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Disclaimer: The Naruto series and all Naruto characters are the copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. I’m just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. That’s all. :) No copying of my story is allowed. That's stealing if anyone copies my story into his/her own story. Write your own story without taking others' works! (angry glare)

A great big ‘Thank you!’ goes to Weixuan18 for betaing! I know this chapter is another long one for him to tackle, but he’s a real trooper for pulling things through! Thanks, man! (big grin)

Story rating: M (R)(for adult and sexual themes)
Written: February 2009-Present

Summary: Love can pop up unexpectedly with someone you least imagine to fall for. NaruTen.

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Unexpected Love
Chapter 13 – Revelations of Hearts, Part 2
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

The Main Gates of Konoha. These two massive wooden doors, which guarded the main entrance to the village, were quite awe inspiring in their own right. For first time visitors, seeing these doors, with the kanji for ‘Konoha’ written on them, gave a sense that one was about to enter a place of power and greatness. Even for the local residents, the sight still amazed them at times, for after all, these doors were constructed at the time of the First Hokage and to see them still standing after nearly a century was an incredible achievement. Many villagers thanked Kami that the Main Gates had not been destroyed by the Akatsuki Pain two years ago.

With the Main Gates fully open as they were mostly seen, two Konoha jounins stood waiting as their eyes scanned the road coming into the village. Most of the time, visitors would be greeted by the two guards on watch at the guard booth. Yet, due to how important this incoming visitor was, Tsunade had decided to send Shikamaru and Naruto to welcome this VIP and his escort, not just because the two men were great ninja but also mainly because the pair knew the guests.

The owner of cerulean eyes pointed toward a small group approaching the gates. “There they are!” he said.

Surely enough a group of three individuals was strolling casually down the dirt road. They were a bit far away, so their details were not clear at first. However, as they came closer, it was now easy to see that they were ninjas – one brown-haired man, one red-headed man, and one blonde woman, and as they approached Konoha’s main entrance, it was not hard to spot the headbands of Sunagakure no Sato on their beings.

Giving a huge smile at the group of three, especially for the redhead in the middle, Naruto took several steps forward to greet them. “Gaara! It’s great to see you again!” he greeted with an extended hand.

Sabaku no Gaara, Godaime Kazekage of Suna, typically wore an emotionless expression most of the time, but upon hearing his best friend greeted him with such a huge welcoming grin, he couldn’t help but quirk up one corner of his mouth. “The same goes for me toward you… My friend.” With that said, he extended his hand, and the two men, one Jinchuuriki and one ex-Jinchuuriki, shook hands firmly and warmly.

Even though Naruto knew Gaara far less than any of his friends in Konoha, the blond came to trust the redhead explicitly, like a brother, due to their similar feelings and experiences of being Jinchuuriki, and thanks to Naruto changing Gaara’s worldview at the Chuunin Exams, the bond between them was forged and finally cemented three years ago after the Nine-Tailed host rescued the Shakaku host from the Akatsuki. As far as the two was concerned, nothing could break their friendship, which in turn helped the alliance between Suna and Konoha remained firm.

After letting go of his friend’s hand, the tall golden-haired man faced the other male of Gaara’s group. “How are you doing, Make-up Boy?” he teased.

The result was instantaneous as Kankuro mock growled, while his eldest sibling on Gaara’s other side giggled. “Even after all these years, will you ever stop with that nickname? It’s war paint for Kami’s sake!” He snarled for good measure before dropping the act with a snort while extending his hand out to his youngest sibling’s best friend, who shook it firmly. “It has been a long time since I’ve last seen you, Naruto,” he grinned. “Six months ago, you were still a chuunin. It was great to have heard you were promoted to jounin. You’re that much closer to becoming Hokage, eh?”

“I still have a long way to go,” Naruto admitted. Dropping the puppet master’s hand, he turned to the final guest. “Well, I don’t think we need to say ‘I have not seen you in a long time’ to you, Temari. Was it just last month you were here?” he jibed. “To see this lazy bum?” the blond thumbed to his Nara friend.

“You’re troublesome, Naruto,” groused Shikamaru, before laughter erupted from the others, except for Gaara who barely smirked.

Temari, eldest of the Sabaku siblings, shook her head at her fellow blond. “For once, I agree with the lazy bum,” she teased, causing her boyfriend to smirk and shake his head in return. After giggling again, she gave a kiss on the cheek for Naruto before hugging her beau in greetings.

As he watched Shikamaru and Temari hugged, Konoha’s Toad Sennin briefly mentally admitted that the Sand Sibs have changed over the years, just as much as any of his friends in Konoha.

Gaara changed the least out of the three. Now just slightly shorter than Naruto, the redhead still wore the same mop of hair, and his attire was just a bigger version of the one worn three years ago with black pants and sandals. The only exceptions were the white waist sash and what seemed to be a slightly bigger gourd to house his sand.

Being a puppet shinobi, Kankuro, standing at the same height as Naruto, had always worn an all-black outfit that mimicked the Bunraku puppet theater known throughout the world, but in recent years, his sister had convinced him to try changing his attire to make him look more like a shinobi than a humanized black cat. The hood was gone to show off his brown hair, but he kept the hitai-ate on his forehead. Black pants were on his legs with a black, long-sleeve shirt under a black vest to hold small scrolls to compliment the large storage scrolls on his back. Of course, he still wore purple war paint on his face, and the puppeteer was quite stern about not dropping the face paint.

Nevertheless, the change of Kankuro’s clothes did something that Temari predicted would happen. It made him noticed by the young single female population of Suna. Least now, he would have a chance of finding a potential future wife than grousing at home at the unfairness of Gaara getting a lot of women’s attention while he got none. It was definitely those stupid hoods that hid his head from the eyes of Suna’s females that prevented him from ever being a potential male candidate for dating.

Speaking of the eldest child, Temari, being the same height as Tenten, changed the most in clothing and appearance out of the three Sabakus, not to mention out of the five kunoichi of the Kunoichi Five. The half-kimono was light purple and white to match what she had worn at the Chuunin Exams years ago. Her legs were covered in black pants, and high-heeled, open sandals encased the feet. Her sand-colored hair were no longer in the typical four tails but was rather, held up by a brooch, like Anko did with her hair. Of course, the battle-fan holster on her back was the only thing that remained the same.

After her girlfriend released him, Shikamaru gestured to follow. “Come on. Naruto and I were ordered to escort you to the tower and your suite. It’s good that the new Hokage Tower have guest suites for VIPs compared to the old tower. It has been troublesome adding more guards to protect important guests during the time they stayed at hotels. Least now, we can give better protection under one roof in the Hokage Tower.”

“It also saves time, when we’re all there anyway,” Kankuro pointed out with a smirk as they began the trek to the tower.

“That is also true,” admitted the pineapple-haired jounin. “Least Tsunade will not allow just any high-ranking guest to stay at the tower, just those who can be trusted explicitly.”

Temari grinningly snorted. “Like big duh. I doubt even during the Chuunin Exams she will allow say the Raikage to stay at the tower. Given his hotheaded attitude, that guy just is a walking time bomb to go off.”

“You don’t have to tell anyone that, Temari,” Kankuro grimaced. “I certainly remember the Kage meeting two years ago and how much that guy was quick to temper.” His grimace slowly turned into a leering grin. “Now the new Mizukage on the other hand –”

“Don’t even go there, Kankuro!” Temari interrupted with an excusing finger pointed at her brother. “No one wants to hear about your perverted dreams!”

As Naruto snickered, the middle Sabaku sibling was not fazed by his sister. “What’s perverted in admitting that the Godaime Mizukage is a hot babe?” he grinned. “No offense to Tsunade, but that Kiri kunoichi beats her hands down in the Looks department. Least that redhead woman is not hiding her true appearance behind a jutsu.”

Naruto snorted a laugh, while Shikamaru merely grinned. No one could dispute the facts regarding Konoha’s female Hokage. She may look hot and young, but it was not her true appearance, no matter what.

Suna’s Wind Mistress simply rolled her eyes and muttered, “Pervert.” It was kind of odd that her first brother was somewhat a womanizer, while her younger brother was calm, cool, collective, and not much of person to display his emotions. Yet it was Gaara who ended up first with a real girlfriend in Matsuri, while Kankuro had yet to even have one despite his new looks. Temari wondered whether Gaara already lost his virginity to his pupil-turned-sweetheart.

Coming down from his laughter after he had heard Temari’s whispered word for her brother, Naruto raised a curious eyebrow at the Suna puppeteer. “So how is Sasori doing?”

Upon hearing the question, Kankuro couldn’t help but grin widely. “Sasori-chan is doing fine. As one of my puppets, he certainly balances the others quite well.”

Unable to prevent the smirk from forming on his face, the blond Jinchuuriki shook his head slightly. “Even today, I still find it ironic what you and the other Sand puppet ninjas done to him and his puppets.”

