Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Dragon's Blood

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Chapter Eleven

"Whoa..." Ao breathed out in surprise, eyeing the dragon-shaped image staining Anko's shoulder while trying her best to ignore the purple haired woman's almost completely nude body, her cheeks flushed. "So, this is some kind of seal?"

"Yeah. I'm still reading up on it, but it's something one of his ancestors came up with. I like to think of it as some kind of transferable bloodline or something, you know?" The tokubetsu jounin explained simply while slipping back into the black over-sized turtleneck that she had 'borrowed' from her boyfriend's dresser that morning, only wearing her purple panties under it. Plopping down onto the bed with a journal in hand, Anko got herself situated and comfortable to do a little more reading when something happened that caught her off guard. Climbing into bed beside her and cuddling up against her side, Ao positioned herself so that she was able to read the journal as well, using Anko's ample chest for a pillow. Blushing heatedly at the rather intimate position they were in, Anko did her best to calm down, her emotional mask of defense mechanisms securing itself back in place to hide her embarrassment. Instead, a smirk played across her lips. "...Comfy?"

"Mm-hm." Ao hummed in response, seemingly oblivious to just how close she was. She even draped an arm across Anko's stomach, making the purple haired woman blush even more fiercely as her mask faltered yet again for a few moments. She wasn't exactly nervous, just...unprepared. She hadn't quite expected Ao to be so straight-forward and...Well, cuddly. At least, not so soon after just learning of the Umioso's feelings for Naruto and coming to an admittedly vague agreement about the Slayer in question.

Not that it really bothered her, but still, Anko had expected some sort of hesitance from the girl. Then again, with how she liked to dress, Anko should have known the girl was just as bold as she was, if not more so. Slowly moving her arm and wrapping it around Ao, Anko relaxed a little more as she opened the journal, thankful for the really high collar on her new 'sweater-dress' that perfectly hid her burning hot and flushed cheeks. She was also glad that Naruto had left to train with his team earlier and wouldn't be back for a little while...

xXx

"Ah, finally on time today, I see." Kakashi teased lightly from beside the hulking teen without looking up from his book, a clone of either shinobi tending to Hinata and Sasuke as they trained them more specifically; Kakashi's clone was training Sasuke in the uses of the Sharingan seeing as he was on the verge of activating it while Naruto's was keeping an eye on Hinata as she worked on increasing her physical endurance and overall muscle strength throughout her entire body.

The silver haired jounin was still a little worried for the girl after learning that Naruto was having her use special training seals that evenly distributed weight across her whole body, the weight depending on the amount of chakra added to the seals. The only thing that eased Kakashi's thoughts about it was the fact the seals would only accept Naruto's chakra and the seals themselves were on simple athletic compression sleeves of black spandex-like material worn on her forearms and lower legs along with a skin-tight tank top of sorts that she wore under her usual clothing. At the moment, he had her going through some taijutsu katas as a second stage of warm-ups before moving into an actual taijutsu spar.

Finally glancing over at Naruto when he didn't get an answer, Kakashi noticed the pensive look on the teen's face, his arms crossed over his chest and staring at the ground blankly.

"...Is something wrong, Naruto?" The one-eyed jounin questioned with mild concern.

"Hm? What?" Naruto mumbled in response as he glanced over at the jounin, obviously disturbed from his thoughts. Repeating his question, Kakashi watched as Naruto's pensive look returned, but at least he answered this time. "Something came up yesterday."

"Oh?" Kakashi intoned curiously, but he didn't get the answer he was looking for.

"Private business, Hatake." He responded quietly, his thoughts still revolving around the Heart of Dragon's Fire Seal that Anko now wore. Another thought occured to him a moment later, though, causing him to palm his face with a sigh of frustration. "...And I forgot to work on Kuroyuri's swords yesterday. Damn it..."

"Couldn't you...Well, use a Shadow Clone?" Kakashi inquired, gesturing towards the other two members of Team 7 as he finally put his book away, referring to the Shadow Clones instructing Sasuke and Hinata. Scratching an itch on the side of his neck, Naruto returned to his original position and leaned back against the tree behind them a bit roughly, shaking the tree slightly; Kakashi glanced up cautiously, wary of any more falling branches.

