Tayuya winced in pain for umpteenth time. Clenching her fist, she fought the urge to glare down at the stump of her arm, knowing full well she had done that far too many times to justify it any further. But it didn't stop the pain from reminding her of her predicament every few seconds, and Chiyo had all but made obtaining painkillers impossible throughout all of the village, much to the redheads' ire. The old bat didn't seem to think the aftermath of the surgery required such things. Whatever gave her that opinion was sure to die a horrible death once Tayuya got a hold of it.

Never the less, the surgery was in the past now, and she was more than relieved to know it would be the last one she'd have to endure for the foreseeable future. The pain would last for a while, but in the end, she knew it would be for her own good. While it had been recommended that she not try any strenuous chakra activity with the new implant, she had been left with a rather mind-numbing amount of spare time as she recovered. Chiyo was too busy helping manage the village for the time being to give her anything to do, and Naruto's attention was always elsewhere.

It had been nearly a week since he had sealed the Ichibi inside the young kage. Somehow, through some form of miracle, the elders and council were able to pass it off as Temari being kept busy by the formalities and political requirements of her new position. Many of the villagers were sympathetic in their own ways. Tayuya had considered the idea of leaking the information about the Bijuu a handful of times just to see what would happen. It would most definitely end in her being killed, either by the council or Naruto himself, and as such she hadn't dared to make a slip up on the matter. Not so much out of fear, especially not for the council, but simply because she had some things she needed to figure out before she could die without being frustrated.

The first thing on the list being why she was still alive in the first place. Naruto had given her a logical answer to that question, but after Temari's words on the matter, the redhead couldn't help but think more and more about it. The more thought she put in, the more she realised just how plausible Temari's suspicions were. Naruto's explanation gave logical reasoning as to why he saved her, and to an extent, why he was so fixated on her physical safety, save for her limbs. But that was it. It only explained his desire to keep her alive and capable of bearing children. His actions thus far obviously sent mixed messages to numerous observers, what with some assuming a romantic involvement between the two of them, and it worried her.

She had acted her heart out in front of Temari; ranting about killing Naruto herself and being mortified at the thought of the world sized target that would be painted on her back for being seen as his love interest, but she knew that wasn't why she was on edge. She was worried because she knew Naruto was a good liar. She knew he was lying to her, most likely about a lot of things, but she still wasn't able to discern truth from lie. Not with him anyway. Others she could read like books, or at least like book covers. Even Orochimaru, in spite of the snakes' genius, was easy enough to read most of the time. But Naruto was a complete mystery to her.

Tayuya managed to boil it down to simply not knowing the jinchuuriki's goal. Everyone else had a goal. Something they were trying to accomplish that would make judging their actions in specific situations rather simple. Orochimaru wanted to be immortal and all knowing, and there was nothing he wouldn't do to obtain that dream. But Tayuya didn't know what Naruto wanted. What his limits were. His morals. What he held as valuable and what was expendable to him. She just didn't have enough information to judge properly, and it was stressing her out.

For whatever reason, Temari's words were stuck in her head, repeating themselves over and over again. No matter how much she tried to reject the idea, the mere possibility of the blonde being minutely correct in her assumptions was unimaginable. Curiosity was getting the better of her yet again. A severe character flaw she had only truly been forced to give into since meeting the jinchuuriki. She needed to know the truth. She needed to be absolutely sure that there was no ulterior motive behind Naruto's keeping her around. And if by chance Temari was right, then she needed to find out what the real reasoning was.

As she began to contemplate and plan her method of interrogating the poor sod, Tayuya started to pace around the apartment. It wasn't until she went into the bedroom for the fourth time that she actually had to stop in her tracks, her eyes being drawn rather violently towards the mirror that she was standing in front of. While the reflective object had definitely been there the whole time since her arrival, she had never actually taken the time to look at herself. In fact, she hadn't bothered to check on her appearance at all since the mission to get Sasuke out of Konoha. Not to say she cared overly about how she looked, but there was still a certain level of modesty and organisation that she felt the necessity to maintain in her outward appearance.

That being said, her current 'look', if one could dare call it a look, was more reminiscent of the way she was when Orochimaru had first found her. She was still wearing the clothes that Naruto had given her. They had been cleaned of course, but their travels had pushed the cheap fabric to its limits. Some spots were wearing through, while the seams showed signs of weakening. The grey shirt had retained quite a few blood stains, and even had a tear or two. The pants were the same but thankfully they were black so nothing was overly obvious. Still, new clothes were something most likely worth looking into, and Suna had quite the reputation as far as fabrics and clothing went.

Being in such an isolated area, and living under some of the harshest conditions of any of the villages, Suna had developed quite the knack for textile work. Their clothes were always sought after for being easily washable yet far more durable than most. The shinobi gear was made with even more precision and care. Being a village known for its wind nature shinobi, it wasn't unlikely for clothing to be sliced and torn apart. Needless to say, they had gone to great lengths to perfect the art of making clothes for just about any purpose.

Her eyes slowly drifted up her own reflection until she was left staring at her hair. She had taken the time to clean it often since arriving in Suna, what with the sand making life more than irritating. But it wasn't the cleanliness that she was worried about. It was the style. Or rather, what was missing from it. She had lost all of her clothing on the mission to get Sasuke, and that included her hat. While it held no sentimental value to her, the head piece was a key feature of her own particular style, especially when it came to how she kept her hair. She wasn't at all opposed to the current style she had it in, having gotten Chiyo to quickly help her pull most of it back into a ponytail, leaving two bangs to frame her face. But she was definitely going to need another hat.

