Chapter 17: Calima to Sundowner and Alizé Maritime
Note: Calima is a wind that is sometimes ash laden. Sundowner is a dry, hot wind in California that sometimes causes forest fires to strengthen. Alizé Maritime is a moist, fresh wind. They represent Asuma, Naruko and Ino respectively.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Note: I'm making it so basic elemental chakra has a slight color tinge to it. Wind it blue mixed with white, fire has a slight orange to it, etc. This is to show that the chakra is mixed with an element. As one would expect, only wind chakra would really be visible to those without dōjutsu. Naruko's purple chakra will be explained later on.
"You lost again sensei. Pay for the meal after the next mission," Shikamaru said, a slightly evil smirk on his face. He had been hanging around Ino too much.
"Hai..." Asuma sighed, knowing how much Choji could eat. It was almost as bad as Naruko and ramen.
"Asuma-sensei!" Naruko called as she jogged up, still wearing her civilian clothes.
"Naruko, good to see you," Shikamaru greeted.
'Speak of our ramen loving bijū and she will come,' Asuma thought with a smirk, "Hello Naruko. Now why would you come looking for me?"
"Well, you see... Kakashi-sensei checked out my affinities and I have both fire and wind," Naruko said, feeling nervous talking to another team's sensei. She'd only ever really talked with Guy, that's if you could call listening to him go on about youth and hot blood 'talking.' Why did she once think those lame jumpsuits were cool? Maybe it was a little kid thing...
"Not going so well, huh? You want a tip?" Asuma asked.
Naruko nodded. "Kakashi-sensei and Yamato-taichou both don't know any fūton at all, so they can't help me."
"You trying to learn how to use nature transformation? I know you can use some katon, but you probably won't be able to use fūton any time soon, right?" Shikamaru asked, having seen Ino trying to master her wind chakra for almost two years now. The blonde could barely get the cut half way across the leaf for the first year and a half.
"I take it that he's got you cutting leaves, so how far did you get?" Asuma asked, figuring it wasn't too far.
Naruko held up a leaf that was nearly cut all the way. "I can do it, but it's hard."
Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly and, if he weren't a Nara, his jaw would have dropped. Naruko had been training for a few weeks and already got that far. How was she ever labeled 'dead last' with this kind of talent?
"Fire was so much easier," Naruko grumbled, having already started learning a new katon. Breathing ash that could be ignited by sparks was so much easier than cutting these leaves apart.
Asuma's eye brow rose. "Wind and fire, huh? That's quite a good combination in two ninja, in one, it's downright deadly."
"What do you mean?" Naruko and Shikamaru asked.
"An advanced nature requires wind and fire to be joined as one: the scorch release. I'm not saying you can do it, but you can use fūton to enhance any katon you've put out," Asuma said.
Naruko imagined the possibilities, possibilities that would have that Akatsuki explosion nut suffering seizure level joygasms from excitement, then shook her head. "Can I have a tip on fūton?"
Asuma thought about it, his own prank forming. "After my team's next mission, Ino has a question to ask you. I was wondering if you'd agree and handle whatever came up."
'Asuma-sensei, that's dirty,' Shikamaru thought. Ino was planning on asking Naruko to join them for their after mission celebration. Asuma was trying to get Naruko to foot the bill.
Naruko had stiffened slightly at the mention of Ino. The blonde was acting all weird again, wishing Naruko luck on her training and running up just to see how Naruko was or wish her a good night. She even gave Naruko a kiss once in a while too, just quick pecks on the cheek, but they were still kisses.
Naruko, in spite of still wondering how Ino's prank would explode in her face, nodded. "Alright."
"Deal," Asuma said, then pulled out his trench knives, wind chakra flowing down the blade of one, "these are my personal knives. They're made out of a material that accepts chakra flow much better than normal steel, allowing the wielder to imbue it with their nature or even jutsu." He held the other one out to the girl, "try it out yourself."
Naruko took it, noting that it was lighter than she thought it would be.
"Try to put your chakra into it," Asuma instructed, remembering how Ino was the first time.
Naruko did as he said, the somewhat wild purple chakra surrounding the knife. The girl looked it over. "It doesn't look as...focused...as sharp as yours, Asuma-sensei." It was larger though, but that either due to her poor control or her having more chakra.
Asuma explained how to create a proper blade out of wind chakra, one that would cut the leaf perfectly, explaining it in a way he knew she would understand.
Naruko nodded, then looked at the glowing knife in her hand. "Why make jutsu that cut, isn't that why we use bladed weapons? These blades are sharp enough, so why not master knife fighting instead of learning a bit of both?"
"We'll throw our knives at the tree over there and you'll know," Asuma said.
Naruko nodded and the two weapons were flung at the tree. Naruko's imbedded itself half way down the blade, Asuma's going through the tree and burying itself up to the handle in the rock behind the tree. A tiny bit of smoke started to rise from Naruko's imbedded knife, her naturally hot chakra probably trying to set the wood on fire.
"If I really tried, the knife would have gone through the rock too, but it can get pretty dangerous if you go flinging knives through walls, if you know what I mean," Asuma said. When he saw Naruko's wide open eyes and gaping mouth, he chuckled. "The sharper blade wins a battle, and wind blades are some of the sharpest blades around," Asuma explained, then looked at the girl, "wind is the element best suited for offense, and it is quite rare in the Land of Fire. If you want any other tips, you'll have to pay for Choji's meals."
Naruko nodded, a foxy grin on her face. "Alright, boss'll be happy!" Poof!
Asuma blinked in surprise as he retrieved his knives. 'That was a kage bunshin the whole time? I wonder how many she made, and how far this knife would have gone with the original,' he thought as he pulled the very warm knife out of the tree.
"Sensei, you're an evil, cunning man," Shikamaru said.
Asuma smiled back. "Well, Ino gets to go out with Naruko and I don't have to pay a single ryo. Win-win."
