Author's note: This chapter will be the first of the next phase of this story. It happens two years after the incident on the Island of Tides. For the next chapters, I want to focus on the current relationships between the characters. And that also includes some smuts. This is a romance story, after all. But I will fill you all in on what comes next later.
Chapter 40: Our Future Leaders
Inside a classroom in the Ninja Academy, Village Hidden in the Leaves, Land of Fire
Almost two years had passed since Naruto, Sasuke and their friends had fought and prevented a world crisis in the form of Kenrojin. But the victory was costly, as Sasuke's own cousin Saizo had been seeking to destroy all existence with the help of Kenrojin's power. His fall had greatly affected Sasuke, yet he was not alone. Other friends had also been slightly traumatized by the crisis. Still, the victory had managed to lift up hope amongst the shinobis of the world.
Naruto was still a jounin, practicing day and night to learn what being a leader meant. But for the past two years, Naruto wanted to do something different. He wished to encourage and empower young and inexperienced ninjas at the Academy. In his mind, being a Hokage meant that he had a duty to protect the younger generation that had been born, so he wanted to inspire them as well. The children were after all the backbone of the Leaf Village. That's why Naruto had often visited the Academy frequently to perform lectures towards a class of young shinobis.
"So that's basically just it" Naruto informed everyone as he was demonstrating what appeared to be the Shadow Clone Jutsu. All the curious and young genins before him awed at what he had succeeded. The Shadow Clone soon vanished. "To create a Shadow Clone, you simply must try and try until you've finally learned it. But just remember, impatience is not the best tool. That's something you should stay away from" he continued.
The teacher named Suzume stepped besides Naruto. "Is there anything you children would like to ask of Master Naruto?" she asked them.
Some of them felt more than willing to ask more of him. Among those who raised their hands was a young boy with light-brown hair. Naruto smiled, as he seemed to recognize that boy.
"Ah, let me see. You first, Menma Umino" Suzume told the name of the young boy.
Menma smiled brightly at Naruto. "My dad says that you can actually create more than just one Shadow Clone. He says you can create hundreds….no, thousands of them!" he then stated, much to the surprise of his classmates.
Naruto had to chuckle nervously at hearing that. "He does? I'm sorry, but I've no idea what you're talking about, Menma?" he told the young boy, whom he knew was the son of Iruka.
Menma was confused. "But that's what he told me. And dad also said how you used to be quite the troublemaker in class" the kid informed Naruto.
Naruto was really taken aback by this. "Damn it, Iruka-sensei. Did you tell Menma everything about me?" he wondered while thinking about the instructor he had grown to admire and respect.
"Menma, you shouldn't waste Master Naruto's time with such ridiculous questions and statements. He is, after all, one of the strongest shinobis of the Leaf Village" Suzume scolded him, only for Naruto to interject her.
"No worries, Suzume. I can tell that little Menma was only just curious after learning this from his dad. Come on, it's not that I don't know the type of person Iruka-sensei is" Naruto assured her.
Adjusting her glasses, Suzume looked to see the other students who had raised their hand. She eventually saw a young girl with a hair that had a tint of blue and black in it.
"Alright. Moving on. Do you have something to say, Bunko Mitarashi?" Suzume asked her.
For some reason, this young girl looked quite introverted. Then again, she was not the only one among her classmates. There were plenty of young students who were just as shy as Bunko was.
"Master Naruto…...do you know who my daddy is?" she suddenly asked a question that sent shivers down Naruto's spine.
This surprisingly made Naruto feel uneasy, as he didn't know how to respond to it. Gulping, Naruto figured out an answer he could give to Bunko. He even approached the shy girl on her seat and put a hand on top of her head.
"Sorry, Bunko. But I don't know" Naruto told her while smiling at the young girl reassuringly. "But trust me, he will come home someday. I just know it!" the charismatic ninja told Bunko, who smiled weakly at him in return.
"R-right! I hope so too!" Bunko then responded, although some of the other students didn't know the reason why she had asked Naruto about her father.
Deep inside, Naruto felt bad for lying to this innocent little girl. After all, he did know her father. Despite having more resemblances to her mother, Bunko Mitarashi was in fact the biological daughter of Kakashi Hatake. However, she had been conceived at a time when her parents were in a relationship that didn't last long.
Suzume cleared her throat, thus getting the attention of every student in the classroom. "Alright, students. Master Naruto must take his leave for today, given that he's a very busy man. Still, let us all thank him for what he has shown us today. Give him an applause he deserves" the teacher told the students.
Every youngster clapped their hands to follow what their teacher did. Naruto could only stand and receive this praise with his usual goofy grin.
"Eh, no biggie. I'm always up for teaching you kids something new. You're all part of our village's future, ya know" Naruto said, still feeling happy about the fact he was being looked up to by these young genins. "Well, I best head back to the Hokage Tower. Grandma Tsunade always wants me to be back on time. So long, kids. See ya next time" he bid them farewell before leaving the classroom.
"BYE, MASTER NARUTO!" all the children said in unison, much to the amusement of the blonde-haired man.
Before closing the door behind him, Naruto looked over his shoulder one last time to get a glimpse of the children seated on the rows. Given how they each looked familiar to certain jounins he knew, Naruto could tell who their parents were.
There was Ayumu Sarutobi, the son of Kurenai and Asuma. He had features from his parents, including his mother's crimson eyes and his father's black hair. Another student was Isamu Morino, the son of Ibiki. Nobody knew who his mother was, yet rumors had that Ibiki and Yugao had started a romantic relationship between each other in secret. But that was only just rumors. Other students included Tadeshi Yamashiro, son of Aoba, familiar with his sunglasses. Then there was Keiko Shiranui, daughter of Genma, Shinta Namiashi, son of Raido and last but not least other children from genins or jounins like Izume Sarugaki and Tempura Akame.