“It’s called ‘poetic justice’, my friend,” Kankuro snickered, making Temari and Shikamaru smirk as well, while Gaara barely gave a tiny smirk.

Looking ahead as they strolled along, Naruto couldn’t dispute the puppet master’s words. Three years ago, after Chiyo-sama’s funeral and the Konoha teams left for home, Kankuro and the other members of the Suna Puppet Brigade went on a scavenging expedition to the collapsed cave where the remains of Sasori of the Red Sands and his army of puppets were. After nearly being killed by Sasori’s poison, Kankuro was given honorary rights to Sasori’s puppet body to make the dead missing-nin one of his own puppets, while the other puppeteers took whatever there was of the criminal’s huge army. However, the puppet body of the Sandaime Kazekage was taken home to be buried with honors, while the ten white puppets of the famous Chikamatsu were placed in the Suna museum in tribute to the late puppet elder and Monzaemon Chikamatsu, Suna’s inventor of the art of puppetry and the ten white puppets.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence as they continued the trek through the village toward the Hokage Tower, the middle Sabaku child broke it. “Hey, Naruto.” After gaining the other shinobi’s attention, he spoke what was on his mind. “You have my sympathies, man. Gaara and I were told by Temari through Shikamaru’s letter about your break-up with your girlfriend. It must have been harsh for you to hear her breaking up with you over this whole arranged marriage deal.”

Naruto and Shikamaru looked at each other before both burst into chuckles, making the three Suna ninjas quite confused. Temari’s boyfriend took up the task in explaining the current situation. “Tenten and Naruto mended their relationship two days ago, which no doubt was after you three started the three-day journey to Konoha.”

“Oh,” Temari said in surprise before eying the blue-eyed Hokage-wannabe. “Does that mean you were able to nullify the Fire Daimyo’s arranged marriage?”

The spiky-haired blond shook his head. “No, I didn’t. I’m going to though. I going to keep my word to Tenten and Kyoko, who told me she too, loves another and do not want this arranged marriage.”

Temari and Kankuro blinked at Naruto’s conviction, while Gaara merely raised an eyebrow.

Scratching his head, Suna’s Puppet Master shook his head. “I’m sorry to say this, Naruto, but if you don’t find a way out of this engagement before the official engagement ceremony tomorrow, you and Tenten still will end up with broken hearts. Why bother to get back together?”

“Because I know she still loves me, and I still love her. That’s why,” Naruto strongly clarified. “I will end this arranged marriage. I gave my word, and I will keep my word.” Kankuro and Temari were doubtful, but they couldn’t argue that the blond sure had confidence.

Now that he thought about it, Naruto turned his head to face his redheaded best friend. “Hey, Gaara. Now that you’re here, can you explain to me why you didn’t respond to my letter in requesting your aid to put some political pressure on the Fire Daimyo to end the arranged marriage?”

“Say what?!” Kankuro gapped in shock, which Temari copied. “He didn’t tell Temari and me about such a letter from you!” Both elder siblings simultaneously looked at their youngest brother.

“There was no need to tell you,” Gaara, keeping his eyes focused ahead, addressed his brother and sister, who looked at him like he was crazy. “As for your question, Naruto, there was no need for me to provide help. I knew then as now that you will succeed.”

Now everyone was really confused. “So you’re saying,” Naruto began, “that you believe I will succeed in finding a way out of the arranged marriage?”

“As I said, I know you will succeed,” repeated Gaara.

Unable to know what to say to such a statement, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki shrugged his shoulders. “Okay,” he said before locking eyes with Shikamaru, who frowned in confusion over the Kazekage’s reason in behind not providing any aid. It was quite baffling. Even if Gaara did believe Naruto would find a way out, would it not hurt to provide some political support to back things up?

As the group of five was little more than half way toward their destination, Kankuro shook his head as he frowned. “Little Brother, there are times you really confuse the heck out me.” Temari nodded in concurrence.

Gaara, however, remained quiet, but none of the others were able to spot the tiny upturn of his lips before it vanished. He was going to enjoy what was going to happen tomorrow, thus why the redhead wanted to be here for Naruto’s official engagement ceremony. Knowing what was coming, nothing was going to prevent him from seeing the final outcome.

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The door to the second floor apartment swung open, allowing the female figure to enter, and once she flicked on the lights, her brown eyes quickly scanned her home, realizing her mother was sitting on the living room’s couch, obviously have been waiting for her. The bun-haired young woman gave a tired grin for her parent as the elder woman stood up in her silk sleep robe.

“You still haven’t found anything,” Kyohaku simply stated as she approached her only child.

“No, we didn’t,” Tenten disappointedly verified what her mother saw clearly etched on her face. “As much as I wanted to stay with Naruto and continue the search, I have to leave him to get some sleep. My team and I have patrol duty tomorrow as part of the increased security in preparation for the Fire Daimyo’s arrival.” After giving a brief yawn, the Weapons Mistress raised an eyebrow at her mother. “What about you? You didn’t have to stay up waiting for me.” Her eyes briefly saw the living room’s wall clock to be fifteen minutes before eleven PM.

Kyohaku softly grinned. “I’m worried too, sweetheart. The happiness you and Naruto share rides on finding the answer to making the arranged marriage invalid. I truly do not want to see you two end up with broken hearts again, not after when you two just mended them.”

Sighing, Tenten closed her eyes, her face showing some sadness to the older brunette. “I have hopes that Naruto will find something, Mom.” Opening her eyes to look into concerned green ones, she swallowed a bit. “Yet at this point, I can’t help but feel that we’re fighting a lost cause.”

“Nonsense,” Kyohaku immediately injected before sweeping her daughter into a hug, which her child reciprocated. “I have hope too, Ten-chan,” she spoke softly in Tenten’s ear. “I am optimistic that Naruto-kun will find the answer, thus you two will be together to love and cherish one another again.” A few moments later, the female weapons maker pulled back a bit to grin gently at the younger woman, who grinned a bit back. “Besides, I look forward to seeing Naruto-kun become my son-in-law.”

Tenten blinked in surprise at what her mother was saying. “You had never said anything.”

“I didn’t want to pressure either of you,” Kyohaku replied with a raised hand before lowering it. “I can see you two are quite comfortable with each other, not only regarding matters of being shinobi, but also that of simple human beings. Take your time, and when both of you are ready, you will know it is time to become husband and wife.”

Unable to help it, the bun-haired kunoichi giggled. “Here I am worrying about tomorrow, and you’re talking about an event that might happen in the distant future.” Seeing the twinkle in her mother’s green eyes, Tenten wryly smirked. “Mom, don’t tell me you’re thinking about grandchildren, are you?”

The brown-haired blacksmith pretended to think about it. “Hmmm… I don’t know.” She raised an eyebrow at he daughter. “Should I?” Seeing the half frown and smirk on her child’s face made Kyohaku laugh. “There is nothing wrong to imagine what the future might be like, Ten-chan,” she soothed. “For me, I can’t help but think of grandchildren with brown hair and blue eyes or blond hair and brown eyes.”

“Or maybe something else entirely,” Tenten added. “No one can see what future children will look like just by the looks of the potential parents, Mom.”

Lightly chuckling, the forty-something weapons maker placed an arm around her daughter’s shoulders before gently pushing the exhausted girl toward the hallway, “Come now,” Kyohaku encouraged. “You need your sleep, for tomorrow will be a very important day. I doubt you and I are the only ones looking forward to the outcome.”

“Yeah,” Tenten agreed as her mother guided her toward her bedroom. “Everyone can feel that tomorrow will mark a change for us all.”

With no more need to speak what each knew, the two women went to bed after turning off the hallway lights and bidding each other good night. Both slept in knowledge that indeed history was about to witness a change for Konoha, and it would all ride on the shoulders of one golden-haired, whisker-faced Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, who was already well known for great historical changes made in the past six years, for he was a true historic revolutionary.

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Very few people were up at this time of night. With the exception of the defense patrols and few individuals working at the Hokage Tower, most of the village was asleep. It was so quiet that anyone who went out now would swore they could make out the sounds of nature from the soft breeze to the few animals and insects active in the dark. Even most of the city lights were off except the lamp posts illuminations, thus one could make out the stars and the Milky Way more easily.

However, if one would have happened to venture close to the Konoha Library, the person could see a soft glow coming from one of the rear windows on the first floor. Through the slightly open window, one could make out a large room with many rows of scroll cases filled to the brim with various sizes of scrolls, and at a table almost in the middle of the room sat a blond man, who was reading a scroll.

After producing a yawn, the golden-haired man rolled up the scroll and placed it aside, clearly frustrated. Even after many days coming to the Law Vault, he still had yet to find anything that could help him out of his present predicament.

Sighing, Naruto ran his fingers of one hand through his spiky mane. He was grateful that he was alone in the building, for the jounin did not want anyone seeing him so disturbed. Oh, he knew that unless one happened to be the Hokage, an authorized jounin, or the head librarian, no one would be walking through the room’s secured door to bother him, but being a shinobi for six years, Uzumaki knew better than to think one hundred percent that no one was going to be coming through that door. It was always better to be a bit on guard even in your home village.

