-AN-

Time for a cooldown chapter as we gear up for the next arc. The threat of Kumo looms, Akatsuki's curiosity must be sated, and life returns to normal for a short while.

-Story Start-

The sun rose on the island nation of Uzushio and its people. Today would be no different for a majority of the populace, between construction, travel and now that Spring was sending along orders, engineering commissions. In one office their tired but dedicated leader toiled away at one thing every Kage struggled with. Dreaded paperwork. While Naruto was happy to use his clones to cheat his way past it, having free time did nothing for him today. Only a day since returning from glassing Orochimaru and nearly dying, everyone in Foxden had heard the story, and all of them had been cross with him since. Sighing heavily while Gosu and Isaribi stand guard, Naruto considers his options for today. Hinata was staying close, acting as a secretary and vetting his visitors, while Ino and Tayuya had opted to help out Tsunami with the refugees. Kotohime and Koyuki both were back in Spring, a potential meeting between Daimyo coming up, and Karin and Honoka were as usual down in the lab working together. Flipping through a paper while three clones sit off to the side doing the same, Naruto hopes Riptide Team One are doing well and call him soon. Anything to get him from behind this lonely desk. Stomach growling, Naruto heaves another sigh as he reads through a neighborhood report from the civilian bureaucracy about the schools.

"Man, maybe I need a break. Ramen sounds real good right about now." Naruto hoped the girls hadn't gotten to Ayame. She was always fun and full of gossip for the day and he needed someone cheerful to take a break with. Maybe a lunch date would break some of the ice with Hinata? Ayame had integrated with Uzushio quickly, though she was planning to make a tour of the nations soon to expand her horizons.

Behind his left shoulder, Isaribi cleared her throat, "I don't think that's the best of ideas Lord Uzumaki. The ladies of your house have made it clear that you are to stay put and rest."

Grunting and turning to look back towards her, Naruto tried an easy going grin as he hooked a thumb over his shoulder, "Oh come on. We can get lunch together. You both can guard me and make sure I don't do anything I'm not supposed to." Naruto wiggled his eyebrows and tried some a more conspiratorial tone, "I'm your superior, I can order you to come along."

Isaribi shook her head quickly, "Of course you could Lord Uzumaki. However." Idly her eyes trailed to the open door where she could see Lady Hinata happily working through a stack of paperwork of her own, sorting and deciding what would be coming his way next. "I'll have to say that the Uzumaki women are much more terrifying than you."

Scoffing and resting a cheek in a hand as he leaned on the table, Naruto mumbled with a bit of irritation, "You just don't know any better. I can be scary." Give him ten seconds and some Kurama chakra and he'd have some Kage pissing their pants.

'Damn straight you would!'

'At least someone remembers how awesome I am.'

'Your women will still kill you though.'

'Traitor.'

Isaribi regains his attention, eyes large as she attempts to pout, "Are you really going to refuse the words of a cute woman Lord Uzumaki? Lady Ino said you were better than that."

Grunting again and waving her off, Naruto wouldn't admit out loud that he was a sucker for cute girls. Not today at least.

'Pussy.'

'Shut it, of I'll cut you off from my senses.'

'You wouldn't dare!'

'Wanna bet?'

'Yes, yes I do.'

In the end Naruto didn't respond, because they both knew he wouldn't. By this point Kurama was something like a older uncle to him. Pervert and battle maniac though he may be. Behind him and unnoticed as he goes back to his work, Isaribi and Gosu high five and grin at each other. One minor crisis adverted for the moment at the least.

Gosu grins and relaxes just a tad, "Worry not Lord Uzumaki. When lunch rolls around I'll be nice and go get ramen for us. So you can stay put." That was the problem wasn't it? That he couldn't leave the office? The pencil that flew faster than he could track and lodged itself into the wall changed his mind. Lady Hinata hadn't even moved, humming away with a too cheerful smile on her face, but he knew that she threw it. "Second thought, staying on guard is for the best." Isaribi was right, the Uzumaki women were terrifying.

