Chapter 1:
Uzumaki Naruto's eyes slowly fluttered open as the ceiling of his apartment came into focus. Rubbing at his face tiredly, he looked over to the clock-radio that was perched atop his bedside table. He sighed as the red digitized numbers glared back at him, and let him know that it was just one hour until noon.
Breathing deeply through his nose, he pulled himself into a slouched seated position and, as usual, the first thing that grabbed his attention was the large framed portrait of his Genin team hanging on the wall opposite his bed. The picture he had received as a birthday present all those years ago always served to dampen his mood, so much so that he wondered why he hadn't taken it down yet.
Probably because it's a reminder of happier times. That thought came to him as he noted how happy and carefree they all looked in the photo.
Things were so simple back then. They'd train hard, they'd do their missions, and they'd hang out together afterwards. The perfect team, their sensei would say, despite the obvious distaste he held for one of its members.
Forcing his gaze away from the portrait, Naruto got up from his bed and staggered towards the bathroom, removing his underwear as he stumbled into the shower. The cold air on his naked skin wasn't exactly a welcome sensation, but he would soon make up for it with a nice warm shower, a fairly recent addition to the Uzumaki household.
Quickly finishing with his shower, he dried himself off with a soft towel before wrapping it around his waist and heading towards the kitchen. As if on autopilot, he flipped the switch for the kettle on and sat down at the kitchen table; a mission report sat open and half-finished in front of him. His job may be a well paying one, but the reports he was forced to file after every single mission were killing him. He was a ninja, one of the best; if he wanted to do paperwork for the rest of his life, he would have become a politician, or the Hokage.
He snorted in amusement. Perish the thought.
Finishing up the report, Naruto cut the power to the kettle and fetched a cup of Instant Ramen along with his regular coffee mug. Pouring the boiling water into the mug, he swiftly added coffee, milk and several sugar cubes before emptying the rest of the kettle into the Ramen.
"Ah, shit," he cursed dejectedley. He'd misjudged the amount of water he'd need to fill his cup of Ramen, which now presented him a problem.
Many options on how to rescue this already opened and soiled cup of Instant Ramen flashed through his mind - everything from just eating it as is, to adding tap water and microwaving it for a few minutes were just some of the possibilities.
His stomach growling forced him to quickly come to a decision. Taking his cup of coffee, he looked at it thoughtfully for a few moments before shrugging and emptying it into the cup of instant Ramen while stirring it thoroughly, humming an unknown tune to himself as he did so. He was too damn hungry to wait for breakfast.
Using his chopsticks, he shoved a bunch of the steaming noodles into his mouth and let it just sit there for several moments as he absorbed the taste. He chewed a few times, his face blank and his eyes closed before swallowing and going for a second serving.
"God, that's disgusting," he murmured distastefully before swallowing some more of the coffee flavoured noodles without hesitation, reminding himself to suggest the dish to his friends at the Ichiraku Ramen stand, if for no other reason then to hear his favourite waitress' delightful laugh.
Hearing the echoing screech of a hawk outside, Naruto let out an exasperated groan before walking over to one of the large windows to investigate. A small brown hawk was circling in the sky above his apartment complex and letting out its cry before flying back off towards the Hokage tower shortly after being spotted, its purpose served.
Hearing a shocked gasp, Naruto looked down to see an attractive girl around his age blushing and trying, but failing, to conceal the fact that she was openly staring at him. Her mother, on the other hand, tried to shield her daughter from the sight of an almost naked Naruto, scowling at him in the process.
"Morning!" Naruto greeted them flamboyantly from his fourth floor apartment, ignoring the angry woman, "Nice day, huh? A little on the breezy side though . . ." he made a show of airing his nether regions behind his towel.
The girl only flushed more when she realized that he was talking to her; the mother, however, wasn't impressed. She grabbed her daughter's elbow and dragged her along more quickly before barking at Naruto, "Have you no shame?"
"None at all, ma'am," Naruto assured her nonchalantly as he watered the pot plants he had hanging by the window with a smile.
