As the star-filled nighttime sky loomed over Konoha, three kunoichi could be found inside of a well-lit hospital room inside of the village's main hospital. Pressing an ice-cold ice-pack against her bottom lip, a seated Kurenai watched Anko lay in the hospital bed across from her. Yugao sat beside Kurenai and watched their incapacitated friend with her, who was currently succumbing to the effects of an anesthetic sedative.

"Ohhhhh yeahhhh, this is some gooooodddd stuff here..." Was the delirious comment of the woman with a few broken ribs and some misaligned spinal disks. It had been approximately fifteen to twenty minutes since the nurse had injected anesthesia into Anko's IV bag before leaving the room, as the effects were clearly starting to take hold already.

Yugao chuckled at the woman with half-lidded eyes and a slightly slurred speech pattern, "Looks like it's starting to kick in now. Do you feel the pain subsiding, Anko?" She asked. Anko, with a lazy but toothy smile, nodded her head up and down dramatically.

"Yessss, I can barely feel a thing now..." Anko then started giggling goofily, "I should ask you to break my bones more often, Kure-chaaannnnn..."

Kurenai let out a huff of a laugh, shaking her head, "I don't think that'll be very good for you, Anko."

"Aahhhh, you don't know nothin'... I, um, know things. And I know that this stuff has me feeling amaaazinggg...!" Was Anko's euphoric response, "Remember kids... drugs are your friend!"

Yugao leered over to Kurenai and whispered, "I think they might have given her a larger dosage than necessary..."

"Hey!" Anko called, her eyes slightly crossing as it seemed that her vision was blurring, "Whatchu guys talkin' bout over there...?! You s-sluts makin' fun o' me...?!"

"Of course not, Anko. We love you." Kurenai said passively. Anko gasped dramatically and suddenly started getting teary-eyed.

"Oh ma gawd, I love you guys, too!" She exclaimed, "Oh... Come on over here and give Mama Anko some suga...!"

Yugao had the lower half of her face in the palm of her hand, trying her best not to laugh. Kurenai simply rolled her eyes. She was quickly realizing that Anko's personality and anesthesia were a powerful combination.

"Sorry Anko, no can do. You should probably work on getting some rest so you can heal."

"Sleep is for the weak!" Was the delirious Jounin's response before raising both hands to the air gestured with the 'rock-out' signs. She then followed up by headbanging and humming lazily to whatever music started playing in her head.

"Goodness." Yugao grinned, shaking her head before turning to Kurenai, "Well, if this doesn't cheer you up for the night, nothing will."

A small smile did momentarily touch Kurenai's swollen lips, "Anko never fails to find a way to do that. Even if she has to get on my nerve first."

Kurenai and Yugao continued watching Anko get lost in her own little rock n' roll world until her eyes shot open as if suddenly remembering something.

"OH! That reminds me! Guys, I need your help with something..."

"What's wrong, Anko?" Asked Yugao.

"Weeellll... after watching Kurenai have such a good time with her... ehehe... boy toy..." Anko murmured mischievously, earning a leer from Kurenai, "It made me realize that... um... I want to get some lovin' in my life..."

Yugao's eyebrows raised with intrigue, while Kurenai simply looked at her quizzically.

"And how exactly are we supposed to help you with that?" Kurenai inquired.

"I dunno! I just... I want some of what you had, dammit!" She complained like a prepubescent little girl, "It's been years now! Most guys are too intimidated by big ol' scary Anko to come near me, but I need some affection, too! If you guys are really my friends you'd help me find some Goddamn penis!"

"...Wow." Was all Yugao could muster up as a response.

Kurenai rubbed her head. She knew she shouldn't be entertaining Anko while she was under the influence, but it genuinely sounded like something that was actually troubling Anko under the surface.

"So... you want us to help you... get laid?" Kurenai reiterated.

"Is that so much to ask?! I mean, look at these tits!" The Tokubetsu Jounin quickly undid the buttons to her hospital gown to pull it down, before puffing out her chest to expose the two bare feminine mounds on her chest into the open air for her two friends to see, "These things are going to waste! You look me in the eyes and tell me these bad boys don't deserve to be worshiped and adored!"

