A/N: Back to a slightly better update schedule. Given the amount of material floating around in my brain, wrapping up some of the smaller side issues will take a bit of time (yes, we'll get back to that squirrelly Ebisu soon enough). Right now, Naruto has his hands full in Konoha and is trying to restore some semblance of normalcy in the aftermath of Root attacking him in his own home.
I have this sinking feeling that I'll spend the next few days cleaning up this one; I wanted to get something out to make up for the longer delay attached to the previous chapter. We'll get there all in good time. And once this story is done, I'll being re-posting Nature of the Beast. I'm actually looking forward to tackling that monster again.
And yeah, I still own nothing but my OCs.
~Siva'a-tasi
~III~
Chapter 22: Love is a Four-Letter Curse
~ Previously on No More
"How are we supposed to explain this, 'Oh Powerful Pervert!'"
Jiraiya tsked loudly at Anko's antics clearly not in the mood to deal with her nonsense. It was bad enough they were going home empty-handed, so to speak. That rotten Gaki was just like his fu-…, damnable mother. He had to be gay.
'There was no other logical way to explain his resistance to that!'
The elder Sannin glanced up ahead to the Nadeshiko procession clustered around the blond Genin, Naruto Uzumaki, walking next to his (for intents and purposes) drop-dead gorgeous fiancé, and scowled deeply.
"I don't know yet, Anko, but we have until we return to Konoha to figure it out." Another frustrated clucking followed as his brain furiously tried to sketch out a way to salvage victory from defeat. His eyes bounced between the blond puff of spikey hair and the bobbing ponytail of dark silk, his mind struggling against barreling forward, bursting through the protective ring of swaying hips, and smacking all tasting sensation from the mouth of his mule-headed godson.
He continued to struggle with that desire as they boarded the boat bound for Hi no Kuni and the boy stood at the railing with his idiotic grin and gently-waving hand.
'Please Kami, don't let me kill him before we get back to Konoha.'
~III~
~ Konohagakure no Sato, Office of the Sandaime Hokage ~
Being the "gentleman super pervert" that he was, Jiraiya knew without a doubt that there were things a man of his stature (and all others attempting to emulate one of his stature) simply did not do. Ever.
These were established rules of etiquette between civilized men, unbreachable in the perverted code and sacrosanct regardless of perverted affiliation be it major, minor, or not at all. To break faith with the rules was to affect immediate excommunication from the order resulting in one's "Bro Status" being immediately revoked pending evaluation of the sacred order. Failure to be accepted upon review was to suffer banishment until heroic acts of daring do (before verified members of standing) to the order of epic questing.
A gentleman of the order never doubted the claims of conquest from a certified member of the order. Gentleman of the order never exaggerated among the brotherhood; stretching of the facts with non-certified members was permissible in order to raise brotherhood status among the non-believers twice per year.
A gentleman of the order never obtained services for full price when stature and reputation often afforded reduced fares (or free) enhancing the order's reputation more often than not among mere mortals.
A gentleman of the order never settled for less than the highest quality of goods according to the approved rating scale (updated annually and filtered down through the established pecking order of senior members, of which Jiraiya maintained elite status.
Finally, a gentleman of the order, when afforded the opportunity to marry or associate ones' self with money, power, or both, expeditiously incurred such privilege with the minimum investiture of personal capital, especially when the source of such profitable notoriety was either a) incredibly young and desirable (again based on the promulgated scale of sexual attractiveness), or b) old and soon to die most likely bequeathing their entire estate to the kami-blessed brother of standing.
These were age-old traditions upheld by countless gentlemen of notable standing among the venerated Society of Gentleman Perverts (of which Jiraiya maintained perfect standing), traditions Jiraiya was well-placed to pass on to his rock-headed godson. This made the boy's resistance to shacking up with the absolutely gorgeous (and powerful meaning – arguably at some point – wealthy considering she controlled an entire village's economy) Nadeshiko Princess all the more confusing. He won the damned duel. The woman's anger, and resistance to spending time with him, all but evaporated the moment he won the match.
'Maybe he was gay? Damned that Gai! He corrupted my godson with that youth crap!'
~III~
Somewhere in the heart of Konoha, Guy Maito's eyes narrowed and he fought the sudden urge to pummel perverts everywhere.
~III~
Despite his internal crisis-laden monologue, Jiraiya couldn't help but smile outwardly at his flailing aforementioned godson as he internally goggled slack-jawed at the beautiful brunette believed to have been left behind in Nadeshiko Village. The jinchuuriki's sensitive nose clung to the rare lily scent native to the island from the time they left until their arrival up to the tower's base, something Naruto complained about the entire way home. His team brushed aside his behavior as being paranoid considering there were no signs of the strong-willed woman during the whole journey home. It appeared that his hound-like snooter wasn't imagining things when they entered the Hokage's office only to find her there calmly waiting for them.
Between glaring at his supposed Godfather, trying to ignore the beautiful kunoichi smirking at him from the Hokage's couch with tea in hand, and trying to figure out why the Hokage had that irritating gleam in his eye, Naruto had his hands full for the mission debriefing. He stood to Ino's right while Shika stood to her left in the team leader's position of authority. Jiraiya was sitting on the window sill with his arms folded pouting like a five-year-old. Anko stood to his left with her arms folded in victory, her smirk shooting over his shoulder to repeatedly poke the angry Sannin bear. Worst of all, Dragon stood behind the Hokage (throughout the entire report) and Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that they were smiling behind the ever-present mask.
Naruto, for the life of him, couldn't understand how all these happy people (minus the toad sage) were pleased that their A-ranked diplomatic mission was a complete failure, but there they were. Not only were they pleased, the Hokage was giving them the long weekend off to "collect themselves" before resuming normal duties the following Monday.
It was beyond bizarre.
"Job well done, Team Ten."
Shika started his standard grumbling response only to get cut off by the perturbed female sandwiched between the two Genin males.
"How is failing this mission a good thing?" she blurted out before adding the belated, "Hokage-sama."
