By the morning, only a few hours after the initial "attack", Naruto hadn't seemed to calm down nearly as much as the rest of the team had hoped or thought. Sasuke had kept his distance from him during their prolonged stay at the Inn, remaining in fear of being physically abused. Sakura had attempted at using something in her variety of healing powers to suppress the fox-demon's nature, but every time she tried to touch or get in close range with him, Naruto would try to bite off her hand. He had already bitten through any bandages or coverings Kakashi had put over his mouth and the ropes were now covered in gnaw marks from his teeth. When the afternoon hit, they were surprised to see Naruto's behavior go from extreme and frightening to sedated and mild in a matter of seconds. One minute had had been restlessly struggling against the bindings to free himself, the next he was lying on his back, a dazed look in his eyes, breathing hard and looking like he would pass out at any minute.
"Hm, interesting. It's just like when he over exerts himself during battles and training missions," Kakashi commented. "Seems the nine-tails put a strain on his body and his stamina finally ran short." He leaned down to look closely at the boy's face. Sakura squeaked at how close Kakashi was to Naruto, who still had devilishly sharp canine teeth. She let out a quiet gasp as she saw the fangs slowly retract back to the boy's usual-sharper-than-normal human sized teeth, and as his red eyes flooded with a dark blue, some of the red still lingering in the form of small specks. The jagged stripes on his cheeks smoothed out and Naruto's body, slightly trembling, went limp.
"Do… do you think?" Sakura wondered aloud in a quiet voice, not needed to finish the question.
Kakashi straightened up and nodded. "Yes, but not completely. Kyuubi's fighting spirit is still very raw and could very well burst forward again at any moment. I don't think we should bring in Sasuke yet."
The girl nodded, mystified by how much their sensei knew, and how little she actually knew, about her own teammate and comrade. Of course she knew about the Nine-Tail's relationship with Naruto, having seen during battle what a formidable opponent Naruto made when he tapped into the foxe's chakra. She had assumed that was how much of a role Naruto as the host had to play…
Naruto rolled over and buried his face in the bedding, rubbing his nose and cheeks and forehead as if they were itchy. He curled into a ball, securing himself in the blankets.
Kakashi stood and canceled the ropes to unbind him, this actions passing by completely unnoticed by the now unconscious Naruto. The two watchers sat back down, glad to have a moment to breathe now that the initial excitement was over. Kakashi smiled and said, "I'll go get us some tea and update Sasuke." He got up and left the room.
Naruto's body twitched. "Sasu…ke," he mumbled out into his pillow. Sakura blushed and made an uncomfortable expression as she watched Naruto's display of sucking on his pillow.
"I think I… need some fresh air. Five minutes," she mumbled to herself. She left the room to go outside.
Sasuke was informed of Naruto's currently sedated state, but felt only a small bit reassured. How did Kakashi know or not if this wasn't a cyclic behavior and what they had just experienced was only the first wave of a full period? He expressed his concerns to his sensei.
Kakashi gave a shake of his head in response. "That is a reasonable curiousity, but the Sandaime-sama explained everything to me about the Kyuubi's condition with Naruto in full detail. There wasn't any mention about a cycle or period."
Sasuke wasn't free from worry, his expression showing as much. He felt like Kakashi had gotten ripped off with his information from the Third Hokage.
His sensei sighed, noticing the skeptical expression on Sasuke's face. "Look, the best we can do at the moment is wait until tonight or a few more hours at the least, until his senses are completely back to normal. I'm going back to the room to bring tea for Sakura."
"I'm coming too," Sasuke blurted out.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow, questionable to the boy's intentions; though he could see arguing was a complete waste of time with this stubborn Uchiha. "Have it your way. Just don't complain to me if he jumps you again. Just wait here until I come back with the tea."
Sasuke glared and blushed as he did as he was told, impatient for his sensei's return When Kakashi did return with a tray of steaming hot tea, he became slightly nervous. Well, if Naruto did jump him, he would have the advantage of two other able bodied ninja and of being fully awake.
