Foul Tongue

Chapter IV: Beginning of the Beginning

Disclaimer: This story's base idea does in fact originate from VforVendetta34's original fanfiction called "Fouled Tongue" and I did get permission to use it. VforVendetta is also co-authoring with this fic after she abandoned her original.

Other than that, I do not own Naruto or any other characters.

A/N: Jiraiya is keeping score of the points for Tayuya. If she's mean, she loses points and therefore has to wait a longer period of time before having him help her out. If she gains some points, then vice versa and he'll help her a little sooner to regain her body.

Also, I stopped watching Naruto after Tayuya died, so I'm not sure what they did during Jiraiya and Naruto's training… so I'll go with my own flow.

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The city burst with lights from lanterns that hung from the roofs of the numerous stores. People were out in the streets talking lively amongst themselves while going in and out of buildings and living life like they should. Compared to Konoha this place was a village of celebration… as expected of the Land of Lightning, naturally.

Various scents wafted in areas as spiced sirloin sizzled on the grill or soups boiled in open kettles. Customers could be seen hesitating for a moment looking over the different stands and smelling the succulent-looking contents to finalize their choices.

Amongst the tables set outside a particular ramen stand, a white-haired man and a blonde boy could be seen heartily devouring their meals. The boy had opted for the normal beef ramen as for his sensei, chicken. Both seemed to have momentarily forgotten the girl sitting at their table as she angrily tapped her fingers while watching them. Tayuya had to admit that both their bowls of ramen looked delicious and that she'd like to eat that old man bankrupt if she could… but alas, with her current state it was impossible. The Sound village was also quite poor so eating good food was almost impossible. Perhaps the only delicious thing Tayuya could ever recall tasting was at a restaurant in the village located in the Land of Whirlpool on a mission but unfortunately her meal had been interrupted short by the enemy.

At least Tayuya was grateful she couldn't smell anything there otherwise she'd have gone crazy.

"Oi," called Naruto which effectively snapped Tayuya out of her brooding. "How are you getting fed?"

The girl gave him a dirty look but shrugged. How was she supposed to know?

"Ah, thash shimple!" Jiraiya gulped his mouthful of food before continuing. "Your body back in Konoha is your main link."

Tayuya nodded slowly which Naruto mimicked for her. "Tell him to spill something I don't know."

"She says that you should die and reveal some new information."

The Senin laughed his booming laugh and muttered something incoherent under his breath. Tayuya partially heard him say something about her losing more points. "Well, you see, if your body is touched in any manner then you will feel it even in your spirit form. Therefore, since they feed you at the hospital through that needle going in your arm, you won't need any food. It's all going to your blood."

Tayuya wanted to facepalm. She already knew that but the stupid blonde boy couldn't figure it out.

What Jiraiya said was true though. She could still smell the humid air of her room and feel the bed pressed against her back. It was like walking around with a mattress tied to you. At least she got a change of clothe. Before their departure, Tayuya had managed to convince- or rather violently convince Naruto to buy clothes she picked out herself and ask one of the maids to change her. After an awkward moment of having someone undress her and clothe her again, she felt more comfortable. It was weird how the nurse immediately accepted… A little creepy too. Tayuya was not ready to forget that eerie twinkle in her eye at the mention of clothes.

The young konoichi was now dressed in comfortable, black short shorts, she never dealt well with baggy pants and a fitting, red tank top. To finish it off, a black scarf was securely tied around the ninja's neck concealing her mouth. It got cold at night at the hospital so might as well. Tayuya didn't bother with her hair. She would have preferred something on her head because it helped her hair stay in place but having a hat in bed felt uncomfortable. Finally, her forearms and calf were enveloped in white bandages but that was due to her injuries so looking like the badass character from her favorite movie was not purely intentional.

"Ero-senin! What's are we gonna do tomorrow for training?" Naruto had already finished his bowl and raised his hand to order another one but Jiraiya slapped it down.

"Not so fast boy," he sighed. "Your training starts now."

"Huh?"

"Starting tonight, you'll only get to eat once every two days."

Naruto almost fell off his seat and Tayuya chuckled.

"What?! B-but!"

"Hope you had a good meal," he grinned. "Your chakra control is off, so we need to reinforce it."

"I- I don't understand how starving would help!" Naruto couldn't put his finger on Jiraiya's logic. The rasengan training did pay off and it was illogical at first but this seemed a little too cruel…

"First of all, it's not starving!" Jiraiya wagged his finger. "Think of the other villages without so much as a piece of bread for breakfast, lunch, and super for the whole family." Naruto's head hung a little. "Secondly, the reason your chakra in particular is so hard to control is because of your emotions. Without food, you'll be emotionally unstable and physical training will become harder." Jiraiya took a quick glance at the empty seat Tayuya was supposedly at. Unfortunately he looked at the wrong spot but Tayuya caught his glance anyway. "If you manage to pass my next test with an empty stomach, then you can eat normally again."

