A/N: It's me again. I thought I would try something different this time. I am going to answer a few serious questions I've gotten in PM's lately. I am not naming names… to protect the innocent… and to not point fingers.
Are you dead? Obviously not, I'm posting this chapter.
When is the next chapter coming out? Right now.
How long does it take for you to write a chapter? Well, it all depends. Sometimes it's quick and easy. Lately, it has been far from quick or easy. The writing process takes time. I am a perfectionist. If a chapter doesn't work for me, you (as in the readers) never see it. There have been several chapters that have been re-written because I didn't like them. They would have worked, but they didn't make my final cut. I hate to break it to everyone, but though I do take my reader's views into consideration, I write to please me. If I'm not happy, then the words never see the light of the interwebs. I can only say I will try to update a little more frequently, but I can't make any promises.
Do you need a Beta? I'm not overly fond of fish. I tend to kill them… accidentally of course. But in all seriousness, I don't have a Beta reader/editor OFFICIALLY… I do have someone that I look to for help when I need it (Gives Woofie a BIG hug). So, though the offers are appreciated, I really don't need one at this time. I may reconsider at a later date.
I am happy to answer any questions you toss in my direction. Even questions about the story. I will try to answer a question without giving the story away, or if you want me to explain something, I will be more than happy to answer the questions. Once again I would like to thank everyone that has continued to stay with me.
Now with all that taken care of… On with the show…
Warning: I don't own Naruto…
Chapter 76: Coming Out
The blonde groaned and opened blurry eyes to stare at his alarm clock. God it was early. Granted, it was going on 10:30 in the morning, but on his Saturday off, he liked to sleep as late as he could. It was one of those weird things. He was hoping that maybe Midoriko would remember that he didn't like waking up without Myra. The blonde groaned again and lazily rolled out of bed. It was time for yet another cold shower and training with "the guys".
The Kyuubi shivered as the cold water beat down on Naruto. "This is getting ridiculous. You are going to freeze death if you keep this up."
"Better to freeze than do anything inappropriate." Naruto grumbled bitterly.
"Think about this logically Kit, she is Myra. She is the woman you are pining for. She is right in front of you and a good romp through the woods with her may trigger more memories than you care to admit to."
Naruto lightly beat his head against the wall of the shower. This was becoming one of those days when even the cold shower wasn't calming his loins. "I want her to remember because SHE wants to remember, not because I feel like I'm going to explode if I don't..." Naruto couldn't verbalize his thought.
"And you call me the horny demon..." The beast chuckled.
"I'll let you out for a little while if you shut up." Naruto sighed.
A large eyebrow quirked upwards. "You bribing me? What has this world come to?" Kyuubi shook his head. "I'll do one better. If you let me out as a trial for a few days, I promise to stay small and insignificant taking up residency in the Garden. It will give you and I some desperately needed alone time and you will have piece of mind knowing someone is here keeping an eye on things while you're gone."
Naruto paused and seriously thought about it. Being alone in his head was tempting. Maybe he could find his center with out the Kyuubi clogging his thoughts. And that could possibly be a means to see Myra again. But to have someone keeping an eye on the house? That would give him the opportunity to take some of the longer missions that would pay better money. He could feel good about supporting Midoriko and Minato on his own. Not that he needed to. The small fortune Jiraiya had left to Naruto, the decent inheritance from his father, and the very nice nest egg Rai had INSISTED Midoriko take, was more than supporting them. It was a stark contrast to how he had grown up. His son would want for nothing, but Naruto would make Minato earn everything. As much as Naruto liked the house Midoriko had picked, there was a grander house closer to the Hokage building that would be perfect. There was a larger garden area and a separate dojo area to teach his children. Nartuo sighed heavily. "You have two weeks to convince me that I can trust you."
"I will behave, I can't promise anything beyond that."
