Shadows of Konoha Chapter 36: Lesson Thirty Six, a naruto fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Lesson Thirty-Six

The Perfect Storm

"Are you going to go back to your girlfriend after the war?"

Konohamaru peeked out from under the covers at the pearlescent alarm clock ticking on the dresser. The time ticked onto four stars. The sun wasn't even up yet. In an annoyed grumble, Konohamaru said from underneath the monkey printed covers, "I didn't think you thought of this as more than a fling,"

"I don't," Hanabi corrected. She lay on the other side of the bed and stared at the vibrant posters plastered onto the ceiling. Even though there was a chill in the room, she didn't expend the energy to wrestle the covers wrapped around Konohamaru. Her bra was somewhere on the floor and the chill seeped into her skin to the rim of her boy-short underwear.

"For people like my father, the war never left him. Is it possible to really go on with our lives as if the war never happened?"

"We have to win the war first," Konohamaru replied a tad sarcastic, but felt he was entitled to it for being disturbed early in the morning.

"Doesn't peace ever scare you? Peace means we have to face the horrifying truth that we can't put things back together the way they were before."

"It only matters if we live long enough." Ever since Udon's death, for Konohamaru, it has been one breath at a time. He tucked the covers over his head, determined to go back to sleep and ignore the emotionally disturbed woman he decided to bring to his bed. He was typically better at picking women.

"Go to sleep."

"I can't."

Konohamaru grumbled as he reached his hand from the covers and fished around atop the bookcase nailed above their heads that held an impressive manga collection. He threw a book into her lap, hoping it would keep her quiet enough for him to sleep.

"What is this?" Hanabi asked as she inspected the item Konohamaru gave to her.

"The first volume of my favorite manga series. The main character transforms into a giant monkey at a full moon."

"Is it some sort of jutsu?"

"No, he's an alien," Konohamaru said obviously.

Hanabi flipped through the pages. A Hyūga didn't read manga. It wasn't informative or instructive at all. It was childish and Hanabi had spent all her life proving she wasn't. She turned to the first page and tried to figure out the point of the black and white images. "This looks stupid."

Konohamaru felt the futon shift when Hanabi left the bed. Her bare feet thudded against the wood. He heard her shuffling through the bags she had placed on the worn monkey-shaped beanie bag he refused to throw out.

He knew what she was looking for. With a concerted effort, Konohamaru emerged from the covers into a sitting position. The curved line of her back straightened. She stared at the pipe she finally procured in her hand.

"Hanabi, you've been clean for two weeks."

His words grazed deeper into Hanabi's skin than the chill. It sunk into her pours like a judgment and she wanted to scratch it out. She turned with nails in her voice. "Why are you so fucking together?! Isn't it tearing you up inside? Isn't the pain so unbearable that you would do anything to escape it? Why doesn't it hurt you?!"

"Because I know that drugs, sex, alcohol, or my guilt can't bring Udon back to life. I was taught to carry my choices like I carry my hitai-ite."

Hanabi sharply turned and the two shinobi dwelled in the silence of the early morning. Finally Hanabi returned to bed. She didn't hate Konohamaru, merely frustrated by her own limitations. "If you can do it why can't it?"

Hanabi lit a match underneath the pipe. There were times when the withdrawal hit harder than the pain. Hanabi acknowledged the truth as she brought the pipe to her lips, "I can do better."

"You have a mission in a few hours," Konohamaru stated.

"It's just a stupid escort mission. I don't-" Hanabi attention was distracted when Konohamaru pushed his hand up her thigh. "Are we really doing this again?"

"You woke me up," Konohamaru said flatly. He snatched the pipe from her lips and flicked it to the ground. Her shorts soon shared the same fate. Hanabi turned and stared at the path of her pipe with a forlorn expression. It was like an itch that needed to be scratched.

Konohamaru hiked up her hips. Hanabi grunted when he thrust inside of her. There was no kissing or cuddling. That would make this more than what they wanted. Denied of her drugs, she clashed against his hipbones in frustration. Konohamaru didn't hesitate to match her pace and fervor.

The hands of the clock ticked by.

Konohamaru came into her heat and melted on top as a weightless wave of contentment. After a few seconds of rapid heartbeats and faded adrenaline, Konohamaru opened his eyes to the shape of her lips.

Hanabi's thoughts snapped to the present when she felt the curiosity of his lips. The touch sent a jolt to her chest. Hanabi grasped the long locks of his un-gelled hair and replied with a curious exploration of her own. It was the only part of each other's body they hadn't explored yet.

Hanabi licked her lips when Konohamaru pulled away. Their eyes met. "You can do better," Konohamaru whispered. Then he turned over and pulled the covers over his head.

"I haven't told Moegi about Udon. I've tried, but I can't. I'm afraid of looking her in the eye and not knowing what I'm going to find.

I don't think I'm going back to Moegi after the war."

The road back to Demon Country was a long one.

Junna has served Shion since they were children and knew the prolonged silence within the palanquin was not normal. Shion kept a forlorn expression pinned to the window as the village receded behind the leaves. Shion's thoughts were in another time, another place.

"He was a jerk anyways," Junna attempted. "I've been thinking," Junna leaned forward and whispered, never too careful in the company of ninjas, "we should tell the ministers what he did to you."

Behind a blink, Shion's emerald eyes snapped back to the present. "He didn't rape me."

"Yes, he did." Junna insisted. "He took advantage of you. You are a priestess. You were innocent. You didn't know what you were doing. We will tell the ministers what he did to you and we will seek revenge against Konoha."

"No. What would a priestess do with revenge? I simply wanted to be loved and I take full responsibility for my naivety."

"But what are you going to do?" Junna insisted. "You can't continue your duties now that you've been… tainted."

"Kami-sama has already decided my fate," Shion said resigned and turned back toward the window to stare at the shadows.

The palanquin was handled delicately as the party winded down the road. Junna could begin to feel the cramps in her leg as the midday sun grew bloated in the sky. She rocked to the jostling of every bump and pothole. There was a persistent chill in the air that threatened to invade the fur protecting their shoulders. Like a hound trained to notice any signs of distress, Junna immediately noticed when Shion pressed the back of her hand to her forehead.

"Mistress, are you alright?"

Shion smiled weakly, "I think it might be a little motion sickness."

Junna stuck her head out of the palanquin and yelled for the entire train to stop. Everyone bowled over each other as they planted their feet to the ground. Shion's bodyguard, Kentaro rushed over and thrust the palanquin doors open in concern. "Priestess, are you alright?"

"We just need to stop a little while. The motion is making her sick," Junna reported. Shion felt embarrassed that everyone had to stop at one small sign of weakness but she was relieved to stretch out her legs. When she stepped out of the palanquin, the warmer temperature of Konoha had disappeared down the road behind them. The chill had become a gripping cold. Shion shivered once and the servants were falling over themselves to make her a fire.

One of her servants bent to his knee and offered freshly collected water. The cool water soothed her throat. The water almost spilled down her neck when an ANBU suddenly appeared.

Kentaro stepped in front and asked annoyed, "What do you want?"

Shion had to admit the masks unsettled her. She wondered if the things they did were so horrible that the shame required them to hide their faces. Their presence was supposed to protect her but unnerved Shion more than anything else.

"How long will we be stopped?" The blank Crane mask asked.

"Our priestess is in weak health and we will be stopped as long as she needs to be," Kentaro said grumpily.

Shion placed a hand on her bodyguard's arm and addressed the ANBU with all the strength she could muster, which amounted to nothing but a trembling voice. "Allow me to eat and I will be well enough to travel again. I apologize if this has caused you any inconvenience."

The blank Crane mask disappeared.

Rumors said that ANBU were cold blooded killers, murderers, and their souls irredeemable. And yet, the grace of a crane haunted her visions. Her thoughts were occupied with the growing guilt as Shion sat down to enjoy the fresh air filling into her lungs. Suddenly the clouds in the sky began to darken. Shion's eyes lit in recognition and said ominously, "It's going to rain."

Junna was well-acquainted with that tone in her voice. "A vision?"

The dice were cast, and now that they were rolling, she was powerless to what numbers would land. Shion couldn't stop it anymore.

"TRAP!" Crane yelled at the sight of chakra heavy in the clouds. She instantly radioed her team who she had spread around their escort. "Falcon, send a message to the Hokage requesting reinforcements. The rest will engage the enemy while I get the priestess to safety. Remember, her safety is our number one priority."

Crane's byakugan spotted the four ninja that descended like heavy raindrops to the ground. Her team raced to engage the enemy falling down upon them. Crane didn't waste any time reaching the priestess. "Priestess, I must get you to safety."

"They're not here for me," Shion whispered. Shion turned to her best friend. "Get to safety. Run."

"But what about you?" Junna asked.

Crane didn't have time for all this sentimentally. She roughly snatched the priestess from the ground and threw the woman over her shoulder.

"The message has been sent to Konoha," One of Crane's team reported into her ear.

Over her shoulder Crane carried the priestess from branch to branch back towards Konoha. With her byakugan activated she saw her team engaged in a fight with the enemy ninja. Crane personally wanted to stay behind and fight, but she was the squad leader and it was her responsibility to assure the success of the mission and that success depended on the security of the priestess.

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

"What?" Crane replied to the idiotic question of the priestess. The rain cloud from earlier was following them and Crane couldn't outrun it. It began to drizzle, then rain, and then downpour.

"Is there anything you would like to confess?"

"Would you shut up?" Crane snapped as she raced through the shower of rain. A flash of lightning blinded their vision. Shion screamed and clung more tightly around Crane's neck while Crane somersaulted to the next branch, barely avoiding the smoky ruin of the branch they had left.

Crane realized she couldn't outrun it and finally sat the priestess down. The priestess looked up at the kunoichi that protected her. Shion had to at least try to redeem her soul. "Is there anything you want to ask kami-sama to forgive?"

Crane answered while performing a flurry of hand seals, "Shut up."

A jet of water exploded from Crane's hands. It grew larger and larger as it collected raindrops toward the looming cloud. The cloud dispersed before Crane's jutsu could reach it, but revealed the manipulator of the storm. A ninja dropped from the sky and caught himself on a branch. Three lines were etched into a white mask.

Crane didn't care if they were allies. Cloud had initiated the attack. She would ask questions after she kicked his ass.

Crane's series of hand-seals were interrupted when the rain that drenched her clothing came alive like tiny insects biting tiny jolts of lightning into her flesh. The lightning bore into her skin, burrowed into her bones, and crawled toward her organs. Crane's muscles twitched before the paralysis deadened her legs. She fell and hit her head on the tree branch.

She was caught by the collar of her flak jacket. It was a jutsu created to kill but it let up at the last minute before the shock attacked her heart. The weight of her unconsciousness was light, easy enough for the Cloud ninja to pull her up.

Shion gasped. "You weren't supposed to hurt her."

