Chapter 19. The Art of Love Pt.2

"Sometimes love just isn't enough."

|Karin|

"Joō-sama." I knocked on the door, "I have your towels."

"Come in." She called, and I entered the bathroom, "Hand me the body towel please."

As she shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, I couldn't help but take notice of her goddess-like figure. Her chest, her curves…she was truly beautiful. But as she wrapped the towel around herself, I noticed two small wing tattoos on her upper back.

She turned to look at me and I quickly dropped my gaze, but it was apparent that I had been staring.

"When I was 20," She began, taking a smaller towel from me and patting her hair dry, "I got drunk, went to this dingy tattoo spot in South Ame, and picked it out from the design book the guy had."

"Did you go by yourself?" I asked, following her out of the bathroom.

Konan shook her head, "After someone…close to us died, Pain never let me go out alone. I was with a man named Kyūsuke."

"And…what happened to him?" I was hesitant to ask as sadness crept onto her face.

"He was killed." She slipped into her underwear and clipped on her bra, "By Pain."

"For?" I furrowed my brows in confusion.

She sighed as she sprayed perfume and rubbed on deodorant, "For loving me. I turned him down and he respected my wishes but one night we were so out of it, he kissed me when I was at a low point in my life and I returned the gesture. Pain caught us as things started getting heavy and he…got rid of him."

She stepped into her skirt and pulled it up, shutting her eyes tightly.

"I understand." I quickly said, "Were you and Pain together at the time?"

"Hmph." Konan's mouth curved into a slight smile, "I see both you and Toshiaki-kun have a habit of inquiring."

I laughed uneasily, "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. It's just that…sometimes it's good to talk to someone and get everything out."

"And I've been using you for that reason a lot lately." Konan turned to me as she buttoned her shirt, "Is there anything you would like to get off your chest?"

I raised my hands, "I wouldn't bother you with my problems, Joō-sama."

"It wouldn't be a bother." She assured me, taking my hands in her own, "Tell me about yourself, Misaki-san."

"Um, where to start?" I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Tell me how you manage to stay so strong." She requested, guiding me to a sitting area outside of the bedroom.

It occurred to me that her and Pain's shared room was much larger than the standard flat given to their subjects. While Sasuke and I's room had a shower and a bed, their space could be considered a house on its own. However, as I looked around, I found the décor to be more reflective of Konan's taste than Pain's, as if he wasn't really around.

"Strong?" I questioned as we took a seat.

"I know that Shojoji tried to do something to you." Konan lowered her voice, "Yet here you are, holding your head high and walking forward without any hesitation. How do you do it?"

I held a hand to my stomach as my brain reminded me of that night, "I'm…not strong. Every time…"

I trailed off, partly because I was unsure if I should be sharing anything with her, but also because I didn't want to dig up bad memories.

'For the mission, Karin.' I reminded myself, 'Gain her trust, gain more knowledge.'

"Every time?" She repeated, indicating that I should continue.

I took a deep breath before speaking, "Every time I remember it, I feel sick. I remember his voice, his breath…his touch. I want to vomit just thinking about it."

She rubbed my back sympathetically, "Does Toshiaki-kun know about this?"

"He knows what happened, but I haven't told him how I feel." I looked down at my hands, "He'd worry too much."

"That's because he cares about you." She commented, "You should take advantage of that while he still feels that way. You're going to miss these days."

"Pain still cares about you." I responded, catching her drift, "I'm sure he does."

"Oh?" She stood up, going around the sofa, "And how can you tell? Is it the way he tramples on the little dignity I have?"

"I—"

"Or maybe it's the way he constantly questions my loyalty?" She cut me off, "I like you, Misaki-san. But don't comment on things you don't understand."

"Even though people love you, they can still hurt you." I uttered quietly.

"And what would you know about that?" Konan asked.

She stopped right next to me and lowered her face to mine, her grey eyes shining.

"I…can't say." I shook my head, "But I do know that Pain cares for you. Buddha forbid but if anything were to happen to you, he would lose it."

"If you knew why Toshiaki-kun had been in the office just now, you wouldn't be saying that." She laughed spitefully while tugging me up, "But I appreciate your optimism."

"Joō-sama—"

"Seriously," She patted my back as she led me to the door, "I'll be calling on you more often, ne?"

