So, someone commented saying: "Also this entire fic is just one long rant, it's generally the type of writing style used by bad authors who don't want to acknowledge the opposing arguments of the other side, because as it turns out it's easier to convince someone your right when you don't give the opposing side a voice"…. Which I found pretty hilarious since they commented as a guest. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Review responses:

MrLogic- Yeah, it can't really be anything else since they're kinda getting married. I mean, I doubt Naruto's the type to cheat on her and I'm pretty sure neither is she.

Slythefoxx2- She mad cause he's being thoughtless about how his choices and actions affect her. He didn't have to fight her. She named her terms and then he agreed to them and then all of a sudden he says, "nah, fam. I'm not about that." which really isn't fair to her. In her mind.

Mad Library Scientist- Yeah, she is. You'll see.

Oh, and the rest of the people who've been kicking my ass on the theory front, congrats. Most of your arguments have merit. I still think my theory works for my story, but I guess I'm just gonna say, 'it's fanfiction, suspend your disbelief' instead.

For those of you who liked the story and have been waiting literally forever for this chapter to drop, sorry it took so long. I'm gonna try and make sure it doesn't happen again, but I makes no promises.

Alsooooooooo-crap. I just realised that starting the story here didn't leave me much of canon. I hope I can still keep it interesting.

Chapter 2

Naruto blinked once at the girl seated next to him. His eyes were unfocused as he watched her. They hadn't moved from their place by the riverside, their feet bare as the current flowed between them.

He sighed once, idly knowing what he was about to say. He knew he couldn't just kill her. She'd done nothing to him.

She'd done nothing to anyone.

She was a good person.

…

…Well, as 'good' as a ninja could be, anyway. There was no way he could just kill her because he didn't want to marry her. He was starting to think that he never should've fought her. It's not like she would've attacked him and made him fight her.

Well, at least, he didn't think she was the type. Granted he didn't really know her all that well, but he felt like she wasn't the type to force someone to become her husband.

Yikes. That word again.

Husband.

He felt himself shiver a little every time it crossed his mind. He couldn't find a way to get out of it. It was seeming more and more like he didn't really have a choice. He was going to have to marry her and be bound to her for the rest of his life.

Well, maybe it wouldn't be so bad….

"Okay…" He started, throat closing up and refusing to let him utter another word.

"Yes?" She asked, looking up from the cool water.

"No! Not yes!" He corrected, waving his arms back and forth in front of him. "I'm not agreeing to marry you."

"So you've chosen to kill me then?" She asked, and the purely curious nature of the question knocked him back.

"I…no! I never said I was gonna do that." He re-corrected, feeling a little lost at this moment.

She raised an eyebrow, clearly asking him to elaborate.

"Look. I just wanna know what marrying you is gonna mean for me." He finished, knowing he was still stalling for time.

She gave him a slight nod, turning her gaze back to the water flowing between their toes. "I guess that's only fair." She paused for a moment, seeming to focus intently on just breathing in the forest air. After a few breaths, she spoke. "Our traditions state that when a man has won the hand of a Nadeshiko kunoichi, he returns to the village with her and becomes a part of the clan. The man becomes the head of the household and, obviously, the head of the clan if he weds the princess." She lightly touched her chest, half gesturing to herself and half remembering previous times when she'd had to explain their rules. The thought almost made her smile. "As the head of the clan, you are-"

"Oi! I never said I was gonna marry you!" The jinchuuriki interjected, trying to keep it abundantly clear that he hadn't made any commitments.

She sighed, lip twitching a little at his outburst. "Excuse me. As the clan head, one is given total access to our clan's entire just library and archives. The clan's strongest shinobi and kunoichi in the village can also be made available to train you-"

"E-HEM!"

