83 Atom Bomb Baby

Quest Updated: Reasons to Live.

Completed: Get a New Hobby (1/1).

And with the final dango…there.

I made a bouquet of dango-skewers. Feels kind of silly, but I want to give her something. It'd feel kind of weird just showing up at her place out of the blue and ask her out on a date without something in my hand. At least I think it would be. If I'm making a mistake, I'll figure it out soon.

Okay, last step before I head out to Anko's place. Mindset.

I am attracted to her, and that's okay. I think her personality is great, I think her jokes are hilarious (if not a little racy at times), and last but certainly not least, I think she's gorgeous. Just an amazing face, perfectly toned body…love those abs…

Relax, horndog. Yes, she's amazing and you're okay with that. But you're still only thirteen and she's probably going to say no to an actual date unless she's changed her opinion from 'shame you're underage'. Still going to try, though.

So, let's try to picture what her actually saying yes would look like.

Sure! Yeah, lets go out, I know a great spot that serves breakfast not too far from here.

Oh, you are way sexier than I remember…hm…

I love you Daisuke.

That'd be more than cool. But, let's go ahead and picture her saying no. Just to keep my expectations level.

Look, you're really sweet but you're just too young for me. Go ask Ino out, I'm sure she'd say yes.

No, Daisuke. Look, you're more like the hormonal younger brother I never had.

Get away from me you perverted little creep!

…still alive?

Still alive.

Okay.

Accepted, rejected, doesn't matter. All that matters is that I tried and I wanted to try. So, I will. Now, I did take Lady Killer, so…does that make trying to court a woman unethical since that automatically makes me pretty good with them?

Well, it's not like I have much of a choice. That perk is as much a part of me as Adamantium Skeleton. I picked it on a whim and I'm stuck with it now. That's just a part of me and worrying about a part of me being unfair or unethical just wouldn't be a good thing.

The dango bouquet was just a bunch of sticks tied together with some white lace. I looked around my kitchen which was built off in its own room and led directly into the large dining room. Yeah, my house was not a hovel anymore, but a mansion. Master bedroom was on the second floor.

Did I need anything else?

Probably should lose the work clothes and put on my suit. Just need to clean up properly, in other words.

The kitchen was loaded with confections…mostly entire plates of cookies all over the counter tops. I remember joking about having access to a dimension of infinite cookies before but now I'm almost wondering if I can't just make one. There were a couple cakes here and there too. My baking fell squarely within the Survival skill, but honestly, I didn't mind that. I wanted something easy and relaxing to occupy my time and baking does exactly that.

I think the Dango surprised me the most with its ingredients. Rice flower and red bean paste, also called Anko Dango. Yeah. I wonder if that's part of why it's her favorite food? Heck, her family name is Mitarashi, which is a dango covered in syrup.

Honestly, though? It's funny and kind of awesome.

With my bouquet in hand, I left the kitchen and came into the front room. A large room with large couches, mats, futon, everything you could possibly want to sit down and socialize with, especially if it's a large group of people. On both sides of the room were stairs leading upwards.

…might be a while before I invite a lot of people, though.

On one of the walls, I had hung a full-length mirror partly as a decoration but mostly so I could check to see if I still looked good. Got my suit, the hair is fine, all the flower is gone, alright, I'm ready.

Just let me take a breath.

First girl in more than thirteen years I'm actually going to try making overtures to, and I'm expecting rejection. So, what am I worried about? I want to do it, so I'm going to do it. She should be home, getting ready to go out and go get breakfast if she doesn't eat in. Perhaps a Tea Ceremony since she's on vacation?

Actually, I might ask her to host one for me. I don't like tea, still, but if the relationship takes off, I think she'd really appreciate it, especially since she knows I don't like tea. Wasn't there a religious prohibition on it for me? Right, yeah. There was. Well, I mean…I won't let myself get addicted to it and I can fix anything that might even slightly go wrong so I think it should be fine. Besides, do those rules still apply to me now that I'm not even in that world anymore?

