AU: BLAH! lol PS The secrets out (Incase you're that stupid) she was w/ Minato! Le gasp! Enjoy! It gets better :3

Chapter Seven: Nightmares and Delusions

Inari stumbled out of the room with a headache, and began to work her way into the village to find the boy who was in fact responsible for the headache. She made a few twists and turns around the village as his scent hit her nose. However, it was done very nonchalant and mindlessly as she was having a bit of an internal struggle.

It was absolutely ridiculous. She was centuries old. Not only had that been a problem almost twenty three years ago, but now it was coming back around. She was ancient practically, and the men she happened to attract...were not. It was disgusting. Other women would be locked up, or shunned for this but no, it happened repeatedly to her and everyone seemed to be completely fine with it. Jiraiya had almost encouraged it. Not only that, but the boy...she had had relationships with his father. That, had to be considered wrong in someone's book. And yet...something in the world had a strange, twisted mind that was making this happen. She groaned. This needed to get out of her mind and fast.

Finally she caught sight of the orange clad boy sitting happily at a ramen stand. She rolled her eyes. That much was predictable. She sat next to him and put on a fake smile.

"There you are! I hope you haven't started without us!" And a second later Jiraiya joined the party, with a smirk on his face.

"Well good evening you two! I Hope I'm not intruding." Inari's brow twitched, but she kept a mostly calm face.

"Of course not master Jiraiya, what would there be to intrude on?" She said between gritted teeth.

"Oh I don't know, I was just making sure." The sage said happily. Naruto looked at them both with raised brows.

"Um...are you two...ok? You're acting really strange." Inari laughed a bit loudly.

"We're fine! Let's order already, I'm starving!" Naruto kept his brows raised, but said nothing more. He looked a the sage, who looked away. This couldn't be good news. Naruto shook his head and began to order. But before he could even get his mouth open, Inari spoke.

"I'll have a bottle of your strongest liquor sir." Naruto's mouth dropped open. He, like any other person had no issues with alcohol, but this was strange. Not very often did he see someone his age order something that would make even Jiraiya and Tsunade swoon. Much less any girl his age. He looked at Jiraiya, who's mouth was also wide open, and brows had nearly disappeared into his hairline. So even he knew, this girl was insane. There was no doubt, in a few minutes they would have an extra someone to carry home. He saw the sage slap his hand to his face as the stand owner put the bottle down cautiously.

"Er...will that be all?" The two men paused a second before blurting out their orders and practically mauling the man. But soon the two got their orders, and that was when Inari uncorked the deadly bottle of alcohol. Naruto could've swore he saw a few sparks fly from the bottle. He saw her glare at the bottle peculiarly, and take a big swig straight from the bottle. He saw Jiraiya's eyes come threateningly close to falling right out of their sockets. He watched Inari blink heavily a few times and shake her head.

"Well...It's strong, but not quite enough. I suppose a few more and I'll be good." She shrugged and took another heavy swig. Jiraiya frowned.

"Give some of that to me...Let's see just how strong this stuff is." He took a swig himself, and a second later his eyelids seemed to be a bit heavier, an his words were becoming jumbled. "Snot tuh bad...I've ad erse!" Although amazingly, his judgement and logic were still impeccable. Naruto reached for the bottle, just to see what the fuss was. However Jiraiya grabbed the bottle, a serious look on his face.

"I dunt thinkso kit. This-" He pointed to the bottle, "-And this-" He pointed to Naruto's stomach, "Dunt mix verry well" He pointed at Inari, his finger swaying a bit. "And you, I dunt knowa whyee you think thatzz gunna help you eny." Inari took a swig and this time rocked her head a bit, as if the alcohol was beginning to finally take effect.

"What I do to help myself is none of your business Jiraiya. Stay out of it. And I don't want any of this reaching my ears tomorrow morning." The man raised his arms in defense.

"Aye prumize!" She nodded and started on her second bottle. By this time, there were people watching from afar, as if to see just how much the girl could handle. Naruto wondered just when the deadly drink would begin to do its damage. And into the third bottle (after a LOT of rambling from Jiraiya) she was beginning to sway and swirl the same way as the sage, although her speech was still very clear. Naruto decided to take a chance.

