Primal
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I decided to update this one earlier than I originally expected because of all the kind responses. Oh and I do try to incorporate reader requests into my story when possible. So Hiraishin Request has been granted. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter Notation: As far as character abilities go, some will be cannon and some won't. I do believe that AUs provide a degree of flexibility for character abilities, but I will strive to make the various power levels believable. The timeline on Naruto's relationship with Kurama has also been moved up.
Chapter 3
A few days later, Suki tenses. She could feel it. Naruto's chakra. She wasn't naturally a Sensor, but he was close enough that she could sense him. Suki could sense him and his friends. Damn it.
"Can Orochimaru be moved?" Suki asks Kabuto.
"It'd be risky. His physical condition is deteriorating rapidly. Even walking is becoming quite the struggle. Why do you ask?" Kabuto replies.
Damn it. As much as she would love to see Orochimaru's death, she still had a lot that she could learn from him. She needed to know everything he did and more, if she was going to defeat Itachi. That meant that he had to be kept alive.
"We've been staying here for awhile. Normally, we change location more often to prevent detection. That's why I asked. I want to know that we can evacuate quickly in the worst case scenario." She replies.
"Very well. In that event, I would hide him or use Body Flicker Technique to transport him. You don't have to worry about that much. Though I'm certain Lord Orochimaru will be touched by your concern." Kabuto informs her and Suki nods as she heads off.
Damn it. Naruto was coming and he had brought a team. She wasn't entirely certain how many he had brought with him, but it was bigger than the usual squad. It wouldn't be enough though.
"There is no way that this will be anything other than a suicide mission, if I don't try to knock some sense into him." She mutters as she cautiously begins making her way towards where the chakra signatures were the strongest.
Meanwhile with the Retrieval Team, Shikamaru groans. He could only hope that somehow Neji's plan would work. It was a good plan in theory, but they were still "attacking" a village filled with criminals. That was never a smart move.
"Everyone, lower your chakra as much as you can. We don't want them to know that we are coming. Ino find your Sound Villager. We'll watch your body while you lure away Suki." He says.
There were murmurs of agreement and confirmation. The cloud lover was relieved when he felt them lower their chakra levels drastically. Now, he was confident no one would sense them unless they were really trying. It would take a skilled Sensor to notice them and find their location.
That's when Ino made her move. She cautiously enters the Sound Village. The blonde felt like she was entering the lion's den. Well more specifically, she was entering a den of vipers. Her heart was pounding with every step.
"You there! Who are you?!" A Sound Villager demands.
"Sorry about this." The Leaf woman says as she performs the technique that would allow her to take over their body.
The blonde's body slumps and Kiba immediately rushes over to catch her. Damn. It was a powerful and useful technique, but it came at a cost. Her body was defenseless while mind jumped or whatever Ino called it.
She quickly sets about locating Suki. She knew that she didn't have much time. Ino had to get the other woman back to her friends before she couldn't hold the Jutsu anymore.
"Quick! Lord Orochimaru wants to see you now!" She tells Suki.
The blonde couldn't help but notice the wariness and skepticism in the other woman's eyes. Good. That was a good sign. Suki didn't really want to be here.
"Alright." She says simply as she walks with Ino.
When Suki saw that she was being lead outside the gates of the village, her eyes narrow. Orochimaru was practically bedridden. He wouldn't be outside the village.
Trap. This was a trap. She bites her lower lip, but Suki decides to go with it. For the moment, she had no other choice. If she resisted, the other Sound Villagers would notice if a battle broke out. That would spell the end for the Retrieval Squad.
"That was surprisingly clever and subtle. Taking over a Sound Villager's body to get me to come with you was a smart move. Whose idea was it? I know it wasn't Naruto's. That's far too subtle." She says as her eyes narrow accusingly and her Sharingan activates.
"It was mine, though that is besides the point." Neji says.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Shikamaru says as he attacks Suki with shadows.
Suki barely manages to dodge and glares at him. Damn it. Naruto by himself would have been a challenge. These weren't grunts that Orochimaru had hired for her training purposes. Every one of the Rookies had at least one useful ability. If they didn't, they wouldn't have been assigned to this mission.
She was outnumbered. There was still a chance that she could win, but not without using enough chakra to alert the other Sound Villagers that something was going on. If that happened, they were all done for.
"Shikamaru, I suggest that you don't try that again. Right now, you're all just annoying, but I don't want to kill you. If you leave now, that will be the end of that." She says.
While Shikamaru was "attacking" Suki, Naruto places a seal by the entrance of the Sound Village. It was part of the Flying Thunder God Technique. Thankfully, Pervy Sage had taught him how to do it.
