He got home with no further incident, and he was hoping to keep it that way as he did his best to crawl up to his balcony window via the thick ivy on the walls. The last thing he wanted was for his mother to see his face as it was right now- never mind his limping leg, which was presently hurting very much with the act of climbing and straining. As long as he could avoid a confrontation with his overprotective mother he'd be happy. Jiraiya would be preferable, because Naruto was sure the man would laugh at his getting into a fight -a skirmish, probably ask how he did; as long as he didn't mention it had been with a dominant. That would be bad, for both himself and the familiar stranger.

He flopped without any sense of grace onto the balcony, letting out a grunt of pain as he rolled to pick himself up. He would be glad to get into his nice silk nightgown and pass out on his plush bed. Worry about covering up his wounds with makeup in the morning- and somehow not let his family onto his escapade. Fool Kakashi somehow. All of that to wait until the morning because the drama of the day had already toasted his brain.

Thus that is exactly what the worn blond did. Dawned his peach coloured long nightgown and flopped into his mattress, not bothing to get under the sheets, take off his shoes or even close the glass balcony doors. He was out into the world of dreams within a moment, and they floated restfully in his head warm and comfortable.

::::*::::

It was a warm summer day and he enjoyed such days, especially today. For this was a special one, and he was sitting patiently -impatiently- before the sand garden at the hall in front of his house. Trying his hardest to focus on the sun through the trees, sipping on his matcha tea, and not peer around the corner down the road to see if he could catch a glance of horses coming over the horizon. Even though he knew he would certainly hear their approach before he could see them. The war had drawn to a close and soilders were all returning home to be honourted, mourned and welcomed into embraces.

His clay cup spilled green over his hand, onto the underside of his pale blue houmonji, he pouted at the stain it left, but did not bother to move and change. He wouldn't chance missing the samurai's return. Instead, improperly, he dabbed away the hot tea with his sleeve and hoped no one would see his beheaviour. Neither his father nor mother were home as it were, they had gone to talk business with the local matchmaker -a fact which Naruto avoided thinking about, he knew the reason all too well.-

Then there came the clicking of hooves, and he almost flung himself forward, barely managing restraint, his hair pulling at his skelp from his initial lurch forward. He had asked his handmaiden to pile it higher today, his excuse had been to look his best in welcoming the brave soldiers, though by the sly smile she had gifted him with he would wager she knew the truth. It was in a large bun at the back, with a smaller one below it, separated by a delicate paper sakura coloured fan inbetween, to match the images of petals sweeping in the breeze on his houmonji. He wanted to look his best, not merely for the soldiers however, and though she was discrete in her knowledge -for she had never told his parents- Ten-Ten knew his full reasoning.

He stood up, more careful this time and approached the front of his house, though he appeared perfectly controlled in doing so his feet were restraining from moving into a fast pace. Everyone was doing the same as he, leaving their homes to watch the procession's return, he could not appear to be more eager then any other, there was already suspicion upon him for how often he'd rejected the matchmaker's bids for him. Too many suitors he'd rejected and his parents were quite dour about it, for him to rush to the side of the samurai would shead a light on his reasoning- already there had been romours before the war had broken out about a sordid affair. Naruto had to make sure such gossip was not fed... no matter how true it were.

Their armour clinked together as their horses maintained a steady pace. Each one's helms were removed and hooked on the side of their saddles, All of the warriors had desolate expressions, worn and too old for their skin, frowns which dipped too far and eyes that were vacant of true emotion. A stern set on their features which made Naruto frown himself, worry in his gut and a sympathy in his eyes as he stared at each passerby, hoping with a little spark in his heart that he was wrong, and not all the samurai wore such somber express.

It was not their final stop, Naruto knew, only those who lived in the town would be remaining, everyone else were simply passing through in their journey to the capital. Nevertheless, they would stop for the night to rest their heads, horses, and minds. Naruto's gaze searched, stomach twining together in lurches of fear, uncertainty, dread and too many emotions. His breath held in his chest as his eyes failed to catch sight of-

Then there he was, in the forth row, only one woman sitting separating them, and the joy in his felt burst forth in a great grin which he had no hope to stop. The party had stopped as the leader of the village came forward to welcome them, and invite them to stay the night- telling them where to keep their horses and all. It was but a fuzz in the young submissive's ears/ Hearing turned off to welcome a sharper sight, and he watched the wind brush up straight black hair in a large sweep of its bellow, the stoic expression which he knew so well not shifting from the gust. The armour, Naruto couldn't help but think, as he had when he'd first seen it dawned, looked regal upon him. The deep crimson plating now chipped in places, scratches revealing the steel underneath the paint, but it was whole as was its bearer.

