Demon in a Straightjacket

Chapter 11

(Hey, even longer time no update. People did not seem to like my last chapter, however only a few of reviewers made sense. You know who you are. So I shall try to improve but I do this for fun, so don't expect literature.)

Kurenai faced the aging Hokage, her face drawn into a tired frown. Sarutobi had his head in his hands, cursing whatever he could think of.

"Hinata knew far too many details for it to be a lie" Kurenai said softly. Sarutobi nodded, not saying a word. Kurenai took the hint and remained silent. After several minutes he rose from his desk. Kurenai looked up in expectation. He motioned her to follow. They walked down several corridors and came across a regular looking door. The Hokage bit into his thumb, drawing blood and pressed it into the door. The wood absorbed the blood the door opened slightly.

"What you see does not leave this room" he warned. Kurenai nodded, already far too used to secrets. Walking into the darkened room she looked around. It was empty except for a single table which held a single scroll. Sarutobi walked around the table to one side and unrolled the scroll. Kurenai stood opposite him, and watched the scroll in fascination.

"This is ..." she began. The Hokage nodded.

"Everything you need to know about Reikon Bainbingu Kusari" he answered, falling into the role of benevolent teacher unconsciously. Kurenai looked at the scroll and realized she was out of her depth, so she waited for her Hokage to finish. His eyes swept over the scroll, searching for something about links.

"Found it" he muttered as he focused more intently. After several minutes he looked up, his expression a mix of elation and defeat. Kurenai found it to be the strangest mix.

"As I said before, none of this leaves the room" he said to Kurenai. She nodded in response. He sighed, gathered his thoughts, and looked at the ceiling.

"Well, we know the Kyuubi has escaped, and according to this it, no she has full access to her powers. However they should still have a connection, just a spiritual one" he said. Kurenai waited for a moment, absorbing the information.

"So what you are saying is that she not only has full access to her chakra, but can still influence Naruto" she said, her voice tense. Her emotions were frayed from the exam and this final bit of information had pushed her to near breaking point.

"No more then she could before" he said in a placating tone. Kurenai huffed, her mood not getting any better.

"Your team is as of now, suspended from active duty until further notice." He ordered. He then continued in a softer tone.

"I want you to aid them in any way you can" he said. Kurenai nodded and left the room quickly. Sarutobi sighed and stared back at the scroll. There was one thing he had not told Kurenai.

According to the scroll, Kyuubi should have been able to break both the links, not just the physical one.

He shook his head in confusion and left the room as well, sealing the door behind him.

Kurenai walked back into the observation room, where she could see below her the operation. Across the small room sat a doctor, who was avidly taking notes. She recognised him as one of the head doctors in the hospital. She walked over to him.

The doctor looked up as he heard someone approach.

"Are you the person responsible for her" he asked, indicating the operation below. Kurenai shuddered at the gender reference but nodded. He put down his pen and motioned for her to sit. She did so and kept her eyes focused on the surgery in morbid fascination. The Doctor tapped her shoulder to get her attention and began to explain what was going to be done. When he had finished she just absorbed the information for a moment.

"So he, she is going to be in an induced coma for about two months while you do all the necessary operations." She said slowly. The doctor nodded, thankful for an understanding person. Kurenai stared back down at Sasuke for a very long time before she got up and left, all the while the doctor continued to take notes.

Hinata wiped down Naruto's body with a damp cloth slowly. A nurse who had come in to check on him had noticed that she looked more than a little unsettled. The nurse also noticed the worried look that she had when she looked at Naruto that went beyond friendship. With a small smile that all elder people reserved for the trials and tribulations of the young she had asked Hinata to help her with the patient. The nurse had quietly left the room with a satisfied smile over what had happened and a backward glance at Hinata who was washing down Naruto.

Hiashi and Noriko walked down the hospital halls, taking note of the numbers. Both were in no rush as they had been assured that Hinata was in no danger. They approached the room that Hinata was in and opened the door slowly. Hiashi stopped when he saw what Hinata was doing. Having a sense of propriety he briefly glanced at his second wife. She nodded in understanding and walked in while Hiashi waited outside. Noriko walked in and Hinata glanced up in surprise. Seeing who it was she jerked her hand away in embarrassment. Hinata began to try and explain herself but could not find the words as her face continued to get redder and redder. Noriko permitted herself a brief smile and tried to calm her down.

