Chapter 29
The crowd surged and cried out their respective jubilations. Citizens from all over the Land of Water came by to see the coronation of the Fifth Mizukage. The crowds were filling the streets to the brim. Ninja of all kinds and creeds crowded the rooftops. There were even a few foreign ninjas there to celebrate. Everyone from the Land of Water came by to congregate into an ocean of people. An ocean of appreciation. An ocean of change.
Mei took her place at the podium of the Kage Tower. The Water Daimyo was next to her, holding the hat of the village high so all could see. A surge of applause and ovation assaulted her ears. She was trying her best to keep a stone face, to keep the face of an unalterable leader. But every so often, a smile would break out on her face. She was finally there and everyone knew it.
The Water Daimyo said a few unintelligible words and slowly placed the kage hat upon Mei's head. The applause was deafening. She couldn't hear anything other than the people's happiness. Her eyes darted to the right. Tsunade of the Sannin was standing off to the side with a small, congratulatory smirk on her face. Naruto was by the Sannin's side. He was smiling so wide that he couldn't open his eyes.
Slowly, she rose. The crowd couldn't have gotten any louder even if it tried. She rose her arms above her head. A symbol of power. A symbol of new and better times. A symbol saying that the reign of Yagura was over. A symbol for the end of the 'Bloody Mist'.
Her eyes darted to the side again and took in Naruto's smiling form. On an impulse, she walked over to him and grabbed him in a crushing hug. Surprised and in her arms, Naruto was hoisted by Mei to the views of nearly everyone in the Land of Water. All of them shouting and screaming in happiness, in new times.
To them, he was a symbol for prosperity. He was the thing that would help them rebuild their village. Mei might have taken the hat and ended the reign, but Naruto, or more specifically his marriage, was the thing that was going to secure their future.
She planted a wet, sloppy kiss on his cheek. The red/blue lipstick stuck to his face.
The crowd continued to cry. Yes, this was the time. The time that Mist rose from obscurity. The time that Mist rose from all their negative connotations.
Naruto smiled and waved. He brought his hands low to the railing and suddenly threw them upwards. The crowd mimicked his movement, the ocean's arms waved and undulated under Naruto's instruction. He ran to the side of the railing and threw his arms up, then he raced to the other side. The people followed his movements. Hands rose and fell in order from one side to another. This was no wave, this a tsunami.
Mei Terumi was now the official Fifth Mizukage and everyone there couldn't be happier for it, least of all Naruto
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"The coronation was a lot more fun than this." Naruto grumbled to Mei. He was forced to wear a navy blue tuxedo to match Mei's robes. Someone even combed his spiky hair down using an ass-load of sculpting gel.
She was smiling lightly to the people stopping to pay their respects, wearing her formal Mizukage robes and hat. After the coronation, there was the 'after party'. It was dry, there was no music, the only people who came by were stuffy clan heads who walked over to pay their respects, and the food sucked.
Naruto grimaced at the thing in front of him. There was a fork and knife by the dish's side, signifying that despite its appearance, it was something to be eaten. He had taken a bite out of it earlier and subsequently found out that it was very nearly inedible.
"Hello Mizukage-sama. Hope you have a long reign." Naruto looked up at the person who greeted Mei. There was usually a long winded speech about who the person was and all the things that they hoped that she could accomplish during her reign, not a short, gruff greeting. The woman in front of him was animalistic in nature. Scruffy brown hair, elongated canines, slit eyes, and fang tattoos on her cheeks. She looked really familiar for some reason.
"Yo, Naruto!" Now that voice sounded really familiar. Kiba, wearing his normal fur jacket, was waving from across the room. Naruto rose in surprise and Kiba ran towards him. They greeted each other with a fist bump. "What's up man? I haven't seen you in months."
"Nothing much. Been kind of busy."
"Naruto-kun. Who's this?" Mei asked from the side.
"Oh, sorry. This is Kiba Inuzuka. Kiba, this is Mei Terumi." Mei held out a hand to be shaken.
"Hello Kiba. You're a friend of Naruto's?"
Kiba gingerly took Mei's hand to be shaken. "Y-Yeah. I am."
"It's nice to meet you."
The Inuzuka matriarch wrapped her arm roughly around Kiba's shoulders. "Come on Kiba. You can catch up with your friend another time, we're holding up the line." Indeed, there was a slightly anxious looking line of clan heads forming up behind her.
Tsume guided Kiba away from Mei and Naruto. Kiba waved back at him. "Let's meet up later."
"Yeah." Naruto called back.
