Ch. 41

The Trouble with Love

Moriko grinned widely as she completed the finishing touches to the sign for the entrance of the new Uzumaki compound. The red spiral thrummed with power as the sealing script finished condensing into the compound sign. It was finally ready, the building finished, refurbished, and sealed to high heavens. She squealed in excitement, excited to start decorating it.

Ryusuke snorted in amusement as he watched her do a happy little dance before she was dashing in. He followed sedately, content. The chunin exams started in a couple of weeks, and everyone had finished their parts of the plan. The hospital was fully up and running, the civilians tagged with the Hiraishin, the shelters prepped, the ninja prepped, the Anbu prepped, everything. The medical staff were on standby, the staff whipped into shape by Tsunade.

Ryusuke followed Moriko languidly into the master bedroom that she had claimed as her own. She was going through a pile of scrolls, unsealing item after item as she made happy noises seeing the beautiful works of art she had stashed away that she could finally start using. Ryusuke settled down and got comfortable as he watched her excitedly examine the ornate mother-of-pearl design on the polished wood table.

When Moriko hadn't been busy sealing the ninja forces with the two new seals, she had a few of her clones at the hospital with Tsunade, the clones learning and practicing the medical arts swiftly and with precision. Today and the day before had been a day of rest for all of them in preparation for the coming exam.

He shook his head in amusement as Moriko finished adding seals to the table and created a few clones. She then had them move the table out of the way so she could unseal another item. The beautiful bookcase was moved to the side as she unsealed scroll after scroll, adding protective seals to all the items. In the corner, a collection of beautiful and exquisite furniture was forming, another corner was filling with intricately dyed and embroidered silk futons and blankets. He snorted, seeing the pile of silk growing in another corner. It wasn't until she started unsealing jewelry that Ryusuke's jaw dropped.

"Dear god," he muttered, shaking his head in bewilderment as an assortment of ornate pieces of gold and jewels started appearing, more fit for a noble than a ninja. Seeing his bewildered look she grinned.

"Jiraiya and I spent a few months at the royal court of Lightning. The Daimyo and I ended up becoming good friends," she said with a grin that had him chuckling deeply.

Next, there was an assorted collection of kimonos and he found himself buried under a pile of ornate silks of every color in the rainbow. He shot her an unimpressed look as she giggled, throwing another kimono on him.

He suddenly shifted into shadows and shot at her escaping the pile. She squealed in alarm as he suddenly reformed midair grinning devilishly as he flew towards her, tackling her into a pile of futons and blankets. He rolled them midair so she would land on him, the man laughing heartily as she floundered in his hold looking flustered.

"What's the matter Moriko-chan? Cat got your tongue?" he teased, and she blushed, knowing his clan often compared him to a feline.

"If this is what you call 'having my tongue' I bet kisses from you are disappointing," she snarked out trying to regain her bravado. His grin only widened as his face drew nearer, his hold growing firmer as he pulled her flush with his body.

"Oh? So, you want to find out then? Very well," he murmured before leaning in. Her eyes fluttered shut as her cheeks and ears flushed bright pink. She quivered feeling the brush of his breath on her face before a soft kiss was placed on her brow. Her eyes flew open, and he smirked down at her, clearly teasing.

She huffed and moved to pull away only for him to pull her back so he could kiss her deeply, setting her nerve endings alight. It had been so many years, that she found herself hesitant and self-conscious as she returned the passionate kiss.

He pulled away to find her face flushed as she panted, lips slightly swollen as she gasped for air. He grinned and settled himself more comfortably in the futons, waiting to see what she did. For a moment it looked as if she would kiss him again, only for her to pause as she seemed to think over something. Ryusuke watched unsurprised as something sad slid over her face for a moment before her expression smoothed over and she pulled away.

"You do this whenever someone gets too close to you or shows interest in you romantically. What are you afraid of?" he asked taking her hand, causing her to freeze, eyes wide as they darted to his. He coaxed her gently back to him and settled her against his side, his arms coming round to hold her to his chest. Then he waited, hand smoothing comfortingly up her back. Finally, she spoke.

"It's an SSS rank secret. If you want to know I will have to put a seal on that knowledge so you can never tell anyone," she murmured.

He hummed in understanding and pulled his wide neck collar down so she could access his skin, silently offering her to put it over his heart to show his sincerity. To destroy this seal, someone would need to attack his heart. Without words, he had just told her that he would protect her secrets with his life.

She regarded him seriously for a minute, seeing the unwavering resolve in those pastel-green eyes. Her brow furrowed as she looked away, debating if she should or not. He soothed his large warm hands down her back to draw her attention back to him. Her eyes were hesitant as they looked at him.

"I don't get you. You… you're dedicated to me, and I don't know why you're so unwavering about it, or if it's even me you're dedicated to. You swept into my life and started doing all these things for me and I can't figure out why," she muttered a worried frown creasing her brow as she chewed her bottom lip. He sighed.

