Chapter 30

I was definitely in over my head. Now the question is: Will my stupidity be my downfall?

As the strongest person in the Mist village, barring Yagura, stares at me with interest, I'm starting to think it will.

"All that banging and it's just a brat?!" Gato stomps in anger pointing his finger at me. "You, who the fuck do you think you are fucking up our glorious mansion?! This room alone costs more than your life you cocksucking fucker!"

I didn't even deign him with a glance, my eyes were torn between the three shinobi gathered before me, but more so on Mangetsu and Mei.

"Hey! You fucking son of a filthy whore! I'm talking! You deaf!?" The stubby man continued to shout, rambling insults and other nonsense. I bled him out. Mei looked entirely too curious for my liking.

"Calm, Gato." The other man rubbed his temples. "Let us handle this, he'll pay, that much is certain."

I damn near relaxed as I felt the Konoha Jonin heading my way from behind me. The way the Kiri Rebels looked past me told me they were in sight.

"How interesting. That was reinforced chakra steel, I would never have suspected a cute little thing like you to break your way in." Mei spoke up, a sultry smirk tugging at her lips. "Tell me, how old are you?"

"...I need an adult."

"I am an adult." Mei took a few strides forward. I thanked my past self for making an explosion large enough to produce a large hole in the ground.

"Shit." I heard Anko whisper under her breath as she, Ebisu, and Yamato-sensei arrived beside me.

Shit was right.

"So, will you answer my question?" She hummed, her tongue slipping out of her mouth to lick her lips.

"Twelve."

I relaxed as she frowned.

"A bit too young for my tastes, but you sure are a cutie. Tall too for your age, I can just tell you're gonna be a massive hunk." Her smirk returned. "How about this? If you tell me what happened to Ao's team, I'll let you walk."

I looked up to Yamato-sensei who hadn't said a word. He didn't look back, his eyes focused on our enemies.

"They're dead. My team killed them."

Mei's smirk fell as she let out a disappointed sigh. "Change of plans, I have to kill you, but I'll be sure to give you a kiss before I do."

"...How about you don't do that?" I asked with a nervous chuckle.

"Ah, honey, I wish there was another way, but Ao was my right-hand man. Though I didn't feel much for him, our war effort will suffer greatly with his death. That's not even mentioning how worse off we are now without Zabuza." She grimaced.

"Well…that doesn't mean you need to kill us. More like you feel inclined." I explained as I rubbed the back of my head nervously.

At her thoughtful look I realized I was getting somewhere, I just really need to drive this sucker home. What could I say to appease the living volcano, Mei Terumi? I remember her being an emotional wreck so perhaps I would need to step on eggshells.

Oh, there is that…

"It would honestly be a shame to fight such a beautiful woman such as yourself."

Mei's expression had shifted from thoughtful to surprised in an instant. A flattered smile tugged at her lips.

"...Oh, you think so?" She asked, her hands on her cheeks as she began to swoon. "Stop it, you're just saying that."

I could feel the Konoha jonin's deadpans on the side of my head, Yamato-sensei was almost certainly giving me his scary face, but I wasn't gonna let them judge me.

This was our fucking way out, if we fought her now we'd die. Plain and simple.

"What are you doing, Mei?! Kill this shinobi-" Atsuku shouted but caught herself. Sweat leaked down her face as well as everyone else's in the room as it heated a couple dozen degrees.

Mei turned to face the fat businesswoman, a psychopath-like glare pulling at her face. "Are you trying to stop me from finding the one thing I want most in life? From finding a loving husband? Try that again bitch and I'll kill you."

I noticed liquid pooling between Atsuko's legs as she fell to her knees, along with Gato. Killing intent was a very deadly thing and high-powered shinobi could kill civilians simply by focusing it on them. At least if they lacked the will to face it head-on.

Mei's words had caught me off guard though. She was the leader of the Rebels and most likely would end up the Fifth Mizukage. Yet the most important thing to her was not the state of the village, but finding a husband. Perhaps her mind was clouded by the torrent of emotions in her heart.

Though if he heart plays such a big role in her life, does that mean her reason behind leading the rebels is to create a Mist village where she can find a husband and settle down without fear of her kids being hunted?

If so, I could work with that.

Now what type of man would a near 30 year old single woman who's never been in a relationship like?

…I know just the role.

I put on a mock shocked face, holding my heart. "My ears must deceive me, but did you claim to be unwed? Surely you jest!"

Mei swooned again, a crimson blush consuming her face as she patted her cheeks. "Oh, you're making me blush! It's the truth, nobody has come to court me in all my years. It has weighed heavy on my heart for many nights, you are the first to compliment me in such a way. Please, may I have your name?"

Alright, I was making solid progress, now all I needed to do was not fuck up.

I stepped forward, and as I did, I could see Chojuro, Sento, and Mangetsu tense, their hands going to their weapons but not drawing them. They didn't concern me though. Seeing Mei's inviting smile as if welcoming me forward, I continued until I was just in front of her. She was only a little shorter than me.

I dropped down to one knee holding up my hand to her with my head down. I felt her hand enter mine. A relieved breath escaped my lips.

