I don't own Naruto.
I'm really happy with all the reviews from last chapter! I'm glad people like the story so far and I hope I can make it even better.
It's taken a while, but the outline I had for the story will be coming up in the next few chapters. Never thought it would take this long, but things don't always work out like we plan.
Prepare for a taste of why I rated this thing M!
Here's chapter 7!
Naruto and Ino walked through the rebuilt districts of Konoha towards Ichiraku Ramen. The crowd of women that had followed Naruto to Ino's house was trailing behind them trying to remain unseen, but they forgot they were following ninja so they might as well have been standing right in front of the duo. Ino made a mental note to remember who a few of the women were for later gossip extraction. "So Naruto-kun it seems like you've developed a following." Ino said trying not to sound jealous.
"You mean them?" He pointed behind them at the gaggle of women trying to hide behind lampposts and bushes that were too small to cover them. "They just started following me today. It's weird though. As soon as I made it to your door they wouldn't get within fifty feet of me." He said looking up and holding his chin.
Ino gave a devious smile. "Yeah, I wonder why that is." She quickly turned around and gave the women the hardest glare they've ever seen, which caused them to freak out and disperse like cockroaches when the lights go on. They didn't stay away long though because after a few minutes they began forming a small mob behind them just as before.
Naruto wasn't the only one with a following. Almost every guy they walked by stopped what they were doing and stared at Ino. Naruto was getting sick of it, but he can't stop people from looking. However, if anyone said or did anything else besides just look at Ino, Naruto had paint bombs with timers strapped all over his body, which he would use with a substitution jutsu to inflict his own brand of punishment for perverts. As the pair walked through a district they would hear a small explosion in the background occasionally. Ino noticed Naruto smile every time they heard one, but she had no idea why. She could here him mumble something about 'perverts' and 'divine paint justice' or something like that.
Ino finally decided to end their comfortable silence. "So Naruto-kun." He turned his head to look at her. "What the hell took you so long to get back here?"
Naruto chuckled at the elegant wording of his fellow blonde. "Well when we left here to find Sasuke we didn't actually have any information on his whereabouts. We followed a lead we got from a Cloud ninja and went to the Lightning country. There we spoke to another jinchuuriki named Killer Bee and he told us he was attacked by Sasuke, but that he didn't know where he went. He also told us that the Akatsuki are always recruiting missing ninja to strengthen their ranks. Since we had no other leads we decided to track any missing ninja we could find. Eventually we got lucky and found a recruiter. From there on it was just a matter of time before we found Sasuke." He smiled at his job well done.
"You're telling me that for three years all you did was track missing ninja?"
"Yeah and if there is one thing I can say about every missing ninja it's that they REALLY don't like being tracked haha." Ino laughed with him. "It took us two of the three years to find the recruiter for the Akatsuki and in that time we caught so many ninja that we didn't know what to do with them! I'm not complaining because all that fighting with high powered ninja had its rewards. I'm sure we put huge dents in everyone's bingo books because after all those bounties are collected I will have enough money to buy ramen for the rest of my life!" His eyes lit up at the prospect. "But enough about me. What have you been up to Ino-chan?"
Ino wanted to know more about his time away, but she couldn't pass on an opportunity to talk about gossip and her life. She told him about her apprenticeship under her father in the Torture and Interrogation department and the on goings of the flower shop. She also told him she was the one who first found out that Shikamaru liked Temari. One day a lazy looking man came into the flower shop and bought some flowers that she saw Temari holding later that day. She asked Shikamaru about it, but of course he denied until she told him she would probe his mind for more than just his relationship with Temari. He sang like a canary and Naruto laughed at his lazy friend's expense.
They eventually arrived at Ichiraku's, but the two of them were so focused on catching up with each other they kept exchanging stories well into their meal. By the time they were done eating the two knew more about than they had ever thought one meal together could produce. As Naruto paid the bill Ino thought about how happy she was to have finally gotten to know him. 'The Kyuubi was right. Just being near him makes me so happy. After only one afternoon with him I don't think I want him to leave me for even one second.'
Naruto walked up to Ino and smiled. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah." The two walked most of the way back to Ino's in silence. The only time they talked was when Ino asked if the town was being remodeled or something because there was so much paint coating the roads while they walked through. Naruto would just laugh every time she brought it up and say he didn't think that was it.
They reached the door Ino's house and she opened the door for them to enter, but Naruto didn't walk in with her. "I'm sorry Ino-chan. I have to get going for now." She turned around and walked back through the open door frame.
"Why? I was having fun." She pouted.
He smirked at her cute expression. "I was having fun too, but I have to take care of a very important errand with Sasuke."
She stopped pouting and smiled. "Well ok. How long is it going to take? You can come over when you're done if you want."
"It'll take me almost all night to get this done. I have to apply a special seal to him and his group, but it is very delicate and I don't want to mess it up." He said to Ino's chagrin.
Ino sighed. "Fine. You're off the hook tonight, but I want to see you soon. Got it?"
Naruto waved his hands in defense. "I got it. I'll visit soon."
Ino grabbed his hand and held it softly. "Thank you for the wonderful time Naruto-kun." The soft touch comforted them both.
Her beautiful blue eyes bore into his and he smiled. "It was my pleasure Ino-chan. I really enjoyed spending the day with you."
Ino began rubbing small circles on his hand with her fingers. Her other hand came forward and slightly pushed up against his chest, but she didn't remove it. "Well when did you become such a charmer?"
Naruto raised a brow. "A charmer?" He chuckled. "I may be a lot of things, but I never considered myself charming."
