The morning came far too soon to everyone's liking. Kurama and Inner, who both remained in their demon fox form, slowly arose from their slumber while Sakura had woken up in the strong, protecting arms of Naruto. Naruto had long since woken up, but he knew Sakura would want a little more time so she could wake up right.
Sakura opened one eye and turned her head around to see Naruto's smiling face.
"Morning my Cherry Blossom..." He said softly.
"*yawn*... Good morning, my Sunshine..." Sakura said softly.
"Ready to start the day?" Naruto asked.
"Not really... I just want to stay in bed today with you..."
"Well, I guess it's a good thing we have another day off." Naruto said happily.
"Mhmmm..." Sakura hummed happily as she snuggled into Naruto's chest.
'You awake, fuzzy?' Naruto said mentally to Kurama.
'Just woke up.' Kurama said in a cheery tone.
'Could you bring Sakura-chan and I some breakfast?'
'Sure... What do you want?'
'Two plates of scrambled eggs, toast and bacon.'
'Coming right up.'
Within a minute, a red haired man walked into Naruto and Sakura's room carrying two plates of scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon. Upon closer inspection, Naruto could see that man bore a striking resemblance to him, all be it with redder hair, Fox eyes, and thicker whisker marks on his cheeks. He looked like Naruto when he was under the influence of the Kyuubi's rage.
"Thanks man. What's up with the look?" Naruto asked, much to Sakura's curiosity. She turned her head to look at the man before her.
"Oh this? Turns out being a fox limits your options and there is only so many times you can try foxy style. So we both tried out our human forms and this is what I choose." Kurama explained.
"Not bad..." Sakura commented as she looked upon the bare form of Kurama's human form. Then the smell of breakfast permeated her nose. "Foooooood..." Sakura moaned.
"Geez, how funny. Your outer self is hungry and your inner self is thirsty." Kurama smirked.
"I warned you, Kurama." Sakura said as she sat up to take the plate of food being offered to her, her bare chest being exposed. "Did you two have fun last night?"
"Fun...?" Kurama said as he reminisced about being slammed into the head board repeatedly while being taken reverse cowgirl style. "...yes."
"Fun is an understatement." Inner said as she rounded the corner, just as bear as Kurama. "It was a night he won't soon forget." She ended her sentence with quick swat on Kurama's behind.
"Well, I'm glad to see you two had a memorable night." Sakura said as she started to eat as Naruto took his plate.
"Yup, and it's not going to happen again anytime soon." Inner smirked.
Sakura stopped dead in her tracks. "What do you mean?"
"Well unlike you and hubby over there, the two of us know about restraint. I can't stay in this form all the time and Mr. Fluffles's dick might break if we do this all the time. So I think I'll just pop back in whenever I feel like it for another ride." Inner winked at Kurama.
"Oh... Okay, well if that's how you want it." Sakura said.
"It is. I've gotten my fun and the wait will make the next one all the more worth it." Kurama said smirking at Inner.
"Alright then." Sakura said before returning to her meal.
Inner then kissed Kurama on the cheek before dissipating into smoke.
'And now I get to brag to you about how awesome Kurama was last night.' Inner smirked.
'Later, I'm eating.' Sakura replied.
Meanwhile Kurama also returned to within Naruto's seal.
"You know, Naruto. I think they are right about that." Sakura said as she downed her medication. "Normally I wouldn't agree, but they're right. We need to limit our sex a little bit."
"You think so?" Naruto asked a bit worried. He partially agreed with Sakura, but at the same time he didn't want to limit the amount of sex he was getting.
"As much as I don't want to, it will eventually stop being special to us. So, I'm thinking a couple times a week. Plus, with this new medication Dr. Crusher gave me, I'll be a lot less horny." Sakura added.
"Why are you taking that?" Naruto asked.
"Reasons." Sakura said simply as she returned to her breakfast.
Naruto shrugged and dug into his own breakfast. Everything was as delicious as ever.
'So you're not going to tell him?' Inner asked.
'Not at the moment. He knows about you and that's enough for now.' Sakura stated.
'Still, knowing about "that" seems more important than him knowing about me.'
'Maybe it is, but it's not as much of an issue now with this medication... I hope.'
'Well in the end, I got laid, and I think we can agree that's all that really matters.' Inner nodded to herself.
'If you said so...'
'I know so. Speaking of, how did you Two fair last night?' Inner asked as she imagined herself up a coffee shop table and some tea.
'You're really gonna have me do this, now?'
'Hey, I brought out the cafe table didn't I?'
Sakura rolled her eyes. 'Fine... But let me tell Naruto about this so he doesn't freak out.'
'That you're gossiping with yourself?'
"Naruto, I'm going to be having a conversation with Inner for a while." Sakura stated.
"Ok!" He called back, too preoccupied by his pancakes to care.
"Were you listening?" Sakura asked.
"About what?" He replied.
"Oh for fucks sake... I just said that I'm going to be having a conversation with Inner for a while." Sakura deadpanned.
"Oh that? Yeah go right ahead. I don't see why you need to tell me though."
"So you don't freak out when you see me staring off into space."
"Ooooohhh, right..." Naruto deadpanned.
"Idiot..." Sakura commented before going back into her mindscape. 'Alright, let's get this over with...'
As Sakura conversed with her Inner self, Naruto was also having a similar conversation with Kurama.
'...and right after I thought she was finished; she licks my asshole.' The demon fox bragged.
'Why the hell would she do that?'
'Damned if I know, it felt really good though. I don't know what kind of kinky girlfriend you've gotten yourself into, buts she's got some crazy thoughts in the back of her mind. And I didn't even tell you about what she did with the bottle of syrup.'
