Sealkeeper: He Who Binds
Chapter 86 – Blood Bouquet
Her soft warmth was curled into his side as they lounged in one of his sitting rooms. Normally he'd be a bit irritated by the fact that he hadn't even known where this one was but after this morning – and most of the early afternoon – he was in much too good of a mood to care.
In fact, he was half tempted to credit and thank Ganju for making one a bit more out of the way. Not that they really needed to worry about anyone stumbling on them. The Wolves were well aware where they were and had been careful to ensure they were given their privacy.
For the most part, anyway.
His purples eyes slid almost unseeing along the wall until they hit the doorway where two smiling faces greeted him. Apparently two of his Wolves- actually, this pair was part of Mai's favorites so they might as well be her Wolves – hadn't been able to help themselves and the two women had done their best to observe as unobtrusively as possible.
Not that they had in any way been secretive about their presence, they had just kept their distance and stayed out of the way.
He may have been less accommodating if they were there in the beginning but by the time their curious faces first appeared in the corner of his eyes he and Mai had been taking a break and enjoying the presence of the other. She had been well aware of their presence when she started another round of fun ten minutes later.
Naruto was probably more surprised they had stayed there watching their leaders cuddle for ten minutes instead of leaving to tell the others, but if they were Mai's favorite they were probably aware that the wonderful young woman wasn't quite done yet.
He couldn't shake the feeling that Mai had taken some enjoyment out of their presence, like she was finally staking her claim and wanted someone to witness it. It was an odd thought, though, because the Wolves were his children and he would never take advantage of them like that.
Then again, he also had a feeling that if anyone was to be taken advantage of it would probably be him.
Wasn't he supposed to be in charge around here? He was answered by a sleepy Mai attempting to burrow further into his side and found that it really wasn't all that important who was in charge so long as everyone was happy. He couldn't exactly answer for the sleeping young woman next to him but he was certainly very happy with the results and the smiles on her Wolves said the same.
Naruto found himself blinking in surprise when a head of red hair popped into the doorway above the other two Wolves and shot him both a smug smirk and a thumbs-up.
"I'm next, right?" Her question had him chuckling, his attempts to muffle it only serving to make his chest vibrate more deeply, much to Mai's approval as she moved from mostly next to him to tightly wrapped around his torso.
He didn't know what Orochimaru started when she decided she couldn't wait any more but by the gods he was going to have to reward that woman.
If she had known just how much posturing and administrative work headship was going to be Hinata probably would have just publicly declared Hyūga fealty to the House of Wolves. As it was, she was sorely tempted to anyway.
Let Tsukuyomi deal with the running of the clan, she just wanted to make sure the branch family was safe. They weren't exactly the branch anymore, considering the main family had all but been wiped out during the rebellion – coup just felt off to her, though it was probably more accurate.
She wouldn't mind the work so much if she knew how Hanabi was doing – her sister hadn't been in the compound that day and no one had found her corpse after the invasion, which probably meant Naruto had done something – and if she was still seeing Naruto regularly.
She understood that he was busy – she knew how busy she was and he had been the one to get her into the position so he must have much more he was dealing with regularly – and part of her argued that it was in part due to him also seeing to her sister, but she couldn't help but be a bit bitter about it.
Hanabi escapes this and gets to spend time with Naruto? If she hadn't been deified by her clan she'd try to dump it all on her sister and return to just being a Genin.
If nothing else, it had helped her confidence, she supposed.
What Hinata was really most disappointed about, however, was that her hair had grown out but Naruto wasn't coming over to brush it like he promised. He hadn't seen her since it got long and her attendants were taking good care of it, but she still wanted the opportunity to spend that time with him.
She had to wonder if he'd mind terribly if she just popped in for a visit some time.
Even if he wasn't brushing her hair she hadn't had any sort of hug in a while, she could use a cuddle.
