23 Chapter 23

~September 29th. Friday. Graduation.

It was just like the beginning of the school year as Naruto was taking photos for just about anyone who asked him. Even civilian families who could never hope to afford a camera. He didn't mind it because he brought plenty of film scrolls just for this purpose.

Unlike the beginning of the year where he was unknown, he was actively sought out to talk to now. He had a reputation for clearing out tedious C or D ranks that were left over like they were nothing. It made people appreciate him doing the menial work.

Naruto was looking forward to when he was no longer village bound and could do the things he needed to do outside of the village.

Like Wave for example. He needed to deal with their situation asap and he'd already asked the old man to keep an eye out for Tazuna's mission. He'd booked it in to be the one to do it.

"Naruto-kun, a fine morning today, isn't it?" A familiar spine-tingling voice called out from behind him.

Naruto smiled, turning towards the Uchiha Matriarch. "Mikoto-sama, it is indeed, and it's only gotten better with your presence."

Mikoto was holding a hand fan and was covering her face with it as she giggled.

Of course the action alone caught the attention of most who were in proximity. The sight and sound of their Lady Uchiha giggling was like the calling of an angel sent from heaven.

"My, my Naruto-kun, quite the charmer you are," Mikoto teased, then she held out her hand. "Here."

Naruto rolled his eyes and Mikoto had been around him often enough to tell through the blindfold. She hid the smile that was creeping onto her face behind the fan, though Naruto could tell her mirth from the twinkle in her eyes.

Naruto bowed and kissed the offered hand slightly, amused at the theatrics of 'keeping up appearances'. They were way past such formal greetings, having seen each other practically everyday for the past months and Mikoto had become something of a second mother for him.

"Stop teasing him, mom," Sarada said from behind her, though she was using her more masculine 'Sasuke' voice. She'd improved by leaps and bounds ever since their training ground sessions started, both in combat ability and socialisation skills.

She was already considered prodigious, but now she was more likely to be considered a monster. Just as his other three students would be as well once their talents were known.

"Oh I can't help it, Naruto-kun is such a bewitcher of ladies," Mikoto said as she pinched Naruto's cheek, to the twitching of his eyebrows.

Naruto shook it off, batting the hand away as it tried to come in for a second attempt.

Mikoto only chuckled.

Never before had the sight of the frozen untouchable goddess been broken. Mikoto looked so…cheerful, and even her normally aloof child was smiling albeit trying to keep it hidden. Who was this…Naruto to make them act in such a way?

This was the thought that rang throughout the observers around them.

"Anyways, you guys want a picture?" Naruto asked.

They did…and of course they also want him to be in them as well.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

When the teams were determined, the students had quickly met up with their sensei's and were scheduled to meet the day after.

The teams were decided as follows:

Team 7 (Kakshi's team): Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Hyuuga Hinata.

Team 8 (Kurenai's team): Hyuuga Hanabi, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino.

Team 9 *taken* (Guy's team)

Team 10 (Asuma's team): Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji.

~With Ino:

"I can't believe I'm the one who got separated from the group!" Ino muttered into Naruto's jacket, crying a torrent of tears. "Curse my fate, I'm stuck with a lazy bum and a gross bum rather than my friends."

Naruto chuckled, patting her back, comforting her. "I'm sure it'll work out alright, Ino-chan. Shikamaru and Chouji aren't that bad."

Ino only sighed. "Mou~ An my sensei seems like a lazy chain smoker as well. Why can't we have you as our sensei?"

Naruto shook his head frantically. "I don't think I'd make a good–"

"Oh cut the shit, Naruto," Ino cut him off, "You'd have been an incredible sensei, because you already are an incredible sensei."

Naruto blushed. "Thanks…but…could you please let go of me?"

Ino, upon realising she was clutching onto him like a monkey jumped back a bit. "S–sorry. Heh, got a bit ahead of myself."

"Yeah, get away from him, Ino-pig!" A familiar voice said from a distance. It was none other than Sakura, who was joined by Sarada and Hinata. "Good morning, Naruto-kun! Sorry we're late. Our sensei is kind of…off"

At her final words, Sarada grumbled under her breath and even Hinata looked a bit annoyed.

Naruto only chuckled. "That's Kakashi for you alright. You three are going to have your work cut out for you."

His four friends chatted amongst each other about their teams and wishes.

Naruto closed his eyes, though none could tell but a few.

The four in front of him just so happened to be some of those few.

"Naruto-kun? Are you thinking of something?" Hinata asked.

Naruto just smiled. "I'm simply glad that you've all become this strong in a year, or in Sarada's case, half a year. It's incredible how much progress you guys made. I'm…proud of you, you know? All of you."

He even gave a pointed look to Sarada in particular, who blushed.

At those words, the four girls' hearts leapt with pride.

"It's…it's all thanks to you," Sakura said.

Naruto shook his head. "I only brought out what was already in all of you. I knew you'd have what it takes. In just a few years, I'm sure you'll end up as an S-rank kunoichi for sure."