But in addition to children from previous jounins and genins, there were some children who were relatively new at the Academy, if not in the entire Leaf Village. One of them was the young boy named Hideki Sado. True, he was one of the many refugees of the exiled Sado clan that had been granted refuge in the Leaf Village. Another student was Kazue Shimuzu, a quiet yet gentle girl from somewhere in the Land of Water. Nobody knew exactly about her origins. Still, she had been welcomed into the Leaf Village as a refugee from conflict, something her peers had taken notice of.
Finally closing the door, Naruto walked out of the Academy, now heading towards the Hokage Tower. But a part of him dreaded going back to working on administrating the village.
"Aww man, why must I always go back to doing more paperwork after this? Couldn't Grandma Tsunade have just let me off only this day?" Naruto complained, yet he soon found his courage back. "No matter. I'm still heading back to see what Tsunade has for me. It can't be all bad" the blonde-haired man encouraged himself.
Naruto was about to make his run out of the Academy, yet something prevented him from taking his leave. He was surprised when someone called out to him from nowhere.
"How was today's lesson, Naruto?" he snapped as he could see Shino standing by an opened door to his left.
"Geez, don't scare me like that, Shino!" Naruto rebuked him, forcing Shino to smirk at him in response.
"Did I scare you that much? I was under the impression that you were able to read my Chakra. Perhaps this is not the case here" Shino joked.
Sighing, Naruto decided to move on to what his friend was asking him about. "Anyway, you wanted to know how I did today? I did good. All those kids sure are a handful, especially Iruka-sensei's Menma. That boy really gets me sometimes" he said, deciding to see what Shino was up to. "What about you? Do you enjoy teaching at the Academy?" he asked the calm-mannered man.
"Certainly. But I have only had these lessons a few times now. Still, I will continue to do my best to contribute to the Academy. Umeko has been very supportive of me so far" the Aburame heir revealed what he had been through.
Naruto chuckled at hearing this. "Glad to hear it, Shino" he replied, only to realize that he was not supposed to be late for his work at Tsunade's. "Oh crap! I gotta head back to the Hokage Tower before Grandma Tsunade loses it. I'll see you around!" Naruto said and ran straight through the corridor.
Shino waved his hand at Naruto, completely unfazed with what he saw. Still, he had to be amused with the kind of shinobi Naruto had become in the last few years.
"You never change, do you, Naruto? But that's nothing to complain about. It's how you'll always been" Shino remarked before walking through the corridor in the opposite direction of Naruto's.
At a local fitness center
Ever since the crisis that had affected the entire world two years ago, men and women had grown concerned about whether they weren't strong enough to protect themselves or their loved ones. Because of that, each hidden village had begun setting up fitness centers, which became a great use to the public. Among those fitness centers and gyms, the one in the Leaf Village was perhaps the most famous.
Many shinobis worked there as personal trainers or fitness instructors. One of them was Rock Lee. As a master in taijutsu and a fitness enthusiast, Lee gladly accepted the call for personal trainers the new gym needed. For him, it was part of a dream becoming a reality. Lee could now inspire men and children, whether they were old or young, to become more physical active and get into exercising more often. After all, being a ninja amounted to more than just ninjutsu or genjutsu.
As a personal trainer, Lee was known for inspiring confidence in those who lacked physical strength. He was a professional at performing push-ups, sit-ups or whatever physical training that was needed. Seeing these old and young shinobis pushing to their limits only reminded Lee about himself, and how he had trained everyday to become a shinobi that could only rely on ninjutsu. In addition to that, Lee also held some nunchaku courses, yet only few were brave enough to practice those with him.
Right now, Lee was helping an old man named Kosuke Maruboshi doing some bench press. In other words, he was lifting some weights. Despite Kosuke's fragile appearance, he was still fit to lift weights, with Lee's supervision of course. Lee had been of great help to Kosuke when it came to encouragement and pushing beyond his limits.
Once Kosuke had finished doing some bench press, Lee helped carrying the weight back to its place.
"Great job there, Kosuke! I'm amazed by how someone at your age can do some bench press, let alone carrying weight!" Lee commended the elderly man's efforts.
Despite Kosuke's deep panting, he still smiled as he faced Lee. "My age does not stop me from being of great use to the Leaf Village. After all, I am the infamous Hidden Leaf's Strongest Genin. While I may be old, I sure am not senile and helpless" he responded.
"Naturally" Lee remarked, unable to deny the determination living inside Kosuke. "Well, that's it for today. I suggest we continue this training next time. Just be careful not to overstretch your muscles, okay? I'm only saying this as a friendly advice" he then told Kosuke.
The elderly man nodded his head at him in return. "I sure will, Rock Lee. And thank you for this wonderful training session. Without you, I would have been lost" he said before heading towards what appeared to be a locker room.
"No sweat, Kosuke. See you next time!" Lee waved him farewell.
With that taking care of, Lee began wandering around the gym to see how the many men and women were doing with their training. So far, everything seemed alright. There were other personal trainers who assisted some of them with how to use the many exercise equipment in the gym. Lee mused to himself, feeling great to know that he was not the only fitness enthusiast in the Leaf Village.
"To be able to work with such fine people. I couldn't have gotten a better job than this!" Lee remarked, exchanging pleasantries with his fellow personal trainers as he walked past them.
Thinking about his job reminded Lee about something. "Oh, that's right! Tenten's here today having that course of hers! I better go and see how she's doing!" the dull-looking man suggested and quickly headed upstairs to the second floor.
