*NarutoxMikoto*
Latest Update:COMPLETE
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto was a fresh green Jounin when he was challenged to his first drinking competition. Without the Kyuubi acting as a second liver, things go by the wayside pretty fast. What's Naruto to do when he wakes up in a bed that is not his own with a woman as naked as him?
Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13266436/1/A-Mother-s-Need
Word count:73k
Chapters:19
Chapter 1: A Chance Encounter
The sun had recently sunken behind the horizon, and the night owls migrated to their favorite bars in a search for enjoyment. In a particular shinobi bar, four young adults were well into celebrating their recent promotions by indulging in one of the vices of shinobi and civilians alike: alcohol. They sat around a rugged wooden table trading smiles and laughs. Alcohol bottles littered the table, and all of the friends had a fresh bottle close by. They all wore the same standard green flak jacket, and each of them had a Konoha headband proudly displayed somewhere on their person. The jackets looked noticably stiff on all four of them, and that was a characteristic that showcased their newness. The blonde man, who sat nearest to the window, had a small glass of potent liquid in his hand and close to his mouth. He also had many more of the small cups lined up within arm's reach. He looked at the wild looking man straight across the table in the eyes. His blue eyes stared intently in the brown ones of his opponent. The feral man returned the look with one equally as intense and spoke up with a grin that exposed his prominent canines.
"You ready to lose, Naruto?" Kiba said while swirling and inspecting the contents of his glass. They were about to commence a drinking game between the two. No one knew how it came to this point, but no one cared to stop their self-destructive fun. Not even Shikamaru, who usually would think that having two drunken idiots to deal with would be too troublesome.
"I haven't lost a drinking game in my life, Kiba." Naruto replied smugly. It was true, but not because he could handle his drinks.
"Naruto," Shikamaru interjected while lighting another cigarette, "This is your first time in a drinking game." Naruto took a side glance at Shikamaru then chuckled.
"My statement still stands correct! Choji, on your call!" Naruto said as he readied his glass even more than before. Kiba jolted to do so as well. Choji stood up straighter in his chair and lifted his heavy arm skyward. He looked at both competitors before resting his eyes in the middle of the table.
Naruto's bravado did an excellent job of masking his nervousness. He did not have an exstensive history with alcohol, and after telling the Kyubbi to sit this one out, he had no clue how his body would handle the amount of alcohol that he was going to down. He wondered if doing this would be worth it. He saw what alcohol did to people and did not like the idea of waking up in an unfamiliar place with no recollection of how he got there. He was not worried about one thing though, he was definitely going to beat Kiba.
"And... Go!" Choji said as he sent his arm down in an arc. It made a swiping sound as it cut the air on its way down. Naruto was immediately sent out of his worrying. Without hesitation the two competitors threw their heads and glasses back. The alcohol burned on its way down their throats. In synchronization their hands slammed the cups down onto the table with loud clinks. They both quickly grabbed another and continued to compete. Every other drink or so one would take a glance at the other, looking for a sign of them slowing down and breaking. Eventually, both slowed down until they grinded to a halt. Both competitors had their heads resting on the table in an attempt to settle their spinning world, exhausted from their activity. Their heads were facing their respective collections of empty glasses and counting them.
"21...22...23..." They counted in unison. Their voices got louder as the number got higher.
"27! Beat it, Blondie!" Kiba yelled triumphantly.
Naruto now had his chin resting on his palm and was looking at Kiba through an empty glass in his hand. He giggled at the strange effect the glass had on Kiba's image. He put it down before sliding it to Kiba and crossing his arms with a huge grin on his face.
"28!" He gloated. Kiba groaned and let his arms drop to his sides and head hit the table while he muttered swears under his breath. Naruto leaned back in his chair and had both arms up with his hands making victory signs. He almost fell backwards but his knees caught the underside of the table and the chair was sent back down to rest on all four legs. He had a brief moment of panic but he played off his mistake by asking Kiba for a reward.
"Reward? Ya serious?" Kiba asked with an arched eyebrow. There was no reward discussed when they initially formed this game in their heads.
"Yeah! Whas' it gon' be?" He slurred.
"Y'ain't gettin' jackshit!" Kiba said while shaking his head. Naruto was disappointed.
"Wha? No puppy? No money? No... girl?" Naruto asked in a childish and mischievous way. He was just prodding the man for a reaction. Kiba snorted and shook his head with more vigor.
"As if you would getta girl for a reward, much less get one in general." He joked while checking inside his vest pouches, before pulling out a watch and grimacing. The dig at his courting game bugged Naruto for an indescribable reason, and he responded with confidence.
"Yeah? Bet I could getta girl in here!" He said while making wide swinging gestures with his arms. It was a bold claim for two reasons. Reason one was that he had never had a girlfriend before, and reason two being that everyone in attendance was a battle hardened shinobi that was not going to be put in awe by his profession like civilians were known to be.
