[Caterpillar] Chapter 17 - Departure (nsfw - lime) (Patreon)

A bike burst through one of the windows of the Watchtower's control room and a terrible suction force came from the vacuum of space. Alarms rang loudly but fortunately, right after the window was shattered, a blast window lowered itself from the wall and covered the broken window, stopping the suction from outside.

Superman was the first to react and he flew to the newcomer in anger.

"What's the meaning of this, Lobo?! You made me a promise that you'll never come to Earth and cause trouble for me or anyone else living here!"

The grey-skinned muscular alien wearing a biker outfit was none other than Lobo, the last Czarnian.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, Boy Scout. I didn't come to Earth, we're still in space. And I didn't come to cause trouble, I'm here for a delivery. See? The Main Man keeps his word."

As he said that, he pulled on the chain wrapped around his forearm and a large metallic box was yanked forth and slammed on the floor. The box was metallic and large enough for a human to fit in but its walls were red, heated up almost to the point of melting.

Superman felt the beginning of a headache. The Czarnian was a pain to deal with.

"What delivery? For whom?" Green Lantern asked.

"Not for you, Green Dork. Don't pipe up."

Green Lantern was already itching for a fight; Lobo's provocation was just the perfect excuse for him to let out some of the inner anger he accumulated from Hawkgirl's apparent indifference when she left earlier that day. But Superman raised an arm and stopped him from starting a fight that they could not easily finish. He understood that the Czarnian did not come looking for trouble and that he technically had not broken his promise either.

At that moment, a masked blond man carrying a fox cub on his shoulder came through the doors of the control room.

"Sorry guys, the delivery is for me."

The previously curled up and sleeping fox cub opened his eyes and his bloodlust flooded the room. Jumping off from Naruto's shoulder, in a mere second he became so large that the 3-story tall control room could barely contain his size.

"Where is the rat?"

His voice sounded demonic, filled with killing intent.

"What is going on? Naruto, control your fox or he might wreck the whole Watchtower if he starts to fight!" Batman said urgently.

Naruto told Kyuubi:

"Don't kill the rat right away, Kurama. I want to hear the bastard say it. I want to ask him what made him betray me after more than 20 years of working together. What gave him the courage to backstab me. He was crazy for money but not crazy enough to forfeit his life for it. He should've known that this is how it was going to end the moment he tried to get me killed."

He spoke calmly but the cold fury in his voice made even Lobo unwittingly take a step back in wariness. The current Naruto was no longer like his teenage self, someone that would just brush over people when they betrayed him or when they tried to kill him.

"I don't know what's going on, but you're not going to kill anyone under my eyes, not as long as we are here!" Superman stepped forth and said.

All of a sudden, 4 Shadow Clones appeared next to Naruto. In the split of a second, the clones performed a short sequence of hand seals and a gale of wind burst from their mouths simultaneously. It was a Wind Release technique named "Great Breakthrough". But he was not in the mood for making cool poses and shouting names of jutsu then.

From the moment the clones were summoned to the moment they cast the wind technique, barely 1 second passed. The 7 members of the Justice League were unexpectedly pushed back by the gales of wind and thrown to the opposite side of the control room. But none of them was hurt because he had never intended to hurt them in the first place, he only wanted to push them to the side.

In the next second, the 4 clones rushed out and formed a square shape with Naruto, Kyuubi. and Lobo at its centre. The four of them brought their hands together like in a prayer and then crossed their fingers. Instantly, bright purple walls of light rose from behind them from the floor until they reached the tall ceiling of the control room and encapsulated them together with their original body, Kyuubi, and Lobo in a cubic formation of light.

Unnerved by the sudden development, Lobo took a massive crowbar from his bike and narrowed his eyes.

"Don't worry. This is just a barrier to prevent the Justice League from annoying me like before." Naruto said to dispel the Czarnian's worries and then turned his head towards the Justice League who were just then standing up from the floor where the gales of wind had thrown them. He told them:

"This is the Four Corners Violet Field formation, a barrier. Unlike other barrier spells, not only that it protects the things inside it, but everything that touches it will be set aflame. For your own good, don't attack it."

