For the record... I don't really have the time to do a lot of writing these days, but I've got 50,000 words down on this one. Which is about six chapters. I'll post a new chapter ever week or so, which should give me plenty of time. If you guys really like it, then I'll put what time I have into this one for a while.

So a few things first. This will be a Naruto/Tayuya fic. Mainly because she is one of my favorite characters. Maybe because I'm fond of crazy redheads? Who knows, but she was given far to little time or character development in the anime. However, because of the base for the story there is an opportunity for one more girl.

Second there is some leeway for the rest of the story... mainly whether this becomes a (peace maker fic) or a (civil war fic) Still unsure which would be more enjoyable. This is a romance adventure so which ever one I choose will determine which theme is prevalent...

Now on to the story.

(I don't own any part of Naruto)

Prologue

Unwelcome arrangements

Tayuya fucking hated trees, the forest, the Leaf village... Hell she hated the whole damned land of fire... among other things. Some of these he might have been able to put up with. The village had been trashed courtesy of Orochimaru.

But it was times like this that reminded her of why she hated this "place" she lived in. Because as far as she was concerned. Her "home" was barely deserving of the description hovel.

Her residence was inside one of those hated trees, carved out by someone unknown ages ago ad furnished with the comforts of home. Although she suspected that comfort was an odd word to describe anything having to do with the Spartan furnishings. A bed constructed out of branches, bound with vine, and heaped with old furs, long since ruined. With that there were two chairs of similar make and a even smaller table, resembling more of a stool. And this is pathetic place was where she lived now. "I hate this place. I hate this place. I hate this place."

The mantra rang in her ears as she limped into her small home. The limp had been there for more than two years. Ever since that lazy shithead and the blond wind user had crippled her by dropping a forest on her. Every part of her had been crushed. Both her arms had been broken. Her collar bone, a couple ribs... All stuff that would heal. She was nothing if not durable... Being an Uzumaki… even an untalented brat like herself had its advantages.

But the real damage was to her legs. They had been mangled. She was no medical nin and she didn't dare return to Orochimaru. Her master would show her no mercy. And he would not fix a broken tool. That wasn't his way. He would throw her to his monstrous experiments... or worse. Give her to Kabuto for his own experiments. And her seal? It refused to respond to her call, probably because of the severe damage to her body. It wouldn't activate if the host was too weak to take the strain. And if by some miracle she could activate it and thus heal her legs…. The strain on her mind would likely kill her.

There was a good reason why Orochimaru used the level two cure marks sparingly

So... this is how she got by, doing nothing better than scraping by. In two years she had made friends with an old man who lived in the forest much like her. A healer... but he didn't use chakra in his healing. He was an old medicine man. He had done what he could, but she knew that it might be twenty years before she could walk well again. "Twenty fucking years too long!"

It was an agonizingly slow recovery for someone with strong Uzumaki heritage like her. Pathetic really, a twenty-five year recovery... ha! Some Kunoichi she was. If she had the courage, she would crawl her way to the leaf village and offer her body as stock to rebuild the Uzumaki clan in exchange for being healed. But no, she would never subject herself to that. Never, Not in a fucking million years would she bend her knee to the Hokage or ANYONE from that degenerate village!

She cursed as pain, hot and familiar, shot through her legs, up under the kneecaps. Tayuya cringed as the door to the tree house opened and she stepped in, unsteady.

She wobbled over and dropped onto her small bed with a whimper that belied her constant profanity. "What did I do to deserve this? Kill a few people for Orochimaru? Is that really the only thing that put me here? The Kami must be a fucking ass hole."

Tayuya lay on her bed, still, waiting for the agony to leave her legs. She needed to play a while on her flute. A jutsu to lure in animals from outside. The healer in the woods might be friendly, but he was adverse to sharing supplies without some kind of trade... and she had nothing to give that he didn't have.

After she had waited long enough to let the pain fade she pulled out her flute. A sad smile graced her lips. This small wood flute had no combat potential. It couldn't handle the strain of her dense chakra. Wood like this would crack or even disintegrate with too much energy passing through it. Her agile mind could have worked out a way to create a song complex enough that it wouldn't destroy the instrument… but there really wasn't any point in doing so.

So Tayuya sat up in bed and placed the simple instrument to her lips. She gathered her chakra in a thin ribbon. Then she started. It was a simple tune, but it carried well though the forest. The sweet melody sang out, filtering through the trees. A calming wave, like a ripple followed the music. Not a genjutu... but an invitation. "Come get some you fuckers… come to sweet Tayuya so I can have a decent meal tonight."

She played for a few minutes, then stopped. After a short while no prey came to her open door. Annoyed she started again, playing a more peaceful tune, a lethargic melody. The small rises in the song brought her own mind peace as much as anything else.

It didn't have the desired effect even after she played continually for a half an hour. She frowned, "Nothing... still. Something must have scared anything away recently. I better stop before someone notices that the music is laced with chakra. The Leaf village is still too close for comfort..."

