Chapter 23

Author's Note: Wow....The replies from you guys were simply AMAZING! I had no idea the latest chapter would be so well received! I thank the people who reviewed. Any review that would come would just make my day. Moving on to the first order of business, this chapter would be more focused on building on the relationship between Naruto and Temari, as well as some foundation to the marriage. I'll try to add some fun and humor, but I scored quite low in those areas. But I'll try my best.

NOTE: I apologize in advance for the extreme bullshitting in the beginnings.

A week passed after the "good news", without anything interesting happening, except Tsunade officially becoming Hokage. Naruto had put his week off to good use to train and after that, resumed started taking missions. In fact, he fully took advantage of the privileges that became available to him after his promotion to jonin. He was allowed to take missions of higher rank, and after taking a bit of advice from Kakashi, who had experience in the "young jonin" department, he started out with high C-rank to mid B-rank. So far, he had completed 5 missions, one each day, two high C-rank, two mid B-rank and one high B-rank.

The last one was actually supposed to be a mid B-rank, guarding a wealthy, wine merchant and his two friends in their journey from Konoha to the land of vegetables. Naruto was at first quite surprised that they made use of horse wagons. One was for the merchant and his friends, the other for their goods. The merchant was at first skeptical that there would only be one ninja to guard them, but Tsunade had convinced them that Naruto was more than qualified for this mission. Naruto sat on top of the second wagon in their journey. At halfway point, it seemed that this mission would be completed without any problem, and to Naruto's regret, any fight.

However, as the saying goes- Don't provoke the universe. It turned out, that when they were about to enter Na no kuni, they were ambushed by a ninja. More specifically, a missing nin. Omitsu Isshin was a high, B-rank missing nin from Kirigakure. Apparently, he had been hired to take out the merchant by a rival, or at least, that's what he said in his monologue when he was standing in front of the wagon. Poor guy never even saw Naruto coming, for the blonde's flash step was fast enough to catch Kakashi off guard, this guy stood no chance at all. He had just finished his monologue and moved to attack when-

SLASH!

- his head was cleanly cut off from his body by Naruto using a kunai coated with wind chakra. Naruto had been ready to dispose of his body when he had paused, and took out his bingo book. He had smiled when he saw the missing nin's entry on a page for 120,000 ryo. Of course, his mission pay was relatively higher, and had been bumped up because of Isshin, but extra cash hurt no one.

The client had been incredibly relieved and pleased, with him and his friends repeatedly thanking Naruto for saving their lives. Naruto had told them about the change in mission parameters, and the cost following it. Fortunately, they had offered no resistance against paying more. They wanted to repay him in any way they could, so Naruto just collected the extra money in payment.

It had taken them a total of thirty-eight hours to reach their destination. After getting their signature that the mission was complete and wishing them good luck in their endeavors, Naruto double-timed it back to the village, making just one stop at a bounty station to collect Isshin's bounty. Unfortunately, he could not use Hiraishin because his sensing capabilities were not good enough to cover countries just yet.

On the bright side, he put his recent mastery of Kurama's fist tail to good use. After they had returned with Tsunade, Naruto used his week off to master Kurama's first tail. The blonde had, after a substantial amount of hard work, mastered the use of his body in the one-tailed mode. His already impressive strength, speed and reflexes were heightened greatly. It had taken him a mere five hours of journey to reach Konoha. After he had reported his success back to Tsunade and collected his money, he had went back to his house.

His parent's house.

That was another new development for him. After the day when he was told, he was called back into Tsunade's office, where she had advised him to move into his parent's house as soon as possible. After all, his apartment was hardly a place for him to live after his marriage. And knowing how Naruto tended to finish things rather quickly to avoid any backlog, she told him to move into the house the day after.

At first, Naruto was a little puzzled because he really couldn't understand the reason he had to move his things so quickly. But Tsunade explained it to him that he had to have the house ready and furnished by the time Temari arrived. And by ready, she meant it was to be ready for Naruto and Temari to live in, not just him. Being the naïve guy Naruto was, he didn't understand at what she was hinting. Naruto was a very simplistic guy, who really only had what he needed and nothing more.

Of course, then he was introduced to shopping, his nightmare for the next few days.

Day of the moving

Turns out, news like the kind of these had a way of spreading around the village very fast. Naruto had reluctantly agreed to Tsunade's suggestion of moving into his parent's house the very next day. Just as he was leaving the office after their discussion, Tsunade casually told him that they needed to do some work after he was done moving. The glint in her eyes when she said that actually managed to scare him.

He had the whole next week off, including two days extra of the week after, because of him doing back to back B-rank missions the whole week and not taking the required leave. Which meant, he had the whole week to get the house ready for Temari's arrival. The next day, at ten in the morning, he started packing after he had lazed around a little. With the help of his shadow clones, he finished packing everything within an hour.

All his ninja related supplies like shuriken, kunai, fuinjutsu scrolls, ninja wire went into one large sealing scroll, while his household supplies went into another large sealing scroll. When he had packed up, he looked around the apartment, feeling a small sense of sadness within him. A part of him didn't want to leave the small residence. This was actually the first thing that had really belonged to him, gifted to him by the old man. To leave it like this, even if it meant going to live in his parent's house, felt sad.

He would be sure to acquire a fair price for it when he sold it later.

He slung the scrolls and walked out of the apartment, closing the door. He took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and pressed it on the ground, right in front of the door, so that the seals faced the ground. Pushing a little bit of chakra into it, a glow lit up the entire corridor, lighting all the seals present on the walls. Seals that were carved by him as a security measure for those who came after him.

The piece of paper had the key to the sealing array in the corridor, to disable all the seals at once safely. Once the lights had receded, indicating all the seals were now gone, he crumpled up the paper and burnt it with a blazing palm.

He looked around the place one last time, before flashing away.

He arrived in the living room instantly. He put down the scrolls when one thing suddenly hit him. He had absolutely no idea what to do next. He was unsure if he should unpack or not, because the house already was furnished and maintained for almost fifteen years. He could unpack his shinobi supplies, but what of the household supplies?