Unconvinced by Naruto's warning, Superman flew at him and punched the violet wall of light. The barrier trembled heavily under his powerful strike but the Kryptonian also let out a startled cry of pain when his arm was engulfed by flames. If it was regular fire, he would not bat an eye; he could even withstand the flames of the sun. Mystic energies, however, were a different thing altogether. A breath of ice blew from his mouth and his arm quickly became encased in a block of ice, snuffing out the fire before it could cause serious damage.

"Don't be careless, guys, this is a magic spell," Superman warned.

Wonder Woman could not help asking:

"Why are you so eager to attack them?"

Momentarily, the other members of the Justice League stared at her blankly.

"Neither Lobo, nor Naruto, nor Kurama are from Earth and the one who Lobo captured is not from Earth either. You're making the same mistake you made when he came for the Tamaranean girl, picking up a fight with him for no reason. He doesn't want to fight us. Look, he even cast a barrier spell to keep us from interfering."

Superman clenched his hands into fists and the block of ice encasing in his right arm shattered under his strength. He understood Wonder Woman's reasoning and he logically agreed with what she said but on the other side, the idea of seeing someone get executed under his very eyes revolted him.

"You want us to just sit and watch how he kills someone?! What if he's innocent?" Flash said.

"That couldn't be farther from the truth. Naruto told me about him. His name is Rui Nak. That man used to be his information broker for years; they were partners. But Rui Nak betrayed him, sending him right into the Psions' trap who wanted to capture and dissect him. That's what led to the Psions' annihilation a few weeks ago." Wonder Woman explained.

The rest of the Justice League stopped charging at the barrier when they heard her explanation. While they were talking amongst themselves, Lobo dragged the large metallic box in front of Naruto and used the crowbar in his other hand to pry it open.

An acrid, stomach-churning smell suddenly filled the entire room and it made everyone in the Justice League cover their noses with their hands. Naruto was wearing his mask which filtered any unwelcome/harmful smells or gases so he was not affected but Kyuubi growled.

"It smells like burnt flesh. What did you do to him?" the large fox's demonic voice rang.

"He's been crying like a scared school girl in my ears for hours, begging me to release him. He kinda got on my nerves so I roasted his ass a little with my engines. But I guess I cooked the rat! Ahahaha!" Lobo said and laughed boisterously.

Naruto palmed his forehead through the mask.

"You imbecile, you were supposed to bring him alive! What did you even bring him here for anymore?"

Lobo came and put an arm around Naruto's shoulder as if they were drinking buddies in a bar.

"Aw come on, goldie locks, don't be like that. You were gonna bust his head anyway so what's the big deal? Look at the good part: your fox gets to eat freshly grilled rat barbecue."

Naruto took Lobo's arm from around his shoulders and twisted it in annoyance, making Lobo cry out.

"Ow, ow, let go! What's your problem, man?"

"Watch your mouth when you talk about Kurama," Naruto said dangerously and kicked the Czarnian away from him, making him crash against the floor onto his face. "And just so you know, this doesn't count as you repaying my favour."

Lobo groaned but otherwise looked unscathed. When he heard that his debts were not cleared out, however, he bristled.

"Hey! Don't think you can swindle the Main Man! I searched for this rat for weeks and then chased after him through 3 planetary systems before I finally caught him! He was a slippery one. In my books, I've more than repaid you what I owed."

Naruto let a drawn-out sigh.

"Greatest bounty hunter my ass," he muttered under his breath. "Why did I have any expectations from him anyway. My fault for trusting an idiot. Truly, if you want something done right, do it yourself."

Lobo grinned from one ear to another when he saw Naruto not contradicting him, conveniently choosing to ignore the rest of the things he said.

"I knew we'd see eye to eye. If you need anything else, you got my number. No more freebies next time tho! The Main Man ain't doing charity no more."

