Whack!
"Dammit," Toka said as she tossed the hammer she was unaccustomed to using away after hitting her index finger instead of the nail she had been aiming for. Shaking the abused digit, she sucked on it as she once more cursed the descendant that was making her perform such menial tasks.
The person working alongside her seemed amused at her annoyance as he said, "Well it looks like we might be needing to rehang another piece of drywall."
Toka looked at him to see what he was talking about, and following his gaze cursed once more as she saw the handle of her hammer sticking out of one of the wall segments they had recently finished putting up. "I'm so sorry," she quickly apologized as she gingerly tried to pull it free.
"Don't worry about it," Naruto said inspecting the damage, "We should be able to get away with adding some compound to the hole. It's actually not as bad as it first looked and with a little paint no one will even notice."
Toka dropped the hammer she had extracted to the ground as Naruto moved to get the plaster he planned to plug the hole with. He stopped though as she said, "How can you stand being hired for such stupid tasks? I've heard the tales of your prowess in battle and seen it in our spares. Can you honestly say that you are alright with remaining a genin for such foolish reasons as to not upset the other so called shinobi villages? In my age you would be at the very least a commander of troops by now."
Naruto shrugged as he began mixing the plaster with some water. "Who can say how I would have turned out if I lived in your day," he replied as he began to mix it. "After all, chances are I wouldn't have made it to the current milestone I'm approaching of eighteen years of age, especially when I look back at how foolish I was when first starting out." He chuckled as he thought about some of his misadventures as a genin where if not for his teammates and sensei things could have gone rather poorly for him. "Plus to be honest, I'm not sure I see the correlation between being strong and being a leader of other shinobi. Up to now, most of my battles have tended to be one on one fights. Even when I fought Nagato as he attacked the village it was more along the lines of me doing my own thing while the village's defenders did theirs."
"You raise some valid points. But still, how can you be so accepting of tasks better suited to peasants then trained warriors?" Toka asked, once more fuming at her Great Grandniece making her a genin as well.
Naruto smiled back at her as he answered while applying the plaster, "If you had seen me when I was first starting out you and I would be part of the same choir. I thought D-ranked missions were a waste of time for the shinobi that was going to be the next Hokage. After a while I even managed to convince the Old Man...I mean the Third Hokage to give us a higher ranked mission. He relented and although it started out as a C-ranked one it quickly became A-ranked due to a famous and dangerous shinobi being involved. It wasn't till then that I realized just how dangerous being a shinobi actually could be."
Toka partially understood where Naruto was coming from, but quickly pointed out, "That may be fine for a shinobi just starting on the path, but I have been in countless conflicts. I do not see the point in wasting my and your talents by having us build fences and repair homes."
Naruto inspected his handiwork before grabbing a piece of sand paper to smooth out the quick drying plaster as he replied to Toka by informing her of something that Mito had said about her husband's love for Konoha. "I guess a reason for Tsunade's wasting your talents as you put it, is to help build some appreciation for your cousin's legacy into you. I have it on good authority that after founding the village and despite being elected as Hokage. The First could often be found taking part in the actual construction of the village." Naruo blew the dust away before feeling the spot to insure that the plaster had been blended in sufficiently as he added, "I can appreciate that actually. Helping the people of the village build and maintain their homes, or with the tasks they need completed helps install a sense of worth in the community that is Konoha. Even if they were people like me, who were too foolish to see it at the time."
Toka stared at the young man's back, and was beginning to understand why it was that he was so respected among the villagers that she had seen him interact with. In her numerous years of battle she had come across many types of men that could inspire people to follow the path they walked. Men like Madara Uchiha, she believed had held the Uchiha together through fear. Her cousin obviously represented the second side of the coin, who could make people want to follow him. It was that trait that she saw in Naruto, as she almost suddenly found herself wanting to help him in the D-ranked tasks of repairing the last of the damage left over from Pain's Invasion.
She did feel some of if fade though as she arched an eyebrow, and asked, "Did you just call me a fool?"
