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Sky-eyed Kitsune: Great guesses you guys! A lot of the guesses you made were options that I had considered, but I settled on a much different one, just to mix things up. ;p For those of you that said Naruto would sleep in his office, you're right!

For those of you just joining the madness now, I have stopped replying to reviewers because I've got so many that it tends to take an hour to do so! X0 But please know that I treasure each review I get, and read them all. In fact when I read them they made me smile in the way that a writer does when they've realized that they have a reason to write! So sincerely, thank you all who take the time and read and review! I will though be answering questions if someone doesn't understand one part of the story or something along those lines. ^^

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Chapter Fourteen: Bottled Up

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Tsunade hummed as she took out the keys to her former office, having kept a spare since she knew Naruto wouldn't mind.

She swung open the door and breathed in deeply.

She felt the nostalgia of working at the desk near the window overlooking Konoha for hours on end, Shizune doing her best to deprive the blond of her sake requests but always giving in.

Tsunade was actually quite happy to see her things gone and a box of Naruto's sitting beside the desk, waiting to be arranged.

She walked up to the usually cluttered but now clean desk, and lifted herself to sit on top of it.

"Unf!"

Tsunade blinked and looked down at the desk that had grunted when she rested her weight on it. She heard and groan and stood up, walking over to the opposite side of the desk.

"Naruto?" she said, tilting her head downward to look underneath the desk and past the chair.

Naruto was curled under the desk, his Hokage robes over him like a blanket. He rubbed his head, apparently having been jolted by the noise above him and accidentally hitting his head against the side of the desk in response.

"What are you doing?" Tsunade said, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him out. She placed both of her hands under his arms and lifted him as easily as a bundle of wheat.

"What time is it?" Naruto yawned back, scratching the back of his head.

"Six in the morning," Tsunade answered, crossing her arms. "Now answer my question."

Naruto shifted his gaze to the floor and absentmindedly straightened his shirt.

"Ano, that's a little complicated," he murmured uncomfortably.

"Break it down then."

"Well basically Sai and I fell out, and even though we shared the apartment I'm letting him have it. So I had no where to stay and decided to sleep in my office."

Tsunade's eyes softened.

"I'm sorry to hear about you and Sai, but this is no way for a Hokage to live! Desks weren't meant for sleeping, Naruto."

"You slept on yours," Naruto deadpanned.

"Yes but that was during the day which is totally different. At least now I know what to give you as a congratulations gift: a new apartment!"

"Tsunade really, I don't want you to-"

"If you argue with me I'll snap your arm in two!" Tsunade hissed vehemently, and Naruto shut his open mouth.

It wasn't that Sasuke hated his genin team, no. It wasn't the fact that he had to get up before the sun every other morning to meet with them to train and take missions, oh no. But it was the fact that he was chaperoning missions that he had hated enough as a genin and swore he would never do again.

Sasuke sat beneath a late blooming Sakura tree, his legs stretched out and crossed on the grass wet with early morning dew and his holding a book he was reading.

His eyes would flick up once and a while as his genin team painted a fence that encircled one of the civilian villager's homes on the far side of Konoha. Kakashi hadn't even bothered to show up and babysit Sasuke today. He knew by now that the Uchiha wouldn't run away.

The two genin twin girls Kimi and Konami giggled as they flicked some of the navy paint at each other, painting faces on each other's cheeks. The redhead that Sasuke had dubbed as the emo boy of the group, Yukuza, painted lethargically, his face nothing short of disgruntled.

A minute later he sighed exaggeratedly and turned away from the fence.

"I can't stand this!" he growled.

Sasuke lifted his gaze from his book.

"Oi, back to work," her ordered half-heartedly as he flipped a page in his novel.

"No way, this is stupid. I didn't become a ninja to paint fences," Yukuza hissed back at Sasuke.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes over his book.

"This is part of learning the value of hard work," he bit out. "And if you don't want to paint fences then what did you become a ninja for?"

"To serve Naruto-sama."

