Naruto Uzumaki had acquired quite a notable reputation for his silver tongue. Ironic, because it was probably the last thing anyone would generally expect to associate with the blond, yet he had quite a proven track record. He had managed to talk down the likes of Zabuza, Gaara, Nagato, Obito, even his own Bijuu, though Kurama would vehemently deny this.
His method was generally to keep it simple, it also tended to help if he had beaten the hell out of his opponent before trying to convince them of anything, but he digressed.
However out of all of his difficult speeches, none were more frightening to him than his current one. After a lengthy journey, Naruto had finally made it to Kirigakure. He could see how his brooding best friend had spent the last year and a half here, tucked away in several mountains gave the village a certain elusiveness which was only accentuated by the thick mist that wrapped around the buildings.
Naruto felt a certain chill run down his spine as he ambled through the gates, like the fog was going to choke the oxygen out of his lungs. It was came close to perturbing his conventional warm and calm nature. Blood had been spilled here, he could smell it linger in the air. The various conflicts that the village had been in over the years still left their mark on the land, and its citizens.
Naruto did not miss the side-eyed looks and people muttering in his general direction as he strolled up to the Mizukage's building. His ego secretly relished in his newly gained "celebrity" status. When he thought about how cold and lonely his childhood had been and compared it to his current standing in the world, he probably would have fit in well in Kirigakure back then.
Still, that was a far departure from who he was now. Honestly, he kind of wanted to bring out his golden power and lift the fog that seemed to have a stranglehold on the village, introduce a bit of light and heat into the people's lives here. Though the way that a few of the younger Shinobi were smiling and pointing at him, it seemed his presence may be good enough to do the former.
Finally making it to the large, cylindrical building that was the Mizukage's office, Naruto passed some Anbu that looked like meaner, more capable versions of their Konoha counterparts and was escorted in to meet the leader of the village.
"Hokage-in-training/saviour of the world, how are you Naruto?" Mei smiled while standing to greet him, motioning for him to take a seat opposing her desk.
"I'm still learning the ropes on this whole "Kage" thing. I didn't realise that the council and Elders held quite as much influence as they did. Kind of hard to go from getting praise from the Sage of the Six Paths to being talked down to by old men whose ideology is so outdated and archaic, I'm surprised they're still alive."
"The gray world of bureaucracy is enough to snuff the flames of enthusiasm from just about anyone. What about your Daimyo? I remember when I was tasked with guarding him during the war, he didn't seem that bad."
"I don't intend to let that fire die, not after all I sacrificed. The Daimyo is very easily swayed, which works well for me. I intend to clear out the majority of the council when I take up the mantle, get some fresh blood into the body."
"You seem to have increased your vocabulary anyway."
"A side effect of all the reading I'm being forced to do." Naruto groaned.
"Kakashi is making you read?" Mei asked, amused.
"Yeah, apparently there is more to running a village than I initially thought." He chuckled.
"So, you are here to improve your diplomacy skills, is that it?"
Naruto considered her for a moment before responding. He knew her to be a kind hearted person with a somewhat, lukewarm, exterior. She gave him the sense that she made judgements within thirty seconds of meeting someone, if you made a poor impression, you would be spending the rest of your interactions with her, paying for it. Naruto could only smile as he tried to imagine what blaze of glory Sasuke had entered with at the Five Kage Summit, it was probably as dynamic an entrance as one could make. Like a wild animal tearing apart its prey, he could see how Mei would be captivated with the Uchiha.
It was the flip side that interested Naruto. Sasuke's relationship with the Mizukage was no small secret, and by no small secret, he meant it was all people would ask him about for a week straight when the news broke. Sakura and Kakashi had gotten the same bombardment of questions that he had, which was ironic because Sasuke and Sakura's relationship was, at that point, tepid. Only in recent months, and with a lot of him pestering them both, had they begun to patch things up.
At the time though, Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi had given the same answer to any inquisitive gossipmonger: They honestly didn't know. When Sasuke finally returned to Konoha, he had kept any details of his personal life under wraps, much to Naruto's dismay. He didn't want to know every minute detail, however a simple: "I am dating the Mizukage." wouldn't have gone amiss.