Naruto quickly corrected her as he said, "No, I was speaking about myself really. I can understand why these tasks seem rather trivial to you as it must seem like going backwards compared to the constant fighting you engaged in." He looked back over his shoulder as he asked, "But with that being said, isn't it nice to occasionally be asked to do something simple."
"I guess," Toka said, sounding a little unsure due to her not really understanding why she had been so upset about being assigned the rank of genin or the tasks associated with them. On one hand, she supposed she could understand why Tsunade had as the reason that she had never actually attended a recognized Shinobi Academy or been a part of any current shinobi military system would dictate that she needed to start at the bottom and work her way up. But, she supposed it was because she had felt it had been a slight against her, which considering the border line hostility she had faced from her male comrades in the past as she worked her way through the ranks of the Senju had often forced her to push herself harder then said men.
Looking at the kunoichi of the modern era, Toka felt rather annoyed by how easy they had it. She had recently visited one of the many communal baths in Konoha and had immediately felt the other women's judgmental stares at how she refused to shave under her arms, and kept a rather untamed bush. She had heard a few of the women mocking her as they asked themselves if their ancestors had also been similarly ungroomed. Toka, had let the comments slide, but had wanted to point out that it was because of women like her that they could worry about such superficial things like that.
The truth was she had also let it go since back in her time she had refused to perform such grooming as she had often stated that she had discarded her womanhood. She had often at times joined the men as they enjoyed the hot springs since she did not want to invite the comments that she needed to be treated separately. Still, Hashirama had cautioned her against her bullheaded approach to gender equality since as he often put it, "If you insist on acting like a man, can you truly state that you succeeded as a woman?"
She had often disregarded his advice since she had taken it as meaning that he believed she needed a man in her life. Now though, she perhaps understood that he was referring to the fact that while she was a trailblazer, she was perhaps fighting unnecessary battles in her quest to be treated as an equal. For the most part though, her time as a Konoha shinobi had been exceedingly pleasant in that all the other shinobi she interacted with never made an issue of her gender.
Yet, it seemed that most of the kunoichi she encountered were taking offense at her haughty attitude, especially the two women of Team Kakashi, Sakura and Fu. Although they weren't the only ones, as she suspected her grandniece also would have preferred if she had remained in the past. Toka, did concede that she had brought the ill will upon herself, since she had upon first laying eyes on the buxom blonde, who was nearly popping out of her shirt, had turned and asked Naruto if he had been joking in saying that the current Hokage was recognized as the strongest kunoichi of the village as well as much of the shinobi world.
However, Toka couldn't help her negative attitude when it came to modern kunoichi since although some were quite talented as Fu, Sakura, and Tsunade had all proven. She found the way they dressed distasteful as a result of how much skin they often displayed, as it almost seemed to mock her own struggles to be taken seriously. As a result, there had been more than a few snide remarks that had been passed between her and the female portion of Team Kakashi. She was forced to admit more often than not, she would be the one that instigated the venomous exchanges.
Ultimately, she guessed that while some kunoichi may feel that they owed her some thanks for blazing the trail that she did. Most, felt it was actually the founding of the Shinobi Village that was truly behind the common acceptance of women on the battlefield. Toka was forced to admit that in the end, her cousin had done more for the equal treatment of kunoichi as warriors then she had. If only because he had changed the system, while she had been content to simply disregard the expectations that had been fostered onto her because of her gender. As a result, most of the modern kunoichi had no patience for what they felt was a holier than though attitude on her part.
Toka sighed as she began to wonder if the life she had lived could truly have been considered one of having any meaning. She knew that was a rather bleak way of looking at things, but considering the amount of time that had passed since her, "death" it was hard not to think in such a way. Her cousins had become great men who reshaped the shinobi world, while she had been regulated to a footnote in history. Furthermore, finding herself so far removed from her era, she found herself almost wishing for the constant fighting that had been her life since she had felt more comfortable on the battlefield. There, she knew that regardless of how much or little she fit in among her comrades, when the fighting started it was all immaterial.