The plants dealt with, he turned and flung his towel with a flourish over at the heap of dirty clothes by the front door. He reminded himself to do the laundry today, it was starting to smell in here even with the windows fully open. As he brushed his teeth, his cheerful demeanour vanished as he spied the small orange container sitting beside the washbasin. At a speed that suggested he just wanted to get it over with, he reached for the bottle and emptied two small yellow pills into his hand before throwing them in his mouth and swallowing them in one gulp.
Once done, Naruto headed to his bedroom and dressed in his standard ANBU uniform of grey armour over black clothes, his face hidden by a white porcelain mask. They said the mask's purpose was to safeguard his identity, Naruto just figured it made them all look more badass and mysterious.
The entire process of getting ready took just under two minutes. Preparing quickly was an essential skill a ninja in his position had to possess if they wanted to be successful.
Just before leaving his apartment, he donned a large, hooded white cloak before using the Body flicker technique to speed his travel. His destination was the Hokage's tower at the base of the large monument made in tribute of Konoha's previous leaders – the Hokage monument.
Naruto briefly glanced at the four faces carved into the cliff-face that overlooked the village. The First Hokage and the Second Hokage, the original founders of the village, were the first two faces on the monument, followed by the Third Hokage, who was their student, and also known as the God of all ninjas. The last face on the monument caused Naruto to pause briefly as he glanced at it, the Fourth Hokage, also known as the Yellow flash, and said to be the most powerful ninja Konoha had ever produced.
Of the four leaders represented on he cliff, only one of them still lived, and he was currently sitting behind his desk as Naruto entered his office, a long wooden pipe held between his wrinkled lips.
The Third Hokage puffed out a small cloud of smoke as one of his best ninjas virtually appeared out of thin air on the opposite side of his desk in a kneeling position.
"You called, old man?" the ninja said with such cheek that the Hokage couldn't help but roll his eyes at the childishness. He had to keep reminding himself that this young-man was virtually single-handedly dealing with their village's security and continued wellbeing.
"At ease, Naruto," The Hokage replied dryly, knowing who this particular ninja was immediately, and thus, how pointless such a statement was. The now eighteen year-old ANBU commander always seemed to be at ease; at least, on the surface.
The Third Hokage knew better.
"Sure thing, Sarutobi," Naruto replied pleasantly, taking a seat in the chair opposite his village's leader. The informality in which he addressed the older man - and the lack of reaction from said man - spoke more of their relationship than any words could. "Not to sound rude or anything, but what'd you call for? I was supposed to have the rest of the day off – something you actually made very clear last night, if memory serves."
"And as I promised, you will have the day off, at the very least, from your current duties," Sarutobi assured as he leaned back in his comfy chair. The Hokage was dressed in his ceremonial white and red robes that flowed around him and concealed the withering body beneath. His hat was tipped in such a way that it shadowed his eyes, but Naruto knew that the 'old Monkey' - as those closed to him referred to him as - was scrutinizing him sharply.
"So . . ." Naruto broke the silence. "Are you just going to stare at me all day? Or are we going to spy on the kunoichi at the hot springs again?"
Sarutobi coughed to hide his embarrassment, glad that no one else was in the room to hear Naruto talking about such things as if he were talking about the weather.
"Maybe next time Jiraiya is back in town," the old man conceded with a conspiratorial whisper. He'd rather die than have his secretary accidently overhear that bit of information.
"Heh, I'm holding you to that you old pervert," Naruto promised, grinning behind his mask at the uncomfortable old man who was making wild shushing motions with his hands. "Remember how bad Jiraiya got the shit kicked out of him last time? I don't think he'll be so eager to join us the next time, what, with how we sold him out to those angry women and all . . ."
"Angry is one word you could use," Sarutobi said with a chuckle, glad that Naruto had lowered his voice. "I'd think 'homicidal' is a much better term though, don't you?"
"All the better that Jiraiya got caught, and not us." Naruto grinned. "So, perverted tendencies aside, are you going to tell me what I'm here for?"
