Parthenogenesis

A/N: This was reformatted for you Dawn. Better, ne? Oh, and I fixed those errors you pointed out. Thank you! And to the rest of you: if you see an error that irks you somethin' terrible, tell me about it and I'll get right on it!


Quick review of science #2: Parthenogenesis is Greek for “Virgin Birth.” It is an asexual form of reproduction that does not require fertilization.

Evaluating YY Chromosomes:
The salmon in the Columbia River have a rare mutation due to hormonal triggers in the pesticide/fertilizer in the ecosystem that allows XY chromosome pairs to be female. Naturally, if a XY female mates with a YY male, some of the offspring can, and have been, YY.

Though this is possible for the mutated salmon species, it has never been seen in humans. Scientists, such as Richard E. Barrans Jr., Ph.D., say that it is not possible. The human Y chromosome simply does not contain enough genetic information to support life. The Y chromosome’s main value is to determine the gender of the individual, while the X chromosome defines life-giving processes such as genes for the ability to see color and to make blood clotting abilities.

Without the genetic information inscribed within the X chromosome, a human would not be able to survive…unless affected by some outside force, a force such as that of the Kyuubi. If the nine-tailed fox could find a way to mutate his own pattern of life-giving genetic code into that of the YY offspring, it would be able to survive. It may not be fully human, but it would be able to survive. It has a chance to work, and one chance is all Kyuubi needs.


Chapter 2: Sleep-Studying

Tsunade was glaring out the window after the quickly disappearing head of blond hair otherwise known as Naruto. Everytime she tried to show even a little bit of concern for the boy, he always made her regret it by being incredibly stubborn. She didn’t even know why she bothered. Well, that’s not true. He reminds you of your little brother. You couldn’t stay mad at someone with eyes of determination like that.

The fifth hokage must’ve spaced out, for when she refocused on the room, she met the image of a very panicked Shizune, Tonton at her heels.

“Tsunade-sama! You don’t have time to waste daydreaming! The papers! The forms! You are so behind! Get back to your work, Tsunade-sama, or the village will suffer.”

Tsunade waved the black-haired woman off, “Yeah, yeah. I know. I was just getting started.” She yawned and started looking through the stack of papers overflowing her desk- it would be a late night in the office for her if she even hoped on catching up on all her work.

Shizune’s heels clicked on the ground as she walked out of the hokage’s office and down the hallway. She had to go find some sake to bribe Tsunade into doing her work- no doubt the attendent would need it soon, very soon by Tsunade’s already distracted appearance. She already knew that Tsunade would most likely have dozed off over the papers by the time she got back.

The fifth grabbed the top paper of the stack nearest to her and began reading it’s contents. By the third line, she had figured ou that she was reading a paper from ”Problems in Konoha” stack. Good. Shizune would probably want those taken care of first, as the village was the most important thing to protect to the hokage.

The report she was reading was very bland. It was most likely written by a Jounin bored with night duty and trying to get her back for assigning it to him by boring her to death in his discriptions. Finally, she pulled the useful information out of the report: There had apparently been a break-in at the Konoha Library. Odd, why would someone want to steal something that is open to the public use anyway? Three scrolls and five books were reported missing the next day by the librarians. The only hint of the criminal was the barest glimpse of blond hair caught on the library’s sercurity cameras.

Blond hair. That doesn’t really narrow it down any. There are lots of blond ninja in the village, and the thief might not even be a Kohoha nin. But something just wasn’t sitting well with Tsunade. Her thoughts kept going to a certain annoying blond who had just been in her office complaining about being tired. But Naruto wouldn’t steal, she told herself. But her suspiscions wouldn’t just go away. There was only one option she could think of.

O0o.o0O

The Last Uchiha of Konoha was left with a million questions in his head from his conversation with Naruto. Who knew the kitsune-plagued boy would make a Uchiha question his sexuality? It was a difficult question that he couldn’t quite answer right away, so Sasuke settled for thinking about his future. He had two goals: One, kill Itachi. Two, revive the clan. There was his answer. He couldn’t very well revive his clan without a female, right? So it was obvious to him that his sexuality didn’t matter to him, because he would still need a woman to help revive his clan. With that decided, Sasuke allowed himself to gaze around the busy street he was standing in. His eyes met a wide-variety of females. He noticed how that when he locked gazes with the surroundung women, it didn’t matter what age they were or if they were married or not, they still blushed at his attention. Sasuke had to bless his Uchiha genes- he could get any girl he wanted.

