Chapter 18: Why am I confused?
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
"Want to go eat something for lunch?" Naruko asked.
Sakura sighed. 'That baka, you'd think she would have realized that I'm not into girls by now.' She turned to refuse the offer like always.
"Sure," Ino answered, taking hold of Naruko's arm and leading her away... from Ramen Ichiraku.
Sakura blinked, surprised at this turn of events. Did Naruko just ask someone else out on a date? The pink haired medic stood there for a whole minute, her mind processing what had just happened.
…
…
…
"So... Naruko and Ino are dating now," Sakura muttered to herself, then smiled a bit, happy that her friends had gotten together. Turns out Ino didn't really need Sakura's help in getting the kitsune to go out with her.
"That's one of four goals down. Now I just need to finish this Yin Seal so I won't be a burden on anyone, bring Sasuke-kun back to Konoha and help Naruko become Hokage," Sakura said to herself. Happy that she had completed a goal, she decided to go home to meditate for an hour or so in hopes of speeding up the Yin Seal's completion.
"Hey Sakura..."
Said medic turned to see her former classmate, Shikamaru standing there. "What is it Shikamaru?" Sakura asked.
"Mind if we go talk for a while?" he asked.
Sakura looked at Shikamaru, a bit wary now. "Are you asking me out?"
"As if I'd do something so troublesome like asking you out. I don't need Naruko breathing down my neck," Shikamaru muttered.
"You didn't hear from Ino yet?" Sakura asked.
Shikamaru's face assumed the Nara version of an interested expression, which meant his eyes opened slightly more than usual. "What happened?"
Sakura decided to let Ino spread the news around herself later. "Ask Ino yourself later on," she said, "I guess we can go talk for a while."
Shikamaru sighed as he started to walk towards a cafe. "Troublesome woman..."
After they sat down and each got their coffee, straight black for Shikamaru and two creams for Sakura, they sat in silence for a while after getting their drinks.
"Why did you want to talk to me Shikamaru?" Sakura asked.
The shadow user sighed. "I figured you were the closest thing to an expert on my situation."
Sakura tilted her head slightly. "What situation?"
For almost a minute, Shikamaru just stared into his coffee. "Sakura, what is it like with Sasuke not being in the village?"
Sakura was a bit shocked at that question. "What? Why are you asking me that?"
"Well, you know, you like the guy and all. I just wanted to know how it felt to be separated from him all the time," Shikamaru said.
Now Sakura looked down at her coffee. "It hurts sometimes. I wish he was here with me, but he isn't. I'm really worried all the time, more so now that I know he's used illegal drugs on himself. I was also very lonely at first, worrying that I'd be alone all the time."
"I noticed you seemed a bit down at times, but you seem better now. Is that because you got to see Sasuke again?" Shikamaru asked.
Sakura shook her head. "Not really, that just made things worse."
"Then what is keeping you together?" Shikamaru asked, confused.
Sakura smiled fondly as she lightly ran her fingertip along the lip of her coffee cup. "Naruko came back home."
Shikamaru's eyebrow rose. "That's odd. The one you like brings more worry, the one you don't like in that way brings comfort...Could you have fallen for Naruko?"
Sakura's head snapped up, a light blush on her face. "No! I mean that her being back means that bringing Sasuke-kun back is a certainty! She's also pretty fun to hang out with, so my troubles get blown away!"
Shikamaru smiled slightly, amused. "Enough poking fun at you. I was right to talk to you, though I don't really have anyone that can bring up my spirits like Naruko does for you..."
"What is going on Shikamaru?" Sakura asked, concerned.
Shikamaru sighed as he scratched at his ponytail. "I think I've fallen for that troublesome Temari..."
Sakura blinked. "What?"
"I feel uneasy, worried even when she's not in Konoha or Suna. I keep thinking she might be going on a dangerous mission or something, and with Gaara being the Kazekage now, she wouldn't be as well protected as before," Shikamaru admitted.
"You fell in love with a 'troublesome' woman?" Sakura asked.
The shadow user blushed ever so slightly as he looked out the window. "Every man in this world must find their soul mate, even if that person is a troublesome woman who gets on his nerves, because some of those nerves involve love rather than annoyance."
"Poetry? From you?" Sakura gasped, shocked.
"My dad said that to me once," Shikamaru muttered, clearly embarrassed.
Sakura laughed a bit. After calming down, mostly due to Shikamaru's glare, she asked, "why not confess to Temari-san then?"
"Are you joking? Why would I do something so troublesome?" Shikamaru asked, looking like the very thought of confessing was the epitome of annoyance.
"If you love someone, you should tell them before you...lose...them..." Sakura trailed off, remembering how Sasuke left the village three years ago. She felt a jab of pain in her chest at that memory, which stole her voice from her along with her happy mood.
Shikamaru noted the change, wondering if he'd be like this if something happened to Temari. Even though it was troublesome... "Sakura, I know that Naruko will bring him back to Konoha sooner or later, so don't get depressed over the past." After a moment of silence, he sighed. "And... thanks... I think I'll talk to Temari next time she's in Konoha. I won't confess or anything, but I'm going to see if there is a chance that she might consider a lazy ass chūnin like me."
The two stayed away from the topic of Sasuke, Shikamaru asking if Naruko had finished that crazy jutsu he'd heard had incinerated Kakuzu. Once their coffee was gone, the two parted ways and Sakura decided to go home to meditate, like she was originally going to do.
Right outside her home stood Kakashi and, surprisingly, Maboroshi Ami. "Oh, Sakura. Good timing," Kakashi said.
"What is it, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.
"Ami here was wondering if you could tell her what K-" Kakashi started.
"AHHH! Not out here!" the ninja photographer snapped.
Sakura's eye brow twitched in annoyance. "You think I'm going to let you in my house?"
"Listen, I'm sorry about being such a bitch when we were kids, but to be fair, you're still a bitch to Naruko and you're practically all grown up," Ami angrily pointed out. She had pictures of Sakura socking Naruko around Konoha to prove it too.
Sakura had no response to that because, until recently, it was true. In a way, Ami had matured before her. "Fine," Sakura grumbled, unlocking the door and letting her sensei and former bully into her home and led them to her room.
Once everyone was seated, Sakura looked to the girl who once made her life a pain in the neck. "What do you want to know?"
"I'll come out and say it: I wanted to know what Inuzuka Kiba likes to eat because I want to ask him out on a date," Ami said.
"Huh?" Sakura asked, confused.
"Kami! That huge forehead is just for show, isn't it? I said I want to ask Kiba out and I want to know what he likes to eat so I'm prepared," Ami said, scowling slightly.
Sakura's left eye brow twitched a bit. "I'd say go and ask Naruko, but she's busy, so go ask Hinata or Shino."
"C'mon! You know I hate going to the Hyūga compound and the Aburame... Do I even need to say it?" Ami asked.