"Your friend seems nice." Mei was able to say before looking away to greet some more people.
"Yeah." Naruto said slowly. "One sec." He made a shadow clone to take his seat and ran after where Kiba was guided off to. He found Kiba standing next to a bored looking Ino, who had taken to wearing something a bit fancier for the after party than Kiba was.
"Oh, Naruto!" Ino said in surprise. "You're here! I didn't know."
"Yeah, didn't you see the coronation?"
"Well I did, but I was pretty far back. That doesn't really matter now. How have… You know, how have you… been?" She asked with a concerned tone of voice
Naruto shrugged. "Fine I guess, a little hungry."
She and Kiba shared a look. "No, I mean… how have you… been?"
Naruto gave her a confused stare. "I don't… I don't know what you mean."
"Well, it's just… we haven't really heard from you since the Sasuke fiasco. And you were in a coma for the whole… announcement. We've been pretty worried for you."
"Why would you be worried for me?"
Kiba gesticulated with his arms at Naruto. "For fuck's sake man. You got forcefully married off to 5 women, no, five kunoichi of different villagers. Then you get shipped off on a roundabout tour of the elemental nations and we don't hear a word of you since."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry for making you worry. Everything's fine."
Ino didn't quite get this concept. "But… you don't… what about Sakura?"
"What about her?"
"Weren't you in love with her?"
This comment visibly brought Naruto's mood down. "Well… I was. I kinda… got over her, I guess. I kinda had to."
Ino drew quiet. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"
"It's fine." Naruto quickly interrupted. "Why are you guys here anyway?"
"Since we're in an… alliance" she winced slightly at saying the word. "Tsunade-sama suggested that the clan heads pay their respects to the new Mizukage. My dad took me with him, same with Kiba for his mom."
"Is anyone else here?"
"I know that Shikamaru and Chouji are here. I'm pretty sure that Hinata and Neji are here too. I'm not sure about Shino, because his dad isn't a clan head. Sakura couldn't make it and neither could Tenten or Lee."
Naruto had a sudden realization. "Lee! I forgot about him! How's his arm and leg doing?"
"He's fine. It took a little bit for him to get used to doing strenuous things again, but he couldn't be happier."
"That's great. So where's everyone else?"
Ino shrugged. "I don't know. We spilt off a while ago. This hall's pretty big."
"Yeah, I guess it is." Naruto said while looking around the hall. It was smaller than the one where akatsuki showed up at and had a lot more people, but Naruto was still a little uncomfortable being in the setting. "So what's it like back home?"
"We've been taking a lot more missions lately." Kiba said. "But apparently the debt's getting paid off, so it's been lessening a little bit. What about you, man? Where are you living? It's definitely not Konoha."
"Lately, I've been at the training camp with everyone else."
Kiba winced. "Oohh. I've heard bad things about place."
"It's getting better." Naruto said indignantly. "Nobody else could come to the coronation though, so Yugito's still at the camp, holding down the fort." Noting their blank looks, he quickly reiterated "Yugito's from Cloud. I'm… married to her."
"Oh." Kiba said. "How's that going, by the way? Are you guys… getting along?"
"Oh yeah. We're all getting along fine. It's actually kind of fun." Naruto with a slightly exaggerated smile on his face.
"You are?" Ino asked incredulously. "Really?"
"Why do you say it like that?"
"Because… well…" Ino was having trouble getting out her words. "You're married to the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage. Doesn't she hate you? Or what about Temari no Sabaku? I heard that she's not exactly the warmest of people."
Naruto deadpanned. "I'm in a relationship with Kurotsuchi. And Temari's really nice."
"You're… in a relationship with her?" Ino asked.
"Yeah. I don't know how you guys are imagining what my life is like now that I'm married to five kunoichi, but it's not bad. They're all really nice. Why do you guys think that it's going bad?"
Kiba and Ino shared another look. "There have been… rumors." Kiba said.
Naruto narrowed his eyes dangerously. "What kind of rumors?"
"Rumors that they cut off your arm."
Naruto began laughing uproariously. "What the actual fuck?"
Kiba and Ino began chuckling nervously. "Yeah, I guess it was kind of farfetched. I mean, you still have both arms."
"Oh no, I lost my arm. But it wasn't to them." Naruto rolled the sleeve on his left arm past the elbow. Kankuro made something that looked like actual skin using compounds from chakra trees and rubber. It was used in conjunction with his 'civilian arm' to make it look normal, but it only went up to the elbow. Past there was the normal wood and metal that the arm was made of.
