Sage

Ch.19

"What?! How dare you mock our culture and traditions!?" At this point the only thing keeping Shizuka from lashing out at Naruto violently was the lingering effects of the paralysis he had used on her. That, and the fact he had previously beaten her with surprisingly little effort somewhat tempered her anger. Naruto barely looked affected by her seething rage, in fact it almost looked like he was about to fall off the seat from sleepiness.

"Look, all I'm saying is that I don't want this and you obviously don't want this, so why don't you just leave and pretend you never even saw me in the first place? Who would know otherwise?" If anything Shizuka looked even more indignant about that, not that Naruto believed that was possible right now with her face turning a virulent scarlet and multiple tick marks appeared at her temple.

"I may not want this but I am a proud Kunoichi of Nadeshiko Village, heir to the main line. If I don't follow and uphold our traditions then what kind of example does that set?" Naruto sighed simply, running and hand through his hair as he felt his eyelids begin to droop; Shizuku and Fuu weren't looking much better; none of them were exactly fresh even if Fuu was hiding it better.

"Uhh, a good one for standing up to obviously outdated and idiotic rules?" Shizuka's eye merely twitched violently.

"Keep insulting my village's traditions and husband or not, I will make sure your head ends up on a pike somewhere." Naruto narrowed his eyes, some alertness returning; he didn't really want to fall asleep around this girl.

"Wow, you'll be a fine leader someday if this is how you negotiate. I'm starting to think I should have just lost so none of this would have happened." Shizuka finally seemed to agree with something the blonde said as she crossed her arms under her already impressive chest and nodded stubbornly.

"Yes, you would be dead and I would still have my freedom." Naruto nodded for a moment before pausing, shaking his head quickly and staring at Shizuka incredulously for a moment.

"Wait a second, let me get this straight... my options were win and become your very much unwilling husband, or lose and die?" Shizuka just nodded, still irritated given her expression and upturned sneer. "What kind of choice is that!?" Shizuka, always faithful to her bit, merely frowned at him.

"It is the greatest honour to become a Nadeshiko Kunoichi's mate. It means we acknowledge you as the stronger warrior. If you lose it means you are simply too weak to be a warrior of any value and you may try again in the next life." Naruto blinked once, then twice before hanging his head with an audibly irritated sigh. He had never met somebody besides Sora who could get under his skin like this; maybe she was destined to be his wife? No... back on track.

"Are you even listening to yourself right now? Do you have any idea how stupidly barbaric that sounds?" Of course this only made the Kunoichi quiver in rage as her glare intensified. "What about asking the guy? Or at least warning him of the consequences beforehand?!" Finally Naruto saw a different emotion to anger appear on the Nadeshiko Kunoichi's face, hesitation.

"I uh, I was supposed to." She looked down, wincing at how feeble her own words sounded and at her own mistake. "But I saw your Rinnegan and, I uh, I acted rashly." Naruto's eyes softened at the girl who looked anything but the proud Kunoichi she had been moments before.

"Look, maybe if we go to your village we can get all of this straightened out." The girl looked up, blinking back the single tear that had been gathering in the corner of her eye.

"What's stopping me from just trapping you there when we arrive?" Naruto just blinked and stared at the girl with a completely deadpan expression.

"Once again, I believe you will become an excellent negotiator." Shizuka glared at him but by now it was half-hearted at best, there was none of the previous venom.