Disclaimer: All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.

Warnings: AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up.

AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.

Chapter 34: Carnival Sideshow

Tuesday, September 02, 2003, Mid-Afternoon
Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni

Harry silently followed Yamato into the Hokage's office; the two of them had just been notified that Jiraiya had finally returned to the village. The wizard probably would have felt more than a little nervous about the coming meeting (since the results could affect his current standing in the village) if not for the fact that he was more than a little preoccupied by the continued absence of Yuugao. Harry hadn't seen or heard from the woman since she'd kissed him the day his team had returned from Nami and he was beginning to think that she was avoiding him. She'd not even shown up to spar with him the next day like she'd said she would.

He would quickly shelve his long-held insecurities and growing frustration over her disappearance the moment he felt the Sandaime activate one of the more powerful barriers that protected his office from eavesdroppers. A brief scan of the office revealed that Tsunade, Inoichi, Ibiki, and Shikaku were in attendance in addition to the Hokage, Jiraiya, and Yamato. He was actually surprised that a number of the individuals he had expected to be present for this meeting were conspicuous in their absence (such as Kasai, the Hokage's advisors, and his former AnBu Guards).

Part of him was glad that Yuugao was not in attendance because he was certain he would have made a complete arse out of himself if she had been there. At the same time, her absence also made him wonder if she really was avoiding him. He quickly pushed the matter out of his mind a second time when the Hokage began speaking.

"Now that we are all here, shall we get down to business?" the Hokage inquired as soon as Harry and Yamato finished greeting those present.

A grimace briefly flashed across Harry's face before he began unbuckling the various blades he carried with him ninety-five percent of the time. A quick flick of his holly wand produced a side table for him to place the blades on. He then removed his dragon hide cloak and shirt next so that neither garment would get in Jiraiya's way as the man inspected the Containment Seal on his stomach. The last thing he did was put away the glass disks he used for his daily chakra control exercises.

Harry felt a touch awkward standing in the middle of the Hokage's office half dressed but he easily ignored the feeling. Seven years on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team and sharing a dorm with four other boys had long since inured him to being in a partial state of dress in front of others. He might have once felt highly uncomfortable being in such a state in front of Tsunade but she'd quickly teased him out of his embarrassment within the first four months he'd lived in the village thanks to the weekly appointments he'd had with her to monitor his chakra coils.

That didn't stop the light flush from creeping up the back of his neck when he noticed the smirk on her face though.

"Light 'em up, Takeshi," Jiraiya instructed as he stepped up beside Harry so he would have a clear view of the wizard's stomach.

Harry quickly complied with the gruff command as folded his hands together in the ram seal and began circulating his chakra through his body. Within seconds of him actively channeling his chakra, the Containment Seal binding half of the Kyuubi to his soul shimmered into existence on his abdomen. At first glance, the seal appeared identical to the Hakke no Fuuin Shiki adorning Naruto's stomach but the moment one looked closer, they would notice several very small differences.

The first difference was the number of turns that made up the spiral in the center of the design; the one on Naruto's stomach only had two full circles while Harry's had three. The thickness of the lines making up the spirals were also slightly different, the lines on Naruto's were roughly a millimeter thicker than one on Harry's. Additionally, the mirrored Shishou Fuuin that bracketed the spiral contained slightly different symbols. Finally, centered overtop of the entire seal (in a razor thin line that was barely visible) was a faint imprint of the Deathly Hallows symbol.

Most of the differences were insignificant; a mere indication that the seals had been created under completely different circumstances and powered by two different chakra signatures. The inclusion of the Deathly Hallows symbol was what truly separated Harry's Containment Seal from Naruto's seal.

That little addition was what would unleash the half of the Kyuubi sealed inside of Harry upon his death; the symbol meant to act as a doorway between Harry's soul and the world the moment his body ceased to function.