The hand Ino placed on Naruto's chest started to move up and down slightly. "It's even more charming that you don't know you're doing it."
Naruto laughed a little. "Thanks Ino-chan, but you don't need to try and boost my confidence. My ego is still intact."
Both of Ino's hands stop moving. "How have you not been charming this entire time?" Naruto looked at her confusedly. "You come to my house out of sincere worry for me, you comfort me when I'm sad, you take me out to eat, and the whole time you did it without staring at my chest which I have tried so hard to make accessible to your eyes."
A small blush fell across Naruto's face, but he was still confused. "That's what charming is? I thought that was just normal."
Ino's jaw hit the floor. "Oh my Kami you're so flipping cute."
"I'm not cute!" He bellowed. "I'm not charming either because I did look at your chest so ha!" He smirked in victory thinking he knew more about himself than she did. Naruto winced. 'Whoops.'
"Hey stupid." Ino deadpanned.
"Huh?" He answered in fear of a smack down.
Her hand slid off of Naruto's abdomen. "I wanted you to look at my chest. Why the hell would I wear this if I didn't?" She said pointing down to her tight purple top, which was almost bursting off of her large chest.
Naruto looked down at her amazingly sculpted chest, but quickly looked back into her eyes. "Umm it's good fashion?" Naruto questioned.
Ino smirked at his reaction. Leave it to Naruto to know nothing about fashion. "That was a rhetorical question. I didn't dress like a hooker for fashion. I wanted your attention on me baka."
Naruto scratched his head. "I think your outfit is nice Ino-chan."
"Shut off the romantics Romeo." She said as she face palmed herself.
Naruto decided to just cut his losses and change the subject. "Anyways Ino-chan. I had a great time and I can't wait to do it again. I'll check in with you real soon ok?" He was about to turn and walk away, but Ino grabbed his hand.
She took his hands and placed it on her lower back just above her ass so Naruto could get a touch of her body without feeling like a pervert. Forcing his hands down that low made his face almost come in contact with hers. "You're not getting away that easy. Were you really going to leave without giving me a hug?" Her speech was slightly breathy so he could feel her exhaled air across his lips.
Blood rushed into his face as his lips tingled with excitement. "Oh. I'm sorry Ino-chan." He moved forward and put his arms further around her as she pushed herself into him. The hug was much more intimate than what friends should be doing and Naruto felt slightly weird about it. He fidgeted, but Ino held on tightly and moved her face back so it was inches from his. It felt like an eternity to them as they silently stared into each others eyes.
Ino knew she was supposed to take it slow with Naruto, but she was finding it difficult to not kiss him right there. He was the only person she knew was irrevocably nice. He would give you everything he had and then some, but now he's standing in front of her and he's holding back. She didn't like that. It may have been selfish of her, but she wanted everything Naruto could give and now was her time to take it. She was going to lean forward and kiss him whether he was ready or not.
Naruto knew what she was going to do. He wasn't ready to have a relationship yet and although his time with Ino was great he wanted to keep them as friends for now. Their relationship was precious to him and he couldn't allow it to change. All he wanted was to be happy with his friends for a little longer before he started anything serious with anyone and possibly screwed something up. On the other hand, Ino has been so kind to him and he's not sure that he doesn't want to let her finish what she was about to begin because he knows it would make her happy. Ino started to lean forward and he made his decision. Naruto gently put his hand on the back of her head and leaned it forward so he could plant a soft kiss on her forehead.
He let go and she stumbled back a bit. A look of disappointment was in her eyes initially, but it was soon replaced with a genuine smile. 'I can't believe I almost forced a kiss on him on our first date. Thank you Naruto. You really know how to spare a girl's feelings.' A small blush crept onto her face. "Don't be a stranger. I expect to see you soon. Ok?" She gave him a cute pout.
"Of course Ino-chan. I will visit as soon as I have some time." He said with a smile as he turned around and walked away. 'I can't even have a simple meal with someone without them trying to kiss me anymore.'
As he walked down the streets he secretly cut off the Kyuubi from his memory and made an army of shadow clones to finish perfecting his five element rasengan. The action was so quick the Kyuubi didn't even know what happened.
"How was your date Naruto-kun?"
Naruto sighed. "It wasn't a date Kyuubi-chan. Just a meal between friends."
"Looked like a date to me." The Kyuubi chuckled.
"Well you can stop trying to play matchmaker. I have enough to do as it is without starting a relationship." Naruto said plainly.
"Fine Mr. Grumpy Face. I'll stop trying to persuade you and let you handle this yourself." She gave him a mental pout.
Naruto was shocked that she complied so willingly. "Umm thank you." He said in a wary voice.
"You are so very welcome Naruto-kun." She knew he was frightened that she would do something to mess with him, but in this case there is no catch. The Kyuubi will not allow Naruto to be heartbroken ever again. If even one more thing goes wrong in his life she is going to talk him into leaving the village forever of that she is sure. She may not be able to give him children, but Naruto knew that she wasn't able to when he asked to court her. He may want a family, but in the end they both know he would be happy to spend his days with the Kyuubi in their own personal paradise. There is more to life than just raising kids and the Kyuubi no Kitsune would give him those things in spades.
(Line break)
Naruto stood outside Konoha's hospital after easily losing the crowd of women that followed him. He could tell Sakura was in there right now, but he couldn't put off going inside any longer because he needed to put the seals on Sasuke, Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin. 'Stop being a wuss Naruto. You had to see her eventually.' Taking one last breath of fresh air he walked through the doors and into Sakura's domain. The room had an overpowering smell of ammonia from all of the cleaners used daily to keep the place sterile, but Naruto could still smell the faint, lingering aroma of Sakura on the walls. Countless hours of the pinkette contributing her blood, sweat, and tears have left their mark as an ever-present smell of lilac and pomegranate. His heart began to beat out of his chest. Naruto wasn't sure if he was calming down or getting riled up. It's an odd feeling to have your heart speed up, but be entirely relaxed. She always did have that kind of effect on him.