Plus, she couldn't truly claim that Konoha had been a blessing for her clan as much as it had for the others. According to Tsunade, they were the only two remaining of the Senju clan as the others had apparently died off or been assimilated into the village losing their identities as Senju. The only thing that had made such a thing easier to swallow was the knowledge that her clan's ancient enemies hadn't fared much better. Still, she found the claim that the Uchiha had been massacred by a single member of their own clan rather suspicious. She suspected that Tsunade knew more than she was telling, but she was getting that feeling about a lot of things lately.
Toka looked back at Naruto and despite how welcoming he had been. She believed he was at the center of a great deal of the secrets that she suspected were being kept from her. Strangely enough, she owed her suspicions to the two kunoichi of the squad that she had been assigned to. It wasn't anything too overt, but at times Toka would notice touches that would pass between the young man and two women that would seem to last longer than seemed proper for people who were merely teammates. She couldn't explain why she had noticed, but she had. Furthermore, she couldn't just link the behavior towards Sakura, or Fu. She had noticed that quite a few females seemed to gravitate towards him.
Adding more evidence to her suspicions, their current client, Tsunami, also seemed to be rather taken with the blond. At times she'd come around asking for his help with a special "project," to which he would eagerly agree. He'd then make a clone, but Toka never knew whether it was the clone or the real Naruto that remained behind. Further to the point, if it was a clone it had yet to dispel in front of her. She had also noticed that Tsunami would always seem to wear a pleased smile for the rest of the day afterwards. Naruto would to, but he always seemed to start the day with one in place so it looked less suspect on him.
Toka's thoughts on the matter were interrupted as their client entered the room. Naruto looked at the woman as he finished hanging the final piece of drywall in the last room they had been hired to renovate. "What's up," he asked pleasantly, "do you need me?"
An amused smile appeared on the woman's face which caused Toka to suspect there was a comment the woman would like to have made in answer of the question, but she had likely note made it as a result of her presence. Instead the single mother replied, "Not today. Actually I wanted to thank the both of you for your hard work. I'll be returning to Wave in order to resume heading up the project to reopen the Whirling Tides Manor."
"Really, has work on it fallen behind due to your being here to help with the reconstruction?" Naruto asked crossing his arms as he leaned against a wall.
"No, the refurbishment was mostly finished by the time I started here," Tsunami answered, making Toka suspect the conversation was more for her benefit. "There are some final details that need to be handled before it can officially open the hotel. I need to return to meet with the woman whom I'd like to hire as the head cook. She's a former cooking-nin by the name of Chiru. I'm scheduled to meet with her in a few days so need to head back."
"Oh, I remember those guys," Naruto said recalling the group that had taken Ayame as a hostage for a secret recipe of her father's that didn't actually exist. "Sounds like the time of the Grand Opening is coming up. I can't wait to hear what a great success it will be."
"What are you talking about?" Tsunami replied amused. "I plan for you, Sakura, and Kakashi to attend. There is no way that we could have such an event without the Heroes of Wave in attendance. Plus it was you that set the events in motion by asking your clanswoman Karin to help purchase it."
Toka watched as Naruto grew slightly embarrassed from the praise even as he said, "Well then I look forward to my invitation showing up in the mail."
"I'm glad. I'm sure it will be a night to remember," Tsunami replied with a smirk. "Thank you again for all your help. After this room is finished, your mission will be completed."
"Thank the gods," Toka said happily having her fill of construction work. Although it wasn't as demeaning as hunting down the cat of the Fire Daimyo's Wife.
Both of the other two present smiled at her response. Naruto then chuckled as he teased, "Tell us how you really feel. You know all that's left is the painting. If you want my clones and I can handle it."
Toka noticed that Tsunami perked up at the thought, which tempted the Senju to politely decline wondering what sort of reaction the woman would respond with. However, the temptation to get out of the task ahead proved too tempting. Therefore, with a nod of thanks to Naruto and a polite goodbye to the client, she quickly headed for the door. She did nearly pause as she wondered what caused such a hungry look of anticipation to appear on Tsunami's face once she accepted.
*****************************
Naruto was kneeling at the table along with the majority of the occupants of the Hidden Eddy Inn as they ate dinner. He had enjoyed sending Tsunami off earlier in the day after giving her a proper goodbye of several orgasms and a bellyful of his seed.
