Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

After the pain	By : Legilmyth Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 9758 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 24
- 25
- 26
Disclaimer:
I do not own the Naruto Characters, I am simply using
them to pass the time.
Well I�m
Back!!
Unfortunately
my Muse decided to switch with her twin sister, who is already board with this
story since we figured out how it will end. Now she wants Hiei/Sango,
Vegeta/Pan or Anko/Choji.
What can I say, she�s actually a real pain in the backside. Basically
this means that I got absolutely no writing done over the summer. But I am now
going to do my best to get this story done.
I had to
re-read the whole story so that I could remember what I have written. I also
read through every single one of my reviews, all 2,000 of them! I am so honored
to have such wonderful fans!
Anyway,
since it has been so long, I�m only going to comment on a few reviews.
TheBlk1: I
have no idea how Ausuma�s hand blades work, so I
couldn�t tell you. This popped into��
my head and I ran with it.
Juopunumies
& Lyronix: In regards to Kyuubi; I�m not going to
start a debate on what male animals do to young that are not their own. I�m
just going to say that I have made a number of changes to the demons in this
story that I have not previously seen before. I can�t say more or it will give
away too much of the story line. I just hope that you hang around to see what
I�ve done. But the choice is yours. Thanks for your comments.
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25 25

Chapter
twenty-five
26 days
since Naruto found Temari
18 days
since they arrived in Konoha
10 days since
Naruto left on his mission
25 25 25 25
25 25
Kankuro was
doing his best to function normally without snapping at every person that came
to him in what he was now starting to mentally refer to as his prison, Gaara�s
office.
The uneasy
feeling he had been plagued with a few nights before had changed. And to a feeling that he had never wanted to feel again.
Someone
close to him was dead. In his heart he was praying he was wrong. But he had
felt this before, when the Akatsuki had killed his
brother by removing the demon that resided inside of him. The fact that Gaara
had been brought back to life and later regained his demon tenant was a moot
point.
The puppet
master was well aware of what death felt like. Ever since he had been poisoned
and nearly died himself, he had for some reason been able to sense when souls
departed. Although not all of them did depart, he knew, he could see the ones
that didn�t move on.
He shook his
head when he was finally alone again, if only for a few minutes. He needed to
be alone, to grieve, although he as of yet had no idea which of his siblings he
had lost. And in a way that was bothering him as well. Kankuro wasn�t entirely
certain if it was one of his siblings whose soul had left the land of the
living.
Each member
had a unique feel to them, he couldn�t say it was
their chakra pattern. It was something else that he knew was there but didn�t
know exactly what it was. But he could always feel them, even if he didn�t know
where they were.
And this
loss, it felt�� different and yet the same as his family members. It was
confusing and unsettling. He had felt a lot of death since the appearance of
this ability, from acquaintances to complete strangers. And each had its own
feel. This time his very soul ached so he knew it was someone close to him.
But who.
Getting
wearily to his feet he walked to one of the windows. Gazing
sightlessly across the village of his birth and the desert beyond.
�Who are
you? What happened?� His words were carried across the desert by the ever
present wind. And he wished for once that he it would bring back an answer.

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25 25

Temari sat
staring at the table top, her right index finger absently circling the rim of
her tea cup. It was once again evening and she was faced with the prospect of
getting ready for bed. Something that she was not looking
forward too.
In the four
days since she had gotten out of the hospital she had been having a very hard
time falling asleep. Actually if she was honest with herself, it was ever since
Naruto had left. What she wouldn�t give to have the big blond walk through the
door right at that moment.
She missed
him more then she had ever missed anyone in her life. The experience was a
little unsettling but she shrugged it off, he had saved her life. It was only
natural that she would form some kind of attachment to him.
But as much
as she missed him, there was another reason she wanted to see him again. Two actually. One, she wanted to have a decent night�s
sleep. Nightmares had been plaguing her ever since she had returned for the
hospital. Although she couldn�t seem to remember the details of the dreams once
she was awake, she was pretty sure that each and every one of them had ended
with him coming to her rescue. But it still wasn�t the same as having him
beside her.
But the
second reason was that she really needed him to come home and tell her just
what the hell was going on.
She couldn�t
be positive. But she had a feeling that she was forgetting things. Most
obviously was her leg, or rather the injury to it. She kept forgetting she had
it. And so was constantly attempting to move around without the aid of her
crutches. Her absent mindedness had resulted in several falls when the injured
limb had send shooting pains throughout her body and caused her to collapse. Each time breaking open the very thin scab that was forming over
the cut.
And after
each fall she would look at her leg, unwrap the bandage and have to think in
order to remember what she had done to get the wound that she uncovered.
Temari had
tried to shake it off as lack of sleep. But there were other things that kept
giving her clues that she was forgetting something. Like yesterday when she had
run into Might Guy on the way back from lunch with Iruka. The man had asked her
quite bluntly if she was in fact staying at Naruto�s apartment. Apparently news
of her being there was spreading like wild fire. After she had confirmed the
rumor, he had not so subtly asked if the two of them were shacking up. Luckily
for her, the green clad jonin had started spouting off about youth and love and
so on before she even had a chance to answer.
Unfortunately
for her, she discovered that she couldn�t remember why she was staying with
Naruto in the first place. She had managed to sneak away from the still talking
Guy who was so caught up in his speech that he didn�t notice her absence until
she was well away from him.
But a red
light had gone off in the Sand-nin�s head. Why couldn�t she remember why she
was staying with Naruto? It had taken her most of the day and into the night to
finally piece together small snippets of memory that seemed to float randomly across
her mind.