Naruto sweats a bit but nods, "Yeah, probably for the best." Hearing papers ruffling and looking up, Naruto and the others watch as one of the ninja receptionists, the dark skinned blonde and blue eyed Mihoshi is bouncing her way through the door. Attempting to greet them and carry the paperwork all at once, she ends up tripping and falling flat on her face with a thud. Used to her antics and smiling, Naruto raises a hand, "Yo Mihoshi."

Stuck to the floor, the blonde raised a hand, "Good morning Lord Uzumaki!" Bright and cheerful as ever, Mihoshi takes some time to gather up her spilled papers before rebuilding the stack and standing at attention. "Just a few mission reports to bring to you for inspection and eventual filing." Coming forward to set them down on the desk, leaning forward and unintentionally giving Naruto and the rest a clear view down her shirt, the bubbly girl stands stall and salutes him. "Also. Tsunami has registered three ninja from the Land of Rain who have requested an audience with you. They are staying within Wave for the moment and had no issues giving their information."

Leaning back with a sigh, Naruto thinks it over for a moment. The only ninja he knew from Rain would be Konan. So she must have brought friends this time. Her leader perhaps? Or maybe guards. That would be likely. But if they were being honest in registering, he could humor them. "I'm staying here to be on call for an urgent mission. But let them know if they're okay with waiting for a few days that they can have their meeting. At the least, they can have my permission to visit Uzushio proper. Under tight surveillance of course."

Nodding and bowing to him, flashing everyone for a second time, Mihoshi smiles and turns to walk away, "I'll pass along the order. Have a good day Lord Uzumaki!" Bouncing away in multiple ways, It is Gosu who ends up earning a smack from Isaribi.

"Oh come on. That's not my fault. You were looking too."

Blushing but looking away, Isaribi scratched her cheek, "Still, don't ogle other girls in front of me at least."

"So you can ogle but I can't?"

"I didn't say that."

"But you slapped me."

"I did."

"And you ogled her too."

"I did."

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Come on Gosu, let it go."

Having an affronted look, Gosu motions to the angelic Isaribi, "But…but…she slapped me?"

Sighing again much more heavily, Naruto waved a hand, "Kami, go ogle her together why don't you. Obviously you both like her." When he was met with silence, Naruto turned back to see each of the guards staring at each other. "Seriously?"

Isaribi cleared her throat quickly, "We have no idea what you mean Lord Uzumaki."

Gosu nodded, "Of course not."

Naruto shook his head and gave a glare to his new stack of paperwork, "Sure you don't."

Grinning and glad that her lord isn't in the mood to tease them, Isaribi leans to the side a bit, "She sure is a bubbly personality."

Nodding and picking up a report to read through, Naruto hums, "Yeah, her and her partner, Kiyone, they even each other out pretty well." Reading along for a few minutes in silence, birds flying by his window as the time ticks by, Naruto flips a page over. 'I wonder how Jugo and the others are doing?'

'You wouldn't be stuck here and so worn out if you hadn't forced your rinnegan to evolve like that.'

'You aren't wrong…' Flipping through another page as one of the teachers details the almost necessity of a replacement guard golem, Naruto wants to grin about that but can't, 'Have you found an issue?' How the hell were grade schoolers training their golem to arena fight other golems? That shouldn't be possible at all.

'No. I don't think at least. One of the skills is different than what I remembered. That ability to will complex seals into existence shouldn't be possible. But you did it. Whatever that technique was against Orochimaru.'

'Not like I remember it. I was pretty loopy between the blood loss and missing an arm. It was like my gravity seal, only magnified by a few thousand times. Or maybe, more like a void? I don't know. I'd have to play with it to recreate it.'

Kurama shuddered and shook his head, 'It was terrifying enough the first time. Let's not have a repeat.'

'Jeez, two techniques shuffled into the forbidden section in a week. That has to be a record.' Thinking about it, Naruto does eventually nod as he finishes the report and signs it off, 'I'll be more careful, but something about that one I can't let go yet. I have to figure it out.'

