Ashen taste in the mouth.
Dry.
Heavy.
And that strange numb feeling in the...
"...I mixed drinks again."
Naruto rubbed his eyes, opening them cautiously, only to close them with a groan.
"...turn off that damn sun..."
While he didn't experience hang-overs like 'normal' people, he had his limits. Especially if he tended to mix several types of hard liquor with beer and jiu.
"...cheese... milk... MEAT...!"
Oh yes. And another wonderful reaction. Where others had dry heaves... Naruto was hungry. Voraciously so.
He yawned, crawling up to a semi-straight position, looking around the surprisingly spacious cabin blearily.
"...huh. Red. Didn't figure her for red. Or a thong." The blond muttered, rubbing his cheek.
Hana was laying sprawled on one of the small... couch-thingies to the side, the blanket off, her quite shapely body all but bare.
Sasuke(-chan for sleeping purposes as always) had managed to somehow twist, turn and tie hers... his... fuck it - hers (at the moment) - blankets in an odd combination of a cocoon, web, sleeping bag and... something. The odd construct was actually quite comfortable.
And, really - he didn't want to know how or why he knew this. This way laid madness.
"...Hmm?"
Naruto turned, taking two steps back.
"Imagine that." He said curiously peering over the side at the large fish tied to the railing. What kind of fish, he had no idea. "Who went fishing last night?" The young shinobi shook his head. "Oh well. Fishes. Fishes good. Naruto hungry." He created two clones. "Cooking time, guys."
"...dude..." Muttered one. "Can't you get Sasuke to do that? He-"
"She." Interrupted second clone.
"...whatever!" The first one shrugged, yawning. "Sasuke enjoys that shit. And does it well."
Naruto glared at his clones sullenly.
"...I hate making you when hung-over. You always come out weird." He raised an eyebrow suspiciously, looking at the second clone. "...hey... Didn't I dispel you last time, you little sicko?"
The second clone smiled innocently.
"...I fucking hate morning hangovers."
Hana whined pitifully, snuggling into her bunk even as the smell hit her.
The cabin reeked of booze, of cigarette smoke (and, oddly, mint), of snacks, of chocolate and...
"...fish?"
"Awake already? You're better than Sasuke."
Hana blinked owlishly, slowly rising her head until she came upon a familiar blond mane.
'...mane is right.' She squinted. 'Is that a genjutsu of some kind...?'
The hair was longer than yesterday. Not by much, but she'd bet on it. And, to her surprise, the 'whisker' marks were more... curved. Less like lines, more like some ornamental slashes. Thinner, but at the same time more pronounced.
"Come on, I bet you're hung-over. Drink." He gave her a tall glass filled with a...liquid. It was green. Lime green. With chunks of... something swimming inside.
She was surprised to find that despite its vile look, it smelled quite good. A little bit like that thick, spicy pudding her mother sometimes made.
"...Uh, no thanks. I'm hung-over and I doubt I could-"
"Drink. It is a collection of vitamins, proteins, supplements and restoratives, with some additions for taste." Naruto smirked. "Trust me, a hangover is much better after you had a glass or two of this."
"...Well I doubt it can make it much worse..." The kunoichi muttered, grabbing the glass dubiously and toasting Naruto. "Bottoms up, then."
Her eyes widened as the odd cocktail made contact with her tongue.
'This stuff... it is GOOD!'
It tasted of spice, honey and, oddly enough, cinnamon. It had some coffee, she recognized from the slightly bitter, strong taste, but also milk and... vanilla?
"...The hell is this?" She wiped her mouth, looking at the glass in fascination. "The longer you drink this, the more stuff pops up..."
"Technically it is a liquid solider pill... Well it should be." Naruto scratched his head. "I got a recipe from the notes scrawled on a book I got from Konoha public library. Somebody wanted to make slower acting variation of soldier pills, but ones that could be given to people with chakra-related injuries. It failed, since it was too weak, but..." He shrugged. "I tinkered with it some and, accidentally, with some additions and vitamins added, it makes the perfect hangover cure. It also works well for flushing poisons and - believe it or not - for stomach aches and indigestion."
"You a medic nin or something?" Hana looked at the blond boy with interest. Sure, from what her brother told of him, Naruto was supposed to be an idiot, but... Idiots don't go around using Kage Bunshin like that, casting a quick B-class genjutsu or doing the outrageous stuff he did. And she really, really didn't want to think about that summon. Or those scrolls. Or that jutsu that apparently allowed the boat to go far faster than it should. Even taking the amount of power needed for doing that alone... It made her head hurt. Less than certain Uchiha did, but not much.
"Medic... Me?" Naruto made an odd face. "Nah. I know a few things but that's... uh... random." For a moment there he looked nervous for some reason, before summoning that cocky grin again. "I just tinker some."
"...tinker. Yeah. Right." Hana nodded dubiously, before blinking. Her headache, while not vanishing, was certainly getting better. And her stomach somehow calmed itself down. Imagine that.
The Inuzuka woman looked at the glass speculatively.
"You got more of this stuff?" She asked finally.
Rise.
Reach.
Grab. Grab.
...Empty?
"Nrtgmthcccttl..."
Hana raised an eyebrow at the shambling form under the blankets.
Naruto poured a large glass of the cocktail, only to see it vanish in the confines of the blankets as Sasuke shambled back onto her bunk.
"You actually understood that?" The Inuzuka heiress asked curiously.
"More or less." Naruto shrugged. "I've got a lot of practice."
"Well he..." Hana peered under the blankets. "Sorry, she, certainly isn't a morning creature."
"For Sasuke, morning begins when my noon ends." The blond rolled his eyes, before looking curiously at the kunoichi. "You're calmer today."