He went to the only person who was capable of helping him. But first, a little insurance.

Tsunade looked at Naruto with mild amusement as he narrated his problem. She honestly found it a little cute and adorable that Naruto, who seemed to have a solution for every problem, would be unsure in the face of matters of preparing the house for his bride.

Then again, a man definitely can't do a woman's job.

"So will you help me?"

Naruto posed his question, standing in front of Tsunade. He knew that Tsunade was the only woman who could help him. She was the only one he trusted as well, aside from Shizune.

Tsunade smirked as she leaned back in her chair, hands folded at her stomach. "I could, but the Hokage's services come with a price, you know."

Naruto internally groaned, but was half expecting this. After all, Tsunade would be a fool to not take advantage of him asking for her help. He sighed and took out a storage scroll from his pouch and laid it on her table, unsealing it.

Tsunade's eyes widened as her eyes laid themselves on three very expensive, exotic bottles of sake. Her eyes shot to him in question, to which he shrugged. "Don't ask me, I found them in my basement."

Interestingly, he learned that his mother was quite a fan of exotic sake. He had a whole stash of his mother's sake in the basement. These three were only a little part of the whole that was very delicately preserved. His mother had damn fine sealing skills if she was able to preserve the whole stash like she did. The seals on the stash were personally made by her for storage purpose.

Tsunade picked up a bottle and turned it around, whistling at the label. "Well, your mother had good taste," she commented, then paused. She narrowed her eyes at him, "How do I know that these haven't gone bad?"

Naruto replied easily, "My mother created seals specifically for preserving them for a long time."

Tsunade knew just how good Kushina was with fuinjutsu. If she was the one who created seals to preserve these precious babies, then she had no doubt these hadn't gone bad. She then had a devious thought, perhaps she could haggle for a bit more.

"Still, just three bottles for the service you are asking from me?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "You very well know just how rare these are. In fact, I could have just said that I would owe you a favor, but that was too risky. I'm asking help for a bit of house decoration, mind you."

Tsunade immediately raised her hands in surrender position. "Just kidding, Naruto! I was just kidding!"

However, inside she was breathing a sigh of relief. Man, those eyes were unnerving.

"First things first, we need to get you access to your clan accounts," she said, standing up. "We're going to the bank."

What followed after was perhaps the most boring day in Naruto's short life. Tsunade had taken him to the bank, right after dumping the day's work on Shizune, and they had spent almost four hours going over statements, accounts etc. At the end of their work, both of them had been quite mentally exhausted, but had smiles on their faces.

Turns out if you are an important person and being accompanied by the Hokage, your work gets over rather quickly.

Naruto had finally been granted full access to his clan's accounts. And what accounts they were. The Namikaze account was by no means small, having a total of 300 million ryo. Naruto had first been baffled, for he had no idea just how his father had managed to acquire so much money. Namikaze had not been a clan before his father became the Hokage.

The Uzumaki account, on the other hand, had simply left him with his mouth hanging open. The simply ridiculous amount of money had almost sent him into shock. The amount won't be mentioned, but it was enough that he could live another life without working, that too lavishly.

Tsunade and Naruto were walking back to the Hokage tower, the former with an exhausted smile on her face and the latter still gazing at the shiny, new account cards in his hands with awe and wonder. Tsunade looked at her fellow blonde and smirked, "You still having trouble believing?"

Naruto nodded as he pocketed the cards. "The Uzumaki clan I can believe, but I had, and still don't have, any idea just how was my father able to acquire so much money alone."

"Minato was an extremely clever and resourceful person, Naruto. Just leave it at that."

The two walked in silence for a while, which was then broken by Naruto. He asked curiously, "So, I thought that we were going to do something about redecorating my house. Why did we go to the bank?"

To his surprise, Tsunade laughed heartily. "Oh Naruto! I sometimes forget that you are still a child and can't see the bigger picture sometimes."

That comment earned a scowl from him.

Tsunade completely ignored the scowl and smirked. "The real fun begins tomorrow. We'll start at nine in the morning!"

The feeling of doom Naruto had been feeling earlier returned with a vengeance.

Next day of the moving

Naruto had been sparring with five of his clones, completely on the defensive, in the massive ground behind his house. You might think that why would Naruto need to be on defensive against his own clones, but you would be wrong. Naruto was trying to avoid all their attacks, blindfolded. And he was only partially succeeding.

He was trying to use everything but his eyesight to avoid the attacks. He was trying to hone his instincts to the highest level, trying to increase the precision of his danger sense. He avoided a roundhouse kick from a clone by ducking underneath, moving his left hand in a smooth motion to redirect the punch to his chin another way. He would have continued, but the seals on the outer gate informed him that someone was standing outside his house.

He and his clones paused their fighting, dispelling themselves. He walked over to his towel and water, taking the bottle with him as he walked and wiping the sweat. He arrived at the gate and opened it, frowning in confusion when he saw Tsunade standing there.

With Sakura, Ino and Tenten.

He frowned in concern when he saw an expression of mirth on Sakura's face, followed by the absolutely savage smirk on Ino's and a friendly smile on Tenten's face.

"Have a nice morning, brat?"

Naruto immediately turned an annoyed face towards the busty kage. "Yeah, it was going so fruitful," he said with light sarcasm.

Tsunade, being a medic, immediately noticed the bruises forming on his arms. She curiously asked, "What were you doing?"

Naruto vaguely answered. "Training."

She stepped forward, "At least let me heal those bruises." Her hands lit up with green chakra, accelerating already fast healing process, thanks to Kurama.

Sakura stepped forward, and her tone mimicked her expression of betrayal. "So, Naruto, I heard something very interesting from Tsunade-sama."

Naruto's sarcastic mutter of "Did you now?" went unheard by the pink haired girl.

Ino was the next to pitch in. "Yeah, that you are going to get married to the princess of the sand."

Hearing Ino describe Temari like that made Naruto actually pause and think. Now that he thought about it, Temari was royalty, being the daughter of the Kazekage. This gave him the perfect comeback for Ino's comment.

"Well, a prince usually only marries a princess."

