Chapter 68

Last Time:

"Are you kidding me? I've got a week and a half off. I'm going to enjoy it with my two girls." Naruto finished as he left with Samui and Yugito.

Now:

~ With Naruto and the Girls ~

It was in the dark clearing of forest that we find Yugito, Samui, and Naruto walking towards the bunker. There were large bulldozers and various construction supplies laying everywhere. "Why did I let you guys talk me into building a house?" Naruto asked in a slightly slurred tone. "Because I'm going to make sure my vision becomes a reality!" Samui shot back, her voice slightly slurred and the smell of mocha traveling through her breath. "What about you, Yugi-chan?" Naruto asked the girl using him as a walking stick."If you like pina coladas, and getting caught in the rain.." The girl was softly singing in a slurred tone, the smell of pina coladas wafting across her words.

"Looks like she's out of it.." Samui mused. Naruto smiled and picked Yugito up bridal style, making Samui slightly jealous. "I told you girls not to drink as much." Naruto muttered as he carried the girl the rest of the way. "Oh come on, it was a good date. Great food, nice ambience.." Samui trailed off as the cleared the construction site. "Enough liquor to take down an Irish army.." Naruto muttered. "Speaking of which, how can you still walk? You drank more than Yugito did!" Samui accused. "Of course. But I have an advanced metabolism that burns alcohol at an advanced rate." Naruto began as he handed Yugito to Samui and opened the grate to the bunker.

"You're kidding me.." Samui said as she stepped into the bunker and let Naruto close up for the evening. "Of course I'm not. Hell, I can guarantee you tomorrow, she'll wake up with a hangover, but I won't." Naruto finished with a wink and took Yugito off her hands, making Samui sigh. "Lucky little son of a.." Samui began, but was cut off as Natalya popped into the screen. "Where have you three been?" She demanded with a wary eye. "I took the girls out on a date. Come on, you can't expect us to enjoy our vacation without having a little fun.." Naruto said to Natalya.

"You guys have been on several dates this week. Even cap didn't take me out that much." Natalya said, half serious and half jealous. Naruto nodded at that. He had been taking the girls on various dates, out to lunch, dinner, breakfast, movies, and events. They had a lot of fun during these last few days. "Aww come on, I've been on nonstop missions for Kumo since I got to this place. It's the first break I've gotten in a while. Besides, you guys got a nice, long vacation after you managed to take down Loki." Naruto pointed out, remembering the story from when Tony told Naruto several of their exploits.

"We stopped an all out war! An army and an invasion to boot." Natalya said in an almost bragging tone. "So did we.." Samui shot back. "Fine, but next week, training hell begins!" Natalya exclaimed, almost evilly. "Yes mother." Samui replied as she, Naruto, and Yugito headed to the bedroom. Natalya sighed, but had a smile on her face. After they had first met, Samui had gotten to call her mother. 'Because sooner or later, I'm going to marry Naruto. So you might as well get used to it.' Was the response the future Romanov gave to her. She smirked and thought about this last week. While she may not have gone with on their dates, It was true that this last week, she had seen Naruto the happiest he had been in a long time.

He and the girls spent all of their time together. It was a relief for her to see them all getting along so well. When she first heard of Naruto having two girlfriends, she was unsure of whether to pound him or congratulate him. There was no guarantee the girls would get along or that one wouldn't try to steal the other from Naruto, but the two had managed to share him well. 'He's the luckiest man in the world..' She mused as she watched him turn everything off and go into his bedroom. She smiled and turned off her own computer screen.

~ With Naruto ~

Naruto lay on the bed, the dazed Yugito cuddling into a pillow while Samui used his chest as a pillow. These last few days had been magnificent, but he just couldn't shake the words of the masked man from his mind. Was it true? Who could be so powerful to see him as a nuisance, yet also as a valuable ally? And when he asked A for the leave of absence, would he get it? All of these thoughts swarmed in his head, keeping him awake. "Naruto-kun.." Samui said, making him snap out of his thoughts. He used his hand to move the hair covering her eyes. "Yea?" Naruto asked.

"You're thinking about it again, aren't you?" She asked, slightly worried about him. "About what?" Naruto asked, hoping the girl wasn't catching on. "About that man, and the leave of absence you're going to ask for soon.." Samui said, making Naruto look at her with shock. "How did you know that?"He asked. "Please, you can't hide anything from us.." A groggy voice said. He turned to see Yugito cuddle into his arm. "And you sometimes mumble in your sleep.." She finished, making him sweat drop. "I'm sorry guys, I didn't want to bother you." Naruto admitted. "Well, we've actually been discussing it since the meeting.." Samui admitted.

"We?" Naruto asked as he turned to Yugito. "Yes. While she may be out of it, we did come to an agreement." Samui admitted. "I'm listening.." Naruto said as he sat up. "Well, we agreed that if A did give you the leave, we would support you 100%. As long as you remember that you're ours only." Samui said. "And if I don't get the leave?" Naruto asked. "Then we'll get you the leave. Remember, there are millions of accidents that can happen in our line of duty. If you were to disappear in a tragic accident, we could back up your claim." Samui finished. Naruto quickly grabbed her and pulled her up so they were seeing face to face.

