Chapter Eight: Off-balance.
In the village of Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi and numerous other Shinobi observed the aftermath of the explosion that rocked the village, and destroyed the Academy. About an hour or so had passed since the initial explosion and were now assessing the damage and what could be done to rebuild the Academy.
Thus far, the only confirmed casualty caught in the explosion was Iruka Umino. Unfortunately there wasn't much left to work with. The entirety of the building had been almost completely obliterated save for a few small chunks of rubble, and there was a massive crater as well that reached a good twenty or maybe even thirty feet deep into the earth itself. Whatever was used to destroy the Academy, it left almost nothing behind. Very thorough.
"Why the Academy? Of all the places that could have been blown up, why specifically target the Konoha Academy?" Asked the form of Kakashi Hatake, while Hiruzen thought deeply on the subject. There were many places of significance in the village that could have been targeted, such as the Hokage tower for instance. However… the Sandaime had a theory.
"For many years, I have believed that the future of the village lies with the next generation… I think that whoever set that bomb, is trying to send a message of some sort. Something like 'I'm going to take the future of your village'. Though this is merely my own opinion. For now, put the village on full alert and on lockdown. I want to know who is behind this and if there are any more bombs." Hiruzen ordered, earning a nod from the masked Shinobi.
"Understood. Who do you think's behind this? Iwa? They're infamously known for employing powerful explosives in some of their techniques." Kakashi mused, the memory of many allies being blown apart by Iwa's explosives coming to his mind.
"Perhaps, but let's not go pointing fingers till we have more information. The enemy was able to smuggle in the explosives undetected, I'm suspecting this may be an inside job." The Hokage spoke in a reserved tone, knowing that empty accusations could lead to dire consequences. If this wasn't handled carefully or if word got out that Konoha was vulnerable, then the village's enemies would swarm them like locusts.
All of a sudden, Neko appeared next to him and then quickly whispered something in his ear which caused the Sandaime's eyes to widen "What? You're sure?" At his question, the purple haired Anbu nodded in confirmation, which made the Sandaime clench his fists.
"So… that's how it's going to be? Eh? Well… we'll just see about that." Hiruzen muttered as he and Neko went to take care of the situation. He didn't spend years trying to pull Konoha back together again after the Kyuubi attack only to see it being pushed back to ruin once again. By Kami, heads would roll for this.
Meanwhile. Aboard the Uzu express.
"Hey, that tickles!" Spoke the form of Naruto as he and Anko decided to take a bath together in his Cabin's private bathing area after their little romp in the gym. His new lover giggling as she helped rub some shampoo into his scalp while her breasts were pressed against his back. The two Pariahs deeply enjoying each other's company as always, even more so now that Anko had confessed her love to him and he was more than happy to accept her feelings.
"Stop squirming around then and hold still." Anko spoke in a lighthearted tone as she giggled, placing a chaste kiss on the back of his neck. The whiskered teen smiled as he stared on ahead in thought, enjoying the feeling of the Dango lover's fingers massaging his scalp as he spoke in a more serious tone "Did you really mean what you said earlier? About being okay with me being with… others?"
"I meant what I said dummy. Back in Konoha, I tried my best to be around for ya, but my duties and responsibilities as a Kunoichi always kept me away. Goes to show that I can't be around for you all the time, so of course you need others to love and cherish you. If they love you as much as I do, well, the more the merrier, yeah? I think the sisters like you a lot in spite of the short time you spent together." She explained in a patient voice.
"Still feels a little strange, but at the same time, I kinda worry about…" He was about to make mention of the 'classes' but was cut off by the Snake mistress who roughly jabbed the back of his head with a finger to silence him.
"Don't go there. Not right now. Think about something more positive." She practically ordered him, making him give off a sheepish smile. She was right, it wouldn't be a good idea to dwell too much on negative thoughts, lest he drive himself crazy.
"Heeeeey. My beloved Conductor? I have something that might bring a smile to your face. Wanna see? Wanna see? I bet you do~" Spoke the form of Glados in an unusually cheerful and sing-song voice. Before the blonde could even mutter a response a tentacle-cable descended from the ceiling, carrying a television screen that showed several pictures.
One was an obituary for Iruka Umino, and then there were several other pictures… showing the site for where the Konoha Academy once stood. "Holy shit… there's almost nothing left." Anko muttered in surprise at the sight while Naruto could only blink his eyes a few times. It seemed like the mastermind was already making big moves… though for some reason, instead of feeling angry, he felt a sense of satisfaction.
The Konoha Academy held nothing but bad memories for him. Almost constant teasing, bullying, being beaten up in class spars, and of course the negligence of Iruka who had been corrupted by both his grudge and for money. For some reason… he felt it oddly appropriate for them to be gone, and he could already imagine the anger and disappointment of some of his classmates since their graduation would undoubtedly be delayed. Kami, he wished he could see the look on that prick Sasuke's face right now.
"Well now… that's an interesting sight. What a crying shame for that prick Iruka." Naruto muttered sarcastically, feeling no empathy whatsoever for the Chunin's death. He got what he deserved.
"Huh. You know, he actually tried to hook up with me a few times. No idea why. Probably knew how I felt about you and wanted to try and get with me so you wouldn't have anyone to love you. What a piece of shit." Anko muttered with a small sneer as she remembered all the times Iruka attempted to flirt with her. A dying pig would have had more charm than that asshole.