"Alright! I think he likes beef, steak and jerky, since he ate it almost all the time back at the academy," Sakura growled.
"Thanks For- er, Sakura," Ami lamely finished. "Listen, I really am sorry about how I was back at the academy and all, I was just a brat who had wealthy parents."
Sakura sighed. "I guess I can forgive you, just don't go insulting me anymore or I'll put you through the hospital."
Ami would have run off, but she decided to ask a quick question. "Hey, about Naruko... Kami, it's still hard to believe that she was using a henge all the time... Anyway, how is h-she?"
"She's doing okay. Why do you ask?" Sakura asked.
"Well, she did face off against Akatsuki twice pretty quickly and I heard she went up against Orochimaru, so I figured she'd be taking a major break or something," Ami said.
Sakura smiled. "Naruko's a lot tougher than she looks. She nearly killed Orochimaru and some Akatsuki blond, then incinerated a member of Akatsuki who had multiple hearts."
Ami smirked as she opened to door to Sakura's room. "Wow, so much more praise for Naruko than with Sasuke. I think someone is in love~"
Sakura shot up, growling. "What? I'm not a lesbo and I have no interest in her! She's just a teammate, A TEAMMATE!"
Ami's loud laugh reached Sakura's ears, but the girl was outside of her house. Sakura looked and saw that, at some point, Kakashi had slipped out the window.
Sakura sat down on her bed, too wound up to meditate and focus her chakra properly. After a few moments, she got up and went to her window. "Mom! I'm going to the library for a while!" the medic called.
"Alright! Be back before dinner!" Haruno Miku called from the kitchen.
Sakura jumped out the window, landing on the roof. From there, Sakura made her way to the library, sticking to the rooftops to avoid the busy streets and more people out to bother her with their love troubles.
[Fifteen minutes later, library]
Sakura sighed as she lay the books she selected out on the table, ticked that her schedule had been thrown out of control by all the love in the air. It annoyed her, mostly because everyone else could get in touch with their loved one, but Sakura couldn't.
"Enough moping over love, I'm going to go over some more books on kinjutsu and illegal drugs. I need to figure out what he took and did to himself so I can counter any problems he will probably have," the medic told herself, then cracked open a book and started reading, cringing at some of the side-effects drugs could have on a person. She didn't know that taking Black Root could not only make your muscles denser, but using too much could lead to a man's genitals falling off.
She hoped Sasuke didn't take any Black Root...
After a good hour, Sakura was on autopilot and just went through book after book, absorbing information and tucking it away in her brain. It wasn't until she was nearly done her fifth book that she realized something was wrong with what she was memorizing. She closed the book and paled.
"I...I'm reading a cookbook...on ramen?" Sakura asked herself, somewhat disturbed that she unconsciously selected the book. She wasn't the best cook in the world, though she was leagues better than Ino, but to pick up such a book when she was trying to be serious kind of bothered Sakura. She closed the book and put it on the 'read' pile, grabbing an unread book and opening it. "I think I've been hanging around Naruko too long... Now let's see... To make oriental ramen you nee..." she stopped, realizing she had yet another ramen cookbook before her.
Sakura looked to the other books, seeing that the last few were all cook books. She closed the book and rested her elbows on the table, holding her face with her hands. "I think I need a break or something..."
After what she deemed a stress related episode back at the library, Sakura had gone home and taken an hour long nap. After waking up, Sakura meditated for a while in an attempt to cut some time off the appearance of the Yin Seal. She swore that if Naruko had the talent in genjutsu and chakra control, she would have formed the seal in less than a year.
Sakura sighed as she left her house, deciding to get a small bit of practice in so that the day wouldn't be a total loss. If anyone bothered her now, especially about love, she'd probably lose it.
"Sakura-san!" Lee called as he jogged over to the girl.
And it just so happened that a person she respected had to not only bother her, but he was probably going to announce that some kind of extreme training being finished would result in him getting a date with her. "Yes, Lee-san?" Sakura asked.
"I'm going to be going on a few missions for the next few weeks. I was wondering if, when I get back, we could go celebrate my successes?" Lee loudly asked.
"Lee-san, celebrations of your team's accomplishments are supposed to involve just your team, not outsiders," Sakura chastised.
Lee stood stock still for a moment, then nodded. "You're right as always, Sakura-san. I shall find a reason to go on a wonderful date with you soon! I must go now, so until I return!" he called, running off to join his teammates.
Sakura sighed, feeling a bit tired now. She still went and trained a bit before she returned to her home, intent on eating something and then going to sleep for the night.
"Sakura-chan, welcome home," Haruno Saika, Sakura's father greeted.
"I'll have your dinner ready in just a minute," Miku announced from the kitchen.
"Yo Forehead!" Ino greeted.
"Pig, what are you doing here? My mother didn't mention us having pork roast tonight..." Sakura weakly sniped.
"Ha ha ha. You should quit being a ninja and become a standup comedian, Forehead," Ino shot back. She smiled a bit. "I figured I'd tell you that me and Naruko are officially a couple."
"I was there when she asked you out in the morning, so I already knew. Congratulations," Sakura said.
Ino chuckled. "I'd tell you the particulars of our date, but I figure you had enough of relationships today, given that you ran into Ami and Lee."
"Kami... Did you know that Ami is interested in Kiba?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah. She asked me as well, but I told her that I wasn't all that close to Kiba to begin with," Ino then looked towards the kitchen, "Miku-obaa-san, what's for dinner?"
"We're trying something that Tenten-san told me about. I never knew you could do that to chicken," the woman answered.
Ino shrugged, figuring she could eat there for the night. Her father was going to be working late and her mother would, when Ino was out at the Haruno household, make a quick dinner and take it to her husband so they could at least have dinner together. She told Miku that she'd be joining them for dinner, then rushed off to her home to tell her mother.
For some strange reason, Sakura wondered what Naruko was up to.
[Somewhere else...]
"Take that!" the fearsome group of ninja shouted, throwing a horde of shuriken forth.
Naruko did her best to dodge and deflect the hail of steely death coming her way, but it was too much. She managed to save herself from quite a few with a pair of kunai, but too many struck her, dealing damage she knew was fatal. She fell over, staring at the sky, knowing that this was the end.
…..
"Hmph. Dead," one of the ninja said as they looked over the cor-
Poof!
With 'Naruko' proving to be a shadow clone, the ninja tried to cover all their bases, but they never counted on the kitsune tunneling below their feet. One of the ninja found that out and, when she felt the hands latch onto her legs and pull down, she shrieked as she lost almost all her height, her head sticking out of the ground.
The kitsune came out of the ground, brandishing a handful of shuriken in one hand, a kunai in the other. She placed the tip of the blade to the side of the trapped kunoichi's head, prepared to throw her shuriken at a moment's notice. "Drop your weapons or she'll really have kunai on the brain," Naruko warned.
