chapter 4

[Bathhouse Changing Room]

"Kushina! It's great to see you back!" greeted Mikoto. She had yet to enter the bathing area, still clad in dark gray bra and panties, her own kimono folded and placed on a bench before storing it in the locker.

"Yeah, I've missed the experience myself…" She then took notice of the pointed glance towards Naruto, "Sorry, I couldn't just leave him at home. I was hoping the other girls wouldn't mind?"

"No, it's fine; there are a few others that actually joined in while you were gone, however…" Kushina sighed at the unexpected flaw to her plan, "But don't worry, they're kunoichi and loyal. they wouldn't gossip or anything like that about the Hokage's son."

After a moment's conflict between her son's secrecy and her trust in Mikoto's words, Kushina finally relented and held out Naruto to her friend, "Hold him for me, would you?"

With a quick nod, she transferred her hold on her son and began stripping off her clothes. Soon she was naked and pulling the complimentary towel out of the locker. She slung it over her shoulder, taking a moment to glance in the mirror. She'd recovered her form well in the five years since she'd given birth to Naruto. Her breasts were still full and ripe; just slightly larger as a leftover sign of childbirth, surprisingly lacking even an inch of sag after Naruto had suckled her milk dry. Yet the pudge that was present before had become the taut, toned stomach she'd been familiar with before conception. Beneath that, she frowned slightly, running a finger absently along the crimson hair that crowned her sex. I should probably shave that soon, she thought.

Turning to Mikoto and smiling, she was about to ask for Naruto back before her mouth dropped in near horror.

"N-No! Naruto! No!" She hastily pulled the excitable boy away from Mikoto's boy had pulled down the bra enough to expose the pink nipple of the black haired beauty.

"Aww, I want Miko-obachan's milk…" mumbled Naruto in discontent. Kushina flushed even at the slight chuckle coming from her friend.

"You do know that they stop breastfeeding at two years old correct?" she asked teasingly, shaking her head at her friend, "Kushina you poor thing, didn't you heed my advice when you were still pregnant?"

Kushina giggled nervously, with a touch of embarrassed hysteria. "I-I can't help it! H-he makes this face, and it's hard for me to resist, b-but I'm getting better; it's only once every two weeks now!"

The Uchiha Matriarch eyes widened briefly in shock, but she hid it behind an amused smile. "Oh my… so little Naruto-kun is quite a hungry boy, aren't you?" she teased, rubbing her hand against the boy's cheek and making him sigh happily, "Well, so long as you're okay with it, I won't complain, Kushi-chan. Be careful, though; Mako-san might not be so happy if your child gets more than her~"

"You-" Kushina bristled, but her reddening face betrayed the action as being from embarrassment, rather than anger. "Hah~ seems like having two kids hasn't made your jokes any more decent-ttebane!"

"So can I have your milk Miko-obachan? Pleeeeeassse?" Naruto pleaded like a man dying of thirst. Mikoto was struck by how those familiar puppy-dog eyes, which she had endured from her own children. For some reason, it was suddenly so much more effective on the face of the cute young boy. Was this some kind of lost charm that males had possessed?

Unbidden, she felt a tiny pit of worry in her stomach and a urge to give into the little boy's demands, "S-sorry Naru-chan, t-this milk is for Sasami-chan, and you can't take her milk away from her, she'll be sad."

Naruto frowned at that, but nodded reluctantly, "Okay…"

Mikoto sighed internally with relief.

…Before looking up to see Kushina smirking at her, albeit still pink in the face.

"Not as easy as it looks, dattebane?"

Mikoto gave her a dull look, which nonetheless carried a spark of sympathy. "Alright, fair enough. Your little boy is a handful."

"Aa. Shoulda believed me when I said so-ttebane. Oh, and..." she looked up to see Kushina give her another smirk, this one of foxlike proportions, "Sasami-chan's giving you the same trouble, huh?"

The ravenette woman gave a long-suffering sigh, which told her friend everything she needed to know. Oh well. Something to talk about for a few months...

"... Alright, I'll ask Sasa-tan to share next time!" Both mothers eyes widened in alarm, and spent the next five minutes telling Naruto to NOT do exactly that. It didn't help that they felt awkward and kept using vague reasons why.

Eventually they managed to strip down completely along with Naruto to get into the bath, where several figures were already getting relaxed in the water.

The bath was open to the sky, which on this day was a beautiful, cloudless sapphire. Within the high wooden fence, the entire bathing area was made of a dark, uneven but smooth stone. The stone was warmed pleasantly by the large, steaming bath.

"Ara! Kushina-san, is that you?" greeted an elegant, well-endowed woman with dark purple hair and pale eyes, "It's been quite a long time, hasn't it?"

"Yo, Hara," said Kushina, grinning at the Hyūga Matriarch, "Yeah, I decided I was feeling lonely and decided to come around for old time's sake."

A brunette woman with spiky hair and red, triangular tattoos on her cheeks spoke up. "Aa, but not alone I see. You're pretty brave, bringing the pup with you after all the trouble you an' Hokage-sama went to hiding him."

Kushina shrugged, not breaking eye contact with Inuzuka Tsume. "Well? Mako-chan is busy at work, so it's not like I could leave him behind, y'know?"

"...Him?" A slender, silver-haired woman who'd been lying down with a towel over her face suddenly sat up to stare at Naruto with a single dark eye, causing him to jump. "That's...Mako-sensei's child, then? Except, you did say 'he,' right? Does that mean…"