The Lost Heir

17

Several years later... (like seriously 4-5)

The Leaf Ninja all stared up at the palace on the cliffside. They had arrived in the land of whirlpools. Beside them, were the Sand Village representatives, the Kazekage Gaara and his brother, Kankuro. Temari had elected to stay behind, for obvious reasons. The Leaf Ninja themselves were Tsunade, the Hokage, Hiruzen, her sensei and the previous Hokage, and Team 7, 8 and 10. They were here for the annual alliance meeting between the two villages, and Uzushiogakure. The Uzumaki clan were small, even with almost all of the in-hiding Uzumaki returned, and it was more of an economic village than a ninja village. Peace was what the Prince aspired and it was what he'd ensured in his village. He was of age now, and with his budding coronation, they all felt it was right that they change the location of the meetings from Konoha to the Whirlpool Village.

Sakura had grown taller and kept her feminine grace and beauty. She kept her pink hair short, and on her forehead was a small diamond seal, a testimony to her training under Lady Tsunade. Sasuke had also grown taller, although his eyes showed undisguised hatred, no one ever knew who it was for. Sasuke was a mystery, a loose cannon, but he still followed orders from his superiors. Well, as far as they could see anyway. Sai was the replacement member of Team 7. The former emotionless ROOT ninja had taken on the challenge of learning emotions. And succeeded. Although the only person who could properly read his emotions was Ino, who was secretly his love interest. Ino herself had grown tall and beautiful, her gracefulness unmatched by any kunoichi in the Lead Village. She was the love interest of Sai, which she wasn't even aware of, although Sai was also her love interest. It was weird that they both couldn't figure it out, but Sakura always found it funny whenever they hung out. Shikamaru, unsurprisingly, had changed the least. Yes he had grown tall, but he still retained the laziness he had, and it only served to infuriate his team members and friends at times. Choji had matured a lot, being more reserved, although still always eating, he was much more quiet and analytical, a habit he'd taken up from Shikamaru.

Finally, Shino, Kiba and Hinata had changed the most. Shino had become more vocal, voicing his opinions more often, much to the encouragement of his team members. Hinata had grown far more powerful, taking the position of clan heir. Even Hiashi admitted that Hinata was almost on par with him. Kiba had gotten quiet. He didn't speak. He didn't speak at all. He only ever conversed with Akamaru, or when they were on missions. After the missions, he'd retreat into the forest where no one would be able to find him. He kept his hood on all the time, his eyes barely visible in the dark shadows cast by his hood.

Kakashi sighed. He looked at Kurenai and Asuma, who were both deep in thought. The difference one person could make... it only took one person to change more than half of the ninja currently present on this mission. Lady Tsunade never drank alcohol. She forbade herself from drinking after she'd found out that Naruto had left. Knowing that he'd left out of heartbreak, she didn't bother to drown her sorrows with alcohol. Because at least Naruto had done something productive. And drinking alcohol wasn't productive. Therefore, Tsunade stopped drinking.

They all stood passively and watched as two guards walked up to the gate. Forming a rat hand seal and a tiger hand seal simultaneously, the watching party observed a ripple in the barrier surrounding the village. The gates were opened and they walked through. Kiba felt his heart tighten in his chest. She was here. He could sense it. They were escorted down the long winding path from the outer gate towards the inner gate. At the inner gate, the same process was repeated, and when the tall gates embedded in the wall were opened, they were greeted with loud sounds and visuals. The market was in full swing. Being led past the market, they found themselves walking up a long winding road towards the lone palace on the cliff side.

