Eroninja

“Now she’s actively avoiding me,” Naruto said as he sat at the table in his seal’s recreation of his mother’s old apartment.

“Are you sure per…” Kushina trailed off as her son gave her a look that said he was sure. Remembering that Naruto could feel his lovers through the mark he placed on them and that it went both ways she realized Ino most likely was using it to keep her distance from her son. Feeling uncomfortable at talking about the subject, especially since most mothers were eased into the idea of their children starting the whole dating and relationship part of their lives while she had sort of been thrown into the process midstream, she tried to brush off his concern by saying, “Can’t you just spend more time with one of the others?”

Naruto shook his head saying, “I’m not sure what to do. If I leave her alone she could just get more upset at me for not addressing the problem between us. But if I keep hounding her when all she wants is time alone then I could just end up screwing up that way too.”

Kushina sighed at seeing her son so down over his trouble with one of his lovers. Watching him as he sat back in the chair resting his head on the back of it to stare up at the ceiling as his arms hung limply at his side, she could understand why it was that so many women were involved with him. After all, she imagined that most men in his situation would shrug their shoulders figuring the girl in question would come around and would busy themselves with their other lovers until it happened. Seeing her son getting worked up over the damage he may have done to his relationship made her proud of the man he had become.

She could also see just how unsure he was about how to proceed as well that those feelings were bleeding into another matter. Kushina frowned as she had noticed a sense of insecurity radiating from him from time to time whenever they had discussed his love life. To her it seemed to be appearing more and more frequently especially when discussing just how he had ended up with a dedicated harem. At those times Kushina believed that it was because her son didn’t see himself as an exceptional kindhearted lover and was afraid minus the jutsu that bound them everything would fall apart.

She was about to ask him about it when she began to hear what sounded like whispers. She looked around the room feeling a little spooked as the whispers sounded like the type people heard in ghost movies that told the characters they weren’t alone. She noticed that Naruto seemed oblivious to it, but as she concentrated on her son felt she could “see” something standing behind him. She narrowed her eyes to focus on it but before it began to become defined Naruto startled her asking, “What is it?”

He quickly looked behind him, but not seeing anything turned back around to give her a confused look. “Uh… nothing,” she said rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment since the idea of the seal being haunted was rather farfetched. Focusing back on the matter at hand she said, “In all honesty Naruto I think it would be best if you give her some space.”

She could see Naruto wasn’t exactly thrilled at her suggestion as he quickly said, “How come? When things were tense between Sakura and me everyone told me that I needed to address it. Now you’re telling me to let things be.”

Kushina nodded saying, “Yes… women are complex. That she is avoiding you means she wants some space.”

“Well the circumstances have changed. Plus it’s easier to want to address things when you’re on the outside looking in. Not so much when you’re at the center of them.” Kushina replied with a shrug. “I think your little stunt during the mind link has changed things for her and she’s not sure how to talk to you about it.”

Naruto sighed saying, “Guess I really screwed things up.”

“Maybe, but perhaps not in the way you think. Truthfully, I think you just opened her eyes to the truth of being with a shinobi. I think all she needs is some time to come to terms with it and things will go back to normal.” Smiling she added, “Or at least what constitutes normal for you.”

*****

Ino sat down in front of a tree in one of Konoha’s many parks. She sighed in relief as she felt Naruto give up on trying to catch up with her in order to return to his apartment. In order to prevent him from just Hiraishining to her, she had been sure to remain in public. Leaning back against the tree she had sat in front of she wished for the first time since Kyuubi had modified Naruto’s mark to be able to locate him and his lovers’ chakra that she could turn it off. When it had first been modified it had taken a little getting used to being connected in a sense to a network of people. If she had to describe it she would say that each woman felt like a small flame that when she closed her eyes and concentrated she could sense. From the way it changed she could generally get a feel of what a Naruto or one of the others was doing. Naruto’s flame for example was changing from its normal wild and unpredictable nature when he was awake to a more serene state. It didn’t have the same feel as when he was sleeping making her believe he had entered his seal.

Really looking at her surroundings for the first time since before all that had mattered was that there had been people present she saw that she was near a spot where the village children would congregate. She smiled warmly as she watched some kids playing nearby and realized this was the spot where she first met Sakura. Looking up she also figured she was sitting under the very tree that the pink-haired girl had been crying under after being teased about her forehead. Considering her own feelings she supposed it was fitting that she would come to the spot. Closing her eyes she could sense someone approaching and amused at the circle coming complete said, “Sakura, what brings you out here?”

“I think you know,” her friend and fellow Harem member replied.

Again, Ino felt a desire to have the ability to switch off her mark since she figured all of Naruto’s lovers had felt the game of cat and mouse she had played with him. It was a little disconcerting to know even the ones outside the village had probably sensed it. She made a mental note to ask Konan should she ever see her again just how the woman seemed able to calm her flame to the point that it became nearly impossible to sense. But Ino figured it was probably tied to her stoic and calm personality, not to mention she likely made a point of making it as small as possible so Naruto couldn’t feel if she was in trouble or not in order to prevent him from doing anything rash.

Ino could feel Sakura’s eyes staring at the top of her head so she said, “I’m fine really. I… I just need a little time to myself.”

Sakura nodded, but sat down against the tree so that neither girl could see each other before asking, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” Ino answered sounding decisive turning to look in Sakura’s direction but her view was obscured by the trunk of the tree. That seemed to be good enough for Sakura although she made no effort to leave. The two kunoichi sat there in silence for several moments watching the people make use of the park. However the silence was broken when Ino blurted out, “I-It’s just that it isn’t fun anymore.”

Ino grimaced at the words she used feeling they didn’t convey all the turbulent feelings boiling about inside her. As a result she was surprised when Sakura said, “I understand.”

“You do?” she said confused since she barely felt that she did.

She could hear the amusement in Sakura’s voice at her expense. “Yes,” she replied, “I understand perfectly. It’s stopped being a game for you.”

Ino gasped as Sakura’s insight seemed to hit her right in the heart. She leaned over to peer around the tree so she could stare at her friend who turned her head to meet her gaze. Ino confused at how Sakura had understood so quickly tried to ask how but ended up stuttering slightly saying, “H-how?”

Sakura looked away to watch several of the kids playing in the park. A girl ran up to a boy and blushing quickly placed a kiss against his cheek. The boy didn’t know how to react due to his young age and quickly began ranting about cooties. She could see the hurt the boy’s response arouse in the young girl, but she played it off by hitting him as hard as she could. Sakura sighed remembering how fast she had been to respond with her fists when she had been younger. Looking back at Ino she said, “How? I suppose I came to that realization before you. It was two days after Sasuke defected to be exact.”

“W-what do you mean?”

Sakura remembered Naruto sitting in his hospital bed all bandaged up after the failed attempt to return the Uchiha. The memory then shifted to him at the gate promising to return Sasuke despite it being obvious how her pleas for him to do so had hurt him. Knowing that point had been when her own feelings for Naruto had made a large shift towards one day loving him she replied, “It’s just obvious that things have grown serious for you.”