The ANBU ignored the priestess' idiotic words. It was impossible to capture a ninja without hurting them. The ANBU pulled the mask from Crane's face. He smirked at the unmistakable Hyūga features and the prize she held in her irises. He heaved Hanabi over his shoulder.

"I don't know how Demon Country benefits from this, but the Raikage sends his regards. Thanks for the tip."

Kami-sama required a sacrifice.

"I completely understand why you hate paperwork so much," Naruto mumbled as he stamped Tsunade's name onto the report. "It's both necessary and pointless."

Tsunade finally had time to enjoy a cup of sake with the help of five Naruto clones all set to complete the paperwork that that had piled around the office.

Naruto didn't mind helping to take a load of stress from her shoulders nor did he mind digging through the information that funneled through the Hokage's paperwork. A shadow clone asked from the corner of the room who noticed a reroute of supplies toward the Eastern front. "How are we going to approach Kiri?"

"I want to take advantage of the opportunity that has opened while their spy networks are in scrambles since we destroyed their entire intelligence division. I've sent word to Kakashi and Shikamaru to prepare for battle. If the weather is right, we should be engaging on the battlefield with Kiri by the end of the week."

Tsunade poured herself another shot.

"You should lessen your alcohol intake," Naruto said casually, as if he was commenting on the weather outside.

Tsunade scoffed. She figured Naruto would get into her medical records soon enough. "I'm alive."

"You're old," Naruto said without meaning disrespect.

Tsunade leaned back into her chair and blatantly consumed the bitter shot in one gulp. It eased the headaches the stress of the job frequently caused. "I'll listen to your concern when I finally have a successor."

"Konohamaru is growing up nicely," Naruto pointed out. "Or even Sakura, if she's up to it."

Tsunade's eyes caught the path of a bird approaching the Hokage tower. It slowly came into focus against a cloudy sky.

"That's a summoning bird." Naruto noticed as the bird increasingly came into view. "It's a summon from the ANBU sent on the Demon Country escort."

A shadow clone stood up.

"Sit down," Tsunade ordered and reprimanded, "Don't waste the seconds."

Tsunade leaned in her chair and took in the wonderful sound of an office devoid of paperwork and commotion. The sake stung her throat and flowed through her veins as the summon disappeared into the rookery. She let her limbs feel nothing but gravity weighing on them.

A knock came at the door.

Tsunade removed her feet from the table, reached behind her, slipped her arms within the Kage's cloak, and placed the hat atop her head. She placed the sake into her drawer for another time.

"Now you can get the door."

Naruto landed at the scene of the ambush with a grim expression. He had sent members of his own team on this mission.

He couldn't walk a few feet without stepping into a puddle or over a corpse. The scent of blood clogged his nostrils. The palanquin was overturned and had crushed several servants underneath it. Shion's bodyguard was dead. Shion's best friend was dead. Three of his ANBU were dead.

Naruto swiveled around and focused on a body that wasn't Leaf. He overturned the carcass with his foot and revealed the hitai-ite of three Lightning strikes. A menacing hiss left Naruto's lips. Naruto was going to have answers for his dead even if he had to demand them from the Raikage himself.

Naruto entered sage mode and scanned the area for any survivors. He could feel the chakra signatures of a few servants who had escaped and were lost throughout the forest. Shion wasn't in the vicinity. He walked over to the palanquin and took a slow smell of the scent inside.

Naruto knew he had to find the priestess or face the real possibility with an added war against Demon Country. He followed Shion's distinct scent into the forest until it was covered by the overwhelming smell of rain. He spotted a scuffed branch, no doubt made by a ninja's boot, and followed the trail through the forest.

Naruto heard her tears long before he found her huddled against a tree trunk within the cold and damp furs of her coat. Naruto landed gently so as not to startle her. Shion looked up with blue congested in her nose and cheeks. The sight of her tears caused an uncomfortable sense of failure. Naruto crouched and pressed the warmth of his hand against her chilled cheek. He spoke to her gently, as if speaking to a helpless babe. "Are you okay? Are you wounded?"

Shion didn't know if her soul counted. Shion numbly lifted herself into the arms of the man that would protect her forever. "We must hurry and save my servants."

"Shion," Naruto said as he scooped her into his arms. It was like carrying snow. "You need to get to a hospital."

"No, my servants have served me since I was a child. I can't leave them, they're family."

He couldn't tell her that they were dead. Naruto feared the truth would literally break her. Despite her protests, Naruto tucked her into his chest and used a hiraishin kunai connected to Konoha's hospital. Naruto immediately called for a nurse and stretcher.

Naruto slipped her onto the stretcher but her hand was frozen to his shirt.

"They took her," Shion whispered with tears glistening down her cheeks.

Naruto frowned in confusion. "They weren't after you?"

Naruto watched her figure fade down the hall as the nurses rushed her to a room. If Shion hadn't been the primary target what was?

The answer immediately hit him. There was one body he didn't find. His anger physically manifested in boiling red chakra that seeped from his pores.

Konoha could not afford a fucking war with Lightning.

"Its bad news," The Hokage resigned herself when Naruto re-entered her office. "Did we lose the priestess?"

"Worse. I've delivered Shion to the hospital but she wasn't the target of the ambush. Lightning was after the byakugan." Naruto cursed. "I don't know how they knew she was on that mission." Where there spies in his ANBU unit? How could covert communication with Lightning have passed underneath his radar?

Tsunade could follow where his mind was going. "We will deal with spies later. Right now we have more pressing matters to attend to." Tsunade pressed a button on her desk and Captain Cat entered the office.

Naruto watched as the Hokage wrote a letter and handed it to the Captain. Captain Cat nodded slightly and then disappeared as fast as he came.

"What do you not want me to know?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

Tsunade sighed at Naruto's astuteness. He knew she could have simply told Captain Cat what she wanted. "We don't have a choice but to wait until Lightning sends their demands. We can't afford a war."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "You're planning on letting them have Hanabi."

"What other choice do I have?" Tsunade questioned.

"Let me put a team together, go into Lightning, and get Hanabi out."

"That route takes time to gather information and to plan properly. We only have a small window of opportunity and right now I need you focused on the eastern front against Kiri."

"I know kumogakure well enough. I can do this. Let me try."

"Then I suggest defeating Kiri first and then we'll talk about Hanabi." Naruto knew a command from the Hokage when he heard one. He had no choice but to try a different angle.

"The Hyūgas are never going to agree to this."

The Hokage said rather confidently, "which is why the Hyūgas will never find out."

That statement almost made Naruto laugh. "You cannot comprehend how many eyes the Hyūga clan has on this office and in ANBU. It's only a matter of time before," Naruto stopped. "What did you tell Cat?"

Tsunade looked Naruto in the eye and dared him to challenge her. "Naruto, you understand that we do not have the means to fight both Kiri and Lightning, much less try to hold Mountain and Ame in check? You and I both know that the Hyūga will not, under any circumstances, allow Lightning to acquire the Byakugan. Until the matter is solved, Hinata will be placed under supervision."

"You're locking her up," Naruto said flatly.

"Essentially," The Hokage admitted.

"Let me do it." Naruto understood the consequences and understood how dangerous Hinata could be when she perceived her family was in danger.

"You're too close to her. I fear your emotions will cloud your judgment."

Naruto crossed his arms. "I'm ANBU. I can separate my emotions from a mission."

"Captain Cat will handle it."

Naruto leaned forward onto the Hokage's desk in order to emphasize, "Hinata is with me right now. Cat is going the wrong direction. If you want to make sure she doesn't escape, give me the order."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes to the points of kunai. "Do not, under any circumstances, let her get away. Be careful, she is one of the best manipulators in Konoha."

The shadow clone scoffed before he disappeared, "I know."

Hinata instructed the Hyūga children in their calligraphy lessons. All children sat under one roof and threw themselves into their studies, eagerly trying to be perfect, eagerly trying to earn her attention and earn her smile.

"Excuse me," Hinata said gently and bid the children to continue their lessons. The moment she stepped out of the classroom, the children activated their byakugan in unabashed curiosity. Hinata stepped into the hallway where the white ANBU mask of Sloth waited for her. He was still banished from the clan. He wouldn't show in the compound unless he had something Hinata wanted.

"What happened?" Hinata questioned.

Sloth stepped forward and invaded too close Hinata's personal space. There was a sleazy smirk behind his voice. "Nothing is for free princess."

Hinata stepped back and slipped out of the corner Sloth attempted to create. She casually avoided the hand that had reached out to grope her breast. She fixed Sloth a cold expression and the killer intent forced him to step away. "I did not give you permission to touch me."

Sloth was stung by the reminder in status. "You never repaid me for the lightning I taught you. I want everything you promised me, whore."

Sloth collapsed to his knees when the seal atop his forehead glowed with fire. He writhed on the ground in agony. Sloth focused on Hinata's feet when she finally relieved him of his pain. "Of course nothing is for free. I am willing to exchange your life for whatever information you have."

Sloth's shoulders bowed and kept his forehead to the ground in deep apology. "I beg your forgiveness Onee-sama. Lightning has captured Hanabi on her last mission."

Footsteps scurried through the hall. Hinata turned her attention when a niece stopped and bowed. "Captain Cat is at the gate. The Hokage requests to see you immediately."

Hinata gave a soft smile, "Tell the Captain I cannot currently attend him at the moment as I am in the bath but I promise to receive him soon."

The messenger bowed and rushed to relay the words.

Hinata reached into the front of her yukata and pulled a scroll from the center of her breasts. She wiped her blood along the paper. Within a cloud of smoke, a large snake appeared in the hallway.

"Please tell Neji what is happening," Hinata said gently.

"What do I get in return?" Sloth demanded.

Hinata's gentleness disappeared. "That wasn't a request."

The snake sprung forward, swallowed Sloth into its jaw, and disappeared deep into the ground. "And if you don't finish your calligraphy a giant snake will come to swallow you too."

The children all rushed back to their lessons.

The room smelled of the fresh flowers that decorated the room.

Captain Cat stared at the untouched tea that sat atop the table in front of him. He contemplated what course of action he should take. He wanted to go digging into the heads of the Hyūga Clan to see if the Clan Head suspected anything, but he was probably being watched and a perceptive byakugan would catch the shift in his chakra if he went mind-jumping.

The Captain looked up when Hinata entered the room. She was fresh-face and smelled as if she had just left a bath. "I apologize for the delay," Hinata bowed deeply. "I understand the Hokage wishes to meet with me?"

"She does," Cat responded, "but it is a private matter and she does not wish to discuss it at the Tower. I am to escort you to the meeting place."

"Then let us not delay. Let us leave at once."

Cat took a chance and subtly began to probe around in her head. When he entered the contours of her mind, he found a wall of ice blocking his passage to the brain. He swore they trained their ANBU agents too well. It would take several minutes to get around the block unawares.

Captain Cat remained cordial and stood from the floor.

"You did not touch your tea," Hinata noticed when she looked over at the table.

"I apologize for refusing your hospitality. Bad stomach today," Cat replied.