'I don't think I wanna know anymore... I'm scarred enough as it is.'
'It's better that way. Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise if Sakura ever tries it out.' Kurama smirked as he thought fondly of last night.
'Oh god help me...' Naruto thought in fear.
Back in Sakura's mindscape.
'EEEEW! Of all things, you licked his ass?!' Sakura exclaimed in disgust.
'Hey, I had him wipe. Plus, there is just something so fun about doing something so wrong, you know?'
Sakura just received a nod from Inner who had a shit eating grin.
'I don't know what's worse. That, or having him fuck you with a bottle of syrup and then soak you in it...'
'And then having him lick it up afterwards. A man's got to finish what's on his plate.' Inner added.
Sakura just shook her head. 'I'm kinky, but that's going waaaay too far.'
'Oh please, you keep forgetting that I'm you. I am as kinky as you get. I am your line and your limits. So I'll tell you what's going way too far.'
'I don't care what you say, I'm not about to do any of that... Well... The part about the whipped cream sounded kinda fun.'
'Fine. I'll just write that down in the side of your head next to all the other things you said you'd never do.' Inner said as she leaned over to the nearest wall with a felt tip marker.
'Hmmm...should I place it next to be friends with Ino again...or ever let Sasuke go...or date Naruto...or fuck Naruto...or make love to Naruto...'
'Oh zip it...'
'Teehee, but yeah, definitely tryout the whipped cream. Much easier to clean up than the syrup. I found that out for you beforehand, you're welcome.'
'I wasn't going to try it anyway. Naruto doesn't really have much of a sweet tooth.'
'Use ramen then.'
Sakura had pondered that one. Knowing how much Naruto loves ramen, that would be a very interesting idea.
'That's not a bad idea, honestly.'
'Just be sure to make him work for that one.'
'Well, duh.'
While Sakura was trading back and forth with her Inner self on what to make Naruto do, Naruto had just finished up his breakfast. 'I'm bored.'
That was when he noticed Sakura getting out of bed to grab a fresh set of clothes.
"I'm gonna shower. You joining me?" Sakura asked as her bare ass swished as she walked to the bathroom.
She turned around and saw that somehow, Naruto had managed to run in front of her and was already stripped down to his birthday suit.
"And no, before you ask, no quickies this time." Sakura stated firmly.
"Oh come on! I'm already at half mast, what am I supposed to do about this?" He then gestured towards his manhood trying to say hello.
"What did we just talk about limiting our sex? If we keep going at it like we have been, it will be boring to us." Sakura reminded him.
"Oh come on, pleeeeeeeease?" He begged, his hands clapped together in prayer.
Sakura slowly rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "...Fine... But after today, you're cut off for a few days. Understood?"
"Yatta!" He shouted, pumping his fist into the air.
"Well? Do you understand?"
"I do I do. Last handy for a few days, got it." He said excitedly.
"Alright then." Sakura said as she set hers and Naruto's clothes on the bathroom sink and made her way into the shower stall, making sure that every step she took was agonizingly slow for Naruto.
Unfortunately, and Naruto still regretted it even after nearly a week of using it, the sonic shower wasn't quite as he'd imagined it. There was absolutely no water involved. So when Sakura turned the handles in the shower, the only thing that came out of the nozzle was sonic vibrations. They were supposed to be more effective than traditional soap and water, but personally, Naruto believed their fatal flaw was that they removed one of the greatest components of shower sex. The water cascading down his lover's every curve. Not that it wasn't still a treat to see Sakura standing naked and rubbing her every inch...just...what was he think about?
"Why are you just standing there...?" Sakura said in a sultry tone.
"Just taking in the view." He said dumbly.
"Well, taking in the view is one thing. Come on in, will ya?"
"Yes, Ma'am." He said as he gleefully stepped into the shower.
"Wash my back would you?" Sakura asked.
Naruto did just that as he messaged Sakura's back and shoulders with a special type of cleansing powder that works in the sonic vibrations.
'Mmmm, that feels good.' Sakura thought. All her sweat and kinks just melting away.
"So Naruto, what do you want to do today?" She asked.
"I dunno. What would you suggest?" He replied.
"I don't know, what's some place we haven't visited yet?"
"Well, I kinda wanted to check out the battle bridge."
"The battle bridge? Nah, something else." Sakura shut him down.
Naruto was taken back. 'So this is what it's like to be denied? It's frustrating. Yet somehow I missed this.'
"Ok, so what do you want to do?"
"Actually I want to visit the medical science lab."
"Ok? Maybe we can check out the battle bridge afterwards."
"I suppose. And the arboretum."
"The arboretum? What's that again?"
"It's a Hydroponic, or a botanical garden, really."
"A garden huh? I'd actually like to go and see that. We should do it first." Naruto suggested as began massaging Sakura's lower back.
"OH... Yes, right there... That spot is tender..." Sakura moaned as Naruto found a tense knot in her back. "Yea I suppose we could."
"So it's a date then." Naruto smiled at Sakura's cute reactions to his touch.
"Sounds good to me..." Sakura grunted. The she felt a crack in her back from Naruto's message and immediately felt relief. "Aaaaahhh... That's much better."
"You like that, Sakura-chan?" Naruto smirked.
"That's been a tender spot for a while now..."
"Glad I could help." Naruto whispered into her ear, sending shivers down her spine and giving Sakura some ideas.
"That reminds me..." She said as reached behind her to grasp Naruto's member firmly with her slender hands.
Sakura bent over and started stroking Naruto's member. "Get your enjoyment out of this while you can. It's the only bit of action we're seeing for a while."
"Ooooohhh, ummmm..." He said, reveling in Sakura's magic touch.
"You know... You never ate me out last night. So, you owe me big buster." Sakura smirked as she slowed her strokes.
"Oh god...I'll do whatever you want. Just don't stop..." He begged, his breath hitched. The pressure growing within him with each tug. So much that he didn't even realize that he was humping into Sakura's hand.
"You fucking better." Sakura said as she started stroking faster.
Naruto started gasping, he felt soooo good and Sakura's hands felt so nice. His breathing grew heavier and Sakura felt his dick pulse in her hands. She knew he would be cumming soon.
Wanting to get started with their day, Sakura traced her free hand down Naruto's shaft and cupped his balls. Even after all the love making they had been having ever since getting together, his sack always managed to refill itself to be nice and plump. Ready for action at a moment's notice.
Finally, the sensations were too much and Naruto let loose his load. Sakura skillfully dodged out of the way, even at point blank range, thanks to her master's training.
"Damn... Warn a girl next time." Sakura said.
Naruto didn't answer as he had yet to catch his breath. His penis grew flaccid in Sakura's hand.
'Sage of Six Paths...' He thought.
"What the fuck, Naruto? Just one go and you're soft already?" Sakura said with an irritated tone.
"I ah...don't know what happened? This never happens to me." Naruto blushed. Sakura just rolled her eyes. At least this happened after they decided to go on a sex break.
"Come on, let's get cleaned up and get going on our date." Sakura said as she finished washing her hands that were once soaked in precum.
"But... You didn't get off." Naruto pointed out.
"True, but you can just make it up to me later." Sakura replied.
"I'd rather make it up now. I see how wet you are and I feel bad that I was the only one who got off."
"Naruto it's fine. For us girls it's all about the journey, not the destination." She replied trying to placate him.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive, now put a nice shirt on as I watch you." She smirked.
"Um... okay..." Naruto said as he dug out a shirt from his dresser. A simple black shirt like he had worn back in the Leaf.
"No no no, I meant a nice shirt." Sakura said as she pulled out a thin green sweater that matched her eyes.
"Uh... I don't know if I brought any."
"Computer, create a dark blue suit jacket for Ensign Naruto. With matching pants." Sakura commanded.
The matter replicator in their bedroom hummed to life and said articles of clothing appeared.
"A suit? But, I hate suits..." Naruto pouted.
"Would you wear them for me?" Sakura asked, giving him her best puppy dog eyes.
Naruto sighed. "Yes... I'd do anything for you and you know that."
"And I had the computer create those sexy undergarments you love so much, didn't I?" She pressed.
"Wait, you did? I thought you always had them."
"Naruto, why in the world would I bring sexy undergarments on a mission?"
"Point taken..."
"Good. Now shut up and put on this stylish outfit I picked out for you." Sakura gave an evil smile as she handed Naruto his casual suit.
"Uuhhh... S-sure..." Naruto stammered in fear.
Sakura patted him on the chest and skipped off to go put on the rest of her outfit.
'This woman is going to be the death of me...' Naruto thought in fear.
'Quiet, she can hear your thoughts.' Kurama warned as Sakura turned around to stare at Naruto.
'H-how?!'
'I don't know; I was just joking.'
'You dick...' Naruto grumbled as he started putting on his suit.
'Hey, if she does end up being your death, you'll die happy, won't you?' Kurama added.
Naruto briefly looked over at Sakura who was putting on a pair of black nylon stockings.
'Oh definitely...' Naruto agreed.
Unbeknownst to either males, Sakura had not actually heard any of Naruto's thoughts, but her woman's intuition told her that Naruto was thinking something stupid and needed to be threatened. Just in case.
"Just a reminder, Naruto. Do anything stupid and I'll make your dry spell longer." Sakura said sternly.
Naruto gulped and nodded furiously. Much to Sakura's pleasure.
Naruto then finished putting on his form fitting jacket and slacks. Thanks to the computer it was tailor made and fit him perfectly. It was actually kind of comfortable.
"Wow, now that looks really good on you." Sakura commented.
"You think so?" Naruto asked as he twisted around so that Sakura could get a good look at his back.
"Oh, definitely." Sakura said as she adjusted her skirt. "How about me?" Sakura asked. She was dressed in a simple light green sweater, knee length skirt, black stockings that went up beyond her skirt, and to top it all off she wore her hair in a short ponytail as she had during medical emergencies.
She looked a sophisticated kind of gorgeous: a girl-next-door kind of look.
"W-well, are you just going to stare or what?" Sakura said, slightly nervous.
"You look great. No, amazing..." Naruto replied.
Sakura blushed and turned away in attempt to hide it in vain. "Oh... Come on, it's not that great."
"I beg to differ." He objected.
"Not nearly as good as yours... Maybe I should change it up..."
"No way! I love seeing this side of you, Sakura-chan." Naruto said quickly.
Sakura smiled. "Thank you. But you love seeing me no matter what I wear, or less than this even."
"Very true, but come on. We're still going to a green house, right?"
"True..." Sakura agreed. "Can't look all dolled up for just a simple trip to the hydroponics."
"So let's just go then. I actually do want to go see the different plants they have." Naruto said, starting to get impatient.
"Alright. Keep your pants on... For now, anyway." Sakura smirked.
Naruto smirked as the Tenchi duo left their quarters and entered the elevator hand in hand.
"Arboretum." Sakura commanded and the elevator began taking them to Deck 17.
"So Inner told me about some wild ideas she had last night." Sakura started, much to Naruto's fear. "Don't worry. I don't plan on doing 90% of what she told me. I assume Kurama told you the same things."
"More or less. Mostly he just told me how much of a Super Freak your inner self is, and that he'll be satisfied for a loooong time to come." Naruto said.
"What all did he say? I mean, Inner has told me a great deal... Much to my mental scarring."
"Nothing I'd repeat to you while you're dressed as sophisticated as that." Naruto said vaguely.
"Mmm... Fair enough." Sakura mused.
The doors opened to the ship's greenhouse and both Sakura and Naruto gasped.
"Woah, cool!" Sakura said in excitement.
"You said it, Sakura-chan." Naruto exclaimed.
Everywhere they looked was various pillars of vine fresh fruits and vegetables as well as glass cases that ran along the walls, spices and herbs. It was absolutely amazing to see the kind of plants that would grow on Element, but also different ones as well.
Naruto's eyes focused on the floor, where could be found row upon row of vibrantly beautiful flowers were in full bloom.
"This is gorgeous, just look at all of them." He said in awe.
"Look! Some of these flowers are the ones I use to make medicine!" Sakura exclaimed in joy. "The hypos are nice, but there is no substitute for home grown cures."
Then she got an eye full of all of the herbs that were present. "Holy shit... I could make home remedies forever..."
"You're not going to be making more of your soldier pills are you?" Naruto shuddered.
"No, I don't think I'm doing that again after the last time."
"Oh sweet baby Sage, thank you." He whispered to the heavens.
"I heard that. But you're right, they were nasty. If I make them again, they are going to be nutritious, but have better flavor."
"Or just start with them being edible..." Naruto said in a hushed tone.
"Oh, I didn't know we had visitors!" A voice near them called. It was a female with fairly long red hair, wearing a blue uniform. "Ensign Samantha McClain." She introduced. "But, civilians are not allowed here."
"Why not?" Naruto wondered aloud.
"Well, while we do grow food here, this is also a secured lab." She clarified.
"I'm Ensign Sakura Haruno and this is Ensign Naruto Uzumaki. We're new to the ship." Sakura explained.
"Oh that's right! You're the captain's new bodyguards." Sam deduced.
"That's right, although come to think of it we haven't been doing much body guarding since we got here." Naruto said.
"This is only our third day, Naruto." Sakura deadpanned.
"For reals?!" Naruto shouted.
"Yes. It was only yesterday that we got together after the whole Romulan fiasco. Actually, I'm wrong. It's been four." Sakura corrected herself.
"Holy smokes. I swear to god it has felt like months." Naruto said.
"Well, it hasn't"
"Crazy..." Naruto muttered.
"Ahem..." Sam cleared her throat in hopes to get the attention of the two ninja's.
"Oh I'm sorry! Didn't mean to leave you out." Sakura said in embarrassment.
"It's fine. Would you two like to take the tour?" Sam offered.
"We'd love to." Sakura replied as she took Naruto's hand, which he wasn't the least bit hesitant to give her.
"Well, this is the main growth chamber, were we grow various fruits and vegetables from both Earth and many over worlds. We also carry various spices and herbs that we mainly use for trade to other worlds. Some of the herbs we have her have various medicinal purposes where the worlds we trade them to make for any ailment they may have." Sam explained.
"Fascinating. Would it be possible for me to take some plants out of here to create my world's remedies?" Sakura asked, as she walked hand in hand with Naruto trailing a bit behind her to appreciate the flowers.
"I'd have to have it cleared with Dr. Crusher and Captain Picard first." Sam replied.
"Seems a pain, but I'll be sure to do just that."
"It is, but rules are rules." Sam said offhandedly.
"True..." Sakura replied.
"What about having some house plants?" Naruto asked.
"You can choose any of the plants we have here, so long as they are not ones we keep for trading." Sam said. "Just let me know what you're taking so I can long them."
"Aloe Vera?" Sakura asked.
"You're in luck. We have a surplus of that plant in stock." Same said gleefully.
"What about a yellow snout julip?" Naruto asked.
"That I don't know if we have. HEY THOMAS!" Sam called out.
"YEAH?!" He called back.
"DO WE HAVE YELLOW SNOUT JULIP HERE?!"
"NEVER HEARD OF IT!"
"Damn. It was one of my favorite flowers back in my window sill garden back home." Naruto snapped his fingers.
"We do have Venus Flytraps and Bonzai if you want some of them."
"Those would still be nice. Plus, some lavender? It would certainly make the place smell nicer and I'm certainly Sakura-chan would appreciate that." Naruto joked.
"Yup, we have that." Sam then pointed to an area. "Over there is what you want."
"Nice. What about Birds of Paradise?" Naruto asked, trying for another difficult one.
"I'm afraid that's another one we don't have." Came a male voice. Approaching them was an older man with brown and grey hair and noticeably visible age lines. "Lieutenant Commander Thomas Gabriel." He introduced.
"Ensign Naruto Uzumaki and Ensign Sakura Haruno." Naruto introduced them both and shook Thomas's hand, as did Sakura.
"A pleasure to meet you Mr. Gabriel." Sakura greeted politely.
"Likewise, but please, call me Tom. Now as I was saying, Birds of Paradise hasn't been around in over a century. A blight diseased the plants and killed them off on Earth." Tom explained.
"You're kidding me. That's such a shame. I always loved their unique shape. It just looked so freaking cool." Naruto replied.
"I agree with you. I would love to find a living plant." Tom said fondly.
"Well, we have them on Element and they're everywhere." Sakura said.