"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama, I can no longer lead the operation." She gave a respectful bow, long purple hair falling like curtains on either side of her face. It was somewhat strange to see her out of uniform but the simple dark clothes could have spoken for any off-duty Shinobi who wanted to relax as much as possible without compromising combat readiness.
It was also suitable for a mourner who couldn't find the energy to throw on anything more.
Sarutobi Asuma was well aware that the woman before him was both.
He stared at her for a moment, noting that she refused to look back up and meet his eyes, and finally he spoke. "I see. Is there a reason you've changed your stance on this matter?"
She paused, hesitating, before she gave a small sigh.
"I'm sure you're aware of Genin Naruto's connection to the House of Wolves, Hokage-sama." She started. "I'm not sure if you are aware that I've been training him sporadically over the past few years."
Asuma blinked in surprise, realization of her current position dawning on him. He had known that she was in a position to relay information about the House of Wolves but he hadn't questioned it when the information she provided proved to be accurate. He thought perhaps an ANBU spy or a friend she had made, maybe even a Wolf who wanted to defect.
He had not known she had close ties to the Wolves' only known face in Konoha, Genin Naruto. He did know what the information she had gained through the young man had resulted in, though, which meant he could understand why she was having a sudden change of heart.
It was regrettable, but Asuma would not force her to further betray those she cared for even if he personally wanted those same people out of his village as soon as possible. He was the Godaime Hokage and he would take care of his people.
If that meant having less information on a potential threat who had yet to act out on the village, so be it.
He'd find another way to keep a close eye on them soon enough, it wasn't worth risking one of his most skilled ANBU agents.
"I understand, Yugao. I hereby relieve you of your command over the Bloodline Support Group currently operating on a long-term mission in Mizu no Kuni and reassign you to your regular ANBU duties here in Konohagakure no Sato. Konoha thanks you for your service."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama."
It was all she could do at this point, but it wouldn't undo the damages she had already caused. She just prayed Naruto never found out and, if he did, he could find it in him to forgive her for her mistakes.
She didn't know if she'd ever be able to.
A pouting Tayuya and her two new friends had left an hour ago but Naruto found himself in no rush to get up. Mai – more awake than she was earlier – was of much the same opinion.
"Mmm, 'completely worn out', huh?" She purred teasingly. "Didn't seem like it to me."
Naruto could only shrug from beneath her, eyes trailing the idle circles she was tracing on his chest. "I recover quickly, a benefit of my blood I suppose."
"I think I quite like that benefit." She gave him a smile but it soon melted away into a frown.
"Everything okay, Mai?"
"Yes, no," She shook her head. "It was wonderful, but it should have been more."
"More?" A brow rose. He wasn't sure he'd be able to keep up if she needed even more, even Orochimaru had eventually had her fill. Well, that or the Sannin had taken pity on him. He still wasn't completely certain though he felt he had a good idea.
"It- it was supposed to be my first." She admitted, turning away from him. She missed the look of confusion on his face as his brow rose even higher. While there were some parts over the last few hours that were just blurs of pleasure and warmth, he quite clearly recalled what happened back in his office when she first began to take care of him.
Oh yes, he remembered that well.
"It wasn't your first?" The confusion in his voice must have been enough to catch her attention, bringing her gaze back up to meet his, and she blushed deeply in both shame and embarrassment.
"N-no."
"Oh." He tried not to pry, really, he did, but he was also terribly, terribly curious. Already his mind was coming up with possible ways that could be the case but for the life of him he couldn't think of who it could have been w- Tsume?
That was a mental image he could very much appreciate and his body reacted in kind, catching Mai by surprise.
"You and Tsume?" He voiced. Any confusion she had at his reaction to her words vanished instantly as understanding dawned on her and her blush deepened.
"Yeah, me and Tsume."
As much as he'd enjoy getting those details, there was a much more important part of this new knowledge that he needed to address first. With one hand he gently cupped her jaw to ensure she couldn't look away and caught her gaze with amethyst eyes.