Sasuke blinked and rose an eyebrow.

"Now that Naruto is Rokudaime, I want to become a ninja more than ever. I want to be by Naruto-sama always."

Sasuke smirked.

"You talk like you have a crush on him," he said.

"He does!" Kimiko squealed from behind Yukuza.

"Sh-shut up!" Yukuza stuttered, a blush staining his pale cheeks as he gripped his paintbrush tighter.

"Oh really?" Sasuke teased, closing his book. This would be interesting. "Then you will have to try a lot harder Yukuza-kun. Naruto has many suitors that want to be with him."

"Like who?" Yukuza challenged.

"Just about every available female in Konoha including a good amount of men, and then there's me of course."

"What!?" the three genin shouted simultaneously.

Sasuke smirked and nodded. "I am also in the battle for Naruto's affections, even more so since he and Sai fell out."

"They did!?" Yukuza said, a smile appearing on his face for the first time that Sasuke had seen. "This is my chance!" Yukuza pumped his fist in the air.

Sasuke chuckled a little.

"You're too young for him Yukuza," he pointed out, and the redhead glared.

"No I'm not."

"You're thirteen. Naruto is twenty-two. That's a nine year difference."

"Yea well I'll be fourteen in three weeks," Yukuza growled.

"Oh yea, like another less year makes a difference," Sasuke smirked. "Why don't you ask out Kimiko instead maybe? Or one of the other girls your age."

"I only want Naruto-sama," Yukuza seethed. "And age won't matter!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Listen brat, you-" Sasuke stopped himself. This little crush for Naruto might work to his advantage. "You…may be right."

"..huh?" Yukuza said, expecting something completely different from Sasuke.

"Un," Sasuke said, nodding to himself. "I mean what's age to stand in the way of love?"

"Yea!" Yukuza agreed immediately, falling right into Sasuke's trap.

Sasuke smirked as he walked over to the less than half-painted fence.

"You know Yukuza, I've known Naruto since we were kids, and if there's one thing Naruto likes, it's a hard worker."

"Really?"

"Yep," Sasuke said, taking a spare paintbrush from the bucket by his feet. He started to paint the fence at a deliberately slow pace. "Looks like I'm working harder than you, so I'll have a much better chance with Naruto, won't I?"

The girls both giggled, aware of Sasuke's little trick that Yukuza was playing right into. Sasuke gave the girls a look and they understood that they had to be silent for the plan to work.

"No way!" Yukuza growled. He gripped his paintbrush, sloshed it into the bucket, and began to paint the fence rapidly. "I'll paint this whole damn fence, and Naruto-sama will know that I'm a harder worker than you!"

Sasuke smirked as the twins smiled.

Naruto admitted, there were some mundane tasks to being Hokage such as paper work, council meetings, and mission assignments. He had already checked two of those off his list, currently doing the third.

He sat at the mission's office table, going through the mission reports turned in. They ranged from D to S ranked missions, though the S-ranked ones were few and far between. He had however taken immense pleasure when some of the geinins burst out tirades and complained about getting D-ranked missions, reminding him much of himself.

Next to him at the table sat Tsunade, helping to sort the mission reports by rank and let the teams that came in know what was available.

Naruto lifted his head up when he heard the door open and a group of three genin walked in, their sensei in tow behind them.

Naruto swallowed and looked back down at his papers as he saw that Sasuke was the alleged sensei.

"Just act like he isn't there," he admonished himself quietly, before looking back up and smiling when the team paused in front of his table.

"Mission complete," Sasuke said, handing Naruto the file, who passed it to Tsunade beside him.

"Any problems?" Naruto asked, and the raven shook his head.

"N-Naruto-sama!"

Naruto moved his gaze to look at the redhead.

"Yes? Yukuza Soujin, correct?" he asked.

"How'd you know my name?" Yukuza asked in semi awe.

"Iruka tells me that you were a very inattentive student."

The twins beside the redhead giggled and Sasuke had to suppress his laughter.

