THE NARUTO EPIC

Chapter Four

Before the Rising Sun

A/N: I think I let the story die for a bit… Sorry. I'm in a writing/Naruto mood again, so this should pick right back up. But I'm writing two other fanfics, and I'm going to TRY to put out one chapter for each at a time. If it doesn't happen, I'm sorry, but I'll try my best.

- - -

Naruto stared listlessly at the fried rice dish in front of him. Where was the ramen? His mouth twitched; he wanted flavorful ramen, not…. Blek. He sighed. Hinata, sitting next to him, nudged him lightly with her elbow. She was becoming very nervous for him; Hiashi was glaring at Naruto as if the boy would leap onto the table and kill everyone any second. Naruto gulped.

"Oh, uh… AHAHAHA!!!! THIS LOOKS GREAT, HYUUGA-SAMA!!!! ITADAKIMASU!!!" Naruto cried obnoxiously as he began rudely shoving food into his mouth. Hinata winced and hunched her shoulders, waiting for her father to kick everyone out with eyes shut tight. She opened an eye when nothing happened.

Hiashi stared at Naruto. The Kyuubi-boy wasn't dangerous; just stupid. He wondered how he could have possibly sense a threat from the young genin. He was clearly not the monster that he had fought years before; at least, his human side wasn't. Hiashi had faith in Yondaime's seal, though. The Hyuuga lord relaxed, enjoying his meal.

Hinata, relieved that Naruto wasn't to be served in the next family meal, could have cried from relief. She sighed wistfully and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder in such a way that made Hiashi choke—on rice.

"HOLY CRAP, THE OLD DUDE'S CHOKING!!!" Jac cried. "WHO KNOWS THE HEIMLICH MANEUVER?!?!!!" Neji abruptly slapped his uncle's back. "Or… I guess that works, too…"

"FATHER!!! Are you okay?!" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, Dad!! Don't scare her like that!!!" Naruto's comment only served to make Hiashi start choking again. Neji sighed, thinking, This family can't function without me... A lowly branch member. This is messed. He slapped Hiashi's back again, allowing air to flow once again into his lungs.

"YOU!" Hiashi pointed to Naruto. "OUTSIDE! NOW!" he ordered. Naruto stood up, unconcerned. Hinata watched with wide eyes, hoping her father wouldn't be too…. Extreme.

"Whoa… Your dad is WAY too extreme," Jac told Hinata.

"Jac-chan, that's not nice to say…" Kei whispered. "Their relationship is… strained at the moment." Kei referred to that at this time, Hiashi cared nothing for his supposedly useless heiress.

"Uh… Right. Sorry, Hinata," she apologized. She looked down at her untouched food, then up at Neji. "Oi, Branch-Boy, mind stepping out of the room for a bit??" she asked. Neji responded by twitching, and then complying. "YAY! Now I can eat!!" Jac cried, wolfing down her food as fast as she could before any of the guys came back.

"Uhhh…." Arisu was confused. "I dun' get it…"

"Y'see…. Jac-chan just dislikes eating in front of males. That's all." The look in Kei's eyes told Arisu that it wasn't her explanation to explain, and Jac would do so herself when she felt compelled to.

"Oh… Okay." Arisu picked up her own dish. "I like food?" She was met by silence. "…Uh, me smart I am."

"That you are, love, that you are," Kei giggled.

- - -

"What's up, Old Man?" Naruto asked. Hiashi rounded on him.

"STAY AWAY FROM HINATA. DELINQUENTS LIKE YOU ONLY SERVE TO BRING HER DOWN. SHE IS ALREADY USELESS, SO YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY BE HELPING." Hiashi took a deep breath, composing himself. "I want you to get out of my house, and stay out of my house. Never come here again, Kyuubi."

Naruto shook with rage. "Oh? Is that all I am? A monster with no feelings? I was starting to think that you were okay, but now I'm thinking that you're the monster yourself." He glared at Lord Hyuuga. "Hinata is a really great shinobi, and an amazing person! Why can't you see that and accept her?! Kurenai-sensei does, and she's only known Hinata for a little while! You're her father, dammit! You're supposed to love her more than anyone!! Isn't that was a father is supposed to do?!!"

"What would you know of it??" Hiashi knew that Naruto lived without parents; everyone in the village did. "How do you know how a father is supposed to act?"

"Maybe there's someone who cares about me like I was his own son…. Maybe I wonder if that's what having a father is supposed to feel like. But you know what? Even though he's not a real father, he's more of a dad than you'll ever be."

Hiashi sniffed. "In any case, stay away from Hinata. She's better off." Naruto smiled.

"Too bad it's not me you should be worried about. Hinata always came to me, so how do I prevent that?" With that, Naruto strode off the Hyuuga estate, hoping that Hinata would forgive him.

