Night Life of a Lonely Fox
Returned late that night after Naruto had his fill of Ramen and proudly paid his tab in full to the great joy of the old ramen cook. Sakura walked with her head resting on Naruto's arm enjoying the warm night air. "You sure it was ok to leave the door and windows open like that?", asked Sakura as the building came into sight.
"What is anybody going to steal? The used future I found on the street or those old pots and pans you found?", said Naruto
"Ya, but I do have all my new clothes.", she added, looking up at him to remind him it wasn't just him living in the apartment anymore.
"I am sure it's all right," he added quickly but increased his pace to get home quicker.
Entering the apartment they were greeted with a blob crawling across the floor in battle with the potato monster in the corner and hissing noises emanating from the sink as black tentacles flailed about.
"I don't even want to know what you were cooking.", said Naruto in a deadpan voice as Sakaru grabbed the broom and started poking at the thing in the sink.
"Don't just stand there, kill it.", yelled Sakura as the blob on the floor gave up on the potato monster and turned on her, it had crawled up her leg as the tentacles tried its best to pull the broom from her hands. Standing on one leg while trying to shake off the blob all the while fighting the tentacle monster that looked a lot like noodles was too funny and Naruto burst out laughing as he came over with a few quick jabs of a Kunai the blob and the monster reverted to their noodle and rice burned food look. The potato thing on the floor seeing the demise of its friends found a hole in the floor broads and disappeared with a popping sound.
Still laughing, Naruto got the bucket out of the bathroom to start cleaning up when Sakura pulled it out of his hands.
"GO, go do something, I made this…. This mess and I will clean it so go for a run or something.", the fire in her eyes told him to get out while the getting was good and he left her to deal with the aftermath of her first attempt at cooking.
A run sounded like a good idea as he headed out, it wasn't that late and people were still out and about as he made his way to the edge of the village. The gates had been closed so he had to stay within the village proper, he had learned years ago if you climbed the outer wall the Anbu would quickly come, and dealing with them all night was not something he wanted to do tonight.
Taking a side street, Naruto ran through the many parks and green spaces around the village. Avoiding the main streets and the people, it was nice to just run in the warm night air. The parks were his favorite, with only a few couples wandering the paths looking for a private moment and paying him no attention.
It was here, in one of the parks, that he felt it—a pressure of chakra. Not bad or good, just a large pressure, as if a jutsu was being formed but never used. Taking a side path, he followed the feeling until he came upon a sight he never expected.
Sitting on a park bench under one of the few lamps lighting the way, was the bright red-haired Gaara with a blonde girl, more like a woman, at his side. As Naruto slowed to a walk, he came up to them as they looked over to see who would be brave or stupid enough to approach Gaara at night.
"Naruto, it's good to see you," said Gaara in his emotionless voice that showed he was happy.
"Hi Gaara," said Naruto as he came up to them. It was then he noticed that it was Temari, Gaara's sister sitting at his side. The last time he had seen her, she was covered in chakra burns and screaming, so he braced himself for her reaction, but none came.
"Naruto," she said, giving him a small bow as she locked her teal eyes onto him. Her sandy blonde hair had grown back, which she gathered into four consecutive pigtails. Temari's outfit consisted of a single light purple-colored, off-the-shoulders dress that extended halfway down her thighs, with a scarlet sash tied around her waist that looked the same as the last time he fought her. The only thing missing was the fishnet she used to have on her arm and leg.
"Glad to see you out of the hospital, Dattebayo," said Naruto, rubbing the back of his head at a loss for words.
"Yes, your Hokage is a great healer," said Temari.
"We are planning on leaving for Sunagakure in the morning. We did not know where to find you, but I wanted to say thank you for giving me my little brother back," she added once again giving him a deeper bow.
"So you're leaving, huh," said Naruto, sorry to see his newest friend leaving.
"Yes, we must take Kankuro's body back for a proper burial," said Gaara with little sign of emotion in his voice.
"Yeah, I didn't expect Ino to take it so far," said Naruto.
"Kankuro would have ended her life without a second thought. He made a mistake by not learning about her clan and paid the price," said Temari. "We all expect to die in battle. That is the shinobi way. It was his time."
His time, was what Naruto wanted to end, these endless battles between shinobi, so much death and destruction with no real reason but for the Daimyo to gain some small advantage over each other.
"These senseless deaths have got to stop," said Naruto, sharing his thoughts with them.
