Chapter 7: Grievous

Inhaling calmly before exhaling, Naruto closed his eyes and let his body relax. Currently in the meditation chamber in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, he was trying to get some much-needed relaxation. Not of the physical sort, mind you. His wife saw to that whenever she could. Naruto grinned at this before resuming his meditation.

The war was taxing, no doubt, but doubly so for the blonde. His skill and expertise in this particular field was highly sought after by both Jedi and Republic troops, as he could practically guarantee a victory simply by being in their presence. His appearance on the battlefield would greatly increase troop morale, while simultaneously diminishing the morale of the droid commanders.

Still, that wasn't what was bothering him. The mental aspect of killing affects everyone differently, and while Naruto had had his share of taking lives, that did not make him immune to the act of slaying a Separatist commander on their knees begging for mercy. The fear in their eyes as he brought his blade down still unsettled him, but he knew it had been necessary. Prison camps were already overflowing with Separatist POW's, and the Republic couldn't afford to build new ones, as all of their resources were being directed to the war effort.

Therefore, the act of taking no prisoners had been implemented, and while it was a nasty state of affairs, it was proving to be a rather good detriment to the opposing side. Word of the Republic's wartime executions of Separatist commanders had begun to spread, and while some condemned it, claiming that it was nothing more than sanctioned murder, others had voiced their approval, hoping such acts would speed up the war and help it to draw to a close sooner.

In short, while Naruto had no qualms about slicing battle droids in twain, as they were manufactured tools of war with no souls to speak of, he detested the act of 'permanently' removing opposing commanders from the battlefield. Thus, he sought to find his inner peace once more in one of the many meditation chambers the Jedi Temple had to offer.

Unfortunately, or possibly not, he kept being drawn back to previous encounters with Separatist leaders. His short but swift fights with Asajj Ventress came to mind. The woman was skilled, but only to a degree. She wasn't nearly as proficient as she claimed to be, and if his (now newly appointed apprentice) Ahsoka could hold her own against her, then the Sith had to be scraping the bottom of the figurative barrel.

A new image, one that brought a mixture of sensations came to mind. The Supreme Commander of the Separatist Droid Armies: General Grievous. Thinking back on his mission to destroy the Malevolence, he couldn't help but suppress a shudder. The Malevolence was a high-tech CIS flagship equipped with a planetary-sized ion cannon, capable of rendering several Venator-class Republic cruisers little more than driftwood in space, their shields, engines, weapons, and life-support systems knocked offline by the EMP blast it radiated.

This made said ships easy pickings for even the weakest of the Confederacy's fleet. This had been demonstrated with brutal effectiveness. Three Republic cruisers had been hit by the EMP, and had been rendered adrift as a result. The Banking Clan comm ships that acted as frigates for the Separatist fleet had torn into them with a vengeance, their laser cannons carving huge chunks out of the armor-plated hulls of the cruisers.

All three cruisers had been lost, but because of the disturbance, the Republic had managed to locate this devastating weapon, and had sent Naruto, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka to take care of it.

Once again utilizing stealth rather than brute strength, Naruto had suggested they meld with the debris of the fallen cruisers, keeping only life-support on as the Malevolence searched for survivors. Both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka agreed to this, and in short order, they were adrift amongst the dead engines, broken bows, and floating bodies of the wrecked ships.

As predicted, the Malevolence had come closer to inspect the debris, using scans to search for escape pods. With only their life-support systems active, Naruto and company went under the radar completely undetected, just as planned. Only when the Malevolence had come about to move away from the debris did they strike.

Their fighters roaring to life, they shot through the debris, the sensors ringing in the bridge of the Malevolence delivering their warning too late as Ahsoka blasted the shield generator protecting the docking bay of the flagship, Naruto and Obi-Wan slipping in behind her as the bay doors slammed shut to contain the sudden vacuum created by the lost deflector shields.

Once inside, they had made short work of the guards located throughout the docking bay, and managed to work their way up to the bridge, droids falling left and right to their tri-assault.

Only when they finally reached the bridge did they encounter any problems.

Flashback

The elevator doors opened, and a Super Battle Droid unleashed its' wrist cannons, followed by a missile from its' wrist-mounted launcher, the explosion spewing flame from the cabin.

