He had been expecting it. Rather, Kushina had warned him ahead of time, giving him reason to expect it. Warned him of one possible side effect of pregnancy that might rear its head. That it was most likely to rear its head early on. But to his knowledge, nothing had happened in that regard. At least, he had never been aware of it. Kin had never said anything to him.
But, as he saw her creeping in the doorframe of his room, looking flushed and awkward with a certain smell in the air, he knew it was happening. "Lord Naruto, umm," she dithered, swallowing, "I'm sorry to bother you..."
"You're not bothering me," he assured her. "What's up? Do you need something?"
"I was... Hoping you could help me with something?"
"Sure." The blond set his calligraphy brush aside on the low table he was working at. Rose from his kneeling position. "What do you need?"
She entered the room fully, slid the door closed behind her. "I... This is so embarrassing... This was a bad idea I'm sorry for bothering–"
At her sudden panic, he caught her hand as she tried to turn around and flee. Put on his best reassuring smile. "There's nothing for you to be embarrassed about. Whatever you need I'm here for you, ya know?"
"Haa..." she breathed slow and hot, her free hand settling on his chest against her will. "I... Lord Naruto... I'm sorry, I n-need... That is... I feel..."
When she was struggling so much, there was nothing he could do but relieve her. "Do you want to spend some time together, Kin?"
"Stupid hormones," she complained in a quiet voice. "I tried to take care of it myself. I shouldn't be bothering you with this, I'm as big as a house, it, a clone would be fine like you do for Lady Kushina. You don't need to–"
"Hey," he interrupted her stammered rambling, laying a hand on her cheek, another on her hip under her swollen belly. "It's okay, ya know? I promised I'd take care of you." He leaned in to steal a kiss that only left her more flustered. "And don't treat this like it's a big sacrifice on my part. You're the mother of my child. You'll always be beautiful to me."
"L-Lord Naruto..."
It had been the right thing to say. She fell on him with a hunger. A hunger she had been keeping restrained by her own shame that once quelled was no match for her need. The need for her arousal, the unbearable heat between her legs, to be sated. They were of course cautious as she was stripped bare, her now motherly body revealed as she lay on the bed. Her lord sinking into her to finally sate her needs.
Once it was over, Naruto could tell. His servant, the mother of his child was over the moon. Experiencing a kind of delirious happiness that could only be achieved by extreme satisfaction and equally extreme mood swings. But if he made her happy for a time, he was glad for it.
However, the moment after Kin excused herself, the door opened again. "You're being unfair to her, you know that?"
His head tilted to the side, making a show of covering up his genitals after the rude, unannounced interruption. Not like he had that kind of body shame anymore but it was still rude. "Hi Tayuya. How are you today? Hope your day's going well."
"Fuckin' peachy," the redhead answered sarcastically. "You have any idea what you're doing? You shouldn't play with her heart like that."
"What are you even talking about?"
"That 'I'll take care of you' crap," she quoted. "And 'you'll always be beautiful to me'. You're saying all this lovey-dovey shit and you shouldn't. Not when you don't mean it."
Naruto sighed through his teeth, looking to the sky as he asked, "Does everyone in this freaking house spy on me having sex?"
"Yes." Her answer came with folded arms over her cleaning smock. "Me and Kin have to clean up after you when you fuck in every room of the house. Servants watch. It's why ninja pose as them on infiltrations, you know that."
"I wasn't actually asking, ya know!" he snapped at her flat answer. He already knew the truth after all. "Fine. Whatever. Why do you think I don't mean it?"
"Oh come the fuck on!" the tomboy snapped with the same vehemence she seemingly saved for defending Kin. "I get it, she's having your kid but at the end of the day she's your clan's servant just like me. The second she has it you're gonna ignore her. Leading her on like this isn't fair!"