Lee stood outside a door, yet he could spot through the windows and see what was happening in that hall. There was a fitness course taking place in there and Tenten was leading it. But this was a completely different sport than what he was used to.
Tenten was leading a course in pole dancing. That's right, pole dancing had in recent years begun to be recognized as a sport, probably due to the training which was required to do so. Throughout the world, pole dancing itself was a popular sportsmanship.
Lee only stood and watched amazed in how Tenten, the girl he had been dating, demonstrate her pole dancing skills.
"Woah…" Lee was speechless.
Tenten was wearing a ping tank top and black spandex shorts. And of course, she wore no shoes, as such was not required when it came to pole dancing. Still, Lee was taken aback by the kind of acrobatic skills his girlfriend could accomplish. He even felt himself getting turned on a bit, especially when Tenten was doing the seahorse position against the pole.
"Tenten…...you're…" Lee snapped back into reality when he realized what he was doing. "Hold on! I can't just stand there and leer into her like this! I was supposed to go inside and ask how she was doing!" he scolded himself.
Silently, Lee entered the hall, none of the girls noticing it. Most of Tenten's students in the pole dancing courses were of course women. Lee could not picture seeing himself or any other man doing such things with a pole. Pole dancing was all about, to Lee's own understanding, acrobatics and the ability to hang by the pole without standing.
As soon as Tenten finished her pole dancing, the other ladies gave her applause for what she had showed them. She delightfully accepted it.
"Alright, girls. That was what I wanted to show you. How to perform the seahorse" Tenten told them and they all packed their bags to leave. "Now remember, make sure that when you practice your pole dancing, the pole stands still. And please don't learn new tricks that I haven't showed you yet. But all of you are more than welcome in trying the seahorse position. See you girls next week" she bid them farewell.
Once the girls were out of the hall, Tenten directed her attention towards Lee, her smile brightening as a result.
"Lee! You're here!" she said as he ran towards him.
Lee chuckled nervously. "Hiya, Tenten. Forgive me if I interrupted you or anything, but I really watched you and…" he was surprised when his girlfriend kissed him directly on his lips, then proceeding to climb upon him while hanging around by his waist with her legs. Still, Lee happily accepted the kiss and held onto Tenten's thighs.
"Tell me: how was I? Was the dance good? Was it bad? Be honest with me, Lee" she wanted an answer.
Lee smiled gleefully at her. "Come on, Tenten. You know my answer. It was amazing. I've never known you to be so…agile" he tried coming up with the right words.
Tenten giggled in before planting a smooch upon Lee's cheek. "I think flexible may be the word you're looking for, my handsome goof" the brunette responded before getting off her boyfriend. "Now that reminds me. Are you finished for today's shift?" she then asked him.
"Nope, I still got a couple of hours left. But hey, I enjoy this job. It's also great that you managed to get a part-time job here as well" Lee remarked.
"Yeah, I know. But I've noticed that business in the weapon shop has boosted since that incident two years ago. People are still coming over to buy weapons" Tenten remarked.
Lee grinned at her while giving her a thumbs up. "What did I tell ya? I knew that business would grow again soon" he exclaimed, only to realize that he wanted to ask Tenten about something. "Now that reminds me…...do you have anything going on later tomorrow?" Lee quizzed.
"No. Can't say I've anything planned. Why do you ask?" Tenten wondered.
A mischievous smile formed across Lee's lips. "Oh, you know what I mean. I was wondering about whether you and I could spend some quality time together. Like, we could go mountain climbing, swimming or even jogging. If you want to, that is" Lee came up with his suggestion.
Tenten responded by putting her handpalms up against Lee's t-shirt, starting rubbing his toned chest. This was probably an effort of Tenten to tease and entice her boyfriend. "Oh, so that's what this is all about? A training date? Why, I was wondering about whether you and me could jog together in the evening. We can eat at my place afterwards. I just have the perfect recipe for a healthy dinner you will enjoy" she explained how they could proceed with their "training date".
Lee grinned cheekily at his girlfriend. "So, I take that as a yes" he responded.
"Of course, dummy. What else would that mean? Just make sure that your feet and legs are prepared. I'm looking forward to beat you in a race" Tenten said before heading over to her gym bag to pick it up.
Lee shook his head in disbelief in what Tenten was saying. "We'll see about that. But I warn you: I'm not so easy to best at when it comes to jogging" he assured Tenten.
In response to that, Tenten looked over her shoulder with a smirk. Lee became slightly aroused as the brunette starting rubbing her right butt cheek beneath her spandex shorts. She watched how turned on Lee became and started patting her round behind in a teasing manner. Tenten was satisfied.
"Fair enough. See you tomorrow, Lee. I can't wait to show you how good I am" she said before taking her leave.
As he watched Tenten exit the hall and disappear from his side, Lee had to let out a whistle of amazement. Frankly, he was stunned in how the relationship between the two of them had developed over the last couple of years. Both of them had started to handle it in a more mature way. By this, Tenten had started to accept Lee's goofiness. Meanwhile, Lee had started to be more mature, especially when the situation required it. Lee himself admitted that he needed this change. Everything was not all roses and glitters. Still, there was no question that Tenten had fallen deeply in love with this new side of Lee.
"Tenten…...meeting you was probably one of the most important things that happened to me in my life…..." Lee admitted, even getting slightly emotional about saying that.
Inside the Yamanaka Flower Shop
Ino Yamanaka had experienced quite a change. She was still enjoying her time being the clan's head, taking leadership while representing it in important affairs. Because of her duties, she only spent part-time working at the clan's flower shop. For now, that job had mostly been reserved for her mother: Kiki Yamanaka.
