Hmm, yay, so next chappie! ^^ A bit long…got carried away…Hehe, whoops, but it's a good thing! Btw, just in case you weren't sure Fukasaku and Shima are the Ma and Pa elder toads that help Jiraiya in the battle against Pein in the original anime. Hmm, what else…yeah, I'm trying to keep to the storyline that zoomed past when I decided to take a looooong break from this fic.
Naruto
The first strike came against Konoha in June. The intelligence the Village received helped a lot, but the attack was too sudden, too soon, despite all the training the ANBU and Shinobi had been through. No amount of training could prepare them for how devastating the attack of Pein proved to be. Itachi had never fought him. They had little knowledge of his fighting habits, his skills, his master manipulation of the six bodies; the six paths of Pein.
Kakashi, Konohamaru, Jiraiya, Chouji, Kiba…Naruto's friends, his family, all fallen, slain even, by the monster of Akatsuki, known as Pein. Naruto felt it. Naruto knew it to be true, when he was in the summoning sanctuary of the toads and boss Gamabunta was hurled back into the summoning realm, beaten, wounded, unconscious and rushed upon by the worried tones of Shima, before she and Fukasaku disappeared from the realm with a summon.
Naruto paced and worried. It seemed forever to him that the elder pair of toads were called upon and none had returned. How long were they going to be? How long should it be before he started panicking? Becoming concerned for all those he cared for? How long would he have to wait there, pathetically, when his village was being attacked because of him? Because he was cowering in a safe, unreachable world?
"Sorry." Was all he ushered before he looked into Itachi's eyes and was gone, the determined look upon his face telling Itachi all he needed to know.
Naruto was going to fight.
xxxxx
Itachi and Naruto had originally gone to an Uchiha hideout, strangely, as far as Naruto was concerned, in grass country. Jiraiya had arrived just three days after they did, a mass amount of sealing texts and scrolls bundled together for the Jinchuriki and Uchiha to leaf through. Naruto had groaned with the vast amount of studying he had to do. When all he wanted to do was be back with civilisation and wonderful food, researching seals was far from his wish list.
Fortunately, it seemed like Jiraiya knew much about the subject, however, which cut a lot of time off. Initially, Naruto gathered that it was because his old sensei was somewhat of a seals master, but with the tense air Itachi held around the Pervy sage, he gradually started to become suspicious. It was almost as if the Uchiha was mentally challenging him, which Naruto knew was useless to try.
"Are you two just going to sit here and purposely ignore each other because of some stupid difference of opinion, or something? What's so damn important?" Naruto yelled, growling as Itachi glared at an off handed comment Jiraiya had said about the Yondaime being the lead seal researcher, as the village's top seals master.
"There was another reason Minato-sama was the top researcher, was there not, Jiraiya-san?" Itachi asked stiffly, ignoring the blond kitsune.
"…I can't think of one…" the Sannin narrowed his eyes, meeting Itachi's unblinking gaze with one of his own, trying to establish authority. "And I don't see how it's any of your business."
"You don't think it's Naruto-kun's business to know his-"
"What will that accomplish?" Jiraiya snapped. "Nothing is what! It'll just cause distraction!"
"Seriously, will you two quit it! I have more pressing things to be worrying about!"
Silence became of the two as they resumed their glaring.
"The Yondaime…Namikaze Minato…he was your Father, Naruto." Jiraya finally relented.
The quiet returned as a slow frown spread over Naruto's face and he picked up the scroll he'd been reading once again.
"I figured." The blond spoke resignedly. "Although I'm not pleased about it. And you could have had the fucking decency to tell me sooner."
Itachi and Jiraiya looked, then blinked at each other, before Itachi went back to his own parchment, with the toad sage going back to his own. "Well, that takes care of that."
Needless to say, the process went slowly.
xxxxx
"Hey, Itachi?" Naruto questioned, a week or so later, after Ero-senin had wandered off somewhere, again, presumably to check in with Konoha.
"Yes, Naruto-kun." The man replied, still writing something down and chewing thoughtfully on some sort of nutritional food.
"When did you know my Dad was my Dad?"
Itachi looked up, blinked, looked back down at his work, finished something, then paid all of his attention to the young Jinchuriki. "From the beginning."
"Nani? How?" Naruto asked, rather shocked.
"It was the year before I joined the academy. The Hokage and Kushina's relationship was no secret. They were once rivals in the academy and although the village disliked your Mother, they adored your Father. Because of this, your Mother hated your Father, but you're Father was stubborn and persistent. One day, he saved your Mother from something or another, and she started to see him differently. My Stepmother, Sasuke's Mother, was very close to Kushina. They were friends, especially throughout their pregnancies."
"So you knew my Mum?" Naruto asked, eagerly, leaning forward so eagerly with his hands on his knees, that Itachi's eyes softened.
"In a way, yes. I was taken along to their meetings. At the time, I didn't understand why my Stepmother told me to not speak of Kushina to my Father."
Naruto stayed silent, knowing the weight of the burden Itachi carried over that particular subject. But he couldn't believe it! Itachi knew his Mum, personally! So he couldn't help the gleeful absent smile that passed over his face as he looked down at his feet, gripping the sandals attached to his crossed legs. His eyes shot open as he felt a hand in his hair, resting, but not moving atop his skull.
