Let's go! I am back again! God damn am I on fire! Well, I have returned with another chapter and the stakes are getting higher and higher! Things will escalate quickly and I hope you all enjoy it!

Now I talked about pairings for Aqua, so put down your thoughts between Kana or Akane or even a 3rd choice! Put it in the reviews and may the best girl win! See ya!

The Day Before the Dome performance:

This was it. All their hard work had led up to this moment and the tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"You'll do fine, Ai." Naruto said calmly as he worked on editing the next volume of Icha-Icha. Every since their first date two weeks ago, the two had gone out on many other dates and Ai began to spend more time at Naruto's apartment whenever she got the chance.

"B-But Naruto-kun! The Dome is a big deal! There will be thousands of people there! And even more watching the performance!" She whined as she rolled in his couch. Ichigo had given everyone the day before off to rest for the big day. Naruto sighed as he put the pen down and turned to face her.

"Ai, you wanna know a secret of mine?" Naruto asked her which caused her to immediately stopped and looked at him intensely, which caused Naruto to sweat drop. If there was one thing that Ai wanted to know more about, it was Naruto. He still was a mystery.

"Back when I was in the academy I failed my graduation test three times." Naruto held up three fingers as he chuckled. Back then he couldn't even do a basic Jutsu required to pass. Ai tilted her head in confusion.

"The academy? And how is that supposed to help me?" She questioned him. This was the first time Naruto had mentioned anything about his education background. She had no idea what this academy was about, but the fact that Naruto failed three times was shocking.

"I'll tell you about it later, but the point is to never give up. I failed three times but I was determined to pass, no matter what. So, the lesson here is that it's ok if things don't always go the way you want them to. You just simply need the will to never give up. Dattebayo!" Naruto answered, the words coming out automatically. Ai however quickly noticed the last bit.

"Dattebayo?" She questioned him coyly to which Naruto simply sighed.

"It's a verbal tic of mine. One I thought I grew out of…" Naruto answered with a grumble as Ai giggled at him.

"Your so cute when your embarrassed, Naruto-kun!" She pointed at him with a giggle to which Naruto blushed in embarrassment.

"I-I'm not embarrassed!" Naruto tried to defend himself but Ai wouldn't hear none of it. Her giggles turned into full blown laughter, which caused Naruto to look down in defeat.

"S-Sorry Naruto-kun." Ai apologized as she wiped the last of her tears away. Naruto merely shook his head.

"No, its fine. Looking back at it, I was never embarrassed by it. I used to say it all the time. I guess it's just about one of the few things my mother passed down onto me." Naruto said with a light chuckle. He remembered the first time he heard his mother say her verbal tic. Suddenly it had made so much sense about his ow.

"Your mother, Naruto-kun?" Ai questioned as Naruto nodded. Naruto never talked about his parents, except for that one-time Ai found him crying. Naruto thought about whether or not if he should reveal his secret to her. The last few weeks had been some of the best weeks in his life. He never had a relationship of this kind with anyone but Ai and he was afraid that if he told her the truth she would reject him. After all, he was a Shinobi and a Shinobi's main purpose was to fight, kill and die for his village.

He was afraid that she would see him as a monster and the thought of that was just unbearable for him. However, he couldn't lie to her. Not anymore. He cared far too deeply for her now to keep such a thing hidden from her,

"Better to have loved and lost than never to have to love at all, huh." Naruto thought bitterly. He reached into his pants and pulled out a wallet before he opened it up and pulled out a picture.

"This is the only picture of my parents that I have." He started as he beckoned to Ai to take it. She looked at him in surprise before she gently took the picture from him and inspected it. The first thing she noticed was the blond man in the picture. Naruto was a carbon copy of him and she assumed that to be his father. Upon shifting her eyes to the red-haired women, she realized where Naruto got his eyes and his skin complexion from.

That was his mother and from the looks of it she was already late into her pregnancy and from the looks of it she looked quite happy.

"The man is my father, Minato Namikaze and the woman is my mother, Kushina Uzumaki." Naruto pointed out as Ai's gaze held onto his mother's. She was truly a beautiful woman from what she could tell.

"Naruto-kun, you said you grew up as an orphan. What happened to your parents?" She questioned him, which caused Naruto to sigh. It was now or never. If she hated him, so be it, but he would not deceive her.

"They died protecting me on the day I was born." He answered causing Ai to gasp at that. Ai stood up and walked over to him and gently wrapped her arms around his head and brought him into a hug, his head resting on her chest.

"You've been through a lot, haven't you, Naruto-kun?" She asked him softly as Naruto closed his eyes and just listened to her heart beat. He hadn't reflected on his parent's death before, with the war and all and he had never been comforted like this before. This was…nice…

"Ai, there is something I need to tell you." He spoke, as quite as a mouse. She pulled back a little and looked at him. Her eyes shining like stars, gentle and soft.

"You can tell me anything, Naruto-kun." She responded, her voice nothing but a whisper. Naruto took in a deep breath.

"Ai, you know how Ichigo tried to dig up my past to see what kind of person I was?" He questioned her, to which she nodded.

"But he didn't find much." She stated to which Naruto shook his head.

