A/N - Alrighty! I really wanted to get a new chapter for this story out, so here ya go! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, but at the same time, I wrote the first half while being INSANELY tired. I'm still really sick and have been for about a week now. Yeah, I'm always sick with something, but this is definitely worse than usual. x.x So yeah, I haven't been getting a lot of sleep. So if the quality of this chapter isn't great, I hope you can forgive me. But I can say this! I worked really hard on this chapter and did everything I could to make it as good a chapter as I could.

Anywho, the first third or so of this chapter is the battle against Seymour. The rest of the chapter is mostly dialogue between a number of the characters. Such as dialogue between Towa and Aqua, Naruto and Tidus, etc.

As you read, you'll probably be able to guess what the next chapter will focus on. I'm sure you're all going to be looking forward to that one.

Okay, with all of that out of the way, read on and enjoy!

Chapter 15 – Seymour Vanquished

Naruto yelped as he dodged out of the way of a fireball flung at him by Seymour. Quickly circling around his foe, the blonde shinobi went for a back attack, only to suddenly get flung backwards into the wall. Wincing in pain as he fell to the floor, he asked, "What the hell was that?"

Aqua's eyes widened and she shouted, "He's erected a barrier! You need to move, now!"

The whiskered teen's eyes went wide as he saw Seymour twitch one of his fingers. This wasn't worrying in itself, but what happened next most certainly was. All Naruto knew next was pain as lightning suddenly coursed through his system courtesy of a Thundaga spell.

Towa's initial reaction to seeing her lover injured was to rush to his side or perhaps even lash out at the one that hurt him. However, she knew that this opponent was far too dangerous to take her eyes off of for a moment. Based on what he had done to Gaige, it was obvious he wouldn't hesitate to do whatever it took to obtain that which he desired.

Taking a deep breath in, the ex-princess aimed her rifle and fired off a shot, only to watch it fail to penetrate the barrier that Seymour had erected. "Dammit. Can our magic pierce it?"

Before Aqua could reply, Naruto's body flashed with a brilliant white light, forcing Towa and her to shield their eyes. When the light died down, Naruto stood there in garb akin to that of a samurai's. Aqua was a little stunned to see such a strange occurrence, but she soon shook it off and pointed her keyblade at Seymour, whose back was currently turned to her. Please let this work! Fira!

Seymour obviously noticed the spell Aqua was casting as he began to turn towards her. However, before he could divert too much of his attention away from Naruto, the whiskered teen suddenly began to rain gil upon their enemy, catching him off guard and forcing him to defend against the Spare Change attack.

When the Fira spell burst against his back, the party of three hoped that it would have dealt some kind of damage to their foe. Unfortunately, when the dust settled, Seymour floated in place with nary a wound on him, not even a smudge or a ruffle in his clothes. Eyes widening slightly, the keyblade master asked, "How? How can your barrier stand strong against such an assault?"

Seymour turned to the keyblader, a barely noticeable smile tugging the corner of his lip upwards. "They were counting on you, were they not? I can sense your power. Tell me, how do you expect to vanquish me when you can't even break one, simple barrier? Or is it that I'm stronger than you three expected? I can never be too sure these days. You can't even fathom how limitless my power has become since Yuna performed the sending. Not even the Farplane could hold me. Now, not even I know the kind of power I possess. I've barely tapped into the deepest recesses of my newfound power."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and said, "Y'know, somehow, I can believe that. I guess we'll just have to see how much punishment you can take before you finally fall. Because I can promise you this, Seymour Guado: you are NOT going to survive this fight. No matter what the hell it takes, we're taking you down. I don't care how strong you've become or how impenetrable you think your barrier is, I'm going to destroy it AND you!" And with that, the shinobi dashed forward and swung his heavy blade upwards, slashing into the barrier with as much strength as he could muster.

Seymour's eyes widened fractionally as the sword began to penetrate his barrier. Frowning, he pointed his right index finger at Naruto once again and prepared to cast another spell, only to get distracted as he felt something impact the back of his barrier. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Towa had fired another bullet from her rifle.

Shrugging it off, Seymour hovered higher into the air before alighting on the upper walkway of the room. Standing there, he looked down at the three combatants that dared to challenge him and his might. Ignoring the women, the ex-Maester looked directly into Naruto's eyes and asked, "Why do you resist me, Naruto? Is giving me what I want so terrible an idea that you would rather risk your life and the lives of your loved ones just to vanquish me? All I want is your assistance; to allow me the freedom to traverse the multiverse. I do not care for this world any longer. Sin is but a distant memory and my goals were forced to change with the times. If I really wanted to harm the people of this world, I could have simply exterminated them like ants a hundred times over by now. You know I am right. So, why do you resist?"

Naruto stared hard into Seymour's eyes and said, "I won't help you, because your goal isn't simply to explore. You would kill innocent people and commit mass genocide against the people of whatever world you end up in. You're a psychopath, Seymour! I refuse to have the deaths of thousands, perhaps even millions of people on my conscience! You can't honestly expect me to believe that you've changed after dying four fucking times already! So, I'm sorry, but I absolutely CANNOT give you what you want. It would be a mercy to everyone if you permitted me to end your life once and for all. You should have accepted your death and just rested in peace in the Farplane!"

The blue-haired man shook his head in disappointment. "I am giving you this chance to help me, Uzumaki. If need be, I can start killing your lady loves one by one until you finally give me what I'm after. However, I would rather we go about this civilly. I have no interest in harming you or those you love. My interests lie beyond the stars and beyond this very universe. I want to make other worlds my own! I would be a god!"

