As promised, here's chapter 69 just in time. I have no idea how we're managing a chapter a week again but I'll do my best to keep it up. Of course, as mentioned in the 2/21 update on Sealkeeper-dot-Eyazahrid-dot-Net I may be having some trouble with my schedule for the next week or so.
For more detail, head on over to the blog.
While I seem to have gotten back on track with weekly chapters lately, I do post updates on the blog about once every three days. If you want to be kept in the loop I'd recommend checking it out. To make things easier, I've also started using Twitter [ at Eyazahrid] to announce chapter progress and new posts on the blog.
If you don't feel like reading the blog, the tweets give a basic summary of the update so you still get to know what's going on without my commentary.
We'll try to wrap this up here to keep this from going too long, that's what I have the blog set up for.
Last I heard from ncpfan he was still busy so we'll wish him the best of luck in getting everything on his to-do list sorted out and will be here to welcome him back when he has more free time.
Let's get on with the chapter.
He remembered Naruto from back at the academy- how could he not?- and he had, of course, heard the rumors, but Shikamaru had not expected to be greeted by the face of a snarling wolf when he knocked on Gennin Naruto's door at O'dark-thirty with an emergency mission order in his hands.
Unless they were playing a less than friendly visit upon the young man, it seemed those rumors were accurate.
The wolf continued to stare at him for several moments, completely silent, before tilting their head in a way that seemed questioning. He'd have to compare it to a curious dog.
Accurate, almost unnervingly so.
"Erm, is Gennin Naruto available?" he really hoped he hadn't interrupted a hostile visit of the Wolves. His father had been very carefully collecting as much information on them for the express purpose of avoiding them as much as they possibly could. Shikamaru agreed that it would be var too troublesome to be involved in anything the Wolves were sticking their paws in.
The Wolf stared at him a moment more before asking a simple "Why?"
"It's about a mission." He thought that would be enough but judging by the Wolf's return to silence it had not. He held up the papers that held the mission details. "It's from the Hokage."
While he couldn't actually see it happen, he could have sworn the Wolf blinked in surprise before frowning in thought.
"Wait here." Was the eventual command and without waiting for any sort of agreement the door was closed and locked in Shikamaru's face. For some reason, this was not how Shikamaru imagined an emergency mission would go. He had expected, you know, some urgency. In fact, his Nara blood had been absolutely dreading it.
The fact that the Wolf seemed so unconcerned actually had him somewhat jealous. It was just his luck that his Sensei became Hokage and was well aware that with the amount he laid about during the day sleeping he was often up at strange hours.
That he had "faith" and "confidence" in his student's ability also played a part, as did the fact that Shikamaru had also been granted a promotion.
Somehow.
He didn't even know why, actually, as his fight with Dosu hadn't happened so unless someone had seen the masterful way he herded civilians into the shelters- you know, the ones they were already stampeding towards- and recommended him for a promotion the only other explanation was that his Sensei had given him a promotion so that he could ensure team ten could still go on missions and gain experience without a Sensei.
That sounded just like him, actually. Not that he had stopped training them, as they still met pretty regularly, but the training was more limited thanks to Asuma's suddenly full schedule. There were some days he couldn't make it, but Shikamaru supposed being trained by the Sandaime Hokage on those days was an interesting experience.
The Nara heir had a sneaking suspicion he was called "The Professor" more for his love of teaching then anything else.
But because The Professor was no longer the acting Hokage, Asuma was in charge and when ANBU became aware of a sudden skyrocketing of Chakra in the Uchiha compound only to find the head of the Uchiha clan missing and signs of a struggle abound it fell to Shikamaru to find a team to go after them.
Shikamaru was well aware that most Chūnin and Jōnin were abroad ensuring Suna remained firmly under their control but he didn't for a second think there was no one else who could go after someone- or some people- who had enough Chakra to catch the attention of a local ANBU patrol.
You know, like the ANBU who had found it in the first place. Evidently the lack of other forces restricted ANBU operations to Konohagakure village limits so that they would be available to protect it should something happen.
Alright, he could kind of understand that, but if they were able to overpower Sasuke- admittedly one of the stronger Gennin and one that had apparently taken down a Suna squad of Jōnin and Chūnin singlehandedly- then Shikamaru wasn't exactly sure what he was going to be able to do to get him back from them.
Hence him coming straight to the person he remembered being the strongest back in the academy. He couldn't say how he had been since, as in the strangest move the most talented among them was left out of team formations in favor of his returning sister, but there was no doubt that back then he had been leaps and bounds ahead of his peers. He hadn't even been showing up, either, which just went to show how much more advanced he was even back then.