"I'm not leading her anywhere, Tayuya. You two..." He shook his head. "You've lived here for months. You think I wouldn't care after getting to know you both? I lived alone with Mom in this big house until Ino, then only a couple weeks later you, Kin and Karin. I'm happy you're here, that I got to get to know you both and yeah, that Kin decided to give me a child. You're a part of my life and I promised to look after you. Neither of you are just servants to me and you never will be!"
"What're you talking about me for?! This is about Kin!"
"No it isn't!" he denied her firmly. "You're both important to me, what made you think you aren't?! Ever since I met her Kin has been desperate for a place to feel safe and to belong and I plan to give her that. You've been..." He looked away with regret. "The things you wanted I can't give you, but you've always wanted to protect her. From when we fought in that canyon, to when you were in interrogation, to when she got pregnant. She's the person you look out for above everything else, even yourself. I respect the hell out of that, ya know? I even–!" He cut himself off with a wince before he could say more.
"You what?" she asked, demanded with suspicion. "You even what?"
He sniffed out a breath through his nose. No point in hiding it. "I would've approached you the same way Kin did me."
"You fucking kidding me?!"
"But I didn't," he continued over her ire, "Because I knew... The reason you left Hot Water in the first place was to get away from sex work. I figured you'd think that's what I was getting at. I wouldn't want to make you feel like that's all I wanted from you. You're someone I respect, someone I'd be glad to have that kind of relationship with, but you're also a servant of my clan. There's no getting around that."
She stared at him with a perplexed expression that slowly morphed into irritation. "So you wanted to fuck me but you didn't because you thought I wouldn't be able to say no."
"Pretty much."
"When-the-fuck-ever did I not to tell you to go fuck yourself when you piss me off, shitass?"
The blond frowned. That was a fair question. Half the reason he respected her so much was her attitude of not taking any shit, even if it was sometimes misplaced. In hindsight, it was pretty stupid. He nodded to himself.
Then stepped forward twice, pushing her back into the doorframe and pinning her there. "Wait, what the fuck?!"
"I'm interested," he reminded her, face inches away from hers in such a way she had no choice but look away or stare into his eyes. "And if you don't want that, you'll let me know... Ya know?"
"Hold on, since when do you–?!" she tried to ask, only for her question to cut off and her eyes to widen as he closed the distance. "What are you–?!"
Kissing her.
It was the obvious answer. And the conclusion she had already come to. But even so, she had never thought he would have the balls to just up and do it. If she had seen the night that first brought him to Kushina's bed, she might not have been so doubting. But pinned to the wall, his lips on hers, her wide eyes gradually closed as she took in the experience of the kiss. The sensation of him pressed against her, crowding her body.
And then he stopped. Stepped away, just enough to give her an out. A chance to refuse, to protest, to kick him if she really wanted to send a strong message.
She did none of those things. Instead, she stared at him, comprehension finally coming to her of what he was proposing, what he was doing. Then, with one hand, she pushed the door open behind her. With a whispered, "What the fuck," delivered with wide eyes, she fled from the room.
Well... That was frustratingly unclear. But she knew the score now. He wouldn't stop until she told him to. He might ask Kushina to 'notice' Tayuya's worries and have a talk with her. Make it abundantly clear she can say no.
He smiled to himself. Because until she told him to stop, there was no way he would.
-(-)-
Weapons were her primary tool. Seals were her preferred delivery method. When it came to teaching her about weapons, there were very few people available who would have something worthwhile to teach her, and all asked for specialisation. When it came to experts on sealing, there were very few options. But... There was one.
And that was how Tenten's sensei had chosen her training opportunity before the Chunin exams. And how Tenten found herself walking through the clan grounds for an appointment with the Uzumaki. She would be learning other things than tightening her sealing skills of course. But, in Guy's words, this was an opportunity for learning from the best she wouldn't want to miss.
Tenten herself was... Less than sure about that. It was a great opportunity, she knew that. But at the same time... She had misgivings about the one she had met. Naruto had seemed entirely professional on the one mission she shared with him. He made plans, she fought alongside him, that was all great. But he was also kind of pushy. He wanted to get to know her, and what she knew about the clan and gossip on the street, she didn't think she wanted to get to know him in the way he wanted to know her. She wasn't an idiot. A guy gets the go-ahead to have as many women as he wants, he's going to take advantage. That was just how guys were.