"And what of Yuna? What about Tidus? Why did you kill Wakka if you weren't interested in this world and its people any longer?" Towa questioned. "All anyone has to do is look around and it's easy to see that the people of this world fear you. Just your presence alone frightened Leblanc and her men to the point they were in tears when we arrived. The people of Guadosalam fear you so much that they were hesitant to even go near your home any longer!"

Seymour quirked a brow as he turned his attention onto the ex-princess. Without a word, he snapped his right hand and watched as a massive thunderbolt shot down at her from the ceiling. The blue-haired Guado sighed as he watched Naruto shove Towa out of the way of the massive spell, thus taking the attack himself.

As Naruto screamed in sheer agony, Aqua had to take a calming breath before she could lose herself to her anger at this wretched Heartless, for that is all he could be at this point. When the spell was finished, she looked at Naruto's prone form and proceeded to cast a Curaga spell on him to speed along his recovery. "Get up, Naruto Uzumaki. We absolutely cannot let this man live on for a moment longer. Seymour is far too powerful a Heartless to simply leave him be."

Towa helped her lover back onto his feet. Looking worriedly into his eyes, she went to apologize, only for him to smile kindly at her and shake his head. "Sweetheart…"

Naruto turned from his lovely bride-to-be and looked back into Seymour's eyes. "It's obvious what he'd do if given the chance. He'd gladly kill Yuna and Tidus before using my power to traverse the multiverse. He didn't give a damn about Wakka personally. Wakka was simply a means to an end. He wanted to get our attention. You knew we were coming before we even arrived in Spira, didn't you?"

Towa's and Aqua's eyes widened before Towa exclaimed, "What?! But that can't—!"

"…be possible?" Seymour finished for her, a sinister grin spreading across his face. "My, my, you are a clever boy, aren't you Naruto Uzumaki? You are correct. I did know you were coming. I knew that you would learn the truth of my existence once you arrived. I had to find some means of drawing you to me, after all. And lovely little Rikku found herself falling right into my lap. The poor girl never even saw it coming. All to lure you to me so I could make you cooperate! Unfortunately, I still have no means of stripping you of your power and taking it for myself. If not for that one, simple fact, I would kill you here and now, just like I plan to do to that wretched summoner for daring to stand against me! Face it, Uzumaki, you stand no chance against me as you are now! Your trump card, young Aqua there, cannot hope to stand against me as she is. She doesn't possess the kind of power needed to shatter my barrier or strike me down. None of you do. Your only option is to give me what I want. The sooner you realize that, the sooner your torture will end!"

When Aqua took a hesitant step backwards, Naruto placed a hand upon her head to stop her and calm her nerves. His gaze never left Seymour's as he said, "Believe in yourself, Aqua. Seymour can be killed. He is NOT invincible. Of course, he already knows that." Smirking at the ex-Maester, Naruto said, "There's a reason he's trying to tear down your confidence. He knows you can kill him. He fears your power. And you know what? I think I can harness that kind of power as well. After all, if I can learn to use the abilities and powers of my brides-to-be, then wielding a keyblade of my own is certainly within the realm of possibility. But, even without it, I can give you the opening you need to finish him off."

Glancing at Towa, he gave her a smile and said, "You know what we have to do, sweetheart. Prepare yourself and wait for me to take down that barrier. Once it's down, hit him hard and hit him fast. Don't even hesitate for a second."

Towa smiled at him and said, "Right. Do what you need to do, Naruto-kun. I'll be right behind you."

Naruto calmed his breathing before he cancelled his transformation and returned to his shinobi attire. Jumping up to the upper walkway, the blonde began to walk towards their foe, a confident look upon his face that hadn't been there earlier in the fight. "Oh Seymoooour. I think it's time I pay you back for everything you've done. You see, you've pissed me off and that's NEVER a good idea. You hurt people near and dear to my heart. Gaige-chan…" Scowling now, the whiskered shinobi said, "We may not be involved romantically, but she's an irreplaceable friend. I love her as if she was my own family. You nearly killed her. You killed Wakka. You hurt Rikku. You've done so many terrible things and it's time somebody made you pay for your crimes. So, for everyone you've ever harmed in any way, I'm going to make you suffer!"

Seymour simply quirked a brow while his lips twitched, almost as if he was struggling not to laugh. Calming himself, he pointed a single finger at Naruto and tried to blast him with a Firaga spell, only for the Naruto he struck to disappear in a puff of smoke. When a book fell to the floor, burning away into tiny embers, the man's eyes went wide as he felt something shredding his barrier. Turning to gaze over his shoulder, he saw his foe grinding away at his barrier with a basketball-sized sphere of chakra. "No…"

Naruto smirked wickedly as he rapidly increased the size of his Rasengan, pressing even harder against Seymour's barrier. When the man began to focus, putting more strength into his barrier, Naruto simply held up his other hand and formed a second oversized Rasengan. "Sorry Seymour, but that barrier's toast!" And with that, he slammed the second large Rasengan into the barrier, shattering it within seconds. "Now die you ugly son of a bitch!"

Seymour screamed in pain as both oversized Rasengans slammed into his chest. When the techniques dissipated moments later, the blue-haired Guado was sent flying into the floor down below, causing the floor to crater slightly. Pushing himself to his feet, he panted heavily for a time before shouting, "You…shall not…defeat…ME!" And with that, Seymour unleashed an enormous ball of fire that fell like a meteor towards Naruto.

