The Youki Chronicles

by Wyverntooth

(Edgefic I'll finish differently later) Naruto chose a new life, the life of a fox. But what if the shinobi life catches up to him? Will he walk the streets of ninja or tread the path of a kitsune? Why not try both? He will put things in a new look on life. Rated T for safety. Might seem a bit dark at times, but Naruto's badass, so it's balanced. NaruInoTema.

34. Where you want isn't where you're needed

Whaz up ladies, gents an' other! Y'all hate me for endin' it like I did last chapter, an' I'm awight with that. Naruto's feelin' shitty, he heard the voices of those he held close speak of him like shit, an' the nature of his mental ailment's violent...Ino's got her work cut out for her! I can't think of any real questions to answer, so if ya got any from last chapter that pop up outta the blue, PM me or leave it in your review(s). 'Nough 'bout my shit, let's get this shit started.

Thoughts or emphasis

'Paraphrasin'

"Normal speech"

"Demonic speech"

Jutsu

XXXXXXXXXXX

Previously in the Youki Chronicles

Just as he was about to fall, Ino ran and caught him by the foot, "First off: Why's Isaribi-chan glad she's only fourteen when she looks like a seventeen year old?! Secondly: WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT ME?!" A whine of fear was all she received before she started to shimmy herself back, pulling with her a kind of reluctant Kitsunin. Once they were safe from falling 'to their deaths', Ino pounced on the bastard that made a wisecrack about her former crush.

"Now, what was that about 'watching the love of my life beating some poor ninja to death'?!" She asked menacingly, getting Naruto to just stare at her blankly before sniffing her like an animal would a piece of food before eating it. A blush made its way onto her face from the close proximity she'd brought him to, close enough for him to lick her knowing how he acted. He looked to the ceiling like he'd be able to see through it, "If there's a god strike me down now." As if the world was just going to screw with him, someone in the village screamed-"FUCK DAT!"

Groaning, Naruto looked to her and started sniffing her some more, "Stop sniffing me you perv!" He didn't even smirk at that, "I'd normally say 'I can't, you smell too nice', but I'm not even sure that's the reason right now...Why aren't you running away, screaming that 'the Demon has raped' you or that 'the Demon tried to eat' you? That's what everybody else would do!"

At that point, Ino was done with this 'Demon' shit already. "SNAP OUT OF IT!" She yelled with a slap to the redhead's face, stunning him and everyone at the door watching the blonde straddling the redheaded psychopath. "YOU'RE NOT A GODS DAMNED DEMON, NARUTO-KUN! YOU'RE A LIVING, BREATHING, MOTHERFUCKING HUMAN BEING WITH A SERIOUS PSYCHOLOGICAL ILLNESS! SO GET A GRIP OR I'LL...I'll..." "'I'll' what, Ino-chan? Beat me to death, can't do that, can't die easily. Give me a tongue lashing, that happens to me all the time and in the bedroom it's not something that teaches a lesson but to be even more of a dick. So, what will you do to me?"

Naruto's question made Ino stop and sit there, on his pelvis in thought, not even taking notice of the bulge underneath her core. "I'll...I'll..." He sat up, looking her in the eye with a cocked eyebrow of curiosity, "Yes?" "I'll...SCREW IT!" She...

And so it continues

(Cue: Danparthenis-The Momentum. It fits the atmosphere.)She grabbed him by the collar and started to shake him furiously, anger in her eyes at her friend's uncharacteristic depression and weakness. His eyes were devoid of emotion, giving up to the 'torture' he would endure. "If you're gonna tortur-" He was the socked in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him as well as making Ino's wrist pop loudly, making the onlookers in the door wince in sympathy for the young woman.

"GET A GRIP! I'M NOT GONNA TORTURE YOU, KILL YOU, OR HURT YOU MORE THAN I HAVE TO! SO CUT THAT SHIT OUT!" "To what end? I got caught up in the heat of the moment and let my emotions get the better of me, leaving me vulnerable to everything. What good's a shinobi who can't keep himself reigned in?" Ino groaned loudly in frustration of not getting anywhere. "This is 'cause of what the shadows said, isn't it?! You're getting weepy just 'cause they called you a few names?!" Those, were the wrong words to say.

"No!" Naruto said as he got up suddenly, tossing Ino off of his pelvis in the process and making her emit a quiet 'yipe' of surprise. "It's not the words, it's not just the voices...It's the material, the truth behind the insults! I'm not normal, I've known this since I was a child, and I was made fun of 'cause of it! I'm constantly reminded that I can never have what everyone else does, the life I can never live...All 'cause a war between clans brought its would be destruction to its doorstep!" He snarled these words out, making the staff at the door run for their lives in terror.

