“Neji-kun- Nngh, neji-kun!”

Naruto’s eyes were clenched together tightly, sweat beading his forehead. He arched his back as a pair of chilly, pale hands slithered up his shirt, pulling it up over his moist hair and discarding it on the floor. He licked his lips and grunted, feeling neji press his body flush against the other, leaving little to no room between the males.

“Kiss me, bastard,” neji demanded, digging his fingernails into Naruto’s bare shoulders. Instantly, their lips made contact, locking and suckling until Naruto parted his, allowing full access without hesitation. neji's tongue slipped into his mouth, the muscle pressing against Naruto’s own tongue, pushing it to the back of his mouth and savoring the taste. He moaned, palms sweaty against the blonde’s heated skin, shirt drenched with sweat.

Naruto grabbed it in his fists and pulled the other male closer, running his hands up and down the Hyuuga's back. neji's jaws parted at the soft touches, eyes sliding shut as ripples of excitement pulsed into his growing erection. He let his own fingers wander across Naruto’s exposed muscles, tracing invisible patterns along the skin, smirking when Naruto tensed and shuddered, hands recoiling from the confines of the shirt and tangling themselves in glossy, black hair.

In reply, neji chuckled, detaching the two sets of lips and placing his firmly on Naruto’s neck, kissing and licking along the expanse of skin. At the mere touches, the hairs stood on end, and Naruto took his hands from Neji's hair, placing them in his own and tugging at it, pulling at it when Neji would scrape his teeth across a vein or place a hickey on his collarbone. Unconsciously, Neji sank his teeth into the sensitive boy, earning a loud moan as Naruto curled his toes, arching back against the wooden wall behind him.

neji removed his own shirt, sweat rolling along his back, and he ran a finger along Naruto’s jaw line, smirking. “Naru-chan,” he whispered, leaning close to the boy’s earlobe and giving it a small nibble. Naruto shivered as a response.

“You’re hard- Very hard, aren’t you?” Saying this, he pressed his knee between Naruto’s legs, against his crotch, grinning with satisfaction when Naruto groaned with pleasure, inhaling sharply at the sensation. “Mm, yeah. You like that, huh?” He thrust the knee harder against Naruto’s groin, the boy’s azure eyes moist with tears.

“Yes, oh God, yes,” he panted, rocking his hips and biting his lower lip, a small trickle of blood spilling into his mouth. He slid his hands into Neji's back pocket and jerked the brunette against him, electricity setting his nerves on end and head spinning with pleasure. “Ha- Mmm, neji,” he breathed, his breath hot against neji's chest.
Bending slightly, neji ran his tongue expertly over Naruto’s body, going downward at a tentative pace, stopping at the abdomen and licked it. A gasp flying from the blonde’s lips, his member twitching and a fire churning deep in the pit of his stomach. The Hyuuga got onto his knees and pulled Naruto’s pants down, around his knees, inserting two fingers into the elastic band of the boxers, slowly slipping them into the cloth in a taunting manner.

He wrapped the fingers around Naruto’s cock, gingerly at first, but then his touches were rough and fast, steadily sliding his hand up and down the length, sensitive skin extremely hot, pounding against the hand with precum smearing onto a finger. Neji slowed the actions and twirled a finger at the head, skimming around the slit and laying feather-light touches. Naruto held his breath, scratching at his own thighs and mumbling under his breath.

The boxers were pulled down, revealing Naruto’s hard-on, and the blonde hissed as the cold air rushed against him. He shifted, adjusting to the temperature, neji blowing onto the erection and leaning closer toward it. His lips were placed on the organ, slowly taking Naruto’s member into his mouth and humming, sliding his tongue up and down, twirling it around on the hard surface. Naruto growled, pleasure blinding his senses, hands once again taking a hold of neji's hair, the mouth surrounding him hot and fast.

“P-please, Neji-kun…”

Neji bobbed his head, roughly sucking, and Naruto instinctively bucked his hips, his cock sliding completely into neji's mouth. The brunette relaxed the muscles in his throat, closing his eyes and continuing his ministrations, tongue running along the shaft. Naruto’s entire body fizzed with excitement, limbs aching when Neji pulled back, away from his erection, and he groaned, squirming in aggravation. “You…didn’t…finish,” he panted, eyes cloudy and glazed over with lust.

Neji nodded with a large grin, standing up at Naruto’s height and placing a soft kiss on his lips. “I don’t want you to cum just yet.” His words sent tingles down Naruto’s spine, and the kitsune nodded, chest heaving.

Naruto stepped out of his clothing, and neji hurriedly pulled his own pants off. The blonde noted neji's needy arousal, and sighing deeply he turned around to face the wall, placing his palms against the surface. neji licked a finger and inserted it into Naruto’s entrance, said boy huffing at the uncomfortable feeling. He scratched at the wall when another digit entered him, and another. Pulling the fingers back, neji thrust them into Naruto, brushing roughly against the prostate.

Naruto screamed at the strong sensation, hands gripping at the wall, legs trembling and heart pounding. “M-more,” he stammered as Neji rammed the fingers into him again, leaving him dizzy and lightheaded. “N-no, I want you, Neji-kun. I want to feel you inside me.”

Neji's breathing hitched, and he quickly replaced the fingers with his throbbing length. Naruto held his breath, and in one swift movement, Neji was in him, not wasting any time. He ground his hips down on the dick, moaning delightfully when the pleasure burned intensely within him. “Aah, neji-kun… Move….” His voice was raspy and slightly shrill, sweat coating his body. Neji commended immediately, pulling back a little before plunging in once again, rocking them against the wall and knocking the breath from Naruto, who struggled to continue standing.

The thrusts neji made created a rhythm, and they kept a steady pace, Naruto’s jaws parted in a pant, eyes keeping closed as he was driven into. Their actions quickly became quicker, needier, harder, neji slamming into the other boy while various, incoherent words spilled from his lips. He sank his teeth on Naruto’s neck once more, hands holding their hips aligned as he lunged desperately, Naruto moaning loudly. “Neji-kun! H-haaa, Neji-kun!”

Neji grunted, clenching his teeth and ramming himself into Naruto once more, bliss capturing him as Naruto came with a loud cry, cum smearing on the wall and his muscles constricting against Neji's member, driving the raven over the edge. “Naruto… Naruto, Naruto,” he repeated, mumbling the name several consecutive times, both of them panting and heaving, gasping for air and trying to calm their pounding hearts.

Naruto leaned his head back against Neji's chest, rocking his hips softly, enjoying the warmth of Neji being inside him. “Oi, Neji-kun,” he whispered, giggling with a lazy smile. Neji raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner.

“Yes?”

Naruto gave a long sigh, closing his eyes and falling forward against the wall. “I’m going to be very sore later on. That means you can carry me around all day.”

Neji chuckled and stroked the disarrayed, golden hair. “Sure, Naruto. Whatever you want.”

Sasuke was pissed off at himself. 'How the hell did I fall for that usuratonkachi's trick? I don't even like women.' During today's sparring session, Naruto had pulled an unexpectedly effective move and defeated Sasuke.

FLASHBACK

Sasuke threw Naruto against a tree and stood a few feet back smirking as the blond slumped, "Pathetic dobe. Can't you do any better?"

Naruto raised his head and grinned. He made an unfamilar sign and muttered Orioke no Jutsu. As he was engulfed in a cloud of smoke, Sasuke tensed. 'What is that hyper idiot doing.' As the smoke cleared, Sasuke's jaw dropped in shock. 'What the hell?' A naked female version of Naruto stood there and blew him a kiss, "Oh Sasuke-kuuun."

Suddenly Sasuke was on his back with the real Naruto sitting on top of his, pressing a kunai to Sasuke's throat.

Naruto dispelled the Sexy Jutsu Shadow Clone, grinned, and leaned in so close he was almost kissing Sasuke, "I win teme."

END FLASHBACK

'Ican't believe he got me with that!' Sasuke was more put out than he normally would be, because today's spar had had high stakes.

FLASHBACK

Sasuke looked at the teammate he'd been lusting after for a long time. No, not Sakura, who could lust after that pink freak? No it was Naruto's bones that Sasuke wanted to jump. Ever since the blond idiot had dragged him back from Orochimaru, Sasuke had been hot for him and today Sasuke had a plan to get the blond under him at last.

"Oi dobe."

"Don't call me that teme! What do you want?"

'You under me begging.' Was what the Uchiha thought, but what he said was, "How about we make a bet on who will win today's spar?"

"What are the terms?"

"Loser has do do whatever the winner wants for a day. All day tomorrow."

"So if I win you'll have to do whatever I tell you to?"

"Yes."

Naruto thought about it. 'I'll have to do whatever he want me to if he wins, but if I win-,' Naruto licked his lips and nodded, "You're on teme."

END FLASHBACK

"Oi teme!"

Sasuke looked at Naruto, "Hn?"

"Don't forget to meet me at my apartment at dawn, and you damn well better not welsh on our bet."

"I never welsh on a bet, I'll be there."

"Alright, see you tomorrow teme."

As Naruto ran off, he was thinking, 'Wait until you see what I have in store for you Sasuke.'

Sasuke was brooding as he walked home, certain that all Naruto would want was for him to pay for as much ramen as the usuratonkachi could eat. Oh how wrong he was.
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Sasuke knocked on Naruto's door.

"It's open! Come in teme!"

Sasuke walked into the apartment to see Naruto standing in front of a brown couch.

"Dobe, what do you want to do first?"

Naruto grinned wickedly, sending a chill up Sasuke's spine, "First you are not to call me 'dobe' or 'usuratonkachi'. If you want to call me anything, you will address me as Naruto-sama," Sasuke grit his teeth, but nodded sharply, "And second, you will wear this," Naruto handed Sasuke a bundle of clothes, "all day unless I tell you to take it off. Now go change."

Sasuke growled at Naruto's commanding tone, but went to the bathroom to change.

Naruto counted, waiting for-"What the HELL!," that.

"Is something wrong Sasuke?"

"There is no way I'm wearing this."

"So you're going back on the bet?"

Silence, then a sullen, "No."

"Then you're wearing it."

All Sasuke could think as he looked at himself in the mirror was, 'Who knew Naruto could be this sadistic.' Sasuke was in a pair of low riding, black, fake leather short shorts that clung like spandex and a short black leather vest that stopped at mid-ribcage and showed off more midriff than Sai's shirt.

As Naruto watched Sasuke walk out of the bathroom, he nearly had a nosebleed. 'Damn. He's too sexy for his own good.'

"Okay Sasuke, now you just need the rest of the outfit.'

Sasuke felt dread seep in at those words, "Rest of the outfit?"

"Yup, these," Naruto held out a pair of knee high combat boots that had buckles going up the sides, "and these. I'll put these on once you've gotten the boots on."

Sasuke looked at what Naruto had in his other hand as he put the boots on, "When today is over, I'm going to kill you."

Naruto held a pair of fuzzy wolf ears, a clip-on wolf tail, and a collar with a leash and tag reading 'Property of Uzumaki Naruto'.

Naruto sauntered over to put the accessories on. As he looped the collar around Sasuke's neck he said, "you can't tell me that you wouldn't do something similar if you had won."

Sasuke thought of the maid outfit he had planned to make Naruto wear, "Hn."

Naruto buckled the collar, grinned, and gave Sasuke a peck on the lips, leaving the avenger blinking in surprise while Naruto grabbed the end of the leash.

"C'mon Sasu-chan let's go meet the others at the bridge."

'Shit I forgot that we're supposed to train today.' Sasuke growled as Naruto tugged lightly on the leash but followed the blond out of the apartment.
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When they arrived at the bridge, Sakura was staring at Kakashi in shock because he'd arrived before she had. When they spotted the boys, Sakura passed out with a nosebleed and Kakashi snapped his book shut and cackled like a hyena. Sasuke snarled at him, "Shut up Kakashi!"

Naruto waited until Kakashi had calmed down a bit then he asked, "Why are you here so early Kakashi-sensei?"

"I, ha ha ha, wanted to see what you'd make Sasuke d-do aha ha ha ha."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the hysterical jonin, I wonder what Iruka-sensei would do if he found out what you usually use for a late excuse?"

That shut Kakashi up immediately. If Iruka ever found out about the dolphin excuses, he'd be sleeping on the couch for at least a month, maybe longer.

"Ahem, well no training today, bye boys," with that Kakashi took off to go play with his dolphin.

Naruto peered at Sakura, "Hey Sasuke, you think we should wake Sakura-chan up?"

"Only if you're suicidal."

"Heh, I guess she would kill me for assaulting your dignity by making you dress like that. I'll use a Shadow Clone once we're a safe distance away."

"Hn."
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Once they were in the middle of the village, Naruto dispatched the Shadow Clone to wake Sakura up. Then, something caught his eye, it was a tattoo and body piercing shop.

"Oi Sasuke."

"What," Sasuke looked to where Naruto was pointing, "Oh no. No. Absolutely not."

Naruto grinned and grabbed Sasuke's hand, dragging the brunette into the shop. Once inside, Naruto dragged the Uchiha around looking at different piercing hardware available, before deciding on which one he was going to make Sasuke get. He pointed to an onyx and blue sapphire yin-yang stud, "Get that one Sasuke."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "Is this under terms of uor bet?"

"If you won't do it willingly. yes."

Sasuke nodded and growled, "Fine, what do you want me to pierce?"

"Hm, your left ear."

Sasuke nodded sharply and went to the piercing specialist to have the stud set.
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When they walked out of the shop, both had a stud in their left ear. Naruto's was a silver ball, but he also had an identical match to Sasuke's in his pocket, unbeknownst to the avenger. Sasuke grumbled, "Why did you pay for it? I have more than enough money to pay for something so trivial."

"I paid for it because it was my idea and stop grumbling teme. I think the piercing looks sexy but if you don't want to wear it after today all you have to do is take the stud out and let the hole close."

Sasuke shut up about the earring after hearing that Naruto found it sexy. 'Hmm maybe I can use that to my advantage and get Naruto to let me jump him.'

Naruto didn't voice his real reason for paying for the earing, it was his way of promising himself to his raven-haired obsession. He hoped that one day he and Sasuke would wear matching studs the way other people wore their wedding bands, as a sign that they're taken. To distract himself from that probably unattainabl dream he said, "I'm hungry. Let's go to that new sushi place."

Sasuke blinked, "Since when do you eat sushi do-," Sasuke stopped short at Naruto's irritated look, "er Naruto-sama."

Naruto's face relaxed, "I eat things other than ramen ya know. Sushi's okay, but I usually prefer my food cooked."

"Hn."

Sasuke got another surprise once he was eating across from Naruto. The blond actually had manners. He had quietly said 'Itadakimasu' instead of screaming it, and was eating at a slow pace rather than shoving his food in as fast as he could. Naruto nudged Sasuke's foot with his, "Hey you want this?," he pointed to a piece of sushi. Sasuke nodded, it was ahi, his favorite. Something that Naruto knew very well. Naruto picked the sushi up with his chopsticks and, to Sasuke's shock, brought it to the Uchiha's lips for the raven haired boy to bite into. As Sasuke opened his mouth to accept the offering, Naruto slid a foot up his calf, initiating a game of footsie, which the Uchiha eagerly participated in. The lunch continued with Naruto occasionally feeding Sasuke. By the time Naruto paid for lunch, both had rageing arousals. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's hand and dragged him out of the restaurant, towards Naruto's apartment.
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Sasuke watched Naruto as he locked the apartment door. Naruto looked into the Uchiha's eyes as he walked forward and put his hands on the avenger's shoulders.

"Sasuke, if I do anything you don't like, tell me and I'll stop," then Naruto kissed him. Sasuke's eyes widened as he felt Naruto's chapped lips against his own then, he closed his eyes, grabbed Naruto's head, and increased the pressure of the kiss, opening his lips to allow Naruto's tongue in his mouth. Naruto ran his tongue over every surface in Sasuke's mouth, occasionally lingering at particularly sensitive spots.

Unfortunately even ninjas need air at some point, so they broke apart to breathe. Naruto nibbled his way down Sasuke's neck until the collar got in his way. He took it off, sucking on one spot until the collar was gone. Then he moved down to the hollow of Sasuke's throat, where he licked, sucked, and nibbled, while his hands were busily taking the vest off and stroking over the newly exposed skin. Naruto moved his hands down to the shorts and moved his mouth down to one of the brunette's nipples. As he ripped the shorts off, he kissed the nipple then blew on it. As he traced the tip of his tongue around the edge of the nipple, Sasuke hissed, "Don't tease damn it."

Naruto took the cue and covered the nipple with his mouth, sucking on it and making Sasuke gasp and sink the fingers of one pale hand into Naruto's blond locks. One of Naruto's hands played with the neglected nipple while the other curled around Sasuke's shaft, moving up and down slowly. The avenger arched, "Ah! Naruto more."

Naruto took his mouth off the nipple, "Who?"

Sasuke remembered Naruto's first rule for today, "Naruto-sama more."

"Happy to oblige Sasuke."

Naruto trailed his tongue down Sasuke's torso, dipped his tongue into the navel, then moved his mouth in front of Sasuke's erection, "Sasuke do you want me to?"

"Oh fuck yes."

Naruto opened his mouth and licked the shaft before taking it into his mouth and sucking gently.

Sasuke threw his head back moaning as he buried his fingers in Naruto's hair, "Fuck! Naruto-sama please!"

Sasuke wasn't sure what he was asking for, but Naruto seemed to know. He pulled a tube of lubricant from his pocket and poured a small amount into his hand, slicking it over his fingers, before gently inserting a finger into Sasuke. Sasuke tenses as he felt the invasion but relaxed a moment later. Naruto began ton move his finger in and out then, he added a second finger and Sasuke moaned in pleasure. Naruto moved his fingers faster and Sasuke bucked his hips, causing Naruto's fingers to hit a spot that made Sasuke feel like electricity was shooting through him. Naruto hit the spot again and Sasuke cried out as he came in Naruto's mouth. His knees buckled, but Naruto held him up as he swallowed. Sasuke watched Naruto lick his lips and grin, "Better than ramen."

Sasuke pulled at Naruto until the blond stood up, then the avenger kissed him for a moment before saying, "Don't I owe you for that?"

Naruto's grin turned absolutely wicked, "Not really, but if you insist," he picked Sasuke up, wrapping the avenger's legs around his hips and attacking his mouth as he carried the brunette to the bedroom.

Naruto lay over Sasuke on the bed and ground their hips together as their mouths fought for dominance. Naruto broke the kiss and moved off the bed to remove Sasuke's boots and strip himself naked. Sasuke watched hungrily as more and more of Naruto was exposed. By the time naruto was fully naked, Sasuke's erection had returned.

Naruto crawled back over Sasuke and rubbed their cocks together, making the both of them groan and shudder. Naruto poured more lube into his hand and slicked it over his phallus then, he pushed two fingers into Sasuke, taking care to avoid the prostate. He gently scissored his fingers, stretching Sasuke, readying his lover for what was to come. Naruto added a third finger and the brunette stiffened in brief discomfort. Naruto gentle stroked Sasuke's shaft until the avenger relaxed, allowing Naruto to move his fingers in and out making sure that Sasuke was slick enough. The Uchiha began riding Naruto's fingers and panted, "More."

Naruto pulled his fingers out and positioned himself at Sasuke's entrance, "Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked into the incredible blue of Naruto's eyes and saw concern, lust, and love.

"Sasuke is this what you really want?"

"Hell yes," Sasuke leaned up, whispering in Naruto's ear, "Fuck me now Naruto-sama."

Naruto shivered and slowly pressed into Sasuke, who moaned at the feeling of fullness. Naruto stopped halfway in making Sasuke growl in frustration, "Why did you stop?"

"I don't want to hurt you."

Sasuke didn't respond with words, instead he wrapped his legs around Naruto's hips and impaled himself the rest of the way on Naruto. They both moaned then, Sasuke growled, "Move. Now."

Naruto complied, moving slowly at first, then gradually moving faster, but not fast enough to suit Sasuke.

"Faster damn it."

Naruto slowed down, "No," and then, he began to penetrate shallowly.

"Naruto please!"

"Mmm who?"

Sasuke panted, "Naruto-sama please!"

Naruto pushed all the way in but still moved slowly. Sasuke, fed up with the teasing, managed to reverse their positions and started riding Naruto hard and fast. Naruto thrust up to meet Sasuke's downward movements, hitting the avenger's prostate with every thrust. Sasuke came, screaming Naruto's name and spilling his semen all over their stomaches. The tightening of Sasuke's muscles around him triggered Naruto's own release, "Ah! Sasuke!," and he thrust up against the brunette, pumping his seed deeply into the Uchiha.

Sasuke collapsed on Naruto's chest and the blond wrapped his arms around his exausted avenger.

"Naruto-sama"

"Hmmn?"

"Tomorrow you're the uke."

Naruto chuckled and rolled them onto their sides, giving Sasuke room to wrap his arms around Naruto, "I guess it's only fair."

"Hn."

They fell asleep holding each other.
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Sakura and Kakashi knocked on Naruto's door the next morning. When no one answered, Kakashi picked the lock, and they steeped into Naruto's apartment. Sakura went looking for Naruto in the kitchen, while Kakashi, being the perverted genius he was, went straight to the bedroom. He stopped in the doorway and smiled at the two entwined rivals. Sakura walked over, "Is Naruto still asleep? I swear sometimes he-EAHHH!"

Her shriek woke the two sleeping lovers up. When they spotted her and Kakashi, Naruto blushed and Sasuke glared.

"S-Sasuke-kun you're, you're..."

"The term is gay and yes I am, now get out."

Kakashi dragged a shocked Sakura out of the apartment.

Sasuke looked at his blushing usuratonkachi and leaned in to give him a gentle kiss.

"Good morning dobe."

Naruto smiled, for one undisturbed by the nickname, "You've been waiting to say that haven't you?"

Naruto reached out and pulled Sasuke's face to his, "It is a good morning. but what do you say we make it a great morning teme," and he kissed Sasuke.

The Uchiha broke the kiss, "Hn, I think I'd rather have an incredible morning usuratonkachi," with that Sasuke got down to the business of making Naruto scream his name so loudly that he'd be evicted. He had to get Naruto to live with him somehow, right?
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Kiba wasn't that happy to find out he had another mission coming up the next day. Not that he didn't like going on missions, but that he had to go on one with the blond idiot again. Even though Hinata would be with them, he would still have to put up with the loud and annoying Naruto. Hinata was too quiet and wouldn't provide enough distraction to make the mission bearable. Normally Shino would be their third member because they were still a team, but Shino had been sent as a third member for Ino and Chouji's team on a mission, yesterday. Shikamaru was now working as an instructor at the Ninja Academy and that left Team 10 one man short. So other people would take turns filling in as the third member whenever Team 10 got a mission.

Kiba walked over to his closet and grabbed five of his black fishnet shirts and five of his light gray pants off their hangers. He then went to his dresser to pull out five of his boxer shorts. He then put all the clothes into his backpack, he had already put his camping gear, tent, blankets, towels toiletries, snacks, dog food and doggy biscuits (for Akamaru) in there earlier. This mission would last close to five days so he wanted to make sure he had enough supplies to last that long. He looked down and saw Akamaru curled up at the foot of his bed, staring up at him. "Hey Akamaru, you aren't looking forward to this mission either, are you buddy?"

"arf!" Akamaru barked. Then rolled over to his back, begging to get his belly scratched.

Kiba laughed and reached over to scratch Akamaru's belly. "Well hopefully that idiot, Naruto, won't ruin this mission too!" Missions with Naruto always had something go wrong during them, and most of the other people, on the teams that Naruto got put on, think Naruto is a jinx. No mission ever goes smoothly if the blond idiot is involved.

"woof woof!" Akamaru rolled back to his belly again after Kiba stopped scratching him.

"Yeah I know! Wishful thinking eh?" Kiba frowned and then reached over to pick up his backpack and laid it down near his bedroom door. He was still frowning as he got undressed and put on his pajama bottoms. Kiba preferred to sleep bare chested. Then he pulled down his covers and climbed into bed, pulling the covers up to his neck. He leaned up slightly from his bed to reach the clock that was on his nightstand, he picked it up and checked the time and saw it read eleven pm and then he checked to make sure the alarm was set to go off at five am. The team was to meet at the front gate of the village at six am. He put the clock back down and then laid back in his bed, turning over to his lay on his back. Akamaru had already fallen asleep, but Kiba called out good night to him anyway then fell asleep himself.

"Ahhhh Kiiiibaaa! More!" The blond boy yelled out as the dark-haired boy bit and sucked on his neck. Kiba rocked his hips slowly against Naruto's as Naruto lay beneath him and both of them moaned at the feel of their erections pushing up together at every downward stroke. Kiba was finding it hard to go slowly with the boy beneath him, but he wanted to enjoy all the sensations before finishing too quickly. He didn't know how much longer his control would last. Naruto was just so hot and sexy with his pleas for more and the way he was thrusting his hips back up into Kiba's hips.

The blond was already shirtless, so was Kiba, and now Kiba wanted to remove both of their pants and boxers. So he did and then moved back down on top of Naruto. This time when their hips were thrust together they both moaned out even louder before, because of the erotic pleasure of feeling their erections against each other, bare skin to bare skin. Kiba crushed his lips against Naruto's and Naruto opened his mouth for Kiba to thrust his tongue inside. Both the boys tongues dueled and then they took turns exploring each other's mouths. Kiba pulled away and looked down at his blond lover, black eyes staring into blue, both pairs of eyes filled with lust.

"I want to fuck you so badly right now!" Kiba growled roughly.

"Then do it!" Yelled Naruto.

All of a sudden Kiba heard a loud buzzing sound and he growled out loud in frustration. Then his eyes shot wide open in shock. Oh God! I was dreaming of having sex with Naruto! Kiba jumped out of bed, accidentally knocking Akamaru on the floor when one of his feet kicked him. Akamaru yelped in surprise and pain. Kiba didn't notice or hear though, because he was so upset, and ran to his bathroom (he had a bathroom connected to his bedroom). Kiba stared at himself in the mirror over his sink. His eyes were staring back at him and they were filled with dismay. Then he noticed that his pajama bottoms felt wet in the front so he looked down. "Oh Crap!" He yelled out. He turned on the water in his shower, and after the temperature became warm enough, he pushed his pajama bottoms off and stepped into the shower. The dream kept repeating itself over and over in his mind, as he scrubbed his skin furiously with a soap covered washcloth.

Why would I dream of having sex with him? I must be going crazy. Yes that's it, I'm going insane! Damn, it must be because I was thinking about him right before I went to bed. There is no way that I really want to fuck Naruto of all people! Stupid, stupid hormones! Argh! Kiba decided to ignore the dream and quickly finished washing himself all over, then he rinsed all the soap off his body. He turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. He dried himself off with a towel and walked back into his bedroom. He went to his dresser, opened the top drawer, then pulled out clean boxers and put them on. He walked over to his closet and grabbed one of his light gray pants and a fishnet shirt out of it, and put them on. He grabbed his comb off his dresser and ran it through his hair to take out the tangles. Then he went to his backpack and put the comb inside it.

Akamaru felt a bit put out, because of being ignored and at how he had been woken up. "arf arf!"

Kiba looked over to Akamaru with a guilty expression on his face. "Ahh, sorry Akamaru! I had a really bad nightmare and was freaking out there for a bit."

"woooof!"

"Um, nothing for you to worry about it! I already forgot what it was about." Kiba couldn't bring himself to tell Akamaru about his dream. "We need to go as soon as we both eat breakfast." Kiba grabbed his backpack off the floor and opened the bedroom door. He didn't have to worry about being quiet this morning because his mother and sister were both out on missions, so he had the house to himself. Kiba and Akamaru headed out to the kitchen. Kiba got a carton of milk out of his fridge and placed it on the kitchen table. Then he opened a cabinet to the left of the fridge and grabbed a couple bowls. He poured some milk in one of the bowls then put it down on the floor for Akamaru, he opened another cabinet and grabbed a can of dog food and opened it, then emptied the can into Akamaru's food bowl. He grabbed a box of Cocoa Puffs from the top of his fridge and poured some of it into his own bowl and poured some milk over it. He put the milk back in the fridge then grabbed a spoon from a drawer. He sat down at the table and started eating. After both Kiba and Akamaru finished their breakfast, Kiba went back to his bathroom and brushed his teeth and then brought his brush and toothpaste back with him and put them in his backpack.

"Well Akamaru it's time to go." Kiba carried the backpack to the front door and put it down so that he could grab his gray jacket off the coat rack and put it on. He then picked up his backpack, slung it over one of his shoulders, then opened the front door and stepped outside. He locked his front door, then he and Akamaru started jogging towards the front gate of the village.

Naruto woke up to his froggy alarm (it looks like a frog, Gamakichi as a matter of fact!) going off at five fifteen am. He slammed his fist on it, then groaned out in irritation. Damn I want to sleep more but I can't! Have to go on another stupid mission with Dog-Boy. I really hate that mutt! Naruto forced himself to sit up and then he stood up and stretched while yawning loudly. He walked over to his bathroom and washed his face to get the sleep out of his eyes. When that was done he brushed his hair, then he brushed his teeth. Then he carried his hair brush, toothbrush and toothpaste back into his bedroom and put them into his backpack. It was a good thing I took a bath last night because I don't have a lot of time to get to the meeting place. Naruto took his pajamas off, keeping his boxers on (he had put on clean boxers after his bath the night before), then walked over to his closet and grabbed one of his orange pants and a black fishnet shirt, and put them on. He had already packed everything he needed for the mission the night before, so he grabbed his backpack and carried it over to his front door and laid it on the floor.

He walked over to his kitchen and opened his fridge to get his milk out. He checked the expiration date and was happy to see he still had a couple more days before it went bad. He would have to stop by a grocery store after he got back from his mission to buy more. He put the milk on the kitchen table, then turned back to open a cabinet to get a clean glass. He put the glass down on the table and picked up the milk and poured it into his glass. He turned back to his kitchen cabinets again, then opened the one to the right of his fridge where he kept his ramen. He picked out a chicken flavored one, pulled the top halfway off and then put it near his stove. He took his kettle off the stove, filled it with water, then put it back on the stove. He turned the stove on so that the water would heat. He went to the kitchen table, lifted his glass of milk and then drank the milk slowly, waiting for the water to be get hot enough.

After a few minutes the whistle blew, by that time he had finished his milk and had already put the glass in the sink. He took the kettle off the stove, after turning off the stove, and poured the hot water into his cup of chicken flavored ramen. He closed the cover on the cup and whistled the Ramen Song while he waited the three minutes for the noodles to cook. He got tired of whistling after a minute though, so he started singing the song out loud instead.

"Ramen, Ramen, the food of the gods, got to have Ramen to be big and strong! Ramen Ramen...", he sang it over and over till he realized the three minutes were up. (Actually he had ended up singing for five whole minutes before he realized the time!) He grabbed a pair of chopsticks out of one of his drawers and then sat down on a chair at the table. He shoveled the ramen quickly into his mouth and finished it all in only a few minutes. He then threw his chopsticks in the sink and the ramen cup was tossed into the trash can.

He rushed to the front door and grabbed his orange jacket off the coat rack, then put it on. Naruto reached down and grabbed his back pack from the floor and strapped it securely onto his back. He opened his front door and stepped out. He noticed the temperature outside was comfortable and there were no clouds in the sky. Great day for traveling! He locked his front door and then turned and ran down the short corridor in the front of his apartment, then ran down the stairs to get to the street below. He decided to jog to the meeting place, at a slow, comfortable pace, because he still wasn't fully awake yet.

Naruto got to the gate at five fifty-nine am (he didn't live close to the front gate so it took him fifteen minutes to jog the distance!) and saw that Hinata and Kiba were already there waiting for him. He spoke to Hinata in a friendly voice, but to Kiba he growled the nickname he had given him. "Good Morning Hinata! Dog-Boy."

"G-g-good m-m-morning, Na-Naruto-k-kun", stuttered Hinata with a pink blush covering both her cheeks.

"Whatever." Kiba grunted. He wasn't in the mood to exchange insults with Naruto this morning. He was still upset because of the dream he had. He wanted to get this mission over with as soon as possible. But Kiba couldn't help glancing at Naruto out of the corner of his eye. Do I find him attractive? I don't normally like dumb blonds and I've never thought of any of my male friends as being attractive in a sexual way. But...Naruto's hair looks really great though, with the sun shining down on it and his eyes are the most beautiful shade of blue I've ever seen. Ack! Kiba mentally slapped himself. What am I thinking? I've got to stop thinking about him! Kiba turned his back on his two team mates and started walking to the front gate. "Come on you two, time to go."

Naruto grumbled. "Stop being so bossy, Dog-Boy!" Geez he's got a stick up his ass this morning. And he's acting weird too, he won't look me in the eyes. Naruto was puzzled and irritated, but he followed Kiba out the front gate anyway.

Kiba-kun is acting very strange this morning. He would hardly talk to me this morning before Naruto-kun showed up. He seems very distracted and worried about something. Oh well, maybe he will feel better later. I'm so excited about being on another mission with Naruto-kun! I wish I could tell him how I feel. Hinata followed her male team mates out the gate, while trying to think of a way she can get Naruto alone later to tell him her feelings.

The mission the three were on would take them to the Water Country. They would meet up with Hidden Mist ninja just inside the border of the Water Country and then take over escorting the Water Lord to the Leaf Village for a meeting with the Hokage and the Fire Lord. The trip to Water Country then back to Konoha for the meeting would take about two days, the meeting itself would only take half a day, but then they would have to leave right after the meeting and travel for a few hours before stopping for the night. After that, it would take about half a day to get to the Water Country in order to meet up again with the Hidden Mist ninja that would take over security for the Water Lord. Then it would take the rest of that day and into the early evening to get back to the Konoha and be finished with the mission. The Water Lord would have his attendants with him and a couple of bodyguards, but the ninja would provide the needed security to make sure the Water Lord arrived safely to and from his meeting.

"I really hate escorting stuck-up lords!" Naruto yelled. He had said this several times during the last few hours and Kiba was about ready to stop and beat the crap out of the blond. Of course, that wasn't the only thing that Naruto had been complaining about during the trip so far, and this time Kiba had had enough.

"Would you just shut up already! You are driving me crazy! If you say one more word, I won't be responsible for the consequences!" Kiba yelled. He had looked back at Naruto and glared as he said this.

Naruto was in the mood for a fight, he was so bored and needed a distraction. The Dog-Boy just gave him the distraction he needed. Naruto raced forward towards Kiba, grabbed him and then tackled him to the ground. Both boys punched and kicked at each other as they rolled around on the ground. Akamaru joined in and grabbed the right trouser leg of Naruto's between his teeth, pulling at it and growling.

Hinata was afraid the boys would get seriously hurt so she tried to get them to stop. "Um, um, pl-please st-stop fighting." But they both either ignored her or didn't hear her.

Finally after ten minutes, both boys quit fighting and rolled to their backs, panting heavily. They realized at the same time that they felt pretty great, like they had just had a good workout. Even though both were bleeding from busted lips and scratches and each one had gotten a black eye from the other.

Hinata looked at each boy in surprise when they started laughing. I don't understand. Why are they laughing after they just fought? "Um, Na-Naruto-kun and Ki-Kiba-kun, wh-why are you laughing?"

Naruto turned his head towards Kiba and looked at him. Kiba has a great laugh and he looks really cute when his eyes crinkle up like that. Why didn't I notice before how cute he is? Wait! What am I thinking? Kiba is sooo not cute! I don't even like him that much! Sure he can fun to be around sometimes, when he likes to pull pranks on people, but most of the time he's an asshole.

Meanwhile, Kiba had also turned towards Naruto and got caught trapped in his eyes. His eyes are so beautiful. I feel like I could look into them forever. He has a beautiful smile too. Crap, not again! I refuse to think of Naruto that way! He's an idiot! I can't be attracted to him...can I?

While both boys were looking at each other and were lost in their thoughts, Hinata kept looking back and forth between them. What's going on here? They keep staring at each other with these strange expressions on their faces. They are both ignoring me too, like I'm not even here. This is very weird. I really don't like this at all! I'm starting to feel jealous of Kiba! She was so angry at the thought that Kiba might actually like Naruto, in the same way she does, that she lost her stutter. "Kiba-kun and Naruto-kun we need to keep going or we'll be late for our mission!" Hinata yelled this, which was so unusual, that it caught both boys' attention.

Naruto and Kiba were glad of the distraction though, neither of them wanted to continue with the thoughts they had been thinking. Kiba jerked his eyes from Naruto's and looked up at Hinata. "Ahh, you're right Hinata! Naruto, you idiot, if we are late it will be all your fault!"

"What? It's your fault not mine, bastard! You insulted me!", Naruto glared at Kiba and Kiba glared back. Then both boys turned away from each other and stood up. They leaped back up into the trees. Kiba and Naruto continued traveling towards Water Country, grumbling insults to each other along the way, their voices were too low though for the other to actually hear them. Hinata followed along behind them, every once in a while she would look back and forth between her team mates trying to figure out why they were both acting strangely. She was very worried that something bad was going to happen during this mission.
After the team had traveled for a few more hours they arrived at a dock where they would take a ferry that would bring them into the Water Country. They walked off the ferry then had to travel a few more miles to get to the rendezvous point where the Water Lord was waiting for them. Kiba, being the leader of the team, walked up to the Water Lord and introduced himself and the team. "I'm Inuzuka Kiba and these are my team mates, Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto. We're here to escort you to the Hidden Village of the Leaf."

"Ah, I am Makuza Toma. I'm a bit surprised to see the Hokage sent such a young looking team. I do hope you are able to provide the protection I need." The Water Lord wasn't being mean or arrogant, but he was a bit worried about how young the Leaf nin were.

Naruto took offense though and started towards the Water Lord to yell at him, luckily Hinata knew how Naruto would react so she spoke up quickly before he could get a word out of his mouth. "Um, we m-may l-look young b-but we are ex-experienced with missions like this." She blushed and smiled sweetly at the Lord.

Naruto backed away, but grumbled under his breath. Kiba was grateful for Hinata's quick thinking, even though he was also a bit offended by the Lord's comment about their age. "Well, if you all are ready let's go!" Kiba turned away from everyone and headed back in the direction towards the ferry. The others all followed behind him.

The large group walked to the ferry and boarded it, then rode it to the Fire Country border. After they disembarked from the ferry, they then had to travel for a few more miles until they found a good place to set up camp. Kiba and Akamaru were the ones that hunted for the food for the group, while Naruto gathered the firewood. Hinata helped with setting up the tents with the attendants of the Water Lord. When Kiba and Akamaru got back with a large deer they had caught, they went back outside of the camp and set up traps around it. Naruto and Hinata took care of gutting, skinning and cutting up the deer and then Hinata built a fire. She cooked the dear meat and also a pot of some of the rice she had brought with her for the mission.

Kiba fed some of the deer meat to Akamaru then told him to go to their tent and sleep till it was time for their shift. The two would take the second shift of the night's guard duty. Naruto had the first and Hinata the third. Then Kiba sat down where Naruto and Hinata were, near the fire, to eat his own meal. During the meal, it just so happened that Kiba and Naruto were sitting across from each other as they ate. Hinata was sitting a little ways to the right of Naruto and kept looking over at him every few minutes.

Kiba and Naruto, though, were glancing at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. Sometimes they would catch each other looking at the same time, and then they would both blush and look quickly away. They pretty much had the same thoughts running through their heads. They were trying to understand why they were attracted to the other.

Why do I think Kiba is cute? His eyes are so dark and I don't want to stop looking in them. When I was fighting with him earlier, I was touching his stomach and chest when we rolled around. His body felt so strong and firm and my hands are even tingling right now just remembering how it felt to touch him. I feel so hot all over like I'm running a fever, and I can't even think straight. Maybe I'm coming down with a virus or the flu! Hmm...I want to jump on him and feel that sexy body of his body under mine. What the hell am I thinking! Naruto tried to keep his eyes down towards the ground but they kept betraying him, lifting up against his will to stare at Kiba.

Damn that dream I had last night! He's sitting right in front of me and all I can do is remember that dream and I want it to make it real. I want to jump him and then lick and bite at that sexy neck of his! Geez...I have gone crazy! Why am I having such a hard time holding myself back from jumping him? Speaking of hard! If my jacket wasn't covering my upper thighs right now, I'd be totally embarrassed. Everyone would know what I was thinking! Oh great! I think my face must be red, because it feels really hot right now. Kiba was contemplating taking a walk outside of camp. He needed to take care of his little, well actually big, problem.

Oh crap, this is terrible! Someone might notice what's happened to Naruto junior! I need to take a walk 'til I can get Naruto junior calmed down. "Um gotta take a piss, be back in a bit!" Naruto jumped up quickly and ran out of the camp. He needed to find some place private.

Damn! I need to get away from the camp right now, but that idiot Naruto beat me to it! What would everyone think if I left right after Naruto did? Screw it! There's no help for it, I have to take care of this problem right now. "Hinata, I got to go too, I'll be right back!"

"Um alright, Kiba-kun." Hinata was suspicious. Naruto-kun and Kiba-kun are acting weird again and both of them are going to be alone together away from the camp. I don't want them to be alone together! But what can I do? At least one of us has to stay here in the camp. Damn!

As their luck would have it, both boys ended up going in the same direction when they left camp. Naruto had found a large tree and climbed up to one of it's thicker branches. He pushed his pants down to his upper thighs, then he pulled his fully erect member from his boxers. He gripped it with his right hand and started stroking it. He kept visually picturing Kiba's eyes, face, and body. He remembered how it felt to feel Kiba's body and moaned as he got harder and harder.

Kiba had just settled down beneath the same tree that Naruto had climbed up in (unknowingly!), when he heard moans coming from above him. He was shocked and embarrassed when he realized who it was and what that person was doing. But he kept himself still and listened.

Naruto was getting close to coming, he began to imagine that it was Kiba's hand on his member and not his own, then his body started jerking and he came hard while calling out Kiba's name in a loud guttural moan.

Kiba heard Naruto loudly moan out his name and realized he was finished. Kiba had been stroking his own erection, through his pants, during all this and then quickly pushed his pants down far enough so he could get his his member out of his boxers. He started squeezing and stroking it at a very fast pace because he felt close to coming himself. Just hearing the moans of Naruto before, had gotten him so close to finishing. He tried to stay silent to keep the blond from knowing he was there, but a loud moan escaped him anyway. All of a sudden, he experienced an incredible orgasm and he shouted out Naruto's name at the end of it.

What the fuck? Naruto looked down and saw Kiba on the ground below him, leaning on the same tree he was in. Naruto was embarrassed and surprised. Was Kiba just masturbating while thinking of me? Naruto quickly cleaned up the mess he had made using some leaves he got off the branch he was sitting on, then he pulled his pants back up. He leaned over to look back down at Kiba again.

Kiba wiped his hand on the grass to clean it, then he pulled his pants back up. He looked up and saw Naruto looking down at him with a confused expression on his face. Hmm I never noticed before, but Naruto looks really cute with that expression.

"Hey." Kiba had never had something like this happen to him before, so he had no idea what to say. He was embarrassed, but didn't want to show it.

Naruto jumped down to the ground to land next to Kiba (he wasn't up high enough to hurt himself in the landing!). "Did you just masturbate while thinking of me?"

"Um yeah." Kiba figured there was no use in trying to lie his way out of this.

"Ha, you pervert!" Naruto yelled while glaring at Kiba and pointing his right index finger at him.

"If I am then so are you, because you did the same thing!" Kiba yelled back.

"No I didn't and you can't prove it!" Naruto yelled again and continued to glare and point at Kiba.

"You yelled out my name, you idiot! Geez I can't believe I was attracted to you! I need to get my head examined when this mission is over." Kiba turned to walk back to camp.

Crap! He heard me before! "Yeah...well I need to have my head examined too! You are so not hot!" Naruto grinned thinking he had won this fight. Then he stopped grinning. Wait! Did Kiba just say he was attracted to me?

Kiba swung around and walked back to Naruto. He moved right up close to Naruto. Naruto stood his ground and didn't back up, despite feeling a little nervous. "So, you think I'm hot?" Kiba grinned.

"Yes...No! I said you are not hot! You should get your hearing checked too!" Naruto wished Kiba would back up, but instead Kiba slid his arms around Naruto's waist and pulled him closer.

"You really do want me Blondie, admit it!" Kiba started to feel excited. Naruto fit perfectly in his arms and being this close to those baby blue eyes of his was really making him hot and hard again.

Naruto wanted to lie and tell Kiba he did not want him. He was about to do it too, but his body was telling him to shut up and enjoy the moment. Kiba made Naruto feel safe in his arms. He made him feel wanted too. Naruto had never felt anything like this before. What if Kiba is playing with me though? What if this was a prank and he would tell everyone when we got back that I had a crush on him? But he called my name when he jerked himself off. That was real, wasn't it? I don't think this is love but lust is okay.

This is one of the few times that I've ever seen Naruto become speechless. Guess I know the secret to get him to shut up now, hmm? Kiba leaned his head down towards Naruto's face. He kept his eyes locked on Naruto's. He tilted his head to the left a bit and then brought his lips to Naruto's lips. The kiss was gentle and light and Kiba pulled back quickly to see Naruto's reaction. Naruto had a small smile on his face and his eyes were half closed. So Kiba kissed him again, but this time the kiss lasted longer. He brushed his tongue back and forth between Naruto's top and bottom lips to get them to part for him.

Naruto opened his mouth willingly and Kiba eagerly swooped in with his tongue. It felt strange, at first to Naruto, but then he decided to move his own tongue against Kiba's. Hmm it feels so good. Naruto's whole body started heating up.

Kiba felt the same hot feeling building up inside his own body and he started getting even harder. The kiss turned into another long kiss and then another. Both boys couldn't control their hands any longer either. They had to touch the other. So hands started roaming everywhere. Kiba couldn't stay on his feet any longer so he dropped down to his knees, bringing Naruto down with him. They both kept kissing and touching each other and felt like they were going to explode if they didn't get some sort of relief soon. They fell over onto the ground.

Unluckily for them, Hinata had gotten really worried about what was taking the boys so long. They had been gone for about half an hour now. She walked over to the bodyguards of the Water Lord, who were standing outside their Lord's tent, talking quietly among themselves. She told them she was going to check on her team mates and would come right back. They told her not to take too long. Hinata nodded at them and then headed off in the direction she had seen both boys go in.

As she got further away from the camp, she could hear strange noises coming from a little ahead of where she was. The closer she got to where the noises were coming from, the more upset she got. The noises she heard sounded like moans and then she heard the names of Naruto and Kiba being called out. She started running. She tripped over the foot of one of the boys, causing herself to fall and land right on top of them. The boys were laying on the ground, still wrapped in each others' arms and they looked up in surprise at the person who had just fallen on them. Hinata lay there panting heavily and just stared at them in horror. Both boys started staring back at her in the same way.

Kiba was the first to recover. He pushed Hinata off of him and Naruto, then disentangled his limbs from Naruto's and stood up. He turned his back to them then moved a few feet away. "Hinata, can you please go back to camp now? We'll join you in a few minutes."

"Uh um okay." Hinata stood up and then turned away from them. Her mind was filled with the sounds and images of what her team mates had been doing. Her heart felt like it had been ripped to pieces. As she ran back to camp, her eyes started to overflow with tears.

Naruto sat up, but didn't have the energy at the moment to stand up. He kept his head down and wouldn't look at Kiba. He figured Kiba was upset and would probably tell him he regretted what happened.

Kiba kept his back to Naruto. What do I say now? I don't know what to say about this or what to think. Better to just put a stop to all this madness right now and forget it ever happened. "Naruto, this can't happen again. It was a mistake. People wouldn't understand a relationship like this between two boys and my mother would kill me if she found out. She wants me to marry a girl and have kids."

Tears started falling down Naruto's face, but he kept his head down so Kiba wouldn't see. Well if Kiba would look at me, but he's too ashamed to I guess. He's ashamed to have kissed me or even to like me this way. I always knew that no one would ever love or want me this way. I always knew I would be alone. "You're right Kiba, this won't happen again. I won't tell anyone if you don't. Would you mind going back now? I'll follow in a little while." Naruto kept his voice firm and steady while he spoke.

Kiba felt really bad, but he felt that this was the way it had to be. He turned around to head back to camp, keeping his eyes averted from Naruto. He was afraid to look at Naruto. Afraid that if he did look at him right now, he may not be able to keep from giving in to his desires again. So he forced himself to walk back to the camp without a backward glance.

When Naruto couldn't see Kiba anymore, he let his emotions come out. He let the pain pour out of him and the tears. He couldn't go back to camp until he had gotten it all out of his system. He also needed to wash the tears off his face. He could hear a stream nearby so he walked to it and knelt down, then scooped up water in his hands and splashed water on his face. Why should I let this bother me anyway? Before today I was fine being alone and I didn't even feel any attraction to Kiba. Did I? No, I didn't. I don't think I ever thought about kissing him either. But I did think of him as a friend. He and I do have some things in common. Like pranking and being loud. But now I don't think I can even be around him anymore. It hurts so much, to be rejected. I wanted him so badly and for a while there, I thought he wanted me too. Why is it so wrong? Maybe that was just an excuse he gave, because he realized he doesn't really want me. No I'm not going to cry again! I promised myself a long time ago that I would never let anyone make me cry again! I have to be strong and put this behind me. I'll just pretend it never happened. Ignore it. I've done that before when someone hurt me, I can do it again. With this decision made, Naruto got up from the stream and turned back to go back to the camp.
After Kiba had returned to camp, he wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, especially Hinata. I know she has a crush on Naruto and I'm sure she is mad at me right now. I have no idea what to say to her. He looked over at Hinata, she was sitting by the fire and had her head down. So Kiba quickly walked over to his tent, pushed aside the one of the flaps at the entrance and went inside the tent. Akamaru had woken up when he heard Kiba come in, he looked up at his friend.

"oof?"

Kiba took off his jacket and his sandals but left his clothes on, he wanted to be ready for when his guard duty shift came up. He got into his sleeping bag and laid down. He patted his hand on the top of his sleeping bag to ask Akamaru to lay beside him. Akamaru got up and moved over to him and laid down.

"My life is a mess right now, Akamaru. I didn't tell you before because I was embarrassed, but I had a dream last night about Naruto. It was a wet dream. I still don't understand why I dreamed it. It just came out of the blue." Kiba stopped speaking for a few minutes. He had started remembering the dream.

Akamaru got restless and wanted to hear more. "arf!"

"Oh! Sorry little guy, I spaced out there for a while huh?"

Akamaru nodded.

"Okay where was I? Oh yeah, well anyway because of that dream, when I saw Naruto at the gate this morning I started looking at him and trying to figure out what it was about him that would make me have that dream. I really really looked at him, Akamaru. He is kinda cute, for an idiot. I especially like his eyes."

Kiba stopped talking again. Yes those eyes...mmm. And that tanned skin of his. Next time I'll have to see him in daylight with those ugly clothes off ,to see if he's tan all over. And why does he were such baggy clothes anyway? He's small for his age and there is no fat on him. I could tell. Kiba grinned wickedly. He remembered the feel of Naruto when he had been exploring his body earlier.

"arf arf!" Akamaru was getting peeved at the boy. He wanted to hear more and Kiba kept going off to la la land on him.

Kiba jerked back to the present and remembered where he was. "Darn it, I did it again! Well you see my problem, Akamaru. I've totally lost it! All I can think about now is that stupid Blondie."

Akamaru was confused. Blondie? "woooof?"

"Um yeah. Kinda a pet name I guess. I know it's stupid but it fits him. Anyway, I told Blondie that we couldn't be together and that is that. But I think I hurt him." Kiba looked sad.

"woof woof"

"Oh yeah I left out some parts didn't I?" Kiba blushed then.

"arf!"

"Okay, okay. Well, me and Naruto kinda made out earlier. Just kissing and touching though!" He said that quickly when he saw Akamaru with a shocked and disgusted look on his face. "See even you have a problem with it! What would my mother think? Or the village? I mean it's just hormones right? It's just part of growing up I guess and I'll get over it soon." I better! Otherwise I will jump Naruto again and that would cause me a whole lot of trouble.

Akamaru wasn't so sure it would be that easy. He could practically see all of Kiba's thoughts on his face. And the way Kiba kept spacing out and getting this lustful look in his eyes. "wooof"

"What do you mean you support my decision? You mean you want me to forget about doing anything more with Naruto?"

"arf!"

"Oh, you support whatever I decide to do." Kiba patted Akamaru on the head. "Thanks Akamaru, you're the greatest! Well I better get a quick nap or I'll have trouble staying awake when it's our shift." He patted Akamaru on the head again then rolled onto his back to get some sleep. His mind kept replaying what happened between him and Naruto earlier. Damn it I have to stop thinking so I can sleep! But for Kiba it would be a sleepless night.

Naruto made it back to camp fifteen minutes after Kiba had left him. He saw Hinata sitting at the fire. "Um, Hinata?"

Hinata was still depressed about what she had witnessed earlier. She had been sitting at the fire since she got back to the camp. Why, Kiba? Why did you steal the man I love away from me? I thought we were friends. Kiba must know how I feel about Naruto. I know I never told anyone, but still...Kiba must have figured it out by now! How could he have missed it? Seeing how I can't stop blushing around Naruto. How I sometimes faint at the sight of him. I don't know if I can ever forgive Kiba for taking my Naruto!

"Hey Hinata!" Naruto called out louder to get her attention. Hinata looked up at him. "Um, are you okay Hinata?"

Hinata blushed. "Um, uh I am f-fine, Na-Naruto-kun." She spoke quietly.

Naruto didn't believe her because he could tell she had been crying. He wanted to sit with her and try to help her, but he was depressed himself. I don't see how I can help anyone right now, when I can't even help myself. "Do you want to talk about it? Why you were crying?"

"No!" Hinata yelled, then realized what she had done and spoke again more quietly. "Um, I m-mean no. I-I am f-fine and I th-think I will g-go to my t-tent now. G-goodnight, Na-Naruto-kun." She jumped up and turned around and headed to her tent. She needed to be alone right now. When Hinata got inside her tent, she curled up on the top of her sleeping bag. She was too distraught to even take off her jacket and sandals. She just laid there and started to cry again. She cried herself to sleep.

After Hinata had left, Naruto sat by the fire to start his shift for the guard duty. He should have been keeping his mind on his job, but he couldn't help thinking about Kiba and what had happened between them. I really don't want to be alone! I liked kissing and touching Kiba. I thought I could forget him and move on, but I really don't want to. I've tried listing all his faults and why the two of us would be incompatible, but that doesn't work. All I can think of is how he tasted when I kissed him. How the feel of his hands all over my body makes me feel so good. How good it felt to feel his skin and the firm muscles below it. I want to do it again! I'm not going to even deny it anymore. I want that damn Dog-Boy! So...how to get him...that is a tough one. But Uzumaki Naruto never gives up!

Naruto spent the rest of his shift thinking up plots on how to accomplish his own personal mission. He named it the "Get Dog-Boy to Love Me" mission. And this is one mission that Naruto was determined would succeed. When it was time for him to wake up Kiba and Akamaru for their shift, Naruto decided Phase One of his plan should be put into action. Naruto crept silently over to Kiba's tent and got down on his knees and crawled inside. He crawled over to Kiba, on the side where Akamaru was not sleeping at. He stretched his body out next to Kiba's and moved up as close as he could get to him. He then leaned up enough so he could reach Kiba's face with his own. He leaned over further and brushed his lips against Kiba's. Naruto pulled back so that he could see if Kiba was still sleeping. He was. So Naruto leaned in for a kiss again, but this time he pressed his lips harder to the other boy's. He ran his tongue between Kiba's lips and was able to part them enough so he could get his tongue inside Kiba's mouth. Naruto's tongue became very bold.

Kiba, of course, hadn't been able to sleep because of his thoughts. So unknown to Naruto, Kiba was awake when his Blondie had crept into his tent and crawled up beside him. Kiba had been thinking he would let Naruto know he was awake, but he was curious about what the other was up to. With Naruto being such a prankster, the idiot was probably going to try to pull a prank on him. But when Naruto kissed him, Kiba was too surprised to do anything. Then he just thought he would lay there and see what else the blond would do. But Kiba didn't have the will power to resist when Naruto plunged his tongue in his mouth. He decided it was time to let his Blondie know he was awake. He did that by kissing back.

Naruto felt Kiba's response and jerked back in surprise, but Kiba grabbed Naruto's forearms and yanked him back into the kiss. Kiba plunged his own tongue into Naruto's mouth and went exploring. Naruto got over his surprise and fought tongue to tongue with Kiba. The kiss would have gone on a lot longer than a couple of minutes if it wasn't for Akamaru's bark.

Akamaru had woken up when he felt Kiba move and looked up to see what was happening. Then he realized that no one was on guard duty, that's why he barked.

Kiba let Naruto pull away from the kiss and then both boys stared at each other for a minute. "arf!" Akamaru had to remind Kiba again that they had guard duty now.

Naruto got his senses back and smiled at Kiba. It was a big, beautiful smile and Kiba answered it with one of his own. He couldn't help it. Naruto's smile was contagious. Naruto didn't say a word but got up on his feet and walked out of Kiba's tent. Phase One was a success, now on to Phase Two!

Kiba got up and put on his sandals and then his jacket. He was still in a daze though because of the kisses and the smile he got from Naruto. Akamaru decided he wouldn't say anything about it right now. He wanted Kiba to follow his heart. Even if his heart led him to Naruto. Besides, Naruto isn't that bad even if he smells like a fox. So Akamaru followed Kiba out of the tent to start their duty.

The next day the group traveled the rest of the way to Konoha. They had no trouble at all along the way, which everyone was thankful for. When they got to the gate, Kiba handed one of the guards there, the papers showing who they were escorting and the permission granted by the Hokage to allow the Water Lord to enter the Village. The guard told Kiba that everything was in order, then told him to take the Water Lord to the Hokage Tower for the meeting. They had arrived an hour before the meeting was scheduled to start. The group entered the village and headed to the Hokage Tower. No one spoke as they walked and when they got there, they all headed upstairs to where the Hokage's office was located. Kiba went up to Shizune's desk, and announced their arrival to her.

"Thank you, Kiba-kun. Can you direct the Water Lord and his company to the lounge so they can rest up and eat before the meeting?"

"Sure can! Is it alright if my team and I take a little break till it's time for the meeting to be over?" Kiba needed to get away from the others to be alone and think. He couldn't think straight as long as he was around Naruto.

"Yes it will be alright for your team to take a break, but make sure you are all back here before the meeting is over." She smiled at Kiba.

"Will do!" Kiba then walked back to the Water Lord and told him that he and his group could rest in the lounge and get something to eat. Then he lead them all to the lounge. Naruto and Hinata had followed along too. Kiba turned to them after the Lord and his group went inside the lounge.

"Shizune says it's okay for us to take a break and leave the tower for a while. But we have to be back here before the meeting is scheduled to end. I'm going out, see you guys later." Kiba rushed away from the other two, Akamaru at his heels.

Hmmm Kiba thinks he can get away from me. Ha! Phase Two is about to start now, Dog-Boy! "See you later, Hinata!" Naruto turned from her and rushed away to catch up with Kiba.

Hinata stamped her right foot angrily. Darn it, Naruto-kun rushed off before I could talk to him! I was hoping I could get a moment alone with him and tell him how I feel. There is no way I'm going to lose to Kiba-kun. I don't give up, that is my ninja way. Hinata decided to follow Naruto to see if she could get him alone.

Kiba was on his way home when he saw Shino up ahead of him. Even though Shino wasn't much of a talker, Kiba still didn't feel like stopping to greet him. But he saw that Shino had noticed him so he decided not to be rude. When Kiba got up to where Shino was standing, he nodded to him. "Yo, Shino. How was your mission?"

"...It was successful."

"Okay, well, I'm still on my escort mission and this is my break time so I'll see you later man." For once I'm glad this dude doesn't say much. I need to be alone right now. Kiba nodded again at Shino and then continued on. He was headed to his house where he could get all the privacy he needed.

Shino watched Kiba as the boy hurried away with Akamaru following behind. Kiba is acting strange today. Normally he would have asked for more details about my mission. And then bragged about how his own mission was more exciting. Wonder what is wrong.

All of a sudden Shino found himself laying on the ground. He felt something on top of him and looked down. There was a mop of blond hair on his chest. Naruto.

Naruto had been running to catch up with Kiba and had not seen Shino till it was too late for him to stop. He crashed into Shino, knocking them both down. He looked up and yelled. "Hey what were you doing blocking the road, you bug-lover!"

Shino pushed Naruto off of him and got up from the ground. "..." Why does he insist on calling me a bug-lover? Sure I love bugs but he makes it sound so perverted.

Getting no reply from the emotionless looking boy, Naruto got up and walked around Shino. Then took off in pursuit of Kiba again.

Shino watched Naruto run off and wondered why he had been running. And it seemed like Naruto had been chasing Kiba. That can't be right. All of a sudden Shino found himself back on the ground again. This time when he looked down he saw blue-black hair. The body felt feminine too. Hinata, hmm...nice.

"Um, um sorry!" Hinata didn't know at the moment who she had knocked down and was laying on. She had been chasing after Naruto and had her mind on what she would say to him when she caught up to him. She never even seen her team mate standing on the road.

Instead of pushing Hinata off like he had done to Naruto, Shino hesitantly put his arms around Hinata. "Is everything alright, Hinata?"

Hinata blushed when she realized who she was laying on. His arms felt good around her. Shino's arms feel so strong and warm, I think I'll just lay here for a bit. "Uh, everything is fine, Shino." Hinata never stuttered while talking with Shino when they were alone. She felt comfortable around him.

"Are you sure? You can talk to me about it, you know." Shino kept his arms around his team mate and talked in a soothing voice. The voice he only uses with Hinata. Of course it's hard for anyone else to know the difference in how he talks. His tone always seemed to sound the same no matter what he said or who he talked to.

But Hinata could tell the difference. She was the only person, besides Shino's own family, who could. She was grateful for Shino's offer to listen to her. "Um, I was trying to catch up to Naruto-kun." Maybe I should talk with Shino about this. He may be able to give me advice. "Um, Shino?"

"...yes?"

"Can we go someplace private to talk?"

"...sure." Shino released his arms from around her and Hinata got up off him then stood up. Shino stood up too and then led Hinata towards the training grounds.
Kiba got to his house and unlocked his front door, but just as he was about to step inside he heard his name being yelled out.

"Kiba! Wait up!" Naruto had finally caught up to Kiba and came to a stop right in front of him. "We need to talk." Naruto was tired from his running and had to bend over a bit to catch his breath.

He followed me home? I can't talk to Naruto right now! "What do you want?" Kiba's voice was not very friendly when he asked this.

Naruto straightened up to his full height. Damn! He sounds mad! "Um, I need to talk to you."

"What about? I really don't have time for this!" I wish he would get the hint! But this is Naruto and he can be pretty dense.

Why does he have to make this so hard! Okay, not giving up! I'll make him listen to me. "Can we just go inside? What I have to say shouldn't be said where others can hear."

Kiba realized that he had better let Naruto in. He didn't want anyone else to know what was going on between them. But he was afraid to be alone with Naruto. Damn it! I guess it can't be helped. I'll just have to be strong and ignore any strange urges I get. "Okay then." Kiba walked into his house, Akamaru had already went inside while the boys were talking.

Naruto walked in behind Kiba and looked around. Nice house. Looks very welcoming. So this is what a home looks like when a family lives in it. Kiba led Naruto to the living room and took a seat on the couch. Naruto decided to sit on the couch too, but he left a little bit of space between him and Kiba. Maybe a few inches. "So Kiba...nice place you have here."

Kiba felt uncomfortable with how close Naruto was sitting next to him. He moved over to the end of the couch to put more space between them. But Naruto scooted towards Kiba until there was only a few inches between them again. "Uh, Naruto do you mind?"

"Mind what?"

"You're too close dammit!"

Naruto grinned. Time for Phase Two! "Kiba-kun, I really like you, you know. I mean I really, really like you."

"What! Listen Naruto, we already talked about this before. Remember?"

"Yes I remember, but I changed my mind." Naruto reached over and grabbed one of Kiba's hands and held it. He threaded their fingers together. Hehe this is working out better than I planned!

Kiba tried to pull his hand away from Naruto's, but Naruto had a strong grip and he wasn't letting go. Kiba started sweating. "Is that why you sneaked into my tent last night and kissed me?"

"Yep!" Naruto grinned at Kiba and batted his eyelashes. "I think you're sexy, Kiba-kun. I've decided I want you."

Kiba thought Naruto should look weird batting his eyelashes like a girl, but instead he found it cute. What am I going to do now? Naruto can be very stubborn and it looks like he's not going to give up. He wants me and I really want him too. But I don't know if I'm ready for this. I don't know if we can keep this a secret from everyone. And what would happen in the future?

"Kiba-kun did you hear what I said?" Naruto was starting to get pissed. Is he ignoring me? Wait, he's blushing.

"Um yeah I heard you. Just trying to figure out why this is happening to me."

"Well don't think too hard, Dog-Boy, you might hurt something!" Oops I'm not supposed to insult him yet! Once he's my boyfriend I can insult him all I want. "Uh sorry about that, hehehe! I mean what's to figure out? We want each other right? We're both boys and we don't care for all that mushy romantic stuff like girls do." Naruto leaned up so that his face was in front of Kiba's. Then he kissed Kiba quickly. The kiss was a chaste one just to show his affection and also because Kiba looked so cute when he was thinking.

Kiba was thinking about what Naruto had said, so he didn't really notice at first that Naruto had kissed him.

You know, for such an idiot, Blondie can actually say something that makes sense sometimes. He's right. Why am I fighting this? It's not as if we are in love. We are both teenage boys with needs and we can help each other take care of those needs. It's actually easier this way because having sex with a girl at our age could lead to trouble. I'm too young to get married or have a kid right now. With Naruto I don't have to worry about getting him pregnant. With him being an orphan I don't have to worry about strict parents trying to kill me. No one has to know right?

Naruto was getting pissed again. Kiba is still ignoring me! Okay, time to get his attention back on me. Naruto raised the hand he had linked together with Kiba's. He brought both their hands up to his face. He turned his hand so that Kiba's was in front of his mouth. Then he started licking the back of Kiba's hand. That should do it!

Kiba found himself pleasantly distracted from his thoughts. He looked over to Naruto and watched as Naruto licked his hand. He started getting hot and then hard. "Mmmm that feels real good Naruto. But you know there is somewhere else I would like that hot tongue of yours to be right now." Kiba pulled his hand away from Naruto's mouth and quickly pulled again, bringing Naruto closer to him. He turned his body to face Naruto and then wrapped his free arm around Naruto's waist and hauled Naruto's body up against his own. He bent his head down and tilted it to the left, then crushed his lips to the blond's. He forced his tongue inside of Naruto's mouth and teased Naruto's tongue to come out and play.

Naruto had been surprised by Kiba's words and then surprised even more when Kiba got aggressive. Naruto decided to get aggressive back. He reached his free hand up to the back of Kiba's neck and pushed his fingers into Kiba's hair. His hair felt so soft in Naruto's fingers, so Naruto started running his fingers through Kiba's hair. Both boys kept kissing each other over and over, only taking breaths when they absolutely had to. Neither of them could get enough of the other's mouth.