[Bijū meeting ground]
Naruko looked around, noting that the turtle was flickering like the blonde woman before Matabi was.
"Ah, she's back."
Naruko looked to see the oxopus, slug and ape were all looking at her. "Why am I here?"
"You must have fallen asleep or something," Matabi said, staring down at her jinchūriki.
"What's going on with the turtle?" Naruko asked.
"Akatsuki are doing something to him," the bijū all said.
"What do they want with us?" Naruko wondered aloud.
The ape snorted. "It doesn't matter what they want. When they come for me and Roshi, I'll end them."
Naruko felt a tug on her chest, making her think that she was waking up from passing out during training. "See you guys later, Oxopus, slug and monkey man!" She faded away.
"Ukiii! I'm the Handsome Monkey King, not some monkey man!" the ape shouted.
[A week later]
Naruko, with the help of a clone, was trying to combine the rasengan with her wind chakra. So far, it was going well.
"So you got this idea from looking left and right at the same time?" Kakashi asked, referring to how he had shown her it was possible with the help of a kage bunshin.
Naruko nodded. "Until my training trip with Jiji, Tama and Ero-Sennin, I had to use a clone sometimes to help me even make a rasengan. It was too hard to control my chakra right at first, so the clone eased the strain. Since I can do it on my own now, I figured I'd have the clone manipulate the wind chakra for me. With enough practice, I might not need clones for this too."
Kakashi couldn't help smile, seeing how ingenious her method was. Kakashi had never even thought of doing it this way and he was sure that, had Naruko popped into the past and told him of this method, Konoha's legendary Yellow Flash would probably sink to the ground while calling himself stupid for not thinking of it himself.
"Naruko, for some odd reason, I'm really starting to like you," Kakashi said with a smile.
Fwoom!
"Uwah!" Naruko and her clone cried out, said clone bursting out of existence after the jutsu detonated. "WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?! DID THE ICHA ICHA FINALLY ROT YOUR BRAIN?!" she demanded, the air vibrating with the force of her chakra enhanced yell.
That day, everyone in Konoha wondered where Naruko was and, well, they figured it was Kakashi that she was screaming at. No other being read those books like he did.
"N-No, I didn't mean it that way... How do I put it..." Kakashi idly wondered, walking slowly towards the girl with his hands out.
"Back! Back I say! As a lesbian in love and chūnin kunoichi of Konoha, I command you to stay away from me!" Naruko shouted skittering back.
Yamato shunshined into the area. "Senpai, an urgent message!"
"What is it taichou?" Naruko asked, still sitting on the ground.
"Training is suspended by order of the Hokage. We are all required to return to Konoha now," Yamato said.
"What happened?" Naruko asked, knowing her training wouldn't be stopped for anything minor. Even the dreaded October 10th wouldn't cancel her training.
"Sarutobi Asuma-san... He was killed on his last mission," Yamato said.
[Later that day, Sarutobi clan graveyard]
The funeral was, as one would expect, heart breaking and attended by almost the entire village. It was the first time that Naruko was allowed somewhere by those who hated her. Heck, they even let her in without a hateful glare. They even looked at her, surprised that the 'Kyūbi brat' would show up for a funeral, dressed in the funeral uniform of Konoha kunoichi.
Hiruzen and Konohamaru, two of the last shinobi of the Sarutobi clan, mourned the death of the man equally. Kurenai seemed almost wooden at times, Shikamaru was nowhere to be seen. As always, the loss of a comrade affected them all, uniting them in their grieving. For the first time ever, Naruko was fully accepted as part of the village and nobody tried to change that.
After the funeral was over and people started to leave, Naruko went over to the stone and lay her hand on it, using a very small amount of her chakra to leave a faint hand print behind, though she used wind rather than her bijū chakra, wanting to say goodbye to the man as a fellow wind user.
Imagine Naruko's surprise when a slightly smaller hand was placed next to hers, wind chakra doing the same.
"Wah!" Naruko cried out, turning to see Ino there, looking emotionally drained as she left a hand print next to Naruko's, though far less noticeable. "...Ino?"
The blonde looked to see the kitsune, surprised that she hadn't noticed the redhead at all. "Naruko..." she said, her voice rather hollow and low. She looked less like a strong kunoichi and more a disaster survivor, one that was shell shocked from the event.
Naruko saw the emotions within Ino's eyes, felt the pain wafting off her like a foul wind. Knowing how much that hurt, and having the ability to sense those emotions, Naruko was feeling the same as the blonde.
Ino turned away, ready to go home and probably cry for a while, when she felt herself wrapped in a warm embrace. She turned her head slightly when she felt a head press against the side of her own, finding Naruko's face there. "N-Naruko..."
"Don't hold it in, let it out," Naruko said, crying due to Ino's sadness as well as her own. She knew how much it hurt to hide your pain and she didn't want Ino to have to go through it on her own.
Ino didn't care about impressing Naruko or attracting her at the moment, she just turned and hugged the girl, crying into the redhead's shoulder at the loss of a man who was like a second father to her.
Naruko held the girl, being there for her. It was the only thing she could do, preventing Ino from suffering alone in silence as Naruko herself had done numerous times while growing up.
[Four days later]
Naruko used her Fūton: Rasengan, Yamato his Suiton: Hahonryū, combining them to make the Gufū Suika no jutsu, a massive water storm with enough power to easily extinguish the katon headed for Team Asuma and Kakashi.
"Sorry we're late," Naruko said, standing with Sakura, Sai and Yamato.
"Naruko, Sakura, Sai!" Ino called out, happy to see them all.
"Reinforcements at last! Did you bring any food?" Choji asked, looking a bit thin.
"Senpai, you look worn out," Yamato said, "this guy must be something else."
"A woman with red hair... Haven't fought a redheaded woman in nearly twenty years, and she was roughed up too," the hair freak said. Those damn chakra chains were annoying. It was the first time a woman forced him to retreat without help from others. She was more like a demon than a kunoichi, her chakra reserves must have been near bottomless.
