Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Disguised Curses	By : Raholea Category: Naruto AU/AR > General Views: 2438 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 22
- 23
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O_O OMG, I updated in.. less than a month?? This, dear readers, is what happens when I feel particularly inspired. And... I kinda promised a friend I would finish this chapter before finishing a chapter to a Glee fic I'm working on, and she wanted both.. So I buckled down into it and actually worked. This is the end result. Typical to usual, bold type is Kyuubi talking, Italics for emphasis. Italics at the beginning of the chapter is a dream but that should be obvious as you read. Minor warnings on referenced blood, shifting, and very vague anatomy reference. Nothing raunchy... yet. ON TO THE FIC!!!

Chapter 23

He was running, the pleasure of the wind rustling his fur mixing with his paws pounding the earth. The whole valley was full of foxes, some lesser demons, some not, and he bounded around them for the sheer thrill of feeling their adoration. He had assumed his smaller form, something along the size of a large horse, as his normal body would crush the valley and its contents in moments. When his little clan was sufficiently excited and lost in their adoration, he bounded ahead, scaring up the lesser creatures so his people could hunt freely. He wandered out of the valley and hunted, seeking the deer herds that existed further out. The eagerness and thrill of stalking crawled up his spine, and he broke his cover and charged, eager for the chase. He may be fox, but there was something the wolves had down- there was a rush from the chase that could not be reproduced in the vulpine stalk and pounce. He’d snapped his jaws around a throat, claws digging at ribs and weight shoving the weight of the deer over, blood rushing over his tongue, and he clenched his teeth and ripped his head away. A hunk of flesh came loose, and he tipped his head back, letting the warm meat slide back-

Naruto was awake in an instant, shuddering with the dream he’d felt so vibrantly. It’s like he’d been in Kyuubi’s footprints for a moment, and he could still feel an odd sensation from where he’d been swallowing the mouthful of meat in the dream. He got up and headed into the bathroom, rinsing off his face and swallowing some water to remove the imagined taste from his mouth, his throat. But a couple mouthfuls led into him gulping water, his stomach suddenly feeling oddly empty. He lifted his head, looking into the mirror, his eyes slit in the blue, the star-burst slowly spreading as he watched. “Kyuubi?” he asked himself softly as he continued to study himself in the mirror. “What’s happening to me?”

“You dreamt one of my memories of a long time ago, when demons had more freedoms than now. It most likely awakened the needs you inherited from me, by having such a vivid memory of mine. Find something to fill your stomach before any of the other hungers rise. Wait too long and you’ll need fresh meat, not just any food. It only worsens from there.” He could feel the fox stirring, poking into his consciousness. “You really need to learn to satisfy yourself and your needs better. The more they are met, the more control you can maintain. That includes eating, hunting, fighting, and mating. You should really find someone...”

Naruto slammed the mental door for conversation closed and walked back into the bedroom to tear his pack open. Buried toward the bottom of the bag were ration bars, and as much as he disliked the taste, they would fill his gut and appease the hunger- at least for now. He refused to think about what Kyuubi had said about mating. He knew he had no way to satisfy that yet- he wasn’t one to casually sleep around, especially with Hinata so interested in him. It’d be like cheating- even if they weren’t officially together. He viciously bit off a piece of ration bar and paced his room. He needed to run, he could feel it building. He grabbed another two bars, stuffed them in a pocket, and slipped out the window. He tapped on the one into Sasuke’s room.

Less than a minute later bleary black eyes were peering above the sill. “Do you have to wake me up now, Naruto?”

“I need to run, to wander for a bit. I can’t sleep. Come with me?” He felt the dark eyes study him, then Sasuke was clearing his own window, shorts and a t-shirt already on. “You do know we‘re due to leave the day after tomorrow. You’re gonna owe me a nap. Let’s go run a bit.”

