Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Of Demon Bondage ❯ Problems ( Chapter 1 )

Title: Of Demon Bondage (1/3)

Chapter One: Problems

Disclaimers: I don't own Naruto. This is for fun, and not profit.

Dedications: For Kyuubi-sama, and for people who wanted Naruto inside, not necessarily on top. Ah, yes, Naru-seme. *worship*

[Tsunade]

 

The blond scowled at the scroll she was reading, red-lacquered nails lightly scratching the table as she read. The garish illustrations made her head ache. She sighed, and tossed the now furled document to a box by her feet where it landed on top of several of today's discards.

 

“No luck as usual, I take it,” a too-amused voice said from outside the window.

 

The Godaime didn't even bother to glare at the newly-arrived ninja as he hopped into the room. “You were supposed to report to me yesterday, Jiraiya.” She reached for a new scroll to peruse. “Well?”

 

“Hmm, I didn't think you'd miss me overmuch.” He shrugged, grinning insolently. “Some other things came up. Really.”

 

The blond raised her hand abruptly. The white-haired man only shrugged again, watching her out of the corner of his eye as he gazed out of the window. They have been at this for a week. The box by the Godaime's feet were the fifth collection of casualties - worthless files - from the library.

 

"... So that's it, hmmm? Omoshiroi," she murmured as she ponderously tapped her fingers along the edge of an ornate sketch on the scroll she was reading. ”This would explain it nicely, I think.”

 

“You've actually found something worthwhile in the archives?” A note of surprise shaded the hermit's voice as he looked at the faintly triumphant Fifth Hokage,. “Something more substantial than the usual superstitious crap? Don't tell me that they have an account of a trial or whatever …”

 

"Jiji, you're old, not stupid, so stop acting. Here.” She thrust the document under his nose, and was awarded with a satisfying jaw-drop. “Flies may be a good source of protein, but I didn't know you were that far into your association with toads.” She smiled to take away the sting of her words, but her expression was serious in a flash. “This could be the biggest problem we'd have since Orochimaru.” Was there really a time when the snake manipulator was their friend? It made her feel her years, suddenly. ”Ne, Jiraiya?"

 

“Hmm.” The Frog Hermit, mouth firmly shut, shrugged, with an irritatingly complacent smile, his calm - along with his usual blitheness - intact. "Orochimaru's work is being dealt with, and is contained, for the time being. The Uchiha protégé is back with us, and is willing to calmly wait for a chance for revenge, which is good, in a sense. Akatsuki, as of now, is scattered, and is a long way from their former strength. We could concentrate on this problem, at least."

 

True. But if my conjectures are accurate, then this is infinitely more permanent and potentially more dangerous than Orochimaru and the Akatsuki both. If only we can talk to him/her directly …

 

The door slammed open, and two Jounin brought in more scrolls for her scrutiny. Most of them were hearsays and bullshit, true, but about one in fifty yields a gem, a tiny sparkling diamond of precious information, on the whole worth the effort. Take for example the document she had been looking at.

 

“Do you have any other orders, Godaime-sama?” Kotetsu asked, warning Izumo not to speak with a glance.

 

“I need some …” Realizing that she probably has all the documents in the official library pertaining to the subject cluttering the room, she shook her head, blond pigtails swaying. “Thank you. You may now return to your posts.”

 

The two saluted crisply, and disappeared with a cloud of smoke.

 

She has access to all the scrolls in Konoha, and none of them truly answered her questions. What was the use of her being the Hokage when she can't even protect the village from one boy? Tsunade picked up a scroll, but she only toyed with the tassels that kept it furled, brown eyes far away and thoughtful. “Have you tried asking her? Or him?” The thought that it could be both was disturbing her senses, but she had long since associated Kyuubi with the fox-spirits of local legends - therefore, a she.

 

“I doubt that even Gamabunta can talk to the Ninetails without putting the kid in a trance, and who knows what could happen, then.” His brows knitted in a frown. “I could talk to the brat, though; from what I know, s/he talks to him, but this is a delicate matter. Ah, well, maybe twenty bowls of ramen would be a good enough incentive.” Jiraiya raised his eyebrows provocatively. “But I'm not working for you for free! I'll do it if you promise - on your honor! - that I'll have a pick of any three girls in the Lotus Quarter - the best ones! - and you shoulder the tab.”