She didn't suppress the smile this time, continuing right on with her words. "in whichever field they specialise. We have a experts in all the obvious weapon arts, but there are also a few who are experts in more obscure implements. Our foremost trackers are generally on par with the best of your Inuzukas, and our elemental specialists are as knowledgeable about their elements as I am about wind." His eyes widened at that and it was all he could do to keep the whistle from passing between his lips. These women sounded impressive and he was starting to wonder why he hadn't heard about them more often. "I could go on and on, but I'm certain you get the idea." The blond nodded a little dumbly. "Of course, not all our skills lie on the battlefield. There are a good number of more academically inclined kunoichi who would are increasingly fond of teaching their craft. Some of them monitor the political occurrences all around the elemental nations, but most of them are more keen to study religions and techniques that have long since faded from use."

He, once again, nodded at the woman, accepting the information as it was given. "Okay. What about…" He scratched the back of his neck slightly sheepishly. "I mean, I know the leader of the village is it's number one protector and all, but is there anything special they're supposed to do?"

She nodded back at him. "I obviously can't go through all of the duties and responsibilities the clan head has, but you are mostly correct." Her head dipped slightly in a small nod. "The main thing they're tasked with is protecting the village, so mainly they're expected to train to their limits." He smiled a little, mentally ticking off that box. "Among the duties are overseeing the operations of the village. Of course, there are a number of other posts that deal with smaller incidents but everything of a larger scope will be brought to…the clan head's attention." She covered the slip. "Some of the laws are subject to change by the clan head, but most of our traditions can only be overturned by a unanimous vote among the clan council, the clan head and the clan elders."

"…okay…" That statement was clearly leading somewhere.

She felt her smile grow a little larger. "Meaning you won't be able to end the tradition of the challenges all by yourself."

He pursed his lips, unable to be truly angry in the face of her happiness. The slight smile on her face as she took in his expression made her look a lot less… unapproachable. Moving swiftly on from that thought, he gestured for her to go on.

"You'll also be expected to attend all of the meetings with other village heads and you'll generally have the final word on any decisions the clan, and therefore the village, will make in response to those meetings."

Naruto sighed a little, resigning himself to the fact that she wasn't going to stop insinuating that he'd already made his choice. He closed his eyes for a moment, thoughts becoming slightly heavy. 'I mean, haven't I already made up my mind?' He thought, conscious of the fact that he wasn't going to kill her. That just wasn't something he could bring himself to do. She hadn't done anything to him, and he'd known about the rules of their fight beforehand. He should've just- "Arghhhhhh!" He groaned, hands fisting his golden locks in frustration. He was starting to think in circles.

She turned to him with both eyebrows raised, a curious look on her face. She hummed for a second, her face considering. "I had not pegged you as the indecisive type, but you needn't worry. You will not be expected to make all of those decisions alone. Any of the members of either council would be more than happy to give you advice on-"

He shook his head, stopping her in the middle of her sentence. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come.

Her smile dimmed a little as she realised what must be bothering the blond. "You've decided to marry me, haven't you." She intoned, absolutely sure of her words. She was also sure that any other girl would be furious at seeing the anguish that making that decision had caused him, but she felt...She actually wasn't sure how she felt about that. He'd decided not to kill her, so their villages wouldn't go to war for his unprovoked murder of their heir, and both her people and her offspring would thrive under his passionate leadership. Honestly, she should feel something, but there was an unsurprising lack of change in her heart.

His head dipped a little, a subtle nod in the movement.

She nodded to herself slightly, acknowledging his answer. Turning to once more watch the water as it lazily drifted between her toes, she waited for him to finish gathering his thoughts. This definitely hadn't been the way she'd expected her day to go. Having thought about it some more, she realised that she hadn't felt all that enthused when she'd thought she'd won their fight. She'd been holding herself back all through the confrontation because she'd known just who she was dealing with.

Uzumaki Naruto. Jinchuuriki of the kyuubi, apprentice of Jiraya of the Sannin, suspected child of the fourth Hokage and an Uzumaki to boot. Their spies had found that all through the blond's life, his training had never even been a significant matter to the people of Konohagakure. The distant way they interacted with him was extremely far removed from Nadeshiko culture. Every single Nadeshiko kunoichi, regardless of any lingering grudges her father may have accrued, would have their training painstakingly tailored to their anticipated needs from the day of their birth, adjustments being made as necessary as the girl developed. They were well aware that if they put even half that much effort into training the golden haired boy, he'd be more than a force of nature. He had his deck stacked so heavily that he could very well become the closest thing to a kami that has ever existed in the elemental nations.

