Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Aliens
A/N: First, sorry this one took me a bit to belt out, so I tried to make it a bit longer to make up for it. Honestly I was going to come out with a chapter of Rapture, but I felt I should even out the chapter numbers with this and Shards just for my own OCD tendencies, oh, and as an FYI, I kinda have a running gag with Light that Naruto will be knocked out a lot until his body evens out a bit more, just a heads up. This one was rather fun to write, and while I originally wanted to get in a fight with Sauske I opted to save that for a time when I could devote more energy to it.
To my reviewers you all have my deepest thanks, I really wasn't expecting folk to like this or Shards as much as they have and I must admit I'm humbled by your kind words, I'll try and keep up the good work (At least that's what you all are claiming :P) and try and speed up my posts a bit, just have life getting in the way a bit these days (Though it seems to be more the fact that friends are drafting me to go see a lot of midnight movies…I don't want to see Toy Story 3….A Team I'm 50/50 on…)
Oh! Dont forget to look at my mate's works, Whitefragon17 (Who has started an Eragon/Naruto cross, it's looking goo thus far ^_^) and LoPe21's Dream of Somewhere Warm (Naruto is taken in by an insane Kureani, it's a lot of fun ^_^)
Lastly, for those looking for something different, go check out Xutzy's fic Sweet Release, I have to say, I don't think I've seen a more original idea of a bloodline on all this site, keep up the good work mate ^_^
Anyway, enough ramblings, here you go ^_^
Light's Last Gasp
Chapter 3: Changes
Of all the sensations the blond had woken up to these past several days…make that two weeks, this was a new one…
The feeling of blood rushing to his head at a rate that was likely to make the appendage in question pop like an overfilled balloon.
Maybe it was the blood flow, maybe it was his body's new little guest, he couldn't be sure, what he did know was that his dreams were chilling. Not unlike those from his apparent two week coma.
He saw flashes of more strange worlds, filled with stranger animals and plants. Some had more moons that they should, others looked to be moons themselves, tiny things when compared to the massive worlds that seemed to hover in their skies.
Part of him wondered how they weren't swallowed up entirely.
He also saw other things; some were more humans, seemingly from all walks of life. Some had strange looking armor or clothing, others bizarre weapons that looked more like iron boards that spat fire. Some were like humans, but so much larger, wearing odd masks and body mesh.
Through it all there was one thing in common.
The monsters.
The massive serpents that would arrive, spread, flourish.
Kill.
They were all separate, large and small colonies alike, and yet, they were one as well.
With each there was the core, the mother of them all.
A queen.
When they got large enough, when there were enough of the serpents, their structure, their behavior, seemed to change.
It let the queen's talk, well, as much as they could talk.
They would send signals, images, and instincts to one another.
Lots of food.
Danger.
Nothing more.
It was strange, alien, humbling, to be connected to so much, and yet be your own.
He couldn't understand what it all meant, it made no sense. Somehow he was seeing these things as though they were memories long known to him, he could tell that much. Hundreds if not thousands of years worth of images being thrust into his mind in the form of these odd dreams.
If there was one thing he knew he would come away from this with, it would be an indifference to blood and gore.
With a pained groan he let his eyes flutter open only to be met with confusion, right now he knew he was in his room, even if it was a blood soaked nightmare, but it was his position in the room that was confusing him.
Right now, he seemed to be close to the ceiling.
Upside down.
He looked around the dimly lit room in mild panic before he saw something shift in the shadows, making his body freeze in fear.
Again, he saw something move, this time a bit faster than the seemingly cautious motion from before, whatever it was was hiding somewhat by the foot of his bed. He focused every ounce of his attention there, searching desperately for sign of his would-be captor when he felt it.
Something moving slightly on his foot.
He looked up quickly to see what could have caused it and froze, there, wrapped securely around his foot and keeping him aloft what a what looked like a long, almost vertebra like coil that ended in a vicious looking scythe like blade.
A tail.
With wide, unbelieving eyes he slowly traced the appendage, watching it as it seemed to hug the ceiling joint before it snaked down the wall to where he had spotted the movement.
In the glint of the moon's light he saw them.
Two, almost glowing red, eyes.