"Patience was never one of your strong points," Sarutobi reminisced idly. "But, alas, you are right. I did call you here for a reason, and it isn't, unfortunately, a pleasant one."
Naruto sat straighter in his chair, recognising the need for professionalism when it was required of him. It was fine to joke with the old man – they were kind of close, after all – but being in his position needed for him to quickly realise that there was a time for jokes, and there was a time for work.
This was the latter.
"Hatake Kakashi has been hospitalized," Naruto knew better than to fire off the millions of questions that were running through his mind in response to that simple statement, so he sat back and waited for the old man to finish his report. "He, and his new Genin team recently came back from a C-rank mission in the Land of Waves. Unfortunately, the client misinformed us of the specific details of said mission, and what was initially marked as C-rank was most probably A-ranked."
Naruto frowned at that piece of information, but not for the expected reasons. Hatake Kakashi had been his superior in ANBU years ago and was an extremely capable ninja. Even if the mission he and his Genin team were sent on turned out to be an A-rank mission, he certainly shouldn't have had much trouble with finishing it. An A-ranked mission was nothing compared to the dangerous S-ranked variety those in ANBU were tasked with frequently.
"According to his report," the Hokage began in a slightly sceptical tone, "Hatake Kakashi said that his skills had become rusty ever since his retiring from ANBU, and it was this that caused him to slip up and be injured."
"You don't believe him?" Naruto asked the leader of his village curiously.
"I have my doubts," the Hokage lied smoothly, conceding that it wasn't his story to tell. Taking another puff from his pipe, he continued, "It will take a lot more than a year off from full ANBU duties to dull the skills of someone like Hatake Kakashi, however, that is the report he submitted, so that is the one we must believe until we have proof saying otherwise."
"You want me to investigate the issue?" Naruto asked with a frown. "How is this not one of my normal duties? You're not making much sense old man."
"While I would appreciate you look into the issue, that task will be secondary to your new one." He paused for effect and to make sure he had the young man's full attention, "Your new mission is twofold. The first part of it is to watch over two of the members of Team Seven, become their protector, as it were . . ." Sarutobi said, almost positive that Naruto's eyes had widened behind his mask in shock. "And the second part is to oversee the training of one Uchiha Sasuke. You will be doing this as their temporary sensei."
Sarutobi noticed Naruto's shoulders stiffen at the mention of the true purpose behind his new mission, "And if I refuse?" Naruto asked in a guarded tone – Sarutobi wasn't surprised.
"You cannot refuse," Sarutobi said gently. "This mission comes directly from the council and the Fire Lord himself; as a matter of fact, you were personally requested by him to be the one to take over as the Jounin sensei of Team Seven, in Kakashi's absence."
"You expect me to believe that the council are willing to entrust the welfare of, not only the last Uchiha ninja, but the Fire Lord's only son to me?" Naruto asked in disbelief.
"I will be the first to admit that the members of Konoha's council are not your . . ." Sarutobi paused, looking for the right word, "biggest fans, but do not make the same conclusion about the Fire Lord, especially when you do not know the man. And rest assured that, while the council may hold some animosity towards you for what you contain, they do not, and never will question your skill and loyalty."
"I still don't see how, or why, the Fire Lord would request me personally. My fighting style may be recognisable, but my identity is still kept hidden," Naruto pointed out curiously, before adding, "There aren't many in this village who know of my bloodline either."
"The Fire Lord did not initially request you by name," the Hokage conceded. "He requested my best ninja, and I offered him you. Naturally, due to the sensitivity of the situation, I was forced to give him your name. He had no real concerns and trusted my judgement. Originally, he was slightly uneasy with your young age, but a quick glimpse at your mission history was enough to assuage his concerns."
"You let him see my mission history?" Naruto asked incredulously. "Fire Lord or not, if he were to ever be interrogated -!"
"He was only made aware of their ranks and the success rate, nothing more," the Sandaime interjected curtly, an edge of impatience creeping into his voice. "I would kindly request you have a little more faith in your Hokage, Naruto."