So far, Ino had done an impressive job as clan head. But at the same time, she had started to grow incredibly famous for what admirers called her "attractiveness" and "sexiness". Various men had tried courting her, desperately wanting to become the Yamanaka Mistress' husband. But Ino knew better. Those men were, in her mind, only a bunch of horndogs who didn't see anything beyond her looks.
On the other hand, many of her fellow Yamanakas had brought up the subject of Ino getting married and finding a husband. Even her own mother had kept nagging her about it. It was all about marrying a man and produce an heir to the clan. However, Ino had ignored their desperate pleas, as she believed only she alone could decide when to get married.
For the last couple of years, Ino had started a romantic relationship with Sasuke. When her mother and the rest of the Yamanaka clan had learned about this, they all became cautious. To them, it was a shock in how Ino had started seeing an ex-criminal, let alone the fact that he was an Uchiha. Both Kiki and several Yamanaka clansmen treated Sasuke with suspicion, unwilling to forgive him for his past atrocities. Still, that didn't bother Ino. She ignored the protests of her mother and pursued this relationship.
Right now, Ino was helping Kiki in the flower shop, having just returned after an important meeting with the Interrogation Squad. Even though Kiki was a widow, her daughter always managed to bring life within the middle-aged woman. Watching how Ino led their clan reminded her about Inoichi, her late husband. While she still missed him dearly, Kiki knew that drifting back into the past was not something Inoichi would've wanted. Ino was their legacy, she was better off embracing her instead.
"Thanks for stopping by! Come again!" Ino bid a customer farewell.
"Anytime for you, babe! I hope to see that fine body of yours soon!" the customer, who was a bulky man said to her with a wink before leaving.
However, Ino was disgusted by that gesture she had received. Her mother could be heard laughing in the background.
"I think that man likes you, Ino" Kiki remarked, seeing how her daughter was annoyed with her saying such. "Why not ask for his number? He looks promising" she then suggested to Ino.
This made the blondie glance at her mother with disbelief. "Are you kidding me, mom? That guy's a total womanizer! No way that I would ever date an oaf like him!" she snapped at her.
Kiki responded by only laughing sweetly at her daughter's outburst. "I know, Ino. I was just teasing with you" she said, yet she was not yet finished speaking. "Still, there are plenty of men who visits this shop everyday to ask about you. Don't you see it, sweetie? These men are all interested in getting to know you better" she then revealed.
Ino groaned in irritation at her mother's words. "I know. You've been saying that like five times already. And I've seen those guys before. They're nothing but stalkers and creeps" the Yamanaka Mistress pointed out, only to form a smirk on her lips. "But too bad for them, because I already have my eyes set on someone handsome" she exclaimed, starting to think about the man she loved.
Kiki let out a deep sigh. "Ino, with all due respect. Someone like you shouldn't be seen with a vicious man such as Sasuke Uchiha. Come on, daughter. You're better than this" the middle-aged woman pointed out.
Ino put her hands on her hips while facing her mother dispassionately. "You're just hesitant because you don't know him as much as I do" she told her, soon starting to fantasize about the man she deeply loved. "Who else could resist his charms?" she then said.
"But sweetheart. He's an Uchiha, you're a Yamanaka. Our clans are very different. And for the record, Sasuke has a tendency to act sanctimonious towards me and some other Yamanakas. That attitude of his is just so…..toxic" Kiki pointed out.
"From your perspective, perhaps" Ino said with a huff. The blondie started looking at her mother in a somewhat daughterly manner. "But I've seen a part of him that makes me attracted to him. I wanna keep being the bush clover that even the most cold-hearted man can't take his eyes off. Dad told me how I've come to symbolize the bush clover before he died…" she was reminded about the painful loss of Inoichi.
Seeing how slightly emotional her daughter was getting, Kiki immediately went over to Ino's side and comforted her. The mother and daughter shared a wonderful hug, each of them being reminded about how they had each other now that Inoichi was gone.
"It's no shame in crying, Ino. I also miss him…...everyday" Kiki consoled her.
But Ino quickly wiped out her tears. "I know that…...but rather than mourning his loss, I will continue to honor his legacy by leading the Yamanaka clan. You and dad didn't raise me for nothing!" she spoke up with determination in her voice.
Kiki mused to herself in seeing how confident and mature Ino had grown in her earlier years as clan head. To see how Ino had grown into such a wonderful woman…..was stunning to say at least.
"Each day, you keep reminding me about your father. He would've been proud of you, Ino" Kiki insisted to her in all honesty.
Ino's conversation with her mother was interrupted when the door opened, causing the hanging bell to ring. Ino quickly turned around to see who it was. She beamed with happiness. Kiki looked past her, trying to figure out why her daughter was behaving this way.
Standing by the door was Sasuke, the adult raven-haired man wearing this specialized outfit worn by members of the Shadow Squad. He had even removed his porcelain mask, thus exposing his weak smile.
"SASUKE!" Ino exclaimed as she quickly caught him with her arms in a tight hug. Sasuke responded by holding Ino by her waists. The blondie faced him with a sultry look. "Welcome back, handsome. How was the mission?" she asked him.
Sasuke closed his eyes, feeling that it was unnecessary for him to respond. But he did it anyway. "Nothing special. Doing reconnaissance in the fields gets old quickly" he answered plainly.
"Aww, was the mission really that boring?" Ino pouted at her boyfriend teasingly. "Then let me make it up to you with this…" she said before catching Sasuke's lips with hers. Sasuke surprisingly accepted the kiss, even pulling her closer to him.
Behind them, Kiki stood in awkward silence as she watched her beautiful daughter make out with the Uchiha "bad boy", as she sometimes referred to him as. Frankly, she and Sasuke had a somewhat weird relationship. They barley even talked with one another. Still, the raven-haired man was aware of Kiki's continued distrust towards him.