"I was afraid the tea wasn't to your liking." Cat passed in front of her as he exited the room. "Or you assume that I would poison a guest in my own house?"

Cat turned immediately. Before he could blast his will into her consciousness with a force that turned most people into zombies, he swayed past her, lost the concentration he needed for his jutsu, and fell to the floor.

"I didn't touch or drink anything," Captain Cat heaved. He had been careful.

"The flowers do hide the smell wonderfully don't they?" Hinata asked. She kicked the tenketsu point in the back of the neck and knocked him out. Then she stepped out of the room. "Make sure no one goes in that room for the next twenty-four hours."

Auntie nodded. "What about the Captain?"

Hinata handed Auntie a vial that contained the antidote. "Have someone dump him in front of the Hokage's office. Also send the Hokage a bottle of the Hyūga's best sake as an apology for disabling one of her ANBU."

"And Hanabi?"

"I'll handle it. Manage the clan until I return."

Hinata's shadow clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The sun filtered through the canopy of leaves and spotted Naruto's skin. He purred as Hinata combed her fingers through his hair while he rested his head in her lap and overlooked the luscious pond of koi fish and water lilies. It was a calm they both desperately needed.

Naruto smiled up at her. "You're humming."

"I've forgotten the words." Hinata wished she remembered the words her mother used to sing but they were lost to her now.

Naruto reached. She didn't pull away anymore. The corners of her lips hid a cool shade. They breathed into each other mouths, embracing each other's heat for several held moments. He could feel her body tremble in want as his finger trailed over the cloth of her kimono. It had taken time for Naruto to earn the trust of her body. Hinata did not move to stop him when he undid her obi.

They always stopped before it got too far. Although, neither could define the border between too far and enough.

Naruto twisted over, crouched on all fours, and brushed his nose along the edge of her bra. The kisses began down the line of her cleavage, trailed around her belly button, and arrived at the center of her thighs. Naruto thrust his nose into the dampness of her underwater.

Hinata's breath hitched when Naruto licked the lace of her underwear and tasted her want. Naruto purposefully pulled back to look at her. Her thighs quivered in protest of his absence. He casually teased a nail around the lining of her underwear as he said, "I've gotten a lot better since the first time."

Hinata's thoughts flashed back to the first time, in that cave during an ANBU mission. It was such a long time ago.

Hinata lifted her hips. Naruto smirked and slid her underwear down her legs. Naruto kissed her sweet folds and then plunged his tongue into her depths.

"Naruto," she whispered his name but that wasn't good enough for Naruto. He wanted her screaming it. His tongue flicked and twisted and tasted. His mouth sucked and enveloped and breathed himself into her.

Naruto embraced the growing power he held over her as she slipped out of control. Her gasps raced into heavy panting. His hands gripped her bucking hips and tamed them under his strength. She was desperate to reach the finish under his guiding tongue, until he stopped.

"Naruto!" Hinata screamed at him. She needed this release, needed the denied orgasm she hadn't had in years. Naruto gave a mischievous smirk before he dived forward and once again swam in her depths.

Hinata suddenly grabbed the belt along his waist and began to undo it. His tongue was no longer enough, her body needed more. She got far enough to place her hand on his cock before Naruto grabbed her wrist and pinned it above her head. Naruto was surprised to have finally found Hinata's threshold, finally found the line when passion overcame all logic, and reason, and the wedding ring on her finger.

"I need you Naruto," Hinata begged. Her hands cut against the bark and fell past the tree when he applied his fingers and sucked on the sensitive bud of her clitoris. Hinata lurched at the powerful moment of her release, crashing through her like waves shaking her core.

Naruto rose to watch the content expression that came over her eyes and couldn't help but to place a hand on his cock while he did so. He masturbated to the sweat that glistened off her breasts, and the scent of her pussy still on his lips, and the beautiful and raw expression she made when passion overwhelmed her body.

It's been a long time for Hinata. She had forgotten that lustful sensation only born in the depths of her being. She reached down between her legs, smeared her hands with her wetness, and then wrapped her graceful fingers around Naruto's shaft.

He groaned and closed his eyes to the feeling of Hinata jerking him off. There was an intensity her fingers could accomplish that he couldn't do with his own. It felt amazing.

Then unwelcome thoughts exploded through his head.

Naruto eyes snapped open. There was a shift in Hinata's eyes. They both knew, and the knowledge stared at each other. Naruto realized suddenly he could not have found himself in a more vulnerable position. The most vulnerable part of his body had literally been handed to her.

"Hinata, don't you dare," Naruto seethed. Her eyes didn't reveal anything but knew she was considering it. "I won't ever forgive you."

"Yes you will," Hinata said knowingly.

Then she began to pump her hands back up and down his shaft. A groan intruded on the thoughts attempting to calculate an escape. Naruto found himself unable to concentrate. It wasn't the tightness or the warmth she imitated with her hands, but the sadism that caused a hitch in his breath. He was turned on by how close he brushed against the lightning she could summon in her palms. The combination of unpredictability, of pleasure, and even a tint of fear turned him hard as a solid rod.

"What does the Hokage plan to do?" Hinata asked before she ringed the wet warmth of her tongue around his head.

"She," Naruto placed his hands out to support himself. He fell further into her trap as his hips adjusted atop her to give her mouth better access to his dick. Her teeth skimmed the underside of his shaft. "Let Hanabi have Lightning. Prison Put."

"That didn't make sense Naruto, but I get the idea." Hinata taunted as she trailed a forefinger up his thigh. Naruto twitched when it crackle with lightning and trailed a burn toward his hip bone.

His diminishing care for self-destruction became more obvious every time Hinata threatened to but his cock between her teeth. The act was a taunt, but at this point Naruto admitted he was completely at her mercy. Her hands pumped up and down while her tongue curled like that of a snake.

All of his senses narrowed to the furtive touch of her tongue on his tip, the taste of her passion still in his mouth, and the slick of her hands while they pumped up and down. A battle could have been going on in the forest and he would not have known.

Naruto chirped when a kiss of chakra crackled along his dick. The orgasm was so unexpected and powerful, that semen exploded from his body.

Hinata had angled his dick, and the semen shot straight into Naruto's eyes.

He snapped up with a growl. Naruto blinked at the sudden burning and frantically searched the ground. Finally he came across his shirt and furiously wiped at his face. When Naruto opened his eyes, Hinata had searched through his bags, grabbed one of his hiraishin kunai, and disappeared. Naruto was too angry to chase after her in that moment and finished wiping his mess from his face.

"Fucking kunoichi." He knew this was going on the list as one of the most embarrassing experiences of his life.

Naruto collapsed backwards and took a moment wrapped in the quiet of the forest to enjoy the wash of gravity leaving his skin. Anyone with any less chakra control would have easily burned his dick off, but Hinata had forced him into the strongest ejaculation he had ever had in his life. It was blasphemy not to enjoy it while he could.

"Fucking kunoichi," Naruto repeated. Finally he turned over and dumped his bag full of kunai to the ground. He spread them out to determine which one was missing.

If Hinata could play dirty, so could he.

Naruto appeared atop the Shodaime's head at the Valley of the End. He stood still and felt around for Hinata's chakra. He sensed her a few miles off toward the direction of Lightning.

The Kyūbi's chakra erupted around him. His speed caught up with her easily, charged forward into a tackle but she twisted and Naruto was forced to catch himself on all fours. He wasn't surprised. She had from the edge of her byakugan range to prepare for his attack.

Naruto looked up at her and stifled a laugh.

"This isn't a joking matter," Hinata snapped.

Considering Hinata never left the compound with a hair out of place, it was rather hilarious to find her with only her under robe and nothing else to tie around her. Naruto smirked in vindictiveness. "You have a little jizz on your shoulder."

Hinata refused to break eye contact in case he tried to do something. Naruto held out his hands with an offering. It was her underwear and fresh clothing. She stomped forward indignantly and snatched the articles of clothing from his hand. Without ever breaking eye contact, she properly dressed. It was much colder up north and Naruto watched as she covered the cold on her skin.

"If it was Ame or Ichigo what would you do?" She whispered softly.

Naruto knew he would probably bomb Lightning until it didn't exist as a country but that didn't mean that it was the right thing to do, sometimes emotions overwhelmed logic. "I'm hoping you'd be the one in my position, trying to stop me. Charging into Lightning half-dressed isn't going to save Hanabi."

"You approve of letting Lightning rape my sister?"

Naruto gritted his teeth. "She's a kunoichi. She knows the risks of this job. If we go to war with Lightning, you'll lose a lot more than Hanabi. We'll lose Konoha, and your clan," Naruto shrugged his shoulders, "and perhaps each other."

"She's my little sister," Hinata said as tears began to stick to her cheeks. "Do you know how much I have sacrificed for her? Do you know how many people I have killed, fucked, and lied to in order to ensure her happiness? She is everything of me."

"Hinata," Naruto said insistently as he raised his hand to wipe her cheeks. She collapsed and cried into his arms. "I bled for your clan. We have an alliance. I will do everything in my power to get-" A powder suddenly exploded in his face.

Naruto stumbled back as Hinata pulled a kunai from his belt. Real or fake, the tears stopped. Hinata cut through her palm and summoned a snake that towered over Naruto's height. It coiled back, flicked its tail, and Hinata was thrown like a projectile into the air.

Naruto fell over backwards as he clawed at his nose. His senses were all mixed up and nothing would heal the fire in his nostrils. He rolled through the ground in helplessness until he finally disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Hinata landed behind the border of Lightning. She raced forward with calculations in her head until she determined she was close enough to Kumogakure in order to use the hiraishin kunai. She pumped her chakra into the hiraishin seal.

Hinata gasped when the sudden dip in her chakra bordered on chakra exhaustion. She was too weak to even sit up. She looked around her wildly and found herself confined to an inn room. Hinata winced at the smug smile of Naruto sitting in a chair at the bedside, waiting.

"Sometimes you can be really predictable," Naruto chuckled. He had mislabeled the kunai linked to kumogakure and changed it with another one that was just enough in her chakra range not to kill her but render her helpless with chakra exhaustion.

"You tricked me," Hinata said in surprise.

"Don't be a hypocrite," Naruto chided as he reached down and began to tie her hands and feet. "And what the fuck was that powder shit? Were you trying to kill me?"

"Be glad I didn't use the one laced with my pheromones."

"Why in the world would you make something like that?" Naruto questioned. Naruto began to lift her up when Hinata suddenly snapped her fingers and the room exploded in purple powder.

"Fuck," Naruto spat and his entire body lit on fire. The edges of his vision went red as claws extended from his fingers. He snapped off the ropes he had just put on from her feet and shoved open her legs. Two chakra tails twitched manically. The smell had gripped his nose, clogged his eyes, and raced like crack through his body.

