DISCLAMIER:………yeah……

I

DON'T

OWN

'NARUTO' DAMN IT!

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'never alone'

Ch.6 – The End of an Age, A New Beginning

---LAST TIME---

..he set out to rectify that problem… and find a way, a weakness, as it were with Seigi… and… the… means… by which to destroy him…"

Now wary of a Warai in tears, Naruto stuttered out a question." D..Did he find it….?"

Once again sitting with her back to the bars, Warai summoned the strength to answer and continue on. Past sobs and struggles she answered.

"…yes…"

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Silence reigned as Naruto sat in contemplation of Warai's affirmation and now wholly caught up in the tale; he chose to press for answers…. " Warai...wh..what happened?"

" From….from what we learned …..Afterwards…" Warai paused while obviously reliving painful memories. "In…in… the initial stages of his coup….Uragiri had approached Dento and his clans about joining forces and crushing Seigi. He argued that with Seigi's new power it would only be a matter of time before he would try and take over the other territories…that to preserve the power and dignity of the Ryu he had to put him down….It…it was a compelling argument ….but…it didn't work out. Dento…Dento was just as wary as I about Seigi's new power… the balance of power had been broken and… if he had wished… we knew he could probably conquer us….BUT…but he also knew Seigi personally just as I did…….. that he was trustworthy, honorable, and a friend… that he believed in justice and never once had he attacked out of aggression …….Dento knew as did I that, yes, he was powerful….but no…he was not a threat… With that in mind he …turned down Uragiri…"

"...so Dento didn't help the scorpion?" asked Naruto.

Not receiving an answer for quite some time, Naruto crawled towards the gate and put his arm on Warai's kimono covered shoulder. "Warai?"

"…no…" she whispered. "…not at first…but…som..something came up…" Naruto was about to ask what happened once again when she lifted her chin and, while looking into his eyes, continued. "Uragiri…had been furious when Dento turned him down….he knew that with nothing more than the power of his own forces against Seigi's, victory was impossible……..so…he schemed on how to turn Dento against him……..He…he tried a few measly plans here and there…but nothing ever stuck……Dento just wouldn't buy it…" Warai paused to look away and stare into the black of her cage. "Eventually he gathered that if it he was going to sway Dento and his clans he'd need to find it in the one point that neither Seigi nor I could ever sway Dento, a topic with which he was fanatical…….he would have to find …something… that had to do with the breaking of clan law and contracts…more specifically…something that had to do with interbreeding…'

"but wait…I thought you said it ended the war… didn't that mean Dento's clan and the snakes and serpents interbred as well?" Naruto questioned.

"Them?" She replied in a tired and sarcastic manner with one eye brow raised. " I don't think so…Oh it ended the war alright…but you have to remember who was fighting the war…It was essentially Seigi's tribes and my northern tribes versus Uragiri's from the west…Dento was never actively involved in the combat." Sensing a lack of understanding and a need for more information, she continued. "What was the reason for him training his own forces? Well that one's quite easy…there was the combination of a potential threat in other trained humans and the possible loss of territory like what happened to Seigi and I…….but…what was more important to the Ryu than even territory was …pride … it was no secret by then that we had come to pride ourselves on the power and advancement of the humans underneath us… and Dento always was a bit full of himself …always bragging about the dragons and such and what their humans were like….….but….As for going back to the inter-mixing, no…..like I said earlier….Dento was a stickler for clan law…and can you ever believe THAT was against the law……Such things were entirely forbidden to his own clan…despite how some of them felt…and as for the snakes and serpents…well…it wasn't his clan, it was his alliance. They were free to do as they pleased…though it was looked down upon harshly…"

Now confused, Naruto spoke. "Okay I get that now…but what would hanyous and law have to do with Seigi…I mean…I got it that Seigi thought it was great for them to mix and all and that Dento didn't …but you also said if it wasn't inside HIS clan it didn't matter…so how could that help Uragiri?…"

"Naruto…do you remember…what I told you earlier about the laws being created by the four of us…that in return for the binding contract for the protection of humans and established order on this plane we had to acquiesce to the demands of both Uragiri and Dento?" Warai asked.

"ummm..yeah?" he replied in an obviously 'yeah, so?' manner.