Ino ducked back around the tree and pulling her knees up against her chest said, “Yeah…but why am I the only one reacting like this? I mean except for you bopping him on the head right after he woke up and Yuugao practically torturing him during a training session nobody else seems the least bit concerned.”

“I think it’s because everyone else entered into this with a clear understanding of what was on the line,” Sakura said after a long silence. “You were his first and in typical Naruto fashion it was only after he seduced you that he began to think on how best to use the jutsu.” Sakura paused to let her words sink in before adding, “But truthfully you also didn’t give much thought to what came after. I think as a result you kind of were living in a consequence free state of mind. It’s also why you didn’t have a problem with pushing me and Naruto together.”

“Hey, don’t get full of yourself forehead. I didn’t have a problem getting him with Shiho or Temari either” Ino snapped unable from stopping herself as the jealousy she had been feeling towards Sakura suddenly flared. Realizing she had insulted her friend she quickly tried to say, “S-sorry I…”

To her surprise Sakura didn’t get angry instead in a calm manner replying, “It’s fine, and proves my point as well. You didn’t have a problem with it because you knew things would continue on as they had been. Shiho would fit into the rumors of Naruto taking girls on practice dates and as far as Temari went she created a false persona for him as a traveling merchant so he could come and go as he pleased. However, with him taking me out on a date you suddenly stood to lose out.” Ino wanted to deny it, but couldn’t as she had been growing jealousy as a result of Sakura most likely stepping into the limelight as the only person able to go on dates with Naruto.

Sakura paused expecting a half-hearted denial but not hearing one continued saying, “That way of thinking also seeped into your belief nothing bad could ever happen to him. Now that you’ve seen that it can and realizing just how much you’ve come to care about him it’s only natural to feel scared and confused.”

Ino nodded to herself aware that Sakura couldn’t see the gesture. Still despite Sakura’s explanation she couldn’t help but notice that Sakura hadn’t answered her question so said, “But why is everyone else okay with it.”

“I can’t speak for everyone, but if they’re like me they already recognized that fact either in their own interactions with Naruto or just from previous experience.” Thinking of her lover Sakura couldn’t help smiling as she said, “Naruto’s great when it comes to setting large lofty goals for himself.” She remembered back to the academy and how the other kids when asked what their dreams for the future most had said simple things like, ‘being a great ninja like my dad or mom.” Most of the future kunoichi all spoke of being with a certain Uchiha, herself and Ino being but two of them. Naruto though had boldly stood on the desk and declared he was going to become the greatest Hokage ever. Naturally most of the kids aware of his reputation had simply laughed and she couldn’t help but feel pride in the fact that many of those that had laughed were changing their thoughts on the matter. Realizing she hadn’t finished her thought as she had gotten sidetracked by her memories she continued, “But, he tends to take his eye off the prize. Most people who’ve set such a goal for themselves would focus on the steps to most efficiently achieve it. As a result if a situation doesn’t help bring about their ambition they tend to ignore it. For Naruto though the goal is a place he one day expects to reach without worrying about the steps he needs to get there. As a result he’s completely unable to ignore those in need.”

Closing her eyes Sakura recalled her own experience and said, “I begged Naruto to bring back Sasuke because at the time I thought he was the whole world. Despite how badly I tended to treat Naruto back then and his own goal of one day being Hokage he threw everything on the line. He put his own dream on hold to save a friend and keep a selfish promise to a foolish girl.”

“Sakura…” Ino said hearing the emotion in Sakura’s voice.

But due to how softly she had spoken she doubted the pink-haired girl had heard her as she continued, “Then there’s what happened with Hinata at the Chunin Exams. Naruto had barely spoken to her at the time but seeing her beaten down physically and emotionally by Neji. He again forgot about his own goal in order to right the wrong done to her.”

“True, but Naruto was hardly in any danger…”

“You saw how hard he fought Ino.” Sakura said speaking over her, “It was no different than what he did for Kin.”

Ino was shocked at the truth of Sakura’s words. She let them sink in but found that if anything it made her own dilemma worse as the truth was she was afraid of giving her heart to someone who seemed completely incapable of backing down no matter the odds. Finally after what seemed like an eternity she said, “That might be true. But I’m different now. I need some time…can you tell him for me?”

Although she didn’t see it, Ino could feel her friend nod at her request. Standing, the blonde headed off to be alone although in truth that was exactly what she feared ending up as in the future.

******

Kyuubi sat across from Tsunade in the latter’s office having scheduled a meeting with the Hokage to discuss her plans for expansion. At least that was the official reason. One unofficial reason quickly rose to the top of the list of things to be discussed as Tsunade said. “Well yesterday’s stunt seems to have had the desired effect of getting Ibiki to call of his men. But don’t think that means he’s going to forget about you though.”

“What do you mean?” Kyuubi asked looking regal in the chair she was sitting in. It made Tsunade a little uncomfortable since Kyuubi looked exactly like her grandmother although with a short bob like hairstyle and calculating green eyes that only seemed to softened when Naruto was involved.

“Ibiki has cast his net to catch you two up to something in a different way. Although it does grant you more freedom, it’s also a tad trickier. He’s doubled the guards of our sensitive locations. Should you or Yoruichi get too close he has tasked expert trackers to follow you. These won’t be mere genin or chunin taking missions to watch you but are experts at their craft.”

Kyuubi sat back in her chair and waved off Tsunade’s concern dismissively saying, “Well since we have no interest in those sights it shouldn’t be a problem.

Tsunade kept her annoyance at the woman in check, and was surprised at just how negatively she had reacted to her warning being dismissed but figured it was due to it making her feel that Kyuubi saw herself as being above her fellow Harem members. Succeeding for the most part she only had a hint of it in her voice as she said, “You don’t need to have an interest in them for his men think that you do. Just stay clear of places like the barrier monitoring barracks and a few others and it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Very well, now onto more pressing concerns,” Kyuubi said amused at Tsunade trying to hide her annoyance at her taking control over the meeting. “You should know that Nanabi has been accepted into Danzou’s prison force.”

“Really how do you know?”

“Telepathy,” Kyuubi replied with a smile at Tsunade’s surprised face. “We Bijuu always had the ability to speak to each other over distances or even while sealed away. We just never really used it. I was surprised it was an ability that carried over with the transfer but as you now know it has its uses.”

“Have you been in contact with her all this time?”

“No, Nanabi for the most part has refused to use it except to give brief status updates. Last night she told me that she has been accepted and a few details she gleamed from the brief walk to her new cell.”

Tsunade leaned forward in interest asking, “Such as?”

“It seems the top floors have been allotted to this force.”

“That makes sense those would be the least oppressive from the surrounding lava”

“True, not to mention they are allowed free reign of those floors. I suppose it’s also a precaution against surprise inspections as it would give the inmates time to return to their cells.”

Tsunade nodded but somewhat disappointed said, “However we already knew all this from Koharu’s attempt to infiltrate the prison.”

