Chapter Three: Dreamless Night, Before and After
It was the final night; after months of research and testing, Naruto had finally cracked it. The secret to rewriting Orochimaru's curse mark had been an agonizing act of trial and error, simulation after simulation. In fact, the breakthrough was a product of chance rather than determination. One of his bases had been discovered, and of course Naruto demanded to be on the mission, which the Fourth Hokage, Lady Tsunade, granted with a little encouragement. It was there, in that underground bunker, where Naruto had discovered old notes on his version of a curse mark. There were many versions of curse marks, and all of them were unique to the ninja that made them. Orochimaru was a lot of things, but he was undoubtedly a master of jutsu theory, easily on the level of his father, possibly even better since his scope of jutsu was so vast.
All of that time and effort was for this moment. His mom and dad were out on a mission; leaving the house to himself. He had worked countless nights in secret from everyone, and now he had the perfect surprise, and fortune smiled on him with his parents being called away, allowing him to do this days earlier than expected.
In his room, Tayuya sat on the floor, equal parts nervous, scared, and vulnerable. Shirtless, her head was bent down, exposing her shame like a prisoner awaiting execution. Sprouting from the curse mark on her neck, strokes of ink in the shape of sigils and formulas formed lines crawling down her exposed back and arm, connecting to a wide circular diagram painted on the floor; her striking red hair was bunched over her chest to try and preserve some modesty, her grip white-knuckled.
Naruto stood behind her, painting more sigils onto his left palm, finishing a formula so long that it ran the span of his arm and down to his bare chest. As he did so, Tayuya couldn't stop the kaleidoscope of nerves and embarrassment in her mind. They had only officially started dating a month ago, and yet she was already topless, alone in his room. Context be damned, the thought alone scattered butterflies in her gut, yet it was happening. Poor Naruto, so sleep deprived that the bags under his eyes looked like makeup, so focused on getting this procedure right, he was completely zoned out. The amount of effort he put into this crazy idea of his was heartwarming, so much so that she was willing to endure being topless in front of him when kisses on the lips had been the farthest they had gotten.
He gives her a final warning, and she tells him to go ahead. The hand scribbled with ink touches her neck, centering right over the mark. The symbols on her skin start to glow, and she can feel a strange energy coursing through her body. Naruto's grip on her neck tightens, and she can feel his chakra working in tandem with her own, giving it the boost it needs to purge Orochimaru's tainted will.
The sensation turns painful, but Tayuya grits her teeth and bears it. She knows that this is the only way to break free from that monster's curse. The chakra pouring into her is so potent that the glowing sigils on both of their bodies are starting to burn away. The parameters for her seal are rewritten, opening the floodgates for vile chakra to come rushing out at once and take over her system. Within her body, the two engines clash; one gets pushed back, consumed, and destroyed.
Suddenly, there is a flash of light, and the girl screams. The diagram surrounding them glows and pulses; there's a void where the mark is now, the shadow of evil, but Naruto's chakra is there to fill it up. All of the ink Naruto had used was gone now, with not even ash remaining as proof of its existence.
The room is dark again and silent. Naruto, fearful yet determined, removed his palm from her neck. He had to see if it worked.
He smiled. It did. "All done," he said, winded from the effort. He took a few steps back.
"I'm free," she muttered with a trembling lip. For most of her life, there had been a noose around her neck, the rope held by a mad man who would just as soon strangle her to make a point to other people as he would proper punishment for failure. Every mission had been on edge, with the slightest misstep resulting in cruel retribution.
And now that the noose was cut, she was finally free.
Naruto was back next to her crouching form, draping a jacket of his over her shoulders. "How are you feeling?" He bent at the knees, meeting her face-to-face, shifting her bangs away from her eyes. Fingertips gently guided her jaw, moving her head around so he could re-check his work for the third time in a row, so nervous he was about the slightest harm that he could've caused. The mark was receding, just as it should.
He had done it!
A big, loopy grin of pure elation lit up the room. He jumped to his feet, fists in the air, in righteous victory. "Woohoo!"
A trembling body killed his joy, bringing him back into protector mode in a whiplash of emotion. He was on his knees in a heartbeat, his hands tenderly cradling her cheeks, now streaked with tears. "Hey-hey! Did I mess something up? Are you in pain? Here, turn your head a bit and let me see the mark!"
Soft hands, small and delicate when compared to his large and callused ones, stopped them from moving away from her face. "No, you big dummy, this is the happiest I've ever been." Her voice cracked. Her face was made of trembling muscles and watery eyes, her lips springing back and forth between a smile and a frown like pressed steel snapping back to its shape. Even her hands were shaking. "I think I'm just tired now."
His response was instant. "Alight, just give me a second." He was at his bed a few seconds later, moving his supplies for the sealing onto the floor in a rush, though he was still careful enough to screw the cap back onto the ink bowl he had. "We have fresh sheets and pillowcases in the hallway; want me to switch 'em out?" He turned around.