I nodded and stepped out into the hall, bumping right into Sasuke and Pain. Pain had an arm over Sasuke's shoulder, leaning on him for support, and I noticed that both their faces were flushed.

"Gomennasai." Pain bowed slightly, a grin spreading out on his face, "I don't mean to separate you two, but I have a sickness that only the queen can cure."

He aimed that comment at Konan who nodded before taking him from Sasuke. I stepped aside and watched in confusion as she became his human crutch.

"My dear," Pain said as he pressed his lips against the side of her head, "Will you help me?"

She quietly responded and he hugged her in satisfaction as they re-entered the room and shut the door.

"He's drunk." Sasuke explained, and I turned back to him, "Kisame brought him some good news and—"

"Wait." I held my hand up, leaning in and taking a large sniff, "You're drunk too?"

"What? No, no." He yawned, "I had a few sips, but I'll be fine."

'You don't smell like a few sips.'

"As I was saying." He continued as we walked down the hall, "Kisame brought him some good news and we had an impromptu Gedo meeting where I told him about how I resolved the Sarada situation; he thought it was genius."

"Instead of celebrating because he praised you, you should be worrying about the fact that they have their eyes on your family!" I said as we entered the elevator.

"Of course I am." He raised his fist to his mouth, "But there's only so much I can do from here."

The elevator opened up to the second floor and I stepped out, "I still can't believe you're getting drunk at this time."

"I told you, I'm not drunk. Do you want to be?" He shot back, "If that's what you want, I can—"

"No, I don't want to be drunk." I cut him off, "Let's just…get back to the room and go over the day. I learned a couple things."

We walked back to the room in silence and when I shut the door behind us, Sasuke entered the bathroom and beckoned for me to join him. Once I was inside, he closed the door before splashing some water on his face.

"You should go first." He said as he turned off the sink, "I…yeah, go first."

'Okay…' I lowered the toilet lid before sitting on top, "Pain's real name is Uzumaki Nagato."

Sasuke gave me a look.

"Distant cousin at most, I've never heard of him." I sighed, "Anyway, he was forced to kill his friend Yahiko at the age of 18 by Amegakure's corrupt mayor, Hanzō. He got his revenge six years later and killed Hanzō before forming the new Akatsuki, and while he paints it as a criminal organization just trying to make money, everything he takes is to fund research for Yahiko's revival."

"I learned more-or-less the same thing when I was in their office." Sasuke nodded, crossing his arms, "Konan called him Nagato…I assumed it was a nickname. Who told you all this? Konan?"

"No." I couldn't help but glare at him, "Daibutsu typed it all out for me, you know, the same guy you killed without hesitation."

"Karin—"

"You didn't have to kill him." I interrupted, "He was on our side, and if you had let me handle things, he would've been locked up instead of dead."

He rubbed his chin, "I did him a favor."

"Do you hear yourself?" I stood up to face him, "What favor? Did he ask you to kill him?"

"He—"

"And even if he did, I was right there, and you didn't even hesitate!"

He touched my arm, "I would never hurt you; you know that."

I shook him off, "Please."

"Believe me, you don't know these people like you think you do. They would've tortured him and broken him down till he exposed us." He cleared his throat, "I didn't give them the chance."

"What gives you the right to make that decision?" I questioned, anger rising, "You say this but you don't know—"

"That's what they did to Shojoji!" He hissed, grabbing my shoulders, "They would've had Suigetsu and Jugo slicing him like bread!"

"Wh-What?" I stuttered, confused, "What are you talking about?"

"He didn't tell you?" Sasuke seemed to be searching my face, "You're so close with him now, he didn't think to tell you what he did?"

"What are you talking about?" I pushed him back, "And don't touch me!"

"Gomen, I…" He released me, "At the Gedo meeting, Sasori and the others told me; they castrated him and left him for dead because of what he did to you."

I thought about the conversation I'd had with Suigetsu earlier in the day, "No…"

"Hidan's going to discipline them because that seriously hindered their plans. If it weren't for them, Tentō would have been in Shojoji's possession way before hand and Sarada never would've gotten involved." Sasuke concluded bitterly.

"Discipline them how?" I questioned, fearful of what would happen, "When? Can we stop it?"

"We shouldn't." He crossed his arms, "They did something crazy, and they knew the consequences. If I got in the way, it'd draw looks."

