Recommended story: 'After Life' by XtremeGal87, my favorite Bleach fanfic.
Chapter Forty-four
Thanks to there being no need to escape, Naruto's group wasn't in a hurry to get back to Konoha so they were taking their time. Kushina also wanted to resolve the issue with the elf prisoner before they got there, after all it wasn't like they could put her in the Konoha prison. She hadn't broken any of Konoha's laws. Hell, technically she wasn't even guilty of attacking the hokage since Tsunade wasn't her target at the time. At the same time, letting her go free in the Elemental Nations didn't seem like a good idea, and sending her back to Alfheim seemed like a worse one.
The group also asked Isaribi if she would prefer they stop back at Sea Country first. The diver girl declined, still fearful that Orochimaru had eyes in the country and she wanted to be sure the cure of the kaima would be effective. Tsunade had used her Gift to cure the girl and make her completely human, but they didn't know if this came with side effects or not.
So another night came and the group took lodging in a hotel this time to relax. The adults were in one room and the kids were in another.
"Here's the deal." Tsunade said in their room, looking at the captive dark elf. "We don't want to keep making things worse for you and us, despite what you've done. We're willing to let you go free, on the condition that you forget this vendetta against Kushina and move on with your life. I'll even heal whatever physical damage she did to you. But here are your choices. You can either come with us to our home and help us prepare for a fight against the succubi who we will be going to war against. Or as you might call it, declaring a Grudge against. You can either surrender and we will guide you back to Alfheim and let you do whatever you want back there. Or you can be released into this world and find your own place to live here, wherever and however you can."
The dark elf looked to Kushina in confusion. "Why would you declare a Grudge against your own kind?"
"I was drafted into their battle, I never cared about their cause. Frankly, I thought the entire fight was stupid. My only goal was finding a way back to my son." Kushina said, then sat next to her on the bed. Naturally the dark elf moved away from her. "I'm sorry that I was responsible for the death of your child. I know nothing I do can earn your forgiveness."
"You got that right." The dark elf spat, looking away.
"But let me ask you something." Kushina continued.
The dark elf turned back towards her, looking suspicious and untrusting, but she was giving eye contact again.
"How exactly did I cause your miscarriage? You've said it before but you've never explained exactly how."
The dark elf looked bitter, recalling the memory. "My home was a farming and fishing villa on the shoreline of Kanki no Kuni, I had just recently discovered my pregnancy and my husband was still celebrating the news. Soldiers came and called for a draft, but he refused, saying he needed to be with me. They refused and forced him to go. My husband said he would fight like Niflheim itself to get back to me before I gave birth."
She broke eye contact at this point. "Within a month, the Ai no Kuni army came through and destroyed everything. We had no weapons, no fighters, no traps, it was like they just wanted to destroy us for the fun of it. They wore masks but we could all see they were succubi, so it wasn't like the masks hid much."
She looked back to Kushina with hatred. "Your red hair was among them. You're famous for being the only red-haired succubus in Alfheim."
Kushina looked confused. "People say that? That's not accurate at all."
Now the dark elf was the one who looked confused, then angry. "You lie. Everyone knows the reputation of Kushina the blood-haired succubus warrior."
"Wait, is red hair the only clue you have to the identity of this person?" Shizune asked.
"I mean, you do know that wigs and dyes and other fucking disguises exist, right?" Tayuya added.
The dark elf looked perplexed and hurt, trying to ignore it but struggling to.
"I was never in Kanki no Kuni." Kushina claimed. "I was focused in Osore no Kuni and Ikari no Kuni when I had to fight. My job was to keep the dark elves from coordinating with the vampires and protect the supplies of the light elves communities in the area."
"You're lying!" The dark elf insisted, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes.
"Why would I lie? Would it make you want to kill me less?" Kushina asked.
"Look at me. I've got fucking red head and I ain't no damn succubus." Tayuya added, waving a hand through her hair for emphasis.
