Chapter 18 Weakness
Everything was quite at the Namikaze den as Sakura lied in bed looking at Naruto's back as he tried to sleep. Maybe it was because of the position they both awoke to in the previous morning or it was the fact that Naruto was confused about the show of affection that Sakura gave him but it was tensed between the two of them. Slowly Sakura got out of the bed and walked out of the room her claw tipped foot clicking once she started walking across the wooden floor of the second floor living area. Slowly she walked up the stairs to the ground floor, like the other rooms it was darkened with just enough light to see the outline of the furniture. Slowly Sakura walked into the kitchen turning on the lights, she closed her eyes for a moment as they adjusted to the sudden increase of light. After getting out a clean glass she opened the fridge and found a picture full of cold water. She poured herself a glass and put it away, she had just put the water back in the refrigerator when a voice spoke up.
"Having trouble sleeping." said a male voice as Sakura turned to see Naruto's father Minato Namikaze sitting at one of the table around the island in the middle of the kitchen. The strangest thing wasn't that he was a blonde demon fox but he sat in the kitchen in his human form with a white T-shirt and a pair of blue sweat pants.
"Yes." answered Sakura "Why are you up?"
"I heard you and I thought it was Seth trying to sneak out to hang out with his friends." answered Minato
"I see." answered Sakura "What is the real reason?"
"I am surprise you knew I was lying." stated Minato "Normally only Kushina knows when I am lying."
"Your right eye ticked a bit." explained Sakura "Naruto does the same thing when he tells a white lie."
"I see." chuckled Minato "I heard you coming up the stairs and I wanted to talk to you without my wife or my son around."
"What do you want to talk about?" asked Sakura as she sat down across the kitchen island from Minato.
"How is my son doing?" asked Minato
"As well as anyone could I guess." said Sakura "He is stressed and I know he has multiple things on his mind."
"Don't you have things on your mind?" asked Minato "Both of you are turning into demons and the threat to the Leaf. Not to mention getting back to the Leaf."
"I have to admit those are on my mind but I know there is nothing I can really do to stop this transformation without access to the transformation agent itself plus medical equipment." said Sakura "As for the Leaf, thanks to Adria they know the Demons are coming so they will be preparing to defend the village. As for getting to the back to the Leaf we will both have to be demons to get close to the portal and that means letting the transformations happen."
"Naruto must know all this." said Minato
"He does but…..there are some other issues that have come up." explained Sakura
"He isn't just thinking about the little check brush you did in the training field." stated Minato "So don't feel that it is your fault."
"How did you know about that?" asked Sakura
"Kushina saw it." explained Minato
"Oh…" said Sakura "Wait what did you mean Naruto's stress isn't my fault. I am the one who is trying to start a relationship with him even as we turn."
"I know that neither Kushina nor I would have gotten though the transformation and the loss of Naruto without each other." said Minato "Being with someone helps ease the pain."
"It must have been rough being here without your son." said Sakura as Minato nodded his head.
"I did things I never thought I would to try to get my son back." answered Minato
"What are you talking about you and Kushina kept trying to escape, what more could you do?" asked Sakura as Minato lowered his head.
"I'll let Naruto explain it to you." said Minato as Sakura raised an eyebrow "Now I have something to ask you."
"What?" asked Sakura
"Why would my son consider himself a demon child?" asked Minato as Sakura's eyes widened.
'When did he say that?" asked Sakura
"When I told him that the transformation agent doesn't cause people to fall in love with another person." said Minato "When I said he should give you and him a chance and he said is was a demon child."
"I see." said Sakura "I thought those wounds had healed but I guess something like that never truly heals."
"What never heals?" asked Minato
"Do you remember your last orders or was your orders really a demon clone?" asked Sakura
"Before I went to seal the Kyuubi I told Sarutobi that the village should see Naruto as a hero." Said Minato
"Well then the clone the demons left reinforced that." stated Sakura "The last orders you gave was for Naruto to be treated as a hero for containing the Kyuubi."
"Sounds like something I would say." said Minato
"Well the villagers didn't follow that." stated Sakura as Minato looked at her "They shunned him at the best, physically at the worst. They ransacked his apartment a few times and until he become a member of team seven he had no real friends. They called him demon and demon child."
"I see." said Minato as he lowered his head even more.
"I must admit I followed what the villagers did and I don't understand how Naruto could forgive me for that, but that is what Naruto is like he forgives." said Sakura as Minato nodded his head. "Those insults always seemed to roll of Naruto's back but I guess insults like that after so many years gets to you."
"I understand why he said that now." said Minato as Sakura looked at him "He said you deserved someone else because he was a demon child."
"How could he say that?" asked Sakura "If anything I am not worthy of him."
"I know Kushina would rather not have you in the house." said Minato as Sakura's eyes widened "But it isn't you it is more of the fact that she wants to be Naruto's mother and doesn't want to see him hurt by you. Personally she likes you but not the idea of you taking her place as the most important vixen in her kit's life."
"I see, I guess most mothers feel that way." said Sakura "I am just worried about my mother."
"I am sure she is fine." said Minato "Well I better go back to bed before Kushina starts sleeping in one of her crazy ways."
"What do you mean?" asked Sakura
"Unless someone is sleeping with her she has a habit to start sleeping in weird positions like with half her body on the floor or something weird like that." laughed Minato as he walked toward his and his wife's room.
Sakura put her glass in the sink and after turning off the lights she moved back downstairs and almost subconsciously she started walking toward Naruto's room. She opened the door to see Naruto lying where he was when she had left, his back to the center of the bed. Judging from the rate of his breathing and how he tensed up when she walked into the room meant he was still awake. Slowly Sakura lied down on the bed before looking at Naruto's back.