"I need something else! The Sound Villagers are constantly on the move. If we can figure out where all their hideouts are and get to them quickly, maybe then we can save her." Naruto recalled saying desperately to Jirayia.
"Well this isn't something that I would teach anyone. It can require a massive amount of chakra, depending on how far away you are going. There is the Flying Thunder God Technique. I assume that you are familiar with the Body Flicker Technique?" The white haired ninja began.
Naruto nodded. Yeah. He knew about that one. He'd seen Kakashi and Suki do it before. He hadn't really tried it much himself, but it looked easy enough to do.
"Yeah. I know about the Body Flicker Technique. What's that got to do with anything though? You can only go so far with it." He asked.
"The Flying Thunder God Technique is essentially the Body Flicker Technique with more power behind it. You make a Seal and can transport yourself to that location, any time you want. The Seal never goes away. There is a catch though. The further away your target is, the more chakra you need. For someone with your chakra reserves, that shouldn't be an issue though." He explained simply.
"That sounds awesome!" Naruto exclaimed and Jirayia nodded.
It took awhile to properly teach Naruto to perform the technique. He had the chakra. He had that in spades. It was getting him to focus long enough to learn how to make the Seal properly that was the issue.
After many attempts, the blonde finally managed it. He grinned to himself. This was going to be a useful new trick! The Pervy Sage was good for something other than spying on women's bathhouses after all!
"Suki, come with us. Th-is way no one has to get hurt! Do you really think that you can beat all of us? The other Sound Villagers will hear a fight. It'll be a war." Hinata manages to ask.
Suki tilts her head to the side. She was actually rather impressed with Hinata. That was the least she had heard the other woman stutter since well ever. Maybe the Hyuga Princess was finally gaining some confidence. Unfortunately for her, things weren't that simple.
"All of you should just leave now." Suki says.
"You can't expect me to just let you stay with that creep! He's going to kill you, Suki!" Naruto growls at her.
"I'm not asking for your permission, but I guess this is between you and me!" Suki says as she rushes at the blonde and grabs onto him, performing the Body Flicker technique and teleporting them a short distance away from the Sound Village.
It wasn't too far, but it was far enough. Suki was certain that no one inside Orochimaru's village would be able to sense them from here. Naruto was apparently going to be stupid. She didn't have any choice, but to get him out of there.
"I don't know why you have to be so stubborn! Do you seriously want to die?!" He snarls at her.
Suki felt herself shiver. She had never actually been afraid of Naruto before. That sound was a different matter though. That sounded far more animal than man.
"I don't want to die. I'm just using Orochimaru." She tells him as she unsheathes her sword.
She was going to have to hurt him. Suki would have to hurt him enough that he wouldn't be able to follow her right away. One of his teammates would surely find him.
The trick was finding a way to hurt him badly enough that the blonde wouldn't be able to find her, but not fatally. She had to strike the right balance.
"That's funny. It looks to me like it's the other way around!" Naruto snaps at her.
Sakura was a medic now. She had read about that in the Bingo Book. Her former teammate could patch Naruto up. Suki knew that she could.
"Well maybe you need your eyes checked. Naruto, I don't have time to play with you. Go home!" She thunders at him.
That was the wrong thing to say. That was almost exactly what she had said to him in Naruto's dream. Of course, Suki didn't know that. That was why she was completely unprepared for Naruto's fury.
"Too bad! You're coming home! I don't care if I have to bring you back limping. I'm not going to let that freak touch you!" The Jinchuuriki screams at her as he lunges at Suki so quickly that he became almost a blur.
He was now surrounded by a malicious chakra. The Nine Tail's Chakra. Suki recognized it instantly. That kind of chakra definitely wasn't Naruto's and she had felt it in the past.
"Why are you so obsessed with me?!" She demands once her former teammate pins her to the ground.
He was like a mountain. No matter how hard she kicked or punched, Naruto wouldn't get off her. When did he become this strong?!
Suki knew that Naruto was now bigger than her. In reality, he had probably always had a slight edge in physical strength. She had more than compensated for that with her speed though and her better chakra control. Now, she wasn't so sure that was the case.
"Because you're my friend and I'm not going to stay in the Leaf and wait for you to return in a casket!" He tells her.
His eyes were inhuman. Gone were the beautiful blue, kind eyes that she associated with him. The adorable whisker like markings on his cheeks were now more jagged and almost feral in nature. His teeth were now more like fangs. Clearly, something was going on with the Nine Tails. Suki just didn't know what.
"Naruto, get the fuck off me." She hisses at him.
"No! I'm taking you back. We can find a way to deal with Itachi together. You don't need to be here!" The other ninja seethes at her.
Suki knew that she couldn't get Naruto off of her through the usual methods. She was going to have to fight dirty. With that in mind, the last Uchiha radiates Chidori all along her body at a high voltage. She turned it up to the max.
