Chapter Twenty Five
A/N: I disabled Anon. Reviews since lately for another story of mine I had been getting some discouraging reviews... for those who don't have an account on this site and liked this story, and some of my others, I apologize. Lately, I had a bit of a writer's block when it came to this chapter and its continuation of the Naruto (and Midna) vs. Orochimaru Experiment #1337 battle; so, hope it's up to expectations. Also interesting tidbit: Cody Rhodes (Runnels) is a fan of the Legend of Zelda, which explains that his in-ring boots have the Triforce printed on 'em.
Yamada Hirozashi sighed.
"Kami this is boring," the man sighed. He then took a drag of his favorite stash, "at least I got my green to light. Hehehe..."
He liked to smoke his drugs. He was a drug addict who sold drugs. He also experiences episodes and hallucinations once and awhile. All of a sudden a giant frog drops down before his small shop set along a dirt worn path, and then hops away. The man looks at the giant toad rapidly disappearing into the distance, and then he looked at his corn pipe. Oh yeah, he'd had the green for more than forty years.
"That's it. I'm getting rid of my stash," he muttered, tossing the pipe away and went to grab his stash of funky green marijuana to flush down the crapper.
=0=0=
Naruto kept mouthing off as he dodged the final shockwave that had been tearing hell through the area, before he managed to claw shot at its head, and rapidly begin to stab it in the head. It shook him off by using its tail as a whip and sent him flying with a haymaker. Glad for the chainmail armor under the clothing protecting him from the worse damage, Naruto kept a firm grip on the sword, as he quickly got back up and circle the creature, keeping out of the range of its breath attacks. Oh, and did I mention that when it swings its rattler tail, it gives off a pulse of energy similar to kinetic missile launchers? Well, it does. And Naruto hated that technique already, having to dodge the blasts of chakra. Though he found out he could easily repel them if he struck the energy strikes. Back flipping away, he lands in a crouch, as Midna floated right next to him. The demonic creature roars at him, making the two grimace at how it stayed alive after all those attacks.
"How the hell do I take this freak down?" Naruto questioned. The creature suddenly roared, and sent a shockwave that shorted out all lights, plunging the chamber into darkness.
Naruto swore.
"Fuck!"
"Naruto!" Midna cried.
He feels the foreign magic swirling around, infiltrating his body. Soon, that telltale of metamorphosis changed him back into his beast form, with Midna now taking her spot on his back. The view is a bit clearer now, and he could now see in the dark once again, and he leapt over a shockwave it sent. The creature snarled, smashing its hands, generating more shockwaves. And Fox Naruto kept jumping over the shockwaves, and dodging its thrown fists and tail strikes. Midna kept a firm hold on the boy's fur coat, while her hair twitches with her own source of magical energy.
"Naruto, when it gets close, I'll strike with my magic, okay?"
"Right," he barked, as the demon then bends down, before going at them with a full-on body charge. Naruto stood his ground, and Midna's hair reacted, grasping the creature. She use her magic, and of course her own strength, grunting as she managed to flip it to one side.
"NOW!"
Naruto charged it, and latched onto its face and began to bite and claw away viciously. It roared, but managed to knock him away. Midna still kept a firm hold on Naruto, as Naruto scrambled back to his four legs, shaking his head briefly. The creature had blood dribbling down from the marks, and Naruto spat out an eyeball be tore out.
"Yuck!"
Midna giggled.
"Link was the same way, but you get used to it, trust me."
Naruto growled jumping as the creature attempted to flatten him yet again.
"Tsuuga (Piercing Fang)!" He had seen Kiba do this one before and mimicked him via mimicry. Midna hugged the blonde fox tight, expelling some of her magic to cloak him, while his chakra portion swirled like a drill. He had zipped through, and surprisingly, pierced through the demon. It gave out a death cry, as a now soaked Midna and Naruto emerged out the back of the creature. Blood, guts, and what other unidentifiable liquids coated them.
"Well, that was interesting," Naruto barked, shaking of most of the slime off him. Midna was disgusted however.