Before his terrified scream could echo through the apartment he felt a chill run up his spine, right behind him, perhaps an inch from his ear, he felt a sudden, humid breath.
And a nerve wracking, heart stopping hiss.
He couldn't feel the tears of pure, unrefined terror slipping down his cheeks. He was unmindful of the spreading warmth of oh his voided bladder, he knew what it was that was behind him, there was no doubt in his mind that right now, he was going to die. With a keening wail he let his body go limp. With everything that had happened to him as of late this was the breaking point for him. His mind deciding to shut down somewhat, filling him with pleasant memories of his time at the ramen stand, of sitting in jii-jii's office and playing with the old man's hat.
He never felt himself being lowered down to the soft bed.
He was unmindful of the sudden presence at his sides that seemed to try and snuggle up with him, even as the beings long, segmented tails curled almost protectively around his midsection.
Naruto was unsure how much time had passed, it could have been days, it could have been mere minuets. All he knew was that the crippling fear and hopelessness had faded somewhat from him, enough at least to let him look around the apartment once more. However, as he tried to move he noticed that two of his limbs were currently pinned, namely his arms.
Pinned by two things that felt oddly soft and warm.
Then he felt the movement along his midsection and looked down at the tails wrapped firmly around him, making his body break out into another cold sweat. Slowly he looked to his right and what was once a fear filled psyche was overcome with confusion.
That didn't look right.
There, currently hugging his arm fiercely was what looked to be a little eight year old girl. In the dim light he couldn't make out much, darker hair, pale skin, what looked to be some kind of ornament on her head as well as surprisingly revealing clothing.
And a tail.
Letting out a yelp he leapt up and scrambled into the corner of the small apartment, the feel of the almost crust like harness of his worn carpet largely forgotten as he tried to shrink away from the creature on his bed.
Right now the rational and the panic were at war in his head. The panic was showing image after image of the destruction the monsters would bring. The rational pointed out that one had saved him already, and if it had wanted to hurt him it would have when he was asleep, not just cuddle up next to him.
Panicked blue eyes were locked on the bed as he fought to keep his breathing under control when, much to his shock he saw not one, but two of the young girls sit up on his bed, letting out wide yawns as they rubbed their eyes with what look like gloved hands. After a slight stretch the new one, a girl with apparently blue hair, looked at him and blinked owlishly before giving a kind smile. The other seeming to follow her gaze and frown a bit, her arms crossing before her in a pout.
Naruto was at a loss. He knew these two weren't normal, but at the same time, he was pretty certain they weren't like the things he had been seeing in his dreams. "W-who are you?"
The duo only cocked their heads in a disturbingly similar manor. "Do you have names? How did you get in here?" This time they looked to one another before in unison they leapt gracefully off the bed, clearing the distance to him in one easy jump to squat before him, seeming to study him. "You…don't understand me, do you?"
The pair just seemed to ignore him as they moved close and began to run hands along his clothing, now and again pausing to look at each other and smile before tugging at it, sometimes chewing it or, much to his fear, would bring up the bladed tail to run up under a sleeve. They seemed to delight in this for a time before the purple haired one cut a small piece off.
He let out a squawk of protest making her drop it and shrink back, before he could blink the blue haired one was between the two, crouched low with her tail brought up over one shoulder ready to lance out at him, her teeth bared as her hands were brought forward in prep to strike, the now apparent claws making him shrink back once more.
After a few seconds of the standoff the blue seemed to stiffen before shrinking back, seeing the glowering face of the purple who then moved slowly forward, snatched back up the bit of cloth she had cut from his sleeve and moved away with the blue once more, the pair sniffing and running fingers over it. As before they would sometimes pause and look to one another, seemingly talking in ways he couldn't begin to understand before looking to him and then the cloth once more.
"Um…I'm Naruto…" The pair seemed to jump at his sudden words before looking to him again with the same cocked heads. He pushed a hand to his chest, "Naruto. I'm Naruto."
The pair looked to each other again before seeming to forget him. After a few more minutes he saw the blue suddenly stand up and scamper away, the odd sound of something crunching in the other room for a minute echoed through the room before she came back.
And Naruto almost lost his lunch.
