Chapter 7

Temari would be lying if she said she didn't have any more reservations about the harem contract. In fact, she was still downright skeptical of it. But seeing that no one had cut off anybody's head as of yet, there might be a chance that everything could work out for the good. Of course, things could all go sideways at a moment's notice, but for the right now, things were looking up.

She knew she wasn't much of a cook, but even so, she was doing her best making omelets. She even diced up some meat and greens to go with a few of them. Part of that had to do with wanting the morning to roll out as quickly and efficiently as possible, and another part had to do with the tinge of nervousness she felt at knowing the five other members would be getting comfy in her house for a few days after they made it to sand. Kankuro liked his space and if anyone infringed on it, things would get dicey. Gaara was much, much better than he had ever been, but she had also never tried his patience and she didn't want to find what might happen if she did.

"These are really good."

Temari turned slightly to see Fu munching on one of the omelets she made with meat in the middle. There was a happy, somewhat sleep-hazy look on her face. It would appear that she had just gotten up if her tussed up hair were any indication. It was also only 6 in the morning, so that was a good sign too. "Thanks," Temari said.

"You nervous?"

Her hand reflexively tightened on the spatula. "A-About what?"

Fu lifted her head and started paying more attention to the girl from sand. "We're… all going to your home. I'm sorry if I assumed-"

"No, no it's fine," Temari said as she breathed out. "It just… it just all feels so weird, you know. Word probably hasn't reached them yet, so all the people I talk to, all my superiors, peers, and subordinates, they're all going to know that I'm a member of a harem. And that's a little…"

Fu chuckled a little bit. "Oh, come on. It's not like you're a mind-controlled drone in a secret cult. You're a symbol. And when they start feeling the benefits, I'm sure everyone's going to be looking at you a lot differently."

Temari took another deep breath and folded the omelet on the stove. Her free hand's index finger was tapping the counter rhythmically. "I… I guess you're right. Makes me feel kinda silly for feeling nervous."

"Ah, you're not silly. You just don't know what to feel. I don't either, by way. I don't think anyone does, actually. It's not like there's a precedent for harems."

"How wise," Mei said, coming around the corner with her usual airy smile. "Despite your youth, you don't appear quite so excitable as others in this contract."

And there was the remaining skepticism. Any free time she had yesterday was taken up when Mei had decided she didn't have enough clothes to wear, then when she was out of make-up, then when she was out of underwear, then when she needed to stock back up on her sweets and had practically forced Temari to tag along in order to give a second opinion, try the food, or to help carry the bags. Perhaps Mei wasn't an actively terrible person, but the decidedly carefree manner in which she behaved rubbed Temari in such a wrong way that she was practically always holding her tongue from lashing the older woman, reminding herself that she was very much weaker than Mei every time the urge appeared and that it wouldn't do the contract any good to provoke the woman.

Temari turned around with a little bit of apprehension, but allowed it go away once she realized Mei was at least wearing clothes this time. Granted, there was still a lot of cleavage to go around, but at least it wasn't showing through a transparent nighty.

The face attached to the pair of tits she was staring at noticed her gaze and smirked playfully. "Oh, is this a sign that I haven't picked up on?"

"Huh?" Temari asked, directing her eyes towards the woman's eyes.

Mei's eyebrows went up as she leaned forward over the kitchen table, showing off her cleavage even more. "I'm asking if you play for both sides~" Mei said in a deep and husky voice, extending the last word in a sensual manner.

Fu started cracking up while Temari could only look at her in confusion. "What?"

Taking a plate with an omelet still steaming with heat, Mei sat down and doubled down on her teasing. "So is it just the one side then? Oh, then how cruel fate can be. Like being a vegetarian in a five-star steakhouse."

Fu had to cover her mouth lest she splatter the table with half chewed egg. It wasn't Mei's teasing so much as it was Temari's confused reaction to it that was so funny.

The teased girl in question just shrugged and went back to making breakfast. She still had to fry up some bacon. Freshly slaughtered pig was a luxury in sand. Even if she could afford it due to her status, their family usually was in tune with the average person's diet sans the occasional meeting over a feast. "I don't understand what you're talking about."

"What she's implying…" Fu started out, gulping down the remnants of her omelet.

"Oh, don't tell her," Mei said, interrupting her. "It's more fun this way."

"Tell me what?" Temari asked, starting to get annoyed. "What's going on?"

"She was asking if you're a lesbian or not," Fu said.