"Ah, I was going to say that." Naruto pouted. "But yeah, I've got my own bush of them on the roof of my apartment."
"You're kidding me..." Tom breathed out in shock.
"He's not. I've seen them in my friend Ino's family's flower shop." Sakura said.
"This is extraordinary! We have got to make our way there to repopulate the species!" Tom exclaimed.
"Well we kind of were just there, so I doubt the Captain will have us swing by again for the sake of a plant." Naruto explained sadly.
"Damn..." Tom cursed.
"It's alright. It will still be there for many years to come I'm sure." Sakura assured.
"I feel you though, Tom. I'd be devastated if I came back home after five years and found the Birds of Paradise to be extinct." Naruto said.
"Just like the whales in the 23rd century. A lot of credit to Captain Kirk for finding a way to repopulate the species." Tom said.
"Really, how'd he do that?" Naruto asked.
"Dr. Crusher explained something about that yesterday. He went back in time to bring back a pair of whales to fend off an alien probe that was disrupting all electronic device in its range." Sakura explained.
"Correct. So, thanks to him, the humpback whale is slowly making a comeback." Tom confirmed.
"That...sounds incredibly cool." Naruto said in awe, his eyes sparkling like diamonds.
"Really? That sounds a little ridiculous to me." Sakura deadpanned.
"How so?" Tom asked.
"Oh come on: going back in time to revive an extinct species, because they and only they could somehow defend against an advanced alien probe. Meanwhile sitting on this marvel of modern science." Sakura explained like it was obvious. She might have lived her whole life in a world where people could walk on water and walls, breath fire, summon talking animals, control and bind others with shadows, teleport, and imprison demons the size of mountains into infants; but even she had a limit to how much ridiculousness she could be expected to take.
"You have to understand; this was over a hundred years ago. The probe was emitting a frequency that is only discernable to whales, more specifically the humpback whale. To us, it was dismissible high pitched noise, but if heard under water, it matched the calls of humpback whales and that is what it was trying to communicate with. Since the human race overhunted the whales to extinction, the probe constantly replayed its message until it was heard. Because of that, that frequency it emitted was enough to disable any ship or station in its range. Even today, with a ship as advanced as the Enterprise, it still wouldn't be able to withstand an EMP like that." Tom explained.
"So then what did the whales do to the probe after Kirk and his crew brought them back?"
"Simple; they responded to the message the probe had by using their own calls. What was said, we don't know. But whatever the whales did say, it was enough to drive the probe away."
"They never figured out who sent the probe or who built it? The whales just talked to the probes and they went away?" Sakura asked skeptically.
"The probe was of ancient origins. About 20 years ago, we were finally able to track down the probe back to its origins, only to learn that its species had been wiped out when their systems star went supernova." Tom explained.
"I see..." Sakura said, her skepticism now turning into curiosity. "And did you learn why the probes only responded to a whale's call? Surely they weren't made by an advanced species of whale." Sakura joked.
"To this day, we're still not sure. There wasn't much surviving of their race, save for some remains. They seemed to be humanoid, but that's all we could gather. We're still investigating it."
"Uh huh..." Sakura said, somewhat satisfied, yet she felt that the explanation had raised more questions than it answered.
"There is a theory that they might be a form of Xindi Aquatics that had actually sent the probe to the rest of their race, but mistakenly went to Earth." Sam added.
"And they spoke whale?" Naruto asked.
"They are of a water based species whose planet is made entirely of water. They do closely resemble that of some aquatic species on Earth." Tom included.
"So that just proves my initial assumption..." Sakura said with her hand on her chin.
"Perhaps, but when we confronted the Xindi Aquatics, they tried hard to deny it." Sam added.
"They may have sent it as an attack, but we have no proof of that. But as the past would have it, they were once our enemies. Not just the Aquatics, but the Xindi as a whole." Tom added.
"Wait, you didn't let me finish..." Sakura said in a tone that somehow reminded everyone of her boyfriend.
"My apologies." Tom said as he motioned for Sakura to continue.
"I was going to say that it proved my initial assumption. That this story was fishy..."
Sakura smirked like she just told the best joke in the world.
Tom wasn't very amused. "...Very amusing..." He deadpanned.
Naruto patted Sakura on the shoulder. "Maybe you should leave the bad puns to me, Sweetie."
Sakura blushed and held her head in shame.
"So about those potted plants we wanted to take home. Are there any others you'd like, my Cherry Blossom?" Naruto asked, trying to cheer his girlfriend up.
"Any you could turn into your herb remedies?" He whispered in her ear. He knew hearing about any kind of medicine should perk her up.
Sure enough, her eyes lit up and her embarrassment was quickly forgotten.
"Oh right. Yes, I would like to look through the herbs you have that I could take." Sakura beamed.
"Well, normally we don't allow that, but sure. Take what you want. We can grow more." Tom said.
Sakura then skipped down the rows like a kid in a candy store. Checking every plant and medicinal herb that caught her eye, inspecting their leaves and stems to find the healthiest plants, and pointing out which ones for Naruto to pick up for her. It was like she was Ino on a shopping spree and Naruto was Sai, dragged along as a pack mule. Thank God for his Shadow Clones and God bless the 2nd Hokage for inventing the Shadow Clone jutsu.
"Yes! Alright they have it!" Sakura exclaimed as she looked upon one of the herbs.
"Have what? What is it Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked while he and two other clones were up to their necks carrying plants.
Sakura held up a deep green rose. "This is the jaded rose. This is hard to find, even on our world. It is a crucial ingredient for chakra pills."
