FicWad

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. Also this story is a lemon fiction therefore is intended for people of a legal age from wherever they come from. So if these type of stories offend then stop reading now. Thanks

The Lemon Sage Presents: The Promise
Chapter 4: Hot Water

Sakura awoke feeling a sense of satisfaction that she believed was likely deeply ingrained in all women who had connected with a lover both in body and soul. She stretched languidly in the unfamiliar bed she intended to spend all her future nights in as she felt pleasant tingles throughout her body in a way often found after a strenuous workout. Recalling what that workout entitled, she felt phantom pings of pleasure spring up within the part of her that her lover had touched just the night before. She smiled contently as she considered just falling back into bed since it was her day off. However, hearing the shower running, she felt she could do with one, and wouldn’t deny that she hoped to resume where they had left off the night before, which was with her crying out his name as he flooded her womb with his seed before she blacked out.

While slipping from the bed, she noticed that with the sun shining inside the room, it appeared a little oversized from what she was used to almost as if it had been built for a larger than normal person. The bed also gave her the feeling that it had been purchased not so much for such a person in mind, but because it looked like it could comfortably sleep almost a half-dozen or so people. She assumed this was by choice, as Hanabi had made it clear that for the most part, she expected that all those entering into a relationship with Naruto would need to understand they all equally shared him. Sakura supposed it made sense for her to take such a stance, considering how the Hyuuga operated. She suspected that Hanabi’s goal was to make it clear that a relationship with Naruto would also entail a relationship with the other women tied to him, and one such way to encourage that was to make sure everyone had access to him even when asleep.

Opening the door to the connected bathroom, Sakura’s gaze was immediately drawn to the shower due to it appearing that she wasn’t the only one looking to pickup where they had left off the night before. She couldn’t exactly see what the two occupants were up to due to the smoked glass separating her from those inside. But, from the rhythmic sounds of skin slapping against skin, not to mention the light moaning, it was quite clear as to what was going on. She bit her lip as she debated with herself about whether she should join the pair, and for a moment turned away as if to leave. Yet, quickly spun about as she decided not to deny herself the pleasurable morning that she had envisioned.

Moving towards the shower, she slid open the door, but paused once her eyes landed on the rutting couple. Naruto and Hanabi paused from the heavy kissing they had been engaged in over her shoulder as he used one hand to hold up her right leg, while his other was occupied fondling her left tit. As the Hyuuga’s back was pressed up against Naruto’s chest, and as her pussy was currently unoccupied by Uzumaki meat, she realized that she had interrupted them while he was in the process of making a cream delivery to her backdoor.

Hanabi didn’t seem to mind the interruption though as she said, “Mmm, look who’s finally decided to join us.”

Sakura hesitated for a moment, as although she was not surprised by her finding the two currently in the act. Now that she was there, she found herself a bit at a loss as to what to do next. Fortunately, Hanabi believing the more the merrier grabbed Sakura’s wrist to pull her inside, and into a kiss.

Her green eyes widened at first, before she began to relax into it as her tongue responded to the Hyuuga’s provoking it into action. But they quickly surged open again as Hanabi’s fingers began rubbing her pussy. She moaned into the younger kunoichi’s mouth when they slipped inside and began massaging some of the same nerve-endings Naruto’s cock had riled up the night before.

Not wanting to be led around by her junior, she reached up to fondle one of Hanabi’s breasts and felt her own arousal surge when she moaned. Feeling emboldened Sakura brought her other hand between Hanabi’s legs and began to massage her quim, before pushing her own middle finger into her. She marveled at how hot and wet the other woman’s insides felt, but also how she could also feel Naruto’s driving cock as resumed rapidly drilling her ass. As she worked her finger within Hanabi, she realized that some of the wetness beginning to coat her hand was semen, leading her to realize that Naruto was working towards giving her at the minimum a second load of his seed.

Sakura’s own pussy began to grow even hotter at the thought, although it was also due to Hanabi’s exploration of it. Still, she didn’t want to fall too far behind the Hyuuga in receiving her own daily dosage of his cum, especially since she was sure that she felt the bed rocking the night before despite Naruto having fucked her into unconsciousness.

So hoping to move things along, she pressed her finger back up against the back of her pussy, which caused both Naruto and Hanabi to groan deeply, before Hanabi pulled her lips away to look back over her shoulder to teasingly say, “You perv. You must like watching your future wives making out. Your cock’s swelling so much.”

Naruto caused her to yelp by giving her ass a smack as he fired back, “Like you’re one to talk. Your ass is squeezing me like a vice back here. So, just how badly did you want to make out with her this morning?”

“So bad,” Hanabi admitted with an amused smile. She then gave Sakura a lust filled gaze before adding, “Almost as much as I wanted to do this.”

Sakura found herself pushed back against the wall as she watched on in surprise as Hanabi suddenly bent over at the waist and grabbed her hips before then lapping at her pussy. Sakura moaned as the Hyuuga’s tongue began exploring her lower lips with the same excitement she had used in the earlier kiss. Enjoying the Hyuuga’s explorations, she took advantage of Hanabi’s bent over position to watch as Naruto’s massive cock slid in and out of her fellow kunoichi rear passage. A sight which excited her as she began to wonder just what it would feel like to have her own ass stretched and impaled on it. Which she imagined must feel pretty fucking good from the moans the Hyuuga let out, at least when her tongue wasn’t busy lapping at her snatch.

However, despite how good the Hyuuga’s tongue was making her feel, it was when she looked up to see Naruto eyes staring at her hungrily which truly made her weak in the knees. She shivered as she recalled the new levels of pleasure that he had awakened her to the night before, and surrendered herself as he reached out and pulled her top half towards him so his tongue could explore her mouth in much the same way Hanabi’s was her pussy.

Sakura felt a little embarrassed as she was the first to climax when Hanabi sucked on her clit, and used her tongue to press on it just as Naruto thrust into the Hyuuga giving it that little extra stimulation to set her off. But, she was quickly joined by Hanabi as Naruto pulled her back up against him and pulled her into a kiss so that he could taste his pinked-haired lover on her lips. He then reached down to tease her clit, which caused Hanabi to let out a muffled cry, as she received a hot jizz injection to her rear.

Naruto leaned back against the opposite wall from his pink-haired lover as Hanabi slipped to her knees and caused his cock to slip free of her ass. He took a moment to enjoy the warm water spraying his stomach before he began fisting his cock as it refused to soften despite how much cum Hanabi’s ass had wrung from him. While from her knees, Hanabi looked back over her shoulder and sounded almost defeated as she said, “How can you still be hard? I’ve already squeezed two loads out of you this morning.”

Yet, before Naruto could respond Sakura stepped forward to wrap her hands around it, and giving it several tugs under the water said, “I need you back inside me.”

Naruto gave her a happy grin which caused Sakura’s heart to flutter, even as her pussy quivered due to his effortlessly lifting her up. He caused her to whine slightly in frustration as instead of plunging her down on his cock, he only dragged her slit against it. But, Hanabi perhaps hopping to avenge her defeat, gripped the base of his cock and guided the head right into her entrance. The two members of the previous incarnation of Team Seven both groaned, and Naruto unable to resist the heat that he felt inside her, since it paled in compassion to the warm water splashing on them, couldn’t resist pulling her the rest of the way down on him until he was pressed firmly against her womb.

Sakura wrapped her legs around him as she said, “Your cock stretches me out so much. Oh gods, fuck me!”

Naruto didn’t need to be asked twice as he lifted her most of the way off of him, and then plunged her back down. Sakura cried out in bliss as his cock rammed into her womb, and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as he prepared to do the same thing again. An action he repeated several times, prompting Naruto to say, “Fuck Sakura, you’re gripping me so tightly.”

She was not sure if he was referring to the one that she had on him with her appendages or the velvet one of her pussy. But truthfully she supposed that it didn’t matter as she stated, “That’s because I want you to fill me up. I want you to fuck me until my womb is pumped full of your cum and I’m pregnant with your child.” Naruto paused for a moment, as he met Sakura’s green eyes, who looked a little surprised at what she said herself. She could see that he wanted her words to be more than just a bunch of sexy talk, and after a quick survey of her own feelings she nodded as she answered his unasked question, “I want it.”

She cooed happily into his mouth as he leaned in to kiss her before it turned into a deep groan as he began pumping his hips. Once more the shower was filled with the wet sounds of as Naruto held her suspended and moved his hips rapidly in order to provide her tightly gripping pussy with another shot of his seed.

Hanabi from her kneeling position watched Naruto’s cock batter Sakura’s pussy, and felt her own begin to throb with the need to be filled once more. But she resisted the temptation to begin teasing her own pussy as she had other places to be. After getting back to her feet, she moved to the rutting pair’s side, and waited for an opportunity to take possession of Naruto’s lips as Sakura pulled away to let out a shriek of pleasure as she came on his thrusting cock.

After exploring his mouth for a few moments, Hanabi stepped away allowing Sakura to take over the exploration. Stepping out of the shower, she left the bathroom while she dried herself off and set about getting herself ready since she had a shift at the hospital. After getting dressed, she returned and began to smile due to the rhythmic slapping that she heard coming from the shower which began picking up in intensity. She activated her Byakugan to watch as Naruto began rapidly pumping himself into Sakura until she once more let out a moan as she began to climax around his pistoning cock. Which caused the wet slapping to end as Naruto pulled her hips firmly to his, and buried his rod until it was smashed up against the entrance of her womb to begin filling it with his seed.

She felt a little bit guilty at the satisfaction that she felt from watching his little soldiers begin searching for an egg that had yet to descend from her ovaries. But she attributed it to how she also wanted to carry his child, but feared doing so would only open them up to further harassment from her sister so was taking birth control to avoid it. Yet, she couldn’t help the bit of jealousy that she felt towards Sakura for being so free to declare her own desire to also bear his child and act on it.

But it didn’t last long as through the fogged-up glass of the shower, she could just make out Sakura dropping to her knees to begin sucking on their shared boyfriend’s cock to keep it rigid. Hanabi wiped some condensation from the mirror as she listened to the pink-haired medic suck and slurp on the dick that had given both of them so much pleasure, while she applied a few touches of makeup.

As she finished, she looked back towards the shower to see Sakura having kept Naruto from wilting, was now standing with her hands pressed up against the glass. A moment later she let out a moan as Naruto slipped back into her once more.

Hanabi smirked as Sakura’s breasts were soon pushed up against the glass, and figuring that Naruto, who also should have been getting ready would be too busy enjoying his new fiancé to head into the Hokage’s office said, “I’ll let Mama know that you’re not feeling up to heading into the office today. Enjoy playing hooky.”

Naruto managed to grunt out a quick, “Thanks,” before Sakura turned to kiss him over her shoulder.

Turning away, although she wished that she could also blow off her responsibilities for the day, Hanabi began trying to come up with a good excuse that she could give her adoptive mother for her successor’s absence.


*****************************

Naruto watched as the bandit that he faced sailed off after taking a rasengan to the chest. Confident that the man wouldn’t be getting back up, he turned in time to watch as one of Sai’s Ink constructs, a Fu dog, bit down on the arm of another before tossing him about until the man went limp. While another Fu dog was busy holding an aggressive stance as it growled at a female bandit who had wisely tossed her blade to the ground after watching the two shinobi tear through the gang.

As Sai moved to secure the woman, Naruto created a dozen clones to begin shifting through the bodies to stack the dead and bind the unconscious. He also directed one of the clones to head to the nearby village to alert the local magistrate of their success.

As the clones set about their tasks, he let out a sigh which Sai heard as he approached, and prompted him to say, “I know these missions may seem like a waste of your talents. But they are necessary.”

“I know,” Naruto replied giving a quick nod, although his sigh hadn’t really been a result of the mission that he had been assigned. “But, I was just in this area a few months ago for much the same set of missions, and yet another gang has already sprung up.” Thinking of the greater political ramification he added, “It also probably isn’t a good sign that I am rather happy that they decided to make camp just inside the Land of River’s border since we didn’t need to deal with Iwa or Kumo trying to interfere in the mission.”

