Along Came a Symbiote
Author's Note: As I'm sure that you are aware of there are Author's posting up notices explaining about how the managers of the site is cracking down and that we need to start petitions and such to make them realize that this is a mistake. I agree but unlike them I didn't want the spam the site with updated stories just so people would become aware, at least not without posting an actual chapter. I find it annoying as I'm looking through updated stories only to find oh it's not an update it's a Chapter AU. I've been doing my part by going in my past chapters and editing out the things that the managers are deleting stories for and warning other Authors to do the same through a PM or review. Hopefully this will blow over and things go back to normal.
Chapter 11: Dating
Three weeks after last chapter
Land of Sound/Random Oto base
The grey halls seemed covered in a continuous design of swirls wrapping themselves along the ceiling and floor. Small candles set along the walls illuminated the area and gave them an orange tint. Though peculiar, the halls were easily ignored in favor of the numerous bodies strewn across them
"Scrch"
Naruto dropped the sound nin after breaking his neck, fully garbed in his hunter nin attire. After using the Yamanaka mind reading jutsu, Naruto discovered the location to one of Orochimaru's bases, or more important the whereabouts of one of the snake nins prized experiments. The particular experiment taking place inside the base was the possible revival of the Kaguya bloodline.
He had snuck in, stealthily assassinating guards as he needed to. But there was only so long he could go unseen before the base was aware of an intruder and went to full alert. At this point he had forgone stealth and simply killed all those brave enough to fight him. If he had simply come to destroy the experiment then this would have been unnecessary. But to prevent the experiment from rising again it was necessary to kill the scientist responsible for working on it as well.
The scientists had been the first to die, a reasonable decision as they would have been the first to flee. After killing them, Naruto performed another mind read to locate the notes and the experiment itself.
'How is it that someone like Orochimaru has gained so many who are willing to die for him?' Naruto asked himself as he walked closer to his destination.
After destroying the experiment and the laboratory along with it, Naruto made his way back to Konoha, swing from tree to tree. He was satisfied and excited at the same time. Satisfied that he could be a thorn in the Snake Sanin's side and excited that today was his and Anko's date night. Once he came within walking distance of Konoha's gates, Naruto dropped down, choosing to walk the last of the distance.
The two leaf nin currently guarding the gate saw Naruto drop down and waited patiently for the black clad nin to close the distance between them.
"Hello Venom, any luck in your hunting?" asked the guard to the left.
"Not this time." he lied, not wanting to divulge his personal agenda.
"That's a shame. Well you know the drill." stated the guard on the right.
Naruto nodded while pulling out the necessary documents to prove who he was.
After looking over the documents and insuring they were authentic, the two guards allowed Naruto through the gates.
He made a bee line for Konoha's Intelligence department. His reputation allowed him entrance without too much fuss. Though he did have to show his documents once more to get further access to the Torture division. He made his way through until he saw the person he was looking for. All sound he made disappeared as he snuck up behind her.
Naruto wrapped his arms around Anko and pulled her back towards him.
"Hey there!"
Anko merely turned her chestier smile covered face to look him in the eyes. Or she would if he wasn't still wearing a mask.
"You know you shouldn't still be wearing that while hugging me. You'll compromise your identity… Venom." she stated while using his code name.
"Look around, nobody gives a damn about what we're doing." was his cheeky response.
Anko looked around the busy office, watching as ninjas either worked at their desk or entered and exited from various rooms. 'He's right.'
"You still shouldn't."
Naruto chuckled in her ear. "We still set for tonight?" he asked ignoring her previous statement.
Anko stretched in his grip while pulling him closer to her. "Depends. What time are you going to pick me up?"
"Oh so we have to pick you up?" he asked in fake arrogance.
"Of course." was her humored response.
Naruto thought for a second, considering everything before setting his own time limit. 'Need a bath, time to buy some clothes, decide on where to eat and make a reservation if necessary.'
"How does nine sound?"
"Awfully late." she noted.
"Welllll." he dragged out. "We need time to prepare. What with our uncertain lives and all."
Anko nodded at this before declaring something she noticed earlier. "You reek of blood."
He sniffed himself and realized that the metallic scent did indeed cling to him. "A shower was part of the plan.