If that had remained the same then it stood to reason he was a formidable Shinobi, even as a Gennin.
The fact that there were rumors of him going on missions with the Mitarashi Anko- specifically kill contracts- only supported his conclusion. You know, if there was any truth to them.
If there was a Gennin who could help against someone who took down Sasuke it would be him, which was why he had come here first. The next stop was the Uzumaki compound because despite being a late addition to the graduating class he was aware that her private training with the Uzumaki head had brought her to a level above Sasuke's. Which, again, was the kind of strength they needed if they wanted any chance at succeeding.
The Sharingan was a very powerful asset to Konoha and the loss of the majority of the clan years ago had been a massive blow. With Sasuke looking like he was going to settle down and start working towards its restoration the higher ups had been hopeful to regain such a legendary bloodline in the next thirty years or so.
They had gotten along for years now without it, so it couldn't be anything too critical to Konoha's survival, which made Shikamaru suspicious that those higherups that would demand a retrieval mission despite limited manpower just didn't want the embarrassment of the Last Uchiha being abducted from right beneath their noses while they were busy conquering a former ally.
Naturally, Shikamaru wasn't about to voice those opinions. Nara men knew better.
Usually.
They typically had some trouble determining whether or not a hot-tempered woman was within hearing distance. It's both how they found their spouses and how they found themselves in trouble. Same thing as far as they were concerned.
Traditionally they were quite cautious of going anywhere near the Uzumaki or Inuzuka compounds, which was probably the only reason the Nara clan still existed. Gods knew they would either get themselves either killed or forced to joining one of those clans until no Nara man remained.
One of those locations was his next destination as soon as he managed to recruit Naruto and he was beyond apprehensive about it. Only necessity forced him to approach a home of two unattached, hot-tempered women who were both way out of his league. It was not a good combination for a Nara.
And speaking of recruiting Naruto, where the hell was the guy? Did the mention of "mission" and "From the Hokage" not convey at least some measure of urgency?
Almost as if summoned by his thoughts, the door opened again. The Wolf was there in front, as if to shield those behind them, but after a quick glance at the surroundings gave a satisfied nod and stepped back to let the person Shikamaru had actually come to see enter the doorway.
Shikamaru knew for a fact that he blinked in surprise at his first sight of the young man since the academy. Gods, if he hadn't known Naruto was male he would have sworn he was looking at a young woman. An attractive young woman at that. Even knowing he was, well, a he, Shikamaru couldn't deny that they were attractive.
Maybe it was just an Uzumaki thing.
"I've been informed you needed to see me, Chūnin Nara, is that so?" They didn't sound like they had just woken up, that or they were fortunate enough not to seem groggy after being awoken at the ass-crack of dawn. He kind of hoped it was the first, he had plenty of experience being woken up when he'd rather be sleeping and if there was a chance that he hadn't done the same to another he'd cling to that unlikely belief.
"Yeah, emergency mission from the Hokage. Uchiha Sasuke's been abducted." Even as he spoke he handed over the papers he had to his former classmate. One of Naruto's brows raised at his words and then furrowed as he read the mission parameters.
Normally mission details were placed on scrolls and then handed to whatever team had accepted them but in emergencies such as this all that was needed was for whatever held the details to be marked with the Hokage's seal. Asuma had actually finished writing it when Shikamaru had rushed to answer his summon about twenty minutes prior and the Nara heir tried not to think about the fact that the other side of the mission papers actually had a copy of Jiraiya's first draft for his newest book.
Evidently the Sandaime had left it in the office earlier that day and the newest Hokage had no problems giving it a more serious purpose. Shikamaru had a feeling it had been chosen deliberately. The way Asuma had pointedly ignored the stack of blank papers already sat on the desk may have contributed to that conclusion.
It took a massive amount of concentration on his part to remain professional when Naruto examined that side of the paper and raised a silent brow at him on question. Something about that look made him feel embarrassed about the content upon it, despite having no part in the creation or choosing of those pages.
Having not received a response Naruto resumed his reading and finally gave a satisfied nod. Shikamaru was starting to feel like things were finally going right when it was all brought crashing down with a single sentence.
"I'm afraid I'll have to decline."
"W-what?" Decline? You couldn't' decline emergency missions issued to you by a superior and there was no one higher up on the hierarchy than the Hokage himself.