"You do realize that is treason, right?" Naruto asked, actually worried for her and slightly surprised. He knew the girls loved him, but he never imagined in his wildest dreams they'd be actually willing risk so much for him. "We realize it, but we also realize if this creep is indeed telling the truth, you're going to be the one to take him down. We'd rather you leave for a while and tell a little white lie than to have to bury you.." Samui said, making Naruto wrap his arms around her. "I'm not going to go anywhere Samui-chan. I promise." Naruto whispered in her ear, making her smile.

"You better not, because Yugito would go through all the trouble of getting you back just to kill you herself." Samui said jokingly, making Naruto smile. He turned to see Yugito, a peaceful, flushed expression on her face. "She really loves you, you know. We both do." Samui said, making him smile wider as he leaned down and kissed Yugito's forehead. He then turned to Samui and kissed her passionately, pulling her over him. "I love the both of you too." He said as he gently pushed his forehead over hers, making her smile. "For now, let's just.. Relax. What will happen will happen, but there's no sense in worrying about it until then." Naruto said as he lay down.

Samui nodded as she lay down on top of him. Naruto smiled as he held her close to him and pulled Yugito closely. This last week of his life had been amazing, and he never wanted it to end. Tomorrow, however, he would have to speak to the Raikage about this matter with the masked man.

~ The Next Day – Pleasant View Diner ~

Naruto smiled as he took a bite of his pancakes and a sip of his coffee. After they had woken up this morning, they had sat down at the table and talked through the whole mess. Yugito had already agreed to Samui's plan, hell she came up with most of it. So after a few more moments of talking it through, they decided to get dressed and go see A. 'Ah, I missed my uniform..' Naruto mused as he adjusted his vest. "Are you really that happy to be in those clothes, Naruto-kun?" Samui asked. She had been watching him fiddle with it ever so often. "Kind of. I like civilian clothing fine, but in this I'm perfectly comfortable." Naruto admitted.

"Do you guys have to be so loud?" A voice besides them complained. Yugito was swallowing aspirin for her headache. "You shouldn't have had so many pina coladas then." Samui said as she took another bite of pancakes. "Yea, tell me about it.." Yugito replied as she took another sip of her orange juice. Naruto smiled and took another bite of his sausages. "You girls ready to go?" Naruto asked as he pulled his wallet out. "Hang on.." Yugito said as she stomached the rest of her orange juice and then looked up. "Alright, let's go." Samui said as she finished sipping the last of her green tea.

Naruto left a few bills at the table and got up. Yugito and Samui quickly followed after him.

~ A's Office ~

Naruto stepped into the office and saw A sitting at his desk. "Naruto, you wanted to see me?" A asked. "Yes, I need to ask you for something." Naruto replied as he stepped inside and got comfortable. Samui and Yugito took seats next to him, but did not prop their feet up like he did. "How can I help you?" A asked as he crossed his arms. "I want a leave of absence for the period of three years." Naruto said in a serious tone, making A's jaw drop. "Why would you need that much time off the Shinobi corps?" A asked, suspicious of his intentions. Naruto sighed and looked at A.

'Should I tell him about it?' Naruto wondered as he looked at A. "I need to leave on a training trip." Naruto simply said. It was true enough, at least for their intentions. "Why a training trip, Naruto-san? You're very strong as is.." A asked. Naruto sighed again. He told him of his little encounter with Tobi. Of the storm that he was warned of and that it was merely a precaution, should the madman's rants actually be something more.. "He offered me a spot at his side, but I turned it down. Now, I will be the first to admit. I'm good, but there are millions of things I could do to get better." Naruto argued.

"I need to work on the skills I have and expand them." Naruto finished. "Naruto-san, I understand this man shook you up. But you have to consider he may have just been all talk." A tried to reason. "Doesn't matter. I still need to work with chakra, I still have to expand. There are millions of things I could be doing, but I don't have time for them because of the mission load I've had." Naruto said. A was about to respond until Mabui burst through the door, effectively cutting him off. "A, we've got big problems!" She yelled as she slammed a small piece of paper on the desk.

'Judging by the size, I'd guess a message from a pigeon..' Naruto mused, but decided to see where it went. If Mabui had actually called him by his first name instead of his title, it was a serious problem. She always loved to tease the man. A picked up the paper and read it under his breath. As soon as he was done, he began rifling through folders on his desk. "You get any of that, Yugi-chan?" Naruto asked her, almost as soft as a whisper. "Just a few scattered words. Miscategorized, trouble, and back up." Yugito whispered back. A suddenly turned to them. "Naruto, I know you're on vacation, but I have to ask a favor.." A began.

"Let me guess, you want me and my team to go and back up whoever it was that sent that message?" Naruto asked, getting a nod from A. "I'll do it, but on two conditions.." Naruto began. "I want you to say yes to my leave of absence and I want you to foot the bill for my new house." Naruto quickly said before A could begin. A looked at him with a steely gaze. "Fine, the House is on me. As for your leave of absence, we can discuss it when you get back." A said. "Perfect, where are we going?" Naruto asked. "I sent Darui on a simple escort mission, but turns out, it's a lot more. He'll meet you at the border of the land of snow." A informed him.

"Get your supplies and move out as soon as possible. Darui will need the help." A finished. Naruto nodded and left, leaving A to his thoughts. 'Perfect. Now what am I supposed to do?' A mused as he thought to the three year absence Naruto had just requested.

A/N: And thus, the land of snow arc begins!