Naruto stood up and made the seal with his hands. The slight tug on his mind allowed Naruto to breath in a sigh of relief. He was alone with no one else in his head whispering thoughts that were not his. He didn't open his eyes to see the fox that had appeared on the bathroom floor.
"You are beating yourself up over nothing you know. You can not change what is. The more you distance yourself from her, the longer it will take for Myra to come back." The small fox sat on his delicate looking haunches.
Naruto put his head into the cold stream of water as he concentrated on the water. "Go away Kyuubi."
Kyuubi let out a sigh. "I can never go away. I will always be near... Like it or not." The fox tip toed his way out of the bathroom and into the garden. There he would make a place for himself and leave the love sick boy to relieve his stresses in peace.
0 - 0 - 0
The Kyuubi no Kitsune, once the gigantic terror of the elemental countries, had been reduced to a ten pound terror of the Uzumaki Garden. It didn't take long for him to take possession of the area under one of the pagodas near the pond. He had not lived as a small and insignificant creature for more than a millennium. If nothing else, this would give him a chance to reconnect with nature.
The fox lifted his nose from the work he had just accomplished. He had dug the den under the pagoda a little deeper and a little wider. He could feel eyes on him staring at him. Kyuubi caught a glimpse of violet blue eyes that were watching him intently. Little hands pressed against the glass of the window and Minato sat up. Midoriko had walked up behind the boy, picked him up. The Fox started to sweat nervously when he realized that Midoriko had seen him too. Midoriko smiled and turned to walk away.
Even as Midoriko walked away, holding the babe in her arms, Kyuubi could still see the little boy watching him. There was definitely something behind those violet blue eyes that was a little unnerving, even to the fox. The fox made a mental note to visit the boy later when all was quiet in the house. He went back to his digging. There was much clatter in the house. Midoriko had been awake long before the Kyuubi stealthily escaped the bathroom. Naruto had gotten out of the shower in better spirits, but still a bit grumpy as far as the Kyuubi could tell. After all his work was done, the Kyuubi curled up under his pagoda to take a nice nap as a reward for his hard work.
0 - 0 - 0
When Naruto came out of his room, he walked into the kitchen to find Midoriko and Minato getting ready to leave the house. Midoriko was dressed in tailored purple blouse and a fitted black pencil skirt. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a bun. She looked very maternal, yet very business like. Minato seemed happy sitting in the stroller, wearing his little orange shirt, jean overalls with an embroidered spiral on his pocket on the front. He was smiling up at his mother as she tucked Mr. Fluffles in the boy's arms.
Naruto let a smirk grace his lips along with a thought that he needed to suppress quickly. He was very glad the Kyuubi was out of his head for the moment or he would have to hear more of the Fox's complaints about Naruto's state of mind. "Where are you off to this morning?" he asked from the doorway of the kitchen.
Midoriko continued to check over everything that she was taking with her. There was a large bag on the kitchen table, that seemed to be over stuffed with a myriad of baby items. "It's more like good afternoon Naruto-kun."
"I like sleeping late on Saturdays." He pouted.
Midoriko chuckled lightly. "I know and I tried to let you sleep as late as possible because you work so hard during the rest of the week."
Naruto sighed and leaned against to door jam. "So where you off to all dressed up?"
"I have an appointment in the Mission office to negotiating a shinobi contract with some friendly teenagers." She looked up from the overstuffed bag and smiled. "Then I have some shopping with Sakura-chan. What would you like for dinner?"
"I'll go with you." He stated firmly.
Midoriko frowned. "To negotiate the contract or shopping?"
"If you don't want me to go, you could just say so." Naruto shrugged.
Midoriko shook her head. "It isn't that I don't want you to go. I would like you to go." she said meekly. "But..." she looked away and paused. "Sakura-chan wanted to talk to me about something. Besides I didn't think you would want to be stuck with two gossiping women shopping for baby things and Kami knows what else."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't call it stuck so much as I would call it being a mule to carry everything."