Kurenai, completely caught off guard by her wild friend's antics, blushed and turned her head to avert her gaze with a hand shielding her eyes.

Yugao, on the other hand, simply analyzed the two breasts her friend was blessed with, rubbing her chin.

"Those are some pretty impressive boobs." The ANBU member admitted.

"Thank you, Yu-chan." Anko responded with a self-assured grin.

"Anko... please put your gown back on." Kurenai calmly requested.

"Why? We're all girls here. Besides, I've already seen yours... and then some." She said with a lazy smirk while bouncing them in her hands as if they were toys.

Kurenai blushed again before standing up and heading for the door, "...I have to use the restroom. This one is all you, Yugao."

"Aww, party pooper." Was the last thing Kurenai heard from her braless friend before stepping out into the hallway. As she began walking, she could continue to hear Anko start to sing at a pretty loud volume, and with mediocre proficiency to boot, from inside the room.

"Every party needs a pooper that's why they invited you... party pooperrr... party pooperrrr..."

Shaking her head, Kurenai continued to walk past a few other hospital rooms before turning down a corner where she remembered the location of the bathrooms. Just as she turned the corner, though, she was greeted by the sight of Squad Ten sitting in three chairs further down the hallway.

As she continued to head toward them to say hello, she noticed how each member of the squad was wearing very somber and saddened facial expressions. Ino and Choji even seemed to be trying their best not to cry, though they were failing miserably. Shikamaru on the other hand looked to be very focused on his own thoughts, though it was apparent he was just as upset as his two teammates... if not also a bit angry.

"Guys?" Kurenai called out once she was a few feet away. Only Choji seemed to be the one to look at her in response.

"O-Oh... hello, Kurenai-sensei." He mumbled as he wiped his eyes and nose with his sleeve.

"What's wrong?" She asked curiously, "What's got you all so down?"

None of the three answered. They all just sat there, staring at the door of the room located across from them. Kurenai almost spoke up again to reiterate her question, but right as she opened her mouth to do so was when it started to dawn on her. She then turned and stepped closer to the door they were looking at to look through the small window that allowed her to peek inside.

Kurenai's ice pack dropped onto the floor.


In the center of the village, Tsunade watched as Naruto calmly dug into his bowl of ramen. It was a surprise to see him eating like a normal person, considering his usual methods of woofing down his all-time favorite meal. Ichiraku's was pretty desolate, aside from Teuchi and Ayame working behind the counter, as Tsunade had ordered to reserve the restaurant for themselves while she and Naruto continued discussing things. Tsunade even made a point to give the workers time to relax in the back while she did so in order to keep full confidentiality between them both, and only them both. ANBU members surrounded the area as well, blocking off specific blocks of the neighboring streets.

"So you mean to tell me that Ero-Sennin was the Yondaime's sensei?" Naruto suddenly asked Tsunade.

"That's right. Jiraiya is technically your godfather." She answered, "There have been times when Jiraiya would tell me he felt like you were the grandson he never had... or wanted." She added a small huff of a laugh as she said that.

"Yeah, he would tell me that too." Said Naruto.

"And your father was the sensei to Kakashi when he was your age." Tsunade added, "The mentors that you've had have likely been assigned to you intentionally as they were very close to your father."

Naruto sat there on his stool, staring at his half-eaten bowl with his chopsticks threaded in his fingers for a while before responding, "...So you all knew of my heritage the entire time. Why is this such a big secret and why am I just now finding out about it?"

Tsunade saw that as a very valid question, "It's complicated. It involves keeping you safe because you're one of the few Uzumaki left, and your surname holds weight in our world's history. The Uzumaki were actually a strong breed of a clan that has had misfortunes occur within them, similar to the Uchiha."

Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that he should be angry but was doing his best to keep it at bay.

"But I grew up an orphan... and if the Uzumaki name was so respected, why has my childhood been so rough for people to treat me the way they had?"

"Because the fear of the Kyuubi overrides the respect of the Uzumaki, in most people's minds. Remember, the Uzumaki's clan origin is from the Land of Whirlpool, not the Land of Fire."

Naruto sat with the answer for a second.

