Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
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"…my name…is…Gaara…Kaze no Gaara, and this is my younger sister…Suna no Temari…"
--
The blonde male stared deeply into the emerald green eyes of the young girl. The dark rings that were forming around them gave him a sense of ill omen, yet he didn't feel anything threatning yet out of the girl. Slowly, the muscles on his face started moving as he spoke.
"It's a plea….sure….." were the words of one tired blonde who slumped backwords, a smile adorning his features and his head hitting a soft patch of earth that surprisingly rose out of the ground to meet his fall. Yugito and Ino went into alert at the sound of Naruto's voice and even more so with the ground adjusting itself to accommodate him. They immediately turned towards the two nins that stood in front of them and looked in awe at what they saw.
The teddy bear that the girl, Temari, held was no longer there, and instead, there was a hole in the ground at her feet and sand could be seen going into it. Her eyes showed fear, yet a determined look towards Naruto's direction gave the two female guards a minor sense of understanding.
It was her who shifted the earth to avoid their lover to strike the ground unprotected.
Their guards relaxed slightly. Both stood up to their true height and glanced at each other, before a smirk breaking on their faces and returning the smirk to the two newcomers.
"I guess that we're …" Yugito started.
"…gonna need to set up camp…" finished Ino.
The unspoken agreement between both of them caught the four concious people in the clearing by surprise. They all broke into a light chuckle and each went a different direction after discussing what each should acquire for the camp.
--
After about half an hour, camp was finally set. Ino had secured some dried up wood for a fire while Yugito, with her enhanced senses due to the two-tailed cat's influence had managed to secure a boar that was roaming around the forest looking for truffles. She secured some of said truffels and brought them back for cooking also.
Kaze no Gaara and Sabaku no Temari, on the other hand, were in charge of obtaining water. Gaara had taken charge of that while Temari stayed next to the unconcious couple. It had taken a few minutes of assurance from the red head that everything would be ok, and that if anything would happen, her sand would help her out, giving him enough time to come back, before she relinquished the hold on his garments. All that time, she spent it looking at both of them, a tinge of jealousy in her eyes. Gaara, on the other hand, found a small river not far from where they were, so he filled up the canteens and a few waterskins for the morning.
Everyone was silent. Most of the time, the four would steal a glance at the sleeping couple and then focus once more on the meal in front of them. It wasn't until Temari broke the silence when the conversations actually began.
"….ne….is Naruto-nii-san….and that black haired girl….you know…." A small blush crept on her cheeks, turning them rosy pink. She hid her face into her bear and mumbled something into it, muffling the words from the three onlookers.
Yugito let out a snicker. She had understood perfectly what the little girl had said, yet she chose to keep it to herself. Gaara and Ino stared at each other, looked at the remaining snickering nin, and back to Gaara's sister before he arched an eyebrow in amusement.
"Do you mean if they are in love?" was Yugito's response to the muffled question.
The pink cheeks became more flushed as more blood came to her face. It was a good thing that it was hidden behind Mr. Shnookums, or they would be laughing at her. She nodded, asserting the question that was asked to her.
Gaara and Ino looked at each other, a smile across their faces, realizing the nature of the question and the reason for hiding herself behind her bear. Yugito looked at Ino and then went back into her boar flank and truffles. "Damn, this is good food…" she thought to herself. Ino looked at Temari and Gaara and explained.
"They are in love. We are in love. They…" she pointed at Yugito, who was in the middle of a huge bite into her piece of meat and looked up with a blank expression, a piece of meat dangling from her mouth before it was sucked in and mangled between her fangs. Her attention went back to her food almost instantly. Gaara, Temari and Ino sweat-dropped at the sight as Ino kept on talking. "…are in love. Truth be told, the three of us are his lovers and he treats us all the same."
Gaara had a solemn expression on his face. He wasn't unaware of polygamy, yet it was kind of a surprise that the four shinobi that he found were in fact part of a harem. Temari, on the other hand, her face had shot up from the safety of her teddy bear and everyone could see the bright crimson color of her face. "So…so…th-that means…." Ino saw a slight look of disappointment in Temari's face and said look didn't go unnoticed by the other two. Gaara's eyes hardened at the sleeping couple in the distance. His eyes focused solely on the other male in the group.
Ino and Yugito looked at each other and gave a resigned sigh.