…you know, I think I'm tying myself in knots here. Just focus on the now and worry about religion some other day.

Am I stressed?

Yeah, anxious. No, no. I am excited. The butterflies in my stomach are a good thing. This is going to be great. I'm going to go out and do something I've wanted to do for months and I'm not going to care about that little thing called failure.

With that, I teleported to Anko's address.

Alright, I'm in front of her door. Is she home?

Let's turn on 'Chakra Sense' to check. Uh, yeah, she's home. Brushing her teeth, looks like, but I can't tell for sure. Turn that off now.

I raised my fist and knocked on her door, next to the door hinge so it traveled through her whole apartment even though I didn't knock too hard.

Take a breath. Let it go. No big deal if she says no, it happens. The important thing is that I'm trying.

Charisma Check Success: 10/1.

The doorknob turned and there was Anko. A few inches taller than me still, but that's okay. She had her toothbrush still in her mouth, her expression one of mild irritation. An instant later she froze, her eyes widening with recognition as she looked over me, my new clothes and hair-style.

I raised the bouquet up to her with a happy smile. "Dango?"

She quietly screamed, her mouth closed because of the toothbrush and she ran forward, wrapping her arms around me in the tightest embrace I think I've ever felt. Then, she swept me up, carrying me into her apartment, bridal style. When we were inside the front room, she set me back down and gestured for me to wait just a second before dashing off to her bathroom to spit out the toothpaste in her mouth.

…wow. She literally swept me off my feet.

I think she might be feeling what I'm feeling.

Then she came back, hugging me and pulling me into the air again, spinning me around in a circle with happy cheers, her coat-tails flying behind her with every spin. "You're here! You're here, you're here, you're here!"

My own smile just got wider, and wider.

"I can't believe it!" Anko finally sat down on the couch, placing me in her lap. "You're actually here!"

"Hey, Anko," I greeted with a grin, feeling very comfortable in my seat between her warm thighs.

"Daisuke," Anko replied, looking back at me with the happiest smile on her face. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"I really missed you, Anko," I told her, still smiling. "Want these? I made them myself."

"You," Anko started, taking the bouquet from me with a surprised look on her face. "You made these? For me? Daisuke, you shouldn't have."

"Pft, I wanted too," I waved it off. "So, who cares?"

Anko laughed and set the bouquet down on the coffee table in front of us. "That is so sweet of you! Thank you."

"My pleasure," I said, smiling again as she embraced me and nuzzled her cheek against mine…then her face into my neck.

Yeah, she is definitely feeling it. Like a lot. "So, how've you been?"

"I've," Anko began, trying to maintain her cheer but having some…guilt? Overshadow it. "Been okay."

Perception Check Success: 10/5.

Medicine Check Success: 100/60.

"You have a hangover?" I asked with a frown.

"Yeah," Anko nodded with a frown of her own. "Just a small one, though, so don't worry about me."

"Good party last night?" I asked with a smile.

"Not exactly," Anko replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. "I've just missed you, Daisuke. So much."

"I missed you too," I said, trying to bring the cheer back with a smile. "It's part of why I came back."

"Wait, really?" Anko asked with a surprised expression.

"Really," I confirmed.

She looked at me like I had grown a second head.

"I'm being completely serious," I affirmed again, still smiling.

"But I was horrible to you," Anko argued with a deep frown. "Why would you want to come back for me?"

Well, she wasn't that bad.

Charisma Check Success: 10/3.

"Because I love your upbeat personality. I love your professionalism on missions. I love your jokes," I began, counting it off on my fingers…ah, screw it. I leaned in and kissed her on the lips. "And I think you're the prettiest kunoichi in the elemental nations."

Anko was completely still, her face going slightly pink as her fingers went up to her list. Yeah, she definitely has changed her mind from 'shame your underage' but what was that unsettled look in her eyes…oh. She's really conflicted about it. Right, that makes sense. Way to go, Daisuke, you didn't see this coming.