In moments they had taken the “high road”, the rooftops, across the village, chakra cushioning their footfalls as to not wake the inhabitants. Periodically a Suna guard would pop into view, and the boys would wave but not stop. More than an hour later, Naruto finally slowed, lightly panting. He perches on the edge of a rooftop and peers at Sasuke, studying him in the dim moonlight.

“You’re as fucked up as I am. How is it you never have control problems?” He poked pointedly at the seal on Sasuke’s shoulder. “Kyuubi keeps bitching that I need to figure out better control.”

“I learned it the hard way. I have to keep control of my emotions, they are part of the trigger to that bastard’s seal. But mine is nothing like yours. And if you remember- when I first got this I had no control at all, really.” At least he had the decency to look embarrassed. Naruto could remember very well. Sasuke had gone on a couple rampages, his worst being after he achieved the second state and thrashed Naruto in the Valley. He’d spent quite a bit of time after, learning what was going on and regaining some sense of control. But it was his own darkness he fought, not a foreign one, like Kyuubi was at some level for Naruto. “I’d deny to anyone else, but I do have some control problems, even now. Sometimes you have to give in at a time of your own choosing, or it’ll choose for you.”

Naruto sighed. It sounded similar to what Kyuubi had told him. “I doubt you have dreams of tearing apart animals with your teeth. Or feel the rush of needing to hunt and kill. It.. disturbs me, sometimes. Afterwards.”

Sasuke didn’t bother turning, but he still managed to radiate a glare with his body language. “Manda would demand a live payment for his services. Preferably human. I’ve seen what can happen to a body when it’s been ripped to shreds. And as a ninja, we all trained to stalk, hunt, and kill our targets as the situation necessitates. There is its own rush, in that. Usually adrenalin, but for some, it’s far deeper than that.” A fine shudder ran through his body. “I lost myself in the darkness, Naruto. I won’t let it happen to you over some dumb fox.”

Naruto chuckles darkly. “And it took how many tries to draw you from the edge? I’ve never forgotten how many times I came close to death because of you. And here you talk of keeping me from the edge. You’re an idiot and a bastard.” He watched the jaw clench under pale skin. “Tell me I’m wrong. ’Cause I can give you back the memories and playback of all the times my body wound up broken and bleeding after one of our fights. How you were so damned determined to let your vengeance consume you. And then you came back.” Naruto snorted. “Why the hell did you come back, Sasuke?”

Finally coal eyes turned to look at the blonde. “I came back to make sure no one used you like they used me. Yeah, I let myself be used… And in retrospect, I know I made some shitty choices. You’re the light, the hope and pride of the village, and you don’t see it. You helped, as dense as I seemed, you helped drag me back. I couldn’t let it happen to you.” He looked away, scanning across the horizon, avoiding any further revealing of his emotions and mind. “The council is corrupt, Naruto. I’ve been going back through clan records… there’s things that don’t add up. When my probation is up, I’m taking the records up with Tsunade- sama. I need to clear some things up before I make a decision to try and rebuild my clan.”

Naruto nodded. He knew there was fishy stuff that happened with the stuffy old heads that ruled the village. They’d caused him nothing but trouble growing up. “You got anyone in mind? For a wife?” He didn’t quite want to think about Hinata at that moment. He was still working with his thoughts and feelings toward her. Sasuke mumbled something and turned away, the words totally bypassing Naruto’s understanding. He grabbed Sasuke’s arm. “What?”

“I don’t know if I can have kids. Until I find that out, I won’t pick a wife.” He sighed at the very confused look on Naruto’s face. “Look, I’ll make this simple. I can have sex- I just don’t know that I am fertile. Between the curse seal and a few.. experiments, that I went through, I don’t know if I can have kids. Or if they’ll be anything close to normal.” A hand dug against the curse seal on his shoulder. “I’d hate to somehow pass this taint on. It’s my burden, and mine alone.”

He turned at a rather loud thunk, to find Naruto sitting on his ass on the rooftop, dazed. “Naruto..?”