Naruko took a quick look around. "Where's Shikamaru?"
"Taking on the other guy, Hidan," Ino said, pointing in the general direction of where the Nara had gone.
"Sakura, Sai, go help Shikamaru out," Kakashi commanded as he summoned Pakkun, "he'll lead the way."
Yamato nodded, agreeing with his superior. Before they left, Sakura looked to the kitsune. "Naruko, do your best to beat this guy."
Naruko nodded, "you be careful too, Sakura-chan." Sakura smiled as she left.
"I wonder what elements your hearts bear, well, I can find out when I'm through killing you all," Kakuzu said.
"This bastard's mine," Naruko said.
Kakashi wondered for a moment. "She finish it?" he asked, looking to Yamato.
Yamato shook his head. "The one she was practicing when you left, about half done. The one she came up with since then... I actually hope she doesn't finish it."
That got Kakashi's attention as the girl formed a ram seal. Naruko was enveloped in red chakra, a second tail forming as her hair lengthened ever so slightly, growing wilder as her bangs fell into her eyes, said eyes faintly glowing purple as red script ringed formed on her irides. "Konoha chūnin Uzumaki Naruko, here to kill you," she stated, her chakra subsiding. The curse seal remained dormant, the girl fully in control of herself. "Kage bunshin no jutsu," Naruko said, two clones appearing at her sides.
"Ah, you're that broken jinchūriki, the Kyūbi's," Kakuzu said, amused.
Naruko's nose wrinkled. "You... I hear more than one heart beat in you. You reek of death too."
Kakuzu would grin, if he could. "I harvest the hearts of my strongest fallen foes, extending my life and taking their elements for myself. You have to kill me more than once to win, chūnin girl."
"Once, twice, a hundred times. The number doesn't matter, you will die in the end," Naruko said, not bothered by the man's statement.
"Be careful Naruko, he's a mid range specialist with multiple elements," Kakashi warned.
Naruko grinned. "Oh, so he can use more than one as well." She looked to her clones. "Get him!" she commanded.
"Ossu!" they cheered, charging at the man.
"Naruko! You can't just go it alone!" Ino shouted, scared. Choji just paled at the suicide rush of the clones because he knew that sooner or later, one of them would be his friend.
Kakuzu effortlessly destroyed the clones, finding it trivial.
"Hmm, three at least," Naruko muttered as she created the required number of clones. Naruko started forming her new jutsu, two clone watching in case Kakuzu moved.
"Agh, that's loud," Choji groaned, covering his ears. Ino just stared a the jutsu, unable to believe what she sensed from it.
Naruko finished forming the jutsu and even Kakuzu knew that he couldn't take it head on.
"Fūton: Rasenshuriken!" Naruko declared, holding the faint red razor disc overhead.
Naruko's clones rushed forward, the original standing back, waiting for an opening.
"C'mon Choji, we can't let her-" Ino started.
"Choji! Ino-chan!" Naruko shouted, stopping them cold, "I don't want you to get hit by this."
Kakuzu destroyed the clones, finding it more difficult this time. When he saw the original come at him, he tried to hit her with his arm, but she managed to evade it and push the jutsu forward.
Only for it to fizzle at the last moment.
'Thank you, my bank book,' Kakuzu thought to himself, having been scared there for a moment. He drew his arms back and viciously smashed the girl in the face.
Naruko was thrown back, bouncing off the ground once. "Damn!" she grunted as she was tied up by the man, his arm pulled back.
"Hehe. Wind user, your heart, I'll take it now!" Kakuzu declared.
Naruko spat flames at his face, forcing the man to release her. It wasn't much, but it allowed her to get away while Kakashi and Yamato forced the immortal back.
"Naruko, why call it 'rasenshuriken' if you don't throw it?" Ino asked, healing a few of Naruko's lacerations and her cracked jaw. The girl's civilian clothes were rather torn up, especially her sweater's right sleeve.
"It's not that she didn't throw it, she can't throw it! She needs to keep it close in order to hold it together! It's a dead range jutsu! She only called it Rasenshuriken because of the shape!" Yamato explained as he and Kakashi fell back to the chūnin. Kakuzu seemed content to stand there and watch them, seeming to enjoy the situation.
"If only I could throw it like the rasengan," Naruko grumbled.
"It doesn't seem to last all that long either," Kakashi noted.
Yamato nodded. "The clones were so that she could draw in and hit, but it took too long because of her opponent's abilities."
Naruko stood up. "I'll get him this time, just stay back and watch the fireworks."
Yamato paled, realizing that she was going to use the jutsu he didn't want to see completed.
"Your kage bunshin won't work again Naruko," Ino pointed out.
"Forget the clones, we can all assist you in winning," Kakashi said.
"No," Naruko said, "it's too dangerous. I'll do it myself."
"But-" Choji started.
Naruko held up her hand, chakra forming into a claw over it. "I want to surpass the Yondaime Hokage. I know teamwork is important, but I need to do this for myself, to know all my training wasn't for nothing. I need to know that I'm closer to him, not stuck in a rut."
"Naruko, you've matured since you busted up my right arm," Kakashi said as he stood up.
Yamato smiled a bit, thought it was strained. "Just wait a few moments, senpai, you'll see something incredible."
Kakuzu unleashed his full power, not wanting to get caught off guard, get injured or killed like Hidan. Yeah, he figured the religious idiot was already dead in some fashion, probably dismembered, bagged and tagged for later study. Penniless moron...
"Not just offense, his defense and chakra levels are on the rise," Kakashi noted as Kakuzu's hair tentacles surrounded him, "Naruko, he's getting ready to defend against your rasenshuriken."
"Heh heh. Let him try," Naruko challenged as she made a few clones, the chakra cloak covering her and her clones' bodies. Two rushed forward while the last stayed with her, to help form the rasenshuriken again. When it was complete, she joined the charge.
