Chapter 75 : Acceptance (3)

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"Love is the feelings of affection one feels towards another. Intimacy is a kind of relationship. It's something you do, not feel. A man loves his wife just as much as he loves his mother. That love, believe it or not, is the same. All that's different is the relationship between the two."

....

Neither could argue with the Bijuu's surprisingly detailed and annoyingly correct logic. Both Mei and Anko had never looked at the meaning behind love and intimacy before. In society it's viewed as the same. Neither woman said a word, so the Kyuubi continued.

"Naruto actually loves the two of you. There was never a time he looked at another woman because all he cared about was you two." He gave them an expectant look. "You both know how easy it would be for him to sleep around with whoever he wanted.

But he doesn't desire pointless pleasure. He doesn't want you two for his sexual fantasies. He wants you two because you're all he can think about. He just wants to be around you. He just wants to protect, and hold you. He's willing to die for both of you and you're both too stupid to realize that he could make it work."

Anko and Mei were silent.

"Mei, you asked him last night if he ever truly loved you… I'm starting to wonder if either of you ever truly loved him…"

"Of course I love him!" Anko shouted, pissed off that he'd even suggest anything else.

"Don't you dare think I didn't love him… I still do!" Mei shouted.

"Then humans have a fucked up view on love because if I were either of you, and I had someone like Uzumaki Naruto ready love me, even if it was alongside another, I'd jump for joy." Kurama viewed himself as male, but he technically had no gender, so he was able to view both the male and female sides of a relationship.

"There's no such thing as the perfect man, or person, but Naruto is the closest thing to perfection." His expression turned serious, which was strange because with the animalistic traits the Kyuubi gave the blond when he was in control always made him look serious.

"I can't force the blind to see," he began, "But I will force this." He was going to give them an ultimatum.

"Whether you decide to get over your moronic ideals of love between two people, or decide to throw away the love of the one person that can give you everything you desire, make that decision by the time he returns in a month. Because if you haven't made a decision by then, then I'll make it for you," he narrowed his eyes, "And neither of you will get him."

Mei and Anko looked at him incredulously. That was not at all fair. Anko even said as much. "That's not fair at all!" She shouted indignantly.

"No. What's not fair is the selfishness of you two." Now that hit both Kunoichi hard. "Now leave. Naruto's going to wake up soon, and he's going to want to be alone." Mei was going to protest. She wanted to speak with him, make sure he was okay before he left for an entire month, but Kurama was having none of it.

"GO!" He shouted, his angry voice causing both Kunoichi to flinch. They had forgotten that they were speaking to the most powerful of the Bijuu, so he decided to remind them.

With that said, both women had no choice but to leave. They had much to think about and they only had a month. Now that Mei thought about it, it wasn't very much time at all. The Bijuu wanted to stomp Naruto into the ground. He hated the fact that he was willing to go this far to help him. He just couldn't help it. His friend deserved some happiness.

As they left, Sasuke entered. "How long have you known?" Kurama asked.

Sasuke was silent for a moment before a smirk crossed his face.

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"And which villages did you say were participating?" A small, hovering man asked.

"Sunagakure and my very own Otogakure." The taller of the two replied.

"And why exactly would I want to help you? We've been enemies most of your life." The small man asked.

Orochimaru smirked. "You haven't checked the Bingo Books lately, have you?"

Onoki, the Tsuchikage, huffed. "And why would I care to do that?" He didn't know why the snake Sannin showed up in his country, but he was willing to hear him out. That's why they were here, in the underground compound below Iwa that he used to speak in private with important guests.

"Oh, I think you will be very interested in taking a look. A certain Shinobi just got his entry updated." Orochimaru took out the black book, turning it to the thirty-third page. Onoki was annoyed but decided to indulge the Sannin.

Name: Uzumaki Naruto –Previously entered as Nezumi- (Kamikage, Bringer of Hope)

'FLEE ON SIGHT!'

Affiliation: Konohagakure no Sato

Clan: Uzumaki (Deceased)

Family: Namikaze Minato (Father), Uzumaki Kushina (Mother), Jiraiya (Godfather).

Age: Thirteen

Height: 151.6 cm

Hair Color: Blond

Rank: SS-class

Classification: Sage, Sensor, Jinchuuriki (Kyuubi no Kitsune)

Notes: Uzumaki Naruto is the most powerful Shinobi in Hi no Kuni. He has very close ties with Nami no Kuni and Mizu no Kuni. It has been proven that he is responsible for the death of the Yondaime Mizukage, the Jinchuuriki Yagura.

It is speculated that he is responsible for the death of another Jinchuuriki, Yoton no Roshi. He's also the second Shinobi, the first since his father, to gain the 'FLEE ON SIGHT!' mark, and the only Shinobi to gain it outside of war time.

Recommendations for approach: NA

WARNING: Do not anger.

Bounty: None has been posted.

Onoki narrowed his eyes. So the butcher had a child after all? And he was also responsible for the death of his countries Jinchuuriki? The Tsuchikage had made his decision the moment he saw the name of the boy's father.

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It had already been a week since the little talking the Kyuubi gave them, and Anko had finally made up her mind to go and speak to Mei. She didn't doubt the Bijuu's words when he said their indecisiveness would end up in them both losing Naruto. She wanted to speak to the Mizukage.

She had seen, felt the woman's life. It was not an easy life. She understood how the woman felt, so Anko thought that if they made their decisions, it should be together. They only had three more weeks before they had to make up their minds, and Anko would die before she hurt Naruto.

She didn't know if or how she'd share him, but… Naruto was worth it. The Kyuubi's words hit home with her and most likely Mei as well. Naruto hated himself already for just being him.

Having to hate himself for loving the both of them too… it was too much for anyone. Naruto embraced the monster life because that was the only thing he could do. It was a way he could cope. It was his release, his way of waking up from the nightmare that was his everyday life. He may love being a Monster now, but it must have been so hard to get to this point. He was just a child and he hated himself… It made Anko hate the villagers.

That was counterproductive though, because Naruto loved them. It amazed her how selfless, how strong his heart was every time she thought about it. He was one of those one in a million types of people, and the Kyuubi was right, they were idiots.

Here they were, just adding to his struggles. All he wanted was to love them, protect them, give them everything they wanted… what was so wrong with that? The fact that he hated himself hurt the snake user to her core. He was the greatest person she'd ever met. He needed to know how special he was, how much he meant to her.

That's why, as she stood at the door of the hotel room the Mizukage was staying, she made up her mind.

Anko knocked on the door.

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