At least she
was pretty sure they were memories. Temari knew that he had rescued her. But the from whom, and where, was still a mystery to her. She
was fairly certain that she had been injured, rather badly injured in fact, and
that he had healed her.
When that
particular memory surfaced, and every time she had called it forth since. She
felt as if a soothing flood of heat was flowing through her entire body. It
relaxed her, made her less worried about her current state of mind. But unfortunately
the feeling never stayed around for long.
After that,
the only clear things she remembered was interacting with Naruto,
and even some of those images were fussy. Then they had arrived in Konoha, she
vaguely recollected meeting with the Hokage upon arrival. Going to eat dinner, meeting
a bunch of Naruto�s friends. After that it was a blank until she woke up
wrapped in his arms as the two of them lay in his small hammock.
After that
she was again really fuzzy, except that Temari was quite sure she had seen
Hyuga Hinata smiling at her and telling her she was going to have a baby. That
alone was enough to set the blond on edge. Because she wasn�t entirely sure if
that particular memory was a memory or a dream. After all, she had been
dreaming of getting pregnant for years. Literally.
It was
something that haunted her thoughts regularly, whether she was asleep or awake.
She had wanted for so long to have a child of her own. But the fear of being a
complete failure as a parent had always stopped her from doing something to
fulfill that dream. Not to mention the fact that she seemed to have something
about her that repelled men on a grand scale.
And now that
image of the white eyed Hinata smiling down at her and congratulating her
wouldn�t leave her mind�s eye. And to further confirm that the image was in
fact a valid memory, she had found three books in the apartment that were
related to pregnancy.�� While reading
though one of them, she recalled Naruto sitting on the couch with her. Her feet in his lap as he read from that same book aloud.
So after a
day and a half of replaying everything she could remember over a million times
in her head. Temari came to one solid conclusion. That she was pregnant. How or
when it happened she wasn�t sure. Try as she might, memories of that nature
refused to surface. And she found it both aggravating and a little unsettling.
She might
have made it this far in her life still being an innocent in the physical
sense. But she was pretty sure that sex wasn�t something she would easily
forget having. It just didn�t make sense to her at all. She didn�t drink as a
general rule, so getting too drunk to remember was definitely out.
The whole
scenario was giving her a huge headache. And so she hoped like hell Naruto
would get back so that she could ask him what was going on. The blond kunoichi
was positive he would know. After all, all her clear memories of that past
couple weeks involved him in some way.
She couldn�t
help the thought that crept into her mind that whispered that maybe she had
become involved with the tall blond shinobi. And that something had happened to
her that was causing her to lose her memories.
The thought
was terrifying. Yet she couldn�t bring herself to go ask anyone else for help.
What if they thought she was crazy and put her in the hospital? She hated
hospitals. And it wasn�t like she was completely loosing it,
there were certain things that she recalled with complete clarity.
As far as
she had been able to figure out, she had perfect recollection up to about five
or six weeks ago. But then she just seemed to have lost a whole chunk of time
that only restarted with her memory of Naruto finding her.
Then after
that there was a combination of fuzzy moments, complete blanks and days that
she recalled with perfect clarity. Like babysitting the Uchiha children and
watching Naruto spar with Iruka. Visiting with Ino and more recently the lunch
dates with Iruka and Kakashi.
The reminder
of her time spent with the two men did give her something else to ponder for a
time. She had known the Copy-nin nearly as long as she had Naruto. While Iruka
she had only officially met a week or so before. And yet for some reason during
their daily meals together, she kept having the urge to bury a kunai in the
silver haired man�s heart.�
And it
wasn�t just a passing, �what would happen if I did this?� kind of urge, it was
strong and insistent. And the closer he was to her, the stronger the urge was.
Not just to kill him, but to completely erase him from existence. She kept
seeing a picture of her flicking her hand at him then watching him disintegrate
into dust right before her eyes. As if by magic or some
unknown power.
It was creeping her out. She had never really been a violent
person. Sure, she loved to fight and tended to do whatever it took to win. But
this urge was on an entirely different level then anything she had ever
experienced in all her battles or training.
Propping her
aching head in her hands Temari desperately tried to stop thinking about
anything. Her mind was a jumble and unless she was with someone who could
distract her, she seemed incapable of stopping herself from running through
every memory and resulting theory her mind came up with a hundred times.
She just
wanted Naruto to come back so that she could hopefully get some answers. Or at
the very least, confide in someone that she was sure wouldn�t think she had
gone off the deep end.
Even though
she was starting to fear that she was in fact, for some unknown reason, going
insane.
25 25 25 25
25 25 25
25 25

�One�. Two�
Three!� Four identical voices ended with a grunt as Naruto and his clones
braced themselves and in unison started to lift the small two wheeled cart they
each had a corner of.
Mud seeped
through the blonds� pants as the added weight sent him deeper into the
quagmire. It was well above mid thigh and so cold that he was starting to lose
the feeling in his feet. But he gritted his teeth, channeled more chakra into
his frame and kept lifting. His copies doing the exact same
thing, resulting in the vehicle finally starting to lift.
Eight men
stood on the bank, they were already covered in mud from the fight to get the
two oxen unharnessed and safely pulled out of the giant mud hole. Two ropes had
been attached to the back of the cart and four men had a hold of each.
�Now!�
Naruto yelled as the wheel hubs finally broke surface.
The men
started pulling, while the four Naruto�s heaved the cart in their direction.
One clone ended up backwards in the muck. But the cart did land four feet
closer to the edge. After helping his copy up Naruto moved back to his spot and
once again grabbed a hold of the wooden vehicle. Silently the clones did the
same and the process was repeated three more times before the wheels finally
landed on solid ground.