"Can't. The swords she wants me to make require a lot of chakra being channeled through the metals throughout the entire process." Naruto explained. "Even an overcharged Kage Bunshin couldn't supply enough chakra for the process to work and remain stable at the same time. It's simply impossible."

"How-" Kakashi tried questioning, but Naruto interrupted him.

"Let me put it to you this way, Hatake." He spoke up, giving the jounin a look that spoke volumes of his experience with unstable clones. "How do you think the Bunshin Bakuha technique was made?"

"Ooh..." Kakashi mumbled quietly, suddenly gaining a new found respect for the Kage Bunshin technique. "So...You going to stick around today?"

"...You really want to spar, don't you?" Naruto questioned flatly, glancing at the jounin out of the corner of his eye. Kakashi simply eye smiled sheepishly.

"I want to get back in shape and you can provide the perfect challenge I need to do that." He responded, getting a quirked eyebrow from the Slayer. "What? You're fire-proof, you have...scales for natural armor, claws, a tail you can use as a weapon, you're leaning towards the freakishly strong side, you can literally breathe fire virtually any time you want, you can take a lot of punishment in a fight, you've got a healing ability, you're constantly getting stronger because of your bloodline or whatever...You're practically the perfect training partner for someone like me."

"...Thank you for making me feel like a living punching bag, Hatake." Naruto grumbled quietly while looking ahead again, ignoring how Kakashi eye smiled more cheerfully.

"Any time, Naruto." The jounin remarked light-heartedly while clapping a hand against the back of the giant's shoulder. He promptly retracted his hand a moment later when he heard a deep growl echo from his student, black smoke oozing out from his nostrils...

xXx

"Kuroyuri? Have you seen Ao? I haven't seen her all morning." Haku inquired of her youngest sibling. The samurai descendant was currently doing some yoga-esque stretches and exercises in the den of their shared home atop a plain navy blue mat, dressed in her black casual hakama and a black skin-tight tank top with black tabbi socks covering her feet. It was actually rather common for the Mugen, something she did throughout most mornings when she wasn't busy with other things.

"She hasn't been in here." Kuroyuri answered as she got up, deciding she had done enough for now. She continued as she started rolling up the mat she had been using. "Have you checked Onii-sama's place? She has been spending more time with Anko-san recently..."

"No, I haven't been over there yet..." Haku mumbled quietly before leaving to do just that, never noticing the odd look Kuroyuri gave her elder sister. Knowing she'll understand later on, Kuroyuri shrugged slightly and dismissed Haku's unusual behavior in favor of going out for some training; there were a few techniques she wanted to try out. Heading to their brother's home, Haku stopped in front of the bear skin that hung in front of the opening. "Ao? Are you here?"

No response. Frowning slightly, Haku risked a peek inside and saw nothing out of the ordinary apart from not seeing anyone. Just as she was about to leave and search elsewhere for her wayward sibling, Haku heard a faint sound. Quietly picking her way through the den, she slowly peeked into the next room. A moment later, she couldn't help smiling warmly, finding the sight rather cute; both Ao and Anko had fallen asleep while reading what looked like a book or a journal of some kind.

Ao was snuggled up against Anko's side and using the older woman's chest for a pillow while Anko had her nose buried in Ao's deep blue hair, their arms wrapped around the other. A moment later, Haku quietly made her way back out and simply headed back to her room, still smiling warmly at what she had just seen. Kuroyuri gave Haku yet another look of confusion after watching the older young woman walk right by her with an unusual smile on her face. Again, Kuroyuri dismissed it as unimportant for the moment and left to do some training, fully outfitted in her usual equipment and armed with her many blades...

xXx

Wincing slightly as he blocked a very heavy-handed backhand with his left forearm, Kakashi, his Sharingan eye uncovered, grabbed the offending forelimb with his free hand and pivoted on it, kicking off the ground before lashing out at Naruto's head with his right foot. Seeing the attack out of the corner of his eye, Naruto continued with his spin while swinging his left arm up, throwing Kakashi off balance. Taking advantage of Kakashi being airborne, Naruto cocked his right fist back with a beastly snarl on his face.