"Look, if you have a crush on him, you have to be forward. He's a knucklehead when it comes to romantic feelings that people have towards him. He won't realize it unless you tell him straight to his face…but then again…he won't pay attention to it unless they're sincere…" Yugito said.
Gaara snapped his head towards the blonde duo. Were they actually insinuating to include his baby sister into a harem? Oh they had better not! His eyes started shooting daggers at the two and they sensed the mild KI coming from him.
"Don't worry, Naruto isn't one to toy with someone's feelings." Said Yugito to Gaara and then turned towards Temari. "He's direct and will try and go straight to the point in these cases. It may hurt if you don't get the answer you want, but in the long run, his decisions have always been the right choice, in my experience." The look of disappointment from Temari and anger from Gaara seemed to fade, as the Kumo nin spoke. The quartet minus Temari kept on eating, the youngest of them lost in thought.
Once dinner was finished, Yugito approached the one armed nin. His hair, unruly and wild, short like when she first met Naruto, flickered orange in the fire's light. Gaara was meditating, his legs in the lotus position, while his left hand rested in a half Dhyana mudra. A spark of interest appeared on Yugito's look as she placed her eyes on the missing right arm of the nin. "Gaara-san…," she broke the silence. The fiery red head slowly opened his eyes and focused himself on her. He responded with a single 'hmm', letting her know that she had his attention, before his eyes fixed himself on Ino, who was showing Temari how to put makeup on. "…I would like to inquire, if I may, your arm…was it…" her voice broke as her eyes turned to look at the two blondes who were looking at their reflections on a small mirror Ino had brought, admiring their faces with make up on. Gaara smirked as he did a slight nod, but enough movement for Yugito to catch it with her peripheral vision. "…how…?"
The red colored yukata that was already loosely open and draping over his shoulders fell around his hips with a shrug. Gaara proceeded to crack his neck, his eyes closing with the first readjusting of the vertebraes and opening once more as the last popping noise and his satisfaction of the deed was insured. Underneath the yukata, covering his chest, was a black, skin tight, sleeveless shirt; commonly known as a wife beater. Yugito winced at the horrible scar that was located in place of an arm socket, and moved her sight away for a split second. "She wasn't in control of her actions…" said him. "…the demon took advantage of her and made her lose control." Gaara reached with his remaining hand and grasped his shoulder tightly. "Sometimes, I still feel the pain of if being crushed under hundreds of pounds of her sand, and the sensation of every one of my nerves as it was ripped out…yet…" Yugito stayed silent. She gave him a look signifying she was listening. "…I love her the same. I was against my father in doing this with her…she is my own flesh and blood, she is my family…I just can't imagine living this world without her…I sometimes wished that it had been me who was the youngest so I could endure the pain that she is having to live with…"
The giggles and laughter coming from Temari broke Gaara out of his serious reverie and made him focus once more on his sister. Her joyful sounds calmed him and brought forth a smile to his own face. "We had heard of the prowess of the 'Bolt of Heavens', Yashiro-san, and his sealing abilities. We heard that he was the one that strengthened the seal on the container of the Nibi no Nekomata…." The sudden flinch in Yugito's self didn't go unnoticed by him, yet he continued speaking. "…which was something that was needed for the poor sealing done with my sister; so….we decided to take a tour of the shinobi world and try to locate him…we heard he had gone to Konoha, yet as we were travelling there…you miraculously appeared in a gold and blue flash…," he said as he reached to his side pouch and pulled out a strange tri-pronged kunai. "…right next to this…" and with that, he handed it over to a very surprised Yugito. With all the commotion that had happened, she had forgotten to retrieve the special kunai. She gladly took it and placed it away in her own pouch. "…what I want to ask of him…is to fix my sister's faulty seal. With that favor, comes the favor of Sunagakure no Sato. He and his family will be welcomed there at all times, and that includes his multiple wives. I can assure that, as eldest son of the Kazekage…"
Yugito was speechless. To imagine that the Kazekage was actually giving free reign to her husband to come and go as he pleases in Wind Country…
"That is up for him to decide…" she said as she looked back to the sleeping couple that layed inside a sleeping bag. "…but he hates people that suffer the same that we do…"
The suna nin raised an eyebrow in amusement and let out a small chuckle. He had heard that the container of the Nekomata had taken a man in matrimony, yet he didn't expect for it to be the person he was looking for. His eyes layed once upon the flames that danced to an unheard song. "I want to thank you. It's been a while that my sister had experienced friendship and laughter other than mine or our other brother…" and with that, Gaara stood up and walked off to where his sleeping arrangements were and layed down.