A cheer went
up from those gathered around the pit. Naruto just waved a hand to dispel his
jutsu before bending over to catch his breath. He felt a chill seep further
into his body as the cool evening breeze skated over his bare chest. The sun
had still been warm when he had come to help free the farmers
cart, so he had stripped down to his pants in order to keep his sandals and the
rest of his clothing as clean as possible.
But now the
sun was already partly set, and he found himself debating whether or not he
should put on his jacket. Despite the fact that he was caked with mud from head
to toes.
�Uzumaki-sama.�
Turning he
looked down at the petite young woman who had addressed him. Akiya was the headman�s youngest daughter and she had been
following him around quite a bit over the last few days. Now she held several
towels out to him, a soft smile on her face.
�Thank you Akiya-chan.� Naruto returned her smile as he took one of
the offered towels and started wiping the mud off of his chest and arms. He
tried to hide the fact that he felt uncomfortable with her attention. Everyone
in the village had been going out of their way to see that he had every comfort
that they could offer.
But there
were a few of the women who were making it quite clear that they were willing
to do more. He easily recognized the coy looks that had been sent his way,
after going through everything that he had with the members of Kyuubi�s fan
club, he knew all too well what they wanted.
Akiya had
been sticking close to him and was being especially forward, as she had ample
opportunity to be near him since he was staying in her families� home. But the
blond shinobi found that he just wasn�t interested.
Trying not
to seem rude he moved away from the smiling girl and moved to where he had left
his discarded clothing. To his dismay two other of his admirers were holding
the items for him. And they made no attempt to hide the fact that they were
staring at him.
Mentally he
groaned, and wondered again how long it would take his clone to deliver the
last message that he had sent to a merchant he knew in the land of Waves. He
really wanted to go home.
Outwardly he
smiled and thanked them all for their help. After wiping the worst of the mud
off of his feet he slipped on his sandals and shrugged into his jacket.
Ignoring that fact that he still had a great deal of mud covering his back and
torso.
�Oh Uzumaki-sama, you�ll get your jacket all dirty!� The shrill
exclamation nearly shattered his eardrums. Trying his best to hide a grimace of
pain, he glanced down at the blond girl the sound �had imitated from. And he found that for
the life of him he couldn�t remember her name. But her voice was sure shrill
enough to make her memorable.
Doing his
best to keep his smile in place Naruto waved off the girls concerns as the
other two added their agreement. �Clothing can be washed.�
He tried to
walk away as politely as he could, but as his luck would have it, the trio was
hot on his heels. He wasn�t really sure why they annoyed him so much, after all
he was used to having females fall all over him when he was in a village a good
distance away from Konoha. He had even used that fact to aid him in a number of
missions when he was still an ANBU. Having Jiraiya as a
sensei had turned out to have some benefits. Even if
it was only how to easily blend into the lower levels of society.
Glancing
back to the three girls who were keeping up with his long legged strides
remarkably well. He couldn�t figure out why he didn�t find any of them
attractive. Sure they were all pretty girls, but there was something missing.
Something he just couldn�t put his finger on.
�The blond had somehow figured out how to stay
by his side without looking like she was struggling to hard to keep the fast
pace. �He took a moment to inspect her a little closer out of the corner of his eye. He didn�t
want to give her any ideas. Her hair was cut so that it just brushed her shoulders, it was a deep vibrant gold that set off her
startling blue eyes. If he didn�t know better he would almost suspect that she
was related to Ino. She had a lovely figure despite her petite frame. So what
was not to like? Besides the high pitches her voice could attain.
Returning
his gaze to the road ahead as he and the girls entered their small village home,
Naruto mentally tried to come up with a logical reason to explain his sudden
lack of interest in the female species.
For a brief
moment he almost wished he had Kyuubi to talk to. The fox had far more insight
from his vantage point then the blond liked to openly admit. But as soon as the
thought occurred he shoved it back down. If anything on this trip, he had come
to realize that somehow over the years he had come to rely too much on the
demon inside of him.
Even if they hadn�t really talked the last couple years.
And
truthfully that scared him. Who was he without the nine-tales? Had he obtained
all of his strength and abilities just because he had managed to learn how to
draw from the kitsune�s power, then later actually
merge with it?
�If so then who was Naruto? A mere puppet that
was a human shell for the larger power to inhabit and control when the right
moments presented themselves?
He had to
know.
So what if
he couldn�t remember the source of all the scents he had encountered in the
forest. He could learn, he was sure of it. He knew for
sure that there were four that he would never forget. At least not until he had
gutted their owners and watched them die a slow agonizing death.
Realizing
that he had gotten way off topic, the blond shinobi took a deep cleansing
breath. And pushed all thoughts of his tenant as far back in
his mind as he could.
Glancing at
the girls flanking him, he was relieved to see that none of them seemed to have
noticed his brief laps. He almost smiled when he realized the reason for that
was because they all seemed to be getting a little out of breath from keeping
up with his pace.
The polite side
of his character told him to slow down and accommodate his entourage. But the
rest of him was too annoyed, not to mention uncomfortable with their constant
attention to want to be too nice to them.
They were
all very nice, pretty girls. But their scent didn�t drive him to distraction, nor
did they possess silver eyes veiled by silken flaxen hair that haunted his
dreams. They just couldn�t compare to ��.
Naruto
stumbled to a halt, ignoring the fact that two of his companions nearly ran
into him. �He was comparing them to
Temari? His brain stumbled to a halt at the realization. He knew he had been
dreaming about her, but he had assumed that it was because he was still worried
about her.
