Tough day
By
ensngre
Shit. Naruto had let his temper get the better of him, and in his rage induced haste had dropped his precious cargo. The whole world was changing, and he wasn't at all sure if he liked all aspects of it. There were currently no major conflicts ongoing, beside the spectacle of the men fashioned in clouds, and while it gladdened him that the world wasn't suffering he couldn't help but feel a little… lost. He had been trained in combat since before adolescence and his life was just so dull without people out to kill him.
"Why did I seek out this assignment in the first place," he sighed and began to pick up the scattered papers.
Even the Hidden Village of Mist had softened up and sent a team of Mist shinobi as official representatives to the Leaf, which had been unprecedented.
Making his way through the dimly lit corridors of the Archive, his feet producing echoes from the old wood floor, he suddenly remembered running down similar corridors in search of an old friend. Realizing, like he always did, that brooding on the past often brought no joy he stopped his train of thoughts. There is no moment like the present, he reminded himself and squeezed himself in between the thin door frames that led to the New Plans For Urban Planning section of the Archive.
Scanning the numbered plates bolted on the shelves that ran the length of the cramped room he felt a renewed sense of vigor. To think that at the weeks beginning he had been at the very beginning!
Finding the XVII:th shelf at last, he turned inwards and began looking for the correct row where he put his bundle of papers. Before he went to see his work assignment partner, who put down everything he carried in a handheld register, he made sure to repeat the document name and placement of the bundle.
"Hanabi?" No one responded but when he calmed his breath and stood still he could hear scribbling noises coming from a few previous rows they had already completed. He backtracked his steps until he saw a lithe woman sitting huddled over papers upon papers.
"There you are. I must have missed you when I walked past," he said. The young woman on the floor absently nodded, biting on the end of a ballpoint pen. Not wanting to disturb her concentrated expression, he moved closer and squatted down. He was fortunate that he was left with the physical work; all those numbered rows and titles and full and empty fields of the old and new register made him restless.
"What do you want me to put down?" She asked in a calm voice, not removing her steady gaze from the river of lists. Naruto told her and watched her pale hand hover above the register, her thin index finger tracing row upon row until she found the place she searched for and put it down. Nodding again she returned to the tedious task of converting the old index to the new format.
He watched her with ease discern what should be put down where, in what order, and watched her when she at a few times would return the ballpoint pen to her teeth, her mind calculating how to advance. Her eyes met his fleetingly and when he did not turn away, she went back to the papers lying on the floor. "How many rows are we down to now?" She asked.
Naruto returned from his reverie of watching her work and stared thoughtfully up the ceiling. "There were four shelves left; if the old archives aren't in worse disarray than we have found them to be thus far, then the XVII:th shelve should be finished." He straightened his head and again found her eyes meeting his. She let them fall to the papers again and nodded, telling him what he should go get next. He gave his confirmation and stood up.
Once again he made his way down the dark corridors of the Archive, corridors he had traversed countless times by now. Ignoring a loose gathering of old, brown paper he had dropped when they had been working on the Defense Dev. Research And Peace Preservation section and never bothered to pick up; they hadn't been read in decades and dated back to when the Hidden Leaf had been founded. Though he had much respect for what their ancestors had achieved the bunch of papers always made him sigh.
Scratching his head in his usual fashion, he ventured once more into the old dusty room.
Naruto slumped down with a heavy sigh at the same shelve from which Hanabi had not moved. It had been a long day; they had started working seven o'clock in the morning and now it was late evening. They had only eaten lunch.
He stretched his sore limbs and laid down on his back. Sighing again in defeat, he sat up, wanting to quickly get out to the cold fresh air of night. Seeing her still at work rearranging columns and rows in the register he felt tired and agitated. He bent forward on his knees, took her nimble hands into his own and removed the pencil, setting it on the ground. Using his arms to get up, he stood and helped her up.
She leaned against his side, holding his shoulders. Lifting her free arm up in the air above her head, she stretched her back and gave out a satisfied moan. Naruto smiled and rubbed her back.
"We've been diligent today, when we started I never thought we'd finish it," he said.
Despite smiling in gratitude that he had decided the week was over, finally, she reprimanded him. "That was only the third section, we still have ways to go before we're done here."
He paled a little and let out a small chuckle. "I say we're still ahead of schedule. With any luck we'll finish this within the month and maybe we can get a week off if we hassle the old lady enough," he snickered. No longer leaning on him, he watched her pause at the end of the corridor and turn off the lights. Holding up the door for her he took a last look at the darkness before closing it and following her up the stairs.
When they got up the sun had already gone down. It had been sunny and relatively warm when they had met up in the morning; now it became apparent that winter was not many months away. Winters in the Hidden Leaf were never long, and at the end of them always came Hanabis birthday.
