Chapter 18: Chapter 18
Naruto glanced at the girl in the kitchen, dressed in an apron as she happily cooked the dish she was best at, and he let out a quiet sigh. Deciding he needed some time to himself, he focused his mind and slipped into his mindscape.
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Mindscape
"Hello, Kurama," Naruto greeted, finding the giant fox resting in the middle of the vast, sunny fields he had created, where the warm sun bathed Kurama in light.
"Naruto," Kurama responded, acknowledging him with one eye open.
"Need something?" Kurama asked, watching Naruto walk over and lie down beside him.
"No, just thinking," Naruto replied in a tired tone, his voice heavy with weariness.
"Hmm," Kurama hummed, closing his eyes again, already used to Naruto coming to the mindscape when he needed time away from the outside world.
After a while, Naruto left the mindscape, returning to find the girl standing there, holding a plate with an omelet in her hand, staring at him.
"What are you doing?" Naruto asked, noticing her watching him intently.
The girl, as if in a trance, blushed and quickly turned her face to hide it. "It's just that, master… you look cute when you sleep," she said meekly.
Naruto blinked, a bit taken aback by the unexpected compliment, especially coming from a girl he had only recently enslaved for his own needs.
He sighed, dismissing the remark. "I'm hungry. Give me the food." He took the omelet and began eating as she eagerly watched him, clearly hoping for praise.
"How is it, master?" she asked, sitting on the floor with an expectant look.
"It's good," he admitted, "but try to learn how to make something besides eggs. Here, take this book. It has recipes for every dish popular in the Land of Fire." He handed her a limited-edition recipe book.
"Thank you, master," she replied, taking the book and immediately diving into its pages as Naruto continued eating.
"Also, I'd like something with more protein and vitamins next time—maybe steak or chicken with rice. And for dessert, a slice of cake would be good. Don't make a mess of the kitchen, and if you need ingredients, there are plenty in the fridge and freezer. Understood?"
"Yes, master," she said with determination.
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Midnight
Naruto was sleeping when he felt a familiar chakra signature.
"Hello, Sasuke," he said, turning just as a wooden practice sword sank into the pillow where his head had been resting moments before. Sasuke stood there, looking at him with a slight hint of anger.
"Why did you leave the Academy, Naruto?" she asked, sounding on edge.
"I didn't leave; I graduated," Naruto replied calmly, lying on his back as Sasuke sat on his stomach with her wooden sword pointed at him.
"Yeah, I heard how you went to the Hokage and showed off to get an early graduation. D-rank devotee," she added with a smirk, clearly enjoying the way Naruto cringed at the nickname.
"I hate that name," he muttered in annoyance.
"Well, that's what happens when you complete hundreds of D-rank missions in a single day. Let me guess—you used shadow clones?" she teased, still sitting on him, her head tilted as she continued her mocking.
"Jealous?" he asked, his own smirk forming as he noticed her irritation.
"It's just… I don't get how you can create so many clones. When I make even one, it takes a huge toll on my chakra."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Can you get off me? This is getting awkward," Naruto replied, feeling increasingly uncomfortable as Sasuke shifted, unknowingly pressing down in a way that stirred an involuntary reaction in him.
Confused, Sasuke complied, slowly moving off him.
"Thanks," Naruto mumbled, turning onto his side to try and go back to sleep.
"Hey, don't go back to sleep! Let's spar!" Sasuke demanded, grabbing his blanket and yanking it away.
With the blanket gone, she suddenly saw Naruto's toned body—his muscular arms, chest, and fully defined abs—and between his legs, something she wasn't expecting, about as long as her forearm.
Naruto sighed, quickly covering himself. "Thanks a lot, Sasuke."
Sasuke stood frozen, her gaze drawn to the area he was trying to hide.
"What is that… between your legs? It's… weird. I don't have that," she said, approaching him with innocent curiosity.
Naruto sighed. Sasuke, doted on by her family, knew very little about the differences between genders beyond her mother having "boobs" and her father not.
"Can you not?" Naruto asked, pulling on some shorts before returning to find her still touching her lower abdomen over her clothes.
"What are you doing?" he asked, exasperated.
"Nothing. I'm just… curious about what you had. Doesn't everyone have two… holes?" she asked, tilting her head with a confused look.
Naruto sighed again, sitting beside her and deciding to give her a thorough explanation of the "birds and the bees," hoping to clarify everything in one go.