Sai inclined his head in agreement since many missions that took place in or near a country that shared a border with those Shinobi Villages in particular, often tended to result in more headaches. Mainly as both were heavily competing with Konoha to secure as many jobs as possible for themselves following the Fourth Shinobi War. With Kumo by far being the most aggressive, which was somewhat understandable since its village had been devastated by the Ten Tail’s beast ball which had destroyed much of it. Furthermore, its rebuilding efforts were further complicated as Konoha had similarly been devasted by Pein’s attack which had leveled much of the village, but thankfully most of its civilians had already been made it to the shelters by that point. But because of these events, the two powers found each other often competing for jobs. Which due to Kumo’s location and less than stellar reputation from its past actions saw it struggle to secure them. As such, they often took the ones that were not assigned to a particular village and would aggressively defend their claims to it. Naturally this had led to quite a few tense confrontations, but luckily no major fights have broken out as of yet. Although, a good reason for that may be that it was usually him or another high ranking jounin from Konoha who would be involved in such potentially troublesome missions, while the Kumo teams tended to be Chunin or Genin due to their manpower shortages.

None of which really had anything to do with the sigh that Sai had assumed was due to his dissatisfaction with the mission. But rather, the reason he had been assigned the mission, which was that it was a form of punishment. As Hanabi in her attempt to cover for his playing hooky had told Tsunade that he was feeling under the weather, which had naturally piqued her curiosity since he had never gotten sick before due to his jinchuriki healing factor. This had resulted in Tsunade paying him a visit around noon, where she had found Sakura and him had moved their sex marathon to the bed where she had been in the process of riding his dick for all it was worth.

When Tsunade had cleared her throat, Sakura had immediately rolled off of him and pulled the covers up over herself, leaving him to try and hide his massive erection with just his hands. Luckily for him, with the S.A.R.A being active, Tsunade had arrived at the conclusion that he wasn’t two-timing Hanabi due to her earlier attempt at covering for him. But that hadn’t stopped the current Hokage from reading him the riot act about needing to take his responsibilities as her successor seriously, at least until she had accidentally let it slip that she had been intending to play hooky herself, after mentioning her losing out on an entry fee for a gambling tournament that was taking place in a nearby town. With her own secret revealed, Tsunade had promised that they would be talking about it more the next day. However, rather than a discussion, when he had showed up at her office, he had been informed that he would be spending the next few weeks bandit hunting.

Still, despite all that, his sigh wasn’t really directed towards the mission per se as rather he just found that he was missing the warmth of his two girlfriends. So aware that his tendency not to be up front and honest about his feelings had nearly caused him to miss out on being with one of them decided to correct Sai as he stated, “Truthfully, it isn’t the mission that has me down. More so the timing of it.” Seeing he had piqued his friend’s interest, he continued, “You’ve heard of the S.A.R.A. which was recently passed.”

Sai nodded, before replying, “Yes, although to be honest I’m surprised that you would agree to it even with the powers that be tying it to your becoming Hokage. I would have assumed that you saw it as breaking your word to Hanabi.”

“I would have,” Naruto replied, “But not only was Hanabi okay with it. She even cleared things up between me and Sakura.”

Sai attention perked up prompting him to ask, “Oh… how?”

Scratching his cheek, while beaming he said, “Well, we haven’t announced anything publicly yet. But I’ll also be taking Sakura as a wife.”

However, to his surprise Sai didn’t seem pleased by the news. Particularly as once his shock wore off, he began to wear the fake smile that he often did back when he had first joined Team Seven. Similar to the one that he had worn back when he had given Sakura the nickname of Ugly. As he recalled the memory, another yet related one quickly took its place as he recalled Sai wearing much the same one when he had given Ino her nickname of Miss Beautiful. However, after a moment Sai’s smile grew more genuine especially as he stated, “Then I believe that congratulations are in order. Still, I was under the impression that you had decided to hide away your true feelings for her.” He quickly added, “That isn’t to say that I thought your feelings for Hanabi were fake. Just, it was always apparent that Sakura was your first love. But, because of what happened with Sasuke, it appeared that you had convinced yourself that you didn’t deserve to pursue it.”

Naruto inclined his head as before admitting, “Yeah…because I felt that I had failed her. Although admittedly I was not honest with her about them either.”

Sai seemed confused by Naruto’s admission which caused him to say, “I cannot say that I agree with that. It was pretty clear to everyone just how much you fancied her. I mean, even I was able to pick up on it.”

Naruto chuckled, before saying “True. But I should have been up front with her, even after I promised her that I would bring Sasuke back. Luckily though, thanks to a little Hyuuga meddling, and the love of a dedicated pervert like Hanabi, things turned out for the best.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Sai said genuinely pleased to see his friend seemingly hitting the jackpot. Although, it did call into question some of the decisions that he had made in terms of his own life. He was about to question Naruto as to what he thought, when both of their attentions were pulled skyward by the sound of a hawk crying out as it circled overhead.

He noticed Naruto frown, and suspected that it was because the Uzumaki feared that the bird was carrying orders that would extend his time from the village. Which with the knowledge that he now possessed regarding his dating Sakura. It helped him to see why Naruto wasn’t thrilled with the mission that they had been assigned as he was no doubt looking to get back to the two women that he cared for.

Deciding to take advantage of his hesitance to call the bird down, and feeling a similar dread except that it would be a summons back to the village, Sai said, “If you’ll indulge me, there is something that I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

Naruto’s gaze shifted downward, and his expression made it clear that he was surprised that Sai seemed as hesitant to find out what message the bird was carrying as he, nevertheless responded, “Go ahead.”

Giving a grateful smile, Sai began, “As you know Ino and I have recently moved in together. But I admit to having certain misgivings…”

Seeing Sai struggling to put his thoughts into words, the Blond suggested, “Because of your time as a Root agent.”

“No,” Sai said with a quick shake of his head, before stating, “If anything I feel that training is a boon for me at present.” He sighed, seeing that his response about Root’s stripping away his emotions would be considered a benefit in his relationship with Ino had confused the Uzumaki. As such he tried to clarify by stating, “In truth I have been living a lie. But, one that I had been content to maintain. Especially after you began dating Hanabi.” The Uzumaki frowned, prompting him to continue, “As we just discussed, it was clear that your feelings for Sakura remained undiminished, and I did not feel that you harbored the same level of romantic interest for Hanabi. Thus, I believed that you were lying to yourself due to your belief that you did not deserve Sakura for failing in your promise to her.”

Naruto wasn’t quite sure what parallels Sai was drawing from his situation, outside of perhaps Ino having been the driving force in the two of them getting together. Much as Hanabi had been in their relationship. He began to wonder if perhaps there had been another woman Sai had been interested in, and that was why his ending up with Hanabi had seemed to matter to him. So, clarifying his own feelings on his current relationship with both of his lovers said, “What you say is true, in terms of desire I had greatly favored Sakura. But, being honest I do love them both which is why my greatest wish for them is their happiness. With Sakura, I believed that happiness would have placed her on a path separate from my own.” His tone took on a melancholic tone as he thought of the former teammate that he had been unable to save, as he continued, “With Sasuke’s death, it’s true that a part of the reason that I didn’t act on my feelings was because I felt that I had failed her. But, it was also cowardice, born from a fear of being rejected since he was no longer around.” He sighed as he wore a self-deprecating smile as he shook his head while stating, “Some hero I turned out to be. I could face a sealed away goddess without breaking into a cold sweat but couldn’t confess my true feelings to the girl that I loved since the Academy.”

Sai frowned due to the Uzumaki’s reply causing him to ask, “Yet would that not make your feelings for Hanabi false? Did you not accept her feelings simply because she pursued you and because you felt that Sakura was outside of your reach?”

“Not at all,” Naruto quickly stated, “It’s true my feelings for her weren’t exactly romantic in nature at first. However, when she confronted me with hers, I promised that I would genuinely take them under consideration. Which meant that if I was going to start anything with her then I needed to be able to return them. Something I whole-heartedly am.” Giving a slightly lustful grin he said, “Besides, even if I had gotten my act together sooner, and been upfront with Sakura about my feelings, well chances are that I’d have found myself in similar circumstances as now. Except with Hanabi being the one pushing something akin to the S.A.R.A.”

“Are you not perhaps allowing your recent successes go to your head a bit,” Sai responded somewhat amused.

Naruto chuckled at the slight ribbing, before stating, “What makes you think these relationships are my doing?” But he then sighed as he looked skyward again before saying, “Well, I guess we better see where Grandma Tsunade is sending us next.” Raising his arm, the hawk dove for it and once it had landed, Naruto removed the small canister attached to its leg. The Hawk immediately took off, which made his mood sink since it not waiting for a response likely meant they were new marching orders, so stealing himself for the bad news and more time away from his lovers pulled the parchment from the container.

Sai’s mood on the other hand had improved at the sign their orders would be keeping them out of Konoha, which was why he felt like he had been hit in the stomach when Naruto said, “Looks like we’re off bandit duty. You’re being summoned back to the village.”

Not allowing the frown that he felt to show, and aware Naruto wasn’t getting what he wanted either asked, “What about you?”

Naruto didn’t bother hiding his disappointment as he replied, “Apparently, I need to meet up with some contact from the Land of Water that is waiting for me at Degarashi Port.”

Sai inclined his head, although he was curious as to why the Hokage wanted to send Naruto to meet with someone who was likely from Kirigakure. Although, he figured that it might be related to his eventually taking over the Hokage position so didn’t push for more details. Seeking to aid his friend, he said, “I’ll finish tending to matters here before heading back to the village. Why don’t you start making you way to Degarashi now?”

Looking towards the bandit survivors which his clones had bound together, Naruto wanted to take his former teammate up on his offer since it would allow him to return home that much sooner. Thus, turning his attention back he asked, “Are you sure?”

Sai smiled genuinely before indicating the Fu dogs that were circling the bandits as he said, “Yes, I shouldn’t have any issue herding the survivors back to town.” Sticking his hand out, he added, “Thank you Naruto. You’ve given me much to think about.”

Naruto still wasn’t sure what had prompted Sai’s earlier questions, but was pleased that he had seemed to have been able to help him. Taking the hand, he said, “Have a safe trip back to the village.” Sai inclined his head before letting go, and turning towards the surviving bandits indicated for them to rise before getting them on the move. Naruto turned away in order to leap to the nearest tree as he began heading southwards towards Degarashi Port while he wondered what new challenges awaited him.

********************************************************

Mei Terumi was dining alone as she sat out on a local restaurant’s patio enjoying a parfait. After enjoying a spoonful, she savored the taste for a moment before taking a moment to check her surroundings, despite not expecting any trouble. She paused though when she noticed a waiter appearing from the restaurant while holding the same dessert that she had ordered. He quickly approached a young couple that were sitting near the edge of the patio which overlooked the sea. Before then placing it on the table between them, and she felt a pang of jealousy as she watched the picturesque scene of the couple sharing it with the backdrop of the ocean and sun setting behind them.

She looked away as she resumed scanning her surroundings, while lamenting the life that hadn’t let her enjoy such moments herself. Granted she had been a little busy due to her needing to stay one step ahead of her predecessor’s hunter-nin, and then leading a successful rebellion against him. So, she couldn’t say that her time had been wasted, but they were still far removed from the life of romance and adventure that she had envisioned when first starting out on the shinobi path.

She sighed as after completing her sweep, she found her gaze returning to the couple, who she assumed had already taken the step towards becoming lovers, as she watched the man take a scoop from the parfait and held the spoon out towards his partner, who didn’t hesitate in accepting the dessert despite his having previously used it himself. The young woman seemed to enjoy that fact as much as the dessert as she slowly let the utensil slip from her lips while staring into her lover’s eyes, whose own reflected how much he was enjoying the moment.

She closed her eyes, and pictured herself in a similar situation although the man’s face remained obscured as she never had metone who had left a lasting impression despite her fascination with the idea of romance. However, the scene quickly faded away to be replaced by Naruto’s visage as he stood opposite from her while saying, “Lady Mei? You’re the contact that I’m supposed to meet with from The Land of Water?”

Mei was a little surprised by his sudden appearance, since Tsunade’s reply to her message about requesting a meeting with Naruto had informed her that he was hunting bandits near River’s border. As such, she had expected that outside of any time that he had would have required to complete his mission, she’d have at least a week to enjoy all the port had to offer, rather than a mere two days. Thinking his rushing to meet with her was a result of the vagueness which she had used when she had communicated her desire to meet with the Uzumaki to the Hokage, , she apologetically said, “Naruto… it looks like you ran straight here. I’m sorry if the lack of specification I used with Lady Tsunade suggested this was a matter which required extreme urgency.”

