Aljan Moonfire does not own Naruto, or any other recognizable references.

Chapter III – The Tower

As the Hokage looked through the records of what the Noriko's parents had left to her, he could only gape slightly in shock when he realized that Uzumaki Kushina had left her daughter Training Ground 44 and the tower in its center. While he had known that Kushina had had some land, he most certainly hadn't been expecting this.

Training Ground 44, or the Forest of Death was an extremely dangerous place, and his second emotion, after shock – he hadn't even known that anyone had ever lived there, let alone Mito-sama - was hesitation. Should he really let her live there? She could get seriously hurt, just from living in that place.

Then he thought about it some more, remembered the Kyuubi, and added on the fact that it wasn't like she wouldn't have guards to keep an eye on her…and additionally, there wasn't a civilian in the world that would be able to reach her there, and anyone below high chunin that entered that place would likely die just as messily.

The he sighed as he thought about it more, considering her personality…"She'll probably love the place to death." Sighing at his unintentional pun, he also considered what the council would have to say about this. And this brought to mind everything that had happened on that front since that night.

After he had gotten the blonde girl to the hospital, while the girl was in the emergency room, he had immediately summoned some of his best investigative Anbu agents and set them to uncover what, exactly, had happened to result in his favorite blond being scared for life. He knew very well it could have been much worse than it was. If she hadn't been able to save herself…

What was found was horrifying. The civilian council was, for the most part, entirely complicit in this. A few of them had actually perished in the explosion that Noriko had caused a week ago. The majority of the rest were currently ensconced in the TI (Torture & Interrogation) Division's cells.

It seemed that their plan had begun with what he had thought was a minor concession had given to appease the council with a couple of years after the Kyuubi attack, when things were still very hectic. It was to allow a few civilians to work at the Hokage tower. Several of the more major civilian clans had all chipped in to hire a freelance infiltration specialist had hidden him in with a few other oblivious people they sent to work in the tower. Over the course of the past year the man had slowly found out how Noriko's guard shifts were recorded and maintained. Following his orders to the letter he had secretly and slowly manipulated the shift times to include a brief period of time (no more than a few minutes) when the girl would be unguarded; that it had fallen rather coincidentally on the 10th of October, exactly six years after the Kyuubi had been defeated, was far from a coincidence.

When they received news the civilian council men and women quickly spread the news to a several people who, much like themselves, hated the child and what she contained beyond all reason. Thus followed the kidnapping (by the infiltrator himself), the torture, and the following explosion; needless to say, most of what had been the civilian council were no longer among the living.

Over a quarter of them went up in flames when the pillar of Noriko's white fire erupted from that building. And besides those that were still residing in the TI Division, the others were publicly executed for treason, conspiracy to murder one under the protection of both the Hokage and Daimyo, and the breaking of the Sandaime's Law.

After he had completed his mission, the nameless agent had immediately fled Konoha, but his lead hadn't lasted long. Inu had been hot on his trail and the man was currently being dragged back to Konoha at that very moment by the Anbu and his team. He could only imagine how hard it had been for the man to restrain himself from killing the agent on sight. The Yondaime's last surviving student knew exactly who the girl's parents were, and killing the person who made the attack possible in the first place would have undoubtedly helped relieve some of his not so inconsequential anger. But they needed him alive. They needed to know exactly how he got past their security.

But, with the civilian council all but eradicated, it was eventually decided by the shinobi council not to reinstate it. They mostly agreed that at this point such an undermining of the Hokage's authority weakened the village as a whole. In fact, the civilian council itself had not originally been an official part of the village's hierarchy. It had been established during the Second Shinobi World War, in order to free the Hokage up from the day to day concerns of managing the village in a time of war. It was never supposed last further than the end of that war, but after the Niidaime died, it had.

However, with the civilian council gone the Shinobi one now had to pick up the slack. On the Hokage's orders some of the higher ranking ninja, such as the Anbu Commander and the Head of the Hunter Nin Corps, have now taken on positions in the council in order to take on some of the work. And, after going through some of the things the civilian council had had a say in, such as what was taught at the Ninja Academy, Sarutobi could only think that the disbanding of the civilian council was an even better idea than he had originally thought. They had actually let fangirls pass their final exams, even with that ridiculous mentality? It was ridiculous. No wonder there had been so many genin casualties in the main corps over the past few years.

Turning his thoughts back to what he had originally been planning, he knew that at the very least he'd have to tell them who her mother was in order for the girl to be able to live in the Forest. Taking the deed and everything else her mother had left her with him he left to notify the council and give Noriko half of her inheritance.