"Naruto, the date of your birth has been so significant to the handling of the Kyuubi attack because jutsu like the ones to seal the Kyuubi away require extreme circumstances to make them work, as they are a sort of contract with the Shinigami. Many other people sacrificed their lives to prevent our village from destruction due to the Kyuubi attack and Minato's sacrifice was a pact with the Shinigami to make it possible for our entire village's survival. These people are traumatized, scared, and deflecting whatever fears they have within their own thoughts regarding your relation to the Kyuubi."

He wasn't sure why, but that answer only made him angrier. Tsunade noticed that the look in his eyes shifted.

"But I didn't ask for it."

"Of course not, Naruto. You-"

"Maybe the Kyuubi should have destroyed the village, then."

Tsunade was shocked.

"... I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that."

"I said what I said." He said, turning to look Tsunade in her eyes, "Why would the Kyuubi want to attack the village anyway?"

"We still don't have complete evidence, but our sources hint towards the Kyuubi being controlled by someone else."

He rose an eyebrow, "Controlled?"

"Yes. It's still a top-secret matter, but it's presumed to have been controlled by the eyes of the Sharingan."

Naruto had no immediate response to that. He had to admit, the Sharingan definitely has some formidable powers.

"Wait a minute." Naruto started, "So the Kyuubi can't be killed... but it can be controlled?"

"Well, you seem to have some ability to control it yourself, apparently." She told him, "Biju like the Kyuubi don't die quite like you or me. Death for them is different."

"How so?"

"We've never been too sure." Tsunade said, "The Tailed Beasts have been around for a very long time, and many countries to this very day still fight over their power. Since they carry such power, villages had begun sealing them inside of people, for varying reasons. Gaara, the Kazekage, is a clear example of this as well."

Naruto simply nodded.

"So these are things that have happened a number of times over history. The Kyuubi has actually been sealed inside someone before you."

"Really?" He asked, "Who?"

"Your mother."

Naruto needed time to think about that one. He'd actually never heard much about his mother, either.

Tsunade stared at the empty bowl of ramen in front of her, "Kushina Uzumaki was an amazing, strong woman. Your father was very lucky."

"I haven't really given too much thought about my mother... I just assumed she was possibly a whore or something."

Tsunade quickly snapped her neck to look at him, "Naruto!"

"What? It's what all the other orphans would say about each other's moms during recess."

Tsunade sighed, putting her head in her palm, "There could have been a better way the Third went about doing this..." She grumbled under her breath, "Yeah, remember the whole 'keeping your heritage a secret to protect you from other countries' part? That's the reason you were assigned to live in an orphanage, away from anything that would make your name pop up in international affairs."

"But you know I want to be Hokage!" Naruto responded, "I've wanted nothing more than to show everyone I could do it, and-!"

"And someday, you just might. Your chances are actually pretty high." Tsunade said simply, cutting him off. Naruto's temperament wavered.

"What do you mean?"

"There are things I have to withhold from you, Naruto, as part of my job. But all you need to know is that I will do everything I can to make sure you someday achieve your dream." She told him seriously, making Naruto feel other emotions outside of anger, "I don't know if you realized, but you have connections with pretty powerful people. You want to know who else was an Uzumaki?"

"Who?"

"My grandmother, Mito Uzumaki, who is also the wife of the First Hokage."

Naruto's eyes widened a bit, "You're an Uzumaki?!"

"I have Uzumaki blood, yes." She answered, "We share clan blood."

Naruto found that the more he discovered about his heritage, the more interesting it became in terms of details, considering his life up until now.

"Well... I guess that would explain our blonde hair."

"Actually, the Uzumaki are known for their red hair. Our blonde hair comes from the people our mothers had sex with."

"Baa-chan, please..."

"Sorry."

Naruto sighed, "So my mom had red hair?" He asked, "What was she like?"

Tsunade started lightly chuckling, "Well, she's definitely where you get your temperament from."

"What temperament?" Naruto innocently asked. Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"Look, I have it too, clearly." She confessed, "The Uzumaki blood can boil in your veins sometimes. It's how we gather up our strength."