"Skip the shower." she said sensually, her eyes closed as she focused on the smell. "MMmmmmmm."
A shudder coursed through Naruto as he was reminded of Anko's bloodlust. 'We come home reeking of death and she's turned on. Should have thought of dating Anko months ago.'
"You two done?"
Naruto and Anko' heads jerked towards Ibiki as he stared each of them down, neither having noticed him thanks to their moment.
"What?" Naruto asked with defiance.
Ibiki simply shook his head, a smile hidden in the shadows. "Please choose another place to express yourselves." with that said Ibiki made to leave the room.
"Fine, we'll use your office!" Naruto shouted.
Ibiki flinched before sending them a glare.
Anko was too busy laughing to care while Naruto continued talking. "Heard he got a new desk anyway." he joked.
The blood loving women in his arms laughed louder while Ibiki simply slammed the door.
Naruto's Apartment/8:24 PM
Buttoning up his white dress shirt, Naruto stared into the full body mirror while he prepared for his date. Why he didn't simply alter his symbiote was due to the fact that Anko had actually convinced him to sleep over after their last date, though nothing happened between them other than sharing a bed. The last thing he needed was for Anko to begin questioning why she never found any clothes he wore the night before. A show of respect for their expensive date was a bonus in his opinion as well.
After checking that his shirt was fully buttoned up including the cuffs of his sleeves and tucking his shirt in, Naruto pulled on the next piece of his clothes set, a blue vest. Once he finished buttoning up his vest, Naruto checked everything one last time. The black dressed shoes were polished, his matching color dress pants ironed, A black tie wrapped around his neck that hid half of itself under his vest, and his medium length hair had been jelled back. Despite Anko's request, he had bathed and even put on a small bit of cologne to insure no Inuzuka could smell the traces he missed during his rushed bath.
"This is so much more of a hassle." he said as he thought about all the troubles he avoided by simply converting his symbiote's appearance.
With everything finished he walked out of his apartment and made his way to Anko's home. Once more he forgone one of his favorite habits and walked instead of web swinging. Another disadvantage of wearing clothes as the fast movement wrinkled them and risked forming tears.
Though he couldn't feel the wind in his face and it took him twenty extra minutes to reach his destination, Naruto didn't truly mind the walk. Once reaching the door to Anko's apartment, he knocked on the door and waited to be shown a beautiful sight. Anko opened the door wearing a black, sleeveless, one piece dress that stopped just a little before her knees. A red belt wrapped around her waist and she wore dark vermillion high heels. Additionally her ever apparent snake fang necklace hung around her neck and brown stockings were worn underneath her dress. The spiky pony tail was absent, allowing the back of her hair to rest slightly past her shoulder line though the front was hardly changed. Her lips shined with red lipstick and a tint of pink blush had been applied to her cheeks.
"Damn!" Naruto whispered, a smile plastered on his face while he stared at her.
"So." Anko said to snap him out of his lust filled gaze. "You going to escort me or are you simply going to eat me with your eyes?"
"Why can't we do both?" he honestly asked.
Anko chuckled before closing her door. "Well lead the way." she said before holding up her hand.
Naruto took the offered hand and began leading her along to the destination of the first part of their date. They walked in silence, content with merely basking in the night atmosphere. Few people walked along the streets, but those that did gave a brief glance to the couple before returning to their own business. The silence didn't merely pertain to them either as a lack of sound was present all around.
It was at this time that Naruto wondered if his dress shoes were making more noise against the brick streets than Anko's high heels.
Finally the restaurant came into view and the two entered. The outside of the building was a common tan but the walls inside were a rose red with azure blue carpets. Wooden panels covered doorways and windows with creamy white veils teasing the people outside to obscured glimpses.
In front of a set of double doors was a finely dressed man standing behind a podium. The black podium held an open notebook with several names, some eligible.
"Uzumaki, party of 2." Naruto said once he and Anko were standing before the man.
The man looked over the notebook, dragging his finger down the page before finally stopping. "Ah there is a reservation here but you were scheduled for half an hour ago."
"And?" Naruto asked, slightly irritated with the man's indifferent tone.