Let's give her an out so she can keep her dignity without insulting me.

"This is the part where you either kiss me back or slap me," I said with a small smirk. "I don't bite either way. Promise."

She brought her hand up cupped her fingers around my neck and very slowly and hesitantly pulled me into another kiss. A deep one, a long one. Feeling her breath through my lips sent a shiver of pleasure down my back, giving me goosebumps. I wrapped my arms around her back and her other hand ran through my hair. My hand travelled up her back, the other pulling her closer by the neck.

Then she broke it off with a gasp. Anko slid out from under me and jumped off the couch. Her face was deep red and she was panting heavily. "Daisuke, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"Sorry for what?" I asked with a frown. "We were just making out."

"Daisuke, I'm ten years older than you," Anko answered with a desperation in her voice that made it sound like she was trying to convince herself more than me. "I'm sorry. I really am. I shouldn't have done that. You deserve a girl that's actually going to be good for you instead of someone that's going to turn into an old maid before you even hit your twenties."

I mean, she's not that old.

"So…you know what? You should go kiss Ino," Anko said with a smile and a nod. "Because she's been desperately wanting to talk to you after you left and she'll be nothing but good to you. I promise."

"Ino's on a mission," I replied with a shrug, still smiling slightly. "Besides, I wanted to kiss you."

"Daisuke, that can't work," Anko shook her head rapidly, her face still red. "It can't. It's too big of a difference. I'm an adult and you're a child-"

She froze, both of her hands flying to her mouth to cover it. The redness in her face disappeared, alongside all the other color that was in her face. Part of her thought I was going to leave. The other part thought I was going to murder her.

"I'm sorry-" She breathed out.

I never want to see that look of terror cross her face ever again.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," She shook her head, slowly getting to her knees for a kowtow. "It just slipped out. I didn't mean to call you a child. It's just that…"

Her voice trailed off at my expression, and her hands were trembling slightly.

Was I really so easily angered over a single word?

…I think I should tell her.

It's going to come out sometime, especially since I've gotten over it and both Naruto and Kakashi are not in the village right now. So, I might as well tell her, if only so she doesn't want to kill herself for returning my affections.

"Anko, I'm not mad," I told her, calmly and matter-of-factly.

"You're not?" She asked quietly.

"No," I confirmed, whipping out a piece of paper so I could start drawing out my…explanation. I gestured for her to come back. "Now, come back here. I'm going to explain the…issue that I had with being called a child."

I'm going to tell her.

How do I tell her?

Obviously, I use visual aids but how do you explain…that?

"…okay." She slowly came back to the couch and took her seat next to me.

I wrapped my arm around her and held her close while, with my other hand, I started drawing. "Do you know what reincarnation is?"

"Uh, that's people getting reborn as someone else after they die," Anko replied with a curious frown. "But it's not a real thing, though. Everyone knows that people go to the Pure World after they die."

"Not necessarily," I replied with a frown of my own.

"What do you mean?" Anko asked, looking at me with concern. "You've been bringing people back. You know that's where everyone goes."

"I also know that there's exceptions to that rule. The Fourth's soul, for instance, was bubbling around the Shinigami's stomach ever since he sealed the Kyuubi away. Then, there's me." I began, taking a deep breath as I prepared to lay out the one secret I promised to take to the grave for a woman. My partner, my friend, the object of my affections. "The issue that I had with being called a child, Anko, is that I am a reincarnate. I…I died. And was reborn as Shimoda Daisuke thirteen years ago, but I still remember everything from my life beforehand."

Charisma Check Success: 10/2.

On the piece of paper in front of me, I was drawing an animated picture. In the center was a wheel with babies circling the outside, waiting to be released into one of three other circles that I had drawn. The three other circles represented the three worlds that I had…drawn from. My old world, the world of Fallout and our World.