Hinata slipped her hands from the bindings around her wrists, but needed time to regain some of her chakra. She pulled Naruto's head growling into her breasts and was willing to do anything she had to do in order to pass the time. Before Naruto could thrust into her welcoming legs, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Hinata pulled herself up, growing dizzy as the chakra exhaustion began to take a toll on her body. She coughed up blood and realized this was more than just chakra exhaustion. She had been poisoned.

She didn't know when or how, but she had to keep going. She stepped forward off the bed and entrusted her weight to shaky feet. She slipped and fell onto the floor. A cough racked her body. Blood dripped from the shade in the corner of her lips.

A wind suddenly blew through the room and washed the smell into the breeze. A shadow clone stepped into the room through the window, walked around the bed, and found Hinata unconscious on the floor.

There was one poison no one was immune to.

Naruto reached down and placed his hand on her chest. In concentration, he sucked out the Kyūbi's chakra that had accidently leaked into her chakra networks only seconds ago. This is what happens when he was not in control of himself.

When he was certain that he had cleared Hinata of the poison, he scooped her in his arms and carried her back to Konoha.

One down, one more to go.

In Amegakure, you either had to learn to like the rain, or be driven insane by it. Neji stood by the side of the window, protected by a thin plate of glass from the storm that hammered against it. There was so much paperwork, so many men to order around, and so much rain.

Neji looked up when the door to his office opened. He frowned at the sight of Sloth, the Hyūga banished from the clan after he had massacred an entire family of main members years ago. If it was up to Neji, Sloth would be dead already. By the looks of the slime that coated Sloth's clothes, Hinata had sent him.

"What's going on?" Neji demanded.

"Why do you both automatically assume something is wrong? Can't I ever stop by for a friendly chat?"

"I will kill you." Neji never considered this one family.

"I would think you need all the allies you can get right now considering the Hokage is attempting to lock up your wife."

Neji went cold as the rain beating against the window pane. "What did she do?"

"What doesn't she do?" Sloth scoffed. "She spies on the Hokage, she's cheating on you, Hanabi was captured by Lightning, and the Hokage is planning on letting them have her."

Neji rested his head on the coolness of the window pane. Sometimes his life felt like the storm threatening to grab him.

"I don't mean to interrupt." Sloth slinked away from the second voice that had entered the office. Naruto dripped rain onto the carpet of the office floor, "but Neji, I need to take you into custody and I'm hoping you won't come quietly."

The glass shattered and Neji was thrown out into the storm. Neji landed on his feet in his Jyūken stance. Neji looked through the curtain of his hair with rain in his eyes.

Naruto crouched on all fours atop one of the statue heads. "I just finished eating out your wife."

"My wife," Neji stressed.

Then rasengan rained from the sky.

Hanabi yawned right before her captors pulled her into the Raikage's office. The Raikage didn't look up when she entered. He seemed rather focused on the ink brush that shook in his hands. When the brush snapped, he grumbled annoyed and then signed the document with an imprint of his fist.

"Sir, I'm not sure that counts as a signature," Mabui, his assistant complained.

"Shut up, woman. You're not my wife." The Raikage spat. He looked up grumpily at the ninja who entered his office. "Speak, what the fuck do you want?"

"Oh sorry, sir," The ninja apologized, who had been unsure if they should wait until he had finished with the document. "We've brought you the byakugan."

The Raikage said gruffly as he wiped the ink from his fist with the cloth of his Kage's robe. "Name?"

"Hanabi Hyūga," Mabui answered.

"I don't mean to interrupt," Hanabi interjected, "But does anyone have a smoke?"

The Raikage lifted his chin. Mabui stepped forward and handed Hanabi a cigarette. The tobacco helps Hanabi to manage the opium. She breathed in relief when they lit the cigarette.

"Who has the strongest byakugan in the Hyūga Clan?"

Hanabi released a dark cloud of smoke from her lips. "My sister, the Clan Head."

Mabui didn't have to even look up the folder. "Hinata Hyūga, Clan Head of the Hyūga Clan. Twenty-one years old. Birthday is December 27. Blood Type A. Her height and weight is-"

"Do you know her cup size too?" Hanabi sarcastically asked.

"D cup. Classification: tracker, saboteur, and espionage. Byakugan range is unknown. Magnification power unknown." The Raikage raised his hand to pause Mabui's listing.

"What is her byakugan range and magnification?" The Raikage questioned.

Hanabi blinked blankly. Every time she was about to answer she could think of another instance when Hinata knew something that challenged Hanabi's initial guess. "I don't know. The only way for me to know is if she told me and she's never going to tell me the truth if I ask." The Raikage obviously didn't like her answer. Hanabi added, "She can see in both x-ray and infrared," Hanabi added. She looked around and sat down in a chair.

"You don't seem very resistant about giving up this information." The Raikage noted, and especially noted the way she didn't seem to fear him.

Smoke wafted through her lips. Hanabi shrugged her shoulders. "There is a very good chance that in a few hours my sister is going to kill me or kill you."

The Raikage was intrigued by her confidence. "That would mean war for Konoha."

Hanabi scoffed. "Konoha is already at war."

"There is something else in the file you might be interested in," Mabui noted.

"Get it out then," The Raikage said impatiently.

Mabui sighed and rolled her eyes with patience. "She is married to Neji Hyūga but there are rumors she is romantically involved with Uzumaki. Also, the Uzumaki Clan and the Hyūga Clan recently brokered an alliance."

"Are these rumors true?" The Raikage asked.

Hanabi shifted uncomfortably. Something as personal as her sister's love life was not her area of expertise. Either it said something about the Hyūga clan or the state of their sibling relationship. "To be honest, I don't know. If she does, she certainly keeps her activities outside the range of the Hyūga compound. Personally," Hanabi shrugged, "she deserves to be a little selfish. But Naruto certainly has a thing for her. Why is this at all relevant?"

The Raikage smirked from underneath the shadow of his wide-rimmed hat. "You can tell a lot about a man by the women they favor. I enjoy getting into the head of my opponent."

It was the deranged excitement in the Raikage's eyes that did scare Hanabi.

A meteor sized rasengan plummeted to the ground. It shadows could engulf cities and promise to catch Neji wherever he ran. Debris shot upwards when the explosion hit the ground and sent an earthquake through the creaking pipes of Amegakure.

Naruto cursed when he sense around with sage mode and realized Neji had drilled underground to avoid the attack. Naruto cursed when he missed again. It was like trying to catch a fly. It was smaller than you, but fucking annoying.

Naruto's big movements clashed with Neji's smaller movements that evaded with foresight and the smallest amount of effort. Naruto landed on all fours in front of Neji and charged in with an attack.

"Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven."

The cloth of Naruto's shirt burned away as he pushed his shoulder against Neji's ultimate defense in an attempt to break it. He sprouted four chakra tails and sent each tail like chains covered Neji's dome in a flare of red chakra. Naruto flipped backwards when the chakra defense burst outwards.

Like a comet, Naruto moved backwards until he was safely out of Neji's range of vision. Naruto could sense Neji's movements and mirrored them and always kept just out of his range. It took a few shadows clones to determine how far Neji couldn't see.

Naruto circled around until he calculated the Hyūga's blind spot. A chirping rasenshuriken exploded into Naruto palm. He cocked his arm back and then sent the destructo disk wheeling towards the back of Neji's head with as much force as he could muster. The sonic boom was so loud it broke the speed of light.

Naruto released a stream of curses when Neji effortlessly sat down and the jutsu passed over his head without so much as singing his head.

Neji stood up when Naruto landed in from of him. "I call foul," Naruto spat, "There is no fucking way you could have seen that coming."

Neji had a smug expression, that smug smile only a prodigy could be born with, "I have complete 360 degrees of vision."

Naruto knew even Hinata hadn't been able to minimize her blind spot.

The wind gust through the field. Neji exerted chakra from his tenketsu points right before the wind blew past and cancelled the chakra in the sudden wind attack. The jutsu blew harmlessly past like a breeze.

Naruto evaded the incoming Jyūken strike with the speed of his chakra cloak. Neji's ability to read Naruto's muscle movements matched Naruto's speed. Neji was prepared for every strike before it came. Naruto held his breath when Neji's fingers lightly glanced off his chest.

Then Neji fell backwards, completely swept off his feet and head hitting the ground when Naruto had wrapped a chakra tail around Neji's ankle and tripped him.

Naruto threw his entire weight into Neji's chest. Neji managed to expel enough chakra from his tenketsu point to soften the blow but they went backwards rolling on the destroyed ground. Naruto pulled back and cocked a fist into Neji's face.

Naruto stopped when his ears caught the sound of destruction. Naruto's eyes widened at the realization that his own attack had come whirling all the way around the world.

Naruto rolled and threw Neji off him, right into the incoming path of the rasenshuriken. Neji had seen it coming with his byakugan, exerted chakra from the tenketsu point in his chest to give him enough force to propel him downward. His shoulder caught on the jutsu, a tail wrapped around his ankle, and he was pulled away from the force of the explosion at impact.

Naruto had carried them both away from the epicenter of the explosion. He looked down and Neji's shoulder was entirely shattered. Blood and flesh hung limply as Neji clung to the wound. Neji didn't have any chakra left. He couldn't even pick himself up. Naruto loomed above him.

Kill him.

Naruto threw a punch right into Neji's face. The crunch of bone felt good underneath Naruto's hand. His lungs wheezed as the chakra cloak powered down around him. Naruto collapsed beside Neji in exhaustion.

"Done?" Neji coughed around the blood streaming from his nose.

Naruto picked Neji up by the collar of his shirt. "If there is anything between Hinata and I, you look the other way. Or else I will kill you."

Neji scowled, "When did Naruto Uzumaki resort to threatening people to get what he wants? Are you just going to kill every obstacle that gets in your way and doesn't give you what you want? How many people are going to have to die for your selfishness?"

"You don't understand," Naruto spat frantically. "I need her. Do you know how much Konoha asks of me?! Do you know how much I sacrifice for this village?! Why can't I be selfish for once?"

Naruto held his breath when Neji suddenly shot his hand up. Neji's palm rested right above Naruto's heart.

"Let's try this again," Neji said coldly. "This war is hard on all of us but that doesn't change the fact Hinata is my wife. Realize right now that the only reason I choose not to kill you is because we need to get through this war. But the moment it is finished, whether Konoha wins or not, you better hope you kill me first."

The facility that held Hinata was far enough out of the Hyūga's range of vision and secure enough to imprison Konoha's Class A criminals. Some would consider it a little overboard, Naruto didn't think so.

Naruto studied the slab of metal with a small peep hole to look inside. "Are you sure this can hold her?" Naruto questioned the guard.

"There have not been any escapes since I've begun working at this prison," The guard said confidently.

"I'm going to talk to her."

The guard shifted uncomfortably. "The Hokage ordered no one to see her, especially you."

Naruto gave the guard a look, challenging the guard to physically stop him. "And what are you going to do if I see her anyways?"

"Report to the Hokage."

"And when you report to the Hokage you are also going to tell her that I stole the keys off of you," Naruto said as he held out his hand. The guard blankly looked at his palm.