“I know it’s not all that we can hope for but consider it a beginning. Besides truthfully we guessed at most of our conclusions. Even that Konoha was the target.”

“Are you saying it isn’t?”

“No, that’s been confirmed. But to be honest I believe we’ve only scratched the surface as to what’s going on there.”

Tsunade didn’t need to ask what the Bijuu meant as she as well as most of the others tended to believe that as well. It was just too much to believe that Danzou truly thought the prisoners were the ace in the hole he needed to take Konoha by force. She and Koharu had already spun several scenarios. There were two that she favored, the first being that Akame was a pawn who would send his prisoner army towards Konoha in a brazen attack. Naturally the village would repel him due to his decidedly weaker force. Akame likely believed Danzou would use Root to back him up, however Tsunade believed that he’d use the distraction to murder her as well as other people opposed to him. Depending on how well that went he probably wouldn’t even need to lift a finger to be named as the next Hokage.

The other was that somehow Danzou would smuggle the prisoners in and along with Root quickly strike taking the village before any opposition could be raised. This scenario was the least likely as far as Tsunade was concerned since it would require extreme precision and teamwork. Something that if many of the prisoners had, they probably wouldn’t have ended up in prison. Naturally she was also aware that they could be completely misreading the whole thing as well and the prison may not even have factored all that extensively into Danzou’s plans. Guessing they wouldn’t know until they had more information she said, “Well in any case keep me posted.” Tsunade wanted to smirk at Kyuubi’s small glare at being dismissed like she answered to the Hokage.

The Bijuu quickly composed herself before giving a curt nod to Tsunade. Heading outside and seeing that night had fallen she decided to take advantage of her freedom by visiting her lover.

*****

The dinner buzzard sounded so Nanabi pulled herself from her bed and stepped out of the cell. She hadn’t been asleep but had merely been keeping to herself as she planned her next moves. The morning training hadn’t been too rough which surprise her but she figured it was due to the fact that it was for those who had participated in its first day. Considering that for the most part the prison had discouraged them from trying to keep their skills up it would have been foolish to throw them into the mix from the start. It was a lucky break for Nanabi considering she had been unable to remove the seal the prison had applied to her body so truly had no idea of what to expect of herself once the chakra restraint had been removed. That too had been a lucky break since the first thing that had happened upon entering the training field located on the roof was for Akame’s guards to check and modify their seals with a one/off switch so to speak. If she had managed to remove or alter it she supposed it would have all been over for her as she doubted she would have been able to cover that up.

For a brief moment she wondered if that had been why Kyuubi had chosen her for infiltrating the prison. She thought back to all the times they had practiced seals with the Sage of the Six Paths and she had needed the most instruction to pick up concepts her fellow Bijuu easily mastered. She wouldn’t have put it past Kurama to have singled her out since it would mean she would be at the greatest disadvantage. She supposed that may very well have been to ensure that she would behave once placed inside of her new body. Since it would be very likely that she require help in order to eventually leave.

Nanabi scowled as she thought, “Stupid Kurama. I bet she thinks she has things all figured out. I’ll show her not to underestimate me.”

She would have mentally ranted more however as she neared the dining area her nostrils began to pick up a wide variety of delicious scents. Stepping into the room she was again struck by the fact that she could barely believe she was in a prison. Having been blown away earlier by the layout which gave off the air of a small restaurant as booths and tables were set up and the lights were dimmed, now it was the type of food she saw sitting along the back wall. Unlike the gruel she had been served during her month in the lower cells. The food she saw now was all top quality. Not to mention on a table near the serving area was all top quality liquor.

Akame was standing by it next to his right hand man Bekko. He inclined his head only enough to greet her which she quickly returned. He smiled at the gesture no doubt figuring her quickness was due to not wanting to spend any more time in the punishment cells. She noticed that he seemed a little perturbed and figured that whatever his trip had been about it hadn’t gone as he expected. Moving her gaze past the warden she began to take in some of her fellow prisoners. Her gaze first settled on three kunoichi from Waterfall sitting in one of the booths. From the numbers that read TK-Nine-Zero-Zero, TK-Nine-Zero-One, and TK-Nine-Zero-Two she suspected they had probably been captured at the same time. Also due to the way the other two sat on either side of the silver-haired TK-Nine-Zero-Zero she suspected she was the leader. She wouldn’t doubt if they had been some team sent to spy on the Leaf Village and had been arrested as a result. Directing her focus to the two subordinates she noticed all three women seemed rather plain which she supposed helped them in gathering intel as most people would quickly dismiss them. The two subordinates only really difference was that one had short light brown hair while the other had long dark brown. Despite herself having come from Taki in truth Nanabi had never cared about much of anything but keeping her container alive so couldn’t say if they were well known or not.

She spotted her guide from the day before standing off by herself. The woman seemed to radiate an aura that told others to stay away. However it seemed to be tiring her out since if Nanabi had to guess her current disposition was probably far different then her natural one. Nanabi quickly dismissed her having no need for friends herself. She noticed the woman look at something and quickly blush before turning her head.

Nanabi looked to see what affected her so and felt her own cheeks redden slightly as she noticed a man sitting in a round booth minus the table. He had silver hair and written on his shirt next to the Konoha symbol there was KS-One-Four-Two-Two. His shirt was open and the arms of it had been ripped off showing his chest and arms were quite muscular. However it wasn’t the man who was responsible for her discomfort but the sight of a woman on her knees in front of him bobbing her head in his lap. Furthermore, sitting on either side of him were two other female prisoners who he had his arms around and was groping their breasts. Nanabi dismissed the women as weaklings figuring they were debasing themselves since the man appeared to have some clout. She also came to this conclusion due to the extremely large men standing behind his booth and who were drooling somewhat. But not at the sight of the women present but the food currently waiting to be devoured. She could just make out one of the men saying, “How much longer are we going to have to wait Big Brother?”

She expected the goateed giant to respond but instead it was the man currently being sucked off who said, “Just hold on a little longer. Akame wants to welcome the newbies.”

“Okay,” the giant replied although obviously disappointed.

Nanabi was going to look back at Akame to see if he was about to begin. However her gaze landed on a woman standing in a corner. She was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and much like the Kiri kunoichi she seemed to want nothing to do with the people present. Nanabi was struck by her beauty however it was diminished by the cold mask her face was being kept in. It struck Nanabi as being unnatural since she imagined at one time it had been filled with warmth. She directed her gaze to her chest to find out what village she hailed from but found no symbol and her number didn’t start with letters instead simply reading Zero-Zero-Zero. The woman seemed to realize she was being studied and her gaze briefly met Nanabi’s before her black eyes hardened into a glare. Nanabi was surprised that she actually turned her head as a result of being caught but when she looked back found the woman had turned her head so that her long raven black hair obscured her face.

She looked away from the woman as the sound of a glass being hit by a piece of metal drew her attention. She focused on Akame, who held a wine glass and had clinked a kunai against it to draw everyone’s attention. Once he had it he said, “Let me begin by first welcoming our latest batch of recruits. You’ve entered into a bold new phase of your lives. I know what you are saying, ‘Like I had much choice.’” Akame set his glass down and moved to the center of the room before continuing, “I know you see yourselves as prisoners betting it all on a small chance to take your freedom should you survive the completion of our mission. But the truth is you were prisoners long before you were sent here.”