An opportunity like that was not one to be wasted. It stung her pride to not give her all in the confrontation, but she knew that there was no better man to stand at the head of their clan. It might be a little more difficult actually getting him to become a part of it, given the fact that he was currently Konoha's only jinchuuriki, but she was fairly certain that they could work something out. The Nadeshiko clan and their traditions were far older than even the hidden villages after all.

They spent a few minutes in silence. Not awkward but not quite companionable either. Just mutual silence as they both pondered the fact that the person they were going to have to spend the rest of their lives with was the stranger sitting next to them.

The blond exhaled silently, making sure she didn't hear what was obviously a sigh. He couldn't be sure, since her mastery of wind was beyond obvious and she may be aware enough of the air around them to feel his breathing change, but he couldn't help it. His dream had now been placed firmly out of his reach. And by his own actions, too. If he had just decided that talking to her wasn't worth fighting her on those terms, then he wouldn't be having any of these problems.

Truth be told, he really wasn't too terribly put out by the thought of marrying her. Sure, if he could go back, he'd chose the chance to marry Sakura-chan every time, but since he was stuck in this mess, he'd decided to look at the bright side. Sure, she wasn't sweet, or cute, and she didn't really seem to have many of the qualities that Sakura had in spades, but she was honest, passionate and compassionate. She was a leader who really seemed to care about her people, if her interactions with Tokiwa were anything to go by. The blond briefly contemplated the fact that he'd always been alone, and even after he'd graduated from the academy and made friends, he'd always felt a longing for someone he could call family. Seriously thinking about it, he could've done a lot worse than Shizuka.

It was just too bad that she was the warrior princess of the fiercely proud kunoichi clan. Had it been any other member he might just have been able to get away with working something out with the two villages so they could both go to Konoha, since he was planning to be the Hokage, and all. But he and Shizuka were tasked with leading the clan, and furthermore, the village. There was no way they could even think about moving to Konoha when they already had all this responsibility.

Speaking of responsibility, he was currently still on a mission, and an S-rank one at that. He didn't really think he'd have to go straight to the Nadeshiko village, but he just had to make sure. "So what happens now?"

She answered without turning to face him. "Now, we make our way to Konoha to inform your Hokage of your decision and you can tender your resignation." She turned to the blond, favouring him with a small smile. "Usually the man would do this on his own while the kunoichi heads back to Nadeshiko to inform her mother and start the preparations for the wedding, but I'm sure you can understand why I'm not keen on letting you out of my sight."

He nodded in response, not wanting to dwell on the reason she wasn't feeling very trusting. "And what if the guy's on a mission." He stated.

She cocked her head. "Most people don't go through with the challenge if they're on a mission, but in the rare cases that they do, it depends on the ranking." She answered.

He gave her a look. "S-rank."

Her lips pursed, expression becoming slightly pinched. Any mission 'C-rank' and below was well within her jurisdiction to overrule, but 'A' and 'S-rank' ones were definitely out of her control. They sat in silence for a little while longer, both wholly unsure of what the next course of action would be. Shizuka had a couple of questions that she wanted to ask, mainly just about the duration and the parameters of the mission, but it being 'S-rank' meant that there was a very limited chance of her getting any answers. Usually only the team leader needed to know that information beforehand and it was also, quite frequently, an 'S-rank' secret with a death penalty attached for sharing it.

"We can wait until captain Yamatou comes back." Naruto suggested, knowing that he was in charge of their unit and he'd have to be there for the final decision anyway. She gave a slight nod. "Well, they should be discovering that I sent a clone with them soon enough, so we should make our way back to the pier."