And all the innuendo laced jokes didn't help in the slightest to lower the girl's boiling point.

First was a blush of embarrassment, then one of moderate anger. That was it. All memory of wanting the morning to go by smoothly was steamrolled by the pent up frustration that took over her mind. "You are eating omelets made by a foreign ninja that has a history of war with your country. Could have easily poisoned it," Temari said through clenched teeth.

"Oh, but you wouldn't do that to such a bombshell like me, would you?" Mei asked, tossing her hair back and giving a charming smile. "Staring at me with such lust, it would behoove you to get in my good graces."

Temari smirked. "So you're not only beautiful, but you're humble too."

Mei's smile turned downwards slightly. "We all have to play to our strengths."

Temari nodded. "Oh, yeah, I know that. For example, I've spent countless hours honing the use of my war fan to the point to where I'm the most talented user of wind based chakra attacks in my country and maybe even the world and you… well, you show off your tits."

The smile was completely gone now. In its place was a face that promised untold pain and misery should the 'conversation' they were only beginning to have get any worse. "Do I have to remind you who exactly you're talking to? I'm the most powerful person in my village, liberator of the hidden mist, and user of two separate kekkai genkai."

"And now," Temari said, placing the last omelets on plates and putting them on the table. "You're just an old hag who lies about her age and couldn't get a date, so you sold your ass off in the name of peace to console yourself." Her eyes were squinted with righteousness and a haughty attitude was practically palpable around her person. "And it doesn't matter who you are or what station you inhabit, because we're all sister-wives now. So don't insinuate that I'm a lesbian and we'll get along swimmingly, okay?" She said the last bit with unrestrained malice.

Fu's eyes went wide and a scarlet blush of outrage colored Mei's face. She stood up so fast that the chair she had been sitting in was flung backwards a few feet. Acidic mist began to leak out of her mouth in small amounts. "And unless you have a deathwish," Mei ground out, taking a sudden step towards Temari, who leaned back a little. "Then you'll insinuate what you just insinuated a second time. Because there won't be a third if you do."

Temari smiled a little and leaned back against the kitchen counter. "You'd endanger the peace and prosperity of the continent over me saying that you couldn't get a date?"

"Temari…" Fu said, getting out of her chair as well, a hard look on her face.

Mei held up a hand to silence Fu and took a couple of deep breaths. The redness of her face vanished as she regained her composure. "You're poking a bear that you shouldn't, little girl."

"And I was of the understanding that you thought you were a bombshell, not a bear, old hag. I'm getting mixed messages here."

"Guys…" Fu said dangerously.

Mei's nose curled up into a snarl. It held there for a couple of seconds before her face returned to normal with a smug smile coming to fruition. "Oh, I know what your problem is…"

Temari huffed with fake laughter. "This should be good."

Holding both of her elbows with her hands, Mei shoved her chest out and practically shoved her tits in Temari's face. "You're just jealous that you don't have anything to work with. Plain face, flat chest, no ass, mockable fashion sense. Why, I have everything that you don't."

One of Temari's eyes twitched. Wind chakra began to gather in both of her hands. "Well at least I'm not a slut."

With that last remark, Mei twisted around and began a roundhouse kick aimed straight at Temari's gut, while the younger brought forth wind chakra in both palms and sharpened them together to make two blades. The two forces were about to collide, Mei's chakra enhanced kick and Temari's sharpened fingers, when a tan blur phased its way in between them.

The sound of two simultaneous smacks reverberated across the kitchen. Temari's and Mei's eyes widened to see Fu in between them, holding back both of their strikes using only her forearms. The only reason the appendages weren't broken or cut off was because they were covered in a purple exoskeleton of chitinous material. Her eyes had been overtaken with orange and there was a snarl of anger on her face.

Mei lowered her leg and Temari's hands went back to her sides, dispelling the wind chakra. "What the hell's wrong with you two?" Fu asked, voice markedly deeper, like it wasn't even her that was talking. "You were just fine moments ago."

Temari crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back. "You can't tell me that you're not pissed the fuck off by everything that woman does, can you?"

Mei huffed and brought a mocking hand to her chin. "And you can't tell me that what she said was very much over the line of anything warranted by what I've said or how I've acted. And I don't even know what your problem is. We had such a marvelous time yesterday."

Temari shook her head and huffed out of disbelief. "What was fun? You parading me through a whole host of stores just to show off that the only thing you really care about is maintaining your face or your cleavage line? Was I having fun while you flirted with practically everyone with a dick right in front of me? Was I having fun when you made me carry your shit?"