Her theory was that Nine Tail's chakra would likely provide him some protection, but hopefully he'd be shocked enough to let her go. It was the best chance that she had at the moment.
"AHHH!" Naruto howls in pain as he jumps off her.
Had she actually attacked him at full capacity? Naruto wasn't really sure how high of a voltage she could produce with the Chidori. He knew one thing though. Without Kurama, he probably would have knocked unconscious or possibly even killed by that move.
"I told you to get off of me. You should have listened." Suki warns him as she eyes him warily.
She hated that it had come to this. Why couldn't he just listen? Why was it so hard for Naruto to understand that she needed to kill Itachi and that this was the best way to do that?
"And you should've listened to me!" He says as he slams her to the ground once more.
The two of them were so furious with each other, that neither of them thought to use actual chakra attacks. This was far more primal than that. A flurry of punches, kicks, and even bites.
They rolled around and around on the ground. Suki could feel dirt and stones cover her clothes and skin. Sometimes the stones even cut. She didn't care though. One way or another, she was going to make Naruto understand. Suki was going to save his life.
"Take your friends and go! I'm not going back until Itachi's buried!" She snarls at him.
That did it. Naruto wasn't really sure why, but that snarl really infuriated him on some level. He goes to bite her neck, just like in the dream.
His teeth bite down and Suki tries to pull away from him. That's when the other members of the Retrieval Team showed up. Suki Flickers off. Naruto could taste some of her blood in his mouth.
"Naruto!" Lee calls out as he rushes over to help his friend.
"Are you alright?!" Sakura asks desperately as she runs over to her friend.
"Yeah. I think so. We tore into each other pretty good, but I don't think anything's actually broken." Naruto says as the reddish orange chakra around him begins to recede and his facial features return to normal.
"We have to get out of here. Suki likely went to warn the other villagers about our presence." Shino says.
Naruto slams his fist into a tree, shattering it. He couldn't believe it. She had gotten away again! The others weren't going to want to fight an entire village. He wasn't going to let Orochimaru keep her, but they likely didn't want to go on a suicide mission. That's what they would think attacking the Sound was. A suicide mission.
"Fine. Let's go. At least now, we know that she's still alive. We can come back later." He says.
"I'm sorry, Naruto." Sakura whispers as she places her hand on his shoulder.
"I know. We'll find a way to get her back though! I know we will!" He says brightly.
It was a forced cheerfulness. Naruto just hoped that the others wouldn't notice that. Thankfully, they seemed more concerned about getting out of there before Suki could alert the other Sound Villagers than his faked grin.
"The power of youth will never be defeated! This is only temporary!" Lee assures him as they all race off.
A short while later, Suki sighs in the Sound as she heads back into her room. She knew that Naruto had bitten her and that he had drawn blood. The raven haired woman just had to know the extent of the injury and thus she was looking in a mirror when Kabuto came in.
"I suppose now I know why you wanted to know about the evacuation plans so badly. Why didn't you tell us that the Leaf had sent a team? I can see their tracks. You must have fought them off somehow. Is that why you are bleeding?" He demands.
"It's just a scratch. I fought them off. They aren't going to be coming back." Suki tells him.
Kabuto sighs. Honestly, he could understand why Orochimaru wanted her to be his vessel. The Sharingan was certainly an attractive bloodline, but this woman was impossible. She was ridiculously talented as a ninja, but she was also stubborn and completely untrustworthy.
"Let me see that scratch. An infection can turn even a minor injury into a life threatening one." The silver haired medic reminds her and Suki nods in agreement.
She hesitates for a moment, but walks over to Kabuto. She didn't trust him, but the Uchiha knew that he would never knowingly attack her. Orochimaru wanted her body too much for that to a possibility.
"He bit you?!" Kabuto asks in disbelief as he examines her neck.
"I don't know why you sound so surprised. Orochimaru bit me." She says with a shrug.
"That was different. He was placing a curse mark on you. This is something else entirely. You're fortunate that it wasn't a successful Marking." He informs her.
Suki raises an eyebrow. It wasn't a successful Marking? What did Kabuto mean by that? What was a Marking?
"Stop beating around the bush. It's annoying. What's a Marking and how do you know that it wasn't successful?" She demands.
"Jinchuuriki are different than most people when it comes to intimacy. Sometimes, the demon's animalistic instincts can takeover. If the host has feelings for someone, they might Mark them. A Mark is a bite they place on their intended's neck and infuse with chakra. It becomes a permanent mark. A symbol of their "love." Along with the Mark comes some advantages and disadvantages." He begins warily.