"Welcome." One of the guards said. He led the group down the main entrance hall, before gesturing to two of the guards standing by the closed double doors to open them. They opened the two doors and the party walked in to a giant hall, with a throne at the very end. There was a banquet table set up, and they could see the Prince sitting cross legged on the throne. Behind him stood Aunt Mito, and to her side, stood Karin. She was even more beautiful than she'd been back then. Her red hair, now very long, but straight. Her full figure, tall, elegant, as befitting a lady. Even her attire. A simple, yet beautiful white dress. Kiba's heart stopped. She was even more beautiful than the last time he had seen her.
Kakashi took a step forward to address the Prince, but one of the guards held his hand out.
"Please be quiet. He is meditating. He will be done shortly." He whispered and Kakashi nodded. They all watched with intrigue as the Prince finally opened his eyes. He raised his hand and with a quick flick, the doors closed. Everyone in the party jumped. The Prince stood up.
"Welcome, Lady Tsunade, Lord Gaara, please take a seat." Naruto said as he pointed at two chairs right next to his own banquet chair. They were much more regal and decorated than the normal ones, although, Karin and Lady Mito had already moved to their ones which were also decorated in such a manner.
"May I ask, Naruto, what was that?" Tsunade asked. She wasn't one for formalities, but Naruto was her grand-nephew so she could forgo the formalities.
"That's a new clan secret." Naruto replied. He didn't say anything else about it because everyone was secretly trying to listen in. Tsunade nodded. She'd find out later, considering she was a relative of his. They ate dinner like normal, although the tension was so thick one could cut it easily with a blunt kunai. Everyone observed Naruto. They were fascinated by the golden markings surrounding his eyes. Naruto wiped his mouth as he finished his dinner. Standing up abruptly, he left the table, everyone from the Uzumaki clan also stood up as well. The guests stood up after a moment, unsure of what was going on. It was only until Naruto left that they all sat down.
"It's tradition here that when the Uzumaki ruler finishes, everyone stands up while he leaves." Karin said, looking at each member of the party, her eyes lingering longer when she looked at Kiba.

The rest of the dinner went by without a hitch, although Kiba couldn't keep his eyes off of Karin. When Karin finished, she got up and headed around the table, greeting all the guests and having a small chat with them. When she got to Kiba, she greeted him, and complimented his appearance, much like with the others. As she turned to go, something dropped out of her sleeves and into Kiba's lap. It was a piece of fabric. Before Kiba could say anything, she was already gone.

After exploring around in the evening, they were all led back to the palace where they were shown their rooms. The girls were all given one room, whereas the guys were split into two rooms. Tsunade and Kurenai got their own room while Asuma, Kakashi and Hiruzen also got their own room. Gaara and Kankuro were also given their own room, a few rooms away from the Leaf Ninja so as to give them more privacy.

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Kiba couldn't sleep. Shikamaru and Choji were sleeping in his room, and while the Nara was quiet, Choji's snoring was what was keeping him awake. Kiba sighed. He got up and stretched. Akamaru was sleeping peacefully next to him. So why couldn't he sleep? His fingers caressed the smooth fabric that had fallen from Karin's sleeve. It was almost as if Karin wanted Kiba to find her. But she didn't even tell him where she was. Kiba's mind clicked. She had practically given him her scent. He brought it up to his nose and took a deep breath. Karin's scent was intoxicating to him. He just couldn't get enough of it. He snuck his way silently out of the bedroom. Sniffing the air, he began to make his way down the corridors, making many left and right turns. He didn't know where he was going. He was already lost. But he was simply following his nose. Then he arrived. The scent was strongest outside one bedroom, situated somewhere in the grander part of the palace. He debated knocking on the door, but then decided against it. She was probably asleep. He turned to go when the door opened.
"Took you long enough." Karin said. She was wearing a simple nightgown, her glasses were off on her bedside table. Kiba looked at her, star struck. She grabbed his hand and dragged him inside her bedroom.
"I waited for such a long time, Kiba. You came at last." She whispered as they sat on her bed. Her right hand came up and pushed his hood back, revealing his warm eyes. She gently touched his red tattoos. Kiba brought both his hands up to her head, holding it gently as he leaned in. The kiss was short and sweet, but it ignited the fire and passion in both of them.
"I thought I'd never see you again." Kiba whispered.
"Me too." Karin replied. She took off her nightgown, hearing Kiba gulp audibly as he looked at her figure. She wasn't wearing much. Just a bra and panties. She pushed Kiba down onto the bed, taking his thick hoodie and shirt off, leaving him shirtless. Then she tugged his pants off, leaving him in just his boxers. Kiba's face grew redder as she paused, deliberately dragging her hand over his groin.
"Let's go to sleep." Karin said with an innocent smile. "My blankets are more than warm enough anyway." She added, noticing Kiba's tortured look, in his now aroused state. She wrapped her arms around him, and laid her head on his chest, pulling up the blankets to cover them both.
"Good night Kiba." She whispered, a radiant smile adorning her face. Kiba wrapped his arms around her protectively. He'd already lost her once, and he wasn't going to lose her again.
"Good night Karin." He whispered back, combing his fingers through her long red hair before they both fell asleep.

And another chapter done... I really wanted to set the scene after the time skip of several years before we continue the plot fully. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :D