Markings in dry clay disappear
Only when the clay is soft again.
Scars upon the self disappear
Only when one becomes soft within.-Deng Ming Dao.
"You're just angry that I caught you trying to peek at me."
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "That was a complete misunderstanding. I knocked and received no answer. I assumed you were no longer in the room. When I opened the door, true my eyes noticed you right away, but I didn't actually see anything. If I were trying to see you naked, I would've had my Sharingan activated so I could always remember the moment. I was focused on the fact that you had just come from the hot spring and you were wearing your mask. Who wears their mask in a hot spring?"
"Kaka-sensei!"
Sasuke looked at her, "And how would you know that?"
"Uh…...A wild guess really. He never takes his off! So, maybe he goes to the springs with it on!"
"Sure," Sasuke frowned.
"Anyway, Koyuki didn't think it at all odd that I wore my mask to the spring," Naruko folded her arms.
Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Because she thinks you're the best person in the world. You could kill a child for no reason and she'd think you were right to do so."
Naruko punched him in the shoulder. "Do I need to kick your ass?"
"Why do all your threats involve my ass? I think you pay too much attention to it when your attention could be elsewhere."
Naruko flushed, "Even if I had the means to do so, I wouldn't. It would only encourage you and I'm trying to do the exact opposite."
"But why?" Sasuke leaned in, his frame easily dwarfing her own, taking up everything in her line of vision. "I know you like looking at me. That's why I take off my shirt when we train, because you have a fetish for chests."
Naruko sputtered, "Pfft! No! Who'd want to look at your pasty ass chest?"
"See? You are staring at my chest."
Naruko huffed, "Let's just get back to the castle. I want to see if my armor is done yet."
"You're the one who stopped in the middle of the road to argue your point. I'm just following you."
"So if I jump off a bridge, you'll follow me?" she asked in a snarky tone.
He smirked and grabbed her hand, "I'd let you fall."
She gasped.
"And then I'd perform the most heroic stunt ever. Which would then earn me a kiss for saving you."
Naruko slapped his hand away. "I will never kiss you willingly."
Liar!
Fuck off Kyu!
The dark laughter in her mind faded away.
"How did you manage to get them to make you Chakra Armor?" Sasuke asked.
Naruko snorted, "Hello, I killed Doto. They said they owed me a favor, so I chose Chakra Armor. I'm used to wearing heavy clothing anyway. That breastplate was fifty pounds on its own. With weight seals, it gained another fifty. The bodysuit I'm wearing has weight seals. Besides, something like that, would be so awesome! It'll be part of my Jonin outfit. Originally, I intended to change outfits every time I went up in rank, but we kind of went on a three year trip. Since we're returning to the village next week, I figured this'll be good. My whole outfit is set! You'll see later."
Sasuke nodded as they entered the castle grounds. The guards bowed to the them and Naruko gave a mock salute.
Sasuke followed her to her room and sat on her bed as she went about getting her things together.
There was a knock at the door and Naruko let the woman in. She handed something to the blonde and asked her to go put it on with her new outfit.
Naruko returned five minutes later. She was wearing a tight leather top that she purchased in Cha no Kuni when they were helping Ibiki's brother Idate win that stupid race. It's sleeve stopped at her wrists, just as the previous shirt she wore did. It also had a built in mask. Bright red hakama, that stopped mid calf(Think of Kikyo's pants, in Inuyasha.). Over that, was a black cuirass styled with lotus petal faulds. The faulds, had flames on them that were the same color as her hakama. She wore a simple pair of black shinobi sandals. Finally, her Kasai Shiruku was wrapped around her waist.
Naruko spun around and spread her arms, "How do I look?"
The woman smiled and clapped her hands, "I love your style! It fits just fine?"
Naruko nodded, "It's perfect! Thank you so much!"
The woman smiled, "It's the least we could do."
Sasuke gave Naruko an appraising look, "You look good."
The woman looked between them, "Please don't be angry with me but, are you two allowed to be alone so often?"
Both teens snorted.
"Please! Ero-Sennin has locked us in rooms together, hoping that I'd succumb to Sasuke's charms. It hasn't worked yet," Naruko shook her head.
"Unfortunately, she is correct," Sasuke muttered with an annoyed frown.
