Original Publish Date: 17th-July-2016

A/N: This one goes out to Itsmehamza, who was awesome enough to go back and review every chapter, just cause he likes my story that much. Cheers buddy!

Chapter 23 – Girl With One Eye

I took a knife and cut out her eye

I took it home and watched it wither and die, well,

She's lucky that I didn't slip her a smile

That's why she sleeps with one eye open

But that's the price she'll pay

- Girl With One Eye, Florence + the Machine

Resistance Camp, Countryside, Mizu no Kuni : 4465617468

Mei's entrance to the 'party' tent was heralded by raucous cheers.

She stood at the flap, smiling widely, looking utterly resplendent in a second pair of Inamoto's robes that I had thoughtfully left at her bedside, as she lay recovering in the medical tent. Her hair was perfectly coiffed, falling in tendrils around her face, her royal 'topknot' in place, her lips painted a succulent pink and her eye glittered with the happy satisfaction of success. When the crowd started chanting 'Go-dai-me! Go-dai-me!' her smile grew even wider, and she acknowledged the chants by performing a slight curtsy; one that left the crowd hollering and whistling as they hailed their savior by stamping their feet and generally making as loud a noise as they were capable.

Considering the fact that these were adult ninjas, the aforementioned noise was quite considerable.

But they deserved this celebration. For too long they had been subjugated, persecuted and forced to skulk in the shadows. For too long they had been forced to hide every sign of their presence. They had earned the right to be seen, to be heard.

They had earned their right to live.

Mei set to mingling, accepting a glass of alcohol; I was too far away to see what kind. I honestly had no idea where the Resistance had got the barrels of stuff; I'm not even exaggerating. I literally saw barrels and boxes full of wine, beer and other assorted alcohol. I guess my information gathering from the rest of the Resistance members had left something to be desired if I was caught off-guard, but I honestly didn't care about alcohol sourcing right now. All I cared about was getting my hands on some of it. I picked up a mug of beer and made my way into the 'party' tent.

The Cafeteria tent had been 'converted' (and I use that word lightly) into the venue for our celebrations. It was about 7 in the evening, and the party had started around 6. The mood in the camp immediately following the battle had been quite grim, with quite a few casualties, and a lot of severely hurt ninjas; a list that included Mei.

Other than a broken collarbone and bruised shoulder, Mei's injuries were no worse than those she sustained in one of our spars. That said, she had strained her chakra coils to the limit, and she had no business being up and about merely hours after a fight to the death with an S-ranked Kage.

But she was part-Uzumaki, and we were hardier than 'most' shinobi; which was why, less than 8 hours later, she was on her feet, drinking and laughing her worries away.

Once the initial rush of injured ninjas had subsided, the Resistance and Loyalists had stood around awkwardly, warily glancing at each other. Till that point they had cooperated quite well, lifting and carrying those they had been trying their hardest to kill a short while ago to the medical tents. The ROOT and regular Konoha ANBU had brought about surprising number of Iryo-ninjas, who were immediately swamped with the rush of mass-casualties. Priority was of course given to Mei; I had carried her across the field, the assorted Kiri and ROOT ninjas parting to let me through. It had been quite the experience, feeling the respect bestowed on Mei by proxy. It was quite heady, and it was everything I had imagined when I still had dreams about being the Hokage.

That isn't to say that I wasn't given any respect by the Kiri shinobi on my own merit; far from it, in fact. I was still being greeted by hearty thumps on the back and loud exclamations whenever I was spied by someone from the Resistance. Considering that I was still in foreign territory, and any one of those congratulatory thumps could be assassination attempts, I was feeling quite paranoid.

Danzō was still around, after all.

But even he wouldn't dare assassinate a Konoha shinobi in front of outsiders; in his own words: 'We do not show dissension amongst our ranks to outsiders!'

All the same, it was best to be on my guard.

Megumi's voice suddenly called out, "There you are!" She slipped her arm into mine, a glass of red wine dangling from her fingertips as she carted me off to Log-knows-where.

Amused, I asked her, "At your service, my lady. May I escort you? Slay a dragon for you? Fetch you a drink?"

She laughed, a wonderfully tinkling sound, and I felt myself relax for perhaps the first time that day. "You need to unwind! You looked tense, like you needed some female company."

"Oh? What sort of company did you have in mind?" I asked, with a suggestive tone in my voice.

Rather than play coy, or blush demurely, Megumi simply sent me an amused glance. "If you weren't spoken for already, I would have been showed you exactly the kind of company I had in mind," she said, with a sly glance towards Mei.

I didn't look directly at Mei, but I observed her through my peripheral vision, surrounded by a group of shinobi, soaking up the attention like a true diva.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about," I said, feigning ignorance. During the 6 months when Mei had 'courted' me aggressively, Megumi was the only one who had called me out on pretending I didn't understand what was going on. The rest of the Resistance simply enjoyed the show.