"Don't take this the wrong way. When I first met you, I thought you were a hot mess. Definitely beautiful, but a mess. Your clothes were rumpled, hair a bird's nest, covered in ink stains. Then you opened your pretty little mouth and informed Shikaku, the Jonin Commander and Advisor to the Hokage, of a coming invasion that you, the Hokage, and Jiraiya were working to counter.

"Running into you a couple more times, I realized the reason why the Hokage and Jiraiya hadn't needed to call on Shikaku sooner. You were doing all their legwork, working on multiple projects a day. You weren't a hot mess, you were being pulled too many ways to count and run off your feet. You needed help, and you needed it soon.

"The Hokage and Jiraiya were also up to their necks in work, doing what they could for the coming invasion, so they weren't in a position to help you, and you were starting to drown under it all. I came into your life because I saw a way to support the village to the best of my ability by being there for you. And the more I've taken care of you the more I spend getting to know you, the fonder of you I've become. You're always getting into something, always talking with someone.

"Being around you should be troublesome, but it isn't. I'm not sure why that is, I just know that getting assigned to be your bodyguard was one of the luckiest days in my life," he murmured quietly as he gazed at her, something unspeakably fond in his eyes as he smoothed a thumb over her cheek before letting it trace her still swollen lips. She blushed as she stared back, and he remained unwavering under her intent gaze, the adoration clear in his eyes. She gnawed on her bottom lip before coming to a decision.

She finally touched a hand to his skin and a seal flared to life before condensing. The privacy seals on the room activated. And she told him everything.

As Moriko spoke Ryusuke found himself feeling a mixture of feelings welling up inside as he listened.

He knew of the forbidden lake, the people that cam through about how there was another world on rhe other side without chakra. To think there was so much more to the story.

What would it be like to have lost everything you had ever known, to know that you were dying slowly when you had arrived, to leave a world that was safe for one filled with bloodshed? He was shaken to learn the identity of Naisho and how she had met him. He was more shaken to realize who and what Shadow was.

As she talked he listened, taking the time to pull her out of her defensive sitting spot and into his side once more. He listened as she described saving Itachi and Sasuke, her growing friendship with the Uchiha clan, getting kidnapped by the yakuza, and her one and only sexual encounter here in this world. He listened as she voiced her concerns about never being able to have children, her voice catching as she struggled to speak her greatest fears. She also spoke about how she was concerned about finding someone who wouldn't reject her for being an alien.

"You're not an alien," he said sharply as she shook her head looking away.

"But I am. You've seen it; how I react when my chakra gets too low, how I respond to Yin chakra. Tsunade spent just a week working on my physiology, it's so different! I'm not normal Ryusuke, no matter how nice the packaging is. I'm not even aging anymore. I'm thirty-three right now, and I look younger than you! What future can I give someone? No aging, no children, nothing! I-I can't even share a lifetime with someone," she argued before looking away as her tears began to spill over.

"I can think of a few people who would most likely be fine with that, myself included," he said quietly as her eyes went wide, startled.

"W-what?" she asked, stunned as he grinned softly before bringing her into a deep kiss, his tongue moving languidly against hers. She tried to deepen the kiss as her tears of relief fell, but he refused to let her increase their pace. When she drew back, looking confused he grinned deeper.

"It wouldn't feel right for us to go any further right now. You've just faced your deepest fears and you're seeking comfort. If we took it any further right now, it would be me taking advantage of you," he murmured against her lips before kissing her plush lips a few more times as he gently swiped her tears away with his thumbs.

He then pulled her into a cuddle, and she settled down with a content sigh, clearly relishing the physical contact. A few of her clones shot each other thrilled looks before they got to work unsealing Moriko's worldly goods. Ryusuke's brow furrowed as a clone unsealed a scroll.

"Is that a whole tree?" he asked deadpan as Moriko laughed, getting up so she could examine the tree in question.

"When my seals got good enough during my third year here, I started collecting rare lumber types and trees. This was before I figured out how to age a specific area to ferment sake faster," she said with a smile as he hummed in interest touching the wood.

"This is lightning Mahogany," he murmured, face twisting with awed realization.

"How did you get one?" he demanded as he began examining the large tree. Thank goodness the master bedroom had a two-story ceiling.

"I told you, the Daimyo of lightning was sweet on me," she teased with a wink as he shook his head eyes sparkling.

"You have to tell me that story," he said as she cringed slightly and gave a sheepish laugh.

"It's embarrassing," she muttered. He sent her puppy eyes, and she gave him an unimpressed look. He huffed sulkily and she snickered, eyes fond as she watched him get distracted looking at the magnificent tree once more.

She resealed it in a new storage scroll, making him yelp as it disappeared. He glared as she snickered at having gotten the drop on him. He got that gleam in his eyes once more that promised trouble and her eyes went wide.