Once the smoke settled, the battle droid let its' arm fall back to its' side, seeing no one in the elevator. Walking forward, it brought its' arm back up, caution coursing through its' circuits as it inspected the empty ele-

Without warning, a lightsaber shot through the roof, embedding itself in the droid's head. With a low-pitched groan, it fell backwards just as the trio jumped through the roof of the elevator, Naruto bending down and picking up his blade.

"Nice work, Master."

Naruto nodded at a beaming Ahsoka. He still couldn't get over the sheer approval she'd given when asked if she would like to become his apprentice. The comical look on Obi-Wan's face as he'd been all but tossed aside by an apprentice he'd known all of a day, in front of the Jedi Council no less, had been more than worth any trouble she would give him in the future.

"Yes, rather impressive, Naruto. Hiding on the roof of a moving elevator is not something the enemy would suspect. Mostly because it's suicidal."

Naruto gave Obi-Wan a pointed look as the Jedi Master grinned. "You had your chance to suggest an alternative. The best you could come up with was climbing through the bloody air vents."

Obi-Wan shrugged. "I'm not as good as you when it comes to flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants tactics. Mostly because I have a plan thought out ahead of time."

Naruto folded his arms and jerked a thumb towards the doors leading to the bridge. "We're here, aren't we?"

"So we are."

"Then stop complaining. I got us here in one piece, and-"

"And you WON'T be leaving that way, Jedi SCUM!"

Quirking an eyebrow at Obi-Wan and Ahsoka's expressions of mild horror, he turned and gazed upon the rather disturbing visage of General Grievous. He'd heard the stories, of course. Everyone in the Temple had. Hell, practically the entire Grand Army knew of the Separatist leader. He'd been nothing short of non-existent until a month or so ago, and even then, only a few Jedi and clones had managed to get a look at him and live.

Just cresting over 7 feet tall (2.16 meters, or roughly 7 feet, 1 inch), his stature alone was not only impressive but imposing and fear-inspiring. His droid-like body reminiscent of a Krath War Droid, his face mask was purely Kaleeshian, symbolizing his heritage and his undying allegiance to Kalee, his home planet. Fingers tipped with metal rending claws, and feet more similar to hands in retrospect, he was a fearsome visage to behold.

Naruto, however, was only slightly impressed, having dealt with much, MUCH bigger threats than the cyborg general. Making sure to place himself between Grievous and his friends, Naruto made show of giving the general a once-over. "Hmm, looks like a droid, walks like a droid, but doesn't talk like a droid. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a newer model."

At this commentary, Grievous saw red. Withdrawing two lightsabers, he ignited the blades, green and blue springing to life in an instant as the droid general stalked forward. "I am General Grievous. Supreme Commander of the Separatist Droid Armies, Jedi Slayer, and Warlord of Kaleesh..." Raising his blades, he hurled himself at Naruto, lightsabers humming in the air as he swung them down. "AND I AM NO DROID!"

Eyes widening, Naruto brought out two sabers of his own, and brought them to bear against Grievous', all four sabers meeting in a clash of sparks and hissing whines as they grated on one another. "Jeez, calm down! Didn't know casual observation was such a sour point with you. I'll be sure to remember that in the future."

Growling, Grievous pushed forward, his clawed feet digging into the durasteel floor as he began to push Naruto backwards, causing both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka's eyes to widen. Naruto NEVER lost a clash of brute strength. NEVER. If Grievous could push Naruto back, they hated to think what he was truly capable of.

Naruto grunted, and applied chakra to the soles of his shoes, his skidding immediately coming to a halt as he locked blades with the general. "I'll admit it: You're incredibly strong. I haven't had someone push me back in a bladelock in a while...at least, I haven't had a droid push me back in a while."

Roaring, Grievous broke the lock, flinging Naruto backwards as he flung a blade forward, intent on pinning Naruto to the wall like a bug on a dango stick. Naruto managed to catch his feet on the wall, and used one of his sabers to deflect the other blade, the hilt slamming the wall next to him and deactivating, the object hitting the floor with a CLANK.

Looking back, Naruto watched as Grievous pulled out another saber, igniting it before coming straight at him, the promise of death gleaming in his sickly yellow eyes. Glancing off to his right, he noticed Ahsoka and Obi-Wan engaged with Grievous' MagnaGuards, the incessant buzzing noise of their vibrostaffs annoying, to say the least.