Through his hair, it almost seemed as if Itachi were smiling.
When the hand was removed, Naruto glanced up to the man sat beside him, but the smile he thought he saw was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the older Shinobi was once again writing something in one of the books spread before him.
"If we change this part of the seal and branch it out, we can have multiple chakras channelling against the Kyuubi's. I think the main problem previously, was the Hokage thinking he could counter the Kyuubi himself."
A soft smile came over Naruto as he glanced at Itachi's concentration, then the paper he'd been scribbling on, a frown warping his forehead.
"No, no, that won't work, but…here, give that…"
Itachi was a fast learner, it seemed.
xxxxx
When Jiraiya came back, Naruto proposed the plan Itachi had set in motion, to which the Sannin was against, believing bringing in more people was too great a risk. They argued, their conversation more heated than Itachi thought was possible over an idea that may not work. So he stayed silent, sipping on his tea whilst the two argued between themselves.
"…Itachi?"
"Hm?" He asked, having involuntarily been brought into the conversation he wasn't paying attention to.
"What do you think, Itachi? Your input means a lot to me. But eight people to counteract two four sealing techniques seems a bit much to me."
"Well maybe it is a bit much, but we definitely need more than two! Three is an odd number of chakra signatures on an even number sealing and could create an imbalance. Four would be ideal, and I know that the more people, the greater the risk because all the chakra given needs to be in equal balance, but I'm gonna be completely out and the Yondaime failed and he was the best-"
Itachi calmly put his hand over the young Jinchuriki's mouth, and strapped his arms in with the other reaching across his chest. "I agree with Naruto-kun."
"But why? The idea to change the seal is preposterous! If it all goes wrong-"
"I understand that the Kyuubi can break free Jiraiya-sama, but this seal failed the last time, and no one knows exactly why. We both have suspicions that Uchiha Madara was part of it, but until that can be proved, we have to assume the seal failed. Even you originally thought the reinforcements to the seal would kill Minato-sama."
"But it didn't."
Naruto's eye twitched as he was still held against his will. Purposefully, he raised his knee, fully intending to bring his heel back down forcefully on the damn Uchiha's foot.
"If you want to be let go, Naruto-kun, just say so." Itachi stated, letting the blond go before he could do him any damage.
"And how am I supposed to do that with your damn hand over my mouth?" Naruto growled before turning on his Sensei. "Listen, Ero-Senin, I'm having a few more kids than my Mum did, unless you haven't noticed. Plus, granny's gonna have enough trouble getting them outta me. Sustaining any sort of seal in that condition is gonna be hard."
"…"
"Yeah, I've thought about it. Been thinking about it too much. If I knew how the seal worked, I'd have a much better understanding of how to reinforce it, but until then I have to make do with the finished seal pattern and find the weaknesses."
A smirk came over Jiraiya's lips. "You're growing quickly, Naruto. I think you're ready to try something the Yondaime never could."
"Eh?"
And Jiraiya proceeded to summon the toad that was bound to the demon sealing scroll; his purpose to protect it with his life.
"This scroll is too precious to keep with the history documents and other Jutsu scrolls. This had the potential to release the Kyuubi, as well as sealing it away. One wrong calculation could easily have the Kyuubi climbing free."
"Well, that's reassuring." Itachi offhandedly stated, eyebrow raised at the complicated seal designs and the now paling Jinchuriki.
xxxxx
The next week had Naruto walking in the world of the summons. The strange atmosphere and the stranger foods taking turns on nauseating him. Even if Shima and Fukasaku said it had the best nutrition for the babies, Naruto wasn't so sure. He could feel something odd here, something magical, something calling out to him. But here he had a reason to be. The scroll was here; the toad scroll, that he could study and create an answer to.
They were already a week into April and Naruto felt no closer to finding an answer. It was frustrating, and when he was frustrated, he trained. Except for now. When he wanted to train and he couldn't. Though maybe the toads could find an answer. They seemed to have an answer by summoning him; the blood bond including the young inside him, locking onto each one of them individually, unlike the instability of his chakra, which could damage them if he morphed, if he cloned, if he transported.
Maybe that was it; the stability. The reason a ninja couldn't fight when pregnant was because of the instability of their chakra. The reason the Kyuubi could escape was because of the instability of his chakra during childbirth; where it'd be much worse than now, because the seal would become unstable too…If there was a way of stabilising the chakra, they wouldn't have to worry about the seal, which was pretty much there to stabilise the fox's chakra in the first place.
Ah! He was going around in circles! He really needed to train! It was almost as if the solution was on the edge of his mind, just out of reach. Sighing, he leaned back and fell into the soft grass beneath him. Looking up at the tinted sky and wishing for the release of his pent up emotions. Though, reaching for a goal really brought him back into the world; he felt more like himself than he had in a while.
"Yo, Naruto!"
Naruto jumped at the voice and the giant toad's face that appeared as a shadow over his own.
"Gamakichi! You've gotten big!" Naruto stated, sitting up a little slower than usual.
"And you've gotten fat, Naruto!"
"I'm not fat you dumb ass, I'm pregnant!"
"Whoa, I though you were a dude!"
"I am! Kyuubi just got a little…productive…is all."
"Eh!" Gamakichi fell over. " You're having fox babies?"