And he'd proven it when the hut she'd seen him and Hinata sneak off to stank of sex when the girls used it to change out of their swimsuits. That girl was desperate, kind of pathetic, and he had taken advantage of that.
Tenten knew. She would take instruction on sealing. She would be grateful for it. But if it came with any kind of strings attached, she would leave. No matter what Guy-sensei had to say about it.
"Oh hey!" A certain pink-haired girl called out with a wave as Tenten approached the Uzumaki compound. "Tenten, right? It's been a little while."
"Yeah, uh, Sakura. Do you... Live here now?" Tenten asked.
"Yeah, I moved in a couple days ago." Sakura looked a little sheepish as she answered. "I don't know why I waited so long to be honest."
"Yeah... Right..." The weapons specialist had no idea where to go with that. She had known on an intellectual level that Naruto and Sakura were an item... Much as that could be said for any of the girls dragged into his little harem. Still, it was disconcerting. For a girl who seemed to be so self-assured and confident lowering herself to being a concubine.
"You're here for help with sealing, right?" Sakura asked, having apparently been warned in advance of her visit. "Come on, they're in the dojo, follow me."
Tenten followed behind the younger girl, trying not to appear as awkward as she felt. They moved around the side then the back of the building to a veranda, the shoji doors open giving a plain view of the group of three within. A womanly redhead with backless clothing for the sake of the four glowing chains sprouting from her back. Naruto, shirtless for the two of his. Another younger redhead with glasses also wearing backless clothing, but for no visible reason as yet. "Lady Kushina!" Sakura called out. "Tenten's here!"
"Oh!" Naruto answered, the chains on his back dissipating into motes of light before fading entirely. He turned and beamed a smile at the two of them. "Hey Tenten! Is it that time already?"
"Oh, shoot!" Kushina complained, seeing the sun's position in the sky. "We went over time. Karin honey, why don't you go get something to eat?"
"Okay."
The bespectacled redhead wandered into the house at the same time Sakura left Tenten there with a wave goodbye, heading back toward the front of the compound. "So!" Kushina announced, "I hope you're ready to learn a thing or two about seals, ya know!"
"Ah, right, I'll be in your care, Kushina-sensei," the weapons specialist responded with a respectful bow.
"So polite! Okay. Come on in and let's take a look at what you have so I can gauge your current skill level. Naruto, go fetch the supplies."
"On it, Mom."
"Now, let's see what we're working with, hm?"
The lesson began fairly simply. With no teaching, just Tenten showing the Uzumaki matriarch her own work. The basic seals she knew well. The more complex ones she got the hang of. The ones she modified to more adequately suit her purposes that were maybe a little different from the norm. And all along, Kushina would look through them, nod, then begin picking her brain on her thoughts and understanding of the art. The modifications in particular.
It was at this point, Naruto returned with ink, paper, brushes and other simple supplies for the sealing arts. The moment he returned, Kushina had him take a look at Tenten's modified seal. Something he was excited to do, in fact something he had asked to see before during the mission in Kishi. To his credit, he could tell at a glance what exactly her aim was. That while most would want a perpendicular movement from a kinetic seal, she wanted a more complex release of the stored object. Released in rapid sequence and in varying directions.
It was... A little humbling for someone younger than her to pick apart the methods of what she considered her secret technique with a look. But she supposed that was the difference between someone who studied seals their entire life and someone who took up the art out of necessity and practicality. He wasn't smug about it either, readily admitting he wouldn't be able to make use of the practical aspects of the technique. That, in fact, required the art she had been studying all her life.