Naruto nodded, having felt the effects of it firsthand on multiple occasions. He had always thought that was just the Kyuubi's chakra, but the Kyuubi's influence always felt... different than just a temper.

"So she was red-haired, hot-tempered, and strong." He said to himself, "... I love her already."

Tsunade smiled.

"I'm sure she would be very happy to hear that." She then huffed again, "But I'm also sure she'd punch you across the back of your head for thinking she would be a whore."

"Not my fault!" He quickly defended, "Once you told me my dad was Hokage I kind of dismissed that idea."

"Just because a man is the Hokage doesn't mean he won't sleep around..." She muttered under her breath unconsciously with a knowing tone, though not low enough to where Naruto couldn't hear.

"Um... what?"

She shook her head, "Forget that I just said that."

Naruto had a tough time deciding if he actually wanted to do that.

"The point is, your mother and father shared such a loving and caring relationship with one another, and it's a beautiful thing that you are the culmination of that." She explained, "I know your burden on you is heavy. It takes strength to handle it as well as you do, Naruto."

Naruto then looked down.

"I'm not so sure these days..." Naruto sighed, "I mean, I'm still a Genin. Most of the people in my graduating class are Chuunin, even Jounin. And considering how I killed your apprentice on my last mission..."

"The Kyuubi killed my apprentice on your last mission, Naruto." She corrected with care in her voice, "It's not your fault."

Naruto remained silent. Tsunade placed her hand on his to hold it.

"You're going through a lot. I know it's difficult for you, but you being a genin right now has nothing to do with your talents. What I want for you, Naruto, is to just know that I'm always going to be here for you. You can come to me about anything."

Naruto sighed, "Yeah... I know. But-"

Just then, an ANBU Black Ops with a Neko mask entered the restaurant.

"Hokage-sama! I have urgent news."

Tsunade had to admit that she didn't enjoy the timing, but knew that Yugao wouldn't interrupt something like this unless it was important.

"What is it?"

Yugao handed her a scroll. Tsunade took it and opened it to read it.

After scanning some of the words on the paper, her eyes widened.


*Five minutes prior*

"Really? For ten whole minutes?"

"I shit you not. I'm just glad I had a towel under me."

"Hm." Yugao hummed to herself, crossing her legs. She knew Anko could be exaggerating but was curious nonetheless, "Where did you say you bought it?"

"This sex shop three blocks down from my apartment. We should go sometime." Anko proposed.

"Sure." Yugao then sighed before standing up, "I'm gonna go see where Kurenai is. She's been gone for a little while now."

"Ah, yes. Hopefully, she didn't fall in."

"Unlikely, but not impossible." Was Yugao's response before heading for the door, "I'll be back."

Yugao then left the room and began to head toward the bathroom. After turning a corner, she was shocked to see Kurenai and Team Ten outside of a hospital room, all with streams on their faces. Ino happened to be the first to see her and began walking toward her.

"U-Um, Yugao-san. Do you think you can hand this to the Hokage? It's pretty urgent." She asked past her tears. Yugao glimpsed at Kurenai, who had her head held in her folded arms as she sat on the floor. She then looked at a seemingly stressed-out Shikamaru and Choji before looking back at Ino.

"Er, sure. If you don't mind me asking, what's going on?"

Ino looked away, "Asuma Sarutobi suffered fatal wounds from our most recent mission... and we recovered the Two-Tails Jinchuuriki, who's in critical condition."

"I see." Yugao quickly acknowledged before putting her mask back on and forming the tiger seal to shunshin. She gave Kurenai one last look of concern before disappearing into a puff of smoke.


*Later that night*

With the jingling of keys echoing in the hallway, Kurenai opened the door to her apartment, feeling drained and worn out. While the treatment she required at the hospital for her nose and lip was minor, it was still sore and a bit achy. Her eyelids felt heavy and tired. She closed the door after entering and immediately started stripping off her outfit to hop straight into bed. As she undid the storage pouch strapped to her thigh, she felt something inside of it that made her remember what she received earlier from Shikamaru.