Mei's brow crossed. "If you weren't having fun, then why didn't you say so?"

"Who could be having fun in my position? If you were looking for a lapdog, then you should have just strung along some hapless moron who had more blood in his dick than his brain."

"I was trying to be nice," Mei said defensively. "I wanted us to get along so I brought you shopping with me. I thought it was going to be fun."

"We-" Temari's voice got caught in her throat for half a second. Her point died on its hill, making her lean back even further and sigh. "Well, I'm not exactly a fan of that. Clothes, makeup, gossip, sweets… I don't care about any of it. In fact, I absolutely hate that stuff. And I'm not exactly a fan of your… let's call it your 'suggestive nature'."

Mei crossed her arms and put most of her weight on one foot. "And I'm sensitive about my age and dating habits. So please don't mention them again."

Biting the inside of her lip, Temari looked to the side and nodded.

Chomei's chakra receded back into its seal, forcing the changes to Fu's body to go away. She rubbed her wrists and stood up as tall as she could. "Okay, good. Now both of you apologize."

"Why should I have to apologize?" Mei bit back. "She's the one who started it."

"You'll apologize because you said mean things too. You also shouldn't have brought Temari along with your trip if you noticed she wasn't having fun. And you're also the adult in this situation. And you," she said looking to Temari now. "You should have made your displeasure at being 'strung along' more known. And I don't think I have to remind you that it's not okay to bring things up that a person is very sensitive about. So, both of you apologize."

There was a still pause as all three waited for someone else to react first. Mei was gripping her elbows with her hands and Temari still was looking down and biting her cheek. Fu's eye twitched at the five second mark once she realized nobody was reacting. "If I have to count down from ten, so help me, I will spear you both to the walls with insect legs and force you into time-out."

Temari huffed. "I'm sorry, okay. I shouldn't have said the stuff I did. I'm nervous and scared and I'm under a lot of pressure and your constant presence didn't help any of that yesterday."

Mei's jaw clenched and unclenched before a labored sigh burst from her lips. "I should've realized you didn't like the things I like sooner. And I'm sorry I called you plain. But I refuse to change my affectations around you."

A small smile of relief came upon Fu's face. That settled out much more amicably than she thought it would and she was very appreciative of that fact. If she had to spend the rest of her life around passive aggressiveness, she might put a dagger to her throat. There weren't many things she hated more than people unable to express their feelings in a direct manner.

A mop of black hair showed itself from around the corner. "Is it safe to enter?" Kurotsuchi asked.

Mei got back into her seat and Fu followed suit, wolfing down her omelet and stacking another on her plate. "Yes," Mei said, somewhat drained of energy. "And how are you? You're not looking too good."

If the bags around her eyes and somewhat pallid skin texture were of any indication, Mei wasn't lying. Kurotsuchi sagged and cupped her eyes in her hand, rubbing the sleep out of them. "That noticeable? I didn't get any sleep last night."

Mei smirked. "Thinking of a certain blond haired stud? Don't worry, you'll find ways to catch sleep after your fantasies."

"Oh, hardy har har," Kurotsuchi said, sitting down at the counter and dishing herself up some breakfast as well. "Though it's not like there isn't truth to your statement. Granted, not the way you're thinking of. Well, most of the time."

"I'm sorry," Fu said, throwing her hat into the conversation. "I still want to know what happened last night."

"Ohohoho," Mei said, covering her mouth. "Does our favorite husband have a contender for love rival?"

Kurotsuchi's face brightened red and she turned to look away a little bit. "It's not like that. Er, at least I don't think it is. It's, uhm… it's confusing, I guess."

"Well, if you two could make your mind up soon, that would be much appreciated," Fu said, cutting into her food like usual.

Kurotsuchi's eyebrows furrowed. "And… why is it important to you?"

Fu paused mid-bite and stared at her in the eyes. Taking time to gulp down the food, she leaned back and said "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit interested in him. He's a Jinchuuriki, after all. And… you know, I'm a Jinchuuriki too. Plus, he's fun and kinda hot."

Mei looked at her a bit more seriously. "Oh… I was only playing around."

"And that's okay. I'm not," Fu turned her head to look at Kurotsuchi. "So if you two could set your boundaries soon… I just don't want any awkwardness between us."

Temari sat down at the table of three with her own omelet. The only thing that broke the pause developing between the four was the sound of Temari eating her food. Gulping, she said "I don't know, seems pretty awkward already."

"Wait…" Kurotsuchi said, holding a hand to her forehead. "You… like him? Why? How?"

Fu shrugged. "He's fun and he's cute. And he's also a Jinchuuriki, but mostly the first two. I- I think I said that already…"

"B-But… he's childish and stubborn and immature and completely annoying. He can't stand losing and takes completely illogical stances."

Fu narrowed her eyes a little bit and a wry smile popped up on her lips. "So I take it by your insulting him so much that he's fair game? If so, then grand. I always wanted to get a boyfriend in waterfall, but everyone kept me at an arm's length. Probably because of the beetle in my body."

"I… I didn't say that," Kurotsuchi said, blush reaching her forehead. "I-I just wanted to make sure you knew all the, err, pros and cons first."

Fu first glanced at Mei and Temari before returning her gaze back to Kurotsuchi. "I think you were only listing cons, unless I'm misunderstanding something."

Kurotsuchi looked down. "N-No, he has his good points, I guess-"

Fu clapped her hands together very loudly, cutting Kurotsuchi off and making everyone tense up from the sudden, unexpected sound. "Okay, look," she said, putting her mouth and chin in the fold between her two hands. "Like I said, I don't want to step on any toes. If you're calling dibs, I'll back off. If not, he's fair game."

The blush was starting to reach down to her neck. "I-It's not that simple. Can I have some time to think?"

An exasperated sigh belted from Fu's lips as she leaned back. "You're not being very fair here. If you're going to be like this, then why not let him decide, hm? Sounds good?"

Kurotsuchi leaned her head against her hands. For what felt like the first time in her life, she felt an honest-to-goodness heart-to-heart connection with someone. Last night, they had whiled the hours away just talking about everything and nothing at all. But she didn't know what she felt about him. For all the good time she had spent with him, she couldn't forget the pain of not having her mother around, or even just the frustration he had caused her in the clothing shop. All in all, she didn't know what she felt. And getting backed into a corner by Fu wasn't making things any easier.

"Where is our charming husband, by the way?" Mei asked.

Fu redirected her attention to Mei. "Oh, and actually, non-sequitur, sorry about this, I know you're all flirtatious and everything, but are you actually interested in him like that? Because even if you are, I don't think I'm going to back down."

Mei hummed a small laughter. "How impetuous. If you really must know, then content yourself in the knowledge that I'm happy just observing for now. Just know that as the tides for one harbor falls, another rises."

Temari had to stifle her groan. Just listening to the woman was giving her a headache.

"And as for my previous question," Mei continued on. "He's not on the couch and I distinctly remember there not being enough rooms for all of us."

Kurotsuchi peered over to look at the couch in order to see for herself that it was empty. "Yeah… where is he?"

"He's with Yugito," Fu said simply.

Mei's eyebrows raised. "My, my, those two work faster than I thought."

Kurotsuchi's eyes glanced over at the stairs. "So do you think they'll be down soon? Or should we go and check?"

The entire table went silent as they stared at Kurotsuchi. "Not quite the reaction I was expecting," Temari murmured.

"Seconded," Mei quipped. "Or perhaps are you not as opposed to the idea of sharing as you would first give off?" As she said this, her eyebrows wiggled suggestively at her, prompting a childish giggle from Fu. The girl wasn't expecting such a silly facial quirk from someone who acted the way Mei did.

If the small smirk coming to Kurotsuchi's lips were of any indication, she was starting to get over her prior embarrassment rather quickly. She didn't like feeling that way. She was the one who made others' faces red from really anything that made sense for the situation. Embarrassment, frustration, anger, you name it. "Even if I was interested in him, which I may or may not be, I'm pretty sure that woman is the least of my competition. He's smart enough not to stick his dick in crazy."

"Which makes your battle an uphill one," Temari said, the side of her mouth curling up in a poorly restrained smile.

Kurotsuchi's face went blank. "Oh hardy har. You're hilarious. Truly are."

"Still though," Mei said with a flitting voice. "He is rather young. I get the impression he isn't too experienced in the ways of interacting with women. For all you know, you let him in the tiger's den."

The black haired girl shrugged. "He beat her off once, he can beat her off again."

"I don't think you have to worry about him beating her off," Temari said as her face contorted in trying to lessen the smile threatening to halve her face.