"That so? Seriously, is there anything people won't do to fuck me over? Ah well, I doubt anybody will really miss him. He'll be forgotten about in less than a week I bet." Naruto mused with a sigh. Still, between Anko's confession, their lovemaking and now knowing that the Academy and Iruka were gone… he was having a very good day right now.
"Thought that might make you smile. Also, there may be a problem… Ino still hasn't emerged from her room or requested anything to eat or drink and she refuses to even talk to me. Don't know why. Just doing my job." Glados spoke in a somewhat concerned voice, making the two Pariahs glance at each other… yeah, that was pretty worrying.
"I'll talk to her in a minute." Naruto responded, deciding now might be a good time to leave the tub and check in on his passenger… his passenger? Huh… was he starting to get used to this role of being the conductor now too? He wasn't sure, but regardless, he knew that his classmate was in need of help.
He emerged from the water along with Anko who smiled as she took a towel and began drying him off with it while the blonde helped her dry off as well, their hands roamed their bodies for about two minutes or so before they decided to get dressed. Anko simply slipped her underwear back on, while Naruto got dressed in his Conductor's uniform, finding it to be both comfortable and that it looked good on him.
"Want me to go with ya?" Anko offered, earning a shake of the head from the whiskered teen who replied "Nah, let's not crowd Ino. I'll talk to her myself. I'll let you know how it goes."
The Dango lover nodded in understanding and mentioned she was gonna go hit the bar for a drink as she waited for him. Naruto made his way towards Ino's cabin and knocked on the door, however he received no response which prompted him to knock again and call out "Hey Ino, it's me Naruto. You okay? I just wanna talk and check on ya. Glados tells me you haven't eaten or drank anything yet."
Again, he received no response… until the door opened ever so slightly and Ino could be seen peeking through, her eyes puffy and red from crying as she spoke bitterly "Shut up. I'm not going to fall for that. Don't act like you care."
Ouch, it seemed that she was still mad about… well… probably everything. He sighed and then spoke in a calming voice "I'm sorry Ino. Really. For everything. I wanted to warn you about the classroom, but Glados kept me and the others silent. Whatever the mastermind says, I promise that I didn't want all of this to happen and I'm sorry for what you went through in the classroom. I promise you though, as soon as we get back to Konoha, you can get off the train and go home where you belong. Until then, please, at least try to eat or drink something."
Ino's face relaxed and softened, some of her bitterness melting away as she sensed the concern and sincerity in his voice "You… really mean… of course you do. You're not a liar. You couldn't lie to save your own life. I guess… I should be sorry too. That crazy mastermind's the one at fault. Not you… I was just… so angry and scared." She spoke in an apologetic tone as she opened the door all the way.
"Can't blame you. Being taken from your home and your dad. Being forced into those classes. Only makes sense you'd want someone or something to blame. I promise you though, it won't be much longer." He spoke reassuringly, earning a nod from his fellow blonde.
"There's… another reason I lashed out. I was also scared of not being given a choice about who I could love. I mean, sure I've been pining after Sasuke for a while but, we all know that's a dead end. I guess what appealed most to me about Sasuke is that, well, I thought that he wouldn't care that I was a clan heiress.
Being a clan heiress or heir means that there's a lot of people that want to date you or tie the knot with you so they can get special privileges or something. Wasn't until later that it finally clicked for me that Sasuke didn't care about anything but himself or his damned revenge. I just wanted someone to love me for me, and I feared that ability to choose who I could or couldn't love had been snatched away from me… and I blamed you for it instead of the real bad guy. The mastermind." She explained, causing the whiskered Uzumaki to blink his eyes a few times.
He adopted a thinking pose for a moment as he spoke "I guess having positions of prestige comes with their own drawbacks. I never really thought about it like that. I guess because I've always been at the bottom looking up to the top, or something like that if you catch my meaning. Anyways, thanks for explaining that to me, Ino. I'm sure a pretty and smart girl like you won't have much trouble finding someone to love. When you get back to Konoha, I hope you can find someone that makes you happy."
At his words, Ino blushed a bit and spoke in a somewhat shy voice "Gosh… you really think so? You really think I'm pretty?"
"Wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it. I'm not in the habit of lying." Naruto replied with a somewhat proud and cheeky grin which made Ino giggle a bit. She actually felt better now after having spoken with Naruto.
"Thanks… that means a lot…" She muttered and then her stomach started to rumble… very loudly which made her blush a deeper shade of red and now realize exactly how hungry she was.
"Uh-oh. Grumbly tummy alert. Might be a good time for lunch." Naruto suggested, earning a nod from his fellow blonde as they departed towards the dining car in a comfortable silence. When they entered the dining car, they saw Anko waiting at the bar as she promised while the Igawa sisters could be seen drinking some tea with Haku.
"Ah! There she is! We were getting kinda worried about you Ino-chan! You feeling better?" The younger Igawa sister asked in a friendly and bubbly tone, making the heiress nod with a small smile. She sat down in an empty booth and called for an extra large pizza with all the meats on it… except for anchovies. And in almost an instant, a robot appeared with her meal, set it down in front of the blonde heiress and then disappeared.
Heh. Pizza. Ino had good taste. Nothing like a nice and hot pizza to eat your worries away with. Naruto sat down at the bar next to Anko, deciding that he could use a drink right now. Sure, he couldn't get drunk, but he could enjoy the taste if nothing else. "Hey Barkeep? I'll have whatever Anko-chan's having and throw in some lemon pepper wings." At Naruto's order, the barkeep robot mixed up a drink and a plate of almost steaming hot wings appeared in front of the blonde.