The woman looked between them, "Very well then. I was just wondering. Please be safe on your journey, and we'd love to have you again."
When the woman departed, Naruko removed her silk and the cuirass. When Sasuke gave her a smirk, she flipped him the bird.(A/N: Awella bird is the word! XD)"Shut up!"
She went on to seal everything she had into the cuirass, just like she had with her breastplate. When everything was set, she looked at him, "Shall we?"
Sasuke nodded and rose from the bed. "We have to get the others?"
"Don't be like that. Of course we have to get them," Naruko chastised.
He rolled his eyes.
"Why are you being like that?" she asked.
"They're annoying!"
"Even Ainonai?"
Sasuke threw her an exasperated look, "Especially her!"
"But I don't understand why you don't like them at all."
Sasuke sighed, "Kimimaro is a bit creepy in his dedication to you, but he's the least annoying of them. He's isn't trying to get in your pants!"
"You're trying to get into my pants!"
Sasuke stopped walking, "No I'm not. I'm trying to get you to see that we're perfect for each other. I know you better than anyone ever will, even if I don't know everything about you. I respect your privacy and I don't bother you about your secrets, because I want you to tell me when you're ready. You know me better than anyone and we've been friends for ten years. I fell in love with you because of your personality Naruko, not your body. I intend to keep my promise, but I'm trying to do everything I can to achieve it. Everything within the realms of reason and comfort. I make comments and I do like to touch you every now and then, but I have never once mentioned sex or pressured you about sex. Don't lump me in with other men. Because, unlike them…...I actually love you."
He stared at her. And she began to fidget. Once again, he had confessed his feelings to her, and once again, her heart fluttered. But then, she also felt the pain in his voice. The pain from her accusation. He was right of course, he never tried to get her to have sex with him. Not once. She felt bad for falsely accusing him and the sting of tears in her eyes, from realising how much she had offended him.
Sasuke was honest. He looked her in the eye when he spoke. He never wavered or stuttered. He was direct and to the point. She had no reason to snap at him, and he had put her in her place without even raising his voice.
With her head down she sighed, "I'm sorry Sasuke."
Sasuke hooked a finger under her chin and tilted it upward, "It's fine. But I want you to remember, that I am different from the other men in your life. I'm serious about you Naruko."
He leaned down and kissed her softly, pulling away not long after. "I can't wait for the day when I kiss you without this stupid mask keeping you from me."
Naruko rolled her eyes. King of ruining the moment he was.
"Let's just get the others!"
She stomped off, trying to ignore his laughing.
Naruko knocked on a door at the end of the hall, "We have to leave!"
The door opened and out stepped Kimimaro. Kimimaro Kaguya, the only survivor of the Kaguya Clan. He was the heir and had refused to go and attack Kirigakure, because he thought it was a foolish move. He was correct when everyone was killed and clan was announced as dead. Kimimaro had white hair and bright green eyes. There were two scarlett dots in the center of his forehead, that were the same color as the markings around his eyes. He was sixteen years old, and was as tall as Sasuke.
Naruko thought he a good person, though Sasuke didn't feel the same. It was strained relationship between the two.
Naruko had given Kimimaro a choice, to come with her on her travels and eventually join Konoha, or keep going through life with nothing to live for. Kimimaro chose to follow Naruko, though he took it a little seriously. He had decided he would pledge his life to her and nearly shadowed her every move, if she didn't tell him not to of course.
"Naruko-sama, they're doing it again," he stated with a frown.
Naruko sighed and stepped around him. She was met with the sight of Ainonai and Manzen choking each other out on the floor, while their elder brother Futeki sat on the bed, reading a book.
Ainonai, Manzen and Futeki were some more survivors that Naruko had come across when she and Sasuke had been alone one day waiting for Jiraiya and Kimimaro. She had come across Ainonai, who as attempting to con a man out of his food. That was when she took the girl aside and had a talk with her. After some memory searching, like she had done with Karin, she determined that her story was legit and asked to meet the girls brothers.
The three were the only survivors of the Ninjo Clan massacre. Similar to Kimimaro's story, they were part of a blood thirsty clan that wanted to wipe out every other country around them. The three had refused to take part in the attack because they didn't have the heart to kill people for no reason. No one had returned after a year and they were forced to move on and try and survive until they could find a village that would take them in. Problem was, nobody wanted them.