"How? They castrated the man who tried to rape your pretend wife. You should be down there defending them." I tightened my fist, 'If you really cared, you wouldn't be here.'

He looked at me, "You know I could kill Shojoji for what he did to you, but we can't just do what we want."

I tried to bite my tongue but couldn't pass up the opportunity, "If only you'd felt the same when you tried to have sex with me."

"Don't do that." His eyes narrowed, "I was in the wrong, I'll admit that, but I asked for your consent up until the end."

"I was shaking because I had been assaulted a few hours ago and you tried to have sex with me." I reemphasized the situation, "But it's okay because at least you asked."

"That's not what I—"

"At least you didn't try to rape me like he did, ne?" I covered my face with my hands and fought off the urge to cry.

Things were silent for a moment before he spoke, "Karin…what's really wrong? Yes, he tried to rape you and that's terrible, I can understand you being upset, but there's something more to it isn't there? Something beyond him. What are you not telling me?"

Of course, Zōsui's face came to mind and I placed a hand on my stomach, "It's a long story, and but it doesn't pertain to the mission so—"

"Tell me." Sasuke sat down on the bathroom floor, "Forget the mission, I care about you, Karin; I want to help you, but I can't if I don't know what's wrong."

I thought for a long time before wiping my eyes, "Okay. When I was seven years old, my mother died and left me in the care of a man named Zōsui…"

|Naruto|

I zipped the two suitcases shut and rolled them out of the room.

"Boruto!" I yelled down the stairs, "Grab these two for me please?"

He appeared at the top and grabbed hold of both handles before heading back down.

I went back into the bedroom and gave one final look around, making sure there wasn't anything I needed. As I reached the door, I stopped and stared at a family portrait of ours on the dresser. It had been taken last Christmas, and I couldn't help but smile seeing Himawari and Boruto's wide grins.

Boruto looked so happy, a stark contrast to how he was just hours ago.

"You piece of shit!" Boruto yelled as he swung, "I knew it!"

He was fast, but I managed to catch his fist.

"You don't know the whole story." I told him as I held his hand, "Let me explain, ya know!"

"I don't need to know the whole story." He spat as he tried to hit me with his other fist, "No matter what you say, there's no reason to cheat, ya know!"

I caught his other hand and held them both tight, "I'm not trying to justify it, I just want to clear up any misunderstandings you have. Understand?"

Boruto nodded and I did the same. As I began to release his hands, I fell to the floor and found myself looking up at him.

"Wha—?" I asked in confusion, my right eye clouding up.

"Muay Thai." Boruto explained as he held out a hand, helping me up, "Focuses on kicks and stuff."

"Hmph." I exhaled as I got up, "You've picked up some new techniques since we last sparred."

"Yeah. We haven't fought in a while since you've been too busy screwing Sakura-obachan."

"Hey." I grabbed the wall, struggling to stand straight, "Attack me all you want but leave her out of this. Believe me, she's got enough to deal with on her own and your comments don't help, ya know."

"Why are you acting like I forgave you?" He gave me a questioning look, "You should be grateful I stopped with that weak ass kick. If you saw Sai-ojichan after Inojin was through with him, you'd be kissing my feet."

"Are you…threatening me?" I asked.

My right eye was pulsing, and I shut it to ease some of the pain. I could only see him through my left and even then, I couldn't mistake his fearsome aura.

"What do you think?" Boruto answered, stepping up to me, "You're getting slower, old man. If I really wanted to hurt you, do you think you would be able to do anything about it, ya know?"

I held up a hand, "I don't want to fight you. You done? Or you got anymore to get out of your system."

"…I'm done." He announced, crossing his arms, "I couldn't let you get off without hitting you once."

I tried not to smile as I made my way to the bed, "Like father, like son."

"I'm nothing like you." The hostility remained in his voice.

I took a seat on the edge, "Sure, if you ignore the hair, the eyes, the face, and the way we talk. Yeah, we're completely different."

"You're a piece of shit that cheated on his wife of sixteen years. We. Are not. The same." Boruto sneered as he leaned against the wall.

I sighed, "If you feel that strongly about me, why are you still here?"

"You said you wanted to explain." Boruto waved his hand, "Here's your chance."

So I did explain, and I tried to keep things as direct as possible, omitting most of the mature details for the sake of time and my conscience. When I was done, Boruto took a seat on the ground.

