Chapter 14
Ruby yawned as she stretched her arms out, the limbs echoing in the cool morning with a pop. She gave a small shiver as a cool breeze hit her, the girl pulling her jacket tighter around her body as she made for the Inn. It was an especially cold Friday morning, and Ruby felt her heart skip a beat as cool liquid sliced over the back of her neck. She sent up a silent prayer to God that is was just the mist rolling in off the ocean, but a small voice was adamantly saying that a rainstorm was on its way in, and so Ruby sped up to get inside the Inn.
Naruto yawned as he went to the front door, Kushina trotting along behind him as he grabbed her food bowl, filling it with chicken soup as Kushina yipped, bouncing around his feet. He gave a small smile as he set the bowl down; Kushina immediately ran to it, lapping at the warm broth, a thin steam wisp rising from the bowl.
"Yeah yeah girl, I know, you prefer Ramen, but we're out and I need to go to the store later for some more. Ruby's coming over soon, so give me like4 hours and I'll get you some actual food." Naruto said, Kushina raising her head to give him an eye smile as she stuck her head back into the filled bowl.
Naruto waved her off, heading for his room, changing from his sleepwear to training clothes as he got started on his morning warm-ups. Ruby wasn't notorious for her unpunctuality, and he expected within the next ten minutes, although considering she hadn't ever took a martial arts class of any sort, she probably wouldn't have anything appropriate to wear.
As he ran his hand through his unique hair, the bell echoed through the shop, announcing Ruby's arrival; he turned a called out to her, "I'm in here, in the spare room, just come on in."
Ruby did just that as the door opened to reveal the brunette clothed in a white jacket that was pulled taut to her body in an attempt to keep out the cold, no doubt. Her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, rather than her usual free-flowing locks or a woolen hat. Despite what Naruto had expected, she appeared to have worn loose pants that allowed for more movement than her usual jeans. And Naruto's trained ears had picked up on the dull thump as she placed her boots to the side of the door when she entered.
"Well, I must say I didn't expect you to wear clothes that might actually be comfortable to be in. All the same though, I'm glad you did because you couldn't do most of what I'm going to teach you today in your normal clothes, and I didn't have anything spare you could borrow." Naruto said, and his truthful observation seemed to upset Ruby as she pouted and huffed, turning her head away in mock anger.
"Are you saying that you don't like my normal clothes, Blondie?" Ruby said, and despite the level tone, Naruto knew that he shouldn't make a joke from the question. It wouldn't do for Ruby to get mad before they ever started, and Naruto had promised to teach her.
"No, I'm saying that I would like to be able to watch your body to see if you do the movements right without feeling like a lecherous old man. Although, once you have more training you can probably wear your old clothes, considering I know some woman who wear less than you with tighter clothes and could still fight just as easily as in loose clothes." Naruto pointed out, and Ruby actually looked surprised that Naruto was taking this seriously.
"So then, if you don't have anymore questions, shall we get started?" Naruto asked rhetorically as he went on without pause. "Come closer, I want you to get as close you feel is necessary before we begin, but first," Naruto paused this time as he grabbed something from the floor before tossing it Ruby's way, "my training can get pretty dehydrating, so keep hydrated or you'll only end up hurting yourself and setting your progress back further." As Ruby something snatched the object from the air, she saw it was a red water bottle, cool to the touch as the water inside sloshed around. Ruby set it aside for now, having already drank two glasses of water this morning before heading over, along with a hearty breakfast of a piece of toast.
Ruby slowly advanced on Naruto, who looked at her with a half smirk, half smile, his eyes following her every move, although she didn't notice as she stopped a foot away from the blonde. If only she knew that the training had already begun from the moment he started speaking. She would learn in the months to come, that when training, everything that Naruto did, he did for a reason. Such as tossing a water bottle to test her reaction speed disguised under concern for her health. As she stood in front of him, he noted how she leaned forwards lightly, with her head tilted to the left.
"Okay, I want you to punch me in the face." Naruto said evenly, the grin never leaving his face as Ruby blinked in surprise, not expecting to jump straight into a fight.
"B-But-" She was cut off, as Naruto closed his eyes and before Ruby knew what had happened, her legs went out from under her, the woman hitting the hardwood floor with an oof.
"I probably should've went over the rules with you first, Rubes. Rule 1, don't question my orders, only obey. Rule 2, as you sensei, I will not have an emotional connection with you, so don't expect any leniency when I punish you. Rule 3, don't think that because you're my girlfriend, that I will hesitate to end these lessons. I do them not because you asked me too, although it makes me have hope for you, I do it because I won't always be with you, and I care for you enough that I want you kept safe." Naruto said evenly, and Ruby could swear that as she looked up into Naruto's eyes, they seemed almost… scared.