The boys completely forgot about the mission they were on. If it wasn't for Akamaru they would have been in big trouble with the Hokage. Luckily for them, Akamaru wasn't a normal dog. Akamaru could tell time, not that he could read, he just had an inherent sense about how long time passes. He knew it was getting close to when the meeting was supposed to be over for the Hokage and the Fire and Water Lords. So Akamaru decided it was time to put a stop to the activities of the two horny teenagers. He walked over in front the couch where the two boys were going at it and barked very loudly. He had to do that a few times before they finally heard him.

Kiba pulled away from Naruto and took deep breaths to calm himself down. Then he looked at Akamaru. "Thanks Akamaru! You're a life saver!"

Naruto had to calm himself down too. He moved a bit away from Kiba. After he got his breath back he decided to see if Phase Two had worked. "Um Kiba?"

"Yes?"

"Does this mean we're together now?" Please say yes, please say yes!

Kiba looked at Naruto and grinned. "Yes, but only if we keep this a secret, okay?"

"Yippee!" Naruto jumped up and then threw himself at Kiba and hugged him. "Kiba is my boyfriend, Kiba is my boyfriend!" He sang this out loud.

"Geez would you stop with the singing! You're giving me a headache." Kiba grumbled, but he had a big smile on his face so Naruto didn't take offense at his words.

"Awww okay but after this mission you have to take me out for some ramen!"

"What?" Kiba glared at Naruto. Geez I thought it would be easier with a boy, but it looks like Naruto wants me to take care of him or something. "I am not going to buy you ramen!"

"Why not? Some boyfriend you are!" Naruto decided to try his puppy dog eyes on his new boyfriend. He stuck out his bottom lip and made his eyes look really sad. "Please...Kiba-kun?"

"No! And that look isn't going to make me change my mind so forget it!" I am not going to be a pushover for this boy. Kiba turned away from Naruto and headed for the front door. "You coming? We do have a mission to finish you know."

Naruto was unhappy that his puppy dog eyes didn't work. Why did I have to fall for an unfeeling bastard! He has no heart! "Yeah I'm coming." Naruto walked to the door grumbling.

Kiba and Naruto left the house and headed back to the Hokage Tower.

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When Shino and Hinata got to the training grounds, Shino turned to Hinata. "Is this okay?"

"Yes this place is fine, Shino." Hinata twiddled her thumbs and tried to think of how to tell Shino about what had happened on the mission.

"Take all the time you need." Shino could see Hinata was nervous and tried to put her at ease.

"Um, thanks Shino! Well I'm trying to think of where to start." I guess I should just come right out and tell him! "Um Shino you know how I feel about Naruto-kun, don't you?

"...yes."

"Well, um, I was hoping to tell him during this mission, but I may be too late."

Too late? "Do you mean Naruto has found someone else?" Shino was surprised.

"Maybe. Okay, that's wrong. Yes, he has found someone else. I want to fight for him but I don't know if I should. I always say I won't give up, but maybe there are times when you are supposed to give up." Maybe I should stop chasing after Naruto-kun and find someone else. But there is no one else I care about that way. I admire Naruto-kun and want to be like him. But I could just be his friend though. He needs friends and I could give him that.

Shino wondered who Naruto could have fallen for that would make Hinata give up. They all knew that Naruto had been chasing after Sakura for years, so it can't be about Sakura. Hinata is talking like this was a recent event. "Hinata if you don't mind my asking, who has Naruto found?"

I wish I could tell Shino, but that is not what a friend would do, and to be Naruto's friend I have to keep his secrets too. "I can't tell you that, Shino. It's something you would need to ask Naruto yourself. You understand, don't you?"

"...yes I do."

Why couldn't I have fallen for Shino? He is so sweet and understanding. He is always there for me too. And I do enjoy his hugs. Hmmm Shino is cute. He is also caring and smart. He comes from an important and powerful clan too. My father might approve of him. Why am I thinking of Shino? I shouldn't be able to forget my first love so easily, should I? It's not fair to Naruto-kun!

Shino watched all the different emotions playing out on Hinata's face. I wonder what's she thinking right now. I can't help but be happy that Naruto has found someone else. I'm glad that Hinata will move on now. I don't really understand why she liked him so much anyway. I wish she would notice me more. But she is better at noticing I'm around than most people are. It sucks sometimes to be treated like I'm invisible. It can be handy though for spying purposes.

"Um Shino?"

"...yes Hinata?"

"I have to get back to the Hokage Tower now so I can finish my mission."

"...okay. You want me to walk you there?"

"If you wouldn't mind?"

"...no I don't mind."

"Thank you Shino." Hinata smiled at him. Yes, Shino is always taking care of me too. I wonder if he likes me.

Shino and Hinata walked back to the Hokage Tower together. Hinata thinking about Shino and Shino thinking about Hinata.
Kiba, Naruto, Shino and Hinata ended up arriving back at the Hokage Tower at the same time. Hinata looked at Kiba and then at Naruto and noticed something was different about them. Both of them were blushing and avoiding her eyes. Did something happen between them? It's hard for me to give up on Naruto, but if Kiba can make him happy, then I will be happy for both of them. I did decide to just be Naruto's friend and support him. But Kiba better not break his heart or I'll kill him! Hinata glared at Kiba.

Kiba looked up at Hinata at that moment and noticed her glare. Crap, Hinata looks like she wants to kill me! I hope she didn't say anything to Shino. Kiba looked over at Shino. Despite not being able to see Shino's eyes through the dark sunglasses he always wears, he felt that Shino was staring at him. Does he know?

Hmm...interesting. Hinata is glaring at Kiba. Earlier Naruto was chasing after Kiba and Kiba looks guilty about something. Could it be...? Shino looked at Naruto then and saw him staring at Kiba out of the corner of his eyes. Who would have thought? Shino held back a smirk.

Kiba looks nervous. Phase Three is going to be a toughie! Naruto was too involved in his thoughts to say anything to the others, so he turned from them and went inside the Hokage Tower.

Kiba followed behind.

Hinata was about to follow Kiba, but then she remembered Shino. “Thank you so much for walking me back here, Shino.” She smiled at her friend.

“...no problem.”

“I'll see you when I get back from the mission, okay?” I really would like to spend some time with Shino again. Why haven't I appreciated him more? He has always been a good friend to me. He deserves better. I'll just have to make it up to him when I get back.

“...alright.” Maybe when she gets back I'll ask her out on a date. We can have a picnic, then I'll show her the new species of Coleoptera (beetles) I discovered.

Hinata turned and went inside the Hokage Tower.

Shino smiled briefly (he only lets it out when no one is around to see) and then turned to head home.

Later on that day after the group had been traveling a few hours, they came upon the perfect place to make camp for the night. They were all too tired to go any further and decided to go ahead and stop for the night. After the camp had been set up and they had all finished eating their dinner, the sun was just beginning to set. Everyone was sitting around the fire, making small talk, when all of a sudden the sound of explosions filled the air.

The traps that Kiba and Akamaru had set up earlier around the camp had been triggered. The traps managed to kill or severely maim several bandits, but not all of them. The ones that hadn't been killed, or incapacitated, were angry and quickly surrounded the group of travelers.

Ha! Finally some action! Both Kiba and Naruto thought this at the same time. That was something else they had in common. They both loved a good fight. Both boys had quickly jumped up to face the bandits.

Hinata stood up after they did and quickly turned the opposite way from her team mates, so that she could protect the Water Lord from the bandits that were behind the group. She moved closer to the bandits so that she could fight them better.

Meanwhile, Kiba and Naruto had decided among themselves which group of bandits each would get to fight. Naruto would take the four on the left and Kiba got the five on the right, since he had Akamaru to help him. That left Hinata with the four remaining bandits she was facing.

Naruto called out, “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” He now had two clones standing on either side of him. “Hey you scumbags, you're going to regret attacking us!” Naruto and his two clones shouted this out together. Then all three rushed at the bandits with kunai in hand.

“You ready Akamaru?” Kiba was grinning from ear to ear, excited to whip some bandit butts.

“arf!” Akamaru shared his friend's excitement.

Kiba shouted, “Jujin Bunshin!” Akamaru then turned into a beast clone of Kiba. “Let's get 'em Akamaru!”

“arf!” Both Kiba and Akamaru rushed towards the five bandits, slashing at them with their claws.

The bandits facing Hinata grinned to themselves thinking that the girl in front of them would be easy to take out. They rushed towards her and Hinata used Juken to fight them. She moved so fast that the bandits didn't even have time to defend themselves. In a matter of seconds all four were lying unconscious on the ground.

Meanwhile Naruto and his clones had easily beat the crap out of their opponents. He dismissed his clones and laughed down at the bandits, while they groaned in pain. “Stupid bandits! Don't you know not to attack the great Uzumaki Naruto, soon to be the next Hokage of the Hidden Village of Leaf?”

“Hey dumbass! Stop with the 'I'm going to be the next Hokage' crap and tie the prisoners up!” Kiba threw a disgusted look at Naruto. Naruto has been claiming he will be the next Hokage for years now. Probably every single day too! I just had to fall for the stupidest ninja in the world, didn't I? Fall for? Hell no! I'm horny not stupid. I could never love an idiot.

Kiba and Hinata had already tied up the bandits they had defeated and were dragging them over to the center of the camp. Naruto quickly tied up his own bandits and then hauled them to where the rest were.

“They're not staying here in our camp all night are they?” The Water Lord had been very impressed with how quickly the young ninja had defeated the bandits, but he was distressed at the idea of having the bandits be in their camp all night. They could get loose and kill us all in our sleep!

“Well where else are they supposed to stay, duh?” Naruto thought the Water Lord was an idiot.

“Show some manners, dumbass!” Kiba hit Naruto in the back of the head with his fist.

“Ow! What'd you do that for, bastard?” Naruto rubbed at the spot Kiba had hit and glared at his boyfriend. Aren't boyfriends supposed to be nice to each other? I may need to have a talk later with Kiba and explain the rules about how boyfriends treat each other. Stupid Dog-Boy!

“Um, the prisoners will be guarded by me and my team mates tonight while we do our guard duty. Don't worry, we will protect you. Naruto-kun can you send a clone to the nearest village to report where these bandits are and to get them picked up?” Hinata had lost her stutter when speaking around Naruto, ever since she gave up her crush and decided to just be friends with him. She no longer felt nervous being around him.

“Um, sure Hinata! Piece of cake!” Hmm what's going on with Hinata? She's not acting weird anymore. I'm glad she's stopped stuttering because it was so annoying before. Naruto created a clone and told it what to do and it headed out of the camp to go to the nearest village, which was only a few miles away to the east of where they were camped. (The had all studied a map they had been given before the mission.)

The Water Lord, his attendants and his bodyguards headed to their tents to turn in. He felt reassured by Hinata's words.

Naruto tired of the groans and complaints of the bandits, decided to put them to sleep by whacking them all over the head with a large piece of wood, that would be thrown on the fire later. Then he turned to his team mates. I need to get Kiba alone! I wonder if Hinata would mind if me and Kiba took a walk? “Hey Kiba, I think we need to fix the traps around the camp. Akamaru can stay here with Hinata and guard the prisoners.”

Well isn't Blondie a sneaky bastard. I know what he wants. It would be fun though to get him pissed off. “Why should Akamaru be the one to stay behind? You can stay with Hinata and me and Akamaru will take care of the traps. Right Akamaru?”

“arf!” Akamaru walked over to stand by Kiba.

That bastard! Naruto glared at Kiba. “I need to take a piss too, Dog-Boy, so it would be better if Hinata wasn't left alone. I might as well help with the traps since I'll be out of the camp anyway.” Take that, Dog-Boy! Naruto grinned his fox grin at Kiba.

Guess he wins this round, but I'm not going to make it easy for him when we get alone. “Fine, Akamaru stay with Hinata.”

Akamaru walked over to sit with Hinata by the campfire. I hope they don't get too carried away again! I'm starting to get tired of having to remind them of the mission all the time. Hinata starting scratching behind Akamaru's ears. Oohh this feels good...now I'm glad I didn't have to go with Kiba.

Hinata watched Naruto and Kiba leave the camp. They do look cute together. Maybe I can forgive Kiba-kun. He has always been a good friend and he does deserve to be happy too. I could help him and Naruto-kun by giving them my support. And I could help them be together alone more. I wonder if they've told each other how they really feel yet?

Naruto and Kiba started setting up the traps again. Neither said a word until they had finished the job. When Kiba turned around to head back towards the camp, Naruto made his move. He grabbed Kiba by the arm and jerked him around to face him. Then Naruto yanked Kiba's arm to pull him up against his body.

“Wha-mmph!” Kiba was interrupted by Naruto's lips moving against his own. Someone is impatient! Kiba relaxed and then pulled his arm from Naruto's hand, then Kiba wrapped both his arms around Naruto's waist and pulled him up tight against his body. He took over control of the kiss and thrust his tongue between Naruto's lips, forcing Naruto's mouth open.

Naruto didn't mind that Kiba took control. This is what he wanted. He loved it when Kiba got aggressive and all 'alpha male' on him. It stirred Naruto's own animal instincts. Naruto moaned and then started to suck on Kiba's tongue.

This drove Kiba wild, so he let his hands slide down to Naruto's ass and cupped both cheeks. He started squeezing them and pushed Naruto's hips right up against his own. Then Kiba started grinding his hips into Naruto's. Oh god! This feels so good! I don't know if I will be able to stop myself from throwing Naruto on the ground and fucking him senseless. I've never felt anything so good in my life.

Oh my god! Kiba is driving me crazy! Naruto starting thrusting his hips back at Kiba's. He continued to moan out loud. “Ahhh Kiibbaa that feeels soo gooood.”

Naruto's moans and words were driving Kiba just as wild as the feel of Naruto thrusting back at him. Naruto is so fucking hot! Why did we never do this before? I never knew he could be like this! “So Blondie, do you want more?” Kiba somehow managed to speak clearly despite the fact he was going insane with lust at the moment.

“Unnngh uh yes more!” Naruto could hardly get those words out. He was getting so hard and his body was burning up like it was on fire. I don't think I can hold it back much longer. I can't believe I'm so close to coming with all my clothes still on!

Kiba was reminded of the dream he had a couple nights before. Naruto's cry of more during the dream sounded the same in reality. I am so turned on right now. There's no way I can stop until I get what I want. And what I want is to be inside Naruto right now. Kiba pulled Naruto with him down to the ground. He pushed Naruto until he fell on his back, then he lowered himself over Naruto. He braced each of his arms beside Naruto's arms. He kept his full weight off Naruto so he wouldn't crush him. Then Kiba lowered his head to Naruto's neck and started planting kisses all along it. He then started sucking at the place where Naruto's neck and shoulder meet. He bit down hard, but not enough to draw blood. Then he sucked where he had bitten. He was marking his Blondie.

Naruto yelled out Kiba's name when Kiba started sucking at the spot between his neck and shoulder. That was one of Naruto's most sensitive spots. He felt a little pain when Kiba bit that spot but not enough to ruin the pleasure he was feeling. Naruto reached down and placed his hands on Kiba's hips, pulling them down to meet his own. Then he started thrusting his hips up into Kiba's. His erection and Kiba's were brushing each other as they both continued to thrust their hips together.

Kiba couldn't wait any longer. He had to take Naruto right now. Kiba was a virgin and he figured that Naruto was too. Kiba wasn't all too sure about how two boys would have sex. But he had read books and knew how a male enters a female. So he figured he would just enter Naruto the same way. Except it would be in the ass. He knew that would probably be painful for the one getting their ass fucked. He was glad it wasn't going to be him getting screwed. I'm going to be the man in this relationship! Kiba stopped sucking on Naruto's neck and raised himself up to his knees. He pulled on the zipper of Naruto's jacket and unzipped it.

Even though Naruto was still in a lust filled daze, he realized he needed to help his partner. He pushed himself back a little and then raised up to a sitting position. He helped Kiba get his jacket off then starting pulling his shirt off himself.

Kiba saw that Naruto was taking off his shirt and so Kiba stood up and took off his own jacket, then his shirt. He looked down at Naruto. “I think we should take off everything now. I'm ready to go all the way now, if you are.”

Naruto forced himself to stand up. Am I ready? I want this so badly. But I've never done anything like this before. Kiba must know what to do, right? I should trust him. “Um, yeah I'm ready. I-I trust you, Kiba.” He stared into Kiba's eyes with trust and desire shining in them.

Kiba saw the desire and the trust in Naruto's eyes and smiled gently at him. Then he reached down and pushed his pants and boxers down his legs and then stepped out of them. He stood back up to his full height and looked at Naruto again.

Naruto had also taken off the rest of his clothes. He stared back at Kiba and then let his eyes drift down Kiba's body. Kiba is so beautiful! I never thought I'd find another boy's naked body beautiful. But crap, does he have to be so big! Is that thing supposed to fit inside me? I should be the one to fuck him instead!

Wow! So that's what he's been hiding under all those clothes! I guess boys can be beautiful too. Kiba walked up to Naruto and then got down on his knees, he grabbed Naruto's arm and tugged at him to get him to get on his knees too.

Naruto obliged Kiba and after getting on his knees and facing him, he wrapped his arms around Kiba's neck. Then he leaned into Kiba and kissed him softly on the lips.

Kiba wrapped his own arms around Naruto's waist and returned the kiss. They both opened their mouths at the same time and started kissing more passionately and exploring each other's mouths with their tongues. Kiba leaned into Naruto to push him backwards. This caused Naruto to fall to his back on the ground with Kiba over him.

Ouch that hurt! Naruto pulled his mouth from Kiba's. “Can you try not to be so rough!”

Kiba ignored him and started kissing him again. He pushed both his legs in between Naruto's and forced Naruto's legs wider apart. As he continued to kiss Naruto, he pushed his hips into Naruto's. This is just like my dream!

Naruto pushed his own hips up at Kiba's and both boys started moving back and forth against each other. Their members getting harder and harder. As soon as Kiba pulled away to allow both of them to get some air, Naruto decided it was time. “I'm ready now. I want you inside me, Kiba.”

Kiba was very happy to hear those words and smiled down at Naruto. “Are you sure?”

Naruto nodded, he felt nervous but he didn't want to stop now. He wanted Kiba to love him and he realized he had already fallen himself. I love Kiba. Even if my mission should fail, I will still love him. But it won't fail! Kiba must fall in love with me too. It would hurt too much if he never loved me back. I'm so tired of being alone. This is my chance to have someone of my own. My most precious person.

Kiba was nervous too but also very excited. This is it! I'll finally be able to get some relief from all of this sexual tension I've been feeling around Naruto. This is even better than that dream because this is the real thing. I don't want to hurt Naruto, but I know it will hurt. I'm sure it will be worth it though. Otherwise people wouldn't have sex if it hurt all the time.

Kiba knew the basics, he knew he was going to have to put 'it' into Naruto's only entrance. Kiba braced his left arm on the ground then lifted his right arm and reached down to Naruto's erection. He wrapped his hand around it and started moving his hand up and down in a firm grip. Naruto moaned and pushed his hips up. Kiba lowered his head beside Naruto's and whispered in his ear. “Wrap your legs around my waist.”

Naruto barely heard him because he was so wrapped up in the pleasure of having Kiba stroking his member. His mind registered what Kiba had whispered and obeyed him. He raised his legs up and wrapped them tightly around Kiba's waist. The movement causing both boys to moan in pleasure. Naruto, because of the friction of having his member moving up in Kiba's hand and Kiba, because of his own member being pushed up between the cheeks of Naruto's ass.

Kiba continued stroking Naruto's member, he adjusted his own hips so that his own member brushed against the entrance to Naruto's body, and then he held himself still at that spot, so he would be in the right place for entering Naruto. He then lowered his head down and crushed Naruto's lips with his own. While Naruto was distracted, Kiba pushed his hips forward and entered Naruto in one quick thrust, as far as he could go. Then he stopped.

Naruto felt a stabbing pain when Kiba had thrust into him. He quit moving and relaxed his body, hoping the pain would go away soon. He was grateful that Kiba was not moving around and was staying still. Man that hurts! He could have warned me! But...it's not the worst pain I've ever felt. It's beginning to stop hurting as much too. “You can move now.”

Kiba had been watching Naruto's face as he held himself still. He could tell it had hurt Naruto. He hoped the pain wouldn't last long. At Naruto's words, he felt relief. He pulled his member out of Naruto to where the head of it was just inside the entrance then he slowly thrust back in. His right hand left Naruto's member and reached down to grab the back of Naruto's left leg and raise the leg up so he could enter at a better angle and go deeper. He kept to a slow pace at first until he felt Naruto get more excited and thrust back at him. Then Kiba started moving faster in and out of his lover.

Naruto kept moaning and thrusting his hips back at Kiba. Naruto's hands moved down to Kiba's hips to try and get Kiba to move even more faster and harder. “Faster Kiibbaa! Harder!”

Kiba moaned out, “Naruuuto!” He started slamming himself in and out of Naruto as hard as he could, and then he paused to raise himself up to knees, so that he could grab Naruto's hips with both his hands. He started slamming himself into Naruto again. He raised Naruto's hips up higher off the ground and gripped them so tightly that it would leave bruises. He continued thrusting wildly and almost violently into Naruto. He was getting close to going over the edge.

“Kiiibbbaaa!” Naruto yelled out his lover's name and reached his peak. He shot his seed all over his stomach and chest and some hit Kiba's.

Kiba felt Naruto tightening around his member as Naruto spilled his seed, this caused Kiba to reach his own orgasm, he cried out Naruto's name as his seed poured out deep inside of Naruto. He thrust in and out of Naruto a few more times and then he collapsed on top of him. He managed to brace himself with his arms before his entire weight could hit Naruto. Kiba's head then fell onto Naruto's shoulder.
Naruto unwrapped his legs from around Kiba's waist and let his legs fall apart to lay on the ground. He had his arms wrapped lightly around Kiba. Then he raised one of his hands up to Kiba's head and started running his fingers through Kiba's hair. Oh god, that was...incredible. Naruto let out a contented sigh.

Kiba heard the sigh and felt the fingers running through his hair. He was too exhausted to move and he didn't really want to move anyway. I can't believe how good I feel right now. It was Naruto that made me feel this way. But I have to get up. “We need to get back to camp.”

“mmm don't wanna.” Naruto didn't want to get back to real life quite yet.

Kiba raised up and looked down at Naruto. He looks so adorable right now. Kiba leaned down and brushed his lips on Naruto's. Then raised up again and gave Naruto a wink. “Too bad Blondie. We're still on a mission and you don't want anyone to come walking by and see us like this, do you?” He didn't wait for an answer and pulled himself up off of Naruto. He stood up and looked for his clothes.

Darn it! He sure knows how to ruin a moment. Naruto got up off the ground and brushed himself off. He realized he needed to clean off before getting dressed. But there was no water near by. “Um, Kiba, we should clean up before we put on our clothes.”

Kiba had found where his clothes were and was about to put on his boxers when he heard what Naruto said. Damn he's right. “We'll use your shirt.”

“What! Why my shirt?”

“Because I said so. We're not using mine. I have the first shift tonight and I don't have time to change my clothes. We've been gone quite a while as it is. Since you have second shift you can change your shirt when you get back.”

“Damn it!” Naruto picked his shirt off the ground and used it to wipe himself off. He then threw it at Kiba.

Kiba glared at Naruto and gingerly handled the shirt till he found a clean enough section to use to clean himself with. Then he threw the shirt back at Naruto, and it hit Naruto in the back of the head.

After Naruto had tossed his shirt to Kiba he had turned his back to him and started dressing. When he felt something hit him in the back of the head he spun around and then looked down on the ground. He saw what had hit him. “You bastard!” Then Naruto ran at Kiba and tackled him to the ground.

Kiba had been in the process of pulling his pants on and had one leg in and one out of his pants when all of a sudden he was knocked to the ground.

Naruto taking advantage of Kiba's surprise, started punching and kicking at him.

Kiba wasn't about to take that from Naruto so he punched and kicked back. The boys started rolling around on the ground, each trying to out punch and out kick the other. All of a sudden they heard a dog bark. (guess who!)

Not again! They are either trying to screw each other or they're trying to kill each other. Kinda hard to tell the difference though with these two. “arf!”

Kiba pushed Naruto away from him and got up off the ground. “Sorry, Akamaru! Kinda lost track of the time.” Kiba rubbed the back of his head and grinned at Akamaru. Then his eyes closed as he remembered why he was so late for guard duty. God I feel so great right now. I wish we weren't on a mission so I could fuck Naruto again. I'm starting to get horny just thinking about it! What has Naruto done to me?

Naruto got back on his own feet grumbling under his breath about his rude boyfriend. Then he looked over at Kiba and saw the look on his face. Hmmm I think I know what he's thinking, hehehe. “Hey wake up Dog-Boy! You're not getting all horny on me again are you? I think you're embarrassing Akamaru!”

“arf!” No, actually I'm annoyed not embarrassed!

“You're the one with his mind in the gutter, Blondie, not me. Sorry Akamaru, I'll finish getting dressed and meet you back in camp.” Kiba started putting the rest of his clothes on.

Akamaru headed back to camp hoping Kiba wouldn't forget about the mission again.

Naruto got dressed too, every once in a while he looked over at Kiba and glared at him. I really don't know why I put up with him! Then Naruto remembered what happened earlier. Oh yeah! Guess I can put up with his arrogance and annoying behavior as long as I get to enjoy that sexy body of his. Naruto was grinning from ear to ear.

Naruto and Kiba headed back to the camp, both thinking of what they had done together earlier. When they got back to camp, Hinata was still sitting at the fire. Neither noticed though.

“Is there anything wrong, Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun?” They seem to be distracted. Did something happen between them?

Kiba was startled out of his thoughts, then realized Hinata had said something. “What?”

Naruto also became aware that he was back in camp and Hinata had said something.

“Um, you two look distracted, is anything wrong?” Hinata hoped they hadn't been fighting.

“No, everything is fine. You can go to sleep now, Hinata. I'll take over the guard duty.” Kiba wouldn't look at Naruto because he needed to concentrate on his duty and Naruto was too much of a distraction for him.

“Okay, Kiba-kun, thank you. Good night, Naruto-kun and Kiba-kun.” Hinata got up and went to her tent.

Kiba won't look at me. Does he regret what happened between us? Or is he just shy? Wait...Kiba shy? Not possible, he's too arrogant and loud to be shy! So what's wrong with him? “Why won't you look at me, Kiba?” Naruto walked up in front of Kiba and tried to get Kiba to look at him.

Kiba averted his eyes so he wouldn't have to look at Naruto. “No reason, I'm just tired and I have to finish my shift now. You go on and get some sleep and I'll wake you up when it's your turn.” Kiba turned away from Naruto and went to sit by Akamaru who was laying near the fire.

“Um, okay. Yeah I'm beat anyway! For some reason I got really worn out tonight.” Naruto grinned at Kiba and saw him starting to blush. Hehehe that should get his mind back on me! Naruto then turned and headed for his own tent.

Kiba noticed that some of the bandits had woken up. So he found the piece of wood, that Naruto had used earlier, and went over to the bandits and put them back to sleep. Can't have them distracting me! I need to think about what to do about Naruto now. Kiba went back to sit by the fire again. “Akamaru?”

“woof?”

“I don't know what to do now. I really enjoyed what happened between me and Naruto earlier. I enjoyed it so much I want to do it again. But I'm afraid it will become an addiction. And other people will find out. I don't think Mom would understand. She wants me to find a nice girl from a good clan and then get married and have lots of Inuzuka puppies. I don't think she'd go for me falling in love with a boy. And then there are all my friends. They could turn away from me and hate me. I don't think I could stand having my mother and friends all hating me and finding me disgusting. What do you think, Akamaru?”

“arf!” Akamaru rubbed his head on Kiba's leg.

“Yeah I know what you said before about supporting me in whatever I decide to do, but do you think I should risk having everyone hate me?”

“arf!”

“Why do you think they won't hate me?” Kiba didn't see how anyone wouldn't find his love for another boy disgusting. It's not like there are lots of gay couples running around in Konoha. We would stand out!

“arf arf!” Boy, Kiba sure is worrying too much about this!

“Are you sure? I mean I do agree with you, that if they really are my friends then they would accept me no matter what...but what about Mom? You remember what happened the last time she was mad at me, I was bedridden for two days. She has an evil temper, you know!”

Akamaru rolled his eyes. “arf!”

“Hey! I'm not an idiot! I'm being serious here!” Kiba glared at Akamaru.

Akamaru got up and walked away to the other side of the fire and laid down. I'm not going to talk to the idiot again until he thinks over what I said and gets his spine back. His fear of what others think is really annoying.

“Hey I wasn't finished talking to you!” Kiba saw that Akamaru wasn't going to listen to him anymore so he gave up. Some friend he is! Why is he annoyed with me anyway?

Kiba spent the rest of his shift thinking about whether to break it off with Naruto, or keep seeing Naruto in secret, or if he should just say to hell with the consequences and have a relationship with Naruto out in the open. Keeping it a secret would be too hard. Hinata already knows and I think Shino guessed. Others would probably start noticing our behavior too. If I break it off though...that means no more sex with Blondie.

Kiba tried to imagine life without having sex with Naruto. The only way I could not have sex with Naruto again is if I never see him again. And considering we both live in the same village, have the same friends and occasionally go on missions together...there's no way in hell I can be around him and keep my hands off him. I don't have the willpower to do that! So that leaves...oh no! I don't know if I can do that! But that is the only option left. I think I should talk to Hinata about this. If she can accept it, then the rest of my friends should be able to too. After all, she has deep feelings for Naruto and to give them up for me and Naruto to be together, would mean she accepts our relationship. With the decision of talking to Hinata, in mind, Kiba felt that a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

The next morning after the group had all woke up and had breakfast, they packed up everything and left the camp, heading to the ferry that would take them back into the Water Country. They didn't encounter any more trouble the rest of the way to Water Country. Kiba, Hinata and Naruto were relieved when they were able to finally hand the Water Lord's protection back over to the Hidden Mist ninja. The three had smiles on their faces as they traveled back in the direction of the Fire Country.

Naruto looked over at Kiba and saw him smiling. He looks happy. But he hasn't said much to me all today. Maybe now that the mission is over I can work on Phase Three. I really don't care if everyone knows that Kiba is my boyfriend. Most of the villagers hate me anyway. And I think Sakura-chan would be okay with it. I know she thinks of me like a little brother and would be happy for me to find someone to love. Iruka-sensei may be upset about it though. He still treats me like a kid and worries about me all the time. But I know he would be happy if I'm happy. So telling him won't be too bad. Sasuke-bastard isn't here anymore so I don't have to worry about him picking on me about it. I really miss that bastard even if he is a stupid jerk! Oh...Kakashi-sensei would pick on me! He's such a pervert and I know he'll have fun teasing me about Kiba...speaking of perverts...ero-sennin! He'll be a bit disappointed in me. He's been trying to get me to be as perverted as he is. Ewwww! Now I feel sick! Naruto's face scrunched up in revulsion.

Kiba looked over towards Naruto. Huh? Is Naruto sick? He looks like he wants to throw up. “Hey Naruto, do you need to stop?” Kiba looked worriedly at Naruto.

Hinata heard Kiba's words and looked at Naruto herself. “Are you alright, Naruto-kun?”

Naruto was puzzled by their questions then remembered what he had been thinking about. “Oh, no! I'm okay, I was just thinking of something that made me feel sick. I'm over it now! hehehe” Naruto grinned at them to show them that he was okay.

What could he have been thinking that would make him feel sick? I hope he's not regretting what happened between us last night. That would really suck after I went to all the trouble of deciding to continue our relationship. Oh...I still need to talk to Hinata! “Well I think we should take a break anyway. I'm feeling a bit hungry and would like a snack.”

“Um sure, Kiba-kun.” Hinata thought that Kiba was being thoughtful to give Naruto time to feel better. That is so sweet of Kiba-kun. He must really care for Naruto-kun.

Naruto was feeling hungry himself and decided he would make himself some ramen. Hmmm ramen! I'm glad I still have a few cups left of it.

The three of them jumped down to the ground into a clearing. Hinata built a fire and put a pot of water over it to boil, so that Naruto could make his ramen. Then while Naruto was busy cramming his mouth full of noodles, Kiba quietly asked Hinata to take a walk with him.

“Hey Naruto, Hinata and I are going to check around and make sure there are no bandits or missing nin in the area. You guard the camp until we get back.” Kiba was hoping that Naruto wouldn't be suspicious.

“mmm oh mmm kay.” Naruto got out while continuing to devour his ramen.

Kiba led Hinata far enough away from the camp that Naruto wouldn't be able to hear them. “I need to ask you some questions.”

“Alright, Kiba-kun.” Kiba-kun looks so serious.

“I know about your feelings for Naruto, Hinata. But you have noticed something going on between me and Naruto lately, haven't you?”

“Yes I have. And Kiba-kun...it's alright. I understand and I have accepted that Naruto-kun and I can only be friends. But even though I have given him up for you, I will still look out for him and if you hurt him in any way...” Hinata gave Kiba a look that said she would make him sorry if he ever did that.

Kiba was surprised by Hinata's quick acceptance. She isn't mad about me and Naruto, she just doesn't want me to hurt him. “Thank you Hinata. I was afraid I had lost your friendship and that I had hurt you.”

“Well I was angry at first and hurt. But Naruto-kun has only shown kindness to me and never any interest except friendship. So you didn't really steal him from me, I never had him. I still care for him deeply and that is why I want him to be happy. If you are the one to make him happy, then I will give you both my support.” Hinata smiled at Kiba.

“You don't know how much this means to me, Hinata.” Kiba grabbed Hinata and hugged her.

“Oh!” Hinata blushed and returned the hug, then pushed Kiba away. “You better be careful about giving hugs to other people from now on. If Naruto-kun sees, he could get jealous!” Hinata teased Kiba. She felt very happy now that she and Kiba had talked. I'm glad we're still friends. Kiba-kun has always been there for me and I don't want to lose his friendship. “We should get back to the camp now.”

“Yeah you're right. And Hinata...I just want to say...I hope someday soon you meet the person that is just right for you.” Kiba really did wish this for Hinata. She deserves to be happy too.

Kiba and Hinata returned back to the camp. Naruto was sitting up against a tree taking a nap. Akamaru was laying beside Naruto, also taking a nap.

Looks like Akamaru is showing his acceptance of Naruto in our lives. I want to talk to Naruto too, but I think I should wait till we get back home. We should talk some place quiet and private. I doubt that we'll just talk when we finally get to be alone together again. The last of couple days have proven that! Kiba grinned. Then he walked over to Naruto and kicked at one of his legs. “Hey lazy butt! Get your ass up now, we still have quite aways to go before we reach home.”

Naruto yelled out. “Ow, you bastard! You don't have to kick me so hard, you know!” Naruto glared at Kiba, then stood up. “You can be such an asshole sometimes, Dog-Boy!”

Hinata was shocked at how the boys were talking to each other. Is this how boys show their affection to each other? Or is it just the way Naruto-kun and Kiba-kun do it? Hinata put out the campfire and put the pot, that had been used to heat water, back in her backpack.

Kiba turned away from Naruto with a big grin on his face. “Okay let's go home!”

Naruto yelled, “Yay! Home!”

Hinata just smiled.

Then all three leaped up into the trees to continue their travel back to Konoha.
After Kiba, Naruto and Hinata got back to Konoha that evening, they headed to the Hokage Tower to report back from their mission and to hand in their mission report. Hinata had been the one to write it up, because she had the best handwriting out of the three and was the most literate. Kiba and Naruto were only too happy to let Hinata write the report. Hinata had written it out quickly, on their last break before reaching the village. The three walked up to the Hokage's office. Shizune wasn't in sight, so Naruto, being Naruto, banged on the door once then barged right into the Hokage's office. Kiba and Hinata followed him in.

“Hey old hag! Another mission finished successfully, thanks to your's truly!” This earned Naruto a growl from Kiba. “Oh...and Hinata and Dog-Boy helped out a bit too. Anyway can I go now?” Naruto was already thinking about what type of ramen he would order at Ichiraku's. I should go look for Iruka first though so he can pay for it. Naruto had a huge grin on his face.

Kiba was glaring at Naruto. I hate when Naruto takes full credit for the successful missions, then he blames everyone else when a mission fails. Why do I want to be involved with this guy? I may end up killing him before we even go out on our first date. Hmmm...we've already gone all the way, do I even need to date him? It's not like he's a girl. Why should I waste money on the idiot?

While Naruto was thinking about eating ramen with Iruka, and Kiba was having his own private monologue with himself, Tsunade was glaring at Naruto and steam was rising from her ears. Then she raised up out of her chair and grabbed Naruto by the collar of his jacket, she then pulled him up close to her face. She raised her other hand and balled it into a fist and whacked him over the head with it, then threw him away from her. “I have told you over and over again, do not call me that!” She sat back down into her chair.

“Ow! You're so mean, Tsunade baa-chan!” Naruto whined. Then he saw the Hokage raise herself out of her seat again and it looked like she was going to come over and kill him. “Oops! I meant Tsunade-sama!”

Tsunade was appeased and sat back down, still glaring at him however. Then she looked over at Kiba and Hinata. “Well, is the brat right? The mission was a success?”

Hinata pulled out the scroll that the mission report was written on and placed it on the Hokage's desk. “Y-yes, Hokage-sama. We did have a little trouble with some bandits on our way back to Water Country yesterday, but only the bandits were hurt. No other problems than that.” Hinata looked at Kiba and then Naruto. I bet Kiba-kun and Naruto-kun can't wait to be alone together again. That must be why they are so distracted. She smiled at them even though neither was looking at her.

Tsunade noticed that Kiba was unusually silent, but she wanted to get back to work and didn't feel like wasting anymore time. “Fine, fine. Take the next few days off. We are short on missions right now, so enjoy yourselves while you can. If anything comes up, I'll let you know. Now let me get back to my work.”

Naruto yelled out, “Bye old hag! See you later Hinata and Dog-Boy!” Then he rushed out of the office. His mind on finding Iruka then going to Ichiraku's for ramen. He had no clue that he was pissing off his new boyfriend with his behavior.

Kiba looked at the doorway, that Naruto had just flown through, with an irritated look on his face. That idiot! Why did he rush off like that? I wanted to talk to him! Kiba yelled out “Later!” to the others, then rushed out of the office himself, Akamaru running behind him. Kiba was trying to catch up to Naruto, before he got too far away.

Tsunade, too tired to go chasing Naruto down to punch him out for calling her an old hag again, looked over at Hinata with a puzzled expression. “What's up with Kiba?”

Hinata shrugged. It wasn't her place to explain Kiba and Naruto's new relationship to the Hokage. So she didn't answer the question. “Well, I need to go home now. Good night, Hokage-sama.” Hinata bowed her head towards Tsunade, then turned and left the office.

Sheesh, something's going on with those three. I am very curious...but I just don't have the time at the moment to investigate this. Maybe I can get Kakashi to check up on Naruto to see what's going on. I'll have to send for Kakashi later though, when Shizune gets back with our dinner. Then Tsunade forced her attention back to the large stack of paperwork on her desk. This is why I hate being the Hokage!

When Kiba and Akamaru exited the Hokage Tower, Naruto was nowhere in sight. "Damn I can't believe he got away!"

"woof?"

"Naruto of course! I wanted to talk to him. I was going to get him to come home with us so we could talk in private. Mom and Sis should be still out on their mission because it was supposed to be a month long mission. But that idiot just took off without me. He's acting like he forgot about our new relationship."

"arf arf!"

"I guess you're right. I'm hungry too, we'll go home and eat, then I'll go out to find Naruto later. Let's go home."

"arf!" Akamaru followed Kiba home.

Naruto ran straight to Iruka's house. He knocked on the door and shifted impatiently from foot to foot. He better be home! I'm starving!

Iruka opened his door and saw Naruto standing there. “Hi Naruto! Back from your mission I see.”

“Yeah and I'm starving! Let's go to Ichiraku's!” Naruto turned to lead the way.

“Okay but can you wait just a moment? I need to get something before I leave, I'll be right back.” Iruka shut the door and walked back into his living room. He had been sitting on his couch making out with Kakashi before being interrupted by the knock on the door. He walked up to his lover with a chagrined look on his face. “”Sorry Kakashi but that was Naruto and he wants me to go with him to eat ramen.”

“I heard.” Kakashi felt a bit put out that Iruka would leave him to go out with Naruto. I guess it can't be helped though, Iruka really loves Naruto like a little brother and that is one of the things I love about Iruka. He is the most caring person I've ever met. It doesn't hurt that he's so cute too! I just can't be mad at him. “You won't be gone too long will you though?” Kakashi asked hopefully.

Iruka leaned down to Kakashi and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “I'll try not to take too long but this is Naruto we're talking about. And I haven't seen him in days, so there is a lot to catch up on. I'll be back as soon as I can. You can take a nap while you wait for me.” Iruka winked after saying that and then turned away from Kakashi, swinging his hips in a seductive manner as he walked to the door.

Iruka can be such a tease sometimes! “Sure, I'll take a nap, but I insist on a bubble bath with you when you get back,” Kakashi said in a low seductive voice.

Iruka stopped before the door and turned around to face Kakashi with a blush. “Um, yeah that would be great.” Then he turned back to the door, opened it and then stepped outside, closing the door quickly behind him. He didn't want Naruto to see Kakashi. “Okay, I'm ready to go now Naruto.”

Naruto had been very bored waiting on Iruka. “It's about time! What did you have to get?”

“Oh...my wallet of course!" Iruka had already had his wallet on him, but he had to come up with some excuse to give Naruto. " I know you were planning to get me to pay for your ramen.”

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, while grinning sheepishly at Iruka. “Um, yeah I'm kinda low on cash till I get paid for this last mission.” Naruto turned and headed in the direction of Ichiraku's. Iruka walking by his side. “I also have a lot to talk with you about. Something very important.”

“Okay.” Did something happen on the mission? Naruto looks okay, but he sounded so serious just now. It's not like him. Iruka glanced over at Naruto every once in awhile until they got to the ramen stand. Then both of them took seats at the counter.

Ayame was working the counter and walked up to take their orders. “I haven't seen you in a while Naruto, how have you been?”

Naruto smiled at his favorite waitress. “I've been good, just got back from a mission. I'll have two bowls of miso ramen for starters.”

“That's good to hear!” Ayame turned from Naruto and turned smiling to Iruka.

“And what would my second favorite customer like to have?” Iruka blushed, then smiled back at her. “Oh, one bowl of beef ramen, please.”

“Coming right up!” Ayame then turned away and gave the order to the cook. The cook was a new employee that her father had hired. Her father was on vacation to visit an old friend and needed a replacement. Luckily they found a young man who was an excellent cook and very hard working. It was Chouji.

Chouji had the next few days off because of the shortage of missions. And he was bribed to fill in as the cook, by being given free meals (within reason of course! Otherwise they would go out of business!). Chouji had heard Naruto's voice, and after Ayame handed him the new order, he filled the order quickly then took the bowls to the counter himself. He wanted to greet Naruto. “Hey Naruto! Back from your mission, eh?”

“Chouji? What are you doing back there?” Naruto was surprised to see Chouji behind the counter.

“Oh, I'm just filling in as the cook for a few days. The owner needed to go visit a friend in another village. Free food you know!” Chouji grinned. “So how was the mission?”

Naruto blushed as he remembered what happened on the mission. I can't tell him that! Not yet anyway. “Um, it was great! We got attacked by a bunch of bandits and I had to save the Water Lord.”

“You saved him huh? What did Kiba and Hinata do then?” Yeah right! Naruto is always bragging about how he saves everyone. Chouji had been on a few missions with Naruto himself.

“Sure did! Kiba and Hinata didn't do too bad themselves, but I was the one the bandits feared the most hehehe” Naruto then looked down on the counter and realized his ramen was getting cold. “Hey Chouji you should get back to work. My ramen is getting cold because of you!” Naruto then started digging into his first bowl.

Chouji glared at Naruto, then realized he had been away from his job too long. Ayame was stomping her foot and glaring at him. “Okay, well I'll talk to you later, Naruto.” Chouji headed back to the stove where he had more orders he had to fill.

During Chouji and Naruto's conversation, Iruka had finished his one bowl of ramen and had waited patiently for Chouji's and Naruto's conversation to end. Iruka realized he better wait for Naruto to finish his ramen before talking with him. Naruto was very hard to understand when he talked with his mouth full.

As soon as Naruto finished his second bowl, Iruka jumped in with his question. “I saw you blush earlier when Chouji had asked about your mission. Do you want to talk about it?” Iruka was curious about what would cause Naruto to blush like that.

He saw that? Well I did want to talk to him about Kiba, but someone could over hear our conversation. “Um, yes I do want to talk to you about it, but not here. Can we go back to your place?” Naruto looked expectantly at Iruka.

This sounds serious! But I can't take him back to my place, Kakashi is there! “Well...why don't we go to the park instead. It's usually only crowded during the day. So there should hardly be any people there now.” I hope he doesn't insist on going back to my place!

“Yeah, sure. That sounds nice.” Naruto smiled at Iruka and got up to leave.

Iruka paid the bill and then followed Naruto to the park. When they got there they found an empty bench, that was far enough away from the few people that were in the park, so they could have privacy. Both sat down.

Naruto turned to Iruka with a nervous expression on his face. Okay, now how do I begin? I sure hope he doesn't go ballistic and start yelling at me. “Iruka, I'm in love with Kiba.”

Iruka raised his hands and started scrubbing out his ears with his fingers. There must be something in my ears. I could of sworn I just heard Naruto say he loves Kiba. “Could you repeat that?”

Naruto sighed heavily. I knew this wasn't going to be easy! “I said, I'm in love with Kiba.”

Iruka stared at Naruto in shock. Kiba? Naruto is in love with Kiba? “I don't understand. When did this happen and why?”

Well he's not screaming yet, but he's still in shock. “Well I just realized it yesterday...but I noticed I was attracted to him on the first day of our mission. I couldn't quit thinking about him all the time. And then I wanted to kiss him and b-be with him, you know. I tried to fight it at first, Iruka! I really did! But I just wanted him so badly and I wanted him to want me too. You know how lonely I've felt all my life. I always thought I would be alone forever, that no one could ever love me. Now I have someone to love and I want him to love me back. I hope you can understand and...I was hoping you would give me some advice.” Naruto waited, with his head down, for Iruka to say something.

It's true then. He really is in love with Kiba or at least he thinks he is. I hope he won't get his heart broken. Young love is so fragile. And it will be especially hard for two young boys to go through. Naruto can deal with it a lot better because he's dealt with so much worse in his life. But will Kiba be brave enough to stick by his love while having people against it? People can be very cruel sometimes to others who are different from them. “I see. Well I am very surprised, but I will support you, Naruto. I want you to be happy. And if you think Kiba is the one to make you happy, then I will stand by the both of you. You do understand that it won't be easy?”

“You mean because we both are boys? Yeah, I know there are people that would hate us for that. I'm not worried for me, but I think it will be hard for Kiba. He's not used to having people hate him. He comes from an important clan too. But if you love someone, you shouldn't let anyone else get in the way. If Kiba does fall in love with me, he's going to have to stand up for that love. Just like I'm going to do.”

“You don't think Kiba already loves you? What has he said to you?”

“Well, he sure hasn't said he loves me. And he really hasn't said much at all. At first he told me that we couldn't be together because of how others would think. But then later he kissed me again and then well...” Naruto was afraid to tell Iruka that he and Kiba had already had sex together. Should I leave out that part?

Iruka saw Naruto's face turning red. “Oh my! Don't tell me you two had sex together already!” Iruka was shocked. He's still too young for that! I'll kill Kiba if he laid a hand on Naruto!

Naruto saw the shock then indignation show on Iruka's face. Uh oh! “Um, um don't be mad Iruka! We just got carried away and it happened! But I don't regret it. I'm glad it happened and I'm sure it will again.” I'll make sure it happens again. I don't want to lose Kiba. And I will make him love me.

Iruka was upset. He's too young! But it's too late now, it's already happened. And he says he wants to do it again! Time for the talk. Iruka calmed himself down by taking a few deep breaths then looked into Naruto's eyes. “Naruto, were you and Kiba virgins before it happened?”

Why is he asking me that? “Um, yeah I guess so. I mean I was, I can't be totally sure, but I think it was Kiba's first time too.”

“Well, you know that men and women's bodies are different and they react differently when sexually aroused.” Iruka paused for a moment.

Well, duh! Does Iruka think I'm too stupid to know that? Geez. Naruto looked at Iruka with an exasperated look on his face.

“You may think you know, but I'm not sure you really do, Naruto. Um, this is delicate but bear with me okay?”

Naruto nodded his head.

“Well I don't know which of you were the one to um...enter the other one during the act...but did either of you use a lubricant?” This is so embarrassing! But I don't want Naruto getting hurt more than is usual during sex. He needs to know how to do it the right way.

Lubricant? What's he talking about? Naruto gave Iruka a puzzled look. “Well Kiba is the one that um...yeah...fucked me and I don't understand what you mean by lubricant. Is that something that has to be put somewhere?”

Iruka blushed. Ah, I would have thought that Naruto would be on top but then again, he is with Kiba and Kiba can be just as aggressive as Naruto can. Oh well, I guess Naruto is fine with it. “Yes, before a male enters another male, the one on top is supposed to prepare the one on the bottom. By prepare...I mean that the one on top, called the seme, will put lubricant on his fingers and use his fingers to stretch the um...entrance of the one below him, the one below is called the uke.”

Seme, uke? “Uh, wait, Iruka. You're confusing me.”

“Okay, well you were the one on the bottom, so you are the uke in the relationship. Well as long as you are the one getting entered by Kiba that is. And Kiba is the seme because he was on top and entered you. Do you understand that part?” I really love Naruto, but he is just so slow sometimes!

“Um, yeah, I think I understand that part now. Go on.”

“Thank you! Okay now do you understand that Kiba is supposed to prepare you before he enters you? With his fingers covered in lubricant? This is to stretch you there so that it won't be so painful when he puts his um...you know what...in you.” He better not make me repeat this again!

Why can't Iruka just say cock for crying out loud! “Okay, sure I get that! Then what?”

“Okay, he also needs to put the lubricant on his um...you know what, so that it goes inside of you more easily. Do you understand this too?” Thank god this is almost over!

“Um, yeah that makes sense I guess. So um, what do we use as lubricant?”

“Well...lotion, oil if you have any or you can buy tubes of lube at a drug store. You should really wear condoms too in order to protect against sexually transmitted diseases. But if you and Kiba were virgins...and neither one of you ever has sex with someone else...then you shouldn't worry too much about using condoms. But it really is safer if you use them. Any more questions?” I can't believe I'm telling Naruto all this! But who else is there to explain these things to him? Better me than Kakashi or Jiraiya.

Naruto thought about everything that Iruka had just told him. I can't wait till we use lube! I need to go to the store and get some. Then it won't hurt the next time I let him fuck me. Maybe I can get Kiba to let me fuck him too! Oh I just thought of something! “Um Iruka, when Kiba and me did it, it did hurt at first and now that you told me about the lube it probably won't be as bad. Even though it got really good later and I had an orgasm...is there anything else we should know to make it feel better? I read in some of ero-sennin's pervy books about sex between men and women, and there was some spot that was inside the woman's, you know, that made her feel intense pleasure. If that is true then do men have a spot like that too?”

Iruka blushed. “Ahh...yes there is. If Kiba was to hit a certain place inside you, he can do that with his fingers or his...you know what, then you would feel that kind of pleasure too. It's a bundle of nerves that's inside there and when touched it will give you pleasure.”

“Wow! That's great! I can't wait to tell Kiba all about this! It will be even better the next time he screws me!”

Iruka blushed. I wish he would be more careful with the words he uses. “I'm glad I could help, Naruto. Well, if we are done here, I need to go home. Papers to grade, you know!” Really Iruka didn't have any papers to grade, he was just in a hurry to get back to Kakashi. He had a bubble bath date to attend.

“Sure, I'll see you later Iruka!”

“Have a good evening, Naruto.” Iruka smiled at him then left the park to go back home.

I wonder how Iruka knew so much about sex between two guys? Hmmm...well I'm sure glad he does because now I'm ready to have even more fun with Kiba! First to buy the lube! Naruto left the park and headed to the closest drug store.
After Kiba and Akamaru had dinner, Kiba left Akamaru at home and then left his house to go out searching for Naruto. Kiba had been to the blond's apartment before, because of having to go there to wake Naruto up whenever they had a mission and Naruto had overslept. So Kiba went first to Naruto's apartment to see if he was there. Not finding him at home, he went to Ichiraku's to see if he was there instead. He didn't see his Blondie there, so he decided to ask Ayame if Naruto had been by. “Hey Ayame, have you seen Naruto tonight?”

Ayame smiled at Kiba. “Yes, he was here earlier with Iruka, but they left a while ago.”

“Damn, well thanks!” Kiba turned away quickly and left.

Chouji had heard Kiba ask about Naruto and had wanted to say hi to Kiba, but Kiba left before he could. I wonder why he's looking for Naruto? Chouji was curious, but turned his mind back on his job.

Naruto walked out of the drug store with a bag filled with 2 tubes of lube, ramen flavored. Wow I still can't believe they make ramen flavored lube! I'll have to restrain myself from wanting to eat all the lube up. He saw Kiba walking towards him and blushed. Perfect timing! “Hey Kiba!” Naruto jumped up and down in excitement.

Kiba walked up quickly to Naruto. “You're making a scene, idiot!” Kiba looked around to make sure no one he knew was in the area. Then he looked back at Naruto. “Why did you run off earlier?”

“Um, I was hungry and then I had a long talk with Iruka. Can we go to your house and talk?” Naruto was so excited about what he had to tell Kiba, but he managed to keep himself still.

“Yeah, that is what I wanted to do earlier. What's in the bag?”

“Just something we need, I'll show you when we get to your house.” Naruto grabbed Kiba by the arm and started dragging him to his house.

“Hey let go! I can walk you know!” Kiba tried to get his arm away from Naruto, but the blond had a good grip on it and wouldn't let it go. He held onto Kiba till they got to the door. “Geez you're so impatient!” Kiba complained. Kiba then unlocked his door and opened it and headed into his house. Naruto followed.

Naruto rushed into the living room and hopped on the couch. He up-ended the bag on the coffee table and let the tubes of lube drop out. “Kiba do you know what these are?” He looked up at Kiba with a grin on his face.

Kiba sat down beside Naruto and looked at the two tubes with a puzzled expression. Then he picked one of them up and read what it said on the back of it.

While Kiba was reading, Naruto got too impatient to wait on him. “Um, I talked to Iruka and he told me how we can have sex better.”

Kiba had blushed as he read what the tubes were for. Then he realized they were ramen flavored. “Ramen! Damn it Naruto! Everything has to be about ramen with you, doesn't it!” It wasn't a question.

“Well, since they come in lots of flavors and one of them happened to be ramen, do you really believe I wouldn't choose it? Anyway that doesn't matter. Did you hear what I said? I said Iruka told me how we can have better sex together!” Why isn't Kiba excited about this?

“Yeah, I heard you, but I didn't just want you to come here for sex, we have to talk about our relationship too. Now be quiet and sit still. Let me talk for a change!” Kiba glared at Naruto till he stopped bouncing on the couch.

Naruto glared back, but nodded his head for Kiba to continue. I wish he would wait to talk after we have sex again. I'm so excited about trying out this ramen flavored lube!

“Okay, good. I've been doing a lot of thinking in the last couple of days and I even had a talk with Hinata.”

Naruto interrupted, “Hinata! You talked about us with Hinata?” Naruto was surprised. He thought Kiba was afraid of letting others know about them.

“I said let me do the talking, Blondie! Yes, I talked with Hinata about us. I didn't go into any details with her, I just wanted to know if she would be okay with you and me being together. And she is. She said she would support us. Now as I said before, I have been thinking about what to do about us. And I've come to a decision.” Kiba paused for a moment and looked Naruto in the eyes.

Oh I hope he isn't breaking up with me! Naruto was worried.

“Blondie...I'm willing to give us a chance.” Kiba was startled when Naruto all of a sudden leaned over and gave him a hug. “Hey! Can you wait to do this after I finish talking!” He pushed Naruto away from him and then cleared his throat. “I'm not the mushy sort, Blondie, so I'm not going to go all romantic on you. Nor am I going to be a pushover for you and let you talk me into buying you ramen all the time.”

Naruto looked at Kiba with his puppy dog eyes. “You won't buy me ramen? Not even once a week?”

“No!”

“How about on special occasions?”

“Um, which special occasions?” Kiba was beginning to fall victim to Naruto's puppy dog eyes. No, I must resist the puppy dog eyes!

“Well you know, holidays, my birthday, anniversaries...” Hehehe, we can celebrate anniversaries every week! Naruto figured he had Kiba now.

“Your birthday maybe, and if we manage to be together for a year, then I will take you out to have ramen when that happens. But you go on missions just like I do and there is no reason why you can't feed yourself, Naruto! We're not getting married you know!” Geez there is no way I'd ever marry him either! That would be suicide!

Darn! Kiba is smarter than I thought! “Oh, okay you cheapskate, you got a deal then!” Naruto smiled at Kiba. “So when are we telling all our friends?”

“I don't know. Maybe we should just tell our team mates and let the rest figure it out for themselves. I had wanted to keep this a secret, but Hinata figured it out on her own. And I think Shino has too. So if you want to tell Sakura then go ahead. But I really don't want to make a big deal out of this.” I'm still nervous about what all our friends will think. I have no idea how I'm going to tell Mom and Sis. I hope Mom doesn't hurt me too much after I tell her. “I'll even tell my Mom and Sis when they get back from their mission. If you don't hear from me again afterwards, you will know my Mom killed me.” Kiba grimaced.

Kiba's going to tell his friends and family! He's not going to keep it a secret! Yay! Phase Three is complete! But I still need to get him to tell me he loves me. “That is great Kiba! I'm glad you decided to not keep our relationship a secret.” Naruto then hugged Kiba again.

Kiba hugged back quickly, then pushed him away. “Yeah, well. I can't let you be stronger than me in this relationship. I'm still the man you know!” Kiba grinned at Naruto.

“Hey I'm a man too!” Naruto punched Kiba on the shoulder.

Kiba was about to punch back, until he realized he didn't want to get into a brawl with Naruto right now.

“Now can I tell you what Iruka told me?” Naruto was getting excited again about trying out the new things he learned.

“Sure, but you better not talk too long. It's getting late and there are some other things I want to do with you now.” Kiba grinned wickedly.

“Hehehe, yeah me too!” Naruto grinned back at Kiba wickedly. “Okay, well you never answered me before about whether you knew what this lube is for.” Naruto picked up of one of the tubes.

“Actually I think I can guess what it's for.” Kiba blushed, but he was smiling.

“You can? So you know about preparing me first before you put your dick in me, right?”

“Preparing you?” Kiba figured he would put the stuff on his own cock before he entered Naruto, but he didn't understand about how to prepare Naruto.

“Yeah!” Naruto opened the tube and squeezed a little of the lube onto the index finger of his right hand. “You see, you put this on your fingers, then you put one finger in me and move it around a little to stretch me, then I think you have to add another finger to help stretch me more. Considering how big your dick is, I think you should use three fingers! Then you put the lube on your dick and enter me. Iruka also said there was a bundle of nerves inside me that you are supposed to touch with your dick, when you fuck me, so that I can get more pleasure out of it. Let's do it now!” Naruto started taking his clothes off.

Kiba was processing all Naruto had said in his mind, when Naruto's last statement hit him. He looked up and saw Naruto stripping off all his clothes. Hell yeah! I'm really glad Naruto isn't shy! Kiba then got up off the couch and started stripping off everything too.

Akamaru who had been sitting on the floor in the living room, listening to their conversation, raised up all of a sudden and turned and ran to Kiba's room. I'm not going to watch them screw each other! It's one thing to have to listen to Naruto talking about how to use lube, it's another to watch it in action.

Kiba didn't even notice that Akamaru had been in the room nor when he left. His attention had been on Naruto the whole time. When both boys were both undressed, Kiba grabbed Naruto and threw him on the couch. Then he laid himself down over Naruto, bracing his knees on each side of the blond and put his hands on Naruto's shoulders. Then he kissed him.

Naruto was a bit surprised by how quickly Kiba had got him into this position and then he started kissing Kiba back. When Kiba's tongue started licking Naruto's lips, he opened his mouth to let the other boy's tongue in. Then Naruto moved his own tongue against Kiba's and their tongues started playing with each other. Both boys began to moan very loudly.

Kiba took his right hand off of Naruto's left shoulder and then moved his hand down his lover's chest to start exploring it. He played with Naruto's nipples a bit, tweaking them and pulling on them. Then he moved his hand down to Naruto's stomach and started tracing his fingers all over it.

The blond's moans had been getting more frequent and louder during all of this. Naruto started exploring Kiba's body with his own hands. He played with the dark-haired boy's nipples. Then Naruto ran his hands all over Kiba's abdomen. Naruto decided to get even bolder. He moved his left hand to Kiba's cock and started stroking it.

Kiba jerked a little and then moaned out loud. He pulled away from Naruto's lips and looked into Naruto's eyes. “Grip it harder, Blondie and move your hand up and down on it.”

Naruto smiled at Kiba and did what he commanded. He kept up a steady pace on Kiba's cock and used his right hand to take turns playing with Kiba's nipples. Pinching them, then pulling on them.

Kiba moaned with pleasure and started sucking on Naruto's neck where it met with the shoulder, causing Naruto to squirm and cry out in pleasure. Then Kiba moved his hand, that had been resting on Naruto's belly, down to Naruto's cock. He gripped it and then stroked it up and down.

Naruto pushed his hips up then and begged for Kiba to go faster.

Kiba obliged, then all of a sudden, he stopped sucking on Naruto's neck and told Naruto to stop stroking him, because he didn't want to come right away. Kiba stopped stroking Naruto's cock and reached over to the coffee table beside them and grabbed one of the tube's of lube. He raised himself up to his knees and opened the tube, then squeezed some of the lube onto the fingers of his right hand. He got back down over Naruto and put the tube on the floor. he raised up a little and told Naruto he wanted him to scoot up a bit on the couch.

He helped Naruto move up enough so that Kiba's shoulders were right above Naruto's legs. Kiba put his left hand under Naruto's hips to raise Naruto up a bit and then he reached down with his right hand and put his index finger into Naruto's entrance. He moved the finger in and out slowly, so Naruto could get used to it.

Naruto felt a little uncomfortable at having Kiba put his finger in him, but it didn't hurt really, it was just uncomfortable. Then he felt something on his cock. He looked down and saw Kiba licking at the head of his cock. Whoa! That's weird but it feels good! “Kiba!”

Kiba stopped licking and looked up at Naruto and grinned. “What! You don't like this?”

“Are you kidding me? I love it! I was just startled a bit. Don't stop!” Naruto grinned back.

Instead of licking the head again, Kiba licked up the underside of the cock, from the bottom to the top. He decided to add a second finger into Naruto. He then moved his mouth over Naruto's cock and took the cock into his mouth and sucked on it.

Naruto moaned out loud. “Yes Kiba! That feels so good!”

At those words, Kiba started sucking harder. Then he started to move his mouth up and down, alternating sucking and licking while doing it. Then he added a third finger into Naruto.

Uh that kinda hurts a bit, but the pleasure Kiba's giving me, outweighs the pain. “Um, Kiba can you try to find that spot that Iruka told me about?”

Kiba moved his fingers around and tried to get them deeper into Naruto.

Naruto cried out. “There! Do that again!”

Kiba found the place again, and when Naruto cried out in pleasure, he kept brushing up against that spot over and over again.

“Kiba I'm going to come if you don't stop! I want you in me now!” Naruto had never felt such pleasure before, and he wanted Kiba to be with him when he came.

Kiba stopped sucking Naruto's cock and took his fingers out of Naruto. He reached down for the lube and picked it up. Then he squeezed some out into the palm of his hand and then rubbed it all over his cock. He dropped the lube back on the ground and then grabbed Naruto by the hips and pulled him up onto his lap. He put his cock at Naruto's entrance then looked into Naruto's eyes. “You ready?”

“Yes! Do it!”

Kiba slid into Naruto and pushed all the way till his balls were pressed to Naruto's ass.

Naruto pushed back against Kiba, silently telling him to move.

Kiba started out in a slow pace, but Naruto yelled at him to go faster, so he did. Both boys were so hungry for each other and neither felt they could get enough. Kiba grabbed Naruto's legs and pushed them up to his shoulders and then leaned himself down so he could go deeper inside Naruto. He started thrusting faster.

Naruto cried out. “Please Kiba! Fuck me harder!”

Kiba began slamming harder into Naruto, this caused both boys to moan out louder. The pleasure was so intense for both of them. “Naruuuutooo! So fucking good! You are just soooo fucking good!”

“Kiba! I love you!” Naruto didn't even realize he had yelled this out.

Kiba was feeling so much pleasure that the words didn't really register yet. He continued slamming himself harder, faster and as deep as he could go into Naruto until they both exploded. Naruto's seed covered them both and then Kiba kept pounding until all his seed had finished pouring out into Naruto.

Then he let go of Naruto's legs and Naruto let his legs fall down to the couch. Kiba fell down onto Naruto, but he managed to keep his weight from crushing Naruto. Then Kiba laid his head on Naruto's shoulder. He was too exhausted to get up.

Naruto wrapped his arms around Kiba's back and stroked it. He was tired and wanted to go to sleep.

As Kiba lay there trying to get his breath to even out and to get enough energy to get up, he remembered what Naruto had said. Naruto said he loved me. Is it true? “Is it true?”

Naruto had almost fallen asleep when Kiba spoke. “Is what true?”

“That you love me.” Kiba wasn't sure if he wanted Naruto to love him. Not yet anyway. This is too soon! I don't know what I feel for Naruto. Does he want me to say it back?

Naruto was shocked. Did I say I loved him? I don't remember saying that! Wait, I must have or he wouldn't be asking. “Um...well yes. I do love you. Does that bother you?”

So he admits it. What do I say? Guess the truth. “It does bother me a little, Naruto. I told you before I wasn't a mushy type of guy. And I don't know what I feel for you. Besides lust that is.”

Naruto punched Kiba on the back of his shoulder. “Well I feel lust for you too, idiot! But I'm not going to be afraid of the truth. I love you. I only realized it the other day. I want to be with you. I want to know all about you and do things with you. Besides sex! I don't want this to be a temporary thing between us. What I feel for you, I've never felt for anyone ever before.” Naruto had been looking at Kiba's eyes the whole time he spoke. He at first saw fear and reluctance, but at the end of his speech he saw acceptance and even what looked like happiness in Kiba's eyes.

Kiba saw the sincerity in Naruto's eyes and believed every word that Naruto said. So he really does love me. It's weird, but yet it also feels good. I'm not really sure if I love him back. I care about him a lot. And I want to be with him all the time too. “Alright Blondie. I accept that you love me. But I can't say the words yet myself. Not until I know for sure. Otherwise I could be lying to you, and I don't want to do that.”

Naruto smiled at Kiba. “I'm not normally known for patience Kiba, but since this is something important...I will wait till you are ready. Now, this couch is very uncomfortable and I want to go to sleep. So can you please get off me and can we please go sleep in your bed?” Naruto started pushing at Kiba to get him to get up.

Kiba laughed. “Hey I happen to be very comfy like this! You can just suffer!”

Naruto glared at Kiba and started pushing him harder. “You damn lazy dog! Get off me now or you won't get any later!”

Kiba frowned. “Hey I was just kidding! Can't you take a joke!” Kiba got up and then bent down to pick up his clothes, he also picked up the tube of lube from the floor. He was going to take it with them to the bedroom.

