Last time:
He said as she blushed. She then got up and before leaving, turned and spoke "I'll see you later, Naruto-kun."
Now:
It has been a week since the rebellion had beaten out Yaguras forces. In that week, various missives came seeking an alliance with the newly formed Kiri. Most with small villages were accepted because of food lines and medial supplies. The hidden villages missives all had been declined. Especially the one from Konoha. But today was a day of new beginnings. This is why we find Naruto rushing to put on his Spartan armor from Achilles. A couple of days ago, he had asked Mei out on a date, and she had said yes. Naruto was putting on the rest of his jet black armor when something jolted him. 'SHIT! I have nothing planned!' he thought. He quickly summoned 2 shadow clones and had them go set up the most romantic date they could. Naruto then sealed his weapons and helmet into the seals on his arms. Even if he was home, there was no guarantee he was safe. He then walked out of his home and walked towards Mei's. He was already late, so he decided to cut through the red light district. He was running when he suddenly stopped. He turned and saw a small 7 year old girl with raven hair crying next to an old lady who was being pushed out of a store. Naruto walked up to the store only to see that the old lady didn't have enough to pay her groceries with. He looked at the old lady and the girl and walked in. He was already recognized through Kiri as their savior. He walked up to the counter and spoke "Excuse me, are these the groceries those people were gonna buy?" he asked, and the clerk nodded. "yea, but the lady only had 6 dollars and that is worth 35$" The man replied. Naruto nodded his head and pulled out 35 dollars. He then picked up the groceries and spoke "If that lady comes back and tries to buy something, don't charge her. Send the bill to my house, and I will pay. Do we have a deal, shopkeeper? He asked. The shop keeper only nodded as Naruto left. He spotted the old lady pushing the little girl on a swing and walked by, listening in on their conversation. "Well sakuya, I'm sorry we cant eat again. I know you're hungry, but I cant afford it. Tell you what, though. Soon, ill buy you any treat you want, ok?" the old lady asked. The little girl only nodded and kept swinging. Naruto then approached them and handed the bags to the old lady "Excuse me, ma'am, but I believe these are yours." He said. The old lady looked in the bag to find her groceries and a large wad of money. She looked at the man who swung her grand daughter on the swing and spoke "Why are you doing this?" in a wary voice. Naruto only shrugged. "you guys need it. And I will not stand to see a little girl or an elder go hungry. When you go to the store, the clerk will not charge you. Ill take care of the bill, ok? Tell me if he tries to charge you so I can pay him a …visit." he said. Sakuya was still swinging when Naruto walked off, the old lady asked "Who are you?" "I'm Naruto. Naruto of Sparta." he replied as he ran off to Mei's house.
Mei was a patient woman, but her date was already 20 minutes late. She was about to go back in her house when a yellow blur shot into her front yard. "I'm not late, am I?" he asked as he tried to catch his breath. He was treated to a glare by Mei. He looked on and spoke "Sorry. I had to help an old lady buy groceries.". Mei sweat dropped and looked at him. "I don't believe you" she said. She was about to start yelling at him for being late when a young girl about seven came up to him. She hugged him and said "Thank you mister." She then turned around and walked off to the entrance, where an old lady was waiting for her with an arm full of groceries. She shrugged and looked at him. "I guess you were telling the truth." . Naruto nodded and smiled. He bit his thumb and wiped it on his tattoo. In a cloud of smoke, shini appeared. He flapped his wings as Mei looked at him. "What are you thinking Naruto?" she asked. Naruto smirked as he pointed at Shini. "your steed awaits, my lady." he said. She hesitantly climbed up, then Naruto climbed up behind her. She leaned back into his arms as he took the reigns. She thought 'hmm…a horse ride…this will be nice..' When Shini broke out in a mad dash. He then unfurled his wings and she looked scared. He was heading straight for a cliff! She closed her eyes as he jumped, only to feel a cool breeze on her face. She opened her eyes to see they were flying over the ocean around kiris borders, as free as a bird. She slowly got up and saw fisherman's boats staring up at them and small coast towns where children were playing. She looked up at Naruto and saw his eyes closed as he enjoyed the breeze on his face. She closed her eyes and felt the weightlessness around her, the warm sun on her face, and the feeling. That unknown feeling to her. The feeling of being…free. Of being able to go wherever you want. She smiled and thought 'This isn't so bad. I can see why he loves flying..' She then leaned back into his body and rested her head on his chest, smiling at the feeling. She then felt the horse drop and saw where they were going. It was a clearing near the village. It was hidden beneath countless trees, but it was there. As shini landed, Naruto grabbed her bridal style and got off the horse, carrying her to the clearing. There was a table and a small feast waiting for them. There was steamed rice, beef with broccoli, Some sweet and spicy chicken, and a big pot. She was unsure of what was in the pot, but then he opened it and grinned. He went to her side and bowed. "my lady, may I escort you to your meal?" he asked playfully. She smirked and took his hand as he lead her to a table with a blood red cover, candles in the center, plates set up, and a bucket with a white handkerchief covering it. She slowly took her seat as Naruto unveiled the bucket. There sat a bottle of red wine, chilled, and he opened it. He filled her glass and his and took his seat. He then made a shadow clone to serve them, the clone coming back with 2 bowls of rice, 2 plates with beef and broccoli and sweet and spicy chicken, and finally a bowl full of ramen. Naruto dismissed the clone and looked at Mei. She then spoke happily "So how can you stand it?" she asked. "Stand what?" "Having to come back to Earth after flying." she responded. Naruto smiled "well I have to eat, don't I? And besides, if I never came to the ground then I wouldn't get to see you. And that wouldn't be fair to me." He said. "How so?" she asked. "well tell me, if one day you woke up and you didn't see the sun, would you care?" "Of course I would! It wouldn't feel the same." she replied. "Exactly. If I don't see you, my day doesn't feel the same. Like something's missing." he said as he chewed