Welcome to the New Year. May this one be less shitty than the last three. Just a little. Please. We could all use the break, and I think this is the perfect way to start it. Yes, your eyes do not deceive you. At least, they don't if you think you're looking at another chapter of CJWO, not even a month after the last one. If you think you're looking at something else, talk to your doctor. Also, thank you to everyone who wished me and my family well last chapter. It meant a lot.

I finally, finally had the energy to get some writing done. Between my grandfather's death and the typical craziness that was the holidays, I hadn't been able to get more than a few dozen words down a day since I posted the last chapter. Today, though, or mostly yesterday, I cranked out some serious word counts, and now I'm editing this fueled on nothing but almonds and Dr. Pepper while I watch my fourth five o'clock of the day roll on by. If that last statement confuses you, congratulations on your healthy sleep schedule. Sell your secret. You'll make millions.

I've decided to try and focus on smaller chapters for a little while; more in the 6-7k word range. That won't affect the next few chapters, of course. I wrote those months ago. However, I think putting out shorter chapters more often will help me avoid burnout and keep up a steadier output. Who knows if I'll actually be able to stick to it, though? My original plan for this story was for chapters to average 4-5k words. I think I've published maybe two chapters that actually conform to that. Brevity isn't my forte.

While I hope I won't have to include this message too many more times, please give whatever support you can to the people of Ukraine. Also, for reasons that elude understanding, has made email notifications something you have to manually opt into every 6 months. Make sure you do that so you can keep getting notified about when new chapters get posted. Now, onto the chapter.

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Chapter 37

The cave Naruto walked through felt eerily familiar. It gave off a similar feeling as the crystal cave on Ilum. Similar, but also distinctly different. There was something more intimate about this place, more primal. If the entrance hall had felt Old, then this inner cave felt truly Ancient. It was as though he were walking a narrow bridge spanning a fathomless gulf. Whatever had formed the Force Nexus beneath the Temple, it was like nothing he had encountered before. Nevertheless, he kept on searching for the test he knew he would have to face. There was, in truth, only one thing it could be. He didn't know how it would happen, or how he would handle it, but he knew he was going to face the Kyuubi once again.

Sure enough, he soon heard some vast creature breathing from up ahead. The warm air ruffled his clothes, and a familiar sense of power and malice prickled at his mind. He rounded another two corners before stepping into an enormous cavern. The sheer size of it momentarily drove any fear or anger from his mind. The distant ceiling was visible only as a slightly textured shadow curving slowly out of sight. He boggled at the impossible scale. It was larger by far than the exterior of the Temple could have contained.

As his gaze traced down the distant opposite walls, it lit upon a sight that summoned all the turmoil of the last week back to the forefront of his mind. Two giant eyes, glowing like banked coals, hung far above him in the dark. His fists clenched tight enough to draw blood, and he unconsciously took up a fighting stance. Beneath the furnace light of the eyes, the darkness split open to reveal a cavernous maw lined with gleaming teeth. A growl set his bones shaking and sent dust pattering down from the ceiling. Slowly, the shadows gained shape and texture, until the full form of the Kyuubi stood before him, tails splayed, fangs bared, a look of purest hatred on its face. All that paled to insignificance, however, when Naruto noticed one key detail. There was no cage!

He tensed, ready to face the inevitable attack. Some small part of him quivered in terror and screamed that a true fight with the Kyuubi was naught but suicide, but he ignored it. Here was the beast who had tormented him for years. He'd sooner gnaw off his own feet than back down now. There was nothing to do but brace for the coming calamity.

The inevitable attack never came, though. The Kyuubi snarled and glared, but didn't move. Instead, after a few more seconds of raging, it quieted down and stared at him.

"Well, ningen, what is your answer?" Its voice carried undercurrents of the same fury it had displayed just seconds ago, but controlled. Naruto could only stare, mouth open, dumbfounded.

"Huh?" It wasn't the most intelligent comeback he'd ever used, but no one had told him he might be tested on his wit. After all these years, the fox finally had him face to face, with no bars between them, and apparently it wanted a conversation. Significant parts of his brain went plink and ground to a halt.

The Kyuubi growled again, and the furnace glow grew brighter. "Do not test me. What is your answer?"

The question made no more sense in repetition than it had initially, either in its content or its very existence. "What do you mean, 'what's my answer'? What are you talking about? And why aren't you trying to eat me? All you ever do is talk about how you're gonna eat me one day. Now's your chance, and you're just sitting there." It occurred to him halfway through his impromptu rant that he was actually advocating for the strongest of the bijuu, possibly the most powerful being in the entire galaxy, to attack him, but he carried on anyway. The sheer oddity of the situation defied such things as common sense and self-preservation.

"It is not by choice, I assure you, ningen. This place has summoned my consciousness, forced us to meet, but I am not truly here. If I were, you would have died the moment I saw you. Now, for the last time, tell me! What is your answer?" The volume of the last question shook the floor and had Naruto covering his ears in pain. For not truly being present, the fox certainly had no issue making itself heard.

"My answer to what?" Naruto shouted.

"To the question that has been bouncing around your puny mind for the last two days. The question the healing woman asked you. Do you hate me?"

That brought him up short. His jaw worked up and down a few times, but no sound came out. He thought about refusing to answer, about walking away and ignoring the fox, but it would be pointless. He was here to face his demons, and if the Kyuubi didn't qualify, then nothing did. Besides, if anyone deserved an answer to that question, he supposed it was the fox. Pity he didn't have one.

"I… don't know," he said. It felt strange, talking to the Kyuubi like this. Its tails twitched back and forth, but it said nothing.

"I should," he continued. Old memories played across his mind. Dark memories. Sullen anger boiled in his gut like pitch, and his teeth ground together. "I should hate you. You attacked my village. I'm an orphan because of you. I grew up alone because of you. People hated me because of you! You ruined my life!"

This time, it was his voice that shook the cavern. He'd shouted so hard he was breathless and his throat ached. It felt good to finally give voice to his anger after so many years of holding it in. He wanted to keep yelling, to scream and rage and smash everything he could see, until he finally exhausted himself. He might have, too, had it not been for the deafening roar that, once again, drove pressure spikes into his ears. The Kyuubi reared back, tails thrashing and fur bristling.

"I ruined your life? You dare? I have been imprisoned for nearly a century. Sealed away, demonized, used as a weapon for you filthy humans and your puny squabbles. I ruined your life? Your very existence denies me any life of my own. You keep me trapped behind this wretched seal, in the dark, alone. You steal from me, but I am the one who ruined your life?"