That earned him a half-hearted swat on the head by Tsunade, and giggles from Sakura and Tenten. Ino tried to scowl as well, but even she chuckled in the end. She should have expected this, with Naruto being the son of the Yondaime, she mused.

Naruto whispered to Tsunade so only she could hear. "Not that I mind you healing me, why are you doing it? It usually vanishes in under twenty minutes."

Tsunade muttered back, still concentrating on the fading bruises. "I'm not doing it out of kindness, gaki. I have need of you this day." She looked up with a slight grin. "We are going to abuse you the whole day."

She mentally laughed at Naruto's alarmed expression before stepping back. "You know," she began, "The village would know of your marriage anyway, so I decided that it best be on my terms."

Naruto pointed an accusing finger at her, "You told Ino, didn't you?"

The smirk of the female blondes gave him the answer. He shook his head, "Anyway, why have you called them here? I thought you were the one going to help me?"

Tsunade put an arm around his shoulders and started leading him back into the house, with the genin following behind her. "I did say that, but the work we are going to do today cannot be done by me alone, which is why I brought some help."

Naruto deadpanned at her, "Any particular reason your "help" consists of only girls?"

Tsunade nodded seriously, causing Naruto to double take. This seemed like a serious matter. "We are going to completely refurbish this house of yours. Don't worry," she assured the mildly panicking blonde, "We won't change the house completely. Just put some new things here and there, add a woman's touch- that's very important, among other things. Oh, and leave something for Temari to add if she wants to."

Naruto opened the door to the house, allowing the others to walk inside. He and Tsunade walked ahead of others, who were marveling at the inside of the house. Ino's eyes fell on the portrait of Naruto's parents and she gasped in awe.

"Naruto, is that your mother?"

Naruto turned around and saw the three genin looking at the portrait of his parents. He smiled slightly in pride, "Yeah. Isn't she beautiful?"

Sakura was the one who replied this time, gushing over. "She's gorgeous!"

Tsunade lightly shoved Naruto upstairs. "Get dressed fast! We have work to do today!"

As Naruto made his way upstairs, Tsunade walked and took a seat at the sofa. The three genin followed her example and sat down as well, with Tenten leaning forward in interest.u

"Tsunade-sama, did you know about Naruto's parents?"

To the genins' surprise, the medic nin snorted. "It surprises me how anyone didn't figure it out. I mean, he literally looks just like his father!"

She waved her hand, gesturing to the portrait. And it was true, as they had found out on the day of the finals. Naruto and his father could be clones, if Naruto was a little more grown up in height.

Before they could think more on this, Naruto came downstairs, in his jonin uniform. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

However, his confidence dimmed after looking at the glint in their eyes.

Oh, what torture it was.

Seven hours later, Naruto was looking around the inside of his house with a tiredness he had never felt before. He didn't have any energy left to do anything. As he tiredly collapsed on the sofa to get some of his energy to head to the bedroom and fall onto his bed, he recounted what he went through the day.

Tsunade and the girls had taken full advantage of his ability to mass produce shadow clones. Tsunade had taken him to get the latest kitchen accessories, while his clones had went with Ino, Sakura and Tenten to get new interior designs for the house. Tsunade also sent a clone of her own with them, just to make sure that whatever the girls selected didn't make the house too girly for Naruto's tastes.

Naruto had protested that his house already had kitchen accessories, but Tsunade insisted he take it, if only as a wedding present from her. He was reluctant to buy it, but he did. To his enormous shock and surprise, his account, the Uzumaki account barely had a dent in it after the purchases they had made, and not just for the kitchen. Tsunade had only laughed and said that Kushina didn't do anything in small amounts.

They had returned home to find the three girls, with a group of men working extensively on the interior design of the house. After seeing Naruto, he was bewildered to see his own clones giving him looks of pain, followed by pity and then, to the extreme annoyance of Naruto, dispelling.

Present

Boy, that day was a rollercoaster for Naruto, with merciless teasing from Kurama. The extensive work that had been going on in his house had also been charged to his Uzumaki account. Seeing the ridiculous amount of money it contained, Naruto had little to no problem in using it to give his house a new look.

He had been quite worried that Tsunade had given Ino and Sakura free reign over the designing of the house. However, Tsunade had assured him that she had picked Tenten just for the purpose so that Ino wouldn't completely make it look like that only a woman lived there. And judging from the arguments from Tenten and Ino he had heard, with Sakura acting as mediator, Naruto knew that Tsunade had hit the nail on the head when it came to Ino.

He had a freak out when he saw what plans Ino had for the house and and almost exploded when Tsunade clamed him down and told him the she would take over it from Ino, much to the girl's complains, which were silenced by a stern look from the Hokage.

Naruto watched as over the course of the next week, Tsunade completely transformed the house into something that was lavish and modern, but not too much that it lost the homely feeling that had been there before. Tsunade also made sure that Naruto added his own touches to the house, and left space for Temari, if she wanted to add something of her own.

All in all, the house was ready well in time. All that was left was for Temari to come.

Naruto finally snapped from the flashback and saw that he had arrived at his home. He flashed directly into his house, eager to do something to relax. He quickly took a shower and freshened up, wearing a t-shirt and a lower. He entered his father's study and sat down in the chair behind the beautiful, ornate desk. He traced his hand almost in remembrance, as if he could almost picture his father sitting on this desk, going over the ideas for fuinjutsu. He leaned back, folding his hands behind his head and looking up and the ceiling, trying to decide on what to do.

His father's study, which was his study now, had remained mostly untouched. Only the door that led into the room had been repainted. Otherwise, Naruto had strictly kept everyone from entering the room. He had redesigned the sealing array completely before a war named Ino was dropped on his home. The password was only one, consisting of three kanji characters. But he had chosen six that looked almost alike, with minor differences in strokes.

One time he had caught Ino attempting to open the study discreetly. She had thought she was alone, but apparently not. He had stopped her before she killed herself painfully, and very sternly reminded her to respect others' privacy, and keep away from the room. She had looked appropriately guilty, and promised not to investigate the door anymore.

