Chapter 79 - Arc XI: Companionship- Chapter 6

Come morning, Shiroko seemed a little disappointed. Yuji hadn’t even attempted anything at all. What kind of half-wit gets a girl to spend the night and then doesn’t even try anything?

The kind of half-wit who happens to like me, and not just for sex.

Yuji was making breakfast for them both when Shiroko came downstairs. Tea was already waiting on the table, and the rice and fish he was cooking certainly caught Shiroko’s interest.

“’morning, Yuji.”

Yuji gave her a warm smile in the way of greeting. “Good morning. Sleep okay?”

She shrugged. “Yeah. A little lonely, you know?”

Yuji raised an eyebrow, and his grin grew wider, but he said nothing. Okay, so she would press a little more.

“You know, most of the time, when a girl and guy spend the night together, they share a futon…”

Yuji blinked, frowning at the comment. “Oh, for heat? If you were cold, I could have brought you a-”

Shiroko rolled her eyes and laid her head on her arms. “It’s too early for you to be stupid.”

“You look cute like this,” Yuji commented, setting a plate down in front of her. “Asleep and all. You should be careful. I might get the wrong idea.”

She started to retort, but she was more interested in the fish, so she mentally filed her insult and tucked in. She was surprised again; not half bad. Most bachelors couldn’t cook. At least, her ex didn’t. Then again, he was a useless dickhead, so whatever.

“I certainly wouldn’t object to sex,” Yuji commented, calmly sitting down across from Shiroko. “But at the same time, I don’t want it to screw things up. We’re just getting to be friends and all…”

“Spoken like a true virgin.”

“Ouch. Right through the heart. You could be nicer about it…”

Shiroko stuffed a bite of fish from her chopsticks into his mouth.
“An indirect kiss. That should give a virgin like you a hard-on, right?”

Yuji blushed and looked away. Shiroko peered over the table, eyebrows up yet again. Yuji was so much fun!
“Looks like I was right…”

“Unless you plan to do something about it, don‘t bring it up! Damn, bad choice of words.”

Shiroko laughed, but didn’t pounce on him. No, they were a couple of kids to be sure, but Yuji had a point about sex screwing things up. At least until later tonight.

No matter what he says or how he acts, he’s still male. I can’t forget that. He wants sex as much as I do. But he’s being adult about it. Too adult. Damn kid needs to loosen up. I mean, I’m no expert, but at least I know what I’m doing when it comes to that! I think he needs to be afforded the same opportunity as I to learn.

“Yuji, can I come over again tonight?”

“How could I refuse you?” he replied immediately.

Heh. True enough. She was going to come over anyway, regardless of what he said. It made her shiver a little- there was something really hot about knowing she was totally going to jump his bones later. It was too much of a temptation not to. It was usually the guys who got to brag about snagging a girl’s virginity; not the other way around. And truthfully, Shiroko’s social stock would rise if she bagged Yuji. Even if he wasn’t aware of it, he received a fair bit of curious female stares. He might have been a servant, but no one disputed that he was actually very powerful.

“Shiroko…”

She looked up, and looked right into a kiss from Yuji. He lightly brushed her lips with his, giving just a little increase in pressure at the end. He pulled back fairly quickly, definitely leaving her wanting more. It had come as a complete surprise.

He was kneeling across from her now, blushing and clearly forcing himself to meet her eyes.
“It didn’t seem…fair, I guess. That you kissed me but I didn’t kiss you. So now we’re even.”

Shiroko’s blush matched Yuji’s, so taken by surprise was she by his sudden kiss. When had this evolved from friendship into a relationship, she wondered. Or was it just a fling? No, a ‘fling’ didn’t usually have innocent kisses on the lips, and certainly none of that ‘separate futons’ stuff.

Shiroko realized Yuji really don’t know what to do now. He had just kind of thrown that kiss out there, trying to get across his meaning. He was confused- that much was evident. Shiroko had been in a real relationship before- twice, actually, starting when she was sixteen. So it was really up to her to guide him in the right direction when it came to this sort of thing. If she didn’t have to go to work today…

She stood up, giving him a kiss on the forehead.
“You’re sweet. I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Oh, sure!” Yuji had brightened instantly. The tension let out of the room all at once, and he began to take their dishes. She saw him look at the chopsticks she had used this morning, and his little lingering gaze made her wonder if she had ever been this sweet and innocent.

With a smile at the thought, she set off. This damn day could not end soon enough for her. She was really looking forward to being with Yuji tonight. Knowing that they would be in the same futon this time. It was a good feeling.
--
--

That evening had been amazing. Yuji and Shiroko cuddled on her futon surrounding by their discarded clothing. They had been friends for so long that this never even felt awkward or unnatural. Which was good, because Yuji had plenty to worry about. Shiroko was so sweet and patient. And truthfully, the first time was never perfect. Although this had come damned close.