Since her scent was everywhere he didn't know which areas to avoid if he didn't want to see her. Naruto shrugged his shoulders and decided to move on when he realized he never put a seal inside the hospital. He quickly followed the signs to the emergency care department. 'I forgot to put a seal here. That could have been bad.' He slammed his hand into the wall and a small seal appeared before it slowly faded away. 'There. Now I can come here anytime I need to.' He turned around to head to the stairs so he could go to the floor where Sasuke and the rest of his gang were, but instead he was faced with a different situation.
Sakura stood not two feet from him looking over a chart. He didn't really get a good look at her when she was at the gate because he knew anything more than a cursory glance may have led to him saying more than he intended. Now he has time to drink in her full form and he planned on taking it. She must have been severely wrapped up in her work if she couldn't notice someone staring at her from two feet away, but Naruto didn't care. Instead he watched her smooth hands scribble something onto the chart she was holding, the small muscles in her forearms pushing and pulling on each other.
He watched as she pushed some stray hair out of her eyes and curved it behind her ear to expose her neck to him. One of the most enticing things to Naruto was Sakura's neck. Long ago Sakura tried to teach Naruto a few things about muscles to help him with training. When they made it to the muscles of the neck Sakura pulled her hair back and explained the main ones by pointing them out with her fingers. His favorite part of Sakura from then on was the small area she left bare for him to see. Specifically the sternocleidomastoid. He was never very book smart, but he remembers her explanation clearly. 'The sternocleidomastoid is the muscle that connects the mastoid process on the back of your skull to your sternum.' He had no idea what it meant, but all he new was she let him run her hand across her smooth neck, which was the first time she willingly let him touch her. Staring long enough at her neck eventually brought his focus to her face. He noticed it was contorted into an unhappy expression and he almost made a move to go help comfort her, but he pushed back his desire to talk to her and he turned to head away in a different direction. "Naruto?" Too late.
Naruto stopped and turned around trying to mask his worry about her sad demeanor. "Hello Sakura." He said trying to sound as unemotional as possible.
She ran forward and crushed up against him with a powerful hug. "I missed you so much!" The pinkette yelled with tears in her eyes.
As soon as Naruto felt her smooth arms wrap around him he felt his will breaking. She held onto him so tightly, but he never put his arms around her. He thought that if he returned the hug he might not let go. Instead one hand lay by his side while the other hovered over the back of her head. He desperately wanted to run a hand through her silky pink locks, but he was afraid of becoming too attached to her again so instead he crushed his hand into a fist and forced it down to his side. Sakura noticed he never returned the hug and backed away, saddened by his complete lack of affection for her. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Can we talk?" She said trying to hold back from crying because she believed Naruto didn't want anything to do with her.
"I'm sorry Sakura, but I can't. I have to complete a very important errand right now."
Sakura looked down as the tears began to form in her eyes again. "Oh. Ok I understand. Maybe when you're done then?" She said still keeping her head down.
"I'll probably be too tired then. My errand is going to take a very long time." He was about to break if he didn't bend a little. He has devoted so much time to make her happy and now she was about to cry because of him. It was too much for him to handle. Naruto sighed. "You know what?" She looked up at him with her broken heart showing through her expression. "I have a couple of minutes now. We can talk for a little while I guess."
Sakura perked up. "Really?" She said with a small smile and Naruto nodded. "Alright then follow me." She took him to a small abandoned office outside of the emergency room and closed the door behind them.
"So what do you want to talk to me about?" Naruto asked nicely.
Sakura still couldn't look him in the eye. "I want to say how much I missed you. I've thought about you a lot these past three years and now that your back we can finally talk." She crossed her hands in front of her. "I wanted to tell you that I am so sorry for all the things I've done to you." She blatantly stated.
Naruto quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean? You have nothing to apologize for Sakura." She winced at the lack of -chan at the end of her name.
"Of course I do!" She screamed as she lifted her head to look him in the eye. "I've treated you horribly your whole life and you still sit there and pretend it's no big deal! I'm a terrible person can't you see that?"
"I don't think you're a terrible person." He said as kindly as he could. "The things we did when we were kids are in the past. We were kids after all. Plus, you treated me fine."
"No I didn't! I was awful. I hit you, made fun of you and worse." She put her head back down.
Naruto felt a pang in his heart because he knew that when she said 'worse' she was talking about their kiss. "I don't look at it that way. Making fun of me or hitting me never really bothered me. Actually it made me happy." He smiled.
She noticed that the 'worse' did bother him because he left it out. "Why won't you hate me?"
Naruto sighed. "I could never hate you Haruno-san."
Sakura's eyes go wide. "Ha...Haruno-san?" She fell to the floor and threw her hands to her face. "Why Naruto?" She cried hysterically. "Do you not know me anymore? Are we strangers? Have I hurt you that badly?"
Naruto tried to hold back from picking her up and saying how sorry he was for calling her by her surname like a stranger. "I realized we are strangers Haruno-san. I haven't been here for three years. I don't really know you anymore just like you don't know me."