"What, no!" Naruto yelled, grabbing his head and rubbing it. "Damn it Gamakichi, you're making my head hurt!"
"I'm making your head hurt? You've really thrown something out there, Naruto." The toad frowned.
"Yeah," Naruto paused, looking toward his friend, "I guess I have."
"Oh well, you've always been a weird one."
"Hay, watch it." Naruto growled, his eyebrow twitching. "I can still kick your ass."
"Hahaha, not here! The air's thick with natural chakra! This is where we're on top!"
"Natural chakra?" Naruto blinked, questioning.
"Yeah, everything has chakra. The wind, the plants. The key is to harmonise that chakra and use it as your own."
"And how do you do that?"
"It's just something we can do. It's not for you humans. It's a hard thing to grasp for your systems. But for us toads, it's as easy as breathing!"
Somehow, in the condition he was in, Naruto was sure he could feel what the young toad was talking about.
xxxxx
It wasn't until over a week later that Naruto heard of the origins of the nine tailed beasts. That they were originally one creature that the sage of the six paths split up because of the deadliness of it's power. A monster that had the combined power of all nine Bijuu was difficult for Naruto to imagine. Even Itachi had not heard such a tale. That what the Akatsuki were doing was simply putting back the pieces that such a powerful ninja had dismantled.
But the power such a ninja had excited Naruto. Someone that could stand up to such a devastating creature and come out on top filled Naruto with hope. Was this where Kekkei Genkai came from? Was Itachi a distant relation to this source of all ninja powers and the understanding of chakra? Where did this man originate from and were there more like him somewhere out there? Or was he an anomaly like the story stated?
Itachi seemed more interested in the eye detail the toad sage described, quick to take note, digest and state back some important information.
"Akatsuki's leader, Pein, has those eyes."
Needless to say, the urgency and meaning behind such words had them all on edge, with Jiraiya sending a message toad to Konoha whilst he learned more of this leader. It sent shivers down his spine with what this meant. His student was alive and he'd turned upon a dark path. A ninja with the ability to control the tailed beasts and perhaps once again re-merge them into the monstrosity that once held the world at mercy.
Madara had certainly gained a valuable pawn in his exile from Konoha. And for once, Naruto became truly petrified of the prospect of handing himself over and submitting his hometown to such a dreadful fate. But, as he knew, all whispers of fate can be challenged with determination and the will to carry on fighting. That was his true way of the ninja. To protect those precious to him, even if it meant breaking promises.
Maybe it was time to pick up his old, deceptive habits.
xxxxx
Six paths. The thought came to him not long after the dreadful news of the ninja origin was revealed. This Pein may be onto something. If the original ninja was the origin of ninja, the six paths referred to something. There were five different elements, there were nine bijuu. What were the six paths and how did they relate to the splitting of the bijuu? Could they be the way to restabilise the seal?
But how did six paths make nine entities and five chakra elements? Somehow the math was all off and he couldn't figure out any code behind it. Plus there were the twelve hand signs to channel chakra…Somehow, it was the chakra elements that were out of sync. Like there should be a sixth element. Something that all the elements shared…like movement; the ability to control an element's directionality…almost like gravity.
If he remembered Jiraiya's tales correctly, wasn't that how the original Sage created the moon? A force that balled up the tenth tail with parts of the earth and threw the combination far above the earth? A force that managed to rip the chakra of the ten tailed beast to nine pieces of equally as malevolent, but not as destructively capable demonic chakras. The ability to simply manipulate matter.
Simply…if only. It was easy to say, but in practice, it was an impossibility. Besides, that idea was in no way able to help his situation. He sighed, once again looking at the drawings on the scroll before him.
"How am I supposed to figure this out Gerotora?" Naruto asked the scroll toad, sighing.
"You're asking me? I just store the information." He grunted.
"The Fourth didn't mention anything when he was writing this? Didn't have some sort of thought that he didn't quite get to complete, somehow?"
"I don't know, Naruto. I don't even think that idiot Jiraiya should have given me to you. You're not ready." The toad snapped.
"Don't you think I know that! But it's not like I can come back to it in a year, is it." He growled back. "Stuff this. I'm going to go get some air."
Standing up and walking out the door of the little shack, Naruto made his way through the denser shrubbery around Myoboku mountain until he came across a clearing and leant heavily against a tree, wondering if he could be bothered to sink to the floor, knowing he's have to get up again. He closed his eyes and crossed his arms, relaxing slightly into the bark.
Almost as if he felt the air shift, his eyes shot open and he spun to see Itachi moving toward him from behind. He looked to the young Uzumaki, relatively shocked at his ability to sense him when he was purposely being stealthy.
"Naruto-kun." He politely greeted.
"Itachi…" Naruto stated, rather surprised himself. "How-how are you?"
"The same as yesterday. Jiraiya-san left again this morning. How much longer do we have to stay here?"
"To be honest, I don't know. But the way Ero-Senin tells it, we're off the grid here, so to speak, so we should probably stay here."
"…"
"You don't like having to rely on the toads here, huh." Naruto smirked. "Feel free to go with Ero-Senin next time. A break might be good for you. I know you like your space."
"I would rather not leave you…"
"Aw, how sweet!" Naruto winked and stuck his tongue out. "Don't worry, I'll be fine here." Naruto sighed.
