Chapter 16: Out of reach
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
As Team Kakashi approached the underground base to rescue Sasuke, Sai heard something from said teen that would make even Sakura doubt her goal of reuniting with the Uchiha.
"I kill my siblings. If I have a sister, I'll kill her after my brother. Anyone who gets in the way of my revenge will experience the most horrible deaths I can think of."
[Outside Orochimaru's base]
"Where is it?" Naruko asked. The place felt wrong to her, like she shouldn't be there, like nobody should be there today. She had a feeling today would end badly.
Yamato pointed to a certain part of a rock formation. "Just under those."
Naruko stared at what blocked her from reforming her team. "Alright, let's do this!" she called, starting to rush at the rocks.
Yamato stopped her, dispelling his clone and taking seeds from it. "First of all, I met a jōnin that once said that before a mission, it ended very badly. Second, you two swallow these seeds first, I can track you with them. That's how I was able to track Sai so well."
"You spiked his food or something during that creepy hot spring visit, didn't you?" Naruko asked.
Yamato looked surprised. "Creepy? I found it very relaxing and I feel we bonded as a team. If it were co-ed, we'd probably be a very close knit team by now. Of course, my main goal was to bug Sai in case something like this happened."
Sakura and Naruko were disturbed by this man's... openness. They made a memo to never go to a mixed bath when he was around. They swallowed the seeds. "We're ready now," Sakura said.
Yamato nodded to them, noting that Naruko's tracking seed was having a slight bit of interference from her chakra and new armor. "We're going to go underground near here, find a quiet spot and infiltrate the base proper. Once we're inside, me and Sakura will lead, you cover our backs Naruko."
Naruko nodded and started to tunnel into the ground at a very decent clip. She couldn't use doton to save her life, but she could dig so well that Inuzuka dogs would feel envious of her.
[Twenty eight minutes later, Sai's room]
Even Sai was surprised enough to show it on his face when Yamato and Team Kakashi came into the room. After a bit of Naruko's growling and her pointing out that they knew he was full of it, he confessed to Danzō plotting Konoha's destruction and resurrection. He even told them of his unique talent and how his ink beasts could relay what they had seen by becoming words on scrolls. He also claimed to be nobody, to be devoid of name and emotion.
Sakura pointed out that he was lying to himself again, that a nobody wouldn't feel relieved to possess something again. She told him that the book was his bond to his sister. If he could make bonds, he was somebody.
Sai even got angry when Yamato accused Sai of murdering his sister, telling them that she died from an illness. He told them of how Ne ANBU was, how they were raised, how he came to call one person his sister.
[A while later, outside of Orochimaru's base]
Sai had been bound by Yamato's mokuton and he learned of what drove Naruko: bonds. She didn't move solely for orders or personal gain, she moved because she had people she was close to. This moment just had to go and get interrupted by Kabuto.
"Since you appear to have been taken against your will, I'll assume you haven't betrayed us," Kabuto said as he cut Sai free, "I'll trust you, for now."
"Persistent as a cockroach," Sakura growled, glaring at the 'medic.'
"Kabuto, Sai, if you two don't surrender now, you'll never move again," Naruko said, chakra starting to gather on her lone armored claw, a small rasengan forming in her other hand.
"Trivial," Kabuto stated as Naruko ran up to him. He deflected her rasengan and avoided her other claw, moved away from the rock wall she clawed in a pitifully obvious attempt to bury him in stone. He kicked her hard in the face, sending her flying back to Sakura.
"You are the very definition of pointless, Naruko. Your best jutsu, your efforts, your dream, all of them are pointless. Even your new power is simple, all I have to do is avoid your strikes and then knock you away," Kabuto said, "Sasuke-kun is no longer the person you knew. He's chosen to forget about you and Konoha. You've become nothing in his eyes."
Sai took this moment to grab Kabuto, holding his arms back. "Interesting speech, I guess even I can change."
"Sai?" Naruko muttered, confused.
"I like painting, and now it seems I've developed an interest in people, the bonds between them to be particular. You, Naruko, are the best one to be near to learn about both," Sai said.
After Kabuto gave them a demoralizing speech about Sasuke and Orochimaru, Team Kakashi returned to the base and split up to find Sasuke. Sakura and Yamato went one way, Naruko and Sai went the other. For Sakura and Yamato, it was rather uneventful before they found a laboratory. For Sai and Naruko...
Click. "Wrong room." Click. "Not here." Click. "Where is he?"
Sai would have found it amusing to see three Naruko running around opening doors, but she seemed almost pitiful in how she went about it. You'd think she was looking for some medicine that she required in order to keep her alive with how she was throwing doors open.
The armor over Naruko's broken ribs fell apart and the girl was rocked by a bolt of pain that put her on the ground, holding her side.
"Naruko-san, we don't need to rush. We'll find him soon enough," Sai said.
Naruko lifted herself up, holding her side as she coughed up a small amount of blood. The ribs were mostly healed, but it appeared that her lung had taken damage as well. 'Damn Orochimaru and his sword. I'm going to have him extend his sword to full length, then I'll ram the whole thing up his ass!'
Sai assisted Naruko, leaning her back against a wall so she could rest for a bit. "I'm starting to see why Sakura-san is always worried about you. Despite being a redhead, you're too much like my sister."
Naruko blinked. "Huh?"
"My sister was loud, impatient, brash, blonde, her breasts... Well, hardly matters now that she's dead," Sai said, holding up his book to compare Naruko and his sister's images, "putting her all into whatever she did. Seeing you do that same brought up some memories of...of..."
Naruko was confused when Sai quickly got his drawing supplies out and started to draw on the center pages of the book. "Sai... Is that what I think it is?"
Sai was smiling, a real smile, as he showed a picture of his sister and himself, holding hands while smiling brightly. "This is it, what I wanted to show her. I finally remembered," he said, his voice full of emotion.
"How touching, but I wonder if you are on my side still, Sai," Orochimaru said, smirking, "ahh, Naruko-kun. How's my little gift to you? I must say, that's a most interesting form, and your chakra is intoxicating, so dark and full of malice. I want you more and more now. I wonder if Kyūbi would agree with its new land lord in the future. He might really like me."
Naruko slashed the heads off the snakes that Orochimaru tried to catch them with. Sai stood beside her, his tantō at the ready.
"Hmph, so I guess even that old hawk can't keep his toys in line," Orochimaru huffed.
Naruko dropped into a more predatory stance. "Sai, go look for Sasuke. I think I'll clear this den of its snake."
Sai nodded. "I'll find him and take him out of here."
Orochimaru chuckled. "Oh Naruko-kun, it'd be so much better if you came here to join me. Trying to take Sasuke-kun back to Konoha won't end well, even if you did get him back there. Then again, maybe I'll let him go...if you take his place!"
Naruko held her clawed hand down, dark purple chakra gathering there for a rasengan. "I'm never going to follow you, and your curse seal is gone."
Orochimaru smirked, holding up his hands in a simple hand seal. With a bit of chakra focused, Naruko suddenly fell to her knees, gripping her neck as the seal reappeared, the chakra glowing like purple flames as it started to spread. "Kukukuku. Oh, where did all your fight go? And what was that about my seal being gone? Seems like it was just sealed away for a bit," the man stated, amused to no end. Naruko always did bring out the best in people, too bad the best in Orochimaru was extreme sadism.