"Of course Uzumaki-sama." The guard handed over the keys.

Naruto put the keys into the door and unlocked it. The door screeched open to a poorly lit overhead lamp. Naruto made sure to close the door securely behind him. He surveyed the room. They provided her a desk, a bed, and her own privy.

"Looks as comfortable as home," Naruto mocked.

Hinata cut him with her eyes.

"I hope you're not looking forward to reinforcements. I already took care of Neji." Hinata swiveled around with a horrified expression. "I didn't kill him," Naruto said before she jumped to the wrong conclusion. "Although, he does look a little worse for wear."

"Where is he?" Hinata demanded.

"The Hokage ordered for you two to be placed on opposite sides of the prison."

Hinata sat on the bed and straightened her stare on the same boring plate of the wall. There were no windows. There wasn't much room to breathe. The chakra cuffs were clenched tight onto her wrists. "I can't see anything."

Naruto could imagine Hinata wouldn't take too kindly to the fact she could no longer see what was going on around her. "The Hokage talked with Auntie and for now the clan thinks you're on a mission for the Hokage, no one knows Neji is no longer in Ame, and the Raikage has yet to send his demands."

"I want to see my husband."

"I'm not that stupid Hinata," Naruto said as he crossed his arms. "There is no way I'm letting you out of this cell, not after you made me go through hell to get you in it."

"Lightning has the byakugan, the clan is without me, I can't see what is going on, and I might have to kill my sister! I WANT TO SEE MY HUSBAND!" Hinata screamed.

Naruto raised his hands against the sudden heat of her anger. "Hinata," he said gently. He could hear the cracks along the frozen ice and knew one wrong step would break it all. "I have been trying to do everything I can for Hanabi but the Hokage refuses to budge until the matter with Kiri is settled. You might have to wait but I will get Hanabi back. I need you to trust me and not give the Hokage any reason to detain you further."

"Hinata, this is exactly where you need to be right now. Think about it, why is Lightning taking so fucking long to send the demands? They want someone to try and rescue Hanabi. It's a trap. Think."

He finally saw a dip in her shoulders. It was a good sign. Logic was beginning to slowly reign in her emotions. He knew she had been in fight or flight mode ever since she heard the news about her sister. Naruto stepped forward, crouched down and wiped the frustration from her eyes. She loosed her hands and released the kunai she had hidden in her palms. It clattered to the floor at Naruto's feet.

"Where do you even hide that?" Naruto questioned.

"I coughed it up earlier," Hinata admitted.

"I want to take your handcuffs off but I need you to promise me you'll stay here." He knew Hinata would eventually figure out a way to escape if she wanted to. The easiest way to keep her from escaping was to convince her she should be here. Pushing her into a corner was only going to force her to do something crazy and Naruto can't predict Hinata crazy.

"I'll stay," Hinata promised.

Naruto slid the keys into the cuff and they fell from her wrists. Within seconds she activated her byakugan.

"What do you see?"

"You almost killed him," Hinata accused.

"He's breathing," Naruto scoffed. "I was really close but I didn't think you could handle that right now."

Hinata hung her head. "It's a lot to handle. How am I supposed to figure this out?"

"Sometimes you've got to trust people," Naruto said. "Let's wait until we receive the demands and we'll both figure out a plan."

Hinata nodded slightly.

"Come on, let's go see Neji." Naruto said as he offered his hand. He helped her from the bed and escorted her out of the cell.

The guard watched in disbelief. "Um, um, Uzumaki-sama!"

"I'll make sure she gets back." Naruto promised.

The guard did nothing to stop them. He would rather lose his job than lose his life.

Naruto followed Hinata through the prison maze and neither of the guards impeded their passage to the other side of the prison. Naruto "asked" the cell guard for the keys and opened the door.

The cell was very similar to the one Hinata occupied. Naruto closed the door behind her to give them privacy. He trusted her, enough.

Hinata walked along the edge of the bed and witnessed the evidence of the beating Neji had received. At the moment, Neji was sleep. Hinat sat on the cot and reached out to the severe wound on his shoulder. It looked like the medic had healed it enough to ensure he wasn't going to die but kept him weak.

The soft and cooling glow of green called Neji out of his slumber. Neji opened his eyes, spotted Hinata, and then turned his head in an effort to ignore her. Once Hinata had eased him of the pain, she leaned forward and placed a tender kiss on his cheek. Her lips trailed down his chin like the relief of band-aids. Her hands massaged his back, caressed the length of his body, and journeyed toward his groin.

"Get off."

Hinata scowled as she snapped her hand away. "So you can fuck Lee but I can't fool around with Naruto?"

"Those two does not equate," Neji argued. "You were fooling around with him before Lee."

"No I wasn't," Hinata insisted.

"Not just sex." Neji accused.

"I'm sorry that marriage doesn't have the power to erase my feelings as if they never existed. You knew what our marriage was. It wasn't for love, it was to keep our clan together. Someone needed to show Konoha and to show the clan that we were still whole."

"I wish you could have told me that, instead of leaving me to look the fool."

"Get over yourself," Hinata snapped. "You can fuck however many men or women that you want to. I don't care. What I do care about is the current crisis we have on our hands. I need your help. I need my husband to help me figure out how we're going to solve the mess we're in. We're both in jail, if you hadn't notice."

"Return to your paramour and leave me be," Neji spat.

Hinata leaned forward and whispered, "We can fix our marriage."

Neji refused to look at her anymore. "It was broken from the beginning."

Hinata stood, insulted, frustrated and hurt. "I do care about you, Neji Hyuuga." Then she stormed out of the cell.

"The Raikage is rather greedy." Hinata noted.

Naruto looked up from the cup of noodles while lounging on the wooden stool. "What is it?"

Hinata had put her chopsticks down and focused her byakugan. "I'm reading the letter on the messenger bird. It hasn't reached Konoha yet." Naruto watched the concentration on her face for thirty minutes. "The bird has reached the tower." A pause. "The Hokage broke her desk. She's coming here."

At word that the Hokage was coming to the prison, Naruto debated whether or not he should leave and then decided he didn't care. Perhaps cups of ramen wasn't any better, but he couldn't leave Hinata to eat prison food. "Hinata, your byakugan range is much farther than when we were in ANBU isn't it?"

"Neji decided to close his blind-spot. I decided to test mine in a different way."

"How far can you see?" Naruto asked seriously.

"…far."

Naruto slurped the ramen into his mouth while they waited. He watched Hinata take up her chopsticks. Captivity aged many, but Hinata didn't seem bothered by it. As long as she could see, she was content and kept her promise.

The metal door slid open. Naruto sat up when the Hokage appeared at the entrance. She motioned for him to near. Naruto knew what was coming. Naruto approached and the slap sent him flying to the opposite wall of the cell.

"Naruto, we are at war, I cannot have you undermining my authority whenever you feel the need to see your lover."

"I assure you, Hokage-sama, we are merely good friends," Hinata corrected. "I apologize, I would have prepared some tea to receive you but I do not have any."

"Save me the snark," Tsunade snarled. When Naruto attempted to sneak out, Tsunade said, "You might as well stay. This involves you too." Naruto ears perked up and leaned against the stone laden wall in curiosity.

"I've received the demands from the Raikage."

"I'm aware," Hinata said politely.

"I'm not," Naruto said flatly. "Anyone wants to clue me in?"

"The Raikage has decided that Hanabi is not good enough for them. They want to trade Hanabi for Hinata. If we don't agree with their demands they will declare war." The Hokage said.

Naruto's jaw loosened in disbelief. "What? We can't do that. We can't just cover up the fact that the Clan Head of the Hyūga clan has been traded to Lightning. Hanabi maybe, but the Hyūga Clan and the Council will never agree to this. Handing over a Clan Head is like Konoha cutting off its arm."

"We don't have a choice," The Hokage replied bitterly.

"This is idiotic. It's becoming more obvious that Lightning doesn't want the byakugan, they want this war. This is the Raikage, why would he go through all the trouble making demands when he can just invade Konoha and take whatever they want? He's pushing us into a corner to enter into a war on their terms."

"I agree with Naruto's assessment," Hinata responded.

"That doesn't change the fact that Konoha cannot get involved fighting both Lightning and Kiri at the same time. It's only temporary but we need to appease Lightning for as long as we can."

"Until what?" Hinata said as if breaking ice between her words. "Until they ask for the children in gift boxes? Until the Hyūga hear their brethren have been sold off like breeding cattle and you have a civil war on your hands? Where is the line drawn?"

Tsunade closed her eyes. "I'm coming to you as someone who carries the weight of the thousands of lives that live in Konoha. I know your responsibility is to protect your clan but sometimes the few have to be sacrificed for the whole."

"So the Hyūga clan must sacrifice ourselves? We have fought and bled for this village for hundreds of years, we shared in your grandfather's dreams, and we call Konoha our home." Hinata layered her will in cold armor. "You are here for my cooperation. I will sacrifice myself but I refuse to sacrifice my clan. I'll go to Lightning but if Konoha agrees to any more demands that endangers my family, then I won't rest until I pull the Raikage's heart out of his chest."

It wasn't the answer the Hokage wanted but she respected it nevertheless. She remembered a day when Hinata had been just a trembling scared little girl. "I understand."

"Hinata, your preference for self-sacrifice is admirable but this is bullshit," Naruto interrupted.

"Naruto," Tsunade said patiently. "I need your cooperation too. The Raikage is planning to make the trade in person and as custom either a Kage or someone of equal status needs to meet with him. I can't leave the village because of the war. I need you to oversee the trade."

Naruto shook his head. "And if I refuse?"

"This is an order Uzumaki Naruto," The Hokage said with steel.

"What about Neji?" Hinata asked.

"I need you to talk with him and explain that this is the best course of action. I need you to make him understand because I need him back in Ame." The Hokage stood. "As shinobi of this village, I expect you to do what you have been ordered."

"No," Neji said flatly after Hinata attempted to explain the situation. "You are the Clan Head of the Hyūga clan, not a stock animal."

"What else is there to do Neji?" Hinata questioned. "It's best that it's me."

"No its not. Anyone in the clan would sacrifice themselves to go in your place. We all understand how important you are in keeping our family together. It doesn't have to be you," Neji argued. "The Hyūga know what it costs to sacrifice for family."

"How can I possibly allow anyone to go in my place? The Raikage asked for me by name. Anyone from the Fourth Shinobi war can identify me."

"No."

"Neji, I'll stall as long as I can from getting pregnant to hopefully give Konoha enough time to end the war with Kiri. If not… I won't let Lightning have the byakugan."

Neji's face was horrified when she dropped the word 'pregnant', vividly bringing what they wanted to do with her. "You are my wife and I don't deserve to live if I allow this to happen to you. I will fall on my sword before I let Lightning have you."

"Neji, Konoha needs you."

