Chapter One
Helpless. That's what she was. She had used nearly every drop of her chakra to help Naruto defeat Madara. Suki Uchiha doubted she'd be able to move even an inch, no matter how hard she tried.
On the plus side, she had activated the Rinnegan and they had defeated Madara. Both of were feats only a handful of people had ever achieved. Downside, she honestly thought the Sharingan looked cooler. Oh and that whole she was probably going to die here thing, that sucked.
Her body was numb. She knew she should be in absolute agony, but it was like everything had been turned off. What she was left with was a floating sensation.
So this was dying? Dying wasn't so bad. She'd get to see her family again. She slowly drifts into unconsciousness.
"You have to help Suki, Sakura," Naruto screams out, in not much better shape than his dark haired teammate.
"I will, Naruto," Sakura responds and rushes over.
"This is bad! She's almost completely out of chakra. I don't think I could move her without killing her in this condition," Sakura says and starts to perform medical justu on the last Uchiha.
Other medics were rushing around the battlefield, healing as many as they could. People were being taken off on stretchers or assisted in walking to medical tents that had been put up.
Shizune soon rushes to Naruto's side and begins working on healing the blonde. Suki and Naruto had collapsed side by side, so the brunette and pink haired medics were working alongside each other. It was a race against time. Both young ninjas were more dead than alive.
"AHHHHH," Naruto howls out in utter agony.
"It's actually a good thing that you can feel pain again, Naruto," Shizune says as she pops a pain pill into the blue eyed ninja's mouth.
Naruto knew that Shizune was only trying to help. But the normally amiable young man, was in too much pain to care. A fucking good thing that he could feel pain again? Well she should experience what he was and see how she liked it! But the protest died on his lips, when she mercifully gives him the pain pill.
It took hours of painstaking healing, but eventually Naruto was deemed stable enough to be moved to the medical tent. A few days later, he was transported back to the Leaf's hospital.
It took Suki about at week long to be lucid enough to understand what was going on. She woke up in a hospital bed. The brunette scowls when she notices the chakra restraints. She'd been in the Leaf Hospital more than enough times to recognize where she was.
"WHY DAMMIT?! WHY," she howls out her frustration.
She had been doing what the Leaf clearly wanted her to do. Suki Uchiha had been dying. The last Uchiha had welcomed death's embrace. It would have finally been over. But someone had saved her. Someone had gone through a lot of trouble to have her survive. She noticed the date on the calendar showed that several days had passed since the final battle.
"I see you are awake," she hears a female voice say.
Suki looks to see who it was. She'd never officially met the woman. But she knew who was addressing her. That was Tsunade, the fifth Hokage. Shit. This was not going to end well.
"Why nurse me back to health, if you plan to kill me anyway," Suki says neutrally.
At this point, Suki had no real fear of her own death. She wasn't suicidal. She'd never be suicidal. That'd be the coward's way out. Suki was many things, but a coward she was not. But she was surviving mostly out of habit now.
"Trust me the thought of having you executed or just letting nature take its course, did cross my mind. However, two things prevented me from going through with it," Tsunade says.
"Which were," Suki asks the busty ninja.
"The first is you helped us defeat Madara. Like it or not, without you and Naruto working together, we'd all be stuck inside that dream world forever. That does go a long way towards earning a pardon. The second being your death would absolutely break Naruto," she explains.
"Saving the world almost earns me a pardon. Has anyone ever told you that you are a very harsh grader," she smirks.
"A few times. No comment on the second reason, I see," she notes.
"Naruto is loyal to the point of absolute stupidity. I've tried to shatter our bond again and again. But he won't let me," Suki answers honestly.
Why she was being honest with the blonde, she had no idea. Probably because she was still pumped full of pain meds. Yes, that must be it. Suki was not the type to spill her guts to anyone, let alone a stranger.
"Loyal to the point of stupidity, I suppose that's quite an accurate way to describe it," Tsunade couldn't help but chuckle.
When she spoke like that, it was almost possible to remember that Suki was after all, a teenager. She sounded like a kid that had an argument with her boyfriend. It was hard to reconcile such sarcasm with the terror she could inflict on the battlefield.
"If you aren't going to kill me, what are you going to do," Suki asks in an almost bored fashion.
She had to keep fear out of her voice. Some rather horrific possibilities did flash through her head. As long as she was alive, that's what mattered to Naruto. They could still get away with a lot, as long as Naruto didn't find out about it.
"I could toss you in prison, we both know that the prison would only hold you if you allowed it," she observes.
