FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Clean Slate - Part 5

'Bloop...' The sound of a drop of water falling echoed, the single drop falling into a shallow pool, followed by another a few moments later.

'Bloop...'

Naruto's eyes shot open and he sat bolt upright, his eyes not used to the darkness, it took him a few moments to realise where he was. Sitting in a shallow pool of cold water he stared up at the large metal bars which held back the Kyuubi, the nine-tailed fox demon that was sealed within him.

"Nice of you to visit Kid." Naruto turned to see the familiar face of Kisuke leaning against a nearby wall.

"Kisuke!" Naruto beamed a smile to the blond haired man, his strikingly red trench coat and strawberry blond hair unnaturally colourful in the dim and dank environment.

"Good to see you kiddo!" Kisuke smiled back. "I know we're close and all, but perhaps next time you should actually wear some clothes when you come visiting, you'll catch a cold if you walk around like that."

Naruto looked down and realised that he was completely naked. With a blush he quickly covered his modesty. Kisuke chuckled, placing his red leather trench coat on Naruto, he walked past him to the metal bars of the Kyuubi's cage.

"Thanks." Naruto said pulling the jacket closed and getting his feet.

"No problem kid!" He waved his hand dismissively. Naruto had never seen Kisuke without his jacket before, his tight leather pants hugged his legs and ass tightly Naruto noted with a slight blush, his sleeveless top was made out of countless black leather straps, his pale coloured, muscular arms seemed to almost radiate light. Kisuke looked over his shoulder and smiled, his blue eyes almost as intense as Naruto's. "Seems like you've been having a hard time of late."

"What do you mean?"

"The whole thing with Sasuke and Kiba."

"You saw all that!" Naruto blushed, averting his gaze.

"Well, it was hard to miss." He chuckled. "You know if you need any advice you can ask."

"Really? You know about this stuff?" Naruto asked quizzically. "You're a sword!"

"A sword 'spirit'... but I've been around a long, long time kid. Trust me, I know a thing or two!" He declared proudly. Sensing Naruto's discomfort he quickly changed the subject. "It's nice being able to talk to you, Big Red over there isn't much of a talker... you know, unless he's threatening to kill you." He chuckled.

"Sorry, I should come visit more often."

"Don't worry about it too much, it gave me plenty time to try and convince him to agree to the little deal we were talking about."

"You got him to agree!?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Well... not so much... but I think I'm making progress."

"GO TO HELL!" A voice boomed from within the dark cell, two large eyes peering out of the darkness at them. "I WILL NEVER BECOME A HUMANS PET!"

"Aww... come on Red, it's not so bad a deal. It's better than being stuck in here the rest of your life!"

"I WOULD HAVE ESCAPED BY NOW IF THE BRAT HADN'T FOUND YOU!!!" Kyuubi roared. "WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE I WILL MAKE YOU PAY!!!"

"Come on Red, you're taking it too personally! We're all friends here!" Naruto chuckled as he continued to watch Kisuke and the Kyuubi bicker like an old married couple. After a while Kisuke turned to face Naruto and sighed in defeat "Sorry kid, he'll come round eventually!"

"It's fine." Naruto grinned.

"You should be getting back, it's not safe to fall asleep in a hot spring you know!"

"Okay." Naruto handed Kisuke his coat back. "I'll visit soon." Kisuke watched as Naruto faded into nothingness.

"He's a good kid, Deserves a little happiness, hope those guys take good care of him." Kisuke turned to the cage door. "Don't you think so Red?"

"..." A quiet growled rumbled forth from the darkness.

************

Naruto opened his eyes, his lips curled into a smile, Kisuke always made him feel better. The spirit which lived within his sword always seemed to know what to say. He didn't know how long he had been under but already he felt better, he still felt that pleasant bleariness that you got from a really good sleep. He looked up to see Sasuke with Kiba in a head lock.

