Chapter Forty-Eight

Temari packed her few personal belongings away in the dresser with care before turning her attention back to her mission gear. She had adopted a black jumpsuit with a green tactical over the form-fitting outfit. While not enough to stop a penetrating injury, the vest could blunt a slashing strike, and it would still give her freedom of movement of her arms and legs – something she needed if she was to use her best moves in combat

Temari zipped up the vest, feeling the reassuring weight sink into place. She once again inspected her fan and its cover. Since she was a child, the hand-crafted weapon had traveled with her faithfully. While parts and pieces had come and gone over the years, it largely had stayed the same. As she replaced the fan in its cover, her eyes flitted to a wedding photo of her and Shikamaru. Speaking of things that have changed over the years.

She remembered back to when they'd first met; he had been tailing her on intelligence business. At first, she'd thought he was a stalker, a pervert, especially after the time they'd walked in on each other at a mixed-gender hot springs. She'd been ready to kill him then and there for his mistake. Later, during the Chunin Exams, they'd been unlikely allies as the Sand Siblings sought refuge with the Hidden Leaf teams.

Temari stared back at the window, to his telescope, including the eyepiece she'd gotten him at the Rinne Festival. And then there was the night at the planetarium. Hoping to evade what they thought were pursuing agents from Suna, they'd kissed for the first time. Temari had never really kissed a boy before that time, and she fully expected him to be mechanical and uninspiring. Unexpectedly, he'd been warm, sweet. It didn't last long, but for a moment, every ache in her heart left by Mom, Dad, and the circumstances around her vanished in his kiss. Every moment since, she'd faced the frustrating quandary of needing to be near someone, much less someone she clashed with so vigorously.

And now you are here, hoping you don't lose that thing you've been chasing, praying the butterfly you caught in your net doesn't wither before you do. "Troublesome woman," his voice cam through the door, distracting her from her brooding, "are you almost ready? The rest of the team is down by the gate."

"Sh-Shikamaru," her throat tightened, "there is something I wanted to give you," she opened the drawer of the nearby dresser, and extracted a box. "I know it's still a month before your birthday, but I want you to have this," she held out a simply wrapped box with a green bow.

"Temari!" his eyes opened wide in surprise.

"Please, in case…"

He took the box and set it on the dresser gently, "Love, I'll open it when we get back, once this is all over."

"But Shikamaru, the war could last a long time!" she protested.

"Being that they plan to cast the eye of the moon on Naruto's birthday, I get the feeling we won't be long after that, one way or another," he took her into his arms, "You're too stubborn to get killed, and I want a good mystery to look forward to," he winked, "to make me come back safe."

"You're an asshole!" she smacked a hand on his chest before burying her face in his chest. Temari had gone her whole life always ready to lay down her life for her village, knowing here was no one she had to worry about losing, herself. Now, she had her entire world around her, and she was damn scared of anything bad happening to it.

"You've called me worse," he chuckled, "By the way, it's touching to know you worry so much." His hand migrated down, squeezing her butt. "I'm worry about losing you, too!"

"And not just my ass?" she asked, wryly.

"No," he gave another playful squeeze, "not just your fine ass." He chuckled, not aware or not caring what effect he was having. "But while we're on the subject," Shikamaru reached into his vest pocket and extracted a small black box, "you didn't think I was going to forget your birthday, did you?"

"Shikamaru, I'll wait!" she said.

"Like hell you will," he stared intently, "Yours is two days away, mine is a month off still."

"But…" she protested

"But nothing," his shadowy hand possessed hers, and she took the box, "I can't tell you how hard it was to think of something, and you'll need it going forward."

Her possessed hand opened the box, revealing a creamy jade medallion in the shape of the Nara family crest on a red string, "This is so unfair!" she protested as she handed him the beautifully rendered bit of jewelry.

"First rule of marriage," he grinned, "life isn't always fair!" he laced it around her neck. "I love you," he pulled her in for a kiss. His lips were desperate, hungry. His mouth betrayed what his words and swaggering manners didn't – he was just as afraid of losing her as she was of losing him. Temari pulled them together, body to body, trying to will time to stand still and leave them like this forever.

Unfortunately, time stood still for nothing. The hunger for oxygen and his wandering hands tugging up her shirt forced her to break, "You fiend!" she slapped his ass playfully, "We've got to meet your team down by the gate!"