Suki blinks. If she understood Kabuto correctly, Naruto had almost given her the demonic version of a wedding ring. He might have done so unconsciously to boot.
"So you're saying that it's like a wedding ring, demon style?" She whispers.
"Essentially. It's far more than that though. It creates a mental link between the "Mates." The Mates will be able to sense each other, regardless of distance and if they concentrate, feel what the other feels. It also grants them the ability to share chakra. Unfortunately, it also links their life force. If one dies, it's likely the other will. If the second Mate somehow survives, they tend to go insane." Kabuto warns her.
Suki blinks. Most of that sounded good. She could certainly live without the insanity or I love you to death part though.
"Is he aware of what he tried to do to me?" Suki asks.
"That's less certain. Sometimes, it happens instinctively. Other times, it's a conscious decision." The silver haired medic explains.
The last Uchiha smiles. Whether it was consciously or unconsciously, Naruto returned her feelings. Well on some level he did, anyway.
That's when she frowns. She couldn't let him Mark her though. At least not until she knew that he knew why he wanted to do it AND she killed Itachi. If something went wrong during her battle with Itachi, she wasn't going to let Naruto go down with her or lead him down the path of madness.
"You're right. I got off rather lucky." She says.
"I would avoid Naruto to the best of your abilities. As much as I am loathed to move Orochimaru in his condition, I'm afraid that we have no choice. The Leaf is going to strike again and this time, they will send out a bigger force." He says with a heavy sigh.
"Alright. I'll start packing." She says and Kabuto nods his head in agreement as he heads off.
Presumably, he was going to warn Orochimaru. Suki didn't want the snake to know about the Marking thing, but she knew that his faithful lapdog was going to tell him one way or another.
Sadly, she needed Kabuto's vast medical knowledge to take down Itachi. She couldn't just kill him. It was annoying really.
Meanwhile Kabuto arrives in Orochimaru's room. He had to inform the Sannin about everything. He was loathed to move his Lord when he was in such a weakened state, but there was no other choice.
"Lord Orochimaru, we must go. The Leaf sent a team to retrieve Suki. They know that we are here. Suki managed to change them off. I also have rather interesting news in regards to the Nine Tails." Kabuto says.
Orochimaru glances at Kabuto. Damn it. He certainly didn't want to be moved. There wasn't much time before he would have to perform the transfer. He was already so weak.
"What did you find out about the Nine Tails?" He asks.
"He tried to Mark Suki. It's unclear if that was a conscious or unconscious choice though." Kabuto replies.
Orochimaru raises an eyebrow. Hmm. Now that was an unexpected development. It was just all the more reason to capture Naruto and bring him here though.
"Excellent. Not only will we be able to study a Tailed Beast, but we'll be able to study a full Mating." He observes with a smirk.
"My thoughts, exactly." The silver haired medic agrees.
Elsewhere the Retrieval Team had made camp for the night. Naruto volunteered to take the first watch and waits for everyone to fall asleep. He quickly makes a clone and uses the Flying Thunder God Technique.
He grins when he arrived back just outside the entrance of the Sound Village. He knew that this technique would come in handy one day. Now, he just had to find Suki.
If he could grab her, he could teleport them back to the Leaf. He had a Seal there that would take them to his apartment. It would take a lot of chakra to pull off, but he knew that he could manage.
"This place is way creepy." He mutters under his breath as he tries to sense Suki's chakra signature.
Fortunately, it was hard to figure out which building was the main one. Orochimaru was too much of an egomanic not to make his power known. Naruto heads inside.
"She has to be inside somewhere. I know it." The blonde says as he warily enters the building.
He felt like he was in the middle of some horror movie. Naruto expected a monster to jump out at him any time. That didn't matter though. The only thing that really mattered was getting his friend out of here as fast as possible.
That's when Suki stiffens. She felt Naruto's chakra nearby. She immediately heads towards it.
"Naruto, do you have a death wish?!" She demands as she pushes him against the wall.
"Not really, but apparently you do. Let's get you out of here." He says.
"Oh I don't think any of that will be necessary. Naruto, Orochimaru has an offer that he would like to make you. I think that you'll both find this compromise agreeable." Kabuto says as he walks over to them.
He heard the sounds of a fight in the hallway. Naturally, he left to see what was going on. Imagine his surprise, when he discovered Naruto had just willingly right into their hands.
"A compromise?!" Naruto asks in disbelief.
"Naruto, get out of here now. Don't listen to him!" Suki tells him.
She felt her blood run cold in terror. Suki had no idea if Naruto really knew about Marking, but she knew what Kabuto did. She knew exactly what he was up to and she wasn't going to let it happen. One way or another, she had to get Naruto out of the Sound. She just wasn't exactly sure how she was going to do that yet.