mint: Hello everyone! I apologize that it took me so long to update but being a college student is really taking its toll on me. I'm actually quite surprised that the latest chapter I updated (not this story) is still in my Doc Manager. I guess that actually means that I update earlier now compared to before. Anyway, here is the second chapter :D

Thank you for everyone who reviewed, I assure you I read every single one of them.

Disclaimer: Naruto and Inuyasha are not mine.

CHAPTER TWO: THE FIEND COUNTRY

"Okay…"

Naruto looked around the unknown place. He was surprised at the abundance of trees as he was somehow expecting it to look like… the other side, full of rocks and stones. Judging just from the scent of the surroundings, the place was uninhabited by humans but there was something else troubling him, it smelled strongly of spiders and the forest was covered in strands of spider web as well. Not that he was afraid of spiders of course, but the scent was too strong. It was as if the whole forest was covered head to foot with spiders which was most likely since the place was covered in spider web and he had to admit, that was creepy.

"HAH!" A forceful voice rang out in the forest, almost like a battle cry.

Naruto nearly jumped in surprise before tensing, his body ready to pounce. He was sure there were no humans around, he could smell it but his ears would not betray him. Slowly and silently, the fox stalked in the direction of the voice and at the same time watching his back. He could hear small noises, something akin to crawling and it was following him. However since it hasn't attacked him, Naruto did nothing to harm or stop whatever it was.

"Die!"

There in the clearing the blonde saw someone or something. It was definitely alive, it was shouting quite loudly after all but still he stared at the being like it was something out of this world. The… thing was big, bulky and muscular, Naruto could safely assume that it was twice as large as he is. Its skin was dark brown similar to the color of the bark of an oak tree but what surprised him the most was the pair of black horns in its head and the long slim tail on its lower back. It looked like a cross between a bull and a human and it looked weird and somewhat deformed.

"Die!"

Naruto nearly gasped as the thing punched and dismembered a rather large spider in front of him. The spider was huge but looked small compared to its attacker. Naruto's ears flattened in his head as he heard the pained screech of the spider. Deciding that the spider was the victim and the fact that the place is crawling with spiders, he moved to save the it from the hands of its attacker.

"Hey you!"

The half-bull half-human looked at him.

"A fox. I never thought I would be this lucky," That sentence alone made Naruto cringe in disgust.

"What did the spider ever do to you?!"

The other abandoned the spider and faced him completely, "I want their high-priced spider silk and if you want to stop me then you need to go as well!"

Sensing the attack miles away, Naruto quickly jumped out of the way.

"Come back here!"

The bull tried to follow but was stuck in place as a plant quickly crawled its way up in his legs.

"Wha-"

He struggled desperately as the vines surrounded his body, binding him and twisting his limbs in impossible angles. Naruto reappeared in front of the other his lips forming a slight smirk as he watched the light leave the creature's eyes with a last sickening crunch. With its work done, the vines retreated back to the ground like a snake and dropped its load in a boneless heap.

"All bark and no bite," Naruto murmured to himself.

'Naruto… you forgot the spider,' As soon as his inner demon said it, the sound of thousands of feet skittering in the ground entered Naruto's hearing.

Naruto was on his guard but maintained a composed and seemingly relaxed pose. He observed as spiders obtained his kill quickly spun it with their web until it looked like a cocoon and dragged it off to somewhere he wouldn't mind not knowing about. The spiders encircled him though a good 3 feet away, their feet making small chittering noises as it hits the ground. Slowly, the spiders in front of Naruto parted and gave way to an even larger spider though not taller than the blonde.

"You helped us," a deep, yet feminine voice echoed in the woods leaving Naruto shocked.

"W-wait… Who- Are you the one talking to me?" He asked pointing to the newly arrived one.

The spider let out a sound akin to a chuckle, "Yes. My name is Ainara, the leader of this colony of Spider Demon. And you are?"

'Did she said Demon?!'/'Did she said Demon?!' Naruto and his inner demon thought at the same time. He managed to collect his wits (and manners) before introducing himself.

"Naruto. Kurama Naruto. Um. Ainara… Did you say demon?" The blonde couldn't help but add.

Another deep chuckle came from the spider. It seems that she was expecting the question.

"Kurama Naruto. It is a long tale. Take a seat for this will take a long while,"

Naruto untrustingly let his eyes scan his surroundings and this did not escape the spider's eyes.

"Maybe it would be better if…"

The large spider then transformed in front of Naruto's eyes. There was no flash of light, nor sound, just a quick morph to a human shape. A few seconds later, an old woman was standing in front of him, dressed in a formal black kimono.