Orochimaru enjoyed a few minutes of making the seal flare up and spread over half her face, watching her gasp in pain. If he had the time, he'd take his time bringing her to his side, most likely by breaking her mind. His fun was cut short when the pink haired annoyance and the experiment showed up. "Naruko-kun, I'll let Konoha keep you for a while yet. Kill a few Akatsuki for me before I come to collect you," the Sannin said, then sunk into the ground.
Naruko unsteadily got to her feet, the curse seal aching the whole time. She thought she was rid of it, but it seems that her power merely suppressed it for a while. What the hell was in the seal that prevented massive chakra levels from purging it from her body? She'd need to talk to Jiraiya later and see if he could find out what was in the curse seal as well as how to remove it.
"Where's Sai?" Sakura asked. She was worried about Naruko and her reappeared seal, but there was nothing anyone could do about it right now.
"Looking for Sasuke," Naruko said, trying to act like she was fine.
Yamato nodded and sensed around for the seeds in Sai's clothes and stomach. "It will take a moment or two," he said.
Sakura noticed Sai's pack and the book she had looked over before, finding the center pages finished. "What's this?" she asked.
Naruko smiled as she picked up Sai's pack. "That's what Sai wanted to show his sister. He finished the book." She went to close the pack, but noticed another book in there. She pulled it out and opened it, "wonder what's in this... What is this?" She flipped through the pages, finding crossed out pictures, eventually finding one she knew too well. "It can't be..."
Yamato abandoned his active search for the seeds for a moment and looked at the book. "It's a bingo book, what's wrong Naruko?"
Naruko held the book so Sakura could see it, causing her to gasp, then showed it to Yamato. "Sasuke's in this one!"
Yamato took the book from her and looked at some of the past pages, then flipped back to Sasuke's entry. "These are all people who opposed Konoha in some way. I think Sai wasn't here to make a bridge between Danzō and Orochimaru, I think he came here to kill Sasuke, Orochimaru's future vessel."
Yamato tossed the book to Naruko, who caught it and incinerated it with her rage filled chakra. "That bastard! When I'm through with him, Ibiki will fear what I can do more than that time Anko had decaff."
Sakura didn't want to imagine that. Yamato remembered it, still had nightmares about it too. Naruko still had a scar on her collarbone from where that crazy woman bit her while using her as a hug pillow. Why couldn't that have been part of the henge? The kitsune, Jiraiya and Hiruzen had teased her relentlessly about it, asking who Naruko's mate was. Good thing she didn't mention that Anko was nude and how she was hugging Naruko, that would have been the end of her and the beginning of a new Icha Icha book...
Yamato finally found the seed, but it didn't matter a moment later.
BOOM!
"That way!" Naruko shouted, running towards the blast zone, following the slight air currents that she felt. In her drained and wounded state, it was easy for Sakura to run faster than Naruko.
"You!" Sakura snapped, grabbing Sai by his neck.
"Hn..."
Sakura recognized that grunt, so she looked to its source. "Sasuke...kun?"
Naruko rushed over as quickly as she could, her ribs hurting and the curse seal throbbing, but she made it to the hole and looked up at her teammate.
Sasuke was wearing a long white haori that was held onto him by a braided purple rope around his waist. He had dark blue pants, a dark purple sash hanging on the back with some kunai and shuriken waiting to be thrown. He appeared to have some kind of arm guards on and there was a sword on his back, pushed through the sash. He had a pitch black Uchiha clan tattoo on his chest over his heart, his skin darkened slightly from training outside a lot. His hair was longer than before, tinges of red so dark it almost blended in with his natural hair color on his temples.
"Sasuke," Naruko muttered.
"Hmph," was Sasuke's initial reply. "So the dobette did come here... Where's Kakashi?"
Yamato stepped out. "Sorry, but Kakashi-senpai is indisposed right now. I'm Yamato, temporary leader of Team Kakashi. Our mission is to bring you back to Konoha."
Sasuke was not amused, quite bored in fact. "Team..."
Sai brought his tantō up. "Sasuke-sa-"
"Sai! When will you stop stabbing us in the back?" Sakura snapped.
"Yamato is Kakashi's replacement, so this 'Sai' must be mine," Sasuke mused, "he fits better, with him going on about useless things like bonds and friendship."
"I was originally sent to kill Sasuke-san, but Naruko-san made me realize that those orders are meaningless. If I stay with Naruko-san and Sakura-san, I feel like I'll come to be the way I used to be, before Ne ANBU, before I lost my sister," Sai said, then looked back at Sasuke, "I'm the reason they want you back, because I'm what they'll become if they allow their bond to you to fall apart. I...don't want to see either of them like me. Sasuke-san, you must know how it feels to lose those you are close to."
Sasuke remained passive. "That's why it is best to sever them, as I did. Bonds of 'love' and 'friendship,' they'll lead to nothing more than pain and misery. If you only hate those you are bonded to, you experience nothing more than satisfaction when they die, especially if you are the one who killed them. With just those types of bonds, one can focus and become powerful. Too many of the bonds you Konoha ninja treasure just weaken you, cloud your vision and steal your goal away from you."
"Why am I, your friend, still alive then, Sasuke?" Naruko demanded.
Sasuke smirked. "Why would I sever my bond with you, Kyūbi?" he asked, vanishing. Naruko's eyes widened, but not as much as Sakura and Sai's. Sasuke appeared before Naruko, his arm on her shoulder. "I am going to kill you, and I'll only end you when I feel like it," the Uchiha stated.
"You didn't answer my question," Naruko pointed out.
"I didn't kill you because the only thing I'll ever give my brother is death, not satisfaction. I didn't kill you because I didn't want to," Sasuke said. "Didn't you want to become Hokage? Pity, we were alike once, but you chose to burden yourself with pitiful bonds. You should have hated me, hated everyone, then you wouldn't need anyone else to get to me, Kyūbi, and you'd be able to kill me without a second thought or any trouble at all."
Sakura's heart nearly stopped as Sasuke soundlessly drew his sword and took aim at Naruko's neck. "S-S-Sa-Sasuke-kun!"
"But I'm different, I can kill you without a second thought now," Sasuke stated, then swung his sword. Sai caught his arm, but was surprised that Naruko was already gone. "Good choice," Sasuke praised as he watched Yamato move to restrain him with his mokuton.
Naruko reappeared beside Sakura. "Sai! Yamato-taichou! Get away from him!"
"Chidori Nagashi," Sasuke muttered as he released electricity from his entire body, shocking the two ex-ANBU with ease.
Sakura ran at Sasuke. "I'm bringing you back myself if I have to!"
Before she could get to the boy, his blade erupted through a body before her, blood splashing onto her face and chest again.
"Hmph, always making mistakes, Kyūbi," Sasuke muttered, twisting his sword slightly.
Naruko grunted, more of the armor breaking off, allowing Tsunade's necklace to fall out of the armor. Sasuke's blade had gone through her shoulder, his raiton allowing him to pierce her now badly weakened armor.
"Naruko!" Sakura cried out, not even taking note of the blood on her face.
Naruko felt the charge being into her body, the numbness spreading from her shoulder. Sasuke was increasing the voltage, probably hoping to stop her heart with it. "Grrrrrrrrrrr!" she felt her anger returning, the curse seal bringing about its own rage as jagged flame-like marks started to spread from it, infecting her with Orochimaru's chakra.
Sasuke's eye brow rose slightly. "So you got one too. Hard to believe he chose to mark a bijū..."