Under the room’s low lighting, given by the ceiling lamps and the desk lamp on his reading table, sleepy blue eyes scanned the vast room and the thousands of scrolls surrounding him.

For any outsider, the name ‘Law Vault’ would make the person think of a highly physically secured room underground or in the center of a building, much like a steel bank vault. Yet Konoha’s Law Vault was a simple huge room that looked like any other library room. Its protection came from the security seals on the walls, windows, and the single entrance. Unless one was an exceedingly trained ninja, very few people could manage to enter this room unauthorized.

Yet if one thought about it, why would anyone want to bother to sneak into the Law Vault anyway? It contained only written documents on laws, nothing else. The extremely valued Jutsu Vault, which was truly a vault underneath the Hokage Tower, would be far more interesting to an enemy shinobi than a bunch of scrolls containing only government and clan laws, rules, and regulations.

After giving another yawn, Naruto glanced at the small table clock and saw it was twenty minutes past midnight. He knew Tenten had left at 10:30 to return home for some much needed sleep, and now that he felt it, the blond knew he too would soon have to leave, unless he didn’t mind getting a stiff neck by falling asleep with his head on the table, as it had happened once two nights ago.

With his eyes closed, Konoha’s Toad Sage allowed a warm grin to grace his face. He was happy that his girlfriend had decided to help out in the search after they had gotten back together. She had spent the past two nights and tonight with him in this huge room, making his time here far less lonely than during those few days she broke up with him. It had pleased him to find Tenten already searching through the Law Vault’s contents by the time he had arrived after he had escorted the Suna siblings to the Hokage Tower.

Yet his pleased expression didn’t last as a thought made him frown at the same time he opened his eyes. “Unless I find an answer in this room, it looks more like I might have to confront the Fire Daimyo tomorrow. Given what Kyoko told me, her grandmother likely will not accept me denying the arranged marriage. If that happens, I either agree to the engagement or really go rogue.” Sighing out of disgust over the whole ordeal, Naruto bowed his head with his hands in his hair. “Kami, I could definitely use your help now.”

As what might look like an answer to his prayer, a small gust of wind blew through the only open window, sweeping through the cases, passing Naruto, who turned toward the wind’s source upon first feeling it, and journeying pass the cases on the other side. The small blast of air managed to disturb a bunch of scrolls on the brink of toppling over on the very top shelf of a case. With their center of gravity now over the edge, the rolls of paper came falling down to the floor below with a crash.

Instinctively turning upon hearing the sound of the fallen documents, Naruto was jumpy at first before realizing that the wind must have knocked some scrolls of their shelves. Relieved that it was not an intruder, the blond shinobi stood up tiredly to investigate. He mentally promised that after he finished putting the scrolls back on their shelves, he would go home to get some sleep.

Reaching the opposite wall from the windows, Uzumaki saw the clutter of rolled parchments, and with a sigh, he knelt on one knee to begin putting the written material back on the shelves.

As he began, his eyes briefly took in the written words and any symbols on each scroll he picked up and placed on the shelves. He noted a couple from the Hyuuga Clan, one from the Akimichi, and this one…. His hand went still while blue eyes blinked at the hand-size scroll in his possession. It had the symbol of the Fire Daimyo on it, and what was most interesting was the date, for it was dated a century ago at the time when Konoha was first formed.

Slowing standing up, Naruto examined the scroll. It looked a bit worn with the white paper showing some yellow, which definitely told it was as old as the date, while the red color of the boarders and Fire Daimyo crest has faded. Yet from the feel if it, the document did not look to be falling apart, a testament from the use of special paper that does not erode fast compare to regular paper.

Since he had been searching for any papers with the seal of the Fire Daimyo or the Hokage, the rookie jounin did what needed to be done, for his right fingers peeled down the lap of the scroll before pulling it fully open. Once the written words were visible, his blue eyes began reading them.

As he read, Naruto couldn’t help but slowly grow excited. The more he processed the scroll’s contents, he felt his confidence rise and after reading a particular part, his lips formed into a victorious smile. “This is IT!” he mentally celebrated.

Rolling the aged paper back and making sure it was sealed properly again, Konoha’s greatest hero placed the scroll in an inside pocket of his haori before proceeding once more to place the scrolls on the floor back on the shelves. Once he was done, he went back to turn off the desk lamp on the table prior to leaving the room and turning off the ceiling lights from the switch next to the entrance.

After he made sure the library was secured, Naruto decided to roof-hop all the way home for a change, feeling giddy like he had won the lottery. He now knew what he would do tomorrow to end this whole ‘arranged marriage’ situation once in for all.

“I’m sorry, Baachan,” he mentally apologized with a small grin as he made his way home, “but I need to break my promise to you in order to keep my word to Kyoko and Ten-chan.”

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Very rarely in any year had security been so tight in a shinobi village. Only when high-ranking dignitaries arrive would the defenses be increased to protect them, and while this mostly happened during high-participated events, like the Chuunin Exams, it came about on such rare visits, like what was happening today in Konoha.

More than a week ago, the Fire Daimyo had come to Konoha surrounded by a small tight security force, but today she had arrived in a ceremonial fashion, allowing herself to be seen by the public. It was quite understandable why the country’s lord did this, for today was the official engagement correlation of her Granddaughter Kyoko and Uzumaki Naruto, Toad Sage, Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, and one of the greatest heroes of the Hidden Village in the Leaves.

After the Fire Daimyo arrived at the Hokage Tower, where Tsunade, wearing the red & white robes of the Hokage, greeted the elderly leader of the Fire Country, security quickly made preparations to allow guests to enter the building for the correlation to take place at four in the afternoon. There were a few nobles from outside the village, but most of the guests were clan heads, big business people, and many civilians and shinobi, including the Konoha 12, their sensei, family, and friends.

Since this was a ceremonial occasion, everyone was told to wear formal clothes, thus why Tenten and her mother were in their kimonos, which they had worn for the village festival a month ago. They stood in line in the hallway outside the ballroom, and when it was their turn to enter, Kyohaku and her daughter went through to respectfully present themselves to the Fire Daimyo, who sat on a throne-like chair on a step-up platform at the far end of the ballroom. She was flanked by four guards from the Twelve Guardians, Tsuande, Shizune, and the village’s two eldest advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.

After giving their respects with a bow, Tenten and her parent joined her friends, their families, and the rest of the entire gang, who all were part of Naruto’s enlarge ‘family’, his nakama, which also included Suna’s Kazekage and his siblings.. They all stood together next to the windows as they watched guest after guest came in and greet their Daimyo.

“How are you holding, Tenten?” whispered Sakura from the left side. The pinkette was with Karin and Sasuke.

Looking a bit forlorn, the weapons mistress sighed. “I’m not sure I can make it through this. I have not seen Naruto since last night, making me feel he has not found the answer out of this mess.”

“Don’t give up now,” Ino whispered a bit forcefully on Tenten’s other side. “You know Naruto will not give up.”

“Knowing Naruto, I have no doubt he will not give up,” Kakashi murmured from behind Kyohaku.

“Yep,” Anko agreed as she stood next to her masked boyfriend. “Foxy definitely will find a way out of this.”

Neji, standing to the rear left of his female teammate, nodded. “We can only hope now that Naruto did find the solution.” His Hyuuga wife, standing to his left, squeezed his arm in moral support and to tell him without words that she was in agreement with him. She only had met Naruto a few times, but they were enough to tell her how good a man he was, especially given how much her husband highly praised the blond.

Surrounded by her friends and comrades as they continued to watch the guests strolled in, Tenten sighed again and prayed to Kami that things would be all right.

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Pacing back and forth in her guest suite’s living room, Kyoko knew that within ten minutes, her future would be decided, and it all rode on the shoulders of her supposed ‘fiancé’. If all went well, she would be heading back tomorrow to the capitol, where her beloved Foji would be waiting. She missed him so much that the lovely brunette swore that once things settle down after her return, she would definitely make love to her man.

Coming to a halt in the room’s center, the noble woman took a deep breath and checked her blue kimono, which was a highly stylish design with a bit of train and a light-blue obi ending in a huge bow tie. With her hair up in a single bun with accessories and just the right amount of make-up on her face, Kyoko was quite breathtaking in beauty and majestic, which would make most people look at her in awe.

A knock on the entrance door broke Kyoko’s inspection of her kimono, which she smoothed out any wrinkles with her hands. “Come in,” she called out, knowing well who it was on the other side.

Her hunch was confirmed, when the door swung open, and a whisker-faced Naruto, who she was expecting, strolled in and gave a comforting grin at her. “Are you ready, Kyoko?”

Giving a brave grin in return, the 20-year-old noble woman nodded. “As ready as I can be,” she replied as her emerald eyes inspected the jounin. Other than her grandmother, the members of the Twelve Guardians, regular guards, and the Hokage, Naruto was the only other person allowed to dress in clothes other than the formal kimono. Kyoko could see he wore his shinobi attire but without the green jounin vest, and his haori was no longer loose, for it was held in the front by a two golden clasps.