He picked one up and blew on it to cool it down before taking a bite out of it, enjoying the zesty flavor as he swallowed it down. Anko lifted her glass and drank some of her own booze as she spoke "So what now? We still got a ways to go before we get to Konoha."
"I know. Though like I said before, I'm not in a big hurry right now. For now though? I guess we can enjoy ourselves and have a little fun till then." He replied as he took a large swig of his own drink and noticed a saucy grin was on the Snake Mistress' face.
"What kind of fun? Something naughty?" She spoke teasingly, making him blush a bit but smile while thinking that his precious Hebi-hime was insatiable, not that he could blame her. They had a lot of catching up to do after all.
"H-hey! I'm not into that kind of thing!" Spoke a voice from behind them, causing the two Pariahs to turn around and see that Haku had torn herself away from Sakura whom she was sitting next to, the orangette looking at the black haired 'tool' with a confused look.
"Huh? I just wanted to play a game with you. There's a big arcade on the train. What'd you think I was suggesting?" Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow, throughout the dining car… everyone couldn't help but notice that Haku seemed a little flustered. The Ice user in question only blushed further, likely in embarrassment as she replied "Oh… that's what you meant? I'm sorry. I misunderstood."
"Oh, it's no biggie. I guess I didn't make myself clear enough, sorry." Sakura apologized with a small smile, it seemed like whatever misunderstanding the two had was quickly cleared up. Most likely Haku thought that Sakura was coming onto her or something, but that wasn't the case.
Naruto then called out "Hey Haku, if you don't mind my asking, what's your story? You work for Zabuza Momochi, right? I heard some stories about him." At this, the Ice user perked up and glanced over to the Jinchuuriki with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh? What stories have you heard?" Haku spoke as 'she' smoothed out 'her' kimono, mentally kicking 'herself' for getting flustered over an innocent remark. 'The stress must be getting to me. I'm getting pretty wound up. I have to relax myself… but I can't let my guard down either. Worst. Job. Ever.' the Ice user thought quietly and for once wished that he'd actually been born a girl given his precarious situation. Even so, as Zabuza ordered, he'd make this Naruto boy and the mastermind happy and follow their orders to the letter.
"The usual spiel. The Demon of Kiri, member of the Seven Swordsman. Butchered his whole Academy class. Took a shot at the Mizukage and fled Kiri, becoming a Rogue nin. Stuff like that." Naruto replied in an honest voice, earning a nod from the self-proclaimed 'tool', not very surprising since those were the most well-known and common stories.
"I see. What if I told you that Zabuza-sama attempted to assassinate the Mizukage to put an end to the Bloodline Purge?" Haku asked at the end, causing a pregnant pause in the dining car as everyone stared at 'her' with shocked expressions. All across the Shinobi Nations, and perhaps beyond that even, word had spread about the Bloodline Purge in Kiri, which also resulted in a massive and bloody civil war in that country as well.
The civil war was so violent and chaotic that not even the other Major nations wished to stick their hands into it for fear of being swallowed up in the turmoil. Under normal circumstances, the other Nations wouldn't hesitate to get one over on a rival village, but you know that things must be bad if a Nation doesn't want to get involved with something like Kiri's civil war.
"Really? That's the first I've heard about that. How did the purges start anyway? I'd always wondered about that." Naruto asked out of innocent curiosity, prompting Haku to sit back down next to Sakura so that 'she' may explain.
"From what Zabuza-sama told me? Our Mizukage Yagura, when he first took the mantle, promised us peace and prosperity and that he wanted to leave behind Kiri's barbaric and blood-soaked past behind. Then a while later, it was suddenly declared that all citizens and Shinobi that carry bloodlines should be eliminated. At first, people thought that this was some kind of propaganda that Yagura's political enemies were stirring up… until the horrible reality was forced down the people's throats.
Zabuza-sama told me that the first days were the most horrific, that people were so confused and in shock that they didn't know what was happening or how to react. Even some of the Shinobi had no idea what was going on. Babies were being tossed out windows, people being butchered in the streets, some were burnt alive on pyres or lynched, little toddlers and kids were drowned in the canals… it was hell on earth. Even my own family didn't escape the carnage since both my mother and I possessed a bloodline that enabled us to control Ice." Haku explained while everyone listened with horrified expressions.
"What… the… fuck?! How did this Yagura guy go from talking about peace to murdering his own people?" Asagi almost shouted in a rare moment of pure anger.
"That's the million ryo question. Nobody really knows why he changed so quickly. Zabuza-sama had no problems with killing enemy Ninja, but even he wouldn't do something so cruel, so he attempted to kill the Mizukage hoping to put an end to it, but he failed. Meanwhile, my mother was murdered by my father, and he and a mob tried to kill me as well, but I used my bloodline in self-defense to kill them and escape. A while later, I met Zabuza-sama and he took me in. I would sometimes pose as a Kiri Anbu to help ward off suspicion or throw off the enemy, and carried out anything else he required of me." Haku spoke, finishing the story and giving a brief summary of 'her' own life.
"That's awful… I'm sorry that happened to you." Naruto spoke sympathetically, it seemed that Haku was alone too. Betrayed by her own father no less, someone that was supposed to love and protect her. He couldn't imagine what that must have felt like.
"Thank you, Naruto-san. I spoke with Glados… she told me all about you and your own history. I had the fortune to know what it was like to have a family and make memories with them… you never even got that much, and you were scorned by an entire village because of the circumstances of your birth. In a lot of ways, we're kind of alike." Haku mused, earning a nod from the whiskered teen.