The whiskered teen simply chuckled to himself as he prepared to counter Seymour's spell. Or at least, that's what it appeared to Seymour. The man was caught off guard when he was struck by two spells in quick succession from behind. Scowling, he spun around to glare at Towa. "Damn you! If you want to stand in my way, then you shall die as well!" And with that, he raised his hand and tried to call forth some of his vast magical power to crush Towa. He realized his error in but a moment. "I…my spells…my power…why will they not come to me?! What have you done?!"

Naruto placed a hand firmly on Seymour's shoulder, returning the man's attention to him. "It's called chemistry, jackass. Towa and I can make use of a special kind of magic to trigger different reactions. What she just hit you with was a spell to seal your power. You can't use any of your precious magic anymore." The blonde slammed his fist hard into Seymour's face before grabbing the back of his head and slamming his face into his knee a couple of times. Afterwards, he gripped Seymour by his hair hard before throwing him into one of he nearby bookcases. "Like I said, you REALLY pissed me off. But, I can't kill you. That honor goes to Aqua-chan. But, allow me to tell you something before you die. You seriously underestimated all of us. You see, we're a team, Seymour. We trust in each other and our abilities. We love each other and we look out for one another. Always. That fact will never change. Gaige fought you with everything she had, all to protect Rikku-chan. Even after you tortured her, Gaige still clung on to life. She's so much stronger than you thought she was."

Sighing to himself, Naruto stepped closer to Seymour's prone form. The blue-haired Guado could only look up into the blonde's eyes. "You underestimated me. Of course I'd figure out that you knew we'd come. I'm much smarter than I ever was before. The sheer power you have at your disposal is terrifying. Incredibly so. Your powers granted you abilities that no one in Spira has ever seen before. When Yuna performed the sending and sent you to the Farplane…you saw things that no one else ever had. You saw other worlds. You drifted for so long that you saw everything that could have been yours, if only you had the power to traverse time and space to reach those worlds. Your distorted desires gave birth to a new power within you and turned you into something truly dark. You were no longer a creature of this world. You became a demon. You became an embodiment of sin, only not in the way you once had hoped for. Seymour, you saw things in the Farplane that nobody in Spira had a right to see. I won't even pretend to understand how you left the Farplane, but you really should have stayed there."

Reaching down, Naruto grabbed Seymour's face and slammed the back of his head into the wooden bookcase a few times before dragging him back to the center of the room. Shoving him roughly onto his knees, the blonde said, "Between your greed and your pride, I'm honestly not sure which is worse. I can't even bring myself to pity you and your existence, Seymour Guado. I do not feel sorry for you. I simply do not care about you on any level. At least, not anymore. Goodbye and good riddance."

Aqua nodded once at Naruto before she proceeded to thrust her keyblade into Seymour's chest, listening as he screamed until the silence of death, true death, finally took him. Once he was gone, Aqua placed a hand over her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "I was truly worried for a while there. Are you two okay?"

Towa smiled at her and said, "I am. Naruto's the one who kept taking Seymour's attacks." Looking at her lover, she asked, "Are you going to be okay, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto nodded and brushed himself off. "I'll be okay. Just sore. Really, really sore. I'm kind of amazed my clothes are still intact. Glad my seals held up, otherwise my clothes would be a tattered mess by now."

Towa breathed a sigh of relief before hugging her lover tight. "I'm just so glad you're okay. Each time he hit you with one of those spells…"

Aqua nodded in agreement with her before saying, "You were really mad there for a while. You mustn't give into your rage, Naruto. The darkness has a way of creeping into a person's heart during moments of weakness like that. You must stay strong."

Naruto shook his head and said, "I'm fine, Aqua. As for the darkness? That has always been a part of me due to circumstances decided at my birth. I was treated with scorn and disdain. Simply because I existed. That hasn't changed, unfortunately. So I grew up learning to hate those people. The Third Hokage practically brainwashed me into believing that if I forgave the people and worked hard, I could one day gain their respect and become the Hokage like he was. All the abuse and scorn and hatred…it wears on a person after a while."

Sighing softly, Naruto closed his eyes and shrugged. "I could have given into my hatred so long ago, Aqua-chan. But I never did. I wouldn't forgive myself if I gave them the satisfaction of seeing me lash out at them. Then I'd truly be the demon that once lived inside of me." Looking into her eyes seriously, he said, "I'm not a monster, Aqua-chan. I'm just a person with flaws and strengths, just like anyone else. However, I recognize that I have darkness inside of me and I have accepted it for what it is."

Frowning at Aqua, he continued on. "Everyone has darkness within themselves, Aqua-chan. Some people embrace it firmly and follow the path of evil. While others shun the darkness and try to keep it out of their lives at any cost. However, I believe that if you simply accept that the darkness lives inside of you and come to understand it, you can truly become stronger than you ever could have been before. Something you need to understand, Aqua-chan, is that the darkness is not inherently evil. It is just another part of you and the world. Without the darkness, there could be no light, and vice versa. Yin and Yang. They're two sides of the same coin. As a Keyblade master and someone truly pure of heart, I figured you would have reached that conclusion yourself by now."

Aqua frowned slightly, but nodded her head in understanding. "You have a point. I apologize. I…had a friend that gave in to the darkness in his heart. I was simply concerned about you."

Naruto simply smiled at her and said, "I appreciate your concern, Aqua-chan. We should probably get going now. I want to see how Rikku's doing now. I also want to see Gaige again and see how she's feeling." At this point, Naruto found himself smiling serenely as he began to lead the way out of the basement and back up to the dining room where the others were waiting. As they walked, Naruto brought a hand to his chest, right over his heart and said, "There's something else I need to do. But, in order to pull it off, I need to find the right place to create and anchor the portal leading back home. I need to talk to Tsunade and ask her for some real time off. This is really important, and I can't just let this opportunity slip on by now that we're finally here in Spira."