::::*::::

"Uppy up Naruto!" Cerulean eyes snapped open, a gasp leaving pink lips as he shot up. His bed not comfortable in that moment, for what felt like silk to his mind, his dream drifted in his head. So very real he had thought he was there in waking for a single moment. Waiting for the soldiers to arrive, the hot tea cooling, and drying on his sleeve, the pull of his long- high piled hair. He touched at his head, his wrist, nigh expecting to feel those same things there in the waking world. Panting as his thoughts landed on the dominant he had been staring at in the dream, the same one he had met in the street. Minor differences so minut they were hardly a factor- his hair had been swept up in the breeze- there had been no gel spiking it up in the back. He had been in metal armor and black samurai clothing underneath- not leather and spikes. Ancient and beautiful outfits he had not seen outside of textbooks, he had worn one, the other man... Sasuke had worn them, and the image had been so clear.

He shook his head. It did little good but it brought his mind to the present, and he could focus better on the banging on the door- his mother's loud voice beckoning him to breakfast. Meaning Kakashi had already tried and if he didn't hurry up he would be dragged into the dining room. He scrambled up with his usual morning grace, falling off his bed in a heep and flustering towards his ensuite bathroom.His mind still half on his dream, who he had been in it, the houmaji wore; kimonos were rarely worn in the Kindom of Fire anymore- not even the royal family kept up the tradition. He himself hardly knew anything about the garment, though the curiosity of history had existed when he'd been a child. He'd been fascinated by the illustrations and the ancient displays in the museum, the elgence of the garments. The swords and armour of the samurai, all of it was so obscure to the lives they lead now.

He took his shower quickly a jump in and a jump out. His mind lingering once more when he was trying to keep himself focused on the modern problems he had. He put om his makeup a might more delicately then he normally would, the skin sensitive and he had to be cautious not to let his black eye be seen- though he couldn't cover the swelling entirely it was enough to simply look like he walked into the door or something aliked to that- he was clumsy it was believable. He choose a simple eyeshadow and liner, the last thing he wanted was to draw attention to the area. Instead, he painted on a smokey brown lipstick lining it with a slightly darker shade and painting it with lip gloss. Even going so far as to skulp his cheekbones with brown and beige tonestto make them look more prominent and match the swelling around his eye just enough to look intentional.Hopefully such a look would keep his over-observent family from noticing.

He slipped on a long white dress which clung to his chest but flareout below his waste and ended at his ankles, simple spaghetti straps and a broad v-shaped neckline which hardly dipped low. It was modest as the dress had no detailing, but it was showful enough to display his status respectfully. He chose simple tear drop silver and diamond earrings to accompany the look, and nodded to himself as he put on simple beige kitty heels.

The look would appease the critical eyes of his guardians and it would work for whatever function he had to attend today. He'd forgotten what it was even though he'd been told multiple times.

He exited his room with a bit more of a somber attitude then he normally would, A small frown shaping his face and his eyes staring at the floor as he walked towards the dining room.

"Oh Naruto!" His neck snapped up at the voice, seeing the smiling face of his lady-in waiting. Shee rushed forward to hug him- unprofessional but neither one of them had heeded such rules when it came to their friendship. He hadn't seen the woman in several months and he held her tight in turn, he had missed her terribly. She had gone to a type of training camp for young servants. It was a quite posh program and it had been his idea that she go, but he had still whined the entire time she had packed her bags, begging her not to go. He had few real friends in consequence to his status, at least those he could consider as such without worrying for a type of betrayal or scheme against him.

He felt himself tearing up at her simple return, but held himself together through a margin of dignity.