Holding out his arm for her to take in order to properly escort her to the ballroom, Naruto gave a reassuring smile, which told the Fire Daimyo’s grandchild only one thing. “You found a way to nullify the arranged marriage, didn’t you?” she spoke with hope in her voice as she took his arm.

“That’s right,” Naruto confirmed, his eyes looking down to his right into hopeful greens just before his expression became a bit crafty. “Just don’t be surprised by what you’re going to hear, although I think you will be.”

As the tall blond guided her out of the suite toward the ballroom, Kyoko wondered what he could possibly reveal that might surprise her. Knowing him, it definitely would be big.

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Operatic music flared from the ballroom’s speakers, quieting everyone as they turned to face the entrance’s double doors and the two people they knew would be appearing soon. Just as they predicted, Uzumaki Naruto came strolling in with the Fire Daimyo’s Granddaughter Kyoko by his side, her left arm on his right. The pair looked quite elegant together with her splendid kimono and him looking dashing.

As the would-be-soon engaged couple came to a halt in front of the Daimyo, roughly three-fourths of the way across the ballroom, Tenten felt her heart breaking again. She knew she should trust Naruto to keep his word, but at this stage in the game, it seemed like a lost cause.

Her mother’s voice softly whispered into her ear. “It’s not over, until it’s over, Ten-chan. Trust him.”

Tenten knew her emotions must have been displaying on her face in order for her Mom to know what she was thinking. She did trust Naruto, yet what could he possibly do to turn the tide? His face was neutral, thus her brown eyes couldn’t determine what he was thinking or feeling at the moment. Her heart was beating widely in anticipation for what was to come.

Once the music stopped, all was quiet in the ballroom, until the Fire Daimyo stood to address the occupants. “You are all here to bear witness to the engagement between Konoha’s greatest hero and my granddaughter. This will mark their official status as would-be husband and wife, biding Konoha with the country’s royal family, which will officially be permanent in the upcoming year upon their wedding.”

After a momentary pause, the elderly leader faced the pair before her. “Do you both accept this engagement, which will bond you two in the future in matrimony?”

Kyoko swallowed, and after quickly glancing at the man besides her, she locked eyes with her grandmother’s before bowing her head. “I, Tanaka Kyoko, accept this engagement.” Her head straightened up upon finishing.

There was an eerie pause as the room awaited for the blond jounin to speak.

Naruto’s lips curled into a lopsided grin. “I, Uzumaki Naruto, reject this engagement.”

The entire room suddenly was aloud with voices as the shocked audience immediately began talking to one another. Naruto’s friends were no different.

“Kami,” Tenten frowned, “He’s going rogue.” Her heart was beating fast, fearing Naruto was going to jail soon or even worst.

“I’m not so sure, Ten-chan,” Kyohaku swiftly replied. “That face tells me he’s up to something.”

“Knowing the Dobe,” a smirking Sasuke spoke up, surprising those around him, “he has a plan. I know that smirk anywhere that tells me he has something up his sleeve.”

“Sasuke is right,” Sakura concurred with her fiancé. “Let us wait and see what happens.”

Having enough of the loud chattering, Tsunade shouted loud enough to hush the room. “QUIET!”

Silence once more arrived, allowing the Fire Daimyo to address the young shinobi, who snubbed the engagement. “May I ask, Uzumaki-san, under what reasons you reject this commitment?” Her face was stern and not amused.

Naruto did not hesitate, his expression looking quite triumphant. “Because I have every right to do so…” His left hand reached inside his haori and pulled out a scroll to hold it up in front of the Fire Country’s leader. “According to this scroll, dated a hundred years ago.”

Having captured his audience’s attention, Konoha’s Kyuubi Jinchuuriki pressed onward as he lowered his left hand. “This scroll was written by the Fire Daimyo at the time Konoha was first formed. In it, the Daimyo written down certain benefits and titles the First Hokage and all future Hoakge are permitted. After all, if the Hokage is going to be the leader of village, he or she should have the benefits that befit the title. One of these benefits is the Hokage and his or her family will be given clan status, if they’re not already a clan.” Naruto stopped for a moment to allow that information to sink in before continuing. “I claim my rights for clan status, thus I reject this engagement.”

As the room began to abuzz with anew chatter, Tsuande’s eyes went wide, for she knew what her pseudo-son was aiming for. “Kami! He’s going to reveal the secret!”

“Naruto, you sly dog,” Kakashi admired with a crescent eye-grin, earning him a confused look from his purple-haired girlfriend.

Kyohaku laughed as she placed her hands on her daughter’s shoulders. “I knew he would find a way!” The clan heads of Inuzuka, Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi grinned and nodded in total agreement.

Tenten’s heartbeat began accelerating. “He’s really going to do it.”

“Do what?!” a very bewildered Ino asked in the name of everyone who have no idea what Naruto was up to with this.

Shikamaru smirked and chuckled, having figuring out what was about to come. “I should have known. Naruto, you really are troublesome.”

Raising her hand for silence, the Fire Daimyo soon received her wish, and once more, she addressed the young Uzumaki, who still was wearing a victorious smile. “Uzumaki-san, I do not see any reasons to acknowledge your rejection. You’re not Hokage.”

Naruto was not troubled one bit by her words. “You’re right, I’m not Hokage,” he smiled. “I’m claiming clan status in the name of my father… Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage,” except for those who knew, everyone’s eyes went wide, “and his wife, my mother, Uzumaki Kushina!”

This time the entire ballroom erupted, for people were unable to speak normally after such a bombshell. Shouts from different individuals could be heard over the din.

“The Yondaime!”

“He’s the son of the Yondaime?!”

“This can’t be true!”

“Naruto is the son of the Fourth?!” Ino cried out with a shocked expression. “Is this true?!”

Feeling her father’s hands on her shoulders, the blond kunoichi turned to face him. “It’s true,” Inoichi answered with a small grin. “He is his son.”

Sakura was flabbergasted. “I don’t understand,” she spoke in awe in such a revelation about her teammate. “Why didn’t he tell us this before?” Sasuke mentally agreed, yet he immediately figured that Naruto either didn’t know until recently or he had a good reason not to tell everyone.

“Did he tell you, Tenten?” Ino asked.

The bun-haired woman nodded her head. “Yes, he did. He told me this secret a few months ago on the day we came back from Bird Country. He didn’t know about his parents until two years ago, and there are very good reasons why his heritage was kept a secret by those who do now.”

“Because he would have been targeted for assassination,” Shino spoke up next to his father, Shibi, who nodded in concurrence to his son’s conclusion. “If the enemies of the Fourth Hokage would have found out 18 years ago that Naruto is his son, Naruto’s life would have been in constant jeopardy. It makes sense that the Third and everyone, who knew the truth, kept this a secret in order for Naruto to grow up without the threat of death hanging over his head. Iwa, for example, definitely would not have wanted the Fourth to have any children.”

As the chatter continued all around her, Kyoko just stood there, staring with wonder at Naruto, who had crossed his arms shortly after revealing his heritage. This man was the son of the greatest Hokage to ever live, and if what he said about the contents of the scroll he found was true, then the noblewoman knew her grandmother would have no choice but to accept Naruto’s rejection of the arranged marriage.

Relaxing her posture and letting a warm confident grin graced her face, Kyoko knew it was over now. Her grandmother must accept defeat.

Upon looking at the Fire Daimyo, Tsunade realized the elderly leader wanted to speak, but the current noise made it impossible to be heard with so many people talking at the same time. “SILENCE!” the Godaime shouted, and surely enough, the entire ballroom became quiet. The Slug Sannin felt a headache was building in her head. There was no doubt that Naruto’s parentage would be the talk of the village for many days, if not months to come.

With her narrowed eyes focused on the young Toad Sennin, the Fire Daimyo spoke over her shoulder to the blond Hokage. “Is what he said true, Tsunade? Is he really the son of the Yondaime?”

Sighing, Tsunade nodded. “Yes, he is. The heads of the Inuzuka, Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clans can back me up on this, since they all knew of Kushina’s pregnancy at the time.

“Knowing the type of person he was, Minato would never had asked any villager to sacrifice his or her just-born child to become the container of the Kyuubi, not when he has a child of his own. It was almost perfect timing that Kushina went into labor prior to the Nine Tails’ arrival, or else the Yondaime might have used another villager’s child to be the host.”

Turning from the Daimyo to her possible future predecessor, the Fifth Hokage frowned. “It’s understandable why you exposed the secret of your heritage, Naruto, but you are aware of the consequences of doing so. I was hoping to wait until you were least 22 years old before making your linage become public knowledge.”

