FicWad

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! Thanks! (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 16 – Acceptance of Reality, Part 1
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

For a shinobi village, it was not usual to hear the sounds of fighting at any of the training fields. The clang of metal against metal, the voices of jutsu being cast, and the grunts, groans, and cries of pain, defeat, and other human emotions were all typically heard that most civilians would take the noise for granted.

So it would not come to anyone’s surprise to hear the clash of steel radiating from Training Field 7, aka the Memorial Stone Training Field. If one would investigate the ruckus, their eyes would see a tall, blond shinobi with a pair of kodachi sparring with a brunette kunoichi with a katana. The swords were glowing blue, indicating they were chakra blades, which would tell anyone familiar with the ninja world, that these two warriors were skillful and knowledgeable in their profession.

Yet for those who knew Uzumaki Naruto and Tenten, this kind of spar was typical of the duo. Besides keeping their skills sharpened, each had come to love training together. Oh, they had not neglected training with their teams, friends, and other fellow Leaf ninja. It was just the pair had found it was fun to flirt when fighting each other, making their romantic relationship even more exciting in the process. Village rumors said the two had ended up making hot, wild love in the woods at times due to the sexual banter conveyed during their spars. However, the couple was not confirming nor denying they had ever done it a la natural, although a few people swore the blond and brunette had blushed and exchanged a ‘look’ when asked the question.

After jumping away from his mate to put some distance between them, the blue-eyed jounin held his swords vertically upward with his arms crossed over his chest. Yet before he could strike, the bun-haired kunoichi knew what he was about to do.

“Oh, no, you don’t!” Tenten cried out, holding her katana horizontally as well, just before her lover delivered his attack.

“Fuuton: Tsuin Tatsumaki (Wind Element: Twin Tornados)!” Naruto shouted out before unfolding his arms and slashing the two kodashi vertically. Two twisters, two stories tall, whirled towards their target.

“Katon: Kasai Kabe (Fire Element: Fire Wall)!” hollered Tenten immediately prior to slashing her sword, flat side vertically, in a wide arc in front of her. Instantly, a wall of fire appeared just before the tornados hit.

As expected, the Fire jutsu grew even more when met with Wind, until it resulted in an explosion of flame that shot in all directions due to the twisters’ rotation. The two combatants leaped out of the way to safety.

Naruto landed nearby the small river, watching the flames die out with wisps of smoke lingering in the air. His mouth twisted into a challenging smirk as he raised his blades in a defensive position, and a moment later, he was not disappointed upon seeing Tenten race out of the smoke. Their swords clashed once more in a duel.

Seeing his lopsided grin made the Weapons Mistress grin equally in return. “You obviously know by now that I will not allow you breathing room to use any of your ninjutsu, Naruto-kun,” she said as their blades clanged at a rapid pace. “I’d learned my lessons after Temari defeated me during the Chuunin Exam preliminaries years ago. Do not ever allow a Wind user room to use his or her wind jutsu against me! Just keep pressing close-range combat on the person!”

“Maybe so,” Naruto parried back. “Yet what would you do, if say, that person was good in close-range combat as well?” His hands maneuvered the twin kodachi to quickly catch the katana in a pincer move, bringing the kenjutsu fight to a momentary halt. “Like me?” he finished smugly, gazing into those twin chocolate pools burning with fire and love.

“That’s because I taught you too well,” Tenten grinned back just as smugly with pride. With that said, the nineteen-year-old woman forcefully broke free of the pincer, having sensed he had not been applying much force to hold her permanently. She held up her blade to strike down at her ‘enemy’, but not before he leaped away again, his form landing on the other side of the river.

The bun-haired female ninja inwardly cursed for providing her boyfriend another opportunity to put more space between them. Yet before she could move her feet to once more close the distance, her man quickly jabbed his short swords into the ground and placed his fingers together in that all too familiar cross seal.

“Tajuu Kage Bunshin no jutsu!” Naruto called out before a huge cloud of smoke blanketed the field. Once it immediately cleared, an army of six hundred blond clones stood behind the original. With identical arrogant expressions, two hundred clones transformed into archery bows and another two hundred became arrows. The remaining two hundred took up the weapons and aimed them into the air.

