Chapter 22 - 19. A Day In The Life Part 1

Kyuubi hated waiting, something she believed stemmed from her time as a Bijuu of a jinchuriki. This was due to the fact that before first being sealed time had been immaterial to her as centuries and millennia had passed almost unnoticeable to her. There had been events that stood out or changes to the environment around her, such as she'd pass through an area that would be merely forest but upon her return trip she'd find it a bustling town. Yet for the most part time had no meaning to her until the fateful day she had met Madara Uchiha and then been enslaved to him so he could use her against Hashirama Senju during their fateful battle. Despite her having been sealed into Mito Uzumaki as a result of said battle the only thing that she could say had pleased her about that particular development was that it had led to Madara's defeat. Still it hadn't prevented her from taunting the young woman about the loss of her husband due to his injuries to which Mito had simply responded, "I know you seek to anger me creature, yet all I can do is pity you. For it is clear that all you understand is hate. But perhaps someday even something like you will be able to comprehend love." Of course at the time all Kyuubi had heard was that Mito pitied her, which she had vehemently protested having a mere human say such a thing to her. Now though Kyuubi understood that Mito was right to do so.

Kyuubi forced herself to abandon her mental trip back through time less she forget the reason for her waiting which was the three assassins currently on the property of her mansion. They were the visitors that she had been expecting having been sent by her body's older brother and sister who currently ran the business her body had started and had done so rather poorly since her body's spirit had been crushed as a result of the poisoning according to what she had seen of the company's records. While the company was still one of the largest and most powerful it had been steadily losing ground to many of its rivals. The reason for that was due to the current heads taking the profits for themselves instead of reinvesting them in the company. Still Kyuubi knew that once she did take over she would have her work cut out for her to rebuild it to its former glory as well as to expand it.

What was even better was that she wouldn't even need to lift a finger to retake the company as Ino had learned in her observation of the siblings that they had a rather powerful behind the scenes ally and although the Yamanaka never really saw him, Kyuubi had an excellent idea of who it was. Kyuubi figured that once the siblings' assassins failed then their ally would no doubt seek to eliminate any loose ends with them being the most obvious ones. It was a fact that the Bijuu was counting on not only to eventually destroy the backer but also to get eyes inside the prison. At the moment the only person who knew what she was planning was her, although Ino had reported what she had learned to Tsunade and Koharu both of whom had been less then pleased to learn that she was plotting behind the scenes. She hadn't given either woman more than a glimpse of her plans and although they had both given their tacit permission to continue. She suspected the two were simply giving her enough rope for which to hang herself with should she prove to be less than loyal to Naruto.

Thinking of the blond sent a delicious thrill through her body. One she couldn't wait to full explore with the young man who had freed her especially since much as she expected possessing an actual physical body made all the sensations she felt all the more intense. Though she had been sorely tempted to experience more in the ways of physical pleasure, having found taste to be amazing in its own right, she would reserve that moment for Naruto's return. One she could feel nearing despite not bearing his mark yet also wanting it to be placed by him.

In preparation for that moment she had already molded her body into a perfect replica of the one she had inhabited while in Naruto's seal except she had decided to cut her hair. Instead of sporting long red hair which ended in nine-braids it was cut to about shoulder length with orange highlights. To explain the changes to her face and body she had visited several cosmetic surgeons at their offices and invited several to her home in order to discuss the topic of changing her appearance in hopes that between all the meetings with the various doctors no one would realize that none of them had actually worked on her. The process of changing her features had been rather painful but she considered it a small price to pay to actually feel like she owned the body she now possessed.

To also sell the idea that she had some cosmetic work done to her, she had taken to wearing bandages over her entire face. Kyuubi chuckled to herself as she remembered the reaction of the nurse Kaori, who had been assigned to her to help with her physical therapy, and she had not been pleased when she arrived at the mansion to see her patient's face covered in bandages. Obviously Kyuubi didn't truly need any such treatments, however in order to keep up appearances that she was still physically weak she needed to pretend that she did.

Beneath her bandages a large grin sprang into life as she didn't doubt the assassins currently targeting her expected to find a helpless woman that had been confined to a wheelchair for the past several weeks. Instead they would find that she was anything but. However, she was growing impatient as she began drumming the fingers of her right hand on the armrest of her wheel chair. All in all she was truly looking forward to the chance to test herself against the assassins as one of the ways she had prepared for the moment was to develop a fighting style she felt truly represented her power. Having been sneaking out of the village in order to practice it she truly couldn't wait to use it in a life or death situation. She only wished Madara Uchiha was around to see it as she had stolen the idea from one of the abilities of his Mangekyō Sharingan, Susanoo.

Feeling the assassins' negative intentions towards her beginning to change from mere thought into action, she prepared herself by wheeling her chair into the large dining room having chosen it for its size since it would allow her to truly cut loose. Not to mention she had already placed seals around the room which would make detecting her chakra all but impossible once she activated them since she didn't want half of Konoha to arrive at least until she was done with her would be killers. Moving to a corner of the room so that her attackers would be in front of her no matter where they entered from. She waited in anticipation. Although she had yet to see them, she could almost tell that something had them concerned. She didn't understand what had spooked them for several moments until she realized it was probably her, which made her understand she wasn't dealing with amateurs. She understood that much like how a prey animal could sometimes sense a predator's desire to eat it causing it to scurry despite the predator never truly revealing its presence. Her three assailants must have felt her own eagerness and were coming to the conclusion she may be anything but harmless. Clamping down on her ardor, and hoping the fact that backing out of a job would undoubtedly hurt their reputations; she closed her eyes and waited.

Almost an hour passed before she opened them to see the three assassins entering the room two from the main entrance with the other coming from the servant's and she was pleased to see one of them was female. The three went on guard as soon as she opened her eyes causing Kyuubi to say, "Oh its far too late for that," as she stood from her wheelchair quickly pushing it back into the wall. With a wave of her hand she activated all the seals in the room some of which caused barriers to spring into existence barring them from leaving through the doors and windows.

"What the hell is going on?" one of the assassins shouted a man no older than Naruto and was holding a katana in a guard position, "She's supposed to be a civilian."

The man he had entered the room with glared at him saying calmly, "Quiet! It's entirely likely we're dealing with some sort of bodyguard. So all those trips to the plastic surgeons were to allow you to freely wear those bandages to obscure your identity and lure us into this trap?" Kyuubi watched the older man for a moment and figured that due to his advanced age he was the leader of the group.

Kyuubi giggled into the sleeve of her kimono before replying, "Not exactly. Truthfully it had nothing to do with you at all. Although the part about obscuring my identity isn't right either. However, think of it as allowing the woman I truly am to be able to hide in plain sight all the while using the idea that after all this body has suffered a desire for change is not only likely but expected."

"Body?! What are you talking about," the female assassin asked, "What are you?"

Turning her attention from the leader to the woman Kyuubi was about to give her an appraising look but figured it didn't matter as her presence meant the next part of her overall plan could proceeded. A plan the woman had a part in but would already be dead by the time she actually took the stage. Shrugging at the woman's question she said, "I doubt you'll believe me but I'm Kyuubi."

"Yeah right," the young man with a katana said although his voice carried an undertone of fear which caused her to shift her gaze from the woman.

Kyuubi was about to respond to the man when out of the corner of her eye she saw the woman make a hand movement and a kama appeared in each of her hands. It caused Kyuubi to focus on her which was what the leader of the group wanted as from seals on his wrist he began throwing hundreds of shuriken at her. Kyuubi didn't even flinch as they neared since they all bounced harmlessly off of the chakra she had surrounded herself with. As the shuriken impacted against the chakra it revealed that it had taken the form of a sitting fox at which whose center she stood unharmed. Glad for the high ceilings as the chakra apparition was easily twelve feet tall Kyuubi allowed it to be seen as she pumped her red chakra into it giving it a red glow that filled the room.

"W-what the hell are you," the younger man shouted the fear now easy to hear.

"I already told you," Kyuubi answered dispassionately at the amount of fear she saw. "Are you truly such cowards and weaklings that you can only attack those unable to defend themselves?"

"I'll show you bitch," the sword wielder shouted as he charged Kyuubi.

"No stop," the older assassin said reaching for his teammate but too late to stop him. To help cover for her reckless teammate the female assassin began throwing Kunai with exploding tags at Kyuubi. They began peppering her and although none truly hurt her they did serve as a nuisance so with almost a causal swing of her arm which the chakra fox copied she swiped at the woman and the chakra fox smashed its arm into the woman throwing her into a wall. Having not forgotten about the man charging her with the blade she made a small motion with the finger of her other hand which caused one of the four tails swinging behind her to shot forward just as the man had leapt into the air with his blade held back in preparation of an overhand swing. The tail easily pierced his chest with the tip of it pushing out of his back which was shown to the leader by the indentation that it made I the back of the young man's shirt.

Kyuubi leapt to the side causing the fox to look like it was leaping as well while throwing the youth from the chakra tail at the just recovering female assassin while avoiding a fireball jutsu fired at her by the group's leader. "So it seems your defense isn't as perfect as it first appeared," the leader said about to fire another jutsu at her.

"I didn't avoid it for fear you may damage me," Kyuubi replied. Holding up her arm to show him the kimono she wore she said, "This is made from the finest silk I could find and truthfully I feared it might be damaged by the heat of your jutsu as it is supposed to be dry cleaned only. But I suppose it can't be helped to expect some damage as I'll show you a real fire jutsu." Rearing her head back she opened her mouth and a small stream of fire shot upwards. As if traveling up the throat of the chakra fox that surrounded her, the small stream grew stronger as it interacted with her Bijuu chakra and as it reached the fox's mouth it had an almost hellish tint and power to it. The fox brought its head down at the same time as her and fired the giant fire jutsu which looked like a large meteor as it flew towards the leader. The man attempted to leap out of the way however learned too late that as he had been watching the fire grow stronger Kyuubi had sent one of her tails along the ground which wrapped around his leg preventing him from moving. The man threw his arms in front of him as if to ward off the jutsu but both man and jutsu were consumed in a fiery blast that left a shadow of his figure along the wall of the dining room. As the smoke cleared the only thing that remained was the portion of his leg that her chakra tail had been wrapped around.

Allowing the fox to disappear she began making her way to the woman who was struggling to stand from being thrown into a cabinet of fine dishware after being hit by her dead teammate's body. Looking fearfully up at the Bijuu the woman pleaded, "Mercy… please."

"I wonder," Kyuubi said thoughtfully as she came to a stop over the woman, "If our roles were reversed could I expect to receive mercy from you." Still despite how she expected she wouldn't have, she still remembered the helpless feeling she had experienced when her body's husband had tried to kill her. However any thoughts of mercy were banished from her mind when the assassin seeing Kyuubi's faraway look attempted to take advantage of it by pulling her kama from the rubble of the cabinet and attempted to bury it in her side. Kyuubi caught the woman's wrist easily showing she was just as capable of getting physical as not before clamping her free hand on the woman's skull. Channeling her chakra into the woman who screamed in pain, Kyuubi proceeded to erase everything that made her attacker self-aware. Once all that remained of the woman's mind was the basic functions to control her breathing and heart rate, she let go allowing the woman's body to slump to the floor, her eyes blank and expressionless although her chest continued to rise and fall indicating her body still lived.

Pulling a scroll from her kimono, Kyuubi unrolled it and sealed the body inside. Disabling the seals around the room, she then disappeared in a flash of fire and light to appear in Naruto's apartment where she hid the scroll before using her version of the Hiraishin again to reappear in the dining room. Reaching out with her Bijuu chakra she grabbed a chair and threw it through the window signaling Ino it was time for her part in Kyuubi's plan.

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Tsunade watched with arms crossed as Ibiki Morino, Konoha's head interrogator asked Kyuubi for the third time, "Let me get this straight. You hired a bodyguard that not only managed to enter into the village undetected but also managed to kill two of your assailants and drove off the third but you can't produce her now."

"The reason I can't produce her is because she's busy chasing after the third one. She can be quite persistent."

Ibiki scowled before asking, "How did you know her?"

"She's an old acquaintance of mine."

"Hang out with many dangerous types?"

"More than a few," Kyuubi answered amused, "But we've already gone over all this. Shouldn't you be out looking for my attacker and more importantly the people who hired them?"

"Yeah on that matter what made you think you needed a bodyguard. Granted I can understand feeling unsafe due to what happened with your husband but why hire this woman and not shinobi from Konoha?"

"I have my reasons but mainly since I couldn't be sure I could trust shinobi from Konoha."

"That's a pretty heavy charge got any proof to back it up?"

"No, but perhaps once you catch the remaining assassin you'll be able to ask her how she gained access to the village and my home."

Ibiki nodded before turning to the Hokage and walking up to her said, "Her story matches up with Ino Yamanaka's of seeing two people fleeing from the residence. Although I do find it strange that nobody can describe what exactly this bodyguard looks like."

Despite the annoyance she was feeling at Kyuubi, Tsunade let some good humor slip into her tone as she said, "Well try to get people to describe what Kakashi looks like beneath that mask of his sometime."

Ibiki nodded at her point but said, "Still I can't help but feel she is being evasive with me. However I suppose at the moment that doesn't matter since I doubt she hired these people as some desperate cry for help. I'll begin my investigation into this with the brother and sister. They have the most to gain from their sister's death."

"Okay, I'm going to check her over to make sure we are really dealing with the same woman."

Ibiki nodded saying, "Good, I was afraid she may have been replaced. I'll station some guards outside the mansion to make sure more assassins don't move on her."

"Alright, I'll expect a report in the morning," Tsunade said moving towards the sitting Kyuubi. Grabbing the wheelchair handles she began pushing her out of the room and as soon as she was confident they were alone whispered harshly, "When Ino told me that you were expecting to be attacked the only reason I allowed it to go through was because you assured me it was necessary to take control of the Great Tree Shipping Company with a minimal fuss. Now I have two dead bodies, a mysterious bodyguard story, and a third assassin floating around somewhere. How is this achieving the original goal with a minimal fuss?"

"Simple, if I'm reading the man behind the scenes correctly then he's probably already doing damage control and if it's Danzou like I suspect then I'm willing to bet Ibiki is going to find two more corpses before morning."

Although confident it was Danzou since if Root still existed he probably used the shipping company to discreetly sneak in spies as well as supplies for his underground organization Tsunade said, "While I agree with you. Ino reported that the person they reported to while hiring the assassins changed with each meeting."

"Correct," Kyuubi said, "But she also has run a background check on each of the people who ranged from office clerks to deli owners. She could find no connection to Danzou and most weren't even shinobi. What does that tell you?"

Tsunade shrugged but said, "That Danzou is much better than we figured at hiding his illegal operations."

Kyuubi made a clicking noise with her tongue before saying almost sagely, "Don't overestimate what your opponent can do. It's almost as bad as underestimating him."

"I know that," Tsunade said irritably not wanting to be lectured by the Bijuu. However she was forced to admit Kyuubi had a point as she suddenly realized, "The various contacts were all the same person. He's got a Yamanaka working for him."

"Exactly," Kyuubi replied, "Not too surprising really when you consider it. He named his organization well by calling it Root. I wouldn't be surprised if Root extends its reach into other clans."

"Okay so now what?"

"Now we let Danzou squirm a little. He's got to be worried this other assassin will turn up in a situation he can't control."

"Why, I don't think she'd be able to link Danzou and the current people running the company together."

"No, but somebody had to let them into the village and that person might be able to connect Danzou to this scheme. I'm also willing to bet that whoever this person is, they're probably an asset he doesn't want to sacrifice needlessly since it will probably be a shinobi."

"Alright so what's the next step in your plan then?"

"Well after we let him stew a little we'll give him exactly what he wants."

"And then what?"

"In return we'll get exactly what we do, eyes inside the Leaf Maximum Security Prison."

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Naruto sent a look Karin's way as she was being led to the Torture and Interrogation Headquarters. He smiled weakly and not for the first time wished he hadn't been so hasty in trying to link up with his squad. He had decided to wait until after she woke up when his clone's memories of the plant guy Zetsu reported to the masked man claiming to be Madara Uchiha that Itachi had died in battle with Sasuke. However by then Kiba had already gotten his scent and quickly caught up to him leading the rest of the squad. He had only just managed to whisper several instructions to the sleeping Karin before they had appeared. Naturally she had awoken surprised but had probably been more so at her inability to talk about anything that had occurred between them. Naruto had done his best to soothe her and let her know she'd be all right as they traveled back to Konoha but he knew she was still experiencing some fear at what her fate would be.

Hoping that once more his Harem would be able to cover for his mistake he wanted to defy Kakashi's order about reporting directly to the Hokage but knew it would raise several questions. Questions he could see were beginning to appear in not only Sakura's eyes but surprisingly Kiba's as well. As they walked through the village to the Hokage Mansion they passed by the Yamanaka Flowershop and Ino upon spotting them took the opportunity to walk with the group. Linking her arms with both Hinata and Sakura's she said brightly, "You're back. How was the mission?"

Hinata smiled at the blonde and guessing she was trying not so much to learn about their mission but to pass on what had happened in their absence said, "It could have gone better I'm afraid. We failed to locate both Sasuke and Itachi, but we managed to capture a kunoichi that was traveling with Sasuke."

"Well that's something I suppose," Ino said aware that Sakura was watching her closely no doubt gauging just how over Sasuke she was, "Is she going to be a problem or do you think she'll tell us what she knows?"

"I'm sure it'll be the latter since Sasuke abandoned her in order to pursue his brother," Naruto said speaking up for the first time. "Provided that she doesn't get thrown into prison, that is."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Kakashi said, "She might not know anything of value worth trading for. Let's not forget that she also admitted to having defected from Grass, they might demand that we return her."

"Yeah," Naruto said tightly keeping the grimace he felt from his face.

"Anyway," Kakashi said looking at Ino, "What is it you want?"

"Me, I was just going to tell you guys how exciting it's been around her since you left. You know that woman Sakura saved, well it turns out her brother and sister hired some shinobi to kill her. Ibiki seems to think that they were in league with the husband to get her out of the way. When he bungled it they decided to bring in some professionals. Luckily for her she took some precautions and hired a bodyguard that killed two of the shinobi and is still chasing after a third."

"How long ago was this," Naruto asked keeping his voice controlled.

"A few days," Ino replied looking over her shoulder at him, "In any case the brother and sister were found dead the next morning. They say it was a case of panic setting in and they turned on each other."

"Sounds rather convenient, does Ibiki buy it?" Kakashi asked looking up from his ever present book.

"Not in the slightest," Ino said having heard as much from her father, "He's convinced something bigger is going on and is really hoping the third assassin is captured alive."

"Sounds about right, but you'll have to excuse us we need to report to the Hokage."

"Oh right sure," Ino said letting go of the two kunoichi's arms as Kakashi lead his team past her. Waving good-bye with a bright smile she began heading in another direction but instead of heading to her shop or home she headed towards the Interrogation department to make sure whoever the kunoichi was she was met by someone a little nicer than Ibiki Morino, although depending on whom you asked it wasn't by much.

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Karin was nervous as she waited for her interrogator to make an appearance; she had awoken in Naruto's arms only to find that at some point they had linked up with the rest of his team. Worst of all though, she had been unable to speak about anything that they had shared before she lost consciousness and Naruto had pretended nothing had happened although he still treated her kindly. Now sitting in a cold and sterile room confident that she was about to face one of the terrors of Konoha, Ibiki Morino, she really wish she knew what had led to her loss of control around the young man. What had confused her more was that when she had awoken she had felt more in control of herself but still drawn to the blond. Not to mention, she had also noticed a small nine-tailed fox tattoo on her pelvis when she had used the bathroom and had been unable to ask about it.

However all that paled to the fear now coursing through her due to the nightmare scenarios currently running through her head. Thinking back to a Sound-nin that had managed to escape during a prison break several years back and how he'd break into a cold sweat every time somebody even mentioned red bean paste which had once been the shinobi's favorite food. Fearing she was about to learn just what was done to him to get such a reaction from him she began to hyperventilate as the door began to open but calmed somewhat as a beautiful woman in a trenchcoat stepped in.

As she took her trenchcoat off, Karin felt a small pang of jealousy at just how stacked she was. But she felt it ease as the woman sat across from her and turned to look behind her at the mirror where Karin was confident more shinobi were standing and observing her. Karin's forgot all about that though as she noticed the same fox mark on the woman's neck where it met her shoulder and felt an immediate sense of calm descend upon her as she could almost hear Naruto's voice telling her that women with that mark were to be trusted.

The woman turned back around before saying, "My name's Anko Mitarashi. I understand you were captured while in the company of a traitor by the name of Sasuke Uchiha. Now the truth is we don't give a shit about you, but you do possess some information on both Orochimaru and Sasuke."

"Orochimaru is dead," Karin chimed in.

"True, but his organization may still exist and with the information you have we can probably crush it while they are still disorganized. Now I imagine you'll need some sort of compensation to part with that information quickly while it can still be of use. Like say a full pardon and perhaps even sanctuary in Konoha."

Karin was surprised as she thought, "Is she telling me to ask for those things?" Deciding to trust in the feelings of comfort she felt upon seeing the fox mark she leaned forward saying, "Naturally."

"Good," Anko said sitting back in her chair, "I trust you will be willing to give us something as proof you aren't just blowing smoke up my ass."

"Sure," Karin replied now more confident than ever Naruto was somehow behind her good fortune in interrogators and proceeded to spill the beans on a great deal of Orochimaru's hideouts most of which were hidden away in Konoha.

As she finished up Anko beaming at her said, "You know you could have saved some information for after the deal was finalized."

Smiling back Karin said, "Well trust me when I say that's just the tip of the iceberg. Besides a Konoha-nin gave me his word when I surrendered that he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me and he seems to be the type to keep his promises."

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Naruto opened his apartment door and almost immediately knew someone had been there recently. Of course that was a common occurrence now and days considering the number of women in his life. Spotting a piece of paper that was folded so that it stood like a tent he picked it up and opening saw a simple sentence that said, "She's taken care of."

Recognizing Anko's handwriting he breathed out of sigh of relief since as the day had progressed he had been entertaining thoughts of breaking Karin out so that she didn't have to face Ibiki in order to keep his promise. Glad such desperate actions didn't appear to be needed, he decided to head to his bed for a good night's rest as he knew that since he'd basically been unable to please any of his women for the near month he was gone rest was going to be hard to come by. However upon stepping in front of his bed a glowing red symbol appeared beneath him and he had the sudden impression that he had just Hiraishined.

"What the fuck was that," Naruto called to himself as he reappeared in a dank basement. Looking around he noticed that that on the floor was the same symbol that had appeared in his room as it turned from a glowing red to a normal black ink as it powered down. Noticing some stairs upon which some unlit candles rested his eyes widened slightly as the one at the base of the stairs suddenly flickered to life. Guessing it was an invitation of some sort he preceded up the stairs and as he stepped on each one the candle that rested on it would suddenly spark to life.

Feeling as if he was inside a horror movie of some sort he gulped heavily as he reached the top of the stairs and nearly wet himself as he saw a bandaged figure sitting in a wheel chair. Which was why he felt completely silly when the figure stood saying, "Hello Naruto."

Recognizing Kyuubi's voice his earlier fear was replaced with worry due to her bandaged face as he said, "Kyuubi, what's wrong with your face."

Laughing Kyuubi said, "Naruto you should know by now that's a horrible thing to say to a woman." Reaching up and removing the bandages she added; "Besides I think you'll find there's absolutely nothing wrong with it."

As the bandages fell to the ground Naruto had to admit she was absolutely right in that regard and although the woman who had originally inhabited the body hadn't been ugly by any means, he did admit that he had been a little concerned with the idea of making out with the unfamiliar face. "How…"

Laughing into the sleeve of her kimono, Kyuubi smiled at him saying, "I've repaired fist size holes in your chest surely you don't think it's outside the realm of my ability to change my appearance to anything I want."

Looking back the way he came he said, "I see you've been busy while I've been gone. Why the teleporter seal in the basement?"

Closing with him, Kyuubi linked her arm with his and pulling him along said, "Well since things are calming down around here I plan to fade into the background as far as Konoha society goes and figured we could use this mansion as a sort of love nest. Since some of your lovers are currently outside your ability to see on a more consistent basis I figured creating a seal where they could teleport here when they had some free time would make them happy. Plus it cuts down on all the travel to and from here making chances of someone discovering us slimmer."

Glad for Kyuubi's foresight he changed the subject wanting to see how she was doing so asked, "How are you adjusting to life as a human?"

"It has its ups and downs I suppose. Running the company is harder than I thought it would be but Ino experience has been invaluable. I'm confident that I'll be able to reverse its current downhill direction especially since I plan to open new offices in the other shinobi villages."

"Do you really think the other Kage will go along with such a thing?"

Shrugging Kyuubi said, "Well not at first but since I'm sure Gaara will allow it the other Kage's will follow suit if I can make doing so beneficial to them." Reaching a door, Kyuubi added, "However at the moment there's something that needs to take precedence."

"What's that," Naruto asked confused as Kyuubi let go of his arm to stand in front of the door. Reaching behind her back she opened it and bumping it with her butt it slid open to reveal a large bedroom.

"Why showing me just how much better sex is with a physical body," Kyuubi said before leaping at him and wrapping her arms and legs around his body clinging to him. Planting her lips to his she plunged her tongue into Naruto's surprised mouth, however as he overcame it and began to respond Kyuubi was truly glad she had waited for this moment.

As the kiss ended and Naruto placed his hands on her ass to help hold her to him he said, "My, someone's quite anxious to begin."

"You have no idea," Kyuubi replied between kisses to his neck and cheeks, "It's been pure torture waiting for you to come back. I've been so horny but I have resisted so that the first pleasure I feel will be brought about by you."

Touched by Kyuubi's admission Naruto said, "Then let's make sure it was worth the wait." Carrying her to the bed he set her down gently and lying atop her began kissing her tenderly on the lips while running his hand along her side. Kissing her like that for several minutes she wrapped her right leg behind his hip and then began using it to rub her pelvis against his leg. Naruto after several more minutes began to feel her wetness seeping through the material of his pants so ending the kiss began slowly moving down her body. Kyuubi whimpered at the loss of contact, but as she realized where his final destination was she felt herself grow wetter in anticipation.