Naruko's mind was filled with hundreds of ways to slaughter Sasuke, Orochimaru, even Akatsuki. She felt her shattered armor reforming, but half of it was in a different form, a wicked one. The curse seal started to spread onto her armor too, turning black to white, white to black. The armor started to gather up, forming hard points and looking more like normal armor designed to protect the wearer.
"What's this?" Sasuke wondered aloud.
Naruko glared at the boy, her eyes changed to red as she gripped the blade and snapped it off with a wicked armored claw, leaving part of it stuck through her shoulder. Before Sasuke could react, Naruko roared, completely decimating the base with chakra enhanced sound.
Yamato had managed to protect Sakura and Sai, but he feared the worst.
"Interesting," Orochimaru muttered as he and Kabuto appeared next to Sasuke, "a most interesting interaction between the chakra of my curse seal and a broken jinchūriki."
Sasuke shot a glance at the man. "I've told you before Orochimaru, she's the actual Kyūbi."
"Kukuku. Such a kidder, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru said.
Naruko, maddened by the curse seal, glared at the men before her, murky red chakra burning off her claws. "Kill...you," she managed, sounding like every word hurt. She ripped the sword out of her shoulder, crushing it into a warped mass of metal as the chakra started to melt it.
"Kukuku. Let's see if you can, little girl," Orochimaru challenged.
Naruko appeared right in his face, driving her claw and the near molten metal into his chest and through his black heart. Naruko roared in triumph, thinking the man was dead. Orochimaru fell over, proving to be a dead body that had been set up to resemble him. Snakes tore out of it, wrapping around Naruko.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Jiraiya never did learn how to properly push a student to their true potential," Orochimaru chastised, "luckily, I can help you gain more power than ever before, power enough to tear Akatsuki apart with ease. What do you say, Naruko-kun, would you become my student alongside Sasuke-kun?"
Naruko roared, trying to twist out of the snakes that held her. When she couldn't she spat fire on the ground to try and burn them with the super heated stone.
Orochimaru frowned. "Hmm, seems like the seal will need to be treated quickly, or else she'll lose her mind forever."
Naruko growled, chakra flaring from her bindings. The snakes hissed in agony, falling away from her as they died from her virulent chakra. When they were all dead, the ninja present saw that her armor had changed slightly. It seemed to have...matured a bit or something like that, looking like a coat was starting to form as the upper and lower halves started to divide into separate articles of clothing. As they watched, the curse seal receded, Naruko's eyes fading back to purple.
"Running from true power, how pathetic," Sasuke muttered, glaring at his former teammate.
Naruko looked up at the boy, tired and hurting a bit from forcing the curse seal back. "Sasuke... Orochimaru won't let you get to Itachi. You're body is the one he wants the most, he won't let you get hurt..."
"All that matters to me is revenge, Kyūbi. I thought that you, who were victimized by Konoha, would understand vengeance best. I don't care what happens, so long as my hands are the ones that end Itachi's life. I don't care if it is me in control or anyone else, just so long as these hands choke the life out of that man. I would sell my soul if it meant killing Itachi, allowing Orochimaru to take my body is cheaper and easier," Sasuke said.
Naruko sighed, bringing her hands together, black and white chakra starting to gather between them. "Then I'll just destroy those two." She thought she was making a rasengan.
"Hn. I'm ending this now," Sasuke muttered, preparing to use a jutsu.
Yamato realized what was going to happen and chose to step forward. "So it does come to force. I had hoped to avoid this," he said.
Orochimaru seized Sasuke's hand, stopping him. "Now now, Sasuke-kun, you must learn to play nice. This is not the time for that jutsu," he said.
"Release me," Sasuke warned, his sharingan locked on the man.
"Learn your place," Kabuto warned.
Sasuke looked at the medic. "I know my place, you don't know yours."
"Naruko and Konoha are assisting us with Akatsuki, albeit unwillingly. In order to protect her from Akatsuki, they will have to defeat them and the only way to put a permanent end to the attacks is to kill all members of Akatsuki that come for her," Kabuto explained.
Orochimaru smirked. "The more they kill, the easier it will be for you to kill Itachi." When he released Sasuke's arm, the teen dropped it to his side. "Time to go, Sasuke-kun," the snake said.
Naruko watched as the three vanished in a swirl of flames, Sasuke staring at her the whole time, disdain in his eyes.
"Dammit!" Naruko snapped, slamming her hand into the ground, driving her fist a few inches through hard packed earth. She grit her teeth, not letting herself cry in frustration. She not only got manipulated by the curse seal that lived on in spite of her power, but she still, even after all she had done, couldn't bring Sasuke to his home. Was she just too weak as a bijū? She knew she couldn't assume kitsune form, so was that a sign that she was no good as the Kyūbi, as anything?
Sakura, letting her tears flow, looked on as her teammate slammed her fist down again and again. "Naruko... It isn't just your fault, its mine too. Let's work together so that next time, we'll be strong enough."
"Six months, that's more than enough time for all of us to be ready," Sai said, surprising them all, "Sasuke-san was right, I do fit into Team Kakashi quite well. Three are also better than two, right? I don't look it, but I am ANBU."
Naruko stood up. "Th-thanks," she said, smiling crookedly. People normally didn't help her out too much, aside from her friends and those she considered her precious people.
Sakura chuckled a bit as she wiped her eyes. "You're stuttering like Hinata."
Yamato chuckled a bit alongside Sakura, Sai smiling a bit as Naruko blushed.
"I'm going to prank you all soon enough," Naruko warned.
Yamato smiled at the girl. "I've heard of your pranks, don't think I'll get caught so easily."
SNAP! Clatter!
Sakura blushed hard, Yamato's jaw dropped, Sai's eye brow rose. "Oh, they are quite big," the painter said.
Naruko looked down as it suddenly became very, VERY chilly. What she saw was completely bare skin, fragments of the bone armor and scraps of the leather-like material fading out of existence around her feet.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
[Four days later, Konoha]
"Let me get this straight, you wound up...naked after they escaped?" Tsunade asked, confused. She thought she heard something a few days ago.
Naruko's face was burning with a blush. "I-It seems that forming the armor destroyed my clothes."
"Aside from Naruko's coping method being exhibitionism," Tsunade said, a teasing grin on her face, "how are things going to go?"
Naruko looked straight at the woman. "I'm not giving up. I have six months to catch up, six month to master this new power. I won't be caught off guard again."
Tsunade chuckled. "I'd tell you about your next mission, but I think Naruko should go get some new clothes."
Naruko kept blushing as she tried to pull the hem of the shirt down, since she was wearing her rather skimpy pajama shorts, with one of Sakura's large (for the pinkette) 'sleeping' shirts on. It wasn't her fault that she liked to bare as much skin as she could when she was sleeping, it just felt nice to do it.
[Two weeks later]
Naruko was sitting on a short step, waiting for Sakura to show up. They were supposed to go visit Kakashi today, since he'd be allowed out of the hospital soon. Her thoughts turned to various events, most prominent among them being what Itachi said to her almost three years ago.
"Naruko!"
The kitsune looked up and saw her favorite girl ever coming up to her, a smile on her face. Naruko smiled back, waving to Sai as well. Naruko had decided to go casual today, wearing a white sleeveless sweater and almost knee length black cargo shorts, a pair of dark red sandals and her hair tied up in a low pony tail. It complimented her fox tail quite well.
"Sakura-chan, dates are between two people, not three!" Naruko whined.
Sakura frowned. "Want me to punch you so soon?"
"I wanted to make it look like we were walking around together, then slowly change it to a date," Naruko grumbled.