It was also the reason why Minato's soul was trapped in the world of the living and why his spirit was so tightly tied to Harry's body. Unknown to both wizard and ghost, it was also the death magic in the Hallows that prevented Minato's ghost from becoming a vengeful spirit since his soul lacked the magic necessary to stabilize his presence in the land of the living. Without that link, Minato would have lost all sense of self within the first three months of his release from the Shinigami's stomach.

The first time Jiraiya had noticed the faint symbol of the Hallows, the older man had freaked out a bit. Apparently, the Deathly Hallows symbol looked very similar to the symbol used by a particularly nasty cult that worshiped an unpleasant god by the name of Jashin. The symbol of Jashin consisted of an upside-down triangle inside of a circle. Once Jiraiya had calmed down enough to note that the symbol of the Hallows consisted of a vertical line bisecting a circle inside of a right-side up triangle, he calmed down and questioned Harry about he symbol.

At the time, Harry had still been rather mistrustful though and all he'd told Jiraiya was that the symbol was meant to represent death in the society into which he'd been born. It was the truth but it was not the full truth; since the Hallows represented so much more than just death. They were also a representation of humanity's fear of death and the inherent need and desire to survive that most humans embraced throughout their lives. That is not to say that all humans desired immortality, they didn't; it just meant that they wished to survive on an instinctual level.

There were, of course, exceptions. Sometimes, people lost their will to live. Other times, people just didn't have the strength to keep going.

That was only natural though.

Death, as frightening and final as it is, was merely one aspect of life.

A person is born, they live, and then they die.

That was the truth that Harry had accepted when he'd walked out to offer himself up to Voldemort in order to destroy the final horcrux in his scar.

Harry hadn't felt a need to explain all of that to Jiraiya at the time though. It wasn't that he didn't think the man would understand, because if anyone could understand the cycle of life and death, it would be a shinobi. He just hadn't wanted any one to reach the conclusion that he'd technically died for a brief moment. He had also had no desire to let anyone outside of the family know that the Hallows both existed and that he owned all three. The power they represented was far too tempting and he had no way of knowing if there were any other magicals living in the Elemental Countries.

The twenty-three year old was drawn out of his musings a moment later as Jiraiya announced, "The seal is still stable and it shows no signs of degradation or stress."

"That is good to know," the Hokage murmured with more than a little relief.

"Takeshi, would you be willing share your impressions of the Kyuubi with us?" Shikaku requested with obvious interest.

"She; the half of the Kyuubi that is sealed in me is female," Harry absently corrected as he ceased circulating his chakra and dropped his hands now that Jiraiya had finished inspecting the seal. "As for my impression of the fox; she is proud, very proud. She was also angry and confrontational. I would almost dare to say that she was confused and uncertain of what to make of me because she does not have access to my memories or my subconsciousness. The most notable thing I noticed was that she was still rather exhausted."

"She…?" Tsunade repeated incredulously.

"What…? Were you expecting the Kyuubi to be asexual simply because she is not human?"

"Tch, next you'll tell us that it has a name too."

"She does but I don't have permission to share her name with you," Harry retorted with a small smirk when he noted the brief look of shock that passed over the woman's face. "Getting her to tell me her name was like pulling teeth from a rabid squirrel in a peanut factory. She also has a mild aversion to the color pink."

"It is a shame that I can not view your memories of your encounter with the creature," Inoichi lamented absently.

"And I am thankful for the protection the Kyuubi's mere presence offers my mind from such intrusions," Harry countered flatly as he briefly glanced at the blond.

"Did you notice any anomalies during Takeshi's most recent medical assessment, Tsunade?" the Sandaime inquired to bring the meeting back on topic.

"Yes, the amount of stress that the steady influx of demonic chakra has been placing on Takeshi's chakra coils was halved. I do not know if the reduction is permanent or temporary though and will continue to monitor the situation for the next month or two to insure that any significant fluctuations won't cause serious damage to his chakra network."

"Do you know what caused the drastic change or when the change occurred?" Shikaku asked as he glanced between Harry and the kunoichi.

"No."

"Takeshi…?"

"No clue; I can't sense any difference in the flow of the Kyuubi's chakra that is mingling with mine."

