The Contract

Chapter 40

By the time Jiraiya and Erza got up two hours later, they were treated to the sight of a thoroughly embarrassed Mirajane sitting on the foyer just beyond the living room being waited upon hand and foot by the orange whirlwind of action that was Naruto, all under the amused eyes of their host and a dark haired man, both of whom were enjoying a steaming mug of tea at the dinner table.

It didn't take Erza ten seconds to figure out what was going on, having already been told by her best friend but Jiraiya was still out of the loop, a status the Spymaster absolutely detested.

He was an easygoing man, though, so rather than do anything drastic, the Toad Sage simply let loose a loud yawn that was sure to get the kid's attention. "Alright, alright; who let my idiot godson into the sugar jar, so goddamn early? I mean, I've barely been up five minutes and my head's already-"

"I'm gonna be a dad!"

The exclaimed yell was so loud that it almost felt like a wall of sound had blasted out of the kitchen, much to Mira's growing embarrassment. A few seconds later, the blond raced out of the kitchen and dashed toward the foyer with what looked like towels draped over an arm only to be snatched out of the air with an almost cartoonish 'YOINK!' by his befuddled godfather. "You're gonna be a what now?"

"A dad! I'm going to be a dad Ero-Sensei!" So overjoyed was he that he slipped back into his old mannerisms. "Mira's pregnant!"

Jiraiya's fist unclenched mechanically, releasing the blond to head over to his lover as he processed the words he had just heard.

The last thing he remembered before crashing to the ground was having a single thought.

'Oh Tsunade-hime's going to have my fucking balls for this.'

‹‹‡››

By the time Jiraiya woke up, a number of the other inhabitants of Maison Izumo had emerged from their cozy rooms to see what was causing all the racket. The sight of the frenetic blond stranger dashing about the house would have alarmed them had they not seen their Landlady and her husband visibly taking pleasure in the spectacle unfolding before them.

It had taken Miya's intervention to get Naruto to finally ease off, something Mira had taken advantage of to pull him aside for a long kiss and an explanation that, while she she deeply appreciated his fawning, she was still capable of taking care of herself.

Blushing at his own behaviour, the blond suggested that they spend time out on the waterfront, a suggestion Mira was all too happy to take up. They were joined by another couple; a busty, happy-go-lucky brunette called Uzume and her cute, petite blonde girlfriend Chiho.

Erza had opted to stay behind to watch over the still unconscious Jinchuriki who had been cleaned up and had her dirty, damaged clothes switched out for a clean -but plain- pair of dark blue shorts and a black shirt by the Landlady and a quiet woman with orange hair and green bangs called Pakura.

The Toad Sage had been dragged into a spare room on the ground floor by Miya's husband, an unassuming man with dark hair and eyes that gleamed behind rectangular, wire-rimmed glasses who now sat by the window reading a certain novel.

It was, in fact, the man's giggles and commentary on the novel in question that drew Jiraiya out of his impromptu nap.

"I'd recognize that sound anywhere." He rumbled with a grin that was equally proud as it was perverse. "A fan of the greatest work of literature is around me!"

"What pleasures lie beyond the golden hills?" The question was casually asked; to the casual observer it was a random statement, likely read from the book.

Jiraiya knew otherwise. "Only the pleasures of the flesh for those who seek such."

It was a line from his second Icha Icha novel, one that had been panned for its overuse of sex in the plot. Though he had learned from that fuck up, the book had become revered among his most hardcore fans, many of whom used lines from the book as trivia between themselves.

Clearly, this young man was one such fan.

"It's good to see that even in the Boonies we've still have men of culture." Jiraiya smirked as he sat up. "I'd have thought the purple haired shrew would keep a lid on such things."

A dark, subtly oppressive aura leaked out of the man as he glared at the old lecher. "That's my wife you're talking about."

Jiraiya, realizing the faux pas he had committed immediately let out a boisterous laugh while scratching at the back of his neck in a manner eerily reminiscent of his godson. "Ah, did I say shrew? I meant shrewd, as in your wife is a truly shrewd woman!"

Still maintaining that haunting glare, the man asked, "How would you know that when you only just met her?"

