Vixen
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Oh and if you have any requests for this story, please do feel free to let me know.
Naruko talking to Kyuubi in bold.
Kyuubi talking to Naruko in bold italics.
Chapter Notation: I'm not sure what the Cloud Village looks like. So I got a bit creative. May or may not be cannon.
Chapter 8
Thankfully, the rest of their journey to the Lightning Nation passed without incident. As they walk into the Cloud Village, Sasuke and Naruko couldn't help but look around in awe. This was the furthest that either of them had been away from the Leaf and it must have shown in their faces because Ayaki laughs.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" He inquires as they leave their horses in the stables.
"It sure is! We have to come here more often. Well assuming that we can find a way to avoid anymore Sound Ninjas on the way here, of course!" Naruko says brightly.
Sasuke just shakes his head at his future wife's antics. The woman had a joyously childish way of looking at the world. To her, life seemed to be one grand adventure.
"Yes, that would certainly be a plus. Would the two of you be kind enough to escort me to the Raikage?" He inquires.
"I don't see why not. We're already here." Sasuke says as Naruko nods in agreement.
"Good. The two of you are already working as a unit. That bodes well for your Mating." Kurama says.
"Um yeah! I guess so. He can still be a bastard sometimes, but he's a really good kisser. Oh and he takes being a good ninja, really seriously. So that's always good." Naruko agrees.
Ayaki flashes them a charming smile and the three of them head off. Naruko stretches as she follows the two men. It was late. She was beat and wanted to find a nice bed to curl up in.
Maybe Sasuke would be up for some cuddling. That was always nice. Of course, he was far too proud to admit that he liked cuddling. That didn't matter though. Cuddling was cuddling.
"This place is big." Naruko whispers as they walk inside the Raikage Building.
"Yeah. Most Ninja Villages do like to show off. Then again, so do most places. Whoever is in charge, generally gets the biggest and grandest building." Ayaki says.
Naruko nods as she considers that. That made sense. Well the Leaf had the Hokage Tower and the Hokage Mountain. That was how they showed off their pride and wealth as a village. It was only natural that other villages would do something similar.
"You certainly sound as though you have traveled a lot." Sasuke remarks to their charge.
"Oh yes. I have. I get along with almost everyone really. So it's not uncommon for me to be sent on assignments such as this." The other man replies.
Sasuke nods. It was a smart move. If you needed someone to represent your village, why wouldn't you send someone who got along well with others?
"I can see why. It seems to be something that you're good at." Sasuke says as they walk down the long hallway.
"Thank you. That's very kind of you to say." Ayaki says, beaming at him.
Naruko giggles. It was funny to see the Nobleman look so happy about a simple compliment. Ayaki had likely picked up on the fact that Sasuke wasn't the sort of person who gave them out likely. That and he was just a naturally perky individual.
"You're welcome." The raven haired ninja says simply as he walks side by side with his future wife.
"Another good sign. He is initiating closeness with you. I sincerely do expect that you'll be expecting your first litter, before the end of the year." Kurama says.
"Kurama!" Naruko snaps at him as she follows the two men down the ridiculously long hallway.
Maybe this was some kind of a test. If you could make it down this hallway, that showed that you were really determined to see the Raikage. That you weren't wasting his time.
"The red carpets and tapestries are a nice touch." She mutters.
"Like Ayaki said, it's just them showing off." Sasuke assures Naruko.
The last Uchiha felt a bit uneasy. The display was working. This was another ninja village. A ninja village that was powerful in its own right.
If something went really wrong, this could mean war. He doubted that they would do anything that would merit an actual war, but that didn't completely soothe his anxieties. Sasuke would feel much better, once they were out of there.
"Yeah. I guess so." Naruko says and Sasuke nods in approval as he places his hand along her waist.
Naruko was likely just as unsettled by the situation as he was. She was going to be his wife soon enough. Sasuke figured that he should try to comfort her in a subtle way.
If the Raikage made an issue out of it, well he'd just explain they were engaged. Hopefully, that would be that. Eventually, they stop at one of the many doors and Ayaki opens it for them to enter.
The three of them walk inside. This must be where the Raikage greeted important visitors, Naruko thinks to herself. It was practically like a throne room.
"Lord Raikage, it is an honor to be here. This is Naruko Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. They escorted me from the Leaf Village all the way here." The Nobleman explains, after they enter.
Naruko blinks. There were two men inside. One was wearing the traditional hat and robes of a Kage. The other must have been a Cloud Ninja.
"Ah welcome. That is indeed a long trip. I am A, the Raikage. This is my brother Killer B." He greets them.