Tenten mentally cursed… again.

Two hundred arrows were shot into the sky, flew over the river in an arc, and came down at the weapons-loving woman. Unable to dodge or even reflect that many projectiles, Tenten quickly pulled out a scroll from her waist belt and poured chakra into it.

“Airon Engo Kabe (Iron Protection Wall)!” she cried out. A cloud of smoke covered her form just before the rain of arrows came down on her. Through the cloud, sounds were heard of metal arrows being deflected off a metal surface, and when the last arrow fell to the ground, the smoke cleared to reveal an iron dome.

Yet knowing his long time friend and now girlfriend, Naruto knew to expect a counterattack from her, when the dome slid open. He was not disappointed, for once the dome slid open along an arc, a feminine figure shot into the sky with twin unwrapped scrolls forming double spirals around the girl. The blond swiftly picked up his two kodachi for what was about to come.

“Soushouryuu Soujuu (Twin Rising Dragons Control)!” shouted out Konoha’s Mistress of Weapons before spinning around so rapidly to make her form looked like a blurred toy top. Then hundreds of weapons, of all shapes and sizes, were launched out of the spiral parchments at incredible speeds toward their golden-haired target.

Naruto swung his swords in every direction, simply creating wind currents to deflect the weapons away from him. His Kage Bunshin weren’t so lucky, as they were all impaled and blown-up by the rain of iron and steel. He knew his girlfriend could keep the technique going, until she ran out of weapons. Yet, it was basically impractical for her to waste her entire arsenal; unless she was absolutely sure she could win a battle and not have to fight again until her weapons cache was filled once more.

Finally, the bombardment stopped as the young woman stopped spinning and fell to the ground. The blond took that moment to strike. “Fuuton: Kabe Nami (Wind Element: Wall Wave)!” he cried out before slashing his swords horizontally in front of him, creating a large crescent wall of wind heading straight toward Tenten, who knew she did not have the time to do anything to counter his attack before her feet landed on the ground. When her feet did touch the earth, the wall of wind slammed into her, propelling her backward forcefully across the field, pass the Memorial Stone, and into a tree.

Having had prepared herself for impact, Tenten had used chakra to temporarily strengthen her back, absorbing the shock of hitting the hard tree, and when the attack ended, her hand quickly went to her belt to unsheathe her chakra katana. Yet she only had the sword drawn when she felt someone slamming her against the trunk. Brown eyes barely registered blue eyes and sunflower-colored hair in front of her upon feeling two steel blades across her neck.

Yet instead of feeling sour she had lost this round, Tenten gave a congratulatory grin to the victor, who smiled back in return as he pulled his two kodachi away. She knew she would have many chances in the future to win, so it was not a big deal to her of losing this time. Also, she knew how far Naruto had come in terms of strength and skills. Despite the fact that she was technically his superior by being promoted first to the rank of Chuunin, the brunette was aware the blond had surpassed her and many of their peers in power. It still marveled her to this day just how fast her boyfriend had grown in the past few years since returning from his training trip with Jiraiya.

“Go another round?” the Weapons Mistress teased as she raised an eyebrow and held her katana up.

Naruto chuckled. “It would be fun to go another round with you, Weapons Girl, but we have a dinner reservation in a few hours. I doubt you want us to enter the restaurant in our work clothes, all sweaty and dirty.”

Tenten knew, of course. It was just too much fun playing like this. “Oh, poo,” she mock pouted before giving a fake sigh. “I was so looking forward to cutting up your clothes and taking you right here.”

Once more, the Toad Sennin chuckled. “Wanting to make that rumor a reality?”

“Maybe,” the young kunoichi replied with a sly smile. “Maybe.” Both softly laughed at the joke.

In truth, they had not yet had sex in the great outdoors as the Konoha Rumor Mill stated. They had rarely seen each other during the past month since the wedding due to their workload, and the little time they did have was so fleeting, Naruto and Tenten only managed for some intimate moments but none long enough to make love. The night of the Uchiha wedding and all the lovemaking times before then were spent in Naruto’s apartment.

However, thanks to the rumor itself, the young couple was thinking about the idea. Having had talked about it, they agreed that maybe it was best to wait until summer, when the weather would be warm to attempt such a feat, not to mention the likelihood of having less shinobi duties to perform as well by then. The thought of having sex in the clear waters of Waterfall Lake sounded appealing.