"Dento and his clan's demands…well…they were related to clan laws and the balance of power in the new world. The Ryu were a very ancient clan of demons back on the home plane. There they held considerable power …and…upheld equal prejudice……for …Dento… to gain enough power and support within his own clan to overthrow his predecessor…he had to make promises, promises to uphold those older prejudices and maintain the purity of demon rule… those promises focused on the preservation of the demonic clan lines… The Ryu wanted a known power structure…something…absolute and inescapable… They feared that the other clans cut off from the demon plane would join forces and through breeding as well as the sharing of clan techniques, consolidate their power … This…this was not something they wanted…and like I said…we had to agree to their demands for the greater good." Warai explained in a resigned manner before she began anew.

"This is the reason I told you Uragiri, Seigi, and myself were banned from teaching humans our clan seals. The law we agreed to for Dento's sake stated many things. First was the fact that while clan members were allowed to mix if they should so choose, clan LEADERS were limited to pure blood mates within their own clan… or WERE permitted to mix if they would step aside for another to take their place… As for we, the Kyubi, and our clans? Well, we couldn't step aside…we were the absolutes in the new world…….the…consequences… for us breaking the contract were the total voiding of the binding contract…and possibly the start of the wars once again…" Warai paused to take a breath and collect her thoughts on the issue.

"The passage of clan techniques also fell into these laws… The clans were not to share their techniques with any demon outside their own clan in the first place…The only ones that WERE permitted were the ones that might've been bound in by mating…As for the humans…" Warai's mouth tugged up into what might be a small smile. "Uragiri was not the only one to play the law….Seigi and I both clearly understood that for our minor clans there was room to bend the laws. It stated they weren't supposed to share with other demons….it never made ANY sort of mention of humans… Apparently, the Higher Ryu never thought that one up...but…but for us…the Kyubi……things were not the same…" What once might have become a smile on Warai's tear stained cheeks died quickly. " Like our future mates…we were to teach absolutely no one from outside our clan our techniques…even then…because they were of the Kyubi, our own personal techniques were to be shared only with our mates or children, those who would possibly become the next Kyubi should something happen to any one of us…As for our clan techniques in general, like I said, they were not for those from outside the clan….In fact, should a member bring in a mate from outside the clan of the particular Kyubi…the new member and their progeny were never to be taught the skills of the clan…………it was wholly unfair and limiting….but…..this…this is what we agreed to….this is what was law….and this is what Uragiri needed to be broken." Warai finished while wiping yet another tear from her eye.

"You said that he found what he needed earlier…so …what happened? Did someone else finally teach an Ookami or some other demon skill to another clan's member or human …or did one of the demon lords marry and refuse to step down? What happened?" Naruto pressed, now hungry for the truth.

"…yes.." was Warai's cryptic answer.

"What do you mean by yes? Was it one or the other?"

"…both…"

"What? Who?"

"…who do you think…" was Warai's near silent reply.

Naruto pondered it for a moment in silence. 'An infraction so great that it would lead to war? A leader that would refuse to leave his position after taking an outside mate? Someone that would teach techniques to outsiders? Who could it be….A regular lord would just step down rather than bringing war to Seigi after he had taken them in…A regular lord wouldn't risk teaching his techniques at the possible cost of a war….Whoever did it…they thought they could either stand toe to toe with the kyubi …or that they wouldn't mind…that they'd just bite the bullet….Who would be so arrogant as to think they could take on the Kyubi?...what kind of….' Naruto stopped in mid thought as some pieces clicked together. '…oh no…the one who was attacked…the one who Uragiri wanted to crush…the one that became the most powerful demon on the plane and the actually still trusted those around him to the point that he thought they could be reasoned with….'

'Seigi'

He was nearly stunned into silence when his brows rose in shock and the truth dawned on him. Still, he managed to stutter out a few words. " Wha what! I thought you said if a Kyubi were to break those laws then total war could erupt because of the Ryu's strictness on tradition! Seigi…Seigi knew the rules! Why would he do that? How…how did it happen? Who did he do it with?"

Warai stretched her arms and legs out and leaned back against the gates as Naruto waited impatiently for an answer. After seeing him spaz somewhat and gathering her own thoughts and feelings on the issue through the painful memoires, Warai spoke. "He did it…because… he was in love….he did it because he had faith in the goodness of others… and he did it because he believed in his own strength…"

"But!" Naruto began only to be cut off by Warai.