A smile crept on Yugito's face.
'You're welcome, Gaara-san….'
--
The night passed relatively fast for the six shinobi and the light of the morning sun started shining on the encampment. It's warm rays bathed their faces and some stirred, while others ignored.
Naruto was one to ignore the rays of the morning sun. His exhaustion added to the factor that he didn't want to wake up, and on top of that, he was feeling something that was hugging him and he was holding very dearly. He was in heaven. He didn't need anything else…except maybe ramen. But this didn't apply to the person he was holding.
Hinata awoke slowly and found herself in the arms of a man. Not any man, but of Naruto. She had awaited this moment for so long that she took a moment to take in the sight. His silky golden hair, his tanned skin, his whiskered cheeks…his tongue outside of his mouth….snoring…well, she could omit that part, but still, it was starting to be a great day…that is until she sensed something odd with herself. She started to channel chakra around her body, but something was off….her control was shot, gone! A slight indignation came to her mind. She knew that there were going to be consequences, just not at this magnitude! 'I have to start training again…might as well start now….' She thought as she tried to move but found herself held tightly by the man she was sleeping next to. She huffed and pried herself out of the gentle, protective, yet vice grip Naruto held on her and proceeded to warm up and commence on chakra excercises.
Others woke up around the same time as Hinata and looked up when they noticed the struggle and grunting coming from the blond and blue haired pair's location. Gaara and Temari were already awake, as seeing how he sleeps around six hours to keep her sister company the rest of the day and found the sight amusing. Ino was yawning, trying to flick the mental cobwebs away and wake up. One could see how she definetly wasn't a morning person. Yugito…well, apparently, she inherited more than just chakra from the two tailed cat demon. She seemed to not really care about if it was day or night. She was napping under the shadow of a tree and was fully enjoying it, proven by some purrs that came from her general direction.
Hinata, as she was walking, sensed two foreign presences amongst her and turned around in a ready stance. She noticed the blonde girl and red headed man approach her slowly and recognized them as the children of the Kazekage of Sunagakure. She had no idea why they were here yet she also noticed that Ino was not alerted by their prescence and her guard lowered a bit. Gaara spoke first, introducing himself and his sister, which he proceeded to push gently from her hiding place behind him once more. The indigo haired ANBU chatted with them for a few minutes, introducing herself and her status and getting updated on what she missed entirely while being passed out after the sealing. She found out the reasons to their being with them and they offered to help her with her chakra control, offer which gladly took.
Ino finally woke up and noticed the trio training. She proceeded to use some of her canteen water to freshen up and joined the three of them, making idle chatter to pass the time while the rest of the group woke up. They weren't on a mission anymore, so they could rest up for a bit before returning.
--
Naruto slept through noon before he even started stirring from his chakra exhaustion induced slumber, noticing at first that his tongue was hanging from one side of his mouth, and then that he was missing something, which he couldn't place a finger on it at first; but as the awakened state slowly approached him more and more, the previous' day's events dawned on him and his senses went into full alert, springing up to a defensive stance from his laying down position with a two objects in his hands.
To say that he scared the shite out of the unsuspecting five was underrated. They were peacefully enjoying their lunch when a sudden wave if KI that was directed from Naruto's position washed upon them and choked the food in their throats. They immediately turned around, alarmed and withdrawing their weapons in case of an enemy attack, only to face fault as they noticed the sun-kissed nin go 180 degrees on them and put a toothbrush in his mouth. He grinned with said utensil sticking out from his facial orifice and made his way towards the now calm group of eaters, plopping on the ground next to Gaara and Yugito.
"…tho..waff bweenffs loo doo eeelle?…" (so…what brings you two here?) the inflection at the end of the sentence giving it the sound of a question. An animesque bead of sweat appeared on everyone's head at his lack of manners, yet Yugito met it with a hearty chuckle.
And a slap to the back of his head….accompanied by a sickly sweet voice which Gaara recognized, being the one his girlfriend uses when he makes her mad.
"Honey….what have we spoken about speaking with your mouth full?"
Rubbing his sore spot, not before everyone caught the chakra being accumulated in him and the huge mischevious grin that grew on his face almost instantly. He removed the toothbrush from his mouth and spat to the side the bubbly substance before speaking.