'Shi-!' Kakashi's mental curse was cut short when Naruto's giant fist made contact with the middle of his torso, smashing the jounin into the ground with enough force to create a shallow crater from the power packed into it. At the last possible second, however, Kakashi had used Kawarimi with a Shadow Clone just before Naruto's fist hit him. Eyes going wide as Kakashi went up in smoke, Naruto made himself keep spinning. Having tried to take advantage of Naruto's surprise, Kakashi's eyes widened in shock when the club-like end of Naruto's tail connected with his mid-section.

Feeling like he had just been hit with a mountain, the jounin was sent flying back before tumbling across the ground. Righting himself in mid-roll, Kakashi slid several feet in a three-point crouch before dropping to one knee, gasping for breath as he held his middle with one hand. Gritting his teeth, Kakashi pushed through the pain and sprinted towards Naruto once more, drawing a kunai with either hand as he rushed forward as fast as he could. Seeing Naruto lean back while taking a deep breath, Kakashi's eyes widened with realization before instantly dropping into a shoulder roll while letting go of his kunai, his hands already flashing through handseals as he slid to a stop.

"Doton: Doryuu Heki!" Kakashi called out while a dense wall of earth rose up in front of him just as Naruto forcefully exhaled a scorching blaze of fire, the jounin's hands already going through more handseals before slamming them against the ground. Unaware of the jounin's activities, Naruto cocked both fists back while sustaining his flame breath for as long as possible before finally cutting it off.

"Dai Senkou Taihou!" The red head roared while throwing both fists forward, a massive version of his usual Senkou Taihou surging forward from his knuckles. While the giant ball of explosive fire devoured the distance between them in the blink of an eye before detonating in a massive blossom of fire upon contact with Kakashi's earthen defensive barrier, Naruto's eyes went wide upon sensing someone behind him, the silver haired jounin he was fighting having erupted from the ground behind him.

"Raiton: Gian!" Kakashi declared with his right hand stretched out towards Naruto's back, his left hand grasping his right forearm. In a flash of light, the powerful, though heavily dampened, blast of Lightning chakra slammed into the draconic Slayer's back, sending Naruto flying this time. Gritting his teeth as he hit the ground and slid a few feet, Naruto fought through the intense pain as he tried to get back up, his limbs shaking with the strain after having his nervous system fried. Kakashi's eyes narrowed. 'So that's his weakness; Raiton techniques.'

"You...made a big mistake...doing that." Naruto growled deeply and angrily as his eyes suddenly turned amber, the towering powerhouse of a 'genin' slowly standing back up while hunched forward slightly. Flexing his clawed hands while baring his fangs in a viscious snarl, Naruto turned part-way to glare at Kakashi, the last bits of Lightning chakra from Kakashi's Gian arcing and flashing across parts of the Uzumaki's body. "Now I'm mad..."

"Uh-oh..." Was all Kakashi could say as his eyes widened, suddenly getting the feeling that he shouldn't have underpowered his last attack quite as much as he did...

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It would still be some time before she was as proficient using them as she was with her usual swords, but Kuroyuri knew she was steadily getting better with her new arm blades. Instead of trying to fight with them as if they were her swords, the Mugen theorized that she might get more out of them if she used them in conjunction with taijutsu. Thus, what was originally just a palm strike aimed at the chest of the training dummy turned out to be a kill-strike as her arm blade shot forward and pierced clean through the faux enemy. Retracting her hand and spinning around, she lashed out at what would have been an enemy's legs as if to backhand their knee, but she came up short. Until her other arm blade slid out and cleaved the training dummy's lower leg off at the 'knee'. To finish things off, she struck with one final blow, a deceitfully strong kidney punch that proved fatal due to the silver-steel blade attached to the side of her forearm stabbing through the dummy.

Retracting the blade and backing up from the training dummy, Kuroyuri took a deep breath to calm herself down. She knew that she still had a long way to go in terms of getting better at taijutsu, but Kuroyuri still had faith in herself that she would eventually get stronger. Strong enough that she wouldn't have to rely on her sisters in battle. Strong enough that another Namiyoke Incident didn't happen again...That night had been hell for her, her sisters, and their now-wayward surrogate mother. She still had no idea what it was that had happened to her that night, where that sudden increase in strength and speed had come from.

