It looks like this chapter's first showing will be Sunday evening, we don't get to many of those these days, do we? Quite fittingly, this is chapter XL- a double as you should all know by now. It's unfortunate- and I've noticed myself saying and writing that a lot lately- that there will be no XXL or XXXL [Technically we did have them, they were just written properly] but I suppose this is better than nothing.
Also interesting is how we had a scheduled double chapter the very same week I started a new job. That wasn't too fun, but at least it's over- for now, at least. I guess I get a month's reprise before the next.
Thanks, as always, goes to ncpfan for all his help.
You're all likely rather eager to get on with the show so I won't postpone it any longer-
Let's get this started!
Pale light grew in intensity until the room was awash with the burning orange of a dying sun. Still, she maintained her position as her fingers gently trailed through his crimson hair, her soft sound of her humming filing the otherwise silent apartment.
Much to her disappointment, it was not to last. She wasn't sure when she noticed the change in her lord's face, nor could she tell you the exact moment two brilliant purple eyes had opened to watch her as the land of Nod lost its grasp upon him, but when she did notice her soft smile grew.
"Good evening, Naruto-Sama." She greeted him. "Did you sleep well?"
He made no move to remove himself from his position resting on her lap or stop the fingers that slipped through the mess of crimson atop his head. Similarly, she made no move to stop, intent to have as much contact and spend as much time as she could with her lord now that he had returned to her.
Her humming, too, did not stop, pausing only long enough for her to greet him before resuming the soothing sounds in hopes of keeping him as relaxed as she could.
"I did." His voice, like her humming was soft, having lost the commanding nature it usually possessed. Whether that was due to her presence, the fact that he had just awoke, or in some effort to not drown out her humming neither could say for certain. "Anything happen that requires my attention?"
He did not miss the frown that momentarily crossed her face.
"Perhaps." She kept from giving him a straight answer, knowing that the news would not please him. Having just gotten him back she was loathe to upset him and she was absolutely certain he would immediately throw himself into his work until everything was sorted out to his satisfaction.
Unfortunately, that meant she'd get very little Naruto time.
"Are you sure you want to know now?" She asked. "You only just got back, you should rest."
He raised a brow in inquiry, noting that she, for some reason, didn't want to tell him what had happened. Whether it was because he needn't bother with trivial matters at this time or because something big had happened he wasn't quite sure.
But if he had to guess it would probably be the latter.
"What happened?"
"Nothing that can't wait until at least morning." She insisted, one hand moving from his hair down to his neck and shoulders, noting the rising tenseness. Putting off telling him was already making him agitated, but how much worse would it be to tell him what news a runner brought only hours before his return?
Hoping to relax him, she began lightly rubbing his muscles as her humming resumed.
It wasn't working.
"Mai." The softness in his voice had been drained away completely, replaced by a hard commanding tone he so rarely took with her.
"We caught two spies in Wave." She answered and she sighed slightly in relief when she felt him relax beneath her. It wasn't much but it was noticeable.
"Spies? Is that all? To whom did they belong, Danzou?" Spies were common throughout the elemental nation and there had been a respectable number hovering around Wave ever since his takeover. Their presence would never disappear but the numbers would decrease soon enough. It was nothing to be worried or upset about and he momentarily questioned Mai's hesitance to tell him.
Perhaps it had been the first option, something so common and unimportant that there was no use bothering him with it quite yet.
"Not as far as we can tell, no, Root has been rather open about their identity, which I think is so Danzou can taunt us if one of his agents gets deeper into Wave than we've been allowing them."
Naruto nodded, he'd thought of doing the same thing to Root, just because he knew his Wolves had the same training and were familiar with the shadow organization.
"Then do we know who?"
"Not completely." She answered. "The first was captured, the second killed…" her voice trailed off, not sure what part to mention about the situation first. Does she get the bigger part over with first so the other isn't so bad or does she build up so she can stop if he gets too angered?
"And?" The Father of the Wolves prompted. His eyes had closed again as he enjoyed the gentle ministrations of her nimble fingers.
The bigger news first, she decided. When he asked for more she'd give him the details they knew and he could direct his anger accordingly.
"And there was a third." She stopped there, waiting to see how he'd react. A single eye opened to stare deep into her own.
"A third?" There was a growl to his voice, one so subtle it was nearly inaudible.
"Y-yes, there was a third spy." She paused for a quick breath. "He- he got away, Naruto-Sama."
There was a deep breath and heavy tensing of coiled muscle beneath her fingers but other than that he did not speak. Fists, held to his side, tightened and relaxed almost to the beat of his heart as he did his best to bleed off his rage.
"He got away, you said?" Naruto confirmed. She gave a nod.
"T-that's right, Naruto-Sama."
Another deep breath was taken before his fists relaxed and fingers splayed against the soft blue fabric of his couch.
"Alright, continue."
She looked at him hesitantly, wondering if it was really such a good idea. She knew, however, that disobeying a direct order would be an even worse one. He gave her a lot of leeway, an unbelievable amount that let her do almost anything she pleased, and with his own forces, no less, but in the end she still answered to him.
She still belonged to him.
"They were all wearing tags-" He growled beneath her, already sensing where this was going. Even civilians knew that 'tags' was short for exploding tags, arguably the most dangerous of a Shinobi's tools. "The third managed to remove his own right before the detonation but our Wolves weren't able to react in time."
The way she referred to them as 'our' Wolves, as if shared equally between them, was not lost on him. That did not, however, keep it from being effective. She cared for the Wolves too- she had been one- and they were both working to take care of them. She wasn't just the bearer of bad news, she was one equally- or almost equally- affected by it.
It helped him calm himself, if only a small fraction.