She opened the pouch and pulled out a scroll. Kurenai simply stared at it as she dropped the empty pouch on the floor. She had to make the decision of reading it now versus reading it in the morning. It was already a lot for her to process that Asuma was now gone, and reading what Shikamaru said were his final words to her was something she wasn't sure she was ready for at this current moment. Her curiosity was edging her on, however, and it was right in her hand. Open it now or put it down?

Kurenai bit her lip as another tear slid down her face.

Soon after, the sounds of paper shifting filled her apartment.


After spending three hours in bed thinking about all the information he received today, Naruto had eventually fallen asleep after returning home. Tsunade hastily apologized for cutting their talk short but promised that they would talk again after handling her duties. Naruto didn't mind, though. It seemed pretty important.

As Naruto's consciousness drifted away from the earthly realm, his breathing deepened and it suddenly felt as though he were traveling somewhere else...

It had not been long until Naruto felt as though he were standing. He opened his eyes, and he was surely no longer in his bedroom.

Stretched out for miles was a calm and vibrant grassy plain that was decorated with many trees on the outside and various colorful flowers and shrubs on the inside. It was shaped in the form of a pathway system almost, as the large plain had many different areas, rocks, and even small bodies of water. Naruto seemed to be standing directly in the middle of the clearing, in awe at what his eyes were currently looking at. It was difficult to say what time it was wherever he was, considering the sky varied in color... rather, the northern and southern sky zones had a gradient that shifted from day to night. It was as though time was... infinite, yet frozen.

Naruto knew he had fallen asleep not long ago. He knew his dreams could be very vibrant and immersive, but this was something new.

"Hello?" Naruto called out, unable to spot another soul in the area. That is until a head poked out from behind a large rock a couple of feet away.

Naruto was in awe as he saw this, as he'd recognize that pink hair anywhere.

"Naruto?"

"Sakura?"

Emerald green eyes locked with Cerulean blue ones for what seemed like eons. Sakura, wearing her usual attire, got up from behind the rock and started to approach Naruto, all the while maintaining eye contact.

Naruto said nothing as she walked up to him. Pretty soon she was standing right in front of him, and as a gust of air passed through the clearing, even her scent confirmed for him that it was really her.

"Sakura, I..." Naruto closed his eyes and shook his head, "This is just a dream."

He felt a gloved hand grasp his own. Soon after, another gloved hand rested on top of it.

"Hi, Naruto." She greeted him, holding one of his hands with both of her own, "I'm... really happy to see you."

Naruto opened his eyes to see her still looking at him. She was even smiling at him a bit.

"This... This isn't real." He said somberly, retracting his hand away. This made Sakura frown, "My guilt is going to drive me crazy..."

Sakura stood there for a while before rushing in to wrap his torso in a firm hug. The gesture stole the air from Naruto's lungs, triggering an onset of tears.

"This isn't real... This isn't real..."

"It's real enough for me." Sakura responded, hugging tighter, "Hug me back, please."

Naruto hesitantly brought his arms up around Sakura's shoulders and held them. Sakura hummed a bit and nestled into his chest once he did this.

Teardrops began to fall into Sakura's hair.

"I know this must be... hard for you." Sakura began, "But I've missed you, Naruto. I'm glad I get a chance to see you again."

Naruto was unable to say anything. His hold on her did tighten up a bit, though.

"That mission was... intense. I'd never seen you so upset before..."

"..."

"And I'll admit, I was at fault for being all in your face like that... I just wanted to help you."

"..."

"But you're here now. And I've come to understand you a lot more now than I ever have." She pulled her head away to look him in his teary eyes, "It's not your fault, Naruto. I'd say you have my forgiveness, but there's nothing for me to forgive. You never did anything wrong."

"I... just can't bring myself to believe that." Naruto said, "I mean... I-"

"Killed me?" She finished, raising an eyebrow, "If anything I was asking for it, jumping in front of you like that while you're four tails deep into the Kyuubi's chakra."

"It's like you said... you were trying to help."

"Yeah, in a pretty dumb way now that it's in hindsight." Sakura said, shaking her head at herself, "Look, you don't need to beat yourself up. You still have your life to live and excel in. I may no longer be around you physically, but I will always be with you. Got it?" She told him, poking him in the chest with her index finger. Naruto only began to rub his head in confusion.