"I'm sure I'd have a little more faith in him if he didn't spend the majority of his day with his hand on his decrepit penis while reading porn," Naruto mumbled scathingly, earning the ire of the aged man.
"What was that?" the Hokage barked angrily.
"Nothing," Naruto answered with a shit-eating grin.
The Hokage sighed wearily and eyed the youth before him with a neutral expression, "I know how you feel about the boy, and believe me when I say that I had no other choice in the matter, and I truly did look for other possibilities." Sarutobi eyed the silent youth before him, the ANBU uniform giving him an intimidation factor his normally cheery demeanour found impossible to obtain. "He also would have wanted you to be the one to take this mission."
Naruto shrugged in an unconcerned manner. "What makes you think I care about what he thinks?"
"Because he was, and still remains to this day, your best friend," the Hokage reminded softly.
Naruto said nothing, so the Hokage took it as his queue to continue.
"This counts as a long term A-rank mission, but you will be paid your usual salary along with an added fifty percent extra upon completion. Call it incentive. The Fire Lord has also donated some of his personal funds to make sure his son is as protected as possible," Sarutobi grinned as Naruto's head snapped in his direction.
"Fifty percent of my total wages no matter how long the mission is? Extra?" He parroted incredulously. "He must be pulling out all the stops, huh?" Naruto mused to himself as he looked out of the window. It was a beautiful day, too beautiful to spend it cooped up in this musky and smoke filled office with a decrepit and perverted old man – God of all Ninja, or not. "It'll free up some of my debts, that's for sure . . ."
"You need money?" The Hokage asked in surprise, as Naruto's head slowly turned to him. Even with his full uniform on, Sarutobi seemed to know what the boy was thinking. "I know where your pay goes," the Hokage snapped irritably, "but that shouldn't be leaving you in debt . . ."
"You know, this is an issue you should be taking up with your council, as I've asked you to a million times already," Naruto retorted dryly, a cynical emphasis thrown in for good measure.
"Is it that bad?" The Hokage asked with concern, "You must know Jiraiya or I would give you money if you ever needed it . . . especially Jiraiya . . ."
"I don't want your charity!" Naruto snapped angrily, leaning forward menacingly towards the Hokage as he did so. The god of all ninjas didn't look impressed.
"So Charity is only acceptable to you when you are not the recipient?" Sarutobi asked idly, though he didn't expect an answer from the stubborn blonde. He was just like his parents in that regard, infuriatingly stubborn.
"How long does the mission last?" Naruto suddenly asked, abruptly changing the subject.
"Until Hatake Kakashi is fit to resume his duties," Sarutobi paused as he took another puff of his pipe and read through a report before him, "Five to six months."
"What?" Naruto blurted out in shock. "What the hell happened to him?"
"I believe that is something you should ask him," Sarutobi replied nonchalantly, "You can do it when you go and speak to him about your new team – you are both acquainted, yes?"
Naruto shrugged "Vaguely; I don't think he likes me very much."
"Is it about -?" Sarutobi began to ask, only to be cut off by Naruto.
"Nope," Naruto answered with absolute certainty that startled the elder man. "He's probably just jealous of my awesomeness."
"Indeed?" The Hokage replied dryly, earning a shrug from the boy. If Naruto wasn't concerned, then neither was he. "You have no further problems with taking this mission then?"
Naruto levelled a deadpan stare at the old man from behind his mask. "We both know that I never had a say in the matter."
"True," Sarutobi conceded ruefully . "But I would much rather have a willing ninja under my command, than one forced to do his work – hey, don't walk away from me when I'm giving you an important lecture!"
"See you around old man," Naruto casually waved over his shoulder before disappearing from his office in a blur of speed.
"Such disrespect," Sarutobi grumbled angrily before reluctantly returning to the mountain of paperwork on his desk with a weary sigh.
Uchiha Mikoto yelped in pain as the needle she'd been using to mend her son's training clothes pierced her skin. She sucked on the wounded digit briefly in the hopes of stemming the blood flow while she searched for a band-aid.