Naruto gave her a soft smile before indicating towards the empty seat that sat across from her. She nodded her head at his unasked question, so he sat down as he replied, “My rushing here was more of a personal initiative rather than anything stated in Granny Tsunade’s message.”

Mei smiled flirtatiously as she leaned forward to state, “Oh, then perhaps it had to do with who you were meeting with.”

Without missing a beat, Naruto quickly stated, “No, her message only said that I was meeting a contact from Watere here, and the hotel you were staying at. I was heading there when I spotted you sitting out here so realized it probably wasn’t a coincidence.” Despite still being relatively inexperienced with interacting with women in a less then professional setting, he was quickly picking up on the subtle tells they gave off, so recognized that despite Mei’s playful flirting having not been intended to be serious, his blunt response had caused her to wilt slightly so added, “Although finding that you are the person with whom I was to meet with made all the effort to get here sooner all the more worthwhile.”

Mei couldn’t hide her surprise at his compliment, although the feeling emanated more from the notion that he actually seemed to have delivered it purposefully. As result she felt her cheeks begin to warm, especially after he followed it up by giving her a disarming smile.

Still, a part of her was more than a little disappointed by it as well, since her sources within the Leaf had informed her that it appeared Naruto was already taking advantage of the S.A.R.A. Although admittedly what had been relayed to her was more akin to gossip, since the details were centered around how Sakura had moved into the house that he had purchased with Hanabi. However, not quite willing to open with her own reasons for wishing to meet with him, she said, “My, someone has minted himself quite the silver tongue since our last meeting.”

Naruto chuckled as he admitted, “True enough, and although I was certainly rather naïve when it came to some of your past teasing. I like to consider myself a pretty fast learner when I set my mind to it.”

“So, I’ve heard,” Mei said her tone shifting from its previous playfulness to a more neutral one.

Naruto picked up on the subtle shift which he took indicated that she disapproved of whatever she had heard, so asked, “What exactly have you heard, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Oh this and that,” Mei replied dismissively at first, but seeing the Uzumaki’s growing frown stated, “Well as you are undoubtedly aware, news of this Sage Arts Restoration Act that you find yourself subjected to, has spread far and wide.” Embellishing a bit, she added, “Along with it, how it appears that you’ve already gone and found yourself a second lover. If that isn’t a sign that you learn quickly then I don’t know what is. Especially as you had only started dating your first a handful of weeks previously. Can I assume that if you hadn’t been sent away from the village for the last few weeks that you’d be onto your third or fourth already? I must admit that the news disappoints me some. I didn’t think you the type who would put their ambitions above one whom he supposedly gave his heart to. Although I suppose you made it no secret as to how much you coveted the Hokage position, and if anything probably view taking several additional lovers as a bonus afforded to a man of your high standing.”

Naruto didn’t bother hiding the frown that the former Mizukage’s words had created, even as he wondered how she had learned of his taking Sakura as a lover. He didn’t think Tsunade would announce as much, despite her being somewhat cross with him at the moment, and while he had told Sai, he imagined that at best his former teammate would have only reached Konoha a few hours ago. But, he suspected that if anyone had contacts that might be able to ferret out the truth it would be a former Kage.

Still, not liking what she was implying of his character, he replied calmly, “If you must know, it was actually Hanabi’s idea that I go along with it.”

Mei let out a scoff of disbelief as she pictured the young Hyuuga who if her eyes could burn a person in the same manner as the Mangekyo Sharingan of the Uchiha then she would have long been reduced to ash whenever she had openly flirted with the rather clueless blond. Stating as much she said, “I find that hard to believe. From my interactions with her, she seemed to cling to you quite fervently and disapproved of any other woman who displayed the slightest bit of interest.”

Naruto’s demeanor shifted as he thought of his Hyuuga lover, which caused Mei to feel a pang of jealousy as she wished that there was someone to whom she mattered enough that the mere thought of her would brighten their mood. He grew more introspective as he stated, “I cannot blame you for finding it hard to believe. But, the reason she was like that was because while she had every intention of winning my heart. My own was set on winning Sakura’s. As such, she likely felt that she was running in a race that she was already way behind in, and did not like the idea of facing any further competition.”

Mei couldn’t sense any deceit from the Uzumaki but pointed out, “That doesn’t quite explain why she would be open to these new competitors, especially after she seemingly won.”

“No,” Naruto admitted, but growing a little self-conscious now that he was delving a bit closer to his current love life stated, “Well…let’s just say that she imagined a few scenarios where perhaps I did end up with Sakura, and would have hoped something like the S.A.R.A. existed. Plus, she understands me enough to know that just because I was happy to build a relationship with her, it didn’t mean that the intensity of my feelings for Sakura had faded. After all, if certain things had worked out differently, those same feelings for Sakura would have necessitated my being happy for her even if it wasn’t with me.”

Mei felt a sympathetic pang of sadness for the younger man as it was clear that he was thinking of the friend whose life he ended, on her behalf as he had intended to murder all the current Kage to become the central point of hatred and darkness for the Shinobi World. Still the dark cloud didn’t last long as his thoughts returned to Hanabi as he added with a sense of bemusement, “Plus, I think Hanabi derives a deep sense of satisfaction from the idea her being all for the S.A.R.A. really irks her sister.”

“Does she now?” Mei said in a neutral tone, “But what about you?”

Naruto gave the matter some serious thought as he said, “Well at first, I was against it, and would have walked away from becoming the Hokage if Hanabi had wanted me to. Now though, I still hate why it was implemented, but cannot deny that I’m happy that it was. How could I not be? I’m currently dating two amazing women. The one I chased since I was in the academy, and the one who chased me since after I became a genin and whom I’ve come to love just as deeply. Saying my feelings remain the same on it at this point would be a lie.”

The former Mizukage found herself pleased by the response as she felt it displayed traits that would be useful to her. But, adopting a more business-like tone she asked, “I’m glad to hear things have worked out for you. But what do you intend to do with the women who will be given over to you that you don’t have any current feelings for?”

She was surprised as Naruto quickly responded, “Well first they would have to be accepted by Hanabi and Sakura.” Noticing Mei’s reaction, he asked, “Is that what brought you here? Are you here to question me on some kunoichi’s behalf.”

Mei fought back a frown at the Uzumaki’s question due to her feeling as if the reason that he thought she was there on someone else’s behalf was because of her age. But, she didn’t let it color her response as she replied, “More, or less. But assuming that she has their blessing, what is it that you would want from her?”

Naruto wasn’t quite sure himself, but considering the qualities of his other two lovers responded in a heartfelt manner as he said definitively, “A partner. Someone who can tell me when they feel I’m in the wrong, and who can anticipate my needs as much as I hope to be able to anticipate theirs.”

“I… I see,” Mei said feeling her heart flutter a bit at his words as his eyes shone with the earnestness of his response. But, although tempted to be swept off of her feet, she said, “So, what if you find you are just incompatible with whoever another village selects, would you just send her back and have her bare the shame of failing to meet her village’s demands.”

Naruto frowned, for a moment as he considered the ramifications, and after coming to a conclusion, he nodded to himself before answering, “I wouldn’t put it quite so harshly. But yes, I suppose I would. While I would feel sorry for the kunoichi in question if she viewed being sent home as a failure in her mission. To be honest, her feeling such would be a good indication why it wouldn’t work out.”

“Oh really,” Mei said in surprise, “What do you mean?”

Giving a soft smile, due to who he was about to mention he said, “Well for starters, Hanabi has made it clear that when everything is said and done. She wants whatever unit that is form at the end to be a family first. Which means our first loyalty must be to each other. If a potential partner is bummed because she feels that she failed her village, then everything motivating her actions will be in conjunction to that.”

“Meaning that she isn’t putting you above her own concerns,” Mei stated.

But she received a quick shake of the head from Naruto, who corrected her by stating, “Not just me, but Sakura and Hanabi…not to mention any other women that they approve of who I know would be given an equal right to decide on candidates in the future.” Mei was a bit surprised to hear that both Sakura and Hanabi would be willing to extend their apparent vetoing powers with any kunoichi that succeeded in their bid to becoming Naruto’s lover. Which must have shown as the Uzumaki said, “You shouldn’t be surprised, especially considering the Clan Hanabi hails from. Her primary concern is that the S.A.R.A. could result in a similar caste structure as the Hyuuga. Therefore, our loyalty must be first to each other, and not to the stated reason for the act to have been passed.”

“That is a rather thin tightrope that you find yourself balanced upon,” Mei said with a hint of concern for the man sitting across from her, “You would be the Hokage, is not your loyalty also committed to the village.”

“That goes without saying,” Naruto replied quickly, “However, would not my family also be considered a part of the village. Sacrificing one for the benefit of the other, only diminishes both.” Chuckling, he added, “Plus, I’ll also have to find a way to balance Konoha’s interests against those of the other Shinobi Villages. After all, it appears that I will have partners who call them home as well.”

Mei smiled at hearing that, so standing said, “I think I’ve heard enough. I suppose it is time to inform you to who Kiri has selected for your consideration to participate in the S.A.R.A.”

Naruto looked around expecting to see a kunoichi approaching, but not seeing anyone focused on Mei as he asked in clear disbelief, “You?”

Mei gave a slight frown as she asked in a tone suggesting she might take it as an insult, “You disapprove.”

“N…no,” Naruto quickly said standing as well, “It’s just you were the Mizukage, and are so accomplished. Not to mention extremely beloved in your village, so it is hard to imagine that they would ship you off for what is essentially a breeding program.”

Mei turned away as she felt her cheeks begin to heat up from Naruto’s sincere praise, particularly since he didn’t resort to something superficial such as her beauty. Which made her briefly wonder if he even considered her to be such, especially as he had proven resistant to her charms in the past. Focusing on the matter at hand, she said, “Please walk with me.” After leaving the restaurant, Naruto followed alongside her as they walked along the coast as she informed him, “Thank you for the kind words, but I find myself in much the same situation as yourself. As you know, while under Obito’s control my predecessor started persecuting those who possessed Kekkai Genkai. Because of this many Bloodlines were wiped out, leaving Kirigakure with precious few to call upon.”

Naruto inclined his head at the reminder of Kiri’s recent tragic history, but not seeing what that had to do with her selection said, “Yet, that doesn’t explain why they would select you. If anything, your possessing multiple Kekkai Genaki would be all the more reason for them to send someone else. Konoha has already made it clear that any children resulting from a relationship would be considered members of the village”

Mei gave him a sad smile, before saying with a hint of sadness, “True, but I suppose my village feels that any children from such a union would inherit a love of their mother’s village as well. Unless of course you would insist they only be made privy to their Heritage as shinobi of the Leaf.”

Shaking his, Naruto answered definitively, “No. As one who was denied the truth of his own heritage for so long. I would never deny a child of mine from knowing where they come from.” Turning to give her a cheerful smile, he added, “Although to be honest, my hope is that the mother of said child wouldn’t only be imparting a love for her homeland in the one she bore.” He turned to look at the sun as it finished setting below the horizon as he added, “After all, it may very well be those children who help to solidify the peace we have tentatively built between the villages.”

The sight of Naruto staring off into the distance burned itself into her eyes, and again she felt herself drawn to him. So much so that she nearly decided to abandon the plan which she had come up to ensure that she wasn’t trapped in some loveless marriage. However, deciding to proceed she said, “Chojuro will be pleased to hear that. Especially if another kunoichi ends up being selected.”

Naruto kept his voice neutral as he said, “So, what you’re saying is that you truly have no interest in me.”

Mei gave a soft smile of amusement, as she suspected that regardless of his own interest the idea that she felt no attraction to him was a blow to the ego. But, she replied, “No, I would not say that. However, I’ve dedicated a considerable portion of my youth for Kirigakure’s benefit, and had to sacrifice many of my hopes and dreams for the future to its betterment. I am not so inclined as to sacrifice the remainder to what you accurately describe is nothing but a glorified breeder program.”

Hearing her echo his earlier sentiments quickly brought up a question which he gave voice to by asking, “Still, if you feel that is the case why agree to even meet with me?”

Mei stopped walking as she turned to look at the moon as she approached a nearby guardrail. Naruto followed in her wake, and as she stared off into the night sky, his own gaze was locked onto her as he tried to etch the sight into his memory as he found it breathtaking. A result of the almost otherworldly glow as she seemed to be standing next to the moon itself due to its reflection being cast on the water. The moment was cut short as her beautiful features crinkled into annoyance as she said rather plaintively, “Because I deserve romance dammit!”

