Primal
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Naruto talking to Kyuubi in bold.
Kyuubi talking to Naruto in bold italics.
Chapter 8
A few hours later, Naruto was in Suki's house. More specifically, he was in her living room and he was watching her sleep. That and he was laying next to her. Did Naruto mention that she was definitely a cuddler?
"Who knew that she liked cuddling this much?" Naruto muses as he wraps his arms around her more tightly.
"You're newly Mated. It's only natural that she'd want to be close to you." Kurama reasons.
"Yeah. Mated. Married. I can't believe it. I wonder how Kakashi Sensei and Sakura are going to take this? Do you think Suki will want a wedding? I mean she doesn't seem like the type to care much about dressing up and stuff, but it'd make it more official?" The blonde asks.
Kurama shakes his head in amusement. He doubted an official ceremony was on the Uchiha's mind at the moment. She was obsessed with revenge. Wedding kimonos and cakes would apparently have to wait.
"She might have some interest in it. It wouldn't be for awhile though. She's quite the determined huntress." The Nine Tails replies.
Naruto frowns. Kurama was right about that. Suki was a huntress and her prey was Itachi Uchiha.
He didn't know much about Itachi. The blonde just knew that he was a powerful ninja. He had to be. How else could he take out an entire Clan without any help? Suki was throwing herself (and by extension him) into a dangerous situation by pursuing him.
"You're crazy. You know that, right?" Naruto whispers to the sleeping Uchiha.
She looked so innocent and relaxed at the moment. Suki was actually smiling in her sleep. In a way, it was hard to believe that this was the same person who he had grown up with.
"I'm not the crazy one. You are." Suki murmurs as her eyes slowly open.
"Well yeah. I guess I must be a little crazy. I Mated you. You alright? Kurama said that you would fall asleep afterwards, but not what would happen after that." Naruto says.
Suki stretches and pauses as she considers the answer to that question. She could feel Naruto's chakra inside her. It was like a slow caress. For some reason, it soothed her. It felt almost like her chakra was being purified in some strange way.
"Yeah. You're crazy for Mating me. I'm not going to argue there. I feel good though. Really good." Suki sighs in contentment.
"Good. Don't do anything stupid like running off again. I'll know. At least, I think that I'll know. The Mating Bond is supposed to be really strong." Naruto warns her.
The Mating Bond is supposed to be really strong, those words reminded Suki of what Kabuto said. She should be able to feel what Naruto did, share chakra, and he'd be able to sense her. The distance supposedly didn't matter.
Suki concentrates and tries to feel what Naruto was. That's when she felt another presence in her mind. The best way to describe it would be a ball of light. It was a ball of light with feelings though.
"You think that I'm…cute when I'm sleeping?" She asks incredulously.
It was hard to explain exactly. When she "touched" the light, she could sense what it was feeling. There were no words, but somehow she just knew what Naruto was feeling.
"Well yeah, especially when you cuddle up to me like a kitten or something." Naruto says.
Suki feels herself twitch. A kitten?! Did that loser really just compare her to a kitten?! Oh and she so did NOT cuddle.
"Did you really just compare me to a kitten?" The youngest Uchiha demands.
"Yeah. It's accurate. I mean you definitely act like a cat. You're really fast, strong, graceful, and smart. That and you are kinda stuck up like a cat. Definitely a loner. You like to scratch people, but you can be really lovable when you want to be. You were curled up all cutely against me and cuddling. So yeah. You're like a cat." He says proudly.
Suki's pride couldn't take it. While she couldn't argue with the accuracy of the description, it was an insult her pride. She was a ninja. Suki Uchiha wasn't some furry domesticated animal that was usually kept as a pet!
Suki really only had one recourse to avenge her badly damaged pride. She lunges at Naruto and pins him underneath her. She was so not a kitten!
"Whoa! Whoa! You can't be that mad at being called a kitten. There are worse things to be compared to!" He protests and then blinks when he realizes Suki was on top of him.
Nevermind. He was good with this. Naruto liked how soft and warm she was. She might look like she wanted to kill him, but this was nice. He could work with this.
"Naruto, I am a ninja! Ninjas are nothing like cute, furry animals!" She growls at him.
"Well what if I said that you were like a ninja cat?" He asks.
Suki pauses as she considers that suggestion. Well it was as little better. Her pride could live with that.
"Alright. That's somewhat more accurate. Don't you dare say anything like that in public though and are you really getting turned on by this? Do you like being beaten up or something?" She asks him.
She could feel through their bond that Naruto wasn't exactly scared of her at the moment. He LIKED her pouncing on him. Then again, he had a fox demon inside him. Maybe pouncing really was just something that he'd interpret the wrong way.