He absently grabbed a paper and a brush, dipping it in an ink pot and doodling some ideas on it. He had been told by Tsunade that Temari would be arriving tomorrow, so he was understandably tense. A few weeks ago, they were on the opposite sides of a war. Now, they were about to get married. Things were going to be a bit awkward, and he was not looking forward to it.

He stood up, putting the brush away and crumpling the paper, burning it to ashes with a small fire. He was about to leave when something caught his eye on the shelf. More like, it was a book. A book he had never touched, for a reason he couldn't fathom.

He took it off the shelf, eyebrows furrowing in confusion when he sensed a genjutsu placed on it. With a quick pulse of chakra, he shattered it. However, instead of immediately dispelling, like fog clearing away, it shattered like a glass, with chips of chakra defusing into the air. Naruto watched with a small amount of awe. Genjutsu weren't meant to shatter like this. And why did this chakra feel so warm, so... much like his own?

He shook his head, making a quick note to investigate that later. He opened the book, reading the title. "Enhancements with Sealing?"

Naruto muttered, before flipping the pages and raising eyebrows with incredulousness at seeing countless mathematical calculations, scientific diagrams of the body, with numerous sealing equations. He whispered to himself, "What the hell is this?"

XXXXXXX

The next day found Naruto and Tsunade standing at the west gates of the village. Hiruzen was standing next to them as well. Naruto had to hand it to him- he was the oldest, living kage alive who was now enjoying retirement. Hiruzen said that he was now more of a call on advisor to Tsunade, if she ever needed help dealing with more difficult matters.

"We've been standing here for almost twenty minutes, Hokage-sama," Naruto said in boredom. "Are you sure we aren't early?"

Tsunade twitched beside him. Even she was starting to get a bit impatient. She was never the one for tardiness. "Maybe they ran into an obstacle on the way."

Hiruzen laughed at seeing the interaction between both the blondes. It was quite entertaining.

"Anyways, I have something I need to talk to you and ero-sennin about, Baa-chan."

The serious tone in his voice caused Tsunade to raise an eyebrow in surprise. What could be so serious that he needed her and Jiraiya's opinion on?

Even Hiruzen was curious, but Naruto gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry jiji, but I can't tell you, because I need their professional opinions as a medical specialist and Seal master."

Hiruzen nodded in realization. That would explain him being left out.

The three stood standing for ten more minutes when Naruto announced. "They're coming. Although for some reason, they are moving painfully slow."

Tsunade looked at him in confusion. "How the hell do you know?"

Naruto just gave her a look as if it was painfully obvious. "I'm a sensor. Didn't ero-sennin tell you?"

Tsunade grit her teeth. "I'm really gonna drill that pervert on the things he left out when telling me about you! Anyway, be very careful on how you speak with the Suna shinobi. You need to make a good first impression."

Naruto smirked as he stared at the road ahead. "I think I already made a first impression. Not sure if good or not."

On the other end, the entourage from sand was relieved as a whole when the gates of Konoha came into their view. As tradition said, the bride had to be escorted in a palanquin.

Temari was grumbling about her legs being cramped up from sitting for too long. She was not a delicate princess who needed to be pampered! She was a goddamn chunin of her village!

Her thoughts took a melancholic turn as she looked at her reflection in one of the inside mirrors. From tomorrow, she was no longer going to be a shinobi of Suna, but rather of Konoha. She had been proud of wearing her village's headband, but no more. She would have to wear another village's shinobi. Proud? That's yet to be seen.

"Temari."

The call startled her out of her thoughts. She turned her head to see Gaara poking his head inside, an unusual frown on his face. She sadly smiled at that- she was still getting used to Gaara showing concern for her.

"What is it, Gaara?"

".....Are you alright?"

The question was so....out, coming from him, and yet, Temari found it adorably cute. She smiled slightly as she held her brother's hand. He did not flinch. "I will be, Gaara. Don't worry."

Gaara looked extremely unsure of what to say next. For someone who had minimum social contact, that was to be expected. However, his next words were so sure that it caught Temari off guard. "Naruto will take good care of you, Temari. He is the only one I trust to protect you."

It still astounded Temari and Kankuro just how high Gaara held Naruto. Then again, Naruto had single handedly turned Gaara's life around, so it was understandable, but putting so much trust in one person was simply mind blowing.

"Thank you, Gaara."

"Wow."

The quiet exclamation from Kankuro caught Temari's attention as she frowned. "What is it, Kankuro?"

"Both the former and current Hokage are here to greet us, along with your fiancé."

The entourage reached the gates finally. Temari got out of the palanquin and came face to face with a very busty, blonde woman, alongside the "God of Shinobi", and her fiancé. Her heart skipped a beat on seeing him give a small smile in her direction. But she steeled herself- time for talking with him would come later. She bowed to the woman.

"Hokage-sama, it is an honor to meet you, as well as Sandaime-sama."

Tsunade was formal in her reply as well. "It is a pleasure to formally meet you. I am Senju Tsunade, Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure no sato."

Naruto eyed Temari appreciatively. She had changed her outfit to a long-sleeved purple blouse under a grey top, a dark blue skirt that reached her mid-thigh, showing off her legs, and a longer slash than the previous one. She carried her fan the same way as before as well, tucking it into her bow.

Before Naruto could greet Temari, all talking stopped suddenly when Gaara stepped forward, walking so was standing directly in front of Naruto. Naruto faced the redhead with a genuine smile, waiting for him to say whatever he wanted to say.

However, it became clear to Naruto when the silence stretched into awkwardness that Gaara was still learning on how to interpret social cues. So Naruto initiated the conversation. "How have you been, Gaara?"

"...I have been well, Uzumaki Naruto. However, I have a request to make of you."

Naruto didn't even need to read minds to know what request Gaara needed to make. He put his hand on the redhead's shoulders, ignoring the gasps from some of the Suna shinobi. "I promise that I will protect Temari with my life, Gaara. This is the promise of a lifetime."

That seemed to ease some tension from Gaara's shoulders. His next words were heartful. "Thank you, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto patted Gaara's shoulder once. "Friends call each other by first names, Gaara. Just Naruto will suffice."