"That's not my fault! I didn't ask for my dad to seal you in me. You were attacking Konoha. Don't act all innocent. I haven't stolen shit from you. You've been trying to get me to use your power for years now, and when I do, you try to kill my friends."

The sudden spike of killing intent forced Naruto to his knees. The ground shattered under the weight of the Kyuubi's rage. "Do you think I want to debase myself and let you use my power? I am a bijuu. My power is my very being. It is the essence of who I am."

"Then why do you keep telling me to take your chakra, huh?"

"Because I want to be free from this prison!" There was something more than just anger now, in the fox's voice. Naruto thought he heard a hint of desperation, of an open wound decades in the making. "Vile ningen, you cannot imagine my suffering. Locked away for fourscore years and more. Treated like some object. My own essence torn from me, so you vermin could kill each other over some tiny spits of land. If letting you steal yet more from me is the price of my freedom, then so be it. I will suffer any indignity if it means I can escape this hell. So do not presume to know anything about me, whelp. You understand nothing!"

Naruto opened his mouth to scream… something and then closed it again with a click. As he processed what the Kyuubi had just said, what it meant, the acid rage that had filled his blood drained away, leaving him hollow and shaky. He had never once thought about what being sealed away meant for the fox. It had certainly never occurred to him that, when he used its power, he was literally scooping away bits of its being. All of a sudden, he felt a great deal less sure of his moral high ground.

'I guess I really don't know anything about the Kyuubi, do I?' Just that thought alone left him uneasy. Disliking, perhaps hating, the Kyuubi had been simple. Easy, even. It was the evil demon who had killed thousands and wanted to eat him and destroy everything it saw. He was the one who kept it locked up, like a dangerous animal. The ironclad certainty of that view was comforting. He didn't want to consider that there might be more to the fox, that it might not be pure evil.

'But what about Gaara,' he thought. 'Everyone believed he was evil. They liked believing he was evil, so they didn't have to feel guilty. But he wasn't, was he?'

In his mind, he saw Gaara lying on the forest floor after their battle. He remembered the fear in his eyes, and beneath that, a desperate yearning for someone, anyone, to show him some kindness. To acknowledge him as something more than the monster he'd never asked to be. It had been the same look Naruto saw in the mirror so often as a child, and he'd known, at that moment, he and Gaara were the same. A moment of compassion, just a few words and some empathy (admittedly after an enormous beat down), were all it had taken to turn Gaara from a bitter foe into one of his most treasured friends. His brother in all but blood. That decision had, in turn, saved the lives of the whole retrieval team the night Sasuke had defected.

'Jiraiya-sensei's always said the best way to break the cycle of hatred is by understanding others. Understanding Gaara let him break out of his hatred. Should I… try to understand the Kyuubi?' He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, where a headache was steadily building. 'Aaarrgh. Why is this so damn complicated? I don't want to understand that monster.'

He knew that was a petty thought, though; childish and unworthy of a Jedi Padawan. Twice over, he'd chosen to dedicate his life to the service of something greater than himself. First it had been his village, now it was the Jedi Order and, by extension, the whole Republic. He may have been too young to fully understand what that meant back in Konoha, or even when he first came to the Temple, but he knew now, and understanding had only deepened his commitment to his chosen path. Mace had taught him the importance of duty. He had ingrained it in him in every way short of literally carving it into his bones. What he wanted didn't matter right now. He had an opportunity to break a cycle of hatred, and he had to try. If he didn't, he wouldn't be able to face himself.

"You're right," he said at last. The words tasted of dust and bile, but they were still true. "I don't know anything about you."

The Kyuubi's tails paused in their thrashing for a moment, and it narrowed its eyes at him, but it didn't respond. Naruto steeled himself and walked forward until he reached a boulder just a few dozen meters from the fox's front paws, and sat against it. He was acutely aware of the gleaming ivory claws, each one many times longer than he was tall, resting against the ground just a small jump away. Being this close to the Kyuubi made his palms sweat, but he refused to let fear control him. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it properly. "So why don't you tell me?"

"… what?" The Kyuubi stared at him. It was tough to read its facial expression, but Naruto thought it might have looked dumbfounded. Possibly even stupefied. Certainly, there was some degree of intense shock. In the back of his mind, he felt rather proud of that. It wasn't every day he got to render an ancient chakra monster of unlimited power speechless.

"You said I don't understand. So help me understand. Let's talk."

"Why should I tell you anything, whelp? I have no interest in indulging the passing whims of my jailer."

Naruto ground his teeth some more. "Listen, ya damn furball, I'm not thrilled about this either. But you're stuck with me, and I'm stuck in here until I sort this shit out, so you might as well talk." The Kyuubi snorted and looked away. Naruto rolled his eyes, trying to hold tight to the scraps of his patience. "Oh, come on, damn it. If you're gonna be like that, I'll just wait here until you get bored."

When the fox stayed silent, he sighed and closed his eyes. His breathing evened out, his heartbeat slowed, and in less than a minute, he slipped into a quiet meditation. It was strange how easy it was. Ever since the attack, he'd been unable to meditate properly, but now, mere meters from the source of all his turmoil, the trance came easily. That wasn't to say it was peaceful, necessarily. He meditated on the beast in front of him. Specifically, on the Kyuubi's perspective of events. It did not paint a pretty picture, and, unbidden, he felt a touch of empathy for the fox.

The silence stretched for what could have been minutes or hours. It was hard to tell. Eventually, though, he heard an explosive sigh from above him that jolted him out of his trance. "Fine, you insolent ningen. You wish to understand me? What would you know?"

Naruto paused. "How about your name? You've gotta have one, right? Shukaku had a name, so I bet you've got one, too. What is it?"

"Ha, as if you are worthy of speaking it. Only those I respect may know my name." The fox glared down at him, and he held up his hands.

"Fine, if you'd rather I just call you 'Kyuubi', then I don't care. You're gonna have to tell me something, though, or we'll be down here forever." Far above him, the fox's tails twitched irritably. "How about your history, then? How'd you end up sealed in the first place?"

For a moment, Naruto thought the Kyuubi might actually try to attack him, futile or not. It stamped its foot hard enough to crack the ground and snarled viciously. Before he could backtrack, though, it stilled and settled down into its forelimbs.