After sheathing his swords and making some Kage Bunshin to retrieve any of his lover’s weapons lying around and to seal them in her two storage scrolls, Naruto pulled out a scroll from his haori and popped out two water bottles. He handed one to Tenten, who gratefully accepted it and took a gulp of the refreshingly, cool water.

Grinning as he watched his significant other sigh in satisfaction from the drink; the eighteen-year-old jounin asked the question that was on his mind ever since Tenten had told him the news this morning. “So, are you looking forward tomorrow to your first mission as jounin team leader?”

Tenten gave a small, prideful smile. “Yeah. When I was a Chuunin, I had only done a few C-ranks as mission leader, and that was mostly with Chuunin or Genin younger than me. Most of my missions were assigned under a Jounin, especially given I was still mostly with my team. Least now as a Jounin, I can finally get a chance to lead more missions as team leader.”

As his lover sheathed her katana, Naruto shrugged a bit. “Same here, Ten-chan. I was still mostly assigned with my team. With the exception of Neji and Shikamaru, most of the Konoha Twelve were assigned under other people despite our Chuunin ranks.”

“Well, we have to start leading pretty sooner or later,” the brunette teasingly chided. “What good is getting promoted and never leading others?” Her lips curled up on one side. “Especially you,” she emphasized with a finger jab on her boyfriend’s chest. “If you’re going to become Hokage, which no doubt you will thanks to the Fire Daimyo’s high approval of you, you have to start showing you can lead.”

The tall blond rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. “You’re right about that. Just it seems Baachan may not want to tear apart Team Seven.”

Team Gai’s female member sighed and nodded in understanding. All the teams of the Konoha Twelve were strong and solid groups. Not only did each team work well alone, each worked well with each other, forging stronger, larger coordinated forces. Why bother tearing apart teams that worked so well? Yet, the young woman knew that unfortunately, in order to advance, each individual would have to start leading others, thus the Konoha Twelve teams may have to be broken up eventually.

Yet, Tenten inwardly grinned in knowing that despite them no longer being in teams, they would always be together forever as friends. In times of crisis, they would eventually work together as their sensei and elders had done. If Kakashi, Kurenai, Gai, and others of their age group could work together despite having separate genin teams, it was not far-stretch that the Konoha Twelve could do the same.

“Speaking of genin teams…” the brunette inwardly chuckled at her idea.

“You know, Naruto-kun,” Tenten began, her lips forming a small grin, “you can opt to lead a genin team.”

The Toad Sennin gaped in surprise before grinning as he shook his head. “I’m not sure I’m ready to be a teacher, Ten-chan.”

“You’re good with kids, as your interactions with the Konohamaru Corps had shown,” she pointed out. “I’d benefited greatly from your help in training me to master my nature chakra. I think you’ll make a great sensei.”

Naruto couldn’t dispute her reasons, so he shrugged. “Maybe. Yet I feel I should wait a few years, until I take charge of a genin team. It feels odd that a rooke jounin taking charge of a group of twelve-year-olds only six years younger than their teacher.”

Tenten smirked. “No more odd than Kurenai-sensei had taken her first genin team soon after she was promoted to jounin? No odder than a green-loving, weird, taijutsu master training a genin team? No odder than a one-eyed, porn-loving jounin taking a genin team?” She giggled upon watching him blush and rub the back of his head again. “Just think about it, Naruto. I’m not saying you should take a genin team, but in a few months, the Academy will be forming this year’s genin teams. If you’re going to be a jounin-sensei, you’ll have to let Tsunada-sama know before the students graduate.”

Sighing, the blue-eyed son of the Yondaime Hokage nodded his head in agreement. “I’ll think about it, Ten-chan, although I still think I need more experience first, Kurenai-sensei aside.” He saw his bun-haired girlfriend gave a nod of her own in acknowledgment, before an idea stuck his brain, making him formed a witty grin. “Maybe you should apply as well, Weapons Girl. You’re a pretty good teacher too, for I wouldn’t have progressed this far with my father’s chakra blades, if it weren’t for you.”