With that, Lobo hopped on his space-hog and, after Naruto's clones cancelled the barrier technique, he burst through another window, causing mayhem once more as the vacuum of space started to suck out everything from the room. Fortunately, another blast window came down from the wall and replaced the other broken glass.

"Jesus Christ!" Green Lantern exclaimed when he came closer and saw the still warm and smoking half-melted corpse of the humanoid rat.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Flash said and right in the next moment, he bent down and emptied the contents of his stomach.

"What should we do with this?" Wonder Woman asked, forcing back the bile rising in her throat. It was her first time as well that she was seeing someone who died so terribly.

"Maybe your fox can eat it? Pretty sure he's eaten far worse things before." Superman said without thinking but a massive tail suddenly slammed into his face, sending him crashing through several walls towards the interior of the Watchtower.

"How about you eat a donkey dick you piece of shit? What do you think I am? Your garbage dumpster?" Kyuubi shouted.

The fox was already angry at Lobo for not bringing Rui Nak alive. He had wanted to torture the rat to the death and hear him scream in agony but he was robbed of that pleasure. Superman disrespecting him like that was the last drop that spilt the glass.

When he saw the others readying themselves for a fight Naruto said:

"In all the fairness, that was a dick move from Superman. He had it coming."

"Your fox attacked Superman just because of a few words?" Green Lantern rebuked, his power ring glowing with a green light.

"How about I take a shit on the floor now and tell you in all the seriousness to eat it? You ok with that?" Naruto bit back. "Or maybe just because he looks like a fox he's lesser than a human? You're a Green Lantern. You of all people here should not discriminate. You should know that humans are just a fraction of the sentient living beings when you take the Universe at large."

"That's different!" Green Lantern tried to argue and his power ring glowed brighter. He looked ready to shoot a blast of light at any moment.

"Shut up!" Naruto said in a demonic voice no different than that of the enormous fox standing next to him.

Green Lantern froze. A terrifying killing intent assaulted his senses and the green light flickering around his power ring was extinguished. Someone with a willpower as formidable as his should not lose his marbles just from someone's murderous spirit but, for some reason, his entire body became paralyzed. What he did not know was that it was not only killing intent that paralyzed him but the technique that Naruto cast in conjunction with it. It was a jutsu used frequently by the elite shinobi back in his homeworld, the ANBU, to capture their targets when they needed them alive, Kanashibari no Jutsu.

Kyuubi reverted to his tiny form as a fox cub and blew out a sigh.

"Let is go, Naruto. I'm not angry anymore."

The fox knew that he was the blond's "Achilles' heel". Naruto always got worked up and tended to go overboard when someone treated Kyuubi like a mindless animal. The fox stopped him before someone from the Justice League said another stupid thing and aggravated him even more. They did not have a spaceship anymore to leave as they pleased and he was not in the mood to fight again against all of them either.

⁂

"How do we always end up fighting with them?" Flash muttered after Naruto and Kyuubi left the control room. "He really doesn't stomach us, does he?"

"That creature may look like a fox from Earth, but he's not an animal. He is someone with a personality and intelligence just like the rest of us. It's not that Uzumaki Naruto doesn't stomach us but that the fox is like family to him and someone insulted him." Martian Manhunter said. "What Superman said was very rude."

"I guess it was my mistake but that was quite the overreaction," Superman said while dusting off his suit. There was not even a scratch on him. "I didn't think the fox would be so proud and react like that."

Batman suddenly called out Wonder Woman who was trying to slip away from the room unnoticed:

"Wonder Woman, where are you going?"

"I'm going to check up on those two and keep an eye on them. Someone has to make sure they don't do something crazy," she said and before Batman could add anything, she flew out of the room.

When the Amazon princess left, the 5 men looked at each other and then at the metallic box with the still-warm, half-melted corpse of a humanoid rat in it. Realizing why the princess had scurried away so quickly, Batman said what was on everyone's mind at that moment:

"We were duped."