Midoriko rolled her eyes and made a final check over her carry-all bag. "I would never treat you like a mule, although you have been acting like an ass lately." Midoriko looked up at Naruto, her eyes wide and her hand went immediately over her mouth.
The blonde narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?" His ire flared.
Tears started to well up behind chocolate orbs. Midoriko knew what it was. It was the voice in the back of her head, trying to be heard. It had been happening more and more often lately. "You need to tell him that he's being a complete prick. If you don't tell him how all his crap is making you feel, it's just going to get worse. He needs to know DANM IT!"
Midoriko lowered her gaze to the ground and picked up the bag. "I... I'm sorry Naruto-kun. Sometimes I don't... I can't control it."
"Can't control what?" He asked concerned.
"I don't know." She lied. "It's like there are two different thoughts going on in my mind at times. I can hear the words come out of my mouth, but they aren't mine. Or I will do something and it will be like I'm in a dream watching myself move. It happened often while I was at the Palace of the Mizukage. I would wake up in his study reading a scroll, or I would be in the library reading a book on something I know nothing about. There were many nights like that. When I woke up I would have no memory of when I got there, how I got there, why I was there, or even how long I had been there. The thoughts were never vocal until recently."
Naruto furrowed his brow in contemplation. This was something he was not aware of. If Midoriko was having black out periods, it could mean something was very wrong with both seals in her mind. Naruto was all too familiar with what two minds in one body could do. He looked up at her with more worry etched on his face. There were several possibilities, and most of them weren't happy ones. There could be something else with Madara's Kill Seal that they didn't know.
No one had come out and told Midoriko what exactly was going on. It always seemed like they treated her like a sick child with a terminal disease. They would talk about her, but never to her. The voice complained loudly from behind the closed doors. Midoriko took a deep breath and the extra noise in her head went away.
Naruto watched as Midoriko sank further into a mood that he didn't like her in. He was worried to say the least but it shouldn't be something Midoriko had to worry about. He had cause this mess, and he was going to find out how to fix it. Naruto needed to ask someone a few questions and a check of the seals didn't sound like such a bad idea. After the silence had permeated the room, Naruto stepped forward and despite his better judgement he took Midoriko in his arms and held her close. "It's gonna be okay." He rubbed circles in her back to sooth her. "Maybe you should have Ba-chan look you over. I'll even go with you." He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply. Naruto learned something from this innocent act of breathing. Midoriko smelled like a sweet summer breeze with a hint of that BLASTED soap that could bring him to his knees.
Midoriko calmed considerably and felt silly for getting upset. Naruto was holding her and all felt right with the world again. She let out a deep sigh and was about to say something when the sound of a toy clattering on the floor caught her attention. Midoriko gently pushed away from the warmth she so desperately needed. "I'll ask Lady Tsunade if she has some time in the next day or two."
"Just let me know when and I will be there." He gave her genuine smile. "Now go give the Runts a job, spend money on useless stuff, and I'm sure you'll feel better."
Naruto bent down to reach for the fallen toy and handed it back to her. She had her head down and he suspected that his concern had made her apprehensive. He handed her the set of plastic keys Minato had dropped and kept his hand on hers. "Don't worry about it Midoriko-chan. I'm sure everything will be fine."
Midoriko smiled up at him and her fears were set aside for the time being. She turned to find Minato sitting in his stroller with a nasty scowl on his face and his arms crossed in front of him. Midoriko shook her head and couldn't help a small chuckle escape her lips. "Such a fuss." She said teasingly to the boy and handed Minato the toy.
Minato snatched the toy away from his mother, keeping his nasty scowl. The ever darkening shade of blue eyes turned to his father. The little boy glared at his father as if to say Make it better. Naruto knew then that his son was smarter than any child his age. And a lot more aware of the world around him. Midoriko stood tall and turned to Naruto. "You never did tell me what you wanted for diner."