"So...do you happen to know about my past" He looked her in the eye, hoping she had had enough, just enough, to let something slip. She giggled happily.

"Dear Naruto...I'm not quite drunk enough to tell you shit. Now, hand me the next bottle..." The boy blinked, he was half certain she had drained that last bottle. He watched as she struggled a bit with the stopper. She frowned unhappily at it. "Would you help me?" Naruto sighed. He really, really, did not approve of this at all. This sort of drinking could not be considered healthy whatsoever. But he did as he was asked and uncorked the bottle, and she smiled happily when he handed it back. She turned to Jiraiya and the two began to burst into some sort of odd song together, while in between phrases, Inari would take a long swig of the drink. It was at the end of that bottle, Naruto began to notice something quite odd with her speech.

It wasn't the normal stumble, stutter, slur, or forgetfulness either. It was an entirely different language. And it was one completely unrecognizable. He wasn't even sure it was a language at first, until she began to lose parts of sentaces, and he realized the sounds she was making were words to her. It was an odd sort of whisper, combined with an odd screech and a low rumble of a growl. It harmonized with itself, and seemed to be forming words. He began to recognize similar sounds with words, making him absolutely sure it was a language. He turned to the sage, who was staring at Inari, an odd look to his face.

"Jiraiya, do you know what language it is that she's using?" The man shrugged.

"You gut meh." Naruto rolled his eyes and turned back to Inari, who had conned the stand owner into letting her have one more bottle before he closed, and was now prying it open. She sucked down half of the bottle and turned to him, a confused look on her face.

"You know..." She swayed dangerously as she spoke, "You know Minato, I like going on these outings... They make everything better. And I know you don't approve of it, but it's true you know..." Naruto frowned at the name, but let her continue. "After all, It's not that I hate Kushina, I adore her! But I was surprised, and scared, and I don't want to be left alone again. After all-" She paused to take another drink, "- I just found this home, and I'm not going to give it up without a fight! I'm glad you're happy, but please don't make me leave! I'll even become an ANBU if it makes you happy! I want you to be happy...and you are. I'm not making sense...am I?" Naruto nodded.

"No...Not really." She nodded back.

"Well...What I mean is...Konoha is my home now, and I'm, afraid that after Kushina has the baby, I won't have my family anymore. You know, I think Kushina may as well be my sister...and I think I will always love you. Is that alright for me to say?" She looked at him with a frightened look on her face. Naruto laughed.

"You don't need to become an ANBU, you told me you hate the shinobi lifestyle. And I don't know who Kushina is, or Minato, but I'm sure you'll still be allowed in their family." Inari frowned at him.

"You are not making any sense Minato. Where's Jiraiya sensei..." She called for the sage, who stumbled over quickly.

"Whuts wron?" Inari giggled.

"Jiraiya sensei, you look older than usual, did Tsunade use a jutsu on you again?" The man was silent for a moment. "When did you last see Kushina?" Inari looked at him with a confused look.

"Just today sensei. You were there too! And Minato is acting strange." She gave him what could only be interpreted as some sort of dirty look. Then suddenly, tears broke from her face. "Please please Minato! Don't send me away! I want to stay this time! Really I do! I want to stay with my family! I want to-" Jiraiya slapped a hand over the girl's mouth. He had a dark look on his face. And he also gave a look, that told Naruto he had sobered up.

"Alright, it's time to go kid. Grab whatever we left behind and lets get out of here." Naruto frowned but did as he was told, and hurried to catch up with the sage.

"Hey, hey! Pervy sage, what the heck is going on?" The sage lowered his head.

"She's just...had too much to drink." Naruto's eyes thinned. Now was his opportunity.

"Inari..." The girl swirled her head toward the boy. "Who...who are my parents?" The sage slammed a hand over the girls mouth, which was removed a second later.

"Really now sensei, you know that doesn't do any good! And I really don't know who your parents are Minato, you don't like to talk about them." Naruto shook his head.

"No no! I'm Not this Minato guy! My name is Naruto!" She gave him an odd look and giggled.

"Nice try Minato! I don't even think I'll live to see Naruto grow up to be as old as you...At least I hope not!" Naruto shook in frustration.