But this��..
this was something completely different. How had he
let himself become so attached to her? He was supposed to be helping her get
over a horrific ordeal, and then make sure she was avenged once she was safely back with her family.
�Uzumaki-Sama?� Akiya�s voice brought him out of his stunned
state. �Is something wrong?�
Blinking
several times Naruto found he wasn�t able to force any cheerfulness into his
voice. �No,� He lied. ��I�ve just got a
lot on my mind right now.�
Suddenly he
felt that he needed some time alone, quickly continuing his trek he tried his
hardest not to dwell on his revelation until he could find some privacy. His
stride lengthened even more, as he completely ignored the three women following
him.
It only took
a few minutes for him to reach the residence where he was staying. The
headman�s wife met him at the door and informed him that a bath had been
prepared for him. Thanking her, he quickly escaped him entourage and locked
himself in the bathing room.
Slumping
back against the closed door, the big blond closed his eyes. How could he be so
stupid? Allowing himself to even consider falling for
Temari.
At the
thought, a picture of the Sand kunoichi drifted across his mind�s eye. Of her
smiling up at him, welcoming him home. His chest tightened at the memory, she was
way to perfect, he didn�t know why he hadn�t noticed
it long before now.
But the part
that hurt him the most about the revelation, was the
fact that he couldn�t do anything about it. He couldn�t impose himself on
Temari like that, despite how well she seemed to be recovering,
he knew she wouldn�t be ready for a relationship anytime soon.
With a groan
he scrubbed his hands over his face before pushing himself away from the door.
Who was he kidding? He could never allow himself get too close to her, she
didn�t deserve to be subjected to having him as her partner, even if she did
for some reason become interested in him.
No one
deserved to be subjected to his life, to him.
Shedding his
mud caked clothing, Naruto moved over to the shower
stall and turned on the water. He barely flinched when the first blast of cold
hit his skin, he didn�t care.
His mind was
too busy trying to figure out how he had managed to allow his heart free rein.
He had been so careful to keep from feeling too much for anyone after Jewel had
disappeared. But here he was, on the verge of falling for a woman under his
protection.
He knew
himself well enough to know that that�s what would happen if he allowed himself
to get any closer to Temari. Every part of his being longed to have someone to
share his life with, but experience had taught him that it was an impossible
dream.
With a sigh
he moved forward, resting his forehead on the cool tile while allowing the now
hot water to cascade down his back. Not for the first time he found himself
wishing that he had not been chosen to be the nine-tails prison. He knew it was
selfish, that his father had had no choice in the matter. The sealing of Kyuubi
had saved countless lives.
But he
couldn�t help it, ever since he had learned who his parents were; he had found
nothing but more heart ache. They had both died to protect him and others, but
he couldn�t help wondering what his life would be like if even one of them had
survived.
Shaking his
head he pushed the thought aside, it was a mute point. And
therefore pointless to dwell on. But it did bring him back to what he
had been thinking about on the way back to the village. Who was he really?
Because he
had been twenty when he had unexpectedly found out who his parents had been, he
had already been powerful enough with Kyuubi�s power so he had never bothered
to try to develop his inherited abilities.
He was the
last of two clans, and apparently both had blood limits, his eyes closed in
anguish. Since his son was dead, both those bloodlines would end with him. He
had failed in every aspect of his life, he had nothing
to show for all the battles he had fought, the hell he had gone through just to
keep himself alive as a child.
A low bitter
laugh escaped his lips as he moved to scrub his skin free of any clinging mud
that still remained. After all that, here he was wishing to have a
relationship, sometimes he had to confess that he was pretty sure he was the
most thick headed person he knew. After everything that had happened to him,
one would think he would learn.
Finally
satisfied that he was clean, he turned off the shower and stepped into the tub.
Sinking down into the hot liquid he forced himself to stop thinking about his
own life. Something he was good at.
�Instead he started mentally going over
everything he had seen today in the mist village. Making sure
that he didn�t overlook something that might be important to his mission.

25 25 25 25
25 25

Kyuubi
sighed as he watched the torment his host was putting himself through. Why
Naruto tortured himself so much, the fox would never understand.
In his
opinion the boy took far too much on himself, most of which was not his fault.
The kitsune theorized that it was actually the blonde�s kind heart that caused
him to assume so much responsibility, and at the same time all the blame for situations
that were not of his doing. He cared so much for those around him, that he was
willing to do anything within his power to make their lives easier.
But at the
same time he held in so much pain and hurt that the kitsune wasn�t sure how he
managed to function eighty percent of the time. He had been getting better as
of late, especially after he confided in the blond female about the loss of his
kit.
His moods
had been lighter, his focus so trained on the female
that he forgot to worry about everything else. Which was a good thing as far as
Kyuubi was concerned, most of the things that his host held onto were frivolous
and unimportant, yet the blond always seemed to make things into more then they were.
On the bright
side, it looked to Kyuubi like Naruto was finally starting to realize that he
was attracted to the blond female. True he was fighting it with everything that
he had, but Kyuubi was confident that sooner or later his defenses would fail
and she would be firmly entrenched in his heart.
25 25 25 25
25
Naruto
didn�t say much during the evening meal. Pleading exhaustion,
which also allowed him to retire early without any questions being asked of
him.
Once in bed,
he tossed and turned for a good hour, his mind running through a hundred
memories that could never be changed. Finally he was able to settle his
thoughts enough to fall into a fitful sleep.