"…hmm…let's see….if my memory serves correctly…" he began. Raising his index finger and placing it on his chin, he continued. "…the ONLY time I'm allowed to speak with a mouth full…."
Wood snapped.
Everyone turned to look a Kumo nin whose face was bright red, broken chopsticks in hand, her Killer Intent rising slowly, her eyes glaring daggers at the blonde.
"Don't you dare…finish that sent-"
"…Is when I'm eating you…"
Silence was the loudest noise made conciously by anyone in the group, only to be broken after a few seconds when they all realized the implications of said declaration.
Gaara began snorting. Hinata and Ino looked dumbstrucked, a grin on their faces, yet dumbstruck. Only Temari looked up to all, not quite understanding. The redhead's snorts became harder to control, and burst into a full blown laughter…
Only to suddenly stop and his face drain of color. His hand, unconciously went to cover that which makes any man a man. His face glued to the kunai…a kunai that was embedded in Naruto's most sacred of places…only to see it fall after a burst of chakra smoke erupted from where he was sitting. It was then when Gaara let out a breath he held in him that he relaxed…just a bit. His hand never left his region, protecting…fervently….
Yugito stood up and started chasing a very, very dead male as his laughter flooded the campsite. Weapons were thrown, parried and returned by the offender, Yashiro a.k.a. Naruto, to Yugito, only to be thrown at his person once more. The three kunoichi and shinobi that were still eating, couldn't help but smile at the antics of the married couple, yet a tug on the male Suna nin by his sister drained the blood from his face when she asked him to explain what Yashiro had said.
--
After an hour of excercising and about half an hour of silence, Naruto returned to camp with Yugito in tow, looking worse for wear, yet both with a rosy blush on their faces and covered a bit in sweat. Needless to say, they had missed each other in the few days they had been apart and had to make up for any lost time.
The two blondes sat down once again in the clearing where the campsite was and watched Hinata train on her chakra control once more. Gaara and Temari were sitting next to a tree, Temari making sand castles with the compressed minerals from the ground. Ino was finishing packing up some more things from camp. A pang of guilt entered the newly instated Konoha nin as the weight of last night's events settled in once more.
Shaking the toughts out of his head, spoke, adressing Hinata and the Suna nins.
"Oi! Hina-chan! Gaara-san! Tema-tan! I need to speak with you three."
The three adressed the call and slowly made their way towards the two blondes. Ino was finished by the time they were all together and joined them.
"Hina-chan. How is your control progressing?" was his first question. He placed a strong arm around her neck, bringing her close to him. A tick appeared on Ino's temple, but a slight brush from a strong hand over hers calmed her down.
"It's progressing fast…" began her explanation. "…thanks to the chakra training I had in the Hyuuga estates and the Jyuken training, my control was very refined. I'm not quite at what I was, but I need a few more days. I believe I stand at high chuunin-low jonin level…" she said. "…but I still have to work on it much more if I wish to still be ANBU captain…."
Naruto nodded at her statement. Gaara and Temari also nodded, seeing how they had initially helped her when she woke up.
"And you two…" Naruto turned to look at the foreigners. "What brings you to the Land of Fire? I assume it has to do with me, because you haven't left since you introduced yourselves yesterday, am I right?"
Sandy blonde and fiery red nodded at the self-answered question. Teal met light green as siblings stared at each other for a moment, Gaara nodded at Temari before looking back at the only person who could help them. The youngest of the group started to undo her obi.
"Yosugi Yashiro…" spoke Gaara as his sister continued, folding the obi that held her robe.
"…we hail from Sunagakure, on my behalf, not the Kazekage's..." Gaaras voice broke. A sob choked his throat and tears started building in his eyes. Temari stood up and turned around, slowly sliding her yukata off, exposing her back.
An indigo colored haired girl and three blondes gasped at the sight.
Gaara's kneeling form made it easy for him to bow down, his head touching the dirt on the ground. His tears falling freely from his eyes, mixing with the dirt beneath him. "I've done as much as I can…please…help my sister…."
A seal was glowing red on the small of her back, her naked body shining alabaster under the afternoon sky. Cracks outlined the seal in many places, in others, the seal was blurry. Ichibi no Fuuin, the seal of the one tailed demon, Shukaku was failing.