Refocusing on his own fight, he leapt to the side as Grievous carved a long gash into the wall, the metal hissing as it gave way under the lightsaber. Deflecting a few slashes, Naruto slipped into his fighting style as easily as one might slip into tub of water. He easily recognized Grievous' fighting style, and it gave him a sense of deja vu', as he used to utilize the exact same fighting style.

Using his brute strength, Grievous would overpower his opponents, weakening them with each blow they deflected or blocked, until finally their exhaustion would cost them and leave a critical opening in their defenses, which allowed Grievous to cut his enemies down with ease.

Naruto smirked, and simply allowed Greivous to make him backpedal, deflecting or blocking each blow he made and letting Grievous believe that this fight would go like all the others. What finally gave it away to his opponent was that Naruto was not tiring like the others had, and had yet to falter in any of his defenses.

"You're good, Jedi. Good, but not good enough. I'm better." he growled, an uphanded swing blocked by a downhanded sweep of Naruto's blade.

"Well, that's more than can be said about you, General. You're form is sloppy, you're telegraphing your attacks, and I could have taken both of your arms off by now if you weren't constantly on the attack. As it stands, you won't beat me like this."

Grievous chuckled darkly. "Really? In that case..." Locking sabers with Naruto once more, he couldn't help but laugh at Naruto's expression, eyes widening as he saw Grievous detach his two hidden arms from his main arms, both reaching down and grasping two more lightsabers. He barely managed to break the lock before they came around, slicing through the air where he had just been.

'Four arms? This guy has FOUR ARMS? Chucklefucking hell!' Readjusting his stance, Naruto reversed the grip on his left saber, adopting a Jar'Kai defensive stance as Grievous began twirling his blades, his wrists rotating and cutting shallow grooves into the floor. Leaping forward, he was just about to engage Naruto when a sudden explosion rocked the deck, sending both fighters tumbling around in the corridor.

Ahsoka poked her head out of a nearby door, and Obi-Wan was right behind her. "Naruto, I think it's time to go."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow, especially when the warning klaxons began sounding off with vehemence. "What did you two do?"

Seeing that even General Grievous was waiting for a response, Ahsoka pointed to Obi-Wan. "It was all his fault! He made me do it!"

"Come off it, young one! It was YOUR curiosity that caused it!"

Grievous growled, "What have you fools done to my ship?" The general was getting rather impatient with their babbling excuses; Naruto shared that sentiment.

"Obi-Wan made me-" "Ahsoka decided to-" "No, it was YOUR fault-" "I did nothing of the sort-"

"WILL YOU TWO JUST SPIT IT OUT, ALREADY?" roared Naruto.

Both parties pointed to one another. "He/She set off the self-destruct sequence!"

There was a pause, a heavy silence save the wailing of the warning klaxons. Suddenly, the doors to the bridge opened up, and scores of battle droids began scuttling out of the bridge, their mechanize screams carrying as they fled down the hall towards the escape pods.

Grievous growled, then sheathed his lightsabers, letting his second arms re-attach themselves to the main arms. "It seems our fight must be postponed, thanks to your idiotic comrades."

Naruto snorted. "Tell me about it." Ignoring their cries of protest, he nodded towards the general. "Be seeing you."

"As will I, Jedi scum."

With that, the Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies dashed off down the hall, heading for the escape pods as well.

Turning to Ahsoka and Obi-Wan, the former having the decency to blush and look ashamed, he folded his arms. "So, while I fought the four-armed giant from hell, you guys managed to mop up his MagnaGuards. That's a point in your favor. You're off to a good start."

"Then you decided that, instead of HELPING ME, you were going to go find a way to shut down that ion cannon of theirs. Not necessarily the choice I would have LIKED you'd have made, but I can let that slide."

"What I CANNOT FATHOM, however, is the shear, unadulterated STUPIDITY that brought on the brilliant idea that you would press the bumblefucking self-destruct button, and everything would be alright!"

Obi-Wan looked at him, drew in a breath, and..."Well, it WAS her id-"

"FOR THE LOVE OF KAMI!" Heaving his hands into the air, he grabbed both of their hands, and disappeared in a flash of yellow light, reappearing next to their starfighters. Not even looking back, he leapt into his, and let his engines roar to life.