"I'm sorry but the reservation is no longer available."
Reaching across the podium and strangling the man, the urge was strong, only the fact that this was a date stopped Naruto. A date was supposed to be different, something not done all the time and meant to be enjoyable all the same. Wearing expensive clothes, eating at rich restaurants, not dragging the waiter out back while beating him till he represented the undead.
Anko looked shocked at Naruto's hesitation, almost committing the act that lingered around Naruto's mind.
Naruto's next words would only stall Anko; it was up to the man himself if he lived to see another day.
"Are there any openings?" he asked though glaring the entire time.
The man looked through the notebook once more, flipping pages while dully repeating the process of scrolling through each page. Their hands still linked, Naruto felt Anko's grip tightening, possible turning her knuckles white though neither could tell as they continued to stare at the waiter with barely held back rage.
"Ah yes we do have one."
"Then what's the problem?" Anko asked through gritted teeth.
"Well I guess there isn't one."
The man's saving grace was the very button he pressed followed by the waitress that came through the doors.
"Follow me please." She asked in the kindest voice either had heard all day.
With this the two were finally seated and waiting for their drinks and dishes to arrive.
"Can you believe that menu? I wouldn't know what half of these things were if not for the description." Anko joked, trying to lighten the mood.
Naruto nodded, a smile forming on his face. "Yeah, there was barely anything on the menu as well."
Anko laughed. "its nice though." she commented while fingering the gold colored table cloth.
"Yeah." Naruto agreed. A thought crossed his mind as he looked for a more lasting conversation. "We never asked you what happened during the three years we were gone."
Anko thought over the last three years for anything memorable. "Nothing much. I did my job, watched a few Genin piss themselves in my forest during the Chunin exam, and it became public that Kurenai and Asuma were dating."
"That last part wasn't about you." Naruto pointed out.
Anko merely shrugged her shoulders. "My life just wasn't eventful. Hell my life before you left was more eventful. I fought Orochimaru, met you."
"We see. So things are better when we're around." He cheekily said.
"I wouldn't consider a fight with Orochimaru a good thing, but things are more fun when you're here."
A waiter came by and brought them their pre-dish salads. They thanked the waiter before digging in.
"So what was your relationship with the princess of Suna?"
Anko sudden question broke the silence rather abruptly.
"What?" Naruto's mind couldn't process anything else.
"Your relationship with Temari of the sand. I know there was something between you two, I'm just curious about it." Anko explained.
The symbiote host felt uncomfortable answering the question, had anyone else asked he would simply repeat the event with Kakashi and let them know it wasn't there business while lying. But his relationship with Anko made things different, gave her a right to know certain parts of his life. Of course things like his symbiote would remain a secret.
"Us and Temari hooked up shortly after we arrived in Suna. We respected each other and found each other attractive. After a few dates we discovered that we had more in common than we first thought and nearly month later we began growing closer."
Anko listened patiently as Naruto went on.
"We grew so close that we felt comfortable in experimenting with sex, it was a new experience for us both. But after a while we realized that things wouldn't work out between us and we broke up."
"What caused this realization?" Anko curiously asked.
Naruto thought for a moment. "The distance." he finally said. "Even before we left Suna a tension formed between us and Temari. Finally we figured out that it was anxiety setting in at the inevitable fact that we would have to return to Konoha settled in."
"That'll do it." Anko stated. 'I really came close to having my fears come true.'
After their discussion of Naruto's past relationship they talked about other, less personal topics. Eventually the meals arrived and the two focused on enjoying the rich dishes. Once they were finished, Naruto paid for the meals and the two left. The meal was enjoyable, and the conversations they had helped them understand one another better. But there had been a mood that had rose in the air. It made them feel…. unusual. As if something wasn't right.
After leaving the restaurant the two began strolling around the commercial districts of Konoha, trying to find something of interest before calling it a day.
"There's a karaoke bar over there." Anko pointed out.
Naruto's face grimaced. He had visited one before out of curiosity, only for him and his symbiote to twitch and spasm from the novices messing up or the microphone they were using let off a high pitch squeal.
"Do either of us know how to sing?" Naruto asked with a hint of humor.
Anko laughed a little at the question. "Good point."