Kakuzu jumped to get out of range of the jutsu and used his hair to crush the girl, but was surprised when she appeared in his face, the jutsu already slamming into his chest.
"Too slow!" Naruko shouted as Kakuzu was blown back, the jutsu already expanding. "That was from me, this is from all Asuma-sensei's loved ones!" she shouted, then spat her kitsune fire breath at the man and the expanding dome of wind blades.
BOOOOOOM!
The area heavily rocked as an enormous fireball raged, Kakuzu reduced to dust within it, all his hearts destroyed along with his body. Everyone was knocked off their feet, even Yamato and Kakashi.
Naruko grinned as she lifted herself onto her hands and knees. "How'd you like that? That was my Shakuton: Rasenshuriken!" she declared, then fell onto her face from exhaustion, her second tail changing into chakra and vanishing. Ino ran over and started healing the kitsune.
Kakashi stared at the completely decimated area, stunned. 'THAT is what Tenzo doesn't want to see completed? I'm really happy she's on our side!' The jutsu was powerful enough without the fire added to it, the fire easily made it the single deadliest jutsu Kakashi had ever seen. Though the girl called it a scorch release, it wasn't a true one because she added the fire to the wind after the fact, not at the same time, and the balance was far off, the wind being weaker than the fire. Well, he'd argue with her later about it.
While Choji praised Naruko's intelligence, Ino was conflicted as she finished healing the kitsune's more serious injuries, particularly her right arm. She had been trying Sakura's suggestion, which was not coming on strong, but it wasn't working. Hell, if the shy maiden approach didn't work for Hinata, who Ino would admit had more... charm, why would it work for Ino? So the forward approach and the meek approach didn't work, time for the absolutely direct approach, Ino and Naruko's specialty!
"Naruko, when we get back to Konoha, I have something to tell you," Ino said, as serious as possible.
The kitsune empress wondered what was going on, but she nodded slightly. "Alright."
[Next day, Ichiraku ramen]
Naruko was sitting with Sakura, Ino and Sai. The girls flanked Naruko and Sai sat on Sakura's other side, drawing something.
"Damn!" Naruko grumbled, unable to use the chopsticks with her left hand. She could throw better with her left than her right, but with writing and all that, it was the opposite. Chopsticks fell into the right hand required category.
Speaking of falling chopsticks, Naruko's went into the ramen that took almost twenty minutes for those bumbling rookies to get right. If Naruko weren't a kunoichi, she'd be wearing her food rather than eating it. It was a sin how much ramen those idiots wasted.
Sakura sighed. "Hand me the chopsticks," she said, holding her hand out.
Naruko expected Sakura to feed her for the second time ever, though the first was only a mouthful, but someone else got to the kitsune's chopsticks first.
"Here, ahhhn," Ino said, holding some ramen up to Naruko's mouth.
"Wha-ulp!" Naruko tried to shout, but she found her mouth filled with divine ramen, so her protests died very quickly.
Sai looked up from his new self illustrated book. "Hey, can I feed her too? A book I read mentioned you should help friends in need."
"I think she's good Sai," Sakura said, seeing that, as usual, Naruko was in bliss from eating her favorite food. How the kitsune didn't grow into a monstrous fat woman, was a mys- Actually, was her chest a bit bigger, and her hips... had they widened slightly? …Could ramen be the girl's secret to being attractive and curvy?! (Sakura has entered jealous mode)
"Yo!" Kakashi greeted.
"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura half greeted, half asked. "Why aren't you laid up in the hospital?"
The man sighed as he sat down. "Did you think I fight once and then wind up on my back? I didn't use the mangekyō sharingan, so I was able to avoid total exhaustion. Had you guys not shown up, I would be in the hospital again." He didn't mention the thought that he and Team Asuma probably would have died if Yamato and his team hadn't arrived.
Naruko looked down at her bandaged arm. It was just wrapped up, not in a cast, but she still couldn't use it without a lot of pain. Her and Kakashi alike, using their greatest powers rendered them disabled for a while...
"Naruko, did you know that, after seeing how you handled things during the last mission, I feel you can stand next to me in a battle as an equal?" Kakashi asked, "just remember that strong jutsu like my mangekyō or your rasenshuriken will take as well as give. To produce such power, the user must pay a toll as well."
Naruko nodded, looking forward as Teuchi shouted at the two rookie cooks, one of which had just spoiled a whole pot of ramen by accidentally holding the broom over it while talking to the other. Naruko wanted to cry at the destruction of some sacred ramen. "All to protect those precious to me," she said, knowing her arm would heal up soon enough, but a dead person wouldn't ever come back. Her suffering for a while was better than losing those who were precious to her.
"Naru-koi, I was wondering if you and me could go to this cafe I know about," Ino asked.
'So she's back to Naru-koi,' Kakashi and Sakura thought. Sai wondered if this was one of those 'terms of endearment' he had read about. It seemed that Naruko and Ino were 'lesbians,' women who preferred other women as romantic companions. Since there seemed to be no other lesbians in Konoha that had 'come out of the closet,' Sai might have found a good case to study. Books were, as he was finding lately, not very good to learn of the dynamics within relationships. Well, there were those Icha Icha books that seemed to be written from the author's experience, but they were a bit too...explicit. He felt that a relationship could never progress that quickly, or at least go from nothing to copulation in no time flat.
"A cafe? I don't really like coffee all that much..." Naruko said. It was true, the stuff was too bitter.
"They have more than coffee, such as cake, ice cream and-" Ino started.
Naruko turned, her eyes shining. "Ice cream?! I'm in!"
"Well, I guess I'll go along too," Sakura said.
"Sounds good," Ino said with a smile, but in her head, she growled. 'Forehead! I'm trying to ask her out! Stop date blocking me, dammit!'
Kakashi scratched at his covered cheek. 'Sakura, I think Ino was asking Naruko on a date... Could she be dense to this kind of thing, or is she subconsciously protective of Naruko?' He whipped out his point of reference on the mystery known as women: Icha Icha Tactics.