"Dammit," his hands slid down her stomach from where they had been working their way up, "Why'd you have to remind me of that!"

"First rule of marriage," she huffed, straightening her outfit as she let the heat burn off, "Life isn't always fair!" She tussled his hair as she began walking past him. Temari seized her fan and made for the door. As she did, she bit her bottom lip, grinned, and pinched Shikamaru's butt one last time. She took off running for the entryway of the house, her husband giving chase.

"Sasuke," Sakura spoke with a soft, measured tone she reserved for patients in extreme pain or clinging to life by a thread. He remained unmoved in any visible away, other than he'd stopped his walking. For the past month and a half, Sakura, Hinata, Ino, Naruto, and Itachi had discretely been trying to reach out to Sasuke, hoping to reach him without Orochimaru's influence – a task made more difficult by how tightly Orochimaru kept him on a leash. By now, Sakura was fairly certain Orochimaru was toying with them.

"Sasuke," she spoke again, her throat clamping, "it's me, Sakura!" She fought back tears. Somewhere in there was the man she loved, the man who loved her, and she was about out of time to reach him – her medical unit was shipping out to the front this afternoon. Desperation seeped into her voice, "Sasuke, please!" she whimpered. He stared lifelessly with the twin swirls of Rinnegan staring back, devoid of any reaction. Tears began dripping, then flowing in a painful torrent. Goddammit, why did we separate on that last mission! Why didn't I go with you!

"Sa…Sakur…a…" the sound was unmistakable. She opened her eyes to see the mechanical motion of Sasuke's lips having formed words.

"Sasuke!" Sakura heaved as her heart began pounding against her sternum.

"S-Sakura…" his lips again moved mechanically, and his facial muscles fought paralysis to mimic some form of recognition on his pallid, fleshy mask.

"Sasuke!" Sakura spoke, manic from the even briefest display of emotion. As quick as it had happened, it was gone. Sasuke's face once again turned lifeless as a clay statue, but this time for sure, he had displayed some level of recognition where there had been none previously. Sakura struggled to not sprint down the halls of the Hyūga Compound, now mostly devoid of traffic as much of the clan and other military presence had left for the front line.

Sakura slid the door to Hinata's dojo open and slipped in side, careful to close the door behind her. "Are we clear?"

"Clear," Hinata and Neji answered, both seated on exercises mats. Naruto and Itachi sat with them.

"Hinata, you did see it?" Sakura said excitedly.

"Yes," she said hopefully, "I just wish, it didn't take so long?"

"What happened exactly?" Naruto asked.

"An emotional response," Sakura said excitedly.

"Let's not get too excited," Itachi said grimly, "Orochimaru is likely wise to us; I wouldn't put it past him to give us false hope."

"Still, there was something," Naruto observed, "and something is better than nothing."

"Even still," Itachi shook his head, "we can't spend any more time trying to coax more out of him." He stared at the group, "We leave this afternoon, as does he." Due to the sensitive nature of Sasuke's Rinnegan, he'd be traveling with the command staff – under heavy guard.

"There must be a way!" Sakura said, "we can't just abandon him!"

"There might be a way," Neji said, staring empty into the room beyond them with his Byakugan. "However, it has issues…"

"What sort of issues, Neji!" Sakura demanded.

"Yes, do tell," Itachi raised a confused eyebrow toward the older Hyūga sibling.

"To be honest, I don't know all of them," Neji turned his eyes to Hinata, "I think father could better explain than I can."

Hiashi walked down the hallways of the Compound, now largely deserted as much of the clan was already deployed. He was leaving with the command staff this afternoon, himself. As he walked into Akemi's garden courtyard, a sullenness fell over him. Akemi had already left with a visibly pregnant Tsunade and an end-term Kurenai to Mount Myoboku. In absence of its normal gardener, the flowers drooped, and most of the vegetables and herbs had been harvested.

"If your face gets any longer, we can use it for river crossing," an amused, familiar voice called. Hiashi looked up to see Jiraiya leaning against one of the railings on the walkway.

"I thought you'd gone with your wife," Hiashi said, surprised.

"I'll be leaving with Naruto, Hinata, and Minato in a bit," he replied, "but we need to talk before then, urgently."

"What is this about?" Hiashi asked.