Naruto grabbed his clothes too and he had seen Kiba pick up the lube. Naruto grinned to himself. I really love that Kiba wants to have sex as much as me! Naruto let Kiba lead the way to his bedroom. He stared at Kiba's ass all the way there.

Akamaru saw the two naked boys come walking into the bedroom. Those two are so noisy! I couldn't even sleep while they were going at it. Well, there is no way I'm sleeping in here tonight. “arf!”

Kiba looked over to Akamaru. “Oh okay, Akamaru, well you have a good night.”

Akamaru left Kiba's room and headed towards the kitchen. At least if I'm in in the kitchen I'll be far enough away from Kiba's bedroom, that they shouldn't keep me up all night. I'm getting really tired of being around horny teenage boys!

After Akamaru left the room, Kiba threw his clothes on the floor and took Naruto's clothes out of his hands and did the same to them. Then he grabbed Naruto's hand and led him to the bed. He pulled down his covers and then got into the bed and pulled Naruto into the bed with him. After they both got settled, Kiba pulled Naruto close to him and lay with his chest against Naruto's back. He put his arm around Naruto and then whispered in to his ear. “Good night, Blondie.”

Naruto smiled. “Good night Kiba.”

Both boys felt very comfortable and soon fell asleep.
The sun light shining brightly through the window, woke up a blond from his peaceful dream. He had been dreaming about his lover and what they had been doing most of the night. Naruto blearily opened his eyes and then rubbed the sleep out of them. He turned his head to the left and saw that Kiba was still asleep. Last night was so great! I can't believe all that we did. Kiba sure has a lot of energy! He smiled at his lover. Then he reached over and poked him on the shoulder. “Time to wake up lover boy!”

Kiba groaned then rolled over, turning his back to Naruto.

Naruto frowned at Kiba's back, then poked Kiba on the back. “Hey! I said it's time to wake up!”

Kiba groaned again then rolled over onto his back. He opened his eyes halfway. “Stop poking me, Blondie. We have the day off and I'm tired you know. You kept me up half the night.”

“Me! You're the one who can't keep his dick to himself! You're just lucky I'm so obliging. I'm tired too, you know, but I want to eat. I'm starving! Feed me Dog-Boy!”

Kiba opened his eyes wide then looked at Naruto. “You've got to be kidding me! You woke me up for that! I'm not your servant you know! Go make your own damn breakfast!” Kiba then turned his back again on Naruto, to try and go back to sleep.

Naruto looked at Kiba's back and pouted. “Fine boyfriend you turned out to be! Making me cook my own breakfast, after I let you fuck me all night.” Naruto grumbled and then got out of the bed. He looked back at Kiba and saw that he had fallen back to sleep. He mumbled curses under his breath.

Naruto walked to the bathroom and then closed the door behind him. He turned on the water in the shower and then stepped in and cleaned himself off and then he washed his hair. He rinsed all the soap out of his hair and off his body, then he got out of the shower and dried off. He went back into the bedroom and found his clothes on the floor and picked them up, then put them on. He looked over one more time at Kiba and saw he was still sleeping.

Kiba was just pretending to sleep though. He was waiting for Naruto to leave so that he wouldn't have to cook him breakfast. He was feeling too lazy for that.

Naruto left the bedroom and slammed the door behind him. Stupid, lazy Dog-Boy! After all I've done for him! Naruto was going to try and find the kitchen to get some food, but he decided he'd rather go to Ichiraku's instead. I want ramen and they have the best! Naruto left Kiba's house and headed to the ramen stand.

On the other side of town in the Hyuuga household, Hinata was headed out to go to the training grounds. She had received a note when she had gotten back to her home the evening before. The note was from Shino and he had asked her to meet him at the training grounds to have a picnic together. She was heading there early in order to get a little training done before their date. I can't believe Shino asked me on a date. Well he didn't exactly say it was a date in the note, but going on a picnic alone together should mean it's a date. I hope it is anyway! This will be my first date! I had wanted that to be with Naruto. But life doesn't turn out the way you expect it too sometimes. I do really like Shino though. He is very quiet and sometimes that can be frustrating. But he's very sweet and thoughtful, and I think I should see where this will go.

Hinata arrived at the training grounds and saw no one was there yet. So she started doing some exercises, then after that she started practicing her Juken. She was trying to build up her speed.

Naruto got to the ramen stand and saw that Shikamaru and Neji were sitting together at the counter. Naruto greeted them both and took a seat.

“Hey Naruto.” Shikamaru and Neji spoke at the same time. Chouji was behind the counter and said hi to Naruto also and asked him what he would like to have.

“Hey Chouji! I'd like two bowls of beef ramen please!” Naruto then looked back at Shikamaru and Neji when Chouji left to fill the order. “How have you two been?”

Shikamaru answered first. “Fine, but teaching brats is so troublesome.”

Naruto laughed.

“I've been fine too, Naruto. So I heard from Chouji that your mission was a success. But you guys ran into some bandit trouble huh?” Neji turned back to his ramen and started eating it again.

Chouji placed both two bowls of ramen in front of Naruto. “I told them about it, Naruto.” Chouji had also told them that Kiba had come looking for Naruto after Naruto had left. They all three were curious about it.

“Yeah, we got attacked by a bunch of bandits but we kicked their butts.” Naruto didn't feel like going into more detail at the moment. Instead he started devouring his first bowl of ramen.

“Bandits are so troublesome.” Shikamaru had finished his ramen and pushed the bowl towards Chouji. Then he crossed his arms on the counter and laid his head down on on his arms, facing Naruto's direction but he closed his eyes.

Neji finished the last bite of his ramen and pushed his bowl away from him too. He then looked over at Naruto with a smirk. “Anything else happen on this mission that was interesting?”

Chouji grinned at Naruto and Shikamaru opened his eyes then raised his head up to look at Naruto too.

Naruto had just finished his second bowl of ramen and looked around and noticed he had all the boys' attention. What's going on? Why are they looking at me that way? “Um, uh well...”

Just then Kiba walked up and sat down on the other side of Naruto. “Yo Chouji, you working here?”

Chouji looked over at Kiba. “Yeah this is my last day though. I was just filling in as a cook temporarily. You want something?”

“Yeah I'd like a bowl of miso ramen.” Then Kiba noticed that Naruto, Shikamaru and Neji were looking at him. “Hey guys! What's up?”

Naruto grinned. Should I do it? hehehe Hell why not! Naruto leaned over to Kiba and wrapped his arm around Kiba's shoulders. “Hey, Dog-Boy, did you miss me so much that you had to follow me here?” He winked at Kiba.

Kiba was speechless. What is Naruto doing! Kiba looked around and saw Chouji, Shikamaru and Neji were staring at both him and Naruto with surprised looks on their faces.

Chouji placed the bowl of ramen he was holding down on the counter in front of Kiba. He moved back a little after that and continued to stare back and forth between Naruto and Kiba.

Kiba pushed Naruto's arm off his shoulder and started eating. He didn't know what to say to the others so he figured if he ate they would eventually stop staring.

Naruto looked at the others and grinned. “He's so shy! But you should have seen him last night! Kiba can be a real animal when he gets excited!” Naruto looked at Kiba with a wicked grin.

Kiba choked on his ramen. He started coughing and Naruto started beating on his back. “S-stop hi-hitting m-me! Kiba got out between coughs.

Shikamaru, Neji and Chouji were in shock from hearing the words Naruto had said. All were thinking the same things. Is there something going on with Naruto and Kiba? Naruto talked like they were intimate with each other. Is it just a joke?

“Um, Naruto. Is there something going on that we should know about?” Shikamaru was the first to get himself together and ask the question they all wanted to know.

Kiba had stopped choking, but then turned red when he heard Shikamaru's question. He bowed his head down and waited to see what Naruto would say.

Naruto looked at Shikamaru and smiled. “Well...” He turned to Kiba and poked him. “Can I tell them, Kiba?”

Kiba shrugged, then just nodded his head. Might as well get this over with.

Naruto grinned at Kiba and then looked around at Chouji, Shikamaru and Neji. “Kiba is my boyfriend.” Naruto waited to see their reactions.

Kiba held his breath and looked up at the others.

Shikamaru, Neji and Chouji were stunned to hear Naruto just come out and say it. Like it was no big deal. This isn't a joke. Kiba isn't denying it. All three thought this.

“Oh, alright then.” Again, Shikamaru was the one to speak.

“So you guys are okay with it?” Naruto wanted them to be fine with it. They were all his and Kiba's friends and he wanted them to accept their relationship.

Shikamaru, Neji and Chouji nodded.

Kiba let his breath out when he saw their nods. Naruto smiled.

“As long as you two are happy that is fine with me.” Neji smiled at Naruto.

“Yeah, I'm fine with it too!” Chouji smiled at both Naruto and Kiba.

“You guys are so troublesome. But I can live with it.” Shikamaru nodded to everyone, then paid Chouji and got up. “I'm going to go cloud watching now, see you all later.”

“Bye Shikamaru!” Chouji was the first to say. Then the others said good bye to Shikamaru too. Shikamaru then left.

“See Kiba! Everything is going to be fine.” Naruto then put his arm around Kiba again and hugged him.

Kiba smiled and let Naruto keep his arm on him. “Yeah I guess.”

Neji paid Chouji and he got up to leave. “See you all later.” He nodded to them and left.

“Bye Neji!” Naruto, Kiba and Chouji shouted out.

“Well, can I get you two lovebirds anything else?” Chouji grinned at them.

Naruto laughed. “Thanks Chouji but I think we are going to go train now. Right Kiba?”

Kiba looked at Naruto. “You mean both of us going together to the training grounds right?” Kiba wasn't sure if Naruto was saying they would really train or if Naruto was talking about going back to Kiba's house and playing around some more.

“Of course! Where else? Oh!” Naruto laughed. “You have a one track mind Dog-Boy!”

“Hey! I do not! You are the one with the perverted thoughts, not me!” Kiba glared at Naruto. But he couldn't hold the glare long and started smiling.

Chouji couldn't believe Kiba and Naruto were openly flirting with each other. This is so strange! I wouldn't believe it if I wasn't seeing it with my own eyes. “Well you two have fun, training.” Chouji drawled out the last word and winked at them.

Kiba and Naruto both blushed, then Kiba paid for his own ramen.

Naruto looked at Kiba and whined. “Kiiibbaa-kun! Can't you pay for mine this one time?” He gave Kiba the puppy dog eyes.

Kiba looked with disgust at Naruto. “Didn't we talk about this before, Blondie! Now stop it with those puppy dog eyes! I'm immune to them!”

Naruto glared, then reached for his wallet and paid for his meal. He looked at Chouji. “See what I have to put up with! Kiba has no idea how to be a proper boyfriend.”

Kiba growled. “Shut it Blondie!” Then Kiba walked away to head for the training grounds.

“Hey! Wait up for me, you bastard!” Naruto ran to catch up.

Chouji laughed and then turned away to go back to work.

Very quickly, word got around to all Kiba and Naruto's friends that they were a couple. Sakura and Ino were surprised at first to hear it, but then started planning a party so that they could all celebrate the good news.

“I can't believe that Naruto didn't come and tell me first! I'm going to punch him when I see him, then I'll give him a hug.” Sakura laughed.

“I am surprised that those two would be together. They are so much alike that you would think they would fight all the time. Unless it's the fighting that got them together!” Ino grinned.

“You could be right! All that male testosterone must have caused their passions to turn from fighting to making out. I wish I could have seen it!” Sakura sighed.

“Well maybe we'll get to see a little of it at the party.” Ino was getting excited about the party and what could happen there.

“Yeah!” Sakura got a dreamy expression on her face, imagining being able to see Naruto and Kiba kissing. “We should play spin the bottle or truth or dare! Then we can fix it somehow so that they have to kiss. I bet it will be so hot!”

“That's a wonderful idea, forehead girl!” Ino grinned.

“Don't call me that Ino-pig!” Sakura glared at Ino.

Ino then glared back and they started a glaring contest.

Meanwhile at the training grounds...Shino showed up carrying a basket of food and a blanket. He saw Hinata and walked up to her. “Hello Hinata.”

Hinata had been resting on the ground, she had been training for a couple hours and was taking a break. She looked up when she heard Shino's voice. “Hello Shino.” She smiled at him.

Shino spread out the blanket in front of where Hinata was sitting then put the basket in the center of it. “Are you hungry?”

“Yes, thank you.” Hinata got up and moved to sit on the blanket near the basket. She opened it and started taking everything out. “This food looks good, Shino. Did you cook this?”

Shino smiled on the inside and then sat down across from Hinata. “...Yes I did.”

“That was very sweet of you, Shino.” Hinata filled two plates full of food then handed one to Shino. Then she filled two cups with water and handed one of them to Shino also. She took a bite of the food, then looked up at her companion. “This is delicious, Shino, you are a good cook.” She smiled at him.

Shino was happy at his team mate's praise. “...Thank you, I'm glad you like it.” He started eating his own food.

Neither said a word again until they were done eating. Then Hinata put everything back in the basket and after she was finished she turned to Shino. “I really enjoyed that, Shino. Thank you for inviting me to this picnic.” She smiled sweetly into Shino's sunglasses.

“...You are welcome.”

“Um, Shino, is this a date?”

“...It is if you wish it to be.”

Hinata blushed and looked down. “Um, yes, I do wish it to be.”

Shino raised one of his hands and touched Hinata's chin, then he lifted her chin up so he could look in her eyes. “I like you a lot, Hinata.” He kept his hand on her chin.

Hinata blushed again. He likes me! I'm so nervous though! When he says he likes me does he mean in a romantic way? “I like you a lot too.”

Shino leaned over towards Hinata and brushed his lips gently against hers. Then he moved back.

Hinata had closed her eyes when Shino had kissed her. She still had them closed. “Do that again, please, Shino.”

Shino smiled. (yes he did!) He leaned over and kissed her again, but this time he kissed her longer. Hinata kissed him back. They kissed close-mouthed for a minute, then Shino brushed his tongue against Hinata's bottom lip.

Hinata gasped and opened her mouth. Shino slid his tongue into her mouth and started exploring it. He moaned softly.

Hinata was a little surprised to find Shino's tongue moving around in her mouth. But she got over it and started moving her tongue against Shino's. She moaned her self. This feels so good!

They kissed for another minute before both needed to get air into their lungs. Shino pulled away first. Then stared at Hinata.

Hinata opened her eyes and stared back. Then she got nervous because she had never been kissed before and it was all so new to her. She had enjoyed the kiss, but she needed time to explore her feelings. “Um, Shino...I have to go home now.”

Shino was worried that he had moved too fast. Maybe she isn't ready yet. “Alright, Hinata. I'm sorry if I frightened you.”

“No, you didn't frighten me. It's just that this was my first kiss. And I'm feeling a bit nervous right now. I hope you don't mind if I need some time alone right now. I did enjoy the kiss. I don't want you to think I didn't.” She smiled shyly at him.

That's good to hear! “...Okay, Hinata, I understand. I hope we can do this again though. The kiss and a date.” Shino stood up and held out a hand to help Hinata up.

Hinata took Shino's hand and used it to pull herself up. Then she hugged Shino quickly. She turned away from him to go home. She called out as she was walking away, “I'll see you later Shino!”

Shino smiled as he watched Hinata hurry away. Well that turned out better than I had hoped. Then Shino picked up the basket and the blanket and turned to head for his own house.

Kakashi knocked on Iruka's door. He had news to share with his lover.

Iruka opened the door and let Kakashi in and gave him a kiss after he had closed the door. “Hello love”

“Hello back, lover! I have amazing news to share!” Kakashi lead Iruka to the couch and pulled him down to sit with him. “You'll never guess!”

“What? You look excited.” Iruka was curious to hear the news.

“Brace yourself Iruka-love! Our Naruto is in love!” Kakashi grinned at Iruka.

Oh that! “I already know about that Kakashi.”

“What! When did you find out? And why didn't you tell me?” Kakashi was upset that Iruka would keep something like this from him.

“I didn't feel it was my place to tell you. Naruto told me in confidence, last night.”

“So you know it's Kiba too?” Kakashi wasn't happy that he seemed to be the last to know.

“Yes of course! And I must say I was a bit surprised.” Iruka still found it hard to believe that it would be Kiba that Naruto would fall for.

“'ru baby...he's not a little boy anymore. You got to let him grow up you know. But I, too, am a bit surprised.” It being Kiba is a little hard to understand. But I guess you never know who you will fall in love with.

“Yes I know he's growing up. I just hoped it would be awhile before he fell in love. He's so young still. And I don't want him to get his heart broken. Kiba better be good to him or else!” Iruka shook his fist in the air.

Kakashi grinned at his lover and then put his arm around him. “Well I was told to invite you to a party that Sakura and Ino are throwing for Naruto and Kiba. It's tonight at seven pm.”

“What! Everyone knows about them?” Iruka wondered how everyone already knew. Naruto just told me last night! Kiba must have let Naruto tell everyone. Well maybe there is hope for them after all.

“Yep! All of Naruto's friends know. That's how I found out!” Kakashi was still a bit peeved that his boyfriend hadn't been the one to tell him.

“I'm sorry Kakashi, but you know I can never betray Naruto.” Iruka leaned into Kakashi to show he felt bad that he couldn't tell him.

“That's okay my love. I'll forgive you if you make it up to me.” He leered at Iruka.

Iruka laughed and then punched Kakashi on the chest. “You pervert! Why do I put up with you again?”

Kakashi grabbed the back of Iruka's neck and pulled him into a slow, passionate kiss. Then he let Iruka go.

Iruka pulled away and looked at his love. “Oh yeah, that's why!” Then he grinned and leaned down to kiss Kakashi.
Naruto caught up with Kiba after they had left the ramen stand. He grabbed Kiba by the arm and pulled on him to make him stop. “Kiba! Um, I was just kidding about the training part. We only have a couple more days off and I was hoping we could spend them together alone. At your place.” Naruto gave Kiba his fox grin.

Kiba blushed, then growled. “I knew it! You just can't keep your hands off me, can you Blondie?” Then Kiba grinned.

“Nope, you're just too sexy for me to resist. So what do you say we go to your house and you remind me of why I have the hots for you?” Instead of waiting for an answer, Naruto grabbed a hold of Kiba's hand with his and started heading in the direction of Kiba's home.

“I think I'm up for that!” Kiba smirked. He let Naruto hold his hand and walked with him back in the direction of his home.

But as luck or bad luck would have it, Lee, Tenten, Neji and Gai came walking towards them.

Damn! I don't want to talk to them now! I just want to get home and have my way with Blondie! Kiba hoped the others would just greet them then move on.

“Hi guys!” Naruto smiled at them and swung his and Kiba's arms back and forth.

Kiba forced Naruto to stop the swinging.

The others noticed they were holding hands and then looked at each other, before looking back at Naruto and Kiba and then greeting them.

“Naruto-kun and Kiba-kun are celebrating the Spirit of Youth today! Taking a vigorous walk around the village and showing off their Youthful Love to everyone they meet!” The green clad Lee shouted. He smiled at the lovers and gave them the 'nice guy pose'.

Everyone, except for Gai and Lee, groaned.

“Yes, as my wonderful, youthful student Lee has exclaimed, you two are great examples of how young people should show their Youthful Spirits!” Gai looked at Naruto and Kiba with a big smile on his face and a sparkle in his eye.

Everyone, except Gai and Lee, groaned again.

Tenten looked at Naruto and Kiba and smiled. “I'm very happy for you both. Neji told us about you two being boyfriends now. You do know about the party that Sakura and Ino are throwing for you both, don't you?”

Naruto and Kiba looked at each other and mouthed quietly, “Party?”

Kiba then growled. All I want to do is go home and fuck Blondie for the next two days. It was a big mistake to make our relationship public. Now no one will leave us alone!

Naruto looked at Tenten. “Why are Sakura and Ino are throwing a party for us?”

Neji smirked at Naruto. “You know how they are. They will find any excuse to throw a party. You two are just unlucky enough to give them the latest reason.”

Tenten laughed.

Lee turned and glared at Neji. “You should not talk about my Sakura-chan that way. She is a fine example of Youthful Womanhood and the sweetest of all the fair ladies of Konoha. You, my rival, must learn to appreciate the fairer sex more.”

Neji sighed and said nothing. There was no point in encouraging Lee into continuing to praise Sakura. Lee was blind to Sakura's faults.

“Okay, well where and when is the party?” Kiba was getting annoyed and wanted to finish the conversation so he could go home with Naruto.

Tenten answered Kiba. “It's at Sakura's house and it starts at seven pm. Her parents are away for a few days so we can have as much fun as we want.” She looked at Neji and smiled. Maybe I can finally get Neji to pay more attention to me. He treats me like a team mate but nothing more. I hope he's not gay too! She frowned at that thought.

“Okay thanks for the head's up and we'll see you tonight! Got to go now!” Kiba then started dragging Naruto away.

“Yeah see you tonight! Kiba, stop pulling me so hard!” Naruto dragged his feet till Kiba slowed down.

Neji, Tenten, Lee and Gai watched Kiba dragging Naruto away and then turned back around.

“Kiba sure was in a hurry!” Tenten laughed.

Neji smirked.

“It's their Youthful Spirits that make them want to run towards their destiny!”

“Lee, my youthful student, you are correct! Ah, the passions of Youth!” Gai sighed happily.

“Gai-sensei!”

“Lee!”

“Gai-sensei!”

Tenten interrupted their love-fest. “Um, Gai-sensei, weren't we headed for the training grounds?”

“Oh yes, my young student, Tenten. Thank you for reminding me! Let's go and train hard today, my Youthful team!”

Neji murmured, “Thank you, Tenten.”

Tenten smiled and looked at Neji. “I did it for my own sanity too, but you're welcome.”

Tenten and Neji followed behind Lee and Gai, all of them walking towards the training grounds.

Several hours later, around six thirty pm...

Kiba was in the kitchen feeding Akamaru his dinner. “Well, Akamaru I hate to leave you here alone, but I don't think you'd enjoy the party. I plan on getting wasted so I wouldn't be good company for you. You don't mind, do you?”

“arf!”

“Good, well I got to go now. Blondie insists we go get ramen before the party. He's afraid Sakura and Ino won't have any at the party and he's got this addiction you know.” Kiba rolled his eyes.

“arf!”

“Yes he is, but he's my idiot.” Kiba grinned. “See you later Akamaru!”

“arf!”

Kiba left the kitchen and headed to his bedroom where he had left the blond. Naruto had insisted on going to his own apartment before they had come back to Kiba's house. Naruto had needed to get some clothes that he could wear to the party.

When Kiba walked into the bedroom he saw Naruto and then stopped and stared at him. Wow! Naruto looks hot! Black suits him. Kiba leered at Naruto. “Blondie, maybe we should skip the party and stay home tonight.” He walked up to Naruto and looked him over slowly from his feet all the way to the top of his head, then looked into his blue eyes.

Naruto blushed. Then he shivered as Kiba's eyes raked him. “Um, you think I look hot?”

“Oh yeah, I really do.” Kiba then wrapped his arms around Naruto and pulled him close. “So what do you say about skipping the party?”

“Ahhh...yes...I mean no! Sakura-chan and Ino would kill me! But we don't have to stay late.” Naruto grinned and then lifted his head up and touched Kiba's lips with his own. He licked Kiba's lips then pulled out of his arms. He looked Kiba up and down. “You look pretty hot yourself tonight.”

Kiba was wearing black trousers that hugged his hips and he was wearing a tight black t-shirt with a picture of Akamaru on the front. Naruto was wearing tight black trousers that hugged his hips, just like Kiba's. But Naruto was wearing a black fishnet undershirt and over that he wore a black sleeveless satin vest that had a deep v neckline that allowed the fishnet shirt below it to be seen. Kiba's brown hair was short and spiky like Naruto's blond hair. Neither wore their hitai-ate's on their foreheads. They decided to not wear them at the party. So both had their bangs hanging down over their foreheads, giving their faces a softer look.

“Thanks Blondie! So if you really want to go to this party, we better get a move on now.”

“Yep! I'm starving and I want to go eat ramen before we go.” Naruto headed to the door.

One of these days I'm going to break him of his ramen addiction! Kiba followed him out.

“Where's Kiba and Naruto?” Chouji asked this of Shikamaru. They had arrived a few minutes after seven and had found a seat on the couch. Everyone else was gathered around the food table.

“Of course the guests of honor would be late. They are so troublesome.” Shikamaru hadn't really felt like coming to the party. But Ino had threatened him with violence if he didn't show up. So he figured it would be too troublesome if he didn't show up.

Iruka and Kakashi had gotten some food and headed over to where Chouji and Shikamaru were. They sat in the love seat across from them.

“I think your bad habits have rubbed off on Naruto, Kakashi.” Iruka was hoping that Naruto would show up soon. He wanted to see how he was doing since their last talk together.

“Aww Iruka, I don't have any bad habits.” Kakashi grinned.

“Of course you don't. After all, how would I know your bad habit's, hmmm?” Iruka teased.

“So true, you know nothing about me. We are complete strangers.” Kakashi moved closer to Iruka.

Chouji and Shikamaru were surprised at the behavior of the adults. They both looked at each other and then shrugged.

Chouji leaned close and whispered to Shikamaru. “I don't think I want to know what's going on with those two.”

Shikamaru whispered back. “Adults are so troublesome.”

There was a knock on the door. Sakura and Ino ran to the door. Both racing each other to be the first one there.

Sakura won. She opened the door. “Naruto and Kiba! You're finally here! Come in.”

When they came in, Sakura hit Naruto over the head.

“Ow! What did you do that for?” Naruto rubbed the place where he was hit and frowned at her.

“That's for not telling me first!” Then Sakura grabbed Naruto and hugged him.

“Hehehe, what is this for?” He hugged her back.

She moved away from Naruto. “That is because I'm so happy for you!” She smiled at him and there were a few tears coming from her eyes.

Naruto smiled back. “Awww Sakura-chan you don't have to cry. I'm glad you are happy for me though.”

Ino hugged first Naruto then Kiba. “I'm happy for you both. Now come and get some food.” She then grabbed an arm of each boy and dragged them to the food table. Sakura following behind.

An hour later, after everyone had gotten something to eat and had talked with each other, Iruka and Kakashi approached Naruto and Kiba.

“You both look happy.” Iruka smiled at both of the boys. So did Kakashi.

“We are Iruka-sensei.” Naruto smiled at Kiba and Kiba nodded at him and smiled back.

“Iruka-sensei, I know how important Naruto is to you and how important you are to him. I just want you to know that I care a lot about Naruto and I would never deliberately hurt him.”

“I'm glad to hear that Kiba. All I want is for Naruto to be happy. If what you have said is true, then I know he will be.” Iruka smiled at Kiba and then decided to give him a hug.

Whoa! I never knew Iruka-sensei was so affectionate! Kiba hugged back and then backed away from Iruka, blushing.

Iruka looked at Kakashi and nodded at him.

“I'm happy for you both too. Just remember if you two should need any pointers, just come to me.” Kakashi leered at them.

Naruto was right. Kakashi is a pervert! Kiba backed away a little from Kakashi.

“Um, that's okay Kakashi-sensei! I think me and Kiba have it covered!” Naruto backed away also. I don't like how close Kakashi is standing to Iruka! I hope he won't try anything perverted with my Iruka-sensei!

“Are you sure? Because I think I could help you boys out...” Kakashi was stopped from saying anything more by Iruka putting his hand over his mouth, and then dragging him towards the front door.

“Well, it was a great party and I'll see you later, Naruto! Good night you two!” Iruka dragged Kakashi out the door.

Naruto and Kiba looked at each other.

“That was...”

“...weird!” Kiba finished Naruto's sentence.

“Yes!” Is something going on between Iruka and Kakashi? God I hope not! That is so...ewwww! Naruto shuddered.

Sakura yelled out. “It's time for Spin The Bottle!”

All the boys groaned.

“Now come on everyone! Get in a circle right here!” Ino directed everyone where to sit. Then she put an empty bottle on the table, that was in the center of where everyone was sitting.

“I'll go first!” Lee was excited about the chance that he would get to kiss Sakura. He spun the bottle and it landed on...Shikamaru!

Shikamaru got up to run from the table, but Ino grabbed him and forced him to sit back down. Then she and Sakura had to hold him so that Lee could kiss him.

Lee took pity on Shikamaru and just pecked him on the lips very quickly.

Now it was Shikamaru's turn to spin. It landed on Naruto.

Shikamaru groaned.

Kiba scowled.

Naruto looked at Shikamaru expectantly. Maybe Kiba will get jealous!

Shikamaru walked over to Naruto to peck him on the lips, like Lee had done to him.

But Naruto wouldn't let him. He wanted Kiba to be jealous, so when Shikamaru got close to kiss him, Naruto grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down and kissed him hard. Naruto held on to a squirming Shikamaru and kissed him for several seconds. Then let him go. Naruto looked over to Kiba.

Kiba was extremely pissed off. Why did Naruto kiss Shikamaru like that? Shikamaru better not get any ideas about stealing my Blondie away! I'm going to need to punish Naruto for this later.

Naruto saw that Kiba was very angry. Uh oh! I want him to be jealous but I don't want him to kill me! I'll have to make it up to him later!

“Naruto it's your turn to spin!” Ino wanted Naruto to hurry up.

When Naruto spun the bottle, Sakura and Ino focused their chakra on the bottle and forced it to stop in front of Kiba.

Now is my chance to kiss and make up! Naruto grinned and then got up quickly and rushed over to Kiba. He jumped on Kiba's lap and threw his arms around his boyfriend's neck. Then crushed his lips on Kiba's. Naruto tried to force his tongue into Kiba's mouth.

Kiba was still angry with Naruto and he wouldn't let Naruto have his way. So he didn't respond to the kiss. When Naruto started to pull away, to ask what was wrong, Kiba grabbed Naruto by the back of his head and pulled him back. Then he kissed Naruto roughly and forced his own tongue into Naruto's mouth.

Naruto started moaning and then kissed back. Both boys tongues fought each other and Naruto started moving his hips against Kiba's. The boys then wrapped their arms around each other to get as close to each other as possible. They completely forgot where they were.

Sakura and Ino couldn't take their eyes off Kiba and Naruto. They found the public display of both boys' affections for each other extremely hot.

Hinata was blushing, but she, also, was unable to stop watching.

The other boys in the room became uncomfortable with watching two of their friends making out, right in front of them.

Neji felt that it was up to him to remind his friends of where they were. He got up and walked over to them and tapped Kiba, then Naruto on the head, and the taps weren't gentle either.

Both boys froze. They pulled away from each other and their faces became red.

Naruto got off of Kiba's lap, then laughed nervously. “hehehe, um, sorry?”

Neji smirked at him, then walked back to his seat.

“Well that was hot!” Ino started fanning herself with her hand.

“It sure was!” Sakura grinned at Naruto. “I never knew you had that in you, Naruto!”

“hehehe well um, I love Kiba, so what can I say!” Naruto looked down at Kiba.

Kiba looked back up to him. “Hey, Blondie?”

“Yes?”

“Let's go home.”

“Sure!”

Kiba got up and put his arm around Naruto. Then he looked around at the others. “Me and Blondie need some privacy now. I hope you all can understand. It was a great party and I had a lot of fun.”

Naruto was blushing. “I had fun too! See you all later, okay?”

Everyone agreed it had been fun and told the two to have a good night. But some of them smirked when it got to the 'have a good night' part.

Kiba then walked Naruto to the door, keeping his arm around Naruto's waist all the way to his house.

When they got to Kiba's house, Kiba lead Naruto to the couch and pulled him down to sit with him. Kiba had realized when he saw Shikamaru and Naruto kissing that his feelings for Naruto were not just about lust and simple caring. Kiba didn't want to see Naruto with anyone else. In his mind and heart, Naruto belonged to him. Naruto was a part of him, the part he had been missing all his life. His unexpected soulmate.

“I have to tell you something, Blondie.” His voice was completely serious.

Naruto felt nervous. Kiba looks so serious. Whatever he wants to say it's important. “Alright Kiba, I'm listening.” Naruto gave Kiba an encouraging smile.

“You know how before I told you that I wouldn't tell you I love you unless I really knew it was for real.”

"Yes and I told you I would wait.”

“Well you don't have to wait any longer.”

Naruto started shaking.

Kiba wrapped his arms around him and looked him in the eyes.

In Kiba's eyes, Naruto could see what his next words would be.

“I love you, Blondie.” Then Kiba kissed Naruto. It was a passionate kiss filled with love and desire. Naruto had tears falling from his eyes, but kept kissing back. Kiba broke off the kiss and pulled back. He then smiled at Naruto.

“Say it again, Kiba!” Naruto was almost sobbing, he was so happy.

“I love you.” Kiba raised up a hand and wiped away Naruto's tears. “Don't tell me that I fell in love with a cry baby! Geez!” Kiba smirked.

“Hey! I'm not a cry baby! It's okay to cry when you're happy, you know!” Naruto cried and laughed at the same time.

“Who says!” Kiba laughed back.

“Me you big dummy!” Naruto punched at Kiba, but Kiba stopped the punch and pulled Naruto's fist to his mouth and kissed it.

“Save that temper for when we get to bed. And instead of punching with that hand I can find another use for it.” Kiba smirked and then stood up from the couch, pulling Naruto up with him. He grabbed Naruto by the arm and started heading for the bedroom.

“And you always say I'm impatient!” But Naruto didn't really mind being dragged to the bedroom. That is one place even he was in a hurry to get too.

The End!

You've heard the story, right? Your Sarutobi-sensei told it to you. He told it to you and you think about it all the time and pray that it is real.

And the story is this: "everything happens."

Everything.

Because the universe is infinite, right? So everything, no matter how improbable it is, has to happen somewhere. Somewhere your brother didn't die. Somewhere your lover didn't die. Somewhere your teammate didn't betray you.

Somewhere you were happy.

But you don't really think big enough to understand the story.

He understands it. That one person who knows everything about you and still smiles at you. Because even Shizune does not know everything.

But Jiraiya does.

He can see it inside you. Because even now, decades later, he is still your precious teammate. This ability is the one that Orochimaru forsook when he left you: the right to understand and be in turn understood, and still be forgiven.

You understand Orochimaru very well. He understands you too.

But you will never forgive him, even if you still love him. Precious teammate, precious person. Part of your dream, like they all were.

But only Jiraiya is still here, and only he still thinks of the story.

Because everything happens somewhere.

Somewhere you healed Orochimaru's arms. Somewhere you and Dan have a thousand children and you wear your true face. Somewhere your brother is alive and you never met Dan. Somewhere Kabuto didn't interfere with your ruse and you killed someone you love.

Somewhere you never left. Jiraiya never left. Orochimaru never left.

Somewhere you are happy.

Here, though . . .

Here Orochimaru's arms are useless. Here Dan is dead and you have no children and almost no one knows what you actually look like. Here your brother is dead and you did meet Dan. Here Kabuto interfered and Orochimaru is still alive.

Here you left. Jiraiya left. Orochimaru left.

Here you are . . .

Here you are . . .

You are here.

And Naruto is the one who wears your necklaces and holds your loved ones' dream in his heart, and that Uchiha boy is going insane while everyone watches with curiosity, wondering when he will break, and that Haruno girl just sits around and cries because she can't do anything.

You wonder why she isn't fighting. But you can't blame her.

After all, did you follow Orochimaru? Did you ever try to reason with him, to get through to him, to stop him?

You knew he was falling, you and Jiraiya both. But you were selfish and did not care. Did not see what was really happening. Did not see that he needed you to save him until it was a thousand lifetimes too late; did not even see how you COULD have saved him until a thousand lifetimes later.

So now you're old (but you'll never admit that because you're not done with your life), and you're in a bar with Jiraiya, missing Orochimaru's darkly sardonic sense of humor and thinking about all the different ways your life turned out in infinity and how much you wish you were in any other version but your own.

So you're drunk, and Jiraiya is looking at you that way he does sometimes, all teasing aside. It's not a kind look, but it's not really cruel either.

It is . . . nostalgic? Regretful? Resigned?

No, that is not like Jiraiya.

It is . . .

Somewhere you never really understand this look and you die alone. Somewhere you DO understand, but are distracted a moment later and forget. Somewhere you just ignore it.

Only, in THIS somewhere, in this sometime . . . in this place that you are, you understand and reciprocate.

This look is hopeful. This look says, "I still believe that we can be happy." It is patient and quiet and not exactly like Jiraiya but not exactly not either.

A good drinking buddy is a valuable commodity- as long as he doesn't expect you to pick up the tab. So you leave him with the bill, and he actually pays it for once.

You also leave your room key and cancel his reservation on the way up.

Somewhere he doesn't come.

Somewhere he does, but leaves before morning.

Somewhere he stays forever.

But somewhere you both die tonight, somewhere you are enemies tonight, somewhere you are already lovers- and somewhere it is Orochimaru who you left the key with, and somewhere it is Dan, and somewhere it is even Shizune.

The only thing that matters, though, is that in this somewhere, you are ready to try loving someone for the second time in your life. Broken hearts don't exactly heal, but you kept the pieces of yours in good repair. You think they could work quite nicely, given a little patience and a bit of work.

You enter your room and change into a nightgown that would give any normal man a terminal nosebleed but would at best make Jiraiya grin that vacant grin of his.

You recognize his footsteps, and then there is a key in your door.

Somewhere, somehow, sometime, someplace, your life turned out exactly the way you wanted it to. You never really suffered and no one ever died on you. Your team stayed together and you and Dan had children, and they had an aunt on his side and an uncle on yours.

Somewhere your life was perfect.

But that doesn't mean that it was any better than this one.

Whoa

Let me tell you girl

Whoa, whoa, whoa

Hey here I go, hear I go

She was dancing. Hips, vibrating to the beat, rocking her body pure heat radiating off of her soft velvet skin. She smiled as one guy stood behind her placing his hands on her hips and they slowly began to sway together. Her baby blue eyes glistened as she rubbed against him he blushed. Long blonde hair with dark brown roots, black hip huggers almost rolled off of her hips, watermelon lip-gloss, dark blue eye shadow, bellybutton ring dangling as she rocked her body against his, a perfectly placed tattoo right above her ass, and the sweet aroma of lavender perfume.

I know you heard men saying time and time again

That they would rock your world and change your life

But I cant blame them cause you make a nigga wanna get involved

Wanna get them drawers

She perfectly tanned skin made him want her more; he noticed her tattoo as she turned around, how he wished he could take a good look. Even her smell made his skin crawl, a baby face, and deep crystal eyes begging for more. His arms moved up to her shoulders slowly tracing her arms making her pick them up above her head. She smiled and turned around kissing his lips gently.

"Lip's of an angel." His deep voice spoke. Ino panted and her eyes stared at his lips and then up at his deep brown eyes. Licking her lips she leaned against him and kissed his warm lips again. His eyes closed and he could taste her watermelon lips licking them gently. She opened her mouth slightly and his tongue slipped into her mouth. She pulled away a bit nervous. His strong arms wrapped around her and he lead her out of the crowd dance floor.

Well I'm gonna put my bid in and get at you

No disrespect but I want it as bad as they do

The only differences is they look out on themselves
But I'm doing it just to hear you yell

Ino thanked him and he nodded slowly. She blushed weakly and her hand slowly brushed against his. He smiled warmly to her as he took hers and laced his fingers with hers. Ino pulled against his chest and his head rested atop of hers. Looking up she pulled away for a second and tiptoed to reach his lips. He welcomed her and kissed back placing his hand on the small of her back making her lean over slightly. His other hand stroked her outer thigh.

"I can't." Ino said suddenly pulling away from him. He looked away and nodded kissing the top of her hand. "I'm sorry, Kiba." Ino said kissing his cheek, she let go of his hand grabbing her thin black jacket walking down the sidewalk away from the club.

Ooooooh

It's gonna be the sound girl when its going down, your body saying

Ooooooh

Don't have to say my name girl I'm just glad you came, so you can say

Ooooooh

"Ino, wait a second!" Kiba called out to her. The beauty turned to face him, her curvy body making him swallow. She took two steps towards him. Kiba walked up to her only a foot between the two. She looked at him closely and smiled placing a hand on the side of his cheek. " Can I walk you home?"

"I hope so." Ino smiled, Kiba grinned and placed his hand on her back as they walked down the street, together. At first it was silent until Ino laughed lightly looking at Kiba, he gave her a confused look. "It's nothing, but thanks for walking me to my house." Kiba nodded and stared straight ahead and then turned to catch her staring at him again.

"What?" he asked. Ino quickly stared straight ahead and then stopped looking at Kiba, his muscular arms easily spotted. She blushed and Kiba nudged her softly. "What's wrong?"

"Oh it's nothing, I just didn't realize, how much you've changed." Ino said with a shrug. Kiba thought about it as they continued to walk, he didn't realize he had change that much. He looked down at Ino, realizing she was resting her head on his forearm.

In the morning

Ooooooh

In the night

You say O always hitting it right

Ooooooh

"Uh…not that I'm complaining or anything, but are we getting any closer to your street, house, or you know something?" Kiba questioned. Ino stopped and looked around a bit lost turning to Kiba she looked at the ground and looked ahead of them.

"We passed it." Ino said. Kiba looked at her with a smirk and turned in a circle.

"You passed it." Kiba smiled and Ino shook her head seeing a familiar house and pointed to it.

"That's it." Ino smiled at Kiba as he stood at the entrance a few steps behind her. She turned and fumbled around with her keys. Turning to him. Kiba nodded and waved as he slowly began to leave. Ino pulled open the door and looked back at him as he continued to walk down the street, with a small sigh Ino shut the door quietly.

You can't be mad at me

I'm just aiming to please

Let me hear you scream O

Ino placed her purse on the table of the foyer and hung her jacket on the coat rack. She was about to walk into her living room when she heard the doorbell. Turning around she looked over at it and slowly unlocked it. As she turned the knob she peaked out seeing Kiba. She stepped back and he pushed the door open walking in. He shut it quickly and leaned down slightly kissing Ino. He put his arms around her and picked her up placing her on the table.

"Kiba." She softly spoke his name. He looked at her closely their eyes locked. Ino jumped off the table and took hold of his hand walking to her nearby bedroom. She turned to him as they entered the dimly lighted room. "Will you still love me in the morning?" Ino asked softly.

Girl come on and get this thing crackin

You'll be surprised when you see what O's packing
Cause I'm young, but I'm ready

Kiba nodded to her and locked their lips together, softly suckling on her bottom lip; Ino moaned lightly opening her mouth. Kiba slipped his tongue into her mouth, playing her tongue. Ino pulled away staring into his eyes, she looked so innocent; she was just about to lose it all. Kiba stroked her cheek gently and Ino placed her arms around his neck kissing his lips lightly. His olive skin seemed darker in the room; he seemed so strong and, yet so gentle. They went into another rip lock.

Kiba laid her gently down on the bed taking off her shoes. Ino smiled as he slowly lower his face to hers kissing her lips and moved down to her neck, gently licking her and biting her. He pulled away and reached for the zipper of her top, pulling it down revealing her black-laced bra. She blushed slightly, but went along with it, as Kiba pulled her top off her arms and dropped it on the floor.

Try to get hot and heavy, Turn you out if you let me… yeah, yeah, yeah

Girl I'm gonna take you somewhere that you never been

Ino sat up slight as Kiba's arms snaked around her back unhooking her bra. She slid it off of her shoulders and closed her eyes looking away from Kiba. She felt him staring at her exposed body. He placed his hand under her chin and tilted her head making their lips touch. Ino smiled against the warm kiss and leaned into it. Her hands lowered as she reached for the buttons of his flannel shirt. As she took it off Kiba placed a hand right above her chest causing her to lie back as he kissed her neck gently.

Girl I'm gonna take you somewhere that you never been

Show you something's that I make you want to show your friends

Ino softly moaned. Kiba sat up and stared at her, she stared back reaching for his belt. She undid it and threw it on the floor. Kiba unbuttoned her jeans and slid them off giving her a warm stare. She closed her eyes as he gently rubbed his fingers against her inner thigh. He reached for her panties and slipped them off dropping them down to the floor. Ino sat up resting her head against his chest. She grabbed the bottom of his white muscle shirt and pulled it off of him.

"Are you sure?" he asked her. Ino looked at him getting from under him and onto her knees going behind him rubbing his shoulders gently touching his chest muscles. He looked over his shoulder and helped her take off his pants. Only leaving him in boxers Ino placed her hands on his hips slipping lower towards him.

Have you so hit that you cant say a thing

But that's ok all you gotta say is…

Kiba growled weakly as Ino gently rubbed him pulling her hands away touching his chest. He kissed her and pushed her down on the soft bed. Ino's legs slowly parted as Kiba spread her out. Their tongues locked with each other, tasting one another. Ino sucked on his tongue Kiba pulled away trailing down to her breast kissing between her cleavage, tracing her curves with his hands. He felt her starting to relax. Ino arched her back as Kiba kissed her inner thigh gently licking close to her.

"Mmmmm…Kiba…" Ino moaned gently as his hands ran down her thighs. She moaned a bit louder causing Kiba to come down on her. Ino laughed seductively and held tight to the bed sheets feeling Kiba lick her gently and slight suckling. Ino bit her lip holding in a small scream of happiness. "Uhhh…more." Ino moaned her back arching.

Kiba licked her once more before returning back up to her. Ino smiled as Kiba and her lips met again. He pulled away staring into her deep blue eyes, Ino nodded to him and Kiba placed himself, as Ino kissed him one last time before he entered her. She was wet and warm, Kiba gently moved back and forth causing Ino to hold onto the bed sheets. Her long nails dug into the bed. She put her hand on Kiba's back running her nails down his back causing Kiba to moved faster.

Ooooooh

It's gonna be the sound girl when its going down, your body saying

Ooooooh

Don't have to say my name girl I'm just glad you came, so you can say

Ooooooh

Kiba grabbed Ino's breast stroking them gently. Ino moaned saying his name softly. Kiba moved quicker as Ino arched her back. "Uhhh…harder…Kiba, harder." Ino moaned. Kiba did as he was told rapidly moving. Ino smiled as she raised her upper putting her head over his shoulder gasping, feeling both her end and his own. Kiba new Ino was tired, he too was tired. Ino fell back against the pillows panting softly, but soon giggled gently, turning to Kiba how was resting by her side his eyes closed, but her was well awake. Ino sat up and rolled on top of him kissing his lips gently, her hair pouring over her shoulders. "Ohhhh…god, uhhh…haha, let's do that again."

In the morning

Ooooooh

In the night

You say O always hitting it right

Ooooooh

Kiba grunted weakly as Ino rested on top of him. She looked into his brown eyes and Kiba stared back at her a small smile came across his face. He sat up and rolled Ino back onto her back kissing her neck gently biting and licking her warm skin.

"Uhhh…" Ino moaned as Kiba rubbed her breast lowering his mouth down to her nipple suckling on her gently stroking the other. He kissed her cleavage and started to suckle on the other biting it gently and licking it. Ino moaned again, letting out a gentle laugh, a smile on her face. "More." Ino whispered. Kiba came back towards her licking her lips begging for entrance, she granted it to him. He sucked on her tongue and tied his tongue with her. He pulled away from her.

O is for that overtime I'm putting in

We'll go for hours take a break and go at it again

Girl I'll work my way from A all the way to Z

"Hmmm…your beautiful." Kiba said gently to her. Ino smiled and her hand ran down his thighs. She reached for him and stroked him. Kiba growled throwing his head back as Ino continued rubbing him. He let out a breath and kissed her neck biting her. Ino stopped falling back onto the bed. "Hmmm…keep going." Kiba said to her as Ino started to stroke him again.

But trust me baby girl O is where you wanna be

Girl believe me when I tell you I'm not try to tell you what to do

Because when it's said and done, The choice ain't mines it's really up to you

Ino pulled away rolling Kiba onto his back placing herself on top. Kiba stared at her as Ino rubbed his chest. The both kissed each other again. Ino sat up on him her eyes still locked with his. Their hot, sweating, writhing bodies exhausted from making love for an hour.

"One more time Kiba." Ino gasped lowering herself to him. He smirked and closed his eyes he arched his back centering himself. Ino could feel him as he entered her. She moaned Kiba tipped her over and smoothly started moving. Ino gasped and wrapped her legs around Kiba as he entered her farther breaking her barrier by far. Ino moaned, she was almost too tired to continue with him. Kiba slowed down and pulled out of her rolling onto his back. Ino laughed lightly.

"That was great." Ino sighed moving closer to Kiba. He placed an arm around her rubbing her back gently.

Just say yes, don't fix your mouth to tell me no

Drop that bottom off on me

And just say

Ino and Kiba continued to stared at each other. Her smile calmed him down; she was so innocent and sweet. She was his angel, his fragile baby. He kissed her gently trying not to wake her as she slowly fell into a deep sleep. Ino shifted her head resting on his chest. Kiba smirked staring out at the moonlight.

"I love you, my angel." Kiba said to her softly causing her to moan softly.

Ooooooh

It's gonna be the sound girl when its going down, your body saying

Ooooooh

Don't have to say my name girl I'm just glad you came, so you can say

Ooooooh

Ino woke to the sound of chirping birds and looked out of her window seeing two blue birds singing a morning melody. Her blue eyes gazed down to Kiba how had fallen asleep next to her. She kissed his lips hoping not to wake him up.

"What a night." Ino said softly swinging her legs off of the bed rubbing her eyes trying to become fully awake. Her body still tired from the long night she had with Kiba. Reaching for his white flannel shirt she slipped it on, rolling up the long sleeves to her elbows, and buttoning it up, but left her cleavage to show.

In the morning

Ooooooh

In the night

You say O always hitting it right

Ooooooh

Kiba had shifted waking up. He noticed Ino just about to get up. She turned around seeing him awake. His eyes stared at hers as he sat up. Ino crawled back over to him kissing his lips. "Let's do it all again." Ino whispered to him. Kiba sighed and fell back on the bed, Ino laughed and trailed kisses down to his stomach rubbing his muscles softly.

"Your gonna kill me woman." Kiba said tiredly.

"No I won't." Ino giggled touching his face.

Let me hear you say O when I'm hitting it

Let me hear you say O when I'm getting it

Let me hear you say O when you come to the door

Let me hear you say O from the bed to the floor

Let me hear you say O when it's all going down

"Well, then I'll go make some breakfast." Ino said kissing Kiba. She rolled off the bed walking towards her drawer to grab some shorts.

"You do that then." Kiba said tiredly falling back asleep. Ino smiled at him warmly walking over to him. She leaned down getting close to his ear.

"Kiba you never truly answered my question." She whispered to him softly kissing him as she walked away.

Let me hear you say O when you can't make another sound

Baby girl let me hear you scream O
Baby girl let me hear you scream O

"Forever and ever, baby girl." Kiba said sitting up, looking over at her. Ino smiled and blew him a kiss.

"Me too." Ino smiled.

When he looks at you, he does not see you. Throat tight but back straight, you pretend not to notice. The sharp, quiet violence of being denied existence makes you want to lash out, to scream yourself hoarse, until the other has no other choice but to acknowledge your exasperating presence.

But you do not. You will not. Why would you?

Humiliation is nothing to you. As a child, you were the class clown, the prankster, the cheeky grinning brat that would not listen to a word the grown-ups said. You are used to being made a fool of -- in any other circumstances, you would rather be mocked than not exist. In your twenty-two years of life, you have experienced both, and you know, without the shadow of a doubt, which is more painful.

But, somehow, you cannot bear the thought of this man -- older, wiser, stronger -- making fun of you behind your back.

And so you smile.

You know this is hopeless. You have enough experience, enough lucidity to know it. And yet, nothing short of death could make you take your eyes off him. Nothing can make you stop smiling. Not your parents' death, not Mizuki's betrayal, not even this man.

You love him the way you love life - too much, too hard.

Every time you look at him, every time he does not see you, the pain in your chest comes into sharp focus and leaves you reeling with intense, unexplainable longing, crushed with regrets.

Every single time, a treacherous little voice in your head murmurs, "What if...?", and you find yourself smiling at him -- fool that you are -- as if something as simple as a smile could make a difference, when you know with acute clarity that it will not.

A prisoner of hope, beaming in the face of indifference. Because this is life, harsh and unfair and breathtakingly beautiful -- something to be treasured, enjoyed and loved. There is only one way out, that comes both too soon and too late. No matter how much it hurts now, the pain will subside in time, then fade altogether. It always does. This is one of the hard-earned lessons of your childhood, a certainty engraved in your heart.

Nothing lasts forever.

What most people view as sad and unfair, you have come to consider a mercy.

For this is the only reason you are still alive.

"Thank you for your hard work, Kakashi-san," you say, with a neat bow. Picture-perfect. Hidden behind the cheery facade, you try not to feel.

He looks away.

And you smile.

A minute before the alarm rings, Iruka’s hand reaches forward and shuts it off. The bedroom is quiet and still, with Iruka lying curled on his side of the bed and Kakashi leaning against the windowsill, watching. Weak morning light filters in through the glass at his back but Kakashi doesn’t feel it, too intent on watching Iruka perform his early morning ritual to care.

Iruka yawns hugely and literally rolls out of bed to his feet. Kakashi smiles at the picture he makes: rumpled pajama bottoms low on his hips and hair in tangled disarray, and says, “Good morning.”

Iruka ignores him in favor of stumbling towards the kitchen to make his liquid breakfast. While the coffee brews, Iruka wanders inside the tiny bathroom. He leaves the door open but Kakashi doesn’t spy—Iruka will throw a fit if he does—and instead lounges against the hallway wall, having a one-sided conversation while Iruka brushes his teeth.

“Coffee’s done,” he announces needlessly when Iruka finishes; the timing of Iruka’s morning preparation is exact and precise as a science. Very little changes day to day as Iruka is fond of routine, although Kakashi has tried to rid Iruka of his more telling habits. He considers it an overwhelming success that he has managed to train Iruka out of blushing at every tiny innuendo. That Iruka has taken to throwing anything within reach at him instead is an acceptable if unfortunate side effect. Not that Iruka ever manages to hit him but everyone should have a goal.

Kakashi’s is to eventually work up the nerve to tell Iruka he loves him. He has been trying for the past days but it’s harder than he expects. Especially since Iruka is swamped with paperwork from his job and mission reports from the office and doesn’t have the time to listen to Kakashi. It’s not deliberate, he knows, but it is hurtful all the same because it brings to mind the other time when Iruka didn’t listen to him, which is what got them in this mess.

He told Iruka in the beginning not to get attached and that he isn’t the kind of man Iruka should be getting involved with, but Iruka didn’t listen. The other man stuck around even after Kakashi flat out told him he didn’t want a relationship. Iruka asked him what was wrong with being friends and Kakashi stupidly said, “Nothing.”

That was the beginning of the end, and Kakashi is convinced to this day that at his answer, Iruka already declared victory. Stubborn sneaky chuunin. It’s one of the many reasons Kakashi loves him and it makes him wish he had the courage tell Iruka that sooner. A tiny part of his mind whispers that Iruka hasn’t ever said it either, but it’s smothered in the knowledge that it is his turn to take the first step, not Iruka’s.

Because it’s Iruka’s apartment they are living in, Iruka who asked him to move in, Iruka who kissed him slow and deep under a starless sky and told Kakashi he will wait. He has made Iruka wait long enough, but Kakashi takes comfort in knowing that he will be doing the waiting from now on. It’s precious little comfort but this boon is still more than he deserves—and not nearly enough for Iruka.

“I need to tell you something.”

He has a speech prepared but words abandon him when he sees Iruka half-dozing in his seat with the strengthening sunlight pouring through the tiny kitchen window turning his hair a warm caramel and touching down the golden length of his bare back. Kakashi feels his breath catch, which shouldn’t be possible but happens anyway, and reaches out to brush his fingers along Iruka’s cheek.

The skin is smooth and warm beneath his fingertips, further driving the speech from his thoughts, but Kakashi doesn’t care because everything he wants to remember is here in this man before him. For a second, he lets it all fall away and whispers, “Iruka.”

Iruka’s eyes snap open, and Kakashi sees bewildered confusion and a little fear in them before they flicker to the clock on the wall and Iruka jumps to his feet with a small cry.

“Crap,” he mutters, scrambling for his uniform and his papers at the same time. “Crap, crap, crap.”

Kakashi hides a grin and moves out of the way as Iruka barrels through the apartment after his belongings. Another lost opportunity but Iruka in a panic is almost worth it. Almost.

“I’m going now,” Iruka says, yanking the door open and juggling with his bag, files and coffee. It’s a testament to either his training or caffeine addiction that he doesn’t spill a single drop of coffee as he runs down the stairs and sprints towards the Academy.

Left alone, Kakashi sticks his hands inside his pockets and sighs, replaying the speech in his head. Maybe he’ll try again this evening.

  

The day passes uneventfully.

He goes to see Sakura, who is the only one of his students left in Konoha, but she’s buried in her training and he doesn’t want to interrupt her. It’s good to see her determined and focused, and he is proud of her although he doesn’t say so.

He visits some of the other jounin but they’re busy as well, either on missions or training their students so eventually Kakashi drifts back to Iruka. Classes are out for the day and Iruka is in the mission office working. The room is crowded and noisy, making it no surprise that Iruka doesn’t notice him when he enters.

Taking a seat on the couch, he waits for the others to leave and Iruka to notice, which he never does. Finally, when the crowds are gone and Iruka is the last chuunin behind the desk, Kakashi stands and goes to him.

“What I was trying to say earlier,” he begins but already it sounds wrong so he stops. Iruka doesn’t look up from his papers; Kakashi isn’t sure whether it’s better or worse that Iruka is not listening to him. Still, he has to do this—it’s nearly a self-appointed mission by this time—and he clears his throat, saying firmly, “Iruka, listen.”

The light scratch of pen on paper stops as Iruka stills and half-turns in his seat. “Ka—”

The door opens before he can finish and Iruka looks away, distracted again. Kakashi closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He will not eviscerate Genma for the man’s extremely poor timing. Genma is a friend (sort of) and a colleague. But then Kakashi spots the drawn expression on Genma’s face, the faint blood stains on his uniform and how he looks anywhere but at Iruka, and realizes that Genma knows.

Kakashi steps forward, but Iruka speaks first. “Genma, you’re back early. The mission must have gone well.”

Nothing in Genma’s expression or stance gives him away. “Not really. There’s a change in plans. I need to report for a new mission.” He hands his old mission scroll to Iruka and heads for the door without taking a new one.

Iruka isn’t an idiot; Kakashi knows the chuunin is well aware of which missions only the Hokage is allowed to assign, though Kakashi himself doesn’t know until now that Genma rejoined the ANBU. They were teammates for a short time when Kakashi was fifteen, before Kakashi requested and received permission to switch to solo missions. Genma, being his senior and weirdly protective, refused to allow his transfer. Kakashi got his way in the end, but thinking of it now, he appreciates Genma’s objection even if it rankled at the time.

“Be careful,” Iruka says as Genma is leaving.

Genma pauses and ducks back into the room with a smile. It’s one Kakashi hasn’t seen for a long time, not since they shared missions, and it’s startling how the feral grin transforms his impassive features into something cold and vengeful. In that smile, Kakashi knows why Genma returned to the ANBU; Genma’s major failing as a shinobi is his enormous protective streak regarding his family and his friends. Kakashi wonders what he did to be included in Genma’s list.

“Don’t worry about me,” Genma says. “Those bastards are as good as dead.”

Iruka smiles weakly. “That’s, ah, good.”

The grin fades as Genma takes a few steps back to the desk. “Iruka,” he says, voice edging close to concerned. Kakashi wills him to stop speaking—not yet, he hasn’t told him yet, just give him another day, an hour even so long as Iruka hears it first—and miraculously, Genma continues with, “take care of yourself.”

“Of course.” Iruka is probably thinking Genma has snapped from stress, and he sounds more worried than before but Genma is already gone.

Kakashi relaxes and nearly pleads, “Let’s go home.”

Iruka doesn’t reply or look at him but he nods once and gathers his things. They leave together.

He has to wait until after Iruka showers and eats before attempting again. But, it’s even more hopeless than the first time because Iruka is completely ignoring him for yet more work.

“Your work ethic sucks,” Kakashi tells him; Iruka continues not to listen.

Kakashi isn’t used to being unheard because he doesn’t contribute to conversation like most people so when he does speak, people shut up and listen. Iruka is quiet but he’s definitely not listening and Kakashi is sick of it. He’s frustrated and unnerved because there’s nothing he can do and it has been a long time since he felt helpless.

“Iruka,” he snaps and the other man turns a page of his grade book in response. Kakashi wants to scream.

I love you, he thinks. I love you. I love you, and if you pay attention for one second and listen to me I can tell you. And then you can shout at me for being an idiot and not telling you sooner because I really messed things up this time, but I’m trying to fix it now. I just need you to listen, please, Iruka, just listen to me.

Iruka sneezes and keeps working. Kakashi waits a moment in futile hope before he gives up and goes outside to destroy something. He doesn’t know what he is doing wrong, and for the first time, it occurs to him that he might fail.

Hours later when he returns, the apartment is already dark. Iruka has gone to bed without him. Kakashi crawls in beside him and Iruka rolls over, dragging the blankets with him and leaving Kakashi’s side of the bed cool and bare. Kakashi watches him sleep and promises, next time, definitely. He’ll tell him next time, because Kakashi has failed at many important things in his life but he is not going to fail Iruka in this—not any more than he already has.

  

Next time arrives sooner than he anticipates.

Iruka has had a long day, but he’s still smiling at the end of it so Kakashi isn’t too worried. After dinner, Kakashi pokes around their apartment looking for something to do while Iruka works. It’s quiet around them and peaceful, but Kakashi is tense and pacing, antsy from suppressed nerves. His skin prickles and he jams his hands inside his pockets to keep from rubbing his arms.

It’s too quiet in the apartment, uncomfortably like the calm before storms. Time’s up, he thinks and, last chance, Hatake, now or never.

“Iruka,” he says, turning around, but Iruka is asleep facedown on his work. Kakashi makes a face and goes to prod him awake. “Hey. Just go to bed if you’re that tired.”

“Can’t. Got work,” Iruka mumbles and Kakashi freezes even as his heart starts to race. This is it; this is the moment because Iruka is half-coherent but still aware and most importantly, listening.

“Iruka?”

“Hm?” Iruka’s nose wrinkles and his eyes blink blearily, searching for Kakashi.

“No, shh, close your eyes. I need to tell you something.” His palms are sweating and his throat is dry and fuck, it didn’t seem this hard in his imagination.

“‘kay.” Iruka closes his eyes obediently and his face slackens in sleep.

It’s nearly too late. He yells at himself to just say it, just do it, don’t think, just be a man and tell him before this chance disappears. Before he has to go and Iruka never hears him say—

“I love you.”

—and that’s it, as simple as that. Three little words that fall from his lips and Kakashi has never been more relieved or felt so stupid. Why was he so nervous? It feels so natural and so incredibly easy to admit it, and Kakashi laughs a little in amazement. “I love you,” he says again, simply because he can and it feels good.

Iruka smiles in his sleep. “Love you,” he murmurs and then Kakashi loses him to true sleep.

He runs his hand through Iruka’s hair and kisses him gently on the lips. Nothing happens, but he’s not surprised and sits down to wait. This next part he’s not sure of and he contemplates going to see Obito to ask when someone knocks on the front door.

Kakashi frowns; he certainly didn’t think someone would come to get him and definitely not to have knocked first, but Iruka jerks awake and Kakashi realizes it’s an actual knock—and what it means for Iruka.

“Don’t answer it,” he says but Iruka doesn’t listen and goes to the door.

Kakashi wants to stay where he is because he doesn’t want to see the look on Iruka’s face when they tell him. But behind his closed eyes he can still imagine the shock and horror, and it is the act of a coward not to face someone you’ve wronged. He steps beside Iruka as the messenger is leaving and Iruka is saying, “Thank you for telling me,” as his hand curls into a fist around the bloodied forehead protector.

Iruka silently closes the door, squeezes his eyes shut, and his breathing is ragged as he hurls the dented metal and stained cloth away and slumps to the ground. His head tilts back to rest against the closed door and the pain on his face hurts Kakashi more than any weapon or hit ever has.

He crouches next to Iruka and says, “I’m sorry,” but Iruka isn’t listening and can’t hear him. He apologizes anyway, over and over, as Iruka sits defeated on the floor, knees drawn up to his chest, hands clenched and lip bleeding from where his teeth have bitten through. Kakashi hears the anguished cries despite Iruka’s efforts and feels tears rising. “I’m sorry,” he says again and Iruka’s head drops forward as his shoulders begin to shake.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Don’t cry,” Kakashi whispers but Iruka doesn’t listen.

Iruka fidgeted as he walked, fingers twisting nervously around each other. A gloved hand slid neatly into his, squeezed once and dropped away. He blinked, fingers stilling, and took a deep breath. Just say it, he thought, before you change your mind again.

"I think I'm falling in love with you."

Kakashi didn't say anything for a few agonizing seconds, then leaned forward and brushed a quick, cloth-covered kiss to his cheek. "That sounds serious. Sure you don't want to think about it more?"

Iruka gaped. What kind of answer was that?

But before he could say anything, Kakashi's gaze flickered to the mid-day sun and he held up a hand in parting. "We'll finish this later. I need to meet the kids."

That's it, Iruka thought, as he watched Kakashi run away. You managed to scare off the love of your life. Congratulations.

He kicked the ground viciously, and then spent the next few seconds hopping around until the pain receded. Sandals really weren't made for kicking things. Unless it's someone's head, he thought darkly. Stupid perverted idiot.

He sighed and stared at the ground. Just a few hours until Kakashi tired of tormenting his students and came back to finish their conversation. And break up with me. 'We'll finish this later'? There's no way this can end well.

Iruka groaned. Why did I tell him? Everything was fine and now I've messed it up. Maybe I can say it was a joke. He grimaced at the thought. I spent days working up the nerve to say something. I'm not taking it back now. Even if he doesn't love me.

He didn't want to go home and wait for the inevitable rejection, but didn't want to socialize either so he headed towards the Academy. Maybe he'd draft a new lesson for his students. That would make him feel better and with any luck, the cold, heavy weight in his heart would leave as well.
Except that the Academy was closed.

"Sorry, Iruka, but one of the other classes had extra lessons today and they were practicing exploding notes."

Iruka eyed the smoke billowing out of gaping holes in the walls. "I can work somewhere else."

"Thanks."

"Do you need any help?" He stepped back as the front gate burst into flames.

"No, it's under control. Only a C rank demolishing this time."

"Oh, that's lucky. So are classes cancelled tomorrow?"

He snorted. "Are classes ever cancelled? We'll just put some boards up and it'll be good as new. We can even make the kids do some of it and call it training."

Iruka laughed. "Everything's training. I don't think the parents want their kids doing slave labor when they're supposed to be learning."

"I guess," he sighed.

Iruka punched him lightly in the shoulder. "It was a good idea anyway," he said and both teachers shared an evil grin. Nothing like forcing one's students to perform menial chores to make the day pass faster.

"I'll leave you to it, then. See you tomorrow." Iruka waved.

"Hey, wait. If you're heading that way, can you drop this off at headquarters?"

"What is it?"

"Monthly damage report."

"Ah." Iruka hefted the package; it felt lighter than normal.

"Yeah. We were almost under budget, too," he said as part of the south wall caved in.

"It's still better than the Naruto Years," Iruka said.

"Don't remind me. I'm still having nightmares."

Iruka tucked the bulging packet under his arm as he walked to headquarters, glad for an excuse to visit. There was always filing and work to be done in the office. He was sure they wouldn't turn down an extra pair of hands, and mind-numbing work had a nearly meditative effect on him. He thought that was part of the reason why he hadn't gone insane from teaching yet.