Sasuke gives Naruko a look. He really hoped she wasn't going to question their strange names. The last thing they needed was to offend them over something as trivial as that.
Naruko sees the look and tries not to roll her eyes. She wasn't that stupid. The blonde wasn't going to cause a scene over their weird names.
"How dumb does he think, I am?" She demands to Kyuubi.
"You have been known to blow even mild things out of proportion. He was wise to try to signal to you." He replies.
Naruko mentally grumbles. Great. Kurama thought she was some kind of ditz too! Life just wasn't fair sometimes!
"It's a pleasure to meet you both." Sasuke says formally.
"Of course, it is! You fool!" B says with a laugh.
Sasuke blinks. Maybe it was a Cloud Ninja thing. Then again, the Raikage was giving his brother a dirty look. Nevermind. It must have been a Killer B thing to call people fools.
"Forgive, my brother. He has a rather unique way of greeting people. The three of you must be exhausted from your long journey. I will have some of my ninjas show you to your guestrooms." The Raikage says.
"Well we only need two rooms. Naruko and Sasuke are engaged." Aykai says happily.
Sasuke rubs the back of his head sheepishly. He was certain that the Nobleman likely found their relationship extremely romantic. He wondered what the other man would say, if he knew the truth.
Their marriage was arranged. It hadn't been a lovematch. Maybe that didn't matter though. They were getting closer. They could still be happy together.
"Congratulations! Well that explains everything. We were wondering why Minato would send his daughter and an Uchiha on a simple mission like this!" B exclaims.
The Raikage groans. His brother was certainly not a subtle person. Honestly, you would think that a ninja would have more discretion than that.
"Congratulations on your impending marriage. May it be a long and happy one. You shall be taken to two rooms instead of one then. When the morning comes, you may explore the village or be on your way." He states.
"That's really great! Thanks!" Naruko says cheerfully.
He merely nods as some ninjas enter the room. The Raikage gives them their instructions. Afterwards, the ninjas lead Naruko, Sasuke, and Ayaki off.
"Welcome to the Cloud Village." One of them says.
"Thanks!" The busty blonde replies merrily.
Now that the meeting was over and had gone relatively smoothly, Naruko was feeling much better. All they had to do was rest up tonight and then they could leave in the morning. Well maybe in the afternoon. After all, she was rather curious to explore another ninja village!
Meanwhile Orochimaru steps into one of his labs. Thanks to the hair, they had a genetic sample. While a hair was certainly not ideal, it was better than nothing.
"How is my vessel coming along?" The Sannin asks Kabuto.
"Rather well. I've managed to accelerate the growth rate. Unfortunately, there is only so much that I can do. At the moment, the body is around five years of age." The silver haired medic says.
Orochimaru frowns as he considers this. All in all, he knew that it was an impressive medical feat. Actually, it was nothing less than a miracle. Would it be enough though?
He was getting weaker by the day. Orochimaru was going to need a new body relatively soon. Preferably, an Uchiha body. The fact that it would be a clone was irrelevant to him.
"How long do you estimate it will take for the body to reach full maturity?" He inquires.
Kabuto pauses as he considers the question. He certainly didn't want to displease Lord Orochimaru, but he couldn't lie to him either. It was best to just be honest in this case.
"Two, maybe three weeks. I don't want to risk going faster. Something might not develop properly, if accelerate the growth rates further." The other ninja warns him.
Orochimaru sigh. It wouldn't be pleasant, but he could wait that long. He had enough time. This could work.
"Very well. I want continuous reports about the status of the Clone. We can not afford to leave anything to chance." He murmurs.
"Of course, Lord Orochimaru. I will ensure that everything goes smoothly. You have my word on that." Kabuto replies.
The Legendary Sannin nods. Normally, that would be enough. Kabuto was one of his most faithful and intelligent followers. Unfortunately, he was simply running out of time.
Unlocking the secrets of immortality was proving to be a rather difficult and risky task. Of course, that was only to be expected. If it was easy, everyone would have done it.
"Excellent. Do not fail me, Kabuto." Orochimaru says as he heads off.
For now, he was still able to walk. Orochimaru knew that wouldn't last long though. He was running out of time and quickly.
As he walks around the village, he surveys all that he has done. The Sannin ruled the Sound Village. One day, perhaps he would rule all Five Great Nations.
"The Ninja World would be better off, if I were to rule. The Daimyos are petty and care little for our kind." He mutters to himself.