"Could it be the result of the Kyuubi waking up and attempting to reclaim or withhold her chakra from the seals in an attempt to build up the power she would need to break free of the seal or influence her host?" Yamato inquired as he immediately jumped to the worst case scenario in order to prepare for the worst (a mindset that most high level shinobi fell into since it increased their chances of survival).

"No, the bijuu's state of consciousness should not have had any impact upon the seal's basic function," Jiraiya refuted without an ounce of hesitation.

"On top of that, I took time to place a few security measures while I was trapped within the sealscape," Harry added nonchalantly as he pulled his shirt and cloak back on before he buckled his swords back into place.

"What did you do?" Shikaku half demanded as he almost dropped his lazy façade.

"I collared the Kyuubi with binding seals and created a leash that allows me to control exactly how much of her chakra she has access to. I could, theoretically, stripe her of her chakra entirely if it should prove necessary. The best part is that she willingly allowed herself to be tied the moment she gave into her curiosity; which means that the bindings are far stronger than they would have been if I had attempted to force them on her. Additionally, the new seals are set up in such a way that they will automatically strip the Kyuubi of her chakra in the event that someone attempts to remove her from the seal. They should also activate upon my death and leave the Kyuubi powerless the moment she leaves the seal."

"Are you implying that you basically neutered the Kyuubi with its consent?" Jiraiya demanded in shock.

"Well, technically, you'd have to say I had her spayed; she is female. I take my responsibilities as a pet owner very serious, you know."

"Would you please stop referring to the Kyuubi as your pet?" the Hokage requested; his voice containing an obvious note of discomfort in regards to Harry's irreverent references to the half of the Kyuubi sealed inside of him.

"I make no promises, Hokage-sama."

The older man glowered at Harry for a brief moment before he addressed Jiraiya once more, "You are certain that the Containment Seal is stable?"

"Hai, sensei."

"Are you still determined to establish further contact with your prisoner, Takeshi?"

"Yes, I believe the best way to prepare Naruto for the day he inevitably faces the half of the Kyuubi that he holds is for me to learn as much as I can from the half that I hold. And the best way to do that is for me to speak with my passenger and compare what I learn from her with what I have learned about the Kyuubi from Mito-sama and Kushina-san."

"You will also need to start learning how to access, use, and control the Kyuubi's chakra," Jiraiya mused in a thoughtful tone.

"He'll do no such thing until I am one hundred percent certain that his chakra network has fully adjusted to the constant influx of the Kyuubi's chakra into his system," Tsunade interjected with a growl as she glared at her teammate. "The last thing we need is you pushing him too far, too soon when a single miscalculation could potentially shatter his coils!"

"I wasn't implying that he should begin drawing on the Kyuubi's chakra right this instant, hime."

"It would be best to work on that outside of the village in any case," Shikaku added as he gestured at the sprawling view of the village that filled more than half of the office's windows. "No need to incite panic in the village now that things have finally settled down after all of the upheavals over the past fifteen years."

"We can discuss Takeshi's training later; right now I am more concerned about his planned attempt to intentionally contact the bijuu he holds," the Hokage stated before the argument could continue. "To that extent, I would like for Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Yamato to monitor the attempt so that we can monitor your health throughout the process and so that the Kyuubi's chakra can be suppressed in the event that you unconsciously draw upon the fox's chakra during the encounter."

"We'll need to set him up in a remote location that either has medical equipment already in place or the space to bring in the medical equipment necessary for me to monitor him," Tsunade stated as she eyed Harry for a moment.

"There is a medical facility located in the basement of the Exam Tower within the Forest of Death," Ibiki pointed out. "It is also outside of the village's defensive barrier; which means that any flare ups of the Kyuubi's chakra will be less likely to be noticed inside of the village. And I request permission to be present during Takeshi's attempt to make contact with the Kyuubi."

"What am I; a carnival sideshow? What's next; are you going to sell tickets and offer free popcorn and peanuts to the audience?"