The pain in her chest is new. When she upset Naruto long ago she had felt a painful guilt, but this was entirely different and much more terrible. She fell back and held her chest as the pain threatened to choke her. "Naruto please don't do this. I have spent the last three years thinking about the next time I would see you. I was so afraid you would hate me, but this... this feels so much worse." She pleaded with him. "I need you to be with me! Even if it can never be the same as before I don't care just please don't fall away from me and pretend like I don't exist!"
Naruto's resolve is broken.
Three years thinking about only one person will cause these kinds of things to happen. The decision between her immediate happiness with him or her future happiness without him was on the ground right in front of him. 'Like you don't exist?' He questioned his own movements, but in the end he knew this was going to be the outcome. He couldn't help, but to lean down and pull her into a hug. They both shuddered as he ran his fingers through her pink hair and she cried into his shoulder. "It's ok." He whispered small words of comfort to her. She clawed into his back to hold him in place. The fear of him walking away was still present in the form of a lingering pain in her chest. Her tears soon dried up, but her breath still hadn't evened out.
"I missed you (sniff) so much Naruto-kun." She said finally gaining the courage to add the honorific.
Sakura snuggled further into Naruto's chest and her hold on his back finally loosened. "I missed you too Sakura." Her eyes lit up like the fourth of July and Naruto smiled at her.
"I don't think you should do this." His prisoner stated
'I know.' He replied.
Naruto stood up and helped Sakura stand with him. They let go of their hug, but held onto each others hands. "I've waited so long to be with you like this." She said with a pink blush across her cheeks.
Naruto gave her a smile. "I have too."
She laced her fingers with his and blood rushed to both of their cheeks.
"You're going to end up hurt."
'Probably.'
Sakura leaned her body into him and she took her hands out of his to rest them against his chest. Green eyes lock with blue and before Sakura realized what she was doing she was already leaning forward with closed eyes. The distance between them was closing and Naruto didn't care.
"NARUTO-KUN!"
He stopped her progress with a gentle hand to her cheek. "Sakura." She abruptly stopped and looked at him patiently. "Things are not going to be this easy. I could never hate you, but my trust is broken. It will take a lot more than tears to rebuild our friendship." He said to diffuse the situation they were in.
"You're lying. Your trust is too easily won Naruto-kun."
'I can't help it.'
The medic pulled back with a slightly shocked look on her face. 'What was I doing? He just wants to be friends. Why would he want me anyways?' She adjusted her clothes and gave a sad smile. "I understand Naruto-kun. I just got caught up."
He smiled knowing she accepted what he was saying. "With that said, I would like to rebuild our trust. Would you like to have lunch with me tomorrow?"
Her hands clasped together in happiness. "Yes!" She screamed.
He attempted to clear his ears of ringing. "Ok then. Noon at Ichiraku's it is. See you later Sakura." Naruto walked away without letting her complain about the meal choice and left the door open behind him.
Sakura sighed in happiness. 'I'll repair our friendship Naruto-kun. I'll be your best friend if that's all you really want from me. I think I want more, but I won't risk driving you away.' With her shift over she happily left the hospital to go visit her other blonde friend and tell her the news about Naruto. Also, Ino needs to explain what that kiss she gave her earlier was all about.
(Line break)
Naruto began walking to the third floor to see Sasuke and the rest of Taka. "Naruto-kun. You've made a mistake."
'I know I have.' He replied softly.
"That girl is confused I can see it! She's torn! How can you keep forgiving her after all she has done to you?"
'She has done more good than harm Kyuubi-chan. You know she was the very first person to talk to me even before Ino-chan did. Was I supposed to ignore her like people did to me my whole life? She asked me to acknowledge her and if I didn't I would be no better than the people that hurt me.'
The Kyuubi sighed. "Sometimes I wish I didn't love you so much."
Naruto chuckled. 'Ha no you don't. You know why I did what I did.'
"I know, but the right thing to do would be to become friends with her and leave it at that or not become friends at all." The Kyuubi said forlornly.
'Who says I couldn't do that?' Naruto scoffed.
The Kyuubi smiled. "I'm in your head Naruto-kun. Plus, I know you. You've already become far too attached and you only talked for a few minutes."
'You're wrong Kyuubi-chan.' Naruto thought quietly. 'I haven't become any more attached to her in these past few minutes than I have been since the day I met her.' He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. 'I can't find it in my heart to stay mad at anyone and you know that. Look at Sasuke! The bastard tried to kill me and he's one of my best friends!'
The demoness sighed once more. "I understand and I apologize. I told you I would mind my own business when it comes to your relationships, but here I am telling you what to do." She said remorsefully.
'No need to say sorry. I value your opinion more than anyone's and I want to know what you think. I just don't want you to mess with my body while I'm talking to people.' He could feel the Kyuubi smirk.
"Little 'ol me?" She said cutely.
'That cute voice has only been followed by my pain.' Naruto deadpans.
"On another note it's almost scary how similar her apology was to mine." The Kyuubi thought out loud. "She even asked why you won't hate her just like I did."
'Why won't the women in my life understand there is nothing to apologize for!' Naruto yelled to himself. 'You guys didn't try to…..'
Suddenly memories of the clones he sent to work on the five element rasengan hit him like a ton of bricks. He quickly cut off the Kyuubi from his memory. 'Oh my.' Naruto frowned. 'That is absolutely... frightening. That technique can never see the light of day again.'
"Naruto-kun? Are you alright?" The Kyuubi asks worriedly.
'Oh uh yeah. Just got a head rush.' He stammered out.
"Well anyways." She said suspiciously. "Good luck with the sealing. I'm going to take a little nap."
'That was close.' Naruto clutched his chest. 'What the hell was that? I never thought I'd feel pity for a clone, but the one that went through that door got the short stick.' Naruto wanted to reflect more on the information the clones just provided for him, but he arrived at his destination.