This wasn't how she had planned on spending her day when she woke up this morning. Her son had unceremoniously dumped his damaged clothing on her before going out to his team meeting without so much as a word. Was it so much to ask for a 'please' or 'thank-you' once in a while?
Unfortunately, for her son, it seemed so.
She let out another sigh as she passed the black thread through the eye of the needle and continued to expertly mend the fabric. It's not like she had anything better to do; in fact, all she had planned to do for the day was to get her grocery shopping done and maybe work on her garden some.
Ever since the massacre of her family - something she tried hard to not think about – Mikoto hadn't had much to do with her time. Originally, she'd had a job as a secretary at the Konoha Police Department, working alongside her husband and aiding him in his duties. When she wasn't doing that, she was a devoted housewife that took care of her family of five – her two sons, her husband, and her father-in-law. In her spare time, she used to chat with the other women in the Uchiha district, trading gossip and bragging about their own family's achievements as they saw fit.
It was a nice - sometimes bland - life.
Now though, she found herself with an infinite amount of spare time, and not much to do with it. Sure, she still had friends, but that did little to lessen her boredom when she was home alone, and her son out performing his ninja duties. All she had left was her son, her garden and the few people she now considered friends that she chatted with on occasion - not nearly as often as she'd like.
Of course, there was also him. At one point in her life, she, like many other ignorant people in the village, would have only regarded him with disdain. Shameful of her past behaviour and ignorance, all she could do now was see the boy for what he truly was, and try to make up for past mistakes. The boy – now man, she had to remind herself – had indeed become a big part of her life ever since that day, much to her surprise. In fact, it had gotten to the point where she couldn't honestly think of her life without having him around.
Any reasonable person would assume that, once his tie to their family had been brutally cut like it had, he would have disappeared into the night and never spoken to them again – and the thing was, nobody, not even her, would have blamed him for it. In fact, it probably would have been the sensible thing to do.
"Is there a reason why you're looking so glum?" A voice broke through her musings. Mikoto let out a shriek of surprise when the unnamed person spoke up from behind her.
"God Naruto, don't sneak up on me like that -!" Her words died in her mouth when her eyes locked onto the young man standing behind her. She almost let out another shriek when she saw him. Mikoto had honestly thought that she had been mistaken for the briefest of moments, and that somebody else had snuck up on her in her home, but the unmistakable golden blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes could belong to no-one else. Instead of being dressed in his regular ANBU attire, like Mikoto had grown accustomed to seeing him in, Naruto was wearing a black tee shirt over a long sleeved wire-mesh shirt and grey pants. The black top had two red spirals, one on each sleeve, while the necklace she remembered having purchased for him for his most recent birthday hung loosely around his neck.
What surprised her most though was the dark green tactical vest - awarded to those who achieved the rank of Jounin - covering his torso.
"I prefer my ANBU uniform, to be honest," Naruto confessed with a shrug, performing a few experimental stretches as he got used to the foreign clothes. "It's not that bad, is it? I didn't have much else in my closet to be honest," he admitted with a nervous chuckle.
Mikoto shook her head in the negative and raised her hands in a placating manner, "That's not it at all Naruto, it's just that it's been so long since I've seen you dressed in anything other than your ANBU cloak that you startled me. You look very handsome."
Naruto got a mischievous look in his eyes as Mikoto let out an amused snort.
"Not that handsome! Honestly, teenagers these days, only thinking with their hormones, rather than their heads," she joked as Naruto fell to the couch beside her, his hands clutching his heart in fake pain.
"You wound me, my beautiful princess," he said melodramatically, earning a giggle form the older woman. "Oh well, can you at least gimme a kiss?" Naruto asked, closing his eyes and puckering up while making ridiculous kissing noises while slowly inching closer to her.
Mikoto then saw the bag of groceries sitting on the kitchen table, obviously delivered by Naruto. Giving him a quick peck on the cheek in thanks, she had to stifle a laugh when she saw him pout like a little boy who was denied his favourite toy. "There's your kiss lover boy," Mikoto said with a wink. Naruto's constant advances always made her feel good, even though she would never react to them. It just reminded her that she was still a beautiful woman. "Thank you for getting the groceries; You didn't have to though. I was going to go later." Naruto waved off her thanks nonchalantly, as per usual.