“Kits. He said I may have kits- fox kits- instead of babies.” Wide blue-and-red eyes glowed in the moonlight. “How the hell do I explain that to Hinata? Or worse, her dad? ‘Sorry, daddy, your grand-kids aren’t going to be human at all.’ ” Whimpers slid unnoticed from his lips. “Kami… This is so fucked up…”

The pair watched the sun rise a few hours later, still lost in their little worlds where children ran around like little mutants, the village kicked them out, or worse- running from hunters determined to eradicate the spawn produced.

________

Neji grunted as he took another strike to his ribs, before planting his foot against the floor and turning, fast. The rotation kicked Kimi back a couple feet, but she’d been expecting it, resisting the incoming discharge. She had an idea of the chakra output, though she’d never had to refine her skills to the point she could use just a drop or her whole body to the degree Neji was displaying. The heightened skills he possessed gave him a few more grudging points in her opinion. He really was good at his skills. Now he’d just have to get as skilled in other areas. But after she had this down.

“Again.”

He smirked at the command and blocked her next rush, using his own physical strength to force her a step back before again spinning in place, this time full speed and maximum output of chakra. Her body was flung backwards like a rag-doll. She stayed where she was a minute, catching her breath and studying him closely. He merely smiled.

“Again.”

She came in faster this time, almost blurred, and brought her own leg in a forward arc to crack against his shin as he started his own turn. It neatly and swiftly blocked his attempt at the rotation. There were counters, and easy escapes from the situation, but she’d done well, very well, for a start. “Break time,” he said softly.

Thankfully, she nodded in agreement. Two hours of training, and she’d figured out the footsteps, the patterns, and had a concept of what to do with her chakra and the fine tuning of her skills. And she’d had such enthusiasm that he’d been reminded of Naruto multiple times, always charging in.

“You’re good. You have the skills you would need to make a great ninja, Kimi- san.” He moved to a corner of the private training room, where a packed lunch was waiting. “You won’t need too much training, I think. You just need to focus what you have now.” And practice, he added mentally. But she knew that, and he wouldn’t risk insulting her over something so trivial. At least not right now.

“And you?” She sat down cross-legged on the floor. “Are you ready to face yourself in all its forms?” She pulled out a sandwich and began eating, studying him again. He looked.. uncomfortable still.

“Will I lose control? Whatever you have planned...?” He was firmly studying the bread in his hands. Kimi sighed.

“Will you shift? Most likely. Will you run around trying to escape? Hopefully not. And should something happen, your cousin is on standby. I know that you can trust her while you are.. unaware of your surroundings. Being consciously, humanly aware of your state while in your animal form is one of the first steps you need to figure out. If your human mind does not achieve a constant, steady presence even after the shift, then you default to your animal instincts. And that is what will ultimately end your life in an instant.” She placed a taloned finger under his chin and lifted his face to look directly at her. “Have you at least located your other self while meditating?”

“Yes. I think. Not until after that session with Naruto, and I have been careful to wait until I get home before investigating further.” He paused at her frustrated look. “But, it’s a dark shape on the water, and it looks vaguely like a bird. I’m confident it’s my swan.”

“Do you remember what it felt like, that night? Wrapping your arms around the swan body while we were in that jutsu?”

Neji nodded. He remembered- if there was anything like hugging a living, squirming, firm pillow, that was it. But in light of all that had been happening, he’d felt… peaceful. His touch had soothed his swan, but being in contact with the swan had calmed him. It was an odd paradox when he thought about what the swan meant to him- a loss of control, a need to flee, a feeling of weakness. He slowly explained this to Kimi. “Why such differences?”