Held firmly in her teeth was what looked to be a cat, a very dead, very raw cat. She quickly ran up, seeming to go as easily on all fours as on two, before dropping it at the feet of the purple who promptly dropped the cloth, tore the body of the cat in half and tossed part of it to the blue. Naruto felt bile welling up in his throat as he watched the two quickly make short work of the feline before carefully cleaning the blood from their bodies with disturbingly long tongues and agile fingers.
After their meal was seemingly finished the purple let out another yawn before locking eyes on Naruto and seeming to simply appear at his side. His body locked up in fear as he saw those claws and tail once more, however, to his shock, she simply snatched up his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, letting out a little contented coo before snuggling into his side and letting her eyes drift close.
Naruto looked from the odd girl to the other who was poking the cloth again curiously before she suddenly seemed to stiffen and, much to his dismay, leapt at his wall, letting her claws sink into the soft sheetrock before she crawled up the side and flattened herself.
Naruto's confusion at the odd behavior vanished as he heard the sound of soft clicks coming from his door.
If he had been doing anything else he would be rather certain that he wouldn't have heard the sounds of the knob turning or even the slight creak of the door opening.
But he did hear the footsteps.
He did see the figure loom into his bedroom.
He could see the glint of steel in the figure's hands.
"Well, well, well…seems the little demon found himself a whore…Let's see what color a demon lover's blood is…shall we?"
Naruto was moving before he really understood what he was doing, pulling the purple haired girl closer to him as he rolled over to shield her with his body, his eyes screwed up waiting for the pain of the kunai.
A pain that never came.
Instead all he heard was surprised grunt followed by the sickening squelch of something being punched through flesh.
Chancing a glance behind him he saw the hooded figure standing there in shock, his body lifted a few inches off the ground as the long, bladed tail he had feared so much was protruding from his chest. The man seemed to simply stare at it in confusion for a moment before his hands came up to grasp it tightly.
The pair of dainty arms appeared that then encircled his waist were unnoticed by him, but the suddenly surge of the tail being thrust further through his chest was impossible to ignore. The strangled cry from the man cut off as the tail was suddenly pulled back, letting the man fall forward limply. The blue haired girl cradling his body and dragging it away into his other room.
As the adrenalin that had kept him up finally faded the horror of the moment truly dawned on him before he slumped once more into unconsciousness.
Dawn came the next day slowly for Naruto, for a few seconds he thought it all simply a dream, but after finding the rather fresh bloodstains as well as the discarded knife… Pausing long enough to take up the blade he made a quick circuit of the room and took up whatever he could find that was still useable. A few more of his rather beaten up supplies, his last set of clothing, a small extra wallet he had stashed under some floorboards, two containers of instant ramen, and a small, rather ratty looking plush fox that Ayame had given him when he was little. Stripping the soiled sheet from his bed he cut a section that still seemed clean enough and wrapped the items inside before dashing out of the house. He hadn't see any signs of the strange girls thus far, and if he had his way about it he wouldn't see them ever again.
As the door slammed shut behind him he never noticed the extra sets of holes in the wall.
He never noticed the odd, almost stone like structures that were so much like the eggs he had found, the pods suspended from the corners of the ceiling by almost crystal like black and grey stone.
Naruto took his time for once as he moved through the tower, last night's events still fresh in his mind, though a part of him was wondering if it wasn't all just some kind of a strange fever dream. Knocking quietly on the door he heard the welcoming voice of the old man, he pushed open the door cautiously before seeing the smiling man's face.
"Naruto-kun, come on in, how are you feeling?"
Naruto let a small smile form as he moved into the room, "Um…Hokage-sama…' Sarutobi winced slightly, this couldn't be good… "I think we have a problem…"
The remaining of the day for Naruto was spent in the Hokage's office as an ANBU team moved to his apartment to search for anything that could really stand out. They had found blood samples once more, and managed to get fingerprints from the dagger that matched those of a civilian that worked in a local tannery, but still no signs of the missing man. The masked black ops had also returned with a strange material that they were calling some kind of resin, apparently there had been a good deal of it scattered in his kitchen when they arrived, but as with the man, no signs on the girls the boy had spotted the previous night.