Tenten pulled away with a sweet smile on her face. Her hair so expertly held in two buns at the top of her head, one on each side, though now there were two tick braids incircling their spherical shapes. It was its same gorgeous mocha brown and her eyes the colour of chestnut, combined with a peaches and cream skin tone. As always she looked wonderful, pristine, not a hair out of place.The very image of an immaculate submissive, she was very much his mentor in proper elgtence- how a sub was supposed to appear in public, it has taken him a few years to understand that it was more then a decision so much as a necessity to appear your best. Tenten had been brought in as a lady-in-waiting for him when she had only been twelve and he had been elven, Having only just been found by his paternal grandfather after having been missing -and suspected dead or kidnapped- for seven years.

Tenten had already been reasonably trained by then to care for his needs, but for the first couple years she had mainly been his playmate and he -and even she to an extent- had been taken care of by his adoptive mother Iruka. It would have been inappropriate for Kakashi, their butler, to see to his needs as a submissive not yet of age after all.

"Tenten! I was starting to think you'd gone on the run!" He grinned, his bad mood all but gone.

"Never." She hugged him once more, before they parted and both traveled downstairs. Entering the dining room with a grin he smiled to his mother and grandfather at the front of the table, the beautiful woman trailing just behind him respectfully.

"About time you got up!" Iruka spoke with a bite in his tone, and a lingering exasperation that could be felt. Already feeling sheepish he gave no excuse as he blushed and hastened to his seat across Iruka and beside his grandpa.

"Oh Tenten did you only just get back?" Jiraiya smiled at her in his usual bright demeanour and Naruto guessed she must have gotten back late last night in order for him not to know of her return, otherwise Kakashi would have informed him.

"Last night Your Royal Highness, Mr. Hatake was already asleep when I arrived so I asked one of the guards to let me in." She bowed respectfully as she spoke her hands folded neatly in front of her as traditional posture for all submissives not within a formal function -otherwise one was to curtsy. Rife's and the very odd dominant, whom were invited to such things - as his grandfather, bowed at both formal and casual functions.

"Oh, it must have been quite late for him not to be up. No matter my dear, you must be hungry, come eat with us!" She blinked in surprise, it was actually quite inappropriate for severents to eat alongside their master's they were expected to dine on their own time. Rarely were they ever invited to sit at the same table, but Naruto knew that Jiraiya while respectful of tradition in public, wasn't as stringent with his staff as the various nobility and royals he dealt with thought him to be. Not refusing the offer -for that would be rude- she sat herself rather timidly next to Naruto at the table. Her posture perfect and she waited quite patiently for the family to choose their rolls, buns, and breakfast for the morning. When Kakashi came in and poured some black tea, she smiled nervously at him, and received a warm smile in return, no jealousy shown.

"How was the camp Tenten?" Spoke Iruka before biting into a fresh roll, a kindly smile in place. Naruto stared at his hair, it was held at the nape of his neck in a bun and it was odd to see it outside of its usual causal ponytail. At least while in privacy. If you asked Naruto, his mother was the most beautiful in the room, and always was, his skin was a rtich chestnut which glowed when paired to his deep brown eyes and straight chocolate toned hair, he too had a large scar on his face, and perhaps that had caught Naruto's attention at such a young age. It was a large slash across the bridge of his nose, seemingly made from a knife, and the blond often wondered when he saw it who could harm his kindly mother in that way, he often cursed them in his mind too.

After Naruto had been found, Jiraiya had happily welcomed Iruka into the family after learning that the kindly submissive had essentially rescued his grandson. Thus, officially his mother bore the Namikaze family name after that, though he continued to use Umino -his birth name, at unofficial functions; when he needed to attend special events and formal occasions he bore his granted name with pride, after all the Namikaze name was not one to take lightly.

"Informative, I learned a bit of everything I think;.from dishware, to politics, to history. I don't think the proctors left any stone unturned." She was being more well mannered then she usually was arround him, which was normal, she always was when in his grandfather's presence. But that type of professional courtesy didn't really suit her, at least thats how Naruto saw it. It was decorum however, and he couldn't speak up against it without reprimand. It wasn't as if she was afraid of the man, merely that she had to hold herself respectfully to her position without falter. Naruto understood that, even if he didn't like it.