"You want to know how I came to be in this pathetic situation? So be it, ningen. Listen well." The fox closed its eyes and paused, clearly sifting through memories. "For millennia after my creation, I lived in peace and solitude, away from you humans. You were noisy, smelly, and violent, and I wanted nothing to do with you. One day, though, a man tracked me back to my den. His name was Madara Uchiha, one of the founders of your little village."

Naruto perked up. "I've heard of him. He's the one who-"

"Silence! Do not interrupt me, or this tale ends now," the Kyuubi roared, and Naruto shut his mouth sharply. "Madara sought to gain control of the village, and he used those cursed eyes of his to enslave me. I became his puppet, a weapon for him to wield against his greatest enemy; Hashirama Senju. They met at the place you know as the Valley of the End. I believe you are familiar with it."

The fox smirked cruelly as Naruto unconsciously rubbed his chest, where Sasuke had impaled him with a chidori. The scar had never faded, and he still sometimes had nightmares about the awful sensation of his best friend's hand stabbing through his body, and the cold, uncaring look in Sasuke's eyes.

"You cannot imagine the battle that followed. Madara's power already rivaled that of a bijuu, and now he had me enslaved to his will. Even with all that, though, Hashirama proved the greater. He broke Madara's grip on my mind and suppress my chakra. As I fell asleep, I remember being grateful to him. Grateful! I thought he would defeat that stinking Uchiha and let me go free. But do you know what happened instead, ningen?"

Naruto wasn't sure, but he could venture a guess. From the way the Kyuubi was fuming with rage, it wasn't hard. Once again, that uncomfortable feeling of empathy returned. He wanted to deny what he knew was coming next, to shout that the fox had always been a monster, and that was why the Shodai had sealed it away, but he couldn't. There was no lie in the Kyuubi's words. He could sense, for once, the fox was being completely honest with him.

"His wife, Mito Uzumaki, came to the valley while I still slept and sealed me away inside herself. I awoke expecting freedom, perhaps even friendship, only to find myself bound in a seal, chained to a rock and impaled on spikes. All for some pathetic scheme of that Senju. He traded the bijuu like cattle, so we could be weapons. That is the great and noble legacy of your beloved Konoha, ningen. Your world was built on our enslavement."

Bile rose in Naruto's throat as he listened to the Kyuubi's story. He had known, on some level, that the Shodai had helped capture the bijuu and seal them away, but he hadn't ever thought what that meant. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Don't you dare apologize to me!" The fox's snarl brought stalactites crashing down from the roof of the cave. "You are my jailer, just as much as Mito and your mother. I thought, perhaps, when Mito died, I would be free, but no. She locked me away into Kushina, and I was left in agony, cut off from the world, for years more. Kushina never once spoke to me. She refused to even acknowledge me as a sentient being. I spent over a decade as a living battery. Then came the night you were born. Your cursed father held me back from escaping while Kushina was in labor, and I thought my chance had passed forever. Then, suddenly, the seal dissolved. I was free. Oh, you cannot imagine the joy. After over sixty years nailed to rock in a blank void, I could feel the wind in my fur. Smell the grass beneath my feet. It was glorious."

The fox paused and smiled, lost in memory once more. Naruto thought back to when Iruka had given him his headband and made him a genin. He'd been convinced he'd failed, that his dreams of becoming a shinobi were doomed, only for his sensei to give him what he hadn't even dared hope for. The happiness he'd felt had been beyond description. Whatever the fox said, he knew what it was talking about.

"That glory lasted for all of 46 seconds." The Kyuubi's voice broke him out of his thoughts. "Before I could leave, whatever stranger had broken your mother's seal used a sharingan and enslaved me again. Again! Even when freed, you humans still sought to use me for my power. When I awoke, I was bound in chains and your father was about to seal me into you. My brief taste of freedom was gone, and I've spent the last fifteen years locked in this filthy sewer, in the dark, again. That is my story, ningen. Are you happy to have heard it?"

Naruto hesitated for a moment. It was a lot to take in, even for someone accustomed to having their universe turned upside down. He had been angry at the Kyuubi for so long now, ever since that night in the woods when Mizuki had told him the truth. It had become… comfortable, like old leather; a familiar feeling that had worn a groove in his soul. Now, though, he couldn't accept it. As much as it pained him to admit it, he couldn't blame the fox for its actions. If he were imprisoned and tortured for decades, he doubted he'd be any different. It had far more reason to hate people than he had to hate it. With a heavy sigh, he nodded his head.

"I- I am. And I think I have an answer to that question now." He swallowed and stood up straight. "I don't hate you. Maybe I should, but I just… can't. Not now."

The Kyuubi stared at him for a solid minute, before it burst out in humorless laughter. "Hahahaha. How like a human. So don't hate me now that you know the truth, hmm? Good for you. Do you feel better about yourself? Does it make it easier to keep me imprisoned? Enslaved?"

Behind his mask, Naruto's jaw dropped. "I- what? No, I was just- Look, I'm sorry all that happened to you, okay? I get why you hate people so much. I haven't forgiven you for hurting my friends, but… I get it. Just- what can I do to help?"

"You know what I want, but you won't do it. Open the seal. Let me out."

Naruto shook his head. "I can't do that." The Kyuubi growled, but he pushed on. "Letting you out would kill me, and I still have promises I have to keep. Besides, I may not hate you, but that doesn't mean I trust you."

"Ha! Empty words, just like every other human. You talk and talk, but in the end, the result is the same. Me imprisoned and you free."

Naruto ignored the interruption. "I won't free you, not now, but there's got to be something I can do. Just because I don't trust you doesn't mean I want you to suffer."

The baleful glow of the fox's eyes brightened until it illuminated the whole cave, and its claws dug furrows in the stone beneath its feet. Naruto stared it down, though, unwilling to waver. They faced off like that for a minute, then two, then ten. Finally, the Kyuubi grunted and settled back down.

"You are truly serious about this, aren't you? How ridiculous, my jailer wanting to make my cell more comfortable. Still, if I cannot be free, I at least would not be kept in the dark any longer. Let me access your senses so I can experience the world again."

"Wait, you can't already see what's going on?" Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Then how come you always know so much about what I'm doing and stuff?"

The fox rolled its eyes and sighed. "You really are the dumbest warden I have ever had. I can hear your thoughts, you fool, and see some of your memories. I can also still sense the flow of the universe's lifeblood, what you call the Force. That allows me to put together what has been going on outside my cage, but I am still locked in the dark. I cannot see or hear or taste or smell anything. All I can feel is the water beneath my feet and the walls of my prison."

"Huh." Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I think I can do that. I've studied the seal a bunch, and I think I know enough. Let me try."