The office was unusually empty as Iruka approached the front desk where a young woman sat, staring off into space. He couldn't remember her name and coughed to get her attention instead. Her eyes snapped to him and she grinned, nodding at the package he held.

"Hi, Iruka. Over budget again?"

"Yeah," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. We'll just take it out of Naruto's pay. He's the reason for most of your property damage in the past, and since he's earning money now..." she trailed off suggestively and winked.

"You can't do that," he cried, horrified.

"Relax, relax. I was joking. Naruto's still got you wrapped around his finger, I see," she said, laughing.

"He does not," Iruka huffed. "I just worry about him. I've finally convinced him to eat vegetables. If you docked his pay, he'll go back to eating cheap ramen all the time. It's not healthy!"

She didn't seem to have anything to say to this so they lapsed into awkward silence. Iruka cleared his throat and offered, "Ah. Do you need any help today? I've got some free time." He smiled, trying not to appear desperate for something to do.

"Oh. Um, no, sorry. There's nothing to do. You're actually the first person I've seen today."

"But there's always something to do," he pressed.

"Not today there isn't. No missions to hand out, nothing to file, no reports coming in." She scowled and waved a hand at the empty to-do box sitting on the desk.

"There must be some late ones arriving." Iruka was aware that he was practically begging.

"Mm, that's what I thought, too, but no. Even Kakashi turned his in on time. Amazing, isn't it?"

"Kakashi did?"

"Yes."

"My Kakashi?" She grinned and Iruka slapped a hand over his eyes. I didn't just say that. He felt his face burning and comforted himself with the thought that if any more blood rushed to his head, he would black out and be free from this situation.

"I'd heard the rumors but I didn't actually believe them," she said, tapping a finger against her chin. "Guess he managed to catch you after all."

Iruka snapped out of his humiliation-induced stupor. "What? What did you say?"

"Huh? Oh, just that I need to take your name out of the betting pool now. Having inside information's cheating."

Iruka frowned in confusion. "No, not that. What did you say about Kakashi catching me?"

She looked up from the scroll she was writing on. "You know. How he was chasing you and flirting with you and dropping hints like bricks," she said, listing the points with her fingers. "Some people thought you had to be the stupidest or most naïve person ever to not notice but I guess you were just playing hard to get, hm?"

He opened his mouth to speak but it took a few tries before anything came out. "Uh, yes. Playing hard to get. Exactly," he said with a strained laugh. "I'd have to be blind to not notice something so obvious."

"Mm hm," she nodded and flipped the scroll over so he could read it. "There, all done. You'll get your money back, of course, but I need you to sign here agreeing to cancel your bet first."

Iruka scanned the paper quickly. "Wait. This is- tell me I didn't actually participate in this," he pleaded, cringing.

"Sure did. We had to get you a little drunk first, though. You really don't remember?" She unrolled the scroll; it covered the entire length of the table and spilled onto the floor. The words 'Copy Ninja Kakashi- Underneath the Mask! Hideous or Heavenly? Place Your Bets Now!' were scrawled across the top of the scroll. And beneath this, in smaller print: Contest officials not liable for loss of life or limb resulting from any attempts of unmasking. Please play responsibly.

"Your bet's right here." She pointed to a small square in the enormous grid and sure enough there was his name. Along with his guess.

He groaned and dropped his head onto the table, blindly reaching for a pen. One was pressed into his hand and he scribbled his cancellation without looking.

"Sorry, Iruka," she said, sounding concerned. "Rules are rules."

"I know. Don't worry about it. I'm not really that upset." He smiled at her and straightened up to leave.

"So your guess was wrong?" she called at his back.

"No," Iruka said, "I would've won."

He grinned, and walked out, not needing to turn around to know she was reading his guess. "I bet he's fucking gorgeous," he whispered and laughed in dismay. He'd actually been right.

He found a shady, comfortable spot under a tree and stretched out on the ground. Smiling up at the leaves, he blew out a deep breath. He was relaxed for the first time in hours. The queasy anxiety that gripped him every time he thought of Kakashi still remained, though the tension wound through his muscles was gone. And all because of that bet, he thought.

As soon as he saw it, he'd remembered. Not how the other chuunins had managed to get him to participate, but why he'd written what he had. Because Kakashi was gorgeous. Iruka hadn't known it at the time, but Kakashi really was incredibly good-looking.

But what Iruka found so attractive about the other man was, just him. Everything about Kakashi, from genius to pervert to lonely soul, was beautiful to him. The way he made Iruka feel alive with the knowledge in his very bones that this person- this maddening, wonderful person- understood him without even trying.

The familiar, tingling warmth that often accompanied thoughts of Kakashi flooded through him and he grinned foolishly. He couldn't help it; as much as he wished it weren't true, Kakashi made him happy. And not just the laughing, in-love-with-the-world happy but also the comfortable, secure happiness that he hadn't felt since his parents died.

He turned on his side and pulled haphazardly on the grass, rolling the blades between his fingers as he thought. I love him. And he doesn't feel the same. Fine. This isn't the first time it's happened. I'll get over it. So what if it feels like I can't breathe? Or that the thought of him with someone else makes me want to kill things? I can live without him. I have been for over two decades! It's not the end of the world.

"Just the end of my life," he muttered to himself and laughed a little at how melodramatic he sounded. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. This pain won't last forever no matter how much it hurts now.

He checked the sun's position and his stomach clenched into a hard knot. Almost time. He stood up and brushed himself off before heading for his apartment. If Kakashi was going to rip out his heart, Iruka would be damned before he let him do it while Iruka was scruffy and nerve-wracked.

After a shower and a change of clothes, Iruka was clean, but no less nervous. He scrubbed a hand through wet hair and wandered around the apartment, picking up stray clothes. He shoved them into a pile and decided on doing laundry to pass the time. Sorting through the mess, he found that there were more of Kakashi's clothes than his own. He pushed the clothes away and went to find something else to do.

Like hell I'm washing his clothes. Although I should get mine out of that mess. Kakashi always uses the wrong soap and my clothes smell wrong afterwards.

He went to the kitchen, saw the sink full of dishes and smiled. Minutes later, he was soaped up to the elbows and nearly distracted enough to not think about his impending heartbreak every few seconds. He collected the dishes still on the table and winced at the residue caked on them. Stupid Kakashi and his stupid habit of mashing all his leftovers together when he was finished eating. Leaving the plates to soak, he walked to the bedroom for cups he knew were on the bedside table; Kakashi liked to drink tea while reading his disgusting porn before bed.

He blushed slightly when he saw the book. He'd read it once when Kakashi was on a mission and had never told the other man. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. It was entertaining at least, and there were even helpful pictures to highlight the really interesting parts. But what Iruka had found especially fascinating were the little notes Kakashi wrote to himself on the margins. Little arrows pointing to the more detailed descriptions and short messages saying the most appalling things. Things like 'must try on Iruka,' 'need to buy rope for this, maybe chains,' and 'can use in Iruka fantasy #11.'

Iruka had stared, blushed and then laughed. He didn't think of himself as a prude, and really, with his troubled childhood, he wondered why people believed he was as naive as he sometimes pretended to be. He grinned, remembering. Kakashi got one hell of a surprising welcome when he had returned.

Appearances can be deceiving, as Kakashi had certainly learned that night. At this thought, Iruka frowned, still holding the cups in his hands. He dumped them in the sink and went back to the bedroom, actually paying attention to his surroundings this time. Opening the drawers and closet, he saw that almost all his clothes were mixed with Kakashi's. He paled at a sudden realization and pushed down the waist of his pants. He was wearing Kakashi's underwear.

I am not embarrassed about this, he thought, feeling heat rush to his cheeks. It's an understandable mistake; we share the same drawer. Of course I'd accidentally grab his clothes instead.

Only... what were Kakashi's things doing with his, anyway? He left the bedroom, where Kakashi's porn and more innocent belongings were laying all around waiting for his return and stood at the entrance to the living room.

There was the new table in front of the futon, sturdier and closer to the ground because Kakashi knew Iruka liked working on the floor and had complained about sore shoulders. Kakashi's plant sat on a windowsill, next to crudely shaped clay models of kunai and shuriken molded by some of the younger Academy students.

Iruka ducked into the kitchen. There were two aprons hanging on the wall. Looking through the cabinets and refrigerator, he found snacks and foods he would never eat but had bought because Kakashi liked them. And his refrigerator was fully stocked. He knew he hadn't done it; Iruka didn't like to cook.

He shut the door and wandered slowly to the bathroom, mind reeling. There was Kakashi's note wishing him a good morning, still stuck on the mirror. He left similar notes for Iruka to find everyday since he was normally gone or asleep when Iruka woke. He surveyed the room, noting the towels hanging side by side, the pair of toothbrushes on the sink, and the myriad of medicine bottles, bandages, antiseptics, and other medical supplies he rarely needed scattered on the counter.

Shaking his head, Iruka went back to the living room. He averted his eyes from the life-size poster announcing the upcoming installment of Kakashi's dirty novel series, tacked neatly to the hallway wall. Kakashi had been beaming when he brought it home and Iruka didn't have the heart to burn it. He had still taped slips of paper to cover all the naughty bits, though.

Sitting on his futon, Iruka rubbed the bridge of his nose and thought about everything he'd just seen. Bit by bit, Kakashi had infiltrated his life and Iruka hadn't even noticed. Sneaky bastard, he thought fondly. But why had he done it? So I could slowly get used to him? Because it was more convenient to leave some clothes here since he spent almost every night with me?

Because he loves you and thought you felt the same, his mind berated him. Iruka let his head fall back on the futon with a groan and thought of an ordinary night weeks past that suddenly had new significance.

He came home late from the Academy and Kakashi was cooking. Nothing unusual about that, but when Iruka went to the bathroom to wash up, Kakashi's toiletries were sitting snugly next to his own. He was too tired to pay them any mind, and had, in fact, also ignored Kakashi's clothes hanging next to his when he went to change. He dumped his clothes on the floor before shuffling, exhausted, back to the kitchen to eat.

They ate quickly; Iruka because he was starving, Kakashi out of habit, and then went to bed. Iruka assumed Kakashi's unusual silence was out of respect for his exhaustion so he didn't comment on it. Instead, he pillowed his head on the other's chest and fell asleep with Kakashi's hand smoothing through his hair.

He didn't say a single thing about Kakashi's possessions suddenly appearing, and more of them showed up throughout the week until Iruka stopped noticing them.

He took it as acceptance, Iruka thought. He thought because I didn't say anything that I didn't mind. And I don't, but I didn't see either. Kakashi wouldn't randomly move in with a casual partner. He thought we were in love.

I think I'm falling in love with you.

Iruka thought back to the silence and the look in Kakashi's eye before he had responded. He'd joked but his gaze was serious, intent. Sure you don't want to think about it more?

That wasn't Kakashi brushing him off, that was Kakashi offering him a way out. Because he believed this whole time that Iruka loved him and now Iruka was telling him differently. That Iruka wasn't even sure if he thought it really was love.

"I'm an idiot," he said and banged his head on the back of the futon with a muffled thump. Kakashi wasn't the only one fooled by appearances. This whole time and I never realized. He laughed softly. I've really messed up this time. But swift on the heels of that thought was a deliriously giddy one. He loves me. He loves me. I'm an idiot and he still loves me.

He grinned up at the ceiling, stretching languorously with a contented hum. "Oh, Kakashi, you're never getting away now." He chuckled.

A sharp knock on his door roused him from his thoughts. Opening it, he found Kakashi standing there in his familiar, comfortable slouch, hands in his pockets. He hadn't used his key.

Iruka stepped forward purposely, slid one hand to the back of Kakashi's neck, tugged his mask down with the other and kissed him deeply. Arms immediately wound around him, and Iruka smiled against Kakashi's lips. "I'm an idiot. I'm sorry," he said between kisses. "I love you," he whispered, feeling the hand in his hair tighten briefly before he pressed forward again, sealing their mouths together.

They stood there, kissing and holding each other on Iruka's doorstep where anyone could see, and Iruka didn't care at all. He pulled back a little and smiled sheepishly at Kakashi. "Sorry," he offered again.

"Finally figured it out?" Kakashi's fingers were rubbing small circles on his lower back and he arched into the touch, brushing a light kiss along the rim of an ear.

"Yeah. I'm slow that way." Iruka grinned at the tiny smile tugging at Kakashi's lips.

"Well, we can't all be geniuses," he teased and kissed Iruka to forestall retaliation.

Seeing as he'd probably broken previously unknown heights of stupidity, Iruka let him get away with it. He slid his hands down Kakashi's arms to his hands and walked backwards, pulling him into the apartment.

He lifted the gloved hand in his own and kissed the palm, tongue licking around the knuckle of a thumb. "I'll make it up to you," he murmured, locking his eyes with Kakashi's, and sucked the thumb into his mouth, tongue swirling wetly. Kakashi's visible eye widened, and he all but shoved Iruka into the apartment, slamming the door closed and pushing him up against it.

Iruka laughed, dizzy with happiness. "Am I forgiven?"

"Depends on your performance," Kakashi answered, hands busy stripping them both.

Iruka grinned mischievously and pulled Kakashi closer. "I'll let you try Iruka fantasy number eleven," he breathed against his lips.

Kakashi grinned and kissed him fiercely, leaving him breathless. "You really do love me."

L is for the way you look at me.

Kakashi was used to people staring at him. Even before the sharingan, people had stared and whispered, sometimes pointing, although those hands were usually quickly slapped down by anxious parents.

He didn’t blame them. Konoha had more than its share of geniuses and prodigies, but graduating at five was still something of an aberration.

In the beginning, he had stared back, daring them to comment. Sometimes they did, and depending on his mood, he’d either terrorize them or make some offhand remarks that cut to the bone. He kept this up until his teacher caught him in the act and forced him to apologize before frog-marching him into an empty alleyway for a lecture filled with disappointment and disapproval.

You can’t do that, he said. They’re weaker than you. It’s your job to protect them. Kakashi shrugged the criticism off, but his teacher continued talking and eventually one comment broke through and struck deep into his shuttered heart. Don’t be a bully.

Because his uncle was a bully and though Kakashi could kill him in the blink of an eye and make it look like an accident, his mother had made him promise to be good, to listen.

So he let his mother’s older brother, his­­—for all intents and purposes—only family left in the world, order him around and swore he’d never treat anyone like that. Like the way his uncle had probably treated his mom when they were kids.

Kakashi was nearly ill when he realized how he had been behaving, and it was only willful pride that allowed him to nod and promise he would stop instead of bawling in front of his teacher.

He started ignoring the stares after that. It was hard, but he managed. Mostly.

Then he hit puberty and the stares melted into something else entirely. Curious sidelong glances that made his throat tight and his palms sweat. Heated looks that made him acutely aware of everyone around him, and not as potential targets or allies. Stares that tripped him up during training, something that never ever happened to him, but Obito never looked at him like that before either.

Kakashi waited for Obito to change his mind and when he didn’t, cornered him after practice, pulled the mask down and looked right back. It was the first time he didn’t mind someone staring. Not if it was accompanied by wide smiles, hesitant touches, and the brightest eyes he would ever see.

Then, in the span of two years, his world fell apart around him, leaving sharp bleeding pieces that plummeted down to crush him.

His teacher, gone. Sacrificed to save them and blindly entrusting his legacy to the seething hate and anger of a decimated village.

Obito, lost. Because of Kakashi’s arrogant belief that he could take on anyone and emerge unscathed. And he did. But that luck didn’t extend to his friends, to his teammates.

The final blow, he didn’t even see coming. When his uncle died years before, and there was no response, not from her or her handler (not that he expected one because he didn’t, that would be naïve and childish), he swallowed the pain and told himself she was probably too deep undercover to return to get him.

It wasn’t because she was dead. He would know if she were; he would feel it in his heart, in his very soul. But all the same, that night he stopped leaving the light on for her, and the dream of her return faded with the morning rays.

Except she really had been alive this whole time. And Kakashi would later wonder if this was punishment—delayed until it would slice the deepest into already bleeding wounds—for losing faith and not believing when she promised him, always, I’ll come back to you, always.

He’d found the scrolls waiting for him when he finally managed to tear himself away from Obito’s empty grave and stumble home. They were terrifying in their innocuousness and could almost be mistaken for regular mission summons if not for the white silk ribbons that bound them.

He ripped them open with shaking hands, dreading what he would find but they held no personal effects, not even her dogtags, and only an impersonal apology. We regret to inform you…

It was too much to take along with everything else. Kakashi had cried for the first time in longer than he could remember.

The tears ran down the right side of his face only, though the sharingan throbbed in sympathy pain. It was the alien feel of that eye lodged in his ruined socket, tendrils of someone else’s bloodline winding its way into his brain that jerked him back to awareness.

He wiped the tears from his cheek and left the village that night, not returning for over a year.

When he came back, people stared even more. Kakashi let them. He’d paid for his fame with blood and agony; if they wanted to stare at the broken remnants of his life he wasn’t going to stop them.

But even after jagged wounds turned to scar tissue and he carved an almost normal life for himself, the stares didn’t abate. However, by then, he was beyond caring and didn’t notice them anymore.

Until the first time he kissed Iruka. He opened his eyes and Iruka was staring, outright staring at him. It was a knife to the gut, that piercing gaze.

Because looking into those shocked brown eyes, he knew—the same way he knew without Obito having to say a word that his friend wasn’t looking for anything serious—that Iruka was in love with him. And the fool didn’t even realize it.

Kakashi didn’t love him, not yet, but it was close. Because after he’d pulled away and they were both trying to catch their breath, he remembered thinking, I’d do anything if he promises to never stop looking at me that way.

O is for the only one I see.

Kakashi was on a mission.

It was a simple one, straightforward and easy, and he’d already completed the first step (quick trip to the Academy to deliver a message) within minutes of receiving his orders.

Now he was at the pharmacy to pick up supplies. That too was quickly finished and Kakashi wandered out the door, swinging the bag to and fro. This was the most boring mission he’d been on in a while, and that was saying a lot considering one of Team Seven’s jobs had been to spray paint individual blades of grass green in time for some Lady’s garden party.

Naruto had complained loudly and frequently, incurring the annoyed wrath of both his teammates. Kakashi wondered idly if the boy had managed to scrub the green tint out of his skin yet.

Then, straight out of his green tinged memories and into the eye blinding vision before him, stood Gai. Dramatically posed with one hand on his cocked hip and the other pointing at Kakashi.

“Kakashi,” he proclaimed loudly, and paused for dramatic effect.

“Gai,” he said in the gap of silence, nodding a greeting, and walked away before the other man could continue.

There were some sputtering and muffled insults as he was leaving, but he’d already stopped paying attention.

Another few streets, a shortcut through an alley, and his mission was almost completed. Besides Gai, other distractions had popped up along the way but, bored as he was, he had a job to do so he ignored them and kept going. He strolled down the street, passing random stores and glancing casually at the ads pasted on their windows. Signs begging him to come inside, to try this, to get half-off on his second pair of sandals, to buy the newest volume of Icha Icha Vio…lence…

Kakashi stopped dead in his tracks, twitching. Mission or porn? Mission or porn?

It couldn’t hurt to stay just a few minutes, his traitorous mind whispered. He walked slowly, as if in a daze or pulled by a siren’s call, to the bookstore’s front window. Yearning fingers stroked the glass separating him from his one true love in the world.

He thought of his mission and felt like crying. Being a shinobi means making tough choices, he reminded himself. We all have to make painful sacrifices.

But sometimes a shinobi’s life was just too cruel. He wavered and volume four twinkled up at him, glossy cover promising him anything he wanted if he’d just go in and…

No! He tore his gaze away. Ah, the power of porn. He’d underestimated its hold over him. Straightening, he forced his legs to walk and it was so hard to turn away, but he focused on his duty and heroically forged on.

Then he remembered he was on the publisher’s preferred readers list and as such, they would mail him his copy. It was probably waiting for him at home already. He grinned and rushed home, congratulating himself on his foresight.

I am so kick-ass.

He reached his apartment in record time. Tucking his purchases into his pocket, he padded barefoot to his bedroom, hands curled on the back of his neck to warm them.

“Hey,” he whispered to the lump huddled in the middle of his bed. There was no response so he ran a warmed finger down the slope of a nose and kissed it. “Wake up, sicky.”

“Have you come to end my suffering?” Iruka groaned, burying his face in the pillow.

“Better. I have drugs.”

Fever bright eyes snapped to the bottle in his hands. “Gimme,” Iruka demanded, grabbing.

“Ah ah ah,” Kakashi scolded, pulling it out of reach. “It says here to take with food, so eat first.” He plucked the bag his assistant had carried over and opened it, taking out a container of soup.

“Thank you, Pakkun.”

The dog wagged his tail once and plopped down on the rug to sleep.

“I’m not hungry,” Iruka griped. “Just give me the medicine.”

“No.” Kakashi grinned. “You should know the importance of following instructions. What kind of teacher are you?” he asked, shaking his head.

“The kind who’s going to kick your ass if you don’t give me those drugs right now,” Iruka growled, the effect somewhat ruined by his congested voice. He threw the blankets back and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

Ooooo, naked, Kakashi’s mind giggled happily. Yum.

In his understandable distraction, Iruka snatched the medicine from Kakashi’s slack grip.

“Predictable,” Iruka taunted and broke the seal on the bottle. The smirk immediately vanished. “Bastard,” he snapped, throwing the empty bottle at Kakashi’s head.

He caught it neatly and shook it, rattling the pills still inside. “Na, Iruka, maybe if you’d eaten, you wouldn’t have been so addlebrained to miss such an obvious genjutsu.”

Iruka howled, diving for him. Kakashi grinned and sidestepped the attack, sweeping him up and dumping him on the bed. He braced himself over the squirming figure and beamed at his scowling face.

“Are you going to behave or do I get to spank you?”

Iruka tried to knee him in the balls. “Someone’s cranky,” Kakashi observed and pinched him on the ass.

In the ensuing fight, Kakashi managed to get in two good gropes, one open mouthed kiss, a decent head start on what would be a spectacular love-bite, and get halfway undressed before Iruka came to his senses and punched him in the eye.

“Ow,” he said mildly, rolling off onto his back, and watched Iruka pounce on the pills. “You never show that much enthusiasm for me,” he complained.

“You aren’t made up of mind altering substances.” Iruka pointed out, swallowing the pills dry. He crawled back into bed, flopped heavily on Kakashi and kissed the corner of his eye. “Sorry. Thank you. Sleepy,” he mumbled into his neck, already drowsing.

“You’re welcome,” Kakashi answered, watching him drift into sleep. When his breathing deepened, Kakashi lifted a hand to cover Iruka’s ear—it wouldn’t do to wake him—and called softly, “Hey, Pakkun. Pakkun, wake up.”

The dog whined and jumped onto the bed, droopy faced and blinking sad little dog eyes.

“Go get the mail,” he ordered since he couldn’t get up. Wiggling until the arm Iruka was lying on was free, he rubbed his hands in anticipatory glee. Porn in one hand, Iruka in the other. Life was great.

Pakkun returned and dumped a pile of bills and take-out menus on him. No book.

Kakashi blinked in stunned disbelief and sighed. “The things I sacrifice for you,” he whispered to Iruka’s slumbering face and settled in for a long, boring wait. As soon as Iruka was awake, he’d be out of here so fast…

There was a rustle of paper and a heavy weight smacked him in the face. Kakashi pulled it off impatiently. What? His eyes widened. Was this? It was!

He cradled Icha Icha Violence, Volume Four: Hana and Yuki’s Wet and Wild Hot Springs Adventure, to his chest and grinned into Iruka’s amused eyes.

“The things I put up with for you,” Iruka whispered, smiling sweetly at him.

It was then that Kakashi should have realized he was in trouble; when not even the Icha Icha girls in all his imagined fantasies could hold a candle to that smile.

V is very very extraordinary.

The note read:

Sorry not here to meet you. Hope mission went well. Have emergency meeting at Academy, will probably last all night. Again. If reading this, please bring food and/or kill me? Thank you!

Followed by a doodle of what he assumed was Iruka, surrounded by books and scrolls, crying and waving tiny fists in the air.

He returned the note to the table with a disappointed sigh. I had plans for tonight too, he pouted. But work was work, and Iruka took his job seriously.

A quick rummage through the kitchen uncovered some leftovers and plain white rice. He eyed the former warily; he knew he hadn’t made whatever that slimy mess was. Cracking the lid open, he took a cautious sniff and instantly tossed the whole container into the trash, gagging.

And Iruka had the nerve to lecture Naruto on his eating habits? Nothing natural should smell or look like that! How the hell has he survived this long on his own cooking? Kakashi wondered as he searched for an open restaurant.

He found a tiny all-night shop, dim and sleepy in the quiet winter night, and checked his wallet before scanning the menu. There was more money in it than he expected, until he recalled the new table he’d bought for the apartment and how Iruka had threatened to sneak the money back to him when Kakashi had refused to let him pay.

While he waited for the food, he thought about his situation. The table hadn’t been the only new addition. Most of Kakashi’s belongings were squirreled away somewhere in Iruka’s apartment since he practically lived there now.

However, he had the nagging suspicion that Iruka still didn’t know what was going on. Though, oblivious or not, he knew Iruka cared about him. It was evident in his actions and words.

In the way he smiled when Kakashi did something so simple it wasn’t even worth thinking about, but which Iruka found thoughtful. In the way he knew not to push when Kakashi would wake in the middle of the night with screams choking him. And how he wouldn’t blame the jounin the next morning when he woke to an empty bed after he’d fallen asleep with Kakashi’s desperate arms bruisingly tight around him.

They all had their demons—literally in Iruka’s case—and Kakashi knew it was pointless to brood over them, but knowing and doing were completely separate things. For too long, guilt and regret had been his constant companions, and he couldn’t fathom unburdening himself anytime soon, if ever.

The voices of his old teachers swirled up in cheery counsel. You have to make the most of your life while you have it. Live today like it’s your last, and other optimistic dribble because Kakashi knew the real reasons to get up in the morning were selfish ones; you did it for your own goals, your own happiness, your foolish belief that today would be different.

Only lately it was more like his reasons were for Iruka’s happiness because Kakashi found himself doing stupid, sappy, lame things to see that smile on his face. It wasn’t even hard. A kiss good morning, his favorite meal after a long day, spending the whole day with him without the mask on.

It was so easy, too easy, to know what Iruka wanted. It required only the smallest amount of effort; it was barely a challenge.

Kakashi wasn’t complaining. Absolutely not. But sometimes he wondered if Iruka knew him half as well as he knew the chuunin, if Iruka took the time to notice the little details about him, or even the huge glaring ones because Kakashi wasn’t exactly hiding his quirks and eccentricities.

Oh, he knew enough to not pry into Kakashi’s past, but that wasn’t so much tactful consideration as a simple consequence of living in a village that earned most of its money in the trafficking of lives; it was uncouth to the point of social taboo to dig up old memories when every shinobi had missions they would rather forget.

The important question was, did Iruka know the things that mattered: his hopes, his dreams? Did he understand Kakashi, even just a little? Kakashi wasn’t so sure.

The food arrived and Kakashi took it, grateful for a distraction.

He didn’t know what he wanted, but he knew Iruka wanted him and shouldn’t that be enough? To know that someone loved him? Did it really matter if there wasn’t more to Iruka than met the eye even if Kakashi had been so very certain?

The Academy was eerily quiet; he let the whisper of his steps echo as he walked through dark halls towards the single doorway, dimly outlined. He didn’t think he had taken that long getting the food, but it was possible the meeting had ended early.

“Iruka?” he called as he entered the classroom.

“You’re late.”

“Ah,” he chuckled, “I didn’t know there was…” he trailed off, voice sticking in a suddenly dry throat.

Iruka was casually sprawled in his chair, flak jacket off, sleeves rolled halfway up, booted feet propped on his desk. He brushed unbound hair off his face and cold hazel eyes glared at Kakashi from behind thin wire frames.

Kakashi swallowed hard. Iruka looked like one of his more imaginative fantasies come to life, but he also looked incredibly, gloriously angry. Kakashi tried a placating smile, wondering what he’d done wrong, and when that failed, stared in awe as Iruka rose fluidly to his feet in deliberately graceful movements.

The glasses slipped slightly, but Iruka didn’t adjust them, only tilted them further down and looked over the frames at Kakashi with a coolly measuring gaze and a condescendingly raised eyebrow.

Kakashi cleared his throat. “Iruka?” he asked, puzzled at the cold reception and odd behavior.

“Sit down and shut up,” Iruka snapped. When Kakashi stayed frozen in confusion, he stalked over—Kakashi’s brain melted a bit in appreciation—and shoved the jounin down, hard, on one of the long student tables.

“Well?” demanded Iruka, slapping his hands on the table on either side of Kakashi, effectively trapping him. “What do you have to say for yourself?” he asked, leaning directly into his personal space, eyes flashing dangerously.

Kakashi would have knocked him out and carried his possessed body to the Fifth herself if he hadn’t spotted just the tiniest hint of doubt lurking in Iruka’s eyes.

And then Kakashi cursed himself for nearly letting this opportunity slip from his grasp.

“I’m sorry, sir. It won’t happen again,” he said, meek, and did his best to look ashamed.

The barely perceptible tension immediately left Iruka’s body as he smirked. “I’m afraid sorry’s not going to be enough this time,” he whispered cruelly, leaning closer, and Kakashi jumped slightly as teeth nipped his earlobe. “You need to be taught a lesson.”

He didn’t need to feign the shiver that ran through him at the words and the soft, dark promises they held.

“Strip,” Iruka ordered. “And get on your knees.”

Kakashi hastened to obey, grinning all the while.

So maybe he was wrong about Iruka not knowing him. And if this pleasant surprise was any indication, he was a fool for assuming he knew everything about Iruka.
E is even more than anyone that you adore can.

By now, Kakashi knew better than to think he had sole possession of Iruka’s heart.

Iruka was a shinobi so he loved his village and everyone in it. He also was a teacher so he loved his students, one more than any other though he persisted in believing he didn’t play favorites, even if Naruto was Kakashi’s student now.

As the seasons changed, Kakashi learned that Iruka loved a great deal of insignificant things as well: sleeping in on cold winter days, running through piles of fallen leaves, taking Naruto out for snowball fights.

Playing let’s warm chilly feet and hands on Kakashi and see what funny noises will result. Kakashi did not squeak; it was a manly cry of surprise.

Of course, because Kakashi was himself and it was his nature, he also noted which sexual acts Iruka loved best. Kakashi had an arsenal of sexual knowledge to draw from, and after The Classroom Incident, suddenly things listed under “Don’t try–will be withheld sex for a week” or “For use after blackmail only” were now fair game.

Not that Iruka let him run them through a crash course in kinky sex like Kakashi had suggested; Iruka had his limits after all. But that just made Kakashi want him more, because now he knew that under the proper teacher persona lurked a sexual appetite to match his own. It was only a matter of drawing it out, and Kakashi loved a challenge.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on his frustration levels for the day, so did Iruka. It soon became a sort of competition: who could make who blush and squirm more without giving the game away to an unsuspecting audience.

Kakashi nearly always won, hands down. But the fact that Iruka was even willing to play his game with him made Kakashi wish the other man had some secret perversion or fetish that he could fulfill in return. Iruka didn’t, naturally. So Kakashi simply went through every sexual technique he knew and paid attention to which ones made Iruka gasp his name like it was a prayer.

He could honestly say he had the time of his life conducting this experiment.

Iruka preferred to receive, which wasn’t such a surprise but, much to Kakashi’s amused delight, he was a demanding bottom. A fact which was abundantly clear when Kakashi, on the rare occasions when he didn’t meet Iruka’s standards or during the much more common instances when he teased Iruka past his limits, would find himself suddenly flat on his back and held down until Iruka brought them both to completion.

Afterwards, the apologies would flow: Sorry, sorry. I can’t believe I just used you like that. Please let me make it up to you when all the while a wicked twinkle shone in his eyes.

Kakashi occasionally wondered just who was the kinkier one.

They both liked it best in the morning, early, just after dawn, when neither of them had to be anywhere and they could take their time.

Iruka liked it when Kakashi went down on him, but- generous soul that he was- he enjoyed returning the favor more.

He loved it when Kakashi would spend hours just kissing him, on the mouth, along his neck and collarbone, in every secret niche his body had to offer. Though he needed a bit more coaxing on the subject of rimming, and Kakashi, being the persuasive soul he was, made a very convincing argument.

One result Kakashi discovered purely by accident, and only because he didn’t like to share as he never did learn to play nice with others. He was sucking his way up Iruka’s back, pausing to press a hot wet kiss to the large scar running parallel to his spine, and hissed, “He wasn’t worthy of you,” before surging up to bite the back of Iruka’s neck and taking him until he screamed.

He stopped the experiment after that. When he realized it had become more about his needs than Iruka’s.

Unlike Iruka, Kakashi knew exactly what his own kinks were, knew precisely what got him off and which ones worked best. He loosely ranked them from ordinary mind-blowing to death by orgasm.

However, the sight and feel of Iruka twisting in his hands as he arched and pleaded, and never once tried to stop Kakashi even when he knew he was being possessively marked, effectively collapsed Kakashi’s preferences hierarchy into just… Iruka.

He thought it was appropriately fitting that his heart realized it was in love during the middle of sex.

As for Iruka’s heart, Kakashi knew he loved a lot of people and a lot of things. If he never actually said he loved Kakashi, well, it wasn’t as though Kakashi had ever told him either.

Though it should have hurt to know he didn’t stand alone and foremost in Iruka’s heart, Kakashi was philosophical about such matters. He owned an enormous part of Iruka’s heart and that was good enough for him.

But, sometimes, when it was just the two of them and everything was quiet, he could fool himself into believing Iruka was his alone. When Iruka planned whole days of things for them to do even though neither of them had the time.

Or when he agreed to let Kakashi blindfold him though he was pale and couldn’t look him in the eyes; Kakashi withdrew his request, realizing too late how badly he had blundered. Iruka’s fists were clenched and he still wouldn’t meet Kakashi’s eyes so, in a detached voice that couldn’t quite mask the lingering pain, Kakashi shared the memory of the first time he’d been captured and tortured.

Iruka listened with wide eyes and a distraught expression. When Kakashi finished, Iruka blinked rapidly, grabbed him in a painfully tight embrace, and explained the story behind the blindfold and why he freezes every time Kakashi touches any part near his wrists when they’re together.

It was times like those when their lives were stripped bare and raw before each other that Kakashi could believe he was the most important to Iruka.

But if he really thought about it, it was probably better they didn’t have an all-consuming, obsessive love for each other. People did terrible, moronic, incredible things for love and they were both too scarred from old hurts to manage the depth of blinding, passionate feelings love seemed to call for.

Though that didn’t stop Kakashi from knowing that if Iruka asked it of him, he’d give him his heart, wholly, completely. But Iruka never would, and that was probably why Kakashi gave it to him anyway.
Love, it’s all that I can give to you.

Iruka was fidgeting again. Kakashi slipped his hand between the twisting fingers and squeezed them gently. He wondered when Iruka would finally tell him what was wrong. He’d been biting his lip and shooting Kakashi nervous glances for days now.

“I think I’m falling in love with you.”

Oh, Iruka. Kakashi resisted the urge to slap him on the back of the head and grinned instead.

He didn’t bother hiding it because though Iruka had learned to read his expressions through the mask, he was currently staring holes into the ground and not looking at Kakashi at all.

He kissed him on the cheek, made some excuse and took off running. Iruka wasn’t stupid, just a bit dim concerning affairs of the heart; he’d eventually figure it out. And in the meantime, Kakashi needed to stock up on supplies if he was going to make the most of the guilt Iruka was sure to suffer from when he realized they’d been in love this whole time.

He didn't go to his apartment after his mission.

He slipped past the village guards, vaulting from shadow to rooftop, whisking along through the moonless night.

He could announce himself safely returned home in the morning. Now, there was only one person who really needed to know.

Iruka's door was locked, the window closed and warded. None of that stopped Kakashi, and wouldn't have even if he hadn't known how to disable the wards. As it was, he slipped past them, leaving them all intact. Too tiring to re-set them.

The tripwire, carefully concealed with a henge, was a new one. Konohamaru must have been giving Iruka trouble.

The bedroom was empty. Silent and deadly, he slipped into the living room.

A candle had burned low, was guttering on the table, casting the Chuunin teacher in shadows and half light.

Kakashi padded up, blending with the noise the candle cast. He was tired and sore. He'd killed three people on the last mission. It had been their fault; they attacked his client. Still, he'd known two of them--both missing ninja, gone AWOL when peace was declared. Neither were good enough to be listed in the bingo book. Neither had given him much trouble. Both reminded him of the wars.

They were dead now. One with a kunai through the eye, the other's neck snapped when he got too close. The third, the one Kakashi didn't know, had died by shuriken.

He hadn't slept properly in several days. He was pretty sure he had bruises, and his joints felt stiff.

He slid, flawless and graceful, up to the Chuunin sensei asleep at the table, head cradled on his arms, legs folded as he sat on the floor.

Iruka breathed heavily, almost a snore, rubbed his face sleepily on his arm, and settled back into his dreams.

Kakashi watched, soundless. Papers were spread around the man, half graded. A red pen was inching closer and closer to Iruka's face with each microscopic shift of position.

Kakashi couldn't move too fast, or the papers would rustle, giving his position away. He couldn't assume the teacher was really sleeping; it could be a trap.

He stepped into the small circle of flickering light, so close a bend of his knee would have brushed Iruka's vest.

Iruka continued to sleep. Flame made his face look warmer, turning tanned skin to gold, sparkling light through black hair.

Something inside Kakashi started to loosen. He took a breath, exhaled. Exhaustion made itself felt, but the bone-crushing weariness began to fall away. Here was light, and warmth, and life.

He crouched silently, hovering behind the lax body, millimeters away from touching. He felt the shift the instant Iruka woke, though to give the Chuunin credit most people wouldn't have.

Kakashi wasn't most people.

Fingers, shorter than his and not quite as quick, closed on the red pen. Iruka twisted, one elbow coming up with the strength of his torso, rising to smash into Kakashi's temple, the other hand following with the pointy end of the pen.

At least, Kakashi guessed that was the intent. He stopped the elbow before it struck, other hand whipping around to grab wrist and pen before Iruka could hurt either of them on accident. "It's me," he said, feeling chakra gather as the Chuunin prepared to fight.

Tension and energy drained out of muscles, leaving tendons to relax in the neck in front of Kakashi's face.

"You scared me," Iruka breathed on a rueful laugh.

Kakashi didn't say anything; there was nothing to say. He leaned forward, inhaling the scent of his lover--crayons and spice, an aftertaste of ink.

"Kakashi--" Iruka began, turning.

Kakashi stopped him, grip tightening on shoulder and arm. Not enough to hurt, but enough to hold. He didn't want Iruka to see him right now. Battered and bruised, uniform bloody. Iruka belonged to candles and sleeping on floors, not killing and dark, arterial blood.

When the Chuunin didn't move Kakashi let go of him, hands smoothing up his arms to his shoulders.

"Kakashi, are you--?"

He nodded, then realized Iruka couldn't see him. "Fine," he said softly. He shifted, his knees landing on either side of Iruka's hips, his body so close he could feel heat radiating from the other man. "Just--let me--" he stopped, fingers flexing in the muscles of Iruka's shoulders.

Iruka remained still, understanding what Kakashi hadn't asked. He leaned back a bit, connecting them spine to chest, making things real. Solid.

Kakashi let his nose drift behind Iruka's ear, close enough to see the corner of the man's eye, lashes thick and dark. He rubbed carefully, softly, cloth against skin, and watched Iruka's eyes shutter closed.

"Relax," Kakashi said, more to himself than to Iruka. The Chuunin leaned against him, hands landing on Kakashi's thighs and staying there when Kakashi held them in place for a moment. Don't move, he didn't need to say.

The Chuunin remained still, eyes closed, trusting. The candle flickered and nearly died, but roused at the last moment, spilling light over Iruka's body.

Kakashi pulled his hitai-ate off, dropping it to the ground. He nuzzled the sensitive flesh behind Iruka's ear again, watched a shiver run through the man before him. Kakashi's hands rose, sliding up the open vest, tugging it off broad shoulders. The men had to separate for a moment, and he didn't miss the frown that flittered over Iruka's face when they did. Then Kakashi pulled the vest off and tossed it to one side, his other hand wrapping around a muscular chest and tugging Iruka back against him.

He brushed his cheek over the Chuunin's neck, encouraging the man to lift his head. Iruka obliged, baring his throat, the back of his skull resting against Kakashi's shoulder. Kakashi heard a catch in the man's breath as he nuzzled where throat met body, biting through cloth on delicate collarbones. He felt Iruka shiver again, fingers tense against his thighs for just an instant before relaxing.

That was nice, Iruka said, quite clearly.

Kakashi unbuttoned the first on the Chuunin's shirt, buttons slipping through holes easily, exposing tanned flesh with every flick of talented fingers. With one hand he kept going, with the fingertips of his other he traced the center line down Iruka's body, pausing here and there to dance over well known sensitive areas, watching the twitch and tremble of muscles as he passed. Iruka breathed in sharply, chest expanding before collapsing once more.

The hands on his thighs started to move again, sliding upward. Kakashi stopped to grab them, put them back near his knees, hold them there. "Trust me," he murmured.

Iruka's eyes were open, his head up. He watched Kakashi for a long moment, as if trying to read through the masks--physical and emotional.

Kakashi's hands slid, up and around, over Iruka's knees, fingers tickling the wrinkle of cloth where calf folded against thigh. He saw the Chuunin lick his lips as Kakashi's hands moved higher, palms pressing on the inside of Iruka's legs, fingers reaching around. He got as high as he could and cupped the flesh there, watched Iruka catch his lower lip with his teeth, lids falling slightly. Kakashi rubbed with his thumb, gently, cloth against skin.

"Trust me," he said again, dipping his head to whisper breath over Iruka's jugular, pressing the man's head back once more.

I do, Iruka didn't need to say.

He could feel flesh hardening under cloth, and rubbed again. Iruka's breath caught. His hips shifted, pushing upward ever so slightly.

Kakashi gloried in the shiver that ran through Iruka's body. The Chuunin's head relaxed completely, resting against the other man's shoulder. He swallowed, and Kakashi could feel it in his bones. He petted, relishing the feel of trust, surrender, the willingness of the other man to just let him touch.

One hand stayed where it was, rubbing softly down the length of inside thigh and back again, following the curve of body to the seam of Iruka's pants, dragging his thumb over covered testicles. He watched the man's legs twitch and tense, relax and start all over again. Iruka made a noise in the back of his throat, part catch of breath, part breathy moan. It prickled against Kakashi like shards of white hot ice dappling his skin.

With his other hand he unbuttoned the last two buttons on Iruka's shirt, pulling it aside to bare a muscled chest, a ribbed stomach. His hand slid over the abdominal ridges, across pectoral muscles, fingertips skimming a dark nipple. Iruka's breathing hitched, eyelids--not quite closed--inching downward. His fingers tightened--

Good, that's good--

--on Kakashi's thighs, then relaxed again.

There was a gasp of breath, a tiny noise--

"--Ah--"

--and nothing else. A sharp intake when Kakashi bit gently on Iruka's shoulder, teeth blunted by mask and shirt. Iruka's hands twitched, but didn't move.

His whole body was trembling and shuddering, drawn tight under Kakashi's careful onslaught.

Move for me, Kakashi didn't say, using hands that had killed hours before to bring pleasure and sharp tension to his lover. Break softly for me.

Iruka pressed his head back against Kakashi's shoulder, exposing the line of a fragile neck, breath coming fast and sharp.

Ribs, stretched taut with the flex of Iruka's spine, shuddered when Kakashi stroked them. Muscle tightened, then relaxed purposefully. Kakashi heard the other man swallow, heard a barely-whispered noise. Not a moan, not a whimper. Somewhere in between.

He tugged at the belt Iruka wore, watching the man's stomach jump and tremble with every little lightning touch of fingers. He brushed his nails over nearly scar-less skin, listening to the irregular hitches in breathing it caused.

"Ah--Kakashi--" Iruka said, the words less than a whisper. His eyes closed, skin flushing. Not embarrassment; arousal, sharp and heady.

Kakashi pressed with one hand against hardened flesh, fingers curling around a cloth-covered erection. He rubbed hard with his palm once, twice, then stopped, holding the pressure there, other arm wrapped around a shivering chest.

Iruka panted, quivering. His hips strained to move, to thrust against Kakashi's palm. Kakashi held him still with a feather-light touch, feeling the tremors running through the tense body. His lover trusted him enough to stop moving when Kakashi asked, despite what his body was already screaming for.

Not yet, he didn't say.

Iruka licked his lips, swallowed, breath coming irregularly. He shuddered, drawn like an instrument tuned to Kakashi's hands. Slowly, slowly, he relaxed.

Kakashi kissed him through the mask, a gentle press of lips against cloth-skin. Under Iruka's jaw, tense with desire. Along his throat, bared unquestioningly, as if he didn't know it could be so easily crushed. As if he was unaware that Kakashi's hands could snap his neck before he moved. Or knowing, and trusting none of that would happen. Believing Kakashi would treat him carefully, keep him safe. Kakashi kissed, soothing, careful.

"Kakashi--" Iruka began again.

"Shhh," he answered, arm tightening fractionally as the man against him began to move.

Iruka relaxed back again, giving his body over. He was shivering. Strong muscles trembled, goosebumps rising on tanned flesh.

Kakashi's hand drifted to the button and zipper on Iruka's pants, tugging at them slowly. Iruka's breath caught at the sound, loud in the nearly silent room, then broke over parted lips. Kakashi nuzzled his jaw, soothing.

When his hand slid in under cloth, along smooth skin, Iruka arched into it.

"Ka--" he began, breathing ragged.

With one hand on Iruka's chest he pressed him back again. "Let me . . ." let him finish this. Let him breathe pleasure in his world of death.

The Chuunin swallowed and relaxed. His eyes closed, the skin around them releasing tension.

All right, his expression said, trust and compliance sliding over his features.

It went against his nature, Kakashi knew. What the Jounin was asking, Iruka didn't like to give. He didn't want to be still and let this happen; he moved, he always moved, petting and caressing. An active partner, which was good, but right now . . .

Tonight, let me, Kakashi thought.

Kakashi's hand slid beneath the waistband of briefs, feeling silky flesh, skin sliding over skin. Iruka's fingers against Kakashi's thighs tightened. Kakashi watched the body against him arc, fingers stuttering, breath coming in short gasps through parted lips.

Iruka started to shift, and Kakashi stopped him, held him for a moment with a hand pressed to breastbone and hips. Not demanding. Asking. Please, Iruka, just stay here.

Iruka went still, pink tongue flashing out to lick dry lips. Kakashi almost groaned--almost. He rubbed his masked face against the neck offered to him, feeling the body against his tremble and tense. His legs were spread around Iruka's hips, and he could feel the heat from the other man prickling along the insides of his thighs.

Kakashi shifted his hand down, once more sliding along a rapidly hardening erection. Iruka's breathing hitched, growing more ragged. He shivered, hands clenching and relaxing.

Iruka's legs were open, feet tucked under his thighs, crossed as they had been when Kakashi entered. It was oddly vulnerable, highly sensual. His shirt, unbuttoned, whispered against Kakashi's arms, his throat a long line of pale skin. Kakashi smoothed his masked cheek over it, hand again sliding up along Iruka's erection, thumb rubbing over the head, spreading liquid.

Iruka groaned softly, hands curling into fists. His body arced, trembling and shaking, every line and muscle standing out. "Oh, gods," he whispered, a look somewhere between pain and pleasure crossing his face.

Kakashi pulled his mask down with his free hand, then returned to petting, stroking along ribs and stomach, fingers brushing over a dark nipple. He felt Iruka jump at that and did it again, thumb of the opposite hand rubbing against hardened flesh, sliding up and down in a steady rhythm. He felt the delicate skin of testicles and rubbed his fingers along them, carefully.

Iruka whimpered, deep in his throat, eyes screwed shut.

Kakashi did it again, listening for the breaking of damp breath, for that tiny noise, almost begging. He could have listened to that forever, felt the heat from Iruka's body, kept the man trembling in his arms, shirt and legs open, skin exposed in all the most vulnerable places. He stroked along silky flesh, thumb circling the head, slid down again.

Iruka's stomach clenched and he panted harshly, pushing back into Kakashi in a motion as fundamental as the earth. His face was twisted, mouth opening and closing, something akin to pain crossing his features.

Kakashi kissed the flesh of shoulder and neck, nibbling along the strong jaw, the tendon standing out along Iruka's neck. The body against him arched, muscles drawing ever tighter. Iruka groaned, whimpered, caught his lip between dull teeth and bit down. "Ah--Kakashi--" He was shaking, delicate tremors running through his body like flashes of electricity, burning and irresistible.

Long fingers dipped down to rub at the base of Iruka's erection, at the top of testicles drawn close with impending orgasm. Iruka's hands tightened again, muscles in his forearms cording and releasing, tightening and relaxing, fingernails scratching against heavy cloth and heavier muscles. He made a sound in the back of his throat, a mewling noise as his eyes clenched. "Oh--please--"

Iruka's head dug into Kakashi's shoulder as he stroked again, up and down the length of flesh, watching it move and slide in candlelight. At the broken plea he increased his speed, pain and pleasure mixing on his lover's face, eyes closed and mouth open as he panted for air.

The Chuunin gasped, body taut. He breathed, shattered, started to say something-- "Ah--K-ka--" and then his hands scrabbled for purchase as orgasm rocked through him.

Kakashi waited, stroking slowly, carefully, smearing semen as it pulsed wet and slick. He kissed the joint of shoulder and neck, feeling tremors wring his lover's body, listening to half-broken whimpers. Iruka shook, first from orgasm, then from aftershocks as Kakashi kept petting, slower and slower, drawing everything out as long as he could. Fingers against his thigh twitched and shivered, and black eyebrows were drawn low over eyes, Iruka's bottom lip caught between his teeth. Each small shudder made his lover's breath catch, break, tremble, until finally his body was too exhausted even for that.

Kakashi was going to need new gloves.

He kissed Iruka's throat again, the man melting slowly against him in post-coital bonelessness. A shaking hand rose from Kakashi's thigh to rest in his hair, fingers threading through.

"Are you all right?" Iruka asked softly, on a voice that still trembled.

Kakashi turned his head to kiss the man's palm. "Better now," he said simply. The ice was gone, melted away in candlelight and soft cries, in trust given without question.

Iruka's hand--the one still on his thigh--started to edge upward. Kakashi caught it firmly and put it back, feeling the reluctance in the other man. "Tired," he said, hoping the monosyllables would get through.

He *was* tired. Too tired to be more than mildly aroused by the whole thing. Calmed, yes. Soothed, certainly. But too bone-weary, too heart-sore, to be able to think about much else.

Iruka didn't push. Insecurity flashed through him, through the set of his shoulders and the shift of his knees, though he was too good a ninja to let it show on his face. When he started to close his legs protectively, Kakashi stopped him there, too, a hand on one knee. "I'm enjoying," Kakashi said against Iruka's skin.

He felt the heat from a blush. "Pervert," the Chuunin said, though he stopped moving. Stopped closing in. He was quiet a moment, then, "Are you sure?"

Kakashi thought about what they'd talked of. "I'm sure I'm enjoying this." He was too tired to add the expected leer. "I'm sure I'm not hurt in any important way," he said, head resting against Iruka's. "I'm sure I don't want the favor returned." He paused, then corrected, "Not tonight, anyway."

He felt, more than saw, Iruka smile. The hand in his hair tightened a bit, pulling gently, scratching along his scalp, itching areas he hadn't realized were itchy. "Bad mission?"

"Long mission," Kakashi sighed. He put another lazy kiss on Iruka's skin, tasting salt and musk.

"Shower?"

"Bed," Kakashi said, making an extra effort to roll his head and peer back at the bedroom doorway.

"I need to shower," Iruka said sadly, "and from the smell of it, you do, too. *Then* bed."

Kakashi sighed. "Promise?" he asked mournfully.

"Promise," Iruka said. But the Chuunin didn't move. They sat in companionable silence, Kakashi with his feet under his hips, Iruka leaning against him. The younger man breathed slowly, with the contentedness of someone well sated. Kakashi kissed his shoulder again, taking comfort in Iruka's heavy-limbed tranquility.

"Tired?" Kakashi guessed, remembering finding him asleep at his table.

"Very. And now my muscles feel like mush."

"Pleasant mush, I hope," Kakashi said, lips again on Iruka's skin, leaving careful, relaxed kisses. The Chuunin's flesh was still warm, almost damp.

"Very pleasant mush," Iruka said on a tired laugh.

Kakashi smiled, and made a mental note to gloat in the morning. It was too much effort to gloat now. The candle guttered again, and finally went out. Neither man moved to replace it, and they were left with only the stars shining through the window.

Iruka turned, fingers curling in Kakahsi's hair as if to hold him still. The Chuunin's head, still resting on his shoulder, rocked against his skin. "I'm glad you're home safe."

Kakashi hmm'ed against flesh. "Me too," he mumbled finally, too tired to lift his head. 'Safe' was relative, but all in all, he thought he was doing all right.

Then he smiled slightly. "Saw the new tripwire. You having problem with your students?"

Iruka groaned. "I don't want to talk about it. I will never look at paper dolls the same way again."

Kakashi laughed into skin, inhaling deeply.

Crayon and spice and ink. It was starting to feel like being home. Safe.

Iruka came home after a long and tiring day to find someone had tracked dirt and leaves across the living room and into the hall. Not a lot of it, just a few crumbs of dry mud, a few flakes of broken brown cellulose. One brilliant vermillion maple leaf, all spindly serrated edges and delicate veins, stood out starkly in the middle of the polished wood floor. He bent over to pick it up, a beautiful little piece of the season that had wandered in on a draft or fluttered down from a cape as it swept by. He could still feel the chill of nights spent crouched in the tree that had borne it clinging to it, and the dampness of November mist, sticky and somehow sad, despite the loveliness of the leaf.

It meant, of course, that someone was in his home. Someone who had been out in the dirt and the trees and the cold. Someone either too tired or too careless to cover his tracks. Someone, he hoped, who was the person he had been waiting for.

He followed the subtle trail of debris into the hall, where it stopped at the closed bathroom door. No light spilled under the frame. He leaned cautiously against the wood, listening for sounds from within, feeling for the energy pulse that would tell him a living person was inside. What he heard was a slow drip of water into a full tub. A tiny whisper of air. The barest flicker of a familiar chakara. He slid the door open.

"Kashi?"

"Shhhh"

"What?"

"Shhhh. We're hiding."

Iruka turned to find the light from the hall glinting on the dark water in the tub. Sopping wet silver hair and a pair of pale, bruised knees broke the water's surface.

"What do you mean we're hiding? Who's hiding?" Iruka asked kneeling next to the tub and facing its occupant.

"We are. You and I." Kakashi's voice sounded just ever so slightly odd.

"Who are we hiding from?" Iruka reached a hand out toward Kakashi's face, to brush the hair back, and Kakashi jerked away so fast he almost hit his head on the wall. A pale hand leapt out of the water and snared Iruka's wrist in an icy, iron grip.

"Kakashi?" Iruka was alarmed. "This water's freezing!" He looked down and noticed more of the pretty little maple leaves floating there.

"Don't tell. I came to see you," Kakashi hissed.

"I'm not telling anyone. Are you alright? Why is the water so cold?" Iruka reached up and snapped on the light over the sink, which made Kakashi flinch and tug down hard on the hand he still held captive.

Iruka slid forward on his knees, reaching out with the other hand to grab at Kakashi's shoulder. He pulled the man towards himself, feeling his heart race as he tried to get a grip on chilled, slippery skin.

"You're getting out of the water. Now." Iruka used his best Voice of Authority and shoved his hands under Kakashi's arms, lifting the dripping man from the bath.

Kakashi could have fought back. Could have pulled Iruka into the tub, for instance, or evaded his grasp. But there was a reason he had dragged himself to Iruka's house, right? And wasn't it because Iruka would do the right thing? He let Iruka pull him to his feet, watching the red leaves swirl in the eddies around his calves.

"Don't tell," Kakashi whispered against Iruka's chest, and Iruka just shook his head and wrapped a towel around the shivering man.

Kakashi leaned against Iruka, grateful for his warmth, and stared down at the leaves, watching some break into fragments and dissolve into liquid swirls, while others kept their perfect, five-fingered forms. He traced a moving red path backwards to discover that he was adding leaves to the bath, drop by liquid drop. Then Iruka was kneeling and squeezing him in a way that hurt and asking him something, and the leaves stopped falling.

"... how long ago? Was it poisoned? When did you get here? Were you in the cold water because it was poisoned? Kakashi answer me!" Iruka shook the jounin and pressed hard against the gash in his side and stared at the ugly pile of bloodied, muddied uniform with sticks and leaves and a set of dogtags that Kakashi shouldn't have had.

"Don't tell. Don't tell, Iruka. Please don't tell. Let me stay here just a little while and then I'll go," Kakashi whispered through chattering teeth. "Let me stay. Hide with me here. We can hide in the leaves."

Iruka sucked in a shaky breath when Kakashi called his name. "You don't have to go anywhere. You can stay here. It's safe here." He pulled Kakashi out of the tub, half lifting him, and guided him into his bedroom, easing the still shivering man onto his back on the bed. "I'm just gonna bandage this, and then you're gonna drink some tea with medicine in it, and then you can sleep here, alright?" And he started to work on his friend and lover, smearing ointment into the wound and wrapping gauze around his side. His voice and motions were calm and soothing, the opposite of the turmoil gripping him within.

For the first time in days Kakashi relaxed. Right. This was why he'd come here. Because Iruka was certainly skilled enough to treat a relatively minor gash, and would probably have all sorts of poison antidotes on hand, being a teacher. Iruka would understand why Kakashi couldn't go in and face a debriefing yet. Why he didn't want the hospital patching him up. Why he didn't want to turn in the tags that had once hung around the neck of his teammate. Why his mission, a success, could feel so much like a failure.

Iruka finished bandaging and turned down the blankets, tucking them around the pale, naked body in his bed. Then he brewed the tea and brought it in. "What antitoxin, Kashi? Wake up and tell me, and then you can sleep."

"Doesn't matter." Kakashi barely moved, barely mumbled his reply.

"It matters to me! Tell me what kind of poison they used and snap out of it. You came to me for help, so you're going to accept my help." Iruka's eyes narrowed, and his color rose. He shook Kakashi again, hard.

Kakashi opened his eyes and looked at Iruka, surprised he was making such a fuss. He reached out one pale, still chilled hand, which the chuunin grabbed and crushed to his chest.

"Feel my heart? It's still beating. You told me life mattered as long as this kept beating!"

Kakashi started to push Iruka away, but Iruka took advantage of his lover's exhaustion and pulled him up against his body, holding him tight.

"Please, Kakashi, please tell me what antidote to use." Iruka's voice was suddenly rough, and Kakashi clung to him with all the strength he had left in his arms.

"802. They were from Mist. Use 802," Kakashi rasped, and his voice broke. "I used 802 on Kenichi, and he would have made it, but the bastards..." He stopped, digging broken fingernails into Iruka's hair and back, and shook with convulsive jerks, silent shudders passing through his frame.

Iruka held him until he could breathe quietly. Until his hands loosened and his shaking stopped. Until Iruka could trust his own voice again. Then he gently placed a pillow behind Kakashi's back, and poured a vial of amber liquid into the steaming teacup. "Here, drink this. Are your hands and feet tingling at all?"

"A little," Kakashi whispered, his voice used up. "Only been a couple hours. Got in the cold water right away..."

"You should have just gone to the hospital, you know."

"You weren't there."

"I wasn't here, either!"

"I waited."

"You could have di-"

"No. It's not that bad. I'm- I'm okay." Kakashi tugged at Iruka, pulling him down next to him on the bed. Don't say that, Iruka. Don't say that, and it won't be true. He gulped the rest of the bitter tea mixture down and set the cup aside, then shifted a little stiffly and pulled Iruka into his arms. "I'm fine. Just a little cut."

"Shhh, stop talking. Your throat sounds raw." Iruka raised a hand to brush Kakashi's hair back, and this time he didn't flinch away. The damp silver locks fell off to the side exposing the scarred Sharingan eye, which was red-rimmed and squeezed mostly shut. "Does your eye hurt?"

"Little bit," Kakashi whispered. "Don't worry about it."

"Shhh." Iruka brushed a finger over Kakashi's lips, and Kakashi kissed it. Iruka looked up with a question in his eyes, and Kakashi angled his head down and kissed him full on. A possessive, almost desperate kiss.

Then he broke away, taking a sharp breath in, and stared into Iruka's eyes. Stared as if Iruka were somehow unexpectedly in his arms or might vanish into thin air, a mere hallucination. Iruka stared back and saw need there. A need that Kakashi would never admit to. Not even to himself.

"Sleep, Kakashi. You're beyond exhausted. I'll stay with you." Iruka peeled the blankets back and slid under them, taking Kakashi into his arms. The jounin resisted at first, and whimpered almost unconsciously when the movement hurt his side, then let Iruka have his way, draping himself limply across his lover's body, clinging to Iruka's shoulder and pressing his face to his chest. The slow, steady thudding of Iruka's heartbeat was hypnotic, pulling Kakashi into sleep before Iruka had even turned out the light.

In the darkness, listening to the subtle rasp of Kakashi's breaths, Iruka held him. He stared into the blackness, watching imaginary maple leaves drift through the air. With every leaf that fell, he silently mouthed the words, "Namu Amida Butsu..." Refuge in the Amida Buddha. Refuge. Iruka prayed for the soul of Kakashi's teammate, for Kakashi, and for himself, "Grant us refuge, Amida Great One. Namu Amida Butsu. Namu..."

Sakura had moved out of her parents’ house when Naruto brought Sasuke back. They protested, loudly, but she bluntly informed them that she was a fully-fledged kunoichi, perfectly capable of looking after herself, and although she loved them dearly there were other people who needed her more.

Eventually, they stopped complaining, although the silence between them was sharp-edged for a long time afterwards.

~

It was no secret that the people who needed her more were Naruto and Sasuke. After Naruto had staggered back into the village with a semi-conscious Sasuke dangling from his side, he had bypassed all the official routes to lock himself and Sasuke in a room for two whole days. Sakura had sat outside and waited the entire time, listening to the voices of the two people in the world she cared most about from the other side of the door.

She was the first person to see them, when they finally came out. Both were clearly exhausted, still covered in blood and fading bruises from their fight, but . . . they were all right again. She could see it. She knew.

Naruto stopped when he saw her, then smiled hesitantly. “Sakura-chan, it’s o—”

“Sakura,” Sasuke interrupted him, then stopped. It was the one and only time Sakura saw him at a loss for words, hesitating for a long moment with his mouth open before finally settling on, “Thank you.”

Sakura’s tears threatened to blind her vision as she ran forwards, grabbing both of them to hold them tight against her. They’d both been injured badly, she could tell, and they’d yelled and screamed and fought and she hadn’t been able to do anything, but now they were both warm and hard in her arms, and right then and there Sakura vowed to herself that she would never, ever, be the one left behind again.

And that was how Sakura came to move out of her parents’ house, and in with Naruto and Sasuke. They found a tiny, three-bedroom flat with a toilet that leaked and dry rot on the walls that was willing to let to three thirteen-year-olds, and moved in there as soon as they could. Somehow, Sakura found herself with the largest room without quite knowing how it had happened, and suspected a previously unforeseen capacity for deception in both Naruto and Sasuke as the cause.

It was awkward, for a while. Naruto and Sasuke were so used to living on their own that they sometimes forgot, and did something they otherwise wouldn’t have – like Naruto wandering out of his bedroom in the morning stark naked, and Sasuke using the living room for idle shuriken practise. Sakura was sure some of the things she did annoyed them, but they never said anything, so she never mentioned it when they did something she didn’t like. (Except to tease Naruto, of course, because there was no point in anything if you couldn’t tease Naruto.)

There was one thing, however, that Sakura could not explain away or class as negligible – and that was how protective they were of her, even on the smallest things. She was used to them protecting her on missions, even if she had grown to hate it, but when their conversation halted when she entered the room and they exchanged looks she knew all too well she realised that they were protecting her from something else, too.

It didn’t matter what the something was, or which of them it concerned. What mattered was that after six months of this, Sakura had had enough.

~

Sakura shut the front door of their flat behind her, and went looking for Naruto and Sasuke. She found them in the living room together, and – once again – they stopped talking the moment she stepped into the room. It simply reinforced her determination that it had to stop, even if Naruto gave her a wide, happy grin that echoed in Sasuke’s small smile.

“I asked Tsunade-sama if she would take me on as her apprentice today,” Sakura told them, and watched the smiles vanish. “I want to become a medical ninja. Wait,” she added, holding up a hand as Naruto opened his mouth. “I’m not finished.” She paused for a moment, looking from one to the other, making sure they were listening to her.

“I want to become a medical ninja, because I’m tired of being the only one protected. I know I won’t ever be as strong a fighter as the two of you are, but I can damn well make sure that I can help you when you get hurt protecting me. Because I know that neither of you are going to stop doing it, even if I ask you to, and even if sometimes you won’t admit that that’s what you’re doing. And I know that because I feel the same way about both of you.”

Sakura held their eyes, trying to show them just how strongly she felt about this. “So I’m going to learn to be the best medical ninja I can be, so that even if I can’t stop you from getting hurt, I can heal you afterwards. Because I want to make sure that nothing happens to either of you. I want to protect you, both of you, and I’m going to show you that I’m strong enough to do so. So no more secrets. No more stopping conversations when I come into the room, no more keeping things from me because you think keeping me in the dark is the only way to keep me safe. I’m not something to be put in a box and kept away from all harm. Ah,” she said, glowering at Sasuke as he drew in breath to speak. “Don’t bother denying what you’re doing. I’m not stupid, and you know that I’m not. You also know that I have the chakra skill to become a damn good medical ninja, and . . . and I have a reason to never give up on it. You’re my reason. Both of you.”

For a moment, she thought that it wouldn’t be enough – that no matter how hard she tried, they would never look on her as an equal. In some respects, she couldn’t be – Sakura knew that she just couldn’t fight like them, throwing everything she had into battle without thought for her own life or limb. It didn’t mean she was weaker than them; just different – but she wasn’t sure that they would realise that.

Then Naruto said, “I have the Nine-Tails fox sealed inside me,” and even through her shock she knew she’d succeeded.

~

That night, Naruto and Sasuke told her everything.

How Sasuke had gone to find Orochimaru because Naruto was getting so much stronger than him, because Itachi was after Naruto and not Sasuke, because everything just came boiling to the forefront all at once and he couldn’t think straight.

How, when Naruto dragged Sasuke back, he had screamed at him that none of it mattered, because Itachi didn’t want Naruto because he was Naruto, he wanted him because Naruto had the Kyuubi.

How if Sasuke hadn’t distracted Itachi that one time, then Itachi would have won, because even if he hadn’t been able to get a solid hit in, even if he had lost in terms of a physical fight, it didn’t matter because Naruto was free, and that meant he – Sasuke – held a victory over his brother.

And how Naruto had told him, over and over, that Sasuke was his best friend, and he didn’t have to fight Itachi on his own. That Naruto wouldn’t let him fight Itachi on his own.