Tayuya watched the blonde boy in amusement, waiting for him to retort some more but instead he nodded. Naruto's eyes were serious, brows were creased and mouth wide in a smile.

"All right, I'll do it!"

The white haired man proudly returned the smile. He then added, "Oh, right, and no sleeping tonight."

Naruto's face fell.

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Morning had come slowly and eventually for the poor boy who had continuously gotten slapped on the head each time he drifted to sleep by none other than his ghost companion. The sun had finally climbed out of the horizon and illuminated the land below as well as the sky. Morning dew and the chilly air warmed up as birds sung merrily.

It would have been a beautiful day if Naruto had gotten at least a little bit of sleep. Tayuya had been put in charge of watching the boy and waking him if ever he fell asleep. In return Jiraiya would reveal something else about her advanced bloodline. Naruto had spent a night of hell. He even tried to make casual conversation with her to make the time pass by a little faster but no such luck. Tayuya refused to talk to him and simply watched the moon with an occasional side glance. He had gotten perhaps five minutes max of sleep before she noticed. Naruto really thought it wouldn't have been as bad with a companion and for once he was happy Tayuya was with them until she refused to talk that is…

"Oi, hurry your ass up," cursed the redhead.

A pang of irritation made the boy clench his fists but he loosened them immediately. He couldn't let her get under his skin if he wanted to become stronger. It just frustrated him to know that the girl didn't need any sleep seeing her real body was practically and constantly in it.

"Hurry your ass up fool!" Jiraiya's voice followed. Naruto growled and ran out of the hotel doors and followed them into the lush field of grass outside the village. Some energy momentarily returned to him but as he came to a halt, Naruto felt as if weights hung from his shoulders.

"So!" the tall man grinned down at the boy who took a seat in a clean spot of grass. "Looks like Tayuya did a good job!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed as his mouth turned into a pout, "ya… she was violent."

"Good!" Jiraiya sat down in front of Naruto. "That earns you one little piece of information I know about your bloodline Tayuya."

The redheaded girl looked up expectantly at the man.

"You come from the Land of Demon do you not?"

Tayuya blinked. She did. "Tell him I say yes."

"She said yeah."

"Alright, well then this is a big revelation… you ready?"

They both nodded.

"You… are from the Miyagi family!"

The konoichi took Naruto by the collar and hurled him at the old man.

"I already know my last name you stupid fuck!" her insult could already by understood by her reaction. The senin chuckled and side-stepped as the boy landed with a dull thud creating a crater under him. "Are you serious? That's all you're gonna tell me?"

Naruto wasn't feeling exactly hearty enough to translate any of what the girl was saying. His patience level fluctuated ever-so-slightly to insanity. As if on cue, his stomach gave a loud rumble causing his teacher to laugh even more.

"Ahh, what have I gotten myself into? Well Naruto, if you haven't noticed, you're in a Genjutsu right now ever since you walked out the hotel doors."

The blonde boy blinked several times before looking around him. What used to be the grass field in front of the hotel now became a cold, tiled floor glazed with a layer of murky water. The sunlight slowly dispersed as walls materialized from thin air. This place felt too familiar… and it suddenly dawned on him once the red glow at the end of a particular hall marked the presence of none other than the Kyuubi.

"Your goal for today is to break away from this genjutsu," echoed Jiraiya's voice.

At first, the young ninja thought that this illusion was quite easy to overcome with the Kyuubi behind bars but then the dreadful sound of crippling paper and screech of opening gates raised the hair on his arms. He felt shivers run up his spine when the monster smiled down at him menacingly showing off its white and bloodied teeth ready to snap at his miniscule body.

This was going to be a long day.

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Tayuya punched the boy in the stomach to make sure he was really in the genjustsu- and he was. His body slumped forward to her blow and remained there until she pushed him off quickly, letting him roll to his back on the grass. His expression was troubled unlike what she was used to.

"Hehe, we're not here to beat him up Tayuya." The old man chuckled as he watched the blond boy's unconscious body get thrown around.

"Tch, shut up old man," murmured the girl but she remembered he couldn't hear her. The redhead wanted to call him names but it didn't do much if it went ignored. Her anger still hadn't subsided from the "revelation" of her last name because the fact that she already knew it made her question if the man even knew how to help her.

"Can't exactly chat with you now since our mediator is captured in my alluring genjutsu- so I'll be off at to the bathhouse and you can go wherever you want. Seeing he wasn't perturbed in the least bit from your violent acts, it's safe to say that this genjutsu will be hard to get him out of." The white-haired man crossed his arms proudly and got up from his sitting position. He started to stalk off but was stopped short as he received a blow to the back. Jiraiya looked at what was thrown at him and sighed when Naruto's body rolled on the grass under his feet.

"I'll let you know more about your bloodline later! Be good now! And meet back here at six!"