"About the clan leader's blade," Jiraiya said, "and if the legends attached to it are true."

Hiashi felt the ghost of his old-self – serious and stony – return as his posture went rigid. "What do you know about that?"

"Enough," Jiraiya said, "but let's not talk here."

"No, let's speak in the armory," Hiashi replied. The tense walk to the Hyūga armory did little for Hiashi's mood. As he entered, he was unsurprised to see Hinata, Naruto, Neji, Minato, Konohamaru, and Kakashi standing beside the rack that held the Hyūga Clan Leader's blade. "I take it," Hiashi spoke, "you are here for the same thing he is?" He shot a thumb toward Jiraiya.

"Our resident genius told us about the legend," Naruto tilted his head toward Neji. "Is it true?"

Hiashi sighed, "To a degree," Hiashi started, "It depends on the story you're being told around the campfire, but yes, the blade can seal the chakra of a targeted victim," he raised a finger, "however, the blade hasn't been used for that purpose since the Warring States Period."

"Could it still work?" Hinata asked desperately.

Hiashi walked up to the blade, took it from its rack, and unsheathed it. He took a deep breath and activated his Byakugan, channeling his chakra through his palms until it passed through a narrow channel notched though the length of the blade. As he did, the blade encased itself in an amethyst flame. "Yes, it still works." He smiled, "I see you've been taking excellent care of the blade."

"She was never a slouch when it came to taking care of things," Kakashi said. "I take it the blade enhances the effect of Gentle Fist attacks?"

"Something like that," Hiashi explained, "The effect essentially cauterizes a chakra node, sealing it permanently." Hiashi turned his eyes to Minato, "The injury resulting is often disabling if not fatal, and it is all but impossible to heal wounds from the blade as a result."

"And I take it that was why there was an ancient technique developed to heal damaged chakra nodes – the one we used on Kushina almost five years ago," Minato spoke as he sat beside his canes.

"Indeed," Hiashi nodded, then turned to Neji, "How did you know of this?"

"I always sought to make my father proud, my real father," Neji sighed. "Being that I was excluded from succession, my father was almost perpetually disappointed in me. I sought to remedy that by learning everything I could of our family and our most difficult techniques."

"Son, you were never a disappointment to him," Hiashi spoke, saddened at the thought of his brother, "He suffered greatly after your mom died, much as I might have had Akemi died." He paused, staring at Naruto and then Hinata, "Losing someone you love, it does terrible things."

"Father, the blade can seal chakra nodes and cauterize them; is there any reason to suspect it wouldn't work on Sasuke?" Hinata asked.

"Hinata…" he stared at his daughter, contemplating his words delicately, "… there is a lot of risk to it."

"But it could work?" Naruto sharpened the hypothetical question.

"The blade user would have to be a Byakugan user, Naruto," Hiashi explained, "And I'll remind you that the slightest miscalculation will likely kill Sasuke." He assessed his future son-in-law, "Even without any mistake, there is still every chance that the trauma involved might kill him outright."

"Father, with all due respect," Neji spoke, "we've been trying to find a safer way for over a month now. We're out of time."

Naruto nodded grimly, "And I think I speak for everyone here," he glanced back at Minato and Konohamaru, "when I say we can't simply trust Orochimaru to let Sasuke go free."

"Especially," Hinata spoke up, "with something so dangerous as dual Rinnegan," she stared pensively at the blade, "Otherwise, what's to keep us from being in this situation again in a few years."

"I understand, but I also want to address another elephant in the room: Sasuke could be beyond saving in many different ways." He stared hard into his daughter's eyes, the eyes he'd given her, and then he stared just as hard into the eyes Minato had given Naruto. "Are you prepared to eliminate him if it comes down to it?"

Naruto and Hinata exchanged trouble looks. Cleary, they had at least thought of the subject, but Hiashi judged that they hadn't come to a conclusion. Neji, Minato, Kakashi, and Konohamaru stared at the couple, awaiting an answer. "Yes," Naruto said coolly. Hiashi hated putting the boy on the spot, but, as Neji pointed out earlier, they were out of time.

"I was hoping," Hiashi sighed, "that this day would never come." He closed his eyes, vainly hoping he'd wake from the nightmare and his little girl would be his little girl again, and her young boyfriend would be as he was on his thirteenth birthday when he came to pick Hinata up for a date. Hiashi opened his eyes, and he again saw the young warrior couple. No going back, you knew from the day Hinata became clan leader that this day would come. Hiashi walked to a panel in the wall, sliding back a false panel in one of wall's supporting columns.