 

Ignoring the jibe, she fixed him with a look, laden with all the formality and authority of her position. “Gama Sennin Jiraiya, please gather the information Konoha needs to the best of your abilities.” It was no time to be Tsunade, the always-drunk Herculean gambler, the female Sannin, the Frog Hermit's former teammate.

 

Jiraiya understood, and saluted respectfully. “As you command, Godaime Hokage-sama.” He cracked a grin. “I don't have any money, though!” He disappeared with a puff of smoke.

 

Tsunade sighed, making a mental note of paying Ichiraku for the `incentive', and opened the scroll she was holding. She was about to put it in the `discard pile' of worthless gossip and embellished folktales, when an illustration caught her eye. She placed the two documents side by side. On her right, the first scroll depicted a gruesome scene of a demon-fox lady seducing a mortal - consuming his soul and feeding on his body. Beside it, another demon-fox lady, was portrayed with her lover, but this time, she was repudiated by her mortal mate before he was consumed; she was enacting her vengeance on their village, and flames surrounded them.

 

Naruto …

[Kyuubi]

 

I couldn't help but feel sorry for my container.

 

Shocking as it may sound, it's true. By how else did a human differ from our kind other than some genetic technicalities and chakra abilities? A demon has feelings and emotions, not to mention intellect. And though guilt was a foreign sentiment, we demons understood it on a technical level, for we used it as a weapon. And now that I share a mortal body, I continuously wound myself with my own doing. That was the sad fate of our kind, tied to the whims of humanity.

 

My mortal vessel had just recently turned sixteen - and as much as a try to keep myself, my being, separate from his, I couldn't keep from fusing with him, finding the frenzied state of his changing body a perfect opportunity for the part of myself I couldn't control to impose my wants and needs on him.

 

And it has been a very, very long time since I have indulged in the pleasures of the flesh.

 

I wasn't sure if it were a flaw in the seal - but I could keep the hunger inside me quiet, for a certain amount of time. During the week of the full moon, though, despite of my efforts to control and withdraw, my lusts pass from my subconscious through my cage, past the gates and out to his body, transferring my intent like a potent poison. It usually leaves him in a sorry state the rest of the month.

 

It's not because my tastes had occasionally led him to the darker parts of the village, where pleasure was pain's equivalent; where, in the cruel silence of the dimly-lit alleys, the men and women who renounced my container for what was locked inside him used my lusts as a punishment, another way of showing him how much he was worth to them. Here, where he had been before, as a naïve child, prosecuted for housing a demon in his body.

 

He, who wanted nothing else than to be the Hokage, to serve and protect the village that ostracized him!

 

Naruto, Naruto, Naruto, my sweet and innocent cub. These people don't deserve you in the very least. And if it weren't for you, I'd have sent them to hell with my bare hands - paws, as the case may be.

 

No, it wasn't that. He even seemed to prefer it that way, for those who hated him to use him - not caring if they saw him as trash no matter what he did - as if that would be a way for them to accept him, as if that would be a way for them to see that he was not the monster they thought - knew! - him to be.

 

Naruto, Naruto, Naruto, my gentle and suffering kit. If I only had an ignoble dastard of a container, then I wouldn't be beleaguered by shame for something as natural as my monthly revelries. It's my fault that you were whoring yourself to the people who hate you, to the same kind of people who made you feel hell on earth.

 

When he was a kid, Naruto was used as a punching bag by several of the more sinister Konoha villagers - a toy passed around, enjoyed and punished, by the virtue of being my vessel. He knew nothing but pain, fear, and worthlessness in their crude hands - until the Sandaime found out. They disappeared, true, but new ones took their place, and though I wish, I couldn't tell the Godaime - Naruto won't let me. And to think that he'd come back to them - or to their sort, at least, it was near enough - to people like them, on my account, and feel it as ecstasy! The cruel assholes, the monsters; who was the demon? They, who did it to him? I, who let it happen, watching behind his eyes quivering with righteous wrath? Or Naruto himself, who hid his bruises behind feigned clumsiness, who presented a happy-go-lucky and uncaring public image because he felt that it was his duty to keep silent about it?