It was obvious to Sakura that that one still sat poorly with Sasuke, so determined that he had to be the one to get revenge because it was his family that was dead, no one else’s. Naruto growled at him that Itachi was after him, Naruto, as well – so it really wasn’t just his fight any more. Sakura added that it was her fight too, and would have been her fight even if they hadn’t had this conversation. It would be their fight, no matter what Sasuke said, because they cared about him and he had no control over that – and Sasuke ducked his head to hide the smile, saying quietly that that was what Naruto had told him. That he had no right to tell them not to, since he wanted revenge on Itachi because he had cared about his family, and Naruto and Sakura wanted to help him because they cared about him, and there really wasn’t that much difference.

For the first time, it felt like there were no secrets between them.

~

To Sakura’s faint surprise, the months following their long talk were much easier than the ones that had gone before them. It was as if this was what they had been waiting for all along – the courage to admit that they cared, and the greater courage to let others care for them. Every day, Tsunade worked her to the bone when they trained, and every evening she met her two teammates and walked home. Naruto still sometimes wandered out of his room in the morning naked, and there were deep gouges in the walls from where Sasuke threw shuriken at them, but Sakura had never been happier.

Then Naruto said that Jiraiya had asked him to leave Konoha and train with him.

Outwardly, Sakura was supportive. Sasuke was training daily with Kakashi-sensei, she was involved in her studies with Tsunade-sama, and although Naruto had been training with Jiraiya in the village, she knew that the older man hated staying in one place for too long. She was amazed that he’d stayed as long as he had. And they’d promised each other that they were going to get stronger, which meant that Naruto had to go where his teacher led.

Sasuke was more grudging in his encouragement, but he gave it anyway, along with the usual taunts that littered his exchanges with Naruto. Naruto, for his part, was hesitant at first – but once he knew they didn’t mind, he was fine again.

By the time it came for Naruto to actually leave, Sakura had herself almost completely convinced that things really would be fine without him around. She cheerfully bade him goodbye, making him promise to eat more than just ramen and to at least try to do some laundry before his clothes began rotting, and although Sasuke said nothing when it came to his turn to say goodbye, the look that passed between the two of them seemed more than enough.

So Naruto left, and life started again without him.

Of a sort.

~

For the first three months, Sakura kept up the pretence beautifully. She studied hard during the day, did the few missions she was assigned with prompt dedication, and carefully ignored how loud the silence was when she returned home at the end of every day.

In the fourth month, everything fell apart.

She was exhausted from Tsunade’s ruthless training session that day, but it was her turn to cook and so she dutifully got out the pots and pans and went through the motions. It wasn’t until Sasuke entered the kitchen and stared at the small, rickety table they ate at that she realised she had made food for three people, and dropped her bowl.

The cheap porcelain shattered as it hit the floor, splattering the linoleum with stir-fry. Sakura knelt down next to it instantly, blinking back tears that had no reason, dammit, as she began picking up the broken pieces from the floor. Maybe they could glue it back together instead of replacing it, because it wasn’t like they had that much money, and—

Sakura’s head snapped up as a hand touched her shoulder. Sasuke stared back at her, and the look on his face said a thousand things but the most important one was, I know.

Later, Sakura could never remember who had moved first, although she always suspected that it had been her. The only important thing, though, was that they kissed – trembling and desperate and searching for anything that might make it seem less like they were missing a loud, blond limb. Sasuke’s nose pressed uncomfortably into Sakura’s cheekbone, her teeth dug into her lips, and it was obvious that they had absolutely no idea what they were doing – but there was that something about it that Sakura had always imagined when she daydreamed about Sasuke’s kisses. Something unique, and wonderful, and nothing but good.

She had just never imagined that it might not be enough.

After a moment, they drew apart, and Sakura began picking up the broken bowl once more. Sasuke hesitated for a moment, then slowly stood and walked over to the table. He waited for her to join him before he started his meal, and the two ate in silence.

Sakura couldn’t quite bring herself to look at him. She felt oddly ashamed that she had been given what she had wanted for so long, and realised that it wasn’t what she wanted after all. Oh, she still loved Sasuke – loved him so deeply she didn’t think she could ever stop – and she liked their kiss, definitely, but. . . .

“I miss him, too.”

Sakura’s head shot up, eyes wide as she looked at Sasuke for the first time since they’d kissed. He stared back at her, totally calm unless you knew him well enough to note the faint white lines near his mouth where he was clenching his jaw too hard.

“I miss him, too,” Sasuke reiterated. “So you don’t have to feel guilty. Because you’re not the only one.”

Sakura stared at him for a long, long moment, trying to figure out why that didn’t make her feel happy. Sasuke looked away, glowering down at his food as if it had personally offended him. She watched as he began shovelling it into his mouth, still scowling, still not looking at her, and tried to work out what was wrong.

And then it dawned on her.

Taking a deep breath, she sat up and laid her chopsticks next to her plate. Sasuke didn’t look up, but his shoulders tensed.

“I wonder,” Sakura began slowly, “if Naruto and I would be having this conversation if you weren’t here.”

Sasuke paused with his chopsticks halfway to his mouth. The hesitation was momentary, but once it was over his hand covered the rest of the distance much more slowly than before. Sakura watched, pulse pounding in her head, as Sasuke carefully set his chopsticks down and swallowed his mouthful, sitting back in his chair.

Sakura gave him a smile that was supposed to be confident, but which she suspected came out more forced and uncertain than anything else. “I always did want more than I was allowed to have,” she said with a weak half-laugh, more because of the shock of realising exactly what it was she did want than from any real sense of amusement. She’d known she loved Sasuke, had known for years, and she’d grown to care for Naruto—

—but she hadn’t realised that she loved them both in exactly the same way.

“I guess that’s two of us,” Sasuke whispered.

~

It was a long two years before Naruto came back.

~

After that first kiss, and conversation, Sakura had a thousand questions and worries. One that they cleared up quite quickly as that as much as they loved each other, without Naruto there was undeniably something missing. If they’d never met him, maybe they would have been happy with just each other; but the fact remained that they did know him, and neither of them had his sheer exuberant, vibrant energy that changed nothing, but made everything seem more immediate, more real. Sakura knew that Sasuke was a passionate person, one who cared about things – about her – far more deeply than he would ever admit, but somehow with Naruto around it was just . . . easier to see.

Everything was easier to see.

There were many unspoken worries that lay between them, but the main white elephant in the living room over the long, long two years before Naruto returned to Konoha was the question of the blond boy’s feelings. If he didn’t feel the way they did, or if he did but only about one of them, or if he had never considered it and wasn’t willing to, then things could never go back to normal. Sasuke and Sakura wouldn’t stay together, because somehow it was easier to feel like the missing third of a whole than two parts of a whole that was missing a third. So that was the white elephant that they never talked about, never mentioned, but was constantly on their minds.

Being Sakura and Sasuke, however, they weren’t about to leave it up to chance. They planned how they were going to talk to Naruto about it down to the last detail, discussing every possible question he could ask, every objection he could raise. It would be a calm, reasoned discussion, Sakura was certain, even if they had to sit on Naruto to make it happen.

Except that it didn’t happen like that.

~

Sakura was studying medical texts in the Hokage’s office while her mentor attempted to diminish her pile of ever-present paperwork when the door slammed open and Jiraiya breezed into the room. She was on her feet in an instant, blurting out, “Is Naruto back?” just as Jiraiya began greeting Tsunade-sama.

Mouth open, Jiraiya stared at her for a moment, before grinning. “Haruno, right?” he said. “Yup, he’s back. Went to go find you and the Uchiha brat, in fact.”

Tsunade chuckled and waved her hand before Sakura could say anything. “Go on,” she said. “I need to talk business with this idiot, anyway. Go find yours.”

Sakura bowed and thanked her quickly, then ran out of the door. She collared one of the omnipresent chuunin and low-level jounin that littered the Hokage’s tower and sent him running off with a message for Uchiha Sasuke to meet her back at their flat as soon as possible. Even if Naruto wasn’t there already, he would come home to sleep that night, at least, so it was the best place to wait for him.

Even in the midst of the most dangerous missions she had been on, Sakura’s adrenaline had never been this high. She raced back to their home in record time, and when she reached out to unlock the front door, her hand was shaking. She snatched it back against her side, taking a deep breath, before reaching out confidently.

As she stepped into the tiny space that counted as their foyer, Sakura’s mind was buzzing with plans for that evening. If Naruto was already here, then she would make him wait until Sasuke came (and if he wasn’t, she’d wait for Sasuke and make him wait until Naruto arrived), and they’d sit down and tell him everything that had happened since he’d left, and make him tell them what he’d done while wandering with Jiraiya, and then once that was all done and they were relaxed, she’d lean forward and take his hand, and—

And Naruto walked backwards out of his bedroom, dragging a suitcase stuffed full to bulging with him.

Sakura stopped dead. “Naruto,” she said. “What are you doing?”

Naruto jumped and whirled to face her, dropping the suitcase. He yelped as it landed on his foot and hopped sideways, clutching the injured extremity with both hands. It was typical Naruto, but Sakura couldn’t stop staring at the suitcase. It was the one he had brought all of his things to their flat in, and had rested under his bed ever since, too big and unwieldy to fit anywhere else—

The door opened behind her, but Sakura stayed rooted to the spot as Naruto swore and Sasuke stepped up next to her.

“Naruto,” Sasuke breathed, and out of the corner of her eye Sakura saw him start to move forward – and stop, as he saw the suitcase.

Naruto finally stopped swearing and let go of his foot, before turning a brilliant grin on both of them. Sakura let out a startled gasp, because she knew that grin – knew it, and had hoped it would never be turned on her again, because it meant that she’d hurt him and he was hiding his pain. From how still Sasuke became beside her, she knew he had recognised it too.

“So, I hear you guys need congratulating, huh?” Naruto said, still wearing that painful grin. “Ino said you finally got together! Sure you don’t want to reconsider?” he added, looking at Sakura, and she knew him well enough to look past the grin and joking tone of voice to his well-hidden sincerity.

All Sakura could think through the buzzing silence in her head was that she was going to kill Ino.

Before she could say anything, though, Naruto was turning to Sasuke. “You’d better treat her right,” he said, mock-serious, “or it’s me you’ll have to answer to.” Naruto hesitated for the briefest of moments, staring up into Sasuke’s face, but the moment was over far too quickly and he turned back to his suitcase. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for Sakura to think she’d seen something that made her heart leap, because she knew that he’d been half-serious when speaking to her, and if—

“So anyways, I figured you wouldn’t want me hanging around now, so I’ll bunk with ero-sennin for a while until I can find somewhere else to stay,” Naruto was saying, but Sakura was hardly paying attention any more, staring at him as hard as she could, hoping for even the smallest sign that would mean what she saw – what she thought she saw – wasn’t just wishful thinking. She thought she could see the barest line of tension in his shoulders, but it was nothing like what the Naruto she had known would display if he – if he— She reminded herself forcefully that they were all sixteen, now, and she hadn’t seen this boy on the verge of manhood in front of her for two whole years. Of course he would be different, and if she didn’t do something now – now – she’d regret it for the rest of her life—

She wasn’t moving.

Naruto was saying something about not wanting to get in the way but calling dibs on godfather for any kids they might have, and Sakura still wasn’t moving. Naruto was picking up his suitcase and grimacing as he shouldered it, saying that maybe his old place wouldn’t have been rented out and he could move straight back in, and Sasuke was still as a statue beside her and all Sakura could think was that Naruto was going to leave her – leave them – before they’d even said a word, and she wasn’t moving—

Sakura ran forward, slamming into Naruto and knocking them both back against the wall. The strap of Naruto’s bag scraped against her arm as Sasuke grabbed hold of it and threw it away, and Naruto got as far as “Hey!”, his eyes wide and arms closing convulsively over Sakura, before Sasuke growled, “Shut up, idiot,” and kissed him.

If Sakura had had any doubts about whether this – they – were truly what she wanted, they vanished in that instant. Naruto’s hand clenched on her back, his eyes fluttering closed for the briefest of moments, and this was it, this was everything – watching them together, her two boys, and knowing she could touch them, kiss them, that they were each other’s but also hers and always would be.

She hoped.

Naruto’s eyes shot open as he jerked his head back, but Sakura was ready for that and slid her fingers into his hair, moving his face towards her so she could kiss him. In a way, it was exactly like her first kiss with Sasuke – desperate, emotionally charged, with that something that made it special, and just like her first kiss with Sasuke it wouldn’t have been enough except that just knowing that Sasuke was watching them made it enough. Because she could reach out and touch him, and he would touch back, and all the while she would still be kissing Naruto.

And that was all she needed, really.

Eventually, she pulled away. Naruto leaned against the wall, staring from her to Sasuke and back again, his mouth open. After a moment, he swallowed, and said, “What—”

“We were waiting for you to come home,” Sasuke said.

Naruto stared at him, before his gaze swung to Sakura. She nodded, biting her lip.

“We – Sasuke and I – we’re. . . .” she stopped, and took a deep breath. “We make two thirds of a whole. Nothing more.”

Sakura watched as their words sank in, as realisation and a sort of petrified hope gradually dawned on Naruto’s face. “You mean. . . .” he whispered, and Sakura nodded, praying that she hadn’t imagined what she thought she’d seen, that it wasn’t wishful thinking that made her hope that maybe – maybe – Naruto cared for them both the way they cared for him. . . .

Sasuke shifted, moving closer to the two of them and catching their attention. “Please?” he asked.

Naruto swallowed. “We’re going to need a bigger bedroom,” he said, and Sakura let out a whoop of joy.

She was sure that when the news of this got out, her parents would never speak to her again. But that was the last thing that mattered, because they were two thirds no longer.

Gaara stared at Naruto. He didn't say anything; he really didn't need to.

"Nyao!!"

The Kitsune flinched, gave him a guilty smile. Gaara looked down at the boy -- their pet/human lover -- currently sprawled in his lap, batting at his own tail.

His tail. Their little human mate wasn't supposed to have a tail -- that was one of the attractions of his lovely backside. Nothing -- absolutely nothing -- to hide the view.

Well, the boy's legs were still bare of fur, contrary to theirs, and while his feet now had pads, was still mostly human-shaped -- nothing like their own large, furred paws.

But. Catboy. What the hell.

"Naruto."

Naruto flinched again. "Ahaha. Isn't he cute, though?"

Usually Sasuke would have punched him for calling him cute. Today, he just blinked at them, went "Meoo?" and then started washing his sleek, black-furred tail again, still comfortably sprawled in Gaara's lap.

Gaara stared a little while longer, his hand going to pet Sasuke's round belly cautiously. "Naruto, the kits--"

"They're fine, the spell didn't touch them. I swear. I checked."

Gaara took a deep breath. That was something at least. "What were you trying to do?"

"Aha. Ehehehe. Uhh -- oh, look, he's washing his ears! That's too cute for words."

"That's disturbing," Gaara replied. "He's going to kill you when it wears off."

"Oh yeah, but that's totally worth it," Naruto replied as he reached out to scritch the bulging belly gently, laughing when Sasuke started squirming and mewling again. The human-turned-cat batted at the Kitsune's hand.

"I think he's more a kitten than a cat -- look, his ears are still fuzzy."

Gaara let Naruto guide his hand to Sasuke's ears. They were just as black as his hair, so downy-soft that he couldn't help but run his fingers along them gently. "...A pregnant kitten. If he starts to bounce around, you're in charge of keeping him from hurting himself," he commented, still petting. Sasuke started to purr, squirming happily, then grabbed his hand and started chewing and suckling on his fingers.

Naruto shrugged. "Sure, but he's so heavy by now, he's not gonna go far."

Sasuke, of course, chose that moment to roll off Gaara's lap and pounce on his striped tail. The Tanuki closed his eyes stoically as the mother of his kits started chewing.

"No, Sasuke, bad kitty! Bad!" Naruto attempted to find a way to lift their human lover off his prey, but he wasn't having any of it. He squirmed madly, making himself heavy and awkward to hold as only cats could. Naruto couldn't find a way to grab him that wouldn't put pressure on his belly, so he dropped him. Sasuke whirled around and pounced on Naruto's knees, gnawing for a minute as Naruto yipped in pain, then rubbed against his leg, tail up, and abandoned the Kitsune to rub against Gaara's shoulder. Smirking a little at Naruto's whimpers, the Tanuki wrapped his arm around Sasuke's shoulders and pulled him gently across his lap again, hand running along his back soothingly.

Sasuke was fine with being soothed all of two minutes. Then he started squirming and batting at things again.

"Definitely kittenish."

Naruto went to sit cross-legged in front of Gaara, pouting. "Who'd have thought he'd be a little pest as a cat -- oh wait."

Gaara couldn't help a snort at that. "You're lucky he isn't an older cat. We'd get all of the shredding and biting and none of the cuddling, plus tons of aloofness."

Gaara kept rubbing Sasuke's back, Naruto slowly reaching out to run his hand on his belly. "How long is he gonna be pregnant for, d'you have an idea?"

Gaara shrugged. "It's nine months for humans -- assuming he follows the pattern." After all, human males weren't supposed to get pregnant at all, so who knew?

Naruto grimaced. "You're sure? He's already so huge... Well um only three months left, I guess."

"That's because there's a whole litter in there," the Tanuki replied, and couldn't help but smile smugly, just barely.

"... Hn. I bet there will be more kits in his litter by me than in yours -- hey, they're moving!"

Gaara blinked, then abandoned Sasuke's back for his stomach. A kit was moving around under Naruto's fingers -- and then another started up. The Tanuki caressed the whole of Sasuke's stomach in a slow circular gesture, feeling his progeny move.

Purring steadily, Sasuke squirmed in Gaara's lap, turning around to be on his back, curled up between the Tanuki's thighs with his arms cradling his stomach. Then, eyes closing, he leaned down to give his pregnant belly a little lick.

Naruto melted. "Awwww!" Gaara pretended -- very hard -- that he didn't want to do the same.

Sasuke was too busy washing what little he could reach of his stomach to care about the little squeals the Kitsune was making.

"Why can't he be that cute when he's a human?" he pouted, scritching the boy's ears.

Gaara neglected to answer, too busy gently patting the lower curve of Sasuke's belly, where the catboy couldn't reach. The constant purring was soothing the kits; soon enough they had fallen asleep again. Gaara kept petting, from the boy's belly to his thighs, his other hand supporting his neck as Sasuke slowed down his ministrations.

It looked like he was going to be slept on. Oh well.

Up until the moment one of Naruto's tails accidentally brushed Sasuke's leg. Then he was up on all fours in a flash, batting and yowling at it. Naruto yelped and jumped back, only managing to fall on his ass.

For a fat kitty, he sure moved fast, Gaara thought with amusement as he watched the smaller, younger male pounce on a cowering Nine-Tails.

"Ow, ow -- Sasuke, no!"

Taking pity on Naruto, Gaara crawled closer, and waved his tail enticingly under Sasuke's nose. The catboy immediately forgot Naruto to stare at it, slowly crouching down in the "gonna pounce" position, complete with tail up and butt squirming.

From Naruto's sudden change of expression, he was getting a rather nice view. The Kitsune slowly rolled on the side, reaching for the catboy's rump. Interested in seeing how it would turn out, Gaara twitched the tip of his tail, making sure to keep Sasuke's attention.

"Don't complain if he claws you across the face," Gaara commented calmly as Naruto started rubbing Sasuke's thigh, kneeling behind the boy. Sasuke glanced at him, but Gaara's tail was a lot more fascinating. Naruto grimaced at the Tanuki and nuzzled Sasuke's thigh, then licked it. Sasuke squirmed a little, glancing at Naruto again. He seemed to wonder what the hell the Kitsune was doing. Gaara's eyes narrowed in thought. Their little lover was acting kittenish enough, it was possible he was too young mentally to understand what he wanted.

Naruto was petting Sasuke's thighs now, rubbing them encouragingly as he licked his hip and the small of his back. Sasuke squirmed a little, mewling; he stopped watching Gaara's tail so closely, though, concentrating on Naruto's progress as he stared at him. It was hard to guess just by body language, and his scent -- healthy and very pregnant teenager -- hadn't quite matched his present state of mind. In a minute Gaara would be sure -- either he'd let Naruto cover him or he'd shoot out of there, probably after scratching the hell out of the Kitsune. Cats weren't known for tolerating things they didn't want or like, after all, and Sasuke had always been like that even before the spell.

"Come on, pretty boy... Pretty kitty... Here, kitty kitty..."

Gaara smiled thinly. "I wonder if this could be construed as bestiality."

"Oh, shut it, you. He's sexy like that."

Gaara thought that cute was a lot more appropriate than sexy, but then, Gaara and Sasuke could probably pick their noses and Naruto would find it sexy. He was such a hornball.

Naruto busied himself with enticing Sasuke with nuzzles and licks and gentle petting of his hips and thighs, slowly gaining ground. He chuckled when Sasuke's tail whacked him in the head, and curled his fingers around it, letting it slip between them. Sasuke still looked mildly unsure, but when the Kitsune started scratching gently the base of his tail, he melted. Naruto gave Gaara a triumphant grin.

Sasuke was crouching down now, kneading the grass under his hands, pressing his rump against Naruto's hand. The Kitsune made sure to keep scratching his tail as he held it out of the way, and leaned down to lick the cleft of his buttocks. Gaara rested his chin on his head, admiring the view. He couldn't see much given that Sasuke was more facing him than not, but hearing Sasuke chirp softly, he had no problem imagining the wet tongue swiping across his opening.

So maybe Sasuke wasn't too young to get it, he thought as he watched the catboy's hips roll and push backwards.

"Nyaaao!" he protested, squirming. Naruto closed his hands on his hips to keep the boy from moving, pulling him under him.

Gaara plopped on his side, sprawling lazily, and enjoyed the sight he got from that angle. Sasuke's flushed face and needy eyes, his heavy belly, Naruto's red, dripping wet cock dangling from its sheath, brushing against the inside of Sasuke's bare thigh...

Sasuke yowled when Naruto mounted him and hunched. Gaara watched his lovers' faces, enjoying their expressions. He knew both how it felt to be invaded by Naruto's thick cock and how it felt to sink in Sasuke's tight ass for that first thrust, when he still felt so impossibly snug around their erections.

"Enjoying -- ahh -- enjoying the show?"

Gaara watched them fuck, listening to Sasuke's mewls and moans and yowls, Naruto's panting and soft whining, the wet sounds as he thrust in again and again. "... Yes," he replied finally, when Naruto had forgotten the question, forehead pressed against Sasuke's back, hips working frantically.

The Tanuki moved closer, so he could see them from the side. It was always amazing to actually see the stiff flesh disappear inside their small lover to the hilt.

Sasuke's arms were trembling. With a whimper, he fell on his elbows. His erect cock was bobbing with each thrust, slapping against his round belly. Gaara reached out, caressing his bellybutton, felt a kit moving under his hand. He slid his hand lower, feeling the wetness Sasuke's cock had left on his own skin, spreading it to his groin. Naruto's frantic thrusting eventually shoved Sasuke's erection against his hand; he cupped it, enjoying the yowling and the way Sasuke started struggling, not knowing if he should thrust into his hand or back against Naruto.

And then finally Naruto cried out, and shoved inside hard, hips and thighs pressed tightly against Sasuke's, and the catboy twitched and whimpered, unable to keep thrusting anymore. Gaara smirked softly, watching Sasuke squirm under Naruto, unable to get more friction. Then he took pity on him, pumping his erection as Naruto panted over Sasuke, knot firmly lodged inside him.

"Nyao!!"

Sasuke arched under Naruto as he splattered the ground with his semen, making the Kitsune whimper and thrust fruitlessly as he predictably clamped around him. Gaara calmly wiped his hand on the ground, and helped Naruto roll on his side with Sasuke without squashing him.

Naruto sighed happily, arms and legs wrapped around Sasuke. Gaara guided his hand to his belly, where the kits were still squirming. The Kitsune grinned, then his smile softened as he petted the purring, exhausted boy.

"S' too bad I can't knock him up when he's already full. Mounting him when he's huge with my kits -- that's gotta be the best feeling of the world," Naruto whispered wistfully.

"It is," Gaara agreed softly.

"Well then, you're just gotta get used to his mouth from the moment he gives birth," the Kitsune replied with an impish grin. "Because next time they'll be mine, even if I have to mount him five times a day."

"You already do that," Gaara remarked, and soothed the catboy as he halfheartedly attempted to squirm free of Naruto's hold. "It's alright. I like his mouth."

Naruto grinned. "Think he'd swallow like this?"

Gaara snorted. "With cat fangs and cat instincts? I'm not going to try it."

Naruto eyed the weeping cock that Gaara had been doing his best to ignore, visibly unconvinced. "Right, and whatcha gonna do about that, then?"

The Tanuki smirked. "Well, I believe your rear end is unoccupied at the moment."

"What?! Hell no!"

Naruto wasn't going anywhere, though. Gaara still had a few minutes before his knot went down, and he wasn't moving before that; he would never pull out by force, it would hurt Sasuke, and the pregnant boy was too heavy to make moving with him attached to his dick anything but laughably awkward, even if he managed to hold him right.

Gaara circled them slowly, enjoying Sasuke's sated purrs and Naruto's apprehensive look. He nuzzled the Kitsune's shoulder gently, grabbing his wrist and wrapping his arm around Sasuke's middle firmly.

"Don't be like that, it's not as if I'm going to knock you up..." he chuckled softly, parting Naruto's many tails expertly. The Kitsune yelped.

"Yeah, that's what Sasuke thought too!!"

It starts with a mission.

Tsunade gives him a scroll to take to the Hidden Sand village. He grins and mock-salutes her, telling her he’ll be back before she knows it. She rolls her eyes and ruffles his hair, and he leaves, giving a jaunty wave.

Naruto is cautious on his way to the village, knowing that he’s more likely to be attacked than welcomed. The Hidden Sand may have declared alliance to the Hidden Leaf after Orochimaru tricked them all those years ago, but that was mostly after some careful manoeuvring on Konoha’s part – and, once Tsunade got involved, after a few well-placed displays of strength. So even though the Hidden Sand is technically their ally, it doesn’t mean he’ll be welcome.

He doesn’t encounter any shinobi with a grudge against those from the Hidden Leaf, however, and instead it appears almost as if they’re expecting him. The Kazekage certainly is, as Naruto is ushered straight into his presence, and the leader of the Sand shinobi takes the scroll from him without a word.

The Kazekage – who was appointed shortly after the body of the old Kazekage, Gaara’s father was found (and Naruto thinks he doesn’t even know what number Kage he was, and wonders what Gaara’s doing) – breaks the seal on the scroll and skims it rapidly, before looking back up at Naruto. “I will need to discuss this with the village council,” he tells Naruto. “You are welcome to stay until we have reached an agreement upon the response. Please find accommodation within the village.”

Naruto bows (Tsunade having pounded into his head that manners were required for this assignment) and leaves. ‘Find accommodation in the village’, his arse – he’s more likely to find a knife in his back. But you don’t argue about things like that with the leader of a village who is supposed to be your ally, not when it makes you look weak.

So Naruto steps out of the building and wraps his cloak around his face, breathing through the cloth to avoid inhaling sand. The wind has been blowing almost continuously since he got there, and the resulting dust storm threatens to blind him as he makes his way through the streets. Naruto contemplates just digging a hole in the ground and hiding there until the storm has passed (since he doesn’t think the Kazekage will have reached a decision before then – malicious bastard knows he’ll be out in most of it) but refrains. Burying yourself in the ground in enemy territory is only a good idea if they don’t know you’re there.

So Naruto keeps walking, searching for somewhere he might get out of the wind for a bit, searches until the hairs on the back of his neck prickle and stand upright. He pulls the cloth around his face aside, sniffing the air, and all he can smell is blood-tinted sand – but then, that’s all Gaara smells of anyway.

Turning, Naruto finds the other demon-boy standing not two paces behind him, in a completely calm space surrounded by the raging dust storm. He’s not surprised that Gaara can keep the sand at bay, but he does wonder what the redhead is doing out in the middle of the storm.

Gaara stares at him silently from black-rimmed eyes, before stepping forwards. Naruto tenses, wondering if Gaara holds a grudge from that fight they had at the chuunin exam years ago – wonders if he can still beat the other boy, surrounded as they are by sand – and Gaara simply steps up next to him and stops, and suddenly Naruto no longer has to squint his eyes against the sand in the air, no longer has to hold his cloak up to his face to be able to breathe. Blinking somewhat stupidly at the younger boy, Naruto doesn’t think twice about falling into step when Gaara moves off again.

Gaara leads him into a building a couple of blocks away, and even though they had walked in a circle of air undisturbed by the storm Naruto still sighs in relief as he shuts the door on it. Gaara says nothing, still, merely unbuckles the strap holding the large gourd onto his back and drops it by the door, walking through into another room without looking back.

Naruto quirks an eyebrow at the gourd. Gaara’s not said a word about what his intentions are, but then that’s not surprising – from what Naruto remembers, he didn’t talk much unless he was ranting about killing people. And to be fair, surrounded by this much sand Gaara doesn’t really need the gourd, but it seems so much a part of the other boy that Naruto is getting a headache just trying to figure out what Gaara meant by taking it off.

Of course, he could just take it off every time he comes home.

Snorting to himself, Naruto decides to take advantage of the time inside even if it does end up with him and Gaara fighting, and drops his pack onto the floor next to the gourd before untying his cloak. He shakes it out, and grins ruefully at the small pile of sand that forms at his feet.

With nothing else left to do, Naruto folds the cloak up and props it on his pack before following Gaara into the next room – which turns out to be a kitchen, of sorts. There’s a stove in the corner and some counters dotted around, but all the food seems to be either out on the surfaces or kept in earthenware pots. Naruto’s somewhat surprised to see that Gaara has a kettle, and even more surprised to see him using it.

Naruto hovers in the doorway, unsure of what to do, as Gaara fills the kettle up and sets it to boiling.

“I have tea,” Gaara says, his voice making Naruto jump. The Leaf shinobi is sure he must look a little like a deer in headlights as Gaara half-turns to look at him, obviously expecting some kind of response.

“Um . . . okay,” Naruto responds, and this seems to satisfy whatever Gaara was looking for, because he turns back to the kettle and starts pulling mugs out of a cupboard. Naruto takes this to mean that Gaara’s not going to start a fight any time soon, and so cautiously eases himself into the kitchen and onto a chair at the little table in the middle of the room.

The kettle whistles, and Gaara carefully pours the boiling water into two mugs. He puts one mug in front of Naruto, as well as a carton of milk and a small bowl of sugar. Naruto stares at them for a moment, before glancing up at Gaara. He catches the barest flicker of – something, on Gaara’s face, before the redhead turns back to his own mug.

Shrugging, Naruto grabs the milk and adds a little to the mug, before dumping about half of the bowl of sugar into his tea. Gaara’s obviously trying to be a – Naruto hesitates to say ‘good’ – host, but he seems a little lost, so Naruto might as well just help himself. And hey, he’s not going to pass up a free drink. It would be better if it was free ramen, but he thinks just getting out of that storm in the middle of the Hidden Sand is pushing his luck enough for one day. Even if Naruto’s host is Gaara.

The tea is surprisingly good, warming his belly and relaxing him a little. Even if Gaara decides to attack now, while he’s off guard, Naruto decides, it would be worth it for the tea. The thought of thanking Gaara for giving him a hot drink whilst in the middle of a fight is mildly comical, however, and he snorts.

Gaara makes some sort of aborted motion at the sudden noise, before sinking back into his chair and staring into the depths of his mug as though it holds the answers to every question he’s ever wanted answered. Staring at him, Naruto realises that if anyone’s going to break the slightly uncomfortable silence over the table, it’s going to have to be him.

He finishes off the mug in one gulp, dropping it back onto the table. “Aaaahh, that was good,” Naruto says. “Hey, thanks for getting me out of that storm,” he adds, grinning easily at Gaara. “I couldn’t see anything in that shit! It felt like I was just going around in circles.”

“You were,” Gaara says. “You passed my door twice.”

Oh, great. “Sakura-chan keeps telling me I have the same sense of direction as a blind elephant,” Naruto says, rubbing the back of his neck ruefully. With any luck, she’ll never find out about this, and he can keep on pretending that she’s wrong. “You wouldn’t happen to know where I could find somewhere to stay for a couple of days, would you?” he asks Gaara hopefully. “The old hag sent me with a scroll to give to the Kazekage, and now he wants me to hang around for a few days while he decides on a reply.”

Raising his head, Gaara stares at him in that strange, unblinking way of his. “I have a spare room,” he says.

“Eh?” Naruto says, startled. “I – wow, that’s really nice of you,” he adds, hoping he’s not misinterpreting. “But I already owe you for getting me out of that storm, and all, so if there’s an inn or something around here then I’ll get of your hair, and pay you back later—”

Gaara slams his mug down, tea sloshing over the side, cutting Naruto’s words off. He seems to fold in on himself after this sudden show of anger, however, muttering, “You don’t owe me anything.”

Naruto forces himself to laugh, somewhat shakily, keeping one eye on the smaller man all the time. “’Course I do,” he says. “You—”

“No.” Gaara shakes his head emphatically, looking up at Naruto. “I’m trying to pay you back,” he says, looking frustrated, as though Naruto just doesn’t get it and he doesn’t have the words to explain what he means.

Naruto wracks his brain, trying to think of what Gaara could possibly think he needed to pay Naruto back for, and comes up with a blank. But with the way Gaara’s looking at him, like paying Naruto back is something he needs to do but he can’t quite find the words to express why, frustrated and miserable and determined all at once – that Naruto responds to, and he finds himself saying “Okay” before his brain can catch up to the implications of it. He can’t quite bring himself to regret it, however, as something like relief flickers over Gaara’s face before Gaara gets up and walks away, pointedly waiting in the doorway for Naruto to follow.

-

The bed is strangely comfortable, seeing as Gaara was the one to buy the furnishings for this house and Gaara doesn’t sleep. Naruto, by contrast, is still uncomfortable at allowing himself to rest in the middle of what he can’t stop thinking of as enemy territory, especially when he knows that Gaara won’t be sleeping.

He reminds himself that Gaara thinks he owes Naruto something, however, and for all of Gaara’s rants about killing people when they were younger he seems to – well, Naruto can’t actually tell if he’s changed at all, but it looks as though Gaara takes any perceived debt very seriously. Naruto finds himself empathising with that, once more – so rarely had someone given him anything as a child that when he did get something, his loyalty was secured. Sometimes he thinks of what might have happened if a member of Akatsuki had realised that during his childhood years, and shudders.

Strangely enough, such a thought when applied to Gaara relaxes him to the point that he drifts softly into sleep.

-

When Naruto comes into the kitchen the next morning, yawning and stretching his arms over his head, the storm has died down – and Gaara has a mug of tea ready. After Naruto has downed about half of the mug, he notices that it was made with a tiny bit of milk and a large amount of sugar, and wonders why Gaara bothered.

Or why he even paid attention.

He finishes the mug without a word, however, and arches his back in a long, sinuous stretch. “Ne, Gaara,” he says when he’s finished, “do you know of any good ramen places around here?”

Gaara blinks at him, once, and Naruto takes this to mean he’s surprised. Whether that’s at Naruto’s question or the fact that Naruto asked him at all, he’s not sure, but he looks strangely cute when he’s nonplussed.

“There’s a ramen bar down the road,” Gaara says slowly.

Naruto grins and hops to his feet. “Well, what are we waiting for?”

Gaara looks like he wants to question the ‘we’, but instead says nothing and buckles his gourd on, following Naruto out of the house. Now that the storm has died down, Naruto can smell the ramen on the air and doesn’t even need Gaara to guide him to the bar, heading straight for his precious ramen without looking back. When he reaches the bar, he keeps his grin to himself as he hears Gaara come up behind him and hesitate for a moment, before taking the seat next to him.

The bar has grown quiet around them, but Naruto figures that’s most likely because he’s a Leaf shinobi in the middle of Sand country. Since Gaara’s with him, they shouldn’t have any trouble, but he takes pains to act as though nothing is wrong – hailing the bar owner as cheerfully as if he were in Ichiraku – and orders two bowls of beef ramen. The man is slightly hesitant to serve them, but he does so anyway, and Naruto pushes one of the bowls in front of Gaara before tucking into his own.

When he next lifts his face from his food, however, he finds Gaara staring at the bowl, his brows puckered as if in confusion. “It’s good,” Naruto says, encouraging, and grins as Gaara turns his head to stare at him. Naruto polishes his own bowl off quickly, calling for more.

Gaara eats slowly, and Naruto is on his third bowl before Gaara is even halfway through his first. He prattles on to Gaara about all the different types of ramen and how each of them is better than the last, more to fill up the silence than out of any real pressing need to talk. He keeps half an eye on the other occupants of the bar, however, no longer being the blissfully oblivious boy who had fought Gaara at the chuunin exams.

Far from what Naruto expects, however, the Sand shinobi ignore him completely, bar one or two glances at his headband – instead, there are far more looks sent Gaara’s way, looks which Naruto knows all too well. The situation differs from what Naruto remembers of his own childhood, however, as instead of a growing belligerence among the onlookers, they slowly leave the bar – one by one, as though they don’t want to draw any attention to the fact that they bar is emptying. The bar owner looks torn between annoyance at his customers leaving, and outright fear.

The fear continues to grow, until Naruto notices that the sand around Gaara’s feet is shifting, making short, sharp, agitated movements. Rolling his eyes, he taps Gaara’s leg lightly with his foot. When Gaara turns towards him, he says, “Relax,” and grins.

There’s an aborted movement of Gaara’s mouth that might – almost – have turned into a smile, but he turns back to his ramen before Naruto can make heads or tails of it. The sand settles around Gaara’s feet, though, and Naruto turns back to his own food with a smile. When he calls for more, there’s a touch of awe on the owner’s face, as though he can’t quite believe that Naruto is still alive, and Naruto has never had such good service in his life.

It doesn’t stop the bar owner pulling Naruto aside just as he and Gaara are about to leave. “Please don’t bring him back here again,” he says. “It’s bad enough that you’re Leaf shinobi, but you’ll leave eventually. He won’t, and if he eats here I’ll lose the rest of my customers.”

Naruto simply stares at the man, not quite daring to believe his ears. Even on his worst days back in the Leaf village . . . even then. . . .

He wonders if he has as much right to empathise with Gaara as he thinks he does, and leaves without another word.

Gaara is waiting for him outside, far enough away from the noodle bar that he won’t automatically be associated with it. Naruto knows – knows – that it’s deliberate, and is suddenly angry. Angry at Gaara’s father, for forcing this situation on him, and angry at the rest of the Sand village for not having another Iruka-sensei somewhere within its walls. Gaara’s standing alone, holding himself apart from the rest of the village, and it’s at least in part because although they’re passing him as though he isn’t there, they’re also taking care not to look at him directly, and not to get too close.

The worst part, though – the worst part is the look on Gaara’s face. As though it doesn’t even hurt any more, because he expects it. It stirs something inside Naruto that’s angry and sad and hurting all at once, and without even thinking about he strides up to the younger boy and wraps an arm around his shoulders. Gaara starts, shrinking a little, before he straightens.

“Ah, that was good!” Naruto declares, grinning maniacally. “Where next, Gaara?”

Gaara blinks at him, slowly, and it strikes Naruto that Gaara really is fragile without his ‘kill to be’ policy. Then he reminds himself that he doesn’t actually know that Gaara no longer abides by said policy, and realises that if Gaara can be treated like this by the rest of his village then he doesn’t care.

Gaara gives a tiny shrug, so small that Naruto wouldn’t have noticed it if his arm hadn’t been around the other boy’s shoulders. He keeps his grin fixed to his face as he moves forwards, sliding his arm off Gaara’s shoulders and twirling around so he’s walking backwards, facing the redhead. “Let’s just go exploring, then,” he says.

-

Word spreads quickly through the village about the crazy Leaf shinobi who’s dragging Gaara all over town, and about how the shinobi seems to be able to control Gaara. As the day goes on, Naruto notices that the glances being sent his and Gaara’s way alternate between hateful and curious, as though the apparent removal of at least some of Gaara’s danger has let people both be able to show their feelings in full, and question those feelings. If you take away the fear when looking at Gaara, after all, he’s just a short, pale boy with fatigue rings around his eyes.

The village of the Hidden Sand doesn’t have much to show for itself by way of souvenirs for sale, but Naruto manages to find a couple of things to buy for his friends in the Hidden Leaf. A book on medical jutsu for Sakura (he thinks she might have this one already, but it’s the thought that counts, right?), a couple of training weights for Lee, and if his fingers hesitate over a particularly well-crafted kunai, if his thoughts flicker momentarily to Sasuke, then it’s only from a lingering sense of attachment to the children they both had been.

Naruto buys the kunai, though, and thinks he’ll give it to Kakashi-sensei.

He and Gaara end up on the roof of Gaara’s building, Naruto eating one of the many treats he’d bought that day while Gaara simply stares off into the sunset. After the storm of the previous day the weather is surprisingly clear, and the setting sun draws long shadows from the buildings around them. Even though he’s in the middle of Sand country, Naruto finds it wonderfully peaceful.

“Why were you angry?”

Gaara’s voice comes from nowhere, the simple sentence longer than anything else he’d spoken that day. Naruto controls his impulsive start, licking his fingers clean of sauce, contemplating the question. When his fingers are finally clean, he wipes his hand on his trouser leg, and asks, “When?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Gaara’s hands clench on his biceps. “Outside the ramen bar,” Gaara says, his voice toneless.

Ah. Naruto puckers his brow and thinks for a minute, wondering how to explain the myriad of reasons without giving Gaara his entire life story.

What it really boils down to, though, is just one thing. “Because you didn’t get angry,” Naruto says, and stops there because he doesn’t quite have the words to express why that bothered – bothers – him.

Gaara is silent once more, his brows puckering in thought. Naruto thinks that it’s strange how Gaara’s hair can be such a deep, bloody red, when his eyebrows are so pale a blond you have to look hard to see them. He wonders if maybe Gaara dyes his hair, and then has to restrain himself from laughing aloud at the mental image of Gaara figuring out how to use a bottle of hair dye. The redhead has no reason to dye his hair that Naruto can see, none at all, and Gaara isn’t the type of person to do something without a reason.

Well. A reason that Gaara accepts, anyway.

He sees Gaara draw in a breath to say something more, but they are interrupted before he ever gets to find out what it would be. A Sand shinobi he doesn’t recognise drops onto the roof a few paces away from them, his eyes flickering to Gaara once before settling on Naruto.

“Uzumaki-san,” he says, “the Kazekage has reached a decision. Please follow me.”

Naruto stands and stretches, crossing his arms behind his head, on guard the way he hasn’t been most of the day with Gaara, and wonders why Gaara puts him at ease but an unknown Sand shinobi with a message from the Kazekage makes him tense. He decides that it doesn’t really matter, and turns to Gaara to say, “Guess that’s my cue to leave. I’ll see you around, ’kay?”

Gaara nods, silent once more, and Naruto thinks that at some point he’s going to have to find out what Gaara would have said if they hadn’t been interrupted. One doesn’t keep the Kazekage waiting, however, particularly not in the middle of the Kazekage’s land.

-

All the Kazekage does when Naruto sees him is to hand him a scroll and request that he deliver it to Tsunade. Naruto dutifully tucks it into his pack before setting off, wondering precisely what is so important in those scrolls that Tsunade would send him as an errand boy rather than anyone else. Unlike in his childhood years, his opinion of his talent isn’t puffed-up bravado, but rather the confidence that comes of hard-won experience – and so he wonders precisely what this bit of communication is about, that the old hag would send him running errands. He doesn’t think he’s annoyed her recently.

When he hands the scroll to Tsunade back in the Hidden Leaf, she doesn’t open it right away. Instead, she asks him if he had a good time. Naruto can read the undertone in it – did you have any trouble? – but instead grins broadly at her.

“I met Gaara,” he says. “He made me tea, and showed me where there’s a ramen bar.”

Tsunade snorts and mutters something uncomplimentary about him and ramen. She flicks the scroll open and scans it while Naruto waits, and it’s only because he’s watching her closely (waiting for her to say something about how animals always bond together, and then he can call her an old hag and run away laughing) that he sees the sudden flicker of pure evil cross her face. There’s no time to call it on her, however, as she scribbles a short note at the bottom of the scroll and seals it up again, handing it to him.

“Take this back to the Kazekage,” she tells him, and if Naruto thought he had mistaken the evil look on her face before, he most certainly hasn’t mistaken it now.

“Now?” Naruto stops himself just short of whining. “But I just got back! I have souvenirs to give to people—”

“If you were in the middle of Sand country and found time to go souvenir shopping, then you weren’t working hard enough,” Tsunade interrupts, never mind that his only job was to deliver the scroll and then wait for a reply. “The souvenirs waited long enough for you to get here, so they can wait a little bit longer, now.”

Naruto scowls at her, then sticks his tongue out and leaves.

-

Naruto’s relieved to see that the weather in the Hidden Sand is still relatively good by the time he returns. It’s still far too hot, but at least there’s no wind – he can deal with the weather, if it’s just heat. Trying to breathe through a mouthful of sand, by contrast, is not fun.

He hands the scroll to the Kazekage, and sees the older man’s eyebrows shoot up as soon as he reads Tsunade’s message. As Naruto was expecting, however, he is dismissed until such time as the Kazekage can think of a response, and so he grins and decides to visit Gaara again.

It doesn’t surprise him to see that the other demon-boy is at home, although it seems to surprise Gaara to see him there as he stands rooted in the doorway for a few moments, staring at Naruto. Naruto rubs the back of his head with one hand and grins.

“Tsunade’s got me running errands,” he says. “Mind if I stay here for a few days, again?”

Gaara says nothing, but he holds the door open for Naruto to enter.

-

Later that night, Naruto finds out what Gaara wanted to ask him on the rooftop, before they were interrupted.

“Why do you care?”

Naruto blinks at Gaara over his mug of tea (and he can’t work out whether he should be surprised or not that Gaara remembers the way he likes it) and ponders this non-sequitur for a moment, before it clicks into place. He’s definitely not surprised that Gaara can pick up a conversation from the last comment no matter how much time has passed in between, but he wonders how he can answer that question in a few words. Naruto has never been much good at expressing himself – most of the time, if people understood what he was saying it was because they were on the same wavelength as him to begin with – but this strikes him as somewhat important. There’s a note of – frustration? Confusion? – in Gaara’s voice that he feels he has to address.

Carefully, he puts the mug down on the kitchen table, and suddenly knows the reason why. “Because you’re my friend,” Naruto says, and it’s the truth.

Gaara looks at him as though he’s gone mad. “How can I be your friend?” he says. “I’ve tried to kill you. You barely know me.”

Naruto shrugs and leans backwards, scratching his stomach. “You gave me shelter from a storm,” he counters. “You made me tea and let me drag you around town for a whole day.”

Gaara scowls into his mug, and mutters, “That doesn’t make me your friend.”

Naruto eyes him, and wonders when Gaara’s going to get the point. “No, but it makes you mine.”

Gaara jerks his head up, eyes wide. “But—” he starts, then hesitates. “How can you be friends with someone who isn’t your friend?”

Naruto shrugs one shoulder and looks away, uncomfortable, and he isn’t thinking of Sasuke. Really. “Sometimes, the other person is just worth it. Sometimes they’ve done something that makes them worth your loyalty. Sometimes you just like them. Sometimes it’s all three, or something completely different.” Turning back to Gaara, he raises his mug in a form of salute. “There’s never any one reason for something. How do you know that someone doesn’t consider you a friend, anyway? You’ve just got to decide, at some point, that they’re yours.” Naruto drops his gaze from Gaara’s face and takes a gulp from his mug.

The kitchen is silent once more, for what feels like a small eternity. Naruto’s just about to declare that he’s going to bed and get up to drop his mug in the sink, when Gaara says, “If you’re my friend, then I’m yours.”

Startled, Naruto looks across the table at him, and smiles. Bed, he thinks, can wait a while – for now, there’s always more tea.

-

It takes the Kazekage a lot longer this time around to reach a decision. Naruto ends up spending all that time with Gaara, as the younger man doesn’t appear to have many missions – but then, Naruto doesn’t either, because the ones they get are the difficult and high-paying ones. They don’t really need to do any more than that to live comfortably.

Gaara appears to take his new status as ‘friend’ very seriously. More than once, Naruto wakes up to find that his clothes have been washed, dried, and pressed during the night, and that there’s a mug of tea waiting for him downstairs. It’s always hot when Naruto comes to drink it, which makes him think that Gaara knows of some kind of warming jutsu. He even mentions this to Gaara one morning, and gets a very odd look as the redhead mutely points towards the microwave.

Gaara also has his own peculiar way of making sure that Naruto is taking care of himself. Naruto got used to Kakashi-sensei randomly appearing through his window with a bowl of fruit and Iruka-sensei lecturing him on how just ramen isn’t good for him, but Gaara’s sneakier – he’ll make ramen for Naruto, and slip all kinds of vegetables and other healthy things into the bowl. Naruto doesn’t know how he does it without ruining either the ramen or the vegetables, but Gaara gets twitchy when Naruto even mentions that something he made was good, so the Leaf shinobi doesn’t call him on it.

Naruto takes to wandering around the town during the day, with Gaara keeping pace by his side. Naruto swears he’s bought something from every stall vendor by the end of the week, from odd little knick-knacks that catch his eye to a gift for practically everyone he knows in the Leaf village.

Gaara, meanwhile, simply stays by his side like a short, redheaded shadow. The people in the Sand village are wary of the two at first, but they quickly realise that nothing untoward ever happens when the two of them are around, and relax. Naruto finds the startled look on Gaara’s face incredibly comical, the first couple of times he’s the one addressed by a shop owner rather than Naruto.

Gaara doesn’t seem to know anyone around the village, though, so Naruto’s rather surprised when one day a blonde girl with a big fan that he vaguely remembers fighting Shikamaru in the chuunin exams drops by. She seems equally surprised to see him there, but reintroduces herself quite happily as Temari – and proceeds to start mothering Gaara. Naruto finds this utterly hilarious, but one dire look from the other boy keeps his mouth shut as Temari putters around the kitchen. She asks Gaara when he started stocking ramen, and both she and Naruto are startled to see Gaara blush. Her gaze flickers to Naruto and back again, and she says, “Ah.”

Naruto wonders precisely what the ‘Ah’ means, but can’t be bothered to work it out.

-

A few days later, the same messenger as before arrives to say that the Kazekage has reached a decision, and wishes for both Uzumaki-san and Subaku no Gaara to attend him. Naruto blinks at Gaara, wondering why he’s included in the summons, but doesn’t question it in front of the Sand shinobi.

The Kazekage hands another – different – scroll to Naruto, and addresses Gaara. “You will accompany Uzumaki-san back to the village of the Hidden Leaf,” he says. “The Hokage will be expecting you both. She will explain what this is about.”

Naruto takes the scroll silently, and leaves with Gaara. It takes almost all of his willpower not to open the scroll before they reach the village, but the seal is still intact when he hands it over to Tsunade.

Tsunade opens the scroll, and smiles. The smile turns distinctly evil when she looks up at them.

“Do you have any idea what this is about?” she asks.

“You’re thinking up one more way to make my life a living hell, old hag?” Naruto asks.

Tsunade scowls at him. “You don’t need any help in making your own life a living hell. You’re a walking magnet for trouble.” She sighs, and drops the scroll onto her desk, looking from Naruto to Gaara and back again. “The Hidden Leaf received a mission request that requires either a small number – one or two, say – of Hokage-level individuals, or a rather large group of jounin. Most of our jounin are caught up in other projects, and as the reward is for a substantial amount I decided to ask the Kazekage if he would be willing to join with me on this mission. He was of the opinion that it would take him away from his duties in the village for too long, and asked if there were any shinobi we had that might perhaps be strong enough to take the task on.” Tsunade stands, leaning on her desk. “That’s where you two come in.”

Naruto blinks, startled. “You want us to do the mission?”

Tsunade nods. “Yes.”

Naruto blinks again, and looks at Gaara. Gaara looks back, before shrugging one shoulder and turning back to his contemplation of the Hokage’s desk. Naruto takes this as tacit agreement, and looks back to Tsunade. “Sure, what the hell,” he says. “I was getting bored being your messenger boy, after all.”

-

The mission turns out to be to do with Akatsuki, which Naruto thinks is at least partly why Tsunade had such an evil look on her face, since she just loves dumping him in the deep end to see whether it’ll turn out all right. He wonders whether he’ll come up against Itachi at all, and what Sasuke might say if he offed his brother first.

He and Gaara end up deep in the back end of somewhere, and Naruto starts thinking that (maybe) Sakura has a point when she harps on about his sense of direction. He’s not sure that they’re anywhere near where they’re supposed to be, after all, and from the amused looks – well, amused for Gaara, anyway – that his companion keeps sending him, he thinks Gaara knows it.

They make it to their destination in good time, anyway, so Naruto takes that to mean that he can’t have been too far off-course. The specifics of the mission mean that one of them is going to have to create a distraction, while the other one sneaks in. They’re heading for what Tsunade thinks are the Akatsuki headquarters, so whoever sneaks in has to be very stealthy indeed.

Which instantly rules out Naruto, and he knows it. He’s always been better at distraction tactics and bludgeoning his way through things than any form of finesse, while Gaara’s control of his sand is fine-tuned down the very last grain. They sketch out a rough plan for the information retrieval – and Naruto can only be glad that it’s not an assassination mission, even though he’s a lot older and a lot stronger now than he was when he first met Itachi – and a simple code for both ‘mission complete’ and a call for help. Naruto makes sure that Gaara can beat a hasty retreat if needed (although from the look on his face as Naruto says that, he thinks Gaara would be more likely to kill himself with his own sand first.)

So Naruto starts his distraction, which consists of him pretending to try to sneak in. He actually puts a bit of effort into it, figuring that any member of Akatsuki isn’t going to be so incompetent as not to notice him sneaking around, even when he’s trying his hardest – and if he’s actually trying to sneak, then it makes the distraction look that much more real.

They’re in luck, Naruto thinks a short while after he begins his distraction attempt, as the shark guy is there but the rest of Akatsuki aren’t. He almost panics when the shark guy attacks him, remembering that he and Itachi are often found together, but no red-eyed Uchiha steps out of the woodwork so he figures he’s safe, because he knows how to deal with the shark guy.

The shark guy still has that chakra-sucking sword of his, but Naruto had long ago figured out his own unique solution to that problem – the sword will latch onto one stream of chakra only and leach off that, so he spreads a thin layer of his own chakra over the top of everything he does and starts relying on the Kyuubi’s chakra instead. The sword leaches his own chakra off the top and doesn’t catch on to the Kyuubi’s, so the shark guy is more than a little surprised when Naruto’s jutsu have real power behind them.

For an encounter with Akatsuki, it’s going almost too well. Naruto’s just wondering whether it would serve their purposes better to kill the shark guy or not, when a trickle of sand appears in the corner of the room. Grinning at the signal, he flips his hand in a jaunty wave to the shark guy, and leaves at a dead run.

Gaara appears alongside him at during his sprint away from the Akatsuki headquarters, and Naruto’s having a hard time repressing his laughter at how easy this was. No matter how many times it happens, he loves it when he’s underestimated – now even more than when he was a child, because then (no matter what he said otherwise) he knew that he got by mostly on dumb luck. Now it’s skill that gets him through – skill that most people don’t credit him with having.

Naruto’s just beginning to wonder whether he and Gaara will have an easy run of it all the way back to Konoha, when there’s a sudden hiss of sand past his head, catching four shuriken before they have the chance to bury themselves in his skull.

It turns out that leaving the shark guy alive was a mistake, because apparently Itachi wasn’t too far away and once Naruto was no longer occupying the shark guy, he had gone to get backup. Naruto stares down at the pair of them, thinking, Shit, and not letting himself stop to wonder how Gaara had commanded his sand to move quite so fast.

He pauses to mutter at Gaara, “Don’t look in Itachi’s eyes,” before diving headlong for said man.

Naruto’s fight with Itachi is brutally fierce, and he can’t spare a moment to look for Gaara even to see if he’s still alive. It’s the first time since his fight with Sasuke that he’s had to draw on the Kyuubi’s power so heavily that it’s like the Nine-Tails is right there surrounding him, attacking with its own chakra. It’s the only thing that seems to work, however, increasing his speed and being able to make two attacks at once – and Itachi can’t dodge both if he wants to get in a hit of his own. Naruto wonders for an instant whether he’d be able to throw off the Magenkyou Sharingan when fighting like this, but he’s not stupid enough to try it when he doesn’t know what the outcome will be.

In the middle of his fight with Itachi, Naruto hears a sudden high-pitched screech of joy, and knows that Gaara has fallen asleep. He’s not sure whether this is a good or bad thing, because if Gaara was driven to that then things can’t have been going well – but having Shukaku loose can only help the fight.

It’s what comes after that’s the problem.

Naruto can’t spare a moment from his fight with Itachi, however, though Itachi doesn’t seem to be paying him much attention – instead, he suddenly vanishes from Naruto’s line of sight, and, spinning around, Naruto sees him hefting the body of the shark guy over one shoulder. “We will continue this later,” Itachi says over his shoulder, before darting away just as Shukaku slams one fist into the ground where they were standing.

Naruto can’t help but be relieved that they’re gone, but now he has to face the problem of Shukaku. As fast as the Kyuubi’s chakra makes him, however, it’s not a problem to run headlong up his arm and punch Gaara awake again.

The sand around them dissolves, but rather than being dumped ungracefully on the ground, Naruto finds himself cradled by said sand before it places him on his feet. Gaara stares at Naruto for a long, long moment, as though he can’t quite remember who he is, before he sighs, and asks, “Did we win?”

Naruto tries to say, “You hurt the shark guy, and Itachi picked him up and ran off,” but he makes the mistake of releasing the Kyuubi’s chakra beforehand, and gets as far as “Yooouu. . . .” before slumping into unconsciousness.

-

When Naruto wakes again, he’s in the hospital in Konoha.

It’s an annoyingly familiar sight.

He sits up, and moans when this makes his head spin. He’s not injured – he never is, really – but he thinks he must have really overdone it this time, to be so exhausted.

“So, you’re finally awake.” Naruto jerks his head around to see Tsunade sitting by his bed, mounds of her never-ending paperwork around her. He thinks that if anything would ever put him off his goal of becoming Hokage, it would be all that paperwork – but then, if he allowed anything to put him off his goal, he wouldn’t be Naruto, so it’s a moot point.

“Wha. . . .” Naruto begins, then coughs at the dryness of his throat. Tsunade hands him a glass of water, and for a moment Naruto almost thinks she looks concerned, before her usual expression of somewhat irritated superiority settles into place.

“You’d think that you’d be more careful with your own life,” Tsunade says, mockingly, sitting down again. “I thought you were going to prove me wrong about that necklace being cursed.”

Naruto gulps the water down greedily, ignoring her in favour of the coolness sliding down his throat. When he’s finished with the glass, he scowls at her. “Not my fault Itachi showed up,” he mutters.

Tsunade sighs. “What, exactly, happened?” she asks. “I’ve tried questioning Gaara, but he says he was asleep – asleep! Ha! – for the latter part of the fight, and doesn’t know. He won’t answer me no matter how hard I press him.”

Naruto stares at her. “He won’t answer because he can’t,” he says. “When Gaara falls asleep, it gives the sand demon free reign. He’s got this jutsu that makes him fall asleep on demand, so he did that, Shukaku managed to at least knock the shark guy out, and Itachi decided to pick him up and run rather than keep fighting.”

Tsunade gives him a look. “That’s all that happened.”

Naruto frowns at her, wondering what she’s trying to drive at. “Yes.”

“So the fact that Gaara says his sand keeps protecting you without conscious direction from him has nothing to do with this?”

Naruto blinks. “Is that what’s been happening? Huh. I just thought Gaara was reacting fast.”

“Apparently not.” Tsunade picks up her pen again, and points it at him. “You need some rest. After that, I suggest talking to Gaara.”

“What about?” Naruto asks.

Tsunade gives him an unreadable look. “About the reason why his sand protects you.”

-

Naruto is up and about later that day – to the surprise of no one, hospital staff included – and he finds Gaara sitting on top of the heads of the Hokages. Gaara doesn’t respond to his approach, but he doesn’t move away when Naruto sits next to him.

They watch the sunset in silence, for a time.

“Naruto-kun, what is love?”

Gaara’s voice startles Naruto slightly, but not so much as the question. Looking over at his friend, he sees that Gaara’s shoulders are slightly hunched, as though he’s expecting to be hit – and expecting it to hurt, no matter how thick a shield he puts up.

Situations like this, Naruto thinks somewhat grumpily, need someone who has a little bit more tact than he does. Still, he’s the one Gaara has asked, so he flops onto his back and ponders it for a moment, then says, “It’s a bit like what makes you friends with someone. There are lots of different reasons, and none of them make up the whole, but you can’t explain it without them.”

Gaara is silent for a moment, and when he speaks, his voice is so soft Naruto has to strain to hear it.

“So love is like making someone a mug of tea?”

The words take a moment to penetrate, and when they do, Naruto sits up slowly. His mind, so relaxed a moment before, whirs frantically and comes up again and again with a blank, so he takes a deep breath and says the only thing he can think of to say. “And love is like bringing someone in out of a storm?”

Gaara flinches a little at the words, hunching further in on himself, and a small voice in Naruto’s head goes, Bingo. Naruto can’t stop staring at him, the words tumbling out of him as he grows more and more certain – as the realisation hits him all at once, that this is where the past few weeks were heading all along.

“So love is like stocking up on ramen in case they come back, and slipping healthy things into their food when they do. And love is like going to sleep trusting that they can wake you up again.” He pauses. “And love is like deciding to protect someone without ever even thinking of it, until it becomes just as instinctive as protecting yourself.”

Gaara’s hunch has almost turned into a ball, curving him so far in on himself that he looks like an abused child. Which, Naruto thinks, isn’t so far from the truth – and even though he knows he would never hurt Gaara, he can’t help but admire the strength it took for his friend (and maybe that’s not the right word any longer, is it?) to expose himself to hurt in this manner, especially given what happened with the woman who was supposed to be taking care of him. So just as Gaara looks as though he’s about to flee, Naruto jumps into the deep end with him and says, “So if love is like all that, then I guess love is like getting angry for someone because they won’t.”

Gaara’s head jerk up, and he twists around to stare at Naruto, and Naruto can’t quite take the weight of those eyes so he looks away, staring out over the rooftops of Konoha. He doesn’t stop talking, though, because that would be more cowardly than he knows how to be.

“And love is like purposefully fighting someone you’d really rather not, so they don’t have to. And love is like . . . love is like wishing someone was injured, just so they could stay a little longer.”

It takes a great effort of will, but Naruto manages to make himself look back to meet Gaara’s eyes. Gaara drops his eyes almost as soon as Naruto meets them, and before he can think about it Naruto leans forward and kisses him.

Gaara’s lips are dry as sand but far more soft, and smooth – and when his mouth opens in something that might or might not have been a gasp, it’s wet and warm and after a moment, Gaara’s tongue moves hesitantly along his. Naruto shifts so he can thread his fingers through Gaara’s fine red hair, and Gaara’s hand fists in the front of his orange jacket, pressing their bodies together in a line from hip to shoulder.

And Naruto thinks this might not be heaven, but it’s as close as two demons are ever going to get.

-

She shouldn’t be so surprised. The target has been making a nuisance of himself on both sides of the border for months. A rich merchant who was an agent for both the Daimyo of Rice Field Country and a minor feudal lord of Fire Country, he has just successfully (depending on how you look at it) double-crossed both. The feudal lord in Fire Country wants to know how, and why, and he wants all of the merchant’s personal papers and the names of his contacts and the true story of his treachery.

The lord of Rice Field Country just wants his head.

Ino learned most of the story from the mission specs and the rest of it from the briefing the icily furious feudal lord gave her before she set out to complete her mission. She fills in even more details from the papers her gloved hands riffle through gently as the big man in the bed behind her snores drunkenly, rendered almost comatose by her new mind-control jutsu on top of nearly six bottles of sake. She knows the full extent of his duplicity—and of his perversions; he deserves whatever nightmares her jutsu combines with his sake to produce—and so she’s almost expecting the Sound-nin who drops noiselessly through the window, neatly dodging her traps.

She doesn’t expect it to be Sasuke.

For half a moment, both of them freeze. Sasuke crouches on the rich rug below the window, bristling with kunai, dark eyes only slightly widened in his too-pale face. Ino kneels at the desk, one hand filled with papers, the other rising unconsciously to toss her loose hair back over her bare shoulders. The habits of childhood are hard to break, even after she thought them all shattered the day Chouji and Shikamaru nearly never came back. He’s still as handsome as ever, although there are new hollows beneath his cheekbones and above his brows, and a new scar creeping down his collarbone to disappear into his shirt, and a new and longer hairstyle that does nothing to compliment his thin face.

Maybe it’s the hairstyle that snaps Ino out of her split-second reverie. She drops her hand casually from her own hair to her thigh, barely clad in the lightest of silk lingerie. Shielded from Sasuke’s view, her fingers twist in half a seal before tapping the long stem of one of the embroidered aconite flowers that gird the hem. The cold steel of senbon needles fill her hand, comfortingly. She didn’t expect to use this jutsu, but then, she’s beginning to think she should stop expecting anything at all.

“Sasuke,” she says. She’s a little proud of how her voice stays calm and steady and quiet. She can’t say she hasn’t thought about Sasuke, these past three years and more, but she thinks she can say her thoughts have changed. He’s not Uchiha Sasuke, Academy heartthrob, anymore. He’s not the prize to be won in her rivalry with Sakura, and he’s certainly not the boy she prayed would be on her team.

He’s Uchiha Sasuke, traitor and Sound-nin, and he’s the boy who broke Sakura’s heart, and he’s the reason Shikamaru and Chouji nearly died.

He’s come to kill her target, and she’s damned if she’s going to let him get away with this too.

His dark eyes flicker towards the man in the bed. “Drugged?” he asks in a voice so flat it’s nearly a statement instead of a question.

“Drunk,” she says, a little scornfully. No need to let him know about her special jutsu yet. She’s never tried it without her victim already incapacitated—either by drink or drugs or by Shikamaru’s Shadow Bind—and she’ll need every advantage she can get if she’s going to beat Uchiha Sasuke. She slides the senbon into throwing position between her knuckles and adds, “I’m surprised Orochimaru let his future vessel go on a mission like this. Taking a risk, aren’t you?”

That old contemptuous twist of his lips still makes her heart speed up a little, but this time it’s with anger and only a little excitement. He’s still underestimating her. He’s always underestimated her, and although at thirteen she might have done nearly anything to attract his attention, now at sixteen she’s decades older and centuries wiser. She’s a kunoichi, and underestimation is a kunoichi’s greatest weapon.

“There’s no problem with a mission ‘like this’,” he says, still flat, still disdainful. The flick of a finger, and a kunai glistens in his hand. “Unless you think you can stop me?” He makes the very idea sound laughable.

And so Ino laughs, lightly, easily. “Not stop you, maybe,” she says. One-handed, she folds the papers she’s already selected and then slides them into what little bodice the slinky lingerie affords. She casts one quick glance around the moonlit room. Nothing to be done about the unmistakable signs of her presence, but she’s got the information and the evidence she came for, and by the time the servants find the body they’ll already know that the slender blonde their master took upstairs tonight was more than she appeared.

“I don’t have to stop you,” she tells Sasuke. “I just have to be a little faster than you.”

Senbon glitter in the moonlight. Sasuke flicks his kunai and deflects the two steel needles easily, contemptuously.

