There are a few minor time skips, so bear with me. Also, I made a mistake in the last chapter. Naruto was supposed to nickname Tamamo "Tama-chan" but I goofed and somehow wrote "Tam-chan". That's fixed in this chapter. This chapter is the heaviest one I've written, so be warned!

Chapter 6: If Only

Naruto was a man of many scruples. It made his life both easier and harder at the same time. Over the past few months, he had learned that the hard way. Letting one of the "Three Great Yokai" do as she pleases was a recipe for disaster.

Now, he stands before her atop a building that's soon to be in ruin. Flames licked at his heels, and the integrity of the building had long since been compromised. It was going to topple at any point, not that a fall from heights would kill him. He looked at the source of all this calamity, clearly disappointed by her actions.

"Is this what you wanted, Tama-chan?"

"Stop calling me that, you self-righteous bastard!" She snarled, clearly on edge and extremely irritated.

Nothing she'd done had worked. Nothing had made the man before her break, or even show any chinks in the armor that was the façade he had put up. She was at her wits end, and so, she did the only thing she knew how to do.

She manipulated people.

-6 months prior-

Tamamo snuggled up to Naruto, hoping to charm his pants off with her body. No man that she knew of could resist continuous assaults by a beautiful woman, and her looks were the thing she was most confident in. He had done so once, but could he keep it up?

Naruto had regretted shaping the place like he did. It wasn't just a workout area, it was their new home. He had populated the empty spaces with furniture, supplies, and food using the "Creation of All Things" ability that he had learned about from Super Sage Gramps. His imagination was boundless, so it wasn't hard to create things.

He had offered Tama-chan her own bed and living space, but she vehemently refused on the grounds that accepting his kindness would invalidate her agenda. He knew she was a stubborn one, but he didn't push the envelope so as to not exacerbate the situation.

"I can make you a bed if you really want one, Tama-chan" he said.

"It feels so much better sharing yours, though." She crawled along his torso, sensually running her hands up and down his body. She leaned down, planting small kisses and licking wherever she thought he was sensitive at. Naruto was holding up remarkably well, given the last time he had been intimate with someone was well over 1000 years ago.

Naruto's arms shot out, surrounding her waist and enveloping her. She had to admit, it felt great to be held like this. She had been deflowered many times already, but the rush that came from this hug was different. His chakra was doing a number on her mental fortitude, but she'd see this through. She NEEDED to expose him for the fraud he was.

She could get rid of this nagging feeling in her chest if she did.

Suddenly, she felt herself capsizing and being thrown over his shoulder. It was exactly like the first time he had captured her, slinging her over his shoulder like a bag of meat. She hated that.

"What are you doing!?" she yelled out indignantly.

"I'm taking you to your room and making you a bed with the same features as mine. That way, you won't have to bother coming all the way to my room to sleep better." Naruto sat her down in the place he had designated as her living space, and got to work with his creation ability, making all sorts of things. When he finished, he wiped some sweat off his brow.

"A job well done, if I do say so myself-ttebayo.." He laughed joyously, then walked back to his room.

Tamamo sat there in utter confusion. Was he one of those "asexual" men she had heard about? She didn't even feel a reaction to her body, the bastard. Steeling her resolve, she vowed to try again tomorrow (as it was getting late and she still needed to sleep to a degree, or her powers wouldn't be at their utmost capacity).

And so, she kept on trying the next day.

And the day after that.

And the next.

She was greeted with the same reaction and process every single time, whether he was in the bed, the shower, or the workout area (she secretly enjoyed going there to spy on him and the other guy). Eventually, a month passed by and she just gave up. He was a mountain that she just couldn't seem to climb. Racking her brain for another strategy, she thought up something different.

"… This is it. I've got the perfect plan to expose you, just you wait." Tamamo was wholly confident she'd get what she wanted this time, but it'd take some time. She needed to get to know him, act like she had changed for the better. She'd learn his secrets, and then use them against him.

Maybe then she'd be able to stop this odd palpitation every time she was around him.

-3 months prior-

"What did you need, Tama-chan?" Naruto questioned. She had called him to her room (that she now actually slept in), apparently to talk.

"Oh nothing" she purred out in her silky-smooth voice, "just thought it'd be nice to sit down and talk with you." Naruto made an "oh" sound, sitting down on her bed. It was definitely nice to have someone to talk to, so he was more than happy to oblige her. She had been on her best behavior for a while after all, so why not?

"What did you wanna talk about?"

"Hmm, I suppose I wanted to talk about… us. I don't have much of a story to tell, so I was hoping you could start us off." She lied through her teeth.