Kiba and Ino stared at the arm blankly. "Y-You really…" Ino stuttered out, pointed listlessly at his prosthetic.
"Yup. It's gone. But let me tell you, Kankuro, Temari's brother, is making these arms and legs. They're really cool." Naruto said with an excitement that only he would be able to create
"Legs?" Ino asked.
"Yeah." Naruto said whilst nervously rubbing the back of his head. "Temari got her leg cut off."
"Holy shit!" Kiba said a little too loudly. "You actually got your fucking arm cut off? How can you be so cool with this?"
Naruto hummed an affirmative. "It was kinda… jarring, at first I guess. But let me tell you, these arms are just so cool."
"That's not the point! How did you get your arm cut off?"
"Well, the Daimyo threw this ball and we were invited. The akatsuki showed up to capture the fourth Mizukage, so we had to try and stop them. Things happened, then I woke up in the hospital minus an arm."
"W-Why would you try and save the fourth Mizukage? He was evil."
"Well yeah, but he was a Jinchuuriki. We had to help him. Anyway, it doesn't really matter anymore. We can't engage the akatsuki until granny tells us we can. I guess it kinda makes sense considering..." He began moving his arm around.
Ino cupped a hand around her mouth. "I can't… I can't believe this. You got dismembered! Everyone's going to be devastated when they hear about this."
"I guess that it was kind of painful, but why is everyone going to be devastated?"
Kiba began rubbing his temples. "Because you can't go back to active duty if you get dismembered. It's part of the Konoha Shinobi Rules of Conduct. You're not allowed to be a ninja anymore!"
Naruto began moving and flexing his prosthetic experimentally. "Somehow I think I'm going to be exempt from that ruling. Anyway, why are you guys so serious? It's a party!" Naruto said enthusiastically. "It's kind of a dry party, but we should be celebrating. It's Mei's big day."
Kiba cracked a grin. "Only you, Naruto." He said vaguely. "You're right. This is a party, but what should we do?"
Naruto began checking all around himself at the various clan heads. "When you look around here, what do you see?"
Ino looked around as well. "I don't know, clan heads?"
"Only partially right. I see a large group of stuffy, unexcited, boring people who could use something to lighten up their day."
Kiba smiling, catching his drift. "What do you propose we do to rectify that?"
Naruto reached into his tuxedo and grabbed a ninja pouch full of goodies. "I propose we do what we do best. Is Akamaru with you?" a dog head popped out of Kiba's jacket, confirming Naruto's question. "Good, we're going to need him."
Ino pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "Why do boys have to be like this?"
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Mei continued smiling at the man in front of her. He appeared to be the last of the clan heads, as there were no more people lining up behind him. He had rather handsome features, light blond hair, a dark green suit/tuxedo, a dazzling smile. Things that would be considered very sought out for in the realm of prospective suitors.
"You know, I was very surprised to find out that our new Mizukage was such an attractive woman."
"Oh stop it. I'm not that attractive, Mr… I seem to have forgotten your name, would you please enlighten me?"
"Oh, I'm Henso Kira of the Henso clan. It's a rather small clan, but we have a unique ability to our name."
"Oh?" Now this piqued her interest, being a natural bloodline user herself. "Is this a kekai genkai?"
"Of a sorts. We have the ability to put people under genjutsu merely through touch. Nothing like the Sharingan, or lava release, but we manage with it well."
"Well I only hope that I'll be able to lead you and your clan well Henso-san."
"Oh please, call me Kira-san."
Mei looked at him with a prolonged stare. "…Okay Kira-san." The Naruto clone looked at their interaction with a little bit unsureness, but didn't speak up.
"This 'party' really is so dull. If you would, I'd like to lighten it up with you. Can I have a dance perhaps?" He offered her his hand. There was a glove covering it and the other hand, probably to make people less afraid of him and his powers.
Mei stared at the hand with a slightly conflicted expression on her face. The Naruto clone nudged her elbow. "Go on, it's fine." He said with a grin.
After a little bit more thought, she took a hold of the hand offered to her. "I think I would enjoy a dance."
"Great." He made a motion to the band off in the corner to start playing something more exciting than cool jazz. They hurriedly began fiddling with their instruments and took out different ones capable of higher beats and tempos. As soon as they began playing, Mei and Kira took to a small opening in the crowd and began dancing at a medium fast pace.
The crowd around them awed at their dance and some hurried off to find partners of their own. The Naruto clone poofed away into nonexistence. People of all ages and sizes began meeting up in the impromptu dance floor and started to dance in a slightly unchoreographed matter.