Everyone was watching the interaction with different thoughts. The shinobi from Suna, except for Baki, seemed amazed that Naruto had talked to Gaara without showing an ounce of fear, and more, considered him a dear friend. Tsunade and Hiruzen were smiling, proud of Naruto's actions. They knew how tough a jinchuriki's life was, Gaara's more than Naruto's, but it was very mature of him to actively break the ice with Gaara when no one wanted to. Temari was giving a thankful smile to her would be husband, with Kankuro's being more hidden.

However, the puppet fighter didn't know why he automatically straightened up when Naruto glanced at him. He gulped when he saw the blonde approaching in his direction with a smirk on his face. He did not see Temari's amused expression when Naruto stood in front of him, staring down at him. Naruto was almost 5ft 5 inches, while Kankuro had was slow in the growing department and as such, stood at 4ft 11 inches, much to his shame. So Naruto practically towered over him.

Kankuro could feel sweat forming on his brow, but refused to break eye contact with the taller shinobi. Naruto then leaned forward so that his mouth was next to Kankuro's ears. "You better do something about your make up. It easily gives away your nervous sweat."

Kankuro's eyebrows shot up in surprise, He didn't expect this of all things to come out of his soon to be brother-in-law. He didn't even know what to say, but Naruto had already moved on.

Naruto stood in front of Temari, fighting the impulse to hug her right there and then. It would look very out of place, not to mention suspicious to those who didn't know of their earlier interactions. Instead, he greeted her warmly, "Welcome to Konoha, Temari."

Temari smiled and greeted back. "I accept your welcoming, Naruto-san."

Apparently, she was more aware of the protocols and way of conversations that were to be followed in this context. That was to be expected of the eldest daughter of the Kazekage though.

It was then Tsunade stepped back into the conversation. "Now that the greetings are over, please follow me. I will make your arrangements of staying in our village."

However, Naruto interjected. "Hokage-sama, if it's not too much trouble, I can take Temari and her siblings with me to my home. They can stay with me. I have more than enough room."

Tsunade gave it a moment of thought and then agreed. It would give Naruto and Temari time to talk out whatever issues they have, as well as catch up. Also, it would prove a good bonding time between Naruto and Temari's brothers. "Alright, you can take them with you. But report to me early tomorrow for Temari's initiation."

Naruto beamed in her direction and put each of his hands around Gaara and Temari, pulling them into his sides. He turned to face her and gave s charming smile, "By your leave, Hokage-sama."

He then flashed out of there, leaving a blinking and confused Kankuro in front of an equally confused Tsunade. A few moments later, Naruto flashed back, grabbed Kankuro by his shoulder and flashed away again. All the people left their blinked at the unusual happenings, not knowing what sense to make out of it.

Tsunade snapped out of her confusion when Hiruzen chuckled beside her at Naruto's antics. She turned to the rest of Suna shinobi, "The rest of you, follow me. I will show you your staying arrangements."

XXXXXXX

Naruto appeared with Gaara and Temari rights outside the gates that led into his home. Both of them blinked at the sudden travel, after which their minds caught up, followed by their bodies. Temari immediately turned and glared at a smirking Naruto, while Gaara deadpanned at him.

"A warning would have been nice, you know," she almost growled at him.

Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. It was the first time someone ever complained about instantaneous travel.

"Don't ever do that again," Gaara said in his deadpan.

Naruto rose an eyebrow in return. "You mean to say you don't like traveling from one place to another in an instant?"

The narrowing of eyes was the only answer that Gaara gave, but Naruto refrained from smirking in his silent victory at the argument. It was then Temari spoke up. "Wait, where's Kankuro?"

Naruto's eyes widened for a second, before he disappeared in a flash, returning instantly with the aforementioned person. The puppet fighter turned and indignantly pointed a finger at Naruto. "You forgot about me!"

Naruto shrugged, "My bad."

He then walked up to the gates and pressed his hand to let the seals recognize his chakra. The seals glowed and the gate opened up, giving everyone a view of the house inside.

Gaara was impassive as ever, but Kankuro was gaping in wonder at the house. Temari also gazed in awe at the residence, but hers was less than her idiotic brother. She had known that with Naruto being the head to two clans, wealth was never a problem for him. Naruto smirked at their reactions and gestured with his hands. "Shall we head inside?"

They all went inside the gates, and this time Temari couldn't conceal a gasp. The compound was even more beautiful, with a small square pond in front of the house. The house in question was quite big, easily big enough to be called a mansion. And the garden, with its healthy grass and flowers seemed to be well cared for.

Naruto led them all inside, further surprising Temari and Kankuro. Gaara maintained his impassive look, but even he admitted to be impressed on the inside. The living room was very spacious and while looked very lavish, it still gave off a homey feeling.

The kitchen also looked newly furbished, and was connected to the living room. Naruto walked into the center of the living room, right in front of the sofas and living room and clapped twice for attention.

"Alright, listen up!"

The three siblings turned to him, frowning in confusion. "First order of business, I'm telling you where you're gonna sleep."

He turned to Temari, who looked a bit anxious. His look softened and he said, "Temari, while we may know each other," he ignored Gaara's raised eyebrow and Kankuro's sputters, "I doubt you want us to sleep together. So we are going to be sleeping in separate rooms."

Kankuro interrupted him. "Wait, what about you and my sister-"

"So here are the facts," Naruto continued as if the guy hadn't even spoken, "There are a total of three bedrooms upstairs. The master bedroom, which is mine, is at the end of the corridor. There are two guest bedrooms, one of which will be Temari's." He turned to Gaara, "You two either could bunk together or-"

"Kankuro can have it. I don't sleep," Gaara stated.

Naruto frowned, but shrugged. "Have it your way then. Guess you are lucky, doll boy, you get to sleep in a bed instead of the couch."

Kankuro sputtered again as Naruto kept on talking. He turned to Gaara and said, "Remind me to fix your seal one of these days."

After everyone had been introduced to their rooms, Naruto called them down again and said, "Alright, now that the accommodations have been set, here's the thing. Either you can train in the grounds behind the house, or you can roam around Konoha with my clone as a guide to show you the hot spots."