Sadly, such thoughts of a shopping spree came to an unfortunate halt as she realised with a pout that she didn't have the money to do so, much to her dismay. Looking around quickly, she tried to find something worth-while selling for the justified cause of clothes shopping, only to realise that she didn't actually own anything to sell in the first place. Sitting down, she mulled in her own thoughts for a while. The idea of stealing new clothes was more than doable, as was the idea of stealing something to sell for the money, but neither option was worth the risk at the present time.

It didn't take long before she was once again stuck, her mind returning to the state of repeating Temari's words over and over until she had a mental breakdown. But thinking of the blonde only brought a new idea to the redhead, one that was definitely worth a shot. After all, she was sure that Temari could do with a well-deserved distraction from the stress of her new-found position. Or at least that was how Tayuya was going to word it. Always better to come off as trying to help another than to be selfish.

With her mind made up, Tayuya leapt to her feet and left the apartment. She made her way rather skilfully to the hospital, being sure as to not be followed. While she was of the opinion that keeping the newly made jinchuuriki in the hospital was a bad idea, it didn't mean she was going to voice it. The excuses made by the council would have been far more easily believable had Temari been kept hidden away in the Kazekage tower. But hey, greater minds were thinking on the matter, so who was she to argue with it. If it hadn't of been for her previous experience getting past ANBU security in Konoha, then she was sure that she wouldn't have been able to slip past the strategically placed shinobi that seemed to surround the building.

No one gave her a second glance as she made her way through the hallways, her eyes scanning each room as she passed them. It was stupid to think that Temari would be in any of the standard rooms, but looking around never hurt and it was always good to make others think she was looking for someone else. That being said, Tayuya didn't actually know where Temari was being kept, so she wasn't entirely sure as to where to start looking in the first place. It wouldn't be wise to simply ask anyone. While she and Naruto were probably the talk of the village, the less attention she could draw to herself the better. That, and the last thing she needed was for Naruto to be frustrated with her for causing a scene… again.

After what seemed like an eternity, the redhead felt as though she could safely say she had explored all of the accessible areas of the hospital, which she had memorised and mapped for future benefits. One in her profession never knew when knowing the complete layout of a major village's hospital building would come in handy. But sadly, such knowledge was coming with consequences. Those in the building that hadn't given her a second thought earlier were obviously getting suspicious. She was the focus of many curious glances and strange stares. No doubt her continuous laps of the halls had started to push the limits of normality. Regrettably, this had come about far too soon. There hadn't been a single sign or inclination as to where Temari would be. Not even a genjutsu hiding a door, or some out of place shinobi guarding some secret passage in a wall.

She had found nothing.

But much to her ever-growing bad luck, someone had found her.

It wasn't immediately apparent, nor easily detectible without having some very intense genjutsu training, but there was definitely one being used somewhere around her. She couldn't tell where from, and she couldn't even pinpoint what the effects of it were. Whoever was using it was skilled, that much was certain. However, it wasn't until the walls of the hospital began to melt that Tayuya truly realised how skilled they were. Her head whipped around quickly as she was all too late to be aware of the sudden lack of people around, a muttered string of curses slipping from her mouth as she grasped the reality of her situation.

The building stopped melting momentarily, only to stop existing all together in the blink of an eye, leaving in its wake an open field of nothing but the occasional dead tree. What caught her eye the most was the sky, or rather, the blood red moon illuminating the world in which she now stood. It was a genjutsu, there was no doubt about it, but it was wrong. She hadn't detected it, not even the slightest indication of her mind being invaded. And even now, as she was stuck in someone else's creation, she couldn't sense what was wrong with the world. It was too real, too perfect. As though someone hadn't created it at all but instead merely dragged her to a place that actually existed.

Had Tayuya not been a specialist in genjutsu, she may have been impressed, or even curious as to what extent such a technique could be pushed to. But she wasn't uneducated enough to not know where she was, the technique she was now trapped in, and worse yet, who she was facing. It was obvious, for someone that had spent so long under the rule of Orochimaru, but she never in her life imagined that she would end up in this situation. The reality of it all hit her hard as she lost her composure, pulsing her chakra as much and as quickly as she could.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" she screamed, each outburst being louder than the last, each burst of chakra more desperate. "This isn't happening!" she exclaimed, ditching the chakra bursts and resorting to biting down on her arm, her teeth digging deep into the flesh as her mouth filled with blood.

"That won't work."

She froze at the words. Her eyes widened with a fear she thought she'd never have the misfortune of feeling. The taste of blood and the pain that accompanied it were quickly forgotten as she stared at the unwavering surroundings. Not even a ripple, nor a crack. Her chakra, her pain, not even the slightest of dents were made to the false reality she was trapped in. Her arm fell limp at her side as she felt her lungs filling with blood. Looking down, she saw a spike buried deep in her chest, skewering her straight through. She followed the intruding weapon up, starring past the hand that grasped it, and straight into the eyes of her attacker.

They were cold. Unflinching and calculating. The eyes of a killer, of a monster. There was no emotion, no hatred, no lust, not even a glimmer of sadistic enthralment. The further she peered into them the more it felt like she was losing herself, submitting her mind unwillingly to a power that even now she couldn't hope to comprehend. She could feel herself dying. Be it from the whole in her chest, or the mind weakening gaze that she was suffering under, she couldn't be sure. Her breathing had stopped for some time, and she couldn't feel most of her body anymore. Her vision was blurring as blotches of blackness grew larger and larger.

The Tsukuyomi.

She smiled as she lost the last of her clear vision. It was such a beautiful technique. The most perfect genjutsu. She had read of it, and heard Orochimaru talk about its unfaltering dominance over the mind and life of anyone trapped within it. Never in her wildest nightmares did she think she would fall victim to it, to have the misfortune of running into quite possibly the last living person capable of performing such a jutsu. But she had, and for whatever reason, she was on his list.

