Author's note:

Oh damn! It's been a long time since I updated, hasn't it? Life decided to catch up with me and I lost my motivation to write for a while. Furthermore, I also had my exams so I couldn't spare any time for this hobby but don't worry, I am back. So I won't waste much more of your time uselessly blabbing about my life and whatnot but I do have a question to answer that was left in the reviews.

ChronoMitsurugi: I'm afraid I can't exactly say why the Kyuubi has decided to change his attitude but I assure you, this will not be a plot hole. All will be revealed in future chapters. The Kyuubi has a very valid reason for its change of attitude and I will get back to the exact reason later on into the story. Telling you would ruin the suspense. Sorry for being so ambiguous.

Italics will represent inner thoughts.

Jutsu and the dialogue of Kurama will be in bold.

Note: This chapter continues from the same day as the previous chapter. If I decide to time skip, even for a day, it will be explicitly stated so, either in the author's note or in the story.

Chapter 5

"What do you mean you slept with me? I seriously hope, if just for your sake, that you're messing around with me right now."

The blonde in front of the furious redhead quivered with fear but still managed to speak as the idea of an early death did not appease him. So he did what he thought would save him, he rambled like an idiot. "It's not as it sounds, I swear! I heard you moaning in pain in the middle of the night so I just took of your casts thinking that your feet must have been stiff, but then your foot bent at an awkward angle and I panicked and used my shirt to tie the cast but then you grabbed my hand and I tried to get free but then you pulled me down on my bed…I mean it's technically your bed now, and then I couldn't escape from your grip and you snuggled up to me. I swear I didn't do anything!" Naruto went through his speech like the Fourth Hokage's Hiraishin.

Tayuya's expression had remained neutral during the time Naruto was speaking. This unnerved him. She just looked at him with blank eyes, a guarded expression on her face.

Naruto mentally kicked himself. Great. Just fuckin great. I made her uncomfortable and now she's slipped her mask on again. They had been making great progress as Tayuya hadn't tried to kill him (yet), excluding the misunderstanding in the morning. He had made her breakfast and then Naruto had gone off to train in the woods behind the hut. When he had stepped inside the hut three hours later, Tayuya had sprung up the question that had lead to their current predicament.

She had asked him if there was someone else living in the house, as she had sweared there was someone in her bed during the night. Naruto had just scratched his head, clearly embarrassed, and had answered that he was that someone. And you know the rest.

While Naruto had been berating himself, Tayuya had been searching his eyes for any apparent deceit and when she found none, she just sighed and hoped she would not regret her evaluation later on. She was sick and tired of all the betrayals she had faced in her short life. She decided she'd give him a chance. Those childlike and innocent eyes were clearly not capable of committing something horrendous such as rape, or were they? Tayuya shook herself from her dark thoughts. She did not need a trip down her memory lane. They were just too many horrors lurking there. That didn't mean she couldn't have fun with him.

"Are you saying that you slept with me in my bed, naked from the waist up and to top it off, you also wrapped your arms around me?" Tayuya asked while cracking her knuckles.

Naruto was now sweating bullet. His mind was already working on forming escape routes from the hut. He also realized that he should have chosen his words more carefully. So he chose to remain silent and just flee from the scene but when Naruto spared a glance at Tayuya, he saw a small smirk forming on her lips. His mind caught up with Tayuya's prank.

The changes of expressions on Naruto were just too much for Tayuya and she burst out laughing. Meanwhile, Naruto pouted and sulked in the corner.

When Tayuya had recovered from her fit, she adopted a more serious look. She needed to make a point clear to Naruto and she doubted he'd take anything seriously if she was laughing while she talked. "Naruto."

This got his attention; this was only the second time she had called him by his real name. He cocked his head to the side to show her he was listening. She continued, "While you may have saved me from dying, I'm not going to think twice before castrating you if I find you doing anything perverted around me, got it?"

Naruto bit his lip to stop himself from replying with a witty or sarcastic comment. Even he could sense the somber mood. "Don't worry. I won't do anything of that sort. You can trust me but I guess trust is earned with time. I'm going to show you that I am not one of those male stereotypes you are used to."

Tayuya caught the hidden meaning behind his words. She reconsidered his intelligence. He had already deduced that she was generally wary of the opposite gender and it just wasn't him who she was hostile with. She would have to be more careful. Naruto wasn't as dumb as he looked. This could all just be a ploy to get her defenses down and extract information from her regarding Orochimaru.

Then again, she didn't owe any loyalty to Orochimaru after he had left her for dead. She should be plotting the snake's downfall, not protecting him. She contemplated her choices and outcomes.