He knew it was probably reckless, bordering on suicidal, to try altering the seal on such short notice, especially without the key. Jiraiya had refused to give it to him until he was 'ready', whatever that meant. Both he and Mace would definitely disapprove of what he was about to do, but that alone didn't make this situation stand out all that much. Naruto had turned being reckless and impulsive into an art form, and neither of his teachers were here right now. He was, and both his gut and the Force told him he needed to do this. Whatever issues he had with the Kyuubi, the way it was imprisoned right now was wrong, and he was in a position to fix that. As far as he was concerned, the conversation ended there.

As he thought, the rocky cavern walls slowly faded away. In their place were the familiar pipes and cage of his mindscape. Some minute shift in the Force told him this was no mere illusion or Force vision. It was real. He was really in his mind. In front of him, the red iron bars of the cage stretched up out of sight, and the giant paper seal hung right before him. Behind it stood the fox, silent for once, and waiting. Once he had decided what exactly he was going to do, Naruto walked up and laid a hand on the cage.

Without the key, he wouldn't be able to properly loosen the seal, let alone open it, but that wasn't what he was going for. Instead, as he searched through the complex web of chakra that made up the seal, he looked for the part separating his mind from the Kyuubi. It took a while to find, even with his detailed knowledge of his father's work. After all, he had never studied it from inside his mindscape before. It was fascinating to see how the various matrices and radials of the seal translated to psychic constructs in his mind. Eventually, though, he found what he was looking for. Once he had, he carefully picked apart the threads of chakra to build in a bypass for his sensory input. It was incredibly delicate work, akin to unraveling a spiderweb without breaking the strands. He made sure to make it strictly one way, so there was no way the fox could influence his senses, and built in a cutoff, so either of them could shut down the connection if they wanted privacy. As the minutes stretched into an hour, and then two, he slowly wove the new pattern into the seal. There were dozens of safeguards and redundancies to ensure the seal's overall integrity remained intact. By the time he finished, he had a wicked headache and his throat was parched, but it looked like it had worked. In his mindscape, the new addition appeared as a thick red pipe, covered in safety valves and gauges, running along the wall of the tunnel and into the cage. The Kyuubi eyed it suspiciously.

"Well? Did it work?"

"How should I know, fool? You're still in your mindscape. Besides, this place is meddling with both our senses. I will test it when you are back in the open air. My first taste of the outside world in fifteen years will not be some cave."

'Well, I guess that's gratitude for you,' Naruto thought as he opened his eyes. He didn't remember closing them, but now he was once again sitting down in a meditative position. 'Damn Force Nexuses, always messing with my senses. No wonder the Kyuubi doesn't want to look around in here.'

The cave was back, and the fox still sold in front of him, the ever present snarl on its face. "Well, ningen, are you finished? Have you done your good deed for the day?"

He stood up and walked forward until he was directly in front of the fox's face. "I know you don't trust me any more than I trust you right now, but maybe that can change. You don't have to hold on to your hatred."

The Kyuubi sniffed in disdain. "I am my hatred, ningen. How dare you lecture me so, when you still keep me imprisoned?"

Naruto took a deep breath and held onto his temper with his teeth. Years of habit wanted him to shout at the fox, but he resisted. It was no good asking something, or someone, to change if he wasn't willing to do his part, too. "I'm not letting you out, but I can promise you this. I'll be your last Jinchuriki. After I die, you won't be sealed into anyone else."

With his bit said, he turned and walked back towards the entrance of the cave. Just as he reached the start of the tunnel, he heard the Fox behind him. "I don't believe you. You say that now, but you humans are fickle."

He stopped and looked back. "Well, I suppose you'll just have to wait and see, won't you? I promise, though, I won't continue the cycle of enslaving you. I'd like it if we could be friends." He paused then, and his eyes turned as harsh and unforgiving as the deepest ocean depths. When he spoke, his voice might have been hewn from a glacier. "But if you ever hurt the people I care about again, I'll seal you into a black hole. Believe it."

Just for a moment, he let loose with the full extent of his power. A bright blue aura surrounded him, filling half the cave. The air thickened and crackled with energy, while the rocks of the ground and the walls cracked beneath the sheer intensity of his presence. The Kyuubi actually flinched, ever so slightly, and an odd look stole across its face. It wasn't fear, but it might possibly have been respect. It eyed him for a moment before nodding.

"We will see, Naruto," he said, as he faded back into darkness. "We will see."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Nar Shaddaa was a dark reflection of Coruscant. On the surface, the two worlds bore many similarities to each other. Both were ecumenopolises, with the natural surface of the planet hidden beneath several kilometers of urban sprawl. Both teemed with life, boasting a population of over 1 trillion. Both acted as the cultural and economic centers of their respective civilizations. However, while the Republic capital may have had a seedy underbelly pulsing beneath its glittering surface, Nar Shaddaa didn't go in for the glamorous facade. The planet was nothing but underbelly; even, improbably, the uppermost levels. Where Coruscant beat like a heart in the Force, full of light and dark and joy and anger, in other words life, Nar Shaddaa oozed like a sore. It wasn't Dark, at least not in the way that a Sith planet would have been Dark, but its presence felt grimy, as if the Force was soaked in week old grease. Amidst all the surging anger, lust, and fear, one thing stood out above all others. Greed. If ever there was a physical embodiment of greed, it was the planet below them.

"You can practically taste the vice," Luminara said. "The Hutts have certainly left their mark on this world."

"Good. Places like this are easy to hide in. No one wants to ask too many questions, in case they get answers." Jiraiya stood up and popped his neck. "Come on. We'd better henge now, in case they want to see us before we land."

Much to his dismay, Luminara had proven intractable to the notion of them pretending to be a couple, even in the face of his finest begging. On the upside, she hadn't punched him through a bulkhead like Tsunade would have. Indeed, she had been almost… flirtatious. Not overtly or anything. He doubted she even knew how to flirt openly, let alone be comfortable with it. That just wasn't who she was. However, there had been a look in her eye and a note in her voice that he hadn't seen before. No one who didn't know her well would have caught it, but it had been… happy. Even teasing. It had come as a welcome break from the grim discussion they'd had earlier.

'Focus,' he told himself. 'This is no time for playing the lovesick fool. At least act like a competent Jedi.'