The shiver of fear that ran down Jiraiya's spine -coupled with that ever so subdued strangled noise from his throat- would have warmed Tsunade's heart.

"You know, if anyone had told me that the great Jiraiya-sama of Mount Myobuku would one day cower in fear on my spare futon I'd have laughed in their faces yet here we are." The oppressive aura disappeared in a flash and Jiraiya was flashed one of the most sincere smiles he had ever seen. "How humorous fate can be."

The Toad Sage, realizing that the man had -essentially- pulled a prank on him, let loose another, more relaxed belly laugh. "Oh ho, you're quite the skilled prankster aren't you?"

"One tries." The man shrugged humbly, though a faint smile was evident on him. "Asama Takehito, landlord of this little neck of the woods and husband to one Asama Miya."

"I'd introduce myself but you already know who I am." Jiraiya smirked. "Wanna tell me what's up with this little set up you've got here?"

"Only if you tell me about your presence here." Takehito countered easily. "Thanks to Matsu-chan's skill at creating bounded fields, we don't get many visitors of the human variety around here so your presence here is something of an anomaly."

"I'd guessed as much…" Jiraiya sighed before launching into a quick summary of how they had wound up on the Asama's property.

"Interesting…" Takehito hummed as he scratched at the little stubble he had on his chin. "And the two that your apprentice rescued that young lady from; do you think they might be able to find their way in here?"

"Honestly? I can't tell. I only got in thanks to whatever the Grand Sage did to me that allowed me to see right through the barriers that kept your little hidey-hole secret." Jiraiya admitted. "Unfortunately, I've seen some shinobi pull off some really insane shit in my time and the guys that are hunting people like that little lady out there are some of the best of the best."

"So hope for the best while expecting the worst hmm…" Takehito sat back and sighed. "I suppose that's to be expected really."

So what's your story then?" Jiraiya prodded. "How'd you end up with Miya-san?"

A smile softened the man's features as he recalled the series of events that had led to his eventual marriage to the purple haired beauty. "Well, a lifetime ago, I was one of Kumogakure's Research and Development top scientists. Under the heading of our somewhat eccentric boss, we sought every possible advancement we could find to give us the advantage over you Tree Hugging bastards." Though harsh, the words were spoken with a lilting tone that told Jiraiya that the man meant no harm with the words. "Suffice it to say that one of our expeditions into the Mountains had… explosive results. I remember flying ass over teakettle after the explosion, wondering why damned Minaka just had to keep pushing. For Science! as he always said."

"Sounds like a real kook."

"Oh you don't know the half of it!" Takehito snorted. "Anyhow, I black out after hitting what feels like a slab of steel only to wake up to-"

"Takehito-koi?" Miya's gentle voice called out, drawing their attention the the purple-haired beauty. "Breakfast is -ara? It seems Jiraiya-san has awoken."

The white haired Sage flashed a grin at her. "How's it going Miya-san?"

"Very well thank you." The landlady's smile then dropped in a theatrical show of sadness. "Unfortunately, as I thought you were still asleep, I only prepared food for those who remained awake."

The loud gurgle of an empty stomach was distinctly heard as Jiraiya's face paled. "Wait… So…?"

Miya's beatific smile was the kind worn by many a tyrannical emperor as they ordered their troops to pillage towns, kill puppies and generally do some truly vile acts. "I'm afraid there will be no breakfast for you."

Screw warming her heart; Tsunade would have sold half the Senju fortunes to have heard the pained whimper Jiraiya let out.

‹‹‡››

Two hours later, the grounds of Maison Izumo were peaceful and quiet, all of the rambling noise of the morning having given way to serenity.

While the regular inhabitants of the house milled about having hushed discussions with one another, the quartet of Naruto, Erza, Mira and a now fully-fed Jiraiya (Takehito having shown pity for his favorite author had convinced his wife to feed the starving Sage, an action which was taken with much grumbling of said wife's part) were sprawled out around a bed in one of the guest rooms on the ground floor. Mira had her head resting on Naruto's shoulder while Erza used his lap as a headrest on the left side of the room while a mellow Jiraiya had the right side to his lonesome self, much to his feigned-chagrin.