'I can't save you if your women decide to beat you into the ground.'

'Fair enough.' Naruto moved to grab another file, but was distracted by a hopefully much better reason. Karin was here, smiling brightly and for all appearances happy to see him. Smiling himself, he raises a hand, "Karin, please tell me you're here to take me away to inspect some new work of yours."

Shaking her head and dropping a large beaker full of a dark green liquid in front of him, Karin adjusts her glasses and makes them shine. "No can do Naruto. I'm here to deliver this instead."

Naruto eyes the beaker, nose crinkling. The smell wasn't horrible. It certainly wasn't something he wanted on his desk though. "And what is this?" Maybe it was some new medical thing she cooked up.

It was, just not what he wanted. "It's your lunch!" Still smiling and now grinning, Karin put her hands on her hips.

"This is…for me?"

"Yup!"

"Wouldn't something, I don't know, more normal be more fitting? Like, even donburi or Takoyaki or-"

Karin's eyes shadow over as she places both of her hands on the desk and begins to lean over him, "I worked hard to make something that has all of the nutrients and vitamins that your body needs to make a full recovery. Because. You know. You did almost die." Eyes going going unnecessarily wide, the scientist was still grinning. "Against our wishes might I add. Are you sure you want to complain?"

Shaking his head quickly, Naruto waved his hands back and forth for extra emphasis, "No no no, of course not!" Eyeing the green sludge, Naruto knew there wasn't an escape from this. Guess he should have known better. "Any chance I can add something to make it more, appetizing?"

Shaking her head as she stood up straight and her smile stretched back across her face, Karin once more had her hands on her hips, "No can do. This has everything your body needs and I don't want to chance tainting that with sweeteners. Plus, you'll have to drink three of these a day for three days, just in case."

"Aw c'mon Karin-chan. Have a heart." Trying a different tactic, Naruto leered at her, "You know it's not everything my body needs. Let me come visit you and we can figure out the rest."

Shaking her head as an ominous rattling sound of chains rubbing together begins to fill the air, the young woman can't help but grin that much more. "There will be none of that until we confirm that you are fully recovered." Eye's sharpening and her grin finally dipping down into a frown, Karin eyes her love, "Would you like to complain some more?"

"No no, no complaints! I'm good."

"Splendid!" Smiling and turning away, she motions towards Hinata, "I'll leave your refills with Hinata, have a great day!" Swaying her hips as she left, Naruto was left behind to sigh and twiddle a finger on his desk top as he eyed his lunch drink.

"This sucks." He really couldn't complain though. Thinking on it fully he realized that dying would have meant not only leaving Uzushio without a leader, but his family without a husband and father. Yes, there would be times when he would have to fight, but Hinata wasn't wrong. He could have retreated, they could have planned something else out. How long would Orochimaru have lasted without Kabuto? In that form, probably not long. He let his rage blind him, and this was his penance. Reaching forward to grab the beaker, he took a deep breath before chugging half of it in one go. Shuddering as he slammed it down on the desk, he hoped he could work his way back into the girl's good graces. No good food or loving time for three days? He might just die.

Behind him, Gosu leaned over to Isaribi, "If I ever piss you off that much, just kick me in the nuts and get it over with."

Isaribi was grinning, "I don't know. I like this way of doing things more I think." This did more damage mentally after all. That was what made a lesson stick.

-b-

To the east and nestled deep in a dense wood, Riptide Team One looks over the entrance of a very abandoned and possibly recently raided Sound Base. Feeling out with his senses, Jugo confirms that he can't feel much of anything in terms of people. No threat meant there would be no reason to call in Lord Naruto. "This makes things easier at the least."

Sasame hums as they stand together, Kin on his other side, "Are you sure we shouldn't just call Lord Naruto, just in case?"

Kin shook her head, defending Jugo's decision. "We should be able to handle things well enough on our own. We can't call our Kage to bail us out of every situation."