.-.

Sometime after the Hokage left, and his Anbu guard with him, a subtle genjutsu dispelled in a swirl of smoke to reveal a figure that had hidden itself along the wall.

He stepped out into the middle of the room; bringing the nearly blank mask he wore into the light.

The figure then jerked as two hands clamped down on either side of his head and swiftly wrenched his head around past his left shoulder with a harsh cracking sound. Sarutobi let the corpse drop to the ground almost carelessly and stared at it for a long moment before kneeling to remove the mask from its face. His eyes narrowed further as he took in the body's appearance.

The blank blue eyes and the strands of limp blond hair attempting to escape from the body's hood marked the man as a Yamanaka. One the he didn't recognize from reports or as graduating from the academy. Then he looked at the mask, and at the small kanji written on the forehead of it.

"Ne…" he murmured. "Danzo, then." He then sighed slightly, glaring down at the dead face of the mysterious Yamanaka. "He's getting bolder." He snapped his fingers then, and an Anbu appeared, kneeling before him as he rose to his full height. "Take it to autopsy. I want to know who this, and what has been done to him. And warn them to be careful of curse seals. Then report back to the original me's guard."

"Yes, sir."

As the Anbu complied with his orders, the clone scratched absently at its check. "Well, the original will want to know about this…" It then dispersed itself, sending the memories of its short existence back to its creator.

.-.

"Well," the medic said as the green glow of medical chakra faded from the hand she had just removed from Noriko's eye, "It seems like you've recovered nicely." She continued speaking as she ignored the door opening behind her and the man who walked through it. "Once you get dressed you're free to go."

"Really?" asked Noriko in excitement as she practically bounced off the bed she had spent the last week and a half confined to.

"Really," the healer replied as she stood herself and picked up the girl's medical chart from the small table beside the bed. As she turned to leave the room she continued, "I'll just take this down to the nurse's station while you talk with Hokage-sama, alright?" She gave the girl a small smile and the Sandaime a swift bow and left.

The Hokage followed the woman with his eyes as she removed herself from the room and then turned back to his favorite blonde, bringing out the bowl ramen he had been hiding from the hospital staff as he did so. Receiving her instant attention at the sight and smell of what she had long since deemed the Food of the Gods, he quickly handed it over before she took his hand along with the ramen.

As he watched her begin to devour her favorite food, he reflected on the behavior of the woman who had just left. He was beyond grateful that the Hippocratic Oath existed. Because every medic that worked at the hospital had taken the oath at one point or another none of them could refuse to treat Noriko. As a consequence they were forced to give the girl a chance and, almost without exception, they had found that they couldn't hate her.

In their minds the Kyuubi and Noriko were two entirely different beings. They just couldn't connect the immense blood-lust and hatred they had felt from the Bijuu to the small blonde girl who was always smiling and cheerful. In fact, many of them eventually came to like her and those who were merely neutral treated her with the same honesty and respect they did all of their patients.

Shaking off the introspective thoughts he turned his attention back to the small girl and blinked in shock when he saw the child staring at an empty bowl mournfully. In order to distract her from the depressing realization the Ramen was Gone, he began to speak.

"It turns out I was right; Mito-sama did leave your mother something, and she in turn has left it to you. It's more than far enough away from the main part of the village that you won't have to worry about attacks; and on that note it may be a good idea for you to hide out there for a while. Having you in the public eye so soon after the deaths of so many civilians and the changes on the council would just be asking for trouble."

The old Hokage sighed and shook his head at the last point, and Noriko couldn't help but nod in agreement. The villagers were bad enough already. She didn't want to know what would happen if they had even more of a reason to hate her.

"Back to the original point though; the place is an old, mostly abandoned at this point, Anbu training ground called the 'Forest of Death' and includes the tower in the center."

"The…'Forest of Death'?" the girl couldn't help but ask.

"Yes. I'm sure you'll understand once you actually see the place."

.-.

The first thing she noticed was how tall the trees were. From where she was standing, just outside the chain link fence with barbed wire tops that surrounded the area, they almost seemed to go on forever. The second thing she noticed was how dark it was. The thick canopy of leaves that covered the topmost branches of the trees blocked out the sun and she could tell that the majority of the forest was forever wrapped in darkness.

The sound of the wind blowing through the trees made an eerie whistling sound and when it was accompanied by the occasional scream of a dying animal she could see why humans might find it unnerving enough to call it a 'Forest of Death'.

