"Stop! Please, I can't take much more," Tsunade begged in obvious pain.

"Mama," Reiki gasped, awakened out of her sleep by the cry of discomfort from her mother. She pulled on a robe before hurrying to her father's room next door. Without knocking, she threw open the door and burst into the room. It would be a decision she would regret for the rest of her life.

Jiraiya and Tsunade were naked as the day they were born and in the middle of what appeared to be a very strange way to practice gymnastics or a very interesting sex position. Tsunade was lying on her back with her knees resting on her shoulders while Jiraiya lay on top of her with his arms hooked behind her knees to hold her in position while he thrust into her with abandon. How could a woman her age be that flexible? Oh, Kami! What could possibly be more psychologically damaging to a person than seeing their parents having sex?

"Oh, Kami! Please kill me," Reiki muttered as a request, covering her eyes and hurrying back out the door.

Some things that are seen cannot be unseen and that image would be forever be burned into her brain. First thing she would do after they returned to Konoha would be to seek Kakashi out to perform Genjutsu on her to erase her memory or possibly turn the memory into something else. What the hell else could that be?

"What happened? What's wrong?" Naruto asked, when she returned to him, pale and shaking. Afraid something terrible had happened, he got off the bed to dress. When he tried to rush past her, she seized his arm.

"NO! Don't do that!" she yelled, pulling him back to her on the bed. "You'll regret it if you do."

"What? What is it?" he questioned, completely bumfuzzled at this time.

"They were having s-s-s…oh, Kami! I can't say it!" she exclaimed, pressing her face against his bare chest.

"Sex?" he inquired, regretting it when she loosed a deafening screech of horror.

"Don't say it! It burns!" she shouted, covering her ears.

Naruto could not stop the chuckle that rose in his throat and burst forth from his mouth. Even when she gave him one of her lethal glares, he could not stop the laughter from coming. As a matter of fact, her threatening expression only made him want to laugh more. Giving in to gut wrenching guffaws, he risked physical damage from the woman he loved.

"It's not funny," she muttered, kicking him playfully in the behind.

Reiki flopped back on the bed, closing her eyes and willing the image not to reform in her head. Despite knowing she was overreacting, she still could not stop herself. Wasn't it a good thing actually? Her parents were just having make-up sex after their twelve hour long argument. Oh, damn! She rolled onto her side holding her churning stomach.

"You're right. It's not funny. I'm sorry," he apologized, lying down beside her.

A few seconds later there was a knock on the door of her room. Reiki refused to answer it. She could not face her parents yet. The damage was still too new.

"Reiki, we need to talk," her mother called to her.

"I know, Mom. Just give me a minute," she replied.

"You're not going out there, are you?" Naruto asked her, giving her a hard stare.

"No," she muttered petulantly, rolling over onto her belly. She yelped when he administered a stinging slap to her firm yet tender ass.

"Get up. You need to talk to her," he said, ignoring her fiery glare.

"Make me," she dared him, confident he would not do a thing. She screamed when he rolled her over and lifted her off the bed in a bridal carry to take her to the door. "Put me down! Put me down!"

Naruto slid open the door with his foot, tossing her on her butt into the hallway where she landed at her mother's feet. He gave her one of his patent ear to ear fox face grins.

"Okay, you're down. Now talk to your parents," he said, closing the door behind him.

"I'll get you for that!" she shouted, rubbing her sore behind.

"Who was that?" her mother asked, staring down at her with dark gold eyes the rich color of honey.

"Your future son-in-law," Jiraiya answered.

"WHAT?!" both women shrieked in perfect harmony.

"We need to talk. Grab the boy, Reiki."

Reiki smiled devilishly. Naruto would not be able to escape a painfully awkward moment of his own. He was about to get to be formally introduced to his future mother-in-law.

...

They sat in the middle of the restaurant staring at each other in silence. The table was full of uneaten food. No one had an appetite after the messenger arrived with the news. He had appeared at the table just before they lifted the first bite of food to their lips. It was a message from Kakashi informing them that the third Hokage,Hiruzen Sarutobi, was dead. He had been killed by his former pupil and the third of the legendary Sannin, Orochimaru. Now they all had another reason to hate the bastard. This event made up Tsunade's mind for her, forcing the decision upon her; she would be returning to the Leaf Village with them. The other matters of importance that needed to be discussed involved Naruto and Reiki.

"We should all eat. We have a long journey ahead of us," Tsunade encouraged them, poking at the rice in her bowl. She was having difficulty finding her appetite as well.