He shuddered at the late evening cold and zipped his jacket. When he looked over to her, he stopped heating his hands.
"Didn't you bring something warmer to wear?" He asked in a dumbfounded tone.
Feebly trying to warm her arms she shook her head. Not looking him in the eyes she said, "The mornings are always so warm… I guess I just forgot it today."
Noticing her avoiding his eyes made him smile and unzip his jacket. Taking her reluctance to meet his eyes as pride in not asking for warmth, he draped it over her shoulders and stood in front of her and zipped it shut.
Unbeknownst to him she had deliberately left her jacket at home. She knew it was selfish and mean but there were not many who would be gentle with her, few women and even fewer men. The fact that Naruto was always gentle with her, to the point of it almost being ridiculous (in the eyes of others, never in hers), filled her with such profound joy and tenderness. He always made her feel vulnerable, in a good way, a feeling no one else could let her feel.
Smiling with her eyes at him, she looked up. "How does finding a good place to eat sound to you, Naruto?"
Momentarily surprised that he had forgotten about dinner, he felt his hunger rise like a tidal wave. He suddenly felt not only cold, but incredibly hungry as well.
"What do you reckon we could find? It's late Friday night, every club is open but restaurants…" He trailed off, searching her for answers. He rarely ate outside but thought that Hanabi would know these kinds of things.
She patted his stomach with the back of her hand and smiled.
"I know just the place."
They had found a rather cosy place with live music. Naruto was surprised that you could find a restaurant open this time of night but apparently a lot of people enjoyed a more relaxed Friday night than some. Most of the people that had occupied the restaurant had trailed off before they got there, but even as empty tables were cleared by waiters some couples and a group of soft-spoken middle aged men had stayed behind.
The atmosphere was nice and he felt that given the chance, he could have dozed off and woke up in the morning.
"That was the best meal I've had in a long time," Hanabi said, sighing softly and closing her eyes. She eased her body from the tenuous strain. Having come from a prestigious family she was expected to look nice, eat nice and sit nice. Though she know Naruto didn't mind a lax pose it was hard to repress all the training in etiquette she'd had.
Watching her head lull from side to side in rhythm with the easy music, Naruto felt himself going into a trance. The day had been so frustrating and so boring. He had carried around hundreds upon hundreds of boxes and piles of paper back and forth, and he was loath to such mindless work.
Somehow, as he sat there taking her in, he felt it was worth it. He could continue forever doing work he hated if it meant sitting with her like this at the end of each day.
A waitress came by and asked Naruto, not wanting to disturb the girl, in a gentle and quiet voice if they wanted anything. He ordered a drink each; when he named her favorite drink she smiled to the music.
They did not utter a single word while they finished their drinks. They sat looking at each other and swinging lightly to the music. When they were done, they asked for the bill and split it; he would argue that he wanted to pay out of courtesy alone but her pride would not allow him to.
Naruto followed her home, to the ornately beautiful district that was home to the villages mightiest clan.
"Good morning, Neji-niisan," a gentle voice called out as Hyuuga Neji strode in to the private dining quarters of the head family. Ever since his attitude toward the main house had changed so many years ago he had eaten every meal dutifully in this room.
Uzumaki Naruto had opened his eyes and he no longer felt any animosity toward the man who had rather sacrificed himself than his younger twin, Nejis father. But that was not to be, Hizashi had insisted that it was the branch family's duty to protect the main branch. He had also made it clear that he had been doing it for Neji as well.
Breakfast was always made by some member of the head family; most of the times Hinata would make it as she got up the earliest of them, at other times, when she was out on missions or had clan business with her father in other countries, either Neji or Hanabi would make it. It had always been this way, for even if the clan elders and servants frowned slightly upon it, Hiashi had made it very clear that the head family needed no babysitting all the time.
"Good morning, Hinata-sama," he replied gently, the mist of sleep slowly disappearing as he felt the aroma of food. His senses were starting to wake up.
"Speaking of which, is Naruto sleeping over again?" he asked her.
Hinata looked over her shoulders as she rinsed the vegetables she was going to use in cold water.
"How did you know?" she asked him, and gave him a crooked smile.
Neji felt pride making its way up his chest as he pushed it out. He didn't need the Byakugan to know that he was here. Naruto was never that tranquil. "What will Hiashi-sama say about this? Is it finally time for the great end?" He chuckled, already envisioning it – the raging over-protective father who thought nothing but innocent thoughts of his daughter, and her repeated proclaims of maturity and not being the little girl he so often thought her as. Would the last thing the great Uzumaki Naruto ever see be Hiashis spinning kaiten? He couldn't wait.