She turned back the Hokage to see him watching expectantly, waiting to hear what she thought of the place. "I love it!" she exclaimed honestly and the Third shook his head in bemusement. He'd heard Kushina had a similar reaction to the forest the first time she saw it. He might have suspected that the reaction was unique to the Kyuubi containers if it weren't for Mitarashi Anko's obsession with the forest as well. After all, the only other person to have ever lived in it on a permanent basis aside from Noriko was the first Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, Senju Hashirama's wife, Uzumaki Mito.

"Well, let's see go see the tower before you make your decision, my dear." He said. He then knelt down before her and said, "If we're going to make decent time, I'm going to have to carry you," he said. When Noriko gave a reluctant nod of acquiesce, he picked her up and, trailed by his ever present (and persistent) Anbu guards, sped through the gate and jumped up into the tree tops, quickly disappearing into the forest.

.-.

The tower in the center of the forest really didn't look like anything special. It towered, much like a tower should, over the old man and his charge as they landed in the clearing that surrounded it. As the girl inspected the tower as well as she could from her position in the Hokage's arms she looked a little unimpressed with its initial appearance. Then the Hokage began to speak.

"The tower has about six, maybe seven, floors all told. I myself have never been past the third one. In order to even get to that third floor you must have an invitation from an Uzumaki accepted by the seal ward that covers the tower itself."

The girl had returned her attention to the Third and as he spoke was becoming more and more impressed with the things seals could do. Before, after she first learned that the Kyuubi was held inside her, she had resolved to learn something about them herself, if only to know what was going on with her own seal as it was changed by the agreement she had made with the Kyuubi. She was now beginning to see the uses of doing so for her own benefit.

The Hokage himself, oblivious to the small girl's speculative thoughts, but glad that she was interested, continued. "It should be easy enough for you to be accepted by the ward. However; once you are I know you'll be safe here, as you are the last Uzumaki. Sadly, I won't be able to explore the rest of the tower with you today as I have to return to my…paperwork."

The girl, a bit sad that she wouldn't have any company but understanding, nodded as the man put her down and pushed open one of the tower's wide doors. As they made their way to the entrance to the third floor Sarutobi gave Noriko a bit of a tour of the first two stories. He pointed out the arena that was normally only used for the annual Chunin Exams (he had to explain what a Chunin Exam was when he mentioned this) and the surveillance room next to it as they moved out of the entrance hall. He also showed her a couple of the training rooms that took up the rest of the first floor, as well as the other doors that led to them.

The second floor mostly consisted of bedrooms set up for those who were visiting the tower but weren't allowed past the second floor. The only other thing there was a couple of spacious offices for those who had to hold meetings in the tower itself for some reason or another.

As they reached the door at the end of one of the many hallways of the second floor the Hokage turned to Noriko and said, "This is the only way - that I know of, at least - to get to the rest of the tower. Bite your finger enough for a bit of blood to come out and place your hand on the door.

The girl looked doubtfully at the utterly normal looking door but complied, biting a finger on her right hand and gingerly laying the injured appendage against the wooden door. Immediately after she did so seals, glowing a bloody red around the edges, erupted across the door from the point where her small hand had made contact with the wood. They etched themselves across the door but didn't stop there as they swiftly moved to cover the entire hall, and presumably the whole tower and the land around it with their markings. Then they paused and pulsed once before enveloping the girl with the incomprehensible sealing script as well, the words rapidly being written across her skin. The old Hokage watched in awe as they pulsed again and glowed blue for a moment before sinking into the materials that made up the tower.

The Sandaime then returned his attention to the girl as she was finally able to remove her hand from its original position on the door and slipped down to land on her knees, holding her head as if in pain with her other hand as she did so. "Are you all right, Noriko?" he asked with concern as he hovered over her hunched form, unsure of what he should do. While he knew the bare basics of sealing, as did every ninja of above chunin level, he also knew that the ward work on this tower was unsurpassed by anything else in the village except for the seal barrier surrounding it, and perhaps his successor/predecessor's house.

"I'm fine," she replied after a moment, and then continued, "It's just that, when I connected with the barrier, and it accepted me, a lot of information I wasn't really ready for seemed to almost pour into my brain." The old man calmed down a bit at this, beginning to assume that it was similar to the effect of memories returning from a shadow clone.

Then the girl continued to speak and the man's, as well as those of the invisible Anbu, eyes widened in incredulousness. "I now know exactly how to manipulate the ward; I could even stretch it to include the entire Forest of Death if I wanted to. I know exactly how many people are in the tower and how many rooms and floors it has. It's almost like I have a little living map of the place in the back of my head; I couldn't get lost here if I wanted to."