"I guess."

Jugo nods and leads the way, "If we do run into something, we'll call him. Not a moment sooner or later."

"Hai."

Leading the way, Jugo does at least concede that they will have to call their lord eventually. "At the minimum we will have to call him in order to destroy this place. We can't leave a base like this open for anyone."

Kin sighed and considered that, "One of us should should start working on learning seals and the like. It's what Uzushio is known for after all."

Sasame nodded at that, "I'll do it. You have your genjutsu and Jugo has his bloodline. It'll give me something unique."

"You're unique enough without any other special skills or knowledge, but we'll support you in your endeavors." Jugo comments offhandedly as he takes them deeper into the ruins of the base. Focused as he is, he missed the blush that covers Sasame's face as Kin leans over to poke her and grin. "Hmmm, there's something up ahead. Can't get a good read on it, so keep your guard up."

Both girls turn to focus, though Kin voices a question, "I'm guessing you've been to this base before then? You've having an easy time getting around." Down long and dim hallways, over cracked and broken floors and passed humid and dark doorways, Jugo was completely confident about where he was going.

Jugo nods once, "Yes. When Orochimaru first found me, I was placed here. Until my bloodline was found to be useful to him and I was moved. I met Kimimaro here, and we promised to carry on one another's dreams if one of us died." Thinking about it for a moment as he leads them into a wide open laboratory, the floor space dominated by mostly empty medical tubes much like Karin's own back in Uzu. "To think, I would be the one to outlive Kimimaro. Guess I'll have to be the one to live a full and happy life now."

Coming up next to him, Kin lays a gentle hand on his arm, "Do you…resent Uzu for killing Kimimaro?"

"No." Eyes latching on to a tube that was still completely full of water, Jugo walks towards it and the strange feeling he was getting, "We both knew the risks of working with Orochimaru. I wish things could have been different, but life has never been kind to us. With some luck and hard work, maybe it could be possible to revive his clan at the least. If I can convince Lord Naruto to do so."

Kin shakes her head slowly, "You know Lord Naruto won't agree to experimentation like that."

"I agree, which means there would have to be volunteers." Jugo smiles at her before turning back to the test tube, close enough now to lay a hand on the glass, "How odd."

Sasame taps the glass on his other side, frowning as she peered into its depths, "You sure you feel something alive in here? Looks like boring old water to me."

"My senses are picking up on living chakra, someone is here."

Kin grins, pulling free a brass hand bell from her pouch, "Well, if someone is here, I can always rattle em around a bit." Ringing the bell once but not adding chakra to it, she pointedly eyes the test tube.

Inside the tube the water churns and swirls before forming into a person, much to Riptide's surprise. Pale and naked, Suigetsu grins and waves his hands in surrender, "No need to rattle me around, I'm here." Seeing and recognizing Jugo, Suigetsu salutes him, "Welcome to the slaughterhouse. Hope you enjoy your stay." The last he had heard of Jugo, the perpetually crazy man was liable to rip your head off with no warning at all. He didn't want to piss someone like that off today. Not after surviving a Kumo raid.

Seeing that Suigetsu is nervous, hopefully meaning he would easily talk, Jugo stands a little straighter, "What happened here?"

"Eheh, well." Gulping and deciding he did not want to die, Suigetsu started to talk, "Well, it looks like someone has been running around smashing Sound bases and Kumo decided to raid this one. Not like there was much here to take, just a few researchers and a dozen prisoners. Nothing exciting beyond me."

Thinking it over and not having any orders considering a situation like this, Jugo turns to Kin and Sasame. "With the base empty our mission is null."

Kin nods, "We could take him at least, have something to show for coming all this way."

Sasame shakes her head, "You know we don't take anyone against their will."

"At least not unless they try to kill us first." Kin turns bored eyes to the naked boy, "What do ya say, wanna try and kill us?"