"How did the painting go?" Toka asked as she picked at the main dish to put some of it on her plate.
"Great," Naruto replied having a hard time keeping the exuberance from his voice as he recalled the memories he had made with the woman from Wave as his clones painted.
Kurenai smiled as she said, "My, you certainly seem to enjoy your D-ranked missions more than Kakashi gave you credit for."
Sakura smirked as she chimed in, "I think it's due to Naruto now being more motivated in pleasing his clients."
"He did comment today that he's found some increased satisfaction in his tasks," Toka said wondering why her words seemed to invoke amusement in some of the women present.
An amusement that only increased as Tenten said, "Well since you get such satisfaction from performing simple tasks maybe I can hire you to tutor me a little tonight in molding wind chakra. I think I'm close to splitting the leaf."
Temari seeing an opportunity added, "I could help as well. I need to properly thank you for letting me use your spare bedroom. Let's convene the lesson in your apartment after dinner."
Tenten nodded prompting Kurenai to comment, "I'm glad to see you two are getting along so well. I admit to being a little surprised at there being no bitterness from the Chunin Exams."
The two young kunoichi smiled at the Leaf Jounin before Tenten said, "There was a little on my part, but Naruto helped me get over it."
Kurenai directed her gaze to the blond as she asked, "Really? How?"
Naruto wasn't sure how to answer the question since he couldn't exactly explain it was because he had taken both kunoichi as lovers. Luckily, Temari had an answer ready as she said, "Well, if he and my brother could form such a tight bond after the fight they had during the Sound Invasion. Then, it should be child's play for any two people hoping to get past a less than pleasant first encounter."
Naruto was pleased by his lover's response, but felt some anxiety as Toka reflected, "Still, I must say I feel some concern at the idea of living in a place so quick to forgive a betrayal committed against it. In my day..."
"This isn't your day any longer," Fu pointed out sternly. "Fu has had enough reflections about a time known as the Warring Clan Era for a lifetime. If you miss your time period so much perhaps you would be better served finding a way to return to it."
Toka narrowed her eyes at the green haired woman, who returned the glare for good measure. Fu relented though as Naruto placed a calming hand on his lover's shoulder having to reach around Temari to do so. Focusing on the Senju he said, "Toka, we didn't just forgive Suna out a sense of gullibility. We did it because we realized we were partially responsible for forcing them into such a situation. Plus since then, they've aided us several times, as we have aided them."
Toka shrugged dismissively as she replied, "Be that as it may, treaties aren't worth the paper they are written on. It's the people that make up the two opposing forces which determine if an alliances works or not."
Naruto nodded as he said, "Which is why it's important to forgive past transgressions when we can, so that we can build better bonds in the present so that people put more stock in their alliances due to the friendships that they forge."
Toka looked like she wanted to continue the argument rather than admit defeat, but unable to come up with a reason that she didn't think the jinchuriki would pick apart she relented with a nod. Kurenai was impressed by Naruto's logic, but her heart still was burdened with the anger she felt at Pain and Ame due to her losses said, "It's not as easy as you make it sound, Naruto. Not everyone can just move on."
Naruto's face grew sad as he looked at the red-eyed woman. Giving her a knowing look, he responded, "I know. There are things that just can't be forgotten or even forgiven. I still haven't truly forgiven Nagato for what he's done to our village and Jiraiya. But, even if I can't forgive him, it's important to not let the pain I am feeling turn me into something comparable to him. Basically by that I mean the type of person willing to inflict similar pain on others."
Toka wanted to scoff and call Naruto foolish since during her era people that thought as he did tended to be the first ones to die. To her thinking what he was preaching bred hesitance and during the constant battles of the Warring Clan Era, those that hesitated to strike, died. Yet she found that she couldn't since his words had the weight of someone that had found his belief not just through a philosophy taught by a teacher or from books, but through a hard truth learned from the cold realities of a shinobi's life.