The two didn't like it, but they dropped their weapons. "Luck, that's all. Next time, we'll be victorious," one of the shinobi stated.
Naruko kept her weapons at the ready as a few shadow clones collected their weapons, as well as freeing and disarming the kunoichi. "No matter how many times you try this, you'll never defeat me," she vowed.
"I'll kick your ass one of these days, b-" one of the shinobi started, but-
WHACK!
"Konohamaru-kun! No cursing!" the kunoichi, Moegi lectured after punching the boy in the back of his head.
The still standing shinobi, Udon sighed as he shook his head. 'This is why Sasuke was cool three years ago, he didn't get smacked around by a girl. Well, I do like the chivalry of not raising your hand against a woman if you can avoid it. I guess Naruko's cool, in a way.'
The final shinobi, Konohamaru was crouching on the ground, holding his head as he shook slightly from the pain. "Moegi! That hurts!" he shouted, then winced a bit.
"Stop being stupid and you won't be in pain, idiot. Even Boss Naruko, your idol, uses her head more than you do," Moegi sniped.
Konohamaru decided thinking wasn't a good thing, same with living. "Says the girl who wants red hair like Boss and a body like that Yamanaka or Hyūga that Boss knows... You're going to wind up like Boss' teammate, a flat chested banshee dog!"
Moegi glared at the young Sarutobi, making him abandon holding his head and run for his life before she gave chase. Udon slumped his shoulders, put all the blunted wood ninja tools away and chased after his teammates so that he'd still have two at the end of the day.
Naruko couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the sight, but then she remembered Team 7 and her spirits dipped. They had been similar to Team Ebisu, though Sasuke preferred to just stand back and act annoyed while Sakura tried to remodel Naruko's skull. Truth be told, Naruko figured he (and Kakashi) had let it happen because it was the harshest exercise that Sakura had subjected herself to back then, often resulting in Sakura laying on the ground while panting and sweating, Naruko a small distance away with bruises on her head. Naruko didn't get away from nearly every chūnin in Konoha, a few jōnin and, on very rare occasions, ANBU because she was lucky. She was tricky like a fox and twice as fast! Oh yeah, she IS a fox.
Naruko looked at her hands, the image of that gauntlet she had worn not too long ago appearing as a ghostly image over it for a moment. The power she felt back then, it was fresh, like Sasuke's sharingan when he first awoke them in Wave. She felt that, like those eyes at the time, that armor would evolve, grow and become yet another tool in her arsenal that would help her bring Sasuke back and, eventually, protect Konoha as Hokage.
"I need to learn how to summon and use that armor again. If I'm to stop Akatsuki, I'll need all the help I can get," she muttered to herself. Orochimaru used to be part of Akatsuki and, with his arms and most of his jutsu unusable, he'd almost killed Naruko while she used the 'infantile stage' of the armor. She needed to bring it under her full command, mature and master it or she may just be captured by Akatsuki. She had been lucky thus far, most of the members of Akatsuki not taking her seriously, meaning that they used their full strength too late to defeat her. If Itachi or Kisame came after her, she'd be done for in no time.
"That's a good look in your eyes there, Naruko-san."
Naruko looked up, seeing Ebisu standing there. "Ebisu-san?"
"I couldn't help but watch you and my team. Despite making it seem like a game, it was a good training match for them," the man said, then bowed slightly, "thank you for continuing to help Konohamaru, both directly and indirectly."
"Huh?"
Ebisu couldn't help but smile a bit at the girl's confusion. "These games you four play help them develop as ninja and, since Konohamaru follows your example, your everyday conduct and devotion to what you believe helps lead him and the others down the right path."
Naruko scratched at her cheek as she blushed and looked away. "Everybody should treasure their friends and be kind to everyone..."
"It seems that what people who had a normal upbringing take for granted, you know to treasure what truly matters. In a way, you have learned in a few short years what people like Kakashi had to learn over decades. Truly, you are a prodigy in your own right," Ebisu praised.
Naruko looked completely away, blushing darkly. She wasn't used to praise too much, and that was in spite of Jiraiya praising her, though it was mostly on her more perverted jutsu. To her, it was still a relatively new experience. It seems like people were calling her a talentless moron just yesterday.
Ebisu adjusted his sunglasses. "I have to go now. The team will want to try out some new tricks they learned and I think you won't be the only one digging around next time you guys 'play' ninja," the man said as he walked away, a hand raised as he went.
Naruko decided that she'd go grab a bowl of ramen, or maybe a dozen. Meh, she'd figure it out when she sat down.
"Naruko."
The kitsune turned to see her sensei standing there, book in hand. He waved to her as he walked up, pocketing the novel.
"Kakashi-sensei? Shouldn't you be resting or something?" Naruko asked.
Kakashi sighed. "I'm off active duty until tomorrow, since the medics want to make sure my arm is fully healed." The one eyed jōnin looked around, then looked dead into his student's eyes. "Naruko. I think that you, Sakura, Sai, Yamato and I should all have a meeting the day after tomorrow so we can discuss ways that we can help you use that armor, seal Orochimaru's curse seal and help you mature as a bijū and kunoichi. I'm sure you've realized it as well, haven't you?"
Naruko nodded. "I've been lucky, but Itachi and Kisame..."
"The strongest Uchiha and Kiri's 'Tail-less Tailed Beast.' They are the strongest known members of Akatsuki and neither one will stand still long enough for you to use either your rasenshuriken or the fire enhanced one," Kakashi stated.
Naruko scowled. "They are 'Fūton: Rasenshuriken' and 'Shakuton: Rasenshuriken.' Remember, one cuts, the other explodes," she lectured.
"Uh... Naruko, that wasn't a scorch release, just a wind release that you hit with a fire release..." Kakashi tried.
"It was fire and wind mixed together, so it must have been a scorch release!" Naruko insisted.
"But advanced chakra natures..." Kakashi started.
"AHHH! It was a scorch release!" Naruko snapped, her tail whipping around furiously.
Kakashi sighed. 'She's gotten stronger and she has matured, too bad it was mostly in body only...'
"Just you wait! When I master my two new jutsu, I'll prove that I can use scorch release!" Naruko declared.
"You do that then," Kakashi said, though he knew that nobody would acknowledge that powerful jutsu as a scorch release. "I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Beeeh! You're just jealous that I can use an advanced nature and you can't!" Naruko growled, sticking her tongue out at the man as he walked away. She decided to go have a bowl or two of ramen, maybe a dozen.
[Bijū meeting grounds]
Naruko blinked, finding herself in the presence of the other bijū. She felt a bit off, so she looked at herself, finding that she was in her armored form and four tails swayed behind her. "W-what? How did I activate my armor? And how come the curse seal isn't affecting me?" she wondered aloud.