She opened her mouth to continue but then immediately closed it, realizing that she was beginning to babble. The Hokage, after a moment, suppressed his shock and began to consider the advantages and disadvantages of such a thing. He then replied, "Well, that's certainly a surprise, but a good one I think. Perhaps when I leave you could place the whole tower under the barrier, it would make you that much safer at least."

The girl thought for a moment and then agreed. The Hokage then leaned down to give the blonde a hug before saying goodbye and telling her he'll visit when he can. He then disappeared in an eruption of smoke, swiftly followed by the Anbu she had noticed when the wards connected to her.

Noriko then turned back to the door and opened it for the first time. As she had known she would, the only thing that was immediately visible were stairs that went up a few quite a few steps and then disappeared onto a balcony. She went up the stairs and stepped out onto the balcony. The giant room it overlooked took up the entirety of this – the third - floor of the tower.

The walls of the room stretched up about fourteen feet to meet with the ceiling. The balcony itself wasn't so much a balcony as a floor within a floor. It was raised about five feet off the main part of the room and reached about twelve feet into it. It was covered with a blue and green carpet and edged with a wooded rail that was broken only by the six or so small staircases that provided a way to get down to the main part of the massive room. She moved forward to lean against the rail and take in the room.

The walls themselves were bare except for evenly placed lamps, the occasional window, and the mural that covered it. The mural was made up of what seemed like a hypnotic abstract made of ribbons of every color you could ever imagine. However, as Noriko now knew, it wasn't a mural at all, but instead the matrix for the seal barrier that enveloped the entirety of the Forest of Death. Depending on what she wanted the barrier to do, the colors and patterns would almost imperceptibly shift themselves to reflect their purpose. The best part was that anyone who she invited into this room who wasn't a true seal master at the level of her great-great-aunt (who were quite rare as far as she knew) would only see what it appeared to be; an elaborate mural.

The space directly beneath the balcony was taken up by storage space. What was in each large cupboard was listed on discrete pieces of paper pined next to the doors of each. The room itself consisted of what seemed to be a spacious combination of a living room, dining room, and kitchen. One part of it was a living/family room combo that had many couches and arm chairs of varying colors and patterns spread out all over it. The carpet that covered the area was made up of warm colors, like soft red, pale yellow and dark orange, with neutral patterns that merged seamlessly with the colors and patterns of the other areas. It gave off a warm and cozy feeling, despite the size of the room.

Another part of it would have seemed to be a simple dining room area, if it weren't for the positively massive table that took up the majority of the space. It was low, like most traditional tables, but that was where the similarity ended. It was made of what looked like a sleek cherry wood and the visible whorls were shaped in graceful and undefined patterns, giving it a mysterious air. There were at least fifteen cushions surrounding the table, though she couldn't count them all accurately from where she was. The colors of area were cool and reminiscent of the ocean. The carpet and the cushions were done in various shades of blue, green, and the occasional soft gray. It was in a direct, but complimenting, contrast to the theme of the living room area.

The last part of the room was taken up by a massive and rather elaborately set up kitchen. It was clearly equipped to handle cooking for many people at the same time. The long counter lined up precisely where the carpeting of the other parts of the room ended with two openings into each of the areas placed strategically for easiest access. Various small cooking appliances (such as the microwave, toaster, and rice cooker) were set up along the counter, neatly cleaned after whenever their last use was. On the other side of the kitchen area, much like in the living and dining room areas, two staircases reached up to the balcony (for lack of a better thing to call it). However, in between the staircases, instead of storage cupboards there were the larger appliances that were missing from the counter area.

The dishwasher, oven, stove, and two refrigerators took up most of the space there. The only part of that circling wall that wasn't covered by the kitchen appliances was the fore mentioned staircases and what appeared to be a fully stocked pantry, lined with preservative seals to ensure that the food within wouldn't go bad. The kitchen didn't have as distinctive a color pattern as the other parts of the room and was mostly done up in neutral colors. The counters were made up of wood and the cabinets holding kitchen supplies and dishes that they stood on were of a soft golden-brown marble with wooden doors matching the wood of the counter. The floor was made of a dark hardwood that the girl couldn't identify and the appliances were made of a soft gray that contrasted nicely with the warm color of the woods.

She then noticed, and remembered, the two doors on the other side of the room. One, she knew went to the fourth floor. The other led to a bathroom.