"Somehow, I remain unconvinced of that. I think this place is suffocating you, too."
A silence stretched between them before Naruto smiled and leaned back into the tree, breathing out a "Maybe."
Itachi moved in front of him and held out his hand. "Come, we will train."
"Eh, but-"
"No kage-bunshin, no over-exerting yourself. I'm sure even you can understand that."
"Are you calling me stupid, bastard." Naruto growled, moving to snap his hand away, that he'd instinctively put into Itachi's own when he'd offered it.
Itachi, however, denied him this and instead, pulled him forward and into him, his other hand coming down to a whiskered cheek briefly, his thumb trailing the bottom lip of the Jinchuriki, like his eyes were, before tracing up to shocked blue eyes. "Shall we?" He stated emotionlessly, before dropping his hands from touching the blond and walking away.
"H-Hey, chotto matte. Wait up!" He yelled, running after the Uchiha before walking at his side, further into the clearing, a smile tugging his lips and his arms tucked behind his head with abandon.
xxxxx
A few days later, Naruto understood more on the seal than he ever would have thought. Two four trigram seals fused together, forming an inlet and an outlet, so his own chakra and the Kyuubi's could intermingle and flow through his chakra system freely. Theoretically, the Kyuubi should be able to deplete his chakra, but somehow the furball couldn't completely access his chakra. Otherwise, he gathered the fox would have done more than try to reproduce.
However, the fact that the fox was able to manipulate his chakra so much suggested just how weakened the seal had become. According to the script, there was a second seal meant to be used to strengthen this first one, change it somehow. But that's where the research faded. Naruto guessed his father hadn't quite got around to that part. He probably ran out of time, just like Naruto himself was doing.
Naruto sighed, his head rested against his naked upper arm, the white vest he was wearing splattered slightly with ink form the same pot the brush resting between his fingers was dangling in.
"Hello, Itachi." A soft smile spread between whiskered cheeks.
"Naruto-kun." Came the calm voice from behind the blond as a pale hand reached past him and deposited a warm cup of tea on the table in the Jinchuriki's immediate vision.
"You training today?" Naruto asked, once again dipping the brush in the ink, but this time left it there as he sat himself up and followed the older man with his eyes as he sat opposite him.
"I've finished for today. Are you not studying?" Itachi enquired, bringing his own cup to his lips and taking a small, controlled sip.
"Is it that late already?" Naruto blinked, stealing himself from glancing outside. "Yeah, I am studying, but, I guess I kinda hit a dead end." He looked wistfully down at his scribblings.
"Oh?" Itachi asked, showing interest.
"Yeah, there's some sort of key to the seal. It's a helluva complicated…I guess I need a bit more time. Or some sort of revelation."
"Or a break." Itachi opened his eyes to the blond, something twisting in them that the younger took to be as concern and felt lightened by it.
"Heh, yeah, or a break. I don't know Itachi, it just seems like the hard part's already been done. I think to strengthen it would be quite easy, but it's essentially a seal that feeds off of my own chakra to keep stabilized. The more my chakra gets out of control, so does the Kyuubi's chakra, which degrades the seal. The most effective method is to permanently seal the Kyuubi, which is essentially impossible because of the mass amount of Chakra the Demon possesses."
"The stone statue seems to be efficient enough."
"Yeah, but that's inanimate…there's no other chakra coils to overwhelm. Eventually, given enough time, even the statue could possibly be broken by the force of volatile chakra. Even that seal would have to be regularly restored."
"I wasn't aware of that."
"No, neither was I until I read this seal. It explains a lot, including why I couldn't access the Kyuubi's chakra until I was older; it took some time for the constant barrage from the fox to make a dent in the seal big enough to release it. Of course, once it did, I could access my own chakra better, too, because it became like a flow system."
"Hmm…So essentially, if we manage the flow of your chakra, Kyuubi's should stabilise, too."
"…Itachi, I'm sure you've heard this many times before, but you're a genius!" Naruto declared, with new vigour, grabbing his brush and creating more scribblings on a fresh parchment.
Itachi just shook his head and pulled out a dango, steadily chewing on it. Hearing a growl, he opened his eyes to blue ones in a glare upon him.
"You have dango and didn't tell me?" Naruto accused.
"I asked you if you wanted a break…"
Was all Itachi got out before a surprisingly agile blond was across the table and stealing the dango out of his hand. On his back beneath him, the Uchiha merely blinked and reached into the bag for another stick.
xxxxx
Naruto had got his answer in theory, but practically, it was going to be difficult. Someone to control the flow of his own chakra in and out of the seal. He would hope that the stability over his own would also control the Kyuubi's but he had to face the possibly that that theory was incorrect. The only two people he could think of to trust and be able to remotely battle and control that chakra were Itachi and Yamato. And even that was just a theory.
He'd told Jiraiya who he needed. Unfortunately for him, Sakura was otherwise engaged, heh, engaged…unavailable, he should say. He needed people with great chakra control that could learn his own and feed or resist it. If he could choose, he would have Baa-chan and Sakura-chan. He sighed. He needed Baa-chan to get the babies out. How was he going to do this?
Naruto looked up to Gamakichi and Gamatatsu pleading with them via his eyes.