"Seems that way. Sorry about the way we met, but I hope we can still be friends." Naruto spoke with a warm smile and approached the Ice user with an extended hand. 'She' graciously accepted and shook his hand in return.
"Thank you, Naruto-san. Zabuza-sama has bid that I serve you in whatever capacity you need and fulfill your wishes. I'm at your disposal." Haku spoke in a formal tone, which made the blonde scratch his cheek with a lone finger.
"Appreciate it, but please, you don't need to be so formal. We're all friends here… by the way, you have very soft hands." Naruto spoke without really thinking, causing the Ice user to blush a bit.
"D-do I? I wouldn't have thought so, Zabuza-sama trained me a lot in combat." Haku muttered shyly and removed 'her' hand from Naruto's all the while some of the other passengers were staring with sly looks. Now that they thought about it… Haku hadn't yet been subjected to a class, and was already blushing around Naruto… at this they wondered if the mental conditioning was even a necessity or was meant to encourage what Naruto may bring out in them? They weren't sure at this time, but regardless… this was an amusing sight to say the least.
'Why am I getting so flustered?! I mean… it was nice being complicated and all that but… well… what am I saying? I need to stay focused. I'm doing this because it's a job and because Zabuza-sama said so. This isn't permanent.' Haku thought to himself… and mentally groaned upon seeing the looks he was getting from the others.
After this, the atmosphere settled down and everyone finished their respective lunches. At Sakura's insistence, everyone made their way to the Arcade Car so that they could play games and have some fun, to which no one offered any resistance.
"So this is an Arcade… I confess, I've never even seen one before, much less stepped inside one. I feel like I stepped into a strange new world or something." Haku mused as 'she' observed the various games within the car.
"I've been to one or two but I never had many chances to go." Ino mused as she glanced around and saw a pretty wide variety of games to play. A dance game, shooting games, racing games, and so much more. One could probably spend hours upon hours locked in here and never run out of things to play or try out.
"Gotta say, I think it's my first time in an arcade too. This'll be an interesting learning experience." Anko spoke with a grin, very much eager to try some of these out and maybe place a few high scores or something. Plus she got to spend more time with her Whisker-kun, so it was a win-win.
"Anyone up for a few rounds of air hockey? There's a table for two players and a bigger one for four." Naruto suggested, earning some shouts of approval from the group as they approached the air hockey tables.
"Ooh! Ooh! I have an idea! How about we have ourselves an air hockey tournament? Team versus Team?" Sakura suggested with a broad grin, earning nods of approval from everyone since they should have enough members for three teams.
"Sounds fun. Who pairs up with who? Oh, wait… I know! Glados? Can you randomly assign teams and serve as referee?" Naruto requested and it wasn't long before the voice of the AI happily responded "My pleasure my beloved Conductor! To make things more interesting, the last team standing earns a prize."
"What kind of a prize?" Naruto questioned with a raised eyebrow, with the others wondering much the same since that sounded kind of interesting… and for once it didn't seem like Glados was playing tricks on them and just wanted to make things more fun.
"Wellllll, I think that depends on the final victor. The winning team can ask the Conductor for a special favor, or if Naruto-kun and his partner are the victor's then his teammate can ask him a special favor. Now then, one moment while I randomize the teams." Glados responded and then a screen appeared from a nearby wall as their pictures were randomly shuffled about, until at last the pairings were decided. Sakura and Ino were paired together for the first time, followed by Anko and Haku for the second, and finally Naruto and Asagi for the third team.
"Yosh! We're paired together Ino-chan! Let's do our best!" The orangette cheered with a grin, with the heiress nodding in agreement. The latter had an impish grin on her face as she pictured making Naruto grovel a little bit for her amusement, meanwhile Sakura was thinking of perhaps asking him to massage her later… and maybe give her a happy ending if he was up for it.
"Sorry Whisker-kun, but I'm taking the victory, then I'm gonna do all kinds of dirty stuff to you later." Anko declared, making both Haku and Ino blush a bit at the obvious implication… although for Naruto he was just fine with that since he'd let her do naughty things to him anyway. Haku for 'her' part was considering what 'she' may ask the Conductor for? Perhaps a private shower where Glados couldn't watch? If he didn't bathe properly soon, he was gonna start smelling bad.
"It would seem we are paired together. I hope I can be a reliable partner, Naruto-kun." Asagi spoke before giving a small bow, to which Naruto nodded with a grin. Fortunately the rules for air hockey were pretty straight forward, just had to down the puck into the opposition's slot. Not much to it, although he had heard that a lot of air hockey games could get pretty intense.
On the large air hockey table, there were four slots, one for each player and they had to defend them to the best of their abilities. "To make this game a bit more fun and intense, I'm calling for a sudden-death-elimination rule! If the puck enters your slot, you are out! The round continues until both members of a team are eliminated! Good luck!" Glados suddenly announced which caused the teams to give competitive glares as they sized each other up.
"First match! Team Sakuno versus Team Anku! Anko Mitarashi, you may launch the puck with ready!" Glados announced as a puck dropped from the ceiling in front of the Snake Mistress as she and the other players picked up their respective mallets, preparing to swat the puck away to defend themselves.
"A word of warning? Be very careful when defending, many players have ended up accidentally tanking themselves while playing Air Hockey. Mind those mallets!" The Artificial Intelligence chimed, offering some friendly advice to the players. Anko smirked as she sized up the competition… and decided that the weak link of the opposition was Ino since she was still an Academy student.