As the girls left, Sakura repeatedly chastising Naruko, who just wanted to bolt to the cafe at full speed, Sai turned to look at Kakashi. "That book...it's not that good for your image." Kakashi responded by flipping a page, completely absorbed in the book. Sai decided to leave, sticking Kakashi with the bill. THAT got his attention.
[Amai Jikan, fifteen minutes later]
The whole way there, Sakura decided that Naruko probably shouldn't be allowed to have sugar, since she looked similar to Hinata the last time she walked by a bakery. Poor civilians got trampled when the Hyūga practically bulldozed her way into the place for cinnamon rolls. The place looked like a war zone afterward with the (unconscious) bodies of civilians lying all over the place.
Naruko saw the cafe, it was a...
"It's a freaking maid cafe?!" Sakura shouted, unable to believe the things still existed.
Ino nervously giggled a bit. "I was brought here by a friend. They might have chosen a weird theme, but the service is good and everything you can eat here is amazing." She didn't mention that the 'friend' was one of her few dates, a freak with a maid fetish as well as a desire to see Ino in a maid uniform. The 'relationship' was done before they even walked in, but the food was amazing, especially the cakes.
"Let's go!" Naruko cheered, then pushed open the door.
"Welcome to Amai Jikan, ma'am," a maid greeted.
"Uh, hi...HUH?" Naruko gasped, staring at the maid.
The maid stood from her bow, then blushed hard. "N-Naruko-san."
"Haku? What are you doing here? And why are you dressed like a girl?" Naruko asked.
"U-Uh...W-well..." the ice user remained silent after that, turning a very deep shade of red.
Naruko crossed her arms. "Just because Haku's pretty like a girl doesn't mean they should force you to dress like one."
Numerous men looked ill all of a sudden. Their basic train of thought was: 'Haku-chan is a trap? Does liking her- him make me gay? Wait, I still like him? Oh Kami, I'm gay!'
Another maid came over. "Customer-san, Haku is 100% girl. I should know, I checked her sizes myself."
"Oh..." Naruko said, then fainted on the spot. All that worrying over the years for nothing. Haku making her heart race a bit meant she did love girls, that there was no chance of her falling for a man.
A few minutes later, Naruko was awake and heard Haku's reasons for not revealing her gender.
"So you and Zabuza hid your gender because some villages would have used you to breed ice users..." Naruko growled. She knew that, if people knew that she wasn't a jinchūriki, but a bijū, people would probably try to capture Naruko in hopes of breeding half human, half bijū soldiers. Actually, was that even possible? Ino didn't seem to have any trace of Kurama in her at all, aside from looking a bit like Naruko did. Both of them had soft, smooth hair and fair skin, the same delicate looking figures, though Naruko was fuller and her legs were a bit longer.
The girls placed their orders, Naruko's being several bowls of ice cream. Their table was along the wall, two long seats built onto said wall. Naruko and Ino were on one side, Sakura sat opposite to them.
"Really now Naruko. I swear that you'd gladly marry someone if they offered you a lifetime supply of ramen and ice cream," Sakura said.
The kitsune scowled. "I'll only marry someone I love, I'd never do it for food, money, status or anything like that."
"I'm sorry Naruko, it was just a joke," Sakura quickly said, realizing that she may have almost tripped into a bottomless chasm there. Last thing she needed was Naruko abandoning her too.
Naruko nodded. "Well now you know."
'Naruko seems to have a bit of a temper when it comes to that subject,' Ino thought to herself. It was a step up from her last love interest, who had a traitorous streak in him. Ino had learned from being a Sasuke fan girl, knowing that if you wanted to know of your romantic interests likes and dislikes, you asked them. Well, Ino could already guess the kitsune's favorite color: orange. The girl's favorite food was well known too: ramen. Time to learn about the empress.
"Naruko, what's important to you?" Ino asked.
Naruko's eye brow rose a bit. "Huh? Uh, everyone in the village."
"That's kind of vague," Sakura pointed out.
"This village and all the people in it are important to me. I can't just pick out the ones that I like or the ones who don't treat me like I'll never belong, because then I'd be no better than bastards like Orochimaru or the people who think I'm some vicious monster," Naruko said, then smiled a bit, "you two are some of my precious people and I'd sooner die than let anything happen to you two."
Sakura just stared while Ino blushed a bit.
"You're my teammate and a good friend after all," Naruko finished, a grin on her face.
'I wish I was precious to you for another reason, Naruko,' Ino thought, butterflies still fluttering around in her stomach while her face burned a bit.
"Eh? Ino-chan, are you okay?" Naruko asked shifting a bit closer to Ino, unintentionally pinning her against the wall.
For the first time, Sakura picked up on the honorific that normally only graced the end of her name. 'What? Wait a moment, she's called her that before too. Why do I feel a bit pissed off all of a sudden?'
"I-I'm f-f-f-fine!" Ino squeaked. Her face was completely red now and she realized she was dangerously close to pulling a Hinata. 'N-Not good Naruko! J-just go back a bit! PLEASE!'
Naruko lifted her bangs up and placed her forehead against Ino's, less than an inch between their lips. "Hmm, you're a bit war-"
Thump...
Naruko pulled back and saw a very red and fainted Ino leaning against the wall. The blonde had a happy, nervous grin on her face too.
"Eh? EH?! Ino-chan!? Are you alright?!" Naruko called out, very gently shaking the girl.
'Naruko's still dense when it comes to love,' Sakura thought as she worked on eating her strawberry sundae.
'Naruko-san, you don't seem to realize that Ino-san loves you,' Haku thought as she served another customer.
[An hour later]
After eating their snacks and talking a bit, the three left the cafe. Sakura had to go to see Tsunade for a lesson on poisons, leaving Naruko walking Ino to the flower shop.
'That was too embarrassing, fainting like Hinata in front of Naruko! Ugh, she probably thinks I'm weird now,' Ino thought as the two walked at a relatively slow pace.
