Author's Note

You guys know, this isn't a story to be taken too seriously, right? Sure, there's some elements of a serious plot, but as a bit of a spoiler, the end result of it is solely for the purpose of having no real conflict in the end and things can just stop being serious. I'm actually thinking that once all is said and done for the seriousness of the story, I'll continue things in a part two where every chapter can just be some form of smut.

I know, I've said time and time again that the focus is smut, and I was going to work on it, but I just can't help but expand on things to experiment. Maybe I should have done a second story on the side for those things, but I've gotten pretty attached to this one and just want it to be more of an actual story than just a 'smut-bunny' or whatever they're called. If I do make a part two that's less serious, then I'll probably work on a second story that I can put seriousness into. Any thoughts on that idea? Feel free to let me know!

Gui Hawk: Yoichi meeting more of the girls' parents would be interesting to see for sure, but things would have to settle down a bit plot-wise. Certainly is going doing on my list of ideas, though!

Warning! This story will contain language, sexual situations, and possibly fetishes that some people may feel uncomfortable with. If you are easily offended or disturbed, don't complain, you've been warned.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto


Chapter 54: Responsibility

After a fairly boring and length adventure where Yoichi went to purchase and install a door, the most interesting part being the look he got when he said it was for an adult store after the manager kicked it off the hinges, Yoichi was now left with nothing to do once again. Except this time, he would be getting paid for it. Hopefully.

Yoichi walked back out over to the counter where Tenten and Yugao were chatting after he had put away the tarp that had covered the doorway while he put in the new door.

"Why'd she make me assistant manager instead of one of you? Surely one of you would be better suited for the position." He said as he leaned on the counter, finally able to take a break. Anko had left so suddenly after the decision that he didn't even have time to deny the position. He just wanted to help out, which was why he just went ahead and took care of fixing the door.

"We've got other obligations to take care of. Yugao needs to be available to leave at a moment's notice, and I'm part of a team that goes on a fairly large amount of missions. Being the assistant manager pretty much means you're the acting owner since the real owner never comes by and Anko doesn't either. She's got some sort of contract where she gets paid no matter what, she just needs to make sure the place is running." Tenten said, making Yoichi groan.

"And she's been helping my team's leader out… knowing her, she might just take my spot on the team to make me work here… Wait, how often do customers come in?" He asked, the two girls thinking for a moment.

"I think the most I've seen in an entire day is about… five, maybe six people that bought something? Most of it is delivery, and even then that's hardly anything. This place really shouldn't have enough income to keep going, but whoever owns it either got a great deal on the building and products, or they've got enough money to waste. At this point, I'm thinking both." Yugao stated, leaning against a wall, having done her part an hour ago.

"There was actually a point a few months ago where we didn't have a single purchase for three weeks. Oh, and since I'm on it, at the end of every day we make sure to record the amount of sales there were. After about twenty sales, we check to see if anything needs to be restocked if no one tells us we're out of anything." Tenten added.

"And how many times has that happened since you started working here?" He asked, mainly just to get an idea of how frequently people even bought anything. Tenten simply held up four fingers. "Well, damn. Guess it wouldn't be bad to miss an escort mission to watch over the place. Hell, why doesn't she just work here? Sounds perfect for her." Yugao motioned to a sign on the wall she was leaning on. It read 'No dango allow'.

"When it started, she would sit around eating dango all day. Unfortunately her habit of throwing the skewers made one unfortunate customer lose an eye. The owner covered for her, but after that day, we saw that this sign was put up. Now she just shows up when she feels like it or when she has to." She explained. Yoichi could only nod. Sounded like the Anko he knew alright.

"Since I'm going to be working with the two of you, why don't you tell me about yourselves? I'm not too sure what you know about me, but it's probably a lot more than you two could tell me by the end of the day." He suggested. Tenten was the first to speak.

"Well, there isn't too much more about me. I'm good with sealing, so I help Yugao out if she needs a hand. I do know a lot about weapons, so feel free to come to me if you need any advice on how to use one!" She said, not entirely sure what to say. Yugao followed up.