"Calmer? No. Hung-over? Yes. Besides, I like fish. I won't waste one by freaking out."
"Oooh." Naruto nodded. "Good thinking."
"I have my moments." Hana smirked, shoving a large piece of grilled fish into her mouth and chewing it vigorously. "Hmm... Could use some more herbs."
"Hell-OO? Sea here, you know." The blond snapped with irritation.
"Just sayin'." The young woman waved her hand carelessly. "No need to get all nervous and stuff."
The pile of blankets shifted slightly.
"Gmmfdmhgrrrrrrn...!"
"It's on the table, bastard." Naruto frowned, pointing at the empty seat.
"Bthf!" A single black eye glared balefully.
"...whatever."
"Fcky..."
"I would but there is nobody willing on this ship." The blond stretched on his bunk, popping a piece of a fruit into his mouth.
"...rrryrl?" The look in the visible eye changed from annoyance to curiosity.
"Don't even think about it." The young shinobi said lazily.
"Hnntsm...?"
"No."
"...cmn!" The pile whined.
"No. No means no, you fucking sicko." Naruto scowled.
"...bstrrddd..." The pile slumped into a sulk.
"Most probably." The blond nodded cheerfully, before scratching his head thoughtfully. "...Besides I doubt she'd go for it."
"...Cn'thtttsk." The blankets mumbled hopefully.
"...You have a fucking death wish." Naruto deadpanned, before sighing. "Oh all right." He turned to Hana. "Sasuke is asking if you have something against a threesome."
Hana froze, before looking at Naruto.
The Inuzuka woman opened her mouth, then closed it and Looked at the pile of blankets that was Sasuke.
"...I will pretend I didn't just hear that." She said finally, going back to her fish.
"I told you." Naruto shrugged as Sasuke sulked.
"Shdnsn." Offered the pile of blankets speculatively.
The jinchuuriki pinched the bridge of his nose.
"No, Sasuke. I'm pretty sure that it was a 'no'."
Hana blissfully tuned the two weirdo genin out. Mom always said not to murder people during breakfast - it was impolite. Besides, the fish was pretty good.
"And here we are - the Sunflower Island. Lot's of glitter, café's up the wazoo... And one of the bigger exchange ports this side of the Mist Sea." Naruto leaned on the railing with satisfaction.
Hana eyed the odd, crowded-looking port and the city itself dubiously.
"I expected something... Grander."
"Grander?" Naruto smirked. "Hana, until roughly twenty years ago, this place was an unofficial capital of smugglers from the whole Mist Sea and, in some cases, beyond. It doesn't look it, but trust me - there is a lot of money in this place."
"How do you know that anyway?" The Inuzuka heiress looked at Naruto curiously.
"Poker."
Hana blinked.
Naruto shuffled the deck of cards that appeared in his hand with a faint smile.
"Money. Cards. I need money if I want to play the big boys in Coral."
"Why? Casinos are open for everybody." Hana shrugged.
"Yes. But the big games, the ones where there is money, are private. And in some, the entrance fee alone starts around one hundred thousand ryo for a single game."
Hana's eyes widened.
"You're kidding."
"No." Naruto shook his head. "Sasuke will cover a half, but the rest is up to me. That's why we're stopping here, re-supply aside. I need around three hundred thousand. Five hundred would be ideal, but I doubt I'll get it."
"Why? I've seen you playing, you little cheater." She raised an eyebrow, only to take a step back as Naruto's deck slammed on the railing. She'd seen what some of those cards/explosive notes thingies could do the day before. No way was she going to be careless!
"Okay, let's get something straight. I can cheat. I know HOW to do it." Naruto drawled his words. "But I. Do. Not. Cheat. When. I. Gamble. I'm good. I'm very good, I just might be the best. I don't NEED to cheat. Get me, Inuzuka? So don't go fuckin' insulting my skill, okay?"
"I get ya, I get ya. Sheesh." Hana rolled her eyes. "Aren't you touchy about that."
"Don't." The blond warned her tersely.
"Don't mind him, he gets all prissy when somebody accuses him of cheating at cards." Sasuke - finally resurrected from his blankets and in male form again - drawled, sipping cold tea.
"I'm NOT prissy, bastard!" The blond glared at his friend. "I'm just getting tired of people thinking I'm cheating!"
"Yes, yes." The Uchiha heir waved his hand dismissively. "Whatever. Go and eat ramen or something. You've got a busy day ahead of you."
"Well at least I won't have to go shopping with you." Naruto said cheerfully. "Now that is one silver lining I can definitely live with." He paused. "Wait, no. It is fucking golden!"
"You are also going to miss two hot babes in really sexy stuff." Sasuke smirked.
"... 'two hot babes in really sexy stuff'?" Hana looked at Sasuke suspiciously.
"You are, of course, kidding." Hana said flatly, looking at the slinky, skimpy, if quite elegant apparel given to her. To call it skimpy would be actually an euphemism - it was a tight and small red number that was barely large enough to call it 'somewhat decent'. While Hana wasn't particularly shy about showing off her body... Well, this was a little much.
"Nope." Sasuke-chan whistled cheerfully, grabbing a cobalt blue qipao for herself, only to frown and gaze thoughtfully at a skimpier, forest green version that she had thrown to Hana. "Try this on."
"And why should I?"
"Because it might net you a million ryo or more for some leg and cleavage alone?" Sasuke said offhandedly and Hana stiffened.
"...why you little...!" The kunoichi reached for her kunai
"Not that way!" Sasuke-chan frowned. "Geeze! Calm down!"
"Talk. FAST. And it better be good." The Inuzuka woman growled dangerously.
"Private game. Casino. Distraction. Scam. Millions in cash."
"...okay, so maybe not quite that fast." Hana admitted grudgingly.
