-1Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Period.
A Cursed Kiss
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Chapter one: The mission
"Tsunade-baachan!" Naruto yelled at the top of his voice, perky and excited for another high ranking mission.
He was walking to the office lost in his own thoughts.
It had been 3 years since Sasuke returned. Naruto being the only person who could bring him back.
3 years since that faithful day of merciless blood slaughter.
Yes. Naruto witnessed all the events of that day and will never forget them. Those events were etched into his mind. Nobody dare ask him what happened. Even now after 3 years.
All they knew was Orochimaru and Kabuto were dead. Akatsuki barely alive. Even if some members escaped at least Itachi was finally dead which made Sasuke return to his abandoned village having carrying out his revenge.
Both of them are now jounin and are some of the most high ranking ninja in the village. Both were close to being promoted to Anbu. High ranking ninja who personally protects the hokage.
Naruto was only a few steps away to making his dream true. He was really happy and overjoyed at the fact that people acknowledge him now but few people still glare.
He had always won over people he just met without a lot of problems. Sometimes none at all. Nobody knew why. Not even Naruto himself.
As he pranced into the room, he met with a serious look on Tsunade's face.
He instantly became serious along with a serious face. Thoughts of the past brushed away and replaced with priority for the mission.
As if reading his thoughts, Tsunade let out a sigh. He never understood how dangerous these missions are. No matter how strong he is.
Tsunade began, "Naruto. This is a very dangerous mission but this mission can only involve you. It is a class A rank mission. It is a request from the sand village's kazekage."
Naruto's serious face instantly replaced by a large goofy yet gleaming grin. It was also very contagious.
Tsunade could not help but smile at the young boy's face. 'Naruto hasn't changed at all. Well at least personality wise even though that is a little untrue.' she thought.
Naruto had indeed changed in appearance these last 3 years. He slightly got taller but only a little. He was still shorter than all the other men but at least taller then all the girls.
He was more built and had more muscles in his chest but no one noticed this. Tsunade noticed this only because she gave him check ups requiring to take off your shirt. Nobody ever noticed this because his muscles were always covered by his clothes. He also grew his hair out as long as the fourth's had been. If it wasn't for the 3 lines on each cheek, he would look exactly like the fourth hokage himself. Just a younger version. Though he does look like the fourth, Naruto was more feminine. He was slender and skinny for a boy no matter how many muscles he gains. This meaning he took more genes from his mother than his father.
He is also very strong. Nobody knew how strong Naruto really was. Neither Sasuke nor Kakashi even knew the boy's limit. They haven't even seen him fight in years.
Naruto had learned to be more graceful theses past few years. He still was very clumsy but learned to have the grace and cunning of a fox during missions and when he wanted to.
Naruto was now 17 years old. Sasuke was older at 18 almost 19. Sakura was also older but only by a couple months so she too was still 17.
One thing that definitely surprised her the most as the boy grew up is that he finally took things seriously during missions and grew famous among criminals and bandits because they nicknamed him the Demon Fox of Konoha. That was very rare for the criminals to put the effort in nicknaming him.
He had learned to control the kyuubi in due time so the grown ups weren't afraid anymore and finally became friendly towards Naruto. Before that though, Which ever friend Naruto was with were very protective of Naruto when ever he had to go through the village. Naruto was very happy that his friends cared for him deeply. Soon almost the whole had village accepted him for who he was.
She sighed once more at the boy's gleaming face on having heard his old friend. The very friend he had saved from the darkness that he once went through.
She just smiled at him before explaining the mission.
"This mission will be to chase some very high skilled ninja who stole a secret jutsu scroll from the kazekage's office in the Sand. These ninjas are residing in the Forest of Darkness about a day and a half away from here. This will take about a week but knowing that you are one of the only fast jounin left in the village has to go and because Gaara requested you himself because you may be the only shinobi that can." she exclaimed.
Naruto listened intently. He knew this is another easy mission even if it had a ranking of Class A. but something was different this time. "What do you mean that I maybe the only shinobi that can?"
She sighed. She knew that Naruto was going to ask something like that since he is smarter and more cunning.
"Be careful Naruto. This isn't any ordinary forest." she warned darkly.