"No Naruto…he…wasn't wrong. Seigi did so much for those around him…and his heart was pure… He honestly thought that even Dento would allow his interbreeding with enough pressure and argument…that given enough time he could plead his case and try for the changing of the contract…but Naruto…like I said …he thought wrong……especially so once it was discovered WHO he had taken as his mate…a human woman of all people…" Warai's eyes closed and her visage went neutral just as Naruto's eyes grew in size and his face contorted. Before he could stutter out his reaction though, she resumed. "…his…'mate' was indeed a human woman. Apparently, after spending so much time amongst your people trying to bring both sides together, he became fond of your kind…very fond. In particular, his fondness grew into affection during the wars… He saw the strength and potential of your kind…what could be with a little effort and instruction" Warai paused and turned her head to make sure Naruto had taken what she'd said so far. "He fell in love with your people first…it was only a matter of time before actually took one your kind for his own…and…eventually, it happened. While he could not teach techniques himself, he could observe their training and point out small things, the basics as they were, and how to improve them. It was during one of these occasions that he met a young woman training with the Toad clan…and no, she wasn't a hanyou to any sort of degree… I suppose it was during his 'pointing out' session that he grew to like her and she him… from…from…what Gamabunta told me, he was so taken with her that he actually began to secretly train her in the ways of the Ookami and not just any Ookami, but indeed his own personal skills…and that…from there…things just skyrocketed off..."

The fox demon now turned fully around and sat in a meditative position as Naruto move to mimic her. "They were able to keep it secret for many years…even when they were wed…but …eventually it was impossible to hide any longer. It just can't be done…not when there's a hanyou baby born with all the marks of the Ookami…….so…it was only a matter of time before word was leaked, despite his alliance's efforts to keep the knowledge suppressed."

"so…did they attack as soon as they heard…?" asked Naruto.

"…no..they didn't…" Warai replied as the glowing, crimson color in her eyes increased in its intensity. " As soon as Uragiri found out he planned his scheme and then set to work….he didn't want to take any chances against the power of a ten-tail so he first contacted Manda to come up with the right way to manipulate Dento... After speaking with one another and figuring out how to do it best, they set out….Their goal…was no longer just the defeat of Seigi and the Ookami…they…they wanted to destroy his entire country and alliance…they…wanted to murder his clans, enslave his humans, and take over the northern lands for themselves…"

Warai snarled before speaking through tight lips. " They ….they went to Dento…and he agreed to go to war…he was…infuriated…just as they had hoped…and it took only a few small efforts to convince him of the need for the destruction of the north in its entirety. Their …final… argument… was against Seigi's own offspring and its possible power…they were fearful of the possibilities…after all…if Seigi was able to transcend the limits of a demon, would they be able to transcend the limits of humanity? Would it be possible for a human to obtain a ninth gate? Would they soon be greeted by humans with the powers of nine-tailed lords?" Warai stopped and clenched her eys shut. Turning face down she ended. " …that was all it took for them to sentence Seigi, his family, and his people to death…"

Warai stayed silent as her fists clenched and her teeth grinded against each other. She was angry, very angry, and it showed… It's hard to miss bright red flames shooting off someone after all… Naruto sat in between a mixture of fear, awe, and mortification. As the flames began to lessen in their intensity she growled out the full measure of Uragiri's plan.

" It didn't take long for them to come up with something that utilized their full power… Their… strategy… was to attack the Ookami first while unprepared with the full measure of their forces and crush Seigi and then move on a genocidal campaign against the other clans… or… Have their forces hold him back until his family could be secured and…well…I think you can guess the rest…"

"Is…Is THAT what happened?" Naruto questioned unsurely.

Warai's grimace shifted somewhat into a foreboding snarl before she replied.

"No, not exactly…it seems that even some insects have honor… One of Uragiri's underlords, Katsuya of the Snails, was disgusted by Uragiri's plot and warned Seigi and his people of the coming storm… it wasn't much, but it at least allowed them a short time to scramble their forces beforehand and…and…well…they…they were able to prepare to some degree…"

Warai's flames now fully rescinded and sense of depression and grief became apparent in her demeanor.