"Do you know what it feels like to watch as those you hold dear age right before your eyes? Can you imagine the hurt you'd feel at the sight of your classmates, teammates, and others go about their days with their families while you're left alone and in the dirt?! Could you dream of the torment you'd endure for something you had no control over? The insults, the beatings, the stares, the neglect, the evil, the heinous power...It all points to the monster that I am..." The fire in his eyes died down as he sank to his knees and hands, tears welling up in his eyes at the memories the shadows' influence had invoked.

Inoichi's daughter rose from her place on the bed, where Naruto's rising had landed her, slowly and approached her friend cautiously. "Naruto-kun," She said quietly, hating to see him in such a state of disrepair and pain. "I can't even begin to imagine what you endured, but it's all over now..." Her words brought upon a different reaction than she'd bargained. Naruto leaped onto the ceiling and growled lowly as the tribal markings returned to his body, giving him a most intimidating appearance.

"You won't get close enough to kill me! Not like when I was young, never again!" He lunged at her, claws extended for her throat when she called out mentally once more in fear and unknown instincts, FOXY-KUN DON'T! And his slitted eyes widened as he used his tails of chakra to stop his descent. He remained there, glaring at the floor with his eyes overshadowed by his locks of hair. "How do you know that nickname to begin with?! WHY CAN'T I HURT YOU?! RRRAAWWHHH!" His short roar made Ino cover her ears and close her eyes in fright of what Naruto's rage would bring about.

"Outside of Ninjutsu I'm useless, everyday I look for jutsu I can use that are more than my mastered art. And all I can do is Medical Jutsu..." Ino's eyes opened at that, "Well that's something, right?!" She asked hopefully, praying to the gods that this change of topic would lighten his mood. "But even that hurts me." And her eyes widened, her mouth stuck as an 'o' and any hopes died. "The times I tried using youki to heal, it only hurt those I wanted to heal. I'm able to heal people, but in exchange for healing their wounds they suffer. Youki is denser than chakra, it heals but the smallest amount can destroy a human's internal organs while healing them, forcing them to endure torture unintended upon their minds."

"As a descendant from one of the clans that populated Uzu no Kuni, my reserves and life force are much larger than any normal human beings. My aging is delayed, my maturity sped up, my healing quicker and my life full of adventure. What could go wrong?!" He asked in a rhetorically raised voice, making Ino look to him in confusion of where he was taking this. "As a teacher, a teammate, an ally, a son, a brother, a rival and a father my biggest and most important responsibility is my kur, or pack if you need a better word for it." Ino fell to her knees to look Naruto in the eye, only for him to look away.

"But...I can never do that. I have to avoid my kur so they don't have to watch me pass them by as I had to watch my rival and cousin pass me by in the academy. Do you...know what a parent's greatest fear is? Give it your best guess." She looked to him in confusion before answering carefully. "Their children dying before their time?" He chuckled mirthlessly at that, "You're almost right. It's for them to die after their children pass on. I am forced, I have, to watch all of you as you age right before my eyes while don't age a year. My student, my daughter, my mother, my god-father, my cousins, my classmates, my kur...All of you are blessed to be able to spend the rest of your lives with each other and gratify me with the privilege of living it with you, but I-I-I-" His tears came in force, the markings receding, choking escaping his throat.

"I can never know that wonderful feeling of dying with my loved ones, my precious people, my belongings, my kur! When I die, when you and the rest are long dead, I will be all alone. My first belonged ones, before the Konoha no Juichinin, were Itachi, Yugao-chan, Shisui and Ageha-sensei. They let me live with them in their extraordinary lives as mortal human beings, and I reveled in that blessing of a privilege! But they grew old right in front of me, while I remained stagnant in appearance and status. As a kit, or boy at the time, I wanted nothing more than to become Hokage, but then I saw what my beloved belonged ones were undergoing and knew that even if I attained that dream they would never be able to live it out with me like I had envisioned. It was when Shisui died that I forced myself to leave them to their own devices, not telling them anything for their benefit." He sobbed all of this out, tears running down his whisker-marked cheeks to stain the carpeting.

"I drowned myself in my work as a Gaiden, only interacting with people as a charade so that the Rookie of the Year would be swamped instead of me where I would have to endure the pain of watching anyone who wanted to be close to me shrivel away. When Itachi left he came to me with one request," Naruto looked up now, repeating the words like they had been spoken fresh only a few moments ago, "'Protect my brother from as much harm as possible and keep him walking the path to avenge the Uchiha Clan, for I will need his eyes...'. I never saw him again, my rival left without so much more as a good bye or a farewell. But the part that kills me is that even if I were to die by the sides of my belonged ones and precious people, I'd never be accepted. I'm truly alone, even the other jinchuuriki will have passed on before me. Every day I walk along the roads, envying the happy, family-filled, wonderful, blessed lives of those around me while I must walk alone for all my unfortunately long life! I'm damned to live alone! I can never make new belonged ones out of people I meet, for they will only distract me from those I had and I will be forced to watch as they turn to dust as well!" Naruto's pain was heartfelt as he looked into Ino's eyes now, his slitted reds having reverted to those piercing, beautiful, slitted blues she'd learned to adore during the months of the trip.

"I can never live happily, not with Mari-chan, not with my children, not with my kur...I am a monster for carrying this and acting like nothing's the matter! Every passing day I feel immense pain at the sight of your faces, so happy and full of life that is slipping away from you so slowly I almost want to put you out of your misery...But I can't...I can't because I'm selfish and a demon for letting you get close to me, forcing you to die slowly as I pass you by and have to stay young as a cruel, evil reminder of what you will never have back and how much you'll never know! I'M A DEMON, DON'T YOU GET IT!" He slammed his fists into the floor, making it creaks and splinter underneath his youki-enhanced strength. Ino's eyes were full of tears, now knowing why he was so hurt. It really wasn't the words, the voices or the solitude; it was the agony of having to be alone and be called a demon while acting as an unintentional, demonically cruel reminder that they had lives to live that he could never have to share with them.

He hated his existence not for what he kept at bay or the cruelty he endured, but because he was too considerate for his own good and that he was forever destined to be alone. It was his reason for only getting close to so few people, because they understood and accepted this but wouldn't let him rot away alone while they lived their short lives without him. This life he lead wasn't for others, not even of his own kind, it was for those who could stand on their own, four paws and pad along like nothing had happened while in reality wanting nothing more to die but never granting that wish to honor those who had passed on beforehand. There was nothing she could do but sob with him, her head on his shoulder as tears left her eyes and she embraced him, holding him close like she wouldn't be able to if she didn't hold on tight.

"Don't hate yourself like this... you're not a demon, Naruto-kun, you're a wonderful man who should celebrate your life and the lives of those around you..." She whimpered this out through sniffles and sobs, "Please don't ever hate yourself like this! It hurts yourself and those around you. The people who love you for who you are and what you do for us. Never do this to yourself ever again! Distract yourself at all times, spend as much time with us as possible and enjoy the short time you have with us! We're here to be there for you, to help pick you up when you fall and to help you grow where we can...You're not alone, Naruto-kun! Don't you ever think different! I know I wasn't the best of friends when I was younger, but I'm all better now and you're always able to lean on me when you need to. I'm not just a friend or 'belonged one', I'm a part of your kur. Your family...We all are..." Those words reverberated softly throughout his entire being, his eyes welling up with tears as he saw the Konoha no Juichinin, his old team, his senseis, his adoptive family, his children, his belonged ones before he took their memories, his followers, his teachers who supported him, Ayame, Teuchi, and many others he'd met along the way...They all stood there in his field of vision, opaque but there nonetheless as if to say 'we are here for you and we will never leave you for as long as we can help it'.

Tears came back, more than ever as he shuddered, sobbed and choked up with happiness and sadness. There was nothing more to be said, but Naruto did one better. Wrapping his arms around her, holding her tight enough to press her against his slightly larger frame without killing her, he nuzzled his face against her cheek and fox-purred in unknowable amounts of gratitude only he knew. Ino smiled with tears falling from her eyes, happiness returning to her heart that the man she'd fallen-Into this sadness with!-was back to normal, or nearly. His purrs held a rhythm, a rhythm she tracked half heartedly and was able to understand what they meant, unconditional gratitude.

"You're...welcome, Naruto-kun! You're welcome." She said with tears streaming down her face more and more, "Know from now on that you're never alone...'cause if no one else, I'll be there to pick you up when you can't lift yourself on your own...'Cause that's how much I love you-As a friend! Hehehehe!" Naruto purred without stopping still, oblivious to Ino's near slip up. All Ino could do was blush at nearly giving her kitsune-hearted friend the wrong idea. "I don't know how many good memories you have, but now's not the time to dwell on the bad ones. Now's the time to let me help you so that this time is used for making good ones!"

(Uncue music) Out of the blue, ironically, Mars Light appeared in all her red glory out of a puff of smoke with her weapons readied for...who knew what. "Awight, 'nough with the touchy-feely shit, we've got work to do if you wanna live, Girly!" The three-tailed nature spirit then grabbed the two young(Kinda?) adults by their scruffs. "I know that Uzumaki created 'is own Sage Mode, so we're gonna do what we can to give you that same edge. 'Cause I sure as fuck ain't gonna let my first summoner in centuries-Hell, millennia-die. 'Specially one so..." She ogled Ino again, licking her lips at the blonde's curvaceous figure and beautiful features that she normally didn't find in a human.

"Gifted..." Was Mars' tactful sigh of arousal, making Ino blush as she said heatedly, "My eyes are up here, Light-sama!" And a mischievous smirk crossed Mars' face as she let go of the scruffs of the two shinobi. "'Light-sama', eh? As much as I like the submissive quality to it, you of all people don't need to call me by my last name. Mars-sama's just fine, Sexy-chan!" The blush on Ino's face grew to be enough that she could beat a younger Hinata at the art of becoming a tomato. Naruto, in all of the playfulness, came up behind Ino and caught her in a hug from behind, wrapping his arms around her chest so her breasts were squished. All Ino could do was yelp and squeal a little at the surprise 'assault' on her person.