Leaving off playing Tayuya rested. Her body had tremendous healing powers, but as an Uzumaki, she didn't fully understand how they worked. So... she slept as often as she could, both to heal faster... and to forestall hunger. It seemed like it would be another long week...

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Days passed slowly, as they will when you're in constant pain. Tayuya was beginning to get desperate. No animal had come to her call in days... She was weak, not to mention out of food. And soon she would have to make the long exhausting journey to fetch water from the nearby stream. As dangerous a propostion as it was neccisay. She didn't like the idea of dying from dehydration at all.

So she was not looking forward to that. She did her absolute best not to focus on her deteriorating situation. It seemed that the more she healed, the less lucky breaks she caught. And a scary thought had been coming to her lately... "Have I depleted the resources in this territory?"

Did she really have to move to a more active location to survive? Some place with people... where some passing Leaf village patrol might recognize her. Leaving her relatively safe haven was something she dreaded. Other people would easily take advantage of a cripple. And Genjutsu might not save her life, especially if the Leaf village caught rumors of a red headed girl weaving illusions among the civilians.

She was very... indiscrete. With her penchant for speaking her mind and taking nothing back... coupled with her physical condition. And the very fact of her red hair and violet eyes... well it might not take much to get her killed. At the same time…. She wasn't ready to give up and damn sure wasn't going to die.

ooo

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Tayuya survived another two weeks before giving up. No food, no water unless she made the trek to the stream. Her legs had stopped making any process. She guessed it was because of malnutrition.

So with her options clear and her future uncertain, she set out for the leaf village. She hated to admit it, but there was no point in her going to another village. She would end up in Konoah one way or another... sooner or later. If she tried to go to one of the smaller villages in the land of fire it would only be a matter of time before someone caught a wiff of her existence. She knew that Konoah was almost generous in comparison to other Hidden villages… but all the same…

Stumbling through the brush till she found the trail was easy. The journey down the long path would be hard. It was a day and a half walking to the village. Normally she would be there in two hours, but... her legs made her move at a crawl.

Still she forced herself to walk normal. No fucking way she would let anyone call her a cripple or tease her for her injury. "I think the best way to get into the village is to feign the injury harder than it is. Then I can identify myself as an Uzumaki and probably get entry to the hospital. Some medical ninjutsu would go a long way to shortening my recovery."

She thought to herself about possible plans and deceptions all the way... till night fell. She hadn't the strength to build a fire. Again... pathetic. She didn't deserve help. By all rights she should have let herself stave so she didn't burden anyone else who actually had a purpose in life. She hurriedly brushed those thoughts aside. They would only haunt her.

Her sleep was uneasy that night and the next day she woke stiff. The journey to the Leaf was worse than before now. Every time she moved, legs or not, tears beaded in her eyes from the excruciating pain. The grinding sound coming from her knee cap started half way, adding to the monotony of the journey.

It took five more hours of torment before she found herself at the gates to the village. Her thoughts had long ago shut themselves off, trying to blot out as much feeling as she could. Anyone would have seen that she was on the verge of starvation. She didn't realize it, but the moment she walked under the great arch she was being supported by one of the guards.

Her breath gasped out with every step... till she realized that she wasn't walking anymore. She looked up, her eyes catching the gaze of a man with brown spiky hair and a bandage over his nose. Tayuya remembered him… vaguely. The realization didn't bring any flash of clarity to her numbed mind though. If anything it dropped her deeper… into darkness.

ooo

She was being carried for a while. Two voices followed with her. A very small part of her brain told her that one was the gate guard and the other was a masked ANBU. Even that part shut off as the swish of doors opening signaled their entry to a building of some sort.

Tayuya hoped it was a hospital and not a prison... she felt half dead...

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Naruto headed down the stairwell into the underground meeting room where he'd been called to attend. He had no idea this place existed. It was a complete secret even to him. He idly wondered if this was something old or recently constructed. If it was old then he was surprised that he hadn't chanced upon it at least once… and if it was new… he was even more astounded that he hadn't been aware of the construction. After all he prided himself on knowing most of what went on in his village.

He'd only been back a little while from his training trip with the Pervy Sage and already his lines of informants, (a large selection of academy student's, Genin, and low Chunin) had started to funnel information back to "The Boss". Naruto felt a surge of pride that the younger generation and even some of his peers looked up to him now.

Naruto's mind was working on several things at once, as it was apt to do. Less than half of these mental projects had any viable use, but hey! Who said anything about him being logical? But anyway… back to the bunker.

It had the feel of old construction but you never could tell. Old people tended to make stuff around them seem old too. He was unsure if this meeting would be different, but in his experience (admittedly not much) clan meets were the number one place to go if you were looking for a gathering of 'old' people.

Naruto guessed that he was being called by Tsunade to debrief him... finally on his trip with the Toad Sage. Jiraiya had left the village more than a month ago and Naruto had expected Tsunade to evaluate him more. But other than the second bell test with Kakashi... nothing. And that annoyed him more than he was willing to admit… but not enough to start taking D ranks.