"Do you think she's going to wake up anytime soon?" Naruto asked quietly as he ran his fingers through Erza's luxuriant locks. "I mean, she's been out of it for more than twelve hours now."

"Jeez, kid, give the girl a break." Jiraiya yawned. "She's nearly had her biju ripped out of her and, if my research indicates anything, it's that-"

"You have a tiny dick?" Mira interjected with a slight snicker.

"You're free to come find out.*" Jiraiya replied smoothly. "As I was saying, everything I've looked into points to the extraction process being ungodly painful." A degree of seriousness crept into the Sage's tone then. "Kid, every non-Uzumaki jinchuuriki dies mere moments after their biju gets extracted and even Lady Mito didn't make it out unscathed; her entire chakra circulatory system was shot to hell; pulling on so much as a drop of chakra caused her to suffer muscular spasms and it only got worse the more chakra she tried to call up. As far as I know, the only reason your mom didn't keel over right after Kyubi got ripped out of her -even as an Uzumaki- was cause she was running on love and pure instinct."

It was a truly sobering statement that should have brought up the danger of being what he was -a Sacrifice- to the forefront of his mind.

Instead, all Naruto could think about was the fact that his mother had pushed through such agony to ensure that he survived.

For the first time in his life, he began to believe that maybe, just maybe his parents really did love him and were just dealt a shitty hand.

As if they could read into his thoughts, both Erza and Mira brought their hands up to clasp his hands, one apiece, in a show of support.

Jiraiya, who hadn't noticed the silent show on the other side of their unconscious guest, continued; "… as such, I really think you should just let the young lady sleep."

"I would if you all would be quiet."

It took a few seconds for them to realize that the quiet voice -laced with an underlying tone of regal annoyance- was none they recognized.

Erza was the first to sit up, followed by Naruto and Mira while Jiraiya just continued picking at his teeth with his fingernail. "Good to see that sleeping beauty's finally up."

"I'm not certain I appreciate that moniker." Sleeping Beauty, as Jiraiya had nicknamed her, gingerly pushed herself up to a seating position with one hand while her left gently massaged her temple, nursing what Naruto guessed would feel like the mother of all headaches. "One doesn't go through the hell I just did to be given such an inane title."

"Please, girly; you were asleep and you're a somewhat passable beauty." Jiraiya snorted. "Sounds like a fair match."

"You have nice eyes." Naruto noted with interest as the woman pushed her raven hair out of her face and blinked rapidly. He had heard of heterochromia before and even knew of a few skin and/or hair cases, most recent of them being the orange-and-green haired resident of Maison Izumo but this was the first time he saw it displayed in the eyes: the iris of her left eye glittered like emeralds while her right was a deep golden yellow.

Naruto's comment drew the woman's attention to him at the same time Erza and Mira turned to her such that all three women locked gazes at about the same time.

Cue the surprised gapes.

"Erza-chan?! Mira-chan?! What are you two doing here?!"

"Matatabi-dono?! How is this-?!"

"How are you here Nibi-sama?!"

While the three women shot rapid fire questions at each other, Jiraiya and Naruto could only stare in absolute befuddlement until the Toad Sage finally spoke up. "Mind sharing how you two recognize Kumo's jinchuriki and she seems t- ACK!"

The sequence of events happened faster than anyone within the room could blink: one instant, Jiraiya was speaking, the next, the raven haired woman had him pinned to the wall with a hand, holding him by the neck, her eyes blazing with barely suppressed hate. "Never say those words in my presence." The words were quietly spoken yet they bore the promise of untold pain to anyone foolish enough to defy them.

And then, as quickly as it had begun, the situation ended as the woman released Jiraiya to drop limply to the floor, hacking and coughing as he went while she leveled an annoyed glare at Mirajane. "You would be wise to keep your thralls under tighter leashes, Mira; had I not thought that he was one of yours, you'd be in search of another. At least the blond one retained enough intellect to remain silent."

The white haired Succubus winced apologetically at her words before venturing timidly; "Er, Matatabi-dono, he isn't my thrall. Neither of them are."