"That is because this is a place only bijū and jinchūriki can have any sway, an outside ninja's power cannot reach us here, even if it is branded on or implanted in your body," the oxopus said.
"But the armor..." Naruko mumbled.
The oxopus put his hand to his chin for a moment. "That is probably because it is that is the form you most desire, the form your soul takes on. Sorry, but I can't really think of what kinds of things a flesh and blood bijū would go through."
"Flesh and blood? Don't you guys have bodies as well?" Naruko asked.
The oxopus shook his head. "No, we are merely solidified chakra. Kurama's daughter and, apparently, you have true physical bodies. A bijū's appearance and soul are the same because we are physical souls, in a sense. Your soul and body are separate, meaning that your appearance here will probably differ greatly from how you look most of the time."
Naruko realized something. "Hey! Can you teach me how to use bijūdama or how I can summon and use this armor?"
"No, not the armor, but I can tell you how to use the bijūdama," the oxopus said.
"Keh! A bijū who doesn't know how to use bijūdama... What is the world coming to?" the monkey bitterly grumbled.
Naruko chose to ignore the monkey, since he sort of seemed like a moody jerk. "Oxopus, how do I even make a bijūdama?"
The eight-tailed ox spent the next little while instructing Naruko on how to form and use a bijūdama, though he was quite surprised when Naruko described ninjutsu that was startlingly similar to it. Well, it sped things up, but the girl would have to work on how to launch it.
[A week later]
Naruko was pissed off, her two tails swaying behind her in the most threatening of manners.
"Naruko, I told you that-" Kakashi started.
Naruko glanced (read: glared) at him.
Kakashi rethought what he was going to say. "Good luck..." he muttered, realizing that married men must feel this way when dealing with their wives. He didn't like it.
Naruko had been trying to 'immunize' her body to the curse seal for a few days now. She'd bring out her third tail and try to overpower the curse seal's influence on her with sheer chakra and will. It wasn't working out too well and she had to quickly revert to two tails, using her chakra to recover. That was a nice bonus she had found out: she healed faster with more tails, she also could take harsher blows. Sakura and Tsunade figured that Naruko's increased chakra reserves, density, rotation and texture seeped into her skin, muscle and bone, hardening them to all offensive stimuli. After having it put in plain Japanese for her, Naruko realized that the tails would make her stronger and tougher.
Naruko extended her two tails so they came before her, forming a kind of four way focusing for the fūton: rasengan she was practicing. She had learned this trick from the oxopus, eliminating the need for shadow clones. She wanted to try making bijūdama, but after telling Kakashi about it, he said there was nowhere in range of Konoha that would allow her to practice such a destructive move. She would practice creating a version of the rasenshuriken that she could throw, but Tsunade just had to stop that.
"Naruko, the rasenshuriken causes the same damage to your arm as the enemy when you use it. Use it too much and you can kiss your ninja career goodbye. Just in case you haven't figured it out already, the rasenshuriken is a kinjutsu that you will use sparingly, if ever." That had been Tsunade's lecture on the jutsu Naruko had created. That was why Kakashi or Sakura was always present when Naruko went off training, to prevent her from trying to master the rasenshuriken.
Naruko had just used the fūton rasengan to obliterate a rock and was about to start making another one when she noticed her female teammate running into the area. That was strange, since the next shift change was still about an hour and a half off. "What is it, Sakura-chan?" Naruko asked.
Sakura stopped, panting for a moment or two from running the whole way at full speed. "Tsunade-sama needs to see you right now!"
Naruko had reverted to her one-tailed state and was ready to follow her teammates, but something else came up.
Poof!
"Naruko-sama," the kitsune, Shiratama said as she appeared, "I have... Am I interrupting something?"
"Tama, I need to go see baa-chan right now for something really important," Naruko said.
Shiratama nodded. "I will follow as well, since my news may be important for Hokage-dono as well."
With that, the three rushed back to Konoha.
[An hour later, Hokage's office]
"What?" Naruko asked, eyes wide and hollow.
Tsunade looked away, not wanting to see the pain in the girl's face. "Jiraiya died while facing the leader of Akatsuki," she repeated, hating how...cold she sounded, but it was the only way she could keep herself in check.
Naruko lowered her head so her bangs hid her eyes, gritting her teeth as pain, sadness and, worst of all, anger started to flood her mind and heart. The man had become something like a father to her, so hearing that some asshole had killed him for doing his job really bit deep.
"Naruko, he left something behind, a message, one that I think is for you," Tsunade said, pointing to the toad in the room.
Naruko glanced over at the toad, making him flinch when her now crimson slit eyes reflected his image. "Who is this old toad?" she asked, her voice a bit gravelly with her anger.
"Naruko! This isn't just any toad, this is Fukasaku-sama, head of Mount Myōboku's toads," Tsunade snapped.
"You...You're the one Jiraiya-chan taught?" Fukasaku asked.
Naruko wanted to laugh out loud at what the toad called Jiraiya, but her anger and pain prevented it. "Yeah, what of it?" she asked.
"Naruko! Watch you tone!" Tsunade warned again.
Shizune decided to cut in before Naruko embarrassed herself any further. "Fukasaku-sama is the one who taught Jiraiya almost everything he became famous for."
"Eh? Ero-sennin's teacher?" Naruko gasped.
Fukasaku started laughing. "E-Ero-sennin?! HAHAHA! Oh, that so fits him! You're just as rude as him too!"
Naruko's tail angrily whipped about. "What do you want with me, old toad?"
"The one who killed Jiraiya-chan, Pain, Jiraiya-chan seemed to realize something about him, but that bastard crushed his throat. Jiraiya-chan left a message for ya," Fukasaku said, turning around and taking off his robe, showing the burns on his back.
"Code?" Shizune wondered aloud.
Fukasaku turned, once more donning his robe. "I think he didn't want Pain to know, even if he caught me."
Naruko, her eyes back to being purple, looked to Tsunade. "Did you send him there?"
"Yes, I allowed him to go," Tsunade admitted with a nod.
Naruko's nails, now sharpened slightly by her chakra, bit into her palms. Sakura gasped as Naruko glared at the Hokage, burning red marks spreading from the curse seal on her neck. "What were you thinking?!" Naruko demanded, a dull red cloak starting to form.
Shiratama and Kakashi blocked Naruko's path forward. "Naruko, do you think she sent him off without thinking?" Kakashi asked.
"My servant was present back then and she argued with him about going. He insisted," Shiratama added.
Naruko winced as the pain of the seal acted up. She grabbed it, squeezing at the burning brand on her neck. She could feel it trying to poison her mind, drive her wild with anger. Realizing she might become a threat, Naruko ran at the window and, with two tails, smashed through it and rushed for the training field.
Sakura wanted to go after Naruko, but she felt that she shouldn't. What could she do anyway? The seal would recede even if she didn't go, and she might make it flare up even more. The pink haired medic left the room and sat on a bench near the office, feeling like she was completely useless to Naruko.