"That…that's crazy," Anko began, her head tilting as she examined the graphic with fascination. "You didn't go to the Pure World?"

"Nope. At least, not that I remember," I replied with a shrug. "We actually called it Paradise back in my old world."

…bit more complicated than that, actually, but it's close enough.

"Your old world," Anko parroted back to me. "You're saying that you reincarnated into our world from another world, separate from this one, and you remember everything from your previous life."

I just nodded and she went back to staring at the graphic, watching the souls from each world die, pop back into the center wheel and then pop into either the same world, a different world or simply stay there for an extended period of time.

Just wait for her to come to grips with it enough to say anything.

She grabbed one of the skewers from my bouquet and pulled a dango off with her teeth. I handed her the paper and she stared at it while holding it in one hand, while holding the dango in another. She chewed her dango, swallowed and then slid another one right into her mouth, not saying anything for the longest time.

When she finished her skewer, she tossed it onto the table in front of her. "This…is crazy."

"I understand if you don't believe me," I shrugged, standing up. "I know it's pretty crazy."

"No!" Anko raised her hand to stop me, grabbing me by the wrist. "No, no. That's not it. Don't go. I believe you. Really."

Charisma Check Success: 10/4.

…she's telling the truth. She really believes me. Wow.

I think that proves she's girlfriend material.

"I…I just," Anko shook her head. "I didn't expect this. That's all."

"Well, how could you expect it?" I asked, sitting back down. "It's the weirdest thing to happen to anyone, ever."

"No kidding." Anko shook her head again in disbelief. "Just…what did your death look like? From your point of view."

"What did it look like?" I blinked. She believes me, but she's trying to…verify it. Huh. Alright, I can oblige her. "Okay. Here, let me show you."

I made a new piece of paper and placed it on the coffee table, this one I drew…my point of view from the car. In as vivid detail as I could get, which may as well have been a video screen. "So, in my old world, we had things called cars. Hi-speed, self-driving wagons, you could think of them as."

Anko's eyes went wide again, her head falling and suddenly stopping as her eyes came level with the picture.

"This is the speedometer, telling me how fast I was going, this is the steering wheel so I can tell it what direction to go in…" I pointed out each individual part of the car that I could see and explaining what they did. "It was early morning and it was dark. I think I was kind of drowsy too, I was heading to work."

"What did you do for work?" Anko asked quietly.

"I delivered parts for an auto store to local garages," I replied with a nod. "Basically, it was like a weapon shop, but for parts for cars and the garages repaired the cars with these parts if something went wrong. Anyway, I was speeding along here, then this truck, a big car with a trailer in the back for hauling large stuff like boxes…he wound up pulling in front of me here and I crashed."

Just laying it out like this made it seem so…less impactful, even though it was literally the most important event in my life until recently. "The windshield there broke into a million pieces and one of those pieces lodged itself into my skull. I died instantly."

Anko took that, well, animated gif on a paper and studied it carefully.

"Then after nine-ish months of being in the womb," I started to wind it up. "I was born again. Here. In Konoha. I'm pretty sure I was completely crazy, too. From the isolation? Yeah."

Anko didn't move, watching the crash play out in front of her again and again. I waited for her to say something.

"Ino has this."

"Huh?" I looked at her curiously.

"Ino. When she went into your mind, she got a few memories," Anko clarified, looking at me with a mournful expression. "She said it was the source of all your anger and pain."

"Well, it was," I agreed. "I might tell Ino about this, I don't know. I kind of want the past to stay in the past."

"Why are you telling me this?" Anko asked with a frown.

"Because Naruto and Kakashi are out of the village," I replied with a smile. "And I don't want you to kill yourself because we like each other."

"You don't want me to-" She started giggling sardonically to herself. At herself. "I don't deserve to hear about this."