"But he also told me you are intelligent, so you just need to work on listening," Naruto continued. "People have important things to say, and if you hope to climb to ranks of a ninja then listening to others and paying attention is very important."

"H-hai Naruto-sama!" Yukuza stuttered. "I worked really hard today!"

"I'm happy to hear that," Naruto said, his eyes closing as he smiled gently. Yukuza blushed from the sheer beauty of the Rokudaime's smile, and Sasuke couldn't help his own small smile from spreading across his face.

"You're dismissed," the blond said, then paused. "Oh Yukuza, could you come here for a moment?"

The group paused as Yukuza walked up to the table. Naruto motioned him forward more until he was directly in front of the Hokage.

Naruto sat up some and leaned over the table towards Yukuza.

"Oh god, Naruto-sama is going to kiss me!" Yukuza thought excitedly, his heart beat loud in his ears and hammered uncontrollably against his ribcage. "What should I do? What should I do!?"

As Naruto came closer Yukuza closed his eyes and pouted his lips a little, ready for Naruto's kiss…which never came.

Yukuza felt something rub against his cheek and he opened one eye, followed closely by the other.

Naruto was rubbing his thumb against his cheek were a small blob of navy pain had been splattered.

Sasuke almost felt a little sorry for Yukuza as his face took on a crestfallen look.

Almost.

Naruto grinned and pulled back when he had cleared off the smudge.

"You had some paint on your cheek," he said. "Have a good day!"

Yukuza blinked, just standing there for a moment. He turned around mechanically and almost painfully walked out of the office, sparks practically flying from his ears as he seemed to short circuit. He didn't say a word as he passed a very smug looking Sasuke and the two twins trying to restrain their laughter and failing miserably.

Naruto didn't look up from his writing as he heard a knock on his office door. It was late in the afternoon, and Shizune had been coming in and out for him to sign document.

"Hai," he said, and the door swung open.

"Good afternoon Rokudaime-sama," Tsunade said teasingly as she shut the door and walked up to Naruto's desk. She settled herself into the cushy chair in front of the Hokage's desk.

"Haha," Naruto said, rolling his eyes.

"How's your first day on the job?" Tsunade asked, stretching out her arms and smiling when they made pleasing cracking sounds.

"Busy," Naruto sighed, finally putting down his pen and leaning back a little in his chair. There was a thin layer of silence in the room before Naruto broke it.

"What did you really come here for? Surely not just to gloat about all of the work I've had to do."

Tsunade heaved a sigh and leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees.

"Why did you and Sai fall out?" she asked a little more quietly. "A fight? Did you two loose your spark?"

"It's not that simple," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head.

"I'd like to know."

Naruto looked at Tsunade for a moment before standing up and walking over to a brown cupboard on the wall. He opened it, grabbed to glasses and a bottle, and set them down on his desk.

"Must not be good if you're breaking out the sake," Tsunade chuckled lightly, flipping the cork off the bottle and pouring herself and Naruto a generous amount.

"Hold on," Naruto said. He walked over to the door of his office, paused, and then smacked his fist against the middle of it.

Groans and yelps emitted from the other side, and Tsunade couldn't help but laugh a little. The guards always did like to listen in on official "Hokage gossip".

Naruto made some quick hand seals before locking the door, creating an eavesdropping proof barrier around his office.

He sat back down behind his desk and took the glass Tsunade had poured for him, staring at his reflection rippling in the drink's surface.

"Sai didn't know that I was in heat when I was locked in the confinement room," he began quietly. "He also wasn't aware of just how much pain this particular heat caused me. I told him about how it would have meant torture for me if it had gone unaided."

Naruto suddenly tipped back his head and emptied the glass.

"Easy Naruto," Tsunade said as she refilled his glass.

Naruto took a deep breath to calm his raging insides before continuing.

"Sai never wants to see me hurting…but if it meant going through that immense pain or having sex with Gaara, he would rather have me suffer."

Tsunade's glass paused halfway to her lips.

"He said that?"