She sent a harsh glare his way, due to his letting out a chuckle at her destroying the mental picture that he had just been holding. He quickly apologized before approaching to join her beside the rail to ask, “And this was something that you couldn’t find in Kiri?”

“Not really,” Mei said after turning back to look out over the water, with the disappointment that she felt at such being the case being clearly evident in her voice. Turning to him, she was quick to add, “Don’t get me wrong. There were many suitors, but mostly from Daimyo looking for a trophy wife of some status. They offered money, and palaces but little else. There were a few from some high-ranking shinobi from the other villages, but it was clear what they hoped to gain.”

Naruto nodded, before saying, “Yet, why agree to come meet with me. You could say the goal here is much the same.”

“Because,” Mei replied with a note of hope, “You can offer me something that they cannot.” It was clear that Naruto wasn’t sure what she meant so she continued, “During the war, I was transferred to the Battle with Madara by some shinobi who were taught the Hiraishin jutsu. It has come to my knowledge that since the war has ended, unlike the other users, you’ve mastered it to the point that you can teleport by yourself.” Receiving a slow nod, she asked, “And as such perhaps you have… been marking locations of interest?” Receiving another nod, her face brightened as she said, “Perfect! You see, it is my hope that perhaps you’d be willing to teleport me to places where I’m not well known. Where I can have a little romance.” Naruto frowned, a reaction that Mei was expecting since she didn’t imagine very many men would be thrilled at the idea of acting as a glorified taxi so she could find dates with others. She tried to explain how he could benefit by using her status as a former Mizukage to slow down the candidate selection process for the S.A.R.A. as it wouldn’t be proper for another marriage candidate to just be thrown into the mix so soon after her selection.

Yet, before she could begin laying the groundwork he surprised her by saying, “Okay.” Mei’s surprise must have been evident on her face as with a hint of amusement he asked, “You weren’t expecting me to agree?”

“I must admit, not quite so readily,” Mei replied, finding herself both pleased and a little smitten especially after receiving a wide smile.

Proving that he was coming into his own as a Kage, he said, “Well, I cannot say it is solely without selfish reason. But, I figure that going along with this will buy me a little breathing room before someone else is tossed my way. I’m assuming you’ve already made this clear to your successor, that a woman of your status deserves some time to see if we can even function as a couple.” It was her turn to mutely nod, so Naruto said, “Perfect. Then perhaps we should go gather your belongings and I can Hiraishin us to Konoha.”

She inclined her head at his suggestion, and as they began heading to her hotel, despite seemingly getting what she wanted. She found herself feeling annoyed at how easily she had, so stated, “I must say again that I’m surprised by how willing you are to go along with my scheme. I cannot imagine many would be comfortable with the idea of a potential bride going out to meet other men.”

Naruto chuckled before responding, “Well, I cannot say the idea exactly thrills me. But, if you were to meet someone, well I guess it just isn’t meant to be. Moreover, I think such… concerns on my part are unwarranted. After all, if it was just sex you were interested in, there are far easier avenues that are open to you.” Nodding his head towards a bar that they were passing, he continued, “For starters, you could go into there, and announce that you were interested in a partner for the night and I imagine that you’d have a line forming out the door within seconds.”

With a flirtatious tone she asked, “Could I expect to see you among them?”

“No,” Naruto said almost without thought causing her to wilt some, at least until he added, “That isn’t to say I wouldn’t be tempted. But it does lead me to the other reason why that if I can help you find happiness with someone I should. I do not have the final say as to whether you will be accepted into the family that we are starting. That right belongs to Hanabi and Sakura. So, even if we have great chemistry together, but you alienate them…well that would be that.”

Mei was surprised, as although he had mentioned such being the case already. In truth, she still expected Naruto would consider his say paramount. His reminding her that any path with him, could potential be blocked by his current lovers made her wonder if she wouldn’t be better served simply giving herself to him, as it adequately demonstrated to her just what high regard he held them in. But, as a kunoichi, she was always taught to keep her options open, so resolved to play the field a little. Yet, couldn’t deny that a part of her feared doing so might mean missing out on the opportunity that had fallen right into her lap, simply because it had.

*******************************************************

Naruto turned back towards Mei with a smile as he shifted her suitcase to his other hand while digging for the keys to his home. She smiled back, although a bit nervously as she likely wondered how the two women already engaged to him would react. A concern Naruto also carried as he turned away to insert the key into the lock, while thinking to himself, “Hopefully better than the guard at the gate did.”

Not that the shinobi on duty had said anything inappropriate, but at least to Naruto he had felt that the late-night guard’s mind had certainly taken a turn toward the perverse when he had signed them in, and declared that Mei would be staying at his home for the duration of her stay in the village. Judging from the shinobi’s jealous looks afterwards, Naruto was rather certain that news of his situation had spread. Particularly as he was certain that by now Sakura had already moved in. With that being the case, he was glad that they had decided to Hiraishin to the village immediately, rather than waiting for morning as the streets had been mostly deserted.

Turning towards Mei, he could see her studying the foyer of his home and for a moment wondered if they would meet her standards. He was put somewhat at ease that he wouldn’t be living with a diva due to her stating, “You appear to have a lovely home. You’ve obviously put quite a bit of work into it.”

Turning towards her and sounding somewhat surprised he asked, “Is it really that apparent?”

Giving him a nod Mei said, “Yes, the home appears to be recently renovated. To be honest I was somewhat surprised by that. I had thought Pein’s attack had devasted the village by leveling it.”

Naruto nodded, before answering, “True, but this house was located on the outskirts of the village so survived. It’s owner moved to the capital shortly after the attack, and as they couldn’t find anyone to meet their price, it sat here abandoned until Hanabi and I bought it. It took an army of clones, but we got it back into shape in record time.”

Mei smiled politely, before stating with a hint of annoyance, “Still, I’m surprised you wouldn’t leave a seal to just Hiraishin us here rather than teleporting us to the center of a muddy field.”

Naruto grimaced while considering telling her that he just hadn’t really had time, but figured even a minor lie would be a poor way to begin a relationship so admitted, “I do have one here.” Seeing Mei’s eyes beginning to narrow due to the hem of her dress having landed in the muck upon the appearing he continued, “However, it is frowned upon me bypassing the gate with it as Tsunade wants me to check in and out when on missions.”

“I hope that isn’t going to hold true for our arrangement,” Mei said, not exactly wanting a log of her activities to exist.

“No,” Naruto quickly said calming her, “It’s a rule only for when I take official missions. So, when I Hiraishin out of the village for your dates, it will not be necessary to enter the village via the gate.”

Although she showed how pleased she was by giving him a smile, the Kage in her almost felt like admonishing him since she knew there were several ways that she could harm the village due to his willingness to circumnavigate the security of it. If she had intended to harm the village that was. Still, she did find herself wondering if perhaps the Uzumaki wasn’t putting a little too much trust in the current alliance between villages. But, she decided to keep the observation to herself, especially since she didn’t exactly want anyone to ask why she would be leaving the village.

Instead, she decided to comment on the lack of a welcome wagon as she said, “I’m somewhat surprised our arrival hasn’t elicited anyone to come greet us. I know how I’d want to welcome my lover home after his being away for so long.”

Naruto felt a blush threaten to appear due to Mei having added a seductive purr to her voice, which prompted his imagination to begin conjuring a few scenarios involving the former Mizukage welcoming him home after an extended period away. One of which involved her waiting at the entrance of his home in nothing but an apron and offering him the famed choice of dinner, a bath, or her. He had little difficultly imagining what his lower half would chose as it began to respond to the daydream.

Yet, he quickly shook of the image of himself leaping on the Mizukage in favor of defending the lovers that he currently had by saying, “Well, it’s possible they might have called it a day early, or were called away to the hospital for an emergency.” However, even as he said as much, he didn’t quite believe it himself as the house didn’t exactly feel empty to him. As such, he called out, “Honeys, I’m home.”

He frowned as sudden;y he felt a stillness settle within the house as if his calling out had stirred something terrible within. A moment later he heard a scramble take place, which sounded as if it was coming from the kitchen towards the back. He began to move towards it, when he heard a muffled shout which became clearer as the door leading to the kitchen was thrown open, “…alm down. We agreed we’d talk with him first.” To his surprise, Ino appeared in the hallway, and from her red puffy eyes it was clear that she had been crying, although he attributed the redness to her cheeks to the bottle of wine that she was holding.

Getting over the surprise her appearance in his home had created, it gave way to concern due to the glare she was giving him, before shouting, “You bastard!” At which point, she chucked the wine bottle at him.

Despite being caught flatfooted by the attack, Naruto easily caught the still full bottle before it impacted with his skull. Although the open bottle began to spill its contents as he was still processing what had just happened. Ino looked like she was going to launch herself at him next, but luckily for him Sakura quickly appeared behind her and wrapped her arms around the blonde kunoichi’s torso trapping her arms as well. She then lifted her up as Ino began angrily and ineffectively kicking at him as his pink-haired lover lifted her up and carried her back into the kitchen.

Hanabi appeared from the doorway next, and sent a somewhat bemused look his way as she approached. Taking the now empty bottle from him, she then gave him a deep kiss as she said, “Welcome home.”

“What the hell just happened?” Naruto asked after Hanabi pulled away from him.

Shrugging slightly, the Hyuuga replied, “We’re hoping you can tell us? Sai got back earlier this morning, and apparently decided to suddenly end their relationship and according to Ino, it is because you told him to.” Naruto was just about to say he did no such thing, but Hanabi beat him to the punch by adding, “Although, since she showed up on our lawn with bottle in hand and shouting for you. I imagine she’s already three sheets to the wind, and so isn’t the most reliable of sources.”

“You think,” Naruto said, causing Hanabi to simply shrug.

However, her smile slipped some as she called attention to the woman behind him to ask, “What’s she doing here?”

A question which prompted Naruto to frown as he was suddenly concerned that he’d soon have more than the enraged Yamanaka to deal with. Hoping to buy some time, he asked, “Didn’t Granny Tsunade tell you?”

Hanabi quickly shook her head in the negative as she responded, “She just said that you would probably be delayed getting back because you were meeting with a representative from Kirigakure.”

Wondering if Tsunade was still getting back at him for forcing her to miss her gambling tournament because of his playing hooky, he hesitantly explained, “Well… that’s more or less true… but it was regarding my possibly marrying her too.”

Despite Naruto’s whispering of the last part, Hanabi had little issue reading his lips. She surprised both her lover and the former Mizukage as she said, “Oh is that all.”

Naruto looked visibly relieved, and wasn’t about to question his good fortune. But, winced slightly as the ex-Mizukage said, “I’m surprised to hear you say that. I always got the feeling that you didn’t like me very much.”

Hanabi met the older woman’s curious gaze as she replied, “You’re right. To be honest I always thought you were a bit of a hussy.” Naruto began to fear the countdown for the explosion that he had previously avoided had just resumed as he had little trouble picturing the indignant look that the ex-Mizukage at his back was probably wearing. Hanabi didn’t seem the least bit intimidated as she continued, “Especially with how you were always flirting with Naruto like some desperate lovestruck puppy.” However, before a furious Mei could retort, the Hyuuga pushed herself against Naruto so that his back hit the wall. She then kissed him deeply and hungrily with a promise of more to come later as she placed her hand on his cock giving it a firm squeeze.

Naruto groaned as he pulled her close, due to her awakening a hunger in him to claim her there and then. But, Hanabi had other ideas as she pulled away before giving the stunned Mizukage a satisfied smirk before continuing, “But, as you can see, I have no need to be that jealous little girl any longer. He is already mine, now. Besides, ultimately the way to his bed lies through me and Sakura.”

Mei recovered from her surprise, and was a little annoyed at how jealous the display had made her. But not wanting to let the younger woman get the better of her said diplomatically, “I’m glad to see that we’ll be able to start over fresh. But, just to be clear I’m not exactly here to find a path to his bedroom.”

Hanabi gave a slight nod of acknowledgement to the former Mizukage’s words, but while she kept her face neutral. Naruto had the distinct impression that she was rather annoyed at the idea that it didn’t appear that Mei was interested in becoming one of his lovers. However, mindful of the apparent enraged Yamanaka in his kitchen, he hoped to leave the issue for another time as he asked, “Hanabi, would you mind showing Mei to one of the empty rooms? I’m going to see what it was that I appear to have done to piss Ino off.”