Naruto grumbled to himself as he descended the stairs. "Not even a mission."

From the deep recesses of his mind came a purr like that of… well, to put it rather bluntly.. A giant fox. Said giant fox seemed irritated as well, though in his usual bored manner. "You're a demon brat. Why let you have any responsibility?"

"Oh shut up furball."

A sound like a blast of steam sounded in his mindscape. "HUMPH! Call me that again and I'll be reciting mathematical equations while to talk with the clan heads."

"And I'll shrink your cage to the size of a hamster ball. It can go either way... now shove it. I'm going in."

Naruto ignored the Kyuubi's annoying jabs and pushed open the door to the bunker style meeting room. It had a low ceiling, but was still a bit over his head. Everyone else was sitting. Hiashi Hyuuga, Chozen Akamichi, Shikaku Nara, and Inoichi Yamanaki sat to one side. With them were Hanna Inuzuka and Kiba Inuzuka.

He wondered why they were there. This was supposed to be fore clan heads only. "Ah… I remember now. Their mom is out on some sort of business for the clan or something." He recalled that one of his clones had overheard that on his way over here.

On the other side sat the head of the Aburame clan, stern and silent. With him were Kakashi and Asuma. Kakashi sat next the end of the table with a diminutive girl. Her red hair and round face made her very attractive. He thought he recognized her from... somewhere. Those angry purple eyes were a bit... unnerving. "Now I know I've seen her somewhere… I don't think we were friends either…"

He put the girl out of his mind, making the absolute minimum of bows to Tsunade as she sat at the head of the table across from him.

"Hey, What's up granny?"

He nimbly dodged the large paper weight, which sailed past his ear, putting a hole in the door behind him. His grin widened, as the Hokage growled angrily, "Be respectful to you elders Naruto! And sit down damn it!"

Naruto coughed as if she were missing something. "Um, about that... I was kinda in the middle of something, so maybe you could tell me what's going on."

The leaders of the various clans reacted to his manner in different ways. Chozen smiled while both Inoichi and Shikaku frowned. Hiashi raised one thin eyebrow in mild interest. The head of the Aburame clan, Naruto couldn't remember his name, acted very much like Shino.

As in... absolutely no response what... so... ever...

Kakashi and Asuma both looked at each other. Kakashi's look was a defiant "I told you so." Naruto even caught the slight glint as something shiny changed hands between the two.

Naruto saw Hana and Kiba chuckle, drawing an angry look from both Tsunade and Inoichi. Hiashi inquired calmly, "And what is so important that you would arrive twenty minutes late to a meeting of clan heads... especially when you are part of the reason for its calling?"

The blond scratched his head, "Yeah, if someone had bothered to tell me it was actually something to do with me I would have been on time. All I got was some mute ANBU handing me a note, ya know. I can't help the fact that this place was pretty damn hard to find. I mean... I thought I'd found every secret hiding place in the village..."

He eyed Tsunade, trying to impart a non verbal message to the Hokage, "Nothing is hidden from the Prankster King of Konoah!"

Naruto shrugged, "As for what I was doing... I'd rather not say. Call it training."

Tsunade hissed, "Sit Naruto, before I break something."

He grinned, "Besides the door?"

Then he sat down before she could lob another projectile at him. Tsunade sighed loudly and Naruto's eyes wandered around the room again. Immediately he noticed a man, back in the shadows. He was almost invisible, but Naruto knew he was no ANBU.

And never being one to hold back he decided to ask. "Hey Granny, who's the old fart in the corner. If he thinks he's hiding he's doing a bad job. Is he a clan head too?"

Tsunade blinked and turned around as if surprised. Everyone else in the room followed her gaze, except for the red headed girl.

She scoffed, "Took you idiots long enough to notice him. Is he more observant than clan elders? No wonder you guys get your asses handed to you every time you fight another village." She crossed her arms even as a look of intense pain slipped across her features.

The clan heads turned to regard her for a moment before returning to the old man... who had decided to step forward. His face was bandaged as well as his arm. He held supported himself with a cane and his piercing dark eyes reminded Naruto of a certain Snake Sanin. He immediately disliked him.

He spoke, "Yes young man, I am a clan head, though I am very surprised you took such quick notice of me. The reason I hide is because I am part of the village's shadow. I aid the Hokage from the darkness, helping in all matters that must be kept... discrete."

Tsunade growled, "You were not invited Danzo!"

The man stared Tsunade down, "I am the head of my clan Tsunade Senju, as are you. We both have equal right to attend this meeting. Had you called it something else I would have been in error to attend... but, I am well within my rights to be here."

Tsunade looked away from Danzo and to Naruto, "It doesn't matter at the moment. Naruto!"

"Yeah?"

She pinched her fingers over the bridge of her nose. "We have... a... problem. And unfortunately all the solutions have other problems attached. You will probably not like it either way."