Damn it. All those years of fighting. Naruto probably subconsciously thought it was some weird form of foreplay!
"What are you so flustered about?" Naruto asks.
He could feel it. In the back of his mind, there was another presence. It was similar to how he could feel Kurama, but this presence wasn't trapped in a cage.
He visualized a panther made up of purple chakra. It was slinking about in his mind. The panther was embarrassed about something? Naruto could feel the emotions, but not the words.
"Nothing. It's nothing." Suki insists, hoping like Hell that the blonde could only pick up on feelings and not on actual thoughts.
Meanwhile Kisame and Itachi made their way into the Leaf Village. They had used a Transformation Jutsu to look like two Leaf Ninjas and were masking their chakra. Itachi knew that it was a risk to head into this village, but he had no other choice.
"You're crazy. Marching off to your death like this." Kisame whispers.
"I know. I'm going to die either way. I owe her this much." Itachi murmurs as they flicker into the Uchiha District.
Kisame looks around. Maybe once upon a time, it had been a beautiful place. Unfortunately, that was no longer the case. It looked like a graveyard.
"I don't think your kid sister has been taking care of the place." He observes.
"She's spent years in the Sound Village. It was likely destroyed during the attack. There's one house standing though. It was ours." Itachi says.
A flood of memories came back to him at the sight of that house. Clearly, it had been reconstructed. It didn't matter. The memories were trigged all the same.
"Big brother, you promised that you would train with me today!" Suki called out to him.
Itachi smiled wistfully. His foolish little sister was truly adorable. She was too cute for her own good. Sadly, her concerns were those of her age.
All Suki wanted was to spend time with him and to become stronger. Obviously, the young girl craved validation from their father. They were the desires of an innocent child. She truly had no idea what was about to happen.
"I'm sorry, Suki. I don't have time to train with you. Next time." He said as he poked her forehead.
"OWE! You always do that! You always poke my forehead and say next time, Suki!" She grumbled.
He smiled wistfully. Even when she was annoyed, she still looked adorable. Itachi knew that if nothing else, he was going to save Suki. Suki's hands were the only ones who were clean in all this. If he had his way, it was going to stay that way.
"Next time, finally came." He whispers to himself.
"What?" Kisame asks and Itachi just shakes his head.
"Nevermind. I'll understand, if you wish to leave. This isn't your battle." Itachi informs his teammate.
Kisame shakes his head. Oh no way. Itachi might have had a death wish, but someone should at least witness his death. That and where Suki was, the blonde Jinchuuriki usually followed.
"I'm coming with you. Suki can kill you and I'll bring Naruto back the Akatsuki. Besides, we're partners. It wouldn't be very sporting of me, not to watch your death." Kisame says with a toothy grin.
"Careful, Kisame. I might begin to think that you actually care." Itachi notes with a chuckle, before launching into another coughing fit.
Damn it. He had put this off for too long. It was likely now or never. He rushes towards the house and enters.
Suki hadn't bothered to lock her home. Why would she? No one came to the Uchiha District anymore. That and a locked door wasn't going to stop any ninja. Such precautions were meaningless. They were done more out of habit than anything else in the Leaf Village.
"Well it seems I was wrong. It looks as though you aren't entirely foolish. You wanted to get a head start on Clan Restoration before challenging me." Itachi says as he lowers the Transformation Jutsu.
Suki's eyes widen and she stares at Itachi in shock. Had Itachi actually waltzed right into the Leaf and into their home?! How dare he?!
She snarls and jumps off Naruto. Her Sharingan activates instantly and she charges at him with a Chidori. His words didn't even register with her. Her fury was too great.
"Your kid sister is rather feisty. You know I'm going to laugh if they have a kid and the kid turns out to be blonde. A blonde Uchiha." Kisame taunts Itachi with a smirk.
Itachic rolls his eyes and grabs onto Suki. He flickers them to the Forest of Death. They would need some privacy to deal with this. He couldn't risk detection. That meant that the Forest of Death was the ideal location for them to end this.
"SUKI!" Naruto calls out in horror as he watches Itachi teleport Suki off.
"Oh don't worry about her kid. Come on. I'll take you to your girlfriend. We can fight where they are. Don't want any of your friends to spoil our fun. Come to the Forest of Death. We'll be waiting." Kisame says as he flickers off.
"I'm going to kill them." Naruto snarls as he heads to the Forest of Death.
"I'll help. Kidnapping someone's Mate is wrong." Kurama growls in agreement.
Once Suki and Itachi arrive, she looks around in confusion. Itachi had been crazy enough to walk right into the Leaf Village, but he was apparently worried about getting caught. It didn't make any sense.