"I'm part of the Anbu, but because of how calm things have been over the last couple years, many of the active members like myself have been put on reserve. I'm proficient in kenjutsu, storage fuinjutsu, and I'm also a sensor. I occasionally will be called on for a mission, but as I said, with how calm things have been, that's been a rarity." She tells him. Yoichi nods in acknowledgement, just as Tenten leans in to his ear.

"Remember the proctor from the genin exams about two years ago? The one that coughed a lot? She used to date him." Despite how quiet she was trying to be, the glare from Yugao told them she could hear her.

"Hayate and I were… very close, true, but like a lot of relationships, we rushed things a bit too quickly. While we had a lot in common as shinobi, we had very different opinions when it came to more private matters. I moved in with him for about a month and we decided things weren't going to work out as we thought, but we still talk and train together. Despite how our relationship was at one point, we've still remained good friends for the past year." Yoichi nodded, know full well what she meant. That's what he had been fearing with his own relationships.

"Speaking of which," Yugao continued after glancing to a mounted clock. "I need to leave for a meeting that was announced this morning for Anbu on reserve. Considering the suddenness, I suspect it has to do with yesterday's events. I trust the two of you can handle the rest." She said, both of the younger shinobi nodding. After logging her time, Yugao left, leaving Yoichi and Tenten alone.

"So, I guess we can start by having you show me the different products." He said after a few moments of silence. Tenten had distracted herself with her thoughts, snapping out of it when she heard him speak, but immediately misunderstood what he meant, eyes widening and her face turning bright red.

"Sh-show you? But, we hardly know each other, and we're supposed to be working, and someone might come in and see, and, and, and…" She stammered, completely flustered as she fidgeted in place. Yoichi blinked, wondering what she was talking about, just about to correct her until he remembered something Anko had told him just the previous day. He was the most sought after guy because of what the girls had been saying about him. They most likely talked about him here. From that guess and Tenten's reaction, he could conclude that she was interested in him. Well, there was only one way to find out.

"You don't have to worry about that. This can be a way for us to get to know one another. Besides, I don't think anyone would be too worried if we 'accidentally' turned the sign out front around." He said, leaning in to whisper into her ear, running one finger along her shoulders and down her arm, watching as she visibly shuddered, biting her lower lip.

"But, I don't, maybe, you know, I'm not…" She stumbled over her words, not sure what to say as she never expected to be in this sort of situation. To her relief, he would eventually pull back, chuckling lightly as he began to walk around.

"I'll just take a look around and see for myself then." He says, leaving her to move over to the counter to lean on, taking a moment to calm down and catch her breath. She had heard stories at what a simple touch could do to a woman, and it might have just been her own fault for thinking the wrong way at first, but just from how his finger moved across her skin… she couldn't help but shudder again. Working there suddenly became a bit worrisome… and a lot more interesting.

"Feel free to ask for more!" Yoichi called from down one aisle just as she finished getting back onto her feet.

"Maybe if you promise not to use chakra next time!" She countered back with a huff.

"Well, seems you are interested in more. That's all I had to hear." He said before disappearing somewhere she couldn't see. It took her a moment to realize what he was saying, blushing once again. Before she could respond, the front door opened as Ino walked in.

"Hey Tenten, thought I'd stop by after work to see if you've heard anything new recently. Looks like that door's finally been replaced." She said, pausing as she noticed the flushed expression on the other girl's face. "Something happen?" She asked, Tenten taking a moment to recompose herself.

"Oh, nothing at all! No one's come by, either, so nothing new to tell you." She said a bit hurriedly, Ino raising an eyebrow but nodding.

"Alright. Just you today?" Before Tenten could answer that, someone else would.

"No, I'm here too. Just got a bit bored and started walking around. Glad to see you again, Ino." Tenten slowly turned to see… Yugao walking over to them. She gave Ino a polite nod as she moved over to the wall behind the counter, leaning against it while also conveniently covering up their time sheet.