But there’s no one and nothing to deflect the third senbon from reaching its target and burying itself deep in the throat of the traitor merchant both of them were sent to kill.

Sasuke stares for a moment at the crimson stain spreading over the white sheets. Then he stares at Ino, and the black wheels of the Sharingan are spinning in his red eyes. But she never lost that moment, and her hands are already twisted into a new seal. “Don’t try it,” she warns. Her voice is a little breathless; excitement and anger and fear have set her heart pumping and her adrenaline racing. He’s Uchiha Sasuke, after all, and whatever else that name has come to mean, it’s never stopped meaning genius.

Ino’s not a genius. But she’s smart and she’s tough and she’s dedicated, and she hasn’t spent these past four years as Shikamaru’s teammate for nothing. “I’ve seen your jutsu,” she says quietly. “And I’ve heard about Orochimaru’s; we all have. Hokage-sama had Anko-san give a lecture to all the chuunin and jounin in the village a few months ago. I know what you can do. And you don’t know me.”

The Sharingan are still spinning. Ino forces herself to meet that crimson gaze. He can’t copy her techniques, not without years of mental training and a special affinity for spiritual techniques. He can’t steal her jutsu, he can’t steal her mission, he can’t do anything to her she’s not prepared, as a kunoichi and as a pig-stubborn Yamanaka, to face.

Except, maybe, give in. The Sharingan’s relentless whirl slows and then stops completely. He blinks, and his eyes are black again. “Fine,” he says, sounding for the first time a little weary. “As long as he’s dead, my mission’s done.”

He straightens and turns to the window. Ino doesn’t drop the seal, but her shoulders slump with the relief she won’t yet let out in a sigh, and she spares a fraction of a second to glance at the door.

She’s forgotten how fast he is. Between one heartbeat and the next his body is pinning hers to the wall, and his breath is hot on her face, and his kunai is kissing her throat. His free hand slips delicately between her breasts and draws out the folded papers. He flicks them open, spares the dark lines of cramped writing a derisive glance, and tosses them back onto the futon. They melt into the tangled sheets and spreading blood. Ino draws a quick, furious breath—and holds it, as the pressure of the kunai sketches a light line of fire across her throat.

“Maybe,” Sasuke whispers into her ear, voice as low as a lover’s, “you don’t know me, either.”

“No?” Ino arches an elegant eyebrow and rearranges one finger in the seal still crushed between their bodies. This close, touching him at nearly every point, there’s no way she can miss. “Maybe,” she echoes him, “we should take some time to change that.”

Not every jutsu name has to be shouted out. It’s a point of pride among most shinobi to announce their techniques, to let their enemies know exactly how and by whom they were defeated; some ninja live and die never knowing that they don’t have to do so. But for a kunoichi undercover, silence is often her best ally. And now, it saves Ino’s life.

Sasuke jerks as the force of her mind energy hits him; fortunately the hand holding the kunai to Ino’s throat spasms backward, not forward, and Ino catches his hand just in time to prevent him from inadvertently blinding himself with the hilt. He’s already sliding bonelessly to the floor, eyes wide and staring and entirely empty, mind lost in the maze of her Mind Prison Technique. She catches him before he hits and hefts his limp weight awkwardly over her shoulders. He’s too thin, she thinks ridiculously, and nearly chokes on a giggle born of sheer nerves. How many times has Chouji said that to her?

Chouji. Shikamaru. Ino’s lips curve up in a delicate smile. “So much,” she whispers to the unconscious young man draped over her shoulders, “for kunoichi being weak. You’re just lucky it wasn’t Sakura.”

She leaves by the window, landing a little heavily on the dusty street below, then fading into the shadows without a sound. In the empty room she left behind, blood and ink run together and blur forever the words of the papers she fought to find.

As a few Konoha shinobi learned long ago, some things are more important than the mission.

Uzumaki Naruto is many things. He’s unorganized, forgetful, and has no manners whatsoever. He’s cocky and trouble making and is powerful enough to make the village elders nervous. He’s not the type of guy you bring home to meet mom and dad for several reasons, the least of which being the demon sealed inside him.

Sure, he’s not that bad once you get to know him, but none of that matters to Ino. It’s not why she comes here. It’s not why the others come here either.

All she cares about at the moment is the way his hot breath pants against her ear as he growls, “I’m gonna fuck you right here like the dirty, little slut you are.”

The way she’s spun around and shoved face down over the arm of the couch, vaguely registering her pants being pulled down just enough as she scrambles to keep her balance and hold on for dear life.

The way he groans, his fingers digging painfully into her hips as he pulls her back to meet his thrusts, making her cry out.

The way his usually loud and obnoxious voice is low and strained as he tells her, “You’re gonna come so hard my neighbors will hear, and you’re gonna say my name when you do.”

It’s the way her insides begin to unravel at his words, she realizes, that keeps her coming back for more.

“Do it,” he rasps as a callused finger finds its way between her legs and presses her like a button. “Tell them what I do to you.”

And so she does.

* state of insanity:

When Ino was still in her first year at the Academy, she met another girl who wasn't pretty and was weak about it and got picked on accordingly. With the subconscious recognition of someone who would be a grateful follower--and the knowledge that she was too cool to be dragged down by the other girl's uncoolness--Ino led Sakura away from where she'd been hiding, let her wash her face and put on a bandage in the bathroom in her parents' store, and made a promise that was easy to keep because it wasn't very important to her. When Sakura showed up at the bench the next day, Ino gave her a ribbon and introduced her to the other girls she knew, and for a couple years they called themselves friends. Sakura had flourished a little when the other kids stopped picking on her, had gotten a little more social grace and ability to speak up in groups, but she always glanced over at Ino to make sure that the other girl agreed with what she was saying; and when Ino didn't, Sakura immediately began weakening her previous statements with opposite arguments until she made herself admit defeat. That's why Ino had been so surprised when, after she told Sakura she liked Sasuke too and had liked him longer, Sakura had hesitated and then for the first time refused to back down. Ino didn't need someone who wasn't going to listen to her; the friendship ended then.

If this sounds like the story of a life, keep reading.


After Sakura was accepted as Tsunade's pupil, Ino didn't see her much. A month before the mid-year chuunin exam, Asuma called team ten together and asked Chouji and Ino if they minded having Sakura take the exam with their team, since Shikamaru wouldn't have been allowed to participate past the forest section anyway. Chouji had looked to Shikamaru, who said he'd be glad not to go through the damn thing pointlessly again, and then to Ino, who silently wondered when Sakura had cut her hair again and said that they could afford to be charitable as long as she didn't slow them down.

Sakura had only raised an eyebrow briefly and said, "Don't worry about it."

Asuma made the three of them train every day and accept missions together, and prodded Shikamaru into joining too when he didn't have separate work, so that they would be cohesive in the second test. They already knew the secret to the first one--and this time Sakura would be willingly helping Ino and Chouji cheat--and the third one didn't involve teamwork, so the second was what Asuma was most concerned with.

"I thought she'd be different," Chouji said once, when they were walking back from practice.

"Huh?" Ino replied, taking another drink of water.

"Sakura," Chouji clarified. "With all that training she's been doing with the Hokage, I thought she'd be . . . I dunno, different."

Ino snorted. "It's Sakura. She's training to be a medicnin, she won't be different unless one of us breaks something. Otherwise it's still all smarts and a little genjutsu."

"She's pulling her moves," Shikamaru replied.

Ino gave him a look. "Hey, I fought her in the last exam, remember? She's not better than me."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and didn't bother arguing.


Ino won her battle in the final exam. She was still making her way through the stadium's passages when Sakura's fight was announced over. It had taken one minute and forty-three seconds.

When Ino arrived at the balcony where all the genin taking the exam were waiting, she looked over the railing to see Sakura healing the Stonenin's broken hands. Part of the circular wall of the stadium was cracked, and the crowds were being shifted elsewhere until the structure was determined steady.

"What the hell?" Ino said.

"Shikamaru was right," Chouji replied

Ino watched as Sakura had the Stonenin test his healed fingers below, and couldn't decide what to say.

When Sakura came up to the balcony, Tenten was making her way down for her own fight. She nodded to the other teenager. "You live up to Tsunade-sama's reputation."

Sakura called back a thank you as Tenten left.

Ino later overheard Asuma tell Kakashi, who'd been absent that day because he was on a mission, that they hadn't bothered with the post-fight conversation with the kages and the jounins. Sakura had displayed intelligence and strength and an absence of bloodlust, and she was the Hokage's student; she made chuunin and then reacted to the announcement not with excitement but with the attitude of someone who had expected to win because she'd refused to fail.

Ino couldn't see their faces from where she was standing, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway--Kakashi's expression was hidden by his mask.


After the exams, Ino saw Sakura less than once every couple of months, and those times they were usually running across each other in public buildings. At first she thought Sakura was ignoring her, but after talking with the other people in their age groups, she realized that the only ones who had seen much of Sakura lately were Hinata and Kiba, and those were because of medical supply deliveries.

Ino was sometimes a little slow to pick up on things, not because she was stupid but because she was self-centered, but eventually she realized that Sakura was leaving her behind in favor of chasing after her expectations of the boys she hadn't seen in two years.

The night after she figured that out, Ino rang the doorbell of the Haruno household for the first time since they were children.


Sakura didn't drop by to see her before leaving on her latest mission; Ino didn't know she was gone until she went by the hospital to get a sprained wrist looked at. She didn't learn that Naruto had come back and left again, taking Sakura with him, until Shikamaru finished the work he'd been doing when Temari had abruptly left and mentioned it in reference to something else.

When Ino asked Asuma what kind of mission they'd been sent on, he'd later replied that the information was classified. Ino found out that Kakashi was gone, too; and she soon learned from Hinata that Neji's team had left as well. If Hinata knew why, she also only said that it was seemed to be classified.


Sakura and Naruto's return to Konoha was dramatic. They brought a sickly-looking-but-recovering Gaara with them, and what seemed like half of Suna's shinobi ate and slept for a night at the Leaf before heading back to the Sand. It didn't take long for stories of battles with Akatsuki and resurrections and an old woman's prophecies to begin, though no one was certain where the stories were coming from because Sakura wasn't a braggart and Naruto fell into odd silences about a lot of the stuff involving Gaara.

Ino watched the two of them laugh at a comment from Neji, over something about Gai and Kakashi, and wondered what had happened to the timid girl who'd always glanced to her for confirmation on her opinions.

Kakashi and Sakura stepped onto the empty grass field.

“So, here’s what we’re going to do for practice today,” Kakashi began. “Bells.”

“Kakashi, you really need to come up with something more original,” Sakura rolled her eyes at him.

“Now hold on a minute, let me finish! This is bells with a twist,” Kakashi smiled at her.

“Bells. With a twist.” Sakura raised an eyebrow at him. “Please don’t tell me that the twist is I’m trying to get the bells alone today instead of with Naruto.”

“No,” Kakashi answered patiently. “Before, you were always trying to get the bells from me, but today you’re going to be on defense with me trying to take them from you. It’s good practice because missions are often more about protecting someone or something rather than waging an attack, unless of course it’s a high rank mission or you’re ANBU, which you aren’t yet. So…” Kakashi threw Sakura a bell, “Let’s see you protect this bell with your life!”

“I gotta admit, Kakashi-sensei, that’s pretty good,” Sakura relented. “But I have to say, I was a little worried there for a second.”

“And to think you were so easy to impress when you were younger.” Kakashi grinned.

“Yes, well, sadly I’m no longer that sweet, innocent little girl anymore.” Sakura replied as she began to slowly step back away from him, getting ready for his attack.

“Hmmm, you sure aren’t…” Kakashi mused, looking her up and down, watching her every move.

“Excuse me?!” Sakura laughed.

“Huh? Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just an old pervert you know?” Kakashi said with a twinkle in his eye.

“Yes you are. How old are you again, Kakashi-sensei? Fifty?” Sakura laughed then quickly turned around and ran away.

“I’m going to get you for that!” Kakashi said chasing after her.

“I thought that was the whole point!” Sakura laughed over her shoulder, then seeing that Kakashi was gaining on her fast, she punched the ground with all her chakra, causing it to erupt and break into a hundred pieces.

“Geez!” Kakashi exclaimed, still amazed at just how strong Sakura had become. He watched Sakura fly up into the trees and he flew up to follow her. Sakura threw kunais and shurikens at him to slow him down, but he easily dodged each one. Deciding it was easier to just confront him, Sakura faced him and threw one punch after another at him, but he was able to duck or fly or pull back just in time. Sakura threw one more punch and this time got so close that Kakashi was forced to disappear in a puff of smoke only to reappear behind her. Kakashi wrapped his arms tightly around her, effectively pinning her arms down to her sides. "Gotcha!" Kakashi breathed warm against her ear as Sakura struggled against his embrace.

Sakura turned her head to face him, her lips a fraction of an inch from his. "Hmm, I don't think so," she replied in the most sultry tone that she could muster and then disappeared in a puff of smoke as well. Kakashi soon found himself hugging a tree trunk instead.

"Damn Substitution Jutsu." Kakashi grumbled as he saw the real Sakura jump onto a nearby tree branch. He flew up to join her in hot pursuit, only to be once again met with several quick punches. Kakashi pulled his head back just in time to avoid a right hook when Sakura tackled him around the waist and the two of them went flying out of the tree. Kakashi landed on the ground first, hard on his back, with Sakura landing on top of him.

“Ow…” Kakashi grimaced.

“You okay?” Sakura looked down at him prepared to go into medic mode.

“Never better,” Kakashi replied and then quickly rolled over on top of Sakura. Angry at herself for putting down her guard, Sakura threw a punch at him, but Kakashi caught her wrist and pinned it to the ground. She tried to punch him again with her other fist, but he caught that, too, pinning it down as well. Using her chakra, Sakura was able to lift her arms up for just a moment, but Kakashi immediately used his own chakra to force them back down again. They breathed hotly into each other's faces, Kakashi smiling triumphantly down at her and Sakura staring fiercely up at him. She needed to get out from under him! She wrapped her legs around Kakashi’s waist and forced them both into a roll. Before Kakashi knew it, Sakura was on top of him, and his arms were the ones pinned to the ground.

“How does it feel to be the one at the bottom?” Sakura smiled down at him. As if in response to her question, Sakura felt a hardness press against the space between her legs. Kakashi watched mortified as Sakura’s playful smile slowly faded and her eyes widened with realization. Kakashi was sure that Sakura was going to get off of him at any second in disgust. Thinking quick, Kakashi forced them both into a roll once more, and then they were back to where they started.

“Sakura, I'm sorry. It’s just a physical reaction, that’s all.” Kakashi said nervously. He could feel his face burning in embarrassment.

“Geez, you really are a perverted old man aren’t you?” Sakura said, but she was smiling up at him. Kakashi's terror immediately melted away and he found himself smiling back down at her instead.

“You know, I'm not that old.” Kakashi said quietly.

"No, I know you're not," Sakura replied and then raised her head up off the ground to softly kiss his mask covered lips. When she parted, Kakashi slowly opened up his eyes, only realizing then that he had closed them. Kakashi looked deep into Sakura's eyes, bewildered, but she just looked back up at him as if waiting for him to make the next move..and he did. Kakashi brought his hands up to his mask and slowly brought it down to his neck. Sakura's eyes wandered from his straight bridged nose, to his thin lips, and then she placed a warm hand gently on each side of his cleanly shaved face. "...And now you've just proved it." Sakura whispered and Kakashi brought his lips down to hers this time. Kissing her with urgency, Kakashi coaxed Sakura to open up her mouth for him and when she did, he immediately dipped his tongue inside. When he found her tongue, he flicked the tip of his tongue against hers and Sakura responded in kind.

Breathless, Kakashi parted from her mouth only to replace his lips hot against the side of her neck. He kissed and licked and sucked her there while his hands wandered up her shirt and fondled her breasts through her bra. Aware of what he was trying to do, Sakura brought her hand to the front of her shirt and undid the zipper, then she arched her back, reached a hand behind her, and undid the clasp of her bra. The bra loosened enough for Kakashi to pull it down, expose Sakura's breast, and wrap his lips around her nipple. The tip of Kakashi's tongue slowly traced circles around the hardened nub before quickly flicking his tongue against it. A smile spread across Kakashi's face as he heard Sakura gasp in surprise. Emboldened, Kakashi moved one hand down between Sakura's legs and caressed his hand hard against the inside of her thigh. When he finally reached the juncture between her legs, he began to unapologetically rub, and grab, and grope her there through her shorts. Sakura's breaths became audibly shorter, to the point of panting. Not able to take it anymore, Kakashi brought both of his hands to the hem of Sakura's shorts and pulled down hard, completely exposing her. His fingertips quickly found her soft, slick folds and he played with them for awhile before plunging those same digits deep inside Sakura. Sakura gave a sigh of relief. It felt good to be finally penetrated, even if it was only his fingers...for now. Slowly, Kakashi pulled his fingers in and out of her, enjoying her heat, her slickness, and her tightness. Then, Kakashi's other hand was at the zipper of his own pants, slowly sliding the zipper down, and then he, too, was exposed. Kakashi reached into his back pocket and took out a condom. He pulled the fingers that were deep inside of Sakura out, placed them in his mouth, and sucked them clean of her essence. Then, he tore the foil off the condom, pinched the tip of the rubber for the semen sure to come later, and rolled the rest of the condom down his shaft. With one hand on her hip, Kakashi aligned his pelvis to Sakura's and with his other hand still around his penis, he guided himself slowly inside of Sakura. His tip parted Sakura's slick folds aside and then proceeded to stretch her from within to accommodate the rest of his thickness and length. The pair groaned at the sensation. Once fully inside, Kakashi began to pump himself slowly in and out of Sakura. Kakashi allowed this slow pace to last only for a few minutes before he was thrusting hard and deep into Sakura with all his might. Sakura clawed at his back and held on tight. It’s gotta be the adrenaline, Sakura thought as she caught Kakashi’s ear in her mouth and gave it a little nip.

“Dammit, Sakura!” Kakashi groaned and thrusted himself deeper inside of her.

Sakura shut her eyes and tilted her head back. “More,” she begged.

Obediently, Kakashi pumped as fast, and as hard, and as deep as he could. Sakura could feel him moving inside of her hard and strong. She could feel herself giving in to the pleasure of the friction, and then...

“YES!!!” Sakura screamed as the inner walls of her vagina clamped down tightly around Kakashi’s penis, squeezing and milking him for all he was worth. In the trees, a flock of birds scattered and took flight in surprise. Kakashi held himself still for a moment, letting Sakura grind against him just a couple of more times until her orgasm subsided and then he was back to busily burying himself deep inside of her. Wanting to help him reach his own climax, Sakura crossed her legs at her ankles, making herself tighter for him. In response, Kakashi groaned and with renewed enthusiasm began to thrust into Sakura even faster than before. Just when Sakura thought she could endure his pounding inside of her no more, Kakashi gave one last, plunging hard thrust, braced himself over Sakura, and groaned as he ejaculated deep inside of her. Kakashi convulsed against Sakura a few more times and then eventually relaxed, but he held his position inside of her, letting his member throb within her. Then, he brought his hand around the rim of his condom and carefully pulled himself out. He collapsed beside Sakura fully spent.

Sakura and Kakashi laid down side by side, holding hands, breathing hard, and staring up at the tree branches.

“I win,” Sakura finally managed to pant.

“I’m sorry?” Kakashi asked, using one of his hands to wipe the sweat off of his face.

“I win,” Sakura repeated. “You never got the bell from me.”

“Oh, you mean this bell?” Kakashi asked, holding up a silver bell sparkling in the sun.

“When did you?…How did you?…” Sakura stammered, her eyes wide.

“When I was pulling off your shorts,” Kakashi smiled mischieviously at her.

“Oh my gosh!” Sakura said, covering her eyes with her hands in disbelief. “Please don’t tell me that all this was just to get the bell!” She said weakly.

Kakashi propped himself up on one elbow and looked down at her. “Well, there's your lesson about sleeping with the enemy." Kakashi saw Sakura's face screw up in misery as the lesson sunk in. "...But, luckily for you," he continued, "In this case it was more the other way around. I used the bell to get to you.” Kakashi smiled and brought his mouth down to softly kiss Sakura on the mouth. When they parted, he could see a sense of relief wash over her.

“Perverted old man!” Sakura laughed.

“Do you really want to start that up again?” Kakashi asked.

“I don’t know. It seemed to go pretty well the first time around don’t you think?” Sakura smirked at him.

“Geez, give me a minute to at least catch my breath!” Kakashi replied.

“Old man.” Sakura teased.

Kakashi shot her a look before full out tickling her.

“Stop! Stop!” Sakura laughed.

“Not until you stop calling me an old man!”

“Never!”

“Have it your way then!”

Sakura’s laughter continued audible throughout the forest, but only the birds were there to hear her…and the soft tinkling of a bell.

The war with sound was long over. Orochimaru was defeated by Naruto, Jiraiya, and Tsunade. Sasuke's body was torn apart from the ritual that the Leaf sneak attack disturbed. In his weakened state, the Snake-nin was no match for their combined power. The leaf rejoiced at the promise of peace for at least a little while. Most of the "Rookie 9" had paired off already. Naruto had come around to seeing Hinata as his most precious person. Her new found confidence she showed after his return quickly brought them together. Shikimaru had finally gotten the courage (and energy) to ask Temari of the Sand out and they have been happy every since. Choji and Ino actually struck it off. His growth over the years had been more up than out and his muscle was finally evenly distributed. Of course, his personality is what drew Ino to him in the first place. Lee, despite his strange tendencies to mirror Gai, got Tenten to date him and she was surprisingly happy about the whole ordeal. That just left two.

Sakura did not take the death (or destruction of) Sasuke as hard as everyone thought. She had confided in Naruto only at the time that she was over the traitor. After the battle, she shared that little tid-bit with everyone and they were glad that she was over her childish crush. She had been taken as Tsunade's apprentice and her "freakish strength" as everyone called it was a great help in the battle.

The last member was of course Kiba. After his initial thought that Hinata would be good for him, he quickly found that her dedication to getting Naruto to acknowledge her was too consuming for him to try to move on her. He had grown into his heritage as an Inuzuka heir. His faithful partner Akemaru also was now full grown and one of the fiercest dogs that had ever graced the Inuzuka Kennel. He had since found a new object for his affection. The pink haired "cherry blossom" of Kanoha.

Their relationship started out simple enough. A random mission together that allowed them to finally get to know one another. They surprisingly had much in common. They became fast friends and could usually be found in each other's company. It was on one such mission that their true feelings for each other came out.

FLAHSBACK

It was raining pretty good out there. One of the seasonal torrential downpours that happened in the fall months. They were at least 2 days travel from Kanoha and that was with ninja speed and chakra boosts. It was more like 5 days walking. Sakura and Kiba were hold up in a cave on the side of a rock wall escaping the elements. A thin stream of smoke was coming out the cave mouth as a fire burned within, heating up some water to make stew. They had supplies and rations sealed away for weeks in case this sort of thing happened.

Their relationship was growing quickly. With Kiba's easy going nature along with his new maturity helping him out and Sakura's new found ability to loosen up of course.

"Sakura?" Kiba asked across the fire. He was waiting for the water to boil before throwing in the chopped up rabbit they had caught earlier.

"Yeah Kiba, what's up? She returned smiling at him as she laid out their soaked clothes. It was still warm for fall so they were both in shorts and t-shirts to be comfortable near the fire.

"How long do you think this one will last?" He said smiling softly to her. He found himself doing that more and more when he looked at her. It tended to bring out a slight reddening of her cheeks whenever she saw him do it and that just made him do it more.

"Not sure, could be days this time." She said looking outside the cave to the storm that still showed no signs of letting up. She was trying to fight the blush that rose to her face whenever Kiba would smile at her. Her idle thoughts and dreams had been about the Inuzuka for a couple of weeks now.

She had initially thought that Naruto would be the one she would be dreaming about and seeing in her thoughts but that wasn't the case. Kiba had grown on her quickly as they grew older. His caring attitude and humorous behavior often had her considering odd things about him. She started noticing how well he had filled out over the years and also how much he had matured from his loud mouthed younger self. He was calm and generous to a fault. He was also strong enough to take on certain missions with just himself and Akemaru. Of course it helped that she loved dogs too but that was mainly for Akemaru.

Part of her wondered if his thoughts were along the same lines.

Sakura had no way of knowing that was exactly what Kiba was thinking, except concerning how beautiful Sakura had become and how her now more easy going personality made her more...approachable. He was glad that he got the chance to know her better, he was just wondering if maybe they could ever be more than just friends.

"Well its not like we don't have enough food." Kiba smiled. "We sealed enough to feed an army for a week."

"True, glad we thought ahead for the rain season though." Sakura smiled back and settled next to him after laying the last of the clothes out. Their routine scout/survey mission was nothing terribly important so they were content staying inside out of the rain if they could help it. They had become increasingly comfortable in each others presence even as far as giving each other friendly hugs and touches. Often times on missions together, they would sleep next to each other for warmth and security.

What they hadn't shared with each other yet was the fact that these nightly sleeps would usually invoke certain dreams in both minds that would leave them slightly...wanting when they awoke. Of course, Kiba had smelled the first time Sakura woke up wet next to him and it nearly drove him mad. Her scent was intoxicating to say the least. It took every ounce of control that he had not to rut with her right there. Rut would have been the right word if it were to have happened. He wouldn't have been worried about being gentle or anything, just driven by lust and hormones. Luckily, he had been training to overcome his baser urges but it was still a trying task.

As the night progressed, they ate their dinner and talked more about random topics. Naruto and Hinata's upcoming wedding was a big one they discussed. As they Maid of Honor and the Best Man, they were going to have their hands full with duties they needed to fulfill. They noticed that Akemaru had curled up in the corner of the cave away from the heat of the fire to keep himself mildly cool in the warm cave. However both Kiba and Sakura found that a slight breeze would pass by and send chills up and down their bodies.

Soon it was time to turn in. They extinguished the fire and began to prepare the cave for sleep. Sakura set up early warning seals near the entrance with some weapon traps that would seriously wound any incoming ninja. Kiba had unfolded both sleeping bags and laid one flat and readied the other to be used as a blanket.

As they both got comfortable beneath the sleeping bag/blanket, Sakura used Kiba's shoulder as a pillow and curled up next to him. This was not uncommon during their missions but it made Kiba's mind run away with naught thoughts a lot. Apparently it did the same for Sakura as well as the sweet smell of her arousal drifted its way to Kiba's sensitive nose. He decided to speak up and ask what was going on with her.

"Sakura?" He started tentatively.

"Yeah." She responded moving her head to gaze up at his face.

"I want to ask you something, but it is really personal so feel free to smack me if it's too much ok?" He said looking down into her eyes.

"You can ask me whatever you want, you know that." She stated firmly while letting one arm drape across his stomach.

Kiba inhaled deeply as he summoned all his courage to ask this question.

"I've noticed that, lately, you tend to get...aroused when we sleep like this. I'd just like to know what you are thinking about." Kiba asked looking down at her.

Sakura tensed but immediately went calm again. She really couldn't deny what his senses were telling him. She felt that he deserved the truth, even if he couldn't return those feelings for her they would still be friends.

"Well, to be honest, my body figured it out before my mind did. Well, my rational mind anyway. I'm really attracted to you, and sleeping with your or touching you like this gets me turned on rather easily." She confessed, looking straight into his eyes to convince him of the truth.

"Really?" He asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

"Yes really." She stated and started to scoot away from him a little. "I'm sorry if that disturbs you, I can move away so I doesn't bother you."

He quickly wrapped both arms around her and dragged her on top of his chest. They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like forever.

"And who said that I have a problem with it?" He asked in a voice much deeper and softer than she had ever heard before. It sent a tingle down her spine which settled in her stomach. Needless to say, it didn't help her current state much.

"Well I know how sensitive your nose is and if offend..." Sakura started but was cut off. Kiba had put his nose to her neck and inhaled deeply. She shuddered and suppressed a moan when he nuzzled her sensitive neck.

"Oh your scent doesn't offend me Sakura." He stated softly. "It does however, do other things to me." He said and rolled his hips up into hers for proof. His hard dick pressed against her soaking center and she couldn't stop the moan from escaping her lips.

"Kiba.." She moaned as her hips instinctively pushed back against his throbbing dick.

"Sakura." He whispered while running his hands through her hair. He leaned up and kissed her gently on the lips, trying to judger her reaction. When she started kissing him back, he increased his hold on her. Their mouths opened and both their tongues darted into the other to press and rub against each other. She moaned into his mouth as her hands fisted into his hair. It was so soft and smooth contrary to its disheveled appearance.

The kiss continued for a few more minutes until Sakura couldn't take having the bag over them as the heat between them increased. She tossed it aside and sat up straddling his hips. She rolled hers experimentally and got another groan from Kiba for her efforts. She reached up and drug her shirt from her body and tossed it to the side. Her breast sprang free in front of him and Kiba immediately sat up and wrapped his arms around her. His mouth was on her breasts in a heartbeat.

The electric shock that went down her spine was enough to cause Sakura to throw her head back and moan. She reflexively rolled her hips again and found the same response through his full mouth. She continue to grip his head while he sucked and nipped at her full breasts. His rough tongue darting over the nipples making them impossibly hard against her skin. He lavished attention on both breasts as she continue to mew at his efforts. Kiba quickly spun her around and laid her down on the bag. He gently pulled at her shorts and she helped get them off so she was laying naked before him.

He could only stare at her beauty as she laid in front of him. He took one long leg and started to kiss and lick his way back up it to her burning center. Her juices were actively leaking from her aroused pussy as he continue his trek northward. As he came to her lips, he licked firmly up them to illicit another moan from her pink lips. Kiba then took two fingers, spread them apart, and began to lick and her with a ravenous hunger that could only be satisfied by her.

Her hips launched themselves off the bag as he pushed them back down so he could control the angle. He slowly inserted the two fingers into her as she moan his name loudly into the cave. He glanced over and noticed that Akemaru was still turned away from them. Kiba knew he was awake; he owed him big for the privacy. He continued his menstruations until he could feel her getting close. His tongue made its way up to her clit as both fingers pressed into her as deep as they could. Her resultant orgasm and screams would be something he would remember for all time.

"Sakura, did you like that?" Kiba asked, knowing full well what the answer was.

"God yes that was amazing. I want more. Now." She said desperately as she pulled his shirt over his head. He quickly kicked his pants to the corner and pressed between her legs. She opened them wide for him to settle between as she hooked both ankles behind his lower back.

"Know this Sakura-chan..." Kiba began as he pressed himself against her soaking pussy. "If we do this, its won't be just for tonight. My feelings run much to deep for this to be the only time I'm with you."

"My thoughts exactly Kiba-kun, now hurry up." Sakura demanded through half closed eyes, happy that her feelings were being reflected in his thoughts.

"I'll be gentle." He said while nuzzling her ear. He breathed softly into it and gently licked the lobe as he pressed into her. He tight pussy was slick with her orgasm which eased his entry considerably. She felt him get closer to the proof of her innocence (well virginity anyway) and he paused.

"I love you, Sakura." He said softly, looking into her eyes.

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed him soundly and pulled back enough to speak.

"I love you too, Kiba." Her voice thick with emotion as he continued his push into her center. His dick stretched her deliciously as he came into contact with her barrier. With one solid push, he broke through and fully seated himself inside her. The momentary jerk at the mild tearing sensation was all he received as he waited for her to adjust to him. After a minute she moved her hips and found a spark of pleasure shooting through her at the friction his dick was causing inside her. She breathed deeply as she told him to move.

Kiba could feel how tight she was around him. He was focusing on not cumming just yet. He wanted to make her first time special, and that was what he was going to do. As he moved in and out of her, he couldn't help but catch the scent of their combined arousals. It was pushing him harder, egging him on to go faster and harder. He restrained, waiting for Sakura to give him the word.

She moaned and bucked beneath him. His dick buried deep inside her and hitting certain spots every time he thrust back in. He just wasn't going fast enough.

"Faster" Sakura breathed as she tried to force him in with her legs. He was happy to comply and Kiba picked up the pace. His thrusts now harder and faster as a thin sheen of sweat arouse on their bodies. Their lips locked again as they continued to explore their new love for the other. Kiba felt her body coming close to the end and he wouldn't last much longer either.

In one quick movement, he unsheathed himself from her and flipped her onto her stomach. Grabbing her hips he brought them into the air and spread her knees apart. Before she could ask what he was doing, he slid back into her, sinking deeper than before and finally hitting the stop that marked her cervix. She cried out as her orgasm ripped through her with a tremendous force. His name reverberated off the walls of the cave as she continued to spasm around him.

Kiba continued to pound into her from behind as her pussy tried to milk his dick for all its worth. He noticed that she hadn't stopped yet and that increased his drive 10 fold. He gripped her hips firmly and drove as deep as he could over and over again. Sakura was sure she would find herself horse in the morning, but she didn't care. It felt too damn good to care.

Finally, her gripping pussy was too much for him and he came deep inside her with a resounding growl. They both collapsed forward onto the sleeping bag and cuddled to one another. Kiba quickly replaced the blanket over them and settled his arms around Sakura.

"I love you my Cherry Blossom." He said, running his fingers through her hair.

"I love you my puppy." Sakura said giggling into his chest. He chuckled at her new pet name for him.

"Yes I am." He stated happily as they both drifted off to sleep.

End Flashback

That's where they found themselves today. Their own wedding almost a year after that initial, revealing night. They exchanged their vows and promised themselves to each other for all time. Everyone in attendance cheered loudly when they kissed. They made their get away quickly to get to their suite for the night. They would be leaving tomorrow for their honeymoon to the coast. Tonight, however, they were going to reaffirm their love for each other by reenacting the night they got together. Just with no cave, Akemaru, or sleeping bags. Bent over in the shower seemed like a nice compromise to Sakura though.

Sakura has had this recurring fantasy. She has often dreamed of having a romantic relationship with her former sensei, Hitake Kakashi. Well, not so much a romantic relationship as an all out, hardcore, sexual encounter. Her wet dreams were getting worse and worse. Kakashi was her ideal guy, after she got over Sasuke that is. He was intelligent, strong, and had an indifferent streak that annoyed her to now end...but that also endeared her to him even more. Sakura couldn't take the dreams anymore. She had to know if there was a chance for them to be reality. Tonight would be the night.

She had been working this idea for weeks. She was sure she had all the kinks worked out. Kakashi was told to go to the Hokage's office at 6 that night. Sakura would be "working late" in an outfit that boggled the principals of science. It was one of her old kimono tops and a pair of tight spandex shorts underneath. No bra was going to be the kicker. The kimono barely wrapped around her chest anymore. It pushed her cleavage to almost rival that of Tsunade. 'We'll see if sensei's perverted mind runs away with that.' She smiled to herself.

She was working in the office, moving around boxes of signed paperwork to be distributed tomorrow around the village. She heard the tell tale sounds of a window being opened and a stiff intake of breath. She was bending over with her head turned to the side. The window was directly in front of her. Her breasts were about to fall out of her top. She could feel his eyes burning into her and it started to get her wet. She had his attention. Sakura looked up and appeared shocked to see Kakashi sitting there.

"Kakashi, you startled me." She said holding her hand over her heart. That only provided a chance to rub a hand over her nipples, instantly hardening them. Kakashi's visible eye widened slightly but kept eye contact.

"Sakura." He said giving his standard salute and a small smile underneath his mask. "Is the Hokage around, I was told to report here at 6."

"She stepped out not too long ago, would you like to sit and wait. I've still got some stuff to do so I'll keep you company." She said with a thousand watt smile. Kakashi noticeably gulped as she stood up quickly, her breasts swaying with the movement. He could feel himself stiffening.

'This is your former student.' He chided himself. 'But damn does she look hot.'

Kakashi walked slowly into the room and sat down in a chair against the wall. He watched Sakura continue to lift boxes and move paperwork around the office. He saw how tight her outfit was and how her shorts molded to her firm ass. When she bent over, he couldn't see any panty lines. That only further awoke his hardening dick. He had thought about her sometimes to fuel his fantasies, but this was more than even he could think off.

Sakura felt that he had been teased enough. With a seemingly innocent trip over a chord, she fell forward into Kakashi's lap. Cheesy...yeah. Effective...oh hell yeah. As she face planted into his crotch, she felt his hard member beneath his pants. Just the reaction she wanted.

Kakashi sat there and waited for her to move. He didn't dare in fear of giving away his arousal. However, when she went to get up, she sensually rubbed her palm up his ever hardening dick. She paused in her rise and looked into his eye that was wide in shock.

"Kakashi-sensi," She purred. "What is this?" Her eyes were wide and innocent. Oh the little girl routine was her pride and joy. Judging by his eye burning into hers, she had him.

Kakashi heard her soft voice and felt her hot hand on his dick. Covered by his pants yes, but that didn't diminish the heat from it in the slightest. He stared into her green eyes.

"Sakura, what..." He didn't get a chance to finish. She squeezed his dick in her hand and kneeled in front of him. Her eyes were still wide and innocent.

"I want to know what this is Kakashi-sensei." She said as she rubbed up and down his dick. By her feel, she estimated 9-10 inches. 'Nice.' She thought.

"You know...” He was cut off again by another firm grip.

"I want to hear you tell me what it is sensei." She said licking her lips.

He groaned as she leaned forward providing a gorgeous view and rubbed him harder.

"My... dick." He gasped out.

"Really, sensei? It feels so hard and long." She whispered while leaning forward more and pressing her breasts against his legs.

"Yes." He nearly moaned out.

With one hand, she quickly undid his pants and slid his zipper down. His dick sprung free of its restraint and into her waiting hand. She stared at it. Sakura could barely wrap her hand around it. 'Damn, way better than the fantasy.'

She gave him a few experimental strokes and licked the tip. Kakashi was so overwhelmed with the situation that he nearly came on the spot. Some deep breaths and he was back in control, of his ejaculation that is.

Sakura slowed her ministrations and looked up.

"Don't you want to get comfortable?" She asked.

"You set this up, didn't you?" Kakashi asked as calmly as he could.

"You’re a smart one, hence why I wanted to get you alone." Sakura said softly. "If you don't want to continue, walk away now." The last part was hinted with her disappointment if he were to pull away.

Kakashi was many things, but stupid wasn't one of them. A beautiful willing woman had him in hand and asked him if he wanted to leave. He wanted to laugh.

"I've been dreaming about this too long to walk away from you Sakura-chan." He said while raising her face to look into her eyes. She smiled at his words.

"I want to see your face." She said and reached up with her free hand slowly. She put her finger into his mask and pulled it slowly down. He made no effort to stop her. The mask fell to his neck and she got a chance to see his handsome face. Why he hid it was beyond her. Maybe he didn't want fan girls.

"That's better." She said as she took his length into her mouth. She sucked gently at first, only taking a little into her mouth. Then she started taking him deeper and deeper. She got most of the way down and could feel him pushing at the back of her throat. She hummed as she sucked and he visibly tensed. His hands shot to her hair and gently held her head in place. She turned her eyes to him and smiled around his dick, now wet with her saliva.

"God that feels good." Kakashi moaned as he ran his fingers through her soft hair. She took back to her duties with more enthusiasm after she heard that and sucked harder. She grazed her teeth lightly on the upstroke and that was enough to set him off. His orgasm hit hard and she put as much of his dick in her mouth as possible. She swallowed rapidly to get all his cum down her throat. The squirts finally subsided and she licked his cock clean. As she let it go and turned to face him, she licked her lips and swallowed again.

"Tasty." She smiled. Kakashi's admiration was short lived as he leapt off the couch and tore her kimono open. Her breasts fell free and he instantly put his mouth to one of her nipples. He took as much of her 38Cs in as he could while gently rubbing the other with his hand. Her back arched her chest into him for better access and she let out a throaty moan.

"Oooohhhhh...yes." Sakura hissed as she felt his hands and mouth on her body. Her shorts had to be soaked by now and she could feel her wetness dripping down her thigh. His free hand took that opportunity to check for himself. His hand dipped down and pressed itself firmly against her womanhood.

Kakashi grinned as he felt how wet she was. His hand was already soaked and he hadn't even touched her much yet.

"You're so wet, Sakura-chan." He said against her breast. She moaned again at his talk. He smiled wider. "How long have you wanted this?"

"Too damn long." She gasped out, not caring anymore. She wanted him badly and she was going to have him. She was lying on the couch where he was before and his mouth and hand kept her from thinking. His hand pulled on her waistband and she lifted her hips. He peeled the spandex from her body and let it drop to the floor with a wet sound. His hand traveled back up her leg and nestled on her soaking pussy. He split the lips with his middle finger and pressed firmly down on her.

Sakura's back arched off the couch at his touch. She was on fire, every nerve in her body was exploding all at once and she wanted more...she needed more.

"Sensei." She moaned as her hands wrapped in his hair. She pulled his face from her breast and kissed him soundly. He returned with equal passion as his slid his middle finger into her hot opening. She gasped into his mouth and started to gyrate her hips as he slid in a second finger. Her juices were pouring out of her and she could feel her climax rapidly approaching. With a flick of his thumb on her clit, she came...loud and hard.

"SENSEI!" She screamed into the empty office as her orgasm raged through her body. After a blissful few seconds, her body went limp as Kakashi gently worked her down. As her breathing caught up with her, she noticed his mouth on her pussy. He was licking any trace of her wetness away. It didn't help that she was getting more turned on seeing his white hair bob up and down between her legs.

"I need you now." She managed between breaths as he looked up at her. He tugged off his vest and shirt and picked her up. He sat back down on the couch and placed her on his lap facing him. She pushed herself up on her knees and pulled his hard dick in line with her pussy. Sakura took one last look in his eye before she slowly pushed herself down onto him. She descended for what seemed like forever until finally their hips rested against each other. She couldn't' believe that she got the whole of that monster into her. She felt deliciously full and stretched. Her juices already spilling from her and onto the couch.

Kakashi rested his hands on her hips and slowly began to move her up and down. His dick slid easily in and out of her tight hole. She was gripping him like there was no tomorrow.

"Faster." She rested her hands on his shoulders for leverage as she began to work her hips back and forth. She started to rise off him and push down harder to feel him hit the top of her cavity. 'Damn, no one's hit that deep before.' She thought happily, as the shocks of pleasure ran through her.

Their pace quickly increased to a sprint as they moved together as if they practiced this every day. God, she hoped this would continue. She hadn't had it this good and she wanted to experience more of this. Their breathing quickly became labored as they raced for the finish line. They both opened their eyes, feeling the impending approach and leaned forward. The passionate kiss they shared carried a silent promise that this was definitely not the last time. Both bodies convulsed simultaneously as their orgasms hit. Kakashi sprayed her womb with his cum as she dug her nails into his shoulders and screamed his name.

Kakashi leaned back to make Sakura more comfortable as she collapsed onto his chest. Her breathing slowly came back to normal as she wrapped her arms around his neck. They shared a couple of tender kisses and finally she spoke.

"Thank you, Kakashi. I've wanted to do that for so long now." She spoke softly to him. His hands were rubbing her back and making her feel very womanly.

"As have I, Sakura. I can't wait to do it again." He smiled and kissed her on top of her head. She smiled as she snuggled to his chest, exhaustion claiming her.

The next few days saw Kakashi and Sakura feeling out the finer points of their new relationship. Alone was no problem at all, they just weren't sure how the village would react, not that they cared. To their surprise, most of the village had been waiting for this to happen. They were all happy and congratulated the new couple any chance they got. Hell, thanks to Sakura, Kakashi started being on time and was never seen with an Itcha Itcha book again. Naruto had been the one to surprise her the most when the next time she saw him after the rendezvous he had asked had her plan gone well.

"How did you know about that?" She asked accusingly, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I haven't been spying on you if that's what your insinuating." He calmly said to her. "I just noticed how taken you were with him and then when I heard about his 'meeting' I put it all together. You're lucky that he didn't know Nee-chan was having dinner with Hinata and me that night."

Sakura had the decency to blush. Naruto had changed so much in the years she known him. Hell, if it wasn't for he and Hinata getting married, she would have pursued him as a love interest. She was happy she had Kakashi though; all was right in her world. Then a wicked thought came to her, powered by a scene she had caught while throwing out the Itcha Itcha books.

'I wonder if Hinata would be into a group project.' She smiled wickedly and decided to talk to the Hyuuga heiress first chance she got.

The silver haired ANBU stood behind Sakura with one arm across her chest, his other hand reaching for Sakura’s which was gripped tightly around a kunai. He gently pried her hand open and the kunai fell clinking to the stone floor. He brought his face down close to her cheek and breathed her in. God, she smelled good! Then, with a feather-light touch, he traced the curve of her neck and shoulder with his fingertips. Sakura closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. She could feel herself falling into a lull, surrendering to him. At that moment, he knew he had her. The ANBU lifted the cat mask to the top of his head and pulled the mask covering his nose and mouth down to his neck. Sakura felt his warm lips on her neck, kissing her softly. Sakura bent her head to the side to give him easier access.

“Kakashi!” Sakura breathed.

Kakashi’s hand ventured slowly from her shoulder, to her front, gently over each curve of her breasts, down over her flat stomach, and began to rub the spot between her legs. Sakura tilted her head back against him and lost herself in the sensation. Wanting to feel her without barrier, Kakashi slipped his hand under the hem of Sakura’s shorts and panties. He could feel her heat, her softness, her wetness. Kakashi dipped his fingers into Sakura, then moved up her slit, spreading the wetness to her clit. The hard nub became slippery and Kakashi was able to rub circles easily over it. Over and over he dipped his fingers inside of her and rubbed circles over her clit, rubbing faster and faster each time. Sakura could feel the heat intensify where Kakashi was rubbing her. She could feel it intensify within the inner walls of her vagina. She could feel herself getting wetter. The heat burned all the way down to her feet. Sakura's breaths became shorter and shorter and her head tilted further back against Kakashi. Then, she was completely and utterly lost in pleasure. Only when she had come back down did Sakura and Kakashi realize that they had both stopped breathing.

Kakashi brought his hands up to the hem of Sakura’s shorts and pulled them down, bringing her panties down along with them.

“Bend over for me,” he asked and Sakura obediently bent over the interrogation desk in front of her. She caught their compromising position in the reflection of the mirror across from them and wondered if someone was watching, but she couldn’t sense any chakras nearby. Instead, she found herself staring at Kakashi’s reflection as he stood behind her and pulled his pants and boxers down to the ground. She watched as he rolled a condom onto his erection, took himself in his hand, and guided himself to her entrance. Sakura felt the tip as it touched her opening. She felt the thickness slowly stretch and fill her. Inch by inch she felt Kakashi slide further inside of her until she felt him hit a wall and could go no further. Sakura winced. Kakashi groaned. Kakashi slowly pulled himself out, then quickly rammed himself back in. This time Sakura groaned in pleasure with him. Again and again, Kakashi pulled himself out, then slammed himself back in, faster and faster each time until his motions became just a blur. Sakura held on tightly to the edge of the desk and tried to endure it. When she felt like she could take no more, she felt the inner walls of her vagina clamp tightly down on Kakashi’s penis. Sakura quickly reached behind her, grabbed Kakashi’s buttocks, and forced him to stop moving. All she wanted was to feel him as deep as possible inside of her so that she could just ride the waves that were overtaking her. She thrusted against Kakashi just a few more times, then collapsed exhausted on the table. Kakashi gave her just a minute to rest and then began to move in and out of her once more.

Kakashi shut his eyes, becoming aware of nothing but the tightness surrounding him, squeezing him, milking him. He needed more! As fast as he was pumping before, he pumped twice as fast now. Sakura was squeezing him so much tighter, so much faster, and it felt so good! Kakashi could feel himself climaxing and he rammed as hard and as deep into Sakura as he could. He felt an overwhelming sense of pleasure as he felt himself release inside of her. Kakashi gave a few last futile thrusts, then collapsed onto Sakura. Together the pair panted, hot and sweaty from their lovemaking. Then Kakashi pushed himself up, held the condom at its rim, and carefully pulled himself out. Sakura pushed herself off the table as well and stood in front of Kakashi, looking up at him. Kakashi tilted her chin up with his hand and kissed her deeply in the mouth. As they parted, Kakashi gave her one last long look. Sakura watched as he pulled his pants back up, pulled the mask back over his nose and mouth, and the cat mask back over his face, and he quietly exited the room, closing the door softly behind him. Sakura stared at the door for a couple of more minutes, then pulled her shorts back up and walked to the mirror. She looked at her reflection, her pink hair mussed up and her clothes wrinkled. She straightened herself up the best she could then she, too, walked silently to the door, took one last look around, and closed the door softly behind her.

This must be what domestic bliss must feel like or the closest thing I’ll ever get to it, thought Kakashi as he raised his eyes a few inches above his “Icha, Icha” book and stole a glance at the pink-haired kuniochi sitting casually at his windowsill, drinking a mug of steaming hot chocolate, watching the rain outside his window on this lazy Sunday afternoon.

Sakura had grown accustomed to wearing his long-sleeved, navy blue Jounin shirts as one of her nightshirts and Sakura now sat before him, her petite frame swimming in one of those shirts, having never bothered to change into anything else when they woke up around noon exhausted and bleary-eyed from a night full of lovemaking. It didn’t matter, it wasn’t like they had any place to go today. Kakashi himself had remained bare-chested and naked except for the pair of Jounin pants he now wore.

Kakashi’s eyes roamed up one of Sakura’s bare ankles, up her smooth leg and thigh, to the sliver of bare buttock just barely showing beneath the Jounin shirt. Kakashi swallowed hard, now just remembering how he had torn Sakura’s only other parcel of clothing, her panties, off her legs the night before in his haste to penetrate himself as deep and as quickly as possible inside of her. Kakashi’s face became hot as he felt an undeniable twitch in his pants. Sakura caught his gaze and Kakashi smiled weakly at her. Sakura smiled back, but she knew that look in his eyes. After weeks…no months…of having relinquished her own bed at her parents house to take up Kakashi’s own, she knew what that desire-hungry look in his eyes meant.

“You’re insatiable, you know that?” Sakura laughed as she carefully put her mug of hot chocolate down on the windowsill, jumped off, and made her way back to the bed where Kakashi was sitting, his back up against the wall. “Is it something in that book of yours?” Sakura asked, shaking her head at Kakashi.

“No, I was just looking at you and remembering last night,” Kakashi murmured as he took Sakura’s hands in his and helped her sit on his lap facing him, her legs straddling his hips. Sakura slowly lowered her head and Kakashi met her halfway, their mouths connecting in a long, passionate kiss full of tongue and lip nipping. Kakashi ran his hands up and down Sakura’s slim sides, grinding his hardness between her legs through the fabric of his pants. He wanted her, no needed her, to feel how much he desired her.

As their kisses intensified, so did the throbbing in Kakashi’s crotch. Kakashi thought to himself that this wouldn’t do. He brought his hands to the hem of his pants and pulled them down far enough to expose himself. Then, Sakura obligingly lifted herself up to align herself to him and in an achingly slow pace, impaled herself onto his erection. Once she had him inside of her up to the hilt, Sakura embraced herself against Kakashi’s chest, rested her head on his shoulder, and they both gave a mutual groan of relief. Nowadays, they had since stopped using condoms with Sakura on birth control, and they had found it convenient seeing how Kakashi seemed to want Sakura at any random moment, no matter the place or the time.

Kakashi placed his hands on Sakura’s hips and lifted her up off of him, just enough so that all that remained inside of her was his tip, then he pushed her hips down hard upon him, filling her completely again, and again the pair moaned. Kakashi caught Sakura’s eye and for a moment he felt confused as he saw a mischievous smile spread across her face, but then Kakashi felt Sakura swirl her hips against him, letting him touch every inch of her from within, and Kakashi’s eyes rolled back in his head in pleasure.

Slowly and steadily their pace increased until soon their movements were nothing but a blur of slapping bodies as their bodies crashed into each other over and over where they were joined. Kakashi glanced into Sakura’s eyes once more and knew that she was close. Her eyes were shut tight, focused on nothing else but her impending climax. Then, Kakashi watched breathless as Sakura arched her back, tilted her head all the way back, and impaled herself upon him hard and strong one last time. Kakashi held his hips still as Sakura rode the waves that consumed her, her inner muscles clutching and contracting around his member. Then, Sakura fell forward against him, exhausted, panting, and sweaty. Kakashi laid soft kisses on Sakura’s forehead, each of her closed eyelids, and the corner of her soft mouth, then he began to slowly pump himself inside of her once more.

His hands on her hips, Kakashi raised and lowered Sakura’s tightness around him over and over, unaware of the quickening pace in which he was doing so. And then, Kakashi felt himself tense up, all the way down to his balls, and he was releasing himself deep inside of Sakura, relief and pleasure overtaking him as he felt his hot fluids rapidly flow out of him and saturate Sakura’s burning hot core instead. Then he, too, fell limply against the wall.

Kakashi and Sakura breathed heavily in each others faces, their foreheads touching, and when their heart rates had returned to a somewhat normal pace, Kakashi slowly pulled themselves down onto the bed, laying face to face on their sides, their bodies still connected and throbbing in and around each other. Kakashi gave Sakura one last smile and she did the same for him before their eyelids dropped close and they fell asleep in each others arms on this lazy, rainy Sunday afternoon.

Hinata shivered and pulled her shawl tighter around the shoulders of her nightdress, warding off the early morning chill as she stood on her porch, watching the pale light of dawn lighten the dark sky. The colors of sunrise slowly bled across it, fading into the brightness of the day as the sun made its way over the horizon, beginning to warm the earth and finally allowing the blue of the sky to show through. The chirping of pre-dawn birds and insects grew to a steady song, bees buzzed around the trees and flowers in bloom, and a gentle breeze rustled the leaves and the tall grass, carrying with it the scent of fresh country air. It looked like it would be a lovely spring day.

She shivered again, a fine layer of goosebumps spreading across her skin, though this time it was not from cold. It was days like these that the dull ache of melancholic longing grew painful with nostalgia; with memories of her husband.

It was on a day like this that she had met Sasuke.


Oh, when the day is blue
I'll sit here wondering about you



It had been a warm day in mid spring when Hinata first learned of her intended husband. She hadn’t been surprised by the fact her hand had been promised in an arranged marriage without her knowledge, after all it was a long-standing part of her family’s heritage. She’d had the finest tutors and intensive lessons in order to become the perfect example of a lady of Hyuuga breeding, knowing all along it was her fate to be married off to the finest suitor her breeding would garner.

Nevertheless, knowing abstractly and being faced with the realization that she was now promised to someone were two very different things, and Hinata found herself awaiting the arrival of her future husband with a strange mixture of intense anxiety and nervous anticipation. Not only because of the fact she would soon be meeting the man she was expected to spend her life with, but because of who that man was.

Sasuke Uchiha; aristocrat, youngest son of the noble military family Uchiha, and most eligible bachelor in the country. Every eligible lady, many ineligible by class, and even those already married, had dreams of someday claiming the Uchiha in one way or another. Be it his heart, his body, or his fortune. However, Hinata was the exception. She’d never met him personally, though she’d been to a few of the same social events his family attended when she was younger; Sasuke always seemed to make himself scarce at those events, and Hinata was always shy and not one to wander from the comfort zone of her parents or nursemaid, so she’d never even seen a glimpse of him. Despite this, stories of the youngest Uchiha were prevalent, especially in the aristocratic circles to which Hinata’s family belonged. It was common knowledge that, as handsome and well-bred as Sasuke was, he was equally as cold and untouchable, especially when it came to matters of the heart.

Perhaps it was naïve of her, especially considering her place in her family and society, but Hinata had always been a tenderhearted romantic. Though she’d known all her life she would someday be married off by her family, she had hoped she would be allowed the time to get to know her fiancé, and possibly have a romance and fall in love with him. To have him love and cherish her in return, as she’d never been by her family, who always favored her younger sister over her. However, knowing Sasuke’s reputation, Hinata knew her dream of a fairy tale romance was just that—a dream. Especially since she was to be married by month’s end.

So she found herself tightly wound with a tense energy as the day of his arrival later that week grew ever closer, and, unable to figure out what to do with herself, Hinata often found herself gazing out over the horizon as if he would appear at any moment. Finally, the day came that, as she was once again watching and waiting, a horse-drawn carriage broke the monotony of the empty road below the blue sky. It drew ever closer, finally stopping in front of the veranda where she stood off to the side. The coach stopped, and the footman opened the door, allowing a young man to step out.

Her unease increased at the sight of him, her stomach clenching and filling with anxious butterflies as she realized her intended had finally arrived. Quivering with nerves and knowing she was nowhere near presentable in her plain day dress, and not wanting to disappoint either her father or her future husband, Hinata fled into the house to her rooms; hoping to make her escape before he could catch sight of her, not noticing the onyx eyes following her retreat.

Her reprieve did not last long. No sooner had she freshened up and changed into more formal attire, suitable to meeting her intended, than she was called down for tea with her parents and their ‘guest’.

Her nerves refused to settle as she walked into the parlor and caught a glimpse of his profile before quickly averting her eyes as she made her way to her seat by her father. Despite her nerves, though, her eyes grew curious and their gaze often swept to the man sitting not far from her, dressed immaculately in his shiny black shoes and dark blue dress uniform bearing the insignia of his rank of Lieutenant. Not yet bold enough to look him in the eyes, her gaze would flicker up from the floor, taking in small details of his dress and body language, and flitting back down to the floor before reaching his face. She hadn’t even realized the conversation around her had continued without her attentions, so it was a surprise to her when the shoes beneath her gaze began to move forward, and suddenly there was a hand being offered to her. Looking up curiously, her breath caught as she finally saw him truly for the first time.

The tales and gossip could not possibly have done him justice, she realized, as she stared up into the deep, dark eyes set in the pale, handsome face framed by long dark hair, slightly ruffled in the back, so black it appeared blue in some light. He was lovely—nay—beautiful even; despite his definite masculinity, she felt her own feminine features could never compare to the beauty of him, and blushed with the realization of how plain she must seem to him.

Of course, having grown up with great insecurities about her supposed inadequacies in poise and appearance, often pointed out by her father or her tutors, Hinata had no idea how truly beautiful she was. She couldn’t have known how her shy, downcast gaze only increased his curiosity and determination to catch her eye; how he found the genuine blush dusting her cheeks endearing, unlike other women who seemed to have trained themselves to blush in an effort to appear innocent and modest when in fact they were anything but; how he found the unique, pale lavender of her eyes fascinating and the contrast of her long, dark lashes made her eyes even more alluring. How her shapely womanly figure, accented as it was by the violet, tightly corseted dress, was just as lovely in the simple lilac dress and white lace shawl he’d glimpsed her in earlier.

How, all those years ago at the parties they’d attended as children, before he went off to military school and she to finishing school, he’d watched her from the sidelines and the shadows; always curious about the shy girl with dark hair and pale eyes. The one who never gossiped with the other girls; who timidly held onto her nursemaid’s apron, but bravely answered the adults that spoke to her; never jealous of the spotlight given to her younger, seemingly more talented sister; instead happy to quietly share in the praise of Hanabi as she would often perform on the grand piano or sing to an accompaniment after elaborate stately dinners. The girl who, once when the guests had left the ballroom to discuss politics over coffee, had played a slow but hauntingly breathtaking melody on the recently vacated piano, unaware of the boy listening with rapt attention from behind the door he’d cracked slightly ajar.

She couldn’t have known how Sasuke couldn’t help but puzzle over his and Hinata’s contrast in attitude, despite their similar situations of poor favor compared to their siblings within their families; couldn’t help but grow more and more intrigued every time he’d seen her, wondering at how sweet her disposition was compared to the air of cold yet haughty indifference he surrounded himself with in an attempt to both protect himself and emulate his brother in order to garner some of the favor bestowed upon Itachi. How, though he’d spent many years of his life and schooling conditioning himself and hardening his heart to such things, the curiosity he’d held for her as a child returned full force when he learned his parents had arranged for his marriage to her.

She couldn’t have known these things, for he made no show of his inner thoughts or feelings, his face remaining studiously blank as he offered his hand, inviting her for a walk in the afternoon sun. Though she trembled slightly under the intense, seemingly cold glare he held her in, she pulled up her courage and accepted his hand. Once she was standing, though, he took back his hand and placed it and its partner in his pants pockets; something that seemed, to Hinata, a bit more informal than his dress or station should probably call for. Nevertheless, it didn’t bother her. After all, she wasn’t sure if she was ready to handle having his hand or arm in constant contact with hers; she may not make it through their walk together due to passing out from nerves!

With a chaperone following a short distance behind, the two made their way outside to tour the estate; seemingly taking a leisurely stroll, though they were both a bit too tense for that label to be applied properly. As Hinata found herself stuttering too much to keep up her attempts at small talk or light conversation—something she’d often had trouble with as a child, but after much tutelage mostly only plagued her in stressful situations—and Sasuke didn’t seem very inclined to talk either, Hinata soon found that she had steered them through the gardens and into the orchard in an unconscious attempt to find her comfort zone. As a child she would often walk amongst the trees—her favorites being the beautiful magnolia trees of which she loved to watch the flower buds blossom, mature, and grow heavy with pollen. Just as they were now.

Seeing this made her pause under one of the trees, smiling up at the flowered boughs with sudden nostalgia.

Realizing she had stopped somewhere behind him, Sasuke turned back to join her, stopping by her side and looking up at the tree with curiosity, wondering what had caught her attention. It seemed to be an ordinary tree; he could find nothing of particular interest about it. Yet he couldn’t help but notice the sudden calm that seemed to overcome Hinata, just by smiling up into the gently rustling branches. Deciding there was no harm in indulging her in this, especially if it made her less jittery, Sasuke decided to wait quietly by her side, watching her watch the tree.


And how the pollen fell
All around your face in strange yellow patterns



A sudden breeze blew the fringe of her bangs across her face, and Hinata turned, gently pulling away the stray hairs that had stuck to her lashes. The action brought her attention back to her companion, giving a start when she saw how closely he was standing to her, having almost forgotten he was with her. Her eyes immediately shot upwards, worried of his reaction to her wistful inattention, and she gasped as she found in his dark eyes—not anger or even irritation as she’d expected—but an open, almost curious expression that deepened the natural blush she’d already earned on her cheeks from the small exertion of their walk.

Why was he staring at her so?

She’d almost gotten up the will to voice her question when another breeze came, and she watched in utter fascination as Sasuke’s eyes looked up to the blossoms above them, the pollen stirring up in some sort of small dance in the wind, then falling down slightly before the wind picked them back up in another variation of the dance. As the wind died back down, light traces of orange-yellow pollen dusted Sasuke’s hair, the shoulders of his uniform, and—Hinata noticed—the tips of his nose and eyelashes.

Without a first, let alone a second, thought, Hinata reached up to lightly brush the pollen from Sasuke’s nose. She didn’t realize what she’d done until her fingers had already slid from his nose, across his smooth-shaven cheek, to the dark fall of his long bangs framing his face. Then her hand stuttered, hesitating, and she pulled it away quickly, cradling it at her chest with her other hand as if she’d been burned, her gaze quickly dropping back down before she could see the sneer that would certainly be on his face from such a bold action.

Instead of reprimanding her, however, his own hand came forward, hesitating inches away from touching her. The action brought her attention upwards once again, and her eyes widened as she watched his eyes set on her face with a strange look of curiosity and determination in the black depths. Seeming to come to a decision, his hand continued its movement and Hinata felt a thrill go through her—similar to her usual nervousness, yet at the same time wholly different—as Sasuke’s hand mimicked her former action and smoothed a finger over her nose. Then his hand cupped her face gently, his thumb rubbing over one cheek and then the other tentatively, collecting the pollen on the pad of his finger before pulling away and looking at it thoughtfully as he rubbed his thumb and forefinger together.

Mere seconds were spent in seeming contemplation, before Sasuke silently returned his hand to his pocket and turned to continue on their path, the expectation for Hinata to follow being quite clear without him needing to say a word. She stood still, watching him with slightly widened eyes, two small, pale fingers lightly stroking the tingling skin of her blushing cheek where he had touched moments before. Confused over his actions, but feeling inexplicably warmer about the situation, Hinata couldn’t help the small smile forming on her lips as she finally moved her feet and walked after him.

When they returned to the manor, Hinata was ushered off by her mother, sister and their attendant, to be made ready for supper. Sasuke, in turn, was beckoned to another room by her father and cousin to have a drink and further discuss the terms and agreement of their engagement and impending marriage.

Their courtship was short, as they were set to wed in just a few weeks time. Sasuke was invited to stay in the guest house of the manor until then, however as he had business to attend to in town, and the manor was a good hour’s journey outside of town, he opted to stay in his family’s large townhouse within the city—one of many they owned in several cities (along with the main Uchiha Estate that sat sprawling on the edge of town)—the deed of which would be signed into Sasuke’s name upon his and Hinata’s marriage.

So Hinata’s days were once again spent in nervous anticipation and contemplation of the future set for her, walking the gardens, strolling the orchard, or gazing out from the veranda—during the times she wasn’t being whisked off for dress fittings or last minute lessons on proper poise for a lady, and what was expected of her before, during and after the marriage. All the other wedding arrangements were being taken care of by her mother and father and the person they had hired to coordinate the whole ordeal; in theory, Hinata would have liked to at least have some say in these decisions—such as cake flavors, designs, and floral arrangements—but with the current state she was in, she wondered if she would be in the right frame of mind to be making such seemingly frivolous decisions in the scheme of things anyway.

In the late afternoons or early evenings, Sasuke would arrive from town by carriage, occasionally even riding in on horseback. They would spend the time before supper together, usually retracing Hinata’s steps from earlier in the day through the gardens and the orchard, or else sitting in the parlor over tea. Conversation was still often difficult, both of them being more prone to keep silent rather than chatter on. However, attempts at small talk were made, neither yet daring to broach deeper topics such as their families or their future together. And when they merely sat or walked in silence, it became increasingly more comfortable, rather than awkward, and they grew to enjoy each other’s company.

So when the time finally came for them to make their vows, though both were still nervous about the prospect of marriage to someone they’d barely just met (not that Sasuke would ever admit to his own distress), neither could find any reason to protest the union. They made their vows just as their parents had planned, and were soon beginning their new life together in the house Sasuke’s parents gifted them within the city.


But, I wasn't prepared for this
Oh, no, I wasn't prepared for this



Days passed and turned to weeks, then months. The time they spent alone together increased, broken up only by Sasuke’s family or military duties within the city, and the social and political parties that seemed to be required with their station in society. As they grew more familiar with each other, conversation came easier between them. Hinata opened up to Sasuke about her fears and dreams and, slowly, hesitantly but surely, Sasuke did the same.

Hinata had always dreamed of a romantic love; the kind of fairy tale where she and her husband would become so wrapped up in each other that the world around them would fall away, leaving just the two of them. She dreamed of being a mother; of teaching her children to appreciate the simple joys in life, and loving all of them equally and endlessly the way she never had been. Sasuke had spent most of his life trying not to dream, instead driving himself to and past his limits, striving to be the perfect son like his brother Itachi. Hinata knew, without Sasuke having to say it or even fully realizing it himself, that his dream was to be loved as well. And, Hinata also came to realize, she did love him.

Sasuke knew that Hinata enjoyed walking through gardens, smelling and admiring the flowers, but she much preferred the flowering trees in her family’s orchards. Trees, once they lost the beautiful blossoms, would often have fruit to show for it. And even if they did not, they would still be there standing strong and providing homes to birds and animals; shade to those walking amongst them and admiring them. Beautiful and practical—something Sasuke himself could also appreciate, and did every time he took Hinata back to her parents’ orchards for a visit.