Naruto groaned, "Ok... ok, I'm going to take a wild guess here... Something to do with me being an Uzumaki right?"

Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably. Hiashi asked, "How did you come to that conclusion?"

Naruto pointed at the girl next to Kakashi. "Her. She has red hair."

There was a universal "So?" from around the room.

"She has purple eyes."

They just looked at him uncomprehending.

He groaned again, "Ok, let me connect the dots. I'm an Uzumaki. As everyone seems to like telling me over and over, I do not look like an Uzumaki. Uzumaki are supposed to have red hair. Am I right? Anyway, I've only ever seen like two other people with that color hair before. One of them was in a picture that old man Third used to keep on his desk. I know she was an Uzumaki. And then there's a girl me and Pervy Sage met last year..."

Naruto thought about it for a moment, "Actually I've met another one before. She was a rogue nin that I ended up killing not too long after the chunin exams. She could kill people and steal the ability to use their chakra natures."

He looked at the girl again saying, "And besides that... I'd swear I've seen her before. And I'm not really good with faces... unless I've been in a fight with them."

He struggled for a moment trying to recall where he'd seen her. That small frame, that red hair and those angry purple eyes. It was on the tip of his tongue...

Then the girl turned on Kakashi, "Can I fucking move yet? My legs are killing me, you ass!"

A light bulb went off over Naruto head, "I got it! You're that girl that Shikamaru and Temari took down. One of the Sound Five... But I thought you'd all been killed!"

Asuma gave Naruto a calculated look, "You figured that out awfully fast considering you only fought for a moment and never saw her again. What tipped you off?"

He answered simply, "That's easy, I never met anyone who cursed as much as she did in five minutes. She put Sakura-chan and Ino-chan to shame. I still never figured out what some of her insults actually meant..."

That much was certainly true he thought. Even Jiraiya had been unable shed light on some of her more ... colorful descriptions. Naruto had no clue why she was here... he doubted it had something to do with Sasuke. If it did then they wouldn't have told him. For fear that he would go rushing off after his long time friend and rival. So that meant that there was some other purpose to bringing him in here... to meet her.

"Hey Kyuubi, I'm drawing a blank here. You got any clue what they want?"

"I have a guess. Wait and find out for yourself."

Naruto waited as she tried to bite Kakashi's throat out for shifting her the wrong way. Evidently she was injured somehow. He could... almost feel her presence. At this distance he could sense the kinship. They had the same blood. That was for sure, but... she seemed quite volatile...

After a minute she calmed and Tsunade returned to the business at hand. She said, "You are quite right Naruto. You are here because you're an Uzumaki. More to the point. You're both here because you're Uzumaki.

Naruto didn't realized what she was getting at... then he saw the look on her face... and the look on Kiba's face.

The red head : Fury, pain, embarrassment

Kiba : Humor, sympathy, disbelief

The demonic chuckling from the back of his mind settled it. Naruto looked at Tsunade in something akin to horror. And... as usual, he said the first thing that came to mind.

"YOU'RE AS UNHINGED AS THAT RETARD OROCHIMARU!"

He was pale, he realized that because his face had gone cold. He might have blushed instead if he hadn't been halfway between denial and anger.

Tsunade sighed, wanting to get it over with. "Naruto. You are the last official member of the Uzumaki clan. No other member has stepped forth to clam the clan name. You are sixteen, and that is the age at which heirs begin to look for a suitable partner. As much as I detest the idea... there isn't likely to be a better chance to restore the Uzumaki clan."

Silence.

More Silence.

Through an act of sheer will Naruto focused his mind, calming himself. And for once the Kyuubi didn't interfere or make any snide comments about his situation.

He lamented the fact that he was so slow when it came to this stuff. Not having parents to teach him how the clans and politics worked forced him to think extra hard on this stuff. "If only Pervy Sage were here. He'd stop this in its tracks... but what I don't get is why Tsunade is going along with this. I thought she was against the tradition of using people like breeding stock!?"

The clan heads watched as Naruto sorted through his mind for an answer.

Danzo stepped forward. He spoke slowly but commandingly. "The decision is all but final. The village needs the Uzumaki clan to return. And as the head of your clan it is your responsibility to strengthen your clan as much as you can. All you need do is agree."

Naruto nodded, "Uh huh... but, I don't think so. Ya see, it's kinds part of my nindo. I really don't like it when people force me into stuff I don't like."

He looked up into Danzo's dark eyes. "I don't know you. You aren't Hokage and that means as far as I'm concerned you can go jump off a cliff. As for the good of the village... why should I care. What have you done for me lately? Besides give me shit every time my birthday swings around?" He didn't really mean all of that. He cared for the safety of the village regardless of what they had done to him as a child, but it would be good to see what their reactions were.

He crossed his own arms, mirroring the girl. "And my clan? Since I'm a male, any girl I married would automatically be an Uzumaki too. So I don't see why I'm stuck with her."