"I think you do," I gently rebuffed. "And I'm the one who decides. When I was a statue, you were one of the few people who actually cared about me. Sure, we had a few rough patches, but friends fight…and make up. I was being kind of dumb."

"You weren't being dumb." Anko's head snapped to look at me. "Not even close. Sarutobi needed to be held accountable for his crimes."

"Yeah, but I should've given him the chance to come clean before the village." I shrugged. "And I should've told you in private, instead of turning it into just one big temper tantrum. Soured the message a little."

"I don't know about that," Anko replied, leaning back into me with a cat-like smile. "It was fun watching you kick him around."

"Well, I'm glad you were suitably entertained," I replied with a matching grin. "But, yeah. That's why I hated being called a child."

"How old were you when you died?" Anko asked with a frown.

"Twenty-four."

Anko's mouth fell open. "You were my age!"

"I was," I replied with a smile.

"So, you're…you're…you're like a man trapped in a child's body," Anko said, her eyes growing wide.

"Well, kind of. I have the memories of an adult and what it was like," I explained, shrugging and looking down at the picture. "It's why I never felt comfortable seeking a relationship with Ino or Hisako, even though they desperately wanted one. It's why I really only felt comfortable with you."

"Oh," Anko cupped her lips with her fingers in thought.

"But, frankly? The lack of control I have over my emotions? My inability to really plan ahead or deal with the consequences of my actions?" I listed each of things off with my fingers. "I have regressed in my physical, mental and emotional development to a teenager. Being reminded of that fact made me angry, but that's the reality of the situation."

"It sounds like you got over it," Anko replied, looking directly into my eyes.

"Well, I kind of did. On accident," I answered. "I went back in time, to when the crash happened."

"Why did you do that?" Anko asked, looking completely bewildered.

I like how she didn't even question that I did do it…

"I wanted to kill the guy who was driving the truck," I answered, pointing to the red truck in the photo. "I really, really wanted to kill him. For what he did to me. For what he put me through. But, when I got there, I came face to face with my corpse and broke down. After sitting there, crying like a baby for a few minutes, I stood up to try to get some justice on this careless idiot when, surprise! He had died before I did. Heart attack."

Anko just blinked. "Seriously?"

"It was just an accident," I continued with a shrug. "Unless that old man was deliberately murdered by whatever cosmic force sent me here, this whole thing was just an accident. So, my anger at this guy faded, and with it the anger I had with my entire situation, including being called a child."

"Daisuke, I am so sorry," Anko said, her eyes starting to well up. "That must've been hell."

"I just didn't like being reminded of everything I lost," I answered, taking her hand in mine. "Which was…well, a lot. But I'm over it now. I've accepted that I'm not the person I was, even though I really wanted to be. It happened. Might as well move on and accept my situation for what it is."

"So, I just have one question," Anko began, wiping away the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. "And please, please don't take this the wrong way."

"Go ahead, please," I said, getting ready.

Anko got a really hesitant expression on her face, like she was afraid of being struck for asking the question. "Why didn't you ever age yourself up?"

I froze.

Then I laughed. Really, really hard.

"Well, its better than you getting mad," Anko muttered to herself.

"So, the answer," I started, trying to contain my laughter and not quite succeeding. "The answer is really simple. And stupid. You're going to laugh and think I'm an idiot."

"I won't laugh," Anko rebuffed with a frown.

"The reason is that it just didn't occur to me," I replied with a wide.

"It never occurred to you," Anko said with a mystified expression.

"Nope, not once!" I replied with a smile. "Probably a good thing, because I actually am not sure it's a good idea."

"Why do you think that?" Anko asked with a frown.

"Firstly, everyone in Konoha knows me as a thirteen-year-old Special Jounin," I started to list off my reasons. "If I were to age myself up, all it would do is reinforce the idea that I'm a child who can't handle reality and disgust the people around me, my friends, for going so far as to change myself like that."

"That's," Anko began, tossing the idea around in her head. "A good reason. I guess."