"Oh don't be ridiculous, gaki," Shikaku drawled around a laugh. "We'd need to hire a bookie first so that we can place bets on whether or not your infamous flip-flopping luck is going to play up during the attempt."

"I hate you, Shikaku," Harry deadpanned as he shot the man a mock glare. "Just for that, I'm not going to let you bully me into playing another game of Shogi with you for at least a month."

"How much time would you need to prepare?" the Hokage inquired as he smothered what suspiciously sounded like a laugh.

"I'm ready now but the rest of the circus needs to get their act together," Harry answered around a sigh.

"I am ready now, as well," Yamato stated without hesitation.

"It will take me two hours tops to calibrate the equipment in the Infirmary since I can bring Shizune along to help me get things set up," Tsunade replied next.

"I should be able to cobble together a seal capable of suppressing the Kyuubi's chakra within two hours," Jiraiya added on the heels of Tsunade's reply.

"I will clear my schedule for the rest of the afternoon and head to the Exam Tower to secure the facility and evacuate the forest," Ibiki offered after a brief conversation with Inoichi.

"I will deploy two squads to patrol the perimeter of Training Ground Forty-Four just in case things get out of hand and to keep everyone else out during the encounter," Shikaku stated on the heels of Ibiki's declaration.

"Very well," the Hokage acknowledged. "I wish you good luck in your endeavor. Please send word when the venture is over so that I can arrange for us to meet again to discuss the results within the next day or two."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," all of those involved stated in unison as the privacy barrier was deactivated.

Two hours and fifteen minutes later, Harry was once again wearing nothing but his pants as he sat on a hospital gurney while Shizune hooked him up to an assortment of medical equipment that would be monitoring his vital signs. The green eyed wizard tried not squirm in discomfort while he waited for her to finish. He would have been happier to meet with the Kyuubi in the privacy of his own bed but he understood why the Hokage wanted him to be closely monitored during the attempt. That didn't make him feel like any less of a freak show at the moment though.

"Alright, that's the last of them; go ahead and lay down," Shizune stated as she began fiddling with the various machines to make certain they were functioning properly.

It would be another five minutes before Harry was given the go ahead and the wizard took a deep breath before he closed his eyes and let his consciousness sink into his mindscape. Once he reached the inner sanctuary of his mind (which his Japanese tutors had helped him set up during the two years he'd spent in Japan), he took a moment to assess his mental defenses before he attempted to shift from his mindscape to the sealscape where the Kyuubi was located. Harry found himself standing just outside of the Chamber of Seals a heartbeat later.

Instead of just walking right in, Harry took a moment to study the heavy door to the chamber. Like the door it was modeled after, the door to the Chamber of Seals was large, round, and made from reinforced steel. Instead of a snake motif though, the door in the sealscape was decorated with an etching of the Deathly Hallows symbol superimposed over the silhouette of a fox head. The fox was inlaid with red jade shaped like licks of flames while the symbol of the Hallows was inlaid with obsidian and outlined with silver. The last thing Harry noticed was that the door was locked in the open position by a string of seals that he didn't recognize.

The wizard turned shinobi made a mental note to copy the memory of the seals so that he could create a physical copy of them in order to see if Jiraiya could offer any insight on what they were meant to do. He then stepped through the door and made his way to the raised dais in the middle of the room. He was more than a little surprised when he found the Kyuubi sitting exactly where he'd left her when he finally had a clear view of the chairs on the dais.

"So you have returned to gloat, have you?" Kurama demanded as she glared at him from her seat.

"Gloat? No, I am here because I promised to create a place for you to run and hunt," Harry countered as he calmly sat down and tried to figure out what it was that had the Kyuubi's tails in a knot (figuratively speaking). "May I inquire why you think I have any reason to gloat?"

"Do not try to play me for a fool, wizard; you know exactly what you have done," Kurama snarled as she jumped up onto the table that separated them; her actions prompting Harry to draw his mental representation of the Elder Wand.

"Actually, I don't."