"Sometimes I wonder if you're a genius or a total baka," Sakura mused.
Naruko's nose wrinkled. "Were you at the library? That place is so stuffy, dusty and boring!"
"You could learn a lot at a library, Naruko," Sakura said.
"You can't beat someone up with your brain~" Naruko whined.
"But you can learn some great tactics if you read the right books," Sakura said, smirking a bit, "I'll go on a date with you if we go to the library."
Naruko looked torn. She wanted a date with Sakura, but the library was just too boring! She started to think hard, did the benefits, a date with the girl she loved, outweigh the pain of going to the library? Could she last long enough to even sit down? This dilemma was great enough that she felt it worthy of being labeled more painful than a Kage's never ending paperwork.
Sai decided it was time to put the knowledge of the book to the test and, sadly, he learned of a new emotion: embarrassment. "N-Naruko...Sakura, I was wondering if I could join in this conversation?"
Naruko and Sakura were confused.
"Err... Its just... I read in a book about getting to know people, it said n-nicknames or not using suffixes will make it easier to...well, become friends faster," Sai explained, blushing.
"You actually want to make friends? I think that's a good idea Sai! Count me as your first friend ever!" Naruko said, her usual grin plastered on her face.
"That's why you read all those books," Sakura said.
"I, uhh, couldn't think of any good nicknames for you two, so I dropped the suffixes," Sai admitted.
"You don't think of nicknames, they just come to you," Naruko said.
"Foxy~"
Naruko blushed, remembering how Ino had taken to calling her that, well, more like purring it out.
"People normally use the person's personality. See Naruko here, 'baka Naruko' or just plain 'baka' works perfectly," Sakura instructed, smirking.
"Sakura-chan..." Naruko mumbled, feeling sad that her nickname went right for her intelligence.
Sai thought hard on a possible nickname for Sakura, thinking of her traits as he did so. So far, they all sounded like natural disasters. Oh, there was that one!
'Sai's like a completely different person now, so I wonder how nice he'd be to me. I just know he won't call me an ugly dog again,' Sakura thought.
"Thanks, I think I understand now, Forehead," Sai said with a smile.
Snap!
"SHANNARO!" the pink haired demo- er, kunoichi roared as she attempted to kill the painting ninja.
"Sai! Taboo word! That's a taboo word!" Naruko shouted, struggling to hold back her crush. Her hands slipped to a pair of no-go zones on Sakura's body. 'I'm so dead...'
WHAM! CRACK! CRASH! SMASH!
"ITAIIIIIIIYO!"
….WHACK!
[Hospital room, ten minutes later]
"So you're Sai, huh?" Kakashi lazily asked, "nice to meet you, I'm Hatake Kakashi." As one would expect, his book was in hand.
Naruko had a few bruises on her head and scratch marks on her face, Sai had a fist print on his cheek, Sakura was smiling happily.
"Thanks," Sai said, running at his cheek.
"Sakura, come here for a moment," Kakashi said. Once the girl was close, he used his book to help make it so only Sakura heard him clearly. "Are they getting along alright?" the jōnin asked, "looks like they went a round with a boxing glove wearing Tora."
"Nope, we're all really good friends," Sakura said, then nervously laughed a bit.
'Hmm, so she hit them. I can understand Naruko, because she can be a bit perverted, but Sai seems like an okay kid so far,' Kakashi thought to himself.
"Kakashi-sensei... We couldn't bring him back," Naruko said, not having to say the name for the man to know who she was talking about.
"I heard Naruko... about how Sasuke is as well," Kakashi said, feeling sorry for all his students. He failed all of them in some way.
"I'm...not strong enough. We're running out of time too," Naruko mumbled, "he's just too strong for me."
"Not quite. You were able to go toe to toe with Orochimaru using that armor of yours. If you can use that, it may be easier to bring Sasuke back than you think," Kakashi stated.
"I don't know how to use it at all! It just came to me and now its gone! It's like all my special abilities!" Naruko shouted.
Kakashi closed his book. "What about Shiratama? Can't she help?"
"She went on a mission two weeks ago and hasn't come back. She doesn't even have a power like mine, so she probably couldn't help," Naruko said.
"I see then..." Kakashi said, "that means I get to train you personally now. About time too."
Naruko's head snapped up so fast she could have thrown the Hokage monument off her shoulders. "What?"
"If you can't become a better Kyūbi," Kakashi started, pointing at Naruko dramatically," we will make you a better kunoichi!"
"Kakashi-sensei..." Naruko said, happy for the offer, but...
"You'd look so much cooler if you weren't pointing at her with smut," Sakura deadpanned. She was worried. "Kakashi-sensei, I think Sasuke-kun used drugs and kinjutsu to improve as much as he has."
"With Orochimaru, who is known for being power hungry, and Kabuto, a medic with no limits, such a thing was expected," Kakashi admitted.
"I've been reading a lot of books, trying to figure out what they did or used, but..." Sakura couldn't go on, it disgusted her what could have happened.
"Well, I guess Naruko will just have to get stronger with a kinjutsu of her own, one much faster than Sasuke's," Kakashi said.
"Kakashi-sensei! We can't do that! It's illegal!" Sakura snapped.
"Actually, we can and it won't violate any laws. It isn't because Naruko's not human, its because she's Naruko," Kakashi said.
"How does that work?" Sakura asked, confused.
"Naruko has a method of surpassing me as a shinobi very quickly. This kinjutsu training might be something only she can do," Kakashi said, staring at his student.
"Surpass you?" Naruko asked, shocked that anyone thought she could surpass them, let alone her sensei. The man was damn strong, near legendary now.
"That's right. I'll be there every step of the way, helping you to make a new jutsu, a jutsu beyond anything you've ever imagined," Kakashi said, "an ultimate ninjutsu."
Naruko's jaw nearly fell off her skull. Sakura was even more surprised.
"You'll make a jutsu that surpasses the rasengan, surpasses even my raikiri. Sadly, it requires a lot of work and years of training," Kakashi said.
"I got two months!" Naruko yelled.
"Then we'll have to make those years of training become two months," Kakashi said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
"That's...not possible," Naruko muttered, thinking her sensei's smut finally rot his brain to zilch. Even she was smart enough to know that you couldn't compress time.
"It is possible, with kinjutsu that yo-" Kakashi started.
"Asuma-sensei! At least knock!"
Team Kakashi turned to see Team Asuma standing in the door, Asuma himself having just opened the door.
"Kakashi, you good yet?" Asuma asked.
"Naruko, Sakura, how'd you miss-" Shikamaru started, then noticed Sai. "You're that one from before..."
Choji noticed the teen as well, but neither got to say anything else.
"Foxy! I missed you!" Ino cheered, hugging Naruko.
'Foxy?' Sai thought.
"Pig... Get off my teammate! We're in a hospital for crying out loud!" Sakura snapped.
Ino looked at Sakura, then sighed. "Too late, she's mine," she said, reaching for a certain red appendage.
Naruko's senses went off and she stood, scooping Ino into a princess carry, the girl's arms unable to get to the tail.
"Oh Naruko, we're in a hospital. Well, maybe they have an unused room somewhere," Ino said, blushing slightly.
Naruko quickly set Ino down and moved to the other side of the room, not wanting Sakura to hit her again. The kitsune made sure to keep herself at the ready, so she could dodge Ino's attempts to grab the tail. Why the hell would Ino try to grab Naruko's tail? Good thing she altered the law when she and the others went to the palace for the first time. Now, if someone wanted to marry a kitsune, they'd have to touch ALL of their tails, meaning Naruko couldn't be married because she could only manifest four of her nine tails.