"So not death or prison, are you going to make me a broodmare," Sasha asks.
While the Leaf might want her dead, the Sharingan and now Rinnegan were something they definitely desired. She had the genes that meant if she had children, such "gifts" or "curses" would be passed down. Suki would rather be dead than be the Leaf's super baby incubator.
"No, I'm not going to do that. I'm not a monster. But I do have a suitable punishment, that would allow you to be reinstated as a ninja of the Leaf. Something that you may consider worse than being forced to revive your clan for the Leaf's benefit," Tsunade responds.
"Worse than being an incubator? What could possibly be worse than that," Suki was almost afraid to ask.
"As of now, Naruto is the only person in this world that we know of who can match you in battle. We can't expect him to watch you 24/7 to ensure your…redemption is coming along smoothly," she begins.
"You are going to have Naruto babysit me," Sasha scoffs.
"Essentially, but in a far more intimate way than you might think," was the Hokage's reply.
"Intimate," Suki says and raises an eyebrow.
"This jutsu has not been used in centuries. Eien no ai. It is a linking of the minds. It was originally designed for lovers, but that is not a requirement for this jutsu to work. Essentially it means he would feel what you feel and vice versa. Over time a telepathic link can be established. It will give you both a general sense of where the other is. It is also designed to prevent treachery. This means if you were to attack him, any injury you'd afflict on him, you would also bare physically. The same is true in reverse. However, this does not apply to injuries that you receive from others or he receives from others. I'd advise you from attempting to arrange an assassination. The severing of such a bond, would not end well for your mental health," Tsunade explains.
"That jutsu is forbidden," Suki says in outrage.
"Yes, well desperate times call for desperate measures. Besides I am Hokage, who is going to punish me," the blonde counters.
"Have you told Naruto about your plan," the brunette demands.
"It was actually his idea," Tsunade replies.
"WHAT?! Not even Naruto could possibly be this stupid," Suki would have flailed if she wasn't bound to the bed.
"As you said, he is loyal to the point of stupidity. He'd do anything to save you," Tsunade says.
"Does he even understand the risks of such a bond? Does he know what it entails," Suki questions.
"He does and yes," the alcohol loving ninja replies.
"And if I do not agree to this," Suki demands.
"You do not have a choice. You are a Criminal Ninja in my village and as such, it is well within my authority to punish you in whatever way I see fit," Tsunade answers her.
"Dammit," was all that Suki could say to that.
She was so screwed. Naruto never gave up. He was relentless. If he could feel what she felt and had a vague sense of where she was, then he would just become even more so. That and the thought of sharing her mind in such a way with anyone, was unsettling.
"Is it painful," Suki asks, referring to the Jutsu from Hell, as she had mentally dubbed it.
"It isn't as long as you don't fight it. If you resist, it will be. I'll tell Naruto you are awake," Tsunade turns to head towards the door.
"Wait, he's UP AND WALKING," Suki says in disbelief.
"Kyubbi speeds up his healing process substantially, not to mention his genes from his mother's side," Tsunade answers in an offhanded way.
"That is so cheating! Damn that fox," she scoffs.
"If it is any consolation, I imagine if you were anyone else, you'd probably have just stayed stuck in a coma," Tsunade offers just a little too cheerfully.
"Bitch," Suki says and glares.
"Yes, I am. You'd do well to remember that I also happen to be the Head Bitch In Charge of this village now. I can make your life very difficult if you put that boy through anymore pain than you already have," Tsunade threatens.
"Well played," Suki sighs and acknowledges the blonde has a point.
"Thank you," Tsunade heads off.
A few minutes later, Tsunade drags Naruto into an empty room. She decided it was best to brief him privately. She casts a sound proofing jutsu, just to be on the safe side. That brat had some impressive lung capacity.
"Well brat. She's awake. I told her about the jutsu. She's not happy about it. Figured I'd give you fair warning before you walked in there," Tsunade says.
"Thanks granny Tsunade. I kinda expected that. Suki has never let people in. This has to be her worst nightmare come true," he says in an uncharacteristically insightful fashion.
"But it will save her life and keep her from being tossed into prison," Tsunade reassures him.
"Yeah, I know. I hate that I know she'll have to go through more pain. She's going to resist. I know her," Naruto says.
"Well the two of you have always done things the hard way. There's no reason to expect that is going to change now, brat," Tsunade says and couldn't help but smile fondly at Jirayia's student.
