The Promise of Tomorrow

A/N: And we just keep going :3 Re-read the first chapter! A lot more info on the time in prison and more fluff! I wanted to bring this out with the update of the first chapter but, fuck! It is like 2:50a.m I can't fucking write straight anymore!

Naruto pushed himself up, still dizzy from having his lips flash fried. He smiled lazily down at Tayuya. "Damn I knew you were hot but this is pushing it."

She snorted and swatted at his face, missing it spectacularly by an arms length. "Fucking cheesy," she slurred with a dizzy smile.

Helping Tayuya up as well, Naruto sighed. "I really need to find a way to get that seal of you. Maybe there's something in the library."

"You wish, idiot."

Naruto and Tayuya whirled around to the ruined door of the Uchiha compound. There, covered in splinters of wood and with a bloody nose, was Sasuke Uchiha, looking as annoyed as Naruto remembered him.

"Oh shit," Tayuya whispered and reached for another knife but Naruto grasped her hand before it could slip into her pouch. She looked up at him in confusion.

He leaned down to her. "He is pissed, but not hostile. Probably has no idea how to react," he whispered into her ear. Turning to the Uchiha he spoke aloud "Hey there, Sasuke."

The Uchiha regarded them and then his ruined gate. "You know," he drawled, "You could have knocked."

Naruto blanched. "Oh boy, your humor didn't get any better, did it?"

"And you're as intrusive as ever, although you seem to take it to a more literal level now," Sasuke said, gesturing to the broken gate.

"Hardy-fucking-har, duckbutt," Naruto scoffs, rolling his eyes.

Sasuke ignores the jab. "So, will you tell my why my front gate is now laying on top of my front door?"

Naruto looks at Tayuya and Tayuya looks back at him. They nod. "We blame the curse mark," they say as one.

"Do you now," Sasuke says with a roll of his eyes. "Look, I don't really care. It's not like I don't have the money to fix this. I just want to know what you are doing here." He looks down at his feet. "I didn't think you'd want to see my face ever again."

Naruto's heavy sigh has him look up again. "Okay Sasuke, I'm not as spiteful as you think I am. Shit happened, cursed seals did shit, you were a bitch, your brother is still a psychopath and all that. But as it is, it's all in the past."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Just like that?"

He shrugs. "Just like that. We're still going to kill the snake bastard because murder is never all over and done with." Tayuya nods, still exhausted from the cursed seal.

Sasuke shakes his head. "I can't just quit it with that. I tried to kill you and-"

"And you failed spectacularly," Naruto finished for him. He smirked. "Even with an assassination technique. That says a lot about you, doesn't it?"

"It does?"

Tayuya laughs dryly. "Yeah, it says you really suck at killing properly, duckbutt."

Sasuke glares at her. "Who even are- Oh... Wait, why are you here?"

Naruto turns to Tayuya as if he had just now realized that she was there in the first place. "Holy hells where did she come from? Could it be that she came in here with me? No, that is impossible! The great Sasuke would have seen her!" The sarcasm is dripping of Naruto in waves.

"Fuck off, Naruto!" Sasuke growls back, "I know her! She is one of Orochimaru's-!"

"Was one of Orochimarus's," Tayuya supplies nonchalantly.

"Yes, yes, was one of Orochimaru's henchmen and should bring me to-! Wait, You know her?" Sasuke asked, staring at them, in bewilderment.

Naruto scoffed. "Did you get duller or something in the past three years? Or was it just me who made you look good and you were always that slow?"

Sasuke grunted. "Oh, I think now I remember the real reason I tried to kill you for!"

The two of them began marching towards each other both scowling fiercely. They both drew a hand back as if to strike and Tayuya tensed in anticipation-

Until they both grasped each other firmly by the forearm and shook heartily once.

"Damn it's good to have you back, you emo!" Naruto said seriously.

"That it is you idiot!" Sasuke returned.

Tayuya sighed. "Are you guys fucking serious..."

"So," Naruto said as they walked into the house again, "That went better than expected."

Tayuya raised an eyebrow. "I thought you imagined there to be bloodshed or something."

He laughed. "I did! I really did. But somehow, when I saw him, I knew he was his old self again. I just knew."

"Don't you dare turn out gay now!" she jested and pocked his side.

He swatted her hand away and laughed. "Never!"

The house didn't blink and shine, but it appeared habitable at least. The leaves and the dirt was gone from the entrance hall and the rug that appeared to have been a carpet some centuries ago had been discarded. The dining room, a huge rectangular room to the left of the entrance was as clean as a hundred Naruto's could get it but was barren of any furnishing. Not even a table or some chairs. The kitchen was just through the door inside the dining room. It was a big kitchen, obviously intended for a lot more than two people. The biggest surprise was that it appeared fully functional. Pans and pots were hanging at the white tiled wall over the sink, looking usable with not a speck of rust.

"These must be made of stainless steel," Naruto mused as he took a pot down. "I wonder how long ramen will-"

"No," Tayuya deadpanned without looking up from rummaging through the flying cabinets. She found usable cutlery tucked away in some reasonable clean drawers but there was no sigh of any china or otherwise tableware.

"Well," she said, "we ought to buy some fucking furniture. We don't even have a damn table to eat at. Do we even have food?"

Naruto stopped pouting and opened his mouth to say something but a fork whizzed past his ear and he stopped.

"If you want to say "ramen" go ahead, I have a whole drawer of these babies and I won't hesitate using them," Tayuya said in a falsely sweet voice.

"Ah," Naruto squeaked as he inched away from where the fork had embedded itself in a wooden beam, "Pff, ramen. Who even says that?"

"Thought as much," Tayuya chirped and hopped over to him. "Now we can go eat ramen!"