Megumi's smile widened, her pearly teeth contrasting nicely with her dark hair. "You won't be able to escape her grasp any longer, now that the war is over. I would be shocked if you survived the night."

The way she emphasized the word 'survived' sent chills down my spine. I'm not sure if they were the good kind or the bad kind.

I swallowed, but I was saved from answering when she caught sight of someone. "Kenshin!" she exclaimed happily, as she dragged me over to a fair-haired guy, who I was pretty sure I had never seen in the Resistance before. "This is Kenshin, he was one of those brave enough to send us information from the administrative office in Kiri." Ah, one of the spies. That explained it. "Kenshin, meet Nan-," she cut herself off with a sigh, shaking her head. "Meet Kamikaze."

KAMIKAZE!

With a grin, I inclined my head to the Kenshin, who returned the greeting. "You must be quite skilled, to avoid detection for this long and not get caught," I said, figuring that a compliment was the least I could do for a guy who had risked getting tortured and killed each time he made a dead drop.

"It was all for the cause," he said modestly, with a small smile.

We fell into an easy conversation after that, talking about the various information he had passed on to us and the hassle it has saved us in the field. By unspoken consent, we didn't talk about the failures, and the lives that had been lost.

As the conversation went on, however, I noticed that Megumi was sizing Kenshin up with a rather predatory gleam in her eye. Hell, it was making me all hot and bothered, and it wasn't even directed at me.

Kiri kunoichi were rather forward when it came to things they wanted. And yes, potential lovers also fell under the category of 'things'.

Having no desire to be a third wheel I slipped out of Megumi's grasp and excused myself, pretending someone had called me. It looked like Kenshin was going to be 'thanked' for his contribution rather… ah, vigorously.

And now that my thoughts had taken a lascivious turn, I wondered if Mei would do the same to me tonight. Megumi certainly thought so.

I shook my head; now was not the time to be distracted.

I spent the next few minutes wandering around aimlessly. I nodded a greeting to Shinzō, who nodded back; but neither of us made any further effort to mingle. After Fuyuki's death we tended to avoid each other, for reasons that I didn't fully understand.

Kitashi had taken half the council and left for Kiri, to prepare for Mei's arrival the next day. And as I had just seen, some of the Resistance spies had stayed back in order to mingle with those they had been helping for so long, but not been able to see.

Hell, to my surprise, I even spied Ao-senpai, one eye hidden behind an eye-patch as always. He was talking quietly with Hitomi in a corner. I walked over, and Hitomi introduced us; unnecessary, in my case, but Ao-senpai didn't know that. I would have to be careful not to refer to him as such.

"So you're the one who was able to find out that I was helping the Resistance," Ao said, giving me a rather thorough once-over.

I grinned and shrugged, "Reaching that conclusion wasn't easy, believe me."

Ao sniffed, "I should hope not. I don't think anyone else figured it out, given that I've been the recipient of surprised looks all night," he said dismissively. I didn't miss the fact that I was still under his intense scrutiny, however.

Given that Hitomi was talking to him, combined with a few offhand comments from Mei once I had told her I knew about Ao, it was obvious that Hitomi was Ao's 'handler'. "You did a fine job of hiding your presence, that's for sure. I met this guy, Kenshin, who did the same thing."

Ao shook his head slightly, in a gesture I previously recognized as exasperation. "Kenshin is young and foolish. Half the time I was covering for him, given his obvious blunders. He has a lot to learn."

I chuckled at the typical 'young-ones' line from the veteran campaigner. I turned to Hitomi, ignoring Ao's subtle but noticeable scrutiny, "Your mission was successful?" I asked, referring to the ship they had to sink to allow the ROOT shinobi to land on the shores.

She shrugged, "We completed our objective," she said rather blandly. I felt my lips pursing; that meant that they had met with more trouble than they had expected. I didn't press the issue. Tonight was a celebration. We would mourn the fallen tomorrow.

I turned back to Ao-senpai… Ugh, Ao-san. No matter the prior deep respect I had for the man, we had to start with a blank slate.

After exchanging a few more comments with the two veteran ninjas, I took my leave and left them conversing silently. I knew that they were discussing me, but I was used to that kind of scrutiny from the Kiri shinobi. The thick skin I had developed as a kid in Konoha also helped.

Once again, as soon as I was by myself, my mind started conjuring up fantasies of Mei making her move on me tonight, and all that would entail. I shook my head, but it was a useless endeavor. I would not be able to focus on any conversations like this.

Deciding that I had had my fill of socializing for the moment, I headed for the back of the tent, where the population was sparser. Someone had used a Doton technique to put up a few crude circular booths. They were all full, except for the one at the very end; it's only occupant was a svelte blonde kunoichi who was sitting with her eyes closed, a bottle of saké and a saucer in front of her. I had seen around in the Resistance bases, so I knew she would know who I was. Approaching her table, I asked, "Mind if I join you? Everywhere else is full."