"Ugh, I need a bath and quick," she cursed.
"Let's get out of here, now," he told her.
"For once, I agree with you," she replied, as she formed a portal. Both stepped onto it, and vanished in a swirl of twilight.
=0=0=
"Naruto-kun!"
Hena ran to the boy who opened the door to Liz's place, and threw herself at him, arms wrapped around.
"Hey Hena... sorry if I scared you..."
"You shithead! Don't ever scare me like that again! I thought I lost you!" she shouted, banging her fists against his chest until she simply buried herself into his chest. He hugged her, as much as his injuries would allow.
"Don't worry... I survived... now; think you can help me into Liz's living room...?"
Hena wiped the tears that were fresh in her eyes, and nodded.
"I was worried when you suddenly fell into that hole... I... feared the worse..."
"I'm here now, so you do not have to assume anything," he spoke in a soft caring tone.
She smiled. "Now... why do you smell bad?"
"Took out a monster that exploded its guts on me."
"Naruto! Naruto!"
They looked back, and saw the Toad Sage jumping off one of his unnamed giant toads.
"Hey Pervy-sage," he said, before he started to slump.
"Naruto!"
Jiraiya hoisted him before Hena lost her grip on the tunic-clad blonde.
"Kid's going to be fine, he's just exhausted... well, little lady, who are you?"
"I'm Hena, Naruto's girlfriend," she replied, "Naruto fell down this hole, and I started freaking out. I thought he was going to die..."
"Can we come in?"
"Liz, bring out some drinks, can you?"
"Got it!"
Jiraiya lifted the boy, since he's stronger, and carried him to the couch, stripping off his sword, shield, and utility belt.
"So, you're the Toad Sage, aren't you?" Liz asks, as she walked out with the drinks.
"Yup, Naruto must have told you all about me, huh?"
"Yeah, calling you a womanizing pervert that writes that dime-store smut most men idolize," Liz said with a glare.
"Oh c'mon, I'm not that bad!"
Two glares from the girls told him to shut up... which he did.
=0=0=
"You suck at horseback riding."
"Shut up, you brat," Jiraiya mumbled. He was on Gamarudo, alongside Naruto and his mare, Hena keeping a light embrace around him.
It has been a week, but slow travel, and an ambush with some Nukenin in the mountain valley pass, they finally arrived at Konoha.
"Now, you go and do whatever, take her home and whatnot. I'll talk to Tsunade-hime."
"Sure, sure. Just don't grope her if she's asleep," he snickered, and he trotted away from the gates, heading toward the lake to bring his girlfriend home. As Jiraiya entered the village, bypassing the sleeping guards Biggs and Wedge, Naruto took it to a slow pace towards the lake.
"Hey, Hena, do you want to go fishing or just relax?"
"Just relax. It's been a tough week returning home," she told him, leaning against him.
He smiled. "Of course, Hena-chan."
At the tower...
"And that's what I have been informed with," Jiraiya told Tsunade, nursing a bump on the head when he woke her up from her nap.
Tsunade thought things through. Orochimaru had some sort of hidden base in Kawa, and Naruto discovered it by pure accident falling through a trap hole, and judging by the quick report Jiraiya made during the trek back from Kawa, Naruto showed signs of battle stress, which the old pervert healed up. She immediately thought of which ANBU teams to send to Kawa to investigate the supposedly abandoned base, but first, she needs details from Naruto, considering he's the one who gone through the base.
"Where's the brat anyway?"
"With his girlfriend at the lake," Jiraiya replied.
A poof of smoke emerged, and Gamakichi appeared. The red and orange frog looked at Jiraiya. "Hey Ero-Sennin."
"Stop calling me that!" He yelled. Tsunade gained a smirk because of the nickname.
"Naruto needs some supplies from Tankou's shop. Those Nin-Ombs of his that Tankou supplies."
Jiraiya growled. "He can get them himself! Why should I be errand ninja?"
"Cuz you stole half of his money," Gamakichi replied, "he counted."
"Jiraiya..."
Jiraiya gulped, turning to see Tsunade cracking her knuckles.