"What did this red-haired succubus do to you?" Shizune asked.
"She hit me in the stomach with a hammer! I lived but my baby didn't! My home was burned to cinders and those of us that survived left in a caravan to a town offering shelter! But when we got there, the succubi warriors were already seiging it. I briefly saw my husband try to stop them, but that same bitch came up from behind and hit him hard enough I could hear his back breaking from ten meters away. Then when he was on the ground and saw me coming towards him, she crushed his head with that accursed hammer."
She closed her eyes and made a fist. The others were speechless.
"I don't own a hammer." Kushina told her, not sure what else to say.
"Liar!" The dark elf screamed, jumping to her feet.
Kushina had multiple chains come out of her back, waving in the air like tentacles. The sight of these prompted the dark elf to hold off any attack.
"These are my weapon. I can make them any time I want. Why would I fight with a hammer, hell, why would I carry around any weapon, when my body can create as many of these as I want when I want?"
"Well then who was that woman?! You must have known other warriors even if you didn't want to be in the war! If that really wasn't you then who was she?!"
"I don't know, but within a few years we will go back to Alfheim and take down Queen Zara, and that will give you an opportunity to find out. And get revenge on the right person."
The dark elf raised an eyebrow. "And why would you dethrone your own sister?"
"To protect my son from her."
The dark elf nodded in understanding, then looked surprise. "Wait, a few years? That's really soon isn't it?"
"We fight differently here in this world. Ai no Kuni won't know what to expect, or when to expect it." Kushina said, though she could tell their prisoner was not convinced. "Think of it this way. You could kill me now and maybe get out of here, but unless you can get back to Alfheim you're stuck in Midgard forever and you'll always wonder if I was the right target. But you could delay your revenge for a few years and go back to Alfheim with us, where you could find the right target and get your real revenge. Or kill me too if I really am lying, but at least then you'll know for certain and can go home. Which sounds better?"
After a moment, the dark elf sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're right. Fine, I'll cooperate as long as you keep up your end of the bargain. But if you really are the one who took my life from me, no god in Asgard or Niflheim will protect you from my wrath."
Kushina chuckled a little. "Deal."
"Well now that that's out of the way, can we finally get your fucking name?" Tayuya asked.
The dark elf looked annoyed. "My name is Marquo Flopax."
"Now that's going to get a few odd looks in this world." Tayuya commented.
"You are aware that the only reason we were able to get you inside this place was by putting a genjutsu over you, right?" Tsunade pointed out.
Tayuya shrugged. "You got a genjutsu for a name too?"
"How about for the time being we just call you Mariko?" Shizune offered.
The dark elf shrugged. "It's not the worst name I've ever heard."
At the moment, Sarutobi was outside the hotel with Naruto giving him some training. With no work to get in the way, it wasn't like the former hokage had no excuse for it. Besides, he enjoyed it and Naruto was eager to learn. Right now he was giving him some lessons on fighting with a bo staff, with them using a long piece of bamboo for practice. Naruto had been shown a fighting technique and stance and practiced in slow motion to get the feel of moving in such a way, and then Sarutobi had him repeat over and over again a little faster each time to help it sink in.
"Alright, let's stop there." Sarutobi said, setting his own bamboo pole down.
"I can keep going." Naruto insisted.
Sarutobi laughed. "Sure, but I'm sitting down. I may have a new lease on life, but I'm not as young as I once was."
He sat down on a bench where there was some tea preset for them. By now it had gone cold but fortunately one of the many jutsu he knew was a simple reheating one to get it back to a drinkable temperature. As he sipped, he watched the whiskered blonde continue to practice.
"Hey Naruto, while we have this opportunity I'd like to ask you something."
"What is it Jiji?"
"How do you feel about the secret I kept from you?"
Naruto froze and lost his balance, causing him to faceplant on the ground and hit his head with the pole. Sarutobi got up and helped him up, with Naruto groaning.
"That must have hurt."