Kankuro asked accusingly. "Why a clone?"

Naruto turned his face towards him with a raised eyebrow. "I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to spend the day with my fiancée. That is, if she is willing," he asked her, to which she gave a small nod and walked up to him, poking his chest.

"We need to have a talk."

"We don't mind, Naruto. We will take your clone as a guide," Gaara said before Kankuro really started to grill Naruto. The talk his sister wanted to have sounded important.

Just as he finished speaking, a clone popped up beside Naruto. "Have fun, you two."

With that, Naruto grabbed Temari and disappeared.

XXXXXXX

Naruto and Temari spent the rest of the day just roaming around, talking about just general things, getting to know each other better, or they went to a restaurant and had lunch, or trained.

The day passed very quickly for both of them, and soon they found themselves sitting on the head of Naruto's father, overlooking the village. Naruto was leaning against a spike of hair, with Temari leaning into his right side, head rested on shoulder, with Naruto's arm wrapped around her shoulder. She had her fan rested against another spike nearby. Both of them were enjoying the peace and quiet.

"I could get used to this," Temari murmured, shifting so she was closer then before.

Naruto was more than happy to let her. "Yeah, me too."

Silence reigned for a short while again, which was then broken by Naruto. "Temari...do you think this could work?"

Temari lifted her head from Naruto's shoulder to look him in the eyes. She knew exactly what he was talking about: whether this marriage could work or not. She sighed, Naruto always seemed to go straight to the point, without beating around the bush. Not that she had a problem with that.

"To be honest, even I had this question on my mind ever since I was told about this," she told him, watching him nod in return.

She began to blush as she spoke, "I know that I liked you, spending time in your company. I had developed these.....feelings, for you that I had never felt before, towards anyone. I like you, but I am unsure whether these feelings are enough to...."

She couldn't exactly find the words to express how she truly felt. Naruto just nodded, "It's ok. I understand. Something like that is difficult to put into words. How about we talk this another way?"

Temari turned to him with a quizzical look. "What do you mean?"

Naruto tilted his head to he was directly facing Temari. She was very close to him, the physical contact they had at the moment would have made him blush anytime, but the conversation was serious. "You know, when I found out that we were supposed to be enemies... I just couldn't come to terms with that fact. My feelings were so strong for you that.... I almost couldn't make my mind up on what would I do if I were to face you in the war?"

Temari didn't say anything, just nodding him to continue. But her eyes were a bit blurrier than before.

Naruto forced any hesitance back. He needed to get this out of his system. "My feelings for you and duty to the village were in conflict. If I chose you, then my village would kill me. The village that was entrusted to me by my parents. Abandoning it meant spitting on what they did to protect me."

A single tear flowed from Temari's right eye. "W-What do you mean, "entrusted" to you?"

Naruto's reply was monotonous. "I'm the jinchuriki of the kyuubi."

That reply almost made Temari choke on her own spit. Naruto was the jinchuriki of the kyuubi?! How and when the hell did that happen?!

Then she remembered the conversations between her and Naruto before the invasion. Naruto had told her that the village had very few people that actually cared about him. No wonder Gaara held Naruto in such high regard, they could almost be brothers in suffering.

Then she remembered something. The Yondaime had seemingly "killed" the kyuubi years ago. But masses of chakra can't be killed, and Naruto just revealed that the kyuubi was living inside him, which meant...

"Oh kami," she breathed out. This was too much news to be dealt with at one time. To think the Yondaime sealed the kyuubi inside his own son? To protect the village, he sacrificed his own family?!

Tears were freely flowing out by now. Naruto was sugarcoating it when he said that he had been entrusted with the village. The Yondaime Hokage had sealed the fate of his own son by making him the kyuubi's jailor. It was frightening how many similarities were popping up between Gaara and Naruto. Their father had sealed Shukaku into Gaara, trying to make him into a weapon. Naruto's father had done the same, except he had done so with a hope that Naruto would use the power to protect the village.

"Why?"

The word was whispered, because Temari was openly crying by now. A look full of concern came across Naruto's face as he pulled Temari into his lap. He gently grabbed her face with his hands and brushed off her tears with his thumbs, speaking in a slightly pleading tone. "Please don't cry, hime. I don't like it when you cry."

Temari held Naruto's hands with her own. "What kind of father would condemn his own son to a life such as that?"

Naruto smiled slightly and put his forehead against hers. "The kind that loved his village with all his heart. The kind whose morals refused to let him use someone else's child if he couldn't use his own." He gave a soft kiss to Temari on her lips, feeling the unique taste that was so her. "The kind that trusted his son above everyone else."

Temari gave a watery smile and shook her head. "You are something else, Naruto."

Naruto chuckled and continued. "Anyways, we got off topic. As I was saying, if I chose you, then the village would kill me. If I chose you, I would never have been able to live with myself with the knowledge that Konoha could, or worse, did, kill you and there was something I could have done something about it and I didn't."

Temari's face was unreadable, and just as Naruto was starting to fear that he had spoken something wrong, she asked, "But you still chose me over the village. Why?"

Naruto frowned as he tried to find a way to phase his answer. "I felt this sort of.....connection, for the lack of a better word, between us. We just seemed to sort of ....click. I felt like..... I won't ever be able to act like when I was with you with anyone else."

Temari looked at him, trying to find something he didn't know, and then slowly hugged him. It was a warm hug, and she was sitting sideways in his lap so not exactly perfect, but it still made him smile.

"Perhaps love does not need words to express itself," Temari murmured.

She pulled back from the hug and stared into Naruto's confused eyes. "Because love is a language in itself."

It was at this moment, that both of them knew that they cared for each other on a level that went deeper than what they thought. It was love, but neither of them were sure enough to admit it. Naruto nodded with a smile, "We can make this work."

Temari agreed wholeheartedly with a smile. "We can make this work."

Naruto had a thought and asked her, "So, what do we do now? Dinner time is still half an hour away."

Temari thought for a moment and asked, "Will we be eating out?"