Sasuke snapped several seals, after cautiously dragging Hana off to the side.
"Coral has, aside from casinos, the largest concentration of really damn rich people. Heads of clans, yakuza, corporation owners, nobles, mercs that struck it big, golden children of some military dictators... You name it, they come there. The laws are... looser than in the Elemental Countries proper so nobody really wonders where the cash flows from, as long as it flows. Hence, it is a perfect vacation spot for the rich and influential. If you want to strike it big at gambling, you go there." She raised a finger pointedly. "But if you want to strike it real big, as in millions big, you need big games. Private ones. And to get invited to those, you must have either connections, or ungodly amount of money." She smirked. "Or pretend that you do."
Hana's eyes widened in understanding.
"So you-"
"Yep." Sasuke nodded. "A spoiled, overdressed young man. Loud but with money to burn and two hotties on his arms that just scream 'expensive company'... That's a target if anybody ever saw one. "
"So that is why the dresses, the make up the whole load of this shit." The kunoichi frowned thoughtfully. "So you're a... prop of sorts?"
"We, Hana. We. Two women look better than one. Much better." Sasuke pointed at the dresses. "Those are expensive. Some jewelry and we will look even moreexpensive."
"A smoke screen, huh?"
"Not only that. Show some leg, move a little, distract, give Naruto a certain..." The neo-girl frowned thoughtfully. "Aura of a careless rich young idiot that can't control his urges, much less his spending. Shameless nouveau riche with money to burn and attitude to match."
The Inuzuka rubbed her chin.
"But such rich fucks are bound to have some shinobi with them. High level probably. One or two won't notice, but... They might see that we are shinobi."
"Oh that is no problem. Even better." Sasuke shook her head with amusement. "I mean, if the brat has enough cash to make two kunoichi seriously think about landing him..." Sasuke-chan chuckled. "And we are going to make it... loud." A gleam appeared in neo-girl's eyes, one that made Hana... cautious. "Drink a little here, public display of some shameless affection there, some... excess and show. Silk and satin sheets, champagne, the most expensive drinks and foods and entertainment skirting, or fucking breakingthe limits of decency... All glitter, sensual and gold. Dazzle and confuse, lull into a sense of false but warm security and then..." Sasuke's smirk turned predatory. "Then we bleedthem for millions in cash!"
Hana blinked.
"It is shameless, underhanded and fucking irredeemably ruthless." She said finally after a moment of thoughtful silence.
"And profitable." Added Sasuke gleefully. "Don't forget profitable."
"And profitable." The older kunoichi nodded, looking at the red dress thoughtfully. "Hmm... I wonder if we can add a slit there to show off more thigh..."
"Pass."
"Pass."
"Fifty thousand."
"Fifty thousand... And ten more." Naruto slid the tokens forward.
The older man, his hair salt and pepper and face slightly wrinkled, puffed on his pipe calmly.
"Fifty... and another fifty."
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
The pool was already rather high. With what was on the table it would amount to two hundred thousand, easily, and that was far form his first games.
"I see the intent... But I don't see the cash, Katsuhito-san."
"Tough words for a youngster who barely has more than what he put on the table."
"But I do have it." The blond shinobi riposted calmly. "And more, if I need it. While you don't seem to."
"Cocky brat, aren't you?" The older man said with, cocking his eyebrow.
"You two gentlemen shall play... or talk?" The only woman by the table took a drag of her long, thin pipe.
"Ah, Reiko-san... As to the point as always." The man laughed. "Anyway, since our young friend seems to have... doubts." Katsuhito calmly wrote something on a scrap of paper.
Naruto picked it up, cocking an eyebrow.
"Sure of yourself, aren't you?" He said finally. "Those are not money, Katsuhito-san. And I lack time."
"My little business not to your liking, my boy?" Katsuhito said with amusement.
"Lack of time, as I said. I need to be somewhere by the end of a week."
"Ah." The older man nodded. "Though... I'm sure we can work something out."
Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully. While he would have liked the cold, hard cash more, there was something to be said about the more... regular profit for the upcoming months. Repat or no... You never knew just when you could use some extra money. Or a safe heaven – a change of scenery was always an... option, sometimes sliding into a rather burning need to lay low and avoid those pesky hunter nin until after the reset ended. Really, Konoha had no sense of humor or respect for science. What was a forest and a house or two in the face of progress and awesomness of scientific advancement? Philistines.
"Tell you what... change it into a five percent profit for the next three months and several meals and board kind of deals redeemable anytime I want, and you have a deal."
"Deal, boy." Katsuhito laughed. "You have guts. Very well! If you win I-"
"I already did." Naruto smiled. "Royal flush."
Reiko chuckled.
"Seems like you will be feeding somebody for free. In every sense of the word, Katsuhito!"
The older man sighed, showing his full house.
"Alas, it appears so." He said with good humor.
As much as he liked gambling, he was a businessman. He never bet more than he could afford to lose, and the game was interesting.
"Then it appears you will be my guest for the period of your stay in our quaint little city, Uzumaki-san." He smiled. "Just as well, just as well. I planned a small party, and it seems you, my young gambler, will be my guest of honor tonight. I invite your companions as well, of course."
Which was just as well, really. He had it planned for several of the wealthier of his clients, yet they were lured away by a banquet at some fat nobles' house.
'Feh. As if some stuffy old baboon can throw such fun party like mine.'
Drinks were already bought, foods and entertainments reserved... It would be a good publicity in a way. The young man cut a swath through the gambling establishments and he would bet there would be people willing to play against him. People with a lot of money to burn. With a bit of luck, Uzumaki's patronage might allow him not only to redeem his losses but actually make a tidy profit on side bets and some added prestige.