"Nope! I'm good, no thanks." Suigetsu was not going to get into a fight with Jugo of all people. At least, not without a weapon. But Suigetsu considered further that he was most likely very outclassed at the moment. Both of these girls were completely comfortable with Jugo which meant one of two things. They were expendable and knew it, or they were powerful enough to keep Jugo in check. Which mean they would be strong enough to put him down as well. Nope, he'd be playing it safe for now.

Jugo motions for the girls to step back, "At the least we'll free you and be on our way." He'd do what was necessary and then return to Uzu with Lord Naruto's assistance. Maybe they could rest and go take on a bounty mission next.

Surprised and curious Suigetsu steps away from the glass, "You're gonna free me? Just like that? Orochimaru sure has softened up."

Chuckling, empowering an arm with chakra, enlarging and increasing its power, Jugo shook his head, "I serve a new Master now. Lord Naruto. Who is also now allied with Kirigakure if you are interested in returning to your old home." With a shout and a thrust, the glass shatters and Jugo returns his arm to normal. Suigetsu is free to walk out into the lab while whistling, catching a tunic that Sasame had unsealed and thrown to him.

"Thanks." Dressing himself, Suigetsu thinks about what Jugo said to him. He could return to Kiri, start his mission all over again. The Legendary swords wouldn't collect themselves after all. "Yeah, if I can get back to Kiri, that'd be great."

Jugo pulls free a paper seal and begins to add chakra to it, "Don't be alarmed."

Suigetsu raises an eyebrow, "What's that do?"

"Just making a call." In a flash Naruto is there, frowning at his surroundings and unintentionally raising his chakra as his eyes lock on the pale haired boy. Suigetsu instantly knows that whoever this is could kill him in a moment and most likely would if the look in his blue and purple eyes was anything to go off of. That wasn't the face of a man, it was like staring at death. Jugo with Sasame and Kin bow to him however, "Lord Naruto, we have news to report."

Tired and still worn out as he is, it takes a moment for him to clamp down on his chakra. Turning curious eyes to Jugo, Naruto nods, "What's up Jugo? I expected you to call me outside of the base, not deep within it." Another casual glance washes over Suigetsu, before Naruto turns fully to Jugo, "Wanna get me up to speed?"

Jugo nods, "The base has been raided before we made it here. Kumo made off with a few researchers and a dozen prisoners. Suigetsu is the only survivor otherwise. He does wish to return to Kiri."

Taking it all in with a nod, Naruto makes a clone before unsealing a v2. "Okay, let's get back to Uzu then and have a chat." He was thinking over the fact that there were only a dozen prisoners here, same number as what Orochimaru said he had given to Kumo…had they just missed saving the Uzumaki? Or just a coincidence? Clone wandering off down a hallway, Naruto grabs Jugo who in return let's Kin and Sasame grab onto him and he grabs a confused Suigetsu. "Hope you don't get motion sickness."

That confused Suigetsu more, "What do you-" One second he was in the dark and dank ruins of the lab and the next he was dropping to the floor of a well lit office several stories up. Bookcase on one wall and a collection of exotic weapons on the opposite, Suigetsu decided he was going to hang onto the floor to keep the world from spinning.

Naruto was already walking around his desk, heaving himself back into his chair with a sigh. Behind him Gosu and Isaribi wave to the Riptide team, "Welcome back."

Jugo nods while Kin bounces in place, "Did we miss anything?"

Isaribi motions to Hinata visible through the open door and then eyeing Naruto, "You could say that. I'm sure you'll get filled in later."

Naruto watches as Suigetsu gets to his feet, nervous but standing tall all the same. "So, you want to return to, Kiri, right?"

"Uh, yeah, that's right." Suigetsu is hit with the realization that this man wasn't just insanely strong, but a Kage to boot. Nope. He wanted to be as far away from this guy as possible.

Eyes turning hard for a moment, Naruto had to consider that he couldn't really stop the guy from going. For all he knew Suigetsu was a member of some proud or prestigious clan in Kiri. "I don't know how long you were locked away with Orochimaru, but Kiri is in the middle of changing towards a less bloody future. So I'll ask. Are you more aligned with the Kiri of old, or the new?" Maybe Suigetsu would make things simple for him.