He couldn't let emotion rule him right now, his Wolves needed his leadership and he couldn't do his best for them if his judgment was impaired in any way.
There would be time to rage and mourn later.
A sudden calm came over his body, all tension melting away as his voice lost every hint of emotion. It was not the soft, friendly voice he had used when he woke nor the commanding voice that replaced it when she hesitated to answer him. There was nothing, no rage, no sadness, no way to tell what he was thinking.
This was, without a doubt, far more terrifying than the risk of him having an explosive outburst. His frozen fury, the calm anger that had become infamous within the pack, left no signs of its presence. Serenity on the inside, a raging inferno within.
She had never actually borne witness to this, but she had heard of it. The first time it was observed had been on the day he graduated the academy and nearby Wolves had mentioned it when he met his mother for the first time in four years.
Their words hadn't done it any justice.
While there was no outside sign that he was displeased in any way, there was still a feeling of imminent danger that surrounded him and a cold that seemed to grasp her heart. Perhaps it was just her who felt it, though, as she had come to know him well over the past few years and the utter serenity he exuded at the moment was completely wrong. He shouldn't be calm, not after hearing what he had, and she knew that well enough that the complete lack of reaction he was now showing sent shivers down her spine.
This being resting on her lap was not her Naruto-Sama, not at the moment. He had fallen from his pedestal to temporarily prowl as a Wolf once more.
It was horrible.
It was beautiful.
A man to a beast, and yet he did not seem a beast. But she knew better, she knew him, and this falseness was not her lord.
But it would do her lord's bidding until he could return.
"How many did we lose?"
"A half-guard of seven was caught in the blast, only two made it out."
"I see. And we don't have any idea who did this?" She tried hard not to cringe at the complete casualness in his voice, as if talking about the weather. She knew he was furious, more upset than she and Sai combined could match, but knowing this without being able to see it made her skin crawl.
Perhaps this had been a bad idea, they should have left this to the Wolves to manage- an internal issue sorted out by Sai and, if they could have convinced them- which wouldn't have proven too difficult-, Orochimaru. She was sure the snake sage would be happy to help deal with those who sent the spies against his godson.
"Konoha-" She continued before he jumped to the wrong conclusions. "- but we're not sure who's behind it. One of the survivors was close enough to the captured spy before the detonation to identify him as a Yamanaka clan member, but we don't know about the other two."
"Is that so? Well, I guess I'm going to be paying Inoichi a visit, then. We'll have to get to the bottom of this."
She could have tried to convince him not to, or perhaps even to put it off until tomorrow after he'd had a better chance to think it over, but she knew it would be pointless.
Instead she nodded lightly in agreement.
"Of course, Naruto-Sama. I'll notify the guard."
One had a chance of stopping a wall of fire, even slightly, but there was no way to stop a glacier.
His anger was frozen solid, a wave of ice ready to crush all those who brought upon themselves his ire, and though he moved more slowly than the burning flames his terrible might held far more power in the end.
She almost pitied Inoichi- whether they were his spies or not.
While she had nothing against him personally, she was quite pleased when he left her home. Normally a meeting between clan heads was nothing special and was to be expected on a semi-regular basis as part of one's duties to the clan.
Inoichi, however, couldn't even be considered a real clan head due to his clan's current position, and that meant there was little he could actually do. In the end, they could talk for a week straight organizing plans to benefit them both, but without Kushina's input it would be little more than wasted time.
And her time certainly felt wasted.
That's not saying it wouldn't have felt wasted talking to someone else, like Kushina herself for example, because while she may be willing to feel out other clans she wasn't going to be making any sort of move without consulting Mai.
As an ally of the Wolves whatever effected them would affect her own clan and the last thing she wanted was to try making an arrangement to benefit her clan with another head only to learn it interfered with plans of the Wolves and ended up hurting her clan more than it helped.
But at least with Kushina she'd have something to take to Mai for the girl to look over. Even if they hadn't planned something, letting them know allowed them to make plans around it and it was possible that they might be able to arrange things to make any deals more favorable.
With Inoichi it could be nothing but half-promises for the future and declarations of intent. Declarations that- coming from him- didn't mean too much.
His daughter's- Ino's- word was worth more, but even that was shaky. For all she- or anybody- knew Naruko would hold the Yamanaka clan under Uzumaki name long after her mother was gone.
It was unlikely, of course, as the two seemed to be friends, but it was still possible and Tsume wasn't going to disregard Kushina's unpredictability. There was no telling what the woman might do when she became more desperate with every failed attempt to entice her son back to the clan.
Unfortunately, she didn't have much to offer him.
Fortunately, she seemed to be realizing that- albeit slowly.
Perhaps she'd calm down sometime soon and stop trying to bribe him back to her arms but rather start building a relationship with him once more. It would never be the same as before she left and thinking it might become stronger was ridiculous- unless they aimed to form a more intimate bond than was proper between mother and son, of course, but that would be no business of hers- but depending on the work they both put in it could be close to what it once was.
But, clans aside, there was an even bigger, far more important reason she was glad to see him go-
Because of him she had to cancel a date with Mai.
Of all days, the bastard had to pick today. Tsume was never a fan of politics and even less so of council meetings where it was all condensed into a single room. Knowing this, she and Mai had planned to meet for lunch afterwards. Instead, she'd been forced to discuss the political sea with Yamanaka Inoichi- a man whom she had never really been close to or friendly with.
And they hadn't gotten anything done!
The information he had shown himself to be all that he knew or, at the very least, all he was letting her know he was aware of. He had been looking for the allies of the Wolves for a while now but had only recently discovered it was them.
How he wouldn't say.
That said, it was understandable he'd aim to maneuver his clan into a favorable position with her own in hopes of gaining the favor of the Wolves.