"Oh, the mission isn't a failure yet. We need to convince Naruto to marry the Nadeshiko Princess," his hand gently indicated the smiling woman lounging behind them acknowledging his comment with a short head nod, "and everything will be just fine. You can claim your mission success and have a spotless record once again." The Hokage mischievous smirk caught everyone off-guard.
"Not gonna happen." Naruto was standing there with his arms crossed and his head rocking from side to side. Given that she was reclining behind him, Naruto (and his team) missed her confident smirk.
"I'm afraid, with Jiraiya as your lawfully-appointed guardian, the deal is done Naruto. He has the authority to enter into negotiations on your behalf." The smug Sannin huffed in the safety of his corner given that both Anko and Ino threatened to "cut off his boys" if he got too close to either of them.
"Well then," the angry blond chirped back, "I suppose I'll just have to fire his ass." This time Jiraiya scoffed loudly from his isolation.
"Tough Gaki, you're stuck with me until you turn sixteen which means you're stuck with that gorgeous side of Kunoichi." Every kunoichi inside the office cut Jiraiya a withering glare but he allowed it to roll right past him. "Trust me when I say you'll thank me on your wedding night."
Anko had to actually grab Ino around the waist to keep her from leaping at him; Hokage-sama threatened to toss them out if they didn't stop trying to stab the smarmy bastard fifteen minutes before and she couldn't afford not to stay near him given the emergency Council meeting about to happen.
"Actually," Jiraiya's smile began to falter as his godson slammed a large journal onto the Hokage's desk, "you've given me the perfect reason to fire your carcass sooner rather than later." Unsealing several large scrolls, he sifted through them until he found the one he wanted, a particularly thick one carried inside an ivory hardcase trimmed in gold.
"This," he started off holding up the large document, "is an original copy of the Uzushiogakure Charter of Regents signed, and sealed, by Mito Uzumaki." Hiruzen's eyes began to grow in happy anticipation as the Genin continued.
"My mother was kind enough to seal this away when she was evacuated from Uzu in preparation of the invasion that wiped out my clan." His eyes roved over the engraved seals and symbols along the pristine case. "It's very interesting to read actually, the history of my clan and the laws that governed them." His eyes wandered from the scroll as big around as his midsection.
"The first four artifacts of the document deal with establishing of the nation, the clan, the Royal Family – my family, and protection of the royal line. Care to guess what it states about that last bit?" Tokiwa shot a worried glance to her mistress at this point noting the now seriousness on Shizuka's face.
Jiraiya's face paled. "Now wait a minute Gaki-."
Naruto interrupted and overrode him. "IT STATES, that, in the event of the royal bloodline dwindling to a single male or female heir, NO ACTION shall be undertaken that shall certify the extinction of said bloodline. It further states that every action, to include emancipation of the surviving heir from, and I quote, 'the oppressive yolk of corrupted or less than honorable personages' to include but not limited to seeking temporary asylum under competent guardianship through all means necessary." The blond turned to face his absentee godfather who was beginning to sweat a little.
"Since the Uzumaki Elders were very diligent in documenting their previous five attempts to merge our clan with Nadeshiko kunoichi and the subsequent results of those efforts," he paused to dramatically bow to the Princess, "they have a special addendum in this charter specifically prohibiting the union of the last male Uzu heir with any Nadeshiko woman," his eyes swung over to lock with Shizuka's, "regardless of station or debt, displacing the union to the next available male heir beyond the reigning prince. This means I need to have at least two sons before any Uzu male would be allowed to marry Princess Shizuka."
Shizuka's eyes ballooned right before they flickered to the sealed scroll with worry written all over her face.
"Maybe-maybe Shizuka-ch-, er, dono," his eyes nervously darted to the placid woman and bodyguard as their neutral gazes gradually became certifiably hostile, "…would consider…" his statement ended abruptly as he leaned backward ninety-degrees to dodge the teacup sailing out of the balcony window.
"The Nadeshiko do not play well with others," Naruto calmly countered. "Marriage to her," he indicated the again scowling princess with an open palm, "is a one-time, solitary affair. Don't push your perverted views on either of us please." He had no idea that the strong-willed heiress was reconsidering her hard-won beliefs at the moment.
Dragon's head swiveled at the same time Hiruzen's head did, both in the direction of the now sputtering Jiraiya.
"If-If you do this, the Council will force you into the CRA! Do you want to be tied down with their harpy spawn!?" Naruto noted the concern in the older man's voice but shrugged it away with a sage nod.
"If I was to remain your ward, then the Konohan CRA remains an option." He jabbed a finger in the hermit's direction as he spit out his next statement. "HOWEVER, freed from your guardianship, I am once again the reigning Prince of Uzushiogakure and no longer subject to your village's laws."
Hiruzen wanted to smile but they needed to cross the finish line before he'd let anyone celebrate.
"Naruto," he started as the boy's head whipped around, "be very careful with that statement. If you invoke the Uzu-Kono treaty protections, that means that you forfeit your rights to your father's lands as well as your hard-won title as a Konoha ninja." His gaze bore into the stern face and clenched jaw of the boy he loved as much as his blood kin. "Are you aware of what this will mean?"
Naruto nodded grimly.
"It means I'll be in limbo until I turn sixteen. I'll no longer be a part of Team Ten until I can legally accept the crown at the age of sixteen, which means I become the Uzu Ambassador with full access to our clan's property, accounts, and privileges. On the plus side, I can't be forced to marry someone I don't want. On the downside, I will either have to live in the Uzumaki Compound or leave Konoha or, if I want to stay, forbear my clan home in Uzu and establish a clan here in the village." The Hokage nodded very slowly.