"I am married to you, not to Konoha." Neji said flatly. He reached forward and held her hands in his. "What would Grandfather say of me if I cannot protect you? What Hyūga would I be? The entire clan will fall on its sword if Lightning claims the byakugan, for how can we live in such dishonor and disgrace?"

"Sacrificing for the village is not disgraceful. It's nothing but another mission." Hinata said simply. Neji drew forward, his cheeks blushed in shyness, before he kissed his wife gently on the lips.

It was as if they were staring down a knot they were too tired at the moment to try and fix. Hinata held his apprehensive hands and they sat together in silence.

Naruto entered the unlocked apartment. There were dead flowers everywhere. Someone had neglected to water them. The rotted flower petals crunched underneath his feet as Naruto made his way to the bedroom. There were drugs and alcohol spilled onto the floor. Naruto reached down and checked for a pulse in the woman's neck. He was relieved after he found one.

Then he sat down in a chair by the window. Dead and crumbled lilies broke away onto the windowsill while he waited for Ino Yamanaka to wake up.

Ino jerked away when she re-entered her own body. She had stolen the the body of one of her subordinates in ANBU in order to get around her father's restrictions that kept her from coming to work. Sometimes a good torture session was an easy de-stress. Ino yawned as she sat up and didn't acknowledge Naruto waiting in the chair. She reached down and fished for a bottle of alcohol. She grumbled when all she found were empty ones.

"Go get me some alcohol."

"Didn't you just get out of the hospital for alcohol poisoning?"

"So."

"Then perhaps you don't need anymore."

"I didn't ask for your opinion."

"You never ask for my opinion whenever you decide to go delving into my issues. You started getting worse around the time Sakura got married."

Ino scoffed as she stretched out her arms. "Why are you here?"

"I brought you flowers," Naruto proclaimed and handed her a vase of peonies, "since your other ones are dead and all."

"Do I look like a peony type of person?"

"There just flowers," Naruto said exasperated.

"They are never just flowers," Ino said lifted herself from the bed and grabbed the flowers from Naruto's hands. He watched as she laid her nose into their petals and a light returned to her eyes. She placed them onto the dresser. "What do you want?"

"I need a favor."

Ino laid backwards on her bed and gave Naruto a full view of her cleavage as she asked, "Aren't you already in my debt enough?"

"You could do it out of the kindness of your heart," Naruto suggested.

"What kindness in my heart?" Ino scoffed. "I'm guessing this has something to do with Hinata? I do have to applaud the Hokage. She has managed to keep it all hushed up pretty well. Amazing in a ninja village."

"I need you to get into someone's head for me."

"Don't you have one of my cousins on your ANBU team? Why would you need me?"

"Because I need the best," Naruto said quite frankly. "I need to get into the head of one of the most powerful man in the world without anyone ever knowing about it. Can you do that?" Naruto asked.

Ino sat up intrigued. "How much time will I have?"

"Not long. Maybe ten minutes."

"I'll do it," Ino agreed. "But first you have to do something for me in return."

Ino pulled herself from the bed. She prowled over to Naruto in her underwear. Then she began pulling the cloak from Naruto's shoulders.

"You want me to fuck you?"

Ino chuckled. "You should know by now it's never that easy," Her lips touched his ear. "I want you to make love to me." Ino brushed her fingertips around his head. "Don't resist."

Naruto growled and shoved her away backwards against the bed. "I don't want you messing with my head again."

Ino leaned upwards with a smirk. "You want to save your lover don't you? I'll fix whatever I undo after we're done."

"Sometimes I hate you," Naruto admitted.

Ino smirked as she pushed herself off the bed and focused her hands on his head. She dug into the mechanics of his brain. Some people say that love was simply a chemical in the brain trying to keep the human race alive. Ino transferred what thoughts of Hinata invoked to thoughts of herself.

Ino pulled down and sucked onto his lips. Naruto pulled away. "I can't do this. You don't smell like her."

Ino sighed in exasperation as she twisted his olfactory senses. There was an immediate response as Naruto growled into her neck and tightened his claws around her hips. His hands were softer and gentler than most men she had been with. They were careful and reverent. Ino bathed in the worship. She felt like a goddess in Naruto's hands. Their clothes were shed as if he was trying to close the physical gap between them.

"Hinata," Naruto breathed as he offered his body in sacrifice. Ino didn't care. She wanted the emotions. He parted her legs as if his fingers had been granted the miracle of parting rivers. He filled her as if he was unworthy of being a part of her. Naruto's love was a powerful one and gave everything he had to her.

Naruto sat up in Ino's bed and stared at his hands. He didn't know his own hands were capable of such softness. Whatever softness they might have held, he figured it had fled when he first held a kunai. He felt violated in some deep hard way to comprehend.

Ino watched the lines in Naruto's expression grow. "You did great."

"You stole something that wasn't yours." Naruto reached to the floor and put on his pants.

"I could have asked for anything. All I wanted was love."

"You have Chouji." Naruto said angrily.

Ino avoided his eyes and whispered, "I don't feel those emotions for him. I suppose I'm not in love with him. I realize that now." Ino tucked her head against her knees. "The man I love is already married."

Naruto winced. He knew what that felt like.

"It's not easy watching someone have the life you wanted, and now he doesn't even care about me anymore. Then Sakura gets married as if rubbing it in my face. She has the husband and the kids and she's happy." Ino held her tears and looked at Naruto, looking for something to make herself feel better. "Do you think we could have ever been together, you and I?"

"No," Naruto said immediately. "I don't like people in my head. I have enough things going on in there already."

"Other than the mindreading thing?"

"Hinata is willing to sacrifice herself for her entire clan and you refuse to do a favor without asking for something in return. No, Ino, I could never love a woman like you." Naruto got dressed. The only time Hinata ever indulged in her selfishness was the first time they slept together. Naruto stopped before the doorframe, "and tell Chouji the truth. Don't keep hurting him like this."

Ino watched as Naruto left. A taste of her own medicine was bitter in her mouth.

Naruto waited while the guards escorted Hinata out of the prison. A few of his ANBU and several chūnin that he trusted were behind him as witnesses to the exchange.

Hinata approached in the fresh clothing she had requested delivered to her. She had refused to wear the restricting movement of a kimono or don fanciful ornaments as if a gift-wrapped present. A mesh shirt was tucked underneath a comfortable gi and the cloak of the Hyūga clan was donned over her shoulders. If Hinata was going to agree to this transaction, she was going to do it with her pride.

But there was still one piece out of place.

Hinata neared and her prison guards released her into Naruto's custody with a bow. Naruto reached to take off the seal from her forehead. He made grand gestures with his brush to fool the eyes who watched the process. Naruto applied chakra to her temples and the seal disappeared. It was their secret even the Hokage didn't know about yet. Naruto knew that sometimes plans didn't work out. If everything fell through, he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead, "In case you need a way out."

"Thank you," Hinata whispered.

Naruto held out his hand. Her palm slipped into his. Then his team teleported to the meeting place with the hiraishin technique. They were in the Land of Hot Water, at the crossroads between Fire and Lightning.

"I see them," Hinata replied with her byakugan activated. "They have Hanabi."

"Is Bee with them?"

"No."

Bee's absence was telling. He should have been at A's side in such an important meeting. While Naruto attempted to interpret the snippet of information, the Raikage and his team came into view.

The Raikage landed in the frosted field several paces away. The distance between a cloud and a leaf was great.

"Don't move until I give the signal," Naruto ordered and then stepped forward. When the Raikage saw Naruto's lone figure approaching, he stepped forward as well. They met in the between.

"I'm surprised. This isn't your style." Naruto said.

Their cloaks flapped in the sudden breeze. Their posture, from the tension in their arms to the strength of their feet firmly rooted to the ground, were telling signs that this was anything but a friendly meeting. Both men were on guard.

The Raikage shrugged with his one arm. "Might as well if Konoha is willing to give me what I want."

"When did you become a man willing to accept things given to you? You used to be a man of respect. Where did all that honor of yours go to?"

The smirk on the Raikage's expression was amused. "Honor doesn't keep you young."

Two of the most powerful men in the world stood facing each other, feinting left and right with the power of their words.

"We could make a deal. We could fight Kiri together."

"Kiri doesn't have anything we want. Konoha does. Are you going to conduct this trade or not?" The Raikage asked impatiently as if he had better things to do elsewhere.

Naruto raised his hand and motioned behind him. The Raikage did the same.

A Cloud ANBU led Hanabi forward. A Leaf ANBU was led by Hinata. They stopped beside their respective leaders.

The Raikage assessed Hinata with an unimpressed expression. "They say you were born with a byakugan that can see farther than anyone else."

"It is true," Hinata acknowledged.

"If there's anything I've learned it's not to trust a Hyūga." The Raikage motioned to the Cloud ANBU. "Strip her, make sure she isn't carrying any weapons."

"Is this necessary?" Naruto demanded. He kept his voice even for the mission but there was a smoldering in his chest.

"Everything is necessary with a kunoichi." The Raikage said, with an eye closely scrutinizing Naruto's expression.

The Cloud ANBU approached Hinata and reached for her. She slapped away his hand with a sound like breaking ice.

The Raikage frowned.

Hinata pulled off her cloak and threw it at the Raikage's feet. Then her gi, the mesh shirt, and her pants followed. The relentless chill of the north began to show on her bare skin. When Hinata reached for her bra, and no one seemed inclined to stop her, Naruto interrupted, "She is a Clan Head of Konoha and is worth more than this disrespect."

"Evidently not if Konoha is willing to give her away like cattle. Continue," The Raikage ordered.

Naruto watched Hinata's shivering fingers reach behind her to release the clasp of her bra with no more emotional investment than watching a boring play. He had noticed the Raikage was much more interested in his reaction than in Hinata. Hinata popped off her bra and the bright red material fell into the snow like a puddle of blood. Then she pulled off her underwear until she was standing at the center of the two parties in the nude.

The Cloud ANBU stepped forward. Hinata's palm shot forward and broke the man's nose before he could touch her. "The Raikage can't do his own dirty work?" Hinata challenged.

Finally, the Raikage's attention shifted from Naruto to Hinata. The Raikage stepped forward and his shadow stretched twice the size of her. The Raikage reached forward and roughly grabbed her face. Hinata opened her mouth and the Raikage checked to make sure nothing was hidden underneath her cavities. She choked around his finger as he checked for weapons in her throat.

The shift in attention allowed Naruto to send a message to one of the ANBU behind him.

Hold on, I need at least five more minutes. Ino's voice echoed in Naruto's head with strained attention.

Naruto occupied his time with ticking off the seconds. The Raikage shove his fingers up Hinata's vagina, searching for something he didn't find. The search ended with two fingers up her ass. When the Raikage finished, he reached for the Hyūga cloak and cleaned his hand on the full moon of the Hyuuga seal.

Emotions of worry and concern creeped through when Naruto snapped his eyes to Hinata. She could bear the abuse of her body but not the abuse of her seal. Naruto was relieved to find her mask better than his, a frozen block of ice that emotions had no chance of seeping through.