If she told him all the information she had about Orochimaru and his plans, Naruto would leave her all alone as he would not have any more use for her. While she would get her revenge on her former master, was it worth it? The answer scared her. She was already favoring human contact over killing someone who had wronged her. This completely went against what had been ingrained in her brain since as long as she could remember. She must have been going soft.

She now focused on the present. Naruto was looking at her curiously, his eyes searching hers. She blushed from his gaze. Yeah, she was definitely going soft.

XXXXX

Utakata observed the man in front of him carefully. He had been suspecting that Yagura would send someone to retrieve him sooner or later, civil war or not. You just do not let go of one of your village's jinchuuriki without a fight.

He had been tree hopping in the forests of Marsh country (yes, this is a real country in the anime. Search it up) when a man in a grey cloak had intercepted his path by landing on a branch of a tree in front of him. Utakata had crouched down in a taijutsu stance but did not engage. Engaging in a fight without assessing the situation first was always fatal.

The symbol on the man's forehead protector puzzled him. Instead of the usual forehead protector most Kiri ninja wore, this particular one had the kanji for 'shinobi' engraved on it. Perhaps, this man was in some sort of division he had never heard of before but that perplexed him even more. He had been a jounin and thus knew most of his villages' secrets. The only thing Utakata could conclude from his analysis was that the man was not a hunter nin as Yagura had implemented a strict policy of all hunter nins wearing masks.

The man also had pale blue and yellow hair, a combination he had never seen before in his village. Also, by the way the mystery man was masking his chakra as well as standing with complete confidence in his self all proved the fact that the man would be a formidable foe.

Utakata tightened his hand on his pipe. "What do you want?"

The man's expression remained blank. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a scroll. He wasted no time and threw the scroll straight towards Utakata.

Utakata reacted immediately. He quickly blew into his pipe and a small bubble formed. The bubble intercepted the scroll midway. When the scroll did not blow up, Utakata became confused. He had thought that the scroll must contain an explosive tag or something of the sort. This situation was one big headache after the other.

The mystery man spoke for the first time, although he did not say much. "Read it."

Utakata was hesitant. "Who are you?"

"That's not important but what are important are the contents of the scroll. You'll find them helpful. Just think of me as a person who opposes Yagura."

The words annoyed Utakata. He had not received any clear answer from the man. All that he had figured out was that the man in front of him was not from Kirigakure. The thought did little to comfort him. Kiri had bad relations with most other villages and he had killed quite a few people when he was an active jounin. This could all be a revenge ploy.

Eventually, curiosity won against reason. The scroll would not explode, that much was clear. The bubble floated back, the scroll still inside it. The scroll was deposited in Utakata's outstretched right hand and the bubble promptly burst.

Utakata's eyes scanned the contents and he was left in shock after the words had registered in his mind. He reread the scroll again, just to make sure he had not simply hallucinated it all.

Eyes wide, Utakata diverted his gaze from the scroll and directed it towards the man. "Why should I believe you? This could be a trap."

The man chuckled. "Oh believe me, if I wanted to harm you, I would not resort to a trap. There is no dignity in that."

A smirk made its way onto Utakata's lips. This man was way too confident for his own good. Perhaps he could use this as an advantage. "Don't get too cocky. I was one of Kiri's most fearsome jounins. You're bluffing."

The man raised an eyebrow at that. He flared his chakra to a quarter of what he possessed. He saw Utakata's face widen in shock and fear. Satisfied, he masked his chakra again. "Still think I'm bluffing?" he asked, a smug look on his face.

Utakata shook his head. He had never felt so much concentrated chakra before. Such a powerful person had no need to attack him using a trap; he'd do it head on. Utakata spoke after assessing and evaluating his choices. "So what if I do believe you, what's in it for you?"

It looked like the man was expecting this question. These days, everything had a price. "I'm hoping that you'll be able to help me overthrow Yagura."

Utakata contemplated about what the man had said and said, "No matter how much stronger I get after this, I doubt only us two can go against a whole shinobi village."

"Don't worry, we'll have help."

That was the last thing the mystery man said before he disappeared in a yellow light.

Since when did shunshins have a yellow glow?, thought Utakata.

Utakata just shook his head and concentrated on more pressing matters. If the man was to be believed, he would be able to overcome the bane of his life. The beast inside him would no longer control him.

With that thought, Utakata set out for the general direction of Takigakure.

XXXXX

"For the last time, Bee, you are not going. Now get out before I Lariat you!" A (Raikage) growled out.

The muscular man in front of the Raikage pouted and sulked like a child. "But brotha, you got to give me some time to feel the air on my skin, ya know."

A furrowed his brow in annoyance. "What I say goes. No more complaining. You've already learnt to control your bijuu and I doubt this temple will make you any stronger. And I refuse to send you to a place where there may be other jinchuuriki who can pose as a threat." A said, hostility creeping into his voice. It usually did when the safety of his little brother was concerned, never mind the fact that his little brother was nearing his forties.