Her eyes narrow. Something was wrong. It didn't add up. Why would Itachi be so reckless and careful at the same time?
"Why?" She demands as she cradles her Chidori in her hand.
"I told you. I killed them to test my limits. That's the same reason why I am going to kill you now." Her brother replies.
His voice was infuriatingly calm. Itachi's body language was different though. Suki could tell he was trying to hide it and he was doing a good job of it, but he was shaking.
Was he shaking with fear? No. That couldn't be it. A Clan Slayer wouldn't shake because they were scared. There had to be another reason.
"I know that's what you told me. That's why I hate you. That's why I'm going to kill you, but why did you come to the Leaf? Walking into our family's home implies you don't care that you'll be caught. Despite that, you took us someplace else to fight. Someplace where no one will interrupt us. Why?" The youngest Uchiha screams at him.
Itachi smirks. He had always called her his foolish little sister, but she was smart. Suki had always been smart.
While she had been an innocent child at the time of the Massacre and hadn't realized what was going on, things were different now. She was a teenager. Suki was now perceptive enough to realize that something was amiss. She just didn't know what it was yet.
"I want to see which of us is stronger. I can't do that if the entire Leaf Village interferes." He answers simply as he comes charging at her.
Suki manages to dodge, but only just. The raven haired woman frowns. This was wrong. His words were the same and he was attacking her, but something didn't feel right.
"I'm stronger now." She screams at him as she hurls a Chidori straight at him.
Itachi barely managed to evade. His shoulder got singed. Suki wanted to believe that it was because she was simply faster than him, but she doubted that was the entire reason. Itachi should have dodged that easily. His reaction time was slowing.
"SUKI!" She hears someone call out and turns her head towards the source of the voice.
It was Naruto. No! Not now! He couldn't be here! It was too dangerous! She had to get her Mate out of there.
"Naruto! It's fine! I got this! Just go!" She yells at him, but it was too late.
Itachi had slammed her into a tree. That was also off. Itachi generally didn't use brute strength. He relied on speed and Genjutsus. Since when would he use such a primitive display of force. It didn't add up.
"Blondie, you should be more worried about me than your girlfriend!" Kisame says as he swings Samehada at him.
"I'll get to you later, Fishface!" Naruto says as he dodges and rushes over to Suki.
"Take some of my chakra. They deserve to be punished for grabbing your Mate." Kurama says as he gives Naruto some of his chakra.
Naruto could feel his eyes bleeding red and his teeth lengthening. The familiar reddish orange chakra surrounded him, after Kurama lent him some of the Nine Tail's power.
"GET OFF OF HER!" He snarls as she slams into Itachi, knocking him away from Suki.
Itachi grunts in pain. The Nine Tail's chakra was vicious. It felt as if it was going to burn the flesh off of him. He quickly jumps back to avoid further contact.
He could smell the scent of burnt flesh. Itachi knew at that moment that it was his own. It didn't matter though. He had come here to die. He just wanted to ensure that Suki was the one to end his misery.
"Well Suki, it seems as though you have found yourself a White Knight to slay your dragons. Is that how an Uchiha acts? Do they allow others to fight their battles?" He taunts her.
Itachi knew that would infuriate his little sister. He knew that was fighting dirty. He regretted that he had to be cruel to her, but it was the only way. It was the only way that she would ever be able to move on with her life. His death was necessary.
"Naruto, stay out of this. This is MY battle." Suki snaps at her Mate.
Naruto winces. Suki really meant that. He could tell. The panther was practically hissing at him in warning through their link. She might never forgive him, if he killed Itachi instead of her.
"Alright. I'm not going to let him kill you though." He warns her.
"Understood. Oh and loser, duck." Suki tells him as Kisame charges at Naruto once more.
Naruto's eyes widen as he ducks. Damn. That was a close one. Kisame had almost cleaved his head completely off. Jeez.
"Hey! I'm trying to talk to my Mate!" He says as he fires off a Rasengan at his attacker.
Itachi's eyes widen. His MATE?! What? It was one thing for Suki to find a companion. He could even understand her taking a lover, though she was far too young in his mind to do so. After all, it would be smart of her to restore their Clan before their final battle. A Mate was something different though.
That went far deeper than any marriage. The two of them were bound together for life. There was no going back.
"You really are foolish. You MATED him?!" Itachi demands.
"Yes, I did. That's none of your business though! You killed our Clan. Who I chose to restore it with is none of your concern." Suki seethes at him.
"Do you even have the slightest grasp of what you have done?! A Mating is far more meaningful than a marriage! You've linked your life force with his!" Itachi snaps at her.
Suki glares at Itachi. How dare he pretend to care about her?! He was the man who had slaughtered their entire family! A man who had done so because he wanted to test his limits! He had no right to lecture her about her decision to become Naruto's Mate!