"Doubt you could, but I gotta get goin'. Promised I'd be back earlier than now." Kiba said as he got up from his chair and stumbled to the door. Naruto put his head down again and stared at the many glasses that he had. Shikamaru and Choji both looked at each other before they both nodded and stood up from their seats. They both decided that they had enough celebration.
"Hey Naruto, are you gonna stay here for a bit longer? Me and Shika have had enough." Choji said while jerking his thumb to Shikamaru. His reply was a weak thumbs up from the blonde man. Shikamaru put a hand on Choji's shoulder and spoke up.
"I'm betting that he'll be fully sober before the sun's up." He said reassuringly while pushing the door open with his back. He gave one last look at Naruto before shaking his head in amusement and exiting with his friend. Naruto's head was still on the table as he played with the empty glasses from his battle. He thought about what Kiba said as he built the glasses up into a pyramid.
"Whas Kiba talkin' bout? Sayin' I can't get a girl?" He whispered while knocking down the pyramid and regretfully listening to the loud and numerous clinks of the glasses hitting the table and each other. The noise was enough for him to sit up straight and look embarrassedly around the building to see if anyone was glaring at him for his disruption. His eyes came upon the back of a shapely feminine form that was sitting alone at a bar stool. He studied her as Kiba's words came back to him, and with a defiant smile he made up his mind to prove him wrong. He stood up from his chair and instantly felt like he was walking on a water bed. It took him a few discombobulated seconds before he felt confident enough to move. I'm gonna show him! He thought as he wobbled his way over to the bar and made sure to seem as sober as he could when he got near. The worry of what could go wrong entered his mind but was quickly ran out by the liquid courage that was in his system. He sat down on the stool next to her and tried his best to act indifferent to her. He studied her but could not see much as her head was slightly down and her silky, long, black hair covered her face from view. He did however notice the growing collection of glasses that were by her side and figured that she could not have been much better off than him.
Alright, now what do I say? He thought, but his mouth already decided.
"Hey, what brings you here?" He said and instantly slapped himself mentally. What a lame line! He thought. He paled when her head slowly came up and turned to him. The lights at the front of the bar were much brighter than the ones that lit his table, and her stunning face made his eyes squint even more. She had beautifully dark eyes and pale skin, and Naruto could have sworn that he knew her. His drunkenness, however, prevented him from putting a name on her beautiful face. Her mouth moved and Naruto was brought to focus on her lips. She moved them again and Naruto realized that she was talking.
"Hey." She said. "What was it you said?" Naruto thought she had an incredibly sweet voice, and answered with a face that was tinted red by not only alcohol.
"Wh-what brings you here?" He stammered. She smiled at him for an unknown reason and answered.
"I had a hard day today. What about you?" she said in an incredibly friendly way. Did she know him?
"What about me?" Was his intelligent reply. She giggled at his goofiness and answered again.
"What brings you here?" Now Naruto never considered himself a master of conversation, but not even he was prepared for the absolute pinnacle of human interaction that he was about to grace this beautiful woman with.
"M-my legs!" He blurted out as he pointed at his legs, and to have even more effect he raised them a little. How else would he get there, or anywhere? Immediately after that he felt his soul leave his body. He cursed alcohol and the Kyuubi for listening to him. He looked at the woman in horror as her previous tipsy giggle became full on laughing. She was loud enough to draw the attention of many of the other patrons. Naruto was the only one of the two to be aware of this, and he tried to calm her down by changing the subject.
"Y-you said you had a rough time today, right? What's that all about?" She quickly stopped laughing and her voice lost most of its jovial tone.
"I've actually been lonely for a while, so I came here to have a few drinks." She said before she took a look at the collection she had off to her side. "Well, more than a few." Naruto's eyes quickly noticed the sadness in her eyes, and his compassion reached out for her.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Naruto asked and the woman seemed surprised.
"You wouldn't want to listen to a woman vent, would you?" She asked carefully, as if asking would turn him away.
"I've got all night." He said and saw her eyes fill with what he believed to be gratitude. She knocked on the table and put up two fingers. Her voice returned to the pleasant joyfulness that Naruto was glad to hear.
"Bartender, two more drinks please!" She said happily as the burly man nodded. He slid two glasses their way and Naruto was of half the mind to decline the drink. He was not confident in his ability to stomach another drink, but he did want to offer his help and time to her. He stopped the sliding glass with his hand and looked at the woman for an answer. Her eyes were attentively looking into his own, and she had her drink extended towards him in a toast. He smiled and clanked his glass against hers, and they both drank together.
I think I'm gonna regret that. He thought as he felt himself get woosier.
That was the last conscious thought Naruto had for a while. The rest of the night was a blur. The morning after, however, was remembered in crystal clarity.
Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13266436/1/A-Mother-s-Need