Killer B frowned. He knew arguing with his brother when he was in the 'big brother' mode was pointless. So he just delivered a rap that made fun of his brother's moustache and left, barely dodging the table that had been flung at him.

After this particular fiasco, Bee strolled through the village streets at a leisurely place. He still received stares from the villagers but he was used to it. He knew Yugito had gone through the same thing. Although these stares were of a different nature than those stares he had received when he was a child.

He had gained the respect of the rest of the villagers during the third shinobi war when he had saved numerous lives, both civilians and shinobi alike. Now he was longer regarded with those cold, unforgiving eyes but rather with a sincere and honest smile full of gratitude.

He thought about the letter his brother had received from Darui. Darui had gone on a scouting mission to Fire country. They had received the letter this morning and it had caused quite a commotion in the Raikage's office. A meeting had been called immediately and all of the important officials had been present.

Shouting had been heard throughout the village as the Raikage had vehemently denied the suggestion of the elders, advisors and council during the meeting.

The council had proposed that they should send both of their jinchuurikis to the temple which would presumably give them control over their bijuus as well as allowing the host to fully harness the tailed beast chakra. The Raikage had thrown a fit against this and had went as far as calling the idea 'preposterous'. Some name calling had occurred and two sides had been made. One who supported the idea and one who were against it. These were the events that eventually led two advisors to be hospitalized.

Naturally, the Raikage had won. He was the strongest in their village, if not the brightest. Power meant everything to most shinobi of Kumo.

Darui had given no explanation of how he had gotten this information, giving no details of even who the source was. The only thing he had said was that the source he had received the information was very trustworthy and completely loyal to Kumo. This baffled Bee as he knew Darui very well personally. Despite the easy-going attitude the prodigy student of the third Raikage exuded, he was all business when the safety of Kumogakure was threatened. Perhaps Darui had reason to believe the transport system of letters was no longer secure. He must have not wanted to give up the disguise of one of their sources. Bee eventually concluded that this must be the correct explanation.

"This smells fishy, Bee. Nothing makes sense." Gyuuki, the Hachibi said after listening to the rapper's musing carefully.

"Fool ya fool, it smells fishy cuz' you're an octopus. Glad you finally noticed your body odor."

"Bee, this is no time for jokes." Gyuuki reprimanded harshly. Bee had just been about to speak but now he closed his mouth. He knew Gyuuki could be even worse than A in the mother department when he wanted to be. Seemingly satisfied, Gyuuki continued on, "You remember the things I told you about the Sage of Six paths and how the tailed beasts came into creation?"

The Hachibi waited for its container's nod before carrying on. "Then you also might want to know that there was no temple at that time, like the one Darui described in his letter."

Bee contemplated this new data provided to him. He then suddenly remembered one of his brother's many lectures about how the shinobi world was run. "What about the use of hero water?"

Gyuuki raised one of its non-existent eyebrows. "What of it?"

Bee recollected all the information he had about the hero water before answering, "If I recall correctly, the hero water increases the user's chakra tenfold for a short period of time in exchange for the user's life. What if jinchuuriki don't die because of their slightly enhanced healing? I think it's no coincidence that this temple is on the border of Takigakure, the same village that is the sole originator of hero water."

The Hachibi mulled over what Bee had said. "It's a far-shot but still a plausible theory. You may be right this time."

With that said, Gyuuki cut off the mental link. While Gyuuki did have an opinion about literally everything and he wasn't afraid to voice it out, the final decision always rested on Bee. Bee suspected that Gyuuki loved it when he got the opportunity to say, 'I told you so!'

This decided that he was definitely going to the temple. He wanted to be stronger for his brother as he still couldn't match his brother's Lariat and this slightly disturbed their Lightning Release: Double Lariat, decreasing this Jutsu's efficiency. He had no doubt if he could match his brother's power, even if he had to use his tailed beast cloak, this technique could become the S rank his brother had envisioned. As it was, this jutsu was still an A rank. Furthermore, Bee was also willing to do almost anything if it meant he could protect his village better.

All he had to do before leaving the village was to convince a certain female blonde jinchuuriki to join him in this escapade.

A/N: I know I've made Killer B a little OOC but I had to do it for plot reasons. Do you know how hard it is to convey a serious situation using a completely non-serious character? Also, there will be little to no rapping from Bee. I ain't Eminem. On another note, I'm kinda depressed by the number of reviews. I barely find time to write and if you top if of with the lack of motivation, the chapters will take a significantly longer time to write and hence, update. So, don't be miser and click the button below. It'll only take a minute. I thought I was at least half a decent writer.