'Ah. I love win-win situations.' Katsuhito smiled cheerfully.
Now only thing that was left was to remind the girls that the young guest of honor was to be shown the... full extent of hospitality.
Naruto quirked an eyebrow.
The girl smiled cheerfully, her yukata hugging her form flatteringly while another giggled behind her fan.
The blonds' eyebrow quirked a little higher, eying the nice spread of food, excellent sake and the air smelling of jasmine incense, the silk privacy screens, the alcoves and the dimmed, discreet atmosphere.
He looked to the older man, and Katsuhito smirked as the girls bowed, letting the three ninja in gracefully.
Hana's eyebrow twitched violently.
"This... is a brothel." She said.
"Of a sort." If Katsuhito was surprised by the Inuzuka woman in his little establishment, he didn't let it show. "Of a most friendly and open sort. Please, honored guests. Eat, drink and taste whatever pleasures this humble house offers."
"Oh. Look. They have fresh takoyaki." Sasuke looked with interest. "And Tengu sake, and... Is that sashimi? And Okonomiyaki. My, my, my..."
Naruto chuckled, rubbing his hands gleefully as one of the girls put some sake in front of him.
"Katsuhito-san... This might be better than taking your cash!" He said cheerfully as the serving girl's hair rubbed over his shoulder slightly as she gracefully moved away.
Hana's eyebrow twitched again.
"I really should have expected something like this, shouldn't I?" She muttered.
"That you should, that you should." Sasuke said benignly, taking a seat by the table.
The Inuzuka woman slumped, muttering something under her breath before taking her place and grabbing some takoyaki.
"Hell, I can at least enjoy it." She murmured. "Master! More tako! And sashimi!" She called out. "Give me that sake warm, and keep it coming!"
"See?" Naruto smiled, chewing some okonimyaki with tempura. "Always look at the bright side of life."
"Indeed." Sasuke smirked as one of the courtesans smiled at him faintly, leaning just enough to see into her cleavage. "No truer words."
"Screw you." She pointed at Naruto. "And screw you as well." She pointed at Sasuke.
"I doubt you'd keep up with one of us. Much less both, honey." Sasuke said with mirth.
Hana blinked, starting to snort, before freezing.
"...You so didn't say what you just said, you sick little perv!" She growled.
Sasuke just hnned, reaching for a bit of food, while eying a courtesan, who stared to tune her samisen.
"...You're just sick." Hana muttered. "Even my idiot brother has more restraint than you."
"Restraint?" Sasuke blinked. "Didn't know mutt was into shibari."
"...You know, seeing as he likes Hinata, this would explain so much." Naruto said thoughtfully.
"Indeed. The girl is, like, an ultimate sub." Sasuke said, nodding sagely. "I don't envy him when Hiashi catches on."
"Eh. Who knows, he might even give his seal of approval." Naruto shrugged.
Sasuke quirked an eyebrow.
"Think about it, bastard." The blond tapped the table. "Shibari is an ancient art. It is an epitome of traditional. Hell, it is more traditional than Hyuuga. Now you know how gaga Hyuuga are over anything traditional, right?"
Sasuke blinked.
"You know... that would explain so much." He said thoughtfully.
Naruto looked at the Uchiha scion curiously.
"Hinata is all gaga over you, right?"
The blond sighed, nodding.
"And you said that when you were kid, most of the ANBU attached to watch you were women, right?"
Naruto nodded again.
"So, they were Hyuuga women, we know that much." Sasuke raised a finger pointedly. "Now you said that growing up, Hyuuga girls and women were always nice to you. Hinata all but stalks you, Hyuuga matrons always have a kind - kind - word for you and even that brat Hanabi likes you."
"So?"
"So? So?" Sasuke tssked. "Naruto, think a little. If Hyuuga are all traditional, relations between men and women included, and with shibari revelation... Don't you see the significance?"
Naruto rubbed his chin.
"Well, not really, to be honest." He said after a moment.
"Moron." The Uchiha scion rolled his eyes. "Think, Mad Hatter - THINK! Who are you?"
"I am-."
"No. Who are you?" Sasuke pressed.
"Well, I am a jinchuuriki. What has that to-" Naruto's eyes widened. "Wait...! Wait a second...!" He muttered.
"You have the Kyuubi sealed into you. Bound within you." The dark haired man smirked. "The older Hyuuga would know it, while the younger would see the seal." Sasuke's smirk widened. "Now, you have the single most powerful entity to ever walk the earth bound, helplessly, within your body. Held. Bound. Partially by seal, but also by your WILL. By you."
Naruto blinked owlishly.
"...whoa." he said finally. "I am like... like..."
"You are the ultimate embodiment of the tradition, twice over. " Sasuke snickered. "As in, the heroic sacrifice, bound by duty, bound by his predecessor and leader, and holding the 'great evil' at bay despite the odds. And THE ultimate alpha male, as they see it. Naruto... You are every Hyuuga female's wet dream!"
"Hey, it is not so bad." Hana stretched, half sitting, half-lying lazily, popping a grape into her mouth. There were some guests, but the whole upper floor along with the alcove was mostly, save for a few richer patrons, empty. The silk privacy screens and drapes tuned out the noise more than enough, the walls did the rest.
It really wasn't bad. Sure, the beautiful women in loose yukatas with coy smiles and giggles, showing skin all too easy were... well, not her thing, but she resorted to treating them as waitresses. Really. She tred not to look at the fact that Naruto and Sasuke shamelessly 'appreciated' a 'waitress' or two. Or three. Or the fact that one or two were all too flushed after briefly teasing two teenagers. Sitting on their laps to make them blush was one thing, but when Hana started to smell genuine arousal, feminine arousal at that...
'I really, really don't want to know.'