"Haha, gotcha Ino-chan! Gotcha good, again!" Being in such a better mood, Naruto picked Ino up bridal style for a second, making the girl blush before he had her slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes or a princess being kidnapped. (...Nicest way I've ever put it...) "So, Mars, how are we gonna get this one," He slapped Ino's ass as a way to, one, cop a feel, and two, to drive home who he was talking about. An indignant yelp of 'hey' was all Ino could really do before Naruto started to shuffle her around ungracefully until she was slung over his shoulders fireman style. Looking to her, he said nonchalantly to the blushing young woman, "Hi, how's it going? Or would it be 'laying'?"

The blush grew deeper, if that were possible, and she ended up smacking him, which made her hand hurt more than it did hurt him. "How are we gonna teach this fine specimen-" "Quit it!" Ino whined out indignantly, making the two smirk triumphantly as the passed each other and clapped the other's hand before tossing Ino up in the air for Mars to catch and carry fireman style.

"'How to enter and use Sage Mode'?" Mars finished for him, making him nod. "Well, first on my list would be to tone her already lovely figure. Second would be to teach her how to gather Nature Energy without turning to stone as a carbuncle..." She trailed off, looking out the hole Naruto made earlier in serious thought. "You're making this list up as you go aren't you?" "Mmmmm-yeah."

He sighed, hanging his head. "Alright, first part means we're gonna have to get outta the village or use children as weights." Ino gaped at him at the image of using kids as exercise equipment. "The second part would involve me telling you how to gather Nature Energy as a basic form so you and the other carbuncle can all get horny on each other and have a brainstorming orgy on how to make it your own."

That revelation made Ino lose her gape and sort of stare around the room for something other to look at besides her red furred carrier. But Mars wasn't having that, "Don't worry, Yama-chan, I'll take you sometime so you can finally know the pleasures of popping your cherry. Of sheathing the enchanted sword. Of taming the dragon in your cave of wonders! Of-" "Atatatata! No no no. I ain't gonna do that! Nope nope nope!"

(Cue: DJ Snake ft. Lil Jon-Turn Down for What/Charlie XCX-Break the Rules/ Kesha-Die Young) Ino tried to wrestle herself out of Mars' arms, ending up in the bridal position in the process before Naruto looked to Mars and smirked. "Hold onto something!" "What?" Was all Ino got out before Naruto and Mars took off out the hole in the wall, faster than any of the times she Shunshin'd on her own. They touched a rooftop and Mars whispered in Ino's ear sultrily, "You're not gonna know what's happening for the next three hours, I'd suggest you hold onto me very tightly!"

"EH?!" "Favorite game, Mars?" Said summon looked up in thought as they landed on another rooftop, moving again and then stopping on a dime, literally. "..." A smirk found its way to Mars' face as she stomped on the edge of the coin, sending it flipping into the air before she caught it midair. "Ever play hookie?" A good-natured sneer grew on Naruto's face (If that seems like contradictory statement, congratulations: Ya just got yourselves a kick in the nuts or stomach for bein' a prick 'bout it if ya wanna bitch 'bout it later.) making Ino whimper in fear while Mars sneered as well. The carbuncle matriarch tossed Ino onto her back, wrapping her tree tails around the platinum blonde's waist with one wrapping her breasts tightly to her frame, making the the girl grunt in surprise from how tight her summon was making it to breath.

They were off again, buildings were flashing by them. People's faces were a blur and their words were a jumble. And the two runners were actually talking quite easily while Ino was unable to hear anything they said. Everyone they passed by was seeing a pair of blurs moving down the streets and up the walls. Stopping out of the blue, Ino was launched off of Mars' back only for Naruto to catch her by the scruff of them neck. "We're here, Ino-chan!" Looking up at the building they'd stopped in front of, she found herself staring at-"The Kirgakure no Sato Academy? This is your idea of a challenge?"

She turned to look at Naruto, who was still wearing that damnably frightening sneer. "Oh, it isn't enough of a challenge, eh? Well, let's up the stakes...What do you say, Mars?" And the 'playful' smirk grew into a devilish Cheshire Cat smile, "Yes. Let's make this even more fun! Place a seal on her to keep her in a Henge of a Gaiden..." Naruto started cackling lightly before he caught sight of something scuttling away, making him transform and chase after it, which made Mars chase after him as well.

Ino was left there alone, and just as she was about to leave, Naruto and Mars appeared with-"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" In Naruto's mouth was what appeared to be a small anteater with scales, which it technically was. Mars smiled and tickled the beast's belly a little, making it curl up in an adorable manner that Ino found kind of scary.