"Naruto, I think it's safe to say at this point that you are going to be moving."
"Duh…"
"Now now, none of that, I was assuming you would have come back yesterday after collecting your belongings so that I could move you somewhere a bit more secure, but we see what happened there. There was a small house I had been saving for you for when you graduated, as a reward. You only have two neighbors, but as it stands most of the houses there are unpopulated. After the Uchiha Massacre most of the people living there relocated to homes closer to the core of the village due to the lack of police, but because of your…situation I think this would be rather beneficial. As it stands the two that are living there are some of my most trusted men, one of whom you met yesterday at the hospital, Morino-san, head of the Torture and Interrogation division as well as his apprentice Mitarashi-san. I've called them here to guide you there so please try and be respectful. You will be seeing a lot of each other I would think."
Naruto gave the elderly leader a wide smile, a home of his own? He couldn't believe his luck! Maybe all this hell was going to be worth something after all, if only they could find those girls then maybe he could sleep a little easier at night. "No worries Jii-Jii! If they don't bother me, I won't bother them!"
"Naruto, you don't have to worry about that, be friendly and I'm certain they will return it." His soft smile was helping to ease the boy's nerves somewhat; Ibiki had scared the hell out of the other day.
"O-Ok…I'll do my best."
"I know you will. You should take the time to look over that scroll I gave you, If you have any questions then make sure to let me know."
The teen nodded as he unrolled the parchment and began to study the carefully inked instructions. It seemed easy enough, keep the image in mind that you wanted to clone to look like, force a single hand sign, shunt chakra into the technique, if you used to much then it would fail just like his clones in the academy would, but unlike those it was possible to use that excess to form yet more clones, making it quite hard to actually overwhelm the technique. It would operate best when there was a ready source of water nearby, however a skilled water user could actually pull from the air around him or other sources of life, even an opponent.
Naruto gaped slightly at that, it was such a cool idea that it seemed to overpower everything else he had read about the technique, the idea of killing an opponent with this jutsu, in order to make more copies of himself to fight more foes? It was brilliant!
As Naruto was getting ready for his first attempt, doing his best to sort out his thoughts before using the technique there came another knock at the door, at the hokage's call the door swung open to show two figures in trench coats, the first, in a black coat, was bear of a man with the blue bandana, the second in tan gave Naruto pause.
And a massive blush.
Quite the beauty of a woman stepped in behind him, five five, purple hair pulled up into a peacock tail, a devil-may-care smile and swagger to her steps as she moved to stand beside Ibiki, however, the source of the blush was rather evident to all in the room, the woman's choice of attire that was simply fishnets and a skirt short enough to almost make it a belt. Naruto was quick to avert his gaze and did his best to fight back the blood filling his face.
He may be a pervert, hell, he knew he was, but he knew quite well that you didn't look so obviously unless you wanted to get a fist to the face or a foot to the groin.
"Ah, just the pair I wanted to see!"
"Well ya old man, you called us here. Who's the squirt?" Anko knew very well who the boy was, hell, she was sure there wasn't a person in the whole of the village who couldn't tell you his name, but she loved getting a rise out of people, and the slight tick mark that developed on his brow was enough for her.
For now.
"This is going to be your new neighbor, Naruto. Naruto, this is Ibiki Marino and Anko Mitarashi, Special Jonin and, as I told you, heads of the T&I division."
The blond rose and gave the pair a small bow, surprising the Hokage, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, Genin hopeful, although it looks like I may have to be an apprentice now."
Ibiki cocked an eyebrow at that, "Oh?"
"Yes sir, I can't make normal bushin. So the Hokage gave me a solid clone technique that will work with my affinities." Naruto lifted the scroll, letting the two pick up the name 'Mizu'.
Anko's eyes widened slightly as she looked at the kid, "Wait, Affinities? Like, plural? As in more than one?"
Naruto nodded in synch with the Hokage, "Indeed, Naruto here possesses three at the moment, wind, water, and a strong fire affinity. However, if is he unable to learn the technique in time then he will not be able to be placed on a genin team. After some consideration of his skills from two weeks ago I've decided that another year in the academy would be a waste of his potential, so should he fail to master it in time I will place him with a jonin for training."