Naruko's thoughts were in a hundred different places at once. She had managed to get a message to Shiratama through the sharingan wielding kitsune's personal kanko, telling her of the latest events such as her new jutsu and that form she assumed recently. With any luck, Naruko would get some answers soon. But foremost on her mind was her friends. Sasuke, lost to his inner darkness. Sakura, throwing herself into research in order to help Sasuke if whatever it was that he had done to himself proved harmful in the long run. Sai, clumsily trying to make friends. And, well, Ino, who had been acting so oddly of late.
"Looks like we're almost to your home, Ino-chan," Naruko said as the flower shop came into view.
Ino lifted her gaze, shocked that the ten minute walk was almost over. She screwed up her courage and moved to stand before the kitsune, looking up into her eyes. "Naruko..."
Naruko was very surprised when Ino's arms wrapped around her neck, the slight weight of the mind walker leaned against her. "I-Ino-chan? Wha-"
"I love you," Ino whispered into Naruko's ear.
Naruko's body completely stiffened, her face turning red. "Wh-what did you say?"
Ino lay her head against Naruko's chest, happy that the girl's heart was beating almost as rapidly as Ino's own. "I'm in love with you, Uzumaki Naruko."
"B-B-But Sasuke!" Naruko managed.
Ino frowned a bit as she looked up at the redhead. "That was just a stupid childhood crush, or maybe I just wanted to be miss popular. I don't care for being popular anymore, I just want to be with someone I love, and that's you Naruko."
Naruko started to sputter out sounds that were probably supposed to be words, but no being could understand her.
Ino felt a jolt of cold lance into her heart. "It's Sakura, isn't it?"
Naruko's eyes dimmed as she nodded very slightly. "S-Sorry, but I-"
Ino silenced the girl with a very light kiss. "I know you still love her, but I don't think she will ever love you. It looks like she truly fell for Sasuke, how I don't know, but she did. I saw how dark he became, heard of how he wanted to kill the two of you, openly rejected everything he used to have in Konoha... I can't see anyone loving someone like that, or him returning any form of love."
"Ino-chan..." Naruko muttered, her own doubts about loving Sakura rising with each word. Even if her mind was in doubt, her heart was in denial and kept the feelings alive.
"I don't love anyone else Naruko, just you. I fell in love with you kind spirit, your unseen strength and how much you give to protect all of us in the village despite how you were treated. I know you grew up alone and I want it so you'll never be alone again," Ino said, a few tears falling in sympathy of the kitsune she loved. She looked into the girl's eyes again, "C-Can we-"
Naruko nervously hugged Ino, shaking slightly in fear of being rejected or taunted. Naruko never told anyone, but she was afraid that she would grow old and die alone since she believed that nobody would want to be with a demon like her. Even before the henge released, she often had nightmares of being old, alone and hated. Naruko never had a dream of being Hokage, it was her aspiration.
When the hug loosened, a blushing Ino sheepishly looked up at the kitsune. "Na-Naruko?"
Naruko looked away, her face completely red. "I-I di-didn't just love Sakura-chan back at the a-academy..."
"Does... Does this mean..." Ino couldn't finish her question.
"I-If you're o-okay with a demon like me..." Naruko stuttered.
Ino lifted herself up and kissed Naruko, a hot one too. She was so happy that she was actually crying. She felt Naruko's heartbeat again and was even happier that their hearts were in sync.
"AHHHHH!"
The two girls ended the kiss early. They turned to see Ino's father, Inoichi, glaring at Naruko with his now shaking finger pointed at her.
"Y-Y-You! NO! NONONONONO!" he shouted as he vigorously crossed his arms over his head, "my princess is not marrying you, I want her to marry either Shika or Choza's son! Not you! Do you hear me?! My daughter, my princess, is not hooking up with another woman!"
"Daddy..." Ino deadpanned, unable to believe that he had revealed his true colors. She and her mother had a sneaking suspicion about this, especially with how he told her to stick with her teammates as much as possible.
"Girls can't marry each other or give me grandchildren to spoil, so I won't allow this to happen!" he shouted. He and his wife wanted grandchildren.
"Daddy, I don't care, and Naruko can get me pregnant!" Ino shouted back, then blushed when she realized what she said.
Inoichi turned sheet white. "Wha- but she- D-Does she have that?"
Ino turned even redder. "DADDY!"
Inoichi was now muttering things to himself, still white as he started to wonder how many other women in the village might have extra equipment. He kept this up until his wife stepped out.
"Inoichi!"
"Hiiii!" the man pitifully shrieked, feeling the spike of genital removal intent hit his back like a raging Tsunade's fist.
"Get inside right now! The tulips hate me, so get to work!" Yamanaka Lamia ordered, pointing to the flower shop.
"B-But our precious princess!" Inoichi wailed, pointing at Naruko, "she's kissing some half man, half woman with a tail!"
"L-Lamia-san?" Naruko stuttered, pointing at silver haired woman.
Lamia looked at the girl who her daughter was clinging to. "Oh, Naruko-chan! So you and Ino, eh? I knew our little flower princess would get to you, since you do like flowers a lot."
"Huh? But she's a girl!" Inoichi stated, "our little girl can't marry another girl, especially one that stands up in the bathroom!"
Lamia weakly punched the man in the chest. "First off, Naruko-chan is all girl. I've been to the springs when she's there and there's nothing hanging between her legs, not from the front anyway. Second, she's beautiful. Third, our daughter loves her. Fourth-"
"But-" Inoichi tried.
Lamia drove another barely effective punch into the man's chest. "Enough! If you keep it up, I'll burn all your Icha Icha and ban you from drinking with that slacker and 'big boned' sumo guy!"
Inoichi made a weird keening noise and bolted into the shop to care for the flowers that only he and his daughter could tend to, since they died under his wife's normally expert care. He didn't need to lose all his privileges and she would shackle him to the front desk if he kept it up.