The Yondaime's home was built on a small section of the land gifted to the Uzushiogakure delegation and, as such, remained a political asylum for any surviving members of the Namikaze family; absent a surviving Namikaze, the intent was to allow Uzumaki clan members to make use of the property even though they could not own it. This created an unusual situation where, if Naruto refused to re-establish the Namikaze Clan, he could possibly lose any and all claim to the property itself despite his clan owning all of the land it sat upon despite it being his inheritance. However, since the property was built on Uzushiogakure territory, Konoha could not (legally) enter the property to reclaim it without inciting an international incident. Best they could do would be to seal the property and deny him access, something the Council would readily do to spite the boy.
"That does cover the wide range of options," the old man admitted.
"I will never turn my back on the Uzumaki, but I also have until I turn sixteen to make that decision and I can't legally marry Shizuka until we're both of age so there is time to discuss other options." His eyes softened as he turned to meet her flustered gaze. "She's older than me by four months but that means squat at this point."
"Honorable though that may be," the old man interrupted, "the Council has been briefed on the status of the mission and will be convening tonight to discuss options." His eyes took in all of Team Ten. "You'll all be required to appear and answer questions."
Not even Shikamaru's trademark response could alleviate the discomfort Naruto felt. He was going to have to face his biggest nemesis.
Hiruzen's gaze swung to the lovely princess and her chaperone. "Unfortunately, Shizuka-dono, you will not be permitted to attend but I've made arrangements for you in our diplomatic center. Feel free to explore Konoha at your leisure."
The green-eyed beauty smiled pleasantly and nodded her head at the offer. She did have some small business to attend to and the meeting she had in mind would give her ample opportunity to gain valuable information.
~III~
Shizuka found Konoha's climate a touch warmer than Nadeshiko, making her travel cloak's natural protection from lustful gazes a touch inconvenient as they strolled through the bustling streets of the well-maintained village. She could feel the sweat trickling down her throat and into the deep valley of her cleavage, a sensation she despised unless it came from strenuous physical exertion. Despite her unease, she returned the respectful smiles and bows with appropriate nods, her measured steps carried her unerringly to the small ramen stand buried deep in the heart of the hidden village.
Stepping under the eaves (and away from the openly gaping males behind her in the street), Shizuka gracefully slid into an open spot in front of the counter and smiled at the stunned expression of its two hard-working employees. Her eyes immediately settled on the brown-haired girl behind the counter noticing the unmoving portion of the girl's upper body indicating uncommonly tight chest wrappings just beyond view.
"Sh-Sh-Shizuka-dono!" Ayame gasped as her body seized up, her head dipping into a deep nod behind the counter as she was unsure if she should bow, grovel, or remain motionless so as to not ruin her hard-won cover of twelve years.
The last person she expected to see was the heir to the woman that saved her life.
"I see you learned your lessons well, Ayame-chan," Tokiwa purred out only to acquiesce to Shizuka's raised palm.
"We can reminisce later. Teuchi-san," she noted Teuchi's unflinching glare but shrugged it off, "Ayame-chan. For now, I require your help studying a particular shinobi of this village." Ayame's head snapped up from the floor, her eyes alert and focused.
"We owe you nothing," the man's hard tone was unflinching and filled with bitterness, a tone Ayame had heard few times in her life. It made her uneasy given the two powerful women sitting across from them.
Ayame's gaze darted to the tree-like woman standing just behind the young princess and her breath caught hoping her father's tone would not overly offend. The tree-like woman did not disappoint as she stepped forward with one calloused palm gripping the pommel of her two-handed weapon hard enough to make the leather wrappings groan in protest.
Teuchi remained unphased.
Shizuka, even with her stern gaze taking in the older man's set jaw, merely lifted a hand to forestall her irritated protector.
"We cannot strike down another village's citizen in cold blood, Tokiwa, for multiple reasons but especially not when he is within his rights not to support us. Ichiraku-san is due his hatred." The Amazonian woman with the enormous chest hissed angrily before she released her grip on the blade, but it seemed a hard loss to take.
"If you are not here to eat, please leave. You are occupying valuable real estate." Shizuka lowered her open hand and pointed to the vegetable ramen.
"I'll have one of those please."
Despite the angry tsk from his mouth, Teuchi nodded once then looked up to the furious grimace trying to set fire to his face from the far side of his countertop.
"The same."
Without further conversation, he turned and stomped over to the tools of his trade. Ayame stayed and, once she was sure her father was busy, dipped a quick bow in apology only to have it easily waved aside.
"We are at a good place to come into contact with many of Konoha's open shinobi population. Perhaps we have the ready information you require?" Ayame seemed to be really focused on a small patch of the immaculately-clean counter, her rag swirling as it made squeaky sounds.
Shizuka leaned forward predatorily.
"Oh, I'm certain you do," the younger girl grinned back.
"We will not endanger the good folk of this village. We have to live here long after you abandon us again." Ayame glanced over her shoulder and tried to both soothe her father and maintain the peace hoping he could set aside his grudge with the Nadeshiko. They were her people after all.
"I wouldn't ask you to, Tomohiro Ichiraku." The older man bristled but his eyes darted about briefly to make sure no one nearby could hear their conversation. "No, I just wish to better understand my future husband."
Both proprietors gasped at the implications of her statement but Teuchi's comment brought a bitter chuckle out of the heiress.
"Poor bastard, whoever he is." Ayame tried to keep him far enough way by delivering their bowls so that she could finish the conversation and send the two kunoichis on their way peacefully.
"W-Who is the soon to be lucky shinobi?" Ayame knew the traditions even if she'd never get the chance to take part in them. She winced briefly at the uncomfortably tight bindings keeping her figure contained to a respectable C-cup, as painful as the daily process was, before snapping back to the conversation and Shizuka's far from friendly looking smile.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
Ayame's heart nearly stopped as her world began to implode. 'Nooo!'
~III~
By the time Naruto's automatic trip to the slums reminded him that the gutted-out square hole in the ground no longer supported his derelict apartment and he'd returned to his new swank bachelor pad, he was down to a little over forty minutes to shower and prepare for the emergency Council session. Sending a clone to prepare a quick snack of teriyaki chicken and steamed rice, he scrubbed the trip's grime away, donned a snazzy royal blue kimono and scarlet-trimmed haori with Uzu swirls, inhaled his light lunch, then took a leisurely stroll back to the meeting chambers as he gathered his thoughts.