Aqua looked confused, but Towa understood what he was implying. "I'm sure she'll be very happy, Naruto-kun. Hopefully Tsunade will understand. You've earned a little R&R."

"Heh. Thank you, Towa-chan.," Naruto said before they ascended the stairs and emerged into the dining room. The very moment he stepped into view, somebody practically tackled him as they wrapped their arms around him in a rather tight embrace. He knew who it was without even having to look at her. "Hi, Rikku-chan. I'm glad you're safe."

Rikku clung to Naruto's shirt and sobbed. "I'm so glad you're okay. I was so worried about you! I'm…I'm…" Unable to contain herself, Rikku just sobbed and held him tight. "I was so scared. He was so much stronger than he ever was before. Then I woke up here and we could hear you screaming in pain and…and…"

Naruto gently held Rikku's head to his chest as he used his other hand to rub circles on her back. "Sweetheart, I'll never leave you. I love you so much. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you." After thinking on it for a moment, he tilted her head up and kissed her, pouring all of his love into the kiss to show her how he felt for her.

When they parted, Rikku was blushing a pretty shade of red. "W-What was that for?"

Naruto leaned in and whispered into her ear, "I made you a promise, sweetheart. Now that we're in Spira, there's one more thing I need to do. I'm sure you know what I mean by now, right?"

It took a few seconds before what her fiancé was implying to register in her head. When it did, her eyes went wide and a megawatt smile broke out on her face. "I love you, Naruto-kun! I can't wait!"

Naruto leaned in and captured her lips again as he held her close. Soon, Rikku-chan. You won't have to wait much longer. I promised you that our honeymoon would take place in Spira and I meant it. I can't wait to be wed to you.

Seeing that Aqua still looked completely lost, Towa giggled a bit and whispered to her, "Naruto-kun promised that they would spend their honeymoon in Spira. He's going to take some time off and hold the wedding now that Yuna and her friends can be there for them."

"Ohhh." Smiling at them, the blue-haired keyblade master said, "That's so sweet. I'm glad I'll get to witness such a beautiful event."

Towa nodded and said, "She's been waiting so long for this. They deserve their moment of happiness before we have to return to the chaos of the Elemental Nations. Trying to deal with the Akatsuki is going to take up a lot of our time, unfortunately. So we can't take too much time off."

Aqua frowned and said, "Someone is going to have to explain things to me. There's so much I don't know and, if I'm going to be traveling with all of you, I need to know what we're up against."

Towa patted her on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry. We'll fill you in on the whole situation. There's still so much we all have to do and loose ends we need to tie up before we all manage to resolve our issues. For now, just know that the Akatsuki are the bad guys and they're out to capture and kill those like Naruto-kun."

The bluenette frowned and said, "I get the feeling that this explanation is going to take a lot longer than I was expecting."

The blonde ex-princess giggled a bit and said, "Oh, definitely. We still need to learn about you, as well. And…" Looking at her lover's back, she smiled sadly and said, "I think Naruto will try to help Gaige next. He's got a plan, but we aren't quite sure if it will work or not. My main concern about his plan is the fact that he has come to genuinely love Gaige in both a romantic sense and as a member of our family. But, he's going to give her the choice of staying in her dimension or staying with us. We don't know what she'll do."

Aqua looked from Towa back to Naruto. "I see. Whatever the end result, I hope it's a choice the can both accept and embrace with all their being. They deserve to be happy, no matter what may happen."

Towa nodded in agreement. "Honestly? We aren't sure what she'll choose to do. She really loves her friends, and she really wants to make Handsome Jack pay for everything he's done. If Naruto-kun's plan works, then he'll be saving the life of somebody Gaige was really fond of. But, at the same time, he might have to say goodbye to someone he loves. I don't think she even realizes how he feels about her, but it's probably for the best for the time being."

"I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that you're all sharing the same man. Normally, one wouldn't think that such a thing could possibly work out, and yet…" Aqua said, trailing off at the end.

Towa giggled a bit and said, "Yeah. We make it work. Things were a little awkward at first, but we all love him and each other. We're one big, happy family. Hmm, Aqua?"

"Yes?" the blunette asked.

"Will you be staying here in Spira? Or will you return with us to Konohagakure and the Elemental Nations? You have no obligation to participate in our battles, after all. You can live a happy life here in Spira, or perhaps even Kamza with Toki and her friends." Towa questioned.

Aqua frowned in thought for a time before she said, "I'll stay with you and your family. I could never turn my back on those in need. I'd like to try and bring peace to the Elemental Nations, if at all possible."

"Thank you." Towa said. "And, just in case you were wondering, you aren't obligated to become one of Naruto-kun's lovers if you join us. Like Gaige, you'll be a dear friend and someone we're proud to call a part of our family."

Aqua giggled a bit and said, "I wasn't worried about that in the least, Towa. I trust you. All of you. Yes, I'll miss my friends and all the people I've met in my travels, but I can make a new home with your family. And who knows? Naruto might be able to grant me passage back to my universe. I'd love to see how things have changed. I just hope the darkness hasn't won and snuffed out the light."

Towa frowned and said, "Just believe in the people of your universe. Everything will work out just fine, I'm certain of it. But, for your own peace of mind, we'll try to get you back home when the opportunity is open to us."