"Secondly, and more importantly," I continued, taking a deep breath. "I accepted what happened. That's the long and short of it. I accepted that I died. I accepted that. If I were to age myself up, it would fly in the face of my epiphany, the thing that I had been needing for a long time. It just wouldn't feel right now."

"Oh," Anko said with a deep frown. She looked up at me from her sunken head. "…what if it was only temporary?"

I stopped to consider that idea. A temporary age up for certain circumstances…might not be bad. It is only temporary, doesn't take away from my natural growth really and would be really, really handy for planning sessions. At least, I think it would be handy. I also don't think it would really intrude on that epiphany I was talking about and it would mean that those who knew me as a teenager…would still see me as a teenager.

But let's ask the obvious question here. "Would it help?"

Anko wordlessly nodded.

I hummed. I mean, I can't really see anything wrong with it.

Intelligence Check Success: 10/8.

Ninjutsu Check Success: 100/75.

Medicine Check Success: 100/100.

Growth Spurt.

It was a really complicated jutsu, actually. Chakra intensive, too. It was a medical jutsu that implemented a growth steroid into my body to age me up. The complicated part was making its effects temporary and without any side-effects, but it'll hold until I release it.

I could feel the effect immediately, once the rush of chakra had passed. I was obviously taller, from how my vantage shifted. From the warm spot I was sitting on, I was clearly taking up more room now and my head…oddly clear. Well, clearer.

With a smile on my lips, I turned to Anko. "Better?"

I like how my voice is noticeably deeper.

Anko went pink again, and her eyes grew wide. "You're perfect."

"Well, I don't mean to brag…"

She pounced on me, getting on top and wrapping her arms around me. I felt her warm chest pushing into mine, her legs straddling my torso and her eyes…her eyes looked hungry. She pressed her lips into mine, eagerly and enthusiastically.

Our lips were moving with each other, pushing firmly, then softly. Anko's tongue licked across my teeth, demanding entry. With my own, I greeted her. We danced, played together as I ran my fingers through her hair and she gently lowered her hand over my chest, seeming to savor every hard curve of the muscles.

I broke it off and let her come up for air. Her face was crimson, and her lips were puffy, just like I'm sure mine were.

"You're amazing," Anko breathed.

"Thank you," I said with a grin. "I took a perk just for this."

Anko's head tilted and she smiled, though somewhat confused. "There's a perk for good kissing?"

"Sort of," I said, taking my perk book out because I did need to disclose this, part of me or not. I opened it to the perk page. "It's called Lady Killer."

Anko took the book and read it. "Do increased damage in combat to women, and improve your social opportunities when dealing with them."

She closed the book, blinking in confusion.

"Are you mad?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

After a moment, she just laughed and handed the book back to me. "No. That was the best investment you've ever made."

Yup. Girlfriend material. High quality girlfriend material. Only thoughts about Lady Killer being 'awesome, he's better at kissing'.

"So, you want to go get breakfast?" I asked, sitting up, with her scooting back into my lap. "I'd have to be a teenager again, but I'll treat you."

"I…that sounds wonderful," Anko answered with a smile. "But, um…Daisuke, there's something I need to say. It's really important."

"Alright, I'll hear you out," I responded with an easy grin.

"And please, don't interrupt," Anko said, pointing a finger into my chest. "I need to say the whole thing. Please."

"Okay," I said with a nod.

She stood up and walked around the coffee table in front of me, getting down on her knees. "Daisuke, when we first met, I called you kid, and I'm really sorry."

I almost broke out with an 'it's okay', but she had asked me not to interrupt. If nothing else, I was going to be a good listener.

"Then you removed the curse mark from my shoulder," She said, looking me dead in the eyes while she rubbed the spot where it used to be. "I told to Old Codger that I wanted to pay you, but he told me that you did it for free. Was that true?"

I nodded.