Scratching at his head, Suigetsu shrugged, "Kiri is Kiri. As long as I can return, my loyalty won't be doubted." Maybe he could reunite with whatever of his clan was left. Get some updates before continuing on with his quest. That was what mattered to him.

Decision made, Naruto figured that without a good reason he didn't have a justification for keeping Suigetsu here. Plus, it would be one less headache for him. "Well it's not my place to keep you from getting home." He turned to regard Jugo, "Can you escort him to Wave and help him charter a boat?"

"Sure thing." Jugo is already backing away, ready to leave at a moments notice.

Suigetsu bows low to the Kage, "Thanks a bunch. For the save and for sending me home."

Naruto waves him off, pushing an empty beaker towards the edge of his desk while returning to paperwork, "No sweat. Good luck and when you get to Kiri tell Mei I said hello if ya can."

Confused but nodding, wondering how he was going to track down this Mei person, Suigetsu turns to walk out, "Sure thing." Leaving with the Uzu team, the loner ninja mentally makes plans for what to do once he gets back to Kiri.

Office quiet once more now that the others had left, Naruto sucks his teeth a bit, "And here I thought I might get some excitement."

Isaribi shook her head, "Be careful Uzumaki-sama. Lady Hinata might hear you."

Said girl was walking into his office with a new stack of paperwork and a smirk on her face, "I did, by the way." Papers dropping onto his desk, the pale eyed girl looks to the empty drink, "Oh, you need a refill." In the corner the group of three clones groaned out that they had just finished a stack of work. They were properly ignored.

Naruto shakes his head though he moves the new stack to his inbox, "I think I'm good for now."

Eyes going hard for a moment, Hinata unseals a new beaker and places it on his desk, taking and sealing the empty. "Nonsense. Drink up. You need it." Turning to walk to the group of clones, picking up completed and sorted folders and files, Hinata again turns to walk back out of the door, "And we will be having a longer conversation tonight, husband." Saying nothing else, Hinata leaves, Naruto glumly staring at the green liquid. He was sure it was mocking him somehow.

Isaribi takes some pity on Naruto, leaning over with a smile, "I'm sure things will be fine my Lord. Why, she put this stack of paperwork down a bit gentler than last time." She idly noted one of the clones coming over and taking half of the new stack before returning to their desk under the weapon wall.

Naruto shook his head, moving to get back to work, "It's alright. I deserve it. They do mean well, and they deserve to be upset with me." He'd have to figure something out to make it up to all of them. He wouldn't be completely passive through all of this.

-b-

On the road and making her way to her next destination while the sun sets, Yugito decides that she has had enough for today. Getting off of the road and making her way into a tree with good leaf cover, she settles in for the night. 'I've got 2, maybe 3 days before I make it to Wave.'

Matatabi nods, 'Think you're ready for this?'

'No.' Conflicted about this mission, Yugito wondered over what Bee had said to her. He had been very clear that the Uzumaki would not be taken by force, and she believed him. Uzumaki were well known for being, stubborn. Willing to fight indefinitely, till death if needed. She had heard stories from some of the ninja tasked with breeder maintenance about what could happen to an Uzumaki who came off their pacification drugs. Shuddering at the idea of someone biting their own tongue not even seconds after regaining their full consciousness was terrifying. If nothing else, the willpower of an Uzumaki deserved respect. 'And to think, the Maelstrom is both a Jinchuriki and an Uzumaki. I think Bee had the right of it. If the Raikage wants him, he's going to have to beat him into submission.'

'And you know he's willing to do so. There's only one Uzumaki male left in Kumo, and that one is getting old.' The Matatabi had her own opinions of humanity and their need to subjugate each other in whatever manner they could. But that was well outside of her ability to do anything about. At the least, she could protect her container.