=0=0=
"Did you hear something?"
"Nope," Naruto replied. Though, what they "heard" was Jiraiya getting punched by Tsunade, who reclaimed half of Naruto's stolen cash, which she guessed would have been for slutty women and drinks at those brothels... though, some Sake wouldn't hurt.
"So... Liz's place was..."
"Eccentric? Yeah, she likes the sounds of a flowing river."
He chuckled a bit. "Well, whatever helps her sleep at night I suppose...?"
She grinned. "True." She slipped close, and Naruto captured her lips with a kiss.
Just then they heard someone ringing the door bell downstairs. You are probably wondering about that doorbell, right? Well, it costs only a couple ryo to buy a standard electrical doorbell at your local hardware store at the nearest town. Hena got up, as she headed out to answer the door. And Naruto just lies back on the couch with a yawn.
"Hm... I wonder how everyone's been," he whispered, before pulling his hat over his eyes, and closing them, willing himself to sleep...
As Hena climbed the stairs to tell Naruto of visitors, she saw that he was sleeping on the couch, so, she gently close the door and headed back downstairs. Naruto yawned, as his hat slipped off his head while he stretched. Hours had passed, and it's close to six in the morning. The early signs of life were awake, by the chirps of the early morning birds outside.
"Crap..."
He yawned once more, and then opened his eyes. He brought the backs of his hands to rub the sleep from his eyes, focusing on the events that occurred. He then remembered where he was.
"Oh yeah..."
He yawned for good measure, and swung his legs over, sitting upright.
I think I should return to the village...
He found a slip of paper and wrote a quick letter to Hena, before he got prepared, and quietly left the apartment. Making sure the door was locked using the spare key she entrusted him with; he turned around, only to see a woman with a cat mask on, and long purple hair.
"Uzumaki Naruto... you were needed at the village yesterday by the Hokage's order, but I was told by your... girlfriend, you were asleep... please come with me."
"Sure..."
Naruto walked over to Epona, who was awake. The horse snorted quietly, as Naruto boarded the mare. He trots off towards Konoha, and ANBU Neko followed the blonde tunic-wearing swordsman.
=0=0=
Naruto looked out the window, then back towards Tsunade.
"You disappear for quite awhile, disobeyed my orders and left the village to live with another girl you add to that little harem of yours..." She stared at the boy she sought so much as her own son, "And now, you run into an old abandoned laboratory which was, from what you told Jiraiya, crawling with mutated experiments that still lived to this day..."
"Pretty much..."
Though, some things he had left out was Midna keeping the crystal form the Nibi battle, and using its magic to warp Naruto into a liable animal form, a fox. She sighed.
"Naruto, why must you do such dangerous things?"
"Comes with accepting the destiny of a hero long past," he replied, "that, and Midna would not let up until I have saved her from her fate, as I did promise her one time..."
"... Considering what had transpired, you are back on active duty, however... you will also be paid B-Rank payment due to your impromptu mission. But I do expect some sort of report on what went down, because I plan on sending some ANBU to Kawa to investigate these ruins, and destroy it if it proves too dangerous to let alone."
"Sure... Sure... maybe I'll go see my friends..." He kicked up off the couch, and left.
"Why can't things be normal around here?" Tsunade whispered to herself.
It's been a month since the incident in Kawa. Though the laboratory was destroyed for the better good, Naruto had been reinstated as a ninja, though he now displayed Konoha's symbol by equipping the metal plate onto his utility belt of his. Naruto and the girls had made up, and he moved back into his apartment, though he kept his part-time job just over the weekends (unless she had some sort of mission that needed to be done). Hena understood though. She also understood his situation with the whole multiple girlfriend business... well, almost.
This chapter seems a bit short, but... I'm actually getting close to finishing this first part of the plotline. There are about seven chapters left. I apologize for the lack of oomph, but... I had a bit of a block concerning this chapter. I'll make up for it on the next chapter... hm, I need to involve Isaribi in this story somehow; she reminds me of a Zora... concerning her abilities forcibly injected into her.