As the final remnants of her own existence seemed to drift away, a single thought pushed itself into what was left of her mind. It was an unusual thought for her, but in what she was sure were her final moments, she couldn't help but focus on it.

'Naruto'

It wasn't much to go on, but it was enough to cling to. Just his name. Tayuya didn't exactly understand herself at the best of times and had anyone asked her what her last thought in life would be, the answer would most certainly not be anything regarding a guy. And yet here she was. And the only thing she could think about was him. Not in some sappy romantic way, but in the way someone would think about something important to them. Something they needed to feel normal. And if the redhead was completely honest with herself, the idea that she 'needed' Naruto was a lot scarier than the idea of her loving him.

But that was beside the point. Her mind wasn't trying to cling to a fond memory, even she knew that much. Instead, there was something else. An emotion. Stronger than anything she had ever felt before. It shook her to her core, and in what seemed like an impossible feat, it dragged her back from wherever she was drifting to, even if only for a second.

She was scared.

For the first time in her life, Tayuya was afraid. Not of dying, but of losing someone. Of losing her ability to spend time with someone. She didn't understand why that someone had to be Naruto, what with the insufferable mental image of his goofy grin permanently etched into her mind, but hey, who was she to argue with the very thoughts that were helping her cling to life for a few more moments. But sadly, it couldn't be forever, and as just as her life slipped away, the last thought in her mind was of Naruto.

And then she was back in the hospital, as if she hadn't moved, as if nothing had happened at all. No one around her showed any concern or inclination that they had noticed anything. Actually, the manner in which the redhead was looking around seemed to be the only thing drawing any attention. It wasn't until she finally stopped freaking out and took a deep breath that the true fear of what had happened sunk in, and yet again, it wasn't even about her.

'Naruto!'

She took off at a speed that shocked those around her, but she didn't care about drawing any attention at the moment. The Tsukuyomi had been used on her and there was no question about it. The only question was to what end? It couldn't have been just to scare her. Such tactics were useless and far beneath someone the likes of the Uchiha. Which meant only one thing. It had been used to get information. The jutsu was mysterious, and while most of its abilities were supposed to be recorded, there was always the possibility of hidden traits. Being able to pry information straight out of a victim's head was not all that unlikely.

While she couldn't see the point in someone prying into her mind, Tayuya could definitely pinpoint what information someone would be looking for. If it wasn't something relating to Orochimaru, which by this point would be useless and outdated information, then it was something to do with Naruto. The only information she had was knowing the idiot was definitely within Suna, and for anyone who couldn't be sure, it was useful.

A normal person might have gone straight to the Kazekage with such information. Anyone trying to get to Naruto in the middle of one of the greater shinobi villages was more than likely powerful enough to put up quite the grudge match with the jinchuuriki. The village should have been put on immediate alert. But Tayuya didn't care about the village. She didn't care about the people. All she cared about was Naruto.

'What the fuck?!' she tripped over her own feet in a brief moment of mental overload, crashing hard to the ground in the middle of a street. 'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!' she growled to herself. 'Save the idiot first and then worry about yourself'

She continued to run, not letting anything distract her as she headed straight for the training fields. Naruto wasn't allowed to use them technically, but no one wanted to enforce that rule on the guy who made an arena out of the whole village. It was the only place she could think he would be. Somewhere where the civilians couldn't bother him and the shinobi knew better than to pester him. A literal quiet place. He had to be there. There wasn't anything else he could be doing aside from sleeping.

As she eventually made it to the training fields, she reached out in a rather futile attempt to sense his chakra. But she froze the moment her chakra tried to extend out.

"Welcome back," the same voice said. The emotionless and calm tone serving to drill the words deeper and deeper into the redhead's mind as they repeated in her thoughts.

'No….'

Tayuya's stomach sunk and her chakra seemed to just vanish, as if she never had any in the first place. The world twisted and contorted until she found herself once again in an open field, the odd dead tree scattered around and a blood red moon glaring down at her. She'd never left. Hell, she wasn't even sure if she had so much as blinked in the real world yet. But that only begged the question as to why she was put through an illusion in the first place.

It didn't take her very long to come up with a few conclusions. First and most important one being that the Tsukuyomi didn't grant the user the ability to pry information from her mind. She knew what that tended to feel like from her stint with the Yamanaka, and so far, there wasn't any subconscious inclinations to her privacy being invaded. It was a very comforting thought, but it also made a much more insidious outcome all the more likely.

He was trying to break her. Mentally or emotionally, she wasn't quite sure yet, but it seemed to be his game plan. And damn if he wasn't good at it. One illusion was all it took him. One simplistic glimmer of both death and hope had made Tayuya feel more emotion than she had ever wanted to admit to having in her life. In less time than it would take a professional interrogator to merely set the mood, this monster had absolutely dominated her at her own talent. He had made her die, let her live, fed her hope, and then dragged her straight back to the start of it all without so much as a blink.

Even now, as she was left standing before him, frozen in place against her will, his face betrayed nothing of his true intentions. Her eyes darted around frantically, searching desperately for what was to come. He didn't hold a spike like before, and this world was his to command, so there was no telling what he could do to her. He hadn't even asked a single question yet. She didn't know what he wanted. She didn't have anything to bargain with. No one knew where she had run off to, and she really doubted that anyone would even be able to intervene in her predicament before it was too late.

She swallowed the lump that had been growing in her throat and grit her teeth. No matter what he did, no matter how long he kept her trapped here, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of breaking. She had survived years of being one of Orochimaru's test subjects, and she would sooner go back to suck the snake bastards dick before she allowed herself to be broken. It didn't matter who this prick was. What reputation he had. Or what stupid kind of jutsu he had. She refused to let the opportunities she had been given go to waste.

