Sakura decided now was as good of a time as any to get the hardest part of her day out of the way, and started walking towards her mom's house.

Sakura's mom freed Naruto from her control and yelled at her for making him her dog. Her mom was going to be pissed when she found out what Sakura had done. She knocked on the door to her former residence.

Her mom promptly opened the door and glared at her. "After receiving the news from Tsunade, I figured you would be by today. Come on in Sakura, you and I are going to have a long talk.

Sakura groaned, but obeyed her mom nonetheless.

"Naruto, wait out her sweetie. Sakura and I need to have a chat in private." Sakura's mom sweetly said.

"No. We can talk right here." Sakura sat down on the couch and snapped her fingers at her dog. "Kiss my feet dog."

"Not in my house!" Kaori protested. But it didn't matter. Naruto crawled forward and obediently started kissing her feet.

"He's my dog foot slave, this is his purpose." Sakura explained as she flashed her mom a smug smile. "So what did you want to talk about mom?"

"What you're doing to that poor boy!" Kaori angrily yelled. "How dare you go and do this to him again! He's suffered more than enough in his life. But what's even worse it that you're actually going to marry him to keep him? How could you submit not just Naruto, but yourself, as well to a loveless marriage for the rest of your lives? What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Naruto has always been a worthless dog whose destiny was to wind up beneath my feet." Sakura patiently explained. "If I didn't keep him, I would deny him the destiny he's worked so very hard for."

"THAT KID WORKED HIS ASS OFF TO PROTECT YOU AND THIS VILLAGE! YOU KNOW DAMN WELL HIS TRUE DESTINY IS TO BECOME HOKAGE!" Kaori roared angrily.

"Naruto had a chance to escape this arrangement, and he would've been free from my control for the rest of his life. But like the worthless little dog he is, he chose to serve me. He knows that he was never going to be Hokage. From the moment we met, Naruto knew he was destined to live beneath my feet." Sakura countered.

Sakura's mom looked like she was about to explode. To Sakura's surprise, she took a deep breath and calmed herself down.

"So there is absolutely nothing I can do to convince you that not only are you making the biggest mistake of your life, but you are completely crushing the very soul of the one man who dedicated himself to protecting you and your happiness?"

Sakura glanced down at Naruto who had continued to kiss her feet and then back at her mother.

"Nope!" Sakura grinned. "Naruto belongs to me, and he will never escape from beneath me."

"I know I raised you better than that Sakura." Kaori sighed. "But fine. You start packing your stuff up down here. I need Naruto's help with moving some stuff upstairs."

"Whatever. Go help my mom dog." Sakura ordered. She was both surprised and grateful her mom gave up that quickly. She had expected their conversation to be much longer and far more annoying.

Naruto silently nodded his head and followed the woman who had just defended him up the stairs. He had hoped that over time, it would hurt less when Sakura talked about how she felt for him. But so far it had stung just as badly as it had the first time.

"Ok Naruto..." Kaori spoke up as she led him into a room and quickly shut the door.