"This is crazy." Naruto huffed to himself, "I know that I'm dreaming right now. Why does this feel so real?"

Sakura separated herself from him.

"Do you know where we are right now?"

Naruto shook his head. Sakura gently smiled at him.

"This is the inside of your heart. Or at least that's what your parents told me."

Naruto's confusion only began to increase upon hearing that.

"My heart? My parents?"

Sakura nodded, "Yeah. I didn't really fully understand it myself when they explained it, but basically, if you were to travel inside yourself and visit your heart center, this is where you'll end up."

"That... doesn't really make sense." Naruto admitted.

"It does sound a little bizarre, I suppose." Sakura huffed, "But as I've spent more time here, I can kind of see what they were saying. I've learned so much about you here." She told him before showing him a scroll she was holding, "Your heart contains your deepest memories, experiences, and pretty much everything that makes you, you, Naruto."

The blond rose an eyebrow, "And they're stored in a scroll?"

Sakura moved closer to him to open the scroll and share with him what was in it. Once the scroll was unraveled enough, what seemed like a video illuminated with divine light began playing. In this 'video', a beautiful red-haired woman could be seen walking hand in hand with a blond-haired, blue-eyed Hokage down Konoha's streets. The red-haired woman had a belly that was poking out beyond any other part of her body and was seen rubbing her large belly contently with a smile on her face.

"Do you think he's going to grow up liking ramen like me?" The woman asked the man next to her.

"Considering how much of it you've eaten since being pregnant, I'll be shocked if he doesn't." Responded the man before lightly chuckling with his beloved.

"Hey, I'm eating for two here! And we both seem to have a pretty big appetite!"

"So it would seem." Minato responded before giving Kushina a loving kiss on the forehead. Kushina hummed appreciatively.

"I can't wait to meet him, Minato." Kushina sighed, "Naruto is going to be a blessing to this village. I'm going to smother him in love every chance I get."

"That makes two of us." The Yondaime responded, "He's going to take after you quite a bit, I feel like."

"Already admitting that I have the stronger genes, Minato-kun?" Kushina teased, bumping him gently with her shoulder. Minato chuckled.

"Yeah, I sure am."

Sakura then closed the scroll, much to Naruto's disappointment.

"I'm not sure how much I should be showing you, but there are many of these scrolls scattered around here." She told him, "This space may not be real in a literal aspect, but these are definitely your memories from even before you were born. I even looked at one that had your memory of our first day in the academy together."

Naruto was looking at his hands at this point, gauging the sense of reality he currently had. Fully cognizant and lucid, Naruto knew that there was truth to Sakura's words.

"This is so weird." That was all he could say. He was still processing seeing his parents in the scroll just a minute ago.

"Wait," He then suddenly said, "You said my parents told you all this?"

Sakura nodded, "Yeah, they can come here every so often. They said it was a feature included in the seal that contains the Kyuubi."

Naruto was past the point of disbelief.

"I... could actually meet them here?" He asked, "Wait, how exactly are you here, Sakura?"

"That... seems to be a tricky answer that I don't really have an answer to." She admitted, "Your parents said that it probably has something to do with the Kyuubi's chakra and I'm inclined to believe them considering I met Kyuubi before coming here, too."

"You... you did?"

"Yeah. She's scary."

Naruto was definitely inclined to agree.

"Yeah, well... that's what's inside me."

Sakura didn't respond right away, "You do a good job of holding it back, especially for this long."

Respectfully, Naruto found that he had every reason to disagree completely.

"That's not true." He shook his head dejectedly before staring at her for emphasis, "Obviously."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "God, Naruto. Yes, the Kyuubi killed me. But despite that, considering the power and effort it took to seal something like that away, it's no wonder the Kyuubi's chakra is progressively flaring up. A seal's power fades out over time, and considering the strength of the monster being sealed, I'm shocked it took seventeen years for it to get to this point. Your dad must be amazing at seal work."

"That still doesn't explain how I'm good at holding the Kyuubi back."

"Yes, it does. Because it also takes strength to be a part of that chakra and still have an amazing sense of who your allies and enemies are afterward. It takes four tails' worth of the Kyuubi's chakra for you to lose that. Four." She told him, holding up her fingers. Naruto remained silent.