Remembering everything that had happened that night, Kuroyuri closed her eyes. They had gone to the warehouse to retrieve the item their client wanted, only to find out that it had all been a trap. They realized that the building was rigged with exploding tags and just before they could be set off, Naruto had thrown them out of the warehouse just seconds before the tags detonated. She remembered the unimaginable heartache and sorrow that tore at her, thinking he had died. She remembered the uncontrollable anger she had felt when the Hunter-nins mocked his sacrifice.

Balling her hands up into fists and clenching her jaw as she relived those painful memories, Kuroyuri felt a spark of new strength surge through her body. Strength that felt almost identical to what had happened to her that night in her rage. Without opening her eyes, she lashed out at the training dummy beside her, arm blade extending mid-swing while a thin layer of silvery-white chakra coated it. Effortlessly, the blade cleaved through the dummy's chest and the log it was attached to while a fragile crescent-wave of silver-white chakra continued on beyond it for a few feet before harmlessly dispersing, her arm falling back to her side.

Holding on to those feelings as best as she could, Kuroyuri slowly opened her eyes to reveal that they had turned white with only a black ring to outline her pupils. Lifting both hands a little bit, Kuroyuri stared down at her gauntleted forearms as she extended both of her arm blades. The polished steel blades gained the same silver-white chakra coating over them a second later as the new power within her automatically enhanced their durability and cutting ability. Knitting her brow in concentration as a bead of sweat slid down from her temple, she tried to draw on more of it, but she lost what little control she had over it.

As the silver-white chakra seemingly evaporated from existence, Kuroyuri dropped to her knees as she gasped for breath, sweating a little more as she stared down at the ground with an intense, yet unfocused gaze, her eyes returning to normal. She did it. It lasted for only a moment and it left her drained, but she had actively drawn on her clan's bloodline. Now that she knew where to start and that it was definitely within her reach, Kuroyuri's resolve to fully unlock her bloodline and master it was only reinforced beyond what it had already been.

"I will not...let anyone...ever harm my family. Not again." The lone Mugetsu vowed breathlessly as she finally retracted her arm blades. Deciding to take a rest before trying again, she turned her gaze skyward and narrowed her eyes to shield them from the sun's mid-afternoon rays. It was going to be a long journey, but she would not stop until she unlocked her full potential. While a student of the ninja arts, she would forever be a samurai of the Mugetsu clan and a Mugetsu never surrendered...

xXx

"I thought I told you to stop underestimating me?" Naruto growled while staring down at Kakashi, who was lying on his back and staring up at the darkening sky with a dazed look in his one visible eye as late afternoon started to give way to dusk. They had moved even deeper into the training ground to keep Sasuke and Hinata from getting caught up in their 'spar' and with good reason; smoke rose from shallow craters scattered all around the area they were in with smoldering embers and small fires still burning in them, a good number of trees had been toppled and, in some cases, smashed apart, sections of earth were dislodged and lifted from the ground in various forms, and other spots were flooded with water while the small nearby pond was almost completely emptied out from their use of Suiton techniques. It looked like a war zone.

Even as he said those words, however, bleeding wounds scattered across his body were already starting to heal and bruises were gradually fading away. Kakashi was a little luckier, having sustained only a couple nicks and scratches, but under his clothing, his chest and stomach were already starting to darken with heavy bruising and the jounin believed that at least one of his ribs were cracked along with the bones in his left forearm and his right shin...He hated it when he had to block one of Naruto's punches or kicks.

"I thought...I told you...to take it...easy on me...this time?" Kakashi questioned between short breaths, trying not to aggravate his battered ribs. "This was...supposed to be...a spar."

"..." Naruto didn't answer that time, choosing to look away from the jounin while rubbing the back of his neck. He then glanced around and took an actual look at the terrain, wincing slightly. 'I guess I did go a little over-board with it...'

"Just get me...to the hospital..." Kakashi wheezed out while extending his right hand for some assistance in getting back up. "Asshole..."