Her cheeks turned a nice shade of rose upon hearing his compliment and recommendation, even if he was making it in jest. “I’ll consider it,” she grinned back at him, thinking being a jounin-sensei might not be a bad idea for her as it was for him. Although, the weapons expert also was thinking a year or two in ANBU might not be a bad idea either.

“Boss!” a male voice called out, and upon turning to the source, Naruto saw two scrolls hurled toward him. After catching the items, a quick inspection revealed they were Tenten’s weapons storage scrolls, which no doubt now contained all the weapons found on the training field.

The blond gave a thankful grin to his Kage Bunshin, whom were all grinning like him. “Thanks, Me! I knew you guys would do a good job!”

“Of course!” the clones all said in unison. “We’re you, after all!” With that said, they all dispersed simultaneously.

Hearing giggling, Naruto turned to an amused Tenten, who placed down her water bottle and appreciatively accepted her scrolls when he handed them over to her. “I swear, Naruto,” she laughed, “you are the only shinobi I know who has Kage Bunshin with their own personalities different at times from their owner.”

Naruto chortled. “To be honest, I really don’t know why they act like smart-asses. Sometimes, they would say or do things I wouldn’t bother to actually do.”

Swiftly placing her scrolls in their belt holsters, the lithe, female ninja took a step to run her hands up his torso playfully. “Maybe because they’re jealous the real Naruto has a girlfriend, and they only get to play when he use his Kage Bunshin Gangbang on her,” she teased, finishing with a finger tracing his chin.

“Maybe,” the eighteen-year-old Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi replied as his hands ghosted down her curves and cupped her shapely rump. He pulled her against his body, earning him an approving purr. “Then again, with a gorgeous woman for a girlfriend, Uzumaki Naruto wants to keep her for himself sometimes. The Kage Bunshin can go and find their own girlfriends.”

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Tenten devilishly grinned, enjoying the feel of his body against hers, despite the layers of clothing between them. “Do you know who this girlfriend of Uzumaki Naruto is?” Kami, she just loved this playful, flirting banter.

“I certainly do,” Naruto answered, his face leaning down closer to hers. “She’s right here in my arms, and I’m not letting go.”

“Good,” she whispered before latching her mouth over his in a searing kiss. The couple moaned and melted into one another, letting the kiss temporarily removed them from reality into a world where the two of them only exist.

After two minutes of blissful molding of mouths, Naruto and Tenten broke apart and smiled warmly at each other, basking in the warmth of simply being together like this for a few moments.

Satisfied with what she was lovingly given, Konoha’s Weapons Mistress took her beau’s hand in hers, picked up her water bottle, and guided them out of the training field toward the village. It was times like this that made them both count their lucky stars for them becoming boyfriend and girlfriend.

Feeling a need to talk after a few minutes of comfortable silence as they strolled together, Naruto gazed down at the beauty besides him. “So, are you ready for tomorrow?”

Tenten held back the urge to roll her eyes, reading his underlining concern. “I’m ready. I’ve led a few C-ranks before, so leading a B-rank should be no problem. I do not know who my three subordinates are going to be, but I’ll find out tomorrow.”

With that said, she unclasped her hand from his in order to wrap her arm around his. “Now, come on, Whisker Boy,” the brunette grinned encouragingly. “We have a dinner date to attend, and maybe later, we’ll find some time for some private moments together.”

Hearing the hidden meaning in the word ‘private,’ Naruto grinned cheekily. “I’m looking forward to it, Weapons Girl. I’m looking forward to it.”

Giggling from their small joke, Tenten faced forward as they approached the village’s wall. They strolled together past the wall and casually made their way toward the center.

“It’s just a B-rank,” the female weapons expert chided in her mind regarding her boyfriend’s concerns. “What can possibly go wrong with a simple B-rank?”

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After dodging several kunai before kicking a bandit’s face in, Tenten found herself facing the leader of this group of outlaws again. The big man smugly smirked as his eyes examined her. “Do you think we’re going to let you get away, girly? Since we can’t get the jewel, I might as well get my revenge for you ruining my chance in getting more power. The boys and I certainly will pay you back big time.” The dozen men surrounding her all snickered evilly in agreement with their boss.