"Hey Yugao, glad to see you as well! Anything new with you?" The blonde asked, 'Yugao' shaking her head in response. "Nothing ever seems to happen here anymore." She said with a small sigh. "But, I've got something to tell you! Yesterday, I finally told Yoichi about how me and the other girls are fine with him doing whatever he wants. I had to flat out tell him, because that boy cannot take a single hint, but we hardly see him! Every moment we get with him is just… great! We just want to make sure to make the most of it, you know?" She said, Tenten nervously glancing to 'Yugao' before nodding.

"Yeah, you do always talk about him like you really care for him." She replies.

"You really should take a moment to talk with him. I have a feeling he'd really like you. Plus, he could really help out with that secret of yours~" Ino said with a teasing grin, leaning in towards Tenten who moved back a bit, holding her hands up.

"Okay, okay! I'll at least think about it." She says, if only to not get Ino to pursue the topic further, but thankfully 'Yugao' would change it… even though it wasn't the best topic to move to.

"I know I've only heard about this Yoichi from what you and the others have said, but I just can't tell why you wouldn't want him to know about the shop." Tenten paled a bit, hoping that Ino wouldn't get suspicious at all, but the other girl seemed to take it as a normal question.

"It's the same reason we don't buy any of the toys anymore. While he was gone, they were enough when we needed them, but we know Yoichi enough that if he got his hands on some of these things, he'll be resourceful enough to make us never want to leave the house. Especially since he's hardly left since he came back, and whenever he leaves the house he gets into some sort of trouble." Ino states casually. Tenten let out a breath she ddn't know she was holding, only for 'Yugao' to ask an even more suspicious question.

"Anko came by earlier saying she needed an assistant manager for here since she's hardly around and most of the workers are here part time. Just out of curiosity, what would you and the others do if he were to take that position for whatever reason?" That was certainly a both vague and specific question that made Ino blink as she took a moment to think.

"I'm… not really sure. That's a bit of a weird question, coming from you, Yugao. No offense, of course. But, if I were to give an honest answer… We'd probably just bend over and accept it. I mean, if he knows about this place, and he's working here? Not much else we can do. Hell, some of use my work here more often in that case. I guess it wouldn't be that bad, but we just want to play things safe until we can handle him by himself, before adding anything else into the mix." She said, before glancing to a clock to see the time. "I would love to talk more, but I just remembered I need to stop by my parents' place to talk with them a bit. Hope Yoichi doesn't die of boredom before anyone gets home. See you gals later!" She says before leaving, Tenten letting out a bigger breath she didn't notice she had been holding.

"That was close… I don't want to know what she'd do to me if she learned I mistakenly told you their secret…" She said for a moment before turning to 'Yugao', who was currently patting 'her' chest. "What are you doing now?" She asked, making the other stop and look to her.

"It's been a while since I've done a transformation. Turns out I can look pretty accurate to a girl that I've touched, even if they've just accidentally brushed against me. These uniforms are a lot stiffer than they look. I'm surprised she can casually wear this around." 'Yugao' replied before puffing into smoke, Yoichi standing in her place when it dissipated.

"Not sure I needed to know that. Anyways, it's pretty rude to disguise yourself as someone else, just to listen in on a conversation." Tenten crossed her arms, looking at him disapprovingly, but he just tilted his head.

"But… we're shinobi. That's literally among the basics for gathering information. Besides, it's not like she said too much I didn't already know. I mean, after walking around briefly, I've already got plenty ideas for each of them. Oh, I see, it has to do with Ino letting it slip you had a secret, isn't it?" He asked, stepping a bit closer to her. Tenten's face flushed red once again as she held her hands up, taking a step back.

"Secret? What secret? I don't know what you're talking about! Oh, would you look at the time, I have to, uh, meet with Lee and Gai for pushups! You can handle this on your own, right?" She said, Yoichi laughing at her reaction.