The blonde junchuuriki opened the door to Sasuke's room to find Suigetsu asleep on a chair, while Jugo stared out the window. Sasuke was lying in a hospital bed, but seemed to be fully recovered because he was awake enough to listen to Karin's constant ramblings. "Hey guys how you doing?" Naruto asked non-nonchalantly.
Karin's eyes shift off of Sasuke and on to Naruto. "Hey Naruto-kun! We were just waiting for you." She said happily.
Suigetsu began to stir. "Shut the fuck up. I'm trying to sleep ya assholes." He murmured to the group as he shifted in his seat and held his sword closer to his chest.
Karin promptly walked over and punched him in the neck. "Wake up you jackass! Naruto-kun's here!"
Suigetsu stumbled out of his chair holding his throat. (cough) "You bitch!" (cough cough) "You coulda killed me!" He screamed at her.
She screamed back. "I'm gonna!"
Naruto moved between the two. "Alright alright everyone just settle down. I need to tell you all one more thing about the seal I failed to mention before." That got their attention. The three standing members of Taka moved calmly next to Sasuke's bed. Oddly enough even Suigetsu seemed patient with Naruto. "I told you before that the sealing will be painful, but that's not the only problem you guys might have with the procedure."
Sasuke raised and eyebrow. "What would be worse than blinding pain?"
Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well... I kind of have to mark your bodies with the seal in ink first."
Suigetsu crossed his arms. "So what?"
Naruto chuckled. "I have to mark your entire body with the seal. From head to toe."
Suigetsu threw his arms up in the air. "Oh hell no you don't! You're ain't touchin my man handle you sunava..."
"Suigetsu." Sasuke said cutting him off.
The blue haired man turned to Sasuke. "I don't care Sasuke. I'm not..." Suigetsu immediately hit the floor unconscious. The Uchiha had knocked him out with his sharingan to stop any further problems.
The tomoe in Sasuke's eyes stop swirling and he looked to Naruto. "I can't say I'm comfortable with this, but if it must be done." Sasuke said emotionless as always.
Naruto looked to Jugo next. "I assumed this was going to be a necessity for the seal." The giant said. "It does not bother me." He was calm about the whole thing.
Naruto looked to Karin. "Are you going to be okay Karin-chan?" He said with a slight blush on his face.
Karin was looking down at her feet and seemed to be fidgeting around quite a bit. "So... you are going to draw all over my body?" She asked with a shaky voice.
"Yes."
"And I have to be nude?" She asked for clarity.
Naruto furrowed his brow. "Well you can be covered with towels for most of the time, but at some point I will have to finish the seal on the places that are covered." He said.
"Oh." She said quietly.
Naruto put his head down. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier. Honestly I've never had to do this kind of seal on anyone so I didn't even think about what went into completing it."
Karin put her hand up to stop him. "No Naruto-kun it's okay. If it has to be done then I can deal with it." She was secretly excited about showing off her goodies to Naruto.
Naruto smiled. "Well okay then. First I'll take Suigetsu and then Jugo. By the time I get to you two." He pointed to Sasuke and Karin. "I should have enough practice to get it over with quickly." The remaining conscious members all nodded. Naruto bent over and lifted the unconscious Suigetsu onto his shoulder. "Well I'll see you guys in a little bit." He said waving as he left.
As soon as Naruto walked out Karin ran to the bathroom to prepare for the sealing. She had to at least take a shower and shave her legs before her Naruto-kun could see them.
All Naruto could think was. 'Karin-chan huh? Maybe this won't be all bad.' He forced the perverted thoughts out of his head, but unfortunately his attention then turned to the man on his shoulder. 'Oh man is Suigetsu gonna be pissed when he wakes up and sees the seal. He acts like I wana do this. I'm definitely going to make a clone write on him and then erase the memory before it gets to me... and also burn the clone." Naruto said happy he could deny ever touching the blue haired man.
(About five hours later)
Naruto walked into the room hospital room holding an unconscious Sasuke. He placed him on an open bed next to the similarly unconscious Suigetsu. Jugo never winced one time during the sealing and he did not fall unconscious from the pain. He said the curse that ran through his blood tended to be much more painful and the new seal felt like a pinprick by comparison so he was just staring out the window again.
Karin was sleeping in a chair when Naruto awoke her. "Are you ready Karin-chan?" He said squatting down to her sitting height.
She stirred and slowly opened her eyes. "Hai Naruto-kun." She said groggily.
Naruto took her hand and helped her stand. They walked out the door and began the trek to the sealing room in the basement. "Good news Karin-chan." He said smiling. "After practicing the seal so much I have figured out how to reduce the pain enormously. It will still hurt like hell, but I don't think you will pass out like Sasuke did."
She wrapped his hand with hers. "Oh that's wonderful Naruto-kun." Naruto thought she would let go of his hand, but she didn't. She held it the whole way to the sealing room. Naruto felt weird, but he knew things were only going to get more awkward so he thought this was her way to ease into it. As they walked into the sealing room Karin saw twenty Naruto clones with ink and brushes coating the walls with seals. In the center of the room were three large pillars grouped together that were also covered in the same seals that were on the walls. The pillars were arranged so that there was a space in the middle, which Karin figured was the focal point and therefore would be where she was sitting as Naruto drew on her.
Naruto pointed to a door on the side of the room. "There's a bathroom over there with towels. As soon as you're ready I'll be waiting inside those pillars for you." Naruto said calmly to try and soothe any worries she might have.