Naruto shivered at her tone of voice. He gulped and glanced back at her. Her aura was one of darkness. He replied, "What do you mean?"
She looked grim, the aura around her deepening. "That forest isn't ordinary." she repeated then continued, "It contains beings with enormous power. Those are the rumors and why no ordinary human that came in never came out. Shinobi sent in have reported strange figures with monstrous power. It attacked them and seriously injured them almost killing them as well.
Naruto grew nervous but curious at the same time.
Tsunade sighed once more at the change of emotion visible on his face. She thought of the possibilities of peaking his interest more or just scaring the shit out of him. She knew it would only ignite his curiosity but took the chance anyway.
"Just be careful!" she warned with worry outlined on her face.
Naruto smiled his comforting smile. "I will be, don't worry Tsunade-baachan." He said before disappearing.
Tsunade held her head in her hands thinking and praying that he would be okay and return him safely. She was interrupted by a knock on the door. She straightened up and coughed, "Come in."
Shizune opened the door and closed it behind her. She walked straight to Tsunade's desk and asked, "Are you sure about sending Naruto on this mission?"
"Yes I'm sure. It was also requested by the kazekage for only Naruto to do it so I have no choice unless I want to break our alliance." Tsunade replied. A silence then crept over them hoping that Naruto will return home safely.
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Naruto disappeared out of the hokage's office into his own bedroom. He started packing everything he needed for the mission into a small black bag. He packed long lasting snacks, sleeping essentials, and an extra kunai and shurikens. He also packed the rest of his ninja weapons into a small leg pouch.
Then he securely fastened the pouch to his left leg. And slung his small black bag over his shoulder. He walked out of the bedroom closing the door entering the hallway and crossed the living room to open the door. Just as he did so, a figure stood there.
The figure was none other than Uchiha Sasuke. His rival and his best friend.
He had worn a very dark blue out fit with a green vest just like Kakashi-sensei's and Naruto's except Naruto wore a black outfit instead of blue.
"What the hell are you doing here teme!" Naruto burst out from habit.
Sasuke ignored his outburst as he noticed a small bag on the younger boy's shoulder. "On a mission?" he simply asked.
Naruto didn't have time to protest so he simply said "Yes." Sasuke nodded then walked away.
Naruto gazed at his retreating back while locking the door behind him. He disappeared again and reappeared at the gates of Konoha. He nodded to the guards and jumped off into the trees that surround Konoha.
As he jumped he thought, 'That was weird. It looked like Sasuke was going to ask me something back then. Oh well. I'll ask him about it when I get back from this mission.'
He sped up while jumping on the trees wanting to finish this mission as soon as possible. As he thought of what kind of question Sasuke was going to ask him he sped up faster propelling himself from branch to branch. He heard cracking noises behind him and turned only to find that he was breaking the branches so he proceeded on foot going at a speed that even shinobi can't keep up.
As he reached a clearing he saw the entrance to the Forest of Darkness. It was eerie looking and the forest was very ghost like even if the trees are alive they still look dead. There was a fog covering the whole forest and it seems no sun would go through those dense branches. The forest lived up to its name.
He had seen these parts before though but everyone told him it is very dangerous so he never thought about it.
'No wonder everyone says to avoid this place' he thoughtas he gulped and shivered. He looked up at the tall trees and then looked at the lively forest behind him once more before going in.
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Sasuke looked up into the sky. He had visited Naruto earlier but he was going on a mission so he just walked off.
He really wanted to ask Naruto to a one on one match. They hadn't fought in years and Sasuke was itching to know which one was stronger ever since he came back 3 years ago.
He was really surprised that there were no longer teams among his friends. They all had moved on and wanted to be stronger in their own ways. So he misses being in a team with Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi. Sakura not that much though.
His eyes lingered on a certain fox like cloud that reminded him of Naruto. He mentally sighed. Naruto had become very strong these past years with out training with him. Naruto never asks to train with him anymore.
Sasuke pretty much stronger than Itachi and Orochimaru to defeat them but it bothers him that he never really saw Naruto fight a real battle after training so much.