Naruto contemplated the situation and looked at Gaara's pleading form. His eyes closed and removed his arm from around Hinata as his head rested onto his hands. It would take time. Time that he didn't know if he had enough with the seal being that close to breaking, and blood. Blood he had just restored.
"There is a chance…" he said, slightly muffled by his hands. "…but I need time…" he raised his eyes, a look of determination was strong, but it disappeared when he tought back to last night. "…I can't assure you anything…not after last night…" His head dropped once again.
His wife sensed the sudden stiffening of his muscles and leaned her head on his shoulder. A small hand intertwined his.
"Naruto…what's wrong?" She asked.
That voice…that voice could raise him or break him…a long drawn out sigh gave Naruto enough time to break the news to the people around him. Hinata and Ino sensed the distress as Yugito spoke to her husband, their fianceé. Something was wrong, very wrong.
"…the sealing last night…"
All eyes were on him, he turned and looked onto all those who expected an answer for his now gloomy behaviour. He took another deep breath and spoke.
--
"Kukukuku…Sasuke-kun…it is time to go. These three weren't enough for me to get warmed up. I can't believe that they fell so easily! Indeed they put up a fight, but like fish out of the water…" his serpentine gaze laid upon the fallen bodies of Koharu, Homura, and Danzo. "..they were always out of Sarutobi-sensei's league…"
Standing behind him, a body stood, tears of blood streaming down it's souless eyes. The marks of age weren't present in the body of the late Sandaime Hokage of Konoha. His body brimmed with the long lost energy of his youth. The three council members fell to the uncontrolled wrath of 'The Professor', thanks to Orochimaru's Kuchiyose: Keiyoushi Edotensei. Not only would it restore the life to the dead, but it could return the youth to the once withered soul and there wasn't a need for a control seal to be implemented into the resurrected body, the seal was given while the justu is being channeled, leaving the summoned being fully aware of what he was doing, without any chance to stop himself.
Only his memory and feelings remained.
"Truly a wonderful technique of mine!" exclaimed the snake. "Oh! Sarutobi-sensei! You should see the look on your face! It's priceless! You massacred them so beautifully!"
Orochimaru turned to the living puppet that was standing behind him. The tears kept on streaming from his eyes, never stopping.
"Do you need me for anything else….Orochimaru…" came the ragged, yet strong voice from the puppet.
"Kukukuku….sensei…it seems the student has surpassed the master, don't you think?"
"Yes…Orochimaru….sama…."
With a puff of chakra smoke, the body of a former Ne nin crumbled to the ground, the soul of Sarutobi Sasuke leaving the temporal body, returning to the depths of the underworld, waiting for it's summoning once more.
The now dead team mates of the Third and the war hawk that once fought against him for the title of Hokage were disposed of. Orochimaru's plans couldn't be going any better. With a sinister grin and a quick flick of his wrist, the faces of the three corpses melted off, leaving nothing but unblemished skin as slick as one's back. No signs of there ever being a face were left.
Sasuke grimaced at the jutsu working. He never enjoyed watching his new sensei melt people's faces off for whatever reason, but it would be of use if he were to gain more power and confront said demon that is said to come from Konoha's direction. Licking his lips with anticipation, a single thought passed through his mind.
'I'm going to kill you, Itachi…just wait…you will fall by my blade….'
--
"Temari-chan…"spoke Naruto. "…I assume you know of the existence of the tailed demons?" she nodded, without turning around, and he continued. "…do you speak with your own?"
This information was rather shocking for those who weren't aware, namely Hinata and Ino. Gaara was aware because his sister would tell him about the talks the raccoon demon would have with her if she ever closed her eyes for more than a minute. Yugito, well, she's a jinchuuriki as well.
Temari nodded at his question once again. She kneeled and picked up her discarded yukata, never turning around to face the man who was questioning her, the first man, other than her family who has seen her completely naked.
"….what is he saying right now?"
Temari froze at the question. Her head snapped towards the blonde's direction, fear, pain, and terror in her eyes.
"H-he…h-he's afraid…and he…he doesn't want to die….he says…he says he doesn't like you….you smell of foxes…that you smell like him…."
Naruto sighed at the revelation, leaving the rest with a questioned look in their semblance. Slowly standing up, the Konoha nin closed his eyes when he was at his full height and proceeded to have a light conversation with one of his tenants.
--
Inside Naruto's Mindscape
Shimmering into existence near the entrance to an ominous forest, Naruto didn't need to take a single step for a massive fox with nine tails flailing behind him, make an appearance in front of him; a dead rabbit, half his size on his snout, fresh blood dripping from his maws.