“Perception versus reality, at least in part. You perceive the swan as being weak, so very different from yourself. But since it is a true part of you, keeping contact with it when in such unusual conditions as that jutsu helped keep you balanced. It’s an unusual yin-yang of being a shifter. Things you may not expect to be a bonus suddenly can be lifesaving, and the reverse is true. You grew up with certain perceptions and expectations and now you will have to change some of them to accommodate this difference. And you will have to learn to listen to your instincts. Not always follow them- but learn to understand what the urge is and why. Sometimes the flight or fight response may get muddled, or your body may crave the release and it will be a bad time. So you learn to understand what your body, mind, and thoughts are leading you toward before you are forced to go there.”

“So.. cohesive control?” Neji shrugged. “It can’t be that difficult.”

Kimi smirked, and sat back to enjoy her lunch as Neji closed his eyes and delved deep into his mind and psyche, searching for that embodiment of his other self. Five minutes in, his breathing settled out, fifteen minutes and he was at such a shallow breath pattern he was barely breathing at all. He stayed in the zone for several minutes as she watched, both of them completely still now, until finally she noticed a change. His skin was starting to darken and spread, feathers piercing through as his body distorted and shrunk. It was a disturbing change, in some ways, and if she hadn’t seen so many of these in her life Kimi may have been repulsed. But instead she watched, fascinated, as the body lost the boy and became the bird. His feathers, so rich and pure a black, were unlike the hawk and falcon feathers in her clan. His wings spread wide and flapped briefly when everything seemed finished, and then he fluffed out, settled everything into place. And simply stood there, looking at the room and taking a wary waddling step away from the pile of material that had been his clothes. Hmm. She should have told him to strip first…

“Neji- san? You alert?” She took a cautious step forward. “If you can understand me, try taking a couple steps my way.” The swan turned her way, but instead of the welcome she hoped for, it opened its wings wide and made a horrible hissing sound. Back off. Now. She beat it, knowing the threat stance very well, backing away until the swan settled down. She had no desire to get beaten up by a swan, or start something that would cause his instincts to hate or fear her. Her shifting would likely induce a fear response he didn’t need added to the rest of his problems.

A solid hour passed before the distortion began again, but this time it was smoother, the feathers falling away like black rain as his body grew into its proper proportions. He knelt on the floor for a long minute, sorting himself out, when she tossed his pants at him. “Get dressed, Hyuga- san.” She pointedly looked away while he fumbled into his clothes, then sat, fine shivers running along his arms.

“So can you tell me what triggered the shift?” She was really looking for one thing- accidental, or deliberate.

“I’m not quite sure. One minute, I was standing at the edge of the pond, in my mental landscape, and what was very clearly the swan was moving toward me. Then, I was reaching for it, hoping to see if it was as soft as I remembered, and the air- it’s like it started raining black feathers. A black snowstorm of feathers. When it finally cleared I was running my hand along its wings… And then I pulled out of meditation. I was human when I pulled out, but my body’s sore. It’s always somewhat sore afterward, though the first few times I can remember consciously changing, it hurt. I’ve had a lot of things happen in my life, and plenty worse than this, but not much that lingers like this without my body needing to be patched up after.”

Kimi chuckled lightly. “Shifting can be painful, especially to those not used to their body being essentially torn down on a molecular level and reassembled. The pain is worse if you’re injured, but the perk is, shifting can also help heal serious wounds, slow or even stop bleeding, mend broken bones. The clan elders couldn’t explain to me why, they told me to accept it as a part of my life and move on.” She sat across from him and shoved a piece of bread under his nose. “Eat, restore your strength. I’d call this shift more of an accident, because you weren’t intending to shift- but you had enough focus on the swan that your body interpreted that as its necessary action. Keep that in mind.”

Neji merely sat, silent, eating the rest of his lunch and pondering the day’s events. He would wait to try again until after they made it home. Leaving tomorrow, they should be home for the weekend. He’d start his heavy training the beginning of the week, leaving the weekend free to get Kimi settled in. Which reminds him… he was going to have to introduce Kimi to his uncle and find quarters at the house. He resisted rolling his eyes at the thought that it sounded like he was bringing a girlfriend home.

Kimi? Girlfriend? Not a chance.

He silently snorted to himself and took his mind to other things.