Naruto nods and heads to Suki's room. He was glad she was restrained. He wouldn't put it passed Suki to hurl whatever objects happened to be in her reach at him. And Suki was STRONG. So that shit would hurt like Hell.
"Hey, how are you feeling," Naruto asks.
"Pissed the Hell off! Where the fuck do you get off, loser?! Linking our minds? Just because you are brain dead, doesn't mean I'm going to let you have some of mine," she growls at him.
"I'm really glad you are restrained right now," Naruto says and rubs the back of his head sheepishly.
"Yes, you should be. Madara is going to look like an adorable kitten, when I get my hands on you," she threatens.
"Ouch. That's harsh, Suki. Your ancestor was psychotic," Naruto says.
"You think he was crazy, I'll show you crazy," Suki says and if looks could kill, Naruto wouldn't be six thousand feet under. (Yes, six feet under was just not deep enough, to describe the level of fury in the last Uchiha's eyes.)
"Suki, you really need to tone down the homicidal tendencies," Naruto responds.
"You really need to stop being an idiot. Do you understand what Eien no ai does," she asks in outrage.
"It links our minds. You feel what I feel and vice versa. We can't hurt each other, unless we want to fuck ourselves up," Naruto summarizes.
"Naruto, you couldn't hack it. You can not handle feeling what I feel. It will destroy you," Suki says.
"See you do care," Naruto says, grinning.
"You are such a loser. I just told you that your mind could be shattered and you are happy that I'm warning you about that," Suki responds and shakes her head.
"Maybe. But I'm the loser who is going to save your life," Naruto answers.
"Why are you so obsessed with me? How many times have I tried to kill you," Sasha asks.
"Because you're my friend. What kind of Hokage would I be, if I can't even save my friend," Naruto answers.
"You are such a child. Not every story has a happy ending," Suki replies.
"Yeah, I know. This one will though," he says.
"I think you might actually be more crazy than me," she mutters.
"I learned from the best," Naruto says smugly.
"I'd hit you, if I wasn't restrained," the brunette replies.
"I know. Too bad for you that you are," the blonde chirps happily.
Suki is given a few more days to recover fully. Tsunade comes into the room and has several medics with her. The older blonde explains she wanted to be able to act quickly, if something went wrong.
"Oh that's reassuring," the last Uchiha says sarcastically.
"Uchiha what did I say about my position in the Leaf," Tsunade responds.
Suki gulps and nods. Dammit. She sighs. Well one thing was for damn sure, she was not going to give the bitch the pleasure of seeing her cry out in pain. Sasha didn't give a damn how painful the jutsu was; she had her pride.
"Yeah I got it. Let's get this over with," she says with false bravado.
Naruto nods. He had expected that Granny Tsunade would bring backup. He couldn't help but risk a glance at Suki. Yeah, she was going into defensive mode. Dammit. Why did she have to always shut everyone out?!
Naruto couldn't help but remember back at the Academy. Suki had always been apart from the other kids. She never played with them at recess. Hell, she never played period.
He later found out that was probably due more to the trauma of the massacre than her natural personality. But he was a kid at the time and didn't know that. He had just wanted to be friends.
Suki felt Naruto's gaze on her. She looks back. It sounded like in theory, he understood what this jutsu would do. But in practice, he was asking for his mind to be shredded.
Naruto existed in a mythical land of sunshine and rainbows. The good guys would always win. The bad guys would always lose. Only happy endings existed in Naruto's world. Naruto's world was black and white. Suki's world was an endless sea of gray.
"Jeez don't sound so excited, Ice Princess," Naruto says.
"Idiot. I'm from a fire clan. That is a dumb nickname. At least mine is accurate," she responds.
Suki's mind would shatter that illusion. For some reason, that made her feel more guilty than the thought of killing him, ever had. She envied his ability to actually see how truly fucked up the world was and still believe that things could get better. It was a stupid idealistic notion. It wasn't true. But it must be nice to live in that world.
"No, Ice Princess totally fits you," Naruto volleys back.
"If you two are done trading barbs, let's begin. This is going to be a very long night," Tsunade says with a sigh.
Tsunade had made sure to restrain both of them. The mind and chakra often were closely associated. If either tried to fight the link, their chakra could lash out if not restrained.
She proceeds with doing thousands of hand seals. It took all her concentration. If she made even one seal wrong, she'd have to start all over again.
One of the medics cuts Suki's and Naruto's hands, pressing them together. Blood had to be exchanged during this jutsu. The medic was actually scared for her life, once Suki was free. But she hoped Naruto would stop Suki for killing her for her part in this jutsu.