25 25 Dreaming25 25
Naruto was
walking down a wide forest path, the sun shone brightly around him, the air was
silent, and it had a feeling of sadness about it. He knew he was dreaming, he had been having a number of these kinds of dreams
lately. Where he knew he wasn�t awake and yet it all felt so real.
He continued
to walk, inspecting the area as he moved, waiting for something to happen.
After what seemed like quite some time, the path gave way to a grass filled
glade, and there sitting on a large boulder at its center sat Temari.
So many of
his dreams lately had centered around the blond
kunoichi that he did not find it odd that she was there. Although he
immediately went on guard, usually something was trying to attack her in his
dreams, so he had to be prepared.
Making his
way to her side, he noticed that she sat with her head bowed while her hands
fisted together in her lap. She was the picture of unease.
�Temari?�
Her head
lifted immediately, and he could see the uncertainty in her eyes, even as she
gave a small smile in greeting. �I�m glad it�s you Naruto.�
He was about
to ask who else she would be expecting, but shrugged it off as unimportant.
�What�s wrong Temari? You look upset.�
She sighed
heavily, her head once again lowering as she focused on her hands. Not wanting
to rush her, Naruto took a seat by her side. After a few moments of silence she
finally spoke.
�Naruto, I
think something is wrong with me.� She once again met his gaze, and he could
tell that whatever it was, was really bothering her.
�Why do you
say that?� Absently the thought crossed his mind that he had never had a dream
about having a conversation with anyone before. Accept Kyuubi of course.
�I�m
forgetting things.� She confided, her eyes serious as she worried her bottom
lip with her teeth. �A lot of things.�
�Everyone
forgets things sometimes Temari, its no big deal.� He
assured her, even as he wondered why he was having such a strange dream.
She shook
her head. �It�s not just a little bit Naruto, its everything.
I can�t remember why I�m staying in your apartment. I know you found me
somewhere, but I can�t recall where or why.�
She once
again looked him directly in the eye. �Was I injured when you found me?�
Naruto had
to blink a few times before her words and her question really sank in. And he
was starting to worry as well, even though he knew it was silly, that this was
all a dream that he would wake up from eventually.
�Yes you
were injured when I found you, badly so. And you�re staying with me because you
didn�t want to be alone while you waited for your brothers to come retrieve
you.�
She nodded
slowly. �How did I get hurt�
He cringed
at the question, thoroughly convinced that the Temari in real life would never
ask such a question. It took him a moment to decide how to phrase his answer.
�You were taken captive Temari.�
His words
brought no recollection to her eyes. �I was?�
He nodded.
�Yes.�
She opened
her mouth to speak then seemed to think better of it as she looked away, her
gaze focused on a spot somewhere out in the small clearing they resided in.
There were several moments of silence.
�That�s
right, I remember fighting with them in Suna, there was
five of them.� She murmured.
Naruto
frowned at her words as he wondered why he would dream about her saying she had
been attacked by five men. He clearly remembered only detecting four scents on her person when he had found her. He inwardly
cringed at the memory; she had been put through so much. It amazed him that she
was recovering as well as she seemed to be.
There was
again silence, but this time the air didn�t seem to be the blanket of sadness
that it had been before.
Again it was
Temari who broke the stillness. �I had so many questions for you Naruto, but
right now there seems to be only one I can remember.� She turned her silver
eyes back to meet his. �Am I pregnant?�
If he hadn�t
thought so before, Naruto was now sure he was having one of the weirdest dreams
of his life. None the less, he felt compelled to reply.
�Yes Temari
you are.�
A brief
smile touched her lips. �I�m glad that wasn�t a dream.�
Naruto gave
her a questioning look.
�I have been
quite literally dreaming of having a child of my own for so many years.� She
looked a little embarrassed at the admission. �That much I do remember. But men
just don�t seem to be interested in me, of course I�ve never really met someone
I was attracted to before��.� Her voice trailed off for a moment. �Except for one time.� Her last words for so faint that
Naruto almost didn�t hear her.
He looked
down at her, trying to fight off the urge to ask who she had been attracted
too. He knew it was probably Shikamaru, after all it
had been common gossip that she and Ino had been fighting over the Nara heir
for many years. But the look on her face was so wistful that he couldn�t help
himself, justifying his question because she appeared to want to talk about it.
��Only one? Well Shika sure was a
lucky bastard wasn�t he.� Naruto cringed, that had not come out the way it was
supposed to.
Temari
looked startled. �Shikamaru? What about him?�
Infinitely
glad that she hadn�t seemed to notice how rude his comment had been. Naruto did
his best to stop the color from rushing to his cheeks. Stupid
dreams, always putting him in weird situations.
�Well he�s
the one you were talking about right? The only guy you�ve ever been attracted
too.�
Temari
frowned. �Well I guess I was attracted to him in a way.� Her head cocked to the
side as she seemed to think the matter over. �He was passable in the looks
department I suppose.�
Naruto
blinked, even as he decided that there was no way this dream could get any
weirder he found himself saying. �Only passable? The
way you and Ino scrapped over the guy, you would think he was some kind of a
god.�
Temari
smiled as his words, but it was a sad smile. �So much time wasted for no
reason.� She murmured.
Naruto knew
he probably looked as shocked as he felt, because she took one look at his face
and started to explain.
�I was
attracted to Shika because of his abilities, being
such an excellent strategist, not to mention the only heir to a clan made him
an acceptable match for me. At the time I think that I wanted to feel more, in
order to make it easier to form a relationship if he had decided to pick me
instead of Ino.� She blew out a breath, making her golden bangs ruffle slightly.
�The things we do for political reasons.�
Naruto
nearly fell off their perch as she finished her confession, he couldn�t have
been more surprised if she had said that she had actually been after Ino all
those years.