Understandable, but not appreciated.
Mai had been here, in the house, waiting as he droned on about what their clans could do if they worked together- which, honestly, wasn't much. Their clans just weren't that compatible and if she didn't know his entire goal was to be aligned in some way with the Wolves she'd have thought him an idiot.
Now, however, Mai was long gone. Hours had passed since she smelled one of the young woman's guards nearby. Soon afterwards both scents vanished. Evidently something had come up and stolen away any chance of them getting dinner instead.
It wasn't that big of a deal, it wasn't like their relationship was in any way romantic and it was only as sexual as their teasing. The relationship was a friendly one, a companionship where they could both spend time with someone they enjoyed being around and take a break from the stress of the world around them.
That didn't make her any less irritated about them not going out though.
With a deep sigh, Tsume closed the door to her home.
Even without the date she'd have enjoyed Mai's company, either curled up on the couch or the two of them cuddled together to sleep.
Unfortunately, it looked like it was going to be a lonely night.
"I promised you, didn't I? But even now my mind wanders away from you." He shook his head. "You really deserve better than that." His voice was a soft murmur, barely audible should someone been standing nearby.
The area around him, however, was empty.
No, not empty, but certainly devoid of people.
Pale fingers trailed gently over rough stone. They never bothered smoothing it, nature would take care of that within the next few years.
He couldn't see the name carved into its face, as the sun had finished its decent earlier that day, but he didn't need to, he knew exactly what it read.
"Yamanaka Tatsuki." His voice had dropped even lower, a faint whisper that even he couldn't hear.
The grin that came to his face was tiny, an almost unnoticeable upturning of his lips.
"You know, you've probably been the source of most of my trouble. If I hadn't met you Mito wouldn't have become jealous, I would never have gone against the Yamanaka, the House of Wolves wouldn't exist, and the closest thing to family I'd have would be a nine-tailed chakra construct." He continued, his grin faltering.
"And above all, you might still be alive." His small smile returned. "Then again, that wouldn't mean much to me if we had never met, yeah?"
Fingers trailed over the cold stone once more, the moon casting pale light against the grey pillar that almost made it glow.
"I suppose in the end I'm grateful for the trouble you've brought me, it's made me who I am and given me both family and purpose once more, though I suppose it would be more accurate to say I'm thankful of the sacrifice you made."
His fingers fell away to rest by his side.
"You may not have given your life willingly, but neither did you curse me for what I did to you. I like to think I was trying to be kind to you in your last moments, indulging your fantasies as the light dimmed in your eyes, but in the end I know it was you who showed the most kindness that night.
"Had you not been so accepting, so forgiving, I don't know what person I'd be today and I doubt I would have dared to make myself a family in the Wolves."
A deep sigh pulled itself from his lips.
"But now I stand before you, ready to go against your family once more. What must you think of me, I wonder, do you look down upon me and regret having ever crossed my path? Once before I brought your clan to its knees, ruining its reputation and leaving them barely able to support themselves, do you hate me for that?"
There was no answer, only the silence of the falling night.
"I suppose I'll never know, or you simply aren't capable of hating me when you no longer draw breath, either way, I hope you'd be able to forgive me for what I've done and for what I'm willing to do, even if I look at what's become of my actions and can't find it within me to regret their results.
"Were I to get a chance to try again, I don't think I could bring myself to change a thing. And for that, more than anything else, I pray for your forgiveness."
A light, bitter laugh left him.
"I think I've finally gotten over you, Tatsuki, I think I've come to terms with your death and my own hand in it."
"And that," he admitted. "Probably scares me more than anything else."
"Because now I risk going through it all again."
That had not gone very well, he'd be the first to admit it. He shouldn't be surprised, really, he had gone in hurried and half-cocked and had honestly expected something to come of it. Of course, he had overlooked his own position and the true extent of how much it really crippled him and his ability to ensure his family was cared for.
He had been desperate and immediately tried to make something of a plan that wasn't fully formed.
By the gods, he had made the same mistakes Kushina was making.
He, of all people, should have known better with her having taken over his clan and interacting with him on an almost daily basis to go over legal matters that were still being sorted. He, more than anyone, was exposed to the woman and what she was becoming as desperation grasped her more tightly by the day.
And yet he had done exactly what she was doing- the exact same thing that was leading to each one of her recent failures.
If he was honest about it, he was a bit sickened with himself.
She had been a respectable Kunoichi, a great woman, and a loving mother, but now she was very nearly broken with her family slipping further away each day.
And if he wasn't' careful, he may just find himself doing the same.
That was something he'd very much like to avoid, thank you.
Of course, like her, he was desperate and he was, in a way, losing his family. In the end they weren't too different and he had to wonder if it wasn't his extensive training and experience with the human mind that separated the two of them.
Were she trained would she be better off? Were he not would he be as she was?
Despite their recent hardships, that thought alone made him very glad to be a Yamanaka.
The powerlessness when it came to his clan and what he could do to them, however, was not something he enjoyed. He could- and had- spend hours upon hours talking but in the end he could do little more than make others sympathetic to the plight of his clan.
And that meant just about nothing.
Tsume, he knew, hadn't been pleased with him. Even if she hadn't had anything to do that day- though judging by the way her irritation exponentially increased with each passing hour it was very possible she did in fact have things to take care of- he had still taken it from her in its entirety.
No one would appreciate that, even if it did bring about results.
In this case, it did not, and that would only serve to earn more of her ire, he was certain.
He'd have to wait another month or so before trying again, but at least it would give him more time to plan. He just hopped it would be soon enough to ensure his clan wouldn't suffer at the hands of the Wolves once more. Such had been his original intention, of course, but back when he first thought of aligning himself with a common ally to curry some favor with the Wolves he hadn't been planning on sending spies to their new country.