"Ji-chan said all that?" He held his head in disbelief, "And Ka-chan just let him?"

"Was he wrong?" I asked as I sank into the bed, "You think Toneri would've cheated on her?"

"I don't know what he would do." He grunted as he stood up, "But I know you two are married and she's thinking about leaving even without the affair. You need to talk to her."

"Heh." I rubbed my nose, "No point in that. She'll be getting the divorce papers soon enough; we can talk then, ya know."

"You're so…" Boruto shook his head, "Fine, but get your shit now. I don't want things to get awkward if you come back at some random time. When I left the house, Ka-chan said she'd be picking Himawari up from something; the two of them probably aren't back yet."

Realizing he had a point, I stretched my arms before getting up and we left the room. As we stepped into the elevator, Boruto spoke again.

"Tou-chan, if you…when you two talk, will you tell her?"

"I don't know, Boruto." I rubbed my head, "What good would it do for her to know?"

"A lot." He countered, "I know Ka-chan; if you don't tell her, she'll blame herself."

I bit my lip, "Still—"

"If you don't tell her, I will. And I really don't want to." He frowned.

"Okay, I'll tell her." I threw up my hands, "I'll tell her."

"Uh, Tou-chan?" Boruto called and I set the picture down.

"Yeah?" I called back as I went to the banister, "What's the problem?"

At the bottom of the steps stood Hinata, Boruto, and Himawari. In Hinata's hand was a light brown envelope, and I silently cursed the city's mail system for being so proficient.

"Papa!" Himawari waved as I descended the stairs.

"If it isn't Hima!" I smiled as I reached the bottom, giving her a hug, "How's my girl?"

"Good! Me and my friends went apple-picking today, I got you some." She swung her bookbag off her shoulder and brought out a white grocery bag.

"Arigato." I kissed her forehead as I accepted the gift, "Sounds like it was fun."

"It was." Hinata cut in, her tone cold.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Himawari look between us, the smile on her face waning.

"Not in front of her." I tried to tell Hinata with my eyes, but she must've been missing the signal because she lifted up the envelope.

Before she could start, Boruto grabbed Himawari's hand, "We'll be outside."

The door shut behind him and Hinata and I stood still, staring at each other. Finally, she spoke.

"What happened to your face?"

The right side of my face had swelled considerably since Boruto and I had the left the hotel. I'd applied ice when we had gotten home but when we got to packing, I had to set it aside.

I waved my hand, "Allergies."

"You don't have…fine, don't tell me. Can you at least explain this?" She handed the envelope to me.

I turned it over and sure enough DIVORCE PAPERS was written in big, bold letters.

Lowering my hand, I laughed, "Come on Hinata, you don't have to act, ya know."

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"Are we really doing this?" I rubbed the bridge of my nose, "Or did you already forget what happened Saturday?"

"Oh." The confusion disappeared off her face and was replaced with a slightly sad expression, although I could've been mistaken.

"Since you're here, I'll show you what to sign." I said as I grabbed my sweater off of the coat rack, "We can get this done in two days, then you can call Toneri as soon as you want."

At his name, her shoulders lowered, and she sighed, "Naruto-kun, it's not like that."

"If you say so." I nodded, setting the envelope down to wear my sweater, "In any case, we've been on a downhill slope for a while now so let's not waste any more time. The quicker we get this over with, the quicker we get to go on with our lives."

"Don't…let's talk about this." Hinata stepped towards me, "What happened at Tou-sama's—"

"I'll get over it." I cut her off, "Sure, it might've been harsh, but like the box of hair I am, I'll always bounce back because nothing bothers me, ne Hinata?"

"I never said that."

"Then tell me what you said." I bent down to her, "Because I basically heard you tell your father you don't love me, ya know."

"Do you believe that?" She asked, putting a hand on her hip.

"It's what I heard." I said as I straightened up, looking away.

"Is that," She took my chin and turned my face to hers, "What you believe?"

"It doesn't matter what I believe." I told her as I leaned against the railing, "Things won't be the same."

"Naruto-kun, if it's because of what I said—"

"It's not that." I shut my eyes, recalling Boruto's warning to me, "I…I haven't been faithful."

"What…What does that mean?" Hinata hesitantly asked, the pain coming through in her voice.

I wiped my face with my hands, "It was supposed to be a one-time thing, I was drunk the first time, but the more time I spent with her, the more we…gomen. It turned into its own thing."