They walked in silence back to the little room, Sasuke glaring at the jounin's back as Kakashi hummed. Was he even concerned at all? Geez. Really, Sasuke wanted to come him to see how safe he was going to be that night, and what Naruto's condition had turned out to be, and also how long it would take for the Kyuubi to totally back down. He certainly did not want to be attacked by a lust-driven maniac for a second time. If Kakashi was unconcerned enough to be humming then perhaps he'd be fine. But then, it was Kakashi…
They arrived in the room to find Sakura just settling herself down, flattening her hair and getting comfortable. She looked up at the two as they entered the room.
"Oh! Hello Sasuke-kun!" She smiled greatly at him, glad to see her friend, though slightly taken back at the bright red gashes on his cheeks. Seeing them in the daylight was certainly different from when she had seen them in the dark room in the early hours of the morning. Sasuke probably wouldn't let her heal them though… he was too stubborn.
The two returned nods and sat down beside Naruto. Sasuke stared at the sleeping and seemingly subdued Naruto, not believing that the Kyuubi inside of him was subdued.
"Any changes?" Kakashi asked Sakura, sweeping his hand at the sleeping form in front of him.
'Not really, no. He's been quite quiet for the most part," she reported.
"Has he said anything? Apart from the growling, he hasn't really said anything coherent. It would be an improvement I think."
Sakura blushed slightly. "Just before you left the room," Sakura began to answer quietly so as to not disturb Naruto, "he mumbled out Sasuke's name and then he started biting his pillow."
Sasuke remained impassive to that news, his embarrassment kept inside.
Kakashi nodded and said that was to be expected.
"So what now?" The pink-haired girl asked.
"The only thing left to do is to simply wait until the Kyuubi is run through completely and Naruto is back to normal, so that we can carry on without ever-so-important mission," came the reply from the Jounin, the latter part somewhat sarcastically.
Sakura was silent, deep in her thoughts. "So, has this even happened before? I mean, I don't ever remember Naruto going through this before… he seemed to be of appropriate age before…" she wandered off.
Sasuke snorted, making his first noise since their visit in the "confinement room". "Yeah, and I think I'd remember if he did."
"Well, the Kyuubi most likely only decided Naruto's body and mind were suitable now," Kakashi replied, looking over the subject of their conversation, silently realizing, with pride, that all of his students were now adults. Well, physically at least. "But you're right. I don't remember dealing with this situation before either. So now is the first time, and the beginning of many I imagine."
"So Naruto has to go through with this for the rest of his life?" Sakura whispered with wide eyes. "How do you know?"
"I thought you said this wasn't cyclic?" Sasuke said, annoyed at his sensei's weak information.
"Oh, I thought you were just asking about this time specifically," Kakashi answered. "Yes, until the Kyuubi is satisfied, it will continue once every month to try to mate with a suitable person, heightening Naruto's normal hormone levels." Sasuke tensed at this information, slightly panicky. "Or, of course, unless the Nine-tails is extracted from Naruto. And hopefully that will not happen."
The two students were silent. Of all things they did not want the demon removed from Naruto, due to the fatal outcome for the vessel. The needed only to remember what had happened to Gaara after his demon had been extracted by the Akatsuki.
Kakashi stood up, breaking the suddenly tense silence. "In any case, I think we should take a break. Get some food, do some training… The mission will have to wait until we know for sure that Naruto is himself again."
Sasuke, eager to get out of the stuffy mansion and away from a certain blond, stood up immediately.
Sakura stood but exclaimed, "What?! We can't just leave him here!" She gesticulated at Naruto. "What if something happens?"
"Ah. Good point." Kakashi grinned and made the appropriate hand signs, and a perfect copy of himself popped into existence beside him, giving a cheerful wave. "He will notify us when anything needs our immediate attention."
The three proceeded out of the rooms and, after eating, spent the rest of the afternoon sparring with each other. All of their actions had a little frigidness attached to them, as they were expecting at any moment for Kakashi's shadow clone to join them with news of Naruto. After a few hours had passes, darkness crept upon them and the small group retreated back indoors. Kakashi disable his clone. Naruto remained exactly the same as before they had left him, his weary body still recovering.
"Alright then, sleeping arrangements are the same as last night. I'll be in the room next to this one, Sakura and Sasuke you two are across the hall. No fooling around," he warned, shaking a finger in their faces, Sakura's red and Sasuke's annoyed. The bid their good nights to each other and returned to their respective rooms, Kakashi leaving after a last minute check-over of Naruto.
