Sorry for the long-winded hiatus, I got caught up playing FF7 Remake, lol. Without further ado.
Chapter 5: Slave To Desires
The captured fox spirit could not see where she was going, but she could very well still feel the ambient energies around her and hear well enough. She began to wonder just how she didn't sniff out the man who was currently carrying her, his energy was like a goddamn tidal wave! It was compact, tied around his own person, but the sheer density of it was unfathomable.
Now that she thought about it, this guy's energy felt distinctly like… chakra. It didn't feel all that much different from her own, now that she was up close and not panicking. It actually felt quite soothing, like bathing in sunlight that was just the right temperature. She did feel some fox inside of him, so she wasn't too surprised. What DID surprise her, though, was what she felt next. She felt him stop, making some sort of gesture with his body and speaking in vague terms with someone. Then, three energy signatures as abundant as his own appeared out of nowhere, and they started moving again.
Just what the hell had she gotten herself into!?
-Naruto's POV-
Naruto had gotten back to the lake, and upon doing so, was greeted by three people.
Wait, three?
"I have made a clone", Ophis squeaked out with pride.
"I am that clone", the other Ophis squeaked out, pointing to herself with a subdued smile. Naruto turned to Sasuke, shocked that he had actually taught her how to make shadow clones. She didn't even have chakra, last he felt. The unspoken question between the two hung for an uncomfortable couple of seconds, and the situation was only made worse by Naruto's shit-eating grin. Having had enough, Naruto spoke up.
"So, how'd you do it, Professor?" Naruto was well aware that Sasuke's desire to be a teacher was begotten because he didn't do much in the way of teaching Sarada back home. He was also aware that Sasuke hated being called "professor" for one reason or another, so he liked to rib him by doing just that from time to time.
Sasuke looked at him, dumbfounded. He ignored his question and asked one of his own.
"I think the bigger question here is literally hanging from your shoulders" he said, pointing to the obvious elephant in the room. Naruto briefly looked around, pretending like he didn't see anything. He then felt a very heavy, more solid structure replace his captured target, and slumped to the ground in a pitiful heap. He got back up and started yelling.
"Oi, teme! Learn how to take a joke!" A vein popped on his forehead in the process of yelling. Sasuke could be a complete ass, even after he got out of his emo phase and came back to Konoha. Using his rinnegan to swap out the feathery weight of the woman he was holding with a goddamn boulder was too much.
"Right back at you, dobe. You can toss a dragon but can't hold up a boulder?"
"I was in sage mode, you ass!"
"Good ole' S & M, huh?" Sasuke's wordplay was not lost on Naruto.
"What is S" Ophis started.
"And M?" Ophis two finished. Naruto facepalmed, Sasuke was giving him a taste of his own medicine with the obviously lewd comments. He turned towards the two dragon-kin.
"It's nothing. You'll learn when you get older." Ophis looked at Ophis two and they both shook their heads. They had forgotten that this smaller form didn't coax the two deities.
So they became busty again.
"Where was this growth magic mumbo jumbo when I was a 12-year-old pipsqueak?" Naruto said in response to the two growing again. Sasuke couldn't hide the hint of laughter coming from himself, so he simply turned away so as to preserve his "cool guy" image (cool guys didn't laugh, they only smirked). Naruto could feel a massive headache coming on.
"Um?" Naruto turned towards the sound of a silky-smooth voice. Oh yeah, that's right.
The fox lady. Sasuke had used his rinnegan to switch her out with a nearby boulder on top of his arms, so she was still in the vicinity. He walked over to her and threw her back over his shoulder, turning around to Sasuke.
"I'll fill you in when we get to the place I need to drop her off at" he said, pointing to the newly re-captured kitsune. "For now, let's just get going." Sasuke trusted Naruto most of all, so he followed him without question to wherever they were about to go, matching his pace and walking side by side with him. Ophis one and two brought up the rear, still following them as eagerly as the day she (they?) had made the decision to do so. Naruto took notice of this, and he whispered to Sasuke.
"Psst, hey. Isn't she gonna pop her clone? There's no reason to have one out right now."