About forty five minutes later, Naruto, Tokiwa and Shizuka all stood on the wooden pier watching the ship come in. All of the Konoha ninja on board noticed the tense posture of the three and Yamato approached sedately. He stopped before them, looking between Naruto and Shizuka suspiciously. He stopped himself from breathing a sigh, internally hoping he was wrong. "So I take it congratulations are in order."

He received two small smiles, both more than a little strained.

He once again firmly resisted the urge to sigh gustily, the shrinking of his torso betraying his resignation.

This was definitely not how he'd expected this mission to go. Sure, he was one of the most adept at 'seeing underneath the underneath' and preparing for every eventuality. You didn't serve on a team with Kakashi-sempai for long without bolstering both lines of thinking, but even he hadn't contemplated a situation like this.

Accepting a challenge from a Nadeshiko warrior was unheard of on an S-rank mission. It was almost tantamount to desertion. The fact that Naruto was a jinchuuriki and this was obviously Shizuka, the clan's heiress, only made things more complicated. He kept his expression neutral as he shifted his gaze between the two teens.

The discomfort he could see on the boy's face seemed slightly excessive, even for a situation like this. Clearly there was more to the story than what he knew. He made a gesture for them to explain and in short order they'd caught him up on the everything he needed to know.

And what a mess it was.

As it stood, there was no true protocol for such a situation, even for rank and file shinobi. There were no instructions available for him to defer to, but in such a case, he would insist on finishing the mission first and then allowing the wedding to be dealt with afterwards.

That wouldn't really work in this case since Shizuka had outright refused to let the blond out of her sight. He would've given his word that Naruto would go and complete the mission, making sure to bring him back to her so the matter could be swiftly resolved afterwards, but her distrust of leaf shinobi extended to the rest of the team as well and she wasn't likely to put much value to their word.

Any other Nadeshiko kunoichi he would've told to suck it up and wait until the mission was complete. Being a jounin on an S-rank meant that he generally held the higher ground hierarchy wise when it came to minor conflicts with neutral villages. Shizuka was a future village leader, however, and it was more than obvious that telling her to get over herself would undoubtedly spark a war between their two countries.

The thought of running or subduing them and then escaping briefly crossed his mind, but was quickly dismissed. While he was almost certain that Gai, Naruto and himself were up to the task of knocking them unconscious, he'd been a shinobi long enough to know that judging ninja by appearances and Bingo book entries was the quickest way to a shallow grave. Running was similarly pointless. Nadeshiko women were nothing to scoff at when it came to tracking and even with the boy's astronomical growth he would have a hard time losing an above average tracker, let alone one of the Nadeshiko standard.

He found himself exhaling again, the slight shrinking of his torso once again accompanying the motion. "We're going back to Konoha." He announced, turning to Gai and the rest of their squad to give the same instruction in hand sign form. He thanked Kami-sama this was only an S-rank because of the fact that they were trying to keep Naruto's location a secret. If this had been like any other similarly ranked mission like the others he'd been on it would've been a truly impossible decision.

Naruto blinked at the words, having expected...something else. He hadn't known what the procedure would be but abandoning an S-rank mission? "But, Captain Yamatou-" He was cut off by the man's expression, a baleful eye that his normal 'scary face' couldn't dream to match.

"You compromised the mission, Naruto." He spoke, and the teen was sure he wasn't imagining the tinge of disappointment in it. His head dipped and he nodded slightly, acknowledging his leader's words. "You disobeyed a direct order and acted without thinking, knowing full well that you'd be jeopardising an important mission, and with nothing less than an all out war on the horizon." He turned back to face the boat, knowing that they'd have to unload it before they could prepare a new one to for the longer journey back to Konoha. "I, for one, am glad you will not be Hokage." He sprang up to the railing of the boat with the most minor flicker of chakra, the movement not even making the pier beneath their feet creak.

Something in the blond's chest tightened painfully, and his head dipped further down. He'd royally screwed up and he knew it.