Anko sighed, looking even more downcast now. "Afterwards, you visited me in the hospital. You brought me a ton of books to read and you played board games with me. You made me smile, even if you didn't know how you were doing it. When I got out, you helped me again by training me back to full health. Better, even. My Taijutsu got better because I trained with you."

Yeah, pretty much. She did improve while we were training together.

"Then I went with you to the Chunin exams. To support you," Anko began. "You know what I did instead? You met Orochimaru and drove him off. You drove my old sensei off. Orochimaru. A Sannin. You remember what I did?"

Anko gulped and she was crying again. "I turned on you. I yelled at you and then told Sarutobi not to promote you. But then you went out and killed him."

She looked up at me, into my eyes. "You tracked down Orochimaru, the specter of my nightmares and killed him. You slew my monster. You gave me solace and closure, Daisuke, because I knew he was dead."

I'd do it again, too. Not just to help Anko, but because he was a toxic waste of a brilliant mind.

"You got justifiably angry about how you'd been treated until then," Anko started again, sounding more and more upset. "But back in the hotel, when your teammate was yelling at you for getting angry? For protesting unfair treatment? Did I have your back? No. Did I tell your teammate that she was out of line? No. Did I try to go with you so you wouldn't have to face fixing your social issues alone? No. You remember what I did?"

I shook my head.

"I held a kunai to your throat," She answered, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. "When you got mad at her. Justifiably mad. I joined the scared mob afraid you were going to start popping heads when I should've been on your side."

Wait, she did?

Oh yeah, I guess she did! Huh, I forgot all about that.

"Then when we got to Konoha, you tracked me down to apologize." She shook her head in disbelief. "Apologize to me. Me. I should've been on my knees begging your forgiveness. I wasn't even fit to lick the dust off your boots. I'm still not. But you came to tell me sorry for not telling me the monster was in the desert. Then, finally? When you told everyone about what happened? What Sarutobi did? What he failed to do?"

Anko was angry. With Sarutobi, sure, but mostly with herself. "I turned my back on you again. That's all I've ever done. After every kindness you've shown me, after everything you've done for me and on my behalf, I turned my back on you. I should've gone with you. I should've tried to help you. And now…here you are. Again. And you kissed me."

She couldn't talk, trying to compose herself. Trying to stop the sniffing and tears while her face was turning pink again.

So, I was wrong about her being girlfriend material.

Anko just analyzed her behavior, found it wanting and took responsibility for it. Do you know how hard it is for a person to do that? I can't do that. If you were to look at me, you'd give me a failing grade for my absolute lack of ability to own up to the fact that I made a mistake. But Anko has not only proven that she can do that, but proven she can do so in a way that makes her want to change that behavior to become a better person and I want this in my life.

That's not girlfriend material.

She's wife material.

As in 'put a ring on it right now you idiot because you may never get another chance', wife material.

I love this woman. Little fast? Absolutely. This just hit me like a nuke. But then, I don't do things gradually. Things happen to me suddenly and with great force. Almost Perfect, accepting my death…and now falling in love. With Mitarashi Anko.

"Daisuke," Anko began. "I need to make this right. I want to serve you."

Oh boy, here we go. Konoha's Ninja Honor at work. The same force that compels Maito Gai to run laps around Konoha on his hands when he loses a competition to Kakashi, the same force that lets Naruto forgive anyone that trespasses against him was now making Anko…pledge herself to me.

"I want to go wherever you go," Anko began. "I want support you in whatever you're doing and help you however I can. I want to be with you and share your life with you. And, Daisuke? I know…that you want me. I know it now more than ever. So, take me. Do whatever you want. I'm yours."

…okay. Alright.

So, she's pledging herself to willing slavery. How about no?

"I need you to say yes," Anko said, sounding desperate. "I need to make things right with you. Please take me."