"You remember how Gaara used to be, right? When we first met him, he could potentially turn on Temari and Kankuro at the flip of a hat. Yet, you've always known friend from foe... even thinking that some of your foes were your friends." Sakura smiled, "That's how your bond with Sasuke started, after all."

"I guess..." Naruto murmured. Sakura grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Your strength is real, Naruto. You are the son of the Yondaime and Kushina Uzumaki, two very strong people. I feel as though the Kyuubi is even intimidated by your potential, and all you need to do is embrace it."

Naruto stood there, silent. His mind was processing many things at once.

"I know you just found this all out recently, so I don't mean to push." She said, dialing it back in, "Take time to process a lot of what you're discovering now because it's all important. Start meditating more while you're at it, too."

Naruto simply nodded. Sakura smiled, but frowned a bit after noticing something, "You're fading away now, so I think that means you're waking up."

"Oh." Naruto said, looking at his semi-transparent hands, "When will I see you again?"

"Um, not sure. Soon, I hope." Sakura responded. She gave him one last hug before stepping away, "But remember what I said, Naruto. I'll always be with you."


Before Naruto knew it, his normal consciousness rebooted and his eyes strained against the sunlight beaming right into his eyelids. The timing was pretty uncanny, as he suddenly heard a knock at his front door just as his mind readapted to the real world.

Setting his toes onto the hardwood floors of his apartment, Naruto cleared his raspy throat before calling out to the door.

"I'll be right there."

Finding his pants, Naruto put them on and walked to his front door.

Upon turning the knob and opening it, Naruto was surprised to see that it was Kurenai.

"Oh, hi, Kurenai." Naruto greeted her with lifted eyebrows, his eyes locked onto her red ones.

"Good morning, Naruto." She greeted back before showing him a gift from behind her back, "I got you a present."

"A present?" Naruto took the potted set of flowers that Kurenai gave him. He saw the pink pedals and could smell the almost almond-like aroma they emitted. They were also quite appealing to look at.

"They won't last for very long, but I figured keeping a set of Cherry Blossoms by your bed would be nice, considering..." Kurenai explained, breaking eye contact towards the end of her sentence, "I hope you like it."

"Uh, yeah, that's really nice of you. Thank you." Naruto put the flower on a nearby nightstand and stepped deeper into the apartment, "Would you like to come in?"

Kurenai nodded, stepping into the apartment before Naruto closed the door behind her.

"Oh." Kurenai suddenly remembered something, reaching into a pocket, "You also left this at my apartment."

Naruto looked at the hitai-ate in her hand and grabbed it from her, "Hey, thanks! I was wondering where that was."

"No problem." Kurenai nodded, "How have you been feeling lately?"

"Ah, I've been okay for the most part, I suppose." He answered honestly, "I've kind of just had a whole lot to process lately."

Kurenai nodded, understanding fully what he meant, "I hear you. Um..." Kurenai hesitated with what she wanted to say next, "May I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

Kurenai swam in her thoughts for a moment, "...If you had to make a choice between the love of your life and the responsibility of serving your village, which would you choose?"

"Hm..." Naruto put a hand to his chin in thought, "I mean, nothing else is really as important as serving my village, so I'd be more inclined to pick that."

Naruto noticed through the shift in Kurenai's energy that that wasn't the answer she would have liked to hear.

"That's fair." Kurenai mumbled.

"What makes you ask that?"

The red-eyed genjutsu queen sighed and crossed her arms, "Apparently, that's the reason why Asuma left me."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "He left you for the sake of the village?"

"His reasoning was a bit more detailed than that, but essentially, yes." She sighed again, "And in the end... he ends up dying for the village anyway. So it makes me wonder if the breakup was even worth it for him."

The young Jinchuuriki made his shock known, "Asuma died?!"

Kurenai nodded with closed eyes. Naruto stood there trying to piece together the information.

"Did he tell you that before he passed?" Naruto asked.

"He told me in a scroll." She answered, "I read it last night."