"Did you enjoy it?"
That was not a question she had expected, not at all, and she was sure her face was brighter tha n the sun. Why did she think bringing up her night with Tsume would be a good idea? The temptation to lie was there, telling him that it had just been okay and maybe even reassuring him that he was better but she had a feeling that he wasn't asking because he was worried about his own performance.
She settled for the truth. He might keep things from her, but she'd do her best to remain completely open with him.
Besides the incident in Mizu no Kuni, of course. She'd continue protecting him from that.
"I did."
"Good," He nodded in satisfaction. "Otherwise I would have had to kick her ass."
She was struck by the similarities between Naruto and Tsume and couldn't help herself, leaving Naruto to watch with a fond – though certainly confused – smile as she began laughing.
She scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed.
Why wouldn't the red wash away?
Troubled green eyes stared down at small, delicate hands. So fragile, so weak, and yet they had stolen away life after life on that night, plunging cold steel into the warm, soft flesh of sleeping fools who would never wake again.
She needed to be strong, could be strong, she was strong for the sake of her team, but why did that mean she had to deal with his red always on her hands? She could feel it, warm and sticky as it dried and flaked only to return again over and over and over.
Why wouldn't the red wash away?
Her nails which had for so long been carefully maintained now scraped furiously at the skin of her palms, desperately trying to rid them of the red that had stained them. It didn't work.
She paused above the sink, watching as the running water turned red and lazily drained away as if it didn't matter at all. A drop, followed by a second and a third, dove swiftly to join the lighter red of the sink splattering against the porcelain bottom in blooming flowers of crimson.
It was kind of pretty, actually, now that she thought about it.
Really pretty.
Se looked to her bleeding hands and the long gouges her nails had cut into the flesh, trailing the drops as they slid together and jumped away to join the rest. Curiously she ran a nail against the cut, ignoring the stinging pain that shot through her hand or the shiver that snaked its way up her spine.
The aggravated wound wept more strongly at her actions, crying out in anguish, but she only cared to see the blood as it fell away from her to make more pretty flowers in her sink.
At this rate, she would have a whole bouquet soon.
She couldn't wait.
From beyond the bathroom door Haruno Mebuki heard a single giggle and felt her blood chill.
Something was very wrong with her daughter, but she had no idea who to turn to.
Naruto had gone to the den right after visiting Yugao, entering an office he hadn't made use of in months. Despite that it was immaculate as always, carefully maintained by the Wolves who called this den their home.
He thought he was in for a bad day when he learned of Hayate's death, but he had not been prepared for just how bad it was going to be. Yugao's admissions, intended or not, hit hard because she was one of the first people to help him back when he had no one. Even if he didn't see her often she was important to him and he had considered them close.
Now he was aware that she was still very important to him but they were nowhere near as close as he had thought. Part of him wanted to blame her for that, but he couldn't even delude himself that much. He was never around, he never visited, and he didn't even know her lover had died until long after the fact.
Considering all of that, how could he possibly call himself close to her? Hell, he didn't even know her favorite color for Gods' sake.
Even so, he would still do whatever he could for her, just as he would for any of his pack, and even if she didn't know it she was a part of his pack.
Which is why he was here.
His Wolves had been more than happy to catch fleeing Suna Shinobi – he was holding on to most of them in case anyone interesting showed up in Ibiki's grasp in hopes he might be able to manage a trade – and he knew some of the Wolves had taken interrogations upon themselves. He wasn't sure if they just felt it proper, wanted to please him, or had simply been bored but regardless they were here and the interrogation reports were here to.
With a bow one of his Wolves placed the stack of folders he had requested on his desk and was dismissed with a smile and a quite "Thank you".
His paperwork may have been finished and there hadn't been any team training today but there was still plenty of work to be done.