"I said I'll have to decline." Naruto repeated it easily enough, as if his words weren't essentially treason. "There's a guest in my sitting room right now who represents a person of great importance. It would be terribly rude of me to run off to save someone at the moment."
"They're emergency orders, you can't just choose not to accept the mission!" Shikamaru's protest earned him a brief look of confusion from Naruto before realization settled in.
"Ah, no, not at all!" He briefly looked back down at the papers to confirm before nodding and handing them back to Shikamaru. "You seem to be of the mistaken impression that these emergency orders extend to myself, but that's not the case."
When Shikamaru gave him a confused look he pointed back to the papers In the Nara heir's hands.
"Those orders are written for one "Chūnin Nara Shikamaru of Active Cell Ten, Registration 012611 and any Konohagakure volunteers available to assist be they active or inactive Shinobi" which allows you to recruit others for the mission but in no way makes acceptance of the mission compulsory for anyone beyond yourself." Naruto paused here, frowning. "Really, he didn't use the best wording for this. That last part is intended to ensure civilians can't be involved but those discharged from Shinobi service no longer qualify as Shinobi. This limits you solely to those on the rosters and those who have managed to retire. It also doesn't include civilian consultants, such as non-Shinobi Inuzuka members who may have been able to help with tracking."
Shikamaru was only half listening at this point, focusing instead on the orders he had been given. With dawning horror, he realized Naruto was right.
"He needed at least one Shinobi to be the team leader and receive the orders to be carried out, but I'd assume he didn't know who was still available off the top of his head so wanted to keep it as open as possible for the Shinobi side. He left it too open, really. Giving the team leader- you- the authority to conscript active and inactive Konoha Shinobi for the purpose of completing the emergency mission would have worked much better. Really, he could have just said "Registered Shinobi" and been fine. Either he forgot he could do that, didn't think it would be necessary, or Hiruzen hasn't gone over that with him yet. Definitely has the basics down, though."
There was silence for almost a minute as Shikamaru digested it all. Things had been bad when he had his mother pounding on his door because an ANBU agent was at the compound asking for him but now they were just getting much, much worse.
"Are you sure you won't help?" He tried once more. The expression he received in return at least seemed to show genuine remorse.
"My apologies Chūnin Nara, but I have pressing matters I must attend to at the moment. Were that not the case I would be certain to lend my aid." Which was true. What wasn't mentioned was the fact that the person he was speaking with before Shikamaru's arrival represented the person whose Shinobi had just abducted Sasuke and had arrived with said Shinobi not long before. "Should the opportunity present itself, I will do my best to send people to join you."
Well, it was something at least. On the plus side, most of the others he was going to try recruiting probably didn't have guests at the moment and most certainly wouldn't even ask to see the mission papers, let alone notice that they weren't obligated to accept it.
And if Shikamaru got really lucky Naruto might convince Mitarashi Anko to join them. Gods knew he'd never be able to recruit her and there was no way in hell he was going to wake her at this time to try.
He liked his manhood where it was, thank you.
But having a Jōnin in the group? That would be fantastic, even if he had to surrender control to them for the duration of the mission. Well, especially if he had to surrender control. Who the hell had decided he should be the one in charge? He hated responsibility and Asuma should have damn well known that.
"Thanks, then. I guess." He really hoped this wasn't a sign of how the rest of the mission was going to go, otherwise he might as well give up now before he got someone killed.
"Certainly. Best of luck on your mission." It sounded like they were done here to Shikamaru and apparently the Wolf agreed as he stepped forward and began closing the door.
Some part of his brain chimed in reminding him of the possibility that the Wolves were there to harm Naruto and the fact that he was being held hostage was the reason he couldn't join the mission but he set that thought aside.
If that was the case then he sure as hell didn't have the time to deal with it now.
He'd just have to check back after his first failed mission.
Gods above knew he wasn't going to find the Uchiha after all these delays. And he sure as hell wasn't going to chase after the guy if he couldn't assemble a team.
This was, by far, the most troublesome thing he had done in his life.
He couldn't wait until retirement.
As soon as the door was closed Naruto let out a sigh of relief, glad that Shikamaru hadn't questioned him too much. The way the papers had been written Shikamaru's rank, name, and registration number had been on one half and the part about volunteers had been on the other. There was an ink stain below the volunteer section which had prompted Asuma to write additional details further below it and created plenty of space where Shikamaru could have added the names of anyone he knew under his own so long as he had their registration number.
Technically forgery, but Naruto didn't think Asuma would have said anything about it not being his handwriting if it was ever questioned.