"When…they finally did attack… Seigi and his boys were already waiting for them…" Warai gave a dark chuckle. "Oh yes, they got one hell of a surprise when the sneak attack turned into a trap."

Warai lifted her face too look Naruto in the eyes.

" Seigi may have been trusting, but he wasn't an idiot to any degree. He knew that as soon as Dento had agreed to the genocide the battle wasn't about territory or even pride any more. It was a fight…a struggle...for survival and the right to exist on this world…It was then that any thoughts about pulling punches or a defensive campaign stopped completely. It was kill or be killed. So…he set up his forces for maximum leverage and efficiency. He had them fight their natural enemies. He ordered the lord of the birds to take his kin and duel against the spiders. The wolves and dogs were to face off against the dragons and serpents. The frogs under lord Gamabunta along with the defector Katsuya and his kind were positioned to take on the Mantis and Snakes… As for Seigi himself…he…he had to battle with both Dento, Uragiri, and the entirety of the scorpion clan…and…all…all…by himself…" Warai finished in tears with her eyes once more to the floor though this time they did not rise once more.

"Wait a minute! What about you Warai? I thought you were his friend and stuff? How come you didn't help them? Was it because you were worried about your own people or that they didn't want to go or what?" Naruto asked confusedly.

"Oh god Naruto…I…I …I wish I could say that…I…I want to say that… but…but …" Warai trailed off as she burst into open sobbing and hugged her knees. Naruto didn't know what to do. The fox woman had been nice to him, had seemed deeply regretful about her actions, and had been spilling out her whole life story. He was just so confused. He was usually so lonely that having anyone willingly talk to him without insult was a real treat, but…this woman was the demon that caused that. Should he comfort her? He had placed his hand upon her shoulder before to steady her in hopes of hearing what had happened…but he still hadn't heard exactly why…perhaps…perhaps a little more and the truth would come out. It didn't really matter either to a certain point if she had caused his pain anyways…he had made a promise to himself, on the same level of his dream to become hokage, to help those in pain. To do for others what none would do for him……. Also… it didn't hurt that she already could've killed him, but chose not to…With that in mind, he slowly approached the cage, turned to the side, and pushed through…

Warai was already in sorrow after having drug up so many painful memories, but…having to recall her own part it in hurt so much more… It reminded her of her first great failure and then of those after….She probably would've stayed a wreck much longer if it hadn't been for the sensation of thin arms wrapping themselves around her body. Completely surprised by the physical contact, She abruptly stopped her sobbing as tears continued to slide down her cheeks. Looking down she saw exactly what she had felt, the thin arms of a child… "Na Naruto-kun ?" she stuttered out.

"Listen Warai…it's…it's okay. You…you still haven't told me why…but having learned all that I have so far…and by judging your character I…I don't think you're so bad. I…I am still angry with you yes, but I …I think you really are sorry. I… haven't completely forgiven you yet…but I also think…that with time…I might… so…please… Warai. Don't cry…if you…don't want to tell me what happened now…it's okay. I'm not going anywhere anyways…but…if you do want to continue, the easiest way to get it out is to just spill it and then deal with it…"

"Oh Naruto." Warai cried out as she took him into her own arms and hugged him tightly. "Thank you Naruto…thank you…I…I think I can continue now…." Warai released her embrace as a now red-faced Naruto backed away from her and moved to brace his back against the cage. Warai took notice of his coloration and blushed a bit herself after realizing what she had done. Moving back to the topic of conversation, however, sobered her up quickly. She was nearly in tears all over again as she began to speak, but maintained her composure to 'simply spill it out' for Naruto…With that, she started once again.