"Keeping an eye on them... She left only so she wouldn't have to deal with the corpse, didn't she? Athena's Wisdom, indeed," Superman said in exasperation.

⁂

Having successfully escaped from dealing with the disgusting remains of Rui Nak, Wonder Woman almost broke into a smile when she arrived in front of Naruto's room. She was about to knock on the door but she stopped when she heard a conversation coming from inside.

"...500 mass units of Dilustel for a clunker? The hell, why don't you just rob me already?" Naruto's voice came from behind the door.

"Ma, ma, don't be so quick to anger, Mister Uzumaki. You've been in the business for so long, you should know how the supply and demand rule works. Certainly, in ordinary conditions, this ship would be a bit cheaper but when you consider the fact that it's on such short notice, you know, the price is bound to increase." an oily voice could be heard from what Wonder Woman assumed it was Naruto's communication device.

It sounded like the voice of a merchant. The Amazon princess could automatically understand and speak any language because of Athena's blessing but she could also discern that the language spoken by the merchant was not from Earth. It was alien.

"You call that 'a bit cheaper'? Five hundred mass units of Dilustel are worth 3 to 4 times more than that dreg you call spaceship!"

"As I said, on such short notice, I doubt anyone can just willy-nilly give you a better offer. If you think about it, the price isn't that unreasonable. Of course, I do have much better options available too but the price for those will increase accordingly."

"No thank you. I'll buy it from someone else. Good luck with scamming other people." Naruto said flatly.

"Wait, wait, how about 450? No? 400 mass units then? This is the lowest-"

The transmission was interrupted and silence was instilled in the room.

"Don't wait outside, Diana, come in," Naruto called, startling her a little.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop." Wonder Woman said when she entered his room.

It was a small room that they had transformed into a bedroom for Naruto to live in while he recovered. It was not large but it had a bed, a desk and a wardrobe too (not that he had ever used the wardrobe).

"It's okay, there was no secret."

She came behind him at the desk where he was sitting. A faint but sweet fragrance entered his nostrils when she bent down over his shoulder to see what he was doing on his tablet.

"You're looking for a spaceship?" she asked when she saw several dozens of spaceship models with various prices below their pictures and lists of specifications for each of them.

Currently, Naruto was browsing a black market intergalactic portal. One could find there anything, from weapons and warships to robots, living slaves and even viruses. As long as one had the materials that the seller was willing to barter their goods for, anything could be purchased.

"Yes, I've recovered completely by now," he said.

"Ah, you're leaving already?" she asked.

He turned his chair around to look at her.

"You sound...disappointed."

He was not wearing his mask at that moment but Diana did not avoid his eyes.

"I am," she admitted, much to his surprise. "I enjoyed your company, especially over the past week."

He sat up from his chair but by doing so, he realized that they were standing too close to each other when they were both on their feet.

"It was the same for me too," Naruto said, his eyes never leaving hers.

Standing that close face-to-face with a man that she felt conscious of was a new experience for the Amazon princess. She had danced with Bruce Wayne before but his indifference had prevented the apparition of a connection between them. What she was experiencing in the present was different from anything she had been through before. The intensity of those red eyes boring into her soul brought her a funny feeling in her stomach and although they were not touching, she could feel on the skin that her armour left exposed the warmth radiating from his body.

Not doing it consciously, the tip of her tongue stuck out and wet her lips, her glistening saliva making them redder and more alluring than before. Naruto's eyes were involuntarily drawn to the motion and his blood surged to his face at the erotic sight of her moistening her lips. Her actions suddenly made him aware of his own dry lips and he could not help following her example and wetting his lips with his tongue too. Similarly, her eyes were drawn to his lips as well and when their eyes locked again, a healthy flush lighted both their faces.

The sound of swallowing came from Naruto when Diana almost imperceptibly came an inch closer and said in a whisper:

"Do you really have to leave? I would love to have the chance to know you better."