A second later she was zipping out of the room at ninja speeds Ryusuke tearing after her as they dashed through the house, Moriko squealing as she skidded around the corner and onto the veranda, nearly knocking into Hizashi and Itachi. Ryusuke crashed into her back sending all four people flying off the veranda and into the koi pond.

Ryusuke shot out of the pond as a shadow to untangle limbs faster, Hizashi having difficulty getting out since he was wearing a kimono and haori, the fabric waterlogged as he flopped around looking pissed. Itachi popped out looking peeved as Moriko calmly rose from the water, her face barrier disappearing above the water. Hizashi groaned as he gingerly touched his arm, eyes active with the Byakugan as he winced in pain.

Ryusuke gave a sheepish laugh as Itachi glared at him over the water, with more anger than was appropriate in his red eyes causing the Nara to frown in confusion. Ryusuke frowned before moving forward to help Itachi out of the pond while Moriko helped Hizashi. Itachi seemed to struggle with himself for a moment before accepting Ryusuke's hand and the large man pulled him out of the pond, pulling plants off the other man as Itachi continued to glare at the Nara.

"What crawled up your ass," Ryusuke murmured, voice barely hearable despite how close Itachi was. The other man's jaw locked as he glared at his taller friend.

"The Byakugan can see through a privacy seal."

At Ryusuke's wide-eyed look, the Uchiha huffed.

"The moment Hizashi saw her lips form SSS rank secret, he turned off his eyes. We've been waiting outside since," he muttered before sending another glare at the Nara. Ryusuke thought back to the previous interaction he had with Moriko before he sighed, running his hand through his long wet hair, the hair tie having snapped at some point.

"So he saw us…"

"Kissing. At least," Itachi gritted out angrily. To his ire Ryusuke only chuckled, eyes fond as he clapped the other man on his shoulder.

"That's all we did. Considering what she told me, it would have been taking advantage of her to do anything further. She's feeling very vulnerable talking about why she hasn't allowed herself to have a relationship yet and I don't blame her for it," he said his face growing grave as he thought over the information.

Itachi frowned, now highly worried as his mind began churning out reasons she might not have let herself have a single relationship in the years he had known her. He looked up to find Hizashi's activated eyes. So he had been reading their lips again and had 'heard' what Ryusuke had said.

Their eyes met and the two men stared at one another, active Sharingan to Byakugan, and wondered what could possibly be going on that would be holding her back from having the children she so ardently wished for.

OMAKE

Two days later

Hizashi paused mid-strike as he caught the flicker of something near his blind spot. Before even thinking, he was spinning into a Kaiten, sending a form flying back as he took a defensive stance. The figure flipped through the air before coming to a skidding halt, the man's red eyes gleaming as he gave a small smirk. Hizashi took a fighting stance, unnerved as he stared up at the dangerous form of Itachi Uchiha. Was the young man trying to get rid of him? Hizashi had thought that the Uchiha had begun to thaw towards him over the past couple of days but maybe he was wrong. Was it just a ploy to get him to lower his guard?

"What would disqualify a woman from marrying a clan head or future clan head?" asked the heir of the Uchiha clan as Hizashi blinked in surprise, more then a little dumbfounded by the odd situation.

"If she meets all other qualifications, then infertility," he answered shortly, not relaxing his stance. Itachi's eyes narrowed as if in confirmation before he redirected his attention back towards the tense Hyuga.

"Well? Will you pursue her still, if she is infertile?" asked the young man as Hizashi froze, blinking as he tried to keep up with the sudden leaps in subject. When it finally clicked he straightened out of his stance, eyes wide with shock.

"She's…" he breathed, shocked. The Uchiha's jaw clenched.

"Most likely. That's my best guess." He said as Hizashi frowned as he thought it over, Itachi giving him time. He finally looked up to meet red eyes.

"Then what are you doing here, warning me off? You won't be able to marry her. I already have an heir and will still be able to," said Hizashi as he fell back into a fighting stance. To his surprise, the young man looked pleased.

"So, you still want her despite that?" he asked. Hizashi's jaw clenched as his resolve shone from his eyes.

"Yes," he said firmly, his voice brooking no room for argument. The Uchiha's pleased grin spread.

"Good. Then prove it," he said as he threw a handful of shuriken. Hizashi dodged at the last moment, the condensed chakra at the end of his fingers cutting through the chakra strings that were connected to the spinning blades.

"What, do I need to beat you to gain your blessing?" demanded the Clan head as he raced for the young man. Itachi smirked as he let the man close the distance.

"No," he said before he became a blur of motion, almost moving too quickly for Hizashi to counter as the Uchiha unsheathed his sword with deadly speed. Hizashi cursed as he used a Kunia to deflect the deadly blade.

"Just survive long enough," hissed the Uchiha before they were a blur of motion, as their blades clashed once more.

AN: Mwahahaha!

Edit: I changed a couple minor details and added to the bottom of the chapter!