Shizuka's fists tightened at her sides as she watched the two men, one of them being her fiancé. She breathed a little and stepped in front of the man, using a single gloved hand to lift his chin. "Naruto." She started seriously, her voice brokering no arguments. "We all understand that you messed up here, and you most certainly should've thought harder about what the consequences would be before you accepted my challenge." She breathed a calming breath before she allowed herself to continue. "All of the things Yamatou-san said were legitimate, and he had every reason, as your superior, to admonish you for your actions," Once again the kunoichi paused, but when she spoke up again her voice was even harder. "But if I ever see you react like that again, I will castrate you."

He backed away from her fearfully, raising his head higher to warily look her in the eye.

The princess nodded slightly to him, acknowledging the change. "That's more like it. As the leader of a hidden village you can never lower your head to anyone." She finished, turning to the boat to see the rest of his group starting to offload their cargo. Sending him a look over her shoulder she gave a slight nod at his teammates. "Now aren't you going to help them?" She asked.

He smiled at her slightly as he nodded, forming his favourite hand seal.

"No need, Naruto and I will share this room." Yamato and the rest of his team gaped slightly at the kunoichi, wondering if she was really going to be watching him all times of the night. Well, of course they were shinobi, but...what about marriages being built on trust.

"Come on, Shizuka, do we really need to share a room?" The Uzumaki's question was delivered in a whine, his shoulders slumped and his eyes imploring.

Shizuka answered him with a raised eyebrow and he postured right up, mechanically making his way into the only room with a double bed. A round of low chuckles trailed in after him and his expression fell. "You're forgiven, Naruto." He heard Aoba say, but his growing smile was smothered by the muttered "you poor sap." that followed.

He gently let his bag down on the floor on one side of the room, similarly claiming that side of the bed. Fishing out his pyjamas, he quickly stuffed his froggy nightcap back in his bag before his future wife could see it. She'd said he could keep it in their home in the Nadeshiko village, but outside of that he had to look 'dignified' in his nightwear.

He figured he understood, but the rules and regulations still chaffed. You'd think he'd get to be making the decisions, what with him being the leader and all. He quickly changed into his nightwear, neatly folding his clothes and stacking them on top of his bag.

The black haired woman in question walked in at that moment, divesting herself of her travelling cloak with a flourish. It fluttered onto her bag that had somehow gotten into the chair on her side of the room. She laid her weapon holsters down on the small table on her side of the bed before unceremoniously removing all her clothes and wrappings. She moved onto the bed and sat crosslegged against the headboard, her pale skin contrasting starkly with the dark wood as she patted the space next to her.

"Shirt off." She corrected before he could sit there. He felt his body swallow before he could comply, removing the article with a similar lack of fanfare. When that was done, he sat with her at the head of what would be their bed for most of this journey.

His eyes were concentrated anywhere but on the woman by his side, not quite sure if looking would be okay in this situation. "So...wh-what's on your mind?" He found himself asking, because otherwise they would probably have been asleep by now. Also there was a certain part of him that was making it quite…difficult…to speak normally.

She breathed once before answering him, the rising and falling of her chest being quite the distraction from her words. "The orange."

His jaw hardened, his eyes turning sharply to focus on her own. "No."

Her lip twitched slightly at his reaction, but she closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

His eyes focused forwards again, now realising exactly why they were topless. "I'm not gonna let you take it away from me."

Her lips creased into a small frown at his words, not that the teen could see it. "I'm...Naruto, I'm not...I'm going to be your wife." She looked at him, eyes boring into the side of his head. "You have to know that we're on the same side."

He sharply turned to her at that, steadfastly ignoring the pink invading his cheeks as her body once again came into view. "You could'a fooled me." He informed her, nostrils flaring with emotion.

She sighed to herself, eyes unfocused as she tried to find the right words. "I…You're referring to the changes." She confirmed, continuing at his sharp nod. "They are things you would have been raised to know if your parents hadn't died the night of the Kyuubi attack."

His raised eyebrow was accompanied by a simple question. "You know who my parents are?"

She shook her head at him sadly. "We only have our suspicions, but no concrete evidence to back our theories as yet. The general consensus among our cryptologists is that you are the son of the Fourth Hokage and his wife Uzumaki Kushina." She saw the appraising look in his eye and continued. "And now you've just confirmed that for me," She nodded, "Thank you."