"My name is Sai," the Ne ANBU greeted.
"Who's this guy?" Ino asked while pointing at Sai, curious as to if she had competition.
"You heard him, his name is Sai. He's really rude though, so be careful," Sakura warned.
"I heard about Sasuke. The pain in the ass, or the chūnin exams as people call them, are over, so I'll help if anything comes up," Shikamaru said.
"...Thanks..." Naruko muttered, her happiness level way below norm. Shikamaru picked up on this instantly, as did everyone in the room aside from Sai.
"Weren't you guys going to Yakiniku later, why not take Team Kakashi along?" Asuma suggested.
"B-B-Q!" Choji cheered as he pumped his arms up and down, happy to eat.
"Alright," Ino agreed, wanting to sit next to Naruko.
"I'll try to catch up later, I've got to talk with Kakashi a bit first," Asuma said.
"Hey! Kakashi-sensei was going to tell me something a minute ago!" Naruko protested.
"Later Naruko. Consider this training in patience," Kakashi said.
Naruko would have said more, but Ino latched onto her arm and dragged her out of the room.
[Yakiniku Q]
"Where did Shikamaru go?" Sakura asked.
"He needed some antlers from home for medicine," Choji said, his mouth waterfalling at the sight of the grilling meat. He had already forgotten about Sai, who sat next to him.
"I don't get it really, he's never late for our meetings," Ino said, happy that she was next to Naruko.
Sakura glared at the blonde who was practically marking HER teammate with how close she was. At least Sakura sat on Naruko's other side, sort of.
"Dibs on Shikamaru's share!" Choji called out.
"Choji! We introduce ourselves to new people before we eat," Ino sternly reminded her teammate.
"Sorry," Choji said, reigning in his hunger. He turned to Sai, still drooling a bit. "I'm Akimichi Choji, nice to meet you, Sai."
"Nice to meet you too..." Sai trailed off, trying to think of a nickname.
'Oh no, with his razor sharp tongue, Sai's going to die,' Sakura thought.
Naruko held her hands up in a silent prayer. 'Sai, it was nice knowing you.'
"Hoshikusa," Sai finished.
'Haystack?' Naruko and Sakura thought.
"Nnn? Why did you call me that?" Choji asked.
"Hoshikusa, because your hair is brown, messy and you are a powerful, sturdy person, just like a haystack," Sai said.
Choji thought about it for a moment, then smiled. "I kind of like it."
'He skipped over a landmine!' Naruko and Sakura thought.
"I'm Yamanaka Ino from the best flower shop in Konoha, the Yamanaka flower shop," the blonde greeted with a smile.
'This is going to be good! He called me 'forehead,' so he's going to completely humiliate Ino-pig!' Sakura evilly thought with a smirk Orochimaru would be proud of.
Sai knew, from experience with Sakura, that calling a woman what he really thought led to a horror no man should know, so he'd lie through his teeth.
"Nice to meet you, kirei hana," Sai said.
Ino stared at him, a bit of a blush on her face. Sakura was ready to explode. Naruko wondered if Sai was in love with Ino.
"Naruko, he called me a beautiful flower and it made my heart skip a beat. Did it make you jealous?" Ino purred, leaning on Naruko's arm.
Now Naruko was a stuttering mess and Sai was about to be beaten into a bloody mess by Sakura.
[Twenty minutes later]
Sakura and Ino were walking home together, Naruko having bolted as soon as dinner was done and paid for so she could avoid an 'Ino glomp.' Sakura was still bothered by Ino carrying on like this.
"Pig," the pinkette started, "why are you all over Naruko lately? It's almost like when Sasuke-kun was around..." Honestly, it looked like Ino was in heat sometimes.
Ino sighed. "Sakura, do you know how many dates I've been on?"
"Six dozen in the last week alone?" Sakura joked.
"Don't believe those rumors!" Ino snapped, then looked at the ground, "only three."
Sakura stumbled over nothing. Ino was one of, if not the most attractive girl out of their age group in Konoha. Sakura herself had a couple guys asking her out, Lee among them, and a girl as well, Naruko, but she said no to all of them, mainly because of Sasuke, mostly because Naruko and Lee were the best of the wooers. Well, there was that handsome doctor, but he was twenty eight, far too old for her. While sixteen, which she'd be in a few months, was the age of consent for shinobi, Sakura wanted someone closer to her own age, not a guy who was almost thirteen years her senior.
"There's no way that's true," Sakura said.
Ino nodded. "I've only gone out on three dates, all of them were the guy asking me out, all before I fell for Naruko." She smiled weakly at her friend/rival, "my only experience asking someone out was as a fan girl. Pathetic, huh? I really don't know how to properly ask Naruko out or get her to pay attention to me..."
Sakura felt for the blonde, wondering if she would be the same if she was interested in someone else.
"Like Naruko!" Inner Sakura boomed.
'What the- Weren't you gone?!' Sakura thought at her inner self.
"I'm back and louder than ever before!" the crazy thing shouted.
Sakura wanted to scream, but didn't. 'Why are you back?'
Her inner self remained silent.
"Forehead!" Ino called into Sakura's ear.
"What?" Sakura snapped back.
Ino nervously ground the front of her sandal into the ground. "Do you know any way I can approach Naruko without looking like a total idiot, a fan girl or some lust crazed slut? What is she like? What does she hate? What does she like?"
Sakura had a long list of ways Ino could stop looking like a lust crazed slut, mostly starting with her getting a new outfit and a personality change, but she kept that to herself. "Well, she likes ramen..."
"Real informative Forehead, I think we all knew that back at the academy," Ino droned, frowning.
Sakura's right eye twitched in annoyance. "She also like her friends, as well as training, and me. What she hates... Akatsuki and Orochimaru. As for what she's like..." He memory flashed to the hot springs, making her blush hard, "she's... She's really... buoyant?" If one could be could have a sexual harassment suit put to them for their thoughts, Sakura would be as guilty as charged. Well, people with Naruko's personality could be described as buoyant.
Ino angrily flicked Sakura's forehead, which wasn't too difficult in her opinion. "Stay away from my girl, Forehead," she warned, a low growl in her tone.
Sakura scoffed. "Don't drop me to your level, lesbo."
Ino smiled. "Proud of it too."
They walked in silence for a few minutes, then Sakura asked, "why'd you go for her tail? We both know what will happen if you touch it."
Ino blushed a bit. "I just wanted her to know how serious I was about being with her. Aside from marrying her, I don't know any way of getting through to her. She's always been rather thickheaded."
"That means... Ino, do you really want to m-marry Naruko?" Sakura asked, shocked.
Ino didn't say anything, just blushed so darkly that Hinata must have felt jealous.
"Y-You're serious?!" Sakura gasped.
Ino nodded slightly. "I-It's not like with Sasuke. She makes me feel whole, like I'm lighter than air. I've been happy before, but around Naruko, I can't stop being happy. The thought of her makes my heart hammer in my chest, the sight of her makes my breath hitch, I have to force myself to not jump her."
"Ino, you do jump her every time," Sakura pointed out.
Ino looked down as the blush creeped down her neck. "N-Not like th-that. Y-You know, I wa-want to j-j-jump her like...that."
Sakura blushed hard. "You mean you want to...with her?"