"Y–you really think so?" Sarada asked, elated at the compliment, especially from whom it came.

"I know so," Naruto responded, "but…I'm afraid I won't be there to teach you guys as much anymore."

"What?!" Ino yelped, "Wh–what do you mean?!"

Naruto only gave them all a sad, apologetic smile. "When I turn 18, I'll be allowed outside the village. I have…things I have to do…and I will likely be away from Konoha for long periods of time."

The four looked solemn as they glanced at each other, not knowing what to say.

Then it was surprisingly Hinata who acted first.

And she did so boldly, which was more of Ino's kind of thing.

She came forward and hugged him, burying her face in his chest.

Naruto was surprised, but before he could act, Ino and Sakura joined in a moment later. Naruto chuckled as he wrapped his arms around the three. He towered over them so it was easy to do so.

The only one that was left was Sarada.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at her, and reluctantly, she joined in the hug by crossing her arms and letting herself be enveloped by Naruto's embrace.

"I'll make sure to stop by anytime I can," Naruto said as they hugged him tighter, "but you'll all be busy with missions and training with your new genin cells. I look forward to seeing your chuunin promotions soon, because I'm sure you all already deserve it."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

~1 year and 1 week after Naruto's arrival. October 17th. Tuesday.

It was Naruto's birthday. Not his original one, but his new one, the one he preferred. There was a small celebration, just like the year before, but it was exactly the way Naruto wanted it. It had some extra guests, which meant extra gifts. There were Kushina, Hiruzen, Mikoto, Sarada, Hinata, Sakura, and Ino.

It passed by without too much fanfare, lasting about three hours, but Naruto had cherished it nonetheless. He'd received a handmade red scarf from Hinata, a self-written small book of plants and flowers from Ino, a handmade bracelet from Sakura, a new jacket from Sarada, a year long Ichiraku ramen voucher from Hiruzen (which Teuchi only allowed because Naruto was to be out on missions for most of the year), and apparently a surprise gift from his mother and Mikoto to be revealed later.

"I'm going to miss you!" Ino said, as she pulled him down by his collar and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

The other girls didn't like that. Not one bit.

"Let go of him you whore!" Sakura screeched as she grabbed Ino to smush her face…which quickly escalated into a wrestling match.

Then, once again, it was surprisingly Hinata who followed up, giving Naruto a kiss on his other cheek.

Ino's kiss had surprised Naruto but Hinata's left him stunned.

Then, seeing that she was behind in the act, Sakura immediately one-upped them all when she grabbed the stunned Naruto by his hair and brought his lips to hers. She was blushing furiously as she'd acted on instinctive courage but it was nonetheless a point of pride to her that she was able to go through with what Ino had claimed to have done herself on her birthday.

When she let go, Hinata, not wanting to be outdone so quickly after her own courageous act, grabbed Naruto's head, turned to face her, and placed her own soft lips on his, letting it linger for a minute before fleeing like a rabbit.

The barrage of kisses had left Naruto practically catatonic and he was just glad that the adults were in a separate room, chatting to each other.

Then, Naruto looked at Sarada, almost expecting a kiss from a fourth person.

She glared at him, cheeks tinged red also. "Don't even think about expecting one from me."

Naruto smiled sheepishly before he burst out laughing at the situation. His amusement proved infectious as soon, Hinata, Sakura and Ino joined him while Sarada looked away, hiding her smile.

"What in the world was that?" Naruto got out between breaths. "I think you all had too much to drink."

They were all past legal drinking age, with Naruto surprisingly being the youngest out of them, to his friends' endless teasing, so they'd all had a glass or two during the party.

"Please, I can hold my liquor," Ino argued, "Now, let's set something straight here. Since I'm the first out of all of us to kiss Naruto-kun on the lips, I'm clearly in the lead now."

"As if!" Sakura retorted, "You cheated by making him pity you on your birthday. You even made your dad put us to sleep!"

"All is fair in love and war," Ino said, nonchalantly.

"Actually…It was Sarada who, out of the four of you, kissed me there first," Naruto commented, thinking nothing of it. It may have been an accident…in both worlds, but it still counted.

It was when a stunned silence fell over the four girls that Naruto realised his mistake.

"Na..rU…TOOOOOO!" Sarada screeched, fury and undue embarrassment in her tone.

Naruto stepped back a bit as he feebly tried to explain. "It was…an accident?"

Naruto ran.

Sarada chased after him.

There was a full ten minutes of chasing and manoeuvring around furniture, to everyone's amusement because it was like both of them had forgotten that they were ninja's in their tussle.

It was when Naruto made the mistake of getting out of line of sight from everyone in going to the back garden of his house that Sarada immediately jumped, bringing him to the floor and straddling him, much similar to the position they were in a few months ago.