The charm of her innocent yet devilish sensuality lit a fire in him. His mind was cloudy and he felt dizzy as if he was drunk.

"Your friends don't like me," he said with the last bit of rationality he possessed, also in a whisper.

"But I do. I like you!" Diana confessed and stepped even closer, their faces inches away, their noses almost touching.

His heart shook and skipped a beat. It was as though time stopped for him at that moment.

He could feel her warm breath on his lips. It tasted sweet. It made him thirsty. He craved more; if only her breath was like that then how would those ripe and inviting red lips taste like? His eyes found hers once more. So close they were that he could see his stunned reflection in her enlarged pupils and the needy expression he wore on his face.

He wanted to kiss her so badly. He wanted nothing more than to feast on those luscious lips and squeeze her sinful body in his arms.

'What's stopping you from doing just that?' a voice in his mind asked.

Indeed, what was stopping him? Nothing! Reaching that conclusion, time started flowing again. With one more look at her eyes, his mouth descended onto hers. For a split second, their first contact numbed them. But then, pleasure flooded their senses and they moaned in each other's mouths. Though it lasted for a short time, the intensity of the kiss left them breathless. Both their faces were flushed with infatuation and the tension between them was almost palpable.

This time, it was Diana who took the initiative. She brought her arms around his neck and pushed the back of his head with her hands, bringing his face closer to her. Their lips mashed against each other once more and their noses rubbed against each other with the same passion as their mouths.

His strong arms wrapped around her thin waist, closing the gap between their bodies. Her voluptuous breasts were squashed against his hard chest and the feeling of his bulge pressing against her core made her raise one of her long legs and wrap it around his waist, in an effort to press herself against him harder. She gasped in their kiss when one of his hands left the small of her back and trailed down her buttocks, his fingers greedily fondling the elastic and meaty flesh before they trailed further below to grab on the thick and muscular thigh that rose to embrace his waist.

He could not get enough of her. Her kiss tasted like nectar and her body evoked a flame in him that he had never felt before.

She could not get enough of him. The warmth and the mysterious energy seeping out of his body aroused a passion inside her that she could not control. Like a moth drawn to a flame, she approached his flame fully knowing that her passion might consume her but willing to pay the price nonetheless.

Not content with only tasting his lips, her tongue sneaked through his lips into his mouth, to meet his tongue. She had fooled around with some of her Amazon sisters a few times before, she was no stranger to kissing. Her experienced tongue wrapped around his tongue sensually and then coaxed it to enter her mouth, proceeding to suck on it greedily.

She drank his saliva, massaged his lips with hers and sucked on his tongue and he surrendered to her fully, letting her dominate his eager and inexperienced mouth. They got drunk from each other's fluids and they used their whole bodies to express their hunger, and their need for each other. Repeatedly, they had to part gasping for air but they dived back every time with even more passion and hunger than before.

They lost track of time, sunken in their world of passion and pleasure. But as all good things can't last forever, their heaven was broken apart too when a very loud beeping sound came from his communication pad announcing an incoming transmission.

As if woken from a trance, as if a spell was broken, they parted once more but this time without rejoining. In the silence of the room, the beeping sounded even louder than usual but Naruto could still not let go of her, his eyes looking at her as if he wanted to burn that image in his mind for eternity. The dishevelled form of her long and silky black hair, her glistening-with-lust blue eyes, the rosiness in her unblemished cheeks and the erotic gasps for air and silent moans coming through those deep red and plush lips, inflated from the loving abuse he had delivered on them...

"How can someone this beautiful exist?" he exclaimed in awe as he cupped her face in his rough palms and caressed her cheeks with as much tenderness as his calloused fingers were capable of.

He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against hers.

"I don't know what came over us but I don't want it to end."

Diana leaned into his touch and her eyes closed in bliss too.

"I've never felt anything like this before," she uttered in wonder. "Don't leave. I'm not letting you go after this."

She leaned her face in and she pressed her lips against his once more. taking his breath with another passionate kiss.

