Naruto: The Prince of Lust

With his head tilted in thought, and his eyes squinted in introspection, Mabui's mind yells in disbelief, 'he actually has to think about it!' Embarrassed, Mabui tries to recall the last time she felt so stupid; made all the more humiliating by how young he is. She's been an academic all her life, and even with two degrees, she can't even keep up with what he's saying. It was too humbling and Mabui worries what that could mean for her goals going forward.

Though the cheery blond seems as content as ever, she wonders if he'll eventually become bored with her clear lack of knowledge on this subject. It's supposed to be an intellectual back-and-forth, however, she has little to add. It makes Mabui feel as if she's not contributing enough, and that, she cannot allow, especially when he suggests the most basic, sealing designs and mechanics.

"You certainly know your stuff," she comments with a smile. "I hope I'm not boring you."

"No way," Naruto assures her. "I've never taught anyone before, so it's pretty fun."

She sets aside thoughts of her old professor and finds his response lacking enthusiasm, leading her to ask, "would it be okay if we sit next to each other? So I can show you if I'm working out the methodology correctly?"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Sure," he voices and when the boy sits in the armchair next to her, she crosses her legs so that she can bump his when she thinks she's losing his interest. As they work on some sealing frameworks, Mabui wonders when the best time to secure his assistance in deciphering the Heavenly Transfer technique. It'll be a delicate process with her chief concern being if he'll tell anyone. The easiest way to make certain he keeps her confidence is to build a rapport he'll be faithful too.

Spending some time and effort to make sure her seal design for large inanimate objects was impressively perfect, Mabui sweetly calls, "Naruto-kun?" Sky-blue eyes turn to her as she scoots closer to him, feeling her bust jiggle in her fitted white blouse as her foot 'accidentally' touches his leg. She then asks, "would you look this over for me?"

Though she was proud of her flawless work, the way he hums through his examination makes her feel like a fifteen-year-old freshman again, waiting for her sensei's approval. Eventually, he says, "it'll work, but, uh, it's pretty… flat."

"…Flat," Mabui repeats with spooked eyes, trying not to feel so small.

"Um, like," Naruto mumbles as he grabs his black-inked brush, however, Mabui swiftly hands him a red marker. He takes it and highlights fourteen different areas of her design while imparting, "don't be afraid of being creative with Fūinjutsu. It isn't like a lot of the crap you read in scrolls. It's way more fluid than that and can be formed in a lot of ways. I mean, you don't even know how many times I've rolled my eyes at some of the crap I read," he rasps with irritation. "Anyway, what you have here is a bit stiff and, uh, excessive, but you can easily compound several of these arrays into one command with only a couple additions of characters; here, here, and here, written out like this," he slowly voices as he writes.

At the sight of his many red changes all over her work, Mabui mostly forgot about her humiliating inadequacy and simply grew amazed by how his simple alterations somehow make the entire seal compact, dynamic, yet stronger. Reading his corrections made Mabui conclude that this blond-haired blue-eyed boy was not only on another level, but was going to be far better for her time-table than any book will be. With that understanding, she redoubles her determination to do everything in her power to make certain he's in favor of helping her.

"You truly are amazing," Mabui flatters, to which he chuckles, embarrassed.

"Nah! It's nothing," he says scratching the back of his neck.

"If there's anything I can help you with, you have to ask me," Mabui offers. "You're helping me with this and I want to help you as well."

Politely waving away her offer, he relays, "it's okay. You don't-"

Mabui interrupts, "no, I do, Naruto-kun," taking his warm hand in hers as she adds, "I mean it. If there's anything I can help you with, I'd appreciate you allowing me the opportunity to try."

Naruto seems taken aback a moment before lowering his gaze on their joined hands. She lets go with a sheepish smile and he turns pensive for several long moments, clearly mulling over a thought. She pretends to go over her work while he goes back and forth in his mind when he finally says, "nee-san…"

"Yes," she sweetly replies. He still looks hesitant, facing the table as he debates with himself. With a proactive attitude, Mabui takes the arms of his chair and rotates the young man into facing her. Her smile is reassuring as she takes her seat, rotated to face him, and waits.

He shrugs jovially enough before speaking, "there is something I want to know more about, but I'm not sure if it's okay to ask."

"I see," Mabui hums before asserting, "we may not know each other well, but I can assure you, you don't need to be afraid of asking me; sometimes it's easier to ask a stranger than a friend. So, please, ask."

Nodding happily, Naruto asks, "do you know a lot about love and relationships?"

Happy to hear the topic, Mabui sits up, smiling as she answers, "I do, actually." Hoping to add another pillar by which to build a rapport upon, she admits, "I may not look it but I have a background in psychology and sociology, so, I have a very good understanding of those types of human connections."

"Wow," Naruto lets out with relief. "Sweet. What I want to know is, can a marriage, or a relationship, or I guess, just romantic love be between more than two people? Like a group?"

Though she hadn't expected that to come from such an earnest attitude, Mabui doesn't let it show on her captivating caramel features as she asks him without a hint of judgment, "you mean polyamory? More commonly known as polygamy, however, the umbrella term is polyamory."

"Uh, I guess," Naruto answers, having never heard of the term. He further explains, "I've never heard of such a thing, but my friend wants to know if it's possible. He thinks that if multiple girls love you, then you should just be with all of them, but, is that right? Isn't love supposed to be with one person? That's what everyone says, so, I thought I'd ask to see if being with more than one is a thing."

His blue eyes are looking at her innocently for answers but Mabui felt conflicted. She naturally wants to support monogamy, however, she also wants to ensure he subscribes to her in all things. Adding to her conflict is her lack of experience. She's only ever had one exemplary love in her life and he died of a heart attack. Her only other relationship is with Darui and it's so secret, her well-educated mind is telling her she's being used.

Though the Jōnin is an impressive figure, he doesn't seem to care one way or another, serving to either frustrate her for caring too much or forcing her to care as little as he does. How is she supposed to tell Naruto about how she suspects her indifferent-boyfriend cheats on her and likely thinks nothing of it? Mabui naturally wants to support monogamy, however, she can't claim to honor decency when her current relationship feels strictly physical and her deceased fiance was thirty years her senior.

Regardless, even if Mabui felt like she didn't have a leg to stand on, she still knew that a relationship based on love was between two people. Her best guess is Naruto can't decide between two girls he's attracted to and his ''friend'' selfishly and callously reasoned, 'why not both?' To Mabui, this felt like monogamy versus the mission; the truth and possible failure versus the lie and further trust.

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