"Thank you. I can wait however long I need to. But, considering the Heartless and the forces of darkness that run rampant in my universe, anchoring a portal somewhere would be far too dangerous. We'd run the risk of unleashing the Heartless and perhaps something far more dangerous into the Elemental Nations." Aqua explained somewhat sadly.

The ex-princess nodded and said, "Alright. Then you'll likely have to make the same choice Gaige will. Will you stay in your universe, or will you choose to remain in your new home with all of us? But there's no need to worry about that for a while. Only when the time has come will you have to worry about that decision. We're not going to make it easy for you, though." She teased with a wink. "You're going to feel like another member of our family and you're going to come to love us. That's a guarantee."

Aqua giggled a bit and said, "Oh, I'm sure of it. Now, it looks like they're ready to get going. Let's get moving."

"Of course." Towa said before she walked up to Naruto and kissed his cheek. "Love you, Naruto."

The spiky-haired teen smiled at Towa and kissed her lips lightly. "Love you too, sweetheart."

"Good." Towa said before giggling a bit.

Besaid

Before the party had left Guadosalam, Naruto had taken the time to check on Leblanc, Logos, and Ormi. When the three of them were informed that Seymour was no more, Leblanc had quickly hugged Naruto tight and thanked him for getting rid of him once and for all. Naruto had returned her hug before patting her on the back and wishing her well. Both he and Rikku had told Leblanc to say hi to her Noojie-Woojie for them before leaving Guadosalam.

Once onboard the Celsius, Brother and Buddy had both hugged Rikku. The both of them were happy to see she was okay and wasn't hurt or worse. Brother had bowed before the party of heroes and thanked them for saving his sister. Afterwards, he had gladly taken them to the isle of Besaid, where he let them off just in front of Besaid Village.

Now, here they were, standing in the center of the village, gawking as they saw everyone in the village bowing in thanks to them. Rubbing the back of his head, Naruto chuckled nervously and said, "Um, y-you're welcome. I just hope things calm down again now that Seymour's been dealt with."

Yuna smiled thankfully at him and said, "It already feels far more peaceful than it has in a while. But, if things pick up again at some point, we know who to go to for help now, don't we?"

Rikku smirked and pumped her fist into the air. "Yep yep! We'll come back and take care of anything that could happen! Nothing can stop the Naruto Love-Love Parade!"

Naruto found himself snickering as he turned to her. "Is that what you're calling us now?"

Rikku shrugged and said, "Hey, if it fits, it fits. Besides, you're the bestest man a girl could possibly ask for. I knew that you could do it. I knew you would win." Hugging her fiancé tight, she looked up into his eyes and said, "I love you so much, my wonderful Naruto-kun."

Holding her close, Naruto kissed the top of her head and said, "I love you, Rikku-chan. And I do believe I made you a promise. When we get back to Konoha, I'm asking for some time off for the two of us. Now that we can come to Spira whenever we want…"

"Yep yep! We're gonna get married and I'm gonna give you a bunch of little kids that we'll all spoil rotten. You can count on it!" Rikku exclaimed joyfully.

Naruto chuckled softly and gently ran his fingers through her hair. "Of course, sweetheart. I think we'll take a day to rest, then we can figure out where to place the portal. I can't wait much longer for our wedding."

Having overheard this, Yuna smiled brightly and clapped her hands together. Stepping up to them, the beauty said, "Oooh! You have to invite me to the wedding! I can't wait to see you in your wedding dress, Rikku! You're going to look so beautiful. Come with me, I want to discuss your wedding arrangements. Oooh, I'm so excited!"

Rikku giggled and walked off with her cousin. "Of course, Yunie! And I hope you'll be my maid of honor? You can't say no to that!"

As his fiancé was dragged off to discuss wedding plans, Naruto locked eyes with Tidus and nodded once to him. Tidus seemed to understand, as he nodded back. It was a look that said, 'We need to talk.'

For a while, Naruto and his intriguing family of women answered questions and chatted amiably with the people of Besaid. After a while, Gaige and Sakura walked through the crowd and smiled at Naruto and the girls. Smiling thankfully at Aqua, they said, "Thank you, Aqua, for all your help. I'm glad you all succeeded in dealing with that scumbag. That can't have been an easy fight." Sakura said.

Gaige looked into Naruto's eyes for a moment before saying, "I couldn't do anything to him. I managed to destroy that barrier of his, but nothing I did afterwards helped any. He was just too strong. I'm glad you're all okay. I…I don't want to lose anyone else like Roland. I love you guys. You're my new family."

Naruto smiled at Gaige and placed a hand gently upon her head. Ruffling her hair a little, he said, "We love you, too, Gaige. You're an irreplaceable member of our family. We were all really scared that you were going to die. I'm so sorry I wasn't there when you needed me to be."

Gaige shook her head and said, "You have nothing to apologize for, Naruto. There was nothing we could have done to prepare ourselves for something like that. If I wasn't so weak…"

Naruto flicked her in the forehead lightly, just enough to get her attention. "You are NOT weak, Gaige. Not at all. You're far smarter than most of us, especially me. You're an inventor, and your true skill shines forth when you're working on a new project. Plus, you have all those weapons of yours and you even created something like Deathtrap! You're amazing, Gaige! Please, never consider yourself weak ever again."

Gaige smiled in thanks before gently hugging Naruto. "Thank you, Naruto. I'm really glad we're friends."

The blonde patted her on the back gently and said, "Of course, Gaige-chan. Now, go ahead and mingle for a while. I need to talk with somebody about a personal matter."

The young inventor frowned a moment in confusion, but she chose to simply shrug it off. "Okay. Talk to you later, Naruto."