"She's clean," The Raikage said with surprise and confusion in his voice. Naruto noticed the disappointment, as if the Raikage had been disappointed it had all gone too easily.

"Are you satisfied or do you need to try her out to make sure she fits up to Lightning's standards?" Naruto asked.

At the suggestion, the Raikage gave Hinata a mechanical stare. He didn't see her breasts or the curves of her hips, all he saw was the byakugan that shimmered like diamonds in her head. "I am curious about the marks on her back."

Hinata answered, "You cannot become Clan Head of the Hyūga without a few scars."

The Raikage smiled at her answer. "She will do."

He motioned behind him to Hanabi. Hanabi was finally able to step forward and join Naruto's side. The Cloud ANBU with the broken nose unlocked the cuffs on Hanabi's hands. Then the Cloud ANBU moved to transfer the cuffs onto Hinata, gave it a second thought when he met her eyes for the third time, and determined she didn't really need them.

Hinata stepped forward of her own accord and stood beside the Raikage. The Raikage scratched his chin in thought. "I'm thinking we also need a male specimen in order to produce the purest byakugan."

You were right, Naruto.

The Raikage blasted like a comet across the snowy terrain courtesy to a rasengan to the face. The large man rolled to a stop at the center of his entourage that held both surprised and silent stares.

In a swift stroke, Naruto decapitated the Cloud ANBU with the katana he kept at his waist. He walked through the snow and gathered the articles of clothing that had been discarded in the snow. Then he boldly turned his back on the crowd of Lightning ninja. He went to one knee.

Hinata balanced her hands on Naruto shoulders as he held out her underwear and she slipped her feet inside the holes. The seconds were tense as Naruto slowly pulled the soft lace up her thighs.

The Raikage held up a hand and prevented his ninja from attacking. He didn't attack an opponent in the back for it only reflected weakness onto himself.

Naruto covered Hinata's breasts back in her bra. He dressed her in her pants, covered her scars with her shirt, and then burned the Hyūga cloak that the Raikage had defiled. Naruto took off his own cloak and placed it around Hinata's shoulders, showing the Raikage the amount of respect that she deserved.

Finally, Naruto turned and spat, "You have your war."

The Raikage gave a mad grin. "I'm looking forward to meeting you on the battlefield Uzumaki Naruto, Demon Fox of Konoha."

Naruto stood in front of the double doors of the Hokage's Office. He knew now it was time to deal with the consequences. He opened the door and blinked when he was two feet embedded in the cement outside of the Hokage's tower. He could look up and see the hole in the building where he had flown through. He picked himself up and tried again.

He entered into the office a little more slowly this time. He found Tsunade with her back facing him. She was staring out of the window.

"Hokage-sama, I know I disobeyed you but I had a very good reason. The Raikage wasn't going to stop making demands of us. He wanted to keep pushing us until we had no choice but to declare war on them. Lightning wants this war so they can take whatever they want. If you want confirmation, I had Ino in his head. I know it was a risky move but she can confirm everything I told you is true. This war was inevitable so I approached the trade as an opportunity to get our kunoichi back. I'll pay the consequences of my disobedience any way you see fit, but I believe I did the right thing. Lightning doesn't respect weakness. We couldn't afford to show it."

Naruto waited in silence. Then Tsunade turned around and her tear smeared cheeks obscured the view of Konoha. "Naruto, we've lost."

"No," Naruto refused to believe that. "We've still got a chance."

"It's not enough." She pointed to the stacks on her desk. "I've already gone over the numbers. Soon we're going to run out of money, out of food, out of new supplies, and out of men." Tsunade's shoulders heaved, "Oh Kami, I've lost my grandfather's village."

"Granny," Naruto whispered as he approached. He had never seen her look so defeated before. He walked around the desk and crouched before her. He took her hands in his, gingerly, like a son would an ailing mother. "We'll figure something out. Konoha will not fall because we won't give up. We can't."

Naruto took one of the most important women in his life into his arms. "Here, I'm going to take you home. We can't have anyone seeing you like this, right?"

Tsunade shook her head into his shoulder. "No, there is so much work I have to do."

"A few hours of sleep can't possibly worsen the mess we're in. Rest while you can, we've got long days ahead of us." Naruto picked up Tsunade in his arms. He was surprised by how light she was. She always appeared heavier to him.

Naruto whisked her away to the silent Senju compound. He carried her up the stairs and placed her in the bed. He took off her coat, slipped off her shoes, and placed the hat on the floor beside the futon. Naruto sat on his knees and watched as she slowly closed her eyes. Naruto stood up to leave.

"Jiraiya," Tsunade whispered, "don't leave me to do this by myself."

"He left both of us didn't he?" Naruto whispered. He leaned down and kissed her forehead as she drifted to sleep. "At least he left us with each other."

Naruto returned to the Hokage's office and began turning off the lights. If the end days were coming, he planned to spend as much time as he could with the kids. With the lights off, the office seemed menacing in its darkness. The shadows reached with the cold hands of ghosts over the furniture. The Hokage's chair was framed by the skyline of Konoha.

Naruto reached for the door and paused when he touched the handle. It was as if a spark had erupted through his thoughts, like the kindling to his unpredictability.

Naruto turned towards the desk. He leaned over the wood and touched the button underneath the panel of the first drawer. He leaned against the desk when Shizune entered the office.

She took an unexpected step back when she found Naruto's silhouette outlined by the ghosts in the room.

"Where is Tsunade?"

"She's okay," Naruto said quickly not to raise concern, "but she's tired, so I took her home."

Naruto straightened his shoulders. "There is something I need you to do. I need you to send out messages to Shikamaru, Gaara, the Tsuchikage, and," Naruto winced, "Demon country."

Shizune smiled and nodded her head. "Right away."

"Tsuchikage," Naruto greeted, flashing a smile that could cost a war, "It's been a long time." Naruto bowed, low enough in the presence of a Kage but high enough as a person of importance. Every measured gesture was a careful weight on the scale of politics.

The Tsuchikage, Kitsuchi, didn't look impressed by the greeting. "Where is the Hokage? I thought she was supposed to mediate the summit."

"The Hokage is currently at war," Naruto said regretfully, "I know that I am unequal to the power of a Kage but I assure you that Konoha has given me all of the Hokage's authority in dealing with this matter."

The Tsuchikage walked past Naruto into the meeting room. Naruto noticed the drawn lines in the man's face. The mantle of Kage has aged him.

"You're really kissing ass," Kurotsuchi noticed as she followed behind her father.

Naruto bowed before her, but notably much higher. Naruto straightened and having noticed the humor in her voice, responded, "Must I kiss yours too?"

"Spare me," Kurotsuchi replied.

Naruto grinned and escorted Kurotsuchi into the meeting room where she joined her father. One long table was the centerpiece of the room. At one end, the Tsuchikage sat with his entourage standing behind him. At the other end, sat the Kazekage with Temari and Kankurou. Naruto sat in the middle. Naruto knew this wasn't going to be easy. There had been a lot of bad blood spilled between Suna and Iwa.

He kept a straight face when his eyes met Gaara. Naruto didn't want to be accused of playing favorites. A Leaf ANBU appeared at his side. Cincada whispered, "The area is secure."

Naruto nodded and the ANBU melted back into the shadows. "This summit will now convene to discuss an alliance between Suna, Iwa, and Konoha."

The Tsuchikage crossed his arms. "I will not agree to an alliance until Suna gives up the land they stole from us."

"I did not steal it," Gaara said in his gravelly voice. "It was won."

"Taken while the entire country was mourning the death of my Father. It was outright thievery," The Kitsuchi argued.

"I am not giving up that land," Gaara replied.

"Then this summit is pointless." The Ichikage stood up. "Why have you requested my presence if you were just going to waste my time? We do not need to get involved in Konoha's mistakes out of the goodness of our hearts. It was Konoha who killed the Mizukage and it was Konoha who declared war on Lightning. You brought this on yourself."

"Of course I don't expect you to help us for nothing," Naruto interjected. "If you would sit back down I would gladly offer you a much greater prize." Naruto and the Tsuchikage locked eyes. "Surely you will not be at a loss if you grant me just a moment of your time to present Konoha's proposal?"

The Tsuchikage looked back at his daughter and she shrugged her shoulders. "We came all this way."

The Tsuchikage sat back down. "I am listening. What can Konoha possibly offer me?"

"If you fairly concede the land to Suna and join our alliance against Kiri and Lightning, then after the war we will give you something much larger. We will help you regain Mountain."

The area of Mountain was four times larger than the small strip of land that Sunagakure had taken. "What is one strip of land compared to half your country that Mountain took?"

The Tsuchikage's expression was stone and Naruto found it hard to read his reaction. "We are fully capable of getting Mountain back ourselves."

"Then why haven't you? Konoha has the intelligence on their hidden village and resources. Help us beat back Kiri and Lightning, and I personally will help you get your country back with my bare hands." Naruto couldn't crack the Tsuchikage's game face and boldly continued, "Besides, if either Kiri or Lightning takes Konoha, does anyone in this room want to deal with a Bloody Mist or the Raikage's ego three times as strong? For your own self-preservation, all three of us need this alliance."

Naruto could feel the heat underneath the sage cloak he wore as he waited for the Ichikage's response. "How do we know Konoha really has such intelligence?"

Naruto motioned to the ANBU and they escorted a kunoichi inside of the room. Kurotsuchi's jaw slackened when the woman in civilian clothing entered. "I thought you were dead."

The woman instantly bowed her head to the ground before the Tsuchikage. "I was assigned to spy on the rebels when they declared independence on Iwa. I was discovered and locked away within their hidden village. I was saved by Konoha during one of their missions. I can testify that Konoha has been inside Mountain before."

"Why didn't you come home?" Kurotsuchi asked.

"During my time imprisoned my chakra networks were damaged irreparably. I could no longer return to my country as a kunoichi and thus I stayed in Konoha as a civilian to live out the rest of my days in shame."

Kurotsuchi came over and pulled the woman to her feet, and then into a hug. "I really thought you were dead."

"I wanted to be dead," the woman whispered. "Konoha has vital intelligence on Mountain that would allow us to punish the rebels."

"You help us and I promise Mountain is yours. I don't make promises lightly." Naruto addressed the Tsuchikage. Naruto was well aware Iwa had been Konoha's primary enemy in both the First and Second Shinobi War. "We've had our differences but enemies today are friends tomorrow."

"I accept your proposal," The Tsuchikage answered.

Naruto knew the matter wasn't truly settled. He knew Tsuchikage would help Suna and Konoha now, get their help with Mountain, and years down the line when Iwagakure had gathered its strength back to Great country status, they'll settle their debts.

A rock never forgets.

Every side knew that alliances in the end, were just a sheet of paper.

"You did well mediating the alliance with Suna and Iwa," Tsunade said as she studied the signed documents. Tsunade and Naruto were in the war room, staring at the maps spread atop the table. "For the time being, Iwa will occupy Mountain. This will free both Chouza and Tsume's unit."