"Seigi…he…faced them alone…because I would not come to help him… Uragiri hadn't just planned to get Dento to work with him…he had also worked to keep me from helping Seigi…and…he succeeded….Why Naruto? Why wouldn't I help him?...It…it was because I was bitter and I…I felt betrayed myself…" Warai paused to calm her nerves and keep from breaking down. "Before…before we came over… Seigi and I…we were already very close…we…we both reached our powers as nine-tails together…we…both spent so much time together…we started to become intimate, involved with one another…but…but when we came…we had to separate to keep the balance… As I said earlier…the laws…those DAMN laws we agreed to… kept us apart… Over time Seigi…he moved on…but I…I never did… I always thought that some day, the laws might be changed so that we could be near one another again…it was what I hoped for…….when I found out about Seigi and his wife…I …I was heartbroken…I…was so angry I didn't even think about what I was doing….He…he came to me for help Naruto…he…begged me Naruto. He BEGGED me to help save his family and people…and….and I said no…My people, the Tanuki and the bears…the inu and Ookami were their friends and in some cases family…they wanted to help save them…….. when I said no many were disgusted. They cried out and yet I refused…Eventually I gave in to their pleas….but by then….by then…it…was too late…" Warai looked upwards to try and keep herself from crying anymore.

"The battles were all over… the spiders had mostly won against the birds though both sides had sustained heavy losses… The Frogs had managed to force Manda and his kin to flea while the Mantis were wiped out… and the battle between the wolves,dogs, dragons, and serpents…." Naruto could see tears streaming down Warai's face despite her upturned chin. "There…were bodies everywhere Naruto… The Dragons had been fanatical while the Wolves had fought for their homes and family…they…they tore each other to pieces …there were barely any left alive and…none left whole…it…it was horrible. A massacre, the likes of which had not been seen since the darkest days of the demon world…Between the dogs and serpents…losses were not nearly so great…but the majority were casualties on the side of the serpents…As…as for Dento,Uragiri, the scorpions, and Seigi…….by the time I got there Uragiri was already dead, the scorpions were also all but destroyed, and …Dento and Seigi both were taking their last breaths…" Seeing their faces and hearing their voices travel through her thoughts, Warai stopped only to start again a second later. " Dento was heaving…but he would last a little longer while Seigi…Seigi was spent and moments from death…he …had his wife next to him crying over his body. When…he saw me… he signaled me to come to him…he…he begged me to protect his family…to make sure that they'd be okay through hthe times that were coming…after that…the strain of the tenth gate proved too much for him…and…Seigi died…….I wanted to weep, to say I was sorry, but any apology would've been meaningless…If I had come…then… there was the chance his death could've been avoided… so…I kept my grief inside and went to Dento…" Warai's shoulders slumped as the explanation of Seigi and Dento's final moments began.

"In the end…he was sorry for what he had done to Seigi…that…that is where I learned of all that happened…of all of Uragiri's scheming and…of the battles… how they got Seigi… He told me that while He and Uragiri used eight gates worth each to hold back Seigi, the scorpions went for his family…He…he realized the only way to save his family was to use his tenth gate…His tenth tail was proof that he had survived before…but when he had to face off against the two others and THEY had activated THEIR ninth gate…things only went down hill…Apparently, most of the scorpions were actually slaughtered from errant techniques and collateral damage…but the ones that neared his family had been utterly crushed… As for Seigi's injuries…when…Seigi moved to protect his family…Uragiri was able to poison him with all nine of his tails…….even for him it meant death…."

By now, Warai was once again greatly upset but she carried on. "After the war…I was the only Kyubi left…it was up to me to become the high lord and leader of the plane….but… I just didn't have it in me any longer. I promised to protect Seigi's family and that was all that I intended to do forever more… When I refused to take the lead….I also left my own clan to do as it would…I left my own sister Tala in charge…as for the other clans…my own were disgusted with me and the other's were broken irreparably. With that…then end of the age of demon alliances and rule came to an end… the clans separated and went their separate ways. My bears traveled into what you now call the lightning country, the Tanuki traveled west to crush what was left of Uragir's alliance in the Wind country, and the Kitsune…they roamed free. The same sort of story occurred with all the others demon clans… They either picked up and moved or stayed on to instruct their hanyou kin and clans… As for the Ryu…as per Dento's dying declaration…their clan laws were abolished for what few remained…he wished only for them to live freely and happily…Many of them…felt a need to atone for their past sins and THAT is how your people obtained the seal of the Ryu… More or less…this established the structure of what your world is now…though with minimal changes and trends"

"So…did you stay on and protect what was left of the Ookami and Seigi's family?"

Warai was quiet and didn't answer Naruto until he spoke up again to gain her attention.

"Warai?"

"Sorry…but…yes…I…I tried to..for a while…"

"tried?" Naruto questioned carefully.