on some chicken. She blushed and looked at him "Really?" "yeah. that's why I always make time to just hang out with you, no matter what." he replied. She blushed and looked down as he looked at her. "You know, you're cute when you blush" he said. Mei then looked up at him and spoke "Naruto…When you said what you said. Did you mean it or was it a heat of the moment statement?" "when I said what, Mei-chan?" he asked. She sighed, this guy was so thick headed. "when you said that people do crazy things….when they're in love" she finished with a small blush on her face. He looked at her "yes. Yea I did. But I wasn't sure of you felt the same. And even if you did, there is still a lot of my life you don't know about." Her response was to frown, but her resolve was solid. After nearly losing him at the hands of Yagura, she wanted to know the man who had captivated her heart. "Then tell me" she replied. He frowned and looked at her "I'm….I'm afraid." he replied. "Afraid of what?" she asked. "Afraid that once you get to know my past, that you wont like me anymore." he replied. Her only response was to cup his cheek in her hand and kiss him, a short, chaste kiss. But that kiss was the world to him. It showed him that she cared for him. He then stood up and took out what looked like a metal flask. It had the insignia of hells gates. He poured a clear looking liquor into a small sake cup and handed it to her. "This is a special liquor. It has all of my memories instilled in it. If you want to know of my past, take the sip." he said. She looked at him, then the cup. "Seems a bit far retched, don't you think?" she asked. "we're ninja. We stick to walls, walk on water, and summon talking animals. Normal and far fetched shouldn't be in our dictionary." She nodded. He had a point. And if this was what she needed to get to know the real him , then she'd do it. She took the sake saucer and sipped it suddenly, her vision blurring as soon as she swallowed the drink. She fell unconscious. Naruto sighed as he made clones to clean up the food and picked Mei's body up bridal style. He carried her back to his apartment and laid her on his bed. He could only wonder what she would think of him after seeing all of his battled and lives. For once, he was worried of what someone would think of him.
In Mei's mindscape, Mei stood in front of some dark looking gates, the gates reeking of death and decay. They had the symbol of hells gates on them, but she didn't care. She pushed forward and a stream of memories came at her. She witnessed Naruto's first 5 years of his life with Anko, Ayame, and Hana. She witnessed his horrible childhood and the very night that Hades came to save him. She saw him being trained under his 3 legendary teachers, his one night with Cynthia, him fighting with the 300 legendary Spartans and his death. She smiled at his pride in his son and his lover. She witnessed him training with Achilles, his scheme to help save Achilles' life, and his ultimate death at the hands of Sparta's king. She saw him as he started to see Hades, the god of death, as his father and the Shinigami as his brother. She then witnessed him as he was trained by the demi god Hercules . She saw him fighting the titans, his inner conflict at facing his father figure, his joy when he received Shini, and his ultimate ascension into God-hood. She was shocked by this, but it did explain his healing factor. She finally witnessed as he gained control of the Titans, and saw his final good bye to Cynthia. She then witnessed his training with the Shinigami, the birth of his ninjutsu style, and his constant training to improve. The scenes then faded and focused on a specific timeline. It was when he first met her and the battle to liberate the bloodline users. She felt what he felt when he first saw the little girl without her mother, she felt what he felt when he joined the rebellion. She smiled sadly at the memory of him cooking for her, how he felt close and closer to her, but was afraid to lose her, so he said nothing. She smiled at the warm feeling she felt when she saw his true feelings. She smiled and her heart finally decided on her choice as she saw him handling the situation with the old lady and the little girl. 'He's good with kids…' Then the gates were shut close , Mei felt her eyes getting droopy. The last thing she heard was a feminine voice saying "Take care of him."
Mei woke up late in the evening. She heard sounds coming from a kitchen. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and saw she was in Narutos apartment, sleeping on his bed curled up with a pillow. She got up and walked outside, following down a hall to where she saw light and voices. She stumbled and saw 3 Narutos in the kitchen cooking and four of them playing poker on the table. "Well that gives 'playing with yourself' a new definition." She said. The clones heard her and turned around laughing. That was when three Narutos came in and set up the table to eat as the original dispelled his poker buddies. The cooks then dispelled, leaving Naruto and Mei alone. Naruto pulled out a chair and let Mei sit before he himself took a seat. He then grabbed a fork and dug into the food. "So how was your sleep?" he asked. She looked at him and responded "Pretty good. Saw all of your life." she responded ironically. He looked down at the food "And what do you think of me now?" he asked. She just got up, went to his side, and kissed him fully on the lips. His eyes were wide with shock, but he sank into it and kissed her back, pulling her onto his lap. She broke the kiss and looked at him "That answer your question?" "Yea….but why? don't you think of me as a monster? I have killed more men than anyone in their lives can say." Her only response was to bring him face to face "Yea, but you did it to protect your land and those close to you. If you had done it senselessly, I would have thought differently, but you did it because it had to be done." she then looked at the clock and saw it was already 1 a.m. She took his hand and led him to the bed. "Where are we going?" "To sleep. I'm tired. We can discuss what I say in the morning, ok? For now, you just need to know that what I feel for you is real. After seeing all that you have had to go through, I can honestly say you're the man I want to be with. You're everything I've hoped for out of a man. Kind, caring, strong, good with kids. You understand my needs and wants. You try your best to help whenever you can. I don't care if you have soiled your hands, I want to be there for you. I'll help you clean them, I promise." She said as she snuggled into his chest. He smiled and hugged her close to him, a simple thought coming to mind. 'I'm never letting you go. No matter what' he thought as he drifted to sleep.