"Thank you Naruto-kun. I'll be out soon." She said in a way that Naruto noticed sounded almost giddy.
Naruto walked into the pillars and sat down in the middle. 'Be strong Naruto. You can do this.' He let out an exasperated sigh and looked down at his groin. "You better not embarrass me." He said aloud.
"What did you say Naruto-kun?" Karin said leaning up against a pillar.
Naruto turned his head to look at her. "Oh nothing Karin-chan. I was just…." Naruto was shocked. Karin stood in front of him wearing two small towels that looked more like handkerchiefs on her. One handkerchief was over her chest and the other was over her waist giving Naruto a look at everything except her most delicate parts. Both of the towels were extremely short giving Naruto an appreciative look at her flat stomach and her toned thighs. She seductively had one finger playing with the top of the hem of the small towel around her chest and was slowly dragging the towel down, but not letting it fall.
Karin smiled happily at his reaction. "Forget I asked Naruto-kun." She walked over to him swaying her hips the whole way in an attempt to make Naruto drool. She felt she was close to that goal. "Where do you want me?" She purred with an obvious double meaning.
Naruto droned out. "Uh I want you on the floor." He thought about what he said. "I mean it would be easiest to apply the seals if you sat on the floor!" Karin smirked and sat down in the center of the pillars. Naruto looked around and saw all of his clones had stopped working and were staring at the almost nude Karin. "Get back to work you slackers!" He yelled and they all scurried back to the walls to continue drawing, but still throwing obvious glances at the girl in the room.
Naruto looked back down at the red haired beauty and observed that she had an amazing body for a non-combat kunoichi. It was wonderfully tight and toned in all the right places. Her ass looked to be firm and her b-cup breasts were remarkably pert. Naruto was having a hard time fighting the perverted thoughts that were trying to invade his mind. "Alright Karin-chan. I'm about to begin. Is there anything you want to know before I start?" He had asked the question as a formality not thinking she might actually have a question.
She shuffled around a little. "Umm actually there is." She said quietly.
"What would you like to know?" He raised an eyebrow.
She put her head down slightly. "Well since you are going to see all of me." She trailed off.
"Yeah?" He saw the uncertainty in her eyes. "I'll do whatever I can to make you more comfortable Karin-chan." He said with a smile.
"Good!" She perked up with a smile. "Then take off all of your clothes!" Every one of the clones stopped what they were doing and stared at the wide eyed original Naruto.
"You want me to what?" He said in a loud scared voice.
"This one moves quick Naruto-kun." The Kyuubi chuckled.
'Is this your doing?'
"Not this time."
Karin just smiled. "I'm nervous about this and I think if you were also naked while we did it." Naruto slapped himself in the head over her insinuation of 'doing it.' "It would make me more comfortable." She was beaming with happiness that her plan was coming to fruition.
Naruto sighed. "I'm willing to sacrifice my comfort to help you, but that is too far." He furrowed his brow. "I'll go as far as taking my shirt off. I hope that is enough to help calm your nerves." He said quickly.
The red eyed woman pouted that she wasn't going to get a full show, but her feeling of loss she felt was replaced with awe as Naruto lifted his black shirt over his head and tossed it to a clone. She planned on making him drool, but here she was about to collect a puddle of saliva under her chin for the man-god in front of her. A familiar pooling of heat settled between her thighs and her face gained a pink tint.
The smell of her arousal permeated the air and Naruto needed to control the situation now or things might have got out of hand. More specifically he might have got out of hand. He still didn't have full reign over the animalistic side of his chakra and he was afraid that Karin might be the first one to see him go a little out of control. He would do everything in his power to prevent that from happening.
He took a deep breath. "Alright Karin-chan. If you're ready please lay on your stomach with your arms against your sides." She turned over to lie on her stomach saddened that she could no longer see Naruto shirtless. "The plan is to do your entire backside first. Once that dries I'll move on to the front."
"Hai Naruto-kun." She said in eager anticipation.
Naruto settled next to her and took out a brush and several containers of ink. He readied his supplies and dipped the brush into the first container. As the first stroke swiped against Karin's skin she could feel the ink was laced with Naruto's chakra. An overwhelming feeling of pleasure racked her body and she moaned in pleasure as she felt the brush move painfully slow across her shoulder allowing her to literally be immersed in Naruto's warm and loving chakra. It was like an unbelievably relaxing massage only instead of Naruto's hands, which she desperately wanted on her; it was the end of a brush stroke that gave her satisfaction. 'If he feels this good outside my body I wondered what he would feel like inside?' She smirked devilishly at her thoughts.
Once Naruto made it to the first towel Karin reached back and unpinned it to allow the small cloth to fall to the side. The sides of her breasts were exposed as they mashed into the towel she was laying on. Naruto held his composure, but nearly lost it when he leaned over her and accidentally rubbed up against her newly exposed flesh, which caused the red-head to release a loud moan and drench the air with her craving for Naruto. The honey flavored smell emanating from Karin's reproductive organ was causing Naruto to lose his composure and it greatly upset him that another person's desire could get him so riled up.
Even with his discomfort Naruto moved surprisingly fast down the canvas of her back and after only a half hour he finished marking her entire backside and the back of her legs. Now he was looking at the last piece on the back of her body he needed to mark barely hidden beneath a small towel. "Karin-chan I'm finished with everything on your back, but one thing." He moved to her front so she could see him. "I need you to remove the towel so I can finish the seal." He said timidly.
She looked at him and smiled. "Ok." Karin didn't waste any time opening up the back of the towel and exposing herself to him. She felt like an exhibitionist and Naruto was the hapless victim of her perverted fantasies. The thought of Naruto touching her bare ass excited her immensely and she squealed in delight when she heard him gasp at her form.