A few of the new recruits like her obviously felt differently and from the lack of reaction from the others she guessed they had all heard this speech before. From Akame’s amusement she guessed the shouts of disagreement happened as if on cue, “Due you know what the difference between here and Hôzukijô prison are?” From the silence it was obvious none of the new recruits did and she herself had never heard of the famous Blood Prison so was glad when he continued, “No? It’s simple really. You are sent to Hôzukijô when your village loses confidence in you and they don’t wish to waste resources in keeping you around. Here you are held because you failed in one way or another in your duties as a shinobi or if a Leaf Shinobi are viewed as too dangerous to be held by Hôzukijô‘s rather relaxed methods. But the truth is that in both cases it is your no longer being viewed as valuable that makes you prisoners. In some of your cases The Leaf holds you with the idea that perhaps they might be able to gain some leverage against your homes. But the chances of this are small since just as most of you were disavowed by your villages we do the same to those Leaf shinobi who fail in their missions against your villages. So here you sit gathering dust, but as I said the truth is you were already prisoners. Prisoners to the shinobi system that spends you recklessly even in times of supposed peace.”

Nanabi could see the warden’s words were having an effect on some of the prisoners. She could also see that some of the men and women that had been a part of his uprising had become what she would call true believers. To her surprise the Kiri kunoichi that she had met the day before appeared to be one of them. She guessed it shouldn’t come as a surprise since if she had to guess one of her teammates had carried orders that she should not fall into enemy hands. Nanabi supposed having your throat slashed by someone you viewed as a comrade was enough to make anyone believe in the evils directed towards the shinobi of the various villages by their superiors. Nanabi believed it was also a seductive doctrine since in a sense it absolved the prisoners of their own failings.

Akame raised his hand and held it in front of him before closing it into a fist as he said passionately, “That is why we are going to burn the Leaf and install a new order there. An order where we, not some Daimyo or whiny civilian populace calls the shots but those whose blood has been used to build this world.”

Akame smiled as many of the new recruits cheered for him. He was about to direct them to grab their food while it was hot but stopped when Nanabi called out raising her hand, “Excuse me, but what exactly do you get out of it.”

“Excuse me… you must really wish to return to the punishment cells IK-Eight-Seven-Six.”

“Not at all,” she replied unperturbed by the threat, “But seeing as you did leave me there for a month in hopes it would increase my intelligence I’m simply searching for your own motivations so I can make an informed decision. I don’t want to put a damper on such a rousing speech, but it’s rather hard to imagine you risking everything for the transgressions committed against us your prisoners.”

Akame’s one eye narrowed at her before smiling and saying, “You wish to know why I’m willing to turn on my home and lead you to victory against it. The answer is simple, power. Oh it isn’t the power that comes with an office or any other such nonsense but the power Konoha has continuously wasted. My home exited the Third Great Shinobi war the victors but instead of pressing that advantage we had gained through sacred blood that spineless coward Hiruzen frittered it away when our enemies came seeking peace. I felt the arrival of the Kyuubi to wipe Konoha off the map was fate’s way of punishing us for not pressing on and destroying our rivals. But it was defeated and sealed by the Fourth. Now with the most powerful of Bijuu we could have used it to crush our enemies. We should have turned it into the ultimate weapon. Instead Hiruzen again failed his home by treating that Uzumaki brat as nothing more than a child.”

Nanabi was fighting hard to not attack the man for his views on how a Bijuu should be used. But with her chakra currently being sealed she knew she wouldn’t stand a chance against the man. But her anger was momentarily forgotten when she noticed that the woman in the corner had reacted to the name Uzumaki.

“These failings have opened my eyes and once we take Konoha we will not repeat them. Shinobi will come begging to joins us when they see that we are taking the reins of power and are now in control of our own destinies. Those that choose to remain lapdogs will be crushed by the wolves I plan to release from this prison. Now eat, drink, and indulge as it is no less than you deserve.”

Nanabi watched the man and his lieutenant leave shaking a few of the new believers’ hands. He made a point of stopping in front of her saying, “I’m going to have to be careful with you. It seems you’ve grown a little too smart for your own good.”

Giving a chilly smile she said, “Not at all. I’m just hoping to distinguish myself from the fodder.”

Akame stared at her studying her face before taking her hand and shaking it as he said, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

He then left the room and Nanabi couldn’t help wiping the hand he had shook on her shirt as it suddenly felt slimy. Having also lost her appetite since she didn’t want to eat with the people she viewed as too stupid to know they were being used she turned to return to her cell. As she did so she noticed the woman in the corner staring at her and seemed to have a slight smile on her face from the gesture she had made of cleaning the imagined filth from her hand. She wondered why the woman was there if she had the same opinion of the warden as her, but figured it was too soon to make introductions just yet.

*****

Kyuubi walked through the village after her meeting with Tsunade. To be honest with herself she preferred to travel through it at night like now. The primary reason was the lack of people and it wasn’t just because it made moving through the streets easier. But because as she walked among them she couldn’t help but feel guilty at what she had done nearly seventeen years previous. In all honesty she had never truly thought about it all that much before, having seen humans in the same light as they saw insects. However there was something about having to look them in the eye to engage them that tended to change one’s opinion.

Turning down an alley she came face to face with a dog that snarled at her. Rolling her eyes, the Bijuu sent a concentrated blast of her presence at it causing the beast to rear back and run off whining as if it had been hit. She could still hear it going as she emerged from the alley to see a familiar looking apartment building although this would be the first time she entered without using the transportation seal. Entering the building, she made her way to the apartment in question using the locator portion of her mark which was located on her back left shoulder. Reaching his door, she found it locked and was annoyed that she didn’t have a key, but knew a part of the reason was Naruto probably figured she would just use the transportation seal. Still she was hardly deterred as she held her hand above the lock and sent small tendrils of her chakra inside. The chakra easily turned the inner workings of the lock causing it to release. Turning the knob, she stepped inside before locking it behind her.

She removed the high heeled sandals she wore much in the same vein as Tsunade before stealthily moving towards his bed. She frowned slightly at seeing that he was sleeping in his chair as his bed was occupied by Kin. However a smile appeared a moment later as she decided to continue what she had planned so moved between the chair and the bed. Finding her sleeping lover to be adorable as he drooled onto his shoulder, she reached forward to cup his chin and was surprised when his hand suddenly grabbed her fingers. His grip was painful at first but probably due to the feminine feel of the hand he held it loosened. He blinked several times before saying a little too loudly, “Kyuu…”

Kyuubi placed her hand over his mouth to silence him. Pulling it away she whispered, “Shh, you don’t want to wake your guest.” She loosened the obi that held her black kimono closed so that she could straddle his lap. She could see he was a little nervous as he guessed why she was there in the middle of the night, but before he could try to talk her out of it she said, “Naruto… my name is Kurama.”