Naruto shook his head. "I was thinking I would treat you all to some homemade food. Actually, that gives me an idea."

He formed a half ram seal and five clones popped up. He turned towards one clone, "Go to Gaara and Kankuro, tell them to meet me at the house in exactly one hour."

The clone nodded and vanished in a blue flash. Turning to the other four, he gave his orders, "You four start preparing the dinner at home."

The four clones nodded and vanished in a similar manner as the one before. Temari hummed, impressed. "Those shadow clones seem to be damn useful."

Naruto smirked, "Trust me, they make for great company as well."

Both of them chuckled at the thought of talking to yourself when getting bored. As their chuckles faded, Naruto asked, "So, what do we do now?"

Temari thought and smirked as she thought of the perfect way to spend. She smiled coyly as she leaned forward and planted kisses on Naruto's neck, causing his breath to hitch. "I can think of something."

Naruto was all too happy to indulge her.

Warning: Small lime scene

Naruto turned Temari so he could kiss her lips. Unlike last time, the two immediately engaged in a battle of their tongues without wasting any time. Temari wrapped her arms around his neck to pull herself closer, while he wrapped his arms around her waist to feel her against his body. 'Kami, I have missed this,' was the sole thought running through both of their minds.

The two continued to tongue-wrestle for some time, after which Naruto broke off the lip-lock, only to start kissing her neck, all the while running his hands on Temari's sides and back. Temari released a gasp of pleasure and tilted her head to give him more access. She released a quiet moan when he began to suck on her pulse.

"You've gotten better at this," she managed to breath out.

"I aim to please," he returned easily.

She felt Naruto smile at her compliment as he switched sides. Not only that, since Temari was sitting so she was facing Naruto's left side, his left hand made its way down from her waist, past her hips and onto her legs. Temari's breath hitched again as Naruto began running his hand across the exposed skin of her legs.

"You know, I just love your new wardrobe change," he said in a husky voice. "Brings out your legs way better than the last one."

"Glad to know it was worth it," she said in the same tone of voice. Wow, the hormones really were getting out here.

Internally, she was growling, only because the same effect won't come in the husky voice. She felt that Naruto had switched from submissive to dominating way too quickly!

Well, time to turn the tables.

She grabbed his face with her hands and once again engaged him in a battle of tongues. Only this time, she came out as the victor as she explored every inch of his mouth with her tongue. What she didn't know, was that Naruto was only too happy to let her take control like that. It was then he found out a new thing about himself: he loved girls who had a dominating side to them. Of course, he preferred to be in control during this type of activity, he loved the way how Temari aggressively fought him for control. It really, really turned him on.

Such as now.

Temari felt something poking her right inner thigh. Her brain immediately told her what was poking, and she felt herself smirking against Naruto's lips. She broke off the kiss and smirked at him.

Naruto was surprised when Temari decided to break the lip-lock with him. But when he looked at her face, he had to call on almost all of his willpower to not immediately re-engage their lip-lock. Her entire face was flushed, lips a little swollen from their tongue dueling, and that smirk was damn sexy.

When she spoke, her voice had a sultry tone that he had never heard from her, but he really liked it. "Is that your kunai, or are you just happy to see me?"

With a start Naruto realized that his erection was poking Temari in her thigh, through his clothes. Naruto always knew he was blessed, but times like he wished he had worn thicker clothing. But he refused to be embarrassed. It was his reputation at stake here!

Apparently, Naruto had been silent for longer than Temari liked. But she didn't get annoyed. Quite the opposite, really. She made a rather bold move, adjusting herself on his lap, her leg moving against his "kunai" in the process. She felt her ego swell a little at the groan that Naruto released. "Liked that, didn't you?"

Naruto stared at her with half lidded eyes. "You are evil."

He was not about to let this go without a comeback. He used his right hand to pull her face closer, quickly latching on to her earlobe. The gasp she released was well worth, but he wasn't done yet. His left hand roamed her left inner thigh, stopping and lightly squeezing the bare skin right below her panties. He didn't allow her subsequent moan to distract him, however. His right hand brushed across her left breast, his thumb ghosting across the now erect nipple. Her moan was much more audible this time, and Naruto allowed himself a smirk as he sucked on the earlobe.

He pulled back to see Temari's face, and felt his pride swell. Temari's chest was heaving, and it was a sight that further aroused him, but he kept himself in check for the moment. Half lidded eyes that contained frustration, mixed with pleasure and....pleading?

"Guess I did something right," he said as smiled satisfactorily. Temari was heaving as she glared at him. What Naruto did to her in the past few seconds was almost unbelievable, and felt really good. She never knew a foreign touch was capable of causing such pleasure. She had never been aroused on such a level as before.

Lime scene over

"You are a tease," she said as she leant against him. Naruto just chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. Though they had been a bit more daring than the last time, both decided that this was a good boundary for now.

"Learnt from the master," he sassed back. Both were completely aroused right now, but before they could decided on a further course of action, Naruto's clone flashed before them, causing Temari to yelp and clutch Naruto tighter.

Naruto only snorted and said, "If you are going to live with me, you better get used to that."

But Temari recovered quickly and poked him in the chest. "Oh, no way, Namikaze. Trust me, we are going to lay some ground rules concerning your "flashing.""

Naruto stared at her for a moment, then relented. "Fair enough." Turning to the clone, he asked, "Is dinner ready?"

The clone smirked and nodded, causing Naruto to whistle. "Damn, time sure does pass fast when you're having fun."

Temari got up so Naruto could get up. "Get Gaara and Kankuro to the dining table. We'll follow."

The clone nodded and flashed away. Naruto turned to Temari, who was watching him with a knowing smirk. "What?"

"That's a very impressive size for someone your age," she commented while gesturing below.

Naruto quirked an eyebrow before looking down, instantly flushing in embarrassment. His "package" was clearly visible through the lower he was wearing, proudly standing tall.

To save some of his dignity, he asked in return. "And you would know how?"

Temari shrugged, "They teach stuff like that to the kunoichi in Suna for the missions that are "special.""