Naruto let out a sigh and closed his eyes for a moment. "Surprise me. I'm sure what ever it is will be perfect. Now get going or you will be late, and I will never hear the end of it. I can deal with the yelling from Ba-chan... But I don't want to get yelled at by Sakura."
"See you at diner." Midoriko waved as she exited the house with Minato for the streets beyond.
Naruto waited until he was sure Midoriko wasn't coming back before he rushed out into the garden to hunt down orange fur ball.
0 - 0 - 0
Bright light startled the dozing fox and he nearly scratched out Naruto's eyes before he realized it was just Naruto being over zealous. "I was napping Brat."
"I think I like waking you up when you're in my head... You can't scratch me." Naruto rubbed at his face.
"What do you want?" The fox grumbled and tried to replace the upturned pagoda.
Naruto replaced the pagoda on its pedestal. "Midoriko has had black out periods."
The Fox sat on his haunches, sitting up and crossing his arms with on paw on his chin in contemplation. "That could be bad. The Memory Seal was not designed to be permanent. It was a temporary fix to a temporary problem. I left in certain loop holes to the seal that would allow Myra to break the Seal from the inside. Madara placing the Kill Seal over the Memory Seal prevents Myra from breaking free. I need more information on what she has been doing."
"Sleep walking from what I can tell." Naruto shrugged.
"I need more than that. I need to know any details you can give me. I think it's time to have that chat with the feathers." The Kyuubi nodded. "See if you can talk with Fish Face. He was around her the most as Midoriko. He would be able to give you a better description of Midoriko's movements."
Naruto nodded and stood up. "Oh... One more thing... Until we know what exactly is going on... We need to keep a very close watch on her, just in case this is something worse."
"As much as it pains me. I agree. For all we know Midoriko could be a ticking time bomb. I will keep a watch while you are away. In the meantime, I would be cautious of what you tell Midoriko. I wouldn't want the bomb to drop too soon." The Fox stood up and stretched. There was a puff of smoke and a six foot tall, red haired human standing next to Naruto. "Go talk to Fish Face. I think I can take care of a few birds on my own."
0 - 0 - 0
The Mission Office was bustling with activity. Midoriko had actually gotten there a little earlier because of the excitement. She was still a little upset by the events of earlier in the morning, but breathing in the fresh summer air had helped her calm back to her cheery self. Shizune stepped out of the main room and smiled at Midoriko. "We're ready for you."
Midoriko had taken Minato out of his stroller because the first thing that she expected to happen... Did...
"THERE'S MY GRANDSON!" Tsunade squealed in a sing song voice very unlike a Hokage.
Midoriko relinquished possession of the boy to the over to Lady Tsunade. "Good afternoon, Lady Tsunade."
Tsunade gingerly held on to Minato looking at the boy. "I'm being a grandmother at the moment so no need to be so formal." She made funny faces at the little boy which caused a few giggles and gurgles. "How has he been?"
Midoriko nodded her head side to side. "A little cranky here and there, but like you said, no harm done. He's starting to crawl all over the place. I thought about getting a gate to put up, but I am thinking that wouldn't stop him. I believe he would quickly learn to climb over the gates."
Tsunade looked up at Midoriko. "Naruto was that way. Keeping him contained was next to near impossible."
"How do you know? I thought Naruto was in an orphanage until he started the academy." Midoriko tilted her head in confusion.
The Hokage smirked. "I'm Hokage. I know everything."
Shizune shook her head. "Lady Tsunade has been reading up on some of the old reports of Naruto's infancy to be prepared for anything that should happen."
Tsunade turned to glare at Shizune. "It's more dramatic if they think I know everything."
Shizune took a step back and smiled nervously. Midoriko gazed at the blonde woman with concern. "Is there anything I should be prepared for?"
Tsunade chuckled and walked into the main meeting area. "Trouble... Lots and lots of trouble. And you're right, baby gates are useless. I would invest in a cage." Minato looked up at his surrogate grandmother and giggled. Tsunade sat down at the head of the curved table. "See he agrees with me." Tsunade smiled up at Midoriko. Minato even had a baby grin on his face.