He briefly imagined starting a family with one of these girls. The images made him sick to his stomach. He nearly lost it when his gaze fell upon an ederly woman of about 70. There was no way that would help anything! He decided he had to get those thoughts out of his head- and quickly, before he actually began throwing up from the disturbing mental pictures.

“Sasuke-kun!” came the familiar voice of his pink-haired teammate, destroying his current thought process. Good!

Sasuke shifted his gaze to her, all those images thankfully gone. Even when their eyes locked, she didn’t blush or look away like the other woman in the village. She had, apparently, got over him completely. It was kind of a relief to him- he would never be able to see the girl as more than a friend. And he certainly didn’t want to.

“Sasuke-kun, are you all right? You look a little sick.” Sakura asked, peering at him with worried green eyes.

“I’m fine,” he said, collecting himself and getting rid of the last of those thoughts that plagued his mind.

“If you’re sure…” said Sakura, knowing the Uchiha didn’t like prying. “Anyway, Tsunade-sama asks to see you immediately. She says she has a mission for you.”
Now, if Sasuke was anything other than an Uchiha, he would’ve been throwing a fit right now. He would have pointed off that he had already completed his mission for the day and that, by basic principle of courtesy, the hokage had no right to ask him to do another one that day. But, as the facts stood as such: Sasuke was an Uchiha. He couldn’t say anything, because Uchiha’s never complain! Thusly, he gave a silent nod before dissappearing off to go see the hokage.

O0o.o0O

“Hokage-sama, you asked to see me?” Sasuke asked, walking in through the office door. Tsunade had to briefly wonder why all ninja felt the need to either always jump in through the window or walk in without knocking. The younder generation had no manners at all.

“Yes, Uchiha Sasuke. It’s a very special mission. You will need the best of your trailing tactics because it is imperative that the person you will be following not know that you are there. Understood?”

“Yes, Hokage-sama.”

“Good. Recently there have been a number of break-ins at the Kohoha Library and severals scrolls and books have gone missing. I have reason to believe that the person I’m assigning you to follow has something to do with this. You are to follow him and keep track of everything he does throughout this night. Report back to me by dawn of tomorrow. Is that understood?”

“Hokage-sama, who is it that I am to follow?” asked Sasuke, wondering why Tsunade didn’t just tell him that from the start.

“Uzumaki Naruto,” she answered. Oh, that’s why. Sasuke thought, I’d never believe her.

Sasuke couldn’t help but allow himself to send her a incredulous look. This must all be a joke. “Hokage-sama, in all due seriousness, I highly doubt Naruto would be stealing books from a library- he doesn’t read, and he’s too much of a good guy to steal.”

“True, but there is something going on. I just want to make sure that he isn’t a suspect. Remember Sasuke: It could very well be someone controlling Naruto. Just do your mission and report back to me by dawn.”

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” he said dryly. If he hadn’t still been in so much trouble for running away from Konoha, he might’ve stayed and argued Naruto’s innocence. There were just some things Naruto would never be capable of- concentrating on a book was one of them. It was a ridiculous notion to even consider, but she was the Hokage and it was Sasuke’s job to follow her orders, so he gave her the slightest of a bow before once again disappearing.

He reappeared outside Naruto’s apartment’s window. He saw Naruto come out of the bathroom, a goofy animal hat on his head and a toothbrush in his mouth. Sasuke was reminded of his conversation with Naruto earlier in which Naruto listed all the reasons people were starting to say that Sasuke was a homosexual. Sasuke concluded that this mission fit on that list as well. He felt like a stalker outside Naruto’s window. “How ridiculous,” he told himself, “I don’t like him that way. This is just a mission.” But even so, Sasuke fell deeper into the shadows of the night to ensure that he wouldn’t be seen.