"Come on guys, you gotta help me convince pervy sage. I can't go back to Konoha, not yet. I'd go myself, but you know I gotta stay here.
"Seriously, Naruto, what do you expect us to do? He's always been stubborn, you know that."
"Can't one of you guys go? I know you can go without being summoned, just like Jiraiya does."
"Whoa, hold up! Going there is one thing, but for bringing people back, you're speaking to the wrong toads! There are only a few of us that have the ability to reverse summon people who haven't signed the contract."
"Well, who are they? One of them has to bring back Tsunade no baa-chan. I have to talk with her; I have to know if she can do it."
"Of course I can, Gaki! And don't call me that!" Came the menacing voice of the Godaime Hokage, complete with scowling face and shaking fist, resisting pummelling the insolent brat before her, for obvious, pregnant, reasons.
"Eh? What are you doing here Granny?"
"Saving your ass, Brat!" Shouted the Hokage, before lifting her fist and making Naruto cringe, before the blond felt himself be dragged toward the older woman in a hug.
He could feel her shaking against him and a wistful smile came upon scarred cheeks as the younger blond encased his Mother-figure in comfort; taking her pain as she silently cried. He had done this to her, he knew, by leaving her in the dark. By leaving her at all.
"Sorry, Baa-chan."
"Sorry's not good enough, Gaki." She resigned without bite or malice. "I'm just happy you're okay."
"Heh, of course!" Naruto stated happily before he was whisked out of the embrace forcefully and subjected to a glare once again.
"Now what's this I hear about you messing about with the seal? I forbid it!"
"Baa-chan, it's not that simple"
"No, I don't want to hear it!"
"But Baa-chan-"
"No, you cannot possibly be thinking of messing with the seal in any way without consulting me first!" A sinister smile overcame her face.
"Eh, really, Tsunade no Baa-chan?"
"Damn right Gaki!" The Hokage laughed, arms folded and chest shaking.
"What made Jiraiya-sama change his mind?" Came Itachi's polite question, the voice arriving with the same subtlety as the man did.
"Tch, Itachi." The Godaime growled in acknowledgement. "Common sense is what. Something you wandering ninja, with no regard to anyone but yourselves, seem to not understand."
"Um, Baa-chan, weren't you a wandering ninja?"
"Shush Gaki!" Tsunade yelled at the blond, a soft blush covering her cheeks in a rosy hue, which had Naruto suspecting that she'd been drinking. "Anyway, let me hear what you have to say so I can hurry back to run a village!"
"What do you mean running a village? All you do is drink sake and break-"
"Urusai!" She snapped.
"Okay, Baa-chan; here's the big and small of it; we have to contol the flow of chakra in and out of the seal."
xxxxx
"I'm concerned, Naruto. I don't think the Yamanaka is ready."
It had come as quite a shock to Naruto that Ino was the Kunoichi Tsunade had brought with her for the chakra control. He'd have thought Hinata or Neji would have been better; a Hyuuga was excellent at chakra control and had the 'all seeing eyes' that would have surely benefited. But Tsunade was adamant.
And Ino…Ino was stubborn and determined and shocked to the core with everything. There was something eating at her, Naruto knew. Every time he caught her skittish glance, she'd look away quickly with such guilt that it was starting to anger him. The young Kunoichi was close to breaking point and Naruto was convinced that she was going to do something stupid and dangerous long before he'd need her.
"She's going to end up dead." Naruto growled back at Itachi.
"Tsunade-sama took her off of active combat, you know that."
"Tsunade's an idiot! Just because it makes sense doesn't mean it'll work."
"It's not like you to speak ill of your friends Naruto."
Naruto bit his snappy reply, knowing that Itachi was both right and angry at him for his spitefulness. Naruto had learnt the tiny fraction of reactions the older man displayed that showed his emotions for him. Like how saying his name with no suffix showed his distaste.
"I know, and I don't mean to, but this is serious, Itachi! If the Kyuubi gets out, it doesn't really matter if I have the kids or not, because either one of them will end up just like me, or they'll all be slaughtered right there."
"Perhaps you should have faith and work harder with the Yamanaka. You weren't happy when people had such little faith in you."
"That-that…I don't know what that is. It's the same, but it's so different Itachi. There was no one depending on me; no one I could've hurt from just trying. This, it's really killing me…" Naruto choked.
Hesitantly, Itachi stood and rounded the table, putting his hand on Naruto's shoulder in comfort. Naruto lifted his hand to grasp at the Uchiha's, but mere seconds later, Itachi slid his hand out from under the Jinchuriki's and left the room. Oddly, Naruto felt a tightening in his chest, bringing his hand down over his heart for the briefest of moments. For a second there, he thought he felt pain.
xxxxx
Ino, Naruto had to admit, had improved. She was most definitely determined. The pleading with the Hokage to be included might actually pay off if her rapidly improving abilities had anything to do with it. Actually, if he remembered rightly, Ino briefly trained to be a medical ninja, but her mind jutsu abilities were too coveted to lose her on the battlefield.
Either way, she somehow found out how to lock onto his chakra signature rather suddenly. For days she was struggling and then, as if struck by inspiration, she had it. It even seemed to overwhelm her, herself, as her eyes widened in shock and her hands shook with resolve. The problem now was for her to mould his chakra. As soon as she learnt that, controlling it would become as natural as controlling her own.
