ladies giggling.
"Kupalo…."
"There are three types of Tantric Sex: White, Gray, and Black." Kupalo looked down at Naruto and rubbed her hands together.
"Korawini…."
"White Tantra never ejaculates nor reaches orgasm in order to awaken consciousness." Korawini wound her long lustrous black hair around her fingers.
"Sukkamielli…."
"Gray Tantra elongates the sexual act, and sometimes concludes with orgasm and ejaculation, but without any longing towards awakening consciousness." Succamielli moaned quietly, laying on her back.
Naruto didn't know whether to high tail it out of there or thank his lucky stars.
"Black Tantra always concludes with orgasm and ejaculation in order to awaken consciousness. It is said that White Tantra awakens consciousness to the absence of desire, while Black Tantra awakens consciousness into desire." The fifth holy woman, who named herself Aidin, told Sukkamielli to ready herself.
Naruto swallowed hard.
His anxiety level was going off the scale.
"We do not know which might suit you best," Rati said.
"So, we will need to try them all!" Kupalo tried to look serene, but failed. Pointing at Aidin, she said "You promised! I get to go second!"
"SHIT!!!"
Naruto jumped up and began to sprint. He cursed himself. There he was, with five eager women, and he was running like a scared child. He knew, at that moment, that he would never ever be in that kind of situation again.
But, this wasn't some dream or fantasy.
Leaping over one long table, he spied his clothing. Grabbing it, he crashed through the latticework, splashed through the pool, and knocked over the bowl of salts.
He had never gotten to the fire part of the purification.
Nevertheless, he felt hot all over.
Jiraiya would kill to be in his shoes. But if he told his master this story, he wouldn't believe a word of it!
"Get him! Get him!"
The women were not giving up. He ran through shrubbery and low vegetation, crossing his fingers and hoping there wasn't any Poison Ivy around.
After reaching one of the more densely populated area of the village, Naruto began to feel a little less anxious. Those sex-crazed temple workers likely wouldn't follow him this far. However, the more people there were around him, the more women there would be.
For a while, he experimented.
He found out it wasn't his appearance that set girls off. Even when he walked around in his Sexy No Jutsu form… looking a bit odd in his usual clothing… the women chased after him. Similarly, no matter how many clones he made and sent running, everyone gravitated to him.
"Naruto! Wait! I need to talk with you!"
It was Shino. He waved for Naruto's attention. There was not sign of Kiba or Akamaru this time. And, fortunately, Hinata wasn't with him.
"Hey, Shino! This has been a very weird day!" Naruto still wondered if he might be dreaming. Then again, nothing in his dreams was ever this crazy, or had this much detail.
"That's what I---" Shino was knocked aside by a woman in an ANBU mask.
She slid to a stop near Naruto, paying no attention to the shinobi she had just bumped into. Hand reaching for Naruto, she tried to use an immobilizing technique. Just a touch of violet-colore hair could be seen beyond the mask.
Bugs began streaming out of Shino's shirt sleeves. A huge mass of them headed for the ninja struggling with Naruto.
Naruto prepared to assist Shino, but would have to wait what his friend had to say. He had been wrong. There had been someone following after him.
He had been sloppy, figuring he wasn't being tracked by ninjas.
"Come back beautiful stranger!" That was a girl's voice. Rati's! "There's so much we can try! The Soaring Butterfly!"
The near naked girl shoved one man out of the way, sending him tumbling down an ivy-covered embankment,
"Yes. And Seagulls on the Wing!" That was Korawini.
Wearing nothing more than a flimsy robe, she slammed into a man, causing him to drop a large stack of papers he had been carrying carefully. He slid down a mossy slope while his papers floated to the ground.
"Splitting a Bamboo!" Kupalo was there too. "Or, The Dragon Turns."
The young temple hand had taken the time to grab a kimono. But, she was no less eager than her fellow women. Two men, one with a walker, were sent to the bottom of as koi pond a few terraced levels below.
"I've read 'The Perfumed Garden!'" Sukkamielli claimed loudly.