“I know,” Naruto replied, his face serious, “but I’m a Jounin now. I can take care of myself, not to mention all my friends and comrades will help in preventing any assassination attempts. I can’t hide forever, Baa-chan.” He smirked upon seeing Tsuande left eye ticked from calling her ‘old woman’ in a public ceremony in front of the Daimyo. “Konoha is more than ready to take on anything that harms one of us or our country.”

“You said it, Naruto!” Kiba called out in support, and soon after, many other voices joined the young Inuzuka in agreement.

Naruto felt his heart swell from the moral support, and when his eyes caught those of his brown-haired girlfriend, he winked at her. He was pleased to see her gently laughed with a warm smile.

Facing his village’s kage once more, the young jounin held up the scroll in his hand to grab hold of Tsunade’s attention. “Catch, Baa-chan.” With that said, he tossed the document at the Sannin, who caught it and began to look over it with keen eyes before opening it.

After reading the text, honey-colored eyes lifted up to see the entire room was waiting for her verification, especially the Fire Lord. Clearing her throat, Konoha’s first female Hokage rolled the scroll closed before addressing the room at large. “This document is authentic,” she announced. “The Fire Daimyo’s crest is real, as well as the seal of the First Hokage.”

Excited murmurs was heard around the ballroom at the same time the Fire Daimyo returned her gaze at the young blond jounin, who was looking a bit smug. “Very well,” she said, silencing whispers. “I declare the arranged marriage between Uzumaki Naruto and Tanaka Kyoko null and void.”

Once more, the entire room was abuzz with talk as Naruto smiled widely, and turning to Kyoko, he was greeted to cheerful woman, who was going to go home to the man she loved. He was happy for her.

Returning to face the Fire Country’s elderly leader, the blue-eyed blond gestured with his head toward Kyoko. “Is Kyoko free to return home to the man she loves?”

The Fire Daimyo nodded. “Yes, she is free to return.” She watched as her granddaughter’s face lit up even more on the news before concentrating on Naruto again. “I have to say, Uzumaki-san, you surprise me.”

Naruto smirked, acting all smug. “I’m not one to be underestimated. You should know that.” His eyes glanced to his left to his friends, who laughed and grinned at the truth he had spoken.

With her chin raised a bit, the Fire Daimyo narrowed her eyes. “That’s good to know,” she stated, and the nest thing everyone saw was her expression turned into an amused one with twinkling eyes. “Because you passed the test.”

If anyone had an audio recorder running at the moment, he or she would have swore that the entire ballroom went so quiet that one could hear a cricket chirping. Individuals either had their mouths open, eyes blinking, eyebrows raised, or left totally speechless. The only person not struck numb was Gaara, who gave a tiny upturn of his lips.

Getting his brain to function again, Naruto blinked, while his mouth tried to form words. “S-s-say what?”

Even Kyoko couldn’t believe what she just heard. “Obaa-sama… Are you saying the entire arranged marriage was all just a test?”

Stepping off the step-up platform, the Fire Daimyo chuckled as she slowly approached her granddaughter and the flabbergasted blond Jinchuuriki. “That’s right, Kyoko-chan. Once I read that young Uzumaki…” She chuckled as her eyes looked at Naruto. “Or I should say, ‘young Namikaze’. Once I read young Namikaze was promoted to Jounin, I immediately put in motion the plan to test him by putting him in a situation that seems like a no-win scenario. I want to judge his reaction, and from the reports of the observers I placed in Konoha, I have to say that Namikaze-kun has passed everything I would expect from his reputation.”

Stopping in front of the pair, Kyoko’s grandmother continued her explanation, which was becoming more fascinated by the minute. “So knowing he was in a relationship already, I made the arranged marriage and placed down conditions that made it sound impossible for him to decline the arranged marriage.” Her face became apologetic as she looked at her granddaughter. “I’m sorry I had to deceive you, Kyoko-chan. I certainly didn’t want to break you apart from Foji-kun.” Her expression became a bit more cheerful. “Yet your attempts to make Namikaze-kun break off the arranged marriage led to him discovering your wounded heart, which made him more determine to find a way out of the arranged marriage, not just for his sake, but for yours as well.”

With an approvingly face, the Daimyo once more looked up at her stunned test-subject. “I do admit that I was quite taken by surprise of you being Minato’s son. I knew your father was married, but I was not aware of his wife being pregnant. It’s understandable why they chosen to keep the pregnancy a secret due to his many enemies, which in turn now made me realize why the Third Hokage kept your parentage a secret.”

Putting the pieces of the puzzle together, Kyoko figured out something that needed to be verified. “Obaa-sama, Naruto had sent letters to all his friends with political clout outside of Konoha, and I know I did. Yet neither of us had received any response from any of them. Were you responsible for that?”

Chuckling, the elderly woman nodded an affirmative. “In mid-October, I had sent a letter to all of Namikaze-kun’s allies and friends from outside of Konoha, simply told them of the test and its purpose, and asked them to remain quiet even if they received any letters from Namikaze-kun for assistance against the arranged marriage. I did the same with your political friends, Kyoko-chan. I have to make sure no outside influence disrupts the test.”

Upon hearing this, everyone, who knew Gaara, trained his or her eyesight to look at the young Kazekage, who definitely look smug with that very slight grin of his. Kankuro narrowed his eyes and pointed a finger at his brother. “You knew,” the Puppet Master accusingly said, for he couldn’t believe his little brother held something like this from him and Temari, who placed a hand over her mouth to cover her amusement, despite that she too was a bit peeved from being left out of the loop.

Tsunade, however, was not amused. “I certainly was not informed of this test,” she groused.

“That’s because you might have not been able to hide it, Tsunade-san,” the Daimyo chastened. “You’re not known for good acting skills.”

As Shizune and the members of the Twelve Guardians sweatdropped, the Godaime’s left eye ticked as she tried to refrain from clocking the Fire Lord with a chakra-enhanced punch.

Looking from his redheaded best friend to Tsunade then back to the Fire Daimyo, Naruto let out a breath through his nose. “That explains that, but… Why? Why go through all this for a test? What purpose is this test for?”

The Fire Daimyo’s lips creased into a smile. “It’s to test you for the mantel that you will someday take over - the office of Hokage.” Many in the ballroom, sans Gaara, were astounded, including a wide-eyed Hokage-wannabe. “Ever since you helped defeated the Akatsuki and the Sound, your reputation has grown by leaps and bounds. Tsunade had mentioned you as a possible candidate for Hokage. However…” Her face distorted into a serious frown. “I’m not going to make the same mistake I did two years ago. It was understandable that the situation then had been an emergency, but I will demand all potential candidates be tested far in advance in order to prevent such mistakes from happening again, especially in the case of another such emergency.”

Naruto nodded in complete understanding of whom she was referring – Danzo. Two years ago, the battle-hardened, old shinobi had presumed the title of Hokage, when Tsunade had not woken from a coma after the attack by Pain, a.k.a. Nagato. The Fire Daimyo then was persuaded by Sarutobi-jiji’s old teammates and Danzo that due to the Akatsuki attack, Konoha would need a Hokage that would not hesitate to attack when necessary. The whole appointment had turned out to be a huge mistake once the Daimyo found out Danzo had his own selfish agenda to pursue, and once Tsuande had woken to presume the Hokage title and the old warhorse was dead along with his Root organization, the Fire Country’s leader had ordered Danzo’s name to be strip from the records that he ever was, even for a brief moment, Rokudaime. Tsuande would be the one to mention any candidates for the future appointment of the true Sixth Hokage.

Letting her face returned to a mild amused one, the Fire Daimyo sized up the tall blond in front of her. “Now, even though you have my support to be Hokage, it does not mean you will become the next Hokage, Namikaze-kun. It depends on whether Tsunade sees you are ready for the office, and if she thinks you’re not ready, she’ll name someone else for the position when and if she retires.”

A smirk graced his whiskered face as Naruto turned his head to look directly at his jounin-sensei, and seeing that expression on his ex-student’s face, Kakashi sighed with a slight chuckle. Everyone in the entire village knew that the Copy Ninja was definitely on the top of the list to be Hokage, if Tsunade decided to resign. Just for Hatake, he did not want the position, even if he was offered it. As far as the silver-haired jounin was concerned, he hoped that the Godaime would stay in office for long as possible until Naruto was ready to take command. Kami, he’d rather be out in the field than be stuck behind a desk, for his ANBU Captaincy days certainly taught him how much time leaders spend doing paperwork than any other thing. Heck, he knew very well how hard it had been for the Sandaime to find the time to read his copies of Icha Icha within the Hokage office. No way would Kakashi want to end up in a similar fate.

“Obaa-sama,” Kyoko’s voice brought the entire room’s attention on her, “would Naruto have passed your test, if he had not found that scroll?”

Kyoko’s grandmother smiled. “Yes, he would,” she answered before eying the man in question again. “As I said, your determination to end the arranged marriage was what I would expect from your reputation I have heard and read. You will fight for what is right, even at times against huge consequences. Once Kyoko-chan told you why she wanted out of the engagement, you were more determined than ever to end the arranged marriage.”