Whoever lived here last must have been a generally social person who had people over visiting regularly. She reflected for a moment on the novelty of a family that cared enough about her to leave her such a marvelous place to live before pushing aside her musings for another time. She then turned back to the mural and slowly and carefully, so as to be sure she didn't make a mistake, shifted the tower's barrier so that it encompassed the whole tower, and the forest.

She'd have to remember to put the old man into the 'acceptable people' list for the seal barrier, at least for the forest and the first few floors. She had a feeling that it would be awhile before she would be able to put any more people on it. The only other people she might trust enough to give access to the upper levels of the tower were Teuchi-ji and Ayame-nee and they wouldn't be able to get past the forest to visit her as they were only civilians.

.-.

An hour later, she had finished manipulating the tower's wards to her liking. Aside from extending the 'Uzumaki invited only' ward to include the entire tower she set the pest wards on the tower to include snakes (which she suddenly severely disliked – she wondered if it was an effect of her new bond with the Kyuubi) and canceled any permission that her mother or great-great aunt may have given people to enter the tower. She left the rest of the barrier wards on the tower itself alone.

She had then considered the forest and examined what was in place on it. There weren't many but those there where were kind of impressive. There was one that induced a severe avoidance of the forest to anyone not of Uzumaki blood. Those that were affected could enter but they would really not want to be there. The closer they got to the tower the more uneasy they would get, but once they were safely ensconced in the tower they would be able to relax. Most ninja listened to their instincts, as they had probably saved their lives more than once, so it acted as a fairly effective deterrent.

There were a few more dormant security wards as well; such as those that would let her know when people entered and left the forest and another that would give anyone she didn't want to be there a severe shock. It would start off as an almost unnoticeable static shock but would swiftly get deadly the longer they stayed. She awakened those and, unable to think of anything else to do to them, stepped back from the mural.

The mural seemed almost unchanged but upon a closer look a few of the colors had shifted places or brightened and a new one all-together wound its way through the ribbons of color. Satisfied, the girl moved away from the wall to get something to eat before she completed her exploration of the tower.

She was quite gratified to find some instant ramen in the pantry. As she looked over the crates of the stuff she wondered if her ramen addiction was hereditary. It might explain some things, but she quickly dismissed the thought and, taking some cup ramen with her, returned to the kitchen.

.-.

After she finished her 'dinner' (nine cups of ramen – she was too excited about exploring the rest of the tower to make to her usual dozen plus) she turned to the doors she had previously noticed from the other side of the room and opened the one leading to the next floor, making her way up yet another flight of stairs. As she had already known, the fourth floor consisted of mostly identical guest bedrooms that were spacious and comfortable enough that one could easily live in them full time; including futon or bed, dresser, closet, and bathroom. The stairs that Noriko had climbed led to a short hall that ended in a circular sitting area in the center of the fourth story.

The walls that circled the area were set with doors at regular intervals. She knew that each one lead to a room with a different color scheme, the small patch of color on each of the white doors indicating which was which. The sitting area itself was decorated with an odd red and silver color scheme that somehow worked quite well with the starkly white doors and odd color patches.

In the very center of the circular room a spiral staircase stretched up and through the ceiling. Not seeing any need to stay on the fourth floor any longer she made her way to the staircase and began to climb, swiftly putting the red and silver patterned carpet further and further beneath her feet. She quickly passed through the floor that separated the fourth and fifth stories and emerged onto a circular wooden platform edged with a rail made of the same metal as the wrought iron staircase she had just climbed.

The room on the fifth floor was a library that, much like the third floor, took up the entire space. However, the ceiling reached up much higher than the ones on that floor; in fact this room may have been able to count as two stories in and of itself. The first 'floor' was that of a normal, if large, library. Bookshelves lined the walls and ones much taller than the ones against the walls stood in seemingly random positions all over the rest of the library, stretching up to reach the exceedingly tall ceiling. She was glad for the ladders that were attached to each of the shelves; if they weren't there she wouldn't be able to reach the books on the higher shelves.

They were close to over flowing with different books and scrolls and as she went over to examine a few of them Noriko was excited to learn that a lot of them were on seals. She then noticed that there were several nooks that looked tailor-made for curling up away from the world with a good book in as well as several chairs and couches set up in groups that looked quite absurdly comfy. At the other side of the library a double-sided staircase led up to a door that undoubtedly led to the sixth floor and a balcony (a true balcony, not like the one on the third floor) that wrapped around the room at least twelve or thirteen feet up in the air. On the balcony even more bookshelves, but these ones with barely any books on them, wrapped around the room again.