Falling to his knees in front of the bed Naruto pushed her legs up and apart to reveal that beneath the cloth of her kimono that Kyuubi wasn't wearing panties. Rubbing a finger along the slit of her pussy, Naruto said, "No panties you must not have wanted anything slowing me down."

"S-stop teasing me please," Kyuubi said a hint of begging entering her voice, "I've waited so long for this."

Naruto chuckled as he said, "You've waited weeks. A few more seconds won't hurt anything, although this scent is proving hard to resist." Deciding to give the Bijuu exactly what she wanted he leaned forward and gave her snatch a long slow lick which sent thrills through Kyuubi's body. As he moaned in enjoyment at her taste the vibrations he sent through her caused her to also let out a moan of her own. Taking his time to completely explore her pussy from licking all around it to burying his tongue deep inside he delighted in all the various sounds of pleasure that he pulled from Kyuubi's throat. He was about to zero in on her clit to finish her off as he was sure that she now knew just how lacking their time in the seal had been but was stopped as Kyuubi pushed his face away from her snatch.

Kyuubi did understand and wanting to try something said breathlessly, "N-naruto… let me do you too."

Standing Naruto stripped out of his clothes and then getting in a sixty-nine position with him on top began to once more concentrate on pleasing Kyuubi. "Ahhh," she moaned before tentatively reaching up to grasp his cock. Giving it several strokes, he moaned into her quim which caused her to respond in kind and emboldened raised her head to begin sucking on the tip of his dick.

"Ah… that's good," he moaned which spurred Kyuubi to take more of him into her mouth as she began bobbing her head up and down his shaft. Not willing to be outdone he lowered his head back between her legs. Despite still being somewhat of an amateur at giving head herself she still had experienced the many times Naruto's other lovers had done so. As a result of that accumulated knowledge she was able to quickly bring Naruto to the verge of cumming by copying the various techniques she had witnessed and felt. Still it was a point of pride for Naruto not to cum first so fighting back the urge he began to work overtime on her clit and sucking on it directly achieved the result he was hoping for causing her to arch her back as she coated his mouth and face in her release.

Her moaning around his tool caused him to begin cumming as well which Kyuubi tried to swallow but due to her being in the middle of a large orgasm it caused her to choke slightly. Naruto quickly pulled his dick from her mouth his final few bursts coating her clothed chest and helped her sit up to help ease her coughing. "Sorry," he said as he rubbed her back.

"Don't be," Kyuubi said before running her tongue around her lips trying to recapture some of the warm treat that she had spilled. Swallowing what she could she moaned, "Delicious, it makes me hungry for more."

Pulling the knot of her kimono allowing it to fall from her shoulders he said, "There'll be plenty of time for that but right now I'm hungry for the main course."

Kyuubi nodded and began scouting up the bed causing Naruto to follow her as he tossed her kimono from it once she was clear of the fine robe. Taking up his position between her legs, he began sliding his length along her slit before lining himself up and slowly burying his length inside her, taking the time to enjoy the feeling of entering Kyuubi and it actually feeling as good as he knew it would.

Placing the inside of his elbows behind Kyuubi's knees he leaned forward to give her a deep kiss and as he did so it lifted and spread her legs wider. As their tongues danced with each other, Naruto pulled his hips back the action causing Kyuubi to whimper in pleasure and loss as all the nerve endings began sending their messages of pleasure to her brain. Her whimper turned into a moan as he slowly filled her once more. Making sure to keep his pace slow and even, Naruto broke the kiss to stare in Kyuubi's eyes enjoying the look of bliss he saw there. Wanting to see it change, he began to pull out and surprised her by slamming his hips forward. Kyuubi's eyes widened in a mixture of pleasure and shock as she let out a deep moan of ecstasy.

Pounding her pussy now hard and fast, he moved his attention down to her chest where he began lavishing her breasts with attention. Kyuubi's hands snaked around his neck as she clung to him due to all the various stimuli coursing through her. "Ohhh….I-I had no idea…no idea just how little…you were actually feeling during our time in the seal. Thank…Thank you for putting up with it."

Pulling his mouth from her nipple, Naruto groaned out, "You…don't need to thank me… ah fuck you're gripping me so tight… It was worth any amount of temporary discomfort so long as you were happy."

Kyuubi felt tears entering her eyes as she stared at the blond's face and pulling his head to her chest began chanting, "Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!!!" Caught by surprise by her orgasm she tensed around him for several seconds amazed by just how much more intense if felt compared to the ones she had experienced in the seal. As Naruto pulled out of her, she murmured at the loss but upon realizing he hadn't cum sat up asking, "Was it not any good. W-why didn't you cum."

Naruto chuckled before kissing her tenderly. Pulling back he said, "Don't worry Kyuubi it was great. But we have all night and trust me, by the time I'm done. You're never going to need to ask that question again." Rubbing his hand along her delicate slit he said huskily, "Now how about you turn around and get on all fours so I can enjoy this amazing pussy some more."

Kyuubi's eyes lit up at the idea and she scrambled to comply. Biting her lip in anticipation as he grabbed her hips she let out a howl of pleasure when with a single violent thrust he buried his dick completely inside her its head pressing up against her womb. Moaning in delight, she simply decided to allow Naruto to take the lead and show her all that she had been missing.

*****************************

"Mmmmmm," Kyuubi moaned contently as she rested her head on Naruto's chest as he sat against the backboard of her bed. Running a finger along his chest, Kyuubi still had a hard time processing just how little the seal actually had conveyed to her. It was mainly the little things such as how the feeling of warmth from all the cum Naruto had deposited in her was waging a little battle with the coolness of the night air against her sweat covered skin. Figuring the time was close to midnight she said, "Well it wasn't all night, but nevertheless I don't think I'll ever need to doubt you enjoy my body again."

Hugging her tightly he replied, "Well if you ever do doubt it again I'll be more than willing to set you straight."

"I'm sure you will. It's a good thing I never reactivated your ability to impregnate your women otherwise I don't doubt the village would soon be seeing a sudden influx of little blond hair kids." Naruto nodded his head in agreement as he did so Kyuubi thought she caught a look of concern so asked, "What is it?"

"We can talk about it in the morning," Naruto replied gracing her with a smile.

"Please, tell me."

Sighing, Naruto decided to give in saying, "It's just on this mission I tried to create some K-clones."

"Those are the more durable ones you were working on in Spring, right?"

"Yeah, but I couldn't. What was worse was that it was like being back in the academy again. Whenever I tried to call on the Bijuu chakra… it's hard to describe, but I guess you could say it was almost like it was floating around just out of reach and when I did grab ahold of it I couldn't control it."

"T-that doesn't make any sense," Kyuubi said, "I…I mean my body hasn't rejected my calling on my Bijuu chakra if anything it's combined with the chakra of the woman's whose body this was. It should be the same for you…" Kyuubi lapsed into silence for several moments her eyes turning inwards as she tried to solve the problem before suddenly saying, "Dammit, of course I should have foreseen this."

"What?"

"Your seal is why you haven't taken possession of the chakra."

"Huh?"

Sighing at her lack of foresight Kyuubi said, "Think of your seal as a dam. It has always allowed a small portion of my power to slip through. But it was never meant to allow all of it."

"But then how could I call on it to summon toads and such?"

"Well it's because before there were two of us controlling the flow of my chakra. You acted as the dam operator allowing for more of my chakra to pass through while I acted as the water pushing it through the dam."

"Ah you're pretty good at explaining things, not like Pervy Sage."

"Well I'm dumbing it down quite a bit for my audience," Kyuubi teased giggling at the face Naruto made.

Leaning his head back to look at the ceiling Naruto said, "So if I'm following your logic correctly now that you are no longer inside the seal it's like the chakra has no direction anymore and doesn't want to pass through the seal."

"Exactly, the little amount you can feel and grasp is just what the seal was always designed to let through."

Nodding he asked, "Well how come at times even when I didn't call for it you were able to get large amounts of chakra through."

Kyuubi looked down, not wanting to answer his question but knew she needed to so said, "You didn't call for it knowingly but you did call for it. Whenever you'd get angry I used your anger to try and force my chakra through the seal in an attempt to take you over while you were at your weakest."

"That makes sense I suppose," Naruto said casually.

Surprised Kyuubi said, "You're not angry."

"Of course not," Naruto said, "Back then our relationship was of jailor and captive." Reaching for her face and tilting her chin up towards him before kissing her lightly he added, "It's changed a great deal since then."

Again feeling a swirl of emotions for the man she was pressed against which resulted in her eyes glistening, Kyuubi said earnestly, "I'll fix this chakra problem, I swear."

"I know," Naruto said lovingly pulling her tight up against him, "That's why it can wait till morning." Kissing her one last time, he wished her a good night and slinking down into the bed closed his eyes to get some rest.

