Kyubi's Kit

by Excele X. Kurokami

During the Wave mission, the truth is revealed to Naruto as the seal breaks. Naruko/Ino/Sakura

12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: End of Team 7

Quick note: If there are any errors, I'll fix 'em later. I just want to get this out before people think I died at the keyboard!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

[Orochimaru's lair]

"Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto greeted as he entered the room.

"So Kimimaro went out to fetch Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru stated without looking at the still hurting medic.

Kabuto covered his surprise. "Yes, he did." He felt another matter had to be addressed. "Orochimaru-sama, what about Naruko-kun?"

Orochimaru hissed slightly. "What of her?"

"If she's sent after Sasuke-kun, she might actually take him back to Konoha because she's the Ky-" Kabuto said in a rush, knowing how his master would react.

"She can't be what everyone says she is! All bijū are incarnations of power and violence! That stupid, weak little girl is nothing like those legendary monsters!" Orochimaru shouted, "something went wrong with Naruto and he became a female jinchūriki without a seal to contain the Kyūbi, that is all!"

Kabuto flinched and backed away. Whenever someone mentioned Naruko lately, Orochimaru would react like this. The young man decided to leave the matter until later. He knew the girl wasn't human, he had felt her power through his own body. No human could possess that power and survive. Even a Jinchuriki would be destroyed.

[Valley of the End]

Sasuke smirked at his soon to be ex-teammate's expression. "Figures Konoha would send its pet Kyūbi to get me. I guess that proves that I'm more powerful than an average ninja."

Naruko broke out of her shock. "Ho-How did you find out?"

"Kukuku. Does it really matter? Maybe I should just kill you and do Konoha one last favor before I go," Sasuke said with an Orochimaru-like grin and chuckle, "maybe that's why you were sent here: to be killed by me, the last of the great Uchiha."

"They didn't send me, I came on my own," Naruko said, "they didn't even want me coming here."

Sasuke smirked. "Oh, so you disobeyed your masters. Tsk, tsk. Bad kitsune-chan."

Naruko growled. "I don't-"

"Shut up! Know your place and bow your head before me: one of the humans who owns you," Sasuke coldly ordered.

"I told Sakura-chan that I'd bring you back, but I didn't say anything about you being uninjured," Naruko said as she glared at her teammate, tears in the corners of her eyes, "I'll take you back over my shoulder!"

"Haha! Look at this! Crybaby Naruko-chan is back," Sasuke teased.

Naruko couldn't take it anymore and jumped across the gap, making it to Sasuke with a couple powerful jumps. Sasuke smirked and went to duck her blow, but Naruko pounced him and forced him onto the ground. "I'm not a crybaby! I'm Uzumaki Naruko, Sanban Kyūbi and future Hokage of Konohagakure! I came out here to take you back and that's what I'll do!" the girl shouted in the boy's face.

Sasuke spat at Naruko's face. "Even being this close to such a foolish pet disgusts me. Get off me, now!" When Naruko didn't listen, he grabbed her neck and forced his way up and onto his feet, holding the girl the whole while, forcing her to remain on her knees. "When I tell you to do something, YOU DO IT!" Sasuke shouted as he backhanded Naruko off the statue and into the river. He was elated at the power he had, but then the seal Kakashi had placed on his neck painfully forced the curse seal to recede. "I have to get rid of that stupid thing," Sasuke muttered.

Naruko clawed her way to the surface of the water with a pained doggy paddle. "Woof woof," the girl groaned as she crouched down on the water, "or is it 'kon kon' now? Yeah, that's the sound foxes make." She then glared up to where her teammate was.

Sasuke didn't like her eyes, so he jumped down and onto the water. "Looks like I need to beat you a bit more so you know to listen to humans without question." When he was close enough, he charged forward and drove a punch into her stomach, then kneed her in the face as she doubled over in pain, making her fall backward. He then dropped his foot onto the girl's chest, forcing her head under the water. "Submit or drown," Sasuke said as he increased the pressure.

Naruko struggled against the boy, but she felt weak from the seal on her neck. She managed to, with considerable effort, grab Sasuke's ankle and force him away long enough for her to bring her head out of the water and jump to the wall, hoping to get away from the river.

Sasuke wouldn't let her get away. He jumped after her, grabbed her by her hair and threw her across to the other side. He shot off the wall he was on and pinned Naruko to the wall, forcing his elbow into her throat to cut off her ability to breathe. "Stop struggling," he ordered, then smirked as a memory appeared in his mind. "I just though of something good: become my weapon and you can get the recognition you want. They will cry and beg for mercy from you, the Last Uchiha's Kyūbi. You will have the title of Hokage and even Sakura. I have no need for her, so you can have her," Sasuke offered as he let up slightly.

Naruko opened her hand and drove her sharp nails into Sasuke's side, right below the ribs. She drew blood, but they were just flesh wounds. It did the trick when Sasuke gave her enough freedom to pull the same hand back and drive a short punch to the same place. "N-No! I'll show them...that I'm not...a violent monster, "Naruko managed, then coughed as her windpipe fixed itself, "I'll protect them from anything and everything. They'll accept me for the good I can do, not the evil the name Kyūbi brings to mind!"

Sasuke kicked her, driving her into the wall again. "Face the bitter truth of this world! To Konoha, you and me are mere tools! I'm the Last Uchiha, their hope for the Uchiha's return! You are nothing more than the beast that tried to destroy them twice, a thing that is to be used until it becomes a threat! Just watch, when you grow to be too powerful, they'll seal you away just like all those before you!"

Naruko pried herself off the wall. "They won't do that to me."

Sasuke sighed. "I can't believe that you can't see the truth. Look at you, the mighty Kyūbi, getting slapped around by a genin! They made you weak, a mockery of your title! Even the one you love betrayed you without a thought. What were you thinking, telling her about your true nature?"

Naruko looked away from her teammate. "I didn't want to tell her or Ino, not yet anyway. I didn't even want to tell Ino..."

Sasuke blinked. "Ino? She knows? Well, it will only be a matter of time before all of Konoha knows what you are. Just think, even those who accepted you will turn their backs on you." He then held his hand out to the girl. "Come with me Naruko, help me destroy my brother. There is nothing left for you in Konoha. Actually, there never was anything for you there."

Naruko thought about everyone in Konoha, all her precious people. An image of Ino and Sakura appeared in her mind and she felt a darkness swallowing everything up, taking it all away from her. Then, for the oddest reason, all her worry was gone. "No, I won't abandon Konoha," Naruko firmly stated.

"Why not? Do you enjoy being used or something?" Sasuke asked.

Naruko got onto her feet and stared Sasuke down. "I don't think they'll betray or use me. Sakura-cha... Sakura was desperate to stop you and I don't know why, but I think Ino won't say anything. She's known about me being the Kyūbi since just after the preliminary rounds of the Chūnin Exams and she hasn't said a thing yet."

"Forget it, I'll let you go back and get betrayed, that way your fury will be greater," Sasuke said as he turned away and started climbing up the cliff.

"I'm not letting you go!" Naruko shouted as she jumped after him. She caught his shirt and tossed him into the water. Sasuke pulled himself up and rushed at the girl, delivering a series of blows to her head. Maybe, with enough shots to her head, the idiot would start to think straight.

Naruko managed to grab either side of Sasuke's head and slammed her forehead into his. "One advantage to being a bit taller," Naruko groaned as she wavered on her feet slightly. She shook her head and looked in time to dodge Sasuke's punch. She hooked his arm with hers and punched him in the ribs a few times.

Sasuke didn't like being at Naruko's mercy so he yanked her hair to break her lock on him, then he kicked her away. It was time to show her why an Uchiha was superior. Sasuke closed his eyes and opened them to see the world through his sharingan. With them active, he dodged two of Naruko's overpowered punches and put some distance between himself and her. "This is the limit Konoha put on you," Sasuke declared as he went through the seals, "Chidori!"

Naruko watched in horror as, for the second time in her life, that deadly blade came at her. It was aimed at her chest and she attempted to move aside, but Sasuke followed her movements. She couldn't dodge it.

Sasuke's chidori tore forward as the smell of burnt iron filled the air.

[Konoha, same time]

Sakura was sitting on the very same bench Sasuke had left her last night, sobbing. She felt like the lowest form of life on the planet. She had told Sasuke about Naruko's secret, betraying the rare total and complete trust the girl had placed in her. How could she face Naruko later? Forget that, how could she call herself anything other than a selfish bitch? Sakura had, for the longest time, ignored Naruko's crush and then she went and blabbed the girl's secret like Ino would.

Wait. Ino knew Naruko's secret too, but it wasn't all over the village already? Great, the one person who seemed to live to spread secrets around was better at keeping them than someone who was normally the last to know anything that couldn't be found in a text book.

Sakura's depression worsened as Ino herself rounded the corner, though Sakura was confused why the new Hokage and her assistant were with the blonde.

Ino noticed her friend/rival. "Hey Forehead! Where's Naruko?"

Sakura would normally start yelling at the girl, but she didn't feel like it at the moment. In fact, she didn't want to say anything at all right now except 'I'm sorry' to a certain girl.

Tsunade sighed. "She went after Sasuke in spite of me forbidding it."