"Naruto?" The question came hesitantly from the plump lips of the perspiring girl. "About Sasuke-"
"I don't wana know, Ino."
"But Sakura-"
"Look, I appreciate what you're doing for me, I do. And you took this me being pregnant thing well, but there's no way I can listen to how Sasuke and Sakura are having the perfect life-"
"But that's the thing-"
"Ino!" Naruto snapped, shocking the fragile blond out of her chakra sensing. "I-Ino…look, I'm sorry, I just, I can't think about that anymore, okay? Can we just drop it? Ne?"
Ino looked down, biting her lip and Naruto knew she needed to talk to someone. He could see the desperation in her that he had when he was younger, when he was far too young to realise there was nobody that was going to listen. He knew how self destructive holding things in could be, but for the life of him, he couldn't bring those two back into his life. Not now. Definitely not now.
"Hinata…probably needs someone to talk to…about Neji…"
"Eh, what about Neji! Did he hurt her again, 'cause by God-"
"N-No, nothing like that, maybe I shouldn't have said anything. It's just, they have a strained relationship, don't they?"
"Eh! Not recently! Oh, Naruto, you've missed far too much! From what I've seen, they're sure spending a lot of time with each other. Neji's always hanging around whenever we get together, though TenTen is there most of the time, too…Hey, do you think he's got a crush on TenTen? I thought she was on a mission to reform Lee, though…"
"Since when did our teams start hooking up?" Naruto sweat dropped. "I wasn't gone that long, was I?"
"You were gone for quite a while, you know. Asuma's kid is throwing ninja stars and everything, now." Ino giggled.
Naruto smiled back and let the girl rant about all the things he'd missed in Konoha.
xxxxx
"Kiba-kun, I'm worried about Naruto-kun." Hinata brought up on their shift switch to keep watch over night.
"There's no need to worry about Naruto, Hinata, he'll be back and fine before you know it." Kiba smiled.
"But how can you be so sure, Kiba-kun? Naruto-kun was kidnapped right before us and there was nothing we could do to stop it."
"Hey, Naruto wouldn't have gone if he didn't have a plan! That guy always comes through. He's not the dead last we all used to know; took me a long time to admit that, too. Isn't that right, Akamaru?"
A soft bark of acknowledgement came from the dog, not quite the morning canine and not looking forward to a long watch shift.
"Kiba-kun…"
"Does make you see how quickly your life can change though. How quickly someone can be taken from you. Like Neji."
"Nani? Why would you say that?"
"Hinata, maybe it's time to tell him how you feel. There's no guarantee we'll all be here tomorrow."
"I don't want to hear that, Kiba-kun, not from you or anyone else." Hinata's tone became strong, confident.
"Good, that's the Hinata I know." Kiba grinned. "Get some good sleep, you'll be up again in no time."
"Hai. Good night Kiba-kun."
"I do mean it though, Hinata. Tell Neji soon. He has it bad for you." He called softly over his shoulder to the retreating Hyuuga. Hinata paused, but didn't acknowledge Kiba's words other than that.
They had one tent between the three of them. Hinata sat in the tent, glancing at the older Hyuuga, slowly taking off her ninja sandals and thick coat. Her bedroll was next to Neji's. She leaned over him, softly ghosting her fingers over the pale lips facing up at her and letting a soft smile cross her face, when suddenly, her hand was snatched in a tight grip.
"Neji-kun!"
"I'm a light sleeper, Hinata-sama."
"I-ah!" Hinata's voice left her as she was pulled closer to the unsurprisingly alert Shinobi laying calmly in his bedroll, leaning across him and very much in his personal space.
"Please, forgive me, Hinata-sama."
Hinata's eyes widened a little in apprehension, her mind racing at the meaning, before the older Hyuuga's hand reached up to the back of the younger's hair and swiftly brought her head down and covered the young heiress' mouth with his own. Hinata let out a surprised gasp at the connection, her heart rate speeding up and a blush falling violently across her face.
Softly, he let her go; his fingers sliding lightly against her cheek. So desperately did Hinata want to carry on kissing the boy beneath her, but her lips trembled, as did her shaking breath, her nerves firing shocks through her body that made her paralysed. Neji had just kissed her and she was most definitely not expecting it.
How many times were they so close to a moment like this and her heart begging for him to move just a bit closer because she was far too cowardly to make that step herself? Far more intimate moments than this. Where they'd been sparring or just sitting close, watching, talking, laughing. None of that was here now. Had he heard Kiba? Had he been awake all that time, listening and deciding?
The thought of Neji overhearing them had Hinata moving back with embarrassment, without notice. But Neji did; he saw her recoil from him, a hand to her lips and shock in her eyes. He turned his head to the side, not wanting to see any more reaction to him. Why he'd let himself fall into such a trap, he'd never know. Both Naruto's words and Kiba's prompting him to do something he should never even have contemplated.
"I apologise, Hinata-sama." He stated simply, closing his eyes and cruelly dismissing his own action. Hinata was far too kind to hold it against him.
"Neji-kun, I-"
"Good night, Hinata-sama."
