Chapter 3

For everyone who is curious, I'm going with the $1.00 (USD) = 10 Ryo conversion rate that I found via google.

Shizuka didn't falter at the change of pace, returning the greeting and offering a similar nod of her own.

Naruto blinked at the polite exchange of pleasantries, wondering where his Kage's anger had vanished to. He glanced about the gate and saw a few civilians taking note of their presence, speaking in hushed whispers among themselves.

"You must be tired from the journey. Your village is quite a ways out from Fire country." He turned when he heard Tsunade speak, her attention still aimed at his fiancé. "A hotel suite has been prepared for you so you can rest."

He looked at the black haired kunoichi and he could see the expression on Shizuka's face wasn't as relaxed as when they'd been talking. It was the same frosty state as when she'd been fending off Kokuyô's advances. It wasn't a big difference, but there was a subtle softness that had started to show in their conversations. "That is a very generous offer, Hokage-dono, but we are all well rested. The bed on the ship was more than adequate for a good night's sleep. Right, Naruto?"

"Huh?" He blinked, not having been expecting to be included in their conversation. "Oh yeah. It was great." He agreed a little nervously. He suspected there was more to the conversation the two of them were having but he couldn't make out any of it.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed a shade. "I'm glad." She said, but it sounded a lot like she was actively trying to keep her jaw unclenched. "Then let's continue this in my office."

The Nadeshiko woman nodded, following after the blonde Hokage as she led the way.

They proceeded down the busy street, moving at a relaxed walking pace. Instead of calming the teen down, the pace made him even more tense as he watched the bobbing of Tsunade's twin pigtails. He didn't take note of the civilians as they walked by, not noticing the way they gazed questioningly at his presence. Their whispers weren't quiet enough to hide their words from his sensitive hearing but he couldn't settle his thoughts enough to focus on them.

It took far too long for his liking until they arrived in the familiar office, him and Shizuka taking the offered seats before Tsunade's desk. It was conspicuously clear of all forms of paperwork and he briefly wondered why that was.

She turned her eyes to him, her expression having grown a great deal colder since they stepped behind the closed door. "So, Genin-Naruto." She started, leaving enough time between her statements for the temperature of the room to drop rapidly. "Obviously by your presence I can tell that your mission was a failure."

He flinched a little at the pointed words.

She hadn't ceased her glaring, the look in her eyes drawing his tiny hairs away from his skin. "I want to know why." She finished, finally allowing him an opportunity to speak.

He didn't rush to explain everything, holding himself and taking a deep breath to focus on what Shizuka had said. "I couldn't complete the mission, Hokage-sama." He started, using her title to avoid earning more of her ire. "I…" The next words he felt get caught in his throat.

He didn't want to say them.

Part of him did. Part of him felt that they were entirely true and that part was eager to tell the Hokage all of it and more, but...the other part of him wasn't so convinced. He'd spent almost his entire life working towards his goal and now that he was actually here he didn't feel so willing to give it up anymore.

He glanced to the side, meeting Shizuka's eyes. The dark orbs didn't change at all, not offering any hints of the woman's thoughts, but he knew. He knew that she wasn't as unbothered by his hesitation as she seemed. Not only was she annoyed by it, since it was unfitting of a clan head, but he was almost certain that she was at least a little afraid.

She had to know that if he wanted, he could deny everything that had happened between the two of them and raise enough of a stink to get her sent out of the village if she tried to argue too feverently. He was quite sure the Hokage was waiting for him to do just that and she wouldn't allow the Yamanaka to get involved in the matter if it came to that, but…

He couldn't do that to her. Of course, he didn't want to give up his dream, but he didn't think he could ever live with himself as Hokage with that kind of deception hanging over his head.

"You know what my life was like before." He spoke instead, watching as the Hokage nodded slowly. "Before I became a hero to the village, they treated me like I was the dirt under their shoes. Nobody even wanted to acknowledge the fact that that I existed." He told her, the long standing resentment somehow sneaking its way into his tone.

A ripple under her pale skin gave away the clenching of her jaw, her hard eyes not leaving him.

"Now that I saved the village from Pain, people treat me like a hero. I mean, I've seen some people bow to me when I go into their shops. People always smile when they pass me in the streets. I saw a bunch of kids wearing orange when they were playing ninja." He felt his fist clench a little at his side. Apparently he wasn't as divided about this as he'd thought. "When we were travelling none of that stuff happened. Every town I went to, the people just treated me like any other traveller." 'Like any other ninja.'