Still a part of her felt his way of thinking was rather indulgent and potentially dangerous since if a shinobi was always trying to befriend their opponents or not let the hate that was necessary to kill on a regular basis free reign it would in time weaken the shinobi's necessary killer instincts. With that in mind she said, "Then how would you recommend we conduct ourselves? There will be enemies that you cannot befriend or convince to abandon their paths as they are as convinced in the rightness of their actions as you are in yours."
Toka watched as a pained look appeared on Naruto's face which was all the proof that she needed that his words weren't just philosophical mumbo jumbo. Some of the pain bled into his voice and Toka had the impression that he recently was forced to accept her point of view as a hard truth he needed to accept. "I understand what you are saying. I...was forced to confront a friend who had decided that the people of Konoha needed to suffer for what had been done to his clan."
Having done her research on her teammates, Toka said, "You're referring to Sasuke Uchiha, your teammate who turned traitor to get revenge on his brother. I take it then that killing his brother either didn't satisfy his bloodlust, or there's more to his clan's destruction then is being told to the village."
Toka noticed that of the people sitting around the table only Kurenai seemed surprised at her theory. Naruto managed to keep his face calm, but to her his lack of reaction was as much an admission as nodding. Not wishing to put him on the spot, she shrugged as she said, "Truthfully, it doesn't matter whatever the scenario. I take it that you understand your former teammate's very existence seems to be geared towards opposing your philosophy. I also doubt any amount of talking will dissuade him from his goals."
"It...It was rather difficult to accept as much," Naruto stated. "When I was younger, I imagined that no matter what I'd eventually return Sasuke to Konoha no matter what. I realize now that it was rather selfish of me."
"Selfish," Kurenai said surprised. "All you wanted to do was bring your friend back to the village. If not for you then I'm sure the Hokage would have marked him as a missing-nin much sooner. I'm having a hard time seeing how you were the selfish one."
Naruto shook his head as he replied, "That's because you're looking at things from a Konoha-nin's perspective. The truth is though that while Sasuke may have abandoned the village. The simple truth is that he had the right to do so... provided that he was willing to pay the consequences for his actions." The jinchuriki sighed sadly as he said, "While Konoha would say it was my duty to bring him back. The truth is my desire to bring him back was to make my team whole again. It's true Sasuke left to selfishly pursue his own goals, but I was being just as selfish in trying to bring him back. I was just lucky enough that the law was on my side."
"If that is the case," Miya said from her spot at the head of the table, "then who was right and who was wrong?"
"Sasuke was in the wrong because he broke his oath as a shinobi of Konoha and left to study with a known enemy of the village," Naruto said definitely. "My actions may have been born of selfishness, but that didn't mean they weren't the right ones. You could say I acted selfishly to help Gaara when I chose to became a missing-nin. Luckily once more I was fortunate in my actions ultimately turned out to be publically accepted as the right ones."
"All well and good," Toka said, setting her bowl down while she leveled a hard stare at the blond, "but you failed to mention how you plan to deal with someone who's very exist seems opposed to the spirit of cooperation you wish to build."
Naruto met the stare as he said without a trace of hesitation, "There will be plenty of people that disagree with my ideas. They are free to do so. I doubt hatred, will ever fully be banished from the shinobi world so long as there are armed conflicts. Yet, if people try to spread it through their actions then they will find me there to oppose them, be they former friends or not. I didn't fight Sasuke the last time because he betrayed the village, or to bring him back. I did so because his actions threatened the stability of the shinobi world, and because he made it known he considered all the people of Konoha as his enemy. He needed to be stopped, so I a stopped him."
Toka nodded but said gravely, "I hope so for your sake."
"What do you mean?"
Looking around the table, her gaze paused on those she could see had recently experienced some kind of tragic event. Yet even though she saw most of them felt similarly as Naruto, she knew there was a different type of loss that none of those present seemed to have experienced yet. Commenting on it she said, "I mean that as painful as recent events may have been for you as a result of Pain's Invasion there is a type of pain none of you have truly experienced yet. One that should you do so, may cause you to abandon your philosophy of giving up hated."
Naruto didn't look convinced as he said, "Losing my sensei Jiraiya was as painful experience as I can recall. However, it made me want to try harder to build a world he could be proud of."