The woman, Matatabi, leveled an imperious -yet quizzical- stare at the Succubus, silently demanding an explanation for whatever the hell was going on before deciding to check it out herself. It took less than a second for her to release a little pulse of energy that washed over everyone in the room, allowing her to scan their energy signatures.

Mira's eyes grew wide as she realized what the Twin Tailed Nekoshou Queen was doing and what would undoubtedly be revealed. "Matatabi-dono! Wait-!"

Much like with Jiraiya earlier, the raven haired woman seemed to simply appear in front of her target, pinning them to the wall in an instant, her face twisted into a furious snarling visage.

"Jinchuriki." She hissed, her words a death knell. "And of my sister too. What a joy."

Erza and Mira's eyes grew in horror upon seeing the Nekoshou slowly raise her left hand, her fingernails extending into cruel points that were set alight with cruel, blue-black flames. "Matatabi-dono-!"

"Unless you wish for me to brand you as traitors you will standback." She commanded, not taking her eyes away from the violently thrashing Naruto's. "I haven't seen my sister in decades so I think a family reunion is in order."

Naruto was terrified. It didn't seem to matter how much power he put into his punches; it didn't matter where he struck her, this woman -no, this thing just didn't seem to budge. Even worse, her once dark eyes now glowed a menacing blue, hinting at the depths of power she could call up in an instant.

For the first time, he stared his own mortality in the face.

Mira couldn't bear to stand aside any longer and she dived forward, aiming to knock the woman away only to be snagged almost casually out of the by a tail of flickering blue flames.

"So this is how you choose to repay my sister, Mira-chan? Defending this humanchild? And here I thought you were trying to make amends for your people." Her tone was cold yet vitriolic and she slanted a glare at Erza. "Well, Knightwalker? Are you also a traitor?"

From her spot standing over Jiraiya, the redhead could only clench her teeth in impotent frustration, knowing that, for all her power, she would barely pose a threat to the Twin Tailed Hellcat. Because, though she was an eight-tailed kitsune, Erza knew that the Royalty of Makai wielded power so potent that she only barely scaled to the One-Tailed Desert King.

She had no choice but to lower her head. "If I may plead your indulgence, Nibi-sama?"

The raven haired woman tilted her head to the side, still focused on the squirming human in her hand. She was surprised by his tenacity; she had been siphoning off life force to weaken him ever since she gripped his throat yet, almost seven minutes later, he was still struggling to push her back.

Considering the fact that even the white haired fool from earlier was still trying to get his bearings after less than a minute of contact -which was about average for a human- the blond's efforts were nothing short of astounding and had pricked her curious nature.

It was that interest more than anything that made her nod to the Knightwalker's plea.

"Nibi-sama, I beg you to look into his soul before you decree judgement upon him."

'Curious-er and curious-er…' Matatabi thought, her narrowed eyes now glowing with interest more than the initial rage that had suffused her being. While she wasn't particularly close to her sister's guardians -she had her own after all- Matatabi knew of them by reputation and she knew that the Knightwalker, while occasionally prone to emotional outbursts, was often quite level-headed and didn't make requests lightly.

For Erza to have asked her to look into this boy's soul… 'Come to think of it, Mira was ready to tackle me for his sake.' She mulled, shifting her focus for a second to the white haired girl who simply hung limply in her tail's grasp. She had altered the flames to function purely as energy binds so she new that the Succubus wasn't hurting physically but the look in the girl's eyes…

She glared again at the jinchuriki in her grasp and plunged her flame tipped claws into his belly.

‹‹‡››

For over five minutes, Naruto's body jerked up harshly, wracked by violent coughs. When he finally regained control over himself, he rolled over and tried to steady his breathing only to go deathly still upon realizing that his hands were covered up to the wrist in water. He glanced up and came face to face with the tremendous reinforced gates that sealed his first lover away.

"No, no, no!" He whispered fearfully as he fought to rise to his feet, his head still woozy and his balance terribly messed up. "What the hell did that woman do to me?!"

From his experience, he knew for certain that any event that led to him suddenly appearing in his mindscape meant that he was almost certainly unconscious. In this case, he hoped desperately that it was just that and not something more… permanent.