The fact that his new place was centrally located simplified a great many things.
As he waited outside the meeting chamber, he was eventually joined by Shikamaru with no sign of Ino in sight. He nodded to his colleague even as he nervously chewed his lip and considered his options.
"Any sign of her?" the pineapple-haired boy asked unaware how long Naruto had been waiting. Naruto's distracted shake of the head provided his answer.
The two sat quietly on the hallway bench as time ticked quietly by.
Before too long (thirty minutes is nothing for a Council meeting in Konoha), the double doors opened and a statuesque ANBU wearing a crane's mask waived them inside. Uncertain nerves turned to quiet confusion as both youths spied their teammate already standing in the center of the floor surrounded by the U-shaped Council table, the Hokage already seated at the head with Dragon and Anko standing calmly behind his right shoulder, Jiraiya standing behind his left.
Those three near the Hokage did not shock the boys. It was Ino standing in a glorious purple kimono with lilac and gold tulips trimmed in ivory that caught them off-guard, her hair done up in a neat bun held together with lacquered ebony and jade encrusted chopsticks barring the strategically-placed ringlets framing the right side of her unobstructed face.
She was stunning judging by the open gaping Naruto was engaged in.
Ino blushed but thanked him, her soft voice barely a whisper. Inoichi, his wife Sumiko standing directly behind him, smiled warmly knowing that was exactly the reaction his daughter was striving for.
Once Naruto's brain rebooted, he shook his eyes loose and took his place on her right side as Shikamaru took the leader's spot on the left. He noticed the chuckling glances from the shinobi members of the Council and the jealous stares of the civilian side, both sides attended by the significant others whenever a similarly-dressed girl close to Naruto's age was standing near their parent.
Naruto's quick eye also noted a missing Hinata Hyuuga, his face collapsing into a determined grimace as his eyes locked with the impassive (and openly bored) stare of that clan's patriarch.
The Hokage rapped a gavel near his seat and brought the proceeding to order with a question to that same patriarch.
"Hiashi, may I ask why you refused to bring your daughter to this meeting?"
The stoic vision of Hyuuga-ness sat taller, if that would be possible with three feet of steel rod already shoved up his spine, and turned to answer his Hokage.
"Hokage-sama, my daughter is already promised in a political marriage to the third cousin of Shijimi-dono, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. As Hanabi is far too young for these proceedings, the Hyuuga have no eligible women of the main branch to offer for… whatever this is."
Several reactions flashed across Naruto's face, but he clamped down on them as quickly as he could replacing his outward rage with blank impassivity (not quickly enough, however, to be noticed by his teammates, the Hokage, and everyone else in the chamber adept at reading people). He would have to sort through his disgust at the Hyuuga Clan later.
A retelling of their mission to Nadeshiko with a straight face was the hardest thing he'd ever done. If it weren't for Shikamaru answering the majority of the questions, excepting those posed specifically to him, he might have given up and walked out which would have created its own set of hateful problems. Instead, he stared at the carpet before his feet and numbly listened to the increasingly heated arguments centering around his stubborn refusal to ratify the pending treaty with a powerful potential ally.
"Uzumaki," he glanced up annoyed at the lack of common decency from the fat textiles guild member, "does your ego know no bounds?" Naruto's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Get to the point or yield the floor, Sugimoto-san." The Hokage's reprimand wiped the vile man's smirk from his face as he partially groveled in his over-plump chair.
"Of course, Hokage-sama." He turned his beady eyes back to the blond Genin. "What gives you the right to invalidate a lawful treaty from the Hokage, your acknowledged leader, and commander in chief, with a potential ally that could greatly benefit Konoha? You're a nobody! An orphan who should be grateful to be of service to your village!" His sweating face was doing its best to project outrage and affront, but Naruto huffed dismissively before standing tall and turning to face the aggrieved Councilor.
"Who am I?"
"I believe that was my question, Uzumaki." He was gloating safe in his perceived social superiority even as Naruto strode several paces before his team much to the stationed ANBU's unease.
"I think, no… I know that I am the son of Kushina Uzumaki, the sole surviving clan member of Clan Uzumaki, the sole surviving male heir to the Uzushiogakure Royal Family." The silence lasted all of twenty seconds or so, the shinobi side of the chamber flabbergasted by the short-fused reveal, while the civilian side erupted into outraged revolt demanding his immediate execution for impersonating a noble.
It took several seconds of Hiruzen pounding his poor gavel and a focused blast of KI to silence the angry business collective before order could be restored. The previously-identified Sugimoto-san took the opportunity to vent the collective guild-driven outrage at the clearly delusional (and undesirable) orphan.
"Clearly he's suffered from some delusional stroke as a result of his last mission, Hokage-sama," the man's chuckling did little to hide is snide and condescending tone. His close allies on the Council, several influential men and women, piled on.
"The outrage! Imprison him and confiscate his meager belongings as penalties for his hubris!"
"Stripe him in the village square!"
"Kill the de-, kill the liar! It is a crime to impersonate nobility!"
Hiruzen sighed as he struck the gavel yet again forcing the angry outbursts to die out slowly. Through it all, Naruto's unruffled appearance only made the shinobi council members increasingly uneasy. If this was Kushina's spawn, they'd all been horribly guilty of abandoning him to the cruelty of a jaded and petty civilian populace. They'd all watched him suffer at one point or another, both publicly and privately, and done little to nothing of note to assist him, a grievous injustice to their dearly beloved comrade from the Land of Whirlpools.
Hiashi suddenly became ill almost to the point of physical discomfort thinking back to recent political decisions in his clan. 'Hinata!'