"That clone is… special. It's of an even higher caliber than the ones you use, and it wasn't even made by chakra." At this revelation, Naruto looked back at the two identical dragon women.
"Is there-"
"Something wrong?" One started and the other finished. Why did they do that? Whatever. He was just a bit salty. Clones had been his bread and butter and the first high level ninja technique he ever learned. He prided himself on being the best clone user around, but now some random dragon with zero understanding of how to even make clones before today just shows up and one-ups him?
Preposterous.
Naruto spent the rest of their trek to this unknown location with a sour face. He'll reclaim his throne, one way or another!
-Abandoned Shrine-
There were very few things that surprised Tamamo-No-Mae anymore.
Sitting before the chief deity of Japan after being captured by presumably another deity, was one such thing.
"Yo, granny sunshine!" Naruto bellowed out. The goddess he was referring to stood still, but the temperature in the shrine they were standing in began to rise ever so slowly.
"I'd prefer if you referred to me with a more… dignified name, young man" she responded, smiling the brilliant smile she was known for.
"But granny sunshine is easy to remember, and it's accurate!" Naruto argued, not seeing the slightest bit of wrongdoing in how he addressed the deity. The temperature in the shrine rose again, but the only person that was bothered by it was the tied-up fox spirit. Sasuke, for the second time today, was trying to hold in a chortle for dear life. This person was clearly someone very important, judging by the waves of energy rolling off her and how she held herself, similar to royalty back home. Naruto's blockheadedness didn't stop for anyone, though. It was simultaneously one of his flaws, and one of his strengths as well.
Naruto didn't see status or stereotypes when he talked to people. He saw them for who they were, and only that. Even objectively horrible people like Nagato, Obito…
And Sasuke himself.
Amaterasu sighed, relaxing her increasingly turbulent energies and straightening herself out. This man had done her an enormous favor out of the kindness of his heart, capturing one of the "Three Great Yokai", the three most vile monsters in all of Japan that had been terrorizing her nation for years and threatening to plunge it into oblivion. She herself couldn't do anything about them with how tied up she was dealing with her own pantheon, but he had gotten the job done the same day that she had proposed it to him.
Letting him call her a silly nickname was the least that she could do. "Very well, Asura-san. Call me as you wish."
Turning towards Sasuke, she shot a demure smile his way.
"I don't believe we've met. Are you Asura-san's acquaintance?" Sasuke replied.
"Yes. My name is Indra." Indra? She had never pegged him as wanting a successor or a child, but maybe the old fogey had had a change of heart over the various millennia? She called him an old fogey, but they didn't differ much in age if by any amount at all (Amterasu liked to fudge her age by at least a few centuries. She was the youngest goddess in all the realms and no one could tell her differently).
She could feel the ambient energies pouring off this successor of Indra, and the thought of the current Indra wanting him as a successor became more plausible. His power was immense, and he appeared to be in a resting state. He was at least this powerful all the time. One armed though he may be, he could do some serious damage to most divine beings just as he was, standing right there.
And then there was her…
Wait, there was… more than one!? Amaterasu's thoughts turned to the giant, suffocating elephant in the room, or rather, the pair of elephants.
"This is getting out of hand. Now there are two of them" she thought. Why had the Infinite Dragon god cloned herself? Or was it the doing of these two newer deities? She'd have to tread even more carefully from now on. Neither possibility was particularly welcoming. She turned back to Naruto, who was grinning in a goofy manner at her acceptance of his nickname.
"I do believe I owe you something. Speak whatever wishes you have, and I will accommodate you if it is within my power." She was a woman of her word. One doesn't maintain the position she has for as long as she has by giving hollow promises. She was no false idol.
Naruto's grin dropped, and it was replaced with a serious expression. Amaterasu was mildly surprised that he could go from being so carefree and unconcerned about formalities to solemn and serious at the drop of a hat.
"I have three things I want" he started. "First, tell me everything about this land you keep speaking of. Second, I want a place my partner and I can train and hone our skills… privately. Third…" Naruto paused, considering the last thing that he wanted was rather difficult to get.