Naruto gestured at her absently, "And as for her in general..."

"WHY THE HELL WOULD I MARRY HER?! SHE'S AN ENEMY AND WORKS FOR OROCHIMARU!"

He leaned forward glaring at Tsunade, "You finally figured out how to piss me off granny. Congrats. Now I thought you hated this kind of shit. I'm not some stud horse and she isn't some nice quiet girl you picked off the street. Even if she wasn't a criminal, and I did agree to that, we'd end up slitting each other's throats before the clan got any bigger!"

Tsunade nodded and asked, "You heard him Danzo. He won't do it. He doesn't like any part of it and neither do I. The number of times I've made it clear that we won't revive that heinous tradition is too high to count. As for what Naruto said, he has a valid point. Them marrying would only result in children with about75% Uzumaki blood. Neither of them are pure Uzumaki."

Danzo said, "That is far preferable to 25% if he marries a daughter from another clan. The village needs this Tsunade. Do not let your feelings get in the way."

Tayuya decided to speak up then, "Can you sons of bitches get his over with. In case anyone doesn't know, both of my leg bones are fractured! I should be back in the hospital still, not watching you old fuckers argue over which mother fucker gets me as a damned prize!"

Tsunade growled, "You need to deal with it for now. The sooner this is over and dealt with the sooner I can take care of your injuries."

A crack sounded through the room. Head turned. Naruto had brought his hand down on the table with enough force to splinter it. A jagged fissure ran down the middle. Everyone in the room, excluding the Aburame and Danzo, paled as he released killing intent in a wave. To everyone it seemed like the temperature had dropped several degrees while gravity became roughly twice normal. Kiba and Hana both choked on the foul aura.

He demanded angrily, "You brought her here with broken legs? What kind of sick joke is this?! If you're going to force her on me, FINE! but heal her first damn it! Do you know how many times I was denied entry to the hospital here when I was a kid?! You can forget about this until I hear that she's been given PROPER medical attention!"

Chozen nodded in agreement, " She should have been left in the hospital as she says. And I agree with Naruto. It is very disrespectful to him to force the issue. It is also very cruel to her to demand that she wait so long for treatment."

Hiashi sighed, "Let them go about their business. I personally had training with my nephew and daughters today. Shall we resume this when the girl is healed?"

Tsunade nodded, "Very well, do you have any objects Danzo?"

The old man shook his head, "No, heal her wounds, then she may think differently of our proposal."

Naruto stood and left a second later.

He took the steps three at a time till he was racing out of the bunker and through the village. He made his way... all the way back to his apartment.

Once inside he slammed the door. The hinges snapped off and it fell flat. Naruto growled and dropped down on his bed. "I try to stay calm... I try, but they keep pissing me off. Don't they understand how I think yet?! I would never agree to marrying anyone who didn't want it. Especially if I don't want it either! And why the hell was Granny so damn cool headed about it? Usually she'd fly off the handle."

Kyuubi's amused voice came from the back of his mind. "That is simple. She is being pressured by the civilian council and many others, including that Danzo individual. You are right not to trust him. My other containers both despised him."

"But why is it so important that I marry an Uzumaki?! And don't they get it? I'll marry who I choose and no one else. Clan responsibility? Technically I'm the last of my clan so all my duty is... is to look after myself."

"An interesting way of putting it. What will you do then?"

"First, I'll make it clear that I'm not agreeing to an arranged marriage. Fuck the civilan council. They hurt me enough. As for her... She is an Uzumaki. I could tell just by being close to her. I'll make sure she doesn't get used either. That's what I'll do for her.

"She did help the Uchiha escape to Orochimaru. Will you forgive her for that?"

"Of course! I'll bet she was just manipulated like Sasuke. Besides, I wouldn't let anyone auction her off to the highest bidder, enemy or not. That's also part of my nindo. Do what I think is right. Not what other people tell you is good."

"Do you need help?"

"Are you offering?"

Kyuubi huffed, "So what if I am?

"Then I accept. Just don't get any funny ideas fox.

Naruto stood and moved to the center of the floor, "Give me some chakra. I want to finish training where I left off. It's been a month and I'm close to mastering it."

"Very well..."

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Tsunade walked up the stairs to Naruto's apartment, Shizune in toe. Her assistant keeping up a constant stream of worries and deadlines in her ear. Tsunade ignored her for the moment. She needed to speak with Naruto so the boy could be properly informed about what he was being dragged into, even ifshe couldn't tel him everything. Much of the information she wanted to give was classified.

And in addition to that she had to do it before Danzo found some way to force her hand and drop Tayuya on Naruto without her permission.

When she reached his apartment... the door was off it's hinges, lying flat on the floor. Shizune gulped audibly, "Naruto-kun wasn't happy with the meeting I guess. Did he fly off into a rage?"