Fortunately the Nara was not so crafty or, perhaps, just not so deceptive. Terrible trait for a Shinobi in his opinion, but as most Shinobi seemed to be of similar blunt mindsets maybe he was just the exception and their way was more proper.
He wouldn't concern himself with it.
"Find a few Wolves who don't have duty, I want them to follow Chūnin Nara's group and assist as necessary. I want no Konoha casualties but do your best not to kill any of Orochimaru's Shinobi. Mission success is irrelevant, but I'd much prefer a happy Orochimaru. Relay that as you will." He didn't turn back to face the Wolf he was giving orders to but he knew his will would be carried out.
With another sigh he straightened his appearance- not that it had actually been necessary- and proceeded back into the sitting room.
He fully expected at least some damage or, at the very least, for the two to be at eachother's throats.
To his pleasant surprise, the two of them had somehow managed to keep their behavior civil in his absence. Or they had just managed to hide any evidence to the contrary, he couldn't dismiss that possibility.
He decided to take the way they avoided so much as looking at eachother as a good sign. Of course, that only lasted until they heard his approach. As one they turned to him and their expressions both visibly brightened.
Mai, notably relieved, stood up at his approach and gave a soft smile.
Tayuya was a bit more...enthusiastic.
"Denka-sama!" Practically leaping from the couch she wasted no time in wrapping herself around him. Moments later she was dragging him back to the larger couch. Mai did not seem pleased, but that only seemed to spur Orochimaru's Kunoichi on.
Mai's annoyance was more amusing than anything, she should have known she wasn't going to stop being his favorite anytime soon.
"Apparently," He looked down to the Tayuya attached to his chest. "One Sasuke Uchiha has gone missing and there are signs of a struggle. I can't imagine who might have done such a thing."
Tayuya looked a bit sheepish for not having said anything earlier. It was so much like Anko he actually considered the chances that it might be the Jōnin under a Henge. Now that he thought about it, all of her actions reminded him of the woman.
Mini-Anko? Oh, the world would be in trouble if they ever met.
"Orochimaru-sama said you didn't have any plans for him, right Denka-sama?"
"I did not, but neither was I expecting to have a Chūnin at my door with orders from the Hokage to retrieve him. A little warning would have been nice, or I would be facing plenty of questions when Orochimaru's forces didn't so much as raise a hand against me."
He had no doubt that the Sannin had been quite clear with her Shinobi as to just how important he was to her. Pissing off Orochimaru was not anyone's idea of fun and only an S-ranked Shinobi would even try.
Even then, most S-ranks got where they were by not being stupid and Orochimaru was too clever and resourceful to dismiss as a threat, even if they managed to kill her.
"Oh," Tayuya seemed a bit surprised by the direction his thoughts had gone. "We hadn't even considered that , I'll let Orochimaru-sama know when I see her next."
As clever as she could be, Orochimaru still had a tendency to be impulsive. In this case, it wasn't going after Sasuke so much as it would have been to tell all her forces about Naruto. A good half of them wouldn't even consider just pretending to fight him or saying anything that might anger him out of fear for Orochimaru's displeasure.
The other half was crazy and would fight him anyway, but those weren't the kind of Shinobi she'd send on a mission like this.
"I'm confident I'll probably see her first." He half expected her to crawl through a window and slither her way into his bed any day now, really. "I'll let her know."
He was also safe to speak his mind- within reason- to the woman, which was a privilege not all of her Shinobi could claim.
Tayuya much preferred it that way if her smile said anything. Then again, she had been pretty happy the entire time he had interacted with her so maybe it was unrelated.
There was silence for a few moments, Tayuya more than happy to continue holding onto him while Mai glared daggers at the young woman. Naruto, who was personally quite fond of physical contact much like his children, didn't have any problem with this and it was quite refreshing to see Mai express emotion without being angry at himself.
Actually, she might become angry at him at this rate and he didn't like that. It would probably be best to let her simmer down for a while so she could spend some time getting used to their new guest.
Having met Anko, he knew her personality was an acquired taste and with Tayuya reminding him so strongly of her it might be a bit before Mai warmed up to her.
Anko had the benefit of being approached by Naruto and having ties with Kurenai, whom Naruto had known.
Tayuya had direct ties to Orochimaru and had tried to break into the apartment in the middle of the night.
It was only reasonable for her to be suspicious.
He wouldn't dare think of it as "jealous" just in case Mai knew what he was thinking and got mad at him for it.
She really should know that for all of her professional image, she didn't need to worry about the way others saw her when they were alone. She was free to be as expressive as she wanted.
Who knows, maybe Tayuya would help her realize that and, if they were really lucky, it would help her be more expressive in general.
Gods know it would be easier for him if he had a bit more insight to what she was thinking, then his chances of getting away with doing her work would skyrocket.
Admittedly, his chances were still very close to zero- she just knew those things- but it was better than his chances being zero. She really did need some sort of vacation, she worked herself way too hard.
He very deliberately ignored the fact that most of the work was her efforts to keep him from working himself too hard.
"Well," Naruto broke the silence. "I think we'd best get you settled." Mai must have seen the gleam in Tayuya's eyes- or maybe she had just been looking for an excuse to get their guest as far away from her lord as possible- as she was quick to jump in.
"There's no need for you to bother yourself with something so trivial, Naruto-sama. Why don't I find her a room while you get some more rest?"
Tempting him with his bed, too, what a devious woman.
At the same time, there was no reason for him to resist. Guest taken care of and he gets to crawl back into bed? There was a part of him that argued he had already showered and dressed for the day and could always just go to bed earlier tonight after finishing his work but it wasn't anywhere near as strong as his longing for his bed. There really was no reason for him to be up before noon.
He could probably also argue that there was a Wolf in his bed waiting for his return and that it would be unfair to them to take away their time with him- or something.
Mai would probably agree just to get Tayuya away from him.
Before he could say how lovely that idea was Tayuya shot a challenging smirk to Mai and looked up to him. "Yes, Denka-sama, you should get some more rest. Let's retire to your chambers and I'll make sure you're taken care of."
The initial surprise Mai felt when the Oto Kunoichi agreed with her- only visible in the slight widening of her eyes- quickly melted away as Tayuya continued to speak.
Moments later, Naruto knew she was up to something. She wasn't his second in command for nothing and he could see the gears turning in her head. He just didn't know what she had come up with.
"On second thought," Mai approached him and placed a hand on his arm, completely ignoring Tayuya's suspicious gaze. "I need to make sure you get back to bed first or I'll never be able to drag you out of your office later. Come on, let's go."
As confused as she was by the sudden change in Mai's behavior- particularly the way she was now completely ignoring Tayuya's very existence- the Oto Kunoichi wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. If the dour young woman was going to guide them to Naruto's chambers than she was happy to help.
Mai began to gently tug Naruto back out of the room and trailing behind him Tayuya was sure to offer her own encouragement by pushing lightly against him. Naturally, this meant Tayuya was pressing as much of herself into him as she could and happily took the opportunity to continue running her hands over him.
Naruto still didn't mind but he was certainly curious.
How much of Tayuya's behavior was genuine and how much of it was for the sole purpose of annoying Mai?
More importantly, what was Mai about to do in response?
The three walked back down familiar hallways- well, to two of them, at least- until they reached Naruto's door. The Wolves they passed- what few were up and about at such an ungodly hour- didn't so much as bat an eye at the sight of two young woman manhandling their lord back to his room.
Hell, a few of them looked like they were seriously contemplating helping the two.
Opening the door quietly, Mai gestured for Tayuya to enter first. Still somewhat suspicious of Mai's actions she gave her an odd look but proceeded regardless. After all, this was Naruto's room so it was inevitable he'd be joining her. Better to enter before whatever strangeness that was affecting Mai wore of and the girl resumed her attempts to separate her from Naruto.
Tayuya didn't waste a second once she was in their, either. Even as she stepped through the threshold she was untying her sash and reaching down to grab the bottom of her shirt.
Mai wasn't wasting any time herself, as no sooner than the shirt was covering her head did Tayuya hear hurried footsteps from behind her. She was pretty sure she wasn't in any danger but that was only because they were going away from her. She was reasonably certain she would have preferred it otherwise. Tossing the shirt away she spun around to an empty doorway and a quick look into the hall let her see Naruto just as he was dragged into a nearby room.
While irritated, Tayuya also found herself oddly pleased. It would seem Mai wasn't giving up so easily and that would just make things more fun. Still, she wasn't about to give up either.
"Oh no you don't. You're not keeping him away from me that easily."
Without bothering to retrieve her shirt she gave chase, completely oblivious to the young woman blearily peering at her from the pile of blankets on Naruto's bed.
Noticing the room was now void of her previous sleeping partner the Wolf dragged herself from the bed and to the doorway, blankets still wrapped around her like a cocoon. She made it to the doorway in time to see a flash of red hair- it was lighter than she remembered- disappearing into one of the rooms further down.