Kyuubi waited until his breathing evened out signaling he was asleep and despite knowing Naruto meant what he said about the matter could wait decided to begin looking into it anyway. Channeling her chakra into his seal she slipped her consciousness into it and upon appearing in front of the cage that contained her Bijuu body found the seal had reverted back to its original form from the apartment that it had been. Looking around from her new perspective as a human she began to realize the room wasn't the sewer that she had always believed, but instead found that perhaps it was in fact a boiler room. A boiler room that was currently idling, no longer a source of massive power that it had once been for the jinchuriki that housed it. Looking at all the pipes that emanated from around the cage and were currently not channeling any of her chakra, she guessed that the cage was what represented the central generator. All the water on the floor wasn't sewage but instead was condensation that had fallen from the pipes or had even leaked from them. Walking towards the cage, and thinking along her current lines she guessed the seal represented the regulator which was what had allowed control over the amount of her energy that could get out. Obviously at times she had been able to overpower it but it had never been in any sort of meaningful way. At least until Jiraiya had temporarily loosened its tight control during Naruto's training trip.

Kyuubi felt her respect for the Fourth Hokage raise a few notches as she realized what the true problem was now and that was simply the fact that her consciousness was free. The Fourth had been aware of Kyuubi's nature and as a result designed his seal with the idea that she would always be fighting against it. As a result of that struggle it would allow a little of that chakra out perhaps egging her on to try harder all the while doing exactly what it was supposed to. Even when she had begun aiding Naruto happily she had needed to struggle against it, but had been helped by his desire to accept more of her chakra. Now though with nothing on the other side pushing against the seal, Naruto needed to try twice as hard to pull out the Bijuu chakra but due to the struggle control was almost impossible to achieve.

Cautiously touching the seal, she was surprised that it didn't react violently to her but guessed the reason was because her body's chakra had mixed with her Bijuu essence and so she no longer possessed the same chakra signature the seal would recognize as a threat. Pulling her hand away she knew that would change if she attempted to tamper with it so supposed that was out of the question. Looking beyond the bars and gazing upon her old body which looked like it was merely asleep, she realized at the moment there were only two options to solving Naruto's current problem. The most obvious being to get the key Jiraiya had used to loosen the restrictions on her chakra which had allowed her to take over Naruto for a time. With the key, they'd be able to throw open the cage and she believed Naruto would then be able to take full possession of her chakra.

"The other option is…" she began to think to herself but felt her attention shift to a small pipe tucked in the middle of a cluster of much larger ones that still seemed to be emanating a warmth that signaled the Bijuu's chakra was running through it. Curious she began following the cluster wondering what it would lead too. As she walked, the larger pipes broke off leading to different areas until only the small still active one remained. She stopped as it disappeared into a wall which sported a single door. Feeling nervous she pushed the door open and gasped at what the pipe ended up being connected to, which was a small platform upon which Kushina Uzumaki seemed to be sleeping.

As she lied motionless with her hands clasped together over her stomach a small energy field glowed around her. Understanding what she was looking at Kyuubi assumed that the energy field was her Bijuu chakra which was sustaining the woman since unlike the Chakra construct of Minato that the Fourth had created upon sealing Kyuubi into Naruto, he had actually sealed his wife's soul into their son. Approaching the platform Kyuubi wondered just what the Fourth had intended for his wife to achieve since once removed from the platform Kushina would only have a limited amount of time to accomplish her goal before the energy her soul contained would be consumed and she'd fade away.

Thinking about it for several minutes, Kyuubi began to suspect that the Fourth had intended for Kushina to aid Naruto in some way against her. Arriving at that conclusion she also realized that it was very likely that now that she was free of the seal, Kushina might never awaken since if she had to guess the trigger for such an event was probably some sort of epic struggle between her and Naruto. The Fourth no doubt figured that Kushina's special chakra would tip the battle in Naruto's favor. Not to mention it would allow the mother and son to actually meet as Minato had promised after Kyuubi had impaled the pair.

Feeling the guilt at what her actions had ended up costing Naruto as well as the amazement that the blond man could still treat her as tenderly as he did, Kyuubi realized that lying before her was an opportunity to not only fix Naruto's chakra control problem. But also a chance so that mother and son could enjoy more than a few precious moments together. Moving to the pipe that was plugged into the bottom of the platform, Kyuubi extended a chakra arm and gripping it ripped it free. With the pipe removed the red aura around the sleeping woman began to flicker before fading away.

For several seconds nothing happened until with a yawn Kushina stretched as she sat up. Suddenly she gasped before a hand shot to her heart where the woman was surprised to find she was still whole instead of there being a gaping wound there. Looking around in confusion her gaze settled on Kyuubi, who could see a light of recognition trying to appear but was being held back by the fact the face she was gazing on had been old and wrinkled when she had first seen it. Still looking at her wearily she asked, "Who are you and what's going on. I should be dead."

"You are in a sense," Kyuubi replied calmly, "Your soul has been lying dormant inside Naruto since the day of your physical death."

"T-that's right..." Kushina said recalling the memory, "Minato said he could arrange it that I'd see Naruto one day. But who are you? You seem familiar."

Kyuubi tried to dance around the question since she figured there was a chance that Kushina would attack her if she admitted to being the Bijuu that had killed her and her husband said, "That isn't truly important at the moment. Now that you've awakened your soul is slowly using up the last of its energy so if you want…"

"Who are you," Kushina said narrowing her eyes at the women in front of her.

"Kyuubi"

"What," Kushina said at first confused but sensing the truth behind the reply began tensing to attack.

"I wouldn't if I were you," Kyuubi said quickly preparing to defend herself should it prove necessary. "As I was saying your time in this form is limited. I know you have no reason to trust me; however I ask that you at least listen."

"Why should I," Kushina shouted leaping from the platform and landing in front of Kyuubi. "You took everything from me."

Still despite her anger Kushina was surprised as Kyuubi said sadly, "I know. I also know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I can give you something precious as a small form of amends."

"What's that?"

"Time with Naruto. More than you would otherwise have." Turning her back on Kushina, the Bijuu began walking back the way she came waving for the Uzumaki to follow her. Although not dropping her guard Kushina decided to see what Kyuubi was playing at so trailed behind.

"How are you even free of the seal," Kushina asked after several moments her curiosity getting the better of her.

"It will take some time to explain all that has transpired. But let's just say Naruto and I have reached an agreement. One in which I support him with all my power."

"What do you get in return?"

Kyuubi merely looked over her shoulder giving her previous host an enigmatic smile before turning away and saying, "That's not important right now. What is though is keeping you from fading away."

"Why…why do you care?"

"Because I've grown from the beast you knew and because it would make Naruto happy to have the opportunity to know his mother. Plus it will help solve a problem his releasing my Will from the seal has created." Reaching the room where her Bijuu body resided behind the seal Kyuubi explained, "Naruto granted me freedom from the seal. In order to keep him alive I left my original chakra body in it and took residence inside a human one. However this has created the problem that Naruto can no longer access my Bijuu chakra in a controlled manner."

Kushina listened as Kyuubi began to explain her theory behind why and as the Bijuu finished she asked, "How does this correlate to me getting more time with my son?"

"Simple, I was able to transport my will into this body because its spirit had vacated it. You are currently a spirit in need of a body." Kyuubi held her hand up in a presenting manner causing Kushina to look beyond it and see the sleeping body of the most feared Bijuu in existence. Seeing the understanding appearing in the Uzumaki's eyes the Bijuu said, "Exactly, there just so happens to be a body in need of a spirit to control the power it contains just behind these bars."

"I-I don't know," Kushina said rather hesitantly, "How do I know this isn't some trick?"

"You don't," Kyuubi admitted. But trying to convince the woman said wholeheartedly, "I care deeply for your son. You could say he's caused me to feel things I never knew existed despite my millennia of existence. Therefore I'll do anything in my power to help ease the pain my actions sixteen years ago caused him. To that end, there is nothing I can think of that will make him happier than to get his mother back."

Kushina stared shocked at the Bijuu's earnest statement before saying, "I accept."

"Good, follow me." Kyuubi then stepped through the bars moving closer to her original form. As she neared she could see that despite it having grown smaller due to having four of its tails transferred into her body it had already regrown one of them.

Both women stopped in front of it causing Kushina to ask, "What now?"

Instead of answering with words Kyuubi surprised Kushina by spinning the woman towards her and planting her lips on the Uzumaki's. Kushina stiffened before realizing she was being kissed by the Bijuu and after feeling a surge of energy pass through her violently pushed her back. Rubbing her forearm over her lips she said, "Blah, what the hell are you doing?"

"I transferred some of my essence into you along with some of my knowledge."

"Why, and why did you kiss me was it really necessary?"

"No," Kyuubi replied with an amused smile, "But it was the most fun way to go about doing so. As to why you'll need my knowledge it's to erase the learning curve you'd otherwise need in order to fully control my power." Looking behind the still glaring Uzumaki, Kyuubi could see wisps of chakra beginning to travel over the fox body. The chakra began to travel towards Kushina whose back was turned to it. It engulfed the woman just as Kyuubi said, "Plus my essence was to create a link between you and my original form."