As her eyes locked with his, she settled herself with her determination. Not even allowing herself to faulter at his next move.

"Let's begin," he said, his eyes morphing into the Mangekyō Sharingan. "Amaterasu."

As her world was engulfed in fire and agony, Tayuya forced herself not to scream. No jutsu was without limits or consequence. Soon his hold would falter. It had to. And she would be waiting for him when it did.

Naruto was a relatively calm person, if one were to ask his own opinion that is. A bit quick to make rash decisions, and far too willing to go above and beyond the norm when it came to getting something done when he needed to, but otherwise rather calm. There had been only a handful of events that had ever pushed him over the edge of anger or rage, but they were so isolated and short lived that few knew of what had actually transpired. Not to say the lack of knowledge ever stopped anyone from raising his bounty after each event, as somehow someone was keeping tabs on it all.

The past year had been mostly the calmest he had been in a while, save for the past few weeks. While he wasn't willing to blame Tayuya for his more than erratic behaviour, he also wasn't going to completely out rule the fact things had gotten extremely chaotic since they had met. There were of course other factors, what with Akatsuki and Konoha being on his back just for existing, but he knew Tayuya was going to be the main offender when it came to him losing his cool.

As it stood, the jinchuuriki had proudly never lost his temper in the middle of one of the great five hidden villages. His main reason being due to it being suicidal for the most part, and the other being because he had always avoided stressful situations that he couldn't easily escape from. Tackling the unleashed Ichibi in Suna was as far as he had ever gone thus far, and he had been very content to leave it at that. Then he had to burn down the Hokage tower, which was more out of necessity than actual anger, but still far more than he ever wanted to do as far as causing direct conflict with a major village.

Sadly, in spite of his desires to maintain his good record, things simply weren't working out for him the way they should have been. Overall, it wouldn't have been so bad, what with Suna seeing him as more of a hero than anything else, but as every single person in the village froze under the weight of his presence, it was unreasonable to think that many would see him off with a smile. Naruto didn't care about that though. Not right now anyway. He was far too lost in rage to bother thinking about mere civilians. All that mattered was what he needed. He needed to make sure he didn't accidentally unleash the Kyuubi in the middle of the village. He needed to make sure that he didn't go completely overboard and kill everyone in his immediate area with his killing intent alone.

He needed to save her.

He needed to protect Tayuya.

And most importantly…. he needed to kill Itachi Uchiha.

His killing intent spiked drastically as the pressure put out by his chakra started to physically effect those closest to him. Yet in spite of this display of power, the unrivalled explosion of rage, Itachi didn't blink. The only notion to indicate his surprise was a slight twitch of his hands, as though he was preparing to perform a jutsu. And it wasn't missed by a single person present.

Itachi internally huffed at his mistake. On the outside however, he merely offered a smirk. While not entirely concerned, he was impressed by the jinchuuriki. The murderous aura was truly something to behold. He doubted even Pein could produce such an imposing presence. Of course, Naruto did contain the Kyuubi, so the Uchiha assumed that would have helped. To the boy's credit however, he had not simply lunged into action. He had remained calm and hadn't moved so much as a muscle yet.

The girl with him however, was a little less than he had expected. Had it not been for Naruto's aura literally weighing down on her, then it was obvious that she would have tried to attack. Perhaps not out of rash naivety, but simply out of recognition of the threat before her. Either way, she was lucky that she hadn't. Itachi wasn't prone to killing anyone for the fun of it, but he had a mission to complete, and right now that was all that mattered. Killing the new Kazekage on mere reaction could have been far too problematic for his liking anyway.

Surprisingly, the Uchiha was not self-centred enough to think that the reaction he had received was due to his mere presence within the village. He knew Naruto. The jinchuuriki was far more than he would ever let on. There wasn't a doubt in Itachi's mind that the jinchuuriki had known of his being in the village the whole time. That is why he had acted accordingly. Going after an opponent that knew you were lurking was suicide, but going after their companion in order to stay their hand, even if momentarily, was sometimes the best route. Sadly, this was not one of those situations. He had completely underestimated the reaction he would get, and now he had to figure out how to deal with it.

"Itachi Uchiha?" Temari's words were strained as she fought to maintain her composure under the aura Naruto now radiated.

She had heard of the murderous traitor, of the S-ranked missing nin who most anyone would run from. But now that she was finally face to face with him, she couldn't help but feel amused. As it were, the monster that was currently Naruto made the poor Uchiha seem small, insignificant even. It was almost laughable. To think that this was the guy who had brought down the entire Uchiha clan single handedly.

Naruto clenched his fist. "What are you doing here?"

Itachi wanted to scoff. As simple as the question seemed, the underlining statement wasn't missed by him. Naruto was demanding a reason for why he should be allowed to leave alive. He was offering but a single opportunity of a peaceful resolution before he unleashed everything. And Itachi was honestly unsure of how to answer it.

"Reconnaissance."

The jinchuuriki narrowed his eyes, his sight drifting carefully down to the redhead in Itachi's hands. She was unconscious, completely dead to the world around her. He had seen that before.

"Elaborate," he demanded.

Itachi cautiously readjusted his stance, making sure the girl was between him and Naruto. "I was sent to gather information on you after Konan returned."

"Konan?" Temari was completely lost on what was happening here. Why wasn't Naruto just killing this guy already?

"Your leader must not be too pleased if he is going so far as to send you to investigate," Naruto said almost smugly. "Did someone find out something they shouldn't?"

Itachi actually narrowed his eyes at that one. Naruto clearly knew more than he was letting on and that worried him. No matter how monumental, no one outside of Amegakure should have known what went on within the village walls, and yet, Naruto was suggesting he did. That was definitely something that Pein would need to know, and thankfully for the Uchiha, more than enough information to grant him an understandable reason to escape with his life.