The Great Ninja Wars would have been stopped much sooner, if the Daimyos were paying attention. So much bloodshed and for nothing. Oh Orochimaru was far from a bleeding heart. He was no stranger to death and gore, but he didn't do it needlessly.
There was always a purpose behind his bloodlust. It was never out of just greed. In that manner, he thought himself much more noble than the Daimyos.
"It won't be long now." He whispers as he looks up towards the sky.
Orochimaru was sure that he was closer than ever to his goal. Soon, he would become immortal. After that, things would get better for everyone.
"The Leaf just never truly understood that scientific discovery always comes at a price." He says.
That was why he had been driven away from his home village. The Leaf had been horrified by some of the things in his labs. True, he had kidnapped some ninjas and experimented on them. It wasn't as though he enjoyed doing so though.
Such unpleasant actions were necessary. How else was he supposed to achieve his goal? Guinea pigs would only go so far. No. He needed human test subjects.
"One day, they'll understand." The Sannin says to himself.
He would make them understand. It was unfortunate that he needed human test subjects, but necessary. The Leaf would forgive him, once they knew what his experiments had achieved. He was sure of it.
Back in the Leaf Village, Kushina and Mikoto where having lunch. The two of them had much to discuss. After all, their children were getting married.
"I think that Fugaku may be up to something." Mikoto muses as she sips her tea.
"What makes you think that?" Her friend replies curiously.
Fugaku didn't strike her as a particularly sneaky individual. If it wasn't for the sake of a mission, he tended to be rather frank. Sometimes the phrase brutally honest was an accurate description of his personality. So why would Mikoto suspect that her husband was up to something?
"He's been a bit jumpy lately. Itachi is smirking at him occasionally. I don't think that it is anything malicious, but I do believe it is at the very least mischievous.
"It likely has something to do with the wedding then." Kushina offers.
"That's exactly what I was thinking. I'll get to the bottom of this. One way or another, I will find out what he's up to. I can assure you off that." The dark haired beauty says with a giggle.
Kushina laughs. She almost pitied Fugaku Uchiha. People had a habit of underestimating Mikoto because she had become a housewife, after marrying Fugaku. She knew better though.
The Intelligence Unit had nothing on this woman. Mikoto Uchiha had a way of finding out all your secrets. It was a big scary really.
"Well I'm sure that you'll find out what he's up to. Would you like my help?" She inquires.
"I'd love your help. If Fugaku is plotting something, he might have told Minato." The Uchiha woman says.
Kushina smirks. Oh this was going to be fun. Their husbands were very foolish, if they actually thought that they weren't going to figure out what they were planning.
"I'll see what I can do. He's normally far more talkative, after a few bowls of ramen." She says.
"An excellent idea. I also have ways of making my own husband talk." MIkoto says with a wink.
The red head shakes her head in amusement. She wasn't entirely certain what these ways consisted of. She knew one thing though. Fugaku didn't stand a chance against he determined female Uchiha.
"Alright. We'll get to the bottom of this. The boys really should know better by now than to try to keep things hidden from us." She scoffs and Mikoto nods in agreement.
Back in the Cloud Village, Sasuke and Naruko were now in their room. Sasuke smiles as he watches Naruko jumping up and down on the bed. Apparently, it was really bouncy or something.
"Awe come on, bastard! This is fun!" She says as she continues jumping up and down excitedly.
"Naruko, I don't really jump on the bed. If you want to bounce around on the bed though, there are other ways to do that." Sasuke replies with a smirk.
"Did Sasuke really just say that?!" Naruko exclaims.
"It seems that your Mate is taking some initiative. It's about time. One of you has to." Kurama says.
Naruko sputters in outrage and almost falls off the bed. Thankfully, Sasuke was fast. He flits over and catches his future wife in his arms.
"You are SUCH a pervert!" She grumbles.
"What? No thank you? I just saved you from falling off the bed." Sasuke asks dryly.
"You're right. You did catch me, but you're the reason that I almost fell off the bed in the first place!" The busty blonde yells at him.
Sasuke looks down at Naruko in disbelief. He still didn't have the faintest idea how it was possible for someone to have that much energy. What the Hell was in that ramen?
"Naruko, doesn't it ever get exhausting? You get so excited over everything." Sasuke asks.
"What? No. I'm not tired." She replies in a confused fashion and Sasuke gently sets her on the bed.
"You're the most energetic person that I have ever met. Well besides Lee and Guy. They're just creepy though." Sasuke says as he kisses her forehead.
Naruko tilts her head to the side as she considers Sasuke's words. She wasn't entirely sure if he was complimenting her, insulting her, or just making an observation. With the young Uchiha, it could be hard to tell sometimes.