Tsunade shook her head, "No, but he feels the same way about the practice of forced marriage and breeding out rare bloodlines. It's amoral and should be illegal except in a few select circumstances. But that wasn't really what set him off. I called the meeting before the girl had the chance to be fully healed. Her legs are in bad shape. Naruto realized that we'd dragged her into the meeting badly injured."

"Ah I see why he's so angry. He broke his wrist when he was seven and the hospital refused to treat him. Iruka told me about it once... Naruto despises people who harm others for the sake of expediency." Shizune frowned, "It might be difficult to sway Naruto into accepting her at this point. She was involved with Sasuke's betrayal."

Tsunade nodded wearily and entered the apartment, "Naruto! Are you in here?"

A voice from behind her and to the side spoke up, "You bet. Now are you going to tell me what the hell is going on with that girl or is this just going to be you apologizing for what must be done?"

Tsunade and Shizune turned to see Naruto leaning against the wall by the door. He looked ticked off, which as it also happened, he was.

He said, "I want to know what is going on. Where did she come from, why is she here, and why does that old guy want the Uzumaki clan back so bad?" He paused for a moment before asking, "And who is he anyway? Sounded like he was a S ranked asshole to me."

The Hokage suppressed a mental chuckle and sighed, "It's simple Naruto. The Uzumaki clan has always been one of the most powerful clans in existence. Often seen as a match for the Uchiha and Senju. Your mother was a nearly full blooded Uzumaki and in her time was the undisputed strongest kunoichi in the village."

Shizune looked surprised, "Stronger than you my lady?"

Tsunade said, "Yes... even stronger than me. Her mastery of seals was on par with any of the Kage in the lands, most of the time surpassing them. She even had the ability to use many powerful jutsu without weaving hand signs. That is how skilled she was with seals. And… if you'll believe the stories that Tsume used to boast about, she mastered level 8 Fuinjutsu in a single night."

She sighed again, feeling incredibly old for saying it, "You are her only descendant and you have the potential to master all of the Uzumaki's most powerful sealing techniques. Only strong Uzumaki could even hope of using most of them. So... the reason Danzo wants to force you into marrying her is that the next generation would have strong Uzumaki heritage, boosting the village's military strength. Over time the clan could be rebuilt from the ground up."

Naruto looked between her and Shizune. "So... this is something that Danzo wants... not the village?"

Tsunade explained, "Danzo and I both serve to protect the Leaf village. The simple issue is that we rarely see eye to eye on how it should be done. Danzo favors drastic legislations and strict, rigid punishment. I like to rule with a more even hand. However... the civilian council has already been informed of the situation. I don't like it, but they have a lot of political power here. They want the village to be the strongest it can be and a renewed Uzumaki clan would help."

Naruto growled, "But I don't like it. I hate being used like this or seeing anyone else used. I don't care what she's done in the past. She's basically family right. An Uzumaki? I can't sit here waiting for a bunch of grownups deciding how she gets to live the rest of her life!"

Shizune smiled, "We don't like this either, but the clan heads are in agreement. They don't like the idea any more than we do, however they know it would make the village stronger. And seeing how your mom was nearly SS ranked in the international Bingo book… having a whole clan inside our wall would be…"

The Hokage pinched the bridge of her nose. She knew Naruto would eventually make things work out… one way or another. "You don't have to marry her Naruto. No one can force it on you. But... and don't take this the wrong way... if you don't marry her then I'm sure Danzo with think up something else horrible for her."

There was a moment of silence while Naruto mulled it over.

He looked up a second later, "Oh shit... she's an A rank criminal right! So if I didn't agree then she might be sentenced to prison or executed... And if she is listed as an official prisoner then she forfeits are rights as a Shinobi. That prick would be able to do whatever he wanted to her."

Shizune looked amazed he'd thought of that, but nodded," That's true Naruto... You see why your decision is so important. It is basically up to you to decide what becomes of her. It's part of your job as clan leader."

Another silence descended. Naruto closed his eyes thinking it over. "I want to help her... but do I want to give up my chance to marry someone I like?"

An image of Sakura flashed into his mind.

"No... She's going to be used like some tool by the village if I let her go. I can't call myself Naruto Uzumaki if I let anything happen to her when it's my decision that makes or breaks the deal. I have to do what I can..."

"You may be thinking about what goes on around you more, but you still don't think of everything. What of the Clan Restoration Act?"

"What's that?"

The Kyuubi sounded aggrieved, "A document that anyone can sign up for. The last male descendant of a clan may take more than one wife as insurance that the clan survives. I have no doubt that the Uchiha brat would have used it eventually to restart the clan."

"So I could marry her and still be able to marry someone else who I actually... you know... loved?"

"Yes."

Tsunade watched as Naruto's frown disappeared. He looked up, "Is there no other way to make sure she's not hurt?"

She shook her head, "There are other ways, but they aren't assured to work."

Naruto pulled his fingers through his spiky blond hair. "Grrr... Fine, I'll do it. Just make sure she's healed properly and that no one messes with her. And even if I marry her, I better not get hounded about when there are kids on the way. You good with that Granny?"