"You truly are full of surprises," Itachi said pleasantly. "But even you should know better as to who to pick fights with."

Naruto couldn't help but grin at that. "Says the guy that isn't even here."

No one had time to react properly to what Naruto said before he moved. Temari couldn't even force herself to see him move with the speed he displayed. As such, she didn't see what happened until it was done. It was more than enough to explain just how mad Naruto was. Itachi was gone, presumably having been thrown out of the building through at least three walls by Naruto. The redhead in question was simply standing where Itachi once had, an unconscious Tayuya gently cradled in his arms.

Almost as suddenly as it had appeared, Naruto's monstrous killing intent dissipated. The invisible weight that was pressing down upon the village lifted and Temari let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. Without much hesitance she raced over to the hole in the wall with the full intent on trying to follow Itachi.

"He's not there," Naruto said calmly, stopping the blonde in her tracks and receiving a perplexed look in the process. "Itachi isn't stupid enough to stir up trouble like that in person. It was a fake. He might not even be in the village, if he was in the village at all."

That didn't sit too well with him. The fake was too good. It even had Itachi's chakra. It wasn't until he actually had a hold of the 'clone' if he could call it that, that he actually realised just what it was. Some poor unfortunate sod that had been forcibly changed into a near perfect copy of the Uchiha. It was a truly impressive technique. Naruto was no prodigy when it came to sensing, but he was no slouch. To fool him for what time it did was concerning, deadly even. Underestimating an opponent was one mistake a shinobi could make that would result in death, but to have an enemy force you to overestimate them, to trick you into going all out and waste precious time and chakra, it was clever to say the least.

Naruto knew almost at that exact moment that he needed to find some way to correct his sensory blind spot. Whether that was through his own efforts or through some other method had yet to be decided.

He looked down at Tayuya. She was dead to the world, but thankfully unharmed. There wasn't so much as a scratch to be seen on her, but the jinchuuriki knew that meant nothing. Imitation or not, the Sharingan's presence was real. The Kyuubi's chakra reacted the way it always had to the Dōjutsu; aggressively. Such a bloodline couldn't be faked. But sadly, that only spelled more trouble for the redhead in his arms. The Tsukuyomi was no secret to him, and there was little doubt Tayuya had been subjected to it. It was just a question now as to what extent.

The cruelty Itachi had the power to exact on his opponents within his world was only limited by the Uchiha's mood at the time. Naruto couldn't even imagine what Tayuya had been put through, or for how long, or to what end.

"Will she be okay?" Temari asked cautiously.

Naruto frowned. "I have no idea," he answered honestly. "I don't have any real way of dealing with the aftermath of the technique Itachi used. Only someone from the Yamanaka clan could have any hope of handling that, and that obviously isn't an option."

Temari stared at the girl unsurely. "What are we going to do then?"

"Wait," he said. "Hopefully she comes out of it fine by herself. She was, after all, a subordinate of Orochimaru. I would expect her to handle even mental torture rather well, but I can't be sure. The best we can do is prepare for anything when she wakes up."

The Kazekage continued to stare at the redhead, noting her extreme dead to the world state. "That might take some time."

Naruto nodded. "This is definitely going to put a dent in my timetable," he said offhandedly. In the grand scheme of things, he had wanted to be out of Suna as soon as possible. Now that the leader of Akatsuki was showing some sort of interest in his activities, it wasn't without reason to think more effort would be devoted to interrupting his plans. Hell, it could even make sense for them to move their own schedule up, attempting to capture him first to get him out of the way. That would definitely screw things up.

He sighed deeply as he started to walk away. "We'll be at the hotel," he said. "If you need anything, come and get me."

Temari watched him disappear around a corner before sitting down on a piece of rubble left from the wall. Things were seriously getting out of hand. She knew people would be after Naruto, he had told her of Akatsuki, but this was happening way too quickly. The risk factor to the village was growing day by day. She couldn't ignore it, and she would be an idiot to try and deny it. Something had to give.

It had been nearly two weeks since the sealing and as each day passed Temari couldn't help but feel the weight in her stomach grow steadily. With a tired groan she buried her face deep into her pillow as her hand made its way to rest on the seal. The pain had faded thankfully, but every now and then it would pulse a drop of the Bijuu's chakra through her body to remind her of its existence. Querying Naruto on the matter was less than comforting. According to him the seal was designed to slowly drip feed her tiny amounts of the Ichibi's chakra until her body was fully accustomed to it, eventually resulting in her being able to use its chakra with very minimal side effects. On the other hand, he also told her it wasn't meant to start so early after the sealing, but he boiled it down to her being an especially strong host and having already met the seals requirements for it to start the process. While she accepted the explanation, she wasn't too impressed by it.

Somewhere in the back of her mind Temari knew she would have had to learn how to control the Bijuu at some point, but she assumed, rather childishly, that it would be on her terms and in her time. Having the chakra forced upon her like this unsettled her. Not to say that she blamed Naruto for the situation. He had already proved that his intentions with the seal were all for hers and the village's betterment. But none of that helped ease the stomach twisting and vomit inducing sensation of such vile inhuman chakra suddenly invading her body. On a positive note, for as long as the seal was going through its process, she would be hilariously immune to genjutsu. Quite the beneficial perk for a new Kage to have.