Knowing the room, she thought nothing of following along.
The Wolf slowly shuffled down the hallway- a trail of blankets dragging behind her- and into the room without so much as a knock. A young woman with red hair- ah, so that's who she had seen- stood with her hands on her hips in nothing but her bra and a pair of tight black shorts. Across from her Mai looked slightly displeased but also somewhat smug.
If the Wolf had to guess, it was because Naruto was currently sprawled over her bed. Judging by Mai's almost defensive position before him and the fact that it was her bed, the Wolf was reasonably certain he had been tossed onto it.
That was fine, she really didn't care where they were sleeping. Shuffling past the person she didn't know- who didn't stop glaring at Mai for a second to spare her a glance- and Mai herself who seemed engaged in a staring match to establish dominance over the former, the Wolf was more than happy to collapse into Mai's bed and wiggle her way over to- and atop- her lord.
Naruto- who had simply been laying on the bed and watching the two young woman trying to melt each other with their eyes- gave her a smile and let out an amused chuckle as she positioned herself on his chest and splayed her captured blanket over them both.
With a sleepy yawn and a quiet "Goodnight, Naruto-sama" she drifted back off to sleep.
It was a pretty good idea, Naruto thought, so he promptly tried to join her.
Tried because the girls seemed to come to the conclusion that their eyes weren't conveying their message well enough.
"Naruto-sama needs his rest, go sleep in his room and stop disturbing him." Mai started, arms folding over her chest.
"I wasn't disturbing him, if anything he'd be more comfortable in his bed with me."
"Says the person at fault for waking him so early."
Tayuya flushed slightly at that, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Heh, I guess that's a good point, but I couldn't exactly sneak into Konoha during the day. Sasuke's abduction provided the distraction I needed to get past the ANBU." The arm came down to join its twin over Tayuya's chest. "Still, he'll be much more comfortable in the company of a pretty woman and its my job to make sure all his needs are taken care of."
"No, that's my job and has been for years." This just earned a wide grin from Tayuya.
"Yeah, well you haven't been doing a good enough job then. Orochimaru-sama was here for a while and if she says he needs me here than you've been slacking."
"It's not me slacking, it's serpents like you who simply keep interfering." Mai was getting pretty upset if she was offhandedly insulting Orochimaru of the Sannin like that.
"Oh-ho, kitty has some claws!" Tayuya, on the other hand, was having an absolute field day. "Why don't you go file those down while I take care of Denka-sama, you wouldn't want to damage that perfect skin of his." She gave a wicked grin. "I know I'll sure enjoy running my hands all over it tonight."
"They'll be damaging you here in a moment if you don't stop bothering Naruto-sama. He needs his rest and you're keeping him from it."
"Ha! The only thing keeping him up is the fact that you're delaying me from joining him." Tayuya turned her attention over to Naruto and her surprise was noticed by Mai immediately. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"
Mai turned to find the Wolf from earlier quite contently sleeping upon her lord. One part of her thought it was adorable, one part was vindictively pleased that Tayuya had been denied, and the last part- which was the biggest- was rather disappointed that her planned spot had been stolen.
At least Tayuya hadn't gotten it either.
Tayuya gave a huff before resting her hands on her hips again and moving her head between the two in bed and Mai. "This is your fault, you know." She accused.
Mai shrugged. "Yeah, at least it keeps you away."
A thoughtful look crossed Tayuya's face for a moment before she smirked at Mai.
"That's what you'd like to think." Without hesitation she tossed off her shoes and made for the bed where she promptly dove beneath the covers and onto Naruto's side where she latched on tightly.
Mai blinked in surprise, stunned at the sheer audacity, before deciding that if Tayuya got to sleep next to her lord there was no way she was surrendering the same privilege. Closing her door she tossed off her own clothing and slipped into bed on Naruto's other side. The only thing keeping the two from glaring at each other from across Naruto was the Wolf currently blocking their view.
Perhaps that was for the best.
Didn't mention this above, but if you've been missing any of the stories I took down they'll be available on my site by the time I post chapter 70. Be aware, it will have been changed to Read-dot-Eyazahrid-dot-net on that day to reflect the fact that it will be used to cover everything Fanfiction related that I want to share with you.
Remember to check the site regularly for updates between chapters or follow me on Twitter Eyazahrid for your phone to yell at you whenever I've posted something new there.
Until I next have your attention,
-Eyazahrid