Gaara and Temari stood so they all were in the pool of light from the lamp overhead. The light caused the surrounding park to fade away into the darkness so it seemed they were alone in the world standing there facing each other in a circle of light.
"That is the way of the shinobi. It would be hard to change the world," Gaara said with a hint of resignation in his usually calm voice.
"I will show the world a different path, one where peace is the norm, not the exception," Naruto said, a spark of excitement in his eyes. "I'll bring peace to the world, just watch me!" Even if I have to beat every other shinobi into submission, he thought, it had worked on Gaara, so it would work on everyone else.
"You dream big, that is what I have learned to admire about you. We will make a good match," said Temari
"Match?" said Naruto, not understanding what she was talking about.
"Temari is of the age to marry, and by the traditions of our village, a Kunoichi can only marry someone who defeats her in battle. Many have tried over the years, but my sister is a formidable Jonin," said Gaara, as if it was normal to propose marriage to a stranger.
"You have done what many have tried. We will start the arrangements as soon as we get back to Sunagakure," Gaara added as Temari stood tall and proud showing little emotion.
"Thank you, but I can't. I mean Temari is great and all, but I don't really know her, and marriage... I am too young for that and I don't love her or anything," stammered out Naruto feeling trapped for some reason.
"Am I too old for you?" said Temari, coming to the wrong conclusion.
"Old? No, of course not, but marriage is for love and family. I am not ready for that," said Naruto with a grin rubbing the back of his head.
"Love will come in time as it did with my mother and father. All marriages in Sunagakure are arranged. Is that not the way in Konohagakure?" she said, now looking puzzled. The villages did not share much in common; even as would-be allies, they had never shared much. To not marry would bring shame and dishonor to her and her family, did he not know that?
Naruto thought hard about what he heard about marriage, he knew he didn't know much, but he had never heard of any marriage being arranged in the village. All the talk he had overheard was of love and family, "No, not ever, even the clan heirs I went to the academy with only talked about love and stuff," he said after some time thinking about it.
"Strange, what does love have to do with marriage," said Gaara, having never heard of love and marriage in such a way.
"Gaara, my friend, you are asking the wrong guy. But I can't marry anyone right now," said Naruto thinking about how hard it was going to be to become Hokage.
Temari looked at Gaara, and for the first time, some emotions played across her face, was she to be dishonored in this way? "We will return and then let us talk about love and marriage," said Gaara not willing to lose a sister so soon after losing a bother. They would talk and come to a solution that would maintain her honor in this.
Temari nodded to her brother, and without warning, walked up to Naruto and kissed him on the lips, holding him still for a good long kiss before she stepped back leaving a dazed and confused Naruto rubbing lipstick off his lips.
"We will talk of love later," she said and for the first time, she smiled at him.
With a final farewell, Gaara and Temari left, disappearing into a swirl of sand as they used the Shunshin no Jutsu.
"Damn, I have got to learn that trick," said Naruto out loud as he continued his run.
It was an hour later when he decided to turn back, it was getting late so he felt safe taking a more direct route and headed down one of the more main streets lined with bars and nightclubs used mostly by shinobi. He was halfway home when out of one of the nightclubs came a group of girls all laughing and giggling at some inside joke when out of them came a voice he knew.
"Naruto? Hey Naruto, come here.", yelled out Ino as she made her way to the front of the group with three other girls. They broke free of the crowd and headed his way.
"Is that him?" asked one of the other blondes in a loud whisper.
"Oh he's cute," said another, getting a wave of giggles out of all of them.
"Hi Ino," yelled back Naruto stopping in the street with the four girls encircling him, each was dressed in different shades of the same dress Ino favored and with long blonde hair each in a different style, he was confused at what was going on.
"I didn't know you had sisters?" said Naruto seeing most of the others looked a little younger than Ino but so alike it was scary.
"Oh these aren't my sisters silly, these are my cousins Hana, and this is Kaede and the shy one is Botan," said Ino pointing out each of them as she went with Botan hiding her face behind her hands.
"Wow you have a lot of cousins," said Naruto
"The Yamanaka clan numbers almost a thousand in the village, you know, we are second behind the Hyuga, it's just we don't all live in the same compound," said Ino, waving to someone leaving the club behind Naruto. Turning he spotted Choi and some of his friends heading out.
"You want to join us," said Hana, "Yes yes come with us," said Kaede with Botan pushing him from behind.
"What, where are we going," said Naruto as Ino took his arm and the others all seemed to move him with a force of will alone.