"Kyuubi? Kyuubi!" He yelled as he ran up to the cage. He couldn't detect the Queen's potent energy signature in the seal and that terrified him. Was she okay? Had something happened to her? And what about Mira and Erza? And his yet-unborn child? What-?"

"So that's why Erza wanted me to look into your soul. Interesting."

He whirled round violently, sending ripples through the water as he turned to set eyes on the woman that had so effortlessly held him down mere seconds before. His eyes narrowed as he shifted into a defensive stance. "What the hell are you doing in here?"

"I'm doing as my sister's guardian pleaded: searching your soul." Matatabi shot back dismissively, her mind seemingly occupied by other matters.

"The hell are you talking about?"

"Your memories of your interactions with my sister have been particularly poignant, an impressive feat considering how no one has ever caught my sister's eyes as you have." When she observed that he still seemed baffled by her words, the raven haired woman frowned. Surely the intellect he had displayed over the course of his memories hadn't abruptly departed him had they? "Erza-san asked me to look into your soul; I'm doing that by looking through your memories."

"How…?" Naruto paused then shook his head, deciding that now was not the time for such thoughts. "No, no you don't get to go perusing my mind and waltzing through my memories like you're glancing through a damned catalogue. Those are personal so if you don't mind, I'd prefer it if you got the hell out!"

"Rude." Matatabi stated indifferently, though she did as he asked having seen what she needed. "If I didn't know that you didn't know better, I'd have taken your head off."

"You don't know me." Naruto replied coldly, keeping himself between the seal and this woman. "Now get. Out!"

The raven haired woman stared at him unblinkingly for a few moments before sighing and snapping her fingers.

The world blinked around them and the next thing Naruto knew was that he was slumped against a wall with Mira fretting over him. On the other end of the room, Erza shot furtive glances between himself and the calmly seated Matatabi.

"I owe you all an apology." The Nekoshou Queen started quietly, drawing their attention. "While I am not usually a violent person, remaining captive for so long has made me hate even the term used for my prisons and I took things too far in my anger." The Hellcat stared at her hands, worrying away at her lower lip before continuing. "Mirajane; I know that some of my words were thoughtless and hurtful. Please accept my sincere apologies."

The white haired succubus didn't utter a word of acknowledgement, choosing instead to keep her focus on her still-recovering blond love. Her silence was telling, though, and Matatabi's tired sigh implied that she had unpacked the wordless message.

"I misjudged you, Uzumaki-san, and I treated you wrongly as a result of my own faulty judgement. I understand that after my… impetuous actions, my words will mean very little to you so I'll take my leave for now and wait for you on the roof of this building." The Nekoshou stated as she stood. "I'll answer whatever questions you have for me there."

‹‹‡››

"So I was right: you do know how to utilize Natural energy."

Matatabi turned to the approaching Toad Sage and arched an eyebrow. "I'm surprised that a human even knows what Natural energy is, to say nothing of the fact that it can be 'utilized'."

"I've trained with the toads much further than many people do with their summons." Jiraiya answered as he stood beside the Queen on the roof, watching as the other residents of Maison Izumo did whatever caught their fancy in the balmy afternoon breeze. "Though I'm nowhere near perfect at it, I've got decent mileage in my imperfect Sage mode."

"An imperfect Sage? You're quite an oddity aren't you…?"

"Jiraiya." He supplied easily. "Mind if I take a seat?"

"Suit yourself."

"Thanks."

Nothing was said for a few minutes until Matatabi sighed. "You have questions, don't you?"

"I do, actually. I was just wondering how I'd break the ice on that."

"Consider it broken then. Whether I choose to answer or not…"

"Yeah, that's your prerogative." Jiraiya conceded. "I guess my first question would be about your hair color."

"I was wondering when someone would ask that." She admitted with a faint scowl. "Though I'm certainly glad to have my old hair back, even if I am trapped in this human girl's for for the moment."

"So you did do something to Yugito."

"Perhaps." She said simply before going quiet. While Jiraiya wondered if that meant she would say no more on the subject, the Nekoshou Queen pondered over whether or not to say more regarding it.

In the end, she decided to speak up. After all, her sister had spoken to this man before and, to a little degree, revealed something of herself.