"Ok, so what is it about me you wanted to know about?" Naruto was not shy to talk about things. He rather preferred it, actually. It was nice to know someone was just willing to sit down and talk instead of all the never-ending fighting and conflict he's been through in his life.

"Oh, just common things. Do you have a family? A lover?" She spoke the last word fully aware of how much emphasis she put on it. Whether he picked up on it or not, he obliged her anyway. She still wasn't sure if he was a god or just an extremely powerful human that had somehow gotten his hands on chakra, but this should confirm it.

"Well, that's a bit complicated" he began, "I didn't have a family to start out with. No mom, no dad, I was an orphan. Eventually, people started to surround me that I would call family. They didn't share my blood, but the bonds we made were the real deal." Upon finishing his sentence, he smiled that cheesy grin that made her heart feel unstable. She hated the effect he had on her, believing it to be rage.

"My life ran it's course and I eventually started a family of my own. To answer your other question, I did have a lover. She was… beautiful beyond what words could describe." Naruto knew he shouldn't be saying all this, but having someone listen to him tell his life story (albeit a truncated, void of details version of it) felt almost cathartic. Sasuke already knew what he went through because they went through it together (and still are).

He didn't have anyone left besides that.

Tamamo felt like she had struck gold. Judging by how he spoke, he was human, so very human. Gods were apathetic creatures that didn't truly feel emotions other than anger and wrath. They'd just as soon as watch their domains burn down than lend a helping hand to those in need. She would know. Time to press the issue.

"What did she look like, if I may ask?" Naruto hesitated to answer but did so anyway.

"Her body wasn't too different from yours." He had made that observation a while back. Tama-chan had a body much like Hinata's. What she didn't have was the endearing smile, genuine love and care laden through her voice, and the capacity for affection beyond physical lust.

"She had long, black hair and eyes that could enchant anyone, even though they had no pupils." Naruto's smile grew larger. Remembering Hinata always brought him out of whatever dark recess of his mind he'd venture into. She was his rock, his anchor to reality. Losing her hit him harder than any of the villains he had ever faced.

Tamamo sat there, genuinely in awe at how he spoke of his wife. She'd had married men go down on her before, throwing all pretense of faithfulness out the window. They only ever talked about how their marriage bogged them down and how they needed a release from their spouses as they drove their dirty phalluses into her walls. The man before her…

What if he was different? Could she trust him? Could she…

No.

He was lying. He was better at it than just about anyone she had ever encountered, but he was a liar nonetheless. She herself was a master at the craft, and she could tell when someone was trying to play her for the fool. She wouldn't let him, couldn't let him take advantage of her. She'd proceed with her plan to take him down.

"Ara, that's wonderful. Well, I feel better now, having listened to your story. I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd have someone come and talk to me till I could." She knew what she was doing. Naruto smiled his usual smile and made to leave, getting up and walking towards her door.

"Sleep tight, Tama-chan." He closed the door behind him, walking back to his room.

"She's playing you, Naruto."

"Finally awake, Kurama?"

"Yes, as are we." 8 new but different voices spoke up in his psyche. All nine of the tailed beasts had fully awakened.

"Heh, took you guys long enough" Naruto responded.

"This is no laughing matter, kid. She's positively bursting at the seams with negative emotions. She wants to destroy you." The other 8 tailed beasts hummed in agreeance, even the normally rambunctious one tail.

Naruto would be lying if he said he didn't notice the emphasis and inflections in her voice when she spoke. He knew when someone was lying. He lied to himself constantly.

"I know, Kurama. I won't let it escalate into anything. I just… wanted to give you a friend."

"A friend?" The ancient fox was perplexed.

"Yeah. There's me, and Sasuke when he plucks the stick from his ass, and the rest of the tailed beasts, but… I get the feeling you're kinda lonely as the only fox. I said I'd do something about all that hatred you held, and I still am."

"… Even after all these years, you're still this soft. That's going to get you killed one day, you know that?"

"I've lived more than a full life." He chuckled at his joke that wasn't really a joke. "Just don't let the others tease you too much about getting a girlfriend."

"Oh don't worry, there will be plenty of that" came the voice of the one tail, Shukaku. "That nine-tailed jackass has had it coming for a while, GYAHAHAHA!" His insane laughter rang throughout Naruto's head, prompting him to speed-walk to his room so he could let sleep's warm embrace spare him from the cackling. He hopped in his bed, counting sheep as he had been told to make himself go to sleep. Eventually, his consciousness faded, and all that could be heard coming from his room was the sound of him snoring.