"Naruto I know your awake." said Sakura "Can I talk to you….please"
For what seamed like the longest time Naruto didn't move until finally rolled over and faced Sakura.
"Listen Naruto….I want to talk to you about what happened in the training field." Said Sakura
"It was just an accident." answered Naruto "Don't worry I understand."
"No…you don't." said Sakura as she took a deep breath "It was an accident but not in the way you think, the act was an accident but the feelings behind the act aren't."
Naruto's eyes widened as he looked at Sakura.
"What I am trying to say Naruto-kun is I think…." started Sakura as she closed her eyes
"Please don't finish that that sentence Sakura-chan." pleaded Naruto as he looked away.
"Naruto all I want to say is that I love you, Naruto-kun." said Sakura as she placed her hand on Naruto's check.
"No….you love Sasuke." said Naruto
"I had a childhood crush on him nothing more, I love you." said Sakura as Naruto tried to look away "Naruto you don't have to say anything but I needed you to know that I meant it. I know you are stressed about everything and hell I am stressed too you don't need me trying to start a relationship with you."
"Sakura, you deserve someone better than me." said Naruto
"And you deserve someone better than me." added Sakura as she moved just a little bit closer. "Naruto do you want me or not?"
"Yes, but not because you are forced to be with me." answered Naruto as his heart rate picked up.
"Have you ever known anyone to force me to do anything?" asked Sakura
"No." answered Naruto
"And I don't want to force your hand and I know you're probably more stressed then me; you're the next Hokage and suddenly have your family back." said Sakura as the two of them moved even closer
"Actually something else has been weighing on my mind more than that." stated Naruto
"Is it something your dad did." stated Sakura as Naruto looked at her "I ran into him when I was getting a drink. If your blaming him for sealing the Kyuubi he didn't know it was a trick.'
"It isn't that Sakura-chan." said Naruto softly as his eyes began to water.
"Please…tell me Naruto." said Sakura as she whipped away the tears with her fingers.
"To save my mom and sister, my Dad gave up on trying to get me." said Naruto with tears in his eyes.
"Oh Naruto." said Sakura as she pulled Naruto to her placing his head on the soft spot of her neck as Naruto kept crying.
"He abandoned me." cried Naruto as Sakura held him close.
"You said he saved your mom and sister how?" asked Sakura
"He made it back to the Leaf to me." started Naruto in between tears "But they caught him as he knelt by my bed, if he didn't come with them and stop trying to get back they would take Adria from mom."
"Just let it all out Naruto-kun." Said Sakura as she held him close, it was rare for Naruto to show such weakness in fact that only real time Sakura saw Naruto this weak was when Jiriaya died. For a while Naruto just cried into Sakura's chest.
"He left me behind." cried Naruto
"Naruto…." said Sakura softly as she rubbed the back of his head and back just making him feel safe.
"You don't need to worry about this Sakura-chan." said Naruto as he pulled back a little bit from Sakura only to be pulled back.
"Naruto, you can't keep this all to yourself….let me help you." said Sakura
"Thanks Sakura-chan." said Naruto as Sakura smiled.
"Now get some rest Naruto.' added Sakura as she kissed Naruto's forehead.
The sun was coming up over the demon fox village as Sakura opened her eyes to see that Naruto had left her arms. Her eyes were still adjusting from the sleep, but she could make out the outline of Naruto standing by the dresser looking at the mirror. As her eyes adjusted some more she got a clearer look at Naruto, he appeared to be shirtless which caused Sakura to blush but she soon saw why. Naruto's back was now totally covered with deep blonde fur and it had wrapped its way partly around his front.
"Sakura-chan your up." said Naruto as he noticed Sakura sitting up a bit, instantly he moved toward his shirt. He pulled it over his head and almost instantly he starched his back. "Damn this fur is itchy."
"You're telling me." said Sakura as she got out of bed "Apart from your back anything?"
"I am not really." said Naruto "It seems like most of my back is now fox."
"I see." said Sakura "Do you mind if I use your restroom."
"No go right ahead." Answered Naruto as he sat down on the bed, trying not to think about how ichy fur was when it was contained by cloths. He had no real idea how long he sat there when the bathroom door opened and his eyes widened. Standing there was Sakura but it was unlike before she didn't have a shred of clothing on her. His eyes widened as he looked at her, her toes where now claws with her big toe forming a dir claw by her angle and deep black fur went up about half way between her ankles, then came pure pink fur the same shade of as her hair, that ran up her shapely legs with a thin line of snow white fur starting just above her knees and traveling up her inner leg before getting a little thicker around her privates. The White fur then spread out over her stomach before once again thinning as it traveled between her breasts before stopping at the base of neck which was still human with a shapely clump of thicker fur. Pink fur had covered the rest of her skin from the neck down with her arms covered in black fur around the hands and four arms. Her black fur covered ears where now near the top of her head and a single pink tail moved behind her.
"It seems that I am more fox then human now Naruto, I have fur over…." started Sakura
"I can see Sakura-chan." said Naruto as Sakura raised an eyebrow before looking down at herself. Instantly she covered her privates as Naruto looked away.
"Did I just really walk out of the bathroom without putting on any cloths?" thought Sakura
"Yes." Answered Inner Sakura "And the best part is you don't feel naked do you."
"No." admitted Sakura as she moved her hands to her side uncovering herself as Naruto looked at her.
"Sakura-chan aren't you going to put some cloths on?" asked Naruto as he looked at into her eyes trying not to let his eyes go where they wanted to
"No." answered Sakura
Well I hope you liked this chapter, I wanted to show Naruto's weakness and have a talk between Minato and Sakura. Now I would like to thank everyone who reviewed and I ask that you keep on reading. Thanks Wilkins75.