The beeping coming from his communication pad stopped and the two of them continued to embrace each other in silence for a long time.

"Come with me, Diana," he said again, his hand now tenderly caressing her hair while she rested her chin on his shoulder, her head leaning against his. "The Justice League can't control me and they are afraid of what they can't control. I can't live here, like a caged beast, under their scrutiny 24/7. I can't trade off my freedom."

She raised her face from his shoulder and looked at him with pleading eyes:

"I can't leave the Earth. My mother and my sisters are here. My friends are here too. Stay with me, Naruto. I'm sure they will grow to accept you in time."

Naruto placed a kiss on her forehead and sighed deeply before breaking their hug. Diana's beautiful face became downcast and her eyes wet. She understood his answer from his actions.

He took a scroll out of his chest pocket and after pressing his palm on it, another communication pad appeared in a small plume of smoke.

"I would have been willing to make Earth my new home but the Justice League and I don't mix. We are like oil and water. Even so, that doesn't mean we can't see each other and continue to keep in touch," he said and handed her the communication pad. "Take this. It's a lightwave communication device. It ignores the space-time laws and we can talk to each other in real-time no matter where I am in the Universe. All major powers use this technology to communicate. It was produced by the gods of New Genesis. As for how it works, I have no idea. There comes a point where the lines between science and magic become very blurred. As far as I know, this technology could be very well considered magic."

Though the prospect of not being able to stay together was paining her, she smiled briefly at his words. She understood that they lived in different worlds. He was like the bird freely soaring the skies, travelling the universe, while the Justice League were like a frog trapped at the bottom of the well. They were too different; they could never see eye to eye.

'But there may still be a chance.' Diana said to herself. 'Once the Justice League becomes stronger and they will no longer depend on my strength, I could join him.'

At the moment, she could not leave. The people of Earth needed her strength. But they still had a chance because they were both immortal. Time was not their enemy like it was for regular people. Only their feelings mattered.

"I want to come with you. I will come with you...but not now. Maybe in a few years. Will you wait for me?" Diana asked.

Naruto said categorically:

"Definitely!"

A smile of relief flashed on her face.

"Are you going to take Starfire with you too?" Diana asked out of the blue.

"Starfire, huh?" he said rhetorically.

After Koriand'r became friends with Supergirl, she changed her name to Starfire. It meant the same thing, it was just her name translated into English.

"I don't see a reason to take her. We're not that close, you know? She was just my bounty, someone that I had to rescue and protect. She has also found a place for herself here, hasn't she?"

Diana nodded and said:

"Yes, she's been living with Supergirl since almost two weeks ago. She started attending high school together with her and they do small-time hero work together too. They're inseparable."

"I'm glad to hear that. Poor girl has had a very rough life until now. She deserves all the happiness she can get. Come to think of it, where is Kurama?"

When Diana entered the room, Kyuubi had been on Naruto's bed, lazily chewing on some apples. The thought that Kyuubi had watched him and Diana swallowing each other's tongues for half an hour made his face as red as the apples on the bed.

"He must've left the room a while ago. Oh my, look at that: you can blush too? How endearing." Diana said and giggled. She cupped his face with her hands to prevent him from looking away.

He brought her back into his arms and embraced her tightly. Diana hugging him back just a tad tighter in response filled his heart with warmth.

"No cheating in the meantime!" she said but did not dare to look at him. This time, it was her turn to press her head into his chest and look down for him to not see her embarrassed face.

"Wha-? What cheating? Who would even like someone with a demonic face like mine?" he said back flustered.

"I recall hearing something about the Queen of Almerac wanting your babies..."

"Kurama, that bastard!" Naruto cussed.

"Not just that! I saw the doe-eyes that Supergirl and Starfire throw at you too every time they come to the Watchtower to visit you!" she said and glared at him.

"So that's why you asked if Starfire was coming with me? You were worried?" he laughed incredulously.