Fu and Mei shared a slight giggling session at Kurotsuchi's expense. "You know," the girl in question said. "I didn't really take you for the jokester of our merry little band."

"You make it too good to pass up," Temari said, not even trying to suppress the humor in her face and voice any more.

Kurotsuchi hid her face in her hands. "I just can't win, can I? I'm not crazy about this, am I?" she said, getting back on track. "They don't like each other. This isn't something I should worry about."

Mei shrugged, a somewhat serious air overtaking her more flirtatious one. "I believe it was only 24 hours ago that you two were at each other's throats. Who's to say that their squabbles haven't been healed in that time?"

Kurotsuchi glared at the plate in front of her. That couldn't be, right? When she was with him, she felt… well, for lack of a better term, she felt special. It might have just been a combination of the crazy events, timing, and her own desires, but…

The sound of a chair being pushed back slowly screeched through the air as Kurotsuchi sat up. Her eyes were hidden by her bangs as she said. "We're leaving soon, right? For all we know, they could still be asleep. I'm going to go check up on them."

The other three fell silent as they watched Kurotsuchi walk around the corner and held their baited breaths as they heard her step up the stairs at a measured pace. There was the sound of a door being opened and then closed two seconds later and then the sounds of her walking back down the stairs. When she turned the corner, it was difficult to read her expression because her head was down, but there was no hiding the practically neon red blush radiating from her face. She sat down without another word and hid her face in her arms on the table. "Fuck," was all she said.

Mei found no end to the hilarity of the situation. "I suppose they really do work fast."

00000000

The first thirty seconds of Yugito waking up was a bit of a roller coaster of emotions for her. First was the fact that she didn't recognize the room she woke up in. Second was she didn't recognize the chest she was sleeping on. Third was the fear that she had done something she might have regretted. Fourth was remembering the night before and realizing that there was nothing to be ashamed of. And fifth was the realization that she had shared what amounted to the most personal thing about herself to what was practically an acquaintance.

Finally, her eyelids drooped and her arms hugged his body closer to chest and face. Over the course of the night, their bodies had changed position to the opposite of what it had started out as, with her head laying on his chest, one of her arms wrapped around his stomach, and her legs wrapped around and entwined with his own legs.

"Sleep well kitten?"

Yugito took a little bit to answer that. 'Yes…' she thought out slowly. 'Yes I did. Better than I think I ever have, in fact.'

"At least you're being honest with yourself now. When can I expect the litter then?"

Yugito was too comfortable to get flustered by the cat's comments. The sun was showing through the window, warming her up considerably and making her not want to leave bed. Even without the sun, though, she would have been content to lay there for hours, soothed by the steady beat of Naruto's heart. She had no idea that the simple action of listening to another's heartbeat would be so… soothing.

She closed her eyes and pushed her head into his chest some more. 'I shared too much, didn't I?'

"I suppose you could call that one a matter of perspective. He certainly did seem different after his little tryst with the black haired girl. Maybe a bit more open? Honestly, you could learn a thing or two from him."

He was still in deep slumber as Yugito slowly rubbed a hand up his torso. She had forgotten how good it felt to simply touch another person. 'No… no, I think I was right before. He needs someone at his own age at least. He's a good guy though. I'm okay with just… this.'

"I wouldn't be."

'And you're not me.'

Matatabi slowly retreated back into her comfortable little space in Yugito's mindscape. "Just keep an open mind, would you? Couldn't hurt."

'You don't know that.'

The chakra construct paused. "I suppose you're right."

Naruto's breathing hitched and his chest tightened suddenly. Perhaps he wasn't as deep a sleeper as she had pegged him to be.

His bleary eyes opened to an unfamiliar room with an unfamiliar woman on his chest, stroking his body. "Who're you?" he mumbled out, disoriented by the suddenness of waking up.

Yugito sighed and pushed herself up to where she could look him in the eyes. Her eyes and face were neutral as she asked "Did you have a good sleep?"

He used one of his hands to rub the sleep out of his eyes. The other one had been numbed by her weight on it. "Yugito?"

She laid her head on his chest once more, very much on good terms with the idea of getting a little bit more sleep in. "The one and only," she said with a morning yawn.

Naruto caught the yawn and fell back on the pillow. "Mmm. You look different with your hair down."

Yugito hummed into his chest. "Better, I should hope."

Naruto nodded and said "Yup, better," before his brain could think of a reason why he shouldn't say that. He took in a deep breath and said "You smile nice too."