He heard a lot about Naruto's achievements through out these past 3 years. He absolutely refused to believe thugs and bandits and criminals alike named Naruto the Demon Fox of Konoha.
The rumors said he was very strong and got through missions that would normally take a shinobi longer.
He found a spot on the training grounds where it was shaded by a big tree. He sat down under the tree and leaned on the trunk.
'Let's see who got stronger in the last 6 years we haven't fought.' He chuckled out mentally. He never shows his emotions out in public. Even by himself.
As he was relaxing into the thought of fighting Naruto on a real battle he suddenly felt a chill down his spine. He had an ominous feeling that something bad is going to happen. It was a very mysterious feeling that wouldn't go away. He shivered and shrugged it off. He passed it as unimportant as he drifted off into a blissful oblivion of sleep.
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A roar pierced the darkening silence of the forest. Naruto had finished off a monstrous animal that had just attacked him. The beast fell to the floor. Ragged breaths slowly ceased as the monster died on the spot.
Naruto looked at the monster sadly. He did not mean to kill it. It had attacked him while he had just found fresh tracks from the ninjas that stole the scroll and was caught off guard. He turned away from it.
He had to be more careful this time as to not let his guard down. He once again started to follow the tracks. To his estimate there was about 5 ninjas but wondered if they were in a great hurry to clumsily leave their foot prints behind.
As he was nearing the very center of the forest, that was when he heard it. A inhuman scream that struck the silence so hard that Naruto shut his eyes and clamped both of his ears with each of his hands. It sounded like nothing he had ever heard, well at least on this planet. The scream lasted so long that Naruto himself could not handle it. He screamed as loud as the screamer himself making a blood curdling scream that could even put the devil to shame.
As soon as he screamed the inhuman scream stopped. Naruto's heart was pounding as well as the blood in his head. He opened his eyes and let go of his ears and patiently waited for the pounding to stop.
When it stopped, he continued to follow the foot prints at a even faster speed and he couldn't help but think about the owner of the scream and how it was possible for that person to scream like that. As he kept thinking, he reached a clearing right in the center of the forest.
The clearing had a huge tree in the middle of it. It was by far the biggest tree in this whole forest and the liveliest one as well. The leaves were as green as green could be. It had a few fairly large branches sticking out that you could lay or sit down on.
As he came to a stop and securely hid himself in a near by bush while masking his chakra, he saw that the clearing was surrounded by a bright white light that seemed to be coming from the tree in the middle.
When he finally tore his eyes away from the enchanting light, he searched the clearing for the owner of the scream. He soon found bodies scattered in one section of the clearing. He gasped.
Although his gasp was quiet, apparently someone still heard his quiet outburst. Then he heard the person speak.
"Come out! I know you are there." The voice commanded.
Naruto could tell that the voice belonged to a woman as he stood up and revealed himself from his hiding spot. He still stared at the bodies and knew they were the same ninjas that he had pursued for the scroll on this mission.
There were 5 bodies on the ground so she must have killed them all. He frantically searched for the scroll on all of them. To his relief he found it clutched tightly by whom he presumed as the leader.
Looks like someone new has interrupted and killed them before he could interrogate the criminals. He finally stopped and planted his gaze at the person in front of him.
Both observing each other at the same time.
He was amazed at what he saw though but not showing it.
This woman was a young girl but she was not ordinary. She was about his age to look this young but he sensed that she was also very strong.
She had long silver or was it white beautiful silky hair that reached the ground. She was about the same height as him it seemed. Her skin was surprisingly a peachy color and seemed to be soft. He eyes were as red as his eyes when in demon form but looked none the less just like his. Endless and mesmerizing. Her nose was small and normal size and her lips were as red as her eyes. She was skinnier than any girl he ever knew or met but looked perfect! Her curves were just right and her boobs were average size. Not too big and not too small.
There was also something abnormal about her as well.
On top of her head were fox like ears and behind her sticking out from under her clothes was a small fluffy fox tail that were silver just like her hair.
What she wore was a traditional kimono that hugged her body in all the right places. It had a very cute design on it. The design was filled with roses that caught your eyes more. There were colors of a deep blood red and black. The kimono itself was a swirl of the colors black and red. They seemed to be her favorite. She also wore black sandals to match her outfit. All in all she was an enchanting creature. Especially her eyes. Naruto locked gazes with the girl lost in her eyes.