As a matter of fact, Sasuke had taken notice of her appearance, and he greeted her nonchalantly. "Oh, I see you're here as well, Kiki Yamanaka" he noted as Ino let go of him.
Forming a fake smile, Kiki did her best to exchange pleasantries with him. "Yes. It's…..charming to see you again, Sasuke Uchiha" the middle-aged woman told him.
Ino could see through her mother's acting, and she didn't like it at all. "Mom!" the blondie hissed at Kiki through gritted teeth. She then looked at Sasuke with a sweet smile. "Don't listen to mom. She always picks the wrong words to use" she explained, encouraging Sasuke not to take her words for real.
Sasuke didn't know how to put up with this, yet he weakly nodded his head at Ino. Still, he looked at Kiki and could see how the middle-aged woman was not particularly fond of seeing him.
"So, I assume that you are here to purchase some flowers, am I right?" Kiki questioned him with her arms crossed, looking rather suspicious towards him.
Before Ino could open her mouth to reprimand her mother, Sasuke stepped before her, surprisingly smiling at the woman behind the counter.
"Yes. That's another reason for why I came here. I wish to buy two bouquets of flowers" Sasuke revealed, much to the surprise of the Yamanakas.
"Oh, that sounds wonderful, Sasuke. But may I ask whom those bouquets are for?" Ino asked, starting to worry whether another woman had caught Sasuke's attention.
Sasuke couldn't help but to close his eyes before answering her. "It's for the graves of Saizo and my late aunt Akihime. I want to decorate their graves with flowers. It's been a long time since I last visited them" the Uchiha revealed what he wanted with the bouquets.
Hearing this immediately caused Ino's expression to soften. She could tell the sadness by only looking at her boyfriend's face. But Ino wasn't alone. Even Kiki could somewhat feel for whatever loss Sasuke had to endure. She didn't know why, but Kiki knew that no matter how different they were, Sasuke had also experienced loss in his life. But the losses he had faced were many compared to those of Ino and Kiki.
Ino held up Sasuke's hands, facing him with sympathy. "Oh, Sasuke. That's so wonderful of you" the Yamanaka Mistress before an idea crossed into her mind. "Speaking of which, perhaps I should accompany you. You know, so that you still are supervised and…." Ino stopped when she heard Sasuke interrupt her.
"It's alright, Ino. I was actually gonna ask that. Will you accompany me?" the raven-haired man asked, his eyes locked into Ino's sapphire ones.
Instead of saying anything, Ino embraced the man she loved in a hug. Sasuke stood still, doing nothing to get her off him. "Oh, Sasuke. Of course, I will! You can always count on me" the blondie said before taking his hand to guide Sasuke to some of the flowers. "Here, let me show you some of the flowers I think would be perfect for remembrance gifts" she told him, as Sasuke only looked at the many flowers in a confused manner.
Kiki could only stand and watch as Ino kept helping Sasuke pick the right flowers for the bouquets. While a part of her remained at unease, the other part couldn't help but to feel happy for Ino's relationship with Sasuke. She was impressed by how Ino sympathized with Sasuke's losses. Then again, it was no surprise. Kiki and her late husband had raised Ino to be quite compassionate, even if she could be bossy sometimes.
"Well, Inoichi. What can I say? We sure raised a fine daughter together" Kiki thought while smiling.
When Ino had managed to make a couple of bouquets that were wonderful, Sasuke reached for his pouch in order to pay.
"Oh, you don't have to pay for those bouquets, handsome. They're both on my credit" Ino said with a wink, while putting Sasuke's pouch back into his pockets.
Sasuke was slightly surprised, yet also amused at the same time. "Is that so?" he quizzed before chuckling lightly. "Then I guess I'll take your word for it" he said.
However, Kiki was outraged by what she just witnessed. "What in the world…" she stammered before slamming her handpalms onto the counter. "Ino! You can't just give away two bouquets for free! That's against our policy!" Kiki reminded her daughter.
Ino groaned while listening to her mother's protests. "Mom, I really don't want to listen to your crap. Sasuke just wants to leave something beautiful at the graves of his cousin and aunt" she told Kiki. "Besides, I'm the head of the clan who owns this flower shop, so I can decide which customer deserves to get bouquets for free. And given how handsome Sasuke is, I see no reason for why I shouldn't" Ino then justified her actions while clinging onto the Uchiha, who was unfazed by his girlfriend's behavior.
Kiki sighed deeply, realizing how pointless it was to argue against her daughter. "Fine. But I just wanna remind you how important it is for us to…" the middle-aged woman stopped when she could see her daughter exit the door, with Sasuke following her. "Wait…where are you going, Ino? You were supposed to help me with…" Kiki tried stopping her, but it was no use.
"I'll do that later. Right now, I gotta go help Sasuke with placing the bouquets. See you later!" Ino waved her hand at Kiki before leaving.
This left Kiki all by herself, the brown-haired woman rubbing her face, in hopes of easing the stress that was biting her. She couldn't believe how much stubborn her daughter had grown.
"That young lady…she's just as stubborn as you were at her age, Inoichi…" Kiki admitted, eventually smiling while thinking about her late husband. "But what can I say? She's our daughter. And an amazing one as well" she added to her thoughts.
In the streets of the Leaf Village
Kiba Inuzuka was back on patrolling the streets of the village alongside his trusty companion Akamaru. Kiba had continued with this guard duty ever since the aftermath of the previous world war. Still, there was something Kiba really missed. And that was to have a girlfriend of his own. Two years ago, he got that when he started a romantic relationship with his longtime teammate: Hinata Hyuuga.
Both these young people had problems figuring out what love truly was. However, the indicent two years ago, in which Hinata got captured and was forced into marrying someone, had managed to help the two of them learn about love.