This bit of information made the pair gape slightly, the look rather comical on the normally stone faced Ibiki, Anko herself only had earth thus far, Ibiki had two, fire and lightning, but for a kid who had yet to grow his first chin hairs to have three?
The duo looked to one another before sharing shockingly similar grins. "Hokage-sama, if it comes down to that I think I know exactly who would be up for it."
Naruto cocked his head in confusion, and slight fear at their eager looks, as Anko seemed to be almost bouncing on the balls of her feet, the act making her rather generous bust bob, something that Naruto knew he would be killed for if he looked at, Sarutobi arched an eyebrow, "Oh? What do you have in mind Ibiki-san?"
"Sir, as I have informed you recently, ' The Hokage fought the sheepish look that tried to form on his features, his paperwork had been backlogged ever since Naruto had been found unconscious, 'Anko has learned everything she can from me in my field, as it stands, our apprenticeship is now completed. To that end, she has expressed a desire to try and take on a genin team this year, however due to…elements beyond her control she was unable to attend the jonin test this year. Therefore I believe that this may be the best solution for all involved. Anko will be able to teach on a one-on-one basis, helping to prep her for a future team, and Naruto will get the training he needs in order to, hopeful, attend the chinin exams as team support one day, if not join Anko's future team as their third."
Both Anko and Naruto turned to the aged leader with massive grins on their face, for Naruto the horror of the previous night seemed to simply evaporate as he thought of getting some real training, he had seen the woman around town before, she had never once given him a dirty look, instead she would typically laugh and cheer at his pranks or chase after him as part of his escapades. For Anko she knew the kid would be a sponge for information and training as he had received so little, letting him be almost a blank slate for her teachings, despite the fact that he was, debatably, better than her when it came to stealth and evasion. Part of her was hoping that she may be able to learn a thing or two from the boy in that regard. She knew very well she wasn't the most subtle of ninja in their ranks, so any little bit could help.
Add to that the fact that she knew she would absolutely LOVE torturing the little brat until either his dick fell off, or his balls dropped, one of the two.
After another tense moment Sarutobi smiled and gave a slow nod. "Alright, with your recommendation I'll put the request through.' Almost at once the pair cheered, 'HOWEVER!' They paused almost in mid leap, 'I want detailed reports from you both on your progress. Naruto, you will be her judge as much as she will be yours. I want you both to do your best now, understand? Anko, if this test goes well, and Naruto reaches a proper level in a timely manner, then I will consider this to be your jonin test as well." If anything her face lit up even more, looking at each of the people in the room with a smile that would probably last for days, "Make me proud Anko, Naruto, listen to everything she says, she's one of the very best in her field, and I know you will learn a lot. Anko, you know as well as anyone what Naruto can do with traps and stealth, I'm expecting this to be a two way street. As my sensei's would say, we never stop learning, be it from our friends, our foes, or our students. Good luck."
All three seemed to swell slightly at the old man's words, Ibiki absently wondering if he shouldn't lend a hand in the training as well, even he had been shocked to see what Naruto could do with little more than a smoke bomb, a dye packet and a rubber band.
He was sure for a long time that the Hyuga elders would never get that blue out of their skin.
The three gave a the Hokage a deep bow before dashing out of the office, Sarutobi fought the urge to laugh as he gave a slow three count aloud before Naruto ran back in, "Um…I kinda forgot my key…"
As the odd trio moved through the streets of the village they couldn't help but notice the crowd that would turn and watch, the Demon Child, the Snake Whore, and the Devil of T&I.
It was unsettling for most, though on some level they were hoping that the later two would be heading off to deal with the former. However, the grins that they all wore would hint that something else was happening.
Slowly the crowds began to thin as the stores dwindled into the 'slums' of the city. Warehouses, run down apartments and red-light sectors.
It was surprisingly close to Naruto's old home.
These places were usually found on the outskirts of the city, being a ninja village it was more likely than not that these sectors would be the first to be attacked should the outer walls fell, were the most likely to be sacrificed should sections of the city have to be declared as 'lost' and you had to deal with scorched earth. However, the direction that the three were moving were not towards the main sectors of the wall, but instead moved towards the forested area that wreathed part of The Forest of Death. These areas were almost always abandoned due to the odd creature that would be coming out of the forest searching for easier prey.