"Things…things didn't work out the way they were supposed to… I…I was still feared as a Kyubi, but it wasn't enough to keep certain individuals away. With the new order becoming dependent on bloodlines…many feared the potential strength of Seigi's child… and the other possible children of the Ookami…they wanted to get rid of the threat before it materialized… while we were still weak and I was still grieving….I… I couldn't save them Naruto…" Warai burst into heaving sobs and coughs once again. " I…I failed him again Naruto… he died for them and I…let it be in vain…"

"It's okay Warai…" Naruto comforted her as he moved to hug her once again.

"No…no it's not Naruto…" she cried. "when the clans attacked I… moved out to face them… I didn't think about it being a decoy…when I got back I couldn't find them anywhere Naruto…they were gone…the only ones I saw were a pack of wounded hanyou retreating……I… knew they were dead… Seigi's wife had been strong…to be able to fight so many and to actually seriously wound so many as well…but she was only human…she had her limits…She couldn't have survived……I was angry then and slaughtered the party and moved back to save what few Ookami were left only to find none of them alive either… I…I had failed them so miserably Naruto…Seigi…I … failed him in every way possible… the world of peace he envisioned with demons and humans living and working beside one another was lost…and it…it…didn't even end there… Bloodline wars ran rampant as a race began for domination and whole clans were being wiped out… that's why there aren't that many bloodlines around now… they were killed… I tried desperately to restore order…but the world had turned into a living hell."

"Wh..what did you do Warai?"

"I did the only thing I thought I could do to preserve some hope for the world he had wanted… a world of peace for humans…I gathered the clans and forcibly sent them back to the demon realm… Then … I put a seal on the rift and made it so that only through a special ritual of invitation could demons once again walk this world…it's what you humans call summoning now……Since then, the only demons that have walked this world have been myself, a few errant lords that refused to go and ran, and some that were summoned occasionally…"

"What happened to you when you were left all alone Warai?"

"After all that had happened Naruto? I was just too sad…too depressed, too caught up in my grief to deal with the world any longer…As soon as it was stabilized I retreated to my lair here in the Fire country…and…I went to sleep… At the time…I was hoping that I would never wake up…."

"Why did you wake up then?"

Silence reigned.

"Warai?"

Warai pulled herself away from Naruto moved a small distance away from him.

"…I…was summoned…" she replied darkly as the flames of her anger appeared once more. " I was summoned out of my lair, forcibly awakened from my slumber, by a human who would seek my power… I…I'm not quite sure how he did it… when I placed the seal on the rift I never imagined that your kind would learn how to manipulate its energies with your own to such a degree that it would be possible for you to summon things as well as people across this plane…I had only created it lock my kind out…I never imagined the power it would yield within… he…the human… he used it to call me into a chamber he had prepared… He had even managed to procure demonic binding seals… they held me at bay so I was able to see …wh…what he …ha had done …t-to get me there…he must've perverted a summoning contract from somewhere…reverse engineered it in some way to discover its roots and the way in which to summon whatever he would desire…he…he had called my own family… the Kitsune… out from the home plane…and…worked his way up through the ranks…" Warai's anger rose to new heights as her demonic features intensified and she punde her first against the ground making the sounds of contact reverberate throughout the enclosure. " They were CHILDREN Naruto…he…called the kits …and tortured them to give incentive for their parents to come when he called them…he…worked through my whole family Naruto just so he could sap them of their life energy and power so that he could summon me to use for his own plans…. I …saw their bodies Naruto…the first thing I saw after waking up from the failure of my friends and loved one was the massacre of my FAMILY…I saw my…sister dead…I could…tell…she had struggled against the seals, but even for a five-tail they were too much……the seals were complex…far too complex for any human to have known…but…he had them……I would've been completely under his power as well if I had not been at least an eight-tail…" Warai slammed her knuckles against the ground once more as her nine tails came to move and pummel the ground and bars much the same way. "THAT FOOL! THAT MONSTER! HOW COULD HE HAVE DONE THAT!"