Let's…hm. She really needed me to say yes. Her conscience was destroying her from the inside out and I know what that's like. How to get through this while we both get what we want? I have an idea. I'm going to…rephrase her offer to something that I'd actually feel comfortable accepting. I think we might both be happy with this, actually…

"So, let me get this straight," I said, extending my fingers to count them out. "You are offering to go wherever I go, to support me however you can and be with me forever. And you're offering me sex. Is that right?"

Anko rapidly nodded.

I just shrugged. "That honestly sounds like you just proposed marriage."

Her mouth fell open and she started sputtering in a panic, her face turning beat red again. "Th-th-no! That's not what I meant! I-"

"Oh, that's a shame," I cut her off with a frown. "I was going to say yes."

She stopped talking, her eyes going wide as dinner plates, her mouth having just glued shut. After a minute of her just sitting there mute, I walked over to her and kissed her on the lips. "So, for all your talk about how horrible you were, I thought you were pretty good to me."

"How?" Anko asked, still mystified at how I didn't see how she was as guilty as she saw herself.

"Well for starters," I began, grunting as I shifted to take a seat next to her. "You actually played board games and talked about books with me. In the way that I wanted too, not as a thinly veiled attempt to woo me. You actually tried to get to know me and wanted to support me in the Chunin exams. When we were partners, you went along with my 'no killing' agenda without a single protest. Even though you thought it was weird. Oh, that part where you yelled at me? That was a time that I had actually screwed up and needed to fix things. So, guess what? It was warranted."

"B-but I-" Anko tried to cut in, but I didn't let her.

"And about that time when Hisako was yelling at me? I think it's okay to assume I was going to pop her like a balloon, because I was almost mad enough to do it," I replied with a shrug. "I was stressed and going through a bad time, so the idea that I might just flip out and do something I would regret for the rest of my life wasn't out of the realm of possibility. Which means that you helped stop me from doing that, and I thank you."

Anko stopped trying to cut in, just looking at me with a shocked face.

"So, in my personal opinion, I think you're being too hard on yourself," I told her with a wide, genuine and happy smile. "And I think I love you. So, if you wanted to propose, which it honestly sounded like you did, I was going to say yes."

She wasn't talking. Just staring at me like I had just blew her mind wide open. So, I just closed in for another kiss. She wrapped her arms around my neck as I went around her waist. Then I broke it off. "So, can you talk now?"

Anko just nodded.

"Then say what you want to say," I told her with a smile.

"I think you're way too forgiving," Anko began uncertainly. But a smile grew on her face as her eyes started to sparkle. "And I love you for it. Daisuke, may I marry you?"

"Yes," I told her. "Yes, you certainly may."

Then we kissed again, holding it there for a long time, our tongues dancing together again. My finger trailed down along her perfect stomach, the other running up her back. One of her hands was running through my hair again, the other following my arm as it wrapped around her.

When we broke off, we just looked into each other's eyes, completely content with the choice we just made.

"So, did you want a ceremony?" I asked curiously. "A marriage ceremony where we invite a ton of people?"

"Uh," Anko began. "No. No, I think it would be best if we just went up to the Hokage and eloped."

"I agree," I told her with a nod. "Uh, I think I'm going to let go of the jutsu and revert to being a teenager when we ask him, I don't want him getting weirded out and saying no."

"Good idea," Anko said as I started shrinking, seeming a little disappointed as I turned shorter than her. "He owes you, so hopefully he'll actually marry us instead of accusing me of robbing the cradle."

"I will get very upset with the man if he accuses you of anything of the sort," I answered, standing and offering her a hand. "You and I both know that I haven't been in a cradle in a hundred years, young lady."

Anko giggled in spite of herself, taking the hand and letting me help her stand.

Good thing that my clothes automatically change to fit me this could've been embarrassing. Or it could've turned into something really hot and spicy.

…so, I wonder what I've got to thank for this turn of good fortune?

My charisma stat, my luck stat or Lady Killer?

Probably all three.

Quest Updated: Reasons to Live.

Completed: Get a girlfriend (1/1).

Thanks, game.