Naruto: Day By Day
(Disclaimer:I don't own Naruto in any way, shape or form)
Chapter 1: A Day In The Life Of...
"Aaarrrggghhh! This is definitely NOT the reason why I signed up to be Hokage in the first place." A long & shaggy haired, blond man with whisker-like marks on his face & wearing a long white robe with the fire country's insigna on the back exclaimed as he threw up his hands in exasperation. It has only been 5 months into the term of Uzamaki Naruto as the Roukdaime Hokage & here he was wondering whatever did he do to deserve this.
Glaring at the various tall piles of paperwork on top of his desk, Naruto rubs his forehead wearily & wondered how the hell the previous Hokage, his adopted big sis/mother Tsunade, managed to get hers done during her time as Konoha's leader. He also wondered darkly if this was some sort of initiation or payback (possibly both) from the old hag for all those times he had harrassed her.
He briefly considered using a fire jutsu to just burn away all these papers but just as quickly, decided against it reasoning that it would just be, as his current companion in the room would say, too troublesome.
That companion, of course, was none other then Konoha's resident lazy tactical genius & his own advisor/right hand man, Nara Shikamaru. The topknotted jounin had gone far from being an unmotivated genin underachiever to one of Konoha's most influential figures. A status which Shikamaru disliked but something which his wife Ino relished greatly.
Currently, Shikamaru had placed another armful of papers just waiting for Naruto's inspection & approval on top of the Hokage's desk. Naruto sighs in resignation & gets up from his desk & starts pacing around.
"I miss the old days, Shikamaru. Things were much simpler back then because we didn't have to worry about anything else except completing the mission." Naruto said wistfully.
Leaning on the edge of the desk, Shikamaru looks at his longtime friend & sighs. "Well you should've thought about that before you accepted this troublesome job. And you just HAD to drag me in as well didn't you?" Shikamaru said sullenly, though Naruto knew that deep inside, Shikamaru had welcomed the challenge.
"Hey! would you rather that I put you back out in the field on a life-threatening mission where you have to actually move your lazy ass? That can easily be arranged." Naruto said with a mischiveous grin. "Besides..." He adds. "Your wife seemed to be happy with the promotion & thats what counts, right?"
For that, Shikamaru had no answer. He simply looks away with a small blush in his face & a muttered "Che... How troublesome."
"But seriously..." Naruto said, the grimace back on his face. "This has been long day & I'm wondering if it can get any worst then this."
"Are you referring to that injury complaint on Kiba or that discussion with Hiashi on Konohamaru & Hanabi's errr... relationship" Shikamaru asked with a grimace of his own.
"Gimme a break. I didn't even know you could sue a shinobi for capturing a dangerous missing nin. And Konohamaru & Hanabi has every right to choose whoever they damned well please." Naruto answered fiercely. Kiba was one of Naruto's oldest friend & would never do anything without reason. He also loved Konohamaru like a brother & of course, Hanabi is his wife's little sister. He wanted them both to be happy.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes & retorted. "Sure Kiba captured the missing nin but the guy was nearly beaten to death & his family managed to convince some bigshot lawyer that Kiba used excessive force for defending himself. And in case you've forgotten, Let me spell it out for you. Since you married Hinata, Hanabi's the only other legal heir of the Hyuga clan."
"I don't see what the problem is." Naruto said. "I docked Kiba's pay for this month to pay for the missing nin's hospitalization. And since the guy was a missing nin from Sunakagure, Gaara's assured me that he'll take care of any legal problems. As for Konohamaru & Hanabi's problem, don't you remember that discussion with Hiashi that i had after my wedding with Hinata?"
"Yeah, what about it?" Shikamaru asked.
"Well, all i had to do was tell Hiashi to implement our plan & that solved the problem." Naruto said with a smile.
"Get to the point already. What was the plan?" Shikamaru said impatiently.
"Well, i had a feeling that something like this was gonna happen one of these days so me & Hiashi discussed for ways around it & came up with the idea that the council would be free to select their own head. And not just that, we also discussed the feasability of totally abolishing the branch house system & there's only one sure fire way to do that." Naruto said.
"You don't mean..." Shikamaru said, suddenly realizing where the conversation was going.