"You do know who I am then don't you! Tell me now!" Inari shook her head.

"No no no Minato! It's close to the solstice, I have to sleep...Leave me alone. After all...I'll see you tomorrow." Naruto punched a tree in anger. He was so close! He was so, very close... Finally Jiraiya's hand was set free and he readjusted her in his arms.

"Great...you happy now kid? You just upset her..." Naruto spun the sage around before he could walk away.

"Tell me what's going on! Who is that guy she keeps talking about? She knows about my past, doesn't she? I don't even know how that's possible, but she does! She's from Konoha!" The sage growled.

"Listen up kid! There are some things you just aren't allowed to know right now! And trust me, it's for the better! Now, what she's talking about, you don't need to know anything about right now. Hell, if I had it my way, you wouldn't have to hear it at all! She's different than normal people in case you hadn't noticed! And I can't even begin to explain why or how, all I can tell you is she's different. When she gets her body full of alcohol, she loses memory, sometimes more than usual. She was trying to get rid of this entire day, as if it had never happened. I don't know why, but all I know is she said a bit much, and it doesn't concern you what she's talking about." Naruto growled.

"If I have the right to know someday, don't I have the right to know now?"

"It won't help you, it'll only cause you more trouble. And that's that. I have strict orders from the third hokage himself that I wasn't supposed to tell you anything until you were older. And if you can't respect that then maybe you should just lose all respect for the Hokage now." That was hitting low and Jiraiya knew it. Naruto respected that hokage to no end, and would never dishonor that. He heard the boy take in a deep breath.

"Fine. But you better hope this information is well worth the wait." The man smiled tiredly.

"Oh trust me...it is. And for now, try not to upset Inari. I know a lot about this girl, more than you would ever think. And the last thing she needs it to be upset. And now she will be when she wakes up, you can guarantee that." Naruto was quiet for a moment.

"So...are you allowed to tell me about her?"

"That's not technically my secret to tell." The boy swore. It was infuriating how he wasn't allowed to know anything. But as long as the man kept his word that the information was worth his time, he could hold off. If even just a little. The rest of the way back, the two kept silent, and Inari sighed a bit in Jiraiya's arms. She looked rather peaceful and unguarded when she slept. Polar opposite to when she was awake.

They entered the two teens' room and the Sage laid her down on her bed ever so carefully. He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his extravagant hair. Naruto fell back onto his bed with a loud creak of springs and wood. He was confused needless to say. There was a whole category of things he didn't know, and it was growing by the day with both the man and Inari. He heard Jiraiya walk over to his bed.

"Alright, now get this into your head, she will be a bit panicked when she wakes up, and she may or may not cry. I'm betting she will but if she doesn't she may attack you for a split second. If that happens tell her she had alcohol and she will come to her senses. Don't tell her about anything she did or said last night or yesterday. The very last thing is for her to become too upset so try to accomplish that task. Overall if it becomes a little too much to handle I'll take care of it. Treat this like a mission." Naruto had to admit, it sounded...odd and unusual. But if it was coming out of the Sannin's mouth in a serious tone, it was not to be taken lightly. He nodded sharply and the man walked out of the room, stopping for only a second to look at Inari.

"...You wouldn't happen to know how far the solstice is would you?" Naruto shrugged.

"Dunno...I suppose three or four days?" He squinted at the moon for a bit, guessing. The man bobbed his head and then left without another word. Naruto closed his eyes and relaxed for a second, tensing up when he heard a dark laugh.

"Kukukukukuku..." He opened his eyes, and he was staring face to face with the kyuubi behind bars. He clenched his fists until the knuckles on each hand were a bright white.

"What the hell do you want you bastard fox?" He hissed out menacingly at the beast. He was a bit surprised, but the fox had been surprisingly quiet for an unusually long time, and he figured it wasn't long until it began to mouth off again. The fox replied to him with more laughing.

"Kukukuku..." Naruto growled in frustration. "You really don't recognize her stench do you? You young fool..."

"What the hell are you taking about?" The fox licked its chops angrily.

"I know this girl, as do you...study her chakra and you will know what I speak of. And if you are that dense as to not sense her power...well then I suppose I should just let her attack you." Naruto frowned.