Naruto had never seen a naked woman up this close before. Sure he saw some stuff in magazines and had read ero-sennin's icha-icha paradise series, but never had he seen the real thing. Karin's ass was faultless. It matched her figure perfectly and looked toned enough to bounce a nickel off of. He got to work right away and applied the first brush stroke all the way down the length of her perfect round buttock. It was too much for Karin. As the brush reached the bottom of her left cheek Karin moaned Naruto's name loudly and drenched the towel in her orgasmic fluids. He watched her convulse for a few short moments while her breathing went erratic and her toes curled up.
Naruto gripped his leg with extended claws as hard as he could to fight off an approaching erection. He was successful this time, but he was really close to ripping off his own clothes and mounting her like a wild animal. Composed and calm he talked himself down. 'Come on Naruto. This isn't you. This is her. Don't do anything stupid because you let someone else effect you.'
"Awww Naruto-kun you know you want it. She obviously wants you." The Kyuubi chuckled.
Naruto gritted his teeth. 'I don't want this. This is happening because she got too excited. Not me.'
"Just think about it for a second. She's practically begging for you to take her on the cold floor. You could hold her down and fuck her until her legs go numb and she'd thank you for it and ask for more." The Kyuubi said with a seductive, but slightly violent twinge in her voice.
'Kyuubi-chan! Stop being perverted and help me out here!' Naruto shouted in his head.
"Sorry Naru-kun. This is a physical reaction you're having. Until you gain full control of your new instincts you are going to have to run on will power alone." She said nonchalantly.
'Fine I'll do this on my own then.' Naruto huffed.
Karin's face went bright red. "Oh Kami Naruto-kun I'm so sorry!" She turned her head to see Naruto gritting his teeth and digging his hand into his leg so hard he drew blood. "I'm so sorry if I made you mad Naruto-kun! Please forgive me!" The sorrow was evident in her voice.
Naruto took a deep breath and smiled to her as he released the grasp on his leg. "I'm not mad Karin-chan. There's nothing to apologize for. Everything will be fine." Karin let out a deep sigh of relief, but noticed he was talking more to himself than her. "But could you please try as hard as you can not to do that again?"
She turned and laid back down. "I will try my hardest." The red-head said with a smirk across her face. 'I don't smoke, but after that I kinda feel like a cigarette haha.'
(Line break)
Sakura walked out of the hospital with a smile plastered across her face. She was finally able to speak with Naruto. He didn't give her time to tell him all of her feelings, but since she wasn't sure how she felt in the first place she decided to just keep those to herself for now. Breaking into a run she rapidly made her way to Ino's house and knocked on the door.
"Just a minute!" Shuffling could be heard as Ino yelled from behind the door. After a few seconds the door opened to show a smiling blue eyed beauty. "Hey Sakura come on in." She said happily holding the door open for her pink friend.
"Thanks Ino." Sakura walked in to the main hallway and removed her shoes.
"I was just making some tea. Do you want some?" Ino asked pointing to the kitchen.
"Umm sure."
Ino clapped her hands together. "Great! Follow me." Ino grabbed Sakura's hand and dragged her through the hallway and into the cold linoleum floored kitchen. Sakura took a seat in a wooden chair circled around the Yamanaka kitchen table and Ino moved to the cabinet to take out a kettle and fill it with water.
Sakura put her hands on the table and rubbed them together anxiously. "So I finally talked to Naruto-kun." She said quietly.
Ino turned around and leaned up against the sink while the kettle filled with water. "Oh yeah?" More details were required immediately for Ino.
"Yeah." Sakura shuffled her hands. "I tried to apologize, but he wouldn't let me." Her hands moved to her lap. "He said…"
Ino interrupted her. "He said there was nothing to apologize for." Sakura looked up at her blonde friend with confusion written on her face. "Am I right?"
The pinkette crossed her legs. "How did you know?"
She pointed a finger at her temple. "I don't have every memory of his, but I do have a whole lot of them trapped up here." The water in the kettle was filled and Ino took it over to the stove before sitting at the table across from her friend. "I know how he feels about you. Hell, I can feel how he feels about you." Sakura blushed at this. "Naruto blames things on himself. Never on anyone else." Ino released a sad sigh. "The real question is how do you feel about him?" She looked at her friend eager for a response.
"Well.." Sakura stammered. "I know that I like him." She said quietly.
"How do you like him?" Ino asked a little forcefully.
The pinkette's face matched her hair. "More than I should." She sighed loudly. "I don't know what to do Ino. I like Naruto-kun, but I still have feelings for Sasuke-kun too." She put her hands over her face.
Ino got up and moved over to her friend to place a comforting arm around her. "Sakura. Please explore your feelings for Sasuke first then make a decision about telling Naruto-kun how you feel." She said in a blunt voice.
Sakura picked her face up and looked at her friend incredulously. "Why?"
Ino's removed her arm from Sakura. "Because I like Naruto-kun." She said proudly.
The kettle started to whistle and Ino got up to pour them some tea. All the while Sakura stared at her in disbelief and disdain. When Ino sat down next to her she finally spoke. "Ino. I'm sorry." She said seriously. "We made a promise to never let a boy come between our friendship and here I am about to start it all over again."
Ino just smiled at her. "That's why I think you should make sure you know how you feel before you do anything drastic." She put her hand on Sakura's shoulder. "If you still want Naruto after that we can work something out." She said wryly.
"I thought after what you did this morning…" Sakura didn't want to think about the kiss between them too much.