Hinata understood why Sasuke never said ‘I love you’, why he never felt the need to kiss her for no reason, or shower her with praise and affection. He hadn’t been raised to show affection, had never given or received frivolous kisses, had not been cuddled since he was a toddler holding his mother’s apron strings—and even those times had been rare. Hinata knew these things, and did not feel bitter. After all, if Sasuke did not kiss frivolously, he truly meant every kiss he did give her. And even if he never told her he loved her, even if she could never be sure he felt for her as deeply as she felt for him, Hinata could tell he cared for her. In the way he gave her his complete attention when they were alone. In the way he gently stroked her hair when she left it down. In the tender way he made love to her, always making sure she was taken care of as well as him—even that first time, when she had been a blushing virgin and so nervous it was painful, yet he had taken his time with her and had been so patient and careful, slowly teaching her body to relax until she began to grow accustomed to him and soon found herself participating fully. In the way he would often hold her afterwards, and even in the nights when they would only sleep, her body neatly tucked against his, her hands pressed to his chest or gripping his bicep or shoulder as his arms wrapped around her.

Sasuke was not romantic in the fairy tale sense. He did not have bouts of spontaneous shows of affection or outrageous showering of gifts. He was a military man first and foremost, and everything he did had purpose. Even those blasted aristocratic parties, which he knew even Hinata loathed just as much as he did (if the sweet, softspoken woman could ever be described as loathing something, which he very much doubted, but he could so he would stick with that), had purpose in maintaining the elitism of his family’s name and honor, and the social and political ties that came with it.

No, Sasuke wasn’t romantic, but he had developed a deep affection for Hinata. Love, even, though he surely was not one to ever pronounce such things aloud. Instead, he showed his love with every meaningful action he took regarding his wife and their life together. He knew Hinata understood; how could anyone miss the adoring devotion in her eyes, the way her already soft look would soften even further while at the same time deepening their lavender hue every time he would hold her or touch his lips to hers. The way she smiled at him so sweetly, blushing shyly when he asked why she never played the piano in public. The way her eyes lit up when he uncovered them, presenting her with the piano he’d had delivered to their parlor, asking her to please play for him. The way she had breathlessly said yes, and proceeded to do so, and nearly every night thereafter—only for him.

Towards the end of winter, Sasuke was promoted to Captain and transferred to a new base in a small rural village. Neither he nor Hinata much minded the change, as they were more than happy to leave behind the stuff and nonsense of aristocratic city life. Of course, they would also be leaving behind the conveniences such an atmosphere included, but they felt they could live with some sacrifices with the promise of a peaceful home life.

When the thaw set in, Sasuke procured a lovely country house for them and brought Hinata with him once all the moving arrangements were made. It was barely early spring, and a rare dry day, when they stopped in the village settled a few days away from their former township; Sasuke arranged to take an open carriage from there, so Hinata could better enjoy the view and the fresh, country air. As she caught sight of the landscape, Hinata was again reminded of her love for him. She smiled softly, almost with a sweet sort of nostalgia, an open, yet at the same time secret, smile. Sasuke had given her a small orchard of magnolias.

Sasuke knew again that he loved her when he found himself smiling in a similar fashion, once again watching her watch the trees. They were not in bloom yet, of course, but the young couple looked forward to the day they would once again stand together under those blossoms.

That day did not come. The next week, civil unrest at the country’s borders grew into a small-scale war, and orders were sent for Captain Sasuke Uchiha’s service to his country. One month before their first anniversary, Sasuke kissed Hinata goodbye for the first time ever, and Hinata wept silent tears as she wished for his safe return home.


When the morning came
The bees flew down and
Wrapped themselves around me



The trees budded and blossomed. The blossoms fell, leaving behind fruit. Hinata wrote to Sasuke, sending him her love and news from home; telling him she missed him. Sasuke wrote back, thanking her for the letters and letting her know he was well; telling her, without telling her, that he felt the same. Telling her he would come home to her soon.

Winter came, and the trees, animals, and earth hibernated. Hinata continued writing to Sasuke, but his replies grew scarce and altogether stopped. She kept writing, refusing to believe the worst. Surely, if something had happened, she would be told. Surely the Captain’s wife would be given such important information.

Spring came again, and so did the blossoms. Still no word had come, and Hinata found herself full of anxiety wondering what had become of her husband. Standing alone in the tall grass beneath her trees one morning, her only companions the bees buzzing through the orchard and garden flowers, Hinata felt as if she were the only person in the world. It was such a lonely feeling, even for someone who had spent much of her life this way; or, perhaps, especially for that someone.


And that's when I spoke the word
To have them trace your face for me in pollen



Hinata closed her eyes and imagined she could hear Sasuke’s soft, deep voice on the wind, calling her, and she whispered his name back in answer. Hinata slowly opened her eyes and the breeze kicked up the pollen as it was wont to do, a flurry of little yellow particles from the trees and flowers and grasses. For a split second, she was certain Sasuke was right beside her, and her hand instinctively reached up to brush the pollen from his face…

…a face that was not there. She blinked. Merely the pollen, and the bees, happily buzzing around the garden orchard. Her hand dropped back to her side, and she returned to her empty house.


But, I wasn't prepared for this
Oh, no, I wasn't prepared for this



Boys were brought back by the wagon load; soldiers based out of the village and beyond, who had survived the heat of battle by their skins. Hinata took a crash course with the Red Cross ladies and joined the other women in nursing the injured, caring for the invalids, each day dreading what she would see; the carnage of war-torn bodies; the decay of death. Hardly able to stand the mixture of hope and terror that filled her every time a new shipment of soldiers came in, wishing for news of Sasuke but scared to death to find him among the dead, still Hinata pressed on. Both her parents and her in-laws had attempted to convince her to move back with them until Sasuke returned, to return to her privileged life in a manor, with servants and gates, away from the gruesome effects of the war, but Hinata refused, determined to do her part just as her husband was.


Come, come back to me, my, my darling
Come, come back to me, my, my darling



During the day she would care and pray for her patients; the sick, injured, and dead. At night, she would pray for Sasuke’s safe return. Rumors spread of the war ending soon, the rebels sure to be overtaken and the troops due to come back victorious. Still no news had come of Sasuke or his company, and all Hinata could do was wait and hope, throwing herself into her Red Cross work in the sudden onslaught of casualties.


I wasn't prepared for this
Oh, no, I wasn't prepared for this



Time went on, seasons changed and changed again. Gradually, shipments of soldiers trickled down, until finally there were no longer any incoming. The dead were tallied and sent back to their families to be buried. The injured were patched up and sent home or to proper hospitals, depending on the degree of their injury. Hinata was no longer needed and was sent home, once again waiting day by day for her husband to come back to her.

With nothing to busy herself with, Hinata returned to her old pattern of walking the orchard and gazing worriedly out at the horizon.


When the day is blue
I'll sit here wondering about you



Which is just what she was doing now, standing there on the veranda, waiting, watching for a sign. Official word that the war had ended, that they’d been victorious, had come over a month ago, nearly two years after war had officially been declared. Still no official word on Sasuke had been given, though, and Hinata found herself wondering, worrying that he may never return to her.

Had he been injured? Had he been killed? Had he found someone better—someone he could truly love—while he was away so long? She had spent enough time around the returning soldiers to know the measures some men would take to defeat the lonely nights; not that most of them would speak of such things in front of a lady, but she certainly was not deaf, and now she was just that much less naïve as well.

Shaking her head at herself for doubting her husband, Hinata suddenly noticed a dark shape on the horizon, slowly coming down the long lane leading to her house. Squinting at it, she watched as it came closer and closer, slowly taking the shape of a horse and rider, moving ever forward with a tired gait. Her treasured trees blocked her view for several minutes as the horse drew to that part of the road, and she moved down her steps a bit, anxiously waiting for it to reappear.

When it did, a gasp broke through her lips as she was able to recognize the rider. Leaping over the last two steps, Hinata moved towards the trees with long strides, quickly throwing her patience out the window as she broke into a run, unmindful of her bare feet or state of dress. She neither noticed nor cared that her shawl had dropped from her shoulders at the bottom step, or that the dew from the night past dampened the skirt of her white night dress as she ran through the tall grass. Tears welled and sprung from her eyes, blurring her vision, but it didn’t matter. She knew these trees like the back of her hand, and she would not stumble. Nothing would keep her from him.

When he saw her running towards him—her white dress and creamy skin amongst all the greens of the grass and the trees seeming to shine like a beacon to him in the early morning—his heart swelled with a nearly forgotten feeling. He’d dreamed of this day for so long, he’d started to think it would never come. But now it finally had. He was home, and his sweet, young wife was running for him. After making her wait so long, he hardly felt he deserved such enthusiasm, even if the circumstances were unavoidable.

He drew his horse as close as he could to the orchard without being struck by low branches, then dismounted, careful not to jar his left arm too much. He had been shot and had his shoulder dislocated as well, but the field medic had been able to dig out the bullet and patch him up nicely. It was still tender and healing, though, so he had it in a sling.

Once he was on the ground, he ran to her, meeting her at almost halfway beneath the canopy of blossomed magnolias. His good arm wrapped around her and he pulled her to him, burying his nose in her free-flowing long hair, filling his lungs with the fresh scent of her to replace the smell of gunpowder, smoke, blood, and death that had filled them for so long. This was his home—she was his home—how he had missed it.

He pulled back from her, not letting her go but enough to see her face, and saw her tears and her smile. His heart simultaneously clenched and warmed at the sight. He had had to harden his heart during the war, falling back into his role as a soldier and leaving no mercy for the enemy. At times, when he’d become so numb from the every day act of killing that he no longer felt even a twinge of remorse, he wondered if he had actually died. Other times, he wondered if he would become some kind of demon and start to actually enjoy it instead. He was certain thoughts of Hinata and her letters were the only thing that kept him sane out there in the nights after battle.

It had become harder when things escalated to the point of post being unsafe to make it through the war zone, and he’d had to resort to reading her old letters whenever he had the chance—to the point that they were now split and crumbling at the folds. Then he would dream of her, often waking with the stray thought that she may never have been real to begin with, and there was no one waiting for him. Still, he never strayed from her. Whether she be real or a dream, he knew nothing and no one else would compare; besides, he did not need the distractions when his focus should be the war.

When everything was finally over, and the border had once again been secured, Sasuke had been released for home with his company. He was supposed to return with them to the base, allowing time for news of their completed task and well being to reach their village and loved ones before their arrival, and then be welcomed back as heroes in a victory march. Sasuke had not had the patience for that, though, and had ridden his horse practically to its limits, stopping only when absolutely necessary for food and rest, in order to make it home as quickly as possible. He would have plenty of time later to report to the base before his troop returned.

Now that the feeling in his heart was coming back, and he could allow it, he felt relief flood him. He was still alive; he was still human; his wife was real and still loved him. He was home, with her, and holding her in his arm beneath the blooming magnolias.

Gently, he wiped her tears away while unconsciously mirroring her relieved, loving smile.

“You came back,” she said simply, softly.

“I told you I would,” he answered in return.

Her eyes welled again as she bit her lip to stop her sob and nodded, holding onto him tightly.

A gust of wind kicked up a flurry of pollen all around them, dusting them with the yellow specks. Hinata reached up to wipe a bit off his nose and slightly stubbly cheeks, and Sasuke mirrored her, smiling with warm nostalgia as she paused and blinked from his action, the pollen from her lashes falling to rest on her flushed cheeks. His hand was now cupping her face, and he slowly slid it back to run through her hair. She closed her eyes and gave a soft sigh, and as her lips parted, he brought his hand back up to cradle her head and met her mouth with his.

They poured themselves into this kiss; everything they had ever said; never said; not been able to say. Everything from one year of marriage together and two years of forced separation. Their wants, their needs, their worries, their faithfulness, their longing. Their love. And the world fell away, leaving just the two of them; at least for that moment.

She had never expected it in her marriage to him, but somewhere along the way Hinata knew she had fallen in love with Sasuke. And now, as he kissed her for all he was worth, she knew he had done the same.

Sakura was the only one in the hallway when the young medic came rushing out of Kiba’s room, slamming the door behind as her face was flushed a deep red and her mouth twisted in a grimace. She glanced up and down the hallway, and brightened in relief when she saw Sakura and hurried to her side.

“Oh, Haruna-sama, Inuzuka-san, he, he, oooh!” The color of the medic’s face deepened even further until Sakura thought the young girl was going to spontaneously combust.

Sakura sighed and tucked her clipboard under her arms. “Is Kiba being difficult again?” she asked knowingly. Ever since his sister and mother had delivered him to the hospital, Kiba had been more than just difficult; he was deliberately obnoxious, insulting, rough, and uncooperative when it came to his care. Tsunade had tried explaining to the staff it was because he and Akamaru were separated since Hana had isolated Akamaru for the care he needed and that Kiba’s own pain was making his temper even shorter. Although Kiba was responsible for his own actions and words, the staff should always bear in mind that his nature of wounds and separation anxiety required everyone to be patient with him.

Sakura, just returning from a week’s vacation from a hot springs resort yesterday and just beginning work at the hospital little less than an hour ago, had only heard the tail-ends of complaints the night staff had of Kiba.

“That man, he is simply the worst-!”

Sakura motioned for the medic to hush, since a raised voice would disturb the other patients in their rooms. “I’ll take care of him,” she said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“But-"

“What?” Sakura blinked innocently. “You want to keep him?”

“Absolutely not!”

“Fine then. Here.” Sakura handed the medic the clipboard. “This is Denari-san’s blood work. I’ll trade him for Kiba.”

The medic looked like she wanted to say something, but instead nodded her head and turned her attention to the report. Sakura managed not to sigh in irritation as she walked down to Kiba’s room. She stopped beside the door and reached up to the locked cabinet that contained the medical records, supplies, and medicine that was required for his care. She deftly unlocked it with the key that hang jangling from her wrist, pulled down the door that doubled up as a table top, and opened his files.

She skimmed over his personal information (Huh, I didn’t know he was allergic to wasp stings…) and flipped through the pages until she found the reason for being inside the hospital. Kiba’s mission had been to obtain records from a warehouse that manufactured goods of a suspicious nature. A byproduct of the goods was a powerful acid that enemies had flung at him and Akamaru while they were escaping. Exposure to the acid’s fumes had seared the inside of his and Akamaru’s lungs – which explained why Hana was caring for Akamaru – but Kiba’s hands had also been liberally splashed with the acid and… oh. Oh dear.

Sakura covered her mouth in shock when she read the description of how the acid had literally melted the skin off his hands and his arms as far up to his elbows, with even muscles, nerves, and tendons sustaining damage. His arms were currently encased within clear bags filled with a tonic of healing nutrients and anesthesia as the lab grew skin grafts that would have be surgically grafted onto his arms when his flesh had recovered enough.

But he was unable to use his arms until the bags came off, and the nature of his injuries made it very difficult to use IVs and therefore manage his pain through a morphine pump. This, and also being forbidden to leave the hospital, would make anyone cranky. Especially someone as normally aggressive as Kiba. She didn’t bother to look at the case notes when a simple glance over them told her they were mostly documented complaints regarding Kiba’s behavior.

Sakura sighed as she locked up his cabinet. It was too early for his medications and breakfast wouldn’t be served for at least another hour. Maybe she could calm him down; being a somewhat casual friend and occasional teammate, the familiarity of her might prove to be helpful.

Still, she braced herself before she placed her hand on the door handle and then swung it open.

His room was dark, the lamp beside his bed having been smashed against the wall some time during the night and the shades drawn against the faint twilight lingering outside. Kiba was seated on the edge of his bed, his back towards her and his shoulders slumped. As Sakura closed the door behind her, he growled. She stopped upright at the sound, her eyes widening.

Growling was normal for an Inuzuka – she had just never heard Kiba growl at her like a wolf that was about to tear the throat of its prey. Then she steeled herself against it. He was just short tempered… “Good morning, Kiba.”

The growl turned into a vicious snarl.

Sakura planted her hands on her hips. “Kiba, if I have to roll up a newspaper and swat you with it…”

He whipped his upper body around, the liquids inside the bags enclosed around his arms clear up to his shoulders sloshing loudly. She took an unexpected step back at the feral light in his narrowed eyes, so clear and dangerous across the room even in the dark. “I can smell you,” he snarled in a gravely voice, his vocal cords still not recovered from breathing in acidic fumes. Sakura blinked, dumbfounded. “What the hell you want, bitch?”

Must not strike invalids must not strike invalids… Sakura gritted her teeth. “I’ll be your main care provider for my shifts.”

He shifted on the bed, the look in his eyes unchanging. “Where the hell have you been these past three days?”

“On vacation.” Sakura began walking towards him. “Which I’m probably going to need to do again when you’ve been discharged.” She stopped in front him. “We need to-"

“Shower,” Kiba said, standing upright. She caught his shoulders as he suddenly swayed forward. “Haven’t had one since the first day I came here and the only reason it was even a shower is because the fuckin’ bitch overturned my water pitcher over my head! The head on top of my shoulders, that is.”

“Who did that?” Sakura demanded in outrage. Then, because this was Kiba, “Not that you probably didn’t deserve it…”

Kiba looked down at Sakura as a grin spread across his face. “Sakura, I can smell you.” Then, to illustrate his point, he leaned against her body, buried his nose in her hair, and took a deep breath. “I can smell the pheromones of every single woman on this floor. And when one of them comes in and starts to check the pulse in my thigh first thing in the morning, what do you think she’s going to see when she tosses back my hospital gown?”

Sakura brazenly looked down. “Let me guess,” she said dryly. “A boner?”

“And here I don’t have my hands in proper working order. I don’t even have to die to be in hell!”

“So what did you do – proposition her? You may not have been notified of this, but we are not required to give you sexual relief when you’re in the hospital.”

Kiba growled low in his throat, but it didn’t have the dangerous note from earlier, “All I said was that I wanted a cold shower, so the bitch went and overturned the pitcher on my head and stormed out. “I can put up with pain. I can deal with a low-state of arousal. I’m not masochistic, so it’s incredibly off-setting to have to deal with both like this. Plus, I stink, and that’s really bad to my senses, and I want a shower and you’re going to help because I can’t do dick about my hands. Fuck delicate sensibilities or I’m going to streak through the hospital until I find Tsunade and demand a hand job from her as payment for putting up with her fucking-lousy staff!”

Sakura snorted unexpectedly in laughter. “Tsunade-sama would probably pound you senseless for such a thing.”

“It would give me relief, right? I’ll take just about anything at this point.”

Sakura sighed. “Fine. I’ll help you with a shower.”

She helped him across the room, the pain and medications making him light-headed and dizzy. “I ain’t going to fall,” he muttered stubbornly as he leaned heavily against her.


“It’s either the shower or a bed bath,” Sakura replied. “And since your bedding needs changing, I’ll signal one of the housekeeping staff to do that while we’re washing you up.” Once she had him seated in the little shower stall within the bathroom, she quickly flagged down one of the housekeepers. She grabbed a few fluffy white towels from the housekeeper’s cart and a bar of soup before returning to Kiba’s side. He was kicking the side of the shower out of boredom, which woke up the patient in the other room.

“Stop being obnoxious,” Sakura snapped impatiently as she checked how secure the bags were fastened at his shoulders. He didn’t say anything, so she glanced down and realized he was peering openly at where her scrub top gaped open. She slid a hand through his hair, tightened it into a fist, and pulled his head up to meet her eyes. “What are you looking at?” she demanded darkly.

He leered. “Anatomy. This is a hospital, isn’t it?”

She released his hair. “You’re incorrigible,” she muttered as she began to unlace his gown across his shoulders.

He leaned forward and nuzzled his face against her breasts.

“Kiba! Are you cruising for a bruising?”

“Nuh uh,” he muttered against her flesh, his lips brushing against her sternum before grazing the cursing swell of her breasts up either side before meeting her bra.

Sakura glared down at him, her spine ramrod straight and stiff as a tree. “The next time you want a shower,” she warned, “I’m going to bribe your mother into doing it.”

He pulled away from her chest and glanced up at her with a decidedly disturbing gleam in his eyes. “Hey, my mother wouldn’t have a problem with a boner; in fact, she’d probably-"

“I don’t want to hear it!”

“-at the very least she’d bring one of the dogs and-"

“I said I don’t want to hear it!” Sakura flicked the water on and Kiba jumped up with a squeak, the top of his head clipping her chin as he pressed against the opposite side of the jet stream.

“That’s cold!” he declared, glaring at her with a pained expression.

She smiled sweetly at him as she turned the water off. “But, Kiba-san, I thought you wanted a cold shower.”

“That’s cruel and inhumane treatment!” he snapped.

Sakura laughed as she reached up and began to undue the ties on his hospital gown. “You deserved that.”

“What I deserve is a medal for putting up with this place.” He looked so unhappy and miserable – Sakura thought for a moment that he was going to break down in tears and cry on her, and that she didn’t want to see a grown shinobi weep.

“Fine. If not your mother, then Ochi.” Kiba’s misery didn’t fade as she pulled his gown off, glancing detachedly at his body and making mental notes of the faded bruises from his fights in the warehouse, the open sores on his check and stomach where small droplets of acid had struck him, the hard erection... Oh. Well, it certainly wasn’t the largest she had ever seen by any means, because erections weren’t an unusual thing to come across in a hospital when your common patient happens to be a young male ninja who is being treated by a pretty female medic. But it was an impressive cherry-red color, which probably meant he had been enduring it for a while.
He sat down on the seat as Sakura swiftly removed the gown from the bathroom and tossed it onto the bed, her nose wrinkling at the sweaty stench. If I can smell it, it must be an almost unbearable stench for him.

She took the detachable showerhead off and aimed it away from Kiba. She turned the water on and began to fiddle with the temperatures, checking the water with the inside of her wrist so it wouldn’t scald his skin any further than the acid already had.

After watching her for a moment, Kiba nuzzled his head against her arm and breast. Like a dog, she realized with breathtaking clarity. He looked up at her with a grateful smile. “Thanks,” he said honestly.

She smiled back. “Just remember what being kind does,” she said. “I’m only doing this for you because I know you, Inuzuka Kiba. The others don’t have that understanding, so you can’t treat them the same way you treat me.”

He looked at her blankly for a moment, and then directly stared at her cleavage. “Right,” he said with a suggestive note in his voice before burying his face against her breasts again. She sighed in irritation, but went back to adjusting the water. The tension that made his shoulders so stiff seemed to ease then, and relaxed even further when she finally directed the hot water against them.

She fiddled with one of the latches on the wall and then stuck the showerhead in it. The jet stream stayed aimed at Kiba’s shoulder, although the water bounced off his flesh and splashed against her. She could feel it soaking into her uniform and knew that she was going to be drenched when this was all said and done. Oh well. She didn’t mind walking around in wet shoes; nope, not at all.

But she couldn’t exactly get Kiba to hold the showerhead, now could she?

Sakura lathered up a wash cloth with a bar of soup and ran it over his shoulders, carefully avoiding the bags that covered his arms. He sighed and lightly nipped the swell of her breast that was becoming more prominent as her top became more wet. “What was that for?” she asked as she pushed his head back with one hand, leaving soup suds in his hair and across his forehead.

“I can’t help it if I feel like a puppy being bathed by my mother,” Kiba muttered. Sakura paused, the washcloth pressed against his sternum.

“What?”

Kiba sighed. “I want to cuddle with you, Sakura. And I don’t know if it’s because I feel like I’m being mothered, or because of the arousal.”

She gritted her teeth and went back to washing his chest, carefully skimming over the sores. “That will have to be taken care of, too, I see.”

He squirmed as the washcloth swept over his abdomen. “Oh, please?” he asked eagerly.

She glared at him, and he raised one innocent eyebrow. “Hey, if I could do it myself I certainly wouldn’t be asking anyone.” He raised his bagged arms to cement his point. Sakura sighed.

“Point,” she muttered. Then she squatted down to reach his feet. She carefully washed between each toe, swirled the washcloth around his ankles, and worked her way up his calves. She carefully kept her gaze below his knees. But when she was done washing his lower legs, she draped the washcloth across one muscular thigh, and propped her elbow on his knee. Then she leaned forward and wrapped her soupy hand around his erection.

His entire body jerked and went tense.

“I’ve never done anything like this before,” Sakura said, sticking her tongue out between her teeth as she frowned in concentration. The skin was surprisingly soft and silky, a strange contrast with the hardness of his erection. She glanced up at him, taken back by the suddenly intense expression on his face, the way his lips parted and his eyes narrowed. “So, uh, let me know if I’m doing something wrong.”

That dangerous, feral gleam was back in his eyes. She felt like a snow-white lamb that had been tied to a stake and offered to the bloodthirsty wolf.

She wondered if it was too late to run for safety.

She also had a vision of Kiba chasing after her, naked and dripping wet in the hallway.

Won’t that be a terribly awkward thing to explain to Tsunade? (She also had a vision of Kiba boldly standing in front of Tsunade just then, gesturing with his bagged hands as he calmly explained to Tsunade about how unaccommodating her hospital was. And Tsunade would either beat him to death or laugh or both. And no one would ever live that one down. No one.)

“Believe me,” he whispered with a low growl, bending his spine until his forehead pressed against her own, “there aren’t too many ways you can mess this up. As long as you don’t use that monstrous strength of yours…”

She squeezed him lightly, a warning that it was best not to insult the person who quite literally had you by the balls. (Well, not yet, she amended in her mind as his eyes squeezed shut and he blew a breath of air across her face. And after the shower, we will brush your teeth.) Thinking back on all the things she heard people say and literature she read, she slid her hand up and down the shaft, the foreskin sliding with her hand. Kiba sighed again. His bagged arms came up and clasped around her shoulders, the liquids squishing and sloshing around. She could feel the back of her scrub top becoming wet. Luckily, she kept a spare change in her locker so she would just have to change after she dumped him into bed.

“Thank you,” Kiba muttered against her ear, his lips skimming the shell of it before his hot tongue snaked out and licked it.

Sakura was surprised at the bolt of heat that shot through her torso, at the sudden flush of arousal that made her want to squirm. Her hand faltered in its movement and Kiba chuckled. “You smell good,” he growled. He snagged her ear lobe and sucked the pearl stud.

“I’m only doing this because I like you,” Sakura snapped. Then she flushed a deep red as he chuckled again. “That came out wrong,” she muttered darkly.

“Of course,” he muttered around her ear. “If you did this for everyone Naruto would impale himself onto the nearest available sharp object he could find just to get himself into the hospital and into your care in a heart beat. Along with a few hundred other shinobi.”

She groaned in misery. “Don’t you dare tell anyone of this.”

Kiba’s knees opened wide as he slid close to the edge of his seat. “Yeah, yeah. Shinobi here: your secret is safe with me.” He nuzzled the line of her neck and began to lick and suck where her neck met her shoulder.

Sakura’s hips twitched as arousal burned between her own thighs. That was unexpected… She tried to turn her mind away from her desire as pleasure seemed to twist and coil in the pit of her stomach, and back to Kiba. She began to slide her hand up and down faster, and then lifted her other hand to wrap it around the head.

Kiba sunk his teeth into her neck. Sakura gasped from the sudden twist of pleasure in her gut and the burning between her thighs. In retaliation, she lightly scraped her nails against his flesh and heard the intake of a sudden hiss, felt smug at the sharp tug of his hips. Her other hand massaged the head for a moment longer, and then dropped down to massage his testicles. He arched against her, his bagged arms tightening for a moment. He buried his nose against her hair. “You rotten little minx,” he growled.

“Hey, you should be nice to me, I have monstrous strength, remember?” She squeezed both hands lightly.

He huffed laughter into her hair. “I love it!”

There was a certain sense of power as she stroked him, feeling him arch against her, murmuring things she couldn’t understand as he nuzzled her hair and neck, licking her ear and brushing her breasts with his bagged hands. In terms of physical strength, he was one of the strongest male Jounin in Konoha, ranking with Gai, Lee, Naruto, and only two or three others. But he was also the most aggressive (if you didn’t include the kyuubi’s influence on Naruto), and she found having him as putty in her arms a potent aphrodisiac. Sure, Kiba was casual with his lovers, though generous in pleasure, and most women (and quite a number of men) could reduce him to this state.

But as a shinobi, Kiba didn’t trust most people any further than he could stick a kunai in them, and this was a trait shared by many of his lovers. And Sakura knew that she was one of the few that he trusted explicitly, one of the few for whom he threw open his barriers and dragged kicking and screaming close to him…

Mmm, screaming…

Kiba sunk his teeth into her neck again, grunting as he climaxed. Sakura blinked in surprise – she had been expecting it to take longer that. Then she considered how long he had been aroused and realized that it probably wouldn’t have taken much.

She smiled as he slumped boneless against her, and grabbed the washcloth to wash him off. He was much more flaccid now, a noticeable difference from earlier, but she didn’t say anything. She stood, wincing as her knees creaked in protest, and grabbed the showerhead to rinse off the soup.

It dropped from her hands in surprise as he somehow managed to hook a bagged hand under the hem of her medic skirt, yanked it up to her waist, and then pressed his mouth against the juncture between her thighs. She lightly whacked the top of his head. “Stop that!”

“I’m a gentleman,” he said. “Now drop your drawers.”

“I will not! I only did it for you because you needed the relief. I’m not the one who’s been aroused for three days – eep!”

Kiba sunk his teeth into the material of her cotton underwear and pull them down enough to hook his hand around the waistband. “I can smell your arousal – and at this point, most men are going to pick up on it unconsciously. You want to spend the rest of your day giving your patients relief?”

“I’m not – hey! Ooh!” She dropped her hands to his hair and arched against his mouth as he closed it around her swollen clit and sucked. Her shoes were getting very wet from the dropped showerhead, but she vaguely recalled an extra pair with her clothes in the break room, and ooooohhhh, she could see why he rarely had angry lovers, even when there’s so many of them. “This is… Oh god, mmmmm, this is very unprofessional.”

“On the contrary,” he said against her flesh, making her toes curl from the delightful vibrations, the pleasure in her gut twisting like a coil. “I’m very professional.” He pulled back long enough to lick and nibble her vulva, tongue dipping low and then pushing deep inside. She grabbed at the shower stall, fingers sliding against the steam-slick tile.

“I’m not – I wasn’t referring to, oh shit.”

She could feel her orgasm swiftly approaching as the pleasure twisted. It was never like this with the few men she had sex with before, mostly because they lacked Kiba’s oh-so-skilled mouth, and the pleasure had a darker feel to it than what she created in her own body, alone, exploring with her own hand and reaching for a climax that clumsy oafs failed to give.

Sakura pushed up higher on her toes so Kiba’s tongue could delve deeper, twisting and thrusting. She whimpered and dropped a hand to touch herself, rubbing in time with his tongue. She could feel him smile, and that made her face flush red again, but she didn’t care because it was twisting even more, tightening now, and it was close, so close, so…

Sakura shuddered as her climax burst, the spring set loose and the pleasure flooding her system to the very tips of her fingers and toes. Kiba mouthed at her flesh to prolong the shuddering, her muscles clamping around his tongue. Her fingers slid against the tile as the strength in her legs gave out – and an arm caught her, held her up.

Oh fuck.

“I was just coming in to check on Kiba,” an amused voice said into Sakura’s ear.

Kiba pulled back from Sakura and grinned. “Hi, mom.”

That shriveled up the last of what had been a splendid orgasm.

“Here was I was coming because I thought Kiba needed some relief, and you were being so kind about it. I’ll finish the shower,” Tsume told Sakura as she kissed the spot on Sakura’s neck where Kiba had sunk his teeth. “You go get dressed in something dry.”

Sure – just as soon as my legs start working again. Sakura muttered something unflattering beneath her breath.

Kiba arched an eyebrow at her. “Hey, I said I was a gentleman.”

“I did teach him that, yes,” Tsume said. “Among other things. He is a very good boy, Kiba is.” She cupped a hand against Sakura’s sex and did something with her wrist that somehow managed to wring another pleasurable shudder from Sakura’s sensitive flesh.

Sakura gritted her teeth. “I’m going to slap a sexual law suit against the entire Inuzuka clan.”

“Why would you do that?” Tsume asked. She slipped two fingers into Sakura’s slick insides. Sakura unexpectedly arched against the touch and felt Tsume smile against her neck, one hand reaching up to tweak a nipple beneath her wet scrub top. “You’d miss out on so much fun.”

Then Tsume carefully extracted herself from Sakura, pulled Sakura’s panties back into place, and tugged the skirt down. “Go on. You don’t want to spend the rest of your shift in wet shoes, do you?”

Sakura muttered what she wanted to do with her wet shoes. Tsume barked in laughter. “It wouldn’t fit, even after I had kids!” Sakura beat a retreat because she really didn’t want to know anything more about the Inuzukas. She squelched a wet trail through the halls until she reached the break room and ducked inside. Her hands were shaky as she spun the combination on her locker and it took her two tries before she finally managed to get it open. She grabbed her extra uniform and shoes and then spun around just as the break door opened.

Tsunade walked through, her attention centered on the clipboard she held in her hand. She looked up just as Sakura slammed her locker shut. “Oh, Sakura, I was just – wait.” She frowned as Sakura froze. “Why do you have teethmarks in your neck?”

Flushing a deep red, Sakura hurried past. “Gottagoquitebusyseeyoulater,” she called out as she escaped.

Tsunade continued to frown, then shrugged as she turned back to her clip board. “I guess I don’t need to warn her about how vicious Kiba’s been lately.”

I want your opinon on this. I had a dream where it was day time. I was out in the woods and I was on my back compleatly naked. A wolf had his gray cock in me and keped thrusting in to me. I had another wolfs penis in my mouth . I orgasmed agen and agen and agen. the wolf climaxed in my mouth and it tasted so good. after I made love with the wolfs, I woke up. So what do you think? Have you had any erotic dreams? If so, what. It realy was pritty hot, I will admit that.

Hinata shuddered as Temari rubbed up against her, their boobs pushing together in delicate friction. The blonde girl licked the smaller girl’s lips hungrily, before pushing their mouths together in an open mouth kiss; tongue's finding each other quickly.

Temari tilted her head to the side slightly, her tongue moving around Hinata's mouth, touching her tongue and cheek, pushing the younger girl harder into the wall. Hinata moaned into the kiss and the blonde ran a hand up Hinata's thigh and waist, snaking its way up her shirt to unclip her bra.


Hinata's hands buried themselves in Temari's hair, pushing her closer. She pulled up her thigh and rubbed it against Temari's crotch, exciting the blonde girl more.

Temari pulled back and pushed her partner to the floor, crawling on top of her and taking a long lick of her neck, before sucking on her throat. Hinata moaned as Temari's head went further down, sucking on her collar bone, until Hinata's shirt stopped Temari from any further ministrations.

Temari sat up to pull the Hinata's shirt up, lifting it over her head, the dark haired girls bra coming off with it. She stared down at Hinata's large boobs, before leaning down and sucking on her partners hard nipple, using her tongue to move around it, applying just the right amount of pressure.

Temari moved down further, licking a wet trail down Hinata's chest to her belly button, sticking her tongue inside, making Hinata start to pant.

The dark haired girl watched as her friend slowly pulled down the zipper of her jeans using her teeth, and after getting that done, she pulled Hinata's jeans down fully, exposing her lazy black underwear. The blonde girl licked Hinata through her underwear, making the girl above her gasp

Temari quickly stood up to undress, stripping herself of her upper articles first. Hinata blushed but watched as more and more of Temari's naked skin presented itself

Temari then got on her hands and knees, spreading Hinata's legs and standing on all fours between them. She leaned down and gave Hinata a long lick, from her entrance to her clit, pushing her tongue deep, before giving Hinata's clit a little suck and lick.

Hinata watched as Temari crawled up her body, not wanting to kiss her again, knowing where her tongue had been, but not caring at the moment. The blonde slid her tongue in Hinata's mouth and relaxed her body onto her friends, boobs pressing together, Hinata's legs wrapped around Temari's waist, their clits rubbing against one another, so close and tight that one tiny movement could send them moaning.

The girls made out in this position for a little while, until Temari couldn’t handle it anymore, being in such close proximity with her naked lover. She wiggled her hips a little, their clits rubbing together, they whole bodies sliding against one another.

Hinata gasped, and then moaned as Temari did it again. All Hinata could do was lay there and pant as Temari's body slid all over hers, the blonde girl licking and sucking on Hinata's neck, panting in her ear.

Temari reached her hand down between them and rubbed both their snatch's with her hand, feeling the wetness of them both. She could feel heat radiating of her moaning partner. She felt Hinata's hand reach around her back, pushing her even closer, feeling hot breath on her neck.

Temari started to sweat, as she felt Hinata come on her hand, but she wasn’t finished yet. She needed more. She got off the panting girl and crawled back, legs spread, beckoning Hinata to her

Hinata looked up and lazily moved towards to girl. She knew what she wanted, and thought she might as well give it to her. The dark haired girl crawled forward and licked Temari as fully as she could, making Temari's head fall back as her body slumped a little.

Hinata moved her hands to Temari's hips and squeezed them lightly, pushing her tongue into Temari, and then pulling up to lick Temari's clit again. She thrust her tongue in and out, before concentrating more on her partners Clit. She sucked it hard, before licking around it.

Temari threw her head back, more, writhing below the other girl as Hinata blew hot breath onto her, before kissing her snatch, burying her face in it, Temari's juices flowing down her chin. Before long, Temari came also, letting her friend move away and take a much needed breath

The girls lay there, letting the air cool down their heated bodies, before Temari crawled over to Hinata..

"I got you a present..” The blonde girl smirked.

"Really?" Hinata asked, surprised

Temari walked away for a second and came back into the room holding what looked like.... A strap on!!

Temari smirked, pushing Hinata back, and kissing her again, starting on their second round.

He was being rougher tonight. Maybe it was because he had sensed her hesitation, or that he was just havi bad bad day himself. But no matter… She needed him to forget, and he needed her for release; it was a symbiotic relationship. They get what they want from one another during the night and by day, they wouldn’t even know each other’s name. The corner of her lip lifted and she gave a small laugh.

This drew her partner’s attention and two red Sharingan eyes stared into her own. They were intense and inescapable, just as always. He raised a single brow and spoke huskily into her ear.

“…something funny?”

She can’t help but shudder at the effect of his breath as she shook her head slightly. It was enticing the way he spokd itd it made her stomach tighten as she gave a small moan. Her partner smirked and continued his ministration down her body. She whimpered slightly at the rough caress, but gave in to his touch. He had always been irresistible since the first time she laid eyes on him. It only took one glance at him for her to realize her stupidity. Why had she spent so much time chasing after the younger Uchiha when the older one was much more tempting. The Uchiha prodigy was beyond comparison to his little brother. Itachi was far more powerful, handsome, and definitely overwhelming in bed.

She gave a small cry as he pinpointed one of her pleasure points and had begun to pleasure her with the use of his long slender fingers. She felt herself drawing close to the climax but stopped him before she could reach it. Sakura was not a selfish person; she was very considerate of others. Flipping them around, she placed herself to straddle his waist. His eyet het hers briefly, but he gave no objection. She was always thinking of others, which is why he tolerates being in bed with her. It was suppose to be just a one time thing, but it had evolved into something more. Mind you, it wasn’t love, just pure lust that draws them together.

The insatiable need in them that demand to be fed, the heavy burden in each of them that needs to be taken off.

He groaned as the pinked haired kunoichi put use of her delicate mouth. Sweat was now forming on both their heated bodies as the moonlight hit her flesh, giving it a pale hue. She lifted her head for a moment to look him in the eye. Emerald green met crimson red and all he could do was to try and maintain his cool façade. Even in front of her, he doesn’t wish to show weakness. She gave him a small smile before retuning to her task. She knew he didn’t want to show weakness; it was the same with Sasuke. But she was used to it, though in the end, he would always succumb regardless of his cold demeanor.

The slick walls of her mouth enveloped him as she took him deeper. His hand was beginning to grasp her hair and push her forward as she pleasured him. >

The strands of pink hair felt like silk to his touch. The pressure was building up in him as he watched her take all of him in. It gave him satisfaction knowing that he was the only one who had ever experienced the skill her lips possessed. Not even his little brother has experienced the pleasure of her touch. She was his alone.

Getting a hold of himself, he nudged her shoulder to get her attention. He grasped her chin and pulled her closer to his face before crushing his mouth to hers. His tongue explored her mouth as he pressured her to lie down. She gladly obliged and moaned as she felt the result of her ministration cover her entrance. Heat radiated from his body and she felt herself getting more aroused. His mouth left hers and started a trail downwards. Her breath became short as she struggled to muffle her cries of pleasure. Having no success, she gave in.

When he felt she was ready, he took a hold of himself and plunges into her wet core. She was tight but aroused to the point that he could easily fit in. Her cries of pleasure increased in volume as she began to pant and writhe in pleasure underneath him. He never did tell her how appetizing she looked to be writhing and moaning underneath him and he figure he never will. It was a picture that was reserved for him and him alone.

Grabbing her hip, his thrusts came harder and faster as she struggled to keep up. Her knuckles were turning white at clutchine bee bed sheets too hard. She was quickly reaching her climax but tried to hold back for her partner for she knew his stamina greatly exceeds hers.

He sensed her hesitation but made no comment on it. Either way her release is inevitable, it was just a matter of time. Taking her knee and moving them apart, he managed to spread her even wider for easier maneuvering. Relentlessly, he pounded into her, bringing his own release closer. Her velvet walls clamped tightly onto him as her essence began to seep out to mix with the sweat of her body.

Reaching a hand between her thighs, he traced her nether lips to bring her to climax. She was shuddering in pleasure and her wall contracted. She was nearing the edge as his finger found her bundle of nerves and applied pressure. Combined with his hard thrust and the use of his finger, she climaxed and cried out her release. Her tightened core brought him his own release e pue pushed into her one last time before emptying himself out inside of her with a grunt. Their essence mixed and dripped out of her core as he pulled out before lying down.

Her hair stuck to her face as she turned to face him. His eyes glanced at her, taking in her exhausted form. Reaching out a hand, he gently forced her head to lie on the pillow.

“sleep.” He commanded as he turned to rest as well.

She watched as sleep claimed him, closing her own eyes as well. She knew that by tomorrow morning, all there will be is an empty bed and a sheet of paper with a date and time on it. Itachi would have been gone already, and she too would continue her day like normal. But it was fine with her since that was the way their relationship worked. It only existed at night, and it was only physical. Regass oss of the nature of their relationship, it was already more than she could ask for. Taking in his form with half opened eyes, Sakura gave in to the peaceful slumber, remembering how he had looked under the moonlight with his pale back to her. He is more than what Sasuke will ever be, he was the Uchiha prodigy, but most importantly, he was hers. At least until the sun comes up…

Naruto > Het > His and Hers >

Sakura sighed. It wa hot hot! Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke had all gone to the stream they were camped near to swim. She had declined the offer to go with the boys. She knew they would be gone for the majority of the afternoon. Since it was just after lunchtime, Sakura knew she would have several hours to herself. She sighed again.

The heat really was oppressive, what had made them decide to go on a camping trip for an entire week when it was so hot? A lapse in sanity, that is what! She was no longer the young girl of 12, she was now a young woman of 17, and she had the body to prove it. She was able to hide it in her shapeless dress much of the time, but in a swim suit, there would be no hiding it. Not that she was ashamed of her body, but to be in that state of undress in front of three red-blooded men, well, that was more attention than she cared to receive. She was accepted as one of the boys, and wanted to keep it that way.

Damn it! She just could not take the heat anymore. Making up her mind, she quickly donned her swimsuit and grabbed a towel, heading to a secluded part of the stream far from where the boys . Sc. Scouting out the area, she was satisfied she was alone, and shed her dress, standing in only her swimsuit. She hesitated for a moment before making a clean dive into the deep part of the stream. Surfacing, she let out a small sigh of contentment. The water was refreshingly cool, but not icy.

She lay back in the cool water, staring as the clouds floated overhead. Every so often she would dive to the bottom of the clear stream, and resurface. Feeling refreshed and cooled off, she got out of the stream, spread out her towel, and lay down to sunbathe for a while. A nice breeze wafted by every so often, and the quiet buzz of insects lulled her to a nap.

She awoke because something was blocking out the sun. She cracked her eyes to see a form standing over her. Instantly on alert, she rolled to her feet in a fluid motion, taking up a defensive position. Sasuke smirked at her.

“Do you have any idea how ridiculous you look in a fighting pose in a bikini?” Sakura’s blush but her hair to shame.

“I thought you were swimming with Naruto and Kakashi-sensei?”

“I was fishing,” he said gesturing with the pole in his hand, “but Naruto was being too loud. I was lookinr a r a quieter location.”

“Oh, well, you can fish here if you like, I am finished swimming.”

Sasuke contemplated for for a minute, before settling himself down nearby. Sakura lay back down on her towel, this time on her tummy to sun her back. The sun beat down, and Sakura began to feel drowsy again.

----------

Sakura felt a gentle touch on her shoulder, and heard her name whispered in a husky voice. Still in the fog of sleep, she moaned a little, and shifted away from the touch. The touch persisted on her back, so she rolled over to avoid it. A sharply indrawn breath brought her fully awake, and she cracked her eyes to see Sasuke over her, but he wasn’t looking at her face. She glanced down and was horrified to see her breasts completely exposed to his gaze, and gazing he was!

(Author's Note - Sakura is wearing a string bikini, which came loose in her sleep, rolling over caused it to slip off, and she is too distacted by Sasuke to find it)

She let out a gasp and quickly covered herself. Horribly embarrassed, and not sure what to do, she looked anywhere except at him, so she did not notice him bending over closer to her. She felt the heat radiating from his close presence and turned back towards him, her face flamed, for his face was less than two inches from her own.

His eyelids were heavy as he gazed into her limpid pools of green, and she watched as if time stood still as his eyes fluttered shut, and he closed the remaining inches between their mouths. Sakura did not notice her own eyes drift shut, she was too caught up in the feeling of Sasuke’s lips pressed to her own, of his own violation. Inner Sakura screamed in delight and swooned.

Sakura thought life could not get better; that is until his tongue darted between her slightlrtedrted lips, sending a jolt of electricity through her body. She had heard of this type of kissing, with tongues, and had dreamed of experiencing, but never thought her first kiss would be one. Not wanting to disappoint him, or appear too inexperienced, she touched his tongue with her own. He responded by deepening the kiss. Sakura was powerless before the onslaught of Sasuke’s raw animal magnetism, giving to him all that he demanded, and more.

When he broke the kiss, both were breathing heavily, and Sakura could feel warmth from her nether region. Their gazes locked and time froze, an understanding passed between them. When he pulled her arms away from her chest, she did not resist, and he sat back a little to gaze at her exposed chest, she had to fight the urge to cover herself, and felt her face flaming again, but when hokedoked at her with wonder, she felt butterflies in her stomach. His hand reached up and inquisitively touched her naked flesh, raising goose bumps on her arms. A whisper of a sigh escaped her lips, and he caught it in his own, slanting his mouth possessively over hers.

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and pulled her flush against him, his skin felt satiny against her own skin, and her arms reached up to grasp his strong arms.

She broke the kiss to run her tongue along his jaw, to his earlobe. She suckled his earlobe, as her hands ran up and down his biceps. He let out a deep throaty moan, and pushed his erection against her.

His hands reached up, and cupped her breasts, running the pads of his thumbs ovach ach nipple, he gently rolled them between his fingers, bringing them to attention, and eliciting small coos of delight from Sakura, who was tracing a path along his neck nipping, kissing, and licking. He tilted his head to the side to give her better access.

Encouraged by his reaction, she traced a path across the side of his neck, to the front, and then back up the other side, to suckle his other earlobe. She straddled his hips to have better access, placing her core nst nst his hardened member, eliciting another groan from him.

Continuing to trail wet kisses along his neck, and down his chest, she took on flat nipple into her mouth and sucked gently. A sharply indrawn breath told her he liked it, and she continued to toy with his nipple. Not wanting to neglect the other, she kissed across his chest, and suckled his other nipple, while his fingers tangled in her soft hair, massaging her scalp.

Gently he pulled her away from his chest, and pressed her back onto the towel, kissing her feverishly, and bumping and grinding his erection between her legs. He pulled her arms up above her head, and let out a small smile. She looked at him puzzled as he performed a series of seals, and she felt a surge of chakara as she her eyes widened in surprise. He had just bound her hands above her head with a string of chakara.

She frowned slightly, and his smile broadened. “Worried?” he asked.

“No, I trust you.”

His smile faded, and he leaned down to kiss her passionately. She returned the kiss with equal ardor, arching her chest against his. He ran his hands down her arms to her t, st, she squirmed a little when he brushed her armpits, and he tickled her, causing her to squirm deliciously below him, as she let out throaty chuckles, and begged him to stop.

He smiled down at her, and cupped her breasts again, his mouth found one rosy nipple, and she cried out at the pure feeling of ecstasy that coursed through her. He laved attention on one breast and then she cried out anew when his mouth locked over the other. She could feel juices squirting between her legs, and wanted to be rid of the bikini bottoms.

“Talk dirty to me Sasuke,” she whispered.

He looked at her for a moment, an unreadable look on his face, ‘oh no! look at his face, I went too far’ inner Sakura screamed at her.

“I want to fuck you, little girl. I want to hear you scream my name while my cock is pumping in and out of your tight little pussy, is that what you wanna hear?”

“Ooooh, yes. Fuck me Sasuke,” she moaned arching up against him.

He let out a small smirk, and reaching down, he pulled off her bikini bottoms.

“Strip for me Sasuke, I want to see all of you.”

He stood up, pulling off his swimming trunks, and stood before her his best feature ramrod stiff.

“Unbind me, I need to touch you,” she whimpered.

He smirked and waggled a finger at her, “Not yet. I am not finished with you yet.”

She groaned her frustration, as she arched against her binding, helpless to free herself. He knelt between her legs, and starting at her shoulders, slowly ran his fingertips down her body, pausing to tweak her nipples and play with the sensitive undersides of her breasts. He ran his fingers across her flat tummy, and she squirmed a little when he hit a ticklish spot, letting out a soft chuckle.

He continued to the soft pink down of her nether curls, running his fingers through it, causing small moans of pleasure from her. Running a hand down each thigh, he brought them slowly, torturously up closer, and closer still to her most private of places. He pulled her thighs further apart, and she opened for him, granting him access.

She jumped, arching her back off the ground when it was not his fingers, but his tongue that found the sensitive bud of pleasure. She squirmed under his ruthless assault, and her cries of pleasure became hoaas has he brought her closer and closer to orgasm.

He slid a finger into her slick sheath, and she cried out as he broke the damn, wave after wave of blinding ecstasy coursing through her. Completely drained, she looked up at him in wonder.

He looked at her possessively again, this was his Sakura, and he liked her looking at him like this. He reached up and unbound her wrists. Her arms immediately pulled him to her. Their mouths locked for a searing kiss, and Sakura tasted herself on him. It did not turn her off; instead, she wanted to taste his essence.

She pushed on him, and he complied, allowing her to roll on top. She mimicked his actions from earlier, and ran her fingers down his body, starting at his shoulders, kissing and nipping here and there. She ran her hands down his legs, lifting his knee on his left leg, she ran kisses along the inside of it until his hardened cock brushed against her face. Rubbing her cheek along it, she opened her mouand and ran her lips up the side of it until she came to the tip. Looking him in the eye, his glazed over as she ran her tongue over the bottom of the tip, and sucked it into her mouth.

She could taste his musky essence on the tip, and suckled it savoring his taste. Wanting to see how much of him she could fit into her mouth, she bobbed her head down his member, and then back up again. She was rewarded by his groan of pleasure. Her mouth grew tired quickly, but shntinntinued to pleasure him in this way, until he grabbed her head, pulling her up to kiss him.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he replied in a husky voice.

He pulled her beneath him and settled between her legs. He lifted her hips, positioning her for his entry into her tight passage, and she opened her legs wider to grant him easier access.

He entered her by slow degrees, allowing her to adjust to his size. She bit back a cry of pain as he thrthe the rest of the way in, breaking her maidenhead. He looked down at her sharply, but didn’t say anything, giving her a minute to allow the pain to pass. Sweat began to bead on his brow, and he moved back a little, pushing back into her.

“Oh, Sakura, you feel so damn good,” he ground out, drawing back and thrusting into her again.

“You feel good too,” she whispered, not entirely lying.

It was all the encouragement he needed, and began to thrust into her. She gripped his hard ass, pulling him closer, and wrapped her legs with his, arching up to give him a better angle. Pleasure began to build again, this time it was different. Soon she was writhing beneath him, her feet planted on the ground to meet him thrust for thrust.

“Ahh, Sasuke, its coming,” she cried out.

“Come for me Sakura.” Her name on his lips sent her over the edge, and she screamed his name as she came hard, electricity shooting through her entire being. Her inner walls clenching around his cock, causing him to loose what little control he had left, and he shuddered above her as he spilled his seed deep into her.

He collapsed on her, and she savored his weight, wanting to lay like this with him forever. His mouth found hers and his kiss was so gentle she wanted to weep.

“I…I love you,” she whispered to him.

He hugged her tight to his chest at her words. She almost didn’t hear him, “I love you too.”

The glow of the rising sun and the song of the wild sparrows lured the sleeping woman into consciousness. She was reluctant to wake; it had been an eternity since she had slept so deeply. She pulled the khaki comforter over her head and buried her face into the down pillow. The aroma of fresh brewed coffee wafted into the bedroom, tempting her to finally wake up. She could hear the rain like sound of a shower running; followed by the soft moan of old pipes as the water was turned off.



She slowly sat up; holding covers not her own to her bare torso. The relaxed feeling of good night’s rest was ebbing away, replaced with the anxiety of waking in a strange place. Green eyes darted around the foreign bedroom taking in its masculine décor of dark wood, neutral beige linens, and the antique shinobi sword hanging above the heavy pewter headboard.



Sakura pushed a tendril of pastel pink behind her ear, straining to remember anything about last night; flashes of dark eyes, darker hair, and an irresistible little smirk came to mind. She tried to remember; a dull headache began to surface the more she attempted to recall the events that led her to wake in this strange bed.



= = =



Mint green eyes skimmed over pages of research data, rereading information she hand long since memorized. She glanced out the laboratory window; watching the last vestiges of dusk fade from periwinkle to deep blue. He was late. He was more than late; most likely he wasn’t planning on coming in at all. Roseate eyebrows dipped into a small scowl. She knew he disliked the tests, but the decision wasn’t his to make. The Hokage wanted work up done on every advanced bloodline clan within the Hidden Leaf Village, the Sharingan first and foremost as the clan had diminished to a tribe of one with no immediate prospects of restoration.



Sakura sighed, recalling the events of the past two years. If she had been asked on the day she graduated from the academy where she saw herself at age twenty, she sure wouldn’t have said special Jounin medical nin under the tutelage of the Hokage herself. It was like a dream come true, she had been given the opportunity to apply the two things she excelled at, super smarts and near perfect chakra control, to make a difference in the lives of those around her. She spent her days practicing medical ninjutso and modern medicine at the hospital, although she did miss working in the field.

Her ears heard the hearty chuckle of a male voice stop and converse outside her lab entrance. She ti her her head to the side, trying better to hear the conversation. The talking subsided and the door to her laboratory swung open, a tall Jounin with a head full of silver rooster hair peaked around the door’s edge, reminding Sakura of the first time she met her former sensei nearly thirteen years prior.



“I thought I heard your voice, how have you been Kakashi?” the twenty year old kunoichi rose from her seat behind the desk and walked across the expanse of the large room to greet the infamous copy nin.



“Sakura?” His visible eye widened in shock as he took in the sight of the girl child turned woman. It had been a few years since he saw her last. Team 7 had separated before they had even reached Chuunin level. Sasuke had become Anko’s charge, Naruto spent his time training with Jiraiya-sennin, Sakura was rumored to be studying with Shizune and training with Tsunade-sama. He had barely seen the old Team & at all, Sakura the least of his three former students.



“Tsunade said I should stick my head in here and speak with the person in charge of research about the Sharingan. You’re the only one here?” He asked, disappointed that he was too late, he was sure Tsunade would chastise him on his tardiness again.



Sakura nodded, a small smile played over her features, she had an idea what was coming next. It was a simple pleasure, she’d come to enjoy. She’d spent her Gennin and Chuunin years being underestimated. Seeing someone look up at her from the flat of their back or dumbfounded at her title, gave her a jolt of pride.



“I guess I missed him.” And then he said exactly what she was expecting, sometimes men could be so predictable.



“Her.” Sakura corrected, straightening the white lab coat over her snug red dress, looking like the cat that swallowed the canary.



“Sorry.” She could see his visible eye crinkle, in the tell tale sign of a smile. “Can you tell her that I’ll drop in tomorrow morning?”



“Or you can tell her yourself,” Sakura smiled. It amused her to no end to see the reactions of people when they realized this young woman was responsible for such a large project. Kakashi’s dark eye drifted to the desk in the corner and read the small plaque on the desk’s edge, Haruno Sakura - Special Jounin Medical – Laboratory Director.



“I feel like an idiot.” Kakashi half laughed and scratched the back of his head.



“You should, that almost hurt my feelings,” she touched her hand to her chest, feigning offense in a hurtful tone.



“I’ll make it up to you at pub. You’re coming to the farewell get together, right?”



“Farewell get together? I’m not sure; I’m not a big drinker.” It had been awhile since she allowed herself the luxury of attending a social event. Sakura had so dedicatedly thrown herself into her work that social invitations were becoming more and more sparse.



“A soda then or some milk.” He added jokingly, amused at the quick scowl she gave him. “There’s a little goodbye party of sorts for Genma, Neji, and Sasuke. They’re leaving on an extended mission tomorrow.”



“Sasuke’s going to be there?” The wheels starting turning in her head. She was going to drag him back to the lab, attach him to her machines and take every imaginable and uncomfortable sample from every possible orifice from the uncooperative Uchiha. How dare he stand her up? This was work not a social call, he could be so frustrating.



“Yes.” Kakashi confirmed, wondering what the young woman was planning.



“Well give me a minute to lock up the lab.”



= = =



She heard bare feet on hardwood floors padding softly down the hallway. Sakura looked around the bedroom for her clothes, but didn’t see them. She frowned and pulled the soft comforter tighter around her body. I swear, I’m never going to drink again?



He stood in the doorway, her eyes drinking in the sight of him; tall frame, dark standard issue ninja pants, lean bare chest, and wet chocolate hair. “’Morning beautiful,” he smiled. He held two matching cups of coffee, one in each hand, one cup’s contents black and the other content’s was lighter with cream. “I wasn’t sure how you took it.” He nodded at each cup, stepping towards her to sit on the bed. Sakura looked at him skeptically and reached for the undiluted mug. “Black coffee in bed,” he murmured just loud enough for her to hear.



The cup was hot in her hands; Sakura impatiently gulped down half the cups contents hoping that the induction of caffeine in her system might clear her hazy memory and burned her tongue in the process. God, could this be any more awkward? She set the half drunken cup on the nightstand.



= = =



Clear green eyes scanned the establishment for the last Uchiha. If he was here she was going to find him and drag him back to the lab. No way was she going to allow the blood limit upstart to set her behind schedule until he returned from some weeks long mission.



“Hey honey,” a petite blond barmaid greeted Kakashi, touching his forearm familiarly. “A coke and rum tonight?”



“Two and can you make the second one without the rum.”



The blonde’s face twisted in thought, “I ‘spose so. Anything for m’ favorite ninja. I’ll be right back, ‘kay hon’.”



“Hon’?” Sakura nudged Kakashi in the side, laughing. “I’m not even going to ask…hon.”



“Thanks, there’s Asuma and Gai, I’ll see you at the table in a minute.” Kakashi left and Sakura searched for Sasuke.



Sakura saw Neji sitting with TenTen in the back of the room. She had let her trademark buns loose; her dark hair fell well past her shoulders in loose waves. The weapon’s specialist Kunoichi leaned into the Hyuuga, whispering something in his ear that caused that the faintest blush to touch his pale porcelain complexion. They were such a cute couple, Neji and TenTen. Most of the shinobi in her age group had begun to pair off. Hinata had finally won Naruto, Ino had given up on Sasuke to take a chance with Shikamaru. The most surprising of them all was the Sand’s kunoichi ambassador, Temari and her ongoing relationship with Chouji. Not that anyone could really blame the desert blonde; the chubby Gennin had thinned into a tall muscular heartthrob of shinobi. Two summers ago he went to do intensive training in the mountains with an Anbu cousin; the simple caterpillar came back a handsome butterfly with a following of fan girls to rival that of Uchiha Sasuke.



Sakura looked around the pub, green eyes scanning for any trace of Uchiha. Sasuke should be here then, if Neji and Kakashi were already here. Sakura would bide her time and drag him back to work.



“Excuse me,” A tall Jounin approached her. She had seen him around on several occasions, but had never actually spoken to him, his name was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t recall it for the life of her. “I just noticed you noticing me and I just wanted to give you notice that I noticed you too. I’m Shiranui Genma.”



“Haruno Sakura.”



= = =



That’s right, Sakura recalled spending the better part of last night laughinth hth him. Her memories were still a muddled though, she talked and drank with him, she didn’t remember drinking that much. She opened her mouth to speak then closed it; she repeated the action three times looking very fish like. “The first door in the hallway is the bathroom, there’s a towel and a set of clothes for you on the counter,” he chuckled, with his hands he gestured a slow upwards stabbing motion and made a ripping sound, “the clothes you wore here are well…in pieces.”



= = =



They stumbled past the threshold to his second floor apartment. Her fingers were tugging the zipper down on his Jounin vest; she slipped her hands under his shirt, raking manicured fingernails over his chiseled stomach. She took the corner of his shirt, lifting it upwards and over his head. The leaf hitae came off with the shirt. Without the senbon and backwards forehead protector, Shiranui Genma looked like a different person. God, he was beautiful!



Her touches alone sent a jolt of electricity through his body, he paused, the zipper on her tunic was stuck, and the need to have her was overwhelming. He reached into the weapon holster secured on his leg, brandishing a kunai. Without asking, he cut the fabric of her crimson dress from bottom to top. The garment fell onto the floor beside the discarded vest.



“That was my favorite dress,” her words were spoken in heavy breaths on the shell of his ear.



“I’ll get you another.” His hands slid over her hips to grip her thighs, he picked her up, her legs wrapped around his waist, and he pinned her against the wall.



“Liar, now what will I wear?” she whispered the question into his mouth. Jade eyes filled with lust stared up at him.



He smirked crookedly at her, as if he still held that damn senbon in the corner of mouth, replying simply, “Me.”



= = =



Heat spread to her face and she couldn’t meet his gaze. Sakura averted her eyes to his hair, still wet from his recent shower. A drop of water fell from his tousled chin length locks, paving a winding wet trail down his well defined chest over the soft skin of old scars then meandering lower to the sparse path of hair on his lower abdomen.



He reached out to her, his fingers rested gently on the back of her neck, his thumb smoothed over her cheek in lazy circles. She raised her gaze away from the lost droplet to find herself nose to nose with him, his lips easing closer to hers. He kissed her slow, as if he was trying to memorize the feel of her mouth. He was so familiar yet so foreign at the same time. He tasted like café au lait, the soft friction of his unshaven face brushed against her smooth skin.



She pushed lightly against chest, breaking the sweet kiss. “Genma, about last night.”



= = =



She hooked her foot behind his ankle, she used her weight to push him and they toppled onto the floor, Sakura straddled his waist. They laughed between heavy pants.



“You have the most beautiful perfectly symmetrical breasts I’ve ever seen.” He thought aloud, his hands on swell of her hips inched upwards over her ribs to her perfect attributes, and then surprisingly rolled them over so she was beneath him.



“Hey,” she half screamed, half laughed.



Her hands slip into his pants to push them down, pausing at his bottom to give him a firm squeeze.



“Sakura, I want you so bad,” his voice was heavy with passion.



“Here I am.” She invited, pulling his face to hers.



= = =



He frowned, reaching past her to the night stand. She watched with curious eyes as his long fingers pulled a senbon from the drawer and tucked it between his teeth. “Real man’s toothpick,” he half laughed. “I think I know what you’re going to say. I’ve been in your shoes enough to know what’s coming. You’re going to say that last night was a one time thing and no hard feelings.”



“No, no. That isn’t what I was going to say. Last night is a jumble of pieces and I’ve never done this sort of thing and I don’t want you to think I’m—“ the words flew from her mouth, a nervous habit she had developed in her youth.



“I don’t think of you like that.” He interjected. “To tell you the truth, my memory’s is a bit foggy too. But, what do remember is that I truly enjoyed your company. Maybe next time we can go on a proper date.”



“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Genma.” Her fingers nervously fidgeted with a stray thread on the blanket.



He moved the senbon to the opposite corner of his mouth.



“Our conversation last night…was nice.” Sakura began. “And to be honest, the only reason I let it get so far was to make another angry and I had been drinking and...”



His brow crinkled in frustration, “I know that. You told me last night at the bar that you wanted to piss him off. Then we left and I offered to walk you home and then you kissed me and said you’d wanted to walk me home instead.”



= = =



He had asked Genma to stall her so he could make a clean escape. Not to get her drunk. She wasn’t a drinker. She was Sakura, plain and tall. Uchiha Sasuke sat in the corner unable to leave, watching the pair laugh and talk. She smiled and it lit up the room and he sat besides her, hand smoothing over her thigh, drinking in the radiance she emitted like warm sunshine.



“Sakura? What are you doing here?” Sasuke approached her, faking forgetfulness. “I was supposed to meet you today at the lab. It must’ve slipped my mind.”



“You didn’t forget Sasuke, but that’s alright. I’ve been chatting here with Genma.” Her lilt was overly cheerful as she spoke; she took another swallow of her mixed fruit drink.



“How about some coffee and we can try to get some work done tonight?” he offered, feeling suddenly protective of his ex team mate.



“Not tonight, ain’t enough coffee in all of Konoha to drag me back to work tonight.” She spoke, half laughing and slightly slurring.



“Sakura let me walk you home.” Sasuke suggested.



Genma sat wordlessly watching the two, finding it amusing. Any other time, he would’ve interjected, most likely saying something rude, but she had asked him not to and he respected that.



“No, Genma’s taking me home.” Ah, his cue.



He laid a few bills down on the bar’s counter.



“Are you ready Genma?” she took his hand in hers.



“Anytime, beautiful.”



= = =



She reached for the mug on the nightstand, taking a long drink. “Genma you’re more than a decade and a half older than me. This just won’t work.”



“I didn’t say I wanted to marry you, but I do want to see if this could go anywhere for us. Are you that concerned about what everyone else thinks? Damn it Sakura, I like you. I’m older, yes, I’m not ancient. I know what I want from life, after talking last night; I thought we wanted the same thing. Maybe I was wrong about you.”



She wasn’t sure what to say. Sakura had spent her whole life loving one man. The notion of caring for another was inconceivable even after a night of great conversation followed with even better drunken sex. What was there to say? She could see herself happy with him. The thought of a man returning her affections was overwhelmingly surreal. Her inexperienced inner hopeless romantic had always craved this type of attention, but from another. Would it be so wrong to fall into temptation and pursue something with Genma? The scales were tipping in favor of the older Jounin; he was too irresistible for his goodgood.



Head held high, she strode naked to the bathroom. His eyes followed her watching her through the doorway as she skipped the shower and slid on his too big pants and too big faded blaouniounin shirt and closed the door.



= = =



They stumbled out the pub together, breathing the cool night air in gulps, and laughing as they turned the corner.