 

He turned sixteen - he and I both had no choice. I am a demon, nothing could change that, and I had my needs. He didn't want me fucking with his friends, to use such a crude term for it. If it were only that simple, though: I want a life-mate - which demon wasn't in need of one? But I could make do; if there wasn't any to have, I'd settle for a rough tumble or five, with as many partners as possible.

 

To protect his friends, he shared his pleasures to people of his worst nightmares. It's not surprising, this guilt that I feel.

 

As it went, my kit was worried that I'd tire of my dalliances with the dregs of Konoha's society, and that I'd turn my attentions to his friends instead. He has scruples with casual sex between his friends, for fear that they might develop a relationship with him - and they would leave him, once they knew who shared his body, once they learned about me.

 

If the others only knew what you're going through, I'm sure at least some of them would understand … but you wouldn't let them know - building the layers and layers of laughter and foolishness so that they wouldn't have a clue - and I couldn't tell them. So the farce continued.

 

It was something that I understand at a logical level, this idiocy of hiding from the people he didn't want to lose, but not in any way else. He was right, though, partly. I was fed up with how those crappy people my kit has to fuck with every month. I'm tired of him being treated like dirt by people who weren't even fit to lick his sandals - damn them to the lowest pits of hell. I have half a mind to bare my soul to the people who deemed him worthy of their companionship, although, granted, they don't know about me. Who better to share love with, other than his friends?

 

Kit. It's easier for me to speak to him directly in his sleep; he usually lacked the concentration needed to talk to me awake. I manifested in my demi-human form - my mother form, if you will. And even though I can interact with him freely, teach him techniques, among other things, I would always be behind the bars, the barrier built in his being. Kit. Wake up. We need to talk.

 

Kyuubi-san? he answered. In a moment, he was in front of me, wearing his uniform of black shirt and orange pants, but without his sandals. Is there something wrong?

 

Direct to the point was best. When you wake up, there are only three days before the full moon. The cycle was about to start.

 

I know that this week wouldn't be pleasant for you. What an understatement.

 

Don't mind me, Kyuubi-san! I'll live through it - as always.

 

And if this continues, I wouldn't be able to live with the guilt! Damn brat. Damn villagers. Damn lusts. If only I were free to look among his friends … If you're having difficulties, since I have to share the experience with you … You could try telling your sensei, or the Frog Hermit and maybe they'd be able to find a way for me to do it alone -

 

No! The vehemence of it struck me. What if there's nothing they could do? What if the only way out of it was to give you up to a new container? I don't them to suffer as I did … and I don't want to lose you either!

 

Thank you, Naruto. The depth of his emotions touched me, the cold-hearted demon fox - the reason and source of his emotional scars - whom he treated as his parent. Very well then. Chibi … would you be fine if I told you that I wanted to pass the week - my beastly revelries - with one or more of your friends? I gave him a roguish smile.

 

He laughed weakly at that. I knew that it was I had supplied him of one of his worse fears. Maybe you'd be spending the week alone, Kyuubi-san.

 

I would have made a lewd comment were he less nervous, so I only said a prim, We'll see. Nonsense, of course - I would make sure that I would catch my mate within the week. But I didn't tell him so; instead I bid him back to sleep.

 

I have his permission. If I were the type, I would have jumped for joy. As it was, I settled for a very contented growl.

 

Life-mating was the ultimate sacrifice demons could commit. We did not bond easily - usually, our carnal nature would call for several partners - because a life-mate wasn't just a fuck, wasn't just a lover, wasn't just a companion. A demon binding his/her life - body and soul both - to another's, to share his/her mate's fate; withstanding even the ire of the gods just to be with him/her …

 

I had to be careful, because this bond could control me. If, after mating, my chosen one would renounce me - I would suffer through it, loving my mate still. There would come a point that I would rather hazard the next life than feel the sorrow of having given all and found wanting.

 

I was pretty certain, though, that the one I - and my brat, though subconsciously - was searching for was among his friends.

 

Tomorrow.