Once he got
his balance back and managed to figure out how to get his tongue working again,
he found that he just had to ask again who it was she had been attracted to.
Because it was obvious to him that his brain was on some kind of weird binge,
and was throwing the most farfetched stuff at him that it could imagine.
�So if it
wasn�t Shikamaru, then who was the lucky guy?�
He watched
as she started fiddling with her fingers, in a rather Hinata-ish manner, while a blush stained her creamy skin.
�It
was��.well.� She stole a quick peek at him before she averted her gaze again.
�It was�...�
She cleared her throat. �I�m sure it was nothing, just heat of the moment and
all that.�
She refused
to look at him as she spoke, and Naruto had to fight the sudden urge to reach
out and stroke her cheek until she looked at him.
As the
silence stretched, the blond shinobi remembered that he was dreaming, therefore
he could do whatever he wanted. Dreams had no repercussions in the real
world.� ��
Sliding
closer to her he wrapped his left arm around her and pulled her gently against
his side. �I didn�t mean to make you uncomfortable Temari.� He murmured into
her hair.
�Its all right, I�m just not very good at talking about this
kind of stuff.� She confided as she snuggled closer into his embrace and turned
her head to nuzzle the crook of his neck. �At home I don�t have anyone to talk
to at all so I don�t get any practice.�
Naruto made
a noise that he hoped sounded understanding to the woman in his arms. Because
it was more of a stifled groan then anything else. It
felt so good to hold her close, and she smelled so good. Even if it was a dream
he was going to enjoy every second of being able to hold her without
repercussions.� ��
�Tell me
what happened to me Naruto?� Her soft voice was nearly lost on the big blond as
the way her breath heated his neck when she spoke was sending shivers through
his body.
Taking a moment
to compose himself, he gave her a light squeeze. �You don�t want to hear about
that Temari, Trust me, you�re better off not remembering.�
Pulling away
from him far enough that she could look up into his eyes, Temari�s gaze seemed
to search his for a moment. �I am?�
He nodded
silently as their gaze held for a few more seconds before Temari broke the
contact.
�What about
everything else?� She questioned.
Frowning
Naruto was confused about what she meant, he could understand her blocking out
the trauma of her ordeal. But what else was she thinking she had forgotten?
�Everything else?�
Temari
nodded as she straightened, although she didn�t move out of his arms. �There
are a number of things that I can�t seem to remember, for instance.� She looked
up at him again. �I don�t remember when our child was conceived.�
Naruto froze, feeling like the breath had been knocked out of him.
His brain stuttered to a halt as he stared at her upturned face.
�Naruto is
something wrong?� Temari turned in his arms and reached up to touch his face
when he was unable to reply.
The big
blond flinched at the touch as his brain finally decided to function again. And
his first thought was that his subconscious was masochistic. That was the only
reason he could think of that he would dream something like this.
��Naruto?� Her soft
voice once again brought his attention back to her.
�I��..
Temari I�m not�..� He stumbled to a halt.
Why was it
so hard to tell her the truth? He silently questioned. Why was he having the
overwhelming urge to let her assumption stand? That the two of them where an
item and the child she carried was his.
Releasing
his hold on her, he stood and started to pace. His mind
suddenly a mad jumble of thoughts. Sure this was all a dream, but even
in this, his own mind he couldn�t bring himself to lie to her. As much as he
wished he could make it easier for her by doing so.
But how to
tell her what had really happened when he had just finished telling her that
she was better off not remembering what she had gone through. He really wished
he would wake up and not have to finish this conversation.
�Naruto?�
Once again
her soft voice caught his attention. Coming to a halt he turned to face her,
only to be struck by how beautiful she was perched on that boulder, a confused
frown on her face. In that moment he found himself ready to lie, to do anything
to keep her for himself.
Closing his
eyes he took a strangle hold on that feeling and shoved it down, reminding
himself that it would be cruel to try to bind her to him like that. He was not
worthy of one such as her, he would only bring her pain.
Finally
resolved, he opened his eyes and moved to kneel in front of her. Taking her
clasped hands in his he took a deep breath before looking up to meet her gaze
directly.
�Temari I
wish I could tell you we had that kind of relationship��. But we don�t.�
Her frown
deepened as she tried to decipher his words. Seeing that, he realized that he
would have to be a little plainer.
�Temari,
your baby isn�t mine.� He tried to keep his voice steady, but he found it
harder to admit then he thought it should.
She drew in
a sharp breath, her face going from confused to hurt in a heartbeat.
Sensing that
she was about to pull away from him, Naruto tightened his hold on her hands. �I
wish I could tell you different Temari. But it�s the truth.�
He watched
her blink rapidly to stave off the tears welling in her silver eyes. �Then
how?� Her voice trembled. �I don�t remember.�
Taking a
deep breath Naruto hoped he could tell her without traumatizing her all over
again. �You were captured by a group of shinobi, we
don�t know who they were yet. But they had you for quite a while.�
He watched
as she assimilated his words, her emotions showing clearly in her eyes.
�I don�t
understand, what does that have to do with��.� Her
voice trailed off and he saw the moment that she understood what he had been
trying to say. She looked at him, the question in her eyes that he confirmed
with a nod.
She squeezed
her eyes closed and he felt a light tremble shake her frame. Naruto tightened
his grip once again as he felt her pain as if it was his own. He tried to
remain calm as he waited for her to break down, or explode. He wasn�t sure
which way she would react this time.
But after a
few minutes of Temari sitting silently, he watched her take in a long deep
breath. Then slowly she opened her eyes, but he was unprepared for soft smile
that curved her lips.