She slowly fell to the floor, "With who?"

"I…I can't tell you." I knelt beside her, holding her hands, "It would…mess everything up."

"Oh, so that means right now everything's okay?" Her voice broke as tears spilled out over her cheeks.

"Don't cry." I tried to wipe her tears with my thumb, but she pulled away, "I swear I didn't plan it, ya know."

"Go." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Hinata—"

"Go." She pulled herself up off the floor and opened the door, "Please."

I nodded and picked up the suitcases before stepping outside. At the edge of the lawn, Boruto and Himawari were sitting, playing some kind of game on their phones.

I took the opportunity to look back at Hinata and tried to think of a fitting final goodbye, but nothing came to mind.

"Gomennasai." I finally told her, "I would never hurt you on purpose, you know that."

"Just…tell me one thing." She said as she shook her head, "The divorce, it's because of the affair?"

"No." I quickly answered, wanting to squash any misunderstandings, "I've been thinking about it for a while."

"I see." She lowered her eyes, "So she just sped up the process."

"Hina—"

"Bye, Naruto-kun." She shut the door in my face.

Turning back around, I walked down the steps. The slamming of the door must have drawn the kids' attention because they met me halfway.

"Did you tell her?" Boruto questioned, his eyes narrow in suspicion.

"Yeah." I nodded before looking at Himawari, "Did you—?"

"I told her." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Papa…" Himawari threw her arms around me and squeezed, "What's gonna happen now?"

"I don't know." I told her truthfully, hugging her tightly, "But no matter what, I love you, understand?"

She nodded into my chest and I looked up, extending my arm to Boruto, "You too, ya know. Come on."

Boruto had been so critical of me since he'd found out, something I undoubtedly deserved, but he was still my son. I'd screwed up and he could disapprove of me as much as he wanted, but he'd still love me as his father, right?

The hard look on his face softened as he came close and joined in on the hug, "…Make sure to spend time with us, ya know. Work made that hard enough, don't let this make things worse."

"Yeah." I patted the back of his head, "Let's do something this weekend."

We let go of each other and I wiped my face as I realized I was crying. The two of them were also shedding tears, and I couldn't stand another second of this sadness.

"Go inside." I ordered them as I took hold of my suitcases, "Your mother's waiting."

Himawari started to protest but Boruto tugged her and the two of them nodded before walking past me and entering the house. I waited till I heard the door shut to move on.

When I got to the car, I quickly tossed the suitcases in the back and started the engine. The time read 8:40 p.m., meaning I would be back at the hotel around 9. My stomach grumbled.

"Make that 9:30." I muttered to myself as I backed the car out of the driveway.

At this point the lights were on in the house and I thought I saw Hinata standing by the window, but when I blinked, she wasn't there.

'It's done.' I reminded myself, 'We're done.'

|3rd Person|

"This won't do, cuzzo." Kū shook his head as he stopped the car at a red light, "This won't do at all."

"I don't know what you want me to do." Mitsuki tapped the armrest, "Father's taking care of it."

"Is he gonna take care of Kakō too?" Kū asked, "If you had found him any later—"

"Like I said, I don't know." Mitsuki repeated, adjusting his hold on Sarada so that she was close to him, "I mentioned it and he said he would get back to me. I don't call him, he calls me."

"Could you at least try?" Kū unwrapped a piece of gum as the light turned green.

"I did." Mitsuki brought out his phone, "He hung up on me while I was still talking and when I called back the line was no longer in service."

"Fuck..." Kū tapped the steering wheel, brooding, "Well, Kakō's injuries aside, you know what you have to do now, right?"

"What?" Mitsuki looked up.

Kū looked at him through the rearview mirror, "Isn't it obvious? Break up with Sarada."

"Is this your attempt at a joke?" Mitsuki questioned, his eyes narrowing.

"Of course not." Kū raised a hand, "Break up with Sarada and take her place in our operation. After all, the whole reason she got caught up in whatever your dad—"

"Father." Mitsuki corrected.

"Whatever, the reason she was nabbed in the first place was because of official business."

"Business that you got her involved in." Mitsuki reminded him.

"And how did she get involved?" Kū glanced back at Mitsuki, "Because she knew you. She wasn't even the person we wanted for the job. Sure, she's got a good head on her shoulders and some good ideas, but we came here for you."