Sasuke had finally calmed down from the aftermath of what had happened and strolled over to his room (formally both his and Naruto's), bidding a short good night to Sakura. He saw his futon and lazily lay down upon it. He had to admit, the day had been boring once their blond teammate had gone quiet. He certainly did not want a re-occurrence of the previous night, but… well, he supposed he really shouldn't be complaining. Everything grew silent in the Inn as the guests turned in for the night. The soft sounds of the night bugs created a mini orchestra outside for their audience and the light wind sang back with a light "swoosh". Sasuke stared up a the mahogany ceiling, lying flat on his back and not even remotely tired or ready for sleep. He turned over on his left side, now facing the doors of the Inn's room. The night before, Naruto had been lying between him and the doors, but this night he was by himself. Sasuke rolled his eyes; he couldn't possibly be wanting company after had happened.
All the same, he let out a sigh and turned over to face the other wall. It really was quiet, almost to a point of silent suffocation. He grimaced and felt his face heat up and a weird sensation on his stomach as he thought back to the previous night and how Naruto's body heat had almost stifled his breath. It had been quite the shock… but having a full day to recover left Sasuke burning with questions. Why had Naruto wanted him? Why was the Kyuubi acting on these periods of heightened mating instincts only now and not, say, last month or yesterday? How frequent were these periods and what would Naruto be like during them when he did find a suitable mate? Sasuke wondered if Naruto had been drawn to him simply because he had been the closest person available to him. He also wondered if Naruto would have reacted the same way if there had been a different someone beside him… like Sakura. Or even Kakashi. He cringed at that thought and quickly stamped it down. With all of these questions buzzing around in his head, almost acting as adrenaline, the dark-haired boy gave up on sleeping and decided to seek the answers.
He sat up in his bed and massaged his temples, thinking over his course of action and if it was foolish or not. Kakashi would most likely think so. But he would never get anything settled if the questions he was dying to ask weren't answered in the next five minutes. And the tugging feeling in his stomach was not contributing to his reason for going, no, not at all, he told himself. He stole another glance at the shut doors. He may be risking his life by going to see Naruto, but he had appeared to be practically back to normal… even his all-wise sensei had to agree with that. Sasuke himself had only sensed the normal level of chakra from Naruto when he had seen him…
Sasuke nodded away any second thoughts and quietly got up. He made no sound as he padded his way to the doors. Quietly he slid them open and, not forgetting the fact that Kakashi was most likely not sleeping in the next room over, was inhumanly silent as he made his way towards the room across the hall. He flinched and froze as a floorboard creaked. On reflex, his black eyes transformed into those of the famous sharingan, widening to take in more of his surroundings. He closed the distance between him and the door. Hesitating for only a second and straining to hear any sounds, he slid open the doors and, slipping inside, slid the paper entrance closed in his wake. He quietly let a bated breath escape.
Keeping the sharingan activated, he peered at the form laying in the dark not too far from him. Naruto. Sasuke could hear the boy's even breathing, a good sign that he was deeply asleep. Perhaps now, after one full day, he was human again. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, focusing his vision on the boy and almost blaming him for telepathically dragging him to his room. He was here now though; time to drain his mind so that he could get some rest.
Sasuke crouched down and scuffled over to meet the blonde's face to wake him. He was on the balls of his feet, balancing with his knees up and his head angled to better look at Naruto. He was startled then and fell backwards onto the floor. Red-blue eyes pierced the darkness as they started at the intruder. Sasuke quickly regained himself and started defiantly back with his normal eyes, so as not to frighten Naruto. Alright, so he was awake now…
Naruto blinked and sat up quickly, the thin blankets falling to reveal his still shirtless upper body and the black seal faintly drawn on his belly. Naruto winced and brought a palm to his temple, a sudden sharp pain pounding at his head. He had sat up too fast…
"Teme, why are you here?" he asked, his voice cracked and rough from all the earlier growling. His mind was clouded, not much of the stay at the Inn coming to him or why he was like he was now… where was his shirt? Some of what had been happening slowly filtered back into his mind. He had the decency to look at Sasuke and blush lightly.
Sasuke cautiously moved forward despite the remaining Kyuubi traits. Those fangs were still a bit sharper than was usual, Sasuke noticed, as Naruto had asked his question.
"Why did the Kyuubi pick me?" Sasuke asked, not wasting time.
Those red-blue eyes widened.