"Really?" Ino asked, quite surprised. Naruko was the type who took Hokage stuff to heart, not the type who cast away orders and do what she wanted. Then again, Naruko was the #1 most unpredictable ninja in Konoha.

"Pig, what are you doing with Hokage-sama?" Sakura asked, wanting to divert the conversation away from her team.

Ino smiled, a terribly bright thing for Sakura's currently dark mood. "I asked Tsunade-sama if she'll take me on as an apprentice. I heard genjutsu types can become great medics, and I happen to be good at genjutsu, as well as everything else!" the blonde announced as she made sure to lean in such a way that Sakura could see that she had gone up a cup size since the academy. It was always fun to tease Sakura and anger snapped the pink haired girl out of whatever funk she managed to get herself into before, so it should work this time too.

Sakura wanted to snap at the girl, but she remembered Naruko's bad habit of getting injured, quite badly sometimes. Maybe, maybe if Sakura became a medic, she could heal some of Naruko's wounds as a form of apology! She knew that words would never be enough, but actions might. Even if Naruko's wounds healed on their own, Sakura could help them close faster if she were a medic. That and maybe she could remove poisons from the kitsune so they didn't bug her or slow her down. Why didn't Sakura think of this before?

Sakura practically threw herself onto the ground before Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama! Please make me your apprentice too!"

Tsunade wondered which would be harder; being Hokage or training two girls just entering puberty. Either way, she had sake to help ease her soon to be frazzled nerves. "Alright, but it's tough and I won't let you off too easily," the woman warned.

"I understand," Sakura said, determination in her voice. She'd be useful from now on, she wouldn't hold anyone back anymore. Even if she couldn't fight too well or wasn't all that strong, she could heal Naruko, Kakashi and Sasuke when they got hurt.

The pink haired girl looked towards the gate. 'Naruko, Sasuke-kun, please be alright,' she silently begged.

[Valley of the End]

Sasuke smirked in spite of probably destroying someone who could have been a powerful ally. He pulled his hand back, looking at the shallow hole he had torn into her chest. The bone was visible and it was slightly damaged from his chidori. If that wound didn't kill her, she would die from shock.

"If only you had joined me, not struggled for those bastards so hard, you would be able to live and be on your way to true power," Sasuke sadly muttered as he walked away from the girl.

Naruko fell to her knees, her heart beating erratically. The curse seal was also pulsing on her neck, letting her know that it was there. She felt extremely cold and numb. She knew that she could heal from this injury, but she didn't have the strength to get up again. She needed to bring him back for Sakura!

"M-more..."

Sasuke stopped and turned to look at the mortally wounded girl. "You couldn't possibly survive another hit, so you must want more power. Come with me, all the power in the world is waiting for you."

Naruko didn't know why, but she felt incredible power around her, power she could use to heal and capture Sasuke. She reached out to it, pulling on it. "I need more...power!"

Sasuke watched in awe as wisps of red light flowed from the valley and into Naruko. These wisps thickened more and more until she had numerous thick, surging rivers of pure evil power flowing into her body, not just her heart.

"It can't be... This valley was formed by Senju Hashirama's Mokuton and the Kyūbi! Could she be absorbing that power!?" Sasuke shouted in alarm. Could the chakra have lasted this long?

Naruko lifted herself to her feet, the foul power being swallowed into her body as the wound healed. Even though she had enough, the power kept coming, filling her completely. Now that she was fine, she needed to use the power to bring Sasuke back home.

Sasuke shielded his eyes as Naruko seemed to explode in a burst of black and red light. He heard the ground torn asunder and the water thrown against the cliff walls as he felt completely vile power wash over him, tainting him far more than Orochimaru's curse seal ever could. In that moment, the seal Kakashi had placed on his neck was obliterated by the release of evil energy radiating from Naruko, his curse seal of Heaven twisting into a new shape.

The light died down and Sasuke looked to where the girl was, expecting to see a charred skeleton or a mangled corpse.

Naruko was crouching on the ground, much like an Inuzuka. Dark red power was literally burning off of her, resembling gasoline fed flames. Her eyes caught his interest first, those lavender eyes that burned with incredible power. They actually were lit from within and gave her an almost sinister quality. She drug her razor sharp nails into the ground, digging small trenches with them as a bit of the ground ruptured from the force of her chakra. Her feet were bare, the sandals being destroyed or lost at some point. Since Sasuke hadn't been paying attention to her feet, he figured she had lost them somewhere during their fight. Her clothes also looked like she dove through a few explosions.

This was the moment Sasuke noticed the wreckage around her. Naruko's explosion had forced the ground to shatter and the intense heat or power of the blast had fused it in mid air, making it looked like curved spires had been summoned around the girl.

Naruko ground her nails into the dirt again and jumped up, appearing above Sasuke in a blaze of red. The boy quickly went through the seals and fired his trademark katon at her, but she spat her own powerful stream of fire into it, blasting it out of existence as well as throwing him across the ground with the pressure of it impacting the ground before him, tossing him like he was a simple rag doll. He got up in time to block her strike, but winced when red energy burst off of her claws and he was tossed back again.

"You...how did you get this strong!?" Sasuke shouted as he rolled onto his feet.

Naruko grunted as she trembled. A brief burst of red energy shot down her spine and her dress tore open at the back, the light twisting and seemingly forming into a red tail for the girl at the base of her spine. It was a mildly impressive, being able to reach a little passed Naruko's knees if she were standing and letting it hang down. When the light died down, he saw that it was a real tail and not a chakra construct.

"So you're powers awoke by fighting me," Sasuke deduced. He took his forehead protector out of his pocket.

Naruko flinched slightly and jumped back. She didn't know what he was planning.

Sasuke put his forehead protector on, fastening it tightly onto his head. "I'll give you what you always wanted: recognition. You are powerful, so I will treat you like we're equal," Sasuke said as both his sharingan fully matured, "come Naruko, see if you can defeat me now."

Naruko vaulted forward, using her arms and legs to give her speed and power. Sasuke strangled the urge to flinch and used his sharingan's ability to predict Naruko's movement and dodge her attack, barely. Her clawed finger nails scratched his cheek, drawing blood. She landed, turned back on her own slide and tried again. Sasuke was a bit faster this time and she missed completely. She went for another attack.

Sasuke was enjoying his newly augmented power. The speed he had with the curse seal was now his own and it cost him far less chakra. While it wasn't perfect against Naruko, it gave him just enough of an edge to dodge her devastating power. He saw an opening and put his fist in Naruko's way.

Naruko met his fist, taking it directly to her cheek. It wasn't until a moment later that Sasuke saw the error in his judgment, in the form of Naruko grabbing the very arm he had struck her with, then threw him away. He managed to land in seiza after a rough roll, but the pain from the girl's power made it hurt too much to move anymore. 'Just one strike and a throw...she beat me far more than anyone else. This is the power of the Bijū...'

Naruko roared as she rushed forward, her fist held back. The area where punch impacted detonated, her augmented power tearing into the cliff wall and creating a miniature landslide as the cliff was destabilized, dust and red chakra mist spreading from the scene of destruction.

Their battle was reforming the valley a piece at a time, though the land only knew of the power Naruko was wielding. This time, it was an Uchiha that was being attacked by the Kyūbi no Yōko, who was defending Konoha through her actions, though she didn't know it. Their powers, while great, were nothing compared to the powers that had formed the valley they were changing.

Naruko had kicked off the crumbling wall to escape the landslide and wondered what had happened. Sasuke wasn't there when she struck.

"Back here," a strange, but familiar voice beckoned from behind the empress.

She turned to see Sasuke, but he was extremely different from before. His pale skin had become ashen and his black hair almost reached his waist at the back, almost covering his eyes in front. He had red cabalistic markings on his neck, biceps and a new set starting from the tips of his fingers to about halfway up his forearm. From his back came a pair of jet black wings with four short clawed finger-like bones at the elbow joint that made him look like an incarnation of evil. His eyes were normal aside from his sharingan being active. For all Naruko knew, his eyes weren't black anymore. Was this how all curse seals were or was Sasuke's special?

"What happened to you?" Naruko asked, then started at her own voice. It seemed normal, but there was a tone in it she didn't recognize. It almost sounded...different. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it wasn't like her voice from before.

"Your power changed the curse seal and made me stronger. I thank you for that," Sasuke said with a slight bow, then smirked, "of course, I don't know the limit of my new power. Allow me to use your body to test how powerful I am."

"Sasuke, let's just stop and go home. Sakura wants you back," Naruko tried.

Sasuke growled as his wings twitched angrily. "Stop using Sakura as an excuse. You and I both know why you came here."

"I came to bring you back!" Naruko shouted.

"Keep telling yourself that and you might believe it one day, but it isn't why you came here. You came here for one reason only: to fight and defeat me!" Sasuke declared as he pointed at the girl.

Naruko shook her head. "No! I don't want to fight you, not like this!"

Sasuke shot forward. "Then I'll finish it on my own!" When Sasuke swung down on Naruko's head, she swung her claws up at his. Lighting and red chakra burst from where the claws met. Sasuke was slightly overjoyed. He could now fight the kitsune at close range without fear of her powers ruining him with each strike, though it still hurt a little bit. It seemed that he was able to coat his hands in lightning now, giving him far more power to his strikes than ever before. This new power still paled in comparison to the chidori, but it took so little chakra.