Toka shrugged as she said, "I understand, but while you may blame Pain for his death, and be unwilling to forgive him. The simple truth is that Pain killed him not out of spite against you, but because he was trespassing in his backyard. Just as you say that the law was on your side in trying to bring Sasuke back, it was on Pain's side in dealing with the enemy spy."
Toka could see, Naruto didn't like what she was saying, yet he surprised her by eventually nodding even as he refuted her statement, "I can see where you are coming from, but Akatsuki..."
He trailed off as Toka held up her hand to quickly counter, "Yes, it was an enemy organization responsible for crimes against all of the Shinobi Villages. My point is that your teacher's death was the result of being in a dangerous profession. Pain was merely the man that succeeded in a situation that would have played out the same regardless of your connection to Jiraiya or not. The reason I feel you should be concerned is because by setting yourself up as the one willing to stand up against those spreading strife and chaos, you will attract the attention of people willing to do anything to remove you as an obstacle." The Senju could see that Naruto did realize as much, but she could see he hadn't realized her point yet so explained, "Take Sasuke for example. If he still is a threat, then he may plan to not just hurt the village, but to hurt you on a personal level. I think you will find that while you can compartmentalize your hatred for Pain, it's because his killing Jiraiya wasn't directed towards hurting you specifically. That might not hold true if you experience a similar loss where someone close to you was targeted for the sole purpose of hurting and weakening you."
Naruto looked unsure of himself. Toka admitted to feeling some pride in that, which she couldn't fully explain. She supposed it was because some part of her found his talk of knowing hatred annoying, primarily since as she pointed out the hatred that spread was simply a result of the actions that shinobi needed to undertake to protect their homes or countries. As she saw it, one person's terrorist group was another's freedom fighter, and whether Naruto wanted to admit it or not Jiraiya, as far as Ame's leader had been concerned, had simply been an enemy combatant on the wrong side of a border when he had been discovered. That type of "hatred", paled in comparison when a person knew another's actions had been meant to hurt them on a personal level.
It had been something Toka had seen numerous times primarily in the bitter feud her clan had engaged in with the Uchiha. For example, two of her cousins had died primarily as a result of the orders given by the Clan head of the Uchiha to hunt down and kill the children of his rival and her uncle Butsuma. Orders, which her uncle had similarly mirrored after the death of his son Kawarama. Toka knew this because she had eagerly volunteered for the squad put together to hunt down, ambush, and kill Tajima Uchiha's sons hoping to hurt the man that had killed her father. Her squad had managed to kill two of the five Uchiha siblings in the various engagements. Naturally it had been a squad similar to hers which had ultimately cornered and killed Itama Senju in revenge. It had been the ultimate form of an eye for an eye, which was bred from the long running hatred of the Warring Clan Era. A type of hatred she doubted truly existed in the more business like model of the current shinobi system.
Yet to her surprise, Naruto's doubts seemed to fade as he smiled at her while saying, "Well you've certainly given me a lot to think on. I hope to never experience what you describe, and your words also helped me understand that while Jiraiya's death still hurts, my hatred of Nagato is misplaced for his role in it. Jiraiya died as he lived, a brave shinobi of Konoha. It was in Nagato's desire to inflict harm on the innocent of Konoha out of his hatred that he truly turned his back on everything Jiraiya stood for. Thank you Toka."
Toka was taken aback at being thanked for trying to poke holes in his desire to stop the spread of hatred. It also made her feel guilty in the satisfaction she had just taken in making him momentarily doubt his goal. She was about to apologize, but Tenten stepped in saying, "Naruto, that's enough chatting about such a depressing topic. If you're done eating there are other things you can be doing."
Naruto chuckled as he turned towards the kunoichi as he asked knowingly, "Like what?"
Tenten smiled as she answered, "Like helping me with my Elemental Chakra Training."
Naruto stood and reached for his plate but stopped as Miya said, "I'll handle the clean –up."