For perhaps the twelfth time or so that day, the Jounin kunoichi cursed for jinxing herself two days ago when she had told herself that this was going to just a simple B-rank with no chances of anything going wrong. The young woman should have known that nothing was absolutely certain in this world. Her boyfriend’s first-ever C-rank to the Land of Waves was well known in Konoha, and it was a lesson to all that even though the chances were slim, a simple mission could turn into a deadly one when certain unknown elements were added into the equation. Adding one or more nuke nins with couple of dozen goons sure would alter the outcome.

Not to mention that the customer didn’t know the so-called jewel, they were supposed to safeguard and deliver for a rich lord and friend of the Fire Daimyo was actually a chakra gem. The customer paid for a B-rank, thinking that all he needed was protection from simple bandits, not high-ranking criminal shinobi.

So, knowing the truth about the chakra gem from the missing nins when they’d showed up, Tenten, after a brief fight with the bad guys, had ordered her subordinates, newly promoted Chuunins, to protect the customer and make haste to the Fire Country’s capital, while she kept the criminals at bay. Given her skills, the plan worked.

Now, after more than hour of fighting and avoidance, Tenten was feeling close to chakra exhaustion, not to mention physical fatigue from being bruised and injured from small cuts all over her body. The ordinary thugs were no problem, but the three nuke nins were a threat, especially their leader, Mizuyama, a former jounin from Kiri, who had decided to go rogue instead of working under the leadership of the Fifth Mizukage after the long and bloody Mist Civil War was over. It was just bad fate that a Fire user like her would end up fighting an S-rank criminal ninja, who was primary a Water user.

Sensing danger from the sides, the lithe female ninja jumped away from the tree she was leaning on, before the bark blew up in explosions from several kunai with explosive tags. Landing on the ground, she turned to once more come face-to-face with Mizuyama, a thirty-something, brown-haired man with a slight built on the upper torso. His egoistic smirk made Tenten snarl, wanting very much to wipe that look off his face.

Knowing she had just one last chance to get away, Konoha’s Weapons Mistress waved her katana in a sweeping circle around her. “Katon: Shokkuweibu (Fire Element: Shockwave)!” she yelled as her blade released a shockwave of fire, going in all directions from the epicenter. The brunette quickly prepared her giant scroll, for the next move.

Mizuyama simply smirked wider, going through a very quick set of hand seals. “Suiton: Engai Toku (Water Element: Dome Shield)!” he yelled. A huge dome of water cascaded up out of the ground to enclose him and his men, and when the fire reached the dome, it fizzled out due the heat unable to penetrate the moisture of the defense. The rest of the fiery shockwave however kept going, scorching trees and plants along its path until it stopped.

Yet when Mizuyama dispelled his liquid defense, he and his men heard a feminine cry from above, and upon looking up, their eyes went wide at the sight of Tenten unfurling her giant scroll. “Souryuu Tensakai (Double Dragon Scattering Destruction)!” she shouted, before a rain of iron and steel poured out of her scroll as incredible speeds at the enemies below. So fast were the weapons traveling that they appeared as white streaks as they landed, tremendous explosions rocked the forest with dirt and wood flying everywhere.

A minute later, the last detonation eased. A panting Tenten landed to a landscape void of trees and life for least a radius of a quarter of a kilometer. Many of Mizuyama’s men were dead, yet there was no sight of the boss anywhere.

Not wanting to take any chances of the bad man being alive, the Konoha kunoichi quickly sealed up her scroll and began to leave the area with whatever remaining strength she has left. It would take her some time before reaching the defense perimeter of Fire Country’s capital, and only then would she feel safe to lower her guard.

Suddenly a chain wrapped around her right calf, causing her to tumble to the ground. Twisting around, brown eyes saw one Mizuyama’s subordinate ninja holding the other end of the chain while he was half out of the ground. The other shinobi also was emerging from the ground next to his fellow nuke nin. Both men were in the mid twenty’s compared to Mizuyama.

“Girl, do you think we’re going to let you get away?” the one holding the chain said. With that said, he activated his nature chakra and poured it into the chain. The chakra became electrified, an indicator he was a Lightning user. Tenten tried to get the chain off her leg, but it was too late to prevent the lightning from journeying up the chain and zapping her painfully.