Naruto nodded, "Fair enough. Guess I'll have to settle for a cold shower, then."

He grabbed Temari and disappeared in a blue flash.

XXXXXXX

Kumogakure no sato was a village that lived up to its name. The village hidden in clouds was at such high altitude that it literally was hidden among the clouds.

This village was the shinobi village of Kaminari no kuni, the land of lightning. It's leader was called the Raikage, literally meaning the "lightning shadow." The current Raikage was simply known as A, and right now, he was staring at the destroyed furniture in his office, thinking about the latest news his spy had delivered.

Uzumaki Naruto was the one and only son of Namikaze Minato. At first, A's interest was aroused by the fact alone that an Uzumaki had survived and was living in Konoha right now. Uzushiogakure no sato had been completely destroyed in the Second great war, with the combined efforts of Kumo and Iwa. Of course, a few scant survivors might have managed to escape, but it's not as if they can do anything.

Then came the third war, in which Kumo had lost badly, but not as badly as Iwa did. Konoha no Kiroi Senko, Namikaze Minato, had single-handedly secured Konoha's victory in the war. The man had earned the entire shinobi world's fear, and grudging respect of a few. In fact, Minato came to be so feared that while the man's short reign as the Yondaime Hokage, no village even dared to so much as look at Konoha with the intent of fighting it. The world was aware of what happened to Iwa's forces, and no one wanted the wrath of the Yellow flash to be directed at them.

But thirteen years ago, the legendary Flash had died fighting to save his village from the Kyuubi. Contrary to what many people in his village felt, A held great respect for Minato. He was the only one to completely out speed and blindside him in their single fight against each other in the war. A respected strength, and Minato had proven himself stronger, and way faster than him. A considered Minato his rival, and was understandable upset when the only person who could give him a run for his speed left the world.

But looking at the situation from a political angle, it meant that Konoha no longer had the might of the yellow flash in their hands. And Iwa had rejoiced at the death of that man.

But now he was hearing this.

A blonde boy, no older than thirteen, with azure blue eyes named Uzumaki Naruto. A genin of Konoha who had been participating in the chunin exams as a student of Hatake Kakashi, the copy ninja. He was a non-entity to his spy until the moment it was announced that Uzumaki Naruto was the son of the Yondaime Hokage. And he was powerful, more than most of the jonin, his spy was saying.

This Naruto had trumped a Hyuga in taijutsu like it was nothing, and had used fuinjutsu and hiraishin in great conjunction to take out Suna's jinchuriki.

All in all, Uzumaki Naruto spelled trouble for the nations.

The boy was clearly powerful, and coupled with the hiraishin could match some of the world's greatest shinobi. If he was allowed to get even more powerful, the balance of power among the nations could dangerously tip in Konoha's favor. But even knowing this, A could not afford to go to war with Konoha, even if his military was much larger than the other village's. Much as he hated to admit, if Kumo had quantity, then Konoha had quality.

He sat down in his chair and thought. Right now, the news was that Suna had decided to regain its alliance with the leaf by using the old tradition of an arranged marriage. Sabaku no Temari, the daughter of the Yondaime Kazekage, had been set to marry Uzumaki Naruto. No doubt, not only would the marriage cement their alliance, but the offspring of the two would no doubt be powerful.

But he had to take into account the leaf as well. For all its powerful shinobi, the leaf was not a provocative village. They never made the first move in any of the great wars.

For now, he would keep the boy in check. It was all he could do right now.

XXXXXXX

Iwagakure was a village that harbored feelings of great hate towards the hidden leaf. Ever since the third great war ended, the tsuchikage, Onoki, resented the leaf. Onoki was an old, but powerful shinobi. The only one in the world with Jinton, the Dust release.

Onoki relied on the dust release far more than he cared to admit. He was a shinobi who had seen all the three great wars, and had lived through them. But of the three, the third war was the one he hated the most because of the crushing, humiliating defeat they suffered at the hands of just one man from Konoha, Namikaze Minato.

The blow to Iwa's pride, along with its forces, was so large that Iwa had yet to fully recover from it. Onoki hated the man with all his being at first, but after two years of heavy dwelling, he found that Namikaze Minato had done what anyone would have done in his place.

Namikaze Minato had protected his home.

It was war, and losses were dealt to both the sides. While Iwa suffered the heaviest, all the villages were fighting to survive. Konoha just happened to have a card that was better than theirs. Holding onto grudges like that did no one good. Namikaze Minato deserved his rest after what he did to protect his village. So Onoki did the wise thing.

He let his irrational hatred go.

Of course, that could not be said for the whole village. Countless had lost their families due to the slaughter Namikaze had brought upon them. His own granddaughter was one such example. Kurotsuchi lost her mother in the war, and had blamed it all on Namikaze. Onoki honestly was worried for her mental health. Blaming a man who was just doing his job was hardly fair, after all.

And now there was this news.

His spy had delivered the news of utmost importance. Apparently, The yellow flash had a child, whose name was Uzumaki Naruto. At first, Onoki couldn't quite believe the message. When he did, he had just collapsed onto his chair in disbelief.

He had seen the power of Namikaze Minato, and he was not interested in seeing that again. At first, he would have happily given the order to assassinate the boy and his recently known fiancée, to make sure that every trace of Namikaze Minato was wiped out from the face of the world.

But now?

He was content to just keep his distance. He knew that Namikaze lived by a code- as long as you kept your distance and didn't harm his close ones, he was content to leave you alone as well. "I look forward to see what you become, Namikaze Naruto."

Unfortunately, he forgot to safely put the document.

AN: This may seem like a cliffhanger, but I'm telling you right now: this cliffhanger won't be issued for quite some time, so please don't bother me about it.

I apologize yet again, if the whole "House refurbishing" thing sounds like complete bullshit, but I'm no interior designer. I wrote the first thing that came to my mind.

Someone requested that I put more Naruto/Temari moments. Whoever it is, I hope you appreciate the one I've put in this chapter. To those who think I'm going too far too fast, they're going to do coitus anyway on their wedding night, so I feel it's best if I start advancing their romancing.

See you after two weeks!