Mikoto got up from the couch and moved over towards the kitchen so she could put away the groceries. Naruto's eyes followed the swaying of her backside with every step she took. "And stop looking at my ass you little perv."
Naruto's face split into a grin at those words, but his eyes didn't leave her behind, "So, is there a reason why you weren't answering the door? I knocked five times . . ."
"Sorry," Mikoto said apologetically, as she put the milk in the fridge. "I guess I was lost in my thoughts; it happens a lot lately." Naruto nodded in understanding as he made himself comfortable in the living room. "Are you going to tell me what's with the new clothes? I never knew you were a Jounin, I thought you were promoted to ANBU as a Chunin?"
"I was, but ANBU commanders get given the Jounin title as a default when you reach that level," Naruto said with a shrug. "But I'm not one of those anymore either. I've got a new mission, actually, that requires me being a Jounin."
"And what's that?" Mikoto asked curiously. Her hand clasped around a thick envelope hidden within the grocery bag filled with cash. She always felt bad about taking the money Naruto always gave her . . . but she really had no choice given her current situation.
"Sasuke's new Jounin sensei, actually," he informed the stunned woman. "Yeah, it's only temporary though, until Kakashi is fit to continue at least. The old man doesn't think that'll happen for at least half a year though."
"Jounin sensei?" she asked faintly, before a smile blossoming on her beautiful features, "You mean you won't be going on any of those dangerous missions anymore?" she sounded more excited than Naruto could remember her ever sounding. It was nice to have someone care for you.
"I guess so," he sent her a lecherous grin. "Though, what I'm still doing does construe as dangerous, so you better let me sleep with you just in case something happens and then, bang, you've lost your chance."
"Don't even joke about that," Mikoto admonished with a displeased frown. "And that line didn't work the last thousand times you used it, what makes you think it'll work this time?" she deadpanned, amusement dancing in her onyx eyes. "Why don't you go find a nice girl your own age to fool around with, hmm? You're still so young, and there's plenty more fish in the sea that could, I'm sure, tickle your fancy quite nicely. I doubt they could resist, especially if you rub on some of that charm you always waste on me."
"Oh my dear Mikoto, I only want you to tickle me," Naruto confessed to her, getting on his knees and crawling towards the exasperated woman. "Why would I want to fool around with girls when I have a beautiful woman right here?"
"What about that nice girl at the Ramen stand? She's quite attractive, and she seems to like you too," Mikoto suggested, as she continued to put away the groceries.
"Ayame?" Naruto asked with a frown, "I've known her since I was a kid, ever since her and her old man moved here from lightning country way back when," he confessed before scrunching up his face in a grimace. "She's like a sister to me, I've never honestly though of her like that . . ."
Her retort slipped out before she could even think to stop it.
"And you're like a son to me!" It was meant to be said in the flow of the conversation, slightly in jest but mostly true, but the effects were substantial nonetheless.
Following her confession, there was an awkward silence that lasted for several moments, as Naruto looked at her in shock. The seconds ticked by as Mikoto tried to busy herself with putting away the groceries, not willing to meet Naruto's eyes for fear of possibly putting a further strain on their unusual relationship, and making him feel even more uncomfortable than he must be feeling right now. She winced when, as she went to place some vegetables in the bottom compartment of the fridge, a sharp pain assaulted her lower back.
She almost shrieked again when Naruto's concerned voice sounded from barely a few feet behind her, "Are you okay?" he asked, the tone of his voice completely different now.
"Oh," she realised he was talking about her back. "I just strained myself when I was moving one of the larger pots outside last night," she confessed sheepishly. "I know you keep telling me to lift with my legs, but honestly, it's not at the forefront of my mind when I have a really heavy and fragile pot in my hands . . ."