Yugito hummed into his chest again. "What do I smell like?"

"Hard work and determination."

Her torso thumped a few times from the laughter that threatened to spill from her mouth. "And what exactly does that smell like?"

"Blood and sweat," Naruto answered simply.

Her eyebrows scrunched together. She remembered using soaps and shampoos when she bathed the night before and she didn't get night sweats either. A grip of anxiety grabbed her stomach before Naruto pulled at the navy blue shirt he was wearing, identical to the one she had on. "I don't think you washed it," he said.

Yugito's eyes widened and her heart started beating faster, reddening her face and upper chest. How could she have forgotten that? She began to trip over her own words as she began to offer excuses and apologies, but he only chuckled a little bit and leaned back, pulling her tighter against him. "It's fine. I don't mind it," he said.

"If you had any sense, you'd jump him right here."

"Shut up!" Yugito hissed.

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

Her eyes squinted closed from frustration. She really had to get a handle on that quirk of hers. "The cat was saying some weird things. Nevermind it."

Naruto closed his eyes and nodded. "So, why are you on my chest?"

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No… not really."

"That's good. Because I think I really like it."

It was Naruto's turn for a blush to light up on his face. He would have been content to lay there, stewing in slight embarrassment, for an extra hour or two, but Yugito had different plans. "Hey, uhm…" she started out unsurely. "I… I said some pretty… let's say, personal things last night. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable and I probably shouldn't have even mentioned it. You should probably just forget it."

Naruto was quick to say "No, no, it's fine. I also said some personal things, so it's okay. We're even on that at least."

Yugito cracked one of her eyes open and rotated her head so she could see his eyes. "What did you share that was so personal?"

The blush on his face didn't diminish as her gaze intensified. He couldn't look her in the eyes when he said "Y-You know… about that whole thing about us, er… all of us, the contract members, being kinda like a family. Now that I think about it… it's kinda weird, isn't it?"

Yugito went back to the way she was with a small smile on her lips. "I don't think so. I never really had a family, so who knows? Maybe this could be a good thing."

It was exactly at that moment that a shuffle was heard downstairs followed by two loud thumps and Fu berating someone or some people. Naruto had to laugh at the timing of it. "Or maybe not."

"It wouldn't be a family if there wasn't any fighting. The Raikage has an adopted brother and they're almost always at each other's throats. Well, the Raikage's always at Bee's throat. It could be that we're already more like a family than any of us thinks we are."

"Or," Naruto said. "We really are just two wrong steps from falling apart."

Yugito hummed into his chest. "That'd be a shame. I really like sleeping with you. Just might make it a habit."

She almost laughed when she felt his heart quicken its beat. Although the slight insinuation in her words had been unintentional, she wasn't above deriving humor from knowing that she was making him blush. Perhaps she and Matatabi had more in common than she thought?

"I-It was a good night's sleep…" Naruto said, head turned to the side as he suddenly found the color of the wall very interesting.

Yugito's eyes widened. She felt her cheeks heat up a little from his words. She had been joking about that. Mostly. A little. Actually very little. In fact, she was downright serious, but hid it with a joking tone. "Y-Yeah…"

"D-Do you… want to… make it a, you know, a habit?"

"I'm sure they won't hear downstairs. You could do it right here and now. Come onhe's giving you signs."

"Uhm… we'll… yeah, maybe… Maybe."

The two of them sat there in happy-embarrassed silence for a few minutes, each with a goofy grin on their faces and neither daring to look each other directly.

"Well," Naruto said finally. "We should probably get ready for the day."

"Yeah," Yugito said quickly, having gotten a handle on her facial expression by then. Naruto tried to push himself up while Yugito tried to slide away from him. However, she got caught by his dead arm and slipped, pulling him down on her. It only lasted a second and nothing would have happened from the situation aside from a few good-natured chuckles and half-hearted apologies were it not for the fact that Kurotsuchi chose that exact time to open the door to Yugito's room, witnessing Naruto in the position of pinning Yugito against the bed in what would have appeared to be of lascivious nature.

The door closed, leaving both Naruto and Yugito with ruby red faces, each understanding the position they were in and becoming very self-conscious of it.

"Why are you like this?" Matatabi lamented.

00000000

"How about this?" Fu asked energetically, grabbing a coat hanging from a wall and splaying it over her body. It was oversized for her by a great amount, but would have fit Naruto just fine. Black, gray and dark blue and made of sturdy materials. It would have been good for a stealth mission at night, but Naruto wasn't the kind of ninja who excelled in those areas. Having a predilection towards orange didn't really help that matter much.