“Kurama,” he repeated almost reverently.

Kyuubi smiled pleased at his response and nodded before kissing him. Her tongue immediately sought out his and she moaned into his mouth as his hands grabbed her by the butt to pull her towards him. She broke the kiss and resting her forehead against his placed a finger against his lips as she whispered, “Not a very feminine name I know.”

“That doesn’t…”

“Shh, let me finish. That name was given to my old form…my old life and while I cherish it. I want you to pick my new one.”

Naruto’s eyes grew wide as he realized the honor she was bestowing on him. He also felt put on the spot and didn’t want to ruin the moment by picking a name she’d despise. He racked his brain for a moment before having a flash of inspiration saying, “I would like it if I could call you Kiyomi.”

“That’s the name of the woman this body belonged to.” She said surprised, as she pulled back from him slightly, since for the most part she had tried to avoid using it.

“I know,” Naruto said with a nod, “But I think it’s only proper that we use it to honor her. She might have died before she even had a choice but regardless of that it’s because of her that we can be together like this.”

Kyuubi stared at him as she tried it out silently and upon realizing it meant “pure beauty,” found it to her liking. Crossing her arms as she reached for her shoulders to pull the kimono from them, she sat in his lap naked from the waist up as she said, “Then claim your Kiyomi.”

Naruto lurched forward taking one of Kiyomi’s breasts into his mouth. She moaned in appreciation as she wrapped her arms around his head. Naruto traced her areolae until her nipple hardened and then ran his tongue up her chest and neck. He traced her jawline on his way to her mouth and found it open and waiting to meet his tongue. The two kissed hotly as Kiyomi raised her hand to his chest. She held it away for a moment and one of her nails elongated. She then quickly ran it down his shirt slicing it in half. “Hey,” he whined before she shushed him. “That was my favorite shirt,” he said softly.

“Sorry,” she said but her apology was somewhat diminished by the smile she had on her face.

She began to kiss his chest but curious he asked, “That’s a new trick. Don’t tell me you’re going to copy Yoruichi.”

“I plan to do it better,” Kiyomi said as her hand returned to normal while she ran it down his chest and abs. Reaching his groin, she began to rub it as she whispered throatily in his ear, “Feels like someone is ready to come out a play.”

“Kin…”

“Is asleep,” Kiyomi whispered pulling his fly down and releasing his cock. “Besides it’s not like you two haven’t fooled around now is it.”

Naruto smirked and wondered just who it was that had told her. Although he couldn’t rule out Kin herself as the source, he had narrowed it down to Sakura, Hinata, or Fu since they had asked him just where things were with the former Sound-nin. Naruto was about to ask Kiyomi when more pressing matters came up as he learned she wasn’t wearing underwear when she rubbed her smoothly shaved pussy against his cock. Both of them moaned at the contact as they began another round of kissing. As their tongues swirled against one another, Naruto reached up to grope the Bijuu’s breast and nipple. Kiyomi did the same tweaking Naruto nipple between her thumb and forefinger. Kiyomi then broke the kiss to press her chest against his as she began to rock her hips against his manhood. The two lovers’ breathing grew heavier as they increased the friction generated by their hips until Kiyomi whispered/moaned in his ear, “I want you inside me.”

Naruto nodded his head so Kiyomi raised her hips as he held his cock against her entrance. Placing her hand on his where he gripped it at the base for a moment she moved it up his shaft before guiding his cock inside her pussy. Both of them groaned while Naruto said, “It’s so warm inside you. It’s like you’re overheating.”

Kyuubi began to raise and lower her hips as she panted, “I-it’s because it’s been so long…too long…” Naruto began meeting her downward thrusts causing her to moan, “Yesssss, Naruto calm the fire inside me.”

****

Kin wasn’t sure what had awakened her. At least not at first, all she had known was that she had been enjoying a dream mercifully free of the sadistic Anbu captain that seemed hellbent on killing her through training. However, she quickly became aware from the sound of Naruto’s heavy breathing having heard it herself once or twice already. For a moment she wondered if he was pleasuring himself as she slept and was wondering if her efforts to entice him by wearing a skimpy muscle shirt with no bra and just panties as a bottom were bearing fruit. Although not ready to go all the way just yet she did admit to herself at this point it was just a matter of time as much as she had stated she had grown addicted to the idea of pleasing the blond man. But she had wanted him to make the next play so had taken to trying to entice him through wearing practically nothing as she slept.

She was about to turn over and offer her assistance when she learned it wasn’t just the two of them anymore as the woman with him moaned, “Mmm, you’re getting bigger. Ohhhh…you’re going so deep… I need to feel it….hurry cum…cum.”

Although she knew the woman was speaking to her lover. Hearing the throaty whispers of who she suspected was Kyuubi she had nearly done as the Bijuu asked herself. As it was though the former Sound-nin found her panties had quickly became a hot and sticky mess. She found it tempting to turn over and see what was happening but didn’t want to alert them to the fact that she was awake. Whether for fear she would join them, since if she did give in and join she wanted it to be one on one, or it would put an end to the activities happening a few feet from her.

“I-it’s going to come out,” Kyuubi said trying to muffle her growing moans into Naruto’s chest. “My voice is going to come out.”

“Shhh, you’re going to wake Kin up,” Naruto warned quietly although his hips began working double time to meet Kyuubi’s hips as she bottomed out on his cock.

“N-no fair,” she said before clamping her mouth to Naruto’s as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She began grinding her snatch into his pelvis as she rocked her hips back and forth. Her pace became frantic as she hotly made out with her former host. “How can you expect me to be quiet when you’re stirring me up so much?”

Kin so badly wanted to begin touching herself, but feared it would alert the other two so began squeezing and rubbing her thighs together in almost miniscule motions. She was just beginning to get into what little pleasure she could derive from her actions when Kyuubi gave out a small whining sound as she tensed and clung to her lover. The sudden stopping of movement and sound as Kyuubi muffled herself as she rode out her orgasm was deafening to Kin. The sound of her heartbeat was overpowering as she prayed they didn’t notice her small rocking movements coming to an end. Luck seemed to be on her side as Kyuubi sighed, “So warm…you gave me so much.”

Breathing heavily Naruto replied, “Heh…heh… well I try to please.”

Kyuubi giggled softly as she whispered back, “You tend to succeed.”

Kin listened as the two kissed and touched in their post copulation bliss. She tried to ignore it as she found it almost as large a turn on as their having sex had been. Mercifully Kyuubi said, “I should go. If we keep carrying on like this I’m going to want more and can’t promise I’ll keep quiet.”

“Okay Kiyomi,” Naruto said lovingly.

Kin could practically feel the emotion the Bijuu was feeling at the name as the woman again kissed her lover passionately before regrettably pulling away to stand. She could hear the woman fixing her clothes as Naruto put his dick away before she almost silently moved towards the door. A moment later she was gone and Kin hoped Naruto would go to the bathroom to clean up. Unfortunately though, a moment later he was snoring contently leaving Kin worked up but without an avenue to gain some release since she didn’t want him waking up as she petted her pussy. She knew it was rather silly all things considered, but despite having sucked him off a few times. She had yet to let him see her naked and feared when compared to the woman that had just left she would fail to measure up. Eventually sleep did return to her but it went without saying that despite sleeping near the man that seemed to chase away the darkness she feared it was still a restless night.

