Reviewers:

Kzzzzzz: Glad to be back Kzzzzz. Only thing I was missing on my trip, but I'm ready to keep pushing on.

BirdManJon: Dang BirdMan, you're trying to choke me up? That's exactly what I was hoping for. I can't tell you how much I struggled not to make my own characters and profiles, but when I did, I found some other story ideas that MAY or MAY NOT be in for another story I have in mind.

Samm91: That's what a town to me feels like. You don't get that feeling in cities. Maybe a small neighborhood, but people leave the area and never return. My town in this story feels alive and I love placing myself inside of it. Oh if only I was a virtual world creator, then I could show you all what I'm thinking.

Seros109: Seros, I am glad that you are digging the drama I write. It just feels natural at times when I'm writing these chapters for how people would think and feel; I mean, I am a big overthinker in my personal life, so I probably overindulge myself in these stories of mine. As for the Uchiha family question, I'll leave that up to your imagination as they may or may not appear in my plans. I can't really give you the roadmap to my story, now can I?

AN: Thank you all for welcoming me back into your viewing arms. I missed this so much. Even though I've published two books now, there is a distinct difference between selling an entire book and hoping people like it, and posting chapter by chapter, reading my critiques, though you all really spoil me too much in your praises of how you like my plots and personas of the characters.

We are in the final Arc 3: Open, so I hope you ready for things to get...Heated. All that said...Enjoy.

Glazed Emeralds: A Hallmark Story

Arc 3: Open

Chapter 20: Melancholy Hearts

"This is Naruto."

"Naruto, this is Danzo. We hadn't heard from you in a while."

"Well sir...I am on vacation."

"Of course of course." Naruto heard the man chuckle on the other line. "I remember being your age and not being bothered on vacation. However Naruto, you're moving up to the next level of the world. A lot more wealth, many more benefits, but a lack of vacations uninterrupted. Trust me when I tell you that when the company you helped build succeeds, it's your success as well."

Naruto smiled on the other end, leaning his shirtless chest against the hall of the Inn, his eyes idly gazing though the mist of the hot springs. Danzo may be a war hawk in the office, firing people and demanding the most absurd of things, but there was one trait above all others he was known for, even to a fault; his utter loyalty to the Company.

"Naruto?"

"Sorry sir." Naruto shook himself free of his thoughts. He probably missed a few things just now.

"So? When are you returning?"

"Umm…" Naruto gulped. His body turned rigid and full of lead. His mind raced to get moving. 'What day is it?' He struggled to think. "Um...it looks like twelve more days sir."

"And you can't end it sooner?"

"Boss, you're killing me." Naruto chuckled, smiling into the phone. "Why? What's up?"

"Nothing too bad per say. The girls in your department are rather depressed for some reason. It seems you had a lot of girls pining for you."

"Oh! I uh...I wouldn't know that. No one approached me like that."

"Probably for the best. This isn't twenty years ago where sexual favors leads to a promotion. Hard work and dedication are the paths to greatness."

"Yes sir." Naruto agreed, his mind sliding away at the thought of his Innkeeper's work ethic.

"...You seem...content, Naruto."

"Content, sir?"

"Yes…" Danzo hmmed on the other line. "Well! I'm glad you're doing well. The project is being prepped and will be on your desk at your return."

"Thank you. Goodnight sir."

"Oh! One more thing for you to know. I had to let Shion go."

"Sir?" Naruto choked, the surprise exuding out of his throat.

"I had some of your girls write up a number of complaints saying that she was trying to sleep with her fellow coworkers and her performance is severely lacking. I'm afraid you'll have to find a new secretary upon your return."

Naruto smiled. No more sexual harassment cases or sloppy work? "Of course sir." Turning off his phone, he sighed back into the wood and smiled. His job may be getting more challenging, but without an incompetent coworker to cover for, he might just have a better work life now.

Naruto turned back around and opened the door across from his own room. He smiled. Besides last night, he had spent every day this past week or two in the Innkeeper's bed. He chuckled to himself. Oh the stories he would've had if he was still in school.

Naruto stalled at the corner of the small entryway into Sakura's home, and turned his head to a wonderful sight. There was Sakura, wrapped in a halo of golden light from the lamp behind her. The white sheets below her were still ruffled from their fuckery not twenty minutes ago, and yet there she lay on her side. With an innocent smile and hopeful eyes, she lay bare before him, her swollen breasts pressing out towards him as his eyes raked over the gentle curves of her hip. Sakura saw his eyes traveling and as he reached her exposed thigh, her leg moved to an arch, showing what was between them and how aroused she was.

Naruto let out a guttural groan, sliding against the corner wall as he smiled back at the vision of beauty before him. "Do you seriously have to look like that, Sakura?"

"Like what?" Her voice called out innocently, with a twinge of seduction mixed in. Naruto pushed off the wall and undid the knot on his pants, pulling them back off as he leaned down to join her on the bed.

Leaning forward, he pressed his lips against her forehead, as his idle hand roamed across her arm and side, tracing the contours of her supple skin. Sakura leaned up to share a quick lip lock, but Naruto figured they were kissing for at least five minutes before he spoke again.

Holding onto her hip, he leaned back to smile knowingly at her. "You know...that girls only do that in the movies, right?...Ri- ahh!...mmm…"

Sakura's teeth glistened as she lightly leaned in and nibbled along his earlobe, sucking lightly. He was like a fox, his weakness along the underside of his ear, and Sakura smiled as he pressed her nubile body against him, only his boxers preventing them from meshing together completely.