"Yeah." Naruto said, patting her head gently before he walked outside of the village and leaned against the wall. When Tidus joined him a few minutes later, the whiskered teen said, "Tidus. Thanks for coming."

Tidus looked into Naruto's eyes and said, "Hey. I figured you might want to talk and hash things out a bit."

Naruto nodded and said, "Yeah. I wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have run off the way I did when Rikku admitted her feelings for you. I should have stayed to listen, but…"

Tidus frowned and opened his mouth to speak, only for Naruto to halt him with a raised hand. "Naruto?"

"Just…listen. Please?" Seeing Tidus nod, Naruto continued. "All this time that I've spent together with Rikku-chan…I worried that I might turn out to just be a replacement for you. I had this niggling doubt in the back of my mind that she still loved you and wanted you. I should have trusted her more. But…" Sighing, the whiskered teen looked down at the ground and said, "I let my past experiences prevent me from trusting a woman who means more to me than my own life. More than my own dreams. I would give up everything just to be with her…and I can't help but feel like I blew it."

Looking back into Tidus' eyes, Naruto said, "Tidus…the people of my village have hurt me in ways you likely couldn't imagine. They tortured me and made me feel, made me believe, that nobody could ever truly love me. So, I always had this doubt in the back of my mind. What if they were right? This happiness that I have found with my girlfriends, my fiancés, feels like one grand dream that might be snatched away from me at any moment. What if I just wake up one day and it all turns out to have been one elaborate dream, you know? It still doesn't feel real to me. But…I think by coming here, it has finally sunk in for me. I'm allowed to be happy now. I'm allowed to be happy with people that love me for me. So, in a way, I have you and Yuna to thank for this newfound revelation. So…" Bowing to Tidus, Naruto said, "Thank you. And I'm sorry for before. I should've shown you some trust. Rikku-chan only spoke good things about you, and I was jealous of you because I knew you still held a piece of her heart."

Tidus shook his head and said, "You have nothing to apologize for, Naruto. I'd probably feel the exact same way if I were in your shoes. And I can understand. Being with Yuna, becoming a father to our child? It all still feels like I'm dreaming. But, your situation seems much harder to come to terms with than mine could ever be. I won't even pretend to know what you've gone through, but I can definitely see you're good for Rikku. But I hope you know, Yuna and I won't forgive you if you ever hurt her."

Naruto chuckled softly and said, "Thanks, Tidus. I'll never hurt her again. That's a promise."

Tidus raised a brow and asked, "Again?"

The whiskered teen said, "Well, I can only imagine how much it hurt her for me to just run off like I did before."

Tidus nodded and went, 'Ahh.' In understanding. Chuckling a bit, he said, "Well, that's one instance I'm sure we can all forgive. Now, what do you say we go enjoy the party, huh? I might even treat you to a drink if you'd like."

Naruto smirked and bumped his fist against Tidus' chest. "Sounds good to me. I might even ask you to teach me how to play blitzball at some point. Might be a good pastime to take up."

Tidus chuckled and said, "Sounds like a promise to me."

"Damn right."

The Next Morning

"This would probably be the safest place to put the portal." Yuna said as she led them into one of the rooms residing within the Temple of the Fayth on Besaid Island. "People rarely come in here these days, so it would be safe here."

Naruto nodded in thanks before he walked over to the best spot in the room. "Okay, this spot right here should do the trick. You might want to stand back." Once everyone had retreated from the room, watching him from the doorway, he turned and began to focus on his magical power. Okay, let's do this. Didn't have any problems creating and anchoring the portal to get here, so I shouldn't have any problems getting us home.

Taking in a deep breath, he released it slowly in preparation for what he was about to do. Once he was ready, he called forth his power and opened a portal leading back to the Uzumaki compound in Konoha. Stabilizing it, he soon focused on anchoring the portal on this side. Once he was done, he took a step back and smiled at his handiwork. "Aaaand done! Should be safe to come in now, everyone."

Aqua was the first to step inside the room. Walking up to the portal, she stuck a hand through to get a feel for what the interdimensional portal would feel like. "Wow. So this is the kind of power you possess. It's no wonder you were able to free me the way you did. I'm impressed."

"Thanks, Aqua-chan." Naruto said. "I remember the first time I tried to create and anchor a portal. I nearly died. Not the most pleasant experience I've ever had."

The blue-haired woman looked him in the eyes and asked, "If this power of yours is so dangerous, why push yourself so hard?"

The blonde shook his head and said, "It's fine now, I promise. Before, my mana was connected to both my brain and my heart. So straining myself so much was only hurting me. Ever since I made use of the Something Four, I'm able to do things like this without having to worry about any drawbacks."

Aqua nodded in understanding. "I see. Well, if you're sure. Just try to be careful, okay?"

Naruto chuckled a bit and said, "You know, it's kind of nice to have someone worry about me so much. Thanks." Looking around at the others, Naruto said, "Let's go and give our report to Tsunade-chan. I don't care what else she has in store for us, we're taking some time off for a while. I made a promise and I'm keeping it now."

Rikku smiled as she clung onto her fiancé's arms. "Oooh, I can't wait! She'd better say yes!"

Naruto chuckled a bit and said, "I'm sure she'll understand. Yuna, we'll be seeing all of you again soon, I'm sure."

Yuna smiled at him and said, "Of course. We'll be eagerly awaiting your return."

"Thanks. Okay girls, let's go." Naruto said before stepping through the portal with the girls following along immediately afterwards.