"I want irrefutable proof that you won't go back on your word." Naruto was still skeptical, even though Kurama hadn't sensed any evil intent in her words back when they first met. Better safe than sorry, as they say.
"… Very well. You shall have it all." Amaterasu turned to Sasuke.
"Is there anything that you desire, Indra-san?" She had to ask him as well, if only to be polite.
"Nothing I can think of at the moment. Would you be fine if I answered the question at a later date?" Sasuke was essentially asking for a favor he could cash-in at any time.
"That is fine." Amaterasu turned towards Ophis one and two, eyeing them semi-suspiciously
They had fallen asleep.
"…" She gave up trying to see them as a threat. They acted like kids! Breathing out a breath she didn't know she was holding in, she used her powers to conjure up a sword and what appeared to be a piece of paper. Naruto and Sasuke shifted ever so slightly, ready for anything.
Then, she turned the sword on herself, gently swiping it across the top of her arm. She bled, and the red liquid flowing down her flawless, porcelain skin was an odd sight. It was a sight that was totally out of place and seemed as if it should not happen. The blood trickled down onto the piece of paper, as if drawn to it.
"I assume you both are familiar with contracts and how they work, yes?" When Naruto and Sasuke nodded, she continued.
"Well then, this is a special type of contract. A blood oath, of sorts. It requires you two to also shed blood, if that's not too much." The two shinobi were familiar with blood oaths, as that was basically what a summoning pact was with their respective summons. They both bit their thumbs, as they had done many times to draw blood, and let a drop of blood each fall down onto the contract.
"Now, we're bound to each other. Should I break my promises to you… consequences will be suffered." One could say it was a bit too hasty to do something like this, but Amaterasu had a good feeling about the two standing in front of her, despite any reservations she previously held. After all, one of them had captured Tamamo-No-Mae… whom she needs to deal with shortly.
Naruto and Sasuke retracted their thumbs, resetting their hands back to their sides. Naruto's thumb healed near instantly, Amaterasu noted.
"I guess that's satisfactory." Naruto went back to his big, goofy grin.
"Same here" Sasuke echoed. He'd keep an eye out for things, in case there were any loopholes this person could exploit, of course. Amaterasu turned to the detainee, eyeing her with obvious disdain. Tamamo-No-Mae had been silent the entire time, feeling as if she'd be slain on the spot if she spoke out of turn, or at all really. She had done… too much to expect mercy.
Amaterasu made her way over to her, her eyes seeming to ignite with all the intensity of a white-hot sun. She began to speak, and a chill ran down the spine of the fox yokai.
"You…" she took a moment to compose herself. "You, who hath preyed off the life energies of my land and my children, running amok and doing as you please with the lives of others for centuries. You, who have sowed confusion, chaos, and deceit all across the realms. What do you have to say in your defense?" Amaterasu was a woman of strict moral guidance. Furious though she may be, she would at least give the cretin a chance to explain herself before punishing her.
"…" Tamamo-No-Mae sat there silently with her head down. Something in her snapped the instant Amaterasu finished talking. She supposed that death was the only outcome to be had, so she figured she'd air her grievances before she went.
"… I committed no wrongdoing."
"Excuse me?" Amaterasu practically growled at her.
"You heard what I said. Your 'land', your 'children', they deserved what they got. All of them are as corrupt and foul of spirit as you make me out to be. I've SEEN the depths of their depravity, practically immersed myself in it. From the peasants to the nobility, not one of the people I've encountered over the centuries has been anyway near as righteous and full of honor as you like to make them seem. Your people, your land, and you yourself are all merely putting up a front of purity and grace. A false idol for a land full of wretched people." She said her peace, fully expecting to be dead in mere moments.
The beautiful goddess was practically snarling at this point. She picked up the sword she had embedded into the ground, walking towards the subject of her wrath, and prepared to swing.
Naruto and Sasuke stood idly by, watching this occur. Naruto was tempted to speak up, to stop her, and almost moved to do so before Sasuke put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him in place.
"This isn't our matter to resolve" he said, looking Naruto straight in the eye. Naruto stopped his advance, hands by his side balling up into fists.