"No way, seriously?" Naruto exclaimed. What little he knew about chakra pills, he knew that they were extremely rare and just as expensive. While normal soldier pills were great for revitalizing your stamina and a bit of your chakra. Chakra pills were another thing all together. They only increased your chakra, and at an alarming rate. Naruto had heard stories about how his friend Choji had used them to beat that one fat bastard on the Sound Four way waaaay back in the day when they were trying to save Sasuke. They increased his chakra count my 100 fold if the rumors were to be believed. And Choji was never one to oversell his accomplishments as far as Naruto knew.
"Yes, seriously! I can't believe they have it here..." Sakura said in shock.
"Ah excuse me, but what's so great about the jade rose? Sure it looks pretty, but we've never been able figure out another use for it." Tom interjected.
"Like I said, it's a crucial ingredient in making chakra pills. Which work a lot like what you'd think of as food and energy pills, but instead of speeding up your metabolism, they speed up your chakra network. Allowing for average ninjas to perform amazing feats thanks to having more chakra than they would usually possess."
"And Chakra is what exactly?" Tom asked.
"The stuff we use to make all these cool techniques." Naruto pointed at his Shadow Clones as an example.
"Oh..." Tom said simply.
"It has medical uses on it as well, according to Dr. Crusher." Sam interjected.
"We got your medical uses right here." Naruto said as he directed everyone's attention towards Sakura who waved with her mystic palm technique.
"Interesting." Tom commented. "Hey... Uh... D-do you think you could help me with my left shoulder? It's been bothering me for a few weeks now. Old war injury."
"Sure no problem. Just take off your shirt to make it easier." Sakura said going in full doctor mode.
Tom obliged and removed his uniform jacket and his undershirt. What Sakura saw stunned her. All over his torso was various and old battle scars from what looked like he had gone through a meat grinder.
"So uh...which one was it again?" She asked.
"My left shoulder." He said. Sakura looked at his shoulder in question and noticed that it was once deformed.
"What happened?" Sakura asked.
"About 30 years ago, I was surrounded by Klingon's. Their blades may look odd, but they are sharp as hell. I took the brunt of a Klingon Bat'Leth to my shoulder and it nearly cut it off." Tom explained briefly.
"You must have been very brave." Sakura said as she warmed up her jutsu. A fairly obvious question, but one that the nurses back home loved to ask. You get a cute nurse or doctor calling you brave and it helps the male patients relax.
"Heh... No, I was stupid. I was young an arrogant and picked a fight with a group of Klingons that tried to flank my position, thinking I could take all of them on..."
"Sounds like some idiot I know." Sakura said.
"Right... I keep these scars as a reminder of when I nearly lost my life from being stupid."
"Too bad said idiot doesn't scar. Maybe the reminders would have him be more careful..." Sakura said absent-mindedly.
"Well, he's young. He still has time to learn." Tom stated.
"In our line of work, that might be less time than you'd think." Sakura said as she continued to massage her mystic palm technique into Tom's shoulder.
"Maybe..." Tom said.
After a few minutes, Sakura was finally done untangling the 30-year-old knot in Tom's back.
"Is that better?" Sakura asked.
Tom moved his arm around checking the full motion of his shoulder. Needless to say, he was beyond impressed.
"Batter than I had been in a long time honestly. Hasn't felt this good since before the injury." Tom said happily.
"You should teach all of our medical staff that." Sam said. "Imagine the good we could do."
"I am working on doing just that with Dr. Crusher, but since no one else knows how to use chakra I've basically been teaching her everything from the ground up." Sakura replied.
"All it takes is just one doctor to convince Starfleet that we have the potential to create a fleet of medical ships capable of tending to the needs of sick colonies." Tom said. "First it's one, then hundreds, then eventually, we could be one of the most advanced medical fleets in the galaxy."
"That would be something amazing you could do." Naruto said to Sakura. They both knew about how Tsunade had once all but founded the medical corps in Konoha after the 2nd Shinobi World War. And when she returned to the Leaf as the 5th Hokage she overhauled it again and eventually spread it amongst the Shinobi Alliance after the 4th War. Now Sakura could very well be on her way to spreading medical jutsu throughout the galaxy.
"Yeah... Wow. Imagine me, the one who could bring about a galaxy wide advance in medicine..." Sakura mused as she thought of the possibilities.
"If anyone could do it, I'd be you." Naruto said. Sure he was pouring in the flattery to score points with her, but he meant every word of it.
"You really think so?" Sakura asked as she turned to face Naruto, her eyes glittering off the overhead lights like polished diamonds.
"I know so." He said as his hair glowing like sunshine under the same lights.
Naruto then cupped Sakura's cheek, to which he leaned into.
"You've always had the ability to do great things, Sakura-chan. Now you get to prove it."
Sakura smiled. "Thank you, Naruto..."
"Ahem..." Tom coughed, to which Sam slapped him for interrupting such a romantic moment.
Sakura and Naruto didn't even notice Tom and continued to stare into each other's eyes as their faces grew closer to one another.
They could feel their breath on one another's lips. Smell their breakfast as well as each other's unique scent. It was so strangely perfect that Sakura closed her eyes in anticipation, awaiting Naruto to steal her lips.
"I love you..." Sakura whispered out, just before Naruto claimed her lips into a deep, passionate kiss.
Sam was welling up with joy at the sight of such a romantic moment. Tom cracked a smile. Oh how it reminded him of his younger days.
After one of the best minutes of Sakura and Naruto's life, Naruto finally broke the kiss. "I love you too."