"It's a pangolin, innit cute?!" Indeed it was, the poor thing was scared to death but it was still adorable. Its tail was large for an animal the size of about a house cat and the tail was thick too, giving it a power and balance most animals didn't have the luxury of having. Its claws were large for its paws, and it also opened its mouth to groan in fear, revealing its toothless jaws. Its eyes were so frightened, begging to be let free when Mars took the little thing out of Naruto's bleeding jaws. A sigh of relief was the response for removing the sharp scaled creature from his maw, "You've no idea how much that kills-ah. Holy shit, I think I might've cut one of my teeth! Damn..."

Mars held the adorable little beast like a carbuncle cub, causing it to rub into her breasts in a cuddling fashion that didn't seem to hurt her. She purred kindly at the cute creature as she offered it to Ino like a nurse does to a parent with their child for the first time, "You wanna hold her? She's still only seven years old, she's very fragile..."

"Fragile, right. I love these little fucks as much as a carbuncle cub, but those scales hurt when they get to the age of five-ah!" "You gonna be okay, Naruto-kun?" Ino strode over and placed her now glowing hands to his mouth, healing him before making him cough out smoke, which made Ino wave the smoke out of her face. "What was that about?"

"Youki counteracts foreign energies from living beings aside from the world itself. So trying to heal me won't do shit for me, sorry. Nice try, though! Anyway!" He slapped her on the chest lightly, making her blush and try to slap him, only for her to realize that she'd shrunken. Her clothes had morphed with her, but it was her dimensions that made her eyes widen in terror as she covered up her now 'developing' breasts and shrunken ass. She then did the smart thing, started trying to beat him up and each attack was deflected or caught in his clawed fists. Naruto then did something cruel, he Henged so his hitae-ate was of Kirigakure and he was a pink haired guy without whiskers.

"Well well well, what have we here Mars?" Mars had Henged into a beautiful pink-red haired woman with F-cup breasts like Naruko, only her features were natural and only a fusion of her natural breasts. She wore yoga pants and a tube top, accentuating her features. "I don't know Maro-chan, but it looks like a certain Gaiden's decided to play hookie..." And it was soon obvious what was going on, "Oh no. Oh, no no no no NO NO NO!"

Naruto went ahead and grabbed Ino by her scruff, picking her up and carrying her into the academy with Mars using one of her Henged tails as her hitae-ate for Kiri. Looking at the classrooms and the age groups, they found one that met the requirements of Ino's appearance. A foot to the door sent it flying into the far wall, "'Sup, H-Two-Hoes! We got us a hooker to play with!" The classroom was silent at Naruto's boisterous attitude and playful commentary.

The teacher, a fine, young woman with long, baby blue hair, looked to 'Maro' in shock with a blush on her face as glitter flew before her eyes and she heard a loving, sexy man's voice ask her huskily, "Can you take care of this miscreant, Milady?" "Wh-What?!" And that was gone. "I said, 'quit staring at me, it's creepy and rude'! Anyway, I caught this one," He pressed his hand down on Ino's head, making a squeaky noise reverberate throughout the classroom which got some of the students to laugh at the odd noise, getting Ino to blush in angry embarrassment.

"Skipping class. She even went so far as to say that she wasn't going back to, and I quote, 'that bitch, Mikiho's class for anything'." The now named Mikiho glared at Ino menacingly, making Naruto smile sweetly as he knelt down to whisper into Ino's ear, "Have fun relearning everything before the Genin Exams!" "Actually, today's the Genin Exam, so she's going to have to do things the old fashioned way..." An evil grin crossed the fair skinned woman's face, which made Maro and Mars smirk evilly too. "So you're gonna have her fight a Jounin or Chuunin to death or incapacitation? Sugoi!"

(uncue music) Mars' excitement and beauty made the students feel uneasy around her and either jealous or suffer nosebleeds. Mikiho was still staring at Maro like a fangirl when Ino coughed into her hand and glared at her 'teacher', the glare saying 'back off, bitch, this one is mine'. "Hey, Miki-chan," The fine, young woman blushed at his choice of honorific while Ino was seething on the inside, making Mars smile as she whispered perverted fantasies they could enact with Maro out of the equation.

"Would it be alright if Mars-chan and I fight her?" Mikiho looked to him curiously before looking to the ceiling with a finger to her chin, "I don't know...We haven't had to use this type of graduation for a few years, so it's not really a good idea to have a Jounin or Chuunin who doesn't know this...'darling' child at least a little. But since it hasn't been used for so long," She bit her bottom lip, making Maro smile at her honest personality while Mars felt attracted to the fine specimen of a Kiri woman, If things go as well as planned then Yama-chan's gonna learn some things!