She was still totally nude. The remaining men on that walkway might have taken time to admire her form if they weren't leaping out of the way, intent on avoiding serious injury.
"I've got a copy of the 'Aananga-Ranga'…." Aidin was closing the fastest of all of them. She ignored the man with the camera who was putting on his zoom lens.
Naruto began running again. This was getting ridiculous! No, there was no term that did it justice. It was far beyond 'messed up!'
Part of him wanted to throw his self on the mercies of the beautiful women racing towards him. But, it was hard to think of being amorous when one's fight or flight response was going full bore. Besides, even though none of this was likely his fault, there was no doubt that most if not all of the women would end up blaming him some how.
That was bad enough.
He didn't want to spend the rest of his life running and hiding from jilted suitors and jealous boyfriends.
Akatsuki was more than enough for him to worry about!
Taking a few of the stone steps at a time, he sped down an old crumbling stairwell, sliding along the metal railing for the last twenty yards of do. Landing, he saw two large groups of women on either side of him.
Before he knew it, they were all charging.
"I can't take much more of this!"
Almost driven to the point where he was ready to use Justus to defend himself, Naruto caught sight of possible salvation. It was Choji, walking on his own.
"Hey, Choji! A little help!" He ran to see his rotund and cheerful friend.
"Ah! Naruto! Want to get something to eat?" Choji didn't have any of his trademark chip bags out. "We can hit one of the food shops, too."
"No time!" Naruto said breathlessly. "Those women are all after me. I need your help." He took out his frog purse, opened it, and poured the contents out onto the street. "Do you like bowling? If you do, you could knock them down with your Nikudan Sensha. Then, the money is yours. Have a nice meal, my treat."
Those words, and the prospect of a free meal, hit the Choji even harder than the pheromones were hitting the women. His eyes narrowed. His nostrils flared. His mouth curved into a large flat grin.
Not wanting to risk standing still any longer than he had to, Naruto rushed off, wishing he could stay and watch the spectacle. He hoped that his friend wouldn't get in trouble for it.
But, he had his hands full.
Rounding one corner, he just missed being run over by a large horse driven cart stacked with large barrels. The vehicle was moving at a fast pace, and was been managed by two women in agriculture overalls.
The two of them swore at him at first, making obscene gestures. But, they were no less susceptible than the other women had been. Jumping off of their seats and given chase, they left their wagon to the vagaries of fate.
Spooked by the sight of Choji rolling by in Meat Tank form, the horses took off. Bumping over the curb, the wagon dislodged barrel after barrel. The huge wooden containers rolled down the street, knocking over the tables and chairs lining the avenue…… enraging a number of oxen…… and precipitating other sorts of havoc.
Squeezing his way through the narrow space between two old brick buildings, Naruto happened upon a private scene just as he stepped out into a small communal garden.
Sitting on a bench together were Ino and Shikamaru.
Naruto couldn't risk going back the way he came. If he got down on all fours and crawled between two rows of low hedges, he might be able to get past them without being seen. But, he had to hurry, just in case those wagoneers picked up his trail.
Slowly, he moved forward, hearing every word his friends said to one another.
"Temari has proven very bothersome," Shikamaru said with a sigh. "She is too demanding, and keeps trying to make me more…… active."
"Oh…… I see…." Ino said, a slight catch in her voice.
"I do not need a troublesome woman in my life. But, it was surprisingly nice to have…… someone of the feminine persuasion around…." Naruto could guess what Shikamaru was thinking.
"Was?" Ino spoke louder than she had intended. "I mean…… aren't the two of you…."
"No. At least I think not. I have not completely made my decision yet. I have considered another possibility. If it works out, I would have no more need for a long distance relationship." Shikamaru sounded as if he were discussing a mission, but Naruto noticed the strange inflection in his friend's voice."
Ino did as well.
"REALLY?" She coughed after saying that. "I mean, so sad. Terrible, actually. She seemed like such a … nice… girl…." She paused, then pushed on, speaking quickly. "So what is this possibility?"