They backed off from one another and tensed for the next clash. Naruko was on two feet now, though her stance was a cross between barbaric and animalistic. Sasuke stood tall and proud, as if he didn't need a combat stance to fight the girl before him.

The two rushed forward and their attacks met, lightning briefly bursting and red smog slowly spreading in the valley. Naruko's other hand shot forward, only for Sasuke to backhand it away with his free hand. Naruko stepped back slightly and thrust her right hand forward, which Sasuke knocked away again. In spite of the sight blurring power his opponent's strikes left behind, Sasuke drove his hand forward, aiming for Naruko's head. He scored a clean hit, but Naruko's chakra absorbed most of the impact and lightning. As if to punish her teammate, Naruko's foot shot forward, hitting him in the stomach and knocking him back a good distance.

"You...I'm an Uchiha, a genius and prodigy! I have been chosen by the greatest of the Sannin! The one who destroyed the Uchiha clan too! I won't lose to someone like you!" Sasuke roared as he tore forward again. This time, it was almost nothing but careless strikes. The speed and ferocity the two displayed through the fog of wild power would dizzy most fresh jōnin. Naruko's eyes changed during the fight, the irides developing a thin, strangely patterned band of hardened red, almost making it look like she had developed a form of the Sharingan.

Naruko suddenly reached out and caught hold of Sasuke's shirt, drawing him in to slam her forehead into his again. Sasuke blocked it by driving his knee into her stomach. The heir launched a sucker punch into Naruko's temple. The kitsune didn't like it and delivered a slobber knocker to Sasuke's cheek, making him reel as he stumbled away from the blow.

Sasuke managed to gather his bearings again and steadied his stance. He was panting slightly and feeling the pain. He knew that he didn't have much left to him and Naruko could probably keep going for a while. If he wanted to win, he'd have to use everything he had left in him to do it. "Did you know that I considered you my best friend before I learned what you really are?" Sasuke asked out of nowhere. Anything to knock her off balance.

"Really?" Maybe Naruko could rekindle that bond and bring him back.

Sasuke scoffed. "Don't get all happy. An Uchiha's 'best friend' exists solely for the purpose of dying at their hands."

Naruko stepped back slightly, feeling both fear and disgust. "What?"

"We choose to have a 'best friend' so we can kill them later and gain the ultimate sharingan; the Mangekyō Sharingan. My brother has those eyes and I need them to kill him," Sasuke explained, "then again, you aren't my best friend. I can't be friends with a beast. Even if I want you to be my ally, that is all we'll ever be. Killing you wouldn't give me what I need."

Naruko felt used, or almost used. The whole time that she thought her and Sasuke were becoming friends, but it was all just so he could gain more power. First Mizuki used her for the scroll, then she was almost used by Sasuke so he could get more power. Now that she thought of it, whoever was in charge of arranging classes back at the academy had been using her for years so Sasuke would keep himself in top form. And now Sasuke wanted to use her as... as a living weapon of mass destruction.

She was through with being someone's plaything, it ended today!

"RASENGAN!" Naruko roared as the evil chakra exploded off her and tore into the valley with reckless abandon, almost resembling claws dragging along the ground and slamming into the wall. The chakra orb of crimson power formed without the assistance of a clone or her other hand. In spite of being perfectly stable, the spiraling ball of chakra radiated Naruko's overwhelmingly evil chakra and intense flashes of light. She didn't notice it right away, but the chakra coming off her body had strengthened too, becoming a blaze. The air was humming and vibrating with her power. She even sunk a few inches into the ground from the weight of her own rasengan.

Sasuke went through the seals and used up all his remaining chakra to form his own deadly jutsu. "Chidori!" he shouted as the extremely powerful blade of black and white lightning formed. The charge was so intense that his hair stood on end and the ground was scarred from the licks of lightning.

The two genin charged at each other, forcing their strongest jutsu at the other. The two met, an incredible blast of power tearing the area to shreds from where the terrible jutsu clashed, creating what would later be a small lake within the Valley of the End as the power flared wildly.

The two jutsu struggled against each other, then Naruko's rasengan blasted forward, destroying Sasuke's chidori and shattering every bone in his right arm. He bit his lip to stop from screaming as the curse seal receded and the pain quadrupled. It was at this moment that he saw Naruko was still at 'full' power, her free hand held back for a strike. Even though he could see that it was going to hit him with his sharingan, there was nothing he could do about it with his battered body.

Naruko drove a palm strike into Sasuke's sternum, sending the boy flying across the valley and into the wall with enough force to crack it and knock him out before he fell to the ground. The girl panted as the chakra was drawn back into her, sealing itself inside her body until she needed it again. Pain shot through her chest for a moment, then it passed. She looked to Sasuke and saw something shining between them. She walked over and picked it up. It was Sasuke's forehead protector, a deep gash in it from where her claws had raked against it. It almost looked like the ones those weird guys who wanted her wore...

Naruko quickly went over to Sasuke and found him to be badly injured, but alive. "I told you that I always keep my promises," Naruko said as she picked the boy up and started making her way back to Konoha with him on her shoulder. She walked a good fifteen minutes before the world suddenly started to waver and she fell to her knees. "Damn...too...tired..."

Thud.

A few minutes after she had fallen to the ground, a large, robed figure walked up and pulled Sasuke off Naruko. "Another Uchiha. This world, and her, would be better of without you...but she fought so hard for your 'redemption.' I'll spare your life for now, Uchiha, but I will destroy you if you cross her again," the figure said as they flipped Sasuke onto their shoulder. "Orochimaru's lair... I can feel the evil in the air. I'll dump him near the entrance. Not like the snake can help the kid fully master his sharingan."

The robed person made their way towards the very base Orochimaru resided.

Ten minutes later, Kakashi and Pakkun found Naruko on the ground. He quickly checked her pulse, finding that she was still alive and had just passed out from exhaustion. Seeing as how her clothes were almost completely ruined and she was soaked, Kakashi pulled out one of his blankets and carefully wrapped the girl in it before picking her up. He hadn't been careless enough to not notice her tail, which he avoided.

Kakashi sighed. "You, Sensei, Kushina-san and Tsurenai all enjoy worrying me, don't you? I swear that my hair isn't naturally silver..."

Naruko snuggled deeper into the blanket with a slight smile.

[A week later]

Naruko felt heat and light suddenly hit her face and she rolled away from it. "Baa-chan~ I don't wanna wake up!" she whined.

The woman in question, who happened to be in the room, resisted the urge to send Naruko to the basement courtesy of the knuckle express. "I treat your battered body and you still have the gall to call me that? WAKE UP YOU LAZY BRAT!" she shouted, grabbed the mattress and flung the girl onto the floor.

Naruko released a sickeningly cute 'kon' yelp as she hit the ground. She shot off the ground and onto her feet, clearly angry. "Hey! What was that for, you old hag?"

Now that the girl was on her feet, Tsunade's hand flashed forward and settled itself on Naruko's forehead, a finger flick ready. "What did you say?" Tsunade asked in a calm, even and still threatening tone.

"Tsunade-sama, why did you wake me up like that?" Naruko asked in a cute tone as she sweat buckets.

Tsunade nodded to herself, satisfied with the forced respect. "You've been asleep for a week now. Its time for you to wake up and let us use the room for something far more useful, like treating a patient."

Naruko had a hurt look on her face. "But you said I was battered and you had to heal me. How am I not a patient?"

"I healed you after that little spat you had with Kabuto. Kakashi brought you in with an almost fully healed wound on your chest, some small cuts as well as some chakra burns to your torso and arms, but they were gone before I got you in a room, not even discolored spots. There is some good news though," Tsunade said with a slight smile.

Naruko remembered about her fight. "Is Sasuke okay? I hope I didn't fall on him..."

"...You were alone when Kakashi found you," Tsunade stated.

"What? But I knocked Sasuke out and was carrying him home when I passed out!" Naruko shouted.

Tsunade placed a hand on the kitsune's shoulder. "I'm sorry Naruko, but it looks like one of Orochimaru's lackeys took him away before Kakashi arrived."

Naruko growled as she ground the heel of her foot into the ground, actually cracking the floor tiles a bit. "Dammit! I was so close!"

"Naruko, the good news is that you can use jutsu freely again," Tsunade said, hoping to limit the damage the hospital took.

Naruko looked up at the woman, a completely dumbfounded expression on her face. "I couldn't use jutsu? When?"

Tsunade slapped the girl upside the head. "Remember Orochimaru's little pedo hickey? It messed up your jutsu when you ran into him again."

"Oh! I remember now!" Naruko shouted as she lightly rubbed where she had been hit, "does that mean I can use all my jutsu again?"

Tsunade sweat dropped, wondering how she ever relied on this air headed idiot. "Didn't I say that?" she rhetorically asked.

"Yeah! ...Oh! I guess I should get going, huh? Since I can use my jutsu again, I'm going to go train so I can bring Sasuke back properly next time! Thank Kakashi-sensei for locking up that stupid seal!" the girl cheered, then looked around. "Where are my clothes?"

Tsunade handed over some clothing. "These are clothes you can wear for now, and you should wear something similar to these for a while."

Naruko looked down at the clothes and lifted one piece up, making something fall to the ground. Naruko picked it up and found it to be... "WHAT!? This is just like Dango Lady's clothing!"