Once they were through, Naruto and the others looked around, happy to find themselves right where they intended to be. Glancing to their left, they saw the portal leading to Kamza. "So, this is your home? It's very nice." Aqua stated.

"Thanks." Rikku said. "If you ever want to visit Kamza and Toki, just take a step through that portal and go say hi! I'm sure they'd be happy to meet you."

"That sounds lovely. For now, we should probably go and speak with your Hokage, as you called her?" Aqua questioned unsurely.

Sakura nodded and said, "Yep. Tsunade-sama will be happy to meet you. I'm sure she'll be pleased to hear you helped stop a real crisis. She might even pay you for completing what was probably an S-rank mission."

The blunette shook her head and said, "I need no payment for that. I merely wanted to help because it was the right thing to do."

Temari smirked at her and said, "We know that. She will, too. But I believe you've earned it for what you did. Without you, I don't know what could have happened."

Naruto shrugged and said, "I probably would have gotten my ass kicked by Seymour. That's what would have happened." Chuckling afterwards to show he was joking, he smiled when his family laughed it off with him. "Now, we should probably get going. We've kept her waiting for a while."

"Right." Everyone agreed before they began to make their way out of the compound and through the village.

As they walked along, Aqua couldn't help but notice the looks they were getting from some of the villagers. "Are they always like this?"

Meru pouted and said, "Yep! They're a bunch of jerks that believe Naruto's a demon and we're all his…well, it's not a nice word to say."

Aqua frowned and said, "I'm sorry. Nobody should have to deal with scorn like this."

"It's fine, Aqua-chan. Don't let them bother you any." Naruto said, placing a gentle hand upon her shoulder.

Nodding in response, Aqua followed them as they entered a large tower and began to ascend the stairs. Upon reaching the office doors, Naruto smiled at Shizune and said, "We're back. Can we go in?"

Shizune smiled back at him and said, "Of course. Welcome back, Naruto-kun."

"Thanks, Shizune." Naruto said before he pushed open the doors to the office and stepped inside. "Hiya, Tsunade-chan. We're back. Did you miss us?"

Looking up from her paperwork, Tsunade's eyes lit up upon seeing her favorite blonde knucklehead. Hurrying around her desk, she wrapped her arms around Naruto and kissed him fiercely, taking his breath away in the process. When they separated moments later, she licked her lips and leaned in close, whispering to him, "You've kept me waiting. I expect a proper apology later. Understand?"

Blushing deeply, Naruto stammered for a while as he tried to say something, anything in response to that. When she kissed him again before beginning to giggle, he simply settled for smiling at her and hugging her flush against him. "I'm glad you're well, Tsunade-chan. We have a lot to talk about." Leaning in close, he whispered to her, "And I'll gladly be looking forward to that 'apology'. I just hope you're ready to start that family you've been wanting."

Blushing fiercely, she looked searchingly into his eyes and asked, "Does that mean the seal is ready? Or…?"

Naruto smiled at her and said, "I've had my shadow clones working on it ever since I made that promise to you. I've looked over their notes and made my own modifications to it. It's been a process, but it's done, Tsunade-chan. I made sure they knew to work on it nonstop until we finished it just last night."

Tears began trickling down Tsunade's cheeks before she pulled her boyfriend in for another passionate kiss. When they parted, she wiped her tears away and smiled at him. "I love you, Naruto-kun. Thank you."

"Anytime, Tsunade-chan. I just hope you're ready for me." He teased. "Now, we have a report to give and a new friend to introduce you to. We've been pretty darn busy."

Looking at Aqua for a moment, she looked back into her boyfriend's eyes and said, "I'm sure. Alright, let's hear it." And with that, they began to give their report, explaining absolutely everything that had happened from the moment they arrived in Spira up until the moment they departed.

Once they were finished, Tsunade walked over to Gaige and began running a diagnostic scan to check on her condition. Seeing that she was perfectly healthy, Tsunade brought the younger woman into a hug and gently stroked her hair. "I'm glad you're okay, Gaige. Moebius, thank you."

Moebius nodded with a smile before she turned to look at Aqua. "No problem, Tsunade. I wasn't about to let a member of our family perish like that. But I think most of your thanks should go to Aqua. She's the one that vanquished the big bad Seymie, after all."

Tsunade turned to Aqua and said, "She's right. Thank you, Aqua. Without you, my family could have been killed. You really saved them. You are more than welcome here. And, as thanks, I'll pay you the standard reward for an S-rank mission. I won't take no for an answer."

Aqua smiled somewhat bashfully and said, "I'm just glad I could help. But thank you, Tsunade. I promise I'll make good use of the money."

"Of course. Now, there's something else you'd like to say, isn't there, Naruto-kun?" Tsunade questioned as she took her seat once again.

Naruto nodded and said, "Yes, Tsunade-chan. I'm requesting time off so I can fulfill a promise I made to Rikku-chan a while ago. It's time for us to get married. So can we please have some time off for a while, Tsunade-chan?"

Tsunade frowned for a moment as she thought it over. After a short while, she nodded her head and said, "Yes. You and Rikku can take a few weeks off for your wedding and your honeymoon. However, I can only give the rest of your team a few days off to attend your wedding. Hell, I'd love to just take a few weeks off to spend time with all of you, but unfortunately, I can't. But you can bet that I'll be there for your wedding, whether the people like it or not."

Meru pouted and said, "Awww. Phooey! I was hoping to tag along and snap some pictures."

Sakura and the others giggled a bit at that. "It'll be okay, Meru. We'll probably be sent on a mission or two until they get back. We can handle something like that easily!"