******

Tayuya was glaring at the map she had spread out over the table of her hotel room. Her bad mood was a result of her quest for Kanji and as a result of it Iwa was now aware of the means she had used to enter into the growing Earth Country and would no doubt correct the oversight. Her search for Kanji had made it necessary to leave Noodle country and as she tried to sneak back out she had run smack dab into an Iwa patrol. She had been wearing what she came to think of as the Harem’s infiltration suit which was a black cloth mask that covered all of the head leaving only the eyes uncovered as well as matching long sleeve shirt that exposed the midriff and pants. The sandals were also black, making it so that the only thing a person could tell was that it was a woman they faced.

It was basically a copy of what Koharu had worn when she had infiltrated the Leaf Maximum Security Prison. One of her reasons for taking it up was that if word managed to reach Danzou about her activities it would divert his attention from the fact the people on to him hailed from his own village. The other was with such a generic look it would make it easy for each of Naruto’s lovers to wear something similar in tasks they needed to perform in which they didn’t want their identities known. Naturally people might realize it wasn’t the same woman due to the different heights and builds. But she doubted they would come to the conclusion that they were kunoichi that hailed from a number of different villages.

Still she supposed her being spotted hadn’t been as much of a set back as it could have been since she had left one of Naruto’s kunai buried in Noodle Country and could have Naruto teleport her behind the border. However now that Iwa knew people were trying to slip past the border it would probably be searching all throughout the country for people not supposed to be there. But it had also born some unexpected fruit in that she had run into a highly placed kunoichi.

Remembering the encounter, she smirked as she recalled how she lost most of her pursers by placing them in a genjutsu using her flute. Although it wouldn’t kill them she had left them with the illusion that the trees had sprouted vines that were wrapping around them. Naturally a few of the squad had realized it was a genjutsu but since the first thing the vines had targeted were the arms of the shinobi it had left them in capable of forming the handsigns to release it. At least that is what she had thought. But she had just barely lost sight of the squad when she nearly received a kunai to the middle of the back. Using her flute to batter away the attack, Tayuya came to a rest on a branch a handful roughly a hundred meters from the Claw Country border and freedom. The remaining member of the squad landed behind her and although not blocking the direction Tayuya needed to head she knew that running for the border would leave her open to attack. Tayuya for a moment wasn’t sure just what gender the person facing her was, but if asked would have said the person wasone of the beautiful boy types that sometimes appeared in manga.

“Give it up,” the Iwa shinobi said glaring at her with pink pupil-less eyes. The person’s short dark-hair was blown by a gust of wind.

The way the shinobi reached up to keep it from blocking Tayuya made the red-head ask, “Hey are you a fucking chick or what?”

From the way the shinobi reacted as veins of anger began to appear Tayuya imagined it was a question the person heard a lot. “What?! Are you blind? Of course I’m a woman.”

“Okay, shesh I was just fucking asking,” Tayuya replied.

“Well get your eyes checked asshole.”

“Maybe you should, that look isn’t exactly flattering towards your figure,” Tayuya replied heatedly.

The recently confirmed kunoichi snarled before leaping at Tayuya who blocked the kunai the woman pulled with her flute. She could see the kunoichi was surprised that it withstood the strike which provided the opportunity the red-head needed to hit her in the chin with a palm strike. Tayuya sent a mental note to show Naruto her appreciation for the gift he had left for her before she left on her tour of shooting locations, by show she meant to fuck his brains out. She knew it hadn’t been cheap as it was forged from same metals that Iron Country Samurai used to make their swords.

Tayuya spun the flute in her hand before spinning her body and using the flute to hit the woman across the face. The blow caused the woman to stumble back and lose her footing. She fell from the tree and smashed into the ground. Tayuya cursed not wanting the death of the woman on her hands, but she need not have worried as the woman broke into rocks.

“Fuck,” Tayuya cursed leaping as the branch she was standing on was suddenly engulfed in quicklime.

Landing on the ground she spun towards where the jutsu had originated but had needed to turn again as the kunoichi called from behind her, “Where are you staring little girl?” Tayuya received a fist to her face that caused her to stumble back and as she shook her head to clear the cobwebs heard the woman say, “Now we’re even.”

“Not for long,” Tayuya shouted charging forward to engage the woman in taijutsu. Tayuya gave as good as she got, but having spent most of her ninja career avoiding such things it was only a matter of time before the more experienced woman managed to turn the tables. Receiving a kick to the stomach she bounced up against a tree and used it to prop herself up.

“Not bad,” the woman said as she watched the kunoichi glare at her, “but you’re years away from being better than me.”

“And just who are you,” Tayuya asked as the woman came closer to collect her prisoner.

“Kurotsuchi,” the woman replied obviously giving off the air of someone who expected a reaction to her name.

“Sorry, never heard of you,” Tayuya said flippantly. Although she meant to upset the woman with her words, the sad truth was that her book was sadly under informed when it came to kunoichi from other countries. This was due in part to the fact that unless a kunoichi from the other countries made a name for themselves it was very unlikely that they would end up in a Bingo book. For instance Tayuya’s book only had two entries on Iwa, a woman named Suzumebachi who had a run in with Naruto years before and a nameless Iwa kunoichi who was being held in the Leaf Maximum Security Prison.

Tayuya smirked behind her mask as her words had the desired effect of making the woman glower at her as she said, “Know your place. I will not tolerate being talked down to by my future prisoner. You’re addressing the future Tsuchikage of Iwagakure.”

“That’s a pretty big boast considering the current one seems unlikely to retire anytime soon and I doubt he’s going to give it to some no name kunoichi. What are you ranked in the bingo books? U for unimportant.”

Her taunt had the desired effect as the woman ground her teeth before shouting, “It’s not my fault gramps and my dad hold me back. Instead of getting real missions they stick me in boring details like border patrol.”

She charged forward recklessly which was all Tayuya had been waiting for as she let out a yell that grew in intensity. The vibrations from it could just be made out as they rippled through the air hitting the unprepared woman dead on. Kurotsuchi threw up her arms as if to block the attack but was lifted off her feet and blown into a tree several meters away. Tayuya paused a moment as the kunoichi sunk to the ground considering putting a locator seal on her as Koharu had one of Danzou’s Root members. However hearing the sounds of people shouting for their comrade, she figured the other Iwa shinobi had managed to release themselves from the genjutsu she had used.

Before taking off she gave one last look at the woman to see her glaring at her and who was probably still too stunned to move from the sonic blast and the hitting the tree that followed. Confident the woman may likely figure into Naruto’s ambition since it had sounded like her gramps and father were highly placed she blew her a kiss and said, “See you around,” and then leapt into the trees to make her escape.