"HEY! I thought we agreed there would be no fighting!" Naruto yelled, Sasuke and Kiba both froze. Kiba decided to take advantage of the distraction by sliding his arm between Sasuke's legs and lifting him into the air before dropping him into the water. Sasuke disappeared from sight beneath the waters surface.

"We're just messing around!" Kiba chuckled, his expression turning to one of surprise before he was pulled beneath the surface of the water. Sasuke stood up, his hair now a black sodden mass plastered to his skull. An amused smile crossed his face as Kiba burst forth from the water. "Fucker!" Kiba spluttered as he climbed back to his feet. Naruto rolled his eyes and chuckled, completely unaware of what had transpired while he been asleep, Sasuke and Kiba continuing to glare at each other when Naruto wasn't looking.

************

The rest of the time spent at the hot springs had been uneventful, the three of them talked about old times, telling stories about things that had happened to them over the last two years. All the pressure he had been feeling the last few days was gone, even the imminent threat of assassination from the Hyuga clan wasn't bothering him. Eventually they left the hot springs and headed back to Konoha, it was mid-afternoon by the time they got back. Kiba had to reluctantly leave as he had to go and feed the dogs at his clans kennels. Kiba didn't want to give Sasuke any alone time with Naruto, the job wouldn't take long to do, but suffering his mothers wrath for not doing it was a real motivator.

As soon as Kiba left Sasuke couldn't stop smiling to himself. He was finally alone with Naruto, now he could try and win him over without Kiba interfering. They walked through town, Sasuke glancing down at Naruto's hand, wanting nothing more than to walk through the streets holding it. An unusual sign of affection from him, even Sasuke realised that, but he was trying to be more open with his emotions; even public displays. He decided against the move in the end, not wanting to put pressure on Naruto. He knew it was one thing to accept the fact that you're gay, it was another to be public about it, he hadn't been given the choice of making his sexuality public, that choice was taken away from him. A member of the Anbu Black Ops suddenly landed in front of them. The ninjas black uniform and animal face mask, concealing his identity, made it impossible to mistake him for anyone other than a member of the Anbu.

"Lady Hokage wishes to speak to both of you." The Anbu member with the mask of hawk announced.

"What does Lady Tsunade wish to see us about?" Sasuke asked.

"She has a mission for you. Report to her immediately!" The Anbu ordered before he vanished in a whirlwind of leaves.

"We'd better go see what Tsunade Baa-chan wants!" Naruto declared, taking off at full speed towards the Hokage Tower.

************

Naruto and Sasuke were standing in front of the Hokages desk, Tsunade almost hidden behind the enormous piles of paperwork that sat upon it. The blond haired kunoichi sat with with her hands clasped in quiet contemplation, her large bosom jutting out in front of her, even Sasuke couldn't help but wonder what it was like for straight guys to stand her in front of her, trying to pay attention to the orders she gave and not stare at her breasts. Tsunade stared at Naruto and Sasuke while Shizune, Tsunade's assistant, stood by her side holding Ton-ton, her pet piglet. Naruto was soon bored by the ever lasting silence.

"Come on Baa-chan!" Naruto whined, Naruto missing the twitch of agitation on Tsunade's face, as she resisted the urge to throw something heavy at him for calling her by that name. "I thought you called us here for a mission!?"

"We are waiting for your other team-mate to arrive before I begin the briefing." Tsunade replied coldly.

Sasuke was silently praising what ever god or deity had arranged this, being away on a mission meant that he could get some alone time with Naruto, without the risk of Kiba getting in the way. Kakashi was away on a mission, so Sasuke assumed that they were waiting for Sakura to arrive. There was a knock at the door and everyone turned to look.

"That must be them now." Tsunade declared. "Enter!"

The door swung open, instead of seeing a flash of pink that Sasuke associated with Sakura due to her bright pink hair, there was a flash of brown and black leather, it took him a moment to realise that it wasn't Sakura who had walked in, he swore silently to himself as he realised that the person walking in the door was in fact Kiba.