"Yup. Hiashi is gonna name Neiji as the new Hyuga clan head. It was really his birthright to begin with anyways. And a large majority of the clan council agrees that Neiji is the best person to lead them when the time comes" Naruto confirms with a smile.
"Does Neiji know about this?" Shikamaru asks with a frown on his face.
"Nope. And I don't plan on telling him till it's too late to back out either. You & i both know that he deserves it & it will be in the best interest of their clan if Neiji were the one to take over." Naruto said.
Shikamaru was impressed. He never knew that Naruto had planned that far ahead for this eventuality. But when he thought about it again, it was just Naruto's own way of taking care of his friends so it was just natural. "He'd make a decent opponent in shogi if he'd only just sit still for an hour or so." Shikamaru mused to himself.
"Now that that's settled, what's next on the agen..." Naruto was interrupted by a knock on his office door followed by a female voice calling out.
"Oi, Shikamaru! Are you in there? It was Shikamaru's wife Ino.
"Come in Ino, the door's open." Naruto said, glancing at Shikamaru who just shrugged.
Entering the office, the blonde special jounin wife of Shikamaru looked mildly irritated as she glared at Naruto.
"Naruto, you're not overworking my Shika-kun again, are you? She said to Naruto then looks at her cringing husband. "And you Shikamaru, didn't you promise to pick me up at the intelligence H.Q. at 4pm?"
Naruto chuckles at the sight of Shikamaru, with his head low, being harrangued by his wife Ino. Here was one of Konoha's most powerful shinobis reduced to nothing more then a henpecked husband. Not that Ino wasn't scary enough to begin with, but her current stint in the intelligence division under the tutelage of the battle-scarred Ibiki & the sinister Anko as well as the fact that she was one of the very few persons (Naruto included) privy to secrets that even top-level jounins like Shikamaru didn't know about, had made her all the more terrifying.
"Ohh, is it already time? Sorry Ino, we didn't notice. It's actually my fault because you know how it is with all these work & duties as Hokage." Naruto pipes in, deciding to save his friend from further abuse & was rewarded with a grateful look from Shikamaru.
Ino looks at Naruto again as her look of irritation was replaced by one of exasperation. "Honestly Naruto, you know how Ibiki-san works me like a slave so I hardly have time to spend with Shikamaru. You should also consider Hinata's feelings as well. You're always holed up here doing some work." She admonishes.
Naruto laughs as he answers. "Hai, hai. I understand. I'll make it up to you, Ok?"
"I'll hold you to that promise." Ino said with a big smile on her face.
"Yeah yeah, Anyways, I won't detain your husband here any longer even if it is my right to do so." Naruto then looks at Shikamaru & said. "Go ahead. You guys go first. I'll finish up here & we can continue our work tomorow, ok?"
"Just don't work too late, ok? Ino's right. You should go home to Hinata soon, especially now. Gotta go then. See ya tomorow." Shikamaru said as he followed Ino out.
Left by himself, Naruto walks over to the window & looks out at the village below. Can he help it if he was so concerned with it's welfare? He IS the Hokage after all & as such had a duty to perform. And it wasn't just for them, he was also securing a future for his own family as well.
He hears another knock to his doors & without even looking back knew exactly who the person was. Long have they established a bond so close that they could feel each other's presence even without seeing them & it was that particular bond that Naruto felt now.
Smiling broadly, he turns to greet Hinata, the pale eyed beauty who captured his heart so many years ago. "Hello beautiful." He said as he kissed Hinata on the lips.
"Had a long day?" She asked with a smile of her own while adjusting her grip on the slightly squirming bundle she held in her arms.
"Yeah well, it's no big deal." Naruto said as he looks opens the bundle in Hinata's arms revealing a dark haired baby whose cute, petite face resembled his wife's except for the whisker-like marks on her face. "You know that it's all for Konoha & our family."
"Of course I know. That's why you were born for this job, my love. " Hinata answered gently.
And Naruto knew that was true. At the end of the day, he knew that all his sacrifices were very well worth it. Just like his predecessors, as long as he's Hokage, he will protect his village & his family even if it costs him his own life. But he will do it while making other people happy. That was HIS ninja way.
Author's note:That's it for the 1st chapter. updates are gonna be infrequent but please R&R just the same :)