�Thank you
Naruto, I am sorry for making such an assumption.�
The big
blond felt as if a huge height had been lifted off him by her soft words, even
as he wondered how it was that she could be so calm and accepting. �
He felt
compelled to add. �I wish I could tell you different Temari.�
Her smile
stayed in place as she extracted her hands from his and raised them to cup his
jaw. �So do I.�
A
comfortable silence fell between then, in which time Temari�s fingers started
tracing the contours of Naruto�s face. The big blond felt his eye lids grow
heavy as her caress fluttered over every inch of his features. Her touch was almost
addicting and he wished it would never end, if only he could come up with an
excuse to never leave her side.
But he knew
that the only place he could let down his guard with her like this was here in
his dreams. In real life he wasn�t good for her, wasn�t good for anyone really.
As if
sensing his thoughts, Temari spoke. �Something�s bothering you Naruto, tell me
what it is.�
�Even here in his dreams he didn�t want to tell
her the truth, at least not the whole truth. That he wanted to step into a
relationship with her, to be part of her and her child�s life. It was suddenly
such a clear picture in his mind, a family consisting of the three of them.
But even
with his messed up life that had demon haters around every corner set aside. He
still carried the guilt of failing his own son. How could he be of any use to a
wonderful, strong woman like Temari if he couldn�t even deal with his own life. He knew it would only be a matter of time before he
failed her, he always failed eventually no matter how
hard he tried not to. It would be better for her and her son or daughter if he
was merely a friend that came around from time to time.
He was sure
once she was around him a little longer that she would change her mind about
her request that he be the kids Godfather. After all she had asked before he
had told her about his past with Jewel and the death of her and his son, soon
Temari would realize that he wasn�t fit for that kind position.
�Naruto?�
She prompted, again dragging him from his thoughts.
Somehow he
got the feeling that she wouldn�t allow him to avoid her inquiry. And yet couldn�t
bring himself to lie to her outright. So instead he
voiced a thought that had been reoccurring in his mind almost since the day he
had found her.
�I was
thinking that it�s too bad that we didn�t get a chance to get to know each
other like this when we were younger and unattached.� It was true, but then
again not completely. It was more like a wish spoken out loud. �I think that
back before all the shit that happened in my life to mess it up more then it was when I was a kid, we might have become more
then friends.�
He looked up
at her then and saw the sad smile on her face. �I think you may be right
Naruto, but life is what it is.�
The big
blond nodded, even though he got the feeling that she was only humoring him
with her words. There was no way she would want to be involved with the likes
of him, then or now.
When she
didn�t pull away from him, or stop teasing his skin with her finger tips he
decided to just stay in the moment and let this dream go where it may. Shifting
his position slightly he leaned forward and tentatively rested his head on her
lap. He gave a sigh of relief when she didn�t protest but started threading her
fingers through his hair.
�I just get
lonely sometimes.� He admitted quietly.
�We all do
Naruto.� Temari assured him. �Every single one of us feels like that at times.�
Closing his
eyes Naruto savored decided to simply savor the moment. He felt like he was in
heaven, and just as he had wished to wake up from this dream
only moments before. He now wished that he would never wake up, that he
could just stay like this, with Temari in a quiet forest glen without another
soul around.
It seemed
like hours that he stayed kneeling at the kunoichi�s feet, his head in her lap
and her gentle fingers playing with his hair.
But all good
things eventually come to an end.
��Naruto, I think you need to tell me
everything that I forgot.� Temari announced softly.
Reluctantly he
pulled back and sat down Indian style on the grass covered ground. �I don�t
think that is the best idea Temari.� �
�Why not?�
She slid closer to the edge of the boulder as she looked down on him.
�Well it�s
been really hard on you already, I don�t think you
need to go through all of that again.� Naruto explained. He clearly remembered
the nights of hysterics and tears that he had held her through. He wasn�t sure
if he could see that again, even if it was only in his dreams.
To his
surprise Temari slid off her perch and settled herself in his lap. �If you�re
here I�m sure I�ll be fine.�
She then
stunned him with a radiant smile before wrapping her arms around his waist,
resting her head on his shoulder and snuggling into his chest. When he didn�t
respond after a few moments he felt her poke him in the side.
�Start
talking mister.�
Yup,
definitely the weirdest dream he had ever had.
Taking a
deep breath he decided to follow her orders, so he started at the beginning
when he had first found her. And continued on to tell her the edited version of
what she had told him that night out in the woods.
She didn�t
once flinch, as he continued to recount the events that took place after they
had arrived in Konoha. To his relief she didn�t so much as shed a tear
throughout his telling. In fact she was so quiet that he was starting to worry
about her.
�So it
sounds like I�ve been a lot more trouble then you bargained for.� Temari
remarked when he was finally finished with bringing her up to date.
Naruto
couldn�t help but chuckle as he shook his head in disbelief. She was one
outstanding woman.
�What?� She
finally sat up to look at him questioningly.
�You really
are amazing Temari.� He confided as he slipped a loose strand of her hair back
behind her ear.
�As are you.� She smiled at him before turning serious. �And you left out one part.�
He raised a
brow at her. �I did?�
She nodded,
her expression turning sad. �You lost your son, and because of me and my
situation you have been reminded of that every day since I found out I was
pregnant.�
Naruto tried
to keep his tone light, although the fact that she remembered that part of
their time together when other parts were blurred left him unsettled. �Like I
said before, my life went to hell years ago. And none of it is your fault, it�s
just the hand I was dealt.�
�Well I�m
sorry anyway.� She murmured reached up to wrap her arms around his neck and
gave him a tight hug, which he returned.