As such, she ignored the brief gropes, the smirk or two, the coy look over the fan, the wandering hands and some 'waitresses' standing closer and lingering more around her two companions than it was decent.
'Decent? It is a brothel, goddamnit.' She popped another grape. 'Decent. Feh.'
Though she had to admit one thing. Courtesans or no, brothel or not... Those two little lechers weren't just talk. Not by the musky smell she noticed when Sasuke groped that cute little thing in that blue yukata.
The girl came onto the Uchiha heir with a teasing smile and challenge in her eyes that Hana new well. She had used it herself, when she put down an uppity little boy who thought he was enough for her. Only this time...
Hana shook her head when she noticed the girl breathing hard and stiffening, as she bit her lip.
The kunoichi studiously ignored the fact that Sasuke's hands weren't really in the open at that very moment.
A short while later, the woman squeaked, fleeing, while Naruto snickered, rising a saucer as if in toast.
Sasuke toasted back and Hana turned her head away.
She really didn't want to know. Really.
"I told you." Naruto, who was next to her, took a sip from his saucer. "Relax. Take it easy. Enjoy the moment. Those girls are really good." One of the women leaned over his back, her breasts pressing into the blonds' back as she poured alcohol into Naruto's saucer with a wink and the ninja smiled, nodding to her.
The Inuzuka eyed the scene, before taking a sip of alcohol herself.
"You really have no shame, do you?" She said, alcohol and food, along with music and the strangely hazy, dimmed atmosphere of the place lulling her senses into comfortable, mellow flow. "She is, what, twenty?"
"So?" Naruto looked at Hana with amusement.
"Arguing with you is pointless, isn't it?" The kunoichi sighed, leaning on her elbow and motioning for more sake.
"After this amount of booze?" The blond cocked an eyebrow. "Lost cause."
"Thought so." Hana eyed the blond taking a large sip. "Man, you drink like a fish, yet you don't look all that drunk."
"I metabolize toxins at an extraordinary rate." The jinchuuriki said with a shrug, swirling the alcohol as he observed two young courtesans setting up something and dimming some candles.
"I say." Hana muttered, looking forward with interest. "What are they doing?"
"Something that is as tempting as it is artistic, my friend." Katsuhito smiled, before looking at Hana. "Though I dare say it would be more tempting to our two young friends and me than you."
The kunoichi raised an eyebrow.
"Oh really?"
"Indeed."
Hana's nose twitched a little as she drew in a heavier, more aggressive and sweeter scent.
"...huh?" She eyed one of the women, now in a very skimpy, almost see-through silken yukata kneeling by the edge of the room. The brunette, the very same who was pouring Naurto's sake earlier, winked at the blond and pulled out a small... drum? Hana noted with surprise that another courtesan reached for a flute, another for a samisen...
The drum started off. Gently, steadily, but growing into louder, though still slow beat. One after another, one after another the second and third drums joined in, followed by the flute.
The kunoichi blinked, hearing the instrument weaving itself into the beat. The melody was unexpectedly low, but also unlike anything she had ever heard. It flowed from higher to lower in keening, but pleasant cadences that spilled over like honey over her enhanced senses.
Hana saw Naruto blinking, before leaning forward with interest while Sasuke frowned a little bit, putting down his sake.
It was at this moment when her attention was stolen by sound of bells resounding.
Her eyes went to the source and she all but choked on her sake.
The woman was voluptuous, though not outrageously so. Her skin was a little darker than the usual, but not by much. Her long red tresses were falling down her bare back - and considering just what she was (or rather wasn't) wearing, it had to be bare. The silk was tight in most places, loose is a few - every bit placed just the way to suggest everything there was to suggest and show off every quality there was to show off. From the gentle curve of the woman's hip, to her considerable bust. Though she wasn't naked, she didn't need to be. Hana would say that being naked would make less of an impact than the outrageous, nearly see through get up did. It looked to consist of several vertical strips of silk, for kami's sake, along with unexpectedly billowy sleeves -kami knew what for- a slitted, irregular scarf that served as a sort of a skirt, but it wasn't it. It swayed, mocking and inviting, whisper of silk, like her sleeves did, enhancing each move.
She was barefoot, but her ankles bore ankle rings with...
Hana blinked.
'...Bells?'
Indeed, bells. Several odd, if small, ones. She had them on her ankles and on her wrists, slivery bracelets showing them off with every move. There was even a bell on a tasteful black collar around her throat.
She stood, unmoving for a few moments, and then she took a step.
The bells rang.
Then again. And again.
The beat pulsed, Hana realized, like a heartbeat. The flutes wove their keening, otherworldly song as the courtesan, a spark in her eyes, danced, the bells and her grace only adding to the harmony.
Naruto's palm was striking the table along with the drums, while Katsuhito's hands where clapping along it.
Hana, to her own embarrassment, noticed she felt warmer. It had nothing to do with the fact it was a woman. The sheer animalistic sexuality of the dancer's moves was... well, it was just that. Bare, sexual grace.
'...Gods, I'm gong to kill those two perverts...!' She thought, but still traced the dancer's moving, swaying figure.
"So, methinks the baby liked it."
Hana growled hearing Naruto's lazy drawl.
"Now now, doggie. Don't be too much of a bitch, eh?" The blond grinned, pouring Hana some alcohol.
"Shut up, you little deviant!" Hana snapped, drinking in alcohol greedily.
"Geeze, Hana-chan... relax." Naruto chuckled. "Don't worry. Nobody will think any less of you, you know?" The somewhat glazed cerulean eyes gazed at her with amusement. "It is a place to relax, to unwind... to appreciate life. Nobody will blame or judge you."