"I was afraid of this reaction from such a close-minded group hence…," Hiruzen flicked a weathered hand and two kunoichis from his administrative staff began distributing copies of a single page, "I prepared extra copies of young Naruto's birth certificate." Several of the shinobi council paled first only to grow noticeably enraged at what they saw, or more importantly what they couldn't see.
"And before you inquire, the identify of young Naruto's father will remain a secret until he reaches the grade of Jounin. Do not ask unless you're willing to offer your life in exchange for the SS-ranked secret the man's identity entails."
Everyone gasped in shock. The Crimson Death was a powerful kunoichi bested, at best, only by Tsunade of the Sannin but to have a father rating such security? Once that shock passed, many began to turn angry faces, from both sides of the room towards the village leader.
"We don't understand, Hokage-sama," Chouza began. "Kushina-dono was close to many of us yet we were led to believe that she bequeathed her clan's name to a nameless orphan as a token of kindness." His face was pained as he looked up from the tiny page shaking in his enormous hands. "Why?"
It was a simple question, but simple questions were often the hardest to answer directly. So Hiruzen posed a counter question.
"Tell me, Chouza. Are you familiar with our young Uchiha survivor?" The large man began to nod and, as his head rolled the named youth over in his mind, he took complete stock of Sasuke's reputation and upbringing and the lights turned on with the brief goggling of his eyes.
Sasuke's reputation as a spoiled socialite was well known among both the civilian and shinobi members of the Council. Among shinobi circles the boy was infamous. Whereas the civilians reveled in their handiwork thinking it made the rotten heir beholden to them and dependent upon their continued kindness, the shinobi side was increasingly mistrusting of the youth often refusing to have anything to do with or support him. A spoiled shinobi was often a treacherous shinobi and treacherous brats didn't hesitate to sacrifice others so long as they got what they wanted.
A child of Kushina Uzumaki would have grown up with their every whim provided on a silver platter, most likely leading to the same pampered result, but that didn't excuse the boy's widely-known and horrific treatment from the civilian populace. Furthermore, a few of the shinobi councilmembers knew Kushina in more than passing and were well aware of the man she lavished her affections on. No less than three pairs of eyes snapped to the calmly standing Genin drawing new conclusions concerning the identity of the boy's patronage, their angry stares slowly turning to their once beloved leader only to see the slight shaking of his head warning against sharing their deductions.
Those three pairs of eyes were attached to silently cursing mouths and, in one striking case, the now tearful eyes and trembling shoulders of one Tsume Inuzuka. Behind her stood her now shocked daughter as she tried to ponder what could make her phenomenally strong-willed mother shed tears, her eyes taking in the handsome blond standing strong and unafraid in the middle of a chamber full of enemies even as she fidgeted in her constraining wine-colored kimono painted with dancing ninken.
When Chouza spoke no more, Hiruzen continued.
"As the sole-surviving male heir of the Uzushio Royal Family," Hiruzen noted the once angry faces of the civilians turning to greedy and lecherous glares directed to the now disgusted Naruto Uzumaki, "Naruto cannot marry the Nadeshiko heiress without sacrificing his family line. This means that we will require another solution with the nation of kunoichi or risk losing this hard-won treaty."
The greedy (and vindictive) civilians jumped at the opportunity. "We can surely make other arrangements." They were already dismissing the village's claim on the boy. "But we require absolute proof of his familial ties. Documents," the conniving banking rep was eyeing the angry Genin as if he were a fresh gold mine on legs, "can be forged."
Hiruzen nodded before turning to meet Anko's angry gaze. With a loud "Tsk!" she leaned over and opened the chamber door allowing entry of a silver-haired med nin with circular glasses, the boy's hunched shoulders bobbing as he bowed his way into the chamber.
"Please take a blood sample from Genin Uzumaki and compare it to the reference I asked in advance for you to bring." With the fingers of his right hand gently pushing up on the large lenses adorning his face, the slim youth went about his task with precision and efficiency chuckling to himself how pleased this discovery would make a certain snake-inclined master of his.
Unfortunately for the distracted Uzu heir, a good med nin with sufficient control could narrow down enough similarities in blood samples to identify clan relationships with an accuracy between sixty to eighty percent on little or no notice. Anything more precise required expensive machinery that did not lend itself to easy portability. Fortunately, Kabuto's reputation among the Council, and the skill of his father as the head of surgery at Konoha General, lent sufficient credence when he claimed an eighty-four percent certainty that Naruto Uzumaki was in fact a bonafide member of the Uzumaki clan, his blood sample containing enough markers to assure his status as an actual clan heir of the royal line.
Only Dragon caught his malicious smirk, brief though it was, as the shady medic slid out once the Hokage released him, her protective inclinations filing it away for later consideration. She also took note of the bespectacled boy's failed attempt to retain the drawn blood sample before an alert Ino called out forcing an ANBU agent to relieve him of it, a dark tint crossing his eyes before melting away into meek obscurity.
The room remained tombstone silent for several minutes long after the med nin departed, an irate mother becoming the first to speak as tensions began to rise once again.
"That explains why you had us bring our eligible daughters to the meeting to address successorship of," the councilwoman's hands came up in air quotes, "of a powerful legacy clan closely tied to Konoha," Mebuki Haruno bit off trying to come to grips with the bevy of startling news she'd heard so far.
Naruto noticed for the first time a stunned and well-dressed Sakura Haruno standing behind her mother (and next to her scowling father) in a taupe kimono shrouded in falling sakura petals of ivory and pink. Perhaps she felt this was her chance at Sasuke? It was readily clear to Naruto that her father would fight to prevent his daughter from coming anywhere near the demon child of Konoha, an attitude the rabid Uchiha fan girl apparently shared even if she was unaware of his status as the Kyuubi vessel.
Naruto took the time to sweep the room and noticed another fifteen prim and proper future brides, most of them civilian and the majority of those disgusted at the idea of being paired with anyone not from Clan Uchiha.
"This meeting was to provide an update on the ambassadorial mission as well as provide a timeline should young Naruto chose to remain a Konoha shinobi, which would place him under the CRA." Several scheming eyes lit up at the thought of gaining control over Uzumaki resources, some even whispering the Consortium's name much to Naruto's open revulsion.