"Don't pretend you care about me. What I do with him doesn't concern you. You're about to be dead anyway." She growls at him as she takes out her sword.
She was going to cut him to pieces. One by one. A Chidori to the heart would be too quick. It'd be too easy. Suki wanted him to suffer. She wanted to make him suffer, like he had made her suffer!
"Let's see you back up that claim." Itachi says as he activates his Sharingan.
That's when Suki realizes that there was blood on his chin. Naruto had burned him with the Nine Tail's chakra, but not on his face. He shouldn't be bleeding there.
That could only mean one thing. He had coughed up blood. There was a reason why Itachi hadn't fully managed to dodge her attack. His reflexes were slower than usual because he was sick.
"So that's why you were so reckless. You came here because you knew that you were going to die anyway." Suki says as she slashes at him with her sword.
"Clever. You're right. I am ill. Quite honestly, I should have died long before now. I've been prolonging my life with medication. I've been waiting for this day, just as much as you have." Itachi says as he hurls a punch at her.
Suki blocks the punch with her sword. She smirks in satisfaction when she saw the blade he cut into his hand. Unfortunately, it was still attached. That was a pity. She'd have to fix that.
"Itachi! I can sense a chakra signature nearby! We've got company and it's not just the brats!" Kisame calls out as he faces off with Naruto.
He almost felt guilty about fighting with the kid. Kisame knew that the brat was just trying to protect his girlfriend. It was cute in a way. Of course, that wasn't going to save him. He was still going to take this kid back to the Akatsuki.
They needed to remove that demon. If Itachi really wanted to die, that was his business. He didn't. They needed to get that Tailed Beast!
"Another time, little sister. It seems that someone is intent on interrupting us." He says as he flits over to Kisame and flickers off.
"Did that really just happen?" Naruto asks as he stares at the spot where the two Akatsuki members had just disappeared from.
Suki blinks. Itachi was sick. Itachi had expressed concern for her. None of that made any sense. It almost felt like he wanted her to kill him.
"I think it did. Are you alright, loser?" She asks.
"Yeah. I think so. You?" Naruto asks as he runs over to his Mate's side.
"Yeah. I think so, but something really strange is going on." Suki whispers as she embraces her Mate.
Naruto smiles and wraps his arms around her. He still couldn't believe that they were sorta married. Hugs were nice though. Hugs were very nice. He had no idea how someone as vicious as Suki could be this soft and warm, but he liked it.
"Kisame said that someone was coming. We likely have an audience." Kurama reminds him.
"Yeah. You're right, but I don't see anyone." Naruto replies.
Suki looks around and tries to locate who else was in the forest. Itachi's partner was a creep, but he was also a highly skilled ninja. If he said someone else was in the forest with them, they probably weren't alone.
That's when she saw it out of the corner of her eye. Well more specifically, she saw him. Danzo. Her eyes narrow.
"What's going on?" Naruto asks Suki when he picks up a strange feeling through their bond.
"I don't know yet, but we're going to find out. Pretend that you don't know something is up." She whispers and Naruto nods as he holds her closer.
At that same moment, Danzo growls as he takes off. Itachi had become very foolish as of late. He had come far too close to the Leaf Village to seek out Suki. That could mean only one thing, he was getting desperate.
"His illness is getting worse. Itachi knows that time is running out. Suki can't be allowed to find out the truth." He mutters to himself.
If Suki discovered the forces behind the Uchiha Massacre, she would turn her rage towards the village. Now that she was Mated with Naruto, the Nine Tail's Vessel would share her rage. Together, they were more than capable of leveling the village to the ground.
"This time, Minato isn't around. He won't be able to stop the Nine Tails." He whispers to himself.
This was terrible news. He was going to have to do something. He just wasn't sure what. The most logical answer would be to have Suki killed before she discovered the truth.
Unfortunately, that would mean killing Naruto. Killing a Jinchuuriki could be a risky business. He would have to find a suitable host for the Nine Tails. That meant that he had some work to do and he had to do it quickly.
"How did it come to this?" He asks.
When Itachi had asked to spare his younger sister, Danzo had granted the request. She was only seven, after all. She was no threat. Eventually, she would grow stronger and kill Itachi. The truth behind the Uchiha Massacre would die with him.
It had seemed like a logical conclusion at the time. Itachi would prevent the Uchiha Clan from successfully mounting a Coup. He could grant Itachi his final request. Suki would kill him and she'd become a hero. No one would ever have to know the truth.
"It would have worked out so perfectly, but she had to go and ruin it by becoming Naruto's Mate. Damn that boy." He growls in disgust.