Sakura gave a soft smile and rested her head into his chest, soothed by the melodic rhythm of his heartbeat.
While Naruto leaned his head against the crown of her head, inhaling her scent. The two fit together like a puzzle piece.
"Sam..." Tom whispered to the Ensign. "How about you put on some soft music for these two."
"Commander?" Sam whispered back in surprise.
"You're only young once, Ensign." He smirked.
Sam nodded and went over to a nearby computer panel and played some slow, soft dance music, loud enough to hear, but quiet enough to set the mood.
The two Shinobi overheard what the two onlookers were doing, but neither of them could break away from each other to care.
A soft melody began to play, something instrumental. The Tenchi duo began to sway back and forth to the music. Their bodies taken over by the whims of the stringed instruments. They made no exaggerated movements nor did they open their eyes. It was just the two of them now. Their noses filled with the scent of a garden of Eden, classical music filling their ears, and the warmth of their oldest friend and lover coiled in each other's embrace.
Sage knows how much time later, the two finally broke apart. They collected their flowers from Tom and Sam and promised to come visit them sometime in the future. They made their way back to their room and set up plants on every surface they weren't using. Within the hour, their quarts looked less like a fancy hotel and more like a home.
"That looks a lot better, don't you think?" Sakura asked
"Definitely, we finally get some damn color in this room. Just don't tell any of the guys that I said that." Naruto replied and he rearranged the begonias.
"Wow, never pegged you for a room décor perfectionist." Sakura teased.
"Well truth be told I've always had a thing for flowers." Naruto admitted.
"Really? Since when?" Sakura asked.
"Since I was back in the academy. The Third Hokage was getting sick of all my pranks so he thought that giving me a mundane hobby like flower watering would keep me occupied. Didn't work, but I did pick up watering plants as a sort of side hobby to pulling pranks."
"Really? I should have Ino get you a job when we get back home." Sakura joked.
"Nah, I think I'll be too busy spending all that gold the Captain promised us." Naruto smirked, the thought off all that money making him giddy.
Sakura meanwhile was being to remember something at the mention of her best friend.
'Ino...flowers...married...SAI!'
"Naruto, I just remembered something! Sai's message. We haven't heard back from him."
"Oh shit, you're right! I forgot about that."
"Me too. With all the excitement going on I hadn't even thought about it." Sakura added.
"Give me a moment." Naruto then bit his thumb and flew through a set of hand signs before slamming his hand on the floor.
A cloud of smoke appeared and just as quickly vanished, leaving behind the elder toad sage Fukasaku.
"AND YOU CAN KEEP IT UP THERE!" He shouted at someone who wasn't there.
"Um... Fukasaku? Who are you yelling at?" Sakura asked.
"What?" He said, finally realizing what had happened. "Oh sorry, you caught me in the middle of a little marital dispute."
"Little?" Sakura asked. 'God, I hope Naruto and I don't turn out like that in 70 years.' She thought.
'Day 4 and you're already thinking 70 years down the line?' Inner teased.
'Hush.'
"Yes little, Ms. Haruno. Now is there something you needed?" He asked.
"Um... Yea we wanted to know about Sai's response." Sakura said.
"Oh that, yes I delivered the message. Your friend Sai was understanding of course. Kinda hard to get a read on his reaction though, he's an odd one." Fukasaku muttered the last part to himself.
"Yea, no kidding." Sakura muttered.
"What did he say exactly though?" Naruto asked, a little eager.
"Ah yes, he said, if I'm remembering this right, "tell Hag and Dickless if they think Ino or myself would have our wedding without the Maid of Honor and Best Man, then I would have to start calling them Baka and Brainless.""
Tick marks formed on the both of their heads.
"He said he would propose to Ino as scheduled and insist that they wait for your return. Also that he would pass on "Hag's" congratulations." Fukasaku continued.
"I swear to god; I'm going to shove a phaser in his ass..." Sakura grumbled.
"He also said that he will miss both of your company and wishes you both well and for your safe return home." Fukasaku finished.
Sakura's mood lightened up and turned to one of happiness and sadness. "With all of his quirks, we'll miss him too."
"Yeah, tell that snow white son of a bitch we'll be missing him and we can't wait to be a part of his wedding." Naruto said.
"I'll be sure to let him know."
"Thanks Old Man Toad, this'll probably be the last time we contact you for a while. We've can't keep up communication like this while on a mission. So just tell everyone to take care and we'll be back in 5 years." Naruto said, his eyes getting a little wispy.
"About that... That Slug princess said something about using secure channel 44819.7. I'm not quite sure what that means, but I'm sure you two will figure it out."
"44819.7? Doesn't ring a bell, but we'll look into it." Sakura replied.
"Very good. Well, since I'm here, it's been a while since I've had some Ro'Kegh blood pie. Where is the mess hall?" Fukasaku asked.
"Well, there technically isn't one." Sakura said.
"No mess hall? How do you eat?" Fukasaku exclaimed.
"Simple." Sakura said briefly before walking over to the replicator. "Just tell the computer what you want. It's a food replicator."
"You're kidding me, those things actually caught on?" Fukasaku exclaimed.
He leapt over towards the replicator. "Ro'Kegh blood pie."
The replicator hummed and in an instant, a Klingon pie appeared piping hot as if out of the oven.
"Ho ho! They had these on Kirk's Enterprise, but they weren't the greatest pieces of technology." Fukasaku said in amazement.
This gave the old toad an idea to try out. "Maggot pie." He requested.
"Gross..." Sakura said in disgust.
"Hey, don't knock it till you try it." Fukasaku said.