"Mama," Reiki called, meeting her mother's sorrowful gaze. She reached across the table, taking her mother's hand in hers. She could not imagine the hurt her mother was feeling at this time, but it showed on the woman's face that she was in deep emotional agony.

Tsunade not only lost her beloved teacher, but she had endured yet another betrayal from Orochimaru. Her fingers tightened into a fist and she almost smashed the table into splinters to relieve her anger. Instead, she forced her fingers to uncurl and lay flat on the table. The fury still seethed beneath the surface of her sad, calm exterior.

Jiraiya could feel the rage emanating from his wife in waves of chakra that she released slowly to deal with the overwhelming anger. Unable to stop the pervert in him from rising to the forefront of his thoughts, he decided he would help her work off a bit of that anger later in a less than romantic sexual meeting that would probably be violent and horribly pleasurable. He looked at the two young people across the table deliberating what to do about them.

"After we return to Konoha, Naruto and I will be leaving to continue his training elsewhere. You can no longer help us, Reiki. It is imperative that he stay focused and not have any distractions. Not even you, Baby," he explained, trying to be as gentle as possible.

Reiki lowered her head, feeling her heart clench and beat hard within her chest. She was afraid it might stop beating altogether because it was breaking. He was being taken away from her.

"For how long?" she asked, swallowing the lump of emotions in her throat that threatened to choke her.

"I don't know. It depends on how quickly he learns. It's very important that he develop his abilities and powers as fast as possible. I have the feeling things are about to get very bad thanks in no small part to your friend Sasuke and his new master," Jiraiya said to Naruto without intending to be cruel. He was simply stating a fact, but it still hit Naruto like a kunei knife thrust into his chest.

Reiki moved her other hand to grab Naruto's that lay limply on the bench beside hers. She felt him move closer to her while firmly clasping her hand. Her eyes went to her Father's stoic face latching onto his dark black eyes. His eyes revealed the emotions he did not express on his face. She offered a weak smile to let him know she understood what he was feeling because she felt it too: the sadness, the anger, the confusion, the helplessness. It was as if their lives had suddenly been put on fast forward, and there was nothing they could do about it. They had no choice but to go with the momentum or risk being crushed, if not physically, definitely emotionally.

~\0/~


They were on their way back to Konoha. Naruto and Jiraiya were travelling ahead of them, not only to make sure the women would be safe from bandits, but also so they all could talk about the things they never had a chance to discuss before their swift exit from Tanzaku Quarters.

"Reiki, you know the plans your Father has for you and Naruto, don't you?" her mother asked.

"You know subtlety is not one of Dad's better qualities. I figured it out pretty quickly quite a while back. I don't understand why it's so important," she responded.

Since it seems she and Naruto would have wound up in an arranged marriage it was a bonus that they fell in love on their own first. Tsunade began a long speech about ancestors and bloodlines along with how the jinchūriki of Kurama locked within Naruto fit into the big scheme of things. The intertwining histories of the Uzumaki and Senju clans were expounded upon at great length. Naruto was destined to be Hokage especially since he would have one more tie to the position with Tsunade being his mother-in-law. She explained how everything was interwoven and connected in an attempt to make her daughter understand the importance of her union with Naruto. The Kurama had become their legacy and would need a new container someday. One of these days, that child would be expected to pass it along as well.

Reiki wished the trip back to Konoha was not so damn long. Her brain ached from the sheer amount of information her mother had been talking about nonstop for the past three days of travelling. She did not understand half of what had been said except that it sounded like some far out, hard to believe bullshit dreamed up by a bunch of old guys tripping on psychedelic drugs. Her mother could have saved them all a lot of trouble and a terrible headache if she had only realized her daughter loved Naruto and would marry him anyway just because she wanted to. Her mind was too muddled by the overload of information to consider all of the implications of what she had been told.

Naruto had received a much less intense lecture. Men had a way of simplifying things that women did not possess. He was basically told his Father, Minato, had sealed the nine-tailed demon inside of him when his mother was dying. It would be his job to protect and preserve Konoha as the Hokage after Tsunade. Due to important lineages and powers, it was essential that he and Reiki get married and have at least one child who would become the next host of the nine-tailed demon thereby protecting the village and everyone else. But first, to enable him do his job well as Hokage, it was vital they leave to further his training and abilities. This would also ensure his capability to maintain the beast and one day teach his child, the new host, to do the same. Short, plain, and to the point, he understood completely without enduring a headache.