Tayuya couldn’t help but smirk as she remembered the litany of curses that had chased after her. Letting her recollection of the encounter end she pulled a sheet of paper from a stack she had requested from a local bounty hunter guild. Although bounty hunters were frowned upon by shinobi and many civilians, they did provide a valuable service in that they worked cheaper than shinobi. Not to mention by posting missing persons or wanted posters in the many guilds that littered the lands a person gained access to a vast network of men willing to hunt for the people listed in order to get paid. The guild she had visited hadn’t even questioned her as she had requested information on missing people. Part of the reason was due to her forged credentials, which had been provided for her by Shiho, but also since in order to get paid she would need to hand in the information packet which contained the information of which guild it had been requested from and who upon a successful payout would receive a cut of the money.

The reason most people had negative views of bounty hunters though was due to the existence of underground guilds that gave out less savory jobs such as assassination missions or put out bounties for Shinobi of the varies villages. Their reputation wasn’t helped by the fact that some legitimate guilds secretly took on those types of jobs as well.

Scanning the sheet she immediately dismissed it as the person listed was a young man. She placed the sheet down and picked up the next. She sighed as although the person listed was female she had been taken by her mother as a child and the father wanted to find her. Knowing she had a lot of work ahead of her, Tayuya placed it in the same pile she had started with the first flier and proceeded to grab the next one.

*****

Karin had woken up on the wrong side of the bed that morning. However it wasn’t due to sleeping poorly, but partly a result of the sneaky feline Bijuu that she could now feel as a result of her fox mark. “No wonder she was smirking as she saw me off,” Karin grumbled mentally as she continued to walk towards Wave. That Yoruichi had somehow managed to sleep with Naruto a day after she had left the village in order to try and buy the hotel the blond was interested in told her that Ibiki had pulled his watch dogs from around Kyuubi’s home.

Knowing that she wished she had delayed her journey and not just to gain access to the jinchuriki she was bound to, but so that she wouldn’t have been saddled with the shinobi that had been assigned to her trip to Wave. Looking over her shoulder she was met by the glare of a genin named Konohamaru. Although she had hired a shinobi escort, receiving the boy and his teammates as a result, she knew they were under orders to watch her carefully. She wondered that if she had waited one more day whether or not she’d have been assigned them since it was apparent the boy was only stomaching her presence as a result of his duty and was mainly responsible for her sour mood.

“You shouldn’t glare at the person paying you,” she said before facing forward again.

“I’ll do what I want,” the boy replied quickly and heatedly.

“What ever happened to the customer is always right?” Karin asked spinning in place to face the boy.

Konohamaru was about to reply but the girl on his team stepped in front of him blocking her view of the boy and giving a quick apologetic bow diplomatically said, “Please forgive Konohamaru’s rudeness. His problem with you isn’t so much as personal but due to your past allegiances.”

Karin’s bad mood was instantly replaced with regret at snapping at the young man. Although she hadn’t been a part of Sound when it attacked the Leaf to him it might even be worse that she defected to it afterwards. Looking away she said, “Sorry.” Turning around she began heading towards Wave once more.

Moegi was the first to get over the surprise apology and quickly moved to catch up to her team’s client. Walking beside her she said, “We should be the ones apologizing. You were cleared of any wrong doing towards the village.”

Karin smiled at the girl but still feeling guilty for her past allegiances said, “No, the truth is even though I’ve been cleared of doing bad things towards Konoha. I doubt you can say I’m a good person. I guess you could say that for a while I lost myself and would have done anything for his approval.”

“Orochimaru,” Konohamaru asked from just behind the two kunoichi surprising them.

Karin laughed at the absurdity of the statement saying, “Hell no… I only put up working with him to be near Sasuke.”

To her surprise that seemed to lower her standing in the two genin’s eyes even more causing her to quickly say, “Believe me though I learned just how much worth he placed in me. Still…” Karin drifted off remembering how she met the Uchiha shaking herself back to the present she continued, “There was a time when his eyes held something more than hate. I guess that’s what I fell in love with my perceived image of what that was.”

“Pfft,” Konohamaru said spitting off into the woods, “that’s what everyone says about him. Heck even the Boss says he’s not a complete scumbag.”

Karin arched an eyebrow and took careful measure of each of the genin’s chakra to gain some insight into their personalities. Konohamaru’s was a mixture of respect that was mixed with a healthy feeling of what Karin suspected was a powerful rivalry. Moegi’s chakra seemed to imply she had a crush on whoever the Boss that her teammate had mentioned was. The last member gave Karin some pause though as his chakra gave very little away about what he was thinking or feeling.

“I’d be hard pressed to argue with you over that,” Karin said after a moment, “Sasuke might not be what any of us think of him anymore.”

Konohamaru folded his hands behind his head saying, “He’s exactly what I think of him, a piece of trash that abandoned his home and friends to go worship at the feet of another piece of trash that killed my grandpa. He even turned on his master once he felt he had nothing to learn to boot.”

“Well it was a little more complicated than that,” Karin said. She wasn’t trying to defend Sasuke but she did prefer people knew all the facts before forming their opinions on a subject. It was something her background in science had brought about as well as having her own illusions about Sasuke stripped away. “Orochimaru was planning to use his body as his own. I guess you could say Sasuke simply struck first.”

“A snake using a snake, what a surprise,” Konohamaru said sarcastically. More softly he mumbled, “I don’t see what she sees in him.”

Although Karin couldn’t make out what he had said his chakra implied that he was feeling jealous making her think the boy had a crush on someone that at the very least was still infatuated with Sasuke. Spinning around she bent to be at eye level with him and placing her hand on his head said kindly, “Hey whoever she is she’ll eventually come around I’m sure of it.”

Konohamaru blushed, before pushing her hand off his head saying, “Hey! Mind your own business!”

Karin laughed as she turned on her heel to dash off towards her destination. She left the three genin flat footed so called back, “Come on, I might not be a recognized shinobi, but I can still run like one.” She then leapt into the trees ignoring the genin calls for her to wait up. She didn’t doubt her statement about Konohamaru’s crush would eventually come true and whoever the girl was she had to admit she was lucky. Maybe not as lucky as she had been to have Naruto there when her heart had been stepped on, but lucky none the same.

*****

Tayuya sat at a small restaurant in a town within the Land of Honey. Taking a bite of her dish she tried to enjoy it but the night before had drained her of ability to do so. Having spent a good portion of it looking through the tales of people who had gone missing or been abducted she kept being haunted by the tale of Princess Fuku’s leaving her husband.

She had met the man before leaving the Land of Noodles. He had been named governor of the territory that had used to be his country by the Earth Country Daimyo. They had figured keeping him in charge would keep the populace in line as well as limit the shock of Noodle no longer being an independent country. At first she had been given the cold shoulder by the man’s attendants but when she had mentioned Fuku she had been immediately summoned before Governor Chikara. To say she was surprised by the man that met her would be an understatement. He had appeared before her in clothes several sizes too big and although now rather slim his current weight had probably been attained by the unhealthiest of means. Standing behind him were two servants girls who looked at him worriedly making Tayuya feel the defeated man in that had sat in front of her was nothing like he had used to be.