The miniature Kyuubi growled and lunged at Harry in fury in response to his reply. Harry was prepared and the furious fox slammed into an invisible shield that Harry had silently cast the moment he'd seen her muscles bunching. He then conjured a dozen chains to bind the fox to the table. Kurama howled and snarled in fury the moment the chains wrapped around her and all nine of her tails. Harry knew the fact that he'd used chains to bind her was adding insult to injury; Kushina had used chakra chains to bind the Kyuubi on more than one occasion.

"Release me this instant you thieving fleshbag!" Kurama ordered as she continued to writhe in her chains.

"I warned you that the Kyuubi was nothing but trouble," Minato intoned from where he'd been leaning against the entrance since right about the time Harry had sat down; the shade had once again been drawn along for the ride shortly after Harry had entered the sealscape.

"Chigau, your son is nothing but trouble; this here is a minor irritant that I will eradicate in five point two seconds if she doesn't calm down and shut her foul mouth."

"I am immortal! No mere mortal could destroy me! The moment you try, you will die and I will be free to destroy every thing you ever held dear!"

"I will give you one last chance to calm down and then I will strip every ounce of chakra from your soul, reduce you to the size of a mouse, lock you in jam jar, and permanently seal you inside of my tail bone for all eternity. And before you rant on about how my bones will one day turn to dust and free you; know that I have ways of preserving and reinforcing my bones to prevent them from decaying or being destroyed."

Silence immediately fell over the sealscape as the demonic fox snapped her mouth shut and ceased all attempts to escape the chains. Harry felt relieved that Kurama had taken his threat seriously but gave no outward indication of his emotions; it wouldn't due to allow the fox a chance to perceive him as weak because of his emotions, after all. While he waited for the Kyuubi to finish calming down, Harry conjured himself a cup of strong black tea to help calm his nerves and give his hands something to do in order to hide said nerves.

Once it appeared that the Kyuubi was no longer in a blind rage, Harry met her gaze and calmly asked, "Will you be able to keep control of yourself or shall I leave you in chains for the duration of my visit?"

"I don't care what you do; one more indignity heaped upon me by a wretched cheat would hardly matter," Kurama spat; her voice thick with resentment.

"Then I hope you're comfortable because I am in no mood to cater to your whims and if you are going to act like a prissy little princess throwing a temper tantrum of epic proportions, then I will treat you like the rapid dog you are and slap a muzzle on you to go with your chains. I may believe in equality between sentient species but I will not roll over and bare my throat to you, or any one else, for any reason. I can and will make your life a living hell if you ever attempt to attack me again. Got it?"

Kurama let out a half-hearted growl before she fell silent once more.

"Glad to see you can be properly trained. Now, what exactly was it that got your tails in a knot?"

The fox merely snarled silently at Harry instead of answering. The wizard sighed as he stood up and turned his back on the bijuu as he approached the right hand wall where the images of Kurama's life were hung. He'd let the damn fox stew for a bit while he set about creating the promised hunting grounds for her. He'd set several dozen clones to researching a way to recreate a mental version of the Room of Requirement but had not been able to find any hints or clues (not surprising since that knowledge had been lost long before Harry's great-great-grandfather had attended Hogwarts).

Instead, they'd come up with a combination of runes and enchantments that would allow him to recreate different types of environmental regions such as a desert, forest, cave, or beach. The only catch was that each region would have to be set up in a separate room.

In order to make certain there was enough room for the various environments, Harry had decided to recreate the 'pipe system' that led out of the Chamber of Secrets here in the Chamber of Seals. The first thing he did was shift the murals of Kurama's life up higher to make room for the 'pipes'. He then created half a dozen tunnels that were ten feet in diameter, twenty feet long, and evenly spaced out along the wall. Next, he affixed round doors that were modeled after the entrance door to each tunnel opening, added a doggy door to each door (for convenience), and labeled each door with the type of environment that would be created inside of the tunnel behind the door.