At the moment, that meant finding out who stole Hayate from Yugao so he could make sure they ended up in her hands. Not only was it the least he owed her, it was also something he was more than happy to provide for his Senpai.
She would get the closure she needed, even if he had to cancel every other project they were working on to dedicate the House's resources solely to tracking that fucker down.
If the poor bastard was still alive – and he would march his children down into the bowels of the spirit world to drag him back if he wasn't – then they would find him. The moon saw the entire world, they would not remain hidden for long.
She would have him or he wasn't Tsukuyomi.
"Neji, I- I need a favor." While they had first avoided each other, they quickly found some need for fellow male companionship and had taken to spending a few hours each day to at least be in the same room. Both were beginning to suspect that this entire base was occupied by only Otogakure Kunoichi and themselves and while they didn't really interact much they still liked to remind themselves that they weren't completely alone.
Though they were certainly outnumbered.
It was only going to get worse for the Hyūga, Sasuke knew. Poor bastard.
Neji rose a brow and turned from his book- more for courtesy than anything else- but with his Byakugan active it was just as likely he was still staring at the old pages of whatever treasure Orochimaru had secreted away from the world years ago.
Figuring that was the best he was going to get, Sasuke continued. "My girls, watch out for them when I'm gone."
That caught Neji's attention.
"Gone? You're leaving?" The Hyūga didn't particularly see why either of them should want to leave – which was incredible considering they were here at the pleasure of Orochimaru – but at the same time he didn't even know that leaving was a possibility. The Uchiha had to be damn confident that he could manage it, too, if he was going to say it so openly when some of the girls were no doubt nearby to keep an eye on them.
No doubt because his Byakugan had been used to keep an eye- or two- on them as well.
He tried not to think too much about the fact that the future mothers of his children- the mothers of the new Hyūga clan – were his jailers too. Thoughts like that invited way too many uncomfortable interpretations of the situation.
Sasuke gave a bitter laugh. Things were finally starting to go right and he was about to loose it all.
"Yeah, I'll be gone soon." He shook his head sadly. "I know Orochimaru has promised that they'd be looked after and I'm reasonably certain she's telling the truth because she wants her own Uchiha clan but I still worry for them." It really said a lot about how far he had come from the angsty young man who obsessed over killing his brother, but resigning yourself to death to accomplish one of your goals had a great effect of giving you a new perspective on life.
"I'd feel better knowing there was someone to check in on them." Sasuke admitted. His eyes narrowed as he gave Neji a pointed look. "Just don't touch them, I don't want there to be any confusion as to which clan the children are a part of."
Neji returned his pointed look with a flat look of his own.
"I can barely find the energy to take care of my girls," He pointed out. "And even then I think half the time they're just taking pity on me."
It was Sasuke's turn to raise a brow.
"Don't tell me you're trying to satisfy all of them every night." Sasuke gave a snort of amusement when Neji turned away from him.
"You are, aren't you?"
"Shut up."
The room fell silent for a minute before Neji broke it. "So, how do you take care of them?"
"Each girl has a night. Rotating schedules for morning, mid-morning, and afternoon slots."
"Slots? Are you the Uchiha clan head or a prostitute?"
"Shut up."
It was an odd comradery, but it worked.
"What do you have for me?" She strode into his office as if she owned the place, which was not entirely inaccurate. Jirobo barely managed to keep himself from jumping up from his desk and giving a bow to his Otokage. He was an Overseer now, damnit, and while he would continue to show the woman respect he didn't need to be acting like some new recruit.
"Orochimaru-sama," He greeted with an inclination of his head. "Your timing is impeccable." He actually thought it was just as likely she had heard from some of the labs that a project he had authorized had been completed and had come to check it out personally, but if she was just randomly checking in then he needed to thank the gods with some offering tonight because he had only had this particular project in his possession for about an hour. "I was just doing a final check to ensure it would make for a suitable gift."