"I guess it's alright, if you tell some of the students what it's like to be a shinobi of our village!" Maro and Mars exchanged a glance, they'd done things like this before so they knew how to act in situations of this sort. "I don't know if they really wanna know about little, old me! After all, I'm just one lady. And Maro-chan's always keeping jerks off me, but if they really wanna know..." The whole classroom cheered to know about the attractive pair, while Ino was also curious of what they would tell the class.

"Then I guess we don't have a choice, Mars. Alright," Maro said as he strolled up the walls to sit crosslegged on the ceiling while Mars sat on the Mikiho's desk after asking if it were alright. "Where to begin? I guess the beginning's always best, but our early lives weren't that interesting, so I'll skip to the parts kids like these days: the action. Our first mission as actual shinobi outside the village was to escort a merchant caravan, they were peddlers of wonderful medicines that could heal nearly any injury or illness. The common cold, never existed after it was used. Infections, history! They would be able to heal entire nations if they had the proper funding."

"But since the medicines were so important and the ingredients so rare, they were targeted for their wares. It normally would've been considered A-rank, but the Sandaime was under clever. Very clever, so clever in fact that he found a way to erase any trace of them from history books and most gossip. Unfortunately, as everything else, the best laid plans go awry. We were to escort them to Nami no Kuni where a serious sickness was taking lives upon lives."

Mars looked somber at the mention of the sickness, her complexion and modest garb was a clear indicator that she was descended from Nami. The entire class noticed the sympathetic look Maro gave Mars, making them listen in. "On our seventh day on the trip, bandits found us. They out numbered us ten to seventy-five, not great odds even for our Jounin sensei. The bandits got to the carts and set them alight, burning them to ashes with the recipes for the medicines and ingredients list. They then went for the peddlers, torturing for the medicinal recipes from their memories. Mars and I were only thirteen at the time, fresh outta the academy with no true combat experience. Sensei told us to run back to the village for help, which we wanted nothing more to do had our teammate not sold us out and ran off after tying us up and leaving us for dead!"

The entire class was silent, Mars had tears in her eyes at the hard memories. "When the bandits went for us, our sensei stopped them from killing us and gave us the time to escape our bonds. We ran, we ran for our lives to escape certain death. In that time to get back to the village, the bandits tracked us down to kill us. We were stubborn though, always laying traps and spending only half an hour asleep at a time per night, it wasn't easy. It was brutal, the times we had to kill them ourselves to stop anymore from finding us. As soon as we got back, we nearly died. We were exhausted from little to no rest, almost no rations and trauma of seeing our entire mission go to Hell. The moment our feet touched Kiri ground, the bandits came at us with nothing held back until we found the Sandaime there, standing right in front of us, beating the bandits into the dirt like they were nothing. We're forever working to honor his sacrifice, and ever since that first mission Mars and I've been damn near inseparable! What started in tragedy, continues in grace and joy..."

Tears fell from their eyes, glad to let that off their chests. The class was silent, before clapping started up slowly until it was an uproar of praise and gratitude for trusting these complete strangers with their traumatic past. Maro dropped from the ceiling and wrapped his arms around Mars in a comforting hug, which she returned with a happy look in her hurt eyes. "The moral of this story's that not every mission ends in victory, not every battle is won by the victors and everything we do is big deal. Remember that, kids, 'cause if you take even a shred of something for granted...it just might be ripped from your grasp before you realize it."

The students were teary eyed at the pain they saw in the two Jounins' eyes, the trust they'd been placed with and the sincerity they'd spoken with. Even Ino, who knew they were acting, had watery eyes. "But enough of the past, it's time to look to the future, or more importantly: the future of a certain Gaiden..." Ino then gulped in fear as Mars and Maro took her outside the academy for her Genin Exam.

(Cue: Eminem ft. Rihanna-Monster/Shawn Mendes-Stitches) Mikiho took her class out to see how it went, bringing a clipboard to mark off-"What's your name, girl?" "Her name's Yama, Yama Oni. She's my cousin's daughter, Miki-chan!" Mars' chipper tone was heartfelt, and it made Maro smile to see his partner in high spirits. "Alright, Yama, first off is Taijutsu. Show us what you've learned outside of my classroom, since I'm obviously such a bad teacher!"

"Remember, Yama-chan, just 'cause you're stuck using Taijutsu doesn't mean we are. So don't be surprised when-" "Start!" "Akuton: Kuroki Furea!" Maro opened his mouth, inhaling as black sparks started entering his mouth, before he shot forth rockets of black fire. "That happens!" Mars finished with a sweet smile as Ino tried to dodge the rockets made of black fire. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT JUTSU?!"

"Oh, you mean Maro-chan's Akuton affinity? It's nothing special, just a side effect of having to be transferred onto Yagura's team. His youki started to fuse with Maro-chan's coils, while my own affinity's nature based. Case in point, Shiton: Chi to Hone no Tsume!" Mars' hands began to morph, her skin becoming furred and red, her nails lengthening into claws and the inside of her hands were padded. "This is the power of the former Yondaime Mizukage's teammates, monstrous is it not?" She asked angrily, feeling hatred boil in her blood as she charged at 'Yama' with the intent to leave a lasting impression in the minds of those gathered.