"Caught you," Sarada said, then, to Naruto's surprise, she activated her sharingan to quickly check that no one was watching them in their surroundings. When she confirmed it, she squashed Naruto's cheeks together with one hand, making his lips pucker like a fish, then she…then she…

She…kissed him?

Sarada had never felt so bold in her life as compared to this moment. She…she didn't really know what she was thinking. She'd like to blame it on the alcohol, or the fact that she didn't want to be the odd person out in this little kissing battle they had. But she knew that she wanted this to happen deep down in her heart.

She didn't love him…but she can't deny that she liked him in some small insignificant way that she refused to admit was taking up more of herself than she'd liked. What happened to her dreams of revenge? She didn't have time for this!

She needed to kill Itachi, she needed to…to….

'Oh kami,' she thought as she began to delve deeper into his mouth. She didn't really know what she was doing and whatever knowledge she had on the subject was something she'd gleamed out of the romance novels in Sakura's house.

She didn't really care though, because she didn't want to lose. She needed to do more than the other three. She had no illusions that with the way she dressed and her rather petite stature, being the smallest of the girls, she had gotten the short end of the stick in terms of…female allure.

She looked closer to a teenage brat rather than a woman.

To win this unspoken race, she needed to be bold, to take advantage when the others were slacking.

She didn't even know why she wanted to win so badly, she just knew that she had to.

Naruto, on the other hand, was taken aback, to say the least.

Unlike the two kisses he had a moment before, this was a kiss full of aggression and need. It felt like Sarada was sparring him with her tongue…

…little did she know that Naruto had an uncomfortable amount of practice in the art of kissing…from a method he was far too embarrassed to admit to anyone.

Naruto fought back in this duel of tongues and immediately found the upper hand. Sarada had reeled when he turned it up a notch but he had already put a hand gently behind her head near her nape and pulled her back in, not letting her get off easy.

She struggled for a bit before yielding to his technique. They locked their faces with each other for a minute before she moaned in his mouth, to both their surprises, and it was enough for Naruto to realise what he was doing. He was…kissing the female version of his long time rival…

…It was weird but also…strangely vindicating.

Sarada took in a breath from the respite when Naruto pulled back. "You–This–"

She couldn't finish whatever she wanted to say as Naruto flipped her over, just as he did six months ago. He was above her, his body making her small frame seem powerless. "What're you–"

He was the one who initiated the kiss now…and he spared her no mercy as he took her first real kiss. For some reason, even with the lust seal on him, he felt himself getting a bit excited. This was the ultimate form of a get-back to the Sasuke from his world. To claim this female version of him and render her helpless beneath him.

The shock of the turn of events had involuntarily activated Sarada's sharingan eyes and…and the sight of Naruto ravaging her mouth as she just…lay there and let him do so for two and a half minutes was seared into her memory for eternity.

A picture perfect frame that will never degrade. His addictive scent, the sensations, the way he held her down. She'd remember every little detail until the end of her existence.

…And she knew that she'd watch this memory over and over, time and time again in the future.

Naruto's lips parted from hers and he backed away, just as the back door burst open to reveal Ino.

"This is where you two went," Ino said…then she took in their position. "Wow you two must've really had it out for each other to end up like that. Try not to kill each other for a day, would you?"

Naruto got up and laughed sheepishly. "R–right. Sarada jumped me and we sort of ended up here."

Ino looked at her mentor suspiciously, obviously feeling that something was off. If there was one thing Naruto was terrible at, it was the art of fibbing. "...Right. Come back in. We're supposed to leave soon."

Then she looked over to the raven haired heiress. "Besides, aren't you staying over at Sakura's for the night, Sarada?"

Naruto was surprised at this development.

Sarada nodded, getting up from the grassy ground. "She suggested a sleepover to get to know each other better as a team. Hinata's invited too."

At the mention of teams Ino deflated again. "Ugh…I'd be jealous if we hadn't done the exact same thing last week…why wasn't I invited this time?"

"We wanted to see what our group dynamic was like without a loud-mouthed bossy blond to quip in every time anyone says so much as a word," Sarada answered nonchalantly.

"Oh screw you," Ino said as she blew her bangs from her eyes. "I know you love me."

Sarada rolled her eyes but her smile grew softer nonetheless. "I'm sure we'd all be lost lambs without you."

Ino huffed and turned away, making her way back in.

Sarada followed, though after a few steps, she turned her head to the side, showing Naruto just a part of her face from behind her. "By the way…I might have been the latest to join the group, but I have the lead now…n–not that I care about you or anything, so don't get any bright ideas. This was a one time, birthday thing alright!"

"Uhm…alright…" Naruto agreed but for some reason, she looked a bit disappointed at his response…almost as if she'd wanted him to demand otherwise.

With that, she was off.

Naruto was confused over what this 'lead' thing was and what the girls were even racing for…

He sighed, letting the tumultuous events of the evening go.

'Surely it can't get any wilder than this…right?' he thought to himself.

Little did he know just how much more wild things would get as the night progressed….

…because tonight was the night where his lust seal was to be removed…