Hanabi looked like she was about to refuse, but she wasn’t the only one as Mei said, “Oh don’t bother. I’m curious to see how this all pans out.” A sentiment that Hanabi also seemed to share.

Naruto sighed, before doing his best to try and get the two women to listen to him. Primarily as the last thing that he thought Ino would appreciate would be for whatever was upsetting her to be discussed in front of an audience treating it like they were on a daytime talkshow.

*******************************************************

Ino was sitting on a stool situated near the kitchen’s island as she cried impotently now that she found herself unable to unleash the anger that she felt towards the Uzumaki. Sakura was rubbing her back in a supportive manner, but she imagined that if she tried to dash out of the room again, she’d quickly find herself planted back down on the stool. She received a small glimpse of this being the case when she heard the door open, and upon seeing Naruto stepping into the kitchen the supportive hand moved to her shoulder and clamped down in a grip that she would claim was just short of vice-like.

Something which no doubt put her pink-haired friend’s lover at ease as he tentatively continued into the kitchen despite the glare that he was receiving from her.

Pulling out a stool from the opposite side of the island, he sat on it as he asked, “Ino. I’m sorry about things not working out between you and Sai… but I swear I had nothing to do with it.”

“Really,” Ino said her tone making it clear that she didn’t believe him, “Then why did he say that is was only after talking to you that he came to the conclusion that he couldn’t continue to pretend that he was interested in me as anything but a friend.”

“Fucking Sai,” Naruto thought to himself as he racked his brain while recalling the various conversations that he had with the former Root member over the last several weeks which might have led him to suddenly terminated his relationship with Ino. He sighed defeatedly when he began to suspect that the conversation they had prior to his leaving to meet with Mei had been the culprit.

Ino upon hearing it, immediately interpreted it as his admitting his guilt so tried to surge up and leap at him. Yet found herself unable to move as Sakura’s grip tightened and kept her butt planted in place. Ino tried to throw her arm off while drunkenly saying, “Let me go Forehead! Just look at him…he’s all but admitted it.”

Sakura ignored the insult, although her grip tightened as she squeezed down on Ino’s shoulder while saying, “Calm down. He’s done no such thing.”

Naruto nodded quickly as Ino finding herself unable to shake free of Sakura’s grip settled for glaring at him. Hopping to calm her down, although he was now fairly confident that he may bear some minor responsibility. Although not so much in convincing Sai to break up with her, at the very least arriving to the conclusion that he should so said, “Look Ino…” He trailed off as due to Sakura’s eyes widening as if he was about to step on some buried explosive device, quickly amended his tone before he continued, “Sai and I talked about a lot of things over the course of our mission. But your relationship wasn’t one of them. In fact, the only relationships that we ended up talking about were mine.”

“I’d be interested in hearing what you had to say,” Hanabi said after stepping into the kitchen while carrying a soaked rag which she had gotten from the linen closet in order to clean up the spilled wine.

Naruto looked in her direction as she moved towards the sink to wring it out, and set it on the divider. But, in actuality he was keeping his eye on the door, hoping that Mei unlike his Hyuuga lover would listen to him and at the very least remain in the hall. As he was all the more certain that having an audience while discussing how her relationship had ended would not be useful in getting the Yamanaka to calm down. Having felt that he had convinced both women to remain outside the room, he felt a flash of annoyance at Hanabi for her disruption. However, he quickly calmed as he admitted to himself that she had a right to know what he had said.

Especially as her voice did little to contain her curiosity as she asked, “What did you end up discussing about us?”

“He was curious about my feelings for you actually,” Naruto said giving her a warm smile, “Or more accurately, how genuine they were.” Seeing a frown threatening to appear on her face, he continued, “From Sai’s perspective, it was apparent that Sakura was who I was truly interested in romantically.”

“Not just him,” Hanabi said letting some of her old frustrations show through the tone of her voice.

Naruto took her hand gently, before giving her an apologetic smile as she said, “Let me finish.” Receiving a nod, he continued, “But, he was convinced that I felt that I didn’t deserve her because of what happened with Sasuke. Therefore, as Hanabi never hid her own feelings for me, he was of the belief that since I felt that I didn’t deserve the woman that I wanted. I agreed to be with Hanabi out of some sort of obligation to respond positively to her feelings.”

“And,” Hanabi said impatiently, perhaps due to the topic dredging up some of her insecurities regarding his feelings.

Still, he took a moment to make sure he phrased his response to ensure there would be no misunderstanding. Especially as Sakura and even Ino appeared as be curious about what he was going to say. So after a moment, he stated, “Well, I told him that he was wrong of course. Admittedly, I did love Sakura first. As a part of that love, I wanted her to be happy, and so I long ago accepted that it might not be with me.” Keeping his focus purely on Hanabi, he continued, “Regarding my feelings for you, I did feel an obligation to respond to them.” Hanabi’s face dropped, at least until he added, “But that obligation was whether or not I could respond to them honestly and say I love you in the same manner. I hope that you feel I do.” Hanabi’s eyes grew a little watery as she nodded. Looking across the island, he was pleased to see that Sakura appeared to be similarly affected. But, the ire had returned to Ino’s eyes leading him to believe that she had arrived at a similar conclusion as he, which he voiced by stating, “I’m guessing if that was the catalyst for his coming back and ending your relationship, then he must have felt that he couldn’t.”

Sakura being moved by Naruto’s words caused her grip on Ino to momentarily slacken. So Ino placing her hands on the porcelain countertop stood up forcefully, causing her stool to topple over, which Sakura moved to the side to avoid as the Yamanaka angerly shouted, “I don’t believe you. He’s the one that came onto me first when he called me Miss Beautiful. Now you’re telling me that was all a lie?”

“Not a lie…” Naruto began to say, before pausing for a moment as he had a sudden epiphany, this time recalling when Sai had first been introduced to the team as Sasuke’s replacement, and the punch that he had received for calling Sakura ugly. This led him to suspect that Sai had concluded that he’d end up receiving another such reaction from Ino if he had given her such a nickname, and so had decided to go with the opposite of what he actually felt when addressing her. Picking up with the new information in mind he continued, “… but perhaps just a clumsy attempt to fit in, especially after how rocky his first joining our squad was.”

Ino frowned at him as she said, “Are you saying that he felt I was ugly.”

Naruto saw that behind Ino, Sakura was reaching the same conclusion that he had, and almost immediately began to look somewhat guilty as she began to feel that she might have had a hand in the failed relationship as well. Hoping to alleviate her concerns, as well as to calm Ino down he said, “I don’t know. It is hard to believe anyone would consider you to be that.” His plan worked at little too well as he noticed both of his lovers now looking at him as if he was perhaps moving onto some thin ice by complimenting another woman’s looks so brazenly in front of them. Resolving to make sure he was more open with his compliments on their beauty going forward, especially as he noticed Ino cheeks seemed to brighten a little at the comment as it served to softened her anger for a moment. Hoping to move the conversation to less dangerous territory, he said, “However, I think it best if I don’t try to speak for him. In fact, I think it might be for everyone’s benefit if we put a pin in this conversation till tomorrow when he can speak for himself, and we can straighten this all out. If you want, you can use one of our unoccupied rooms for the night, and I’ll head over to your apartment with you tomorrow.”

Ino’s anger having begun to recede suddenly looked tired as the bottle worth of wine she had previously drunk began to have a drowsing effect on her. She gave a short nod, so he turned to Hanabi to ask, “Would you mind taking her up to one of the rooms?”

Hanabi gave an amused smile as she said playfully, “You two are not going to pick up where you left off again and get yourself banished for another month are you?”

“No,” Naruto said returning her smile, “Getting caught in the act once is enough.”

“Ah, too bad,” she pouted playful. “I was hoping to join in.” Turning towards the Yamanaka, she said, “Come on Ino. I’ll take you upstairs where you can freshen up before bed.”

Ino didn’t say anything as she walked past him looking despondent, and made sure not to look at him as she did so. He wanted to tell her everything would be alright, but felt his words would be nothing but a temporary platitude. He did feel a hint of concern as she stepped into the hall, fearing that she’d react negatively if Mei was lurking near the door. But, if the Mizukage had been eavesdropping then she must have had enough sense not to linger about as he suspected Ino wouldn’t have been too pleased.

Turning towards Sakura, he said, “Well that was some welcome back.”

His pink haired lover smiled In agreement, before saying, “Thanks for covering for me back there. This is beginning to look like it’s my fault now isn’t.”

Naruto shook his head, as he said, “There’s plenty of fault to go around. Sure, Sai probably called her Miss Beautiful because he feared getting punched in the face again.” He paused and chuckled as Sakura looked rather embarrassed at her outburst from being called ugly. But he soon carried on stating, “Which considering I almost ate a bottle just now, probably was a very real fear on his part. But Ino was the one that decided to pursue him as a result. And truthfully, he probably wasn’t all that well equipped to deal with it considering how strong you girls can come onto a guy you’re interested in. My telling him about our getting together though has showed him that giving into her advances probably was not the best way to proceed, and he ended it with typical Sai aplomb.”

Sakura nodded in agreement before proving a portion of his point valid as she stepped towards him, and placing her hand on his groin said, “Speaking of coming on strong. I need you back inside me. You have no idea how hard the past month has been.”

Naruto’s cock almost instantly hardened from her touch, as he pulled her into a passionate kiss. Despite wanting to do nothing more than lift her up and take her right there in the kitchen. He was mindful of the fact that he now had two houseguests, with the former Mizukage being currently unaccounted and the other being a heartbroken Yamanaka and so pulled back to say, “I’ll need to take a raincheck. I should check to see that Mei has settled in, and then grab myself a quick shower.”

Although disappointed, Sakura didn’t want to see her lover sent away once more due to their being caught so said, “Well, hurry up on the first. Because if you’re quick enough, there’s no reason that we can’t do the second together. Although, I wouldn’t plan on it being too quick.” Then to ensure he was suitably motivated; she lifted her skirt to show just how wet she had gotten as a result of their brief kiss.

Rather motivated indeed, he quickly set about seeing that their prestigious guest was taken care of and was pleased to find that after settling Ino into one of the rooms, Hanabi had done likewise for Mei. Allowing Naruto to quickly jump into the shower, and soon found himself joined by his lovers as they set about recreating the conditions of the morning that had ended with his month-long banishment from the village.

*********************************************************

Naruto finished signing his name, and applying the Hokage’s seal to a form which was for the approval of purchasing new textbooks for the Academy. As he gave it one last readthrough, he felt a sense of pride in his accomplishments, many of which would appear in the upcoming lessons the books would be used to teach. Confident the form had no errors, he placed it in the outbox for Tsunade to review in the morning, before it would be sent on. Thinking of the woman that he would be replacing someday, he frowned as things were still rather tense between them. Which prompted him to think to himself, “Well of course they are, she caught you in the midst of fucking her apprentice.” He sat back in the chair and sighed while wondering how he could return things back to how they were between them before he had taken Sakura as a lover.

Although, to be honest, he wasn’t sure if there was a way. Since, upon his return to the village, Tsunade had remained rather distant and cold towards him, making him wonder if she was still angry at him for letting her down. Which while admittedly, his playing hooky had led to her missing a gambling tournament that she had been planning to attend. What he had suspected had truly upset her was it appearing as if he was taking his duties too lightly. However, with it having been several weeks since his return, and the tension between them having remained despite how diligent he had been in his duties since, he was beginning to wonder if something else wasn’t eating at her.

But, she wouldn’t be the only blonde in his life currently that he was concerned about, as Ino was still living with them. Although, in the Yamanaka’s case it was easier to identify what her issue was, since much as he had feared would be the case, Sai had admitted to having never really loved Ino, and even worse had never found her all that attractive to begin with. Luckily for him, Sakura had mentioned to Ino before their arrival at the apartment the pair had recently rented that it may have been her own overreaction to being called ugly which had prompted Sai to call her by the seemingly pet name of Miss Beautiful. A fact which Sai had ended up confirming. Unfortunately, Sai had also admitted that he had found it easier to just go along with the Yamanaka’s rather aggressive courting, and after they had begun dating, demands.