Naruko proposed Konoha to them and their main concern was their Kekkei Genkai. Due to their bloodline, they looked different than other people. Like Kimimaro, they had markings on their foreheads. But instead of two dots, there was only one with two rhombuses on either side, tilting outward. Their eyes were naturally crimson with curved markings coming from the middle of their eyelashes.(A/N: Think of Jiraiya when he was young. Those red marks under his eyes. They look like that.) They were very pale with crimson colored hair, that matched their markings and eyes.
Because they obviously looked different, people didn't really want anything to do with them. Naruko, gave a few examples of the different clans in Konoha. The Uchiha and Hyuga. Her own clan and the Inuzuka. She mentioned that they had a very canine like appearance and weren't judged for it. She told them of Haku and Kimimaro, who were both the last of their clans and had decided to come to Konoha, because the village gladly accepted Kekkei Genkai.
With Futeki's okay on the matter, they decided to follow Naruko and join Konoha. After a year and a half, they'd all gotten to know each other pretty well. Sasuke didn't like them of course, because Ainonai had a crush on him and Manzen and Futeki had made several passes at Naruko. Sasuke hadn't appreciated their moving in on his 'territory', apparently.
"Who said what now?" she asked. The two froze and looked at her.
"He called me fat!"
"She called me stupid!"
Naruko looked at Futeki, "Who started it?"
He shrugged, "I've been reading, so I can't give you an answer, beautiful Naruko."
"Don't call me that," she rolled her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Naruko-sama," he purred with a smile.
Sasuke came up behind her and gave Futeki the fiercest glare he could manage. The teen just smirked and went back to his book.
"They were arguing about when we're leaving and then Ainonai called Manzen stupid and then he called her fat."
Naruko looked over and smiled slightly, "Thank Kami. Good ear Kei."
Kei nodded and gave her a shy smile.
Kei was someone she came across a few months back. He was standing under a roof of an old shrine, trying to get out of the rain. She'd been late returning to the group and when she saw him, she felt something. So, she stopped and talked to him, imagine her surprise when she found out he was an Uzumaki! After some mind surfing, she told him who she was and that there was another Uzumaki in her home village.
Kei was a redhead, just like Karin, but his eyes were a soft lavender. He was sixteen years old and had been an orphan for a few years, trying to find somewhere to go. He was just staying away from strong chakra signatures, in hopes to avoid trouble. Another Sensor. He was surprised to meet Naruko and after a couple of months, he'd finally gotten comfortable with her and the others. Somewhere in the middle, he had developed a crush on her and would blush whenever she looked in his direction.
Naruko sighed and pulled Manzen and Ainonai up by their ears. "We have to leave now. Ero-Sennin will be meeting us at the gates and I'm eager to get home and see my miniMaki. She's the same age as Ainonai and I can't wait to see how much she grew. The faster we get there, the faster we can get the paperwork over with and we can go our lives. Now stop acting like children and get your things together!"
The two jumped into action and began gathering their things. Futeki just smirked and put his book in his bag.
"Such force Naruko-sama. I didn't know you were into dominance."
Kei blushed at Futeki's words. He looked at Naruko in shock, "Really?"
She groaned, "No! Just get ready!"
Sasuke gave the blonde a look, "So, you can honestly say that you don't find them to be annoying?"
"Yes, they're annoying. But they way you feel about them and the way I feel about them is different. You think you have competition which leads you to act like an ass. I think of them as kids who need a firm grip to steer them in the right direction."
"Even though one is your age?" he asked.
Naruko nodded, "Did you see how they all act? I'm like the mother."
"The mother they flirt with," the Uchiha grumbled.
Naruko smacked his arm, "Shut up!"
"Yes, Naruko-sama," he smirked.
"Okay, let's go!"
She turned and stormed off, Kimimaro following her, leaving Sasuke with the 'children'.
"Jiraiya-sama is waiting for us?" Kimimaro asked as they walked.
"Yep! Now let's go! The next week needs to go by fast!"
You left your male alone with those he considers a threat.
Sasuke won't do anything to them!
Really? What did he do to that Kiri ninja that one time?
Naruko froze, remembering very well what happened. Her turned around and dashed back down the hall, "Sasuke!"