She turned to me without opening her eyes, but I got the impression that she could see me just fine. She gave a small, delicate shrug. "It's a free country… Well, it is now," she said in a naturally soft, breathy voice, her tone lilting upwards towards the end in amusement.

I chuckled, placing my beer on the earthen table before slipping into the seat around her. After seating myself I realized I could see the end of her khaki skirt and a part of her creamy thighs, but I didn't move, like I probably should have. "Hehe, Mei certainly made sure of that today."

She shrugged, taking a sip of her saké, her straight blonde hair glowing almost golden in the lighting. "Yes, Miss Primary Colours is quite fond of the heavy handed approach."

I blinked in surprise. Miss Primary Colours? I turned to look at Mei. Blue dress. Red hair. But there wasn't any green… Ah. Green eye.

Despite myself, I let out a snort of amusement at the rather clever insult. The woman seemed surprised at my reaction. Surprised, but pleased.

"I'm Nanashi," I said with a smile, ignoring the irritation of not having a name once again. I never introduced myself as Kamikaze either; I simply didn't respond until called by that name, but introducing myself was a different matter entirely.

"I think everyone knows who you are," the as yet unnamed woman said with a soft smile, opening one eye and peeking through one of her slender blonde bangs. I caught a glimpse of a beautiful silvery grey iris; it suited her delicate beauty. She waited for a moment, almost long enough for it to become awkward. "Katagiri."

I inclined my head, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

She smiled at me, but I got the impression that she was laughing at a joke that I didn't get, rather than returning the greeting.

Feeling slightly off-balance, I raised my mug in cheers. "To freedom."

She smiled again, but raised her saucer. "To toasts."

I snorted, barely catching myself before spraying out the liquid. I mock glared at Katagiri, who was sipping her own saucer innocently. She had a rather sharp sense of humor: I would have to watch myself around this one.

"So what's your specialty?" I asked her.

She smiled once more, an act she seemed fond of. "I suppose you could call it… information gathering."

She said it in the same tone Ero-Sennin said 'research'. Although now that I thought about it, it was likely the right conclusion, she was probably a seduction specialist. She definitely had the looks for it; combined with her bedroom voice and her alluring smile I could see how it could be her forté.

I wasn't interested in pursuing her, but there wasn't anything wrong with a little flirting. I grinned, "You must be quite good, to have survived this long. You must have had lots of… practice."

Rather than behaving coyly, or giving me any signals to show she wasn't interested, Katagiri became even more amused. "I did have lots of practice, yes." She then gave me an unreadable look, with her eyes still closed. "Not as much as I would have liked though."

I was definitely missing something here. A woman as beautiful as her could have got all the 'practice' she wanted. And yet…

Thankfully, she decided to keep the conversation going. "So tell me, what is it like, being a meathead?"

I blinked in surprise, "Meathead?" I've been called an idiot far too many times to count, but 'meathead' was a new one.

She smiled again, "I meant using ninjutsu to solve all your problems."

I raised an eyebrow, "As a Seal Master, I take offense to the term 'meathead'." I then smiled, showing that I didn't really take offense, "As a ninjutsu specialist, I would like to say that there's nothing more satisfying than using your chakra to smash your problems into smithereens. It's a satisfying release. Cathartic, you could say."

She sniffed daintily, "You're not even denying being a meathead."

I shrugged, taking a sip of my beer. "What can I say? It's a rush, unlike any other."

And for the first time since we had started speaking, Katagiri's already alluring voice turned husky, "Oh, I can think of something else that gives a greater rush."

She raised the saucer to her lips, carefully wrapping her lips around the dish as she delicately sipped the liquid, swallowing it so that my eyes were drawn to the motion of her slender throat. As she finished the liquid she placed the saucer back on the table and made the slightest movement, so that my eyes were drawn to her bare thighs.

Even if my mouth hadn't been full of beer, I would have swallowed.

With a single sentence and a nonchalant gesture, she had charged the atmosphere around the table.

Mist kunoichi had seduction down to an art. All of them.

I took a gulp of my beer, this one considerably larger than the previous one, feeling hot under my collar.

I snuck another glance at Katagiri; thankfully she wasn't like Mei, who found amusement in torturing me with these little sensual displays. Katagiri simply did it to prove a point. Atleast, I think that was the case. Rational thinking gets harder once your blood starts flowing south of the border.

Once I was sure that my voice wouldn't betray my accelerated blood flow, I picked up the thread of the conversation again. "There are different tools for different problems," I said as neutrally as I could. I felt inordinately proud of the fact that I hadn't lost track of the conversation. I guess being exposed to Mei's tricks over that six-month period meant I had developed a fledgling immunity.

Katagiri inclined her head, acknowledging my point. "If only all our problems could be solved with a few spoken words," she sighed breathily.

I shrugged, "Unfortunately, those in power don't tend to listen to words, only more displays of power."

She smiled triumphantly, turning her head slightly. Since her eyes were still closed, I didn't realize where she was looking initially. And then I caught sight of Mei, and the smile still on Katagiri's face.

I frowned at the implication, "Mei isn't like that."

Katagiri's smiled widened, showing off her bright teeth. "Isn't she?"

I opened my mouth to object, but right then, rather ironically, I remembered something that Terumī Hayato had said. 'If you are to truly understand, then you will need the contrast, not adherence to a single idea'.

Given the fact that Mei's own father had said it, I couldn't dismiss it out of hand.

Also, I had only seen two opinions about Mei in all my time in Mizu. Either they worshipped the ground she walked on, like the Resistance members and the civilians (and yes, me as well); or they hated her and wanted her dead, like Yagura and the loyalists. Mei was a master of balancing the two persona's, managing to feed the hatred from the loyalists to her 'bodhisattva' legend, and using her deified status to fuel the fire against herself from the loyalists; but this was the first time I had seen someone who was loyal to Mei's ideals without idolizing her.

"Perhaps," I said slowly, "you should give her a chance at being in power before judging her."

She shrugged delicately, one blonde bang slipping towards the center of her face. "Power does the same thing to everyone: it corrupts them."

I pursed my lips. It wasn't strictly true. Yes, men like Uchiha Madara, Pein, even Ōnoki used their power to subjugate and crush their enemies. But on the other hand, there were men like Senju Hashirama and Sarutobi Hiruzen who used their power to try and bring peace. Sarutobi in particular had a peculiar relationship with power, he was known as the 'Shinobi no Kami', and he had lived long enough to retire, be forced back into his mantle and struggle under the weight of his own legend; and had I not come along, he would use a suicide technique to save the village, just so that he wouldn't have to be burdened with the expectations anymore.

But this wouldn't make good dinner conversation, especially with someone I had just met, so I didn't say anything. Katagiri seemed pleased by not having to talk about Mei anymore, so I let it slide.

Still, I was curious about the kind of person who would dislike Mei, yet follow her, which is why I created a Kage Bunshin when her saké ran out. "Allow me," I said, and she nodded her thanks. The clone acknowledged the nod and went for a beer and saké run.

"That's a rather… handy technique," Katagiri said, her voice dropping to its sensual undertone once more.

Having experienced what she was rather slyly referring to with Anko, I grinned. "Yeah, having two of myself can be rather… fulfilling."

She smiled alluringly, letting her gaze linger on the clone rather suggestively.

Rather than get distracted, I continued, "And what happened to all the ninjutsu hating?"

She shrugged, her dislodged bang clearing out of her face this time. "I never said ninjutsu didn't have its uses. Even if they may be a little… unconventional."

I let out a small laugh, feeling my blood rush faster and faster. Ever since Megumi had mentioned that Mei would make her move on me tonight, my motor had been revving. Talking with another attractive woman had simply exacerbated the situation. The alcohol and the general merriment was also playing its part in loosening my inhibitions.

It also made me ignore the memories from my returning clone; else I would have seen Mei eyeing the two bottles my clone was holding. It also left me unaware of the way Mei's eyes narrowed when she saw the identity of my drinking partner.

Oblivious to the incoming storm, I asked Katagiri, "So what do you plan to do now that the war is over?"

Accurately pouring the saké into her saucer despite the fact that her eyes seemed closed, she replied, "I'll take some time to visit my hometown, visit the temple there. After that," she sipped the drink, finishing half the contents of her saucer in the process, "I'll cut loose."

My grin widened as I imagined the trouble she was bound to stir up once she cut loose. She seemed like the kind of woman who thrived on chaos; similar to Anko, even though they seemed nothing alike on the surface.

I opened my mouth to continue, but then I caught Katagiri stiffening. It was a nothing more than a slight tensing of her shoulders, but it was enough to put me on guard. My semi-arousal immediately banished, I quickly twisted my head to face the incoming threat.

To my surprise, it was Mei.

She didn't even look at me as she sauntered sensually over to our table, fully aware of the looks that she was attracting. She had that smile on her face, the one that she had during those six months when she had tortured me with her sensuality, trying to get me to make a move on her. My semi-arousal returned with a vengeance, and blew the 'semi' out of the water along the way.

Mei slid into the circular booth from the other side, smiling with her entire body at the third occupant of the table, as she was enclosed between Mei and I. Mei's eyes were half-lidded, her lips had that quirk that made you want to kiss her, her bosom was heaving with her breaths as she devoted the entirety of her attention at Katagiri. On the surface, it looked like Katagiri's lucky day, if she was into women.

But with a single glance at the gleam in Mei's eye, it was impossible to ignore the feeling of watching a predator cornering her prey.

I wasn't the predator or the prey. What I was, was painfully aroused. I curled my hand around my cool beer, holding it like a lifeline.

"How have you been, Katagiri?" Mei asked in her musical voice. I couldn't help but compare her voice to Katagiri's soft bedroom tone, and I found Mei's voice to be more desirable. But then again, I was infatuated with Mei, so I was hardly unbiased.

Katagiri had opened one silvery eye once more, keeping the other one shut. "Fine," she said in a clipped note, trying (and failing) to feign being unaffected by Mei's enticing presence.

Mei's smile gained that wicked quality, and I felt my heart banging in my chest. Once it became clear that neither of them were going to say anything else, I swallowed and asked, "I take it you know each other?"

Hardly the most insightful comment, yet it was enough to break the deadlock. "Oh yes," Katagiri said, her voice gaining a frigid note, "Mei and I go way back."

Mei's lips twitched, and I knew from experience that she was going to make a particularly provocative comment. "Oh yes, but you could say that we've never seen… ah, eye-to-eye."

The temperature around the table dropped twenty degrees, as Katagiri glared at Mei.

And it was then, and only then, that I saw the slight scar around Katagiri's second eye, the one that she hadn't yet opened.

The nagging feeling of missing something the entire suddenly made sense, as the clues came together in my head with lightning clarity. It wasn't that Katagiri didn't open her other eye… she couldn't.

Oh. Oh.

Hayato had told me that Mei had cut out a girl's eye when she had stolen Mei's boyfriend. Given Mei's pointed comment and Katagiri's reaction, it was clear that Katagiri had been that girl.

And I had just spent the last half an hour flirting with her, where Mei had clearly seen us.

Dread pooled in my stomach.

Unfortunately, my libido took this as encouragement and went into overdrive.

I know I've said this before, but there is something seriously wrong with me.

I decided to keep my mouth shut. It was clear that I wasn't in control of what happened from this point forth. My hand hadn't left my beer yet, and it was cold and clammy in stark contrast to the rest of my body.

Katagiri's glare hadn't subsided in the least. "You know, your boy-toy was the one who came here and started flirting with me. You can't blame me for his actions."

The 'boy-toy' wasn't happy being referred to as such. However, he was also smart enough to keep his mouth shut at the moment. Although he was currently referring to himself in the third person, so maybe he should stop thinking with his lower head and try to focus on the knife-edge he was currently balancing on.

Mei's smile gained a note of amusement, "Feeling defensive? A sign of your guilty conscience, perhaps?" She giggled, the sound highly inappropriate yet sounding completely natural. "Regardless, you shouldn't assume the worst about me just because I came over. Cynicism doesn't suit you, sweetheart."

Katagiri looked ready to spit nails. "I shouldn't assume the worst!? Even after what you did!? Even after what you cost me!?" Her voice cracked at the end, and her visible eye filled with suppressed tears as she fought to stay in control of her emotions.

Mei's visible eye lost its predatory gleam, and she sighed wearily, losing the catty persona she had adopted since she sauntered over. Her voice, when she spoke, was somber. "Regardless of what you may think, Katagiri, not a day goes by when I don't regret what I did to you."

Katagiri scoffed, the noise sounding far uglier coming from such a svelte woman. "And I'm supposed to believe that?"

Mei raised her hand and brushed the fringe over her covered eye. "You see this? I started wearing my hair like this once I grasped the fact that I had cost you half your vision of the world."

Katagiri raised an eyebrow through her glare, but Mei continued, sounding perfectly sincere, "I won't deny that it makes me look good, but I wanted somehow to pay penance for what I did. I wanted to remind myself, every single day, of the cost of my hubris. I could think of no better way than to see the world the same way you did."

Being a rather fantastic bullshitter myself, thanks to my years of pranking, I could smell bullshit a mile away; and Mei's story stank of it.

However, Katagiri was emotionally vulnerable at the moment, and it was clear that Mei's story was having an effect on her. Mei could clearly sense it too, and like the predator she was, Mei moved in for the kill.

She raised a hand to Katagiri's face, caressing the cheek under her empty eye. Katagiri seemed surprised that she hadn't flinched, and my arousal hit a new high. It was clear I was watching a master in action, and it was a thing of beauty.

"I'm sorry," Mei said softly. Katagiri's lips trembled, but she managed to keep from bursting into tears. She took a few deep breaths and brought herself back under control. She seemed surprised to find Mei's hand still on her face when she opened her eye, and Mei took the opportunity to start caressing Katagiri's cheek with her thumb. My hand was numb from having grasped my beer mug for so long, but I couldn't tear it away.

Katagiri seemed shocked that Mei would do something like this; she opened her mouth to most likely object, when Mei's wandering thumb brushed the corner of Katagiri's mouth. A visible shiver ran down her body, as the redhead's hand reached continued caressing the blonde's cheek. I could see a slight blush beginning to form on Katagiri's face, and it sent my own arousal haywire. I could feel my painfully dry underwear chafing against my rather prominent erection.

"You know," Mei continued softly, "I've suffered too, during this war. Maybe not the same way as you have all these years, but I've suffered from sending people to their deaths. I'm glad that you weren't one of them."

Katagiri swallowed, her blush slowly intensifying under Mei's ministrations, both physical and aural. She let out a breath as Mei's fingers dipped below her chin, her lips parting insensibly, readying for a kiss from the voluptuous redhead across from her. "Maybe we could start over… we were friends once, weren't we?"

Katagiri nodded insensately, and my heart started banging in my throat. I wouldn't have been able to speak at the moment, only make rough growling noises like a Neanderthal; such was the depth of my arousal.

"Now that I'll be lonely at the top, I could use a friend…" As Mei's lips wickedly breathed out the word 'friend', her hand slipped from Katagiri's chin and trawled down her body, lightly tracing her throat, the side of her breasts, her stomach, before finally coming to a rest on her creamy thigh, followed by Katagiri's intense gaze the entire way.

My eyes started losing focus, such was the speed at which my blood was thundering in my veins. I don't think I had ever been this aroused ever before.

I was proven wrong a few seconds later about the height of my arousal; because at that point, Katagiri's gaze went back up to Mei's, and the two beautiful women locked gazes with an intensity that was almost frightening.

And then Mei's hand started slipping under Katagiri's skirt.

My eyes widened as my jaw dropped at the borderline lewd act taking place in public, less than three feet away from me. If my throat hadn't been as dry as it currently was I would have been drooling through my mask.

Katagiri's breaths were coming in tiny gasps as she tried to keep her gaze locked to Mei, but the redhead was making the task as hard as she could by tracing her fingers across the inner thigh of the slender blonde, causing her eyelashes to flutter erratically. I think my beer mug was about to crack, such was the strength with which I was gripping it.

It was easy to identify the moment when Mei's hand made contact with the blonde's core; her entire body jerked as she let out a loud gasp, her hand instinctively grasping Mei's wrist; it wasn't immediately apparent whether it was to stop her or encourage her.

Mei smiled a truly beautiful smile at the intoxicated blonde, "Don't worry," Mei said sensually, "It's not going to hurt."

Katagiri shuddered in arousal, but she suddenly got up and pushed past Mei, who let the blonde pass without trying to stop her. After stumbling a few steps, however, Katagiri stopped and looked over her shoulder at Mei.

Mei sent her a look of such smoldering intensity that I was surprised she didn't climax on the spot. Hell, I nearly did, and I wasn't even the recipient.

The conflict was clear in Katagiri's eyes as her desire warred with her common sense, however she managed to walk away on unsteady footsteps, shuddering as she did so. But it was clear that she would be thinking of Mei the rest of the night, one way or the other.

One seductress, seduced by another. It was staggering to even think about, let alone witness.

And I had been right there.

It was by far the most intensely sexual exhibition I had ever witnessed, and there hadn't even been any nudity involved; hell, there was barely any touching involved.

Once Katagiri had disappeared, Mei smirked like the cat that caught the canary. She leaned back and put her elbow on the table as she carelessly splayed out her hand; as if by magic, a passing shinobi just happened to drop a glass of white wine in the proffered extremity. That move couldn't possibly have been choreographed. And yet…

I finally realized that my jaw was still hanging open. I shut it, wincing at the audible snap, causing Mei's smirk to widen almost unnoticeably. My hand had cramped from being clamped around my beer mug, but I didn't remove it yet. Once my mouth was sufficiently moisturized, I spoke, my voice almost guttural with arousal, "That was…" I paused, not knowing the right word to describe what had just happened. By The Log and the Ramen Gods, how did I even describe what I had just witnessed!?

Mei finally looked at me, after taking a sip from her wine glass, held by the hand that had been caressing Katagiri's nether regions a scant minute ago. "I know," she said smugly.

"…" I didn't know how to respond. I settled for asking, "Why?"

Mei's playful smile came back out in full force, and she leaned forward on her elbows, causing the swell of her breasts to be even more prominent. I cursed myself for having given her a second set of those robes, even though I had written a mocking note, saying 'That's the last one I have, so do be a little more careful with that one, won't you?' It was the same thing I had told her, back in the negotiations when we had first met after I had destroyed the first Scroll of Bound Promise.

But this time, the joke was on me. Even though I was getting an eyeful.

Mei had artfully paused, rhythmically tapping a single finger against the glass as she theatrically pondered my query. Naturally, she was using my own raging hormones against me; hell, she had just done the same with a kunoichi who prided herself as a master seductress a few minutes ago.

"Well," she finally drawled out, having tortured me for long enough, "I am the Mizukage now." She couldn't help a smug smile from stealing across her face at the fact, and I felt my own lips twitch in amusement at her vanity. "That means that I need to have the support of all the shinobi and kunoichi under me, especially with things the way they currently are."

I tilted my head in consideration, as I wordlessly asked her what that had to do with the display I had just witnessed. I tried to ignore my own arousal hammering in my ears and tried to listen to Mei's voice instead; a rather easy task on most days. But not tonight. Not after what I had just seen.

"I cannot condone anyone with hatred towards me in my ranks," she said with a note of steel in her voice. I could imagine what would happen to those idiots who still hated her after her ascension to the post of Mizukage.

She smiled, her pearly teeth shining against the drab earthen background of the booths we were sitting in. "Katagiri was clearly one of those who had… ah, strong feelings towards me."

I raised my eyebrows. "I don't think that's what the term 'strong feelings' means."

"No?" Mei asked me, her smile having turned positively predatory. "Isn't hatred a strong feeling? It is the opposite of love, which is proclaimed to be the strongest feeling in the world."

I blinked in surprise, never having thought of it that way. But now that I had, I couldn't deny the truth in what she was saying. I inclined my head in agreement.

Mei's smile grew positively feral, "So, as I said, Katagiri has strong feelings towards me. I cannot change that fact. What I can change, however, is the nature of those feelings."

Her voice had turned to the same sultry tone she had been using so effectively against Katagiri so far, and now that it was directed towards me, I couldn't help being affected. My heart, which had not gone back to normal rhythm yet, started roaring again. "What does that mean?"

"It means, Nanashi-kun," oh, words cannot express how sinfully she said my name, "that there is a way to turn those strong feelings against their owner."

I managed to croak out, "How?"

Mei's visible eye gleamed in satisfaction as I asked the question. Her lips parted, and her glistening pink tongue pressed nefariously against her teeth for a second longer than necessary. "Lust," she breathed out.

My mind went blank for a full minute. I think I had an orgasm without ejaculating, if that was even possible. That wasn't to say that I didn't have a painfully raging erection, because I did. 'It's called a priapism,' I randomly recalled from one of Sakura-chan's lectures.

Once I was sure I wouldn't actually blow my load, I again croaked out, "How?"

Mei looked like the devil incarnate; so satisfied was she at my helpless begging. And believe me, I was hers to do with as she pleased. I wasn't aware of the party, I wasn't aware of who was staring at us, hell, I was barely aware of the beer mug that I was still clutching; all I was aware of was my pulse pounding painfully in my priapism. I was honestly surprised that the beer hadn't boiled away, such was the intensity of the heat underneath my skin.

"Hatred is not something that can be overcome by a few small acts of kindness and generosity," Mei lectured, enjoying watching me hang pathetically on her every word. "Such strong feelings can only be changed by use of a catalyst. In my case," she said, the pride coming back into her voice, "I can't make her love me, but I can certainly make her lust after me. It's the easiest thing in the world to do. All you need is the right touch, the right words, and leave your target helplessly dangling, desperate for your approval, because your bodily needs are not something that can easily be overcome."

I had no illusions whatsoever that Mei was pointedly making fun of me at the end of that statement. However, I was currently trying my utmost to stave off my incoming orgasm; hell, I had unconsciously started using the same techniques I did to make sex last longer (in other words, naming my favourite Cup Ramen in order of tastiness.)

And all Mei had done was use a few charged words.

What a woman.

I tried my hardest to control a shudder, but I failed. I could feel my eyes glazing over, and I shook my head rapidly, trying to clear it.

When I finally regained coherence, Mei had leaned back against the wall of the booth, regally sipping her wine as she stared out over her subjects. She had stopped trying to suppress the proud, and dare I say it, arrogant smile on her face. But this had been pretty much the perfect day for her. She was allowed to feel whatever the hell she wanted.

Killing a Kage in the morning, seducing a seductress in the night. Terumī Mei certainly didn't do things by halves. It bears repeating: What a woman.

She looked back at me, and apparently decided I was too composed for her tastes. "Tell me, Nanashi-kun," and damn did I love it when she purred my name like that, "Would you be interested in… doing something with me?"

And just like that, my priapism was back. "Something?" I asked helplessly. She could have asked me for absolutely anything in that moment, and I would have given it to her, such was the state she had put me in.

She nodded slowly, her gaze wandering down my throat, causing my own gaze to start wandering down hers, down to her cleavage as I imagined… I snapped my gaze back up, but I had been caught staring for far too long. Log-damned hormones. She was smirking, enjoying playing me like a fucking fiddle. "Something… intimate."

I swallowed. I noticed her stating hungrily at my throat again, but I didn't dare let my gaze slip from her face this time. "Intimate?" I asked, like a broken record. I wasn't capable of more than monosyllabic speech at the moment. I don't think I had said more than one word at a time since before Katagiri had left.

Mei smiled softly, the gesture surprisingly innocent looking; further belying the depravity she had been performing with me all night. "It involves sweating, breathing hard, vigorous movements and… bodily contact."

Oh shit.

I immediately started naming all my favourite Cup Ramen, in order of how much I liked them. Then I started naming them alphabetically, and I was all the way down to remembering their expiry dates before I somehow managed not to cross the point of no return. Once again, Ramen saved the day.

I finally forced some blood north of the border, to my head (yes, the one containing my skull, har har.) I went over the statement Mei had just spoken, and I managed to see it for what it was.

I looked up at Mei, who was still smiling innocently at me. "You want to dance?"

Her face came alive as I asked her the question, and I was suddenly aware of a beating, thumping sound in the party tent. Apparently, at some point, music had started being played, I could not tell you when such a thing had started, my entire world having shrunk to the tiny circular booth that I had been in for the last hour. Where the Kiri shinobi got the electricity in the middle of nowhere for the speakers was beyond me.

Mei rose gracefully and offered me her hand, "Shall we?"

I had two massive problems with that; well, one massive problem, and one that could hopefully be rectified. The massive problem being: I couldn't stand up without embarrassing myself, and Mei knew it as well, given her sly smirk.

I finally pried my cramped right hand off the beer mug, and started stretching it, thinking furiously. I then realized that my left hand was underneath the table, clutching the seat of the booth just as furiously as my right had been clutching the beer mug. As the feeling started coming back into my hands, I finally came across a desperate solution.

I would have to layer a Genjutsu around the front of my pants, and do it with handseals from a single hand. My cramped left hand, to boot, in order to hide it from Mei.

If I hadn't been drunk on hormones and beer, I might never even have considered such a solution. But I was desperate, and I had no choice. The task was made harder by the fact that such a Genjutsu did not even exist, which meant that I would have to create it, and then apply it with a cramped hand, all in the next 30 seconds.

One final look at Mei's smirk sealed it.

I quickly entered the mindset I used for Fūinjutsu, and recalled all the Yin chakra information. To create a simple looking genjutsu, one that used a minimal amount of chakra to cover an area of around one square foot. Seals needed to be one handed, therefore modified. Requirements for such a seal: (I ran a quick mental calculation, and said a quick prayer) half horse, half ram, half dragon, half bird, and half horse again.

I locked eyes with Mei as I forced my cramped left hand into the half-handseals, hidden by the table. I had no way of knowing if it worked or not, but I did feel a slight tug on my chakra, signifying that something had happened. Swallowing, I put my visible right hand into hers and rose.

Mei didn't do anything as blatant as look at my crotch, but I saw her pupil dilate as she kept her gaze locked with mine, using her peripheral vision to try and embarrass me.

To my ever-lasting relief, I saw her eyebrows rise in surprise. It had worked. I was safe. For now.

Despite herself, I saw Mei look the tiniest bit impressed.

She gave me a small tug to get me moving to the dance floor, but I stayed put. This was where we ran into my second problem. She raised a questioning eyebrow at my reluctance. "Err…" I said sheepishly, scratching the back of my head with my left hand, "I don't know how to dance."

She blinked in surprise, before a slow smile overtook her features. Once all her pearly whites were shining through, she said smugly, "When you tell this story later," she said, flipping her hair loose from its elaborate coif as she started walking, pulling me behind her, "You'll say that you didn't know how to dance…", she turned to look at me over her shoulder, still smiling.

"…Until I showed you how."

Author's Notes: *Evil Grin*

One special chapter, delivered as promised. No lemons, but no less intense for it.

No, Mei and Nanashi didn't sleep together. They just danced the night away.

I realized that I had simply told you that Mei 'tortured' Nanashi with her games for six months. I hadn't stated what she did explicitly. Well, here's a tasty 3 course meal about the kind of torturing she did. Mei is such a fucking tease. Poor Nanashi, I have no idea how he managed to keep from assaulting the woman. He is literally stubborn to a deep, deep fault.

Did this seem like a filler chapter to you? I assure you, it wasn't. The reason, as always, will become clear in time :D

Sorry about the late replies to the reviews and the late chapter, but my laptop had died out. However, like Harry Potter after his second AK attack, the machine is back from the dead, minus an infected part. Either that, or it's in its zombie phase. That would be cool: having a zombie laptop. While it was dead, though, I went on a reading binge the likes of which I have never experienced. And now, my phone's battery is completely fucked.

Next time: Well, we have something even more *special* for the next chapter. Yes, Mei and Nanashi will finally get together next chapter, but that's not what is special about it. No, that will be twofold. One is Mei's official coronation as the Mizukage, and the other… ooh baby baby baby.

Nanashi, (who you may know prefers to be known as Kamikaze), will get a Kiri forged weapon as 'thanks' for his part in ending the war.

It won't be as OverPowered as Samehada / Hiramekarei, but it will be on par with Nuibari / Kubikiribōchō.

What will be the weapon?

Of course I'm not going to spoil the surprise, you should know me better by now :)

Feel free to speculate what the weapon is in the comments section below.

As a bonus, the person who guesses the weapon will get the biggest chance to name it. I'll put up a poll with the best/coolest names once the weapon itself is revealed.

Here's the only hint about the identity of the weapon I'm going to give out: Uzumaki Naruto.

Make of that what you will.

As always, contributors to my Pat reon are always welcome. Check my profile page for more details :)

So, did Mei the Master Seductress rock your world, as promised? :D