The box was where he'd left it almost four years earlier, disguised as a metal reinforcement to the ancient wood beam. He delicately extracted the box from its hiding place and turned to face Naruto. "Lord Hiashi?"

"Naruto, this is… the last piece I have of my twin brother." Hiashi opened the metal box to reveal the delicate pale orbs contained within.

"Father's Byakugan!" Neji gasped, "How?!"

"I deactivated his cursed seal before he passed," Hiashi spoke, "Neji, his last wish…"

"I understand," the boy's voice choked with tears as he bowed his head.

"Understand what?" Hinata spoke, still in shock.

"Hiashi, you can't be thinking what I think you are!" Kakashi protested.

Hiashi nodded at the younger man and nodded, "Yes, I am." He turned to Naruto, "Son, Hizashi's last wish was for you to protect Hinata." He held out the box, offering its contents. "I have the bad feeling you'll need every edge you can get in the coming war, especially if it is as bad as we think."

"You want… me to take them?" Naruto struggled to assemble words. "I… I don't know if I should… at this point!"

"Hinata or myself can implant them; although, she'll have to teach you how to control them." Hiashi stared at his future son-in-law, swallowing the lump in his throat, "Son, I hate to spring this on you, but we are out of time." Hiashi closed the box and offered it to Naruto. "I trust you'll decide what is best to do with them – whether or not you choose to use them." Hiashi thrust the box into Naruto's waiting hand.

Minato needed air after the conversation he'd just witnessed. While Naruto had accepted Hizashi's Byakugan, he had not implanted it, and Minato was not sure if his son would or wouldn't. Naruto, Hinata, and Jiraiya reverse summoned to Mount Myoboku a few moments afterwards. Hiashi and Neji not long after grabbed their go-bags and left for the front. With the exception of the last of the command staff and some civilians, the Hyūga Compound was essentially deserted.

There was one task remaining before he left for Mount Myoboku. He limped along; legs still awkward in their effort to carry him across the courtyard to Hinata's training room. Kakashi and Konohamaru both sparred with fierce intensity in some last-minute practice. Both of them would be on Kushina's protection detail, and she'd already made it clear that she was going to be leading near the front and not in a command bunker set away from the troops. Despite protests from Asuma and Hiashi, both Konohamaru and Hanabi would remain at Kushina's side as part of her personal guard.

"Excellent, both of you," he said as he hobbled to take a seat on an exercise mat. While Kakashi took Konohamaru down, the fight was not so one-sided as to suggest the boy was hopeless. Indeed, Minato's adoptive son had come far since the day four years earlier when the wayward boy had come in search of Naruto only to find a new sensei in Kushina.

However, the bloodshot eyes and dark circles beneath them betrayed something else, something Minato was not proud of. "Kakashi, may I speak to Konohamaru, please?"

The two disengaged and bowed to one another and then to him. "He's all yours, chief. Don't keep him too long; we leave in another thirty minutes," Kakashi said as he excused himself from the room.

Konohamaru stared at Minato for several quiet, tense moments. "Lord Fourth," he bowed, "you have my attention." There was no attempt at irreverence; although Minato could tell the boy was fuming mad.

"Dad," Minato said, lips tight, but not forming his usually carefree smile, "you used to call me Dad, at least for a while there," he shrugged.

"And I used to call you Lord Hokage," the boy huffed, "Is there some point to this?"

"Son," Minato patted the spot next to him on the exercise mat, "sit with a crippled old man for a bit."

"What for?!" he pouted, crossing his arms.

"You're hurting, son," Minato again patted the area next to him, "I'd like at least a chance to do right by you; something that doesn't seem to happen too often."

Konohamaru's face cracked, but he composed himself back to impassive – not as cleanly as Sasuke or Sai could. He stalked his way next to Minato and sat, "Okay, so say something fatherly."

"You think your sensei, our Hokage is wrong, don't you?" Minato came out with the elephant in the room.

"What gave that away!?" he shouted.

"I don't know, something about, 'I say we grease this rat-fucking son of a bitch right now,' kind of hinted you didn't agree with the decision to pardon the bastard," Minato did his best attempt to imitate Konohamaru's outburst from a month prior.