"See, I told you Naruto got Game!" Yelled out Kirba from the front of a club as they all moved. With a group of sexy blondes all around him some of the other guys started whistling and hooting.
They were walking toward a club, the sign read "Night Owl" and the thumping beat of music could be felt more than heard as they got closer.
An image of emerald eyes and pink hair with a very very hard fist came flashing to mind and he stopped dead, using chakra to anchor into the street causing all four girls to huff as they tried to move him.
"Naruto what's wrong," said Ino turning to face him with her army of Ino look-alikes forming a wall behind her.
"I… I can't," he said, shaking his head thinking about all the pain he would cause Sakura and then the pain she would cause him.
"Oh come on you can come in for a minute or two, it will be fun and you can dance with all of us," said Kaede getting all the others to nod but for Ino.
"No, no, I can't. I have to get home," he said, backing up and holding his hands up.
Ino crossed her arms under her sizable chest and looked at him, with the other three girls joining her and all tapping their feet. "You know, Naruto, Sakura told me you and her are just roommates, so I don't see the big deal. Now come dance with us," said Ino, with the other three all nodding their heads.
"If it's with more than one girl, you know it's not a date, so look, you got four, so it's really not a date," said Kaede, getting a chorus of agreement from the others.
Naruto wavered. It did look like fun, and he had never been to a club before. It was then that Kiba yelled out from the entrance of the club, "What's up, Naruto? You're scared of girls now?" followed by a roar of laughter as he turned and went into the club.
"OK, but only for a short time," said Naruto, as he let them pull him into the club.
The loud music and flashing lights overwhelmed him at first. Blinking his eyes, he could make out a dance floor encircled by a railing with tall tables all around. A bar in the back had a crowd getting drinks, and dozens of people were dancing on the floor, each with their own style. But it was the girls that caught his attention as they gyrated and rubbed their bodies up against their dance partners in a way he had never seen before. He felt like he had been dropped into a new world and he didn't know the rules.
As Ino playfully tugs Naruto onto the dance floor, her grin saying it all - she's in control here, this is her world. It's not long before she's dancing around him, her body moving with a playful, flirtatious energy that draws him in. She bumps hips with him and gets him moving as she runs her hands down his back getting him to turn to face her.
The other girls, eager to join in on the fun, didn't hold back as they danced. They move closer to Naruto, brushing against him with their bodies, their hands occasionally lingering on his arms or shoulders. It's clear they're all trying to catch his attention, each vying to be the one he's most interested in. It was a game they played time and again but this time it was more real as Naruto wasn't one of the regular players they teased.
Kiba, being Kiba, adds to the atmosphere by yelling out, "Go for it Naruto, you can do it", his encouragement from the sidelines goading Naruto to let loose and join in the fun. Kiba, not one to be outdone, grabs a nearby girl and pulls her onto the dance floor, the pair of them blending into the joyful chaos.
Meanwhile, Botan takes it upon herself to make sure everyone loosens up. She heads over to the bar and orders a round of drinks, but rather than bringing back simple water, she returns with a tray of shots. Naruto caught up in the excitement, doesn't hesitate to join in as the girls down the shots and scream as it burns its way down.
As the music pulses and the drinks flow, Naruto finds himself letting go. The flashing lights, the pounding beat, and the energy of the crowd all create an intoxicating atmosphere that he can't resist. He gives in to the rhythm of the music, dancing with Ino and the other girls, each one getting closer and closer, their bodies pressed against his as they move together in perfect harmony.
Song after song is played and time goes by in a blur as one of the girls keeps bringing more shots to the group until Naruto's head starts to spin. How the girl stayed on their feet he wasn't sure as the drinks kept coming.
With Ino pressing against him, her arms wrapped around his neck, and her cheek almost touching his, Naruto could feel every curve of her body, even as Hana did the same to his back. Kiba's shout of "Girl Sandwich" gets the crowd laughing as Naruto finds himself trapped between the two sexy blondes, while the other two girls dance circles around him.
"This is more fun than hanging out with Sakura, isn't it?" yells Ino over the music as she presses even closer.
The thought of Sakura flashes back into his mind — her pink hair, emerald eyes, and every inch of her body that he's seen. Yes, this is fun, but wouldn't it be even more fun with Sakura? There was only one of her and in his current state, he wasn't sure if there was one or four Ino's all around him.
As the music thumped and the drinks flowed, Naruto's thoughts flickered back and forth between the intense heat of the moment and the sense of missing something important. He had longed for this kind of friendship, yet now, surrounded by the wildness of the dance floor, he couldn't shake off a persistent feeling he was missing something.