"During the extraction process, I could feel more than my power leaving me; minutely at first, but growing larger every second were portions of my soul being drained by the extraction. Call it desperation or survival instinct or even spite: whatever the case, I chose to exchange positions with my jailer." Though her gaze rested on the horizon, Jiraiya could feel the sudden weight within those eyes and he restrained himself from speaking for the moment. "Understand this: my actions were born out of her own stubbornness. While Hachibi and his host had forged a partnership somewhat similar to that between your godson and my sister, Yugito did her absolute best to ignore my existence. It didn't matter that her friend, the one known as Kirabi, repeatedly advised her to speak to me; it didn't matter to her that I tried to talk to her, to get her to see things my way and respect me simply as a living being; to her, I was a power source to be called upon, utilized whenever the need arose and discarded when the threats passed."

"So you felt no remorse having her take your place?"

A pair of feline like eyes, glowing with the power of senjutsu, slanted a cool gaze at him. "Would you?"

Jiraiya had no answer. "Second question, then: if you had a chance to return home but you had to betray Naruto-"

"The answer to that is no." She replied swiftly, unflinchingly. "Not because I care for your godson, however, but because my sister does and I will never betray her. She's suffered through that once before and I'll be damned before she has to go through it again." Matatabi closed her eyes and immersed herself in the energy of the world again and Jiraiya, clearly understanding that the conversation had come to and abrupt end, decided to head downstairs.

There was a certain, familiar heterochromatic haired woman in the apartment that had piqued his interest.

‹‹‡››

*- I'm trying to give Jiraiya a slightly dignified kind of personality when he's with those he considers his family. As such, while he's still a pervert, he's more of a relaxed, wise-cracking guy in private than an outrageously flamboyant pervert as is his public persona. As such, this 'You're free to find out' is NOT an actual invite, just a wisecrack counter to Mira's initial jab. [In the same vein, Erza, Mira and the others take Jiraiya as that fun-loving yet annoying member of the family that they all like but won't hesitate to poke fun at.]

So, the 'hows & whys' aren't fully revealed but the the reason Yugito -who should be blonde- has raven hair is that she isn't Yugito; she's Matatabi.

Anyhow, we'll get to see how things are going in Konoha in the next chapter so please, stick around for that and don't forget to review please!

PS: I received a PM that I feel I should address here: Naruto's power level/ ranking.

Put simply, Naruto is, at this point, an A-rank -bordering on S-rank shinobi. He has in the fic, handled Renga [an A-rank missing-nin], manhandled Deidara [with little assisstance from Temari and Kakashi] and casually defeated Kurenai, Asuma and Yugao while those three were working together [that's at the very least an A+ ranked fight]. Oh, and he manhandled Sasuke and a more powerful version of Tayuya [more of her in the next chapter]. He's a solid A+ rank without touching Kyubi's chakra.

That being said, he can still get beaten -following an intense battle- by people like Jiraiya [mostly cause the old man knows most of his tricks] and a combo of Kisame and Itachi [at the moment, at least].

Erza and Mira are a rung or two above Jiraiya while any one above their level will decimate Naruto if they had to go all out. Like the Great Toad Sage told Jiraiya, Erza would easily be one of the toughest fights Jiraiya had ever faced [and he'd probably lose] and Kyubi is casually more powerful than all four of her guardians simultaneously. That being said, unlike in the original Contract, I'm having Erza and Mira be about the same level as the Ichibi. The in-story reason for this is simple: while Erza, for example, is an 'eight-tailed' kitsune, her form of energy is nowhere near as potent as that of the Ichibi. Put simply, the Royal Court of Makai (the Biju) posses an energy source that is significantly more potent than the basic resident of Makai. Grayfia and Miya are close to the Yonbi and might even defeat the Monkey King if it comes down to a full on battle (hence why Erza and Mira were deathly afraid of Miya and why Erza could barely restrain a slightly pissed off Grayfia some chapters ago)

Regarding why Erza and Mira were faster than Naruto two chapters ago: Naruto's top speed at the moment equals Erza's without any amps. In that chapter, Erza was in her Flight Armor and Mira used the Halphas to boost her speed. Hence, they left Naruto in the dust.