He paused for a second, not allowing himself to succumb to the tears he'd felt threatening to well up. He could see that Tsunade was also remembering that most of the travels he was referencing were his years with her old teammate. She didn't meet his eyes anymore, her own finding something more interesting off to his side.

Once he had himself under control, he finished. "I just can't live with it anymore, Hokage-sama. I can't pretend that the past sixteen years of my life didn't happen." He was a bit surprised at the vehemence of his own statement, but he knew it was true. "I came back to give you my resignation."

Tsunade stiffened, her eyes turning sharply towards him. "Resigning after you've already sworn your loyalty to another village doesn't make you any less of a deserter." She said, no longer hiding the fact that she already guessed what had happened on the mission. Naruto stiffened at the words, not knowing how to defend himself. Shizuka had made it very clear that if he was found guilty of desertion then they would be well in their rights to punish him in any way they saw fit. Death, stripping him of the Kyuubi, locking him up until-

"If I may, Hokage-dono, Naruto hasn't sworn his loyalty to any other village. He will be a civilian once his retirement papers have been processed." His wife-to-be clarified, not looking the slightest bit perturbed by the conversation.

Tsunade didn't even look at the other woman, continuing with her frosty tone aimed at Naruto. "Well he swore to be your husband, did he not." It wasn't a question. "Somehow I doubt he's going to be sitting at home minding your children." She accused scathingly. "Not to mention that your village has a certain strength requirement when it comes to the leader."

Shizuka didn't stiffen, but the hardening of her eyes made him think there was more to that statement than what he'd heard. "Of course, Lady Tsunade, but that doesn't change the fact that, right now, Naruto has sworn no allegiance to any other than Konoha."

That was an important distinction. It meant that Naruto wasn't coming home as a deserter but simply as a shinobi who had 'seen too much' and decided that he didn't want the job anymore. That was a very important distinction. He'd have to face a reprimand and he'd be fined the cost of the mission, but it was infinitely better than if he was a deserter.

Tsunade seemed to see this as well as the muscles of her arm rippled, probably because of the fist he didn't doubt she had clenched beneath her desk. "What about the toads." Once again, it wasn't a question. "The toads of Mount Myobokuzan are allied with Konoha and Naruto has a contract with them."

He nodded, having been aware he'd have to do this. He didn't want to, but there wasn't really a better option. "I will break the contract between me and the toads."

The Hokage didn't react, probably having been expecting the words. It wasn't something that was done often, since summoning contracts weren't easy to come by and even if you did miraculously find another one, most summons were far too proud to be anyone's second choice. "I see." She said.

They spent the next few minutes in silence, Shizuka still not seeming as if the passing time was bothering her any. Naruto wondered why there wasn't anything being said, but eventually he just figured that Tsunade was trying to come up with something to tie him to. There was nothing in their contract that further tethered him to the village.

Eventually, she leaned back in her chair, her eyes moving between him and Shizuka. "So you're just going to abandon the village when we're at war."

He didn't allow his head to drop, but his eyes fell to gaze at the dark grain of her desk. Essentially that was what he was doing, and he felt all the more shitty everytime he thought about it. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Hokage-dono, but I believe your Sannin travel privileges were given to you before the end of the second Great Shinobi War." That she'd taken full advantage of those privileges went unsaid as the Hokage's jaw tightened.

They spent a few seconds more in tense silence before Tsunade apparently decided she didn't want them in her office anymore. "Your reprimand for abandoning an S-rank mission will be monetary, so you you'll be fined an additional seventy thousand Ryo on top of the nine hundred thousand for the mission itself."

Naruto felt himself swallow at the figure, wondering just what they'd been commissioned to do. That was just enough for a very high level assassination mission, and he had no clue who would pay them to assassinate someone so important while they were at war. The seventy thousand was a little bit excessive for a first offence, but he knew he was still getting off lightly. Shizuka simply nodded at his side and stood to her feet, not seeming at all concerned about the figure. Her infinite calm was steadying the blond.

"If that is all, Hokage-dono." She said, waiting as the other two rose to their feet as well. Tsunade offered the most grudging nod and Shizuka turned to leave the office. It was more than obvious that they all knew what had actually happened, but according to the law there was nothing wrong with any of it. It would be a textbook example of following the letter and not the spirit of the law.