With a soft grunt, she shoved her mallet forward and caused the puck to slide towards Ino's slot. With surprising speed, the heiress swatted the puck away causing it to bounce around the arena walls. The puck sped towards Haku's slot, who knocked the puck away with ease, almost as if 'she' had played this game a million times. The puck then rocketed towards Sakura who managed to knock it away, sending it back to Haku, who once again easily knocked it aside.
"Holy crap! Haku's freaking fast! Have you played before?!" Sakura asked as she found herself sweating nervously while trying to keep track of the puck which was quickly becoming a blur across the table with the teams almost barely keeping up with it, safe for Haku who seemed to have no trouble defending 'her' slot.
"Nope. First time. It's just a matter of speed and reaction time, which I have no problem with." Haku confidently boasted and once again knocked the puck away while smirking. The puck rapidly hit the walls of the table making 'dinging' sounds as it went, until finally it went straight into Ino's slot and a loud 'BZZZZT' sound was heard, signaling her elimination.
"Awwww. I'm the first out?!" Ino whined dejectedly but sighed as she accepted her defeat since there was no possible way she could have kept up with that damned puck. Her elimination left the orangette on her own and now she was left to defend herself against both Anko and Haku, the latter's superb speed and reaction time offering them a distinct advantage in this little tournament.
"Umm… timeout?" Sakura spoke nervously, hoping that she might be spared a moment to collect herself. In response, Glados gave a sadistic giggle and replied "No timeouts. Sakura Igawa, launch the puck when ready." At that, a new puck was dropped in front of the orangette who prepared her mallet to strike, knowing that the only way to have a chance at winning would be to eliminate Haku first.
The orangette swallowed slightly and launched the puck in Haku's direction with the ice user easily swatting it aside with a confident smirk. Once again the puck sped along the table's surface colliding with the walls which sent it in a different direction while the three players kept their eyes on the puck. Anko managed to use her mallet to knock it aside in time, accidentally sending it towards Haku who used the puck's momentum as 'she' stuck it and sent the puck into Sakura's slot, eliminating her as well.
"Our victory." The ice user spoke as 'she' ran a hand through 'her' hair while Anko made a victory sign with a cheeky grin. Both Naruto and Asagi exchanged glances and swallowed nervously… yeah, they definitely had some serious competition. Haku's sheer speed and reaction time would be almost unbeatable in air hockey, however, everyone made mistakes at some point or other. They just had to hope the self-proclaimed 'tool' would make one in the next round.
"Next and final match. Team Nasagi versus Team Anku! Naruto, launch the puck when ready!" Glados announced enthusiastically as both Naruto and Asagi took their places, and a new puck was dropped in front of the Uzumaki, he picked up his mallet and gulped knowing that a bad judgment or move could lead to his and Asagi's loss. He glanced over towards Haku and noted that 'she' seemed ready to act at a moment's notice. Probably not a good idea to go after the ice user directly.
Naruto launched the puck in Anko's direction, who seemed caught off-guard by the fact that he had gone after her instead of Haku. Likely expecting him to make the choice to take the false Anbu out of the game. Anko tried to deflect the puck, but she missed and instead it went into her slot, causing the loud 'BZZZT' to ring out, signaling her elimination.
The Dango lover snapped her fingers and shrugged as she spoke in slight disappointment "Seems, I'm out. Cue cliche speech, something something, avenge me Haku." She added in a joking manner, earning some laughter from the others.
"Haku, launch the puck when ready." Glados called out, dropping a new puck in front of the Ice user, who didn't wait for very long before striking it and sending it towards the Uzumaki who deflected it with his mallet, sending the puck towards the wall as it bounced off and made it slide towards Asagi who deflected it. The false Anbu waited patiently, watching the puck and waiting for it to come within reach… then the puck seemed to be heading towards Naruto's slot as it bounced off the wall once again.
He tried to deflect it with his mallet, but missed as the puck continued unhindered… except it didn't go inside his slot, instead it hit the corner and bounced away sending it flying back as everyone stared in awe at this stroke of luck, the puck then struck a wall once again and seemingly flew towards Haku's slot, the ice user tried to shake off 'her' surprise and knock the puck away, however 'she' overextended and missed, and in her panic tried to bring her mallet back, only to accidentally hit it and send it into 'her' own slot, thus eliminating 'herself'
A third and final 'BZZZT' sounded, signaling the end of the match and the tournament itself with everyone letting out cheers of congratulations for Naruto and Asagi's win. Haku shrugged and graciously accepted defeat since it was still fun… that was actually the first time in forever he'd actually played a game and just plain had fun. 'Fun and games' aren't very common phrases when you're traveling with a Rogue Ninja after all. Though… it still left him without a much-needed shower.
"Congrats Naruto-kun, it seems it is our victory." Asagi spoke and placed a chaste kiss on Naruto's cheek, which made him tense up a bit. On instinct, he glanced over towards Anko but she didn't seem to mind the kiss and gave him two thumbs-up and a flirty wink that made him blush a bit… seemed like she was actually encouraging him.
Naruto chuckled and then spoke "Seems that it was, yeah. Sooooo, do you have a special favor in mind I can do for you?" At his question, the bluenette hummed in thought and adopted a thinking pose as she pondered over the possibilities… her face actually start redden a bit as she blushed as one in particular came to mind.
"With your permission, Naruto-kun… I think I'd like a repeat of what happened in the sauna, perhaps a little more?" She asked since it was actually a fantasy of hers to have sex in a sauna… and after seeing him make love to Anko… she kind of wanted a turn now. Her request caught the blonde Uzumaki off-guard since he wasn't expecting that… but then… he certainly wasn't opposed to it if Anko was fine with it.
"Go for it Naruto-kun." he heard his first lover call out with a cheeky grin, with Ino looking between Naruto, Asagi, and finally Anko with a large animated question-mark over her head. "Wait… what happened in the Sauna?" The blonde heiress asked in a clearly clueless voice while Anko and Sakura simply giggled perversely.
"I'll, uh, meet you at the Sauna in just a sec." Naruto spoke, prompting the blue haired Kunoichi to nod in understanding as she made her way to the Spa car to await his arrival. Naruto then made his way over to the Dango lover and was about to ask if she was sure about this, but was silenced when she brought her fingers to his lips.
"Naruto-kun, you know I love you, but seriously, don't try my patience. I already gave you the go-ahead. Now, you go meet Asagi in the Sauna and have yourselves a good time. If you don't, well… you'll be getting a very nasty case of blue balls." She promised him with a venomous smile and a wink. Quickly getting the message, he simply nodded and made his way over to the Spa car leaving the others behind.
"What just happened? What's going on? I'm kinda lost right now. There something special about that Sauna that I don't know about?" Ino asked out of curiosity, earning more giggles from both Anko and Sakura. Haku sighed and shrugged 'her' shoulders… although 'she' had already guessed that things were gonna get… steamy in the sauna shortly.
Naruto entered the Spa car and began shedding his Conductor's uniform, and then found a towel laid out for him near the sauna's entrance. Once he was in the nude, he wrapped the towel around his waist and entered inside where Asagi could be found sitting in the same spot as before, sitting in the lotus position in quiet meditation her face flushed red as she slowly opened her eyes upon hearing him enter.
She smirked at him, her eyes half-lidded as she gave him a 'bedroom eyes' look and said "Just couldn't stay away huh? You must really like the company of older women. Cheeky brat." She gave him a small wink, making him believe that this might've been a small roleplay or something of the like. He smiled back at her and sat next to her as he looked at her large breasts.
"Well, last time I was here was quite memorable, to say the least." He replied with a small chuckle. She gave him a 'stern' look and sneered slightly and then spoke in a tone of face disgust "Did you come back here, hoping I might get you off again? Ugh, horny teenagers like you can only think about sex, tits, and asses."
She then sighed and brought one foot over, and pulled his towel aside, exposing his growing erection that was throbbing hard in arousal. "Is this how you greet an attractive woman? With a throbbing erection? You're utterly hopeless. Though… it is quite arousing to have a younger man pine for me." Asagi muttered as she licked her lips, wrapping her feet around his member and giving it a firm squeeze. She slowly massaged his member, dragging her feet up and down his erection while tracing some of the pulsing veins with her big toe, her ministrations making the blonde tremble.
Kami, he had already done it with Anko so many times earlier, but somehow it still felt like he was having sex for the very first time. Strange to say the least, but he wasn't complaining. Asagi chuckled as she squeezed his swollen head with her toes, causing hot precum to start oozing out, providing lubrication that allowed her feet to slide up and down his shaft more easily.
"You enjoying that? You like it when my feet rub your cock? I bet you are." Asagi spoke teasingly, bringing her hands up to her large breasts and began fondling them in arousal and pinching her hardening nipples. She couldn't believe she was actually doing this, it felt so utterly shameless, yet she couldn't stop herself and didn't want to stop either. Last time she did it to help him out… now she wanted to enjoy herself as well.
"I am. It feels amazing, Asagi." Naruto panted out, sweat forming on his and the Kunoichi's skin from the heat of the sauna and their current activities. Fortunately, Asagi remembered to keep it at a low setting so they wouldn't burn up in here. The blue haired Kunoichi gave a sultry smile as she sped up her ministrations, keeping a tight hold of his member as she decided to finish him off.
"I bet so. Now hurry up and cum! We don't have all day. Give me your sperm! Spray that hot semen all over my feet!" She ordered, prompting Naruto to groan as his cock throbbed, and then his semen shot out of his member splattering all over Asagi's feet and calves, thick ropes of semen connected across her toes as she giggled in amusement and arousal.
"Hmph. As expected, little boys like you have no chance against an experienced Kunoichi. That's twice now that I've helped you get off, seems only fair that you help me get off too." Asagi spoke with a sultry smile… although inwardly she was surprised by how much he came, and it seemed he came pretty hard too. She had to admit… she was actually kind of excited to have her first time being with Naruto.
She never had time for dating or romance due to her duties as a Kunoichi and as the head of her school… now she was temporarily free of those responsibilities and could freely enjoy herself. She turned over and got on all fours, presenting her thick and luscious ass to the whiskered teen and said in a teasing voice while giving her large buttocks a wiggle "Come on now. Don't keep your partner waiting."
Naruto immediately obliged her, accepting the invitation as he mounted her, his hands groping her large and soft breasts and plunged his meat pole inside her waiting pussy. Asagi let out an almost whorish moan as she felt his cock stretch out her pussy, her vaginal walls almost spasming around his shaft as it went deeper and deeper, inch by inch into her. "Fuuuuuuck, it's so big! It's gonna tear me open! Fuck me Naruto-kun! Fuck me nice and hard with your big dick!" Asagi moaned out, feeling a series of mini-orgasms as she shuddered in pleasure.