"Oh, you're going to be like that, huh? Fine. Get up on your own." Naruto retorted, stubbornly crossing his arms over his chest and staring down at the jounin, who looked like he was caught between despair and wanting to strangle the red head. "Call me an asshole after asking for help...Even I at least wait until after they help me before doing that..."

"You...suck..." Kakashi grunted out as he pushed the pain out of his mind and rolled over, slowly working at getting himself to his feet. After a minute of watching Kakashi barely get to his hands and knees, Naruto rolled his eyes and grabbed the back of Kakashi's vest, lifting him up off the ground with one hand, the jounin sagging slightly and looking not unlike a kitten would after being picked up by the scruff of its neck. Kakashi merely gave his student a flat look as he hung there for a moment. A moment later, he was set back on his feet before Naruto started walking away, leaving Kakashi to fend for himself from that point on. Eye twitching, Kakashi watched as Naruto kept walking away, holding his left forearm tenderly while keeping his weight off his hurting right leg. He risked taking a deep breath. "YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE, NARUTO!"

"THANK YOU! I TRY!" Naruto cheerfully called back from across the clearing without bothering to glance back at his sensei, waving over his shoulder as he did. The jounin immediately regretted yelling like he did, cringing as his ribs throbbed and ached from the action...

xXx

Yawning as he made his way through the tunnel to his cavernous home, Naruto picked at some of the dried blood on his arm from one of the now-healed cuts he had sustained during his spar with Kakashi. Grimacing slightly, he figured it was as good a time as any to go for a swim. At least then he could relax and get cleaned up at the same time.

After removing his bracers, greaves, wrappings, and wakizashi blades and leaving them in his hammock, Naruto dove into the cool crystal clear water, letting his eyes close as he slowed to a crawl near the bottom of the water. It had been a while since he last took a swim and just relaxed in the water. After a moment, he rubbed and scraped the last of the dried blood off of his skin before going up for a quick breath of air, only to dive back down immediately afterwards.

Then, without warning, he shot through the water like a bolt of lightning splitting the sky, his webbed hands and feet along with his tail giving him better movement control and greater speed in the water than he used to have. He missed letting loose while in the water. It was always so exhilarating, even more so when he was in waters he hadn't been in before with plenty of room to move around and explore...He just hated dealing with other aquatic predators. Sharks, specifically. They were always trying to take a bite out of him at the worst possible moment...

It wasn't for a few moments before he had a feeling that he wasn't alone in the water anymore. Coming to a stop and looking around for a second, Naruto flinched back when Ao's face suddenly appeared just inches from his, the blue haired girl having come in from above him with a beaming grin on her face. Planting her feet on his shoulders and kicking off, Ao propelled herself through the water once more, leaving behind a slightly confused Naruto. After momentarily breaching the surface for another breath of air, Naruto swam after her, weaving around and between some of the boulder-like rocks that littered the bottom in one of the areas along the far cave wall at break-neck speeds. It actually made him smirk a little, having not had a challenge in aquatic agility in years.

A minute or two into the chase, Ao glanced behind her to check on how close Naruto was to her, but didn't see him. Her first instinct was to grin, thinking she had lost him amongst the rocks, but it quickly became confusion when she didn't see him for another thirty seconds. Just before it could become concern, something came up from below her and grabbed her as it rocketed for the surface. A moment later, she found herself flying through the air...

"AHH!" She screamed in startled fright as she started falling back to the water from a few meters above it while Naruto, who had thrown her, moved out of the way while laughing his ass off. Splashing back into the water, Ao came back up spluttering and coughing before glaring at the still laughing Slayer. Splashing water in his face, Ao kept glaring at him as he started coughing and spitting water out of his mouth. "You are such an asshole!"

"Yeah, but you love me anyways." Naruto shot back with a fanged grin, his eyes closed. Ao instantly blushed and looked away.

"You've got no idea..." She muttered under her breath so that he wouldn't hear her. Feeling her previous bravado starting to crumble, she glanced over at Anko, who was sitting on the hammock. The purple haired kunoichi gestured with her hands to keep going before yawning, having just woken up from their little nap together. Before Naruto could notice what they were 'doing', Ao turned back towards Naruto just as he opened his eyes again, her cheeks flushed a bright red. She was both embarrassed by what she was about to say and fearful as well. "N-Naruto? Can I...tell you something?"