She made the mistake of looking up and Naruto saw her face slightly flushed in jealousy. It made him laugh at how adorable she was.

"So cute!" he said with a grin and kissed the top of her head.

He knew that if Kyuubi could see him right then he would have laughed at his shit-eating grin but he could not help it. A warrior princess over 3000 years old was acting jealous over two teenage girls. She was just too cute. That grin would not leave his face any time soon.

"If anything, I should be the one to worry that you'll forget about me and go for a more handsome man." Naruto teased.

Diana shook her head.

"Not a chance. While my civilian identity may be rather popular with men, I rarely interact with regular people. I couldn't be with one either. As for who I really am, Wonder Woman, it seems that men don't like me all that much."

Naruto looked at her strangely.

"What's with that look?"

"You're totally clueless, aren't you?" Naruto said in wonder.

A very interesting idea came to his mind and he smirked in amusement.

"Come, let's go to the conference room and access Earth's internet from the computer in there. I want to show you something."

Though a bad feeling started creeping into her heart, Wonder Woman followed him there, her hand glued to his the entire time. Asked by Naruto, she took a seat and operated the computer.

"Go to Google and type in the search bar 'wonder woman hentai'. Yeah, just like that. Now go to the image section."

The mouse in her hand was suddenly crushed into a ball of plastic and metal.

"W-, What in Athena's name is this?!" she sputtered in disbelief. "I swear on the Styx, I-, I never-"

She could not even find her words. She was shocked.

"I know it's not you," he reassured her.

"Then-" she began to say agitated.

"The earthlings seem to have an unwritten rule on their internet: if something exists, there is porn for it. Give it some time and I'm sure even Kurama and I will appear drawn in some obscene postures too, soon."

Naruto had lived in the Watchtower for almost 1 month. With the help of his Shadow Clones, he had learned the English language to the point where he could understand, speak and even write it without a translating device. He still chose to use his translating device to communicate with the others though because his pronunciation and accent were a bit off, but he had become very familiar with Earth's internet during that time.

"Oh wow! Look, there is even an image of you in your new costume! You changed your costume less than a month ago...Perverts really are fast when they put their mind to it, eh?" he said half-teasingly, half in amazement but the next moment Diana's punch blasted a hole through the computer's monitor.

He laughed out loud.

"Now, now, don't be angry. I just wanted to show you how wrong you were about men not liking you. Now you see? You're one of the most desired women on this planet. They're just scared to show it to your face."

Then, he added like it was an afterthought:

"I gotta say though, I love your new costume much more than the one you had when I came here to capture Vandal Savage 1 month ago."

Her previous anger melted like a miracle and an uncharacteristically shy expression appeared on her face.

"You think so?" she asked, secretly feeling giddy inside when she saw how his eyes roamed over her figure.

Compared to her previous costume consisting of red boots, blue briefs and a shoulderless red top, her current costume made her look more like the warrior princess that she was. She still had her golden lasso, her silver bracelets of submission and her golden tiara but the rest of her costume was different.

A white pair of skorts replaced her briefs, her red boots were replaced by a pair of knee-high golden greaves, and her red top was replaced with a white top on which a large golden owl motif extended its wings over her breasts (it was Goddess Athena's symbol). Her previously bare shoulders were covered by golden pauldrons, she wore 2 wing-like golden accessories on the sides of her face, and a white cloak covered her back, her neck, and the upper part of her chest.

"Absolutely! Compared to before, one can tell you're royalty just by looking at you." Naruto said and nodded furiously, a testament to how much he appreciated her new costume.

Wonder Woman revealed a bashful smile and looked down while playing with a strand of her long hair. Naruto discovered a hard-to-believe fact: Wonder Woman, a warrior princess over three thousand years old was weak to compliments. Not long after that, the two lovebirds became immersed in their own little world again.

⁂

Four days after the incident caused by Lobo, another spaceship was detected by the Watchtower. It was a small ship, no longer than 100 feet. There was only 1 person aboard, the pilot who came to deliver the ship to Naruto after he had bought it.