"I see you have been enjoying the treats I've sent you, Kyuubi."
A feral grin adorned the fox's face as he released the bloody carcass to the ground. He licked the blood of his snout and sat down on his hind legs. "What do you want, gaki?" was the giant fox's question.
"I come simply for answers, fox…like why does the Ichibi no Shukaku fears you…loathes you…."
"A demon needs not a reason to hate another being. We are born out of the hatred of humans, given a form through their dreams and finally, strength by their fears. As you know…" the Kyuubi stopped for a moment before he dug his maws into the prey he had captured and ripped some of it's delicious and tender meat. Naruto waited patiently.
"…not all of us were demons…" he said before licking his snout. That was some good lunch there! "…some of us were considered celestial beings before we became called demons…angels if you will…"
Naruto's brow lifted at the fox's explanation. This peaked his interest, just a bit.
A tiny bit.
"…take you for example…you are the reincarnation of the Rokubi, the six tailed weasel, bringer of lightning-"
"Rider of Storms, Bolt of Heavens…I get you're point, Kyuubi, what does that have to do with the Shukaku hating you?" interrupted Naruto. It was the demon's turn to lift a brow in amusement. "Oh, interrupting me now?"
"Sorry, carry on."
"Hmph…" He took another bite of his delicious, tender, moist, bloody meat and took his time savoring the flavor and texture, annoying his jailor just enough for him to make him clear his throat. "…The Ichibi no Shukaku was the first of us to be born. He was born as a symbol of the night. He was there to protect those who believed the spirits that would roam would attack them while the sun was out. The faith of humanity was placed over something that was conjured by fear. He came to existence to protect, yet, power corrupts, am I right? His lust for power let him to terrorize those who created him. The fear he instilled led to create something that would overpower the one tailed raccoon…"
"Nibi…" was a shocked response coming from the jailor of the tailed beast that stood before him.
"…munch munch yesh…gulp yes...the Two Tailed cat….and when she lost herself in the lust for power? Enter Isonade, the three tailed aquatic demon who could change shape to any marine animal she wanted…then..."
"…wait…she?"
"She was vain…what can I say? If she saw a prettier animal than the one she was, she would change to it…" the Kyuubi shrugged his shoulders. "…then came Yonbi, the cockatrice demon, half rooster, half snake, poisonous….very bad….Houkou, the five tailed demon dog…now he knew how to party! He could control almost every element! Combine them too!" A feral grin came on the fox's face. "But that mutt wasn't very adept at it…he usually would fling stuff around uncontrollably…thus the- "
"I CAN HEAR YOU, YOU FLEA BAG!" came a roar from the beach area of Naruto's mind.
The Kyuubi roared in laughter at the Gobi while the container stifled a chuckle at the dog demon's situation.
"Thus, the Rokubi was born…but unlike other celestial beings…HE LIKE TO PRANK PEOPLE AND DEMONS ALIKE!"
"…..kekekekekeke….." The Weasel's laughter surrounded the area.
Naruto was taking in the information slowly, trying to figure out where this was all going. He motioned the fox to continue speaking, which he complied after another bite of juicy rabbit flesh.
"Because the weasel refused to help people, Kaku, the seven tailed badger came to existence. He was a sneaky one. Hard to track down if he ever wanted to. He was the one who initially taught you humans the art of stealth and camouflage…" the Kyuubi grinned at Naruto's expression. They had learned their ninja techniques from demons…?
This was way too much information….
"Ohh! But it gets better! That badger refused to help after you humans started to grow more and more powerful. You started training, in hopes of defeating the demons yourselves…and guess what happened then…?" asked the Kyuubi.
"We…failed, didn't we?" was the shinobi's response.
"Royally. Humankind believed that nothing could stop the previous demons from running amok, so the Hachibi, the snake was born. His eight tails contained the keys to the Demon World, to different areas. He was supposed to be the strongest of them all, with the power to subdue them and send them back to where they should be and not bother humans ever again…" He grinned once more. "…but lo! You humans feared the one who did nothing to you! Claiming that he was evil by holding the keys to the place where we come from! Saying that he could unleash the gates of Hell and bring about many more of our kind, and you sent a lone, brave, and Stupid man, stupid with a capital S, by the way; to try and stop a demon. He was defeated and his blade, the Grass Cutter, came to the Hachibi's clutches, or maws, fangs….whatever he used to wield it…and his powers were greatly enhanced…"
"So…are you telling me….that you came into existence because of us? To destroy that which we created? And yet, we never learned from our mistakes, didn't we?"
