Chapter 48 - I don't wanna wait

So deep in his thoughts he had been that he nearly missed the fact that someone was sitting in his bed when he arrived home and entered his bedroom. There on his bed, a very familiar nine-tailed fox cub was waiting for him half-asleep, his tails lazily swishing in the air every now and then. It was none other than Kyuubi. However, there was something different about him. A yellow glow of light was coating his body and a bright yellow ring was around his right paw almost like a bracelet. Previously not wearing any clothes, the fox was currently sporting a yellow and black top with the symbol of a lantern printed on the chest.

But when Naruto finally took notice of the light in the semi-darkness of the room, he exclaimed:

'Kurama! Where you have you been?'

He was about to grab the fox cub from the scruff of his neck like he had done many times before, but the way the fox was looking at him stopped him in his tracks.

'Y-Yo, furball, are you alright? What's with the glittery light around you?'

A primal growl rumbled from the fox's throat and, despite being in his miniaturized form, his voice was not squeaky like usual; it sounded deep and demonic, just like when his body was at his original size. The walls of the house vibrated from how powerful his boomed was when he spoke:

'Naruto... what happened to your arm?'

The yellow glow around the fox began to flicker and sway as a red haze seeped out of his body. Seeing the blonde not replying right away, Kyuubi's rage only increased.

'WHO DID THIS TO YOU, NARUTO?!' he roared and his crimson red chakra burst from his body, making the windows of the room shatter and pushing the furniture towards the other end of the room.

Naruto could feel that he was about to go on a rampage.

'This idiot is gonna destroy the house.'

All of a sudden, a heavy fist smashed against the puny fox's head, flattening him into the floor like a pita.

'What was that for, asshole?!' with a squeaky voice now, Kyuubi yelled in outrage.

'Back to your senses? Or you want me to kick your furry ass for trying to destroy our home?'

Now more collected, Kyuubi just looked at Naruto...and then back at his missing arm. A growl continued to rumble quietly from his chest. But in the end, he made an effort to calm down. Recalling how Naruto just punched him in the head, he snorted at him. Then, raising his snout up in an arrogant manner, his body began to float off the floor. Naruto looked at him frozen, too startled to react in any other way. A guffaw came from the fox.

'Aren't I majestic? Um? Tell me, tell me!' Kyuubi gloated as he floated on the same eye level with Naruto, his whole demeanour oozing with pride.

When he finally found his words, Naruto said in amazement:

'Holy crap, you can fly!'

The fox laughed out in delight.

'Gahaha! Kyuubi-sama has no other weakness anymore. A perfect all-rounder!'

'Tell me I'm the greatest!'

Naruto's amazement was soon replaced by annoyance when Kyuubi continued to shamelessly brag and demand to be praised. Instead of praising him, Naruto suddenly grabbed the fox by one of his ears and started to dig his knuckles into his head.

'Where have you been this entire month? I was getting really worried about you!'

A yellow bubble of light was conjured from the like ring around the fox's small paw and he managed to get away from Naruto's grasp. Once he did that, Kyuubi's playfulness disappeared and an air of seriousness appeared around him.

'Naruto, we need to talk. You have to tell me what happened to you while I was gone. I didn't think there was anyone strong enough here to bring you to such a state...'

'You'll also need to listen to the news I've brought. That wizard human that claimed that he travelled in time appears to have spoken the truth. I think Galatea should hear this too.'

A few minutes later...

'So you're telling me that now you're part of an organisation similar to the Green Lanterns and that your fellow Yellow Lanterns are going to invade the Earth soon?'

Naruto didn't know what to make of the situation.

'How did this happen? Where have you been before that anyway?'

'Didn't that fatass tell you anything?' Kyuubi asked.

'He's apparently more terrified of you than he is of me. I couldn't get anything out of him without resorting to violence.'

Kyuubi smirked and his 9 bushy tails began to flail in pride.

'At least he knows who's the boss. HAHA!'

'The boss? You?' Naruto laughed and bonked him on the snout.

The fox almost lashed out by reflex with one of his tails to smack Naruto right back. They used to do it before all the time - that was how their weekly brawls started every time. But his tail stopped mid-way when his eyes fell once again on the crippled remains of Naruto's left shoulder.

Seemingly oblivious to Kyuubi's feelings or regret at his condition, Naruto asked again:

'So, are you going to tell me what have you been up to this entire time?'