Following that, mother and son, master and expert instructed her. If she had thought she would be learning alongside Naruto she had been mistaken. No. Instead, while Naruto may have learned from the session, it was more in the nature of instructing someone else in seals than learning them himself. He was far ahead of her. While she had a great deal more aptitude than most, she also had a great many gaps in her understanding that the Uzumaki felt it was important to fill in. Stability, the balance of elements, numbers and forces, intentional instability, the symbolism of body, mind and spirit. It was a lot to take in, especially for a girl who took up sealing so she could store a bunch of weapons and launch them in any way she wanted.
But it certainly wasn't knowledge she would turn away, either.
"Okay, I think that's enough for a first lesson," Kushina announced, grinning at the mentally exhausted state of her student. "Still want to keep going?"
Exhausted or not, Tenten nodded firmly. "Yes, please."
"Good! Then we'll see you again a couple days from now. Make sure to internalise everything we went over today before then, ya know?" The redhead rose from her kneeling position, wiping her ink-stained hands with a cloth, not that it helped much. "Naruto, can you show her out?"
"Sure," he agreed quickly, rising himself, gesturing at the still open veranda doors. A much cooler breeze blowing in as the sun set in the distance. Sure enough, as the blond led her out, Kushina shut the dojo doors behind them. "So, how are you holding up?" he asked. "With... Everything. I know one of your teammates wasn't on either mission."
Typical ninja discussion. Talking around the thing they both knew for the sake of eavesdroppers. Of which there were doubtlessly many. "It's difficult, but Lee probably wouldn't care too much anyway. Just announce he would do something nuts then... Go do it. He has enough enthusiasm for the whole village."
"Sounds like a fun guy to be around, ya know?"
"Think Guy-sensei but scaled down and with even less restraint."
"Fun to be around in small doses?"
She laughed. "He sure has his moments."
He nodded along. His lips twitched. He glanced aside. And like a blade lunging right toward her, she saw what was coming with little she could do about it. "I was thinking, maybe we could go get something to eat together, ya know? I'd like to get to know you better–"
"Stop." He did. Mid-sentence his words were silenced as he looked at her. "Look, I'm..." Flattered. It would be the polite thing to say. But it wouldn't be true. "I know what you're about. Everyone knows what you've been doing, call it rebuilding your clan or gathering a harem or whatever. I don't want any part of it. I don't want to be an Uzumaki broodmare, and even if you wanted something actually real," which she sincerely doubted, "I have no interest in that either." There was judgement in her tone. Recrimination. But she couldn't help that even if she wanted to. She had no talent for the softer ninja arts such as hiding her feelings.
"... Wow." His expression looked as though he had just been smashed in the face with a hammer and had no idea how to respond. "That's... Wow. I mean... A no's a no, ya know? No matter how harsh. But what do you mean you're not interested in anything real?"
"There are so few truly strong female ninja," Tenten explained. "So many treat becoming strong as a means to an end, getting the attention of a clan to get a good husband. Assuring their position, not to simply be great. I want to be someone people can look up to. Like Tsunade Senju, or your sensei. That means I can't be like so many other women who get married, have babies and let their talents waste away."
Her eyes were sharp. They had to be for her speciality. And so she saw how his expression shifted during her explanation. Just for an instant. A single moment of indignation before he pushed it aside. Before his grin came back. A grin that unlike every other he had sent her way, didn't reach his eyes. "Okay. Got it. See you in a couple days then."
"See you then. Thanks for the lesson," she said in farewell, leaving him behind as she walked into town.
She began making her way home, content to put the conversation out of her mind. She had made herself clear on what she thought of the Uzumaki's breeding program and her lack of place in it. It didn't merit more thought.
However, a girl with a certain set of pale eyes was not quite so willing to let her forget it so easily. "Tenten."
The girl turned and frowned on seeing the other girl behind her. The Hyuga girl from the mission. "Hinata?"
"You shouldn't have said that."
"Said what?"
Her lips set a firm line. Her eyes slightly narrowed in condemnation. "Those things you said to Naruto."
Oh. Tenten knew what this was. Still, "Were you watching us?"
"Yes."