"Correct, whelp."
Naruto expected an answer like that, yet…
"…you still haven't answered my question, fox. Why does he hate you…"
The Kyuubi licked his paws, savoring the delicious taste of the blood. Even if it wasn't real and he didn't need to eat, it quenched his bloodlust. With a serious expression on his face, the Kyuubi turned to the blonde before him and slowly lowered himself down to his level. He made eye contact with him and grinned a sadistic smile on his snout. An eerie and blood laced tone filled the air as he spoke in a quiet, yet terrifying whisper.
"…how would you feel to find those you love and care slaughtered right in front of you? Being helpless to do anything because a being of unlimited power stands in front of you?"
Naruto shivered at the thought. His wife and two girlfriends flashed before his eyes. The late Sandaime's face, as little as he could remember, the Raikage and all those who trained him in Kumo…his fists tightened into a ball and forced the thoughts out of his mind. He regained his composure and stared back at the demon.
"...opposite to common knowledge…we demons still love….and I took everything away from those who refused to subdue to me….thus why I am the king of the Biju; boy…but then again…power does drive beings mad…and…." He said as he raised himself and lowered his snout once more into the meat that was lying before him. "…some humans proved to be more than capable of taking on demons…"
Naruto nodded and shimmered away from his mental realm, leaving a silent Gobi, a thinking Rokubi, and a Kyuubi cackling madly…
--
Naruto's eyes fluttered open once more. A frown adorned his face as the information flowed steadily into him once more. A few seconds passed in the real world while he had his chat with his tenant, so the five people waited for an answer.
"I'll do my best…"
Tears of laughter and joy fell from both Temari and Gaara. The young girl finished tying her obi and launched herself at the older blonde, whereas Gaara stood up and gave him his hand in a firm hold and handshake.
Naruto released the handshake with Gaara and proceeded to place both hands on Temari's shoulder. He then bent his knees and stood eye to eye with the girl. She caught a slightly pained expression on his face, and felt her own redden up. Turning her head away, and covering it with her sleeves was all that could be done if she didn't want him to realize she was blushing because of him.
"…ne…Shukaku…" Naruto whispered in a tongue not his own. Temari suddenly looked up and stared into his eyes, her blush fading almost instantly. The Yugito understood the conversation, knowing the demonic tongue from the Nibi, but stayed quiet and listened, leaving the others to their own imagination of what was going on.
"…I know what happened…and for all that bastard fox did….for what it's worth….I'm sorry…."
Temari's eyes grew large. The Raccoon demon in her became silent.
"…I won't harm you, Shukaku…I just want you to let her sleep…that is all I'm going to do…regulate your influence in her, but you must let me cooperate…"
The blonde girl's teal eyes rolled to the back of her head, and came back in a four pointed star shaped iris, with four diamonds around it. She spoke in a demonic tone as she asked a question to the blonde that was kneeled in front of her.
"…do you promise to not harm me or her? I do not wish to die…yet if she dies…I die…and if I die…she dies…I know solitude in this body…I wish to enjoy that which is in the outside world…grant me that, and the girl will sleep. I will sleep with her, breath with her, eat with her, listen with her, I want her senses….that is all…"
Naruto nodded and her eyes returned to normal. He felt her lose her balance and caught her. She was sleeping safe and soundly.
Gaara's eyes grew in alarm at what that meant. He immediately placed his gauntlet on and readied himself to announce a warning. Yugito intervened and assured him that nothing would happen. The suna warrior loosened up a bit as Naruto stood up.
"We move to Konoha. I shall fix the seal there…" he said in a stoic tone. And with that, he started the trek back to his new village, with the other four following closely behind.
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A/N – Maaaa…..it's been a while since I've uploaded…and man…I missed writing. I've had a hard time with three jobs, so I didn't have that much time to actually write much except a drabble here and there. Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter and like the little twists that I have planned. Not as long as I would have wanted the chappy to be, but at least, I'm giving y'all something new to read.
Have a good one and leave a mark signifying you read this chapter!
Translations:
Kuchiyose: Keiyoushi Edotensei: Summoning: True Impure World Resurrection