"She won't attack me. I can sense that much. She's no threat to neither of us, including Jiraiya." The fox laughed.

"Kukuku...study her chakra and you'll figure it out eventually." Naruto snorted.

"You're just a stupid bastard fox. All you're good for is chakra, why should I even listen to you?" The Bijuu snapped angrily at the metal bars that restrained it.

"AND I GIVE YOU MY CHAKRA DON'T I, YOU WORTHLESS FOOL?" Naruto stood his ground, not budging an inch.

"Exactly. All you are as of now is a useless prisoner in my body. A tool of mine to use. And that doesn't include advice." The Kyuubi glared, his red eyes burning.

"You'll be sorry..." Naruto snorted and shot the beast a disgusted look before leaving. He opened his eyes, this time staring at the ceiling of the hotel room. He sucked in a deep breath. It was always mentally exhausting when he had to fight against the kyuubi. Especially when it decided to argue.

He sat up, not paying attention, and began to strip down to his shirt and boxers. Happily, he crawled back into bed, now comfortable and began to fall asleep, before hearing a swishing noise of sorts. He sat up abruptly and searched the room for the source. He looked over at Inari, who was now to his surprise in her earlier attire of 'barely dressed' and was facing him with a peaceful expression on her sleeping face. He saw something move behind her, and he sat up farther to see the source. However when he looked, it was gone. Whatever had been moving, was now gone. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. Whatever it was, it had had fur. He supposed it was some wild animal that had crawled through the window by mistake, and had scrambled out. His track of thought was interrupted by a loud sigh from Inari. He looked to see if she was awake, but it appeared that she was still passed out.

He looked at the girl with a piercing gaze. What could she be, that was so very unusual? THe sage knew what she was, making him wonder just how common her sort was, or if he had possibly met her before. That would explain her earlier rambling after all, but she had seemed quite...delusional. A good way to put it. However he knew precisely what she was rambling on about. It was odd, and now the Kyuubi claimed to know her. He searched all his possible memories, and found nothing. But the pieces just didn't add up right...

And with that thought, he drifted into sleep, the last thoughts of his mind incoherent as he slipped away.

Naruto awoke slowly, the first piece of information he processed was the Kyuubi's dark laughter, echoing darkly. He opened his eyes and noted it was still somewhat early in the morning, the sun was still far off from rising. He looked over to see Inari beginning to shuffle awake, and then suddenly she screamed. The very sound of it shook Naruto to the core. It was the kind of scream he had only heard in his nightmares. A blood curdling, and utterly terrified scream. His hands moved slowly to his ears in instinct. His hands shook and he gritted his teeth, trying to block out the sound. And yet his delicate hearing could still sense it, and if that wasn't he watched as she twisted and arched her spine, like some disfigured insect. Finally, he jumped from his bed and pinned her down. He remembered Jiraiya's instructions clearly. Treat it as though it were a mission. He looked at her face, trying to see the problem, or maybe an answer in her expression, however it was twisted and scrunched in agony. And then her eyes snapped open, the blood vessels in them threatening to burst open. She grasped his arm with a death grip and shook madly.

"Help me! Help me please!" Her voice cracked with madness and insanity. Naruto wasn't entirely sure what to do. He stumbled for words.

"I-I don't know what the problem is! What's wrong?" He looked her straight in the face, trying desperately to make eye contact, but hers darted around the room.

"P-PLEASE!" She screamed in desperation. Naruto searched his mind, hoping for an answer, when a strong surge of chakra burst from Inari. He cursed and hit a point in her neck. She slumped to the bed, her body now lifeless. Naruto felt his heart race. He had never seen something quite so terrifying in his life. Yes, he had seen battles, he had killed people, and he was now immune to even the most bloodiest messes. But the psychological madness of the shinobi world frightened him. Never had he seen someone breakdown from the inside out and destroy themselves.

He slid off of the bad and turned to face the Sage, who had stayed in one corner of the room for most of the frightening fit. The man had a thoughtful look on his face as he looked at the girl.

"What exactly was that?" Naruto questioned him. The man closed his eyes and folded his hands delicately over most of his face.