Tayuya was up now, not even an arm's length away. For the first time, both that night and in general, her bare breasts were exposed to him, the modesty she had clung to in the form of her hair forgotten to her sides, his jacket on the ground. He blushed, fire flooding his veins. He had been so focused on getting the seal right that he'd had no extra attention to spare on their situation, but now, with his goal achieved and floating on cloud nine, he was finally able to appreciate the beautiful form she was displaying to him.
With surprising aggression, Tayuya braced his chest and pushed him onto his bed at an angle, seemingly abandoning earlier reservations about her half-nakedness. She was against his chest moments after kicking the comforter out from under and then over them, swaddling the two of them together in the safest cocoon in the world.
Naruto said nothing, a thundering heart in his throat. Tayuya placed a single kiss at the center of his neck before curling herself against him, nuzzling into the crook under his chin, folding her arms up to be cradled between their chests. She was on the verge of falling asleep in moments.
Naruto had only ever felt adrenaline like this in combat, his heart pounding so loudly that he was surprised Tayuya, with her unnaturally keen hearing, was able to trail off so easily; to himself, his own heart sounded like kick drums next to his ears. Maybe, he theorized—hoped—that it was the sound of his pacing heart that helped her drift off so quickly.
He shoved one arm under the pillows they shared, but the left one was nervous. With scared fingers under the covers, he touched the skin of her back. Something possessed him; he didn't know what or why, but his arm moved as if knowing what to do autonomously. The sensitive pads of his tips traced down the line of her spine, taking slow, meandering detours to explore every subtle ridge of bone and thick bed of muscle hiding underneath such deceptively delicate skin. Tayuya seemed to enjoy the contact and let a tiny mewl escape against his throat.
Why didn't any of the comics he read focus on this? Naruto wondered. It seemed like kissing and any act of sex always got the spotlight, but why not the pleasure of holding your partner? Feel their weight against you, hear their breaths, memorize every ridge and indent of their body, trying to understand it better than your own; how could something feel this good but be so overlooked?
When he reached the waistline of her shorts, a primal urge tried to push it farther, but he immediately beat it back, unwilling to do anything that could compromise this tender moment between them. Instead, his hand reached to the center of her back, as if cradling her whole body, and settled. The sigh and slight lean into it told him she liked that as well.
Naruto wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but it was the deepest, most peaceful slumber of his sixteen years.
…
Kushina didn't consider herself an overbearing mother, honestly. Friends and even her husband often teased her about it, but it had never gotten to her; she had taken worse insults to the chin, and she could sling mud with the best of them. Besides, name one good mother that isn't some degree of overprotective; that was the whole point of having parents, wasn't it? One parent to push the child forward and one parent to pull back before going off a cliff, creating the delicate balance needed for a healthy upbringing.
Now, she was thinking maybe everyone had a point.
She stood in her son's room by his bed, still dressed in her flack vest and headband, hair tied up in one massive ponytail. Right there, in her son's bed, a girl, an older girl at that, her red hair snuggled under his chin, an arm of his pulling her closer to him in safety. It reminded Kushina of her and Minato's honeymoon—that sickly sweet intimacy that only new, dumb love could have.
Naruto had never liked going to bed with a shirt on, even when he was still in diapers; him being shirtless was one thing; the girl, however, was another story. His white comforter was pulled up just below the girl's shoulders; no shirt, no straps of a bra, or anything like that. Now, in theory, she could be wearing a strapless bra, but that wasn't the theory Kushina came up with. Anger clenched her fist tight. Waves of chakra emanated from her, not strong enough to be seen but enough to make her hair wave vertically.
Naruto's eyes shot open at the sudden pressure in the room, startled, like an animal waking to find a predator in its den. The first thing he saw was the top of Tayuya's head. He tightened his arm around her, instinctually trying to protect her from something he didn't know yet. It was a shame he couldn't savor her body a little longer. He looked up.
His jaw dropped.
His mother loomed over his bed like the Nine-Tails incarnate she was, lips bending into a malformed snarl, right eye twitching but never fully closing. Back when Kushina was a kid, people would insult her by calling her a tomato because of her vibrant red hair. Right now, that insult would best describe her son's face.
"Ma! Wait, let me explain!" The hand that held Tayuya was raised. The comforter bunched up, showing off her bare back, only partially protected by her hair, inflaming the insinuation even more.
Still dead asleep, unaware of the danger they were both in, Tayuya, either because of the noise or the sudden draft, groaned and scooted down a little, resting her face on one of Naruto's pectorals. Then, she did something truly terrible: she mumbled "too cold" and kissed Naruto's chest, dangerously close to a nipple, before trying to lay her head against it.
Naruto's eyes flicked from his girlfriend to his mother, his face now three times the shade of red it had been just seconds ago. His mom's face was redder too, as was the shaking fist she was raising.
Naruto called out to his safety net:
"Daaaddd! I need help!"