A sigh came from Kyuubi but he no longer dragged the time.

'I was in Japan. I took the fatass with me because I had to travel by plane and taking a human as my 'owner' was the only way to do it.'

'Um, if you just told Galatea, she could have flown you there faster than a military jet, let alone a commercial airplane.' Naruto interjected.

'The point was for you to not find out. It was supposed to be a secret. And I doubt your darling over there would keep any secrets from you.' Kyuubi retorted, drawing a 'Damn straight!' from Galatea who just happened to arrive in the room at that moment.

'Hee~ and what was it that required so much secrecy? What did you do in Japan?'

'I killed the Uchihas. All of them, until the very last member of the family.'

Silence instilled in the room and the wind blew through the window Kyuubi had broken before, making it even more obvious how uncomfortable the situation appeared to have become.

After remembering his past life, Naruto realized that he was not the only one that had been reincarnated into this new reality. After all, he knew personally the Inzuka family, he met Orochimaru, he heard of Uchiha Itachi and, before he recovered his memories, Might Guy and Rock Lee had come to challenge the Monkey King Dojo - his grandfather, Sarutobi Hirzuen's dojo. But, while he knew all that, he had never thought about it too deeply. After all, only Orochimaru could remember his past life alone, Naruto himself recovered his memories only because of Kyuubi. He understood that even if he met any of them again, there would still be no common ground between them. Now, they were all different persons. Just strangers.

Still, in his past life, Naruto had thought of Uchiha Sasuke as of a brother in all but blood. He cared so much about him that he had even been willing to forgive him for nearly killing him 2 times. While in his present life Naruto held none of his previous affection for the Uchiha, he could still not help the feeling of regret that surfaced in his heart when he heard that Sasuke was killed together with the rest of his family. He would have liked to at least see what kind of person was Sasuke in the current life, where he had grown up like any other ordinary human, surrounded by his family.

Seeing how silent Naruto became at his words, Kyuubi felt an odd urge to explain himself.

'Uchiha Itachi had awakened the Sharingan in this life too somehow. Although he died, I couldn't leave the risk of another human awakening those damned eyes. You know very well how much I suffered because of this cursed Doujutsu in our past lives. For nearly 80 years I've been imprisoned, caged like a mindless beast! By humans!'

'I see you and your sister as my own family now, Naruto. I also tolerate this blonde girl you seem to like and your sister's friend, the redhead... But I have no lost love for the rest of the humans. The four of you are just an exception.'

'My hate for your kind has never decreased. I have not forgotten what they did to me in my past life. I have not forgotten the torture they put Mito through in their laboratories in our current reality either.'

'Moreover, above all, I am a Demon. I will always look out for my well-being. I saw a chance to eliminate the only thing with the potential to harm me and I took it. There will never be a Sharingan wielder in this world again.'

A drawn-out sigh came from Naruto.

'I'm not holding it against you, Kurama. I'd be a hypocrite if I did that...After all, hundreds of people died at my hands. If I were to see someone like Madara or Obito in this life, even if they were the kindest and most honest people in the world this time around, I'd still kill them before they could blink twice.'

Kyuubi did not let it show on his face, but he was inwardly relieved that Naruto had not reacted negatively to what he had done. Kyuubi had killed the Uchiha behind Naruto's back because the fox's memories of their past lives were still fresh. He could still remember how irrational and impulsive would Naruto become every time he thought about Uchiha Sasuke.

While Kyuubi knew that the current Naruto was drastically different from the one in his past life, he thought that it was still better not to try his luck. He didn't want anyone to stop him from killing the Uchiha, the only ones that had the potential to one day develop the Sharingan and manipulate him again. Seeing that Naruto was actually not condemning his deeds only increased his appreciation for the changes in Naruto's mentality and personality.

'How did you become a Yellow Lantern?' Galatea asked. 'From what we know, apparently, to become a Green Lantern, you need to have a very powerful will or something like that. What's the requirement for owning a Yellow Power Ring?'

A malicious grin appeared on Kyuubi's face when he said:

'Fear.'

Seeing the confused expression on Naruto's and Galatea's faces, Kyuubi explained:

'The requirements are very simple. When a Yellow Power Ring is searching for an owner, it is looking for 2 traits in people:'

A construct of yellow light in the form of a human hand was conjured from the ring and it showed an index finger as Kyuubi continued:

'First, it's the ability to create fear. And the second -' the construct in the shape of hand raised another finger 'is to be fearless.'