Rolling to the side of the bed she sat up and lazily stretched, taking as long as she could to enjoy what moments of peace she had left before the day began. Things had not been exactly easy the past few weeks, but they were finally starting to calm down, even in spite of the incident involving Itachi. Thanks to the quick work of the elders, much to her surprise, and a few of Suna's jonin, the whole event was swept under the rug for the time being. The fact that they had a body to go with it made things easier and concocting a quick cover story of a wayward assassin making an attempt on Tayuya was simple enough. It helped maintain the unease the shinobi had with Naruto's presence once they saw just how far he would go to destroy a single would be assassin. No one wanted to test the Uzumaki after that. Not that they had much of a chance. The idiot had barely left the hotel since taking Tayuya back there. The redhead had yet to wake up from her comatose state and things weren't looking all too promising. The few times he had left were almost always at Temari's request to talk to her about things, but they were always quick and concise conversations before he would head straight back to the hotel.

She sighed at the thought. She had enough to worry about without stressing about him too. She chose to forgo her usual shinobi attire for the time being while getting dressed, instead opting for a more casual low-cut white blouse and a black skirt. It wasn't much different as far as style went, but these clothes weren't full of small hidden pockets or tightly woven steel mesh, making them much lighter and more appropriate for the safe environment of the village. Baki of course would insist otherwise, but now that she outranked him there wasn't much he could say. Tying her hair up in her trademark four ponytails, she set off out of her room. It was still early, the sun having not quite risen above the horizon and the chill of the desert night still lingering in the air, a personal favourite time of day for the blonde as it momentarily straddled the line between too hot and too cold. Walking through the village streets at these early hours was always calming; very few people were around, and she was left to herself. Sadly, that wasn't so much the case anymore she realised as she waved to the 'unseen' protectors that followed her every move. Another perk of being a Kage.

Her intentions were to initially go straight to the Kazekage tower and get some sort of head start on whatever mountain of crap that was waiting for her, but the closer she got to the tower the closer she got to the hotel. Despite her better judgement, she couldn't shake her worries about Naruto. He had obviously been more affected by the whole event than he would let on. No one in the village was game enough to confront him about it. Hell, Tayuya was probably more of a mental and emotional rock for Naruto than anyone realised, even Naruto himself. With a quick change of direction, she started on her way to the hotel with a determined expression. It took her less time to get there than she realised; a slight bummer since she had hoped to enjoy the morning a little while longer, but this was more important. There would be other mornings ahead to enjoy. She knocked on the door firmly and waited a few minutes before she let herself in. It wasn't like Naruto wouldn't know of her presence long before she got to the door.

Temari didn't know what to expect when walking into the bedroom, but she hadn't quite prepared herself properly for the reality. The walls were covered in seals, from floor to ceiling, of which both were also covered in seals. The bed had been moved to the middle of the room, surrounded by a circle to which all the seals seemed to converge. It was both a mesmerising and horrifying scene. Tayuya was laid out on the bed, still dead to the world but peacefully breathing. It was with some amusement that Temari noticed that the bed and redhead were meticulously clean despite her having been out for a few days now. The nursing staff she had assigned to help Naruto care for the girl had reported back as having been refused access to the room, so clearly the idiot was looking after her all by himself. That led her to her next realisation. Naruto himself. He was just sitting there on a chair, the only other piece of furniture in the room, next to the bed, barely even registering her presence as he drifted precariously in and out of consciousness. It wasn't until she stepped through the doorway that his eyes shot open and locked onto her like a hawk. For a brief moment Temari was sure he was ready to kill her on reflex alone until he realised who she was and calmed down.

"Oh, hey Temari," he said yawning loudly and standing to greet her. "Sorry about the room."

The young kage scanned the room once more with a mild look of disbelief. "It's fine," she said, finally stopping to look at him. He was visibly exhausted and dishevelled. Any semblance of control and fortitude were slipping away as he continued to stand in front of her, his eyes unfocussed and his stance far too relaxed. "You aren't though."

He waved his hand. "I'm fine. Once Tayuya wakes up I'll sort myself out," he said.

"How about you get some sleep now, you need it," Temari said. "Surely Tayuya will survive a few hours without you watching her like a vulture."

Naruto frowned. "No. I'll stay. I have to be here when she wakes up."

"And once she wakes up, what are you going to do? In your state you won't be good for anything more than being her personal punching bag."

He shrugged. "I think I deserve that much."

Temari rolled her eyes and grabbed Naruto by the hand and dragged him out of the room. Closing the door behind them, she stared at him expectantly. "Go on then, seal the room. I know you have some ridiculous security setup. Once you're done, clean up and meet me in my office. You need a breather and I need a reason for no one to disturb me for a little while," she said sternly, leaving no room for argument. Even still, she had to move quick and clasp her hand over his mouth to stop him from attempting some sort of excuse. "If you don't do as I say, I will make it my life's purpose to master sand manipulation and teach you just how truly unpleasant sand can be when it gets everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. Got it?" Naruto had no choice but to nod and hold back a shudder. "Good. I'll see you soon then. Don't keep a girl waiting."

She left him to sort himself out and made her way to the tower at a lesurely pace which still wasn't nearly as long of a walk as she would have liked it to be. It didn't take long before she was buried up to her neck in paperwork, the unfortunate outcome of all the disaster and complicated situations the village had found itself being apart of in recent times. It was a small blessing that her morning wasn't interrupted by any of the council before Naruto finally graced her with his presence. She had been so engrossed in her work she had lost track of time, and sure enough he was actually late.

"I thought I told you not to keep me waiting?" she asked sharply.

Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Had to set up some extra precautions just in case. Left a few clones in the hotel too."

Temari shook her head. "You're going to burn yourself out, Naruto. Its not healthy, and I can guarantee Tayuya will yell at you for running yourself ragged worrying about her like this," she said, getting up from her desk and stretching. "Now, sit down. We have to talk about some things."