[Training ground, half an hour later]
Naruko had extended her tails and wrapped herself in them, hiding herself from the world while the curse seal tried to eat her sanity. Whenever it acted up, she felt dirty, defiled, a disgusting being that should be hidden away from view for the betterment of the world. Her only company for a while was the dull red glow of the curse seal.
Tap. Tap.
Naruko unfurled her tails enough to see a crack of the outside world, seeing her former teacher standing there, a worried look on his face. "Naruko, you okay?" he asked.
Naruko realized the curse seal wasn't hurting anymore, so she uncurled her tails and returned to her one-tailed state. "Yeah... I'm fine," she lied.
Iruka saw what looked like marks that were left behind from a healed bruise on her face and neck, but he ignored them. "I've been hearing about all those missions you've been going on lately, rather dangerous missions at that," he said, "everyone's talking about them and you."
Naruko wondered if that was a good or bad thing, considering how a lot of the villagers saw her. She hadn't noticed that most of those despising glares had changed, that some people even looked at her like they wanted to comfort her about Jiraiya's death, but didn't think she would accept them due to how they had treated her before.
Iruka smiled. "You look like you could use a few bowls of ramen, my treat of course."
Naruko shook her head. "I'm...fine..." she repeated, walking by the man. Rather than go home, Naruko went to the cliff where Jiraiya had, over three years ago, thrown her over the edge. She sat against the tree he had leaned against and cried herself to sleep.
[?]
Naruko blinked, wondering where she was. She remembered going to the cliff, but she didn't remember falling asleep. It looked sort of like the area she been in, but there was something about it that was off.
"Haa. You really need to stop pushing people away all the time, baka-gaki."
Naruko turned and saw Jiraiya, without his forehead protector and his hair loose. "E-Ero-sennin?"
The man nodded. "Yeah, but I still can't believe you told the old toad about that name." Naruko tackled the man in a hug, sending him flying back. "OW! Naruko, you got your tails and some kind of armor on! It hurts! You're squeezing me to...uh, death?!"
Naruko let the man go. "B-But you're dead! How?!"
Jiraiya thumped her over the head, like he always did when she did something stupid, aka chase off the ladies. "Gaki, a sensei never truly dies as long as their pupil lives and passes on the teachings and will of their sensei."
Naruko rubbed the top of her head. "Eh?"
Jiraiya placed his hand on her head. "The Shodai, Sandaime, Me, Yondaime and Kakashi reside within you now. When you teach some genin of your own in the future, I pity the poor kids by the way, they will bear our wills as well as your own. This is how a shinobi truly becomes immortal, by passing on their Will of Fire to the next generation."
Naruko teared up. "But...but I wanted you to be here when I became Hokage, to see more than me stumbling around like a moron!"
Once more, Jiraiya smacked her over the top of her head. "Stumbling around like a moron? I never saw you do that, ever! I'm proud of you, Naruko. My greatest legacy never was my writing, it is you. You will be on that mountain someday, my books won't."
Naruko teared up, trying her best to not make stupid noises while trying to talk. Nothing came out other than whimpers, so she didn't try to talk.
Jiraiya smiled at her. "Go out there and become a Hokage like no other, Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruko. Me and the others will watch you succeed."
Naruko stood up and bowed slightly. "Hai, Jiraiya-sensei!"
"Ahhh! I love the sound of that," Jiraiya said as he and the area faded away.
[Five days later]
"N-Naruko?" Shikamaru asked, quite confused.
Naruko was now wearing a sleeveless turtleneck sweater and shorts, both black, for maximum mobility and a pair of rugged red sandals. She looked determined, a bit more level headed than normal. Last time she looked this composed, Mizuki had to take a month long medical leave and he needed an O-pillow when he returned.
"Shikamaru? Why did you come to see me?" she asked.
Shikamaru held up a picture of the code that had been mystifying the decryption unit. "Does any of this mean anything to you?" he asked.
Naruko looked at the picture for a while, some memories of Jiraiya entering her mind. Only one thing came to mind. 'Why does it start with katakana? Well, maybe he just made a mistake due to his injuries. Well, if Shikamaru and others haven't noticed, I'm sure it was a mistake of Jiraiya's.'
"Naruko? Anything?" Shikamaru asked.
"Uh..." Naruko felt at a loss.
Shikamaru decided to take Naruko to meet Kurenai, explaining the same thing to Naruko that Jiraiya had in her dream last night. Actually, Naruko truly wondered if it had been a dream, sort of like how she was able to commune with the other bijū. Maybe she had a chance to say goodbye to those who were very close to her using the same inborn jutsu.
"Now get to work, or I'll kick your slacking, tailed ass with my even lazier foot," Shikamaru said with a smirk as he held up the picture.
Naruko had been staring at the picture for what had to be hours, though it was only a few minutes. The same thing kept bugging her; that katakana at the beginning...
"Have you thought of anything at all, Uzumaki-san?" the girl of the cryptology department asked.
"Before you suggest them, we already asked Kakashi-sensei and Tsunade-sama. You're our last hope of cracking this code. This code, I think it is for you," Shikamaru said.
"Well, I was wondering why it began with katakana," Naruko muttered, feeling like she was about to get sighed at.
"Eh? Katakana?" Shikamaru asked as he looked down at the picture.
The girl looked as well. "Uzumaki-san, that's a nine."
Naruko pointed to the katakana. "That's katakana."
"Naruko, that is a nine," Shikamaru insisted.
"I thought so as well, but Jiraiya-sensei's writing was weird like that. It's 'ta' in katakana," she said.
Shikamaru blinked. "You know, I sort of see it now too. It has that little tail..."
"How do you know he didn't just make a mistake?" the decoder girl asked.
"Sensei was working on his book while we traveled around. He made me read everything he wrote, so I probably know his writing as well as his editor does. I kept getting confused because he was lazy with his 'ta' katakana, but I got used to it eventually. That is why I say it is 'ta,' and not a nine," Naruko explained.
"I think she's right. This could be the cipher we were looking for!" the girl excitedly chirped.
"Why didn't you say that from the start?" Shikamaru asked.
"Eh... I thought you already noticed. Besides, what good does it do us?" Naruko countered.
"Well, maybe the cipher IS the book he was writing," Shikamaru said.
Naruko blinked a few times. How the hell did Shikamaru come up with this stuff?
"Then the other numbers must be for pages. It's brilliant!" the girl exclaimed. She loved codes almost as much as she was crushing on Shikamaru.
"So what book was it? Do you know where we can find a copy?" Shikamaru asked.
Naruko grinned. "Icha Icha Tactics. Kakashi-sensei has a copy of it."
As if on cue, Kakashi himself strolled into the room with the code's cipher in hand. "Yo! I thought I'd come and help you guys out."