"SHE'S LETTING THAT BASTARD GET AWAY WITH MURDERING MY GRANDFATHER, HER HOKAGE!" Konohamaru erupted like a volcano.

"It doesn't feel good, does it?" Minato didn't try placating the boy; he kept his voice flat.

"What the hell would you know about it!" Konohamaru took a swing with his right hand.

"I was there," he caught the boy's fist mid-flight, "and I could do nothing but watch helplessly as he died in front of me," Minato groaned against the pressure of holding back the attack. "Trust me, I still get nightmares about it all the time!"

"You could have killed Orochimaru!" Konohamaru began sobbing.

"And Naruto might be dead right now if I had," he reminded the boy.

"She could have ordered us to take his head!"

"And Sasuke might be dead as a result," he said calmly. "And we might not know where they moved Madara's remains to on the border with Suna and the Land of the Rain had we killed him."

"Dammit!" he sobbed, "How can you live with yourself! Letting that man, that THING, live!"

Minato snatched the boy and brought him into a bearhug. Konohamaru went to the waterworks, tears running down the front of Minato's jacket. Somewhere in the back of Minato's mind, a distant memory surfaced, causing a light chuckle to escape him. "You really are my son," he spoke with a slight laugh.

"What are you talking about?" the boy sobbed. "I'm not your son! He struggled against Minato's embrace vainly, "I'm not even my real father's son!"

"Yeah, you are," he patted the boy on the back, "And your grandpa would be laughing at me if he saw me here like this with you." Minato's lips tightened to a thin smile.

"What are you talking about…" Konohamaru's voice came muffled through Minato's shoulder.

"Once, what feels like a lifetime again, your grandpa had to have a damn similar talk to me. Hell, I was older, and didn't really have any excuse at that time!"

"What are you talking about? Konohamaru pushed back, "You're Lord Fourth, the man who's always perfect! The man who…"

"Almost threw out peace at the end of the Third Shinobi War because I was so wrathful!" he cut off Konohamaru. The boy's eyes widened in shock. "Yeah, I bet they didn't teach that in history class!"

"You… what?!" he asked, confused, unable to compute the statement.

"One of the negotiators sitting across from me at the armistice negotiations was on the team that had caused the cave-in that apparently killed Obito, my apprentice… the boy who was like my son…" Minato began feeling his throat tighten at the injustice of it, still. "I thought the bastard had taken from me one of the people most precious to me at that time!"

"I…" Konohamaru stammered, "I… I didn't know!"

"You wouldn't know," Minato wiped his tears, "I was so ready to go back to the battlefield, so ready to bathe in the blood of the people who'd killed Obito!" Minato sniffled, "And then, your grandpa reminded how many more children would become orphaned if I didn't make the choice to be the better man," Minato placed a hand under his adoptive son's chin, "He remined me how many more parents would have to bury their sons and daughters, all so I could get my tiny little piece of revenge!" He stared Konohamaru in the eyes, "Son, I detest taking revenge because I know how toxic it can be! I know it hurts, but if any of us let vengeance dictate what we do with Orochimaru, how many people might die?"

"I still don't like it!" the boy cried. "He has my grandpa…"

"I'm sorry you have to see him like this," Minato held the boy by the shoulders, "It tears up my guts and Kushina's to see him a puppet on Orochimaru's strings!" He shook his head, "If there had been any other way…"

Unexpectedly, Konohamaru pulled himself in Minato's chest, wrapping arms around him as he sobbed, "I'm sorry… Dad!"

"It's okay, son," Minato held Konohamaru the way he'd held Naruto after Hinata had nearly died on New Years' Eve several years before.

"It's not okay!" he wailed. "You're the closest thing I've ever had to a father, a real father! Lady Kushina is the closest thing I've ever had to a real mom!"

"It's okay son; you're angry, all children get angry at their parents at some time," he patted Konohamaru on the back, "even me!" Minato chuckled softly.

"But I thought…" Konohamaru started, but his words stopped.

"More than a few times, I didn't see eye to eye with Jiraiya on issues, especially over women," he smirked. His smirk soon faded as he remembered a young, blonde boy sitting on a swing in front of the Academy, "And I remember how angry was with my daddy, my real father, when he left on a mission and never came home. Had it not been for your grandpa throwing Jiraiya my way… well, let's just say I wouldn't have been the Yellow Flash, the Hokage, or a shinobi in general," he shrugged.