"Ahhhh. Do I need to spell it out then? I would have hoped it would be obvious, due to mutual feelings." He pulled a flower off of nearby wild rose, then sighed loudly. "That it troublesome. My apologies. No doubt you have someone else. If that is the case, perhaps I will remain with Temari. I will not see two women, just as I would not wish to see a girl who had another man."
"Oh! No! I don't have anyone else….." Ino began twitching a bit. She shook her head. "Believe me, you are the only one I've ever really…." She stood up, looking around the garden area, pushing away a vine on the nearby trellis.
"If we were a couple, I would never be unfaithful…." She ignored the blossom he held out to her. The fingers on one hand trembled.
Without warning, Ino jumped up from the bench. She took a few steps back, then hurdled the structure, knocking the trellis off of its supports. With a wordless cry, she flung herself over a row of hedges.
When Naruto managed to get to his feet, the girl was hanging all over him, planting kiss after kiss on his face.
"Uhhh…… hello, Shikamaru…… this is not what it looks like…." Performing the substitution technique, he left Ino kissing shrubbery.
Naruto saw the disgusted look on Shikamaru's face, just before he began running again. Ino made her way to her feet, only to be pushed down by the two ladies from the wagon.
"Later!"
Rooftops. Alleyways. Back woods. Even steam tunnels. Naruto went wherever he thought he had the best chance of being alone. He contemplated leaving the city, but felt he still had a responsibility to find out what was going on.
Maybe things would settle down after a while.
He wondered if Shino had the answer. His friend had seemed determined to tell him something.
Wait a minute….
The bottle! Could it be something in the bottle Shino had dropped? If it was, he could just take a shower and….
No. He had already bathed, then lay naked on the mat at the temple.
"Damn!"
He was disappointed. That would have made for a very neat solution. In any case, the most important thing he could do was keep moving. He would also try to piece together the puzzle, even though he had been unable to get the answers he needed form the medical and spiritual communities.
Maybe if he could find Kakshi, Gai, Asuma, or Iruka….
Naruto found himself wishing that Jiraiya had accompanied him. Maybe his sensei would have had the answer. At the very least, he could have left the duty of discovery with his teacher, then fled from Konoha.
Pulling at his lip, and trying to loosen up a cramp in one leg, Naruto looked across one of the village squares. He would have to cross a fair distance before reaching the relative safety of the nearest forest area.
There was a buzzing noise coming from the shop to his left. He looked in through the open window, seeing all sorts of intricate and colorful designs posted on the wall.
It was a tattoo parlor.
"Wait…… Miss…… I'm not finished yet…." The man's voice went up an octave.. "And please, use the door, not the window…."
Naruto jumped when a dagger suddenly sliced away the window screen. The dark-haired woman who pulled herself out into the alley was all too familiar.
Anko.
She wore a part length top and a tight pair of shorts. On one arm, up near the shoulder, there was a tattoo of a heart with a kunai through it. Underneath were the words:
Killing is My Business
And Business is Go
The last word was obviously meant to be 'good,' but hadn't been completed.
"Hmmmmmm. It's you…." Anko licked her lips, then took out her knife. "I remember you…."
Naruto looked to run, but a large group of ladies dressed in livery were walking past. He recognized some from their role as serving women at one of the larger eating establishments.
"Three years ago…… at the chuunin exams…… you were very curious…… maybe there's something I can teach you…." Anko licked her dagger. "I'm not on duty until tomorrow…."
Naruto held up his hands. He needed to buy some time.
"Uhhh…… nice tattoo…… but it doesn't look finished…. and…… well…."
Anko grinned, then took a few steps towards him.
"I've got throwing needles. They'll do. We can find some ink. You can finish it for me…… when we're done…."
The man inside threw a near empty bottle of ink out of his window, cursing and telling Anko to never return.
She smiled, picking up the bottle. "Per-r-r-r-r-r-r-fect…." She laughed abruptly, causing Naruto to start sweating. "I can do one for you, too. How about 'Sex God.' I know just the right place…."
"B-B-But…." Naruto felt as if he had been reduced to a babbling idiot. He could only imagine what it might feel like if the jounin tried to tattoo his….