Tokiwa stood as the two of them exited the office, joining them as they made their way down the stairs and out of the building. They didn't speak a word as they moved, aware that all their movements were more than likely being watched.

When they were a ways down the street, Shizuka turned to Naruto, offering a slight nod and a hint of a smile. "Where can we get something to eat?"

Tsunade fumed as she sat back in her chair, trying to stop herself from throwing her desk through her window.

It wasn't easy, and she had her hands clenched so hard that her nails were biting crescents of blood out of her palms, but one thing did keep her from expressing her anger in the one way she was most familiar with.

They were at war. They couldn't afford the other villagers and the shinobi discovering Naruto's desertion and that would surely happen if she let herself rage about it. They would try to understand if they were told the 'he met Shizuka, fell in love and decided to move to her village' version, but if they were told their hero was abandoning them, it would destroy their morale.

There wasn't anything good that could come from letting the truth out and she knew that. As much as rules were rules, sometimes there were things that just had to be done. It was just too bad that it was the Hokage who had to ensure those things were done.

She felt her eyes widen a little when she finally realised that she understood. She understood what her sensei had done all those years ago when Dan had died. He'd seen the way she looked at the village and he'd known that giving her the option to leave was the only thing he could've done. She had been making plans to leave anyway, regardless of what he decided, but he'd allowed her to remain a kunoichi of the village instead of a missing nin.

Granted he probably did that more to prevent the hit in reputation Konoha would've taken if it had gotten out that 'the last Senju had abandoned the village', than to make her grieving easier, but that was beside the point.

It was exactly the same situation.

She had abandoned the village, during a period of war, no less. And the Hokage at the time had understood that it was better to let her go than to let the village suffer the true consequences of her betrayal.

She shook her head slightly to clear it of those thoughts.

Now that she was more hurt than angry, she found that she didn't want to be in her office anymore. She could trust herself to handle a bottle or two. She stood to her feet, proceeding to open the door and stepping into the hall.

"Tsunade-sama?" The words came from the black haired woman who hadn't hesitated to come with her as she abandoned the village, and that thought didn't make Tsunade any more inclined to remain in the woman's presence.

She nodded to Shizune as she walked past her, carefully not bumping the woman as she adjusted the stack of papers she was taking back to her office. 'I really need a drink.'

"Welcome, Honourable son of the Fourth Hokage." The man greeted them far too loudly to be genuine. The way he was looking around 'discretely' made it more than obvious he wanted the attention. It made sense as this was one of the handful of businesses to have been fully rebuilt this soon after Pain's attack. "I'm not surprised you couldn't keep yourself away from our restaurant." His chuckles were obnoxiously fake. "Right this way, I'm sure your companions would appreciate a little more privacy."

Shizuka didn't allow her face to show her slight amusement at the predicament. Naruto had brought them here to a barbeque restaurant, apparently at the recommendation of one of his Akimichi friends. The look on his face as he followed the man made it obvious he was regretting that choice.

They were led to a room in a little alcove that was much too big for three people. He showed them to their table and told them that their waiter would be on their way shortly.

The man made a handful of portentous statements about the quality of their meat before he finally left them in peace. She turned to the blond and raised a single eyebrow. "You didn't want to get ramen?"

He turned back to her, his red face cooling somewhat. "I…" When the silence started to drag he decided not to finish his sentence, instead settling on shaking his head with a small smile. He probably wasn't ready to introduce her to the ramen chefs.

She gave a slight nod, accepting the non-answer. She turned to the third occupant of the room, repeating the gesture with her questioning eyebrow.

Tokiwa nodded to her, her hands coming together in a practiced set of hand seals. She held them together in a seal and they glowed slightly. The detection technique caused a blue glow to emanate from one of the small vases and underneath a corner of the rug. Tokiwa proceeded to crush the two bugs hiding in each spot. Naruto's unhidden shock at the presence of the eavesdroppers was easy to see on his face.

Shizuka had been expecting it, though. With a clan like the Aburame in the village it was more than likely they would have ears in every corner of the village. It was telling that there were no seals active in the room. That either meant the owner was oblivious, or he had seals etched onto the other side of the boards and was confident they would pick up everything they said.

Either way, they wouldn't be too liberal with their words.