"Thanks mom, I still can't make him listen all the time," Ino said, sighing at her father's antics.
Lamia sighed as well, running a hand through her naturally silver locks. "I still can't control that man-child sometimes either."
The two women laughed for a few moments, knowing that the man would rant and rave for a while until he had no choice but to accept it, like always.
"U-Uh, Lamia-san?" Naruko started again.
Lamia smirked and crossed her arms. "No, you can't come in and stay over. I don't mind you two being together, but no sex before the first date," she taunted.
"MOM!" Ino shouted, though she did picture it.
Thud.
The Yamanaka women looked and saw Naruko on the ground, her face almost as red as her hair and her expression telling them that she had overloaded on her imagination. It was hard to see, but she suffered from a nosebleed too.
Lamia smiled. "Guess you should take her back home, though I want you back here pronto. No 'sleeping' at her place tonight. Give it a month, if you two can keep your hormones in check that long."
A crimson Ino lifted her girlfriend up and took off as her mother giggled at her teasing of the new couple.
A/N~
I'm skipping the adventures of Emo-suke because they are unchanged in every way imaginable, aside from something that will be revealed later. Since I don't have the anime episodes, Tobi will fight Team Kakashi/Kurenai later on the way I make him.
Tobi: Tobi-kun gets his own fight scene from Excele-senpai? Does this mean Tobi gets to show off his true power?!
Uh...Maybe?
Tobi: YAY! I get to play with the pink bull, the funny fox and all the others! I wonder if Deidara-senpai will praise me for beating them all up?
Deidara is dead by then...
Tobi: WAAAAAAAAHHHH! DEIDARA-SENPAI IS GONNA DIE! I'LL MISS HIS CHEAP, CRAPPY LOOKING DOLLS!
Deidara: SHUT UP TOBI!
BOOOM!
Xta A/N~
Happy new year to everyone out there. I was going to say it in a few different languages, but I don't really have time right now and my readers are all English anyway. This would have been out on Christmas, but my little slice of Toronto is one of the ones that went out during that ice storm. My building actually lost all power, including our backup generator, which was probably partially frozen in addition to under fueled.
The damage, the pictures don't do the situation justice. I'm a master of walking on ice (it is sort of like water walking in Naruto, just focus your internal energy to your feet) and I was slipping on that hellish ice. My family saw power lines laying in the roads, flags frozen in mid flap, trees broken by the sheer weight of the ice, guillotine-like sheets of ice falling off the buildings, the cold.
I am sensitive to electricity and by the second, and thankfully last day of our power being out, I woke up and was almost bedridden. I was extremely weak, right up to the moment the power came on. I actually felt the charge in my spine when power started to surge into our area. I slept like a baby that night and woke up feeling better than I had in weeks.
The worst part is we had two casualties in my apartment: a new story I was working on and our cable box. The box was totally fried, unable to turn on and reduced to a somewhat heavy paperweight. Wasn't the only one, since most stores didn't have any spare boxes. Add into it that my new Android, which is, in my opinion, the greatest type of smart phone one can own, has been delayed by morons at Fido and now UPS' computers being messed up by the outage. Speaking of computers, mine was on when the power went out, small wonder it wasn't fried. Anyway, time to respond to reviews or I'll just keep ranting on and on about walking in tomb-like hallways devoid of light and traversing blackened stairwells with a dying flashlight.
Responses-
The Keeper of Worlds: I know, that omake is the thing of nightmares. Well, I am the Dream Weaver, so a bit of horror is to be expected. Actually, I had a dream where Naruto got all the girls in the series (which is a good thing) while Sasuke got all the men. (which is a very, VERY BAD THING!)
Analyn Rockwand: Nine tailed Naruko, eh... Well, I was thinking of her going to eight tails soon, but as for her becoming a true Kyūbi no Yoko, you'll have to wait for that.
Shinkicker: The curse seal will eventually be incorporated into Naruko permanently, altering half of the armor and giving it more destructive, wilder powers. Actually, one of my other fics involves a swift release/dark release user who has multiple ways of using the only dark release attack type jutsu, which I have reworked for Naruko. As for the connection to the other tailed beasts, that's something canon. Tailed Beasts and their jinchūriki have a place that only they can meet, which is what I described: a white space with some sort of seal on the ground, the beasts standing around the outside ring of the Jūbi's eye-like seal.
The tail... She's not Yue, my OC from Two Demons, who can revert to a human form if she is drained and badly injured enough. Naruko isn't able to retract her tail. No tail = weaker Naruko. Think of it this way: Naruko is constantly running at Naruto's one tailed shroud, roughly. Shes' a tailed beast, so the tail is expected.
Sky Zephyrus: I'm thinking, one day, I'll put together a 'story' that is just omakes, sort of like releasing 4-Koma. I get lots of little ideas like them, so it might be fun to do. I'd also have no constraints or time limits, since I'll just add when I get a funny idea. It is just an idea floating around in my head, or should I say that it is a few plot bunnies of certain doom (TM) that nibble on my poor brain. As for Sakura being in charge, I wanted people to think that she was toying with Sasuke or someone else, and it was her dream. Tell me, you ever hear of anyone having a dream of being toyed with? That and I just wanted to point out that Sakura is an extreme closet pervert, which we all know from the "Yaoi no jutsu incident."
BTW, I'm glad I'm in this era too, fanservice is great. (doesn't give a lame thumbs up, but smiles smugly just the same)
KuramaFTW: Tell me, have you ever seen Ino not be out there about her thoughts? She's the polar opposite of Hinata, who hides everything. Heck, Ino's been pointed out as the second loudest person in all of Konoha, if not the world, right beneath Naruto in volume level. She is loud, proud and makes sure everyone knows it. I'd break her character if I Hinata'd her. (which I did to comedic effect in this chapter)
Plain and simple, it fits Ino's character to openly admit to being in love with a woman, because it wouldn't ruin her pride. Her admitting that she's a social diva who has only been on a handful of dates, that is something she'd keep quiet about.