"Yes," Ino said. While the Yamanaka clan's pupils were the exact same color as their irides, a natural defense against interrogation, the blush and nervous smile told Sakura that her friend was serious. Ino also wouldn't joke about something like this.
Sakura looked away. "Wow... I didn't... I mean... Naruko! Her of all people... Just...wow..."
Ino nodded slightly. "If you went back to when we were in the academy and found me back then, told me that Naruto was actually a girl and I would want to have my first time with her, the old me would have laughed at you."
"Yeah, you're right," Sakura said. A minute and twelve seconds later, Ino's words clicked in Sakura's head. "Wait, you mean you haven't-"
Once more, Ino blushed hard, then nodded. "I wanted it to be Sasuke before, but now I know I want Naruko to be my first. She wasn't my first kiss, but I'll give her something of mine that's almost as precious as what she already has; I'll give her my virginity."
"W-what does she have?" Sakura asked, her head spinning from this rather adult conversation.
Ino placed a hand on her chest. "My heart..."
Sakura sighed, then smiled at the blonde. "Alright! I'll help you out then."
Ino looked at her friend. "Really?"
Sakura nodded. "Of course, that's what friends are for."
Ino slung her arm around Sakura's shoulders. "Thanks for the help, Sakura. One rule though: don't fall for Naruko, she's mine."
Sakura chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't fall for her, I'm straight after all, not like you yuri girls."
"Once more, I'm damn proud to be lesbian because it means I love that wonderful redhead," Ino stated, then laughed a bit.
[Unknown place]
Naruko stood in a clearing, a strange ringed pattern etched into the ground with tomoe on it, almost like it was a seal. She wasn't alone either.
A three tailed turtle stood a little off to Naruko's left, a huge turtle too. A four tailed ape stood to the left of the turtle. There was a six tailed...slug or something like that too. And something like an octopus and bull's kid. There were statues as well, representing other creatures with multiple tails, one that Naruko recognized: a one-tailed raccoon.
"Are these...the bijū?" she wondered aloud, staring at a statue of Shukaku.
A loud scream filled the air, making Naruko look to the other side of the Shukaku statue, seeing a two tailed cat made of flames.
"Kitten!" it yowled, more in pain for the blonde woman lying before it. The woman looked fatally injured too and was sort of fading in and out of focus. "Please kitten, don't die on me."
Naruko wanted to go help, but she seemed to be confined to a certain place, like she was sealed in a box. She noticed that, for the bijū not turned to stone, there was a person kneeling before them, like the person was meditating. Before the statues, aside from Shukaku, there was a statue of a human screaming in fear and pain.
"So Matabi's got caught as well," the octobull said.
"What's going on?" Naruko demanded.
It was at this moment that the bijū noticed her.
"Is she the Kyūbi?" the slug asked.
"Can't be, she must be Kyūbi's jinchūriki," the ape said, glaring at Naruko.
Naruko looked at the monkey. "I am the Kyūbi! I'm Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruko, Sanban Kyūbi!"
"That's not possible," the slug said.
"Why?" Naruko demanded.
"Because you're sane," the bullpus said, "ever since that Uchiha that controlled Kurama was killed, we've been unable to maintain our sanity without a human being containing us."
Naruko looked at the strange creature. "Why would his death change you guys?"
Matabi, the cat, though saddened by her wounded jinchūriki, decided to talk. "We never attacked villages as often or as viciously as we did soon after that man died. We only became mindless after that valley was formed. It's like his passing did something to us, making it so we're consumed with rage when we don't have a jinchūriki."
"Then why am I not crazy?" Naruko wondered to herself.
The other bijū remained silent, unable to answer because they were wondering that themselves. Before their eyes, Naruko vanished, fading as she woke up.
"She's different," Matabi muttered.
The slug and octobull nodded, the ape merely snorted.
[Two days later, a training ground near Konoha]
Naruko was smiling widely.
"What now?" Kakashi asked.
"I'm just happy that I finally get to train with you," Naruko admitted.
Kakashi smiled back. "You won't be happy soon enough, so enjoy the moment."
Naruko was not smiling anymore. She forgot that, while he was a good teacher, he was a tough teacher.
"Time isn't on our side, so we'll start your training to make a jutsu that outstrips the rasengan," Kakashi said. He explained elemental and shape transformation to the girl, since she'd have to use them for the training session. As expected, he had to simplify it quite a bit.
"Naruko, your rasengan is shape transformation at the highest point possible. You're katon jutsu and fire breath are rough, but they are elemental transformation. What we're going to do is help you master nature transformation, or at least get it to a point where you can combine both of them into one jutsu," Kakashi said, knowing Naruko didn't get his first explanation.
"Then how am I going to make all this time count? And what kinjutsu do I know that will make it work?" Naruko asked.
Kakashi sighed, realizing that Naruko forgot that she knew, and constantly used, kinjutsu. "Naruko, you'll be using kage bunshin no jutsu to make up for your lack of time."
"How are they going to help?" Naruko asked, not getting it.
Kakashi sighed. "Instead of explaining, I'll show you." He formed the seal. "Kage bunshin no jutsu," he lazily stated, another Kakashi appearing next to him, "make a shadow clone."
Naruko smirked as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Kage bunshin no jutsu." An equally smirking clone stood next to the original.
'Little show off,' Kakashi thought with a slight grin as he looked at his clone, "take her clone with you and do plan SG-8 her." The clone nodded and led the clone kitsune away.
After a few moments, Naruko frowned at her sensei. "Kakashi-sensei, I don't see ho... Huh?"
"Finally see how it works?" Kakashi asked, hoping everything didn't go through.
"Kakashi-sensei is paying for my next batch of ramen!" Naruko cheered.
Kakashi explained the original purpose of the jutsu, as well as how Naruko could use it to increase the amount she got out of training.
"So that's why you're so strong," Naruko said, her opinion of the man rising.
"No, I never did this sort of training before," Kakashi said.
"Why not? You were taught it or something, right?" Naruko asked.
Kakashi shook his head. "I just came up with it when you mentioned you were running low on time. I don't have the chakra to train like this, since my shadow clones don't last all that long."
Naruko knew she had a lot of chakra, but she at least thought Kakashi could hold a shadow clone for a while, at least twenty minutes or so.
"Naruko, you've got far more chakra than me, nearly twenty fold. And who knows how much if you stop holding yourself back," Kakashi said.
"But if I do, the curse seal..." she didn't want to lose herself again. Last time she had been focused on Orochimaru and Kabuto, if it happened again, she might destroy everything precious to her and then some.
"That's why I'm here, Naruko-kun."
Naruko turned. "Yamato-taichou?"
"Kakashi-senpai asked me to help, since the curse seal's effects on you are increased when your powers rise. I can at least lower your chakra levels so you can control the curse seal again," Yamato explained.
"Thanks," Naruko said, smiling.
Kakashi and Yamato explained elemental manipulation and affinities to the girl, as well as Sasuke being able to use raiton and katon, whereas Naruko appeared to be a pure fire user.
"Well, maybe more than that," Kakashi said as he pulled out a few slips of paper. He explained the paper and how it determined ones elemental affinity, then handed one to Naruko and told her to flow come chakra into it.
She focused her chakra into the slip of paper.
Kakashi and Yamato watched as it split, then started to burn.
"Wind and fire, one more than I expected," Kakashi said.
"Wind chakra is sharp, allowing precise or deadly cuts," Yamato said.