Wishing she could be on her way to doing any mission other than this one, Yugito takes out of length of rope and ties herself to the tree, making sure she won't fall in the middle of the night. 'Things will work out.' Hopefully. With some luck the Maelstrom will catch on and capture her right away. Though she didn't hold out hope for how she would be treated. Yes Kumo treated its ninja better than most, but they were still tools. To be used and expended at will, and Kumo Jinchuriki were at the bottom of that totem pole. And she. Well. She knew what that entailed all to well. Daimyo. High ranking nobles. Merchants. She had been, popular, for some time. Jinchuriki women were in high demand for a lot of reasons. Thankfully the Matatabi was good about making sure she couldn't get pregnant against her will. She herself never wanted to bring a child into this world as long as things stayed the way they were.

'A prudent decision I believe. Unless you're finally ready to defect from your village.' Which to the ancient chakra being, would be the better decision. Why stay loyal to a village that was willing to throw you away when necessary?

'Can't say that I am, at least not now.' But what if? What if the Raikage ever ordered her to bare a child? She'd probably finally follow through with her own secret plan and kill herself. Maybe. If she could free her biju first, then she'd be all for it.

Internally, Matatabi sighs loudly, 'You don't need to kill yourself. God, I'm taking control and getting you laid when we find the Kyuubi container again. You need something positive.'

'And you are supposed to be staying out of my mind, cat.' Not truly upset, Yugito did have to remind herself that her biju was just looking out for her. Blushing at the mental image that popped into her mind when the other blonde was mentioned, she shook her head quickly, 'We have a mission to complete.'

'More like a suicide to get on with if Bee's measure of the boy is accurate. Consider all your options Kitten. Talking is of course one of them.' Fading back into the depths of her mind, Yugito was left alone. She really did consider getting captured being the best outcome for everyone involved. She certainly didn't want to die nor did she want to spark a conflict between villages. Though that may happen regardless. Adjusting herself and folding her arms around her middle, Yugito began to drift off to sleep as the night moved on. Tonight, the same lonely dream. A life far away from ninja, something peaceful with wide open fields and a quiet home. Maybe two children or just one. No more loss, and no one wanting to use or abuse her. Yes. A good life. A simple life.

-b-

Night had fully descended on Uzushio and Naruto was lowering himself into the bath. Alone for the moment and unbothered about it, he considered his options for tomorrow. He planned on giving the okay for Konan to come and visit his office so they could talk, but beyond that he was stuck behind his desk for another two days at the least. Not that he was raring to go anywhere just yet. He still needed to brainstorm and figure out just what he was going to do with Kumo.

'Well I'm team razing that village to the ground.'

'Of course you are.' Naruto couldn't fault him about it though, it would be the easiest thing to do. Fly over head and spam clones to find and rescue the Uzumaki, and then blow the village away with a v2. Short, sweet, simple. Of course, that ignored any innocents that might be involved, or the political fallout from such a move. Taking a deep steadying breath before exhaling slowly, Naruto lowered himself a bit more into the water, "This sucks."

From the doorway, it was a quiet pair that were the first to join him. Tayuya and Ino were quick to ease themselves into the pool sized bath and make their way towards him, concerned looks on their faces. Ino at least flashed him a smile, "Good to be out of that office?"

"Like you wouldn't believe." Not moving as Ino and Tayuya settle on either side of him, he is only a little surprised by Tayuya clinging to his arm tightly, "Hey…"

Tayuya shakes her head, "I'm going to ask some things, and I need you to be honest, okay?" Looking up to him, she watches as he nods slowly with his eyes locked on hers. "What were you thinking, when you decided to continue fighting Orochimaru once you were injured so badly? We all know you're strong, Unimaginably so. But, you don't use the hiraishin in combat, you didn't even consider retreating even a little bit, and you keep forcing your eye to evolve further and further. Would you…" Looking away from him finally, staring down into her reflection with a frown on her face though she refused to let him go, "Would you have been fine with that? Dying and leaving us alone so long as you killed him?"