As if to illustrate his point, one of the courtesans who were passing through threw Hana an open smile and another sent her a look over a fan.
Hana winced internally. She was no prude, but...
"Relax." Naruto sighed. "Drink some more, eat a little bit. Smile at the girls, invite them over, even if just to talk." He leaned over, an older woman (the very same she noticed around Naruto past those hours and gave him grief over) smiled, popping a grape into blonds' mouth. Naruto's lips gripped her finger for a second as her touch lingered and she smiled at him, before calmly licking it.
Hana reddened while Naruto just shook his head and let the woman lean on him.
The kunoichi sighed, opening her mouth, before frowning.
'...wait, he is too short to-' She eyed the teenager, noticing that, yes, he seemed... taller. 'Not just taller.' She realized. 'Older'.
She looked at the slightly changed blond carefully, the realization finally getting through the alcohol. At first she thought it was just a genjutsu, so she didn't comment on it, but as she saw the courtesan whisper something to Naruto's ear even as she traced the edge of the ninja's cheek, she realized that whatever it was, it was REAL.
'...Like Sasuke's...' She realized absently, before frowning and looking towards the empty seat. 'Huh. And where IS the second depraved perv? Come to think of it, I didn't see him ever since that... dance.' She looked at Naruto. "Hey, perv."
Naruto spared her a lazy glance.
"Where's the girly boy?"
Naruto turned to the empty seat, before frowning, a spark of interest in his eyes.
"...You know, I have no idea." He muttered finally. "Probably having fun, though."
"Fun? But the food and entertainment is here..." Hana trailed off as the realization dawned. "...Oh."
"Yeah. Oh." The blond leaned to the courtesan on his side. "Baby, be a sweetie and pour our dear, if a tad bewildered Hana some more wine, would you?"
"With pleasure, Naruto-kun." The courtesan leaned, pouring the bewildered woman some more sake. "Here you go, Hana-chan."
"...chan, is it?" The Inuzuka heiress muttered, before taking a large sip. She stretched, reaching for the grape, only to be surprised by a graceful hand putting one gently. She eyed a young woman, the very same who smiled at her shyly earlier on sitting on her side. The kunoichi quirked an eyebrow.
"Hell, whatever." She muttered.
Naruto smiled, saluting her with a cup of jiu Katsuhito managed to get somewhere.
She barely managed to grab her own cup and relax, a lazy, disturbingly familiar beat resounded again. But... different this time. Slower, but at the same time more... frantic. Not as neat, not as smooth. The flute was sharper, almost aggressive, comparing to the earlier soft tone.
The keening sound wasn't merely background now, but it had its own rhythm. Before was a pulse, now it was almost a hammering one, but one with more melody. The sound wasn't unpleasant - rather exotic and almost hypnotic.
Hana cocked her head and looked at Katsuhito, who frowned.
"...Now that's odd." The owner muttered. "I don't remember that point..."
"Well, what can it-" The bells resounded, and Hana's ears traced the source. Eyes followed.
The silks were like before, if darker and in shades of crimson, more blood and fire than simply red. The bells were hung on polished steel the collar now pure leather with a single silver bell.
But... the woman.
'...no. Not even HE would be so...!'
The raven tresses spilled down her back, her body both voluptuous and toned in that way only kunoichi managed. Full breasts swaying with each hypnotic move. The grace was there, but it wasn't the grace of a dancer. It was swaying, hypnotic grace of a killer, the serpentine grace of kunoichi. Beautiful and deadly at the same time, each move soft, yet sharp. Fluid, yet strong.
"...oh...gods..." Hana said weakly as she was met with a proud, almost haughty gaze of the onyx orbs.
"Ah. So that's where he was." Naruto nodded, snapping his fingers.
The bells resounded as Sasuke moved, liquid fire catching the dry wood. It was graceful, but it was not the grace of a river, or a willowy grace of a previous dancer. Fire. Fire all over.
The drums gave the pulse and the rhythm, the bells following the step swaying, the crimson patterns moving and weaiving, the fabric rustling, whispering and looking as if it burned. Sasuke-chan's hand flashed with silver, her spin bringing twin moons to life.
It was only then that Hana noticed he... she (whatever!) had twin, steel yet polished to shine fans in her hands.
She moved them with a lazy, sinuous grace, the light refracting on them, as if she fanned the flames on her body, bringing them higher, the keening sound if flute and the drums echoing with a crackle of fire and a whine of wind to turn the illusion stronger even more.
Each move was open, fluid and graceful. The silks murmured their own song, moving all over her body, covering and revealing, as the muscles danced under unblemished, silken skin. The grace of a killer was almost otherworldly and Sasuke was more serpent than human.
A tempting serpent, one coiling without shame and with naught but a sense of promise that was hypnotic in its call.
Hana felt a heat erupting on her cheeks as the half lidded obsidian eyes traced her.
There was bare, animalistic sexuality here. Nothing overtly vulgar, nothing like a simple strip tease or even a pole dance. Every move was made between fight and temptation, between life and death. Between 'die' and 'live forever'. It would have a strong impact on anyone, but for a shinobi who knew what it took to kill, what it felt like to take a life...
Sinuous. Graceful. Deadly. Hana would swear Sasuke-chan was angling to go into a taijutsu stance before being completely open and vulnerable and inviting a second later. Fans only added to that pattern that seemed to have none. Steel. Steel, silk and a fragrance of spice and jasmine that permeated the air.
The Inuzuka Heiress managed to reign herself in just enough to notice she was breathing hard and her cheeks were burning.
Hell, her body was burning.
It was honey and wine put on fire, like a scarf made of steel. It was death and sex in one package, topped with a dark smirk and those half lidded eyes that flashed crimson briefly as they looked at her, proving that yes - this was the Uchiha heir.