"Whoa. I didn't even know those were there." He spoke, his eyes falling as he seemed to realise just why they had been there. It meant that there were at least two Aburames who had seen him and had wanted to know why he was back. They hadn't trusted his judgement and they'd violated his privacy without hesitation. Shizuka guessed he was more than a little hurt about that fact.

"..." She wanted to say something to ease his pain, but she couldn't think of anything. The three of them remained in a stilted silence for a handful of minutes.

The sound of the door broke the frozen air in the room, allowing the hum of chatter to filter in from outside. A good deal of it was gossip about the village's hero and his unexpected return but Shizuka ignored it. A woman stepped into the room and offered them each a menu. They each picked a pair of meats and weren't surprised when she suggested they add more since it was 'on the house'. Naruto seemed too subdued to ask for another platter of pork, but the woman added a bottle of sake anyway as thanks for his heroism.

Her unsubtle winks only served to make Naruto uncomfortable. When she was gone, he spoke up about it. "Ah, sorry about that, Shizuka." He rubbed the back of his head as he apologised. "Like I said, people really started treating me differently after Pain's attack."

She shook her head slightly. "Don't worry, I expected as much, what with you being the village hero and all." He pouted a little at the words. "But that does remind me. When you're going to have a mistress, all I ask is that you be discrete about it."

His eyes widened and a rush of pink flooded his face. "W-what?"

"We don't need any rumours going around about-"

"No, I don't...why would you even suggest that?!" He interrupted, seeming like he was only just keeping himself from standing to his feet.

She was rather shocked at his vehement denial, wondering at his reaction. Before she could respond, the woman came back with a trolley full of meat. She leaned back from where she'd found herself and allowed the waitress to serve the food. Naruto's expression didn't change from his shocked and somewhat betrayed look, but she didn't make any mention of it.

When she was finally done placing down almost double what they had ordered, she bowed to them and left the two bottles of sake on the table.

When she left, Naruto leaned in to tear into her about her words, but she stopped him with a raised finger. The grill had already been fired up between them and was ready for the meat. She swiftly placed a handful of beef down on it and let it sizzle for a second before she spoke. "If you could go back, to before you met me, would you still agree to fight me?"

Naruto's defiant expression didn't falter, but he took the opportunity to focus instead on placing some of his own meat on the hot metal. They all knew the answer to that.

She nodded to herself, idly beginning to turn over some of her meat. "It's not uncommon that Nadeshiko women get trapped in loveless relationships." She informed him, not making a mention of the way Tokiwa's face darkened and she focused on putting down her own meat. "No one will begrudge your 'infidelity', but no one will want to see it."

He clenched his fist and aimed his eyes squarely at her, not able to hide the hurt in the cerulean orbs.

She didn't offer any apologies for what she'd said. She wasn't sorry. She didn't have any plans to open her heart to him and it would only be a matter of time until he appreciated her candor and found himself a woman on the side.

Or a man, if that was what he preferred.

To be honest she wouldn't be surprised, what with his vehement search for his Uchiha friend. A part of her briefly wondered if the man he'd get into a relationship with would be one she knows. None of them had ever revealed any such preferences, but she had always had her suspicions about-

"...!" The intense look on Naruto's face broke her out of her thoughts. He looked like there was a something he wanted to say, but he wouldn't allow the words to pass between his lips. Movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention to the way Tokiwa flipped some of her pieces.

She didn't seem to be paying any attention at all to their conversation and was simply waiting for her meal to be ready, and that was exactly what tipped Shizuka off. Tokiwa had a vested interest in anything that concerned her and both of them knew it. There was no reason for her to hide it unless-

She kept her expression from changing at all as the thought registered. 'Unless she was hiding something.'

Tokiwa was an excellent kunoichi, but like many others she still hadn't grasped that an inconspicuous action can often be just as suspect as an out-of-character one. She focused on her retainer, but her words were still pointedly directed at Naruto. "So I see you know about him."

The older woman froze between breaths but didn't drop the meat she'd been moving. She pointedly did not respond to Shizuka's knowledge, but her reaction had been enough. It occurred to her that that had been the reason Naruto had changed his mind and decided to fight her. She should've put it together, since Tokiwa hadn't snuck away from their camp any other time since they'd set out together, but she hadn't questioned her retainer's actions.

The woman only had her best interests at heart.