- - -

When Hiashi came back into the dining room without Naruto, Hinata stood up.

"Where's Naruto-kun?!" she asked, frightened.

"He left," replied Hiashi stiffly. "He should no longer be bothering you."

"But he—" Hinata began to argue, but thought better of it. "Yes, Father." Kei glanced sideways at Hinata, who was sitting back down in her seat. She knew how unreasonable Hiashi could be, but this was ridiculous. She met Jac's gaze across the table; they were going to have to play cupid around Hinata's father. Jac broke into a grin, already thinking of all the ways they could dupe and hoodwink Hiashi so he would not be alerted to Naruto and Hinata's closeness. It would dangerous, and risky, yes, but would be oh so worth it. Maybe even worth a few laughs.

"Arisu, I've just remembered! There's a wonderful little inn that takes travelers and allows them work off their debt!" Kei announced when an uncomfortable dinner was over. "That means that we won't have to burden Hiashi-sama with our lodging tonight!"

"But there's no—" Jac began to protest but Arisu, who was sitting beside her, grabbed her arm and said, "Really? That sounds cool. We should probably get used to working in ninja-land, anyway!" The three left rather loudly, saying thanks and compliments about the offer and the meal, leaving a very bewildered looking lot of Hyuugas sitting around the dinner table.

- - -

"Why'd you do that?! You know there aren't any places to stay like that, Kei!!!" Jac shouted, her voice echoing across the field they were in.

"Did you really want to stay under the same roof as Hinata's dad while plotting around him?" Kei retorted. "I didn't, and so I got our asses out of there!"

"I didn't like that guy. He was… Full of himself." Arisu had the sour look on her face that indicated she thought he was prick. "I'm glad we're not staying there."

"Well— Well— GAH!! Fine! I didn't want to stay there, either, but where ARE we going to stay?!" Jac yelled, her temper mounting. Kei gazed dreamily up at the sky.

"Can't we camp out here? It's not too hot or cold, and it's so nice out. I haven't been camping in… let's see… At least five years." Her voice had a note of nostalgia in it.

"I've only been camping once or twice…" Arisu muttered.

"Oh, fine. I guess that's okay with me…" Jac finally conceded. She leaned against the trunk of the large oak they were beneath, sliding down until she was sitting amongst the roots. "Guess we'll have to make due without sleeping bags, though… Oh, well." She sighed, squirming to get herself comfortable. "So… What're we going to do about Hinata's oh-so-wonderful dad?"

"We could always stab him with a brick," Kei said amiably, plopping herself down in the grass.

"Maybe we could stash him in the closet guy's closet?" Arisu wondered, talking, of course, about Sasuke. Jac started laughing as Arisu sat beside Kei in the grass.

"Yeah, but that would be weird for many reasons. Besides, I have no intention of ever returning to Sasuke's house ever."

"Gee, I wonder why," Kei said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She yawned, having not slept much before.

"Tired?" Arisu asked; Kei nodded. "You should get some sleep. I'll probably be up for a while.

"Me, too, mate. We'll start planning without you, but we'll fill you in in the morning." Jac cracked her neck, still trying to get comfortable against the tree.

"Alright… Thanks. You two should try to get some sleep, too. Okay?"

"I'll try, but I can't make any promises," the two said together. Kei merely smiled and lay down on her back, counting the stars she could see through the tree's branches as Arisu and Jac's quiet conversation lulled her to sleep. She dreamed that night, and found the night vision unusually pleasant.

- - -

Asuma's head rested on her shoulder; the smoky, wavy hair at the edges of her vision in addition to this told her that she was occupying the body of Yuhi Kurenai. Sarutobi Asuma smelled not of cigarettes, as one would expect, but of roses and slightly of wine. Kurenai's fingers were combing through his hair. It was a rather simple scene, but the mood was very warm and loving. Kei herself had longed for such a simple scene in her own life, but had not yet been touched by one. Immersing herself in how wonderful the moment was, Kei found stray thoughts floating across her mind. Things like, 'I wish I could stay here forever' and 'Asuma is so sweet' and 'Do all things have to end—even things as amazing as this?' It wasn't until a thought about illusions crossed her mind that Kei realized she was not receiving her own thoughts but Kurenai's. The concept amazed her, and it was at this point that her sleep fell back into the cool darkness she had always embraced.

- - -

Sorry that this one was so short… I'm having a bit of writers' block from having neglected to write this for so long, but it's coming back to me, I promise. I'm not really getting in as much action as I wanted; guess I'm leaning into the more… mushy sides. 0o; Sorry, again. Then again, people don't seem to mind too much, usually. Thank you for reading!

-Wizu

To Reviewers:

Nejifanatic101- I'm glad that you like the story! I've updated it finally; sorry it took so long. ;