The information was valuable, but there was no denying it had been a horrible idea.
A Kushina-level idea.
Hopefully, if nothing else, Naruto and the Wolves would find him at fault and leave the clan itself alone. Or, were he to be completely honest in his base desires, he would ask that Ino be spared their wrath.
Maybe- maybe Kushina was on to something during that dinner. A marriage between the two would protect the clan and, more importantly, protect his precious daughter.
Of course, now he really sounded like Kushina and his plan was worthy of being called one of her own- hell, it was one of her own.
It was just that it didn't sound like such a bad idea anymore, and that probably wasn't a good sign.
Was he really turning into a second Kushina?
He was nearly sick at the very notion. Before she left, he wouldn't have minded much at all being compared to her, in fact, he would have likely taken it as a compliment. Now, however, he could think of few worse insults and he honestly hoped she managed to return to what she once was before that Kushina- the Kushina so many had looked up to and admired- was lost forever.
Only time would tell.
Still, he was having trouble accepting how stupid he had been- both with Tsume and when he sent spies into Nami no Kuni. At least one of them- very possibly both- was going to come back to bite him in the ass later, he just knew it.
Almost as if the gods agreed and were eager to get started he ended up approaching the compound from the northeastern side on the path that cut through the clan cemetery and would eventually lead to the home of the clan head. He no longer lived there regularly, having taken a guest house with his wife to leave his daughter feeling more like the clan head for her punishment and life lesson, but the guest house was the closest building to the head home.
And because of that, the cemetery path didn't seem like such a bad idea.
After his realization that his recent ideas seemed a bit too much like Kushina's for his comfort that should have been a red flag for him. Unfortunately, he didn't make the connection.
Almost certainly the shortest path, it also provided a bit of extra time and brought him close to his sister's grave. In that case, a visit was probably in order, and that too sounded like a good idea.
That was his second mistake on his walk back home.
When he stopped walking upon seeing someone else standing near her grave instead of bolting away, that was his third.
If the crimson hair hadn't been identifying enough, the young man turned to face the newcomer, purple eyes oddly subdued. There was a brief spark of burning rage but it lasted only a moment, replaced almost immediately by a calm apathy that- while lordly- did not seem to suit the young man.
Or, rather, it suited him- suited him too well- but it wasn't what he had come to know from the leader of the Wolves. Had he been a more ignorant man, he might have dared wonder what could have changed with the boy.
Most unfortunately, he knew very well what could have made that which stood before his sister's grave.
And he was the one to blame for it.
The question, then, was- just how much did Naruto know?
"Ino-" The voice was drawn out with a dying breath, as if time itself had been slowed by his apparent serenity. Despite the calm, it had a most disturbing effect. One fitting, he had to admit, for one who commanded an army of boogeymen. "-Ichi."
A light chuckle that should have been warm and pleasant but was anything but escaped the young man's lips.
"How convenient." He commented. "I was on my way to find you." His eyes, still hiding whatever rage had been felt earlier, hardened noticeably and the neutrally drawn lips turned into a displease frown.
"We need to talk."
Those were not the words Inoichi wanted to hear- ever- but knowing what he did they sounded more like the tolling of a death bell. He was not so lucky that this was all a coincidence, but perhaps he had enough favor with Lady Fortune to somehow escape this.
And if he did? Well, he'd most certainly be seeing that she received suitable offering of thanks.
"Oh? Is there something I or the Yamanaka clan could help you with?" he was exceedingly careful not to say anything about there being a problem lest the boy suspect something. He may not be lucky enough for this to all be a coincidence but he certainly didn't need to try what little luck he did have.
Unlike the Hyuuga, he knew better than to tempt fate.
"Yes, I do believe there is." Naruto turned fully away from the grave to look over the clan head, almost as if his appearance alone could provide all the answers he sought.
"Tell me, Inoichi," The Mindwalker tried to ignore the sweat he felt forming at the back of his head as he employed his training as a Yamanaka to continue looking as calm as could be. "Have you been missing anyone lately?"
"Missing?" he decided to go for clarification before leaping to what he wanted to say. The opportunity had presented itself- by design, perhaps?- and he was intent to take advantage of it if he could. Of course, there was always the chance Naruto was saying things the way he was in hopes that he'd recognize the out provided and would confirm guilt.
It might catch someone else- had nearly caught him in his panic- but the Yamanaka was able to avoid it, if barely. That is, assuming there was something for him to dodge in the first place, he might just be paranoid.
Scratch that, he was a Shinobi- there's no doubt he was paranoid. He could simply be acting a bit too paranoid at the moment and overthinking things, which could be just as bad as not thinking at all.
He continued to clarify his question, acting for all the world like he wasn't quite sure exactly what it was Naruto was asking.
"As in wanting to see them?" It wasn't too stupid a question, after all the young man was still between him and his sister's grave. How he came to such a conclusion should be easy to see. He did not, however, make any mention of his lost sister, as that was a sensitive topic for the both of them.
Like he said earlier, he wasn't going to try his luck and he wasn't dumb enough to tempt fate.
Both Fortune and Fate could be equally cruel mistresses.
Naruto was a perceptive one, and that worked to his advantage in this case. His quick look to where his sister's grave would be had been almost involuntary and Naruto had seen it well enough. It would certainly help him believe Inoichi really wasn't sure what was being asked.
"No." Naruto's voice softened but was still just as slow as it had been before. Perhaps the young man had bought it after all. "I was wondering if there were any members of your clan that may have gone missing."