“Of course!” Naruto replied with a bit of heat. “You can’t force anyone to love another! That’s wrong!”

“And if the arranged marriage was part of a peace treaty between Konoha and another village? Would you have rejected it?” the Daimyo inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Naruto’s mouth was open to speak his mind, when he stilled his words, and after just a moment of thinking, the blond closed his eyes and clenched a fist. He could not deny how right the old woman was with her point.

“I see you understand,” the Daimyo softly said with some compassion, prompting the younger man to open his cerulean orbs to look at her. “This arranged marriage was just a test, but there are times when the future peace of a clan, village, or nation depends on the sacrifices of individuals. I do agree that forcing two people, especially if they are total strangers, to love one another is wrong, but the practice of arranged marriages still exist today at times for the greater good. It is very rarely use these days, but when they are used, it is no doubt for a very good reason.”

“Yeah, I know,” the whiskered man said solemnly before a small grin graced his face. “Yet when I become Hokage,” he boasted while thumbing his chest, “I’m not going to ever use arranged marriages, unless I can’t help it! I swear this on my word!”

The Fire Daimyo laughed, lifting the atmosphere in the room. “That’s good to hear, Namikaze-kun. I have no doubt you’ll make a great Hokage. When the day comes you will be nominated for the position, you will have my full support.”

Unable to help it, Kiba shouted out for all to hear. “Way to go, Naruto!” Immediately after, the entire ballroom broke in thunderous applause, and those who were not clapping, like most of the Hyuuga and Aburame, simply bowed their heads in approval and respect.

For the young man who dreamed most of his life to become Hokage, this moment was very uplifting for him. His heart swelled that he was now certainly going to get the position, and most of his people approved wholeheartedly of him taking command. With a sincere warm smile, Naruto eyed Tsunade, who wore a proud expression for him, then he looked at his huge group of friends and saw overwhelming support for him, and finally his gaze caught the chocolate browns of his girlfriend, who was grinning with happiness for him with water eyes. All this filled his heart so much that Naruto felt on the verge of spilling tears as well.

Tenten felt so full of joy that no wonder her eyes were moist. To feel all this love and approval of Naruto becoming Hokage one day was overpowering, for she was very happy to see him happy. It was like the applause was filtering through him into her, and knowing how much he was so loved now, made the bun-haired kunoichi’s love for him became stronger. There was no denying now where she stood with the blond, and she promised herself to let him know.

Feeling the ovation has gone long enough, Naruto raised his hand for silence, and the clapping slowly stopped. After lowering his hand, he grinned at everyone before settling his sight on the Fire Daimyo. “I thank you for your approval. I swear on my word, I will be the best Hokage I can be.” With a pleased sigh, he bowed his head to the leader of the Fire Country. “Unless there is something else to be addressed, I want to be dismissed to return home.”

“Of course, of course,” Kyoko’s grandmother nodded with a supportive grin. “You’re free to leave as is anyone else in this room.”

“Thank you,” Naruto smiled, before the room once more broke out in applause in endorsement of the man, who would eventually become Konoha’s new Hokage one day. He turned to place a hand on a grateful, grinning Kyoko’s shoulder to express his thanks, and with that done, he strolled out of the ballroom with pride.

Once Naruto was gone, the audience all broke into groups, as the Fire Daimyo conversed with her granddaughter while guiding her back to the step-up platform and the others there.

Knowing he could talk normally again without the need to whisper, Kiba chuckled, “Did anyone here saw that coming? Naruto being the Fourth’s son? The whole arranged marriage was just a test? This certainly is one day I don’t think anyone can forget.”

“Indeed,” Shino agreed with his canine-like friend. “There is no doubt Naruto’s heritage will be on the minds of the entire village for days to come.”

Clasping her Inuzuka boyfriend’s arm, Hinata giggled, unable to help the feeling of giddiness. “Naruto-kun will definitely be Hokage.”

“Agreed, Hinata-sama,” Neji added his voice just before his lips quirked up on one corner. “I found the revelations of Naruto’s parentage to be quite ironic.”

Seeing the confused expressions around him, the Hyuuga prodigy clarified what he meant. “Years ago, when I fought Naruto during the finals of the Chuunin Exams, I told him that no one can ever become Hokage by simply trying to become. Those who become Hokage were born to be Hokage.” Recognition came to all those who remembered the match well. “Every person was chosen by Fate to follow a specific path, and he or she must follow that path to end. Naruto had shown me that a person’s path can be changed, and it was possible for anyone like him to become Hokage, if he or she tries.”

Snorting a laugh, Hinata’s cousin shook his head slightly. “The irony is that it seems Naruto was born to be Hokage, after all. So in some essence, I was right at the same time Naruto was also right that one can change his or her own destiny. It makes me wonder how he would see all of this.”

Tenten chuckled. “I think, Neji, Naruto will find the whole thing ironic as well.” All around her, the others softly laughed in concurrence.

When the weapons mistress trained her eyes on the ballroom entrance, Kyohaku warmly grinned at her daughter and squeezed her shoulders with her hands. “Go, Ten-chan. Go to him. I know he’s waiting for you.”

Knowing it was indeed the right moment to leave, the brown-haired kunoichi nodded once at her mother before addressing all her friends and colleagues. “Thank you all,” she grinned warmly at them, and the next thing they saw was her heading toward the ballroom’s exit around the groups of people now situated throughout the room.

It was considered polite for shinobi to not use the Shunshin in the middle of a party or formal event, and if one needs to do so, he or she had to use the jutsu outside and out of sight of others. Besides this simply courtesy, security seals were embedded all around the ballroom to prevent unwanted guests from teleporting in-and-out, causing a major safety concern.

So even if Tenten had wanted to use the Shunshin inside the ballroom, she couldn’t due to the security seals and other measures taken to keep the Fire Daimyo safe and secure. Yet it did not matter to the bun-haired woman, who finally strolled out into the hallway before activating the transportation technique to take her away from the Hokage Tower toward that whisker-faced man she held dearly in her heart.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Finding that he was not at his apartment, Konoha’s Weapons Mistress knew of only one place he would have went to think in peace without being disturb. She had been to this site many times, ever since he had first shown her it within a month after they had started dating. It was one of his favorite locations in the entire village, and after catching the view, the brunette couldn’t blame him, for the spot indeed provided a spectacular sight.

So it came as no surprise to Tenten to have found him after doing the Shunshin, at the top of the Hokage Mountain. There, standing near the ledge right over the stone head of the Yondaime, was Naruto, taking in the remarkable vista of all of Konoha. His hands were in the pockets of his haori, as his expression and posture displayed how relaxed and at peace he was in.

Feeling a strong tug on her heart upon seeing him, the brown-eyed kunoichi automatically smiled fully and warmly. “Naruto!” she shouted as she began walking speedily to reach him.

Hearing his name, the Jinchuuriki of the Nine-tailed Fox swung toward the source to see his significant other coming toward him. “Ten-chan!” he called out happily, watching her change from walking speed to running the best she could in her kimono, and when the lovely female ninja arrived, she flung her arms around him and he did the same to her, prior to swinging her around in a circle. Once he placed her feet down on the ground, the couple properly hugged each other as close as possible with her face in his neck and his on top of her head.

After a few minutes of wonderful closeness, the pair separated their torsos enough to gaze into each other’s eyes, and it was clear from their expressions how joyful they were to be in each other’s company like this. From the looks alone, Naruto and Tenten knew everything was going to be alright between them.

“So… It’s over,” Tenten spoke, feeling a need to talk and start the final healing process.

“Yeah,” Naruto consented. “I’m one person who is glad this is over. I want things to go back the way they were, Ten-chan. The two of us training and working together, going out together…” The blond leaned his head down to touch his hitai-ate covered forehead gently on her bare one, his sapphires intensely gazing into her moist chocolates. “Loving together.”

Tenten was unable to prevent the tears from trailing down her cheeks. Her heart was just bursting with love that it felt like she was suffocating from it. Yet she knew what needed to be done for them to hammer the final nail in the almost-completed fence they were mending.

“I very much want things to go back the way they were,” she admitted with a smile, “but, Naruto, even you can tell that things will be different from this point forward, and I’m not just talking about you revealing to the world about your heritage.”

Dropping the smile, Tenten’s expression went from joyful to one of guilt before bearing her face into his chest. “I’m sorry,” she said, feeling a river of eye droplets poured out into his shirt. “I’m a fool. I’m such a blind fool to allow my fear to break up with you!”

“Easy, Ten-chan,” an alarmed Naruto tried to sooth the distraught kunoichi. “We’ve already discussed this before.”

Quickly raising her head, Tenten placed an index finger over his lips to still his words. “Please, just listen,” she grinned pleadingly, and her boyfriend nodded in understanding, knowing how much she needed to get whatever she was thinking off her chest.

“When you told me your secret regarding your parents,” Tenten mentioned somberly, “I’d felt my heart soar that you trust me that strongly. It was when I realized I was falling for you. Then the day before the October Festival, I’d admitted to the other kunoichi that you were a keeper. I didn’t want any other man than you.” Naruto gave a tiny warm grin upon hearing that.