He didn't need to be told twice, quickly finding a seat while Temari made a quick hand signal to her guards. All of the ANBU present scattered out of the area, presumably to locations that they could still be of use from, save for one, who disappeared for only a moment before entering the office with a tray holding a bottle and two cups. He placed the tray on the Kage's desk and bowed before leaving. "Should the Kage really be drinking while in office?" Naruto asked sceptically, eyeing the bottle of sake cautiously.

"The Kage can do as she pleases," Temari quipped playfully, pouring herself a cup. "And you would be wise to follow my lead. You need something to take the edge off and relax."

"I can just meditate later for that," he said, only to be met with piercing cold eyes. Without any further complaint he poured himself a glass and began sipping away. "You said you wanted to talk about some things?" he asked. "I assume you want to know why Itachi Uchiha was here?"

Temari nodded. "That was one part of it, yes. But it isn't hard to put things together for myself," she said. "The robes he was wearing were Akatsuki, were they not? It only makes sense that such a group would send someone as powerful as him to try and capture you. The curious thing is how he got so close without you knowing about it. I am not so dense as to believe you aren't actively aware of most of what happens in Suna by now. Especially with how seriously you take Tayuya's safety."

"If you mean to imply that I knew he was in Suna before he revealed himself, then yes, you'd be correct," Naruto admitted. "I felt his presence the day of your sealing. He was being careful to stay on the outskirts of my sensory range, but he was aware that I knew he was here. I had hoped he was performing a simple check in, to update his leader on my condition or something. Seems he wanted a little bit more."

"And you allowed that to happen without telling me?" Temari said accusingly.

Naruto shrugged. "Was there anything any of your shinobi could have done?" he asked. "Itachi isn't just a rogue, Temari. The fact that I could sense him at all means he wanted to be seen. If he wanted to kill anyone in this village, even you, there would be almost nothing anyone could do to stop him. I can only think of a handful of people who would have held their own against him, and not a single one of them is in this village."

"So, you're telling me that even you can't face Itachi?" she asked. "That is not very comforting, you know."

"I am at a particular disadvantage when it comes to Itachi, but that is an issue for a later date," he said. "You don't have to worry about him yourself. Akatsuki are arrogant, they would send someone of much lower rank to try and capture you, especially considering how fresh of a jinchuuriki you are. Use that to your advantage should they try anything."

Temari remained quiet for a short time, processing what he was saying and coming to terms with it all. As the silence dragged on, she watched as Naruto got more and more fidgety, his mind clearly being drawn back to his worries about Tayuya. "How is she?"

Naruto sighed. "Physically she's fine," he said. "But she still hasn't woken up. Not even a sign of doing so. Until she does there is no telling how much damage Itachi did or what he put her through."

"She's a strong girl. I'm sure she will pull herself out of it," Temari said. "But either way, it's no reason for you to stress yourself out to the point of stupidity. These things happen in our profession, you should at least try to compose yourself."

"It's not that," Naruto said, taking a deep breath. "It's the Tsukuyomi."

"And that is?"

"The technique Itachi used on Tayuya," he began. "It's a highly advanced genjutsu technique available only to the Uchiha. Even among the clan it was especially rare. As it stands Itachi might be the only person capable of doing it ever again; I somewhat doubt Sasuke will have the prowess to pull it off. But the fact of the matter is it's a technique that can take out practically anyone if it is used effectively. Once it takes hold there is no counter, no way to avoid or overcome the effects. It is quite possibly the most powerful genjutsu known to the shinobi world. And Tayuya took it head on, for who knows how long."

"But its still only a genjutsu," Temari reasoned. "Tayuya herself is a genjutsu user, right?"

Naruto shook his head. "It's not the same thing. The Sharingan complicates things so much more than anyone realises. Its not just a genjutsu, it's a direct invasion of your mind, of everything you know and fear. Itachi uses it like a surgeon, to carefully and methodically break you down or cut out what he needs. Tayuya hasn't even fully recovered from everything she has been through; her mind is still vulnerable. The Tsukuyomi could have been the final straw. There's no telling what she'll be like even if she comes out of the coma…" he put down the cup and rested his face in his hands. "And its all my fault. I dragged her into this position. I put her in the sights of people who would use her to get to me."

Temari downed what was left in her cup before putting it down and walking around her desk to kneel in front of the Uzumaki. Gently moving his hands out of the way, she cupped his face in hers and looked deep into his eyes. The cold calculating edge wasn't there anymore. In its place was a dark and twisted sadness, the kind that had been growing inside him for years, unchecked and poorly controlled. The same look she used to see in Gaara before he lost his mind. She had almost forgotten that Naruto had lived his whole life suffering under a burden heavier than most could comprehend. He had seemed so strong, so powerful and sure of himself that it didn't seem possible that something so trivial could bring him crumbling down. It was hard to watch. To see someone so strong allow themselves to be so weak. And yet it made her relax in his presence more than she ever had before. It seemed he was human after all.

"It's been a long time since you've had to look after someone," she said softly, maintaining her unwavering gaze that made Naruto's hair stand on end. He didn't have to say anything in response. She was learning all she needed just by watching him, by listening to his existence. "It's not your fault, Naruto. It's just how things go. Bad things happen, and more often than not there is nothing you can or could have done to change it."

"But…" Naruto didn't have a chance to say anything before his lips were locked with the blondes. It wasn't an intense kiss, nor one full of any real passion, but for a brief moment he couldn't help but melt into it. It was over almost as suddenly as it began and he found himself once more staring deep into Temari's light teal eyes. "What was that for?"

Temari smirked. "To shut you up," she said, earning an unimpressed frown from him before giving him another quick peck on the lips. "But also because I wanted to."

"Uhm…"

"It's okay," the blonde said softly. "It doesn't have to mean anything. I just wanted to express my gratitude in some way. Helping distract you for a moment was just a bonus."