As the red-chakra engulfed her, Kushina felt as if her entire existence was suddenly supercharged with power. She was abruptly pulled off her feet towards the Bijuu's body were her form melted into the fox's body. Everything went dark causing her to panic before she realized that her eyes were closed. Opening them she was shocked to see she was looking down on Kyuubi who in turn was staring up into the red-eyes of her original fox form.

"You bitch you tricked me. I don't want Naruto to see me like this" Kushina shouted in the deep gravelly voice she remembered the Kyuubi possessed from the few times they had communicated. Standing on all fours, she lunged at the woman Bijuu only to be slapped away by a chakra construct of a fox that sprang into existence around Kyuubi.

Calmly Kyuubi said, "Please refrain from attacking me again as I don't wish to harm you." Kushina growled angrily but sat down nonetheless. "Good, now that you are willing to listen try and access my knowledge."

"For what purpose," Kushina asked still agitated.

"You'll know when you see it."

Doing as instructed, Kushina began thinking of ways to use Kyuubi's powers and to her surprise literally hundreds of different ways began to flow through her brain. Finding the one Kyuubi was talking about she lowered her head to the floor and closing her eyes began to concentrate. A moment later, her human form appeared which she quickly implanted with her will animating it. Being helped to her feet by Kyuubi, the Uzumaki said, "Sorry."

"Don't be, considering our long relationship it's easy to understand why you'd jump to the conclusion I betrayed you. Can you walk?" Kushina nodded so Kyuubi began walking towards the bars of the seal. As she passed through them she warned, "Don't touch the bars. Now that you possess my chakra they'll react violently should you make contact."

Stepping outside the seal Kyuubi said, "Now do you think you can make the environment a little more suitable for a conversation."

Again searching through Kyuubi's knowledge Kushina nodded and concentrating the seal shifted from a boiler room to that of a small apartment that Kyuubi guessed that the Uzumaki used to live in. Taking a seat at the kitchen table, Kyuubi said, "Good, now let's see about filling you in on all your son has been up too."

****************************

Naruto sat up and was surprised to find himself in an unfamiliar bed. Feeling an awareness that told him he was no longer dreaming which was aided by the fact he was no longer being chased by a large container of instant ramen that was trying to devour him in revenge for all the ones he had eaten over the years, he got out of the bed to see what was going on. Leaving the unfamiliar bedroom, he stepped into a living room to find Kyuubi having a chat with a woman that seemed to fill him with a sense of familiarity. Although Kyuubi was facing away from him the woman's eyes shifted from the Bijuu and widened before tearing up slightly upon seeing him watching them.

Kyuubi noticing that Kushina was no longer looking at her turned toward and seeing her lover there said, "Ah, it's about time you joined us."

"Where am I," Naruto asked looking around the unfamiliar apartment. "Did you teleport us here from your room and whose your friend?"

"No," Kyuubi answered, "We're still in bed together." Kyuubi felt a smile threaten to appear on her face noticing how Kushina's cheeks colored at the mention of the fact Naruto and her were currently sharing a bed having explained their new relationship to his mother, not to mention his many other ones . She could tell that Kushina was having a hard time processing it which wasn't too surprising considering the last time she had seen her child he had just been born. She believed she could understand that it would be a little disconcerting to finally come face to face with the extremely handsome man he had become only to learn that he was currently in the process of bedding many of the most talented Kunoichi of his age.

"That means we're in my seal right? So who's your friend, then?"

Kyuubi gave the nervous woman several moments to answer before taking the intuitive and standing said, "Naruto allow me to introduce Kushina Uzumaki, your mother."

Naruto's eyes went wide before shifting from his Bijuu lover to the woman who moved to stand from the table. She approached him nervously before saying, "Its true Naruto…"

"Mom," Naruto shouted wrapping the woman in a tight hug.

Kushina was surprised at the immediate welcome at first but allowing herself to hug him back said, "Oh Naruto, I finally get to hold you again."

After several moments Naruto broke the hug and staring into his mom's eyes for several seconds asked, "How is this possible? I thought you were dead."

"She was," Kyuubi said as she began to explain, "at least her physical body did. Your father sealed her soul into you along with me and from what I can tell she was to aid you in taking possession of my chakra when the time came."

"Wait, does that mean she's going to disappear soon. You told me souls only have so much chakra to sustain themselves which is why the Yamanaka's tether them to their bodies during their jutsu."

"No," Kushina answered for the Bijuu, "I've had my spirit linked to Kyuubi's fox body. That means for all intents and purposes I'm in charge of the body of the nine-tailed fox."

"Exactly," Kyuubi said smiling, "and with her linked to my original form you'll find it much easier to use your Bijuu chakra again."

Naruto looked thrilled at the idea to a blush crept over his face and looking nervous said, "Um, but what about… well you know…how I'm…."

Kyuubi giggled at her lover's embarrassment before saying, "You are referring to how you've become quite popular with the women around you lately correct." When Naruto nodded she added, "You are also wondering about how your chakra affected me and if it will be the same for your mother." Nodding again unable to give voice to his concern as he struggled with his embarrassment something she noticed his mother was also having trouble with she answered, "Do not worry." Standing she moved towards an ornate lamp near a couch in the apartment before saying, "This lamp will turn on anytime you begin to enjoy yourself with one of your lovers. When it does so, your mother simply needs to move within its glow to escape the feelings your chakra would otherwise cause to her. There is also one in the bedroom."

"Can't you just have it on all the time and bathe the whole area," Naruto asked wondering what his mom thought about what she must have heard about him from Kyuubi.

"I'm afraid not. You see the light creates a nullification zone and don't forget we are still in your seal. If I created too large of one your ability to use chakra at all would be hampered. Besides these lights are tied to your libido so whenever you are with someone they'll switch on automatically it's just a matter of moving into the safe zone before you get carried away." Seeing the two Uzumaki looking uncomfortable she said, "I know this isn't a perfect arrangement but for now it's the best we can expect. Let's all make the most of it."

Naruto broke into a large smile saying, "You're right." Moving towards the kitchen table he sat down saying, "Mom, I want to hear all about you."

"You will," Kushina replied a similar smile in place on her face, "But first tell me about your own life please and all the things I missed about your growing up."

Kyuubi watched as Mother and Son began to reform a bond her actions had nearly severed. Content, she sat down on the couch she had been standing next to and wondered what other surprises the future held.

*****************************

Sakura went searching for Ino as night fell over Konoha since she felt it was time she got some answers. The motivation for her current desire was the red-headed kunoichi Karin who they had brought back just that morning. Pausing for a moment after leaving the Yamanaka flowershop and hearing from Ino's mom that her target was currently elsewhere, Sakura closed her eyes and saw once more the sight of Naruto holding the sleeping woman in his arms the way he had been when they had caught up to him. She had been so angry at him for going off on his own and scaring her when his clone had burst into smoke after they had heard about Sasuke and Itachi even if she should have suspected as much from the way the clone had held back as the rest of them had attacked the masked man that had delayed them from reaching Sasuke. However she had forgot all about her anger instead feeling the emptiness that had been her constant companion for months now when Karin had moaned contently before snuggling deeper into his chest.

When the Sound kunoichi had woken up she had panicked at first but calmed when Naruto had approached her telling her she'd be alright. Her teammate had even defiantly repeated his assurance when Kakashi had warned him not to make promises he couldn't keep. Sakura just couldn't fathom why he was willing to do so especially if by Naruto's own admission Karin had been the reason Sasuke escaped from him. Not to mention how if the rumors swirling around Konoha were true not only had Karin already been processed by the Interrogation Department, but she had received a sweetheart deal in return for the wealth of information she had on Sound's operations. A deal that already had allowed her to be set free although probably under Anbu supervision.

While she couldn't be positive, she did believe the sudden reversal in Karin's fortunes was due in part to one thing, something had happened between her and Naruto while they had been alone. And whatever it had been simply tied the red-head into the network of women she had noticed that seemed to benefit from Naruto's presence. What hurt Sakura the most about this newest girl however was that if things had been only slightly different it could have been her. After all, Karin had actually left her village to follow blindly after Sasuke, something she had once pleaded with the Uchiha to allow. Sakura had always held out the hope that Sasuke didn't want her to follow him down the same dark path he had chosen for himself. But after hearing Karin's story she believed now it was simply because he believed it would slow him down or that she would be of no use to him in completing his ambition. However in truth it had never really bothered her because after Naruto had left it had revealed that her heart had begun to respond to the blond's earnest attempts to gain her affections. That was why Karin's presence hurt so much since he had returned only to shortly later throw up a wall between them while at the same time Karin seemed to have the magical pass that allowed her to be close to the jinchuriki. Granted, she knew a reason for it had been her own clumsy effort to get Sasuke back without explaining her reasoning that her feelings had changed over the years and the best way she knew to show that was to make sure the Uchiha was around when she chose Naruto. But still a part of her wondered if she wouldn't have been better off to follow after Sasuke as then maybe Naruto would at least have still wanted her.