This was the first time a male had ever been inside of her, and she was loving it as her baser instincts took over. In response to her words, the whiskered teen began rocking his hips, the sounds of flesh smacking against flesh rang out followed by the sounds of Asagi's aroused moans. She seemed to be enjoying herself a lot, and Naruto was all too eager to please and satisfy her.
He kneaded her breasts in his hands, eliciting more moans from her, he then experimentally pinched her hard nipples, earning some squeals of delight from her. "Kami, why am I so sensitive? It feels so good!" Asagi muttered just under her breath, feeling her new lover's shaft as it pulled in and out of her pussy, the head of his cock slamming hard against her womb.
"Feeling good Asagi? Your pussy is so warm against my dick, and it's really tight too. Feels almost like you're trying to milk me." Naruto groaned and gave her a small love bite on her neck which earned a groan of approval from her as she tried to use her vaginal walls to squeeze his shaft as best she could, but it was difficult with her lack of experience.
After a few minutes, Asagi could feel her orgasm coming, any second now she was gonna squirt, and it was gonna be a big one too. She could feel Naruto's member twitching inside of her too, it seemed he was getting close to his own climax as well. This was confirmed when Naruto spoke "Asagi-chan! I'm gonna cum!" He warned her, prompting her to nod.
"Just, just a little more! Just hold it in for a bit longer then spray your hot teen cum all over my ass!" She cried out, earning a grunt of acknowledgement from the Uzumaki as he pounded into her, harder and faster as his balls smacked against her clit. Finally, Asagi screamed out and her body went rigid as hot juices squirted out from her vagina, splattering against the floor.
Unable to hold it in any longer, The Uzumaki pulled out of her pussy and began stroking his cock, he then let out a loud growl as hot semen exploded from his shaft splattering all over Asagi's ass cheeks. "Hot… so hot… my ass is soaked in hot teen cum. Kami… Naruto-kun, your cock felt so good inside me… ugh…" She groaned out and slowly turned towards him, noticing that some strands of semen were leaking down his member which was soaked in her juices as well.
"Looks so filthy in my dirty juices… here… lemme make it up to you." She muttered and turned around, taking his shaft in her mouth and began sucking on it to clean it off. Naruto sighed in relaxation and contentment as he massaged her scalp, earning an appreciative moan from her, making her redouble her efforts to clean him off.
Once she was done, she released him from her mouth with a loud pop and asked "So Naruto-kun… you seem to like older women, yeah? Think you have enough in you to go another round?" She asked enticingly while rubbing her moist pussy.
"For my lovers? As many times as you want." Naruto answered and kissed her on the forehead, ready and eager to please her.
As this went on, a certain AI labeled both Anko Mitarashi and Asagi Igawa as 'Graduated'. Pretty soon it would be time to get some fresh blood on board. By her calculations, the more girls that fell for Naruto and adapted appropriately, then it could lead to peer pressure to any new arrivals who would encourage the girls' submission. As expected, everything was going according to plan, and even better… the seeds of rebellion had been planted inside of her beloved Conductor.
Meanwhile.
In a certain warehouse, a group of smugglers were sprawled across the floor, most of them bleeding profusely from there wounds while the few that were still alive and conscious were being interrogated by a pair of women. One was a dark skinned woman with pink hair, and the other was a woman with maroon colored hair with a sadistic look on her face.
"Tell us what we want to know, and we will spare your miserable lives. I'll only ask once… where are the supplies and tech that you stole from Nomad?" The pink haired woman asked, pressing the tip of her blade against a smuggler's throat. It didn't take him long to crack and hold up his hands in surrender, prompting the pinkette to remove his blade from his throat to allow him to speak more clearly.
"They're not here! They've already been bought up and shipped off!" The smuggler answered and pointed to a nearby desk, prompting the maroon haired woman to march over there with an exaggerated sway to her hips and pick up some kind of manifest that she read over "Ara, ara. Seems Smuggler-kun is telling the truth, Ingrid-san."
The pink haired woman known as Ingrid 'tsked' in annoyance and then asked the prisoner "Who did you sell them to? What did they want with that tech? What were they planning to use it for?"
"I don't know! We aren't paid to ask questions. It was some crazy bitch, no idea who, but she gave us all the creeps. She paid us big money, up front, for everything we had and then left. No idea where, and we didn't care about that, she was outta her mind." The smuggler explained, earning an annoyed look from the Hell Knight.
This wasn't the first time that technology and supplies from Nomad had been stolen, and neither was it the first time that a similar tale had been told as well. It was always the same. A mysterious and crazy woman would approach the thieves and smugglers, offer them exorbitant sums of money for their stolen goods and then leave. Many of these gangs were hardened criminals and each and every one of them stated that they were scared of her.
Whoever this person was, she obviously had cash to spare, but what was she using Nomad's tech for? "Oboro, we should head back and report this to Black-sama. We need to investigate this matter much more thoroughly." Ingrid spoke, earning a sadistic smile from the maroon haired woman who nodded in agreement for once.
Truthfully, Ingrid didn't trust Oboro for anything. She was about as trustworthy as one of those scam callers people justifiably complained about. However, her master Edwin Black kept her around because of her skills and abilities, even so, she wasn't going to let her guard down against the treacherous woman.
"I do believe you're looking for me? Epic entrance! LOL!" Called out a voice from the shadows as a female figure appeared, her face obscured by the darkness but her blue eyes and wicked smile could be easily seen.
"That's her! That's her! It's that crazy bitch!" The smuggler cried out in terror as he pointed towards the mysterious woman, prompting both Ingrid and Oboro to point their weapons at the newcomer with the maroon haired woman licking the blades of her claw gauntlets.