Later that night, the door to his room creaked open. A raven-haired mistress walked in, softly plodding towards Naruto's bed.

Tamamo was a shapeshifter. She could change her physical appearance at will to trick or seduce anyone whom she pleased. She'd altered her appearance based on what details she could get out of Naruto about what his wife looked like. She didn't know if it was an exact match, but the darkness should conceal anything that's not an exact replica of her. She didn't have to change her shape at all, which was good, since the silhouette was the thing most likely to be noticed if it was off.

She thanked her own good luck. If she couldn't seduce him with her own visage, she'd do so with the visage of his lover. The way he spoke, it seemed as if they were either separated or she had died. She'd crawl into his bed, wake him up, mate with him, and then reveal herself, exposing his infidelity.

Now was the time to strike.

She creeped closer and closer to his bed, until she was close enough to lay her hands on him. She reached out to caress his cheek like a lover would, her heart churning and beating faster than she thinks it ever has.

Why was this making her so nervous? Was she afraid of retaliation? Did she come so far just to chicken out at the mere thought of her plan failing? Or was it more profound… was she afraid of the love he'd heap onto her, thinking she was his lover?

She stopped in her tracks, taking a deep breath. No, she needed to get through this. She would NOT admit defeat. Steadying her trembling hand, she continued to reach out to him.

Until a crushing force gripped her wrist, startling the daylights out of her. She turned to the side her wrist was being crushed on, and saw the visage of a massive black dragon staring back at her. The wind left her lungs, and her mouth hung open as if to scream, but she didn't. She couldn't risk waking up her target, and she'd surely wake up the entire city if she emoted the terror she was currently feeling.

"What are you doing?" Ophis (the original) asked, speaking in a hushed tone. "Sleep is important. I can not be trained if he does not sleep." Ophis had come a long way in her training. She couldn't do anything that required chakra, but more achievable things like stealth and hiding in plain sight were learned. She had taken to, for lack of a better term, bodyguarding Naruto and Sasuke. It occurred to her that, as powerful as they were, if either of them were to be offed in their sleep (or simply did not get enough sleep), they could not continue to train her. She herself did not need sleep, so she decided that she and her clone (Lilith, she had named her), would stand at their bedsides and watch them sleep every night.

Was it creepy? Yes.

Was it effective? The results speak for themselves.

Tamamo scrambled to come up with a way out of this. The dragon god would obliterate her if she made one wrong move, and she still had a score to settle with the man in the bed. Cogs turning furiously in her head, and her eyes widened.

"I was just coming to put up some protection spells. Can't have too much security, right?" She was sweating bullets, hoping Ophis would buy it. Ophis pulled her closer, growing to exactly her height and looking her straight in the eye.

"I see right through you" she said with an air of authority. "Harming him is forbidden. I will not kill you, for it would make him sad and interfere with my own plans. Flee, before I change my mind, fox." With that, she released the fox youkai and let her run back to whence she came. She turned back towards Naruto, looking over him.

"Why do you tolerate her?" she asked. Naruto rose up from his bed, fully awake. She knew he was awake this whole time.

"She needs help" was his simple reply. She seemed to have only known suffering and depravity, with the way she spoke back at the shrine. Naruto had once said that if helping someone made him a fool, he'd be a fool for his entire life. As much as everything's changed, that remained the same. He probably couldn't even be classified as a ninja anymore, but his beliefs carried over. He never went back on his words.

It was his nindo, his ninja way.

"… Fool" she said softly and skulked back into the shadows. She didn't understand emotions, much less ones that resulted in self-harm. He was a powerful fool, though, so she allowed it. She turned around before fully disappearing into the darkness, mouthing something at him.

"It'll bring you ruin one day."

-Current Time-

That day was today, he thought as he stood atop the burning building. He wanted to believe in the good in Tamamo, in her better nature. He never wanted it to come to this. She had asked to take a leave for some leisure, and, being the foolhardy idiot that he was, he had allowed it.

Now?

Innocent lives had been lost. She had gone and charmed two different leaders of the area into a large-scale skirmish over her hand. Spineless mooks who were slaves to their desires. They and their armies fought, bringing chaos to the land and forcing him and Sasuke to step in to stop the damage from spreading any further than it had. Sasuke had already taken care of his side of things. He had requested Sasuke to let him take care of "Tama-chan" specifically, to which the Uchiha obliged.

Naruto made a few hand-signs, his eyes still focused on Tamamo. "Water style: Water Dragon!" A massive dragon made of water appeared, going through the various buildings that were on fire and quenching them, including the one they were standing on. Releasing the hand-signs, Naruto continued to stare disapprovingly at her.