Putting aside what seemed destined to become one of her favorite rooms for the moment she crossed the room and made her way up the stairs and through the door at the top of them. Behind the door were more stairs that, as she already knew, led to one of the last floors.

The sixth floor contained the more private rooms of the tower. It held the master bedroom, the master bath, private training rooms and a sealing room that her great-great aunt had probably used for her more elaborate and private sealings. Already knowing the basic layout of this floor she quickly made her way to the center of the story and the spiral staircase that led to last floor of the tower. She wanted to see it before she went to sleep.

She slowly made her way up the stairs and emerged on the other side of the ceiling. It turns out that the roof of the tower wasn't the stone it appeared to be from the outside but glass panels with carefully applied illusion seals. The entirety of the seventh and last floor was a beautiful greenhouse garden that had mostly fallen to ruin since the tower last had inhabitants; over two decades ago now from what she knew.

It was still beautiful though, and the moonlight that had begun to shine through the glass made it even more so. She resolved to clean it up at some point soon. Noriko then gave a large yawn and turned to go back down the staircase.

When she opened the door of the master bedroom ten minutes later she was almost dead on her feet. Not having the energy to examine the bedroom as closely as she had the others in the tower she gave a jaw-breaking yawn, removed her outer clothes and clambered onto the large bed, swiftly slipping beneath the covers. As she curled up in bed she didn't immediately fall asleep but closed her eyes, basking in the feeling of finally being somewhere she could truly call home.

Before she fully fell asleep she gave a thought to how the Kyuubi might react to her changed circumstances and so, pondering the fox's reaction, she fell into a deep sleep.

.-.

Noriko woke up what felt like only a few hours later to the voice of what immediately recognized as the Kyuubi. It was a bit unforgettable after all.

"All right, Kittling. It is time to get up."

She felt justified in wanting to sleep more though. She'd had a tiring day after all.

"Wake up, Noriko!"

However, when she began to detect an annoyed tone in the vixen's voice she thought maybe it might be a good idea to get up after all. "I'm up! I'm up!" the young girl exclaimed, propping herself up on her elbows. She was surprised when her arms began to sink into the snow though and, looking up to catch sight of an enormous Sakura tree and the human form of the Kyuubi, who was looking a tad annoyed, staring down at her, she realized she was back in her mindscape.

Once she was sure that her charge was awake and aware the woman sat down in front of her and, drawing herself up into a dramatic pose made an announcement. "Now that we have an appropriate place to train you will begin your training under me to become an appropriate heir. I hope you are prepared, Kit."

Seeing the look of sadistic anticipation on the face of the kitsune as she looked down at her with a smirk Noriko gulped in apprehension and began to sweat a bit. She supposed it was too late to back out of that deal, huh.

"Yes, far, far, too late, Noriko-kit."

.-.

When Noriko actually woke up in the real world the next morning, she was unsure of where she was. It was far too comfortable to be the hospital; she didn't remember the creaky old bed in her apartment being this soft, and...ah well, she wanted to get more sleep anyway. Not even bothering to open her eyes she turned over and quickly dozed off again. She'd probably remember when she woke up next anyway.

'Get your ass out of that bed, Noriko!'

When the yell of her Bijuu roared through her mind the girl bolted straight up in said bed, tangling herself in her sheets. She lost her balance as she tried to untangle herself and fell right out of the bed, hitting the floor with a sharp thud that was muffled by the soft carpet that stretched over the floor and a high pitched yelp.

"What was that for, Kyuubi!" she shouted to thin air. Had anyone seen it they would have probably thought her crazy. Well, anyone who didn't know who and what she was. Then they'd, depending on who they were, either take her to the Hokage or try to kill her.

When the Kyuubi pointed this out to her kit she groaned and sighed, rubbing at the bump on her head that was already going down. 'So why did you wake me up like that Kyuubi-san?' she asked in her mind, a bit more politely this time.

'Why, it's time to begin your physical training,' the fox replied almost cheerfully. 'Surely you haven't forgotten last night already?'

"No, how could I?" the girl almost groaned.

'In your head kittling, in your head.' The kitsune replied teasingly.

Noriko just sighed and pulled on the clothes she had discarded the previous night. It was time train.

Author's Note

Not much changed about this chapter, I think. Hope that's alright and I'm sorry it's so late. I got distracted by college starting up again, and a new story that just wouldn't leave me alone.

But enough about that; please, R&R!

~ Aljan Moonfire