"I appreciate the advice and I will consider it, but I don't think it's necessary. I am sure my Little One will behave." Midoriko's eyes flickered as she looked at her son. Minato immediately grabbed Tsunade's shirt and tried to hide playfully in her bountiful bosoms.
The Hokage looked down at the little boy to be met with a grin much like Naruto's. One than promised mischief and trouble ahead. Tsunade let out a chuckle. "I would still think about it."
Shizune tapped on the door lightly to signal that she was back in the room. "Team Konohamaru is here."
"Good! Send them in. Let's get this over with shall we... I have much too much to do today."
It took a moment for everyone to take their places. Minato stayed on Tsunade's lap and was making a mess of the scrolls in front of her. Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon stood proudly in front of the table, with Ebisu like a stalwart sentinel behind them. When Tsunade announced why everyone was there, she asked Midoriko to explain what she wanted. It was a simple contract. Midoriko would only need them every other day or so. She would provide lunch, dinner, or both if need be. She didn't think it would be longer than a few hours every other day, but there was a possibility for more hours should the opportunity present itself. It didn't take long for Ebisu to adjust his glasses and voice his disapproval. "Babysitting is Genin work."
Midoriko looked at Ebisu completely dejected and hurt that he would refuse such an offer of hospitality and something the teens themselves had offered to do for Midoriko not days earlier. Konohamaru glared at Ebisu for upsetting the now sniffling Midoriko. Even Udon was slightly upset that Ebisu had done something so horrible. Moegi was snickering behind her hand and trying not to laugh. When and if Myra ever snapped out of her amnesia, Moegi thought, I am definitely going to get her to teach me that.
Ebisu nervously stepped back from all the glares aimed in his direction. He straightened his stance. "No disrespect, Ms. Ravenheart, but I still think its Genin work."
Tsunade smirked. "Ebisu, you do realize this is an exclusive contract for your team. They will be adequately compensated." The Hokage bounced Minato on her knee and turned to Midoriko. "You did say you would pay "B" rates, provide meals when necessary, and they would have access to the private library."
Midoriko nodded. "It is what I thought would be fair."
Ebisu narrowed his eyes behind his sun glasses. "What's the catch? Is the child a demon or something?"
Another round of glares were aimed in Ebisu's direction. Konohamaru punched his sensei in the arm. "BAKA!"
Midoriko blinked in confusion. It wasn't the first time someone had used the word "demon" or "demon spawn" when referring to Minato when they didn't think that she was listening. It also wasn't the first time that someone had reprimanded someone else for using the term. The voice in the back of her head raged. Midoriko shrugged it off and smiled with a fire in her eyes as she eyed Ebisu. "Minato can be a bit of a handful at times, but I wouldn't call him a demon."
There was an eerie chill that resonated through the room and everyone looked at Midoriko with a mild amount of shock. The woman in question seemed to blink again as if there had been no change. Tsunade smirked proudly as she placed the giggling infant back in his stroller.
Ebisu swallowed nervously and nodded. "I see." The jonin instructor adjusted his glasses and composed himself. "My team will be happy to accept the contract, provided it doesn't conflict with other missions of greater importance or hinder their training."
Midoriko nodded enthusiastically and bowed. "Thank you, I will need them tomorrow if possible." There was an uneasy silence as Midoriko, Ebisu and the teens signed the contract. Midoriko pushed the stroller out of the room humming a happy tune and Tsunade finally let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding.
Konohamaru walked over to the Blonde Hokage "THAT was Usagi-nechan..."
Tsunade closed her eyes and sighed. "Yes Konohamaru, I believe that was a brief glimpse of Myra getting though to the surface." The wheels started to turn in Tsunade's head. This was good news and something that should be tested again. If only she could get Naruto to see how close Myra was to the surface.