Naruto nodded, unsure of what else to say for a while. Kurenai wasn't saying anything either, so eventually, he felt compelled to speak again.

"Well, I'm not sure how that really makes sense because you are in the village." Naruto said, "Why would he have to choose between the village or you if he already had both?"

Kurenai was ultimately glad he said that because that was her initial response as well.

"He said that his love for me was making him weaker, scared to take more risks in battle, to really push himself when out on missions. He said his performance as a shinobi was waning because of how his feelings for me were growing. So he had to make a decision, and I suppose he did just that."

Naruto scratched his head. He was trying to be sympathetic to the matter, but he couldn't quite understand where he was coming from. He had to make sure he wasn't going to come off as rude.

"But... that still doesn't make sense. Bonds don't make you weaker, at least not the good ones. His love for you should draw in strength for him."

Kurenai simply looked at him and smiled very briefly before looking away. She was trying not to blush.

"I suppose... at one point it was like that." Kurenai murmured, "But maybe somehow that changed for him."

"Hm." Naruto hummed, unsure of how to respond to that, "Well... I can't really speak for him, but it does sound complex from what I'm hearing."

Kurenai huffed, "Yeah, I suppose it does. That wasn't really why I came over, that's just been on my mind all night."

Naruto was close to responding until he took a better look at Kurenai's face.

"...Were you in a fight?" He asked her. Kurenai turned her head to look at him for a moment, forgetting that she still had lingering scars.

"Oh, no. Well, kind of. I was in a relatively intense sparring session with Anko yesterday."

"With Anko, huh?" Naruto said, putting a hand to his chin again, "I would have loved to see what that fight looked like."

Kurenai crossed her arms but chuckled nonetheless.

"I had some frustrations I needed to work off, apparently. I doubt it looked pretty."

"You're always pretty to me."

Kurenai looked away, trying not to blush again.

"A-Anyway, I just stopped by to give you your gift and hitai-ate. I appreciate you answering my question honestly, too." She told him. Naruto nodded.

"Of course, and thank you for that."

"Speaking of which, have you heard from Ino lately? She wasn't there when I got these flowers from her store."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Ino? No, I can't say I have."

Kurenai nodded, "I just wanted to check on her to make sure she was okay. It must be a lot to have lost her best friend and sensei in such a short time."

Naruto put a hand to his chin, finding himself agreeing with her. He hadn't given it much thought, but he knew Ino must have been devastated upon hearing about Sakura, but now her sensei, too? He was beginning to feel like he should do something for her as he thought about it more.

"Yeah, you're right... I hope she's okay."

"As do I. I have to leave to meet up with my squad shortly, but let me know if you speak to her. I just have a few things to tell her." Kurenai explained. Naruto nodded.

"Okay. It was nice seeing you."

"Likewise, Naruto."

The pair continued with eye contact for a while before Kurenai smiled a bit and turned around to leave. As she took her first step, she felt her wrist being grabbed before being pulled back into a set of arms in one swift motion. Then suddenly, she felt pressure being put onto her lips.

She was taken off-guard by this act, and slowly found herself falling into the kiss, melting most of the tension in her body.

Just as she lifted her hand to cup Naruto's face, her rational self decided to step in.

"Mm." Kurenai hummed as she pulled away, placing the hand against his chest, "Naruto, I... we can't do this every time."

Naruto let her go, "I'm sorry. I need to work on my impulses."

Kurenai felt bad for pushing him away, but after finding out that Yugao (or potentially any other ANBU member) could be watching, it just makes the situation more... complicated.

"That makes two of us." She mumbled before hugging him briefly and planting a kiss on his cheek, "I have to go, Naruto. See you later."

"Okay, see you." Naruto mumbled as he watched Kurenai leave his apartment, finding it difficult for his eyes not to wander to specific areas of her posterior. Even with all of the many things on his mind, Kurenai's beauty was something that temporarily quieted the inner chatter, as he would simply just admire it. Her presence was intoxicating.

He huffed. Who would have thought losing his virginity would start turning him into a pervert? Considering how proud Jiraiya is to declare himself as a 'Super Pervert', he must have had a whole lot of...

Naruto shook his head. Now wasn't the time for him to be thinking about these things.