Letting her emotions loose, the bun-haired brunette let her tears flow free. “Yet once Tsunade-sama announced you were going to be place in an arranged marriage, I snapped. I betrayed your trust and went back on my own word that you’re a keeper, all in fear of being hurt again for I remembered my experience with Neji.” Despite the tears, Tenten’s lips formed into a grin. “However, despite my betrayal toward you, you took me back, and minutes ago, when the Fire Daimyo said she’ll back you up when you’ll be nominated for Hokage, I couldn’t help but feel happy for you. It’s like I was sharing your joy, Naruto. I realized right there and then, how I truly feel about you.”

Taking a deep breath, Konoha’s Weapons Mistress raised her right hand to palm his left cheek. “I’ve fallen in love with you, Uzumaki Naruto,” she softly and lovingly confessed, seeing his expression went wide-eyed as he gasped. “I’m giving you a promise on my word now that I will not ever… ever break up with you like that again. I rather die than to go through such agony and to harm the man I love.”

Naruto’s breath was caught in his throat. This was the first time ever in his life that someone told him that she loves him. In the past several months when they had started to be intimate with one another, the blond knew deep down that they loved each other. It was just they had not ever utter those words by some unspoken notion that they knew they loved one another, thus there was no need to say the words. Yet, the tall, sun-haired man recognized now how much just saying the words put everything in perspective, for his heart was singing much stronger than it ever was before.

Raising his right hand to palm her left cheek, Naruto followed what his heart was telling him. “That should be my line, for I love you as well, Ten-chan,” he confessed softly with a bit of humor, making Tenten softly chuckled with a racing heart. “I realized how much you meant to me when you broke up to me. My heart will always be yours… Kanojo.”

Once more, Tenten could feel her heart swell with love for this incredible and kind man, and when Naruto suddenly cupped both of her cheeks and latched his mouth over hers in a searing and heartfelt kiss, the weapons-loving kunoichi instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and just let her feelings flow as she welcomed him warmly with an approvingly moan. Feeling his arms snake downward to wrap around her back and pull her against him, Tenten let out a groan as she nearly swoon over the feeling of those wonderful lips over hers. It was clear in her fog-induced brain that she has missed this intimacy very much, thus she mentally vowed to make up for the lost time in the weeks to come.

Slowly separating their lips with a final smooch, the reunited couple smiled warmly at each other, before she snuggled her face against his chest. In their hearts and souls, Naruto and Tenten felt now they were whole once more, and nothing would tear them apart again. Not ever.

After a few serene minutes of cuddling in each other’s arms, the female ninja of Team Gai lifted her head to gaze into those beautiful sapphires looking at her with affection. “So… Now that everyone will soon know your secret regarding your parents, are you going to change your name?” she asked.

Naruto blinked at her asking such a question, but now that they have finally healed their relationship, which had emerged stronger and loving than before, he admitted that it felt right to return to some normalcy for a change. With a small grin, the blond shrugged his shoulders a bit. “To be honest, Ten-chan, ever since I first learned the Fourth was my father, I was conflicted with whether or not I wanted to change my family name. I know how much my father’s name meant, but I’ve been an Uzumaki for so long, that I just do not feel it is right to change the name.”

Tenten softly chuckled in sympathy. “Well, I asked, because now that all in the village, not to mention everyone else outside Konoha, will soon know of your linage, many will think you should change the name, especially if you will start a clan.”

Her lips quirked up into a devilishly form. “And speaking of starting a clan, if Tsunade-sama, the Council, and the Fire Daimyo put in effect the Clan Restoration Act for you, are you going to be seeking other women to join?”

This time, the son of the Yondaime snorted a laugh and rolled his eyes. “I’m not interested really in starting a clan, Ten-chan. I only claimed the right to get out of the arranged marriage, which we now know was just a test anyway. Furthermore, I just can’t imagine myself allowing strangers to join, especially when I do not feel any love for them.” With an honest smile, he gave a quick smooch on her pink, lip-glossed lips to convey his feelings. “Besides, there is only one woman I love, and she’s enough for me.”

Sighing, knowing this intense constriction of love around her heart would not likely diminish after several days, Tenten felt like she was the queen of the world, knowing Naruto would not have eyes for any other woman other than her. “That’s good to hear, Koibito,” she purred in consent. “Yet you do know Sasuke was given the Restoration Act in order to marry both Sakura and Karin.”

Naruto gave an amused wry expression. “Just because he is using the Act, does not mean I will, Ten-chan. The Teme told me that he will only marry those two due to the fact he knows them. He will not have any other women joining his clan. I feel the same way. It just feels wrong for me to marry any girl that I do not know on a personal level. All the other girls of our group already are involved in relationships with other guys, so I’m not the type who would want to see their relationships end for the sake of having them join my clan.” He shook his head. “So, it just boils down to the fact there is only one girl for me, no more.”

To be honest to herself, Tenten felt a tremendous amount of relief in knowing Naruto would not ever seek other girls, even if he was given the Clan Restoration Act. As of this moment, the kunoichi wanted Naruto all for herself. She knew it made her sound like a possessive female, but now that her relationship with the blond was back on course with a stronger bond, the brown-haired woman just was not in the mood to think of any other ladies getting a hold of her man. He belonged to her and her alone, damn it!

Wanting very much to be close to him again, especially to get hid of this petty feeling of possessiveness, the Weapons Mistress pulled his head down to cover his lips with her own, and when she moaned into his mouth, it made him moan in return and that sound and vibrations from him caused her to feel wanted and desirable. It was thrilling to her to know that she alone could make him feel this way.

After a few minutes of tongues touching, causing to accelerate their heartbeats, Tenten let go of his mouth to open her eyes at the exhilarating vision of Naruto breathing a bit ragged with lustful eyes, and with a warm smile, the brunette spoke softly and lovingly to convey her thoughts with emotions to go with her words. “Take me to your home, Naruto-kun,” she said, knowing she very much wanted this. “Make love to me. We need this.”

Pulling her close to his body as much as possible, the Toad Sennin of Konoha smiled back just as tenderly. “You don’t have to tell me twice, Ten-chan.”

With a short cloud of smoke and a pop, the couple was spirited away through the Shunshin to his apartment, where they would rediscover the joys and passion of each other quite intimately. For Tenten and Naruto, they knew this was the start of a whole new beginning in the story that was their lives.

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By normal standards, one should expect many people to be asleep by 10 PM or shortly afterward, with the exceptions of village security patrols and anyone else who worked at night. Yet in the Hokage’s living suite within the Hokage Tower, a blonde female leader of Konoha was awake and appeared to be celebrating. She was in her nightgown as she sat on her futon with a bottle of sake in hand, yet the bottle was not the small ceramic serving one but the larger glass one that held much more of the rice wine.

Taking another swig of the bottle with her hand holding it around the long neck, Tsunade let out a breath of satisfaction. “Now this is good sake! Ha, ha, ha!” She raised the bottle in the air in salute. “Congratulations, gaki! I have no doubt you’re going to be my successor! Now marry that girl and give me some grand-kiddies!” With that said, the world’s best medic burst out in laughter again.

Coming into the room without warning, Shizune was mortified to see her mentor and leader still awake. “Tsuande-sama! Why are you still up?! You should be asleep by now!”

“Aw, come on, Shiz-chan,” the Godaime grinned with a blushed face. “Our little Naru-kun has won the approval of that wrinkly old woman running this country, and in time, he will become the Rokudaime. Why not celebrate? I certainly see this as a good cause to party.”

Shizune blushed a bit upon hearing what the Slug Sannin had called her, and the brunette knew her sensei would not even call her ‘Shiz-chan’ unless she was very tipsy. Yet given that her mistress was still talking straight without slurring, it was a sign the older woman was not stone-plastered intoxicated.

However, one word raised the thirty-something woman’s eyebrows. “Rokudaime? So are you really going to give the position to Naruto-kun and not Kakashi?”

Tsunade waved a dismissing hand. “We will see in several more years. I like the gaki to least get some experience as a jounin first before taking The Big Chair.” Her expression turned quite craftily. “Maybe I should assign him a genin team. I like to see whether the brats can make his life a living nightmare.” Her laughter was that of an evil, mad villain, making Shizune sweatdrop.

After taking a final gulp of sake and corking the bottle to put it off the futon’s side, the granddaughter of the First Hokage leaned down to place her left elbow on her knee to allow her chin to rest on her propped up hand. “That girl,” she grinned wistfully, causing her assistant to blink in confusion to whom she was referring. “She was not fooling that Naru-kun certainly knows how to please a woman.”

Knowing now what she was talking about, Shizune quickly scanned the area, and surely enough, there was the Sandaime’s crystal viewing ball right next to her mistress. “Tsunade-sama!” the petite brunette shouted out in mortification. “You shouldn’t be peeping on Naruto-kun and Tenten like that!” With her face becoming red, the young medic wondered if her teacher had used the orb to peek on her and Genma doing ‘the down and dirty’.