Ino to his surprise, had seemed to calmly accepted Sai’s explanations, and subsequent ending of their relationship. However, she had broken down when an easily to see pleased Sai had asked how they were going to handle the apartment, since they had sighed a year lease, and neither of them would be able to easily afford it on one income. This had nearly led to him earning a thrashing from Sakura, who had yelled at him about it being something that didn’t need to be settled at that exact moment. However, she had settled for just escorting Ino out of the apartment. Although, Sai had given an understanding nod, and tried to appear morose about the ending of the relationship, it was clear to Naruto that he was actually feeling rather upbeat.

Naruto hadn’t followed after Sakura or Ino, as instead he had headed for the Hokage’s office to give his own report about his mission, and was where he had learned things were not quite back to normal between him and Tsunade. To his surprise, the Hokage had appeared especially irked, when she learned that his meeting with Mei while it had been related to the S.A.R.A, it wasn’t so much his meeting with a representative to discuss terms of a kunoichi joining the village in order to marry him. But, that Mei was the potential spouse. He had tried to soothe things over, by mentioning that Mei didn’t appear all that interested in him. But, if anything that had appeared to just annoy her further, at which point she had dismissed him.

Returning home, Naruto had then been surprised to learn that it had been decided that Ino would be staying with them for the remainder of the lease that she had entered into with Sai. Although, truthfully, he wasn’t so surprised by Sakura’s offering as much to her friend. So much as Hanabi seemingly going along with it. Especially as there appeared to be about ten months remaining on it, and imagined that having the Yamanaka around would cramp the hedonistic lifestyle that she could otherwise be enjoying.

Although, admittedly having Mei around was also putting somewhat of a brake on it, at least in terms of enjoying his two lovers anywhere he pleased in their house. It hadn’t necessarily stopped them from enjoying each other at all hours of the day, as with a simple look and a nod they’d quickly communicate their desire and he’d find himself led to the bedroom with either one or both of them as they let their passions consume though. He noticed that both Sakura and Hanabi seemed to be particularly vocal during these encounters, as if they were trying to let the other two women know just what they were doing despite the soundproofing they had installed. Naruto admitted that these rendezvous also excited him quite a bit. Particularly as Ino had become something of a neet since her breakup with Sai and so spent most of her time in the bedroom next to theirs. So, the idea that she might be listening while his lovers cried out his name in pleasure was something of an ego booster and aphrodisiac rolled into one.

Turning his thoughts from the carnal pleasures that he had partaken in. His focus settled on Mei, whose own pursuits to find love seemed to be grinding to a halt. Which had admittedly gotten off to a rough start, as surprisingly Hanabi upon learning the full scope of Mei plan to date other men while living with them had nearly kicked her out. But, Naruto had been able to show her the bright side of the situation, by pointing out that due to her status as a former Mizukage, they wouldn’t need to rush and find more candidates for him to marry. This left him free to dedicate most of his free time to being with her and Sakura. After a weekend of demonstrating this, he had brought her on board to his way of thinking. A downside to the slower pace though was that he and Sakura were no longer trying to have a baby, since neither of them necessarily wanted to be in the midst of exchanging vows as her water broke.

With Hanabi’s acceptance of the situation, Mei had eaten up some of that free time as she had asked him to Hiraishin her to various locations so that she could establish the cover identity of a wealthy socialite that she would use to setup and go out on the dates. Not that it had eaten up too much of his time, as his role had usually been to just teleport her to a location in the morning, and then return to Konoha village to perform whatever his duties were for the day, before receiving a signal via the marked kunai that he had given her that it was time to pick her up. Naturally, as he was supposed to be establishing a relationship with the Mizukage, his schedule had been rather light leaving him plenty of time to spend with Hanabi and Sakura.

After a week, Mei had laid enough groundwork that she had begun going out on dates with various suitors. But, much to his surprise all of them ended with him receiving the signal that she needed to be picked up. At first it had done little to diminish her spirits. But as the end of the third week was now approaching, Naruto had noticed that she seemed less excited about heading out for them. Which he supposed shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise, since he imagined that Mei must have ordered her dates so that the better prospects had been first.

Regarding his own affinity with the former Mizukage, Naruto had found himself rather pleased with the opportunity to get to know her better. A feeling that he imagined was shared by both Sakura and Hanabi, as despite her former status, she pitched in around the house, insisting that she be made a part of any chore rotation they had established. Something that both Hanabi and he were pleased by as it turned out she was quite the skilled cook and baker. Thus, allowing them to leave Sakura out of the rotations as while she was a woman of many talents, sadly cooking was not one of them. Although, Mei had offered to take her under her wing in that regard. A wing he had found himself under a time or two as he asked her advice about various scenarios and concerns that he had about his own upcoming tenure as Hokage, especially due to how strained things had become between Tsunade and him recently.

As a result of this time together, Naruto was beginning to find himself growing rather jealous of the men that Mei would make herself up for before her dates. An irony he supposed, since she was living under his roof so that he could be the one to sweep her off her feet. Still, with the time that had passed, he found that he had grown rather nervous at the idea of approaching her in order to take his own shot at becoming the man that she would want to spend the rest of her days with.

However, he knew that he needed to make a decision on the matter soon, even if it was just to buy Mei some more time to find her Mr. Right, as more than a few of the powers that be were beginning to question his dedication to seeing the S.A.R.A being further implemented. A fact that had been highlighted that morning as during a council meeting, Hinata and even Tsunade had questioned him as to why in the three weeks since her arrival neither Mei or him had been seen together within the village. Naruto had tried to make a flippant remark about that having also been the case for Sakura before it had been discovered that he had chosen her to be one of his brides. Yet it had only earned him a scowl from both women, although he had noticed a certain reddening of the Hokage’s cheeks. But, he had also discovered that not every piece of paper that hit the Hokage’s desk was making its way to him despite how it felt. As Tsunade informed him that not only was the Fire Daimyo growing impatient with him, but so to were the other Kage as he had made it clear that no other women would be given consideration until a decision had been made with Kiri’s candidate.

Naruto rubbed his eyes, which suddenly felt weary as not for the first time he wondered if the job he was training for was even worth the effort. However, before he could fully imagine himself on a deserted beach somewhere with only Sakura and Hanabi for company, although he noticed someone raising out of the water before him. It faded as there was a knock at his door. Hoping it wasn’t some emergency that required immediate intervention, he bid his guest to enter.

*********************************************

Hanabi hurriedly stepped into the office as she saw her adoptive mother and Hinata coming around the corner. The two women despite their earlier apparent alignment in interest regarding the progress Naruto had made with Mei, now seemed to be having a minor disagreement although regarding what she didn’t want to hang around and find out. Especially due to her feeling a little annoyed at Tsunade being able to see eye to eye with her sister regarding anything considering some of the stunts she had pulled involving her.

But, she let the matter go as she smiled, which although the sight of her fiancé was always enough to get one to appear. She admitted that this time around it was only skin deep as she felt nervous, even a little dirty. Yet sadly, not in the fun way. To her pleasure, Naruto seemed to notice as he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Hoping to put him at ease, she said, “Well, I heard you had a rough morning. So, I thought you could use a bit of a pick me up.”

She was pleased that although here words were partially true, her past behavior had her lover guessing incorrectly at her reason for being there as he said, “I could. But not the kind that you probably have in mind. The last thing I need would be for Granny Tsunade to catch me pleasing her adopted daughter on what is still technically speaking her desk.”

Giving a playful smirk, she asked, “Oh, but what if I’m the one doing all the pleasing. Underneath it.”

Although only intending to tease him a bit, she felt her mouth begin to water as she saw the look of temptation appear as he considered her proposal. But, he quickly suppressed it as he replied, “No, better not. I really do not want to give Granny Tsunade any more reason to doubt my commitment to the position.”

Hanabi shrugged her shoulders, while giving him a look that conveyed that she felt it was his loss. Although she could understand why he was concerned as even she was surprised at how long her adoptive mother seemed to be holding onto the grudge that she seemed to have been harboring ever since catching Naruto with Sakura. Particularly as her own sources within the Hyuuga had informed her that just that morning, she had teamed up with her sister, and not in the fun way, to grill Naruto over his lack of progress with Mei.

Not that she could necessarily fault the women for that, since Hanabi admitted to herself that she was a little frustrated with it herself. Especially at first, when it had been explained to her that Mei was using it as an opportunity to go on some dating circuit. However, Naruto had calmed her after explaining how Mei in her own way, had been trapped by the realities of her situation in much the same way she had been before being excommunicated from the Hyuuga. Especially, do to Mei’s needing to organize and lead a rebellion, along with all the work that had gone into rebuilding Kirigakure in its aftermath, which had consumed a majority of her life already. Only to find that just after turning over the reins of power to her successor so that she could begin pursuing her own dreams for the future, her village had decided to offer that future up for what it hoped would be its benefit.

Her annoyance at the situation was further soothed as Mei proved that her time as a rebel leader had instilled in her a desire to pitch in where she could, as the older woman never complained when asked to help around the house. Not to mention the times she could feel the woman’s envious stares whenever Sakura or her showed some public affection to Naruto. Or even when they reappeared after showing some private affection, in the cases after they had made themselves scarce for a quickie, usually into their bedroom where she tried to alert everyone in the house just how good a job Naruto was doing in pleasing her.

It was those stares, which kind of made Hanabi feel as if the former Mizukage was being a prideful idiot, since if she would just see the benefit of what she had been given, she’d already be reaping the rewards. But, Hanabi accepted that if she hadn’t spent years with Naruto, she’d probably be more than a little put off at the idea of marrying him due to what amounted to being part of some kind of horse trade between villages.

Still, although the reason for her current visit was to help push Mei, along with their other guest onto a path that she was confident would only leave the two of them happy and content. Hanabi couldn’t help but feeling a little dirty about it as her motivations were not entirely pure, but rather driven by politics. Primarily, as she was still concerned that once Hinata truly realized that she was rather content with the twist her relationship had experienced, her sister would once again try to mettle in her family’s affairs. Which considering the political pull the Hyuuga had it would undoubtedly lead to some headaches down the road. As such, Hanabi had seen Mei’s arrival as an unintentional win, which had been another reason for her frustration at learning the former Mizukage was hoping to find happiness with some other man. As she imagined that even a former Mizukage would have the type of political capital that could blunt her sister’s future schemes, particularly those which may originate outside of the Land of Fire. While, a clan like the Yamanaka would help to nullify any which may come from within the village, which was one of the reasons she had given Ino the room directly next to the one that she shared with Naruto and Sakura.

However, while more than a little disgusted with herself for her ulterior motives, considering how she had previously stated that she wanted the future Uzumaki clan to be free of such political machinations. She nevertheless pushed forward with them as she felt the die had been cast several weeks earlier, so said, “Then maybe a romantic date might be something to help lift your spirits.”

Naruto arched an eyebrow, since for the most part Hanabi’s idea of a romantic date was to watch some erotic thriller at home before retiring to their bedroom where they would react the scenes they had watched. Aware that Mei wasn’t planning to head out that night, and that Ino although she would likely only make a brief appearance when dinner was served, would also be home, said, “Tonight is probably not the best night to watch that Shinobi Instinct movie that you’ve been talking about.”

Hanabi pouted, despite it not really being a part of her plans for the evening as his comment served as a reminder that the reason she hadn’t been able to watch the movie yet, was because she was sharing a home with two women who wouldn’t really appreciate her idea of a good time. Or, at the very least would likely pretend to be upset if she tried to create some steamy scenes of her own for their viewing pleasure. Hoping to fix that shortly, she said, “Not what I had in mind.” Seeing Naruto’s eyebrow raise further she playfully said, “Okay, I wouldn’t mind that happening tonight. But to be fair, that is almost always on my mind.” Naruto chuckled so she continued, “However, tonight Sakura and I are going to take Ino out for the evening.” Naruto didn’t bother containing his surprise since the Yamanaka had barely left the room she had been given since the end of her relationship with Sai, so she explained, “It seems tonight would have been her and Sai’s sixth month anniversary.”

Naruto looked worried as he asked, “I take it she isn’t holding up that well?”

Hanabi gave a slight shrug as she replied, “Well, it motivated her to already raid the spirit cellar this morning.”

“Are you sure it is a good idea to take her out then?” Naruto asked his increased concern evident in his tone.

“Maybe not,” Hanabi conceded, “But, she cannot lay about our house forever. She’s going to need to start taking missions or working at her family shop if she’s going to help Sai pay the rent. Besides, you need to start showing the village that you and Mei are trying to make things work between you.”