As for Naruko unintentionally streaking, I figured that if Kyūbi's chakra burns skin, why the hell are clothes not affected? That's like a monster spitting mucus that only destroys clothing, like TLR's Ero-gama, is downright stupid. Naruko's clothes get destroyed when she wears that armor, though I'm thinking of her getting some underclothes that won't burn up. (Jiraiya wants to summon Ero-gama now)
Besides, it was funny and fanservice! Rule #1 of all media: give the people what they want.
DarkLordK: I'm just taking it easy because I run the risk of burning out my brain (thankfully only a temporary thing, but it f***ing HURTS!) if I force myself to write just one story. I actually have been working on this fic (almost done chapter 18), KTD (working on chapter 40) and various other fics. By shifting my mind to different stories, my brain gets to cool off from the main stories. BTW, I'm thinking of what my next fics will be, since I think these two won't last more than twenty or so chapters more, possibly forty, but I doubt it. We'll all find out together.
Besides, you wouldn't be the first person to say, "(omitted)? I thought you died years ago!" I'm the type who just drops off the map sometimes, but you'll never be free of me. I didn't earn the titles of 'Dream Weaver' and 'Net Reaper' because I vanish forever.
Shadow Cub: ? You like Ino more than Sakura? Well, that's not uncommon...
ShadowBloodedge9396: First off, I'm going to just call you ShadowBloodEdge from now on. And yes, Orochimaru refuses to believe that she's a bijū because she's not a raging beast of insanity and destruction. That will be brought up...in this chapter I believe, or maybe it was last chapter. Either way, ever since Madara was 'killed,' bijū have been out of control monsters when they have no jinchūriki. This will be explained later. As for the tail, as stated in this chapter, they see it as a sign of her being 'broken' or stuck in a permanent, but partial transformation into a jinchūriki form. Do remember that Yugito can manifest a full tail while remaining human, same with Gaara and Killer Bee.
And yes, Sakura is violating Ino's one rule of helping the two get together: don't fall for Naruko.
thedarkpokemaster: As stated above, Sakura breaks that one rule Ino put on her. As for that omake (grins evily) KeheheheHAHAHAHA! Sorry, I was just feeling evil and a really ugly plot bunny made itself known and I turned it into bytes before it tested my tenuous grip with sanity. That and I had to balance out Sakura's crazy dream involving Naruko as her love slave with something that would kill a person's soul, and nothing kills a soul like Guy and/or Lee in a yaoi setting.
Professional Ninja: Enough NaruIno for ya? Sorry that this one didn't hit the 10K barrier, but it is a relatively short hop chapter and only really involves a few smaller events that couldn't be stretched unless I added in Shikamaru's fight, which is entirely canon. As much as I'd love to show you that fight, you'll have to wait for my Team 10 centric fic for that fight. Besides, I think Naruko vaporizing Kakuzu is a good thing, as opposed to the mercy kill Kakashi delivered in canon.
Lunar Adept: I was aiming for adorable and I appear to have hit the mark. I always saw Ino as a socialite, but the type who wasn't approached by many guys, making her surprisingly inexperienced when you consider her looks. Most people depict her as a bit of a slut, mostly due to her seeing/sleeping with a number of different men, but I think it is the total opposite.
She, Ino, kinda reminds me of a friend of mine: petite, beautiful, but hard to approach. My friend, Setsuna, she's sort of like a real world version of Kushina: fiery temper and quick with a kick. Hard to believe that she, Setsuna's half Japanese, half French, but I guess the long, almost rust colored red hair (which I gave to Naruko) and her slate gray eyes are a dead give away. That and she's a master of Savate, and that's in spite of the top of her head not being level with my collar bones, and I'm six feet tall. (Kazeneko Yue of KTD is practically modeled after my friend, just that Yue's shorter, more curvy, lesbian and has a more even temper)
Anyway, here's the next one. Enjoy!
Yuri-Hime-Chan: I actually looked how the two girls are around each other, and it helps that I've known a number of girls like them, so it is relatively easy to write those two and how they interact with each other. If you're reading Konoha's Two Demons, wait until chapter 39, when the two talk about Sasuke and Ino answers my OC's three year old confession.
And...what? What do you mean by drinking? Alcohol? I only ever drank one rum and coke before, and that was nine parts coke, one part rum. That was an accident too. I'd rather have a glass of wine on occasion, but I don't because I'm broke.
chm01: Hahaha! I knew that it would come. Here comes the 'Bring on teh yuri' calls! (spelling error done on purpose)
Narutofan8689: Here it is.
Irish Shift: Considered and done. Shiratama IS a battle summon for the kitsune. She's only appeared in human form so far, so her true power has yet to show itself. There will be a few others, but they aren't really needed at the moment. It'd be like bringing a nuke to a toy gun fight. That and summoning them is harder than summoning Bunta, Manda AND the Jūbi all at once. Naruko would need five tails or more, which is one more than she can use at this point in time.
WolfDragonGod: Why thank you.
AsterBlake333: Glad you liked the omake, even happier that you avoided the last one. You should read the first though, because it is actually quite funny. We all know Sakura's a closet pervert. Also, Naruko isn't pure chakra. Only the original bijū are composed of chakra, offspring have mortal bodies. They are more like the Jūbi/Shinjū, which has a solid state body. Sadly, Naruko's clothes do burn...
DCUO Statellizer: Thanks for the praise, and I do tend to keep direct bashing to a minimum, mostly just one character seeing another as weaker than them, and that's not always based on physical power. As for canon, it is really weird. I don't know where you'd read it, but you can go read it and be as mystified as the rest of us. I mean, seriously, how talented is Sasuke? And why the hell is he, who was leading the charge, sitting on his hands like a little bitch now? That and Madara is so boss that he can use Susanoo with no eyes at all. (Yeah, he's alive again) He also owned all nine tailed beasts just by glaring at them!