He flashed a single hand seal and henged himself into the likeness of a dark-haired, average looking man, with a large tattoo of a starburst on his left cheek. His Jedi robes morphed into a simple green shirt and a pair of brown pants. It would have been better if he could have actually changed his clothes to reduce the complexity of the henge, but he hadn't brought any disguises with him. As it was, he didn't really expect any trouble. Nar Shaddaa wasn't a place where they asked questions of new arrivals. Minding your own business was a survival skill on planets like this.

"A tattoo?" Luminara asked from behind him. He turned to speak and froze.

'Fierfek. This is not helping my focus.' She had chosen to be subtle with her henge. Her features had not changed, aside from that she now looked human. Her skin was now a light caramel color, and her tattoos had vanished. Rather than her typical headdress, she now had on a simple scarf, much like the one Barriss wore. The real change was in her clothing, though. It wasn't risqué, exactly, but it was certainly a good deal less conservative than her ordinary outfit. The top was gloriously snug and showed off just a hint of décolletage. Her pants were tight enough to be only just on the right (or wrong) side of practicality. All in all, it was still Luminara, but it was Luminara as he had never seen her before. She'd always been beautiful, but now she was downright sexy. His mouth suddenly went dry.

She met his gaze and raised an eyebrow. A tiny smirk told him he'd been caught staring and, happily, she didn't mind. (Or she was simply planning for his comeuppance to arrive at a later date, but Jiraiya had always been an optimist). Either way, he took in the view for a moment before shaking himself back to the present.

"It's, uh- it's a distraction. The design's pretty common among a lot of the Outer Rim cartels, and it's the only thing people will remember seeing when they look at me. I use this face because it's about as memorable as a glass of water. Just add a garish detail or two to draw the eye, and you'll get fifty people who'll all swear they've seen you, but can't remember where."

"Hmm. Smart." She gestured to herself. "What do you think?"

He grinned. "Well, you're certainly not forgettable."

She rolled her eyes. "Do try to think with your brain, Jiraiya. We are illegally infiltrating a sovereign planet. You can admire my looks later, if you must."

"Oh, I've never had an issue admiring a beautiful sight while on a mission." When her eyebrow climbed another centimeter, he raised his hands in surrender. "You look like a smuggler. Sexy, but badass."

"Good enough, then. Let's get this over with."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Much as he'd expected, their landing went completely unchallenged. A droid directed them to a hangar located deep in the bowels of the city, down almost a kilometer below the surface. It was accessible only by a large ventilation shaft, similar to the ones used on Coruscant. What little light that struggled through the smog and pollution above played briefly across the grimy walls before it went off to play somewhere more healthy. When they landed, Jiraiya made sure to engage every lock the dilapidated old ship had to offer, and even added a few security seals for good measure. He had no desire to wind up stranded here because of a simple thief.

As he walked down the ramp, the smell in the air hit him like a bag of wet garbage. It went beyond mere odor. If he'd had a saw, Jiraiya thought he might have been able to cut chunks out of the air and use it as cheap building material. The smell wasn't even bad, necessarily. It might have been revolting, in normal quantities, but as it was, it defied such petty descriptors. He thought his hair might curl.

"And I thought this planet felt foul through the Force," he coughed. His lungs were having difficulty finding the oxygen amongst all the various exciting pollutants.

"Indeed. Will your tracking Toad even be able to work in these conditions?" Luminara asked, her voice slightly strained.

"He should, but he won't be happy about it. The tracker Toads don't just work with scent. They also can track even the most minute chakra signatures across huge distances. If Aurra is in this hemisphere, he should find her no problem," Jiraiya replied. He wasn't looking forward to whatever price the Toads would demand for tracking a target in such a stench.

The street was crowded with throngs of various beings of all shapes and sizes. Their disguises proved effective, though, and no one gave him a second glance. A few pairs of eyes followed Luminara appreciatively, but that was all. They were nothing but another anonymous pair in the crowd. It reminded Jiraiya of the times he'd infiltrated various hidden villages back on Tython. The familiarity only went so far, though. None of the hidden villages on Tython had ever had skies choked with a chaotic mess of speeders zipping back and forth. There was a suggestion of order within the madness, a few hints of proper airlanes here and there, but it was a far cry from the carefully managed airspace of Coruscant. In fact, everything about the cityscape put him in mind of a corrupted and decayed reflection of the Republic capital. Crowded walkways stretched in front of brightly lit storefronts. The towering buildings formed canyons of duracrete and glass that plunged towards the long forgotten natural surface of the planet. Swarms of speeders darted through the air between the buildings, dodging each other and the myriad of sky bridges as they rushed to their destination. The drone of pedestrians and the roar of the speeder traffic combined into the auditory equivalent of a belt sander across his brain. In a way, it was impressive. He'd hardly been here five minutes, and he already ached to leave. There weren't many places in the galaxy with such a well-cultured atmosphere of noxious repellence.

Once they were out of sight of the crowds wandering the street, he turned into a dark alley and threw up a simple sealing barrier to hide their activities. Anyone watching would see only a slight haze and find their attention wandering elsewhere. Luminara kept watch anyway, though, while he bit his thumb and flipped through five well-practiced hand seals.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu."

White smoke billowed from where his hand struck the ground. Even before it cleared, he heard a gagging cough and a stream of profanity in Nihongo.

"Where the fuck did you summon me, Jiraiya? It smells like the inside of a dead man's asshole." The smoke cleared to reveal an irate-looking Toad. He was about 20 centimeters tall, with dull purple skin and horny growths above his eyes. Said eyes were narrowed in anger as he covered his nostrils with one webbed hand. Jiraiya shrugged in embarrassment.

"You're as poetic as always, Gamaru. Sorry about the smell, but I've got a job for you."

"A job? In this stink?" Gamaru crossed his arms and looked away. "You're out of your mind."

Jiraiya glanced over at Luminara, who gave him a barely perceptible shrug. Clearly, this was going to be his problem to solve. He thought for a moment before he lit on an idea. It was underhanded and petty, but he figured it would go hand in hand with their current surroundings.

"Ah well," he sighed. "It's okay. I should have known you wouldn't be able to handle it."

"Hey, what do you mean, I can't-"

"No no, it's fine. I get it. It's too much for you. No shame in that. You can go back to Mt. Myōboku now. I'll figure something else out."

Gamaru puffed up with indignation and jumped into the air to poke Jiraiya in the chest. "Now you wait just a minute. I never said anything about not being able to do something. I can track anything, anywhere, anytime, and don't you go forgetting it. Now, what's this job you've got for me?"

Jiraiya very carefully didn't smirk. "I need you to find someone. She's somewhere in this area, but we don't know where."

Gamaru frowned. "Who's 'we'?"