~\0/~


Reiki's reunion with her mother had been all business so far. Her head still ached from the glut of information packed into it during her trip home. Her mother had bestowed upon Reiki the title of Princess that had been given to her since she would be the new Hokage. She was not sure what the significance was, if there was any at all, to the title. So she was the Princess of the Pervert Sage and Slug Summoner: the Pervy Slug Princess.

Naruto would someday be the Hokage so why did she need to know so much? 'Because as his wife, you will be his hidden strength and pillar of wisdom,' her mother had told her. Somehow she found it bitterly ironic that her mother was giving her advice on being a good wife but she had the wisdom to keep her mouth shut.

Reiki slipped into the hot spring next to Shizune, glad for a moment away from her mother. She and her friend had gone straight to the bath house upon arriving in Konoha while her mother and Jiraiya went to the Hokage's office to speak with the Elders about the funeral and Tsunade's transition to Hokage. Naruto had gone to the apartment to get a shower and a nap. After unwinding at the hot springs, she would gladly join him. She wanted to know what her father had told him on the trip home.

"Reiki, are you all right?" Shizune asked, when her head nearly slipped under the water.

"I'm fine. I'm just so tired," she mumbled, resisting the urge to yawn.

"I told your mother she should explain all of that to you little by little after the funeral. It could have even waited until Naruto left. You love him don't you?" the dark haired woman inquired, her brown eyes surveying the woman who was like her sister.

"Yes, I do. If Mother would have let me get a word in edge wise I would have told her. I don't care about all the specifics. As long as I can be with him that's all that matters. It's kind of romantic isn't it?" She smiled at Shizune a bit drunkenly since she was feeling very light headed. Pulling herself out of the water to cool off, she sat on the side kicking her legs in the steaming pool.

"What?" Her eyes remained on Reiki, watching her closely.

"I'm meant to be with him but we fell in love before knowing that."

"I suppose it is romantic."

"I'm not feeling well. I'm getting dressed and going home," she told Shizune, cutting their girl talk short. She dried off and dressed quickly, rushing home to be with Naruto.

Reiki smiled when she saw him sprawled across the bed snoring lightly from exhaustion. She pushed him over a bit so she would have room to lie down. As soon as her body touched his, he rolled against her and trapped her in a strong embrace.

"Are you awake?" she asked, receiving a mumbled affirmative. She smiled thinking that he was only kinda sorta awake.

"We're leaving the day after the funeral," Naruto announced, tightening his arms around her.

Damn. Her father was certainly not wasting any time on the matter. Reiki tried to ignore the loneliness and misery that pulled at her already. How would she live without him? She guessed there was a lesson for her to be learned as well; to be strong and stand on her own two feet without him while still loving him no matter what.

"I'll miss you," he murmured, kissing the back of her neck.

"I'll miss you too," she whispered, choked by the knot in her throat. She tried to hide the fact she was crying.

"Reiki…" He forced her to roll over to face him. "Look at me."

Reiki opened her eyes meeting the ardent gaze of his huge blue eyes that she adored. She held his sweet face between her hands, tracing the whisker marks with her thumbs.

"I love you. No amount of time or distance can change that," Naruto promised her. A smile gently turned up the corners of his mouth giving him his usual mischievous appearance. "Besides, we're meant for each other no matter what, remember? We can't escape our destiny even if we tried."

Reiki giggled through her tears because of his impish smile and ridiculous optimism. "I wouldn't want to escape it even if I could. I love you."

"I love you too," he returned, pulling her into his arms to kiss her.

Despite being worn out from their long trip, they slowly undressed each other. They had precious little time to be together and wanted to make the most of every second. Extra time was spent memorizing the texture of skin, the scent of hair, the gentleness of each tender touch. Every moan of pleasure and whisper of love was tucked away in their minds to be recalled at a future time.

"Naruto," she gasped, holding him tightly when he slid inside of her after he had completed a monumentally long and poignant exploration of her body.

Naruto held the gaze of her beautiful molten gold eyes as he moved in and out of her unhurriedly, wanting to remember every expression that flitted across her face while he made love to her. He kissed her when she could no longer keep her eyes open as she gave into the pleasure taking over her body.

Reiki clung to him while he kissed her senseless and filled her body with ecstasy. This moment would be one she would evoke to recall his tenderness and pure adoration. She was his and his alone and wanted to stay that way. Her eyes popped open to stare at him as he pulled her with him to a glorious end that brought a plaintive cry from her lips because of the physical and emotional passion of the moment. She covered his face with kisses to convey her gratitude and love.

They fell asleep locked together in a tight embrace. Over the next two days, they would endeavor to form a bond between them that would endure and hold them together for however long their separation lasted.