His mouth worked soundlessly for a few seconds.

She shrugged slightly, not knowing how else to tell him. "Village wide tragedies like invasions, massacres and bijuu rampages are great for slipping in a spy."

He frowned back at her, not quite sure how he should feel about that. On the one hand she admitted to their people having leeched information from his home, but on the other, she was being completely honest about it.

His heart clenched a little when he remembered that he couldn't really call Konoha 'home' anymore.

Her voice derailed that train of thought. "Regardless, I was saying that your parents were very well respected in Konoha, and had they lived, they would've brought you up to appreciate all of the nuances of interacting with people of similar status." He felt himself nodding slightly at her words, once more acquiescing to her logic.

"Okay, I get it, but why are you going after my jumpsuits. There's nothing wrong with orange-'ttebayo."

The dark eyed kunoichi nodded slightly, but her hand had already moved to perch lightly between the pale mounds on her chest. "I know, but think about it from my perspective. Think back, all the way back to your days in the Konoha academy." His jaw tightened slightly but he gave a small nod. "Think about the reason you used to pull pranks when you were younger, the reason you were always the loudest person in the village, the reason you wanted to be Hokage, the reason you repeatedly challenged that Uchiha friend of yours, the reason you chased after one of the most popular girls in school, the reason-"

"Okay, okay. I get it." He interrupted, face slightly scrunched up. "But you've got it all wrong, Shizuka." He raised up his open palms, counting off on his fingers. "I wanted to be Hokage because I wanted to protect everyone, I pulled pranks because they were fun, I love Sakura-chan because when she...because of the...it was her smile and it had nothing to do with being ignored." He found he was breathing slightly heavier and calmed himself, letting the woman speak.

"Of course, now you've been able to come up with logical reasons to defend what you did, but do you really think any of that was on your mind when you were seven years old?" She questioned, the words cutting deep into him. "Look, Naruto, I'm not trying to turn you into some version of an ideal clan head or anything like that, because you're pretty much there already." She absently gestured at him. "As your wife, I'm just not going to stand idly by while you make a cry for help, regardless if you see it that way anymore or not." Her raised hand stalled his protests. "I'm not saying that you should burn all your jumpsuits in the morning, just that if you're going to wear them, wear them because you know you like orange and not because you're afraid people will be able to ignore you again." She looked into his eyes, her dark eyes meeting his own blue ones.

He searched her eyes for what could have been minutes, only nodding back at her when he understood the feelings behind the sentiment. He figured she wouldn't badger him any further if he decided to keep them, but he resolved to at least think about it.

She shuffled on her side of the bed slightly, slipping under the covers and turning over onto her side. "Now spoon me."

He chuckled at the woman, working his way into the warmth and wrapping his arm around her, feeling it tuck itself almost naturally between her breasts. "So you're a cuddler?" He prodded, smiling at the blush he could see rising on her skin. At least he wasn't the only one starting to get embarrassed by the intimate position.

A strange grid of script glowed slightly on her back when his front made contact with her skin. He could sense a link establish itself between them, though he didn't know enough about seals to tell exactly what it did.

The girl under his arm didn't offer any explanation, content to lay there and let her body wind down. "Shizuka." He demanded when he started to feel her breathing evening out.

Her entire body seemed to tighten at the sound of her name, the muscles beneath her skin stiffening. She forced herself to relax slightly, waiting a few exhales before she could answer the looming question. She didn't turn to him, though, speaking at the featureless wall they were facing. "Naruto, I've known almost all my life that one day I'd have to seek out the man whose sensei ruined my mother's life. All he had to do was leave once he'd gotten her guard down, and that led to…" She paused, gathering herself before she could continue. "My…" She warred within herself, unsure if she should really tell him this.

It was something she'd kept close to her chest for years, and Tokiwa herself had only recently found out. It wasn't a secret that she could reveal lightly.