Naruto nodded, and Tsunade pressed her lips together.

"Sai just couldn't seem to get past the fact that I had been touched by Gaara, even when I tried to explain that he was just my best friend helping me out. The jealousy overrode everything and he turned really possessive."

"How possessive?" Tsunade asked skeptically. Naruto didn't answer. "Naruto," she pressed firmly, gripping her sake glass tightly.

Naruto paused before relenting.

"He told me that I belonged to him and then he raped me."

The glass in Tsunade's hand shattered under her immense force, and Naruto jumped a little from surprise as the shards went flying.

Tsunade was not upset. She was not angry.

She was livid.

"That fucker," she hissed, standing and ignoring the sake stain on her shirt dripping downwards. She made a fuming beeline for the door.

"Tsunade, please don't do anything," Naruto said calmly, taking a shallow sip from his glass. "It's over now, water under the bridge."

"How is that water under the bridge!?" Tsunade shouted, whipping around to face the other blond. "Naruto, he raped you for God's sake!"

"There's nothing to do about it," Naruto said. "This is why I didn't want to tell you are anyone. I don't want Sai to be punished or threatened in any way."

"But-"

"That's an order," Naruto said more firmly now, narrowing his eyes.

Tsunade bit her tongue from speaking back. Naruto was the Rokudaime now, he was the one in control, and she no longer had power over that.

She flopped back down in her chair and sighed heavily, looking down forlornly at her poor traumatized sake glass.

"I'll get another," Naruto chuckled, standing up and returning to the cabinet.

"You're going to have to let this out sooner or later Naruto," Tsunade said quietly, and Naruto paused. "You can't keep your emotions bottled up forever under that idiot smile. It won't work anymore."

"Ninjas aren't supposed to be associated with emotions," Naruto said, returning to his task.

"That's a load of bullshit," Tsunade heaved, and Naruto laughed genuinely.

"I know, but I try to follow it anyways." He returned to his desk with a new glass. "But for now I can just drink it away."

Whoever introduced Naruto to sake in the first place was a complete moron. The blond couldn't take a shot without passing out on his 21st birthday, and now after four glasses of sake he was in la-la land.

"Baaaaa-chan," Naruto slurred, his head down face first on his desk. "Mah hed hurrrrt."

Tsunade rolled her eyes and stood up. She looked out the window and judged that it was half past seven in the evening.

"Yes Naruto, for the eighth time I already, I know," she said. She walked over to Naruto and hoisted him up from his chair so that one of his slack arms hung over her shoulder.

"Baa-chaaan, you gotta deflate those thingies before they 'splode," Naruto said, poking the side of her breast.

Tsunade felt her face go red and she restrained herself from slapping the blond into oblivion.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," she growled under her breath, before making a hand seal and disappearing in a puff of white smoke with the drunken Hokage.

Sasuke wasn't sure what he had enjoyed more, the look on Yukuza's face when he was crushed by Naruto, or that the same look had stayed there for the rest of the afternoon.

Sasuke chuckled to himself lightly as he stretched out on his couch.

His mind wondered back to Naruto, just as it had been doing every night, but now there was a difference.

Naruto was now available.

Sasuke felt his heart jump with excitement at the prospect of maybe being able to court Naruto, but then deflated as he remembered Naruto's ultimatum that he would give no second chances.

But he never said anything about starting over, did he?

Sasuke couldn't seem to make the little itching curiosity at the back of his mind to how Naruto and Sai exactly split up. He would make it his first mission on the way to winning Naruto's heart to find out.

But since Naruto was Rokudaime now, he would be ten times harder to approach. How was he to go about this?

Sasuke's train of thought was broken as his doorbell rang, and he rose from the comfy confines of his couch to answer it.

His eyebrows shot into his head as he opened his door only to see Tsunade standing outside of it supporting an obviously smashed Naruto.

"Uchiha, I need a favor."

…this could work.

Sneaky Sasu X3 Poor Yukuza!

Sky-eyed Kitsune

Translated by Gomi-kun