All he could think to say was one word. 'Beautiful.'
Meanwhile she gazed at the boy as he revealed himself. He was as tall as her. And was very slender and skinny for a boy. She sensed his aura and knew that he was not ordinary. No. he was very powerful.
His blond golden hair seemed to give off its own light in the darkness of this forest. It was long and reached his chin. He had a headband signaling he was a ninja on his forehead. His skin was the perfect tan and his eyes were as blue as the sky but as deep and endless as the ocean. Just like hers. His lips pink and soft and his nose average sized.
She was intrigued by this human. He was a beautiful creature like her and she never saw anyone like him. She continued with her observation.
He wore a black outfit with a green vest. She didn't like the outfit one bit though.
She suddenly lunged at him knowing he was off guard but to her surprise he dodged with only one scratch to his vest. A thin line that ran across his stomach. Naruto threw his small backpack to the side.
She was very interested now.
Suddenly, before Naruto's eyes, she grew her red nails into claws and her eyes turned to fox like slits.
Naruto was surprised to see this. She transformed just like he does except she doesn't have 3 lines on each of her flawless cheeks.
She lunged at him with greater speed and tore the vest right off of him leaving a wound on his stomach side.
She didn't want to hurt him but more like she wanted to tear that outfit he had to smithereens. But to her surprise, The wound wasn't there anymore. Not even a drop of blood. It was like she never hurt him at all. She looked up into his face once more only to be surprised again.
His eyes turned blood red. The same blood red eyes like hers. His teeth grew sharper into long fangs. The lines on his cheek furrowed and became darker. His hair spike up a little more and his nails grew slightly longer but not as long as hers.
She was very interested now. 'This boy just got more interesting. He has the same fox power as I do but I don't think he learned how to use its full ability yet. Unless this power is not like mine.' she thought.
As she straightened up she asked, "Tell me your name."
Naruto was surprised but answered none the less. "Uzumaki Naruto."
She twitched. She knew that name. "You don't happen to be the kyuubi no kitsune's container are you?" she asked.
Naruto was surprised yet again but actually showed it this time. "Yes, yes I am."
Before Naruto could help it, he asked "Who are you?"
The girl smiled. "I am Kyuubi No Kitsune's daughter."
Naruto sat there stunned. 'How could this be? That fox had a daughter!' all of a sudden he heard another voice.
'That's right kit. I never told you did I? She is my daughter all those years ago. I had left her to protect her.'
Naruto was confused once more until another voice entered his mental conversation.
'Hello father. You finally showed up after all these years. I thought you were dead.'
Naruto jumped in surprise. It was Kyuubi's daughter that entered his mind. He looked at her and found that she was meditating.
'Naruto, this is my daughter Kyouka.' the Kyuubi introduced.
Naruto mentally nodded.
'Father!' Kyouka mentally shouted.
Kyuubi sighed and answered. 'The reason I never came back was because this boy's village tried to attack you and your mother. So I left to attack them but they sealed the hokage of that village sealed me within his own son. And died.'
Naruto bit his lower lip. He knew that the fourth was his father but was sad that no one had informed him. He never asked about it but was a little angry at the village to keep such important information from him.
Kyouka replied, 'Oh father! But this seal isn't that strong if you could give some of your power to this boy!'
'I am helping him because if he dies, so will I. But also, this kit is pretty amazing. So I won't leave him even if I could.'
Naruto beamed. ''Thanks Kyuubi.'
'Your welcome kit. Anyway, Have you found a mate yet? It is mating season and you are a fine young woman. And how is your mother'
Naruto blanched at that but could not escape the conversation topic that has unexpectedly taken place in his mind.
'Mother died a few years after you left.' Kyouka replied sadly.
Kyuubi mentally sighed and took a moment to pray to his wife before asking again. 'Did you find a mate?'
Kyouka seemed to blush at the moment as she glanced at Naruto. Kyuubi understood though. Naruto was looking confused until Kyuubi spoke to him.
'Kit, how would you like to be my daughter's mate?' Naruto almost fainted at what he heard.