_______

Naruto triple-checked his bag for the last time of the night. He had everything ready to leave first thing in the morning tomorrow, now he just needed to get some sleep. But before he crashed for the night he planned on picking on a certain tenant of his. He lounged back on the bed, head propped by pillows as he stared at the ceiling. He thought of where he wanted to go and slid his eyes shut.

As usual, it took near no time to find himself before the fox’s sealed doors. There was a soft trickle of water at his feet, but he knew from experience he wouldn’t actually feel like he’d get soaked. Odd, but true. Gone were the days where he felt like he’d drown under the imagery that showed his channeling of Kyuubi’s power. He leaned against the wall and tapped the bars. “What are you up to, you old fox?”

“Doing you a damned favor, you whelp.” Glittering crimson eyes opened in the dark recesses of the cave like area that created Kyuubi’s cage, but the fox didn’t approach. “You freaked so bad over my teasing earlier that I thought I’d do something for you for once, without being asked. Unless you really would like to have fox kits on your options of creating offspring.”

Naruto shuddered. The ideas of putting Hinata through that still ate at his mind. “No. Kami no.”

He could feel Kyuubi’s gaze intensify. “Why do not want to continue your line? You will be kitsune, fox demon, like me, only hanyou. It is likely you won’t be able to assume the full fox form, but that doesn’t change instincts. You will want to pass on the genes. You should want that anyway.”

“I want children, Kyuubi. I want a family. But I doubt it’s fair or pleasing to ask of my future wife to birth little balls of fur. It’s just wrong, Kyuubi, for a human to ask that of another human.” He sat in the trickle at his feet and sighed. “It’s just not right, and I won’t do it. Especially if it’s Hinata.”

A tail slipped through the bars and Naruto stroked it. “You wouldn’t have pure fox kits, Naruto. They’d be like you, mixed. I hardly think that is worse than some of the clans. The hive-users, for example. I don’t understand how a human would let their body host pests.”

Naruto chuckled. He’d always thought the Aburame clan was a little weird due to that fact, but he’d come to have his own share of respect for the bug users. “What do you mean, mixed like me?” He asked, far more seriously.

“You think your eyes and claws would be the only changes, in this transformation? You know there is more coming, kit. Summon a clone, and I can show you what you will likely look like.”

Curious, Naruto focused, and a clone appeared before him. In his mind, he didn’t need the chakra, it was merely imagining it into existence. He watched as a trickle of crimson chakra poured over the clone. “So what are you trying to do, Kyuubi? To my body, about kits and children and stuff.”

“Merely seeing if I can keep the contamination for that area of your body down. It’s not too late for me to stop, you know. Your future whelps have as fair a chance to come out normal as they will to have ears and a tail. But there’s a very, very slim chance you will ever have a true fox kit. A hanyou breeding with a human should produce nothing more than hybrids, half breeds or less. You really don’t have much to fear.”

“I always have things to fear, Kyuubi. You know this better than most. But… I suppose what you’re saying is not the worst that can happen. And you’re right, an odd ear or tail will not go unnoticed, but it’s nothing like if there were true foxes. I don’t think the village could overlook that. I refuse to give the village a reason to hurt, hunt, or condemn my future family.” His words disrupted with a gasp as the bubbling chakra fell away, joining back into the trickle at his feet. His clone had undergone changes, very obvious changes. Two thoughts flitted across his mind.

“They’re going to kill me.”

And an instant later…

“There’s no way Hinata is going to accept that.”