Tsunade sighed, "Are you sure Naruto?"

He growled, "I'll apply for the Clan Restoration Act. I'm the last known male Uzumaki so I can marry more than one girl, right? I wouldn't do this so easy if I was stuck with her."

Both women agreed. Shizune asked, "True enough it lets you marry more than one woman, but how did you know about it?"

Naruto shrugged, "Sasuke was always going on about rebuilding his clan. I just remembered him talking about it." he pushed away from the wall and turned to leave the apartment.

Tsunade asked, "Where are you going?!"

He said, "To talk to her at the hospital. What did you think? That I was going to let someone else tell her. If I'm stuck living with her then I need to start setting some ground rules. Otherwise she's going to kill me in my sleep or something."

With that he dropped off the side of the building before heading for the hospital.

Shizune shared a confused and startled look with Tsunade, "When did he start think things through so clearly? It's like he's a different boy."

Tsunade looked around the room. The floor had a large circular scar in the center... as though it had been scrapped clean after it was covered in something unpleasant. "You're right... Naruto is acting rather mature these days... And it's not just Jiraiya. Naruto was himself for Kakashi's bell test. I wonder what' gotten into him."

She saw something out of the corner of her eye… a strangely shaped kunai, sticking in the wall across the room. Tsunade frowned, her mind going back in time. But it didn't match… "Probably just some stunt weapon he bought with Jiraiya… stupid kids these days."

ooo

ooo

Tayuya decided that if there was anything or anyone in the world that she loved... it would be the kindly old man who healed her legs in about twenty minutes. More than two years of constant pain and anguish left her and caused her to feel a fondness for him.

That fondness was quick to evaporate though. The man quickly restrained her. Tying her to the bed with the thick leather belts provided.

"Hey, what the fuck? Why are you tying me down you old geezer!?"

He didn't answer. Once she had been completely immobilized he gave a small smile and left. Tayuya growled in anger. So they didn't trust her far enough to even let her walk on her newly healed legs?! Bullshit!

She looked around the room. It was fairly small with no window and bare white walls. The door wasn't barred at least. As for herself. A thin white hospital gown with noting underneath. She didn't care about being almost nude. It never bothered her before, but it made her feel vulnerable. And that was a feeling she would never be comfortable with.

Her mind wandered to the meeting that had been postponed. The blond boy... looked to be her same age. She'd only realized who he was after his last name had been mentioned. He was the same as the kid who had pulled a fast one on her and Saikon.

And he was the default clan leader now. At sixteen you were technically an adult and if you were a shinobi you could be called an adult as soon as you made Chunin. She assumed he was at least sixteen. This meant that she was actually almost two years older than him, despite her small size. He on the other hand was tall with short spiky blond hair and deep blue eyes. He wasn't physically imposing, but he did exude an aura of power. She thought that it probably came with being a Jinchuriki.

"That damn brat was probably laughing himself silly after. I bet he likes the idea of having his own sex slave. Asshole thinks I'll just agree to marry him because I'm and Uzumaki. He's got another thing coming."

A pleasant, but sarcastic voice from the door asked, "Do you always curse so much... even when you're alone, or did you know I was here to listen?"

Tayuya whipped her head to the source of the voice, but saw nothing. Then here was a ripple through the air and Naruto materialized out of thin air. He was... very tall in comparison to her. He wore a black jacket with dark orange stripes down the sides. Along with that was a pair of black pants and combat sandals. His headband had been removed and was tied around his arm.

She examined him, trying to gauge what he was thinking. She didn't know what he was up to and it made her uneasy.

Naruto sighed, "Well if you didn't already know, I'm Naruto. And your Tayuya right?"

She didn't answer. He obviously didn't expect her to because he didn't stop speaking. "Granny explained you situation to me... It seems like I have to decide what happens to you. If I don't take you then Danzo gets first dibs. And.. if you're imprisoned for your crimes against the leaf... then you lose all rights as a shinobi, which means he could do pretty much anything to you." His words hung in the air like several tons of stone ready to fall. She was prepaired for his inevitable next words.

He scratched the back of his head, "So I decided to agree to marrying you. It should help keep you out of his hands for now. I figured it would be better for me to tell you than granny or some random ANBU."

Tayuya's face twisted in anger, "How god damned noble of you... Asshole."

Naruto shouted, "Listen! Do you think I like being stuck in this situation?! I'm only 16 ya know. I don't want anything to do with this. I hate arranged marriages."

She answered him, pulling at her restraints, "So!? Why are you agreeing to it? It just makes you a fucking hypocrite!"

"I get it. You hate the leaf village..."

"When did you figure that out Shithead?"

"...but unless you'd rather go to prison and get sold out for your Uzumaki heritage... this is the best option."

Tayuya hissed, "What if I refuse?! You can't force me to marry you. And unless you're planning on raping me, you'll never get me to bear YOUR children!"

Naruto looked away from her, "Face it Tayuya, I'm only tying to help you... and I would never rape anyone. Beside's they wouldn't give you a choice otherwise."