It was that knowledge that stopped the kunoichi from judging her too harshly about it. Obviously she believed Naruto would be a valuable addition to her life. Turning her gaze back to the teen, she met his eyes and he finally responded to her words.

He didn't respond with words, instead directing a small nod her way.

They spent a few more minutes in near silence, the sizzling of meat being the only sound in the room. The combination of the overhead vacuum and the vents in the walls were doing a good job of circulating cool air, but you'd be hard pressed to tell with the heated glaring going on.

There was a minuscule pause in Tokiwa's actions as she turned another piece of meat. The woman had always been of the opinion that deciding to focus solely on her duties and closing herself off from everything else was a bad idea, but she didn't make mention of it. She seemed content to leave the task of convincing her to her betrothed.

Speaking of her husband-to-be, the teen was silently watching her as he sat. The look in his eyes wasn't pitying, but it roused her fury as much as if it had been. She didn't avoid his eyes, but instead forced herself to consciously break the eye contact. He wouldn't be aware of the difference, seeing as he had no training in these kinds of subtleties, but it was an action that would mask the fact that his gaze had affected her.

She focused back on her meat, turning one of the larger pieces and willing it to cook faster. She couldn't help the way her thoughts focused on what had been taken from her.

When they stepped out of the restaurant it was getting well into the afternoon. Naruto hadn't mentioned anything about the hotel they had been offered, so he had obviously picked up on the fact that they wouldn't be making use of it.

Shizuka appreciated that.

There really wasn't much for them to do outside of waiting for Naruto's retirement papers to be finalized. Not yet at least.

She didn't want to retire for the night, though. It was still too early, and too nice a day to do that just yet.

"Would you give us a tour of the village?" Tokiwa's words broke the silence between them and Shizuka was once more thankful of how well her retainer knew her.

"Oh, sure." He spoke, starting down one of the paths. He wasn't leading them towards the Hokage Monument but she figured they'd get there eventually.

They didn't manage to get very far into the tour before Shizuka spotted a platinum blonde in the company of what looked like an Aburame making a beeline for their group. Her expression was slightly displeased, but she didn't mark the woman as hostile. The man behind her didn't leave enough skin visible to judge, but his posture seemed neutral enough.

"Naruto?" The two came to a stop before their group, the male remaining silent. "What're you doing back already? And who are your friends?" She fired off rapidly, suspicion marring her features.

Shizuka wondered if it was a constant in Naruto's relationships. The Yamanaka had been rather quick to be suspicious of Naruto's presence. "Oh, hey, Ino." He responded, cutting off one of his stories about his academy years. "This is Shizuka and Tokiwa." He scratched his chin slightly, his posture starting to become somewhat defensive. "I met them on my mission."

The blonde's eyes narrowed at the statement, her gaze swinging over to scrutinise Shizuka and her retainer. Shizuka acknowledged the woman with a slight nod and did feel somewhat amused when the blonde adjusted her posture slightly. It wasn't enough to be noticeable for anyone who wasn't looking for it, but Shizuka had been dealing with this kind of petty jealousy all her life.

"I didn't think you would return to the village so soon." The Aburame's deep voice made Naruto jump as if he hadn't even been aware of the other man's presence. "Why, you ask?" He used one hand to adjust his glasses on the bridge of his nose and Shizuka didn't think she was imagining the furrow of frustration he was trying to hide with the gesture. "Because you spent an unusual time with your friends before you were scheduled to depart and that is something commonly done when one is embarking on a particularly lengthy or dangerous mission."

Naruto chuckled a little nervously, one arm scratching at the other in a poor attempt to hide how unnerved he was. "Shino, hey. I didn't see you there." He offered instead, though Shizuka could tell it was an attempt to derail the conversation.

It worked admirably.

What little of the man's skin was visible tightened in irritation and Ino laughed lightly at the words. "You'll never change, will you, Naruto." She said, fond exasperation in her tone. He responded with a slightly sheepish smile. "Well, come on, Shino. Let's go see if we have any of those Larkspurs left. " She gave their small group a wave as she took her leave, the Aburame following sedately after her.

Shizuka couldn't help but feel that something was off about the encounter. It could be that she was simply looking too deeply into it, but she didn't think that specific flower had been chosen at random. The Larkspur was a particularly difficult flower to grow, but it was beautiful enough to warrant the effort. The thing that stood out to her, though, was the fact that the flower was poisonous and had the 'hidden' meaning of 'Fickleness'.