"...oh my god... What is... she thinking...?" Hana muttered, her lips so dry suddenly she had to lick them.
Her eyes widened as the heavy, spicy scent with briefest hints of burning embers engulfed her, silks and raven tresses mixing as they caressed her face.
The kunoichi hissed in a breath as the steel fan's edge caressed her cheek, before sliding down to her jugular.
Her senses where overwhelmed as the scent intensified. The drums resounded, her own blood hammering in her ears along with them, the bells, so close to her ears, almost deafening, the silks encompassing, the scent leaving her light headed and full of that raw, painful need...
Sasuke-chan smirked, leaning down, a dark glint in her eyes, sharingan blazing briefly.
The cold steel burned, half between caress and pain, before moving away, and Hana didn't know if that relentless, tense feeling welling deep inside her was anger for the spectacle or the need to howl in dissapointment for the loss of it. Her senses were screaming, her heart was beating like hammer of the forge of some mad god and any coherent thoughts took their leave of absence. She slid down to her seat bonelessly, dazed, confused and liquid fire in her veins slowly subsiding into slow burn. Slow, but burn none the less.
She barely noticed the fact that Sasuke, mouth stretching into a faint grin, moved to Naruto, body swaying and moving with that inhuman, seprentine grace.
The blonds' eyes didn't leave the onyx orbs even as he smirked, even as the fan traced a pattern only the sharingan could seen on his face, yet not touching it for a moment.
The cerulean eyed didn't blink even as the edges of the tessen sang their song as they swooped for his throat... only to fold, giving it a briefest of touches that seemed not quite there, as if it was just imagined.
The fans slid over the wrists gracefully, tugging on the fabric with a whsiper, the silver half moons ance again fanning the fires of crimson silk, only to vanish, as if snuffed out.
Sasuke winked, before sashaying away.
The beat faded, slowly even as the dancer left, the silks fading with the same, otherworldy whisper they appeared.
Hana stared at the place the Uchiha heir, currently female, vanished for a long time.
"I think I know why you are so disturbed by her now." The Inuzuka woman said numbly.
Naruto swirled his sake thoughtfully, looking into it as if to find every answer there, before he looked at Hana.
"Want to know a secret?" He said finally. "When the chips are down, when the booze flows, and the beat goes on..." The cerulean eyes sparked with something that made Hana uneasy, as much as his grin made her pause. "I don't see Sasuke - just a really hot woman."
Hana stared at Naruto for a long moment with an odd expression on her face.
"...that is so wrong and so right at the same time." She said finally.
"You're telling me?"
Sasuke now in a dark blue yukata, one of the fans in her hand, sat on her place with a happy sigh.
Naruto quirked an eyebrow.
"Itched to do that, didn't you?"
"Of course. I mean, would you let a seal or two stand unfinished?" Sasuke shrugged, reaching for sake.
"She wasn't half bad, you know."
"Please." Sasuke-chan scoffed. "That girl was an amateur. How could I let it stand? There is an art to each move, the sexuality and intent, the desire and temptation... She only managed to scrape the surface."
"Bullshit. You just wanted to show off." Naruto said cheerfully.
"Well, that too." Sasuke-chan grinned shamelessly, before blinking as one of the serving girls laid a delicate, expensive-looking bottle on the table. "I didn't order that?" The Uchiha raised an eyebrow.
"Forgive me, but the gentleman from the table in the corner asked you to enjoy it, and to grace his table." Sasuke-chan frowned, looking to the corner, noticing a tall man in his fifties sitting with some of his compatriots, several impassive looking men who looked like guards around his table.
"...'Grace his table'?" Sasuke snorted. "Take it. I don't want it."
"...Madam... I..." The girl licked her lips. "This man is Baisotei Gihei-dono. He is the most influential man in the region and... his favor is-"
"Tell him that I do not wish his favor, nor glances he sends me." Sasuke-chan said dismissively. "There is but one worthy of my attention here, and he is not that person." She made a decisive, cutting move with her fan. "Go."
The woman paled a little, but bowed, taking a bottle.
"You are making an enemy." Naruto pointed out lazily
"All the better." Sasuke said blandly "I have been looking for excuse to kill him. His roving eyes disgust me."
"Ooh. Testy, testy." The blond chuckled, before rising an eyebrow and looking to the corner table. "Hmm. Methinks you got what you wanted." He observed, looking at the angry-faced Gihei glaring at their table.
"Of course I did." Sasuke said matter of factly. "I always do."
Naruto sighed, leaning back.
The courtesan next to him licked her lips nervously, slightly sliding away, only to stop as she felt a gentle, yet firm tug on her hair.
"Now now." Naruto murmured. "Where do you think you're going? The fun is just starting."
"That man... He's yakuza." The woman whispered. "You really should leave. He is very powerful, and I heard he employs some nukenin. Even a chuunin or two, if rumors are to be believed."
"Honey, really... I don't care if he has Mist Seven on his payroll." The blond said with amusement. "More sake."
"This isn't needed. Come away to our rooms. Katsuhito-sama won't have you paying. Come..." She tugged, only to blanch as the blue eyes turned cold.
"I said, more sake." Naruto said blandly. His fingers pressed into Maya's spine and the courtesan's eyes widened, her entire body stiffening as a wave of almost painful pleasure hit her. "And keep it coming." He whispered into her ear.
Maya nodded dazedly, her body still shivering slightly, nerves almost raw with pleasure that was slowly fading away.
Sasuke chuckled, snapping her fan open and covering her mouth.
"Orgasm points? And a chakra spike... Really, Naruto. How lazy."
"It works." The jinchuuriki shrugged.
"Ah, that it does, that it does." The Uchiha heiress nodded with amusement, before looking up at two grim faced men. "Move away. This is a private party."