"Oh really! So you're just trying to help now?!" She spat at him, "You mean you just want to get laid! Let me tell you asshole. Lay one finger on me and I cut your dick off!"

He clenched his fists. She was pissing him off with her constant insistence that he was some kind of selfish monster. "Just who do you think I am? Some pervert, pretending to help? What I'm trying to do is go with the option that is easiest for you! The one that will hurt the least!"

Naruto growled, "You're lucky I care enough to help."

She looked at him, venomously, "And why do you care?"

He glared at her, "Because... it's what I think is right. That's why. It isn't fair to make you marry me... and trust me, I don't want it either. But it is better than the alternative."

Tayuya closed her eyes, "Which is imprisonment, rape, torture, experimentation, and likely execution?"

Naruto turned to face her, stepping forward, "That's right, so are you going to give up and let me help where I can or should I just go find Danzo and tell him that our ready for him?"

She paled and glanced away from him. At the moment she didn't look like a former member of the sound Five. She looked like an angry and scared teen. Which she also was... at least as far as he could tell. Tayuya was smart. So even if she cursed him out, she'd come around eventually.

Tayuya watched him in return. She cursed inwardly. She hated this place so much. Hated everything about this village. And worst of all. It seemed like the easiest... and least painful course was the one Naruto was offering. The fact that he'd come to speak with her himself boded well at least. He was an honest person if nothing else. And he wasn't stupid it seemed.

She let out a sigh, "I want to kill you."

He smirked, "I kinda figured that."

She asked, "And how do you know that I won't sneak into bed with you and slit your throat the moment you sleep?"

He shrugged, "I'm not the only person who wants to help you Tayuya, but if you kill me, there will be no one who wants to save your skin. Tsunade and the other clan heads would throw you to Danzo so fast, you wouldn't realized what happened."

Naruto's jaw clenched, "I would bet that you'd just end up in the same situation, except with someone less... nice."

Tayuya snapped, "And you're so FUCKING nice! Barging in here and telling me to come along like a good little bitch! You're luck I'm strapped down!"

He turned around again, "You don't get it Tayuya. I don't like you either, but I'm still offering to help."

She gritted her teeth, "Just out of the kindness of your heart... right... And you have no other motive at all!? I don't fucking believe it."

Naruto stiffened, "What?! Do you think I actually want to marry you for some reason?"

She shouted, "Yeah I do fuckface. I think you're just like your perverted teacher. That ugly damned Toad freak!"

A moment passed and neither of them spoke. When Naruto moved again he was walking towards the door saying, "I don't know why you have to make things so hard. Which would you rather happen? Get stabbed or punched? I wouldn't want either, but the fact is that you don't have that option. I'm the lesser of two evils."

Naruto stopped just outside the door and looked back at her. "If you want to fuck yourself just to get at me, go ahead. It's your funeral. I won't stop you. Now... I have training to do. I'll see you when they call the clan meet again."

Tayuya watched as the door closed with a near silent click.

Naruto was gone, leaving her with her thoughts. It was tempting to tell Naruto to go fuck himself and let Danzo do what he wanted with her... but... she didn't want to do that. Even if it mean being forced... forced to live with that boy. He wasn't lying to her. He wouldn't take advantage of her. That was more than she could have said for her own team mates in the Sound Five.

And after all... if Naruto never forced himself on her, it might be years and years before she ever had to do anything with him. He didn't seem like he would be as annoying as Sakon or Jirobo. It wouldn't be torture to live in the same house with him and from what she'd been told... her crimes would be cleared.

"This seems like a very easy option to take... so why do I feel like there is something else to this. That Danzo fucker wouldn't give up on all his plans for me, just to marry me off to Naruto. He would at least reserve the right to experiment on me like Orochimaru...I must be missing something."

She tried to think through all the possibilities. Naruto was the best option... just like he's said. And he was an Uzumaki... not that it mattered, but she felt fractionally better knowing they were from the same clan. She'd never known what it was like to have one... so it felt strange to think about it.

There was a chance that all of this was for naught and he would end up slaving under Danzo anyway, but... for now she was safe... Tayuya allowed her body to relax and enjoyed the feeling of... no pain. She almost couldn't feel her legs. They seemed numb after years of agony.

A thought entered her mind then, incongruous after all that had happened in the last few hours…"Will I ever be a ninja again?"

So there's the first chapter. Now for those secondary matchups.

First there are a few girls that are out of the question

No Hinata, Ino, Sakura, Tenten. I'd prefer that the secondary match (if any) were a less used character. Also, If you want to really impress me, find a way to sneak it into the story I'm weaving.

If the girl happens to be dead... so what. I already resurrected Tayuya, what's one more walking talking corpse?

((I just updated this a day after posting. I will be putting up a poll on my page having to do with these questions please answer as it will give me a better understanding of what you readers out there like))

Anyway, thanks for reading and remember to review