"And why would I ever sell drugs for you?" Mitsuki questioned, his golden eyes shining with a hint of anger.

"We want you for your strength." Kū slowed down as he turned left, "You and I both know if you had been there, Kakō wouldn't be the one in the hospital right now."

Mitsuki went silent and he looked at Sarada's resting face.

Kū rubbed his chin, "I'm glad she's safe and all, but business is picking up and I need her."

"If you think for one second that I'm gonna let her—"

"That's not what I'm saying." Kū quickly interrupted, "She's out for good, alright? After getting kidnapped, I wouldn't want her with us anyway. What I'm saying is, six is the golden number; I need someone to fill her spot."

Mitsuki leaned back, "Then find someone. Ask Log, Kami knows he doesn't do shit anyway."

"Don't be like that." Kū groaned, "Log isn't even half of what you are; it has to be you."

"What are you after, Kū?" Mitsuki questioned, cracking the window open for some fresh air, "You came here and decided to randomly plug your drug business, you've been talking to Inojin…what do you really want?"

"I want you to trust me." Kū said, turning to look at Mitsuki, "There's something…something else I'm working on that I can't tell you about, not yet anyway but forget all that. Listen, we need you. I need you. Come on, cuzzo."

Mitsuki looked out of the window, "…Fine. For now, I'm in but I'm not pledging loyalty or anything that stupid. As soon as I learn about things I don't agree with, I'm out."

Kū grinned, "Attaboy! That's what I'm talking about."

He held out his fist and Mitsuki bumped it, unable to stop a smile from breaking out on his, "It'd better not be anything crazy."

"Depends on your definition of crazy." Kū tilted his head, "It's not, it's not, don't worry. But here, take this."

Mitsuki took the bottle of whiskey in confusion, "What's this for?"

Kū jerked his chin at Sarada, "Make her drink some. She needs to smell drunk or her mom's gonna ask questions."

Removing the cork from the bottle, Mitsuki took a bit of the drink into his mouth before transferring it to Sarada with a kiss. He wiped his mouth as some excess had spilled over.

"The most unhygienic thing ever." Mitsuki said, smirking to himself.

"Huh?" Kū raised an eyebrow.

"Just something Sarada said one time." Mitsuki shook his head, "Since I'm in, we shouldn't have to break up. I—"

"It's dangerous, cuzzo." Kū cut him off, "You like her a lot, I know, but if you really care for her then you don't want her to get hurt again. And the kinda business we're doing…"

"She's bound to get hurt." Mitsuki finished, sighing, "Still, she's not gonna accept it once I tell her."

Kū shrugged, "So don't tell her. Just act like a complete jerk for two or three days and she's bound to break up with you."

"That sounds like a terrible idea." Mitsuki took another swig of the whiskey.

"I'm telling you," Kū laughed, "Anything she hates, anything she's told you not to do, start doing it and she'll be done."

Mitsuki stared out of the window, "Hm."

|Sakura|

I jumped like a rabbit at the sound of the doorbell and rushed to open it.

Before me stood a teenage boy with white-blue hair and piercing golden eyes that drew my attention faster than his pale skin. But after quickly noting his appearance, my gaze dropped to the person beside him.

Sarada was leaning against him with reddened cheeks and a rosy nose. Her lips were slightly parted as she exhaled heavily, and her eyes were shut.

"Hi, I'm Mitsu—"

"I know who you are." I cut him off as I snatched her from him, and quickly carried her into the house.

Setting her down on the sofa, I made sure she was lying on her side before I returned to the door.

"You know what time it is?" I questioned, lifting my watch to his face, "It's 9:30. You said you'd bring her by 9 o'clock."

"Yes, and I apologize for the lateness." He bowed respectfully, "The reason for the detour was…"

He patted his pockets and I watched as his eyes slightly widened. Quickly he turned around and looked at the ground, as if he had dropped something.

"Oi, cuzzo!" An older voice called, and I looked past him and at the black Subaru Impreza blocking the driveway, "You forgot this!"

He was holding what looked like a phone out of the window and Mitsuki smiled lightly at me before jogging over to the car and grabbing it. Jogging back, he held it out to me.

"I got this for her." He said as I took the phone, "Since we broke the other one."

I stared at him intently, trying to see if I could discern any bit of hesitation or anxiousness; there was none.