Towa smirked at her and said, "Don't go jinxing us now. You never know what we might get up to while they're touring Spira together."

Sakura giggled somewhat nervously and said, "You've got a point. Still, we have to hold down the fort until they get back!" Nodding determinedly, she was happy when the other girls nodded in agreement.

"Alright. Everyone, you're dismissed. I expect you to give Aqua a proper tour of the village. Maybe get something good to eat. I need to discuss something with Naruto-kun for a while." Tsunade said, waving her hand in a shooing motion.

Rikku smirked at her knowingly for a time before shrugging and walking out of the office with her fellow Naruto lovers. Sneaky sneaky, Tsunade. You might get him alone right now, but I'll have him for two whole weeks. I'd call that a win in my book.

Now that they were alone, Tsunade stepped out of the room for a moment and looked at Shizune. "Naruto-kun and I have things to discuss. Don't let anyone disturb me unless it's some kind of emergency."

Shizune blinked a couple of times in confusion before realization washed over her. "Oh. Sure, Tsunade-sama. I'll turn away anyone that comes to speak with you. They can wait."

"Thank you, Shizune." Tsunade said, offering her apprentice a smile before she shut the doors and locked them tight. Afterwards, she dismissed her Anbu and proceeded to activate the silencing seals to give them some true privacy. "Now, let's see that seal in action, shall we?"

Naruto chuckled softly and said, "I'm going to need you to remove your clothes, Tsunade-chan. Then sit on the floor and I'll get to work inscribing the seal."

The busty Fifth Hokage smirked at him and began to slowly disrobe, just to tease her soon-to-be lover. Once she was in the nude before him, she ran one of her hands down his chest and into his pants. Gently massaging Naruto's hardening cock, she said, "I can't wait to feel this inside of me. Just look at how hard you are already. All just from seeing your sexy little Tsunade-chan naked."

Naruto let out a pleasured moan, but quickly stifled it before saying, "Y-Yes, Tsunade-chan. Just wait for a little longer and I'll give you everything you want and then some."

Tsunade giggled a bit and sat down on the floor. Glancing down at his beloved, he admired her form for a time before he got out his inkwell and brush. Slowly, he began to inscribe his seal on her skin. Thankfully, as much as the brush tickled her skin and as arousing a feeling as it was to be nude before him, Tsunade remained perfectly still, though she couldn't keep the smile off of her face. I want to pounce on him now and say fuck the seal. But I need to wait. Just be patient, Tsunade. You can wait a few minutes.

It took more time than Tsunade had hoped for Naruto to finish inscribing the seal. He had been working on the seal meticulously for the past half hour until finally he said, "Sorry that took so long, Tsunade-chan. Are you ready?" Seeing her nod, he placed one hand gently upon her chest, directly over a rather large seal array he had painted onto her skin. Taking in a breath, he activated the seal and watched as his beloved Tsunade went through the age reversal process. It took upwards of five minutes before the seal had finished its job, disappearing from her skin without a trace.

Once the process had finished, Naruto let Tsunade lean against him as she panted from exhaustion. "Holy hell. I didn't think it would hurt so much."

"Sorry, honey. It worked, though. How do you feel?" Naruto questioned.

For a few short moments, she ran through a couple of improvised tests of her own before looking into her boyfriend's eyes and saying, "I feel great. And right now, I want you so damn bad." And with that, she pounced on him.

Chuckling to himself, Naruto allowed Tsunade to help him out of his clothes. They had quite the fun time ahead of them, and he was more than happy to partake in the pleasures of Tsunade's flesh.

A/N - And that's the chapter! I'll admit, I was damn tempted to include a lemon there at the end, but I figured that was a good place to end the chapter. So ha! lol. :P

Anywho, I did the best I could with this chapter, but I'm sure there's probably some parts you might not be too happy with. Like maybe I made the fight too short or too boring, or all the dialogue bothered you, or whatever. I have no idea. I just know I worked hard on it and I really enjoyed writing it. So hopefully you enjoyed reading it.

Also, in case anyone was wondering, I did get tested for Covid and the result was negative. I don't have Covid. But my doctor said it's most likely influenza, which isn't any fun either. However, my symptoms are really, really strange. I can't even begin to explain how weird one of my symptoms is. x.x I can say that I've been coughing a LOT and it's interrupting my sleep. My sense of taste has been messed up as well. For example, the other day, I was taking a drink and the only thing I could taste was shit. Not even kidding. It was a HORRIBLE taste. I couldn't taste the hamburger I got from Burger King. I couldn't taste the BBQ chips I was snacking on. Then suddenly I take a drink and I taste shit? That SUCKS.

My third big symptom is the weird one. Like I said, I can't even begin to describe it. I've been trying to figure out how to word it for a while now, but I just can't put it into words, it is THAT bizarre. x.x Just know that I'm very sick and we'll leave it at that.

Alright, with alllll of that out of the way, I wanted to say once again that I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm sure you all know what's coming next in this story, so I hope you're looking forward to it! See you in the next update!

EDIT: Someone pointed out that I should probably be leaving some notes down here about the characters brought into the story and whatnot. Sooo, here's the breakdown of the characters, where they're from, and who is in the harem:

Harem

Rikku - Final Fantasy X-2

Meru - The Legend of Dragoon

Towa - Time & Eternity

Moebius - Time & Eternity

Blake Belladonna - RWBY

Yang Xiao Long - RWBY

Sakura Haruno - Naruto

Temari - Naruto

Tsunade Senju - Naruto

Shion - Naruto

Not in the Harem

Gaige - Borderlands 2

Aqua - Kingdom Hearts