While they had gone early when it came to intimacy, Kiba and Hinata had decided to take things easier. They would not rush to their relationship. Personally, Kiba had sometimes blamed himself for their earlier intimacy, yet Hinata also felt the need to take her fair share for her blame. That's why they had restarted their relationship, yet had both refrained from any acts of intimacy.
Kiba was supportive of that at first, but recently, he had grown sexually frustrated. He really wanted to have sex with Hinata, yet couldn't bring himself to force her into doing such. While Hinata had grown more confident, she was still feeling a bit awkward when it came to intimacy.
Sitting on a bench, Kiba was now having a lunch break with Akamaru. But they weren't alone. Sitting with them was Sai, who had just returned to the Leaf Village after some work in the fields. During lunch breaks, Kiba would occasionally get into conversations with those he knew, whether they were other jounins like him or not.
"So, how was guard duty been so far?" Sai asked the young Inuzuka, who was munching on some meat on sticks.
"Fine, for the most part. I mean, I'm not the type of guy to sit around my ass doing nothing, so I wanna have a job" Kiba said before swallowing his meat. "In the beginning, things were great and all. But recently, I've been having huge headaches recently" he then groaned while rubbing his face.
Sai was curious to know more. "And why is that?" he quizzed Kiba.
"Because Goro has been working with me, lately!" Kiba continued groaning, feeling so much resentment in mentioning that name.
"Ah, yes. Goro Inuzuka. But unless I'm mistaking, he's married to your…" Sai was about to say it, only for Kiba to interject hm with a raised finger.
"Don't even say that, Sai. That alone only makes things worse" Kiba told him, yet Sai was still confused at his behavior.
In the past couple of years, Kiba's older sister Hana Inuzuka had married a charismatic yet obnoxious clansman of the Inuzukas named Goro. Given how he was to one day rule the clan alongside Hana, Kiba had to accept him as his brother-in-law. But so far, efforts to build a friendly relationship between them had been in vain. Goro was in many ways similar to Kiba in terms of personality, yet Kiba himself didn't see it that way.
"What about Hinata? Is the relationship between you and her still okay?" Sai decided to ask Kiba.
Kiba let out a deep sigh. "We've been continuing those dates. And we've hugged and made out. But still, Hinata's still a bit too shy to get intimate with me. I can't understand why" the brown-haired man admitted, trying to think about a part that had been bugging him lately. "Don't get me wrong, I love Hinata. She's the most beautiful woman I've ever laid my eyes upon. But I've been really wanting to get intimate with her. I wanna make love. Recently, all this work has really made me stressed out. Hell, I'm like an animal in heat. If only me and Hinata could have sex….those sexual frustrations would've gone away" Kiba continued explaining.
"I see. So that's why you're feeling a little stressed. And I can see that there's no intimacy between you or Hinata" Sai noted. He decided to ask more of his friend about this. "Have you ever talked with Hinata?" he then asked Kiba.
"I can't…" Kiba just said while rubbing his face. "Hinata's still not brave enough to try sex just yet. But I've been thinking about asking for some advice from Kurenai-sensei lately. You know, if she has tips to how a man and women can….." Kiba stopped when he could see Sai laughing softy at him.
"Asking your teacher for some advice on sex. Doesn't that sound a little odd to you?" Sai quizzed, unable to stop laughing.
Kiba huffed and looked away. "Shut up. You don't know the kind of situation I'm in" the brown-haired man told Sai. "Besides, am I supposed to take advice from you? I mean, you and Asami aren't necessarily in bed with each other to my understanding" he then tried to point out.
Hearing this made Sai form a deep frown at Kiba. "If you wouldn't mind, I would've kindly appreciated if you left my relationship with Asami out of this discussion" he requested of Kiba.
"Tch, says the one who asked about me and Hinata's situation" Kiba hit back dismissively.
Sai, realizing that Kiba didn't wanna continue, decided to change subject. "Alright, enough about you. Why don't I tell you what I've been through…" the pale-skinned man's words were interrupted by the voice of someone Kiba resented calling to him.
"Howdy, Kiba! So this is where you're relaxing, huh!?" the voice came from his much despised brother-in-law, Goro Inuzuka. Accompanying him was another clansman of the Inuzukas named Akira. Goro had black spikey hair and some facial hair while Akira had grey spikey hair. But both Inuzukas wore the trademark red fangs on their cheeks, which served as their clan's insignia. Goro fixed his smug eyes upon Kiba. "I've been looking all over for you. You see, I was hoping if you and I could eat together. Come on, we're technically family now" he told him.
Kiba growled, while Akamaru didn't. "Go away, Goro! I'm already eating with Sai here, so I don't need your company" he hit back, his feral eyes never leaving sight of his brother-in-law.
Sai looked at the two Inuzukas and waved at them in a friendly manner. "I assume you two must be Inuzukas. Pleased to meet you. I'm one of Kiba's friends, Sai" he introduced himself to them. Sai then looked at Goro. "And you're Hana Inuzuka's husband, which makes you Kiba's brother-in-law" he then remarked as he smiled at the adult man.
While Akira waved back at Sai in a somewhat laidback manner, Goro only glanced at the pale-skinned man confused. He then looked over to his brother-in-law.
"Who's this pale dude? Is he your boyfriend or something? Man, I didn't know you had decided to come out of the closet now, Kiba!" Goro started mocking Kiba while laughing out loud. Sai didn't understand what Goro was trying to do, while Akira simply facepalmed in embarrassment of this kafuffle between the in-laws.
Kiba had been furious in listening to Goro's jab, and he angrily got up to his face while grabbing the collar of his jounin vest. Still, Goro remained unfazed and grinned back at him in a cocky and condescending manner.