"And fire allows me to burn things with fire breath," Naruko said, remembering how she'd learned a few katon, mostly ones Sasuke had already learned before he left Konoha. She preferred her kitsune fire breath since it was so much stronger.
"You can use fire, but you don't even know the basics of wind, so you'll need to train hard to use it," Yamato said.
"Wait, what happens to the paper when Yamato-taichou uses it? Does it turn into bark or something?" Naruko asked.
"The mokuton is nothing more than using two natures at the same time, just like most advanced natures. For mokuton, you combine suiton and doton together," Yamato explained, then he demonstrated the two separate natures by creating a large waterfall after digging a trench through a cliff he created. "By combining both at once," he said, showing that he used earth in one hand, water in the other, thus creating trees that grew out of the cliff.
"I'd explain more to you, but your head is probably already reeling from what you've learned today," Kakashi said, "but before we start the training, I need one thing from you Naruko."
"What's that?" the kitsune empress asked.
"I need to you at the limit of your controllable power. I want you to summon all the tails you can manage to safely use," Kakashi said.
Naruko was now worried, since the curse seal always went mad with the higher levels of power she used.
"Don't worry, I'll force your chakra back if anything goes wrong," Yamato said.
Naruko thought it over, then nodded. "Alright, I've only done this twice before..." She crouched down on all fours, then her chakra started rising as the wind around her picked up, dust rising to make it impossible for the men to see her.
The two watched as it raged, then blew away to reveal Naruko, four tailed now. She winced a bit, the seal starting to act up and spread already.
Yamato quickly summoned a pillar with a dog's head on it, then commanded it to get Naruko. When it hit, she was forced to the ground and she returned to her usual one tailed form, the seal receding.
Kakashi nodded. "Later on, we have to find out how many tails you can use without the seal acting up, I'll contact Jiraiya-sama later and see if he can help in locking up the curse seal. First," the man caught a falling leaf, "step one: hold a leaf between your hands and use your chakra to cut it in two."
Naruko stood up, feeling a bit sore from getting taken down by the wood dog thing jutsu. "Sounds easy," she said.
Kakashi smiled, pointing at the tree overhead. "Then create a clone for every leaf and get to work."
A/N~
Sorry about the wait, but my confidence got broken when I thought people would hate Naruko's 'powered outfit.' Well, I'm also a procrastinator, a manga reader, a fanfic reader, a gamer and my mind is a plot bunny farm, so I had a lot on my plate. I might alter this chapter a bit later on, since I have to go to sleep soon and I promised myself I'd get this out before I went to bed.
Index-
Plan SG-8: The eighth in a series of plans Kakashi has made over the years. It stands for 'Satisfy Guy #8', and it is nothing more than a simple game of rock paper scissors. Plan SG-8S involves the use of sharingan to make the break Kakashi has longer, but it is very rarely used since Kakashi likes to have a fair competition with Guy.
Oh, by the way, you might want to mind the omakes. The first will have you hurl, the second might produce a nosebleed and the third is something you might just want to avoid at all. While I will never, EVER write out the third one in full, it plants a disturbing image in one's head.
Omake~
Even worse than the NarukoXSasuke omake...
Sasuke stared at Naruko, taking in her blonde twin tails and her well curved form. He just loved her blonde hair in those twin pony tails. Those cute little whisker marks on each cheek just drove him wild. That long sleeved jacket with the raised collar combined with those short shorts she wore had Kakashi wanted to climb them to reach Heaven itself!
"Haaa. Naruko-chawn is so kyute!" Sasuke quietly in a partially dead language.
Naruko looked around, then ducked into an alley, making Sasuke follow his beloved in hopes of seeing her do something that nobody was supposed to see.
Naruko looked about again, then nodded to herself. "Alright. Time to release my henge."
Sasuke's eyes widened as the girl was consumed by smoke, being replaced with a blond teen with shaggy hair and an outfit that almost matched the female form's clothes, just with full pants. He took in the obviously masculine form and sighed again.
"Naruko-chawn is still kyute, even as a guy," Sasuke muttered dreamily. He started thinking of making out with that handsome hunk of a ninja, picturing it even...
Sakura suddenly shot up in her bed, feeling very warm, especially on her face and... yeah.
"K-Kami! Wha-What the hell was I dreaming about?" the pink haired girl asked herself, blushing up a storm as she realized that the other girls would call her...
"Hmm? Karin-san, what are you drawing?" a fellow guard asked, trying to look over the redhead's shoulder.
"AH! Go do some rounds or I'll kick your balls into your throat!" Karin roared as she shoved the bound pages into a desk drawer. To make sure that the man did as she asked, she chased him out of the room. Pity she didn't use her ability to see another guard drop her genjutsu to make herself visible.
"Now let's see what that psycho does in her spare time," the woman said as she opened the drawer and pulled out Karin's work. She felt herself getting disgusted the more she 'read.'
The woman closed the book and put it away. "Kami, Karin's a-"
"Gai-sensei! I saw the most unyouthful of books just now!" Lee shouted.
"What was that? Is it my hip rivals book? You shouldn't read those books, even when you are of age!" Guy shouted back.
Tenten sighed as she looked to the 'doujin' section of the store and spotted what Lee was screaming about. "Kusaqueen's... Blond on black... What is this?" she wondered as she opened up to a page, then quickly shut it a second later. "Kami's kunai collection! This is a yaoi doujin of Naruko-chan's male form and Sasuke! Whoever wrote this is one hell of a-"
"-fusjoshi. I'm not becoming a fujoshi. I'm not becoming a fujoshi," Sakura repeated to herself, hoping it was just one of those random dreams she had every once in a while.
One of Sakura's other dreams-
"Kyahahaha!" Sakura laughed as her love slave gently ran the soapy cloth over her more ticklish spots, "be careful or else I'm not going to reward you later."
"P-Punishment?" the slave asked, sounding oddly excited about that prospect.
Sakura gave the slave a devious grin. "Oooh? Would you like that, a little punishment from me?"
"H-Hai!" the slave yelped, knowing that punishment was a sweet, sweet pain for them. It just made the reward so, so, SO much better.
Sakura smirked and got out of the tub. "Get in and I'll wash you slave, but you have to remain completely quiet or I'm going to stop and leave you alone." The slave practically teleported into the tub. "So eager. Well, let's begin then," Sakura said as she dunked the cloth into the water, then started to slowly wash her slave.
The slave practically bit their lips to prevent the groans of relief and pleasure from escaping their mouth. Sakura was doing her best, putting pressure and chakra into her scrubbing around the shoulders, back and legs of her slave, using her expertise in medical ninjutsu to tease the muscles and nerves, aiming to produce pleasure for her favorite love toy.
"Saku~rrrra-samaaaaa!" her slave practically growled in pleasure as the young medic focused on their neck. Anyone could see that the slave was about to go nuts from what Sakura was doing to them.
"Annnnnnnd," Sakura breathed into her toy's ear, "we're done, little slave." Sakura, before pulling her head back, quickly nipped at her slave's ear, producing a quick yelp of surprised pleasure from them.
"Sakura-sama..." the slave panted, smiling crookedly, "what...what are we doing now?"
Sakura smiled at her slave as she took down some towels. "Now we're going to bed and, because you were such a good little toy, I'll put you and myself away warm," she wrapped her arms around her slave, one hand dipping down while the other started to dry her love slave off, "and naked."
Sakura took her toy to bed, having no trouble at all pulling it into bed and draping herself partially on it. She loved to cuddle and she was more than certain that her toy was enjoying the skinship as well.
