Hinata can't take her eyes off Naruto. She finds him attractive in everyday life, but now there's an extra edge he gives with his wet hair, with the little droplets that barely hang off his hair, and the small streams that run from his neck and disappear under his fresh new robe.

Her hand is secured between his crossed arms. She has realized that he likes feeling her against his skin. Hinata had found this reassuring as they had first slept together, found it comforting the second time, but as he had been washing her in the bathroom he had made sure to squeeze her hand, her arm, her thigh as he moved around her body.

She loves it.

Naruto asks to comb her hair to dry it, and as he disentangles it, as Hinata loses herself between the feeling of his hands on her hair and the warmth of the sunrays entering their room, Naruto speaks.

"Hey," he starts, and his voice has a little rumble Hinata picks on immediately, "I wanted to take our time getting you to know stuff regarding me, you know... I mean, you know me, don't worry, it's the stuff concerning me being a Beast Tamer that I'm talking about," Hinata turns her head a little to the side, showing interest, "and the reason I'm bringing this up so fast is because, well, tomorrow my dad's gonna check my seal and..." He doesn't really know how to explain anymore, she will see him like shit and he doesn't really want to tell her that.

Hinata turns fully now and Naruto opens his mouth and says nothing, he caresses her arm up and down before opening his mouth again, "he's probably gonna have to reinforce it. Basically, what I'm saying is, the seal that helps contain the beast inside me is wearing off and that's a massive problem, so my dad's gotta put some more, uhm, well, seals into the seal, you know?"

Hinata's brows furrow, "Wasn't me keeping your chakra points clear going to h-help with that?

"Yeah, yes, it does, but this is another thing altogether, you helping me will let me keep my body healthy enough to keep the beast inside me without..." He has never been good with throwing this out in the open, even less in front of people that care about him, "uhm, dying."

Hinata frowns, lets her hands rest in Naruto's thighs. "What can I do?"

Naruto cocks his head to the side, covers her hand with his own, "Not much, love. Dad will put on more seals, leave me to acclimate and I will be down for the rest of the day, probably."

"D-down?"

Naruto grimaces, "Well... it takes a toll on my body," that only worries Hinata more, "but my body is meant for being a vessel so it just takes time to get used to it, all right?" Hinata stares at him, and her worry is evident. Naruto decides that he should just dump everything at once, instead of keeping her in suspense all day.

"Which also brings me to another point." He runs his thumb over Hinata's hand, and raises his other hand, two fingers up, "which are two points, actually," he laughs, but Hinata stares at him, unguarded and full of pain, so he wipes his smile off his face with a small sigh, "everyone in the clan that works with me must know this, and now you, as my wife, ought to know too."

A finger goes down, "One, we can't let the Beast inside me run amok, that is to say, the seal must never be broken."

He locks eyes with Hinata, makes sure to stare at her, "That usually means that we can't let people other than my father tamper with my seal, but it also means I must be stopped if my feelings get too out of control,-"

"What?"

"-mainly anger and anguish can cause me to lose myself. It has never gotten out of hand, and I usually snap out of it if someone points it out, but if push comes to shoves, I must be knocked out."

"What?"

"Then, my father has to reach me as soon as possible, just in case the seal is affected."

"My lord..."

The second finger goes down, and Naruto is left with a fist hanging between them, "Two, I... must be alive until an heir can take the Beast. This is... not as important as the first one, but if I died before having an heir it would put a heavy toll on the clan I would rather avoid."

Hinata can feel tears pickling at her eyes, Naruto moves his fist to her arm, rests his hand there, "Hopefully we can have a female heir to be a Beast Tamer."

Hinata blinks and a stray tear falls, "What?" She whispers, for the umpteenth time.

"The Uzumaki are a clan known to be vessels, is one of the reasons we can have the Nine-tails with us, but women are better suited to it than men. One of the main reasons I have so many issues with being a vessel is, well, because I'm not a woman."

Hinata is still processing all he has shared with her, and Naruto is half glad she has become somewhat numb to this dump of information.

"It is not a must, but... I would also like for a woman to receive the beast, they have better lives as vessels." The implications float in the air and Hinata's frown doesn't seem to leave her face.

"What w-would happen if you..."

"If I died before all this mumbo-jumbo?" Naruto looks to the side, ponders, "My grandma would have to seal the beast inside her again."

And Hinata is now left with even more questions, "I don't understand."

"Yes?"

"Can she..."

"Well, it would be her last time being a vessel, yes."

Hinata makes fists of her hands, feels her chest tight. They have just started their journey as a married couple, -haven't really started their journey as a married couple- and Naruto is already preparing her for goodbye. It's the pain of his future absence, and the fear of being left alone that makes her say this, as she knows otherwise she would have just kept it as a thought.

"Why can't she become a vessel now and spare you all this?" She cries, softly, almost as if wanting for Naruto not to pay attention to this wish of hers.

Naruto caresses her cheek, makes her raise her head to look him in the eye. His face is a mask of pain and sadness he tries and fails to conceal, "She is my grandma, Hinata, I love her. I can't make her go through this again."

Hinata finally breaks down and the tears fall, though it is silent, and she barely trembles. She's like a statue and yet the tears don't stop. Naruto brings her to him, in silence as well, and rests her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry." He whispers. And he comforts her as she cries, without sound, without trembling. Her hand finds his and she squeezes so hard her knuckles go white.

Naruto presses his lips together, "I'm sorry," he says again, but he knows he can never make this better.

The sad comes :(

Next chapter Minato reinforces the seal.

See you next week!