Shaking my head, I decided to give him a warning, "Sarada's grounded for the next two weeks, I don't want you around in that time, understood?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Yes…? Gomen but I don't see why she's being punished."

"You know she's been skipping school, right?" His face fell flat, "Yes, I'm aware, and the only reason I haven't been able to crackdown on her is because she's been staying at your place, I'm assuming. Should she sneak out during the period, I want you to send her back here immediately."

He nodded.

"I'm not joking." I shook my finger as I started to close the door, "Now that I have your address, I will go over there and start a commotion if you have to."

I shut the door on him, or so I thought but I saw that his hand was pressing up against it, keeping me from closing it fully.

'He's…kind of strong.' I thought to myself.

"I hear you." He affirmed with another nod, "But please, don't show up to my house unannounced, for your safety."

"What does that mean?" It was my turn to raise an eyebrow.

"For your safety." He repeated, and with that, he let go of the door and walked down the steps to the car waiting for him.

I watched them speed off before locking the door, and returned to Sarada's side. Now that we were alone, I managed to get a good look at her and found several things to be off.

For one, the clothes she was wearing were beyond her fashion sense. I couldn't claim to be up to date with the times, but I had an idea of what my daughter liked to wear and a light-yellow turtleneck with tight black ripped jeans and shiny gold jewelry was anything but Sarada.

There was also the makeup, specifically the red lipstick, and the stench of hard liquor on her breath…

"Prostitution." She appeared at my side, "That's gotta be it."

I rolled my eyes, "Of all the things you've ever said, that is the dumbest."

"There's no other explanation." She crossed her arms, "And I'm you so whatever I say, you're thinking."

"Sometimes I wonder…" I trailed of as I took a seat next to Sarada, touching her forehead, "She's not even hot. If she was really drunk, the blood would be steaming at the surface."

"Well, you know, after being passed around maybe her body's taken a turn?"

I glared at her.

She threw her hands up, "Think about it, we knew that she was acting out because she found out about your affair—"

"We don't know that." I corrected, "That's just another one of your theories and honestly, I'd prefer that over the idea that my daughter's a prostitute."

"Listen to me for five seconds." She groaned, "You were a doctor, it makes sense. She finds out about her mother's affair and her ideas on sexuality are warped, not to mention this comes a few days after she had her first real sexual experience with that drug dealer you just met—"

"Okay, now you're going too far." I rubbed my eyes, "Mitsuki is not a drug dealer."

"Who drives a Subaru Impreza? An upstanding citizen?" She rolled her eyes, "Come on, it was the same thing in high school. Anyway, she's now confused and runs to this drug dealer for support, maybe she has sex with him and since he's all about the bills, he starts pimping her out."

"This is the plot of a failed coming-of-age movie."

"He's been pimping her out for the past what, five, six days? And since you called out of the blue, they figured this would be their last time using her and managed to get in a bunch of clients before dropping her off just now. That's why she's drunk."

"Okay." I raised a hand, "Two things: One, are you really my conscience? Two, am I really that dumb?"

She frowned, "If that's all you have to say—"

"No, no, I'll be serious. One, what you are saying implies that Konoha is filled with pedophiles. Two, you're implying that said pedophiles would actually trust a sixteen-year-old pimp." I leaned back in the sofa.

"You underestimate the weirdos in this world." She shook her head, "If you can have sex with Naruto, why can't she have sex with random men?"

"What? This and that are two completely different things. And Sarada isn't like that."

"Let's say I'm wrong." She shrugged, "How else can you explain this?"

I tried to think of another reason but with her smirking in front of me, I gave up, "Just because I can't explain it doesn't mean you've guessed it correctly."

"You're right." She nodded, "The only person that can tell us is out cold, so I guess we'll have to wait till she wakes up, ne?"

"I guess we will." I looked down at Sarada again, and couldn't help but slightly smile, "At least she's here. If she had been kidnapped…"

She took a seat next to me and patted my shoulder, "Guess you can't do anything drastic."

Sighing, I shoved her off me and stood up to get Sarada a blanket. When I returned to the living room, She was gone. After I spread out the blanket on her, I bent down and kissed Sarada's forehead before kneeling by the couch.

"You silly, silly girl…" I cried softly, tears I had held back now falling freely, "I swear, if I would've lost you too…"

I knelt there for a while and just let the tears flow before I straightened up and wiped my eyes. I felt a yawn coming on but held it back as I went to the kitchen.

