Naruto: Eroninja

Why Me: Part II

Chapter 26: Why Me: Part II

"Now she's actively avoiding me," Naruto said as he sat at the table in his seal's recreation of his mother's old apartment.

"Are you sure per..." Kushina trailed off as her son gave her a look that said he was sure. Remembering that Naruto could feel his lovers through the mark he placed on them and that it went both ways she realized Ino most likely was using it to keep her distance from her son. Feeling uncomfortable at talking about the subject, especially since most mothers were eased into the idea of their children starting the whole dating and relationship part of their lives while she had sort of been thrown into the process midstream, she tried to brush off his concern by saying, "Can't you just spend more time with one of the others?"

Naruto shook his head saying, "I'm not sure what to do. If I leave her alone she could just get more upset at me for not addressing the problem between us. But if I keep hounding her when all she wants is time alone then I could just end up screwing up that way too."

Kushina sighed at seeing her son so down over his trouble with one of his lovers. Watching him as he sat back in the chair resting his head on the back of it to stare up at the ceiling as his arms hung limply at his side, she could understand why it was that so many women were involved with him. After all, she imagined that most men in his situation would shrug their shoulders figuring the girl in question would come around and would busy themselves with their other lovers until it happened. Seeing her son getting worked up over the damage he may have done to his relationship made her proud of the man he had become.

She could also see just how unsure he was about how to proceed as well that those feelings were bleeding into another matter. Kushina frowned as she had noticed a sense of insecurity radiating from him from time to time whenever they had discussed his love life. To her it seemed to be appearing more and more frequently especially when discussing just how he had ended up with a dedicated harem. At those times Kushina believed that it was because her son didn't see himself as an exceptional kindhearted lover and was afraid minus the jutsu that bound them everything would fall apart.

She was about to ask him about it when she began to hear what sounded like whispers. She looked around the room feeling a little spooked as the whispers sounded like the type people heard in ghost movies that told the characters they weren't alone. She noticed that Naruto seemed oblivious to it, but as she concentrated on her son felt she could "see" something standing behind him. She narrowed her eyes to focus on it but before it began to become defined Naruto startled her asking, "What is it?"

He quickly looked behind him, but not seeing anything turned back around to give her a confused look. "Uh... nothing," she said rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment since the idea of the seal being haunted was rather farfetched. Focusing back on the matter at hand she said, "In all honesty Naruto I think it would be best if you give her some space."

She could see Naruto wasn't exactly thrilled at her suggestion as he quickly said, "How come? When things were tense between Sakura and me everyone told me that I needed to address it. Now you're telling me to let things be."

Kushina nodded saying, "Yes... women are complex. That she is avoiding you means she wants some space."

"Why though? She was the one that was pushing me the most to talk with Sakura."

"Well the circumstances have changed. Plus it's easier to want to address things when you're on the outside looking in. Not so much when you're at the center of them." Kushina replied with a shrug. "I think your little stunt during the mind link has changed things for her and she's not sure how to talk to you about it."