As her cries of pain died down once the Raiton jutsu dissipated, a third figure popped out of the ground, and when he approached the now helpless and exhausted kunoichi, it was clear the person was Mizuyama.

He growled down at Tenten. “We lost a good deal of our men, thanks to you, Konoha bitch. It’s payback time.” With that said, he slammed a fist into her stomach, causing her to wince in pain and her brain to start going into unconsciousness.

Thinking she was about to meet her end, the last mental pictures Tenten thought were of her mother, her friends, and the man she held deep in her heart. His face was the final image in her mind as it shut down. “Naruto-kun,” she mentally fondly spoke before everything went dark.

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After forming three Kage Bunshin to take the empty, dirty dishes and utensils to the sink, Naruto sighed contently in his seat as he patted his full stomach. “Thanks, Kyohaku-kaasan,” he grinned at the woman across the table from him.

The forty-something brunette chuckled. “You don’t have to keep thanking me every time you have dinner here, Naruto-kun,” she amusingly chided. “You are practically family now. You are welcome in this apartment anytime.” Her lips curled up on one side as she gave the young man a mischievous look. “Now all you and Ten-chan have to do is get hitched, and you’ll be part of my family permanently.”

Naruto softly laughed, while he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “Well, marriage is the last thing Ten-chan and I are thinking about these days, Kaasan.”

“I know,” Tenten’s mother softly reassured, “yet I will not be surprised if you two do think about the idea once in a while. To imagine what your lives would be like being husband and wife instead of just boyfriend and girlfriend.” She sighed before her green eyes gazed over Naruto’s shoulders to the night vista of Konoha seen outside the kitchen window. “I certainly was the same soon after I fell in love with Tenten’s father, even though I knew I was not ready yet for marriage.”

Taking a sip of tea, emerald eyes became serious as they locked onto cerulean ones. “Naruto-kun… Have you and Ten-chan talked yet regarding your relationship while maintaining your careers as shinobi?”

The blond man blinked in confusion. “Eh? What are you talking about, Kaasan? We know our duties come first, so we only get together when time allows us.”

Kyohaku softly grinned. “That’s not what I meant. It’s clear now you have yet to have this conversation with Tenten. You do know of the dangers of your career, right?”

“Yeah, I do,” he admitted with a nod. His instincts were already telling him that he was not going to like what her girlfriend’s mother was about to say.

The older woman sighed. “Then you know that as shinobi, there would be chances where you or Ten-chan would severely be injured or worst.”

Naruto was right. He definitely did not like this conversation at all.

“Come on, Kyohaku-kaaasan,” he nervously chuckled. “Ten-chan and I know this already. Yeah, there are dangers as shinobi, and we knew this since we became genin. As jounins now, we’re more powerful to handle dangerous situations like they’re no more dangerous as a D-rank.”

This time Kyohaku frowned as she shook her head. “On the contrary, Naruto-kun, now that you’re a jounin, your missions will eventually become more dangerous. You’ll be doing far more B to S-ranks as a jounin compared as a chuunin, thus increasing the chances of death happening, even in a world without war.” After watching Naruto swallowed, the female weapons smith continued. “The question I ask you is how would you react upon knowing Tenten was deeply injured or killed on a mission?”

Blue eyes went momentarily wide before they settled down calmly as Naruto thought about the question. He loved Tenten deeply, and the thought of her dead brought a painful ache in his heart. It was nearly unbearable. He knew he would most likely want to seek revenge against those who killed his beloved. The blond knew this due to past experience in loosing a love one.

“I… I think I know what you’re talking about, Kaasan,” Naruto finally answered, his eyes returning to focus on his girlfriend’s mother. “I remembered how much it had hurt, when I first heard my godfather was killed by Pain. I had wanted so much to avenge Jiraiya that I just felt angry at times.”

Kyohaku grinned kindly at the reply. “Yes, that is a good example what I’m talking about, Naruto-kun, even though loosing a family member is not exactly the same as loosing the person you love with all your heart and soul. Trust me, for I know the feeling well, when my husband died defending the village against the Kyuubi.”