"Sorry," she murmurs at the other woman.
That's when Suki felt it. It was like being swept up in a tornado. She recognized Naruto's chakra. It was almost as familiar as her own. But never had it been so intense. It was like it was trying to blow straight into the pores of her skin.
In her mind, she knew that logically this should have been painful. It should have been utter agony. But instead, it was the opposite. It was a rush. It felt GOOD. Really good.
"Wind amplifies fire," she mutters to herself.
Naruto barely had time to wonder what she meant, when he felt it. Naruto's chakra had gone first, which meant Suki felt the effects before he did. He knew that Suki's natural affinity was fire. In his mind's eye, he could visualize a powerful gust of wind blowing against a fire.
The blonde was familiar with Suki's chakra. But he'd never experienced it like this. Sure, he'd felt her chakra lash out in anger during their battles. But this was different. It was almost like the fire was trying to dart away from his wind. Every time they connected, it would seductively dance away. (Why Naruto's mind had labeled her chakra trying to avoid his as seductive, wasn't something he wanted to overanalyze. )
"Suki, stop running away from me," Naruto says.
Naruto looks at Suki. Dammit! Her eyes were completely glazed over. She must be further under the effects of the jutsu than he was. Was he going to look like that soon? Maybe it was because she was fighting him.
"This is hopeless. You won't catch her. Besides we share the same body. I assume the link will work three ways. I'll lend you a hand, brat," Naruto hears Kyubbi.
"Alright Kurama. Take it away. She's too fast," was Naruto's response.
"You'd think after chasing her ass all these years, you'd have a higher success rate of actually catching her," Kyubbi muses.
Kyubbi dialed the chakra up to 11 on the Richter scale. Quite simply, Suki would probably always have superior chakra control. But Naruto/Kyubbi had MORE of it.
Finally! There, the wind "touched" the fire. It was like nothing Naruto had ever felt. He knew that her second affinity was lightning, but this was insane.
Every cell in his body felt electrified. It should have hurt like Hell, but it felt fucking hot. He wasn't talking about the temperature. Somehow it was erotic.
"That's better. She's yielding," Kurama says.
Kyubbi was right. While he had expected Suki's fire to fight his wind, it didn't. (A few imagines of a damn cat that they had chased as Genin trying to scratch his eyes out, came to mind). Instead she let the wind encase her flames and seemed to be returning the favor.
Suki had expected pain. She hadn't expected ecstasy. It was like nothing she'd ever experienced. Every spot on her body was overcome with pleasure. (Of course she'd never admit this to anyone. )
A bright light floods the room. It was golden in color and encircles Suki and Naruto. It surrounds them. When it finally clears, on Naruto's mark there was a symbol engraved on his neck of the Uchiha Clan. Suki also received a mark. It was a spiral symbol on her neck.
"I think it was successful. Naruto, Suki, how do you feel," Tsunade asks.
"My neck hurts. It feels like someone took a knife and decided to engrave a tattoo. But otherwise, I'm fine," she says.
"Ditto on the neck thing. But yeah, I'm okay," Naruto says.
"Well that's good. Try to use the link. To feel what the other is feeling," Tsunade encourages.
Naruto wasn't exactly sure how to go about this. The blonde decides to shove his chakra at the brunette. That's when he felt it. It was a flicker in the back of his mind. It was like a few embers burning in a campfire. He knew somehow this wasn't from him. He tries to get a better "look."
It was hard to describe. Naruto didn't hear words. But he felt things. These weren't his emotions. They were definitely Suki's.
She was excited about something. It was a different kind of excitement though. The naïve blonde didn't know how to identify this emotion.
Kyubbi did though. The damn sadistic fox was cracking up. Whatever it was, he wasn't going to tell Naruto.
"Yeah, I can feel her. I think she's riding high on an adrenaline rush," Naruto answers.
"Good. Well that went better than expected. Suki," she asks.
"… I don't know how to check," she mutters.
"Just push your chakra at me," Naruto says.
"Alright," Suki says and sends a burst of chakra at the blonde.
Suki closes her eyes and concentrates. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt a warmth. It was sunshine. She follows it. Instinctively, she knew this was Naruto. There were no words, but she picked up an annoyance. It wasn't directed at her. She wasn't sure how she knew this, but she just did.
"He's annoyed. I think at the Nine Tails," she answered.
"Gotta give the Uchiha this much, she is perceptive," Kyubbi says.
"Can you feel the Nine Tails," Tsunade asks curiously.