His task had been to find legendary items for her godson, the prince, but progress was slow and he was no fool. It may not have been a legendary item with mystical properties but it was a hell of a lot better than being empty handed when Orochimaru cam calling.
It looks like it may have paid off.
She stopped by his desk and peered over. Unlike the rest of the room which was dim his desk was well illuminated by a series of lamps that made it easy to see what he was working on. A stack of papers- leads to the objects he had actually been tasked in tracking down – were off to the side but the majority of the desk was left clear, providing plenty of room for the unique piece he'd had made for her prince.
Golden eyes looked down almost lazily but quickly found themselves blinking in surprise. "Is- is that bone?" She asked. Without waiting for an answer one of her hands had already picked up one of the gauntlets while the other drew a finger across it.
Bone. A gauntlet of bone.
She could admit that she was impressed. Not only was the idea something she was sure her little prince would adore – she did, after all – but the piece itself had been masterfully done. Light but strong, bone plates were kept as thin as possible over a base of black cloth. It only took her a touch to confirm her suspicions about that too; thin black leather folded over a woven mesh of high-grade Shinobi Wire. Usually just called Shinobi Mesh or sometimes even Shinobi Mail, it would stop most bladed attacks. In this case, the leather also served as some protection from blunt force and made the piece look much better.
Function without sacrificing beauty, oh it suited her prince so well already.
Even though he knew she had found her answer already, Jirobo was smart enough to keep from looking like he was ignoring her. "Yes, Orochimaru-sama. Human, specifically."
She found her grin widening. "Human? How wonderfully delicious." Her eyes followed a finger as it trailed over the segmented fingers to the tips which curved over the wearer's fingers. There was more mesh on the other side, providing some measure of protection but allowing the undersides of ones' fingertips to feel the texture of anything they touched. The rest fo the underside was more of the black leather and mesh, with a few small plates in the palm and around the wrist leading up the forearm.
"How did you get Human bone in such shapes?" She looked up from the piece as she asked, curious to see the methods her newest Overseer had employed in her service.
"Kimimaro was most generous." Was his answer but he quickly followed it up with "But we made sure to take it slow as to not aggravate his condition." just in case. Kimimaro was one of her favorites, probably just after the prince, so it was best not to let her think they had put him in unnecessary danger.
"Hmm, how kind of him." She turned to the piece again but threw out a comment that made him well aware that he wasn't completely off the hook. "I don't recall any legends about these, however, and I'm very sure I'm older than Kimimaro so they can't exactly be ancient..." She trailed off, looking back to Jirobo for an explanation.
"Our search for suitable items for the prince continues, Orochimaru-sama, but I saw no reason the labs couldn't keep occupied by making other things for him."
"Mmhmm, good answer Overseer Jirobo, I look forward to what you find and what you come up with." She placed the gauntlet back on the desk and turned to leave. "See to it he receives these with utmost haste, we're still terribly behind on gifts."
"As you command, Orochimaru-sama."
Yep, definitely paid off.
Ibiki, as she suspected, had not been very pleased when she finally made it to work that morning. Not that he should have known she was missing. She was Mitarashi Anko, the shadow in the night, the whisper of the wind, the creeping death, the sexiest Kunoichi, the goddess of blood, devourer of Dango, and many other titles she couldn't be bothered to list at the moment so she should have been able to slip past him with no issues and pretend to have been working on...something...all day.
Then again, he was Ibiki and in the Shinobi world his name alone was a title.
Sometimes she forgot that, like when he was breaking into her apartment late at night and somehow wasn't turned on by her very presence or the fact that he was alone with her, in her home, at night. The thought alone was usually enough to have rookie Chūnin needing to change their underwear.
It usually had more experienced Chūnin needing to change it for a different reason, but that was besides the point.
Names and titles aside, he hadn't been all too pleased by her tardiness but he did seem somewhat surprised that she had even bothered to come in so he limited his reaction to a disapproving scowl and a "you currently exist, don't make me change that" nod he was so fond of. She didn't know why his damn nods were so expressive, but she had heard him talk to an older man- she was pretty sure it was his father – in nothing but a series of grunts before, so maybe it was a learned skill.