"You were ready to give up?"

"I was angry, I was hurt," Minato replied, "The one person who was my family abandoned me, or at least, that's how it felt."

"So, that's why you and Mom," he sighed, "took such an interest in me."

"Part of it," Minato shrugged, "We were both orphans, and…"

"And you knew about Naruto being an orphan in another time," Konohamaru added.

"The thought of letting a child go through what we went through, what Naruto would have gone through, was hateful." Minato paused, hoping he wasn't about to break some degree of propriety, "And there was the matter of your grandfather."

"What about him?" Konohamaru sighed, "Is this where you tell me you knew all along that he was going to die?"

"No," Minato protested, "I had no idea, but your father did. He told me after the fact."

"What?" Konohamaru eyes widened.

"Son, he knew his father was dying, and he knew something big was about to go down." Minato explained quickly, "He told me later that was why he insisted on the emergency adoption order in the event he and your mom died. With Asuma so busy with his team, he didn't want to chance you growing up with no one to call family." Minato gauged his adoptive son's response, seeing it safe to continue, "So, you see, your parents do love you very much, as did your grandfather."

"Dad…" Konohamaru hesitated, "What's going to happen to me after the war?"

"I don't know, son," Minato decided to remain honest. "I'd like to hope everyone lives…"

"I mean, assuming we all survive," the boy swallowed the lump in his throat, "Are you going to make me go back to my parents, assuming… they want me back?"

"They want you back, kiddo," Minato reassured him, "Don't for a moment think that means you'll stop being part of our family just because your parents are back in your life."

"Dad… thank you!"

"I should be the one thanking you," Minato smiled.

"How is that?" Konohamaru tilted his head in confusion.

"You're looking after Kushina and protecting her when this isn't your fight."

"She's my mom and my Hokage, and this is still my village!" Konohamaru beamed.

"Konohamaru," Hanabi's voice sounded from the door, "it's almost time for us to leave."

"Dad!" Konohamaru hugged him again.

"Son, you be safe!" Minato returned the hug, "Naruto, Hinata, and I will be at the front as soon as we are needed." They released each other, "Take good care of your mom!"

"Believe it!" Konohamaru gave his first smile in weeks and took off running for the door. Be careful son. Minato struggled to get to his feet, his weak legs still fighting him every step of the way.

Hinata walked the rustic hallway of the lodge at Mount Myoboku. Naruto had gone up the mountain, earlier, needing to meditate. To Hinata's concern, he'd taken his sleeping bag and a few essentials – the box containing Uncle Hizashi's Bykugan among them. Minato and Jiraiya, meanwhile, took off for what looked like a much-needed talk among father and son.

Absent Naruto, Hinata assisted Mom with her tasks of caring for Tsuande, Kurenai, and Shizune. While Kurenai and Tsunade were only halfway into their pregnancy, Kurenai had only a month to go. While the jonin's pregnancy had been mostly uneventful, Shikamaru insisted that Asuma send the soon-to-be mother away to the relative safety of Mount Myoboku.

Having completed most of the tasks of the early evening, Hinata strolled back to her room and checked her watch, 1900. The sun was beginning to dip, and she didn't have long to decide her next course of action. Without a second thought, she rifled through her bag for her running gear, pulling on the form-fitting purple leggings and her running jacket. She put on her running boots when she heard her mom call, "Hinata, can you come here for a moment?"

For a moment, she considered switching back to regular clothing, but she decided against it, "Coming!" she called as she moved for the door. She ran toward the other rooms, finding Mom in the sitting room with Tsunade.

"Planning an evening hike, dear?" Mom asked, slight amusement on her face.

"I was… going to check on Naruto," she replied, voice turning hesitant.

"He's up at the summit," Tsunade spoke, "If you hoof it, you can reach him just before nightfall."

"I see…" Hinata turned to face her mom, "Mother, was there anything you needed?"

"Hinata, are you all right?" Mom asked, her eyes searching to her soul.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked.

"Oh, you know, your father only tried forcing your fiancé to implant your uncle's Byakugan. Otherwise, nothing major," Mom said in jest.