"I've been through worse." Naruto said, rubbing his scalp.
Sarutobi got him to sit down. "Perhaps I should have waited."
"I don't think there would have been a good time for that question." Naruto replied.
"Still, it's an important one. You told me back in the land of the dead that you didn't want our reunion to be an angry one, but now we have time to clear the air and frankly we need to before returning home. I understand that you are angry with me."
"I think I'm more conflicted than anything. Why did you lie to me?" Naruto asked.
"The fewer who knew the truth, the better. Secrets are easier to keep when the minimum amount of people are aware of them."
"But why couldn't I at least know? Didn't you trust me?"
"It wasn't about trust Naruto. All children want to have bragging rights, it's just a fact. Remember how all the clan heirs brag about being clan heirs? You cannot be certain that you wouldn't have done the same."
"I could have." Naruto insisted.
Sarutobi shook his head. "Naruto, back when your classmates were talking about how great their parents were or how great Sasuke's clan was, can you really be 100% certain that you wouldn't have told them about your own parents just to be part of the gang? Or when the worst of them started to insult you for not having parents?"
Naruto looked down, as if ashamed of himself.
"I know it hurts, but anything less than 100% silence on your part just couldn't work. Even 99% silence was too much of a risk. Your parents had enemies and apparently they were also in Konoha too. If you can think of a way to guarantee you'd keep quiet while still knowing the truth, please tell me."
"It still hurts to know you kept this from me." Naruto remarked. "Ayame-neechan told me that she quit being a kunoichi because you kept compromising with the people who hated me. What else have you done other than lie about who my parents are?"
Sarutobi took a deep breath. "That will be easier to explain back home. But I can promise you that at no point did I make a decision with the deliberate intention of harming you. But sometimes being hokage means you will have to make choices that do result in someone else not benefiting from it. Think about this, you have a limited budget and can only afford to keep one restaurant in business. Sure you could give the money to the ramen stand, but that means someone else will lose their shop and go broke. Did they deserve it? No, but you can't just make solutions come out of thin air."
Naruto acted like he wasn't sure what to say, so he got up and went back to training with renewed and somewhat angered vigor. Sarutobi just sat there and watched, ready to chip in if needed. Training was like a band-aid, it helped ease the pain but it didn't actually heal the wound. He just hoped that Konoha would allow the wound to heal this time.
While the adults were handling that problem, the girls in the group were helping themselves to the hotel's bath. Fortunately, they had it all to themselves.
"Wow, this feels so good after that frozen wasteland." Ino sighed, relaxing in the hot water.
"You're telling me." Isaribi added, looking at her unblemished skin. "Though the best part is being human again. I'm so glad to not have scales anymore."
"I'm surprised that you were able to create your own clothes like that Ino." Sakura said to her friend.
"Me too, but now this means I never have to buy new clothes again."
"Could I get some new clothes? I didn't exactly bring a suitcase with me when I left home." Ursha asked.
"Sure, I'm feeling generous." Ino said. "Speaking of which, what happened to your wings and tail?"
"Oh, Sakura used her Gift to make me look more like the people of this world. I'm still a succubus, but at least now I can blend in better."
Ino turned to the pinkette. "You should probably do that for yourself too."
"Good idea." Sakura said before putting her hands on her clavicle. "Make me look human again, but let me retain my abilities and my figure."
With that, the wings and tail of Sakura, once hidden by a genjutsu as well just like Naruto, now simply retracted into her body and disappeared as if never there. Though the growth spurt her breasts and hips went through back in Alfheim remained.
"These Gifts as you call them are impressive abilities." Shinju said, still taking in all the things this group had experienced since her death and rebirth.
"That they are, though I still have to be careful with what I say. I won't risk hurting my baby." Sakura replied, rubbing her still flat stomach.
"I'd still be worried. I mean, even if you are a succubus, I don't think a thirteen year old's body is best suited for giving birth." Ayame noted, with Shinju nodded.