There was no need to talk afterward. Shiroko simply snuggled up into Yuji’s chest and went to sleep, a peaceful smile on her face. For his part, Yuji held her tight to his body and just relived the wonderful night. He had never thought of himself as a sexual creature. He found certain things attractive, but he never thought about what happened after the teasing and sexual tension.

Paradise.

So much paradise, in fact, that for the first time in a long time, Yuji fell asleep with no reservations. No thoughts about Azami, or Miko, or Shoki, or his abilities. He was content with being in the moment.
--
--

In no time at all, the last two months of Naruto’s training passed. He was due to come home any time now. With him would come the nearly unstoppable power of Sage Jutsu. That was best case scenario. Worst case, he had just trained for months with no distractions and would still be more powerful.

Sakura had really finished her training as a medic. Her focus was more on teaching Shoki, and then trying to learn genjutsu from Yuji during her spare time. Kakashi had been helpful, too. There hadn’t been much in the way of team missions with Naruto gone, but Yuji had proven an able substitute when called upon. The only thing that bugged Sakura was Yuji’s insistence on calling her ‘Ojou-sama’ in the presence of Kakashi. She had told him it wouldn’t matter, but he insisted.

Shoki had probably been the busiest of them all. He was now almost 15 years old (A startling reminder to Yuji that he’d been serving Naruto and Sakura for almost two years). His eye had finished it’s evolution process. He was now the bearer, somewhat anticlimactically, of the Hihyougan (Critical Eye). This only aided his medical skills, as he could now all but see the cells moving throughout the body. Being that this eye was less documented than it’s cousins (The Sharingan and the Byakugan), there were new surprises, such as the ability to put a color to someone’s chakra, allowing him to instantly identify their chakra nature or natures.

Perhaps the most significant change for Shoki was getting a girlfriend. This one had been hard for Yuji at first, if he was honest with himself. The thought of Shoki and Asuna. There was a four-year age difference…which seemed more reasonable when Yuji realized that was roughly how far apart he and Sakura were in age. And Asuna had gone to Yuji and told him she was serious about Shoki. He trusted both of them, so why not?

Besides, Yuji himself was spoken for these days.

Shiroko was a normal girl. She didn’t have any hidden powers, or a secret past, or anything like that. She wasn’t a dominatrix (all the time, anyway). She worked a regular desk job as a secretary. Probably the oddest thing to Yuji was that he wasn’t yet completely in love with Shiroko. It wasn’t an instantaneous process as it was with Sakura and Azami. He reasoned that that was most likely because he didn’t want to get hurt again. If he was going to feel anything for her, he would when the time was right. For now, they enjoyed each other’s company as a fairly normal couple. Their relationship was in the opening stages of getting serious. The next step was meeting Shiroko’s parents. The two were planning to take a vacation in the Land of Iron, where Shiroko’s family’s dojo was located. Yuji was really excited about that. He definitely wished he could take the art up.

If I could do that shadow-teleport thing like Aza-
shoot.

He hadn’t thought about her that much these days. He hadn’t yet gotten a wedding invitation- assuming he was invited. It still really, really bothered him. She was still so sexy and desirable. And, damn it, after all that had happened, how did they not wind up together?!

I need to happy that I have someone. What is wrong with me? I’m so happy. Happier than I’ve ever been. I guess I didn’t expect it to stop hurting overnight, but still. Damn it.

His feeling of melancholy went away when he looked at Shiroko. They had a real relationship, and it really did give him a real purpose to live. They just clicked. Physically; mentally. She wasn’t a shinobi, but she was strong in her own right, and had started to work on some techniques with him. She was probably at a chunin level already; she absorbed things quickly. She didn’t care about rank, and had no real desire to take the chunin exams. But that was okay.
-

Shiroko really liked Yuji. All the same, she wondered if it was time to move on. She could see it sometimes- he still loved Azami. And of course, there was Sakura. These thoughts were natural. She knew Yuji was damaged goods before she slept with him. She knew he had considered himself married to that one girl, Miko. But he didn’t seem to love Shiroko any less for it. However, she just wasn’t positive that he was the right man for her. She didn’t know where this doubt came from, but shrugged it aside. It was still a young relationship, after all. No one fell in love instantly. At least, not normally.

Yuji walked in at that point. Upon seeing Shiroko, a smile crossed his face. It made Shiroko’s heart leap. How could he be so happy just seeing her? She immediately felt guilty for the thoughts she’d just had. She had intended for him to be a one-night stand; just a meaningless fling. But he’d been so damn charming…

They walked toward each other, arms open for an embrace.

The next second, Yuji was gone.

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