Silently, Ruby pushed herself to her feet looking at Naruto with confusion before she tried to punch him in the face with a straight punch, which, despite the proximity, Naruto barely leaned to the side to avoid as the fist went past him. He looked at Ruby evenly, as his eyes expectant as if repeating the order as she pulled her hand back before using her other hand to try with a roundhouse punch like she'd seen the hero do in movies.
Apparently Naruto hadn't seen the same movies as instead of letting the punch hit him like the bad guy did, Naruto ducked, the outstretched arm whipping over his head before he resumed his idle position. "Now then, I want you to kick me in three different places, my knee, my torso, and my head, think you can manage?" Naruto said, and Ruby nodded before kicking outwards as if she were kicking a ball, with the toe first.
Naruto avoided the kick just as easily as the other two attacks, although this time he stepped back to dodge, rather than lean to the side. All the same, Ruby recovered faster than with her punches as she brought her foot back down before immediately twisting her earth-bound foot to send her free-floating foot at Naruto's midsection in a sweeping kick. When he dodged this in the same manner as her last kick, Ruby finished the motion of the kick, bringing the foot down as she then used the momentum to lift her other foot up and try to kick Naruto under the chin.
Just as with every hit, he dodged easily, although this time he stepped back into the attack before she could move away, grabbing her lifted foot and keeping it suspended in the air, leaving the brunette to balance on one foot.
"Now then, can you tell why I had you do that?" Naruto questioned his student, who pouted as she turned away to mumble under her breath, "To make me feel weak and useless."
"No, actually, my Gemstone, I did it to see how your body moves when attacking in each fashion." Naruto stated, although this seemed to further confuse Ruby, who looked at Naruto with a confused look on her face that almost made Naruto squeal out, "Kawaii." But his manhood could never be recovered once those words left his mouth, and so he barely restrained himself.
"Every person's body moves in ways that we've already seen, this is how everybody learns how to do certain things. For instance, you learn how to hold chopsticks one way, by observing how someone else holds them, and then trying to copy it until either you can perform the task or until the chopsticks feel comfortable in your hand. Fighting is the same way, I can punch and kick all I want to, but if I don't move the way my body was trained, it won't be as effective." Naruto paused to take a breath, finally releasing Ruby's trapped foot as she brought it down
"See right there, although in someone else, a cramp would've begun to form, your body is built in a way that allows you to bend like that and not get hurt. Although, females are generally more attuned to flexibility than males along with stronger lower body strength, while males…" Naruto trailed off as he bent backwards, his body folding in half before he placed his hands on the ground and did a perfect handstand, his body not quivering in the least, he then pushed off from the ground to do a front flip and land perfectly on his feet as he rolled his neck, a sound akin to popcorn coming from the motion.
"Now then, we'll start with some traditional stretches to get your body prepared to workout. I would suggest you get rid of the jacket or you could overheat." Naruto advised and the brunette nodded as she slipped off the article of clothing, revealing that underneath she was wearing a dark purple sports bra with pink trim. Naruto nodded approvingly, although whether he approved because it was appropriate workout attire or because he like how much skin Ruby was showing, he never said.
After folding the jacket and setting it aside with her water bottle, Naruto began to guide her untrained form through the simple stretches, before performing his own, much more advanced, stretches that left Ruby both in awe and fear that she could do the same one day. After he finished, he saw her looking and smirked as he winked at the brunette, her cheeks flaring up with blood.
Finally, he taught her some basic exercises, such as squats and leg lifts, she could do at her leisure when not training with him. Once she had done 25 of each exercise, he moved on to the last thing on the agenda for the day. As she climbed to her feet, Naruto glanced at the clock on the wall, noting that they were making good progress for her first time. Despite telling Kushina it would only take around four hours, only two and a half had elapsed.
That said; this was the hardest part of the training, as Ruby quickly learned.
"Okay, you've made quite a bit of progress today, not as much as I had hoped," Naruto lied, his face not betraying his statement. After all, he couldn't let the woman get a big head, now could he? Arrogance was never a good thing, Naruto memories of Sasuke being all the proof he needed. "But I think you could be a proficient fighter given enough time and dedication." All the same, he couldn't let go without a compliment.
"Now then, we have one last thing I want to do today. After every session, we'll play this game until either you win, or I lose." Naruto said, reaching up to unzip his own jacket as he tossed it aside, leaving his bare chest visible to the furiously blushing girl as he eyes devoured his tanned and muscled form; honestly, right then, Ruby thought Naruto looked like a god taken human form with his sun-kissed hair, mirth-filled electric eyes, even his cutesy whisker marks seemed to leave her a smolder mess as Naruto smirked, snapping his fingers several times to recapture her attention.