As they neared their destination Naruto was watching the darkened forests with more than a bit of paranoia, as the elation of the moment had worn off he had been starkly reminded of the fact that the two little girls had never been found, that the body of that would-be assassin had vanished, not to mention the bodies of two chunin.
Finally having enough of the boy jumping at his own shadows Anko snatched the blond up by the neck and gave him a noogie, "Her brat! What the hell's the matter with you? Your twitchier than Tora with her master on her heels."
Unheard by the trio a pair of hisses sounded from the treetops at the purple haired woman's antics.
"N-Nothing Anko-chan…it's just…"
"HEY! What did you call me!"
"A-Anko-chan?"
This time she outright smacked him in the back of the head, "That's Anko-sensei to you!"
He rubbed the growing knot on his head for a moment before mumbling an apology, "Sorry…I just only ever really called Iruka-sensei…well, sensei…he's the only one that has taught me anything."
Anko looked at the teen in confusion for a moment but before she could question him she felt a hand on her shoulder courtesy of Ibiki, "Anko, you have to understand, due to his condition he has had a harder time than you can imagine with this village. We've dealt with enough of those fools that you should know that his schooling wouldn't be any different."
The snake mistress seemed to deflate slightly at that, maybe she had more work in store for her than she thought. Deciding to shift gears back to her first thoughts, "Well why are you so jumpy?"
He took a cautious glance to Ibiki who nodded, "W-Well, did you hear about my…little problem?"
"You mean the fox? Of course."
He gave a cautious shake of his head, "No…this one is…a bit more recent…"
"Well? Spit it out!"
Deciding it may be a bit easier to show her Naruto curled his index finger and pressed it against his thumb, making a shallow cut along the pad. Anko simply chuckled at that, "So you filed your nails to a point, I don't see the-" She was cut off by Naruto drawing a beaten and warped kunai and smearing his blood down the spin of the diamond shaped blade, almost at once the pitted steel began to smolder and to her shock the blood ate clean through the metal in a few seconds before Naruto dropped the ruined hilt to the ground. "W…What the fuck kid!"
"Anko, Naruto unsealed something the night of the scroll incident, the creature ended up saving his life when Mizuki attacked him. It seems that later on another such animal attacked Naruto while he slept. He was in a coma for two weeks because of it, currently there is something inside him that this creature left behind, it's linking into his systems and altering them. The nails, his bones, his blood, hell, right now he may be able to take a bite out of that kunai he just melted and digest it just fine."
"I-Is he OK?"
Naruto growled slightly, he didn't like being talked about like he wasn't there, "Yes, HE is. He's just trying to get used to the idea of having a monster that can destroy planets sleeping in his chest, waiting to punch its way out!" Before the two could say anything else Naruto dashed away from the duo, Anko's hand extended to catch him only to be stopped by Ibiki, at her questioning look he just shook his head.
"Anko, give him a bit…in less than a month his world was turned upside down, and if what I heard is true then last night he found out another of these…monsters of his are running loose. Whatever these creatures are…their breeding…and damned fast, and from what he has managed to tell us from his nightmares…this is extremely slow for them…it's like their waiting for something. We will keep an eye on him, but for now he just needs time to think."
She looked more than a little worried at the idea of some kind of a monster running about, she hadn't heard much about this beyond Mizuki's death, "Ibiki, do you have any of the files on this? If I'm going to be his sensei I'm going to need to know everything about him, but do one thing for me…' He looked down at her with an arched brow, 'Don't let me forget and try and lick up some of his blood…"
The scared jonin let out a peal of laughter as they picked up the pace to their respective homes, it had been a long day, and tomorrow promised to be the beginning of hell for everyone involved.
If Anko had anything to say about it at least.
Naruto stared blankly up at the house he had just been issued, more than a little surprised at the two story structure. From what he could see the paint was a bit worn, and the roof needed a few new tiles, but as it stood it was hands down infinitely better than his old apartment. Already he was wondering what all he could do with the lawn alone as he moved up to the door and tested the lock and grinned as it didn't give. Sliding the key into the lock he took a deep breath, "Finally, things are looking up."