"Hm? What is it? Is something wrong?" He questioned, his previous joking attitude suddenly replaced with one of concern. Ao was not known for stuttering or showing hesitance towards anything.

"I...Um...N-Nevermind!" Ao stammered before blurting out as she lost her nerve, but before she could try to get away, Naruto had wrapped his tail around her waist with surprising dexterity and strength, making it impossible for her to get away. When she looked back at Naruto, she saw the look in his eyes that told her he wasn't letting go until she said what she obviously wanted to. When she kept struggling to get free, he flicked her on the nose with enough force to make her yelp and cover it with her hands while he raised an eye brow at her. It took her another minute to finally work herself up to saying what she wanted...what she needed to tell him. "I...I love you, okay?!"

"..." Naruto stayed silent, his eyes wide with shock. Even though his grip on her with his tail loosened up more than enough for her to slip away and escape, a part of Ao refused to move. Even still, she refused to look at him, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. "What...What do you mean?"

"I mean 'I love you', you dumbass!" Ao snapped while managing to kick Naruto in the face, using his tail for leverage. It lacked a lot of its usual power, but it was enough to daze Naruto for a moment, his tail slipping away from her completely. Looking away from him again, Ao continued. "Blood related or not, I...I love you more than a sister should. I have for years now..."

Naruto didn't say anything, unsure of what to say at all. It was something he would have never expected and it had completely blindsided him, at that. Glancing off to the side, he saw Anko sitting in his hammock, smiling at them as she waved slightly. He couldn't tell for sure, but he had a feeling that Anko was involved somehow...Before he could react, Ao had already swam back to shore and was walking away, her arms wrapped around her middle and her head held low. Slowly making his way back to shore as well, Naruto waded through the water and onto his little island.

"...Did you know?" Naruto asked Anko without looking at her as he came to a stop off to the side of where his hammock was located, his eyes still following Ao as she headed back inside with the intent to hide in her room for as long as she could. Instead of answering, Anko simply stared down at her feet, feeling guilty and a little ashamed; she had been the one to encourage Ao to tell him, after all. Sighing quietly, Naruto closed his eyes and bowed his head for a moment. "I see..."

"I take it...things didn't go so well?" Anko inquired hesitantly, glancing up at her boyfriend. He didn't answer. Instead, he started walking towards his and Anko's home, kind of numbed by the revelation of his surrogate sister's feelings for him. Anko only turned her gaze back to the ground, nibbling on her bottom lip slightly as she feared that she had royally screwed things up...

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Bunshin Bakuha- Clone Explosion

A/N: A year and a half...Oh, my god...I'm so sorry, guys. I honestly never even realized it had been so long since I last updated Dragon's Blood; my sense of time is fucked up. Seriously, it's so bad that I hadn't realized it was Thanksgiving (btw, Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!) until just two days ago; literally. Anyways, while there was character development scattered around and a little 'Ao Drama', this chapter semi-focused around Naruto and Kakashi 'testing the waters' on either side and although the fight scenes make Naruto look over powered or at least stronger than Kakashi, he's not. Kakashi had slacked off in his training over the past few years prior to the start of the story and is just now getting himself back in shape while Naruto is almost always training in some way and because of his Kirinketsu, he has a few advantages over most ninja without pulling out any of his real heavy-hitting techniques (Example: Dai Senkou Taihou). Also, one of his biggest weaknesses have been revealed, though only lightly touched on; Raiton techniques. Because two of his primary affinities are Water and Earth, which are both weak to Lightning, Raiton techniques can cause him a lot of problems, especially when it comes to the Doton based defensive enhancements his Doryuu no Uroku bracers/greaves grant him. Remember guys, there's always a method to my madness and there is ALWAYS a balance between the strengths and weaknesses for every character in my stories. Anyways, I hope this has appeased the masses and will save me from being sacrificed to the Fanfic Gods for a little while longer... (P.S. I'll be going back through ALL of the chapters for Dragon's Blood, re-editing them and breaking up some of the long ass paragraphs and whatnot.)