"M-Mom, how did you know about that?!" Hinata gasped.

"Your father told me, silly! He came to me first to ask my opinion."

"I mean, about…" Hinata paused to twirl the engagement ring on her finger.

"Hinata, you weren't exactly discrete about it," Tsunade winked, "By the way congratulate Naruto for me; I would have thought he'd settle for a plastic ring from a gumball machine!"

"Tsunade!" Mom scolded in unison with Hinata.

"Well," she laughed, "Minato didn't even bother with a ring he rushed so damn fast!" Tsunade giggled. "It is a beautiful ring, by the way! The purple pearl matches you perfectly!"

"Thank you," Hinata bowed to Tsunade. "Mom, was there something else?" Hinata turned back to her mother.

"Yes, dear, you have taken your pill today, right?" Mom asked nonchalantly.

"M-MOM!"

"Hinata," Tsunade interrupted. "You'll be up that mountain just before nightfall, and it's too dangerous to descend in the dark," she winked, "You watch out for that Uzumaki boy, or he'll charm your pants right off you," she paused to smile and rub her oversized baby bump. "And pretty soon, you'll be wide as me!"

"Hinata, go and check on him," Mom said and winked, "but don't think I'm that naïve."

Hinata nodded, returned to her room for her sleeping bag, and she took off running. The clean air and solitude of the mountain trail in the early evening eased her mind of her troubled thoughts: Sasuke, the war she was sitting out for the moment, and Naruto. The sun began dipping precariously close to the horizon. While she could have tapped into Nine-Tails to go faster, or used any number of the Flying Thunder God marks higher up the mountain, Hinata chose to run the old-fashioned way. Sweat dripped down her body and wicked away from her as it evaporated off her running clothes. As she reached higher and higher, the air became cooler.

Naruto first came into sight when she was still well below the summit. He was seated atop an exercise mat rolled out on the ground, clad only in his boxers. His sleeping bag and clothes were neatly folded nearby. Hinata redoubled her pace. He was mediating, gathering nature chakra. This trip will be for nothing if he leaves. Hustle! Hinata dipped deeper into her chakra reserves, finally drawing on Kyuubi. "You're going to mate with him again!?" the fox demon spoke.

"I'm… just… going to… talk!" she protested as she rounded a bend.

"Right," his tone suggested he didn't believe her, but her chakra flow scaled up dramatically nevertheless. She reached the plateau near the summit where Naruto sat, and she set her things down. He didn't so much as twitch.

"N-Naruto?" she called his name, uncertain if she'd be welcome.

His yellow sage mode eyes opened, and he smiled. "Hello, purple eyes!"

"You left in a big hurry," she said.

"Sorry," he said, "I kind of felt like a fifth wheel around the pregnant ladies," he smiled. "And your mom seemed to need your help more than mine." He patted the area next to him on the mat, "Sit with me!" he offered.

Despite having been in a relationship for years and having made love a multitude of times in the past few months, Hinata shivered at the innocent gesture. Something about Naruto's boyish smile and innocent demeanor cleansed her of the pensiveness that had built up around her in the past month between war preparations and trying to find some way to break Sasuke free from Orochimaru. She did as he asked.

He smirked, "You're tense, anything you need to talk about?"

"Nothing that would actually get better if we did," she sighed. "There is a war starting, and I'm here while everyone else is out there," she gestured away to the distance.

"I get the bad feeling we'll be in the thick of it before long," he said, voice even despite the somber topic. His eyes reverted back to his charming blue. "But, if you need some stress relief, I know just the thing! Take your clothes off!"

"Na-NARUTO!" she shouted, cheeks turning red at the flagrant suggestion as much as her own worry that she might have been head all the way down the mountain.

"What?" he shrugged, playing innocent, "Massage is much more effective," the began warming up his hands, "when you can go skin to skin! What do you think I was proposing?!" he laughed nervously.

"Naruto I…" Hinata paused, realizing the absurdity of protesting. They wouldn't have much more time like this at the rate things were going. Innocent or not, she craved anything to distract herself from the swirl of negative thoughts following her around like a malevolent cloud. She craved his innocent touch; she craved his naughty touch, "… okay." The words came easily, easier than she expected. He spread out his sleeping bag on the ground as she stripped down bare.