"I am working with Jiraiya on this mission," Luminara said. "It's good to meet you, Gamaru."

"Ooohh, you're her. The one everyone's saying he's-"

Snake strike fast, Jiraiya reached down and flicked the chatty Toad on the head, derailing a potentially dangerous conversation. Luminara arched an eyebrow, but he pretended not to see it. "How about you just concentrate on finding your target?" he said. "Here, I've got a sample for you." He pulled out a scroll and unsealed the severed arm he'd recovered on Rago. Gamaru eyed it distastefully.

"That's really gross, Jiraiya," he muttered as he sniffed it. After a few moments, he pointed down the alley. "I've got something. She's this way. Follow me." He hopped off in the direction he'd pointed, and Jiraiya and Luminara set off after him.

"So, dare I ask what 'everyone' is saying about me?" She asked. He nearly tripped over his own feet.

"The Toads are- uh, notorious gossips. You shouldn't worry about anything they say." He couldn't see her face, but he could picture her expression of dry skepticism perfectly.

"Hmm." Sure enough, he could practically hear the raised eyebrow and pointed look. "And if I were to ask Gamaru, would he support your claim of banality?"

Before he could answer, she strode past him and drew level with Gamaru. He couldn't make out what she said to the Toad, but the overly talkative little bastard promptly jumped up onto her shoulder. She reached up and scratched him on the head, much to his apparent pleasure. Jiraiya cursed under his breath and sped up to catch up to them. He caught up just in time to hear Gamaru loudly respond to an apparent question.

"Oh, that's easy. Everyone on Mt. Myōboku knows he likes you."

Time skipped a beat. Jiraiya could have strangled Gamaru. Luminara, whose movements normally carried a grace to put galaxy renowned dancers to shame, stumbled over nothing. She shot an unreadable glance his way before composing herself.

"I… see." She paused long enough for the silence to cuddle into awkwardness. Jiraiya cast about for something to say, but salvation came when she spoke again. "Well, we have a mission to complete. Let's get on with it then, shall we?"

She walked off, Gamaru still on her shoulder, giving directions. Jiraiya took a moment to marvel at his good fortune, or, at least, his current reprieve from an inquisition, before walking after them.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Even with Cid having narrowed down the search area, it still took the better part of six hours for Gamaru to lead them to where Aurra was hiding. Fortunately, between the sheer diversity of sentient life in the galaxy and Nar Shaddaa's general aversion to questions, a talking amphibian perched on a woman's shoulder went entirely unremarked upon. Jiraiya almost regretted how effective their anonymity was, though. A bit of excitement, even if it were something as simple as dodging some awkward questions or losing a tail, would have done wonders to alleviate the faint tension that Gamaru had inadvertently visited upon them. As it was, Luminara very carefully didn't mention what the Toad had said, which had precisely the opposite effect of taking anyone's mind off it. However, each time he even came close to broaching the subject, she steered the conversation away.

As they got closer to wherever Gamaru was leading them, though, their idle chit chat dwindled, and a more focused mood prevailed. Gamaru directed them down through level after level, each one worse than the last. The frantic rush of speeders and airbuses tapered off until the air above them contained nothing but pollution and the occasional rusting transport. With every step they took, the streets grew dirtier, the light dimmer, and the crowds sparser. What few beings remained on the street were mostly given to lurking furtively in shadows and giving hard stares at anyone who passed. Everyone was visibly armed. In places like this, going around unarmed was simply a complicated way of committing suicide. It seemed, when it came to bolt holes, Aurra Sing believed in the deep, dark, and dank approach. Jiraiya took careful note of the labyrinth of side alleys and tunnel entrances as he walked. If Aurra bolted, he didn't want to be stumbling around like an idiot. He pushed every one of his senses to the limit, and he knew Luminara was doing the same. Aurra was well known for her prowess as a sniper, and there were far too many dark windows and shadowed rooftops around for comfort.

Fortunately, it seemed their approach had gone unnoticed. Gamaru stopped them outside a dingy-looking warehouse, apparently no different from the dozen or so other dingy buildings that lined the street. The Toad evidently disagreed, though, and nodded subtly as they passed it.

"That's the one," he whispered. "No doubt. She's in there, and she's alone, too."

"Good job," Jiraiya whispered back. "I owe you, Gamaru. Don't leave yet. Wait 'til we're out of sight."

He took the lead and made sure they were well past Aurora's safe house before he subtly signaled Luminara to follow him into a cramped alley. The lightstrips above had long since failed, and the shadows lay thick and impenetrable between the two buildings. Once he was sure they were invisible, he canceled Gamaru's summons, and the Toad vanished back to his home dimension.

"I assume you have a plan," Luminara said. There was nothing but focused professionalism in her voice now. He nodded and pointed up.

"I didn't see any security on the rooftops. We'll approach from above and take her down before she can react. I don't want to give her any chance to set off a trap or bolt on us." It was a simple plan, but easily adaptable. There were too many unknowns for anything more complex, and he preferred to limit the intricacies of his plans, anyway. In his experience, too many moving parts made for an abundance of potential failure points.

"Very well. We should move, then. The longer we are here, the more likely we will be discovered."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

As usual, it amazed Luminara how a man of Jiraiya's impressive height and build could move with such utter stealth. His henge had not significantly changed his bulk, yet, even without his invisibility jutsu, he melted into the shadows like a scrap of fog. If she hadn't known he was there, she might have walked within half a meter of him and never realized it. Her own skills in avoiding detection had improved significantly over the past few years of training with him, but she still doubted if she could disappear so quickly and completely.

He had been right about the lack of security on the roof. She assumed Aurra preferred to rely on the secrecy of her hideout's location to protect her, rather than more overt, and visible, security measures. In most circumstances, she would have been right to do so. Luminara had encountered nothing quite like Gamaru's tracking abilities before. Even Quinlan would have been hard pressed to locate Aurra so quickly on such a crowded planet.

For a moment, the thought of Gamaru drew her mind back to what he'd said about Jiraiya and his feelings for her. She squashed that train of thought before it could go anywhere, though. There would be time to contemplate it later, but not now. Now, there was a mission to complete and a murderous psychopath to apprehend.

Once they were on the roof of Aurra's hiding spot, they Jiraiya held up a hand and they both stopped. He pointed directly below his feet. "She's right here," he whispered. "I can hear her heartbeat."