Inoichi's first thought was to mention three missing Shinobi, but he caught himself before he started. That would have been the most obvious slip he could provide. Hell, he might as well have asked if Naruto had managed to find them for all the subtlety it possessed.
The last spy had managed to get away and another's body was destroyed before he could be unmasked. As far as Naruto should know there was only one confirmed Yamanaka in that group. If Inoichi had his way it would remain like that.
Unless Naruto had access to the clan registry- which he might, actually- and had checked it against presences within the entirety of Konoha and any missions currently active- which he very much doubted the young man could retrieve the information on. Yet, of course- then he should be safe.
There was a risk, but compared to the trouble he could be in it was absolutely minuscule.
"Actually, now that you mention it, I do believe I heard someone mention not being able to find Yatsura the other day and I've been getting complaints that he hasn't shown up for his guard shift these past two days."
"Is that so? How-" Naruto paused blandly, looking wholly disinterested but at the same time almost accusing. "Interesting."
A single bead of sweat trailed down the back of Inoichi's head and he wondered if he'd managed to get away with that. The only successful spy would have to disappear- he could probably be set up as close as Tanzaku-gai – but with the other two dead the chances of being discovered had decreased exponentially.
Something he was very much grateful for.
"It seems he decided to take a little vacation of sorts and ended up running into the local wildlife." 'Wolves' went unsaid but was obvious enough. "I'm afraid to say he's no longer amongst the living."
He certainly didn't seem that way. In fact, if Inoichi didn't know the truth he might have believed the young man before him had killed the man himself without a second thought.
"That's unfortunate, I'll make sure his friends know."
"No family?" A small chuckle escaped his lips and Inoichi found himself on the edge of panic. That had been a slip, a very poor slip. It was small, but would it be enough to reveal his guilt?
"No," Mumbled the lead Wolf. "Of course there isn't any immediate family, it's only natural." He stared directly into the Mindwalker's eyes. "Your friend was most definitely in the wrong place and he paid the price for it."
The space between them was quickly devoured by long strides of Naruto's legs, his moves smooth and elegant yet possessing a power that gave him a presence not expected in one so young.
"I'd recommend you keep a better eye on your clanmates, Inoichi, it would be a shame if more ended up wondering into the territory of aggressive animals."
"I'll take that into consideration, Naruto-San. Thank you for your advice."
Naruto continued to stare at him for a few moments more, separated only by a scant few feet, before nodding in acceptance.
"See that you do." With that he swept past the head of the Yamanaka only to pause a few feet away.
"And Inoichi?" He called back, not turning to face the man he was addressing.
"Yes?"
"If I find you were responsible for him being in the wrong place, we will devour you." He turned his head just enough to meet the taller blond's eyes. "And as angered as I am, that might just be literal."
Finished, he set of again, fading into the early night and leaving Inoichi staring in horror. A shiver worked its way down his spine, his stomach churning. There were many things one could do to send a message and the one chosen was usually determined by the exact message you wanted to send.
But to actually consume an enemy?
There were many ways to interpret that message, but Inoichi knew that sending a message wouldn't be the goal in that case. No, they were not trying to say they were above them in the food chain, or that they were brutal, they would consume him simply because to them he was nothing but flesh.
And what does a wolf care for the name of the hot meat that sates its hunger?
This was not a message, it was a threat, a promise that if he was the one who had injured the pack he would be used to feed the pack.
It was fitting, or it would be if they truly were wolves.
But maybe, just maybe, even if they weren't wolves, they weren't quite human either.
And that was a thought that would rob him of sleep this night.
It was not the brightness of the rising sun that awoke him that morning, instead it was when his guard- wrapped tightly in his arms, naturally- squirmed in his grasp and her soft voice interrupted his dreams. The voice wasn't directed to him- not at first, at least- but rather to someone else in his room.
Which meant Mai or another of his guards.
Considering the masculinity of the voice, it probably wasn't Mai.
Whatever conversation the two of them were having concluded and he faintly heard the door click shut. Unfortunately that was not a sign that he would be able to return to his rest. The body in his arms turned to face him before trailing fingers over his cheek.
"Naruto-Sama." They whispered. "You have a guest."
He didn't reply, in hopes they might just let him sleep, but that didn't seem to work all that well.
"I know you're not asleep, Naruto-Sama." Her voice was half admonishing and half playful. He was sure if he were to open his eyes it would be to an amused grin.
"No thanks to you." He grumbled, still not opening his eyes. "Whoever's here can wait a bit, they can't be too important or they'd know not to come this early unless it was an emergency."
"Early?" he could hear her giggle. "It's nearly eleven, Naruto-Sama."
Oh, was it that late already? Damn.
He shouldn't have been that surprised, he didn't get to bed until early this morning because he was too busy pouring over Mai's reports- too angered by the news of his lost children to hope to sleep at a decent time.
He eventually calmed down enough to sleep sometime around four and sleep had done well to dissipate most of his remaining anger. He was still rather upset, of course, but the cold fury- a burning rage kept under careful control by sheer resolve alone- had run its course.
There was now a slight emptiness, a faint throbbing of pain within his chest, despite not personally knowing those lost. Because close to them or not, they had been under his care, they were his responsibility.
And he had failed them.
But while he was saddened by their loss, he would not be brought down by it. Instead he would use it to push himself to new heights in hopes of being able to prevent a similar tragedy in the future. He would not succeed, not at first, and he would continue to lose Wolves- this he knew well enough- but each time it happened he was determined to have done better than the last.
It was this thought that allowed him to release his otherwise all-consuming rage and continue to be the leader his children needed.
Telling Inoichi they would eat him had helped too, though.
Still, he hadn't been asleep for an abnormal amount of time and that meant everything else could wait for now.