He then selected a tunnel at random and set about expanding the interior before he created a couple of dozen clones to help him apply the runes, spells, and enchantments needed to transform the oversized stone pipe into an appropriate outdoor environment. In this case, the tunnel was being transformed into a seemingly endless field of wild grasses that was designated simply as 'Grassland'. He'd chosen to create that environment first since he thought the Kyuubi would appreciate having a wide open space to run around in.

Once he had finished creating that first room, all that was missing from the artificial grassland were those animals and insects that lived in such an environment. Harry was not yet certain exactly how he was going to create those animals though; since they would need to be far more complex than the landscaping of the room. The animals would need to mimic their living counterparts, after all, and Harry didn't know enough about the behavioral patterns of the various species he planned to include to recreate realistic copies of them.

Dismissing his clones, Harry returned to the main chamber and quietly retook his seat on the dais as he studied the still fuming fox. Once he was comfortable and had a fresh cup of tea in hand, Harry pinned the Kyuubi with a stern gaze as he addressed her once more, "Are you going to answer my earlier question now or shall I leave you chained to the table until the next time I return to the Chamber of Seals for a visit?"

"You are just as cowardly and treacherous as the Uchiha and their cursed eyes," Kurama growled in a near hiss.

"Explain or I will rip the knowledge from your mind myself because I am growing weary of your attitude."

"There is nothing to explain for your threats have only confirmed that you are just like every other human out there; you crave the power of others for yourself and what is not freely given to you, you take by force and trickery."

"What a surprisingly human sentiment," Harry drawled in a dismissive tone as he tried to determine whether or not the fox was making her first attempt at manipulating him. "I did not think one such as yourself would cling to the human ideal of fairness or fair play. And you are wrong; I have never craved power for myself."

"Liar."

"No, I may stretch the truth from time to time but I do not tell lies; there is no need for me to lie."

"In that case, give me back my chakra!"

"I did not steal your chakra; it's sitting right where you left it," Harry pointed out with a frown as he glanced towards the towering cage that still held a transparent copy of the Kyuubi's true form.

"You and your cursed tricks locked me out!"

"No, I did not."

"Actually, you might have done just that, cousin," Minato interjected from the doorway. "The seal was designed to hold the Kyuubi in place and the alteration you made to the seal in order to allow the fox to leave the physical representation of the seal, which was the cage, may well have made the changes you forced upon the Kyuubi permanent. After all, the seal was not designed to be a revolving door."

"Huh," Harry blurted out in surprise; that was certainly not what he'd intended.

"Release me and give me back my chakra, worm!" Kurama ordered as she wriggled in her chains.

"No, I don't think I will," Harry countered as he focused his attention on the Kyuubi once more. "You have no need of that power while you are here in the sealscape and I have no intention of ever letting you out of the seal entirely. I may not have intended to permanently separate you from your chakra but what is done is done. And before you curse and wail about trickery; you'd do well to remember that you willingly left your cage and your chakra."

Harry rose to his feet and made his way to the exit at that point; he'd spent more than enough time in the demon's presence and he needed to discuss this latest twist with someone who has a far better grasp on the principles behind the Containment Seal. He also needed to call on Mito or Kushina's spirit to get a better idea of what kind of consequences he could expect to face due to the way he'd inadvertently stripped the fox of her chakra.

Once he reached the doorway, Harry stopped and glanced back at the Kyuubi as he stated, "I will let your attempt to attack me slide this time since your anger was justifiable under the circumstances; however, if you should ever try to attack me again, I will carry through on every single one of my threats."

He then flicked his wand at the table to vanish the chains restraining the Kyuubi before he stepped through the open door and returned his consciousness to his mindscape. Harry took a moment to center his emotions and thoughts before he exited the meditative state he'd put himself in to access both his mind and the sealscape. He opened his eyes a heartbeat later and stared up at the ceiling of the underground medical facility as he felt the first tendrils of a migraine forming.

"Well, how did it go?" Jiraiya inquired from where he had been leaning against the gurney during the process.