"Kakashi-san, please read out pages thirty-one, eight, one hundred six, seven, two hundred seven and fifteen of Icha Icha Tactics," the decoder girl practically ordered.
Kakashi started to sweat, his eyes going the book to page first page he had been asked about, which was a rather explicit scene. "E-Eh?"
"What's wrong? Just read it!" the girl snapped.
Kakashi was sweating so hard it was practically an E-rank suiton. "E-Errrrrrr..."
Naruko's two tails were active, swaying behind her in a way that reminded Kakashi of Kushina during one of her legendary rages. "Read it," Naruko commanded.
Kakashi was scared of the girl, but he was more embarrassed of the book's content, making him sputter useless sounds while blushing hard and sweating up a storm, a certifiable B-rank suiton now.
[Twenty minutes later]
In the end, the girl had written the sentences out, Kakashi having lost two percent of his body weight in sweat.
"You get anything?" Naruko asked.
The girl circled the first word of each page. "That's odd. 'The real one isn't with them,' is what it says."
"The hell?" Naruko muttered.
"Maybe Fukasaku-sama knows. He was present for the fight between Jiraiya-sama and Pain," Kakashi suggested.
"Good idea. I'm going to go see him and Tsunade-sama about this," Shikamaru said.
"C-Can I come?" the decoder girl asked.
"Huh? Uh, sure," Shikamaru said, making the girl really happy.
Naruko decided to go as well.
[Tsunade's office]
"Anything you can think of?" Naruko asked.
Fukasaku had thought of keeping that name secret, but he decided to tell this girl out of respect to her. "Jiraiya kept mentioning a name: Nagato, a person who he said had Rinnegan. Apparently all six of Pain felt like Nagato, but none of them looked like him."
"Nagato?" Kakashi asked. Tsunade shook her head, not knowing anything at all.
Fukasaku and Shiratama knew the look in Naruko's eyes. "Forget it kid, that Pain will pummel ya to death," the told toad stated.
Naruko growled. "What?"
"He's right, Naruko-sama. As you are now, I don't think you can go against someone who can endlessly revive six bodies that work in concert with each other like this Pain character does," Shiratama stated.
Naruko hung her head, arms and tail. "What the hell..."
"It will be a week or two at the least before we learn anything from the autopsy or interrogation," Sakura stated.
Naruko crumpled to the ground, tired all of a sudden.
"Naruko, Shizune-san is working as hard as she can to get answers. Just wait a bit and we'll know who Pain is and how his jutsu works," Sakura said.
Naruko lifted herself onto her hands and knees, unintentionally looking up at Sakura with one Kyūbified eye, a red shine glaring off the crimson iride. "I need to avenge him," she muttered.
Sakura suddenly remembered Sasuke during one of his rougher training sessions after getting his sharingan, being in the same position with his red eyes visible, saying he needed to avenge someone. Her heart nearly stopped, realizing that Naruko was starting to slip in the wrong direction.
"Naruko-sama, your place in figuring out Jiraiya-san's messages is over," Shiratama coldly stated.
Naruko whirled, her eyes producing faint light trails. "What?" she demanded.
Shiratama hid her flinch. "Naruko-sama, the best thing you can do is become stronger, so that you can defeat Pain for Jiraiya-san."
Naruko blinked. "Huh?"
Fukasaku smiled. "She's right. You should train at Mount-"
"Oi! Naruko-sama is not a regular ninja, she's the glorious Sanban Kyubi-sama! She has powers that she needs to master first before she learns any techniques from your people," Shiratama growled, glaring at the toad with her sharingan.
"Hmmm. Kyūbi, eh? Never trained a bijū before, but I'd like to see if they can use senjutsu," Fukasaku said.
Shiratama's temper flared up. "Old toad, I told you-"
"Quiet down Tama-chan, before you go and embarrass yourself anymore," a tiny voice warned.
Shiratama, in a rare show, bowed to the newcomer. "S-Sorry, okaa-sama."
"EHHHH?!" Naruko gasped, the windows vibrating, "Shiratama's kaa-san?! H-How?!"
Shiratama had bowed to a three tailed fox that was about four feet tall and looked to be about twelve, at max. The tiny kitsune had silver hair and fur, amber eyes, a damaged white kimono with a crimson sash and her hair in a messy pony tail with three needles stuck through it.
"T-This is my mother, Kayako," Shiratama admitted, gesturing to the small kitsune.
Naruko gaped at the small fox girl, color drained out of her so she was almost one with the background.
"Fuhihihihi! Everyone acts that way. I'm a five tailed kitsune, so altering my form is easy," Kayako said, grinning wickedly.
Naruko had no answer, aside from standing there with her mouth hanging open.
Kayako walked about Naruko, looking her up and down. "Fumu. So she is capable of creating a super condensed chakra armor that allows her, in theory, compound upon the Majesty State's already formidable chakra compression and control abilities." The tiny kitsune woman smirked. "This will be fun, training her to use her full power."
Fukasaku felt something odd from the girl, a sort of...corrupted power that he knew quite well. "Naruko-chan, do you know senjutsu?"
"Eh?" Naruko gasped, looking to the toad, "s-senjutsu? What's that?"
"I'll take that as a 'no' then," Fukasaku said with a sigh, then he smiled a bit, "wanna learn it?"
Shiratama went to say something, but Kayako stopped her with a light stomp on her daughter's toes. "Senjutsu and heavily condensed chakra constructs... Sounds so powerful, but something is missing," she said with a smirk.
"Okaa-sama, I had something for Naruko-sama, but news of Jiraiya-san's death put it out of my mind," Shiratama timidly said, not wanting to look bad in front of her mother.
Kayako thought for a few moments, then nodded to herself. "Alright, the four of us will go to Mount Myōboku to train Naruko-sama. With her learning speed and tough body, she should be able to master everything we teach her. Fuhihihihi! This will be fun!"
Naruko suddenly worried about her future, what seemed to be left of it anyway.
Shiratama looked to Tsunade. "Hokage-dono, may Naruko-sama go to Mount Myōboku?"
"S-Sure," Tsunade managed, a little surprised to see the normally strong willed Shiratama so meek.
Fukasaku had been thinking of denying the two kitsune access to his people's home, but nothing could stop Naruko from summoning them to her once she was there, so he decided to allow it. Who knows, whatever they wanted to teach her may assist her in learning senjutsu.
"Naruko-sama, do you want to go through with this training? My mother can make steel break itself if she wants to..." Shiratama warned.
Naruko nodded. "Jiraiya-sensei wanted me to defeat Pain and I want to protect Konoha from him. Nobody else needs to die because of him or Akatsuki."
"Good answer," Fukasaku said.