"Prostitute…" I murmured to myself, "What kinda projection bullshit…? Come on, she's nothing like me."

|Naruto|

I popped the bowl of ramen into the microwave and set it to three minutes before turning on the TV.

Running my hand through my hair, I clicked through the TV channels, not really having a preference but never really feeling what I landed on. I finally came across a vampire drama and settled on it, mostly because the microwave had beeped and my food was ready.

Cursing as I brought out the insanely hot bowl, I set it down on the nightstand and got into bed. I decided to pray over my food while I waited for it to cool down, and once I was finished praying, I thought of what Ayame had said when I'd gotten the order.

"Huh, you know Sakura-san came in earlier ordering the exact same thing. Of course, I know it's your favorite but the two of you coming on the same day…you two messing with me?"

I quickly assured her we weren't up to anything and she gifted me two eggrolls on the house.

'Speaking of Sakura-chan.' I thought to myself as I unplugged my phone and dialed her number, 'What happened?'

She had left with the intention of returning and seeing as how she had even gone to Ichiraku's for my favorite dish, she'd probably been on the way. Of course, I had been wrapped up in other things so she hadn't crossed my mind, but now that it was quiet, I couldn't help but wonder what had happened to her.

"…Hello?" Sakura's voice purred over the phone, and I dug my nails into my arm.

"Hey, Sakura-chan," I answered strongly, "I know it's kinda late but what happened? I thought you were coming back?"

"Oh, gomen, things got complicated after I left." She yawned, "I actually stopped to get some ramen for you but um…what was I saying?"

"S-Something about getting ramen for me." I swung my legs over the side of the bed and shifted in discomfort as an erection painfully sprang to life.

'I can't.' I thought to myself, trying to clear my mind, 'I can't.'

"Yeah, so I went to get ramen for you, and I learned about this robbery at the bank today. Can you believe it happened right after we got to…to town?" The way her breath hitched as she yawned again sent another sinful picture into my mind, and I looked down.

"No…I can't…" I bit my lip as I slipped my hand into my boxers and gripped my member tightly.

Slowly, I began to stroke, and the topic of our conversation left my mind. I was focused on her breathing, the way she drew out her words, and the overall sound of her voice.

"That's the reason why, if you noticed when coming back there were all these police cars and traffic was…"

Stroking faster, I imagined her head going up and down in a bobbing motion, and my breath began to get heavier.

"Sakura-chan…" I murmured quietly as I picked up the pace to coincide with the fantasy running in my head.

With her voice in my ear, I could practically feel her presence in the room and stifled a low moan as I felt precum slip out.

"I finally got out of Ichiraku's only for Shino to call and tell me Sarada's been skipping. This girl will be the death of me, I swear…"

I was stroking much harder now, my length pulsing in forewarning of what was to come. It felt like someone was banging on a metal door with a hammer, each pound representing a pulse within me.

As I slid my thumb over my slippery head, I imagined each swipe as Sakura's tongue.

"Guh!" I couldn't help but cry out as I finally came, and Sakura noticed.

"Are you okay?" She asked, her voice tired but full of concern, "I can stop by tomorrow if you'd like."

"No, it's fine." I quickly declined the offer, "I'll…catch you around, ya know."

"Okay. Well, oyasumi." She bid me goodnight, and I did the same before hanging up.

Sighing, I shut off the TV and got up.

"Up until the end…" I looked at my hand, "I'm still one sick bastard."

I entered the bathroom and peeled off the soiled underwear before turning on the shower. I set the water to cold and quickly tossed aside my shirt before getting in.

Although I had just climaxed, I had managed to get hard once again and cursed myself.

'What the fuck is wrong with me?' I slapped my forehead, 'Her marriage is intact, she's done with you! Stop dragging her into your filthy mind!'

The freezing temperature did little to alleviate my condition, and my thoughts turned to Hinata and our exchange just hours ago. When I opened my eyes, the erection was gone.

"Ahahaha…" I banged my fist against the tile wall, "I can get it up for Sakura-chan but my own wife makes me limp? Sick…I'm sick…"

Again, Hinata flashed in my mind, but this time it was a reminder of what had happened the night of Himawari's twelfth birthday.

I laughed again, "I've always been sick…"