"And did you know," Sakura breathed as she lowered her lips to suck on his neck, "that I've read this kind of thing works in books everywhere?" Sakura smiled wide as she felt Naruto stir along her pelvis. "So? Does it do anything for you? Are you getting aroused and- mmm!"

Sakura groaned as Naruto growled and pushed her back onto the mattress, straddling her as she reached up to hold his face in between her fingers. Naruto reached up as well, before the two pairs of hands came together, each finger matching alongside the other, each digit sliding in between the small gaps. Each of them let their eyes idly watch the comforting display that were both erotic and yet maybe some form of romantic gesture.

"What do you think?" Naruto quietly questioned as he slid her fingers back around his neck.

Sakura smiled as she rolled her hips, turning them until they landed side by side, their legs intertwined. "I think...that you still have five minutes until you're ready to nail me again...Though your endurance is something to be spoken for." Sakura giggled at the end. Naruto sent a smile her way before looking off.

Sakura frowned a little. They never took their eyes off the other, much less stare off someplace else. Something was on his mind, and Sakura...she was curious.

Sakura leaned in to kiss along his neck, gaining his attention once again. "Have a good call?" Sakura asked, as Naruto grimaced back at her. "I'm guessing not."

"I mean," Naruto shrugged. "Should I really be surprised? My boss Really wants me back. There's so much stuff to do when I head back to the city, so many people to work with and talk to."

"But you're here." Sakura whispered teasingly, biting along his ear as another groan purred from his throat. "How can you worry about something so far away?"

"There are just some things...that are in need of care."

"I know." Sakura shrugged, before Naruto's hand pushed her over and straddled her again. "Naruto?"

"Sorry for being a little melancholy with my thoughts. So then...where were we?"

Sakura's eyes shimmered with lust. "I think you were about to fuck me for that second time you promised last night, right?" She teased as both sets of eyes narrowed. They were way past just a measly second time.

"Right." Naruto nodded with a hidden visage and began to descend on her like an army set to ravage a defenseless city.

Sakura giggled as she tried in vain to push him back, his hands slithering around her, pressing all the buttons that would make her an eager participant. "Naru~, I thought you had another five minutes."

Naruto smirked above her panting face, his fingers sliding along her pelvis. "I do...but there's nothing preventing you from the pleasure."

"Oh Naru~" Sakura gasped as his fingers slid inside her moist core, sending her into a tailspin of feelings and emotions. His hand eagerly cupped her sex, molding it to his will as his other arm wrapped around her waist, holding her steady, his aim to work her into an orgasm by herself.

Sakura herself tried to buck into his fingers, but he was going slow, teasing her into a needy, eager participant once he was good to go once more. Sakura jumped up to his chest, her voice betraying her as he began to increase his speed and power, moaning hotly into his ear as only he could achieve.

"Oh god!" Sakura moaned, and closed her eyes as tears slid down her face. She wasn't going to last five minutes, and as with most nights he spent here, her pleasure was going to triple his. He was just too good to her.

"Naru~"

It must have been two in the morning. At least she thought it must be. She was too lazy to grab her phone and check, but the moon hanging in her skylight was a good indication. Sakura sighed silently. She should be sleeping. She had to get up early to run the restaurant and make breakfast. Her alarm was set for three hours from now, but despite this, she just couldn't stop watching her lover sleeping beside her.

Sakura's eyes greedily watched as Naruto's naked chest rose and fell with every breath he took. He didn't puff his air out as she did; he breathed in and out through his nose. Sakura knew she shouldn't, but for the hundredth time tonight, she reached over, and combed through his locks of hair with her deft fingers just scraping along his scalp. A small smile etched its way upon his face and Sakura felt something ping in her chest at the arresting sight for the hundredth time.

She just couldn't get over it, and she wasn't thinking about sex. The sex had been amazing as always. They were so connected; a hand touching here, a single word leading there, and they were perfect. She couldn't think of any discomfort or pain that did not lead to a feeling of pleasure and contentment.

No; what she couldn't get over was Naruto's immediate and utter acceptance of her past. The past of her being so utterly gullible and obsessed to the point that she abandoned her entire life. The past that maybe she liked being discarded and seen as pathetic. Her thoughts of worthlessness that had plagued her for years. He accepted all of that within the snap of a finger. He accepted her tragedy just like that. There was no shame, no pity, no guilt; nothing but a warm sheen in his eyes.

Sakura sniffled as she leaned in and kissed his forehead, smiling sourly. He was such a deep sleeper. That was the seventh time she kissed him. Sakura's eyes squinted happily. Naruto didn't care about any of her trauma; He only cared that she was okay now and that she was happy. Naruto only wanted the best for her, and whatever she had done in the past, whatever she had been obsessed over or hurt by, it didn't stop the way he cared about her. She was fully revealed and open to him. He accepted her heart and-

(Ba-Dum)

Sakura's body froze, her hand sliding up to her breast above her heart, and clenched it. Her eyes widened as new thoughts swirled in her mind. What had changed? What just happened?

Sakura laid on her back and stared up at the moon waning out of view. Was this an epiphany? Or a curse?

"Oh…" Sakura whispered, her voice tight and struggling to form the words for her thoughts "...so that's what this is…"

AN: Hope you enjoyed :)