Ino laughed and put her hands on her hips. "Well I have good news and bad news depending on how you look at things. The good news is I finally separated my feelings for you from Naruto's. The bad news, or in the way I look at it the double good news, is not much has changed haha."
Sakura suddenly became frighteningly aware of Ino's hand massaging her shoulder. "Uh so you're still?"
"Yup!"
"And you want?"
"Uh-huh."
"Well ok then." Sakura took a small sip of her tea.
Ino sighed and shook her head. "I'm not a lesbian and I won't do anything to you." She said while she rolled her eyes.
Sakura breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh thank Kami." She said with a small laugh.
Ino gave her a stern look. "Naruto's feelings just amplified my own. I like you, but make no mistake I would much prefer Naruto's big, meaty, long, hard..."
Sakura put her hand up to stop the blonde. "I get the idea."
Ino pushed Sakura's hand down. "I don't think you do. I mean this thing is fucking enorm.."
"I said I get it!" She screamed trying to stop herself from picturing Naruto naked. She failed.
Ino moved closer. "My point is I like him a lot and unfortunately for me I think he still likes you. If you stay indecisive and confront him with your emotions just to hurt him then it may screw everything up for me so figure your shit out!"
Sakura reared her head back in surprise. "He likes me? I think you're wrong. He just wants to be friends. He said so."
Ino put a finger to her chin and took a thinking pose. "Nope. He's lying."
Sakura gave a small all knowing smile. "I'm pretty sure I'm right."
"And I'm pretty sure you have no idea what you're talking about." Ino glared.
"Lets just agree to disagree."
Ino stood up and pointed down at Sakura. "Listen here! I was in his goddamn head so I think I know what I'm talking about! Why the hell aren't you thanking me anyways? I just told you that you still have a chance dumb-ass!" Ino yelled.
Sakura yelled back. "Well thank you!"
Ino was confused by her friend's response, but yelled anyway. "You're welcome!"
They both narrowed their eyes and stared at each other for a minute before Sakura quietly spoke. "Well ok then."
"Ok." Ino cleared her throat in hopes of clearing the air with it. "Just please promise me you will talk to Sasuke about your feelings before you say anything to Naruto-kun. If you really want to be with Naruto-kun after that then you can talk to him, but not before." Ino wagged her finger.
Sakura sighed. "Fine I promise." A small amount of blood rushed to her face and she smiled. "Naruto and I are going to lunch tomorrow." She said giddily.
"It's not a date Forehead." Ino deadpanned.
Sakura crossed her arms and pouted. "Whatever. I never said it was."
"I went to lunch with him earlier today." She looked at Sakura. "Not a date."
"It could be."
Ino went to get herself some more tea. "Let me guess. It's at Ichiraku's."
Sakura raised her head and turned away. "Yeah, but that's just his favorite place. That doesn't mean it's not a date." She said in a huff.
Ino filled her cup and turned around. "He's using lunch as an excuse to eat Ichiraku's while at the same time getting to know us. It's just for convenience."
"That lazy bastard!" Sakura yelled as her hand smashed into the table.
Ino giggled. "Oh calm down. You're going to have a great time with him. I guarantee you that by the time you get to Ichiraku's you won't care at all that you're at some crumby ramen bar."
"Well if you say so." Sakura said with a small amount of spite. And with that the two women stopped talking about the blonde haired boy and began to catch up for the past three years of Sakura's sulking. They talked well into the night about everything except boys. After about two in the morning Sakura finally made the decision to leave. "Well Ino it's been really fun, but I'm going to the hospital to see if Naruto-kun is done with Sasuke-kun. He said he was going to be working on him well into the night so I'm pretty sure he should be awake."
Ino laughed. "You're not going to waste any time huh?"
"No way. I'm going to talk to him tonight and find out how I feel. The more time I give you with Naruto the less chance I have." She said in a joking way, but Ino knew she was serious.
Ino threw her hands in front of her in defense. "You know….. I never said I would take him away from you. I just said we would work something out." The blonde looked into her pinkette friend's eyes and gave her a suggestive smile.
Sakura cringed. "Ummm ehhh."
Ino rubbed her hands up and down Sakura's arm. "Hands off pervert!" Sakura smacked Ino's hands off her. "Just because you're not a boy doesn't make it any less perverted!"
Ino put both her hands in Sakura's sight so she would settle down. "Whoa I get it. I was just trying to get you used to me because I'm not giving Naruto up easily." She gave Sakura another smile. "We might even have a couple of three way…. dates haha."
"That wasn't even funny." Sakura said in an annoyed tone.
"Doesn't have to be. Just has to put the idea in your head." A bright blush covered Sakura's face. "Oh! I think it worked!"
"Shut up Ino-pig!" Sakura stood up and rushed to the door. "I'm leaving!" She bolted out the door not even taking the time to close it.
Ino got up and walked to the frame to watch Sakura run away. "That girl is so confused." She let loose a big smile. "I wonder if I'll be able to have them both." The mind-walker moved to the table and began to clean up after her tea party. "But I'm going to need a plan." With that last thought she started up the stairs to rest so she could come up with a fool proof plan in the morning and win her two loves.
This chappy was a little boring I know. My favorite ideas are coming up in the next chapters so more action will make it's way back in as well as the premise I set in the beginning.
It seems Tsume is a no go, but I will be bringing in the Inuzuka tribe again. If I did make this a harem, which it really seems to be heading towards, how would you guys like Karin? I know it almost seems like she's a definite, but she's not. She isn't able to control herself and I've thought of a remedy for her situation so soon she will act more coherent when Naruto is in the room.
See ya next time!