"And you don't see anything wrong with that?"
"Lady Kushina doesn't mind. Neither does Naruto."
The weapon specialist's eyebrows rose. "Maybe I mind?"
"I care a lot less about your opinion than I did ten minutes ago," the Hyuga responded flatly.
The brunette's eyes rolled. "Look, I'm sorry if I hurt your... His feelings. Whatever he is to you. But guys like him need to be told no, in no uncertain terms. Otherwise they try to walk all over you, like he did to you."
Pale eyes blinked in confusion. "Is that what you think happened?" Hinata shook her head, dismissing the question herself. "That's not what I'm talking about. What you said was disgraceful."
Tenten couldn't help getting irritated at someone so willing to defend someone who clearly didn't deserve it. "He's using women like tools. He used you like one and you're defending–"
"You're wrong. And I said that's not what I'm talking about," the usually placid girl interrupted her impatiently. "You think a woman who has a family can't be strong? Isn't worth looking up to?"
"That's not what I said."
"You want to be someone to look up to. So you can't be like the women who get married, have children and let their skills waste away." To be fair, it was true enough that Tenten hadn't said it. Only implied it. However, "Even ignoring how broad interpretations would make that an insult to me, Sakura, Ino and Kin. Do you know who those statements directly apply to? She just invited you into her home to teach you. At no benefit to herself."
"Hold on, I didn't mean–!" It was easy to say it after the fact, but even a brief thought as to her words with Hinata's framing showed exactly how her words could have been taken. Exactly how unintentionally insulting they had been.
"If it's any consolation," the Hyuga continued, "I don't think you'll have to worry about Naruto being romantically interested in you ever again. However, I suggest you apologise at your earliest convenience. To soothe the shame you should be feeling if nothing else."
The lavender haired clan heir turned her back on her. Leaving Tenten to stare at that back in incomprehension, indignation and self-recrimination. She hadn't meant for anything she said to come out like that, nor for it to be taken in that way, and how dare that girl be so judgemental after willingly giving up her dignity without a thought. A girl born with everything so willing to throw her life away for a man, while Tenten herself struggled to get where she was.
But… As easy as it would have been to dismiss the words of the Hyuga girl… She didn't get as far as she had by refusing to admit her failings either. With clenched fists, she turned right back around and marched to the Uzumaki clan grounds under the last rays of sunlight, stopping at their front door and knocking firmly.
She didn't expect an answer within less than two seconds. "Tenten," Naruto greeted her with that same forced smile he wore the last time she saw him. "Didn't expect to see you so soon. Did you forget something?"
"No, I'm sorry for bothering you again," she said first, politeness demanding it. "But there's something I need to say, to both you and Lady Kushina if that's alright."
He frowned. "Sure I guess." Before he shut the door for a moment, returning with his mother in tow.
The woman opened her mouth to speak, but Tenten beat her to it. "Naruto, Lady Kushina, I said something when I was leaving that was ill-spoken. While Lady Kushina might not have heard those words, it was she I unintentionally insulted and so I must apologise to you directly. I expressed my hope to be a strong ninja as a woman, and in doing so my words suggested I look down on women who choose to have families and choose to put them before being a ninja. It wasn't my intention to say such things and neither did I intend to insult you as a result, especially after you invited me into your home and allowed me to learn from you." She bowed low at the waist. "I'm truly sorry for my disrespect."
She couldn't see the surprise in Naruto's face. But she heard it in his voice. "Um…"
"Naruto," Lady Kushina said softly, "It might be better if I handle this from here. Could you go back inside?"
"Sure. Um," he sounded awkward, but also a little relieved. "Thank you for the apology, Tenten."
The brunette heard the door shut and straightened, looking at the woman who looked down on her both figuratively and literally in that moment, standing a step above her. "Let's sit, shall we?" the redhead proposed, squatting down to sit on the step. As the one there to right a wrong, Tenten followed her lead, lowering herself down next to her and parking herself on the wood. "You want to be strong?"