After several moments Hinata calmed down and her face returned to its normal colour.

"It is a woman's duty to care for her significant other" Noriko reiterated carefully, making sure to omit the word wife. Hinata nodded again and sighed in relief. She turned to Naruto and straightened his cloths before turning back to her step mother.

"I assume that it is time to leave" she said. Noriko nodded in response and Hinata made to leave. However as she was walked past Noriko grabbed her shoulder.

"However that earlier display was not acceptable" she said softly. Hinata's face once again turned red, although this time it was from shame. Hinata accepted the admonishment with a nod. Noriko nodded and let go of her shoulder. She said a soft goodbye to Naruto, knowing that he would not hear her and left. Hinata greeted her father softly and the three of them walked towards the Hyuga estate in dignified silence.

Kurenai stalked through the hospital halls in silence. She was pissed at the moment. She was pissed at the Hokage, Jiraiya and the Kyuubi. However she was more upset with herself then with anything else. Despite how many times she told herself that she could not have stopped it. Soon she arrived at Naruto's room and opened the door. He lay on the bed quietly sleeping. She sat on the chair next to the bed and placed a hand on his forehead. She gazed down onto his face.

"Even in sleep he looks honest" she whispered. In a village of ninja, where deception was as natural as breathing, his smiling honesty was a breath of fresh air. She looked at his chains which were neatly rolled under the bed. She allowed her hands to wander. The chains were cold in her palms. Picking the chain up she ran her hand down it slowly, checking for changes. It looked the same as before. She reached the end of the chain with a sigh. Still holding the chain she leaned forward and kissed him softly on the forehead. Naruto moaned slightly and she felt the chains shift in her hands. Staring in bewilderment at her hands she softly smiled.

"It looks like he hasn't changed that much" she whispered to herself, willing herself to believe it to be the truth.

Sasuke lay on her bed, sleeping a dreamless sleep, her body was swollen from the corrective surgery. Numerous tubes had been fed into her body. This was the image that confronted Sakura. She looked at Sasuke in horror. The nurse who had accompanied Sakura looked at her with concern but did not make a comment. When a ninja with connections such as hers came in the best thing a person should do is to be as invisible as possible. Sakura looked at Sasuke with growing disbelief.

"Leave us" she said softly to the nurse. The nurse hesitated, unsure of what to do. Sakura, noticing that the nurse had not moved, whirled around and glared viciously at her. The nurse, while not particularly intimidated by the glare, knew that it would be a bad sign for her continued employment if she remained. With a nod the nurse left the room.

Sakura looked back down on the unconscious Sasuke. Her dreams, ambitions had been shattered. And the only person she could think to blame was Naruto. He was the only person who would have hurt her like this. She leaned over Sasuke's body and examined every inch, not missing her lack of a male organ.

"I have to stop it" she whispered. Looking at the tubes she narrowed her eyes, immediately making the assumption that this was what was changing her beloved Sasuke into a female. She grabbed hold of the cords one at a time and started pulling them out. Unfortunately the first cord she pulled out was the one that was putting Sasuke in a coma. Sakura heard a murmur when she had finished pulling out the third tube. Looking up she noticed that Sasuke's were beginning to open.

"Don't worry, I will make sure that you are all better" she cooed softly. Sasuke however did not hear her. Sasukes eyes widened as her memories came flooding back. With a yell she looked down. Even more memories came crashing down on her.

Incapable of words all Sasuke could do was scream. It was almost animalistic in not only its rage, but also its despair. She tore at the tubes, smashed the machines, anything that could try to decrease the pain. Needless to say that it all was futile. Sakura cowered back, fearful of Sasuke's rage.

The nurse who had just left rushed through the door, syringe in hand, accompanied by several orderlies. They held her down while the nurse the nurse administered the relaxant. Gradually Sasuke stopped thrashing around and settled into a slumber. Breathing heavily the orderlies let her go and let out a sigh of relief. Patting each other on the back they moved to the door. The nurse however motioned them to stay.