"Sai's not my boyfriend! He's only a great comrade! And if you must know, I already have a girlfriend!" Kiba spat, his angry gaze never leaving sight of Goro.
Goro responded by holding onto the collar of Kiba's jounin vest. He was still keen on getting under Kiba's skin. "You mean that Hyuuga-babe you keep fantasizing about? But you've barley even fucked her. And as far as I know, she's been living celibacy. How can you two even be in a relationship when neither of you have….." it was the last straw for Kiba, as he angrily wrestled with Goro to the ground. "WHAT THE HELL'S WRONG WITH YOU!? GET OFF ME, YOU DAMN FLEABAG!" Goro said as he quarreled with Kiba.
"DON'T YOU EVER DARE MENTION HINATA! YOU KNOW NOTHING!" Kiba spat.
Akira tried desperately to separate the two aggressive Inuzukas from fighting one another. Sai got down to assist him.
"What are you two idiots doing!? Stop this!" Akira pleaded to both Kiba and Goro.
As he and Sai struggled to get the quarreling Inuzukas off one another, they heard a loud voice coming from a woman they all knew.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Hana Inuzuka yelled as she forcefully managed to separate her husband and younger brother from each other. The brunette was furious to what he was seeing. "ARE YOU TWO OUT OF YOUR MINDS! YOU'RE BOTH ON YOUR JOB! GET SERIOUS!" she continued in berating them both.
Goro looked at his wife and pointed a finger at Kiba. "It's not my fault! I only came here and asked your retard of a younger brother whether he wanted to eat with me, given that we're family. But no, he started attacking me for no reason!" he spat.
"For the record, I never asked for your company!" Kiba hit back, still feeling the urge to launch himself at Goro. "And you only have yourself to blame for me punching you! You were the one who insulted Hinata!" he continued, not holding back his rage.
"I wasn't insulting that broad! I was….." Goro was stopped when Kiba angrily began charging towards him once again.
But this time, Hana managed to break up the confrontation between the two of them. While Akira and Sei held Kiba, she decided to get tough with her husband.
"Goro! What you said was just inappropriate! You simply can't refer to someone like Hinata as a broad!" Hana rebuked Goro, yet he was still oblivious to his choice of words. He responded by only chuckling at all this scolding her received.
"C'mon, babe. You know that I was just saying that to get under Kiba's skin. I really didn't mean it like that" Goro assured his wife, yet judging by her body language, Hana was not convinced.
Kiba growled, still possessing an urge to rip out the eyes of his brother-in-law. However, a mischievous idea crossed into his mind and Kiba knew that he could use that against Goro.
"Say Goro. Weren't you the one who called Hinata a babe just now? Heh, some husband you are! I thought you were committed to Hana" Kiba teasingly said.
Hana raised her eyes in shock, yet Goro quickly stepped up. "Don't listen to him! Kiba's lying! I never said something like that when describing here!" Goro insisted.
Hana sighed deeply, getting tired of listening to all this nonsense. She grabbed her husband's left ear and dragged him with her.
"I've heard enough of your shenanigans, Goro! You're coming with me. We need to have a discussion about how to bond with others" Hana told her, yet she stopped to look over her shoulder at Kiba. "The same things go for you, Kiba! Honestly, am I the only Inuzuka who's matured?" she groaned in irritation, still moving with her husband in tow.
As he watched them leave, Kiba couldn't help but to stick out his tongue at the pair. He was even doing that towards his own sister. Both Sai and Akira were dumbfounded by his behavior.
"Blowing raspberries. What are you, 5 years old?" Akira quizzed his fellow Inuzuka, who loosened himself from their hold on him.
"Bite me, Akira. They both deserve that. Goro, for being a fatheaded jerk. And Hana, for being an enabler of his behavior" Kiba justified his childish acts.
Sai couldn't help but to find this amusing. "Quite the family dynamics, I must say" he admitted in response to what he had seen so far.
Kiba called Akamaru to his side, eventually getting on his back. It was clear that they would be riding now.
"Well, I guess the lunch break's over. Damn it. And I didn't get to eat all of my food. I'll make Goro pay for his interruption, later" Kiba slumped, realizing how he was still feeling a little hungry. Surprisnlgy, he fixed a smug grin when looking at both Akira and Sai. "Me and Akamaru better head back to our post. It was nice chatting with you, Sai. And I'll see you later, Akira" he told them before Akamaru sprinted off with his quick feet.
As the duo disappeared from their sight, Akira couldn't help but to rub his face, much to Sai's confusion.
"I swear, that guy keeps exceeding my expectations" the silver-haired Inuzuka admitted.
"How so?" Sai asked him out of curiosity.
"Simple. By being a bumbling jackass and surviving almost every conflict he gets dragged into" Akira answered plainly.
Hearing this made Sai chuckle. "Is that so? Well, that may be true…..to some extent" he expressed his opinion with regards to Kiba's personality.
At the Hokage Tower
Naruto had managed to arrive back at Tsunade's office in time, despite fumbling himself along the way. But as he got back, Naruto was surprised to not only see Tsunade and Shizune in the office. Also present were Shikamaru Nara and Temari.
"Took you long enough, Naruto. There's someone who wished to see you" Tsunade remarked while smiling.
The blonde-haired man seemed pleased to see his longtime friend, as Shikamaru had recently returned from a diplomatic trip to the Sand Village. And of course, Temari had accompanied him. They had continued this romantic relationship between them with the blessings of Temari's brothers. That's right, even Gaara was supportive of it, as he had learned to know how his sister was safe with Shikamaru at her side.
"Well. How's the Hokage's assistant administrator doing?" Shikamaru asked before embracing Naruto in a quick hug.