“I understand you have information on my wife,” he had said his voice sounding weak and at the same time hopeful.

Tayuya had winced not having wanted to get the man’s hopes up and guessed some overeager attendant had twisted her words. Shaking her head she watched as the man seemed to wilt even more in front of her. Afraid he’d see her out she quickly said, “However your case has caught my attention and I was hoping you could give me some information.”

The Governor had been about to tell her to leave but he paused angrily saying, “Isn’t all the relevant information already listed on those men’s sheets.”

Tayuya paused in the face of the anger that the governor had summoned as he mentioned Kanji and who he felt was the man’s apprentice Naruto. Tayuya knew what she was about to say may upset him but as sympathetically as she could said, “I think we both know the answer to that is no. You’ve phrased the request almost as if Princess Fuku was abducted but the rumors I’ve…”

“Not one more word,” Chikara said leaning forward angrily causing his samurai to reach for their weapons.

“I’m sorry,” Tayuya said standing from her kneeling position, “I guess I can’t help you.” Walking towards the entrance she said, “I can understand you wanting to protect your wife’s honor but I need to know everything if I’m going to be able to track this man down.”

Chikara’s anger wilted before Tayuya’s calm demeanor before holding out his hand for her to retake her place. Kneeling again she waited as he composed his thoughts before saying, “I’m not sure where it all went wrong. My little honey plum gave me no sign that she was unhappy.” Chikara sighed but added, “Although I was probably too busy to notice. I was too busy with fending off Iwa to notice my darling had fallen for another man.”

Tayuya knew she probably shouldn’t even hint at the truth of the matter. But hearing the man blame himself felt Naruto would understand as she said, “I believe the truth might be far more sinister.” Tayuya paused as Chikara shifted to listen in earnest causing her to cautiously say, “This Kanji fellow is a missing-nin from Hot Water Country. I’m of the opinion he’s developed some means to control people’s actions.”

The Governor closed his eyes and from the deeply hurt tone his voice carried she imagined the rumors that he had caught his wife and Kanji in bed were true. “Kami, I truly pray that is true. But I’m still a horrible husband for allowing that viper to get near my darling.”

Hearing a hint of the information she was looking for she asked, “Why exactly was he here? I’m hoping learning how he operates may lead me to him.”

“You mean that bastard has done this before,” Chikara said angrily standing from his chair.

Although not sure she said, “It’s likely… I’m of the opinion his arriving here at a time when you were having trouble with Iwa was no coincidence.”

Chakara sat as if hit in the stomach as he realized, “Y-you mean…”

Tayuya nodded saying, “This is only a theory but Iwa would know exactly where to hit to hurt you. I can’t be sure but it is likely they hired him to distract you.”

A short and humorless laugh escaped from the man as he sank deeper into his chair. “Distract,” he said drily, “they destroyed me completely.”

Tayuya nodded, not needing the man to explain further. She was aware of one hole in her theory which was that if Iwa knew about his technique to bind and make women submit to him then it was likely he was basking in Iwa even now. But a part of her told her that was unlikely the case. She believed that Kanji wouldn’t submit to anyone being over him and in all likelihood had simply taken the job out of boredom. She believed that Iwa having had difficulty with Chikara had hired many missing-nins to deal with him. Kanji had simply tried the least obvious way to get at the man. Having heard how Iwa had even hired Akatsuki for some of their conquests felt this was the most likely case.

Focusing on the husk of a man she listened as he said, “I hired a contracting firm to help me beef up security around the palace. I had nearly been assassinated days before. I had believed them to be Iwa shinobi…but the Bingo books listed them as shinobi of Taki.”

Tayuya felt several pieces of the puzzle fall into place with that information and was of the opinion the failed attack was by missing-nin hired by Iwa. Kanji had simply used it to his own benefit. “What company was this?”

“We already looked into that,” Chikara said, “The Company was run by former shinobi of Hot-Water Country. He arrived with the leader of it a woman named Kanisawa. They had taken in Shinobi not willing to become bodyguards for tourists and claimed to be professionals against such incursions. He had claimed at the time to be her husband Aoga.”

Tayuya’s interest was perked up by that asking, “Claimed…”

Chikara nodded as he answered, “After my… wife left me… I tried to get in contact with Kanisawa, who had returned home leaving her husband in charge to learn if she had heard anything of her husband’s whereabouts after he had escaped. That was when I learned she had returned home and killed herself, her children, and her husband obviously the real one. At the time I couldn’t truly understand why she had done it but it makes sense if what you say about him able to control people is true.”

Tayuya felt a cold chill run through her as she let the memories fade. Not wanting to remember how Chikara had promised her anything he possessed for the safe return of his wife. Her initial instinct had been to head to where the Company he had hired was based, which had turned out to be the Land of Honey. Something had told her that Kanji had forced the woman to kill her family using the binding and for him to do something like that implied there was a history between them. However with the woman being dead she didn’t want to waste time by heading there and not finding anything of worth. However that all changed due to her looking through the files on missing people she had gotten from the Bounty Office. One of the missing people was a Priestess to one of the temples in the Land of Honey by the name of Momo Hinamori.

The woman had been a powerful user of the barrier jutsu often associated with the Religious Caste. But it was the way she disappeared that caused Tayuya to suspect Kanji was involved. According to the others at the temple she had become infatuated with a man that had stopped visiting the temple after her disappearance. One of the other priests admitted to often seeing them sitting near a reflecting pool with the man’s hands resting on hers. Nobody thought much of it at the time as often people would come seeking the guidance of the priests, priestesses, and monks that called the temple home. However, they did begin to worry as Momo began showing signs not only of infatuation but obsession. When one of the head priests had told her to let one of the others meet with the man, Momo had reacted violently claiming they wanted to come between them. The other managed to subdue her and placed a genjutsu on her that put her to sleep. They had then placed a powerful barrier around her room with a guard out front. But by morning they had found the guard unconscious and the barrier removed from the inside.

She had decided to check the lead out and was glad she did as she had learned another valuable piece of information. After Kanisawa had murdered her family the company she and her husband started had went under. Due to it housing Shinobi the headquarters had been built like a fortress. A few weeks after it had shutdown, the headquarters had been bought by a beautiful dark haired woman. Although the buyer hadn’t matched the description of the priestess, something told Tayuya that Kanji had bought it as a trophy. Much like how she suspected that was the reason he had kept Fuku as well, and if Tayuya had to guess it had been purchased with the money Fuku had stolen before leaving her husband.

The rumors that surrounded the new owner was that he was an eccentric millionaire who was never seen in public. Most of the tasks done to sustain his home a few miles from the village she was currently in, were carried out by a few beautiful servants that came into the town. Positive she had found her target she considered alerting Naruto and the others but felt a quick peek inside was called for first. Watching the sun set she paid for her meal, and returned to her inn to change as it was time for her to get to the bottom of things.

Next Chapter: Why Me: Part III

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