Looking at one another, they both shrugged before jumping into their fighters, using their cannons to blast a sizable hole in the plating. Rocketing out of the ship, they managed to put a decent distance between themselves and the Malevolence before she exploded, ripples shuddering along the outer hull before tearing it apart, the ship ripping itself asunder.

Hesitantly, Ahsoka turned on her comm. "Master?" When she got no reply, she dared to continue. "How did you get us back to the docking bay?"

He grunted, but replied. "My father's technique, remember? The Hirashin? I always keep one of the kunai in the cockpit of my fighter."

Ahsoka 'ahh'd' in response, but didn't say anything else...until..."Master?"

"Hmm?"

"...I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Ahsoka. I know you didn't mean to do it on purpose."

She sighed, but felt better.

"As for you, on the other hand..."

Obi-Wan paled slightly. "Come now, Naruto. You heard it yourself. She did it, not me."

"Yeah, but when I'm not around, YOU are supposed to be in charge, ne?"

He nodded his head, then nearly smacked it when he remembered Naruto couldn't see him. "Yes, of course."

"Then start acting like it, baka. If Ahsoka is about to do something that's not...wise, it's you're job to point that out and stop it."

He sighed. "Fine, I apologize."

"Apology accepted."

Obi-Wan smiled despite himself.

END FLASHBACK

They'd managed to work their way back to a Republic cruiser that had come to ascertain the status of the mission, as their hyperspace rings had been destroyed in the blast. Upon reporting their mission was a success, Yoda himself had congratulated the trio and seen to it that they received some R&R, something that they all desperately took advantage of.

Shaking his head to try and clear the thoughts from his mind, Naruto sighed. He'd be honest with himself: He wished he'd taken care of Grievous then and there. As it was, several more reports of Jedi falling to the droid general's hand had been received, and even Jedi Master Kit Fisto had a brush with him. Although he'd managed to hold his own against the four-armed beast, he'd been driven to retreat when more droids started showing up, and the odds were steadily growing further from his favor.

Still, he'd survived, and that was more than what could be said for the dozen or so Jedi Grievous already had slain, their lightsabers nothing but trophies on his belt now.

Sighing again, and feeling that that was all he did nowadays, he rose and headed back to his quarters. Upon entering, he was greeted by Kushina, who wrapped her daddy's leg in a vice and nuzzled her cheek against it. "Hiya, daddy~"

Bending down, he extracted his leg from her hold and swept her up in a hug. "Oooh, hello baby. How are you doing?"

She cocked her head to the side. "I'm okay. HK's been pretty skittish, though. I think Anko is trying to take him apart again."

Naruto chuckled, and shook his head. "Your sister has an inquisitive streak, no doubt."

Kushina blinked. "What's inquivitiz?"

Naruto grinned, and kissed her cheek. "Inquisitive, honey. It means she's very curious."

Kushina 'oh'd' even as he set her down. "Now go play, dear. Daddy has to take a shower, okay?"

Nodding, she smiled and skipped off. Pushing up from his squatting position, he was wrapped in another hug, this time from Revan.

"Welcome back, love."

Wrapping his arms around her, he nuzzled her neck and squeezed back. "Thanks, koi."

Pulling away, she looked at him. "So, how was your meditation?"

Sighing, he pulled away and palmed his face. "Not so good. I couldn't get my mind off of...well, everything. You, the kids, Obi-Wan, the Jedi, Grievous, Dooku..."

Revan walked behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, letting her chin rest in the crook of his neck. "You mentioned Dooku several times the other day."

Naruto nodded. "I spoke with him on Tatooine, when we were rescuing Jabba's son. He seemed...withdrawn, almost sad, like he didn't want to be a part of this. It was strange."

Revan frowned, adopting a thinking look. "Did it seem like he was putting on a front?"

Naruto shook his head slightly. "No, and that's what confuses me. He says he's doing it for, in his words, the greater good. He said diplomacy and negotiation have failed, and that this is the only recourse left to him. He wants to change the Jedi, not destroy them. So he claims, at least."

Revan nodded, kissing her beloved's neck as she snuggled against him. "But then why start a war? Why not remain with the Jedi Order and work to change them from within?"