Naruto shook his head slowly and tutted. "It's gotta feature orange in some way. Orange is the best color."

Fu smirked, put a hand to her chest and emphasized her orange irises. "Oh, you flatterer. First poor Yugito and now you set your lusty eyes on me? How will I cope? Why, I clutch at my pearls over such a thought." Everything she said was in jest, layered with a heavy coat of playful sarcasm, but it didn't stop the slightly indignant pout coming to Naruto's lips.

"For the last time, it was a misunderstanding," Naruto said pleadingly.

"It that what they're calling it nowadays?"

He couldn't help but laugh along with her. "Come on, stop teasing me. I don't… I wouldn't…" He put a hand to the nape of his neck and rubbed it there, bringing his gaze down and away from her. "I'm still getting used to this. I wouldn't… you know, do that."

Fu smirked and put the jacket back on the rack. "Oh, come on. It's been two days, of course you aren't used to it. No one is. And I don't think anyone ever will be. You just gotta keep moving forward and hope for the best. Now come on, we're on a tight schedule. You need some traveling clothes. The sooner we can get you out of Yugito's duds the better."

As she flittered off to find some suitable arrangements for Naruto, he couldn't help but smile. He was starting to really like her. She was like a ray of sunshine on a fall afternoon. The mere presence of her made him want to forget about everything and just live in the present.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself."

Naruto yelped in surprise and whirled around to face the intruder, only to find the somewhat amused face of Gaara staring back at him. Naruto put a hand to his chest and let it calm down a little bit. "You sneaky motherfucker," he said.

"Well I'm sorry that I don't run around the town announcing my presence the entirety of the human race," Gaara said, face unchanged from the pleasant look.

Naruto's eye twitched. "Was that supposed to be a joke?"

He shrugged. "I thought it was funny."

The nine-tailed Jinchuuriki let a few humorless chuckles from his lips before saying "I think you need to work on your sense of humor a little bit."

Gaara dipped his head down in acknowledgement and looked back up at Fu off in the distance, piling different outfits on her shoulders to an almost comical degree. "How was your morning?"

"Full of misunderstandings," Naruto immediately replied, thinking back to how he stammered out his perspective of the situation he and Yugito were in that morning to the rest of the residents of the house with absolutely no help from the woman in question. "But no one died, so that's good," he said.

Gaara smiled. "Is that the new standard for how things fare? The fact that no one has died? Have things truly been that bad?"

"I got stabbed. That wasn't fun. I guess, to be fair, that was a kinda a big misunderstanding, but it still wasn't fun. Anyway, why are you here? Shouldn't you be at the gates?"

Gaara looked to the door. "I have been at the gates. I was there for nearly an hour. When you were supposed to be there."

Naruto shrugged helplessly. "Do I look like I'm in any position to be going anywhere? A certain someone shredded my clothes."

"It wasn't my sister, I shouldn't hope."

"Did my dad kill your sister's mom?"

"I'm pretty sure I did that."

"Then the answer's no."

Gaara crossed his arms over his chest and nodded to himself. "Well at least you appear to be having fun. If anyone could manage to survive in this situation it would be you."

Naruto didn't look so convinced. "I'm not that special. Well, my dad was the fourth hokage. And I'm from a dying lineage, apparently. And I have one of the most powerful beings in the world sealed in my stomach. Still though, lineage aside, I'm not any different from anyone else on the street."

Gaara raised his brow at Naruto knowingly. "Perhaps you aren't aware of it, but you have the uncanny ability to attract people to you. Just talking to you makes people want to believe in you and to believe in themselves. People want to like you."

Naruto scratched his cheek. "You're making me sound pretty cool. Might just get a big head."

"You're right. Your head's big enough as it is. Any more and it will threaten to pop."

They laughed together a little bit. "I guess your sense of humor isn't so bad."

"I should hope so."

"Hey," Fu said exuberantly, a large stack of duplicated items stacked on her shoulders and back. Her focus was squarely on Naruto for a few seconds until Gaara tilted his head forward and offered a hand.

"Hello," he said. "I don't think we've formally met."

Fu looked to him with a little bit of confusion before realization dawned on her. "Oh, you're the kazekage, aren't you? Do you two know each other? Oh wait, oops. Sorry," she grabbed his hand and shook it up and down. "Name's Fu. Nice to meet you. So you two know each other?"