[Fifteen minutes later, Konoha's main gate]
Naruko, Fukasaku, Shiratama and Kayako stood on one side, Tsunade, Sakura, Shikamaru and Ino on the other. Ino had seen the group and joined after learning that Naruko was going somewhere.
"Time for us to go. Say goodbye to everyone, Naruko-chan," Fukasaku said, seeing that Shiratama didn't like him using that honorific for Naruko. It was kind of fun to do so anyway.
Ino didn't wait for anyone else to talk, just quickly walked up to Naruko and gave her a tender, but long kiss. "Don't go dying on me, Uzumaki, or I'll find a way to bring you back just to yell at you and make you sleep on a couch," Ino warned.
Naruko chuckled a bit. "Don't worry Ino-chan, I'll come back tougher than ever."
"You better, I'd hate to be the stronger one in the relationship," Ino teased.
Naruko looked to Shikamaru. "Do your best figuring out that code and all the other stuff too."
Shikamaru tiredly grinned back. "Worry more about your training. If you don't come back, I'll never hear the end of it."
"You'll get the information as soon as we get it, so just focus on Fukasaku-sama and Kayako-sama's training," Tsunade lightly ordered. Fukasaku had left a toad behind just so she could give him the information to take to the home of the toads.
Naruko looked to Sakura, who looked a bit conflicted. "Sakura-chan, don't worry or anything, I'll be okay."
Sakura snapped out of her thoughts. "Huh? Oh, er, go get 'em," she said, less enthusiastic than she meant to be.
Naruko smiled and turned away from the village, then stood there for a few moments. "Uh, which way do I go?" she asked after a minute.
"To get to Mount Myōboku, about a month. Even then, you'll never find your way in because of the mountain path being a natural maze," Fukasaku said.
Naruko hung her head and tail in defeat. "That difficulty level is too high for me..."
"If you could use all nine tails and bijū form, you could just level everything in your path!" Kayako said, a big smile on her face.
"Okaa-sama, Naruko isn't interested in such things," Shiratama muttered to her mother.
"Naruko-chan, you signed the contract with us toads, so I can just take you there. Shiratama and Kayako will need to be summoned by you once we get to Mount Myōboku," Fukasaku explained.
Naruko realized she didn't need to wrack her brains. She was both relieved and happy.
"Now we're really going," Fukasaku said.
"What are yo-" Naruko started, but vanished in a cloud of smoke.
"Good luck," Fukasaku said, vanishing as well. A few minutes later, the two kitsune were summoned to Naruko.
With Naruko off training, everyone returned to their own duties, but not Sakura. The pink haired teen went straight home as if she were in a daze, aware of the world enough to avoid walking into people on the street, but not aware enough to interact with them.
Once home, Sakura went straight to her room and sat on her bed, then fell back on it, then curled up, hugging herself.
"I need to avenge them," Sasuke's phantom voice stated, his red eyes appearing in her mind.
"I need to avenge him," the memory of Naruko said, a demonic red eye shining back at Sakura.
Sakura shivered, finding the similarity scary. That talk of avenging people and the hate filled eyes, they had led to Sasuke abandoning Konoha, abandoning her, for the power he felt he needed, that he 'deserved' as the last Uchiha. Would Naruko continue to fall? No, Naruko had people beside her, Ino as her girlfriend, there was no way-
The curse seal flashed in Sakura's mind, the image of Sasuke being coated in it being replaced with Naruko's twisted armored form, those wild, bloodthirsty eyes looking for their next kill. Armored hands drenched in blood...
Sakura got up and rushed to the library, picking up some books on seals and sealing techniques, worried out of her mind. With Sasuke, there would be more people, experts who could help her with any side effects the drugs he had taken had on him, but there were no seal masters in Konoha, not anymore. That seal on the kitsune's neck was a ticking time bomb and Sakura had to be the one to disarm it.
On her way back home, Sakura stopped dead, wondering why she was so frantic. When she learned of what Sasuke had done to himself, she had collected books to study what he may have done to himself, but it was within her realm of expertise. She looked at the books in her hands, instruction manuals on sealing techniques from basic stuff to the most advanced seals one could manage without using kinjutsu.
"Why..." she muttered to herself, confused. With Sasuke, it had been worry, with Naruko, it was borderline panic. Why was she more worried about Naruko than Sasuke?
The answers came to Sakura as the memories she shared with the two came to her. With Sasuke, the best memories were right after he went crazy with the curse seal and just before he knocked her out, with Naruko, it was nearly all the time. Sasuke had been cold, distant and he left without worrying about her at all. Naruko had been warmth, within reach and always there for her. Sasuke was a teammate and he made sure to leave it at that, but Naruko had accepted Sakura as a friend, even when Sakura herself didn't want her as a friend.
Sakura blushed a bit. She had started following Sasuke at first because she wanted acceptance from someone important, which later turned to her wanting him to return her feelings, right around the same time he decided that leaving Konoha was a smart idea. But from day one, Naruko had accepted her and praised her skills, something Sakura ignored because it wasn't Sasuke doing it.
Thinking back on it, if Naruko should hate anyone in Konoha, it should be Sakura. Naruko had been nothing othermore than polite, caring and willing to put up with the shit Sakura dumped on her all the time. A normal person would have screamed at her, punched her until she passed out, told her to go to rot in Hell and never show her face to them again, but Naruko didn't. Truth be told, Naruko hadn't been all that annoying, but Sakura still hit her anyway, screamed at her for...well, not being Sasuke. Even that traitor Mizuki had been kinder to Naruko than Sakura had, and all that bastard ever did was unintentionally give her the chance to become a genin, which was leagues more than Sakura had done for Naruko.
Sakura tightened her grip on the books. "Not just becoming Hokage, I'll do my best to be nicer to Naruko when she comes back," Sakura quietly vowed. Just like Naruko, Sakura would do her best for her friends and never abandon them.
A/N~
Hmm, I think the parts I added to this chapter that are non-canon are nice, especially the 'fight' between Naruko and Konohamaru's 'fearsome' team. I rather like the scene with Jiraiya as well. And no, it wasn't her actually contacting the dead, it was just her mind calming her with images of what Jiraiya would have said and done.
This chapter was delayed for a few reasons, one of them being the Kick-Ass fanfic 'Precocious Crush' and the other being Hotmail deleting my account for no reason. Now I've got to remake it and, if need be, reset all the stuff I have tied to the old account to the new one. Damn captcha error...
And I don't know why, but I've been listening to Disturbed's 'The Animal' for battle scenes and Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky' for romance scenes. I think it's working for me.
Responses-
Analyn Rockwand: As you can see, Naruko is learning to use bijūdama, but she won't have it for a while yet. As for the lemon, sorry, but I decided that, if I ever do write anything like that, it will be a mention of something having happened, which I believe is called a 'lime.' One of my stories, The Greatest, has one of those pretty much right away in Part II. (Naruto really will like that 'birthday' present) I might do one for this fic, since it would be fun to do. Actually, I WILL do something like that, but you'll have to use your imagination for what actually happened.