"So?" He asked, pulling her closer to his body and slowing his breathing in preparation to return to the embrace of sweet sleep.
"It's the goddess, she needs to speak with you." He didn't even hesitate in his response.
"Which one?" He mumbled. "Hinata or Mikoto?"
"Hinata or Mikoto?" Ah, that's right, she wouldn't know about Mikoto, would she? She had been part of his group when she visited but her name hadn't been spoken and she exited and entered his carriage wearing her mask to protect her identity. "Don't you mean Hinata no Mikoto?"
"No, Hinata or Mikoto. There's two."
"Oh." She paused momentarily, not having expected that, but quickly resumed speaking. "Well, it's Hinata no Mikoto who's here for a visit."
"And she can't just join us for now? We can talk later."
"Join us? She's like twelve."
At that he did open his eyes, one brow rising in question.
"You realize I'm twelve too, right?" Her embarrassed blush was well worth the effort of moving his eyelids.
"My apologies, Naruto-Sama, it's so easy to forget sometimes." She hesitated before continuing. "Did you still want me to invite her to your bed?"
Naruto blinked a few times as he processed her words. They just sounded so…dirty despite remaining proper. It was like listening to a polite Anko, if he thought about it.
And the very notion of such was simply far too strange for his tastes.
"No," he sighed. "It's fine, I'll get up."
With Anko on the brain, he half expected his current companion to make some comment about being able to help him get up. Instead she simply nodded before slipping out of his bed and quickly making her way out of the room.
He didn't think to mention the fact that her uniform was still here on the floor.
Rolling out of bed with a groan he contemplated throwing on a shirt before deciding not to bother. Hopefully his Wolf had left to start some coffee because he was not yet ready for today.
Stretching as he walked, he left the room and headed to the kitchen. Much to his delight she was indeed making coffee. Slipping into a seat at his table he gave a nod of greeting to the former Hyuuga heiress sitting across from him.
After a mug had been placed before him and he had taken his first glorious sip he turned his attention fully to the young woman who had come to visit him at the ungodly hour of eleven.
There was really nothing different about her, he noted idly, other than the size of her current blush. Whether it was due to his shirtlessness or the half-naked woman returning to his room for her clothes he couldn't tell.
He also couldn't bring himself to care.
"So, Hinata," His voice broke the silence. "You needed to see me?"
"A-ah, yes, I've been instructed to invite you to the compound."
"An invite to the compound?" his brow rose. "Whatever for?"
"Hiashi-Sama never properly thanked you for defending the clan's pride."
"Come again?" Defending the clan? When had he done that?
"When you stopped Ino from pushing me around." She offered helpfully.
"Oh, yeah." It could be seen that way, he supposed, but they were going to thank him for it? And this late? He had to wonder why they'd even- ah, of course. It was really more of an excuse than anything else, wasn't it? Just a way to meet with him. Very well, he wasn't opposed. " So they want me to visit sometime?"
"T-tonight, if you're available." She answered. "Hiashi-Sama was planning on hosting a dinner for you."
"I see, I guess I should notify Mai and see about finding something to wear then. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Hinata, let your father know I accept his invitation."
"Of course, Naruto-san" Her face light up in red once more, this time in panic. "Ah! I'm sorry, I'll let him know Naruto-Sama."
He waved her off, unconcerned. It's not like he had ever instructed anyone as to how he wished to be addressed, people just did it on their own.
"It's fine, don't worry about it. You can address me however you like."
She nodded in acceptance but wasn't about to tell him she liked calling him Naruto-Sama.
Besides, he had just given her permission to do so, hadn't he?
He whistled a jaunty tune as he strolled down the streets, one hand in his pocket and the other holding open his favorite literature. He didn't go out much when he didn't have to- much preferring the privacy of his apartment- but last night he had learned the most interesting bit of news.
Apparently the Wolves were to be openly present here in Konoha.
From what he had heard, they were already here.
In his book- the one that was a figure of speech, not his actual book. He would never dare put anything personal within the glorious pages of Jiraiya-Sama's writing- that was a good thing.
A very good thing.
Because that meant all he had to do to track down Naruto- who had become more and more elusive as of late- was find a Wolf and ask for directions.
How convenient.
Of course, he didn't have any confirmation that Naruto really was Tsukiyomi or even that he was associated with the Wolves but this would serve as a perfect opportunity to find out. He'd like to have been able to just ask Tsunami, who should have met with him, but most unfortunately he had not been able to visit the beauty again yet.
Taking leave so soon after an escalated mission that was stretched longer than it was supposed to without proper authorization or even notice was, he had been told, rather frowned upon. Or at least those were the words the Hokage had used, the message had been more of 'So help me, if you pull anything like this shit again I swear by the gods above I will personally castrate you and shove your manhood so far up your ass you'll fucking choke, understood?'
Personally, he enjoyed the translation more. Pussyfooting around was just a waste of time, it was better to just say what's on your mind to ensure the message is properly received and understood.
Other than that, the only thing that he didn't like about what the Hokage had really meant to say was that he was under the impression his entire manhood would fit up his rectum before he started choking on it.
He was Kakashi fucking Hatake, after all.
Horses cried in shame at his very passing.
Or that's what he liked to think, anyway. Tsunami certainly hadn't disagreed and neither had anyone else he had ever slept with, either. That was a pretty good sign that he wasn't full of himself if he did say so himself.
But if he pissed the Hokage off again he likely would be.
That wasn't the most pleasant of thoughts.
Banishing it from his mind with memories of Tsunami's wonderful ass and all the fun they had he continued on his merry way, his single eye occasionally peaking up from his book to scan his surroundings for Wolves.