After pausing in her story to collect her feelings, the middle-aged woman carried on. “When he died, I felt my whole world turn upside down. My heart was broken, my soul diminished. I just felt like dying in order to join him, for I just couldn’t feel my life being the same without him.” A couple of tears rolled down her cheeks, and Naruto knew even today, she missed her love very much. “However, I picked up myself and carried on,” Kyohaku grinned warmly with moist eyes, “and the reason was that my daughter needed me. As much as I love my husband deeply, I just could not abandon Tenten to live a lonely life without either of her parents. I soon realized that caring for my daughter had somewhat healed my wound, even though it has not gone away entirely.”

Seeing the sympathetic look her child’s boyfriend was giving her, Kyohaku rubbed away the moisture from her eyes and tried to compose herself. “Make no mistake, Naruto-kun, I love Ten-chan very much, but a love for one’s child is not the same for the love you give to your significant other. Now that you and my daughter are going to be experiencing even tougher missions in the future, you should know to expect this. Tenten already knew about this due to having had this talk with Neji, but given Tenten is your first relationship, you do not yet have this experience compared to her.”

Silence came to the kitchen for a few minutes, since either person did not have anything to say at the moment. The young sage broke the quiet after much thinking. “I know as ninjas, death will always be part of our lives. I’ve seen my share of it, and I feel it when someone I know dies, especially when Jiraiya and Asuma-sensei had died. I know that when I become Hokage, I’ll be likely sending people to their deaths. It’ll not be easy for me, but I know I’ll have to accept it, if I’m going to lead someday.”

Giving a sad grin, Kyohaku nodded in agreement. “It’s not just giving out tough orders that might lead subordinates to their deaths that a Hokage has to deal with, but also the possibilities of sacrificing his or her own life in order to save the village. All the Hokages have displayed this, especially your father.” Her grin became a little warmer upon seeing a small proud grin came to Naruto’s face. Both grins faltered a bit upon her next words though. “This is what Tenten might likely have to deal with when you become Hokage, Naruto-kun. Being a kunoichi, she knows all too well that you can likely die protecting the village.”

Naruto nodded. “Well,” he said while placing on a brave grin, “I’ll just have to do my best not to die then. When I become Hokage, I’ll do my best to change the shinobi world to prevent more pain and suffering which create more people like Pain. This way, less shinobi and civilians will die, and everyone will be happy.” He chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head with one hand. “Besides, knowing Ten-chan, she’ll not likely retire from the force for a long time, no more than I.”

Laughing along with him, the older woman totally agreed with him. “You’re right about that. Ten-chan told me that she wouldn’t mind diminishing her duties a bit to raise children, but she definitely does not want to resign from the force fully until she couldn’t fight no more. Other kunoichi have done a remarkable job of balancing raising a family while still somewhat on duty, like Inuzuka Tsume as an example and even Kurenai.”

“And knowing her, Kushina would have done the same thing,” Kyohaku mentally added while gazing proudly at her friend’s son. “I have no doubt you would be so proud of Naruto, Shina.” She gave a mental chuckle at the fond memories of Kushina not liking the nickname. After all, ‘shina’ meant ‘thing’, and the former kunoichi of Whirlpool certainly knew she was not a ‘thing’. Although, Kyohaku had pointed out whether ‘shina’ was any better than ‘kushina’, which meant ‘nine goods’.

After a quick gaze at the kitchen’s clock, the forty-something woman stood up. “I better return to the store for the evening customers. I appreciate you taking care of the dishes before you leave, Naruto.”

“No problem, Kaasan. I will,” replied Naruto with a promising grin.

Giving a thankful expression, Tenten’s mother left the kitchen to the staircase that would lead downstairs to the weapons store below.

Left alone as his clones worked to clean the dishes, Naruto thought what Kyohaku told him. He knew deep down that the potential danger of dying on a mission was there. Yet, he had always trusted his friends that they would be strong enough to defend themselves and prevent themselves from being killed. There had been close calls over the years, but they had always pulled through.