"That's because…everything he did find was planted by me on purpose." Naruto stated, leaving her shocked at his words.

"W-What?" She questioned him, but Naruto pressed forward.

"Ai…Naruto Uzumaki doesn't exist in this world; I was never part of this world. The truth is, I'm for a different world, a different reality." Naruto continued leaving Ai's head spinning. Different world? Different reality? What was he talking about?

"I appeared in this world three years ago after my final battle. You see Ai; I am Naruto Uzumaki, Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village." Naruto introduced himself fully, but Ai was still confused.

"Naruto, why are you joking at a time like this?" She questioned him. This was all so mindboggling that it had to be a joke. Naruto shook his head as he held one of hands.

"It's not a joke Ai. I-I have been hiding this fact about me for a long time now. For the longest of times I felt like I no longer had a purpose other than to be condemned to live the rest of my life in this world, alone. Alone in a world that had no need for a person like me. And I was fine with it; I had been alone entire life." Naruto continued as the shock in her eyes felt like as if someone had stabbed him.

"That is… until I met you… Ai. You reminded me of myself, but you were much stronger than me. You who kept pushing forward, chasing your dreams all the while looking after your children. You made me remember who I was and you showed me what it felt like to love someone for the first time." Naruto confessed causing her breath to hitch at that.

"N-Naruto…" Naruto stopped her as he brought his hand up and laid a finger on her lips.

"No, Ai, please. I cannot keep such an important part of my hidden from you, because, I love you Ai Hoshino and of that I am certain." Naruto finished as he brought his hand back down and looked at her. Ai for her part was shocked, surprised, stunned even. His revelation was…too much to comprehend.

"Say something, Ai…" Naruto spoke to her, his worries mounting by the seconds and then she finally moved…away from him. Now Naruto felt as if someone had twisted the knife in his heart. She didn't say a word, merely turned around and left as the door to his apartment opened and closed, leaving Naruto in his room, alone.

"Why did I assume it would go any different?" Naruto said to himself with a hallow chuckle as felt his eyes tear up. This was his life, it had always been there. People loved the idea of Naruto Uzumaki, the hero, but no one loved him for who he was. And now, the only girl he had ever loved, will love, had rejected him.

"I… I feel so lost…" Naruto said to himself as he brought his hand up and rested it on his eyes, but that didn't stop the tears from escaping. What a fool he was to think that she could love him.

The Night:

The night was going painfully slowly for Naruto and he merely lay in his bed, awoke. He felt nothing but emptiness. Ai hadn't come back since he'd revealed his truths. He didn't reveal much, but he was sure that the mere fact that he reveled that he was a Shinobi from a different world was enough to question everyone about him.

He couldn't sleep that night and found himself wondering the streets of Tokyo before he ended up finding himself sitting at the edge of building. The wind rush past his hair, causing it to wave back and forth as he looked across the city.

"Maybe I should move…" Naruto said to himself. What was he even doing here anymore? What did he hope to achieve by staying in the city to begin with? There was nothing here for him, there never was. He looked up at the dark skies apathetically. He missed home…he missed Ai...

"D-Dammit…" He gritted his teeth's he began to cry again, and he cried on into the night. He remembered just how much he cried with he heard of Jiraiya's death, but the pain he felt no was unimaginable stronger. That night, he didn't return home.

The Next day:

Naruto felt like shit. He had spent the majority of the night crying away his sorrows. When he had returned home the next day he realized how late he was. It was already eleven in the morning, but that he cared at that point.

"Ah, today is Ai's Dome performance…" He trailed off as he as he took a seat on a chair next to his desk. He picked up the report as he flipped the TV and changed the channel. He wouldn't run away. He made a promise to Ai, and his word was his bond, cause what good were words if you just walked away from them?

"She looks… amazing…" Naruto gasped as he saw Ai performing on the stage. She was truly the center of attention of the Idol group. And he could see just how many people had turned out to watch the performance. They were performing their most popular songs and their execution was flawless. He knew that Ai and her group had been training relentlessly for the past couple of weeks and it showed. The performance was ending for the day, no doubt that there were other follow up events, but this was it for the day.

"You're gonna go far, Ai." He chuckled. Ai was for sure going to go far in his eyes. She had the talent and the looks to go along with them.

"Thank you for coming out, everyone!" His attention was drawn back to the TV as he watched Ai address the crowed. He watched as she looked straight at the camera, as if she was looking right at him.

"I just want to say one thing… Naruto-kun, I love you!" She shouted, causing Naruto's eyes to widen. Did he just hear that right? He needed to know for sure!

"I love you, Naruto-kun! Now and forever!" She repeated again, smashing any doubts that he had. He cried again, but this time tears of happiness.

"I love you too, Ai." He whispered to himself as he sat there in silence. He truly was a fool.

With Ai a few moments prior:

This was not how she wanted to feel. As she performed on this grand stage, she did not want to feel like this. Ai had only one dream, two really if you counted them separately. And that was to know what it was like to love and to be loved. And right now, as she performed in-front of hundreds of thousands of people she realized that she wouldn't find it here. These people loved Ai, the Idol, not her as a person. They loved the ideal of Ai, but she didn't want that.