Hinata was actually kind of furious. Neji had just kissed her and was now acting like it was all in her head, which she was damn sure it wasn't. So, she may be more sleep deprived than the older Hyuuga was, and far less bold, it seemed, but she did not, and had never hallucinated.
"Neji-kun, you turn your head toward me now and talk to me, or so help me, I'll be angry with you."
"There is nothing to talk about, Hinata-sama." Neji sighed, turning his head back to facing upward, but not opening his eyes, nor engaging with her.
The now annoyed heiress growled, which was enough to cause one of Neji's eyes to sliver open and watch the girl who was staring at the side of the tent with her arms crossed defensively.
"You, Neji-kun, are frustrating. If you even remotely cared for me, you would sit up and-and kiss me again." She whispered harshly, the manic blush wrapping her face in colour again.
That statement, however, was enough to bring Neji up with it's command, his eyes open in shock and her name spilling from his lips. Hinata's eyes held his briefly before they flickered to the floor, her boldness gone, and her finger trailing invisible lines in the ground under her, her heart beating faster than she'd ever imagined.
"W-Well, you heard me."
Neji didn't need telling a further time as he knelt before her, his lips pushed against hers desperately. One of his hands was cupping her cheek and both of hers gripping his shirt. It wasn't long before they roamed over each other, needing, learning and memorising each other, their mouths hot and their breath short, with moans being passed between them like appetizers, sending their nerves wild.
Why had they waited so long, dancing around this confrontation, when it set their hearts free and their bodies twitching in excitement?
"Neji-kun, I-I've never done anything like this before."
"Me either, Hinata-sama." Neji remarked, bringing the younger girl onto her back and kissing her feverishly, his tongue parting through her lips and roughly goading her own. "Maybe we should stop." He panted, bringing his hand to the warmth of her stomach.
"I fear I can't." Was the reply, her back arching to feel him, his hand pushing against her harder and his teeth grazing at her exposed neck, her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer, closer.
"Hinata." Neji moaned her name, bringing his hand up her clothing to rest on her breast, squeezing once, twice, before the appendage retreated, roaming elsewhere, anywhere, coming back up and disappearing again, wanting to be feeling everywhere at once. He leant his head down further, biting at her nipple though her thin clothing, making her gasp out.
"We're on a mission." He insisted.
"I don't care." Flew out of her mouth before she reached for him, bringing his lips against hers once again, the primal nature of it setting her skin aflame as she gyrated underneath the man above her, only knowing she needed this contact and unable to stop rubbing herself against him, feeling his hardness respond against her willing body.
Outside, Kiba turned to Akamaru and asked the dreaded question. "They're going to have sex in there, aren't they?"
xxxxx
There seemed to be one drawback when Ino tapped into Naruto's chakra that neither ninja was aware of at first; he could feel hers. Theoretically, he could feed off of her chakra and mould her's too! And the best part was Ino doing all the hard work! However, her chakra reserves seemed to be that of a child's compared to his own.
And Ino most definitely loved that endless supply of chakra at her fingertips in the form of Naruto. It was addicting and she wasn't quite sure how she was going to cope without it. It was great to tire so very little when she was drawing on someone else's chakra. She could very well use this on the battlefield! Once she got used to identifying different chakra's, of course.
The whole thing made Naruto think. If one person could draw on another person's chakra, then why couldn't a ninja learn to harness the natural energy around them? Though, he guessed that it wouldn't help much if he couldn't balance out his current physical energy with his spiritual energy, he guessed trying to control a third wouldn't do any good.
How was he supposed to protect anyone whilst he was in such a compromised position? Though, he was still in his second trimester, that surely meant that right now he was in the best condition to fight, so he cornered Gamakichi about it any way. For days he'd stared at the toad oil, knowing that if he hadn't been…pregnant…he'd have gobbled it up straight away.
On one of these staring sessions, Fukasaku had come to see him. He wasn't pleased with Naruto trying to learn how to utilise sage chakra in his condition and Naruto cursed Gamakichi for ratting him out. But Fukasaku had a different reaction than Naruto expected. The elder toad took him the Great Toad Sage, proclaiming that he thought differently to Jiraiya. Apparently, Naruto was the Child of Prophesy.
Although Naruto greatly doubted the words of the senile old toad, they couldn't help but play on his mind. Naruto was the third Shinobi to be dubbed this chosen child, though his Dad was dead and this Negato guy was part of an evil organisation, so he guessed he was the best option, though he couldn't think of how Jiraiya had helped him not unleash the Kyuubi. If anything, he'd been pro-Kyuubi chakra.
He sighed, once again looking at the toad oil, when the air around him changed, a warm and light feeling encasing him as a figure sat down next to him, silently and softly.
"Hey, Itachi." The young boy greeted.
"Hello Naruto-kun."
"Where've you been? I haven't seen you in a few days."
"You've been busy with Yamanaka."
"That's not an answer you know." Naruto pouted. "Well, whatever, you elusive bastard."
"I hear you're trying to master natural chakra."
"Damn that Gamakichi! Damn toad won't keep his trap shut!"
"It was Fukasaku-san, actually. He's worried about you."
"That old toad can keep his nose out, too."
"That's not very respectful, Naruto-kun."
"No, I suppose it's not." Naruto sighed. "I'm just restless, Itachi. I could handle it for now, I'm sure."