Pulling back
she gifted him with a smile that had him forgetting to breath. �Come home soon
Naruto, I miss you.�
Before he
could think of anything to say to that unexpected statement he felt her grip on
his neck tighten, pulling him closer to her. Then without a warning lifted herself up and pressed her lips to his.
The kiss was
hardly more then a peck, yet the demon vessel felt
its affect through his entire body. And he was stunned to his very core by her actions, it happened so quickly he had no time to respond
before she pulled back and once again smiled.
�Stay safe.�
And then she
vanished into thin air, leaving him sitting alone in the forest clearing that
was rapidly starting to fade around him.
Naruto had
to blink several times before he realized that he was suddenly awake, hence the
reason that the dream had vanished.
�I�ll be
home soon.� He murmured before he rolled onto his stomach and fell back into a
dreamless sleep.
25 25 25 25
25 25 25
�
Kyuubi
wasn�t sure if he should laugh or just settle on being smug. He wasn�t even
sure if he had the words to describe what had just transpired inside his host�s
head.
The golden
female had even more power then he could have imagined, for she had actually
been there with them. It wasn�t just a meeting of conscious�s,
as the previous dreams had been. Somehow her very essence had traversed the
long distance between them and she had been there.
Even for one
of his age it was baffling as to how she had done it, as far as he knew humans
didn�t usually have those kind of abilities. Even in
demons that kind of ability would have been unusual.
If it wasn�t
for the fact that he had never sensed any hint of a demonic aura around her, he
would have started to suspect that she was more like Naruto then anyone would
have thought.
But she
wasn�t a demon host, or even a demoness in disguise.
What she was was a complete enigma to him, a puzzle
that didn�t seem to want to be solved.
In truth the
kitsune was starting to become more then a little
attracted to her himself. It was really too bad that he didn�t still have a
body of his own, or he would be courting her himself. Something he wasn�t sure
his host would be happy with should he find out about it.
Turning his
gaze to the crack in his cell, that only seemed to be this prominent when the
female and her power were close by. The nine-tails wished that he had had more
time for females in his previous life, if he had
perhaps he would understand them better.
Because this
one was an enigma like he had never known.
25 25 25 25
25 25 25
Temari
opened her eyes to a dark bedroom, still more then a
little asleep she curled onto the pile of pillows she was sleeping on. Her conversation
with Naruto had brought everything back into perspective. And she was so
grateful to him for being patient with her.
Yawning as
her eyes slowly drooped back closed, she played their discussion over in her
mind. A light blush covered her cheeks when she realized that she had kissed him
before he left. Although she probably wouldn�t have been surprised she
supposed. Their talk had reminded her of the first time she had seen him use
the full power of the Kyuubi in battle.
It had been
when Itachi had attacked Konoha, she and her brothers had come to help their
allies. And she had ended up with a front row seat to Naruto and the Kyuubi
killing Kisame. It had been the first time she had
really looked at the blond Leaf shinobi as anything other then
her younger brothers friend.
But it was
after the battle that she really remembered. Shikamaru had been killed that
day, the shadow master had been overwhelmed by sheer numbers and Ino had been
hysterical in her grief as she clutched his lifeless body. Uncaring
that she was as soaked in his blood as he was.
Not even
Sakura or Tsunade had been able to get close to the girl. But then Naruto had
walked up to them, Temari clearly remembered being amazed to see the way that
the Kyuubi�s fiery chakra and seemed to be sucked back into Naruto�s body as he
walked, the other ninja making a path for him.
Everyone
gathered around them could easily feel the power he held, and yet it was a
different kind of strength that caught Temari�s attention. Kneeling down he had
wrapped a surprisingly unresisting Ino in his arms, holding her tight as she
continued to weep, and without a word he was able to separate her from the body
of her lover.
Once she had
calmed down some he had beaconed Sakura and Hinata to take her. The two girls
had to hold up the grief stricken blond between them to keep her from collapsing
on the ground. Naruto had then knelt down and carefully picked up the broken
body of Shikamaru and silently carried him back into the village.
Temari
clearly remembered the way everyone, even the ANBU and the Hokage had seemed to
move about him and help him as if following instructions, and yet he never
spoke a single word to any of them.
She
remembered seeing the grief in his own eyes as he held the body of his friend,
and yet he had been able to keep it mostly hidden and looked after those around
him instead.
In that
moment she had wanted nothing more then to walk up to
his side and stay there, to be of assistance to him. There was a light about
him that seemed to call to her. But she had been too embarrassed to even
consider doing such a thing, and then the opportunity had passed by. Because he
had then left to go after Itachi and Sasuke who were last seen having a battle
of epic proportions, while she had to see to an unconscious Kankuro and a comatose
Gaara.
A soft smile
curved Temari�s lips as she remembered that day. Yes it had been the first and
only time she had truly felt attracted to a man, and it had been Naruto. Funny that she had forgotten about that until their conversation.
Too bad she
didn�t have the guts to tell him that it was him that had caught her eye all
those years ago. Maybe someopday she would tell him.
25 25 25 25
25
Well I was
originally going to make this chapter longer, but now that my muse has some
interest in it again, she had decided to go in a much different direction then
I had previously planned. As such I will leave the story here for now or it
would be another while before I put this chapter up.
Next time
there will be a little more information on the mystery of the White chakra, and
Temari sets a whole new chain of events into motion.
Thank you
all for your patience and support over the long wait between updates.
I hope you
enjoy.
Legilmyth

�

��
��

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After the pain