"Goodnight, Sakura-sama," the slave said, cuddling with their master.
Sakura buried her face in her slave's chest, pulling the warm body closer to her. "Goodnight, Naruko-chan..." she said as she felt the kitsune's tail tickle her thigh a bit.
Sakura, for the second time that night, shot up from her dream. "Oh Kami no! I didn't just..." she stopped when she noticed she had three very distinct symptoms of that type of dream. "No. I'm not a lesbian, I'm not into Naruko, I don't want to p-p-p..." the pink haired girl started to turn red as she replayed the dream in her head. With that string of images going through her head, Sakura triggered a forth symptom of such thoughts.
SPURT!
Censored for sanity's sake-
"NO! NO! NO!" Sakura screamed as she shot up again, pale as a ghost and a look of sheer terror on her face.
Click.
"Honey? What's wrong?" Haruno Miku asked as she came in, her husband not too far behind.
"Sakura-chan, did someone peep at you?" Haruno Saika asked, an aura of death radiating off his massive body.
"W-Worse. I had a dream..." the girl started.
"Was it a bad one?" Miku asked.
Sakura nodded her head. "The worst possible dream in history."
"Did it involve losing everything you care for?" Saika asked, seeing that as the worst possible thing that one could dream of.
Sakura decided she needed to tell her parents or they'd pester her all night long. "I had a dream that..." she swallowed hard as the horrifying image came back, "S-Sasuke-kun had a harem..."
"You weren't part of it?" Miku asked.
Sakura nodded. "It... It was all male... and the alphas were...Lee-san and Gai-sensei..."
After hearing that, nobody in the Haruno house could sleep anymore that night.
Responses-
Sky Zephyrus: It isn't called the denial phase, it is called being in the 'tsun' part of the tsundere. The tsun is the most fun. (Kirabi screams "Wheeeeeeee!" for my rhyme) Dere is the reward for enduring the tsun. And you think her armor looked cool? Her armor is borderline slutty. It is basically a skintight latex catsuit with stylized 'bone' armor covering what needs covering.
Trintiger: No, I am staying within... Wait, isn't lime when you mention a lemon after the fact? If it is, maybe there will be some of that later. I know one of my other stories has Sakura and Kakashi pop into Naruto's place after he and his girlfriend (a dark skinned, red eyed, silver haired bombshell of an OC kunoichi) 'celebrated' his return and two birthdays. I might do something like that for this fic too.
Demon-dash1147: Since I listed this as a romance fic and the pairing is Naruko/Ino/Sakura, yes, Naruko and Ino will hook up and Sakura will switch from tsun to dere.
The Keeper of Worlds: Glad you like it and updated.
Analyn Rockwand: Naruko's new 'armor' (won't be a true armor for long) is her own unique power. Kurama had his wild power, Tsurenai had the ability to perfectly control her demonic chakra and shape it into any form she willed. Naruko's armor will reveal its true power later on, but for now it is a powerful defense and it gives her the ability to focus her chakra far faster and stably.
As for the kitsune abilities, Naruko already did make a spear and sword before, the Kitsune Yari and Kitsune katana. She will have more of those later on, but for now she doesn't know how to do half of what she can do. She sort of has... what the hell do they call it again? When under fire she can suddenly use her powers at full capacity, even brand new ones, but becomes a total amateur when she tries to perform them later on outside of a battle.
Shikicker: Most kitsune, meaning the ones not named 'Naruko,' are able to completely assume human form, meaning no tail is visible. I forgot to mention that grabbing a kitsune's tail during battle is actually an insult to them, almost as bad as rape, meaning they reserve the right to smear you like a bug if they can. As you said, it is generally viewed as a violation of personal space and is considered incredibly rude. Most kitsune expose their tail to a person (whether human or demon) as a way of proposing to them.
Kusanagi isn't a demon blade, that was another anime/manga or a mistake in a fanfic you read. If anything, Kusanagi is presented as a 'holy' blade. And I think I made a mistake somewhere in the last chapter, either that or Orochimaru is getting more and more delusional. (if such a thing were possible)
Kabuto is, in my opinion, downright annoying and there to be a prick who gives people the finger while 'adjusting' his glasses. As for Sakura running into the fray, she did that in canon when Naruko was out of control, so running at her teammate who is still in control and suffering is MORE sensible than canon.
And as you said, Sai's insults are funny and crass, but that's part of what I like about him. At least he's not going "emo talk this, emo talk that," and thinking 'emo thoughts this, gay thoughts that,' all the freaking time. I swear Sasuke's cutting his wrists and that's why he wears bandages on them.
ShadowCub: Uh, were you reading the chapter I wrote a while ago? Naruko's armor was skin tight, practically a cat suit, with bone armor over it in 'risque' areas. Well, it was a one time deal and her armor will never be slutty. She also will not go and hook up with Kiba, Sasuke, Kabuto or, even worse, Gai and/or Kakashi. (cringe) She will later on come to accept some things, but she won't betray the village.
ShadowBloodEdge9396: I don't really like breaking her heart either, but the fact is that Hiashi would never, EVER let his daughter date another girl. He'd sooner dye his hair purple, throw on a gimp suit and declare the Hyūga clan elders to be a bunch of old, dumb bastards who needed to pull the broom handles out of their asses while doing some kind of weird dance that I don't want to think about, aside from the fact that it will involve pelvic thrusting.
Some of my future fics involve Naruto(ko) getting with Hinata as well as other girls, so look forward to them. In fact, I think one of my next ones has Hinata joining Naruto's happy harem.
And as you can see, Orochimaru is being a stubborn bastard.
Yuri-hime-chan: Hm? I..I never thought of that! It practically was an exoskeleton! (bangs head into desk) Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! And from what I can see in Naruto lately... well, I don't have a clue where it is going anymore... And don't spoil Mass Effect for me! I want to get all three games for my PS3 someday, probably after I get Black Flag, Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Lightning Returns (hoping to preorder that) and Castlevania Lords of Shadow Collection. (something I hope to get for Christmas)
gaara king of sand: Don't worry about being late to review. I practically spent fifty percent of the last while reading fanfics! Anyway, here you go and I will also like it when Pain finally realizes he ain't dealing with a jinchūriki, but a real bijū.
Overlordkyo1099: This fic wasn't forgotten about, just...held back by author laziness and fanfic addiction. And it isn't my mother who doesn't know jack shit about the internet, it is my sister, who is only seven years older than me (roughly) who doesn't know the difference between kb and GB. Besides, we already know it is her fault the internet keeps spiking, her and those damn towing shows for seven plus hours...
Irish Shift: Kitsune no kōgō no hone sōkō sounds better, but if I can't condense it like Bleach does, I ain't bothering. Besides, this armor does have a name, but it won't be revealed until later on, after it has matured more. (more like when I come up with a name for it... HEY! Who left the mic on?!)
napsterman23: Riiiiiiiight...
WolfDragonGod: I think everyone is thinking 'bring on teh YURI!'
thedarkpokemaster: Yeah, as I pointed out numerous times already, Sakura is a tsundere. The hot spring scene was most enjoyable to write, though I originally wanted Sakura to wonder why the bath was turning pink, then realize her suddenly bleeding nose and her pervy thoughts of Naruko's floating chest was the reason, but the old lady was much funnier. And I'm going to make it so that more women, and a few men like Kiba, stare at Naruko like she's a piece of meat later on too.
KuramaFTW, Thunder Claw03 & S.R.457: Updated and thanks for the words of encouragment.