It wasn't something Naruto seemed to be aware of as he breathed a sigh of relief from the short encounter being over.

Shizuka wasn't that optimistic that the issue was behind them, but she decided to focus on another matter. "Naruto, has your apartment been rebuilt?"

"Huh?" He turned to her. "Oh, yeah. It was one of the first buildings to get fixed up." The pink tinging his cheeks made her aware that it was likely because of his status as a hero that the building had been prioritised.

With the sleeping arrangement sorted, she felt comfortable returning to the tour. Of course, there were a number of things they still had to do in Konoha, but they could wait until morning.

Naruto slowly blinked as he woke to the darkness of his apartment. His internal clock was telling him that it was about midnight, but his stomach didn't seem to care.

There was a growling pit in the base of his abdomen that was demanding ramen. Of course, it didn't realise Ichiraku's would have long since closed by this time, but it was of the persuasion that even instant ramen would do.

He closed his eyes and tried to ignore it, pulling Shizuka's form into his own and trying to relax. He could get some ramen in the morning.

Once more, his stomach disagreed, gurgling insistently. He could feel the slightly strange sensation of saliva starting to flow in his mouth and his nostrils flared with each breath. The phantom smell of noodles and broth started to fill his lungs.

He resisted the urge to shake his head, mastering himself and nuzzling up against his wife to be.

His stomach throbbed once in warning.

It was a feeling he was more than familiar with because of his childhood, and the threat of experiencing the pains of hunger again were enough to make him take his stomach's concerns seriously.

Now the only thing was getting out of bed without waking Shizuka. She was, once again, naked as the day she was born clutching his arm securely between her breasts. He couldn't lie and say he didn't enjoy the sensation, but right now all it did was make it almost impossible to extricate himself.

It didn't take him long to resort to using chakra to solve his problem, and he was thankful for his ability to create a clone without any need for handseals.

He concentrated as much as he could on not flaring his chakra and it poofed silently into existence. One Kawarimi later and he was stood by the door to his (now larger) room looking down at the pair. The pitch blackness did nothing to hide the scene from his sharp eyes, and he easily picked up the way the clone held his fiance tighter to himself…

…

…

...and the way Shizuka's eyes were trained on his own.

Fuck.

"Ho-" He paused to quietly clear his throat, willing his stomach to quieten. "How long have you been awake?"

The expression on her face didn't change, but the clone behind her froze fearfully.

She breathed a little, not answering his question and simply rolling her hips a little. The clone tried to muffle his groan, but even Naruto had a hard time holding one back.

"Come back to bed, Naruto." She spoke instead, her voice not sounding as if she'd only just woken up.

He was tempted.

It wasn't even hard to admit that Shizuka's curves were all but screaming at him to get back into the bed, but…

He couldn't ignore his hunger. It had ramped up far faster than any he'd felt before, but he knew what to expect and he wasn't about to go through that again.

"I will, Shizuka. I just need to go down to the convenience store. It won't even take me a minute."

He saw the way her skin furrowed between her brows, her lips forming the slightest of frowns. Her chest rose and fell in a way that sent his mind back to their first night together. She turned a little to the window, absently using a finger to silence the clone. She took another deep breath, this one seeming like it was to really sample the air. When her eyes locked back on his own, there was a scrutiny in them that hadn't been present before.

She used that one finger to gesture to the clone, pointing to it and then to the door. She didn't wait for it to comply, speaking to the original.

"Come back to bed, Naruto." Her tone said that she didn't want to argue about it, but he wasn't about to experience that pain again because she wanted to be cuddled. He was about to speak when he noticed that seal once more illuminate on her back. His clone grumbled slightly as it got to its feet, leaving out of the door and proceeding to dash to the convenience store.

He frowned at her, the feeling of hunger he'd felt having dissipated into memory. That...was strange. Hunger like that didn't just disappear on its own. He crossed his arms over his naked chest, no longer swayed by the sight of her form. "Explain." He ordered instead.

Her lips twitched slightly at his actions, the frown disappearing from her features. "You'll probably find out soon enough, so can you just trust me and come back to bed?"

He narrowed his eyes at the woman, not convinced in the slightest. A few moments went by in silence, neither of the two moving an inch as their eyes remained locked on each other. It wasn't until a second minute had gone by that he felt his clone's memories enter his mind. It had made its way to the store without incident, but as it was waiting in line with the cups in hand, it had felt a slip of paper get slapped onto the back of its neck and then it poofed out of existence.