Maro's rockets didn't stop coming, only ceasing to recharge after about fifteen or so shots. Yama ducked under Mars' clawed fist, aiming to punch her in the elbow to break it when she was tripped from behind by the green haired beauty's leg, letting the lady slam her fist into Yama's stomach. Suddenly, Maro started screaming in pain, holding his throat as black sparks flew out of his open, silently screaming mouth while flames dripped out as liquid. "MARO/MARO-SAN!"

Mikiho and Mars ran over to the pink haired man's side, trying to help him in some way as he hit the ground and started flailing around. He held his throat and started to gasp for breath. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIM?!" Mikiho shouted out in worry, making Mars look to her with tears in her eyes. "O-Our exposure to Yagu-chan had a negative side effect on our coils, whenever we use our affinity based jutsu we suffer from pain. I hardly use mine, but Maro uses it almost religiously because he sees it as a blessing since he was never able to master any jutsu except those he the ones acquired and invented from being with Yagu-chan...There's nothing we can do but wait for this fit to end..."

Mars held Maro's head in her lap, making sure to keep his flailing from causing him a concussion. "Shiton: Taika Ashi..." Was the jutsu Mars muttered out, making her clawed hands transform into actual paws. The paws she had were still red furred, but these paws had small scales overlapping the lower areas of each individual lock of fur, protecting her tender fur from the black, liquid fire that leaked out of Maro's open, gasping mouth. Slowly, the sparks stopped flying and he wasn't drooling black fire anymore. "Better now, Maro-chan?" She received a nod, making her smile with tears dripping onto his face before he tapped his chin with his two fingers.

"Get him some water, now!" Mikiho signaled to one of the students, all of whom had rushed over when they'd seen Maro-san flailing around in agony. The student Mikiho signaled ran into the academy and soon after returned with a full water skin, handing it to Mars who then placed it to Maro's lips after lifting him up a little, which made him start drinking from it greedily until Mars pulled it away so he could breath. He took a few grateful breaths before getting up quickly and rushing Yama, who rolled out of the way and leaped at him with a kick to the head.

He raised his arms into an 'x' in front of his face, keeping the younger shinobi's foot away from his head area. But what he got instead of a groan in disappointment was a smirk, as Yama flipped back and launched herself at Maro. The pink haired man twisted out of the way, causing Yama's launching to send her right behind him before he jumped into the air with a spin and landed on her back, making a painful crack resound throughout the courtyard.

Maro prepared a slam, raising both hands as a combined strike before Yama flipped him off her back, sending him onto the academy wall where Yama ran up to fight him. "Chakra control down, huh? Smart! You decided to watch older shinobi as they trained their Genin so you could avoid sitting through class. Damn, if only I'd thoughta that at your age...I'd have been outta the academy on the Genin Exam without any trouble!" His praise only left him open, allowing Yama to roll behind him and kick him right in the family jewels. And all the males in the courtyard or spectating from anywhere else winced in sympathy, while Maro was left crumpling on the wall.

"Dirty tricks, eh? Well, two can play at that game, Yama!" His legs were swung at Yama's head, transforming in the process to become dragon talons. Bending at the back, she dodged the attack and then straightened up once more, before Maro's fist made contact with her face and knocked her focus to shit, causing her to fall to the ground with a heavy thud!

He dropped to the ground and knelt next to the platinum blonde, "How'd she do?" Mikiho looked to her clipboard, checking over everything she'd scribbled down on it. "I'd say she did quite well for a student who hasn't spent a day in class, makes me wonder if we should let her teach students in the village as a lesser-field training!" Maro smirked at that, "No surprise. She's related to Mars, so it's almost genetic that she's this good. What were your digits, Mars?"

Said pink-red haired beauty tapped her chin with her eyes turned skyward in thought before she said smugly, "I'm pretty sure that my Taijutsu was ranked just under the Rookie of the Year by about a point, three-point-five if I'm to hazard a guess! What're hers?" The teacher looked to her clipboard again before looking to the sky in calculation, "Three-point-four! Incredible, I think I might have to talk to the Mizukage about this to issue a lesser-field training program!"

(Uncue music)Mars smiled at that, remembering older days where that was the norm. "I'm glad we were helpful, does she need to go through everything else or can we just go?" Mikiho looked to her with a sidelong glance before nodding with an equally happy smile, "I don't need to look at her other skills if her spar with Maro-san was anything to go by." "Great, that means we can head home sooner and I can get to sleep!" Maro was already outside of the Academy grounds at that point, arms folded behind his head lazily while Mars picked Yama up and carried her after her teammate.