She nodded and stretched out with her Force senses. It took a subtle touch to ensure Sing didn't notice her scan, but she had always been good with fine control. Sure enough, she could feel a twisted knot of rage and bile that could only be Aurra Sing. Just brushing against the madwoman's Force presence was like dipping her hand in a septic pool; vile and corrosive.

Jiraiya slapped a sealing tag of some sort into the roof and backed away a few meters. She followed him, wary of what the seal might do. Between him and Naruto, she'd seen seals cause everything from explosions to death traps to really big explosions. It paid not to be near them when they activated, if one was fond of one's limbs. Once she was a safe distance away, he held up a hand and counted down from five. She readied her lightsaber and braces for whatever came next. When he reached zero, he held up a single half ram hand seal and pulsed his chakra. The seal on the tag unfurled and spread across a two meter wide section of the roof. There was a brief distortion in the air, as if space itself were being sucked into a whirlpool, a faint thworp sound, and the seal, along with the section of roof, vanished, leaving a perfectly circular two meter opening.

She moved the moment the roof vanished and jumped through the newly made hole, Jiraiya a half step behind her. They both dropped their henges and connected to the Force as they dropped. The first thing she saw when she landed was Aurra Sing, rolling clumsily off a mattress. The assassin had apparently been sleeping when they breached the ceiling, but her reactions remained razor sharp. She already had a blaster in hand, aimed squarely at Luminara's face. Luminara flicked her lightsaber on just in time to deflect the first three shots back at Aurra's feet, sending her diving for cover.

"Karking Jedi!" Aurra's voice dripped with hatred and more than just a hint of madness. "Come to feed me to your monster? Just you wait. I'll show you what a real monster looks like."

She popped up from behind a locker of some sort, blaster already raised, but Luminara was ready for her. With a sharp yank through the Force she tugged the blaster out of Aurra's hand. Before the assassin could do more than curse, Jiraiya appeared in front of her. Her own Force precognition must have given her a warning, because she managed to just barely dodge his initial blow. That was when she made a crucial mistake, though, and tried to fight him hand to hand. A vibroknife appeared in her hand so fast Luminara didn't even spot where she'd pulled it from, and she stabbed straight at Jiraiya's throat.

Luminara wasn't quite able to tell what happened next. There was a… complicated moment, a few ugly crunching sounds, a scream of pain, and then Aurra Sing was lying on the ground with Jiraiya's knee pressed between her shoulder blades. He had one arm twisted behind her back; an arm sporting a broken wrist and a dislocated elbow. Clearly, he hadn't felt any need to coddle the assassin when disarming her. Luminara looked on in ambivalence. As far as she was concerned, Aurra was lucky to have gotten off so lightly.

Now that the fight was over, she got a better look at the woman. Even in the dingy half-light of the warehouse, the evidence of her encounter with Naruto was clear. Three half healed claw marks marred her left cheek. The bright red gashes stretched from the bottom of her left ear to her chin. The flesh around the lacerations had bubbled and cracked, as if the cuts had been filled with acid. No doubt a result of the poisonous chakra that must have contaminated the wounds. She was lucky not to have lost an eye, or even her entire lower jaw. The wounds looked painful, and they would definitely scar, but Luminara didn't think she would have any long-term impairment. Her other injury was not so superficial, however. Where once she'd had a flesh and blood left arm, she now spotted a robotic prosthetic. The replacement limb was crude and ugly, and the skin was swollen and discolored where it attached to the stump of her old arm.

'I'm surprised she had even been able to move, let alone shoot and fight,' Luminara thought. 'The pain must have been excruciating.'

Pain didn't seem to be high on Aurra's list of concerns, though. Despite her mangled right arm and Jiraiya's restraining hold, she continued to struggle and rave. She kept yelling about monsters and Jedi and blood, liberally interspersed with curses and creative threats. Her eyes burned with hate, and with the wild fury of a rabid animal. Whether from the pain or the trauma of fighting Naruto after he lost control, Aurra's mind had clearly blown a fuse.

"Get off me, kriffing Jedi. Die!" Aurra's eyes burned yellow, and her signature in the Force flared into an open wound. The locker she had hidden behind flung itself at Jiraiya's head. Before it got within half a meter of him, though, Luminara felt his presence open up into a vast, calm lake. His focused power swiftly overwhelmed Aurra's hate-driven flailing, and the flying locker froze in midair.

"Well, that's no way to treat guests, Miss Sing," he said casually, as if discussing the weather. "I'd hoped we could have a polite discussion. Oh well." Despite his even tone, his face told the real story. There was no humor there, just cold focus and tightly leashed fury. It was the same mixture of emotions she felt herself.

Aurra kept on struggling until Jiraiya slapped a small seal onto the back of her neck. The moment it activated, she stiffened, and her face twisted into a rictus of horror. Her presence in the Force vanished.

"What did you just do to me?" She screamed, eyes rolling in desperation. "What did you do? Give it back! Give it back!"

"Don't be so noisy," Jiraiya said as he hauled her to her feet. "I just sealed off your connection to the Force. We can't have you pulling any more stunts like that, can we?"

Aurra sagged when she heard what he'd said, and even Luminara felt a faint prickle of horror at such a seal. 'I don't doubt she deserves it, but I can't imagine being cut off from the Force like that. It would be like having my eyes gouged out.'

She quickly shook off her discomfort and focused on the task at hand. All the fight seemed to have drained out of Aurra without the Force to draw on for strength. From the way she was standing, she'd been channeling the Dark side to push through the pain of her injuries. Now cut off, it looked as if she could barely stay on her feet. Luminara tilted her head back to look into her eyes.

"Aurra Sing, in the name of the Republic Senate, you are under arrest for murder, attempted murder, treason, terrorism, kidnapping, extortion, assault, theft, and espionage. We have some questions for you."

Aurra spat on her shoes. "What are you gonna do, Jedi? Feed me to that demon, huh?" Her eyes lost focus. "Gonna get that monster. Gonna have so much fun with all those little brats. Where is he? Where are you keeping him?"

Luminara glanced at Jiraiya. Previous reports on Aurra had painted her as sadistic, even psychotic, but not like this. Not detached from reality. Something was wrong.

"It's probably her wounds," he said in response to her silent query. "The Kyuubi's chakra can have some nasty side effects. I'm surprised she's still conscious. Keep trying."