"I…" Naruto tried to say something but his mouth just couldn't keep up with the thoughts going through his head faster than the Hiraishin. "Sorry. I've never been in this situation before."

Temari winked at him playfully. "I bet," she said. "Not everyday someone gets to kiss a Kage."

"Maybe I should get back to the hotel," Naruto said nervously, not entirely sure of how to handle himself at the moment.

"I'll walk you back," Temari said happily, jumping back up to her feet and pulling Naruto up from his chair as she went. "Anything to get out of all this paperwork."

Naruto didn't have a choice in the matter and once the blonde had hold of his hand there was no escape. Without complaint he joined her on the leisurely walk back, both of them enjoying the silent company of each other. As they made their way through the streets they were met with many different looks from the villagers. Many were simply expressions of respect as they bowed to their Kage, but others were more curious stares and hushed whispers of speculation. He and Temari were, after all, the topic of a few stray rumours already, and them walking through the streets hand in hand would definitely be stoking the fire of said rumours even more. In spite of this fact, Temari showed absolutely no signs of letting go of his hand. The smile on her face seemed to be infectious to all those around her and had he not been so tired he might have even been affected himself. By the time they reached the hotel Naruto was truly feeling the full extent of his exhaustion, so much so that just the mental image of the couch was making him sleepy. They reached the door and Temari wasted no time letting herself in, dragging Naruto behind, only to stop suddenly and wave her free hand at the loungeroom. "This should be much better for you to sleep on," she said cheerfully.

Naruto blinked a couple of time and rubbed his eyes for extra measure. In the middle of the lounge room, where the lounge once rested, was now a large freshly made bed. "What the…?"

"I had my ANBU set this up while you were with me at the office," she said proudly. "I was going to offer to do it anyway, you know, because you were so adamant about not sharing the bed with Tayuya, but then all the stuff went down and I got side-tracked. Better late than never I guess."

"You didn't have to."

Temari scoffed. "I am well aware, thank you," she said. "But you didn't have to do a lot of the good you've done either, so don't even start with that crap. Now come on, its time you got some sleep." With that said she dragged him over to the bed and pushed him onto it before going about closing all the curtains in the room while he got himself ready to sleep. It was still early in the day and she didn't expect him to sleep with the full desert sun beaming through the place. She just hoped it would be cool enough for him to get a decent rest. She knew from experience that trying to sleep in the desert during the day was a painful and difficult task without the appropriate preparations. Once she was finally happy with how dark it was in the room, she turned her attention back to Naruto only to find him shirtless and sitting on the bed in a sort of half-asleep daze. Ignoring the light blush on her cheeks she made her way over to him. "You're going to sleep now, right? Or do I have to send for a nurse with a tranquiliser?" she asked.

Naruto put his hands up in defeat. "I'll sleep," he said quickly.

"Promise?"

"Yes, yes, whatever you want."

"Whatever I want huh?" Temari asked with a grin, barely giving Naruto a chance to realise his mistake before she once again pressed her lips to his. This time was more forceful than the last, quickly progressing into a more heated make out session than either was prepared for but neither were willing to stop. Even as Temari climbed onto the bed and straddled him, pushing him back onto the soft mattress, all Naruto could do was melt into the seemingly never-ending kiss and bend to her will. They continued for a few minutes, both making the most of the moment as things continued to grow more and more heated until they inevitably parted. While the poor Uzumaki was both surprised and stunned, Temari merely looked down at him smugly, a far too content smile on her face even in spite of the now intense blush lighting up her face. "I guess someone had better stick around to make sure you get a good amount of sleep then, shouldn't they?"

"You call this sleeping?" Naruto asked cheekily.

Temari smirked and slowly lowered herself down to lay beside Naruto, her head resting gently on his shoulder as she kept one leg draped over him in a specifically vulnerable spot. "I call this incentive to do as you're told," she said slyly, hugging him slightly tighter as she moved her leg ever so slightly back and forth. "Now get some rest. I'll be here if you need anything."

He wanted to object to their current state, he really did. There was no way it was alright. But he couldn't. Her soft breath on his neck was like a silent lullaby as the warmth of her body on his helped to drift him to sleep. Before long he simply gave into it all as he had the kiss, wrapping his arms around the blonde and allowing sleep to consume him. Temari wasn't far behind, finding their entangled position just as comfortable and soothing. Besides, no one would risk intruding into Naruto's room, and even if they did, none would have the guts to wake up either of them. It was the perfect escape from her responsibilities and paperwork.

She only hoped Tayuya wouldn't choose now of all times to wake up and interrupt a good thing.

A/N:

Well, for starters, I am, much to even my own surprise, still alive and kicking. And this story has finally received a long overdue update. I apologise immensely for the ridiculous hiatus, but life has a way of being a mess. I had been meaning to make some sort of comeback to writing much earlier but shit happens.

I have no idea the damage my disappearance has caused to my fanbase or the devoted readers of this fic in particular, but I hope it wasn't too much. Part of this chapter had been written years ago and I finally got around to finishing it for you guys. However I am still unsure of the life of this fic these days. I would like to try and resurrect it if possible, but I will leave it up to you the readers to let me know if such a resurrection is wanted. In the meantime I will be trying to work on another chapter to see how things go.

As for this chapter, boom. Some more stuff happening. Itachi is a thing now, Tayuya is still dealing with murphy's law, and Temari finally got bold enough to get some of what she wants. Time will tell what chaos will ensue with all of that. I hope my pacing and way of writing hasn't changed too drastically for anyone. While I can't exactly remember where I was planning to go with this story I already have plenty of ideas on how to continue it.

Look forward to seeing what everyone has to say. All reviews are welcome and appreciated.

Until next time, which will hopefully be soon.

Soul out!