"I know…" Naruto had always believed in second chances, even for the scum of the earth. He had grown up, however, and realized that he could not save everyone. He had no right to decide what was righteous or not, and he had no right to try and save people from choices that they had made themselves. He stood his ground, determined to see this execution through, even if he did think there was a better way to go about it.
The sword sliced through the air full speed at it's target.
But it was caught.
"W-what!?" Amaterasu almost jumped from the sudden stoppage of the blade.
"Cease"
"And desist" Ophis one and two said, having stopped the blade cold in it's tracks. Amaterasu returned the sword to her side in her hand, puzzled by the interruption. Weren't they just asleep?
Tamamo-No-Mae raised her head to see the two identical dragons standing in front of her. Why were they protecting her? As a matter of fact, why was the Dragon god even here? She had heard tales of her unfathomable power, but never really seen it in action (nor did she really have the desire to). Could it be something to do with the man who brought her here?
"What reason do you have for stopping me, Infinite One, er, Two?" Ophis was the person she could least afford to piss off as the head deity. Ridiculous though it may be, she would have to swallow her pride if Ophis wanted that criminal alive. She had stopped the Sword of Kusanagi with only her hand, after all.
Ophis pointed over to Naruto, distress clearly evident on his face though he tried to hide it.
"It would make him sad. Sadness could impede my learning" Ophis one said simply.
That's right, Amaterasu remembered. Ophis was apprenticed under those two. Things were so very strange. Turning to Naruto and putting down her sword, she deigned to question him.
"Would you see this criminal free, Asura-san?" Naruto took a bit to respond.
"I do think there's a better way to go about punishing her, but it's not my choice to make. I won't interrupt you if you plan on doing so." Both Ophis one and two stepped back, having gotten an explanation out of their teacher. All she truly cared about was learning, the kitsune's life held no place in her heart. If her teachers were content, so would she be.
Amaterasu turned back to the matter at hand, staring at Tamamo-No-Mae as if she was thinking about something. Suddenly, a glint could be seen in her eye, and the expression her face morphed into reeked of mischief. She stepped back in front of the fox youkai, her regal posture reasserting itself.
"Alright then." Amaterasu wiped a small amount of Naruto's blood off the contract, and she smeared it onto Tamamo's bountiful chest (the window to her cleavage was still open from when she had tried to seduce Naruto).
"W-what are you" Tamamo began to question, and in the next instant, she felt a burning sensation rip through her chest and saw Amaterasu's hands glowing a strange purple. The sensation died down after a few seconds, but the lingering pain was intense.
Was she torturing her?
Removing her hand from her chest, Amaterasu began speaking on what she was doing. "Since you were a slave to your desires while free, you shall be a slave once more, but not unto the things you want." She smirked a smirk that wasn't at all supposed to be on a goddess's face, full of mischief and amusement.
"You are now the property of Asura-san. May the rest of your days be filled with what you deserve." She turned back to Naruto and Sasuke.
Sasuke sported a neutral look on his face. Slavery was not unfamiliar to him. He never personally liked it, especially because of how he himself was manipulated earlier on in his life, but he never sought to liberate the masses like Naruto would either. One thing he knew for certain, however, was that this person could be diabolical if they wanted to be. Traditionally beautiful and demure as she was, she still had plenty of room for scheming and pettiness.
"Asura-san, you can order her to do whatever it is you want from now on. Should she disobey, she'll get a… nice surprise." Amaterasu giggled. If Fujin was here, he'd be cowering in a corner.
Naruto was dumbfounded and didn't know what to say. Slavery never sat right with him, but the only alternative seemed to be her death. Then, he thought about it. He didn't have to treat her like a slave, even if she technically was one. Sighing, he accepted that this was the only plausible way to save her without causing a fuss or having to potentially fight. They needed to lay low for the time being anyhow, and they had already gotten off to a bad start, dropping down in the middle of a warzone (he was still mad at Sasuke for that).
"Fine. Let's just move on to the info dump, shall we?" he responded.
"Gladly. What do you need to know?"
-Several hours later-
It had taken quite a while to get through and make sense of all the information Amaterasu had told them. This world was packed to the brim with inhabitants, separate dimensions, and different factions all with their respective goals and desires. They had to embellish a bit, feigning immaturity to get her to explain things they would already know if they were really from here, but they got through it. Now, they were being led to their own personal training grounds.