Hinata sprawled out on her stomach, and he knelt beside her. In spite being on intimate terms with Naruto, Hinata felt strangely self-conscious at laying casually naked out in the open next to him. The cold air at this altitude added to her shivers as she clamped her eyes closed. His firm, loving hands stole away her worries as he started kneading the tight bands just above her rear-end. The heat of his hands mixing with the cold of her skin sent her mind spinning out of control. "You're such an opportunist!" she said as she felt herself tense up, followed by her relaxing under his touch.

"You're so damn tight!" he giggled as his hands kneaded upward the length of her back to her shoulders until he began working back down until his paws were massaging her butt.

"Naruto!" she screeched. His touch was driving her over the edge, and he'd barely done anything. What a tight, cramped little woman I've been!

"I think," he paused, stretching out his hands, "I'm going to need reinforcements this time." She could hear him grin as he spoke.

"Reinforcements?" she said nervously as she opened her eyes to watch him make the familiar hand seal for shadow clones. Four clones grinned devilishly. "You…"

"Yes?" Naruto said in unison with his clones. Two clones knelt by her hands, and the other two moved to her feet. Naruto chuckled as he resumed his massage with small circles at her left hip, slowly migrating across her rump. The clones began working the muscles of her hands and feet all at once.

"Na-Naruto!" Hinata screamed, her body undulating as the fantasy of ten warm Naruto hands warming her chilled body. "You…" she searched for the appropriate words, "… horny toad!"

"Hehe," he laughed, "I prefer horny toad sage!" Naruto cackled as his hands moved to the right side of her butt and to the hip.

Hinata dug her nails into the fabric of the sleeping bag as the clones worked up into her forearms and calves. Her feet kicked at the ground uncontrollably as his touch overwhelmed her. "Lady Tsunade," she began giggling, biting her lip, "warned me you'd try something like this!"

"And yet," he began working up her midline, "you came up here despite Granny Tsunade's sage wisdom!" He paused, but his clones continued to work further up her arms and legs. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you came up here wanting something from me…" he trailed of mischievously.

"I came here to be serious," she protested, not entirely truthful.

"I'm serious!" he winked, and the clones dissolved, "You've been nothing but tense lately," he began massaging her neck. His lips began kissing up her spine, "I consider it my duty," his tongue traced between her shoulder blades, "to lift whatever is bothering you from your shoulders," he nibbled up her shoulder.

"I don't…" she screeched in laughter, "I can't!" He teased her right ear as he sucked and nibbled at the outer earlobe.

"You can tell me," he whispered to her ear with his hot breath, "just let it go, and you'll feel so much better!"

All semblance of control gone, Hinata writhed and rolled under Naruto until she was on her back, and his lips were on her neck. "Na…Naruto… the Byakugan!" she moaned.

"Ah, I thought it might be that," he pinned her hands over her head, interlacing their fingers.

"You have thought about it, right?" she heaved.

"Yes, I have," he breathed fire under her chin as his lips migrated up to her mouth. Naruto started playful, but he turned passionate. Hinata had had enough. She wanted him, needed him. Hinata freed a hand from Naruto's grasp and began drawing away his boxers. "Do you want my answer?" he grinned.

"I want you…" she wrestled away his boxer until they were past his toes, "…to tell me after we're done!"

"I can live with that!" he began pressing into her; his length caused her to gasp. Her fingernails dug into his back, scratching along the tight bands of muscle along his body. Hinata screamed as pleasure overtook her. As the moment broke, Hinata laid back, incapable of speech. Naruto melted over her, resting his head on her chest. "Ahhh…" he sighed.

"Naruto, your answer?" she gasped. Her eyes stared up to the stars as the evening sky morphed through ever darkening shades of purple.

"I could have a lot of fun with this," he kissed her cleavage.

"You're not kissing your way out of this one!" she grabbed a fistful of his golden hair, "Dammit, tell me!"

"Well, you see…" he grinned as he wrapped the bag around them as a guard against the cold.

Author's notes: Hi everyone, and apologies for this taking so damn long to post. What I had ready by the end of last week was woefully incomplete, and a combination of family and work commitments left me with little time to write. With all that said, I hope it was worth the wait, and you enjoyed the chapter. Next chapter, the Shinobi Union goes to war, and Naruto makes a fateful decision regarding his future. Until then, stay healthy, stay safe, and stay classy wherever you are in the world.