Chapter 15 - ch.15

"Jinchuriki?" asked Sakura, her eyebrow raised.

"Man, I knew this was gonna be a long explanation..." grumble Grimm before talling Sakura the story.

-------------------------------flashback, 18 years ago--------------------------------------

"c'mon! We can't let it reach the town!" Yelled a ninja leader, prepping his squad. "If we don't stop it here, our families are in danger! So, give it everything you got!" They all grunted loudly in affirmation before jumping into the trees toward their target. As they reached it, they jumped out above the trees, and see it. A giant, red, 9-tailed fox causing massive damage to everything in it's path.

A blond-haired man stands apart, surveying the area, and looking for weakspots. "It's strong. It's legs hit hard, but it's biggest threat is that beam attack." He looked at the location of the last blast. It created a crater several miles in diameter. "We have to get rid of it before one of those hit the village." He looks down in irritance and anger. "Damn, I have to use it, huh?" He charges into battle.

He throws his kunai at it's eyes. It blinks and stop them from truely hurting it, but it got it's attention. It starts to focus it's attacks on him, but he is ready. He continues to throw kunai while dodging, Knowing it's pattern and being extremely fast. He managed to put kunais all along it, most nearly invisible under it's fur. "Here we go!" He made his chakra rush, and teleported from kunai to kunai until he was on it's back, where it couldn't reach. He made a long series of signs, and activated a most forbidden jutsu. "Grim Reaper Death Seal." An intangible, invisible demon appears behind him, holding a dagger in his mouth, an astral projection of the man hovering in front of him.

"This may be our only shot!" The demon's hand reaches through the projection, and pushes through his stomach, and grabs the fox. It begins to draw in the fox's chakra and soul, making it shrink in size. But he soon relizes something. "It's not enough." Indeed, they absorbsion was slowing, as the jutsu was designed to be used on humans, not such a great beast. "Damn, so close, if only..." Then, he has one last idea. "That could work! It will be risky, but there is no other choice.

He focuses his chakra again, and he and the beast teleported, confusing the nearby shinobi fighting it. He appears just outside the town, near a house in the forest. "I'm sure they won't mind too much." He joked as he actually kidnapped his friend's newborn baby, Naru, from a nearby window. The fox was still struggling against the reaper jutsu, unable to act yet. "Almost out, gotta make it count!" He makes signs, and a ritual bed appears nearby, the size of the baby. He places the the baby on the alter, and continues to make a very long series of signs. When he finally ended, he gently placed his hand on the baby. "8 Trigrams Seal." The rest of the fox started to be sealed inside the Naru, a swirl spinning on his belly while it absorbed the great chakra and spirit of the beast. After several minutes, the fox is finally gone, the man panting in effort, and the demon behind him taking the blade out of it's mouth. "Good luck, kid." He says, as he keels over and dies, his soul eaten by the demon.

------------------------------------------several hours later-------------------------------

Eva and Grimm return from the battlefield, their first mission as husband and wife too! They arrive to find half their yard a mess, the other half flattened by something increadibly heavy. Upon further inspection the see Naru on an alter, with the man nearby. "What the hell!? Minato?" He walks over and kicks him, then checks his vitals. "Yep, he's dead. How's Naru?"

"This isn't good. The fox was sealed in her. We can't hide this for long. The hokage may order her exile, if not death."

"Close, but not quite." They turned to see Sarutobi, with a squad of Anbu.

Grimm got in front of Naru, pulling his blade. "Well, what are you gonna do? You know you're the only one a match for me, and even then, it'll be close."

"Don't worry, I have intention of harming her. However, I'm afraid she can;t live with you."

"What!? Fuck that shit. My daughter ain't goin anywhere!"

"Please, Grimmjow, I wish to avoid futher bloodshed today, but while you and Evangeline are the village's greatest Jonin, you also harbor much anger. The fox feeds on anger, hate, and other such emotions. Even living alone would be preferable to you raising her."

Grimm's head dropped, along with a sweatdrop. "Really, Sarutobi, you could have held back a little bit..." He murmurs.

"And what makes you think we can't handle the fox? You yourself said we are the strongest Jonin?" Asks Eva, anger building.

"Because it CAN'T be killed. The only way is to subdue it, and it will only grow in power the longer it is with you, or any significant source. Only if she can control it, then she can return to this house. Now, if you please, hand over the child."

"Grrrr." Grimm growls, furrowing his brows.

"And what will happen to her should the fox escape?" asked Eva.

"Any jinchuriki that loses it's beast dies. Whether the beast takes them over, or they are focibly removed."

"I see." EVa responds. "Fine, take her."

"Eva, you can't be serious!!!" Grimm yells, looking back in surprise.

"He's right, Grimm." Her fist clenches tightly, even drawing a little blood as her nails broke the skin. "She can't stay with us. If she does, she will die before she has the chance to control it." She looks at him, eyes full of selfloathing. "I don't like it either, not one bit, but this is no time to be selfish!" Tears start streaming down her eyes. Grimm's eyes grow wide, this being the first time he ever saw her become truely emotional. "Please, Grimm, just let her go." She all but whispers.