Naruto looked unimpressed.

'The requirements are quite low. Many people could probably be chosen.'

Galatea, however, picked up on the meaning of the 2nd trait that Kyuubi talked about.

'I wouldn't say that... everyone has fears.'

'I'm not afraid of anything though? I'm honest.' Naruto said, not bragging, just stating what he considered as a true fact.

'You may not be afraid of death, pain or torture but you are still afraid of something... after all, you would not have 2 of your Shadow Clones constantly stalking after your sister in disguise, every day, to make sure that she is safe and protected at all times.' Galatea said and Naruto finally realized that he had been confounding being fearless with being courageous.

As if knowing his thoughts, Kyuubi added:

'Being fearless means that you are literally not afraid of anything. There is nothing to hold you back. Nobody would be able to blackmail you with anything. Having no fear... this is what true freedom is!'

Kyuubi's words were passionate as he continued to speak.

'Look at me. When I am at my original size, my appearance alone instils not mere fear but terror in the hearts of everyone who sees me. You could say that this power ring was tailor-made for someone like me.'

''But, despite that new Yellow Lanterns are chosen nearly every weeks because of the death of another, it was only after I killed the last Uchiha alive that a Yellow Power Ring chose me, finding me worthy. Until then, I still had one fear: that one day, one of the descendants of the Uchiha in this world would awaken a Sharingan powerful enough to ensnare me into a genjutsu once again.'

'However, now that I killed them all, I have no fear.'

None of them said anything after that for a few long moments. Eventually, Naruto asked a question that had been on his mind from the first moment he heard that the Yellow Lanterns would invade Earth:

'Where does this leave us? What are you going to do?'

Kyuubi looked up at Naruto startled.

'What do you mean?' he asked.

Galatea sat up from the sofa and quickly got in front of Naruto protectively. A subtle killing intent started to slowly make the air become denser and her originally baby blue eyes flickered with a crimson red colour - she was ready at any moment to shoot out a devastating ray of heat from her eyes. She spoke calmly, but not only Kyuubi, even Naruto felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand at the ends:

'What he means is simple: are you still our friend or our enemy? On which side are you now?'

The tension in the room became almost unbearable. Naruto placed his only hand on Galatea's shoulder.

'Tea, that's enough. Even if-'

'NO! I nearly lost you once. I won't let it happen ever again!' she said categorically.

While she spoke, Galatea red eyes never left Kyuubi's frame.

'I don't wanna find ourselves backstabbed when we least expect it! Say it clearly, fox, on which side are you? Otherwise...' she trailed off but the other two occupants of the room were clear on what she meant. She was ready to have a deadly battle right then, right there. Galatea was committed to cutting the problem from its roots.

But, unlike what Naruto expected, Kyuubi's reaction at Galatea's threats and hostile behaviour was not violent. The fox remained calm, only looking past Galatea's shoulder, into his eyes.

Kyuubi willed his ring to make him fly until he came in front of Galatea. Slowly, without saying even one word, Kyuubi just raised his small paw in front of him.

Galatea prepared herself, expecting an attack but Naruto gently squeezed her shoulder and said:

'It's ok, Tea. Thank you for standing up to me, but I got this.'

He did not say it with words how grateful he was to see her trying to protect him but, when their eyes met, Galatea's crimson eyes flickered back to their baby blue colour. It was one of those moments when two people would miraculously understand everything the other thought just from gazing into each other's eyes. She could see his gratitude, his happiness...his love. And she felt overwhelmed by the intensity of his emotions.

Turning to look at Kyuubi, Naruto also extended his right fist. Just like they had done it a few times before, Naruto's and Kyuubi's hands met in a fist bump. It was a gesture of absolute trust. At that moment, they saw the truth into the other's heart. Naruto saw Kyuubi's thoughts. And the memories of how Kyuubi refused to leave him even when it looked like they were going to get killed by the hundreds of metahumans that attacked them on the Prison Island. Naruto remembered Kyuubi's words from back then:

'Who the fuck do you think I am? Do you think I am a flimsy human that would cower away and abandon you just like that? Huh?!'

'This is not like in our past life... You are not my jailor. We are not enemies anymore. You are my partner. If you live, I live. If you die, I die. You are my friend, Naruto.'