Or some sort of bloodline.
Probably didn't matter too much in the end.
So, with as close to approval as she'd probably ever manage from the man she got to work doing...something. It wasn't that she didn't know what she did, because she did, it was more because it sounded better than what she did, which was nothing.
Well, unless you counted spinning around in an office chair 'something', in which case she spent the day doing something. Good, paycheck earned. Hard work, too, she probably deserved a vacation.
After last night she knew exactly how she'd like to spend it, too. So that was two things she had done today, spinning around in her chair and daydreaming about spending more quality time with Naruto beneath the sheets.
And on them.
And on the floor.
And the kitchen table.
And the couch – all of them, really.
And maybe if they were feeling really daring on the Hokage's desk. That one might be fun, though it would probably be more fun if they got caught. Not by Asuma, though, that wouldn't be any fun, but maybe a secretary or something.
Anko was fairly certain he must have an attractive young secretary working for him considering how much time they would spend working together and the fact that he was the fucking Hokage. Gods above knew she would. Knowing him, he probably just had an ANBU sitting behind the secretary's desk determining who got to see him.
That was a job Anko could do, but it also seemed kind of boring. She was sure she could think of ways to spice it up.
Better stay where she was, though. They desperately needed her in K.I.T. after all. She probably had a bigger penis than the others working there – Ibiki excluded, he adjusted his left 'sock' too much for her to believe otherwise – but without her beautiful breasts it would be a complete sausage fest.
Oh, the sacrifices she made for the good of Konoha.
It wasn't just her of that opinion, either, or that's how she was taking the large crate left by her doorstep. Evidently someone appreciated her. It was too bad Naruto already had her, they didn't stand a chance in hell of tempting her away from her cute little Genin.
Well, maybe not little and there were probably more apt words to describe him than cute – like gorgeous, for example – but the sentiment stood. She had almost lost him once already, she wasn't going to risk him letting her go now that she had him. Or he had her. It probably worked any way she wanted to change that order around, but the image of him standing there holding her purple hair as she was on her knees had her giggling in delight.
She was going to need to pay one of her favorite shops a visit soon, she was sure they had all sorts of new goodies since the last time she had popped in.
The kind of goodies she'd be happy to try out during that vacation she should be owed for all her hard work.
And speaking of goodies, she still had a crate to open.
Unlocking her door she kicked the crate into her apartment, relishing the pained groans that came from it as it tumbled through the doorway. Oh, this sounded like a fun present. It's a good thing she had come back here tonight instead of back to Naruto's otherwise she might not have had the chance to enjoy this.
Her tools- well, they belonged to Konoha but she had taken them home with her years ago – had been maintained recently and she was pretty sure they were clean. It was going to be a fun night.
For her at least.
With a grin she locked the apartment door behind her and she could have sworn the box began shivering in terror.
Good, the goddess of blood should be feared.
Or maybe Empress of Pain and Pleasure was a more accurate title to use at the moment?
She gave a shrug. She'd just ask Naruto, that's how she solved most of her dilemmas.
Maybe if this poor fool had asked Naruto for help he wouldn't be currently stuffed inside a crate in her living room. Too late now, unless Naruto was about to drop by for a visit. He should really start praying, that was the only thing that had a chance to stop her.
Then again, he liked to indulge her almost as much as she liked to indulge, so maybe not the greatest hope for the box.
If she was really lucky Naruto would show up as she finished so they could continue last night. That would be absolutely fantastic. She gave a naughty giggle at the thought and the box shivered once more.
Whether that was out of fear or arousal- or even both- the world would never know.
It was the super-sexy Mitarashi Anko though, so it was probably just aroused by her presence.
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Until I next have your attention,
– Eyazahrid