"Remove her as well" she said, pointing to a cowering Sakura with disgust. Sakura struggled against the orderlies' removing her, and it eventually took all four holding a limb each to get her out of the room. Once she was out the nurse locked the door behind her and flicked on the isolation light. She went over to the sleeping Sasuke and fixed up all the medical equipment.

"I should not have left you alone" she said softly, more to herself then to Sasuke.

Sakura was dumped unceremoniously in the waiting room with firm orders to leave the hospital. Pouting but realizing that there was not much that could be done about it she stood up and left the hospital in a huff, intending to report the matter to her mother.

Haruka listened to her daughter tell her of the incident at the hospital. She had no doubt that the story had been edited but took the basic facts as they were. She did not however share her daughter's love of the Uchiha. To Haruka, the Uchiha was nothing more than a stepping stone. She was someone that could be used to increase her own personal power. She knew that Sasuke could still be used it was just that it would be allot easier if Sasuke had stayed as a male. However she did share her daughter's dislike of Naruto.

Haruka dismissed her daughter and thought over what she had heard and what could be done. It would have been allot easier to gain revenge on Naruto outside the village rather than inside. She sat at her desk and thought on it for a very long time.

The Next Day

Haruka sat across from Sarutobi, outlining her 'concerns' about Naruto. The basis for these was that since the Kyuubi had let Naruto live then she would obviously be back for him, because she was a demon and he was her jailor. Sarutobi was not fooled for a minute that her primary concern was for the village but was forced to concede the point. It was a valid concern.

"So what you say is that you want him out of the village for a period of time to make sure that if the Kyuubi came after him it would not harm the village" he clarified. Haruka nodded, allowing a slight smirk to grace her features. Sarutobi suppressed the urge to punch her in the face when he noticed the smirk. Instead he took a deep breath.

"He is in the hospital at the moment so he will not be going anywhere, but you do have a point and as soon as he has recovered I will assign him a mission that will be outside the village." He said to Haruka. Haruka, knowing that it was the best that she was going to get, left the room with a satisfied air about her. It was only once she had left that he ground his teeth. He could guess what she was planning but could do little to stop it.

In the Hospital

Naruto was eating with gusto. His nurse had looked at him with amused disbelief as he had scoffed down the hospital food.

"I didn't know that hospital food tasted that good" she had whispered to Kurenai, who had also laughed quietly. Kurenai smiled and watched him eat quietly. She did however notice that there was some rice attached to the side of his mouth.

"You missed some" she said in a kind tone as she reached over and got the rice of with her index finger before placing it in her own. Naruto stopped eating and stared at her. She in turn looked at him, finger still in mouth.

"That felt nice" he said after a moment. Kurenai looked at him for a moment and then at herself. She quickly removed her finger from her mouth and laughed it off, not wanting to think about what a third person at the scene would have thought of it. Naruto, seeing her laughter, joined in and soon continued eating. However the thought that went through her mind was at how natural it was for her to do it. Shaking her head she put that thought out of her mind as well.

One Week Later

Naruto waltzed out of the hospital with a swagger. Fully recovered he was glad to be out. The hospital bored Naruto to tears. He had not been allowed to leave his room even when he had recovered. Behind him were both Hinata and Kurenai. Both had small smiled on their faces over his excitement.

"Hurry up Naruto, you have to report to the Hokage" Kurenai called as he ran forward.

"Yeah yeah" he responded. Kurenai shook her head in mock exasperation. He was like a child.

Naruto looked up towards the Hokage tower. Although still motivated by his instincts, he had since his release gained a sense of responsibility. Not a large one but still a sense of responsibility. Sighing he launched himself towards the tower.

Kurenai turned towards Hinata with a smile.

"Thank you for coming Hinata" she said warmly. Hinata nodded her smile fading. Hyuga dignity dictated that she not show her emotions but she could not help herself when it came to Naruto. She found his innocence endearing and his capacity of violence arousing. Kurenai, noticing that Hinata had one again schooled her emotions knew that there would be no idle conversation. She decided to get straight down to business.