Even as he said it, he knew it was a mistake.
The door opened easily as Naruto moved in and locked the door behind him, inside there was a thin layer of dust covering everything, he saw several large dust-rags and sheets covering several pieces of furniture, ad he moved in he took a deep breath of stale air and pulled the sheet carefully off of what looked to be a couch, his eyes instantly watering at the dust that filled the room. There before him was what at one time would have been a very stylish couch.
Ten years ago.
But to Naruto, who had dragged pieces of found sofas back home and nailed them together this may as well have been a five star resort. With a whoop of joy he leapt onto the cushions and buried his face in the somewhat musky furniture and practically purred in joy. After several long moments he cracked an eye and spotted what looked to be a lounging chair as well as another small couch, with a maniacal grin on his face he dashed at top speed to the recliner and let out a scream of pain.
Interesting way to find out you have a coffee table…
Cradling what had to be a shattered shin he took a moment to rub the damaged limb before he limped over to the window and threw open them open, moving through the room and the house to open the others, hoping to get a breeze going to blow out some of the dust. As he started heading back to the front of the house he spotted the stairs leading up and grinned once more. All in all he had found four bedrooms, one of which was much larger than the others which had an bathroom attached. On the main level was a rather modern bath, the kitchen with appliances he had never even seen before. In one room looked to be part of a study, another door lead to a root cellar, then a small dining room and the living room finished off the house.
It was more room then he would ever need.
Naruto, after finishing his task moved up to the second floor again and with an agile leap and a quick hand snagged the roof and pulled himself up top where he settled on the forward most peak of odd roof. He had seen pictures of houses like this before, mostly in Ame, some in Kiri, even a few here, but never would he have thought that he would see this many of them so close together, why, if there was a wall around it he would have thought them part of a compound like the Hyuga had. Where it stood, as the light was beginning to fade, casting glowing rays through the trees, he could only see two other houses with lights on, both only a few doors down from him. For some reason this put him a bit more at ease, knowing that the only people on what had to be an entire city block were friendly to him, and would be his teachers in the coming months, if not years.
With a content sigh He moved back to the edge and swung into the house once more, however, as he landed in the bedroom he winced as his hand landed in something.
"Ugh…what the hell is this?" He brought the hand closer to his face and winced at the slimy, sticky material, it reminded him of some of the stuff that he had once used to gum up the ANBU armor. Wiping the goo on his already tattered jacket he shut the window and moved back into the house, quickly closing up all the windows once more after only a few hours of leaving them open before flipping on the kitchen lights and heating up one of his cups of noodles.
As the boiling water worked its magic Naruto settled into one of the chairs that lined a small bar that let those in the kitchen still interact with those in the living room and unfurled his scroll once more, studying its nuances again before the knowledge faded with everything he had experienced that day. Just as he was certain that the noodles were ready Naruto stiffened and looked up.
He could have sworn he heard footsteps.
His hunger forgotten for the moment Naruto took out his best kunai from the meager little pack and moved silently next to the wall that would lead down the stairs.
He was no fool, there was nothing worth stealing here now that hadn't been here for the last ten years, whoever was here, whatever they wanted, it had something to do with him.
Taking a moment to still his breath he let his other senses take over. Hearing, there was still the odd thumping, getting closer to the stairs. Smell, something with an oddly metallic sent to it. Touch, the cool of the steel handle and the odd vibrations from the floor above.
Naruto's blade came back as he readied the strike, determined not to be caught unaware.
And promptly had the knife snatched from his hand, even as another hand come around his midsections and pulled him taunt against a body, a very female body.
His voice was locked away in his throat, his body taunt in shock as he tried to understand what exactly it was that was happening now. He had never been embraced like this by a woman before, and some part of him was noticing that she was somewhere around his age, perhaps a bit older, as he was now a good bit taller than he had once been. As her lips seemed to loom closer him his nose was filled with that same scent, something coppery and something that he just now pieced together.
Rot.
As she leaned in closer to him he felt her inhale deeply, a slight murmur on her lips even as she shuddered slightly before letting out the breath through clenched teeth, making a sharp hiss that almost made the blond pass out.