With scant details, it aggravated Naruto a little when Sasuke came home a month ago and started unloading his problems on him. He was glad that Sasuke didn't come to him looking for solutions or relationship advice though, that wouldn't have been the Uchiha's style at all. Instead, he stopped himself when he saw Naruto raise an eyebrow, then asked him to deliver one message to Mei.
Seeing as how he had been cooped up in Konoha for so long, Naruto practically jumped at the opportunity to travel anywhere. He was also quite curious to see if Mei would be anymore forthcoming with information about them. Though Sasuke was his best friend, he was also still somewhat of an enigma to him and any morsels that would reveal more about him, was too good of a chance to pass up.
"Not exactly, I'm here about our mutual friend." Naruto narrowed his eyes, as he saw Mei's breath slow and shoulders tense for just a split second.
"He sent you as an envoy to deliver his message? That's disappointing, even for him."
"He disappoints you often?" Naruto asked. This question caught Mei off guard, she hadn't seen Naruto a whole lot since after the war, she suspected Sasuke had something to do with that, but he had a slightly different air about him since then. "Sorry, I'm trying not be nosy but I know just as much as everybody else and when people come looking to me for answers, they're surprised that I don't know either. Call it a morbid curiosity."
The air was still warm about him, he had a calm aura, but there was a certain... maturity about him now. Like he contemplated his thoughts more, as opposed to shouting out the first thing that popped into his head. While she could respect it, it almost saddened her, like he had lost his childlike innocence. It was his brash personality that held a certain amount of his charisma, he broke things down to their simplest level and made you agree with him. She was half joking when she said bureaucracy had taken a toll on him, but it seems she was more on the money than she actually realised.
"You're becoming more Sage like, Naruto, you know that?"
"Well technically I already am..." He said while scratching his nose.
"I mean your mannerisms, your vocabulary, it's all... aged."
"Had to grow up sometime." Naruto replied.
"Yes, but I can't help but feel as if you've lost something."
"It's funny, you're not the first person to mention that to me, even Sasuke has said it. You don't need to take my lack of boisterous actions as me being unhappy, it's just with the lack of major conflicts, being hunted by Akatsuki, or hunting Sasuke, I have time to think, reflect, calm down and relax. I think that's the reason for my mellow attitude. As for my vocabulary, it's like I said, I think that's because of all the fucking books I'm being forced to read by Kakashi. I don't exactly see how me speaking more eloquently, helps me become a better Hokage, but I guess that just means I'm not ready yet." He laughed, and Mei caught a glimpse of his exuberant personality return and couldn't help but smile also.
"It seems we were right to place our trust in you after all."
"You had doubts?"
"Your devotion to Sasuke did raise some concerns."
"Speaking of which," Naruto sat up, "you've listened to me talk all about myself, but now I really want some answers for the reason I came here. The bastard is still as tight-lipped as ever, so I'm relying on you to fill me in."
"On Sasuke and I?"
"He sent me here with a message, but I want to know what he did to anger you, and why it didn't happen sooner."
Mei scoffed at this. "What did he tell you?"
"He told me you had a little spat two months ago-"
"Little spat? Did the little shit happen to mention exactly what he said?" Mei asked furiously.
"Uh, no."
"He decided to make a little remark about my abilities to bear children, he doesn't think I'm capable."
"What? That doesn't sound like Sasuke, I'm sure he would trust no one else but you to raise his kids." Naruto said as he scratched his chin.
"No, not-" Mei bit her lip, it pained her to even repeat what Sasuke had implied. "He was... concerned that I, literally, wouldn't be able to have children."
Naruto nodded slowly as it dawned on him what she was getting at. He was however slightly puzzled, Sasuke's worries did seem unwarranted to him.
"Concerned about you giving birth, but aren't you at the perfect age? You're what, 40?"
From all the years of Sakura hitting him, Naruto had gained a sort of, sixth sense, that could tell when a woman was about to strike him. He was getting that feeling now.