The first couple of hours of his watch passed uneventfully. Naruto climbed into the bed, turned off the light, and went to bed, just like every other average person. After tossing and turning for a few minutes, the blond finally settled down and drifted off to sleep. His calm breathing could seen by the moonlight streaming in through the window. Watching the slight, constant movement almost put Sasuke to sleep.

By the second hour of watching the same slumbering blond, Sasuke was sure the night was wasted, but as soon as his eyelids began to close, he sensed movement in Naruto’s apartment. His eyes snapped open. Naruto was getting out of bed. For a second, Sasuke was led to believe that the boy was getting up to use the bathroom, but then he noticed his breathing was still the same and that the blond’s eyes were still shut in sleep. “Could Naruto be sleep-walking?” Sasuke wondered.

Naruto’s eyes stayed shut even when he opened his apartment door and walked down a flight of steps to the ground. The blond then started off down the street. Sasuke was pertrubed- it was rather weird and spooky to see Naruto walking in his sleep. He followed the boy, being sure to stay hidden even if his prey was asleep.
Sasuke soon found himself outside of the Konoha Library, and that was when Naruto, even in his sleep state, switched into sneak-mode. He jumped up a story of the building, landing on a window pane, and used his chakra to unfasten the window. The boy cautiously climbed in through the window and landed quietly inside the building. Sasuke followed, being even more cautious- he didn’t want to set off any alarms. What he did want was to see what Naruto was up to. By the time Sasuke caught up with Naruto again, the blond boy already had two new books in his hands and was heading back to the window. Sasuke had to jump behind a bookcase to keep himself from being seen. If Itachi could see im now, the man would surely be laughing at him- the last Uchiha hiding behind a shelf of cooking books to avoid a sleep walker! How embarrassing.

Embarrassing or not, the Uchiha had to get over it because the prey he was so diligently stalking was getting away from him. Upon exiting the library, Sasuke had to search around for the kitsune boy. He finally found him on the rooftops- walking on the very edges. Even in his sleep, Nruto turned out to be an idiot needlessly putting himself in danger. Sasuke followed him back to the boy’s apartment where Naruto promptly sat down in the floor upon entering and opening one of the books.

How odd thought Sasuke. How is he reading with his eyes closed? It’s impossible. Sasuke activated his Sharingon and took a closer look. Now, he could see how Naruto was using his chakra. Normally, the boy’s chakra was blue, but now, while most of his body was showing the blue chakra, a stream of red could be seen coming from the boy’s naval. It seemed to be hovering over the book as if it were absorbing the information written. Could it be the Kyuubi? Has Naruto lost control of the demon fox?

Sasuke decided to continue his observation- the Kyuubi did not seem to be trying to escape, merely expand it’s boundaries. However, if the Kyuubi was plotting some method of escaping, it could mean bad things for Konoha in the future. This needed to be reported to the Hokage.

Sasuke continued watching his blond friend “sleep-study,” as that was what it appeared to be. Leave it to his dobe to be a..well dobe- most people simply snored, some tossed and turned in their sleep, and others sleep-walked, but not Naruto. Sasuke guessed that Naruto never wanted to be normal, not even when it came to sleeping, so he had to sleep-study instead of doing what everyone else did.

Whatever the reason for this practically superantural event, it continued until the early morning hours, about an hour till dawn. Naruto had flipped through nearly all of his books when he suddenly shut the book and stood up. Sasuke could tell by the boy’s still shut eyes that he was still asleep. Naruto picked up all the books and put them into a wooden box in his closet that was hidden under a bunch of his orange jumpsuits. The kitsune boy then threw a pile of the terribly bright orange clothes back over the box. After it was hidden from sight, Naruto climbed back into bed and fell back into a normal, shiftless sleep.
Sasuke waited thirty minutes, but the blond boy didn’t move again, so he headed to the Hokage’s office to make his report as he was ordered to do. He knocked on the office door for once, at least allowing Tsunade the chance to act like she wasn’t sleeping at her desk. When her voice finally called him to enter, his suspicions proved true- she had ink smeared across a red mark on her check and the sharp Uchiha eyes spotted drool marks across the paper on her desk. What an example of dedication, he smirk to himself.

“Uchiha, report,” she ordered taking the focus of the ink on her face.