"Have fun, Yama-chan?" Mars asked with a sweet smile, walking next to Maro with Yama on her back in a piggyback ride. "Not really..." Yama groaned painfully, bruises having been left by Maro's attacks. As soon as they left the sight of the Academy Ino started to revert back to normal with her companions doing the same, "How did you two know how to act back in the classroom like that? It was like you'd rehearsed it thousands of times."

"We weren't lying." Was Naruto's simple answer, getting Mars to smile playfully at the Uzumaki while Ino was staring at him confusingly. "But, you-I-huh?!" Mars smiled at that, saying kindly to her red haired companion, "I think she needs more information than that, Naruto." A sigh was the Kitsunin's response, "Fineee! Mars and I've worked together on missions, the one you heard about in the classroom was our first one together. I'm a jinchuuriki, meaning I'm connected to one of the Bijuu, but that also prevents me from having a natural summon species. So I take a tag of paper, write a summoning species seal on it, then write my name in my own blood and bodda-bing-bodda-boom: I've got myself a temporary contract! Mars was the first one I made a temporary contract with. It was an accident actually, I got the Tsuki Usagi and Nekomata seal form confused for one another so I went for a combination to see if I got both and I-well-I got...the bitch carrying you-OI!"

He was hit by one of Mars' tails, while the nature spirit was humming a chipper tune of warning at him. "Anyway, you're stuck with her, not me. So that's a plus-AHOI!" The same tail hit him in the back of the head again, sending him into a nearby wall of the empty alleyway towards the inn. "I'm not that bad, just a little...hard to handle at times! Oh look, we're here." And indeed they were, as Naruto had flown through the open door into the bar counter where Tsunade had been drinking and now found her relative with his face in the bar. "Hah, lightweight, can't drink without hurting himself!"

Pulling his face out of the bar, Naruto said testily, "Look who's talking, boozer! You can't hold your sake without getting hammered almost instantly!" "You wanna go, bastard?!" They were literally butting heads now, lightning sparking between their glaring eyes. The door had been closed by a civilian before Mars kicked the door in with Ino over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, "'SUP BITCHEEEEEEEESSSSSSS!" As everyone turned to the vulgar mouthed woman, the majority of the inn was blushing or on the floor with fountain of bloods coming from their noses as Mars stepped past their heads with her rabbit/cat-like paws. "Who killed them?"

"Maybe your lack of clothes, perhaps?" Was Naruto's honestly curious offer, making everyone who was still conscious either facepalm or facefault. "Hey, Naruto, how's about you and me play a game of 'Will It Booze'?" A look of amusement crossed their faces as they clapped the other's hand as they passed each other, tossing Ino onto Naruto's back as he rushed off to get who knew what. Mars leaped over the bar, grabbing a few things that had no correlation: a bottle cap, a broken shot glass and a few burning papers from the brewery underneath the counter.

Naruto came back, holding a somewhat concerned Ino in his mouth by the scruff once again. In his hands were a bunch of wooden splinters from the door Temari destroyed, the hinges from said door, pieces of the wall he'd destroyed earlier that day, and shreds of blankets. "Let's start/start!" They said as one, making everyone in the room who was conscious, which was all of the Konoha no Juichinin and co., worry.

"Alright, which to start with? Mars, opinions?" The nature spirit looked at the options before saying smugly, "Let's start with the hinges!" Naruto smirked at that and brought out a long, black sickle blade with white, ornate symbols along the length of the blade. Its handle was wrapped up in bandage material, and it was accentuated with three black spikes on the outside of the handle. At the end of the handle away from the blade was what appeared to be a kunai blade.

"Zutazuta ni Suraisu; Naka!" He tossed the hinges into the air and sliced through them once before he started slashing through them as a blur at almost every angle. Suddenly, he stopped and the hinges broke into shards that fell into shot glasses after hanging there for a second. Sighing in relief, he resealed the weapon into a seal on his exposed shoulder. "That went better than expected..." Out of the blue, several slices appeared on the bar's woodwork. "That's what you're expecting?" Was Mars' smug question, making Naruto sigh tiredly with a nod before sitting down and breaking his stool.

"Yep, better stand then." He did just that and then filled his and Mars' glasses before clinking against hers and downing it in one go. "Oh, that's..." Mars swallowed hers at the same time as him, coughing after doing so, "Harsh! Damn...Never doing hinges again, don't want the rust in my system, holy fuck!" It was going to be an interesting evening for everyone...

XXXXXXXXXXXX

That's a wrap ladies, gents an' other! I hope y'all enjoyed that fight scene I made there, an' I hope it's better than some of my earlier fights 'cause those weren't that great. If y'all're wonderin' why Ino's Taijutsu score seemed so low for a Chuunin, it's 'cause the seal Naruto placed on her kept her in a Henge that's solid. So her performance was kinda shitty compared to what it'd be without the seal keepin' her in the form of a Gaiden. Not a lot of questions I can think of, so as always: R&R, no flamin' my ass, constructive criticism, an' SEE YA-G'NIGHT!