"It's not that I don't understand where he's coming from, it's just that it took him so long to say it. If he was that troubled with my fertility, you would think that he would voice his anxiety sooner." Mei sighed.
"He probably didn't want to burden you with that pressure, plus he's not the best at communicating. From what I can gather he actually seemed comfortable being with you, and knew this would upset you."
"I would be less upset if he had told me his position from the beginning."
"I thought it would have been implied." Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"I know how much reviving his clan means to him, as time passed I looked forward to it, I still do. But if he was concerned if I was up to it, he should have laid that out flat from the beginning."
"Well Sasuke has always been the type to keep things close to his chest."
"That was true enough in the initial months, when he was even around that is. But the more time we spent together, the more he opened up."
"Really?" Naruto asked, surprised.
"I mean, as much as Sasuke Uchiha is emotionally capable of opening up. Men tend to open up around women more, I find. I assume, I'm basing that on the one man who has stuck around with long enough me. Maybe you can attest to that, do you spill your guts to your paramour?"
"No."
"Really, no romance for the most popular ninja in the world right now?" Mei teased.
"No, it's not on my to-do list for the moment. Anyway I'm impressed, I've known Sasuke for how many years? And I can still hardly get five words out of the guy, I'm still convinced that he mainly communicates by grunting."
"I bet his cheerful personality makes you glad of all you sacrificed for him."
"It did take a lot," Naruto admitted, "but I think it was more than worth it, no? He's a lot better than he was, plus I'd rather have him alive and on my side, than dead and useless."
"If you say so, though I can't imagine him being that worse than he is now."
"Well he doesn't have his "episodes" anymore."
"His episodes?" Mei chuckled.
"You saw one of them, Sasuke has, had, this... darkness about him. It made him lose all sense of empathy and definitely robbed him of his senses. I remember he had no problems in killing one of his teammates, just to get to Danzo. Then there was our final battle, when he proclaimed his 'revolution'. He looked insane, the look in his eyes was horrific, I knew words alone weren't going to bring him back. Honestly, when he came to me and started babbling about how you and him had a fight, a part of me was worried that he had another one of his episodes and done something truly terrible."
"He did do something terrible."
"Yes, I suppose he did." Naruto conceded.
"You don't have to worry about him losing it again, Naruto. Trust me, the way he goes on sometimes, I'm surprised it's the same Sasuke. He's not any danger to any innocents anymore. Honestly, you should be more concerned about me hurting him when, or if, he ever shows up again."
"I wouldn't worry, he'll be back and I have no doubts that you'll give him exactly what he has coming to him." Naruto laughed.
"He has a beating coming his way, and I'll be expecting an apology followed by a lot of grovelling."
"From Sasuke? You'll get the apology, probably, but I can't see him grovelling to anyone."
"We'll see."
"I suppose we will, which brings me to the purpose of my visit here."
Naruto stood up and produced an envelope from his pocket. Inspecting it and finding the official mark of the Hokage on it, Mei raised an eyebrow, however Naruto said nothing. Mei opened the envelope and pulled out the crisp sheet of paper held within, she almost felt nauseous as soon as she saw all the numbers on the page.
"That's what you're here for? You came under the pretence of being concerned about Sasuke and I, but you're really here to collect a debt?" Mei asked, outraged.
"Did you even read what it said?"
Mei scanned through the document and when she got halfway through, her eyes widened. "Is this a joke, because I swear-"
"It's not a joke." Naruto laughed.
"How did he- He doesn't have-"
"Keep reading."
Mei continued to peruse the certificate, and was stunned silent for several seconds once she had finished. "Is this even allowed?"
"Kakashi had no problem with it, the council had no problem with it, mostly, and Sasuke was fairly insistent, so yeah. It seems he's fairly determined to make it up to you." Naruto smiled.
"It seems so." Mei murmured.
"Well, I'm going to head out. I'm determined to make use of the limited amount of freedom I've been granted."
"Are you sure I can't offer you some accommodation for the night?" Mei asked, surprised.