"Knock it." Naruto mouthed to Sakura. His memories of the weeks spent eating bugs coming back to him much to his horror.
The pie in question appeared, making the previous one disappear.
"Looks half as good as Ma's homemade maggot pie." Fukasaku smiled as he took a scoop with the provided fork.
Sakura started to gag. "Ugh... Oh my god I'm going to be sick..." Sakura said as she quickly walked out of the room. She had eaten things that most people would vomit at the sight of, but she still couldn't get over the sight of bugs.
Fukasaku took a bite and his face lit up.
"Delicious, Naruto-boy would you like some?" The Toad Sage offered to his fellow Toad Sage.
"I'm good, thanks..." Naruto replied, trying to be polite to his master.
"What about you, Ms. Haruno?" Fukasaku offered, holding up of fork full of maggots still fresh and squirming.
Before she could loudly voice her rejection, the klaxon alarm blared.
"All hands report to your stations, I repeat, all hands report to your stations!" The audio system spoke.
"Looks like that's your cue." Fukasaku said.
"Well, we're technically still off duty, but-"
"Bridge to Ensign's Haruno and Uzumaki. Report to the bridge immediately." Picard sounded over their rooms com system.
"Well never fucking mind then." Naruto deadpanned.
"Summon me back soon. It's been a while since I was on a Starfleet ship. Take care, and be safe." Fukasaku said before disappearing with both the blood pie and the maggot pie in his hands.
The Tenchi duo then sprinted into their rooms and quickly changed into their Star Fleet uniforms and then sprinted back out the door towards their next daily adventure.
Author's Note from samuraipanda85 and cmartinHFD: Hey there loyal readers, we've got some excellent news. So great that we just had to bust out this off canon omake to let you know. Enjoy.
The two Ensigns rushed onto the bridge where Captain Picard and the rest were looking a mysterious white screen with black text the Tenchi duo couldn't make out.
"Sir, Ensigns Naruto Uzumaki and Ensign Sakura Haruno reporting for duty." Naruto and Sakura saluted.
"At ease Ensigns, for we have some excellent news." Picard stated with the largest grin on his face either of them had ever seen.
"Sir?" Sakura asked. She had an idea of what he was talking about, but she couldn't be certain.
"We have just received confirmation at 1114 hours that cmartinHFD and samuraipanda85 have received their 100th follower for our story. Mission accomplished!" Picard said as he pressed the intercom button on his chair.
"Attention all hands, stand ready. Our fanfiction has achieved 100 followers. Active protocol P-R-T."
"No way, we actually did it." Naruto muttered to himself in disbelief. Sakura took advantage of his absentmindedness to wrap him up in a big hug and plant a huge kiss on the cheek. "We did it!" She cheered. Naruto took a moment to realize that he was being hugged and quickly returned it to Sakura with gusto.
"Sir, Romulan Warbird and Klingon Negh'Var class ships bearing 1 mark 204 on an intercept course. They are hailing." Worf announced.
"On screen." Picard ordered.
"Captain Picard... Tomolak and myself have come to join your festivities. It took us a while to reach this sector of space." Gowron greeted.
"Of course. The more the merrier as we say. Beam over when ready, we have a lot more party guests to pick up. Picard out."
"Sir?" Sakura asked.
"We're over Element right now. So your friends can come aboard for the time being." Picard clarified.
"But, isn't that going against the story?" Naruto asked.
"Not at all, since this isn't part of the official timeline to this fiction." Picard said.
Picard then tapped his intercom again. "Guinine, Champagne and Blood wine for everyone! We reached our 100th follower."
"Aye aye, sir. Oh and Lt Worf? Called it." Guinine radioed back.
"Damn. I was certain that Legacy of Heroes was going to reach 100 followers first." Worf cursed.
"Well, we can't always get what we want. Speaking of, who don't we time warp to pick up Gohan and Videl? I'm sure they would like to have a party." Sakura said.
"Isn't she still pregnant?" Naruto asked.
"Yea, but we have synthahol so it shouldn't affect her any." Sakura clarified.
"We're already here!" Videl cried out as she and Gohan entered the bridge with all their friends from Legacy of Heroes.
"Well I'll be damned... Even our younger selves, that's interesting." Sakura commented.
"Don't forget us!" Tsunade said as herself and all of the Konoha 12 came through the other turbo lift.
"You guys made it!" Naruto cheered. "But where is Harry? He said he'd be coming soon." Naruto pouted as he looked for his favorite wizard.
"Oh he's coming, don't you worry. You know how wizards are." Tsunade replied.
"Yeah, always never late always on time crap." Kurama laughed.
"Who cares? LET'S PARTY!" Inner Sakura shouted with glee.
"And so the fanfiction characters partied all day and night for about 3 days. During which couples danced with one another, people young and old got stupid drunk, and everyone got laid. The end." Samuraipanda85 finished as he closed the picture book against the backdrop of a roaring fireplace with a bottle of bourbon on the table, a monocle in his eye and a top hat on his head.
cmartinHFD: Thank you everyone who has contributed to this story in some form or another. Though, we did wish that Legacy of Heroes would have gotten 100 followers some time ago, we're just happy that you like this story as much as we do.
samuraipanda85: To show our appreciation, we're gonna try our very best to get new chapters of Naruto and Sakura's Five Year Mission out every week until we run out of pre-written chapters to give you. Which should open up our schedule to finally FINALLY complete the Hell arc in Legacy of Heroes. So look forward to that.
Until then, please keep reading and reviewing. Help us hit our next few milestones of 100 favorites, 100 reviews, and 200 follows. Catch you next time.