"Relax, I'm just teasing you. Besides, would you really want to see what would happen if you left me here? Someone who's proficient in fuinjutsu and injutsu, and can tamper with some of these items that use seals for things like vibration?" When he put it that way, part of her was torn between wanting to see it and not. Taking a deep breath and letting it out as a sigh, she scowled at him.

"You're not going to make it easy working here, you know." She said, Yoichi shrugging as he leaned against the counter.

"Hey, you want me to stop teasing you, just tell me. Just don't complain to Anko about sexual harassment. Knowing her, she might join in. And unlike me, she doesn't stop in public." While he was right, he was just bluffing. Even Tenten could tell, but she also knew he was right. Anko is Anko after all.

"Alright, fine, whatever. Let's just go over the things you should know while working here." She said, Yoichi letting out a small chuckle as she didn't even tell him to stop teasing.


When everything was said and done and they closed up shop for the day, Tenten telling him to work out a schedule with Anko (even though here was doubt she'd even give him one), and a bit more teasing, Yoichi went on home for a nice end to the day. Well, it would have been one if he wasn't hit by a blast of cold air when he opened the front door.

Just to make sure he wasn't imagining things, he closed the door while still outside. The temperature was nice as always for this time of year. Opening the door again, it was like winter. Groaning to himself, not being a fan of the cold, he walked in to find the cause of this.

"What's going on? Why's the house so cold?" He asked, walking into the main room to see their usual circle of couches pushed back into a larger circle, surrounding a large, knee-high table that most of the girls were sat at, wearing what seemed to be clothes one would wear to sleep on a cold night. All of them were tucked under a thick blanket that lined the table, sitting on a cushioned seat that ran around the foot of the table.

"Our kotatsu came in, so we're trying it out! You should try it, too, it's so warm!" Naruko piped up with a very pleased expression on her face. Unlike the rest, she had slid fully under the futon, her head being the only thing poking out from it, looking like she was about to fall asleep.

"Why is it so cold though? HOW is it so cold?" He asked, definitely tempted to join, but wanting answers as well.

"Calm down, shithead, we just turned the temperature down as low as it could go. If we tried it out at a regular temperature, it'd be a fucking sauna. Go put something warm on and then come back and tell us where the hell you've been." Tayuya said, Yoichi sighing and doing just that. He didn't even know air conditioning could be so cold.

A few minutes later, Yoichi would be sat at the Kotatsu under the futon as well, wearing a dark blue, long sleeved shirt with grey sweatpants, since those were all he could find. Maybe he should have gone shopping that day. Naruko made her way beneath the table over to him, poking her head out to rest her head in his lap, really looking like she was enjoying herself as she giggled giddily, Yoichi gently rubbing her head.

"You really like this, don't you?" He asked, getting a nod from her before nuzzling into his hand.

"Yup! I couldn't afford a fancy heated one like this when I was in my apartment. This is tons better! Can we just keep it out?" She asks, looking up at him. Before he could answer, Tayuya who had moved beside him spoke up first.

"No, it's too damn expensive to keep the temperature low enough to make this thing comfortable, and it takes up so much room. We've had to custom order this fucking thing to seat twenty-four people at any given time. And that's only because you wanted to make sure people could sleep under it!" She said, Naruko pouting at her before looking back up at Yoichi with puppy dog eyes.

"Please, Master?" She asked sweetly. Yoichi felt himself begin to sweat under the pressure, glancing to Tayuya who was giving him a stern look, as if to say 'you know what to do'. Glancing around the table he saw… none of the other girls seemed to care. Temari, Satsuki, and Ryuzetsu were all reading, Kin had left to get started on dinner, and Konan who had taken a seat on his other side was teaching Hinata how to fold a paper flower like the one she wore in her hair.

"Well, we can't keep the temperature low, but I don't see the harm in keeping it out for a while. If it becomes a problem, then we can store it away until it gets cold out." He said, picking his words carefully to find a compromise. Thankfully, that seemed to work well between the two, allowing him to let out a sigh of relief.