Naruto clucked his tongue in annoyance as he searched for something in the living room. Mikoto looked on in confusion as he came back into the room with a pillow from one of the couches clutched in his hands, "Come on out back, you should have said you were in pain!" he admonished playfully.
"What? But . . . the groceries!" she yelped as Naruto grabbed her hand and yanked her unceremoniously towards the back yard. Before they left the house, Mikoto heard a pop coming from the kitchen as an exact copy of Naruto materialised out of thin air to continue her task.
"My Shadow Clone will deal with them, don't worry." He smiled as he released her hand and placed both of his own on the ground. Mikoto watched - still in awe no matter how many times she'd seen Naruto utilise his bloodline limit in the past - as a wooden bench grew out of the ground until it stood at around waist height.
Mikoto flushed in embarrassment when she realised what Naruto wanted to do. "You don't need to give me a massage. I was just going to get it looked at later anyway . . ." Naruto shrugged off her protests easily enough as he placed the pillow at one end of the bench and motioned for Mikoto to lie down.
"You're hurt, this'll make you feel better, now lie down before I tie you to the bench," he said in a serious tone, but the mischievous look in his eyes belied any true seriousness.
Mikoto looked at the bench doubtfully before levelling a glare at Naruto, "Don't expect me to take my top off you little perv," she warned good-naturedly.
Naruto held his hands up in a placating manner while smiling at her. "I never asked you to, but if you feel so inclined, don't let me stop you! I'm definitely down for this finishing with a happy ending!"
Without another word, Mikoto propped herself on the bench face down as Naruto rolled the bottom of her blouse up slightly, exposing the pale skin of her lower back to the world. Just when she was about to look up and see what was taking him so long, she let out a pleasurable moan as Naruto's strong hands found the knot in her back. He gently stroked the sore spot using long, firm strokes and as the skin and muscles started to heat up and loosen, he used a single finger to press a spot in her back that caused Mikoto to let out a loud, gutteral moan.
"Where did you learn to give massages?" Mikoto asked in an annoyed tone, wanting to know why she hadn't been treated to them in the past.
"I only learned recently," Naruto confessed as he continued to hold his finger on the muscle to release the knot. "For my ex, actually. I never got to give her one though, you know, so I guess that means you're my first," he joked with a perverted leer.
Mikoto steered clear form the topic of Naruto's ex-girlfriend, knowing it always brought up bitter memories he'd rather forget. She let out another moan of pleasure as Naruto found, and eased out another knot in her back.
"You know, this really would be a lot easier if you didn't have your top on," Naruto confessed humorously. "Maybe next time I guess; I really need to go and meet Kakashi soon."
"What?!" Mikoto blurted out in surprise. "But you're not finished here yet!" she protested angrily.
"God, you're sexy when you're angry," seeing her eyes narrow, he laughed and continued with his massage. "I need to meet him to talk about my new team, remember? The one with your son on it," he reminded the woman as he continued with his massage.
"Screw the tardy bastard, let him wait," she declared gruffly, using her hand to hold Naruto's in place. "You've already started, so you're not going anywhere until you finish!"
Naruto chuckled at the woman, "I love it when you talk dirty," he joked, "If you want a proper massage, I need to get some oils that'll help ease your muscles, and you'll need to disrobe."
Mikoto shot him a glare out of the corner of her eye at him, thought she was hardly surprised that the little pervert was unrelenting in trying to see her naked.
"Hey, don't look at me like that," he said defensively. "You can use a towel to cover yourself, I don't care. It's just that the oils will stain your clothes."
"And what about Kakashi?" she asked with a raised brow, returning the smirk that suddenly appeared on Naruto's face.
"Let's see how the tardy bastard likes waiting for someone else for a change," Naruto said, earning a laugh from Mikoto. She had heard of the man's tardy habits all too often when Sasuke would come home in an annoyed mood after a long day's training.
"Naruto . . ." Mikoto began, unsure of how to word what she wanted to say. She opted for something simple, "Thank you."
Naruto knew she was thanking him for more than just the message, but he didn't see the need to point that out or acknowledge the fact.
"No problem."