"Oh my god! Is that you, Naruto?"

Ayame nearly jumped over the counter when she spots the blonde mop of hair.

"And is that your girlfriend!?" she damn near shouted when she spotted the woman his hand is attached to.

Naruto waved at her with a big smile and then waved the hand that was interlaced with Tayuya's and the girl laughed and kicked at his leg as she stumbled forward. He had lifted her hand quite high and due to the fact that he was more than a head bigger than the red head she was lurched somewhat forward and upward.

"Idiot," she grumbled softly and pulled at his hand so that he faced her, still grinning.

He quirked a playful eyebrow at her. "Hmm?" he hummed with a smile and leaned forward into her face, looking her straight in the eyes.

Tayuya felt her face grow warm as she stared at him, his playful smirk and his half lidded eyes. How his hair fell ever so often into his face and shaded his eyes, who these damn whiskers seemed to fit into his face so absolutely and made him look so handsome when he smiled at her. So she smiled too, and reached up to cup his cheek. Then her other hand reached up to him and both her hands slid into his hair and pulled him down to meet her lips.

Ayame squealed and old man Teuchi nodded proudly, having just left the backroom of the ramen stand, but neither Naruto nor Tayuya were at any point aware of that.

Finally, Tayuya broke away from Naruto and laid her chin atop Naruto's shoulder to look at Ayame. "Does that answer your question?"

Having never eaten ramen before, which was (according to Naruto) a crime, she wasn't too sure what to take. In the end she settled with the same as Naruto and was pleasantly surprised by what she got. Though eating could have been easier if that Ayame girl hadn't thrown question after question at her. She tried to avoid answering any of them but when suddenly she was asked if they were already planning on children, she nearly chocked on a load of noodles.

"Shit woman!" she coughed, "We don't even have a table yet! Let alone chairs!"

Naruto, also coughing, was also saying things along these lines. Though it involved the lack of a couch and wardrobes. And the tree in their bathroom of course.

But Ayame could find no denial and squealed a lot more and insisted on being invited to their housewarming as well. When Teuchi promised to bring some ramen along the way, Naruto agreed immediately. Tayuya could only roll her eyes.

I was in the late afternoon hours when Kakashi appeared before them.

"Yo," he said, nose hidden in his orange book. Tayuya snorted. Damn pervert.

"You need something?" she asked when he didn't say anything.

Kakashi put his book away. "The Hokage wants to talk to you. Actually, just Naruto. But I won't bother trying to separate you."

"Smart man," Naruto snickered and followed after the jonin as he began to walk away.

"Seems like he's learning, "Tayuya added, nodding sagely.

Tsunade sat at her desk, or more like, was buried underneath copious amounts of paperwork behind her desk. She groaned when they entered and blinked, as if not sure what they were doing here. Then she glared at Kakashi.

"Three hours late!" she growled and chucked an empty bottle of sake at the man, who wisely didn't dodge it. It shattered against his head but he didn't acknowledge it whatsoever.

"My apologies." He didn't sound sincere at all. "I have been delayed."

One had to admit, it was a miracle that Kakashi didn't bring more of an unreasonable excuse.

Tayuya shook her head. Apparently, he hadn't learned after all.

"Fine, get out," Tsunade said, sighing as she went through a lot of files and folders on her desk haphazardly throwing some behind her, or more accurately, out of the window behind her. Naruto raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Tayuya just snickered silently.

"Right," she said and pulled a red folder from underneath her desk. "We have official business to discuss."

"Such as?" Naruto asked.

"Your clan."

He blinked. "My what now?"

"Clan. The Uzumaki, to be precise."

Tayuya looked strangely at him. "You didn't know?"

"You knew?" he asked her. There was no accusation in his voice, but wonder and confusion.

She looked strangely at him. "Of-fucking-course! You are like, the last Uzumaki out there! Orochimaru killed one in his experiments, bless the poor girls soul, and was desperately trying to find another one! We had a file on you solely because of that, not because of the Kyuubi!"

"What?" he asked, turning to face Tsunade again.

"Yes...," the woman said slowly. "You are, as far as we know, tha last Uzumaki. I myself am only to a quarter an Uzumaki through my grandmother, the first Hokage's wife."

"And you didn't tell me!?"

She sighed. "Naruto, this was involved with the third's law because it concerned your parents. And because your parents had more enemies than a tree has leaves, it was safer you and your loud mouth wouldn't know about them."

Naruto opened his mouth to argue but shut it when Tayuya grasped his hand. Instead he looked gratefully at her and took a deep breath. "So tell me then. Who were my parents?"

Tsunade opened the folder and held up a picture of a woman. A woman with deep reed hair, even deeper in the shade as Tayuya's were. "This," she said, "Is your mother. Kushina Uzumaki. Also known as "The Hot Blooded Red Habanero", one of the strongest kunoichi ever to live and crown princes of the Land of Whirlpools."

Naruto stepped forward and took the picture. He smiled. He had inherited her facial structure. "She's-... was beautiful..." A tear formed in his eye but he blinked it away and looked at Tsunade again. "And my father?"

Instead of answering, Tsunade pointed at the four pictures that hung over the door of the office and said "Take a guess."

The four pictures displayed the four previous Hokage, from the first to the fourth. As Naruto looked at them with a confused expression, his eyes stayed on the blonde man with bright blue eyes.

His left eye twitched. He turned around, mouth agape, and pointed with a shaky finger at the picture. Tsunade nodded.

And Naruto fainted.

Tayuya snorted as she caught he crumpling form. "Oh you've got to be kidding me..."

A/N: I think I'm going to refer to Kushina's moniker like this. I'm not sure if that's the original though.

Just a reminder: Re-read the first chapter! 3k Words of extra fluff!