Shaking off such thoughts as pointless since she had been able to learn a great deal from Tsunade while it appeared Karin's own training was shockingly incomplete. Sakura knew that the time for sitting back and waiting for the wall between Naruto and her to crumble was coming to an end as it would only happen if she begun to take action. However she felt her resolve crumble as she caught sight of not only Ino, but Shizune and the kunoichi she had just been thinking of all sitting around a table drinking tea at a local café. She felt her chances of being with Naruto shatter as all three burst into laughter at something Shizune had said in response to a question Karin asked prompting tears to gather in her eyes. The sight of the three sitting around without a care in the world only cemented for Sakura that she was missing out on something wonderful and the reason why was as some penance for her younger self's devotion to Sasuke. Feeling so very alone, she darted off into the crowds of Konoha wanting to null the pain she felt so attempted to do so by following Tsunade's way of drowning it with alcohol.

Entering the first bar she could find Sakura walked up to the bartender asking for strongest drink he had and after downing it in a single gulp proceeded to order another and another. All the while she was unaware that her actions were being witnessed by someone with his own axe to grind against the blond behind her pain and could think of no better way of hurting him then by ruining the girl he had so actively pursued once.

*****************************

Ino wiped her eyes free of the tears she felt at what Karin had said about her genjutsu experience with Sasuke, which had been namely that if Sasuke was going to create an illusion by which to seduce her why would his penis have been so average in size. Shizune had simply responded that perhaps to him it had been large compared to what he normally had to work with prompting all three of them to laugh. However Ino's mirth had vanished as she caught sight of Sakura staring at them and from experience the blonde could tell the young medic was fighting the urge to cry. Before Ino could call out to her, Sakura turned on her heel melting into the busy streets of the restaurant district seeing as it was a Friday night.

"What is it?" Karin asked having felt Ino's chakra spike in concern for her friend.

"Um, nothing," Ino replied standing, "I just thought I saw Sakura. Shizune, would you mind covering my tab? I'll get you back next time."

Shizune nodded perhaps sensing the concern Ino was feeling for their fellow medic so Ino turned towards Karin saying, "It was nice meeting you again and I'm sure you'll find Konoha to your liking."

"I'm sure I will too once these Anbu stop following me around that is."

Ino was already leaving so missed Shizune's reply of, "Just be grateful for the one watching you now, as it was the only reason we could approach you so freely."

Ino was surprised at just how quickly Sakura had disappeared so decided to get a better vantage point and leapt along the rooftops. Still after nearly an hour she could find no sight of the pink-haired girl she was looking for. Hoping that Sakura had returned home she began heading in that direction passing over a street littered with bars where a lot of people congregated in search of a good time. Deciding to stop and give it a once over since she had bypassed it earlier figuring it was the type of place Sakura normally avoided she was nonetheless surprised when on peeking through the window of the fifth bar she checked she found Sakura dancing to some music. She felt a scowl pass over her face as the crowd opened up enough to show who she was dancing with, Toshio.

Remembering Ayame's old boyfriend and the type of scum he was Ino guessed that he had spotted Sakura and was settling on getting a little revenge on Naruto by seducing Sakura. Ino conjectured he wouldn't need to do much in that department as Sakura swayed while taking a swig of the sake bottle she held. Seeing that her friend was extremely drunk as she almost fell backwards, she was about to head inside to collect her, but was beat to the punch by Toshio who snaking a hand around her waist to grope her butt and lead her from the dance floor took her to the back of the bar and out a door that led to an alley.

Quickly making her way around back she heard a drunken Sakura slur, "W-where are we going?"

"Back to my place where I'll show you a real good time."

Sakura seemed to pull herself together a little and pushing off Toshio stumbled into a wall where she propped herself up saying, "I-I don't want to…you might look like him but you aren't."

Ino felt a smile at the same time a scowl appeared on Toshio's face which he quickly covered up by trying to look and sound pleasant saying, "Come on now. Weren't we having a good time? There's no reason we need to call it a night. Besides you can't tell me it doesn't bother you."

"W-what?"

"Why, all the rumors surrounding him and those other girls. Come on, do you really buy he's simply having play dates with them?"

Toshio could see that Sakura didn't so approaching her moved to kiss her but at the last second she turned her face from him. Undeterred he placed his lips against her neck and despite herself Sakura moaned at the contact. For a moment Ino could see that Sakura was tempted to close her eyes and go along with it. No doubt wanting to pretend the man was Naruto. However, Sakura pushed him back forcefully saying, "It doesn't matter… it doesn't change the simple fact that you aren't Naruto."

Seeing enough Ino called out, "Sakura there you are. I've been looking all over for you."

"Ino?" Sakura said surprised.

"Yeah, don't worry I'll get you home."

"Hey, why don't you mind your own business you little slut," Toshio said annoyed at the interruption. "She's already spoken for."

"You're right," Ino replied setting Sakura against the wall to be free to use her hands, "But not by you. So how about you get lost loser before I make you regret it."

Toshio's face twisted into a dark mask and he took a single step forward but would regret it as Ino spun towards him holding her hands in the shape of a square. The civilian suddenly froze in place before stiffly like a zombie began to walk away. He traveled outside of his normal territory to a bar where he was the prey and after pounding back shot after shot eventually allowed himself to be taken to a man's home where he learned all about the receiving end of sex.

Ino felt a small pang of guilt about implanting the suggestion to go to the bar called the Manhole, but figured it was no different than what he tried to do to Sakura as all she had motivated him to do was get drunk. Turning to her friend who had slumped to the floor of the alley she whispered, "What am I going to do with you?" before helping her back to her feet and guiding her home.

*****************************

Kushina sat at the table where she had spent all the night before talking to her son as she tried to get to know him for the first time. As he slept since being awake in the seal presented the same mental fatigue being awake outside of it presented, she marveled at the truly great person he had become especially considering his hard childhood. That he was determined to try and follow through on uniting all the Shinobi villages despite growing up alone truly made her wish she had some part in his growing up. She felt tears begin to appear in her eyes as she remembered what Naruto told her when she had voiced that wish.

"It's only because of you and dad that I was able to grow up at all so everything that happened afterwards is due to that."

Standing, she moved to the couch and seeing the lamp sitting there felt a bit uneasy at knowing her son was sexually active already. Not only that but he was in the process of assembling a Harem which would in theory help push the shinobi world in the right direction. Truthfully she wished Naruto had paid a little more attention to her wish that he beware Jiraiya as she was confident he was the cause of it somehow. But still she couldn't fault Naruto too much and she supposed it was a point of pride that her son possessed something so many other women wanted. Not to mention he deserved to be happy after so many years of misery so guessed she should just learn to except that this was the path Naruto was taking to accomplish his dreams.

Kushina felt a tug on her chakra signifying that Naruto was awakening since he'd need more during the day so prepared to experience her first full day in the life of her son.

*****************************

Sakura opened her eyes cursing the brightness as it caused her to want to hurl. Trying to remember what happened the night before she frowned as she drew a blank from the time after she entered the bar. Sitting up in bed she rubbed her forehead trying to remember, until she realized she wasn't in her apartment. Suddenly recalling a blond haired man, she feared that in her misery she had committed a mistake and was tempted to sneak from the room until she realized she was naked. Hearing a door open and close, she decided to face the music and turned to the door only to see Ino entering the apartment. The blonde smiled at her holding up some clothes saying, "I hope you don't mind but I ran to your apartment to get you some clean clothes."

Sakura felt embarrassed at not recognizing the apartment of her friend, but supposed it could be due to the fact that she hadn't been spending a lot of time with the blonde which she suspected was due to her being with Naruto. Looking down at the covers she said trying not to sound bitter, "Thanks, what happened last night?"

"Well after drinking what was probably close to your own body weight in liquor you met a man who tried to take you home. You refused which he didn't take very well but luckily for you I swooped in to save the day."

"Why?"

Confused Ino replied, "Because you're my friend. Why else?"

"It wouldn't have mattered…"

"Because you feel Naruto's abandoned you," Ino said causing the pink-haired girl's gaze to shift from the covers to her. Ino smiled sadly saying, "But we both know it would have mattered." Sighing she added, "You two have made such a mess of things, but again luckily for you I'm here so come on." Pulling Sakura from the bed she pushed her towards the bathroom saying, "Take a shower since you smell like a brewery and then get dressed."

"Why? Are you going to finally tell me what's going on with you and Naruto?"

"No, I'm going to show you."

Sakura quickly followed Ino's instructions and was surprised that upon leaving her friend's apartment they immediately headed to the Hyuuga compound. "Where are we going? I thought you were going to show me what's been going on."

"I am, but first you have to stop asking questions. I promised him I wouldn't tell you. But he never made me promise not to show you. It's a technicality but I've waited long enough for him to finally talk to you himself."