That was very frustrating. She came from a family that wore their hearts on their sleeves. Apparently, Uchihas were more cryptic. That or it was just a Sasuke thing.
"Well yeah Bushy Brows and Bushy Brow Sensei are really energetic. Is that a bad thing though? Would you prefer me to be lazy, like Shikamaru?" The young ninja replies.
"No. I prefer you to be you. I guess we'll just have to find a way to put all that energy to good use." Sasuke says as he lays down on the bed next to her and pulls her closer to him.
Naruko squeaks! She couldn't believe that he was talking to her like that! Then again, they were engaged. Maybe she should have expected it.
"You're worse than Pervy Sage!" She says and Sasuke shakes his head.
"Not really. Jirayia is interested in any attractive woman. You're going to be my wife. So you're the only one that I talk to this way." He tells her.
Well that was a good point. It made her happy to hear that. At least she wouldn't have to worry about waitresses and other women in the future.
Sasuke might be a cryptic bastard, but he was a faithful one. That was something. Certainly, there were many women who wished that they could say the same about their significant other.
"Good! It better stay that way. I am not putting up with more waitresses hitting on you!" She grumbles.
Sasuke shakes his head in amusement and kisses her. Apparently, Naruko was always going to be that way. He still didn't understand how it was possible for someone to have that much energy.
It didn't really matter though. It was cute when she got jealous and it had been awhile since he had kissed her. Kissing was nice. That had to be a good sign for their marriage. Physical compatibility was very important.
"I mean it." She murmurs between kisses.
"I know you do. If some guy flirts with you, it's not going to end well for him. Just so you know." He answers says, before returning to kissing her.
Naruko beams. He had said it once before, but it was nice to hear it again. Sasuke did care about her. Well at least he cared enough to get jealous.
With that in mind, she pins him underneath her and continues kissing him. They still had to kiss and make up for the "pillow incident." They had just been so busy with the Sound Ninja attack and getting Ayaki to the Cloud Village, that they hadn't had time to properly kiss and make up.
"Well perhaps you aren't completely clueless, after all." Kurama says.
"SHUT UP!" Naruko breaks the kiss long enough to scream at the fox.
Sasuke blinks. One minute, they had been making out and the next she was screaming at him to shut up. That didn't make any sense.
"Naruko?" He asks uncertainly at her suddenly mood swing.
"Oh! Not you! I was talking to Kurama." She mumbles.
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. It looked like that demon was going to be annoying. He activates his Sharingan and goes inside Naruko's head.
"So this is the Nine Tails." He muses as he walks up to the cage that housed Kyuubi.
"Sasuke! How'd you get inside my head?!" Naruko demands in shock.
"The Sharingan." He says simply and proceeds to dispel Kurama.
Naruko's eyes widen in horror! Had Sasuke just killed Kurama?! Sure, he was being annoying. That didn't meant that she wanted him dead though!
"Did you kill him?!" She screams in terror.
"No. I just dispersed him. He'll come back, but you won't have to deal with his commentary for awhile." Sasuke tells her.
The blond blinks as she absorbs that information. Oh. Well that was convenient.
"Good to know." She says with a smile and Sasuke nods in agreement.
With that being said, the two of them left Naruko's head. The blonde squirms a bit when she realizes that she was still on top of Sasuke. Maybe she had gotten a little carried away there.
"Oh now, you're shy?" Sasuke asks as he caresses her cheek.
"Well maybe a little. I mean did kinda just jump you." The Leaf Ninja mumbles in embarrassment.
"Naruko, you can jump me any time that you want." Sasuke says.
That's when the door opens. It was one of the Cloud Ninjas. The Cloud Ninja's eyes widen at what he saw.
Naruko was straddling Sasuke's waist. The Uchiha was also caressing her cheek. It didn't take a genius to realize what was going on.
"I'm so sorry! Lord Raikage just asked me to go and see, if the two of you needed anything. I should have knocked for. Again, my deepest apologies. I didn't mean to interrupt your private moment!" He says in rush.
"It's fine. You didn't know. Though you really should knock next time." Sasuke says with a sigh and Naruko blushes bright red as the other ninja darts off.
"That was embarrassing." She growls in annoyance.
Sasuke couldn't help but agree. Unfortunately, he doubted that was going to be the last time that someone walked in on them. Things were going to get really annoying, once they were back in the Leaf.
It was just a side effect of coming from a large Clan, really. Privacy was an extremely rare luxury. Oh well. They would just have to find a way to deal with it.