Seeing her attendant’s face turning into a tomato, Tsunade couldn’t help but to laugh. “Calm down, Shiz-chan. I didn’t see any details, for I hadn’t viewed them for long. Once I returned to my room, I immediately wanted to check on our beloved gaki, and I just happened to do so at a time when he and Tenten were making love. I quickly turned off the orb the moment I realized what I was watching.” Shizune let out a breath of relief, for it was good to know her sensei was not a pervert, who loved to peep into other people’s sex lives.

Letting out a thoughtful grin, the Slug Sannin’s mind was on what she saw. “I’m glad they’re back together again, Shizune. Even though it was a brief moment, I saw they truly were happy and in love. They were making love, not just banging each other silly.”

Shizune softly smiled upon hearing that. “That makes me happy too. After all the pain and loneliness he endured as a child, it brings a good feeling to know Naruto-kun has found someone to love. When he and Tenten had started dating, I was hoping they might find love with one another.”

“Yeah,” Tsunade concurred with a wistful expression. “We thought for sure he and Sakura would get together, given their interactions, not to mention that it was clear how much he adored her.” Her mouth let out sigh, before the longhaired blonde produced a tiny shrug. “It didn’t come out that way.”

“Nobody can predict the future,” Shizune said with wisdom, thinking of what could have been between the pinkette and the blond. “Least Sakura accepting Sasuke provided the opening for Naruto and Tenten to found love together.”

A tiny grin graced the Fifth Hokage’s face upon hearing the silver lining in Sakura’s decision. “You’re right, and I have high hopes that Naruto and Tenten’s love will be a long and prosperous one.” Shizune matched her mentor’s expression in agreement.

After placing her legs underneath the bed cover, Tsunade laid back, resting her head on the pillow. “Good night, Shizune.”

“Good night, Tsunade-sama,” the short-haired kunoichi said before departing the room and turning off the lights, leaving only the illumination from the lamp on the nightstand, which was only a short, square block of wood next to the futon.

Honey-colored eyes turned to set their sights on three framed photos on the nightstand, and once she viewed them, the last surviving member of the Legendary Sannin grinned a bit sadly, for the pictures were of the three most important men in her entire life – Nawake, her younger brother; Dan, her first true love; and Jiraiya, her teammate, friend, and perhaps something more.

Picking up the photo of the Toad Sannin, Tsunade looked at it with a faraway gaze. “Were you watching over your godson, you perv?” she voiced with affection. “I have no doubt you were,” her lips quirked up a bit on one side, “as well as Minato, Kushina, and Hiruzen-sensei. You four definitely would never see anything happen to Naruto-kun, and knowing each of you, I know you would have approved of Tenten as Naruto’s girlfriend and love.”

As her eyes took in the white-hair, red cheek marks, and jolly eyes of the man in the photo she held, Tsunade once more wondered how her personal life would have been different, if history had taken a deviating course. Ever since Jiraiya’s death, the Slug Sannin thought of how much he had meant to her and reflected what might have been, if say she hadn’t run away from Konoha after Dan’s death. Would she and Jiraiya eventually found love with each other? Would they have started a family? So many possibilities, and none of them had a chance of coming true due to her insecurities that arose when her brother and lover’s lives were brutally ended in the horrors of war.

Letting out a sigh with a tiny wistful grin, Konoha’s leader kissed the glass over the forehead of the photographic Jiraiya before placing down the framed picture back on the nightstand. Then she turned off the lamp and settled down to allow sleep to come to her being.

Before the Sand Man claimed her, Tsunade was proud that as long as she was Hokage, she would do her best to prevent, when possible, anymore people from suffering, as she had, at the lost of love ones. She certainly did not want to see Naruto, Tenten, or anyone end up with their hearts torn asunder by the Shinigami, the Death God, and even though killing & death were part of the shinobi life, it did not mean ninja had to die every day, not as long as she could help it.

With one final thought on knowing her pseudo-son and his girlfriend were happy once more, the Godaime Hokage fell asleep, knowing tomorrow was a whole new day with new challenges that awaited them all.

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High above the sleeping village, the stars shone brightly, fixed in their positions for long as people remembered them. Yet, for some odd reason, four stars seemed to be twinkling and shimmering, like they were alive in some way or another. Regardless of the reasons, these four watched over the Earth below, especially over a young, blond man, who was destined for great things to come.

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TBC (End of Chapter 13)

A/Ns:

1) Well, that ends this mini-arc. I hope everyone enjoyed this very long chapter

As for which reviewer guessed what, the cookie goes to volrath77 and KnighteWolfe (He sent a PM to me with his guesses) for guessing somewhat that Naruto would use his parentage connection to the Fourth Hokage to nullify the arranged marriage, although both of their guesses were not precisely on target on how Naruto would use his connection with the Yondaime to cancel the marriage. ;)

However, the big cake goes to Quathis for taking a pot-shot in the dark and hitting center on the bull’s-eye in guessing the reason behind the so-called ‘conspiracy’, which was all just a test by the Fire Daimyo to see whether Naruto is worthy to become Hokage one day. I know it might seem far stretch to go through all that trouble just for a test, but as the elderly Lord of Fire Country said, she did not want to repeat the same mistake she made with Danzo, so it was best to get all of Naruto and Kyoko’s political friends in on the test and make certain Naruto is isolated in order to properly test his response to the ‘arranged marriage’. :)

So, this chapter ends this mini-arc, where Naruto exposes his biggest secret in order to break out of the arranged marriage, yet the biggest surprise came from the Fire Daimyo herself. A pretty crazy plot twist, eh? ;)

So, all is well that ends well. I’ll be returning the story back to focusing on Naruto and Tenten’s relationship. There will be no big relationship problems for the couple for the rest of the story. :)

2) Note: I’ll be posting up one more chapter of “Unexpected” before returning to “Matriarch of Destiny”. It’s just a short lemon as an epilogue to this mini-arc. So for those who do not want to read lemons, you can skip out reading Chapter 14. I need to make a loving, romantic scene for Naruto and Tenten after I had torn them apart like that, so things can get back to normal for them and me. ;)

3) I want to be on record that canon-wise there are no indications what-so-ever of whether either of Naruto’s parents was ever from a clan. This leaves it open for fans to say either parent is from a clan or not.

For me, I like the notion that Minato was an orphan and rose through the ranks through hard work and sweat to become Hokage, making him much like his son when it comes to the same philosophies. As Hokage, I think one of the benefits should be to give him or her clan status. After all, a Hokage is the most powerful person in Konoha, and if his or her family is not a clan, they should have the right to form a clan, if the Hokage desires it. This way, the Hokage’s legacy will continue onward even after he or she dies.

So even though Minato and Kushina didn’t take up starting a clan, it left it opened for Naruto to do so as the son of a Hokage. It helped Naruto pretty well in getting out of the ‘arranged marriage’ even though the whole ‘arranged marriage’ was a set-up for a test anyway. ;)

4) I’d commissioned the talented DeviantArt artist lexisss to do a cover art for “Unexpected Love”, making it similar to a ShikaTema art she done of the characters wearing modern-day civilian clothes. The art she done for me came out to be awesome! I truly recommend to check it out! One can find a link to the art in my Author Profile or copy-and-paste the following URL and remove the spaces…

lexisss . deviantart . com art Commission-Unexpected-Love-136900571

Just for anyone’s information, I know Naruto and Tenten have not ever been mentioned wearing the type of clothes seen in the cover art. I will though have them be wearing the clothes in a future chapter. This is promise. (Gives thumbs-up and Gai smile with shining teeth)

Oh, I also posted a large facial close-up of the head-to-toe cover art. It’s on my dA page at…

Jupmod . deviantart . com / art /Unexpected-Love-Cover-closeup-137048832

5) I want everyone to know that I started a poll, which can be found at my Author Profile, regarding which family name Naruto would use if he indeed starts a clan after he gets married. Would he keep Uzumaki, drop his mother’s name and adopt his father’s, or just add both names together?

The reason why I ask is due to the ending of Chapter 13 here. With Naruto now known as the son of the Fourth Hokage, people would expect him to become a Namikaze, but knowing Naruto, he wouldn’t even care what other people would think regarding something private to him. Besides, when he marries Tenten, what family name would they use?

I really can use the input of everyone’s opinion regarding this issue that baffles me to what Naruto would do if he starts a clan. If he only starts a family, I don’t think he would bother to change his family name.

6) Last, I thank everyone for your support, whether you placed “Unexpected” on your fav, alert, and/or C2 lists or simply post a review. I appreciate it deeply, for it shows me how much you come to enjoy the story. :)


Weixuan18: GAWD, this took forever. O.O Plot was nice and all, but seriously, he’s trying to kill me. ._.

JPMod: Sorry about that, Weixuan. The next chapter should be far shorter. ^^;