Yet, what would happen the next time one of his friends died? He knew nothing was absolute. Asuma-sensei and Jiraiya had died. There was a time during Pain’s invasion of Konoha that he couldn’t feel Kakashi-sensei and thought he died. Baachan had gone into a coma, and she almost died as well. Neji and Chouji almost died way back during that very first Sasuke Retrieval mission. The Third died during the Invasion of Sound and Suna. Then there was…

“Haku…” the blond jounin sadly recalled his very first real friend in the world. Despite the fact that they had only known each other for only a brief time; it was like they knew each other for years. A bond of understanding and trust that could have forged a strong friendship, if the older boy had not made a huge sacrifice in order to save his sole precious person.

As for Tenten, Naruto trusted her without question. She’s a jounin now, thus she knew the risks involved on missions much as he and the others of their peer group did. As he had always felt since they had started dating, he just had faith that she would always pull through and come home safe and sound. There was no doubt that she had the same confidence regarding him. It was a conviction that the strong, secure kunoichi loved regarding their relationship, for she appreciated him not coddling her like she needed protection and vice-versa. It was okay to be concerned about each other’s welfare and to be there to cover each other’s backs during battles, but the one thing both would not stand was being overprotected like they were weaklings.

Once the Kage Bunshins had finished their chores and dispelled, the eighteen-year-old Toad Sennin left the apartment through a rear, second floor exit with an outside staircase leading down to ground level. From there, he easily walked around the building to the street out in front, and from there, he made his way home.

As he strolled along, Naruto couldn’t help but keep repeating Kyohaku’s words in his mind. He told himself that he really shouldn’t have nothing to worry about, for the woman he loved would be here in a few days. With her safe and sound in his arms, he would be okay.

However, why he couldn’t help but feel a chill going down his spine?

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

TBC (End of Chapter 16)

A/Ns:

1) Given I couldn’t find the Japanese name for Tenten’s Iron Protection Wall (I found this English name at online sources), seen in the Shippuuden Anime Episode #109, I’d decided to create the name using an online English-to-Japanese translator. It’s why the technique is called Airon Engo Kabe (Iron Protection Wall).

Also I understand in the Shippuuden Anime Episode #103, Tenten had called the Twin Rising Dragons jutsu, Soushouryuu (Twin Rising Dragons). However, online sources stated this is an upgraded version of the technique seen in the original anime when Tenten fought Temari during the preliminaries of the Chuunin Exams. Since the one in Shippuuden no doubt was an upgraded version, online sources named it Twin Rising Dragons Control. It’s why I named it Soushouryuu Soujuu (Twin Rising Dragons Control). It makes sense to give it a slightly different name in order to not confuse the two versions of the technique.

The third variation of the Soushouryuu is the Souryuu Tensakai (Double Dragon Scattering Destruction), seen in Shippuuden Anime Episode #28. From the magna and anime, it’s obvious this is Tenten’s most powerful technique, sending a rain of weapons down at the enemy faster and more destructive than the Soushouryuu Soujuu. Online sources gave just an English name of “Manipulated Tools: Heavenly Chain of Destruction”, but since the anime sub’s name of the technique sounds better in showing this jutsu is a major upgrade of the Soushouryuu, I’d chosen to stick with Souryuu Tensakai.

2) The brief Naruto-army seen, during Naruto and Tenten’s spar, is what I think Naruto is capable of doing, if he can organize his Kage Bushin into a collective fighting force. In canon, Naruto mostly use his Kage Bushin to only try to overwhelm his enemy with numbers. This is a waste of Kage Bushin, for if he has the chakra capacity to create thousands of KB, he could have used them more wisely than just throwing them at the enemy.

I do not recall whether any other fanfics ever touched upon this subject. I’m sure there are plenty out of there; just I have not read them. With perhaps the exception of one, titled “I am Legion”. It’s an old fanfic that has been removed by the author, for the current Naruto fic of this title is not the story I’m referring. Let’s just say that in that fic, Naruto does use his KB to become literally a one-man army. :)

3) ‘Mizuyama’ translates to ‘Water Mountain’. I figured that a shinobi from Mist (Kiri) would least have a name related to water. :)

4) Yeah, yeah, I know I had promised just two more chapters before concluding this fic, but given what I had in mind for Chapter 16 would be just too long if I had written everything down, I’d decided to divide this mini-arc into two chapters. Rest assure, I mean it this that that the fic will be concluded in the next two chapters with the last chapter being the epilogue. :)