"He's the only reason I'm able to live," Gaara said quite simply.

Fu gained an impish smirk and nudged Naruto in the side with her elbow. "You're more well connected than I thought. That's attractive, you know."

Naruto grinned nervously with a small blush staining his cheeks. Gaara found that amusing to no end. "I suppose I can sympathize with your lack of clothing, but if you could hurry it up, I think all the people waiting at the gates would be much appreciative."

"You can't rush perfection," Fu said. "Besides, you can just stall for time if you have to."

"I… don't… think-"

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

A wailing scream echoed around the store followed by a gurgle and wet squelches, like someone was shoving their fist into a jellyfish. After the first scream, there was a cacophony of following panic and confusion.

The three friends needed only a single glance before they raced off to the epicenter of the scream. Fu percolated water swords on her arms, Naruto created two other shadow clones, and Gaara swirled his sand around him. People began running in the opposite direction the three were going. Some had blood stains on their clothes, but whether the blood was their own or someone else's was not readily apparent. The one thing they all had in common was a look of abject horror in their eyes.

It wasn't long before they came to the scene and beheld its contents. A civilian woman who had been repeatedly stabbed in the midsection was strung up in the air, held aloft by strings. Already, there was a growing pool of blood and offal on the ground below her. There were a few other civilians around her in various states of injury, but all were alive.

Next to them was a shop attendant entirely covered in blood with a sick smile on her face and a wicked knife in her hand. Her entire arm was discolored scarlet and she was completely still. Slowly, she looked up at the three of them. Her red stained smile grew bigger at the sight of them.

Fu was the first to react, popping forward and slashing the knife out of the woman's hand and pinning her to the ground in one move. Sand encroached on her legs to hold her in place and the Naruto clones ran out of the building to find the police. The original stared at the murdered woman, sickness floating around in his gut. He's seen some really terrible shit, but those were usually in the context of a battle. There, it was live or die and Naruto chose to live. Here, however…

He looked away and to the woman pinned to the ground. She wasn't struggling in the slightest. It was like she had completely accepted what had happened. Fu's mouth was set in a thin line, betraying no emotion at all. It was hard to imagine that she was the same girl who was ribbing him only seconds prior.

After spawning a few clones to help the wounded, Naruto knelt next to the woman and stared at her in the one open eye that was showing. It was unnatural, almost inhuman. "Why?" Naruto asked. He didn't know why he was asking the question. In truth, he hadn't expected much of any answer in return. But anything to justify the sudden and unprovoked bloodshed would have been appreciated.

The woman's mouth opened with a clack and sharpened needles spewed shot out of it with such force that they sunk halfway into any of Naruto's exposed flesh. His reflexes had been fast enough to cover his torso and head with his arms, but three needles sunk into his gut, two had pinged off his shins, and another stuck just under his kneecap, right in the tendon.

"Naruto!" Fu shouted before reaching back and spearing the woman's head to the ground with one of her swords. Less than the sound of squelching flesh, there was only the clack of a piece of wood getting hit. Fu's eyes widened. What she was pinning to the floor wasn't human. Gaara's sand covered the doll in its entirety and crushed it before she could react. There was the sound of metal being torn apart and wood splintering and then nothing.

Naruto was pulling out the needles when he said "W-What's going on?"

Fu rushed to his side and helped him up. The leg that got hit wasn't moving correctly under the knee and he could barely stand. "We have to get you help," she said. "The needles could have been poisoned."

"Poison doeshn't work on me," Naruto said, even as his words slurred and his vision doubled. "I… think?"

"It looks like the workings of a puppet," Gaara said, standing over the crushed remains of the doll. "The puppet user should be very near."

"Is it an invasion?" Fu asked.

Gaara stared at the doll, his mind trying to work out what was happening. "Sand is the only village that has puppets this complicated. And I would never..." he trailed off.

Fu began limping her way to the glass doors. Already, pandemonium was reigning supreme outside with ninja and citizen alike rushing to and fro, some bloodied and some not. All, however, didn't know what was going on and it showed on their scared faces.

Spitting up a bile liquid, Naruto's head started nodding up and down. His body was starting to feel numb. That wasn't a good thing. "Hey, Gaaaaraa…" Naruto slurred out, looking behind him at the redhead. "What doo youuu-"

And then the puppet Gaara was standing on exploded.