"Not well; I apparently caught the Kyuubi at the wrong time of the month," Harry replied as he gingerly sat up in order to avoid aggravating the headache he now had. "Maybe I should have offered her chocolate?" Tsunade walked up and slapped the back of his head in irritation over his sexist comment. "Damn it, woman; don't do that!"

"Don't take that tone with me, mister, or I will put you in traction for a month," Tsunade barked as she coated her hands in healing chakra and began a cursory diagnostic scan to determine if his recent trip into the sealscape had a negative impact on his body or chakra network. "You've been spending far too much time with Shikaku if you've picked up his habit of addressing women as 'woman' to their face."

"Chigau, I picked up that particular habit from my best friend while we were still in our early teens."

"Was the Kyuubi's attitude significantly different this time when compared to the first time you met with the bijuu face to face?" Yamato asked from his position near the door.

"Yeah, she was in a right pissy mood this time; she attempted to attack me shortly after I entered the seal. Apparently, I made a tiny miscalculation when I set up the security measures I mentioned earlier. Instead of creating a way for me to limit the amount of power she has access to, I removed her power completely and locked it away out of her reach. She was not happy about that."

"So you really did have her spayed?" Jiraiya asked with some surprise.

"It would seem so but I have no idea what that means for me aside from the fact that I might need to invest in a muzzle if she makes further attempts to chew my face off. It also makes me worry about the level of hostility that Naruto will have to face when he finally comes into contact with his half of the Kyuubi."

"Do you still plan to make additional attempts to speak with the demon?" Ibiki inquired with a touch of concern.

"Yes, there is no point in avoiding her since she isn't going anywhere."

"How long are you going to wait before you meet with her again?"

"Not for another month or two; there are a number of things I need to research before I go back into the seal and I need to speak with Mito-sama, Kushina-san, or another former Jinchuuriki in order to learn what kind of repercussions I can expect from separating the Kyuubi from her chakra."

"Send me a note when you are about ready to make another visit and I will return to the village to keep an eye on things again," Jiraiya instructed in a serious tone as gestured for Harry to channel chakra into the seal so that he could as recheck the stability of the seal once more now that Tsunade had finished scanning him. "Tsunade-hime, were there any further changes to his chakra coils?"

"No, I've picked up nothing new."

"And there is still no change in the seal," Jiraiya added a moment later. "You can go ahead and stop channeling your chakra now, Takeshi."

"Was there anything else you needed from me or can I get dressed now?"

"We're done with you, for now. I do expect to see you as scheduled this Friday though; so I can log any further changes in the fluctuations of the Kyuubi's chakra and the state of your chakra coils," Tsunade stated in reply to Harry's question.

"Do you have any plans for the evening?" Ibiki inquired before Harry could confirm his weekly appointment with the kunoichi.

"Not really; why?"

"I wish to sit down and discuss your two meetings with the Kyuubi so that I can document everything that you learned and analyze your interactions with the fox. I also wish to hear more about your game plan for any future visits you will be paying to the Kyuubi and what you expect to learn and accomplish through such visits."

"Joy," Harry muttered as he removed the final electrode and pulled on his shirt. "I guess I can spare a couple of hours after supper. Where would you like me to meet you?"

"My office; and bring your predecessors with you. I would like to hear their opinions on the stunt you pulled on the fox."

"Wakatta."

Translations: Japanese to English

Chigau – can be used to mean wrong, no, or to differ
Gaki – brat
Hai – yes
Wakatta – I understand/understood

Techniques/Skills:

Hakke no Fuuin Shiki – Eight Divination Signs Seal Style
Shishou Fuuin – Four Image Seal

AN: I was going to comment on this chapter but I find my head stuffed with cotton at the moment; someone got me sick again. I spent all day in bed and only got up since I promised to post this chapter for everyone. So, I didn't even get any writing done today. In any case, I'm going back to bed. I don't know when the next chapter will be up (depends on how long it takes me to kick my flu thing to the curb). I am also unhappy with the next chapter and may cut it out entirely and then post part of it as an omake after the Epilogue. Either way, I'll have a chapter up later this week once I no longer feel like crud. ~ Jenn