"You will be receiving training from your family and only undertaking a minimal amount of lower ranked missions while Sasuke is out of commission." Kurenai said to Hinata. Hinata nodded in understanding before leaving. Kurenai sighed. While she had had remarkable progress with Naruto and Sasuke, Hinata was still rather arrogant towards most people and it was only her family and her teammates that she opened up and lost her Hyuga arrogance. Kurenai turned as well and made her way towards the Hokage tower.

Naruto landed at the foot of the tower to find Kurenai waiting. With a sulky expression he walked past her and into the building. Giggling Kurenai followed.

The Hokage looked at Naruto with an amused smile. He wore a sulky expression while Kurenai stood behind him with an amused but not condescending smile. He shook his head and decided to give Naruto his orders.

"Since you have recovered I have a mission for you" he said in a grandfather tone. Naruto immediately perked up, his sulky expression gone. Kurenai also looked on in interest. Sarutobi opened his draw and pulled out a scroll.

"You are to hand this over to a man called Jiraiya. He can be found around the hot springs" Sarutobi said with a silent chuckle. He had his crystal ball specially prepared. Kurenai however no longer had a smile on his face. She could guess who he was delivering the scroll too and did not like where it was going. Naruto however was excited and did not wait.

"See ya" he said with a smile and a wave as he dashed out the door. Kurenai turned to face the Hokage, eyes blazing.

"He should not be associating with people like that" she said. Sarutobi just chuckled.

"You sound like an annoyed wife" he said with a chuckle. Kurenai huffed and stomped out, seeing that there was no arguing with him.

Naruto landed in the woods just outside the bathhouses. Kurenai had always told him that you needed to listen and follow mission orders to the letter, and the Hokage had told him that this man would be around the Hot Springs then this would be a good place to start. Readjusting his chains around his body Naruto looked around. As he began to search he heard a soft giggle coming from the fence and with his curiosity aroused, made his way over to investigate. Soon enough he saw an older man peeking through a crack in the fence, giggling to himself, taking down notes the whole time.

Walking up to him, he said in a normal tone.

"Are you Jiraiya?" he asked. The man looked up at him in askance, already knowing what was coming. The wall separating the two from the bathhouse proper was torn down within milliseconds only to reveal a plethora of woman behind it, all looking remarkably pissed.

Naruto, despite his isolation, had the instinctive male response. It was not however to flee the scene in a great hurry.

"I am just delivering a scroll to Jiraiya" Naruto said in a hurry, displaying the closed scroll. The women's rage was then directed fully at Jiraiya, who managed one final glare at Naruto before he was beaten into a bloody pulp.

You see the instinctive male response to these situations was not to run but to deflect the blame onto someone else and watch with amusement the results.

When the women were done they turned their glares towards Naruto, who was watching with amusement.

"You found this funny?" one of the women said in a threatening tone. Naruto nodded and smiled innocently.

"It was very funny watching him get beat up like that" Naruto responded with his most innocent smile. None of the women could find it in their hearts to accuse him of being a pervert.

"Just get him out of here" the woman said finally. Naruto nodded and went to pick up Jiraiya. Fastening both his chains and his arms around the moaning Jiraiya he lifted him up onto his shoulders and dragged him away from the bath houses. When they were a suitable distance away from the bath houses he dropped him to the ground. Jiraiya groaned and rubbed his head.

"You said you have a message" he asked groggily. Naruto handed over the scroll. Jiraiya read over it once before looking up at Naruto.

"You're coming with me kid" he said with a rakish grin. Naruto stared at him in excited disbelief.

"Where?" he asked. Jiraiya rose off the ground and dusted himself off.

"Tanzaku Gai" he responded. That was all Naruto needed to hear. He let out a shout and started to hassle Jiraiya about when they would leave.

"Tomorrow at the main gate" he said with a hassled air. Naruto nodded and rushed of back to his home to tell Kurenai as well as prepare.

When Naruto had left he looked at the scroll again and shook his head. The fact that his teacher, his mentor and friend was getting old was not something he wanted to confront.