"Yes," she answered firmly.
"Why?"
Violet eyes stared at her searchingly, as if judging her worth. Tenten couldn't help but shift uncomfortably under that look. "I… I'm not anyone special," she admitted. "I'm not from a clan, not related to anyone famous or wealthy. Not that I'd know. I…" She looked down, then up and to the left where the Hokage Monument looked out over the village. "I want to be someone the world will remember. Like Lady Tsunade."
"And you can't be that if you have a family."
"I didn't mean that. I'm sorry what I said came across that way but I don't–"
"You do," the woman corrected her with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'm not offended, ya know. You're not the first person to accuse me of going to seed. Heck, the first person to say it was me!" she admitted with a grin that reminded the Genin of the woman's son. "I used to be something special. Then I got married, had Naruto… But it wasn't them that took my spark away. Maybe if you knew all of Tsunade's story, you might've known just how much it mirrors mine."
"I don't understand. What story? Tsunade's a legend!"
"She is. And the truth behind that legend is a tragedy, but it's not my story to tell, ya know." She shook her head regretfully. "Tenten, why do you think women settle down and retire? We do, a lot more often than men do. Why do you think that is?"
"Stuck at home, saddled with looking after kids."
"Saddled with, huh?" She let out a light laugh. "It could feel like that at times, ya know. I sure know Naruto could be a pain when he was still growing. But… I wouldn't trade it for anything. Could've been famed across the whole world going on missions and doing incredible things, well, for longer than I was. But all that wouldn't matter at all compared to coming home to see my husband and baby boy. To me, the love of someone close to me was worth more than a thousand thousand people knowing my name. Maybe you think different and that's fine. But even if all you want is to be great, never underestimate how much the ones you love can push you to get there."
Tenten didn't know what to say to that, but she didn't think she was supposed to say anything. "Thank you for the advice." If nothing else, it was something to think on. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
"Why are you… Okay with Naruto doing…" There were many things she considered accusing him of but couldn't bring herself to say them to his own mother. "I mean I know Sakura. Not well. But she could be an amazing ninja and he's turned her into a concubine. I don't know Hinata well but I'm on a team with her cousin. What he's done to her… It's unforgivable!"
"What did he do to her?" Kushina asked with patience.
"He… He… Took her dignity," still dancing around saying it outright.
And the redhead laughed at her for it. "Oh yeah? You think so, huh? Sweetie, I don't know the specifics but that girl has been watching my boy bathe since they were fourteen. I think you might be judging Naruto for Hinata's choices there."
Well that certainly put things in a different perspective. In hindsight and on closer examination… It was Hinata making the more bold moves. She had just assumed it was Naruto pushing her to do it, not choices the Hyuga was making of her own volition.
"As for Sakura, hell, everyone else… Well, take a look ya know?" The Uzumaki matriarch stood and opened the front door, letting Tenten see inside where the household were sitting down to dinner.
Sakura and Ino sat next to one another, smiling and flirting. Naruto sitting next to the redhead from before, a pregnant girl on his other side. Said pregnant girl pushing him and the girl on the other side to feel her belly, presumably for the baby's kick. All of them seeming perfectly content with the arrangement.
"I don't know what you imagined," Kushina said with just a hint of recrimination as she closed the door again, "But I raised my boy right. No one in that house who gets involved with my son does so in any other way but by their choice. He looks after them, they look after him, and hopefully one day the Uzumaki will be a real clan again. He could've abused his power but he hasn't. Sorry, but I'm proud of that, ya know?"
"... I see." So. She had misjudged everything. It was good she had come to apologise, but she didn't think she would feel even worse by the end of it. "I think I owe another apology."
"That's up to you," Kushina told her. "But if so, it can wait until your next lesson. I think it's time for you to go home."
It was a dismissal and a well deserved one. "Yes." She stood, turned and bowed low again. "Thank you for the advice, and I'm truly sorry for my thoughtless words."
"You're forgiven."