"A nightmare." Naruto's eyes widened. All of that was a nightmare? He couldn't imagine what she would have had to seen for such a terror to exist. Yes, he often had nightmares, most of them stemming from the Kyuubi. Often he saw the village torn to shreds, and his friends dead. The images made him sick to look at and think about. But never had he been completely and utterly horrified. Naruto wondered if he should ask.

"What-"

"What is it about?" The sage cut him off, finishing his thought. Naruto nodded. The sage opened his eyes and gave the boy a piercing gaze.

"Different things. But mostly...Demons killing her." Naruto swore his heart stopped for a full five seconds. The man closed his eyes again.

"Not just killing her though...brutally and mercilessly. She's told me about it...once. And kid," The man paused, a grim look passing over his face. "You don't want to know." Naruto's brows furrowed together as he looked back at the girl. If it was something that made even the Sannin's blood chill, it had to be terrible. He couldn't imagine what caused it.

"So...why does she dream about that?" The man was silent for a moment.

"She's...had a few bad run ins with other demons-The tailed Demons to be exact." Naruto gripped his stomach and his eyes narrowed.

"With the Kyuubi?" The man didn't answer.

"...Just try to keep that thing's chakra from leaking freely...I think that may have been the cause this time. Of course, it could've been the massive amounts of alcohol she drank..." The man laughed with bitterness. Naruto gripped his stomach tighter. This was bad...The man hadn't said it, but he had said enough. The Kyuubi had done something to this girl. He was somewhat confused at this point however. She didn't glare, she didn't curse him, and she didn't treat him like dirt. Nothing at all what the villagers did in Konoha. He was lost.

He looked back at her again, passed out and lifeless now. Gods, what was this girl? It drove him insane! And just as he looked at her, she stirred. He pulled back in shock. She should have been out for at least a few more hours. Jiraiya motioned for him to step back. She moved lazily for a moment, and then jumped at the open window. Naruto cringed as the fresh smell of bile trickled to his sensitive nose. He looked at her, now slumped by the window. And she began to shake. He took a step towards her, but was again pulled back by the sage. She slid down the wall and slumped by the bed, shaking with sobs. The tears poured freely and quickly down her face.

Suddenly Naruto felt himself being pushed out the door like a small child, and didn't realize what had happened until the door closed. He reached back towards the door and the let his hand fall. He sighed. It was probably best that he remained in the hallway. He began to walk away, when he realized, that now was the perfect opportunity to attempt to eavesdrop. The two were in on a conversation of their own, and he would be able to listen to it somehow. He pressed his ear to the door, and cursed. It was completely soundproof, to even his sensitive ears. His eyes darted around the hallway. There had to be another way to listen...

She didn't remember anything. As hard as she tried, she couldn't for the life of her remember what was going on. She sighed mentally. She must've been drinking again. Well, whatever it was this time, she supposed it was worth it to get rid of whatever had upset her. She mentally scanned what she remembered for the time being. She though hard, and was interrupted by a deep chuckle. Her mind stopped all mental processing. It stopped dead in its tracks, and suddenly in her dreams, a large fox appeared. Its hackles raised in a menacing grin, and its teeth dripping saliva in excitement. The nine tails behind its body swished menacingly. It laughed again.

"Kukuku...So this is what has become of you? You have morphed into a human girl, and placed yourself in society? Of course, I suppose that's no different than before is it?"

"You know dog, you seem to forget, I still rank higher than you." Her eyes narrowed. The fox snickered.

"Is that so...Well if you embrace your true demonic side then that may be true, but for now you don't even rank as a bug in my radar." She growled.

"I may not have the power to take tails away from you, but I sure as hell can kill you." The beast roared with laughter, spraying saliva everywhere.

"And risk killing your precious boy? I don't think you would. And you know..." The demon circled around. "I don't think you could kill me if you had the power." She barked at him and exposed a tail.

"If that's what you believe."

"Oh but it's so true." Her head dipped a bit.

"And so what if it is? You're still a stupid bastard." The fox leant over her shoulder and swished a few tails over her.

"And you're still just some bitch." She narrowed her eyes.

"Not yet actually. You see, I don't care about the power, I won't become some bloodthirsty beast."

"I think you already are. You just barely have control on it." She turned around and snapped at his neck, the male jumping out of the way just in time.

"That's a lie!"