[Iruka]

 

“Ne, Kakashi,” the brunette started to say as he poured his companion a cup of tea. “Have you noticed anything … weird … with Naruto lately?”

 

The Jounin's usual facemask was lowered, so his smile was visible. “You know that Naruto's always weird, koi.” He ladled a generous helping of honey in his cup. “What particular case of it are you referring to, hmm?”

 

Iruka shrugged, staring at his cup, swirling its contents. “It's just that … I know he's been different since … well, and he is growing up … but recently …” He took Kakashi's offered hand and twined their fingers. “I don't know. It seemed that ever since he turned sixteen, there had been rumors of …” he trailed off. His lover was wearing his innocent look, and Kakashi NEVER looked that innocent, which would mean that - “Kakashi! You already know about this!”

 

The copy-nin shot him an apologetic smile. “Gomen ne, anata. I was going to tell you about that particular mission Godaime-sama assigned me this morning, but …” his eyebrows rose, and Iruka fought a failing battle of not blushing. Yes; a while ago, they were too busy enjoying each other's company to even think, much less talk about such things as missions and stuff.

 

“You could have told me first thing …” the brunette was still flushed; he tightened his grip on his lover's hand. “Just tell me already!!!”

 

“Ne, koi, do you have any idea how cute you look when you're blushing?” He held his hands up when he got walloped on the head with a warm tea cozy. “Okay, fine, ow, I'm telling, I'm telling! The Godaime's not sure, but she thinks - actually, she knows - that demons are sexually active creatures, and well, now that Naruto's well into puberty …”

 

“Nan da tte?!” the Chuunin's eyes almost bugged out of his head.

 

“I know. And from what I gather, most of the rumors are true.” Kakashi shrugged. “The situation is S-level.”

 

“That dangerous?” Iruka gasped, twisting the tea cozy in his other hand. “Does the Kyuubi want to create a harem? Or was it something else?” He hit his forehead with his palm. “Life-bonding.” His eyes widened with alarm. “But the Ninetails is in Naruto!”

 

The Jounin nodded. “Just think of the implications. A lifebond. At the very least, do you think the villagers wouldn't go overboard if the Kyuubi establishes a harem?”

 

The Chuunin sighed in reply, and took a sip of tea, spat it out when he realized he was drinking from his lover's cup - it was too sweet - when a particularly brilliant idea manifested. “Ne, Kakashi. Does anyone know anything AT ALL about demon bondage?”

 

“Demon bondage, hmm?” The silver-haired Jounin rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I think -”

 

When he figured out that his perverted boyfriend might be reading his words differently, he blushed profusely, for the nth time that morning. And it was barely brunch yet. “Not that kind of bondage! I was talking about the life-bond!”

 

Kakashi blinked at Iruka. “Yeah, I know. What kind of bondage did you think was I thinking about?” At which, the Chuunin blushed an even deeper red. Kakashi held up his hands. “Well … actually, that's what the Hokage wanted to know. Of course, popular folklore has it that the fox demon will lash out if she gets turned down by her prospective mate, but beyond that …”

 

“We know next to nothing.” Iruka frowned, tapping his lips for a moment, and after a while his expression lit up. “Ah! But won't the ANBU files contain something about cases like that? Or maybe other civilian files?”

 

“Hai …” Kakashi said slowly, “but I'm pretty sure the Hokage has already looked those over. She has access to everything, after all.” He raised his eyebrows. “Iruka …?”

 

“Answer this first.” He held up a finger. “Am I allowed to join you in this mission?”

 

“Of course! That was the second reason why I was here after the Godaime talked to me about it.”

 

And of course, if he thought about the first reason, he would probably blush AGAIN, so he didn't. “Very good.” The brunette nodded in satisfaction. “Now, into the bathroom.”

 

“Eh?” Question marks appeared around Kakashi's head. “What about the ANBU files, anata?”

 

”The Hokage doesn't have all of them!” Iruka enthused as he literally dragged the Jounin to the shower. “Come on, Kakashi, we have to do research, please hurry? Naruto's life is at stake here.”