That wasn't what Tayuya meant. Was he really going to leave the idiot genin's body like that? What if some rogues came by and decided to use him as ransom or use him as target practice? Not that she cared… but what if they killed him? Then she'd have no one else to see her and help her get her body back.

Cursing at herself for choosing to do such a stupid thing, the girl propped herself down beside the boy. If anyone dare try and kill him then she'd have to beat the genin herself to near death to wake him up first. That was the only way to get someone out of a genjutsu- by bringing them forcefully back to reality if they couldn't release themselves. She couldn't produce a proper Kai in her form either… so violence would probably be the best option. She didn't mind doing that.

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Morning passed excruciatingly slow, more so than nighttime with Naruto. Tayuya had to admit that staring at clouds drifting in the sky had to be the most boring hobby ever (Somewhere in Konoha, Shikamaru sneezed). When the sun struck two, the redhead jumped to her feet as the genin stirred. When she finally thought he had broken out of the stupid jutsu, the dumb boy fell back to unconsciousness. After what seemed like the tenth facepalm that day, Tayuya sighed and sat back down, this time directing her gaze at the blonde boy. His face gleamed with sweat and surely the sun at this hour was probably not doing him any good.

If this heat was preventing him from getting out of the illusion, then Tayuya had to do something about it. She didn't exactly want to spend months waiting for this boy day and night. The konoichi prodded Naruto with her foot and then, surprisingly, grabbed his collar and dragged him under the shade instead of rolling him with forceful kicks. Kicks would surely not help him get out of the genjutsu on his own.

Even more hours passed by dully. Never had Tayuya felt so lifeless… literally. Even when the sun had set, the senin hadn't return. Not yet anyway. It was past six, like the time he promised. The old pervert he was, Tayuya scoffed at the thought of having to depend on such a man.

It wasn't until eight that Jiraiya showed up. His eyes searched around for Naruto and stopped at the tree.

"Not where I left him." Jiraiya scratched his head. "Maybe he rolled here hehe." He then raised his voice, "Hey you here Tayuya?"

She sighed. This was becoming annoying. Tayuya picked the boy up by his collar and took his arm to wave it around.

"I see. Alright, well time to let him wake up!" A basic hand seal was formed in front of the genin's face. "Kai!" Jiraiya murmured. Naruto slowly raised his head but snapped out of Tayuya's grip.

"T-the Kyuubi!" He looked around wildly but then realized that he had been released. "Oh… Ero-senin!" he pointed his finger at the old man. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Shithead! How else will you get stronger?" Tayuya had her arms on her waist in a matter-of-factly way. "Going easy on you would be insulting to both yourself and us."

The boy blinked. His tired eyes softened as his body loosened. He looked quite shaken from the genjuutsu. His body trembled ever-so-slightly but his spirit seemed to have quickly adapted to reality again. Naruto nodded. "You're right."

Jiraiya grinned. Perhaps bringing Tayuya was better than he thought. Tsunade was right. She had said, when they were little, that girls were always far more mature than guys no matter how stubborn or tomboy they may seem.

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"Heh! I may not be able to eat today but I get to sleep!" Naruto cheerfully exclaimed, raising his fist up high but a large growl from his stomach interrupted. His grin faded and was replaced with one of utter suffering as he ogled his teacher's barbecue ribs. "Ero-seniiiin," trailed the boy. "Can I have a tiny bit?"

"No," came Jiraiya's immediate response.

Sighing the genin picked himself up from the room's floor and went to sit down next to Tayuya at the porch outside their hotel room.

"The hell do you want you stupid fuck?"

"Food."

"Well get over it already!"

The blonde boy sighed. "Hey, here's a joke! There are three girls stuck on an island. A blonde, a redhead and a brunette. They need to get to the city on the other side so the blonde one swims across. Then the redhead decides to make a boat but the brunette was the smartest. She just took the bridge." Naruto erupted into laughter but Tayuya eyed him with disgust. Was this boy already insane from fatigue and hunger? His joke was the stupidest piece of crap she ever heard and here we was laughing his balls out at his own joke.

"Aww c'mon!" cried the genin. "I'm just trying to make you smile again here!"

The girl narrowed her eyes at him, "you just insulted yourself. You're blonde by the way, in case you needed reminding."

"Okay, well what would make you laugh then?"

"Your face getting pounded by my fist."

Naruto seemed to take a moment to ponder. Was he thinking of letting her punch him? Why on earth would he do that? Was he stupid? Oh, that was a stupid question, of course he was stupid.

"Alright! I'll let you punch me when I get out of this genjutsu! A sa celebration you'll laugh!" The genin grinned.

What a moron.

Tayuya didn't bother telling him that he'd have to be out cold before she actually laughed.

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A/N: The Land of Demon is a land introduced to the Naruto world in the Naruto: Shippūden the Movie therefore I didn't make it up.

Guys, I know I take a long time to update and I'm sorry but I barely find time to write, and it's hard for me to update frequently. School's more important than writing fanfics, I hope everyone agrees with that.