"Maybe…maybe we should just forget it then."

"No, this needs to be done. But you'll have to understand that whatever you see you need to keep quiet about. Our lives may hang in the balance."

"What are you talking about? Whose lives?"

Ino didn't respond simply saying, "I told you I can't tell you." Reaching the Hyuuga compound they were escorted in and after being led to Hinata's room to wait for the Hyuuga princess, she said her tone deadly serious, "From this point on no matter what you see you're going to have to take it in stride." Sakura nodded and the two lapsed into silence until Hinata arrived.

Smiling brightly the Hyuuga said, "Ino, Sakura what can I do for you?"

"Hinata I need a huge favor from you," Ino said and waited for Hinata to nod before continuing, "I know you and I had a big day planned today…but I was wondering if Sakura could take your place."

The smile that Hinata sported disappeared only to be replaced with a frown as she icily turned towards Sakura. "Why…"

"They need to resolve their differences. Please I haven't told her anything but I want to show her why Naruto's been so distant lately. This is the best way I can think of."

"Ino…" Hinata began her tone conveying she understood how the blonde felt about the matter torn between her loyalty to her friend and to her lover."

"Please," Ino said quickly dropping to her knees in a begging posture, "I won't involve you if there's any blowback and will take full responsibility."

With a sigh Hinata nodded saying, "Very well… I'll go along with what you have planned."

Then to Sakura's shock Hinata began undressing right in front of both of them. Getting to her feet, Ino said, "Thank you Hinata." Turning to Sakura, she instructed, "You need to study Hinata because you're going to henge yourself to look like her."

"D-does she really need to be naked," Sakura asked confused to which both the Hyuuga and Yamanaka smirked at each other.

"Oh it's absolutely necessary because you might find being naked to be a common occurrence today." Not sure what Ino meant, Sakura did as she was told and her eyes immediately sought out the nine-tailed fox shaped tattoo on the Hyuuga right hip and wondered why she felt a yearning to have one of her own.

****************************

Ino had a hard time not smiling at the henged Sakura as they headed to their next destination. The reason for her amusement was due to the fact that Sakura was acting nearly as nervous as Hinata had at least before her inclusion in the Harem. Coming to a stop in front of the many hotsprings Konoha had to offer she heard Sakura mumble, "I guess that's what you meant about being naked being common place today."

Ino gave her a smile that said, "You have no idea," and then began walking inside.

"Can I help you?" the attendant asked upon their stepping up to the front desk.

Giving the man a dazzling bright smile Ino said, "Yes, I'm here for the Konoha Bathing Associations club meeting. I believe we reserved a private bath."

The young man behind the desk broke out into a lusty grin unable to stop himself from saying, "What I'd give to be a member of the club."

"Sorry sweetie," Ino said playfully, "We have a strict no men allowed policy. I'm sure you

can understand why."

"Yeah," he replied dreamily imagining the heavenly bodies that had passed past his desk, "I don't think a male member would live very long due to all the blood loss."

Winking Ino said, "Depends on the male and the member." Her playful tone caused the attendant to shoot back as his nose erupted in a giant stream of blood. As he passed out unconscious she turned to Sakura as she said, "I guess we'll see ourselves in then."

Picking up the key from the desk Ino led Sakura to a special locker room which she unlocked with the key before grabbing a basket and undressing. As Ino bent over to remove her panties she could feel Sakura's eyes on her rear and didn't doubt she had noticed the nine-tailed fox she had there. Straightening she could see the question Sakura wanted to ask reflected in her eyes but with a shake of her head Ino told her not to bother.

Nodding with a sigh, Sakura began to undress as well and once fully nude in Hinata's form paused a moment to rub her hand on the mark the Hyuuga sported. Ino grabbed her hand saying, "Alright let's go." Leading her into the bath she could feel Sakura's arm stiffen as she spotted all the women congregating inside the bath in various forms of undress.

"All right it's about time you two showed," Anko shouted as they stepped into the open air bath. "Now all we're waiting on is the old lady and the fox."

Tsunade arched an eyebrow as she studied the two girls before saying, "I trust you aren't referring to me."

"Nah, you're the busty old lady," Anko replied teasingly but a moment later was submerged under the water as a result of being hit on the head by the Hokage.

As Anko resurfaced spurting insults as well as water from her mouth Tsunade ignored them to stand in front of the two recent arrivals. Running a critical eye over the pair she stopped on the Hyuuga who seemed to be doing her best to melt into Ino's shadow before saying, "I'd like a word if you will, Ino."

Trying to remain relaxed the Yamanaka said, "Sure," and began following the older blonde to a secluded corner of the bath. "What's up," she asked when they were far enough away that their conversation couldn't be overheard.

"Why don't you tell me," Tsunade said watching the henged girl out of the corner of her eye. "We both know that isn't Hinata."

Unable to keep from wincing Ino asked, "How'd you know?"

"I've seen Sakura uncomfortable enough times to know her body language. Not to mention Hinata hasn't been that nervous in months. I imagine Tsume and Hana know as well and are waiting for my signal on how to proceed."

With a defeated sigh Ino said, "Please let it slide. I know Naruto has been unwilling to let Sakura into his life but she needs this and I suspect so does he."

"Ino, still you should have…"

"Look, last night she got so trashed she almost…" Ino filled Tsunade in on what had happened the night before causing the Hokage to look concerned at her second apprentice. But hearing how she had still not allowed herself to be seduced and the reason why said, "Alright, but what happens after she gets her inside peek and decides she doesn't want to be a part of it."

"She will, but if she does chose not to I'll take the necessary steps to insure our secrecy."

"Fine," Tsunade said walking back towards the others and gave a slight nod to the Inuzuka present.

Ino moved back to the henged Sakura to guide her to a quiet part of the bath in order to wait for the remaining few Harem members that were expected for the meeting.

****************************

Sakura didn't quite know what to make of her current situation as she was sitting in a bath with almost all of the women she had worked with in one way or another. She had noticed right off the back that all of them shared the same mark although the places differed as did the sizes of them. Hana and Tsume for example had their fox marks on their breasts with the daughter's being on the inside of her right breast and the mother had hers on the left one. She had seen the one Tsunade sported on the inside of her right thigh while Shizune's was almost minuscule but was placed on her pelvis to the right of her pussy. The fact that the normally skittish Shizune was sitting completely naked as she carried on a conversation with Anko and Yuugao threw Sakura for a loop as well.

Believing the mark in one way or another tied each of the women to Naruto she nearly blew a gasket as the extremely old and wrinkled Koharu Utatane entered the baths wearing only a towel. As she stepped towards the edge of the water, Anko stood suddenly saying, "Don't you fucking do it."

Sakura shut her eyes as the towel began to get pulled apart causing Anko to say, "Ah come the fuck on why do you have to do that every time?"

When Koharu laughingly replied, "If you insist on calling me old woman then I feel the need to at least fit your description from time to time," she didn't do so in the voice she usually associated with the elder. Opening her eyes Sakura was shocked to see a beautiful brown haired woman where the elder had entered the water.

Filled with questions but aware that Ino couldn't and wouldn't answer them she simply tried to gleam as much information as she could from the scattered conversations. When a woman appeared at the edge of the water in a flash of flames, Tsunade attracted all of the women's attention by saying, "Alright, since everyone is here let's begin."

Ino raised her hand saying, "What about Karin? Why isn't she here?"

Yuugao answered saying, "She's still being observed by my Anbu. It was the only way Ibiki would allow her to be released so quickly. However, he'll probably allow them to be called off soon as we've already received reports from the squads sent to check out the closest of Orochimaru's hidden bases."

"Good, I'll expect a report on that by tomorrow," Tsunade said causing the Anbu captain to nod. "Alright does anyone have anything of importance to say before we get to the day's schedule?"

"I do," Kyuubi said still fully robed, "I've solved the problem Naruto had with chakra control."

"Wait when did he have a problem with that," Anko asked confused.

"On his last mission," Tsunade replied, "That's good Kakashi seemed pretty concerned about it. How'd you fix it?"

"I awoke his mother's sleeping spirit that had been sealed inside of him and combined her with my old body."

"…"

To Sakura the silence was deafening especially as it was shattered by Anko shouting, "What? You mean his mother's going to have a front row seat as we…"

"I've already taken precautions against that although she is aware of our more carnal interests in her son. She has given her approval that we continue so long as her son is happy."

"I'll want to hear more on this from you later Kyuubi," Tsunade said annoyed at the Bijuu doing things on her own. Moving on she asked, "Alright what's today schedule look like?"

"Well since its noon and Ayame couldn't close her shop until after the lunchtime rush Naruto's spending lunch there," Shizune said standing as she began to recite what they could expect for the day's events, "After that I believe he and Yuugao have a training session. Followed by his giving two of our Suna compatriots a tour of the village."

"I bet they never leave his bedroom," Anko joked causing a few of the women to snigger in amusement.