Naruto seemed surprised by the offer, but quickly nodded his thanks. Toka watched as Tenten eagerly got to her feet and began pulling the jinchuriki after her, followed by Temari who headed outside before joining the two in the weapon user's apartment. Toka wasn't too surprised at the disapproving looks she received from the remaining women, but put them out of her mind as she wondered if she had missed out on the turning of one age only to arrive at another.
*****************************
Karura was lost in thought as she considered the past several weeks she had spent in Konoha. She was still less than pleased that her son had, at least in her mind, effectively exiled her. But, she at least could understand why Gaara seemed inclined to side with Naruto's plans. Learning that he had formed an alliance with the Bijuu made her realize that Naruto could be considered the head of the most powerful faction in the Shinobi world at present. Still, even with that thrown into the mix, she was not the least bit pleased by her daughter's relationship with him despite it helping to ensure that Suna remained on the young man faction's good side.
The recently resurrected Suna kunoichi though considered that advantage a poor trade for her daughter being bound to the jinchuriki. Yet, despite her best efforts to drive a wedge between Temari and her lover, she had only succeeded in pushing her daughter closer towards him. As a result of their last argument on the subject, and despite Temari being assigned to Konoha as a coordinator for the Leaf and Sand alliance, she hadn't seen her child in over a week.
She did have to give Naruto some credit though as he wasn't avoiding her as she had seen him several times over the same period of time. Mostly those visits were so he could spend time with his various lovers who also lived at the mansion. Karura would admit to feeling a certain level of curiosity about the blond man which was the result of hearing the loud moans that often echoed through the halls whenever he took one of his lovers to bed. The idea that her daughter was being similarly pleased, both angered her, and filled her with a sense of titillation as she wondered just how skilled the Konoha-nin was at pleasing a woman. She would admit that at times she found herself sizing him up, primarily after emerging from a room in which she imagined a thoroughly pleased woman resided, at least if the moans were anything to judge by.
She was pulled away from her thoughts as a voice said, "Not to rush you or anything but you've been studying the board for over ten minutes. I'd like to finish this game sometime today."
Karura focused on the woman as she looked up from the shogi board and said, "I concede Mikoto. I'm afraid my mind isn't focused on the task."
Mikoto nodded, causing Karura to feel a sense of how weird it felt for her to being playing a friendly game with a Uchiha. Yet, out of all of Kiyomi's houseguests Karura felt the most at ease in the dark-haired woman's presences. She supposed it may be due to the majority of the other woman being Bijuu, and as such Karura would admit to being rather intimidated by their presence. Furthermore, they seemed rather content to give her a wide berth, a favor she readily returned.
Mito Uzumaki was friendly enough, and despite having returned to the world of the living through similar means as she had. Karura tried to limit her interactions with the red head due to her sharing a bed with Naruto, and at times she wondered if she had with Temari as well. Not wishing to travel down that road of thought, she was rather glad Mito had been preoccupied. Karura wasn't sure what the red-head was up to, but she had noticed both she and Kiyomi at times seemed to mimic one another.
"Still bothered by Temari not visiting?" Mikoto asked leaning back in her chair.
Although she was, it hadn't been the reason for most of her thoughts centering on Naruto as that morning she had seen the blond leave Mikoto's room. As such, she had found herself wondering if the Uchiha had fallen prey to the young man that had ensnared her daughter. Not sure how to broach the subject she instead answered, "Yes, I just do not understand how a strong-willed young woman like my daughter can claim to be happy at having to share a man she has taken as a lover."
"You mean besides the fact that said young man, saved her brother from being executed. Not to mention was willing to take up the life of a missing-nin to do it," Mikoto said amused.
The Sand kunoichi frowned, as she figured she was likely wasting her breath if she was talking to one of the "converted". Therefore, she replied, "I'm not surprised you'd side with him all things considered. But try and place yourself in my position and imagine that you had a daughter. Can you honestly say you'd be happy to learn she was just one of who knows how many women in his life?"