Amid the whirl of bodies and flashing lights, Naruto's gaze met Ino's intense stare. Her eyes, bright with excitement, seemed to pierce through the haze of the club. She was laughing, enjoying herself, but there was something in her expression, a vulnerability perhaps, that Naruto found himself drawn to.
He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. This wasn't about Sakura. It was about having fun, about feeling alive, about being in the moment. As the music surged, Naruto threw himself into the dance, letting go of his doubts and surrendering to the rhythm.
As the night went on, Naruto found himself drawn deeper into the madness of the dance floor, letting the music guide his every move. The lights, the noise, the laughter — it all blurred into one ecstatic whirlwind of sensation.
"Ino, where is the restroom?" Naruto asked, the alcohol flowing all night.
With a grin and a pointed finger, Ino pushed him over to the back hallway leading to the restroom. As he stomped down the hall, he spotted Kiba with a girl, pressing her up against the wall in a passionate kiss. Naruto watched as Kiba ran his hand all over the girl, ending with his hand finding its way up her skirt. As Kiba bit her neck, she let out a long, low moan of encouragement.
Squeezing past them, Naruto went into the men's room. As he stood there doing his business, Kiba burst in, laughing and moaning, and pulled the girl into one of the stalls, forgetting to close the door. Washing his hands, Naruto looked into the mirror to see what was happening. Shocked at what he saw, he walked back out onto the dance floor.
With Kiba's actions still floating around his head Naruto looked for Ino, without thinking, Naruto walked up behind her and tried to pull her into a kiss. However, the girl in his arms turned around and he was looking into the eyes of Kaede, right before she passionately kissed him.
"Hay, that isn't part of the plan," said Ino, pulling the blonde girl off Naruto and giving her cousin a hard look. She then turned back to Naruto and started kissing him as if she wanted to prove who was the better kisser.
At some point, Naruto noticed the music change, the beat slowing down, and Ino, motioning for him to follow her to the center of the floor. He didn't hesitate as he made his way to her, drawn by an irresistible pull. Their bodies met, and for a moment, everything else faded away. It was just him and Ino, moving together in perfect harmony, lost in the rhythm of the night.
The rest of the night was a blur as Botan brought over a steady supply of shochu until Naruto knew he would have a hard time walking home if he could remember where that was. As the club emptied out and the lights dimmed, he found himself standing outside, the cool night air washing over him. The chaos of the dance floor was gone, replaced by a sense of peace and clarity even as a ringing in his ears blocked out everything around him.
He started walking in what he hoped was the right direction, and looked around, taking in the empty streets and the quiet of the night. Ino was still beside him, she confused him for a moment until the flower shop appeared before them. They shared a smile, as she found the stairs to her family's apartment above the shop.
"I had a lot of fun tonight, we should do it again." she slurred out as the effects of all the drinks started to hit her hard now that she wasn't dancing them off.
"I… I had fun to…." he slurred out, Which way is home?", he wondered out loud as Ino stopped halfway up the stairs and pointed down the street.
"That way.", she said before stumbling up the stairs and out of sight.
How he found his way home was a mystery but as he unlocked the door and quietly stepped inside, the small lamp on the table gave him enough light to see the kitchen was cleaner than it had ever been, his bed was made and looking to the sofa he found Sakura sleeping. He walked over to her in a daze and looked down.
She was asleep on her stomach, her pink hair cascading down her back, hiding her face and shoulders. One leg dangled off the sofa, and her chemise was bunched around her waist, revealing a pair of tiny, transparent pink panties.
Images of what Kiba had been doing to that girl in the men's room flashed before Naruto's eyes. Sakura was a thousand times prettier than that girl. He licked his lips, his mouth dry with the thought of trading places with Kiba, hearing Sakura scream his name. He wasn't exactly sure what Kiba had been doing, but it didn't matter; he wanted that.
With a shaking hand, he reached down towards Sakura. He didn't know what he intended to do, but the thought of touching her, feeling her under his fingertips, was overwhelming. Then, another part of him, a better part, guided his hand to the blanket and gently pulled it over her.
His heart was pounding in his ears as he made his way to the bathroom, moving more like a staggering drunk than a ninja. He turned on the shower without bothering to undress and stood under the cold water until his mind cleared, cleared enough for him to notice he was fully dressed.
Too tired to think he got out of his wet clothes and crawled into bed passing out the moment his head hit the pillow.
…
Anyone for lemons?