Warai sat shaking in fury until her demeanor calmed some what once more and her dark, cold voice emitted out through the cage…

"He got one hell of a surprise when I was able to break the seals and make a move towards him…he didn't stick around long though…he ran as soon as he knew I was uncontrollable…I don't why he was so surprised, he should've known that those demon seals were known to incite rage and mental imbalance in their targets… and…after he slaughtered the only precious people I had left in either world what did he really think I was going to do?...He actually thought that I, the Kyubi no Kitsune would be stopped by such a thing and bow down to him AFTER THAT? Hmmphh. Arrogance…it only slowed me down….and…I…I wanted revenge…so…so badly… I could taste it…I wanted to make him and everything he cherished suffer…not just for my clan…but for everything that I'd seen…I wanted to lose my self in destruction and become fury incarnate… I wasn't right in the mind completely…but..I…I WANTED to do it…so I … I followed him for weeks through Fire Country to Konoha …your home… when I got there and saw who lived in the village… my fury only grew even more …….Konoha's proud bloodline…the HYUGA…they…were different, but I still recognized them… they… they were the ones who had attacked Seigi's family… I saw them and I thought that the massacre of MY family had been only another play for power… I …I wanted revenge even more then… I wanted to destroy the whole city for not just my own family now ….but Seigi's as well… I wanted closure….and so…I attacked…"

Naruto was now sitting with his own back to the bars and his arms held round his knees. Warai sat a ways downs looking at him, trying to pick up on his body signals while he was in thought… Would he accept her?... She wondered…

'So…so that's what happened…" Naruto thought. "She…lost everyone she ever cared about… she failed the one she cared about most, then she failed him again in his last wish and the protection of his dreams, and THEN she was awakened only to learn that what little she had left in this world or the other had been taken from her… She was overcome with grief and anger … and… she said that the seals that had held her affected her mind in a way……..but she also said that she HAD wanted to attack, to do what she did…. And now she's sorry though… She said she was sorry because of what has happened to me… I wonder… why? … well, I guess I ought to say something…'

"Warai… I… I can understand now what happened… If I ever had anyone precious to me … and they were taken away … I would be angry and probably want revenge too…but what you did was wrong and nearly unforgivable…"

Warai's somewhat hopeful plummeted. "I… I can understand you also Naruto-kun … I wouldn't forgive me either if I was you … after everyth…"

"BUT " Naruto interrupted. " You have said your apology, you have trusted me with the truth, and you have shown sorrow… both for what you did… and for what has happened to me… so… I guess no major hard feelings…"

"but…why Naruto?" Warai asked with barely restrained tears in her eyes.

"Because… I made another promise to myself Warai… that… I would help others in pain. That I would do for others what no would do for me … and…you, Warai… definitely fit that bill… You were hurt just as badly as anyone in the attack … and the Leaf nin was foolish enough to track you into the village and use his comrades as shields for his actions…Konoha was a victim of circumstance…. Also, the truth is… I … I can't find any real faults in you that I couldn't see happening in myself…"

"OH THANK YOU NARUTO!" Warai cried out in joy as she grabbed NAruto and took him into a tight embrace once more…though this time his face was unfortunately muzzled deep into her…'mounds'. As the tears of joy swept down her face Warai noticed that Naruto had gone unusually silent… "Naruto-kun?" she asked unsurely. "Naruto?" she asked once again. It was then that she looked down and realized what was happening. With a shriek she pulled back and a blue faced Naruto gasped for breath.

/ ………. / ………… / ……….. / …………. / …………. / ………..

Whoo hooh. Got that over with… It took me forever to figure out exactly how that was going to go, but damn, this chapter felt like it had no end. Personally, I felt it was too long, but I didn't think anyone would want to read my fic anymore if it ended up as the first 30,000 words being nothing but intro! I sure as hell wouldn't. GAH! Well, as to what happens next? The long-awaited meat and potatoes of course! I'm still considering exactly who to have him perform one activity with I have in mind…

I won't tell you if it's a pairing or not, but just b/w us… it's not. Okay? Just vote for:

T or H

That simple neh? Trust me; you're probably not expecting what will come of that little vote. AND, if only like 2-3 people vote on it? Well, hurray for them! Now, as to answering questions…

I can't.

Or at least I'm not supposed to… Doesn't that suck? Well, to be perfectly honest, I'd just ignore that little rule anyways. The truth is I can't remember any question at the moment… so negative hurray for me. Well that about does it… This Madnarutofan – OVER / OUT.