"Nah, I plan to visit Uzushiogakure before I return home, I still haven't visited the place where my clan came from, or what's left of it."
"That's more than a days travel from here." Mei stated, to which Naruto only grinned. She could feel his aura and the temperature of the room begin to heat.
"Give my regards to the bastard when he shows back up, and tell him we're now even."
"I will, it was good to see you Naruto."
"Likewise, Lady Mizukage." Naruto bowed as he bid her farewell, before vanishing out of the room.
Mei turned to look out the window and could just barely make out a golden flicker, zipping through the village and fading beyond the horizon. Once again, looking at the letter, Mei closed her eyes and slumped back in her chair.
Waking up in the exact same position a few hours later, Mei looked up at the night sky. The full moon glimmered along with a selection of stars, she took in the sight before getting up and making her way to her bed.
It always struck her how spacious it was whenever Sasuke was absent. She was still reeling from the letter that Naruto had delivered, and what Sasuke had done for her and the village.
The letter informed her that Kirigakure's deficit and any outstanding debts to Konoha, had been balanced, courtesy of a generous donation by Sasuke Uchiha. After the Uchiha massacre, the Third Hokage had apparently collected all the assets and resources of the clan, to set up as a trust fund for Sasuke when he came of age. Between the businesses and locations not even in Konoha, it had been an exorbitant amount of money.
When Sasuke had more or less seceded from Konoha, and Tsunade took the position of Hokage, she had not been aware of this fund and therefore it remained untouched. Not even Danzo knew about it, which was surprising given the relationship with the Third Hokage. So how Sasuke managed to access his clan's vast, hidden wealth, was a mystery to everyone.
Mei curled up in bed, her mind should have been eased by this news, however she could only think of Sasuke. Where was he now? When was he coming back? What state was his head at? It wasn't his money that she was interested in, far from it. It saddened her to think that that was the only way he could think to express his apology. Her thoughts would not stop racing.
Still, Mei could do nothing except wait, and silently thank him, for all that he had done. Looking out her balcony at the large moon, she prayed for Sasuke to return safely to her.
Somewhere in a distant land, a wandering Uchiha looked up at the same moon and stars from a perch in the tree that he had decided to make his shelter that night. He had spent all of his time away from Kirigakure doing S Rank missions, when he wasn't travelling leisurely, anything less was a waste of his time and energy. He liked the challenge of it, as much challenge as could be expected for someone like him.
By now Naruto would surely have been to Kirigakure and given Mei his letter. Hopefully that would ease the pain that his words had inflicted on her all those months ago. He had no real use for that money anyway, the wages that he was getting for completing all these S Rank missions were more than enough to provide himself with a comfortable lifestyle. Not that he had any intention of living said luxurious lifestyle anytime soon.
When he had revived the Four Hokages during the war, The Third pulled him aside to tell him about the location of his family's hidden fortune. Sasuke waited until he had been pardoned of all his previous crimes to go and investigate. It turned out that Sarutobi was definitely cut from a different cloth than Danzo, because he had kept his word. The location contained enough money and valuables to support the next ten generations of Uchiha.
There it was again however, the next generation of Uchiha. He wasn't certain that he would be fully content unless his children were conceived and raised by Mei Terumi, if they weren't he would be plagued with ideas, hypotheticals or "what could have been", not to mention a lot of guilt.
Yet, he had been with her a long enough time and had been purposely reckless enough with his contraception methods, that there should have been some results. Still, perhaps that was where he had went wrong. Relying only on his own judgement and not trusting her enough, was why he was out here in the cold and his best company for the night was his left hand.
Now that she knew his concerns, he owed her the courtesy of at least trying to make this work. If worst came to worst... he already knew he had done her one kindness, and that she would be gracious and kind enough to let him go.
The idea frankly depressed him.
He wasn't ready to return and face her, not yet. He needed a few more weeks to collect himself and prepare what he was going to say to her. Taking one last glance up at the moon, Sasuke braced himself for another night of uncomfortable sleep, and unsatisfying self-pleasure.