"Ohhhh…… don't be shy…." Anko used the dagger to cut one of her shoulder straps. "I cut you outside of the Forest of Death, didn't I" She reached out and touched Naruto's cheek "Wel-l-l-l-l…… you can do that to me, if it makes you feel better…." She slid the blade under her remaining strap.
Naruto took off again.
Escaping from Anko proved difficult and nerve-wracking. There was nothing she wouldn't do to capture him, regardless of collateral damage.
Naruto had no idea how many civilians and ninja trainees might end up in the hospital today. He did know that the civic workers would be bringing out the carcass wagon to haul away two oxen and a horse that had been in the crazed jounin's path.
He had never seen an ox explode before. It was a sight he could have done without.
Good fortune found him in the form of an ANBU squad. The men in that team were able to restrain the women long enough for him to gain needed distance. The women, breaking free, fought with Anko, not wanting her to reach the fleeing Naruto first..
"YOU CAN WEAR MY MASK!!!!" One of the girls had shouted, just before being tackled.
Using his kunai to pry open one of the small vents of the Village Library, Naruto took on the form of a small fox, just to spite Kyuubi. Crawling quietly through old dusty ductwork, he made his way to one of the large rooms filled with stack after stack of books and scrolls.
There might be some clue to all the strange goings on. If this was a mass hysteria, or some form of powerful jutsu, maybe he could find some reference of a similar occurrence.
Back in his normal form, he tiptoed around, trying to keep from being seen or heard by any of the people huddled over stacks of paper at the various tables. Not to far away, one young woman stood up abruptly, knocking her chair over. The noise sounded like an explosion in that quiet area.
"SHHHHHHHHHHHHH-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H!!!"
Naruto could see a middle aged woman at the end of one of the aisles. She wore glasses, and had her hair up in a bun.
No doubt she was the head librarian.
Leafing through an index file, Naruto heard a number of heavy chairs scrape against the floor, making an ungodly racket. The movement he saw through the stacks of books suggested women's bodies. That had him beginning to sweat. He would need to work as fast as he could.
"SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H!!!!"
Pulling out some books on mass-jutsus, he frowned as he read. There were too many technical descriptions and not enough historical context. Nothing seemed similar to the problem he was faced with.
"Out of my way!" One woman's voice said. "No, you get out of my way!" The second woman didn't seem eager to comply. "Move it you bitches!" A third woman groaned after a solid thumping noise. Soon, there were the sounds of a vicious struggle.
"SHHHHHHHHHHHHH. This is a library. There will be no shouting…."
The librarian herself was standing now. She undid her hair and unbuttoned her shirt. Taking out a pocket mirror, she redid her lipstick.
Naruto tried book after book with no success. Feeling anxious, he ran quickly to a stack of scrolls further away from the librarian.
He was running out of time.
"This is convenient!"
Naruto jumped. He knocked a dozen or so scrolls down, watching as they rolled out into plain view of the woman at the desk.
"SHHHHHHHHHHHH. What is going on over there?" There was the sound of a chair moving.
Looking to his left, Naruto saw Kurenai, a large scroll rolled open on the pedestal in front of her.
"I found Hinata crying earlier," Kuernai said, an intense look on her face. "When I asked her what was wrong, the only word I could make out was 'Naruto-kun.' What did you do to her?" She began walking towards Naruto, letting the scroll roll up.
Naruto began backing away. He knew that would bring him closer to the other women, but he was more concerned about dealing with another jounin.
"I didn't do anything…." Naruto raised his hands. "Don't come any closer…."
"Did you hurt her feelings?" Kurenai asked, her mouth forming a severe frown. She shivered a moment, but kept walking.
"No!" Naruto said.
"Did you try to touch her?" Kurenai asked, closing her eyes and smiling.
"No! Not once!" Naruto shook his head.
"Good! I'm the jealous type…." Kurenai licked her lips.
"OH SHIT!" Naruto began to run.
The librarian stood in front of him, hands on her hips.
"SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" She looked very angry, but only for a moment. Then she too had a dreamy look. "OH, TO HELL WITH THAT. LET'S MAKE SOME NOISE, PRETTY BOY!!!"
Kurenai stepped out behind Naruto. "I don't think so. I saw him first!"
But, the librarian was not he only competition. The other women had tracked down Naruto as well. One wore a judge's robe. Another looked to be wearing the robes of a very wealthy family. The third was a member of the City Council.
Before Naruto managed to slide his way out of that situation, book racks were falling like dominoes, and women were fighting like cats and dogs.
Maybe he should leave the village.
There might be nothing left standing at this rate.
Actually, that wasn't such a bad idea. It didn't look like he was going to be able to figure things out on his own. Even if he did, what was the chance that he could reverse things or find some kind of cure?
No.
While that was all true, if anyone saw him running out of the village, they might certainly hold him to blame for the things going on. Who knows how much time and effort it would take to erase that misnomer!
There was a better way. He could hide out in one of the small emergency shacks at the top of the stone Hokage faces, or wander through the less-traveled areas of the forest like he had previously planned on doing.
Making his way to one of the lesser used training areas, he climbed one of the tallest trees, remembering how he, Sakura, and Sasuke had trained to do so, applying chakra to the bottom of their feet. It was a pleasant memory, blunting the edge of some of the less enjoyable feelings he felt now.
Pushing aside some leaves at the crown of the tree, he sighed. There were birds flying. He became even more nostalgic, remembering the chuunin exams. Neji had called himself a Bird In a Cage. But, Naruto's actions had freed him.
Now, with everything going on, Naruto felt as if he were in a cage of sorts. Why did things always seem to happen to him?
"I doesn't really matter!" He told himself. Then he smiled. Whatever difficulties he faced, he would make it through.
It was his Ninja Way.
'A Proud Loser' Hinata had once called him, before helping him regain the confidence needed to fight her cousin. He didn't much care for the loser part, but she had a point.
He would get by.
The thought of Hinata had him shaking his head. He had run into her twice that day. The first time was obviously a coincidence. What about the second time? Had she been looking for him?
"Nah!"
The effects on women all seemed temporary. Ino seemed normal again, when she with Shikamaru. At least until he had gotten too close. And, he had seen no further signs of Sakura, Ten Ten, Shizune, Tsunade, or any of the younger shinobi.
Maybe he couldn't been trailed by scent. The temple girls had likely been able to keep an eye on him as he ran.
There was a very subtle rustle of leaves. Most people wouldn't have paid any attention. It might just be a squirrel or a pair of birds quarrelling over a perch.
Naruto prepared to flee.
A head popped out through the leaves.
"Naruto-kun…."
Stepping backward, Naruto paid no attention to his footing. He began to fall. Did he have time to make a clone chain to keep from being seriously hurt?
A small form flashed from tree to tree, then knocked him onto one of the lowest branches. It was Hinata.
"Uhhh…… thanks, Hinata…."
Naruto didn't know if he should thank her or blame her. Furthermore, he wondered if he should start running.
"Y-You're welcome, N-Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled, then blushed, twiddling her fingers. She didn't instantly go all googly-eyed and jump on Naruto, a fact that had him cautiously relieved.
Maybe things were getting back to normal....
She bit her lip, then spoke in a quiet voice. As she did, she began twitching.
"Not too far from here, I was standing by the posts. I saw you go past. I remembered what you said to me once, in a similar place. Y-You….. y-you said…… y-you said that I was someone that you could like…."
Hinata's breathing became quicker. She wanted to leave, but was a slave to her libido, and the pheromones.
Naruto swallowed hard. That memory had him nervous at the moment, but for an entirely different reason.
"Y-Yes…" he answered, wondering what Hinata wanted. "I did say that once…."
As the white-eyed girl moved a little closer, her eyes narrowed. Her transformation was no longer subtle. She ran her hands down along her side, then cupped both under her breasts.
The words came haltingly, but came just the same.
"N-N-Naruto-k-k-kun…." Hinata couldn't stop herself. "Y-You…… y-you…… y-you stud!"
Naruto fell backwards off of his branch.