"Oyabun extends invitation." The taller one said, touching Sasuke's shoulder. "Move."
"Actually... Regarding the last one, I was about to tell you the same." The Sasuke tapped the yakuza's hand with her fan. "Move it or I will break it."
The grip tightened, to a point it would bruise any civilian woman.
"Oyabun-"
There was a long, wet cracking sound, and the thug paled, opening his mouth to scream, only to choke as the fan hit his throat.
"Feel lucky I am in a good mood. You will live."
"As a cripple." Naruto pointed out, motioning to the broken, limp arm.
"I didn't cut it away, now did I?" Sasuke said blandly, before looking at the second thug. "Shoo." She shooed the second thug away with her fan. "Tell that trash over there that if he annoys me once more I will break him."
"And you tell me I lack finesse?" The jinchuuriki said dryly as he watched the thug go away.
The neo-girl shrugged, taking a sip of sake, only to sigh as Gihei's tall figure loomed over her.
"You did hear from your lackey what I will do to you, right?" She said in a bored tone.
"So, you fancy yourself a fighter?"
Gihei looked to be in his late fifties, and had a tall, powerful frame of a man half his age. His face was as if cut out from a piece of rock - solid, all angles and gouges, obviously this man had seen combat judging by his scars.
"I like that in a woman." He said approvingly.
"They just don't listen, do they?" Sasuke muttered to Naruto.
"Come now. Girl of your quality needs a man, a true man not a little boy." He put his arm on Sasuke's posessively.
"They don't learn too well either." Naruto shrugged, ignoring the oyabun.
The fan moved, the crunch repeating nearly verbatim, though less noisily.
Gihei paled, falling to his knee.
"...You... bitch...!" The yakuza hissed out, cradling his broken arm. "You fucking little...!" He snarled.
"If you don't move away, I will burn out your roving eyes and kill you." Sasuke snapped her fan open, waving it gracefully though without haste, her tone as bland as if she was discussing the weather.
"...You little...!" The oyabun was helped up by several of his guards, who jumped up to assist him. "So, you are kunoichi, huh? Think you're so fucking tough you filthy little whore?" He sneered. "I had kunoichi before and I broke them all, you bitch!" His mouth twisted. "After my men are done with you, you will beg me to have you!"
Naruto quirked an eyebrow curiously.
"You really want to die so badly, don't you?" He said with amusement. People's lack of self-preservation instincts when it came to dealing with Sasuke never got old. Naruto himself was amaster of annoyance, but what his friend was capble of, especially as a girl, took the cake. Sometimes Naruto thought that Sasuke could piss of people just by existing. Of course, the mindgames the Uchiha was so fond of and penchant for trouble they both shared also played a role. Or, like now, took the center stage.
Not that either of them minded.
"Harada! Kazuma!" The oyabun snapped. "Take care of that bitch!"
Two middle aged men, moving noticeably smoother than the rest, got up from the table. One reached under his jacket, producing a kunai, while another calmly started to move his hands in seals.
"You really want to die." Naruto sighed. "Sake." He stuck out the saucer to Maya.
Hana snapped out from her stupor, rising as she eyed the two men warily.
"Sit down." Naruto stared at her.
"Those are-"
"Sit. Down." Naruto sighed, tapping Hana's saucer. "Drink. Enjoy the show."
Reluctantly, Hana followed the request.
Sasuke didn't even bother getting up as the kunai came sailing at her, instead simply deflecting it with her fan.
"So, you aren't that bad, bitch." The thrower said with a smirk. "See how you-" He chocked as the thrown yo-yo twisted around his neck.
"Do you know what happens to a man hit by lightning?" Sasuke said calmly, her hand sparkling with bluish crackle. Her mouth twisted into nasty smirk. "The same what happens to everything else."
The jutsu exploded from her hand and traveled over the metal string, frying the nukenin where he stood before he even realized it. His corpse had a look of almost compical suurprise even despite the sheer voltage that killed him.
The second shinobi's eyes widened, and he growled, his hands snapping a quick seal, a suiton jutsu erupting from his mouth, only to be turned into vapor by a swift fireball.
"Jutsu? A Low-class, pitifuly exectued Suiton against me?" Sharingan blazed to life. "You are, of course, kidding."
"...But... But...!" The ninja sputtered. "You...! This is imp-"
With a loud crunch, the yo-yo bit into the head, spikes piercing the skull even as the blunt parts crushed it.
Sasuke-chan snapped her yo-yo back, glaring at the crowd of thugs.
"Unlike you, the vast majority of stupid, retarded, moronic and just plain ugly people, mine is the face that would launch a thousand ships, body that kings would kill and die for, and skill that would make legends weep with envy!" The neo-girl snapped her fan elegantly. "Comparing to you, simpletons of the worst sort and ape-like countenance, Sasuke-chan is on a whole other scale! A whole differentscale!" She covered her mouth with the fan. "Ohohohohohoho!"
Naruto quirked an eyebrow as he watched the thugs break and flee so rapidly they almost fell over each other in the haste to get out of the brothel.
"Hmm... I wonder what did it." The blond rubbed his chin. "The casual ease she displayed killing two chuunin or the laugh?"
He looked to Hana, who was just sitting by and chugging her sake with raw determination worthy of a better cause.
"Ah. You do have a point." The jinchuuriki snapped his fingers. "Sake! Music! I want to get wasted and have some good memories!" He leered at the courtesan next to him.
Maya just blinked owlishly, until stiffening and whimpering as a spike of pleasure so intense it made her dizzy sparked through her again.
"Keep it coming." Naruto smirked, tapping her spine again, sending her into shivers as a moan escaped her lips. "Keep it coming, eh