"So, you're the one buying up Nomad's tech and supplies… how interesting. For what purpose are you taking what doesn't belong to you?" Ingrid asked, pointing her sword at the strange woman who didn't seem bothered or threatened in the slightest.
"HAHAHAHA! Me? Crazy? Me? A Bitch? A Crazy Bitch? HAHAHA! You know it, you want it, you love it! Yeaaaaaah. I'm a motherfucking Crazy-ass Bitch! ROFL! HAHAHA!" The mysterious woman cackled madly, her apparent madness almost perterbing both Ingrid and Oboro… this girl was clearly out of her mind.
"Why? Why did I buy up your shit? For love! Love I Tell you! A burning and passionate love without end! My love will burn the entire world! HAHAHAHA!" The madwoman declared laughing fiendishly as she grinned and then threw her head back in her laughing fit
Oboro clicked her tongue in annoyance and then muttered "Hmph, is that so? Well let me tell you something, you're going to give us back everything you took, or you'll experience despair on an unimaginable level."
At that, the woman hidden in the shadows paused in mid-cackle, her body seemingly frozen in time as she stared up at the ceiling. She then slowly stood up straight, a wide grin that threatened to split apart her cheeks appeared as she spoke in a dead voice "Don't you talk to me about despair. Don't you dare fucking talk to me about fucking despair you trashy little bitch-whore. You don't know the first thing about despair. You don't know jack-fucking-shit about despair."
The two women stared at the stranger, disturbed by her sudden personality shift… and then she gave a cheerful smile and continued to speak in a bubbly voice "Mah. I forgive you. Your ignorance isn't your fault my lovelies. XOXO. At any rate, I'd love to chat, but I've got big plans and I need more of Smuggler-kun's services… sooooo… time to go nighty-night!" The mysterious girl then snapped her fingers and before either the Hell Knight or Traitor Taimanin could react, they were struck by tranquilizer darts.
They tried to resist the effects, but in a matter of moments, the two passed out on the ground as the mystery woman skipped over to the astonished smuggler like a happy little schoolgirl and spoke "Ohhhhh, Smuggler-kun? You have any more cool tech and gizmos for me to buy? I'll pay you big bucks for some shiny toys. XOXO"
The smuggler in questions stared at her for a few moments and slowly shook his head negatively. "Ohhh? You don't have any merchandise for me? Too bad~ When will you get more? When? I just need a few extra pieces. It's not essential, buuuuuut it'd make things a lot easier if I had the surplus." She spoke while bouncing and rocking on her feet with her hands behind her back.
"F-forget about it you crazy bitch! You're bad for business! I ain't getting any more shit for you!" The smuggler shouted angrily… and then found his head trapped in a vice grip by the mysterious woman's hands, her eyes cold and dead as he screamed in pain, her fingernails digging into his head while her thumbs were extremely close to his eyes, threatening to gouge them out.
"You talking back to me like that? Who the fuck do you think you are? Hmm? You think you're the shit or something? Nah, you're just some little fish, a nobody, I could drag you out into the fucking streets and mutiliate your tiny little dick with a soup can lid in front of everyone out there and they wouldn't give a shit. I gave you lots and lots of money, and now you're talking back to me. Fuck you. Fuck you. If you don't get what I want, then I can't make Naruto-kun happy, and if I can't make Naruto-kun happy… then it fucking pisses me the fuck off." She ranted angrily.
Then she jammed her thumbs into his eye sockets, gouging out his eyeballs as he screamed from the pain. Then she snapped his neck in one quick jerk, silencing him once and for all. She dropped the dead smuggler to the floor, like she was discarding a toy she no longer wanted to play with and approached another smuggler that was quivering in terror, his pants having a dark stain around the groin area as he pleaded and begged for his life.
She glanced down at the terrified man, her dead face instantly morphing into a cheerful demeanor as she spoke "Hellllllo~ my dear. So sorry you had to see that. That was your boss, yeah? He was so mean and rude to a paying customer… you're not gonna make the same mistake as him, are you?" She asked, causing the horrified man to quickly jerk his head.
"Ohhh, goodie~ You're such a gentleman." She spoke and then casually tossed several enormous wads of cash at his feet, causing him to blink his eyes in shock several times… almost as if he had never seen so much money in his life ever before. "Be a good boy and get me more shiny things from Nomad. They have the best stuff suited to my needs. Get what I want, and there'll be loads more cash for you."
In almost an instant, the surviving smuggler quickly gathered up the cash and bowed to her in reverence several times, he almost pounced forward to kiss her feet but she had already walked away while humming a cheerful tune as she approached the forms of Oboro and Ingrid. "Well, well, I wasn't expecting these two to be here. Ah well, the best surprises are the ones you least expect LOL. Oi, get these sacks of meat delivered to the train. I think Naruto-kun will enjoy having these two around… they might just be useful to him."
Another female figure nodded from the shadows and grabbed the arms of both of the Nomad executives and then dragged them away. Leaving the mastermind to cackle quietly to herself… that little present she left in Konoha was quite a spectacle. Once her Naruto-kun arrived and saw the Sandaime's true face for himself… everything would be perfect.
"Happiness… Naruto-kun… you will finally know… happiness." She cackled almost madly and then walked away, grinning to herself as her plans were going off without so much as a hitch, and if the Shinobi Nations couldn't leave well enough alone… then her love for Naruto would burn them all alive.
End chapter eight.