Naruto looked confused as he asked, “And how does your getting Ino out for the evening accomplish this?”

Hanabi’s smile turned a little mischievous which filled Naruto with some apprehension, as she explained, “Well, it turns out that before their breakup, Ino dropped enough hints that even Sai understood that it would be best if this night didn’t pass without some attempt at romance. So, he apparently put them on the waiting list for the Blue Moon Palace before the two of you left for your mission. Those reservations are still in place. I also talked with him before coming here, and he said that you can use them in their stead.”

Naruto sat back as he considered what Hanabi was proposing, and admitted that it did make sense as it would hopefully get the council off his back at least for a little while. But he was a little concerned that Ino wouldn’t take to kindly to his using the preparation for what should have been her special night to his benefit. Hanabi seemed to be reading his mind as she said quickly, “Look Naruto, she’s not going to want to go to the place that was going to be a celebration of a relationship which crashed and burned. She’s probably just going to want to get smashed, if we can even get her out for the evening. We’ve even already run it past Mei, and she tried not to show it, but I’d say that she was rather enamored with the idea.”

“We,” Naruto asked looking for clarification.

Nodding, his Hyuuga lover said, “Sakura and I approached her about it as soon as we found out about the reservations from Ino. Besides, we’ve long ago decided that if you were to pursue Mei, that we’d be all for it. I for one am quite happy that she replaced Sakura in the cooking rotation.”

“She’s gotten better,” Naruto said feeling the need to defend his pink-haired lover’s honor. Although, only half-heartedly as while he spoke the truth, he would classify the food that she prepared as barely edible, which was certainly a step up from where it had been. Hanabi let out an amused giggle as he winked at her, before saying, “Well, since you went through all this trouble on my behalf, at what time am I to meet my date for the evening.”

“Seven,” Hanabi said pleased things seemed to working out as she hoped. She turned to leave before adding, “And don’t be late.” Receiving a nod, she left the office and only hoped the second half of her plan worked out as smoothly.

*********************************************

Mei tried to remain upbeat as she sat at a table alone as although the scenario was to die for, as it was almost ten past seven not one that she had wanted to enjoy alone. She had to give Naruto’s teammate some credit on his choice of venue, as it vastly surpassed her expectations, as it appeared Sai had opted for one of the most exclusive spots within the restaurant. In fact, as she was sitting a table just outside the restaurant on a gazebo made of glass which resided in the center of the small lake which had been constructed beside it, she imagined it was what gave the restaurant its name. Especially, as to those dining inside, it must appear that she was sitting on the lake itself while surrounded by moonlight.

She felt a few tears threaten to spill at it appearing that she was being stood up, but she refused to allow it as a part of her accepted that on some level she perhaps deserved it. After all, he had entertained her whims, and acted as a taxi for her all without complaint while she had setup her plans to go out with several men. Which she imagined that despite how it had appeared, must have lessened his opinion of her. Particularly, as she had found her opinion of herself lessening as a result of them as well. Mostly as it had prompted her to begin worrying about what exactly it was that she could bring to any relationship that would have sparked from them. She smiled sadly as she recalled starting off so upbeat for her dating circuit as she had found herself a good selection of suitors. Yet, as she had met each one over the course of the last two weeks, she found her hopes diminishing as she began to see a pattern developing. This pattern tended to depend on the age group of the suitor, with the younger ones either being a bit cowed by her cover identity’s list of accomplishments which were meant to mirror her own. Or, for those not overly afraid of their own never matching up, it soon became apparent that they saw her as perhaps being a slightly desperate older woman looking for younger companionship. Which while many of them appeared willing to provide it in the immediate future, she knew none were looking to stick with her for the long haul. As for the older gentlemen that she had seen, the vast majority of them had also only interested in her for her looks. So she imagined they wouldn’t make for good partners either as she expected that someday they’d be looking to replace her with a younger woman. While those that she had met who had been impressed primarily by her accomplishments, tended to be men on the rebound of some failed marriage so were not really looking to start another family having already done so earlier in life.

Finding herself in the place that she had feared after first explaining her plan to Naruto, she had nearly jumped in joy when Sakura and Hanabi had suggested they go out that evening. As she had found herself unable to broach the manner.

She heard a slight increase in the murmuring coming from the restaurant, but kept her attention out on the water as she tried to cheer herself up. She smiled to herself as the memory which came to mind was the evening when she first stepped in to cook for Sakura, who had looked as if she was on the verge of tearing out her hair. Having taken up the art, mainly in her hope to be the perfect wife to the man that ultimately swept her off her feet. She had basked in Naruto’s surprise when he had come home to find a seven-course meal waiting for him, obviously having resolved to eat whatever Sakura had prepared. Her smile became genuine as she recalled watching with content as he enjoyed the food that she had prepared, while trying to both praise it and not go overboard with it so as to not hurt the pink-haired kunoichi’s feelings.

Her enjoyment of the moment had prompted her to cancel several of the dates that she had scheduled so she could take over Sakura’s spot in the cooking rotation. She had hoped to work up the nerve to ask him if they could perhaps go out on a date during one of those meals, but feared she would come off as being a little desperate seeing as her other suitors were not panning out. So was concerned Naruto would feel she was now only looking to fulfil the mission that she had been given to save face, so would just outright reject her.

Something that appeared to be the case due to it looking more and more likely that he was blowing her off. At least until she heard, “Mei, please excuse my tardiness.”

Turning from the lake, her mouth dropped open slightly as Naruto having finished taking the glass path to join her, was walking up the stairs of the gazebo while buttoning up a blue suit jacket which matched the dress that she was wearing. He smiled apologetically as he pulled the chair opposite from her out to sit down on, while stating, “I had hoped to get here before you. But just before I was calling it quits, Tsunade burst in telling me that I needed to change up the hotel preparations that we had made for this year’s exam participants. All because of some stink which The Hyuuga had raised regarding members of Kumo being given rooms within several of the hotels that they owned. With them being just around the corner, I needed to be ready by morning with the new arrangements.”

Mei frowned, as she stated, “I cannot imagine that you would have been able to wrap that up so quickly.”

Naruto chuckled as he countered, “Well what good are shadow clones if you can’t use them to handle the paperwork so that you can make it to the moments that truly matter.”

Smiling Mei nodded, and noticing something sticking out from beneath his suit collar she said, “I’m glad you could make it, and even dressed to match to boot.”

“This old thing,” Naruto said trying to play off the fact that he had also sent a clone to the local tailors to have a suit sized and tailored for him on the quick. Yet before he could embellish further about it not being a big deal, she leaned forward, and pulled the price tag fully from beneath the collar. Naruto blushed as he quickly pulled it off, and stuffed it in his pocket.

Mei giggled in amusement and appreciation as she was touched by the effort that he had apparently already put into what she had assumed to be a spontaneous evening for the pair of them. She began to feel a little self-conscious at her own appearance. As while she was wearing her hair down, along with a blue dress which had white lines creating various patterns. It also exposed a fair amount of cleavage as it was open down the front to just above her belly, while it was held up by straps the tied behind her neck also leaving her back mostly bare. It also extended almost all the way down to the ground, although it had slits running along each side leaving most of her legs exposed to show off the white high heeled shoes that she was wearing. Yet, despite knowing she cut quite the dashing figure in it, her concern laid in that Naruto had already seen it as she had worn it for some of the dates which she had previously gone out on. However, he put her mind at ease as he said, “I’m glad to see I was correct in assuming that you’d be wearing that one tonight.”

Mei almost let out a sigh of relief, but covered it by asking, “Have you eaten here before?”

“No,” Naruto admitted, “Although, I do know the owner and head cook.”

“Really,” Mei said intrigued as she had heard about the restaurant even before leaving Kirigakure as it had only recently been built, but had already amassed quite the following among those who enjoyed high dining cuisine, “Do you have any recommendations.”

“The ramen,” Naruto said as he followed suit to open the menu, and began to frown ever increasingly as he read through it.

The reason for his frown was laid bare as Mei looked up in confusion to say, “Um…I’m not seeing that on the menu. Although, I’d be rather surprised if it were considering how high-class this place appears to be.”

“Snobbish is what I’d call it,” Naruto said with a playful smile that Mei couldn’t help matching. However, looking around he conceded, “Still, she probably just wanted to put all those lessons that she learned abroad to use. Seeing what she’s built, I can’t say I blame her.” Leaning forward he said, “Since I imagine you have more experience with dining at these types of venues. Perhaps you’d be willing to order for the both of us.”

At first, Mei wasn’t sure how to take his comment, as she feared it was a dig at her recent activities. However, seeing the earnest expression in his blue eyes, she realized that he was simply commenting at her experience as Mizukage and her meeting with dignitaries in such places. She nearly offered him an apology, but instead simply informed him of the dish that she had been thinking of ordering. A suggestion she was pleased to see Naruto went with once their waitress arrived, although he did try to convince the woman to put ramen on the menu.

They continued to make small talk until their meals arrived. Yet, after enjoying them, she began to grow a little concerned that Naruto was tiring of her company as he began looking back towards the restaurant with a sense of impatience about him. But, before she could ask what was wrong, she noticed someone other than their waitress approaching the table. The woman who was dressed as a cook upon joining them on the gazebo said, “Honestly, future Lord Hokage, if you are going to frequent my restaurant then can you please not harass my staff about putting ramen on the menu?”

Naruto smiled warmly at the woman as he said, “Come now Ayame, I merely was making a suggestion that I felt would improve the dining experience. I don’t think that constitutes as harassment.”

“I’m sorry,” Ayame said in a slightly mocking tone, “I must have just been flashing back to all the whining you did whenever I tried changing up things at my father’s stand. I trust you were able to stomach your way through not eating ramen for a single night.”

“Indeed,” Naruto said, indicating his date for the evening, “Mei’s company and your cooking was even pleasant enough for one so uncultured as I to enjoy.” Remembering his manners, he added, “Oh, please allow me to make the introductions. Ayame Ichiraku please allow me to introduce you to Mei Terumi.”

“A pleasure,” Mei said taking the younger woman’s hand, before then adding, “This place is magnificent. I can see why it has become so widely regarded even in my homeland.”

Ayame bowed appreciatively before responding, “Thank you Lady Terumi. It turns out tonight is a special occasion for me as well. I was quite pleased when Naruto’s clone came by earlier to upgrade your reservations, since it means the patio will finally be used as I had envisioned.”

Mei looked confused, but before she could inquire further Naruto said, “Speaking of which.”

“Don’t worry, they’ve already setup” Ayame said with a smile, “I just told them to hold off until after I had a chance to come out and speak with you.” Giving a quick bow, she proceeded back down the glass path leaving Mei slightly confused as to what she meant.

She was just about to enquire when the music within the restaurant changed from a single piano to several stringed instruments joining in, and Naruto held out a hand towards her. Placing hers within, he led her to the opposite side of the gazebo towards another set of stairs although these just led out into the pound. Mei quickly realized what Ayame meant as she joined Naruto out on the water, and they began dancing slowly with the music. Mei felt her heart swoon as they almost appeared to be dancing in the night’s sky due to the stars and moon being reflected on the surface of the water as they swept across leaving barely a ripple.

Mei found her emotions difficult to control as she suddenly found herself living a romantic fantasy greater than any that she had often concocted for herself. As the first song came to a close, she asked, “Was this evening really just you making the most of some leftover reservations that you found yourself with?”

Naruto inclined his head before responding, “Well admittedly Sai did lay the ground work. But I couldn’t trust his sense of taste. I mean the guy thinks Sakura is ugly. Not to mention Ino. With such poor taste as that going for him, for all I know, he would have had us sitting right next to the kitchen. So, I just sent a clone to swing by and make sure we had the best table in the place.”

Looking towards the restaurant, not to mention the nearby street, she noticed a crowd gathering to watch the two of them dance over the water. Feeling more than one envious stare directed her way, she asked, “And the band? Something tells me they weren’t originally supposed to be a part of the evening.”

Naruto shrugged as another song began to play, before responding, “Well, what good is having such a large dance floor and a beautiful partner without the music to set the mood.”

Mei blushed as she followed Naruto’s lead through several more songs while they danced around the reflected moon, until she noticed the wait staff cleaning up their table prompting her to say, “Don’t we need to head back and settle up. It looks like they are preparing to give our table away.”