Finally, after what felt like an age, the argument that he was going to be her husband and there was no other position more deserving of her trust, she caved. "…my greatest fear is that you'll leave me, Naruto." The words started to come easier now that she'd started. "That you're just biding your time until I let my guard down so you can do to me what your sensei did to my mother. When I was a little girl I would have nightmares about it."

His mouth dried up at that, his tongue feeling like it swelled up half a size. "But...Shizuka, I gave you my word." And judging by everything she'd already said, she was more than aware that, "I never go back on my word."

She took in another breath, the air seeming to shake her whole body. "I can't take that chance." She didn't mention the famous promise to his teammate that he would likely never fulfil.

He frowned at the woman, realising that this union would be a lot harder than he'd thought if she was constantly waiting for him to bolt. "You can't...We can't spend the rest of our...marriage…like this, Shizuka. How long will it take until you're convinced that I'm not going anywhere?"

Her head shook slightly, the hesitant gesture seeming entirely foreign to the shoulders it was resting on. "I won't pretend to know that, Naruto."

His frown deepened, but before he could give voice to the thoughts, his mind pinged back to the colour of his jumpsuits. He thought about how this was the precursor to her greatest fear and she'd taken every action she could to make sure it didn't happen. Briefly his mind flickered to his own greatest fear and he absently squeezed the woman tighter to him. "Then…take all the time you need."

Naruto frowned as his eyes moved up to the 'crow's nest'. He still thought Aoba was screwing with him about the name, but that wasn't on his mind at the moment.

What he was thinking about was their squad leader standing in it. He had a special spyglass in his hand that he was using to gaze in the direction they were going. With the chakra enhancing his vision he could probably see all the way to the shores of Wave Country, regardless of the fact that they were only scheduled to arrive there after nightfall.

Captain Yamato had been avoiding him since the moment they'd spoken with Shizuka on the pier. Regardless of how hard he tried he couldn't manage to sneak up on the man. Given that the entire boat was made of wood he figured that he should've guessed as much.

He just hadn't thought it would be possible for him to track him through wood he didn't create.

He felt a familiar presence step up next to him. "He'll come around, Naruto." He felt a hand land on his shoulder and turned to look at Aoba. "He's just…not the 'talk about your feelings' type." He assured.

Gai-sensei looked up from the water and shot a frosty glare at him. He turned and made his way below deck, passing by Shizuka on her way up.

The Nadeshiko woman paid no attention to his expression, moving to join Tokiwa at the bow of the ship.

"It doesn't look like anybody's the type." The blond muttered to himself.

His companion seemed to blink behind his dark glasses. "Who, Gai?" He waved an unconcerned hand. "Don't worry about him, he's probably more angry about the fact that he has to be on a boat instead of training on dry land."

The teen nodded in response, a small part of him wondering why the jounin's explosive motion sickness had seemed to dissipate all of a sudden. Aoba shook his head and followed the green garbed man under.

Naruto stepped back a little to lean on the rear railing, eyes focused on his fiancé, 'And Kami it's still so weird to think that.' She was a lot more relaxed now than before, probably because she could track his location with that seal.

Shizuka stopped at the railing, leaning on her elbows as she faced the water. She wasn't focused on the endless expanse of liquid as it passed beneath the ship.

Her attention was in the air surrounding her and her retainer. Allowing her chakra to trickle from her tenketsu, she infused it in the air around them, embracing the familiar feeling of her awareness expanding.

Tokiwa's breathing changed, her deep relaxed intakes shifting ever so slightly to those she took when she was holding onto a question.

Shizuka didn't ask. Eventually, Tokiwa would.

Instead she swirled the air around them slightly so that their words would be swallowed by the turbulence. It wasn't disruptive enough to see, but it was more than enough to prevent being overheard. Tokiwa's lips could still be read from this angle, but Naruto was the only one on deck and she doubted he could do that yet. Yamato's position in the crow's nest meant he was at the entirely wrong angle if eavesdropping was his intention.