"No decisions will be made tonight, however, if the Uzumaki Clan is re-established in Konoha, young Naruto must declare so upon his sixteenth birthday and must take a minimum of three brides by his eighteenth. If not, then the Council will appoint suitable wives to continue the Uzumaki name and restore the clan to its former glory." The Hokage's sad eyes silently apologized to the shaking youth even as he spoke the traitorous words aloud, concluding the meeting as greedy civilians rose and bowed to the boy they cursed and belittled not twenty minutes prior.
"The clans have until November the ninth to provide names of eligible young ladies they wish to proffer for the Uzumaki Clan CRA initiative."
The Uzumaki Lottery was effectively underway with the bewildered blond, plus his entire clan estate, being the grand (and sole) prize.
Ino shed tears openly. She wept as she stepped forward and clutched Naruto's trembling fist shocking the boy out of his focused rage, his eyes finding her soft apology as she stepped forward and kissed his cheek (much to the outrage of civilians feeling she carried an unfair advantage while shoving their own daughters forward) whispering over and over again how sorry she was for his pain.
He quietly thanked her before releasing her hand. Leaning forward and quietly touching his forehead to hers, Naruto stepped away from her vanishing in a torrential burst of wind that produced sycophantic approval from the greedy civilians professing awe of his powerful display. A few even began to campaign on his behalf remembering the boy's earlier vows to become Hokage one day.
Standing against the wall behind the Hokage, three powerful shinobi resisted the urge to lay waste to the entire civilian Council. Anko wept silently even as her teeth ground painfully together.
Beneath her mask, Keina Uzumaki cursed everyone and everything in the village, her tears hidden from everyone around her, as she flickered away appearing inside the once abandoned home of her deceased sister and brother-in-law. There she tore the ANBU mask from her face, collapsed to the floor, then vented her tears free from the greedy people and cowardly shinobi she'd sworn to protect in the name of her beloved nephew.
~III~
The aftereffects of Naruto's maternal lineage created very few rippling changes to his quality of life where it actually mattered, much to the relieved sigh of the Sandaime.
Among the shinobi who were already beginning to recognize him as a competent soldier (the only kind that mattered), it proved to nudge a small percentage closer to respecting the boy. With an exponentially greater understanding of rudimentary sealing arts, enough were able to recognize the burden he carried thereby neither developing a worse nor better opinion of the boy himself. Respect for his powerful mother, however, filtered downwards earning him both a modicum of increased respect for his lineage while simultaneously increasing expectations of his performance to ridiculous levels because of his mother's reputation; it was a horrific double-edged sword.
Given that the shinobi apartment complex he resided in maintained its own well-stocked grocer, his home quality of life did not change notably. Life was better to be sure, however, the comfortable cushion of his environment eliminated the need to interact with the now patronizing merchant populace (beyond his dealings with the A.S.C. or Higurashi's shop).
As his current residence was immediately classified as an S-ranked secret following the attack that demolitioned his old residence, it resulted in a flood of invitations to the office of the Hokage asking for the boy's company during every prestigious party, celebration, or ceremony from civilians self-inflating their personal worth hoping to earn his favoritism.
Hiruzen took great pleasure in having Neko set fire to them on the roof of his office building.
Kakashi immediately reignited his claim to the Uzumaki heir citing his responsibility as the surviving student of the boy's father (he was close enough to know about Kushina's personal life with his sensei). Hiruzen was not amused stating that having both the Uchiha and Uzumaki heirs would grossly overpower his team. The Copy Nin was categorically denied but vowed on his prized Golden Edition Icha Icha author-signed and serialized collection to never give up in his quest.
The Hyuuga, learning the truth of the demon brat's Uzumaki heritage and mortified in their hateful act of pairing the former heiress up with a sub-standard relative of the Court, immediately tried to renegotiate the arrangement. Missives flew to the capital hand delivered by the most polished Hyuuga negotiators only to return rebuffed and unopened. Apparently the obese and pimply-faced cousin found Hinata's calm demeanor and well-developed curves enticing and he refused to be parted from his future bride knowing she'd become a ravishing beauty in the two years before coming of marrying age. The filthy twenty-three-year-old was beside himself with desire at the possibility of a beautiful, and submissive, kunoichi bride and refused the offer of two branch member females in her place. The entire clan hierarchy was beside themselves in their folly knowing they had little chance of winning the boy's eyes with a substitute or the entirely too-young Hanabi.
Their neglect of the weaker daughter and petty scheming backfired with tragic consequences; knowing full well of her affections for the boy, the elders assumed (beneath the surface) that selling her off to the court would cause the girl pain and wound the demon child in the process. In hindsight, they'd bartered away the winning hand that would have handed them the entire Uzumaki empire on a silver platter, a bitter pill to swallow indeed.
Hinata never smiled more, despite her miserable fate, as she did whenever she saw the moping elders since they couldn't brand her until her sixteenth birthday (in case something happened to Hanabi).
The remaining shinobi clans, being better versed in subterfuge than the civilian population, tried to gradually increase their exposure with Naruto through carefully choreographed "near misses" and increased social passes. This meant making the effort to greet the boy in passing (but not lingering or pestering him). Whenever possible, they (or their clan members) casually inquired about his health or "talked shop" at the mission office. Kunoichi were "gently encourage" to smile at the Genin while male heirs (with eligible sisters) invited him over to train or share a meal without hounding him for a hurried response.
For the social exile, it was as blatant as turning on a neon sign in the Entertainment District and it turned his stomach.
~III~
Five o'clock Friday morning found a somber Naruto at his personal training ground in the slums, his arms wrapped around a sniffling Ino Yamanaka as she apologized over and over again for the horror that was their now partially-failed/ on-hold A-ranked ambassadorial mission debrief. Despite enjoying the pleasant sensation of her body pressed against his own (Naruto loved hugs especially since he rarely got them and no, Hokage-jiji did not count), he stopped stroking her back and pulled away so they could begin their morning workout.
Ino began chatting on their fourth lap around Konoha proper.
"I'm sorry," she blurted out. Naruto nearly stumbled in confusion and shock.
"Sorry for what?" His head cranked over to stare at her sweaty profile.
"For pushing you away when I had the chance to keep you," came the soft reply. He suspiciously wondered if the majority of her red face had nothing to do with their easy pace. "…and now some foreign floozy is claiming you." His head swiveled back to the front.
"You couldn't have known this would happen." It was several minutes before she spoke again.
"Is it really such a horrible idea to stay here… in Konoha… with me?" He almost didn't hear her final words as her voice continued to get softer requiring him to focus on her voice even as the words registered in his head.
He stopped running forcing her to stop after a few steps and turn around to face him.
"What are you saying, Ino?" He seemed irritated. "I thought you wanted 'space'… I thought you wanted distance to 'think?'" His tone made her uncomfortable, but he was sick of the light-footing around it all. With all the recent attention coming in his direction, Naruto had nearly reached his limit with the wealth of concern on his behalf.
"…"
"Am I wrong here?" He was standing very close now, arms held out to the side like an invisible cross held them up, and the urge deep inside Ino to grab him was swelling by the minute.
"…"
"Nothing? You've got nothing to say about that?" Her raging blush displayed her shame and stoked his frustration. "When you figure out what you want from me, do let me know." Instead of moving to continue their run, he turned around to stalk home.
Her head snapped up and she lunged, her arms wrapping around his upper body as she clutched his back to her chest in desperation. At a minimum, it brought the steaming Genin to a staggering halt as her feet dug in to the cobblestoned street.
All of the moisture in Naruto's mouth evaporated leaving so much dust behind. The moment her hands clutched his shirt, the moment her overheated chest smashed against his back, all of the frustration and anger shriveled up and drifted away. He stood there braindead, his eyes blinking into the dark early morning hours of Konoha's infantile winter listening to the most confusing, intelligent, pig-headed (he'd never admit that aloud), beautiful, and domineering kunoichi he knew sniffling into his shoulder blades.
Now just how was he supposed to combat this? He was pretty sure this fell under dirty warfare in some shinobi code somewhere…
~III~
Silence. Darkness. Even the alarm clock next to the dilapidated bed made no sound it being a prototypical shinobi clock with electric leads running to a plain metal band. As she glided silently through the stillness of the tiny apartment, Shizuka was both enchanted and revolted but its Spartan simplicity.
Finding directions from Ayame was simple. Gaining entry was not as simple given the boy's rudimentary facility with seals but he appeared to be self-taught (judging by the healthy collection of books with notes in the margins). She quickly realized that it would not be as easy next time around. For now, her joy from the opportunity to get inside his thought processes was waging war with the monk-like living conditions of his apartment despite the upscale location.
With their chakra suppressed to almost civilian levels, the two Nadeshiko kunoichi padded through the pre-furnished apartment noting the scattering of books, the lightly stocked kitchen, and the handful of clothes hanging in the bedroom closet. If not for the standard issue Genin squad photo depicting a fairly pretty kunoichi sporting a tantalizing purple outfit and flowing platinum locks, a lazy-eyed male with pineapple-shaped hair standing to her right, their bearded sensei vice the white-haired pervert (she was secretly pleased by that and disgusted by his slime-ball beard trim) standing behind them, and her taciturn looking future husband standing to her left and glowering off to the side.
The secret compartment in the upper closet was predictable.
The blood seal storage scroll, which she noted was much more advanced than his security seals, on the back of his night stand was expected.
The zombie-like stare of her future mate in the aforementioned photo, however, stung her heart. Pain. Emptiness. There was no light in his eyes, no joy, nothing like the emotion and expressiveness she'd seen during their clash in Nadeshiko. His body language was aloof, detached. Of the four, his shoulders were turned outward and away from his squad, his eyes focused and scowling at something out of frame.
"My Lady, it's time."
Shizuka's head twitched in the direction of her guardian but her eyes never left the photo, her fingers lightly tracing the outline of his face and body. On impulse, she lifted the picture to her lips and tenderly kissed his face before replacing it in the exact same spot she gleaned it from.
Even as she turned away with a final lingering gaze, Shizuka of the Nadeshiko vowed that he would be hers even if she had to share him with one lucky concubine. Oh yes, he would be hers.
~III~
"Damn you, Uzumaki!" Although her voice was muffled through the back of his shirt, she was yelling loud enough from him to understand her. Somewhere down the street, a cranky citizen yelled for them to shut up and get a room. "Are you going to force me to say it out loud?!"
His silence answered for him so the frantic kunoichi stopped grasping at straws and dove in head first.
"A girl wants to be wanted, to be desired." Naruto gawked and sputtered but a soft slap on the stomach silenced him so she could continue.
"Don't give me that 'but Ino you're so independent' routine. Every girl, sooner or later, wants to feel like that special someone for the one they love." She laid the side of her head against his shoulder blade and sighed heavily.
"You're a great guy and I can see that you care for me. I can see it in your eyes, I can see it in the way you look after me but, for whatever reason, you won't go any further than that." Seeing that he hadn't moved or responded, she kept going.
"I start to get close and you pull away and it's frustrating." Her hands clutched his tee shirt a bit tighter. "And I got tired of chasing after you. For once, I wanted you to chase after me." Her right hand unclenched and began rubbing his chest while her words poured out.
"Sometimes it's all about the chase, Naruto. Sometimes the girl wants the guy to fight for her love, to make her feel desirable." He wasn't trying to flee anymore so both her hands were flat against his body and shaking uncontrollably. For his part, Naruto simply stood there as her words continued to hammer away at his brain.
"So, the question now Naruto is, 'Do you desire me or am I wasting my time chasing a ghost?'"