Naruto spied up ahead and noticed red neon around a white billboard. "How about the theatre?"
She thought about it for a split second before shaking her head. "We did that last week, and there really isn't anything I want to see."
Naruto rubbed his chin, thinking about things they could enjoy. All the while the mood they felt in the restaurant seemed to follow.
Eventually Anko stopped in front of a pearl white building with a large eye catching lighted sign. Naruto stopped with her and looked up to the sign.
"A bowling alley. You sure?" he asked slightly skeptical.
"Why not. Neither of us have done it before, it's supposed to be fun, active." Anko stated
Naruto nodded at her points only to find one flaw. "But... dressed like this." he said as he pointed to a window that reflected their image.
Anko looked at the window. Observing how they were dress and understood what Naruto meant. The clothes they wore were tight fitting and very limited in flexibility. It was then that something hit her as she took a closer look. Finally the cause of the mood became apparent as Anko didn't recognize herself in the mirror.
"Are we trying to be something we're not?" Anko asked.
Naruto's head jerked towards her, confused by the sudden question. "What makes you say that?"
"Ever since we started dating, we have been dressing up and going to fancy places."
The symbiote host looked concerned at this.
"I have enjoyed our dates, but haven't you felt like something wasn't right."
Naruto nodded. "You mean like dealing with the snobs."
Anko chuckled. "Kind of, but that's not entirely it. It just feels like we're trying to fit in somewhere we don't"
"We feel the same…. So what do we do?"
Anko stared at the window for a few seconds longer as she thought. Her eyes noticed a public rest room in the reflection and she grabbed Naruto before dragging him to it. Naruto merely followed, still waiting for his answer.
"Give me your vest." Anko suddenly commanded.
"The hell?" Naruto said while giving her a strange look.
"Oh just give it to me I'll only be a sec."
He did as Anko asked and unbuttoned his vest. She disappeared into the women's restroom once she had the article of clothing, leaving Naruto to wait. For the next twenty minutes while he paced back and forth.
'I'll just be a sec she says. Women.' he thought with sarcasm.
"So what do you think?"
Naruto turned back towards the entranced and smiled.
Her dress had been cut in half, making a fine skirt with how clean the cut itself was. Additionally two slits ran down the sides of her thighs, allowing mobility without the new skirt being cut completely in two. her red belt had been tightened to ensure her skirt wouldn't fall. The thing that saved her upper body from nudity was the very vest she had taken from Naruto. New button holes sliced in so that the article of clothing became a tighter fit, allowing her cleavage to be noticed without the possibility of her nipples being visible. The make-up had been washed off, but her stockings, high heels, and hair remained the same.
"We like it! It's definitely you." Naruto stated 'Must have hidden a kunai on herself.'
Anko smiled as she walked closer to him, only stopping till she was within arms length. "Time to fix you up."
Naruto didn't protest in the slightest as Anko began "fixing" his clothes. She started with the cuffs and unbuttoned them. Afterwards she pulled the bottom of his shirt out from underneath his pants and reach up to his collar to pull off the tie before undoing the top two buttons of his shirt. She gave him a look over to see if there was anything else she could do to make him more look like the Naruto she knew. His hair was one of the things she wanted to fix, but the harden gel prevented that. Her hazel eyes dropped from his blonde hair and down towards the visible skin of his chest thanks to the two buttons now undone. On impulse she took off her snake fang necklace and draped it around his neck. The fang rested in the opening of his shirt and added to the feeling that he was dressed for a date.
"I'm only letting you borrow that alright." Anko stated.
Naruto nodded before following Anko to the bowling alley. Before they entered, Anko stopped in front of the window again, smiling as she preferred the people she saw this time.
Anko's apartment/ 1 ½ hours later
They laid on the coach together, content with just resting. Both had enjoyed the sport known as bowling more than they had expected and even planned to go again in the near future. The mood that haunted them on their past dates vanished thanks to Anko's epiphany. She thought about moving them to her bedroom but gave up the idea when the thought about how comfortable she was crossed her mind. The two simply laid there, slowly drifting off from the white noise the television produced.
Author's note: Hope you enjoyed the chapter, not much I want to mention here other than that.