Luminara pursed her lips and reached out with the Force. Normally, she'd never even bother trying a mind trick on someone like Aurra Sing. Force sensitives, in general were resistant to such mental manipulation, and one with Aurra's training would typically be all but immune to such coercion. Now, however, she was cut off from the Force, badly injured, and half-crazed to boot. Luminara was willing to bet she would be far more susceptible than normal. Typically, she was hesitant to use the mind trick at all, but Aurra was no ordinary criminal. She felt no guilt at all in coercing her with the Force, and so she pushed on her mind while waving a hand in front of her face. "Who hired you to kill Naruto Uzumaki?"

Despite her weakened state, Aurra put up an impressive fight against the mind trick. She growled and thrashed as the suggestion wormed into her mind, but still she refused to speak. Luminara pushed harder. "You will tell me who hired you to kill Naruto Uzumaki."

"Graggh." Aurra shook her head, but words still escaped her clenched jaw. "Kriffing bastard. Summoning me to Mustafar like some animal… Should have killed that reptile slime. Kill him. Kill the demon- No! Get out of my head! Only me in my head! No one else. Not again! No one!"

She screamed and writhed in Jiraiya's grip, heedless of her injuries, spittle flying everywhere. Her eyes rolled up in her head, and her breath came in harsh gasps. Luminara withdrew from her mind hurriedly, and Aurra went limp. Jiraiya had to keep her from collapsing when her legs buckled.

"What was that?" He asked.

"She tried to fight my mind trick. It can put a lot of strain on the mind. With the stress from everything else, it must have been too much." She glanced at Aurra, who hung panting and barely conscious. The blood vessels in her temple stood out prominently, and sweat dripped from her brow. "She mentioned Mustafar, and 'reptile slime'."

"You're thinking Black Sun?" When she looked at him quizzically, he shrugged. "Give me some credit. I've been studying the major players in the galactic underworld ever since I joined the Order. Black Sun is controlled by the Falleen, and it's an open secret in certain circles that their headquarters are on Mustafar."

She nodded. "It makes sense. Naruto foiled their attempt to seize power on Naboo, not to mention a half dozen smaller schemes over the past few years. It also explains why Aurra ran straight for the heart of Hutt space when she failed her mission. Black Sun has no presence here. The Hutts would never allow it. They'll be looking for her. Black Sun does not tolerate failure."

Aurra shuddered and moaned before falling slack once more. Jiraiya felt her pulse and checked her eyes. "Is she going to be alright? We need more information."

"It's too risky to interrogate her more here. We need to get her to the Temple. The Mind Healers there can help us interrogate her without destroying her mind."

Jiraiya grimaced and nodded. "Well, I suppose my day wouldn't be complete if I didn't drag a vicious murderer through the streets of one of the most dangerous planets in the galaxy while trying to maintain a disguise." He pulled out a roll of ninja wire and bound Aurra's hands behind her back. "If she tries to escape and I have to break her legs, you get to carry her."

"I'm sure you can manage to subdue an already crippled woman a third your size without resorting to such barbarism," she shot back, but her heart wasn't in it. In truth, she was no more eager than Jiraiya to risk the long trek back to their ship with Aurra in tow, but she didn't see any other choice. She refused to risk permanently damaging Aurra's mind with further interrogation in an uncontrolled environment. It would be immoral, and would compromise any further investigation into Aurra's crimes. Nevertheless, she would be pleased to see the back of Nar Shaddaa.

"Well, let's get going," Jiraiya said. He pushed Aurra ahead of him, and she stumbled forward on unsteady legs. "Keep your eyes open. I have a bad feeling about this."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The trek back to their ship took Jiraiya and Luminara even longer than the walk to the hideout, given the additional task of escorting a semi-coherent Aurra Sing. Passing unseen while transporting a prisoner was out of the question, but she was too recognizable a figure to risk anyone spotting her with them. As such, Luminara spent the entire time using the Force to misdirect peoples' attention away from them, while Jiraiya focused on keeping their prisoner from escaping. Being cut off from the Force had robbed her of most of her fight, but she had still made four attempts so far to stab him in the kidneys, and another six to slip down various alleys; presumably pre-planned escape routes. Even without the Force, or intact arms, she remained a deadly foe. Fortunately, aside from her brief moments of violent lucidity, she spent most of the walk in a spaced out daze, muttering to herself about blood and demons and other grisly topics.

Luminara had it worse. The effort of hiding them in plain sight from thousands of people for nearly eight hours showed clearly on her face. Her skin glistened with sweat, and the few strands of her hair that escaped her headdress were plastered to her forehead. Her eyes were bloodshot and dull with exhaustion. She didn't complain, but he could see the strain in every panting breath and forced step. The mix of power and control involved in subtlety affecting the minds of everyone around them was remarkable, and he hated that he wasn't yet skilled enough with the Force to help her bear the burden. All he could do was project strength and resolve to help bolster her own. They walked in silence, so she could maintain her concentration, and stopped only for brief periods to eat a couple ration bars and drink some water. Every time they took a break, Jiraiya shifted restlessly until they got moving again. Nar Shaddaa was not a place he wanted to stand still, and he couldn't shake the feeling of impending danger he'd had ever since they'd tracked down Aurra.

At last, it seemed their efforts paid off. As they approached the entrance to the hangar where their ship was docked, Jiraiya allowed himself a measure of relief. It seemed he'd been worried for nothing. The whole mission had gone perfectly. Naturally, that was when everything went wrong.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

This was a very dialogue heavy chapter to be sure, but it's one I've been planning since before I even started writing this story. More specifically, the encounter between Naruto and Kurama in the Lothal Temple was one of the earliest ideas I had for this story. In Naruto canon, I always found the development of the partnership between Naruto and Kurama too sudden. Yes, they had mutual enemies, but Kurama has some legitimate grievances against Naruto. With the slower pace I've decided on for their friendship, I felt it important to address those. Naruto isn't wholly in the right in how he's been treating his prisoner, though he certainly has good reasons for his actions. Those well versed in the nerd essentials may have caught the TNG reference I made. It seemed particularly applicable here.

The section with Jiraiya and Luminara was much more difficult to write. I debated having a bigger fight between them and Aurra, but it seemed pointless and unrealistic. Aurra is maimed and raving. Even at her peak, she would be no match for either of them alone, let alone both of them together. Don't worry, though. If you're craving action, the next chapter has it in spades.

Please leave a review. Questions, comments, suggestions, bitches, moans, and complaints are all welcome. Make sure you log in and enable PM's if you want your questions answered, though. I won't answer it in an AN. Also, to the flamers, if you want anyone to take you seriously, you've got to use proper (or any) grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Your pithy insults and veiled threats lose their punch when I have to translate your vitriol like I would a bit of Latin poetry.