That would be their base of operations.
"Here we are" Amaterasu called out, stopping in front of a building that was empty on the inside.
"You can customize this place to your liking, and don't worry about privacy. This place will be protected by wards of all kinds. I will take my leave now, I trust everything is to your satisfaction?"
"Great" Naruto spoke up.
"Ditto" Sasuke spoke. As long as the place could hold up, he'd be fine with just about anywhere.
"Well then, farewell." Amaterasu took her leave, eyeballing Tamamo before she beamed teleported up.
"Welp, let's go in." Naruto led the charge into the empty building, opening the singular door and stepping inside. Sasuke was by his side, and the Ophis twins brought up the rear as usual. The fifth and final member of their party, however, stayed behind with her head drooped down. Naruto took notice of this and called out to her.
"Hey, Tam-chan, come on in!"
Tam-chan? Was he speaking to her?
"You don't want to be left behind, do you?" After asking his question, her chest started to illuminate, and she could feel the onset of a burning sensation. A crest was beginning to form in the middle of her cleavage, forcing her to scurry into the building. She did NOT want to feel that pain she felt back at the shrine ever again.
Naruto closed the door behind her, having noticed the glowing. He lamented that the slave crest appeared on her chest, it made it look like he was leering at her. Nevertheless, he turned around to set about doing what he and Sasuke had planned out… before being stopped by a hand tugging on his arm.
"… Why?" she asked.
"Why what?" he asked back, oblivious to what she meant.
"Why would my death sadden you? You don't even know me, and I've done… horrible things." She needed to find out why he looked so distressed back there, it was eating away at her psyche.
"I don't really have an answer" he responded.
"You don't?" She was sure he was bullshitting her. No one ever did anything without looking for personal gain.
"Well, it's more like I don't think the answer makes any sense, hehe." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, and she could swear that he was beaming at her like she was an old friend or something. She still held the opinion that he was good-looking, and his chakra was… soothing to be around. It was making it hard for her to make decisions and formulate more questions.
"Snap out of it!" she thought. Shaking herself back to reality, she continued her questionnaire.
"You're lying" she said brazenly. "You want something, and I'm going to find out what it is. No one is as chivalrous as they make themselves out to be." Naruto lowered his eyelids halfway down and sported a subdued smile. What was he planning?
"Well, I'm no knight in shining armor, that's true. I guess I just couldn't kick that old habit. Everyone deserves a second chance, ya know?"
".. Bullshit…"
"Hmm?" Naruto didn't quire catch what she said.
"Bullshit!" she nearly shouted. If the others heard her, they didn't show it. "You're just using me, I'm just a means to an end!" She didn't know where this outburst was coming from. She had never had any problems with her temper in the past, but now, something was egging her on. Maybe it was her conversation with Amaterasu, or maybe it was the pretentious goody-two-shoes standing before her. Whatever it was, she needed a release.
"You can believe what you want. dattebayo. I'll just show you, since actions speak louder than words." Tamamo audibly growled, he was seriously pissing her off but there wasn't a damn thig she could do about it. She'd get him to drop this chivalrous front even if it was the last thing she did.
Naruto turned around, fully intent on showing her that he wasn't interested in using her for any scheme or convoluted purpose. A lightbulb popped over his head, and he turned back around.
"You can't disobey orders from me, so I guess I'll go ahead and give out your first order in that case."
There it was. Not even a full day and he had revealed his true nature. She waited on whatever self-serving order he'd give her.
"Be yourself."
"… what?"
"You heard me. I said to be yourself. Don't worry about obeying me all the time, and be yourself. Do things that you want to do." Naruto knew he was taking a risk here, what with her reputation, but he needed to prove a point, and, frankly, he had more than enough power to stop her if she did truly go back to her old ways.
He'd take full responsibility for this.
Tamamo all but snarled at him, incensed that he was trying to give her the illusion of freedom. She would stick around to make this pretender show his true colors, mouthing out a vow to him.
"I'll make you pay for that."