She snapped back to reality with an embarrassed blush as she wiped her mouth, a small line of drool trying desperately to run down her chin. Was she embarrassed at her school-girlish glazed over look, yeah, but did she regret getting lost in her day-dream of Naruto, absolutely not.
"Well then, since you've decided to rejoin me, I'll explain the rules of our little game." Naruto said, and Ruby managed to drag her eyes off his abs and look him straight in the face.
"For the next ten minutes, you have to try and touch me, after that, I have to try and touch you, got it. Use whatever tactics you have to get me off-guard, as I will be doing the same to you." Naruto ordered, and Ruby nodded as her mind slipped into the gutter when he said 'touch me'.
Naruto pulled a timer from his pocket, turning it to ten minutes as he set it aside with his jacket.
"Start." Naruto said, and Ruby seemed to come alive, like a puppy as she leapt at him, her hands coming from every angle she could reach as Naruto weaved through her attempts without much effort to move, yet, he seemed to move with an animalistic grace that betrayed his human form.
After nearly eight minutes, Ruby's almost desperate attacks seemed to slack off as she began to come at Naruto in much smoother movements, but no matter how close she seemed to get, Naruto would barely turn, his muscles minutely twitch, and he would be out of her path. Finally, Ruby seemed to pinpoint his pattern of movement and went to tap his chest only for the timer to ding as she was an inch away.
Ruby looked up at Naruto incredulously, only for his eyes to be filled with mirth, and his lips to be upturned in his signature foxish grin. "Them's the breaks." Was his only comment as Ruby jumped back, as Naruto restarted the timer, and grin at her.
As he came at her, Ruby considered letting him touch her, but something inside of her, a more primal part that didn't like to lose refused to give up that easily as Ruby managed to avoid his first few attacks. To her surprise, she always managed to move just in time to dodge Naruto's limbs which seemed to come at her from every angle.
After seven minutes had elapsed, Ruby realized that Naruto was simply toying with her, his attacks brought down to simple one that moved much slower than Naruto was capable, yet just fast enough that Ruby couldn't afford to lose much concentration if she wanted to dodge.
As she glanced at the timer several minutes later, she saw that only ten seconds were left. "Okay, he'll probably come at me with a really quick attack at the last second. If I can just dodge this, he won't be able to get me again before time runs out." Ruby thought as she saw Naruto's eyes light up as his hand began to move erratically, before it shot forwards to hit her in the face. She smirked, already moving backwards as she leaned back, using the exercise Naruto had taught her to lower her center of gravity to keep herself upright as his fist stopped an inch from her face.
"Ha, yes, I did it. Take that you blonde!" Ruby cheered mentally only to catch sight of Naruto's smirk as he uncurled his finger to flick her forehead as the timer went off.
"I believe that's my win." Naruto said almost smugly, just to annoy Ruby who stumbled backwards from the flick to her head. Unfortunately, she didn't notice her jacket behind her as she stepped back, her heel landing on the fuzzy jacket. The moment after she did, she felt her body begin to fall.
Naruto took great dedication in maintaining the appearance of his room, including daily polishing the wooden floors. So when Ruby stepped on the jacket, it was like stepping on ice, her jacket shooting across the floor under her foot, leaving her to tumble down painfully.
Naruto's eyes widened as his hand shot out to catch her outstretched arm, but the momentum took him down with her. The only thing he could do was flip them over as his back impacted the hardwood floor, Ruby landing on top of him, her hands to either side of his head to catch herself, while Naruto's hands had fell to her smooth waist to catch her.
Their faces were a foot apart as they gazed into the other's eyes, getting lost in the glittering pools. As the thunder high above began to rumble, their lips met in a chaste kiss, Naruto noting how soft Ruby's lips were while Ruby noticed that Naruto seemed to suck lightly on her bottom lip, sending a tingle down her spine. Finally, they separated, once again in time with the rumbling thunder overhead.
And then, the lightning crashed down, and their mouths met again, this time more needing, more passionate as Naruto tasted the sweat dripping from his girlfriend's lips, and Ruby's tongue slowly snaked out to lick at his mouth as it opened in response.
A/N: Hey guys, I know I've been offline for sometime, but I've been busy the past few weeks. First, my mom surprises me with a vacation without telling me. Then, I ended up quarantined in my room because I apparently caught this super-charged strain of the Flu which has been going around my county. All the same, it feels good to be back on the keyboard. Also, I promised that it was going to happen, didn't I, now, I never wrote one before, so don't judge too harshly please.