Naruto shook his head again. "I don't know, hime. And then, on Toydaria, he'd reverted back to his conniving, cruel self. I could see it in his eyes. It made me so mad, like he'd been toying with me the whole time on Tatooine. And yet...it seemed like a mask. A front he constructed, a persona he'd adopted. Almost like he was lost, or confused."

Shaking his head for the fourth time, he sighed. "I don't know, kobito. Back when I wore masks all the time, I'd be able to tell in a heartbeat what he's hiding. But now? I just don't know."

Having slowly drug Naruto towards the couch during his answer, she plopped down with him beside her, stroking his unruly golden hair as she kissed his neck again. "With time, I'm sure you'll figure it out. Don't go rushing headlong into things, or you'll only end up confused, dear."

Grunting, Naruto nodded. "Thanks, Rev."

She smiled. "No problem, dear. Now, I was wondering if you were up for something?"

Not liking the tone in her voice, he turned and regarded the gleam in her eye with trepidation. "What is it?"

Letting her hand snake around his front, she ghosted it over his clothed chest before darting lower and cupping a part of him that made him gasp in surprise. "I was thinking of having some fun with my husband. Would you like to participate? Because it's going to happen either way."

Groaning, Naruto tried to disentangle himself from his wife, his pants rapidly becoming uncomfortable as she teased and stroked him through his clothing. "Rev...we can't...Kushina-"

"Is playing with HK."

Managing to squirm his way out of her grasp, he began to backpedal towards the bathroom, his sheepish grin a stark contrast to her predatory gaze. "I...er, well...I'd love to, honey, I really would...but I have to...um...TAKE A SHOWER! That's it! I have to take a shower. So sorry. Maybe later, 'kay?"

Without waiting for a response, he darted into the bathroom and closed the door. Sighing, he listened for the sound of footsteps, and when there were none, he nearly sagged against the door. While he'd been meditating, like he'd told her he was going to do, he'd also sparred rather heavily with Windu, and while the Vaapad master WAS improving, he still managed to kick his butt around the arena. Not without a few bruises from Windu, however. Vaapad sure was nasty.

Snapping from his thoughts, he'd disrobed and had just turned the sonic shower on when a SNAP-HISS echoed through the room, followed by a red and purple blade jutting through the door. A rather unmanly squeak came from Naruto as he watched his wife cut a searing hole through the door, the piece falling to the tile floor as she sheathed her blades and stepped inside, replacing the piece of door where she'd just cut it out.

"R-rev, honey, dear...what are you doing?"

Turning towards him, he squeaked again when she laid her eyes on his naked form. Licking her lips, she looked up into his eyes. "Why dearest, I don't know what you mean. I'm just sharing a shower with my husband. Is that so wrong?"

Even as she began to disrobe herself, Naruto managed to stutter out a response. "Well, y-you see...I was h-hoping for some time to myself, and-"

Suddenly finding himself pinned against the tile wall, he gazed into her ravenous eyes. "You've had FAR too much time to yourself, love~ It's about time you and I had a little...quality time together."

"Q-q-quality time?"

She purred, and let her hand stroke his rapidly hardening member. "Oh yes...quality time."

Gulping, Naruto looked around for escape routes. To his dismay, he found none.

Smirking, she grasped him and tugged, pulling him towards the shower. "Besides, I feel like a shower, too."

Chuckling, Naruto shrugged. At least he wouldn't have to worry about falling asleep tonight. If what he thought Revan had planned for him came to pass, he'd be too tired to think of anything else.

Okay, that's Chapter 7. Not a lot of action, and mostly flashbacks, but a necessary plot point for future events, as well as giving me a grand excuse to skip a bunch of useless episodes (useless to the plot, at least.)

As far as lemons go, I figure I'd put this to a poll. Depending on the response, I may or may not add another one to the story. I'm doing so with trepidation, seeing as I've been informed multiple times by various sources that is cracking down heavily on any fics that go higher than an M-rating (Mine could be considered an MA-rating, for explicit violence and detailed sexual scenarios.) So take that into consideration when you vote. Please and thank you!

-Sgt. Assassin

P.S – You will need to go to my profile to vote; It will be up at the very top of the profile page. This poll will be open for 7 days. It begins as of Thursday, June 14th, 2012, and will end as of Thursday, June 21st, 2012.