"They're her old clothes," Tsunade said after sighing, "look, yo-"

"I am not walking around Konoha looking like a crazy kunoichi!" Naruko shouted with all the pride she could muster.

Tsunade sweat dropped. "But you ARE a crazy kunoichi..."

Naruko blushed, realizing that she had committed social suicide just then. "I-I-I don't care. I'm going to wear nor- KYUUU!" A blush practically exploded on her face.

Tsunade jumped slightly at the sudden noise Naruko made. "What's the matter? Is Jiraiya outside the window?" Tsunade clenched her fist, causing the knuckles to crack slightly. Nearly dying once wasn't enough, eh? Even if she felt bad about that time, he still deserved it!

"Something just brushed my leg," Naruko said as she turned to find out what it was, only to find nothing as she felt it again. She tried the other way with the same result, then went as fast as she could in the other direction in an attempt to find the one who touched her leg.

Tsunade, once again, sweat dropped. 'Kitsune my Hokage hat, she looks more like a dog right now.' Tsunade thought as she reached out and stopped the girl from chasing her own tail. "Congratulations, Uzumaki Naruko, Sanban Kyūbi. You've grown a tail and can finally call yourself a proper Bijū."

Naruko reached back and found the tail, moving it so she could see it. "Cute..." she muttered, then paled, "this girlification thing sucks..."

"Anyway, Anko lent you her clothes because the coat will cover your tail. That and you don't need a bra with these clothes, as she says," Tsunade said.

Naruko remembered the times she had been crushed into Anko's breasts and realized that only mesh and thin cloth had separated her from Anko's 'Valley of (Naruko's) End.'

"Naruko, stop undressing Anko in your mind. I'm pretty sure she'd ruin you for anyone else," Tsunade stated.

"WHAT? I-I wasn't undressing anyone in m-my mind!" Naruko shouted.

Tsunade reached out and touched Naruko's face, then held up her finger, showing the girl blood. "Tell that to your blush and bleeding nose."

Naruko furiously wiped the blood away and tried to make her blush fade away. "I can't wear any of this with a tail..." she grumbled.

"Anko cut holes in the right area. I'd help you, but I'm not a lesbian and I'm definitely not interested in having that kind of relationship with you," Tsunade said as she showed the hole in the back.

Naruto didn't know whether to be disturbed by Anko making tail holes in her clothes or- "Wait, what was that about?"

Tsunade remembered that. "Tsurenai told me that touching a kitsune's tail is a request to become their lifetime mate. That's why you need to hide it, don't need you marrying every curious kid in Konoha."

Naruko quickly gathered up the clothes and went into the bathroom. She pulled them on, knowing that they sure as hell weren't Anko's old clothes, having a slight bit of trouble with her tail. Luckily, it was mostly bushy fur, but it still got caught a few times. The clothes fit perfectly, an embarrassingly perfect fit. Everything was being hugged and leaving very little to the imagination, the skirt being the only decent thing she wore now. She put on the coat, seeing that it did hide her tail from behind. She put Kakashi's memento necklace on again, feeling that odd sense of calm and warmth spread through her body again when it touched her. She'd need to ask Kakashi-sensei if there as a seal or something on it later. She didn't need to worry about Tsunade's necklace, since it seemed that it was the only piece of her old outfit that was left and it hadn't left her neck once since it was put on her. Now that she thought about it, she'd have to ask about her forehead protector later. Naruko vaguely remembered it falling off during the fight, the band having rotted away due to her chakra.

Tsunade forced a smile when Naruko came out of the bathroom wearing Anko's 'old' outfit. 'Damn! I really need to outlaw Anko's fashion, or at least make her wear a shirt on top. If Jiraiya had his way, that would be the new chūnin uniform for every kunoichi in the world!' She kept smiling. "Looks good on you," Tsunade praised. It was true and most men would agree.

"Well, I need to go train for a while. Tell Ero-Sennin where I am later!" And she opened a window and dropped. She stuck the landing perfectly, using her chakra to disperse the impact, cracking much of the ground around her. "Wow, that never happened before. Guess my chakra is stronger or something now. Or my control is bad again..." She let the tears flow at the thought of being unable to control her chakra properly. "Alright, water walking and tree climbing first!" Naruko took off at high speed to the third training ground.

Kakashi popped through the door to his student's room. "Yo Naru... Where's Naruko?" Kakashi asked.

"Kakashi...you're late," Tsunade deadpanned.

Kakashi stared at her for a few moments. "Are you Naruko in henge?" he asked as he nervously pointed at her.

Tsunade's anger rose a notch as she glared at the man, letting Kakashi know she was the real deal. "My apologies Hokage-sama, it's just that Naruko always says the same thing with the exact same lack of emotion."

"Everyone says it the same way you porn addict!" Tsunade snapped, then took a deep breath to calm down, "you just missed her. I didn't even get to properly tell her about the curse seal."

"It's gone, how could you not tell her that?" Kakashi asked. After remembering who they were talking about, he sighed. "Yeah, I can guess how you couldn't tell her."

"She disobeyed me and left to get Sasuke," Tsunade grumbled. She knew stuff like this would happen at first, her being the first female Hokage and all, but to get it from a genin who she trusted enough to give that necklace to, someone who she broke down to and trusted with her very life, that was something she didn't expect. Then again, it is Naruko she was talking about. And the council had been yammering on like a bunch of babies when it happened, complaining about their demon going off on its own. If she could get away with it, Tsunade would falsify some tests and make it seem like those old fogeys were touched in the head, making them unfit for council duties. What was the purpose of the council? It was like the Hokage was a mere figurehead since the council could out vote the supposed village leader.

"It turned out for the best, right?" Kakashi asked. Honestly, the psych report on Sasuke had him wondering why this didn't happen earlier. He wasn't a big fan of the Uchiha, Obito being the only decent Uchiha he personally met. Their Police Force's extremely fast arrests as well as the amount of people they took in had him wonder if they were protecting people, their own clan to be specific. So many friends of Uchiha died during the war and so many people were taken in that it was insane. What really bothered Kakashi was that many of them were people who were considered friends of Kushina and Minato, people who might have supported Naruko if they weren't banished for their 'crimes.'

Tsunade nodded. The ones who spoke out the most against her plans to start a medical ninja program the most were the Uchiha as well as Homura and Koharu, known Uchiha supporters. Well, the Hyuga had their say too, but that was only once. When news of the Uchiha clan's slaughter reached her, she actually spent all her money on getting plastered rather than gambling. The week long hangover was worth it. Now that she thought about it, she should go talk to the oldies, see if they loved their precious 'Sasuke-kun' now that he was a willing traitor. Knowing them, they'd find a way to pin the blame on Naruko, saying something ridiculous like she mind controlled him.

Kakashi saw the smile on Tsunade's and it disturbed him. Kind of reminded him of the time when Anko realized she could dip her dango in sake or her coffee. Those were scary times. "What's with the grin?" he asked.

"Oh nothing, just thinking of telling the council about Sasuke being a traitor, though they'll cry and moan about it, claiming that he wasn't thinking straight or Naruko did something to him. I bet a thousand ryo one of them will say that he'll come back on his own quickly enough," Tsunade said, her grin becoming more and more unsettling.

Kakashi sweat dropped. "I'm not taking that bet," he said as he pulled out his book and made a hasty retreat. Tsunade was always right about the council, which apparently cost Jiraiya approximately three hundred thousand ryo over the years. Kakashi did not want to follow that closely in the man's footsteps.

[Training Ground 3]

"Hah!" Naruko shouted as she back flipped off the tree, sticking the landing perfectly on the water. "What gives?" Naruko wondered as she looked at the water being pushed away from her feet. The tree was also more banged up than it should be. "My control is fine, so does that mean my chakra reserves increased?" If that was the case, she might need to learn how to release even smaller amounts of chakra she used for climbing up surfaces. The water bit was fine, since it would all just even itself out again.

"Hey there!"

Naruko turned to see a woman who was obviously an Inuzuka, since she was accompanied by three dogs and had the same fang markings as Kiba, but she looked more like a human than Kiba did. Her hair was smooth, her eyes weren't slitted and her nails were trimmed down. Naruko's eyes traveled over the woman's body, stopping quite suddenly at her cleavage. It took a little will power to tear her eyes away from the exposed flesh and back up to her face.

"Who're you?" Naruko asked as she wondered if she was becoming a pervert. Ever since she woke up, she felt way too warm and she had trouble not staring at women while her mind did a bloody nose dive.

"Inuzuka Hana, Kiba's onee-san," the woman said, not growling or anything. She seemed to be cut from a different cloth than Kiba, who was more like a dog than Akamaru at times.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruko," the kitsune greeted as she held out her hand.

Hana smiled as she shook the girl's hand. "Sooo, you're the one who beat my little brother up?"

Naruko started to sweat a bit. "Y-yes..."

"And you also beat on poor Akamaru?" Hana asked.

Naruko started to sweat harder, wondering why Hana hadn't let go of her hand yet. "Yes...?"

Hana's smile seemed sinister now. "You broke Kiba's nose..."

"I'm sorry!" Naruko shouted, bowing on the ground while her hand was still being held.