"So." Kira said as he Mei danced away. "I wouldn't have thought that such a beautiful woman would offer herself for an arranged marriage. What took a hold of you to do so?" He asked amiably.
"Well, there was a treaty that was bringing the other four nations together and I saw a chance to bring the rebels, and after that hopefully Kirigakure, into relations with it."
"Is that the only reason why you wanted to arrange your marriage?"
"Well, it would be a lie to say that I wasn't feeling slightly… uncomfortable with my love life at the time. To me, I was hitting two birds with one stone." Why was she telling him this? These were extremely personal thoughts that she hadn't even shared with Ao, or Naruto. Why was she telling him?
"Did you know that he was a child?"
"It had been mentioned, yes."
"You were really so desperate for marriage that you willingly married a child?" God, his smiling was starting to become caustic. How she wanted to smack that smirk off his face for his impetuousness, but for some reason she couldn't.
"…Yes, I suppose you could say that."
"Do you love him?"
"…No."
"If you had the chance to do it over, would you be willingly to enter an alliance with someone like… me? For example." He looked so smug and self-righteous. Why was she still dancing with him? The only thing she wanted to do was to stop and take a seat by her table once more, but her legs and arms and body wouldn't let her do so. Was he pulling a genjutsu on her? They weren't making physical contact, not with his skin at least… Oh wait, he never specified it had to be with skin. She just assumed that to be so because he didn't have any skin showing other than from the neck upwards. Something that someone who had a power to control people via skin would have if he or she would go to a fancy event.
He grabbed her hand harder and pulled her by the waist until she was pressed up to him. The want to protest and get away from him slowly faded away. Why was it that she wanted to leave again? There was such a charming, handsome, man in front of her, gracing her with his presence. His smile made her want to do nothing other than stay with him for the rest of eternity.
"You'll end your marriage with this child, won't you?" Kira asked seductively.
Mei nodded her head with a lack of autonomy that only the brainwashed possessed.
"You'll stay in the treaty because of the unreasonableness that entering it presented you?"
Mei nodded.
"You'll marry someone more… efficient, more… handsome, more… deserving?" He asked with a venomous grin on his face.
Mei nodded.
"Well that's… fantastic." He leaned forward and brought her closer to his body. For some reason, there a little bit of resistance in her neck. It pulled back instinctually from his head. Damn it, was there something wrong with the genjutsu? This was his only chance to heighten the political status of the Henso clan and he wasn't going to let it go to waste.
He leaned closer in to her face for a kiss. It was a secret technique known only to the Henso clan that he was using. By getting a part of their body into someone else, they had the ability control them fully via their genjutsu without the need for contact. In war, it was customary for it to be blood, however now that the war was over, using saliva would work just as well.
If only she would come forward of her own volition. His genjutsu to muddle her senses and cloud her mind should be working. Why was she resisting?
"N-No." She stuttered out, eyes still half-lidded and clouded over. Well she was a kage level shinobi. Perhaps it was foolish to think that his genjutsu would work the exact same on her with everyone else. Still, the only thing she was able to do was pull away slightly and vocalize her concerns very softly. He still had the upper hand by miles and miles.
"Yes." He whispered into her ear. Kira came closer and closer to her face, ever so tantalizingly close to her lips. He was doing this for the sake of his clan first and foremost, but she was extraordinarily attractive, which only heightened his want to go through with brainwashing her fully. It would be good to have a very attractive, very powerful, and very strong slave to protect him. Yes, the Henso clan would benefit from this greatly, and so would he.
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Naruto smirked at the motley crew in front of him. Shikamaru had his patented look of boredom down to a tee, but there was an air about him that spoke of excitement. Chouji's hand was reaching ever so closer to a tray of goodies in his hand, but a stern look from Naruto paused it mid-swipe. This operation required silence from all of them. Hinata was behind them with a light smile on her face. Naruto thought that their meeting up would be an awkward ordeal, but she seems to have put the entire thing behind her. Not only that, but she was different from Naruto remembered of her. Surer of her movements, less inclined to flub her speaking, more confident in manner, things that constituted a definite lack of meekness or shyness. Next to her side was a slightly irate Neji. The only reason he came along with them was because Hinata wanted to and he made a promise to Hiashi to keep her safe.