He stared at the hybrid body in something akin to horror and fascination. There was a tail peeking out from behind the clone’s body, and ears perked out of the mop of blond hair on top. That was, well, reasonable, considering the claws that had already appeared. It was the rest of the body- which Kyuubi has managed to divest of clothing in his ‘editing’ process, that made Naruto numb with shock. Hair, well, more like a fine fur, the rich red of Kyuubi’s fur, covered his hips down to his toes, which were sitting at an odd angle from the way his clone stood on the balls of his feet. The heel never touched the floor, but rose up in a slight curve that no longer resembled a human foot. It was nearly, in fact, a standing crouch, and it was only when Naruto realized that that he was able to see that the limbs themselves were just a bit longer, overall, than his own leg length. The fur around his hips faded out around his groin, and luckily, his anatomy there didn’t look changed from how he knew it, and above his hips was relatively fur-less. The muscle definition across his chest and arms seemed more pronounced, but leaner, lighter, somehow, which Naruto couldn’t quite explain how that was possible. And then.. his face. The eyes were still the same, but the jaws, the teeth… they were longer. It wasn’t a true muzzle, but there was definitely some odd shaping to it that screamed ‘I’m not human!’ to the casual glance. And.. Naruto got up and brushed his hand across his clone’s face. The whisker-marks had become real hair.

“Kyuubi. Stop whatever you’re doing at the moment.” He waited until the trickle around his feet ceased, and then turned his shocked, haunted eyes to stare at the demon fox. “The village can put up with my kids looking like Inuzuka mutts. But how, in Kami’s name, do I make it to the end of this, bonding, this fusion, without people trying to kill me for turning up like a freak??”

“What is it with you humans and hiding your true natures? It’s what turns you against each other, all the secrets and charades. It’s pathetic.” He sneered down at the human on the other side of his prison gate.

Naruto returned the glare with as much force as he could muster. It felt more tired than angry, but then, he had never been as good with the glare as Sasuke was. The raven could freeze a raging river in summer with one of his looks. “I don’t know what you demons do, but I know you are about as tricky, manipulative, and twisted as any human I’ve ever known. More so, really. Don’t preach at me, Kyuubi. I’ll reveal the truth to everyone eventually, but when I choose to. Which means I have to conceal the changes as they come, and I know a mere illusion will not mask this. I tried, when my eyes first changed. I’m sure you remember what happened with that joke of an attempt. Now how do I keep them from trying to assassinate me because I’m turning into you.”

“Human jutsu will never hide demon traits. It’s never strong enough to illusion our true selves from the mortals. However, there is an illusion I can teach you that will work effectively, against your friends, your enemies, and lesser demons. I would not hide what people already know- your eyes, your hands. But once cast, you can conceal anything else, any changes, your clothes, your tails. And I can guarantee you will have more than one. You will have to be careful not to hit people with them, however. Getting hit by unseen limbs would be... disturbing, for most of your kind. Amusing for me, but as you just said, I’m ‘twisted’.”

Naruto felt a slight chuckle bubble up, but he was too tired and shocked to enjoy the thought. “Alright you beast, let’s get this finished. We head back for home in the morning.”

“You’ll learn tonight, and execute this on the trip. By the time you get to Konoha it should stabilize enough that when the changes do continue, they will not be obvious. And remember, Naruto- that’s just an idea of your likely appearance. There are always changes that like to surprise situations like these.”

_____

My utmost thanks to AINI, LEEANNA, DINA, for the input, And FEION for the support. YOU LADIES ROCK MY WORLD. If not for you and random inspiration, this chapter wouldn't have gotten done so fast. and thanks to my reviewers, Sneakyfox is one of my most loyal reviewers that I DON'T talk to on a nearly every day basis. the rest of you who have reviewed the last few chapters, thanks so very much. I write for myself, but I crave the input. Seriously. It's why I post. That, and this stuff shouldn't hide in the shadows. Ideas should be shared. And on that note, I'll catch ya all again! It'll prolly be a longer break this time, you've been warned. BTW, D.C. will soon be maturing. For those of you who don't get it- that means soon, we'll get to the reasons it's rated for adult + as it is. The previously referenced/ promised smut, amongst other things, won't be too much longer. I will throw up warnings (but not pairings) as the new stuff occurs. Thanks and I hope for the continued support I have seen thus far. Until next time.
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Disguised Curses