Naruto remembered how, only a few moments after that, Kyuubi had been prepared to even sacrifice his life as he shielded him from the lightning strikes of the Heavenly Tribulation...Naruto recalled the memory of how, after finally regaining his freedom and independence, Kyuubi willing bound himself to him in a Summoning Contract just to be able to arrive in time on top of the Atlantic Ocean, to aid and protect him from the squad of Green Lanterns that had come to John Stewart's distress signal.

Naruto had known it from before, but recalling all those memories confirmed it again that Kyuubi was the best friend he could have ever asked for. He knew in his heart that Kyuubi would never betray him.

Scene break

'She's progressing at an amazing pace. She's amazing.' Naruto thought as his mind went back to the training session that had just ended.

'After only 2 weeks, she can already control her fire chakra to perfection!'

After Kyuubi informed them in detail about Sinestro Corps' plan he also told them about the most powerful ones in their ranks. Even Kyuubi was forced to recognize the god-like power of Superboy-Prime, a fact which made both Naruto and Galatea wary of the situation.

Galatea, specifically, decided to step on her pride and admit that she still had ways to go. Until then, she had considered herself the ultimate warrior. A perfect weapon. However, when faced with the possibility that, at least according to Kyuubi's claims, there was someone out there against whom she would stand no chance, she resolved herself to become even stronger. And the obvious solution to that was to master the energy that her creator had gone to great lengths to plant in her body: chakra. Although she had neglected it until then, she knew that Orochimaru had been firmly convinced that it was only when she mastered her chakra that she would become truly perfect.

Thus, with Naruto's assistance, she threw herself into training as if her life depended on it. Naruto was no longer as powerful as before...and she did not want to lose him. Her drive to become even more powerful was for his sake. She wanted to protect the one person she loved more than anything. She did not want to even think how would her life be after he died. She has lived for only a few years and she already lost the one she saw as her father. She could not bear with losing Naruto as well.

And Naruto was aware of these things too because Galatea was very open about what she felt for him. He felt needed, he felt loved. That knowledge that Galatea wanted him just as much as he wanted her filled him with a warmth that had nothing to do with the hot water that poured on his head from the shower.

Naruto grabbed the bottle of shampoo and, since he had only one arm, directly squeezed some of its contents on top of his head. Then, he put it down and started to run his hand through his hair to wash it. When he began to rinse it however, it became apparent that he had used too much shampoo once again. He had no way of knowing how much shampoo he used until he rinsed his hair and saw how the foam and bubbles continued to pour in an unending stream.

Mildly annoyed, he scrubbed at his hair energetically, murmuring:

'Not having an arm sucks big time.'

It inconvenienced him not only in doing important things but even in the mundane aspects of his daily life like when he was taking a shower, changing his clothes or eating.

After a while, his hair was finally rinsed properly. He was about to turn off the water and step out of the shower when two slender arms suddenly wrapped around his torso from behind. He was so startled that he lost his footing and he would have slipped but the two deceptively feeble hands around him were much stronger than they appeared. When he stabilized himself, his entire body shivered at the feeling of a woman's breasts pressing against his back.

'Galatea! W-What are you doing here?!' he almost yelled, gasping for breath from the unexpected stimulation.

'Taking a shower. You're the one who got me all dirty and sweaty.'

He would have pointed out that she never sweated - a perk of her Kryptonian physiology - but the place on his back where the peaks of her breasts touched him felt like it was burning. When her hands began to roam on his body, his temperature rose several degrees. One of her hands went up and greedily fondled at his muscular chest while the other traced his well-sculpted abs, slowly moving towards the South.

Just the thought that she was going to touch him down there brought him at full mast and he muttered almost against his will.

'We... we have to stop or...'

Galatea's left hand stopped going lower but she pressed herself tighter against his back.

'Why?' she asked and she placed her lips on his neck, giving him a soft kiss.

'Don't you feel attracted to me?' she asked again and she kissed his neck one more time, making his body tremble in her arms.

'Of course I do! It's just that-' Naruto began but stopped when Galatea rested her cheek on his shoulder blade and sighed.

'We live dangerous lives, Naruto.' she said softly, her voice nearly being covered by the sound of the water running on them. 'You nearly died a few weeks ago. I almost lost you...'

'I - ' she bit her lip and paused when her voice started to shake. 'I hate to say it but we don't know for how long we'll live. Tomorrow could very well be my or your last day.'