"So, the fuck have you been up to? I was the only one here when I got back, and if you had been out for another damn hour, we were going to hunt you down for disappearing again." Tayuya said as she took a sip of hot tea Kin had made for everyone to drink.

"I got a job." The reaction he got was certainly not what he was expecting. In fact, it was a bit too much. Tayuya did a spit take, Naruko tried jumping up in surprise only to hit the table above her, Konan accidentally ripped part of the paper she was folding, Hinata almost fainted, Temari dropped her book, there was a large clanging sound of something metal hitting the floor from the kitchen, Ryuzetsu looked around trying to figure out why the others were surprised, and Satsuki blinked before going back to her book. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Yes it fucking is! You do almost nothing, and suddenly you have a job? You don't even need one! Where the hell would you work anyways? We know you damn well enough to know you would only take a job if it required as little fucking effort as possible!" Tayuya exclaimed, always the one to voice what most of the others were thinking, albeit in a louder and cruder way. Not that anyone minded anymore.

"I know, this job is just perfect. I'd tell you, but I'd also like to wait for Ino to get back because I do like to avoid repeating things." He said, sliding out from the futon to stand up to let Naruko be less confined under the table from the semi-tight fit there already was.

"Wait for me to get back for what? And why is it so cold in here?" The platinum blonde said as she entered, having just caught the tail end of the conversation, hugging herself to keep warm.

"It's cold because we're trying out the kotatsu, and Yoichi just told us that he has a fucking job and he wouldn't tell us where until you got back. Guess you're spilling it now, shithead." Tayuya said, getting up as well to glare at him with her hands on her hips. Hearing that, Ino, blinked in surprise before crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow, also looking to him.

"Well, go on ahead." She said, everyone's attention turned to him.

"You see, the another reason I waited for you to get back was to let you know that Yugao had to leave early for a meeting before you got off work." He said casually. No one had any idea what he meant by that. Except for Ino who took a full two seconds before things clicked in her head.

"You son of a bitch… I knew that Yugao would never ask something like that out of nowhere!" She said, the others looking to her for an explanation as Yoichi looked like he was trying to hold back from laughing. "If he's implying what I think he is, then Anko gave him a job as the assistant manager at the Rumor Mill." Ino told them. Not able to hold back any longer, Yoichi couldn't help but burst out laughing.

He would begin laughing so hard that he missed the various reactions from the other girls to that news, finding the situation a bit too funny for what it was. After their initial shock, the girls simply waited for his little laughing fit to end to get more information from him, but their annoyance from it quickly began to turn to worry.

Yoichi didn't seem like he would be stopping anytime soon, falling onto his knees and clutching his stomach with one arm, not even sure why he couldn't stop laughing. It was when he noticed a pain in his chest did pure terror wash over him, his arm moving up from his stomach to clutch at his chest, looking down to see a dark miasma spewing from his seal.

He tried to move, to tell the girls to get away from him, anything, but nothing he did seem to work. All he could do was laugh at absolutely nothing as the miasma surrounded him, the girls watching in horror as it closed around him, the laughing abruptly stopping as a black, swirling mass took the place of where Yoichi had been.

Too distracted by the events, no one would see the figure watching from the window before disappearing into the growing dark outside.


Author's Note

Yoichi's just having a really bad month, isn't he? Yes, more plot and no smut, but I need to tie up a few loose ends of the story that I think a few people might have been wondering about for some time now. The smut parts are fun to write, sure, but I'm also having fun with the non-smut parts a bit more, which is why they're a bit more prevalent. Hopefully this doesn't contradict anything I said in the beginning, because I am very tired and lazy at the time of writing this. What might you expect in the next chapter, though? The return of Lily.

Anyways, hope you all enjoyed! Please make sure to follow this story to keep up to date on when I post as I do not have a regular schedule. Also leave a review/comment telling me what you did or didn't like and what you'd like to see more or less of. Any bit helps!

Until next time!

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