"Does everyone know the plan?" Naruto whispered, hefting a spherical balloon. Kiba was by his side, holding Akamaru lengthwise. Once he got nods from everyone, he pointed upwards to the ceiling and diagonally towards the band. Chouji, Shikamaru, and Ino took to the ceiling, each holding on to several balloons. Kiba, Neji, and Hinata all headed off to the band section.
The meeting of the genin had been less than orthodox, what with Naruto immediately trying to recruit them for a sudden prank, but it was no less heartfelt and sincere in Naruto's own way.
Naruto smirked. It was nice having friends to spice up a boring party.
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Kira started away from Mei suddenly. There was a loud cacophonous sound coming from the band section, which interrupted him going in for the kiss. Everyone around him stopped dancing suddenly as the sounds assaulted their ears. 'What's going on?'
A kid appeared in the middle of the floor. His blonde hair was slicked back and he had a mischievous smirk upon his face. Wait a minute… that was the kid that Mei was married to. Uzumaki Naruto. What was he doing?
"Hello ladies and gentleman!" he shouted out, apparently he hadn't taken notice of Kira and Mei in a tight embrace as of yet. "I'm not sure if you've noticed it yet, but this party is really really boring. So me and the boys are going to lighten it up." He put his hands in a cross seal and 4 more copies of him popped behind him.
The noise from the band section turned into a slightly jaunty tune, imperfect and slightly irritating, but it had a rhythm at least. Naruto and the clones began doing a choreographed dance to the tune of the music. Every so often a balloon would fall on them, exploding and covering them and nearby audience in a neon paint. It drew laughs from the audience and cheering erupted.
Kira looked back at Mei, not noticing how she had gotten access of her hands back. They were signing rapidly from behind his back. He leaned in for the kiss, quicker this time. From her mouth, a sludgy grey liquid burst from her lips and hit Kira directly in the face. The force from the liquid spewing from her mouth forced him back and into Naruto's little performance. The band stopped playing and three little genin fell from the ceiling onto their feet. Everyone stopped and stared at the man struggling through quick drying cement. Through coughing and puking, he managed to clear his airway before the cement set in. Soon enough, he turned into a fixture of the floor.
Mei was breathing heavily and had a wild look in her eyes. "Party's over." She whispered. Although the hall was jam-packed with people, her voice was completely audible through the deafening silence.
A small white dog ran into the small opening of people crowded around the newly made cement fixture. In its jaws was a small purple baton. It looked questioningly at Kiba, who shrugged in return.
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Several hours later.
Naruto, Mei, and the clan heads were escorted away from the hall into different areas for questioning. Although Naruto was released after only minutes, he hadn't been able to talk with his friends, Tsunade, or Mei. With nothing left to do, he was walked down to the kage mansion where he stayed until Mei arrived. Luckily, he still had the books that Fu gave him, so he was far from bored. That being said, it was difficult for him to read with the worry that he had for Mei and the confusion of the whole situation.
It was properly dark by the time that Mei arrived back at the mansion. As soon as the door shut, she let the façade of the unbreakable leader crumble and fall away. Her shoulders slumped, she sighed in exhaustion, and began walking slowly to the bed where Naruto was situated at. "Hey Mei." Naruto greeted with a nervous smile.
She loosened the robes on her body and let them fall downward. Underneath, she still had on her blue dress, which she undid with a little bit of difficulty. Tossing that away and flipping the hat off her head, she fell in bed, next to Naruto. At the moment, she was only wearing the mesh underclothes of her outfit. "Tired?" He asked.
She grunted an affirmative and crawled under the covers. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" He asked lightly, afraid of causing her exasperation.
She wrapped her arms around him and pulled them both into sitting position with Naruto on her lap. He blushed a little bit, but allowed it anyway. She sighed explosively and snuggled Naruto closer to her body. "Being a kage is going to be hard." She said simply. Naruto didn't comment, letting her continue. "I was almost just brainwashed into being a slave."
"What!?" Naruto exclaimed. "That's what happened!?"
Mei hummed an affirmative. "It's a good thing you were there doing what you did, else he might have accomplished his goal."
"Holy- I mean… I didn't." Naruto didn't know what to say at the moment.
"You don't have to worry, he's gone now. Maximum lock up I think they told me. Anyway, he had the power to control people with genjutsu using only touch. When he offered me a dance, he started putting subtle genjutsu's on my mind. You arrived, did your dancing thing, then I did my quicklime thing, then I had to go to so many meetings and conferences on the subject of things like security, and responsibility, and blah blah blah."
"You sound really unaffected by this. Are you okay?"
"I'm extremely distressed right now, but my tiredness is kind of overtaking that portion of my thinking right now. So do you mind if I go to sleep?"