There were not many members of the Justice League present in the Watchtower at that moment because Naruto had not told them anything about his plans to leave. Besides Wonder Woman who had spent every single second of the previous 4 days together with Naruto, the only other member of the Justice League present at the tower was Martian Manhunter.

Not caring that the Martian Manhunter could see it, Diana poured her entire heart and soul into the goodbye kiss she shared with Naruto.

"Remember, whenever you want to talk, call me on my pad. And if there is anything you need my help with, I will drop everything I'm doing at that moment and rush to your side." Naruto said and then took her in his arms one more time.

⁂

After the Earth could no longer be seen from the spaceship, Naruto sighed deeply. Though his face was covered by his white fox ANBU mask (he did not want the temporary pilot of their ship to see his appearance), Kyuubi could easily sense his feelings with his Negative Emotions Sensing.

"You don't need to feel lonely. You can come and see her any time you want."

"Mhm," Naruto made a sound of agreement.

"You know, I even think it's a good thing you didn't stay together now," Kyuubi said.

That elicited a deep inhale of breath from Naruto.

"Eh? Why do you say so? I thought you liked her?"

The fox snorted at his overly defensive reaction.

"I do like her. She is a good human. But in the last 4 days, you've been eating each other's faces up almost non-stop."

"We did not-" Naruto made a weak attempt at contradicting him but a pointed look from Kyuubi shut him up.

Maybe because it was the first time he had fallen in love for real with a woman, or maybe it was because he had repressed his feelings and biological needs as a man for decades due to his obsession with finding a way back to his homeworld (the real reason was not clear to him either) but the passion he felt for Wonder Woman was like a smouldering volcano.

Wonder Woman's situation was no different either after living for almost 3 millennia on Themyscira with no men around. The two of them had spent almost 100% of the last 4 days in physical contact with each other. They had not made the final step yet but other than that, they did not leave each other's arms, much to the rest of the Justice League's chagrin since there were only 5 of them to fight against crime now that Hawkgirl left and Wonder Woman would not leave Naruto's room.

"If your feelings for each other are real, the distance will only make your love grow stronger. But if what you feel for each other is limited to just lust and physical attraction, the distance will quickly make them die down." Kyuubi said.

"And how would you know that? You're a bijuu." Naruto said, annoyed just at the thought that what he and Wonder Woman felt for each other might not be real.

"I've seen that happen many times before with other humans. I've lived for over 1000 years and don't forget that I was sealed inside Mito and your mother for almost 80 years too. While sealed for almost 1 century there was not much left for me to do other than to observe the humans outside. I have my Negative Emotion Sensing too. I may be a bijuu but there aren't many beings that know more about human feelings and emotions than I do. I certainly know more than you do at the very least." the fox said arrogantly. "Humans are very fickle beings and their feelings and emotions are even more than so. Best friends can become enemies in an instant, despite years of friendship, and children can turn against their parents and vice-versa without much difficulty."

"You and Diana met only a few weeks ago and you've been together for just 3-4 days. It's a few years too early for you to blindly put your trust in her feelings like that. Chances are that you're just lusting for each other. It's too early to tell."

Naruto let out another long sigh and gave up on arguing with the fox after hearing his explanation. He knew that when the fox was not playing around, his wisdom was league beyond his. The fox had lived 10 times as long as him. Deep inside he understood the truth in his words.

"You might be right, Kurama-sensei," he said half-seriously, half-jokingly. "I guess some time apart would serve us well, both me and Diana."

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂

AN: Naruto x Wonder Woman ship has officially sailed, all aboard! haha.

Wonder Woman's new costume is the one that she had worn briefly in the Justice League animated series, season 2, episode 17, at Superman's funeral after Toyman "killed" him. That white and golden armour was gorgeous, easily the best version of Wonder Woman's costume that I've ever seen. Google up "Wonder Woman hereafter costume" and go to the images section. It should be the first result you see.