Admittedly, he wasn't trying all too hard to find them- he'd run into one eventually, after all- but he was looking for him. The problem was that his book- regardless of how many times he had read it [One thousand seven-hundred and nine, but who's counting?]- was just as good as when he was first gifted it by the student of its author.
Choosing to read it was probably the best decision of his life.
No, make it second-best.
Tsunami came in first place without question.
Anyway, he had come out of his apartment –or, rather, had refrained from returning immediately to his apartment after dismissing his students from a half-assed training session- with the intent to find a Wolf. Honestly, he did. Icha-Icha, however, just had too much power over him.
Not that he was complaining.
Still, he was irritated- a minuscule amount, but just enough to count- that he wasn't actually accomplishing the goal he set out to. He had to options here, go home and just read or put away his book and actually look for his targets.
Being Kakashi, he chose the third option and continued what he was doing while thinking of ways to take out his frustration at his current situation on his students during tomorrow's training.
Across Konoha, three unlucky Genin shivered in simultaneous dread for reasons they didn't quite want to ponder.
Deftly avoiding the crowds that swarmed around him, he wondered what Naruto had been up to. You know, other than running a mercenary organization under Konoha's- or the majority of it- nose. He had never been close to the kid, busy with his ANBU work and now that he was a Sensei with lots of down time the boy was busy taking over countries and joining imperial courts.
He had heard something about Yugao giving him some training while he was still in the academy, maybe they could spar or something. They could always go to a bar, too, and then the young man could be his wingman.
No, that was probably a bad idea.
But he could be Naruto's wingman, he supposed.
That might work.
Then again, maybe that was a bit much when they had previously only ran into one another on the street occasionally.
He'd have to start somewhere more mild, maybe a strip club?
Actually, he didn't know how innocent Naruto was, did he? Anko hung around him, but he didn't know for certain if she'd shown him the light- or just how much light she had shown him. Perhaps it would be best to start at the beginning.
Okay, not the beginning, he wasn't giving the talk, but the next logical step-
Icha-Icha.
He could give the boy his first copy to start his collection off, just as his Sensei had given him his first Icha-Icha. It would be a bonding experience, something good for the boy.
Now, was hiring a pair of whores to act out scenes too much?
Yeah, it probably was.
Just one, then, to read it to the both of them-
Naked, of course.
Inuzuka Kiba considered himself a pretty laidback guy, one who, while energetic, wasn't bothered by much and had just as much chance of laughing at your insult as punching you in the face.
The idea that his mother might have a lover, however, was definitely something that bothered him.
It wasn't like he didn't know about sex and didn't understand how his mother might have been lonely all these years, but it was his mother! The idea that someone was sleeping with her just felt wrong.
If she had remarried it might have been easier for him to accept .After all, it would only be expected that a married coupled share a bed. It would be easy to overlook some of the activities they might get up to in said bed.
The problem in this case was that he hadn't even met the bastard!
There was some fucker in his house sleeping with his mother and he didn't have the faintest idea who it was. His mother had always been rather upfront with a tendency to be brutally honest so for her to be doing this in secret had him suspicious.
Were it not for her recent good mood he may have wondered if she was being blackmailed or otherwise forced into the situation, but she seemed pleased enough with whatever hidden arrangement she had.
Well, until yesterday, at least. She wasn't very pleased when he returned for dinner but his thoughts that it may have had something to do with her mysterious lover died when she began complaining about Inoichi, Ino's father. Normally she'd be irritated but this went beyond every other time he had seen her ticked off- even those times he did something really, really stupid.
So while he was fairly certain her bad mood wasn't directly related to her secret lover, it was likely caused because she hadn't been able to meet with him due to an extremely long meeting with the Yamanaka Head.
Was she, perhaps, getting close to her lover? Might this not be some casual fling?
Knowing she'd be continuing in the future still felt weird to him, but the promise of stability for his mother was equally as comforting in this situation. And then there was the third part he wasn't too sure about- if this was going to become a permanent thing would he be meeting the fucker?
It would put his mind at ease to have a face to associate with her lover and a way to track the bastard down if he hurt her but if they were important enough to her for her to introduce him to her family would he be able to refrain from slugging him?
Mentally, he cursed- a habit he picked up being on Kurenai's team and having lived his life around two women with exceptional hearing. They may not have minded as much as his sensei did but you really couldn't mutter anything under your breathe when those two could probably hear a butterfly's wings beat. Or, they could when you said something bad about them, at least.- this would be so much easier if he didn't know anything about what his mother was getting up to when he was out training.
At first he hadn't thought much of her wearing pants again before noon, he only saw her in passing when he had to run home to pick something up, after all. The fact that she wasn't lounging on the couch or sitting behind her desk in a bathrobe didn't seem important at the time.
Then came the dishes. He didn't do them very often, but even he could recognize when there were more dirty dishes then there should be with a family of three, especially when he was only here for two meals and his sister was usually here for just one.
Someone had been over, it was easy enough to see, but it could have been an old friend of hers stopping by for a visit or a meeting between clan heads.
But as the extra dishes became a more frequent occurrence and his mother stopped wearing pants regularly he had started to become suspicious. With Hana gone doing something for the clan- something he, as the child of the head, would usually be informed of,- and him spending most of his time training and doing missions with his team the house was mostly empty for the better part of each day.
And that had him realizing that ever since he had started at the academy the house had only his mother within it.
Only his mother- and whoever had been visiting her.
The connection had been made then and everything started to make just a bit more sense. Her happy mood, her work being done more quickly, she even left food in the fridge a few times because she was 'out with friends'.
She never went out with friends!
He had cursed himself then for being so blind and again for choosing now to start seeing what was really going on. Blissful ignorance lost, he had to face the fact that some asshole was getting with his mom regularly for who knows how long now.