"Hmm..." Sakura looked like she was thinking of something, then closed her eyes. "Give me the body of a sixteen year old, but don't do anything to my baby."
All of a sudden, Sakura got taller and more mature. Her breasts actually got a little bit bigger, though not overwhelmingly so, her hips got wider, her hair got longer, and her baby fat went away almost entirely. Her hair got longer too, resembling how it used to look before the chuunin exams. Soon enough, she looked only a little bit younger than Ayame did, then she opened her eyes and checked herself out.
"How do I look?" She asked, her voice still almost the same but just marginally more mature.
"Did you just make yourself older?" Moegi asked.
"Ayame's right, my original body was still at risk, but at least this way my body can handle it more and my baby's got a better chance of being born healthy." The pinkette explained.
Ino looked curious and then she grew too to match, her body going through the same changes except hers looked a lot more controlled by comparison.
"Damn, I'm going to be drop dead sexy when I grow up." She said, examining her luscious legs and bountiful bosom with pride.
"You made yourself look like that on purpose. You know that's not what you're going to look like naturally." Sakura argued.
"And you think you'd have those tits if you weren't a succubus?" Ino argued back. "Maybe I'll stay this way. I kind of like being taller and hotter."
"Can you make me taller and hotter?" Isaribi asked, drawing everyone's attention. "What? I want to know if I'll look good in a bikini in a few years."
The girls turned towards Sakura, who looked a little uncomfortable. "I... suppose I can. If that's what you want."
"Me too. I wanna see what I'll look like." Ursha said, scooting closer. Isaribi did the same, making the pinkette feel a little ganged up on. Nonetheless, she took a deep breath and put a hand on each of their shoulders.
"Both of you be sixteen years old now."
Isaribi and Ursha felt their bodies get bigger and heavier, their limbs and hair got longer. It felt a little uncomfortable, but not painful, and it passed quickly. When done, Isaribi stood up, briefly losing her balance and needing to hold onto the bath's side. Ursha rose to her feet too, adjusting her own balance and helping the diver girl do the same. Once assured, they stood next to each other and looked over themselves, while showing their new bodies off to the others.
"How do I look?"
"You... you'll definitely look good in a bikini, that's for sure." Sakura complimented, sounding somewhat stunned.
"Both of you will." Ino added, unable to take her eyes off these two. She wasn't the only one.
Isaribi took a moment to cup her breasts, each about the size of ostrich eggs now, and then ran her hands down her thighs. Her hips weren't exactly wide but she did have a nice waist and a decent butt. Her hair was a little too long for her liking though.
"I'm going to need a haircut, but damn I'm hot. I could even get away with skinny-dipping if I wanted to."
Ursha meanwhile started with her legs, feeling her thighs and cupping her butt. The lack of tail bothered her, and she wasn't sure if the size of her butt was too much but she was certain any boy who saw it wouldn't take his eyes off it. Then she rubbed her hands up her sides, feeling the curves of hips to waist to chest, and stopping by her breasts. She whistled, impressed; her mounds had become the size of pumpkins.
"Whoa, I think I'm bigger than my mom. Or anyone in my family."
"Hell, I think you're bigger than Tsunade-sama." Ayame added.
Hinata looked down at herself. 'I never thought that I'd be the same one in the room. I never wanted big boobs, but maybe some part of me liked being bigger than the other girls. I have to reclaim that.'
"With melons like that you could get any boy you'd want." Sakura said.
"Or any girl too." Ino added.
Ursha raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'any girl'? Why would a girl be into me?"
There was a pause for a moment.
"Uhh... have you never heard about same-sex relationships?" Ayame asked.
Ursha tilted her head like a dog that didn't understand the command it had been given.
"Sometimes boys like other boys and girls like other girls." Shinju clarified.
Ursha blinked and went wide-eyed. "What? But... but that doesn't make any sense. How can such people have children like that?"