Grimm clenches his eyes, mouth, his entire body in anger, before relenting. "Fine, but only for her, and you." He says, just as audiblely as her, as he moves out of the way.

Sarutobi nods to anbu next to him, who walks over, and takes the baby Naru from the shrine. "I'm sorry to put you throught this. I can appreciate how painful this is, but I must keep the village in mind." He expalins as the anbu returns to him. "I will personally ensure she is properly taken care of." He takes the baby. "Remind me, what was her name again?"

"Naru. Naru McDowell." Eva responded, recovering some composure.

---------------------------------------------Present---------------------------------------

"So, Naru is... and she..." Sakura stuttered out, amazed.

"Yep. My daughter, and she holds amazing and uncontrolled power. That's what you felt earlier. That battle on the bridge must have weakened the seal."

"Oh yeah, she told me about that...I think I even remember a little of the training and..." her face goes red.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Now, remember. Tell ANYONE that I even told you this, and you even be safe in hell, you got that!?" Her face blanches almost pure white, before nodding. "Good. Now get your ass to bed." He shuts his door, and heads to bed to have fitful dreams, reliving that day.

Sakura walks away toward her room, in a daze. 'I never realized!' She thought, still amazed. 'I could have guessed that she was their child, though the guess would have been farfetched, but such a beast inside her! I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't experienced it myself.' When she finally reached her room, Naru was waiting for her. "Yo, Sakura! Took you long enough!"

Sakura snapped out of her daze when she heard her voice. She did her best to act natural. "O-oh hey Naru! I thought you would be asleep by now!" Sakura said with a fake smile.

Naru went slightly red at this, and scratched her chin. "Well, I decided to wait up for you." She notices Sakura doesn't have a book. "Say, didn't you say you went back to get a book?"

Sakura started to panic. "Well, I looked them over, and didn't find any I liked!" She laughed nervously.

Naru raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but shrugged her shoulders and disregarded it. "Sure. Well, good night!" She went to her room, and closed the door, only to break down crying.

---------------------------------------25 minutes earlier-----------------------------------

Naru thought Sakura was acting suspicious, so after puting Hinata to bed, she decided to follow her. She found her heading for Grimm and Eva's room, though Eva was still at the office. She heard every word, and was holding her mouth to prevent herself from making much noise as she cried at the story. 'They are..my parents? That chakra is his? And they gave me up....to..save my life!!!?' It was all she could do to run back to their rooms when Sakura started walking back. She made it there with plenty of time to compose herself, and waited for Sakura, trying to act as normal as possible.

------------------------------------present------------------------------------------------

Naru was sitting against the door, sobbing quietly. 'W-W-What is going on? First that power, then I'm their daughter!? And Grimm-sensei was so serious! There was no way he was lying, right?' She thinks, not really sure what to think. 'He said I was a jinchuriki? Of the 9-tailed fox? I've heard that before, but where?' She closed her eyes, falling asleep where she sat.

--------------------------------------deep in her mindscape---------------------------------

Naru opens her eyes to find herself laying in shallow water in what appeared to be an underground tunnel. She looks around as she gets up, seeing tree roots haphazadly falling from the ceiling. "Must be underneath a forest." She says to herself. Then, seemingly in response to her, she hears a deep, though faint, growl coming from ahead. Curious, she follows the sound until she finds herself at a giant gate, doors held together by a piece of paper with the word 'seal' on it. "A seal? Don't tell me...!"

The fox appears, seemingly out of nowhere. It turns a giant eye toward her, and to her amazement, speaks. "So, you've finally found your way here. Open the door so I can tear you, that damned village and the entire world apart!"

Naru backs a step from his intimidating, sinister aura, before stepping forward again. She looks it in the eye. "So, you're the power I felt on the bridge."

It laughs. "Oh yes, it felt so good to release some pent up energy at last! Wasn't it fun killing that girl!?"

"So, that was your influence, that decision."

"Very little, you fool. Very little. I can see into your heart, and I know what you know. You were BORN to kill. I can feel it in your blood. Now release me, and allow me to lay waste to the world."

"No."

"No? Not even gonna argue?"

She looks down."What you say may be true. My parent's can hardly be qualified as good people, however." She looks back up, with a steely determination. "They did what they thought they should, and even went through great pain just so you couldn't take me over." She swings her arm and points at the fox. "So I'm not gonna let them down! I'll kill who I want, if I want, and you will give me your power to do so if I ask, is the understood, you pathetic excuse for a cat!"

The fox stares at him for a moment, before laughing. "Hahaha! Such guts, talking to ME like that! Very well, you may borrow my power, but if you show ANY sign of weakness, your body is mine!"

"I know." she turns to leave.

---------------------------------next morning-----------------------------------------------

Naru wakes up on the floor next to the door, having fallen over at some point while sleeping. She yawns loudly, and gets up and stretches, her back hurting a little from sleeping on the floor. "Last night..." She says to herself, remembering not only Grimm's story and his dream. "That fox... Did I really meet him las night?" She shook her head, chuckling to herself. "I'll find out soon enough. And as for, Grimm and Eva-sensei, they did what they thought was best." she smiles, knowing how much the love her. "I love tou too, mom, dad." She goes to get dressed and take a bath, getting ready for another day of training.