There was really nothing to kit now, though, was there? She had a lover and he wasn't going to try to stop that, it wasn't good for his health you know.
He'd put him in his place, of course, that was his mother, but he would let her make her own decisions.
Unless she was getting with Hyuuga Hiashi.
That's where he drew the line.
The man was a huge ass and his mother deserved better.
The fact that he liked Hinata, who very well might become his sister in law in that situation had nothing to do with his adverseness to it.
No, not at all.
Seriously.
Okay, maybe a little bit.
She was a woman on a mission, or so she liked to think, sneaking her way to her target to fulfill her objective. She paid no mind to all who stared at her, ranging anywhere from veteran ANBU to the most unaware civilian child, as far as she was concerned not a single one actually saw her as she dived from roof to roof.
She was a Ninja- a Kunoichi, specifically- and that meant she was sneaky even when she wasn't trying to be sneaky.
This wasn't really the case, but no one was about to break it to her.
Slipping through the shadows- which weren't really there, considering she was out in the open and was bathed in the bright glow of Hi no Kuni's afternoon sun- she was like a whisper of the wind- a whisper of rather loud expletives as she tripped over another potted plant hidden just beyond the wall of a rooftop garden.
It didn't matter though, even her cursing was sneaky.
Nearby ANBU, watching her in amusement and shaking their heads in mirth, wouldn't quite agree, but neither were they foolish enough to voice their opinions to the woman.
She could be damn scary when you pissed her off.
Well, she could be damn scary when she liked you, too, so it was probably safest to say the woman was damn scary and pissing her off simply made her downright terrifying.
They liked their balls just where they were, thank you.
Amused, and more than a bit confused as to what exactly she was doing, they watched as she vaulted over a small wall and onto the streets below. Out of view, she slipped into an alleyway, completely hidden form everyone including the civilian shopkeep who had been putting out the trash.
Brushing past the oblivious man, one who was more than happy to watch as she walked away, she continued to her destination with utmost confidence in her ability to complete her self-given mission.
She paused behind a crate, one that barely came up to her knees, as she neared the location of her mark. Ignoring the fact that even crouched her cover did almost nothing to hide her from view she scoped out the surrounding area.
The position was well enough defended for having been designed as a civilian dwelling, she supposed. There were guards posted in ways that kept regular citizens from taking note but ensured anyone with training would be able to see them. It was a warning of sorts, security that could work simply by dissuading anyone who might try anything.
Unfortunately for them-and fortunately for her- it made them easy to locate so she could find some way to avoid them. Even now they had no idea she was there, watching and waiting to slip past them and get to the one protected inside like the chewy center of a hard candy.
She pointedly ignored the polite clearing of a throat behind her as one of the very guards she was trying to avoid attempted to get her attention.
Digging through one of her pouches- curse her lack of pockets!- she retrieved her key- quite literally- to get in. With a quick look in every direction but behind her- where there was still a guard she was ignoring- she dashed from her cover and to the main- and only- door to the residence.
With deft fingers she quickly broke in- by using the key so thoughtfully given to her- and closed the door behind her. She caught her breath as she leaned against the door, hoping she hadn't been seen by any of the guards. When they didn't come- still trying to figure out exactly what it was she was doing- she gave a sigh of relief.
Remembering her objective she dropped to a crouch, her weight resting on the balls of her feet as she began creeping through the small apartment. She made no noise- except for when she dropped her key- and slunk through the main room like death herself.
The bedroom was the first place she went but her target wasn't there. A pout fell over her lips, she had really hoped they would be in here. Turning back, she made for the kitchen. They weren't even trying to be quite as they moved about – which begged the question why hadn't she heard them while passing through the main room?- which meant she could still complete her mission.
Dishes clinked in the sink as footsteps drew closer. Retreating back to the bedroom she slipped into the doorway to hide herself from sight. When they exited the kitchen she would strike, her target completely unaware.
Tile, tile, tile- carpet! They were in the main room. With a mighty battle cry of "Surprise attack!" she launched herself from the bedroom to tackle her target. With a pleased grin she looked down at her fallen foe- currently smothered between her breasts- but it quickly melted from her face, replaced once more with a pout.
Black hair? Her target didn't have black hair.
"Oh, it's you." The young woman under her hadn't looked too pleased when she was brought down to the floor but her comment certainly didn't improve that.
As she sat up, releasing her victim from the weight of her breasts, it was easy to see the frown on her face.
"Well, it's nice to see you too, Mitarashi-San." She said dryly.
Anko just rubbed the back of her head as a nervous laugh escaped her lips.
"Sorry, sorry, I was just hoping for Naruto-Kun. I heard he returned recently."
"Where did you- no, wait, nevermind. I don't really care how you found out."
"So?"
"So what?" Asked Mai.
"Where is he?"
"He just left to have dinner with Hinata-san and her family."
"What? He went to see her first, not the great and sexy Mitarashi Anko?!" She crossed her arms and huffed in annoyance. "That's bullshit."
Her tone still dry and her body still pinned by the Tokubetsu Jounin, Mai blandly commented "Quite."
And thus operation 'Welcome Naruto-Kun Back By Crushing Him With My Boobs And Making Him Treat Me To Dango' ended in failure.
If Mai hadn't seemed so irritated at her she may have tried to salvage it with operation 'Pounce On Mai And Make her Treat Me To Dango.' But she doubted it would work.
"Say, Mai…"
But she tried it anyway.
Anko-Chan! Oh, by the gods I enjoy writing her, it's just so much fun.
But with that act XL is complete and I bid you all a good evening, I look forward to seeing you back in my theatre for next week's performance.