Krazyfanfiction1: And here you go.
Geekysoundcat: Glad you enjoy the humor, get ready for more in a chapter or two.
Chm01: Did I just here the call for moar of teh Yuri? Well, you'll probably have to wait a chapter for more because Pain is up next!
Ponzet: Hmm, I don't know when Sakura might accept that she's starting to think of Naruko as a possible romantic partner, it might be in a few chapters. Let's just say that Sakura will see the...benefits to being with Naruko. Do remember that Sakura is, in canon, a rotten girl (likes BL) but won't admit it, which makes her a closet pervert.
Professional Ninja: Next will be Ino's turn to comfort Naruko, and I think a few people, and Sakura, will rather enjoy that scene.
Sonicfan12: To be honest, it isn't biological. Naruko is a bijū, and as we all know, bijū other than the Jūbi only exist because the Sage of Six Paths used 'Creation of All Things' to break it into nine pieces. Naruko is a bijū with a flesh and blood body, meaning she can be impregnated by a man, but that ain't happening in this fic. Since Naruko has some of Kurama's chakra in her, traces of the jutsu that created Kurama exist in her, allowing her to use a very weak, incomplete and localized version of it. In order for it to work, Naruko's chakra will meld with the woman and join with her egg, creating the medical phenomenon that involves the egg dividing without the need for the male DNA, which is a real thing, I just can't find the term right now. For lack of a better term, Naruko infects the woman's egg with her chakra and it eventually grows into a child bearing only the mother's DNA, but has some of Naruko's chakra in their system.
Shinkicker: Was there any ever doubt that Naruto/Naruko is a pervert? S/He did invent Oiroke no jutsu. And yes, they are officially a couple, now it is time to rope Sakura in with her growing feelings for Naruko, her worry for the girl and, of course, Sakura's closet pervert tendencies
Gnarled Bone: Lots to say and lots to say. I just said that twice, but that's exactly what came to mind while reading your review. Thanks for the praise and thanks for pointing out that I, somehow, have avoided character bashing a lot in this fic. I'm sure there is some weak bashing somewhere, but I wanted to focus more on Naruko's growth and her growing attachments to her future wives. I also decided that, like with Yue in KTD, we'd get a peek at Naruko's thoughts, emotions and the growing turmoil in her mind as things steadily get worse around her. Unlike Yue for KTD, Naruko has an anchor to cling to, to remain in the light. I guess you could say that Naruko is an experiment in a person's salvation while Yue is an experiment in a person steadily breaking down through their isolation.
Sky Zephyrus: I agree with you on all those points, but Sakura is still being a total tsundere about her feelings for Naruko. I mean, look at this chapter! She used the most tsundere line in all history! Sheesh, I really should just lock her and Naruko in a changing room for an hour or so, then maybe Sakura will realize that there is a very different form of 'taijutsu' that she and Naruko can practice.
Harlequin320: Updated. Sorry for the wait.
DarkLordK: Go google 'Inner Haku,' the first result is pure comedy. While you're at it, check out the other 'Inner (character) pictures, especially the Inner Hinata and Inner Sakura ones. You really get to see the true Inner Inner Inner Inner Inner Inner Sakura's thoughts. Inner Temari is hilarious too. Inner Sasuke is the truth as well.
The Keeper of Worlds: And I bet you love Naruko's insistence that she can use the scorch release. And I think Sakura will get a rather...um, clear sign that she wants Naruko under her in bed within the next few chapters.
Thunder claw03: Haku-chan will not be joining the harem. I will do that in a later fic, where Naruko gets tons of women and not a single guy is interested in the completely straight (at first) Naruko in spite of her beauty.
Oloop: Glad you like this story.
We had it bad because the wind was persistently blowing against our side of the building. We were literally eight degrees cooler on our side during the day, more than ten lower at night and it was getting worse with each passing day. We also had to walk around in dark hallways and climb pitch black stairwells. I got a freaking flashlight app so I have some decent illumination if it happens again! I'm not even mentioning how much the area looked like a warzone with all the fallen trees and power lines. Heck, I almost couldn't get out of bed on the last day of the power outage due to my body suffering without significant electrical fields around it.
KidSavesTheWorld: Thanks for the praise, though I think I could do much better. Then again, lots of the old masters have left this site, either due to real life or the M rated scare. As for the NaruIno love, it was about time they got together! That and I wanted to screw with Inoichi's mind a bit. Also, this is the chapter I finally came up with a permanent name for Ino's mother!
AsterBlake333: I agree with you 100% about Sasuke. The fact of the matter is that, as far as I can tell, the creator of Naruto seems to favor him more than the title character. Heck, Kabuto and Orochimaru have more redeeming qualities than Sasuke. The little emo wrist cutter's reasons for returning are because he feels like it, he wants to erase the teachings that make Konoha ninja who they are and he wants to kill Naruto for being an embodiment of those teachings. In other words, he's a new Danzō.
Sakura will soon see the light, or at least see Naruko with lust tinted glasses. Maybe that will make her realize her 'love' for Sasuke is different from what she feels for Naruko.
Ladygoddes8: As I know from reading his page on Narutopedia, the idiot has had at least four women interested in him, but he was as clueless as a blind man walking in a minefield. One girl almost bluntly asked Naruto to knock her up and he agreed with a clueless smile. Seriously, he is the ultimate thick headed idiot when it comes to women and he happens to attract them like moths to the flame.
And yes, I figured that Ino would either have to say it outright or drag Naruko into her room to let the idiot kitsune know that she was interested in her. You need a pickax to get through that skull and Ino figured bluntly saying it would be the perfect pickax. Good thing she was right.
Thedarkpokemaster: I always like screwing with somebody's head, (mostly the heads of your readers) and it just so happened to be Inoichi's turn. The fact is that he really did tell Ino to stick with her team as much as possible in canon, and his friendship with his old teammates would make one believe that he wanted his daughter to marry one of her teammates. I don't see that happening at all, mostly due to Temari and Shikamaru seeming to be interested in each other and Choji not being the kind of guy Ino was interested in.
I also figured that the perfect remedy to Guy/Lee horrors would be some NaruIno goodness.
Guest: Holy crap! I made it to your top five?! Have you only read six stories?! Alright, I'm joking, but I am seriously surprised that this fic is so high up on someone's list of favorites. I was expecting being at the very bottom of the top 10 at most.
Acceptance For All: Posted!
Demon-Dash1147: As soon as she stops being the tsundere closet pervert we all know she is. I actually have a good time for her to admit to herself that she is interested in Naruko, but she won't act on it til later.
Thesilentkunai: I'll take it that you meant among ongoing fics. There are many fics that are no longer continued that are diamond mines, my story is merely a little silver mine. Glad you like where this is going.