Naruto looked back for a moment, before turning towards her once more in order to resume staring into her green eyes as he said, “Don’t trouble yourself over it. I told Ayame that I’d get with her tomorrow about the bill. She knows I’m good for it. Unless you’re interested in dessert that is.”

“I am,” Mei said quickly, yet before Naruto could pull away to lead her back to the table, he found himself pulled into a kiss before she breathlessly pulled away to say, “But, what I want this time isn’t on the menu.” She leaned in to kiss him again, with Naruto meeting her half way before the pair of them disappeared in a yellow flash.

*********************************************
With the disappearance of the couple dancing on the water, the crowd which had gather began to disburse leaving one of those who had watched on enviously alone to rage at it appearing that Naruto had found a new partner. She tightly gripped the railing stopping people from falling into the manmade lake, feeling a fury consume her at it appearing yet another woman would be enjoying a bond with the Uzumaki that she could only dream of. As well as it appearing that her attempt at sabotaging the date that she had learned about from using the viewing crystal that had once been in the Third Hokage’s possession after seeing Hanabi entering the office that Naruto was occupying.

She tried to calm herself, by remembering that just that morning she had been demanding that he show some attempt was being made to get closer to the former Mizukage. However, even as she had done so, a part of her had been secretly pleased at it appearing that he had harbored no interest in the woman from Kirigakure. She couldn’t explain why her having been Kiri’s choice rankled her so much more than Hanabi and Sakura’s involvement with him had. Especially, since her previous interactions with the woman had all been amicable. Although she did acknowledge that it could be due to her having always been aware of there being a distinctly large possibility that either Hanabi or Sakura would eventually end up with him. But, there was just something about Mei’s being given a shot at the happiness that she had long been forced to deny for herself which simply infuriated her.

Turning away from the lake, she resisted the temptation to consult the crystal again to see how the rest of Mei’s evening would transpire. But, feeling herself moistening at the idea of seeing Naruto naked and in all his glory again, knew she would give into the temptation. Particularly, as the reason that she had ended her earlier meeting prematurely upon seeing Hanabi in the Hokage Mansion had been because she had expected the perverted younger woman to have comforted her lover due to the rough morning he had experienced. As she began to imagine how Naruto and Mei were behaving now that they were alone, she imagined that in a manner of speaking the younger Hyuuga had. Although, picturing the former Mizukage with Naruto caused the feeling of lust which had been with her since first witnessing Naruto with his lover, was again replaced by anger at how unfair life was that she was forced to watch from the sidelines.

********************************************
A moment after disappearing from the lake, said former Mizukage reappeared with Naruto right in front of her bedroom door as they continued to furiously make-out. She was then pushed up against the door where she found it more than a little ironic that the same man who had dropped her off from all her disastrous prior dates, always with a kind understanding smile, was now ready to claim her as his prize. Especially, as despite her feeling that he probably had the most reason to say that she wasn’t worth the effort, he had instead given her one of the most magical nights of her life. Which as he pushed her up against the door and grabbed her by the ass, causing her to wrap her legs around his waist. And for her pussy to press up against the massive bulge that was being contained by his slacks. Making her feel as if the magic had only just begun.

While Naruto’s hands firmly gripped her backside, her own began sliding up under his jacket to slip it from his shoulders. Which once it stopped due to his bent elbows prompted Naruto to let her go, so he could shake himself free of it. Mei broke the kiss as she moaned due to his movements, since now most of her weight was pressed firmly against his bulge due to her only being suspended as a result of her back resting against the door, and her legs gripping his waist. Once free of his jacket, Naruto wrapped one of his arms around her waist to pull her closer against him, while the other moved up behind her neck to pull loose the knot keeping the top of her dress suspended.

As gravity went to work causing her dress to fall away from her chest, Naruto loosened his grip allowing him to pull away in order to admire her magnificent breasts. After a few heartbeats, he surged forward but rather than moving to suckle on one, he instead kissed where her collarbone connected with her neck. Mei cooed appreciatively as her arms wrapped around him so that she could capture his head, to encourage him to continue. After a few more moments, she let out a low moan before almost begging, “Please Naruto, take me.”

Naruto pulled away for a moment, to meet her green eyes allowing her to see the lust burning in his gaze, before saying, “All in good time.”

He then quickly lowered his head to her breast, where he latched onto her nipple as he sucked it for all he was worth. She let out a guttural moan as she pulled his head further into her breast, while she began to rub her panty covered pussy against his still contained cock.

Naruto growled into her mammary, before wrapping both arms around her to pull her body tighter against him for a moment. But, then let go with his right arm so that he could reach for the doorknob and give it a twist. The door flew opening causing them to surge into the room, as Mei kicked off her shoes while Naruto carried her to the bed. While they moved deeper into the room Mei was tempted to just rip his dress shirt open. However, mindful that he had just purchased it, she settled for simply unbuttoning it. Although she felt a growing frustration as the simple task proved harder than anticipated due to the pleasure coursing through her. Eventually, she did let out a frustrated growl as she neared the portion of the shirt tucked into his pants, and pulling it up to find more of the damnable fasteners appearing. Decided that enough was enough, as she wanted to feel his skin against hers, so electing to just buy him another, ripped the last few free before finding herself planted on the bed.

Naruto stood back up, and quickly pulled the shirt from his torso, before beginning to unbuckle his belt. He paused though as Mei laid back far enough to raise her hips from the bed, and with legs pressed together and toes pointed towards the ceiling, she began sliding her dress up them. Catching her thumbs in the band of her panties, she pulled them free along with the dress. She pulled her legs back towards her so her clothes could clear her feet, before allowing her hips to fall forward onto the bed as she spread her legs and rested her heels on the mattress. Now naked before Naruto, she hesitated to look at him as she was worried about how her body would stack up compared to the younger women that he had already taken as lovers. But, after steeling her courage to meet his eyes, she found that she needn’t have been concerned as he seemed transfixed while his gaze drank in her unfiltered beauty. Feeling emboldened, she moved her right hand down from her chest, over her stomach, and through her tightly trimmed bush in order to spread her lower lips to display how wet she was, before stating “Naruto, hurry. I want to become one with you.”

Naruto snapped out of his trance, being galvanized by his need to feel her wrapped around him, so quickly removed the remainder of his clothes. Climbing on top of the bed between her legs, he experienced a sudden sense of dizziness when she gripped his torso between her knees and spun him so that he was on his back. Raising up to her feet, she squatted over his cock while she gripped his cock in her hand, and sliding it against her drenched pussy said, “Mmm, you better let me handle this, as I’ve never seen anything so big.”

Naturally, hearing that Naruto felt his own surge in confidence, and groaned approvingly as the pressure that she exerted against him increased once she began to lower her hips onto him. Mei moaned softly when the head of his cock slipped into her well lubricated passage, and she then slowly began to slide down until she had only taken about half his length inside her. She found herself suddenly on unstable legs as her strength to pull herself up began to fail, at least until Naruto reached out to her. Linking her hands with his, she managed to raise her hip until just the head of his dick remained inside, and then began to lower herself once more. Repeating the process, she began to speed up with each cycle once she had grown accustomed to his size, although she had yet to take him deeper since his cock already was hitting spots within her that had never been touched.

However, while she had already reached heights of pleasure that she had never known were possible, she was suddenly rocket to a new peak as Naruto having been content to remain motionless while Mei set the pace, suddenly pushed himself up towards her to meet her downward moving hips. Her head rocked back and she let out a cry of immeasurable pleasure as his cock fully impaled her upon it, and crashed into her womb which sent a spike of pleasure straight from her womb, up her spine and into her brain. Her brain seemed to shut down, as she no longer was able to remain crouched as she was, so she dropped down to her knees as she followed Naruto’s hips down to the bed.

Once the echoes of her scream faded, she remained motionless as her brain needed a moment to reset. When she came back to herself, she flushed a bit in embarrassment as Naruto stared at her with a look of concern, and perhaps even worry that he might have broken her. However, she quickly dissuaded him of the notion as she leaned forward to cup his face affectionately while saying, “Don’t stop! I’ve never experienced such pleasure before. Keep fucking me!” She then sealed her lips to his, while raising her hips up enough to give Naruto room to work with. Which he set about doing immediately as he began pounding his cock up into her. Mei moaned appreciatively into his mouth as their tongues furiously circled around one another.

With the furious pace Naruto set, it wasn’t long before Mei felt on the edge of erupting into another orgasm. But, feeling Naruto wasn’t anywhere close himself decided to raise back up so that she was sitting atop of him. Placing her hands on his stomach, she began tightening and relaxing her pussy while she also started rocking her hips back and forth rapidly. Naruo groaned appreciatively as Mei’s efforts caused his own need to climax to increase rather rapidly. So as she ground her hips against him, he reached up to squeeze and fondle her breasts causing Mei to let out a stifled moan as she tried to prevent herself from cumming before him.

But, it wasn’t long before she began to grow frustrated as it seemed he was matching her own efforts to hold back, and so fearing he would win pleaded, “Please, cum. I want to cum with you. H-hurry…please…fill me with your seed.”

Answering her plea, Naruto rolled her over onto her back and hooking her legs with his arms raised up to squat over her. The movement causing her knees to be pressed up by her head. He then began pounding his hips down into hers so that the sounds of their flesh slapping together echoed throughout the house due to the open door. Mei couldn’t hold back her cries as Naruto’s cock bashed into her womb again and again, only to pause occasionally so he grind his hips down into her to reach just that much further within her. Soon though, she felt him getting even bigger within her and knowing what that signified cried, “Yes! Cum! Cum! I want every drop.”

“Fuck!” Naruto groaned as Mei’s pussy bore down on him with an even tighter grip then before filling him with the irresistible need to fill her baby chamber with his seed. Which once the floodgates opened, he felt as if he did so for an eternity, one that Mei shared in as well as she cried out in bliss while her body was ravaged by tremors of pleasure.

Naruto sighed as he felt the last of his tiny soldiers leave him in search of an egg to attack, and pulled back until his cock slipped free of Mei’s velvety embrace. However, he quickly let out a groan as Mei, swiftly whirled about to wrap her lips around his cock. She moaned appreciatively as she tasted the mixture of their releases, and couldn’t help but coo contently around it as his dick continued to maintain its hardness. Once she felt she had properly cleaned it, she let him slip free of her lips and beginning to fondle his balls said, “I told you that I want every drop, and these don’t feel empty to me.”

Naruto gave her an amused grin before he rolled Mei onto her back so that he could straddle her chest. Placing his cock between the valley of her breasts, he said, “Well if anyone could squeeze every drop from me, it would have to be a Kage with the body of a goddess.” He then squeezed her tits around his saliva coated shaft, and began sliding his cock up towards her mouth. Sucking on it every time it appeared from her squished together mammaries, Mei quickly found her pussy aching to be filled again. A need that Naruto soon responded to as he let go of her breasts, and then flipped her onto her stomach. He then slid down her body before raising her hips enough for his rock-hard dick to easily slip back into her cum filled passage. Moaning in pleasure while Naruto leaned forward to cover her like a warm blanket as he worked to top off her womb, she fired off a quick mental apology to the elders back for the fuss that she had made when she had learned they had selected her as Kiri’s candidate to participate in the Sage Arts Restorations Act. Before resolving to make up for it by filling the world with a bunch of Blond and Auburn haired children much as they had hoped. In fact, it would very much be her pleasure to do so, she thought with a lecherous smirk before being pulled up to her knees so that Naruto could turn her face and kiss her while he also fondled a breast. So in keeping with her new dream of contributing to the rebirth of the Uzumaki clan, she began pushing her hips back to met his thrusts in order to move up the timetable of her receiving a fresh injection of his seed.

Next chapter: Will the Pedals Bloom Once More?

Author’s note: To begin, let me start once again by thanking all those who take a time to leave a review. I greatly appreciate them! So, with that said, I do hope that this next chapter of the Promise proved to be worth the wait. I had intended to post it on Fanfiction.net and my Sage’s Lemon Stand page, but ironies of ironies it looks like the site has crashed. Which is somewhat amusing considering it was Ficwads going down which had caused me to begin reposting there in the first place.

With this chapter complete, I plan to begin working on Eroninja again, followed hopefully by the tie in chapter of Antithesis. I’m not going to give a timeframe, since that tends to be when things pop up to derail them. So, until next time. Take Care! Sincerely, The Lemon Sage.