“Did you see his face,” she was laughing so hard that her side hurt, “that was priceless. Thank you for telling me what he was up to and thank you for sitting with me, I really enjoyed myself tonight.”



“It was funny, wasn’t it? I hope he’s not too angry tomorrow. I’ll explain it to him in the morning.” He draped his arm over heouldoulder, “Let me walk you home, Sakura.”



“No,” she turned to face him, her expression becoming suddenly serious. Sakura reached for his face, her fingers took the senbon from his mouth. Her hands went to her loose hair, twisting the long roseate tresses into a sloppy bun and secured it with his senbon. “I think I’d like to walk you home instead.”



She stood on tiptoes and pressed her lips to his, letting her intentions be known. She wrapped her arms around his neck; his slipped around her thin wrapped around her sides. She swirled her tongue around his, marauding his kisses in the middle of the empty street. He kissed like he wrote the book on it. Long, slow sweeps of his velvet tongue caressed her own. She had spent so much of her energy wrapped in furthering her career that she had forgotten how nice a personal life could be and how much nicer the feel of mans lips on hers could feel.



= = =



Genma knocked and waited by the bathroom door for it to open. Sakura cracked the door. He laughed to himself, that one was something else. Sakura had applied a generous amount of toothpaste to her finger and was using it as a toothbrush.



She spit in the sink. “Maybe you were right.” Her hands were cupped under tap filling with water. She took a mouth of water to rinse the toothpaste from her mouth.



“What?” He watcher swr swish the water in her mouth and then spit again.



“We should go out on a real date.” She helped herself to three aspirin from the generic bottle sitting on the counter.



“I’m leaving this morning for that extended mission; I’ll be gone for a few months.” He reminded her.



“That’s not a long time.” And she meant it, she had spent years chasing after Sasuke, followed by being so absorbed in her research for Tsunade-Sama that a couple months were a drop in the bucket and would be over before she knew it.



“I’d like that then.” And he meant it, he wasn’t getting any younger and he felt there was something missing from his life. He knew what he wanted from life now, hell, he’d been there and done everything else. The medical nin inspired qualities in himself that he wasn’t aware even existed and the opportunity to pursue those routes with clever pink haired woman left him with a fullness where he’d felt like something was lacking before.



“Good.” She smiled, removing his oversized shirt.



“Haruno Sakura, you’re a confusing woman.” His chocolate eyes widened as she slid the too big pants down.



“Confusion is a woman’s prerogative.” She reached behind the pattern less dark blue shower curtain and turned the shower on.



“I’d like to kiss you now.” Genma took a step towards her and she took a step backwards, smiling at him mischievously.



“Tempting, but I can’t.” She shrugged.



He looked at the naked woman; his gaze started with her grinning lips, to her perfect breasts, and smooellyelly. Sakura took his chin in fingers, tilting his chin up until his dark eyes met hers.



“I’m going to take a shower now, you should join me. And maybe, I’ll let you have that kiss.” She disappeared behind the shower curtain. Genma wasted no time shrugging of his pants and following her.

The sun dawned on Konoha late one July morning. With the sun came the subsequent unwanheatheat wave and a previously unnoticed –tension- in the air. Orochimaru of the famed Legendary Three did not appreciate this weather at all as he sat sullenly in the shade. He breathed in and out with measured breaths, eyes closed and arms folded. And, despite his usual perception skills, Orochimaru did not notice the strange and unwanted chakra that suddenly accompanied him.



“Hey! OROCHIMARU!” came the whiny voice of a certain white-haired genin. Orochimaru’s golden, slanted eyes flew open in an instant. His stare rested on the irritating ball of energy known as Jiraiya as the other boy grinned widely… and without good reason, as usual.



“What do you want?” asked Orochimaru in a cold voice. Jiraiya cackled naughtily as he looked around to make sure the coast was clear, and then---



“Guess WHAT, Orochimaru?” shrieked Jiraiya. Orochimaru shrugged his shoulders.



“I convinced Tsunade to….to…” he began, a blush creeping over his still-round face.



“Haveathreesomewithus!” he exclaimedudlyudly, smiling like he’d actually gotten lucky with the ladies… fonceonce.



Unfortunately, Orochimaru didn’t buy it and didn’t care. He turned his dark head with a simple flick of his pale, thin neck…..


Jiraiya couldn’t help but notice that, despite the aur sta standoffishness that Oro gave off, he was actually…



Nah, nevermind. Even though he looked like a girl, it didn’t mean that he had all the necessary parts. Jiraiya cleared his throat nervously, breaking the silence rudely for the fifth time that day.



“I’m gonna score with Tsunade! Heh heh,” Jiraiya whispered to himself. Orochimaru shook his head in exasperation but allowed a small smile to creep over his untouchable lips.



Tsunade’s fiery chakra sliced the summer air as she walked up to Jiraiya and Oro. “So, what did you want to tell me, Jir said, blinking his black eyes with hopeful pleasure.



“PERVERT!” shrieked the blonde girl as she smacked Jiraiya in the face. Sorely rejected, Jiraiya stood up, and….



Copped a feel. His hands were less brash than Tsunade expected. He was almost…gentle. She allowed him to undo the sash on her short kimono before quickly swatting away his unwelcome hands.



“Jiraiya, I don’t have time for this,” Tsunade complained. “It’s too damn hot for your pervy games!” she exclaimed, laying down on the grass.



“Wearing all those clothes must make you hot, though, Tsunade,” whispered Jiraiya in an expectant, husky voice. He leaned over Tsunade, letting his soft hair brush her face as he hovered inches above her smirking face. Tsunade’s expression sofd asd as she allowed Jiraiya to lower himself on top of her and gently kiss her pouting lips. He was being very careful, even gentleman like, with all of this….



But the heat was too much. Tsunade grinned wickedly and unleashed some of her famed strength. In one move, she pinned Jiraiya to the ground. The white-haired boy was merciless, but his face was heated with growing pleasure. Tsunade removed his shirt with eagerly clawing hands, revealing her prey’s toned, tan torso. Jiraiya had known Tsunade was feisty, but never like this….



Tsunade removed her outer kimono so what only the mesh undershirt remained. Jiraiya smiled a bit when he saw the new, daring apparel of the dominating vixen that sneeringly loomed over him and attempted to remove his loose,an an class=SpellE>flowy ninja shorts…



He allowed her, naturally. Tsunade ran her small hands over Jiraiya’s taut stomach, teasing him with tenuous, tantalizing spirals of her fingertips. Her hands rested on his hips as she firmly massaged them and allowed her teammate’s heated body to react accordingly—thrusting forcefully into her masterful s. Jiraiya had climaxed already and Tsunade was on the verge of ecstasy when Orochimaru’s soft voice reached them. Something about the sibilant intonations of his words interested Jiraiya for a moment, but he promptly shook it off.



“Oro--- chi---- maru… I’m ---busy,” managed Jiraiya as he allowed Tsunade to command his movements yet again. Orochimaru’s face was tinged with a slight redness as he turned his eyes from the scene.



Naturally, there was no way out. Jiraiya and Tsunade stood to their feet in a few moments, tired and sweaty and still –quite- horny. Jiraiya grinned wickedly at their black-haired teammate, and Tsunade curled her finger, motioning for Oro to join them.



“I…” began Orochimaru as he felt a tremor of pleasure run through his lithe body. He turned to the tan, welcoming body of his obnoxious teammate as he approached the white-haired man wi hu hungry grin.



“You’re mine, you bastard… You ruined my meditation, so you’ll pay—“ he hissed wickedly, flicking his long tongue past his parted lips.



Jiraiya didn’t know what to expect. He had never felt much attraction towards another male, but for some reason… Orochimaru was different.



Jiraiya looked towards Oro with a curious expectation as the taller boy whipped his black hair behind his head and threw his arms around Jiraiya’s neck. Oro smiled ey asy as he leaned Jiraiya against a thick tree and ran his smooth hands over the white-haired boy’s back.



“You asked for this,” murmured Orochimaru in a voice that was similar to the purring of a wild cat.



The black-haired boy fiercely crushed his lips against the innocent, idealized lips of his sworn enemy. Jiraiya was full of energy and warmth, much like the sun…. He was also very proud and fun to toy with.



“Looks like I can still make you squirm,” whispered Orochimaru into Jiraiya’s ear as he flicked his tongue over his lips yet again. Oro grinned at Jir>Jiraiya’s lack of a struggle as he felt ene enemy’s hands reluctantly touch his face. Jiraiya brought Orochimaru’s slim body towards his own, reveling in the moment that he never thought would happen…



Tsunade grinned at the scene. She could feel the reluctancy melting and the passion taking control between the two enemies as they touched each other in a forbidden, hormone-driven dance.



Jiraiya tried to break away from the snake-boy’s grip, but resistance was futile. He was Orochimaru’s captive, and nothing would change that….



Except for Tsunade.





“Outta the way, boys,” said Tsunade loudly as she approached Orochimaru. Behind his dark robes, Tsunade knew that a lustful teenage boy hung back in there, cloaked in shadows.





“Let me get a taste of snake-boy,” she said slyly before she pulled Orochimaru into a trance-like connecting of their bodies and mouths. She threw her hands about his neck and pulled down his restrictive kimono for an instant. His flesh was surprisingly warm and welcoming, and his face was beautifully warm in the fading light.



“Oro…” she whispered as he fell under her control for an instant. Orochimaru shook it off, trying his best to control his rampant hormones.



“I… I have to leave. I shouldn’t be like this,” said Orochimaru to himself.



Jiraiya ln> laughed out loud, folding his arms casually.

I stared at the fire burning in front of my eyes. I watched as the flames dance wildly trying its best to withstand the night breeze, it was almost lulling my senses to sleep. Eyes threatened to close as my head almost bobbed lazily forward pressing the weight of it against my palm.
Somewhere in my hazy mind, I could almost smell that sweet jasmine scent. Ah, yes. That smell that belonged to only HER. Remembering nights like those, she would accompany me during some of my missions and we would be camping out like this. I would always be the insecure one, muscles tensing as I watched out for both our backs out here in the wild.

Not for me, but for her.

She would always be so relaxed, I remember her resting her head on my shoulder while I tended to the fire, trying to keep it on because the night air was so damn cold. She would put her arms around me and pull closer. Her warmth was always so inviting. She used to tell me I worried too much or I was too tense and that she could take care of herself. At that point, she would get up and put her arms on my shoulder-blades and start easing the tension in my muscles with a strength I didn't know she had.
She wasn't the same as she was before. She blossomed into a beautiful woman. Her long pale-pink hair cascaded down her shoulders and he briefly recalled how silky and soft the strands were. But mostly she was still herself. She was still Sakura to him. I closed my eyes, realizing I felt so empty.

I miss her.

It had only been for three days on a mission but I can't help but want to go home already. The mission was over, there was no point in staying here in this little island. There was a sharp pain at the back of my head and I glanced to my right where my two idiot teammates for this mission were drinking up a storm. I glanced back down to the ground to see a pebble. 'No time to celebrate, bunch of dobes...' I muttered to myself. But I had no choice, there was no way off the island except by boat, which would still come by during the morning.

'And what are those idiots doing? Oh. My. God. Are they...' an eye twitch. '....Singing!?!?' I was debating with myself whether it would be a better option to murder them on the spot and tell the others they died honorably or just swim for it. Their hoarse cries were getting louder by the minute and my teeth clamped hard on my lower lip to keep from tackling them and knocking them unconscious to shut them up.

"Hey, Uchiha! Drink with usss~~"
"Not on your life, morons," I hissed. Great. Now they were trying to talk to me. I better get moving before they get weird ideas.

I slipped into my tent and zipped it tight. I wasn't in the mood to pummel them as of the moment. I formed handseals and released a jutsu that made sure sound didn't get inside the tent by creating an invisible sound-proof barrier around it. It would disappear by the time morning comes anyway.

I leaned back until my head touched the sleeping bag. I could still smell the jasmine. I closed my eyes and took a whiff wondering if I was imagining it. I could still remember how she fit in my arms and how she curled up next to me, her head on my chest and one arm across my chest stroking lazy circles, her legs tangled in mine, her head snuggling in the crook of my neck, and how her fingers would come up and caress my cheek and move even higher to run her fingers in my hair...

This was too much.. I was deciding whether I should really swim for it but it would be quite foolish. She was all the way back in Konoha in the apartment... OUR apartment. I wonder what she's up to...

She was probably stepping fresh out of bath with one towel around her body, and another on her head. I would probably be home by that time and I'd watch her silently as she'd unwrap the towel from her head. By that time, I'd grab her from behind and she would answer with a surprised squeak that would turn into a moan when my lips would find their way to her creamy neck where the scent of jasmine was the strongest. Then, her body would relax into my arms and she'd breath out my name...

"Sasuke..."

It was a small gesture but somehow it had a great effect on me. Encouraged, I'd run my hands down her towel until I find the opening and I'd slip my hand inside, finding the soft sensitive flesh between her legs and feel her thighs squeeze as she'd arch into my hand. My hands would move away from her core and cup her breasts, running my fingers against each sensitive peak. And her face... I could imagine her with her eyes closed, her cheeks flushed, and mouth partly open breathing shallow breaths.

And in my distraction, she would use that to ease her hands into my boxers and grab a hold of me. I'd cry out as she caresses my throbbing erection only for it to go harder in her grasp...
At this moment, I realized that I was the one short out of breath from my own ardor thoughts. I need her... Now! I cursed silently and I could only groan in frustration because I can't be with her until tomorrow. I reach over my backpack and set up my clock for morning. Then, rolled over so I was facing the floor of the tent. I put my fingers together and cry out, "Forced Sleep no Jutsu!!"

I could feel my muscles finally relaxing and my eyes drifted close. 'Tomorrow...' I told myself. 'Tomorrow, I shall claim her again...'

It was becoming quite a battle. Though unofficially sanctioned, Sasuke and Rock Lee were fighting head on the training grounds. Lee having recovered more or less from his fight with Gaara, and Sasuke recovered from his encounter with the Sound Nins, both were squaring off to finish the fight that nearly started before the Chunnin exam.
However, this is not their story.
“There’s no way thick brows is gonna beat Sasuke!” Naruto said from the sidelines, unaware of anyone listening to him. He, Lee’s teammates, as well as Sakura, had been watching since the start, and a surge of onlookers had been gathering, anxious to see who would win: the Genius Progeny of the Uchiha clan, or the Taijutsu master of Hard Work.
“You sure?” came a familiar voice. “I wouldn’t underestimate that boy Lee.”
Naruto averted his gaze from the fight to see the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade. Her eyes hadn’t left Naruto that whole time; she took every opportunity she met with him to regard his similarity to her brother.
“Oh, Tsunade-sama!” Naruto commented, scratching the back of his neck. “You really think so? I’ve fought Sasuke out out before; he’s not easily beaten.”
Tsunade just laughed. “I have no doubt of that. But Rock Lee’s taijutsu leaves Sasuke’s Sharingan at a severe disadvantage.”
Naruto grinned widely. “If you think Sasuke’s only strength is his Sharingan, then you’re in for a surprise or two.”
Tsunade felt a familiar tingle go through her. Her smile widened. It was time for some fun.
“Oh really? Wanna make a bet of it?” Tsunade said, a hint of lust behind her voice.
“Oh, a bet? From the world famous sucker? Count me in!” Naruto exclaimed. “I’ll bet you whatever you can think of that Sasuke will win!”
Tsunade smiled. “I’ll bet you anything you can think of that Lee will win.”
Naruto smiled. “What do you wanna bet?”
Tsunade shrugged. “I don’t know. Got any money?”
Naruto cringed. “Uh…well…”

(Flashback)

Naruto had in his arms a huge stack of instant ramen cups. Behind him, a disgruntled storekeeper gasps.
“Kid, are you sure you can afford all that?”
Naruto hold up his Froggy wallet, still fat from his trip with Jiraiya. “Just take the cost outa here, will ya?”

(End Flashback)

Tsunade sighed. “Somehow, I should have predicted that.”
An idea came to Naruto as he reached inside his shirt and pulled out the ore that she had lost to him when they made the bet about his ability to learn the Rasengan.
“How about this? Would you want this little thing back?”
Tsunade’s eyes gleamed at the sight the familiar object. Though she had treated it more like a gift from her to him, a wager was a wager, no matter its origin.
“Idaro!” she replied. Deal. “What should I wager?”
Naruto thought about it. A smile came across his face.
“Well, you are the Hokage, after all. I’m sure you could think of something to give me.”
Tsunade frowned. True, she was the Hokage, and was in fact privy to all Ninja paraphernalia of Hidden Leaf Village…but offering up such things to a Gennin seemed rather risky to her post. If she were to wager, say, the Forbidden Scrolls of Sealing, they would legally belong to Naruto, which would not stand at all for the people of the village.
Perhaps she should wager her services. Perhaps as a trainer? Having the Hokage as a teacher…now that was laughable.
Then an idea occurred to her. One that popped out before she could consider otherwise.
“How about a night with yours truly?” she said, striking a pose, winking at him. “I’d imagine that would be a desirable wager.”
Naruto’s face turned beat red. “That’s disgusting!” he shouted, pointing a finger at her. “Why would I want to sleep with an old hag like you?”
Tsunade just giggled, silently regretting her words.
“That’s it, just forget the stupid bet!” Naruto exclaimed, walking away from her. Tsunade frowned, realizing just how disgraceful she must have been. How desperate…
She shook her head. No. If she truly desired someone, it would be someone older, at least, someone of a consenting age. At least then, it wouldn’t be frowned upon as much.
But he was so similar to Dan. The familiarity was overwhelming. The thought in itself drove Tsunade to flush in excitement.
Naruto, for his part, huffed, now completely peeved. He knew that the Hokage was an old woman, despite her looks. He knew that she had kept a youthful guise, and would hardly be desirable in any case.
But that did not calm his feelings.
She was beautiful.
She was so beautiful…
Naruto shook his head. “No! I can’t be thinking about such things!” he said to himself. “After all, I like Sakura, not Tsunade-obachan!” He started sweating, not even paying attention to the fight between Sasuke and Lee.
“I like Sakura…not Tsunade…”
He stared down at his hands in disbelief. He recalled his encounter with Tsunade after they defeated Orochimaru. She had beaten him one finger, and with him awaiting the final blow, she had kissed him on the cheek.
Naruto felt his cheek where she had kissed him.
“…Right?”

***

Sasuke and Lee were fighting on a whole different level than when they’d first sparred at the Chunnin Exam. For one thing, Sasuke was actually able to keep up with most of Lee’s moves. However, try as he might, he couldn’t seem to take the advantage, and Lee did not appear to be tiring.
Sasuke kept his Sharingan open, however, he disciplined himself to not reply on it too much. With a flash of fire breath, he had driven Rock Lee to the branch of a tree a ways off. To stay on equal ground, Sasuke leaped to the branch of a tree level with Lee’s.
Both fighters stood their ground, recovering lost strength. Both of them knew the other would not last long. With a flash in Sasuke’s eyes and shimmer of Lee’s teeth, they both readied for the final blow.

***

Naruto scanned the crowd for Tsunade, who had moved from her original position. Desperate, Naruto searched high and low, until he found her standing behind a crowd of Junins.
Naruto ran in her direction. Tsunade’s attention was still on the fight, until she turned to fix her gaze on Naruto.
“Crap,” Naruto said to himself. “She sees me.”
Nervously, Naruto continued his approach until he was facing her.
Her attention was on him, her eyes betraying nothing. Naruto could just imagine what she was thinking. She probably guessed why he had come back. After a bit of thought, no doubt she had dismissed the idea herself. He could just imagine her laughing at him when he tried to reestablish the deal.
“Idaro,” Naruto said, breathing hard out of nervousness.
Tsunade blinked. She hadn’t actually thought he’d be direct. “What?”
Naruto cleared his throat. “We have a bet. If Lee wins, you get your ore back. If Sasuke wins…you spend the night with me.”
Tsunade’s eyes widened. She could see the determination in Naruto’s eyes. He meant what he said.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” Tsunade asked, cautiously. If it wasn’t, this could be seriously incriminating.
Naruto smiled and held up the ore around his neck. “I am not going to lose this. This is my prize from Tsunade for mastering the Rasengan.” Pointing his finger at Tsunade, he exclaimed, “With the “world famous sucker” betting against me, I can’t possibly lose!”
Tsunade smiled. He was avoiding the heart of the question. She could tell he was nervous. But it meant that he was not bluffing. He ndednded to sleep with her that night.
Simultaneously, both of them turned their eyes to the action.

***

Rock Lee revved up for a medium Lotus attack. Full power would be too much for his permanently damaged body, but a medium lotus should be fine. Sasuke, for his part, charged up his Chidori attack. Both parties were charged up at their limit for their attack. Any more would be catastrophic.
“Lee has a handicap!” Tsunade exclaimed. “His chakra can’t go past a certain limit because of his injury!”
Naruto winked. “Well, Sasuke’s handicapped also. He can’t raise his chakra past a certain point either, or else he’ll break the seal that ties him from death. Sasuke’s not foolish enough to break that seal just for a sparring match. So we won’t exceed it.”
Tsunade couldn’t argue, so fervorently watched the match, she hoped Lee wouldn’t mess up.
Naruto wasn’t sure whether he wanted to win or not. His mind wasn’t even on the fight. His head was spinning with anticipation. He might actually get to do it with Tsunade. It seemed too t tot to imagine.
Before either Naruto or Tsunade could say a word, Sasuke hurdled himself down the trunk of the tree, a ball of heightened flesh in his hand. At the same time, Rock Lee spun himself into spiraling tornado of energy. Both fighters hurled themselves at each other, the audience roaring with cheers.
The two sides impacted, and half the crowd was knocked off its feet. When they got back up to see, Sasuke and Rock Lee were still holding onto their attacks. Sasuke’s heightened flesh was still reeling from the momentum, and Lee’s twirling Lotus still spun at his foe.
Now it was a test to see whose attack would last longer. As soon as Sasuke’s Chidori ran out, Lee’s attack would hit him when he was vulnerable. And the same would happen if Lee’s attacked faded too soon.
But luck seemed cruel and ironic that day, as Lee’s tired body suddenly spun off course. Twisting and convulsing, unable to control his lotus, he lost focus, and spun awry. Sasuke, still pressing forward, launched the last of his Chidori at Lee’s exposed side.
Lee went down hard, impacting the ground on his side, sliding a good distance, before stopping, still in the dirt. Sasuke stood over him, defiant. For a few moments, nobody stirred, until Sasuke harrumphed.
“I win.”
With that, he walked away, and Lee’s teammates rushed out to check on him. Luckily he was fine, but completely unable to fight. Sasuke had judged correctly.
Tsunade was speechless. She had lost. Again. And what was worse, she had to give herself to Naruto in payment. She was not all that against it emotionally, but she knew in her mihat hat it would be frowned upon if it ever got out. And she was not sure if she could trust Naruto not to talk.
She turned to face Naruto. But he was gone.

***

Shortly afterward, Tsunade found Naruto on the bridge, staring at the water. There was no one else around, so she walked over to him and leaned against the railing beside him.
“Narutohe mhe muttered. “We have to talk.”
“Some fight, huh?” Naruto laughed, blatantly avoiding the topic at hand. “You never get tired of betting, Hokage-sama. Anyone could have told you Sasuke would have won.”
Tsunade frowned. “Naruto…”
Naruto didn’t stop. “Well, don’t worry about it. It was a stupid bet anyway, huh? Hahahahaha!”
Naruto scratched the back of his neck and closed his eyes, trying to act amused. He wasn’t. And Tsunade could tell.
“No, seriously, I’m not gonna ask you to go through with it,” Naruto said. “It’s not like I had any rigo aso ask you in the first place.”
When no reply came, Naruto began to walk away.
“Yes you did,” Tsunade said.
Naruto stopped walking. He turned to face her. But he couldn’t bring his eyes to hers.
“…Because…if you’d have lost, I would have expected the ore as payment. I made the bet fully prepared to pay up if I lost. I may skip town on the nobodies that I bet with from time to time…but I wouldn’t back out on a lost bet from a friend.”
Naruto scratched the back of his neck. Despite the circumstances, it was an honor for her to call him a friend.
“So…it’s all right?” Naruto asked. “I mean…aren’t there, like, risks and stuff like that?”
Tsunade, despite her previously boggled state of mind, righted herself and spoke with pride. “Young man, who do you think I am? You think I’d allow myself to fall prey to the risks of sexuality, when as a doctor and female ninja (A/N: There was a word for female ninja, but I can’t remember.), I can easily divert them?”
Naruto shook his head. “No, I mean…won’t yot…lit…like…penalized…or something…for sleeping with a minor?”
Tsunade winked. “Not if they don’t find out.”
Naruto smiled. He had expected Tsunade to be snobbish about the whole event. But she seemed to be keen on it. Almost as much as he was…
“So…I’ll see you at my place tonight then?” Naruto asked, nervously.
Tsunade winked. “I’ll be there, Naruto. But I don’t think I need to tell you…”
Naruto nodded. “I know. I won’t tell a soul.”
Tsunade gleamed. “I knew I could count on you.”
Naruto smiled and ran off like a happy puppy.

***

Despite sincerest efforts, Naruto could hardly contain his glee for the remainder of the day.
“Naruto,” Sakura glared. “What are you so giddy about?”
Naruto laughed and shrugged. “Oh, uh…nothing.”
Sakura, unconvinced, continued to pry, until Naruto eventually scampered away. He had to hide from her for the remainder of the day.
“Wow,” Naruto thought, as he cleaned up his house for the evening. “It’s interesting just how…unappealing Sakura seems when compared to Tsunade.”
He imagined Sakura and Tsunade both bathing in the hot spring, completely bare. Naruto gleamed when he thought of Tsunade. God, how had he ever been able to resist her before? Was it some mental block because she was old?
Naruto cringed, as a mental image of him screwing an old hag came to mind. He would have to ask Tsunade if her guise was an actual body augmentation or just genjutsu.
Naruto cringed again and went back to his work. He had just about finished, and it was getting late. What time would Tsunade come over? Nine? Ten? Midnight? Two in the morning?
Naruto biding his time arranging and rearranging things in his room. Was Tsunade even aware of just how much of an affect she was having on the boy?
A knock. Naruto was there in moments, opening the door.
“Hai! Konban wa!” he said, excitedly. Good evening.
Naruto started suddenly, when he saw Sakura standing in the doorway, a big suspicious scowl on her face.
“Good evening, Naruto-kun,” Sakura said, a little peeved.
Naruto gaped. “Saukura-chan!? What are you doing here?”
Sakura didn’t reply, and without pausing, entered the room.
“Gosh, Naruto, you seemed to have cleaned the place up nicely,” Sakura said. “Expecting someone?”
Naruto gulped. “Uh…how do you mean?”
Sakura pointed an accusing finger at Naruto. “I mean, are you planning on having a girl over tonight?”
Naruto backed away at Sakura’s accusation. “Umm…Sakura…just out of curiosity…why are you so interested in something like that?”
Sakura stomped her feet. “That’s besides the point!”
Naruto glared and stepped up to her. “And while you on that question, exactly how would you know if my room were any cleaner this evening? You’ve never even been in here!”
Sakura paused, realizing she had overstepped her boundaries. Glaring, she turned her back, facing the open door.
“This isn’t over, Naruto,” Sakura piped. “I’ll get to the bottom of this!”
Sakura huffed as she stomped out, slamming the door behind her.
Naruto breathed a huge sigh of relief, before falling on his backside in front of the door.
Not a minute afterward, the bell rung again.
Cautiously, Naruto clutched the doorknob and opened it. In the doorway stood Tsunade, dressed in a light pink kimono that barely came past her hips.
“Hello, Naruto,” she said, provocatively. “Your previous visitor seems to have left. May I come in?”
Naruto smiled. “Sure! Uh…are you sure that Sakura’s not spying on you? Oh, wait…you’re the Hokage, of course you’re sure!”
Tsunade smiled in confirmation, and stepped inside, walked in painfully slowly, shifting her weight from one leg to the other, making blatant moves with her hips. All in all, Naruto was spellbound. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, as she walked around, sizing up his accommodations.
“Not bad,” Tsunade said, pretending to be intrigued. “Did you clean the place up just for me?”
Naruto just sort of nodded, dumbly. His eyes didn’t move from Tsunade’s body. He couldn’t pry his gaze from her curvaceous figure, her supple breasts, and her shapely posterior. And when Tsunade turned to face him, Naruto found himself wondering just what was kept just behind the thin layer of linen that covered her womanhood.
“Shall we get started?” Tsunade asked, suddenly.
Naruto jerked. “Uh…no, um…could we…uh…wait…for little while?”
Tsunade smiled and draped herself on top of Naruto’s bed, resting on arms on her legs, toying with the rim of her robe.
“Anytime you’re ready.”
Naruto found himself drawn to her, as he descended toward her. He was kneeling before her, his hands clenching blindly at imaginary shapes.
Tsunade spoke not a word, but watched Naruto as he gaped at her. She had expected as much from the boy, and was used to it from some of her suitors. And such behavior was just too similar to Dan’s…
Naruto gulped loudly. “You’re sure that…you’re ok with this?”
Tsunade drew in her breath. “To be honest, Naruto…being Hokage has taken far too much out of my normal life, and it’s been months since my last bed partner. So I’ve been anticipating this evening ever since we left. I’m just too involved now.”
Naruto shivered. “And you’re not…aren’t you…don’t you feel…somehow… guilty…for doing this with me?”
Tsunade sat up, suddenly, stopping with her face inches from Naruto’s. “If you think sleeping with a minor is enough to make me feel guilty after everything I’ve done in my life, then you’ve underestimated me. I may be Hokage, but before that, I did things that even I won’t tell you at your age.”
Naruto gulped and Tsunade laid her body back down. “Now ask yourself this question, Naruto: are you ready for this?”
Naruto slowly nodded. “…Yes. Just because I’m nervous doesn’t mean I don’t want to. The first time’s the first time. I’ll be just as nervous even if I were ten years older.”
Tsunade smiled. “Well then…do as you will.”
Naruto allowed himself to edge closer to her. “Can I…um…” Naruto swallowed again. “…touch you?”
Naruto regretted the words as soon as they escaped his lips. How stupid and perverted sounding was that? Clenching his eyes, he awaited Tsunade’s mocking tisk.
“Yes…” Tsunade replied, calmly. “If you wish.”
Naruto’s eyes flew open and stared at her face. She didn’t seem disgusted at all. Naruto extended a cautious hand and gently stroked the bare surface of her left leg. He felt a surge of electricity flow through him at the contact. Her skin was so soft and smooth. It was like linen!
Naruto slowly ran his hand up the side of her leg, not yet daring to reach for her center, and came to rest around her waist.
Naruto glanced up from her body to her face. Tsunade’s face gave only encouragement, with lustful smile and eyes that both invited and chuckled at the same time. She winked at him, letting out a giggle.
Naruto cautiously ran his hand up her abdomen, until it stopped just below her bosom. Naruto gulped again, not sure whether or not to go further, until Tsunade took his hand in hers and brought it up to her left breast.
Naruto gasped as the soft gland beneath his fingers melted into his grip, giving way to his every movement. Naruto tried to see how soft they really were, and squeezed.
Tsunade gasped at the sudden ministration. “Careful!” she sputtered. “Don’t break it.”
Naruto suddenly withdrew his hand, “Oh…uh…sorry…”
After a moment’s pause, Naruto reached for her again. His fingers were inches from the straps that bound her robe shut, when he was interrupted again.
“Aren’t you going to kiss me?” Tsunade whined.
Naruto suddenly jerked up again. “Huh? Um…should I?”
Tsunade slowly opened and shut her eyes, taking his hand in both of hers.
“I would like it, Naruto.”
Naruto withdrew from her face, seeing the blush beneath her eyes. He then shifted his gaze to her mouth. Tsunade licked her lips, and curled her face into a smile.
“Kore wa kimi no…shoujo mo first no kiss de…ne?”
This is your…first kiss with a girl…isn’t it?
Naruto inhaled heavily. He didn’t want to admit it, but he could not keep anything from her. Not now.
“Hai…”
Tsunade righted herself so that she was facing Naruto, who was trying desperately to keep his composure. She leaned closer, letting her hot breath cover Naruto’s face, allowing him a moment to consider his position.
Naruto was frozen solid, like a figure in time. He couldn’t try to resist any longer, and he let Tsunade come to him. He felt her mouth envelope his, as she pulled his body closer to hers. He felt her tongue push into his mouth, as she pulled his smaller body into her arms, surrounding him in her warm skin.
No clo closed his eyes, allowing her to deepen the kiss, letting her lips suckle on his own, her sweet saliva permeating his orifice, her warm breath enveloping ever fiber of his being, and her soft body enclosed around his.
It was bliss.
Tsunade parted far too soon for Naruto, leaving stilstill puckering, his eyes closed and his arms outstretched as though still clinging to her body. He opened his eyes, and saw Tsunade’s warm, mischievous smile.
“So how was it?” she asked, cutely. “Was it a good first kiss?”
Naruto stood motionless for a few moments. Tsunade thought for a moment that she had done too much to the boy, until his voice spoke out very quietly.
“Tsunade…?”
Tsunade leaned closer to hear. “Yes?”
Naruto returned his gaze to her eyes, a look of curiosity and desperation in his eyes.
“Don’t move,” was all he said.
Tsunade blushed deeply, her thoughts suddenly running rampant. Naruto took her shoulders in his hands and planted her against the bed. Descending towards her ravenously, he kissed her again, this time more aggressively. Tsunade was taken by surprise by the boy’s action. Before he was an innocent and curious little boy. And now, he was…
Naruto let go of her shoulders, and pried open her robe, leaving nothing concealing her sumptuous mammaries. Naruto’s mouth left hers only to take one of her nipples into his mouth, suckling and nibbling at the tender flesh, while his other hand felt her remaining breast, gripping desperately.
Tsunade didn’t have to do anything. She just heaved with his motions, enjoying his ministrations. However, there was something left to be desired. Something that was building up in the space between her legs.
“Naruto…” she managed to get out. “…L…lower…”
Naruto let go of her nipple to look at her eyes. In her eyes, he saw the same desperation that he felt earlier. His eyes fell on the region of her body yet to be uncovered, and with his hands, uncovered the think pink sheet of provocative linen that divided him from his goal.
Tsunade’s soft white panties were already soaking wet. Curious, Naruto ran two fingers up the middle. The result was spectacular. Tsunade’s whole body suddenly jerked, uncontrollably, as her hands suddenly descended to the region where Naruto had just touched, and pressed his fingers in harder.
“Oh, god, Naruto!” Tsunade panted, her eyes closed in ecstasy.
Naruto, glad to see her experiencing pleasure, continued to wiggle his fingers against her, locked beneath her hands, against her soft womanhood, divided only by a soaking pair of panties. Tsunade’s hands pressed even harder in delight, as increasingly loud moans escaped her lips.
Naruto refused to slow his pace, as he continued to rub her soft spot, causing Tsunade to rock and reel at his ministrations. It was mind blowing. Here he was, an inexperienced child, causing he more pleasure than she’d ever felt before. Tsunade made a promise to herself that this would not be her last night with the boy, as she rocked even harder as she felt herself building up. She felt the delightfully familiar feeling arise, as though something solid inside her womanhood were rising to the top.
She was disappointed, however, as Naruto’s fingers left her soft spot. She opened her eyes and stared down at him, softly.
“Naruto?” she asked, quietly. “Why did you stop?”
Naruto closed his eyes, a pained look on his face. “You don’t have to pretend, Tsunade.”
Tsunade blinked. “W-what?”
Naruto opened his eyes and glared at her. “I know that I’m inexperienced…so you don’t have to pretend that you’re enjoying this. I expected to be demeaned tonight…but if you’re going to mock me by pretending to enjoy this…then you might as well just leave, right now.”
Tsunade’s mouth opened in surprise. He actually thought that she…
Tsunade reached down and stroked Naruto’s face. “Naruto-kun…? You’ll probably call me a liar…heck, I hardly believe it myself…but…just now…you were giving me more pleasure than I’ve ever felt in a long time.”
Naruto turned a skeptical face to her. “You’re not just saying that?”
Tsunade shook her head. “Naruto…I can’t believe I’m saying this…but I don’t want this to be my last night with you.”
Naruto’s face lit up. “You…really…?”
Tsunade smiled. “Naruto…you can’t begin to understand just how much I want you right now. Please…don’t let got of me…just because you think I’m pretending.”
Naruto stared at her face, with an emotion that he’d never felt before, at least, not for her. She actually cared about him. She actually…needed him.
Tsunade was worried that she had not convinced the boy, and was about to speak again, when she realized, with a touch of disbelieve, that he was removing her panties.
No, she thought. He isn’t going to…
She suddenly reeled back uncontrollably as Naruto’s tongue came down to lap at her soft center. In a matter of seconds, Naruto’s touch drove Tsunade over the edge, as she wailed louder than ever, her insides closing in, releasing her climax in an explosion of passion.
Tsunade slumped down, and Naruto got the idea that he should stop. He smiled and crawled up next to her, delivering a light kiss to her face.
“Naruto-san…” Tsunade stuttered. “If this is…what I get for losing a bet…then I wouldn’t mind losing more often.”
Naruto exhaled and turned over to rest his head on her stomach, staring at Tsunade’s face. “You already lose too often. But you too…you’ve made this an interesting experience.”
Tsunade took a deep breath, spurred by the jab. “Oh…we’re not done just yet.”
Naruto was taken completely off guard, as Tsunade suddenly grasped him by the shoulders, plunked him on his back, and began to pull down his pants.
“Ts…Tsunade-sama…” he stuttered. “What are you…?”
Tsunade winked at him, affectionately. “Just returning a favor.”
Naruto’s pants came down with ease, as his semi-erect manhood sprung free. Tsunade smiled. Not a bad package. She began to caress him softly around the inner thighs, just barely brushing his pubic hairs. Naruto shivered, his face glowing red, as she tortured him.
“So…good…” he muttered to himself.
Tsunade smiled up at him, and brought her hands around his erection, gently constricting her grip around him. Naruto let out a heave, his hips bucking with pleasure.
How can…Tsunade…be so good? He thought to himself.
Tsunade pumped her hands tightly around his member, sending shivers shooting up Naruto’s spine. Naruto felt himself breathing harder and harder.
It’s like…how I get when I’m around Sakura…only better!
Tsunade smiled at her work, lapping up the small bead of pre-cum at the tip. That’s when Naruto moaned loudly, his hips suddenly thrusting outward unconsciously. This only served to goad Tsunade onward, taking all of him in her mouth, running her lips and tongue all over the surface of his manhood. Naruto moaned with each stroking suckle, as he felt something rising to the edge. Blood continued rushing to his lower regions, preparing his lower body for something tremendous. Naruto could only sit there in wonder of what was coming, as Tsunade’s ministrations drove him farther towards the edge.
When his body could bear it no longer, he bucked his hips forward one last time, as he felt something warm pump out of him. Tsunade felt the warm fluid seep into her mouth, lavishing at the taste. Oh, how she’d missed it. She swallowed it, gleefully, and removed her mouth from Naruto’s member.
Naruto looked down at her in wonder and shock. “Wha…what did you…do?”
Tsunade licked her lips and smiled. “Oh, what a girl can do to please her guy.”
Naruto stared down at himself, thinking about what just happened. “Well, I guess that means it’s true.”
Tsunade glanced at him. “What?”
Naruto chuckled. “You really are the World Famous Sucker!”
Tsunade blushed profusely. “That’s…not…how I got that name!”
Naruto smiled. “You sure? Cause it was great!”
Tsunade smiled again. “You ready for the final part?”
Naruto blinked. “Huh? You mean there’s more?”
Tsunade pet his leg, provocatively. “Of course, silly. Jeez, how can you know how to please a girl when you don’t even know how to go all the way?”
Naruto shrugged. “I don’t know. You just…seemed so happy, so I…just kept doing what I was doing.”
Tsunade titled her head. “But what about after that? After you said you thought I was pretending?”
Naruto shrugged again. “I don’t know that either. It just…looked so good…I felt like I’d locked onto a target. Like ‘that’s what I should focus on.’”
Tsunade smiled. “Well, you were really good at it. I’m sure you’ll be able to please Sakura the same way.”
Naruto gave her a weird look. “Sakura? Man, why would I want Sakura when I have you?”
Tsunade suddenly inhaled. He thought that she…? She laughed, lightly. “Naruto…I enjoyed this very much, and I’m serious when I say I plan to return on occasion…but you don’t ‘have me’ yet.”
Naruto looked sadly at her. “What do you mean?”
Tsunade sighed. “I’m old, Naruto, and I’m the Hokage. If anything were to exist between us, it would have to be in secret. We’d both be living a lie. If we were discovered, we’d both be stripped of our roles and shunned. Can you live with that, Naruto?”
Naruto looked downward. “If it would mean being with you…even for this amount of time…”
Tsunade’s heart melted at those words. Naruto truly felt for her. “I’m so sorry, Naruto…I shouldn’t have put you in this position.”
Naruto took her hand suddenly. “No! I’m glad you offered yourself to me today. You showed me something that no one else in this whole village was willing to show. Even if it means letting you go, Tsunade…I would never forget this night, and I would never forget you.”
Tears started flowing from Tsunade’s eyes. He was just like Dan. Just like…
“And you know something else, Tsunade?” Naruto continued. “I wouldn’t even care if we didn’t go all the way tonight. I don’t care if you decided never to sleep with me again. All I know is…is that I’m glad you’ve taken me as far as you have…because…you were the only one who was willing to.”
Tsunade was weeping now, tears flowing freely. The more this boy spoke, the more her heart softened to him. She wanted him desperately now. She wanted him now and forever. Even if it meant disgracing the Hokage name. She just didn’t care. She wanted him.
“Tsunade?” Naruto said, concerned. “Why are you crying?”
Tsunade took Naruto’s face in her hands. “Oh, Naruto…do you know…what it is that you’re truly feeling?”
Naruto shook his head, not understanding.
“Kore wa…ai desu…” Tsunade sobbed. It’s…love.
Naruto blinked. “Ai desu?”
Tsunade nodded. “What you just described, Naruto…I’ve never heard a more pure definition. And I can’t let that go. No matter how it will affect us or how others see us. Because…I feel the same way.”
Naruto put the pieces together in his head. “You mean…you love me?”
Tsunade closed her eyes as she nodded her head. “I didn’t want to admit it at first…but ever since the day I met you…there’s just been something about you…and I just…”
Tsunade, once again, started weeping, this time resting sideways, with her head in Naruto’s lap (Naruto had pulled his pants up by now). Naruto felt somehow obligated to comfort her, after declaring her love for him, and all he could think of to run his fingers through her velvety hair, stroking the tears from her face. With the other hand, he stroked her side, her body completely bare before him. But he didn’t care. She was beautiful. And, at last, she was his.
Naruto ceased his stroking her of her hair, and with his now free hand, he clasped both arms around her waist.
Tsunade looked up, disturbed. “Naruto? What are you…?”
Naruto smiled at her. “Just relax, Tsunade.”
With his grip of her, he lifted her upright, her back facing him. He stared kissing her neck, passionately, nipping here and there. Almost subconsciously, his right hand made its way back to her womanhood, while the left began caressing her breast.
“N-Naruto…” Tsunade exclaime a h a half laugh half moan. Her eyes closed as his hand worked on her soft spot, this time unhindered by fabric. Naruto began nibbling on Tsunade’s ear, as he increased the pace of his feverous rubbing, until Tsunade let out screams of delight.
Unable to control himself, Naruto suddenly dug his fingers in as deep as they could go, until he was actually lifting her with his hand on her womanhood. As he did, Tsunade’s eyes flew open, as an unbelievable amount pleasure struck all all at once. It was only for a second, and Naruto immediately placed her on top of his groin. Quickly undoing his pants, he let Tsunade envelope him, and began rocking his hips up and down, gyrating beneath her.
Naruto’s hands never left her body, his left on her cleavage, his right stroking her clitoris. His teeth clamped down on her earlobe, sending surges of pleasure through her, as the constant jolts of ecstasy struck where their regions met. Tsunade clamped down as hard as she could on the boy, grateful for his love and desperate for his seed. Every part of her clenched and unclenched in sync with Naruto, as she felt herself building up again, her inside sodden with juices.
Naruto was bucking into her furiously, as if his life depended on it. His hands clenched desperately at every part of her body he could reach, biting her neck and her ear. His fingers worked feverishly as at her clitoris, as his lower regions pumped furiously into her sweet spot, s and and warmth perspiring from the both of them.
Tsunade felt the familiar rise come to the top. But before it did, she turned her head towards Naruto’s, her hand coming up to stroke the back of his head.
“I…I love you, Naruto…”
Before Naruto could reply, she kissed him deeply, before releasing her climax. Shortly afterward, Naruto felt himself coming again, releasing his seed into her expectant womb. And in the exhaustion of it all, neither found the strength to do much more than simply collapse on the bed right there.
Naruto felt her lips leave his, and he opened his eyes. Tsuande’s were right there, looking back at him.
“I…I don’t think life could be any more perfect,” Naruto muttered, tired, on the verge of sleep.
Tsunade hummed her agreement, her eyes drifting shut.
“Tsunade?” Naruto said aloud.
Tsunade reopened her eyes. “Yes…Naruto?”
Naruto smiled. “I…I love you too.”
Tsunade sighed. With what little energy she had left, she turned herself over so that she was lying directly on top of Naruto. She kissed Naruto again and sighed, resting her head on his chest.
“…I know…”

***

Though Tsunade had checked for spies at the beginning of her visit, during her stay, she had forgotten herself. Enough for a young pink haired girl to return to Naruto’s house, only to hear moans of pleasure from within. Instead of knocking, she creaked open the door, and saw Naruto and…
Sakura pulled away, and quickly and quietly shut the door.
Oh my god! Sakura thought.
Sakura quickly darted away. There had been no mistaking. It was the Hokage. Naruto…and the Hokage. How? And for the love of god, why?
Sakura stopped when she thought that she was a safe enough distance away. “Who am I to care about who that boy sleeps with? It’s not like I care about him. And even if I wanted to get him in trouble…I’d also get the Hokage in trouble. Granted, if she’s off her rocker so much as to sleep with Naruto, maybe she’s not fit for her job, but…I don’t want to get the Hokage in trouble.”
Sakura turned and looked back to where Naruto’s house was, though it was too far to see. “I’ll let them have their fun. And if they get found out, then…well, it won’t me my problem.”
With that, she sped away.

***

Naruto was awakened by Tsunade’s gentle touch.
“Naruto-kun?” he heard.
He opened his eyes.
Tsunade was standing over him, getting dressed. Naruto checked the clock. 5:00 in the morning.
Tsunade smiled. “I’ve got to go now. If I show up to the office looking likis, is, I’ll be a laughing stock. I’ll talk to you sometime later today.”
Tsunade got up and began to walk away, until she felt Naruto’s hand on her leg.
“Naruto?” she asked, returning to his side. “What is it?”
Naruto grinned, and beckoned with his finger. Tsunade, immediately understanding, leaned closer and kissed him on the lips.
Returning to her feet, she smiled, her day already brighter than usual. “I’ll see you later Naruto.”
Naruto smiled and rolled over, as Tsunade turned and returned home.

Sakura had to wonder at her good fortune, and at her luck. When she had mentioned the idea in brief passing to Kakashi she never dreamed that this would happen, she never thought that in a million years that he’d ever agree to this crazy fantasy.

Yet here he was, stark naked and tied to her head board with leather restraints. She had no idea where he had gotten them and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to know. But for now she pushed those thoughts out of her head while she straddled his midsection with a decidedly evil smirk and leaned over to her bedside table.

“What are you planning now?” Kakashi asked.

She didn’t answer and instead pulled out a dark blue scarf that her mother had given her for her last birthday, idly she wondered what her mother would say if she knew that Sakura had never worn it and instead was about to use it for a blindfold on her former teacher. When he saw what she had pulled he raised one eyebrow.

”I think that I may have created a monster here, I know what that’s going to be used for.” He thought, finding that he really didn’t mind all that much.

Sakura wound the dark material around his head, covering his eyes and tying it securely yet not to tightly.

He felt her weight press down slightly before it was lifted off and the bed shifted as she left it completely. He heard her foot steps travel away from the bed and out of her bedroom.

”Okay, now I don’t know what she’s planning.” Kakashi thought.

Sakura padded back into her bedroom, allowing herself a smile at the sight of Kakashi, naked, blindfolded and tied to her bed. She had retrieved what she needed from the kitchen and was ready to but the rest of her idea into action.

”I wonder just how many women would like to be in my place.” Sakura thought.

She popped the piece of ice she had gotten from the kitchen into her mouth and once again climbed onto the bed and knelt over the man laying there. Pushing the ice slightly with her tongue she held it with her teeth and lips and lowered her head to the junction between his collar bones at his throat. She heard him hiss slightly and she began to trail her icy kiss over his chest and lower abdomen.

She crunched the ice in her mouth and let her still cold tongue slide out over her lips before she lowered herself down his body further and took him fully into her mouth.

This time he felt him gasp at the sensation of her cool mouth slipping over him again and again, slowly as if she was trying to drag it out as long as she could.

Gradually she heated up and she went faster and he felt himself pulling at the restraints that lashed him to the bed, his hips began to rise in time with her motions and Sakura sped up even more and took him deeper into her mouth at the same time.

“Oh god,” he groaned and he tensed and knew that he was close.

Sakura smiled around him and continued to work him as much as she could considering the fact that he was moving almost faster than she could keep up, she reached up with one free hand and drug her nails down his chest.

Her last action did him in and he came with a cry, exploding with her mouth still firmly wrapped around him and her nails tracing patterns around his navel.

She took her mouth off of him and slid up him up, straddling him once again and reaching up to pull his blindfold off, he looked at her with a slightly glazed look.

“Where did you learn that?” he asked in wonder.

Sakura just smiled and without answering moved down him again to repeat her actions, this time with him watching.

Shikamaru was twenty two years old and was a Jounin. He even had his own little cell of monsters. Normally he was watching the night sky, but it was raining and he saw Ino carrying some bags on her way to her apartment. He noticed the paper of the bags was starting to rip so he decided to help her, which is troublesome.
So now Shikamaru was holding several heavy bags of food and other things he didn’t want to know about while getting soaked in the rain while he listened to Ino talk about something troublesome. They arrived at her apartment and walked up the fifteen flights of stairs.
“Thanks again Shika, I don’t know how I would have gotten it all up here before the bags would have ripped.” She said as she unlocked the door.
“It was no problem Ino.” He said. Inner Shikamaru: this is so trouble some….
“Would you like something to eat or something?” She asked as he sat down the bags and went to the bathroom and got a towel to start drying off.
“No thanks Ino, I’m fine.” He replied as he sat down on her sofa. He looked around the room seeing various pictures. Some of them had her and Sakura at different ages, her family, their old cell picture and a picture of just him. Shikamaru went up to it and looked at him. It wasn’t an old picture, most likely just a few months old. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around he looked down at Ino, since he was now a few inches taller than her. Ino pulled him down and kissed him, her tongue going inside his mouth as she pulled his Jounin vest off and threw it. She pushed him onto her sofa and straddled his lap, wearing only a towel.
“Ino?” he asked uncertain. Ino grinned at him as she took off his shirt and undid his pants. Shikamaru’s hands grabbed hers and she looked at him with a quizzing look.
“What, don’t you want this Shika?” she asked, kissing his lips.
“No I want this, but why are you doing this?” He asked.
“Because I want to, do you have any problems?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Nope, good enough answer for me.” He said kissing her and taking off her towel one hand went to her breasts and began to play with one of her round breasts. His other hand started to rub her clit while she pulled his pants down and to his ankles. She grabbed a kunai from the table and cut off his boxers before moving down his body and in between his legs. She took him in her mouth and began to suck on him while one hand rubbed him up and down and her other hand played with balls.
Shikamaru smiled as she did this and pushed her head down a bit, letting himself get harder. Ino pushed his hand away and went down his shaft halfway then back up. She sucked on his head and licked at it. He moaned her name lightly and let her continue. Ino grazed her teeth gently up and down him as she moved her head up and down. Her hand was gently massaging his balls while the other hand was rubbing the base of his penis.
She moved her mouth away from his penis and blew on it before she pushed him onto his back and sat over his mouth. Shikamaru took the hint and began to lick her and moves his fingers inside her pussy. His tongue darted inside her a few times, earning a small moan from Ino. He began to lick around her as two of his fingers went in and out of her. He moved his fingers in and out fast and only stopped when she moved away and sat over his hard penis. He licked his finger and put his hands on her hips and pushed her down hard on his erect dick.
Ino moaned and sighed as she felt him inside her and began to move her hips hard into him as he thrsuted his dick upwards inside her. She moaned and moved down on him fast and hard, enjoying the feel of him inside. Shikamaru reached one hand up to her breasts and began to massage one then pinched her nipple and the moved to the other breast and did the same treatment. Ino moaned as she felt him go deeper and touched against her g-spot. They continued to grind and thrust into each other until Ino screamed Shikamaru’s name and dug her nails into his shoulders and kissed him. Shikamaru moaned her name and held her close, his tongue playing with hers as she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid on his naked body.

“That was good Shika-kun.” She said kissing her boyfriend.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. You know you didn’t have to go shopping in the rain to get me over here. It’s all troublesome to do that.” He replied, rubbing her head with his hand.
“You’re here so stop complaining about everything begin so troublesome.” She said kissing her boyfriend of four years.
“Only if you promise me one thing.” He said kissing her and pinching her butt.
“Hmmm, what is it Shika-kun?” she asked, sucking his lower lip.
“We go in the bed room and do this the rest of the night.” He replied picking her up and carrying her to her bedroom.
“I love you Shika-kun.” She said as she kissed him.
“I love you too Ino, even if you are troublesome at times.” He said shutting her door with his foot.

The moon is full. Everything is in peace. The moonlight dims the country of Konoha. Leaves, coming from the surrounding trees, fly among the empty streets and the chorus of crickets breaking the dead silence of the night.
The ninja academy is lights out but a room remained its brightness.
The warm light from a small lamp and a lampshade filled the entire quarters. A man looked out from the window. Smoke slowly billowed from the cigarette. He breathed out a little smoke and placed his cigarette between his lips. He curiously watched the night sky.
“Not yet sleepy? Asuma?” A woman’s voice disturbed his state and he looked at the woman from the next room. It was Kurenai. She was in a night gown. Every curve of her body was seen by the translucent fabric.
“Uhh...yeah. Not yet sleepy yet. Still early.” Asuma answered. He was somewhat mesmerized by the beautiful lady next door. Maybe it’s the smokes or the stirrings?
“Early? It’s already midnight and we have a meeting with master Hokage tomorrow about the Chounin exam next week.” Kurenai said.
“I know that. But there’s something that is bothering in my head.” Asuma flicked his cigarette. “I don’t know if my students are ready for the Chounin exam. I don’t know what things are in store for them. I’m getting worried…”
“Don’t worry, they’ll be fine. You are with them for a long time and you have trust in them. I know that my students are now ready for the exams. I know that they can do it.” Kurenai jumped to Asuma’s window and landed on the stiff tatami mat.
Asuma blankly stared at Kurenai. She blushed and looked at his eyes. Asuma’s eyes looked blurred…blurred with lust. He approached slowly up to her. “Why did you hopped into my room?”
“We’re friends for a long time. We trust and understand each other. It feels like we are more than just like friends.” Kurenai grasped Asuma’s arm to lean him closer to her face. “I like you… I like you a lot.” A hand touched Kurenai’s face. “Yeah, me too…”
Asuma leaned over for a kiss. Kurenai pressed her body against Asuma’s and their kiss deepened. Their tongues entwined between their mouths. They stopped for a few seconds to gasp for air and they kissed again. Their bodies rubbed each other. They walked back towards the bed and Kurenai pushed Asuma on the soft cushion. She leaned over and kissed his neck gently and slowly undresses his shirt.
“I never felt this pleasurable before…” Asuma groaned.
“It’s just the start” Kurenai grinned as she took of Asuma’s shirt and tossed it on the floor. She trailed kisses down his torso, followed by touches of her hand on his chest. Asuma gasped as her touch reached underneath his pants.
“Oh, damn… there…” Asuma leaned back to the pillows as Kurenai gives titillating stimulations, making him so turned on.
“You wouldn’t mind?” Kurenai whispered as she slowly unzips his pants.
“No…arrgh...” Asuma groans louder because of the intense pleasure coursing through him. It’s like an intravenous drug being injected into the body.
“I want you to feel ecstacy…” Kurenai said as she grasps Asuma’s length by the root. Without hesitation, she puts it into her mouth.
“A-ahhhh…there…damn!” Asuma moaned louder as Kurenai’s tongue flicked the head of his hard member. He had never experienced this sensation so intense. Kurenai grasped Asuma’s hips as she suckled his flesh. Asuma grasped her hair and toyed with it. He thrust his hips forward and met with Kurenai’s downward motion.
He cannot handle the intense pleasure. He is now drowning in a sea of ecstacy. He leaned his head further back to the headboard and groaned louder “More…faster…a-ahhh shit!” He arched his back and seed flowed into his lover’s mouth. Kurenai repeated the actions a little more to catch every drop of essence.
Asuma breathed deeply. While Kurenai was licking the seed off her lips, Asuma grabbed her and laid her back, Even though his entire body was tired, his drive cannot stop. “Now, it my turn to give you ecstacy…”

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

The pain is constant, rippling through my body like water raging against the shores in a storm. It gets stronger as time passes, and no matter how I twist and turn, it remains, clinging to me, spreading, making my body tremble in its intensity. I could have taken something to ease the pain, but I had refused. This is my atonement, my salvation.

It is just the two of us, my husband and I, here in this small hut in the outskirts of the Konohagakure where only candles serve as our light, where silence reigned, broken only by my moans and groans. The scent of blood and sweat is heavy in the air, mingled with the sweet scent of peonies.

Everything is supposed to be a secret, the preparations, the location, hell, even my pregnancy and my marriage are a secret to the villagers. Only the Sandaime knows of what was taking place–not Jiraiya-sensei, not Tsunade-baba, not even Kakashi-kun. Even if they knew, they wouldn't be here. Yondaime, my husband, would not allow it. Besides, they would be too busy fighting the Kyuubi.

I heave again as another contraction hits me, forcing another hoarse moan from my parched, bleeding lips. My sweaty hands clutch the damp sheets in a death grip. The Kyuubi. Gods only knew how I hated that creature. Everything was his fault! If he hadn't come...things would have been different!

I lift my head, and I see my husband rise from his seat on the floor, a towel in hand to wipe the sweat on my forehead. He walks, graceful as a panther, and as he comes nearer, I could see that he could not meet my eyes. Why won't you look at me? Before I knew what I was doing, I had raised my hand, and slapped him across the face.

He didn't flinch, but I feel a brief satisfaction when I saw him look at me, azure eyes clouded with pain. Part of me wanted to say, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry', throw my arms around him, and sob, for us to share the grief, as a husband and wife should in a time like this. But I didn't do that. I want him to see, I want him to acknowledge what was happening. Don't turn your eyes away from me. Please don't. Don't deny it. I feel so alone...

Our gazes hold, blue clashing with my gray ones. Arashi, I whisper his name. He takes my hand, entwining his fingers with mine. Such strong hands… He always had strong hands, but they were gentle as well, especially when we made love, or when he touched me. I remember his hands touching my swollen belly with infinite care, as if he feared he’d hurt me.

I grip his fingers tightly as pain grips my body again, my contractions peaking.

Push, my body commands me, but I resist. I could not. How could I, knowing what lay ahead for my child? To know that as soon as he slips from my body, as soon as the cord that binds us is cut, a demon would claim him as his own, and I, his mother, could do nothing to protect him?

I remember when my husband told me of his plan to defeat the Kyuubi once and for all. I could remember the bleak tone of his voice, the light going out of his once bright blue eyes. I could remember my numb silence, my hands going to my swollen belly, covering it, as if to shield my unborn child.

It was my duty as a shinobi to defend my village, and it was an honor to sacrifice oneself for others, my teachers in the academy used to say to us.

Duty? Honor? What are these to a mother? How could honor and duty compare to a child of your flesh and blood? They were only cold words against the warmth of your child's body as he lay on your chest, feeling him breathe.

But in the end, I knew I would do it. I don't understand why I would do it. Maybe it was the sight of the dead bodies buried daily in mass graves, or the injured brought to us after a battle or attack, or the smell of burnt wood and flesh filling the air as the Kyuubi sweeps into our village, tails lashing, burning, killing and destroying everything in its path. How could I bring forth my child to a world like that?

My body tightens as I brace for the push, and I scream as I did. Then I could feel something expanding, and something wet and slippery sliding through my legs. The metallic scent of blood fills the air once again, mixing with the lingering scent of peonies.

Blood and pain and the scent of peonies. These were to be my memories of my child's birth. That, and the sound of his strong cry echoing throughout the hut. Boy, I hear Arashi whisper in my ear.

I feel myself weaken, my eyelids drooping, strength draining from my body. I turn to Arashi to look at our son, but my gaze turns hazy and dim. No, no. I want to see my son. No. I must wake–

Author's notes: So, how was it? Bad? Horrible? Overdramatic? I don't think Naruto's mother willingly gave up her child to be given as the holder of the Kyuubi. I think she would have fought. And her slapping Yondaime...well, that was explained. Yondaime's name I picked up somewhere.

Peonies: Peonies or botan in Japanese, by the way, grow during...summer, I think and they can hasten childbirth. Naruto was born on October, which was makes it autumn that time. I think you can draw conclusions from that. ::grin::

Sakura let out a squeal as she was lifted bodily off the ground from behind. Someone buried their face in her lower back and she hung on for dear life as they began to spin.

“Lee! Put me down!” Her shriek was more out of surprise than anger, but she was set down gently. Lee turned her around, pulling her close so he could lean down to tease her lips. When he pulled away, she was left panting heavily, her cheeks stained and her eyes dark. His hands left trails of fire as they smoothed over her curves and his fingers slid through her short hair.

“I missed you, Sakura-chan…” Huge, dark eyes regarded her from beneath heavy lids, his mouth set in an irresistible pout. She pressed a chaste kiss to those soft lips and smiled up at him.

“I missed you too, Lee-kun.” At that, his face broke into a blinding grin. Sakura barely had the time to return his smile before she was scooped up and carried off, slung over his shoulder as easily as he would a bag of rice. She squealed again, her hands slipping on his jumpsuit as she scrambled to find purchase. A well-placed squeeze had her squeaking in surprise and she fell limp against his back.

“Lee! That’s not fair!” She flailed a bit, glaring up at him through a curtain of pink. He chuckled, patting her reassuringly. The chuckle turned into an ‘eep!’ of surprise when she retaliated with a much-deserved grope. Swallowing hard, Lee hurried to his destination and eased the door open. When he set her on the bed, leaning over as he smiled down at her, his cheeks were hot with embarrassment. Sakura didn’t need to wonder at the cute blush, the straining tent in his jumpsuit was reason enough.

“I see you weren’t the only one that missed me…” She smiled mischievously and his eyes went wide as she wrapped her hands around him and squeezed. His strangled moan was her reward, his thick lashes contrasting sharply with his skin as he squeezed his eyes tightly shut. Stuttering her name, he strained against the urge to buck into her hand, his muscles cording and sweat flecking his brow. Taking pity on her fiancée, she pulled him down on top of her for a kiss, her fingers running through his dark hair. When they parted for air, she cradled his head to her chest, petting his hair gently.

After a long moment, he pulled away, rising up onto his elbows to gaze down at her lovingly. She ran her hands up his arms and shoulders, the muscles taut beneath her hands, cupping his face, her thumbs stroking his lips and cheeks. His eyes fell shut against the tender onslaught, and she tousled his hair. He laughed, shaking his head to free his hair from her grasp. When he looked back at her, the fire was in his eyes again, and it stole her breath away. He bent down to catch her bottom lip in his teeth, sucking lightly as his hands worked their way over her curves again. He peeled back the layers of fabric reverently, pausing when she was clad in nothing more than her bra and underwear. He ran his hands over her bare skin, she moaned softly at the feel of his calloused fingertips on her heated flesh, the gauze of his bandages teasing her heightened senses. Her hips lifted off the mattress as her body arched into his hands, every part of her crying out for his attention.

The pitiful whimper that tore from her lips when he pulled away tugged painfully at his heart. He took her hands in his own, kissing her knuckles. Her hands were so small, so delicate compared to his, he couldn’t help but treasure them. Those hands were quick to slip from his grip, and he found himself trying to fend them off as she reached to divest him of his beloved green jumpsuit. It hadn’t taken his Sakura very long to figure out how to get it off him when they first started going out, much to his initial distress. As it was, he’d grown fond of how clever she was, even if she did catch him off guard more often than not. His bandages were unwrapped with the greatest of care, each abused knuckle lavished with a kiss before she moved on. Soon she had him naked to his waist, and for someone who appeared to always be clad from the neck down, Lee had an impressive tan.

His scars were doted on next, her fingers brushing over each, soon followed by her lips. His breath hissed between clenched teeth, and he shuddered at her touch. When her palms slid over his hips, he almost stopped her, but she nuzzled his flat stomach and busied herself with removing his legwarmers. He helped with his weights, fearing the thought of her hurting herself if she tried to take them off on her own. A satisfied smile pulled at her lips as she ran her hands over his sculpted muscles, again peeling back his jumpsuit. This time he did stop her, his raised hand cupping her cheek and he kissed her pout away.

“But, Lee—”

“Shhh, Sakura-chan. You get me too distracted. I promise I’ll make it up to you after the wedding.” He had to laugh at the look in her eyes, but the glitter in those bottomless jade pools was a sure sign that he was in trouble. At least she waited until he’d gotten out of his clothes before she pounced…

“Of course you’ll make it up to me after the wedding. All. Night. Long.” With a kittenish growl she had him pinned against the mattress, tickling him viciously until tears were streaming down his face.

“S-s-s-Sakura-chan, stop!” He could barely speak through the tears and the laughter, but Sakura took pity on him.

“Promise?”

“Yes! Yes, I promise!”

“With the Nice Guy pose?” a pale brow arched and he squirmed beneath her.

“Yes! With the Nice Guy pose!” The tickling ceased when he gave her the thumbs-up, and he pulled Sakura close with a sigh of relief, burying his face in her hair. If Gai-sensei ever found out what he’d just used the pose for…he’d die from embarrassment. Not that his Sakura would tell. Tease him mercilessly? Yes. Threaten playfully? Most likely. Actually go through with it? Never.

She kissed his forehead and the bridge of his nose, her fingers playing with the short strands of hair at the nape of his neck. When she played with his hair, it was so soothing, his entire body relaxed under her ministrations. Before he went completely boneless, she had him crawl under the plush comforters while she ditched her bra before sliding in next to him. Her soft curves fit neatly against the hard planes of his body, and Sakura nuzzled his side. Lee smelled like the forest and sun-baked earth, and she pressed a handful of kisses to his collarbone.

“So how was the mission, sweetheart?” she pillowed her cheek on her hand, and Lee kissed the top of her head before smoothing out her pink locks.

“It went very well, but I’m glad to be home.” Even through his quiet exuberance, she could hear the exhaustion in his voice. She smiled to herself, her free hand stroking his side, a trick she used to help lull him to sleep.

“I am too, babe. Goodnight.” She kissed his chin and he muttered something in protest, eliciting a wide smile from his cherry blossom. “We can have some fun tomorrow, get your rest, you’ll need it.”