"Naruto-kun…" The only thing on her mind was Naruto. The one person who made her feel different. When she was around him she felt like her heart would leap out of her chest. And after what he told her last night…

"Naruto-kun, I don't care about where you are from. You are the one that I…" She thought as the performance came to an end and the audience went wild. While the rest of her group waved at them, basking in the glory, she steeled he resolve.

"The one I love." She finished her thoughts as she looked up, staring right into the camera pointed right at her. She no longer needed this. She knew what it was to love; she loved her children and Naruto. She also knew now what it was to be loved, after all, Naruto had confessed to her. After today, she would no longer be an Idol.

"Thank you for coming out, everyone!" She started, catching everyone's attention. She looked around, all eyes were on her now. She took a deep breath before she spoke.

"I just want to say one thing… Naruto-kun, I love you!" She shouted as loudly as she could, proclaiming her own love for the man who saved her, the man who she become infatuated, the man who had stolen her heart and as she has his.

"I love you, Naruto-kun! Now and forever!" She proclaimed her oath for eternity as she smiled brightly. Yes. She no longer needed to strive to lie to understand love, because she knew now what it meant. The crowd, even her fellow B-Komachi members confusingly looked at Ai. Who was this Naruto guy? And what did she mean she loves him? Ichigo at the backstage was holding his head with his hands, with his eyes widened and his jaw wide opened over what Ai has done.

"That… stupid girl!" Ichigo yells internally.

Many of the fans were confused, others angry that someone had managed to steal Ai's heart, others disappointed.

"Naruto? Who's that?"

"You mean some random guy stole Ai-chan from us?!"

But Ai didn't care. She had found what she had always been looking for.

With Aqua and Ruby:

"WHAT?!" Ruby shouted at her mothers' statement. Had things between her mother and Naruto already progressed that far?!

"Now her career as an Idol is over." Aqua said with a sigh. Being an Idol meant that you sacrificed any romantic relationships.

"B-B-But is just getting popular! After the Dome her popularity is going to go through the roof!" Ruby shouted at him to which he winched.

"No need to shout, I'm right here. Anyways, its mama's choice. I'm sure Naruto-san makes her happy enough to quite being an Idol." Aqua pointed out to which Ruby stiffened.

"D-Does that mean that Naruto-san will become our…our…papa?!" Ruby questioned in utter surprise. If mama loved Naruto-san, then he would become their papa and then she would get a little brother or sister.

"Onii-chan…do you think we'll get a sibling soon?" Ruby questioned as her eyes were swirling with confusion. Aqua almost fell down at that.

"Baka! How am I supposed to know all of that?!" He questioned her. How was he supposed to know how far Naruto and Ai had gone in their relationship?! Ruby pouted at before she looked away.

Later in the day with Ai:

Ai had finally returned home after a long day and a long day it had been. After her statement on the stage the media was running wild. Before the performance all she was hearing about was how she was going to becomes Japan's number one Idol, that she was starting to become a star in her own right.

However, afterwards it was all about her career being over. About how she could no longer be an Idol after the news of her rumored relationship broke out. Well, it was less of a rumor and more of a fact; after all, she herself had confirmed it. She shook her head, no wasn't the time for that! She took a deep breath as she knocked on Naruto's door. After she had left him last yesterday, she realized how much she must have hurt him. But she needed to sort out her own feelings for him. To know what she truly felt because just like with her children, she did not want this love to be a lie. And after standing on the stage, performing at the Dome, she realized that she truly loved him.

"Ai…" Naruto's voice broke her out of her thoughts as she looked up at him. Her gradient colored eyes looked up at his deep blue one and she could tell that he had been crying. After all, she used to do the same as well as a child.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. For leaving you alone." She apologized, causing Naruto to shake his head.

"Don't. It's not your fault you reacted the way you did. After all –" Naruto didn't get to finish as Ai closed the distance and went on her toes and locked lips with him, catching him with surprise, but he closed his eyes and kissed back. The two stood there, kissing for what seemed like an eternity. Nothing in the world mattered at that moment to the two of them but each other.

"I'll always love you, Naruto-kun. I don't care if you're from a different world. You are the first person to love me for who I am, the real Ai." She said as the two pulled back.

"And I'll always love you as well, Ai." Naruto responded with small smile as the two basked in the other's company. However, what the two didn't realize was that Ai had been followed this time despite her best attempts and at this very moment the twos intimate was being captured by a camera.

Annnd done! Things are heating up quickly as you can see! Naruto and Ai are now pretty much as official as you can get and what will be the ramifications of this? Sorry that this chapter is a bit on the short side, but hopefully the next chapter will be slightly larger! I think I am still about two more chapters away before I can do the time skip, because it will happen.

I want to explore Aqua's and Ruby's dealing in the business a bit next chapter as well. This is because Aqua in canon was going to go down the path of acting as a child actor, he only gave up because of Ai's death. Now that Ai never died, Aqua will follow that path, meaning he wouldn't have lost contact with Kana. So, the pairing of Aqua x Kana makes far more sense, but hey, you never know! See you all next chapter!

Chapter edited: 6/9/2023.