Waking up in a large pasture was a bit different than from what he'd expected when he passed out, but it was a pleasing change from the dark dungeon corridors. The trio of figures sitting down at a feast with a massive banner that read "Congratulations" was a bit more immediate to his notice. Well, two were sitting, the third was currently kneeling in front of a pair of pet dishes.
"Lady... Flash... what's going on here?" Naruto asked, as if the answer wasn't completely obvious as the whiskers on his face. "Never mind that, let's just celebrate, I have a couple questions for you Lady..."
Naruto settled into a chair that had been left at the head of the table for him, while the other two took up flanking positions, and kistune knelt at the other end of the table, in full view of Naruto. "I take it you learned of my promotion?"
"No, but that makes this even more of a reason to celebrate! The brown egg hatched and you're now a full fledge Master!" Lady gushed while sliding over a huge bowl of ramen for Naruto to enjoy. Flash seemed to be beaming behind his mask as well, giving Naruto a few extra slices of beef steak.
"We can take a look later if you want My Creator, it is a rare hatching indeed, I think you will be very pleased with it," Flash added as he piled up his own plate with food, his own bowl of ramen steaming away merrily. Lady seemed to be happy to join in the male member's eating habits, piling up her own plate and having an equally loaded bowl of ramen.
Naruto sat in his chair, rubbing his chin in thought for a moment before he nodded. "Yes, I think that'll be good... but I suspect I know the spirit that has hatched... also... Kitsune... have some lunch..."
The former glorious demon of death and destruction was shocked when Naruto spoke to her, and even more-so when the two previously empty bowls filled themselves with cooked sliced chicken meat, and cool, clean water. After millenias of being stuck inside one host or another, and having nothing but chakra to sustain her, food was almost a foreign concept. Almost, but not quite, her eyes shone with an unspoken amount of surprise and gratitude, that had Naruto smiling warmly in return.
Unfortunately her pride stopped her from thanking him, and instead she merely bent over and began eating the chicken as she would have in her fox form. Naruto watched her eating for a few minutes, catching the slight smile of joy that crept into her smile at the corners. "We will have to train her in human eating habits I suppose... but she is being very well behaved... maybe it's time for..."
"For what Master Uzumaki?" Lady asked curiously as she lowered the bowl of ramen from her mask. Which Naruto was still uncertain of how she was eating through, but decided against asking about.
"Oh... I'm just thinking of rewarding her for being a good little slave..." Naruto commented off-hand, before scooping up his own bowl and slurping down a mass of noodles, broth, and toppings to stun Son Goku.
"A good slave would have thanked her Master," Flash pointed out with his chopsticks waving over to Kitsune casually. They lasted in that direction until he snatched up a piece of grilled vegetable happily. "But she has come far, maybe a reward is the proper step My Creator... Have you considered what you wish to give her?"
"I have a couple ideas in mind..." Naruto answered vaguely as he lowered his now empty bowl. He couldn't help but notice that Kitsune was paying attention to every word that was being said with a hopeful, almost pleading look to her eyes. It was fun playing with her like this, but he needed to stretch it out for a little longer. "But that can wait until after the feast, and the inspection of the egg room I think..."
"Of course My Creator," his Master's Spirit answered, realizing the game that Naruto was playing. The once mighty demon was now envisioning a lot of things that she thought humans would consider treats, having learned something of their thinking from her time spent in the human bodies. A casual glance over to the enigmatic Lady confirmed that she had her suspicions brewing as much as he was loathed to admit his own were. The young Master seemed to be a natural at stirring up trouble. Reaching out for the last piece of meat, he was surprised to find it missing. Or rather, he found it on the end of Naruto's chopsticks, entering his mouth.
Oh yeah, the kid was good.
The feast ended after a everything was eaten, and Kistune even got a second helping, this time of vegetables. And while they were letting it settle, Naruto decided to get some answers to questions he'd thought of during the day. "I was thinking, can I return the chains into me after they are out of me? I think it'd be easier to clean up after the fights... also can I form weights, spikes, hooks, or something to make them more useful? And different widths of chain would probably be good too..."
"I cannot answer those Master Uzumaki," Lady stated as she let out a heavy sigh. "I only saw them in use a couple times, but I suspect that if you train up your control, you should be able to do as you wish with them..."
"Quite so, control is important, especially with as much power as you have My Creator..." Flash agreed with a firm nod as he sipped some drink that Naruto couldn't quite identify. Kitsune seemed to be content to stretch out on the grass, enjoying the warm sun on her latex clad body, while Lady was keeping a careful eye on her. It amazed Naruto how well the former fox-demon was adapting to life as a human.
"I think it's time to go to the egg room... Flash if you'll lead?" Naruto stated while pushing himself up and away from the table. "Lady, if you will help Kitsune clean up and have her ready for me when we're done?"
The two spiritual helpers working for him simply nodded and went about their tasks. Naruto followed Flash through an archway of twisted vines, arriving in the egg room, which was now different than last time. For one, the brown egg was replaced by a caged Justicar, one that he felt was familiar for some reason.