One minute she was pressed flat against his back and the next he was spinning in her arms until her face was buried in his chest.
"You can't tell a guy you need space then hold it against him when he doesn't chase you down," his voice sounding almost petulant. "That's not even close to fair!"
Ino chuckled but squeezed his body enjoying the warmth. "Of course, I can. I'm a girl." It was stated so matter of fact, Naruto's counter argument sputtered and died on his lips. "And now you get to make it up to me!"
Naruto cringed. "Ummm… and just how am I supposed to do that?" He had one hand up behind his neck while the other hovered just off to the side unsure if it was safe to actually touch her.
"Dinner, movie, then dancing!" Ino's grin nearly swallowed her whole face. She had him. She was absolutely certain she had him this time. 'Take THAT Princess Shizuka!'
~III~
Tired eyes scanned the document one final time, the weathered scroll wrinkled and speckled with what appeared to be dried blood. Swiping his fingers across tired eyes, he focused long enough to read through one last time even as the index finger of his left hand sparked a tiny flame to life atop the single candle resting near his elbow.
"It appears we will have to adjust our plans one final time as our reception was not met with expected familiarity. It appears my host was more interested in canceling my reservation permanently over salutation.
"I cannot stress the importance of preparedness when you face him in the coming months and, rest assured old friend, you will face him; Rasa is not nearly as spry as he once was. Can you take the necessary steps this time and end it once and for all? I would like to think my sacrifice, and the sacrifices of my shinobi, were not wasted only for your soft-hearted sentimentality to attempt another reconciliation.
"The grass parts with the great wind, their drums shaking the earth as the wave closes in on the peaceful walls of our home.
"I pray you are man enough to do what needs to be done.
"May the great tree shelter us all."
-S.
With one final read to burn the words into his brain, Hiruzen burned the scroll until nothing but ashes remained as the sun began its morning trek across the Konoha horizon.
~III~
Ino was a nervous wreck for the rest of Friday and most of Saturday. Preparation for her glorious night began the moment she'd showered, changed into her street clothes, inhaled her breakfast, then scampered out the door to collect her part-time frenemy Sakura.
Given her proven disinterest in all things Uchiha-related, the pinkette was willing to partially bury the hatchet and fan the meager flames of friendship. Ino discovered a few weeks in that friendship still came with its issues and Sakura's refusal to see any good in a certain Uzumaki Genin was still plenty rife for bouts of conflict.
Ino could stomach most of Sakura's mindless jabber about how great her Sasuke-kun was but she made it very clear that bad mouthing her blond beau was as equally off-limits as trash-talking the broody bastard from the brunette clan of one.
It was enough to keep the peace but today was a day for shopping and shopping well-done required a plus-one.
Now she stood freshly showered and powdered glancing critically at her own profile, her normally flowing waves of platinum braided tightly into a thick cord as she double-checked her mother's work. Happy with the single curl in the middle of her forward, her smile brought a happy gleam to both baby blues, her mind once again wistfully saddened they weren't something more exotic. Oh well, the rest of her more than made up for it.
Leaning in to recheck her face, Ino was pleased that her old practice of spending almost an hour dolling up her face with makeup was very much a thing of the past. It had to be her Falna blessing from Hestia-sama as her skin was almost flawless needing little more than eye work to bring out her expressive orbs. The best part was that it didn't stop there.
Her hair all but glowed, thick and lustrous like pale sunlight. Tonight, however, she needed it out of the way so she could fully enjoy her time on the dance floor with Naruto-kun. She bounced excitedly, her hands clenched into tiny fists in front of her still growing chest, the heavy bouncing forcing her to calm down and clamp her palms to her full breasts to keep them in place. Checking the hold of her strapless bra, she grimaced hoping the chakra anchors would be enough to keep everything in place.
She was getting tired of replacing her entire bra collection every six to eight weeks even if it has only happened twice now. With a final pat to her blossoming hardware, her eyes resumed their wandering.
The dress was shoulderless but had flowing sleeves that flared slightly at the wrists. There was just enough fabric to keep them attached to the dress body as the back dipped halfway down to her shapely rear. She was glad that the outfit came with a matching short jacket since Konoha's winter nights cooled just shy of uncomfortable.
Her eyes continued their downward inspection taking in the velvety fabric of her skin-tight dress. The high neck fit like a wide choker covering her throat and highlighting the silver necklace dangling a heart-shaped locket into the deep cleavage peeking out from the oval cutout in the front of her garment. While she preferred deeper hues of purple, blues, burgundies, and blacks, Sakura was spot on when she found this on the mannequin.
It clung viciously to every curve but felt like silk, stretching and breathing as it highlighted her now low D-cup chest and heart-shaped rear. Showing off her now taut tummy after Naruto's grueling workouts and nicely shaped legs sporting almost the right amount of muscle and curve (the sinfully tight dress stopped halfway down her thighs where a removable frill carried on to a few inches above her knees), Ino snickered knowing full well Sasuke had no hope of Sakura ever matching her body. She sarcastically hoped he was into pre-pubescent boys because the pinkette, kami bless her heart, was starving herself and would most likely never develop past a hipless teenage male in form.
Not at all like Ino's flowing figure.
She turned sideways, bent her knees slightly, then leaned forward with her hands on her thighs. With her breasts shoved together and her butt rounding out nicely, she laughed wondering whatever possessed her to starve herself for a boy? Naruto would get a full-grown woman in a few years and Shizuka was in for the fight of her life.
"I'd do me," she giggled out.
Her mom called out that her date had arrived, and, with one last deep breath, she grabbed her small clutch, light jacket, and silver heels before sauntering downstairs. When she stepped through the front part of the shop to meet her date, her mind shut down as her breathing hitched…
~III~
A/N: So, is it wrong that I really like Shizuka as a character? She's deadly. She is absolutely gorgeous. Plus she's pretty much a clean slate given what little of her is shown in canon.
I'm gonna say it now, no use flaming me for getting creative with her in this story.
~Siva'a-tasi