Chapter 40 : Promises (2)

The Lady Fifth Mizukage sighed. She was currently facing a foe that every Kage had to face, no matter which village they were from.

Paperwork.

The thrice damned blight against all things holy was really starting to get on the beautiful, auburn-haired woman's nerves. She never knew that being Mizukage meant that she had to sit in a stuffy office for hours upon hours every day, going through annoyingly large amounts of paper that only seemed to increase with each passing moment.

Mei had a lot on her mind lately. The source of her mind's restlessness? One Uzumaki Naruto, the boy who she had, unknowingly, come to care for far more than she should have.

When he was in Mizu no Kuni, he was only ten, and had managed to do multiple things that were considered close to impossible. He had practically won the civil war by himself shortly after joining her and the other insurgents. He had razed an impregnable prison to the ground with ease, freeing all those held captive. He had let himself be taken to the heart of enemy territory and single handedly brought down a Kage-level Jinchuuriki, without even damaging the Hidden Village they had started their death match in. He had freed the entire country, and only asked that they became allied with his home.

And the most impossible thing he had done while joining the Resistance; he had stolen the heart of Terumi Mei.

It started out as just curiosity. He had shown incredible strength when he tore into Black Harbor, and if there was something she respected most in people, it was their strength. It was what attracted her, and the blond ANBU operative had power in bulk. She wasn't an arrogant person, but even she knew that she was extremely beautiful, so when the boy had declined her offer of a little touchy-feely time, she was a little surprised, and if she were honest, he only interested her more.

After he had explained to her his reasons, she had understood and moved on to finding other ways to get close to him. When he accepted her offer to lock lips, she was strangely excited. He was incredibly young – a legal adult, yes, but still young – so she didn't understand her eagerness to be more than friends.

After everything he had done for her and her people, she had developed even stronger feelings for him, and when he left, she was more disappointed than she thought she'd be. She had become the leader of her nation, and he was the right hand of the leader of his, and not to mention the huge age difference. They could never work, and yet, Mei couldn't stop thinking about him.

He was the most famous person in Mizu no Kuni, the Bringer of Hope, their savior. Even if she wanted to forget about him, her country wouldn't let her. His name was whispered all throughout the village, the island, the country. There were plays about his heroic deeds, there were books about his courageous work in Water Country, and there were songs sung to the heavens about his god-like gifts. He was what every man aspired to be, and what every woman aspired to be with.

Soon after he left, the stories of the Kamikage had made it to Mizu. Suffice to say that he became even more popular, and it was harder for Mei to forget about him. He was special, he was different, and he was out of her reach.

Mei sighed again and dropped her pen, taking a break. She reached into her top desk drawer and pulled out a small black book. It was the Bingo Book Naruto was in, and it held a piece of paper that she didn't absolutely want to burn. Before he left, Naruto wrote her a letter, and put it on her bedside table for her to read it when he was gone.

She read it every day, like she was right now.

Mei,

These past weeks were fun for me. I've enjoyed spending what little time we've spent together. To be honest with you, I don't have many people I can be close with. It's almost sad, really. I can count the people I can trust with my heart on one hand.

When I came to Mizu, I hadn't planned that I would meet someone like you. I was pleasantly surprised that I did. I know I'm young, and I know that it's ridiculous, but I feel more for you than any other person I've ever met. Trust me when I say that I understand love, I've felt the people around me fall in and out of it plenty of times. It's just the first time I think that I've felt it for myself, through my own eyes instead of another's.

I kind of wish I was older, and that you were born in Konoha, with me. I know that we probably will never be together, but I just want you to know that, if it's okay with you, the very next time I see you, we'll continue what you started the night we first shared a bed together. Even now, writing it down, I can feel you blushing. Good. I hope every time you read this that it makes you blush, so you can remember me.

Please. Please don't forget me, Mei. I want a place in your heart forever, even if you find someone else, even if you move on. That's all I ask for, a place to call my own. You will always be in my heart and mind, Mei-chan, and if your country needs me again, say the word, and I'll have my God send his Angels to rescue you. I know women like you, powerful women, don't like to be treated like a princess, but that's just too bad!

You are my princess.

With love,

Uzumaki Naruto, your Warrior Angel.

The kid was good, a little too good, at a few things.

Firstly, he could make her blush, four years later, without even being there. Every time she read the letter, it made her blush when he secretly promised to continue their sensual encounter. If anyone else had read the letter they wouldn't understand his meaning – or maybe they would, but it was worded vaguely enough that she could deny it – and she was grateful for that.

Ao was always going through her things, and if he had seen a letter from someone as young as Naruto talk to her so casually about sex, he'd lecture her about the inappropriate age difference, which would lead her to believing he was calling her old, and then she would have to threaten his life again. She'd rather not have to do that, because it happened all the time already, and she didn't want it to happen when she thought about her Angel. She had a lot of suitors, and when she said a lot, she meant a lot. But none of them could make her blush like Naruto could. None of them could make her feel like Naruto made her feel.

Secondly, he was able to make her feel like she was the most important woman in the world. The way he spoke, the way he wrote, he was able to speak to her heart and mind like no other was capable of. He had a troubled past, that much she was certain, and the fact that he wasn't a complete psychopath was a miracle.

He had asked, specifically for her, to save a place for him to call his own. She was important enough for him to open up to her, and brave enough to ask for her heart, or at least a small part of it. They had only spent no longer than two weeks together, yet they already felt so close to one another.

She hadn't realized how much she actually cared for him until he was gone for a while, but when she did, she hated it. To have these feelings for someone so young that a lot of people would look down on her for wasn't something she would call fun. To have these feelings for someone from another Hidden Village would cause people to question her ability to do whatever it took to protect her people, and that wasn't something she wanted to experience. But most of all, to have these feelings for someone who was always so far away from her hurt her every time she thought about him.

Thirdly, if anyone else called her their princess, she'd melt their faces off with her Yoton. How he was able to actually have her enjoy being called his anything was no small feat. She was a very strong and independent woman, so things that made her sound weak or reliant were things she despised. When he said it though, it gave her this warm, tingly feeling in her stomach. It was absurd, but like everything else about Naruto, it was true.

A knock on her door caused her to retreat from her mind. She quickly put the letter back into Naruto's Bingo Book entry page, and put them both back into her drawer. She took a deep breath to calm her emotions, reverting back to her Mizukage mindset, and said, "Come in."

Ao, who had taken the role of her assistant, walked through the doors, a stack of papers in his hands. She internally groaned; it looked like she'd never get out of her office.

"Mizukage-sama," the ex-Hunter-nin began, "Konoha has sent us a formal invitation to the upcoming Chunin Exams."

Mei's heart stopped, but her mind went into overdrive. She would be in Konoha. She would be in Konoha for a decent amount of time. She would be in Konoha with him. She briefly wondered if he was old enough now.

Mei had an absolutely hungry smirk on her face.

He did say the very next time…

__________________________________

there is 10 chapters ahead of the public release in p atreon for only 5$

my p atreon is :

https://www.p atreon.com/Huvnn

or search my name : Huvnn

________________________