 

“Where?” he managed to choke out, before getting hit by a jet of cold water. “Iruka, honey, darling, my love, I can't take a bath in cold water!!!” he yelped. Kakashi had a very glum feeling that his beloved dolphin was doing this so he couldn't stay overlong and play. And he was succeeding in keeping his lover's hands to himself. He was seriously considering using his ninja skills despite of his promise …

 

“Don't be such a baby, anata,” he cooed, in a very good humor as he joined his lover under the spray. “Cold water won't kill you.”

 

“Yes it would! Where are we going?” he mumbled petulantly, deciding that even if Iruka won this round, he'd claim forfeit later that night. He could already think of many delicious ways - the Icha Icha series was a very good source.

 

“To the prominent Clans, of course. They have the biggest libraries in Konoha, after the official Library of the Hokage.” Iruka smiled sweetly at Kakashi's thoughtful expression. “So, with which Clan should we start? The Uchiha, the Hyuuga? What about the Nara? The Akimichi?”

 

Kakashi nodded as he stepped out of the shower, thoroughly chilled but focused on the pending mission. He got to the towels first, vowing that later, he would exact a most delightful vengeance. “Hmmm, I think we better start with the Inuzuka Clan.”

 

“Inuzuka?” Iruka frowned musingly, unaware of the hungry look in the Jounin's eye. “Why not?”

 

 

[Neji]

 

Furling the scroll shut, the Byakugan user placed the material on the low table beside him. It was still not enough. The Hyuuga Clan was one of the most powerful Clans in the whole country, yet there was NOTHING - not even one scrap of information! - in the libraries, but the most useless rubbish.

 

Neji sighed. Well, there was nothing he could do about it - after all, he was only from the branch family, and he wasn't the Protector, yet, not until he reaches his majority three years from now.

 

Who was he trying to kid, anyway? The truth was, he was only chewing himself out because he couldn't directly confront Naruto with what he saw a few weeks ago.

 

The image was still vivid in his memory every time he closed his eyes.

 

He had no problems with keeping silent or masking his chakra signature, but there was something in the way that Naruto moved tonight that made him extra careful. If it weren't for the bloodstains he saw in the other boy's clothing and the almost feral look in his eyes, Neji wouldn't be out in the training grounds tonight.

 

He decided to risk using the Byakugan - it would cover that much distance, and, at least he would have an excuse if he used it here instead of anywhere else.

 

What he saw floored him.

 

Whom he could only presume was Naruto by his chakra signature was bathed in an unceasing flow of strange red chakra. There were others with him - a man and a woman - and they were …

 

Neji blushed, and cursed himself for blushing as he banished the memory to the dark recesses of his mind. There was nothing unusual in what Naruto and those two others were doing - though, there was, of course, the issue of Naruto being a minor. And if they were into sadomasochism, well, whatever made their boats float, right? As long as it was consensual - and from what he could gather, it WAS, very much so - who was to care?

 

As a matter of fact, Neji did. That was why he knew that it had been going for a while - sometime since the blonde's sixteenth birthday - and that it always occurred during the week of the full moon. There were times when there was as many as four of them, but mostly it was two or three, mainly men, and it involved blood and sex, with no artistry whatsoever, and, he suspected, no love either.

 

A part of him wanted to stop watching Naruto's monthly ventures - notwithstanding the voyeur in him - but there was always the question of his friend's choice of companions. Why did he have to gallivant with the worst sort? If he only wanted fleshly pleasures … there must be something more to this. His concern for his friend overrode his moral compunctions. He would watch over him again this week, unless he might be proven right…

 

A thought echoed in his mind, frightening in its logic, darkly seductive in a way his mind refused to process.

 

Naruto is an able ninja. He could easily be Jounin, or ANBU level. It was a wonder he didn't discover I was watching unless …

 

He wanted to be caught.

 

He wanted me to see.

 

The memory of the blonde's face slack with abandon filled his mind suddenly.

 

Neji blinked, shaking his head. Ridiculous, the idiot mind.

 

He stood up, needing to feel the sunlight kissing his skin. It wasn't to banish the images - he had also seen Naruto gallivanting in broad daylight - but was to see something else other than the trappings of his room. Being alone in the dark was dangerous.