Hinata turned around and grinned and attempted to say something when Nejis chuckles were interrupted by a sliding door and an irate, questioning voice.
"Aren't you in high spirits today," Hiashi greeted them and brutishly sled the door close. If Hyuuga Hiashi, arguably one of the most powerful shinobi in the Leaf, had a weakness it was mornings.
Neji quickly shut up and glanced slightly toward Hinata, who had turned around and judging from her quaking shoulders was trying hard not to burst out in laughter. He turned back his head and faced the older man across the table and greeted him.
"Good morning, Hiashi-sama," he let out and bowed his head, decidedly distancing himself from the calamities that would surely come. Neji had never been one for drama but he would not mind if others were caught in it. He smiled contentedly.
By the time Hanabi had strolled in and taken a seat next to her father and petted him on the cheek, breakfast was ready. It was rich on ingredients and dishes, and Hiashi had mostly gotten over his bad morning mood when a very tired Naruto carefully walked in and shut the door. Hinata greeted him a good morning with a knowing smirk, one he failed to read.
It was only when he seated himself next to Neji that Hiashi noticed his presence. Temporarily shocked over seeing one of his elder daughter's friends at his breakfast table, he quickly recovered and deduced that he had probably stayed over after an especially late and tiring sparring match with his nephew.
"Well this is certainly a positive surprise, Naruto-kun – forgive me, I was not aware that you had stayed the night, but please make yourself at home," Hiashi said, feeling good that the day had started in such a nice fashion. It was always nice with company, especially this outspoken kind young man who had helped him in times before.
Neji could feel his lips desperately wanting to draw upwards; he forced them to a standstill, hoping no one would notice his half grin. This would be the weirdest (and, undoubtedly, most fun) half past seven Saturday breakfast he would experience. He hid his growing grin behind a bowl of rice, his eyes keen not to miss any outcome of this bind.
Naruto smiled kindly in turn to the older man, "Thank you Hiashi-sama, I hope you had a good night." After a smiling confirmation from Hiashi he arched his back, stretching it and testing it. Hiashi smiled knowingly; he too had been through many a tiring battle when he was young. "My back still aches from last night."
Neji felt compelled to fully direct his eyes to the rice bowl, lest he betray his mirth. He could not lose it, not this close to the grand finale.
The older Hyuuga stopped dipping his rice in the sweet-sour soya sauce and looked at the blonde. Frowning a little and looking a little concerned, he said, "Naruto-kun, you must not over exert yourself. It will lead to nothing good. Better you keep such activities when the sun is still up."
Naruto paused while he stretched, a little bewildered. He did not think the old man to be that frank. Neji snorted and had to put his hand to stop his laugh from coming out. Hinata was calm herself; she usually reverted to this state when she needed her self control the most. Hanabi continued eating.
After Naruto had gotten over his initial bewilderment, he continued stretching a bit more and complained again about his bad back. Then Hanabi spoke up.
"You kept me awake the whole night and you're the one that's complaining?" She said, lifting one elegant eyebrow.
"Hey, it's not my fault! I can't help it that you get so… persuasive when you drink." Naruto said, darkly muttering about small beds and someone's certain persistence to stay on top.
Hanabi fashioned a deep scarlet red on her otherwise so pale cheeks, and glanced nervously to Hinata and her cousin. To discuss such profound personal matters in the open… she was too embarrassed to meet her father's eyes. Suddenly she was reminded of something important, so she promptly discarded previous notions of what the conversation was about.
She turned to her father.
"Dad, I'm sorry I haven't told you this before, I was… too shy to say it, but…" She gulped, and looked up in her father's eyes. "I'm going to marry Naruto."
By this time Neji was lying on the ground laughing as hard as he had never done before, laughing so hard and clenching his stomach in an effort to stop it from cramping. Hinata was also lying on the floor laughing as she had never laughed before, all the while feeling a little mean and just a little guilty on behalf of her father. The world was pure bliss.
Naruto just frowned and looked darkly on the two clowns, crossing his arms wondering what was so damn funny.
And Hiashi? He had escaped to a world of his own, his eyes empty and his mouth crumpled to a horrified 'O'.
He did not notice that his innocent baby girl, who he never would admit to pass marriageable age, had a death grip on his right arm, worrying so what might have happened to her dear father.
It was not until three months after the wedding that he could look her and her cursed, evil, mean groomin the eye.
Naruto had never run so fast in his life.
A/N: Aww poor Hiashi, no one ever had the guts to tell him. It is weird that he never connected all the clues before him… and there were many. But fathers are like that… right?
Was it honestly funny? Or did it try too much to be funny? Please give me your opinions; it's not easy to get a fair one yourself when you're reading your own work…