"Err... yeah, sure."
She laid down fully without letting Naruto go from her grasp. She didn't know why, but having him by her side was really comforting at that point. "Oh, before I go to sleep, I have to ask you something." She said.
"Okay, what is it?"
"Do you love me?"
Naruto's eyes shot open in surprise. "I-I… I don't…"
"It's okay if you don't." She said. "I'm just curious is all."
Naruto fell silent long enough for Mei's eyelids to seriously droop. "I think." Naruto started out, surprising Mei from her almost slumber. "That you're kinda like a mom."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. You make me lunch, you wash me, you ask me how my day was, you comfort me when I'm down. You're kinda like a mom, or at least how I think that having a mom is like." Naruto said the last part silently.
She playfully pinched his cheek. "Awww. Does my little baby have a mommy complex?"
Naruto batted away at the hand half-heartedly with a big blush on his face. "No." He said petulantly.
Mei giggled a little bit. "You know I'm only teasing."
"Yeah, I do… can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Do you love me?"
She resumed pinching his cheek. "Of course I love my husband with the mommy complex."
Naruto laughed at the absurdity of the situation. "Oh come on, be serious."
"…Yeah, I think I do love you."
Naruto's eyes widened. Whatever he was expecting to hear, that was not it. "R-Really?" he asked very nervously.
"Not in that way, my little baby. Kind of like how a cat loves her kittens. They always scramble away towards danger and she has to go and save them, but no matter what, she has to love them. Because she's her, and they're them."
"Sounds like someone has a baby complex." Naruto said mischievously, only to get more pinches on the cheek.
"Oh, and what if I do?" She breathed huskily onto his neck.
"Then I think I should tell granny." Naruto said, knowing that she was only joking like always.
"My husband is such a tease."
"Your husband is a minor."
"Well I think it's a perfect match. A baby with a mommy complex and a mommy with a baby complex. What do you think?"
"I think that you should get some sleep. You're acting a little loopy."
She sighed in comfort onto his neck. "I guess I am. Good night then, my little baby."
"Night mom." He earned a light smack for that remark.
As Mei settled in for the night once and for all, she couldn't help but reflect on the 'conversation' that she and Kira had. When she first heard about the whole alliance thing going on, she immediately brought herself forward. After all, in the contract were children of kage and Jinchuuriki. There was no way that she could marry off one of her subordinates, no that wouldn't do, not important enough. So she put herself through.
It was embarrassing to admit out loud, but she really was horribly upset with her love life at the time of entering the contract. Every guy that she met either wanted to get into her pants and nothing else, or get into a relationship purely for the fact that they would be in a relationship with the leader of the rebellion and thusly given more power by reputation. By her perspective, there wasn't a single chivalrous male left in the world. Signing that arranged marriage document was her way of giving up on romance forever.
She was now married to Uzumaki Naruto, chunin of the Hidden Leaf. Stuck to him because she had lost faith in mankind, well more like mankind. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He treated her normally. Although she didn't have much experience with being a mother, she'd seen more than a few mother-son interactions from her years as the leader of the rebellion. Their interactions certainly (kind of) fit the bill for how they acted normally together.
Mei gently stroked the whisker marks on Naruto's face. He really was so adorable when he slept. Perhaps there was faith to be placed in mankind. Perhaps there was room for romance. Although if room could potentially develop, she'd have to wait at least 2 or 3 more years. When he'd gone through puberty and his brain finally finished developing.
What the heck. She'd waited this long for love, she could wait a few more years if she had to.
Mei lightly kissed Naruto's cheek. "Good night Naruto." She said softly, mostly to herself.
"Good night Mei." He replied sleepily.
AN/ gentleman here. How's it going?
By the fact that I have actually updated the story, I'm sure you can imagine my decision on whether or not to continue the story.
You have all given me such great feedback on my story. From giving me hard yesses on continuing it, to hard yesses on starting it over, all the way to doing a rewrite and continuing this one at the same time.
Well I'm definitely not doing the last one. Keeping up two stories is difficult enough, not counting the fact that another story would be a rewrite of the first.
So this is what I'm doing. I'm going to continue this story, heavily update the beginning chapters (apparently I need to work on to process of editing as well as narrative works), and if I feel like it would be worth it, go back and make another one once this one is over.
Fair enough? I think so.
Again, I can't thank you enough for all your feedback. When I got the notifications that so many people had given me such detailed support, I couldn't believe it. Thank you all so much.
Have a gentlemanly day.