Old memories flooded back to her. Her neck, her mark—for it was no longer cursed—felt the residual warmth and pleasant tingle of Naruto's chakra once again taking refuge in her body. It felt empty without his presence. Said man was using her as a cushion; her legs parted wide enough from him to rest, her torso a pillow for his back, and his head reclined on her chest, low enough to allow her chin to rest on the crown of his skull. This was his favorite cuddling position, which surprised her; sure, she enjoyed him resting against her anytime, but she would have figured that the rise and fall of her chest would get on anyone's nerves, but he had said that he loved feeling her heartbeat, that it made him feel safe and calm. He also liked to listen to her voice as she read to him or played him melodies on her flute, sometimes even humming along to the tunes she sang.
Tayuya watched him draw his designs for their next home; he was going to try something more traditional in an effort to fit in with the rest of the Land of Snow's architecture. Their last home had been a rustic log cabin in the woods, so he was looking for something more regal and refined in presentation, with a bit more emphasis on aesthetics and feng shui.
The hotel they were in was cheap, but they had accepted a couple of late-night occupants; that was a rarity in the Land of Waves; most places are pretty strict with their times here, and it had already been their third shot at a place to rest in the capital. Nice showers and local cuisine seemed much more appealing than one of Naruto's impromptu designs. They'd only had two-bedrooms left, but that second bed ended up being a nice area to drop all their stuff; there was no way they would be sleeping apart. Ever since that first night, it has been near impossible for one to sleep without the other beside them. For all the jokes people slung their way about constantly being caught sleeping together, like "horny rabbits", for their first year and a half together, it was entirely—mostly—nothing more than innocent cuddling. So few people ever believed that.
Tayuya pulled her right arm from under Naruto's armpit, putting her delicate fingers to work by combing and petting his freshly washed hair. "How long do you think the boat trip will take?" The longest she had ever been on a boat of any kind was just a few hours, and this trip would require them to circle around the Land of Lightning to get to the Land of Snow—five days to over a week, easily.
Naruto kept with his drawing, currently erasing one of the lines for their future master bedroom. "Who knows? It's gotta be better than cutting through the mainland. Supposedly this guy is reliable, so we'll see."
They had gotten a tip from a lovely restaurant owner that said a man named Yusuke, who lives in the northernmost village of the Land of Water, was open to making long voyages for the right price—now, whether or not that applied to a request this extreme... Well, the alternatives were few and far between, but certainly worth a shot since they were already in the area.
"We'll have to make sure to keep any anbu off our trail as well," Naruto added.
"Well, we would be in better shape on that front if you hadn't left that one run back to the village." Tayuya poked at one of the marks on his cheek.
"Killing him was out of the question," he stated bluntly.
A ginger eyebrow arched. "Huh? You more or less told him you would."
"I was bluffing." His drawing never seemed to stop.
Tayuya was really confused now. "Wait, what? Why? You killed that other Root anbu, why not this one?"
"I'll tell you tomorrow."
"Why not now?"
Naruto finally stopped drawing. He began stroking the sensitive skin on the underside of her knee. She wasn't going to be distracted that easily. "Either you tell me now, or I'm busting out the whip next time I'm topping," she jabbed his chest in declaration.
"Oh no!" Naruto faked outrage. "Whatever will I do…" He flashed her a cheeky smile. He wasn't even facing her, and yet she could tell just by his voice.
Tayuya suddenly dived down, snatched the lobe of his ear with her teeth, and chewed, too hard to be considered foreplay but not hard enough to break skin. "Ow! Okay, okay, stop the Naruto abuse!"
She let go of the now-throbbing piece of cartilage with a satisfied smirk across her lips. "See, this is why we don't keep secrets!" She kissed his ear; it was poor consolation.
Naruto grumbled as he felt her tongue lavish attention on his ear. "I'm pretty sure it was one of my mentors."
She stopped, her torso going rigid and straight. "Wait, seriously? Why didn't you talk to him?"
Naruto put his drawing pad and pencil on the nightstand. He rose from her body, using his knees to stand on the bed, and turned around to face her. "Tomorrow, I promise, I promise; but right now all I want to do is enjoy my wife's company and not think about ninja stuff. Can I?" He pleaded.
Her resolve was weak; curse those stupid, beautiful, blue eyes. "Fine," she relented with a roll of her eyes. "But you will tell me first thing in the morning, over breakfast."
His smile was radiant as ever. He was like a puppy. "Will do!" He dived into her stomach, thankfully restraining himself enough to not knock the air from her lungs. Arms warped around her waist; her stomach now a pillow for her husband.
It was annoying how he could still fluster her so effortlessly. She was back to petting his head like nothing had happened. She smiled.
She wouldn't change a damn thing.
(End of Chapter Three)
Author's Notes: Y'know, I have to say, I'm actually really glad the response to this side project of mine has gotten so much love, blowing any expectation I had for it out the water. So, I feel the need to ask: why? I'm looking for something but, maybe it's because I'm the one making it, I just can't pick out the reason. I don't really have the time to read fanfiction like I used to, but are people just that desperate for Naruto X Tayuya stuff, lol?
Anyway, that aside, I'd love to know your thoughts on this chapter; everything was so clear in my head that the whole chapter was basically made in just three writing sessions, which is REALLY rare for me.