“It is as you feared- it is Naruto, but…” said the Uchiha, unsure as to how to continue about the Kyuubi.

“But?” prompted Tsunade, sitting down heavily behind her desk. She didn’t need to be watching Naruto night and day- there was already too many things to do in a day.

The Uchiha continued in a dull, just-stating the facts voice, his mission-reporting voice, “I think there may be Kyuubi influence.” Tsunade looked up sharply at this, so the Uchiha explained better. “Naruto went to bed at approxamately 9:00 pm. At approxamately 11:00 pm, I registered movement in his room. Naruto stirred and left his house. He appeared to be sleep walking. His walk led him to the library where he retrieved a few books and then he brought them back home. In his sleep, he appeared to be reading them, however, with Sharingan, I noticed red chakra leaking from his naval and surrounding the books. I think the Kyuubi might have been somehow absorbing the information there.”

Tsunade sighed heavily, bracing her head in her hands. “Did Naruto do anything else?”

Sasuke shook his head, “About an hour to dawn, Kyuubi put the books in a wooden chest in Naruto’s closet. Then, Naruto laid back in bed and was still.”

“Hmmm… I suppose this explains why the boy said he’s always tired. I wonder what he was reading. Did you retrieve the books?”

“I did not.”

“Do so,” she said, reaching for a jug of sake.

“Hokage-sama, Naruto’s mission to Sand?” he reminded her.

“Ah, yes. I suppose he shouldn’t go then. He might put them in danger,” she sighed tiredly.

“I suggest you allow him to go.”

“Excuse me, Uchiha? I am the Hokage, not you.”

“Tsunade-sama, we both know Naruto, he’s an idiot, but a righteous idiot. If you prevent him from going on the mission, he’ll get curious. Then, he’ll find out about the Kyuubi leaking and, being the baka he is, he’ll try to shoulder the burden on his own and he’ll probably stop sleeping to try to save us all.”

“He is a stubborn brat,” agreed Tsunade. “We don’t want another insomniac demon-host. What do you propose?”

Sasuke said, “Send someone to watch over him. Just say you believe there might be an increased risk to the mission. Don’t tell him what exactly.”

“Who should I send?” Tsunade pondered aloud. “Hyuuga Neji, perhaps? He got back from his last mission two days ago, and he greatly respects Naruto. He would be a good choice to keep the boy safe.”

Tsunade began pulling forms from her desk to assign the new mission to Neji. Sasuke was ready to go home and go to sleep, but he suddenly had a mental image of the Hyuuga watching over Naruto, just as he himself had done last night. Some unknown beast roared within the raven-haired boy. It must have something to do with the “great respect” Neji supposedly held for Naruto. What if it was something more? That thought kept running through his head for some unknown reason. Then he told himself, Naruto’s not gay. And neither am I. Why am I thinking like this? But that deeper, more hidden side of him, the side that always makes one doubt oneself, said, He never answered the question when you asked if he was gay. And you’ve never been with a girl. Sooo… Sasuke cut those thoughts off right there. He decided he would remain a firm asexual until he needed to repopulate the Uchiha clan. It was as simple as that. But still, the thought of Neji watching over the dobe was disturbing him. There was only one choice: “I’ll go.”

Tsunade looked up from the form. “What?” she asked him.

“I’ll go with Naruto to Sand,” Sasuke said, his voice coolly even as to not let any form of emotion slip.

Tsunade started laughing. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. You’ve been up for 24 hours straight at least.” It was actually more like 36, but Sasuke wasn’t going to correct her.

“I’ve endured much longer. I believe I’m the best judge to know what I can and can’t handle,” he replied coldly.

The Hokage looked him in the eyes, seeing his determination to go. It reminded her of a boy she lost so long ago, her little brother. She heaved another sigh into the early morning quiet.

“Fine, Uchiha. But you better not let any harm befall Naruto or yourself.” She went back to the mission forms she was filling out, marking out Neji’s name and putting Sasuke’s instead. She mumbled something about having an overbearing amount of stubborn guys under her jurisdiction. “Get out of my office then, but make sure you retrieve me those books before you leave!”

A/N: hmmm….I’m not sure what my thoughts are on this chapter. I’ll try to update soon. Review, please, and tell me what you think.