Hana laughed. "Don't worry about it, he needed to be knocked down a few pegs anyway."

Naruko popped her head up. "Eh?"

"Kiba's been a little too full of himself lately, being the most aggressive fighter on his team and all, so I was trying to think of a way to put him back in place. Me and mom were honestly thinking of reminding him at what age he stopped wetting the bed, or maybe ask him how old he was when he stopped asking if he could bathe with me," Hana explained.

Naruko stifled a laugh. "H-He wet the bed? And bathing with his s-sister? Til when?" Naruko asked, finding it very hard to talk and stop the laughter at the same time. The dam was cracking!

"Yeah, though I never thought of having a female kitsune beat him up like a naughty puppy," Hana said in a sing song tone.

"Yeah! I'm that kit..su...ne?" Naruko had started off loud and proud, but steadily got quiet as the weight of Hana's words set in. "EH! Y-You know? How?"

Han beamed again. "My name might be Hana, but it means 'nose' rather than 'flower.' I knew you weren't human the first time I saw you after you became a girl. Well, smelled your scent actually."

Naruko slumped her shoulders. "The number keeps growing..."

Hana sighed. "Look, I knew Tsurenai-san and I know you're her daughter, Uzumaki Naruko Kyūbi. Don't worry, Tsurenai-san taught me a lot about caring for animals, so I know you aren't evil or anything."

Naruko cheered up a bit. "You knew my mother... What was she like?"

"Hmm, that's easy. She was loud, annoying at times, ate way too much spicy food, gave Anko a run for her money in both dango eating and window shattering, loved pulling pranks way too often, and she couldn't cook unless you wanted charcoal, steam or instant food," Hana listed.

'I got all my negative traits from my mom!' Naruko mentally wailed. Well, at least she didn't go crashing through windows. Yet. Did that mean her perverted nature was learned? Maybe her mother had been a very skilled closet pervert.

"She was also extremely kind, thoughtful of everyone around her, enjoyed playing with children, always fed the animals in the zeroth training ground, loved others in spite of receiving no love from them, she was also very strong and passionate about what mattered to her: her friends, this village and you, her daughter. You remind me of her," Hana finished with a soft smile.

Naruko blushed. Part of it was hearing about how important she was to her mother, the other part was due to Hana recognizing her good points, acknowledging her as a person rather than a monster.

Hana couldn't resist and hugged Naruko. "You're so cute when you blush. Makes me want to take you home. Wanna be my little sister?"

Naruko envisioned being Kiba's sister and paled. "No. Please no."

Hana smirked. "Don't worry about Kiba, I'll put him in the animal pens if he bothers you."

Naruko bit her tongue, since she was going to ask when he ever left the animal pens due to how he smelled sometimes. Even if Hana believed that Kiba got what was coming to him during the prelims as well as taking a bit of enjoyment out of seeing her brother squirm, Naruko got the feeling that Hana truly cared for Kiba, in a very strange way.

Hana knew that the game was over, so she let her go. "Well, if you ever need anything, call on me or my mom. We Inuzuka are one of the clans in Konoha who knew what Tsurenai-san was and saw through her family reputation. The Inuzuka owe her and you a lot." She waved as she walked away, signaling her dogs to follow her.

Naruko couldn't help but shout out a question. "What clans?"

Hana turned with a smirk. "The Inuzuka, the Akimichi, the Sarutobi, the Senju and the Yamanaka clans accepted her. The Nara were too lazy to care about her family's past and focused on what she did in front of them, when they weren't napping. The Aburame were indifferent to her. The Hyūga didn't ever want her in Konoha. The Uchiha... Well, you can guess that one on your own."

"Thanks!" Naruko called after the young woman. 'Well, that explains why Sasuke treated me like that in the end. Seems all Uchiha view me as a weapon.' Anyway, time to get back to training! There had to be a way to fix her chakra overload issue.

[Next day]

Naruko shot up, waking from a perverted dream she couldn't remember. All she knew was that it was good. She was almost a hundred percent certain that it involved Sakura too. The sun had been a nice gold as well.

Naruko did the usual morning routine, though her tail made her alter events slightly. She'd need to spend a bit more money on shampoo and conditioner, but at least her tail would be fluffy and soft, just like her hair. Naruko had touched the top of her head at one point, wondering if she'd sprout ears next. As long as she didn't grow whiskers, fur, or take on a fox-like form, it was all good. Actually, having nine tails might be a pain.

After getting dressed, deciding that she'd need new clothes unless she wanted to be called 'Anko the second,' Naruko left her house to have an early morning bowl of ramen. Make that twenty bowls of ramen. Actually, Naruko wanted something hot to get rid of this hazy fever she had.

"Naru-chan!" Ayame greeted, "want the usual miso ramen to begin with?"

"I want the spiciest ramen you have," Naruko said, wanting to breath fire without the aid of jutsu. This fever had to go... Ayame was kinda cute...

'No Naruko! Keep yourself in check! She's your friend, your onee-san! She is not a target for waking perverted fantasies!' Naruko mentally shouted at herself. She did have a few naughty dreams about Ayame, but she didn't have any control over her dreams.

"Coming up!" Teuchi called from the pots. He quickly whipped up the ramen and it was served, though Ayame actually winced and kept her face out of the wafting steam since it was hot enough to bring tears to her eyes. The blush on the ramen waitress' face didn't escape Naruko's notice, who felt the heat in her body and head jump a few degrees.

Naruko looked down at the ramen, knowing that this would be very, very hot! She took a bit and tried it, found that she loved it and attacked the meal with her usual speed. Ayame actually tugged on her shirt a bit, feeling the heat from the ramen even if she wasn't eating it. Thankfully, Naruko hadn't seen this.

Six bowls later, Naruko was interrupted.

"Naruko...?"

The kitsune turned and saw her teammate, Sakura, standing behind her. Naruko finished the bowl and turned to Sakura. "What is it?"

Sakura flinched a bit. Naruko's voice lacked the usual happiness, light and warmth that Sakura was used to. It was cold and guarded, a sign that Naruko knew what Sakura had done.

…

'This is awkward...' Sakura thought as she tightly gripped her hands behind her back while grinding the heel of her sandal in the dirt. Now that she was here and ready to apologize, she was at a loss for words. Well, she knew what she wanted to say, but she was afraid it would come out wrong and make things worse.

…

'Okay, I'll just go forward. If I just speak from my heart, I should be able to properly express myself,' Sakura thought as she took a deep breath. "Naruko...I-"

"UWOOOOH! My Youth senses indicate that Naruko-kun is over here, Jiraiya-sama!" Guy boomed as he rounded a corner with the white haired sannin, who looked drained from the experience of being a Youth sermon attendee, "there she is!" the bushy browed man declared as he pointed at Naruko dramatically.

"T-thanks Guy, it was a...unique experience," Jiraiya said as he walked up to the two girls, "hmm? Am I interrupting something? If that's the case, I'll go hide around the corner and use this as reference material for my next book!" He was now panting slightly as images flew through his brain. If Naruko played her cards right, she'd have both members of her little harem all over her! Heck, maybe she could snare more women too!

'CHA! Of course you're interrupting something, Ero-master!' Inner Sakura screamed. "Um..."

"No, not really," Naruko said.

Jiraiya looked from the kitsune to the girl, seeing the pink haired girl had a hurt look deep in her eyes. "Me and Sarutobi-sensei thought of something while talking with Tama-chan and we want to know if you'd be interested in hearing it," the Sannin said.

Naruko thought for a few moments, then nodded. "Sure."

"Alright, let's go to Tama-chan and Sarutobi-sensei so they can tell you too," Jiraiya said as he led the girl towards the hospital.

Sakura stood where she had been left, fighting back tears. She had messed up twice now. She had to apologize to Naruko as soon as she could. Tomorrow, she'd make up with the girl.

[Next day, around noon]

Sakura now had an understanding of how a pinball felt. She had been hunting for her teammate since early morning, but she kept getting deflected around with instructions from people who had seen Naruko early in the day. According to everyone, she was making her rounds and giving farewells because she was going on a long mission. Since a written apology was nothing compared to a spoken one, and waiting a month or two would make things worse, Sakura was frantically chasing the redhead around the village.

Sakura ran into Shikamaru, gazing at clouds with Temari sitting nearby.

"Shikamaru!" Sakura shouted, making Temari jump slightly and Shikamaru pretend he was sleeping. "I know you're awake," Sakura muttered as she sat on the bench next to Temari, "hello Temari-san."

"H-Hi Sakura-san," Temari stuttered. She felt like she didn't belong here all of a sudden. How did she go from lazy chūnin watching to feeling like the fifth wheel?

"What do you want Sakura?" Shikamaru asked, wanting to get rid of BOTH girls as soon as possible. Well, at least Temari had been quiet the whole time. Sakura, like Ino, never seemed to shut up.

"I heard Naruko was headed this way, where is she?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, that. She was heading to the hospital to check up on Choji, Kiba and Neji, then she was heading to the gate to leave. If I were you, I'd make my way for the gate and apologize for making her angry," Shikamaru advised.

Deciding not to question how Shikamaru knew, Sakura rushed as fast as she could to the village gates.