She sipped at her tea as Iruka huffed with a good natured smile in both their direction, a little sly curve to his lips. "Well I do hope you'll teach Naruto some of it. With you back around maybe he won't keep sneaking off from events." The blue eyes beauty pouted at that, irate that his mother mentioned it as both a reprimand and in informating Tenten- because she never would have let him get away from such things had she been here the past months. Bellying this she shot him a look, not a glare or annoyence colouring it but more of a 'really now?' With a sassy, inaudible, tone and a promise of stern guidelines to insure it didn't happen again later.He scratched at the back of his neck and she elbowed him discreetly for the action it was improper table manners.

He sighed, resigning himself to the fact he would be under her close watch again. Moreso happy that she was back however.

Suspicion came to him fastly as he continued to eat, the duration of the meal Iruka and Jiraiya kept glazing at each other with small little nervous flicks of the eyes. Those which piqued his attention, especially as Kakashi walked into the room once more after a maid had summoned him, bending to Jiraiya's ear and speaking in hushed tones. The serious expression which had fluttered onto the older man's face with whatever was said. Official business no doubt, that would not be concerning, if not for the fact that much official business his grandfather had to trifle with these days involved Naruto in some manner. A fact which the blond was not ignorant of, and it drove his gaze to narrow ever so slightly towards the quiet conversation, watching the lips mumble and trying to read their words. Alas the butler wore his mask and Jiraiya was making certain to keep his lip movement minimal.

Finally he rose, dabbing his mouth with the napkin on his lap. "Do excuse me you lot, duty calls." Iruka's sharp attention to those words was impossible to miss as was his near call out to the man before he thought better of it and closed his mouth and relaxed back into his seat. It was then that Natuto choose to get up as well, a smile on his lips and a heavy feeling in his gut as Jiraiya left the room and he himself circled around the end of the table, giving his mother a kiss on the cheek as he left through the opposite door. Tenten close behind, with hastened footsteps.

"Naruto? Whats wrong?" His mind filtered back to what Sakura implied back at the party, and his mouth curved into a frown. With the drama from the mysterious stranger he had all but forgotten his current position and situation. He couldn't simply be fretting about one familiar stranger he had far more important matters to attend to.

Sakura Haruno was making a move and he would have to do the same in order to secure his rank. At the moment she was in the lead and their race had only just begun. He knew her methods to acquiring power, respect and recognition, charm in itself was a perfectly fine technique at least in the beginning- but he did not want to base his entire plan upon it as he suspected she would. Sakura's main plan, he knew, was to garner respect for her delicate situation and improve her standing which would be best achieved by marrying into a respectable noble family. However, she would not be so blind as to just see the surface level of that, she would be looking for influence, a player in the game who could hold sway over others.

He did not want to approach this in the same way she would. He could use his charm in a different way.

"Tenten, could you extend an invitation to Neji of the Hyuga family please?" They were nearing the garden and his mind was whirling even as his friend behind stuttered at his request. "Invite him to tea this afternoon in our gardens." He wasn't surprised by his lady in waiting's confusion, Neji was a low ranking member of the noble family of Hyuga, cousin of -the recently dubbed- Marchioness Hinata Hyuga and Lady Hanabi Hyuga the daughters of the Duke of Greenleaf Hiashi Hyuga. Neji was hardly respected as a member of their family however, and it was widely believed amongst 'respectable society' that he was only allowed to retain his title through the generosity of his Uncle after the tragic loss of his younger brother -Neji's father.- Despite the fact that his nephew was a dominant. To invite the dom man made little sense and should he be found out to have extended an invitation, would be seen as inappropriate. It wouldn't slander Naruto's position so to speak, he was too high ranking for that, but it would not be looked on positively by the peerage.

He glanced back at the baffled woman behind him. A smile on his lips, not expecting her to understand as of yet. She nodded and went to go make the call, he knew she would do her best to protect his reputation while doing so, thus he had little concern for the arrangement. He had a comprehension of what it was he wanted to say, to ask of the man, but it was indeed delicate and it would require all of the diplomacy his tutor's had nattempted to drill into his head.

He grabbed his watering can from the shed at the back of the gardens and went to go adhere to the flowers, it would sooth his mind a might to be with the flora for a bit and relish in nature. Perhaps after his meeting with Neji he would bask in the simplisty of an afternoon ride through the landscape. He could do with a good run.