Naruto shivered a little at the phantom sensation of having his chakra forcibly suppressed before he came back to himself.

He couldn't help the way his head turned in the direction of the small shop, his arms tightening around his frame.

That had been a kidnapping attempt.

There was no other way of putting it. Someone had tried to get him to-

His eyes widened a little and he turned back to Shizuka, his eyes focusing on her own. She simply patted the spot he had recently vacated, once more inviting him to spoon her.

He complied with her request, slipping into the bed behind her and pulling her into his chest. Catching sight of the seal on her back, he tilted his nose into her hair. It was clear now that it hadn't been the cause of the sensations he was feeling, but all that knowledge did was make him even more curious about its actual function. "What does it do?" He asked the question, but part of hims already felt he knew the answer.

"It's a seal that links my chakra network to yours. It allows me to feel when you're caught in a genjutsu and disrupt your chakra from a distance." Her explanation was exactly what he'd feared. It was obvious someone had tried to use a genjutsu to get his guard down so they could kidnap him.

It was someone who was clearly well informed, since their plan had almost worked.

Using the scent of ramen to trick him into their hands was something that only someone intimately familiar him would've thought up. Someone who had witnessed his love for ramen over the years.

Someone from the village.

That thought hurt to think about, so he simply pulled Shizuka even harder into him and tried to distract himself with another question. "How long have you been awake?" He hadn't even known that scent based genjutsu was possible.

Her even breathing didn't change as she answered the question. "Since they started watching the window two hours ago." He could feel the way his eyes widened at her response, his shock impossible to hide.

He only just stopped himself from getting up to look questioningly at her face. "That long?"

She offered the slightest of nods. "Think about it from my perspective. I'm in the center of a competing hidden village waiting to complete some 'legal' processes so that I can make off with one of their most prized assets." There was a space between her statements that someone else might've filled with a chuckle. "Wouldn't you be on high alert?"

He found himself smiling slightly as he thought about it, nodding a little. "I guess." It did make sense as to why she was so hyper-aware of everything that was going on around them. She was in the heart of what was effectively enemy territory.

Konoha wasn't her home, so she had no reason to feel any safer within its walls. That line of thinking was liable to bring his mood down drastically so he decided to focus on something else.

"Wait, so why are you naked?"

He could imagine her slight smile at the question. "To throw them off balance."

He could feel her amusement at the way his face scrunched up. "How does you being naked throw them off balance?"

Her tone made him think she was amused by his questions. "If you attacked someone in the middle of the night, what would you expect?"

"Them to be less aware?" He tired, smiling when she gave another small nod.

"And if they're naked then it's even better for you since they'll be unprepared, unarmed, groggy and embarrassed." He nodded. "But if they were always prepared and they had no embarrassment about fighting in the buff then it would always put you on the back foot. Your brain is split between fighting and trying to figure out how they knew you were coming, how they armed themselves and why they're not embarrassed."

He nodded slightly, picturing the situation in his head. It seemed like solid enough logic. In the heat of the moment, something happening contrary to the way you were more than certain it would, usually resulted in you spending more time than you realised pondering it.

He shook his head slightly, not allowing his mind to linger on the way his lips brushed against the back of her neck. A part of him wondered why she was so adamant about cuddling when she had no intention of becoming truly intimate with him. It wasn't something he was sure he could figure out, but he knew that it was either thinking on that or on who it could've been that had tried to kidnap him.

So...it's been a few months (again). Part of me is pretty sure that this isn't working for either of us. You have to wait forever for a chapter and I get to sit around all day and feel bad about not writing anything.

That's gotta change.

I think I'm just gonna commit to a proper update schedule instead. Maybe with some accountability and an actual deadline in place I'll actually be able to build some steam.

Two weeks.

You guys won't have to wait longer than that for each chapter. (for those who give a damn.) (I know it's bad cause someone sent me a message for a comment reply saying 'at least you're alive, someday we'll have an update'...yeah, that's when you know, I guess.)

Each chapter is gonna be ~6K words of actual content, as I've been doing them so far.

Also. for those who are subscribed, you (probably) received two notifications cause I updated the first chapter as well. No major changes, just making certain words and phrases flow better.