"D-did you just-" Naruto stood gobsmacked by what just happened.

"Yes, now, I suggest we both sit down child. It's been a while since I've used this form after all," Ainara walked towards a huge rock and sat there while Naruto just followed silently, his brain still catching up with the events.

"The cave that you came from child is magical. It transports beings from the other side to here and here to the other side."

The blonde already had a lot of question popping in his mind, but he let the old woman/spider continue.

"A story passed down in our colony says that once long ago, a powerful demon had wandered into the cave and went to the other side, a land populated only by humans but was constantly at war. The demon was weak, near dying as it was almost defeated in battle and upon arriving at the other side marvelled at the life force freely flowing in the ground. That life force was blood, human blood shed from the wars plaguing the country."

"The demon fed on the life force but did not regain his strength for his body was too wounded, and too damaged. He did not want to die and with the last of his powers, transformed himself into a tree and continued to live in this way absorbing the blood shed by war, waiting for a body to absorb, possess or contain,"

"The demon tree was later regarded as a holy being and once every millennium, it would bore a fruit which the humans were strictly forbidden to eat. A princess however ate the fruit and gained powers, powers similar to the demon and she ended the constant wars. She was regarded as a goddess,"

"The demon slowly fed the princess feelings of ill will and she later ruled the lands by force keeping her powers all to herself and believing that she was the only who had the right to wield it. When she bore two sons, she had snapped for they had inherited her powers and the demon was finally able to fully control the princess, regaining his original body. The demon with its massive ten tails ravaged the land until the princess' sons defeated it in battle,"

"Because of the destruction caused by the demon in the other side, we were tasked to guard the cave while at the same time hiding its location so that no demon may again wander there,"

The old lady looked at Naruto who was thinking deeply.

'What she said actually fits the story we've read about,' The blonde's inner demon said.

'Yeah… except the demon part… the story is practically the same,'

"Naruto-kun was it?" The old spider lady's voice stopped his train of thought, "You are a half-demon yet there are no demons in your lands, this we are sure. Tell me how come you are one?"

There was no malice in her words, only curiosity, and so Naruto explained, "You remember the story? About the brothers defeating the demon? Well it's said that they didn't really killed it, only sealed within one of the brothers. When he was nearing his end, the brother that contained the youkai split his energy into nine beings or demons if you will while its shell and mind was sealed by the other brother. One of the nine was sealed inside me and we had merged way back,"

The old woman felt relieved that at least the mind of the demon was sealed away.

"Well, young Naruto, we are in your debt. Still, I would like to know how you came upon the cave,"

Naruto then relayed the story of how the Kazekage asked him to check the place. After a few minutes of explanation, Naruto noticed the darkening of the sky and informed the spider woman of his departure.

"I need to go now. It's getting dark, also, now that I know what is in here, I can now report back to Gaara," he said.

The old spider lady did not stand up from her seat and asked, "Naruto-kun, do you and your friend wish to keep this place a secret?"

"Of course kumo-baabaa! This place is too dangerous anyway, no offence,"

"None taken but may I suggest something?" Naruto looked at the old lady to indicate he was listening.

"We spider youkai, as much as I hate to admit it are becoming weaker and there might come a time where we might fail in our task. Is it possible if we can strike a deal with you young Naruto?"

Naruto frowned a bit, "It depends kumo-baabaa. I have to tell it to Gaara first,"

"That is fine. I would just like to suggest if it is possible for you to live here?"

A long period of silence followed after that statement.

"What?!" Naruto's voice echoed in the forest.

"Of course, in exchange for your protection, we would gladly give you our prized spider silk," she smiled.

The blonde was silent for a while, thinking of the pros and cons of the offer. It is a good offer, he gets to train, and as much as he loves Suna, it's not a place he can actually call home. The only problem was that the cave was far from Suna and as much as he wanted to stay, he still wants to help Gaara sort out problems, maybe lessen his paperwork a little.

'The racoon kid would probably agree,'

'I know. That's what I'm worried about,'

"I'll have to tell Gaara. I'll be back baabaa,"

Kumo-baabaa – I believe it translates to spider grandma

mint: I initially planned on the leader being genderless but it became female as I was typing it. I then remembered Jorogumo which is a spider woman youkai and it further cemented my decision to make the leader a female. I made her an old woman because I want her to be Naruto's guidance and also a bit of mother (or grandmother) figure. Kind of like Kaede to Inuyasha.

Some trivia: Ainara is arania spelled backwards which I got from the Harry Potter spell Arania Exumai. Arania came from the Latin word araneus, meaning "spider".