Then he felt it, that same odd whisper across his mind, a lover's caress that seemed to taunt as it enticed.
He could see a flash of an image, a young blond teen that was being cuddled against, then the same teen shielding the person with his body before he passed out on top of, what he just understood to be, the purple haired girl.
Even as he seemed to come to that realization the person in question pulled him that much closer, the dull sound of steel rebounding off of the hardwood floors of the home echoing through the dim hallway even as he felt a third appendage curl around his midsection.
"Hmmm…Naruto…"
The voice was strange, a breathy, almost rasping sound that was most definitely human, but a voice that seemed to have never been used, as though it was as dusty and moth ridden as the drapes of the new home.
With a tremble he couldn't control racing through his body he turned to look upon the woman who was currently embracing him and had to fight off a blush, even with his added height, something that put him just below even with Anko, he was surprised to see she was a few inches taller than him. Turning his head slightly he saw her gazing down at him with a small smile on her lips.
Finely sculpted, almost perfectly angular face, snow white skin that was broken by the odd black outfit that seemed to cover sections of her body, the parts that seemed flush with him in particular were hard, like a plate of armor. Finally his eyes met hers and he couldn't stop the slight whimper that echoed down the hall.
Deep, blood red eyes stared into the endless blue orbs as her smile grew.
"Naruto."
His fear only grew as she leaned in again; bring her cheek flush to his for a moment before she leaned in closer, nuzzling up against him as her grip tightened.
"W-What are you?" she pulled back slightly to look at him in confusion. Seeming to brush that aside she brought up a hand to ghost over his cheek.
"Naruto."
"Y-Yes…that's my name…who are you?"
"Naruto!"
Letting out a sigh he pulled back from her slightly, taking her hand in his only to find her running her thumb over the backs of his knuckles, making the hairs on his arm stand tall. Using his free hand he put a hand to his chest, "I'm Naruto,' He then put it on her's, 'Your…." She just cocked her head once more before smiling and squeezing his hand. Seeming to understand he gave her a small smile, the idea running it's course as he repeated the motion, "I'm Naruto, your Murasaki?"
The girl cocked her head once more, "Mur….Mura…"
"Come on, you can do it!"
"Muraki."
"Close…Mura-saki."
"Murasaki?"
Naruto grinned as he squeezed her hand, "Right."
She seemed to light up at that, somehow he could feel her own joy echoing through his mind, "Murasaki!"
He nodded, "Yes, good."
"Murasaki?" To his confusion she looked up behind him, making a cold chill run up his spine again, there were two…
Turning, still locked in her grasp, he spotted the blue haired one again, both her and the newly minted Murasaki sporting longer hair than before, however, he was a bit surprised to see that she was a head shorter than the purple haired one, and now that he got a good look he could tell there were other differences, Murasaki seemed to possess an odd crest of sorts at the crown of her head, a larger blade on her tail than the blue. The newcomer seemed to have a more neutral, almost stoic look on her face, like the kind Shino had when he had swiped his glasses one day. A part of him also noticed that she seemed to have a bit better muscle tone, as though she could wade into a fight with the best of them and come out on top. Though he had no illusions that she would lose if she were to fight Murasaki.
To his surprise the giant released him, partially, and ran up to the foot of the stairs, almost looking like an excited little girl, bouncing from foot to foot as she pointed back to him, still holding him securely with her tail. "Naruto!" She then pointed to herself, "Murasaki!" She then pointed to the blue haired girl, one who seemed to be smiling gently at the pair, then looked back at Naruto expectantly. "Naruto?"
He studied the girl for a moment, noting her curious, yet expectant look before looking back to her hair and grinning, "Sorairo." The two looked at one another before smiling.
"Murasaki!"
"Sorairo!"
Then the pair looked at him with positively glowing faces before saying in unison, "Naruto!"
He returned the smile with a massive grin of his own.
And never saw their tails coming from behind to knock him out.
Translation note, if google is to be believed
Murasaki - Purple
Sarairo - Sky Blue
Hey, not all of us are Shakespeare, and I can see Naruto naming them like that in a state of mild panic.