[Village gates, three minutes later]

Sakura had enough time to catch her breath, then Naruko arrived with those who were going with her: the out of office Sandaime Hokage, Jiraiya of the Sannin and Shiratama, former guardian kitsune of Konoha. She would later learn that Haku stayed in Konoha at the request of Naruko. The young ice user was left behind to protect Konoha and those Naruko cared about, Sakura included.

"Naruko!" Sakura called out.

The kitsune stiffened a bit, then decided she was being childish here. "What is it, Sakura?"

Sakura bowed down as quickly as she could. "I'm sorry I told Sasuke-kun your secret! I was just scared I was going to lose him forever! If I knew he would just leave like that anyway and hurt you like that, I would ne-never have..." She was crying now as she fell to her knees. It was the first time she had let out her true self and her emotions for the first time in a long time. She was no longer being someone's 'ideal girl,' she was just Haruno Sakura, a scared and confused girl trying to apologize for making a mistake.

Naruko wanted to hug the girl, to soothe her, but she was still hurting a little. Sakura had betrayed her, almost in the way Sasuke had betrayed Konoha. "Its alright Sakura, I understand. If it was you leaving, I would tell you all the secrets I knew of others, but that doesn't mean I can forgive you all at once. I... I just need some time."

Sakura didn't look at the redhead. She knew it wouldn't be easy or quick, but at least Naruko said she could forgive her.

"Naruko, I'm training to become a medic like Tsunade-sama, so I can fight better and help you heal faster. Next time, we'll bring him back together," Sakura said as she looked at Naruko's face.

Naruko smiled a bit and nodded slightly. "Yeah, we'll bring him back Sakura."

For the first time since she uttered Naruko's secret, Sakura felt right. It was strange. She thought Naruko bringing Sasuke back would make her feel better, but just being friendly with the kitsune again was enough. Sakura couldn't help but wonder if she would have felt this if Sasuke had been brought back. That bad feeling she had when Naruko left vanished when she was brought back. Could it be that she worried Naruko wouldn't come back? That had to be it. Maybe, deep down, Sakura knew Sasuke wouldn't be coming back, not this time anyway.

"I guess I'll see you again in a few months?" Sakura asked.

Naruko grit her teeth, a new nervous habit she had. "I...I don't know."

Sakura nearly stumbled. "What?"

Naruko looked away from the pink haired girl. "We're going so I can use my kitsune abilities and grow stronger. Tama said it could take years for me to control my power. At the very least, she said we'll be gone for six years..."

And now Sakura's bad feeling was back and worse than ever. "Tha-that's too long! What if that traitor tries something! Didn't Jiraiya-sama say something about three years?" Sakura shouted, panic taking over.

Naruko grabbed Sakura's shoulders so the girl would stop yelling. "During the fight, my chakra went wild and Sasuke was bathed in it. Chances are, Orochimaru won't be able to use Sasuke as his next body because of that. Even so, I'm going to train like I always do, so I can come back faster than she thinks and get our teammate back. It should have taken me months to master the Rasengan, but I did it in a week. This little training trip will be over before you know it, Dattebyo!"

Sakura allowed a lopsided smile spread on her face. It had been so long since she heard that nonsense word slip from Naruko's mouth. Every time she unleashed the 'Dattebyo,' she always did what she said she would, except make Sakura fall for her. "Then I'll do my best to master Tsunade-sama's teachings before you even learn a katon," Sakura challenged.

Naruko grinned at the girl, her teeth (and her canines) all exposed and showing she was ready to make Sakura eat her words. "I win, we go on a date. You win, I'll buy you whatever you want for a week!" Naruko said.

Now Sakura had her own smug grin. "Deal! I hope your wallets are ready to drain," she said as she the two shook on it.

Now that all things were back to how they should be, though possibly better in one way, Naruko turned and joined her little training party. Hiruzen and Tama would help her get her katon down, all three would try and help her taijutsu out and Jiraiya was mostly in charge of filling Naruko's empty head with everything she'd need to be an effective shinobi. The toad sage would also try to sharpen her ninjutsu. They would do more, but Naruko kind of lost interest during the discussion and the adults decided to leave it as a surprise since Naruko deserved it for not listening.

The four made it a few meters from the village, still within Sakura's view, when Naruko was attacked.

Sakura saw the dark shape shoot out of the bushes and beeline for the kitsune empress. "NARUKO!" she shouted as she started to run forward.

Hiruzen, Tama, Jiraiya and Naruko all tried to turn, but they all suddenly stiffened for the few seconds it took for the dark shape to reach Naruko, tackle her down and...

Sakura stopped, as did everyone else.

Naruko was frozen solid as her assailant...Oh Kami!

Atop Naruko was none other than Yamanaka Ino, her body straddling and pinning Naruko's to the ground while her lips were pressed to kitsune's lips. Both girls were blushed, though Ino beat the kitsune hands down. Unknown to both girls, The two girls' hands came together in the infamous 'lover's hand hold,' with Ino and Naruko's fingers locking their palms together during the kiss.

'NEW BOOK! NEW BOOK! NEW BOOK! SAVE IN PERMANENT PERV MEMORY!' Jiraiya mentally screamed as his student experienced a joy he couldn't: lesbian kissing. Well, he couldn't personally enjoy it, but he could take in the view.

Hiruzen remembered that time he found his daughter, Suzu, and her best female friend practicing french kissing. It seemed similar, but this was different.

Shiratama remembered her first love. She had been too young at the time and the man couldn't ever love anything to begin with. In the end, she let the feelings die.

Ino broke contact and smiled a bit. "That was better than I thought. You got real talent, don't you?" she asked, only to see that Naruko had fainted. Ino chuckled a bit. "Naruko's first real kiss: get."

The kitsune picked Naruko up and the group started to make their way to their first destination, wanting to tease the girl when she woke up. Ino watched them leave and touched her lips. 'That was the best kiss I ever had. Maybe I really have...' she blushed a bit as she smiled and made her way back into the village. "Shikamaru, we're done here. Go back to your date with Temari-san." the blonde practically ordered.

Shikamaru strolled out of the bushes with Temari behind him. He was a little tired from locking up four strong people with his shadow, but at least Ino wasn't nagging at him anymore. "As if I'd ever even think of dating such a troublesome blonde..." he muttered.

"Hmph! I prefer my men to have a spine and some spunk to them. This lazy chūnin is none of that. He's scrawny too," Temari said as she walked past the slow moving Nara, but eventually stopped so she could follow him to his next napping spot.

"Yeah, yeah. We know you like each other," Ino said as she walked up to Sakura, "so For-!"

Sakura was standing there, mouth open in shock as her eyes remained locked on the spot Ino had stolen a kiss from Naruko. Ino actually felt some pressure from the girl and swore that she saw that crazy second Sakura behind her, screaming in a rage.

'Fury mode?' Ino thought as she walked by. It did feel like that personality in Sakura's head was pissed off last time she was there, so maybe it was starting to merge with 'outer' Sakura.

"Hey Forehead! I'm going to master Tsunade-sama's techniques first and impress Naruko more than you ever could, if you get my drift," Ino said as she made sure to stand in profile, showing her slightly curvier body off.

Sakura spun around, saw the difference and growled. She wished she could do that and not be called a kid. "Pig! I'm going to be using you to practice healing for a while. First, I need to make the wounds!" Sakura shouted as she rushed at the blonde. She'd never lose to this pig again. As soon as Sasuke came back, he'd choose Sakura!

Ino just laughed and ran away, knowing Sakura couldn't catch her and their abilities were virtually the same, meaning it would always end in a draw. Her thoughts turned to Naruko and she changed her mind. 'I'm not going to let you go any further ahead of me. Now that I know what I want, I'll get Naruko.'

A/N~

Good news and bad news! First, the good news: I'm back and weaving more dreams for you! Quite literally, I've got a few new ideas for stories. One is is a fic that will be released once this one and KTD are finished. It should be listed on my page along with 'The Greatest.' That and this new project will be the next two coming out. Read the summary for details.

And now the bad news. Summer is sickness season for me and writing gets harder when I'm sick because I normally get extremely tired, weak or I have a pounding headache, which all send the plot bunnies running for the hills. Updates will always be slow during summer, and faster during the cooler months. Plain and simple, I can't stand the heat.

On a final note, this will be the last chapter for a while since I need to go read up to the deviation point for this fic, plan out events and design Naruko's Part II appearance/clothing. It could take a while, but I'll try to get through it as quickly as possible. As for what the deviation point is, anyone should be able to figure that one out. I'm also doing a bit of research on trying to make a more matured Naruko. I'm thinking of splicing some things. So far, I'm going to use Archer Illia's hairstyle from Prisma Illia, since it fits Naruko's slightly masculine personality. And I'm going to make her a bit more perverted.

The 'I-don't-know-what-to-call-it' Index-

Sakura's Fury Mode: Characterized by Sakura going completely stiff while emitting a powerful aura of anger. Those with the aptitude, or when Sakura's rage hits a certain level, can see Inner Sakura alongside the aura. At this time, it is unknown if this ability has any use in combat.

-Omake-

You had that kind of weakness?

Sasuke was holding Naruko under the water when it hit him. His foot was planted on a real girl's chest. He quickly lifted his foot off the girl and bolted back a good distance. "Stay away from me!"

Naruko coughed and sputtered as she got the water out of her lungs. "Wha-what's going on?"

Sasuke pointed a shaky finger at her. "You stay away from me! I'm warning you!"

Naruko got onto her feet. "What's your problem? Know what, I don't care! I'm taking you back home, by force if necessary!"

Sasuke backed away from the kitsune that was closing in on him. "I said stay back!"

Naruko was pissed off. "What's your problem with me? Do you hate redheads or something?"

Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. "I can't stand girls and their cooties! Don't touch me!" he whined as tears of fear gathered at the corners of his eyes.

Naruko's jaw fell open as she stared at this...this... SISSY BOY! Wait! If that was the case...

A few hours later, Naruko dragged a struggling Sasuke, who was wearing her dress wrapped around his wrists, through the gates of Konoha.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted as she latched onto the boy, completely ignoring her almost naked teammate.

"NO! I'm being infected! Get her off me!" Sasuke wailed as he struggled in his bindings.

"What's wrong with Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, worried.

"Well, he's still thinks girls ha-" Naruko started.

"Naruko!" Ino shouted as she appeared from behind a sign, "since you did such a good job bringing Sasuke-kun back, I'll treat you to some ramen and allow you to be seen in public with me."

Naruko, loving ramen, especially FREE ramen, decided to take her up on that offer, even if Ino hated her guts and just wanted to look good in front of Sissy-uke. "Sure!"

Ino smirked. "First, I'll get you some real clothes. You're wasting your looks by copying Forehead's lack of style. At least you copied my colors, and have a figure that doesn't look at home on a young boy." She ignored Sakura's growl.

"Eh! But I like those dresses~" Naruko whined.

"Since you're tall and still act like a boy, maybe some pants and a jacket? Actually, some shorts will work and still show off your legs... Hmm, what else?" Ino wondered aloud, "come on, let's go shopping!" She grabbed Naruko's arm and started to walk away, but not before Naruko looked back.

"Naruko! Save me! I'm going to die!" Sasuke shouted as Sakura continued to glomp him.

Ino forcibly turned Naruko's face toward her own. "Never, EVER go looking at someone else when going somewhere with a girl," Ino warned. 'Especially me!'

"R-right," Naruko stammered, just noticing how soft Ino's hand was. She was pretty cute too. She smelled nice too...like a fresh garden after a light rainfall...

Ino shot a look back at Sakura, who had a satisfied smirk on her face as she held Sasuke. Sakura actually stiffened when she saw Ino's evil grin of victory. 'W-what? It's almost like...she's happy she got to Naruko before anyone else. But that's not possible, Ino loves boys, Sasuke-kun specifically. Two girls could never go out with each other.'

Later on, in the change room, Ino 'helped' Naruko get her clothes on. Suffice to say, the clerk was in perverted lesbian heaven due to the cameras she had hidden in the change rooms which recorded every moment of Ino's little game on Naruko's body, from multiple angles, high-res and surround sound!

"That blonde is so naughty~" the woman practically groaned as a bit of drool slipped from the corner of her mouth. How she wished she were the one helping that cute redhead out of her clothes...then helping her get dressed again... with some delays of course.

Responses-

Sky Zephyrus: Yeah, Sakura's not going to live this betrayal down so easily. That was my fic's version of the Land of Iron betrayal. (Which may or may not happen in this fic anyway) And I bet you didn't think the fight would reach those levels. And if you think she got let off too easily, do remember that it is 'Sakura' now, not 'Sakura-chan.'

Twell101: Here you go.

WolfDragonGod: We all want to see Naruko fall in love with two lovely ladies. Just remember that she's still a thick headed idiot, so the girls will need a diamond drill or something to get her to know what they want.

Qaletaga: Well, I guess Naruko did feel betrayed, but not by just Sasuke. She went through her memory and realized she had been a tool her entire life. Suffice to say, Naruko was pissed off! I will name that rasengan she used later, in part II. Don't expect her to go all postal like this often, since I'm putting a limiter on it.

xXxWhiteWolf12xXx: Yeah, the whole NarukoXSakura thing will be a bit rough after Sakura, for lack of a better term, fucked Naruko over to try and keep Sasuke around. If she thought it was awkward after Wave, this is going to be like having to go around Konoha without a single stitch of clothing on for a week. Good thing it gives Ino a bit of a head start!

chm01: The harem fic is one of my 'fun' fics. Fun fics are stories I throw together for the sole purpose of amusement, so they have a much lower priority than any other story. And you read the fight, so who do you think won?

Irish Shift: I finally realized what E K means, my pen name initials. I thought it was some kind of web slang I wasn't familiar with. Anyway, thanks for recognizing my evil nature. I don't know about genius, though I remember taking an IQ test and they mentioned 'above average.' That cliff hanger was stuck in my head and I just had to make it work. I knew people would like it, mainly because it confirms what Sakura did.

ddcj1990: Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

SuperNeos2: Yes, the pinkette did go and tell Sasuke what Naruko was. And get rid of that lynch mob behind you. No hanging the pinkette today. Wait until I release the two shot that I've been working on (sometimes) for your Sakura hating fix. It's a Naruto/Ino fic called "Walking in Rain" and I hope to have shot one finished up sometime soon. I got everything set in my head, just need to hit the keys until its all down in an odt file.

harlequin320: And here's your fix.

AsterBlake333: I know what you tried to type, but my sadistic streak forced me to write that. I sometimes type at such a high speed that I miss letters or things get mixed up. What's real fun is typing while watching TV. I once wrote four solid pages that way with only five mistakes.

DarkLordK: Tayuya is actually going to remain a prisoner for a while. I'll have her join up with Konoha later, but that's only after something happens to her. Naruko's sonic roar is still not completely mastered, but she's getting better. She was separated from the team and made to go on her own as a sort of show that she has authority of her own in the world as the Empress of Kitsune, and to show that she's still an idiot. She's still got into a heap of trouble for that...

Qalataga: You like...STABBING!? (Said in a Richtofen style accent) As you can see, I prefer the somewhat cold shoulder. Sakura went down quite a few pegs on Naruko's list of important people.

WolfDragonGod: Everyone wants to see Naruto/ko kick ass and fall in love! And they (non SasuSaku fans) also want Sasuke six feet under. BTW, I think I'm going to kill Sasuke off in this fic. I sort of made him irredeemable this time.

Hichitsuki-hime: This is the first one you've read that involves Naruto/ko being a Bijū? There's tons of them, mostly unfinished, so they shouldn't be that hard to find. Well, can't go disappointing a Hime-sama, so here's the next chapter.

god of all & Veldrisk: Here's the new chapter. Sorry for the wait.

Gaara king of sand: Actually, the trip is only two and a half years long. And I already made a few unique abilities that she can use, one of which has already been seen in this fic. I'm not making any new clone techniques, since I've already created at least four for KTD and that's not counting clone based attacks. In fact, a lot of Naruko's abilities are derived from the abilities of a villain I've recreated for KTD, but I watered them down.

Brilliantteazer: Updated. And it ISN'T a Naruto/Ino fic, it's a Naruko/Ino/Saku fic. In this story, Naruto died during birth, therefor there is no Naruto. How can it be Naruto/Ino without Naruto?Accuracy is something I like. I'm not like those guys who post a Naru/Ino romance story that has Naruto and Ino never getting in a relationship during the whole damn fic.

Bitten2: Glad you like it. Updated as well.

Arvano: Again, Naruto/ko as a bijū has been done time and time again. And as of this chapter, canon is mostly broken. When this fic starts up again, Naruko is going to have new powers, a new look and a somewhat new attitude. Expect the following: a tired Jiraiya, a Hiruzen who wants to retire, a more perverted Naruko, a romantically pushy Ino and Sakura going into rages more often.

Oh, and the catfights that break out between pink and blonde after Sakura falls for Naruko. Meeeow~

Sakura3112: And it is continuing.

S.P.Q.T: Are Naruto and Naruko distinct here? I wonder...

There was another Biju Naruko story, but it vanished while I was trying to review it. I remember reading that it was on adult fanfiction. Actually, it was inspired by this fic. It was called 'Tales of Kyūbi's child.' Honestly though, his OCs were all cut from the same cloth, having almost identical physical appearances. (big boobs, big hips, hair reaching the butt) I do praise the eyes he gave Naruko, very original. I kind of stole my Naruko's Kyūbi Mode eyes from a Naruko (controlled by Kurama)XSakura yuri H doujinshi I found. It's actually quite tame, considering it involves chakra tail/tentacles.

I decided the whole Oiroke Naruko thing was overdone (almost as overdone as Naruto absorbing the Kyūbi, becoming the Kyūbi, becoming the Jūbi, gaining Rinnegan, etc) and built this version of Naruko from other characters, mostly Ino and Sakura. Besides, Naruko doesn't need massive bre- chakra reservoirs.

As for what I've done to make her slightly different from Naruto... That's simple: her reaction to 'Girlification' and I made her a tad bit more airheaded. Naruto can roll with lots of things: ramen, girls falling in love while s/he doesn't notice, having a pervert teach him/her, etc. But the one thing that would disturb even Naruto would be thinking like a girl! No pervert would suddenly go: "I'm a...girl? ALRIGHT!"

(Well, maybe Jiraiya would, but he is a very special case)

And I made her far more perverted than canon Naruto. Anyway, here's more of different! And nice double post! (Guy and Lee give nice guy poses with tooth shine)

ladygoddess8: The reason I don't think Shizune would ever work in a harem with Naruto is because, from the very beginning, the two radiated this whole sibling aura, which I don't know in spite of having an older sister. (We tolerate each other, sometimes, barely/ Actually, we hate each other) I have seen fics where people work in the whole ShizuneXNaruto thing, but I can't really do it too well. I either have to alter how one saw the other from the very beginning or make it so that their feelings for each other change. I do have a fic in the work that has NarutoXShizune (along with other girls) but it is a very long way off in the horizon.

In all honesty, I'm with many other people who believe that NaruHina will never happen. The reason I say this is due to the almost extreme lack of contact between the two. (I'd say maybe two or three weeks, five at the most, over the period of four years) Of course, I also believe that Naruto will die (along with Sasuke) in canon and not wind up with anyone.

I haven't quite worked out how Naruto gets roped into the harem yet, because it is still bare bones. I was thinking somewhere along line of him forming bonds, or strengthening existing bonds, with the girls. Beyond that, I don't have a clue.

Ino is, almost always, winding up with Naruto in my fics. The reason is because, out of all the NarutoX(female character) pics I've seen, the NarutoXIno pics look the most natural, even more natural than NarutoXSakura pics. (NarutoXTayuya pics are always hilarious, especially the one where she's sitting on his back) If Naruto doesn't wind up with Ino, I make an OC for her to hook up with. The reason I do this is because most of the male characters in Naruto don't mesh well with her. Most people just default to InoCho or InoShika, if the Desert Rose is incapable of snaring the lazy genius. What's even worse is InoSasu. Plain and simple, she doesn't match with any of them.

Choasweaver6139: I always make sure to make my facts work out, even if I don't reveal all of them right away. Just to let you know, there are still two mysteries related to Naruko that I haven't even hinted at yet. Well, I hinted at one in a review response, but I doubt anyone saw them for what they are.

I take the second paragraph with mixed feelings. I know I have issues, such as the story going back and forth in time, but they are from two different points of view so they can be explained somewhat. Foreshadowing is, according to all of the English teachers I had, one of my strengths. I love the concept of a foreshadowing cliff hanger chapter end, especially in the form of a fanfic or even manga, where it is most effective due to the release method. As to me growing into a great author...I don't know if I'll reach the upper crust of fanfiction writers, but I hope to at least become one where people see my name and pop in to see if the story is as good as the ones they like. As for the plan, shaky at best right now. I have some changes planned, one of which should be as obvious as the moon appearing during the day, but nobody has picked up on it. Ah well, they'll see it eventually.

As for the girls and their teetering emotions, how would you react if you suddenly found yourself having feelings for someone you didn't like at all who was suddenly the same gender as you? They don't know how to handle it and, since there appear to be no homosexual couples (unless you squint hard while looking at Guy and Lee during a hug, or stare at the Guy and Kakashi piggy back scene for too long) in the Narutoverse, they have the usual social stigma when it comes to same sex couples. For Ino, it's worse because Naruko's power intoxicated her and made her go into a form of heat when it came to the kitsune.

You also have to remember that Sakura goes from blushing in Naruto's presence to beating the blood out of him in a heartbeat, so her wild mood swings around Naruto aren't something I made up, that's canon.

Flammers, in general, have overly high expectations and downright hate anyone who falls below them. Most want deviation to the point where the story is almost completely different, which ruins it for Part II eventually due to Naruto gaining far too much power. Most writers see that and make it so the story ends during Part I or the fic just gets abandoned somewhere along the way out of frustration. I don't mind added content, just don't go destroying the story so it no longer works. To such people, I say move on if you don't like it. If they keep reading and posting reviews, I must be doing something right since they're still reading. (snickers)

Fanfiction exists for people to write what they want, within reason of course. We write how we want events to unfold, whether it is a slight change, a major one or the story is an AU/AR. I decided to go with smaller changes during all but the end of Part I with bigger changes in Part II. I use the first part as a type of stage to build up Part II. The foundations are laid down, awaiting Part II and the changes it brings. Some of my fics do have major changes to Part I, but nothing story breaking. The next set of fics coming out all deviate in Part I, but only due to changed perceptions/OC involvement.

I find in funny that you tell me to not tell people that I'm a vampire, then admit to the same thing in the same 're a 'psychic' vampire. I can do a similar thing, though it is mostly ambient energy (natural and man made) I can absorb. Unlike you, I seem to feed off negative energy better than positive energy. The source of the energy doesn't even need to be a living being, I've siphoned energy from haunted locations before as well.

As for being ridiculed or shunned, that is a fact of life for me. Women tend to become my friends while men hate me for various reasons. I guess I just got a way with women, though I'm not in it for anything other than friendship, which has frustrated a girl or two in the past. I don't mind the current setup since I, for some reason, seem to dislike both male blood and energy. It just feels/tastes disgusting to me, nothing compared to the soothing nature of a woman's energy and blood. I guess you could say that it takes a beauty to calm this beast. (grins wickedly)

Spazzyninjafish: Didn't think so ;P

My stamina took a hit from my injured foot, as did my strength. I've been building it back up, converting fat into muscle again in the process. Funny how I was inactive for so long and didn't put a pound of weight on. My metabolism is funny like that.

Flat feet. I have a similar issue now with my right foot, but that's due to the tendon being severed and all the nerves not working properly. Sadly, the injury makes doing standard push ups impossible. My right foot starts sliding and trying to find good purchase, which it won't find due to damaged nerves, making me look like a cat in a litter box or something. That's embarrassing...

Some of what you do to distract yourself sounds a little crazy, but I do wonder odd things myself, though it is mostly rooted in what is happening with current technological trends (how the Xbox 720 is still going to suck) or the release patterns of manga/fanfics. Currently, I'm wondering when hydrogen fuel cells will replace standard gasoline fuel tanks as well as when will Naruto the Gilgamesh get a new chapter. Strange thoughts, but it works. As for why Da Vinci wasn't in Revelations, which I haven't played yet, I do believe that the man in charge of the building (a man of the cloth no less) beat him on a daily basis as well as locked him away when he wasn't working. History is also one of my subjects of interest, though it mostly relates to paranormal encounters, unusual events, mysterious structures and UFO sightings.

I trip on my words too, but that's because my mind runs far faster than my hands or mouth ever will. I'm literally three sentences ahead of myself most of the time, and that's when I'm slowing my mind down. Doesn't help much that I've had so little contact with people lately that I fear I may be going into a strange form of feral nature. And, for some odd reason, I figured you hated girly stuff. People also found it strange that my favorite past times aren't reading books, but cutting monsters and people in half or putting large holes in them. I like other games, like RPGs, but I also like games where you can level a shotgun at an enemy and watch bone fragments and gore fly. And don't get me started on motorcycles. I still love those sweet machines that were found on American Pickers. Those things were beauty and function rolled into wonderful metal. (drools)

Seems like, expression wise, we're complete opposites. Then again, I don't have too much to smile about lately. I mostly have a lopsided grin/smirk when I'm happy. I've actually tried a toothy grin (or whatever you want to call it) while looking in a mirror and decided that I didn't want to look like a serial killer...

My most recent picture (from 2008) looks more like a mugshot too... Funny how I still look like that, just with longer hair and a bit more of a need for a shave. No beard, just stubble. That's how I like it. Rugged, rough and worn out is my style. If I look 35 when I'm 35, I could easily pass myself off as an older style police detective.

I find that people who struggle to be the most popular person find that old saying to be extremely true: it's lonely at the top. Your group of friends sound great. Kind of wish I had more friends in high school, probably would have kept me there to finish on time rather than at 21. While I didn't have a whole lot of friends, they were all good people who genuinely cared about my well being. I don't even get that kind of care from my sister, who normally finds me at fault for almost everything. Even when I'm right, I'm snarled at. Bitch...

I once got asked why I wasn't in the kitchen while playing an MMORPG (and using my female character) and I said something that humiliated him in front of all his online pals. My response was as follows: "Why should I be in the kitchen when you do such a good job and look so cute in that pink, frilly apron and maid outfit? Wait, why aren't you in the kitchen?" Well, it was something like that. All I remember is all his friends, who I think are now brain dead Blops players, laughed at him and threw l33t insults at him like no tomorrow.

(Why doesn't spell check mark 'l33t' as an error!? That's somewhat disturbing)

My normal nickname in life is 'Testament,' because, like Naruto, I make promises and try my best to keep them. (Testament means 'Solemn Promise') I've been called lots of other things, like 'Dream Weaver' and 'NetReaper' but Testament has been my nickname for over ten years now. Excele Kurokami is the name I took from one of my characters as my pen name because I liked it and it's unique. It also fits me quite well since my mind is fast (Excele = Accelerate) I'm always wearing dark colors and seem to know far more than I should about things I never learned. (Kurokami means Black God) Actually, the character's original last name was KuroiKami (Darkness God) but I decided to make it more along the lines of a normal name. That and, despite the character being a god of destruction, he isn't classed as an 'evil' god. He is more like a god of natural destruction.

Don't worry about forgetting to type your reply right away. Due to the amount of stories I have started, as well as the plot bunnies multiplying rapidly, I tend to forget to work on my main fics most of the time.