Tsunade tapped her fingers. "I'm going to bring Tsume's unit to Konoha, just in case we need an extra line of defense close to home. Chouza will join the eastern front with Kakashi."

"We should reconsider our hold on Ame. It's taking too many resources to hold them."

"But we can't afford to have them at our backs," Tsunade argued.

"Ame is ruled by a bunch of warlords. They won't give us a problem if we pay them more than what Kiri is paying them." All of her usual advisors, Kakashi and Shikaku were out of the village but she respected Naruto's opinion just the same.

"We don't have the money."

"We already do. I've been in touch with Demon Country. Their religious order owns the country's gold mines."

"That money doesn't come without a price. What did you promise them?" Tsunade asked, alarmed by his initiative.

"An heir within the year." Naruto cleared his throat. "With the ruling warlord in our pocket, this frees up Neji's unit."

Tsunade placed her hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You don't have to do this."

"We could potentially send Neji against Lightning's forces," Naruto said as he brushed off her hand and walked around the table.

Tsunade sighed. "No, I need someone who knows how the Raikage operates. I need you."

Naruto's head snapped up. "I can't lead an army."

"You fought beside the Raikage during the Peace Treaty War. You understand him. I need you leading the forces against Lightning."

"What about everything I've done with Kiri? We still haven't figured out why they've been in communication with the Land of Iron."

"Iron Country has been known to grant asylum to fugitives and international criminals and recently, the terrorist organization Kuro No Keiyakusha. Anko has sent in reports that confirms Kiri has been communicating with this terrorist group and not Iron Country's government. I'm calling Anko and her team back home. We have larger enemies than a few angry civilians."

"But what about all the spies I have in Kiri? It is Suigetsu that wants to massacre my entire family, not the Raikage. Suigetsu is my biggest threat."

"First lesson of being a shogun, place your units where they are most effective. Lightning still has Bee, the eight-tailed jinchūruki and you're the only person in the world faster than the Raikage."

Naruto held in his anger because the logic of her argument made sense. "Then what do I do?"

"I want you to hand over the operation in Kiri to someone you trust and can potentially run things in case something happens to you. You're still the Captain and overseeing the division, but someone else will be shouldering most of the responsibilities."

Naruto winced. "All I've got for you is Konohamaru. He know the ins and outs of how I run things but he's currently on detention right now."

"Not anymore." Tsunade reached for a block piece and placed it on the border of Fire Country that faced Lightning.

"This still doesn't change the fact I don't know how to lead an army."

"Each one of your shadows clones have been watching Neji and Kakashi. You know more than you think. You need a second. I recommend Neji or Shikamaru."

"Neji and I aren't a good mix. The Eastern Front is a joint venture between Suna and Konoha. You need Shikamaru there to mediate between the two." Naruto tapped his fingers along the wood and attempted to think of someone reliable who wasn't currently involved in the conflict.

"I'll give you some time to think about it. We have a few days at least before Lightning is at our border."

"Once Lightning attacks, Kiri certainly will. We need to attack before they do," Naruto said.

"Already sent in the orders."

The tense waiting game was finally about to break. These last few days were the calm before the storm.

Shion felt too weak to even get out of bed. For once, it wasn't her weak constitution hampering her recovery but the grief that infected her like a disease. When her nurses told her that none of her servants had made it out of the ambush alive it felt as final as a death sentence. All Shion could think about were the last time she saw the faces of the people that had meant the most of her in the entire world.

There were tubes in her wrist that fed her. The nurses had to change her clothes. But she deserved it.

She heard the door of the hospital room open.

"Shion?"

Shion turned towards the unmistakable smoothness of Naruto's voice. She didn't know how she could ever possibly face him, but when she finally gathered the courage to beg him to go away, the curtains that surrounded her hospital bed were drawn back.

Shion looked up into Naruto's worried eyes at the state of her. Shion knew she didn't deserve his worry. Naruto pulled up at chair. "I'm sorry about your family."

The mention of them caused tears to gather again in Shion eyes. Naruto was growing worried that her grief was going to kill her and that would not be beneficial to Konoha. Naruto forced himself to reach out and place a hand around her small and fragile fingers.

"It's going to be alright," Naruto said gently. "At least you were saved."

"Did- did you find her?" Shion asked hopefully.

"I did. The kunoichi is back in Konoha."

Shion breathed in relief. The guilt hadn't made her grief any easier.

"But Konoha is now embroiled in a war with Lightning," Naruto began, hoping to gradually build up to their impending marriage.

Shion crumpled into a harder bout of tears. "War? I never meant for this for to happen. It's my fault, all my fault."

Naruto moved his hand from her hand with a sickening feeling. "What's your fault?"

Shion looked into the darkening of the clear blue sky in Naruto's eyes. She couldn't keep secrets. Even if he would hate her, she couldn't live a life buried under her guilt. "I saw it in a vision and Kami-sama showed me what I was supposed to do. I didn't know those visions were going to lead to this. I didn't know." Shion sobbed.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto demanded.

"I asked Kami-sama to show me how to get to you and he showed me a vision of myself writing a letter to Lightning," Shion whispered, "and I wrote it. I can't go back. If I had known, if I had only known..."

Naruto stood as he paced around the room and demonic chakra whipped from the pores of his skin. "You started a fucking war with Lightning," Naruto snapped in anger, "for what? For your own fucking selfishness!"

"It was for us," Shion sobbed.

"And you lost everyone close to you," Naruto spat. He turned and punched through the hospital wall. He pressed his head against the plaster and attempted to get his spiraling anger in control.

Naruto turned around when suddenly the medical equipment beat frantically. Naruto shouted for a nurse and raced for Shion's bed. Naruto pulled her into his arms as the high-stress situation was seriously beginning to threaten her life.

"Shion," Naruto said gently as he pressed her against his chest and her sobs shook her body like a seizure. A team of nurses rushed in. One began to stabilize her with medical ninjutsu and the other injected a serum into the IV. After several moments, the episode had passed. It left Shion barely breathing.

"Uzumaki-sama, we are going to ask you to leave if you continue to traumatize the patient."

Naruto had been watching from the far wall. He nodded his head. The nurses left the room. Naruto bit his lip after watching Shion's brush with death. He had come close to losing her. Naruto peeled himself from the wall, readjusted the chair, and sat over her bed.

Shion was embarrassed and ashamed by her condition as much as she was guilty over her actions. Naruto lifted her hand. "Shion, will you marry me?"

She answered with tears.

Naruto sat hunched atop the head of the Fourth Hokage and watched the lights of Konoha glitter in the night like dying stars.

He didn't react when presence approached from behind him. The scent loosened the tension in his shoulders.

"You seem unsettled," Hinata noted and sat beside him.

"I just got finished telling the kids about the marriage," Naruto hadn't formally discussed his looming marriage with Hinata, but knew she was already aware of the arrangement with Demon Country.

Hinata could tell by his demeanor that it hadn't gone so well. She placed her hand on top of his and sat under the heavy cover of darkness until he was ready to speak.

"It didn't bother Ichigo. I don't think he really understood but Ame was upset. She didn't seem to mind that there wasn't going to be a wedding or that the marriage is supposed to be a secret. Then Ame asked if I loved her."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders hopelessly. "I've never lied to her. I told her no." He turned to Hinata. "It was like training for years through the academy with a dream to become the greatest ninja and protect everyone, and then you kill someone for the first time, and you realize you can never go back to those dreams. That was the sort of realization that came over her face when I told her the truth." A tear slid down Naruto's cheek but it was too dark to see it. "I broke my daughter's heart today."

Hinata leaned into Naruto's shoulder and he instinctively turned his forehead to rest on top of her hair.

"I refuse to let it all fall to pieces, I refuse to give up without a fight, but I'm not just marrying Shion for the money. It's an out. If things worsen, I'm shipping the kids to Demon Country. My fight is not their fight and I realize by the time this is over, I might have to break her heart even more."

"She's a tough girl, she can handle it. I think she gets it from her Dad," Hinata responded and rested against his full biceps. "I think we need distance. I don't want to impose on you and Shion. She deserves a chance."

"Distance," Naruto chuckled at the irony of the word and their physical orientation. Something had fundamentally changed between them in the past few months. He told her things that he didn't tell anyone else. She had become a part of him, inching into an emotional space no one had ever been before.

"Shion tipped off Lightning."

"I know," Hinata answered. "I put the pieces together. She is the only one who could have known with a low enough profile to slip under Konoha's surveillance."

"Don't kill her."

"She is nothing but a babe playing in a tank full of sharks. She is no use to us or Konoha dead."

Both of their shoulders rose with a sigh.

"I noticed you've submitted your name to the Kage's office for field deployment."

Hinata avoided his eyes and confirmed Naruto's suspicions that she wasn't planning on telling him until it was too late to stop her. "It's impossible for me not to get involved, not with Lightning on our doorstep."

Naruto lifted her shin to face him, and tender as lifting a butterfly. "What ever happened to proving me wrong? You were supposed to escape."

"We can never escape ANBU."

There were full moons in Hinata's eyes. Their lips were only a firefly's breath apart as she said, "I'm nothing more than a snake shedding old skin."

"You go back out there and it's no turning back."

"There was no turning back the moment Lightning captured my sister."

They stared each other down like two stubborn rocks, with wills that refused to move.

"I need a Second."

Hinata smiled with murder between her lips. "I accept."

Naruto darted forward, unable to hold back, and released all his stress and frustrations onto her lips. Soft peppered kisses turned into tongue, saliva, and not enough. Naruto's skin was afire and his hands frantic as he pulled off her clothes. They rolled along the stonework until Hinata's heaving chest was underneath him. Her breath trembled as Naruto trailed his lips up her neck.

Their eyes were locked on one another and there was only one key. "I want you," Hinata whispered.

"That's not good enough. No more lies, Hinata."

Sometimes the truth hurt too much. Hinata held her head into his chest to hide the tears that escaped from the emotional armor that could no longer defend her. Embracing who she was meant embracing all the demons she had refused to confront.

Hinata looked at Naruto with eyes that could pull tides, then admitted, "I love you." Naruto kissed her tears. "I love you so much that I can't breathe unless I have you in my sight. I love you so much that it hurts, it hurts so much." Naruto's held her so softly, like catching a firefly in your hands.

"It was ANBU when I began falling in love with you. I liked the way you fit so well beside me. I was falling for you before I ever knew who was behind the mask," Naruto laid on their sides and pressed their naked bodies against each other. He pulled her leg up over his waist. "I loved you every time you broke my heart and every time you put it back together."

They clung to each other. Naruto placed himself inside her body until no more distance separated them. The moon was full in the sky and watched as the two lovers cut themselves open.

Sometimes distance was an elliptical orbit.

Don't waste the seconds

Soundtrack: Damn your eyes by Alex Clare

Update: 06/24/14