If he could pick up the slight vibrations that might make it through the wood…

…

…

The kunoichi's fingers started to drum softly on the surface of the railing. It wasn't loud enough to hear, but it was certainly loud enough to muddle any vibrations beyond recognition…admittedly she was being a bit paranoid.

"Did you put the seal on him?" The other woman spoke without prompting.

She allowed a second of pause before she answered. "Not the tracking one."

She could feel the minute twists in the air denoting her companion's frown. "What finally convinced you?" She asked, because she'd been trying since they left the village.

"…you." She could imagine the woman's skepticism at the answer so she elaborated. "Like you said…If he runs from me…chasing him down wouldn't make him mine."

The woman chuckled lowly, her head shaking a little. "…I said that six weeks ago." She commented.

Shizuka didn't have much to say, her appreciation already obvious to the woman. "…I know." She spoke instead, allowing the wall of swirling air to gently dissipate. Naruto was approaching, not seeming to notice anything amiss as the breeze let him through.

"Hey, Gai-sensei?" Naruto's unusually low voice floated to the subdued man as he hefted his pack onto his back. Everyone else was gathering their gear before they'd be able to set off on the final sprint back to Konoha. He breathed once before looking back to his side and meeting the teen's eyes.

The raising of a single bushy brow had Naruto's question spilling out of him.

"Do you...do you think baa-chan will be mad?" The green garbed man blinked at him, his round eyes making the gesture seem a lot more comical. Suddenly he burst into peals of guttural laughter that sounded a lot more like his youthful self.

The laugh carried on for minutes, breaking only briefly enough for him to catch a glimpse of the golden haired boy and start all over again. He only managed to calm down somewhat when everyone else in their expanded team was ready. Laying a heavy green garbed hand on the teen's shoulder, he looked into his eyes…

And burst into more youthful laughter.

He took off into the trees before the teen's dark haired fiancé could take offence.

The group ran in a disciplined silence down the main road leading to Konoha. They'd been leaping through the trees for hours now and had finally come close enough that they had needed to take to the road.

The two kunoichi of the party hadn't had any trouble keeping up with the leaf nin in the trees which somewhat surprised Naruto. They always had to tame the pace a little every time they ran with Temari and he'd assumed the same.

He hadn't asked about the land itself and the climate there, but he was now fairly certain it wouldn't be that foreign from that of the land of fire.

They approached the massive gates, their pace not slowing for a moment as they sped on. Naruto almost gulped as he saw who was standing at the gate.

Inbetween the two massive wooden structures was a familiar blonde in a green haori and even from this distance he could tell she wasn't pleased.

Captain Yamato had probably sent a message ahead alerting them of their return. Either that or they'd been spotted by some ANBU who had done much the same.

Those thoughts ceased to matter as they alighted in front of the woman, the entire group coming to a stop before her.

The mission leader's mouth was slightly open but the way the Hokage didn't even seem to register his presence stopped his words.

…

Her golden orbs rolled over the jinchuuriki, an emotion clouding them that he'd never seen on the sannin.

…

The group of shinobi on the street didn't make a sound, their collective breaths going unheard.

…

Tsunade made a dismissive wave of her hand, not bothering with the standard hand signs. "The rest of you, get lost." She intoned, her eyes not leaving Naruto's as everyone else in his squad flickered away.

Shizuka and Tokiwa remained by the blond, their presence seeming to slip right beneath the Hokage's notice.

The blonde woman didn't look away from her own shinobi, watching with a stone expression as his posture didn't change in the slightest. She could easily see the fear and regret on his face, but his head remained held high above his shoulders.

A breath filled the busty Kage's lungs and her eyes closed for a second before she released it. When they opened, the honey coloured orbs had lost all the dark emotions in them. She turned to the other woman on the street, her face lightening into a pleasant smile. "Ah, Nadeshiko-dono." She greeted politely, offering a textbook dip of her head. "It's my sincere pleasure to welcome you to Konoha."

AN: I know it's been forever and I apologise. I hope this was at least somewhat entertaining, and for those of you that'll be there for the next one, see you then.