"Is it?" The beast snickered.

"I suppose we'll just find out won't we?" He licked his chops and paced around in a circle. "You're just as bloodthirsty as I am, aren't you? You're not far off. You just barely have a grip on it...But if you slip, just once...You'll be on the same level as the rest of us." She closed her eyes.

"Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up!" The beast laughed again.

"You know, I think I'll just let you wallow in the memories of how close you were...To both death, and to the demonic state. Pleasant dreams my dear bitch..." The demonic laugh echoed in her mind and she shook mentally. Unwillingly, the memories rushed at her.

Her eyes snapped opened, and the next thing she knew, she was in terrible, terrible agony and horror. She felt a presence try to help her and she snapped her eyes open again. She tried to identify the person, but her vision was so blurred with adrenaline and dillussions, all she could see was a blotch of blond hair. She took hold of the person.

"Help me! Help me please!" The person said something back, but the blood flowing to her ears and head was pounding so much she couldn't hear. She looked again at the blond splotch. Gods, she wished she knew who it was! The delusions flowed heavily, and the pain intensified. Her very soul was in peril. She screamed desperately.

"P-PLEASE!" She let out some chakra that was flowing dangerously, and the next thing she knew, she was unconscious.

When she next awoke, the memories flashed briefly, and her body was sore from the rush of chakra and adrenaline. She jumped to an open window and vomited. She slumped against a window and regained a bit of memory. It was a bad dream. A terrible, terrible dream, stemming from a visit from the Kyuubi. And she also dreamt...Minato. 'After all...I'll see you tomorrow.' She shook with sobs and slid to the floor like a useless blob. If it wasn't bad enough that that damn Bastard had to remind her of her condition...she had to relive all the horrors of her near death. And on top of that, her brain had decided to tease her with the thought of Minato...She didn't cry often, but this...this wrenched her heart and soul, both threatening to shatter like glass. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she threw herself back in shock. She opened her eyes and focused on a white blur.

"W-who are you? I can't see." The white mass shifted closer into a sitting position.

"It's only me, Jiraiya." She nodded. And it was silent for a bit.

"...Do you want to tell me anything?" She shrugged.

"The kyuubi...just offset a few things." Her voice was stable, but as hard as she tried, the tears continued to flow down her face.

"You had the nightmare." It wasn't a question.

"Yes...And I dreamt about Minato." The man nodded.

"I figured as much. What did the Kyuubi tell you?" She dipped her head.

"...Nothing. He just taunted me." She felt the man's hard gaze.

"Is that all?" She nodded. He snorted. "You suck at lying..."

"I don't think what he said was really any of your concern." The man shook his head.

"You still don't get do you? Anything that could put people in danger is my concern. Especially important people such as me, you and Naruto."

"No wonder your hair is so white." She said with a bitter humor. The man rolled his eyes and stood up. She head a few footsteps as he neared the door. He paused for a moment, and turned back to her.

"...The solstice is in two days." She closed her eyes.

"I knew it was close..."

"Are you going to be able to deal with it?" She shrugged.

"It can't be any worse than it is every year." The man scoffed.

"You can't be so sure of that...I know for a fact it can vary. He opened the door and stepped out. "Try to lay off the liquor next time kid." And with that the door closed.

AN: I do apologize a bit for this chapter lol the drunk slurring is sort of hard to write, but i did what I could. Also, I realize Inari is a very angsty character, if a tad too much right now. But that will change! Don't fret! I'm also trying extremely hard to stay MOSTLY with canon and personalities. I really do apologize if you feel that I'm writing out of character or canon a bit too much. Also her whole talk with 'Minato' is very odd and does not make a whole lot of sense. It wasn't meant to lol Just FYI. And this chapter bounces a bit...it almost feels like multiple chapters in one lol So sorry about that. Also, Now Naruto knows that Inari isn't just some regular girl. So now that's kinda outta the bag. But not really. He'll learn a lot of things about her (as will be revealed to the audience most likely BEFORE him!) and then gradually build up to a huge revealing of Yadayadayada. I can't really tell you, but if you haven't already figured it out, then WOW. Because my writing is pretty obvious lol. But anyways! Hope you enjoy as always, sorry for the slow ass updates, and please do review!