"Not sure. I'll try," Suki replies and hits Naruto with more chakra.
Suki wanders deeper into her own mind. She walks towards where the Sun's warmth was coming from. It was fainter, an undercurrent if you will. But she felt something. This chakra was more wild and dangerous than Naruto's. This chakra was also…aroused?
"Yes, I can feel the Nine Tail's. No, you don't want to know," Suki answers Tsunade.
"I assume he's angry about the jutsu," Tsunade says.
"Yes," Suki says, lying.
There was no way, she was going to tell Tsuande the truth. Who knew that Tailed Beasts even had a sex drive? Then again, it was possible that she was just processing his emotions wrong. It was such a faint thread. Maybe she had been projecting her own reaction onto the fox for God knows what reason.
"Hmm, interesting. She lied for us. Oh and for future reference brat, when the Uchiha lies her eyelashes flicker just once," Kyubbi says.
"How do you know that," Naruto asks.
"I have nothing better to do than to watch what you are doing. I've had ample time to observe her mannerisms," Kyubbi responds.
"Good. Now we'll have to test the link. Suki I'm going to undo your restraints. I want you to nick Naruto with a kunai," she says.
"Wait what," Naruto yells.
"We have to see if the physical component of the link is as functional as the mental one," Tsunade explains.
"Fine by me. He so had this one coming," Suki says as she was released.
"Whoa. Whoa there. Remember she said a NICK. You know don't try to slash my throat open or something," Naruto says raising his hands defensively.
"I won't do that. I have no way of knowing yet if the physical link is active yet," Suki says and makes a dramatic show of twirling the kunai menacingly.
"I loathed Madara. But I must admit there is something appealing when she shows slight hints of her ancestor's sadistic personality," Kyubbi says conversationally.
"Shut up! It's not funny," Naruto yells at him mentally.
As Naruto was arguing with Kurama, Suki cuts the blonde ever so slightly by pressing the tip of the kunai onto his finger. Naruto yips in pain. He'd had worse of course. It was the ninja version of a paper cut, but it still stung like a bitch.
"Dammit," she growls under her breath, feeling the cut.
The brunette looks down at her finger. Yes, there was just a speck of blood on her finger. She might as well have pricked herself. This so wasn't good.
As Suki was analyzing the various ways this meant she was fucked, something shocking happened. Suddenly something wrapped around her injured digit. It was hot and rough. It glided along the small cut, soothingly.
It took a minute for Suki to register what was happening. Naruto was sucking on her finger. She supposed that shouldn't have surprised her. Naruto's instinct was to try to help anyone in pain. But the gesture still rocked her to the core.
"She's shocked. But she is enjoying the attention anyway," Kyubbi says surprisingly smugly.
"That's a first. Suki actually wanting to be touched," Naruto replies.
Suki's eyes activate. She pulls her hand away from Naruto. She blamed the jutsu. There was no way she'd ever be that affected by someone "kissing it better," so to speak.
"Another thing to note about Uchiha's. Their eyes also change when they are aroused," Kyubbi says to Naruto.
"She's just pissed that I did it. Suki doesn't you know," Naruto replies.
"I assure you that she does indeed possess a sex drive. It's just woefully ignored," Kyubbi decides to engage in a debate with Naruto.
"Why do I feel like you are talking about me with that fox," Suki says and raises an eyebrow.
"Shit! This whole feeling each other's feelings thing is going to be more complicated than I thought," Naruto exclaims.
"Oh no reason," Naruto says sheepishly.
"Naruto, you are a horrible liar. But whatever. Tsunade the link is mentally and physically active," she sighs.
"Excellent. I do think it would be best if you both stayed in the hospital for a few days. It's important to monitor you. You can share this room," Tsunade states.
"You want us to share a room," Naruto and Suki say in disbelief.
"Your minds are now linked. Sharing a room should be easy," Tsunade says with a smirk and heads off.
"I hope we have fire and tornado insurance," Shizune says when Tsunade walks out.
"Of course we do. They might not be able to hurt each other, but destroying the hospital isn't unlikely," the Hokage says.
"You realize that this was a crazy idea and is probably going to bite us all in the ass, my lady," Shizune wonders out loud.
"It's a gamble, but one I have absolutely no hope it will pay off," Tsunade says merrily.
"And your gambles only work, if you don't think they will," Shizune says.
"Exactly. So this will work, because I think it won't," Tsunade says sagely.
"My lady, you are a genius," her assistant replies.
"Yes, I know," Tsunade smiles smugly.