"Except if the natural chakra compromised the foetuses."
"Yeah, like I haven't thought about that." Naruto chided. "Why do you think I haven't gone over there and drank a handful of that stuff?"
"But you're thinking about it. I can see it all over your face."
"Yeah, I guess I am. But not that I could, but that in another lifetime, maybe, I'd have already done it and mastered that damned chakra."
"And in another lifetime, I'd already be dead."
"Don't speak that way, Itachi." Naruto growled.
"Then don't dwell on what might have been and think about what could be. Come."
Itachi got up and Naruto readily followed. "Where are we going?"
"I have something for you. I believe you need a distraction."
When Naruto walked into Fukasaku and Shima's small house, he was met by the smell of Ramen. Wonderful strawberry Ramen. Which Naruto of course ran to and wolfed down without second thought or hesitation. Of course, that wasn't until after he'd slung his arms around a stiff Itachi and kissed him soundly on the lips with joy, shouting, "I love you, Itachi!"
xxxxx
Ino had gone back to Konoha, Tsunade and Shizune going with her, having come to 'pick her up', so to speak. Shizune checked him out, scolding Itachi for going against the Hokage's orders and giving Naruto lots of high sugared food, only to be shocked into silence, though not apology, when further tests revealed the diabetes had…gone. Just one more thing to attribute to the wonders of Kyuubi.
Ino was to continue her studies in Konoha. It seemed the chakra controlling was a little more complicated than just constant practice and Tsunade wanted to oversee it personally. She couldn't quite do that when she wasn't supposed to leave the village routinely. He bet Shikamaru was having a hell of a job trying to fool everyone into where the Hokage kept disappearing to.
Naruto was enjoying the time he had to spar with the elusive Uchiha. His size, however, was making him mildly slower and he wasn't quite compensating for the increase in target he'd become. A fact which Itachi was not pleased with. At all. Naruto could tell be the way he was frowning every time he had to stop just short of hitting his damned abdomen. Naruto felt very sorry for all pregnant women right now.
But still, it was nice to spend time with the Uchiha, bastard or not. As much fun as Ino and he had, it wasn't the same as with the calmness he felt around Itachi.
xxxxx
Konoha was under attack. Tsunade was panicking inside. Her chakra sensing was above par. Her summon Katsuyu was already here, healing all that she could not. She could feel all the chakra's that had dwindled. All the lives that had been slayed by this monster of a Shinobi. Pein; that of his namesake, pain, he was already inflicting so much of.
Sasuke was revelling in the fighting on his doorstep, all hyped up and unconcerned with how many of his own village's Shinobi he was cutting down with the enemy. Though Tsunade abhorred him, she was loath to admit that without him, they'd most likely be being struck down at a faster rate. She knew, this foe she was no match for, even before, with a terrible attack, half of Konoha was wiped out.
She'd sent for Jiraiya. She needed him here, desperately. Three giant toads fighting enemy animal summons. A sage mode Jiraiya, falling behind in his own fight. It seemed every time a Pein was down, they were brought back. She'd seen it, the one of them that did such a disgraceful act. And she'd destroyed it along with a few of her fellow Shinobi that gave her the chance.
Kakashi had fallen providing her that chance. She'd witnessed his death; another casualty of war. Another person to freeze her in pain and sickness. Just a split second for her to be sent flying with force, stumbling in the dirt and yelling at this monster before her, hearing him rant back at her about a world with a cycle of constant pain. A world she didn't understand until now, according to him and him alone.
She was losing this battle. Before she knew it, Naruto was before her, summoning himself. Standing between her injured form and the devil. He stood tall, standing his ground. Inserting himself into a battle she'd forbade him from. And by God, she'd never hated herself so much as she did then; she should never have got Jiraiya involved; should never have sent that message.
"Rest yourself Granny, the Hokage shouldn't have to concern herself with trash."
No, she had never felt so sick in her life.
Naruto
Thank you Beta-chan RaeRae! My pleasure Clae-chan ^^ Yay! ^^
TIMELINE
October - (Late) SasuNaru begins.
November - (Early) Pregnant, (Around 10th) Party, (Mid) Day mission, SasuIno (Late) Mission starts.
December - (Early) Mission ends, Sakura Pregnant, (Week later) SasuSaku marriage told, Naruto moves teams, (Late) Failed visits, Observe NejiHina, KakaNaru talk.
January - (Early) Kakashi makes a lie, NejiHina told to be false. (Mid) Sakura tries visiting. (Week later) last failed visit.
February - (Early) Questions of father stop, (Mid) Sakura's baby's sex, Sasu rapes Naru, Naru moves. (Late) Meets Sakura, Stops training.
March - (Mid) Finds Itachi, Saves Itachi, finds Itachi's curse seal, InoSaku talk, Stag do (interrogation), SasuSaku wedding, ItaNaru consummated, Naruto taken out of Konoha, the aftermath (Late) In world of summons
April - (Mid) Found answer to seal
May - (Early-Mid) Shizune, Tsunade and Ino in the world of summons. (Mid) NejiHina
June - (Early) Attack on Konoha.
July -
August - (Early) Naru's due date.
September - (Early) Sakura's due date.
In order of occurrences (bold is this chapter), tell me if I've missed anything and I'll add more as it's revealed.