This one had a few things different than any of the others he'd seen previously, the brown color of her body was the first major distinction, but then there was the the fact that she had a swirled circle mark on her collar with fox ears and a small fox tail sticking off the bottom. "My personal seal... How'd... I haven't even gotten it confirmed with the guild yet..."
"This is your mind... but might I suggest a slight change... you do not wish for a certain fox you're taming to get the wrong idea..." Flash suggested as the seal swirled and replaced the fox features with tongues of flame flickering around the outer edge. "The Will of Fire, born of an Uzumaki's heart..."
"That looks even cooler..." Naruto agreed as he leaned against the bars, studying the female that stood beyond, captured as though in the midst of taking off her mask. After a few minutes he frowned in thought. "That reminds me of the Fourth Supreme Master's seal..."
"Does it now? I must say that I believe that you have more than earned it... for example, the fine specimen you have captured here... by her skills I would say she is a Rank 2 or 3 Justicar..." Flash explained while indicating the woman in the cage. "They do not send them after Masters on a mere One crop opponents... in fact, most times you cannot face one of those down until you've reached the level where One Whip missions are the norm..."
"Really? I... I didn't think I had surpassed him... maybe I just got lucky? After all, she probably thought I was less of a challenge than I turned out to be..." Naruto reasoned, trying to keep his idol upon the pedestal he'd once put him upon.
"It is possible... but look at the marks, she has the marks of a Level Two minimal Justicar..." the spirit explained while pointing to the subtle whip shaped engravings on the upper left arm's belt.
"This is Haku's dream? To be a Justicar... I don't know if I can give her that..." Naruto mused while stroking the bar softly, missing her moans. Walking over to the remaining lavender egg, he smiled as she moaned softly at his gentle touch, teasing out a beautiful song that made his deepest heart a little happier with each passing second.
That's when he noticed something interesting on the other side of the egg. There was a small black egg with a tiny golden implant of his newest seal. "What's this?"
"That? That is... umm... I don't even know what that is..." Flash answered while kneeling next to the tiny egg. "I've never even heard about something like this..."
"So... what happens with Stage two for Haku?" Naruto asked, pushing the strange egg off to the side of his mind, focusing instead on things of more immediate importance. Well pushing it aside, save for putting it on his lap and petting the egg as it let out cute little purrs and moans.
"Stage two is a matter of you have become aware of her submission, or captured her... but have not accepted her as your slave yet. There are times when this stage is skipped, but it is important to know that there are cases where this stage is permanent. Also, remember that the key words for this stage is look, but don't touch."
Naruto frowned at that last part, before setting the egg carefully into it's holder and walking over to the cage housing Haku's stage two form. "Why is that? I can just reach through the bars and..." As he fit actions to words, a few things happened at once. The first was he was electrocuted, the second was that he was flung back, and the third is that he let out a few choice words about the pain.
"That's why... the spirit is opened to you, but you have to accept it in your heart before it's yours..." Flash explained after Naruto finally settled down from feeling like he'd been kicked in the kidneys... again.
"Ah... no touchy... got it..." Naruto muttered after he gained a standing position, his hair sticking up even more than usual. "Well let's go find Lady, and give Kitsune her presents..."
"As you wish My Creator," Flash answered, leading him back towards the way they came in, only to walk into the dungeon again. Instead of the implements of torture he'd grown accustomed to seeing on his arrival, he found instead Kitsune prostrate before a throne, with Lady standing off to one side, and Flash taking up his position on the other. "Welcome Master Uzumaki... we have prepared for the gifts..."
Naruto smirked at the level of pomp and circumstance they'd given such a minor thing, but he figured it was a major step for Kitsune, so maybe giving it a bit of flavor like this was just what was needed. Settling into his throne, he looked down at the naked woman before him, and realized that there needed to be more than he originally thought...
"You know... part of your new life is being a normal human and to learn that... I think a gift is in order," Naruto stated calmly as a black hobble skirt, wide inch-high heels, and a nice studded leather collar appeared upon the woman before him. "But you should never forget your former sins..."
As he said this last part, black-tipped fox ears pushed out through the burnt orange hair, flicking as feeling emerged into them, and a new realm of hearing opened to her. It hadn't even been a week since losing her former status, but she couldn't imagine how much her new human form had been limited in the realm of hearing. These were amazing.
And they were all thanks to the man she had called a meat-bag. Guilt and shame flooded into her as she lowered her head, and ears in submission, lacking even the normal growl of defiance she'd shown to this date. He... he had given her a second chance, not stolen her glory from her.
She might have been his slave, but she had never realized just how free she felt until that very moment.
She was his slave, he was her master, and she liked it that way.
"There you go Kitsune, now keep being a good girl, alright?" Naruto whispered, having gotten up from his throne and knelt next to her with only a whisper of noise. Even before she realized it, he was petting her and...
And it felt magnificient.