"Fair maiden, my name is Lei Senju. Grand-nephew of Lord First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, Grandson of Lord Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, first and only son to Renji Miyamoto and Haori Kazumi." I kissed the back of her lightly and I could feel her body shiver.

"A man of such note-worthy blood, some would even consider you to be a prince." Mei hummed. I still wasn't looking up at her, wanting to nail this shit home.

"They would be correct, but I am not so shallow of a man to request anyone to address me as such." I glanced back up at her to see an entranced look in her eyes.

It was time to bring this motherfucker home.

"Though the same way many would consider me a prince for my status, I'm sure many consider you a princess for your sheer beauty. Your auburn hair reminds me of the changing of the seasons, and your deep green eyes reflect the rejuvenation of nature itself. I could grow old looking into your eyes and as I breathe my last breath, my one regret would be that I never stole a kiss from those supple lips of yours."

Mei let out a breathy exhale, her knees giving out beneath her as she fell to my level.

Checkmate.

Her hands were firmly pressed between her legs as she writhed for a moment.

The whole room stood in stunned silence, nobody moved until she had calmed down. I knew for a fact we were, at the very least, out of the danger zone now. As she looked back up at me, her face flushed, she gave an enchanting smile as she reached out to my head. I tensed as she did, but didn't move. I'd be much worse off if I did.

Her hands grabbed the sides of my face and remained there for a while as she got lost in my eyes. I reciprocated her look, finding her own green eyes quite beautiful. Her arms slipped to the back of my head, gently guiding me down to her bosom. I let my head fall until my face was consumed by her admittedly large breasts. One of her hands held me there while the other stroked my hair.

"We're taking him." Mei's voice was gentle, but the finality in it couldn't be misheard.

I tensed in her grasp before relaxing again. Even though breathing was hard right now, I was at peace here. My pre-teenage hormones screamed at me to touch her.

"No!" Sento shouted. I obviously couldn't see, so I had my clones send me the visuals through our link. Mei was not so happy with his outburst.

"Oh? Will you be stopping me?" She asked as she continued stroking my hair.

"I…" Sento trailed off, silence once again consuming the room.

I didn't want to piss her off, but I also wasn't going with her, so I gently pulled back, at first not being allowed to move before she let me have a little wiggle room to look up at her.

"I regret to inform you, fair maiden, that my presence is needed in Konoha. I fear that without your warmth I may not be able to manage the cruelties of life, but alas, my people need me."

She frowned deeply, not wanting to accept my answer, and here it was, the moment of truth.

I wiggled out of her grasp a bit more so I could lean up and place a very soft peck on her lips, lasting no longer than a second. Her dissatisfaction left her features immediately replaced by star-struck love.

"Fear not, my home believes in the cause of your faction. Surely, should you partition our aid, we will accept."

The jonin behind me thankfully didn't say anything. I didn't need them saying some shit like "Hey you're a genin, you don't have that kind of power!"

They don't know it since Hiruzen hasn't officially made me his successor to keep me safe, but I was going to be the next Hokage. That shit was a fact.

Hiruzen hadn't even let me tell my girls, claiming that limiting the number of people who knew could only be a good thing and I agreed with him.

"If I let you go, would I see you again?" Mei asked me as she looked away like from my gaze. In that moment I truly realized that this woman, though confident and flirty to others in hopes of finding a man, was less experienced than I when it came to love.

"There is a saying. If you love something, let it go. If it comes back, it's yours forever. Only time will tell if I may hold you in my arms once more." I smiled at her, my hand coming up to cup her cheek.

I honestly didn't expect to get this far. I thought I'd say some shit and she'd launch some lava my way or some shit, but I somehow managed to do this!

"Every moment we're apart, my heart will weep, but destiny shall prevail, we will be together again." She pressed her head into my chest, her words had been said with absolute certainty.

Now it was time to enter risky territory.

"For us to one-day cross paths, our mission needs to be completed." I held her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. "The people of this land have suffered great oppression thanks to the businessmen behind you. Konoha will not work with thugs who create violence for the sake of violence."

"...I see." She let out a breathy sigh. Mei rose to her feet giving me a long glance before turning to look at the three in their suits. Her hand came to infuse chakra and they all flinched.

"Mei, you can't be siding with him!" Sento shouted all too late, a shuriken of lava formed in front of her and launched toward Atsuko and Gato, cutting their heads off instantly.

She placed a hand on her hip, looking at Sento with a satisfied smirk. "Those two were nothing more than your pawns anyway. Just get some more that aren't so trash. Take their riches and start over somewhere without oppressing anyone, that shouldn't be too hard?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sento clenched his fists in anger before exhaling. "It'll set me back a great deal of money, but I'm sure I can recover." He straightened his tie as he stepped over to Gato and gave the stubby man a firm kick to his decapitated head sending it splatting into the wall.

He barely put any force into that kick…

He's strong, incredibly so.

"Good. Don't forget who it was that gave you the investment to start your business in the first place." Mei harrumphed shaking her head in annoyance. "Clean up the mess you made here and head back to base."

"You really are a pain in my ass, sis."

Sis?!