Naruto responded with his casual grin of cheekiness. "Fantastic. Sorry for my late arrival. I was at the Academy today lecturing the youngsters. And you know how awfully curious they are when it comes to asking me questions and stuff" Naruto said while scratching the back of his head in slight embarrassment.
Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, no biggie. Me and Temari just wanted to drop in to share some great news with you" he said in a laidback manner.
"Oh…..okay…..what news?" Naruto asked curiously.
Temari mused to herself in watching this commotion. "Go ahead, Shikamaru. Tell him everything" she encouraged Shikamaru while standing near him.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes at this. "I'm trying to, just don't gang up on me like before" he groaned before resuming his attention towards Naruto. "Now as I was saying. We've some important news to share with you. I've already told this to Chouji, Ino and the rest about it. You see, me and Temari we're…." he was interrupted when the woman beside her broke the ice.
"We're getting married" Temari stated bluntly, not caring about what Shikamaru felt about her saying that.
"Did you really have to say it like that?" Shikamaru wondered.
Naruto's jaw dropped in surprised, not believing his own ears. "Hold up…..did you just say that you two are getting…" he was relatively taken aback by this announcement.
Shikamaru smirked at seeing Naruto's reaction. "It's just as she said. Me and her are getting married. That's why we're engaged as of now" he stated the obvious.
"Actually, we became engaged 4 days ago in the Sand Village" Temari corrected her fiancé. She then turned her attention towards Naruto. "Still, that doesn't matter. Both of us have grown to like one another more for the last couple of years. But being a boyfriend and girlfriend isn't enough. That's why we feel ready to become husband and wife" she told Naruto, who was still surprised.
However, Naruto soon changed his expression into that of happiness. In fact, he even embraced Shikamaru in a tight hug, much to the young clan head's surprise.
"That's great, guys! Congratulations to you both!" Naruto expressed his support for their engagement. "So, when is the wedding?" he then asked them.
Shikamaru couldn't help but to scratch his head in confusion. "I don't know….I think we agreed upon….." he was interrupted by his fiancé's voice.
"No, you dolt. We had a long discussion about this. The wedding's taking place in the middle of next week. That gives us all plenty of time to plan our big day and find out to do" Temari corrected him one again.
"Oh yeah, that's right. Sorry about that, hon" Shikamaru said with affection, causing Temari to giggle in return.
"It's okay, handsome. You're forgiven" she told him in a sweet manner.
Naruto smiled at the pair, feeling happy on their behalf. "So, I take it both your families are onboard?" he then remarked.
"Yup. My mom and the rest of the Nara clan are with me. But that's perhaps not what should surprise you the most. Not only are Temari's brothers supportive of our marriage, but even the entire Sand Village are that as well" Shikamaru explained.
Temari mused to herself in watching her fiancé. "That's because you're our favorite ambassador" the kunoichi of the Sand pointed out, yet Shikamaru didn't seem to get it.
"Gaara and the other leaders of the Sand Village has given you their blessings? That's definitely terrific. But then again, Gaara's probably proud on your behalf" Naruto remarked.
"Damn right. In fact, he along with other top-ranking politicians of the Sand wants to come to our wedding. I don't know what to say, but it's gonna be one hell of a celebration" Shikamaru revealed.
"I'm pleased to hear how the Fifth Kazekage has accepted this marriage. And if he was given his blessings, I see no reason for why I shouldn't" Tsunade spoke up from her seat. She began facing Shikamaru. "You may as well wanna start handing out the invitations. I assume you plan on inviting the other clans as well" the Hokage added to her assessment.
Shikamaru nodded his head in agreement. "Of course. I'm the head of the Nara clan. It's my duty to ensure that our relationships are as healthy as they can be. We're friends with all other clans, not just the Akimichis and the Yamanakas" he answered.
"Good to know" Tsunade said.
"The wedding will take place at the Nara clan compound, yes? Then we better make sure that this wedding is secured and tight. We don't want a repeat of what happened at Shino and Umeko's wedding" Naruto expressed worries about security.
"No need to worry about that. I mean, there's been no wedding crashers in the past two years. I mean, you didn't see anyone at Hana Inuzuka's wedding" Shikamaru pointed out.
This made Naruto chuckle in amusement. "You're right. I take it back. There's no sense in worrying about security when we all know how to prepare ourselves with any form of terrorism. But rest assured, you and Temari deserve to get married. It will be one of the happiest days of your lives, ya know" the blonde-haired man pointed out to them.
"Now that reminds me" Tsunade spoke up, her eyes fixed upon Naruto. "When are you and Sakura gonna tie the knot, Naruto? Come on, I'm still waiting to see when you are man enough to propose to my protégé" she teasingly asked him.
Everyone laughed, much to the annoyance of Naruto. "Really, grandma? Do we have to bring up me and Sakura's relationship into this? This is about Shikamaru and Temari getting married!" he was getting tired of hearing Tsunade pull these jokes on him.
But on the other hand, a part of Naruto had recently considered proposing to Sakura. However, he just didn't know how to proceed. But Naruto wouldn't rush. He also had to take care with regards to how Sakura wanted their relationship to go. What he knew, she had also started growing more intimate and closer with him. Perhaps it was time for him to finally propose to the love of his life.
To be continued…..
Authors' note: That settles it. These chapters will deal with the romantic relationships, as well as some smut. And of course, the wedding between Shikamaru and Temari will NOT be as dramatic as the one between Shino and Umeko. So no interruptions there. However, I would like to write more about Gaara and how he has grown as a Kazekage. But that will have to wait. I've barley even started writing about this second part of this story, so my picture is not yet completed. Until then, I'll see you folks soon. Toodles!