 

Neji stepped out of the room. “You honor the Hyuuga Clan with your visit, Jiraiya-sama.” He watched the startled flight of the birds before turning to the Sannin and bowing. “It must be about Naruto or the Kyuubi, if I'm not mistaken. Perhaps both?”

 

“Your eyes are as sharp as I thought they were, Hyuuga-san.” The Frog Hermit smiled. “When do you plan to tell Tsunade what you know?”

 

He shrugged. “It was a private affair, I thought; personal.” It was a fortunate thing that he was in his training clothes - he didn't have to change out of them, unlike if he were wearing a yukata, which he usually did when at home. He stepped off the tatami and put on his sandals. “I should have realized it had something to do with the Kyuubi. May I see the Hokage now?”

 

The old man's face, shuttered, stared at him silently for a few moments, before he finally nodded. “Let's go.”

[Tsunade]

 

“He's been like that since a few months ago, but only for a short while,” Inuzuka Hana told the Godaime as she prodded at her brother's sleeping form on the examination table. “When I ask him what the problem is, he only says, I smell … something.” She frowned. “So it was with Akamaru, also.”

 

The blonde nodded. “What about you? Did you smell the scent, as well?”

 

“Pheromones.” She shrugged. “I smell them all the time. I've never encountered something so … potent … but that was about two to three months ago.” She touched the red mark on his cheek. “I don't know. They weren't supposed to affect him this strongly.”

 

“Ah.” Tsunade wanted to kick herself at that, it sounded so inadequate. “Is it possible to talk to him?” She raised an eyebrow at the amount of chakra expended to keep Kiba sedated. A little more and he would be in a coma. “Does he usually become that violent?”

 

“Only during his funks,” she answered. “That was understandable, but my brother is strong, and … well …” She tensed when Tsunade undid the sleeping jutsu she had performed. This could get ugly.

 

Even before he opened his eyes, Kiba's nose twitched. He sniffed. Sniffed, and sighed. He growled deep in his throat. He's pleased, Hana noted distantly, that's a first.

 

“The female was here,” Kiba murmured appreciatively, taking another whiff of the pheromone that made him so high. He turned over, lying on his stomach, pressing his cheek against the cold metal. “She wants to have pups.” He grinned wide. “I'll oblige her, then!”

 

Tsunade snapped her fingers, a sound like lightning crackling. Uncomprehending brown eyes stared at the Godaime. “Kiba,” she said softly, “where does the scent come from? How old is it?”

 

Hana only shook her head, knowing how useless the questions are, but she was startled when she heard her brother answer vehemently.

 

“The female is mine!” Kiba growled. “I'll find her whatever you do! I'll give her pups!”

 

“Of course.” Tsunade winced mentally, but she tried her utmost not to show it. “I'll help you find her, as long as you tell me where the scent comes from, and how old it is.”

 

Kiba still had a distrusting look on his face, but he answered grudgingly. “She was here, a few hours ago! Don't keep me away from her! She wants pups; I'll seed her, I'll give her a dozen -!” He lay still, unconscious, when the Godaime placed a weaker sleeping jutsu on him. Hana waited anxiously as she talked to an ANBU outside the room.

 

“Call Jiraiya and Kakashi,” she ordered. “I'll meet them in my office.” She turned to the worried kunoichi in the room. “Hana-san. Take Kiba home and stay with him. You're going to keep him sedated until further notice.”

 

She nodded. That was all the explanation she was going to get, at least, for now. She picked her brother up, his head lolling, and walked out of the room.

 

Only when she was back in her room did Tsunade give in to her weakness, collapsing on the chair. She put her head in her hands, and let loose a shuddering breath.

 

She was the only one who used that examination room. And there was only one patient before Kiba was brought in for her inspection.

 

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

 

Kyuubi wants kits.

[Author's Notes]

 

Omoshiroi - Interesting

Jiji - Old man

Chibi - (lit) Small

Ne - Hey/Right

Koi - Love

Mou - an indignant interjection (doesn't really translate)

Gomen - incomplete form of Gomen nasai, an apology

Anata - (in this context) Darling

Nan da tte?! - What did you say?!