Naruto turned around in her hold and hugged her with his right arm too.

'Don't speak like that! Individually, we're very strong already. But when we're together, nothing can stop us. Nothing will come in between us!' Naruto said and kissed the top of her wet hair.

Galatea pushed her face into the crook of his neck and nuzzled him.

'I don't wanna wait for another day!'

'I don't wanna waste any of the moments I have with you!'

'Make love to me, Naruto!'

He was ashamed of the fact that, technically, he was a 36-year-old virgin if he counted both his past and present life. He had never even initiated a kiss with a girl before he fell in love with Galatea. And now, he was anxious that he would not be good enough. Having become handicapped had also affected his confidence.

But when she said those words, the walls that his insecurities had built around him collapsed. A loyal, loving and protective woman was offering herself to him. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was all his. And he was hers only. What was he getting the cold feet now for?

Their eyes met and Naruto lost himself in her blue orbs. His hand reached to her face and his calloused thumb softly touched her defined cheekbones. He caressed her cheek and then, her eyes closed and her breathing quickened when his thumb gently traced her plush lower lip.

'So beautiful...'

Her arms suddenly embraced his neck and she pressed with her hands against the back of his head as their lips met in their most passionate kiss yet. Her full lips mashed against his and she gasped in both surprise and need when his tongue sneaked into her mouth. The water of the shower got cold for a few moments until the boiler heated up another round but they were so lost in pleasure that they hardly noticed it. It was as though the surrounding world stopped existing for them.

Soon, the need for air made Naruto break the kiss but he dived right back in with the same fervour. He pushed her against the wall and one of her toned legs wrapped around his waist. His hand grabbed her thigh and he ground himself against her. Feeling him brush against her core made her go weak in the knees and she threw her head back, her breath coming out in gasps.

'Did you just...' he asked but Galatea refused to meet his eyes.

Her face and neck were a feverish red and her breath came erratically through her red, slightly swollen lips.

The face she was making coupled with the unexpected shyness she was showing almost made him lose it. She was the one that seduced him into this, the contrast between her previous assertiveness and her current shyness was too much! He hated that he did not have both of his arms to wrap around her. As he embraced her, her voice whispered hotly into his ear:

'I'm ready for you. Give it to me!' And if that was not enough, she bit and pulled on the lob of his ear with her teeth.

The tiles on the bathroom wall cracked when he abruptly lifted her up and pressed her against the wall with his body. Her long, athletic legs spread for him and then he groaned at the feeling of them locking around his waist, with her thick thighs snugly pressing against his sides.

'Do you have any idea what you're doing to me?' he asked, his voice thick with want.

One moment assertive, the next moment shy and then again seductive. His self-control never stood a chance. He could no longer resist her. Before he completely lost himself, he said:

'You were my first kiss. You are my first love. And this is my first time.'

'I want you to be my one and only. I love you!'

Then, he thrust himself in her. A moan of both pain and pleasure came from both of them. Her muscles contracted and her legs pushed him inside her till the end.

They stood still for a few moments, to adjust themselves to the new sensation. Because of the water pouring from above, he could not see the tears that streamed down her cheeks, but he did hear the small sobs she made.

'Tea, I'm sorry, did I hurt you?!'

Her hymen broke years before, during the strenuous training regiment in the military facility where she had been raised. She felt no real pain, only some discomfort. At his worried tone, despite her sobs, a beautiful smile bloomed on her face.

'No, I'm just...I'm so happy!'

Relieved, he pulled out and thrust back in. The gasps she made sounded sweet in his ears. The grunts coming from him were turning her on more with each passing second.

Not for the first time, he cursed the fact that he did not have 4 hands instead of only one. He could not get enough of touching her body... the svelte legs that were wrapped around him, her luscious hips, her full, round and soft breasts with nipples of an alluring red, the defined muscles on her abdomen and her tight, wide ass contracting every time he pushed inside her... She drove him mad. It did not take long before he emptied himself inside her.

But her effect on him was so great that it took only a few moments of kissing for him to be ready for her again.

That night, a deeply embarrassed Misaki found herself in front of Barbara's apartment, knocking on her door. Naruto and Galatea did not stop their love-making after getting out of the shower. Their cries of pleasure and the shaking of the entire house with their every movement forced Misaki to make a run for it. Their activities were to much for the poor girl to ignore.