Mikoto had to bite her tongue as she nearly replied that she wouldn't, only because she would want to be the one to be sharing the young man's bed. Truthfully, one of the things holding her back from doing so was Kushina's presence inside of her son. Especially since that morning she had nearly given into the temptation when after a night of conversing with her red-headed friend she had gone to bed still in his arms as he had fallen asleep hours earlier. She had awoken to find him spooned up behind her and her ass pressed firmly against his morning wood. She figured the male's presence had been behind the steamy dream she had enjoyed that night as it had featured him. In it, her clan's massacre had never happened so Sasuke had never taken his dark turn. Still, her marriage which had been arranged shortly after her birth still felt much more like a business arrangement then an actual loving relationship, and since her husband felt two male heirs was more than enough hadn't so much as touched her in months. Therefore, her dream self had started to take notice of the young men around her son. The details were beginning to fade, but Mikoto recalled Naruto ending up in her home shortly after she had seen her family off with a good breakfast. Much like his mother Naruto had wanted to play hooky from what he considered boring class lessons so he could focus on perfecting his jutsu. Her dream version had used the moment to seduce him, to which the blond had eagerly jumped at the chance to fuck what he had called a MILF. Her dream had ended with her screaming out in climax on the kitchen table she had just used to serve her family. At which point she had woken up, and nearly given in to the desire to make her dream a reality.
Mikoto felt a little uncomfortable so adjusted how she sat as her pussy moistened at the recalled dream. It had been a cruel blow to her when after he had woken up, he had only made it a handful of steps outside her room before being set upon by Yoruichi who had ambushed him. She had heard the two of them kissing heatedly before fading as the Bijuu likely took him to her room.
Mikoto let the memory fade as she picked up on the almost accusation indicated in Karura's tone. Asking about it she said, "What do you mean, all things considered?"
"I mean, you've become one of his lovers," Karura said angrily. "I saw him leaving your room this morning. I'm surprised the two-tails was content to wait outside your room. I thought she would have simply joined you two."
Mikoto's gaze hardened at the accusation even if a part of her had hoped it was true. However, since she had refrained from giving in, if only out of respect for Kushina, Karura's accusation immediately flared the Uchiha's anger. Leaning forward and pointing at the Suna kunoichi she said, "Yoruichi may have if I had slept with Naruto. Not that it is any concern of yours who I take into my bed, but in the future perhaps you should know what you are talking about before opening your mouth less you find your foot shoved inside it."
Karura was taken aback by the angry reprimand, and doubting the woman could fake such genuine indignation so said, "I'm sorry. It's just when I saw him leave your room I thought..."
"No, you didn't," Mikoto said interrupting the woman, "You jumped to a conclusion and in this case a wrong one. The reason Naruto was in my room last night was because I was conversing with his mother. I'm sure by now you've heard how she is sealed inside him in place of Kiyomi. Naruto has been kind enough to set aside time for me to speak with her as she was my best friend. He just tends to stay the night since as you can imagine he is rather busy during the day. So Kushina and I talk while he sleeps. But nothing sexual has happened between us."
Karura could almost hear a, "yet" at the end of Mikoto's statement, but having already been wrong in one assumption didn't comment. "I apologize, but considering the number of women who've seemed to have fallen for him, perhaps you can understand why I would think what I did."
"I can," Mikoto admitted. Sitting back she added, "Perhaps though instead of growing angry at those who do choose to make him their lover you should try to understand what it is that draws them to him. At the very least if you can see what your daughter does in him, then perhaps you'll find a way to make some peace with it. Otherwise, you may end up pushing her away."
"I suppose you do have a point," Karura said although a kernel of an idea to drive her daughter and him apart also took root. "I guess coming back to life and learning my daughter isn't the sweet little princess I remember has clouded my vision somewhat. I'm sure you can understand."
Mikoto nodded even as she thought, "I wish the problem with my child was so simple."
Karura hoping to gain some insight into Naruto in order to drive her daughter away from him asked, "So what are some of the characteristics that you feel make these women so willing to share him?" Mikoto could think of dozens related to his personality, but recalling the large hunk of flesh that had been pressed against her backside that morning her mind focused on the less innocent reasons he was so popular. Deciding not to delve into such reasons with Temari's mother she nonetheless was rather jealous of the young woman, and wished she was in her place at the moment.
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