She growled and hissed as if she was in agony. His gaze… it was messing with her, driving her mad!

"Why…" she managed to croak out.

"Why what?" Naruto spoke back, feeling a sense of deja-vu.

"WHY DO YOU CLING TO THIS WRETCHED ILLUSION FOR SO LONG!?" She yelled out, rage flashing in her now golden eyes. "Even now, with the immense power you possess, you refuse to even target me! To order me! To defile me! Stop pretending, and reveal yourself, fool!"

"… I haven't been pretending at all" Naruto spoke back in a hushed tone. "I wanted to give you a second chance, that is all."

"What if I didn't want a second chance!? What if I didn't want to be a slave!?"

"I never treated you like a slave. I gave you all the freedom you needed. This is what you did with it" Naruto finished, pointing down to the building they were standing on. It'd collapse at any minute.

"You… you took my agency away from me. You took away my right to die!" she yelled out, shocking Naruto. Did she want to die?

He could empathize with her, if that was the case. Being 1000+ years old had given him time to think. Too much time, in fact. The thought had crossed his mind several times. It still does, but he can't just up and off himself. That wasn't how he wanted to go out. Gathering himself from the shock, he took a step forward.

She took a step back.

Another step forward.

Another step back.

Naruto stopped, seeing what was going on. She was teetering on the edge of the building, looking at him with defiance in her eyes. Instantly, he shot towards her in Six Paths Sage mode, intent on rescuing her before she could jump off, and he would have.

Had she not set a trap.

Naruto found himself unable to move, stuck in something sticky and viscous.

Chakra-infused mud. He had neglected to check for any traps in his panic. It reminded him of a technique Jiraiya used when he and Tsunade were fighting Orochimau all those years ago. He broke through the mud with ease, but that split-second occurrence was all Tamamo needed to plunge herself off the edge of the building. Naruto sped off the side of the building, but he was too late, as she was inches from the ground when he had begun. Landing next to her now broken form, he sported a dark expression. He leaned down, seeing that she was still alive.

He made to heal her, as he had the power to do so, but found his wrist gripped by her feeble strength.

"Don't" she weakly managed, coughing up blood in the process.

"Why?" he asked. Why would she go this far? Was this what she meant when she said she'd "make him pay for it"?

Tamamo looked at him weakly, having a moment of clarity in her fast-approaching death.

"I'm not worth it."

"Who decided that you aren't!?" Naruto practically yelled at her.

"I did" she responded. "I don't deserve to live… I don't deserve you." Her coughing fits got worse, and the blood started to run down her mouth. Tamamo was a sorceress, but she was only slightly more durable than the average human when not protected by magic.

Naruto, catching the last part of her sentence, looked at her puzzled. What did she mean? Tamamo picked up on this, and answered his question.

"I finally know why I couldn't bare the sight of you" she croaked out. "I thought it was rage at first… but it wasn't. What I said atop that building… I meant it. You didn't order me around, defile me, you weren't wrathful" she paused, coughing up more blood. Her voice was growing weaker.

She needed to tell him.

"You were everything that I had lost faith in. I… I used to be a human. I discovered magic, and went down a path of depravity. I lied, seduced, stole, and killed. Everyone around me did the same… until you showed up. I tried and *cough* tried, but I couldn't break your will, your spirit. I thought you were a god, or a fox like me, but you're human, aren't you?"

"… Yes" Naruto responded, deigning to continue listening to her story. She laughed a weak laugh, ands smiled. A genuine smile, unlike the ones she had used for centuries.

"I believe I came to love you. I just didn't have the courage to believe it."

"… Love me?"

"Yes." She was crying now. "If only I had the courage. If only I had met you sooner. If only I had a second chance in life…" She looked up into his eyes, realization dawning on her. She did have a second chance. At this, her smile grew even wider, and she could feel the end approaching.

"If only… I could meet you again." The light left her eyes, and her body went limp. Naruto, having not healed her out of respect for her wishes, picked her up bridal style and stood motionless. Sasuke, Ophis, and Lilith appeared next to him, all three of them realizing what had happened. Naruto turned to the three of them.

"Can you clean up here?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Of course" Sasuke replied. Naruto shook his head, thankful for his friend's productivity, and took off with the dead fox in his arms. This is the choice she had made, so he wouldn't weep. He was sad, but knew some things were inevitable. He could not save everyone, especially from themselves. He sighed, hoping that she would be happy wherever she ends up in the afterlife (how did that work here, again?). He thought he was done with this when he left the elemental nations.

He thought he was done burying the dead.