"Adoption, surrogacy, foster care, or they just decide to be childless." Shinju explained, putting an arm around Moegi.
Ursha still looked confused, but less so now. "Mom always said the entire point of finding a mate was to take care of Frenzies and to have children with them. You're telling me that in this world, that's not how it works?"
"Yeah, sexual gratification is one thing, but long term relationships work best when you love your partner for reasons beyond routine horniness." Ayame explained.
"So... if I wanted to, I could seek out a girlfriend instead of a boyfriend? And that would be okay?" Ursha asked.
"There are some people who'd have a problem with it, but sure you can find someone." Ino answered.
The succubus princess sat back down in the water, looking like she was processing this new information. She must have been taking it well, because she was smiling a little as if intrigued. Isaribi sat down next to her, and Ursha looked towards her.
"Can I kiss you? Just to see what it's like?"
Isaribi blushed a little. "Sorry, I'm not..." She trailed off, breaking eye contact for a moment, then looked like she was thinking of something. A moment later, she looked back to Ursha and moved in closer. The two girls got their faces close to each other but withheld from connecting, as if both were hesitant for a second. Then Isaribi closed the gap, planting her lips on Ursha's own. Ursha went along, giving as much as she was getting, and the others could hear a moan of pleasure but had no idea which one of them was making it.
After a moment the two ended their kiss and separated.
"Not bad, better than I thought it would be." Isaribi noted.
"Same here. I really liked that." Ursha claimed, still smiling.
"You two should go on a date when we get to Konoha." Moegi suggested.
Isaribi looked embarassed, but Ursha took her hand. "I like the sound of that. Want to do it?"
The diver girl composed herself, but she nodded. Ursha hugged her in response.
"That's good. And here I thought you'd be into Naruto." Ino remarked.
Ursha said nothing, but her blush got stronger. Which Ino of course noticed.
"Wait, are you interested in Naruto like that?"
Everyone looked surprised and stared at Ursha, who met their gazes.
"So your world is okay with girls kissing other girls, but not okay with girls kissing their male cousins?"
"Your world is okay with cousin loving?" Sakura asked back.
"Most incubi back when they were around had at least one cousin as a lover. It was often the most reliable way for them both to safely handle their first Frenzies. Hell, my father when he was alive had a cousin mate too. She's now countess of the southern territory of Ai no Kuni. Mom was the primary mate so she got the central seat of power."
"Wow." Sakura said, not sure what else to say.
"How many mates did your father have?" Hinata asked.
"Counting Mom... I have five aunts. No, wait, Aunt Kushina was never his mate. So Mom and four aunts, so five. He had five mates in total. Each of them now govern over an area of Ai no Kuni with Mom governing over the nation in its entirety."
Ino turned to the pinkette and Hyuuga heiress. "So, looks like there's room for three more in your relationship."
"Actually, Dad was the king with the least amount of mates in his court. The average is eight to twelve, and the record is twenty-seven." Ursha corrected.
"I am not sharing Naruto-kun with twenty-seven women!" Hinata vehemently declared, rising to her feet.
"I'm not even thrilled with the idea of sharing him with eight women." Sakura added.
"Don't you mean six? There's already two of you." Moegi asked.
"Can we not talk about how many women can sleep with our man?" Sakura said, crossing her arms.
"Speaking of which, you should age him up too. I'm dying to see what he'll look like when he's grown up." Ino suggested.
Sakura couldn't help but grin in agreement.
"Make me older." Hinata said, getting Sakura to look towards her. "If you're going to stay this way long term, we both know Naruto-kun is going to do the same. So I better do it too. I'm not going to be the odd one out."
"That last one was a bit much, so let's wait a little bit before I do any more."
"I'd love to see how Naruto reacts to seeing the both of you taller and sexier. Too bad you have to share the room with the rest of us, so no nookie tonight." Ino said with a laugh.
"We can find a way." Sakura said, putting an arm around Hinata, who nodded.
"I bet you will."