Waiting for a moment to be sure that she was done talking, Naruto sighed and looked up into the ceiling, "I….no. No I wasn't thinking. I wouldn't have wanted to leave you all behind, I need you to know and understand that. I just, I wanted him dead in a way I never wanted to kill anyone else before. Things had always worked out for us up till now, that I just didn't even consider that I couldn't win. And once I knew I had a technique that could heal me? I let that go to my head and did something reckless." Looking down and staring first at Ino and then at Tayuya, Naruto nodded firmly, "I'll be better from here on. Survival first, mission second."

Tayuya squeezed his arm, "I…I love you Naruto. But I need you to understand, if you take a needless risk like that again, I'll leave." It was quiet between the three of them, only the water sloshing against the rim of the pool providing noise. "I never thought that I could find happiness like this in my life. I was sure that I was going to end up like every other Uzumaki woman I had heard about. But, you changed that, gave me a better life. We built a better life together. But…if you could throw that away, no. I can't stay and watch you do that." Turning watery eyes towards him, he pokes him hard in the chest, "I can share you with the others because we all love you. But I won't be second place to some vendetta. You always make sure you come home, you start fighting smart, or so help me then next time I'll use the Shinigami mask to bring you back just to kill you myself."

"I'm sorry, Tayuya. I promise, on everything that I am. Never again." And he meant it. A hard lesson, but one that he needed to learn. He got lucky with Orochimaru, and he couldn't rely on getting lucky anymore.

Tayuya poked him again once more for emphasis before sighing and leaning into him, much more relaxed than before, "You better keep your word. And you're giving me massages for the rest of the week to apologize for making me all mushy and emotional. Asshole."

Chuckling and nodding again, Naruto slipped and arm around her slim waist and pulled her further into him, "But you're always so soft and feminine Ta-chan." The elbow to his gut screamed in defiance of that, "Yeah, noted."

"Ass."

Ino shook her head and leaned into his other side, daintily picking up his arm and laying it over her shoulders, "We all feel mostly the same, though with different extremes. So long as you learn and improve, we'll all be happy." Smiling, she sighed and enjoyed the muscled arm around her shoulders, "You aren't some random murder hobo skipping across the nations. You have a family, a people to worry about. You can't leave things to chance like that."

"I understand."

"Good whiskers, now, get to making clones, we all need back rubs."

Looking up, he finally noticed the rest of the girls were here, still minus Koyuki and Kotohime. Hinata, Karin and Honoka were smiling softly as they all lowered themselves into the waters, each watching him calmly. Making clones, Naruto bowed his head to them all, "I'll be better, that's a promise."

Hinata is the first to nod and float over to the real him, kissing him lightly on the lips before floating away to be picked up out of the water by a clone, "We know. Don't think this gets you out of a few days in the dog house though."

Pouting, Naruto watched his clones start to work the girls over, "Can I at least have normal food?"

Karin giggles before a moan escapes her lips, "No can do! That stuff really is the healthiest thing you can have right now that'll help you fully recover. Coupled with Kurama's healing and you'll be in tip top shape in record time."

"Tastes like you took every vegetable known to man and blended them all together." Getting a giggle from both Karin and Honoka but no response, he had a feeling he was pretty close with his guess. "Arg fine. I'll be good."

Ino leaned further into him, "Oh you big baby. If you're a good boy, I'll do something special for you at the end." Leaning into his ear, Ino smirked as he twitched at her breath tickling him, "You know, that thing I do with my tongue first thing in the morning?"

Rolling her eyes from her position on a towel, Hinata couldn't help it, "You just can't help it can you skank?"

"It's for Naruto, so no." Always happy to snipe back and forth with her friends, Ino was still Ino after all.

Naruto counted himself lucky. This could have gone a lot worse, and he was grateful that it didn't. Guess that was just the power of the Uzushio baths. Tomorrow would be a new day, but at least he was able to clear the air with his wives.

-AN-

The next few chapters are going to float between focusing on Uzu and the various villages again. Toad Training gives time for others to get some screen/fic time.